After an interesting Workin’ Man’s Wrestling release, I was happier to dive back into the cannon content from World Wide Wrestling League in follow up to Summer Spectacular as W3L arrived in Dunfermline for an education in grappling.
Wrestling Showdown Exclusive – Irn Dru Marshall vs Davey Blaze ended in a no contest.
In the W3L Wrestling Showdown pre-show recorded match, it was Blaze that swung first but it missed as Davey immediately looked to panic at being at the mercy of Irn Dru Marshall. Marshall proceeded to snap his opponent around the ring. A couple big kicks had Dru on the up until Chris Renfrew slid in to give Marshall a Stunner to throw the match out.
A tag team match was laid out for the main show as Marshall teased a mystery partner that some call the greatest showman.
It was a final push for the main show that serviced those in attendance and, perhaps, those watching that may want to see the conclusion of the set up.
W3L Wrestling Showdown Championship – Hugo Harris defeated The Jackal by pinfall to retain.
We kicked off the main show with a title match with Hugo Harris recovering the W3L Wrestling Showdown Championship and apparently losing his backup. The Jackal flung Harris off the opening lock up as Hugo had to delve into his bag of tricks early to catch Jackal off guard with a kick to the mid-section, and luring the challenger to the outside to turn the momentum into his favour. All seemed for naught as The Jackal got the better of Hugo Harris at every corner early on.
A shove into the ring post to have The Jackal collide spine first against the steel finally gave Harris his opening, immediately pouncing and using misdirection to keep the referee’s eyes averted while he choked The Jackal with his wrist tape. Hugo finally got caught and The Jackal recovered to fight back. The lights went off for a moment, then came back on to no reveal. Jackal kept going, a German Suplex folded the champion, with another suplex it was looking good for The Jackal until the lights went out again. The lights returned with The Tormentor marching his way to the apron.
The distraction was enough for Hugo Harris to kick Jackal in the gut and deliver a Pedigree to retain.
A good opener, the crowd were hot for it which is a common occurrence for W3L shows. The audience just want to cheer and the good guys, boo the bad guys, and enjoy. No complicated stories here, Hugo Harris was the slimy cocky champion, The Jackal was the guy tasked to give him a pasting but due to outside forces it meant Harris could escape with the title once more. Action was solid which is to be expected with The Jackal and Hugo Harris.
Kayleigh was joined by Lou King Sharp to talk about his upcoming match with Euan G Mackie following his return to W3L.
Saqib Ali defeated Paul Hubris by pinfall.
Hubris broke the tie up to land a kick to Saqib Ali as he went about being the aggressor, keeping Ali at bay until an upturn of pace for a couple armdrags had Saqib get his match campaign underway. Ali set up for the running knee put Paul Hubris was wise to roll out of harms way. Saqib was in pursuit to slap about Hubris, primarily on his smooth dome.
The tables were turned back in the ring with Hubris cranking at the neck of Saqib Ali. Saqib fired back with a suplex that had a nasty stump brainbuster landing. Ali tried to jump onto the dizziness but once again missed the running knee. The pair traded forearms with Saqib Ali getting the best of the exchange to get a combo together, landing a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Ali locked in a crossface that was met with a rope break.
A desperate Paul Hubris kicked out to connect with the ankle of Saqib, with a rebound German Suplex and kick had Ali prone for a heel hook. Saqib dragged himself to the ropes and fought out of a suplex to hit a lungblower. Hubris struck with a kick to the bad leg to break Saqib’s landing from the top turnbuckle to bombard Saqib Ali with an assault ending with a Michinoku Driver for a near fall. Hubris went up too for an aerial assault of his own but missed his target, rolling through and turning around into the running knee to end the match.
An engaging match with the ever popular Saqib Ali picking up a hard fought win. The build up to that running knee connecting was well done and jeopardy shown by Hubris to level up his attack after the dodgy landing from a suplex-come-brainbuster was very good. There was the added drama of both wanting to end the match as quickly as possible following that scare but neither was willing to give an inch.
Davey Blaze and Chris Renfrew stood either side of Kayleigh to give their two cents on the main event tag team match.
A history lesson was next with a From The Vault match between Leah Owens, Kasey Owens, and Sammii Jayne from Remedy 2016.
Euan G Mackie defeated Lou King Sharp by pinfall.
Mackie and Sharp were throwing hands moments before the bell and continued once the bell rung, spilling to ringside as it echoed around the hall. Lou King Sharp came out on top as the match returned to between the ropes, a basement dropkick while Mackie sat in the corner had Euan seeking respite. It looked to be all Sharp until Mackie held onto an Irish Whip off the ropes to drop to the mat and send Lou throat first into the middle rope.
Mackie took charge, aiming his attack on the stomach and ribs of Lou King Sharp, driving his knee for a breakfast launcher and a follow up springboard Vader bomb got a near fall. Euan went for Sliced Bread and got his leg tripped and stuck in a tree of woe. A dropkick while Mackie hung helpless rattled Euan who was hoisted up for a Finlay Roll by Sharp. However, during the fireman’s carry, Mackie’s legs struck the referee, just as it looked like Sharp was about to get the win, the lights went out again as The Tormentor re-emerged to strike Lou with a Singapore Cane, enough to keep Sharp down to see Euan G Mackie soaring off the top rope turnbuckle with a Total Arseclipe leg drop to seal victory.
A heated match, as it should have been, there was a definite feeling of first chapter to it, especially with the question mark over if Sharp would’ve been the victor if it wasn’t for The Tormentor’s meddling. There’s plenty of flexibility to escalate the drama but as an opening to the arc it was a very good match.
Tommy Lockhart & Irn Dru Marshall defeated Davey Blaze & Chris Renfrew by pinfall.
After a heavy amount of stalling, it was Tommy Lockhart and Davey Blaze locking up with Lockhart bamboozling Blaze with sleight of hand and crowd pleasing shenanigans to pretzel Davey in the middle of the ring. A Bishop Brennan-esque boot up the backside released Blaze, who tagged Chris Renfrew in to save his blushes. There was nothing fancy from Renfrew who combated the athletic display with brute force. A stunner was pushed out of with Tommy tagging Irn Dru, who ignored Blaze being the legal man and launched himself through the ropes to scrap with Renfrew at ringsides.
A brawl erupted from either side of the ring, settling back on the canvas with Davey Blaze being isolated in the corner of Marshall and Lockhart. A timely interruption from Chris Renfrew was needed in order for Davey to break the momentum that Tommy was building. Blaze and Renfrew kept the legal man fresh to take turns to wear down Tommy Lockhart, and antagonise Irn Dru who was shaking with frustration on the apron. Lockhart hung on to push Renfrew back long enough to get Marshall in as he headed for his foe. Dru set up Renfrew for a superkick but Davey Blaze rushed in to intercept and eat the boot of Marshall. It was all that was needed for Chris Renfrew to give Dru a Stunner, and a second Stunner from the second turnbuckle to be safe. The count was broken by a tremendous elbow drop from Tommy Lockhart, who got a Stunner of his own in return.
Renfrew and Blaze picked up Marshall, who escaped the clutches of the pair to headbutt Davey and, after a struggle, delivered a running headbutt to Renfrew, it was enough to capture the win in the main event.
Marshall tried to bludgeon Renfrew with a tool box after the match, who quickly rolled out the way. Dru put out the challenge to Renfrew to choose the stipulation and fight him.
Having the match close the night after the confrontation in the pre-show gave the match so much simmering hype that the kids in the crowd ate up. They were loud, and with Renfrew doing his best to avoid Marshall early on just increased that tension so when Dru dived through the ropes to get him some revenge it created a rapturous atmosphere which made all that build up pay off and it built into the chaos of the closing stretch. Lockhart and Renfrew had a good chemistry which I’d like to see revisited down the line.
In fear of repeating myself, W3L has this family show style down to a fine art. Have a story run through the night for the casuals, add enough potential branches for the potential regular consumers to want to either come back or check out the content online, and a scattering of actual more in depth building for their longer running stories. The word I always use is consistency, the matches were good, and the overall show maintained that level of quality. An easy watch.
The full show is available on Hooked On Wrestling TV now to check out for yourself:
