A weekend of wrestling was planned but thanks to that bitch Storm Babet it turned into one afternoon of wrestling. It’ll all be worth it right?

We have a road trip edition of the podcast coming out on November 3rd (probably available on Patreon right now) if you want to hear my voice for some incoherent thoughts and feelings.

If you want slightly more coherent thoughts and feelings but in written form then this is the place for you.

After a packed Elgin Town Hall earlier in the year, World Wide Wrestling League returned on a Sunday afternoon for their season premier taping of Wrestling Showdown. I don’t know if it was the time, the recent weather, or whatever other factor that may’ve been at play but the crowd was quite small in comparison to their last visit. Doors opened late, because what’s a W3L show up here without something not running to time!

Before heading to find a seat I was able to chat with Stevie Wizard and Lennon Samuels, the referee assigned for the evening. I don’t think people appreciate Stevie Wizard enough, I won’t point out every single one but there were a couple tech issues and Wizard was quick to pick up the crowd and banter with them to keep the show moving, plugging W3L content and sponsors left, right and centre, rounding up folk to get their interval polaroid picture, and generally keeping the afternoon light and fun. The Jeremy Borash of Scottish professional wrestling.

Brodie Adler defeated Kirsty Love by pinfall.

The show kicked off with Brodie Adler, having never seen Brodie wrestle live previously that’s twice in two months now which is nice. Kirsty Love was her opponent which was a pleasant surprise.

The crowd took a little while to warm up but this was a slugfest, Adler powered Love with a front slam, punished her with corner splashes, and even though Love fought back with forearms and a Famouser but it wasn’t long before Adler finished the job with a standing Black Hole Slam.

It was a fine opener, and it felt like a proper tussle, not pretty but a good scrap. The audience were behind Kirsty Love as the conclusion came around, and more than happy to boo and shout at Brodie Adler.

W3L Wrestling Showdown Championship – Krieger defeated Saqib Ali by pinfall to retain the W3L Wrestling Showdown Championship.

Now with the crowd suitably warmed up, we were treated to two of the most solid wrestlers in the country doing a wrestle over a belt. On Saturday Krieger defeated TJ Rage to win the W3L Wrestling Showdown Championship for the second time, and here he faced another 2-time Wrestling Showdown Champion in Saqib Ali. Wizard noted that last time out in Elgin, Ali won a contenders match which wasn’t announced to be the case at the time but I loved that they used past events here to link to the reason for the match and it wasn’t just thrown together and splitting the crowd for no reason.

Both got a great reaction, with neither outwardly being the bad guy it was two wrestlers duked it out. Krieger even allowed Saqib to choose a fan to hold the belt while they vied for it, which was great as he noted that if anyone didn’t like who Ali chose then to just boo him.

Fast moving, a very busy match with Ali doing what he could to knock down the big tree Krieger. Krieger went with the power game, almost toying with him for a scoop slam. Ali gather momentum but just as he looked to be on the home straight an Andrew ‘Test’ Martin style Big Boot wrapped around his face for the pin and retention for Krieger.

You’re in safe hands with Krieger and Saqib Ali, they rarely put a foot wrong so you expect to be entertained at the very least.

Jonny Storm & Joe E Legend defeated Luke Aldridge & Lou King Sharp by pinfall.

What. A. Match. The first half main event was incredible. On one side you have Lou King Sharp, possibly one of the most entertaining wrestlers in the country right now, flanked by Luke Aldridge who hasn’t appeared up north since December 2021 so was nice to see him back up here.

The other side was Joe E Legend of WWF and TNA… and ITV Celebrity Wrestling… fame, teaming with ‘The Wonderkid’ Jonny Storm (of Strom if you were to believe his entrance graphic) for his Elgin debut as far as I’m aware (unless he was a fake Crash Holly on that tribute show from 2001 that I both don’t want to remember but also want to know everything about).

About 30 years in wrestling, my lasting memory being his appearance on The Wrestling Channel, more specifically that advert that would come round between NWA-TNA episodes, it was still great to see someone with the reputation that Jonny Storm has do some of that wrestling, and not only wrestle but still be brilliant.

This was pure entertainment. From Lou King Sharp using referee Lennon Samuels as a foot stool in order to get a height advantage over Storm for a test of strength, to everyone slapping each other at least once, Sharp trying to flirt with a woman in the crowd, Joe E Legend joining the front row to boo his opponents. It was a riot that made you enjoy wrestling as the artform variety that it is.

It all looked very natural and an easy night and I was thoroughly entertained. Jonny Storm hit a second rope moonsault onto Luke Aldridge for the win. It wasn’t a mat classic, it was good old fashioned yay-boo pantomime. Good prevails over evil. My only disappointment is we didn’t get an OH MY GOD elbow from Legend, but we did get a BRAINBUSTAHHH shout out so it softened the blow (not so much for Sharp who found himself being the recipient of said brain busting despite Aldridge’s attempt to intervene).

Somehow, once again, Lou King Sharp found himself on the top of the stage screaming and with his dungarees off, an intervention may be required.

Storm headed to the merch stand while Legend stuck around for some in-ring photos for the interval.

W3L Heavyweight Championship – Taylor Bryden defeated The Tormentor w/Xero by disqualification to retain the W3L Heavyweight Championship.

Before the next match Taylor Bryden entered to lay out an open challenge as it was the season premier and he didn’t have a match. Enter The Tormentor (with a bowl which got “what’s for dinner” chants) and Xero. I’ll be honest my heart sank here, The Tormentor is an act that I don’t really enjoy, especially when Taylor Bryden has been putting on absolutely stellar matches in Elgin with Gaia Hox, Doug Williams, and Lou King Sharp recently.

If it was The Bulgarian Baker however…

There was some confusion as to who was challenging Bryden, with Xero looking like he was the one to take it up, a sigh of relief washed over me as the lesser of two evils was stepping up BUT IT WAS A RUSE and The Tormentor jumped Bryden as Xero exited the ring.

There was a match, nothing super special about it, Xero tried to interfere before Luke Aldridge ran out barefooted and jumped the champion for a three on one mugging, Xero and The Tormentor awkwardly lifted Bryden onto the shoulders for Aldridge to then awkwardly slam him. The Tormentor went back for the bowl and Aldridge tipped water on Bryden. Aldridge held the W3L Heavyweight Championship aloft as the challenge looked to be set.

Bryden then chased them back up to the stage and suplexed The Tormentor onto it because why not at this point.

Confusing, disjointed, and a bit crap really. We got the silly stuff with the tag team match and recently the W3L Heavyweight Championship match has been reserved for highly competitive matches, fighting for a prestigious title. I blow hot and cold with Xero but he surely would’ve been a better choice out of the two, hell maybe find Rhoderick Jones, because then there may’ve been some semblance of a serious contest.

The point of The Tormentor, that I’ve found, is that he looks so rubbish that he just gets steamrolled every time which gets a nice pop from the crowd when he gets flattened in seconds.

I love The Bulgarian Baker, but let’s be honest, it’s not for 20 minute back and forth matches. Smack someone with a baguette, evil villain laugh, then get hit with the big babyfaces finishing move, done.

W3L Breakout Championship – Meyhem Brooks defeated Craig Stephens by submission to win the W3L Breakout Championship.

Your main event of the evening, the only match announced for the event, Elgin lad Meyhem Brooks challenged Craig Stephens for the W3L Breakout Championship. A rematch from last year at Bishopmill Hall which saw Brooks cheated out of a victory. After losing the raffle I needed a pick me up.

10 months later and they square off once again. It had a big fight feel with the chants of “ELGIN” roared behind Meyhem Brooks as he tried to get his hands on Stephens, who wanted to avoid anything to do with Grapzilla in the opening moments.

Stephens tried to take any shortcuts to wear down Brooks, trying to keep him at arms length to avoid the strikes, and making sure that any momentum was cut off quickly including ramming the back of Brooks into the ring post, focusing the attack on that back with an impressive stalling vertical suplex.

The match headed to the dizzy heights of the top rope with Stephens and Brooks jockeying for position which lead to a big flying clothesline from Brooks as the anticipation rose for a new champion.

The battle continued with Stephens even getting cocky by trying to lock in a rear naked choke but that didn’t last long. A kick out after a running powerslam fired up Brooks, Stephens tried to use the title to strike Brooks but found himself in that rear naked choke, passing out and losing the W3L Breakout Championship in the process.

A triumphant way to end the show as Brooks soaked in the victory and his first championship in pro wrestling, from seeing Meyhem grow over the last couple of years, embracing his role up here as the hometown hero, and becoming a more controlled wrestler in the process is testament to the work he has put in, and the trust W3L has in him to main event his home show especially when it was the only actual match confirmed to take place.

Let’s not forget Craig Stephens though, for a long time I was critical of his hammy-ness, and play wrestler villainy but the last few shows that I’ve seen him on he has toned it down a lot and actually comes more across as a cunning and cerebral bad guy. Now he is a guy in W3L with none of the belts, it will be interesting to see where it leads next.

A fun show from World Wide Wrestling League with plenty of positives to come from it, the feel good ending, the amazing tag team contest, along with Saqib Ali and Krieger continuing to be the big fan favourites up here, plus some new faces for those that aren’t all consumed about Scottish wrestling like this guy is. Less said about the open challenge segment, and upon the promotions return up here we get Bryden in a killer match with a Krieger, or an Ali next time. A great afternoon overall.