You’d think I’d be fed up of speaking about this show now between podcasts, and more podcasts, but no no my friend I want to wax lyrical using this medium.

This was my second visit to The Station Hotel in Aberdeen, both times for the wrestling, low ceiling, but high expections. January saw the moments that kicked off the Aberdeen Anarchy season with the first confrontation between Damien and Ronan King, and setting the path for Mikkey Vago to strike out on his own fully, along with Zach Dynamite capturing the Tri-Counties Championship for the third time.

As far as a new venue goes, it’s quickly becoming historic for big shifts in momentum which in turn leads to even bigger things.

Sure it has a lowered ring, which will go two for two in September when WrestleZone head to Inverurie, but I can get passed that ick because the entertainment provided is top quality.

VIP Ticket Holder Match – The Outfit (Ted O’Keefe, Murphy, & Dino) defeated Oliver Green, Tommy Raiden, & Air Myles by pinfall.

To be honest, this was 85% The Outfit domination with quick tags and cohesion, Air Myles got a flurry of offence in, Oliver Green and Tommy Raiden tried their best to get involved but Dino and Murphy were quick to muscle them around while Ted O’Keefe barked orders while getting his own digs in.

It wasn’t long before Raiden was planted with a double chokeslam/powerbomb triple team which looked great. Painful, but great.

This was a proper showcase for The Outfit, they’d been relegated to lackeys for a little bit, with William and Captain Alan, or add ons like at Aberdeen Anarchy in the ladder match, and with The Foundation of the Future kicking about it was difficult to slot them into the tag team picture, that problem was solved later on as I tease you to read on.

The return of Ted O’Keefe really rounded off the team, the promo side wasn’t a strong suit for Dino or Murphy so Ted offers the bulletproof cockiness to say anything and trash talk that can only be provided by two brutes standing by his side. The crowd would be swayed in either direction depending on the target of the verbal tirade.

WrestleZone Tag Team Championships – The Foundation of the Future (Ryan Riley & Bruiser Brad Evans) defeated Connor Molloy & Bingo Ballance by pinfall to retain the WrestleZone Tag Team Championships.

Onto the main show and once again it acted as a showcase, this time for The Foundation of the Future who ran through Connor and Bingo.

That’s not to say there wasn’t moments of a possible title change but once the big beefy boys started rolling there was no stopping Riley and Evans from retaining. Their tandem offense is sublime like the front suplex/powerslam combo being a thing of beauty (Edit: Ryan Riley has informed us it is called the Peep Peep’s Special, Bruiser Brad Evans provided a reference photo here). They eventually ended up getting the pin with their devastating elevated reverse DDT that has put away near every team in WrestleZone.

Bruiser Brad and Ryan, I don’t think I really properly appreciated tag team wrestling until I saw these two go to work. I’ve mentioned numerous times about the little things, sure they take some shortcuts but they generally operate within the “rulebook” and don’t do anything illegal in terms of what would get them disqualified, just taking advantage of situations and using underhanded, possibly dirty, tactics like tripping opponents off the apron, brawling ringside. The chaos that Evans brings compliments the tactical Riley to perfection.

You rarely see them resort to using a title belt shot, or low blows, or eye pokes, they just make sure that they always maintain an advantage. A fantastic tag team, truly.

It was great to see Bingo Ballance back in WrestleZone, the fact that he could lift Evans and Riley was impressive in itself as he became the de facto powerhouse of his team. Connor was no slouch as he became a bit of a punchbag for The Foundation, but that didn’t stop the crowd willing him on to fight back. A never ending source of energy but it wasn’t enough to get passed his white whales being The Foundation of the Future.

After the match Riley starting listing the teams they’ve defeated and that the landscape of the WrestleZone tag team division not being a challenge to them. Mentioning Umar and Mr WrestleZone, The Fair City Saints, Dawkins and Tucker, before talking about The Outfit.

The trio made their way out to the ring but Evans and Riley were quick to roll out and head to the back. Oh my.

Captain Alan Sterling defeated Deacon Matthews by pinfall.

This was, something. We knew coming in that they wasn’t going to be a mat classic. Pure silliness I think was the expectation and that’s exactly what we got.

The Cult of Positivity lived up to the name as Matthews tried to motivate Captain Alan to get out of a wrist lock and do a kip up which was met by plenty of laughs. Alan declared that he had never been positive about anything but apparently Matthews had seen “those test results” (one for the adults there).

There was a brief dance off portion that saw Deacon bust some moves but Captain Alan’s shenanigans started to put a dampener on the party with Matthews sending him to Funky Town.

Sterling finally planted Matthews with a hammerlock DDT to pick up the win.

This was almost a shock with the result when you think of it being Deacon’s full debut after his Regal Rumble appearance. Captain Alan may be a buffoon but he’s gathering up wins. Yes, not always in the cleanest of fashions but there’s no way to strategise against stupid.

I knew we were in for a good night when Alan took off his captains hat to put on his battle hat. He also mocked Matthews’ gear having faces all over it while he himself was wearing a shirt with his own face all over it. The hypocrisy of Captain Alan is beautiful as he fully commits to the delusion. It’s so easy to both laugh and boo Sterling as he’s all in.

Matthews got a good reaction from the crowd who may’ve only known him from that Regal Rumble appearance, there was plenty of smiley face merchandise around the hall from what I saw. A solid addition to the roster. I would love to see Matthews and Bryan Tucker get into it. Oh man, give Mr Umar a break from Mr WrestleZone for a night and put him into the care of Deacon. The Cult of Positivity and The Cult of Arse-itivity.

Pay me later.

There was a mild spoiler after the dance off portion that was to Deacon’s entrance music with Captain Alan’s tron playing for a second. The result was less of a shock at that point but it didn’t stop me enjoying the bout any less.

Blindfold Match – Damien defeated Ronan King by pinfall.

For the first half main event we were treated to a grudge match. There seemed to be some tech issues with Damien coming out to no music, which if anything enhanced the dark place he had gone to since getting STABBED IN THE EYE by Ronan King at Aberdeen Anarchy.

You could call him Damen as he had one less eye. I’m sorry. I’m not really, but I’ve nowhere else to put that slice of fried gold.

Once the blindfolds were put on we were treated to one of the best matches of this genre you’ll ever witness, which is ironic because King and Damien couldn’t witness each oth… you know, never mind.

The crowd helped Damien with directions while King was having to do it all on his own, luckily he found himself in the fortuitous position of the referee being knocked down and somehow King’s mask was removed. It’s a mystery I know!

King laid into Damien with full use of his sight before reapplying the mask. Damien kicked out and was able to smash King with a codebreaker for the win.

The new thing on the interweb is using the phrase “art” to describe wrestling but this was art. Between the fan interaction to assist Damien, to him using stamps to confuse King, which saw Ronan dive with reckless abandon for Frog Splashes, dropkicks, and finding himself colliding with the canvas, it really put into perspective the stages each were at. Damien playing it cool and using his veteran instincts to manipulate King’s ring awareness with sound, whereas Ronan just threw himself into the high risk district through the sheer cockiness of thinking he knew best in the situation.

It certainly made up for Aberdeen Anarchy that was marred by injury.

After his victory, Damien found himself half watching Captain Alan Sterling appear on the screen to declare that Damien was a pirate and that Alan wouldn’t stand for having a pirate in WrestleZone and challenged him to a match at Halloween Hijinks.

A preposterous accusation that Damien was clearly exasperated by, he’s had to deal with Sterling forever now, either as an opponent or as part of Sterling Oil, so to have a part of his history rear it’s sailor hat wearing head makes for an interesting development. I hope Damien dresses accordingly for the Halloween theme.

I hope this isn’t the final chapter for Ronan and Damien though, as I still want to see Damien’s daughter get a couple punches in on the man that made her cry at Aberdeen Anarchy.

WrestleZone Tri-Counties Championship – Caleb Valhalla defeated Zach Dynamite by pinfall to WIN the WrestleZone Tri-Counties Championship.

I told you. I told you this would steal the show. Caleb Valhalla and Zach Dynamite made The Station Hotel it’s bitch in this match.

The battle, actually, the war that took place saw some jaw dropping and bone crunching moments. Including a Zach Dynamite Snap Dragon Suplex to send Valhalla crashing neck first onto the wooden floor on the outside, less than a metre away from my feet.

Valhalla speared Dynamite off the apron to the floor, with the lower setting of the ring being the only thing between life or death as something like that always has a slim margin of error.

Dynamite had an answer for the Helride, countering it into an armbar then cross face as the crowd willed Caleb to escape. Valhalla endured a Killshot, he took everything that Zach threw at him and kept coming back for more.

Eventually Dynamite had to call upon Evans and Riley to return but they were soon followed by Dino and Murphy. During the brawl at ringside Dynamite tried to use the Tri-Counties title but was thwarted by Ted O’Keefe which allowed Valhalla to hit a side splitting spear before hoisting the broken body of Zach Dynamite for a Helride and capture the gold with the three count.

A wild melee of a match which is comfortably added to Zach Dynamite’s ever extending match of the night contenders. It was almost poetic that his third reign with the Tri-Counties Championship would start and end at The Station Hotel.

I know Caleb has been fortunate enough to hold gold elsewhere, but to see him win a title in the promotion that started his wrestling journey, that has seen a crowd organically take to him, was wonderful.

From starting as Alan Sterling’s muscle to seeing him finally break away following stand out performances with Crusher Craib being among them, there was a little muddle with finally getting some revenge on Alan but once that was put to bed, winning the Regal Rumble, main eventing Aberdeen Anarchy, falling just short, it was satisfying to see him lift a belt in one of the best matches I’ve had the pleasure to see with my own two eyes.

The Station Hotel holds a little bit of magic for Caleb it seems with his match against Connor Molloy in January in the same venue being an absolute show stealer in itself.

There’s very few right now that can hold a candle to Zach Dynamite, who’s putting in fantastic matches wherever he goes. One of the most underrated wrestlers in the country right now and I’m glad that more places are starting to find out why he is dubbed “The Aberdonian Ace”.

Two on One Handicap Match – Bryan Tucker w/Rhys Dawkins defeated Umar Mohammed & Mr WrestleZone by pinfall.

And now for something completely different…

Following one of the best matches in WrestleZone history, we got the shenanigan filled handicap match.

To try and dictate what happened and how we got there, I just can’t, but what I will say this possibly had the funniest moment of the night when Bryan Tucker successfully removed the mask of Mr WrestleZone… who was wearing a second mask underneath it.

I’m still not entirely sure who had the handicap with Umar Mohammed trying to get Mr WrestleZone to focus with the task at hand whilst simultaneously trying to battle Bryan Tucker and avoid the distractions from Rhys Dawkins.

Eventually Tucker and Mr WrestleZone found themselves at opposite corners, on the top rope and wedged between the top turnbuckle and the low ceiling. Yep, that happened.

After they were both freed from the consequence of their own actions, Mr WrestleZone chased Dawkins to the back which allowed enough of a distraction for Tucker to strike Umar with that damn book of Shakespeare, are we sure it’s just a book and there’s not a hole bored in middle with a brick in its place? Get the lie detector back out! There’s a decoy book!

As Mr WrestleZone returned he was assaulted by Dawkins who struck Mr WrestleZone with a cast covered forearm to the back of the head to lay out the masked man.

A lovely slice of fun to provide a palette cleanser following a hard hitting bout before it. My only disappointment being that Tucker and Dawkins have dropped their bye bye Scotty theme in favour of The Bill tv theme but then again they are the wrestling police now.

My wild new conspiracy theory is we are so close to Mr Umar getting fed up of Mr WrestleZone and they’ll be that heartbreaking moment where Mr WrestleZone looks up to see Umar standing over him following a beat down and asking why. Yes, I clearly don’t believe in friendship. Why should they be happy?!?

Let’s be honest, Mr WrestleZone has brought Umar Mohammed nothing but trouble, and I’m afraid that Umar will soon snap.

Undisputed WrestleZone Championship – Lost Boy Aspen defeated Mikkey Vago by pinfall to retain the Undisputed WrestleZone Championship.

Just two lads battering each other to end the night. Goading the other with the offer of a free punch, scrapping on the outside, a hard hitting match. The interesting part was the crowd as it was a fairly solid 30-70 split in favour of “The Heavy Metal Hooligan”.

As the match ramped up, so did the jeopardy, Aspen hit a piledriver on the apron which almost wrote off the match but Vago got back into the ring only to eat two more piledrivers to finally stay down for the three count.

However, Vago got his foot on the bottom rope which was missed by Dennis Law (you thought you escaped this review Dennis, I held on and waited until the end to get you!). Mikey Innes arrived to tell Dennis about it, funny that we didn’t see this sort of referee assistance during the last match when an illegal object was used but I digress…

Eventually Mr P came to ringside to announce there would be a rematch at Halloween Hijinks to settle it.

There was no doubt that Vago did everything he could to survive the match, that it took three piledrivers to finally keep him down for pinfall was a gutsy performance in of itself. Aspen even seemed impressed that Vago kept coming back for more but on that night, the bell rang and The Lost Boy was victorious.

That crowd reaction though was curious. The last two opponents that Aspen has come up against now have been heavy fan favourites that the crowd has invested in their journey from the bottom to the main event. He has had to put them down in order to continue being champion but in turn it seems to have lead a portion of the audience resenting Aspen for doing so.

I can genuinely see Connor Molloy cashing in his shot at the Undisputed WrestleZone Championship against Aspen, and watch the crowd slowly find themselves uncomfortably watching Molloy be dismantled by The Lost Boy. He didn’t ask to be cheered, he returned to WrestleZone with a mission, the crowd came for the ride, sure a couple fist bumps here and there but Aspen didn’t change anything to endear himself to the WrestleZone audience.

He made history becoming the first, and only, grand slam winner in WrestleZone history. It wasn’t without setbacks, wasn’t without injury, wasn’t without punishing his body to get to that stage. Now he has finally done that, which was a night where he earned a standing ovation, the crowd are starting to turn to new heroes, looking for the next person to make their way to the top.

The problem is, Aspen is the final boss now and it took him 10 years to make it to that position which won’t be relinquished without a fight.

Where this goes next, we’ll just have to see at Halloween Hijinks.

Another fantastic night of wrestling provided by WrestleZone, a joy to attend and witness in person. A special mention to Mr P for quietly moving the cameraman to the side of the ring that had no fans as he spent the first couple matches blocking the front row on my side of the ring. Hazards of having the tallest guy managing the handheld camera I suppose.

For a planned quick write up of the show, it turned out that I had a lot to say. A sold out crowd, a loud night with a feel good title change, some interesting developments, and I cheered The Outfit which I didn’t have on my WrestleZone bingo (Ballance) card.

Roll on Inverurie on September 9th!