If there’s something strange… in the neighbourhood… why are you phoning me? Anyway, World Wide Wrestling League returned to Stirling for an interactive wrestling experience. ‘All Thriller’ featured six matches, four having their stipulations chosen via the W3L Facebook group prior to the event and two live on the night from fan participation. So something akin to Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday but in a rugby club in Scotland.

The crowd was loud in Stirling, they were hyped for some professional wrestling.

W3L Wrestling Showdown Exclusive Pre-show Match – ‘The Bulgarian Baker’ Bozidar Branimir defeated Paul Hubris by pinfall.

Now usually I would skip the pre-show in these reviews but I couldn’t pass up watching the in-ring return of The Bulgarian Baker could I? Bozidar Branimir has been a fantastical force in World Wide Wrestling League, from his fluctuations of body shape and height, to his insistence that baked goods are available backstage for all wrestlers, his win-loss record leaves less to be desired but we can overlook that fact for such a highly regarded international legacy.

It had been about six years since Branimir graced Scotland if my research is to be believed, and he took up the Paul Hubris international open challenge. The Bulgarian Baker has an oven glove mascot now. Five stars.

For Mothers Pride and Glory, Bozidar kindly offered Hubris a loaf as an offering of respect but it was refused due to the carb content. Referee Archie Williams gently removed the bread from the ring to get the match started.

A shoulder block from Hubris knocked down the Baker but the Bulgarian fired back with one of his own and an inverted Atomic Drop then a classic version to rattle the buns of Paul Hubris that didn’t get a rest as, while Archie Williams was pre-occupied, Bozidar served a rat tail by snapping a tea towel off the cheeks of The Essential.

Hubris broke out of a cravat lock to stun Branimir with a jaw breaker, and slammed Bozidar to the mat with authority. Paul took control, choking The Bulgarian Baker on the ropes while the chants for bread started to reverberate around the room. The support helped Branimir break out of a double underhook and smashed into Hubris with a short clothesline.

The Baker whipped out his Little Chef (it’s the oven glove, get your mind out of the gutter), only to be sent face first into the second turnbuckle by Hubris. Paul continued to drive Branimir into the turnbuckle. Little Chef tried to rise up but was also sent into the turnbuckle. Hubris tried to curb the chicanery, locking the arm of The Baker for a nice second rope step up flying clothesline for a near fall.

Paul Hubris stalked Bozidar in the corner but was stopped in his tracks when he was chucked over a loaf of bread, Hubris threw it to Archie Williams and while Archie’s back was turned, a Little Chef assisted chop to the skull struck Hubris to keep him down for the three, baguette-about it!

Absolute nonsense. I loved it. The thing with the many iterations of The Bulgarian Baker it has always fell down to swinging the barometer too far from evil wrestler or comedy buffoon and has been relatively one note. This version had a clear vision and focus which was very much taken on board by the fans quickly. Paul Hubris was a great straight man to the shenanigans afoot to make for an entertaining open to the night.

Tornado Tag Team Match – Legends Never Die (Fulton King & Sami Sparx) defeated The Commune (The Jackal & The Tormentor) w/Tate by pinfall.

In the first of the Facebook voted matches, Chalice On A Pole was demolished by the demands for tornado tag rules, the biggest tornado since the one that hit Oz (not Kevin Nash).

The Commune got the jump on LND just before referee Archie Williams could motion for the bell. Sami Spark and Fulton weathered the early storm to slip out of a stereo ten punch in the corner to unleash a barrage of punches of their own. LND whipped The Commune into each other that only led to The Tormentor hitting a Jackal sized wall. The Jackal ate a big boot from King to dispatch him for the time being as Legends Never Die isolated The Tormentor.

King and Sparx squashed The Tormentor with splashes for a near fall, The Jackal returned assist with dragging Fulton out to run the juggernaut into the ring post to tip the balance back to The Commune.

Pressure continued to mount on Sami Sparx with The Jackal doing all he could to keep Fulton King on the outside by knocking him off the apron. Sparx countered his way out of a double suplex and fired back with a second rope moonsault to create space away from The Commune and get Fulton back involved who used all that pent up frustration to deliver corner splash after corner splash after corner splash.

Tate rushed out to cause a distraction but it lead to her falling off the apron into the arms of The Jackal and The Tormentor and prone for Fulton King to launch The Chaotic Luchador Sami Sparx over the top rope to take out the duo. Sami dragged The Tormentor back into the ring to feel some Punk Tactics for pick up the win.

A little bit of mayhem to start off the night, an easy 10 minutes that got the cohesiveness of Legends Never Die as a team put across when they just tore through The Commune when the time arose. It wasn’t anything fancy but was a serviceable opening match.

Hugo Harris was startled by Stevie Wizard appearing behind him in his little mirror. Some casual misogyny followed with Harris not showing any concerns that his rampant belittling of the women at W3L may cause some issues in the very near future. He was right about one thing, he has a cracking dropkick.

Some awkward crowd interaction to decide the official for the next match followed, with Claire getting the loudest reaction to call the match.

Hugo Harris idled around the ring during his entrance, using every bit of the three minutes he took to shower anyone he pleased with the water and sweat coming off his hair. Before his opponent could make their way out, Mike Musso’s music hit to announce that Fiona and Amelia would still get a role in the match as ring announcer and timekeeper respectively so that they could get a front row seat to a Hugo Harris ass kicking.

Guest Referee: Claire – Marc Munro defeated Hugo Harris by pinfall.

It was a fast paced start with both mean trying to get the upper hand ending with Hugo Harris being hiptossed to the mat that lead him to take a break outside the ring. Munro was in hot pursuit as Claire stood in the ring and watched it all unfold without a ten count being deployed to allow for Marc to give Harris a kicking.

A quick thinking Hugo Harris hung up a marching Marc Munro on the top rope but his confidence was fleeting after receiving a chop to the chest following a cartwheel evasion to avoid a back body drop. Harris called for a time out that fell on deaf ears, begging off into a familiar position when he found himself straddling the ring post for a metal jolt up the testicular region.

The sack of tricks were getting emptied fast, Harris tried to hide under the ring to facilitate a sneak attack which was scouted, Munro rattled Hugo with jabs to send him weak at the knees but those joints were spring loaded with a retaliatory dropkick from Hugo Harris to take charge.

Munro battled back with a sunset flip for a blatant fast count of three but the match continued. I would usually whinge about that but it makes sense that Claire doesn’t want Harris to win so would do a fast count, but also is in the ring with a guy that has been an absolute dick to her so the choices are to stick to that three count with conviction that would more than likely have Harris do something unthinkable or just let it all play out and hope for Marc Munro to get the job done. Then, of course, she isn’t a trained referee so it threads all together in my head anyway.

That being said she also administered a glacial count for Hugo Harris in his eye line so what do I know eh.

Harris continued to wear down Munro with a nice neck snap, slow two count, another drop kick, slow two count hard, a Irish Whip in the corner, slow one count. The crowd got it, and didn’t give Hugo Harris an inch of sympathy. Munro blocked an attack into the turnbuckle to start his comeback with clotheslines, a boot to the face in the corner lead into a second rope springboard crossbody that got a near fall despite the rapid fire slaps to the mat.

A spinebuster from Hugo got another two count to the cheers from the crowd, who were fully invested in Marc Munro taking him down. A missed Curb Stomp tee’d Harris up for a spin kick. Hugo double legged Munro into a Boston Crab and a couple moments later the bell rung without a tap out, Claire confirmed to Fiona that there was no tap out with the premature bell ring looked to be a distraction from Amelia, in the confusion Hugo spun round into a small package for Marc Munro to collect the win.

A loaded match. The audience understood the assignment quickly that enhanced the stipulation. From an editing stand point it might have benefitted from a camera on Amelia and Fiona for dramatic purposes especially for the closing confusion. I would like this to be the closing chapter of Hugo Harris hating women to move onto something with a bit more in-ring meatiness to it because he is very good but he has become a bit more of a parody as time has gone on.

For example, the beg off into the ring post is a fun spot but when the shows are being taped for streaming for an expanded audience and not just for “insert town name here” it’s not something that should be done every time because it just makes him look like an idiot if it happens every time. Essentially, Hugo Harris is a really talented in-ring wrestler but a freshen up on the character wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

Marc Munro has shown a lot of growth since carving himself a place on these shows which has been great to witness and it’s only a matter of time before he gets a bit of gold around his waist in W3L, it’s certainly been earned.

Irn Dru Marshall was caught in a storage cupboard for a word about his upcoming match against Lou King Sharp.

W3L Wrestling Showdown Championship – 30 Minute Iron Man Match – Irn Dru Marshall defeated Lou King Sharp w/The Jackal, The Tormentor, and Tate to win the W3L Wrestling Showdown Championship.

As soon as the bell rang Lou King Sharp had his firmly on the concrete floor on the outside to waste time. Five minutes passed and all that had happened of note was Lou grinding on a women in the front row. The Commune tried to set up an attack but The Tormentor bumbled his way into punching The Jackal to send Lou retreating into the ring and running into the muscle bound shoulder of Irn Dru Marshall.

A thumb to the eye got Sharp back in control for a moment but a quick turn of momentum for Marshall had Lou once again seeking refuge on the outside to kill some more minutes. Marshall had had enough and followed out to get his pound of flesh. The hard open hand smacks to the chest and backside had Sharp reeling until a timely duck of a chop had the hand of Irn Dru collide with the metal ring post.

Sharp tried to wear down Marshall with a chin lock that transitioned into a makeshift Dragon Sleeper but Irn Dru kept his arm steady to avoid the third drop at the time of asking. Lou trusted The Tormentor to trip up Marshall but a reversal caused Lou King Sharp to have his ankle grabbed and in the confusion he was rolled up to give Irn Dru Marshall the first decision at 14 minutes.

Lou immediately made it 2-0 with a straight kick to the tins for the disqualification but picked up two back to back falls of his own from the move to tie the score once more. A low blow from Marshall in return put him a fall behind.

Archie Williams offered some leniency on the interference with Marshall able battle through for the most part. A missed splash from Sharp left him open to be struck with a flush superkick to the jaw but Dru couldn’t get his weight across for the pin and Lou got his shoulder off the mat by the closest of margins.

We entered the final ten minutes with Lou King Sharp still in the lead. A reckless Sharp gathered two Singapore Canes to maybe steal some more high risk – high reward pins, Marshall grabbed one of the canes but felt the wood from the other reverberate off his skull to once again tie the score with a disqualification, the process repeated to another tied score of 8-8 as both men crumbled to the mat leaving splinters in their skin and all over the canvas.

There was plenty of fight left in both as Lou King Sharp nabbed another fall with a Finlay Roll to move ahead in time for the Father of The Commune, Luke Aldridge, to arrive to get a closer look. Sharp looked a bit confused by the appearance which gave Marshall all the time to recover and appear behind The Blood Tourist, following a scuffle Sharp was sent back between the ropes to eat a cutter outta nowhere to make it 9-9 with three minutes remaining.

Aldridge got involved, pulling Archie Williams out of the ring to stop a fall as a result of the Glasgow Kiss headbutt from Marshall. Dru dived over the ropes to take out The Commune and, with 30 seconds left, set up Sharp for one more headbutt. Luke Aldridge returned to clatter Marshall with the Golden Chalice which caused another disqualification to put Irn Dru ahead 10-9. Lou scrambled for a pin but Marshall kicked out as the time expired. Lou King Sharp lost the W3L Wrestling Showdown Championship all thanks to Luke Aldridge.

Aldridge tried to rally the troops after the loss but was met with a spit in the face from Lou King Sharp who then spat at The Jackal and The Tormentor as The Commune left him to stew in his defeat.

30 minute Iron Man matches can be a tough sell but with a hot crowd it helps control the ebbs and flows so that it remains entertaining, this match had that. I think Sharp and Marshall did a good job in keeping the story going for the time by adding some unique ways to get falls in like the disqualification tally. It didn’t labour too long which is testament to the strength of the characters in the match, it was a quick 30 minutes. Aldridge coming out and mistakenly being the difference maker made the main event look more intriguing.

Tables Match – Chris Renfrew defeated Saqib Ali.

Renfrew immediate extinguished any cheers by declaring that Stirling sucked, and proudly represented Falkirk by proudly shouting “mon the kelpies” which got a round of jeers. A wild swing as the bell rung was ducked by Saqib Ali who went all out throwing fists until a Claymore Kick, reminiscent of an an old foe, put Renfrew on top who continued his dominance by wrapping a steel chair off the back of Ali again and again.

Saqib took some respite on the outside, sucking Renfrew to follow and suffer a peppering of shots to the head and body with a baking tray to have the match spill into the masses watching on. Ali got down and dirty with a thumb to the eye to blind Chris Renfrew long enough to crack a chair over his back but it awakened The Godfather of Insanity who responded with a desperate clawing to the eye sockets Saqib to once again gain the upper hand.

Both men fired back shots as Saqib Ali was the first to pull out a table, we’re using table in the loosest possible way as it was a wooden board. Modern problems require modern solutions and Saqib Ali solved the non-table table conundrum by setting up two chairs to act as legs at either end. Table.

A soaring Renfrew crashed onto the board as a weakened Ali moved out of the way of a second rope leg drop but referee Archie Williams stated that despite the board showing signs of a snap, it was Renfrew that put himself through it so the match continued. Ali didn’t waste time, landing splashes into a discombobulated Renfrew trying to catch his breath in the corner, before heading out to retrieve a ladder from under the ring.

The weapon came back to haunt him, first seeing it launched into his face then feeling the effects of a Chris Renfrew suplex that had Ali’s back hit the ladder with such force that it mangled it’s way around his spine. Renfrew took a wooden door into the ring to prop into the corner and with the second time of asking hoisted Saqib up for a running Death Valley Driver through the wood to end the match.

Nit-picking here but if you don’t have a table, don’t do a tables match. Call it something different, Door Destruction, Wooden Wrevenge, Splinter Sabotage y’know. Besides that it was a heated match that felt personal, there was no lock ups or pretty moves that relied on some co-operation, it was just a proper fight which is Chris Renfrew’s bread and butter. Saqib Ali, as good a wrestler he is, shows a lot of hesitation when it comes to striking others with weapons which makes it look too placed and less impactful. That wouldn’t usually be too much of an issue but he’s coming in against someone like Chris Renfrew who doesn’t hold as much back so it makes Ali’s object strikes look weaker by extension.

Once again the crowd came along for the ride with a vocal support behind Saqib throughout.

A handshake was offered that Saqib naively accepted, only to be kicked in the gut and planted with a double arm piledriver to put an exclamation point on the chaos that Chris Renfrew is bringing to W3L.

In the second live voted match, Moxie Malone came out to berate the audience and concluded that even they weren’t stupid enough to vote for a triple threat.

They voted for a triple threat match.

W3L Women’s Championship – Triple Threat – Moxie Malone defeated Rubi Roberts, and Tate by pinfall to retain the W3L Women’s Championship.

Moxie and Tate immediately set out to get rid of Rubi Roberts from the off. Roberts fought out of a carry to push Malone into Tate to start building some momentum, knocking her opponents down with clotheslines and shoulder blocks.

It didn’t take long with The Jackal and The Tormentor to appear to help Tate, who took advantage with a nice dropkick to Roberts. A mutual albeit temporary alliance was formed between Moxie and The Commune with the numbers firmly against Rubi Roberts. That was swiftly broken with a harsh forearm from Tate to Moxie to send the champion back to the canvas to recover.

Tate looked to be in the driving seat by slowly dismantling Rubi Roberts, the increased confidence evident when she went for a second handspring back elbow but was caught for a German Suplex to knock her loopy. The Tormentor jumped onto the apron for the distraction as Tate landed an attempted Code Red that was a bit more of a sunset flip as it lacked snap.

Malone broke up the count and threw Tate out of the ring into the path of The Tormentor and The Jackal, picking up the pieces to pin Rubi and retain the W3L Women’s Championship.

The match went about 5 minutes and the finish was a bit rough. The dispatch of Tate looked great but the final move being a sunset flip to knock out Roberts was a misfire, hindsight is great and all but it might have been better for Moxie to put on the sleeper hold just to add something to it, still taking advantage of work done by Tate but not having Rubi be laid out for an extended period by a pinning combination.

Onto positives there was a bit more of a Penelope Grace flair in Tate and with the cracks widening in The Commune then teasing that side of her is good for introducing that early. I love some parallels and with her wearing dungarees that are often attributed to Lou King Sharp in W3L it would be something to see her break off with Lou in this situation. How that would translate in if the fans would cheer or boo would be a challenge but intriguing nonetheless.

We didn’t get much Moxie Malone which was a shame, but showing that opportunistic side to pick the scraps added more credence to that ruthless shrewd tactics to maintain her status as champion.

W3L Heavyweight Championship – Lumberjack Match – Luke Aldridge defeated Logan Smith by pinfall to retain the W3L Heavyweight Championship.

Both competitors entered with a gaggle of lumberjacks, Legends Never Die, Marc Munro, and Rubi Roberts with Logan Smith, with Luke Aldridge entering with The Commune including Lou King Sharp.

Aldridge used his height to jostle Smith into the corners to try and bully Logan around the ring. Smith’s agility afforded him to snap on a side headlock to take down the champion. A frustrated Aldridge attempted an armdrag but it was evaded that left him prone for a pin attempt for a two count.

Following a reset, a kick to the gut gave Luke the chance to make some headway but Logan was quick to kip up after a shoulder tackle that startled Aldridge that had him haphazardly swing and miss a clothesline then hitting the mat after a dropkick, Aldridge rolled out to find himself in the wrong side of the lumberjacks who returned him between the ropes, not before each getting a slap in.

Luke threw his body at Logan to return the momentum to his side. A snap suplex put Smith on the retreat, receiving mudhole stomping boots in the corner as Aldridge slowed the pace to his liking to take pot shots at the challenger. Smith tried to get a combination together but was sent off the turnbuckle into The Commune side of the ringside area for a beat down.

Once back in the ring, Aldridge mauled Smith, a hard Irish Whip rattled the posts as Logan’s back ricocheted off the turnbuckles to propel him out of the corner with ferocity. A last gasp enziguri gave Logan some space to breathe. The comeback was on, but Aldridge wriggled out of a fireman’s carry to bundle Smith into referee Archie Williams to knock down the official.

A GTS from Smith went unaccounted for, a missed step up moonsault allowed for Luke to smash Logan with a balled up right hand that was quickly responded with a Pele Kick to see both men down in the ring. The lumberjacks entered to check on their respective ally but it wasn’t long before they were fighting it out.

As the lumberjacks brawled to the back it left a chair wielding Lou King Sharp standing in the ring with Logan Smith and Luke Aldridge in his sights. Sharp levelled Smith with the chair, exiting the match while pointing out that he had done all the work again. Luke Aldridge put the finishing touch to the match with a running boot to the side of the head of Logan Smith to continue on as W3L Heavyweight Champion.

Before Father Luke could launch a post-match assault Smith’s lumberjacks returned to ward him off.

A solid show closer with the expected lumberjack shenanigans. Having the Lou King Sharp will he/won’t he be concluded was satisfying from a paying audience perspective and perhaps added a reason to check out the next event for the eventual demise of The Commune.

Overall a decent show, nothing felt too long and the stories were told effectively with chapters added to long running feuds. There was a mix in terms of the variety of wrestling that provided plenty for a new or casual fan to pick up on quickly along with some anarchy for a more hardcore wrestling goer.

The full show is available on Demand PROGRESS Plus (soon to be rebranded to Hooked On Wrestling TV) now to check out for yourself.