kanegan Posted August 31, 2020 Share Posted August 31, 2020 Pure Wrestling Championship Walter Morgan © vs Neil Warburton Scottish Heavyweight Championship Jeffery McPeterson © vs Dwayne Dark King Of Ireland Championship Merle O'Curle © vs Curtis Jenkins British Tag Team Championships Martin Heath / Jon Michael Sharp © vs Padraig O'Hearne / JK Lee Enjoying this very much DerekB. You have got an awesome setup here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted September 4, 2020 Author Share Posted September 4, 2020 ---------------------------------- Last month's major matches saw the cream of the UK and Ireland indy scene clashing for championships and honour around the UK. In Liverpool we saw a new Pure Wrestling champion crowned as “The Grappler” Neil Warburton produced what many would consider a surprise victory over “The Shooter” Walter Morgan via a Texas Deathlock. Morgan has been wrestling for longer than Warburton has been alive, but the youngster has been quietly putting together a string of wins through 2020 and has capped that run with a tremendous win. Matching Morgan hold for hold and overcoming Morgan's painful Wigan style jointlocks, “The Grappler” relentlessly worked for takedowns and leg submissions, making the master of Wigan style grappling submit with a Texas Deathlock. Warburton is particularly well known in the North of England where he has been wrestling with CWW and was their Submissions champion, but this was still a shock to many fans who rarely see The Shooter matched in technical grappling, yet alone bested. The show was main evented by Curtis Jenkis retaining the All-England Championship over a determined Padraig O'Hearne, getting revenge for a previous loss to O'Hearne on the CWW Summer Sizzler Tour and defeating a man his upcoming opponent Merle O'Curle has also recently bested, setting the scene for their upcoming clash in Dublin. Curtis also believes he is in line for a shot at the BHOTWG International championship, and with a lot of success behind him in recent times it is hard to argue against him. The Office dominated in Edinburgh, cementing Scotland as their yard with the trio of Riddick Jordan, Padraig O'Hearne and JK Lee defeating former BHOTWG International champion Konrad Makinen and reigning CWW and British Tag Team champions Martin Heath and Jon Michael Sharp in the undercard, with O'Hearne pinning the usually extremely ring savvy Jon Michael Sharp with the Crowning Glory (IRL, Lance Archer's Black Out). They followed this up with a big win in the main event as Dwayne Dark, with a bit of a distraction from Riddick Jordan, defeated Jeffery McPeterson for the Scottish Heavyweight title via the Darkness Falls (illegal closed fist knock out punch, using his boxing background) and the Dark Matter (inverse Russian legsweep, adapted rom Art Reed) to get the fall. Following these results, The Office laid out a challenge to Heath and Sharp for the tag belts, with Padraig O'Hearne and JK Lee looking to add more championship gold to the group. Rohan Kirchner also managed a successful defence of the 100kg Championship over Kansuke Konda, taking advantage of an arm injury sustained by Konda the previous week. Dublin, Ireland played host to the month's other major championship matches. First, JK Lee and Padraig O'Hearne made good on their challenge for the British Tag Team championships as they put down Martin Heath and Jon Michael Sharp to claim the gold. Padraig was the star of the show in his home nation and was getting significant cheers despite being part of the generally unpopular The Office faction. The match could easily have been good enough for a main event anywhere in the UK, but played second fiddle to the major clash between Curtis Jenkins and Merle O'Curle for Merle's King of Ireland championship. There may not be any better technical wrestlers in the region (more on that later!) and these two men worked hard to get the excited crowd whipped into a frenzy. After almost 25 minutes of hard hitting, gritty grappling O'Curle forced Jenkins to submit with the Celtic Wreath (Indian Deathlock variation) after bloodying him with MMA style palm strikes, and taking a beating himself that almost saw him tap out to the Furusawa Armbar. Merle O'Curle was in Curtis' face after the match, telling him that they're going to fight again in England and that this time it will be for the All England championship! Cardiff, Wales was the final stop for quality wrestling this month and saw some noteworthy happenings. First, the trio of “Punisher” Paul Hughes, Gavin Owen and Glen Ward were in action again and seem to have wrestled together a few times in recent months. Rumours are that they are training together, putting their legit skills to the test against each other as they try to push each other to be the best, and angriest, men that they can be. The Welsh National champion Neville Jones defended the championship against Kansuke Konda, who had recovered from a recent injury but was once again unable to win a singles championship as Neville, along with Liz Sweetheart supporting him, picked up a win. Neville was looking extremely wary, clearly expecting an attack from “Punisher” Paul Hughes that suspiciously didn't materialise. The main event of the show saw The Office come out, weighed down by the BHOTWG International title, the Scottish Heavyweight title and the British Tag Team titles... they were faced down by former BHOTWG International champ Konrad Makinen, his recently acquired ally Nigel Svensson, and former British Tag Team champ Martin Heath and Jon Michael Sharp. With this much talent in one ring it was always going to be a great match, but the result was almost impossible to predict as the chaos unfolded. In the end a finisher parade unfolded, finishing with Konrad Makinen hitting a Backpack Stunner on JK Lee to pick up the fall. After the match he said that he's still coming for the BHOTWG International title, and that Riddick Jordan's days are numbered. ---------------------------------- Show0033 One half of the Heavyweight Tag Team champions Kansuke Konda sustained a strained bicep in this match due to the ferocity of Gram Gorman's attack on his arm In UEW, Konrad Makinen made up for his shock BHOTWG International title defeat to Riddick Jordan by finally dethroning Marcello Ricci to win the UEW World championship. This win marks an interesting milestone, as the man Konrad defeated to become inaugural BHOTWG International champion, Tigre Salvaje Jr, also currently reigns as CILL World champion, having defeated Monkey Man for the gold back in June ---------------------------------- Show0034 ---------------------------------- Show0035 Backstage Walter Morgan and British Samurai have been teaching classes on ring psychology, with Cain Carlile, Mickey Robson, Lynton Minehead and Marty Ellison in particular picking up some new tricks Making the long trip to Japan, BHOTWG International champion Riddick Jordan got his biggest career win as he won a 4 way match against Tatsuya Toshitara, Takayuki 2000 and Munemitsu Senmatsu to retain the championship in the title's second appearance in Japan. His outstanding athleticism was on show for the world and even though he was unknown compared to his opponents, his pinfall on Takayuki 2000 made sure that he left a strong first impression Fri 3 Sep: Riddick Jordan retains BHOTWG International title in BHOTWG, defeating Tatsuya Toshitara, Takayuki 2000 and Munemitsu Senmatsu in a 4 way match This week TCW cancelled their agreement to accept workers on excursion from PGHW, though they will honour the deals they currently have for Daigo Goya, Nobuyo Hikichi and Yuiri Yoshihara ---------------------------------- Show0036 British Samurai took extra time with his proteges before the show, using his years of experience to give more tips on telling a story in the ring to Lynton Minehead and Marty Ellison WrestleWorld, your premiere source of wrestling entertainment, finally opened up their WrestleWorld GB and WrestleWorld Lucha areas. The main American/Canadian package has attracted a huge number of indy fans so the company willl be hoping that the GB and Lucha extensions can add even more content and introduce more fans than ever to pro wrestling as they may have never seen it before TCW fans left TCW Threatening Behaviour having witnessed a major shock, with supposed throwawy challenger Freddy Huggins upsetting Wolf Hawkins to win his first ever World championship. Huggins is a 15 year veteran of the company who has spent most of his career in the undercard, and whie respected for his hard work was never considered a major threat until now. People question if this decision was made to help push new talent or because TCW has been struggling for major star power since the loss of Rocky Golden a couple of years ago and he remains a loyal and marketable worker.... but the other title change that saw The New Wave reunion win the tag belts suggests that TCW are struggling to make the most of a roster that has been slowly fading for several years now. ---------------------------------- Who is Omezo Shikitei? Anyone following independent wrestling over the last few months may have noticed a wrestler who has seemingly come out of nowhere and is putting on amazing matches night after night. The extremely muscular, Japanese, amateur styled wrestling machine has been tearing it up as he dominates opponents on the mat and take them down with brutal, realistic coldness. He might as well have oil in his veins instead of blood, such is the machine like focus he has on technical excellence and the drive he has to improve constantly. In April 2020 he had his first recorded match on UK shores when he lost to Konrad Makinen, and over the course of the next few months he has been facing off against a multitude of opponents, racking up a strong win/loss record in the process. Some of those wins have also come as a part of a new team with Neil Warburton as W.A.R., the significance of the name has yet to be clear. The duo are perhaps the purest technical wrestling tag team around and even hold a win over JK Lee and Padraig O'Hearne, who recently won tag gold, so W.A.R. may also have tag team championship gold in their future. But what seems more important with the arrival of Omezo Shikitei is the added depth the UK/Eire indy scene has been getting in terms of skilled grapplers. While legendary figures like Merle O'Curle and Walter Morgan continue to be able to tie up anyone in knots, there is also Thomas Morgan coming in from Canada, while Curtis Jenkins returend from the USA with his own style too. Omezo has come across from Japan after failing to catch a break there and now Nigel Svensson has returned to the UK scene, bringing his own expertise in Wigan style grappling back with him too. These are the kinds of people that 21CW shockingly overlooks as they may not always look like the flambuoyant megastars or larger than life giants that they promote, but there is no doubt that these guys are some of the toughest men in the world, are capable of having wonderful matches and continue to show everywhere they go that they are more than capable of wowing the crowd. Their international experience has brought an array of differnet technical styles together and the independently sanctioned Pure Wrestling championship, recently won by Neil Warburton, now has a list of potential contenders that not only fit the style, they excel in the style. The future is bright for British wrestling, and there are many youngsters gaining very hands on training in these styles thanks to the increased popularity of indy wrestling.Youngsters like Christian Black, Rhys Ryland and Aurelian Bradley seem to be developing their own styles of techncial wrestling too, while the Championship Wrestling from Wigan company also put on shows filled with lots of technical style grapplers and have made stars of men like Gavin Owen, Glen Ward and reigning champion Lenny Mochin. With the arrival of men like Omezo Shikitei, it looks like technical wrestling is back in British wrestling. Nigel Svenson – Walter Morgan – Curtis Jenkins – Neil Warburton – Merle O'Curle ---------------------------------- The FireBrand Dojo Intensive training continues in the FireBrand Dojo, split into two classes and with some special guest trainers marking this as one of the major training days. Thursdays may be the day where everyone travels to shows and gets to show their unique combinations of charisma, athleticism and skills, but the rest of the week is spent on conditioning, refining skills, sharpening their edges and being trained for long term success. The youngsters not only have to earn the right to train in the dojo, they have to earn the right to compete in matches, and then earn the right to expand their move set, earn the right to advance beyond the young lion stage and earn the right to win matches. That all begins with hard work and respect, something they've been having beaten into them for coming up for two years now for the FireBrand graduates, while the other young lions and more estalished young wrestlers may have been going for longer. Around the walls of the specialised gym are a number of posters. NEVER GIVE UP! ONE MORE STEP! CHASE YOUR DREAM! While the younger, undebuted class goes for a fitness class with Barry Griffin, the older class is split into three groups of five for a team based assault course run, set up around the three rings that take up much of the dojo floor. The stakes for today are dojo chores, with the winners giving some of their chores to the team who comes last. Only some of them though, everyone is expected to do the work. Competing against each other brings out the best from all of them, and the added reward of having more free time during the gruelling dojo schedule is motivation enough to push everyone to try their hardest. It's no surprise that the initial dojo class had people give up, the open tryouts alone were enough to make many people cry. But these are the survivors of that. And the more estalished wrestlers who have joined in are clearly motivated to succeed too, and can recognise the benefits of the dojo even if they themselves were not trained there. Walter Morgan and Thomas Morgan (no relation) have grouped up with mostly established performers in the first ring. Walter is one of the nicest guys in wrestling but when he is mechanically showing you a jointlock he will push it to the very limit to demonstrate the legitimacy of the move, doubling as a test of how tough his trainees are. Thomas Morgan is quieter and more reseverd, but expects the trainees to give their all at all times, which is what the dojo always expects too. They're not only a good tag team, they are a good training team. Marc Maxx would agree with that assessment as he tries to shake off the aches and pains caused by being the practice dummy for many of Walter's techniques. Since returning to the dojo he has been tested harder than perhaps anyone else and so far he has succeeded, though he has a long way to go. Mickey Robson has taken a shine to him recently, which automatically brings Gazz Vedmore into the fold too and the little group have often trained together under Walter's watchful eye. Cain Carlile, seemingly always bouncing from foot to foot, is ready to get back to ring drills and some “sparring” so that he can sharpen up his own moveset, probably again at the expense of Marc Maxx. The odd one out in the mostly outgoing group is Gavin Owen... but it's obvious that he is trying to build his wrestling experience and relishes the opportunity to train with the best he can in the Morgans. Today is meant to be a day of rest for him, and this is how he chooses to spend it before he goes back to his regular kickboxing and kung fu coaches. Being an Olympic level kick boxer gives you access to some perks that others just don't have. The central ring is led by a team of elite British wrestlers in UK Dragon and guest trainer British Samurai. They are coaching young lions, with UK Dragon keen to encourage some tag team growth and allowing some of the friendships to blossom into potential long term teams even in the dojo. Marty Ellison and Damian Hooker have been working closely with each other all year and have a good understanding of the way the other thinks, something that will stand them in good stead. When Marty went to bat for Marc Maxx the dojo masters wondered if that team bond may come undone as Marty and Marc were always close too, but so far there have been no signs of anything changing for the negative. Indeed, Marc Maxx's arrival has caused minimal disruption, perhaps due to how much he has been losing to other young lions, as morale among the kids always improves when they get some rare wins in matches. Lynton Minehead and Jermaine Granger are another tag team that the dojo masters have high hopes for, with British Samurai keen to see his Ring Of Fire Dojo graduates work together as their shared training gives them a natural chemistry. Despite their different styles, they two men have aninstinctive understanding of each other and that can only improve with time, training and the relentless pressure it takes from a true dojo to help turn these lumps of coal into diamonds. The final man in this ring is Rhys Ryland, who always works hard and never complains about anything he is asked to do. But so far he seems to be lacking something. Not necessarily the drive to be a success, but perhaps a lack of focus on what it takes to be a success. Some people believe he may suffer from undiagnosed ADD, which would help to explain why he is always coming up with ideas even if he doesn't follow through... perhaps the right role model could sharpen him up, because there is no doubt that he has the physical tools and the charisma to succeed to some degree and everyone in the dojo wants to see that happen. The third ring is led by Kansuke Konda and Hyosuke Kokan, the two men who run FireBrand Pro Wrestling and have a very hands on role in overseeing the development of the youngsters, recruiting talent and booking the company for BHOTWG. They have been leading a team of heavy hitters today and each of the five men on their team are showing the marks of the drills from training. Hari Dubashi, the smallest man in the group is rubbing at some of the tender wounds that he has received from the larger men, something that years in the business will toughen him up to in time. Bryn Archer and Messiah Hara show no such signs of even hurting, despite the redness of their chests in what appears to have been an epic chop battle. There are no clues to who won the battle, but the determination to succeed is on both of their faces and the upcoming assault course is merely their next minor challenge to be overcome. Aurelian Bradley stoically listens to what his coaches are saying, much like Christian Black. Both men are known for being students of the game, absorbing everything they can from those around them. There may be better athletes among the trainees or more dynamic personalities, but these two may one day be dojo senpais when their career comes full circle, passing on the knowledge they have been taught in this very ring and over the course of their careers. You can see the wheels turning in Black's head as he assesses each team for their strengths and weaknesses, preparing them all for the assault course ahead. Each obstacle has to be cleared by three of the team, it's up to the wrestlers on each team to decide who goes for each but but by the end of the course, everyone on the team has to have completed at least half of the obstacles themselves. An exercise in understanding yourself and those around you, in how to bring out the best from anyone while hiding their flaws. The very essence of ring psychology combined with more conditioning exercises and teamwork. One day, the men in this room will be stars and the individual lessons may not be remembered, but the skills they have gained will carry on forever. NEVER GIVE UP! ONE MORE STEP! CHASE YOUR DREAM! ---------------------------------- NEXT MONTH'S MAJOR MATCHES Adrenaline Championship Martin Heath © vs Jeffery McPeterson London was where the first ever Adrenaline champion was crowned and will see an exciting match between the man who was until recently a triple champion in the UK, Martin Heath, and a man who has something in common with him, also losing a championship to The Office, Jeffery McPeterson. Both have something to prove to themselves and to each other, and the free flowing environment and action of the Adrenaline division will allow both to use their creativity. Falls only count in the ring, but anything goes outside of it and the combination of Heath's high flying and McPeterson's brawling and risk taking offense is sure to wow the fans, regardless of the outcome. 100kg Championship Rohan Kirchner © vs Thunderbolt Leicester will play host to Thunderbolt's first significant championship match on UK soil for a long time as the masked journeyman looks to keep his recent momentum rolling in the 100kg weight class. Champion Rohan's aggressive aerial offense and determination to carve out his position as a top singles star following his years of tag teaming with Rhys Vali has seen him raise his game in the last couple of years and both men look as good as they ever have. This match won't disappoint the fans, but it will disappoint one of the two competitors involved as they go home without the 100kg Championship! All England Heavyweight Championship Curtis Jenkins © vs Merle O'Curle A rematch of their clash in Dublin that was won by Merle as he defended the King of Ireland championship on home soil, Curtis Jenkins is now tasked with defending his All England belt against a man he knows can beat him. The two technical wrestling masters had a long, hard fought, even match and both are sure to have an eye on the BHOTWG International title too, currently held by Riddick Jordan. Newcastle plays host to this match and the partisan North Eastern crowd have seen Curtis shine in recent years on the local scene and with CWW, no doubt making him the fan favourite for this clash in a reversal of the roles from their Irish clash. Scottish Heavyweight Championship Dwayne Dark © vs Jeffery McPeterson A straight up rematch from last month, this match takes place in the north of Scotland closest to Jeffery McPeterson's home and deep into his Clan McPeterson turf. The rest of The Office are booked vs Don Henderson, Konrad Makinen and Nigel Svensson on the same night so Dark is deep into hostile territory for this title defence. No doubt this will be a heated clash between two major rivals and these two matches will make the Aberdeen show a can't miss affair! All of these shows will also contain details on where you will be able to get tickets for the upcoming FireBrand Young Lion Cup Tour, which will be running through late November and all of December. Ten young wrestlers will be going head to head in a round robin format with the top two clashing once more in the final. This is not only a test of their skill in the individual matches, it's a test of endurance, willpower and heart as they give their all for the right to be recognised as the best of their peer group. The pressure from their trainers is high and recent months has already seen some of them clash in singles action as a way to test where they are in terms of skill. The young lions have limited move sets, but will have permission from their trainers to add new techniques to their arsenal meaning there will be additional twists and surprises for all competitors. It's sure to be a treat for anyone who likes seeing a new generation of stars growing before their very eyes, with the winner leading the way for a new generation of stars in British wrestling. ---------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted September 4, 2020 Author Share Posted September 4, 2020 Enough predictions to pretend there is totally a competition here, so this month Unregistered improves from his 0/3 performance from the previous month to win with 3/4 this month. Congratulations, you win.... nothing! Enjoy it so much! Unregistered 3/4 Dalton 2/4 Kanegan 2/4 For serious though, the Young Lion Cup will have an ACTUAL predictions competition and I'll be posting that one or two shows at a time so that you can post predictions for it as we go. I had always intended that to be the first one to really get a set of predictions, but it's probably better for you guys to actually care a little about some of the people who are wrestling in that and in any future events so I'm adding a little bit more to the writing now. There are 7 shows left to put up before we get to the Young Lions Cup, with four of them hyped in the post above. I've cut down the gap between how far ahead I've booked and where I've written too, so I'm literally only these 4 shows ahead now, but I will be booking the other 3 before I get there, and then I'll be running the Young Lions Cup in line with the game updates before I get ahead of myself again. I hope you all are still having fun, and if there is anything else you want to know just let me know. BHOTWG have Night of the Burning Hammer coming up too, so I'm mentally trying to tie together the things they have been doing to present a bit of an update for them in the next post too. After all... they are our parent company and they are there the best wrestlers in the world go to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanegan Posted September 4, 2020 Share Posted September 4, 2020 Adrenaline Championship Martin Heath © vs Jeffery McPeterson 100kg Championship Rohan Kirchner © vs Thunderbolt All England Heavyweight Championship Curtis Jenkins © vs Merle O'Curle Scottish Heavyweight Championship Dwayne Dark © vs Jeffery McPeterson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unregistered Posted September 5, 2020 Share Posted September 5, 2020 Adrenaline Championship Martin Heath © vs Jeffery McPeterson Martin Heath. My heat with McPeterson is real. I admit, him losing two straight title matches is terrible, but I for whatever reason have decided I don't like him, and it would also in reality devalue the Adrenaline title as well. IT's probably best to get rid of McPeterson after this, so I don't have to keep rooting against him 100kg Championship Rohan Kirchner © vs Thunderbolt Smark in me knows Rohan is keeping the title, but Thunderbolt if my pick because it's still real too me dang nabbit! All England Heavyweight Championship Curtis Jenkins © vs Merle O'Curle Tough match! I'm going with Merle O'Curle so we can see an Irish England Heavyweight champion. Outside of that, Curtis will probably win, and I think to me its the most interesting important match of the month. With this much McPeterson going on, it's really hard to get excited for the pickum's! Scottish Heavyweight Championship Dwayne Dark © vs Jeffery McPeterson Dwayne. What does McPeterson have on you Derek!?!? :p;) I like what you did this post Derek. Adding developments about the young lions is great, as that's what this diary is all about. Right now the closest connections as a reader I have is too The Unbound, Size of the Fight, and the young lions and it makes sense. As things build up, I'm sure more people will come too matter more and more, and it's not too say I don't like certain workers because of different games I've played of TEW, but they are all becoming their own in your game ahead of everyone else. Marty Ellison of the Young lions seems to really becoming potentially a real leader of the group, not only bringing back in Maxx, but learning so much from their mentor. I don't know if they are talented enough to become ace, but I see them either leading the Sekigun in the future, or having their own successful group. The company is still in the build up phase, and I do think giving a person who only had two matches in the past month, one of which was a loss in a title match, and one was a win in a trios, isn't that great. I don't think I'd do any better in the position you are in with so many titles and such though. You in an unenviable position of trying to build something up so quickly. Your doing a great job with the diary, I really enjoyed the backstage stuff in the dojo, and I'm excited to see Omezo take over the Isles soon. I hope you understand my critique is merely discussion, and I am enjoying this greatly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted September 5, 2020 Author Share Posted September 5, 2020 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Unregistered" data-cite="Unregistered" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="51546" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>What does McPeterson have on you Derek!?!? <img alt=":o" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/redface.png.900245280682ef18c5d82399a93c5827.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />:p;)<p> </p><p> I like what you did this post Derek. Adding developments about the young lions is great, as that's what this diary is all about. Right now the closest connections as a reader I have is too The Unbound, Size of the Fight, and the young lions and it makes sense. As things build up, I'm sure more people will come too matter more and more, and it's not too say I don't like certain workers because of different games I've played of TEW, but they are all becoming their own in your game ahead of everyone else. Marty Ellison of the Young lions seems to really becoming potentially a real leader of the group, not only bringing back in Maxx, but learning so much from their mentor. I don't know if they are talented enough to become ace, but I see them either leading the Sekigun in the future, or having their own successful group. </p><p> </p><p> The company is still in the build up phase, and I do think giving a person who only had two matches in the past month, one of which was a loss in a title match, and one was a win in a trios, isn't that great. </p><p> </p><p> I don't think I'd do any better in the position you are in with so many titles and such though. You in an unenviable position of trying to build something up so quickly. Your doing a great job with the diary, I really enjoyed the backstage stuff in the dojo, and I'm excited to see Omezo take over the Isles soon. I hope you understand my critique is merely discussion, and I am enjoying this greatly!</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Firstly, McPeterson is Scottish! And a big star up in Scotland too! What more do I need to do to care about him more than anyone else? <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> Nice to get feedback on who you're feeling a connection too, that's awesom to hear. <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> I'm avoiding going into too much detail here to give people the chance to project a little of their own ideas on to some people with the assumption that readers are at least a little familiar with the characters involved. Everyone should get some time to shine but if I'm keeping it short then there's only so much time to go around. <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> As for the build up, I like to imagine that our fans are largely coming to events with a little hype for the link to BHOTWG and partly from the reputation of our stars and championships. Like... having a title match on the card is meant to bring people in, and when it's on someone they care about in the area it's going to be particularly good. People may not always be able to see the full stories on an individual level but I also imagine that all the recording of events that we're doing is being turned into YouTube videos and the like to hype things up too.... so lots of fun being had. Sometimes some people will get more title matches than they may deserve, but when they fit the bill it's all good for those little indy shows we're running. But when things get deeper, the booking will definitely be easier and will get more logical. At least, that's the intention. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unregistered Posted September 6, 2020 Share Posted September 6, 2020 Nice to get feedback on who you're feeling a connection too, that's awesom to hear. I'm avoiding going into too much detail here to give people the chance to project a little of their own ideas on to some people with the assumption that readers are at least a little familiar with the characters involved. Everyone should get some time to shine but if I'm keeping it short then there's only so much time to go around. First off McPeterson is "No True Scotsman!"tm But really, I do completely understand by keeping it short and sweet means there is only so much time. I think you've done a great job of giving some outside stories while also keeping things moving. I really like it, and I'm sure we are going to see more and more of different people and likely see a continued focus on the rookies, which is great. I do enjoy the outside the ring stuff, and I'm happy that the longer writing in this story is about that instead of long match write ups. I think what your doing gives much more character, and makes me care much more for people you spotlight. Now get to work on getting us too the Young Lion cup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted September 9, 2020 Author Share Posted September 9, 2020 ---------------------------------- London played host to a stellar match up that fully showcased the Adrenaline championship's potential, mixing high flying offense from champion Martin Heath with a hybrid brawling and dive based offence from Jeffery McPeterson, who was sure to make extensive use of the outside of the ring so that he could bring in some extra toys to play with. While both men brought their A game, Heath has all the momentum in the world and despite McPeterson's aggressive attack outside the ring, he couldn't put Heath down. “Magic” Martin Heath hit the Magic Missile (snap blockbuster) to put McPeterson down, before he and tag partner Jon Michael Sharp contnued their war with The Office, with Padraig O'Hearne and JK Lee's recently acquired British Tag Team championships top of the agenda in future. At the same time, Jeffery McPeterson looked disappointed with himself for losing another title match. Rohan Kirchner's 100kg Championship was on the line in Leicester against the masked hero, Thunderbolt. The 100kg division always produces exciting matches and this one saw the two exciting high flyers steal the show with a dynamic aerial showcase after a slow feeling out process. Thunderbolt is a veteran who has always been able to excite the fans but has somehow never caught a major career break, while Rohan has long been underappreciated for his strong in ring work while he formerly teamed with Rhys Vali before going solo. Both men are determined to further their careers but only one could triumph here. Thunderbolt looked to be the better wrestler, with his experience shining through, but Rohan was hungrier tonight, capitalising on a distraction from VENOM to finally his his beautiful superkick finisher and score the fall. Rohan did nothing to stop VENOM and The Unbound from attacking Thunderbolt, and even when Size Of The Fight (Kokan and Konda) tried to make the save the numbers were too overwhelming. The Unbound stand tall over their enemies, and the rivalry between VENOM and Kokan/Konda continues... Newcastle was treated to a bumper night of action, with three title matches on the card. Neil Warburton made his first successful defence of the Pure Wrestling championship by defeating ROF alumni and former Scottish Heavyweight champion Don Henderson via submission. The same show also saw the Martin Heath make an impromptu Adrenaline title defence against Neville Jones, with the Welsh champion having just run off “Punisher” Paul Hughes following his own tag team victory. Neville vs Heath was an amazing match with both men wasting no time exploding out of the blocks but Heath once again retained the belt following a Magic Missile after Neville's inexperience showed, making a costly mistake only moments prior. The main event is what everyone came here to see though as Merle O'Curle challenged Curtis Jenkins for the All England championship following his victory in defence of his own King of Ireland championship.Once again, the two men stole the show with superlative technical grappling, with Merle throwing in extra aggressive strikes to cement his role as the bad guy in this match. Hold and counterhold showed that both men were equal in terms of skill and the story built with the crowd rallying behind Jenkins, using their voice to fuel him. Merle's Celtic Wreath and Jenkins' Furusawa Armbar were the obvious focuses of the submission offence but it was Jenkins' other moves that made the difference, snapping off a Rip Chord style DDT before hitting his beautiful Fisherman's Suplex to put Merle down. The fans left Newcastle having seen some of the best indy wrestling in the UK this year, and Curtis sent them home happy as their All England champion. In the northern end of Scotland, far into Clan McPeterson territory, The Office knew they were talking into a hostile area and fought like their lives depended on it. Riddick Jordan, Padraig O'Hearne and JK Lee may all be champions, but they fell in the semi main event to Don Henderson and Two Swede (Konrad Makinen and Nigel Svensson), with Makinen getting the pin on JK Lee, while making it clear that he still has Riddick's BHOTWG International title in his sights. With The Office defeated, they wouldn't be a factor in the night's main event that saw Jeffery McPeterson challenging to regain the Scottish Heavyweight title from Dwayne Dark. A wild brawl from the start, both men made it clear to the referee that this match was going to need relaxed rules and spent a lot of time brawling in and around the ring. The crowd were fervently behind McPeterson but he seemed to hesitate when it came down to ending to the match with the Curb Stomp, allowing Dark the time to recover, evade and after a scramble to hit the Dark Matter (reverse Russian legseep, taken from Art Reed). The crowd weren't happy, throwing whatever was left of their chips and curry sauve at Dark, but Dark didn't care.... he's still the Scottish Heavyweight champion. ---------------------------------- Petey Barnes debut in Leicester With the preliminary young lions matches concluded for the night the more serious matches began with “The X Factor” Petey Barnes making his debut as he took on the ever popular “Captain Crash” Cain Carlile. The far more experienced Barnes showcased just how good he was, using his years between the ropes to show up Cain whenever he got the chance, outwrestling him on the mat, countering high flying moves with pinpoint precision and generally overmatching his opponent for the entire duration of the match as Captain Crash gave his all in a losing effort punctuated by Petey Barnes hitting a beautiful Mile High Moonsault to pick up the fall at the eleven minute mark. The crowd remember Petey from his Ring of Fire days where he excelled in both the singles and tag team ranks, something has contonued to do until recently with EWA too until he finally returned home just a couple of weeks away. Celebrating his first win, he grabs a mic, his breathing steady as if he's just walked to the ring rather than just wrestled a match. PETEY BARNES “So, that's my first match back in the UK after being away for years, but I can tell you guys still remember me. You might remember that I was the high flyer....” Petey climbs to the top rope, balancing perfectly with the mic in his hand. PETEY BARNES “... who wrestled in a company full of some of the best British wrestlers and went toe to toe with them. And tonight....” Petey doesn't even look back as he leaps off with another Mile High Moonsault, forcing the referee Humphrey Woolsey to scramble to safety and abandon his checks on Captain Crash. Petey doesn't even drop the microphone from the impact. PETEY BARNES “... tonight I wrestled against a nobody who will never amount to anything. And now you're booing me. A moment ago you cheered me using the same move against the same guy, but now it's different. Same action, same intention, same people involved... but now you are looking at me differently. And you'd think I'd be used to that because it keeps happening to me but I only recently realised WHY I'm not the huge star I know I should be. I should have noticed it back in 2006, when I was teaming with Adam Matravers and we'd won a couple of tag titles together, travelled the roads together, done everything together for a couple of years... yet he was picked up by Jeff Nova for 21CW, while I was left behind.” Petey looks angry with himself more than he looks angry at the fans. PETEY BARNES “What made him the chosen one there? Why has he become one of the most loved wrestlers in UK history? Was it the Mile High Moonsault I just beat Captain Crash with? Clearly not based on how you are reacting right now? Was it his indy success? Nope, we shared that. Was he just better than me? Well... we never had a singles match, so we may never know the answer to that one. But I've watched him... I've watched him from Ring of Fire as we struggled in the 21CE strangehold that Adam helped to create until we died, my singles and tag team success throttled by him. I've watched him from Europe where I was singles and tag team champion again, and I've seen management overlook me time and time again. For some reason, no one wants to allow me to be the star of the show, and it doesn't matter how good I am in the ring, or how nice I've been to people, or how much I've sucked up to the fans, to you guys!” “No one has ever given me the respect I've earned. So right now, while I'm ranked at four hundred and four in the power rankings like some kind of lost wrestler, Adam was ranked number six. The world thinks that he is one of the best wrestlers of all time but he was never even the best wrestler in our tag team. And while he's headlining pay per view events, making huge money with his beautiful wife, I'm wrestling nobodies on the undercard of an indy show just after a bunch of kids fresh out of wrestling school! For a roster that I wasn't even approached to be a part of. The lack of respect....” Petey laughs to himself, a quiet, sad laugh the rings of something breaking inside of him PETEY BARNES “The lack of respect I have is because I've been giving too much of it to others. I thought playing nice and doing things by the book would get me where I wanted to be, but I can see that's not true. Unless you're privileed enough to be chosen, you have to take respect if you want to have any. No one is just handing it out for free. I get it now. I know what I have to do. Adam, I was always the better wrestler but finally I learned something from you. The next one..... the next one is for you” Petey throws referee Humphrey Woolsey away from Captain Crash again, and Petey begins to stomp at him, hitting anywhere exposed enough to strikes as Cain Carlile tries to cover up. Petey grabs one of Cain's arms to trap it and steps around to pull back one leg into a single leg Boston crab (Tequilla Sunrise submission), yanking back with as much force as he can muster. The referee is powerless to do anything about it, but the young lions get in the ring to pull Petey off of the hold, though Petey desperately holds on for as long as he can before breaking. Faced down with numbers, he turns and walks away... disappearing to the back without another word. ---------------------------------- Show0037 ---------------------------------- Show0038 ---------------------------------- Show0039 Walter Morgan has taken on Marc Maxx as a protege Jermaine Granger has left CWW. No reason has been given as to why, with his social media accounts being surprisingly quiet about the situation Clubber Kohl has also left UEW, seemingly to focus more on his dates in the UK as FPW grows there ---------------------------------- Show0040 Walter Morgan has been passing on psychology tips to Mickey Robson and Marc Maxx ---------------------------------- BHOTWG Major Stories Night Of The Burning Hammer is BHOTWG's annual super show, where huge matches are stacked on top of each other to create a super card for the ages. This year's event was headlined by the huge title rematch as Hiroaki Nakasawa managed to successfully retain against Kinnojo Horri in a fantastic match that saw two of the company's longer serving and most loyal stars clash in yet another epic encounter, this time in front of 23,788 fans. With lots of stories running through the night regarding some of the company's factions, it was a night to remember as two groups met their end tonight.... the NEO X group led by Yasuhiko Taira rumbled to their end as Taira decided not to extend his contract, seemingly needing more time to not only heal up his injuries but also to contemplate retirement. With his knees perhaps needing more time to rest, the break could do him good but the NEO X faction disbanded immediately without their leader, leaving Heihachiro Sakai, Atsumori Takemura, Ryushi Sato, Hijo Del Relampago and Jin Miyamoto to go their (mostly) seperate ways. The other faction to crumble was The Golden Army. Kiminobu Kuroki's contract was up and BHOTWG decided not to renew it, which is hardly surprising given his noted reputation for being something of a trouble maker. With the Golden Army always being a group of GCG loyalists barely held together out of a sense of loyalty to a company that is no longer active and being led by an increasingly tyrannical Hiroyasu Gakusha as he tries ever more desperately to get his hands on the World title, the rest of the Golden Army splintered off and kicked him out of the group. Seeking to be taken more credibly (with Toshiiharu Hyobanshi and Namboku Makuda currently tag champions) and integrate more into BHOTWG, they soon find themselves allied with Hiroaki Nakasawa, the reigning BHOTWG World champion. The group have been known as "Spirit Flame", combining everyone's fighting spirit with the rekindling of the fire that the former Golden Army men are looking to reignite going forward as they carry a BHOTWG flame. Elsewhere on the Night Of the Burning Hammer card, Marihito Masuko got his Junior championship match in a triple threat against champion MYSTIC Dragon and rival Elemental III, with MYSTIC Dragon managing to pull out a surprising win to retain the championship. Taro Shionya also retained his Japan championship vs Takayuki 2000, making this the first time in more than a decade that the event has seen no championships change hands. ---------------------------------- The FireBrand Dojo While the newest class of dojo trainees are being put through their paces in the third ring by Hyosuke Kokan and Kansuke Konda, two lines have been taped off on the dojo floor with a rope running along them. On the right side are the original five FireBrand Dojo graduates.... Christian Black, Damian Hooker, Hari Dubashi, Marty Ellison and Rhys Ryland. On the left, the rest of the active young lions... Aurelian Bradley, Bryn Archer, Jermaine Granger, Lynton Minehead and Marc Maxx. Standing in front of them all is the dojo's primary fitness coach Barry Griffin, who despite being 46 years old and having wrestled for close to 30 years is still in phenomenal condition. BARRY GRIFFIN “The Young Lions Cup is coming up soon and while all of you are progressing well, I expect all of you to step it up more in training over the coming weeks to be at your very best when you get your first real series of singles matches against each other. It's your opportunity to shine, to show off your athleticism, your charisma and for most of you, some new moves. This will show fans how far you've come in your training and will help you to grow your bond with them, setting you up for years to come. But remember, no matter how far you go yourself, wrestling is all about working with others. Your opponents, your tag partners, your fans... without them, you're not a wrestler, you're just a guy who likes to work out. So today we're doing a little teamwork exercise. Tug of war. FireBrand Dojo graduates against ther other young lions. You've got two minutes to work out a plan between your teams. You win when one of the opposing team goes over the line, and as always, there are chores on the line in this competition. Go!” Each group of young lions quickly huddles up. On the right Marty Ellison is first to talk, pointing to Damian Hooker then conversing with Christian Black. The team looks to both for direction, with Black seeming to give some extra pointers to the group before their huddle and before the time is up they seem to be ready, their order already set with Marty's leadership and Black's tactical plan. The left group huddle up and seem to be less cohesive... a couple of plans are clearly floated between them before Aurelian Bradley's idea seems to win a consensus among them and the teams line up. Senpai Griffin waits for the two teams to line up against each other... FireBrand Dojo lines up with Black in front, then Marty, Hari, Rhys and then Damian anchoring them at the back. The other side line up with Aurelian at the front, followed by Bryn, Jermaine, Marc and anchored by Lynton. Senpai Griffin gives the signal to go! Team FireBrand pull hard and in unison to start with, getting an early upperhand but the other side have more mass behind them and once they get on a solid footing they begin to pull. Black and Marty seem to be well in sync, leading the team together as they pull almost in perfect sync. But the additional size of the other team, anchored by Lynton Minehead's incredible all round athleticism and smartness in making sure to constantly keep pulling slowly sees them winning the tug of war until Black finally can't hold on any longer, being dragged across the line and almost faceplantingat Aurelian's feet, such was his determination not to lose as he held on right until the last minute. BARRY GRIFFIN ”We have a winner. Extra chores for the losing side. Good effort by everyone, Lynton, I can tell you've had experience at this before, so well done on using that. Everyone can learn to make sure you use any experience available to you, you can always learn from others. Being able to identify strengths and weaknesses will help you to have better matches, and working together can help you to overcome any challenge. One side clearly had a strength advantage there and you still almost lost thanks to the superior teamwork of the other side. Remember this, one day it might be the very lesson you need. Now hit the showers. You've worked hard and you've all got more work to do.” Tonight some of the trainees will be preparing food for everyone who stays in the dojo, some of them will be doing laundry, some of them will be preparing for their next matches and some of them may even now have a night off so that they finally relax by doing whatever they like to do in their spare time. Christian Black might enjoy a book... Hari is likely to catch a movie ... Aurelian may be online as he plunges down a wikipedia hole... but all will be reporting for training again tomorrow morning, ready to work hard and continue to improve. ---------------------------------- NEXT MONTH'S MAJOR MATCHES With just three shows to go untli the start of the FireBrand Young Lions Cup, and with seemingly every “independent” show hyping up the shows in their local area, the UK indy scene is seeing a growing buzz about the future of British wrestling. But before that tournament gets underway, there are still a few more indy shows looking to add to the hype, with championships on the line. Adrenaline Championship ”Magic” Martin Heath © vs “The X Factor” Petey Barnes Petey Barnes has been impressive since returning to the UK wrestling scene, racking up a few wins in comprehensive fashion... what has been less impressive are his post match distribes and his attitude. Constantly getting in the face of his opponents when he wins a chain wrestling exchange, berating people for their lack of respect for him and even being a dick to his own tag team partner, it didn't take long for Heath to get sick of this attitude, calling him out at the Leicester show after Barnes had beaten the more muscular than ever Bali Daljit. Barnes will get his wish to get some real competition, while Heath will look to continue his impressive reign with his first solo championship. Belfast hosts this match. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships Size Of The Fight © vs The Assassins' Guild Hyosuke Kokan and Kansuke Konda (Size Of The Fight) won their first heavyweight championships together by defeating The Assassins' Guild back in June. Louie Peyton and Stefan Raynor have been wanting their rematch for a while and the time has finally come. Two of the top teams in the country go head to head again with championship gold on the line, and the Assassins have been steadily raising their game over the last few months ready for this challenge in Swansea. Non-Title Curtis Jenkins, Martin Heath and Jon Michael Sharp vs Merle O'Curle, Neil Warburton and Omezo Shikitrei A veritable parade of champions and championships will be on display in this huge main event that features some of the best tehcnical wrestlers in the country. O'Curle and Jenkins are tied in a series of singles matches and both have their sights set on the BHOTWG International championship. Sharp and Heath have been killing it in the tag division and Sharp is looking to add solo championship gold to his resume, with his eyes set on Neil Warburton's Pure Wrestling championship. Omezo Shikitei is still creating his legacy in the UK, but his team with Warburton has been putting in strong showings and it may only be a matter of time before championship gold comes his way too. This match will be the main event of the final show before the Young Lions Cup kicks off, with the entire tour having a series of major main event matches signed that will be sure to draw extra fans to shows to see the next generation shine. ---------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unregistered Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 ayy Adrenaline Championship ”Magic” Martin Heath © vs “The X Factor” Petey Barnes This match is big, and I think Petey Barnes is going to win after such a big debut, but at the same point I can see him losing at his first attempt to humble him a bit. Martin has been a good champion, so I do hope he's able to keep it. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships Size Of The Fight © vs The Assassins' Guild I don't see Size of the Fight losing the title back too the Guild. I think the Office will end up taking the title at some point, unless the new hotness comes around sometime soon Non-Title Curtis Jenkins, Martin Heath and Jon Michael Sharp vs Merle O'Curle, Neil Warburton and Omezo Shikitrei An exciting match really! I'm going with Merle, Neil and Omezo, and I'll make the extra guess that it'll be Omezo taking the victory. I see Omezo getting closer and closer to a big title match, and Merle and Neil are no slouches either! Random notes Merle O'Curle and Punisher Paul Hughes is a super cool tag team. The world needs more of that. The True Firebrand Young Lions got screwed by bad booking by Barry Griffin! Keep that man away from the pencil! He has something against the group! I think he was paid off by Jeffery McPeterson! Speaking of Jeffery, I will admit, he had two pretty good title matches this month. He's obviously talented. Too bad him and Barry are working against the future of the business! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Historian Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Adrenaline Championship ”Magic” Martin Heath © vs “The X Factor” Petey Barnes Heavyweight Tag Team Championships Size Of The Fight © vs The Assassins' Guild Non-Title Curtis Jenkins, Martin Heath and Jon Michael Sharp vs Merle O'Curle, Neil Warburton and Omezo Shikitrei Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanegan Posted September 9, 2020 Share Posted September 9, 2020 Adrenaline Championship ”Magic” Martin Heath © vs “The X Factor” Petey Barnes Heavyweight Tag Team Championships Size Of The Fight © vs The Assassins' Guild Non-Title Curtis Jenkins, Martin Heath and Jon Michael Sharp vs Merle O'Curle, Neil Warburton and Omezo Shikitrei Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted September 9, 2020 Author Share Posted September 9, 2020 Last month saw a new winner of the predictions/guesswork contest as Kanegan bested former champion Unregistered by getting three out of four correct. Unregisted only correctly predicted that Jeffery McPeterson would lose, though I'm not convinced I can call those predictions as much as general hatred for him. He's A Scotsman, not THE Scotsman.... if you have to hate on someone, hate on Mark Carnie. Kanegan - 3/4 Unregistered - 2/4 I'm excited to see three people, including the two above, have already gotten their predictions in for the next group of matches too. The Young Lions Cup will give everyone involved the chance to have an influence over some of the young lions in future. Whether it be naming someone, giving them a move to add to their arsenal or some other potential options. Hopefully some fun will be had, we're just one post away from the seedings and schedule for the Young Lions Cup, which will give you a bit of an insight into what I'm working with here and my opinions on the workers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 ---------------------------------- Belfast played host to the Adrenaline championship match between champion “Magic” Martin Heath and “The X-Factor” Petey Barnes, with both men riding a lot of momentum going into this match. Following on the heels of O'Hearne and Lee's successful British Tag Team tite defence against Reckless Intent (Cannonball Logan and Carl Edwards) Heath and Barnes were pushed to step up their game, delivering one of the best matches that the UK/Eire indy scene has seen in recent times. Barnes continued to bring his new attitude to the match, getting right in Heath's face in the opening exchanges as he managed to outwrestle him, but Heath fired back equally strongly, using his quickness to shine bright and push his more experienced opponent to resort to some underhanded tactics to ironically get the upperhand. The match would go back and forth like that, with Heath pushing to up the ante as Barnes tried to kill his momentum and grind out a deliberate pace to his advantage. A frenetic exchange down the line saw both men throwing caution to the wind as they each tried to put the other way, reaching deep into their arsenals to find a weapon capable of putting the other down and knowing they'd put some hurting on their opponent. Heath finally went to the top for his killshot, the Magic Missile but the arrow-like dive for it was intercepted with a European uppercut that sent him crashing out of the sky and knocked him silly. Barnes hit his old finishing move, the X-Press (Arabian Moonsault) to drive the wind out of Heath, before dragging Heath into his new submission finisher that he has dubbed Added Depth (Tequilla Sunrise). Heath fought for as long as he could but after an agonising minute in the hold, unable to free any limbs and unable to get any movement out of his beaten up body he had to tap out. Petey Barnes is the new Adrenaline champion, and he wasted no time before shouting at the fans about how he good he is and how he won't be disrespected any more. With a showing like that, it's hard to argue against him. Swansea was the venue for some more championship matches, seeing “The X Factor” Petey Barnes make the first defence of his newly won Adrenaline championship against Axl Grease in a wilder brawl than his more technical encounter with now former champion Martin Heath, with Barnes putting the Scottish veteran away with the Mile High Moonsault this time. This was followed by the Heavyweight Tag Team title match between champions Size of the Fight (“Electric Live Wire” Hyosuke Kokan and “Big Fight Player” Kansuke Konda) against the men they won the belts from months ago, The Assassins' Guild (“The Predator” Louie Peyton and “The Angel Faced Assassin” Stefan Raynor). Both teams have been in good form and the motivation of championship gold was all they needed to go out and hit hard. The Assassins came in with a plan... isolate the smaller man in Kokan and cut off the ring. It was successful for much of the match but the hot tag to Konda continues to work as well in the UK as it always did in Japan. Getting his team back into the match, Konda brought the fire like no one else can and when Kokan recovered, there was nothing much the Assassins could do to stop Size Of The Fight, despite their desperate attempts to stay in the match and it was only a matter of time before Konda hit the world famous Konda Driver (Air Raid Crash) on Raynor, allowing Kokan to lock in the Electric Shocker Clutch (Dragon Clutch) to force the tap out for the champions to retain. The night's main event saw a very Welsh affair with “The Swansea Kid” Neville Jones teaming with regular allies Rhys Vali and Bali Daljit against “Punisher” Paul Hughes, “The Angry Man” Glen Ward and Gavin Owens as Neville Jones picked up the fall on Glen Ward, making the already angry man even angrier in defeat. Punisher looked like he wanted to continue the fight but Neville was ready... getting a microphone, he cut an empassioned promo at Punisher saying that their dance of violence has to come to an end... and challenged him to a cage match for his own Welsh National championship next time they are in Wales during the FireBrand Young Lions Cup tour! Punisher doesn't look keen, but the crowd, themselves motivated by Liz Sweetheart's ringside taunts, goad Punisher into accepting! In London, Size Of The Fight make another successful defence of their Heavyweight Tag Team championships, this time against the young duo known as the Black Country Boys (“Mighty Meaty” Mickey Robson and Gazz Vedmore), with the youngsters putting in an enthusiastic performance until ultimately falling to the experienced champions in the final championship match on the final card before the Young Lions Cup tour. The main event was a mouth watering prospect between some of the finest talents on the UK indy scene and a parade of champions involved. All England champion Curtis Jenkins lined up alongside current CWW Tag Team champions Martin Heath and Jon Michael Sharp against King of Ireland champion Merle O'Curle, Pure Wrestling champion Neil Warburton and indy stand out Omezo Shikitei. With two fantastic tag teams and two amazing singles champions involved, this match was a non stop actionfest that showcased just how good wrestling can be when it's not wrapped up in the over the top trappings of “sports entertainment”. Bone crunching suplexes, smooth as butter tag team wrestling, fast paced chain wrestling, high octane high flying, hard hitting strike battles... this match had a bit of everything you could ask for. With everyone looking like wrestling equals and so many champions in this match, it was impossible to call a finish until out of nowhere, Jon Michael Sharp managed to counter Neil Warburton's seemingly unstoppable takedown attempt, using his athetlicism to counter into a crucifix pin that saw him get the flash pinfall win, while Heath made a blocking save against Omezo to show the value of their tag experience together. After the match, Merle was steaming and got into the face of Curtis before taking a step back to ask for a microphone. Merle wasn't happy that his series with Curtis has seen them trade wins and defend their championships without a resolution... Curtis agrees, saying that they both need a way to settle this and Merle proposes that they fight one more time in the neutral venue of Scotland so that there are no English or Irish home crowd advantages. And this time, instead of championships on the line, the winner will challenge for the BHOTWG International championship held by “Unstoppable” Riddick Jordan. They shake hands and for one more time, with the stakes potentially higher than ever, the deal is sealed! ---------------------------------- Show0041 Walter Morgan passing on extra tips to youngsters, with Mickey Robson seeming to learn about selling and Marc Maxx about ring psychology Nigel Svensson got a torn meniscus in a freak accient while wrestling for Pro Wrestling SAISHO in Japan, early reports suggest he is looking at being on the shelf for up to a year ---------------------------------- Show0042 ---------------------------------- Show0043 Petey Barnes turned on Konrad Makinen during this match, after Dwayne Dark seemed to suffer a legit broken jaw, the turn being enough to give “Unstoppable” Riddick Jordan the win over rival Konrad in dubious circumstances. Makinen looked pissed off in the aftermath, shouting something in Swedish that locals assume were cusswords The day after this show “The Grappler” Neil Warburton cemented his position as one of the fastest rising stars in British/Irish wrestling when he defeated Lenny Mochin for the CWW Championship, adding it to the Pure Wrestling title he already carries proudly. With both of these belts representing a very technical style of wrestling, Warburton's reputation for “being good at the graps” is growing rapidly. ---------------------------------- So, everyone picked Size Of The Fight to retain, which didn't really surprise me... they're a great team who have some backstory while The Assassins' Guild are a medicore team in the UK by any standards who haven't been fleshed out at all, and I don't think they rolled very well with the variance at the start of the game either. A shame really, I want my tag division to be really good long term so hopefully they'll keep improving and get to a level that I want them to be at as I find the right kind of hook for them. They will have plenty of time to learn so anything is possible. As for the predictions themselves, we have a tie between regular predictors Unregistered and kanegan, with both of them getting two out of three, with Historian doing the job and coming last this month. At least he's got that collection of Diary of the Month awards to comfort him while he cries about finishing last here. Unregistered – 2/3 kanegan – 2/3 Historian – 1/3 With us now up to the Young Lion's Cup I'll be making another post going over all the details for that. There's going to be a lot of information in there, including a little more insight into the Young Lions themselves, the schedule for the tour and more predictions to be made. It's a big one that will need to cover a lot of ground but I hope it's fun for anyone reading. Should give you a bit of insight into how I plan things too and might even help you to plan your own tournaments in future . Anyone is welcome to steal the format I use and do whatever you want with it, I find it super helpful for planning ---------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted September 10, 2020 Author Share Posted September 10, 2020 ---------------------------------- The Rules Of The Young Lions Cup 2020 The tournament is a 10 man, round robin tournament in which everyone will face each other once, in a single block of 10 Every block match will have a 15 minute time limit A win is worth 2 points, a draw is worth 1 point, a loss earns 0 points IF someone is forced out of the competition within the first 3 matches, all points earned against them are set to 0 IF someone is forced out of the competition after 3 or more matches, all remaining matches are forfeited and their remaining opponents will be given a win When all matches have been contested, the top two points scorers will advance to the final The final will have no time limit, there must be a winner If wrestlers are tied on points, their ranking is determined via head to head tiebreakers If multiple wrestlers are tied on the same score, the total points from matches against the tied wrestlers is used, then head to head tiebreakers If there is a tie with more than two wrestlers for the top two ranks after tie breakers, an elimination match between all wrestlers will be used for the final The winner of the final match will have their name etched onto the Young Lions Cup as the 2020 winner The winner can choose to carry the trophy with them to events if they wish The trophy must be returned to the FireBrand Dojo trophy case every night It is the responsibility of the winner to keep the trophy in good condition NEVER GIVE UP! ONE MORE STEP! CHASE YOUR DREAM! ---------------------------------- The FireBrand Dojo Offices The FireBrand Dojo is a significant facility on the outskirts of Birmingham, an old warehouse converted into a two storey building with enough room to house up to twenty students in double dorm rooms, a well equipped gym with facilities for weights, cardio, various combat sports training, agility and more... and three wrestling rings sitting right in the middle, with everything else orbiting around them as other facilities hide out of sight for now. The students put the rings up and take them down regularly, performing required maintainence and literally learning the ropes as an integral part of their basic training. Not only do they learn how to do things correctly, but they learn the skills needed to look after themselves and protect those around them that may not be inducted into such a thorough course of wrestling education. They get to see how equipment ages, how to spot when something is potentially unsafe and how to fix things that need it so that other promoters don't accidentally (or neglectfully) hurt their performers. Not looking at any Mark Carnie in partcular. Unlike less reputable schools, the FireBrand Dojo is preparing people for the hard life of a pro wrestler and how to navigate that as well and as safely as they can. And some of the men largely responsible for that training are currently sitting in the office, the sun having set hours ago, as they talk in detail about the Young Lions rather than heading home to their almost uniformly solid beds that give them the support their aching backs all need after more than twenty years in the business. The man largely responsible for the fitness and general conditioning training is Barry Griffin, a man who has kept himself in great shape throughout his career thanks to a dedicated training regimen that helped him to get noticed first in the UK and then internationally. His body may be older and stiffer now, but he's taken up some yoga on the recommendation of Kansuke Konda and it seems to be loosening up some areas that never felt like they could be loose again, which is something he's looking to incorporate more of into his dojo training over time too. Anything to help the youngsters over the course of their careers and to get them into good habits while they are young. But for now, he focuses on strength and stamina in particular. There is no point in knowing a lot about wrestling if you can't wrestle for more than a few minutes, and Griffin's toughness and endurance for a man with his still impressive physique is what has kept him wrestling for so long and he feels like he's got a few more years in him potentially yet. British Samurai, while technically only a guest trainer in the FireBrand Dojo, is highly respected for his eye for talent and his ability to teach the fundamentals of pro wrestling. Some people just “get it” and Samurai was always one of those men as a wrestler. The difference between being able to do something and understanding what you are doing is important, and it's always his goal to make sure people understand it. Because only then can you truly teach someone, so he can and will spend try to explain the same idea in different ways until he's sure everyone knows it instinctively. That's how he runs the Ring of Fire Dojo and also how he became a highly respected wrestler before he was ever a highly respected trainer. And it's because of this that his opinions on talent are hugely respected, particularly while Kansuke Konda and Hyosuke Kokan are busy with other duties involving the running of the company. They may be good, but sometimes you just have to know when to defer to someone with even more expertise than yourself. Steven “UK Dragon” Ambrose is a smart wrestler who knows that a truly successful wrestler is one that can make money. It's called the wrestling business for a reason and Dragon has a good eye for people who will one day be able to put the pieces together and become a marketable act, just like he was across the world for many years. His own style was a combination of legitimate grappling techniques, athletic high flying, and real toughness wrapped up in a patriotic and marketable package that could get booked anywhere and sell tickets whether he was a heel or a face. The bottom line, in his own opinion, is that there is very little point in doing a move if it's not somehow going to make people care more about you and pay money to see you win or see you get your ass kicked. Appreciating promo work and overall presentation as much as the in-ring performance, his opinions are invaluable on who could be the future of the company in the long term. Together, they are going over their notes for the young lions who have been living and training in the dojo this year. While the FireBrand Dojo graduates permanently bunk here, along with the new crop of trainees who will be graduating (or not) a month or so from now, the outsiders have the choice on whether they stay here full time, though most spend at least five nights a week in the dojo, taking some time to travel to other shows or visit friends and family when they get the opportunity. Wrestling isn't exactly known for it's paydays on the indy scene, and getting in at the ground floor of a project like this while also being given a roof over their heads is a very good deal, one designed in art to encourage loyalty to the company. Having a gym on hand, rings to train in, travel organised for events, regular bookings, being taught some useful life skills and developing good habits through discipline and routine is something that is unusual outside of Japan. Most wrestling schools are part time and charge people to attend... FireBrand Dojo provides so much, in exchange for hard work in maintaining the dojo and hopefully in loyalty for future years that will see the seeds sewn by this lifestyle turn into rich fruits. With graduates expected to have a long career with FireBrand Pro Wrestling, or perhaps even with Burning Hammer Of The Wrestling Gods, time will tell if the system can truly work outside of Japan. 21CW have a lot of money and will no doubt have their eyes on any success stories that come from the dojo. And one day, these same graduates may be gathered around the same office table that Griffin, Samurai and Dragon are around right now, reviewing another crop of young lions as they look to begin their own rise up the ranks. The trainers talk for hours as they generate their report cards and feedback prior to the Young Lions Cup, knowing that Kokan and Konda will review them soon to make the final cards for the rest of the year's shows based on their feedback. Favourites are offered, lists are made and while there is some consensus among them on some areas, no lists look the same. Some wagers are no doubt made among them, a sense of professional pride always making them want to be proven right. For all the sense of competition among the young lions as they battle for pride and prestige, the veterans may turn out to be even more competitive. No one wants to be wrong. ---------------------------------- REPORT CARD FOR... Aurelian Bradley 6'3, 245lbs Strengths: Excellent fundamentals, calculating mind, good athlete Weaknesses: Overly passive, lacks initiative at time, classic jack of all trades but master of none UK Dragon Opinion: “I can see why 21CW didn't pick him up as he tends to fade into the background, but he is a good wrestler who just needs to show more fire in order to overcome his shortcomings” - 5th British Samurai Opinon: “Aurelian's fundamentals may be the best of all the young lions, which should stand him in good stead in the Young Lions Cup, which really tests the youngster's basic skills using their limited move sets” - 2nd Barry Griffin Opinion: “Aurelian is a good natural athlete but his focus on the mental side of things sometimes sees him not work hard enough on physical skills” - 4th Overall Seeding: 3rd ---------------------------------- REPORT CARD FOR... Bryn Archer 6'3, 256lbs Strengths: Overall athleticism, hits hard, glorious moustache, driven Weaknesses: Overly focused on physical fitness, lack of diversity in personal goals makes him one dimensional UK Dragon Opinion: “Bryn lacks the spark of a true star but always tries hard. His hard headedness may hold him back through” - 7th British Samurai Opinon: “He was trained at a less than reputable school and it shows, but his driven nature makes him a strong prospect given his physical skills” - 6th Barry Griffin Opinion: “This kid works hard, hits hard, and would probably party hard if he was ever out of the gym” - 3rd Overall Seeding: 7th ---------------------------------- REPORT CARD FOR... Christian Black 6'2, 228lbs Strengths: Excellent analytical mind, passionate in getting the best from himself and others, instictive understanding of submission holds Weaknesses: Middling in the class rankings in athletics, childhood love of wrestling makes him believe he can do more than he has been trained to do UK Dragon Opinion: “A good looking kid, Christian can generally do whatever he is tasked with and excels in team exercises” - 1st British Samurai Opinon: “Christian is a natural student of wrestling and takes to things quickly, regularly advancing through training ahead of others” - 3rd Barry Griffin Opinion: “Physically he's not the best in the class at anything, but is never at the bottom either. Hard worker though” - 6th Overall Seeding: 2nd ---------------------------------- REPORT CARD FOR... Damian Hooker 6'5, 288lbs Strengths: Big, strong, looks like he's going to hurt you Weaknesses: Is actually a teddy bear, a little clumsy, lags behind in technical skill, dodgy knee UK Dragon Opinion: “The UK has a lot of big wrestlers, and Damian's strong suit is his ability to strike. If he hits you, you're going down” - 3rd British Samurai Opinon: “His fundamentals are a little weak held back by not being a natural athlete” - 7th Barry Griffin Opinion: “He's learned some lessons on how to protect his bad knee, and you can't teach power like his” - 2nd Overall Seeding: 4th ---------------------------------- REPORT CARD FOR... Hari Dubashi 5'9, 191lbs Strengths: Gymnastic background, charismatic performer, strong sense of self Weaknesses: Relatively weak fundamentals, smallest of the young lions UK Dragon Opinion: “I like this kid, he's easy to connect with and he's a great athlete. But I don't know if he's ready to compete with the rest of the class yet” - 8th British Samurai Opinon: “Hari is a fun person to be around, but as a wrestler he is relatively weak at the fundamentals and I think his size counts against him” - 9th Barry Griffin Opinion: “Being smaller than the rest of the young lions holds him back in fitness metrics, but he's got something the other's don't. Heart and charisma” - 7th Overall Seeding: 8th ---------------------------------- REPORT CARD FOR... “Black Thunder” Jermaine Granger 6'0, 208lbs Strengths: Agility, can talk trash, well trained at Ring of Fire Dojo, has more ring time than other Young Lions Weaknesses: Lacks self discipline, rarely spends free time working towards wrestling goals UK Dragon Opinion: “The most social media savvy of the young lions, Jermaine knows he's good and that's a strength and a weakness for him” - 6th British Samurai Opinon: “I trained him and he's a good kid who likes to have fun. His extra experience has taught him lessons that will see him do well” - 4th Barry Griffin Opinion: “I don't see him spending enough time in the gym, but he is a good athlete who I hear trains cardio in.... other ways” - 5th Overall Seeding: 5th ---------------------------------- REPORT CARD FOR... Lynton “The Rhino” Minehead 6'1, 263lbs Strengths: Top of class for athletics, extremely physical due to time spent playing rugby, full of fire and aggression, dedicated to bodybuilding in spare time, mentored by British Samurai Weaknesses: Bad knee ended rugby career, didn't know wrestling prior to starting training in Ring of Fire Dojo so is always playing catch up with more knowledgable young lions UK Dragon Opinion: “Lynton has a lot going for him with his intense, physical style but he lacks the skill and knowledge of some others and I think that will cost him” - 4th British Samurai Opinon: “Big, strong and tough, and trained by the best trainer around... me.” - 1st Barry Griffin Opinion: “This kid has all the tools to succeed, with his aggression, dedication to the gym and natural athleticism putting him ahead of the pack” - 1st Overall Seeding: 1st ---------------------------------- REPORT CARD FOR... Marc Maxx 6'2, 271lbs Strengths: Being mentored by Walter Morgan, excellent natural athlete, larger than most of class Weaknesses: Went AWOL during training and has lost ring sharpness, AWOL sees him not allowed to expand move set for tournament, lack of ring experience relative to class, UK Dragon Opinion: “Marc is a great kid with a good future ahead of him, just not in this tournament. He'd be lucky to get a single win despite his size and athleticism” - 10th (last) British Samurai Opinon: “Since falling out of the dojo system his fundamentals got sloppy, and even as he works hard to improve he's a long way behind” - 10th (last) Barry Griffin Opinion: “Marc is a fantastic athlete, the kind I wish I could train more of. But he's far behind in his wrestling training” - 10th (last) Overall Seeding: 10th ---------------------------------- REPORT CARD FOR... Marty Ellison 6'2, 232lbs Strengths: Protege of British Samurai, even when hurt seems able to carry on, strong communicator, great work ethic Weaknesses: Jack of all trades but master of none, still seems to be putting pieces together, better as part of a team UK Dragon Opinion: “Marty seems to be becoming something of a locker room leader and has a lot of potential, could be a real surprise in the Young Lions Cup” - 2nd British Samurai Opinon: “This kid went to bat for his friends and absorbs knowledge well, though he definitely has a lot to learn” - 5th Barry Griffin Opinion: “Marty is a good all rounder who can do a little bit of everything. As the grind of the tournament wears some down, Marty will be going stronger than ever” - 8th Overall Seeding: 6th ---------------------------------- REPORT CARD FOR... Rhys Ryland 5'11, 199lbs Strengths: Has a sharp mind when he uses it, fundamentally sound, strong alliterative name Weaknesses: Smaller than almost all of the class, loses focus easily, seems to lack a killer instinct UK Dragon Opinion: “I like Rhys as he is a smaller guy who clearly favours a more technical style over an aerial one, but when it comes to heart and toughness he is lagging behind others” - 9th British Samurai Opinon: “Rhys has good fundamental skills but is lacking something at the moment, I see him struggling overall in the Young Lions Cup” - 8th Barry Griffin Opinion: “He's got good cardio so could outlast some of the young lions but I don't see a lot of him in the gym and his lack of size may hurt him here” - 9th Overall Seeding: 9th ---------------------------------- Kansuke Konda and Hyosuke Kokan finish reading the reports and talk back and forth in their native Japanese, enjoying being able to talk to each other privately in the comfort of the office. Working together and using the reports, they put together a spreadsheet to track the tournament, just as they were taught by Tadiyuki Kikkawa himself back in BHOTWG during their training on how to run the book for a wrestling organisation. The matches immediately pop out, and when combined with the championship matches announced, the ongoing indy storylines they are weaving in and the major card planned for the year ending final event... well, a sense of professional pride washes over them. They've accomplished so much in their first year as an active wrestling company so far. The five year plan continues to unfold beautifully and before long FireBrand Pro Wrestling will really be on the map in British/Irish wrestling. Who knows... maybe one day they'll be as big over here as BHOTWG are back home in Japan. That's the real dream. OOC: The numbers on the schedule correspond to which day the matches will be held... the order of the workers goes from top seed at the top (by the rankings made by the trainers) and the lowest seed at the bottom of the list. The coloured columns are for match ratings so that I can determine who is the tournament MVP as well, and at the bottom row of the points column is a little check sum to make sure I have been adding up all the points correctly. With that in mind.... ---------------------------------- UPCOMING MATCHES FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 1 From Birmingham British Tag Team Championships Padraig O'Hearne / JK Lee © vs Don Henderson / Axl Grease Lynton Minehead vs Damian Hooker Christian Black vs Aurelian Bradley Jermaine Granger vs Hari Dubashi Marty Ellison vs Marc Maxx Bryn Archer vs Rhys Ryland ….and more! FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 2 From Manchester Adrenaline Championship “The X Factor” Petey Barnes © vs “The Electric Live Wire” Hyosuke Kokan Lynton Minehead vs Bryn Archer Christian Black vs Marty Ellison Aurelian Bradley vs Marc Maxx Damian Hooker vs Jermaine Granger Hari Dubashi vs Rhys Ryland ….and more! BONUS POINT AVAILABLE: If you predict the winner of the Young Lions Cup here Predictions will run through this entire tour and also the tour finale. Prizes will be given out, most likely in the naming of some of the new workers who will come through the FireBrand Dojo in January. But I may also give some other prizes, I just haven't entirely worked out what. So if you have ideas, hit me up, I'm always willing to listen to ideas to see if I can work them in with my plans. ---------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unregistered Posted September 11, 2020 Share Posted September 11, 2020 <p><span style="font-size:18px;">FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 1</span></p><p><span style="font-size:18px;"> From Birmingham</span></p><p> </p><p> <em><strong>British Tag Team Championships</strong></em></p><p> <strong>Padraig O'Hearne / JK Lee © vs Don Henderson / Axl Grease</strong></p><p> </p><p> I see a successful but entertaining title defense here. </p><p> </p><p> <strong>Lynton Minehead vs Damian Hooker</strong></p><p> I'm of two minds, but I'm going with my gut. Hooker being the big man is going to put quite the beating on Minehead, that will hurt him going into the next match, but I still see <strong>Minehead</strong> winning as he is a favorite of the tournament. I could also see Minehead losing here, and it leading to drama later down the road if he ends up winning the cup. </p><p> </p><p> <strong>Christian Black vs Aurelian Bradley</strong></p><p> <strong>Black</strong> will get the win here in the first match I think, with Bradley's lack of focus despite Black's over confidence. I think this is an important match to help see where either are going, it's either going to force Bradley to take things seriously or bring Black back down to reality. We shall see. Kind of wish I didn't have to guess for two shows this time! <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jermaine Granger vs Hari Dubashi</strong></p><p> A match between two good athletic rookies, probably as good as a match as <strong>Hari</strong> will see this tournament, so I'm hoping he gets a win here before his size lets him down more and more with his smaller frame as the tournament goes on. Granger will be fine and move on, hopefully with a better head on his shoulders getting beaten by one of the dark horses of the tournament in his first match.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Marty Ellison vs Marc Maxx</strong></p><p> Unless wrestling is fake ( <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> ) <strong>Marty</strong> has this. It's nice to see the two friends have their first match together, but unlesss Marty decides to be nice and give his friend a win, there is no way Maxx has any chance right now against one of potentially my picks to win it all. </p><p> </p><p> <strong>Bryn Archer vs Rhys Ryland</strong></p><p> I believe Ryland's technical style could be very good for him this tournament, and that he'll pick up some wins later on, but <strong>Archer</strong> I think has an outside chance of winning it all in my books. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 2</strong></p><p><strong> From Manchester</strong></p><p> </p><p> <strong><em>Adrenaline Championship</em></strong></p><p> <strong>“The X Factor” Petey Barnes © vs “The Electric Live Wire” Hyosuke Kokan</strong></p><p> Good to see Kokan in a singles title match, but I don't see him picking up the win on new champion <strong>Petey</strong> here. Good match too see though, between the two vets. Petey obviously didn't have the career Kokan did, and is likely looking forward to showing him up. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>Lynton Minehead vs Bryn Archer</strong></p><p> Big match here I think! With what I said in the last show, I think <strong>Archer</strong> will win with the damage of the first night from Minehead's match with Hooker still sticking with him. Archer is very good, but a bit of luck with the scheduling will see him with a good chance for a big victory in the long run of things!</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Christian Black vs Marty Ellison</strong></p><p> I saw Black getting the win on the first night, as his opponent didn't focus, but I see his overconfidence giving <strong>Marty</strong> a second win after a easy first night out vs Maxx. It's good to see Marty potentially getting a good start too the Cup, and I think this is a case for Black to calm down early and keep himself in it with a decent enough start already.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Aurelian Bradley vs Marc Maxx</strong></p><p> I'm sorry Maxx, Marty was probably nice to the least experienced of the group in night one, but I see <strong>Bradley</strong> strongly getting a win here with less fan fair potentially. Although Bradley tends to miss some of that killer edge, you have to imagine all of the young lions feel like they have something to take out on Maxx, even if the team leader Marty has helped him rejoin the class.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Damian Hooker vs Jermaine Granger</strong></p><p> Granger I gave the loss night one, and I feel strange giving him a second loss so early, but I feel the monster <strong>Hooker </strong>will take out his frustrations from a night one loss out on Granger here. The biggest man Hooker will likely wear down during the tournament, as many big men tend to do in these things, but he must still be a bit fresh and I imagine Granger will be unlucky to face him so early in the Cup.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Hari Dubashi vs Rhys Ryland</strong></p><p> <strong>Ryland </strong> will have his chance to keep the lighter man on the ground and away from the new flashier moveset that he will likely look to debut at the Young Lion Cup. Hari is just in for a very bad style match up here, and Ryland will be given possibly his best chance to show in a competitive match in the cup how good he can be in the future. Hari just needs some time to really grow into his new style and moveset as well, but this night probably won't be a good one for him.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> BONUS POINT AVAILABLE: If you predict the winner of the Young Lions Cup here</p><p> </p><p> This is a rough one. I will give one answer as obviously that's fair, but I can see multiple people potentially winning it, which is what makes this Cup so exciting. But I want too see it be <strong>Marty Ellison</strong>. Repeatedly has learned from his mentor, has helped bring back someone too the fold, has worked with largely everyone and just seems to deserve it as a good leader into the future. I don't know if Marty will be the type too really be ace in the future of the company, but at this point if anyone deserves it more then Marty, I'm not sure who. There are multiple people who could win mind you, but I think its fair to say Marty would be the realistic heart warming victory. <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/cool.png.f00d2562b2c1d873a09323753efdb041.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted September 12, 2020 Author Share Posted September 12, 2020 I made some minor edits to my last post to make some things clearer based on feedback I was given. I also want to quickly give some answers to questions I was asked too. - I haven't run any shows yet so I don't know the overall outcome yet, though I do know what I INTEND to happen. - I'll be posting updated versions of the spreadsheet as we progress through the tournament, so you'll easily be able to see what matches remain - The rules aren't any kind of foreshadowing of what I intend to happen, they are just a reflection of my experience of running these kinds of tournaments in my TEW16 BHOTWG game, which this is very much a spiritual successfor for - I've set the final event of this tour as our Season Finale for now, though long term I don't intend it to be the finale as there are other plans for that. I intend to post the results for this on Tuesday when I've got some more free time (work keeps getting in the way) so there's lots of time to think about things. I'm excited for this event overall, hopefully I can write it out in a way that does justice for the idea I have in my head for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 ---------------------------------- The Rules Of The Young Lions Cup 2020 The tournament is a 10 man, round robin tournament in which everyone will face each other once, in a single block of 10 Every block match will have a 15 minute time limit A win is worth 2 points, a draw is worth 1 point, a loss earns 0 points IF someone is forced out of the competition within the first 3 matches, all points earned against them are set to 0 IF someone is forced out of the competition after 3 or more matches, all remaining matches are forfeited and their remaining opponents will be given a win When all matches have been contested, the top two points scorers will advance to the final The final will have no time limit, there must be a winner If wrestlers are tied on points, their ranking is determined via head to head tiebreakers If multiple wrestlers are tied on the same score, the total points from matches against the tied wretstlers is used, then head to head tiebreakers If there is a tie with more than two wrestlers for the top two ranks after tie breakers, an elimination match between all wrestlers will be used for the final The winner of the final match will have their name etched onto the Young Lions Cup as the 2020 winner The winner can choose to carry the trophy with them to events if they wish The trophy must be returned to the FireBrand Dojo trophy case every night It is the responsibility of the winner to keep the trophy in good condition NEVER GIVE UP! ONE MORE STEP! CHASE YOUR DREAM! ---------------------------------- The Rainbow Guard Bali Daljit - Neville Jones – Liz Sweetheart – Thunderbolt – Rhys Vali Sometimes in pro wrestling you can bond with people over unlikely things. While Bali Daljit, Neville Jones and Rhys Vali have all been wrestling in the undercard for SNP for a few years, none of them would have considered any of the others to be friends until relatively recently. With the increasing number of indy shows cropping up across the UK each of the boys (and girl) have found themselves getting more and more bookings on the same shows as each other, often in tag team competition in some combination. Realising that their chances of success would be great increased by working together more and training together they have soon found that they were getting to know each other, and as the more time they spent together on the roads too, the more they realised that they maybe have enough in common to actually, maybe, potentially consider each other to be friends. The glue that helped this group of unlikely friends stick together has undoubtedly been Liz Sweetheart, with her colourful personality able to spark something out of nothing no matter where she goes. Some people credit her for being the spark that helped “The Swansea Kid” elevate his game and defeat “Punisher” Paul Hughes for the Welsh National championship, an honour he certainly didn't seem to be anywhere near until after their partnership began. The Very Welsh Alliance, which is the highly accurate name to describe the link between Neville Jones and Rhys Vali, has slowly seen the two men working on their teamwork in the hopes of one day becoming established as a team. Vali has also been fostering a semi-regular team with Bali Daljit that has been dubbed BaliVali, while Bali's team with Neville Jones has somewhat obtusely been called The Morning Express, perhaps a nod to the older teams of yesteryear while also a [rod to the fact that they tend to never be awake in the morning due to the various more entertaining things they are more likely to do well into the night. Like playing video games, listening to music and generally bantering things off for their own amusement. But as much fun as he group has been, and as much as Liz has done to help them, the backstage bond they have formed with the more experienced Thunderbolt, who has only recently returned to UK wrestling, has started to help them transition from popular underdogs into something a little more credible. Thunderbolt himself has been standing up to VENOM and the rest The Unbound, while “Punisher” Paul Hughes' alliance with Glen Ward and Gavin Owen has also been causing Neville a lot of trouble around his Welsh National champion. Helping each other out, the name seemed to come out of nowhere when Liz noticed that everyone in the group seemed to have a signature colour... Bali is known for wearing a lot of bright orange in his ring gear... Neville (and Liz) came together and are synonymous with the colour red.... Thunderbolt has always had a signature yellow and black look... and Rhys tends to wear welsh colours, with the emphasis more on the green than the red... The Rainbow Guard have started to slowly morph more towards each of their own colours, which would beg the question... will anyone else join the group to fill out the remaining colours of pink, purple and blue? The group has worked a considerable amount with some of the young lions in FPW over the last year, and there are no doubt other talents out there that could fit with them. But whether the group are recruiting, or whether they even consider themslves a formal enough group to be considered recruiting, only time will tell! ---------------------------------- FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 1 Results The Young Lions Cup opened up in Birmingham with a strong first match as FireBrand Dojo graduate Rhys Ryland squared off against Bryn Archer in an all Welsh opener. With the young lions being allowed to use an expanded move set now, the eyes of all the young lions will be on each other to look at each other for what ways the others have developed to take each other down. Both men were physical in this match, with Rhys looking to use his quickness to take Bryn off his feet for what appeared to be a new high flying move, but Bryn was smart enough to stay away from the corners of the ring, keeping things central whenever possible. Rhys thought he had an opening off a remarkable palm strike, shouting the words “FACE FIVE!” as he hit it, but was unable to get a pin or move the bigger man into the danger zone for a high flying move. Bryn tried for the classic young lion finisher of a German Suplex bt Rhys struggled, trying to counter with a back elbow only for Bryn to duck and adjust his grip to hit a beautiful Saito Suplex that knocked Rhys loopy, allowing for Bryn to follow up with a devastating Spinning Back Elbow for a decisive pinfall victory. The second match of the night saw Marc Maxx go up against the man who helped him get his position in the dojo back, Marty Ellison. With Marc's moveset still limited as a result of his previous abandonment of his training, there would be no surprises for Marty to prepare for, while Marty himself had some new moves in his arsenal. The match was relatively short as Marc tried to use his raw athletic ability to overwhelm Marty, but Marty's extra ring experience shone through as he worked towards his new finish, the Fisherman's Suplex, a move he was taught directly from British Samurai. Marty hit the move with a right cradle to score the pinfall, and while Marc ws clearly disappointed at the loss there was still a post match handshake as a continued sign of respect between the two. Another inter-school clash was up next as Jermaine Granger of the Ring of Fire Dojo took on Hari Dubashi of the FireBrand Dojo. Both men favour a faster paced, more intense style of wrestling that relies heavily on their athletic ability and agility. Being allowed to do more in this encounter than they've typically been allowed to do in previous tag encounters let them showcase why they may be the future of Junior style wrestling in the UK/Eire scene. Hari scored a very close near fall with a beautiful tornado headkick that had fans thinking the match was over, but he was unable to put Jermaine away, with Granger's experience advantage thanks to his work with CWW helping him to outwrestle Dubashi into a position for a Frog Splash, which brought the curtain down on the match with a win for Granger. The next match between Aurelian Bradley and Christian Black was regarded by fans in attendance as the best of the young lion matches tonight, with the two most analytical minds of this crop of young lions squaring off on night one. It was also the longest match of the night, threatening to challenge the fifteen minute time limit set for the tournament but not quite getting there. Aurelian is the slightly larger of the two and used that to throw determined strikes at black to soften him up, while Black tried more basic wrestling, barely deviating from the young lion training that he has perfected. In the end, Black's determination to win with the Boston Crab led directly to his downfall, with Aurelian finding a way to counter out by getting a leg and transitioning into the Figure Four Leglock, showcasing his admiration for the classic old school techniques that made many of his heroes famous in the first place. After a lengthy spell in the move, and unable to roll over again to reverse the pressure, Black ws forced to tap out and give Aurelian the points from this clash. The final young lion match of the show was hot anticipated by the fans as the two heaviest hitters of the young lion crew clashed, with Lynton Minehead representing the Ring of Fire Dojo and Damian Hooker representing the FireBrand Dojo. This was intense from the outset as both men seemed determined to beat each other to a pulp. This wasn't the most refined of matches nor was it the prettiest, but the sounds of meat slapping on meat as two big beefy bois slug it out was certainly enjoyed by the fans in attendance. Despite both men having an obvious weakness to be exploited in their previously injured knees, neither man targetted them. Strikes gave way to slams, which gave way to suplexes, which gave way to attempts to put the other way. Hooker seemed to be looking for some kind of powerbomb but was unable to get Lynton up for it, but Lynton had no such issues using a gutwrench to get the bulky Hooker up and into a Tombstone Piledriver, patterned after the legendary Tadiyuki Kikkawa's “Kikkawa Driver”. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this was enough to end the match but both men will be leaving this one with some aches and pains for sure. The midcard of this show consisted of tag matches that were largely warm up matches for others later in the tour, seeing the likes of Curtis vs Merle on opponsite sides of a trios tag and various alliances working on building their experience up for future potential tag team matches. Most notable was Fight Team Punisher (Paul Hughes, Glen Ward and Gavin Owen) picking up a win over Thunderbolt and Size Of The Fight, with Hyosuke Kokan being defeated by Hughes as he warms up for his upcoming cage match with Neville Jones for the Welsh National title. Ward and Owen did a lot of the work though, and may have worked themselves into contention for a shot at the Heavyweight Tag Team championships too, though they didn't directly pick up the fall and their recent win/loss hasn't been fantastic. The main event of the night saw a team who always seem to have fantastic chemistry when they work together, Axl Grease and Don Henderson, once again team up to challenge for The Office's British Tag Team titles against the champion duo of Padraig O'Hearne and JK Lee. A very entertaining match with a fun clash of styles all around, this was perhaps one of Axl Grease's better outings, showing that he really is his best when he is teaming with Don Henderson. The Scottish duo put up a strong challenge, managing to isolate JK Lee for much of the match before the ever popular (despite his choice in friends) Padraig rallied for his team. After an exciting finishing stretch that saw JK Lee and Don Henderson locked in an intense struggle for technical supremacy on the outside of the ring we saw Axl and Padraig left alone in the ring to brawl it out between them. Padraig had that little bit extra this time, hitting the Crowning Glory (Lance Archer's Black Out IRL) to win the match for his team, and remain as kings of the tag team division. After the match Padraig cut a swagger filled promo about he and Lee being the best tag team in the world right now, even if the world doesn'st know it yet. Meanwhile, JK Lee was shouting general threats at Henderson at ringisde, with Padraig daring Henderson to “come and have a go”, which Henderson rudely declined. Show0044 ---------------------------------- FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 2 Results Manchester plays host to the second day of the Young Lions Cup with the youngsters excited to showcase their skills on the way to being named top of the class. Considered lucky to even be part of the class, Marc Maxx was in the night's opener taking on Aurelian Bradley. Much like on day 1, Marc knew he only had his basic young lion moveset and raw athleticism to rely on and did what he could with that as Aurelian looked to attack the knee, his finisher of choice having already been revealed. Marc's efforts were in vain though, even knowing that the Figure Four Leglock was coming he was unable to fight away from it and was forced to submit as Bradley picked up his second win o the tournament. Two of the tournament's less fancied men clashed next, with the two Junior sized FireBrand graduates fighting for a lot more than pride as they look to prove their trainers wrong. Hari Dubashi has the speed advantage, while Rhys Ryland has the technical advantage as both men line up very similarly in physical stature. Both men have worked on similar additions to their arsenals too, which showed through the match as they worked towards the moves that would ultimately decide the clash. Rhys hit a FACE FIVE palm strike on Hari that stunned him long enough for a two count. Hari soon fought back into the match with his beautiful Tornado Headkick that also garnered a close two count. Hari went to the top s he looked to finish the match, but Rhys scrambled up after him as both men jockeyed for position. A FACE FIVE at the top stunned Hari and sent him crashing to the mat, giving Rhys the time to get into position, throw up a couple of peace signs and jump off the top with a high double foot stomp that he has dubbed the Rhys' Peace Out, and getting the three count. It was Ring of Fire Dojo vs FireBrand Dojo next as the charismatic Jermaine Granger took on the biggest man in the young lion class, Damian Hooker. Hooker was still visibly bruised from his match with Lynton Minehead a few days prior and in the early going he seemed to be a little less mobile than usual as Jermaine outquicked him and looked to wear him down with quick strikes and mat based wrestling as he tried for a submission win with the Boston Crab. But Hooker, showed some grit and his greater strength allowed him to first crawl to the ropes and then power out of a second one. Hooker landed a brutal laria as he got to his feet, sending Granger almost into an involuntary backflip from the impact and from there we got to see what Hooker failed to complete against Lynton.... powering Granger up from a powerbomb position into a crucifix powerbomb he calls Sacrifice, the Irishman picked up his first win of the tournament in what fans considered the best young lion match of the night. Marty Ellison and Christian Black were up next, both representing the fire FireBrand Dojo class of graduates. Both men worked hard, with Ellison once again showing that he is able to do a little of everything and trying to use that to target Black's weaknesses, while Black played to his strengths with technical grappling and some hard hitting European uppercuts mixed in with his chops. It turned out to be a very even contest as a result as Marty tried his best to lock Black up for a Fisherman's Suplex, but Black had done his homework and managed to stay out of Marty's grasp. In the end, Black locked Marty up with a basic Boston Crab, holding on with everything he had until Marty was forced to tap out. Black earns his first points of the tournament without even using any new techniques. The final young lion match of the night saw tournament favourite Lynton Minehead take on another tough, athletically gifted man in Bryn Archer. There was little doubt that this was going to be a hard hitting match from the outset as the stoic Bryn opened the match with a brutal forearm shot to Lynton, daring him to fire back with one of his own. Almost half of their ten minute encounter was them trading heavy shots, each man determined to prove themselves as the physical alpha of the class ending only when they eventually clotheslined each other for a double down. After that it became all about high impact attacks as they scrappily fought for dominance. Lynton tried for a German Suplex, but Bryn got a go behind and managed to get off a Saito Suplex. Looking for the Spinning Back Elbow, Bryn took too long in the set up and Lynton's explisive first step allowed him to charge with a running pick up spinebuster he called the Power Surge. Not making the same mistake of wasting too much time, Lynton hoisted Bryn up for the Tombstone Piledriver, using Kikkawa's signature finish to take himself up to four points in the tournament so far. The rest of the card was mostly made u pof multi-man tags again to hype future matches. Highlights include The Unbound getting the fall on Kansuke Konda in six man action, setting up for a Heavyweight Tag Team encounter on Day 9 in London of the tour. Konda's makeshift team of three were always at a disadvantage here against the unified group of The Unbound, but a win is a win so the duo of Crusher Von Steinberg and Clubber Kohl. Neville Jones (as part of the Rainbow Guard) got the fall in a win over Fight Team Punisher, putting Glen Ward away with the Swansea Swanton, building momentum for the upcoming Neville vs Punisher cage match on Day 7 in Cardiff. “100 Killer” Gram Gorman managed to pin the Adrenaline champion Rohan Kirchner in trios action, a man Gram has had in his sights since losing the title while hurt to Rohan months back. The rematch has been signed for Day 5 in Glasgow and is sure to tear the house down. Konrad Makinen teamed with W.A.R. (Neil Warburton and Omezo Shikitei) to take on The Office combination of Dwayne Dark, JK Lee and Padraig O'Hearne. Konrad is on the hunt to get himself back towards the BHOTWG International championship and took one more step towards Riddick Jordan as he bested Padraig here, but this match also showcased a lot of technical skill ahead of the upcoming Pure Championship match between champion Neil Warburton and JK Lee, on the next show in Newcastle. The main event saw an intense clash of experienced super junior style wrestling as “The Electric Live Wire” Hyosuke Kokan challenged “The X Factor” Petey Barnes for his recently won Adrenaline championship. Barnes' change of attitude was on full display here, getting in the face of FPW management for the blatant show of disrespect that he was shown when they never even approached Petey to be part of the roster. Every time Petey got the upperhand he was aggressively in Kokan's face, shouting about being better than him and demanding Kokan show Petey what he's got. Kokan showed the heart he has always been known for as well as some veteran tricks, scoring some near falls with his trickery and forcing Petey to take him seriously too. Kokan continues to be one of the best at getting sympathy as the crowd rallied him when Petey took charge, giving Kokan the electric energy he needed to fight back. As 20 minutes passed Kokan was clearly struggling to keep up with the younger man and Petey was sharp to take advantage as the match went into the deep water, Petey managed to tie up Kokan with the Added Depth (Tequilla Sunrise submission). The mask couldn't hide the pain Kokan was in while he was trapped in the hold and with his stamina depleted, Kokan was forced to tap when Petey pulled back even harder on the hold. Petey was all in Kokan's face after the match, questioning how Kokan was good enough for BHOTWG while Barnes wasn't even considered for the FPW roster and shouting about getting the respect that he deserves. Show0045 In major wrestling world news, Valiant has signed a deal with CWA and the former SWF champion will end his 13 year run with the SWF soon ---------------------------------- UPCOMING MATCHES FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 3 From Newcastle The main event sees two grapplers who have bulit up quite the following in the North going at it for the Pure championship. Lee may have more experience and back up from his allies in The Office, but Neio Warburton has built up the momentum and has both the Pure Championship and the CWW Championship going into this bout. Will JK Lee add a singles title to his tag gold? Or will Warburton continue his impressive rise in the British/Irish wrestling? Pure Championships “The Grappler” Neil Warburton © vs “The Bulldog” JK Lee Lynton Minehead vs Jermaine Granger Christian Black vs Hari Dubashi Aurelian Bradley vs Marty Ellison Damian Hooker vs Rhys Ryland Bryn Archer vs Marc Maxx ….and more! FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 4 From Manchester With their series tied at one apiece after fights for the King of Ireland and All England championships, these two men decided that they needed to settle the score with a third match on neutral ground. Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh will play host to one of the biggest matches the British/Irish indy scene has to offer, with the winner of this match challenging for the BHOTWG International Championship on the final night of the Young Lion Cup tour, a title currently held by Riddick Jordan of The Office! Winner Challenges for the BHOTWG International Championship “Journeyman” Curtis Jenkins vs “The Irish Stretching Machine” Merle O'Curle Lynton Minehead vs Rhys Ryland Christian Black vs Jermaine Granger Aurelian Bradley vs Bryn Archer Damian Hooker vs Marc Maxx Marty Ellison vs Hari Dubashi ….and more! ---------------------------------- So far we have one predictor for the tournament, bringing him into a tie for last place with the ghost I use to annoy him with for funsies. Picking Marty Ellison to win the tournament as a whole and taking the time to show how much he cares about the young lions so far. Unregistered (Marty Ellison) – 4/6 and 4/6 for an overall score of 8/12 As I've seen others say before, wrestling should feel a little predictable at times but should also not be too predictable so a score like that is pretty awesome. Stories are being told and the pieces are now on the board to give you an idea of what is coming. If anyone else picks an overall tournament winner in the second round of matches I'll still give them a bonus point as it's early on enough that it's still very hard to predict. So have fun if you predict, have fun if you are just quietly reading along. Just have fun in general ---------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanegan Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 3 From Newcastle Pure Championships “The Grappler” Neil Warburton © vs “The Bulldog” JK Lee Lynton Minehead vs Jermaine Granger Christian Black vs Hari Dubashi Aurelian Bradley vs Marty Ellison Damian Hooker vs Rhys Ryland Bryn Archer vs Marc Maxx FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 4 From Manchester Winner Challenges for the BHOTWG International Championship “Journeyman” Curtis Jenkins vs “The Irish Stretching Machine” Merle O'Curle Lynton Minehead vs Rhys Ryland Christian Black vs Jermaine Granger Aurelian Bradley vs Bryn Archer Damian Hooker vs Marc Maxx Marty Ellison vs Hari Dubashi My pick for the Young Lions Cup is Bryn Archer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unregistered Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 3 From Newcastle Pure Championships “The Grappler” Neil Warburton © vs “The Bulldog” JK Lee Still see The Grappler holding the title after this one honestly. Good for Lee to get a singles title match though! Lynton Minehead vs Jermaine Granger Minehead is doing well so far, and I see him continuing here. Jermaine has been doing better then I expected here, but at some point his lack of attention is going to mess him up, and with how good Minehead has been I think it'll happen here for sure. Christian Black vs Hari Dubashi Black has been very cautious sticking to what he knows and showing great maturity for a young lion in someways, and a lack of ambition in others. Hari with his super cool finisher, and overall more ambitious/dangerous new style could either do him well or really fail for him. This is a tough one. I want to see Hari's drive and ambition do well, but I think sadly his high risk style may be his undoing versus the more careful Black Aurelian Bradley vs Marty Ellison I obviously imagined good things for Bradley, and it has been. Marty has been left in the lurch abit so far, and he will have too pick it up in order for him to have any chance. Admittedly, I think I should change my pick and still imagine the potential of Ellison being a shoe-in for potential Sekigun leader, while Bradley is a more likely winner of the match and cup... But I'm still going to root for Marty here so I might as well pick him! Damian Hooker vs Rhys Ryland Genuinely expected to be picking Ryland here as a more technical worker, who'd be able to work on Hooker's bad knee, but for whatever reason it really does seem like Ryland wants to be a flyer more then a technician. For that reason, I think Hooker could potentially yeet Ryland with a lariat out of his skin! Bryn Archer vs Marc Maxx I feel slightly bad, but honestly... Archer isn't even a question, and it's fair and understandable to know why. Poor Maxx, hopefully he is learning alot from this though! FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 4 From Manchester Winner Challenges for the BHOTWG International Championship “Journeyman” Curtis Jenkins vs “The Irish Stretching Machine” Merle O'Curle Great match up! I don't know who too root for, but I certainly think that's a good thing! Both are great, have done well, and both are about even coming in. I'm going too go for Merle for nostalgic reasons if nothing else. Lynton Minehead vs Rhys Ryland Same as in the Hooker match the night before, if Ryland had gone more technician then flyer, maybe I would have seen him get a win over Hooker and a better showing here, but I see Minehead winning even stronger then Hooker, and probably putting himself in prime position to take the cup. Lets hope the Hooker match puts Ryland in his place somehow and he comes out with a more mat based style vs Lyton instead! Christian Black vs Jermaine Granger Rough one. Depends on the prior match a bit really. I'm going to go with Granger here but root for a true young lion of the company in Black. I don't expect too be wrong here, but I'd happily accept it. I imagine Grangers added experience will do him well. Aurelian Bradley vs Bryn Archer Good match, likely the match of the night for the young lions. I see Bradley winning for sure, but I think Archer can give him some trouble. Here's hoping I'm right about the MOTN and Archer having a good showing! Damian Hooker vs Marc Maxx This should be fun! Sorry Maxx but in this one we may get a real squash with the first big guy in Hooker facing off with him, if Hooker isn't hurting from a long night with a technician the show before. Marty Ellison vs Hari Dubashi In style and excitement, you root for Hari Dubashi. In emotion and spirit, you root for Marty Ellison. I'm going to go with Marty two-fold here. I'm not changing my pick of winner despite how unlikely it feels now, but more importantly I rooting with my gut that Marty's fighting spirit will prevail! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 ---------------------------------- The Rules Of The Young Lions Cup 2020 The tournament is a 10 man, round robin tournament in which everyone will face each other once, in a single block of 10 Every block match will have a 15 minute time limit A win is worth 2 points, a draw is worth 1 point, a loss earns 0 points IF someone is forced out of the competition within the first 3 matches, all points earned against them are set to 0 IF someone is forced out of the competition after 3 or more matches, all remaining matches are forfeited and their remaining opponents will be given a win When all matches have been contested, the top two points scorers will advance to the final The final will have no time limit, there must be a winner If wrestlers are tied on points, their ranking is determined via head to head tiebreakers If multiple wrestlers are tied on the same score, the total points from matches against the tied wretstlers is used, then head to head tiebreakers If there is a tie with more than two wrestlers for the top two ranks after tie breakers, an elimination match between all wrestlers will be used for the final The winner of the final match will have their name etched onto the Young Lions Cup as the 2020 winner The winner can choose to carry the trophy with them to events if they wish The trophy must be returned to the FireBrand Dojo trophy case every night It is the responsibility of the winner to keep the trophy in good condition NEVER GIVE UP! ONE MORE STEP! CHASE YOUR DREAM! ---------------------------------- FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 3 Results A rowdy Newcastle crowd were up for a night of young lion action, and were excited for the opening match of Bryn Archer vs Marc Maxx. Bryn stoically absorbed much of Marc's early offence as Marc showcased his quickness for a man his size, but Bryn cared little for Marc's hopes of getting some points on the board and hit him with some hard hitting strikes that left him reeling. Breaking away for just a moment, Maxx uncharacteristically and quickly went for a big finishing shot with the Top Rope Cross Body, one of the young lion finishers, but Bryn saw it coming and evaded, quickly catching Marc as he recovered from the miss and dumping him with a neck crunching Saito Suplex. Bryn didn't even need to follow it up with another move, wrapping Bryn into a strong pinfall to get the win. The next match saw two FireBrand graduates going up against each other in a total clash of styles and a significant size difference. Damian Hooker is the largest man in the field and relies heavily on his power to overwhelm opponents, while Rhys Ryland is the second smallest and relies on some creative technical grappling and high flying to get the upperhand for himself. Hooker tried to maintain a slow pace, attempting to maul Rhys with bearpaw open handed strikes to the midsection.. Rhys did what he could to evade, creatively using the space around the ring to make space and attempt to strike from different angles. A big missile dropkick from Rhys sent the big man flying and Rhys followed up with the FACE FIVE palm strike to stun him and cradled him up for a near fall! Rhys tried to head to the top for the Rhys' Peace Out but was slowed from all the strikes he had taken, allowing Hooker enough time to crotch him up there and then throw him into the ring. A moment later Rhys was hoisted high up for a Sacrifice (crucifix powerbomb) and Hooker picked up the win. Two of the more classical thinking wrestlers in the young lions were up next as FireBrand's Marty Ellison took on the National School of Wrestling's Aurelian Bradley. Aurelian is heavyily influenced by old school mat grappling, and Marty is learning a little of every style as he works towards being a true all rounder and master of all styles. The clash of philosophies saw both men get the upperhand at various points, with Aurelian getting the upperhand on the mat while Marty tried to raise the pace in order to get himself the upperhand. Both had their chances to win this match but Aurelian's focus on working specifically towards the Figure Four Leglock was his own undoing as Marty knew it was coming, countering with a perfectly exectued small package to grab the victory. Two more of FireBrand's homegrown dojo graduates squared off next as the athletic and charismatic Hari Dubashi squared off against the calculating Christian Black. Dubashi knew that he would have to work a fast paced match up to avoid giving Black the time to think and so was quickly on the attack, utilising his agility to try to catch Black off guard with a series of quick pinfall attempts. Black gained the upperhand when he hit a release German Suplex to counter Dubashi, finally slowing the match down to his own pace. Black targetted Dubashi's neck for a focus, perhaps hinting towards an as yet unrevealed finsihing move but Dubashi eventually broke free of Black's targetted offence, picking up the pace again as he desperately tried to pick up his first win of the tournament. Dubashi tried for the Tornado Headkick but Black had it scouted, ducking the move as Dubashi winced and clutched at his neck, giving Black the opening to hit a bridging German Suplex that proved to be enough to decide the match, as Black wins again. The final young lions match of the night promised to be a very athletically inclined match as the gymnastically inclined Jermaine Granger took on the former rugby stand out Lynton Minehead. With two very different styles of attack this was yet another clash of styles in a night filled with them. For all his physical gifts, Lynton's most noted weakness going into the tournament was that he wasn't a wrestling fan as a youngster or into any martial arts and as such has often had some trouble picking up new techniques. Meanwhile Granger has been wrestling a little longer and has picked up some extra experience on the way, which really shone through in this match. Lynton was his usual explosive self, utilising his rugby skills to chase down and tackle Jermaine whenever possible. Things didn't seem to be going well for Jermaine as Lynton set up for the Power Surge (running pick up spinebuster) and charged into it... only for Jermaine to leap up and into a sunset flip, with Jermaine rolling through and driving the shocked Lynton's shoulders into the mat for the 3 count! The rest of the card was hyping up more matches for later in the tour, such as Gram Gorman's challenge for Rohan Kirchner's 100kg Championship, The Unbound and The Rainbow Guard's continued rivalry, and the next show's huge main event that will see Curtis Jenkins and Merle O'Curle clash with the winner going on to fight for the BHOTWG International championship. The main event of the night was a fantastic technical affair between the champion Neil Warburton and challenger JK Lee, fighting over the Pure Wrestling Championship. Both men have a well earned reputation for technical wrestling, which has earned them the monikers of “The Grappler” and “The Bulldog” respectively, highlighting how much both men will relentlessly wrestle anyone who steps in their path. Warburton's signature finishing hold has been the Texas Deathlock and Lee's the Crossface submission. For more than 20 minutes the two men worked towards those typical finishers. Lee looked to have the match almost won as he relentlessly held on like a dog with a bone to the Crossface, but the damage done to his knee made him lose the arm trap on the submission, giving The Grappler his way out of the hold. Grappler fought to his feet and broke Lee's vicelike grip, scoring an industrial double leg takedown that stunned Lee and gave Warbutron the chance to lock in the Texas Deathlock. Lee gritted his teeth and fought for as long as he could, but he eventually submitted and Warburton retained the championship, hoisting it up alongside his CWW Championship to celebrate. Show0046 A UEW tag team match between Marcello Ricci & Don Henderson against “Punisher” Paul Hughes and Thor The Mighty saw Hughes suffer a legit injury, sustaining a hernia that will likely keep him out of the ring for around two months. The previously announced cage match between “Punisher” Paul Hughes and “The Swansea Kid” Neville Jones for the Welsh National title will definitely have to be changed, with no official word on how yet ---------------------------------- FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 4 Results The Edinburgh show opened up with a graphic highlighting how close the tournament had been so far, with 7 people tied on 4 points after 3 matches. The first match saw Marc Maxx facing an uphill challenge in the quest for his first victory of the tournament as he went up against the largest man in this year's Young Lion field, Damian Hooker. Maxx may have been the quicker and more agile of the two heavy hitters, but Hooker's power soon proved to be a major factor as he managed to put Marc down with a running shoulderblock. Marc tried to do everything he could with his still basic young lion moveset, but Hooker brought the thunder with a Standing Lariat that scrambled Marc's brain, allowing Hooker to truly showoff his power as he hoisted Marc's 270lb frame all the way up for a Sacrifice (crucifix powerbomb) to pick up his third win of the tournament so far and leave Marc Maxx still winless after four matches. The second match of the night saw two more FireBrand Dojo graduates face off against each other as Hari Dubashi and Marty Ellison clashed for the first time in a competitive singles match. As always, Marty's diverse moveset with that contains fundamentals from many styles gives him some diversity that others lack, but they are still fundamentals rather than polished skills. Hari's style may be less diverse but the agility based offence gives him an upperhand on any of the young lions, as that is his strength. An evenly fought contest came to a close when Marty tried to go for the Fisherman's Suplex only for Hari to spin out and connect with the Tornado Headkick, giving Hari enough time to head to the top execute a beautiful Shooting Star Press. The three count was academic after that, earning Hari his first points of the tournament. Lynton Minehead continued to showcase his fantastic athletic ability particularly his explosive first step and phenomenal power. He may not naturally be inclined towards wrestling but you don't get to be courted by major rugby teams without being big, strong and tough... which are very much crossover wrestling abilities. Standing in that path of “The Rhino” tonight was the somewhat eccentric Rhys Ryland, who has been making a name in the tournament for being a little out of the ordinary when it comes to his choice of moves, move names and ability to move around the ring in unconventional ways. Lynton struggled to deal with Ryland's trickery, getting caught with numerous strikes and a couple of takedowns that saw Rhys working for the double leg Boston crab... but in the end a corner FACE FIVE wasn't as effective as Rhys would have hoped, bouncing of the rugby player like so many tackles had in the pasts as Lynton charged with the Power Surge to smash Rhys into the match. Rhys showed heart to kick out of the cover, but one Tombstone Piledriver was enough to put an end to Rhys as Lynton showcased why he's considered the favourite for the tournament. FireBrand Dojo and Ring Of Fire Dojo were up against each other next as Jermaine Granger and Christian Black squared off. Both go into the match with two wins apiece and are fighting for personal pride as much as competitive points, with Jermaine coming out for this match looking a little more intense than usual. Black is cool and calculated as always, coming into this with an obvious plan of attacking Jermaine's knee and grounding the more athletic high flyer. Jermaine's initial flurry is cut short with takedowns as Black gets up close and personal, using his size to put the pressure on Jermaine. Jermaine escapes the clutches of Black, throwing a couple of forearms and a high leaping dropkick to get himself some breathing room. Black tries to stay on him but Granger starts to bulid momentum, using the ropes for speed and letting adrenaline carry him for a few moments, but as he exectues a Falcon Arrow his knee reminds him that it's hurting and he takes too long to get into the cover as Black kicks out at the last second. Granger heads to the top rope looking for the Frog Splash but Black gets his knees up to counter having clearly done his homework, cradling him for a tight pin that Granger couldn't escape after he drove the wind out of himself and had his knee worked over. Christian Black wins his third match of the tournament, Bryn Archer and Aurelian Bradley were the combatants for the final young lion match of the night, both with two wins each going into it and looking to keep pace with the leaders on six points (Lynton Minehead, Christian Black and Damian Hooker). Aurelian was keen to get the match to the mat, while Bryn was keen to keep it standing so that he could strike, both men looking to make the most of their natural advantages. Bryn tried for his Spinning Back Elbow finisher early but Aurelian smoothly ducked into a drop toe hold to trip Bryn and begin the methodical ground and pound that could win him the match. Aurelian wouldn't let Bryn to his feet, as Bryn's moustache bristled with frustration as he tried to get things going back his own way. Finally Bryn found himself an opening, countering another takedown with twist of the hips to throw him away. Bryn started striking with intense chops, pushing Aurleian into the corner where he intensely kept on chopping him down. Bryn tried to go for the Saito Suplex but Aurelian elbowed his way out of that, trying as quickly as he could to shoot in for a takedown only to be hit in the temple with a Spinning Back Elbow. Bryn Archer stoically falls into the pin, looking annoyed that he is feeling pain, but his moustache secretly saying that he enjoyed the fight. Elsewhere on the card The Office got a strong victory over a makeshift team of McPeterson, Captain Crash and the Black Country Boys that showcased how good the group of champions are compared to a motley crew of assembled talent. The Unbound looked similarly strong against a team of FireBrand Dads, with the veterans looking like they may have collectively lost a step or two in recent years compared to the relatively young and talented group led by VENOM. A couple of smaller tag matches saw some significant hype as Adrenaline champion Petey Barnes teamed with 100kg champion Rohan Kirchner against future challengers Thunderbolt and Gram Gorman, which saw Rohan break more than a few rules in the lead up to him hitting a sneaky low blow on Thunderbolt to allow Petey to steal them the win. Rohan vs Gram goes down on Day 5 in Glasgow, while Petey vs Thunderbolt is on Day 6 in Dublin. The major news of the day came after Gavin Owens and Glen Ward defeated Bali Daljit and Rhys Vali of The Rainbow Guard... what was originally scheduled to be a trios contest had to be changed to a tag match as Gavin Owens broke the news that “Punisher” Paul Hughes sustained a hernia and won't be cleared to wrestle for a couple of months, meaning he is out of the cage match with Neville Jones for the Welsh National title in Cardiff. Having won this match Gavin Owens declared that he will take Punisher's place in the match, with the Olympic judoka ready to put a hurting on Neville that would make Liz Sweetheart cry for sure. The main event of the show was the hugely anticipated rubber match between “The Journeyman” Curtis Jenkins and “The Irish Stretching Machine” Merle O'Curle. Both men are among the elite of British/Irish wrestling and have the championship gold to back that up, and they have both have a win on each other in their quest to achieve even greater championship success in the BHOTWG International championship, currently held by Riddick Jordan. Much like with their previous two encounters this match started slow and built to a big finish. Merle had the advantage when it came to striking and his teeth rattling uppercuts and forearms bore that out, but Curtis is younger and a step quicker allowing him a very narrow advantage in getting Merle to the mat. Hold and intricate counter hold were exchanged as both men worked through arsenals of agonising moves that they may not typically have to break out against other, less reputable opponents. The Scottish crowd winced every time Merle and Curtis found a new, painful counter move as this technical spectacle amped up towards The Celtic Wreath and the Furusawa Armbar. Finding more escapes than ever to their signature moves, Curtis broke out the Fisherman's Suplex (itself a tribute to British Samurai) that got the nearest fall of the match, before Merle debuted a beautiful rolling Death Valley Driver that he floated over from straight into mounted palm strikes to the head. Even with only one good arm, Merle was relentless as he pounded at Curtis' head and broke down his guard... Curtis eventually succumbed to the inevitable, getting hit with one too many strikes as his arms fell limply away from his head. The referee had to jump in and stop the fight, pulling Merle off and awarding him the victory! There woul dbe no post match handshake or show of respect as Curtis was unconscious on the mat while Merle celebrated, one arm tucked into his side due to all the damage he had taken during the match. After the match the reigning BHOTWG International champion Riddick Jordan came out to “congratulate” Merle, wondering how someone so hurt would have a chance against him... and even how he'd even manage to overcome Omezo Shikitei next week as he defends the King Of Ireland championship in Dublin. “Good luck, I hear the Irish have plenty of that” Show0047 ---------------------------------- UPCOMING MATCHES FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 5 From Glasgow “100 Killer” Gram Gorman brought the 100kg Championship with him from Canada and has had a tough year, picking up injuries that have no doubt held him back as he tries to leave his mark. Rohan Kirchner managed to take advantage of that back in May, holding the belt for seven months to this point. Gram wants the gold back, Rohan doesn't want to part with it, both men are in top condition and this promises to be a show stealer! 100kg Championship Rohan Kirchner © vs “100 Killer” Gram Gorman Aurelian Bradley vs Jermaine Granger Christian Black vs Rhys Ryland Damian Hooker vs Hari Dubashi Marty Ellison vs Bryn Archer Lynton Minehead vs Marc Maxx ….and more! FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 6 From Dublin With their series tied at one apiece after fights for the King of Ireland and All England championships, these two men decided that they needed to settle the score with a third match on neutral ground. Scotland's capital city of Edinburgh will play host to one of the biggest matches the British/Irish indy scene has to offer, with the winner of this match challenging for the BHOTWG International Championship on the final night of the Young Lion Cup tour, a title currently held by Riddick Jordan of The Office! Adrenaline Championship “The X-Factor” Petey Barnes © vs Thunderbolt King of Ireland Championship “The Irish Stretching Machine” Merle O'Curle © vs Omezo Shikitei Christian Black vs Bryn Archer Damian Hooker vs Marty Ellison Lynton Minehead vs Hari Dubashi Aurelian Bradley vs Rhys Ryland Jermaine Granger vs Marc Maxx ….and more! ---------------------------------- Two sets of predictions for this round saw kanegan and Unregistered go head to head. Day three went to Unregistered as he almost pulled a perfect score, only incorrectly predicting Jermaine Granger's win over tournament favourite Lkynton Minehead. Day four proved to be very difficult for both as they only correctly got three correct picks from a tough night, meaning that the one point difference from day three gave Unregistered a narrow victory for this week of shows. Unregistered leads the overall scoreboard too, but it's a pretty close one and the next round of predictions could see the totals vary significanly as there are 13 points on the board Unregistered (Marty Ellison) – 5/6 and 3/6 (overall total = 16/24 = 67%) kanegan (Bryn Archer) - 4/6 and 3/6 (overall total = 7/12 = 58%) Good luck superfans, and thanks for playing along! My intention is to get the next round of shows up on Sunday, but real life might delay it a day or two depending on how some things shake out. I look forward to seeing any and all thoughts you have alongside your predictions ---------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unregistered Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 5 From Glasgow 100kg Championship Rohan Kirchner © vs “100 Killer” Gram Gorman I really like Gram, and would love to see him grab his belt right back, but at the same point Rohan has done well enough and you don't wan't too see him just as an interim champion, so I'm going with Rohan despite me liking Gram more. On the plus side, hopefully it'll see him moving forward into non-weight limited title belts, like the Size of the Fight dads would be proud to see. Aurelian Bradley vs Jermaine Granger For someone who was scouted as not always paying the most attention, Jermaine has been absolutely doing better then I would have expected. Bradley is on a losing streak, and Granger just lost too black, so they both have something to prove. I'm going with Bradley but that just means Jermaine is likely going to win Christian Black vs Rhys Ryland I like how Ryland has become the funky weapon of Firebrand wrestling, despite I figured he would be the stoic technical guy. Good for him for breaking down expectations. Black however is still a strong contender to win the cup, and as much as Ryland is probably winning fans faster then most, I don't think he will win this match. Damian Hooker vs Hari Dubashi Seriously this could go either way. I honestly think full-speed Hari Dubashi is going to beat slowed down Hooker, probably catch him off guard. Hooker is doing very well, but Dubashi just beat the "Ace" ( ) so he's obviously on a roll! If Hooker does win, I bet it's a standing lariat that leaves Hari flipping over and over again Marty Ellison vs Bryn Archer So alright, maybe Marty Ellison isn't actually the Ace as it turns out . I'm still not going to turn on him, as he's still in with a chance for the cup himself, so despite Archer being a favorite, Ellison is back to his winning ways! Lynton Minehead vs Marc Maxx I'm sorry Maxx, Minehead is going to kill you. FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 6 From Dublin Adrenaline Championship “The X-Factor” Petey Barnes © vs Thunderbolt I still see Petey keeping the title, but Thunderbolt is pretty great. I hope this is a great match that gives Thunder a chance to shine! King of Ireland Championship “The Irish Stretching Machine” Merle O'Curle © vs Omezo Shikitei Dream match right here! O'Curle is in for a big title match of his own soon for the International title, so you'd think he'd win here in his home country... but Omezo is not only a future pick, but a right now pick at being able too lead the company forward. Incredibly talented, just not as popular as the older Merle for understandable reason. Christian Black vs Bryn Archer To be honest, Archer loses against Marty the night before, and gets a win back here too keep him in things. Same with Black, having gotten a win the night before, he likely needs to be slowed back down here. Damian Hooker vs Marty Ellison Tag team partners compete! I've always seen it as Hooker as Harper with Marty as Anderson, so I have too choose Ellison. As much as I could see Hooker win here, as his strength is stronger then any of Marty's individual skills, its the fact that Marty works with Hooker so much that I can imagine Marty would know best how to counter him. Lynton Minehead vs Hari Dubashi Hari either goes on a godly streak here against the big men, and becomes the big man killer, or more likely we see Lynton rugby pounce Hari across the ring. Here's hoping for Dubashi, but Minehead is in fact a man with a bomb for a head. Aurelian Bradley vs Rhys Ryland The Funky One Ryland gets a pretty good win and gets himself back in the race to win the cup, even if it is as an outsider. Keeps things interesting! Bradley isn't bad, but I imagine Ryland is turning some heads, and will get some results sooner then later! Jermaine Granger vs Marc Maxx Alright, alright, alright... Maxx! Okay, so here me out, Granger will FINALLY make a mistake and not pay enough attention to his opponent, and I will finally be right about Granger's mentals keeping him from getting an easy win! I blame the scout reports by the way! Also, it'll be nice to see Maxx get a win. On the other side of everything I've said, as Granger is repeatedly my spoiler, I figured maybe I can break the system with a Maxx win! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted September 22, 2020 Author Share Posted September 22, 2020 ---------------------------------- The Rules Of The Young Lions Cup 2020 The tournament is a 10 man, round robin tournament in which everyone will face each other once, in a single block of 10 Every block match will have a 15 minute time limit A win is worth 2 points, a draw is worth 1 point, a loss earns 0 points IF someone is forced out of the competition within the first 3 matches, all points earned against them are set to 0 IF someone is forced out of the competition after 3 or more matches, all remaining matches are forfeited and their remaining opponents will be given a win When all matches have been contested, the top two points scorers will advance to the final The final will have no time limit, there must be a winner If wrestlers are tied on points, their ranking is determined via head to head tiebreakers If multiple wrestlers are tied on the same score, the total points from matches against the tied wretstlers is used, then head to head tiebreakers If there is a tie with more than two wrestlers for the top two ranks after tie breakers, an elimination match between all wrestlers will be used for the final The winner of the final match will have their name etched onto the Young Lions Cup as the 2020 winner The winner can choose to carry the trophy with them to events if they wish The trophy must be returned to the FireBrand Dojo trophy case every night It is the responsibility of the winner to keep the trophy in good condition NEVER GIVE UP! ONE MORE STEP! CHASE YOUR DREAM! ---------------------------------- FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 5 Results Glasgow played host to the fifth day of the Young Lions Cup and the fastest match in FPW's short history as Lynton Minehead and Marc Maxx squared off. Both men are super athletic but Maxx was never allowed to get out of the starting blocks as Lynton quickly managed to connect with the Power Surge (running spinebuster) after the initial quick test of strength. Maxx managed to kick out but Lynton overwhelmed him with strikes and soon had Maxx up for the Tombstone Piledriver, dropping him on his head with his tribute to Kikkawa to get the three count in 2:47, a new FPW record. Bryn Archer and Marty Ellison squared off in the second match of the day in a far more evenly matched contest. Marty's diverse base of styles kept Bryn off guard as the stoic Welshman worked his impactful style to wear down Marty. Marty's quickness and mat work were his main weapons in this one, being overmatched for hard hitting strikes and slams. Bryn worked for the German Suplex but Marty was smart to counter by getting as low as possible rather than countering with a back elbow that would have made her vulnerable for the Saito Suplex. Marty continued working smartly, countering repeated attempts for the same moves by getting low until he countered with a roll forward into a knee bar. Bryn's strengths do not yet include submissions and when it became clear he couldn't get the ropes he had to submit and give Marty the win. Two FireBrand Dojo grads squared up next as Hari Dubashi and Damian Hooker met in their first singles clash against each other. Hari is the smallest of the class while Hooker is the largest and the obvious size disparity of about 7 inches and 100 pounds was the story of this match. Hari was obviously faster, hitting with leg kicks to try to wear down Hooker's knee and slow him down. But once Hooker managed to channel his size into ring position the match swung in his favour, using big corner strikes and powerful slams to control Hari. A late flurry from Hari saw him go for the Tornado Headkick but Hooker stood up into it so that the move, while making a mighty sound, smashed him in the chest rather than the head. Hari ate a devastating Standing Lariat the twisted him inside out before Hari was offered up as a Sacrifice (Crucifix Bomb) to give Hooker the win. Christian Black and Rhys Ryland squared up next as two of the better technicians in the class squared up against each other. Rhys' choice of expanded move set has so far seen him net just one win, so while he is rated highly a s technician his choice of moves hasn't played into that. Black was wary early on, wondering if Ryland's unorthodox ideas for himself were something of a plan to put him on edge. Black once again leaned heavily on the basics, using more strikes since he had the size advantage but this ended up with him eating a FACE FIVE for his trouble and giving Rhys a real opportunity to capitalise. Had he gone for a Double Leg Boston Crab or some new hold he may have picked up the win, but he went to the top rope for a Rhys' Peace Out (flying double foot stomp) that Black evaded, and within a minute Black had Rhys in the Double Leg Boston Crab, forcing Rhys to tap out after a lengthy battle in the hold where Rhys tried everyt trick he knew to escape, without success. The final young lions match of the day was between Aurelian Bradley and Jermaine Granger, with the National School of Wrestling and Ring of Fire Dojos represented here. Bradley's classic old school stylings and stoic demeanour were in stark contrast to Granger's lively, upbeat energy and natural swagger. Unsubtly working towards the Figure Four Leglock, Aurelian's game plan for this match was obvious. Jermaine had an equally obvious counter plan, using his agility to keep distance between the two of them in order to build momentum from afar while using the ropes to his advantage. The match really could have gone either way as they explored their young lion movesets, looking for a way to win and it looked like Jermaine had it when he went up top for a Frog Splash only to find nothing but knees waiting for him on the canvas... Aurelian hastily got to his feet and quickly dropped Jermaine with a Piledriver that Jermaine sold like a champ. The rest of the card again built towards future matches... The Unbound continued to generate momentum as Clubber Kohl and Crusher Von Steinberg put their united tag goals to the forefront, uniting to get the win for the group n an 8 man tag that saw Axl Grease on the wrong end of yet another pinfall. W.A.R. (Neil Warburton and Omezo Shikitei) had a great showing against Reckless intent as Omezo warmed up for his King of Ireland title shot vs Merle O'Curle three days from now, with O'Curle notably absent from this card as he was recovering from his win over Curtis Jenkins, who was also missing here tonight. The Rainbow Guard trio of Thunderbolt, Neville Jones and Bali Daljit found themselves on the losing side against Petey Barnes, Gavin Owen and Glen Ward as two more title matches were hyped before the Office fell in a surprise defeat to Konrad Makinen, Martin Heath, Jon Michael Sharp and... Cain Carlile? With “Captain Crash” Cain Carlile actually scoring the winning fall on Scottish Heavyweight champion Dwayne Dark, a result that may yet carry some consequences for Dark. The main event was a highly anticipated bout between 100kg Champion Rohan Kirchner taking on the former champion “100 Killer” Gram Gorman. Both men have a reputation for being exciting in the ring and this match was wrestled at a frenetic pace, with Gram showcasing the depth of his skills in ways that fans may have not had the chance to see before. Rohan, ever willing to treat the rules as guidelines, gained control of the match went to work, using high impact moves that allowed him to make use of his superior size to dominate for a long spell. Gram showed his toughness, kicking out of many pin attempts and firing up to release his frustrations with a diverse and almost impossible to predict set of moves. Chops, headbutts, cannonball sentons, kicks, snap suplexes... Gram dumped his arsenal at Rohan in his search for the win but to his credit, Rohan never gave up. With the match hitting the 20 minute mark it seemed to come down to whoever had more left in the tank and as the two had another spirited, high energy exchange we got an answer for who that was... as Gram gutwrenched Rohan up for an inverted piledriver (tombstone) to get the pinfall... truly, this was a night of devastating piledrivers all around, but most importantly Gram Gorman is your new 100kg Champion, starting his second reign with the belt. He didn't have long to celebrate though as VENOM made his presence felt, attacking with a blindside high knee, a nasty lariat and a Russian leg sweep into the crowd barrier before picking up Gram's new championship and walking off with it! Show0048 Reverie owner Allen Packer has gotten himself into trouble on social media over some poorly chosen words regarding world politics. Representatives of his various business ventures, which include online media giant Reverie and wrestling company USPW, have been quick to distance themselves from him while Packer himself seems happy to court controversy once again In a fitting moment, the BCG Generations event in Japan saw 53 year old Toshinobu Taku wrestle his final ever match, losing to his son Yoshinaka Taku in the midcard of a strong overall show. His upcoming retirement ceremony is sure to pull on the heartstrings of many long term puro fans, and this moment may finally mark the ascension of Yoshinaka's singles career now that his team with his father is definitely over ---------------------------------- FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 6 Results A small, but rowdy, Dublin crowd was full of energy for the day's upcoming matches. Kicking things off was Marc Maxx, looking to have a better showing than a few days ago as he went up against Jermaine Granger. Maxx managed to achieve part of his goal for tonight, going almost ten minutes with Jermaine before the swagger filled youngster took advantage with some nice movement and slick chain wrestling to down Maxx long enough to hit the Frog Splash and pick up the pinfall. Maxx remains on zero points after six matches and it seems like his trainer's estimation of him “being lucky to pick up any points” may be painfully accurate. The second match of the day saw FireBrand Dojo friends Damian Hooker and Marty Ellison clash. Hooker's strategy was always going to be to overwhelm with size and power, which pushed Ellison to try to take things to the mat to negate those advantages and turn things in his favour. It seemed to work for a while as Marty worked on the bad left knee of Hooker to set up for a Double Leg Boston Crab but Hooker had the toughness and core strength to make it to the ropes. Marty gave a clean break and this proved to be the beginning of the end, allowing Hooker to get back into the match, though he began to gasp for air around the 11 minute mark, before offering up Marty for the Sacrifice to get the one, two, three. Hooker is the first person to reach ten points in the tournament and has so far managed to put himself in a very strong position to make the final. The third match of the day saw Aurelian Bradley heavily favoured to defeat Rhys Ryland in their block match, but there was something about Aurelian's classic old school style that didn't seem to work for him against Ryland's offbeat, ADHD apprach to wrestling. While Bradley continually seemed to be in control, Ryland would find an unconventional way to escape the technical grappling and repeatedly hit Aurelian with the FACE FIVE to stun his larger opponent. A low enziguri when Aurelian was on one knee sent the old school grappler to the mat and Ryland was quick to capitalise, heading to the top rope with the Rhys' Peace Out (flying double stomp) to score a shocking victory over Aurelian in a match that Aurelian never seemed to be truly in control of at any point! Christian Black and Bryn Archer were up next with Bryn in particular needing to win as he had 6 points from five matches, while Black came in with 8 points. Looking to keep themselves in a prime spot to qualify for the finals both men were cagey in the early going, making sure they didn't make any mistakes. Black had the advantage on grappling but Bryn raised the stakes when his impactful strikes started to give him the advantage. Both men looked to wear the other down, not going for big moves but looking to keep control of the other. Black worked over the neck of Bryn, with Bryn happy to return the favour too as it helped work towards his known moves. They two men kept it simple and Black thought he had the match as he landed a German Suplex with a bridge, but only got a two count. Quick to keep up the pressure, Black went for another but Bryn managed a go behind and Black made a critical error... trying for a back elbow, as Bryn ducked and locked Black up for a devastating Saito Suplex. Black stumbled to his feet and then ate a Spinning Back Elbow that knocked him senseless long enough for Bryn to get the pin and the win, his moustache bristling with stoic pride as he moved to 8 points. The final of the young lions matches saw the uber athletic Lynton Minehead square off against the athletic and charismatic Hari Dubashi. Hari tried to show up the former rugby player who showed a rare glimpse into a more fun side as he cockily showed off that anything Hari could athletically do, Lynton could also do, which is truly something to see given his size. When the match got serious Lynton started to make more use of his power, breaking out of some mat based attacks and overwhelming his smaller competitor while Hari put up a good fight. Lynton eventually broke out the most devastating moves of the tournament so far. The Power Surge (running spinebuser) migiht have been enough to win on it's own, but the Kikkawa inspired Tombstone Piledriver was the end for sure. Lynton draws level on points with Damian Hooker, at 10. Hype for future major matches continued, with the team of Glen Ward and Gavin Owen overcoming the Rainbow Guard duo of Neville Jones and Rhy Vali (aka The Very Welsh Alliance). Gavin Owen seems to have switched up to a new gear recently and the upcoming cage match in Cardiff for Neville's Welsh National title will see him get his first major opportunity, whether it was originally intended for him or not. The Unbound got another momentum building win in 8 man tag action, once again making Axl Grease eat the fall as Size Of The Fight were powerless to stop Clubber & Crusher from winning the match for The Unbound. The most exciting tag match o the night saw Jon Michael Sharp and “Magic” Martin Heath's superior teamwork take down the championship pairing of “Journeyman” Curtis Jenkins and “The Grappler” Neil Warburton prior to their upcoming singles matches in Norwich, which will be FPW's first show there. The semi-main event of the night saw an exciting match between “The X-Factor” Petey Barnes and Thunderbolt for Barnes' recently won Adrenaline championship. As always, Barnes was quick to get in the face of his challenger when he outwrestled him in the early going, believing himself to be the far superior wrestler. Both men have spent a lot of time wrestling across Europe picking up some techniques that aren't common to the UK and when Thunderbolt began to get the upperhand with some of those tricks Petey got frustrated, resorting to underhanded tactics to cut him off. Petey slowed the pace, busting out some slick moves and doing nothing to keep his attitude in check as he taunted Thunderbolt while he was down, “congratulating” him for kicking out of every pinfall attempt. Petey was content to wear Thunderbolt down, knowing he had several tools to end the match but his arrogance gave Thunderbolt the opening to comeback. Feeding off the elctricity in the air from the fans, Thunderbolt summoned reserves of energy to light Petey up with quick, high impact moves and showing off his athleticism with some springboard dives. With Petey downed, Thunderbolt when to the top for the Bolt From The Blue (Flipping Leg Drop) but Petey managed to evade, taunting Thunderbolt for missing so spectacularly. Petey grabbed Thunderbolt's arm to set him for the Added Depth submission (Tequilla Sunrise) but was too slow, giving Thunderbolt the chance to roll Petey up for a shocking three count! Thunderbolt is the new Adrenaline champion, and Petey can't believe it!! The main event had a lot to live up to after the previous two matches but when all was said and done, it managed to steal the show. Omezo Shikitei would normally be something of an underdog, given his relativelynknown status with the fans, though his undoubted talent has been helping to generate buzz around him. “The Irish Stretching Machine” Merle O'Curle came into this match still hurting from his win over Curtis Jenkins a week ago, and even though he was trying to block it out, it was obvious from the outset that Merle was nowhere near 100%. The match was slow paced as Omezo looked to take advantage, constantly working towards the injured left arm, circling round towards it all the time through the match. Both men have similar styles, with arsenals filled with technical magic and brutal strikes that highlight just how much Merle should have been wrestling in Japan for all these years instead of wrestling in relative obscurity. Even hurt, Merle has proved himself to be dangerous and repeatedly caught Omezo with strikes from his good arm whenever Omezo got too close. Omezo used his amateur skills and managed to actually out-grapple Merle, something that even Merle seemed surprised about given his elite status in the region for technical wrestling. Merle was always working from underneath though and showcased that he can use his legs too, working some jiu jitsu skills in and almost catching Omezo with some tricky holds. The finish came when Omezo managed to get Merle into the STF, one of his favourite submissions, and then countered the counter to get the Cross Arm Breaker on Merle's bad arm. The agony on Merle's face was enough to make everyone think this was about to get thrown out by the referee before he managed to shift his weight, working quickly for a complex cradle that stacked all of Omezo's weight onto his shoulders to get the surprising three count, the same move that Merle used to defeat Gram Gorman months ago! Merle continued to clutch his arm to his side as Omezo looks at him, knowing how close he just came to winning the King of Ireland championship, and more importantly, how close he came to defeating one of the top talents in the region in what would have been a career making win. Merle acknowledges Omezo for a tough fight and gets on the microphone for a very rare short promo, keeping it simple as he reminds Riddick Jordan that he's coming for the BHOTWG International championship in Birmingham. Show0049 Don Henderson has taking his countryman Christian Black under his wing as a protege British Samurai has been working closely with Lynton Minehead and Marty Ellison on their ring psychology ---------------------------------- UPCOMING MATCHES FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 7 From Cardiff Cardiff was promised a cage match and with “Punisher” Paul Hughes put on the shelf it was up to someone to step up to fill his spot against “The Swansea Kid” Neville Jones and challenge for the Welsh National title. Gavin Owen may still be fairly new to pro wrestling but he has Olympic credentials, momentum and laser focus! This match can only end via pinfall or submission inside the cage, running won't help anyone here with pride and championships on the line!! Gram Gorman just regained the 100kg Championship but has never managed to carry the belt as VENOM stole it... they're gonna fight and Gorman will for sure be angry heading into this one! Welsh National Championship “The Swansea Kid” Neville Jones © vs Gavin Owen ... inside a steel cage! 100kg Championship “100 Killer” Gram Gorman © vs VENOM Damian Hooker vs Bryn Archer Lynton Minehead vs Marty Ellison Aurelian Bradley vs Hari Dubashi Jermaine Granger vs Rhys Ryland Christian Black vs Marc Maxx ….and more! FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 8 From Norwich The team of Heath & Sharp have been tearing it up on the indy scene, winning tag titles galore and Heath also seeing singles success. Both have their eye on singles gold in Norwich and have beaten their singles opponents in tag team action already. JMS seems criminally under-rated as a solo act, bringing sharp technical skills to complement his partner's awesome aerial skills and with Jenkins coming off the back of losses to Merle O'Curle this day seems primed to see the long reigning All England champion dethroned! All England Championship “Journeyman” Curtis Jenkins © vs “Magic” Martin Heath Pure Wrestling Championship “The Grappler” Neil Warburton © vs Jon Michael Sharp Lynton Minehead vs Aurelian Bradley Christian Black vs Damian Hooker Jermaine Granger vs Bryn Archer Marty Ellison vs Rhys Ryland Hari Dubashi vs Marc Maxx ….and more! ---------------------------------- Young Lions Cup 2020 – The Story So Far... The Young Lions Cup rumbles on as it tours around the UK and Ireland showcasing a new generation of talent in it's early stages. New moves have been debuted, hearts have been broken and after six matches some people have been eliminated from competition already following some weak starts. ELIMINATED Marc Maxx Hari Dubashi Marc Maxx was the least experienced heading into the tournament having only rejoined the FireBrand Dojo few months prior and has yet to record a win, as was predicted by many. Also eliminated is Hari Dubashi, his size working against him though he has been putting out strong showings in his outing so far. The two still have a match against each other to come, though at this point it is purely a consolation prize. Rhys Ryland sits on 4 points, technically not eliminated yet but he would need so many matches to go his way that he is practically eliminated from the tournament. Many believed that he would do well as he has a reputation for being a good technical grappler, but he seems to have lost his way a little in the choice of moves he has adapted that don't play to his main strengths. LEADING THE PACK Topping the block at the moment is Lynton Minehead, who holds the lead by virtue of a tiebreaker victory over Damian Hooker. Both men have won five of their six matches so far as the heavy hitters showcase why they were expected to do well pre-tournament. That said, the schedule still has a lot of big matches to come as Christian Black and Aurelian Bradley are both still in the future for both of these guys. Christian Black and Bryn Archer both sit on 8 points, very much still in the thick of things with three matches to go. Bryn wasn't heavily favoured to do well but has this far proved to be great at getting the job done. Black has been playing it cool all tournament, sticking to a basic young lion moveset despite having the option of doing so much more. This tactic may have backfired in his most recent match so it remains to be seen whether he can stick to that through the entire tournament, with big matches coming up. MIDDLE OF THE ROAD Aurelian Bradley, Jermaine Granger and Marty Ellison are tied in the middle of the pack on six points each, having won three of their six matches so far. Rhys Ryland, as previously mentioned is on 4 points, and these four are alll technically in with a chance to win but will need to win matches and rely on some tiebreaker wins to get them through. Perhaps the most important win so far here was Aurelian Bradley's first night victory over Christian Black, which could yet prove vital as we head into the final few matches. With only two people able to qualify for the final, the final few nights in Cardiff, Norwich, London and then Birmingham will show which of the young lions have what it takes to be the top of the class and potentially lead a new generation of British/Irish talent! ---------------------------------- Only one set of predictions this time as Unregistered keeps on delivering the goods with little bits that I totally don't borrow inspiration from sometimes.... yup, definitely don't do that at all. Nosireebob. He did only pick just above 50% correctly though with the bold choice of Marc Maxx to beat Jermaine Granger not paying off for him this time. Maybe it'll pay off next time though? Who knows?! Unregistered (Marty Ellison) – 4/6 and 3/7 (overall total = 23/37 = 62%) kanegan (Bryn Archer) - (overall total = 7/12 = 58%) Three rounds of predictions to go. Day 7 and 8 (up now), Day 9 for the block final, and then the tour finale where we will see some big matches for a show that I've marked as our season finale because it's good to have one of those. Good luck predicting superfans, and thanks for playing along! Or even for just reading along. ---------------------------------- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unregistered Posted September 26, 2020 Share Posted September 26, 2020 FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 7 From Cardiff Welsh National Championship “The Swansea Kid” Neville Jones © vs Gavin Owen ... inside a steel cage! Simply put, it's too bad we didn't get the match that was supposed to happen here, but I think Jones keeps the title. 100kg Championship “100 Killer” Gram Gorman © vs VENOM Nice to see VENOM getting a title match, and this is a big match for Gorman of course, and it should be a great show. However I only see Gorman winning and starting his reign on a strong point with a win versus a very big opponent in VENOM. Damian Hooker vs Bryn Archer There are things I wasn't sure about when the tournament started, but make plenty of sense now. I think despite his size, Hooker being so big against all the other young lions gives him a distinct advantage, as most of the people in the tournament have really not gained the skills yet too really figure him out. Archer I don't think will get the win here, but he'll probably give it a good go. Lynton Minehead vs Marty Ellison Marty is my pick to win the thing... so it's hard not too pick Ellison to win for that reason. But Lynton genuinely seems like a strong pick to win it now, later in the tournament, and certainly seems to have this match in the bag. However... I can't give up on my early pick, and here's hoping for a surprise win for Marty Ellison despite everything, showcasing their big heart! Aurelian Bradley vs Hari Dubashi Bradley is up and down with results. Hari is up and down the ropes. Sadly, I think even though Hari will continue to go up and down the ropes, Bradley will come out on top. Bradley losing here pretty much puts him out of the cup, so a win here at least keeps him looking good for a bit longer. Jermaine Granger vs Rhys Ryland Granger is going to win, as he is a good talent that has a really good cup, but Rhys has been the most impressive in terms of growth of gaining character compared to the others, but he still needs to get his style down and make things work in ring. Christian Black vs Marc Maxx Black wins. Sorry Maxx, your not even worth a write up anymore. Darn you not picking up that cheeky win last time out! FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 8 From Norwich All England Championship “Journeyman” Curtis Jenkins © vs “Magic” Martin Heath Between the two title matches, I see Heath as the most likely challenger to win, but I still see Jenkins winning here. Jenkins needs the win, and Heath still has tag team glory too look forward too. Pure Wrestling Championship “The Grappler” Neil Warburton © vs Jon Michael Sharp Warburton has been a great champ. I don't see him losing to anyone but the best in the division. I just don't think Sharp is that guy really. Continuing the under-rating trend I'm sure Lynton Minehead vs Aurelian Bradley Bradley got a win the show before to keep him looking like a possibility, but I'm sure Minehead stops that here. Christian Black vs Damian Hooker Hooker has done really well all tournament, Black is right behind the top two. This is a huge match, possibly a finals contender decider in some ways. Hooker as said in my last prediction has been very strong, and in some ways may be the only pick of the true Firebrand rookies to have a chance at the cup realistically... but I'll go with Black as he plays spoiler and puts Hooker in a rough chance to getting in the finals with some tie-breaking losses too Minehead and Black, and making his match vs Bradley next time very important. Jermaine Granger vs Bryn Archer Both men doing well. Both still have a chance with getting into the final. With my picks, they'd both be tied here. I'm going to go with Archer for no reason, other then to now know for sure that Jermaine will definitely win instead. Marty Ellison vs Rhys Ryland Rough!!! Kinda! Fan favorites for sure in my opinion. Have to go with Ellison though. I think it's a fair and realistic pick as well, with it likely turning out much like the Rhys/Black match last time. I think Rhys will have his moments, but he will get a bit too excited and take his foot off the gas peddle, if you wiiiiiiiil. Still, good match, hope my pick wins (I need it!) and Rhys still impress. Hari Dubashi vs Marc Maxx This is the only time I will say this, as the super mark of the company, Hari needs to win here. He does. He's done well enough. He's an exciting talent. He's gotten close. He needs to win here, and this can't be a draw or the silly Maxx win. Hari deserves a win, and Maxx is understandably going to go the whole cup without picking up a point... And you know what? That's okay, especially considering the circumstances. If Dubashi loses, that hurts, as he really shouldn't be losing to a guy who some may whisper shouldn't be in the tournament if it wasn't for needing to make numbers! :eek: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted October 1, 2020 Author Share Posted October 1, 2020 <p></p><div style="text-align:center;"><img alt="gwPoYQ7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/gwPoYQ7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> </p><p> ----------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">The Rules Of The Young Lions Cup 2020</span></strong></p><p> </p><p> The tournament is a 10 man, round robin tournament in which everyone will face each other once, in a single block of 10</p><p> Every block match will have a 15 minute time limit</p><p> A win is worth 2 points, a draw is worth 1 point, a loss earns 0 points</p><p> IF someone is forced out of the competition within the first 3 matches, all points earned against them are set to 0</p><p> IF someone is forced out of the competition after 3 or more matches, all remaining matches are forfeited and their remaining opponents will be given a win</p><p> When all matches have been contested, the top two points scorers will advance to the final</p><p> The final will have no time limit, there must be a winner</p><p> If wrestlers are tied on points, their ranking is determined via head to head tiebreakers</p><p> If multiple wrestlers are tied on the same score, the total points from matches against the tied wretstlers is used, then head to head tiebreakers</p><p> If there is a tie with more than two wrestlers for the top two ranks after tie breakers, an elimination match between all wrestlers will be used for the final</p><p> The winner of the final match will have their name etched onto the Young Lions Cup as the 2020 winner</p><p> The winner can choose to carry the trophy with them to events if they wish</p><p> The trophy must be returned to the FireBrand Dojo trophy case every night</p><p> It is the responsibility of the winner to keep the trophy in good condition</p><p> </p><p> <strong>NEVER GIVE UP!</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> ONE MORE STEP!</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> CHASE YOUR DREAM! </strong></p><p> </p><p> ----------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="TjWUnkK.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/TjWUnkK.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 7 Results</span></strong></span></p><p> </p><p> With Cardiff warmed up for a cage match main event, Day 7 of the Young Lions Cup kicks off with the pointless Marc Maxx stepping up to the challenge of Christian Black. In a match unique in the tournament, neither man would use anything beyond their basic young lion moveset, though each for different reasons. Marc Maxx still doesn't have permission to use more moves as part of his agreement to return to the FireBrand following his breach of dojo etiquette, while Black has chosen not to for reasons not entirely clear yet. Maxx used his athletic ability and size to do what he could, hitting hard to counter Black's mastery of the basics and technical skill, but Black was clearly the better grappler in this one and eventually got Marc into the Double Leg Boston Crab to forced a visibly frustrated Marc Maxx to submit in the middle of the ring despite a spirited attempt to get to the ropes.</p><p> </p><p> <em>Two of the FireBrand Dojo's first graduating class were up next as Jermaine Granger and Rhys Ryland squared off. With Rhys all but eliminated from the tournament already, Jermaine's came into this one full of swagger and expecting an easy win to keep his own hopes alive. What he was met with was a FACE FIVE less than a minute into the match that changed the dynamic entirely. With Granger on the back foot early, Rhys was able to take control and looked to be trying to end the match quickly, showing far more focus than he usually does. Grounding Jermaine frequently and looking to hit him with a FACE FIVE or two when Jermaine would escape, Rhys kept trying to work towards the Rhys' Peace Out. Jermaine barely escaped one attempt and desperately went on the counter attack, trying to hit hard and break down Rhys' unusually focused attack. Jermaine landed a Brainbuster style suplex on Rhys that got a long two count before Jermaine went to the top for a Frog Splash that landed on Rhys' knees. A two count followed as Rhys hit another FACE FIVE, stunning Jermaine long enough to get the Rhys' Peace Out and pick up the win!</em></p><p> </p><p> Match three of the night saw Aurelian Bradley's old school tactics go up against the flash and charisma of Hari Dubashi in a clash of styles and personalities. Hari wanted to maintain a more intense, high pressure pace to make the most of his skillset while Bradley was determined to take the match to the mat and grind out a win with ruthless, old school ground and pound tactics. Both men had phases where they were pressing their pace onto the match, but the thing about a fast pace is that it's easier to do when you don't have a far bigger guy holding on to you and trying to wreck your knees. Aurelian worked hard to get the Figure Four Leg Lock as he ground down Hari, with the pay off coming as Hari went for a Tornado Head Kick only for his knee to buckle as he planted on the bad knee. Aurelian was quick to capitalise, locking in the Figure Four to force the submission and keep himself alive in the tournament.</p><p> </p><p> <em>Lynton Minehead and Marty Ellison were up next with Marty needing a win or he will be facing the very real chance of being out of the Young Lion's Cup. Lynton's raw athleticism is head and shoulders above everyone else in the tournament but his lack of general wrestling experience and knowledge is starting to show more and more as the tournament rolls on. Marty's basic grasp of several different styles built up through working with different trainers had Lynton in trouble throughout the match as Marty started using his superior technical wrestling to break Lynton down. Lynton was visibly frustrated with this, spending more of this match on the mat than on his feet where he can be a lot more dangerous and when he did get back up, Marty started using some of his own athleticism, climing the ropes for a Flying Cross Body that almost gave Marty the fall. Marty tried to finish the match with a Fisherman's Suplex but Lynton overpowered Marty, picking him up and smashing him into the corner, spinning round with a sharp turn and charging out with a Power Surge (running spinebuster) to stun Marty, before taking a moment to shake out the cobwebs and then hit the Kikkawa-esque Tombstone Piledriver for the win and to advance to 12 points from a possible 14.</em></p><p> </p><p> The final Young Lion's Cup match of the night saw two of the bigger men in the tournament clash as the stoic Bryn Archer squared off with the biggest guy in the room, Damian Hooker. Neither man is known for being refined or having any aerial graces... they go out to the ring, they hit hard, they hit often and they hit until the other guy gives up. Whlie this match may not win awards for technical proficiency, it did give us a chance to see two meaty maulers stand toe to toe and just unload on each other with some of their biggest, heaviest shots for the first half of the match. Hooker didn't want to be shown up by the smaller man, Bryn didn't want to show that he was being hurt even though he was bleeding from the chest and that very much gave the game away. Bryn tried for the Spinning Back Elbow but Hooker blocked and finally won the strike battle with a counter Standing Lariat. Hooker landed a standing splash but only got a two. Hooker tried to follow up with a German Suplex but Bryn countered with one of his own, but wasn't able to hold the bridge for a pin attempt. Bryn tried to secure the Saito Suplex but Hooker elbowed out of it leaving Bryn doubled over and in position to offer Bryn up as a Sacrifice (Crucifix Powerbomb) that got Hooker the three count and advanced him to 12 points too, alongside Lynton Minehead at the top of the block.</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="ljAchNm.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ljAchNm.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="qSPMb4P.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/qSPMb4P.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="TM46eex.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/TM46eex.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="8pdiBmO.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/8pdiBmO.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="iPV1q2z.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/iPV1q2z.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">WINNERS</span></strong><strong>: Christian Black, Rhys Ryland, Aurelian Bradley, Lynton Minehead, Damian Hooker</strong></p><p> </p><p> <em>The major matches of the night followed the tag team contests that serve to promote other matches on the tour, with the first major match being the 100kg Championship title match between new champion “100 Killer” Gram Gorman and veteran evil doer VENOM, who stole the physical belt from Gram during a beatdown moments after Gram won the belt. VENOM played mind games, taunting Gram in Japanese with the belt as Gram was raring to go, but as soon as the bell went VENOM put himself into the ropes.... and soon out to the floor to slow things down. When Gram gets fired up there may be very few people in the world who can match his aggression and impressive, diverse moveset but VENOM was on a mission to not allow Gram to find his stride, using the tactics he learned while he was part of The Kikkawa Army and other BHOTWG stables to control the match and make Gram work VENOM's match. This worked for a long time, noticably frustrating Gram until he finally found an opening, using his head to... well, literaly use his head over and over to batter VENOM with a series of arm trap headbutts, and when VENOM tried to get to the corner to escape, Gram half-and-half suplexed him so hard he rolled all the way to ther other corner. VENOM's chops normally stop most men dead in their tracks but they only served to fire up Gram even more as he countered with chops of his own. VENOM knew he couldn't win that contest and resorted to manipulating the referee, hitting Gram with an eye poke and following up with a chop block on the way towards a Sting In The Tail (Texas Cloverlead). Gram struggled to the ropes, breaking the hold after being pulled back to the centre of the ring twice and VENOM looked to try to finish as he went for a Kikkawa style lariat but Gram countered with another wince inducing headbutt as VENOM ran in, quickly capitalising with the Gorman-Aghast (gutwrench into tombstone piledriver) to finally put VENOM down and make his first defence of the 100kg Championship, and this time to also leave with the physical belt as VENOM is left battered and bruised in the ring.</em></p><p> </p><p> There was then a quick break as the young lions set up the cage for the first ever cage match in FireBrand Pro Wrestling history, with the crew of active wrestlers and soon to debut dojo students working together to put up the cage. The only ways to win this match are by pinfall or submission.... the challenger was out first, as the former Olympic judoka Gavin Owen stepped into the cage, looking intense as he conducted his pre-match rituals while getting a feel for his environment. The champion “The Swansea Kid” Neville Jones was out next, led out by Liz Sweetheart as the very red duo carried the Welsh National Championship to the ring in Cardiff to a rousing ovation. Referee Roy Worrall solemnly chains the cage door shut in the time honoured tradition of all referees and soon the match was underway. Thing started, to pardon the pun, in cagey fashion as neither man felt very at home inside of the cage but it didn't take long for Gavin Owen to use it to psych out his opponent, shoving Neville's head back into the cage while they were pressed into the ropes. Neville soon also found that the cage was limiting some of his arsenal, making it harder for him to use the ropes to his advantage like he normally would, while Owen's throws and close range combat skills didn't seem to be at all reduced by the environment. With a lot of momentum behind him coming into this match, Owen started to feel things going his way as he picked his spots, methodically working over any part of Neville that was left exposed to throws, strikes and grappling. Liz was almost powerless to help from outside the cage but kept rallying the crowd to help Neville, which seemed to be enough in the latter stages, as Neville started to grow more comfortable with his surroundings and grow in confidence, using the cage to help gain his balance on the ropes more quickly and to stage some of his own moves from new angles. Owen didn't see some of the moves coming and had to aggressively chase the match...</p><p> </p><p> <em>…. leading to the two men standing on the top rope, exchanging awkward strikes above the ring in no man's land to the “boo” and “yay” of the crowd for each shot. The exchange could have went either way but Owen isn't used to working on top of the ropes and when his balance went, it left him crotched on the top rope and vulnerable to an open headkick from Neville that also saw Owen's head bounce off the cage, sending him rolling towards the middle of the ring. Neville would then channel the spirit of all high flyers in every universe that want to jump from high things as he went to the top of the cage, feeding off the crowd as he jumped from the top of the cage with a Swansea Swanton that caved in the chest of Gavin Owen! Liz Sweetheart could barely believe what she saw and looked stunned, only recovering her compsure as Neville got his wits around him again to make the cover and get the three count, retaining the Welsh National Championship in the process. Liz frantically tried to get in the cage, pressing referee Roy Worrall to open it as fast as he could so that she could check on Neville's wellbeing, to which Neville gave her a weak thumbs up before Liz helped him up to his feet. Liz scolds him a little for doing something so reckless... but the crowd are happy, even more so as Neville holds the belt aloft when he is presented with it. Neville is still the Welsh National champion, but that Swansea Swanton was marked originally for “Punisher” Paul Hughes and Neville hasn't forgotten about that or the circumstances that led to wanting a cage match in the first place.</em></p><p> </p><p> <strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show0050</span></strong></p><p> <img alt="hTIaUOH.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/hTIaUOH.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> <em>Hyosuke Kokan sustained cracked ribs from a mistake by Messiah Hara, it is expected to slow him down for the rest of the year</em></p><p><em> Neville Jones' jump from the top of the cage was a stunt bump, and even as carefully planned as it was carried a real chance of him getting hurt. He was okay though but may need some time to rest up</em></p><p><em> Carl Edwards is currently very angry with Mark Carnie after Carnie recently posted a “10 Things That Suck In Wrestling” on social media. Most people have sided with Edwards, but there are always some that will side with a douchebag no matter what. Not many people actually saw the article, leaving some fans to make memes about what those 10 things actually were</em></p><p><em> BHOTWG have privately started to shift their in-ring product a little, moving from Classic Mainstream Puroresu towards Strong Puroresu... the change is expected to take 3 months to complete</em></p><p> </p><p> ----------------------------------</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="TjWUnkK.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/TjWUnkK.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> <span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 8 Results</span></strong></span></p><p> </p><p> <em>The penultimate night of block action came from Norwich, England, marking the first time that FPW shows (official or not) have been held in the city. Now significantly into the tournament, matches are held in order of highest combined points totals between the competitors, meaning Marc Maxx (0 points) was out first to face Hari Dubashi (2 points). Hari has been unfortunate to only get 2 points so far in the tournament, having looked good in his matches but has often just fallen short. Some of that has been due to his lack of sizez, but sometimes he's just had close contests not quite break his way, something that experience may help him with. Marc Maxx of course is still limited to his basic young lions moveset and has far less experience, so no surprises on his low score. Both men brought a very agile style to this one, as Hari brought out some slick flippy chain wrestling to escape Marc, only for Marc to showcase his own agility by doing the very same moves back in defiance of his stature. The match went back and forth as Marc pressed his size advantage but he didn't know his own strength as Hari back somersaulted out of a German Suplex attempt, hitting a Tornado Headkick to stun Marc before quickly heading to the top for a Shooting Star Press and the victory, taking him to 4 points and leaving Marc visibly frustrated at yet another loss.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><em>The second match of the night was between Marty Ellison (6 points) and Rhys Ryland (6 points), and while both were mathematically eliminated due to Lynton Minehead and Damian Hooker making it to 12 points with wins on the previous night. The two youngsters have been slowly winning fans over with some good matches and their different personalities. Rhys seemed to be back to his usual unfocused self in this one, making him difficult to gameplan for as he does the unexpected and tries to use the ring to his advantage. Marty was again able to use some of his diverse set of skills to take advantage, using power based moves to hit hard against the smaller, faster, more technically proficient youngster. This match could have went either way but swung in favour of Marty as he looked in the Knee Bar but Rhys showed that his technical skill should never be underestimated, escaping the move and hitting fast with a standing Rhys' Peace Out double stomp to drive the wind out of Marty. He was slow to capitalise though and by time he had gotten to the top rope for the full version of the Rhys' Peace Out Marty had gotten his breath back to throw Rhys from the top, following up with some strong European uppercuts to stun Rhys long enough to hit the Fisherman's Suplex taught to him by British Samurai, getting Marty the pinfall to move to 8 points.</em></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Bryn Archer (8 points) and Jermaine Granger (6 points) were out next, with Bryn needing a win to stay alive in the tournament and Jermaine already mathematically eliminated. Jermaine's cool swagger was at odds with Bryn's stoic moustache from the start and the clash of personalities was matched with the clash of styles. Bryn hits hard throughout... Jermaine rallies with quick moves that use his aerial skills to unbalance Bryn. Both men had chances to win this match, taking turns to pu the other in the double leg Boston crab but both failed to make the other tap as they reached the ropes to break it. Jermaine tried to hoist Bryn up for the Falcon Arrow but the bigger Welshman managed to use some excellent footwork to get low behind Jermaine and ripped out a Saito Suplex from nowhere, driving Jermaine hard into the canvas for an inevitable three count, taking Bryn's tally to 10 points.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><em>Aurelian Bradley (8 points) and Lynton Minehead (12 points) were up next, with both men feeling pressure to get a win. Lynton would advance to the final for sure with a win, while Aurelien needs to win to give himself any chance to advance to the final at all. Lynton exploded out the blocks to try to get the upperhand, looking for a running tackle but Aurelian saw it coming and hit a dropkick to Lynton's left knee that would then be the story of the match. Relentlessly working over the knee for his share of the match, Aurelian's old school ability to pick apart a body part worked strongly in his favour. Lynton was out of his depth on the mat in this one and had to use his power to escape, intensely using strong strikes and his physicality to fight back whenever he got the chance. A Power Surge (running spinebuster) from Lynton saw Aurelian downed with authority but he only got a two count, being slow to get into the cover due to the pressure he put on his own knee executing the move. He tried to set up for the Tombstone Piledriver but Aurelian slipped out the back and hit a vile chopblock to take Lynton down, finally managing to lock in the Figure Four Leg Lock after several earlier attempts to force Lynton to tap out. Aurelian moves to 10 points, while Lynton remains on 12 points as he limps to the back, frustrated.</em></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The final match of block action tonight saw Damian Hooker (12 points) and Christian Black (10 points) go head to head. Due to the result of the previous match, Hooker could book a place in the final with at least a draw here, while Black would need at least a draw to stay in the tournament. With a 15 minute time limit in place and with a lot of mass to carry around, Hooker seemed unlikely to be able to go that long and it was clear from early on that he didn't intend to. Black, to his credit, also didn't seem keen to play for a draw either, though trying to strike with Hooker was never going to be a winning plan as the big man kept to a slow paced, strike based offense. Black spent the match sticking to his guns with the basic young lion move set, trying for a Double Leg Boston Crab when he had Hooker down only for the power of the big man to prove to be too much. Hooker's confidence continued to grow even as he got increasingly breathless in the later goings of the match as he landed more bear paw strikes in the corner and then a devastating Standing Lariat to the side of Black's head as Black stumbled out of the corner. But that still only secured him a two count, pushing Hooker to try to offer up Black as a Sacrifice (Crucifix Powerbomb). A kick to the gut was intended to set up the Sacrifice but Black caught the incoming kick, setting himself for a moment before snapping off a Dragon Screw Leg Whip and finally showing a new move for the first time! Hooker was immediately in trouble, his knee already a known weakpoint from missing a month due to injury earlier this year but Black was now laser focused on it, shooting in for another Dragon Screw Leg Whip before tying Hooker up with a Texas Cloverleaf, struggling to turn the big man over but using the knee damage and his cardio advantage to complete the hold. Hooker has no choice but to tap out and Black moves to 12 points, tying on points with both Hooker and Lynton Minehead at the top of the block!</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><img alt="yUqCJ8m.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/yUqCJ8m.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="A9MTwdm.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/A9MTwdm.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="OLd8x1v.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/OLd8x1v.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="TM46eex.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/TM46eex.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="ljAchNm.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/ljAchNm.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">WINNERS:</span></strong></em><em><strong> Hari Dubashi, Marty Ellison, Bryn Archer, Aurelian Bradley, Christian Black</strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><em>The middle of the show saw Cain Carlile get another “upset” win over Scottish Heavyweight champion Dwayne Dark in eight man tag action as Captain Crash teamed with fellow risk takers Reckless Intent (Cannonball Logan and Carl Edwards) and odd man out Merle O'Curle to take on The Office. Dark was livid with the result but none of The Office could catch Captin Crash as he escaped their collective wrath after the match just three days removed from Dark vs Cain for the Scottish Heavyweight title. Konrad Makinen and The Assassin's Guild picked up a win over The Rainbow Guard (Bali Daljit, Rhys Vali and Thunderbolt), with Louie Peyton and Stefan Raynor showing their tag experience alongside the first ever BHOTWG International champion to pull out a win in an evenly fought match when Rhys Vali fell victim to The Last Hit (corner running elbow/mafia kick combo). Konrad looked especially sharp in this match following some success defending his UEW World title, and it seems like a matter of time before he is challenging for more major titles again. The Unbound clashed with Size Of The Fight, Barry Griffin and Omezo Shikitei in eight man tag action as Clubber Kohl and Crusher Von Steinberg looked to continue buliding momentum and softening up Kokan and Konda ahead of their Heavyweight Tag title match. Things didn't go their way tonight though as Hyosuke Konda showcased his veteran instincts, catching Messiah Hara in a torturous Electric Shocker Clutch that was definitely not a punishment for legit hurting Kokan's ribs a few days prior to get the win.</em></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The main events were up next as each member of Sharp & Heath (who really need a proper tag team name) made their challenges for singles gold. Up first was Jon Michael Sharp taking on “The Grappler” Neil Warburton for the Pure Wrestling championship. Sharp is the more technically gifted member of the team, but when you talk about technical gifts there seem to be few in the British Isles who can rival Warburton, and he has the championship to prove it. Warburton's thick torso helps him to shoot in with powerful takedowns and wear down Sharp through the match while Sharp's smaller size lets him be more evasive, and his less muscular frame gives him more flexibility and range for escaping and applying holds. The match was largely grounded throughout as the two men tussled and tried to wear the other down enough for a killing stroke but to Sharp's credit, he had a lot of counters and showcased a lot of heart, frustrating The Grappler for lengthy spells before finally Warburton managed to counter Sharp's attacks to his arms, transitioning to a Texas Deathlock that Sharp was forced to submit to. Neil Warburton makes his third defence of the Pure Wrestling championship as his reputation continues to grow thanks to the quality of his matches against many opponents. He's not the CWW champion for nothing.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><em>The main event of the evening was a hotly anticipated match between All England champion Curtis Jenkins against “Magic” Martin Heath, a man who has had a stellar year, holding the CWW Tag Team, British Tag Team and Adrenaline championships this year alone. Heath clearly came into this one ready to add another singles championship to his impressive collection of titles while Jenkins looked to retain the championship that he has held for the full calendar year so far. Jenkins no doubt has the technical edge and the size advantage, but Heath has the speed advantage and few can compare to him in terms of heart as he fought much of the match from underneath (as usual), defending valiantly against Jenkins throughout. Heath kept getting close to a comeback only to be cut off and ground down again by Jenkins in front of the hot Norwich crowd and you could feel them rooting for Heath more and more as the match wore on. The hot comeback finally began as Heath hit a superkick on Jenkins, fell to the mat for a short breather and then kipped up with all the babyface fire in the world. Heath pressed with high paced, high impact moves and got a series of increasingly near falls before Jenkins snapped off a Rip Chord style DDT and went straight into the Furusawa Armbar, a move that he has perfected over the years. Heath's arm was wrenched back at an eye watering angle and he looked on the verge of tapping out before he finally made it to the ropes for a life saving rope break. Jenkins tried for the Fisherman's Suplex to finish but Heath countered into a roll up that had fans believing it was a three for sure... Jenkins popped to his feet first but was caught with a beautiful superkick that knocked him silly. Heath headed to the top, feeding off the adrenaline given to him by the crowd as Jenkins got to his feet in a daze.... Magic Missile (high velocity Blockbuster)! Heath rolls into a cover, wrapping up Jenkins' legs with his own as exhausted referee Roy Worrall counts the three! We have a new All England champion!</em></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The look on Martin Heath's face is of pure elation as he is handed the championship. Jon Michael Sharp comes out to celebrate with him, looking happy despite his own defeat earlier in the night as he shares one of his ice packs with the new champion. There's a magic in the air tonight as the former champion Curtis Jenkins offers a respectful nod to the new champion, clearing the ring to be tended to by young lions on the way back to the trainer's room and to let “Magic” Martin Heath celebrate with the fans in Norwich, who look like they are going home happy tonight.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show0051</span></strong></em></p><p><em> </em><img alt="k9y29GD.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/k9y29GD.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><em>In real life, Martin Heath and Jon Michael Sharp seem to be less friendly recently. Some believe they have grown apart a little in recent times while others have speculated that they are both keen to pursue singles careers. Given how much time they've spent together over the last decade plus, it may just be that they need a bit of a break too. Time will tell as this story unfolds</em></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> ----------------------------------</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><span style="font-size:24px;">UPCOMING MATCHES</span></span></strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 9</span></strong></span></em></p><p><em> </em><em><em>From London</em></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> The final day of Young Lion's Cup block action will determine which two youngster's will fight for the trophy at the tour finale. Two major title matches are also signed for this day as “Captain Crash” Cain Carlile's repeated pinfall wins on Scottish Heavyweight champion Dwayne Dark have angered The Office member so much that he demanded a singles match with him to prove that they were flukes. Meanwhile, Clubber Kohl and Crusher Von Steinberg of The Unbound are looking to continue spreading VENOM's philosophy that the BHOTWG way is not the best way to wrestle as they take on Hyosuke Kokan and Kansuke Konda for the Heavyweight Tag Team championships. With the champions known for primarily being part of the BHOTWG Junior roster and the Unbound having a major size advantage, this match looks set to be able to go either way!</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Scottish Heavyweight Championship</span></strong></em></p><p><em> Dwayne Dark © vs “Captain Crash” Cain Carlile</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Heavyweight Tag Team</span></strong></em></p><p><em> Size Of The Fight (Hyosuke Kokan & Kansuke Konda) © vs The Unbound (Clubber Kohl & Crusher Von Steinberg)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Lynton Minehead vs Christian Black</em></p><p><em> Aurelian Bradley vs Damian Hooker</em></p><p><em> Jermaine Granger vs Marty Ellison</em></p><p><em> Bryn Archer vs Hari Dubashi</em></p><p><em> Rhys Ryland vs Marc Maxx</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><em>….and more!</em></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> ----------------------------------</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><img alt="6m59fSI.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/6m59fSI.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><em> </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><strong>Young Lions Cup 2020 – The Story So Far...</strong></span></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Eight nights of Young Lion's Cup action have lit up the British Isles so far and we now head into the final night of block action in London where we will finally find out which two competitors will advance to the finals at the tour finale. Moves have been debuted, points have been won, relationships have been strained, sweat has been sweated and some hearts have been broken so let's break down the vital information right now.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">ELIMINATED</span></strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><em>Marc Maxx (0 points)</em></em></p><p><em><em> Hari Dubashi (4 points)</em></em></p><p><em><em> Rhys Ryland (6 points)</em></em></p><p><em><em> Jermaine Granger (6 points)</em></em></p><p><em><em> Marty Ellison (8 points)</em></em></p><p><em><em> Bryn Archer (10 points)</em></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Disappoint for the six men listed above as they find themselves out of contention with one night to go. While someone like Marc Maxx was never expected to do well given his limited moveset and even more limited experience, he also can't be happy to have zero points and the frustration has been evident in his performances. Meanwhile, the Junior sized athletes have also struggled in this tournament. While each of them have got a win over heavyweight competition it seems like for now their collective low experience is showing that similarly trained athletes of different sizes is something of a factor. This may change as they mature and grow into their skills more though, something that they will no doubt have in mind for next year's tournament where they will hope to do better. Marty was eliminated after Day 7 but can still get a positive overall record, while Bryn has been narrowly edged out due to tiebreakers following Day 8 as results haven't gone his way, with a possible best finish of third now.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> That leaves four men who are still capable of qualifying for the finals now. Below are the possible outcomes that can result in them qualifying, but basically.... everyone needs to win. Wins matter.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">CAN STILL QUALIFY – WHO AND HOW</span></strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Damian Hooker (12 points)</span></strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Needs a win in final match vs Aurelian Bradley to guarantee qualification. Simple.</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Lynton Minehead & Christian Black (12 points)</span></strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Are currently tied at top of group and face each other on final night</em></p><p><em> Both need a win to guarantee qualification</em></p><p><em> Can both advance with a draw IF Damian Hooker loses or draws his match</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><em><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Aurelian Bradley (10 points)</span></strong></em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Needs a win over Damian Hooker in final match</em></p><p><em> AND needs Christian Black vs Lynton Minehead to not end with a draw</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> ----------------------------------</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Oh no, Unregistered is running away with the predictions contest (or more likely, walking away with it </em><img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/wink.png.686f06e511ee1fbf6bdc7d82f6831e53.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><em> ) as he again is the only person to predict on this set, scoring very respectably for both nights and bringing his overall score up for the tournament. I don't know what reward he is going to get for all of this since he already has a character influenced by him, but I'm sure I'll come up with something fun. Sadly, his overall pick for the tournament has been eliminated so he won't be picking up those lovely bonus points, and after I looked at the tiebreakers again I realised I had made a mistake in my calculations and that Bryn had been eliminated mathematically from the tournament when I thought he was still in. Oops. Not the first time I've done that and probably won't be the last either. </em><img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Unregistered (Marty Ellison) – 5/7 and 5/7 (overall total = 33/51 = 65%)</em></p><p><em> kanegan (Bryn Archer) - (overall total = 7/12 = 58%)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> Two rounds of predictions to go. Day 9 (block finale) matches are up above, with the tour finale coming after that with a card that is set as our season finale so will feature something of a bumper line up as I try to fit as many people onto the show as I can. Thanks for reading along (I see those views rising!) and extra thanks for playing along, I hope you're having fun </em><img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><em> The write ups will get shorter again once we are outside of tournament action, which is more fun for me as I get to advance the game a bit faster. But I do love me some tournaments and I can't promise that there won't be some more of those in future. </em><img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/wink.png.686f06e511ee1fbf6bdc7d82f6831e53.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> ----------------------------------</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><em> </em><img alt="gwPoYQ7.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/gwPoYQ7.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div><p></p><p></p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unregistered Posted October 2, 2020 Share Posted October 2, 2020 <p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong>FireBrand Young Lion Cup Day 9</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong> From London</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:18px;"><strong> </strong></span></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <em><strong>Scottish Heavyweight Championship</strong></em></p><p> <strong>Dwayne Dark © vs “Captain Crash” Cain Carlile</strong></p><p> <strong>Dark</strong> wins. Sorry Cap, I know you've done very well recently, but I don't see you winning. You've got some good wins in big tags, but the title isn't for you (at least not yet). </p><p> </p><p> <strong><em>Heavyweight Tag Team</em></strong></p><p> <strong>Size Of The Fight (Hyosuke Kokan & Kansuke Konda) © vs The Unbound (Clubber Kohl & Crusher Von Steinberg)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> <strong>The Unbound</strong> wins here, and make a large statement in the honor of VENOM. It's rough for Size of the Fight, but this is absolutely a match with a lot of build and Unbound are ready for it! </p><p> </p><p> <strong>Lynton Minehead vs Christian Black</strong></p><p> Minehead is the favorite. Black is the possible ace of the whole class.. It's a rough spot! And with my picks, having Hooker getting the win, means that both men need a win. I don't doubt Minehead would have been aggressive regardless, but Black may need to do more then the basics to get past the BeastHead that is Lynton. In fact, I think <strong>Black</strong> will finally breaking something out, and get a surprise victory to set up a very interesting, very Firebrand final! Hooker and Black being both true Firebrand Dojo grads, it's a chance for both men to really prove their trainers proud. </p><p> </p><p> <strong>Aurelian Bradley vs Damian Hooker</strong></p><p> Truly the most important Cup match remaining honestly. I'm going with <strong>Hooker</strong> because I think his size will work well against Bradley's old school style. The age old Piledriver/Powerbomb versus the too big a person ending up in a backdrop will happen here, we all know it, it just depends on if thats enough to give Damian the advantage he needs. This win for Hooker makes the final group match all the more important! Just so you know, I've been doing these picks backwards this time! <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/cool.png.f00d2562b2c1d873a09323753efdb041.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Jermaine Granger vs Marty Ellison</strong></p><p> My disappointment is immeasurable and my cup picks have been ruined standing by Marty Ellison. In one final chance for my spoiler do make me look bad, and for Ellison to let me down one final time, I choose <strong>Marty</strong>.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Bryn Archer vs Hari Dubashi</strong></p><p> I feel bad, but I know <strong>Archer</strong> is going to pick up the win, but I'll be pulling for Dubashi. I look forward to see how well he develops over the next year though. </p><p> </p><p> <strong>Rhys Ryland vs Marc Maxx</strong></p><p> </p><p> Good for <strong>Ryland</strong> getting those couple extra points to finish the cup with! <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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