Recently World Wide Wrestling League returned to my back garden, 5 minutes from my front door. It was a hell of a commute, there were like… three roundabouts. Anyway, I was on backstage running about duties so missed a good portion of the event, but now it’s available on Demand PROGRESS Plus to relive in all its glory.

I’ll add some little bits and pieces as we go through that may not have made it to air, the pre-show match was a W3L Breakout Championship match between The Tormentor and Marc Munro that saw The Tormentor retain.

Before the main part of the show began, Kayleigh hyped up the crowd but was interrupted by Chris Renfrew and Taylor Bryden brawling into the New Elgin Hall that had to be separated by the crew and wrestlers. Tour manager Claire was quick to bump the match up the card to right then instead with no disqualification rules added.

No Disqualification Match – Chris Renfrew defeated Taylor Bryden by pinfall.

Bryden went straight after Renfrew as they brawled up to the stage, they headed to the back and returned with a tv screen. Chris produced more plunder, a baking tray, a guitar hero controller, metal bin, and even a hockey stick to crack over any part of Taylor Bryden that moved.

Taylor avoided a bin to the head, kicking out the ankle of Renfrew and planting him head first onto the metal to get back into the hunt. A bin assisted Helluva Kick could only keep Renfrew down to two who came back with a slap to rattle the former two time W3L Heavyweight Champion.

Chris Renfrew brought out a wooden door, propping up into the corner. Bryden tried to avoid it, but Renfrew got his opponent up on his shoulders for a running Death Valley Driver through the door for the nearest of near falls.

An Alabama Slam laid Renfrew out on the canvas to allow time to retrieve a steel ladder from under the ring, as he set up his construction Bryden turned around into a Stunner for a two count. Renfrew tried to whip Bryden into the ladder but it was reversed, sending Renfrew into the ladder to fold the ladder around the body of Chris Renfrew.

Chair shot after chair shot from Taylor Bryden left Renfrew at his mercy. Bryden retrieved the television from the stage and wedged it into the turnbuckle but before Taylor could do any more damage he was hit with another Stunner. Renfrew grabbed the screen and placed it in the middle of the ring to spike Taylor Bryden with a double arm piledriver on top of it to collect the victory.

Crew arrived to check on Bryden, as he was supported back to his feet he pushed away the help to walk to the back on his own steam which was unaired. The ring was cleared of the debris for the next match.

That was a bit of chaos to start the Summer Spectacular. It felt like a fight, which is exactly how it should’ve been, an extension to the pre-match brawl. There wasn’t any tie ups, there was barely a move as it weighed towards the anger that they two had for the other with weapon shot after weapon shot until Renfrew landed the killer blow on top of the television screen.

A recap of the W3L Breakout Championship match was shown, with The Tormentor receiving some heavy assistance from The Commune to retain.

Logan Smith defeated The Jackal by pinfall.

The Jackal entered solo with no Commune to flank the opportunistic omnivore. Logan got a baldy chant going to get into the head of The Jackal, with the Elgin crowd happy to continue it to frustrate the follically challenged competitor.

Side headlocks were exchanged, The Jackal escaped but his celebration was cut thanks to more baldy chants, with the follow up tantrum stopped by a nice standing dropkick from Logan Smith. The Jackal got back on top, mauling at Smith with chokes and kicks, there was nothing fancy about it, just ways to cause pain.

Jackal continued the torture, throwing his weight around with an elbow drop and lifting Smith up for a delayed vertical suplex. Every kick out from Logan gathered more support from the crowd who continued to fight back.

A confident Jackal basked in his work but ran into an explosive clothesline from Logan Smith, the lariats came thick and fast but The Jackal had the wherewithal to side step a charge to hit a rebound German Suplex. Logan was back again but a step up moonsault missed to leave him prone for The Jackal to pounce. Before The Jackal could land that final blow he was put down with a cutter out of nowhere for the three.

Every time I see Logan Smith, and The Jackal, wrestle there is a certain expectation. It doesn’t have to be fancy moves but there’s always clean moves and a well told story progression. This was no different which made for a good match. The Jackal coming out alone and losing because he didn’t have that help from The Commune was a nice plotpoint with the tenacity of Logan Smith weathering the offense to strike got the reaction it deserved from the crowd.

Billy (that’s me) was joined by Hugo Harris to discuss his upcoming match with Mike Musso. There was testicle talk, I was called Tim. 10/10, no notes.

Cup On A Pole Match – Mike Musso defeated Hugo Harris by pinfall.

Musso entered in the red and yellow as Mussomania was running wild in the New Elgin Hall. The Merchandise overpowered Hugo Harris from the opening tie up, a second go round lead Harris employ an eye poke and an immediate rush to gain the cup from the sturdy pole it was on top off. Musso was quick with a back rake to stop the attempt.

After bouncing Hugo around the ring, Musso scaled the turnbuckle but Harris on soon on his case, chop blocking the back of the knee to take control. Mike fought back and tried to knock out Harris with a Blunt Force Trauma DDT but Hugo escaped and clipped the back of the knee again.

The veteran Miked Up with haymakers, a big boot, and a leg drop (brother) but the work done to the knee made the climb slow. Harris slammed Musso down with a sunset flip after a back rake. Hugo Harris claimed the cup to make low blows legal, passed his number to Claire to call him while Mike was in the hospital, and swung his leg towards the crown jewels of Mike Musso… only to yell in pain.

Because Mike Musso revealed he was already wearing a protective cup to a loud cheer from the crowd. A Blunt Force Trauma DDT ended the night for Hugo Harris.

A ridiculous stipulation, but the twist made it all worth it. The match itself didn’t quite hit the in-ring that their Wrestlution match did but it didn’t need to because it was revolving around the cup and low blow stipulation. A fun match, despite him not knowing my name Hugo Harris still has all the tools to be an absolute player in wrestling. He reminds me so much of Jack Morris and with the Sonny Onoo Chosen One Tryouts coming to Glasgow in October for opportunities in Japan, if he isn’t a) part of that tryout or b) successful in that tryout then I don’t know what’s happening. The lad is money.

Kayleigh started to provide an update on Taylor Bryden but Chris Renfrew interrupted to declare that he had set his crosshairs on his next victim.

Billy (still me) was joined by hometown hero Meyhem Brooks who was amped up and ready to get back in the ring after a long layoff.

Triple Threat – Meyhem Brooks defeated Xander Davidson, and Struan Fraser by pinfall.

A surprise entrant to the advertised match, Struan Fraser made his way out to make it a triple threat, travelling down from the top of Scotland to get involved with the Elgin lad Meyhem Brooks and the diamond in the rough Xander Davidson.

Fraser and Davidson had a brief alliance to take Brooks out of the equation to battle it out between themselves, but Meyhem fired back into the ring quickly with flying clotheslines before squatting Xander and sending him crashing down with a back suplex and snapping on a cross armbar with Struan Fraser breaking it up.

The villainous alliance was back on but Meyhem Brooks was like a cat evading offense. He was caught by Davidson as the duo kept the pressure on Grapzilla. However, there was a disagreement about who would be taking the pin as they would continue to, and I paraphrase Mr Fraser, “tug each other off”.

Struan tried to sneak a roll up on Xander to kill Strander (or Xanduan) forever with Davidson flinging him with a snap Fallaway Slam but it left Xander open for a top rope flying clothesline from Meyhem Brooks for a near fall.

All three got back to their feet, Brooks got a third wind and started throwing strikes and bodies, sending Davidson and Fraser airborne. Struan hit Brooks with an Uranage, Xander grabbed Fraser with a Pedigree, but Brooks spun Davidson round for an Olympic Slam for the win.

An action heavy triple threat with little downtime or going down the singles trope with all three men being present for the majority of the match. Meyhem Brooks was in constant motion, so agile with little ring rust shown. Struan Fraser was an excellent addition, he has this charisma that is very outward but can be switched into being so sarcastic at the same time. A great quality to have, especially on family orientated shows that rely a little more on emotives. Xander Davidson continues to be a solid hand, a reliable in ring wrestler that makes strikes look really snug but can bust out a high impact move when called upon. A strong showing from all three.

Kayleigh was joined by Irn Dru Marshall to talk about his upcoming tag team match and calling out Judge Jimmie James.

There was some friction shown in The Commune’s camp with The Jackal leaving early after having no back up earlier in the evening when he was against Logan Smith. Lou King Sharp was an energetic tour de force, hilariously collecting bricks so that they wouldn’t get thrown around in the main event before Luke Aldridge coldy told him that he had to pull his weight.

W3L Heavyweight Championship/W3L Wrestling Showdown Championship – The Commune (Luke Aldridge & Lou King Sharp) w/Tate & The Tormentor defeated Irn Dru Marshall & Saqib Ali by pinfall. Per the stipulation, Lou King Sharp pinned Irn Dru Marshall to win the W3L Wrestling Showdown Championship.

Sharp and Aldridge delayed getting into the action, with Sharp swinging his Singapore Cane with little effect with the only damage being caused was Lou ricocheting the bamboo off the top rope into his own face.

Marshall and Ali had their way with Lou King Sharp early on, leaving Aldridge stoically watching on, as they took turns putting a hurting to Lou’s special time hand. Sharp countered out of a wrist lock to dramatically dive to tag in his father, the W3L Heavyweight Champion, Luke Aldridge to go face to face with W3L Wrestling Showdown Champion Irn Dru Marshall.

Irn Dru pick up the pace, driving his knees into the chest of Aldridge and punting the Heavyweight Champion in the spine. Luke tagged out but was soon seeing Sharp flying towards him and The Tormentor courtesy of a military press by Marshall from the inside of the ring down to the wooden floor below.

Tate grabbed the leg of Irn Dru which sparked a brawl around the venue with all four fighting it out to the merchandise area and around the New Elgin Hall.

The match returned to between the ropes, with Sharp having the upper hand over Saqib Ali. A suplex counter bamboozled Lou into trying to tag Irn Dru but when he turned around to correct his error Aldridge dropped from the apron to go handle Marshall, sweeping him off the apron, leaving Lou King Sharp to stay in the match longer.

Luke finally tagged in to pick up the scraps that Sharp had chewed on, and The Commune seemed to be on the same page to isolate Saqib. Ali created space with a DDT to Lou King Sharp and both got the tag for the champions to once again clash. It went back and forth with Marshall connecting with a sweet second turnbuckle springboard moonsault that was only saved by Sharp’s intervention to break up the fall.

It was Saqib’s turn to knock out the champion, driving his knee into the face of Aldridge but once again Sharp dived in to break the fall. Tate got up on the apron to distract referee Sean Moran, The Tormentor drove Ali into the ring post, Aldridge clattered Marshall with the chalice, but a blind tag allowed Lou King Sharp to drop in with a Frog Splash to win the W3L Wrestling Showdown Championship.

Aldridge looked unimpressed about the way the match ended, leaving the ring sharply following the result. The tension is becoming more prominent within The Commune despite them holding three championships in the company.

It was a long meaty main event, and despite some apprehension of a fallout between The Commune, they were rather clinical in victory. The interference worked in their favour, Sharp kept the Heavyweight title with Aldridge with numerous pin saves, and The Commune walked away with another piece of gold. A good night on paper for the faction with The Jackal’s loss being the sole blemish on the record.

It was a rare downer to end the night, but it marked two events in Elgin that Lou King Sharp kept his dungarees on which is a positive I guess. The new venue was intimate but drew a good sized crowd. As far as venues in Elgin go, I rate the New Elgin Hall over the Bishopmill Hall, it’s a little bit smaller inside the main hall but it has better parking, and it’s actually warm inside unlike the constant chill all year round the Bishopmill Hall has.

With the Town Hall closed for refurbishment the New Elgin Hall provided a very solid alternative which I hope folds into a regular stop up in the North East for their bi-annual trips here.

A variety show with the chaos of the opening match and drama of the main event, a hometown return, the closing of chapter, and new story being told. Overall an entertaining night in Elgin.

Experiencing the event in a different capacity made me appreciate the work and effort that goes into any wrestling event even more than I already do. From the set up to the tear down, I was sweating buckets trying to make sure I was being as productive as possible and to see the constant moving parts. From in-ring to production was quite an eye opener, then to see it all come together for the final cut was satisfying to take in.

The full show is available on Demand PROGRESS Plus now to check out for yourself.