Tell you what I did last weekend. Wrestled. Tell you what I didn’t do last weekend. Sleep.
Photo Credit: Megaslam Wrestling
Friday started out with an unexpected change of plans. There I was, 2pm in the afternoon, chugging away to the gym (just joined the new JD Gym in Leeds, which is bad ass!), and I was thinking to myself how much I was looking forward to a nice, peaceful solo trip to Grimsby later on for RDW. I could catch up with some podcasts, sing loud music to my hearts content and just generally go at my own pace. The literal second I finished that thought, my phone rang. RDW was cancelled. The ring van had exploded. Oh no. I was faced with the terrifying prospect of a night off. Luckily for me, I knew MegaSlam were running a show in Accrington that night, and one short back and forth with promoter Brad Taylor later, I was back in the game! On a serious note, massive credit to Brad for putting me on at such short notice, top lad.
The show itself was a bunch of fun! Only a small crowd, but the layout of the room meant that good acoustics were in order and it made an already enthusiastic crowd sound deafening. After saving his tail earlier on in the night, I teamed with David Graves in the last match of the evening against Bully Boy Carter and Josh Anderson. Had loads of fun with this, everyone held up their end really nicely and I was pleased with the final result. Really pleasant way to start the weekend, even more so as I hadn’t banked on being there that night!
Photo Credit: John Morrissey Photography
Went home, and went to sleep around 2am. Woke up at 3:30am. Oh no. Again. Arrived at Leeds/Bradford airport at 5am for my flight across to Dublin. Whilst travelling with Ryanair would usually be cause for the 3rd ‘oh no’ of the article, amazingly enough the airline was actually really decent on both ends of the trip and everything ran smoothly, for once. I had 2 shows that day. So a show on 45 minutes sleep if you will. The trip was of course for the exceptional OTT, this time in a departure from their normal range of venues. Instead, both Events (a 1pm show aimed at families and the usual 18+ evening show) were to be held in a small little dome on Wexford Quayside as part of the Spielgeltent Festival. I had the pleasure of wrestling old partner/enemy Bubblegum on both shows, as well as actually spend some quality time catching up with him, someone I used to pretty much travel with every weekend. Both matches were extremely different to each other. Afternoon show – lots of comedy. Evening show – lots of moveZ~! Both opened each show and both went down well. The afternoon was packed and the crowd went nuts over the mere sight of a leapfrog. The night time was quieter and they took time to warm up, but by the end of the match (and all the head drops obviously), they were there. Quality time being back in the Emerald Isle, can’t wait to go back. I also loved sitting and watching Dave Mastiff have the time of his life in a supremely entertaining main event against Charlie Garrett!
Photo Credit: PROGRESS Wrestling
Speaking of Mastiff. He and I are GREAT as a team aren’t we?! That was my next adventure. Headed to the hotel after OTT, sharing a room with Tiny Iron, which must have been a hilarious sight to the receptionist (seriously, Google him). Bed at 1am, up at 5am, off to the airport, came home for an hour and then headed to Manchester! Chapter 37 of Progress Wrestling saw Origin: Banter Edition truly be a thing for the first time, as Mastiff and I tangled with FSU and Travis Banks/TK Cooper in a 3-Way Tag Team Match with the hearts of the nation at stake. Or something like that. I was too busy having a great time with a great mate!
Genuinely though, this is some of the most fun I’ve ever had in wrestling. I have a brilliant time out there, mainly at other people’s expense. Progress sold out The Ritz AGAIN, and the atmosphere there is something else. The match itself felt like a really nice blend of character, entertainment and athleticism, with everyone getting time to shine. Plus, I got to chop someone whilst wearing a giant foam hand. And after all, isn’t that the true meaning of professional wrestling?
Where You Can See El Ligero This Weekend
Oct 21st: First Class Wrestling ‘International Classic’. International Classic Tournament First Round: El Ligero vs Vitto Peru. Blyth Sports Centre, Blyth.
Oct 22nd: All-Star Wrestling. Butlins, Skegness.
Oct 22nd: Exciting Wrestling Evolution. El Ligero vs Assassin. Primrose Community Centre, Jarrow
Oct 23rd: MegaSlam Wrestling. Trilogy, Northampton.
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*Our thanks to Nik Towers for the use of his artwork in the column header. You can see more of Nik’s artwork at the Wrestling Artwork NT Facebook page.
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