Euro Fury: RPW Global Wars 2016 Night 1

Rev Pro Global Wars UK 2016 Night 1

 

November 10 2016

 

We’re in York Hall, Bethnal Green, for the first of two nights of action featuring the stars of New Japan Pro Wrestling going against not only Rev Pro regulars but the best grapplers in the world. The show suffered from some serious queuing issues resulting in a slightly truncated presentation and a show that had to rush to a conclusion due to licensing. The queues were ridiculous at this show. I was stood at the bar in the Dundee Arms over the road, waxing lyrical about queues, t-shirts, chanting, booking, alcohol, podcasts and other such malarkey with a host of BritWres fans and a veritable who’s who of BritWres Twitter. I strolled over after bell time and casually sat down as Andy Quildan made his way to the ring. Timing, guys, it’s all about timing. And whisky. Hosts are Oliver Bennett and Andy Quildan. Nice to have Oli back on commentary. I’ve missed him during the Two Andy’s commentary period.

 

Marty Scurll vs. Jushin Liger

Scurll comes out wearing a Liger mask to mess with the legend. It’s a cuntish display from the Villain. Liger responds by fucking around too, perhaps encouraged by public reception to his goofy comedy stuff in PWG. When they do the technical countering it is really good. I get the feeling Liger wants to take it a little easier now he’s into his 50s but that doesn’t mean he’s not capable. Marty’s taunting is entertaining as he’s taken to throwing the V’s and mocking Liger’s mask. He doesn’t look out of his depth at all, showing how far he’s come in the past few years. Liger isn’t lazy in any way, he just wants to throw in more comedy and the match has a mixture of stuff in it to suit all tastes. I’m particularly thrilled that Liger steals the “Superkick, Just Kidding” spot. Shotei then gets blocked right into the finger snap. Liger tries for a roll up but gets countered right into the Chickenwing and Marty gets the tap out. That’s a pretty awesome visual if you’re Marty Scurll watching this back.

Final Rating: ***1/4

 

Sha Samuels vs. Tomoaki Honma

Bet you never thought you’d see this match. It’s so totally random and weird. Quildan has apparently been thinking about booking it for some time. It’s scary inside his head, sometimes. The match is a bit clunky with them not finding natural middle ground between their two matches. An obvious part of this is the ref bump. It feels weirdly out of place. It seems like Honma is going to get the rough end of a shitty stick due to James Castle doing a run-in but he fucks up and wipes out Sha. We’re not sure what’s going on with the Revolutionists and this doesn’t help the group. Honma clears the heels out and hits Kokeshi for the win. This was fun to watch and it was weird and wonderful seeing Honma wrestle in the UK, something I never thought I’d see, but let’s face it the match wasn’t much of anything. Post match Honma lobs his wrist tape into the crowd and it actually hit me. I have that piece of tape. A bit of wrestling memorabilia. I was worried it might attack me in my sleep but I was told it’d probably miss the first five times anyway.

Final Rating: **

 

Pete Dunne vs. Yuji Nagata

I’m a bit sad that Pete Dunne uses dodgy entrance music in Rev Pro. Where’s Bring Me The Horizon, Peter? Nagata is a wrestler I’ve admired for as long as I can remember watching wrestling and he’s a fucking legend. It pains me to see him not being used in NJPW when he’s still got a lot to offer. Pete doesn’t look intimidated whatsoever by this situation, which shows you how far he’s come during 2016. He started the year by sneaking the RPW Cruiserweight title and he’s gone from strength to strength. This is one of two matches designed specifically to get respected NJPW veterans the chance to get a look at Dunne as a prospect for New Japan in the future. Much like Ospreay last year when he was deliberately put in with Okada. The lack of intimidation from Pete is what makes the match stand out although it never quite hits the higher gear that Nagata is entirely capable of. Maybe he had a spot of jet lag. The cracks in Dunne’s game start to disappear as he misses a kick in the corner and then botches a follow up spot horribly. I love that the fans are so respectful of Yuji that nobody, not one single person, gets on their case for the mistake. Sure we laughed about it in the pub later but that’s fair game. They get back on track by just pounding each other and Nagata wins with the Backdrop Hold. Dunne looked impressive here, apart from the one communication breakdown, and it was a solid contest.

Final Rating: ***1/2

 

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Chris Hero

Now we’re fucking talking. Hero has Ishii tonight and Shibata tomorrow. He could be in for an incredible weekend even by his lofty standards. If you like watching two guys beat the shit out of each other this is your match, all the way. Hero tries to completely ignore Ishii, because of the size difference, which is somewhat comical but we get ourselves a war regardless. Ishii refuses to take Hero’s shit, even though he’s largely outsized. My God it’s a glorious battle between two Strongstyle warriors. I love Hero punching Ishii and hurting his hand. That’s so great. I also love Ishii grabbing Hero for a back suplex and Hero not jumping. Ishii just drags him over. It’s incredible power. It’s not all strikes, with the occasional throw in there for good measure, but it mostly is. And it’s fucking great. Ishii no selling a piledriver is a fantastic ‘fuck you’ spot and then he gets all fired up by getting kicked in the face. That’s the Fighting Spirit! It’s a beautifully brutal match up. If this sounded like your kind of match then I guarantee you it is. If it isn’t your kind of match then get the fuck out of here. Top trading, great emotion and two guys just determined to beat the shit out of each other. Ishii again no sells a piledriver but Hero smacks him with a forearm and hits a Gotch Piledriver for the win. One of the best matches of the year in UK wrestling.

Final Rating: ****3/4

 

BUSHI vs. Will Ospreay

Ospreay very quickly reminds everyone how exceptional he is at flips. He’s currently the world’s greatest flipper. The Flipz World Champ. Plus Will brings the personality by stealing BUSHI’s taunt and the bumps by taking a huge DDT onto the apron. There’s even a wee bit of selling, although it’s punctuated by flips. In this case the flips would be commas. BUSHI looks really good in this match. I’ve had a few issues with him of late, especially in his title win over KUSHIDA, but there’s none of his awkwardness at all. He looks on point. Ospreay’s new found maturity, from working in Japan this year, is the crux of the commentary. He’s definitely working smarter now and he had to. He couldn’t keep on going nuts all the time. Although the big high spots in this one reflect how entertaining he is. Speaking of entertainment; Rev Pro’s crowd seem obsessed with chanting “Moose” during the count-ahead of the referee spots and I took it upon myself to fight the entire crowd during this match. So you can hear, after Chris Roberts counts “one”, the crowd respond with “two…Moose” and a lone voices screams “fuck Moose”. That would be me. Made the VOD, ma. Top of the world. There’s a ref bump and BUSHI uses the mist, leaving Will with a face covered in black slime, causing me to get angry with Roberts. Where does he think that came from? Come on, Chris! Ospreay kicks out of a ridiculous Canadian Destroyer and clocks BUSHI with a spin kick to block the diving version of the MX. Will gets the C4 version of the Rainmaker (the Rainham Maker), to pay tribute to Okada, and picks off BUSHI with the Oscutter. Apart from the stupid referee not spotting the mist all over Will’s face this was excellent flippy shit.

Final Rating: ***3/4

 

Trent Seven, Tyler Bate & David Starr vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & EVIL)

Starr has no moustache so Seven takes a moment to draw one on him. Speaking of Trent, he’s come from obscurity in 2015 to become one of the most important players in every single major UK promotion. He’s getting a title shot at the Hydro for ICW. He’s earned his way onto the Rev Pro shows. He’s tag champion in Progress. He’s even winning over crowds for WCPW. What an amazing year he’s had and it’s not over yet. Meanwhile Tyler Bate is considerably over considering it’s his Rev Pro debut. I think it’s safe to say the majority of this crowd have seen him wrestle before. David Starr does a good job of fitting in, unlike an assortment of RPW replacement wrestlers (I’m thinking specifically of Jake McCluskey). It’s great to see Moustache Mountain doing all their goofy spots and Naito, who has no ego, going along with it like a pro. Whether it’s the multiple body slams spot or Trent grabbing Naito’s hand to help his moustache pose. Nobody looks out of place, which shows how the UK scene has improved, even in the last two years. Starr finds himself picked off for the loss and Los Ingobernables get the win. Really solid work from everyone here. Naito looked like a goddamn star but purposefully allowed everyone a chance to shine.

Final Rating: ***1/2

 

Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship

Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata

This is a re-match from a very good match earlier in the year where Sabre just about eeked out a win. Sabre’s recent heelish defences result in a mixed reaction from the crowd. Some people weren’t keen on Sabre-Shibata the first time around and I’ve heard the same complaints about this match. That it’s too slow or has no purpose. I loved the first one and I feel the same about the second. It’s technically fantastic as two gifted technicians go after each other with aggression. It’s almost like the first match was a feeling out process. The holds, counter holds and technique involved in this match are all top drawer. All of Sabre’s work is heading towards the taped arm and shoulder of Shibata, which is a slightly heelish move but it’s not only opportunist, it also plays into his multitude of armbars. Shibata is totally badass in response, wanting Sabre to kick him in the bad shoulder. It’s psychological warfare. I love the way Shibata grabs Sabre’s leg and then decks him with a slap. Nobody tells that story like Shibata. Overcoming pain by being tough. Shibata’s toughness draws Sabre into striking, which is Shibata’s main strength. If Zack sticks to the arm and submissions he’d be fine. I love Sabre trying to wrestle out of the sleeper only for Shibata to throw him and set up the PK to win the title.

Final Rating: ****

 

Post Match: Marty Scurll drags Sabre to the back. They’ve got a tag match tomorrow. Chris Hero then comes out here because he’s got Shibata tomorrow. For the title!! The excitement levels in the building increase dramatically when people realise what’s happening.

 

Tangent: Sabre was the third longest reigning British Champion at 299 days. Shibata becomes the first Japanese man to hold the belt and the sixth wrestler overall. He took the belt back to Japan with him and it’s already appeared on New Japan World. Love the UK graps.

 

 

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Being there live has definitely made me look back on these Global Wars shows in a positive light. However I think they’re better than the ones from last year because I actually wanted to re-watch them to see how good they were on VOD. Hero vs. Ishii was brilliant live but it might be even better on tape where I can see it from every angle and get a look at every vicious strike. As I thought it would be, this was better than last years Reading show. The Hero-Shibata stuff over the two nights was fantastic. I’d highly recommend seeing both shows but the two big matches on this card were well worth seeing and the majority of the card around it was a thumbs up too.