After last week’s show became a forced recap – announcing contender’s for the British Heavyweight title tournament – this week was more of the same on Wednesday Night Wrestling.
This week’s show is another highlight show, with the earth-shattering news that November 19’s Future of Fight card will feature… tag team action! Teddy Long’s dreams have come true. As a warm-up we get some tag team action, from episode seven:
Liquid Dreams (Jakey & Brucey) vs. Sid Scala & Lewis Howley
Liquid Dreams try to sucker-punch from an opening handshake, but they end up being taken down with a pair of bulldogs in the opening exchange. Howley lifts up Scala for a bunch of assisted-dropkicks, before a double dropkick from Howley keeps the heels on the back foot.
Howley wrings Brucey’s arm, whilst Jakey suddenly becomes Russian again and gets kicked off the top rope by Howley as Brucey does a Flair Flop out of the corner. Jakey does the other half of the Ric Flair act as he’s thrown off the top rope by Howley. Scala tags in and trips up Brucey with a drop-down, before a low dropkick from Howley keeps the babyfaces on top, before Jakey attacks Scala in the ropes as the referee was distracted by… something.
Scala is kept isolated for a spell as Jakey teases a double axehandle off the top rope, and we go to a break as the heels stay on top. Brucey holds Scala back with a leg grapevine whilst somehow being able to make a tag himself, and the heat stays on as Liquid Dreams do their leapfrog thingy before just kicking Scala in the corner. Brucey slams Scala for a near-fall, but Scala makes a comeback with a slingshot into a roll-up for a near-fall, only for Bruce to again cut him off from making a tag back out to Howley. Jakey lands a shoulder charge into the corner, but a second one is again countered into a roll-up for a near-fall from Sid.
Another set of leapfrogs sees Scala scurry underneath and finally make the hot tag out to Howley, who clears house and clotheslines Brucey out of the ring. Jakey takes a Blue Thunder Bomb for a near-fall, before he follows up with a slingshot DDT from the apron and into the ring. Brucey breaks up the cover again and drops Howley with an Eat Defeat, before a double superkick from Liquid Dreams earns Jakey a near-fall.
Howley dropkicks Jakey into Brucey as they argued, and followed up with another leg lariat. Scala tags in and goes flying with a rocket launcher, but Brucey’s got the referee distracted… until Howley goes flying with a tope con hilo! Scala gets distracted by that, but he turns around into a low blow, and Jakey steals the win. Jakey does several laps of honour around the ring to celebrate, but that was at least better than last week’s affair. Now, can we have at least a week without Liquid Dreams on this show?! **¾
After that match, they replay the debut of the Swords of Essex (which happened on the same episode). So here’s our recap of that: Paul Robinson is at ringside and he’s ranting at Lewis Howley. That distraction clears the way for Scott Wainwright to jump into the ring and beat down Scala and Howley as the Swords of Essex make their appearance known in FIGHT! Nation. Howley takes a curb stomp from Robinson, before Scala unwisely runs at Wainwright, who delivers a pop-up powerbomb to him. Finally, a heel tag team that’s not going to be a comedy jobber act!
After a break, they plug some upcoming dates… STILL featuring Mark Haskins with the title. They recap the tournament, and mention that the “fourth man” will be Chris Ridgeway. Hours before the show appeared on YouTube, FIGHT! Nation announced that Adam Maxted (better known for his work in OTT Wrestling, IPW:UK and other promotions… along with ITV’s reality show Love Island) was added to the title tournament. Needless to say, his silhouette didn’t fit in with either of the two spaces that were shown at the end of episode 14’s preview.
That addition of Ridgeway gives them a chance to replay the match Chris had against Wes Brisco from episode 9…
Chris Ridgeway vs. Wes Brisco
The commentator sells this as if Wes Brisco randomly flew into the UK, found his way to Weymouth and got onto this show. Pull the other one, eh? Ridgeway gets caught in a wristlock early on as Briscoe takes the “Priority” down early on, before he takes Brisco into the corner. Brisco nearly slips as he leapt over the ropes, before he gets a near-fall from a top rope cross-body. A lariat in the corner takes down Ridgeway, before Brisco locks him in a rope-assisted armbar.
A slingshot into the ring’s cut off by Ridgeway’s enziguiri, and they head outside for some more kicks. Ridgeway stomps and rakes away at Brisco, who largely stays on top of his American foe, with a rear chinlock almost forcing a submission. Brisco fights free and clotheslines Ridgeway, before a back body drop is turned into a swinging neckbreaker.
Brisco flapjacks Ridgeway for a near-fall, before Ridgeway elbows out of a Firemans’ carry and hits a Saito suplex for a near-fall. Another kick gets a two-count on Brisco, before Ridgeway runs into a death valley driver that nearly wins Brisco the match. Wes fires up, byt Ridgeway rakes the eye to free himself from another death valley driver, before he locks in an Achilles lock/single leg crab to get the surprise submission. As a match, it felt really slow and plodding at times, but at least they used an import to put over a local star. **½
The show ends with another plug for the Future of Fight show, and next week they’ll announce the “final” entrant for the tournament. I wonder if it’s Adam Maxted? Either way, that’s made next week’s show pretty much skippable, which is perhaps the last thing needed if this was intended to drum up interest for that end-of-year show.