The Friday morning saw me wake up early, so I could move the ring van from the two hour maximum stay parking to more sustainable, long-term parking. Once this was done, I decided to be adventurous and hit the gym, as I was pretty much prepared for it and was awake after struggling to sleep the night before. I got a decent workout in, which mainly consisted of weight training and bodyweight exercises that can be seen on my Instagram page @lifeofsmith24.
After that, I was afforded the opportunity to explore Newcastle itself for a short while, which mainly consisted of picking up bits and bobs from the shops and witnessing a statue that resembles legendary wrestling MC John Short, which was a site to behold. I was half expecting the statue to come to life and ask me for my autograph.
According to Google Maps, the journey to and from Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire looked relatively straightforward. However, there is a RIDICULOUS amount of roadworks surrounding the junctions you need to take in order to reach the town, making it almost IMPOSSIBLE to reach or leave the town, as one diversion would tell you to go a certain way and then it LEADING TO ANOTHER CLOSED ROAD. The journey there saw us get insanely lost until we mercifully reached the town in decent time.
The journey back saw us embark on a very dark and infuriating journey home where again, diversions would lead to nowhere and we were required to venture through random towns and country roads before MERCIFULLY reaching the northbound A1. I have never been so aggravated by diversions in all my life and would probably have an easier time trying to get in and out of North Korea than I did trying to get in and out of Clusterf**k Garrison.
The show itself was W3L’s debut in Catterick Garrison and would be taking place at the town’s leisure centre. I would be competing against local wrestler Highland Fury, who also wrestles for Maximum Pro Wrestling in the north east of England and is also a blackwatch soldier of 14 years. The match saw him attempt to power me down, as I looked to wear him down with strikes and holds. The end result though was me rolling him up for the win though, but unamused by my tactical prowess, Fury decided to spear me for good measure post-match.
The conclusion of this show saw celebratory dancing to Tapaqu’s entrance music, which featured Mike Musso, Leah Owens, MC Paul Geddes, referee Leon Brown and cameraman Jamie Jones. Even as a more villainous wrestler, I found it to be an interesting spectacle. Once we arrived back in Newcastle after escaping the abundance of closures and traffic cones that make up the roads surrounding Catterick Garrison, that was us at the half way mark of the tour and the next day would see us in Hexham, where I would be completing a career milestone by wrestling on my very own birthday…
– Lucian Maynard Smith
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