Woah woah, Ruggy Mania. Attitude Pro Wrestling returned to Rutherglen for their big event of the year. Tia Rey had the microphone, the wrestlers were ready to wrestle in a venue so hot the fire escape doors were open to try and get some air in.

CBL w/Peter Ghandi defeated Big Ross Hauser w/Thatcher Wright by pinfall.

The main portion of Ruggy Mania kicked off with Big Ross Hauser scowling to the ring with the slimy Thatcher Wright in tow. CBL, along with Peter Ghandi, brought the party atmosphere. What I’ve found when watching Attitude Pro Wrestling events, and Community Pro Wrestling events for that matter, is that they love themselves some techno rave beats to get into the wrasslin’ mood.

CBL, sporting a mullet you could set your watch to along with a vest tan, didn’t seem to show any fear of Hauser, whose scowl didn’t budge. What did budge was CBL being pushed into the corner, the lock up broken with a smidge of condescension from Big Ross. The support of Peter Ghandi at ringside got CBL all hyped up, knocking Ross down with a shoulder tackle. The match spilled to the outside with the uppercuts and strikes landing hard.

Peter Ghandi appeared to have a funny turn while being confronted by Thatcher Wright, which was enough of a distraction for Big Ross to piece back together his chest after having it chopped and impose his will on CBL, clamping on a bear hug tightly in the centre of the ring. CBL fought out and ducked the heavy swipes from Hauser, lifting up Ross for a Finlay Roll with a follow up top rope attack to gained a two count. CBL delivered the beats of the bodhrán but his big boot missed thanks to Thatcher Wright pulled Hauser out of harms way. Wright slid in his devil’s favourite hardback.

It got a bit confusing from this point, Peter Ghandi started having a heart attack which had referee Sean Moran occupied, something distracted Big Ross enough for him start looking around (it might’ve been music but I couldn’t hear it so I don’t know…), all of that lead to CBL connecting with a pump boot to the face of Hauser to collect the three count.

The crowd were having a good time with the antics of Peter Ghandi, which just seemed like more a deterrent for CBL as the match went on. The ending was odd, but Big Ross and CBL seemed to work well together.

APW Scottish Future Championship – Saqib Ali defeated Umar Mohammed by pinfall to retain.

In a much anticipated match, it was Umar Mohammed that had the crowd in the palm of his hands, even if they chanted his name incorrectly, hey it’s the thought that counts. Mohammed quickly had Saqib Ali on the back foot, fighting around ringside with Ali wanting no part of The Asian Sensation. Saqib bided his time as the scrap reached the apron, a sweep of the leg had Umar landing hard on the apron with Ali pouncing on the situation.

The pair exchanged strikes but it was Saqib Ali that was adding a bit more spice to proceedings to keep Umar on the defensive. Mohammed showed the will to keep fighting back, even when his legs turned to spaghetti after a superkick from Ali. Saqib lambasted Umar, calling himself the OG, slapping Mohammed about which only powered up Umar’s need for speed, with the moves coming thick and fast, and back and forth, with a cutter from Mohammed managing a near fall.

As the match hit a reset, Ali pushed Mohammed back to send him into the path of the referee. That momentary clash was enough to have Sean Moran looking the wrong way and miss Saqib boot Umar Mohammed in the testicles and finishing the match with a running knee to retain.

A really good match, there was definitely something held back, and with this being a first time encounter, it certainly gave us a taste of what we can expect if they square off again which I would be very interested to see. I liked that there was some mirroring of offense, with Saqib just having a little more of a killer instinct to use some unsportsmanlike antics to pick up a victory. I’d love to see this one again.

APW Tag Team Championships – Open Invitational Gauntlet – Big Strong Magic (The Big Strong Man & Magic Dave) defeated VL-Halla (Thorin & E-Town), CMND/CNTRL (Thatcher Wright & Stan The Slav King), Casino Brutale (Mikey Devine & RABU), The Govan Team (Ravie Davie & Cousin Zander), and Vanity (Judas Grey & Ronan King) to win the APW Tag Team Championships.

Casino Brutale and VL-Halla got things started with Mikey Devine getting the run around from E-Town that had him falling flat on his face. His night didn’t get any better, suffering an atomic drop, with E-Town bamboozling Devine, which transferred over to RABU who was involuntarily the front of the line for a Bronco Buster. Thorin got a flurry, tagging E-Town back in to fall victim to a knee to the back by RABU on the apron as Casino Brutale went to work isolating the Vicious Lad.

E-Town scrambled his way to his corner to bring in Thorin who screamed his way through a barrage of uppercuts to Mikey Devine. RABU returned to the action, dispatching Thorin, and landing Aces High to E-Town to get the pin and move forward in the gauntlet.

The Govan Team were out next and the chaos was automatic around the venue. As the match returned to between the ropes, it was Casino Brutale keeping Cousin Zander on their side of the ring. Zander back dropped Mikey Devine to break out of a double underhook and get Ravie Davie into the bout. Davie ran through Casino Brutale, landing a double Blockbuster. Zander was tagged back in but a wily RABU pushed Zander into Ravie Davie to cause Davie to land a Canadian Destroyer in error to his cousin.

RABU missed an Aces High, with The Govan Team able to deliver stereo headbutts to take out Casino Brutale.

Thatcher Wright and Stan The Slav King bolted through the curtain to assault Davie and Zander while Milby stalked around the ring. Zander launched himself with a spinning wheel kick that got the champions back into the match. Stan got taken out with an Aye Of The Storm from Davie to leave Thatcher in no man’s land, Wright wisely got out of the way of a double Glasgow Kiss to send The Govan Team knocking into each other. Some shenanigans took place with Thatcher grabbing the hardback to clunk off the head of Cousin Zander while Sean Moran was distracted. It was enough to eliminate The Govan Team to guarantee new APW Tag Team Champions.

As one popular team made their shocking exit, Big Strong Magic arrived to square up to CMND/CTRL to the joy of the Ruggy rebels.

Magic Dave and The Big Strong Man overwhelmed Stan and Thatcher, but thanks to some ruthless tactics Wright sent Dave into Stan who was throwing hands. Thatcher grabbed his book once again as Stan held Magic Dave up. Dave ducked but Wright stopped short of hitting his tag team partner. Thatcher turned around to eat a deck of cards flung into his face. Big Strong Magic pulled off some tricks with The Big Strong Man ducking being bludgeoned by pure evil to land a Big Strong Spear and eliminate CMND/CTRL. They didn’t take the lose well as Milby entered to powerbomb Magic Dave, and Stan driving his knee through the back of Dave’s skull to leave Big Strong Magic at a disadvantage.

The final team entered, Ronan King and Judas Grey, Vanity. King made a beeline for The Big Strong Man, decapitating BSM with a hidden blade with no mercy. A Brainbuster picked up where the two left off the last time they went one on one that caused near riots in Rutherglen. Judas tagged in for Vanity to plant The Big Strong Man for a double team Styles Clash. The Big Strong Man got his big strong shoulder up which earned him a double superkick that got another two count. It was a double suplex next but The Big Strong Man countered for suplex Vanity and reach out to tag Magic Dave.

There was sequence that just missed the mark where Magic Dave monkey flipped Judas Grey, who landed on his feet into the path of a Big Strong Spear. It was just slightly mistimed but connected enough to continue the narrative. Grey kicked out, and Ronan dived over to roll up Magic Dave, who rolled the pin through for the three to win the gauntlets and become the new APW Tag Team Champions.

As gauntlet matches go this has plenty of twists, turns, and drama. The Govan Team going out into Big Strong Magic being next transferred all the support over to them really well. Vanity being so close to coming out with the titles may have seen Glencairn Venue burned to the ground.

Triple Threat – The Wanderer defeated Tucker, and LJ Cleary by pinfall.

Tucker put an end to a rendition of The Wanderer, superkicking Wanderer in the face to get things under way. With The Wanderer out of action for the time being, it was Tucker and Cleary going back and forth as LJ spun Tucker into retreating to the outside. Tucker bumped into Wanderer for a bit of a doing with the numbers firmly against the big Irishman.

A quick skirmish with Cleary and Wanderer trying to catch the other out followed before Tucker bullied his way back into the action, isolating LJ Cleary and keeping Wanderer from re-entering the ring. A rebounding lariat out of the corner from Cleary knocked Tucker down which allowed Wanderer to slide back in to throw hands. A big boot and a leg drop almost had Tucker out for the count until LJ broke the fall.

The flurry from all corners from all involved almost saw Tucker land very badly on his neck with a superkick counter from The Wanderer finding Tucker under rotate a back flip. Wanderer finished things off with a Rock Bottom and People’s Elbow to get the three.

Thankfully Tucker showed no ill effect and was chased out of the Glencairn Venue by LJ Cleary. Wanderer grabbed the mic to thank everyone for coming out, and to Cleary specifically.

Once the match got started the standout was Tucker, everything that came through him looked great, especially with LJ Cleary, nasty landing towards the conclusion aside. What was interesting was that the crowd didn’t seem to be fully on board with putting their whole heart into supporting The Wanderer again with some audible lulls when he was on top.

APW Scottish Women’s Championship/Titanic Wrestling Women’s Championship – Fatal Four Way – Morgana defeated Pretty Big Deal, Luscious Latasha, and Nicole Jasmin w/Tara Lenny by pinfall to win the APW Scottish Women’s Championship, and retain the Titanic Wrestling Women’s Championship.

PBD and Nicole Jasmin jumped the gun to attack Morgana and Latasha respectively as the sound of the bell still echoed around the Glencairn. The pair turned it around to dispatch Jasmin, and tandem suplex PBD to leave it down to the two of them for the moment. After an exchange, Nicole tripped Morgana to dragged her out of the ring so that she could have a tussle with Luscious Latasha that didn’t quite go her way. PBD made her way back in to break a pin attempt before roughhousing Latasha around the ring.

Nicole Jasmin rolled Morgana back in between the ropes and started calling the shots with PBD doing the damage. The alliance ran its course with Morgana and Latasha once again firing up and the match becoming a bit of chaos. An impressive pumphandle slam from PBD knocked out Latasha, who caught a Twist of Fate from Morgana for a near fall. Jasmin got a Twist of Fate of her own from Morgana that was saved by Tara Lenny getting involved. Lenny and Jasmin pushed Morgana into the corner and after a bit of a tussle, it was Nicole Jasmin that was finding herself being marched into the centre of the ring for a sit-out powerbomb and counted out for the three.

Hannah Grande, in a sling, appeared post-match to kidnap Tara Lenny, forcing her to the back.

I liked what Pretty Big Deal brought to the dynamic, it just added something you don’t see too often due to her height. There could’ve been so much more to be done with Tara Lenny and Nicole Jasmin when it’s a fatal four way which means no disqualifications. It’s like they’ve just dipped the toe in Nicole being a bad guy instead of just leaning fully into it. Morgana was a standout and an appreciated winner from the Rutherglen audience. There wasn’t an awful lot Latasha to really get a grasp of her character.

Tommy Fierce defeated Redmond by pinfall.

Tommy ran in like a house on fire to throw hands at Redmond, taking the big scary brute off his feet with a shoulder tackle. Fierce bombarded Redmond with an assault. Redmond finally got a second to slip through a bulldog to launch Tommy Fierce backwards with a German Suplex to snatch control and following up with a big clothesline. Redmond hammered away at Tommy, who didn’t give up with spirited fight backs that saw his attempted springboard bulldog turned around into a Protobomb that was very nice to witness.

Redmond was relentless, muscling Fierce with ease and crashing him to the canvas with a spinebuster for a near fall as the frustration set in. The strikes went back and forth, with Redmond getting the best of the exchange via an uppercut. Fierce ducked a clothesline to once again get back into the match, hitting hard but was unable to get a combination going as Redmond hit a Claymore kick for another near fall. The Suplexorcist headed out for a chair and took a swing, only for his intended target to duck and find the weapon bouncing off the top rope and into his painted face. Tommy Fierce took the chance to hit some Stratusfaction and folding up Redmond tight for the three.

A lot of energy was on display with Redmond and Tommy able to convey their respective vibes from the merciless Redmond and the fearless Tommy Fierce. An enjoyable encounter.

APW Scottish Men’s Championship – Nick Justice defeated Manky Frankie by pinfall to retain.

The difference in the approaches from champion and challenger were evident from the opening minutes. Manky Frankie wanted to get in about it from the get go, but Nick Justice was happy to take his time to scout and slow things down. Ignoring the loud chants that headed Frankie’s way to tackle him to the mat. Nick went one step to far by brushing at the head of Manky Frankie which antagonised the Ruggy Rumble winner enough to get an adrenaline rush to overwhelm Nick Justice and take him for a trip around ringside to meet the ring post head first then it was back in the ring to have some face to face time with the top turnbuckles.

As it looked to be all Manky Frankie, Thatcher Wright and Stan The Slav King arrived on parallel sides of the ring with a distraction being just enough for Justice to take over. CMND/CTRL tried to get involved further with referee Sean Moran calling time on their shenanigans in short order and sent Thatcher Wright to the back while the scrap continued around the venue. A snap suplex to the floor was enough for Justice to decide that a count out would be plenty to retain as he waited for Sean Moran to count, as it was broken at 9 for Nick Justice to drive Frankie down for a Death Valley Driver, a two count, a second Death Valley Driver, another near fall.

Somehow Manky Frankie got a second wind, powering out of a straight jacket choke to leather Justice. Justice escaped an attempted Mankybomb to deliver a double arm DDT which still couldn’t keep Frankie down for the three count. The battle headed to the turnbuckle with the roar of support for Manky Frankie getting louder with anticipation. A second rope run up T-Bone Suplex from Frankie left both competitors writhing in the mat. It was Frankie that got the first hit in upon the reset, dropping Justice with a spinebuster and Mankybomb, the three only stopped by Stan The Slav King dragging Sean Moran out of the ring and beating down the man in the stripes.

Stan and Nick jumped Frankie, with Magic Dave and The Big Strong Man rushing out to get right of the disruptor. Thatcher Wright snuck back in with his book of evil and prepared to do damage with it until The Wanderer joined the fray to give Wright a cutter and gave Nick Justice a Wanderer Elbow. Wanderer hyped up Manky Frankie to finish the job who landed another Mankybomb to the champion. The Wanderer embraced Manky Frankie… then hit a cutter that deflated the audience. Wanderer placed the arm of Justice onto the chest of Frankie to end the match on a sour note.

A couple fans left pints next to Frankie as he lay on the canvas. The crowd were collectively gutted to see Manky Frankie lose. Not even angry, just dejected at what transpired. It’s rare to have a show end with silence, and it was that kind of silence that’s filled with tension. The noise at the start where everyone believed that Manky Frankie was about to become APW Scottish Men’s Champion was left muted by a betrayal.

The match was solid, Nick Justice is a guy that operates at a high level and he has a base line of good matches. Manky Frankie is the same, I can’t remember any matches that dip below good from recent memory. So the in-ring was sorted, it was the bits and pieces surrounding it that was a bit chaotic. As is the norm, there was some additional moving parts, Big Strong Magic added another bit of good will to their new venture by trying to help keep the match fair, with the turn coming out of nowhere when you consider that The Wanderer just made good again at the last “main” show.

It was a fine event overall with plenty of zigzags to keep the entertainment flowing. Of the matches the Saqib Ali/Umar Mohammed and the Redmond/Tommy Fierce bouts were highlights. It was a bold way to end the night, and as pointed out, it’s not like there was a riot bubbling, it was palpable disappointment that you could feel through the screen.

The full show is available on YouTube: