WCPW’s go-home show was high on action, and high-on set-up too as Monday’s iPPV was bulked out some more.
We’re looking at a monster of a show this week – 1 hour 40 compared to a lot of the recent shows that skirted around the hour mark. “Last week”: Bad Bones squashed Ameen, Martin Kirby and Alex Gracie agree to a trios match that’ll influence their match at the iPPV, and Johnny Moss was given an unexpected challenge. Oh, and Zack Sabre Jr. won the Internet title too!
Tonight: Will Ospreay main events against El Ligero. Given he was jumped when they tried this two weeks ago, colour me sceptical!
War Machine get us going, but they’re hear to talk about their match next week against the-team-who-can’t-too-sweet. They’re saying they’re not allowed to wrestle or defend the tag titles tonight. Censor that! They’re defying orders, and so we have an open challenge… initially answered by Angelico who calls the champions “Sex Machine”. He doesn’t have a partner, so we need another open challenge to fill that spot: and it’s answered by Ricochet. Well then!
WCPW Tag Team Championship: War Machine (Hanson & Raymond Rowe) (c) vs. Angelico & Ricochet
How’s this for a random tag match? Of course, it’s War Machine rules, and it’s 2-on-1 early as the challengers plastered Hanson with dropkicks. Rowe gets similar treatment, and we’ll shout-out that fan who went to the trouble of making a “JBL Bullied Me” shirt. Just a few months late with that one, eh?
The tide turns as War Machine stack their challengers with slams before Hanson gets thrown onto the pile. War Machine abort some dives and take the fight to the rather crammed ringside area… where Rowe’s whipped into the crowd barriers by Ricochet, who eats a bunch of forearms as he was draped across those barriers. Angelico gets the same on the ring apron from Hanson, before someone’s shoe gets used on Ricochet.
Angelico almost reversed a whip to send War Machine into each other, but that just sparks a flurry of offence from Ricochet, who dropped Rowe with a Northern Lights that rolled into a vertical suplex, before he and Hanson traded cartwheels. That is not a typo. An upkick from Angelico knocked down Hanson, before Rowe used his last bit of energy to knee Angelico – cueing a standing ten count.
Hanson finds time to try the corner-to-corner lariats, succeeding in battering Angelico and Ricochet… who then catches a crossbody from Hanson and turned it into a fallaway slam. Bloody hell. They’re made to pay for it when Rowe dropped the challengers with a slam/powerbomb combo for a two-count, before Angelico countered a pop-up slam. Another comeback follows, with a baseball slide dropkick sending the champions into the crowd ahead of some impressive tope con hilos!
Back inside, a shooting star press would have won it for Ricochet, had a big splash from Hanson not broken everything he landed on. Things swing the other way when a pair of leaping knees sandwiched Rowe on the way to another near-fall, only for Ricochet to eat the pop up slam for another near-fall. Ricochet escaped Fallout, but it only delayed things as his DDT was caught and turned into some gutbusters ahead of a big splash from Hanson for the win! A really good match, but the whole air of believability really made this struggle away from the highspots. Were Ricochet and Angelico really going to break up the War Machine/Young Bucks title match? It wasn’t too much of a stretch, but this was always more likely. ***¾
There’s an awkwardly long pause as Ricochet and Angelico went to the back – and it’s because we have a post-match War Machine promo. It’s a hashtag from War Machine: #FYB. Well, they can’t use the other one, so may as well go with that!
We’re outside “earlier today” with Alex Gracie and Bad Bones. Alex is looking for a trios partner, and Bones has Drake with him. Former Prospect members bickering, yet we still don’t know what the trios match is going to be!
KUSHIDA vs. Mike Bailey
Speedball gets mocked early by KUSHIDA, as they both tried to impose their style of wrestling. I sure hope kick-kick-kick doesn’t prevail…
Bailey gets caught with a hiptoss into an attempted cross armbreaker, but countered with a roll-up as the tempo picks up – and yes, the kicks crept in, with a PK on the apron to KUSHIDA, ahead of some diving knees that sent the World Cup winner into the guard railings. Back inside, KUSHIDA tried to block a sunset flip and turn it into a Hoverboard lock, but it’s quickly stuffed, so he continued to work on that arm.
When Bailey did cut off the offence, it was of course by way of kick, before a running corkscrew star press gets him a near-fall. Bailey tries for a Gotch piledriver, but it doesn’t come off as KUSHIDA backdrops out, and eventually worked Speedball into the top turnbuckle so he could send him flying with a Hoverboard Lock to the mat. The focus on that hold backfires though as Bailey escaped and hit a moonsault double knees to the gut, before KUSHIDA gave us something different in a kick battle: a punch!
In the end, KUSHIDA tries for Back To The Future, and ended up eating some rapid-fire kicks as another headkick puts down KUSHIDA for a two-count. KUSHIDA ducks some roundhouses, but a third one connects. I could probably just type kick a bunch of times predictively and it’d match the pattern. Yes, it’s variants of kick, but much like Kim Ray in wXw, I find the kick spamming boring as hell. Even more so when it drags the opponent into a trade-off of sorts.
KUSHIDA tried for another Hoverboard takedown off the top, but he’s pushed down only for Bailey to miss a shooting star knee drop off the top. That gave KUSHIDA the window for a Hoverboard lock, only for Bailey’s escape to get countered into the Back to the Future for the win. This was fine, but this was really not my cup of tea. I get the kicking is Speedball’s gimmick, but it does less than nothing for me. ***¼
We go backstage next as Prince Ameen is bemoaning Gabriel Kidd’s loss. Kidd’s actually smiling about it – because he gets to be Martin Kirby’s partners in that trios match. Storyline wise, it makes sense, but kayfabe, Kirby doesn’t have good choice in partners, eh? Ameen: “I’ve always wanted to be a kirb crawler”. Yes.
The Legends (Alex Gracie, Bad Bones & Drake) vs. Kirb Krawlers (Martin Kirby, Gabriel Kidd & Prince Ameen)
This is under elimination rules, and we start with Bad Bones whacking Kidd with a baseball bat before the bell. An immediate elimination happens at the bell as Bones pins him, and it’s an instant disadvantage: even more so when you consider that Kirby only has Ameen left!
Ameen’s isolated in the wrong corner as Kidd took an age to get helped to the back, and all three members of the self-labelled “Legends” took their turn in wearing down the “Indian Dream”. Finally Ameen gets the tag out as Kirby clears house, before using Gracie to headbutt Drake low.
A roll-up neckbreaker drops Gracie for a near-fall, before Bones gets tagged into a Kirby Slingblade after a long spot of misdirection. Bones lands a hattrick of German suplexes before Drakes’ flying Codebreaker eliminates Kirby. Wow… was not expecting him to not be the last man standing!
So we’re down to the Legends vs. Ameen… and Ameen’s unloading on everyone, blocking an Eat Defeat from Gracie, then a spinebuster to Drake, before Bones’ involvement delayed a big splash as Drake gets eliminated courtesy of a big splash. Well, after Drake’s recent win over Angelico, that resets the pecking order, eh?
Bones attacked Ameen with his bat, which eventually led to a DQ… but Gracie’s just got to pick up the pieces, as he mugged to the camera as he pinned Ameen. Yep, Alex Gracie’s team picks their stipulations, and this was… a match, I guess. It wasn’t horrible, but it felt very much a template. Credit for them not having Kirby the last man standing though – that was a change I didn’t expect to see. **¼
Backstage now, and the last remaining Adam plugs next week’s Loaded taping, labelling it one of the most significant nights in the company’s history. I bet.
WCPW Hardcore Championship: Penta El Zero M vs. Primate (c)
Per Cagematch, Primate lost the Hardcore title to BT Gunn at Stacked on August 22. He regained it on a Loaded taping on August 26 in Newcastle (as part of the World Cup finals), but came out here on August 25 with the belt. I wonder if that confused anyone?
We start with a chair duel, which ended with Primate swinging a chair at a diving Penta, who returns the favour. After absorbing a chop, Primate throws Penta into a chair in the corner as commentary tells us that Refuse To Lose now sees Bad Bones being added into a four-way hardcore title match alongside Primate (or Penta), BT Gunn and Jimmy Havoc.
Primate returns the favour with those chops, only to get hiptossed into a chair as they look to do as much as possible with the two folding chairs they had. Well, you can’t really do too much when fans are so close they can touch the ring behind those barriers! One of those chairs gets sent into Primate’s groin three times, before Penta goes under the ring in search of some plunder.
Yep, it’s another Wilkinsons’ special bin… and a fan’s fake leg?!
Hey, the Mad Dog Vachon tribute is used to drill Primate a few times, but Primate puts him in the bin ahead of a diving dropkick, but Primate’s still no nearer a win. So he grabs some baking trays… except the crowd want tables, not back-and-forth baking tray shots, which end with both men collapsing at the same time.
Primate eats a death valley driver on the apron as Penta dumped him on the edge of it, before dropping Primate through four chairs with a Fear Factor. There’s no way that cannot have sucked. Somehow, Primate kicked out, so he’s waffled with some chairshots before he avoids a double stomp with chairs on top of him… and then lands a simple spear for the win. I swear there was some booing to that… after everything, a spear wins? Sheffield did not like that! Fear Factor onto chairs aside, this was your run of the mill Hardcore title match… **½
Next up, Drake announces his match for Refuse to Lose: it’s an intergender match with Jay Lethal and Ava Storie against himself and Little Miss Roxxy. I have so many questions about all of this. This was the first time in WCPW canon that Ava Storie has even been mentioned. How many WCPW viewers know who she is (either through TNA or the indies as Brandi Lauren)? How many of those know of the Lethal/Storie teacher/student relationship? How many know about the same for Drake and Roxxy? This feels like a match for the sake of one – sure, it’s the next step in the Lethal/Drake feud, but the add ons make no business sense at all.
El Ligero vs. Will Ospreay
Well, we tried this a few weeks ago… will it actually happen now?
Ligero jumps Ospreay at the bell as the crowd chant “he’s got two dicks on his head”. Harsh. Ospreay gets back in as commentary tells us that Ligero’s the only Prestige member who isn’t suspended. I feel like we’re missing a lot of segments where these revolving suspensions are announced.
Ospreay tries to go up top, but Ligero shoves him down to the floor… Ospreay rebounds with a handspring overhead kick as Ligero nonchalantly threw him into the ropes, and the Ospreay comeback continues with a shotgun dropkick into the cornered Ligero. A running corkscrew splash gets a near-fall, before Ligero countered a Rainham maker.
The pace is remarkably slow for these two, and seems to be building up to a few spots: including a Cheeky Nando’s after Ligero missed a shot with his briefcase. The ref’s pulled the way of an OsCutter, but there’s no bump as Ligero instead low blow sand rolls up Will for a two-count.
Ospreay counters a suplex into a Stundog Millionaire, before a Robinson special kick and an OsCutter gets him the win. Well, it wasn’t bad, but it felt like such a non-event – at least it gives Ospreay momentum going into Refuse to Lose. **¾
Despite being suspended, Joe Hendry appears on the stage with his title belt…. They tease a face-off, but we don’t get it, as instead the show ends with Alex Gracie! He’s outside with his nunchucks to name his match for Monday night’s iPPV. Gracie’s still sore about Kirby smacking his backside at Stacked, so he’s picking a Kiss My Arse match. Judging by the promo, you’d think that was the main event on Monday… not the title match!
Anyway, the card for the iPPV is:
Jay Lethal & Ava Storie vs. Drake & Little Miss Roxxy – on the pre-show
David Starr vs. Mike Bailey for a shot at the WCPW Internet Championship
Primate (c) vs. Jimmy Havoc vs. BT Gunn vs. Bad Bones for the WCPW Hardcore Championship
Liam Slater vs. Johnny Moss
Joe Coffey & Travis Banks vs. Ashley Dunn & Kelly Sixx
Kay Lee Ray (c) vs. Bea Priestley for the WCPW Women’s Championship
El Ligero defending the Magnificent 7 Briefcase against a mystery opponent
Martin Kirby vs. Alex Gracie in a Kiss My Arse match
War Machine (c) vs. Young Bucks for the WCPW tag titles
Joe Hendry (c) vs. Will Ospreay for the WCPW Championship
As an episode, Loaded was alright – it didn’t need 5 matches, but we got it… and I’ve always preferred a shorter Loaded. But hey, we’ve got to flesh out the card, which at ten matches (including pre-show) is heavy on bouts but perhaps may be a little on the rushed side, particularly since there’ll also be a segment to announce the new GM… Refuse to Lose is on iPPV on Monday – we’ll look to have our review up next week!