Wrestling-wise, the life of Smith has been relatively quiet. Outside of wrestling, I attended the Download music festival at Donington Park, a rather muddy and wet affair but one that saw me experience some great bands I have never seen live, such as Breaking Benjamin, Nightwish and Jane’s Addiction, bands I had already seen such as Alien Ant Farm and Skindred and bands I had previously not heard of, such as Good Tiger and Heck. It was the first time I had been to a festival and it will certainly not be the last.

WWE NXT was also present and it was interesting being on the other side of the curtain, seeing things from an audience perspective. This was the first time in a long time where I have had that opportunity and witnessing some of the crowd reactions, how the wresters in the ring interacted with the crowd and the in-ring action itself was a great experience.

My own wrestling itinerary is due to get busier though, with W3L Wrestling being in Portree, Kirkcaldy and High Valleyfield this week. Portree will see a long drive from the W3L HQ meeting point, as well as some picturesque scenery on the way there, but as of yet I do not know who my opponent will be on the show itself.

I will be competing in the ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ tournament in Kirkcaldy, which essentially involves seven participants, four match types and one winner. I participated in last year’s tournament, being eliminated from the battle royale by TJ Rage, beating Kevin Williams in a standard wrestling match, but losing to the eventual winner BT Gunn in a submission match, who ended up beating Mike Musso in a Last Man Standing match (with a bit of assistance from Taylor Bryden and Dickie Divers) to win the tournament.

High Valleyfield will see me wrestle in a flag match for the third time in my career. I will be against Liam Thomson, a man I have never wrestled one-on-one and one of the best wrestlers in the country. It is always good to step in the ring with more experienced and well-travelled wrestlers, as it allows me to step up my game that little bit more.

The week after this week will see me compete at a W3L live event in Penicuik, before venturing on my fourth Northern Tour for W3L, which will see me wrestle in Ullapool, Wick, Elgin and Dingwall over the course of three days, all on limited sleep and including plenty of travel, laughs and experiences. An interesting footnote is that I have been involved in all four Northern Tours, being a referee for the first one, wrestling on the last two and then wrestling again this year. What will happen this year remains to be seen, but I am looking forward to it, as well as my annual catch up with ‘The Bulgarian Baker’, Bozidar Branimir. Good day.

– Lucian Maynard-Smith
Facebook