SWE Hell for Lycra XIV, from the Caird Hall, Dundee
Saturday 9th September 2017

To be fair, I wasn’t expecting too much from the SWE’s annual show – There was the usual big name guests, but none of the guest matches were promoted at all. Really only the mixed tag match had any storyline, with a four corners tag & what felt like ‘anyone not involved yet’ tag match announced at the monthly show just a few days ago.

But I learned a lesson last night in the art of booking a show with international workers – Zack Sabre Jr was lost at an airport somewhere, so was a no show. This lead to Saxon Huxley stepping in for the World Title match & what seems to be a genuinely injured JD Wilde losing his opponent & spot on the card. The lack of promotion for all the guest matches allowed this to be fairly painless, so a masterstroke by SWE bookers. More on how local crowds view big name stars later.

Triple Threat Match – Ryan Severn def. KJ Nitro & ‘The Riot’ Chris James

Two of SWE’s young up and coming stars against a seasoned pro in James, who is only a few years older, but always looks safe hands in his matches. Being able to shout loud enough to be heard in the cheap seats is important to my enjoyment of local wrestling & the boys managed well in this one. Severn’s cocky heel routine is pretty class, stopping the match to remind us ‘it’s all about me!’ Some great 3 man spots later & a clean pin from Severn on Chris James took the win. It seems Severn is on his way to the top, Nitro is looking more confident every month, with James slightly underused as the utility man again.

The Heel Reel, with JD Wilde & Eddie Devine

JD Wilde was called down by Bravehart, as he was sporting a neckbrace & couldn’t compete. This lead to gWo leader & SWE GM Grue coming to the ring to fire him & Eddie for breach of contract. Right away, the oversized bandage looked fishy to the smart fans (His opponent rescheduled to replace the absent opponent for the World title match) but it seems a legit injury will lead to a few weeks out before a ‘reinstate’ campaign kicks off…

Future Division Title Match – Ian Ambrose (c) def. CJ Banks

CJ Banks started off his cracking heel work by demanding to be announced from ‘Stockport ENGLAND’ In this political climate, should we still be booing foreign heels? OCH AYE – when wrestling becomes too PC it’s time to go hame. A belter of a match, good quick mat work, switching move to move seamlessly, loads of interaction with the crowd from both workers, Ambrose managing his ‘armbar into a five star handsign’ spot. All Good.

Kenny Kyd & Zack Leon def. Felix Fortune & Alex Webb

A wee couple off action points here – SWE in general have been getting their PA system better recently – It’s good to be able to hear the wrestler’s names, & The ‘Titantron’ style graphics for every star was good, but the music man needs a word – more than one time the music cut out a bit quick, which was more apparent here, as Fortune went up for a taunt on the ropes just as his music cut out. My other moan is almost to a man the entrance music is pop punk wash. Sorry.. Mair moaning – Alex webb just turned heel last week, so was without a proper heel persona. He came out with a velvet jacket, so all that was needed was a word to the announcer that he was to be known as Alexander Webb could have cleared things up. A pretty good tag match, wild two man action throughout – nae tags, & it seems yir allowed foreign objects these days in SWE, as Felix swung his Fasttrack briefcase at Kyd, missed, & was DDT’d onto it for a Kyd pin, who looked a bit rusty at times, but it was good to see him back.

The Jackal def. Sam Gradwell

Sam Gradwell missed a trick for me by not showing up the huge height difference between him & the Jackal, who would have moaned to the referee some more. I’m loving his old school heel work – hiding in the ropes, clyping on his opponent, calling time outs, having wee tantrums in the ring, & winning tonight with a handful of tights. It seems I maybe go along to these shows looking for the guys I see every month, & that the talent brought in are almost jobbers, albeit supremely talented workers doing the job. With exception to Cody Rhodes, who defended his belt here, I don’t think any outside talent has won at SWE, so is not expected to anymore. A minor gripe, as the talent shone through as Jackal’s schemes continue…

Four Corners Tornado Tag Match – Dead Cell (Nathan Reynolds & Kevin Williams) def. SuperCharged (Scotty Riccio & Spike Tierney), Opera of Silence (EG Mackie & Stallyon) & Kings of Unity (Chris Lamb & Riley Addams)

Dead Cell, in the match of the night, seem to be getting the push that they deserve, stalled only by some funny booking early in their partnership. I’m old enough to remember WWF having 10+ proper tag teams back in the day, with matching outfits, coming out to one theme tune & hitting proper tag team moves. The SWE tag division is heading that way, with both SuperCharged & Dead Cell ticking every box, whilst being totally different in style. Kings of Unity were there to get Opera of Silence Disqualified for violent conduct, leaving the other two teams for a great old school tag match. The brutal double teaming from Dead Cell will hopefully lead to them being inaugural tag team champions (if SWE ever make the belts…)

SWE World Heavyweight Championship – Steven ‘Air’ Myles (c) def. Saxon Huxley

In what was always going to be a bit of a let down (in my preview I stated that a Zack Sabre Jr match was bucket list material for UK wrestling fans). This one was a bit flat. It had to follow a cracker, filled with crowd favourites & was thrown together only by Sabre’s no show. It’s hard to put my finger on why Myles’ matches don’t always excite the crowd, but the feigned injury went on long enough to fool everyone before a quick recovery and a great heelish finish to what must have been a tough match to put together…

Main Event – Grue & Miss Demeanor def. Bravehart & Edith Summer

This was better than it should have been – a mixed tag match is never the one you’re looking forward to, this one with three non wrestlers. Grue started off with good cowardly heel action, leading to the ladies wrestling most of the match. It was pretty hard going, until Bravehart got in, hit a double noggin knocker, then clamped on double sharpshooters with Edith. Then it got good – gWo hit the ring, heel turn from Edith, face turn from Darren Blair, then the return of LJT to a massive pop. I was almost expecting a super quick heel turn from LJT, who took ages to skelp Grue, but a belter of a finish to a better than expected Hell for Lycra.