NORTH’s big show in March saw them crown their first ever champion – with Eddie Dennis on hand to help out as only he can.
A reminder – since we last covered NORTH, they’ve launched their own VOD service. Why not give it a try? http://northwrestling.pivotshare.com/
So, the big talking point after NCL.8 was the announcement of a NORTH Championship, which’d be decided here in a scramble match. Eddie Dennis was here as a guest GM, and he’d pick the final two names for that match.
As always, Tom Campbell and Maffew Gregg are on commentary, complete with their own entrance graphic. Samba, this ain’t!
The usual intro bit with Stevie Aaron and Andrew Bowers (who I swear looks like a clone of Mark Davis) opens us off, with Stevie praising the company for not wheeling out a champion from day one. Referee John Myers gets an entrance too, complete with a video of him falling over from the last show… Fortunately, we’re saved by Eddie Dennis taking over in his role for the night, looking like a lanky Andy Capp with his flat cap.
Eddie notes that we’re now into the land of copyright, which means theme song changes! He also thanks NORTH for letting him appear in some form, after bigger promotions said they wouldn’t use him while injured. Eddie then reveals who’s going into the main event: it’ll be whomever wins the falls in the today’s two tag matches. It’s a little long-winded, but the point’s eventually made.
Sons Of Ulaid (Bás Bán & Rory Coyle) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
The Sons of Ulaid have become cult favourites since their match with CCK fell apart in September… which has led to some rather odd reactions for a pair of creepy bad guys.
Our referee almost falls for Mark Davis’ high five as the split crowd quickly gave way to being pro-Ulaid… there’s comedy before the bell as Bán didn’t know how to do a high five, and once he took one, Mark Davis scarpered to let Kyle Fletcher face his music. There’s more comedy as Rory Coyle sized up Davis for a peck on the lips, before Coyle threatened to get out his “Little Lake Ulaid”.
There’s something in the beer in Newcastle…
We finally get going with a headlock from Coyle on Fletcher, before we busted into a lucha-like series, ending with an ineffective Fletcher clothesline. A low dropkick worked though, as Coyle’s taken into the corner as the Aussies tried to take over by working the arm. Davis comes in for some chops to Coyle, before a standing moonsault from Fletcher nearly put away Coyle.
There’s more arse smacking after Fletcher was forced to face Bás Bán, who squashes him in the corner before he raked away on his eyes. The Sons isolate the smaller Fletcher, whose legs get pulled apart before Bán slammed him to the matand tried to choke him out of the ring for good measure. Coyle keeps up with forearms, before he ran into a big boot as Fletcher mounted a spirited comeback, eventually rolling through to tag in Davis who chopped and lariated his way into the lead. Bán catches his own man by mistake, before that spin-out reverse Angle slam put the Aussies firmly on top.
Aussie Open combine for the assisted Ace crusher for a near-fall on Coyle, as the double underhook into a spinebuster goes a little wonky, forcing Fletcher to grab a top rope moonsault instead as Bán was forced to save the match. Bán threws Fletcher to the floor, but we don’t see Bán and Davis as Coyle hits a backdrop suplex before a double chokeslam dumped Fletcher for a stacked-up near-fall.
Eventually Bán lays out Davis with a forearm, sending him to the outside… but Davis returned to try a Fidget Spinner on Bán, who escapes, before Coyle planted Fletcher with a clothesline-assisted Air Raid Crash for the win. Pretty good opener once we got going… now, who gets the scramble spot? ***¼
After some highlights, they run through some names for the next show on May 12, featuring Chris Brookes… which may make for an interesting reaction to say the least.
There’s a dodgy advert for “England’s Hardest Men”, looking for an “equally hard man” for tag team action. Uh-huh… Good job they already said this isn’t family-friendly!
Shax vs. Candyfloss
We’re back with the Hot Tag Media Works stuff here as Candyfloss returned to NORTH for the first time since last summer…
Candyfloss is intent on wrestling with a candy can in her hand, keeping tight hold of it as she tries some schoolboy roll-ups on Shax in the opening moments, before it’s snapped. That prompts Candyfloss to hit the Candy Carn armbar, but they’re quickly in the ropes, before Shax comes straight back at her with a shotgun dropkick into the corner.
A back elbow drops Candyfloss for just a one-count, as Shax just angers Candyfloss with forearms, before she’s pulled down into another Candy Cane. There’s a reversal into a roll-up as Candyfloss went into the corner with a dropkick… and we’re back to the armbar, which Shax again breaks up via the ropes. Next time, Shax stuffs an armbar attempt and hits a running knee to the back of the head as Candyfloss runs in with a chicken wing mixed with a backcracker that almost ended the match.
From there, Candy heads up top, but she’s kicked into the ropes and met with a lungblower, spiking Candy onto her head, before a double-arm DDT picked up the upset.
This was alright for what it was, but I just wish Candyfloss wasn’t so spammy with those armbar attempts… *¾
Music video time!
There’s clips from NCL.8, where England’s Hardest Men were interrupted by the Sons of Ulaid, who went after Shreddybrek’s girlfriend… that bleeds into Shreddybrek settling down to watch the show they were on. Lou Nixon’s on the phone as they talk about someone they’re looking to tag with, but he’s interrupted by a Facetime – it’s TK Cooper… and because he’s Samoan, he’s hard enough. Fair enough!
Spike Trivet & Landed Gentry (Benji & Zeo Knox) vs. England’s Hardest Men (Shreddybrek & Lou Nixon) & TK Cooper
This is another “winner gets into the scramble” match, and we get a remixed version of the EHM theme, because… copyright.
Spike Trivet has to avoid an early head kick from Nixon, before tagging in Zeo Knox. Good luck! Nixon’s all over him with a submission attempt, but this looks a little… rough? Like Knox’s landing from a kick to the gut. We go to Trivet and Shreddybrek… but Spike again wants no part of it, bringing in Benji who gets bulldozed down.
Benji tries some mounted punches, but he’s constantly thwarted as his search for offence keeps coming up short, eventually leaping into an overhead belly-to-belly as TK tagged in. Now Spike wants in, I guess, but that hoax ends when his partners disappeared, just as TK nailed a Dragon suplex. The hell?! TK’s bringing all the movez as he plants Benji with a backbreaker into a lungblower, before Sprays him with something.
Finally Benji and Zeo Knox mount something resembling offence, but Spike can only get a near-fall as the trio isolate TK in the corner with some stomps. Zeo’s neckbreaker gets a near-fall, as Trivet keeps up the offence, dropping a leg onto Cooper for a near-fall, as Benji returns to keep up his share of those frequent tags, before he misses an elbow drop after looking like a scared dog on that middle rope.
The Landed Gentry keep up with the old school heel stuff, pulling England’s Hardest Men off the apron as TK was kept in the ring, taking some running knees for a near-fall as Spike looked to put away the Kiwi. Eventually there’s a screw-up as Benji dropkicked Zeo, allowing TK to crawl over to make his tag out to Nixon, whose spinning heel kick dumps Benji. A hiptoss takes down Zeo too, as he unloaded with kicks to the two of them, before a pair of dropkicks left them laying.
Shreddybreak’s in to clothesline the Gentry, as Spike accidentally forearmed Knox… and you sensed the trio dubbed “Too Hard” were on the way to victory when TK booted his head off, before a double-team Go To Sleep almost put Benji away for the win. Spike makes a save as we have a Parade of Moves, most of them hitting, including an axe kick from TK… who then shrugged off a forearm from Trivet… because he’s Samoan.
A headbutt dumps Spike, as Knox tried the same… and got the same result. Benji gets a headbutt for good measure, but England’s Hardest Men took way too long as Shreddybrek was posing for the crowd – pressing Benji for good measure – and had his back turned as Spike Trivet rolled up Nixon for the win. That was wacky, and not all in a good way! I did like how Spike stole the win as his team basically went old school… but hey, I guess it also keeps up the long-running story of “muscle men being meatheads” in wrestling. **
More video from NCL.8 now, where Amir Jordan was fuming over his 0-6 losing record… to the point where he was thinking of quitting NORTH. It’s a nice little recap for folks who perhaps may not have followed all of NORTH, and made me think “whatever happened to…” guys who haven’t been with NORTH for a couple of shows, like Erin Jacobs and Dom Black…
That leads to tonight’s match, supposedly Amir’s last chance as Jordan would leave NORTH if he couldn’t win here.
Nathan Cruz vs. Amir Jordan
Demanding “the best”, Jordan gets Nathan Cruz in what could well be his last outing here… and he’s eschewed a lot of his dancing entrance as he’s laser-focused on the match.
Cruz, on the other hand, was only too happy to mock Jordan’s Curt Hawkins-like streak, easily escaping Jordan’s early attempts at mat wrestling, using his experience to school the beleaguered Amir. Jordan eventually breaks a wristlock but his Northern Lights suplex barely gets a count thanks to an out-of-position referee, but his attempt to goad Cruz into taking him seriously only made the match even more one-sided.
Jordan tried to mount a comeback, but a stun gun from Cruz cuts it off, before another comeback by way of a hiptoss and a crossbody nearly gets him the win. A nasty spill to the floor comes from Jordan, as Cruz’s back body drop sent him bouncing off the ring post to the floor. Back inside, the Thanks Tully slingshot back suplex nearly gets Cruz the win, but Jordan gets a shoulder up, as Cruz was having trouble keeping Amir down.
Cruz starts to get overly cocky as he stomps away on Jordan, before throwing him back outside as he tried to add insult to injury. A big suplex gets Cruz a near-fall, but Jordan’s back in with a slingshot sunset flip as he tries to cradle Cruz for the win… before he’s forced to kick-out of an O’Connor roll with a handful of tights, sending Cruz to the outside for a hue tope!
Back inside, Jordan fires back with axehandle smashes, before he’s popped up into the middle of the ring, as Cruz built up towards Show Stolen… but Jordan slips free and rolls through into a roll-up neckbreaker for another near-fall. Sensing the end, Jordan goes up and crushes Cruz with a senton for another two-count.
An Ace crusher from Jordan’s shoved away, but he keeps the upper hand, landing an enziguiri to Cruz… who shoves the ref into the ropes to crotch Jordan up top. The Show Stolen follows as Cruz pulled Jordan out of the corner, but there’s still fight left in him, as the crowd roared on, urging Jordan to fight on, which he did with another rolling neckbreaker… but that’s blocked as Cruz teased Thanks Tully again, only for Jordan to superkick Cruz to the outside.
Cruz tried to steal the win with his feet on the ropes, but the referee waves it off despite counting three… prompting Cruz to lay him out. Jordan jumps onto Cruz and nails a shotgun dropkick into the corner, but Cruz cuts him off once more, before he leaps into an Ace crusher as the ref stayed down. Cue a visual count as John Myers was still out.
Cruz rolls to the outside and grabs the first bit of plunder he can: a wet floor sign! WIth the ref still down, Cruz kicks Jordan low before Eddie Dennis wanders out to disarm Cruz… spraying beer in his face before a Flatliner and a senton bomb put Cruz away for the win! Amir Jordan saves his career, with perhaps the biggest victory of it to date. As a potential loser leaves town match, this built exceedingly well, with the story of Jordan repeatedly being tempted into taking a shortcut, before eventually overcoming it all – albeit with a little help, which could mean that this isn’t the end of Amir Jordan fighting for his job. ***½
Post-match, Amir dances… but we cut-away because of copyright!
Scramble Match for NORTH Championship: Rampage Brown vs. Robbie X vs. Chief Deputy Dunne vs. Screwface vs. El Ligero vs. Spike Trivet vs. HT Drake vs. Rory Coyle
Stevie Aaron explains the rules, it’s like a Royal Rumble, but with pinfall and submissions only.
Rampage and Robbie X were the first two, both with new music (yeah, we had the PROGRESS effect as we lost the *music hits* *pop* sequences), and we were none the wiser as to whom the mystery entrants would be. Both Rampage and Robbie tried to impose themselves on the match, with Rampage taking the early initiative with a spinebuster, before they both avoid facebusters as Robbie nails a dropkick for a near-fall.
Robbie nails a Flatliner and a German suplex as he looked to put away Rampage early, before the third man joins the match: Chief Deputy Dunne! He goes straight into a chop battle with Robbie X as Maffew buried his win/loss record, before teaming up with Robbie to help keep Rampage at bay. I’m sure somewhere in here, someone told Robbie in no uncertain terms to “f*** off back to Southside”, just as the counter introduced the next man out: Screwface!
Rampage and Screwface have a staredown, but they’re interrupted by the annoyances that were Dunne and Robbie, swatting them away before unloading on each other. El Ligero’s out next as he decided to join Dunne and Robbie in the ring, rather than the other two brawling in the crowd, and Ligero had a good crack at it, making Robbie X give Dunne a standing sliced bread, before connecting with a tope con giro into the pile outside.
Back inside, Ligero slaps Dunne and hits EVIL’s Darkness Falls fireman’s carry spinebuster for a near-fall as Spike Trivet joins the fray. Newcastle liked that one… he comes into a knee from Robbie X, and a handstand kick as it’s Robbie’s time to dive, hitting a moonsault into the pile below as Rampage did a Marty and walked away from it. Sound move!
Robbie tries for the X-Clamation, but that misses as SPike comes in with the Birthright, as we have a Parade of Moves… ending with the X-Clamation (handspring cutter) to Ligero, right as the next man heads out: it’s HT Drake… who gets announced twice, because he’s not coming through the curtain – he’s leaping off the balcony instead! Drake keeps up as he ducks a false alarm enziguiri and dumps Dunne with a back suplex, before turning another X-Clamation into a bridging German, as Robbie X was eliminated. Hey, we get a “current champion” graphic, kinda like that time WWE did a scramble that gave us Brian Kendrick as a “current WWE champion”. Aah, memories.
Drake gets his next fall, killing Spike with a flying lungblower for a pin, before El Ligero wheelbarrows Drake for the elimination. These are fast and furious falls, eh? Meanwhile, Screwface and Rampage are still fighting on the outside, giving Dunne a chance to capitalise with a slingshot backcracker for a near-fall, before he kicks Ligero low in this no-DQ match, following up with a megaphone shot for the third elimination.
We count down to the final entrant, but which of the Sons of Ulaid would it be? It’s… Bás Bán?! He leaps off the top and takes out Dunne and chases him to the back, leaving us with the two big lads once again, as a sixty-second counter appears on the screen for… reasons, as Maffew and Tom have deserted us on commentary. Another spinebuster-like tackle takes out Screwface… who replied with some ripcord boots before eating a back suplex for the elimination. Or not… because something happened that I don’t get. Apparently Chief Deputy Dunne had been eliminated via count-out, despite the pre-match video saying it was pinfalls and submission only for elimination.
Apparently the time limit ran out (despite the screen showing 40 seconds… and not recalling any time limit being announced) as Rampage had a clear three-count on Screwface, and we’re into sudden death, as demanded by Eddie Dennis. Screwface and Rampage go at it, with a Screwface hitting a cutter as Rampage leapt off the ropes… but for some reason the referee refused to count until Screwface told him to. I’m now totally lost as to what in God’s name is going on here. Sudden death with a referee refusing to count?
Screwface looked to go for Cross Rhodes, but it’s escaped and turned into a piledriver from Rampage… but then Bás Bán returned to the match… only for Eddie Dennis to stop him, saying that he’d been told “you’re not the guy.” Turned out, it was Rory Coyle who was taking his team’s spot, and with everyone confused as all hell again, Coyle slips into the ring and pulls himself out of the corner a la Raven before hitting the DDT for the win. So… despite someone being eliminated without being eliminated, and a “sudden death” finale in a match that didn’t have a time limit, we have a popular winner in Rory Coyle, but a finish that just bamboozled me. I’ve a feeling this may lead to Screwface vs. Rory Coyle down the road, since Screwface’s elimination didn’t count, but man, watching this back on VOD really took me out of it. As much as I liked the cuteness of swapping out Bán for Coyle late on, the faux time limit shenanigans, caused by missed cues and the like hurt this match badly. **¼
Let The Cannons Fly was a solid show, but one that was hurt by technical issues all in the least opportune places. Nine shows in, NORTH have established a core roster of wrestlers, and a lot of seedlings for future stories. What happens next for Amir Jordan is going to be intriguing, especially now he’s gotten a win – does he do a Travis Banks and go back to try and right his previous wrongs, or do we begin a new arc? Luckily, the promotion’s gotten enough goodwill built up with their fanbase that the technical issues wouldn’t have cost them as bad as if it happened to, say, Impact.