Can’t believe it’s over a year since the last one o’ these…!
Though I highly doubt, folks, that anyone’s been waiting with baited breath for another
blog entry, apologies to anyone that does enjoy reading these, and for
the lack of new content for so long.
Anyway, it’s been a year, I’ve been keeping myself largely
out of mischief- not entirely, but largely, mind you- and have a few bits and
pieces to scribble about, so let’s get down to it…
STARRED-UP
In July of last year, I captured the All-Star Championship
in Cork-based Celtic Championship Wrestling, where I’ve been working away
happily for the last while. I faced off with Karl Brien in a very enjoyable
Title match in Gurranabraher – in a venue that looked from the outside like it
had been shelled with mortar fire!- and we had a couple of rematches in Mallow
and Midleton that were good fun, too. (Former NXT star CJ Parker appeared at
the Gurranabraher show too, just as an aside, and was a very sound dude.)
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| Like the cat that got the cream...Just after capturing the CCW All-Star Title in Gurranabraher - c: Shea Wolf Media |
Along with defences against Karl, I faced off with Swiss Pro
Wrestling star Adrian Johnatans in regular CCW haunt Glen Rovers Hurling Club,
and came out on top in a Fatal 4 Way with Xavier Burns, Saqib Ali and Jody
Fleisch in October last year (on an over-18s show with an absolutely hellish,
cramped and overheated backstage area.)
This year began with a successful title defence against
Marion Armstrong, before he helped cost me the title straight after, in an
impromptu match with Xavier Burns. (This would lead to a nice feud between the
two of us, but more on that later…)
It was a cool run with the Title, despite getting numerous cuts
and abrasions from the sharp central plate on the Championship belt (a
frequently Pointy Nemesis during the reign…)
ANOTHER CRACK OF THE WHIP
In August of last year, I went back to the beginning, as it
were, and returned to the place where I started out: Irish Whip Wrestling.
Between 2005 & 2009, I trained with IWW, débuted for them and joined their
roster, had a number of enjoyable TV appearances for them- as part of their
Zero Gravity division, on the Whiplash TV series (against future WWE stars like
Neville and Tyson Kidd)- and was Head Trainer of the Training School in
Baldoyle, in north Dublin. I got my start in IWW, and gained a lot of
experience from regular shows all over the country.
Parting ways with the promotion in mid-2009, I ended up
developing my experience further with appearances for other Irish companies
like CCW, Wrestling.IE, NLW, DCW, PWU, MSW and EWP, amongst others, and getting
the opportunity to work with a lot of other talent that I previously hadn’t
encountered. It was an exciting time to get out and spread my wings a bit.
(*insert Bingo wings joke*)
Last summer, though, a friend of mine (Bruiser) had been
back working with IWW, himself, and gave me the heads-up that it was a fun
place to work. Having seen for myself, I can’t disagree with him – the
atmosphere’s been great thus far.
For my own part, I guess one of my biggest curiosities was working
with some of Irish Whip’s current ‘Zero Gravity’ guys, having been one of the
ZG originators, along with the likes of Red Vinny, Irish Dragon and Bam Katraz,
back in the day. So far, it’s been a blast – I worked with current champ Cambo
Cray in Warrenpoint (in my first match back for the promotion) and had a very
enjoyable bout with Jeebus in Tipperary last Halloween. Along with that, I’ve
had fun matches with TJ Meehan (the current Heavyweight Champ, in Letterkenny
last month) and tags with ‘The Galway Grappler’ Sid Haig, Captain Rooney and
Frankie Feonix (re-christened ‘Bang Bang’ Henderson, due to his bafflingly
obstinate opposition to American gun control.)
At any rate, the only negative experience I’ve had thus far
has been getting a nasty bit of sunburn during a recent festival show in
Clonakilty, Co. Cork. I was sizzling beneath the midday sun and, by my
estimations (at six minutes per pound), I would’ve been good to serve by about
half past four. The itchiness was driving me mad by the following Friday, and I
was still lobster-red in the neck and shoulders the next weekend when I was
working for CCW. Wear sunblock, folks.
CHAOS AND THE CALM
(Yes, that’s a James Bay reference – deal with it.) Anyway,
in mid-November, I had my second appearance of the year for Wrestlezone (having
faced off with Shawn Johnson and Kenny Williams at Aberdeen Anarchy in May) and
fought for the WZ Undisputed Title in a Fatal 4 Way with champ Scotty Swift,
Crusher Craib, and (the odd man out in our alliterative battle of attrition)
Alan Sterling. This was the main event of the show, dubbed Christmas Chaos
Comes Early, and featured an appearance from WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley (who
was very sound, and a gent.)
Hands down, I’ve never had a Fatal 4 Way match come together
so easily. Usually, the planning is a bit of headache, with lots of moving
parts, and the need to take into account four peoples’ ideas, so everyone’s
heard and everyone’s happy. In this case, though, it was a doddle. Everyone on
the same page, and with the best interest of the match in mind.
I’d ordered some new gear for the show, which arrived just
in the nick of time the previous day. It was a really, really close call, and I
deliberately had it sent to my workplace, so I wouldn’t miss delivery during
the week. With the ability to track the package online, I’d been hounding the
people in the post room (like the “where’s my spy camera?” bit in The Simpsons)
to let me know when it got there! Literally just as I was about to finish up
for the day, I checked the status online, and apparently it had been delivered.
Anticipating a cruel ‘hope spot’, I walked out to reception to check, and
they’d just signed for it. Success! Another few minutes and I never would’ve
appeared on the show in what has been dubbed my ‘Irn Bru’ gear!
Anyway, close calls aside, the match was a lot of fun and,
surreally, Mick Foley was ringside for it. For a personal highlight, I was
absolutely delighted to land a tricky spot with Crusher Craib; I ducked his big
boot, springboarded to the top rope and aimed a crossbody in his direction,
only for him to counter into a Black Hole Slam. We’d previously hit this on the
One Wild Night show in 2011, but to hit it again in front of around 700 people
was a huge thrill, and I was overjoyed that we nailed the timing once more.
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| What was I thinking? c: Dod Morrison |
Rather unluckily, however, I picked up a bit of an injury
from the match. A 450 splash to the outside on a standing Crusher Craib was the
culprit, as I landed heavily on my left heel, causing a minor fracture and a
few weeks of discomfort while walking/running. Thankfully, though, that was
designed to be my last involvement in the match and, again surreally, Mick
Foley walked me to the back, as the Aberdonian faithful gave me a kind round of
applause. (Very sound – thanks, guys.)
BEST IN CLASS
Though nursing the aforementioned heel unpleasantness, I
made the journey to Beragh, in Co. Tyrone (Northern Ireland) the following
weekend, and delivered a seminar/wrestling-themed symposium for new start-up
BEST Wrestling. Despite the extremely cold conditions – it hit 0 degrees, as I
was leaving- it was an enjoyable few hours, even if I couldn’t adequately
demonstrate a stomp due to the heel fracture. I performed at the début show for
BEST in April, facing old friend/foe Bruiser for the first time in a good
while, in a fun and enjoyable bout. I marked the occasion by running him over
with a child’s go-kart. As you do.
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| Nailing Bruiser with a frog splash during our bout in BEST Wrestling - c: Christopher Eccles |
CATCHING UP AND CATCH-AS-CATCH-CAN
I returned to the Scottish School of Wrestling (SSW) at the
end of January, and had a really good time. It had been a good five or six
years since my last show for them and, though the line-up/roster had been
shaken up a bit, the atmosphere was just as I remembered: very welcoming and relaxed.
I took a very enjoyable seminar with sixteen participants
during the afternoon, then performed on the evening show, teaming with Kaiden
King against Butler and Kid Fite (who I hadn’t seen in years, and got a chance
to catch up with. Same with Liam Thomson – great seeing him as well.) A friend
of mine from secondary school named Mark- who’d moved to Scotland in the last
few years- was in attendance, and it was great getting a chance to catch up
with him too, after the show.
Though he might be one of SSW’s most hated heels, Aaron
Jeremi is an outstanding host, and took very good care of me while I was over,
which is always appreciated. He’d been with SSW the last time I was over, too,
so (to use a most over-used phrase in this passage) it was great to catch up
with him, as well! It was a great weekend of catching up, a bit of the ol’ rasslin’,
and a post-show Domino’s pizza pie.
GRRRRR-EIGHT!
Probably the most surprising match I’ve had this year –
pleasantly so—took place for CCW in April. It was back to Glen Rovers, and I
opened the show in a tremendously fun eight-man tag. Truth be told, I was
somewhat concerned about how the match would turn out, as one or two of the
lads weren’t the most seasoned in-ring, but every single person involved in the
match (Roughshod & the Sidekicks on my side, and Xavier Burns, Lewis &
Lorcan Wood and Billy Lynch on the other) made a terrific contribution, and I
was really happy with how it all went. It was a great team effort, and a very, very
enjoyable match to be a part of.
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| Think all eight of us are in there somewhere! c: Shea Wolf Media |
THE SEQUEL
Three years ago, at Wrestlezone’s first Aberdeen Anarchy
show, I had the great pleasure of opening the main show in a match with Stevie
Xavier; a match I enjoyed a lot, and am very proud of. It was received very well
on the night, and has since been called one of the greatest matches in WZ
history, which is a massive honour, and very humbling. Early last month, we
were tasked with doing it again at Aberdeen Anarchy 4.
It’s probably the most pressure I’ve felt in a while- due to
the expectations heading into it, and the hype of the rematch- but I’m happy
with how it turned out, and working with Stevie was a pleasure once again, the
chemistry from our first bout still there, I felt. It was a very satisfying
follow-up to our 2013 match, and I think we mixed things up sufficiently, so it
wasn’t just a retread of what we’d done before.
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| Springboard enziguri to Stevie Xavier in our return bout at Aberdeen Anarchy 4 - c: Brianbat Photography |
The whole show and weekend was a blast- always is at WZ-
with the exception of Crusher Craib getting injured in the main event in a very
unfortunate accident. Smashing guy, and a real gent, so it was extremely
unfortunate to have his great match with Scotty Swift end in such a manner.
Post-show, I had a nice catch-up with Big Damo O’Connor at
the hotel bar, and we were joined by visiting ex-WWE stars like Tatanka, The
Hurricane, Carlito and Bull Dempsey. A very nice lunch the following day with
Brian and Jack from WZ capped off a great weekend.
THE RED MIST (NOT A MUTA/KWANG REFERENCE)
For a number of months, I’ve had a compelling feud with Marion
Armstrong to sink my proverbial teeth into, in CCW. With a background in
acting, and a good head on his shoulders, Marion shares my passion for realism
and logic, and working with him over the last while has been extremely
creatively satisfying. He’s a great foil for my character, and his promo work
has been tremendous. Very clever and with absolute conviction, which I love in
a promo.
Faking a retirement at the top of the May show in Glen
Rovers, he’d surprisingly jump me during a match with Xavier Burns and OMEGA
for the All-Star Title, and ‘break my ribs’, setting the stage for a nice
unsanctioned Street Fight between us last month, where we’d take our issues to
the next level.
I don’t get to do weapons or gimmick matches too often, so
it was something I was looking forward to, and a chance to develop and show off
a different part of my character. In addition, Marion & I were getting the
main event spot, so it was a green light to really go all-out and have as good
a match as we could. On the night, though, it turned out to be one of the most
legitimately frustrating and enraging experiences I’ve had in quite some time.
Working with Marion was a pleasure, as ever, but circumstances
beyond our control meant that we couldn’t have the match we hoped to have.
Early into the bout, we brawled to the back of the hall in Finbarr’s GAA Club,
where I had to actually halt Irish whipping Marion into a wall, as some kids
were running around unsupervised and getting in the way.
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| A crash landing for both me and Marion Armstrong during our Unsanctioned Street Fight - c: Shea Wolf Media |
When we made our way back to the ring, about two minutes
passed (we were about five or six minutes into a twenty minute match) before
the ref discreetly called me to wrap it up. Perplexed, we continued for another
little bit, before we got another call that the promoter wanted us to ‘take it
home’. (Apparently, the venue security had fucked off early, and an unruly
element of the crowd were messing and wrestling down the back of the hall,
posing an insurance risk if any were to get injured on the premises. Fearing
such a claim, the call was made to finish up the show ASAP.)
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| Surprisingly not-too-bad executing a leg lariat in jeans! c: Shea Wolf Media |
Hastily cobbling together a finish, and jettisoning pretty
much all of our highspots, we wrapped up in underwhelming fashion around seven or
eight minutes in. I was absolutely livid and, frankly, blew a bit of a gasket
backstage. No one got shouted at, so it wasn’t some big Christian Bale rant,
but I was very, very frustrated that we didn’t get to have the bout we envisioned, and short-changed the fans that had been following the story.
Hopefully, somewhere down the line, we’ll get another crack
at it, and under better circumstances. For the moment, though, it remains a
frustrating missed opportunity and one of the rare moments where I’ve really
lost my temper in wrestling. Being frank, though, I don’t regret it. I love what I do and
take pride in what I do, and stand by the frustration I felt on the night.
FILMS
Anyone who's read any o' these before knows, I likes my films, haha. So, with that in mind, here's a quick take on some of the releases this year that I've managed to head along to...
Anyone who's read any o' these before knows, I likes my films, haha. So, with that in mind, here's a quick take on some of the releases this year that I've managed to head along to...
The Hateful Eight. Despite liking some of Tarantino’s
oeuvre, I honestly didn’t enjoy this. It took ages to get going, was about
twice as long as it should’ve been, and I just found it tedious and
self-indulgent in parts. Actually considered walking out once or twice as I
didn’t give a shit what happened. A definite bad sign.
The Revenant. Not a fun watch by any means, but wonderfully
shot (particularly the opening scene) and a good performance from Di Caprio.
The Big Short. Loved this. Great script, wickedly humorous,
and really well-acted.
Spotlight. Very solid drama. Kinda surprised it won the Best
Picture Oscar, but not due to a lack of quality, by any means.
Deadpool. Very enjoyable, and a great performance from Ryan
Reynolds as usual. Even TJ Miller (who I found insufferable in Transformers:
Age of Extinction) was likeable enough in this.
The Finest Hours. Despite a good cast, this was a bit on the
dull side. It’s the Eric Bana effect! Seriously – I’ve still to see a good film
with him in it. Maybe he’s just cursed.
Hail Caesar! Fargo is one of my absolute all-time favourite
films, but the Coens can be a bit hit and miss and, unfortunately, Hail Caesar
was a miss for me. Criminally, I just didn’t find it funny. It was too
episodic, and nothing really came together. Channing Tatum’s song-and-dance
number about halfway through the film was superb, but nothing matched that.
London Has Fallen. I expected a big, dumb action film, and
that’s exactly what I got. No complaints.
The Witch. Interesting story, but I wasn’t in the humour for
ye olde Englishe, and it kinda took away from the experience a bit for me. Good
performances and visually impressive notwithstanding.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I don’t like Zack
Snyder’s films, to be completely truthful. Whatever about visual effects, his
stories are often incoherent, and characters unlikeable and difficult to invest
in. I couldn’t get into Watchmen and hated Man of Steel passionately, so my
expectations were at rock-bottom for this. My main curiosity was how Ben
Affleck would do as Bruce Wayne/Batman, and he was grand. That being said, I
just didn’t care for the film, and Jesse Eisenberg (who I’ve enjoyed in the
likes of The Social Network and Adventureland, amongst others) seemed to be channelling
a mixture of psycho Mark Zuckerberg and Jim Carrey’s Riddler in his portrayal
of Lex Luthor. It was no better or worse than I expected, but left no lasting
impression, and I’ve no real interest in a Justice League movie. A film with
Affleck as Batman, directed by the man himself? That would interest me a bit
more.
10 Cloverfield Lane. Terrifically tense thriller. Great
performances from the small cast. John Gallagher, Jr. was in another excellent
Netflix-exclusive thriller called Hush that’s really well worth a watch.
Sing Street. Another enjoyable music-based offering from
director John Carney, following the slightly meandering Once, and the likeable Begin Again. Sing Street was good fun, nicely humorous, and with a great
soundtrack.
Midnight Special. Biggest disappointment of the year for me.
Acting was solid, visuals were great, but the story was massively underdeveloped. There’s “broad strokes” and there’s “revealing fuck-all to your
audience”. This was the latter. Shame, since I enjoyed Jeff Nicholl’s previous
film, Mud, which helped revitalise Matthew McConnaughey’s career.
Eye in the Sky. Outstanding thriller. Great performances
(Helen Mirren great as always, the best thing I’ve seen Aaron Paul in since
Breaking Bad, and a terrific final performance from Alan Rickman) and extremely
suspenseful. Definitely one of my favourites from this year.
Captain America: Civil War. Currently the best film I’ve
seen this year and- in my opinion- the best Marvel film to-date. Absolutely
gripping from start to finish, and really well-paced.
Green Room. This was a little bit over-hyped for me, so I
found it kinda disappointing. Didn’t help that the sound was quite poor where I
saw it, and a lot of the dialogue was indecipherable. That being said, it was a
refreshingly brutal thriller, and entertaining to see Patrick Stewart in a
different role.
Money Monster. I really liked Jodie Foster’s last
directorial effort, The Beaver (as mentioned previously), so was definitely
keen to see what she’d come up with next. Along with that, George Clooney’s led
two of my favourite films (The Descendants and Up in the Air) and Jack O’Connell
is a compelling actor, so I was curious to see how it would all go down.
Ultimately, while enjoyable, I felt there was just a little something missing
from making it a great thriller. Surprisingly, the most affecting and
interesting scene came from Emily Meade (O’Connell’s on-screen girlfriend, and
star of HBO’s The Leftovers, one of my favourite shows of the last few years) about
halfway through the film – along with changing one’s perspective on O’Connell’s
character, it was fantastically acted and a powerful point in the plot.
The Conjuring 2. I’ve always had a soft spot for the horror
genre, and love seeing a horror film done well. The Conjuring was a thoroughly
enjoyable one, bolstered by a great cast, and superb direction. Could the
sequel match it? Unfortunately not, but it was still an enjoyable and engaging
film in its own right, with plenty of shocks and unsettling moments up its
sleeve. The pairing of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga is at the heart of the
series (if you can call two films a series) and adds a lot to proceedings.
TV
Some of the series that have kept me entertained over the
last while have included Happy Valley (an exquisitely-produced, gritty British
crime series), The Leftovers, Game of Thrones (of course – great season six),
Penny Dreadful, House of Cards (loved season four), Brooklyn Nine Nine, and
even the MTV/Netflix Scream series, which I warmed a bit more to on a second
viewing.
This is where I leave you, guys. If you’ve gotten to this
point, thanks for reading, and hopefully won’t be another year before I update
this! In the meantime, keep an eye on my Facebook page – I’d tend to update it
a little more often than this. Not saying much, in fairness, but it’s something
at least! Be well.
