NGW Destiny

Eastmount Centre

Saturday, 16th March 2013

So here we finally arrive.

It's been 99 whole days since the last time NGW took over the Eastmount Centre, and with the promise of a 30 man rumble, it's no wonder they're queuing out the door.

The night starts with Luke Ingamells in the ring explaining what's to come over the next couple of hours, when he's rudely interrupted by the Proven who tell us... well... they don't really tell us anything. Other than that they are going to do something, and the rest of NGW have no idea what's coming. Apart from the fact that they just warned them of course. Wouldn't a surprise be more surprising if it was actually kept a surprise?

Rumble Roulette

Mark Haskins vs Kris Travis vs Stixx vs Zack Gibson

This years rumble won't just be for a shot at the title... It will be for the new title! Rampage Brown ran off in a sulk because the Eastmount fans say 'he can't wrestle and he looks like a clown' (although I never really understood that one...), and so NGW management had no choice but to strip him of the title. Since Rampage took the old belt with him, we're treat to a brand new belt too!

So with the stakes so high this year, it means that the rumble roulette could be key to deciding who the next champ is. Four enter the match, all vying for the coveted number 30 spot.

With two great heels like Haskins and Gibson in the match there was bound to be shenanigans aplenty, and while Gibson kept the ref distracted, Haskins struck Travis in the back of the head with Stixx's signature chains. Getting out of dodge, Haskins quickly palmed the smoking gun off to Stixx just in time for the referee to turn around and blame the wrong guy, disqualifying Stixx from the match and bestowing upon him the unenviable task of starting the rumble in the number one spot.

Gibson and Haskins continued to form a team of sorts, all the while just trying to get one over on the other. After some great fast paced action the pairing finally managed to take out Travis, leaving it down to the two of them to decide who comes in at number 20 and number 30. This next bit was one of my favourite bits of the night; a heel masterclass! They did the tried and tested 'fake hand shake', the ever effective 'low blow', and the classic 'rake of the eyes', all before Haskins managed to role up Gibson with his feet well and truly on the ropes, earning not only the win, but that much desired number 30 spot.

Nathan Cruz vs Robbie X

The last year has been rough for Nathan Cruz... After losing his title, he lost his bodyguard, his manager, and then his girlfriend. Now he stumbles out, seemingly not even able to dress himself properly, with just a bottle of Jack to keep him company, and his former waterboy, Kev Cash, following him around dressed up like some sleazy cocktail bar mixologist. Seeing Cruz a little worse for wear prompts the crowd into some excellent chants such as the straight to the point "You need to sort your life out, matey" and the witty new nickname 'Nathan Booze'.

The match doesn't last too long, Robbie X takes it to the fallen Showstealer in what starts off to be a great one-on-one contest, but Nathan soon gets frustrated and begins to beat on Robbie in the corner until the ref is forced to ring the bell and end the match in a no contest. Upon this announcement Nathan decides to turn on the ref, before Luke steps in to break it up and he and Matt Myers perform a sort of intervention. Nathan says that he has no idea what NGW are doing anymore, Luke has lost control, and nobody even knows who the General Manager is anymore. Myers makes an inspiring speech, telling Nathan that the rumble is his chance to turn it around; erase the memories of the recent defeats and start anew. Nathan seems to listen. Maybe a face turn on the horizon for poor old Nathan Booze?

El Ligero vs Sam Bailey

We've seen these two go at it many a time as part of the their respective tag teams, but never have they gone one-on-one in front of an NGW crowd. Great in ring action from both guys, but especially the hardest working wrestler on the British scene, El Ligero. It's a very back and forth affair, punctuated by some deafening chops around ringside to the chest of Bailey. In the end Ligero managed to score the pinfall over one half of the current tag team champions, cementing his name as a major player in NGW.

30 Man Rumble

After what proved to be a great first half, we're back to our seats to witness the 30 man over-the-top-rope battle royale, with participants entering the ring at intervals of 90 seconds (or there abouts).

Starting off is Stixx, who earned this place by going out first in the roulette match earlier on in the night. He has a long road to walk if he's going to become NGW champion, but I wouldn't count him out just yet.

Next in the ring we have an assortment of characters, including Robbie X to rapturous applause, Scott Adams to immense boos, and Bagheera to... vague apathy. Robbie gets even more cheers when he eliminates Adams, really gaining some momentum from the fans.

The first big surprise come in the form of a small child. I didn't catch his name, but he couldn't have been more than 13. As he headed into the ring, a guy who was at least four times his size stormed out unannounced and seemingly took his place, throwing the young wrestler out of the way like he was swatting off a fly, before then eliminating Robbie X and clarifying for us all his heel status.

A few more enter the fray, including Sam Wilder and Sam Bailey, plus a guy who dances on stage like a legend, before our next big surprise of the night; Stixx is eliminated by the now named Paul Ryker, who took himself out in the process, hopefully setting up a great hard-hitting  feud for the future.

When Nathan Cruz comes out to the ring, thoughts of a face turn are increased as he tears his way through everyone in the ring with a string of massively impactful moves, until he suddenly quells all our speculations by waving 'bye Luke' and eliminating himself from the match! He did say that he was done stealing the show for NGW, and I guess this is how he proves it.

Colossus Kennedy proves to be a force to be reckoned with by eliminating two members of the Proven, Caz Crash and Sam Wilder, before going on to eliminating both of Team GB at the same time. Unfortunately for him, Bailey and Gibson take this personally and re-enter the ring just to take him out. As Kennedy chases them both backstage, we are left with the final four in the ring; El Ligero, Dara Diablo, Mark Haskins and Matt Myers.

There's a lot of history between these four, with two of them being in a tag team together and the other two having a very recent heated rivalry, their in ring chemistry really shows. With my main two picks Stixx and Colossus already out of the competition, it really could be any one of them taking home the title. But when Myers is eliminated by Dara, and Dara in turn eliminated by Haskins, it just boils down to Ligero and Haskins to fight it out. Meanwhile the Proven execute their first strike, delivering a beatdown to Dara outside the ring. But why Dara? Was it just a random attack to prove something to NGW fans and management? Or is there some other motive?

In the end Mark Haskins is the one that really did come out on top. Not only did he win the rumble roulette at the beginning of the night, but that proved key in helping him stay fresh and ultimately winning the rumble, throwing El Ligero over the top rope to become the new NGW Champion! Not shy to rub it in, he holds the title aloft gloating over the disappointed Ligero.

With so many new angles to explore, new storylines, and new feuds, this really is the start of what could be a massive year for New Generation Wrestling!

NGW Eternal Glory

Saturday 8th December 2012

Eastmount Recreation Centre, Hull

The final NGW event of 2012, and the last one in Hull for 3 months. Not only that, but it was to feature Hull's first ever ladder match with 8 men in  the ring at once, battling it out to become NGW Tag Team Champions. This event promised everything, but could it deliver?

Proving Ground Pre-Show

6-Man Tag match

A team of heel wrestlers, led by Barnaby, heads out to take on a team of faces led by local favourite Ricky Halestorm. It's a good match too! Sometimes these 'dark matches' are dark for a reason, but this time I would have been happy with these guys coming first or second on the actual card. The good guys stood victorious at the end of this one, getting a good pop off the crowd and getting the event off to a good start.

Stixx vs Bam Bam Barton

This was Stixx's return match after losing to Rampage Brown at Ultimate Showdown, a chance to show the NGW crowd that he was still a contender. And what a contender he is. He's one of the most consistent performers on the roster; always puts on an great match and always gets a great reaction from the crowd. Bam Bam Barton made for a good opponent, but in the end had to tap out to a Sharpshooter from the 'Heavyweight House of Pain' Stixx.

After the match, commentator 'the Geach', decides to get into the ring and berate the victor. After showing Stixx some footage of NGW Champion Rampage Brown claiming that he's never returning to the Eastmount Centre, Geach tells him it's all his fault that the NGW title will never be seen by the Eastmount Crowd again. Bizarrely, Stixx has no response, and instead just skulks off to the locker room, seemingly hanging his head in shame.

Martin Kirby vs Caz Crash

Martin Kirby hasn't been seen in an NGW ring since he lost his roster spot to Caz Crash at the 4th Anniversary Show back in June. In fact, his only sighting was at Full Force in October, sitting at ringside, when Caz and the rest of The Proven attacked him and then challenged him to this very match. When Kirby accepted, he didn’t realise that Caz was being his usual underhanded self and meant a three-on-one handicap match! Once the match got started it was clear how this one was going to go, with the so-called ‘numbers game’ catching up to Kirby and The Proven getting the pinfall victory.

Nathan Cruz vs Colossus Kennedy

With Richie West as Special Guest Referee

This. Was. Awesome.

We know these two can wrestle, but that’s not what this was about. This was all about telling a story. Colossus fights not only for himself in this one, but also for everyone that Cruz has wronged in the past year. And that is a long list of people… One of them is Richie West, Cruz’s former manager, who has been made the special guest referee to make sure that Cruz doesn’t find a way to cheat his way out of this match. That doesn’t stop Nathan from trying to cheat though, as he gets a steel chair and continuously hits Kennedy with a series of almighty chair shots, assuming that he’ll get himself disqualified. However, both West and Colossus want to see this match through to its bitter conclusion, and so the beating goes on. To the crowds delight, things do eventually turn in Kennedy’s favour, landing a sick chair shot of his own, and pinning him to the mat for the three count.

After the match, long suffering girlfriend Mel walks out on Cruz, leaving him alone with only his water-boy for company.

Matt Myers vs Mark Haskins

I could honestly watch these two go at it every single week; great in ring chemistry from two fast paced and entertaining wrestlers. After Myers beat Haskins in their last encounter, the ‘Star Attraction’ has been popping up and trying to get his own back ever since. And, after an amazing back and forth match, Haskins finally got the revenge he was so desperate for, pinning Myers and getting his hand raised in victory by the ref. I say bring on the rubber match; 30 minute Iron Man Match sound good to anyone?

Dave Rayne vs Mad Man Manson

Oh dear Lord… My face actually hurt from this one. Dave Rayne came out and made the fastest heel turn I’ve ever seen, calling out anyone in the NGW locker room in order to prove he is the greatest. Out comes somebody he's not quite expecting, Mad Man Manson! You either love this guy or you hate him, and after the last time I saw him I really was heading towards the latter end of the scale. This time however, he completely changed my mind! Him and Dave Rayne did some slow motion wrestling, and, as ridiculous as it sounds, it had the whole crowd in hysterics. I would tell you to buy the DVD and check it out for yourself, but the cameraman was doubled over laughing so hard that I'm not entirely sure if he got any of it. Great stuff. I think it ended with Dave Rayne winning the match, but does it really matter? The crowd was the winner of this one.

Four Corners Ladder Match for the Tag Team Titles

Team GB (c) vs Los Amigos vs The Predators vs Robbie X & Dean Allmark

My words are just not going to do this justice.

The anticipation for this match was incredible. Ladders were marched out and placed around the ring before the match started, and then the four teams came out one at a time, all pausing for a glance at the Tag Title belts hanging from the ceiling. Now, I've seen a lot of Ladder matches and TLC matches, but I've never seen one up close and personal and I spent the entire match in one of two states; shock or fear. They did things that I've never seen or even thought was possible. Biggest props go to Zack Gibson, who managed to sell an injury so well that we were all convinced he would never walk again, but still managed to get back up in time to get himself thrown through the announce table! Team GB managed to retain their titles, as all 8 of them received a well deserved standing ovation.

Incredible stuff to round up a great 2012 for NGW. Can't wait to see what they've got planned for 2013!

NGW Ultimate Showdown

Sports Arena

Sunday 11th November 2012

There's about 200 people sat around the ring, and NGW suffer from 'technical difficulties'... 20 minutes later, the show begins!

Colossus Kennedy vs Sam Adonis

The American Sam Adonis starts by getting the crowd heated up and it looks like it could be a fun match. Sadly that doesn't last very long, the pace is very slow and the crowd quickly lose interest. I've seen Colossus many times now and I know he can have a great match, so I was a little disappointed with this one. Sam Adonis deserved to lose and thankfully he did.

Alpha Female vs Angelina Love

I was dubious as to how many people a name like 'Angelina Love' would draw to an event, but then again I've never tried to book a wrestling event! Nevertheless, this was a very good match. Angelina drew the cheers from the crowd, Alpha got the jeers. Alpha dominated for the most part and scored a much deserved pinfall victory.

Bonus Academy Match - Lucas Steel vs Ricky Halestorm

I would have enjoyed seeing this match, but The Proven interrupt before it even gets started, pissed that they're not on the card themselves. They beat on both the in-ring competitors, Ricky getting thrown to the outside. Caz takes the mic, standing over the prone body of Lucas Steel and proclaims to the NGW locker room that if you're not with them, then you're against them. Could Steel be joining the Proven?

Nathan Cruz vs Robbie Dynamite

Excellent. But then a Nathan Cruz match always is! Not the Cruz/Allmark rematch we had hoped for, but Robbie Dynamite did a good job of filling in for him; he has a tendency to over telegraph some of his moves, but he's an awesome mat technician. This would almost have been a five star match, if not for a slip up on what was meant to be the 'big finish'. Still, the best bit of a Cruz match is often the storytelling and it did just that. Dynamite scored the victory, causing Cruz to throw a bit of a tantrum and shove Mel who was, as always, in the wrong place at the right time. Cruz's former manager, Rich Dunn, comes out and reminds him of his match with Colossus coming up at the Eastmount, for which Rich himself will be the Special Guest Referee!

Half time - We all get hot dogs.

Team GB (c) vs Los Amigos

The second half starts with a bang as Los Amigos try and win back their titles from Team GB. We're treat to some of El Ligero and Dara Diablo's usual high flying antics and a couple of really good spots; my favourite of which was the super-kick frenzy! Sam Bailey ended up using the title belt to deliver the killing blow and ending the match in a disqualification. After the match Ligero gets out a ladder as GB scarper, looking ahead to the four corners tag team ladder match coming soon at the Eastmount! Can't wait!

Matt Myers vs Joseph Conners

So we were supposed to have Noam Dar, but it was announced earlier in the night that he'd had to pull out last minute due to injury and that one half of the Predators, Joseph Conners, would be taking his place. This was a bit of a disappointment, which is to say nothing bad about Conners, I do actually rate him quite highly, but I was looking forward to seeing the young Scot after hearing so much about him. Conners and hometown hero Myers still put on a great match, even more impressive after we learned later on that evening that Myers had badly winded himself early on in the match and apparently struggled throughout. Myers scored the victory to rapturous applause, but this was mildly soured when he had to be practically carried off.

Next up we had the all important raffle, and an announcement from NGW management: Senior official 'Milky' was to retire after tonight's main event! As they like to say in the wrestling business, we wish him luck in all his future endeavors.

Rampage Brown (c) vs Stixx

Rampage Brown has held the title since March, so a lot of people were thinking his time must surely be up. Plus, Stixx is practically the only one left on the roster that looks like he could actually beat him. The fans get to see the action up close as the pair's brawl spills into the stands. This is everything a main event should be; it's exciting, it's hard hitting, and most importantly, we don't know who is going to come out on top. In a surprise turn of events, Rampage defends his title cleanly, pinning Stixx for the 3 count.

A good first half was followed by an excellent second half, and it has me looking forward to three things:

1. Four Corner Tag Team Ladder Match
2. Nathan Cruz vs Colossus with Rich Dunn as SG Referee
3. Who have they got to challenge Rampage next?

The only real downside for me was the 'technical difficulties'; they can get away with these back home at the Eastmount, but the problems with the mic and the entrance videos really do need resolving before their next appearance at the Sports Arena.

NGW Full Force

Eastmount Recreation Centre

Saturday 6th October 2012

Seats taken, snacks bought, chants prepared. But wait! Is that Kirby in the audience? Hmmm...

Tommy vs Tommy - Proving Ground Pre-show

- Tommy won, Tommy lost. Need I say more?

Haskins vs Stixx

- Good match overall, Stixx stood victorious at the end and stated that he would be taking the NGW title from whoever it was that held the title after the nights main event.

Caz Crash vs Robbie X

- Really good match, Caz seems to be getting better everytime I see him. Pleased Robbie still got a match after Avian's unfortunate withdrawal from the tag team. Caz pinned Robbie to take the win, and then started mouthing of at Kirby as the rest of The Proven ran in through the crowd to attack him. Caz claimed that lightning could strike twice and he would prove himself again at Eternal Glory when they go head-to-head once again!

Los Amigos vs Team GB vs The Predators - NGW Tag Team Championship

- Not the spot-fest that you would have assumed, just a great fast-paced wrestling match. The audience were in complete shock as both of Team GB piled on top of El Ligero to get the win and become the new NGW Tag Team Champions! Even bigger surprise was the announcement of a rematch for Eternal Glory, but with the addition of a fourth team; Robbie X and Extreme Dean Allmark! Plus, it will be NGW's first ever... LADDER MATCH!

Cruz vs Colossus

- Cruz came out with his usual entourage and a spray tan so dark that I honestly thought that Rampage had come out for the wrong match. He was terrified to get in the ring with Kennedy and so spent a count of 8 running round the outside the ring, before Colossus accidentally collided with Mel and, as he repented for his sins, Cruz slid back into the ring and Colossus was counted out. Cruz stood victorious, but not for long. His ex-manager Richie West came out with an announcement; the two of them would step in the ring again at Eternal Glory, but this time with Richie as the Special Guest referee!

Mad Man Manson vs Something Hope... (What was this guys name?)

- In my opinion, a guy like Manson needs a straight up serious wrestler to compete against if his act is to work. Sticking two "funnymen" in the ring at the same time was just an overload. Yeah it had it's funny points, but most of the time I was just thinking 'Thank God I don't have any children to mentally scar with this'. For what it matters, Hope scored the pinfall victory.

Rampage vs Myers

- This was always going to be a good match, but it was also only ever going one way; with Stixx's announcement early on, and Rampage holding the belt on the poster for Ultimate Showdown, it wasn't looking good for Myers. The challenger still gave it his all and looked like he could even cause an upset, that is until Haskins ran through the crowd and pushed Myers off the top rope, allowing Rampage to take advantage and steal the win. After the match, Haskins and Rampage shook hands and started beating on Myers, causing an enraged Stixx to run down to the ring, chair in hand. After breaking it all up he had another announcement to make; at Ultimate Showdown it was going to be Stixx against Rampage Brown, one-on-one, for the NGW Championship!

But that wasn't all, the fight restarted on the entrance ramp, and all climaxed in Stixx delivering a big back body drop to Rampage, sending him right through the wooden entrance way!

A huge finish to night of big matches and even bigger announcements.