You wait months for Community Pro Wrestling reviews and suddenly they come at you thick and fast. As we catch up with CPW events on Patreon, their latest show was uploaded a few days ago with another visit to Holytown. The aftermath of Govanniversary lingered around the atmosphere with Magic Dave mastering the ceremonies, and referee Katie Walker wearing the stripes to try and keep things in order.

Pre-show – Milby & Hannah Grande defeated Mikey Devine & Taylor Rae by pinfall.

It was a scrappy open with Hannah Grande and Taylor Rae trading pins attempts until Grande threw a strop to tag in Milby. Rae tagged in Mikey to have one half of Casino Brutale square up to one half of The Division.

Milby had a strength advantage to brute force his way around a wrist lock to lead Devine to go into his agile bag of tricks to pick up the speed of the match. A meek chop from Milby was picked up by Mikey Devine, who challenged his foe to try again before returning with a stinger or two to light up the chest of the big man.

Mikey Devine broke the fourth wall for a second when he stood across from Hannah Grande by quite rightly asking “I thought you were nice?” then had to try and swat her away as she swung wildy at him.

The match continued, Devine reached out to Taylor Rae but Grande pulled her off the apron. Milby grabbed Devine and as they made their way to the corner, they took the referee with them, backing Katie against the turnbuckles. Milby delivered a low blow out of sight, and Hannah Grande finished the match with her finisher.

What struck me odd is the combinations. Hannah Grande, just a couple weeks back was exchanging high fives, and Mikey Devine was all mean mugging and taking short cuts with RABU against The Freshnas. There’s a disconnect of consistency with the characters with no explanation in between.

I will give two points that helped, and could help, Devine called out the Hannah Grande side of things, which at least acknowledged the oddness of the situation and secondly, are we to draw from this that RABU is this sort of devil’s advocate that influences the more erratic side of Mikey Devine to come out? If so, yes.

Bar that, Hannah Grande seemed to suit “The Drama Queen” persona more by being larger and savage, but that wheelbarrow cutter/stunner/bulldog just isn’t working and looks awkward every time.

Milby was on good form, he’s got a fun charisma about him that I think will get quickly accepted if he so wished to be a fan favourite. This was the second Taylor Rae match I’ve seen recently and she seems to be absorbing feedback and using it to improve her work. It was a lot more fluid, she just needs to express outward a little more as there is an obvious timidness but that will fade away with time. Of course, Mikey Devine is always quality in the ring.

CPW Tag Team Championships – The Freshnas (Martin Steers & Fabio) defeated Max Horan & Harry McGrath by pinfall to retain the CPW Tag Team Championships.

Harry McGrath monologued to begin the evening, and as The Freshnas started to drift off Horan and McGrath struck and tried to get the upper hand. Their attempt was in vain as Steers and Fabio countered and turned the tide.

It was almost an early night but McGrath dodged the pop up destroyer and Max Horan barrelled in to cause some chaos. Martin Steers got isolated but managed to find his way back to Fabio who rushed in to throw out some 619’s and a lovely second turnbuckle moonsault to the nefarious duo.

Horan once again played spoiler by grabbing the arms of Steers to stop a handspring cutter and laid Fabio out with a sit out powerbomb/Hart Attack variant with McGrath. Steers made his way back in with all four trading moves. Another pop up destroyer was stopped, instead McGrath was launched into a Styles Clash from Fabio that looked fantastic.

After saving the match for his team again and again, it was Max Horan that found himself looking up at the lights with a handspring cutter/Big Ending combo, followed by the pop up destroyer for the Freshnas to retain.

The Freshnas have settled into the role of having the fast paced main show opening match. I wasn’t sure about Harry McGrath to start off with but as he got more dishevelled and besmirched he looked more dangerous. Max Horan was impressive at being the guy that was keeping the match going and he had a beast of a spear on him that was busted out a couple times.

Big Ross Hauser defeated E-Town by TKO.

E-Town tried to come in vicious but was quickly in the hands of a ruthless Big Ross Hauser, who slapped E-Town’s ribs to the back of his spine. Hauser continued to slowly punish and torture E-Town, chucking him around with a spin out version of the End of Days that looked good.

A chokeslam would’ve ended it but Ross cruelly lifted E-Town’s shoulder up before the three. Another big chokeslam was landed as the boos got louder. Hauser went for one more but an adrenaline filled break out from E-Town sent Ross back with a Codebreaker, Hauser returned rapidly with a lariat.

Katie Walker checked on a motionless E-Town and called the match off as a technical knock out.

Big Ross made his exit as crew checked over his fallen opponent. After a minute or two, Ross returned to the ring to push away Magic Dave for another lariat but this time to the back of the head of E-Town.

Exactly as needed. No frills, no grace, no mercy. This is what I wanted following the Big Ross betrayal at Govanniversary and I got it. The added final gasp from E-Town conveyed his fighting spirit nicely but the killer blow was delivered brutally.

Ross has quickly got what this new Terminator is about, leaning into that lack of any empathy and maximum punishment. He looked very comfortable in brushing off attacks then returning them tenfold. The crowd were also on board and offered out a vocal demand for the guy that will probably be the first big test for Ross before an eventual showdown with Ravie Davie, his tag team partner in Termination Z, Daro. There’s plenty to unpack and put together to flesh out this run and I’m interested in seeing it develop.

Before the first half main event, the third man for BSM and Cousin Zander was teased as Kayden Cross but The Entourage had that plan scouted and Kayden wasn’t there to take up the third spot. Zander picked someone from the crowd to start on the apron, which turned out to be Thorin’s Da.

The Big Strong Man, Cousin Zander, & Thorin’s Da defeated The Entourage (Mr Wanderer, Bryan Mojo, & Jack Carter) by disqualification.

Jack Carter found himself being tackled and atomic dropped by Zander and BSM, even Thorin’s Da got involved with a double team back elbow. The testicular trauma was all the rage with Mr Wanderer being dropped head first into the crotch of Carter, whose man area must’ve been soup by this point.

Wanderer didn’t get off lightly as he watched a rampaging Jack fall into his little Wanderers with a drop toe hold for less wandering and more limping.

Bryan Mojo tagged in and the shenanigans got tempered with Mojo and The Big Strong Man going back and forth. Bryan pushed BSM into Katie to knock her down, and BSM rebounded with a Big Strong Spear to cut through Bryan Mojo but with no official there was no pin counted.

With the referee down, Nick Justice appeared and jumped The Big Strong Man with the match descending into mayhem around the venue. Mr Wanderer took out Thorin’s Da at ringside with the numbers now against Cousin Zander.

Zander weathered the attack, taking a Rock Bottom but rolling out of the way of a People’s Elbow. With Thorin’s Da being the only taggable option, Zander hesitated which let The Entourage keep the pressure on The People’s Cousin, who continued to fight back.

Just as Zander accepted the only option he had, Mr Wanderer swept Thorin’s Da off the apron to once again leave him to the wolves. Bryan got cocky by bringing up Spider-bam which earned him slap in the chops. Mojo tried a Hangman Clothesline but ran into a Zander sized spinebuster.

Thorin’s Da tagged in and ran wild, enthusiastically going after Mr Wanderer. Wanderer caught a kick to plant Thorin’s Da with a neck breaker. Thorin’s Da caught a kick from Wanderer to land a stunner. The Entourage tried to get involved but Thorin’s Da grabbed them to set up a double chokeslam, Mr Wanderer decided enough was enough and delivered a low blow to Thorin’s Da for the disqualification.

The Entourage went for a post-match attack until Thorin arrived to save his Da and ran off the villainous trio.

For how we got there it makes sense that Cousin Zander and Thorin are now interacting. Both had suffered from backstabbing, not knowing who can be trusted, with Thorin showing that he protects his family by making sure his Da didn’t get battered. There’s legs to them as a potential team.

Thorin’s Da was a spark of charisma that looked overjoyed to be involved, because he was so excited it made everything he did look a little disjointed but by being presented as a non-wrestler then that’s how it should have been done. If he was busting out 450 splashes and more intricate work then the façade is broken very quickly.

The Big Strong Man and Nick Justice rivalry has started up again after a little bit of peace which is fine. Mr Wanderer trying to get all his tag matches to be handicap matches but it backfiring every time is an entertaining little bit that’s going. A good first half main event.

Daro defeated Nick Justice by pinfall.

Due to Nick Justice’s entrance going longer than normal, I was not aware that sex jazz music kicks in a few minutes into the theme for The Bill. So there’s that.

The second half started with the recently returning Daro against resident antagonist Nick Justice. The two had a feeling out process, with Justice doing his best to cut off any momentum being built by Daro.

Hard stinging chops went back and forth with neither really getting a prolonged string of offense. The match spilled to the outside where Justice rammed Daro face first into a wall to slow him down and start building some damage. It didn’t last long with Daro once again coming back with a clothesline and throwing his body at Nick Justice with reckless abandon.

A frog splash was stopped with Nick dragging Daro off the top turnbuckle with a Death Valley Driver and sit out scoop slam for two. Daro once again broke through to lift Nick Justice up for a spin out torture rack and landed the frog splash for the win.

There was something missing about this. The crowd woke up towards the end but a lot of it was met with light chatter. I think it was its place on the show.

We had seen Nick earlier in the night when he jumped The Big Strong Man, so there may have been an expectation to see The Big Strong Man return to get his revenge. The chant for Daro during the aftermath of Big Ross versus E-Town and not getting him at the time might have cause a lingering bit of resentment. This is all theoretical though.

That being said that’s not on the wrestlers because any other night this match probably would’ve got the desired loud sugar-infused rabidness you expect from a Community Pro Wrestling event, but maybe placing it on the pre-show or the opener before the two other matches mentioned could have maximised the potential reactions for both competitors. Some wee tweaks would have wrangled it all together, like if Daro helped E-Town up after being beaten by Big Ross earlier in the night to close off that thread, or if The Big Strong Man appeared during this match to cause a distraction. It’s easy to point that out now though.

Nick Justice is doing a fantastic job getting opportunities around the country and you can see the precision it has brought to his in-ring work. He letting the majority of the harder impact moves breathe. He was already a stand out in Community Pro Wrestling for having a strong look and character, but the confidence and control he has gained is noticeable. It was needed against Daro who, in the past, I often found to rush through things and didn’t allow the cool stuff to sink in for the audience before doing another cool move so it all becomes a blur of things happening. Justice reigned in the energy effectively.

This was a decent match but the crowd reception was off.

Jet Martial defeated Sean Summers by pinfall.

Two debutants for Community Pro Wrestling squared off with the audience immediately taking to Sean Summers, maybe it was his X-Men inspired attire, his positive energy, having Thunderbirds Are Go as his entrance music, or that they needed some brightness in their lives after seeing a thug-like Jet Martial look menacing upon entering… I’ll let you decide.

Martial came out the blocks hitting hard, Summers got a rally going until a shotgun dropkick stopped him in his tracks as Martial cut into Sean’s chest with chops and went about wearing down The Boy Wonder, picking at any body part that was available.

Sean wasn’t going to be the plucky underdog and found his chance to get back into the match, landing a Sling Blade and a sweet tornado snap suplex for a near fall. Martial once again clobbering his opponent fast with a knee to the face to collect another two count to his collection.

Summers tried once more to take the match into a more aerial avenue but his legs were kicked from under him on the second turnbuckle, which lead to him seeing Jet Martial leave a forearm sized impression into the side of his face to wrap up the match.

It was a quick one that did a good job showing the killer ferocity of Jet Martial. Sean Summers wasn’t there to just a punch bag and did well in keeping the fans in support of his comebacks. It is cool to see the new generation of GPWA appear in CPW when you consider that’s where many of the established Community Pro Wrestling roster began like Ravie Davie, Cousin Zander, Big Ross Hauser, and SBX.

Thorin defeated Ian Skinner by pinfall.

Ian Skinner was announced to replace an injured Charles Crowley just a couple days before the event, the cool guy with lots of friends against the guy whose apparent friends keep leaving him. It changed the dynamic from the originally scheduled match up as it created a nice yin and yang about the situation.

There may have been some tepid reactions early in the second half but they picked up for the main event as Skinner and Thorin exchanged lock ups, with both navigating their way through holds and arm drags.

A trusting Thorin accepted a handshake which Ian made him pay for, Thorin quickly came back to send Skinner rolling to the apron for a rest. Thorin stopped a triangle dropkick midway to just leather Ian Skinner off the apron with a forearm that was nice little swerve, but the wily Skinner once again suckered Thorin in to his trap to have CPW’s resident Viking having to go back on defence while Ian went after the neck with a beautiful cravat suplex.

Thorin fought out of another suplex to get rolling, dropping Skinner with a flapjack, and hitting a 619 following the request from the the crowd. Ian sought refuge in the corner and managed to launch a charging Thorin over the ropes to the apron and followed up with an immediate kick to the left knee. Skinner smelled blood in the water to target the weakened limb, twisting the knee and ankle while also layering in kicks to chip away at the rest of Thorin’s body. As Thorin tried to muster a fight back, Skinner grabbed the leg again.

Thorin tried for an enziguri but it only clipped his target, there looked to be a miscommunication to set it up again with Thorin connecting a second time and getting the pin out of nowhere.

The Entourage arrived immediately following the bell to assault Thorin until his Da arrived to chase them off. After slagging off someone in the front row, he challenged The Entourage to a tag team match when they return to Holytown.

Skinner came in with a point to prove that he wasn’t going to be a stand in, he was going to be a stand out, and throughout the match he repeated about being considered a replacement which was good bit of lore. The match was going well until the stumble at the end, and that caused there not be a real roar for the result, it just sort of happened and the next thing started before Ian had an arse cheek near the apron to leave.

The post-match was the tie up of the earlier save and the sell for the next Holytown event which is all good. What didn’t need to happen was the babyface being gotten to by a negative response from one person and calling them a “fat slab”. It not only shows that he was rattled but it encourages more because they got a rise out of him, which sets a precedent that doesn’t end well.

Some good matches, new faces, and the reason for people to return to the venue when CPW are back in town. I think the match order needed a little bit of a review and adjustment with the crowd reactions but as always that’s with the beauty of hindsight. The highlight from the event was Big Ross getting stuck into being a big nasty bastard. The debuts did well, with Sean Summers and Max Horan catching my eye particularly, and all the matches were of an entertaining quality.

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