Yep, there’s still a little wait for the podcast episode from Regal Rumble to come up on the schedule so as a little side piece I’m going to write some thoughts and feels. If you want to listen to our immediate pre and post show reactions now though it’s on Patreon if you are so curious.

I say our, because for the first time since last year’s Battle of the Nations, I was not alone in the journey to the Granite City as Kelly joined me due to the overwhelming positivity that a certain mighty viking would outlast 24 other men to win his second Regal Rumble match. Was she right? Read on…

We arrived about 5 minutes before VIP doors opened and the queue was a big one, it CURLed around the car park, and I will not pardon that pun. It was sunny, yet chilly. Welcome to Scotland.

It was the opposite in the venue as main hall for the show was hot, like… really hot. There was air con in the room next door for merch which was a beautiful discovery at the interval, but before we get to the interval there was loads of matches to witness.

VIP Ticket Holder Match – Caleb Valhalla defeated Meyhem Brooks by pinfall.

The VIP portion featured the current WrestleZone Tri-Counties Champion in non-title action when Caleb Valhalla was up against the debuting Meyhem Brooks from Elgin. Brooks didn’t have to do much to be immediately disliked by the crowd, Caleb is very much well loved in WrestleZone.

Disliked perhaps, but Brooks put in the work. He and Caleb went toe to toe, and arm to arm when Brooks attempted to lock in a cross armbreaker, focusing his attacks on the left arm. Which was smart on two levels, weaken for his submission offense, and to take out the power function that Valhalla would need to hit a Helride.

Caleb tried to power out, with each attempt being slower and more difficult. Brooks was a slippery sort, coming out of a Helride attempt and immediately jumping onto the back of the Norse God to try and take him down with a rear naked choke. They continued to battle back and forth.

Valhalla shifted his weight to counter a second rope (the most dangerous rope) superplex into a crossbody to get the pin and win. A fantastic finish.

Caleb offered his fist as a sign of respect following the match but Meyhem went out to cause just that when he attacked Valhalla and applied the cross armbreaker to a chorus of boos.

An impactful debut from Meyhem Brooks, had a great slugfest, showed what he has to offer in-ring, mean mugged the crowd which returned the desired reaction. I loved the finish, sometimes out of nowhere can derail the momentum but this one felt spot on as Brooks had disabled the power portion of Valhalla’s game for the moment so Valhalla decided desperately to go to the air, which he has been showing some proficiency in lately, hashtag Lucha Caleb, which I can only assume is due to the SKOLboarding.

I’m down for a rematch down the line with maybe a title at stake. Hopefully we see more of Meyhem Brooks up in WrestleZone. I’ve seen him evolve over the last few years and he’s opening himself more into the crowd work which has up his game tremendously.

Undisputed WrestleZone Championship – Two On One Handicap Match – Lost Boy Aspen defeated Flippy N Drippy (Ronan King & Connor Molloy) by pinfall to retain the Undisputed WrestleZone Championship.

Onto the main show, and I’ll be honest, when this was revealed as the opener I turned to Kelly and said that I thought there was going to be a title change. That gut feeling that is so often incorrect when I go to Aberdeenshire. Is the granite that affects it? Is it the sea air? What happens??

I had moaned in the car on the way through (footage will follow in the road trip episode) that there hadn’t been clarity on whether Aspen would step into Rumble in place of whomever became the new Undisputed WrestleZone Champion if that was to occur. MC Martyn Clunes confirmed that that would be case in his mastering of ceremonies and it immediately scratched that brain itch. It’s like he could hear my thoughts.

Or maybe he knows that I would be obsessive about it like something…something… tables.

After Aspen once again fired Ronan’s hat into the crowd, it was tag rules that started the match with Ronan and Connor trading high fives regularly. Aspen had to weather the storm and swat away his opponents when possible. That terrible gut feeling, which I will now blame Pizza Hut for, had me in crisis mode mentally. The heart and brain wanted different things, get on the same page lads.

King and Molloy worked as a team, there wasn’t any pinfall descension, which was something I liked. So often when stipulations like this occur it becomes about individual needs but nothing of the sort was showed during this. Aspen threw out chops, throwing his opponents when possible, including a nasty sit out powerbomb but he was overwhelmed for a good portion of the bout, especially when the tag rules broke down.

Flippy N Drippy went for their kiss on the cheek/superkick sequence but Aspen dodged and the duo found themselves locking lips which got a good laugh. How times have changed, I’ve seen crowds gone by (not specifically WrestleZone) that would’ve shouted horrendous stuff in response to something like that (mainly drunk “lads” at the back of the hall) but it was reacted as it should’ve been, for laughs.

There were some really nice team moves, a Finlay Roll from Ronan lead into a nice Frog Splash from Connor for a near fall. They cemented themselves as a cohesive unit.

Ultimately though in among the chaos, the Lost Boy managed to throw Molloy on top to King and was able to pin them both to retain. A close call for the champion, and my heart could relax for the moment.

A great opening match, there was plenty of jeopardy and near falls, until the final bell rang I believed that this was it, but Aspen survived another day as champion.

Warriors Against Low Life Entities (Bryan Tucker & Rhys Dawkins) defeated Speed Metal (Mikkey Vago & Tommy Raiden) by pinfall.

After that rollercoaster of emotions we got a little leviety with the shenanigans of Tucker and Dawkins. Speed Metal made their debut as a team, Raiden sporting some skinny jean shorts, along with the facepaint and flannel, to continue the metamorphosis thanks to his mentorship from The Heavy Metal Hooligan.

In typical fashion, the WALLE’s chemistry was a bit polluted, Tucker had his braces tangled into the corner by Raiden which trapped him momentarily, as Speed Metal were on a roll with quick tags.

There was a nice callback of Tucker wanting to use Dawkins as a battering ram but he didn’t want to because it didn’t work out last time, despite his protest Bryan grabbed him anyway but Tommy Raiden moved so Dawkins’ had his head rammed into the turnbuckle again.

A wild Judas Grey appeared, and after a breathed a sigh of relief that nothing was thrown my way, he was spotted by Vago, Raiden, and the referee, which allowed enough time for Dawkins to pick up his trusty book to wallop Tommy across the skull for the win.

I came, saw, and overcame.

Henry IV, Part 2′ (1597) act 4, sc. 3, l. 

Judas got on the microphone to confirm his alliance with Dawkins and Tucker, happily accepting in order to gain some revenge from Christmas Chaos when Tommy Raiden got involved and cost him his match against Vago. Looks like Speed Metal need a third man, the WALLEs have a spooky Twlight fella, maybe Vago can find a vampire warrior that happens to be in town on May 11th.

The match was entertaining, Dawkins and Tucker continue to provide plenty of laughs and the “wally” chants are louder than ever. Mikkey Vago continues to be ever-dependable to put on a solid match, and Raiden continues to show more personality as his evolution continues. Bringing Judas Grey back to tie up a hanging thread from December is great, plus it looks like it’s leading to some fangin’ and head bangin’ in a months time.

Captain Alan Sterling defeated TV’s Umar Mohammed by pinfall.

The show rumbled on with a rematch from Granite City Showdown. Captain Alan entered without his full sailors outfit, quite the scandal. He did however, have his battle hat which was stolen during his entrance and winged into the crowd. Thankfully it was returned in time for him to do some of the wrestling.

Umar, I mean, TV’s Umar Mohammed creates a party vibe with children rushing to get a high five. The guy is a superstar in the North East. Sporting a snazzy purple and gold sherwani it begs the question… WHAT BARRRRR is TV’s Umar Mohammed?

A Starbar (which is halal according to the Google machine).

Back to the match, Captain Alan demanded that the showaddywaddy was put on the line again. Someone in the crowd shouted that Alan should defend his hat which Umar seemed to agree to but it sent Alan in a rage about how it would be disrespectful to ask a Captain to put his hat on the line. Captain Alan Sterling is the best.

As always, with all the shenanigans that Captain Alan provides, you forget that he is very good in the ring. When focused especially, he targets body parts and very good at counters and evasion. Umar had explosions of momentum, hitting Alan with a Side Effect, springboard back elbow, and a beauty of a second rope draping Backstabber.

Umar went for the Thundergun Express that did the job in January, but Alan dodged, and pinned Mohammed, utilising the ropes for leverage. I’ve since found out that the type of pin (without the ropes being used) is called a Prawn Hold according to Wikipedia which is perfect for Captain Alan to be fair.

During Alan’s celebrations he decided that he won the showaddywaddy, grabbed it and put it on before escaping with Umar not far behind.

I’m just repeating myself at this point but Umar Mohammed is a very special talent, and I hope there’s some title gold around his waist soon. Everyone loves Umar (except when I put up an NGL question link). The fact that he had this match while fasting is remarkable because both created a really fun, fast, and physical match.

Damien w/William Sterling defeated Ryan Riley w/Zach Dynamite & Bruiser Brad Evans by disqualification.

In the first half main event, we got a big grudge match. Damien and Riley went at it with forearms, chops, and just brawled. You felt the anger that Damien had towards The Foundation as he scrapped at Riley to swing him off his game.

Sterling prowled at ringside, keeping his eyes on Dynamite and Evans at the other side of the ring. Riley tried to goad William to cause a distraction but it failed with Damien thwarting the Bruiser Brad interference and launch himself through the ropes to take out the gathering crowd of wrestlers.

The match continued to heat up, Riley hit a sweet vertical suplex, but as it was starting to look like Damien was on the way to a win, Evans and Dynamite rushed the ring and started beating him down. William Sterling tried to intervene but he was overwhelmed by the numbers as The Foundation of the Future devoured their targets with a barrage of stomps.

Following the beat down, Sterling and Damien were assisted to the back which left The Foundation unimpeded to intimidate MC Martyn Clunes to announce the correct winner. Clunes announced that Damien won by disqualification, which wasn’t the answer that they were looking for. Brad bullied Clunes into the ring as The Foundation surrounded him. Clunes once again announced that Damien had won by disqualification which earned him a club to the back by Bruiser Brad Evans before being stomped on by Riley and Dynamite. Eventually security and staff returned to save Martyn from the beat down.

A really shocking moment in WrestleZone, there’s probably an example somewhere but I can’t recall offhand a time where we saw Martyn get attacked.

Before the match was rudely interrupted, it was bloody good. I’ve mentioned in the past (and in the road trip podcast episode) that Ryan Riley is underrated in his individual skills, a very accomplished tag team wrestler, but hasn’t had a lot of extended singles match experience recently to showcase what he can do. Ryan got to show off his power offense, which can be overshadowed by Evans, and his cerebral tactics, which can often be overshadowed by Dynamite. Riley combines some of the best qualities of his faction partners.

Anyway, The Foundation of the Future are absolute bastards.

During the interval that little aircon blow was found and stood at for a good five minutes to cool down while pretending to look around like we weren’t just standing there for the cold air.

Mr Paterson, wearing a hat indoors, took over MC duties while Martyn Clunes was being checked out at Albyn Hospital, someone’s doing well, or unwell, I’ve gone cross eyed.

We got the raffle, which had the highlight of Mr Paterson getting a little fright by a very sneaky child appearing to get their prize while he was looking in the opposite direction.

The Regal Rumble – Caleb Valhalla defeated Lord Mr Malice, Zach Dynamite, Bryan Tucker, Alex Webb, William Sterling, TV’s Umar Mohammed, Tommy Raiden, Connor Molloy, Ted O’Keefe, Ryan Riley, Chris Archer, Captain Alan Sterling, Meyhem Brooks, Blue Thunder, Rhys Dawkins, Oliver Green, Murphy, Evan Young, Air Myles, Mikkey Vago, Bruiser Brad Evans, Judas Grey, and Ronan King to WIN The Regal Rumble.

MAIN EVENT TIME.

And if you think I’m breaking down the entry order/elimination order then you are very much mistaken. What I will do to talk about the highlights, of which there were many.

Numbers one and two turned out to be Air Myles and Alex Webb of the Fair City Saints. DadMyles scolded Webb for not telling him that he was number two. After the initial agreement to wait for number three, Webb tried to throw out Myles but was unsuccessful, which Webb immediately backpedaled on. Ronan King, my pick, entered number three which really put a dent in my hopes… Myles and Webb turned their attention to King with a Skull and Bones double team.

Zach Dynamite’s entry was delayed as he decided to wait at the entrance ramp, much to Mr Paterson’s insistence, Dynamite remained defiant. The Foundation of the Future were absolute chaos in this with Bruiser Brad joining Zach once his number was called. Once Blue Thunder’s number was called, Brad went over to slam Thunder through a table to stop Thunder’s Regal Rumble aspirations before it could begin. They finally entered once Ryan Riley’s number arrived to take over.

In between all of that we got Judas Grey purposely seeking this writer out to throw his shirt at, thankfully it was light. I sat behind a bald bearded man as a decoy dammit! Grey though, was a highlight reel, throwing himself from the top rope for a Swanton Bomb onto the Saints, King, and Ted O’Keefe brawling below.

Once the Foundation swarmed the ring they laid waste to the others in the match, launching anyone that dared move. Including planting Judas Grey with a big spinebuster, and Alex Webb with the Peep Peep’s Special. It looked all good for The Foundation until Damien ran out to spark another brawl.

How much of a trope of absolute thugs do you have to be to find Ronan King and Damien joining forces to try and eliminate you, considering King STABBED THE MAN IN THE EYE last year? Bruiser Brad found out when they, along with the rest of the competitors, tried to push him out while Dynamite was on the outside trying to keep him in.

Suddenly Scotty Swift arrived from the crowd, an appearance which caused a riot, and in the melee The Foundation were thrown over the top by Damien and William Sterling (I missed this at the time but after checking the video of the brawl it was in the background). The brawl continued on the outside as Swift was dragged out of the hall, with Mr Paterson getting on the microphone to pause the Regal Rumble while this was getting settled. Swift hadn’t been seen since Station Hotel Showdown last January when he was thrown out for getting into a scuffle with Bryan Tucker. The Foundation attacking Martyn Clunes looked to be the the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Why not return after Mr WrestleZone was attacked when Swift was mentioned? Why not when William Sterling or Damien was attacked? Because they are wrestlers and it comes with the territory. Clunes isn’t because he, by all intents and purposes, is a civilian, and that is a step too far. Wild scenes seeing the match suspended for a moment.

Following the reset we got the next highlight, Mikkey Vago arrived with his Singapore Cane in hand and went after Judas Grey, whacking him with it, Grey used Tucker for some Poetry In Motion to Vago but was bundled over the top rope, Grey’s springboard back into the ring was interrupted by a cane swinging into his stomach by The Heavy Metal Hooligan which found him soon over the top rope and out of the match. Lol.

Caleb Valhalla entered late on with his arm bandaged up from the earlier attack by Meyhem Brooks, he went straight after Flippy N Drippy as the field started to narrow, including the elimination of Ronan King, much to my dismay. Lord Mister Malice arrived in a full Gladiator outfit, complete with the chest plate being on his back, he went to eliminate Valhalla, pushing aside Meyhem Brooks who got a helmet assisted headbutt due to his tardiness to move. Malice ran towards Caleb who dropped the top rope to leave Malice to slowly go over the top rope. Malice celebrated that he was still alive and Valhalla shouted that he might have better luck next year. I’m sensing some respect forming between these two, possibly due to the Norse God-like helmet that Malice arrived with sparking memories of Asgard for the mighty viking.

The final four came down to Caleb Valhalla, TV’s Umar Mohammed, Meyhem Brooks, and Captain Alan Sterling. So I shifted my pick to Umar Mohammed much to Kelly’s chagrin. So Umar went out soon after, sorry Umar. He did managed to grab Captain Alan’s battle cap during the elimination which clearly left Sterling weakened as he turned into a big spear from Valhalla.

As Captain Alan Sterling and Caleb Valhalla stood toe to toe for the final two. Valhalla tried to simply throw out Alan but, I mentioned his skills of counters and evasion, Sterling turned it around to throw Caleb over but Valhalla held on. Captain Alan tried an Irish Whip but Caleb held his ground. Alan tried a handshake but as a callback to their break up at Regal Rumble 2022, Valhalla responded with a big clothesline.

A Helride, and brief heart in mouth moment with Sterling dodging a rush towards the ropes, but Captain Alan was finally launched over the top rope with Kelly on her feet to celebrate before Alan had done the same. Back to back Regal Rumble winner Caleb Valhalla, only the second to accomplish the feat following Crusher Craib in 2012 and 2013.

Post-match, Lost Boy Aspen arrived looking a bit disappointed that they are doing this again seeing as they’ve become best friends, and are a team, so wanted to up the ante and wanted Valhalla’s Tri-Counties Championship to also be defended, title versus title. Mr Paterson made the announcement, Valhalla offered his fist but Aspen left gripping the Undisputed WrestleZone Championship tight. The tension built in a couple minutes, the shift in attitude from Aspen going from disappointment to showing a glimpse of fear.

What was that, near 1500 words about the Regal Rumble match? Phenomenal. So many great moments, and there were moments I missed due to so much going on. Apparently The Outfit were eliminated via a low blow by Flippy N Drippy which looks like the direction going to May 11th. The chaos of The Foundation of the Future, Scotty Swift return, the Judas Grey-Mikkey Vago continuation, Fair City Saints brief implosion, a brief stare down between former Rejected teammates Mikkey Vago and Chris Archer, Lord Mister Malice, the final two making all the sense in the world in hindsight, one of the best Regal Rumbles I’ve seen.

I did a tweet in the day that followed the result, but to break it down a little further:

Regal Rumble 2022 – After months of verbal abuse and using Caleb as nothing more than dumb muscle, and following a loss in a tag team title match Captain Alan blamed Caleb, slapping him before immediately regretting his actions, which lead to Valhalla to finally clotheslining Alan. In the Rumble match itself, Valhalla entered in a fit of rage towards Alan, but it left Caleb distracted enough to not see Lord Mister Malice who pushed him over the top rope.
Aberdeen Anarchy 2022 – Due to illness Captain Alan could not appear to face Caleb, who then destroyed anyone who came near him.
Battle of the Nations 2022 – Captain Alan defeated Caleb Valhalla.
Halloween Hijinks 2022 – They meet again in a triple threat match, but Mikkey Vago picked up the win so nothing was solved on that night.
Christmas Chaos 2022 – Caleb won the match (1-1 now), but thanks to The Outfit, Captain Alan shaved the head of Valhalla after the bout.
Station Hotel Showdown 2023 – Sterling once again misses the show and can’t face Valhalla, instead we get Caleb versus Connor Molloy, which was fantastic, but still didn’t settle this feud.
Regal Rumble 2023 – Caleb and Alan meet during the Regal Rumble, but Deacon Matthews steps in to throw out Captain Alan on Caleb’s behalf. Valhalla went on to win the match but failed to win the Undisputed WrestleZone Championship at Aberdeen Anarchy.

Since then their paths didn’t really cross, and there are other parts of the story you can dive into further with the Tri-Counties Championship, but Caleb Valhalla never really closed the Captain Alan Sterling chapter fully. He climbed up the card, winning the Tri-Counties Championship, formed an alliance with Lost Boy Aspen as SKOL BROL, but he never got that final moment with Alan until Regal Rumble 2024. He exorcised the demon and now his path is clear as he marches towards a winner takes all match at Aberdeen Anarchy, which is happening for the first time since 2011. Incredible.

Everyone, even those I haven’t mentioned, got a little showcase moment, Meyhem Brooks had a great showing from his debut match to debut Regal Rumble, despite coming out with two losses, he put in a very good performance. I’ve missed so many little things that happened. Judas Grey put in another really impressive showing, I’m sure he will appreciate these kind words…

So yeah, I quite liked this show. We’re on the road to Aberdeen Anarchy folks!