On Friday evening, Pro Wrestling Innovation head to the Larkhall Community Centre for another action-packed show as they continue their already outstanding Young Lions Tournament. The quarterfinal matches saw four fantastic contests, but it also brought two major points throughout – Hank Harrison was forced to pull out of the tournament due to injury, allowing both Darren Vice and Alex Parker (who had already been eliminated, Parker was already a replacement in the first place for an injured Logan Smith) to have a second crack in the tournament, while Danny Edwards united with Dean Ford and Matt Tyson to officially form Big Money Enterprises.
Before the semifinals kick-off, let’s take a look at the four men left in the field, and see who could go on to win the whole tournament!
Danny Edwards
Quarterfinals: def. Alex Parker by Pinfall
Semifinals: vs John Trettan
Without a doubt, Danny Edwards has the numbers advantage coming into the semifinals of the Young Lions Tournament. At Pro Wrestling Innovation’s second show in September, Edwards had a terrific encounter with Alex Parker in the opening round of the tournament, with ‘The Weekend Anarchist’ stepping in for Logan Smith following Smith suffering a leg injury. Following his victory in the bout, ‘The Proof of Perfection’ offered his hand to Parker, only for Matt Tyson and his client Dean Ford to ambush Alex. Just as it looked like Edwards was coming to save the youngster, he instead booted him below the belt, signifying his allegiance to Big Money Enterprises.
With Tyson and Ford no doubt scheduled to be in Edwards’ corner on Friday evening, it’ll be a tough night for his second round opponent, John Trettan.
John Trettan
Quarterfinals: def. Darren Vice by Pinfall
Semifinals: vs Danny Edwards
While Danny Edwards may have the numbers game in this one, he doesn’t have what John Trettan possesses – a wide array of strikes ready to be dished out at any given moment. He saw off the challenge of ‘Limited Edition’ Darren Vice this past September to move onto the semifinal round, which was a tough match to overcome for both competitors. While I’ve not seen as much of Trettan’s work as I would’ve liked, I’ve since been informed by PWI head honcho Krieger that John reminds Kid Fite of Noam Dar (be sure check out my interview with Krieger, cheap plug etc.).
Those are some big shoes to fill for John Trettan, but if he’s able to swing out a roundhouse kick here and a back elbow there, then he should have no problem advancing to the finals.
Daz Black
Quarterfinals: def. Alex Parker and Darren Vice by Pinfall
Semifinals: vs Hal Rayner
Perhaps the favourite to win the Young Lions Tournament is Daz Black. Without any shadow of a doubt, he’ll be one of the biggest stars to ever come from Scottish wrestling in a few years time (or by the end of 2020, he’s already rising at an incredibly fast rate). ‘The Orbit Breaker’ had the toughest task of the quarterfinals as he had to square off with not one, but two opponents as Alex Parker and Darren Vice were both given a second chance following an injury ruling out Hank Harrison. Despite the disadvantage, Black got the job done, proving to everyone once again just how good he truly is.
Daz already has some huge wins under his belt, including against current ICW World Heavyweight Champion, Stevie Xavier. A victory against a man the size of Hal Rayner would only boost him even higher up those rankings.
Hal Rayner
Quarterfinals: def. Brian Frank by Pinfall
Semifinals: vs Daz Black
‘The Bulldozer’ himself. The big man. The master of the Big Boy Senton. Big. Hal Rayner is the biggest man in the Young Lions Tournament, therefore he’s the biggest threat to the other three remaining entrants, particularly in the case of Daz Black. Rayner wandered into Larkhall at the end of November to defeat Brian Frank, albeit with the assistance of Davey Blaze. As far as I’m aware, it’s not been made entirely clear if ‘The Scottish Savage’ has officially aligned himself with Hal, or if he just wanted to cost Frank the tournament. Nonetheless, Hal Rayner advanced either way.
Considering all the talk has been on Daz Black for a considerable amount of time now, it’s possible people are forgetting about ‘The Bulldozer’. To put it simply – don’t. Unless you want to get flattened with a Big Boy Senton. Then say whatever you want.
Who would you like to see advance to the finals of the Young Lions Tournament?
Limited tickets to the show are still available courtesy of Ringside World, priced at £15 for the front row and £12 for adults. The full card is as follows;
- Kid Fite vs Alex Parker
- Liam Thomson vs Dylan Angel
- Lucha DS vs Darren Vice
- Davey Blaze & TJ Rage vs Just Uz (BT Gunn & Stevie Xavier)
- Young Lions Tournament – Semifinals: Danny Edwards vs John Trettan
- Young Lions Tournament – Semifinals: Daz Black vs Hal Rayner
- Bonus match from the PBW Academy
SCOTTISH WRESTLING NETWORK | SWN 