This past Sunday saw the Stockport Guildhall being the setting for the double header in Futureshock Danger Zone, as a total of 11 matches on the card was spread across the day with what was an incredible two shows packed full of great wrestling, and drama till the end. With two incredible main event matches, the second of which could be in the argument for one of the best ever matches in Futureshock history!
HT DRAKE v TONY WRIGHT
The opening contest saw HT Drake facing “The Leading Man ” Tony Wright in what was a fun opening bout to Part one, as both men seemed more interested in trying to out wrestle the other. At one point it saw Wright asking Drake to walk him through how to do the move he had just been put in, as his opponent obliged and smoothly got out of it. After Drake flipped himself up to his feet having been flat on his back, it saw Wright wanting to try and replicate it, but after numerous failed attempts it saw him having help off both the ref and Drake to accomplish the feat. Things soon got serious though, after Wright came charging in behind his foe, as a collision saw both men down on the mat and have HT Drake bemused over the incident. After the man from Newcastle had somewhat taken control of the match, it saw Tony turning things around late on, as he hit the Pedigree on his opponent to secure the victory.
CHRIS EGAN v ETHAN KELLY
It was scheduled on the card to have both Scott Oberman and his protégé in Ethan Kelly addressing the Futureshock faithful, but instead we got just Kelly himself in attendance and informing us that not only was the winner of Lotto Thunder not in Stockport, but that also Joe Blazr’s title reign was coming to an end. He added that when Scott Oberman became champion, together they will help to “burn Futureshock to the ground”. We were then joined by the “Man of the People” in Chris Egan, as Denton’s favourite son came to the ring and led to an impromptu matchup between the pair. The match itself was fine, with Egan himself getting in most of the offence and hitting his opponent with a Macho Man like flying elbow off the top rope to see the beginning of the end for Kelly. Unfortunately though for Chris Egan, moments later saw the fan favourite having a pinning attempt reversed, where Ethan Kelly scored the surprise win with a roll up.
After the match, it saw C.P Reilly coming out to poke fun at the defeated Egan, and have Reilly berating him on the microphone. After calling him “embarrassing” for losing to a roll up”, he claimed that Kelly, who he lost to “ was the worst member of the young crop today!” and added, “You’re a has-been. no, you’re a never-been”. Egan had heard enough and took the microphone from Reilly, before challenging him to a match to open up the second half later in the day. At first it saw “the Genius” refusing the match but then very quickly had a change of heart, before agreeing to the match under the sole condition that Egan would put his career on the line.
GRUDGE MATCH – ‘WILDFIRE’ NATE REESE v DOCTOR PROCTOR
We then had a Grudge Match involving the “Wildfire” Nate Reese and Doctor Proctor, where Reese has been a thorn in the side of Proctor for a couple of months now, where he has cost Futureshock’s resident Doc a couple of victories with his interferences. Reese came to the ring shouting and screaming at the crowd, with the venting continuing as the match began. Dr. P (not the drink) had the early advantage in the contest, till his opponent claimed he was injured and Proctor offered to check him over and got a fist for his troubles, leading to Reese gaining the advantage. The “Wildfire” was having the better of things but he couldn’t keep the good Doctor down for a three count. Nate then made the fatal error of slapping his younger opponent, and all that seemed to do was fire up Doctor Proctor who turned the tide in the matchup, with Bad Medicine being hit on Reese to give everyone’s’ favourite Doctor the victory.
THE HORDE v FORBIDDEN PLANET
Danger Zone saw for the first time in action ‘The Horde’ as the team of Gorgon & Solomon was scheduled to face the two tag teams that they screwed over in the number 1 contenders match last month, as they first faced Forbidden Planet. Aiton Steen and Dave Birch inflicted some hurt on Gorgon, but bigger stronger Solomon acted like an equaliser to his partner. The match shifted in favour of the rulebreakers, when Star Killer Dave Birch dived through the ropes at Solomon, but the monster caught him in mid-air and drove him into the ring apron. From there it saw the Horde making quick tags, until Steen got the tag for his team and saw Forbidden Planet gaining some needed momentum by taking both their opponents out. With Gorgon in trouble, it saw him yelling out for “Solomon” much in the same way that the Master used to shout “Sullivan” in the old WCW dungeon of doom days. Solomon then sat up and saw the monster grabbing both opponents before overpowering Steen & Birch with ‘The Horde’ then hitting successive double team moves to pick up the win.
JOEY HAYES v The Hunter BRIAC STRONG
Next on the slate was Joey Hayes against “the hunter” Briac Strong, where we saw a much more focused Hayes as opposed to the jovial fun side we are used to. Strong at no point ever felt like he wasn’t in control in the match, as even when Hayes had the upper hand – you still felt like Strong was just playing with his prey. Eventually, it saw “the Hunter” taking over and dominating his opponent, where Hayes refused to give up and made it look like it was just a matter of time before the end. However, after hitting the “Hunted” – it saw Sam Bailey appear from nowhere to distract Briac Strong and that allowed Joey to regather his faculties and hit a JKO on Strong to pick up the win. After the match it saw Briac Strong fuming with Bailey having cost him victory, as Sam shrugged, smiled and waved to Strong as he slipped out the back with Joey Hayes giving his friend the big thumbs up for the help. I think it’s fair to say that this rivalry isn’t over between the pair.
ADRENALINE TITLE MATCH
‘PLAYBOY PRINCE’ LANCE REVERA v ‘DYNAMITE’ LEE DAWSON (c)
The Main Event of Part 1 saw the first title defence of the FSW Adrenaline Title, where champion “Dynamite” Lee Dawson faced the “Playboy Prince” in Lance Revera – where the winner of the match would go on to face Chris Ridgeway later in the evening. This was an absolute classic between the two, as the match itself went back and forth throughout, with a mix of high risk moves and hard chops that saw Dawson’s chest looking like a Robin. Both men beat the living hell out of each other in the contest, and towards the end saw a scary moment with both men on the apron, when Dawson attempted to slam Revera on the apron, it seemed to have him awkwardly bounce off the ropes with his neck and shoulder taking the brunt and looked awful. Dawson then tried to pick Revera’s dead weight up and roll him back in the ring, when the smart move would have been to just get the count out victory. The finish of the match saw a massive suplex off the top rope, with both men hooking the other’s leg and pinning the others’ shoulders down on the canvas for three, as Referee James Greenwood counted the pinfall.
Revera grabbed the belt and celebrated on Bret’s rope, with Dawson ripping the belt out of Lances’ hand as Greenwood declared that both men pinned each other and that the bout was a draw. This then led to Chris Ridgeway hitting the ring and attacking both men, with more pain being inflicted on the champion by the challenger later on, as took his flip flop off and smacked the prone body of Dawson. Ridgeway then smirked as he looked over the carnage he had caused, before calmly picking up his flip flops and leaving the ring.
PART 2:
CHRIS EGAN v C.P REILLY (If Egan loses he must Retire)
The evening session started off with Chris Egan against the “Genius” C.P Reilly, with the stipulation being that if Egan lost he would have to retire. Of course, the crowd was right behind Egan and saw him looking to show his younger opponent that he wasn’t an old man. Reilly soon gained the upper hand on Egan, as he jumped down off the ring and had his arm snap back off the ropes to have the advantage. The FSW tournament winner constantly berated him in the ring and poked fun at his injured opponent, referring to him as an “Old man” and mocking him as he held his back. Reilly was in complete control of the contest but just couldn’t pin the “Man of the People” down for a three count, as Egan showed fight and the crowd chanted, “You can’t beat him”. This seemed to make him more determined, as he locked in the ‘Brain drain’ but Chris got to the ropes. The end of the match saw Egan reversing a move by ‘the Genius’ to score a roll up win himself and save his job, much to the horror of the cocky opponent.
FSW TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH:
‘Golden God’ OSCAR BYRON & ‘The Asset’ STEVEN CROSS
v
NORTH WEST SAVIOURS (c)
In what was originally a FSW Tag Team title match with the challengers in “the Golden God” Oscar Byron and his partner “the Asset” Steven Cross taking on the current title holders in the North West Saviours. Max Brooker then snatched the mic away from Neil Bradbury during the intros and informed everyone that this was now a non-title match, as their opponents had done nothing to deserve a title shot, so they would only get a title match if they were able to beat them. With that said, it saw Byron & Cross starting off brightly with quick tags, but Cross would soon find himself being cut off from his team mate, while Byron tried to get the crowd on their side and saw him getting the tag. Despite having the champions in trouble, it saw Byron’s attempted splash in the corner nailing his partner by accident, with Cross fuming with “the Golden God” and walking away. Cross finger pointed at his teammate and shouted, “You lied about everything. You said it was a title match and it wasn’t. Then you promised you wouldn’t screw up and you did that too.” Byron pleaded to Cross to come back, but when he turned round he was hit by a version of the Gunns’ ‘3:10 to Yuma’.
FSW Women’s Championship Match: LUCY SKY v LEAH RAVEN (c)
From one title to another, it saw the reigning FSW Women’s champion Leah Raven facing Wigan’s Lucy Sky in what looked to be a potential banger on paper, and boy was it! It saw a split in the fanbase in the Guildhall, as the popular Raven saw the recent popularity in Sky being equally matched in terms of support. The match itself saw both trying to gain the early advantage, but both cancelled each other out. While Raven was the quicker of the two, Sky had the power factor on her side and saw both utilising their best forms of attack to gain control. Sky, once or twice seemed to have the eyes of Raven rolling into the back of her head with some of the big boots and impact moves she hit on Leah. Meanwhile, Raven saw her using her skills to out manoeuvre Lucy and made for a great contest. It seemed like whoever made a mistake would lose, and after Leah stunned Lucy near the ropes, it saw the Women’s champion nailing her Rebellion DDT off Bret’s rope to score the big win, and have the “Empress of Anarchy” retaining her title for another day.
TAG MATCH: The HORDE v The MEAT WAGON
In the second of the two Tag matches for ‘The Horde’ in the day, it saw The Meat Wagon looking to gain revenge not only for the interference last month, but also looked to get their hands on Gorgon as he has constantly evaded the clutches of Troy Ryan and Anderson Daniels. This was less of a match and more of a brawl than anything, as Gorgon spent most of, if not all the match being as slippery as an Eel to avoid The Meat Wagon. What we did get was three meaty men slapping meat in the bout, barring Gorgon of course, as Solomon went up against the two meaty boys as the match constantly spilled to the outside. With all four men fighting around ringside, it saw a double count out from the referee, with the Meat Wagon locking Solomon outside and shutting the door behind them. That meant that Gorgon was left all alone with Ryan and Daniels stalking him, but despite Gorgon trying to run off, he got brought back out and was set to take a Doomsday device. However, he avoided decapitation again, as he spat black mist in the eyes of Daniels who was perched on the top rope, and saw him being blinded by the black spray.
NADEJI v ANTHONY GETSKI
In the penultimate bout of the night, it saw the rookie from the Futureshock Performance Centre in Nadeji taking on Anthony Getski in his first singles match at Futureshock, as he put in an amazing effort on debut. Nadeji was an unknown quantity considering his only appearance in FSW was during the Invitational Rumble at the For the Love of Futureshock show last month. Getski didn’t have much of an answer early doors, as the rookie was flying around the ring like a cruiserweight and had some interesting variations on moves that were working. Experience then began to show, as his opponent grounded the high flyer and saw him working the body, and despite Nadeji forcing his way back into the contest, a slight error allowed Getski to hook in his spinning neck and leg breaker for the win.
FSW ADRENALINE CHAMPIONSHIP – TRIPLE THREAT MATCH
‘Dynamite’ LEE DAWSON (c) v ‘Playboy Prince’ LANCE REVERA v CHRIS RIDGEWAY
The main event was quite possibly one of the best ever Futureshock matches of All time, as it saw following the events of earlier in Part one, it saw Futureshock management ruling that the Adrenaline Title match would now be contested in a Triple Threat rules match – with champion “Dynamite” Lee Dawson defending against both Lance Revera and Chris Ridgeway. There are so many words I could use to describe this bout, as so much happened and despite some great matches during the whole day, this just surpassed it and then some. We didn’t even get the traditional title introductions, as Revera made a beeline for Ridgway already in the ring as the two traded off before Dawson got involved in the match.
All three men demonstrated their strongest points, as firstly Ridgeway put both men in submissions, with Revera in a leg lock and Dawson caught in an ankle lock. Lance Revera used his cunning in the match, while Dynamite used his quickness against both opponents. It saw Revera and Dawson switching roles from earlier in the match, as they both put their own submissions on Ridgeway, with Lancer Revera adopting the sharpshooter and Dawson locking in the crossface. Meanwhile, with Ridgeway recovering on the outside and out of the picture for now, it saw Deja vu with the “Playboy Prince” and “Dynamite” going at it yet again, having seen them a few hours ago going tooth and nail. Ridgeway then gathered himself together and saw him throwing Referee James Greenwood out the ring, as he proceeded to hatch a plan.
It saw Chris Ridgeway getting some tape from somewhere, as he began to tie Dawson’s legs around the ring post so he effectively took him out of the equation. After beating both up, he grabbed Greenwood and rolled him back into the ring, where he proceeded to stomp on the champion’s neck and chest with the ref stopping him, due to Dawson being defenceless. While the champion tried to free himself of his predicament, it left Ridgeway taunting him by nailing a dead-on-his-feet Revera with a brainbuster, but Lance kicked out. However, Ridgeway then put a Guillotine choke hold on his fallen opponent and saw him looking straight at Dawson as Revera passed out, with the referee forced to call for the bell and see a TKO victory to the winner, and new, Futureshock Adrenaline champion. Victory meant that Chris Ridgeway was now a Grand Slam winner with the company – having seen him previously win both the FSW Championship and Tag titles.
In the aftermath, it saw the new holder of the Adrenaline title taunting Dawson who was still tied up in the ring-post, with the former champion throwing punches out of reach, before Ridgeway went on to nail him with his old belt as he then posed for photos. After being cut free, it saw both men in the ring together and embracing after two hard battles in the day, before raising the others’ hand and having the fans in attendance show their respect to both men.
Next show is Futureshock MAY IV at the Manchester UNION at 1pm, due to WWE Backlash later in the day.