Welcome back to my top 10 list that decides what I believe has been the best match in Breed Pro Wrestling this year. Yesterday we finished on a tag team bout between ETM and More Than Hype and today we'll be finding out what I think the best match in Breed has been. It's like Top Of The Pops, except instead of a nice plaque (is that what they got if they got number 1 on TOTP's? I don't know, I'm not old enough to remember) the winners will get a nice round of applause. Let's find out who got number one then shall we?
4. Joe Nelson VS JJ Barker - The Colossal Tussle We're starting off the top four strongly here with a bout that left many in Walkabout with their jaws on the floor. This bout was a qualifying round to determine who would move on in the Leader Of The New Breed tournament and was between the aforementioned Joe Nelson and JJ Barker. This was an absolute barnstormer, both men were busting out fast paced offence that left you breathless, there were code reds and Canadian destroyers galore along with other bits of flippy goodness. This was an early contender for match of the year and had it come a little bit later on in the year, it could have been even higher in the list. 3. More Than Hype VS Destination: Everywhere - My Childhood Was Small, But I'm Gonna Be Big We mentioned chaos early in regards to the More Than Hype/ETM match but that match was a nice stroll in the park compared to what this match was. Both these teams went all out in this bout with the action quickly spilling to the outside and being spread all around Hex. Even when it got back into the ring, it was still chaotic and was so quick that it was often hard to follow who the legal man was. I think this was the match that really announced The N.I.C to the Breed faithful. Although they'd had matches before in Breed, this is the one that got everyone to sit up and realise how good they are. We'll talk about The O.J.M.O a little bit later on... 2. Brady Phillips VS Rampage Brown - This Isn't Murder, It's Just Grenoside Just missing out on top spot it's the big Hoss fight to end all big Hoss fight's. What a match these two men put on. Rampage Brown has always been seen as one of the shining lights of the British independent scene and it's mind boggling that none of the big leagues have taken an interest in signing him because he's bloody good and he proved it in this match. Another man who showed how bloody good he is, is Brady Phillips. 'The king of the undergraps' showed just why he has earned that nickname in this bout with a stellar performance that, again, makes you wonder why none of the bigger promotions are taking a look at him. Both men left it all in the ring in this bout, they even managed to break a chair when Rampage hurled Phillips into the seating in front of the ring. Phillips picked up the surprising win and although he said he didn't need the support of the fans, I think he earnt the respect of the Breed faithful that evening. Now onto the moment you've all been waiting for, the best match in Breed Pro Wrestling this year is... 1. Joe Nelson VS The O.J.M.O - Breeding Ground 2 Is this a surprise to anyone who's read this blog before? I absolutely adore this match. It was 25 minutes of pro wrestling at it's finest and it's between two men who are just at the beginning of their pro wrestling journey. These two put on an absolute banger of a match for the 76 people who turned up to see Breeding Ground 2. Not only was it the spectacle of two of the most athletic wrestlers on the British independent scene trading blows but the storytelling was top notch. The taller O.J.M.O using his height to his advantage and keeping control of Nelson, Nelson eventually getting an advantage after O.J.M.O smashed his unprotected knee on a ring post. The trading of Boston crabs, this was all brilliant. We spoke earlier about The N.I.C getting their break out in the six man tag, well this was the break out moment for The O.J.M.O and what a way to break out. O.J.M.O is such a brilliant performer and looks like a veteran of pro wrestling when he's not actually wrestled for that long. He has a certain aura around him that I think you only see in a select amount of performers, you feel like you are watching a master perfect his craft when you watch The O.J.M.O wrestle. He's a star in the making and I hope he'll be coming back to Breed in the new year. Joe Nelson is another wrestler who has been outstanding in Breed this year and another who in the coming years should become one of the stars of the British independent scene. He's been a credit to the LOTNB division and as it's champion has had some incredible matches. The fact that he's only 17(!) Means that he can only get better from here on out. Hopefully he holds onto that LOTNB belt for a long time because he honestly needs to be on every Breed card going forward. If he does lose the LOTNB belt, he needs to be in the Breed Championship picture pretty pronto, basically, Joe Nelson is very, very good and I want to see him wrestle all the time. So, there we have it. Big congratulations to Joe Nelson and O.J.M.O and to all the others who made this list. Hopefully this time next year I'll be here again writing another list about the great matches that Breed have put on in 2020. Until then, I'll see you when I see you.
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There have been a lot of matches in Breed Pro Wrestling over the course of 2019, so making a top 10 list for a company that has put on some incredible matches has been incredibly hard. After much deliberation, I think I have come to a conclusion on what I believe are the top 10 matches of Breed's rookie year. So, let's get started with number 10.
Number 10 - Chris Ridgeway VS Ilja Dragunov - Never Fight A Man With A Perm I think it's a credit to Breed that a match that is considered by many to be the best match of the year by many only comes in at number 10 on my list. This was a bit of an international dream match that happened on Breed's second ever show back in March and it delivered and then some. It was a war of similar styles and it was a pleasure to watch two men who are just coming into the prime of their career's beat the living daylights out of each other. Number 9 - Daniel Makabe VS Carlos Romo - Breeding Grounds 3 After the relative disappointment of the postponement of Starrcave from September to October, Breed still had a show to put on the Saturday of the original Starrcave weekend. That show probably turned out to be the best show that Breed put on all year. The big match that everyone wanted to see was the UK debut of the wrestling genius Daniel Makabe as he took on Breed regular Carlos Romo in another international dream match. Absolute silence fell over Hex as both men put on a technical masterclass that led to a standing ovation at the end of the match. As much as Makabe came in and lived up to his reputation, I'd just like to highlight how good Carlos Romo truly is. Whenever he has competed in Breed, he almost always has either one of the best or the best match of the night. He's been a great addition to the Breed roster and I hope he continues to be a regular as we enter 2020. Another quick side note and a reason why this match probably didn't rank higher, why didn't Makabe wear a United shirt whilst he wrestled? I'm not saying I was angry, but I was disappointed. But in all seriousness, this was a great match. Number 8 - ETM VS Schadenfreude - Out Of The Box Tag team wrestling has been a big part of Breed's debut year and a big part of that tag success has been ETM. The team of TK Cooper, Chuck Mambo and Spike Trivet have been the cornerstone of Breed Pro during it's rookie year and all three men have been a pleasure to watch. A special mention must go out to TK Cooper who, after capturing the Breed Pro Championship back in February, managed to hold onto it until October and had brilliant defences against the like of Rampage Brown and Scotty Davis. Despite the fact that he was a bad guy, TK represented the company astoundingly well with the championship and will always be remembered as the very first Breed Pro Champion. The match in question was a perfect blend of good wrestling and complete chaos, it included Spike being thrown out of the fire exit, Mark Davis threatening to stab ETM and Lucky Kid being so close to winning the Breed Championship. It was a very fun match and one that you should definitely watch. Number 7 - Luke Jacobs VS Jay Joshua - Breeding Ground 3 This match was probably one of the must underrated matches in Breed Pro all year. Slotted in between Makabe/Romo and the five way match for a place in the main event of Starrcave, Luke Jacobs and Jay Joshua went out and beat the living daylights out of each other. This was a match that showed that the future of British Wrestling is in extremely safe hands. Jacobs has been particularly impressive in singles action during his Breed run and could now be a danger in the tag division thanks to the return to action of his tag partner Ethan Allen. Jay Joshua is another who has had some great matches in Breed so far, the fact that he can zip around the ring as quick as he does is a joy to watch, he's one for the future. Number 6 - Chris Ridgeway VS Carlos Romo - Shhhhhhhh! Another match that I don't think many people will have seen but that they really should is this bout between Ridgeway and Romo. This was the main event of the first half of Shhhhhhhh! And set up the crowd nicely for the second half. This match was another technical masterclass and really showed off how good both men are. We spoke about how good Romo was earlier, now it's time to talk about how good Chris Ridgeway is. Ridgeway has appeared on most Breed shows so far and along with ETM, is definitely one of the cornerstones of the company so far. The fact that he's had two matches in this top 10 list shows how good he has been this year. Another one that I hope we see more of in the new year. Number 5 - More Than Hype VS ETM - This Isn't Murder, It's Just Grenoside Rounding out the first half of this list is a brilliant six man tag between More Than Hype and ETM (featuring Rocky Mac). This match was fast paced and left many in the crowd breathless as every single man left it all in the ring. I think this as good a place as any to highlight More Than Hype and their importance to the tag division. The boys from Ireland have come into Breed and regularly put on incredible matches (this match isn't their only one on this list) as well as building a brilliant rapport with the Breed crowd. Whenever More Than Hype are wrestling on a card, you know you're in for a good time. So, part one of the top 10 matches of Breed Pro is in the books! Come back tomorrow to see which match I think has been the best in year 1 of Breed Pro Wrestling. A year and a month ago I wrote a relatively short article about a new pro wrestling company that was setting up in Sheffield. That company was Breed Pro Wrestling. In the year and a bit since I wrote that article, Breed have gone on to have a stellar rookie year as far as promotions go. since starting in February, Breed have managed to put on a wrestling show at least once a month with the wrestling on those shows usually being absolutely incredible. Just 13 days ago they put on a show in a god damn cave, something that no other company in the world has done before. But unfortunately Breed has some debts to settle and because of that, there will be no more Breed Pro shows for the rest of the year. Now that really does suck because the cave felt like the springboard that really announced Breed to the British independent scene and it's a shame we won't be seeing anything of them until the new year. But this isn't a piece of writing that will focus on negatives, I want to write this piece to show the positives that Breed Pro Wrestling have had on the Sheffield wrestling scene and the positive impact that they've had on my life as well.
I'll be honest, it was a very last minute decision to head to the first Breed show back in February. I think I bought tickets for myself and a friend on either the Thursday or Friday before Sunday Night Yeet. I don't think either me or my friend really knew what we were getting into when we turned up at the Picture House on that Sunday, but we took our seats and waited for the show to start. What we witnessed was a really, really good night of pro wrestling with performers like Spike Trivet and Lucky Kid as well as More Than Hype really impressing myself and my friend. A month passed and we were back at it again, this time at City Hall. Once again, a good time was had (even though The O.J.M.O did make me clap my hands rather aggressively) and the good times have continued throughout the year. No matter where Breed have set up shop, it's been an absolute privilege to go to shows. Everyone involved with Breed are some of the nicest people you could meet, whenever I've come to the ticket desk to get in I've always been greeted extremely warmly and made to feel like I am a part of this Sheffield wrestling community that Breed have built. Two incidents in particular really stand out to me when discussing the niceness of Breed and they both involve Mitch. The first was at the inaugural Breeding Ground event, when I came in with my friend, I was greeted with a smile and then Mitch asked if I'd recently bought merch, I had, he went off to get my shirt and when he came back he gave me the shirt and shook my hand. Now that's not something that Mitch had to do, but he did and it made me feel right at home. A small act of kindness goes a long way and that segway's nicely into my next anecdote about Mitch. It was at the beginning of the This Isn't Murder, It's Just Grenoside and I had just been to the Sheffield United match before going to Breed. Again, I was greeted with a smile and, even though it was literally minutes before the start of the show, Mitch asked me about the United match. We had a short discussion about how United had been unlucky to lose. Again, Mitch didn't have to do that but he did. Kindness is a big thing with Breed and I'm really happy and proud to have a company like Breed leading the way for pro wrestling in Sheffield. Breed was also the first place that I saw a lot of wrestlers who I hadn't heard of before but over the course of the year have become some of my favourite wrestlers. Athletes like Shay Fu, Kurtis Chapman and Joe Nelson are people that I probably wouldn't have watched had it not been for Breed. Not only that, but some of my favourite matches of the year have happened in a Breed ring. Standouts include Ridgeway/Romo at Breeding Ground 1, Nelson/Barker at Colossal Tussle and Nelson/The O.J.M.O at Breeding Ground 2 to name but a few. Breed have managed to put on top class pro wrestling on a regular basis in Sheffield and that is something they should be immensely proud of. It's rare that a company doesn't at least put on one bad show in a year, but Breed have managed to do that this year, I've never left a venue feeling like I've wasted my money. Breed have been brilliant value for money. I could go on and on about how brilliant Breed are, but I don't want you dear reader to be here all night/day. So I'll sign off on this, thank you Breed Wrestling for everything that you have done so far for independent pro wrestling in Sheffield. You've created something that is incredibly positive in a world that doesn't have many. This isn't goodbye, it's just an I'll see you later. It finally happened. After buying tickets in April, and after waiting 4 months then waiting an extra month because someone was a spoilsport, it happened. We went to the Devil's Arse in Castleton and watched some wrestling. It's the biggest event in Breed's history so far, did it live up to the hype? Let's find out.
First off it's time for a venue review! This one is a doozy because I'm reviewing a literal cave. So Peak Cavern (aka Devil's Arse) is an absolutely stunning piece of nature with the walk up to the entrance being particularly jaw dropping. Once in the cave, the lovely views didn't stop there with the mouth of the cave proving to be a stunning backdrop to a night of wrestling. Talking about the wrestling, let's get onto the card. Opening us up it's a seven way scramble match with Henry Faust taking on Ethan Allen, Tom Thelwell, Simon Miller, Tate Mayfairs, Fraser Thomas and Shaun Jackson. This match was full throttle from the opening bell with everyone aiming to take out the biggest man in the match in Simon Miller. Once Miller was temporarily incapacitated, the rest of the field went to work on one another with Allen and Faust being particularly impressive. It wouldn't be either of these men who would secure the win though, the victory would instead be Miller's with a spear on Thelwell being enough to secure him his first win in Breed. Although this was relatively short and the ending was very unexpected it was a good way to kick off the card and it was nice to see Simon Miller secure his first win in Breed. Afterwards, Miller did have some afters with a nearby Adam Bolt so I'm sure we'll be seeing a resolution to that feud in the near future. Tag team handicap action is next and it's Club Tropicana (with Captain Cuddles!) vs The Anti - Fun Police. After his antics at PMA last month, everyone was excited to see Cuddles back in action and he didn't disappoint with a DDT and a Hurricanrana proving why he's one of the best in the business right now. Or should that be that he was one of the best in the business because, and I hate to break this to you dear reader, Captain Cuddles is dead. He was thrown into the depths of the cave by Chief Deputy Dunne and this seemed to throw off Club Tropicana who up to the point of the death had been in control of the match. Even after hitting the Super Sexy Slip N' Slide it wasn't enough to get the victory and continue their unbeaten streak in Breed. The Anti - Fun Police picked up the win after Dunne hit a codebreaker. All in all this was a great watch and I honestly don't think I've heard a crowd turn on a wrestler as quickly as when Dunne launched Cuddles to his untimely demise. So where do Tropicana go from here? We'll have to see how they do whenever we see them next. It's time for two men who like to hit very hard up next, Luke Jacobs took on Dan Moloney in a match that more than lived up to it's hard hitting billing with both men knocking seven bells out of each other. It came to a head when a chop battle broke out and as the sound of hand on skin rang out around the cave, it looked like these men would just annihilate one another before we got a winner but we did get a winner and that winner would be the man known simply as 'Drilla' with a gnarly looking piledriver being enough to put away the Young Gun. After the match, Moloney offered his hand to Jacobs and after deliberation Jacobs accepted the show of sportsmanship before leaving and letting Moloney take in the acclaim. Just before we move on, I'd just like to say that it is an absolute joy watching Luke Jacobs wrestle. Breed has almost an embarrassment of riches when it comes to hot young talent and Jacobs has been at the very forefront of that with him usually putting on brilliant matches no matter where he's placed on the card. An absolute joy to watch. Fantasy booking came into reality next with Chuck Mambo taking on Mike Bailey in singles action. This was a match that I didn't get to see a lot of because it went off into the opposite side of the cave that I was on. What I did see however was crisp and quick with both men putting it all on the line for our entertainment. Mambo would come away with the win in the end of a hellacious bout (shout out to Bailey standing on that gravel barefoot) with a springboard frog splash being enough to see off the man known as 'Speedball'. So ETM have come through one test, will TK be able to pass the test put in front of him? First half main event and it's trios action with firm fan favourites More Than Hype taking on the eclectic mix of Chris Brookes, Dani Luna and the dab master Kurtis Chapman. There was lots and lots of bread in this match with the stuff literally raining down on the competitors just before the bell rang. Although there were questions asked before the bout if Brookes and Luna could get along they did just fine early doors and managed to slow down More Than Hype and kept Kearney isolated from his brothers in arms. Kearney did eventually break through the isolation and when he made the tag, the momentum of the bout swung back in the favour of the trio who tag with each other on a regular basis. It was perhaps this inexperience as a trio that cost the triumvirate of Brookes, Luna and Chapman in the end with Brookes being put away by More Than Hype's Canadian Megazord. A thoroughly entertaining encounter that saw us nicely into the break. We're back from half time and the second time is starting off strong with a grudge match between friends who have become enemies. Joe Nelson defended his Leader Of The New Breed title against JJ Barker in a repeat of a bout that was one of the first qualifying matches for this very belt. Nelson looked to try and finish off Barker early doors with a flurry of offence that was ended when Barker countered Nelson's Sliced Bread No.2. After this, Barker took control of the match and looked to have it won a couple of times. Nelson did manage to put his foe away though after just about hitting a code red to pick up the win. Nelson continues to impress as Leader Of The New Breed and has most definitely done a cracking job as being it's champion. Much like Jacobs he's a joy to watch and long may his reign continue. It's back to the drawing board for Barker, it'll be interesting to see where he goes next. Women Of Steel championship match and Ivy appeared to have her work cut out with a returning Gia and a debuting Veda Scott making a retention look difficult but Ivy had an ace up her sleeve. The fourth member of this match wouldn't be Raven Creed but would instead be Ivy's tag team partner Ruby Radley. Veda Scott was quickly eliminated from the bout after falling foul to a double team manoeuvre but the odds were turned against Ivy when Gia managed to eliminate Radley from the bout. It looked like Ivy's rain of terror would be over... But it isn't as Radley managed to distract the official and Ivy took advantage and clocked Gia with the belt. Somehow, someway Ivy has managed to keep her belt but she might not have it for much longer as Ivy was then informed she would be defending her belt against Eliza Roux at Lucy Openshaw's charity event in Manchester in early November. Shortly after Dani Luna came out and also laid down a challenge of her own for the Breed event in November. So although she kept her belt in the cave, she might not have the belt for much longer. Penultimate match and it's another dream match with Team Whitewolf taking each other on. Carlos Romo comes off the back of an impressive performance against Daniel Makabe at Breeding Ground 3 and A - Kid was making his Breed debut. This was a lovely little match with both men showing their technical prowess inside the squared circle. It wouldn't be technical prowess that would end this match though but some good old cheating instead. Romo looked to put away Kid with a running knee but Kid ducked and Romo blasted the match official instead. Taking advantage, Kid proceeded to level Romo in his groin and get the win with a submission. A brilliant match tainted by it's finish. Main event time and it's a big one for one man in particular. Big Guns Joe took on Brady Phillips and TK Cooper in a match for the Breed Championship. The crowd was firmly behind Joe this support seemed to carry him forward with Joe coming out to a flying start. The dream however appeared to be over when Joe appeared to tweak his leg after hitting a senton to the outside on Phillips and Cooper. Joe was taken to the back and Phillips and Cooper proceeded to put on a really solid match. The biggest shock of the night was when Joe managed to return to the ring and, against all odds, pinned Phillips to become our NEW Breed Pro Wrestling Champion. What an wonderful end to the night. The journey that Big Guns Joe has been on has been the thing that you would only see in a film. To go from villain to hero in the way he has is heart warming to see and you could see in his face after the match that this win meant everything to him. Well done Big Guns Joe, you deserve this more than anyone. So how was Starrcave? Apart from a few issues with the audio and some quiet bits from the crowd this was a solid night of action and it was brilliant to see a turn out as good as this for a company that is only 8 months old. It's been really, really awesome to see this company grow since the beginning back in February. I hope that this is the start of something special for Breed and I really think that it is. Big well done to everyone involved. I'm incredibly proud. You keep on fighting the good fight! Following on from the matinee show, there was the main course of the day in the third instalment of Breeding Ground. The original premise of the event was that there would be an eight man tournament consisting of people who have competed in Breed before and two 'wild card' picks that were brand spanking new to Breed. Once all the first round matches had been completed, the four winners would go on to have a four way match with the winner claiming the final place in the four way elimination match at Starrcave for the Breed Championship. Alongside this tournament, we had four mouth-watering bouts with the Women Of Steel belt on the line with champ Ivy and a returning Raven Creed duking it out. Also, the biggest, henchest guy in British Pro Wrestling Big Guns Joe took on Gene Munny. Luke Jacobs and Jay Joshua also tried to see who could knock the other out quickest along with an international dream match between Carlos Romo and Daniel Makabe. It's a stacked card, did it live up to expectations? Let's find out...
We actually kicked off the night with our Breed Champion TK Cooper coming out and questioning his opposition in the four way for title at Starrcave. He ran down Ridgeway, Davis and Phillips and mocked the tournament that was happening later on in the night. Just as he was about to leave the ring, he was interrupted by the biggest, henchest guy in British wrestling Big Guns Joe. Joe made his intentions clear that he was gunning for Cooper's belt. Cooper dismissed Joe, stating that he wasn't even in the tournament to earn a shot at the belt. Cooper left and Joe's opponent Gene Munny strutted out to the familiar melody of Baker Street. The bout got underway and it looked like Big Guns Joe wasn't here to play. Cooper's comments looked to have lit a fire under Joe and he took his frustrations out on Munny but that early fire was put out when Munny blasted Joe with a massive spear. It looked like the bout was all done and dusted when Munny hit Ainsley Lariat but Joe kicked out! Munny was incensed and took Joe to the top rope but much like Joe's fire stunted him earlier in the match, it would be Munny's anger that would be his downfall. Munny tried to suplex Joe but Joe wasn't having it and instead delivered a huge slam to Munny that got him the win! This was a big, big win for Joe and afterwards Munny gave an empowering speech about supporting BritWres and endorsing Joe. It got a rousing applause but that wasn't all. Mitch entered the ring and declared that Joe had earned his way into the main event! It was now a five way match for the chance to challenge for the big belt and Joe was more than ready to fight for his chance. More qualifying rounds next and it's Adam Bolt taking on Simon Miller! This match was a real David vs Goliath bout with the Massive Miller towering over Bolt. Miller used his power to ground Bolt early on with biel's and power slam's galore. Bolt managed to get some respite thanks to a quick kick to the head of Miller and he followed that up with a moonsault to the outside. Miller soon managed to regain control and it looked like he would be the one punching his ticket to the main event... But Bolt didn't read the script and, thanks to quick thinking as well as quick movement, managed to roll up Miller for the win! Another shock result in a night that looked to favour the underdog. Who else would book their place in the main event? Third qualifier and it's Darius Lockhart coming up against the imposing Will Kroos. Lockhart came into this match with a big reputation but Kroos wasn't intimidated by his opponent and proceeded to exert himself onto the match. Lockhart did manage to stem the offence for a short while and did look like he would be the one advancing to the final but, eventually, Kroos managed to overpower Lockhart and put him down for the 1, 2, 3. It's our fourth qualifying bout and it's a tasty one with Henry Faust taking on MK McKinnan. McKinnan wasn't waiting around to start inflicting punishment on Faust and cut his entrance short to try and get the jump on Faust. This led to Faust being bodyslammed onto a guardrail and it looked like it would be the end of the night for the young Geordie but he kept on fighting and picked up the win! However, McKinnan was not happy with this result and proceeded to lock Faust in a choke hold after the match. Although Faust won the match, would he be able to continue on in the tournament? Just before the interval, we had our final qualifier for the tournament final and it was the battle of Sheffield with Mark Sanders taking on Alec Mikaels. Mikaels brought along his girlfriend Kayleigh Ann Scott who wanted Mikaels to finish his match quickly so they could get to Tank (2 for 1 on drinks, I assume that's good? I don't drink so I don't know if that's good, anyway, I digress). Mikaels started like a hyperactive hamster and lived up to his 'Trickster of Speed' nickname but Sanders soon slowed down the high flyer and looked to assert himself on Mikaels. Sanders did seem distracted by the presence of Scott at ringside and this could be the reason why he lost in the end because it would be Mikaels who would pick up the win and Scott was no best pleased that she wouldn't be getting to Tank on time but Mikaels didn't care, he was fighting for the chance to enter Starrcave! And at the end of the day, what's better, Tank or a cave? We're back from the break and holy moly are we back with a bang! In a match that was highly anticipated, Carlos Romo took on Daniel Makabe in a real international dream match. This was an absolute technical classic with almost the whole match taking place within the ring. It was a joy watching two of the best wrestlers in the world go at it for a good 20 minutes. The action was so intoxicating and it was like watching two dancers put together a beautiful dance of violence. Makabe eventually came away with the win after he caught Romo out with a nasty looking submission. This match was great. Please go and see it. You won't regret it. Women Of Steel Championship is on the line next with Ivy taking on Raven Creed in a match that is a long time in the making. Raven Creed fit right in with the crowd and looked to make short work of the champ with her getting the better of the exchanges early doors, perhaps if Ivy didn't roll out of the ring after Ivy hit a devastating move that surely would have secured her the title had Ivy not rolled out of the ring. But it's this savviness that has allowed Ivy to keep the belt for the amount of time she has and it would be through her street smarts that she retained her belt. Using her title to hit Creed, Ivy may have lost the bout, but she kept her belt. However, Mitch wasn't having that and made it clear that retaining the belt at the cave would be extremely hard because she would be defending against Candy Floss and Creed in a three way dance. Penultimate match of the night and it's two competitors who love to hit hard. It's Jay Joshua taking on Luke Jacobs and this was a really, really good match. It's a testament to both men that they managed to keep the crowd engaged even though they were on just before the main event. Some absolute wince inducing strikes in this bout with both men appearing to see who could knock the other one out first. It would be Jacobs who came away with the win in this one but both guys absolutely killed each other and both should feel proud of the show they put on. Serious well done to both men, this was very impressive. Main event time and it's time to see who would be punching their ticket to Starrcave to challenge TK for the belt. Big Guns Joe, Adam Bolt, Will Kroos, Henry Faust and Alec Mikaels all had hopes of making it but only one would prevail? Who would it be? Not Henry Faust who was the first one to go with Kroos drilling him with a side slam piledriver. Bolt was next to go to the same man with the same move and then it was three. Joe, Kroos, Mikaels. It was fast paced as all three men fought their hardest to book their place in the cave. It wasn't to be for Mikaels who was eliminated leaving just Joe and Kroos left. Although Kroos looked to have Joe where he wanted him, he clearly underestimated the biggest, henchest guy in British pro wrestling and Joe did it! He actually did it! The room exploded with noise, people lapped the ring in pure joy. Although the crowd and Joe have had their differences (apart from my friend Connor, who liked Joe before it was cool) we all could come together and appreciate a guy who works his absolute hardest for our entertainment and it was genuinely emotional to see Joe win the match. Let's see if he can go one step further and win the big gold belt. I for one, hope he does. Go on Joe, show them how hench you really are. Overall, this was absolute brilliance. I don't think I've been to a show that was as positive as this one. You could feel it in the room that their was a sense of defiance in the air. You can take our cave, but we wont go quietly into the night. It was an absolute joy to be a part of and I'm so, so proud of everybody who puts on Breed shows. It's only been 7 months but this company is going places. There's a real community feel to Breed and you get the feeling that the guys who run it aren't just in it for the money, they just want to put on world class pro wrestling for the people of Sheffield and beyond and that's absolutely incredible. So well done everyone at Breed, you guys are the best! Keep doing what your doing, I can't wait to see where we're going next. It's not been a great week for everyone at Breed. After months and months of anticipation, Starrcave was postponed. This was due to someone filing a complaint with the Castleton Council saying that Breed didn't have a certain licence to put on wrestling in the cave. It's a real, real shame that someone did this because at the end of it all, what have they gained from this? Apart from cancelling an event that lots of people were looking forward to for months as well as putting a lot of wrestlers out of pocket not to mention fans and Team Breed itself also being out of pocket, they gained nothing. So if that person who did it is reading this, I hope your happy. Anyway, on to more positive things. As well as having Breeding Grounds 3 on, Team Breed decided to put on a little show beforehand that was 'pay what you want'. 4 Matches happened, lets have a little look at them!
We're starting off strong here as Gene Munny took on Aidan of Club Tropicana in singles action, or was it singles action? It was changed to the last minute to a handicap match with Aidan admitting that although he is 0-1 in singles action in Breed, he is 2-0 in tag action so Aidan only went and brought along his beloved partner Captain... Cuddles? Aidan looked to take the early advantage in the match with an absolutely devastating leg lock that would have made a weaker man tap. Munny tried the same move but it didn't have the same effect on Aidan. Captain Cuddles tagged in to a massive reaction and tore it up with DDT's and crossbodies galore. Munny couldn't quite handle The Cuddles and when Cuddles tagged out, he managed to take back control of the bout. As the match came to the end, following a Super Sexy Slip 'N Slide, Aidan looked to be about to spank Munny with his paddle (...ahem) but he nailed Cuddles instead! Whilst Aidan was distracted by his miss, Munny manged to bag the win with Ainsley Lariat. After the match, it looked like Munny would be making peace with Cuddles, but instead he attacked him amid perhaps the most negative reaction I've heard at Breed event. This match was absolutely brilliant. Both Aidan and Munny are brilliant at comedy wrestling and this match proved it. An absolute pleasure to watch. Second, and it's mixed tag team action with Ivy and Tate Mayfairs taking on Jay Joshua and Gia! It must be tough being Tate Mayfairs because although he loves himself, no one loves him not even his tag partner. Joshua looked to take the early advantage with some stiff looking strikes that had Mayfairs rocked. That didn't stop when Gia and Ivy took each other on however the tide soon turned when Tate and Ivy distracted the ref and took full advantage. After this Joshua looked to be in trouble with him being isolated from Gia, he did eventually get the tag though and when he did, Mayfairs tried his best to woo Gia. An offer of a drink (at Weatherspoon's perhaps?) was declined and then to add to Mayfairs woes, Ivy abandoned him due to her having a match later on against Raven Creed. The numbers game was too much for Mayfairs to handle and Joshua and Gia came away with the win. It's the penultimate match of the show and its two young guns with Henry Faust taking on Luke Jacobs. This was an incredibly hard hitting match and was hard to watch at times with both men beating the tar out of each other. Jacobs managed to hit some gnarly looking suplexes and Faust delivered some brutal looking strikes. The match ended with Faust picking up the win. This match was very good and the fact that both of these guys are at the start of their respective careers is nothing but good for wrestling. They're both ones to watch in the future. Main event time and the Breed Championship is on the line with TK Cooper defending against Tyson T Bone. Now this was a brilliant match with both men leaving it all on the line. At the start, TK was struggling a little bit with the pure power of T Bone with a long, long vertical suplex making it look like TK's days as champion were numbered. TK is smarter than that though and he used his champions advantage to get counted out. That wasn't the end though and the match was restarted as a no count out match. TK actually managed to take a little bit of control of the bout and managed to mount some offence. That didn't last long and T Bone was back on top shortly after. TK looked to use his smarts again as he hit T Bone with the belt, getting DQ'd in the process. However, the match was restarted again with a No DQ stipulation added on. This is where the match got very tasty with both men putting each other through the ringer. Barrier were smashed into, chairs were utilised, shovels were used and at the end of the day, TK Cooper picked up the win and continues his reign. This was another great match and hats off to TK Cooper. The versatility that TK has is incredible. He can go from deadly serious to comedic brilliance in a heartbeat and he's a joy to watch. He might not be a very sporting champion but he is a damn good wrestler. So a short but sweet card that was absolutely brilliant. Although there weren't many matches, what was on show was pure quality and all of it was well worth seeing. All in all, a very good start to the day! Would the main show live up to this? Find out soon! We're so, so, so very close to Starrcave now (in fact, it's just over 2 weeks away) and the last stop on the road to Starrcave weekend was This Isn't Murder, It's Just Grenoside. It looked like it would be an extremely entertaining evening of wrestling, would it live up to the hype? Read on to find out!
Our card opened with a bit of a shock. Our Women Of Steel champion Ivy came out to gloat over the fact that she would be going into Starrcave as the WOS champion and that there was nothing that anyone could do about it. Much to Ivy's dismay, Lucy informed her that she would in fact be defending her title against Shax. Ivy was furious and stormed to the back. With that out of the way, we started the card proper. First up and it's The Leader Of The New Breed champion Joe Nelson taking on Luke Jacobs with the winner choosing their opponent for Starrcave and also getting the LOTNB belt. So this all came together in the aftermath of the 'champion vs champion' match between Nelson and TK Cooper at Independence. Jacobs came in to fend off Cooper, who was attacking Nelson, only to attack Nelson himself. Jacobs looked to be making quick work of Nelson and used his power to gain an early advantage. Th action spilled to the outside and Nelson managed to get some breathing room by knocking Jacobs into the ring apron. Jacobs soon reasserted himself on the bout and it looked like it would be curtains for Nelson. But Nelson doesn't go down that easily and after a late rally came away with the victory after hitting a Death Valley Driver and Sliced Bread No.2 combo. Afterwards, Jacobs and his partner Ethan Allen squared up to Nelson and looked like they'd jump him but JJ Barker came in with a lovely bright orange chair to keep the peace. All Allen and Jacobs wanted to do was shake Nelson's hand and once that was done, Nelson was about to pick his opponent when Barker struck him with the chair and went on to proclaim that in Breed he is nothing and that he is nothing because he has been busy carrying Nelson. Barker had put Nelson's ankle in the chair and stated that he would break the ankle if Nelson didn't pick him for the match at Starrcave. Nelson relented but Barker still snapped his ankle. So we're having a replay of a match from all the way back at The Colossal Tussle and if it's anywhere near as good as that one, we're in for a treat. It's open challenge time! Not only that but it's Session Moth Martina time! So this match was set to be Martina against Big Guns Joe but, unfortunately, Joe had a muscle injury and couldn't make it. So in a bit of last minute negotiations that have to be up there with the signing of Mo Besic, Breed only went and got John bloody Cena! Although he did look a little bit different... Turns out that Big Match John was in fact Big Match Joe and that surprise led to Joe Cena (thanks Connor) getting the early exchanges of the match. However, Joe didn't count on the power of the Cenation and that that power flowed strongly through Martina. Martina picked up the win with her new move the Keep Calm and Jaeger bomb. So Martina continues her momentum to her deathmatch with Gene Munny and Big Joe has to go back to the drawing board. It's the penultimate match of the first half and it's Women Of Steel championship time! The champ Ivy took on her long time rival Shax with the winner booking their place in the cave. Ivy was on a warpath after learning she would be defending her title earlier on in the night and took it hard to Shax early doors with Ivy wrapping up Shax in the ring apron and letting loose. Shax did mount a comeback though and did look like she would be punching her ticket to Starrcave. However, Ivy is still our WOS champion but she did have to use a kick to the private parts as she secured the win with a facebuster. Who will take the WOS championship from Ivy? At this minute, it's hard to see how she'll lose the belt. But I'm sure she'll slip up in the future. It's first half main event time and its trios action with the two dominant trios of Breed finally clashing. ETM have been undefeated since day one. Not only that but their ranks contain the Breed Champion in TK Cooper. More Than Hype have been on a similar undefeated streak and are going to the cave to take on the trio of Chris Brookes, Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher aka Schadenfreude. So both teams came out but ETM were missing a member. Spike Trivet was apparently caught up with a polo match and he would be replaced by Rocky Mac. This match was simply incredible. I think at this point it's safe to say that Breed have one of the strongest trio divisions in British wrestling at the moment and More Than Hype have been a big part of that. Every show they come in and usually put on one of, if not the, best matches on the card. They are an absolute joy to watch and if they ever come to a company near you, please, go and see them. The match was wrestled at a breakneck speed and was just brilliant. Go and see this match. I won't spoil the ending for you because it was that bloody good. Serious well done to everyone. We're back from the break and it's another absolute banger of a match. Catch Point's Rory Gulak took on Scotty Davis in something of a dream match. If you love technical wrestling, this match is your jam. Both men gave it their all and put on a masterclass in mat based wrestling. This is another match that I would rather you, the reader, go out of your way to see because it was incredible. So, no spoilers again. I'm very sorry but this was incredible and needs to be seen to be believed. More singles action up next and it's Jay Joshua taking on Nico Angelo. This was a contender for sleeper hit of the night. Joshua is an incredible athlete and showed off his versatility here busting out devastating kicks and suplexes to Angelo. Angelo however was mighty impressive in his Breed debut and showed off incredible athleticism with moon saults to the outside and hurricanranas on the inside along with a variety of different springboards. It wouldn't be Angelo's day however and Joshua picked up the win with a chokehold. This was a lovely little match and was a brilliant showcase for both men, especially the debuting Angelo. It's the penultimate match of the night and it's one that I was looking forward to. It was a late edition to the card but my god, was it a good one. Tate Mayfairs took on a returning Shay Purser. Now, I love Shay Fu, so when this match was announced I was very excited and it didn't disappoint. Tate tried to take it to Shay early on but this only angered Shay. This led to Mayfairs falling victim to another choke hold and with that, Shay Fu picked up a win on his return to Breed. It was so good to see Shay back in a Breed ring and I certainly hope it isn't the last time we see him at Breed. It's main event time and it's Rampage vs Brady Phillips. This was for a place in the elimination four way at Starrcave and this was another absolutely incredible bout. Both men beat the ever loving crap out of each other and risked life and limb all for a place at Starrcave. It's not an overreaction when I say this is one of the best matches I've seen live. Seriously, again, go and see this match when it comes out. It won't disappoint. All I'll say about the ending is that it was very unexpected. Seriously, big well done to both men, you were both incredible. Was this perhaps the best all round Breed show to date? Probably so, it has three matches on it that I would highly recommend you go out and see and the rest of the card is pretty good too! All in all, as a precursor for Starrcave it did it's job and then some. It was an incredible night of wrestling and I look forward to Starrcave weekend! Wrestling and independence go hand in hand in some aspects. If there wasn't an independent wrestling scene then companies like WWE and AEW probably wouldn't have brilliant rosters like they do today. Wrestlers like Ricochet, Samoa Joe and AJ Styles all served the independent scene for many years, much like the rest of the roster in the big companies have. Not only that, but wrestlers are seen as independent contractors, even if they are signed to a company that doesn't seem to recognise the independent bit in that title. The thing about being seen as an independent contractor is that your not usually allowed to utilise amenities that contracted workers have access to. So there's no sick pay, there's no company paid for travel and there's no paternity/maternity leave. Now, a way to combat this is to form a union. So there's a group of people that you could go to and ask for help to get access to these amenities. However, even though unions are pretty common in most workplaces, they aren't in wrestling. The We The Independent movement aims to change that. Headed by David Starr, the movement aims to create unions in wrestling so wrestlers can get access to amenities that other independent contractors have. So, six independent companies came together and put on a quality night of wrestling in Sheffield on a humid July night. How did it go? Let's find out...
First match of the night and it's the hometown promotion Breed Pro Wrestling. So Breed decided to put together their two champions, that being TK Cooper (Breed Champion) and Joe Nelson (Leader Of The New Breed Champion), to see who the best of Breed truly is. Cooper was away in New Zealand earlier in the month so the last time we saw him he came away with a controversial win over Rampage Brown at This House Is A Circus. Nelson on the other hand was at the last Breed show and came away with a hard fought victory over Gabriel Kidd to retain his title. The match kicked off with the bigger Cooper asserting his strength advantage over Nelson however, Nelson came back into it with a flurry of offence and managed to hit both his tornado DDT and Sliced Bread No.2 but neither got him the win. It would be the self proclaimed 'Daddy Of The North' who would come away with the win after he hit a gnarly spinning kick to Nelson that put him away. After the match, it appeared that Cooper would show Nelson some respect and offered a hand shake to the valiant loser. However, it was a ruse and Cooper proceeded to beat up Nelson. However, Luke Jacobs chased off Cooper and appeared to save Nelson. After saying that it would be he who would be facing Nelson on the August 18th show, Jacobs proceeded to beat Nelson. Could The New Breed be getting a new leader? You'll have to see on August 18th! Good Wrestling up next and it's a Good Grand Prize match with champion Man Like Beano taking on 'Bronco' Brendan White. It was another brawn vs speed battle with White aiming to wear down Beano with various punches, chops and suplexes including one from the second rope launching Beano from the apron into the ring. Beano used speed and high flying to his advantage with a suicide dive and various running kicks keeping White at bay. Beano would go on to pick up the win with his rope assisted neck breaker getting him the win. Just before we move on, special props to Jack Sexsmith (our lovely host for the evening) who busted out a macarena to Beano's entrance music. Next up, It's Pro Wrestling Soul! They brought the extremely talented duo of Charli Evans and Talia Martins to duke it out in the intriguing British Rounds match. So what's a British Rounds match I hear you ask? Well, it consists of six five minute rounds of wrestling with the winner being the first competitor to win three rounds. So round one, fight! The match started pretty cagily as both women tried to feel each other out. Apart from a few roll up attempts, no one managed to secure that first pin. So round two, Evans began to take control and would secure the first pin of the match towards the end of round two. So down 1-0, Martins needed a quick reply and she got it in round three tying us up with a nice looking fisherman suplex. Round four and its all to play for. Both women gave it their all but it would be Charli Evans who would secure the win with an impressive looking cradle DDT. So a good win for the Aussie and a good showing for Martins. Scramble match action up next and it consisted of a member of each promotions roster going at it for brand supremacy. Pro Wrestling Crash brought CJ Carter, Good Wrestling brought Eugene Munn (haven't we seen you somewhere before?), Breed brought Scotty Davis, DNA Wrestling brought Tate Mayfairs, Wrestling Resurgence brought Kanji and Pro Wrestling Soul only went and brought Chris Ridgeway. The best way to describe this match is enjoyable chaos with action going on everywhere inside Hex. We saw Ridgeway and Davis reacquaint with each other, Kanji absolutely tore it up with Carter and Mayfairs also showing good stuff. It would however be Chris Ridgeway picking up the win for Pro Wrestling Soul after putting a gruesome looking submission on Carter and just before Davis could break it up, Carter tapped. A show of respect between Davis and Ridgeway led to Ridgeway soaking in a rapturous applause from the audience. Before he could leave however, who should come out but the biggest, henchest guy in British Pro Wrestling Big Guns Joe. Joe wasn't selected for any company tonight and he wants to show them what they were missing by challenging Ridgeway to a match. Ridgeway accepted and although Joe put up a valiant fight, he just wasn't big enough to beat Ridgeway. First match after the break and its Pro Wrestling Clash! They brought the ever impressive O.J.M.O and Sam Stoker to battle it out. Stoker wasn't pleased with how the match started for him and put it down to him being a tag team wrestler and The O.J.M.O being a singles wrestler. After a short search, Stoker found his partner in a member of the audience! The O.J.M.O was hesitant to attack the fan due to Hex not being in neutral waters so assault could lead to an arrest. Stoker used this hesitation to his advantage and took O.J.M.O's legs and began to assert himself on the match. This lead to Stoker taking off his belt and looking like he'd use it as a weapon. After several unsuccessful attempts at hitting The O.J.M.O, O.J.M.O managed to get back into it and looked like he'd got the win when he locked in the half crab. Stoker however, used his belt to get to the bottom rope and The O.J.M.O looked like he'd use the belt to bear Stoker. The ref stopped O.J,M.O and put the belt aside however, whilst his back was turned, Stoker hit a low blow and got the roll up win to the dismay of the crowd. His celebrations were short lived however as The O.J.M.O did use the belt to strike Stoker. After Stoker left, The O.J.M.O uttered his 'Now we play' war cry and left to a lovely ovation. Penultimate match of the night and it's the turn of DNA Wrestling. Tim Lee vs Mauro Chaves was their offering and what an offering It was. Chaves came out to the strangest entrance music I've ever heard due to it just being pigs squealing set to a guitar riff. Lee on the other hand came out to a funky remix of Enter Sandman. Lee didn't seem to approve of Chaves and his hygiene, Chaves didn't appear to approve much of Lee full stop and began to take him to task. Lee did make a comeback and showed that despite his size, he is an agile performer with a spinning kick and a moonsault being busted out. Chaves picked up the win with a take on the One Percenter. It's our main event and its Wrestling Resurgence capping it all off with a battle of the lariats. This one was for the Resurgence Championship and it was between champ Gene Munny and Gabriel Kidd. This was a hotly fought encounter with both men brawling outside the ring for a large part of the opening exchanges. Gabriel Kidd began to dominate and looked to be closing in on a victory after hitting a tombstone piledriver. he did get the three count but a ref who had been knocked out earlier overruled the stand in official and after a match restart and two servings of Ainsley Lariat, Munny retained his title and sent the crowd home happy. So was Independence a good event? Yes. Yes it was. Even though it did run a little bit long, that didn't matter because every match on this card was spectacular. It really was a brilliant showcase for how good independent wrestling is and everyone involved can be proud with how this turned out. Serious well done everyone, this was incredible. Another month, another Breed Pro Wrestling show and as we get closer and closer to Starrcave, you can really feel this company is beginning to build a lot of buzz about it. That is incredibly pleasing to see and long may it continue! Anyway, lets take a closer look at the penultimate event before the aforementioned Starrcave, the eloquently titled My Childhood Was Small But I'm Gonna Be Big!
Opening up the afternoon we had singles action with the ever hench Big Guns Joe taking on the equally big (but only just) Jurn Simmons. Big Joe comes into tonight in a rich vein of form after picking up a victory in his last two Breed events. Simmons however, would prove to be a much bigger test for the self proclaimed "biggest, henchest guy in all of British wrestling". If you haven't seen Jurn Simmons before lets just say he's the equivalent to a living tree (his thighs!). The match kicked off with Joe on the backfoot as he was easily manhandled by the much larger Simmons. Joe managed to get the upper hand for a little bit though after a cheeky low blow whilst the referee was distracted. This didn't last however and after Joe attempted to blind Simmons with a blast of 'special' juice, Simmons put Joe away with a spectacular looking piledriver. So Simmons walks out with a debut victory in Breed and Big Joe will have to regroup and reassess after the beating he took here. Second on the card and its the return of Will Kroos as he took on JJ Barker. Kroos comes back to Breed after his debut win at The Colossal Tussle back in March and Barker returns after a loss at the hands of Connor Mills at the Breeding Ground 2. Much like the first match this was David vs Goliath with Kroos using his power to ground the high flying Barker. Kroos dealt some absolutely brutal chops and clotheslines to Barker but Barker did rally, a tornado DDT being the move that nearly got him a first singles win but it wasn't to be for Barker with Kroos making him submit to a high angle Boston Crab/Liontamer. So Kroos gets his second win in Breed and Barker is still waiting for that elusive singles victory. Next up, it was Women Of Steel tournament time and our competitors were two very popular members of the Breed roster with Candy Floss taking on Kanji for the chance to go to the cave and face Ivy for the belt. A technical classic ensued between the two competitors with both struggling to find a way to really get an edge on the other. Candy Floss showed an unusual amount of brutality in this bout and it was perhaps this mean streak that got her the win. Tapping out Kanji after a very, very good bout. After the match, one of the best promos I have ever seen took place. Ivy believed that Candy Floss didn't have the ability to beat her in the cave. After hearing this, Candy Floss said that all she could do was try her best. I haven't done the best in fully recounting this promo but the comic timing of Candy Floss was brilliant and this match and promo is definitely one that is worth checking out when the show is put out online. Our first half main event was a doozy of a tag match. The ever popular Club Tropicana returned with both Captain Sexsea and Aidan present and they were taking on the debuting team of Martin Steers and El Motho! Just before we get onto the match, I have to say that the entrance of Club Tropicana is really something special and is simply magical to see live. Anyway, onto the bout and our visiting luchador El Motho locked up with Aidan and after some simply explosive offence between the two, Aidan went under the ring and transformed into his luchador alter ego El Aidano. This led to a lucha libre masterclass that would make El Santo blush. After having our breath taken away, Aidano and Motho tagged out and let Steers and Sexsea take each other on. This is the first time that I've seen Steers and he is very impressive. The highlight of his offence, apart from his ability to deliver a nasty looking atomic drop, balls beware, is his standing moonsault that is so quick I had to ask my friend what happened because I couldn't believe my eyes. Anyway, after a match that is up there in my opinion with your Okada/Omega's, it came to a conclusion with El Motho being unmasked and under the mask was... Session Moth Martina! After the initial shock of seeing Martina, Gene Munny quickly made his way to the ring as he attempted to end the match that started at Never Fight A Man With A Perm. As Munny chased Martina off, El Aidano and Sexsea were able to put away Steers after a super, sexy, slip n slide and a tag manoeuvre. So Club Tropicana get a second win in Breed and I don't have much else to say other than see this match when you can. It was very, very good! After the break it was trios time with More Than Hype taking on The O.J.M.O and The N.I.C aka Destination: Everywhere. Now this was a special match, it was absolute chaos and went just about everywhere in the venue. There were thrills, spills and everything in-between. I knew that More Than Hype were talented but they blew me away in this match. Their offence is so crisp and quick and is really, really fun to watch. On the other hand, what else needs to be said about The O.J.M.O. This guy is special, he's got such a good in ring presence and the fact that he is in two of my five favourite matches of the year is a testament to how good he is. The N.I.C were also incredible in this match and added to the whole spectacle of the bout. In the end, More Than Hype walked away with another win in Breed after LJ Cleary delivered a Canadian destroyer to The O.J.M.O. Not much else to say about this match other than go and see it when it comes out. It's bloody incredible. Just before our next match began, we had a visit from Gene Munny! Munny was tired of having to continue his months long match with Martina and was looking to finish it at Breed today. So after calling out an equally battered Martina, the two looked to be ending the match in a draw and a handshake. This was all a ploy however and Munny got a near fall on Martina. After this, Munny proclaimed that since this match isn't finishing tonight it'll finish at Starrcave and not just any match. This is going to be a DEATHMATCH! So finally we'll see an end to this match in the most brutal of ways and I for one, cannot wait! So after that, we were treated to a singles match between the debuting Charlie Sterling and 'The Supreme Suplex Machine' Scotty Davis. This was another cracking match with both men giving their all. Davis and Sterling again fought all over the arena and Davis even busted out a moonsault to the outside. More hard hitting offence inside the ring made it look like neither man would be able to get the victory. Davis had other ideas however, and put away Sterling to get another victory on his way to his title match at Starrcave. Our penultimate match was a fatal four way match with the added stipulation that the winner would get to pick their match at Starrcave. Brady Phillips, Spike Trivet, the debuting Sean Kustom and MK McKinnan fought it out in a fast paced match that included scintillating dives and hard hitting offence. All four men managed to show off their impressive move sets but the stand outs of the match have to be Kustom and McKinnan. Kustom was absolutely excellent and his high octane offence was a joy to watch. McKinnan was also excellent with his hard hitting chops and kicks getting gasps from the audience. He also delivered an absolutely stunning flying cannonball to the outside. It was neither of these men who would win the match however, that honour would go to Spike Trivet. He choked out McKinnan and after the match said that he wanted to take on David Starr at Starrcave. Now in the aftermath of this match, a certain member of the audience said something to Spike that was frankly abhorrent and should have no place in modern day life, not just wrestling. I just wanted to say that Spike handled this person and the situation superbly as always. So a big well done to Spike, you might be a bad guy in the ring but out of it, your one of the best there is. It's main event time and the New Breed Championship was on the line as Joe Nelson defended his belt against the debuting Gabriel Kidd. It's been a few years since I last saw Kidd live and the transformation in this young man is frankly outstanding. He carries himself like a ring veteran of 20 years and makes you forget that he is still astoundingly young. It's no surprise that he has been invited to train at the NJPW dojo in LA. Anyway, onto the match and this was a good little match with Kidd battering Nelson so much that Nelson couldn't even stand by the end of the match. Nelson would go on to win the match however, after capitalising on Kidd's arrogance he managed to deliver a code red (!) and sliced bread no.2 combination for the win. All in all, I think this was Breed's best all round card yet! There are at least 5-6 matches on this card that I would recommend that you go out and see for yourself they were that good. So onwards and upwards for Breed and next up it's the show on August 18th aptly called 'This Isn't Murder It's Just Grenoside'. Unfortunately, I will not be attending this event as a certain football team have their first Premier League game kicking off an hour before the start of this event. I'm sure that the Breed guys and gals will knock it out of the park though and I really do wish I could be at the show because I have genuinely been so proud to see this company grow over the past five months. Anyway, coverage will continue from a certain show in a certain cave... Until then however, I'll see you all soon! Oh boy was this good. Breed continue to knock it out of the park with an event that had some absolutely cracking matches on it, including a new contender for my favourite match that I've ever seen live. Once again, Hex was the venue for our monthly mid week graps get together and it was extremely surreal to have the lovely people who work the ticket desk know who I am. It's such a heart warming thing that the people who run this great promotion know who I am. It really does mean the world to me and I would like to thank everyone at Breed for being so lovely! Anyway, my friend and I took our seats and soon after the first match begun.
Opening up the night was JJ Barker and Connor Mills. The last time we saw Barker in action was when he answered the Young and Reckless open challenge back at Breeding Ground 1 alongside his mate Joe Nelson. Barker was part of the winning team that night and was coming up against Mills who comes into this on the back of his 'Leader Of The New Breed' title loss to Joe Nelson at Out Of The Box. This match started off with some technical offence with the taller Mills using his height to his advantage and getting the upper hand early on. Barker soon used his speed to his advantage and fought back in an aim to turn the tide of the match however, Mills was able to bust out a move that had put away Maverick Mayhew back at Sunday Night Yeet with his avalanche back kick garnering a near fall. Although Barker fought back valiantly, it wasn't to be with Mills putting away Barker to get back to winning ways and perhaps putting himself back into the Leader Of The New Breed title picture. It's tag team action up next with Young And Reckless taking on The N.I.C. Young And Reckless are 0-1 in Breed after losing their open challenge at the last Breeding Ground to JJ Barker and Joe Nelson however they have managed to retain their swingball tag belts (it's a legitimate tag team sport!). The N.I.C have also had a pretty tough time as of late losing last time out to Spike Trivet and Chuck Mambo of E.T.M. So who would get back on track with a victory? The match started with The N.I.C taking the early part of the match however that soon changed when swingball reared its head. Delaney of N.I.C was being cut off from Carter by Young And Reckless and whilst he was held off, he was hit by the dreaded swingball pole and Young And Reckless began to assert themselves on the match, cutting Delaney off from Carter. Delaney did mange to get the tag though and this change of pace was the eventual tide turner in the match with The N.I.C picking up their first victory in Breed after a succession of tag team offence. So The N.I.C are off the mark with a victory and its back to the drawing board for the Young And Reckless. At least they've still got the swingball belts though! Its grudge match time. Leon Blade and Henry Faust have not had the best time together in Breed so far with this rivalry starting at the last Breeding Ground. Faust stole a victory from Blade in the triple threat match on that show and ever since then they have been in each other's faces whenever they've been in the same room. Blade comes into this on the back of that stolen victory back at Breeding Ground and Faust isn't faring much better, losing a Leader Of The New Breed title match at This House Is A Circus to champion Joe Nelson. This match started with a bang, with Blade flooring Faust and some ring crew members with a flying senton before the bell even rang. After this it was almost all Blade with his hot start being stopped after missing a 450 and Faust began to take control and slow the pace down a little. This slow pace wasn't to last and Blade picked up a decisive victory after hitting a devastating looking 450 knee strike to the back of Faust. Blade gets his first victory in Breed in impressive fashion and you'd have to assume he is going to slot in nicely to the Leader Of The New Breed division. Faust however, seems rudderless now after losing so comprehensively so it'll be interesting to see where the Geordie goes next. It's first half main event time and what a way to go into the break! A real battle of the behemoths here with Matthew 'Operamania' Brooks taking on the biggest, henchest guy in British pro wrestling Big Guns Joe. Joe was showered with various chants questioning how big he really is and this wasn't helped by Brooks admittedly amazing entrance performance. Once the theatrics were over it was time to wrestle and Big Joe wanted to prove to everyone that he truly was bigger than Brooks with a test of strength leading to Joe being backed into a corner and becoming victim to Brooks loud lunges. Joe soon proved that he is massive when he manged to get Brooks down, and began a ground and pound style of offence. This all came to a head after Brooks looked to have the match won, Joe however, had other ideas. After loading his hand with lifting powder (?) Joe looked like he would use his protein shake to blind Brooks, that wasn't the case however and as the ref was busy disposing of the protein, Joe blinded Brooks and picked up the win with a roll up. Joe is beginning to build momentum in Breed with this being his second victory on the trot. Who knows what this could lead to for Joe? Perhaps he could be aiming at the Breed championship? Either way, he'll have to get past Jurn Simmons first. It's another loss for Brooks however, he continues to be popular in Breed and would be welcome back anytime, even if it's just to sing! Coming back from the break, we were treated to an absolute corker of a match between local lad Sam Kenny and Toronto born Brent Banks. Both men were making their Breed debuts and both men impressed hugely. Banks is such a joy to watch in the ring with his style of wrestling being very fluid and fast paced. Kenny on the other hand was more powerful and methodical. Banks seemed to have the match won on multiple occasions however, he wouldn't stop going to the top rope and this allowed Kenny to take advantage. This tenacity to go to the top would be Banks undoing with Kenny kicking Banks in the nether regions after one too many attempts at a top rope move. So Kenny begins his Breed career with a controversial victory however he won't mind, because a win is a win. Banks however, can't be two disheartened with his performance and was showered with please come back chants. Women's action up next and it's another grudge match with Ivy and Evelyn clashing after events at This House Is A Circus. After forcing Evelyn into a match, Ivy dominated the match and came away with the victory. This time Ivy came out and wasn't best pleased about the brand new Women Of Steel belt being paraded before the show. So Ivy took matters into her own hands and held ring announcer Lucy hostage until owner Mitch would make the match for the Women Of Steel belt. Mitch relented and absolutely launched a water bottle against the soft seats. Evelyn came out with a head of steam and looked to have the jump on Ivy. However Ivy soon took control of the contest. After a confusing turn of events involving the belt, Ivy picked up the victory and the belt with her signature stomp to the back of Evelyn's head. We'll have to wait and see what happens next in regards to the Women Of Steel tournament that was due to conclude at Starrcave. But for now, your first Women Of Steel champion is Ivy. The penultimate match of the night was triple threat elimination action with Alec Mikaels facing off against a returning Adam Bolt and a debuting Vaughn Vertigo. Mikaels comes into this match on the back of another loss to Brady Phillips at This House Is A Circus. Although Mikaels lost, he found something more important. Love. Celebrating his one week anniversary with Kayleigh-Ann he was high on confidence against a man who has previously beat him in Bolt and the highly impressive Vertigo. This was another cracking match with all three men showing off lots and lots of their various move sets. After Bolt eliminated Vertigo, it seemed like it would be another loss for Mikaels after he was incapacitated for much of the closing stages of the fight between Bolt and Vertigo however the unthinkable happened. Alec Mikaels won. It was a genuine feel good moment for Mikaels and after months of losing, Mikaels is up and running in Breed. The real lesson learned here is that above all else, love conquers all. Now its time for the main event and oh. My. God. This was incredible. Joe Nelson and The O.J.M.O tore the house down with a match that went about 25 minutes and what a 25 minutes it was! Both men gave it their absolute all and told an exciting and compelling story. This match had it all, it had hard hitting strikes, it had high flying action, it had technical offence, it had everything. I don't really want to describe this match too much because I think everyone who reads this article should go and see this match when it comes out because it really was something incredible and it was an absolute pleasure to watch this match live. Joe Nelson has been a stand out star in Breed and has very quickly become one of my favourite wrestlers on the British independent scene. He is a worthy Leader Of The New Breed champion and long may he reign. Let's not forget about The O.J.M.O though who put in an absolutely incredible performance and is a joy to watch in the ring. He really is a special talent and deserves to be blowing up on the British scene like he has been doing. This is one of the best matches I have ever seen live and please, see. This. Match. You won't regret it. It was another cracking night of wrestling with Breed and I can't believe that I only paid £8 to see this incredible night of wrestling. The main event of the night was worth the price of admission alone. It's events like tonight that have really hammered home how good Breed are becoming. The fact that they continue to put on stellar cards is testament to everyone who works hard behind the scene to bring great pro wrestling to Sheffield. Once again guys, serious well done and I look forward to the next event! |
AuthorHi I'm John and I am a wrestling fan. Archives
December 2019
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