Now! Where was I….? Ah yes. March…
March was probably my busiest month, wrestling-wise, this year, and continued with another Wrestling.IE show, this time in Strabane, Co. Tyrone. The trip up to Tyrone was a very enjoyable one, travelling with Seán South, and a media student called Hugh, who was compiling footage for a college documentary on pro wrestling in Ireland. Some people doing documentaries on wrestling approach the subject matter with preconceived notions about what wrestling is, or what their idea of it is, but Hugh was very open-minded, happy to listen, and very respectful regarding the effort involved. He was also an extremely nice guy, into the bargain. In bad company, even an hour on the road can be utterly, utterly interminable, but this two-and-a-half hour journey flew by, and was a lot of fun, with plenty of banter about music, films and The Simpsons. When we arrived, we had a bit of time to have a kickabout outside the venue, which was a laugh. What amazes me sometimes about wrestlers is, considering the coordination needed to wrestle well, how so few are actually good at playing football! Maxer’s a good player, as is Manson (anytime I’ve seen him play), and I’m not too bad, myself, but a lot of guys I’ve seen play are hopeless! But, I digress… I worked with Bonesaw again on the show, and had a good match with him. The only drawback of the show was the backstage presence of a rather arrogant chap. I hate arrogance, I have to say—it’s probably the most irritating trait anyone can have and, in wrestling, this is doubly amplified. Why this guy was brought in, I’ll honestly never know, as his work was really nothing to write home about. The trip home took a TINY bit longer; I have an Evil SatNAV, you see… Yeah, that’s right- an EVIL SatNav! For some reason, this Device of Pure Malevolence always seems to want to take me down these horribly-deserted, one-way country roads in the dead of night, leading to some rather sketchy moments! I would’ve much rather just stuck to the motorways, though I’ve learned since to just follow the road signs back to Dublin! Damn, evil SatNav!
I made my first trip of the year to Scotland the following weekend, and had a great time. I was picked up by Seán South (who’d flown over from Dublin the previous morning) and a very, very sound guy called Calum, who’s a trainee of the Scottish Pro Wrestling Academy over there. It was quite an eventful day. Calum, South and I dropped by East Kilbride for the setup of a BCW show that South was due to work on. We did a bit of training with the lads who were there, then Calum & I headed off to Bathgate for the SSW (Scottish School of Wrestling) show that I was due to wrestle on. I really enjoyed the SSW setup—it was a very relaxed atmosphere, and everyone seemed to be having a bit of fun, which is always refreshing. I was due to work with Falcon in a singles match, but a last minute change had Rob Cage chucked into the mix, making it a three-way, which was cool; Rob’s a very nice guy, and the addition of a heel would make it easier playing the face/face dynamic. Falcon’s a lovely guy, too, so planning with him and Rob was very laid-back, and enjoyable. (For some reason, though, he thinks I look like JD’s older brother, from ‘Scrubs.’ Can’t see it personally, but there ya go!) The show drew well, the crowd were into it, and the match turned out pretty much as I’d hoped, so I was very happy with the SSW experience.
After the show had ended, Calum & I went back to his, for some pizza and ‘Family Guy’, capping off the night nicely. I’ve never been a huge fan of going out after a show; truthfully, I detest nightclubs with an absolute passion, and that’s usually where everyone ends up so, boring as it sounds, I prefer to just go back somewhere, have a shower, get something to eat, and watch some TV. Not everyone’s idea of fun, but that’s what I like! I’m usually a little bit battered after a show, anyway, so the idea of standing in an overcrowded sweatbox, shouting barely-audible conversation to people over the latest rubbish in the charts, swilling overpriced alcohol, and being intimidated into tipping toilet attendants (which I don’t anyway—no offence, but get a real fucking job) is not my idea of a good time! Each to their own, though, as they say….
The following morning, I got a nice, early wake-up call from Calum, as we had to head off to pick up another Irishman from Prestwick Airport: Paul Tracey. Paul & I worked for different promotions for a number of years; he worked for NWA Ireland, and I worked for IWW, so I’d never met him before I’d left Irish Whip last year. Some people took the whole “rival promotions” thing very seriously, and there was bad blood, while others focused on their own thing, and didn’t get bogged down in silly, pointless political games. I’d be in the latter camp as, I believe, would Paul. In fact, the majority of guys I’ve since met from NWA or anywhere else- majority, not all- have been fine; I’m not naïve enough to think we’re friends, or anything like that, but we’re all professionals, and make the effort to get along, and that’s all I want. Paul, himself, is a nice guy; reserved, polite, and intelligent, and he’s a good worker, as well. He would be on the PBW show later in the day, along with me, and South.
We ended up at the venue- the Barrhead Sports Centre- hours before, and ended up sitting around for a while, always a bit uncomfortable, when you’re sitting with a group a people you really don’t know that well. That said, we eventually got in, and kicked the old spherical piece of leather around for a while. Michael Knight (a German worker) can certainly be added to the small group of wrestlers who can also play football! He and Marcus (promoter of German promotion CWN) both showed some mad skillz, yo! (See? I’m hip!) Anyway, moving swiftly on….!
The show drew quite well, and I worked with Wolfgang, in the first match after intermission. I’d met him a few years earlier in IWW (in 2005), and met him a few times since then on trips over to Scotland, but this was our first time working together. I, personally, enjoyed it very much, and felt it was a very solid match, and appropriate for its place on the card. It was a rare “heel” appearance for me—typically, a guy with a name like “Bingo” and a relatively youthful-looking face would be a babyface, but it’s fun to work heel occasionally, and try something different. Wolfgang, as well as being a very, very nice guy is also a great worker, and it was cool working with him. The only negative per se was that I cut myself open early into the match with my neck chain—the pendant had sharp corners, and it cut me just above my eye when I was taking a bump; didn’t mind, though. Blood always adds a little something…, even if it’s through your own stupidity! Heh heh. I’ve never had cause to blade/juice/gig in my five years wrestling thus far, but I’ve ended up bleeding “hardway” a few times, once off (of all things) a mistimed swinging neckbreaker that I was taking! My opponent’s head hit my chin, and split it nicely—the scar’s still there, actually, since I had to have it stitched. Anyway, long story short: good match, good show, good time.
Calum, South & I went back to Calum’s, we had Chinese food (a delicious chicken fried rice) and watched Family Guy—the Star Wars one, if memory serves… Having spent previous Scottish trips sleeping on a floor/armchair- appreciated, regardless of the lack of comfort- it was really nice to have a bed to sleep in this time, and to have a bit of space; Calum was a great host, and is a great guy. Having spent a few days driving people to and from Prestwick Airport, putting up a pair of Irish rogues in his home, and looking after us, he should be sainted! Thankfully, his hard work and effort has since been rewarded, and he made his début in July at an SPWA show, so good for him.
The trip to the Airport the following morning was way, way, WAAAAAYYYYY too close for comfort, and we BARELY made it onto the plane in time for the flight back to Dublin. I make a point of being ridiculously early/organised when I’m travelling, so for once to be the jerk that holds up the entire flight was quite humbling! That said, we (South & I) made it back to Dublin without any hassle, and that was that for March.
As always, folks, thanks for reading…
- Ballance.
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