A mega massive bumper edition of This Is VALOR hit the YouTube channels, the full Come Ahead event. A night that was highly anticipated following the announcement of Insane Championship Wrestling running up the road (which we reviewed here). With the message of VALOR being the revolution, it was a high stakes weekend against a stacked event a 15 minute drive away. The VALOR team were determined to come into the Grand Ole Opry saloon all guns blazing.

Soulman Kyle Wallace was suited and booted for MC duties as we quickly went into the opening bout.

UEWA European Heavyweight Championship – BT Gunn defeated Robert Star by pinfall to retain.

The VALOR audience were all in on BT Gunn, chanting for The Oddity as soon as the entrance music for Robert Star faded out. Star got the early upper hand with his sheer power, mockingly shooting finger guns for effect.

Gunn managed to turn it around to have Star begging back but his sportsmanship was preyed upon when the challenger suckered BT in for a handshake and swiftly aimed a kick to the stomach.

A whiffed knee drop to the skull had Gunn rattled with Robert Star taking aim at the back of the champion. The match soon spilled to the outside where BT thrived within the insanity, but Star punted the middle rope upon Gunn’s re-entry into the ring to mangle Michaelanglo and Raphael.

Star took control, locking in a Billy Goat’s Curse that had Gunn dragging himself to the bottom rope to break. A reset allowed for BT to start throwing strikes, which was cut off by a meaty lariat to garner a near fall.

BT wasn’t to be deterred, kicking like his life depended on it to knock down star. A diving headbutt failed to finish the job, with a second aerial attempt being caught by The Stallion for a spinebuster and multiple two counts.

Robert Star had had enough, finding a chair from under the ring and wedging it into the corner. His plan to Irish Whip BT into the metal was countered as the big Polish lad went head first into the chair and stumbled into a Flatliner to look at the lights for BT Gunn to retain the UEWA European Heavyweight Championship.

A good opener to the show, BT Gunn has such a cool aura that I’ve talked about in previous reviews that has involved a match where he is a participant. Robert Star showed a bit more personality in comparison to previous appearances with a clear cut line on the audience divide, where it was 99.9% pro-BT Gunn (with an estimated 0.1% margin for error).

As always the expectation is a high level with BT Gunn and Robert Star met that level for an enjoyable encounter.

Daisy Jenkins defeated Penelope Grace w/Brodie Adler by pinfall.

In a re-ordering from show on the night, the pre-show match was up next on the episode. Which was notable due to the suddenly sparse crowd.

Daisy brought the energy up which made up for the less bums on seats. Jenkins kept Penelope Grace on her toes with counters and pin attempts. Grace took a breather on the outside which saw Brodie Adler step in front of Daisy Jenkins for a stare down.

It was enough for Grace to pounce on Jenkins as she slid back into the ring with Penelope wearing down The Starlight with a headlock.

Jenkins fired back, connecting with a snappy handspring back elbow in the corner but it couldn’t keep Penelope down. Grace jarred Daisy with the Fall From Grace that got the same outcome.

A sudden kick to the knee of Penelope Grace left her open for a Daisy Jenkins sized knee to the jaw that was enough for The Starlight to continue shining.

Quite a sudden ending. There were a couple miscommunications here and there which didn’t spoil the match but halted some momentum.

Brodie Adler was ineffective bar one moment to help give Penelope the advantage, but it was brought up in the post-match promo that Penelope and Brodie had with Kayleigh to create tension between the pair, so it was followed up on to add the reasoning which was appreciated.

Fulton King defeated Dru Marshall by pinfall.

Chris Renfrew entered with his New Age Kliq charge but left Marshall to go alone against The Juggernaut who shut down Irn Dru’s yapping with a very loud request for him to shut the fuck up.

Marshall got the better of the lock ups first with a takedown then a knee to the midsection and hip toss. Fulton got back into it to slam Dru to the canvas and putting the exclamation point on it with a running splash as Marshall began to sit up that had Irn Dru seek refuge on the outside.

King was in pursuit, dodging a stomp from Marshall but couldn’t avoid a dropkick through the ropes to send Fulton scrambling.

Dru took control by cutting off the momentum of Fulton King while gyrating to add insult to injury. Fulton battled to his feet but his attempt to lock up a Full Nelson had Marshall retreating to the bottom rope.

It was taps aff for King, but an awkward struggle to get to the second rope lead to Marshall stepping out of the way of a diving something.

The mistake seemed to ignite the fuse of King, who swung his fists with wild abandon. Dru came back with two superkicks, but a running Marshall was caught into a Half Nelson Slam to nip the win for Fulton King.

A fine match with plenty back and forth, it had a couple stumbles that were adapted to. Fulton King was adored by the VALOR crowd so it got big reaction when the three count was made in his favour.

Chris Bungard defeated Krobar w/Jan Islav, Patryk Peterski, & Topalovic by knockout.

Krobar entered and flanked by the full strength of Eastern Bloc, Jan Islav, Patryk Peterski, and Topalovic. He tried to jab at Chris Bungard who peppering Krobar with knees to the skull, switching to the mat to take Krobar down.

The Kommandant of Eastern Bloc was at the mercy of Bungard who continued to punch at the face of Krobar unanswered. There was finally a break with Krobar getting to the ropes but once the rest was given it was back to work for Chris Bungard.

For a brief moment Krobar managed to turn Bungard over but was caught in a triangle choke. Krobar lifted Bungard to launch him into the corner to have some peace for a minute.

A shaken Bungard looked to be easy pickings as Krobar rushed towards the fighter, but a right hand from Chris Bungard sparked Krobar out for Sean Moran to call the knockout.

It was a mugging really, Krobar was overwhelmed by the brute force of Chris Bungard from the get-go with little to no response. It made Bungard look like a killer from day one in his VALOR debut but it also started to show cracks in Eastern Bloc with Jan be apoplectic with rage following the crowds cheers for the man he trusts, who has sold the Eastern Bloc dream, having his lights knocked out. You got the feeling that it was rage to hide the embarrassment to see their leader being so quickly dispatched by Bungard.

The aftermath of the corpse of Krobar being dragged from the ring and put into a seat lead directly into the next match with Patryk Peterski and Jan Islav awaiting their opponents.

Mike Musso & Joe E Legend defeated Eastern Bloc (Jan Islav & Patryk Peterski) w/Topalovic & Krobar by pinfall.

A heavy lock up between Musso and Peterski started the contest with Mike transitioning into a wristlock and headlock to frustrate Patryk. Peterski went for a show of raw power next but Musso stood his ground from a tackle, Jan demanded to be tagged in but also ran into a Mike Musso sized brick wall.

Musso brushed off the attacks from Peterski to tag in Joe E Legend who targeted the upper limbs of Jan Islav with wrist stamps and short-armed shoulder blocks. Eastern Bloc finally got in sync to team up and back body drop Legend for Islav to command the match.

Legend attempted a comeback to tag in Musso, but Topalovic grabbed the leg of Mike before he could connect with the running knee to put Eastern Bloc back in the driving seat to isolate a defiant Mike Musso with quick tags and striking offense, along with using the additional man at ringside to assist with a distraction or two.

Mike stopped another round of double team punishment to throw Islav off the second rope and tag in a rested Joe E Legend to barrel into the action, hitting an OH MY GOD elbow to Jan, with Islav barely kicking out of a Snapmare Driver. Legend tried to lock in a Camel Clutch but Peterski made the save for the match to break down with Legend sent to the floor. Krobar suddenly sprung back to life to start wailing on Joe at ringside, but fell foul to a swinging chair shot to the skull from Topalovic that was aimed for Legend at ringside.

In a messy ending, Musso jumped over Islav for a sunset flip with Legend running in to knock Peterski into Jan to send Islav over to be pinned while the big man tumbled out of the ring for the three count to be made.

A strong crowd reaction but the match was untidy. Eastern Bloc looked disorganised in the first half, and the Krobar revival should have been made a bigger thing that could have been a moment. It at least should have taken place in the ring with any manner of ways to take referee Sean Moran away from the action so the focus could have been on that.

Kayleigh hyped up the show outside the Grand Ole Opry and bumped into an angry Irn Dru Marshall.

Triple Threat – Lou King Sharp defeated Ozzy Michaels, and Sami Sparx by pinfall.

Lou King Sharp got a bit overzealous with the hyperbole to dig in that he gave Ozzy and Sami the chance to be on the show which earned him a couple superkicks to have The Blood Tourist rolling to the outside. Michaels and Sparx had a little exchange until Sharp dragged Sami to the outside and went about leathering Ozzy with his trusty Singapore Cane.

The match went to the outside with Lou have his chest caved in with a chop from Sami Sparx whilst held by the front row, that was returned with gusto minutes later. The three chopped and gouged at each other up close and personal with the VALOR crowd.

Sami obtained a steel chair from under the ring but Lou King Sharp got a hold of it to wrap around the faces of his opponents, then their backs. All three men finally made their way back between the ropes as Sami Sparx unleashed a running knee that hit Ozzy with such force in the corner it sent Sparx himself over the top rope to the outside.

Ozzy came back with a stunning Blockbuster that flowed into a Falcon Arrow for a near fall but couldn’t land the Angel’s Wings which Sami countered into a Pedigree. The pin attempt was stopped by a running Arabian Facebuster across the spine of Sparx. A Finlay Roll onto the chair was enough for Sharp to cover Sami to capture victory.

Sharp grabbed the microphone to give his opponents their plaudits as well as cementing the underdog environment that VALOR has created in that they don’t have the big budget or the US connections, but what they did have was a passionate and young roster that give everything to VALOR.

It was a lot outside of the ring, which is becoming what VALOR is synonymous for. When it came to the in-ring wrestling, Ozzy really shone in particular.

As the exits were made and Lou King Sharp’s music continued to play, The Jackal stormed out for a bit of a moan and threw out an open challenge that was answered by Brodie Adler.

Brodie Adler defeated The Jackal by pinfall.

The Jackal jumped Adler upon entry with a beat down. A splash in the corner had Brodie stumbling, but she anticipated the second to rebound back with a clothesline. A couple corner splashes of her own and a Samoan Drop had The Jackal retreating to the outside.

Adler brought Jackal in back the hard way by slingshotting him over the ropes, and followed up with a running leg drop. The Jackal tried to turn the tables with an eye rake but ending up charging into a Black Hole Slam to be put to bed.

After having very little impact earlier in the corner of Penelope Grace, Brodie made up for it with a dominating solo display. The Jackal is fantastic at making himself the most detestable guy in the room so it took little for those in attendance to get on board and gladly see him get battered in short order.

Kayleigh was joined by Eastern Bloc, who were their usual joyful selves unhappy that Musso had to bring in Joe E Legend to help. A concussed Krobar was revealed to be in the back of a van looking a bit worse for wear.

Cirque du Catch (Tommy Lockhart, Euan G Mackie, & Big Mick) defeated God’s Country (Frank of the Cross, Stone Malone, & Tim Strange) by pinfall.

Notably Tommy Lockhart was in his second match of the evening after appearing at Insane Championship Wrestling in the pre-show earlier that night. He entered with Magnificent Mackie and Big Mick by his side with Cirque du Catch facing the might of God’s Country.

Stone Malone tangled with the mischievous Mackie to the point of frustration, with Malone tagging in Frank of the Cross to try and wrangle The Magnificent Mackie which landed him seated in the Cirque du Catch corner for a cavalcade of offense.

Frank finally got a hold of Mackie, slamming him to the mat and bringing in the monstrous Tim Strange who administered a kiss of death which was returned by Euan (so by that logic it’s been cancelled out?). Despite Big Mick getting the better of Stone Malone, it was God’s Country isolating Mackie with the solid tactic to dismantle Euan. Tim Strange hit a stunning sit out Gunnslinger which had so much force upon landing but it wasn’t enough to seal the deal.

Euan was kept in no man’s land to suffer some RODEO TIME as God’s Country kept a tight grip on the match.

A snappy piece of Sliced Bread to Stone Malone opened the door for Euan to reach out for the tag that Tommy Lockhart accepted to rush at Frank of the Cross. A second rope moonsault almost had it but Malone was on hand to break the fall.

Malone’s night then went to hell, a side step from Lockhart saw Stone spear Tim Strange off the apron, another missed rush towards Mackie had him crash into the turnbuckle which left him staggering backwards for a roll up to strike one in the win column for Cirque du Catch.

A fun ol’ six man tag team match, God’s Country seemingly underestimated their opponents and it came back to haunt them. The interactions between Mackie and Strange were a highlight with Tim getting to fling about his opponent.

Kayleigh caught a word with Chris Renfrew and Dru Marshall before the main event with Renfrew putting it out there that he was the one to raise the stakes from a hardcore match to a deathmatch.

Deathmatch – Chris Renfrew w/Irn Dru Marshall defeated Big F’N Joe by pinfall.

There were no pretty lock ups to start with Renfrew jumping on Joe from the bell, wisely choosing a moment where Joe was looking over at Dru Marshall who had conveniently wandered over to his corner. Big F’N Joe got the turnaround and got a hold of a staple gun to snap it off the head and groin of Chris Renfrew.

It didn’t take long for the scrap to make it’s way out of the ring with Joe using a fan’s walking stick to further torture the chances of Chris Renfrew Jr ever being a thing. Joe humiliated Renfrew further by crotching him round the ring post and spanking him to a ten count. Testicular torture continued in the ring with a television perched between the legs of Chris Renfrew and a chair being thrown into the pile.

Once again it was back to the outside with the merchandise area being browsed, the inflatable lightsabers didn’t do much but Renfrew grabbed a can of juice which did some damage to the head of Joe. The brawl went to the back where Joe found a trolley to wheel Chris balls first into the ring post. Renfrew grabbed the staple gun that was nearby and triggered it off the forehead to get the first blood of the evening.

Dru Marshall slid in a bandana that was a concealing a handful of drawing pins for some tack-based brutality including both men ending up with a mouthful of pins, and Joe having his pants stuff and being low blowed to continue the penile punishment that was a common theme for the bout.

A barbed wire covered chair was brought into play as the white shirt of Big F’N Joe steadily turned red. Marshall slid in a board covered in barbed wire which ended up seeing Renfrew being shotgun dropkicked through it by Joe. A follow up senton all but had it won for Big F’N Joe until referee Sean Moran was pulled out of the ring by Dru. Joe brought Marshall in for a Death Valley Driver onto the pile of thumbtacks, then proceeded to get a hold of two tack covered mini cricket bats to leather both representatives of The New Age Kliq which made a gory cracking sound.

While Joe admired his handy work on Irn Dru, Renfrew returned to the ring with a Stunner to snatch the win.

Marshall continued the assault on Joe after the match until Lou King Sharp made the save. The New Age Kliq got the better of the pair but Legends Never Die rushed out to send Renfrew and Marshall to the stage. As Sharp, Joe, Sparx, and King looked to have warded off Renfrew and Marshall, LND changed their hand singles from LND… to NAK.

Fulton and Sami jumped Sharp and Joe to allow for Marshall and Renfrew to return to the ring. Just as it looked like the show was over a voice interrupted the things with Red Lightning making his way out with a microphone in hand, apologetic that the taxi from Sauchiehall Street was a bit slow. After a light dressing down of Renfrew, Rudo announced that Tod Gordon had made him Team Leader with full control, Lightning went on to announce the first Playa Haters Ball with Chris Renfrew, Big F’N Joe, Lou King Sharp, and Tim Strange for the return to the Grand Ole Opry, the winner would have a shot at the UEWA European Heavyweight Championship at any time.

A plunderous finale to the night with a bombshell twist and debut. Though it was given the deathmatch stipulation it did feel more like a hardcore match where the content was played more for laughs like the constant nut shots, using kids in the crowd, and some of the silliness that was threaded throughout.

It was an interesting show, while it had a bit of VALOR flavour it was muddy in places. That could have been down to the pressure to over deliver but a couple parts fell short for me. There was a potential to make things more effective with some minor tweaks but that’s with the benefit of hindsight.

The addition of Red Lightning was a big deal for the Glasgow wrestling scene on the night, he was on Triller an hour or so before commentating a match, to suddenly appear to close the VALOR event was a shocker. It’s not like with Tommy Lockhart wrestling on both shows, or Daisy Jenkins popping up during ICW after wrestling on the VALOR pre-show, both of which were cool in their own right. Red Lightning is someone who you closely link with Insane Championship Wrestling so to have him walk out in an authoritative role after all the subtle, and not-so-subtle, references and jabs that both promotions put out during the run up and on the night it was certainly unexpected.

The show is available on YouTube: