The last episode of Loaded before they headed to Scotland saw a hastily-announced main event where Martin Kirby’s role as GM was put on the line.
About an hour before the “live stream”, the WCPW YouTube channel posted a promo video of Adam Pacitti “vowing to get his job back”. Shot like a night vision camera for extra effect. Why am I not surprised they barely did an episode of Loaded before they teased this?
We start with a promo from Matt Striker, advertising the on-sale for the English World Cup wrestling show. Except the tickets had gone on sale eight hours earlier, for those of you who are waiting until next Monday to get involved. The show opens with a recap of the angle last week where Joe Hendry recovered the WCPW title belt from Will Ospreay… then we’re straight into action:
Bea Priestley vs. Little Miss Roxxy
Roxxy’s wearing a cropped Bret Hart t-shirt, and she’s jumped from behind by Priestley, who snapmares her down for a PK-attempt, but Roxxy gets a few roll-ups for near-falls – including one that nearly spiked Bea.
Roxxy hits a ‘rana out of the corner, then a dropkick for a two-count; and this is shockingly all one-sided… in Roxxy’s favour! Wainwright distracts the referee, and in the middle of that Priestley gets the win after something something glitchy stream. Not much of a match, but Roxxy showed more than in her last matches. *½
After the match, Priestley tries to hit Roxxy with the belt again, but she ducks it and looks to leave with the belt… and now here comes Bully Ray. And Adam Pacitti. Yay. Duh Duh Ray Pacitti’s restraining Roxxy in the corner, because threatened man-on-woman violence is a thing in wrestling in 2017. Not sure where the heat goes for that, but probably not where they wanted it…
Pacitti threatens Roxxy and demands that Martin Kirby comes out. Kirby’s told to stay on the stage, as Pacitti says that he wants his job back. Kirby doesn’t agree, so Bully goes to powerbomb her through a table. So we get Kirby vs. Bully Ray, with the GM role on the line again. Pacitti threatens to make Kirby his personal assistant if he wins, and then says he’ll order a title match against Drew Galloway – and have Drew lay down for him so he can be GM and champion.
Yay for classy angles.
From that, we’re going to have proper wrestling. BT Gunn is next.
BT Gunn vs. Travis Banks
I wonder how many were expecting it to be Billy? Surprisingly, not many, judging by the chants he got.
Gunn and Banks go head to head, and the Kiwi starts by slapping BT, before a shoulder block knocks the Scotsman to the outside. BT throws a chair into the ring as he looks to have snapped, taking Banks into the corner for a straight right hand. Banks makes a comeback with a leapfrog, but he’s booted in the midsection before he’s sent outside, where a tope almost took BT into the crowd. Banks retaliates with a dive that actually breaks the guard railings, and from there Banks goes for his springboard roundhouse kick.
Gunn blocks the kick and retaliates with a superkick as the back and forth continues with uppercuts in the corner, then a cannonball senton. Another springboard roundhouse is blocked when Gunn kicks away Banks’ legs, before some more kicks daze Banks for a Side Effect for a near-fall.
Banks avoids a suplex and drills BT with a superkick, but it’s returned in kind, before a forearm smash knocks down Gunn. More kicks back and forth leave both men reeling, but Gunn comes back with an Ace Crusher and a spinning DDT for the win. It’s painted as a big win for the debuting Gunn, but when you debut at this level, where’s next? A decent match, with Banks doing more than his bit to put Gunn over. ***¼
After the match, Gunn goes back to Banks with a crossface, before Doug Williams comes out to make the save as Gunn threatened to Pillman-ize his neck. That would have been weird, had you not seen Williams nod in approval to Banks on the last few shows…
We’re taken backstage where Jack The Jobber runs into James R. Kennedy in a stairwell. Kennedy apparently can’t live with what Primate and Rampage are doing to each other, so he wants their next match to be a Chairs match.
Next up, Ben Potter is backstage with Doug Williams… he asks him for some thoughts on why Doug was watching Travis Banks. But not why he saved Travis FIVE MINUTES AGO. Williams wants to celebrate British tradition, and he’s asking for a Lord Mountevans match… and his open challenge is answered by the coat of Joe Hendry.
Musical Chairs Match
Primate’s currently 2-1 ahead in this best of seven series, and before we go on to the chairs match, we’re told this is a musical chairs match?! With Prospect, Prince Ameen, Fat Ligero, El Ligero, Drake and Stevie Aaron. They play the WhatCulture outro music, and Stevie Aaron takes a dive as he eliminates himself. Fat Ligero tried to do the same too. Primate heads out now, and I guess our chair match is on!
Chairs Match: Primate vs. Rampage
Fat Ligero takes Norm-el Ligero away, and we have Rampage taking Primate into the corner with a clothesline, before Primate throws a chair at a diving Rampage.
Rampage takes a chair to the throat as a hush descends on the crowd, but Rampage comes back with a clothesline that knocked Primate onto a chair for a one-count. They head outside as Primate throws Rampage around ringside, before he uses a pink chair on the ribs of the Leeds-native.
Rampage gets some revenge with a chair of his own, but he gets distracted coming back into the ring, so Primate kicks the ropes into his groin. It’s all chairs and/or clubbering here, and more chairshots to Rampage set-up for a spear into the corner… but Rampage leaps over him as Primate heads a chair that he’d wedged in between the turnbuckles.
That gets Rampage a near-fall, and he continues with chairshots, smashing him with three shots to the head next to the ringpost… and that’s enough for the win. Not much of a match, and given this was all chair shots with a few moves, you can understand why I couldn’t get into this. *
We’ve got a backstage promo now with Drew Galloway – who has his title belt back! Apparently Galloway’s on the sidelines because of the post-match beating at Lights Out (hey, that’s one euphemism for TNA!), and he’s angry with Will Ospreay for taking his title belt and cracking some ribs. Galloway then addresses “Joe Henry” and their “Battle in the Capital” – as the Local Hero’s getting his title shot in Edinburgh on January 29th.
WCPW Internet Championship: Marty Scurll vs. Cody Rhodes (c)
There’s huge chants of “Bullet Club” here for Cody, who too-sweets the referee beforehand. We then get both guys playing to the crowd, and I’m just sitting here wondering which of these heels is meant to be the babyface?
We get the usual stalling spots as Scurll backs out of the corner when he took Cody to the buckles, before dishing out a crotch chop. Then we get the chain wrestling via headlocks and headscissors, which somehow sparks chants of “are you watching, Vince McMahon?”
No. He isn’t.
Scurll slaps Cody, who replies with his brother’s grounded uppercut and kick to the stomach, before a Disaster Kick knocks Marty to the floor. Cody dives out too, but Marty uses the umbrella to swipe him down, before an apron superkick rocks the champion. Scurll mocks the Stardust act en route to a low dropkick, as Marty ties up Cody like a pretzel.
A stomp to Cody’s elbow keeps the champion on the back foot as Scurll ties him up in the ropes. An arm whip ends a brief sniff of a comeback, but Cody pops up as Marty went up top and caught him with a superplex as the match descends into another battle of strikes. Cody tries for an Alabama Slam, but Scurll turns it into a roll-up for a near-fall, before he sidesteps a moonsault from Cody
A series of superkicks to the head leave Cody groggy in the middle of the ring, yet it’s still only enough for a near-fall. Cue a chicken wing tease, but Cody boots him and goes for another Goldust uppercut; but again, Marty blocks him and snaps the fingers instead. Cody falls for the Just Kidding, but he makes a comeback with some more punches, before Scurll hoists him up into a pumphandle neckbreaker.
Cody makes another comeback and gets a figure four on Scurll, which leads to some pinning attempts, but Marty finally works his way free. The umbrella comes into play again, but Cody’s caught by the referee, and Marty goes outside for a handful of powder. The referee gets it instead which leads to a low blow and the Disaster Kick, but there’s no referee to count for Cody.
Scurll returns the favour, then hits Cody with his own Cross Rhodes, but of course, he kicks out at two. Another chicken wing is called for, but Cody counters by flipping back on the ropes, then lands the Cross Rhodes for the match. Eh, a decent match, but Cody’s not for me on the indy scene. Shoe-horning a WWE style match into the indys just results in something that sticks out like a sore thumb. ***½
Lord Admiral Mountevans Rules: Doug Williams vs. Joe Hendry
It’s six, five minute rounds, with the winner getting two falls or a knock-out. Yeah, this isn’t going half an hour.
Hendry’s got his “normal” song here, and we start the first round with a tie-up before Hendry flips out of some headscissors on the mat. Williams lands a shoulder tackle as he goes back into a headlock, before Hendry scores a pin with a schoolboy… which looked like it was just a two-count, but there we go.
Round two begins with Doug landing a leaping knee in the corner, then a back elbow, before Hendry gets a knee of his own. Williams replies with an Indian deathlock, but Hendry gets out and into an ankle lock as Williams grabs the rope to free himself. A knuckle lock sees Hendry get a few near-falls, before they tie each other in a sort-of overlapping Boston crab that doesn’t go anywhere.
A sunset flip gets Hendry a near-fall, as do a series of roll-ups, before Williams folds forward into another pinfall attempt for a two-count. Williams gets a cravat, into a snapmare, then a rear chinlock as he tries to wear down Hendry, before he scores with a toe-hold as an increasingly restless crowd witnesses the end of round two.
The third round starts with a knee strike from Williams, but Hendry quickly comes back with an ankle lock, and Doug taps – Joe Hendry wins the sweep! That was a bit underwhelming… nothing wrong with the match, but Joe Hendry beating Doug Williams “at his own match” was a very unpopular way to build up to that title match. **¾
They built up Hendry/Galloway for next week – which means that next week’s Loaded is going to be on a one-day turnaround…
Bully Ray vs. Martin Kirby
So, with an hour’s build to the angle, this main event will see Adam Pacitti regain the role of GM is Bully Ray wins. You know, that role Kirby himself commented on the show last week “pays peanuts”.
Bully threatens to punch everyone if they keep singing Kirby’s song. So they do.
More stalling as Bully wants the crowd to tell him who he is, then he remembers as he tears into “Morton Kirby”. Kirby flips off Bully, and the ref gets shoved down as Bully punches away at Kirby… in a no disqualification match, why’d we need the ref bump?
Kirby’s whipped hard into the turnbuckles, but Kirby mounts a comeback as the referee gets carted to the back. Bully gets a camera and films himself beating up Kirby, before giving the camera back just in time to take a dropkick from Kirby… who then takes a thumb to the eye. A vicious chop in the corner makes Kirby reel, but he stands back up to take a kick and some more chops.
Adam Pacitti grabs a pink chair from under the ring, and of course, Bully uses it to smash on the back of Kirby. Martin’s slammed onto the chair, before he rolls away from an elbow drop, and now Kirby uses that chair as he looks to gee the crowd up. A missile dropkick knocks Bully flying, just in time for a second referee to run down and make a two-count.
Bully kicks Kirby down, before he orders Pacitti to get the tables – and the crowd rightly point out “you’re not D-Von”. Kirby’s picked up in a chokeslam, but he fights out, before we get another ref bump after Kirby is squashed into the corner with a ref behind him. A low blow from Kirby cuts off Bully, and I guess it’s time for a Sable Bomb – and it actually lands, but there’s no referee to make the count!
Finally, Steve Lynskey comes out to make a count, but it’s only a near-fall by the time he makes it. Adam Pacitti tries to make a run-in, but his interference goes awry as Kirby gets the chain, then hits Bully with a Famouser for the win. So Martin Kirby remains GM, and I guess the next time we do this, there’ll be more than a sixty minute build! **
After the match, Bully Ray stares a hole through Pacitti, and that table is ominously still left standing in the ring. Bully stalks the former GM, who scurries away, but Martin Kirby chases him… and catches him! Pacitti’s thrown back into the ring, but he scurries away and heads to the back, as the crowd boo. But wait… Cody Rhodes and the entire babyface contingent cart Pacitti back out to the ring, sans glasses, and the crowd go home happy now Adam’s had wood.
Overall, a very mixed show that wrapped up a nagging storyline (I hope!) The threat of man-on-woman violence can be easily explained away (but not justified) by a crowd looking to recapture the Attitude era… but the fact there was no hints, no nothing building up to what should have been a monumental main event was just weird. Releasing a video on YouTube an hour before the show isn’t building… and they’d slate WWE if they did the same! The in-ring was equally mixed, but at least we got a decent Cody Rhodes/Marty Scurll match, whilst BT Gunn/Travis Banks was pretty good to boot.