Do you like the Prestige? Do you like punishments? Well, you get a lot of one here… and a really good tag team title match too from the latest set of Loaded tapings.
We opened with a recap of what was addressed last week – the events after the Pro Wrestling World Cup finals, where the Prestige ended up breaking a baseball bat over the trophy. More punishment’s being revealed tonight… what is it? The show’s gone back to Manchester – the site of the World Cup quarter-finals – and we can barely see our commentary team of Dave Bradshaw and James R. Kennedy for some reason…
Prestigious Punishment
We open with the Prestige, because of course we do. It’s just El Ligero and Joe Hendry this time, and before Joe can say anything, GM Adam Blampied heads out and drops an F-bomb, before addressing what happened. This must have been weird live given this was taped before the finals even happened!
There’s three consequences: Joe Hendry’s facing the man who beat him in the Scottish World Cup Qualifiers – Kenny Williams. He’s also having to defend the WCPW title at Refuse to Lose next month against Will Ospreay. The third consequence was El Ligero being forced to defend the Magnificent 7 briefcase in a hardcore match against… gee, who do we know who specialises hardcore matches?
By the way, I called it. Punishments just means matches!
Hardcore Match: El Ligero vs. Primate
Primate was out with his Hardcore title, despite real world lineages not matching with the taped stuff. However, he’s jumped on the stage by Joes Coffey and Hendry, who take him to the ring and continue the beatdown as Ligero just sits in a chair.
Ligero waves away the Joes as the bell rings, but he doesn’t go for the cover, instead he just boots away Primate’s face, then take him into a drop toe hold onto the chair. Commentary tells us that the Hardcore title isn’t on the line, despite it having been established as a 24/7 title… or is that just when it suits?
Primate no-sells the drop toe hold, and Ligero turns around into some back elbows, before a German suplex left Ligero flat on the mat. Of course, this being a hardcore match, we get plunder – in the form of a chair that Primate wedges between the turnbuckles… and yes, Ligero’s promptly thrown face-first into it. Comedy comes next as Primate grabs a metal bin from under the ring… whereas Ligero just gets a smaller version. Primate’s bin shot takes Ligero down like a tree, before he’s plopped upside down into the bin ahead of a baseball slide dropkick!
With Ligero staggering around in the bin, Primate smashes a chair into it for a near-fall. Baking trays come into use as someone made the trip to Wilkos… but Ligero grabs one of them and gets a shot in on Primate, who quickly shrugs it off before hurling Ligero into the guard rails. A chop from Primate misses as he gets nothing but the ring post, but he’s able to recover to dropkick Ligero out of a chair on the floor. That chair comes in again when Primate gets a fan to hold up the chair, but in the end he’s not needed as Ligero disarms him… before he’s dropped with an atomic drop into the crowd.
In the ground, Ligero grabs a fan’s plastic WWE title belt to use on Primate, but of course it doesn’t go well as they brawl back into the entry way, where Ligero trips Primate and heads back towards the ring, which he floods with more and more plunder. A superplex onto the chairs gets Ligero a near-fall, before he heads outside for a bag of thumb tacks. It’s like we’re going through our checklist – any tables under that ring?!
A low blow from Ligero cuts off an attempted fightback from Primate, before he scoops some tacks up and tries to make Primate eat them. Yeah, that doesn’t work, and Primate just hits an overhead belly-to-belly into the tacks. We get a repeat of the “tacks in tights, low blow” spot, before a spear gets a near-fall as BT Gunn had gone through the crowd and pulled out the referee.
Gunn takes Primate on a Benny Hill chase, eventually leading to Ligero hitting him with the briefcase for a near-fall. BT returns and does the head stomp gimmick, then onto a steel chair, and that’s enough for Ligero to scoop up the win. Well, it helped get Primate over as someone who needed four men to beat him, but these Hardcore matches are getting incredibly patterned. **¼
A replay from last week’s triple-threat tag team match follows, as we see how the Young Lions/die Jungen Löwen got their tag title shot. Speaking of, Tarkan Aslan cuts a promo backstage ahead of the match – they’re not here to shake hands, they’re here for the belts. Hakuna Matata! I think that’s Disney calling…
WCPW Tag Team Championship: Young Lions (Tarkan Aslan & Lucky Kid) vs. War Machine (Hanson & Raymond Rowe) (c)
Yup, this is under War Machine Rules, as ever… but the Young Lions attack the champs from behind… only to get thrown into each other as War Machine obliterate the Löwen. A diving crossbody from Hanson flattens Lucky Kid, who then has Tarkan Aslan, then Hanson slammed onto him.
The Lions try to hit duelling crossbodies, but they’re caught and met with a slam/powerbomb combo as Rowe shows his strength, before Lucky Kid shoved away an early Fallout attempt as the Germans fought back.
On the outside, Hanson gets thrown into the guard railings, then into the crowd after Rowe’s whipped into him, before Rowe’s targeted in the ring with some double-team offence. Lucky Kid whips Rowe into the corner for a back elbow, but he hits back by dumping Lucky Kid onto Aslan with a uranage.
Hanson’s back in time to hit those corner-to-corner lariats, before piling up the Lions in the corner for an avalanche splash, before a stacked-up Bronco Buster misses… and breaks the bottom rope! He reacts by pulling the Young Lions to the outside as they try to work around the ring, where Rowe misses a tope… then catches Aslan’s dive, only for Lucky Kid’s tope con hilo to send the pair down.
Back inside, Kid vaults over Rowe, before Aslan’s missile dropkick leads him into a Whoopee cushion from Hanson. Another missile dropkick from Kid gets the Warbeard down, before he hits Sliced Bread on Rowe as we enter our favourite – the Parade of Moves! Aslan somehow lifts up Hanson for a death valley driver, but Rowe kills him with a knee strike ahead of a double-team chokeslam for a near-fall.
Lucky Kid breaks up a clothesline-assisted German as a double-team DDT to Rowe almost gets the Germans another set of tag titles… before they pepper Hanson with kicks and knees ahead of a double team fireman’s carry. Hanson rebounds with a double handspring back elbow before a pop-up powerslam gets another near-fall on Lucky Kid… who had Aslan to thank as he broke up the pin, then turned another pop-up slam into a DDT for a near-fall.
The Lions hit a chop-assisted German suplex as they took a page out of War Machine’s book, before a double stomp onto Rowe over Kid’s knees sees the challengers continue to stack up those two-counts. Rowe fights back, headbutting away on the Lions, as the clothesline-assisted German takes Aslan down… a tope keeps him on the outside, as Lucky Kid’s left vulnerable for some backbreakers ahead of a splash off the top as War Machine retain! A fun tag match, with the Young Lions establishing themselves somewhat in defeat – although we now have the new question of “where’s the rest of the division”? ***¾
Will Ospreay’s backstage, fuming over Joe Hendry ruining the Pro Wrestling World Cup finals. Ospreay claims that Hendry’s stopping him from evolving wrestling, and he’s going to get payback by slowly wiping out the Prestige.
Yay for recycling videos! I didn’t see any link in my description though, so where do I buy their quarterly magazine?
Joe Coffey heads out next, and apparently he doesn’t have a match. He’s annoyed at how “last night” he should have had a night off and a bye in the World Cup. There’s a freebie, Ross – this aired over a fortnight after the surprise Joseph Conners return! Apparently he thinks there’s an agenda against Joe Coffey, and he reckons its not just because of the Prestige – it’s because he’s Scottish. Like most of the Prestige!
Coffey declares he’s finished, but he’s interrupted by Prince Ameen. Just because. Dave Bradshaw’s a little too close for comfort with his “here comes the pain” line, as Ameen reprises his role as defender of the company, then complains about how he wasn’t even in the World Cup. Ameen’s going to do something about it – so we have an impromptu match!
Joe Coffey vs. Prince Ameen
SQUASH. Punches and a Black Coffey discus lariat get the win. I don’t think Ameen did anything other than bump. Coffey laid in with some more kicks after the bell, and that’s all for your superfluous match.
We go to Joe Hendry backstage in an echoey room, where he complains about the match he’s been booked with against Will Ospreay next month. It’s a pretty good whiney promo about the whole thing, before Hendry turned his attentions to Kenny Williams over his “fluke” win in the World Cup qualifiers earlier in the year. It starts to go on for a bit though – brevity is everyone’s friend when it comes to promos (says the hypocrite!)
Kenny Williams vs. Joe Hendry
Hendry’s WCPW title isn’t on the line here, and he attacks Williams at the bell, stomping away at the flyer as he tries to keep him on the mat.
Hendry keeps on at Williams with chops and uppercuts, but Williams manages to use his speed and agility to send Hendry onto the apron… then a back elbow to knock him to the floor for a through-the-ropes dropkick. A tope follows, but back inside Hendry crotches Williams on the top turnbuckle before going back outside to throw his compatriot into the apron, then the ring post.
The match is kept on the outside as Hendry whips Williams into the guard railings, before Williams mounted a comeback with a big boot and a tornado DDT… except Hendry blocks it and counters with a suplex instead. A modified STF follows as Hendry torqued away on Williams, who snuck in a schoolboy for a near-fall.
Williams rebounds off the ropes with a lariat, then some forearms in the corner ahead of a back elbow off the top rope. A wheelbarrow facebuster nearly gets Williams that second win, before Hendry lands a DDT for a two-count of his own. Hendry tries to use his belt, but the referee stops him – leading to another schoolboy for a near-fall… but in the end Hendry grabs the Hendry Lock for the eventual submission. This wasn’t too bad, but a run-of-the-mill TV match. ***
Next week: Drake vs. Angelico III, Travis Banks vs. David Starr and Will Ospreay vs. El Ligero!
Take out the Prestige’s involvement, and you’ve got a decent show here. Problem is, the Prestige were all over this. I know you’re somewhat limited in terms of “punishment”, but when your idea of a punishment is “hey, I’ll put you in a match that your friends can help you in” seems like less of a punishment and more of a reward if I’m being honest! I wouldn’t say “skip this”, but fast forward to the War Machine match and come back next week for a match that has received high praise from those who saw it live.