As a wee Friday night treat, Glasgow Pro Wrestling Asylum live streamed their latest ‘Five Pound Wrestling’ event from the Asylum in Glasgow

Austin Brookes defeated Xero by pinfall.

Brookes wasn’t too phased by the creepiness of the ghoul Xero, taking it straight to the inhuman with forearms and kicks. The maniac soon got a hold of Brookes and stalked his prey, weathering the fight backs and punishing ‘The Pride and Joy’.

Austin got Xero down with a dropkick but Xero popped up to send Brookes back peddling before returning to the beat down. Brookes continued to show spirit, managing to roll through into a Sunset Flip attempt and avoid Xero swinging a fist to counter.

Xero managed to get Brookes over his knee for a neck breaker but it could only gather a two count that caused some befuddlement to the walker. The battle continued to the turnbuckle, Brookes managed to ward off his foe before planting Xero out with a Gory Bomb for the win.

A fine opener. My biggest criticism of Xero for a while was a lack of commitment to character and in the time between seeing him last he has certainly grown to embrace a more chaotic and zombie-like demeanour, the breathy gasps and growls added a lot to the whole package. Austin Brookes continues to look comfortable being a fiery spark of joy to watch wrestling.

Lewis Girvan defeated Jack Ripley by pinfall.

Big hoss Girvan wasn’t for being dragged into the risky shenanigans of Jack Ripley despite the insistence of the crowd in The Asylum. Ripley threw his arse, and other parts of his body to rock Lewis early on, and all while sporting his sunglasses.

The visual impairment may’ve been the reason for the missing dive to the outside with Girvan making Ripley pay with a release suplex onto the apron, rolling back in to stop the glasses and slow down the pace.

Ripley continued his attempts to get some speed injected into the mad, dragging Lewis down to the mat with a Sling Blade, with a subsequent headscissor leading to Girvan being in prime position for a Bronco Buster.

An enziguri from Girvan penetrated the mullet of Jack Ripley to send him into the corner to meet a running knee to the face but a twisting flatliner couldn’t finish Ripley off. Jack managed to connect his rump to the face of Girvan to set him up nicely for a 450 Splash but it was dodged as it wasn’t a happy ending for Jack Ripley, walking into a cutter and looking up to the lights.

This was an enjoyable encounter. The fun and frolics of Jack Ripley coupled with the all business Lewis Girvan created a nice bit of chemistry.

Ben Rodgers defeated Dylan Thorn by pinfall.

It was an even start with both men trying to get the early advantage from the tie up. A quick forearm gave Thorn a little extra to find some space before grounding Rodgers with a gator roll that required the Panther to take a moment to reset.

A test of strength eventually lead to nice monkey flip from Rodgers to Dylan Thorn as the momentum continued to swing all over the place. Thorn tried to ground Rodgers down to stop him building any head of steam. Rodgers powered out, locking in a leg trap single leg Boston Crab but Dylan had the ware with all to quickly grab the bottom rope.

The match continued at a stalemate with both goading the other to hit harder, challenging them to step up a level. The crowd fell to the side of Ben Rodgers but there was still a vocal section that were for Thorn.

Thorn ran into a big spinebuster but managed to avoid the top rope something attempt from Rodgers. A Full Nelson Slam couldn’t put Rodgers away but his attempt at a Crown of Thorns ultimately led to Rodgers planting Thorn with an Oklahoma Slam for the win.

The final slam was a little flat but the match was a showcase of both maximising their in-ring strengths. Dylan Thorn is growing as a wrestler, he’s got a few years under his belt now but seems to be flying under the radar, whether that is by his own design or he is simply not being seen. It would be great to see Dylan in more places.

Ben Rodgers is clearly the next big thing when it comes to the GPWA prospects, an outstanding talent, shows personality. There might be some things that need nurtured and tweaked before he is a main event new era ICW guy but there isn’t much to be done to be marketed as a legitimate and believable title threat.

Colton Davis defeated Niko Astro by pinfall.

Astro showed plenty fire, not intimidated by the tall nature of his task. Managing to dodge a boot from Davis to have the big man tangled in the ropes to have his giblets jangled. Davis didn’t take too kindly to the disrespect, landing that big boot and a stinging chop to wipe the smile off the face of Niko Astro.

Niko wasn’t to be deterred as he tried to Irish Whip Davis out of the corner, only to be met by a lariat. It wasn’t long before Colton drove Astro to the mat with a chokeslam for the three count.

A quick encounter, Niko left an impression and I would like to see what more the lad has but Colton was dominant in brisk fashion.

Denise defeated Natasha Swann by pinfall.

It was a Denise match so you had to expect some silliness, she fell on the ropes during a yay-boo crowd exchange with Natasha Swann being the firm fan favourite as she confidently interacted with the audience.

Swann didn’t fall for the fake handshake trick, grabbing the leg of Denise before countering the attempts at offense from her more experienced opponent. Denise eventually had to use some more underhanded tactics, grabbing the hair of Swann to pull her to the mat and take control.

Despite the best attempts from Denise, Swann continued to come back, swinging forearms before sending Denise flying into the corner with a hurricuranna. A missed dive from Denise following by a running bulldog caught a near fall for Natasha Swann, as did the straight jacket neck breaker which lead Denise to try and take a time out on the apron but it was all a ruse. A quick hang up on the top rope and roll up sealed the deal for Denise.

For a first outing Natasha Swann showed confidence beyond her experience. She was comfortable letting the crowd be involved in her debut, with no noticeable shakes, or wobbles, and the in-ring was very good. There’s always a level of expectation when Denise is about, she might not have the best matches from a technical nerdy stand point but her character is certainly big and bold. This was a lot of fun.

Sean Summers defeated Fraser Girvan by pinfall.

A baldy chant filled The Asylum which seemingly rattled Fraser, allowing himself to be sent this way and that by Summers, rolling to the outside. The first attempt of a dive to the outside from Summers was thwarted but second time was the charm.

There was a slip on the ropes that put Summers off balance to allow Girvan to pounce, throwing Sean overhead before slapping about his opponent with glee. Sean survived the pitbull mauling, managing to roll out of a fireman’s carry for a sunset flip but got up to be leathered with a lariat for another two count.

A shotgun dropkick finally gave Summers a chance to build the momentum meter as he strung move after move to Fraser but it wasn’t enough to keep him down. Fraser flung himself at Summers with a headbutt but that still couldn’t do the job. A Tiger Bomb was countered with a hurricurana, with a Rough Ryder only getting Sean another near fall.

Lewis Girvan appeared with a chair for a closer look, but his distraction was The Girvan’s undoing as he was knocked off the apron, with Summers dodging a chair wielding Fraser and with the most dangerous move in professional wrestling, the roll up, Sean Summers got the shock main event victory. Celebrating as The Girvans fell over themselves in rage.

There’s something very organic about the love for Sean Summers, maybe it’s the excellent taste in entrance music (Thunderbirds Are Go by Busted), the moniker of ‘The Boy Wonder’ sparking some Robin nostalgia, or his gear looking like a tribute to Scott Summers aka Cyclops from the X-Men. It’s all striking and conjures all these happy thoughts and then you have Sean being the happy-go-lucky underdog against these angry, and often bigger, villains. Given time there could be something very special with Sean Summers on the wider landscape of Scottish wrestling.

Fraser continues to be one of my favourite wrestlers to watch, I had feared of maybe a more calm and concentrated approach would come from the ol’ fractured skull injury but he still threw himself forward with reckless abandon.

Overall this was a blast to watch. There were plenty feel good moments, with the debuts smashing it and not letting nerves of live streaming outwardly hinder their expressiveness. I would still love a little bit of live commentary on these GPWA streams but that’s not something that affects my thoughts on what was an easy to watch showcase of young talent coming through the ranks at the Glasgow Pro Wrestling Asylum.

The show is available on YouTube: