#anyway. bruiserweight!

[likesummerrainn]

NXT | 09.03.24

[ofhouseadama]

bruiserweight rated mature | wc ~7.5k | warnings: listed in notes

You have three new messages. First message, from 4:12 AM. Hey Samira, I’m gonna just keep calling until I’ve spoken to you or you show up in the Pitt, but uh… you gotta come get your boy. He’s f-fine, just a little concussion, it may or may not be my fault—I didn’t start the fight, but I sure didn’t de-escalate it, you know? Anyway, Abbot saved my ass from getting murked in Chairs and uh. It’s not great. Love you, bye! Second message, from 4:18 AM. Hey Samira, he’s specifically asked me to stop calling you, but I’m more afraid of you than I’m afraid of him, because you’ll be disappointed in me and that’s worse— ++ Jack Abbot takes a punch. It's not what hurts the most.

» READ ON AO3

[letsgivethisonemoreshot]

BruiserMates

Word Count: 4,644 (it's a long one)

Warnings: Sexual Situations, banter, there's some fluff in there somewhere.

Summary: The British Bruiserweight is more grumpy than usual. But his friends and a co-worker think they just might know a way to fix it. (Also, I tried to make an attempt to keep true with accents for the first time. So I apologize if it's horrible!)

The lukewarm water rushed out of a shower head in the back of the arena. The water pressure in these showers were never that good, but it was early and Lauren had the whole locker room to herself. She had the curtain drawn for privacy, just in case anyone else arrived early. Mostly because she was in the men’s showers. And just as she was rinsing the shampoo out of her hair, she heard several voices from the locker room echo into the bathroom.

"You could've stopped to get breakfast first." A British accent rang out.

"They 'ad food at the hotel." The familiar accent of Pete filled the room.

"Not anything for a vegan. And ya know that." Another voice argued.

"I don't know every damn vegan place in tha country." Pete spat back.

"Uh guys, just so you know you're not alone in here." Lauren informed them.

"Who in the bloody hell is that?"

"Lauren. I'm a backstage interviewer here. I really needed a shower after my workout before I got ready to work and they were cleaning in the women's locker room when I got there. No one was in here so I ran in. I'll be quick." She explained.

"Pete?"

"Yeah, she works here." He vouched, recognizing her voice.

"Ah. Alright then love. As long as you work here. I'm Tyler by the way."

"Trent." The other voice rang out.

"You guys are here from NXT UK for the tag tournament, right?" Lauren asked.

"You got it love." Trent answered as he turned on a shower on the opposite side of where Lauren was. "And you don't 'av to rush. We don't mind if you don't."

"As long as you stay on that side of the curtain." Lauren responded in a joking but friendly way.

"Great." Pete murmured.

"What's wrong with you?" Trent asked him.

"He's still sore about his girlfriend messin' around on him." Tyler answered getting ready to get a shower himself.

"Tell my business to the whole locker room, why don't ya." Pete said annoyed.

"She's the only otha one in here. And she sees ya more than us. I'm sure she's noticed you're grumpy."

"No more than usual." Lauren said as she conditioned her hair.

"Aw piss off all of ya."

"See? He's always this pleasant."

"I thought you said you were gonna be quick." Pete pointed out.

"I was, until Trent was nice enough to tell me I didn't have to. So now I'm taking my time."

Pete let out an aggravated grunt. "I can't shower with 'er in here."

"Relax Pete, I'm almost done. What brings you guys in here so early anyway?"

"Time change. Kind of has us messed up. And Pete just doesn't sleep." Tyler replied. "What about you? And working out nonetheless. I’d think you’d moreso be off writing questions."

"How else am I supposed to fit myself into those tiny dresses they want me to wear?" Lauren partially joked, causing two of the englishmen to chuckle. "I have a few interviews I have to do for some social media shows before the actual show tonight. This was the only time I could fit in a work out. I was going to shower real quick then get to work, but the women’s bathroom was closed, so I that brought me here. I guess it’s just bad timing.”

"Ah, I wouldn't say that love." Trent said.

"Well maybe not on my part. Anybody could walk in here. So many people have probably had fantasies that start like this. But apparently, it’s bad timing for some of you.”

"Would any of those fantasies include any of us by any chance?" Trent asked in a joking tone.

“Trent, ya can’t just ask a woman ya just met something like that.” Tyler chastised.

“Why not? I’m just joking.”

"Hm, some just might." Lauren answered.

"For fucks sake…"

"Jesus Pete calm down, I'm done. I'll be out of your hair in a minute." Lauren said as she turned off the water and wrapped her towel around herself.

"Yeah relax mate. We're just messin' around." Trent said to his friend.

"You need to get laid." Lauren stated.

"Excuse me?" Pete asked, sounding offended.

"We've been telling him that the last two weeks love." Tyler said to her.

She pulled open the curtain and stepped out of the shower stall. "Take it from someone who pushed away a lot of her friends by being a negative mope after going through a rough breakup. If she's gonna fuck around, then so can you. Try smiling, go get laid, and live. See ya later boys. I believe I'll be the one interviewing you later!" Lauren called out before walking away.

Lauren left them alone in the men's locker room and walked back to the women's which was thankfully now able to be occupied. She walked quicker than she planned seeing as how she couldn't get dressed there with the guys there. So she was running around in just a towel. No one had really showed up to get ready yet, but she still had to go over interview questions, get dressed, and was expected by the stylists soon. She was rummaging through her bag when there was a lock at the door. She dropped what was in her hands and curiously walked over to the door. Upon opening it she saw an annoyed Pete Dunne standing there. He was still in his trousers, nice button down shirt, and vest. His hair pulled back. Obviously he still hadn't gotten into the shower yet.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from you? Miss me already?"

Pete held out a plastic bag with tiny bottles inside. "Ya left your crap in the shower."

"And you're such a gentleman you brought it back to me?" Lauren joked.

"I drew the short straw."

"You sure it doesn't have anything to do with what I said?" She asked as she took the plastic bag from him. “Because my fantasies about you usually start with me still dressed and you ripping my clothes off me, but if this is how it happens I’ll take it.”

“No, it’s because I was the only one who was still dre…wait, what?”

Lauren smiled "Thanks for bringing my stuff back Pete. I forgot it in all the conversation. And if you’re just here to drop it off, I really need to finish getting ready. I need to be in make-up soon. I’ll see you around later.”

She closed the door, leaving Pete standing there dumbfounded at the interaction he just had.

Lauren had gotten dressed and was sitting in the make-up chair. She had decided on a short black off the shoulder dress. Even though the shoulders were bare, the dress had long sleeves, making a bit more acceptable in the workplace. The strappy heels that she had on also made it a bit less casual. She already had her hair done. She chose to leave it down since it was only shoulder length, but add some waves to it. Pete had wandered over to the area as Lauren was laughing while the make-up artist applied the dusty pink lipstick. Lauren was deep in conversation with the artist. She got along with everyone. Well, mostly everyone. She was easy to talk to and calming, which was a plus with her job. The interviews always flowed nicely and never seemed forced. She never really had any real problems with anyone she worked with. Pete leaned against a wall off to the side watching her talk. He had his wrestling gear on now, and had his long hair dangling down over half of his face.

"Alright, all set. How's it look?" The make-up artist asked as she held up a mirror.

"It looks great! Thanks Rachel!"

"Awesome. If you need a touch up just let me know."

"I will. Thanks!"

Lauren checked in the mirror one last time, pursing her lips together, before jumping out of the make-up chair and leaving it for someone else. She walked away from the styling area and right passed where Pete was brooding.

"Lauren."

"Hey Pete." Lauren replied as she walked by.

"Hey, hold up."

"What's up?" She asked as she stopped and turned to him.

"You tell me." Pete stated.

"Is this about what I said earlier? I’m sorry for getting involved in your business. And I never would have said anything had we not already been in the middle of a conversation. But I’ve been there, and I didn’t want you to end up pushing your friends away with your bad attitude like I did.” She explained.

"Not that. After. At the locker room." Pete said in a much lower voice.

Lauren smiled and crossed her arms. "What is this? When is Pete Dunne so timid?"

Pete rolled his eyes. "F'get it."

"No I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself." Lauren said reaching out to grab his arm. "I'll be good. What did you want?"

"You to stop being intimidating for a moment would be good."

"I've heard that once or twice before, but not from anyone like you."

"What you said earlier, did you mean it?" Pete asked changing the subject.

"That you need a good lay to forget about her? Absolutely. Your friends seemed to agree."

"No. That you've 'ad fantasies about me." He said as he took a step closer to her.

"Maybe a few times." She answered, surprising him by the serious tone in her voice. He stood there not quite sure how to follow up while Lauren opened the small bag she had with her and looked through it. "Listen, I really have to go and interview Daniel Bryan. But if you want to take my advice, I would love to be the girl that gets under you to get over her. Room 308 if you're interested."

She slipped her spare hotel key into his hand before turning around and continuing to walk down the hallway. Later on that night Pete sat in the back watching the show on a t.v. He was watching Lauren interview his two best friends while he spun the hotel key around in his fingers while being lost in thought. He pulled it together to go out and put on a good show, like he always did. All of his cockiness and aggression was on display. Lauren had been watching his match extra closely that night.

After the show Lauren was sitting alone in her hotel room. She hadn't made any plans for the night in case Pete decided to show up. After about an hour of waiting, she decided to change her clothes and get comfortable. She had the television on and was laying down in the bed, trying to relax, but she found herself not paying attention to it and trying to figure out what reasons Pete could have for not showing up. After driving herself crazy for some time, around 11:30 she realized she was being silly. His good friends whom he hadn't seen in months were in the country for a bit, so he was going to be spending time with them. Plus with all the joking around that she had done with him that day he probably didn't even think she was serious. Or maybe he just wasn’t interested and didn’t know how to tell her in a nice way. Lauren grabbed her phone and laid down on her bed to play some games until she got tired. Only a few minutes after she relaxed herself for the night, there was a knock at her door.

Lauren put her phone down and got out of bed. She walked over to the door curious of who could be there this time of night, especially without texting her first. She looked through the peephole and saw Pete standing on the other side. She quickly opened the door.

"You do realize I gave you a key so you wouldn't have to knock and wait in the hallway, right?"

"I didn't feel right usin' it." Pete told her.

Lauren opened the door wider and stepped aside inviting him in. He stood near her as she closed the door.

"I see you stayed dressed for me." Pete joked as he looked at her in her pink tank top and black yoga pants.

"I could say the same for you." Lauren retorted noticing Pete was in grey sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"It's not m' job to look pretty." Pete stated.

"Good thing I'm off the clock then."

They hadn't really talked much before now, other than just a hello or exchanging pleasantries. Maybe being involved in the same conversation as a group of people. Mostly that was because Pete kept to himself or only really talked with the people he was close to, where as Lauren would talk with everyone and insert herself into others conversations. But Pete definitely took notice today that not many people were able to throw back at him the way that she did, and he liked it.

"So did you just come here to criticize my clothes or…" Lauren trailed off.

"Actually, I wanted to talk." He answered.

"Oh, uh okay."

Lauren definitely hadn't been expecting that. She lead him into the room a little bit more and she sat down on the edge of the bed. Pete took one of the seats that were in the room and placed it in front of her before sitting down as well.

"So?"

"I've been thinking about what ya said. And you're right. If she's gonna bang a bunch of guys and not care, then I should too. Well, ya know."

"So what's the hold up?" Lauren asked.

"I don't want pity sex with someone just because they feel sorry fa' me. Especially if it's someone I 'av to work with."

"I can understand that. I'm not really one for random hook ups either." Lauren agreed.

"But then why did you…"

"I like you Pete." Lauren told him.

"Why? I'm kind of a bastard." Pete asked confused.

Lauren laughed. "Yeah, most of the time. I've watched you. You're grumpy face and your angry promos. But I've also seen the way you joke around with your friends. I've seen how interact with kids. I know how much you care about animals. There's a sweet guy behind that whole bruiserweight thing."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Your best friends. Those goofballs wouldn't waste their time with a complete asshole." Lauren answered with a smile. She reached out and placed her hand over top of his. "I'll be honest. I've had the hots for you since you started coming around. And then when I actually learned things about you I had a crush on you. And seeing you laugh with your friends, I've wondered what it would have been like if we had that kind of relationship."

Pete couldn't help but flash a genuine smile that he usually kept hidden. "Why didn't ya eva say anything?"

"You had a girlfriend, remember?"

"Right. Right. Forgot about that."

"Well that was the plan." Lauren giggled.

"So girls really dig the whole aggressive arse thing huh?" Pete asked amused.

"Oh yeah. There's something wired wrong in our brains. And the accent doesn't hurt either.”

Pete leaned back slightly in his chair and chuckled.

"Did I just make Pete Dunne laugh?" Pete didn't even try to hide it this time after she pointed it out. "Up until now I think I've only made you scowl."

"Yeah yeah, just don't spread it around."

"Don't wanna ruin your unlovable reputation, huh?"

They both sat in awkward silence for a few moments, neither knowing what to say next. Pete fidgeted in his chair slightly before standing up. Lauren promptly stood up along with him. He reached out and pulled her to him so her body was flushed with his, wrapping his arms around her in a bear hug. The act took her by surprise.

"Thanks." He said into her ear.

Lauren put her arms around her torso returning the hug. But her senses perked up. He was still holding her, his head down and his nose grazing her neck. The thought of his mouth that close to her, with his history of biting, sent an electric wave through her nerves. She tried to push those thoughts out of her head and hugged him tighter.

"Anytime Pete." She said lightly.

Pete broke the hug and stepped aside looking down at her smiling. She gave him a half hearted smile. She was glad that she was able to be there for him, and it seemed like there was a friendship forming between them. But she was a little disappointed that it wasn't going further. And embarrassed that she told him how she felt, and now she had to deal with him at work all the time with him knowing that. She didn't say anything as she followed him as he walked to the door.

"I'll see ya around, alright?" Pete said as he put his hand on the doorknob.

Lauren nodded with a smile. She closed the door behind him and leaned it against it sighing. She felt like an idiot. She was just hoping he wouldn't make a big deal about it at work. She began walking back to her bed. When she was a few steps away, she heard the door click. She turned around and saw the knob turning. It pushed open and Pete walked back inside.

"Hey. Everything okay?" She asked confused.

He slammed the door behind him and walked towards Lauren, throwing the room key onto the bed as he passed it. He made it to where she was and placed his bands on her hips and pushed her up against the wall crashing his lips down onto hers. Lauren put her hands up on his shoulders, bracing herself at his actions. He moved his hands from her hips up to her sides all while continuing kissing her neck. He traced along the top of her tank top before grabbing it with both hands and ripping it down the middle. Lauren gasped into his mouth. Pete didn't give her any time to adjust to what he was doing before his hands traveled back down her body and behind her thighs picking her up and pressing her against the wall. He tore his lips away from hers to slowly lick down her chest until stopping at her partially exposed breast. He lightly licked around her nipple a few times before taking it into his mouth. Lauren ran her fingers through Pete's hair, softly moaning. When he lightly bit down she moaned deeper and arched her back off of the wall. Pushing herself even further into him, she became even more aware that her legs were spread around him and she could feel herself getting wetter every time he nibbled.

Pete pulled her away from the wall and carried her over to the bed. Lauren laid on the bed looking up at him trying to catch her breath. He was looking down at her with his signature cocky smirk. He reached out and lightly grabbed the waistband of her pants before yanking them off and crawling on top of her. Pete nuzzled into her neck kiss and biting causing her to arch her hips up and feel the large bulge in his sweatpants. Lauren slid her hands under his shirt and scraped her fingers down his chest bringing a low growl from him.

"You are wearing entirely too many clothes." Lauren informed him.

Pete chuckled, but it wasn't the light hearted one from earlier, there was a deeper tone to it. There was something sexy in that chuckle. He leaned up onto his knees and peeled his shirt off.

Lauren took the moment to just look at him, kneeling in front of her with his hair hanging down partially in his face. Watching his eyes in the light. He could see her eyes glancing up and down his body.

"Is this what ya wanted?" He asked.

"Fuck yes." Lauren answered out loud, instead of in her head like she planned. "But this was supposed to be for you."

"Does it seem like I'm not enjoyin' it?"

"Well yeah, but what is it you want?" Lauren asked.

"Haven't been asked that in a long time. Honestly?" Lauren nodded. "I want someone to want to be with me. Not just use me ta get off and pass out. Someone who enjoys being with me. To feel loved."

Lauren leaned up so she was sitting up in bed facing him. "Really?"

"Yeah. Sounds stupid. I guess when ya with someone for so long those things kind of become lost."

"No Pete, they don't." Lauren said as she placed her hand on his face. "That's what happens when people stop caring."

The words hurt Pete, but deep down he knew she was right.

"Lay down." She told him.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Take your pants off and lay down. Let me take care of you." She said it in such a calming tone, you'd forget they were just dry humping each other.

He complied with what she asked. Lauren removed her underwear and straddled him. He rubbed his hands on her thighs She pulled off what was left of her shirt. Pete unknowingly bit his lower lip upon seeing her naked in front of him.

"Like what ya see?" She asked with a coy smirk

"Damn love."

"You sure you wanna do this?" She asked him.

"Love if you don't get on me right now I'm going to push you down and get back on top of you."

Lauren smiled and moved to slide herself down onto his dick. She gasped as she slid down. She could have guessed the size of it based on what he wore in the ring, but she didn't think it was as thick as it was. Pete hissed as she began riding him.

"Fuck babe. You're so tight." He commented.

"Yeah, it's been a while." She replied as she rolled her hips.

"You're so wet." He stated.

"I told you, I like you. Now are you gonna do commentary the whole time or just enjoy it?"

"Oh I'm enjoying it love." Pete said as his hands slid up her legs. He groaned as he saw her bouncing on him, her breasts bouncing along with her. He ran his hand along her body and brushed his finger onto her clit causing her to yelp. He liked the sound that she made and continued to rub along her clit as she rode him.

"Fuck Pete if you keep that up I'm not gonna last long." She warned him.

"You keep makin' those sounds I won't eithea."

Lauren pushed his hand out of the way and brought her upper body down so she could kiss him before moving to his neck. She began kissing and sucking on his neck like he had been doing to her earlier. Pete reached around with both hands to grab her ass. She was moving at a slow and steady pace, keeping with his grunts of pleasure. She would bite down on his neck every once in a while hoping to catch him off guard. He would squeeze his grip tighter pushing her at a different pace causing her to moan.

"Wait, Lauren stop." Pete said suddenly.

Lauren stopped and sat up. "What's wrong?"

"I wanna be on top." He told her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Lauren wanted to stay on top and take care of him, but it's what he said he wanted to she switched positions with him. She had to admit having Pete in between her legs staring her down was something she had thought about several times. He began placing kisses down her collar bone as she ran her fingers through his hair again.

"Mmmm Pete, please." Lauren begged bringing a smile to his lips.

"Please what?" Pete asked as he ran his length along her entrance, teasing her.

"I know I'm being selfish at the moment but please, I need you." She moaned as she tried to push herself closer to him.

"Baby, I love hearing you beg." He said as he entered her starting slow at first.

"Pete, faster please."

Pete grunted before speeding up, loving the feeling of her needing him, He began to thrust harder as he sped up. Lauren wrapped his leg up around his waist to give him better access.

"Oh God Pete, I'm so close." Lauren said as she scratched her nails down his back.

"Let go for me love." He rasped into her ear.

Lauren grabbed onto Pete's face to pull him into a passionate kiss as she came. Pete finished shortly after her before collapsing next to her. Their session was relatively quick, but emotional and intense. They laid next to each other trying to catch their breath.

"Well, that was unexpected." Pete stated.

"Yeah, definitely didn't think that was gonna happen when I woke up this morning." Lauren agreed as she laid next to him.

"I'm sorry it wasn't really what ya wanted." Pete apologize.

"What do you mean?"

"Ya said you wanted aggressive, and ripping clothes off, and all that."

Lauren leaned up on her elbow and turned to face him. "That's one of the things I've thought about, but I really just wanted you Pete."

He responded by lightly placing his hand on her head and pulling it down to rest on his chest. Lauren laid there cuddling on Pete, which is something she never would have expected from him, and soon found herself falling asleep.

Around three in the morning Lauren jerked awake. She didn't mean to fall asleep. She didn't even realize she was that worn out. Or maybe just comfortable. The room was now all dark, Pete must have turned the lights out. She couldn't see anything but she felt over to the other side of the bed and it was empty. Of course it was. He came for what she said she'd give him and then left. He wasn't looking for anything beyond that. Lauren knew that when she offered him to come to her too, but she didn't think it would hurt that much when he was gone. She laid back down in her beg and pulled the covers up feeling pretty stupid. Just then she heard the toilet in her bathroom flush and the door open. Pete walked out of the bathroom and back over to the bed.

"Pete?" Lauren asked.

"Hm." He replied.

"I thought you left."

"Why tha hell would I do that?" He asked as he pulled up the covers and got back into bed next to her.

"You were gone. I thought you got what you wanted and left. Especially after I fell asleep on you."

"I believe you're tha one that wanted this love." He reminded her. "You’re the one that offered."

"Well, yeah…"

Pete wrapped his arm around her waist and held her hand, lacing his fingers in with hers. He nuzzled his nose into the back of her neck.

"I'm pretty glad you did though." He admitted. This was the most love he had felt in a long time. He really felt like the person he was with wanted him, needed him. That she was focused on him, and it made him want to be focused on her. He felt an actual connection, which is something that he had been missing.

"I'm not goin anywhere for awhile love." He said as he squeezed her into hug, pulling her body to his. "I loved those sounds I heard earlier. They drove me crazy. I look forward ta havin' ya make more."

Lauren giggled as Pete kissed the back of her neck. Neither knew what the future would hold, but right now they were both enjoying the moment.

[wrestlingisfake]

Takeover: Chicago preview

Bobby Roode vs. Hideo Itami - Roode defends the NXT championship.  Itami signed with WWE 34 months ago and has spent only 11 of those months on television.  Now that he’s back from his most recent injury, there’s no sense booking a slow build, so he’s immediately in the NXT main event picture.

It’s been so long since Hideo debuted that it’s easy to forget how novel it was at the time for WWE to make a big deal out of signing a Japanese star to push as a badass strong style killer.  Since then, we’ve seen Asuka, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kota Ibushi, and Akira Tozawa all pass through and excel in the role while Itami has struggled to get out of the blocks.  By now it’s going to be more challenging to really stand out.  In 2014 he could just kick the shit out of people and that would be enough, but now he needs more and I don’t know what else he’s got.  This is his chance to show us.

I’m sure Hideo will be over in the Allstate Arena, but if I know Chicago they will fucking love Bobby Roode.  It wouldn’t shock me if they sing his theme all through the match.

This match feels like a placeholder until the stage is set for Bobby Roode vs. Drew McIntrye, so it’s easy to believe Roode has to win.  I don’t know that’s for certain, but it would make the most sense.  Itami doesn’t need to be languishing in NXT for another year, and he’d be a great shot in the arm for Raw’s cruiserweight division.  I’d really like to see him move the hell on, and that would mean doing the job on the way out.

Asuka vs. Ruby Riot vs. Nikki Cross - This is a triple threat match, so there are no count-outs or disqualifications, and whoever scores the first fall wins the match and Asuka’s NXT women’s championship.  This had been a four-way with Ember Moon, but she was pulled out following a shoulder injury.

Asuka’s heel turn appears to be as complete as it’ll ever be.  The fans still love her, but she’s gone from laughing at how easy it is to crush all opposition to actively working to prevent NXT from naming new challengers to her title.  This match came about as a way to punish her: she ran in to stop a battle royale to name a number one contender, so now she has to face all of the available  finalists.

I suspect this match was originally planned to stretch out the Asuka/Ember and Nikki/Ruby feuds without any clear resolution to either.  With Ember sidelined, I think there’s even less of a chance we’ll see anything important like a title change.  Cross and Riot will probably continue to tear into one another as natural enemies, and Asuka will probably exploit their fixation on one another to steal a win.  I’d be cool with either of the challengers winning the title, but I don’t see it happening right now.  I don’t even expect either of them to be moved into a main feud with Asuka right now, unless Ember won’t be back in time for the next Takeover show.

This is the real main event for me because I bought a ticket to see this show, and I will be there to see Asuka.  Pretty sure I’m gonna be happy with the result.

Akam & Rezar vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa - This is scheduled to be a ladder match for Akam and Rezar’s NXT tag team championship.  The title belts will be hung from a cable above the ring and ladders will be placed around ringside.  Whoever climbs up to remove the belts from the cable first wins the match and the title for his team.  This is the only way the match can end, which means the ladders (and anything else) are fair game.

The Authors of Pain won the NXT tag team championship from Gargano and Ciampa in January.  They had a rematch in March but Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson interfered, so then they had a a three-way in April with Wilder and Dawson.  DIY continued to demand a two-on-two rematch, so this was booked.  However, at a May 18 house show Ciampa apparently hurt his ankle, and it was bad enough to stop the match after only five minutes.  As of Friday, the match is still on and WWE is claiming that there is no backup plan.

I didn’t think DIY had much of a chance in this before Ciampa was hurt, and now it’s pretty tough to bet on a one-legged man in a climbing contest.  The only thing working against the Authors of Pain is that big men tend not to win ladder matches.  They should do great in the “beat up your opponents with ladders” phase of the match, but you have to climb to win, and that usually favors the littler guys.  I’d say the psychology of the match comes down to whether the Authors can beat DIY so far down that even they can’t race two big chunky guys up a ladder.  I’m inclined to think they can.

Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne - Bate is the first-ever WWE United Kingdom champion; Dunne is challenging for the title.  This is a tie-in with the WWE UK brand, which has its own roster but no programming beyond a couple of specials and the occasional appearance on NXT or 205 Live. 

Honestly, the most interesting thing about WWE UK title is that it’s in a real horse race for “Most Pointless New Pro Wrestling Championship of 2017” with the Impact Grand title, the ROH six-man tag title, and the IWGP US title.

I haven’t followed UK wrestling (WWE or otherwise) at all so I don’t know anything about Bate or Dunne.  Bate looks like a 17-year-old who wanted to grow a beard so he wouldn’t look 13, but it came in all patchy so he only kept the mustache.  Dunne always looks like he’s pretending to be insulted someone asked him to do a Botchamania intro because he’s doing a convoluted 2010s internet tweener gimmick.  I assume they wrestle really good.  Or at least a bunch of British wrestling hooligans enjoy chanting while they wrestle.  Will Chicago wrestling hooligans enjoy chanting while they wrestle?  Only time will tell.

I’m guessing Bate retains, because until this UK thing gets a weekly series, there’s really no point in doing title changes.

Roderick Strong vs. Eric Young - With Tye Dillinger moving up to Smackdown, Strong is now in the unenviable spot of feuding with Young, which means he’s feuding with the entire Sanity stable.  I’m not thinking this will go too well for Roderick, but NXT has been making a big deal out of teary-eyed video packages about him.  There’s no doubt he’s in line for a push, but is it a “win what is essentially a three-on-one handicap match” kind of push?  I doubt it.  Pretty sure Young wins, but also pretty sure Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain ensure Strong has a good excuse.

[criticalwinking]

ML Kennedy explains NXT WarGames!

Your guide to Saturday’s NXT: Takeover Chicago WarGames!

 Currently, only four matches are listed. Survivor Series is also this weekend, which is all about (ugh) brand supremacy and hangs over everything like a wrestling Sword of Damocles. It’s Raw vs. Smackdown vs. NXT and is basically like the wrestling pro-bowl. You know, if in the NFL a team of Bears and Packers had to pretend to like each other in order to interrupt a game between the Jets and Dolphins to show the superiority of the NFC North over the AFC East?

 Match one – Standard Match: Matt Riddle vs. Finn Bálor

Matt Riddle is a stoner dude-bro who wears flip flops to the ring and wrestles barefoot. Somehow he is likable enough to be the good guy here. Riddle is also a legit MMA guy who is freakishly strong and has a twitter feud where he dunks on former WCW champ Goldberg.

 Finn is a skinny Irish guy who looks like he has never touched a carb in his life. He’s a former Universal Champion on the main roster who has come back to NXT to get his mojo back. Somehow, this process involves being a dickhead to everybody. You know he’s officially a bad guy because he performed the bad guy NXT ceremony (i.e. beating the shit out of Johnny Gargano.)

 They are fighting because Finn says that NXT has been overrun with children since he left. Man-child Matt Riddle takes umbrage to that statement.

 Match two – Triple Threat: Pete Dunne vs. Damian Priest vs. Killian Dain

Pete Dunne is an Englishman who likes nothing more than to break people’s fingers. He is a tough guy and weighs less than 15 stone, therefore he is called the Bruiserweight.

 Damian Priest is a tall, tattooed, and lanky Latino. His gimmick is that he looks like a vampire and shoots invisible arrows (question mark). He’s relatively new to the brand and trying to make a name for himself despite being the oldest guy in the match.

 Killian Dane is basically a human/grizzly bear hybrid from Northern Ireland. He was part of an Anarchist group called Sanity that got called up to the main roster and promptly forgotten about. He likes to hang out in dark rooms and project movies.

 Priest and Dunne have had some matches where each one has won by hitting the other in the dick. Dunne passed Dain on the ramp once, didn’t like how he looked at him, and broke Dain’s fingers. Dain and Priest hate each other because each of them wants to murder Dunne and they are. . . bad at sharing, I guess.

 Match three – WARGAMES: Rhea Ripley, Candice LeRae, Tegan Nox, and Mia Yim vs. Shayna Baszler, Io Shirai, Bianca Belair, and Kay Lee Ray

 This is the first Wargames match. Wargames is like a tag team match, but with no tags. There are two rings next to each other with one oblong cage covering the whole thing.

 The first team are the goodies and the second team are the baddies.

 Rhea Ripley is the team captain of the goodies. She’s a badass, kinda butch lady who wears a leather jacket to the ring. She’s the tallest one of these ladies at 5’9” and has a pair of shoulders like Captain America. (It’s a trick though, she’s Australian.) She was the women’s champ on NXT UK, which is a thing, and now she is on NXT USA which is just called NXT. She wants a shot at Shayna’s NXT women’s title.

 Candice LeRae is a blonde lady and a very good wrestler. She’s finally been allowed to be a character on the show aside from Johnny Gargano’s concerned wife. She’s a white meat babyface who likes to stand up to bullies or whatever. LeRae was helping out Io Shirai when Shirai was feuding with Shayne Baszler. Io lost that feud and snapped, which lead to Io beating the hell out of Candice and turn full supervillain. Candice had a shot at Shayna’s title, but came up a little short.

 Tegan Nox is recently back from a long-ish injury. She’s Welsh, likes to kick, and has an infatuation with Kane. She is friends/ partners with a fellow kick enthusiast named Dakota Kai. (Kai was not invited onto the team because Shayna Baszler always eats her lunch and has done some sort of long term psychological damage to her psyche. Nox’s response to this was basically, “sorry your mom wouldn’t let you go to the prom, anyways here is my dress.”)

 Mia Yim is a black and Asian lady with blue hair. She calls herself HBIC and pretends the B stands for Baddie. Yim basically took Dakota Kai’s spot by not being afraid of Shayna Baszler. Yim came close to beating Shayna a few months ago by taking every short cut in the book and basically cheating her ass off. Shayna has previously offered Yim a job as one of her flunkies. (Shayna has two flunkies, neither of which she trusts enough to put on her WarGames team.)

Shayna Baszler is the captain of the baddies. She’s a badass, kinda butch lady who wears a leather jacket to the ring. Shayna is Ronda Rousey’s friend and basically better than her. She has been champion forever now, and hasn’t really lost a match to anybody that is still in NXT. Shayna is my birthday twin and sounds like Binky Barnes (1) when she talks. She’s the best.

 Io Shirai, the genius of the sky, is a tiny Japanese lady who is basically the most dangerous person on the show. She will murder you. She hates Candice LeRae because Candice tried to be her friend. She recently busted up Mia Yim’s nose with a ladder. She and Rhea have been in each other’s faces a lot as both think they deserve to be number one contender to Shayna’s title. I would not expect her to work well with others.

 Bianca Belair is the E S T of NXT. She calls herself this as she proclaims to be the greatest, strongest and other words that end with those three letters. She is incredibly strong and athletic, and she will whip you with her long ass braid if you get on her nerves. She also thinks she should be the number one contender to Shayna’s title and came as close to beating Shayna as anybody not named Kairi Sane. She’s egotistical but not really malicious.

 Kay Lee Ray is the NXT UK women’s champ. She doesn’t even go to this school. She is Scottish, skinny and a third thing. She wants to be on the baddies team for reasons.

 Match four – Men’s WarGames: The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong) vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Keith Lee, Dominik Dijakovic, and TBA

 Individually, the second team (the goodies) would seem to have the advantage. However, the Undisputed Era (the baddies) have an edge due to the power of scumbag friendship. (Friendship is a bad guy quality in WWE for some reason.)

 The Undisputed Era is a team of 4 different kinds of douchebags. They currently have all the men’s championships in NXT. I’ve heard them described as Millennial nWo. But unlike the original, each member of the Undisputed Era seems to both enjoy wrestling and be good at it.

 Adam Cole is their leader and the heavyweight champion. He’s skinny, has long hair, and says “baby.” He’s the sort of guy who would bring a signed photo of himself to the Christmas party’s pirate exchange.

 Fish and O’Reilly are the tag champs. O’Reilly is basically a white version of Genan Shiranui (2) from Samurai Shodown minus the Freddy Kreuger glove. He likes to strum his belt like an air guitar and is affectionately (?) referred to as Scumbag Kyle. Fish has a hipster mustache. . . and. . . is also a member of Undisputed Era.

 Roderick Strong has the look and personality of a K-mart ripoff version of a 1980s action figure, and is almost as tall. He wrestles like an annoying AI in a WWE video game. He does 100 different versions of a backbreaker and is thus called the “Messiah of the Backbreaker” which is a nickname that I think is part of the war on Christmas.

  Leading the good guy team is Tommaso Ciampa, evil made flesh. But, he’s recently back from an injury and is thus a good guy. He’s bald, has a beard, and loves violence more than god, family or country. I believe if you shot him with a cannon, he would still kick out at 2.

 Keith Lee used to play defensive end for Texas A&M. Picture a guy who used to play defensive end for Texas A&M, now make no changes to that image. He’s 6’2” over 300lbs, can do just about anything in a wrestling ring, and by all rights should be able to toss any member of the Undisputed Era into the upper balcony any time he wants.

  Dominik Dijakovic is Keith Lee’s blood rival. He’s 6’7” 270lbs and is basically Sagat (3) from Street Fighter if Sagat from Street Fighter was from Worcester, Massachusetts.  

 The fourth member of the team is as yet unannounced.

 ***

There you have it! No titles are on the line, every match is people who dislike each other are going to settle their differences through violence, even if they have to team up with people they hate.

 Also, there are two other rosters worth of wrestlers in town ready to fuck shit up for no reason other than brand supremacy.

 What could go wrong?!

 (notes:

1.  https://arthur.fandom.com/wiki/Binky_Barnes

2. https://snk.fandom.com/wiki/Genan_Shiranui

3. https://streetfighter.fandom.com/wiki/Sagat

[biitterend-blog]

“I don’t want to be with anyone else in there. Just you.“ // big tyler energy (icarusfailed)

        a gentle, almost shy smile spread it’s way across pete’s face. tyler had found a way to soften his edges, to allow the bruiserweight’s heart to fill in a way he hadn’t been aware of before. a soft sigh slipped from him, his arm reaching out to wrap around tyler’s shoulders and pull him into a hug, lips pressing to the top of the younger man’s head. “wouldn’t allow anyone else ta be wif ya anyway,” he answered quietly. “Jus’ you ‘n me yeah? jus’ us.”

[luminescencechatoyant]

Summary Ellie is nothing like her on screen character, neither is Pete Dunne.

Word Count 2594

everything that sounds like its made up, it probably is. If its really all rights reserved to the company's mentioned, Tyler is 21 BC I forgot how young he was until halfway through writing oops

ekayyla, tumblr.com

Ellie was nothing like her on screen persona, her character was the nicest, sweetest character Ellie had ever seen on the WWE and Ellie wasn't. Ask her friend and she'd describe her as an arsehole, Ellie just liked to think she was closed off. She didn't like people and if she didn't have to talk to them, she wouldn't - simple as that, not hard to understand really.

She hadn't come to the WWE to make friends, she hadn't started wrestling to make friends - she wrestled because she had terrible anger management and her therapist told her to. That's what she told people anyway, truth was she absolutely admired Lita growing up. All she ever wanted in life was to be as badass as her and not take anyones shit. Growing up in an countless foster homes, she was meek and quiet and never spoke unless spoken to, until she realized she didn't have to.

She talked back, she argued and if they still didn't see her point, she fought harder. She fought for everything other kids had handed to them, she fought to be respected. And who else was a highly respected but still badass woman? Lita.

She'd met her once when a particularly nice foster carer had noticed how much she liked to watch wrestling and bought meet and greet tickets. Ellie cried when the mother told her, she cried and she bawled. She was so happy.

So she met Lita, told her how she grew up in foster homes loving her and Lita smiled, hugged the tiny nine year old and signed her shirt with a stay strong, ellie scribbled on the front. She loved that shirt like she loved her foster mom, until the Alabama bush fires took her shirt and her foster mom. Ellie didn't smile for a year afterwards.

Abusive foster parents and a rough childhood left Ellie hostile to the world, she fought when she could, girls and boys behind the school, behind the diner on the corner near her house, anywhere.

It wasn't until she was fifteen that the school therapist suggest she find an outlet for all her anger, she tried soccer, football, hell, she even tried dancing. Nothing worked until the therapist told her about the new wrestling school opening up on the better side of town.

Ellie hadn't watched wrestling since she lost her foster mom and she spiraled out of control, standing on the steps of the wrestling studio had her heart hammering in her chest and hands shaking like a leaf. It wasn't until another girl near her saw how nervous she looked, took her by the hand and gently guided her into the gym.

Maria had been a few years older than her and already wrestling for a few years until her parents had relocated to Ellie's small town. Whenever her panic attacks would flare up or Ellie needed a hand with moves, Maria was there with a guiding hand and a calm voice. Whenever Maria had boy problems or girls were harrasing her, Ellie was at her back or standing by to give out hugs, something she didn't particularly like doing but it was Maria and she deserved her hugs.

So on Ellie's 16th birthday. Maria and her parents surprised her with a party and a certificate of adoption. She cried, hugged Maria and her parents, hugged the few people that came from the wrestling gym and cried again.

Eight years later, Maria and Ellie debuted on NXT and not two months later, Maria was the new NXT Womens Champion and Ellie had yet to be pinned. She'd had plenty of count-outs and disqualifications but she still hadn't been pinned until she'd aligned herself with British Strong Style.

Trent Seven, Tyler Bate and Pete Dunne were absolutely lethal in the ring and out. Seven and Bate were two of the most welcoming people she'd met in the company, her personality just clicked with theirs right from the start.

Pete Dunne was nothing like his on screen persona, yeah he's an arse, but hes never standoff-ish like his character. Ellie would rather describe him as sweet, since she'd met him he'd done nothing but try to get her to open up to him. He'd bring her coffee in the mornings and drop her home when Maria couldn't, it had taken her three weeks of being an arse for Maria to slap her around the head and tell Ellie not to be so rude.

She tried not to from then on, she thanked Pete for the coffee, invite him inside for a cup of tea after he'd drop her home and eventually it evolved into more. On free days, she'd invite him over to watch a movie and they'd cuddle on the lounge.

Pete started to ask her over for dinner, her and Maria were invited to nights out with the boys, gym sessions were mandatory and afterwards the boys would share their vegan pizza.

Ellie couldn't help herself, she started to fall for the Bruiserweight with a heart of gold. It killed her to watch him dance with girls when they went out, but she did, she turned around with a smile because all she wanted was for him to be happy. If it wasn't with her, fair enough it wasn't with her - but he was happy and that made her happy.

"C'mon love," Trent's voice echoed through Maria and Ellie's apartment, "If you don't hurry up we'll miss our booking!"

"Bowling lanes don't wait for wrestlers!" Ellie snorted when Tyler yelled out, he'd taken the joke baby of the group literally - It was a rare sight not to see him joking around.

"I'm coming! Don't get your knickers in a twist." Nora bounced down the stairs and waved her arms extravagantly when she hit the bottom, "Ta-da!"

"It took you that long to get dressed..." Trent hesitated, "...into that?"

Nora glanced down at her shirt and jeans with a frown, "I think I look fine."

"Pete likes it when you dress up." Tyler, the non stop voice of wisdom, spoke from where he was slouched on her coach.

"We're going bowling," Nora said plainly, Trent flicked any eyebrow up with out a word, "Fine, fine! I'll get changed."

She walked down five minutes later with the same shirt on, only tucked into a leather skirt, "Happy?"

Trent nodded with a smile, "Let's get out of here."

"Finally!" Trent sighed, rolling off the couch and hobbling out the door like a old man.

"You're nineteen, you bloody drama queen!" Trent snorted and followed him out the door.

It doesn't take them long to get the address Pete texted through and when they find their lane, Pete and Maria have cold beers waiting for them. Tyler downs half of his in one go and throws himself into a chair, Ellie rolls her eyes and slips into the chair next to Pete.

"Thanks guys, how was the meet and greet?" Ellie asks as she sips her drink.

"It was great," Pete's eyes flick up from Ellie's leg, "The fans were amazing as always."

"Oh, El -" Maria jumps in her seat and starts to dig through her bag and Pete gets up to start the game, "- there was this one little girl that wanted me to give you this."

She hands over a tiny bead bracelet with ELLIE ROCKS spelt out on it. Its bright yellow and doesn't match her outfit at all, but she slips it over her wrist anyway because her fan made her this. They poured their heart into it, she snaps a photo to upload twitter later so she can find the parent and send her a shirt.

"Your turn love!" Pete hollers from the point screen and gesture at the lane.

"Don't laugh at me, guys," she says as she slips her bowling shoes on, "I haven't bowled in years."

"You'll do fine, " Pete says as she grips the ball uncertainly, he see the uncertainty on her face and smiles softly, "Here, I'll give you a hand."

His large hand comes to rest on her elbow and straightens it while the other one sits on her lower back, a glance back at the group shows none of them paying attention but when she look back at Pete his face is inches from hers. Her breath catches when his eyes flicker own to her lips but then he steps away and she's left reeling.

"All you gotta do now is throw the ball down the lane." Pete tells her, his voice low, and then turns to sit with their friends.

She turns her back to them and stares a the lane, what the fucking fuck? She shakes her head and swings her arm, closes her eyes and just hopes for the best. The ball slams into the wood with a loud crack and not a second later sinks into the gutter, her second go is not much better and she turns back to the group with a shy smile.

"Told you I was no good -" she stops and eyes her friends, they're obviously trying to hide their laughter and Pete's face is bright red, "...what are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, hun." Maria stands up to take her go and whisper into Ellie's ear as she passes, "Pete was a bit too interested  in watching you bowl."

She dumbfounded for a moment before she realizes that Pete was sitting directly behind her, he had a perfect eyeful of her being over. She stifles a giggle at his slowly fading red cheeks and pats his hand, "Get a good look, Dunne?"

He frowns as Seven and Bate laugh loudly, ignoring her in favor of his beer. Ellie watches as Maria bowls a strike and lays her head on Pete's shoulder, "Sorry for teasing."

Pete shifts and drops his shoulder for her to lean on more comfortably, "All good, love."

"Were you really staring at my are?" Ellie asks as she traces pattern on Pete's bare arm that's resting softly on her  thigh.

"...yeah."

"Pete!" She laughs and nudges his arm off of her, but he catches her hand and bring it up to his lips.

He brushes a soft kiss against her knuckles and stares evenly into her eyes, "Its a very nice arse, love."

"Pete!" Trent hollers, "You're up, mate."

Pete drops her hand into her lap and moves to take his turn, Ellie watches him walk away until Maria plops into the open seat. "What was all that?"

"C'mon," Ellie pulls maria our of her seat and towards the bar, "I need another drink."  

"Wait, what happened?" Maria stumbles behind her and watches as Ellie's head slumps into her hands at the bar.

"I have it so, so bad for Pete." Ellie groans from behind her hands.

"Well, duh."

Ellie glances up at her from between her fingers and snorts, "I shouldn't even surprised that you already know."

"Is it that obvious?" She sighs as they collect their drinks.

"Yeah, I mean-" she hesitates, "I don't know if Pete knows but he's usually pretty clued on when it come to these things. He knew Peyton and I liked each other before we did."

"El! Its your turn!"

Ellie sighs and orders another round for the boys, the waitress is quicker with these ones and they carry them back to the boys. Pete's eyes follow Ellie as she sets the drinks down and grabs her ball, she swallows nervously and glances back at him, winks slowly and bends to take her shot.

She bowls a strike and turns back to the group smugly, "Someones gonna catch up."

Tyler rolls his eyes, "She's gonna be a sore winner, isn't she?"

"Always is, kid." Trent barks a laugh when Tyler's face falls.

They keep bowling until Tyler wins, smugly throwing his arms up and parading around with a toy wrestling belt he'd smuggled in for the winner. Ellie laughs and gives him a high five because she may be a sore winner, she's not a sore loser.

They wander over to the arcade and avoid the sea of children surrounding the kids toys. Ellie laughs as her and Maria fail spectacularly at Dance, Dance, Revolution, pouts childishly when Trent's demolishes her at buck hunting-

("Its not fair, you cheated!"

"...its buck hunting, El. How am I possibly able to cheat at it?"

"I don't know but you did, anyway.")

And laughs like a hyena when she beats Tyler's record at PacMan, who vows to never leave the machine until he beats her record,

(Trent and Maria pull him away five minutes later.)

Ellie wanders around the arcade until she finds Pete lazily throwing basketballs in the back of the arcade, she's stopped for a moment when she sees his arms flex in his singlet. She leans up against the side and tries to keep her eyes from ogling his arms, it doesn't work very well but Pete hasn't complained yet.

"I bet you I can sink all of these balls." Pete wages as he stuff another token into the machine and watches the balls drop.

"What's the wager?" Ellie's asks and settles on the seat of a motorbike game next to him.

"A kiss." He says, she eyes his face and sees not one trace of humour.

"Here?" She glances around, "Pete, there's kids everywhere."

"We'll find somewhere."

He's dead serious and she figures it can't hurt, he won't sink them all. "Fine."

Oh, how wrong she was. As soon as the words left her mouth, Pete turned and sunk the first ball, followed by the second, then the third and another after that. She can't watch, she closes her eyes and listens to the swish after swish until the buzzer sounds and she's jerked out of her seat. She briefly notices the 30/30 on the machine before Pete pull her from the arcade, hurries out of the building and has her pressed against the side of the building in minutes.

His lips press against her roughly, leaving a scorching trail of heat when they brush. Their teeth knock, their lips bite and hands grab everything they can, hers are grabbing his shirt, his are sliding down to her thighs before she's lifted and pressed against the wall harder. Rough hands press under her shirt and along her ribcage, she arches into his touch and -

"You have to return those shoes! They're property of the - oh."

- flinches away as the shoe loan worker swings around the corner. Pete drops her quickly and she blushes as she fixes her shirt. The shoes are pulled off and Pete and Nora are left standing in the shadows with socks on.

"Go home, kids."

They mumble apologies and flee to Pete's car where Nora pulls their shoes out of her bulging bag, she laughs airily and leans against the hood of Pete's car. "Well, that was fun."

Pete smirks and arches an eyebrow, "Fun? I just had a heart attack!"

"Don't be a wimp." She laughs and runs her hand over his shoulder. He catches her around the waist and draws her closer to him, pressing her between him and the car.

"Do you want to stay over tonight?" He asks as he brushes his lips against hers.

"Hell, yes."

[heelmaryse]

Tyler Bate // Jealousy Drabble

Tyler is secretly dating reader, and gets jealous because she’s Pete Dunne’s valet, based on this request: 

“MAYBE JUST A JEALOUS TYLER BATE WHILE IN THE RING????” requested by my bby aka @screamersdontdance 

Being Pete Dunne’s valet was great. His asshole-ish heel antics were a source of constant amusement for her and they’d fast become great friends. It was swell.

But being Pete Dunne’s valet when you’re secretly dating Tyler Bate? Now that was not so great.

And she knew that it got to Tyler… All those late night meetings with creative that she had to attend with Pete, all those events she had to go to… with Pete. All the signings she had to do… sitting next to Pete. It had got to the point where sometimes, due to their schedules matching, she even had to travel with Pete.

And Tyler, bless his heart, he was so sweet. He was so sweet that he’d always greet her at whatever arena or venue they were scheduled to be at with a warm smile on his face and an even warmer embrace.

But she wasn’t blind to how her boyfriend’s fists tightened when he saw her getting out of Pete’s car, after four hours of traveling with him. Or when Pete would sit with her during catering in a secluded corner, ready to discuss what he wanted her to wear for when she walked out with him at whatever taping or PPV was on that night.

She especially noticed Tyler’s eyes flash with anger and jealousy as he stood in the ring when she walked down the entrance ramp with Pete, glued to his arm and preening for the crowd. Like right now.

Tyler and Pete were going at it for the United Kingdom Championship at NXT Takeover: Chicago. Pete had instructed her to ‘dress sexy’ for the event, and sexy fit her character to the T. Which was why she was ringside in a form-fitting, scarlet red dress, short enough to catch Tyler’s eye and his tongue to run over his lips.

But also short enough to make her boyfriend visibly seethe with anger as he watched Pete, fully in heel mode, brush his hand a little closer to her ass as she walked him down the ring.

“Go Pete!” She yelled in character, pacing around ringside, half of her mind trying to focus on not tripping in the gigantic skyscraper heels they’d had her wear, whilst the other half worried about Tyler, hoping he wouldn’t be too jealous, although his actions told otherwise.

Tyler was throwing punches a bit too stiffly at Pete (looking rather pointedly at her as he did so), and once the latter caught on, well, that was the end for Tyler. He ended up not only losing the United Kingdom championship to Pete, but also sporting a very legitimate looking black eye at the hands of the bruiserweight and it made her heart hurt just looking at it.

She caught his eye as he lay at the side of ring whilst Pete celebrated, and Tyler grimaced in pain before looking away. Shit.

*

“Baby, you shouldn’t have hit Pete so hard.” She told Tyler, holding a pack of ice in her hand and trying to reach up to press it against his eye except he kept shrugging her away. She sighed when she didn’t get a response from him, trying again, “Look, I know why you did it… I know you think –”

“Why’s he got to be all over you like that?” Tyler interrupted her, turning around to face her quite abruptly, a sneer adorning his usually smiley and happy-go-lucky face, “The guy’s a prick, flaunting you around when he –”

“He doesn’t mean to,” She spoke gently, sighing with relief when Tyler finally sat down and let her press the ice pack on his black eye, “It’s all his character, baby, you know how he gets when he’s in character.”

Tyler shook his head before finally looking at her, up and down, with his eyes lingering at certain places, “And that… that dress.” He seethed hotly, “Who told you to wear such a… such a tight dress so that he couldn’t keep his hands off you even more than usual?”

“I told you,” She said patiently, applying a bit of pressure to his eye which made him grunt slightly in a ‘manly’ display of pain, “It’s just his character. And anyways, he doesn’t even know we’re together, Tyler, no one does…”

Tyler scoffed, “Well, it’s time they knew,” He grabbed her hand which was holding the ice pack against his eye and slowly set it down, and she gazed worriedly at his poor black eye, almost swollen shut, “Pete left with my title tonight, can’t have him leaving with my girl too.”

Chapped lips pressed against her own, and hardly a second had gone by before he pulled her on to his lap, his large hands sliding down to squeeze her ass possessively, “It’s time we tell everyone…” Tyler spoke breathlessly between kisses, “It’s time we told them just exactly who you belong to.”

Her breath caught in her throat when she felt him fiddle around with the zipper of her dress, “T-Tyler, we can’t! Not here! Shouldn’t we wait till we get back to the hotel?”

“No,” Tyler said decisively, biting her lip sexily before all but shoving his tongue past her lips, and they made out a while longer as he peeled her dress off, leaving her in a matching scarlet lingerie set which he had bought for her birthday, “Here. We’re doing this here. I need to show you who you belong to, babe.”

She giggled at his serious tone, pressing a chaste kiss on his cheek, “I know I’m yours, Tyler… I just think we need to deal with that black eye first, I know how wild you can get and I don’t want any more injuries tonight.”

There was a slight pause, and then even Tyler, despite all his seriousness from a second earlier, had to giggle at her reference to their… rougher sex sessions. And she couldn’t help but kiss his nose quickly, because he looked so cute when he was smiley.

“Well, I dunno, I think the black eye makes me look kinda rugged, don’t you?” He said, and she couldn’t help but laugh at how he’d gone from angry to jealous to sex crazed to goofy all in a matter of a few minutes.

“Oh yeah,” She agreed, “It’s so sexy. Lemme go thank Pete for giving you that real quick, shall I?”

Quick as a wink, Tyler’s arms tightened around her so fast, it was comical, “Fuck Pete,” He said hotly, before smiling at her sweetly, “Stay here and tend to my eye, baby. You look sexy when you’re playing nurse.”

She rolled her eyes, “Call me your nurse one more time, and that black eye will be the least of your worries.” She warned him, but she did so with a smile, one which he returned. And she was glad she had curbed his jealousy and calmed him down. This once.

THE END

A/N: OK ONCE AGAIN I do realise this is 1k+ words and therefore not exactly a ‘drabble’ but once again I got carried away lmaoo. Also this is my first time writing Tyler Bate and honestly??? It was hard as fuck so pls excuse it if it sucks or if it’s all over the place @screamersdontdance :))))

ALSO PLS TAG ANYONE WHO’S INTERESTED IN TYLER/PETE SINCE I DOUBT THAT MANY OF MY FOLLOWERS ARE…IDEK LMAO 

tagging; @xstylesxclashx @the-geekgoddes @xuhwheredidkylogox @alexahood21 @idle-vanity @georgina019 @paradoxical-opheliac @justtrey19 

ALSO there’s more drabbles to come tonight so tell me if you wanna be tagged!!

[rabidwrestlingfan]

Making You Cry

Author's note: I have no idea where this came from. It just hit me. Have some angsty as fuck Tyler Bate. Hope you guys enjoy! - Blue "Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it I'd like to be my old self again, but I'm still trying to find it After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own Now you mail back my things and I walk home alone" - All Too Well by Taylor Swift It had easily been the longest two weeks of Melody's life. Being back in Vegas was... wrong. Sure it was big and full of life, but it wasn't anything like where she had been the last year. A part of her would always be in the United Kingdom. Exploring the sites there had been amazing. In fact her life there was amazing, until suddenly it wasn't. It seemed that the almost constant fighting with Tyler had started out of thin air. After a few months of unsuccessfully working through things they both decided that it would be best to end it. There was no doubt in her mind that it had broken him just as bad as it did her. She had read once that you could love someone with everything in you, but love alone wouldn't always be enough. She knew now that was the truth. He knew how much she loved him and vice versa. They had told each other repeatedly before she got on the plane. Her parents had been kind and didn't shout any form of a 'told you so' when she called asking if she could come home. In fact everyone had been nothing but kind. Her younger brother, ever the proud new driver, had even began buying her treats and sitting through movie marathons with her. Charlie had welcomed her back to the gym with open arms. He hadn't even charged her. Best of all, not one person asked her to explain what happened. In fact it was like he had become Voldermort. No one even said his name around her. She was brought out of her thoughts by her phone insistently buzzing in her pocket. She knew who it was without looking. "Hey." She answered, trying to keep her voice level. He still bought butterflies and a quickened heartbeat. "Hiya, M. I wanted to let you know that it says the package is there." His voice sounded wrecked, and she hoped it wasn't because of what she thought. She decided not to bring it up. A breakdown in the middle of the street didn't sound particularly amazing. "I'm like ten minutes away from the house. Thanks for everything, Ty. It really means a lot." Her voice was soft even to her own ears. "Are you walking home alone? That's dangerous, Melody!" Tyler chided. She rolled her blue eyes with a sigh. "You sound like my parents! it's literally a fifteen minute walk, and I'm pretty sure I can handle some muggers." He let out a sigh of his own. "Well, I'm not hanging up until your home. How has everything been?" The small talk already felt forced, but she started walking again nonetheless. "Okay. Everyone has stopped giving me all their advice. My mom finally stopped asking me if I was pregnant, so that's nice. I didn't fully realise how much I hated timezones until now. They still treat me like I'm going to break." The words flowed like a river. Conversation with him had always been easy, except it had never hurt before now. She didn't tell him how many times she woke up completely expecting him there. She didn't tell him how much she dreaded going through the stupid package. She heard a forced chuckle on the other end. "You'd be surprised how many people over here thought you were pregnant. I don't know whether I'm more upset that people think I'd ever let you leave if you were or that it's a normal occurrence. It also kind of worried me that everyone thought that even though you had a match right before you left. I do understand the time zone thing, though. It gets to be bothersome pretty fast." He went quiet for a few seconds before he spoke again. "I'm sorry they think you're gonna break. If you.... God I feel so stupid saying this. If you need someone to talk to, I'm here. No matter the time or where I'm at. I'll answer the phone. I'll always answer the phone if it's you, Mel." His voice cracked at the end, and the tears filled her eyes. Why did it have to be so hard? "I-I know, Ty. You're amazing. You've been amazing since we met and you'll continue being amazing." Melody stated as steadily as she could. Judging by his immediate cursing he had heard the wobble anyways. "Christ, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm tired of making you cry. You don't deserve to go through this. I'm sorry I just keep hurting you." His voice sounded so pained to her. It only made it worse. She had already been told that he'd dodged social interactions whenever he could. He stopped going out for drinks after shows, and kept to himself at shows. Even when he was talking to others he was noticeably sidetracked. "You don't, Tyler. Don't blame this all yourself, because you'll drive yourself crazy. Besides... you heard Tabbitha. Maybe we just need time. Maybe this will all blow over and we'll be happier than we ever dreamed." She noticeably left out the possibility of things not working. She couldn't imagine things not working. They had been people's first thought when they heard soulmate. She was his and he was hers. She had moved to England for him, and fought all the doubters. "I hope you're right." He finally whispered. She definitely knew now that he was fighting back tears. What she didn't know was that he was staring intently at a tiny box. He had bought it a couple of weeks before the fighting started. No matter how much he asked he couldn't get her father's blessing, but he got everyone else's. Tabbitha and Leena's were the two that really mattered. When Melody had moved out at seventeen, with her parents blessing, it had been with them to make life easier. They probably would have never met if she hadn't. He didn't ever want to imagine that. The ring was rose gold and lined with pink diamonds with a bigger white diamond in the center. It had cost a pretty penny, and he could care less. It was everything he knew she'd want in her engagement ring. Except she never knew he had it. It looked like she never would with how things were going. "I'm home." She finally broke the silence. "I'll see you in a few weeks, yeah?" It was selfish and he couldn't help it. Whatever was wrong he didn't think this much distance would help. But when she looked up one day and told him she thought it'd be best for her to go home he simply nodded. He wanted her happy. "Two weeks and four days." She answered sadly. He nodded even though she couldn't see. Would things be better then? Would they be worse? "Stay safe, M." He told her, accent thick with emotions. He refused to say the word goodbye. "You too, Ty." She replied lowly. As soon as the call disconnected he shut the ring box and put it back in his drawer. Only time would tell what the future held. Melody had sat outside to collect herself for a few minutes. Her parents were on their annual anniversary trip, but she had noticed her brother's car in the driveway. The first thing she seen upon opening the front door was a giant box pushed to the side. The box of heartbreak. "Hey, Mel!" Liam greeted her happily. She smiled at him before speaking. "Hi, Liam. I'm glad to see the house is still standing." They had been close as kids, but naturally grew apart as they got older. It was nice to have a bond again, even if it was partially because he was worried about her. "I was just heading out to grab some junk food. Do you want to go?" He asked. In reality he knew she'd want to be alone to go through the box. "I'm good, thanks anyways. BUT will you be the best little brother ever and buy me some brownies if you're near the bakery?" She asked with a pout. "I planned on stopping by there anyways. I'll be back in a little bit, alright? Then we'll have a movie night." With that he was out the door and she was left alone. Except for the box of memories she didn't really want to relive. That's how she found herself sitting on the couch with a bottle of soda and a box of tissues. She was finally almost through going through everything. Luckily nothing so far had been damaged during shipping. She hadn't even cried too extremely. Her hand blindly brushed against smooth glass and she immediately froze. She had gotten to the pictures. The first one just had to be the one that went on the dresser. It was the members of British Strong Style with the members of The Dynamite Dynamic and had been taken by Mark after a Progress show. Everyone looked happy. Tabbitha was showing off her engagement ring, Trent beaming beside her. Leena had somehow convinced Pete to give a miniscule smile. Her and Tyler were practically glowing they were so happy. It was her favorite picture. The tears got progressively worse the more she went through the pictures that had once decorated their apartment. Pictures off the life they had had for the last year and a half. Sadness turned to surprise when she realised there was a smaller box under the pictures. She would recognize that messy scrawl anywhere. After carefully removing the box she sat it on her lap and opened it. The first thing she seen was a note. "Kid, he's a fucking dumbass. He had the love of his life handed to him, and he let you go. I promised everyone that I'd kill him if he didn't fix your problems from the day you got the keys to your flat. If not for the hope I know you have his nuts would already be in his throat. He has a month. Hurry back to your real home and help us take over the world. - Pete" She couldn't help but chuckle. She knew how lucky she was to see the caring side of Pete. He had taken her under his wing, and even she didn't know why. She did know that she missed her best friends. The box was filled with things meant to make her smile. One of those things being a specially made pink Bruiserweight hat. She was shook from her thoughts by the front door opening. "I got pizza!" Liam yelled excitedly. Maybe things would be okay. Only time would tell.

[imladylunaticbitch]

The Bruiserweight, Pete Dunne. I’m actually semi proud of how this came out. Painting is not my forte, at all, as you can see there are so many marks where I lent on the wet paint and then on the page but hey ho, I'm slowly getting there, I think anyway. Tagging people who I know love Pete: @writergrrrl29 @wwesmutdonedirtcheap @wrasslesmut

[onlysuperkix-blog]

sweet tooth

characters/wrestlers included: you (y/n), pete dunne, trent seven, tyler bate

warnings: none only that this is really cheesey and makes 0 sense

disclaimer: this makes no sense, has no plot and i basically took 3 random wrestlers, clumped them together and totally erased their actual personalities im a terrible person FORGIVE me please

–

"No wonder you're always so tired," said Tyler as he plucked the box out of Y/N's lap, "You don't even eat real food." His voice was lighthearted, but his eyes glared at the bright box in his hands with disdain. Turning the box over in his hand, his gaze scanned over the ingredients and he shook his head while smoothing down his mustache. "Peeps?" said Tyler, squinting at the box.

"This is just pure sugar," he added, stepping in front of the girl who was seated on the edge of the ring, "You know that, right?" He looked at her with suspicious eyes, studying her as she ate her candy.

Y/N looked at him, chewing boredly as she watched the young man squat down in front of her. "Yes, but they're good." She raised her eyebrows, plucking another Peep out of the box that Tyler held. 

He shook his head again and ran his hand through his hair. "If you're going to be a wrestler, you can't always eat candy."

Offended, Y/N snatched the box out of his hands and reached inside to grab another marshmallow, but Tyler swatted at her hand and tugged the box out of her grip. Looking down at the young man with furrowed eyebrows, Y/N slid off the edge of the ring and lunged at him.

"Gonna have to be faster than that, sweetheart," huffed Tyler as he easily avoided her and grabbed her by the waist, "I'm not even that fast and I was able to avoid you." Y/N scrambled against his grip, but he held her from behind, his strength massively overpowering hers.

"Put me down," said Y/N weakly after a few seconds of struggling, sighing as much as she could with Tyler's iron grip around her waist. She bit down on the Peep in her mouth, thankful for the sugar to counteract her rising annoyance.

Slowly, he began to loosen his grip on her. She had just begun to step away when Tyler spun her around and dipped down, throwing her easily over his shoulder as he squatted down to pick up the box of Peeps.

"Tyler," protested Y/N as she began thrashing in his grip, voice muffled from the Peep in her mouth, "Put me down! And don't you dare even think about–"

He was approaching the trash can.

"Tyler! Don't you dare!"

He raised the box in the air and hovered it over the trash can.

"No! Tyler! Don't you–"

"I apologize," said Tyler as he plucked the Peep from her mouth and tossed both the candy and box into the trash can. He marched away from the can, Y/N's eyes wide as she watched it grow smaller and smaller in the distance as he carried her toward the ring, "I couldn't let you eat any more of that garbage. You'll never–"

Y/N smacked Tyler's head and began thrashing again. "I hate you," she huffed childishly, "I hate you, you know that?"

He easily held her in place on his shoulder, smiling gently at her futile attempt to be released. "I know, my love."

Tyler had begun ascending the ring steps when Pete clambered into the room with Trent trailing behind him.

"Tyler," Pete laughed snarkily, "This always how you have to get women? By kidnapping them?" His voice was condescending, thick with sarcasm as he approached the duo.

"Tell him to put me down," said Y/N flatly, still pushing at Tyler's shoulder.

Pete snickered, running his hand through his hair as he approached her. "And why would I do that, sweetheart? What's in it for me?" His index finger jabbed lightly at her cheekbone and she shied away from his touch, jerking her face away from him. Y/N gripped at Tyler's shoulder as he ducked into the ring, still carrying her on his shoulder.

"Both of you are just boys," said Trent suddenly as he stepped into the ring, "Any man knows that's no way to get a woman." He raised his eyebrows at Tyler, who flushed slightly and gently released Y/N. She sighed and began to turn towards Trent.

"Thank yo–AH!"

The room spun around her as something lifted her off the ground.

"You gotta be able to sweep her off her feet," said Trent as he scooped her up bridal style and easily held her, "Literally." He winked at Tyler, who averted his eyes and smoothed down his mustache flippantly.

"I would really appreciate it if all of you would quit picking me up," Y/N snapped harshly, perhaps too harshly, because both Trent and Pete's faces softened and Tyler slowly peeked at her from the corner of his eyes. Awkward silence swallowed them whole and Trent set her back on her feet, uneasily rubbing the back of his neck as he cleared his throat.

"Sorry," Y/N blurted out as she chewed on her lip, "I'm just–"

"Stressed?" offered Tyler.

She looked up at him. "Stressed," she agreed, nodding slowly.

Pete scoffed, rolling his neck as he leaned against the ropes inside the ring. "Stressed? You've been training for a few months, kid, you haven't even had a real match yet."

"She's signed to NXT, now," said Trent suddenly.

Y/N snapped her gaze toward Trent, eyes searching his face for an answer. He looked uneasily at Tyler, then Pete, then Tyler, then Pete again.

"Christ's sake," said Pete as he tossed his jacket aside, "You didn't tell her?"

"Tell me what?" she asked, eyes still focused on Trent, who was avoiding her gaze.

"Tell me what?" she repeated, stepping toward him.

"Tyler pulled some strings for you," said Trent, looking past Y/N and at Tyler, "Isn't that right, Bate?"

The young man stepped forward, nervously chuckling. "It was more of a team effort, isn't that right?" A strange smile flickered under his mustache.

"I don't understand," said Y/N blankly, "What do you mean I've been signed to NXT? I never signed anything."

"He doesn't mean literally," Pete said suddenly, approaching her, "Are you that dumb?"

She looked at Pete for a moment before looking at her shoes and clenching her jaw uncomfortably.

"If you choose to sign the paperwork," said Tyler, "You'd be contracted to NXT."

"You should," added Trent, "You should sign the papers, it's a really important opportunity for someone like you."

Tyler nodded, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You never really served on the indy circuits, this is your gateway into WWE, Y/N," he said gently, peeking down into her face from beside her.

She glanced at him uneasily. "I was going to debut for–"

"I know," Trent interjected, "But now you can debut for WWE."

She shifted her weight uneasily, drawing in a long breath. "I still don't understand, why would you vouch for me? You've only known me for a few months, I–"

"You're a good girl," Trent replied, "A good heart." He smiled thinly, patting her other shoulder.

"Alright, alright," groaned Pete loudly, pushing off Trent's hand from her shoulder, "We get it, Trent, alright?"

Y/N sensed sudden tension and stepped away from Trent and Pete, who were glaring at each other.

"Congratulations, love," Tyler whispered gently, steering her toward the ropes, "You should probably get going, it's late."

Y/N peeked over his shoulder and pushed away his grip. "Pete."

It was if he didn't hear her, Pete continued glaring at Trent.

"Pete," Y/N said again, stepping toward them.

The two men stood in the center of the ring, glaring at each other and never once stepping away. Tyler, who kept lightly grabbing at Y/N's shoulder, was standing in the corner of the ring, watching the men carefully.

"Peter," Y/N called again and this time Pete looked over at her. For a moment she thought he looked confused, as if she hadn't known his name was actually Peter, but his face twisted back into a grimace and he rolled his neck, patting Trent's chest gently as he stepped away.

"You should get going, Y/N," said Trent as he backed away from Pete, each of their gazes locked on each other, "You have to get up early to sign those papers."

"Right," said Y/N quickly, rolling out of the ring and gathering her gym bag, "I uh," she turned to face the men in the ring.

"Thank you," she said, nodding slowly with her eyes focused on the ground, "This means the world, truly." She smiled brightly, looking up at the men with tears glistening in her eyes. But before anyone could say anything, she spun on her heel and walked out of the room, leaving the men alone in the ring.

Tyler was the first to break the awkward silence, his voice crackling at first with uneasiness. "That was wrong on your part, Pete, you know that."

The Bruiserweight had taken residence in the corner of the ring, sitting against the lowermost turnbuckle. "Fuck you know?"

"Pete," scolded Trent suddenly, from the opposing corner where he stood, "You should've told her sooner."

Pete scoffed. "You would've told her anyway, what's it matter?"

"Did you want to tell her?" said Tyler, "I thought you wanted us–"

"You think a lot of things, Bate, hardly any of them actually matter," he shot back, standing suddenly from his position.

"Pete!" Trent scolded again, "You were the one who wanted us to keep it on the low!"

"You were the one who vouched for her to Regal and all the higher-ups, you were the one who defended her and you were the one who convinced them to let her in!" Tyler was nearly yelling, his fists balled at his sides, "You're the one who plucked her from some no-name promotion, but I'm the one who trained her! I put in my time to train her and where were you? Nowhere to be found, but now you get the credit!" gushed Tyler suddenly, his face flushing, "It's always Pete, Pete, Pete! It's the Pete Dunne show! What about the Tyler Bate Show? Huh?"

Trent was staring at Tyler, completely bewildered. Normally Tyler was the composed one of the trio, not the one who was gushing wildly.

"It's not the fucking Pete Dunne show," scoffed Pete, "What the fuck are you talking about, Bate?"

"I knew Pete had a thing for Y/N and I'll admit it," said Trent clearly, "For a while there, I did too," he said, "But I didn't know Tyler did too, fuck."

Tyler looked at Trent with wide, worried eyes. "I didn't mean–"

"Look at us," Trent laughed, "We're all acting like we're sixteen again, fighting over some pretty girl in school," he shook his head and looked at Pete, who wasn't happy.

"So what now?" asked Tyler gently.

Pete glared at Tyler. "What now? She's just a girl. She's not that damned important."

"So you'd be fine with me taking her out for coffee, Petey Boy?" said Trent easily, smiling under his mustache which he was twirling. Pete didn't reply.

"Trent," said Tyler gently, "He wouldn't be okay with that, you know that."

"Quit speaking over me," Pete interjected suddenly.

Tyler glanced at him. "You... You weren't speaking."

"Alright, boys," announced Trent suddenly, "If she's going to start fucking up our matches and getting in our heads, that's not okay."

Pete looked at Trent. "Fuck that," he said, "She's just a girl."

"Saying that over and over to yourself isn't going to make it any truer," said Trent.

Tyler scratched at his face uneasily. "So what, what now?"

Trent drew in a long breath and looked up at the bright lights above the ring they stood in. "We see who gets to her first."

[atomicdrop]

WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament - Day One (January 14, 2017)

I love me some tournaments so when I heard that the WWE was going to be running a tournament similar to the Cruiserweight Classic featuring the best wrestlers from the UK (and Ireland, which the WWE seems to think is a part of the UK) I was excited. That being said, when the announced the wrestlers competing I didn’t really recognize any of the competitors outside of Mandrews. Will that matter? I hope not!

We’re in Blackpool, England and as this is a WWE Network joint, Triple H in his, “I’m a good guy business man who wants to put on good wrestling shows,” guise comes out to welcome us to the WWEUKCT and say some stuff about empires before asking if we’re ready. I know I am! So let’s get it on!

Our announce team for the evening are Michael Cole and Nigel McGuinness. Michael Cole says “grapple fans” and they show us the brackets for the tournament and talk about their picks to watch in the tourney. From there it’s time for action!

Match 1: Trent Seven vs. H.C. Dyer

Like the CWC the competitors get little pre-match video packages where they talk about themselves and non-WWE wrestling footage appears courtesy of some non-WWE wrestling promotion. This is fantastic because, as I said, I really don’t know any of these guys at all.

Trent Seven gets hyped as a favorite in the tournament as he makes his way to the ring and the audience seems really behind him. I think he’s got a pretty great moustache and in his promo video he talked about hailing from Moustache Mountain which is just outstanding.

Dyer’s a little less of a character. He kind of looks like a default Create-a-Wrestler in a video game and his gimmick is a big punch.

They do the Ring of Honor handshake thing here and the match gets underway with a collar and elbow tie up. Early on the two go to the outside where Dyer roughs up Seven for a bit, but Seven gets back in control and delivers a series of chops while Dyer is leaning up against the ring post, but on the last chop Dyer ducks out of the way and Seven chops the fuck out of the steel ring post.

They head back into the ring and there’s some more back and forth between the two. Seven goes for a cocky pin (he twirls his moustache while kind of posing atop a downed Dyer) but Dyer kicks out easily.

The announcers play up that Dyer is looking for his big right hook throughout the match but because the two men have a similar reach he’s going to have a hard time pulling it off.

He finally does though, connecting with Seven’s jaw and sending the now glassy eyed mustachioed one to the canvas. Dyer goes for a pin, but Seven kicks out. Cole says that Dyer’s hesitation in making the cover (he stood in awe of what he’d done for a few seconds before making the cover) gave Seven a chance to recover from the devastating punch. McGuinness says it was a rookie mistake.

Dyer follows up a moment later with a Blue Thunder Bomb and goes for another pin, but in what McGuinness would call another rookie mistake, he doesn’t put enough weight on Seven’s shoulders allowing Seven to kick out again.

Dyer goes for a top rope splash, but Seven avoids it and gets back in control of the match. He hits a Seven Star Clothesline and gets the pin in the middle of the ring to have his hand raised in victory. 

Winner: Trent Seven

This was a pretty good opening match. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen a good hard hitting match without a lot of flashy shit so this fit the bill nicely. I like that they made both men look good throughout the match and that Dyer’s defeat came more from a lack of in ring awareness than being outclassed in the ring. If they’re planning on doing weekly or monthly UK shows it’s beneficial if Dyer doesn’t look like a chump.

Meanwhile Backstage...

Jordan Devlin is waiting for his match. Cole says that he is Finn Balor’s protege. They cut to Danny Burch elsewhere backstage before going to...

Video Packages!

Burch used to be in NXT. I don’t really remember seeing him there so it must have been pre-2014 or in a very limited capacity post-2014. He explains that he’s been boxing since he was six years old and only feels at home in the ring. He’s in the tournament to win it.

Devlin talked about his in-ring style and describes himself as a technician trained in catch-as-catch-can style wrestling. He kind of looks like an off model Finn Balor.

Match 2: Danny Burch vs. Jordan Devlin

Before either man comes out we get a shot of Finn Balor sitting in the audience with some wrestling promoter guy who I probably would have recognized if I followed British wrestling prior to this, but I didn’t so I don’t. It’s still super weird to see other promoters or hear WWE announcers talk about guys being “one half of the Progress Wrestling Tag Team Champions.”

Burch is out first to little fanfare. Devlin comes out second and stops to point at the UK Championship belt which is on a podium on the stage. McGuinness talks about Burch being a favorite in the tournament and says that Devlin’s going to have his work cut out for him if he wants to win.

There’s some early back and forth between the two with Burch wrestling surprisingly quickly and technically. The two go hold for hold for awhile, trading counters. Before Burch takes control.

A few minutes in Devlin rakes Burch’s eyes and gets admonished by the referee. Michael Cole notes that Devlin needs to be careful not to get warned again because it will earn him a DQ and allow Burch to advance in the tournament.

They fight back and forth a little bit more with Devlin getting the upper hand. Burch hits a desperation move that lays both men out. The ref beings the ten count. Burch kips up and gets a decent pop from the audience. He then lays Devlin out with some punches.

Burch runs the ropes, but gets caught with a forearm. He recovers quickly though and hits a lariat that gets him a two count. He’s a house on fire now and hits a spinebuster that he follows up with a knee and a headbutt, but again he only gets two.

Burch locks on the Crippler Crossface but Devlin gets to the ropes and the ref breaks the hold. The crowd is not pleased. Burch goes for a German suplex, but Devlin’s a flippy motherfucker and lands on his feet and quickly gets Burch in a pinning predicament. 

Devlin hits a double stomp and then a spinning kick to the back of Burch’s head that splits him open. Devlin goes for the pin and Burch clearly kicks out at two but the bell rings anyway. There’s some confusion as to what happen and Cole and McGuinness watch the ending again in slow motion.

“Back and to the left. Back and to the left.”

They determine that the shoulder was up at two, but apparently the referee’s decision will stand. Devlin is declared the winner and in a show of good sportsmanship, Burch offers him a congratulatory handshake, but Devlin kicks him in the face instead.

He goes up to the stage area where Charly Caruso interviews Devlin as he made his way to the back. He said that people wrote him off but he was a thoroughbred horse. Okay whatever, Evil Twin Balor.

Winner: Jordan Devlin

The finish to this was weird. Burch got split open legit and after Devlin made the cover Burch clearly clicked out at two but the bell still rang. It wasn’t really clear if the ending got messed up because of the bleeding or there was always supposed to be a questionable ending to this one, but either way the blood, the cheap victory, and the kick in the mouth after the match really established Devlin as a great heel, so it all worked out okay in the end, except maybe for Danny Burch who was a goddamn bloody mess at the end of the match.

Video Packages!

Michael Cole sends us to video packages for a man who “calls himself Saxon Huxley,” and Sam Gradwell. Huxley is up first and talks about how he reads books and meditates, but don’t let that fool you into thinking he’s some sort of nerd. He promises that he is going to truck through whoever gets in his way in the tournament.

Sam Gradwell’s mom was a drunk and his house was a “war zone.” He says the only thing he has in common with the other dudes in the tournament is the ring they’re in. He says that he’s here to win a permanent spot with the WWE and even though he might not be the best known name in the tournament, when it’s all over everyone will remember the name Sam Gradwell.

Match 3: Saxon Huxley vs. Sam Gradwell

This was probably the least action packed match yet. There was some sloppy back and forth between the two men, but Gradwell quickly took control and dominated for the bulk of the match. Toward the end of the match Gradwell hit a big clothesline and then went to the top rope and connected with a diving headbutt for the win.

Winner: Sam Gradwell

The crowd was annoying as fuck during this just singing random bullshit and shouting “Let’s go Jesus!” because I guess Huxley kind of looked like Jesus. I get that this wasn’t going to be a Five Star Mat Classic™ by any stretch of the imagination, but I wish they’d fucking cool it with the random garbage chants and just watch the match at least then I could have heard the announcers calling the action and shit. 

Meanwhile In The Audience...

Hey! It’s Squire Dave Taylor! The Mothership...WCW Saturday Night baby! McGuinness talks about how Taylor was hella tough and also a great in ring technician. That must have been back in England because mostly I just remember him and Steven/William Regal getting destroyed by Harlem Heat or the Public Enemy a lot on WCW Saturday Night.

Michael Cole says that a lot of people compare the next competitor’s toughness to that of Dave Taylor. Time for a...

Video Package!

Pete Dunne looks like a smarmy motherfucker and calls himself a Bruiserweight. He says he doesn’t think anyone can beat him. The non-WWE wrestling footage that airs shows him biting a dude’s foot. The dude in question was wearing boots, which makes it seem more like a gross out thing than a move that would inflict much pain (on the person being bitten).

Roy Johnson gets the next video package. He was a power lifter so he’s strong as fuck. He says that he’s “wavy” but he can’t tell us what “wavy” means. Thanks for nothing, asshole.

Match 4: Pete Dunne vs. Roy Johnson

Dunne gets a much larger pop from the crowd as he makes his way to the ring than Johnson does. Cole compares Pete Dunne to “The Belfast Bruiser” Fit Finlay. Johnson does some dance moves in the early going which apparently ties in to his waviness, but Dunne just scowls at him and gets him in a front facelock. Johnson uses his power lifting power to power up and power out of the hold and hit a suplex.

Dunne gets back in control and targets Johnson’s wrist. He gets Johnson set up for a surfboard, but instead of executing it he removed Johnson’s power lifting glove and focused on the wrist again.

Johnson eventual fights his way out and eventually hits a shoulder block off the middle rope. Dunne responds with a kick to Johnson’s dome. Johnson is dazed, but hits a Samoan drop and goes for the pin, earning a two count. Cole and McGuinness said it would have been a huge upset if Johnson had gotten the pin there.

Johnson goes back to the second rope and leaps off of it right into a punch from Dunne. Dunne wastes no time and goes for the cover. but Johnson kicks out at two. The audience is completely behind Pete Dunne as he hits his finishing maneuver a weird pump handle flatliner thing to pick up the win.

Post match Johnson offers to shake Dunne’s hand, but Dunne just slaps it out of the way. Cole opines that Dunne never learned any manners before saying that Dunne will face Sam Gradwell in round two. 

Winner: Pete Dunne

This was a pretty good match and one that was helped by the preceding video packages and the commentary. Knowing that Johnson was a power lifter made his power moves seem more devastating than they might have seemed if I just thought he was a regular guy doing a Samoan Drop. 

Dunne’s a pretty great heel and I could really see him showing up in at least NXT very easily.

Video Package!

We get videos for the next two competitors: Wolfgang and Tyson T-Bone.

Wolfgang is the self-proclaimed King of Scotland. He talks about working in a pub and how that prepares him to fight. He’s been wrestling for ten years and isn’t afraid to cheat to win.

Tyson T-Bone has hella tattoos and is a gypsy or something.

Meanwhile Backstage...

Caruso interviews T-Bone who talks about traveling up and down England knocking fools out. He promises to knock out Wolfgang and then wonders who’s next.

Match 5: Wolfgang vs. Tyson T-Bone

Wolfgang and T-Bone come together to shake hands before the bell rings, but T-Bone just headbutts the fuck out of him. The ref checks with Wolfgang to see if he’s fit to fight and then rings the bell to get the match officially underway.

Wolfgang comes back with uppercuts and a dropkick that he follows up with a couple of splashes. Wolfgang goes up top and hits a double ax-handle earning himself a count of two.

Some more back and forth before Wolfgang gets back in control and hits a goddamn moonsault off the ropes and scores another two count. T-Bone makes a come back and hits Wolfgang with a German suplex and then a superkick to the face as Wolfgang gets to his knees. T-Bone goes for the cover and gets a two count.

He dumps Wolfgang out of the ring and goes out after him. T-Bone shoves Wolfgang into the ring post. Wolfgang recovers and knocks him away and goes for the ropes, but is cut off by T-Bone. T-Bone goes for a superplex, but Wolfgang shoves him off and hits a Swanton Bomb for the win.

Post match Caruso interviews Wolfgang on the stage, Wolfgang promises that in the second round Trent Seven will find out why they call him the Big Bag Wolf. He then promises to have a party once he wins the UK Championship.

Winner: Wolfgang

I liked this match a lot and hope to see more of Wolfgang. He kind of reminded me of mid-90s Hugh Morris (only hopefully less of a prick in real life) in that he was a bigger dude who could still hit some high flying moves.

I’ve watched a lot of NXT and 205 Live as of late, and think I may have built up a tolerance to high flying high spots, but here where most of the matches have been either technical grapple fests or straight up brawling seeing a dude (and a bigger one at that) hit a moonsault caused me to mark out.

Video Package!

Joseph Conners’ ear is all fucked up. He will do whatever it takes to become champion. James Drake is 23, but claims to be one of the most experienced wrestlers in the tournament. Both guys look like Jesus.

Match 6: James Drake vs. Joseph Conners

The audience shit all over this, chanting a bunch of stupid shit like “he’s got his whole face on his ass,” because Drake had a picture of his face on the back of his trunks. Cole puts Conners over and says that Conners is Cedric Alexander’s pick to win the whole thing because the big names Conners has faced in the past.

The two guys go back and forth for the bulk of the match. Conners keeps showing his fucked up ear as a taunt. I want that taunt in WWE 2K18. The bout comes to a close when Conners hits an elbow into a backbreaker that he follows up with his finisher, Don’t Look Down, to pick up the win.

Winner: Joseph Conners

The finish to this was pretty badass, but the crowd was bullshit during the bulk of the bout.

Video Package!

Hey it’s Mandrews guys! The pop-punk guy from TNA! He had a skateboard and a backwards baseball cap! He’s the only Welshman in the tournament and he says it would be a huge honor to win because he’d get to represent an entire generation of wrestlers.

Dan Moloney is a hardass. He comes from a bad place and has seen and done things people his age shouldn’t have seen or done. He doesn’t give a fuck about anybody except himself.

Match 7: Mark Andrews vs. Dan Moloney

Big pop for Mandrews as he comes out to the ring. The match gets underway with Moloney throwing Andrews around for awhile. Looks like it’s going to be power verses speed here. 

After the early going, Andrews gets the advantage and hits Moloney with the 619 and a couple minutes in, Andrews hits a standing moonsault for a two count.

He sends Moloney out to the floor and hits a moonsault off the apron that the crowd loves. They head back into the ring and Moloney makes a bit of a comeback, scoring a two count on a rollup. He hits a running kick to Mandrew’s head and goes for the pin, scoring another two count.

Moloney goes for a suplex, but Andrews counters it into a stunner and then hits a Shooting Star Press to pick up the win. He’ll face Joseph Conners in round two.

Winner: Mark Andrews

Mandrews was the one dude I knew before this began. I liked him when he was in TNA so I’m glad to see him get a chance here in the WWE. I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, but I really like that there’s a mix of styles here. Mandrews could have been in the Cruiserweight Classic where he’d just have been another high flying guy who does moonsaults, but here, where he’s the only guy who does flippy shit it stands out a lot more.

Video Package!

Tucker is from Northern Ireland. A year and a half ago he had knee surgery and was told his wrestling days might be behind him, but he’s here now.

Tyler Bate has a magnificent mustache that belies his 19 years of age. He’s from Dudley, England and says his age isn’t important since the only numbers he cares about are “1-2-3!”

Match 8: Tucker vs. Tyler Bate

Tucker is even more wrecked than the promo video let on as Cole points out a scar on his chest from where doctors inserted some sort of breathing apparatus when he was born 8 weeks prematurely. Bate, meanwhile, is said to be likable but having a short fuse.

At the start of the match Tucker goes for a superkick, but Bate avoids it. There’s some chain wrestling in the early going that the fans eat up. Less than a minute in and this is probably the match of the night for me.

The two play to the crowd and jaw with one another. Bate holds up his right hand and then punches Tucker with the left. Tucker responds with a back elbow off the second rope. Bate gets Tucker in a headlock, and then grabs his own foot to hit Tucker with it.

Tucker hits Bate in the dome with a kick. The audience begins a “This is wrestling,” chant as Tucker and Bate trade blows. I hate that chant. It’s all wrestling. A Mantaur squash match is wrestling. Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat Five Star Mat Classic is wrestling. Chikara is wrestling. A FMW match between Mr. Pogo and some dude in a janky horror movie mask throwing each other into barbed wire is wrestling. But I digress...

Tucker hits a running hurricanrana that he follows up with a forearm to Bate in the corner. He goes for a second, but Bate has the ring awareness to toss Tucker over the top rope. Tucker lands on his feet and slaps Bate and then hits a flatliner through the ropes earning a two count.

Tucker sends Bate to the floor and is setting up for a suicide dive when Bate catches him with a European uppercut. He follows up with a suplex attempt on the floor, but Tucker is like a goddamn cat and lands on his feet. He tries to shove Bate into the steel steps but Bate just leaps over them. Tucker follows after him, leaping off the steps and hitting a hurricanrana on Bate onto the entrance ramp.

Back in the ring Bate gets Tucker in an airplane spin for a count of two. Tucker gets back to his feet and nails Bate with a superkick that sends him rolling out of the ring. Bate gets back in and hits Tucker with a kick. Tucker punches him in reply and then Bate hits an insane rolling kick thing. He follows up with a Tiger Driver to pick up the win.

Winner: Tyler Bate

This was great. One might even go so far as to say that of all the wrestling that took place this evening, this was the wrestlingest of all. Tyler Bate was great and Tucker was no slouch either.

Meanwhile With Michael Cole...

Cole says that Nigel McGuiness is headed to the ring for a ceremony and goes on to say he’s losing his voice. There’s a brief recap of the the matches that took place this evening. Cole then hypes tomorrow night’s event and tosses it to Nigel for the ceremony.

Ceremony

Michael Cole is a liar. Nigel McGuinness is not in the ring. He is on the stage with the eight quarter finalists and William Regal. Regal’s all like, “You fellows are some fine competitors. I wonder what manner of superb grappling awaits us on the morrow.”

Nigel breaks down the matches for the following night. Bate and Devlin get called first. Both step forward and talk shit at one another. Seven and Wolfgang do the same. Dunne and Gradwell have a tough guy stare down as do Mandrews and Conners.

Regal wishes them all luck and reminds them that the UK Championship is not a tag team or trios championship so only one of them can walk away the champion tomorrow.

Off camera, Cole’s like, “Tomorrow night, someone will fulfill their destiny,” and then Pete Dunne nails Gradwell in the head with a forearm. The other competitors suffer from bystander syndrome and just stand there, but William Regal pulls Dunne off Gradwell and gets all up in his grill and is like, “DON’T YOU DARE MESS THIS UP!”

Final Thoughts

This was by and large a lot of fun. Unlike the Cruiserweight Classic, where I’d seen probably two thirds of the guys in it compete before, I wasn’t really familiar with anyone on this card (except Mandrews) so it was kind of neat to go in with no idea of who anyone was and with no preconceived notions as to who would win. On that note, the video packages were well done and helpful for people, like me, who know little to nothing of British indie wrestling. After day one I like Wolfgang, Trent Seven, Tyler Bate, and Pete Dunne the most and look forward to seeing what they have going on on Day Two.

How was the in ring action? By and large it was pretty good. Were there some dud matches? Yeah sure, but that was kind of to be expected because the in ring action was a lot more varied than the Cruiserweight Classic was. Here you had mat technicians, high fliers, colossal jostlers, brawlers, and everything in between which made for some more dynamic bouts.

Michael Cole and Nigel McGuinness were both really good on the mic, proving that Michael Cole can be decent when he’s doing stuff that Vince McMahon doesn’t give a shit about (he was also really good on Beast from the East or whatever that Network Special was called).

I liked what the did at the end with Dunne and Gradwell to hook people into watching the second night. I mean, I was going to watch it anyway, but the “What’s going to happen with Gradwell and Dunne?” hook has me more excited than I would have been for “Let’s see some more amazing bouts of grappling.”

[punknrasslin]

Progress Manchester

Hi there & welcome to punknrasslin, the wisdom of a lone travelling wrestle fan constantly seeking out vegan options, positive vibes & hi5’s. You stuck around all this year I’m impressed dear reader!

Best way to start a day like this I reckon is a huge vegan breakfast. £6 from Gasworks, with coffee. One of the best vegan breakfasts I’ve had (sorry Spoons!) So then we go into Saturdays events at the O2 Ritz in a rainy Manchester. Match number 1 sees Paul Robinson taking on a top pick for 2018 Chris Ridgeway. An expected hard hitting affair with many kicks, strikes & chops. Progress seem to be doing the whole north vs south thing here with both Robbo & Ridgeway playing off each other’s on which side of the country is ‘harder’. A rather ‘meh’ ending mind when Referee Paz is blinded by an unfortunate strike & Robbo uses a chain for a sneaky pin. In the words of Shauna BoOoOoO!!!!!

Anyway onto match 2. Not sure this should be so low in the card but Mark Andrews vs Pete Dunne. Two of my favourites so a little biased. In ring this one goes well. Two men know each other well enough having met in various promotions, even main evented a Progress Chapter. Mark, the high flying, flips & tricks vs Pete, the hard hitting bruiserweight. This one however ends with yet another Mark defeat. A good match that met expectations but when will the loosing streak end?

Match 3 brings us Drew Parker, now DNR Afflicted, taking on El Ligero (sorry NXT UK will always be El to me). A ‘hardcore’ rules match where the numbers game comes into play many times, the hardcore style favouring Parker & ligero loosing the match & one of his horns from his mask (it made no sense to me either dear reader)!

Elsewhere this first half sees the rather unique pairing of Mark Haskins & Eddie Dennis facing now heel Chuck Mambo & Pastor William Eaver (or whatever this new gimmick is of his) in a rather all over the place encounter, adding fuel to the Dennis/DNR rivalry. Post match we also see hints that Mark Andrews & Eddie Dennis could reunite as a heel team. I’m waiting!

The second half card is absolutely stacked. Unbieszevbar Ijla Dragunof taking on Tyler Bate though really warms my cold heart. A late but high contender for MOTY (that blog should be a good read by the way!) Tyler, the big strong boi proving his worth against Ilja the hard hitting warrior. It’s a true gem to watch & sets up more bookings for Dragunof this side of the pond.

Two matches left to cover then, Trent Sevens open challenge answered by a debuting Dan Maloney (DAN!) in an encounter that is very well matched & rather well done. I find it hard to belief this is Dans debut though he’s been around so long!

Main event time, and CCK vs LAX. Yes it’s as good as it looks! Another, second of the night, late MOTY contender (how am I gonna narrow this to 5? Maybe do a 10 MOTY). Brookes & Gresham working well together to attempt to see off the LAX but in the end it’s all too much as the imports walk away with a victory, taking them to Sheffield the day after to challenge Aussie Open for the tag titles.

So that was my Saturday, many smiles many hugs much hi 5ing & just a generally awesome day filled with good vibes. I’ll post a Sheffield blog maybe tonight maybe tomorrow. Schedule depending.

Until next time,

Jx

Blog soundtracked by.. Junior

[josephconnersblog-blog]

Back To The Ring

Beginning to write this at 00.18 at I guess what would technically now be Monday. I want to make sure, I keep up with this blog, I didn’t feel I really had anything of major interest that I could post about during the week. After taking the seminar with FSW the previous Sunday. The week just gone would be my first in Ring Wrestling dates. Friday would be for Elevation in Newbold Verdon, a show close to my heart as I get the opportunity to watch people, I’ve helped or currently helping on their wrestling journeys. I wrestled a match against ‘Joshua’ someone who has been on quite a journey from when he first started training. Once again I mentioned last week, if people are looking for motivation or an insight if you’re thinking of considering being involved in this sport, then Joshua is a perfect example of somehow who used wrestling to help turn his life around. When he first came to wrestling, he was reserved, suffering from some previous troubles in his life, lack of confidence, and was over weight. 3 years later at 40 years old, his athleticism, determination, hard work, continues to improve each week. He’s now becoming someone other trainees look up to. He gets in his head from time to time, as we all do, but I’m very proud of what he has accomplished thus far. He is once again another great example of positives that can come from wrestling I didn’t get a chance to watch a lot of the matches on Friday, but it was great to watch Brady Phillips & Johnny Alpha have a great Main Event to end the show. Brady Phillips calls himself “Britains Best Kept Secret” trust me with performances and improvements he continues to make, he won’t have to use that name for too long. Johnny Alpha is another one, who’s dedication, hard work, continues to blossom. It was a fitting night to see him capture the Elevation Championship on Friday night, a true reward for all his hard work.

Then moving onto today, I returned at Progress Wrestling. A place where I am certainly not the most liked man on their roster :) to challenge for the WWE UK Championship against “The Bruiserweight” Pete Dunne in his hometown of Birmingham. I don’t want to say to much about the match, for those who weren’t in attendance it will be on Progress On Demand Channel. What I will say this was a hard fought match, and as I write this currently I know I have been through a war. Hopefully fitting of what people want to see from a WWE UK Championship match. I was also reminded through Facebook & Twitter, that is exactly 12 months ago that I entered the WWE UK Championship Tournament with 15 other men. Cannot believe an entire year has gone by, since that groundbreaking weekend. I look back with fondness, at a truly special couple of days to be involved in. But I also look to the future, as my work is clearly not done. Those are the stages I want to make sure you see me on. I don’t plan on taking any steps backwards. As we are all ready 2 weeks into January, things are starting to get moving again now. I have some exciting opportunities coming up, and more are beginning to present them self. So I certainly sit here, writing this blog, filled with a lot of optimism of what is on the upcoming radar. This week coming up, I’m looking forward to continuing my new work out plan with my best friend Gabe. This is week 2 of 6, so am looking forward to seeing how I react to these workouts. I’ve got my Wrestling Cardio Class on Tuesday (Which I talked about in the previous blog entry). I’m also hoping to try and get to the cinema a few times this week, after I saw my first movie of the year last week. That being “The Greatest Showmen” which I highly recommend, it was thanks to Nathan Cruz who had nothing but positive things to say about the movie on Facebook, that really sold me on it. As musicals go this was great, I love Hugh Jackman anyway, but he’s great in this, as is Zak Efron and the rest of the cast. If you are looking for a fun movie, that’s going to put a smile on your face, check this one out, enjoy the movie & the soundtrack it’s cracking.  Fims I’m hoping to see soon are ‘ Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’, ‘The Darkest Hour’ & I still need to see the new ‘Jumanji’. So if I can get a couple of those in that would be great. I also have a full weekend of shows, I will be defending my BWR Championship on Friday night for them in Grimsby, then I’m in Middlesborough for EPW, & I finish up flying out to Glasgow for my ICW return. A good week ahead for sure. I look forward to it. Once again a bit of a skattered blog, but I told you it’d be like this. Plus cut me some slack it’s not 00.42 and I’m quite beat up as I write this. Keep posted on all my social media for updates, on everything Joseph Conners. Hope you enjoyed this entry. Until Next Time

* Just After My Match At Progress, with my “Everyones Welcome” Progress T-Shirt

[grapsandclaps]

GRAPS AND CLAPS DOES ALLY PALLY PROGRESS

Hello again everyone and welcome to the story of Show 70 of the #100showyear which took me to the Christmas darting mecca of Alexandra Palace for Progress Wrestlings biggest show of the year - Chase The Sun.

But first of all it was the longer than usual travel down to the capital via trams, trains and tubes with the added entertainment of our group doing our best Pete Dunne impressions supposedly "Everything is mine" in a dour brummie accent.

Arriving in Wood Green before the 20 minute walk up Muswell Hill we took in a decent little pub called The Jolly Sailor or something to that effect and was greeted with very good beer prices for a London boozer - £3.60 for Coors, £4.10 for Wolf Rock and £4.60 for Blue Moon, the bar lady overheard of my liking for slices of orange in a pint of Blue Moon so out of kindness and service she sent her faithful bar assistant out to the local grocers for some oranges, low and behold a slice of orange ended up in my drink 😍.

Drinks done it was time to take the hike up to Ally Pally which on a nice day is a lovely walk to do with views of the London skyline to the left hand side of you which in the evening can be a fantastic sight to see. Arriving at Ally Pally it was time to find our seats which due to arriving an hour before the show started meant we were more to the back of row 11/12 with a central view, the set up was very much like the set up WCPW does with their seating in the aircraft hangar called Bowlers. Atmosphere wise it was much noisier than the previous years Brixton Academy show with it making it more accessible for people to mingle with their wrestling friends. The option to stand up at the back was there if you couldnt see anything from your seats which i took advantage of, but our Geoff stopped in his seat all night and seemed to like it there.

Pre show match was Chuck Mambo beating Spike Trivet in what i was told was a short affair but missable , because i had gone to get beer refreshments at the nearby bar before the main show had started.

Hop House Lager - £5, Fosters £4.80, Deuchars £4.50

Show started with a great video package to the familiar tune starter Started From The Bottom by Drake, and after the usual opening dialogue from Jim Smallman it was time to get on with the show with the visible ladders around the ring it was time to start with the Progress Tag Title Ladder Match with British Strong Style (Champions) vs CCK.

This was a fine opener with the early stages of the match based more around wrestling than using the ladders. Once the ladders came into play some cool offence was used including back suplexes on to the ladder, Kid Lykos being carried whilst on the ladder by Bate and Seven and then flung over the top rope to the Progress security below. The ending came when Brookes and Tyler Bate were fighting atop of the ladder with Bate being backbody dropped on to a raised ladder which was held on the ropes. With the prone Bate on the deck, Brooks climbed the ladder to grab the belts and your new champions - CCK to the satisfaction of the 2,500 strong crowd.

Next up it was a battle of Australia vs New Zealand with Womens Champion Toni Storm vs Dahlia Black. Again another good match here with both women having opportunities early on to take the upper hand, Toni Storm hit a piledriver on Black for a close 2 nearfall to the amazement of the crowd. The finish came when Black got crotched on the top rope and was prone to a nasty german suplex from the top by Toni who then proceeded to finish Black off with the match winning piledriver. After the match Jinny came in to attack Dahlia clamping Blacks previously injured leg in a chair and stamping on it, so it looks like it will be Dahlia vs Jinny for the near future leaving Toni Storm opponentless for the time being which is a bit strange.

Zack Sabre Jr was next for his mystery opponent challenge which was answered to a huge pop - i had goosebumps for this moment just wow by Marty Scurll returning for the first time since January where he was eliminated from the ThunderBastard Match but since being away from Progress has become a huge star thanks to his association with The Bullet Club - they are a huge cash cow. Anyways this match was another great match in the Sabre vs Scurll story lasting 20 minutes both guys going hold for hold knowing each and every step their opponent would make. Eventually Sabre Jr got the win with the bridging roll up for the 1-2-3, Scurll after the match then gave what looks like to be his farewell to Progress for good - make your own mind up on why, but Scurll is certainly someone who Progress could do with at the top end of the card once British Strong Style decamp to WWE.

Deathmatch time with perennial moaners about who is the rightful no.1 contender Jimmy Havoc vs Mark Haskins. I might be in the minority on my opinion here but even though it was a good match at times, i did feel the atmosphere went a bit flat here after following Sabre vs Scurll. It did have its moments with Haskins using The Death Valley Driver on Havoc off the stage through a table, many thumbtack spots and even Vicky Haskins getting involved passing a barb wire bat to Mark Haskins and then proceeding to walk off which was a bit head scratching, surely you stay there to help your husband lay the beatdown to Havoc. Havoc because of this took advantage winning with a barb wore assisted rainmaker for the win. Ok match but as explained bloody head scratching stuff with Vicky Haskins more the baddie in this piece than Mark Haskins. Seeing Ben and Chris at half time they uttered many a "Shit" "Crap" and "Fuck" about this match.

Back from half time it was time for a big announcement with Progress's big show in 2018 taking place at Wembley Arena, very ambitious as per ICW doing the Hydro. I think sleeping on my opinion from last night Progress will easily get 5/6k to the show but i am all of the worry that the boom of the UK scene can all come to a halt like that, hopefully it doesnt but with Progress they seem to have a great relationship with WWE at the moment so all looks rosy.

Three way Atlas action next with Champion Matt Riddle vs Walter vs Timothy Thatcher. Cracking hard hitting 3 way match with the basis of the action being Walter and Riddle hitting each other really hard with Thatcher playing the third wheel. There was one spot in this match which Progress have on their twitter timeline with a massive triple german suplex being performed - Riddle went flying nearly out of the ring, the finish came with Walter choking out Matt Riddle to get back his Atlas title which he lost in the States to Riddle. A new contender them came down to the ring to face off with Walter - it was ICW and WWE UK star Wolfgang to a decent ovation, dont get me wrong i think Wolfie is very good and provides a different challenge to the Atlas division but the WWE UK fingerprints were in the back of my head seeing this.

The 8 man no.1 contenders scramble match was next with Mark Andrews vs Damien Dunne vs Eddie Dennis vs Jack Sexsmith vs Strangler Davis vs James Drake vs Flash Morgan Webster vs Zack Gibson. Good action as you would expect with the 8 men involved, looking at the match beforehand i would have gone for a Morgan Webster or Zack Gibson win here with the probable Travis Banks win in the Main Event in hindsight but sadly i was wrong with regular no.1 contender Mark Andrews picking up the win here, don't get me wrong i think Andrews is fantastic to watch and is a great babyface but he is rivalling Mark Haskins for No.1 contender opportunities. After the match a shock heel turn here with Eddie Dennis turning in his FSU partner to the boos of the audience, i suppose FSU have done everything as a team in Progress and it brings a new side to Eddie that hasn't been seen in ages but so soon after The Riots split up this is now 2 long standing teams gone from the tag division.

Flash Morgan Webster i dont know where they go from here with him, another failed opportunity missed here for him.

Now The Main Event with Pete Dunne (Champion) facing Travis Banks for the Progress World Title. A very good main event here but one spot that did cheese me off a bit was a point where British Strong Style hit a Piledriver/Tyler Driver 97/Bitter End Trifecta and Travis kicked out at 2 which sounds as silly as it reads. That aside it was fantastic to see Travis Banks submit Pete Dunne to end the near year long reign of The Bruiserweight to a huge pop, this was the natural result that should have went down and it did. It now sets up fresh matches at the top of the card with Jimmy Havoc and Mark Andrews vs Banks but with Pete Dunne maybe gone for the moment it leaves a gap for a tosser at the top - maybe Webster/Brookes or TK Cooper when he returns but we will just have to wait and see.

Show done it was time to make the walk back down Muswell Hill to Wood Green and a stop off in the Wood Green Wetherspoons for some tea - Beef and ale pie for £6.99 and a pint for £2.18 all good quality fare. Sink it in £2.18 FOR A PINT IN LONDON!!!!

Overall a great show but with a couple of gripes as described above (The Progress Fan Forum Police Siren will be sounding haha!) but certainly betfer than Brixton last year. Was great to see a lot of the graps gang make the trip to Ally Pally and they were rewarded with a fantastic venue.

Next trip is to 53two in Manchester on Sunday for Futureshock Reloaded with the main evemt of Pete Dunne vs Soner Durson. #grapsandclaps