Shropshire Wrestling Alliance: Summer Blowout 2018, Dawley Town Hall - review

It would be fair to say that Shropshire Wrestling Alliance’s Summer Blowout was the talk of the town.

When I called my taxi asking for Dawley Town Hall, the person on the other end exclaimed, “There’s a lot going on there tonight”, and when I got in, the driver quickly, said “you another one for the wrestling?”.

How right they were. In front of a sold-out crowd, Shropshire Wrestling Alliance put on an excellent card.

What made it more remarkable, was that the achievement was done in trying circumstances, with previously announced competitors Eddie Dennis and Toni Storm having been signed by WWE to appear for their new UK-specific television programme.

They may be amongst the best in the world, but on the night their fellow performers ensured they weren’t missed.

Replacing Storm was her fellow Australian, Mark Davis, someone who has become a firm-favourite across the UK since moving to the West Midlands in 2017. He and SWA Champion, Chris Ridgeway recently had an excellent match for London’s PROGRESS Wrestling, and they picked up where they left off.

The two powerhouses tore into each other, putting together a hard-hitting match, where the winner was always in doubt.

It would not be the only time that night when we would see Davis, as he would accompany his Aussie Open partner Kyle Fletcher to the ring for a later match.

However, it would be fair to say that he was less focused on his duties as a second, instead choosing to drink beer and talk to the fans. It spoke to the laidback atmosphere, with the family audience enjoy burgers, homemade cakes and a raffle alongside the in-ring action.

Somebody who refused to get into the spirit of things, was Spike Trivet, with wrestling’s blueblood antagonising the fans before his match with Rob Sharpe. Having demanded that his opponent apply hand sanitizer before they engaged, he would later pour Bollinger over Sharpe and the referee.

In the main event, a team representing SWA would try to restore order by bringing the Happy Place faction to heel in an eight-person elimination tag team match.

At one-point fan-favourite Luke Basham was outmanned three to one, but in a herculean effort considering he had earlier departed the match with an injury, he managed to quickly eliminate two members of the Happy Place.

As the last two men, he and Ash Draven would send the fans into a frenzy, as they sought to secure the final pinfall that would give their team victory.

Summer Blowout 2018 will shortly be available to buy on DVD or Video on Demand. Shropshire Wrestling Alliance next returns to Dawley Town Hall on Saturday 29th September 2018. For more information, go to https://www.shropshirewrestling.co.uk/

By Will Cooling