Last year we reviewed Pro Wrestling Ulster Goes Insane, a night where the stars of Insane Championship Wrestling invaded Ireland. So to make this another excursion out of Scotland, we’re heading over the border. Shield Pro Wrestling are a company based in the North East of England and feature names that would be familiar to Scottish wrestling fans. Many of Premier British Wrestling’s academy talent find their way through South Shields on their journey in this wild world of professional wrestling.

Back in September, Shield Pro celebrated three years with their annual Shieldiversary event and they were kind enough to upload the show onto YouTube. Coming into watching this, bar knowing some of the Scottish talent used, I knew next to nothing about the promotion or the regular roster that competes for the company but I had three hours to find out more.

The show started with a big promotional video, with some familiar faces before the ring announcer hit a button to release some confetti to a cheering crowd.

Almost Pro Championship Number One Contendership – 15 Man Battle Royal – Nicky Starr defeated Danny Edwards, Lil’ Smash, Alex Andrews, X Jack, Hunter Jackson, Jonah Phoenix, Archon, Chris Falcon, Max Bailey, Misfit Missey, Diamond Rage, Vincent Blaze, Adam “The Freakshow” and Louis Hanlon.

Nicky Starr and Danny Edwards kicked off the battle royal with a clear favourite with Edwards showered with boos when his name appeared on the screen. A yay-boo start with Danny Edwards convinced to have another go from the crowd and was booed again which was funny.

Once everyone had entered, Hanlon and Archon had a big monster showdown as Hanlon looked to effortlessly manhandle the big masked brute. The eliminations started to come thick and fast with the final four being Edwards, Starr, Phoenix and Hanlon with the three taking out the big beast. Edwards was next to go following a springboard dropkick from Phoenix. After a back and forth, leading to an apron battle Nicky Starr knocked Phoenix off the apron to win.

A fairly typical battle royal if a bit messy, entrant comes in fresh and batters everyone but then joins the crowd, rinse and repeat. The final three were the best wrestlers in the match in many opinion, with Edwards doing his best Road Dogg impression midway through by clinging onto the bottom rope for dear life. All the wrestlers had a character and did a fairly decent job of getting that character across. There were a few juniors in this one like Max Bailey and Lil’ Smash who were just dwarfed when standing next to grown adults. ‘The Beast’ Louis Hanlon looked impressive, big, muscly and bald like a current Bill Goldberg but it looked it he came in off the street in his casual wear. His offense was a bit slow like he was casually going through the motions. There were some positives, like I said the final three were certainly deserving from what I had watched, with Nicky Starr being full of charisma and energy for the whole match which went for about 30 minutes.

Triple Threat – Victor Von Valtz defeated Joseph Biggs and Dean Ford by pinfall.

Ford and Biggs started with an alliance to take out the larger Von Valtz before going back and forth leading to a stand off. Von Valtz returned to just batter Biggs after knocking Ford out of the ring. Biggs fought back, sending Von Valtz out of the ring and hitting a big dive. Ford returned with a dive from the second rope to the outside. Ford and Von Valtz took their turn in the ring with Ford using kicks to wear down the giant Von Valtz. Ford looked to have it but Biggs broke up the pin. Ford and Biggs had another great back and forth but Von Valtz returned to break up the party. Von Valtz got caught on the top rope and found himself at the top of a Tower of Doom with Biggs powerbombing Ford as Dean Ford supersplexed Von Valtz. All three looked to gain the upper hand, Von Valtz found himself on the end of a double superkick. Biggs ducked a Black Mass roundhouse kick but as Biggs looked to finish Ford, Von Valtz returned to the ring and hit Biggs with a lovely Death Valley Driver.

A fantastic triple threat. The portions with Dean Ford and Joseph Biggs were stunning while Victor Von Valtz really brought it. I loved that Von Valtz is all in for this big lurch, monster, character. His bass groans when being punched were just a small detail that added a lot. and his slight twist at the end of his Death Valley Driver was so smooth. It was a highly entertaining match.

Angel Hayze and Rosie Nyte had a verbal spar backstage. Both full of fire with Hayze really brought the intensity.

Rev defeated Chase Striker by submission.

Striker almost ended it early with a cutter attempt but Rev escaped the ring. The match went to the outtside with Rev ramming Striker shoulder first into the ring post. Rev continued the attack on the arm of Striker and dominated his opponent. Striker was able to hit a TKO by Rev got his hand on the bottom rope to break the pin. Rev hit an Uranage and locked in an Anaconda Vice for the tap out. Following the win, Rev locked it back in again but with a chain until Jonah Phoenix made the save with a chair. Just as it looked all fine and dandy, Phoenix attacked Striker with the chair and a follow up DDT before wedging Striker’s wrist in the chair and stamping on it.

Quite enjoyed Rev but I found Chase Striker was half baked in his offense. It’s fine to do the moves but they need have a little bit of crispness, some intensity and Striker just didn’t put any of that into his offense. It was a long beat down, quick fire back but Rev was quickly victorious. I enjoyed the post match beat down, mainly as I didn’t enjoy watching Chase Striker.

Almost Pro Tag Team Champions, The Weird and Wonderful team of Rabbit and Fracture were out next. The rambled on the microphone but I couldn’t understand the majority of what was being said. Rabbit was eccentric while Fracture did not look comfortable with a microphone in his hand. Eventually they revealed a championship belt from a plastic bag, the Shield Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship. He called out Domonic Davenport, the Almost Pro Champion, giving him the choice to vacate the Almost Pro Championship to fight for the Shield Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship in a ladder match. After a little bit of thought, Davenport vacated the Almost Pro Championship, Rabbit announced that he would face Assassin and Kid Fite in a triple threat ladder match in the main event. Rabbit went on to announce that a new Almost Pro Champion would be crowned between Yorkshire Dale and Oliver Barrett.

Almost Pro Championship – Oliver Barrett defeated Yorkshire Dale by to win the Almost Pro Championship.

Yorkshire Dale almost had it won in the first minute with a running knee but Barrett kicked out as the match sped up in the early going. Dale was on the attack early on but Barrett found a brief advantage on the outside before he was launched by Dale into the crowd, who thankfully has moved out of the way so Barrett landed on empty chairs. Back in the ring, Barrett positioned Dale onto the second rope and connected with a double foot stomp which looked great. Barrett found himself crotched in the corner and Yorkshire Dale hit a backcracker that couldn’t finish the job. Barrett hit a high cannonball in the corner that saw both men busted open from a knock of heads. Dale went for a running knee but Barrett pulled the referee in the way. Dale hit a rope assisted neckbreaker but there was no referee to make the count, Barrett grabbed the Almost Pro Championship and hit Dale in the face but it only got a two from the replacement referee, a follow up rolling fireman’s carry could only score another two. Dale hit a Yorkshire Destroyer but Barrett rolled to the outside. Dale looked to finish it with the Last Straw (Killswitch) but Barrett dropped down and rolled up Dale to win.

A very fun match, I wasn’t expecting a lot when you look at them on the surface. Yorkshire Dale looked like he should be a comedy character but no, he was a very good wrestler. Oliver Barrett was super easy to dislike but only as a character as his in-ring efforts were really good. They really ramped up the emotion in the final stretch for a big finish.

Almost Pro Tag Team Championships – Two Out Of Three Falls – Tri-Bad (Paddy Flannagan & Haydon Tempest) defeated The Weird And Wonderful (Rabbit & Fracture) by two falls to one to win the Almost Pro Tag Team Championships.

Quick start with Fracture diving onto Tri-Bad to get things started. They brawled on the outside but once Fracture and Flannagan made it back into the ring Fracture hit a stunner to make it 1-0 to the champions.

The second fall started a bit slower with Fracture tying up Paddy Flannagan before a straight punch from Flannagan turned the tide. Fracture replied in kind with a hard slap to the face of Flannagan. Rabbit and Tempest tagged in, an early flash by Rabbit was soon stopped by the behemoth Haydon Tempest as Tri-Bad cut off the ring to target Rabbit by taking turns to punish him. Rabbit avoided a top rope something from Tempest but Flannagan knocked Fracture off the apron to stop the tag. Rabbit fired up but landed hard of his neck from a moonsault, he tagged in Fracture who increased the tempo. Fracture hit a stunner then a running Blockbuster to Flannagan but Tempest stopped the count which started more chaos. Flannagan powerbombed Rabbit onto Fracture’s back then Tri-Bad hit two big knees to Rabbit to take the second fall.

Third fall began with a brawl, taking a trip to the outside. Rabbit dived off the stage onto everyone involved in the match, including the referee. Rev entered to distract Fracture and Rabbit which allowed Victor Von Voltz and Archon to come from behind and attack the duo. A double chokeslam onto Rabbit could only get a two, a brief fightback ended with a powerslam-running knee combo from Tri-Bad.

As much as I thought Fracture was poor on the microphone earlier, his in-ring work was fantastic, I’d say the best of the four. The big lads of Tri-Bad did big lad things, it wasn’t pretty but it was effective. Rabbit was fine but that moonsault was scary.

Almost Pro Women’s Championship – Rosie Nyte defeated Angel Hayze by pinfall to win the Almost Pro Women’s Championship.

Angel Hayze entered with a championship swagger with the majority of the crowd behind Nyte. Rosie Nyte tried to sneak a win early on with a quick pin but Hayze was having none of it. Nyte increased the speed with quick counters and a spinning headscissors. Angel increased the viciousness, torturing her against the ring post then followed up with stiff stomps. The match headed to the outside with Hayze using a Rosie Nyte promo picture from the merch stand to slap Nyte in the face. Hayze started to show some frustration with several quick pins before both grabbed the hair of the other to take both down. Nyte fired up with a nip up, a step up senton could only garner a two count on the champion. Hayze hit a superkick and fisherman’s suplex but Nyte kicked out again.

Hayze grabbed her Almost Pro Women’s Championship and set up using it but the referee grabbed the belt which gave Rosie Nyte time to recover, an Edge-O-Matic later saw Nyte pick up the win and the title.

Angel Hayze is something special, I’ve watched several matches of hers lately and she knocks it out of the park each and every time. This is the first time I’ve seen her as the villain and again she’s outstanding. Rosie Nyte is no slouch though and showed plenty of fire with some great work in the ring. This was a great match.

Shield Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship – Three Way Ladder Match – Kid Fite defeated Assassin and Domonic Davenport to win the Shield Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Championship.

Assassin and Fite sent Davenport out of the ring early but he returned with a ladder to cause some carnage, ramming Fite face first into it. He tried the same for Assassin who hit the breaks and sent Davenport face first into the ladder. Assassin brought a chair in but found himself landing back first on the chair, which was lying on top of the folded ladder. Assassin threw Fite with a Fallaway Slam while the later was on the ropes which made a nasty crunch. Davenport and Assassin duked it out but an Assassin dive into the ring was met with a chair to the face courtesy of Domonic Davenport.

Davenport brought a table into the equation, setting it up in the ring but an attempted superplex attempt onto Kid Fite saw Fite slip out of it and powerbombed Davenport through it. All three continued to fight it out. Kid Fite was taken out, Assassin and Davenport made their way up the ladder as the lights went out and a video appeared on the screen.

Max Heat arrived to push both off the ladder, cracking Assassin on the head with the chair. Fite put the chair into the corner and sent Davenport through it head first before scaling the ladder to win the title.

Chaos. Absolute chaos. Very little downtime. All three took some hard falls in this and certainly made use of the ladder along with the rest of the weapons involved. A very good main event.

For my first time watching Shield Pro Wrestling, I found myself really enjoying the event with plenty of new wrestlers I want to see more of like Victor Von Valtz, Joseph Biggs and Jonah Pheonix. It was great to see Scotland represented well with Danny Edwards, Dean Ford, Angel Hayze, Rosie Nyte and, of course, Kid Fite putting in a fantastic showing in their respective matches. The triple threat was my personal favourite match of the night with the Almost Pro Women’s Championship match not far behind. It won’t be the last time I take a look at Shield Pro Wrestling.