We were back to the Empire Zone aka the Tulloch Institute in Perth for No Sleep ‘Til Ardler, the final visit to Perth before ArdlerMania.
FCW Women’s Championship – Moxie Malone defeated Tara Lenny by pinfall to win the FCW Women’s Championship.
Tara Lenny immediately threw powder into the eyes of Moxie Malone as the ring bell echoed around the hall and while referee Chris Quinn was turning back around following said ringing of the bell. Tara pounced on her blinded foe for a Thesz Press while Moxie just swiped. Malone got forearm in to knock Lenny back, her attempt at an Unprettier was broken out of, but Tara couldn’t escape a GTS to see her reign as FCW Women’s Champion ended in minutes.
Well. That didn’t take long. A shock start to not just see a championship change hands but to also see it switch in that manner was certainly a surprise.
Clan Chief Knockout Tournament – Ben Rodgers defeated Sam McMillan by pinfall to advance.
Ben Rodgers got a good reception, it was just dwarfed compared to the adulation Sam McMillan got as he burst through the curtain. As Rodgers and McMillan prepared for battle the split returned to a 50/50, so much so that a collective starting chanting for Chris Quinn to break the up the back and forth. Sam started hot with armdrags and a dropkick to send Ben to the outside to grab a breather, returning back to the ring a bit more prepared, controlling the pace and landing a dropkick of his own.
Rodgers and McMillan traded hard hitting combos, with Ben blocking out the noise to get down to business, slowing down Sam and stopping any momentum with a methodical approach. McMillan relied on a sunset flip to rattle Rodgers, and followed up with a barrage of strikes as Ben once again found himself scrambling to the floor to get away from Sam. McMillan followed with a kick from the apron and a Senton that had Ben Rodgers reeling. Rodgers bided his time to whiplash McMillan to the canvas with a sweet Arn Anderson style spinebuster to collect himself a near fall.
The pace picked up, Ben caught Sam with a fireman’s carry slam that got another two count. McMillan gave one more spirited fight until Rodger tripped the legs of Sam, a slingshot headbutt and a stunner was enough to send Ben Rodgers into the next stage of the Clan Chief Tournament.
A sign of respect was exchanged between the competitors. Kevin Williams made his way out while Sam remained in the ring. Kev gave a list of failures that McMillan had suffered recently in Fair City Wrestling, noting that despite all of that he was still there and fighting, and rewarding Sam with a FCW Junior Heavyweight Championship match at ArdlerMania. The wording wasn’t great as it just sounded like Sam was a bit of a loser but because he hasn’t quit yet here’s another title match. The sentiment was implied from the fan reaction to pull it back from it being a pity party.
The match itself was proof that Sam McMillan is on an upward trajectory in Fair City Wrestling, by hanging competitively with Ben Rodgers who wrestles in a lot of big companies in high pressure matches, Sam showed plenty heart and that was picked up by the crowd. That was coupled by Ben slowly taking away his interaction from the audience which subtly shifted a good portion of the noise off him and onto Sam for the underdog story to kick in. Rodgers was wise to shut that off but not to have his wrestling verge into being a villain, a very clever psychological move which worked brilliantly, to me that showed his intelligence to pull back and make sure that Sam was the one that would get that emotional response from a crowd that has been invested in his trials and tribulations in an FCW and DAPW ring.
FCW Tag Team Championships – The Lancadores (Kenny B & MRD) w/Tori Fox defeated Red Gate (SAMUEL & Jacob Deacon Wilde) by pinfall to win the FCW Tag Team Championships.
MRD squared up to SAMUEL as they exchanged shoulder tackles with little movement. SAMUEL provided a kick to the stomach to double over MRD to gain control, which was momentarily as he was soon being slammed to the mat as The Lancadores double teamed SAMUEL to keep him isolated. The challengers didn’t want to leave JD Wilde left out and sidewalk slam/running elbow drop combo. Wilde dragged SAMUEL out to make an exit until they were blocked by Tori Fox. JD struck Fox and threw her towards the ring post as MRD and Kenny B sparked a melee as all four men took a tour of the Empire Zone as the referee provided plenty of discretion.
The momentum meter swung all over as both teams had their extended period of offense on the outside. A double back body drop from Red Gate put Wilde and SAMUEL back in charge once the match returned to between the ropes. Quick tags and distractions were on the table as Red Gate kept MRD in their corner for a mauling. MRD eventually made his way over for a tag as Kenny B gave SAMUEL a literal ass-kicking. JD Wilde rushed in to connect with a wheelbarrow stunner to Kenny that was good for a two count. Red Gate tried to keep Kenny B at bay, who delivered a double blockbuster to create the space to tag in MRD, who almost wrapped the match up with a stump draping piledriver to SAMUEL that saw the pin broken up by a desperate JD Wilde.
Red Gate took a second go at hitting a 3D onto Kenny B after the cutter portion was met with a big gap and the match started to get messy. SAMUEL dragged Tori Fox into the ring but he missed the red mist and caught JD Wilde. MRD chucked SAMUEL into a Kenny B sit out powerbomb to give The Lancadores the FCW Tag Team Championships.
Tommy Cross and Moonshine joined JD Wilde in surrounding SAMUEL who opened his arms to the potential consequences of failure. Spike Tierney and Duke Cannon charged out to continue the brawl from The Queen’s Hotel. Sebastian Asher walked out to his music, took a beat, then ran spears through Wilde, SAMUEL, and Moonshine before finally tearing through Tommy Cross. A Pina Collider to Moonshine had Dominate Everything standing tall. Kevin Williams made the match for ArdlerMania official with Red Gate taking on DE in a six man tag team match.
The post-match was an immediate pay off to the previous FCW Empire episode, DE took a break as a unit and now they’re back as good guys to face the faction that stole their thunder a little bit. The match, I felt like it could’ve had a few minutes shaved out of it, and MRD had a issues with his positioning, his adjustment from his height to being in an FCW ring didn’t translate well and he didn’t only fight Red Gate but also the ring itself at points. SAMUEL giving himself as a sacrifice to Red Gate before the pandemonium will surely be referenced.
A solid episode to start the No Sleep ‘Til Ardler arc, a blink and you’ll miss it title match, a high quality tournament match, and a second title change as a treat. A sign of good things to come I’m sure.
The show is available on YouTube:
