WrestleGate were all about the titles in October 2019, as they crowned their first heavyweight champion – while starting a tournament for a secondary title.
As with all of their shows, WrestleGate Pro’s at the Rushcliffe Arena… last time out, Rampage Brown and Lucas Steele won their respective blocks and will meet in the main event here to crown the first ever WrestleGate champion. This show opened up with a recap of the Emerald Grand Prix, and the end-of-show staredown…
We also get a rundown of the card, featuring the start of the Open Gate Championship Tournament. Dave Bradshaw and Joe Hendry are on commentary – with the latter getting his own entrance.
Quick Results
WrestleGate Open Gate Championship Tournament Quarter-Final: Jody Fleisch pinned Joe Nelson in 9:50 (**¾)
Nathan Cruz submitted Dean Allmark in 14:10 (***¼)
Malik & Brady Phillips pinned Oisin Delaney & Charlie Carter in 13:20 (***)
WrestleGate Open Gate Championship Tournament Quarter-Final: Robbie X pinned Sean Kustom in 12:30 (***½)
Joe Hendry submitted Danny Jones in 10:00 (***¼)
WrestleGate Open Gate Championship Tournament Quarter-Final: Soner Dursun pinned Jake McCluskey in 10:00 (***¼)
WrestleGate Open Gate Championship Tournament Quarter-Final: Callum Newman pinned Scotty Davis in 13:20 (***½)
Rampage Brown pinned Lucas Steel to win the WrestleGate Heavyweight Championship in 16:20 (***½)
WrestleGate Open Gate Championship Tournament Quarter-Final: Jody Fleisch vs. Joe Nelson
It’s a clash of the old versus the new, with Joe Nelson having since taken on the mantle of Kid Lykos 2 (sometimes!). Nelson was a late sub for Ricky Knight Jr. in the tournament, apparently…
Fleisch looked to control from the off, catching Nelson in a full nelson that was fought out of… but Fleisch keeps reapplying the hold as Nelson kept dropping out. Jody drops down too as Nelson tries to work the legs, but instead Fleisch applies some body scissors as he keeps rolling Nelson into pinning attempts before he popped him up. The pace quickens with armdrags before some headscissors took Fleisch into the corner. A gamengiri and a springboard crossbody off the apron connects as Nelson got a two-count, before he snuffed out a comeback attempt from Fleisch, missing a kick before he just knocked Jody down with a forearm. Jody tries again, landing an enziguiri that took Nelson outside for a plancha… but it misses as Nelson lands one of his own before rushing back inside for a tope.
An Orihara moonsault follows, but Fleisch hits back with a corkscrew springboard moonsault off the apron, as the pair looked to outdo each other. The pair make use of the 20-count on the outside before Fleisch rolled Nelson back in, where the pair swung and missed with strikes until an overhead kick from Fleisch found its mark. Nelson sidesteps a springboard dropkick, but missed a moonsault as a double clothesline left both men laying. It’s back to the strikes before a spinning enziguiri from Nelson led to him getting caught with a ‘rana off the top from Fleisch, ahead of a Fisherman buster that nearly ended it.
From there, the pair trade chops until Nelson surprised Fleisch with a satellite DDT… a death valley driver’s next for a near-fall, then a superkick. Nelson keeps going with a slingshot sunset flip off the apron for another two-count, before he went up top for a Spiral Tap that misses… allowing Fleisch to go for the Phoenix DDT, but it’s countered with a small package, only for Fleisch to reverse that for the win. A perfectly fine sprint of an opener – a little rough around the edges at points, but that’s to be expected given Nelson’s rawness. **¾
Nathan Cruz vs. Dean Allmark
Cruz was trying out some new gear here, trading his tights for a singlet… and of course, before the match, we’ve got a promo to spice things up. Cruz tells Allmark he aspired to become just like him, but now he wants to show that he’s the best in the UK.
We have a handshake before the bell, as they eventually lock up with Cruz taking Allmark into the corner for a clean break. Cruz tries again with a wristlock, but Allmark counters with one of his own before he took Cruz down with an armdrag and rolled into a wacky pinning attempt. Cruz gets disgusted at Allmark playing to the crowd, but Dean’s right back with another wristlock, taking Cruz down for a finger snapper as the Professional seemed to have little answer. After getting free though, Cruz shrugs off an uppercut and decks Allmark with a running knee, but Allmark’s back with a trip and some headscissors as an armdrag proceeded to take Cruz outside.
Wound-up, Cruz takes time to compose himself before returning to the ring for a knuckle lock, which led to some pinning attempts as they went back-and-forth. A neck bridge from Cruz leads to him monkey flipping Allmark across the ring before he went for a cover – but Allmark’s up at two to keep things going. Allmark’s back with a seated surfboard a la Jushin Thunder Liger, rocking Cruz back and forth but he lets go and goes for a regular surfboard stretch until Cruz rolled up and kicked away to free himself. A cravat keeps Cruz at bay, at least until a thrust to the throat got Cruz free ahead of some World of Sport stylings that almost got Allmark the win.
A jack-knife pin starts more near-fall attempts as they go back and forth, rolling around on a sunset flip. A head kick from Allmark stuns an already-dizzied Cruz, but he’s back to pancake Allmark out of the corner before he ran into a superkick. They go back-and-forth with more strikes, until a heel kick from Allmark decks Cruz again… it remains one-way traffic with Cruz getting caught in the corner for a stomp to the back of the head, before a springboard moonsault almost got the win.
From there, Allmark heads back up, but Cruz hits the ropes to crotch him before he scored a back body drop and a Show Stolen for a near-fall. Cruz takes Allmark up top, but Dean escapes a superplex, slipping free before hanging Cruz in a Tree of Woe… he misses a crossbody into the corner, heading outside. A gamengiri from the floor catches Cruz, before Allmark went back up for a flying legdrop… but it’s not enough. After kicking out, Cruz counters a Smiles Clash into a crossface… but Allmark rolls back into a pinning attempt, only for Cruz to reapply the hold and force the submission. That finish felt a little out of nowhere – a perfectly fine match, but it never seemed to truly click with the crowd for whatever reason. ***¼
The NIC (Charlie Carter & Oisin Delaney) vs. Brady Phillips & Malik
Despite having their own custom music, the NIC’s got some NGW-eriffic music, which I think they used for the Control back in the day of their weekly TV show. Meanwhile, Malik and Brady Phillips sure do look like a random team – they were thrown together when Pretty Deadly were pulled from the show.
Phillips and Malik seemed to argue before the bell – but it’s Malk who starts out with Charlie Carter, with Carter clubbing away early on with some forearms. A low kick connects as Carter looked for an O’Connor roll, but Malik shoves off and came back with a dropkick, prompting Carter to tag out to Delaney. Phillips tags in too, grounding Delaney in a chinbar, but there’s a quick rope break.
Standing switches led to Delaney getting caught in a cravat, but he heads to the corner for another break before he hiptossed Phillips across the ring. A finger snapper from Phillips keeps him ahead, as did an up kick and a Northern lights suplex, before tags brought us back to Malik and Carter. Knees from Delaney keep Malik at bay as the NIC exchanged quick tags, but those backfire as Malik rolls away from their grasp and brought Brady back into play.
Delaney’s thrown into the corner as Phillips took control, going back to a cravat and a stomp to the back of the neck, before Malik came in with a back senton for a near-fall. Malik and Phillips looked to be working well, but Delaney shoved them into each other before Carter looked to pick up the pieces, dropping Phillips in the ropes ahead of a flying knee from Delaney for a near-fall. They’re doing a LOT here, but save for the base clapping from the crowd, it’s not eliciting any real reactions. Another chinbar from Delaney wears down Phillips, before a slam and a knee drop gets Delaney a near-fall. A brief trip outside keeps the NIC on top, albeit with some double-teaming, leading to a back elbow for another near-fall on Phillips.
Things become rather one-sided from there as the NIC dominated, but a missed Stinger splash from Carter bought Brady time… which he eventually capitalised on, after an overhead belly-to-belly tossed Delaney across the ring. The NIC distract the referee so Malik’s tag counted for nought, meaning that Phillips continued to take a beating. A Samoan drop dumps Phillips ahead of a Vader bomb Elbow from Carter for a near-fall. Phillips manages to get free with a Whisper in the Wind, knocking down the NIC as he finally gets across to tag in Malik, who ran wild with clotheslines and back elbows. An enziguiri drops Delaney as dualling PKs stop Delaney… Carter tries to make a save, but gets dumped as Malik proceeded to tease a Strong Zero on Delaney, only for Carter to make a save.
Malik swings for a PK, but misses as the NIC hit the HTO fireman’s carry neckbreaker, but Phillips dives in to make the save and clear house. A double-team Dominator’s broken up as Phillips and Malik hit superkicks, before Brady’s over-the-post tope con giro finally woke up the crowd. From there, Malik hits a spinning Jig ‘n’ Tonic to Delaney… and that’s your lot. This got going towards the end, but the crowd largely treated this as a throwaway match between two teams they barely knew – and it showed. Especially when the crowd booed the winners despite their supposed babyface comeback! ***
WrestleGate Open Gate Championship Tournament Quarter-Final: Robbie X vs. Sean Kustom
Commentary suggests that Robbie X is frustrated given that his win over Ilja Dragunov on an earlier show hasn’t parlayed itself into anything. He opens by going back and forth with wristlocks on Kustom, before he kipped up from a shoulder tackle to start a pacey sequence of leg sweeps and pinning attempts.
Some missed spin kicks lead to a stalemate, before Robbie came in with a side headlock. It leads to some cross-crossing in the ropes, which Kustom tried to make the most out of with a switcharound and a dropkick, before he took Robbie into the corner for some chops. Robbie flips free, landing a hiptoss and a low dropkick to knock Kustom down for a delayed two-count. Chops from Robbie keep Kustom away, before Kustom did a headstand in the corner to evade Robbie… it works too, as the Aussie came back with an enziguiri, a uranage and a Quebrada, just about catching Robbie for just a one-count.
That Quebrada’s winded Robbie, who had trouble getting going again as Kustom hits a backbreaker to keep the pressure up. A handspring doesn’t catch Kustom, who dumps him in the corner for a hanging neckbreaker, as more clubbing forearms to the back keeps Robbie X on the back foot. A second backbreaker’s fought out of, before Robbie’s handspring caught Kustom as he did a headstand in the corner. Another handspring knocks him off the apron ahead of a PK on the outside, getting an eventual two count back inside.
Robbie heads up top, but took too long as Kustom got back to his feet, returning with an uppercut. A forearm slash and a lifting reverse DDT followed, before an implant DDT gets a near-fall. Kustom keeps up the pressure, taking Robbie X up top for some more chops as a set up for a superplex… but Robbie X shoves him down and eventually dumped him into the opposite corner with a belly-to-belly. A Spiral Tap’s next as Robbie X almost gets it done, before a death valley driver gets another two-count. The pair get the same idea as they went for crossbody blocks at the same time, smashing into each other, as they had to build anew, trading elbows and forearms as they fight back to their feet. Kicks follow, leading to a step-up enziguiri from Robbie X, and another rolling forearm from Kustom.
Robbie’s overhead kick finds its mark though, but his Xclamation is blocked, as Kustom superkicks away a standing moonsault. From there, Robbie flips out of a Kustomizer and hits a Destroyer instead, before landing an Xclamation for the win. Both of these guys felt familiar to the crowd, who reacted in kind – especially once the match got going. Robbie X moves on, and gets a standing ovation for his efforts. ***½
Ring announcer Slick Lombardo tells the crowd that Dan Moloney is off the show – so Danny Jones’ scheduled match is off. They try to brush past it, but Danny Jones comes out with Kosta K – who was a commentator on the last show. He’s seemingly morphed into a managerial role, because reasons. Kosta addresses other pull outs from the card, hinting at Pretty Deadly working the NXT UK tapings. This feels very inside for such a casual crowd.
He then mentions that contracts are being thrown around “willy nilly” before calling out Joe Hendry for… more reasons. That’s enough to make Joe take off his headset and leave, as Kosta continued to whinge about people dumping bookings for “better offers,” but the crowd are only caring about Joe Hendry as Kosta continued to berate the crowd. I mean, I understand the point he’s making, but why the sharp veer from commentator to manager/mouthpiece?
Anyway, Kosta and Danny went to leave, but Joe Hendry’s music hits. He’s changed into his gear, despite “his contract status” and I guess we have a match.
Danny Jones vs. Joe Hendry
Hendry tries to school Jones early, taking him down the mat, but Jones is matching him early on as they scrambled on the mat.
Hendry rolls Jones to the mat for a one-count, then went for a cravat as Jones had to trip his way free and go for a toe hold. Hendry counters that as they reach a standoff, before Hendry went in to snap back Jones’ leg on the mat. Another takedown from Hendry looked to lead to something, but Jones grapevines the leg before the pair rolled into the ropes for a break.
Jones is back with a roll-up for a two-count, before a mounted sleeperhold was attempted… but Hendry gets free… only to get tied up in knots for a bow-and-arrow hold. An enziguiri corners Hendry, who returns with a shoulder tackle and a leaping knee that took Jones down for a two-count. An Irish whip bounces Jones off the buckles, as a stalling suplex gets a two-count, but Jones charges back with some stomps after he’d sent Hendry into the buckles. A chop looked to wake up Hendry for the Freak of Nature, but Jones slips out and applies a sleeperhold, only for Hendry to spin free and break it up with a suplex.
Hendry keeps going with back elbows and a double underhook gutbuster, before a lariat folded Jones in half for a near-fall. One more comeback from Jones sees him land a leaping knee and an Exploder for a two-count, then a Saito suplex as he looked to rush to a win, before an enziguiri to the lower back looked to weaken Hendry… but he’s right in with an ankle pick and an ankle lock that eventually ends in the ropes.
Jones lands a Falcon arrow that doesn’t quite do the deal, and Jones is made to pay as Hendry bounces him with a Codebreaker for a near-fall before following up with an ankle lock for the submission. A perfectly fine match and a rare UK appearance for Joe Hendry these days – but the storyline around this completely overshadowed the match. ***¼
WrestleGate Open Gate Championship Tournament Quarter-Final: Jake McCluskey vs. Soner Dursun
He used to be Mister Moonsault, he’s now The Unique – as Jake McCluskey is back on a WrestleGate card for the first time since their inaugural show.
We open with a lock-up that ends with the pair rolling around the ropes until the referee forced a break. Another lock-up led to a similar result, but Dursun finds form with a dropkick and a PK to the back of McCluskey for a near-fall. Another low dropkick keeps Soner ahead, before McCluskey found his mark with some up kicks, catching Dursun before he landed a gamengiri from the apron. A slingshot in from the apron into a German suplex gets McCluskey a near-fall, but Dursun tries to fight back, ducking a springboard moonsault as he caught McCluskey with another low dropkick for a two-count. Dursun throws in a back suplex for a two-count, before McCluskey elbowed out of a waistlock and returned fire with a powerbomb for a near-fall.
Back-and-forth strikes led to Dursun hitting a spinning kick that left both men down, before Dursun went airborne for a springboard crossbody and a dropkick into the corner for a near-fall. McCluskey kicks out Dursun’s leg as he went for a Quebrada, then came in with a baseball slide German suplex as Soner was hung in the ropes… a springboard enziguiri followed for another near-fall for Jake, before a tiltawhirl facebuster keeps the pressure up. McCluskey measures up Dursin for a running knee, but it’s caught and turned into a release Tiger suplex for a near-fall. He takes too long heading up top to follow up as McCluskey meets him on the top rope, but instead he meets Sonur with a flying stomp to the back of the head after an escape was foiled. A thrust kick’s next for McCluskey, before he pulled down the knee pad for a knee trembler… not to worry – a superkick stops Jake, before another trip up top was thwarted.
A one-man Spanish Fly off the top can’t quite put Dursun down for the count, before a top rope moonsault lands in Dursun’s boots. Soner’s back with a flying neckbreaker on the apron, before he rolled McCluskey back inside for the frog splash which gets the job done. Another speedy, solid match – but save for the tournament implications, this felt like “just a match” with no clearly defined good or bad guy. ***¼
WrestleGate Open Gate Championship Tournament Quarter-Final: Callum Newman vs. Scotty Davis
Commentary notes that Newman’s been awarded a WrestleTalk Scholarship. Didn’t we have something like this in 2012 with the old Scarlo Scholarship title?
The obligatory lockup gets us going, as Davis went in for side headlocks. We get some lucha roll throughs before the pair tried to armdrag each other, leading to a tense stand-off… ending with Davis taking them to the ropes before he was whipped off for a dropkick. Newman turns up the pace with a gamengiri and a senton atomico, before a running shooting star press landed for a two-count. Newman heads up top, but takes too long as a shooting star press was aborted, with Davis coming back with a belly-to-belly into the corner. The referee checks on Newman, but Davis interrupts it and drags Newman back into the ring with a hanging twisting neckbreaker for a two-count.
Using a cobra clutch, Davis drags Newman into a backbreaker, holding it for more of a stretch before he unloaded on Callum with some strikes… only to run into a ‘rana. Newman tried to build on that, but a springboard’s countered into a German suplex for a two-count, before Davis uncorked a Gator roll to spike Newman on the head. He’s back in with a choke, turning it into a choke suplex for a two-count, before a roll-through armbar was countered as Newman kept on rolling and came in with double knees. Newman charges into the corner with back elbows for Davis, following up with a springboard uppercut and a running knee through the ropes.
Another senton atomico follows for a near-fall, before a head kick rocks Davis ahead of a German suplex. Davis rolls outside from the impact of that, but Newman’s Sasuke special misses… unlike Davis’. Back inside, more kicks led to a Quebrada for Davis, but Newman’s up at two… and into rolling Fisherman suplexes, with a Fisherman buster dropping him for a near-fall. Rabbit punches keep Newman on all fours, but he’s able to block another suplex… then a superplex, before catching Davis with a handspring backflip kick to knock the Irishman off the top. From there, Newman’s back up top for a shooting star press, but it’s still not enough…
Davis tries to come back in with a modified Rings of Saturn… but Newman pushes out into a pinning attempt for a near-fall as the pair trade more covers until a pair of head kicks and a cross-legged Fisherman buster looked to get Davis the win… but he delays the cover, and ends up getting surprised with a crucifix pin reversal as Newman snatched the win! A flash pin gets the win after a really good match – but again, no clear good vs. bad dynamic in the story meant that at times this was all about the moves. ***½
WrestleGate Heavyweight Championship: Rampage Brown vs. Lucas Steel
On the DVD of the show I have, the main event was cut-off – so it’s off to WrestleGate’s VOD service to watch the final match.
Unlike the majority of this card, we’ve got a defined good guy and a defined bad guy here, with Steel last aligned with Nathan Cruz (see a thread here?). We get the main event introductions, complete with the boxing-style “any questions” from the ref, giving this a real big fight feel.
We get going with Rampage standing his ground in the middle of the ring, locking up with Steel as they rolled into the ropes before breaking away that lock-up. Another lockup has Rampage ahead as hs grabbed a side headlock, but he’s pushed off for a shoulder block as Steel tries his luck with a side headlock, which yielded see-saw shoulder tackles before Steel knocked the veteran down. A Snake Eyes drops Rampage in the corner, but he instantly bounces back with a dropkick. Steel rolls outside and drags Rampage with him so he could land a Snake Eyes on the apron, before Rampage fired back with a back suplex onto the edge of the ring. The walk and brawl around ringside continues with some chops, before Rampage cleared a section of the crowd as he tossed Steel over the railings.
The scrap continues in the crowd as Rampage chopped Steel into the front row, before hopping back over the railings… where he came back in with a leaping shoulder block back into the crowd. They head back towards the ring, but Steel took over with a fallaway slam as Rampage was suddenly on the defensive, eating a clothesline in the corner along with some boots as Steel looked to take the sting out of the match. An Irish whip bounces Rampage into the corner, before he ran into a sidewalk slam as Steel regained momentum. A rear naked choke on the mat saps more energy from Rampage, and when he did fight free… Steel just raked the eyes. Steel keeps going with elbows, then with some choking as he had Rampage in the ropes, before a powerbomb attempt was countered with Steele getting lifted onto the apron.
Rampage takes some shots before he went on the middle ropes for an elevated superplex, but Steel fights free… only to leap off the top rope into a powerslam. Steel boxes his way back in, but couldn’t avoid a Saito suplex from Rampage… nor a deadlift suplex as Brown began to get time to show off his power.
Steel avoids a Samoan drop and returns with a tiltawhirl slam as he followed in with a chokeslam for a two-count. A second chokeslam followed, but doesn’t yield a different result, so Steel sizes him up for some more elbow strikes. Rampage fights back, but gets popped up into a pancake as Steel looked for a Stand Out Bomb, landing it for a near-fall. Steel still looks for the kill shot, but Rampage fights back with some clothesline before he’s pancaked again. A second Stand Out Bomb is called for, but Rampage counters out and hits a piledriver in return, and that’s enough to put away Steel. A pretty damn good match between two big lads – with some unexpected aggression from Rampage, taking it into the crowd early, before he withstood the relative newcomer’s onslaught to win the title. ***½
As it stands, there’s just one WrestleGate show left in their archives – and that’s the Strong Hold event from December 2019. A show which looks like being WrestleGate’s final event… and is seemingly only available on DVD as part of a WrestleCrate UK box – and isn’t up on WrestleGate’s own VOD service for whatever reason. This show continued the weird evolution of WrestleGate from a promotion that initially looked to build itself off of imports that were somewhat niche, to something of a family-friendly line-up with some future stars on the card. Granted, the appearance of the WrestleTalk branding certainly coincided with that shift, and while the promotion garnered some interest at times – particularly with the PAC/Hangman Page impromptu match – it never seemed to maintain any identity and just ended up spinning its wheels.