‘Retro’ Randy Valentine defeated Sebastian Asher w/Marcus ‘The Glory’ Hunter by pinfall.
This match has been five months in the making and served as a great opener to the show. Randy was competing in his first singles match in over eight years but you would never have known he’d been away. Sebastian Asher welcomed him back to the ring by attacking him from behind before the start of the match and even Marcus ‘The Glory’ Hunter got some hits in before the bell sounded…although these had much less of an impact. Despite the ambush it was the Retro one that was able to establish control early on.
Firmly in the driver’s seat, Randy managed to nail Asher with ten punches in the corner. An attempted Stinger Splash followed but ‘God’s Gift’ was able to counter with a Zig Zag for a two count which almost brought the match to a quick end.
We then got the traditional selfie from Hunter while Asher was choking Valentine on Bret’s rope. This was followed up by the usual hijinks from Hunter on the outside while his client had the ref distracted. Sebastian Asher was in full disrespect mode by this point and slid out of the ring to slap Randy in the face and stole his headband on the way back in before delivering a picture perfect dropkick.
Speaking of perfect, Asher proved that he isn’t the only one who can go Retro as he busted out a Fisherman’s Suplex for another two count, Randy was really on the back foot at this point. However, the sheer nostalgia of the manoeuvre seemed to awaken something inside of Randy Valentine as he summoned a surge of energy form nowhere and brought himself right back into the contest with a series of big punches and a dropkick of his own followed up with a big Leg Drop. This wasn’t enough to put Asher away so Randy decided to go up top for an Elbow Drop.
Hunter was having none of it but quickly paid for his attempted interference. It was still enough of a distraction for Asher to recover, cut Randy off and hit him with a Superplex but this still wasn’t enough. As a result, Sebastian resorted to attempting to use his trusty brass knuckles but Randy was able to avoid them and send Seb soaring into Marc Hunter before pinning him with an O’Connor roll for the win.
As you might expect, this caused a bit of a temper tantrum from ‘God’s Gift’ who couldn’t comprehend the idea of losing a match and claimed to the ref it was only a two count. From what we have been seeing online it doesn’t look like this rivalry is over and this match might have re-strengthened the bond between Asher and Hunter. Nae Mercy is FCW’s next event and it would be a safe bet to expect these two to go at it again in some capacity.
Dickie Divers defeated ‘The Infamous’ Ian Ambrose by referee stoppage.
As you can tell from the outcome this contest wasn’t what it should have been. Divers decided to jump Ambrose before the bell and went right to work on attacking his left leg. This included violently wrapping it round the ring post not once but twice. Ambrose was deemed unable to continue by the referee due to his injury and Divers was awarded a very cheap victory.
Dickie Divers defeated Duke Cannon by pinfall.
‘The Natural 20’ (who at the time of writing this review is still stuck in Tayport as Nathan North left without him) was less than impressed with Divers’ antics and challenged him to an impromptu match seeing as he had denied the FCW fans of a proper match that they had spend their hard earned money to see. Divers accepted and once again tried the sneak attack at the start of the match but Duke was anticipating this and managed to avoid it before hitting string of clotheslines and Stinger Splashes to get the upper hand early on. Divers managed to come back with a big uppercut in the corner before slamming Duke down to the mat and followed up with a knee drop for a two count. A series of knee lifts followed before Duke kicked out once again and Divers was starting to get frustrated and tried to take this out on the ref by shoving him into the corner. He gave a good as he got though and shoved him right back and sent Dickie crashing onto his backside to the delight of the Tayport crowd.
By this point it was Divers on top though and he was laying into Cannon with a chops and uppercuts that echoed through the Larrick Centre. Duke was also suffering from Divers making full use of the referee’s count while Divers had him corned but as was correctly pointed out by Dickie he has until five and I will never tire of wrestlers pointing that out!
Duke was able to rally with a big boot and back elbow followed by a shotgun dropkick from the second turnbuckle to bring himself right back into the match but this was only enough for two. Although his momentum was quickly stopped by a big boot of his own from Divers. The pair continued to go back and forth. Duke hit a lovely float over DDT on Divers but couldn’t put him away. The latter’s frustration was boiling over at this point as he distracted the ref I order to deliver a low blow to Cannon. This brought Ian Ambrose back out to ringside as he was sick of seeing Divers cheat again in order to try and pick up a win. All this did, however, was allow Divers to deliver another low blow that the ref couldn’t see and this was finally enough to put the incredibly resilient Duke Cannon away for a three count and his second victory of the evening.
Ambrose could stand it no longer, rushed the ring and took his rival down with a double leg and laid into him with multiple strikes. The pair began to brawl and referees and trainees from FCW’s training school (Dundee Academy of Professional Wrestling) were sent out to break it up. Ambrose broke free and delivered a massive superkick but this did not hit his intended target and took out the referee. Commissioner Kevin Williams came out as enough was enough and something had to change. He said he had no choice to suspend both Dickie Divers and Ian Ambrose due to their actions leading to an innocent referee being knocked out.
Once again, with Nae Mercy on the horizon what does this mean for two of the biggest names in FCW show might now not even be allowed to compete over the weekend?
FCW Junior Heavyweight Championship – Spike Tierney defeated Taylor Bryden, Nathan North and Tom Atlas by pinning Atlas to win the FCW Junior Heavyweight Championship.
This match was the highlight of the night for myself as I’m sure it was for many of the FCW crowd that packed into the Larick Centre as not only were we treated to a fantastic match between four amazing wrestlers, we saw Spike Tierney earn the first Championship of his career and I couldn’t be happier for him.
Going through this match blow by blow would take too long and also take away from how a Fatal-4-Way such as this can ebb and flow and change direction at any moment. I urge you to check it out on FCW Empire when it drops on YouTube in the next few weeks.
What I will tell you about is the finish. The Champion had Tom Atlas up in a Fireman’s Carry before dropping him with a Michinoku Driver. Spike broke up the cover with an improvised Swanton Bomb to Bryden before covering Atlas for the victory and the Championship. The roof nearly came off the place and some people were even crying because Spike had scaled the mountain and climbed to the summit of the Junior Heavyweight division.
That is how much love the fans have for him and it is going to be brilliant to see Spike Tierney walk into the Ardler Complex in his hometown of Dundee as Champion on April 1st as Champion at Nae Mercy.
FCW Women’s Championship –Emily Hayden defeated Brodie Adler by submission to win the FCW Women’s Championship.
‘The Dynamite’s first defence of her Championship started with some evenly matched chain wrestling under Brodie utilised a shoulder tackle to take the Challenger down. Despite this, Emily Hayden came right back with a wrist lock and some joint manipulation. The ‘Final Girl’ then attempted to break Adler’s arm but she was able to avoid disaster and once again shoulder tackle Hayden and this time it caused her to retreat to the outside. This was all a ploy though as Brodie was suckered in and Emily took advantage by driving Adler’s leg onto the apron (the hardest part of the ring) and also used the ring skirt to incapacitate her briefly too.
The pair continued to brawl on the outside until Hayden rolled Adler back in the ring since she had to win the match in the ring for the Championship to change hands. Her chances of this were dealt a blow though as too much pandering to the crowd left her open for Brodie’s running Leg Drop and the ‘Dynamite’ made no mistake but only got a two count. After some more back and forth it was once again Adler who got the upper hand with a Samoan Drop but again Emily kicked out at two. The Champion continued on the offensive but went to the well once too often with her Leg Drop and there was no water in the pool. Hayden then continued her work on Brodie’s leg to get back on top but this was short lived as Brodie retaliated with a Stinger Splash in the corner. Adler then looked like she was possibly going for a Banzai Drop from the middle rope in order to finish the match but Hayden was able to thwart this attempt and cause Brodie to fall down to the mat.
This opening allowed the challenger to lock in a Crossface and tap out Adler to win the Championship. Adler will be furious that she lost the title in her first defence, especially since she can no longer give us daily updates of how her and the belt were getting on living together which I’m genuinely gutted is over.
For new Champion Emily Hayden it is on to Nae Mercy weekend beginning on March 31st in Perth and it will be very interesting to see who steps up to the plate to challenge her.
FCW Tag Team Championships – Red Gate defeated The Big Lads by pinfall to retainthe FCW Tag Team Championships.
I give JD Wilde all the credit in the world for attempting to match Craig Berry in a lockup and then a knife edge chop off but it was never going to end well for him. The Big Lads just have a lot more meat behind these kind of moves. A Clothesline followed by a Big Boot and a Powerslam nearly saw the titles change hands early doors but the Father of the Red Gate was able to kickout at two. He then tagged Tommy Cross into the match since things weren’t going his way and the challengers were having fun at this point such was their dominance in the early going. They even played a game of rock, paper, scissors to see which one of them would take on Cross which John Kerr won and was tagged in and instantly hit a beautiful Belly to Belly overhead Suplex and followed up with a Suicide Dive to the outside taking out both Champions in the process while the ‘Meat’ chants roared around the Larick Centre.
It was now Tommy Cross’ turn to feel the force of a chop from a Big Lad as well as everyone who was fortunate enough to be sat in the front row. Tommy eventually was able to avoid an attempted strike which cause Kerr to instead clock the ring post instead and Red Gate finally had an opening…until Tommy then did the very same thing and Kerr continued his assault. However a rake of the eyes and a Back Elbow from Cross was finally enough to get Kerr off of his feet but he kicked out at one. Tommy was now able to use a series of submissions as well as the full use of the official’s five count in order to slow the pace down and bring the Champions back into the contest. They then pressed home this advantage with what The New Day would call a Unicorn Stampede on John Kerr.
I have a feeling that they wouldn’t appreciate me calling it that though with them being a Satanic group, so let’s call it a Baphomet Stampede. And the Red Gate’s double team continued to work as they delivered a solid double Clothesline to Kerr for two. They were also doing an excellent job of cutting the ring in half to keep the Big Lads apart. Kerr was able to briefly rally when he overpowered JD Wilde and went for a Running Senton only for him to move out the way at the last second and Wilde took advantage of the opening to hit a Lionsault but Kerr was able to kick out and finally get a very fresh Craig Berry back into the ring.
Berry came in like a house on fire and began to squash the air out of both of his opponents who were prone in opposite corners. He followed this up by using Tommy as a battering ram into his tag partner before getting JD Wilde up into what looked like was going to be a Powerslam before instead popping him up into a Cutter that he barely kicked out of. It was then the Big Lad’s turn to show their double team as Berry Suplexed JD into a Powerbomb from Kerr which would have won them the titles if not for Tommy Cross breaking up the pin. Tommy then was able to dump Berry out of the ring and connected with a Rainmaker on Kerr and followed this up with a Curb Stomp. He then dragged JD Wilde’s lifeless body on top for the cover and the three count and Red Gate retain in their first defence of the titles.
This was a fantastic Tag Team match and was my first time seeing the Big Lads compete together as a team and I think I might have a new favourite tandem. They may have come up short this time but I would put good money on them one day becoming FCW Tag Team Champions. Red Gate showed a lot of toughness in order to stay in this match and come out with the win. JD Wilde will be thrilled with the work of his disciple as Tommy Cross is the reason that they are still on top of the Tag Team Division going into Nae Mercy.
FCW Heavyweight Championship – Euan G. Mackie defeated Colton Davis by pinfall to retain the FCW Heavyweight Championship.
The ‘Monarch of Ruin’ knew that in order for him to score a win over his much larger opponent he was going to have to use all of his speed, experience and cunning and that’s exactly what he did at the start of this match. He went right for Colton and got the upper hand with a series of strikes. This didn’t last long though as the first time ‘Sky High’ got his hands on Mackie he shoved him diagonally from one corner to another to highlight just how much of a size and strength advantage he had. Mackie managed to block Colton’s first attempt at a Big Boot but was unable to avoid a massive Body Slam. The second Big Boot attempt saw Colton hang his leg up over the top rope.
As you might remember from my last review of an FCW show, one of the messages that Euan G. Mackie’s Neo Paradigm is spreading is the contempt they have for the naming of moves in professional wrestling, so I will once again not attempt to draw the ire of them and respect their wishes when it comes to what any of them do in the ring. What I can say is that the FCW Champion was able to use every opening that Colton gave him to his advantage. After a vicious beatdown from Mackie the challenger eventually managed to battle back into the match and called for the Sky High but Mackie used this verbal warning to counter and get a two count. Another near fall soon followed and the Champion looked well on his way to retaining the title.
Perhaps Mackie was becoming a bit too confident as he continued to berate Colton Davis throughout the match. This came back to bite him though as he was on the receiving end of the biggest chop of the evening by far and it nearly took the Champion right out of his boots. Colton followed this up with a Clothesline and a Back Drop before attempting the Big Boot again. Mackie was able to once again avoid this but was unable to get out of a Snake Eyes into a Deep Six! This looked certain to be our third title change of the evening only for Euan to get his shoulders up at the last minute. Another Big Boot attempt and another counter by the Champion but then Colton was able to counter the counter into a Belly to Back Suplex from the top rope. Colton was then able to hit a Chokeslam from the top rop in the opposite corner but again couldn’t hit Mackie with the Big Boot to finish the match. He did manage to hit a Sit-Down Powerbomb but once again Mackie would not stay down further proving that what he lacks in size he more than makes up for in resilience.
Davis the went for another Chokeslam to seal the deal only for Mackie to counter and head to the top rope only this time it was Colton who changed things round and finally hit the Big Boot as Mackie came flying towards him. However, he wasn’t quick enough to cover the Champion who used all of his experience to roll out of the ring as he knew he wouldn’t be able to kick out. The Challenger rolled Mackie back into the ring but was distracted by Valek and Mackie’s monsterous henchman rushing out to ringside and this was the momentry lapse in concentration the Champion needed in order to expertly roll Colton up for the pin and the victory. Mackie wasn’t content with his win and set his men to assault Colton. They initially got the upper hand but ‘Sky High’ fought back and delivered his version of a Brogue Kick to send the big man packing before nearly sending Valek through the ring with a huge Chokeslam to end the evening on a more positive note for the fans.
This was a stacked card and a brilliant night of wrestling in Tayport with massive Nae Mercy implications too. It’s proof that anything can happen in FCW as well so whether they are in Tayport, Perth, Dundee or indeed anywhere else in Tayside make sure you get yourself along as you might just witness some history being made.
More Information
Next Show Dates: Nae Mercy Night 1 – Friday 31/3/2023 & Nae Mercy Night 2 – Saturday 1/4/2023
Location: The Tulloch Institute Club, Perth & The Ardler Complex, Dundee
Doors: 6.30pm
Bell time: 7pm
Tickets: fcw.eventbrite.com
🆂🆆🅽 | Scottish Wrestling Network 