After last week’s filler show, WCPW returned with a blow-out episode of Loaded that you could argue rivalled their iPPV.
#TLDR: THIS was the show they needed. Save for one match, this was a thumbs up show with fine in-ring action and very little in the way of self-serving nonsense. Shock, horror, a WCPW show we actually liked?
The Full Review: After last week’s light-on-effort episode of Loaded, WhatCulture went back to work for a show that brought us the worst of Refuse To Lose… in that the “live” stream took a bath halfway during the show. I thought “having no internet over the weekend” was our gimmick?
Speaking of last week’s show, it seems that us pointing out that all of the matches were available on the FITE TV app (for those who watched the iPPV live) annoyed a few people. Perhaps it’s an idea to have a better handle on what your broadcast partners are doing before you call people out on social media, eh?
We’ve got a new layout for the arena, with seemingly no video screens? It reminded me a lot of the way WWE’s ECW started out, but it also seemed like a bit of a downgrade as well.
So, the show opens with a barely audible Adam Pacitti (hi there!) playing the not-at-all tired role of heel General Manager. He’s bemused as to why the crowd’s not cheering him for getting rid of Adam Blampied. Apparently this is Pacitti’s promotion, which explains why he’s so defensive, and he gives the crowd ten seconds to boo him before the crowd goes back to being cheered. On paper, I think this worked in someone’s head, but it looked odd as he went back to abusing the fans. Still, it made me laugh. Especially this exchange.
AP: “Time for the big guns, I’m gonna do the catchphrase!”
Fan: “Fuck off!”
The deluded heel who thinks he’s a beloved babyface is money, isn’t it? Especially when we’ve already had a non-wrestler storyline only just pay off! So, we’re going down this road as Martin Kirby comes out, and Pacitti runs away.
Apparently Kirby’s not getting a rematch, so he vows to become even more annoying. In comes Big Damo to attack Kirby from behind, and then throw him out into the aisle. Kirby gets thrown into the crowd barriers, right next to the commentary team, who then surmise that Damo was given an easy path back into the company.
I’m really not sure what to make of this entire storyline. Don’t get me wrong, I like it, but you’ve got a GM who was babyface, but turned heel to cost a guy a world title… the same guy who was booked by same GM as a comedy figure, but was then not taken seriously after getting a few wins. So GM’s show is held hostage by a guy who was still a babyface, and ends up getting a title shot. Throughout this, Martin Kirby’s never been anything but a babyface, yet the straight/babyface announcer buries him for his actions, whilst the heel/colour commentator plays along. Holy hell that’s a confusing juxtaposition.
After a break, we return with Big Damo still in the ring. The acoustics remain bad, but I think Damo confirmed that Adam Pacitti rehired him. Unfortunately, it seems that none of the commentators saw or knew of the segment from last week where the two guys had a meeting… Damo says he’ll beat all of our favourites, and we end up with Joe Coffey coming out to answer the challenge.
Big Damo vs. Joe Coffey
Damo attacks Coffey from the bell, pulling him off the top turnbuckle, before being felled by a leaping shoulder tackle from the Scotsman.
A tope suicida sends Damo into the crowd barriers, before Coffey sends him into the ring post and finally back inside. European uppercuts follow in the corner, but Damo fights back with a suplex, before he rubs his forearm across Coffey’s face in the corner.
A hip attack dazes Coffey, who launches into a battle of chops and forearms, only to be taken down with a vicious back elbow from Damo. Coffey kicks out at two after a slam, before he lifts up Damo for a Finlay roll – a move that’s barely even acknowledged by the commentary duo. We see a bunch of missed corner moves before Coffey connects with a missile dropkick, then a series of avalanches, only to be overwhelmed by the Northern Irishman.
Coffey hits back with a back elbow, then a springboard cross body off the top for a near-fall. Damo avoids a Giant Swing and then flattens Coffey with a back senton. The Black Coffey – discus lariat – is ducked, before Damo gets a powerbomb and an elbow drop for a near-fall.
Damo tries for the Ulster Plantation, but Coffey elbows out as Martin Kirby appears… and there lies the perils of calling live action vs. what’s on screen, as it was a few seconds before Kirby actually appeared on camera. That acts as a distraction for Damo, who quickly sees a suplex reversed by Coffey, as the Black Coffey gets ends up getting the Scotsman the win. “It was an opening match”, but with no major plans behind either guy, it felt like filler. and it’s pretty clear they’re building to Damo/Kirby before the former heads to NXT. **½
Tyler Bate vs. Liam Slater
Straight into singles action now, with the younger halves of two of WCPW’s tag teams facing off. Slater and Bate back each other into the corners from the opening tie-up, before Slater gets an armdrag takedown into an armbar.
Bate grabs a headlock and quickly whacks Slater in the head with a foot, before Slater finds himself in a Japanese stranglehold/strait jacket. Slater’s dropped to his knees, but he lifts up Bate into an Electric Chair position, which ends up… with Bate on the top turnbuckle. They shake hands, before going back to a tie-up, then a headlock, before Bate countered a leapfrog with an atomic drop.
We see Bate stretch Slater’s legs apart on the mat, before Liam quickly reverses it, and it turns into a brief bit of comedy. They go back to the action as a knee-lift leads to an airplane spin for Bate, before Slater counters and hits the Finlay roll, only to miss a top rope headbutt. That miss gives Bate an opening for a diving uppercut for a near-fall, before both men go back and forth for a backslide.
Bate goes back to the foot-to-the-head, but he’s caught as Slater countered with a single leg crab. Eventually, Bate rolled himself free, but he found himself taken down and rolled up… but Bate reversed it and stole the win with a prawn hold. A thoroughly entertaining outing, and hopefully we see more of the same from these two here. ***¼
WCPW Tag Title Tournament, First Round: Prospect (Alex Gracie & Lucas Archer) vs. Los Perspectiva (El Drako & El Hijo del Gracie)
This stemmed from last week’s TV show, where Prospect were reinstated… and added to the tag title tournament to face Los Perspectiva. Cue a comedy match. Stevie Aaron seemed really reluctant to use “traditional” measures, as he flipped between kilos, stones and anything but pounds throughout the show.
Kennedy reiterated the storyline – for those in the building who didn’t know of the story – before Alex Gracie ran to the back, feigning sickness. Instead, we get Los Perspectiva come out in the form of El Drako and El Hijo del Gracie.
Drako and Archer start out two-on-one, and Drako gets a one-count from a bridging roll-up. A rope-assisted sunset flip gets Archer down, before Gracie comes in and gets a two-count from an arm whip. Archer escapes after realising he’s a man down, and all three men head to the back…
They all return, with Lucas Archer returning to partner Gracie, before taking a microphone to ask where his Mexican counterpart had gone. So Gracie goes to the back again to find el Hijo del Gracie, and eventually, the Luchador returned. Sort of… he was “dragged through the curtains” before normal Gracie returned, declaring “I’ve killed him”.
So we return to Prospect vs. El Drako, but Drako hits an atomic drop that sends Gracie to the back once more. A missed PK sees Archer get a near-fall, before Drako’s sunset flip gets a two-count, and both men get dropped with a double cross body. El Hijo del Gracie returns, and he gets tagged into the match, where he lands a series of springboard axehandles.
As El Drako disappears, Archer charges Gracie into the corner, but he ends up taking a crossbody from Gracie. A pinata that was brought to the ring was opened up, revealing a pile of tortilla chips. Drake returns to trip Gracie, who then gets slammed into the tortillas, and the comedy ends with a small package.
They had a joke, they played it, but my God it was played out for far too long, with the same gag being repeated ad nauseum. DUD.
We go backstage with Kimber Lee, who’s meeting with an unnamed woman who’s friends with Nixon Newell (apparently). It’s Little Miss Roxxy – a former tag team partner of Newell’s (thanks to Rob Clark for doing what WhatCulture didn’t in identifying her!) That alone gets Roxxy attacked by Kimber.
Trent Seven vs. Johnny Moss
The obvious counter-point to the earlier Bate/Slater match, but my God, this should be good. Apparently Dave Bradshaw didn’t know who the music belonged to, which is always the sign of a commentary team that knows their product!
We started with a tie-up, before Seven sold an uppercut forever. Moss tied up Seven almost in a Million Dollar Dream, before a ripcord shoulder block left both men static. More shoulder blocks ended up producing little more than a satisfying thud, before Seven tries for a chop, which doesn’t even affect Moss.
They trade chops, until Seven sends Moss to the outside with a side suplex, then saw a dive attempt cut-off with an uppercut in the ropes. A back suplex puts Seven firmly onto the apron, before Seven’s comeback ended when he chopped the ringpost. We finally get a tope from Trent as he made contact with the back of Moss, sending both men into a pile of waste tortilla chips.
Back inside, they go back to the chops, with one of those actually drawing blood from Moss’ chest. That was a bad idea, as Moss lights up Seven with some more chops, before Trent goes back with the Kenta Kobashi rapid-fire chops in the corner. Trent rushes in with an overhand cricket chop, then a brainbuster for a near-fall.
Trent calls for a piledriver, but Moss counters it with an Alabama Slam, then an elbow drop for a two-count. They trade German suplexes back and forth, before switching it to something a little more sedate in the form of lariats. A double clothesline knocks down both men, which leads to a stiff exchange of slaps, before Moss blocks a clothesline with a headbutt, and lands one of his own… for a one-count! Undeterred, Moss picks up Trent for a Fisherman’s buster, and that’s enough to end this brutally entertaining war! This was easily one of the best matches in the promotion’s history. Seek this out! ****
It’s always nice being surprised by a match like this, isn’t it?
They build to the return of Joe Hendry after his iPPV loss… but instead, we go backstage as we see a replay of Adam Blampied being powerbombed through a table by Rampage at the iPPV. James Kennedy’s eulogising over Blampied, and says that his new mission is to destroy Rampage. We get a challenge for the True Legacy show (the one taped in Altrincham) – a four-on-four elimination match with Rampage and three people vs. James Kennedy’s Prospect. And who else?
Hey, what happened to Joe Hendry coming out?! We’re back into action with Pete Dunne and his furry jacket. And oh my God, the “cheap Jack Swagger” chants started here didn’t they?
Pete Dunne vs. Joe Hendry
Dunne starts with a waistlock, but Hendry quickly reverses it as they go back and forth until Dunne tries to fish-hook at Hendry’s nose. They roll around from the headlock, as Dunne goes from keeping the hold in place to almost being pinned, before Hendry sends Dunne scurrying to the outside.
The Jack Swagger-related taunts come in here, which Dunne replies to by flipping off the crowd. Dunne hits a forearm, but gets taken down with a hip attack from Hendry, before they tee off on each other with forearms for a while.
Hendry gets caught in the ring apron as he went for a baseball slide dropkick, but Dunne gets dragged between the apron and the ring for some more shots. We get a wristlock from Dunne, who torques the wrist back in places it really shouldn’t go, before he tries to feast on the fingers of Hendry. It’s resisted by the Scotsman, who fires back with some forearms, before his legs are kicked away.
Dunne goes for the Drop Dead, but Hendry escapes and follows up with some clotheslines, then a neckbreaker and a spiked DDT for a near-fall. Hendry follows up with some corner clotheslines, before a running enziguiri from Dunne and a back suplex gets the Bruiserweight a near-fall.
Dunne mocks the fans by trying for a Swagger/Vader Bomb, but instead goes for a moonsault which gets nothing but Hendry’s knees. Another DDT from Hendry is blocked as Dunne nibbles at the fingers of Hendry, then drills him with a German suplex. Hendry pops back up and lands a lariat.
Hendry tries to powerbomb Dunne, but Pete slips out and they end up on the apron somehow. We get more finger biting to avoid a German suplex on the apron, but Hendry manages to get a DDT anyway to break it up. Dunne fires up with some knee strikes and kicks to the head, but out of nowhere, Hendry popped up and hit the Freak of Nature fallaway slam for the win. Decent main event, I could rant about how they’re not using Dunne well, but WCPW’s got their chosen stars, and it’s pretty clear at this point that Dunne is not a priority. ***
After the match, Hendry gets the microphone for a post-match promo. You know, the spiel we had been told was happening before the match? Hendry said that he proved he’d be able to go hold-for-hold with Kurt Angle, but he’s now moving on from that… and refocusing on the WCPW title, currently held by his former partner Joseph Conners.
Hendry demands a title shot now, but instead we get Cody Rhodes in a suit. Just because.
Cody comes out and takes a shot at “Adam With Glasses”, which is a much better name for that guy. Cody gives his own intro, and goes into a long soliloquy which gets a dig in at how he’s not meant to be able to use his last name. Rhodes mentioned that he beat Kurt Angle (at a random indy show in New York), and that apparently makes him number one contender. Alright then?
Out comes Joseph Conners (except his music barely got a reaction, since people seem to react to the video screens and not theme music around here). Conners gets a microphone, and says that neither Hendry nor Rhodes will never be able to take the title from him… before wishing that it was him that had Conners in an ankle lock at the iPPV. That leads to a brawl which ends with Hendry taking a belt shot, then Conners getting wiped out with the Cross Rhodes. That had better lead to a title match, because knowing what was taped for the True Legacy show, this makes no sense, having Cody Rhodes end on top above champion and the challenger…
Well, this was the show we should have had last week. Ignore the issues that the “live” stream had – as the technical people behind the stream lost connection during the Prospect/Perspectiva match (which we’re all better off forgetting anyway) – this was a massive thumbs up of a show. Solid wrestling, with no frills around it whatsoever.
It’s just a shame that the major storyline from this show is succeeding in spite of, and not because of the convoluted mess surrounding it.