We’re back in the Grand Ole Opry in Glasgow for this episode of This Is VALOR as we enter Most Wanted following a bloody and brutal conclusion at Playa Haters Ball.

Sami Sparx defeated Jonny Storm by pinfall.

As much as The New Age Kliq are anti-heroes in terms of reactions at times, Sami had no chance in penetrating the sheer mass of vocal support for The Wonderkid.

Referee Reece Howlette wasn’t having any time for any NAK shenanigans, ordering Marshall and King to the back very early on after both tried to cause a trip up. Storm threw Sparx out to be caught by the duo as Jonny dived out to take the New Age Kliq trident out in style.

A little bit of cunning was on display with Sami pulling Howlette into the path of a charging Jonny Storm. Jonny stopped in time but the distraction was enough for Sparx to grab Storm and snap him backwards into the corner turnbuckles to take control.

Sami kept the pressure on Storm, doing his best to keep Jonny from getting back into the ring with rough forearms to knock him off the apron as the chants for Jonny Storm got louder and in a rhythm.

The power of the people revitalised Storm to kip up and connect with an enziguri to begin his wave of momentum, with a three point second rope clothesline catching a near fall.

Sparx spotted an opening to drive his foot into the stomach of Storm to follow up with a Pedigree, however, Sami broke his own count to punish Jonny further.

Jonny once again offered a comeback that was halted by the return of Marshall and King, which was enough to have Sami Sparx roll up Storm with an added handful of tights to seal the win.

Chris Renfrew arrived, and after a bit of chatter on the microphone, a spot in The New Age Kliq was offered to Jonny Storm, which wasn’t outright declined.

An antic filled opening match, much like for Fulton King at Playa Haters Ball, it established the new attitude of Sami Sparx as part of The New Age Kliq.

Jonny Storm was untouchable when it came to crowd response, and that made everything Sami did, along with Dru and Fulton in the closing stages, heightened to facilitate a visceral response.

Plus getting a win over someone with that depth of experience adds a legitimacy to Sami being part of the group. It worked well.

Ozzy Michaels & Daisy Jenkins defeated Johnny Pressley & Aerin Taylor by pinfall.

The counter offense of Daisy Jenkins and Aerin Taylor started the match hot, as the crowd were loud and split for the pair with the two counts coming thick and fast.

The positivity continued with Johnny Pressley and Ozzy having a little back and forth that included an impressive monkey flip from Ozzy that saw Pressley land on his feet, and that was with a little stumble in the set up.

Ozzy got the better of Pressley, driving a diving European Uppercut to the back to the spine that left Johnny all shook up. He tagged in Daisy for a double axe handle and to keep a hold of Pressley. After a couple goes around of tandem torture, Johnny broke free and requested a dance off.

Jenkins and Ozzy did a bit of dancing that seemed to impress Pressley who offered a sincere handshake, but it was Aerin Taylor playing spoiler by interrupting the fun and booting Daisy in the stomach. Aerin started calling the shots with Johnny Pressley following but looked hesitant with his body language showing signs of confusion.

The strategy of dividing and conquering backfired, Ozzy stopped a double suplex to save Jenkins from further damage and, while Daisy sent Aerin to the outside, Ozzy planted Johnny Pressley with an Angel’s Wings. Daisy Jenkins finished the match with a second turnbuckle twisting elbow for the three.

Post-match handshakes had Daisy look a bit wary of Aerin Taylor’s actions. The fact that these two have something cooking in PWR PRO right now and seeing some teases and seeds being sown as far back as the middle of last year is fantastic.

The continued rise for Ozzy is great to see. He has developed a connection with the VALOR audience that feels organic and very much natural, and in turn the respect he showed Johnny Pressley rippled back to further positioning Pressley as a fan favourite even after he tried to follow Aerin Taylor’s lead there was an honest intention that was evident.

God’s Country (Stone Malone & Tim Strange) defeated Cirque du Catch (Tommy Lockhart & Big Mick) by pinfall.

After some hat catching, with mixed results, Tommy Lockhart and Stone Malone tied up to get things going. Lockhart had the better of Malone, who mixed it up with a bit of brute strength to get some sort of traction.

Some vintage Lockhart saw him in a handstand on the top turnbuckle that lasted an incredibly long time as it looked like Tim Strange was trying to wait out Tommy by getting into a bit of a jape with referee Archie Williams.

Lockhart still escaped, making his way up and over Stone Malone and tagging in Big Mick to square up to Strange. Strange goaded Mick into hitting harder, brushing off the strikes with ease. It took a bombarding of forearms to finally rock the big cowboy into the corner, with Mick bringing Tommy back in to get some jabs in.

Thanks to the intervention of a divine clothesline from Stone Malone, Strange took charge of isolating Tommy Lockhart from the Cirque du Catch corner, and brought Malone in to keep Lockhart locked in God’s Country.

It was RODEO TIME for Tommy, who flopped to the canvas after Tim pressed his tree trunk leg over neck and back of the showman. Lockhart kept moving and showing signs of life but was unable to catch his breath, the last of which almost left him after an elbow drop from Tim Strange.

A second wind arrived for Tommy to land a springboard uppercut to knock down Strange, allowing him to tag a rested Big Mick who was up for some wrestler throwing. Despite his best efforts, it became a numbers game as Malone ducked to reveal a revved up Tim Strange with a meaty lariat to knock out Big Mick and give God’s Country the victory.

It was a showcase for Tommy Lockhart that demonstrated his tenacity when faced with the danger of Tim Strange and Stone Malone imposing their will on matters. Again it’s about those emotional connections, especially with a VALOR crowd, and it was job done in having Tommy look tremendous even in defeat.

First Blood Match – Penelope Grace defeated Brodie Adler by first blood.

Brodie was relentless against Penelope Grace from the outset, chucking Grace from corner to corner and overwhelming Penelope with a barrage of forearms and head shots against the edge of the ring.

A chair was brought in as Adler continued to punish Grace, driving the steel into the midsection and over the back of Penelope with a hell of an impact.

Grace found a baking tray under the ring while she tried to escape the mugging she was receiving which was used to great effect when it became bent over the skull of Brodie Adler.

It was Penelope’s turn with the chair, and her quest for more weaponry had her find a kendo stick that was ricocheted off Adler. Grace revelled in the atmosphere, but took her eye off the ball with a swing of the stick being caught by Brodie who levelled it off the head of Penelope Grace.

Penelope managed to hit the Fall From Grace, but her attempt to gouge Brodie with a fork was dodged. Adler grabbed the chair and smashed it off the face of her rival but her upward swing caught referee Archie Williams to knock him down.

The chair shot did the job with the blood pouring down the forehead of Penelope Grace but, with no referee active, the match was still in play. Aerin Taylor arrived and launched the chair at Brodie and once Archie woke up from his impromptu nap he saw the blood on Adler and called for the bell.

Hard hitting would be an understatement, Brodie coming in with a bucket of forearms and punches with Penelope’s name on it felt real. Brodie didn’t take time for crowd validation but that intensity was felt and latched onto to convey a real sense of hatred towards her opponent, and that carried throughout the match.

Aerin Taylor’s actions being foreshadowed with her out of the blue act of aggression towards Daisy Jenkins earlier in the night formed a foundation of distaste that was amplified when she showed her allegiance with Penelope Grace and bludgeoning Brodie Adler with an airborne steel chair.

They hit the balance well to have the violence of a first blood match expectation but keeping it grounded and not just doing mad stuff for the sake of it.

Also just to add, the editing work for showing Penelope Grace bleeding was spot on as it caught the immediate crowd reaction.

A strong episode of This Is VALOR, it really feels like VALOR is going through a soft reboot after Come Ahead with the last couple episodes looking to make a concentrated effort to elevate wrestlers into the minds of the VALOR audience.

In this episode we got Tommy Lockhart, Sami Sparx, and Ozzy as three that were given the time and focus to show themselves, and allow the time for the crowd to pick out qualities to invest in whether it’s to cheer or boo.

Overall it was a good one.

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