ARTICLE: From Behind The Announce Desk #8
Posted by Andy Quildan
IPW:UK commentator Dave “Stats” Bradshaw looks back on an anniversary show unlike any other...
BEHIND THE ANNOUNCER’S DESK
IPW:UK play-by-play commentator Dave “Stats” Bradshaw reflects on the final shows of 2009 and previews a busy few weeks to kick off 2010...
Admittedly the wait for my latest column has been a little longer than usual (I bet you have barely been able to sleep with all the anticipation) but even so, things seem to be moving very fast in IPW. The last time I wrote here, Leroy Kincaide was looking like an unstoppable new heavyweight champion and Mark Haskins was dominating the cruiserweight division. With the passing of three months, neither of those statements are now accurate. I get the impression that this is a time of great change and uncertainty.
Don’t believe me? Just compare our current list of champions to the one we had this time last year. At the start of 2009 the Thrillers were the dominant force in IPW: Iestyn Rees was the heavyweight champion, Haskins held the cruiserweight gold, and the group also had a firm grip on the tag titles. One by one those titles fell through the year and it now looks as though things may be on the brink of falling apart. Gilligan Gordon has been conspicuous by his absence in recent months, with the official line from the Thrillers camp being that he is busy preparing former IPW champion Iestyn Rees for his return from injury later this spring. But with Gordon out of the picture, newcomer The Lion Kid was able to pull off a major upset the following month in Sittingbourne, claiming that cruiserweight belt from the “Star Attraction” in one of the most exciting opening bouts in our five-year history.
Stripped of the last vestige of their title legacy, can the Thrillers survive as a unit? Gilligan Gordon’s only way of keeping the sizable egos of his four protégés in check was with the promise that they would all be champions if they worked together. Now that plan has spectacularly unravelled, I suspect we might see just how precarious their alliance always was. To my mind, the future of the Thrillers depends on whether Gordon’s recent absence is because he has run out of ideas or because he is hatching a masterplan to get things back on track. His recent silence should have made me happy, but for some reason it has just made me nervous.
One piece of good news for Gordon and the Thrillers is that they are not the only big names in IPW who are looking vulnerable right now – indeed, the man who is holding the our most prestigious championship seems to be in an increasingly precarious position. No-one who was in Sittingbourne for our fifth anniversary show will soon forget the moment that Leroy Kincaide realised his dream. At that moment it was hard to imagine anyone stopping the hip hop star from enjoying a lengthy ownership of the belt – it very much felt like the beginning of a new era in the storied history of the IPW title. Fast forward to the new year and, although Leroy still holds the gold, the honeymoon period is well and truly over. The champ has been plagued by a recurring shoulder injury that he suffered en route to his title victory in September, and challengers now seem to be moving in for the kill. Although Kincaide was able to fend off Jimmy Jacobs at November’s Brawl at the Hall, he has since looked surprisingly fragile and now faces arguably the most intimidating of all possible opponents on the UK scene when he clashes with Johnny Moss at No Escape. Hopefully the champ has had time to recover over Christmas and can re-assert his dominance early in 2010. I still believe that this could be the man who will lead IPW for a long time to come, but he needs to prove quickly that he is not as vulnerable as he has recently appeared.
This has also been a time when some big names have made their returns. Jonny Storm, having been absent for close to a year, came within a hair of winning his first IPW gold when he fought Haskins in October. The deeply unpleasant Stixx showed that he has become no less intolerable during his long absence from the promotion when he challenged for the tag titles alongside new partner Paul Malen at Brawl at the Hall. And, most surprisingly of all, cult hero JC Thunder made a shock return in December’s Rumble! Many long-time fans still consider Thunder’s emotional IPW title win to be the greatest moment in the company’s history, so it was a big deal to have him back and I was especially pleased to see him trying to take Sir Thomas Chamberlain down a peg or two. I had to commentate with the pompous “upper class” moron for a few minutes prior to that showdown, and it was enough to make me contemplate sabotaging a fox hunt or disrupting a game of croquet.
There is, however, another recent addition to the roster who is even more unwelcome than Chamberlain. I mentioned in September that Danny Garnell’s decision to make a name for himself by attacking Martin Stone from behind was hardly the best way to endear himself to the fans, but I had no idea just how cowardly this invading “star” could be. At November’s annual six-man Brawl match, he spent most of the contest avoiding any kind of fair fight with Martin Stone but eventually found himself in a handicap situation against the Guv’nor and Terry Frazier. Surely this was the moment for Garnell to prove his toughness by holding his own against two of IPW’s top names... but he chose to run away and cost his team the match. To make matters worse, he has since had the audacity to post a video on YouTube droning on about how beating Stone will prove that his 11 years in the wrestling business has all been worthwhile. Well, perhaps I can explain to Garnell why he has not achieved as much as his rival: Martin Stone has proven time and again that he will go nose-to-nose with any opponent and look them fearlessly in the eye. He does not take shortcuts or spend his time complaining about his lack of opportunities – he has built his success and his universal respect among fans by proving again and again that he is the best at what he does when he steps through the ropes. So if Garnell wants to “validate” his own efforts at Stone’s expense, he could start by approaching February’s match in the same way that his opponent will, rather than whinging and complaining about the hand that fate has dealt him.
Stone versus Garnell at No Escape is just one of several exciting matches coming up during February half term’s second annual UK tour. For me, the most mouth-watering match is another one on that same card: Hubba Bubba Lucha will finally get their shot at the Leaders in a tag title bout that has been eight months in the making. You may remember that it was only when El Ligero injured his shoulder before the two teams’ scheduled match last May that the Leaders were able to claim an impromptu tag title shot against the Thrillers and win the belts in 2009’s Match of the Year. A second attempt to stage the match in November was foiled when Bubblegum suffered an abdominal injury but now, barring any more last-minute mishaps, it is scheduled to finally happen on the third time of asking and I can’t wait. I will even go out on a limb and say I think this might be the moment where the Leaders’ remarkable run comes to an end – they could not be facing a more talented or more cohesive tag team unit than these two high-flyers who are widely considered to be among this country’s elite.
Among the other highlights on the tour will be US imports Cheech and Cloudy, a team who have been making waves in CHIKARA, CZW and a number of other American indy promotions. But I think this February might come to be most remembered for the return of Dave Mastiff (formerly Dave Moralez) after a spell in OVW. The big man from the Black Country was one of the most dominant figures on the IPW roster even before he went overseas, so God only knows what kind of force this man could be in 2010 after several months honing his skills across the pond. Expect him to make some serious waves in the coming year.
Before I go, I just want to address something that happened last time we were in Chatham. Apparently, referee Chris Roberts decided to try and be a big man in front of the raucous Tap n’ Tin crowd by telling ring announcer Andy Quildan that he could take me in a fight. Now, I think I have always shown nothing but respect for Chris and the other officials but having said that, if he thinks I am going to be intimidated by a guy who sounds like Joe Pesci and has the physique of Joe McElderry then he is sorely mistaken. If Roberts has an issue then he can say it to my face – although I probably won’t understand a word he says.
That’s all for now. We hit Chatham, Petersfield, Bognor and Sittingbourne on the February tour, then we make our debut in Peterborough on 27th February and are back in Swanley on 6th March. A busy start to the year, to say the least! I hope you’ll join us for what promises to be a memorable start to the new decade in IPW...
BEHIND THE ANNOUNCER’S DESK
IPW:UK play-by-play commentator Dave “Stats” Bradshaw reflects on the final shows of 2009 and previews a busy few weeks to kick off 2010...
Admittedly the wait for my latest column has been a little longer than usual (I bet you have barely been able to sleep with all the anticipation) but even so, things seem to be moving very fast in IPW. The last time I wrote here, Leroy Kincaide was looking like an unstoppable new heavyweight champion and Mark Haskins was dominating the cruiserweight division. With the passing of three months, neither of those statements are now accurate. I get the impression that this is a time of great change and uncertainty.
Don’t believe me? Just compare our current list of champions to the one we had this time last year. At the start of 2009 the Thrillers were the dominant force in IPW: Iestyn Rees was the heavyweight champion, Haskins held the cruiserweight gold, and the group also had a firm grip on the tag titles. One by one those titles fell through the year and it now looks as though things may be on the brink of falling apart. Gilligan Gordon has been conspicuous by his absence in recent months, with the official line from the Thrillers camp being that he is busy preparing former IPW champion Iestyn Rees for his return from injury later this spring. But with Gordon out of the picture, newcomer The Lion Kid was able to pull off a major upset the following month in Sittingbourne, claiming that cruiserweight belt from the “Star Attraction” in one of the most exciting opening bouts in our five-year history.
Stripped of the last vestige of their title legacy, can the Thrillers survive as a unit? Gilligan Gordon’s only way of keeping the sizable egos of his four protégés in check was with the promise that they would all be champions if they worked together. Now that plan has spectacularly unravelled, I suspect we might see just how precarious their alliance always was. To my mind, the future of the Thrillers depends on whether Gordon’s recent absence is because he has run out of ideas or because he is hatching a masterplan to get things back on track. His recent silence should have made me happy, but for some reason it has just made me nervous.
One piece of good news for Gordon and the Thrillers is that they are not the only big names in IPW who are looking vulnerable right now – indeed, the man who is holding the our most prestigious championship seems to be in an increasingly precarious position. No-one who was in Sittingbourne for our fifth anniversary show will soon forget the moment that Leroy Kincaide realised his dream. At that moment it was hard to imagine anyone stopping the hip hop star from enjoying a lengthy ownership of the belt – it very much felt like the beginning of a new era in the storied history of the IPW title. Fast forward to the new year and, although Leroy still holds the gold, the honeymoon period is well and truly over. The champ has been plagued by a recurring shoulder injury that he suffered en route to his title victory in September, and challengers now seem to be moving in for the kill. Although Kincaide was able to fend off Jimmy Jacobs at November’s Brawl at the Hall, he has since looked surprisingly fragile and now faces arguably the most intimidating of all possible opponents on the UK scene when he clashes with Johnny Moss at No Escape. Hopefully the champ has had time to recover over Christmas and can re-assert his dominance early in 2010. I still believe that this could be the man who will lead IPW for a long time to come, but he needs to prove quickly that he is not as vulnerable as he has recently appeared.
This has also been a time when some big names have made their returns. Jonny Storm, having been absent for close to a year, came within a hair of winning his first IPW gold when he fought Haskins in October. The deeply unpleasant Stixx showed that he has become no less intolerable during his long absence from the promotion when he challenged for the tag titles alongside new partner Paul Malen at Brawl at the Hall. And, most surprisingly of all, cult hero JC Thunder made a shock return in December’s Rumble! Many long-time fans still consider Thunder’s emotional IPW title win to be the greatest moment in the company’s history, so it was a big deal to have him back and I was especially pleased to see him trying to take Sir Thomas Chamberlain down a peg or two. I had to commentate with the pompous “upper class” moron for a few minutes prior to that showdown, and it was enough to make me contemplate sabotaging a fox hunt or disrupting a game of croquet.
There is, however, another recent addition to the roster who is even more unwelcome than Chamberlain. I mentioned in September that Danny Garnell’s decision to make a name for himself by attacking Martin Stone from behind was hardly the best way to endear himself to the fans, but I had no idea just how cowardly this invading “star” could be. At November’s annual six-man Brawl match, he spent most of the contest avoiding any kind of fair fight with Martin Stone but eventually found himself in a handicap situation against the Guv’nor and Terry Frazier. Surely this was the moment for Garnell to prove his toughness by holding his own against two of IPW’s top names... but he chose to run away and cost his team the match. To make matters worse, he has since had the audacity to post a video on YouTube droning on about how beating Stone will prove that his 11 years in the wrestling business has all been worthwhile. Well, perhaps I can explain to Garnell why he has not achieved as much as his rival: Martin Stone has proven time and again that he will go nose-to-nose with any opponent and look them fearlessly in the eye. He does not take shortcuts or spend his time complaining about his lack of opportunities – he has built his success and his universal respect among fans by proving again and again that he is the best at what he does when he steps through the ropes. So if Garnell wants to “validate” his own efforts at Stone’s expense, he could start by approaching February’s match in the same way that his opponent will, rather than whinging and complaining about the hand that fate has dealt him.
Stone versus Garnell at No Escape is just one of several exciting matches coming up during February half term’s second annual UK tour. For me, the most mouth-watering match is another one on that same card: Hubba Bubba Lucha will finally get their shot at the Leaders in a tag title bout that has been eight months in the making. You may remember that it was only when El Ligero injured his shoulder before the two teams’ scheduled match last May that the Leaders were able to claim an impromptu tag title shot against the Thrillers and win the belts in 2009’s Match of the Year. A second attempt to stage the match in November was foiled when Bubblegum suffered an abdominal injury but now, barring any more last-minute mishaps, it is scheduled to finally happen on the third time of asking and I can’t wait. I will even go out on a limb and say I think this might be the moment where the Leaders’ remarkable run comes to an end – they could not be facing a more talented or more cohesive tag team unit than these two high-flyers who are widely considered to be among this country’s elite.
Among the other highlights on the tour will be US imports Cheech and Cloudy, a team who have been making waves in CHIKARA, CZW and a number of other American indy promotions. But I think this February might come to be most remembered for the return of Dave Mastiff (formerly Dave Moralez) after a spell in OVW. The big man from the Black Country was one of the most dominant figures on the IPW roster even before he went overseas, so God only knows what kind of force this man could be in 2010 after several months honing his skills across the pond. Expect him to make some serious waves in the coming year.
Before I go, I just want to address something that happened last time we were in Chatham. Apparently, referee Chris Roberts decided to try and be a big man in front of the raucous Tap n’ Tin crowd by telling ring announcer Andy Quildan that he could take me in a fight. Now, I think I have always shown nothing but respect for Chris and the other officials but having said that, if he thinks I am going to be intimidated by a guy who sounds like Joe Pesci and has the physique of Joe McElderry then he is sorely mistaken. If Roberts has an issue then he can say it to my face – although I probably won’t understand a word he says.
That’s all for now. We hit Chatham, Petersfield, Bognor and Sittingbourne on the February tour, then we make our debut in Peterborough on 27th February and are back in Swanley on 6th March. A busy start to the year, to say the least! I hope you’ll join us for what promises to be a memorable start to the new decade in IPW...