FUTURESHOCK: HIGH GEAR – Review

This past Sunday night saw yet another exciting event from the Stockport Guildhall, as FutureShock High Gear was the next stop on route to the promotion’s 20th Anniversary show this coming August (10th/11th) and what a show it was indeed! It saw arguably one of the most craziest shows to date, as it was packed with great wrestling, a wild brawl, a bombshell announcement regarding the Tag Team titles and a twist in the Women’s title match.

Match 1: Jenson Vesper vs ‘Dynamite’ Lee Dawson

We should have seen an Adrenaline Championship match between the debutante the ‘Ace of Hearts’ Jenson Vesper and the current champion Chris Ridgeway, only we didn’t, as Ridgeway wasn’t in attendance. It did see him though sending a DM to Simon Hill who informed the crowd that not only was he not there, but Vesper wasn’t worth his time and effort, as neither was being in Stockport either. But it did see FutureShock having a handy replacement ready for Vesper to tie up with the former Adrenaline champion ‘Dynamite’ Lee Dawson. Dynamite showed his explosiveness in the ring early on, that was until the ‘Ace of Hearts’ saw a chance to grab the leg of Dawson and caused him to fall off the ropes, which saw Vesper gain control of the matchup. Jenson pushed the limits by way of the referee’s five count, as he continued to administer a bit more pain to his opponent, but Dawson would fight back and saw him nailing his Powder Keg DDT off the ropes to score the win.

Match 2: Joey Hayes vs Chris Egan ( If Egan loses he must retire)

It saw the two FutureShock veterans and friends in Joey Hayes and Chris Egan going up against one another where the stipulation was still being enforced, in which a defeat for Chris Egan would bring an end to his long career. The contest started off a bit light hearted, as both men tried to out wrestle the other, that was until a stray boot from Egan saw it catch Hayes near his eye, as Hayes was not happy at all and saw fun time being over and have us getting down to the serious business.
These two grizzled veterans seemed to know what the other would do next, as they went hold for hold, move for move – with Egan looking to suplex his opponent from the top rope, but Hayes stopped him by popping his ears, then his attempted cross-body was reversed into a near fall before Joey hit his JKO out of nowhere. However, Hayes got conflicted about what to do, as he didn’t want to retire his friend, but he also wanted the victory and was really caught in purgatory. That hesitation from Hayes was all that Egan needed to roll his opponent up for the win, as he lives to fight another day, with the two hugging after the bout.

Match 3: CP Reilly vs Teddy Reay

The Genius took on the man formerly known as Tu Byt, as the story behind the new name change for Teddy Reay was explained, but CP Reilly was left moaning at how long it was taking. Reay looked full of energy and raring to go, while his opponent was none too excited at the prospect of going up against him and tried his best to delay the start of the match as he possibly could. Reilly attempted to get the first shot in, but Reay was more than ready and saw him trying to ground his opponent by going for the leg and ankle of his foe. However, the Genius managed to capitalise on a mistake from his manic opponent, but Teddy came back though, as the two stars put on some stellar wrestling with a mix of fast and technical holds thrown in for good measure. Both men landed big moves late on, with CP Reilly hitting Reay with a huge spear, before Reay then grounded his opponent with a sit-down powerbomb, as both resulted in near falls. But on this night it saw the returning Teddy Reay securing victory, as a Diving Double Foot Stomp off the top rope to his opponent saw a successful return to FutureShock for the Rat King.

Match 4: ‘The Hunter’ Briac Strong vs Prince Pele

In what was one of the most intense and wildest matches of the night, it saw “the Hunter” Briac Strong take on the happy go lucky Prince Pele, where in the lead up to this match it had Pele telling everyone that we’d see a side we hadn’t seen out of him before, and boy, he wasn’t lying!
Everyone looked towards the entrance for Pele, but he entered the ring from behind and began to strike his opponent numerous times with a kendo stick, with this degenerating into a massive brawl before the match even got started. The bad blood between these two was evident, as it saw utter chaos with Prince Pele being thrown into people nearby, where an unlucky soul got taken out by a stiff shot from the “Hunter” with Pele then landing a DDT to the outside. More weapons were introduced, with “The Coffee Connoisseur” taking a couple of hits to the head from baking trays. Both men finally got in the ring to start the contest, though Pele was clearly worse for wear. Within two minutes of the bell being rung, it saw Strong forcing his opponent to tap out to the cross face chicken wing, but Briac refused to relinquish the hold.

After numerous failed attempts at having him let go, it saw Referee James Greenwood reversing his decision and disqualifying Strong for not letting go. Truth be told, he couldn’t have cared any less about winning or losing, just that he wanted to dish out more punishment to his foe. After knocking the referee down, Briac Strong then grabbed his black bag and pulled out an electric trimmer, to which he proceeded to modify the blond locks of his helpless opponent, as he added another item to his growing possessions’ list of the FutureShock roster.

Match 5: NORTH WEST SAVIOURS – Open Challenge

It saw the North West Saviours in Max Brooker and Rizman Khan – issuing an open challenge to the FutureShock locker room for a tag team match, as the champions wanted a fight. Their challenge was answered by the team of Nadjei and the debuting AC Brack, with Max Brooker being quick to curb their excitement and informing the duo that they hadn’t done anything to deserve a title shot, so they would need to beat the champions to earn a future opportunity.
It saw the debuting AC getting some early offense in before Brooker and Khan cooled off his jets, until Nadjei got the tag and saw the rookie taking it to the tag champions. Despite a spirited effort from the challengers, the champions were just too good and saw their hopes going up in smoke, as a double team assisted cutter put them away to see the NW Saviours secure the pinfall victory. After the match it saw a bombshell being dropped by Max Brooker, as he grabbed the mic and spoke about how FutureShock refused to do anything with them despite being the champions. So with that, it saw the holders informing everyone that on August 10th, at the Manchester Union – as part of FutureShock’s 20th Anniversary show – Part 1, the belts would be defended in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs (oh my) match.

Match 6: Deadly Damon Leigh vs Tony Wright

This match was technically a handicap encounter if we’re being honest, as it saw ‘Deadly’ Damon Leigh taking on ‘the leading man’ Tony Wright, and… the people (or more so kids!). Leigh was more distracted by the shouts of ‘Chicken’ aimed at him by the fans and the constant barrage of chants against him, and it looked to rattle him going up against ‘Tony Wrestling’. Wright was in charge until Leigh was spun round and spat water in Tony’s face on the outside, as it saw the savvy veteran using old tricks to gain an unfair advantage in the contest. Having seen Wright swing momentum back his way, Leigh nailed two big moves to gain the upper hand, with the second of which being a death valley driver, but it saw the fans’ favourite kick out. Leigh then called for a piledriver, but ended up getting it reversed and being backdropped over the ‘leading man’ to which he hit the pedigree on the former FutureShock champion for a three count. After the match, it saw Damon Leigh staring at his opponent, before offering his hand in congratulations and also earning the respect of Deadly Damon.

MAIN EVENT: Lana Austin vs Leah Raven (c) – FutureShock Women’s Championship match

In the main event of the evening, it saw the FutureShock Women’s championship being defended by the current champion in Leah Raven, as she faced the former four-time holder of the belt in Lana Austin. A lot of water has run under the bridge since these two women last met in a FutureShock ring, where their last battle came in the two-out-of-three falls contest at the 19th Anniversary show last August, where Austin picked up two straight falls to win over Raven.
However, it saw Raven as a challenger on that occasion, but now she was the one holding the gold, and was a good test of her title reign to date, against arguably the top female in the country. It saw Leah having the early momentum in the match, with Raven hitting a modified stunner on Austin for a nearfall. After going for an early attempt of hitting her Rebellion DDT finisher, it saw Lana Austin catching her while in the ropes and slamming her to the mat and seeing the tables turned in her favour.
Lana seemed to have all the answers that Leah threw at her, as a huge suplex off the top rope which somehow only got a two count put the champion’s title in doubt. Austin then got caught out using the ropes for leverage as she got a pinfall from Referee James Greenwood, but he immediately waved it off after catching her feet still on the ropes. Lana got into a heated argument with the official, before moments later seeing Raven having Austin in a pinning predicament herself, as she copied what Austin did by using the ropes for leverage and saw Leah winking and gesturing to her opponent by tapping her temple as if to say, ‘I outsmarted you!’.

OVERALL:

The last show in MAY IV I felt missed a step, but this show hit out of the park and was a return to form for me, as every match had something for everyone, be it a technical contest, a bit of silliness, a wild brawl, a really fun Women’s title bout and yet also saw some questions being asked of what’s next!?

Match of the Night: CP REILLY v TEDDY REAY,
Other nominations: Leah Raven vs Lana Austin & Briac Strong vs Prince Pele

Rating: