It’s been a second but we’re back to check out night two of Community Pro Wrestling’s ‘Govanniversary’ event. Night one from the Fairfield Club was packed with cliff hangers for the second show.

Taylor Rae made her way out after Planet A, announcing that her partner was going to magically appear for the master of ceremonies Magic Dave to suddenly disrobe to reveal his wrestling attire.

Pre-show – Magic Dave & Taylor Rae defeated Planet A (Martin MacAlistair & Abbie) by pinfall.

A card trick opener was put to a stop by a furious Martin MacAlistair, his mood didn’t get any better as he endured a wrist lock. Martin escaped but was tied up in a ball for a double kick up the arse from his opponents.

Taylor and Abbie were brought into the match for a quick back and forth. Thanks to a distraction from MacAlistair, Planet A gained control to isolate Magic Dave in their corner. The Anarchist of Planet A went about picking at the joints of Dave with a Garvin Stomp. Dave returned with an enziguri to make it to Taylor Rae for the tag as the match broke down with bodies flying around the ring.

Magic Dave tried death by 1,000 cuts as he chopped Martin with playing cards, with his grand finale of throwing the rest of the deck looking to have little effect until MacAlistair threw up the card chosen by a child in the audience before the match officially began. Five. Stars.

A misaimed superkick from Abbie had Martin jelly legged, with Dave and Taylor landing stereo superkicks to finish up the match.

It wasn’t anything fancy but to highlight some positives, there is definitely something there with Taylor Rae. During the match were some miscommunications and rushing but Taylor didn’t look to overly panic and adapted to move forward which is an excellent quality to have starting out. This was the most comfortable I’ve seen Abbie, maybe it was being in the ring with someone she has a lot of familiarity with perhaps at training or it was putting all the pieces together with a new attire, whatever it was it was solid.

The Magic Dave shenanigans are good bit of fun, and Martin MacAlistair scowled appropriately. An entertaining pre-show bout.

CPW Tag Team Championships – The Freshas (Martin Steers & Fabio) defeated Casino Brutale (Mikey Devine & RABU) by pinfall.

Fabio got under the skin of Casino Brutale by faking cheap shots for the referee to admonish the tag title challengers. It looked to be successful as they flung Mikey Devine around with tandem offense while swatting away RABU from trying to assist his partnah.

Devine slipped his way out of being put away by The Freshnas to send Fabio into Martin Steers and guiding his hand to the corner to tag in an amped up RABU. Casino Brutale took charge, using all kinds of villainous tactics to keep the referee’s focus away from the action and to keep the upper hand firmly in their camp.

Casino Brutale kept the pressure on Fabio as the crowd loudly put their support behind one half of the CPW Tag Team Champions. The confidence came back to bite RABU and Mikey as Fabio evaded his way into tagging Martin Steers who was fresh and feisty. Steers caught Mikey Devine with a standing shooting star press for a near fall.

The pop up Destroyer was countered, and Casino Brutale quickly took advantage with a RABU Blue Thunder Bomb, an assisted Gory Bomb, and Aces High to Fabio that was saved only by Steers diving in to break the fall.

The close call work up The Freshnas and they got cooking, knocking Devine out of the ring and landing the double team elevated handspring cutter to retain.

Two well established tag teams nailing it. I found that the recent tag title matches has had a bit of a question mark of what the crowd divide was to be but this was clear cut with the cheers 100% behind Martin Steers and Fabio. Casino Brutale are fantastic shithouses as they antagonise their opponents with all sorts of unpleasantness which leads to The Freshnas being a bit cheekier in response that is embraced by the crowd. Great stuff.

APW Scottish Women’s Championship – Ellie Armstrong w/Abbie defeated Hannah Grande by pinfall to win the APW Scottish Women’s Championship.

In what was to be Hannah Grande versus Session Moth Martina in a winner takes all women’s title match, Grande announced that Martina couldn’t make it but the challenge was still open to anyone who wanted it. Cue former CPW Women’s Champion Ellie Armstrong.

Ellie wasted little time from the bell by running through Hannah Grande, bullying the champion around, and planting a nice standing jumping elbow drop for a two count. Armstrong favoured her neck but was was a ruse that was spotted by Hannah who took Ellie over for a couple arm drags, and chucking herself for a crossbody for two.

Armstrong weathered a barrage to send Grande into the corner. Ellie argued with the referee as Abbie made her way into the ring and cracked Grande with the APW Scottish Women’s Championship, leaving prone for a standing Fireman’s Carry slam and a new champion being crowned.

From recent memory it was one of the best matches I’ve seen from Hannah Grande, the confidence was there. The moves are still a little light but not bad. I do think she recovered a bit too quickly from being smashed with the title, hindsight and that, but because she got a vocally positive reaction that could’ve been milked with maybe a couple crew helping the fallen former champion to her feet. That’s bells and whistles but just maximises the moments.

Planet A made their way to the back as we awaited the next match… Planet A’s music hit and Martin MacAlistair made his way back out to demand a rematch for his CPW Cruiserweight Championship, ohhh his face was as a red as a strawbrary.

In contrast from the Fairfield Club, Kev got a great reaction with the title. A little mic time was perfect to get the new era of Kev.i.n in CPW kick started as he declared that he loved chicken nuggets for a big cheer. Kev accepted the challenge but Magic Dave had other ideas and added two more competitors to the match.

CPW Cruiserweight Championship – Four Way – Tucker defeated Martin MacAllister, E-Town, and Kev.i.n by pinfall to win the CPW Cruiserweight Championship.

Martin and Kev immediately went after each other, brawling to the outside to leave Tucker and E-Town to get the match properly started. The in-ring went on as Kev tried to shove non-vegan produce into the gob of Martin MacAlistair at the tuck shop. When Martin returned the favour Kev shouted that he was on a diet.

Just as E-Town got the best of Tucker, MacAlistair slid in to jump the vicious lad from behind. E-Town dived to the outside to once again take it to Tucker, with Kev returning to continue the scrap with Martin. All four eventually made it back into the ring at the same time as Tucker springboarded his way in with a senton to knock everyone down.

It was heavy hit after heavy hit as all four crawled to their feet with forearms traded. Tucker got the best of the strikes being exchanged but was planted head first into the mat with a Kev.i.n DDT. Kev was given an Eat Defeat by MacAlistair, a Codebreaker by E-Town, and while they fought out of the ring, Tucker added the final blow with a superkick to take home the CPW Cruiserweight Championship.

A very left field result. The match was good but from the follow on from night one seeing Kev and Martin go at it one on one would’ve had higher stakes personally with Tucker and E-Town being fairly random choices. It was already big card so it might not have been the answer but Tucker versus E-Town to determine a challenger then Kev.i.n and Martin over the belt could’ve been a good play. Again, hindsight is king.

We got to see Kev.i.n’s big personality and I hope it gets showcased in a proper built up showdown with Planet A. He’s like a wise-cracking Rocket Racoon… I’m sure he has a big tall pal somewhere to be his Groot…

Before the next match could start Mr Wanderer introduced the newest member of The Entourage, The Renegade Wrex, to make the upcoming match four on three. Ravie Davie was quick to confirm he also had a fourth man with a returning Daro joining in.

D-Generation Greggs (Ravie Davie & Grado), & Termination Z (Big Ross Hauser & Daro) w/Gregg defeated The Entourage (Mr Wanderer, Bryan Mojo, & Jack Carter), & The Renegade Wrex by pinfall.

Daro punished Bryan Mojo with chops to send the GSOW Rising Stars Champion scarpering to bring in Jack Carter. Carter found himself getting sent from pillar to post before being swung around by Big Ross Hauser. Big Ross was blindly tagged out as Ravie Davie wanted to get in about it.

The Entourage were rattled, Davie jabbed and chopped at Carter to send him running for Mr Wanderer who demanded Grado. Davie obliged with Mr Wanderer entering the Grado gravitational pull and getting slapped silly in the process.

Wanderer tried to send his goons at Grado but they were dispatched to put the CPW Heavyweight Champion back in no man’s land as Daro got tagged in.

Thanks to a Bryan Mojo run-in to absorb the Hadouken, Mr Wanderer rushed at Daro to allow for The Entourage to take over. The faction took their turn to wear down Daro, whipping him hard in the corner and focusing their assault on the spine.

A fireman’s carry was avoided with Daro wriggling out to hoist Bryan Mojo up for a spin out powerbomb, returning the tag to Grado who went flip, flop, and flying to all comers. The part got started properly as Termination Z got rid of Wrex and Carter, Davie tossed Mojo out of the ring into the rabble on the outside and landed a Blockbuster and Lisbon Lionsault to Mr Wanderer with Grado firing in a Wee Boot to put Mr CPW down for three.

The Entourage went for a post-match assault that was stopped by The Renegade Wrex who started swinging with a steel chair to an eruption from the audience in the Church of Wrestling. Wrex fed Jack Carter to Termination Z, a big boot and frog splash left him terminated with a Lisbon Lionsault from Davie and an r-Grado reviving Carter for a split second only for Jack to witness a rampaging Renegade Wrex cutting him in half with a spear.

It was a proper high energy feel good eight man tag match. The fanfare for everything was given in spades. A great first half main event that delivered what was expected, the heroes battering some dafties. Simple, straightforward, easy. There wasn’t a whole lot of follow up on the Ravie Davie-Big Ross Hauser tension from night one here but I did spot Ross shooting a look at Davie following a blind tag early on.

SBX defeated James Ellis by pinfall.

Despite James Ellis getting the early advantage with successive shoulder tackles, SBX fought back and subjected Ellis to some pity city via a lollipop in the mouth to leave Ellis convulsing.

SBX gathered momentum, but his running punt kick on the apron was caught and Ellis sent him chest first onto the hardest part of the ring. A dive was stopped with an SBX uppercut, who unloaded with kicks to the chest of James Ellis. It was all SBX until a top rope endeavour was stopped when Ellis stumbled into the ropes and caused SBX to be knocked off balance and sent crashing to the canvas with a superplex.

Ellis dominated to wear down SBX, cutting off comebacks with hard strikes but SBX kept coming, and spun out of an attack by the ropes to nail Ellis with a superkick. A running knee was missed to almost send SBX into the referee that was conveniently pulled into the his path, Ellis jumped on the confusion with a thumb to the eye and a sit out Tiger Bomb for a two count, followed by a torture rack spin out powerbomb that still couldn’t keep SBX down.

A missed elbow drop from James Ellis set up SBX to hit one of his own but again the referee’s hand slapped the mat twice. The search of that winning combo arrived from SBX with a superkick and pedigree to put away the Welshman.

Another solid match, these two worked well together. There were some nice momentum shifts and the crowd energy was electric for SBX which made for a great atmosphere.

Ticket The The Top Ladder Match – Steg defeated Ravie Davie, Judas Grey, Milby, Thorin, and Butch Armstrong.

After his shocking turn the night before, Steg inserted himself into the match. He tried to broker peace with Ravie Davie and while all that was going on in the middle of the ring, the other six combatants got themselves a couple ladders to squash the fractured Govan Team.

Judas and Thorin had a stand off at either end of a ladder, with Thorin getting the best of the exchange. Butch Armstrong went airplane spinning with the ladder to knock down Steg and Davie, Milby arrived to try and form a bound with a potential fellow ginger, even if Butch wouldn’t admit his gingerness.

The spills continued, Milby back body dropped Davie over the top rope onto a scaffolded ladder, as the bodies gathered around ringside Judas Grey leapt over the ropes and onto the pile with a swanton. Just when when it looked like everyone was out, Milby launched himself off a ladder on the outside with a corkscrew senton for a spectacular visual.

Armstrong brought in a bigger ladder to actually climb the thing but was stopped by Thorin, who chucked Armstrong and Milby with hip tosses into the ladders propped up in the corners. Thorin set up the larger ladder on the outside but following the encouragement of the crowd he went higher to the balcony. He was met by a chair wielding Judas Grey who tried to throw Thorin off the high platform. A low blow saved Thorin, who chucked Judas onto the brawling pile below. Judas landed hard on his tail bone as the bodies parted, which was nasty, and barely broke his fall.

The mass began to recover only to find themselves watching Thorin coming flying down with a swanton of his own as the “This Is Awesome” chants filled the Church.

It was Judas and Thorin once again facing off at the top of a ladder, they went back and forth with forearms until both found themselves careening backwards into ladders from the force of the strikes.

Ravie Davie was next to make his way up but was stopped by Steg, Steg dropped the innocent act to slap Davie as they threw punches at each other. Big Ross Hauser arrived to seemingly act as a peacemaker… until he dragged Davie off the ladder and chokeslammed him onto another that was draped across the second rope in the corner.

Steg retrieved the briefcase to shock and confusion, with a sprinkle of fury.

An excellently paced ladder match that featured the big moments, but also they were allowed breathe without interrupting the flow. Everyone got a minute to shine, with stories from night one like Judas/Thorin, and Davie/Ross threaded well into the match. I really enjoyed that whenever Steg got near Davie he just got pushed away until the conclusion, there’s room for them to really eek out that proper confrontation and let the story build because for Community Pro Wrestling, and the lore behind it, it will be a big match down the line.

I think there’s a lot they can draw into the Big Ross turn, from the Super Crazy show when Kayden Cross kept tagging himself in, or to just earlier in the night with Davie doing the same, I’m sure there has been plenty of other examples to tie into the overall backstory. I can see Ross pulling on that feeling of others trying to steal the spotlight from him considering he was a long reigning CPW Heavyweight Champion and is now essentially being pushed to the back with others stepping on him to further their own careers.

Much like with my thoughts on Monstrum, let Ross just go on a run of demolishing guys, have them begging for some mercy then he just chokeslams them. Just when they think they’ve gotten off lightly, Ross can drag them back in for another, and another. If Monstrum is going to be the Jason Voorhees of CPW, then Ross can be the Michael Myers. No emotion. Only death.

Obviously the two balcony dives will live long in folks mind, the way that Steg and Judas fought out of the venue with the chair, only for Steg to return empty handed set up the surprise of Grey meeting Thorin really well.

GSOW Championship – Triple Threat – Kayden Cross defeated Nick Justice, and The Big Strong Man by pinfall to win the GSOW Championship.

It was main event time and there was a mixed reaction to The Big Strong Man following the events of the night before. His entrance was playing both sides, between egotistical showing off to putting the hand out from the high fives. What wasn’t mixed was the hatred for Nick Justice, and the big support for Kayden Cross.

BSM and Justice had a wee shove back and forth with Kayden being the first to throw hands to keep his opponents at bay. An eye rake from Nick Justice and a Big Strong Spear almost ended the night within minutes after Justice bundled The Big Strong Man out of the ring to try and steal the pin but Cross kicked out. BSM returned to the action, missing a Nick Justice and landing another Big Strong Spear to Kayden Cross in the process.

With Cross recovering on the outside, Justice went to take BSM to task but Kayden Cross was soon back into the fold to dish out the jabs and clotheslines. Cross and Justice battled to the second turnbuckle with Nick Justice managing to hoist Kayden on his shoulders for a Death Valley Driver that scored a two count.

A calculating Justice grabbed the GSOW Championship but before he could bludgeon Kayden Cross, Kayden dropped to the canvas and a confused Nick Justice turned around into a Big Strong Spear.

All three met in the centre of the ring to forearm each other, Justice kicked BSM between the legs with his attempt to do the same to Cross backfiring with Kayden returning the favour. A sidewinder slam followed by a big splash sealed the deal with Kayden Cross winning the GSOW Championship.

The Big Strong Man cut the celebrations to present the GSOW Championship to the new champion as the roster filled the ring to share in the moment. A packed Church chanting for a homegrown wrestler in the main event of Community Pro Wrestling’s flagship show.

Ravie Davie got on the microphone to tell the story of Kayden’s rise from being one of the first names signed up for the Glasgow School of Wrestling to becoming the champion to represent the school before letting him know that when comes back from Japan that he will square off with Kayden for the GSOW Championship.

A constantly moving triple threat to close the weekend that was really built around Kayden Cross. Teaming with Grado on night one then winning the GSOW title in the main event of night two. Nick Justice was a great foil who provided the antagonist for facilitating the biggest reactions.

What I found really evident is that due to the growth of Community Pro Wrestling, they may have outgrown the Fairfield Club in Govan. It’s a special venue, but the aesthetic of the Church of Wrestling made everything look bigger and brighter. The three hour run time was intimidating which caused the delay in finding time to watch but this was a tight show with matches going past smoothly with no plodding along or dragged out bouts. Even with my minor grumble about the set up for the CPW Cruiserweight Championship four way, all matches had a reason to be on the card and had plenty of twists and turns which set up for the next show in impactful fashion.

A really slick production, the crowd were hot from start to finish and the matches provided plenty of action, but most importantly they provided a narrative that was digestible and followed through from night one. A great event to mark four years of Community Pro Wrestling.

The full show is available on Community Pro Wrestling’s Patreon: