ARTICLE: From Behind The Announce Desk #6
Posted by Daniel Edler
IPW:UK commentator Dave “Stats” Bradshaw looks forward to a very special night in Sittingbourne on Sunday 13th September…
» It was back in 1991 that my cousin showed me a grainy videotape of Kerry von Erich facing the Million Dollar Man at a WWF show, and forever hooked me into the bizarre but captivating world of professional wrestling. Almost two decades later, it sometimes feels like I have seen it all and that it will take something pretty extraordinary to make me jump out of my seat. But if you ask anyone who has been a long-time fan why they still love it I bet they will say the same thing: that every once in a while, even after all these years, wrestling still produces a moment of such pure, visceral exhilaration that it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. I think the technical expression for it is “marking out”. Well, one feud in IPW:UK has now given me two such occasions in as many months.
As I wrote in my last column, the Leaders’ tag title victory at the Sittingbourne Spectacular was a career-defining moment when everything came together at once: a hot crowd, a hugely dramatic match, and an emotional ending that instantly bonded the team with the fans in a way that neither could have expected. Don’t forget that just days earlier, many of the same fans had jeered the future champions out of the building in nearby Swanley – but suddenly, after one magical moment, Marty Scurll and Zack Sabre Jr found themselves in the improbable position of being the people’s champions.
Events in the weeks after that night only served to build the anticipation for a rematch between the new champions and their beaten opponents the Thrillers. Gilligan Gordon’s men disputed the legitimacy of their defeat in Sittingbourne and refused to hand over one of the belts. Mark Haskins screamed and snorted at the IPW cameras as he thought up excuses for the loss, while the cold-blooded Joel Redman stood menacingly in the background, quietly threatening to snap their rivals like twigs when they met again at Summer Sizzler. Meanwhile the Leaders were becoming overnight sensations, riding on a wave of popularity as they defended the other belt in venues up and down the country.
The anticipation had reached a fever pitch by the time we rolled into Sittingbourne for the hottest night on the wrestling calendar. A week earlier the rival teams had split victories in a pair of exciting singles matches at Unfinished Business, demonstrating once again that it was almost impossible to pick a winner between them. It had become perfectly clear that this would be the feud that British wrestling fans would talk about in years to come when they looked back at the summer of 2009, and inside the Swallows Leisure Centre there was a collective gasp as ring announcer Andy Quildan declared that it was time for the main event. The Thrillers emerged first to a chorus of boos, and amid the tension even Gordon had lost his tongue, forgetting to unleash his normal abuse on the crowd as his protégés were introduced. Then came the “mark out” moment – as the Leaders’ music kicked in, a roar erupted from the crowd that was so powerful I felt goosebumps flash down my arms. Even Scurll and Sabre seemed momentarily taken aback as they charged through the curtain, determined to finally prove that 2009 belonged to them.
Unfortunately, nothing was to be settled in Sittingbourne. The match was another all-action classic, with both teams producing breathtaking offence and surviving tremendous punishment as they attempted to prove that they were the best team in Britain. But just when it looked as though Sabre Jnr was about to end the argument by making Haskins tap out, Gilligan Gordon proved again why he is such a cancerous force in British wrestling – his interference caused a disqualification and ensured that nothing was settled at all. In fact, the Thrillers had the audacity to now take both of the title belts and flee the building before they were lynched. Furiously, the Leaders grabbed a microphone and laid the foundations for one more showdown at IPW’s 5th Anniversary Show in September – a match that will settle the dispute between the warring teams once and for all: Tables, Ladders and Chairs. In this most brutal of environments, these four men will stake their claim to lead the company into its next half-decade… and I have little doubt that in the process they will leave me “marking out” for the third time in a row.
In fact, the anniversary show looks like being one of the most important nights in the history of IPW, with an undisputed champion also being crowned in the singles division. There is obvious historical significance of unifying the IPW:UK title and the All England championship – two belts which have over 12 storied years of history between them – but I am even more interested in the personal importance that this one bout will have for Leroy Kincaide. I am honestly not exaggerating when I say that these few minutes in the ring with Alex Shane on 13th September will either make or break the career of the multi-talented powerhouse from London. Victory over the Showstealer would finally prove that Kincaide really does have it in him to win the big one and be the figurehead of Europe’s fastest growing wrestling promotion. Defeat would leave most fans doubting if he is destined to always be a “nearly man” despite years of blood, sweat and tears. Kincaide will never go into a championship match with more momentum than he has now – if he fails to capitalise on it I am not sure that he will ever get another opportunity like it.
For his part Shane has been uncharacteristically quiet since claiming the IPW:UK belt at Iron Fist in April, which can only be bad news for his opponent. There is a carefully calculated purpose to every single thing this shrewd operator does in any given day, from what clothes he decides to wear when he gets up to what he eats for supper, and after 17 years in the business there are very few men who can outsmart him. So if Alex Shane has been conspicuously absent in recent months, you had better believe it is for a reason. Maybe he was just happy to let the various contenders for his belt battle amongst themselves until the identity of his next challenger became clear. Whatever the reason, I would be very surprised if we don’t start hearing a lot more from the Showstealer as this huge title match draws closer.
One man who will be particularly disappointed not to be involved in that title picture is Iestyn Rees. Bad luck seems to follow former IPW:UK champions after they drop the belt – just ask Martin Stone about how his fortunes dipped after he lost to Rees last September – and the curse seems to have struck again as the “Irresistible” one suffered a torn quad during this past month. As much as I dislike the egomaniacal leader of the Thrillers, it is hard not to feel some sympathy for an athlete who has been sidelined just as his career was starting to blast off. I wish Iestyn a speedy recovery, but I certainly hope he uses his time off to re-assess his attitude towards the fans who pay his wages.
Terry Frazier is another top star who now needs to regroup. Many fans, including myself, were starting to believe that he was on an unstoppable roll towards the IPW:UK title after his British National Championship win and a victory against Martin Stone in May that appeared to mark his permanent arrival as a main eventer. But unfortunately for Frazier, he was starting to catch alight at just the same moment as an even brighter star was hurtling towards the stratosphere. In any other year I believe that we would now be talking about Frazier as the number one contender, but Kincaide’s incredible string of victories has ensured this is no normal year. Suddenly Frazier is no longer considered the “chosen one” – I bet he now understands how Hillary felt when that Obama guy came along…
One particularly interesting moment at Summer Sizzler was the abruptness with which Sha Samuels denied any ill will between himself and Frazier. These best friends and tag team partners have been the subject of much speculation in recent months as Terry’s rapid rise through the singles ranks arguably compromised the Kartel’s chances at regaining tag team gold. Samuels was clearly frustrated by all of the speculation and was eager to draw a decisive line under the issue – so much so that after interviewing him in the crowd, a part of me was left wondering if he doth protest too much. I am sure that outwardly Sha Samuels would support his pal through thick and thin, but can he honestly say there was no part of him that was happy when Kincaide hit the spear and pinned Frazier’s shoulders to the mat? I wonder.
I am also wondering about Spud. Every time he charges through the curtain I use words like “plucky” and “underdog” to describe this IPW:UK stalwart, but just lately I’m starting to wonder if I should consider using the word “insane”. While I accept that the young man from Birmingham has come unexpectedly close to beating Nick “Oblivion” Aldis during each of their three singles matches, it is surely a bad idea to enrage such an intimidating gladiator in the way that Spud did at Summer Sizzler. By costing Aldis his match against Dan Head, Spud has only made him even angrier, and having now agreed to a no DQ match at the anniversary show I shudder to think what the chiselled TNA star might do to his much smaller rival when anything and everything is legal. It is all well and good to be a “plucky underdog”, but even dogs have brains.
Before I go, I must just mention what a pleasure it was to have El Generico and Colt Cabana back with us for our shows in Chatham and Sittingbourne this month. Both produced hugely entertaining matches and for my money they are two of the biggest talents on the independent scene. Both are perfect gentlemen backstage too – or at least I think they are. Quite frankly El Generico could be saying anything about me and I wouldn’t understand, so I tend to just smile and nod.
Anyway, I’m out of space. By the next time I write it will be around the time of that momentous anniversary show, one of the biggest events in IPW history and a hugely exciting way for me to mark an anniversary of my own – the show will be the end of my first 12 months as IPW’s play-by-play commentator. I was telling my cousin how excited I am about calling that show when I saw her last weekend, and I made sure I thanked her – it really is amazing where an afternoon watching a grainy videotape can lead you…
» It was back in 1991 that my cousin showed me a grainy videotape of Kerry von Erich facing the Million Dollar Man at a WWF show, and forever hooked me into the bizarre but captivating world of professional wrestling. Almost two decades later, it sometimes feels like I have seen it all and that it will take something pretty extraordinary to make me jump out of my seat. But if you ask anyone who has been a long-time fan why they still love it I bet they will say the same thing: that every once in a while, even after all these years, wrestling still produces a moment of such pure, visceral exhilaration that it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. I think the technical expression for it is “marking out”. Well, one feud in IPW:UK has now given me two such occasions in as many months.
As I wrote in my last column, the Leaders’ tag title victory at the Sittingbourne Spectacular was a career-defining moment when everything came together at once: a hot crowd, a hugely dramatic match, and an emotional ending that instantly bonded the team with the fans in a way that neither could have expected. Don’t forget that just days earlier, many of the same fans had jeered the future champions out of the building in nearby Swanley – but suddenly, after one magical moment, Marty Scurll and Zack Sabre Jr found themselves in the improbable position of being the people’s champions.
Events in the weeks after that night only served to build the anticipation for a rematch between the new champions and their beaten opponents the Thrillers. Gilligan Gordon’s men disputed the legitimacy of their defeat in Sittingbourne and refused to hand over one of the belts. Mark Haskins screamed and snorted at the IPW cameras as he thought up excuses for the loss, while the cold-blooded Joel Redman stood menacingly in the background, quietly threatening to snap their rivals like twigs when they met again at Summer Sizzler. Meanwhile the Leaders were becoming overnight sensations, riding on a wave of popularity as they defended the other belt in venues up and down the country.
The anticipation had reached a fever pitch by the time we rolled into Sittingbourne for the hottest night on the wrestling calendar. A week earlier the rival teams had split victories in a pair of exciting singles matches at Unfinished Business, demonstrating once again that it was almost impossible to pick a winner between them. It had become perfectly clear that this would be the feud that British wrestling fans would talk about in years to come when they looked back at the summer of 2009, and inside the Swallows Leisure Centre there was a collective gasp as ring announcer Andy Quildan declared that it was time for the main event. The Thrillers emerged first to a chorus of boos, and amid the tension even Gordon had lost his tongue, forgetting to unleash his normal abuse on the crowd as his protégés were introduced. Then came the “mark out” moment – as the Leaders’ music kicked in, a roar erupted from the crowd that was so powerful I felt goosebumps flash down my arms. Even Scurll and Sabre seemed momentarily taken aback as they charged through the curtain, determined to finally prove that 2009 belonged to them.
Unfortunately, nothing was to be settled in Sittingbourne. The match was another all-action classic, with both teams producing breathtaking offence and surviving tremendous punishment as they attempted to prove that they were the best team in Britain. But just when it looked as though Sabre Jnr was about to end the argument by making Haskins tap out, Gilligan Gordon proved again why he is such a cancerous force in British wrestling – his interference caused a disqualification and ensured that nothing was settled at all. In fact, the Thrillers had the audacity to now take both of the title belts and flee the building before they were lynched. Furiously, the Leaders grabbed a microphone and laid the foundations for one more showdown at IPW’s 5th Anniversary Show in September – a match that will settle the dispute between the warring teams once and for all: Tables, Ladders and Chairs. In this most brutal of environments, these four men will stake their claim to lead the company into its next half-decade… and I have little doubt that in the process they will leave me “marking out” for the third time in a row.
In fact, the anniversary show looks like being one of the most important nights in the history of IPW, with an undisputed champion also being crowned in the singles division. There is obvious historical significance of unifying the IPW:UK title and the All England championship – two belts which have over 12 storied years of history between them – but I am even more interested in the personal importance that this one bout will have for Leroy Kincaide. I am honestly not exaggerating when I say that these few minutes in the ring with Alex Shane on 13th September will either make or break the career of the multi-talented powerhouse from London. Victory over the Showstealer would finally prove that Kincaide really does have it in him to win the big one and be the figurehead of Europe’s fastest growing wrestling promotion. Defeat would leave most fans doubting if he is destined to always be a “nearly man” despite years of blood, sweat and tears. Kincaide will never go into a championship match with more momentum than he has now – if he fails to capitalise on it I am not sure that he will ever get another opportunity like it.
For his part Shane has been uncharacteristically quiet since claiming the IPW:UK belt at Iron Fist in April, which can only be bad news for his opponent. There is a carefully calculated purpose to every single thing this shrewd operator does in any given day, from what clothes he decides to wear when he gets up to what he eats for supper, and after 17 years in the business there are very few men who can outsmart him. So if Alex Shane has been conspicuously absent in recent months, you had better believe it is for a reason. Maybe he was just happy to let the various contenders for his belt battle amongst themselves until the identity of his next challenger became clear. Whatever the reason, I would be very surprised if we don’t start hearing a lot more from the Showstealer as this huge title match draws closer.
One man who will be particularly disappointed not to be involved in that title picture is Iestyn Rees. Bad luck seems to follow former IPW:UK champions after they drop the belt – just ask Martin Stone about how his fortunes dipped after he lost to Rees last September – and the curse seems to have struck again as the “Irresistible” one suffered a torn quad during this past month. As much as I dislike the egomaniacal leader of the Thrillers, it is hard not to feel some sympathy for an athlete who has been sidelined just as his career was starting to blast off. I wish Iestyn a speedy recovery, but I certainly hope he uses his time off to re-assess his attitude towards the fans who pay his wages.
Terry Frazier is another top star who now needs to regroup. Many fans, including myself, were starting to believe that he was on an unstoppable roll towards the IPW:UK title after his British National Championship win and a victory against Martin Stone in May that appeared to mark his permanent arrival as a main eventer. But unfortunately for Frazier, he was starting to catch alight at just the same moment as an even brighter star was hurtling towards the stratosphere. In any other year I believe that we would now be talking about Frazier as the number one contender, but Kincaide’s incredible string of victories has ensured this is no normal year. Suddenly Frazier is no longer considered the “chosen one” – I bet he now understands how Hillary felt when that Obama guy came along…
One particularly interesting moment at Summer Sizzler was the abruptness with which Sha Samuels denied any ill will between himself and Frazier. These best friends and tag team partners have been the subject of much speculation in recent months as Terry’s rapid rise through the singles ranks arguably compromised the Kartel’s chances at regaining tag team gold. Samuels was clearly frustrated by all of the speculation and was eager to draw a decisive line under the issue – so much so that after interviewing him in the crowd, a part of me was left wondering if he doth protest too much. I am sure that outwardly Sha Samuels would support his pal through thick and thin, but can he honestly say there was no part of him that was happy when Kincaide hit the spear and pinned Frazier’s shoulders to the mat? I wonder.
I am also wondering about Spud. Every time he charges through the curtain I use words like “plucky” and “underdog” to describe this IPW:UK stalwart, but just lately I’m starting to wonder if I should consider using the word “insane”. While I accept that the young man from Birmingham has come unexpectedly close to beating Nick “Oblivion” Aldis during each of their three singles matches, it is surely a bad idea to enrage such an intimidating gladiator in the way that Spud did at Summer Sizzler. By costing Aldis his match against Dan Head, Spud has only made him even angrier, and having now agreed to a no DQ match at the anniversary show I shudder to think what the chiselled TNA star might do to his much smaller rival when anything and everything is legal. It is all well and good to be a “plucky underdog”, but even dogs have brains.
Before I go, I must just mention what a pleasure it was to have El Generico and Colt Cabana back with us for our shows in Chatham and Sittingbourne this month. Both produced hugely entertaining matches and for my money they are two of the biggest talents on the independent scene. Both are perfect gentlemen backstage too – or at least I think they are. Quite frankly El Generico could be saying anything about me and I wouldn’t understand, so I tend to just smile and nod.
Anyway, I’m out of space. By the next time I write it will be around the time of that momentous anniversary show, one of the biggest events in IPW history and a hugely exciting way for me to mark an anniversary of my own – the show will be the end of my first 12 months as IPW’s play-by-play commentator. I was telling my cousin how excited I am about calling that show when I saw her last weekend, and I made sure I thanked her – it really is amazing where an afternoon watching a grainy videotape can lead you…