Last Friday night saw the Pendlebury Social Club hosting the historic first-ever show for the newest promotion in the Greater Manchester area, as SALFORD City Wrestling: Take the Throne saw it putting on a special one-night tournament to crown a “King of Salford”. It saw the likes of Bentley, ‘Starkiller’ Dave Birch, Aiton Steen, and home favourite Jack Johnson to name a few, in the field.
Take the Throne Qualifying Match: Philip Michael vs. Troy Ryan
The opening contest saw Philip Michael take on the “meaty” boy in Troy Ryan. Both men came out confident, but at different scales, with Michael’s confidence one of arrogance rather than just self-confidence from Ryan. The Pendleton Social Club was right behind Troy in the match, with Michael getting his backside handed to him before capitalising on his opponent running after him and having some joy in the contest. After a body check sent Michael flying across the ring, we saw Ryan hitting the Fall of Troy to advance to the final.
Take the Throne Qualifying Match: ‘Starkiller’ Dave Birch vs BENTLEY
In the second qualifying match, we saw Bentley taking on “the Starkiller,” Dave Birch, with Bentley looking to be too much for his opponent and odds on to make the final. Birch attacked Bentley to get the early advantage in the match, but his opponent soon turned the tables and saw him in charge with the Starkiller in trouble. Despite the “Vigilante” looking in control in the contest, Birch would put his opponent in a submission hold, with his legs wrapped around the neck of Bentley, and squeeze the fight out of his opponent to pick up the stunning upset victory by having him unable to answer the referee’s arm drop.
Take the Throne Qualifying Match: Aiton Steen vs Jack Johnson
In the final qualifying match, Aiton Steen came out to the ring and saw him grabbing the microphone and badmouthing the hometown crowd, which endeared him to the locals, where the fans chanted “SALFORD! SALFORD! SALFORD!” back at him. He ended things by saying that Jack Johnson, who previously mentioned that he slept rough outside the venue when homeless, would have no dream return.
Johnson and Steen beat the living hell out of each other in the match, as they spent time both in and out of the ring for the whole contest, where 99.9% of the crowd was right behind their own in Jack Johnson, and saw them wanting to see Steen suffer. However, Steen turned things in his favour and beat down Johnson until Jack fought back and hit
‘Someone Else’s Cutter’ to become the third and final man in the King of Salford finale.
THE BIGGER PICTURE (Mighty Joe Young/Nishiki) vs ALEX BOYLIN/BIG STE BRADACH
Before this opening show, Nishiki had been ‘vocal’ on social media for weeks about being included in the event, despite SCW management saying no on each occasion. His protests were heard and seen, and after much thought, Nishiki was added to the card as part of a tag team encounter with tag partner Might Joe Young, as “The Bigger Picture” looked to show why they should be on the card. Their opponents were Big Steve Bradach and “the Metal God” Alex Boylin, as the fans wanted them to shut up their opponents.
While Young and Nishiki had the contest in their hands and looked fully in control, they then made a mistake that saw both Boylin and Bradach capitalise on to take victory, with The Bigger Picture then attacking their opponents after the match and leaving them lay out in the middle of the ring.
Lily Winter vs Alfiee
We then saw a battle between two females that have seen their stock rise in recent months, where the “Ice Queen” Lily Winter, took on Alfiee, who was accompanied to the ring by DeeDee, her teddy bear. Alfiee came out of the traps the quickest and had her opponent having to weather the early storm. Winter, who is as cold as the season of the same name, saw her recover and put the boot into her opponent to dominate the exchanges.
With the ‘Wildcard’ in trouble, the SCW crowd got right behind her and willed her on in the contest, with Alfiee beginning to mount a comeback. Alfiee looked to be closing in on victory after hoisting Lily Winter on her shoulders, only to see the legs of Winter strike the referee in the face, thus knocking him down to the mat, and see no official to count the fall. Winter then picked up DeeDee and nailed Alfiee between the eyes before discarding the evidence to have the referee come too and count the pinfall to get the win.
Take the Throne FINAL: 3-WAY Match: Troy Ryan vs ‘Starkiller’ Dave Birch vs Jack Johnson
The final to determine “The King of Salford” featured a trio that all brought something different to the table. Whether it was the power of Troy Ryan, the brawling ability of Jack Johnson, or the quickness of Dave Birch, it made for an intriguing encounter. It saw numerous alliances with Johnson/Ryan, Birch/Ryan, and Birch/Johnson teaming up to try and take out the third party, and it was an unpredictable final.
We then saw Birch being outnumbered by the other two competitors in the match, with the strongest man in the fight, Troy Ryan, soon becoming the primary focus of his two opponents, which led to Jack Johnson and Dave Birch being left in the ring. But just when it looked like the hometown hero in Jack Johnson had everything in hand, Aiton Steen made his way down to ringside, costing Johnson victory by getting involved with Steen leaving and happy with his handiwork.
Meanwhile, Troy Ryan had recovered and saw him sending Birch flying across the ring with a big body check before hitting the ‘Fall of Troy’ to become the FIRST-EVER King of Salford and send the home crowd happy with an entertaining opening night for Salford City Wrestling.
The company’s next show is on Friday, February 28th, at the Pendlebury Social Club for SCW: CORONATION, as Troy Ryan will be officially given a coronation for his win on the show.