Shropshire Wrestling Alliance, Supershow, Review

In the main event, Chris Ridgeway defeated Toni Storm to successfully defend his SWA Title, forcing her to pass out after throwing Storm up for a brainbuster then trapping her into a rear-naked choke.

Hailing from Australia and having recently appeared for America’s World Wrestling Entertainment, Storm received a superstar reaction.

The match was a physical contest, with both competitors laying in hard shots, although the power disparity was clear throughout. After the match, the couple - who are actually engaged to be married - would embrace in the ring.

It was a strong end to an impressively deep card, which boasted nine strong matches. There were two heated grudge matches, which saw mixed results for the fan favourites.

Luke Basham finally got revenge over The Happy Place, defeating their leader with a sitdown piledriver. Before the match, Ash Draven would rile up Basham whilst protected by security, mocking his relationship with Tiffany. This would play into the finish, as Basham’s girlfriend would set up the finish, by punching Draven in the face.

Dynamic

The fans wouldn’t get a happy ending when Spike Trivet fought Rob Sharpe, in a no-disqualification match. Trivet is notorious for looking down on people, and mocked the local fans for being poor and stupid. The two men would hit each with chairs, bins and steel chains. Both men would also be thrown into drawing pins. The end would come when Trivet drove Thomas through a table.

In a marquee match, former WWE superstar Chris Masters teamed with SWA regular Chuck Cyrus. There was a nice dynamic between Masters and Cyrus, with the British pro-wrestler clearly having been a fan of Masters’ work in the WWE. They would both strike poses, showing off their impressive physiques, and would ultimately defeat The Brotherhood when both men applied the American’s trademark Masterlock submission hold on their opponents.

And in what was perhaps the best match of the evening, Canada’s El Phantasmo won a fatal four-way featuring Australia’s Sean Kustom, Wales’s Mark Andrews and British pro-wrestling legend Jody Fleisch. This was full of high-flying action with Fleisch impressing throughout, doing a moonsault of the ringropes to the floor, and at one point, wall jumping to land a blow. After the match his opponents would join the fans in paying tribute to one of the greats of British pro-wrestling.

'SuperShow 2018' will shortly be available to buy on DVD or Video on Demand. Shropshire Wrestling Alliance next returns to Dawley Town Hall on Saturday 24th November 2018 with two shows on the same day. For more information, go to shropshirewrestling.co.uk

By Will Cooling