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SWE Hell For Lycra 2016
Dundee, Scotland at Caird Hall
Report by Dot Net reader Adam Milne
Scottish Wrestling Entertainment, which is Dundee-based and holds shows in the city and surrounding counties, held it’s big show of the year Hell For Lycra this weekend, with the main event of a Three-Way Dance between Scotland’s own Joe Hendry, and TNA Wrestling stars Ethan Carter III and another Scotsman in Drew Galloway. The venue is used for several other performances – music concerts, stage shows, comedian performances etc. and has hosted SWE before. Downside was usually these venues strictly forbid taking pictures and filming but thankfully the staff smartly didn’t enforce this for this show.
There was a fan signing held earlier in the day that I couldn’t attend but stars including Galloway were there. I arrived about 10 minutes to scheduled bell time, and both Colt Cabana and EC3 were working their own “sides” of the merch table. Both were very friendly, happy to personalize signed 8x10s and have pictures taken (with a purchase naturally). Before the show they had a music band playing in the ring (didn’t catch the band’s name) and it was amusing to see them scrambling at close of set to get all the equipment through the ropes and to the stage.
1. Steven Air Myles defeated Kenny Kyd, JD Wilde, and Lou King Sharp in a four-way ladder match to become the new SWE Future Division Championship. The championship was hanging from a thick rope (Damn good Navy knot work!) hanging from the lighting rig above the ring. Champion Sharp was accompanied by a heavy/bodyguard who I couldn’t catch the name off, but Sharp cut a hilarious whiny Heel promo pre-match which instantly made me a fan, but hard to hate him. During the other wrestler’s entrances Sharp was in the crowd threatening fans with a steel chair he’d brought out.
The ladder came into play as a weapon a few times but not too many, perhaps worried they’d break it and be left scuppered but considering it was, as a fan near me remarked, “B&Q Quality” (let’s just say it wasn’t your typical “sports entertainment” ladders), I doubt that. Biggest ladder spots were Wilde doing a Flip Senton to an opponent on a ladder draped across the apron and crowd barrier, and Myles hitting a Slingblade around the top of a ladder to take an opponent out. In nice story telling Sharp’s own chair was used against him and his bodyguard, and of course at one point miscommunication saw Sharp knock out his own lacky. In the end Myles hit a Styles Clash on Wilde, and with no one stopping him climbed the ladder to claim the title. Entertaining opener.
After this, SWE Owner and wrestler Bravehart hosted “The Heel Reel” with guest Colt Cabana. They took shots at the ring announcer who last year had messed up Cabana’s residence during his entrance, and Bravehart buttered up Cabana before turning, claiming he was planning to sell “2,000 tickets” off Cabana’s name. This lead to introducing his opponent, “Superstar” Glen Dunbarr.
2. Colt Cabana defeated Glen Dunbarr.
After Dunbarr cheap shotted to start off, Cabana soon took control with easy counter wrestling. Essentially a Cabana showcase with brief Dunbarr offence. Cabana got his usual spots in like the run the ropes and make opponent look up in order to slap him, the Bionic Elbow, and even making Dunbarr do the “Flair Strut” with him after hitting Dunbarr with a chop. Cabana won with the vaulting Leg Nelson pin. Fun stuff and the crowd loved all of Cabana’s stuff.
Sara-Marie Taylor defeated Kristy Love. After two hot opening matches, the ladies had a tough job to do. They tried, but the crowd really didn’t care from bell to bell but reacted when taunted and prompted. Having seen Taylor in the past, she has performed far better but had a bad night, and Love appeared green, especially with her strikes. Finish came when Taylor threw a towel in the ref’s face, and using hairspray to blind Love and steal the win.
4. Felix Fortune defeated Ian Ambrose in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. This match really exposed the first of several issues with the crowd barriers that I’ll mention later. Fortune played the cowardly heel and stalled early but soon the fight went to floor early, and Fortune took a sick Spinebuster on the floor in the crowd. Plenty of chair use, pins at ringside, and shock spots including a nasty looking Apron-Hung DDT. Ambrose came up bleeding after a move onto a chair on the staging (blade job). The end came when Ambrose introduced a garbage bag of empty energy drink cans (no, really) and used them to drive Fortune into them with a Sit-Out Powerbomb. Fortune kicked out, and soon hit a F-5 into the cans to beat his rival, much to the dismay of the fans.
Short intermission of 10-15 minutes.
5. Euan G. Mackie (w/Miss Demeanour) defeated Stallyon to win the SWE World Heavyweight Championship. Despite being the heel, Stallyon had a sizable amount of fan-support especially from younger fans – there were quite a few of his entrance masks being worn around. Mackie started by spitting black mist at Stallyon, but soon after took an Overhead Belly-to-Belly Suplex on the floor! Demeanour was chased away from ringside earlier on by Stallyon chasing and yelling at her. A cool spot was Stallyon getting caught in the ropes leaving him dangling in a “Tree of Woe” but against the apron, allowing Mackie to hit a Seated Senton onto him. Thee was a ref bump, and Mackie hit a Whipersnapper-like Stunner that would have won. Stallyon used his trademark chain to beat down Mackie. LTJ made the save with a surprise return to a loud ovation, coming in through the crowd before hitting Stallyon with a Baseball Bat in true Sting style, then a Sliced Break #2. LTJ left the scene, but Stallyon still kicked out when the ref came to.
In fact, in quite strange booking, the match continued on for a few more minutes with more near falls and big moves by Mackie, then Stallyon making a comeback. Eventually Stallyon tried to use his chain but ate nothing but corner, and a Roll Up of Doom right out of a Divas Match got Mackie the win and the title. There were audible gasps and many were shocked by the title change, but Mackie got a nice ovation and Miss Demeanour returned to celebrate. One sight not to forget post-match, and proof if needed how wrestlers can influence young fans, was when as Mackie was leaving a young girl wearing a Stallyon mask sat down and started rocking back and forth like he does. Mackie played it perfectly as he just waved bye-bye to her but damn if it wasn’t a freaky sight.
6. Chris James, Darren Blair, and Scotty Ricco defeated “Destruction By Design” of Chaz Phoenix, Lix Tetrax, Braveheart. By the numbers six-man tag with the bigger, stronger Heels of DBD dominating early. James took the beating first, then masked wrestler Ricco (very over with younger fans) who could have gotten hurt after a botched Tiger Driver off the middle ropes spot with Phoenix. Blair got the hot tag after the classic “ref didn’t see the tag” spot, and cleared house. Blair pinned Braveheart with a Powerslam after catching Braveheart when he climbed to the middle ropes.
It was time for the main event. Joe Hendry provided one of his infamous “cover song” entrances with his own take on AC/DC’s TNT (“Joe! Joe! Joe! Joe!”) that went over nicely but he was dwarfed to the star power of EC3 who got a major pop, and Galloway who got a thunderous one. Before the match started though, unannounced Jack Jester made a surprise entrance, claiming he was supposed to be in Ireland but ended up here instead. There was banter and insults that the crowd ate up, including a chant of “This is Awesome!” just for Hendry, EC3 and Galloway sitting in corners to taunt Jester, and Jester storming out of the ring and onto the staging to tell a fan right to his face to “Sit down, and shut up baldy!”. And that fan was me. Best. Night. Ever.
7. Drew Galloway defeated Joe Hendry, Ethan Carter III and Jack Jester in a Fatal Four Way. Within the first minute Jester was tossed to the floor, and Galloway summoned an army from the young fans at the barrier to “hold” Jester in place to take a chop. The wrestlers then paired off, brawling around the building before back to the ring to a legit “This Is Awesome!” chant. Another chant came from a Tower of Doom spot of Jester taking a Superplex by Hendry and Carter, who got Powerbombed off by Galloway who had been in a Tree of Woe in that same corner. The finish came as EC3 went for the One Percenter but Jester hit him with the weapon he’d brought to the ring, then Hendry took him out with a Fallaway Slam. Galloway countered a Backslide into the FutureShock DDT to pin Hendry to the loud approval of the fans.
Post-match EC3 put over the fans saying he couldn’t believe it’d taken him nine years to find out how good they were. Galloway invited EC3 to party like a true Scotsman and get “hammered” with Joe invited, but Jester (who was tapping his weapon like he was testing a real microphone was on to try and yell back) wasn’t invited because “he’s from Glasgow”.
Notes: Overall with the women’s match aside it was a very entertaining, crowd pleasing event with a fitting star-studded main event. One problem throughout the show was the crowd barriers for the show, and specifically they were not weighted down at all so whenever a wrestler climbed over them or was whipped into them they tilted over, became loose, or in the case during the main event collapsed down completely. Tied in with there being no ring-crew or workers properly around, it meant frantic scrambling by the ring announcer to get people from backstage to come fix things. Other than that, the show was nicely presented with even video packages for the big matches. It felt like a big event, and it delivered.
The SWE official Facebook page posted a video of the finish of the main event, viewable here: https://www.facebook.com/SWEonline/videos/10154319042397367/
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