In a month that saw a first time ever contest between Will Ospreay and WALTER and children’s television presenter Dave Benson Philips compete in the same match as Session Moth Martina, there was some rather good wrestling here in Scotland. With just a few months left of 2018 (seriously, where has the year went?!), Joe Hendry has remained at the top of the pack as the best all-round performer. Will anyone be able to overtake him? Judging by his performances this month; no.
Honourable mentions go out to Aaron Echo, David Devlin, Grado, Isla Dawn, Joe Coffey, Kieran Kelly, Liam Thomson, Lewis Girvan, Mark Coffey, Theo Doros, Wolfgang, and Zach Dynamite.
10. Nathan North
Fantastic stuff coming Nathan North’s way. He began with his Discovery Wrestling debut, teaming with fellow debutant Zach Dynamite in a loss to The Kings of Catch. A week later, he teamed with Dynamite again, this time at WrestleZone’s event in Inverurie as they lost to Mr P and Andy Wild. Another debut the next day, losing in under two minutes I believe it was to Lucas Steel at Three Count Wrestling’s Midsummer Showdown show. A relatively good month for The North Star, despite the losses.
9. BT Gunn
A match at Discovery Wrestling’s beach party kicked BT Gunn’s August off to a great start, defeating Shady Nattrass after Andy Wild had to pull out. It would then be double duty for him at ICW’s Fight Club tapings, defeating former protege Kez Evans in a Shug’s Hoose Party 5 rematch and then reforming The New Age Kliq alongside Chris Renfrew as they battled to a no contest with The Kings of Catch. A defence of the BCW Heavyweight Championship against former WWE superstar Chavo Guerrero ended the month on a good note for The Oddity.
8. JD Wilde
JD Wilde made his presence felt in August, viciously assaulting Ken Kaiden with a kendo stick when SWE invade Fife, resulting in him being placed through a table on the evening show. Wilde lost to Kaiden at Hell for Lycra XV, which set JD up to cash in his Fast Track briefcase later on to steal the Heavyweight Championship from newly-crowned champ Grado. A successful title defence ended the month for him, retaining his new title against Tom Fulton and Scotty Riccio.
7. DCT
DCT had a rather easy month in August, not competing until the end of the month. His first appearance came in Ireland at Phoenix Wrestling’s Oops, We Did It Again show, successfully defending the ICW World Heavyweight Championship against both Terry Thatcher and Michael May. Back to Scotland for The International Sex Hero for another World Heavyweight Championship defence, this time going to a no contest with Bram at Terminator 2.5 – It’s Yersel. The draw did of course means he retains the gold. A bit of bad news to round up the month for him though, as Coach Trip turned on him to side with the next contender to the World Championship, “Just Justice” Jackie Polo!
6. Chris Renfrew
A big start to August for Chris Renfrew, with three shows over two days. First up, he retained the Reckless Intent UK Championship against Andy Wild before travelling to Source Wrestling where he teamed with Mikey Whiplash, Robbie Solar, and Grant McIvor in a victory over Violence Institute members Alexander Darwin MacAllan, Luke Matthews, Rowan Frey, and MATT DALY in a Hardcore Match. He returned to Discovery Wrestling the following day, defeating Theo Doros to advance to the semifinals of the Hotter Than Hell Edinburgh Invitational Tournament. At 3CW’s Midsummer Showdown event a week later, he lost to Screwface in a Dog Collar Chain Match before then issuing an open challenge the Saturday after, successfully defending the Reckless Intent UK Championship against a returning Michael Chase. A big ending to the month as Renfrew reformed The New Age Kliq with BT Gunn, going to a no contest with The Kings of Catch. As always with Chris Renfrew, card subject to change!
5. Viper
Viper had yet another impressive month during August, started off by defeating Nina Samuels to remain the #1 contender for the Discovery Women’s Championship. A few days later, she lost to Chief Deputy Dunne at HOPE Wrestling’s 5th anniversary show, before defeating Kay Lee Ray the following day to qualify for the 2018 Pro Wrestling: EVE SHE-1. Later in the week, she defeated KLR again on her Women of Honor debut. The Vixen of Violence was part of the PCW double header, defeating Rhio in the afternoon and then failing to take the Women’s Championship away from Nightshade. In her last match of the month, Viper teamed with Bea Priestley as part of Queen’s Quest UK as they were victorious over Kay Lee Ray and Chardonnay on Frontline Wrestling’s second ever show. Although she wasn’t wrestling, Viper did also appear at ICW Terminator 2.5 – It’s Yersel, challenging Kay Lee Ray to a Women’s Championship at Fear & Loathing XI. Kay Lee declined, but I’m sure Viper will find a way to convince her in to accepting.
4. Aspen Faith
Aspen Faith’s first show of August was as part of Discovery Wrestling’s beach party, where he and Lewis Girvan defeated Discovery debutants Nathan North and Zach Dynamite as part of The Kings of Catch’s open challenge. The Hardcore Hippie then went on to win the Respect Pro Heavyweight Championship on his debut night in the company, rolling up partner Lewis Girvan in a Triple Threat also including David Devlin. Aspen returned to ICW at the end of August for the first time since Filthy Generation Stevie Boy was forced out of the country. On this night, he and Girvan battled to a no contest with the reformed New Age Kliq. With the road to Fear & Loathing XI officially underway, The Kings of Catch may very well be challenging for the ICW Tag Team Championships at the Hydro come December 2nd!
3. Andy Wild
Andy Wild kicked off the month with an unsuccessful attempt at trying to pry away the Reckless Intent UK Championship from the grip of Chris Renfrew. A week later, he returned to a town that has been quite good for him in the past as WrestleZone headed to Inverurie where he and Mr P defeated Nathan North and Zach Dynamite despite Wild walking out of the match. His August came to an end when he lost to Liam Thomson at tapings for the recent episode of ICW Fight Club, a match several years in the making.
2. Joe Hendry
August was a busy time for Joe Hendry, putting in shifts on WOS, Impact, and ROH. An appearance at Discovery Wrestling kicked off his month alongside Bantz, losing to Colt Cabana and Deviation. Two matches from Impact Wrestling tapings made it to air during August, teaming with Grado in a loss to Eli Drake and Trevor Lee and then losing to Eli in a singles match on another episode. The Prestigious One returned to Ring of Honor as part of the Honor ReUnited tour, being eliminated from the quarterfinals of the International Cup at the hands of Hangman Page. In non-tournament matches on the other days, he lost to Marty Scurll in a Four Way Match (also involving Christopher Daniels and Kip Sabian) and failing to beat Jonathan Gresham in singles action. His month came to a close by beating rival Martin Kirby by disqualification at Defiant Wrestling’s Stacked iPPV after Kirby shoved referee Steven Lynskey. Hendry also appeared on a few episodes of WOS Wrestling throughout the month. The episodes saw him have an unsuccessful challenge at Rampage’s WOS Championship, losing to Martin Kirby, and losing to Justin Sysum in a Triple Threat Match that also featured Nathan Cruz
1. Kay Lee Ray
Looking at Kay Lee Ray’s August schedule on Cagematch (a saviour for these lists), it’s amazing to see how much she wrestled throughout the month. Kicking things off at Pro Wrestling: EVE, she lost to Viper in a SHE-1 Qualifier but managed to bounce back from this loss the next day by defeating Sadie Gibbs. The Queen of Hardcore made her Women of Honor debut the following week as part of the Honor ReUnited tour in Edinburgh, Doncaster, and London. Here, she again lost to Viper but did manage to beat Charli Evans and Ayesha Raymond on the other two nights. Another debut a few days later, this time for Will Ospreay’s new promotion Frontline Wrestling, teaming with Zoe Lucas in an unsuccessful encounter opposite Queen’s Quest members Viper and Bea Priestley. To round off the month was a loss to Lionheart at ICW’s recent Fight Club tapings. Throughout August, KLR also made a handful of appearances on the new World of Sport series on ITV. Appearing on a total of three episodes, she defeated Viper and Bea Priestley to be crowned the first ever WOS Women’s Champion, retained the title against Bea after Viper caused a no contest, and then again retained the gold in a Battle Royal over Viper, Priestley, Ayesha Raymond, and Kasey Owens.
September’s only just started, and it already looks like it’ll be a hard month to narrow down. Joe Hendry and Viper remain as the top two on the leaderboard; will all that change as we enter the last third of the year?
Point Standings as of September 5th 2018
1. Joe Hendry (57 points)
2. Viper (44 points)
3. Kenny Williams (38 points)
4. Andy Wild (35 points)
5. Sammii Jayne (29 points)
6. Stevie Boy (28 points)
7. DCT (26 points)
8. Aspen Faith (19 points)
9. Joe Coffey (18 points)
10. BT Gunn, Kay Lee Ray and Mark Coffey (15 points)
11. Damien (14 points)
12. Lewis Girvan (11 points)
13. Shawn Johnson and Wolfgang (9 points)
14. Lionheart (8 points)
15. Mikey Whiplash and Theo Doros (6 points)
16. Crusher Craib, Chris Renfrew and JD Wilde (5 points)
17. Eric Arkham and Isla Dawn (4 points)
18. Aaron Echo, Alexander Darwin MacAllan and Jack Morris (3 points)
19. Glen Dunbar, Irving Garrett and Kieran Kelly (2 points)
20. Blondie Barratt and Nathan North (1 point)
SCOTTISH WRESTLING NETWORK | SWN 