REVIEW: UKPW - Blizzard Brawl

UKPW: Blizzard Brawl
Falconwood Community Centre, London
Saturday, February 19, 2022
Reviewer: Iwan MacKenzie (@Iwanmack)

So my day started off with making some breakfast/brunch indoors before my grandad picked up me and my brother Leighton to head off the small town of Falconwood. We drove through the mean streets of South East London seeing what disruptions the rain and wind of the previous day had caused before pulling up the venue about five minutes before the doors opened. We met with our mates, Liam, Dave and Chris before heading inside to get away from the rain.

Now, the venue was laid out differently here compared to last time I went - with the ring being more central to the middle of the venue and the seats being more evenly disrupted around the venue. Plus, the main hall lights were kept on this time which made it a more pleasant viewing experience. 

One more thing to mention here, the last time I reviewed a show from this venue I did make a point about the sexist chants. I was in contact with UKPW themselves regarding this and they were very understanding of what was being said and endeavoured to make sure those comments wouldn't be at shows going forward. And I’m happy to say that on this show there were none of those comments at all throughout the whole show. Great work from UKPW and you love to see it.

Show opens with our MC for the afternoon, Dave O’Connor, who I thought did an excellent job. He went through some of the key matches for the afternoon and explained how the matches could be won, as well as testing the crowd on cheers and boos. More MC’s need to do this for the casual and first timers in the audience as it makes a more pleasant atmosphere.

Two Good Eggs (Rex Armstrong and JJ Lynch) & Harry Sefton vs Teens With Attitude (Mark Trew and Kieron Lacey) & Nino Bryant - UKPW Tag Team Title Match

Credit: UKPW

Even though all the members of this match were fan favourites heading in, we had Harry kick off this match by jumping Kieron Lacey and being more aggressive than the rest throughout the match.

Loads of crazy action here with all six men bringing the speed and flips you’d expect, especially Nino Bryant who will be one of the breakout stars of 2022 if he continues on this streak.

We had Steve Says So, the ref, talking to Rex Armstrong being in the ring, whilst that was going on, Harry caught Nino with a low blow in mid-air before the cheeky roll-up finished the match for TGE and Sefton to win.

Would recommend watching this match when it hits YouTube, a really good fast paced match featuring six young talents that need to be showcased more. Post match, we had JJ and Rex disappointed with the way Harry had won the match, before Harry attacked both men with the belts and TWA ran him off. Interesting times already here in Falconwood.

Jack Kent vs ‘The Trashman’ Marcus Broome

Credit: UKPW

Kent is a product of Mike Bird’s CATCH-22 school while Broome is considered a UKPW legend, who was out to the classic tune of AC/DC’s Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.

After a high flying opener, this was a wise follow-up as was much more of a comedy match, with Trashman bringing the laughs against young up-start Kent.

Really entertaining match with some great energy from Broome and Kent - who impressed me on first impressions. He has good work in the ring and interacts with the crowd as well, which not enough young wrestlers do these days.

We had Broome hit his big elbow drop on the third time of asking, before Kent caught his arms in a crucifix position to get the shock win. Post-Match, we had Broome put over Kent as the next generation, before Kent twated him with a forearm and said he’s the future champion of UKPW and British Wrestling. He added that the only man standing in his way was KM Lane and said that he’ll run through him when he gets the chance, setting up a match for the down the road.

‘Just Joe Lando vs Danny Black - Inter-Regional Championship

Credit: UKPW

The story going into this match was Lando had already pinned Danny Black before and with Black now being a champion he took his shot at potentially winning the belt.

We started off with some nice grappling before launching into the kind of fast paced action you’d expect here. What I wasn’t expecting here though was Lando’s aggressive side coming out here and I’ve gotta say it fits him really well.

The audience was 80-20 in favour of Danny Black, so Lando recognised this and played towards it instead of shying away. I like things like that. There was a lot more hard hitting offence between the two as the match picked up and went into another gear.

But eventually it was Danny’s 450 elbow drop that picked up the win and retain the title for the Kid Without Fear. After the match, the two shook hands but had an intense stare down as they both noted that the series was at one-all and we needed a straightener, let’s see what happens in the future.

Hell of a match to end the first half, I’d also recommend watching this match when it hits YouTube. Two young guys putting their heart into this match and it paying off, guys you should definitely keep an eye on for the future.

Interval now, as we chatted to Danny Black and got our picture with him. Plus, I have got to mention that the Tuck Shop was excellent here, nothing was beyond a £1 and they had sweets, crisps and drinks, you love to see it. What you don’t love to see is what Leighton showed me on Footy Scran that Two Chicken Burgers and Chips from the Emirates came to £38, fuck that.

David Francisco and Ava vs Samuel Hawkes and Will Kaven

First match back from the Interval saw the team of Francisco and Ava, who we dubbed ‘Dava’ up against Samuel Hawkes and Will Kaven, who I’ve never seen wrestle but have seen plenty of times before as they normally check my ticket on the doors for RevPro shows.

This match was messy to me, felt like a pummelling from the baby faces to the heels for the most part. We did have both baddies isolating Ava for a while but I don’t know a lot of this match felt off to me personally.

We had Hawkes go for a shooting star press at one point but Francisco was further away than he attended and barely got any of it. But what Hawkes did get all of was the win as he rolled up Ava. Ava walked out on David afterwards, maybe her and Harry Sefton can form a tag team going off this show’s angles.

Kira Chimera vs Kamille Hansen

The debuting Hansen was standing in for Safire Reed in this match, who was out of this show with COVID (get well soon Safire). 

Now to be blunt, this wasn’t a very good match but I can’t be harsh because of two reasons; first of all, this wasn’t the original planned match so they probably didn’t have enough time to build something together; second, Kamille is still a rookie at this stage of the game, still dipping her toes into the pool of professional wrestling, she’s not the finished product but having matches and gaining constant experience will sharpen her and grow her into a great professional wrestler. 

I have to say, Kira Chimera though is pretty great, somebody who I find consistently good and with some of the major promotions lacking women’s wrestlers for their divisions. You can’t go wrong with having Kira on the shows her strikes looked really good here and she got the decisive win here with a Spinebuster.

Alexander Roth vs Bullit - UKPW Heavyweight Championship

Credit: UKPW

Main event time now and it was for the UKPW Heavyweight Championship, Roth defending the title against his nemesis Bullit.

Great pre-match promo by Bullit, who said that he can’t believe he’s in a ‘crap town like Falconwood’. HE called us lot ‘neck beard marks’ who can’t afford PROGRESS tickets and the other half of the room’s local fans got their tickets on a Groupon deal. He then said that he’s not a 5’3 guy or somebody dressed like an alligator, he’s a 6’3 Man and then pointed to our mate Liam and said that ‘I’ll give it to your mum, fat boy!’

This promo had everyone in attendance hating Bullit afterwards with plenty of “Bullit Sucks” chants happening throughout the match. Amazing work by Bullit here as he established himself as the major heel and made you root for Roth more.

Roth started this match with the Superman Punch and from there, the match never really slowed down at all throughout.  They went brawling around the venue with Bullit ultimately dictating the match.

As we entered the second act Bullit beat down Roth whilst taunting the crowd, even joining in our “If you all hate Bullit, clap your hands” chant, with him changing the lyrics to calling us Strawbs and Marks.

We had Roth fight back here with a RothBottom causing a very near fall; we eventually had Roth fight through to the big man, as he hit the death valley driver and then diving double foot stomp to win the match and retain the title.

This was an excellent main event, proper heel vs babyface stuff that worked so well for the crowd here and established both guys so well. they both need to be featured more around the scene as they looked top class here, I have to say.

Post-Show, got our pictures with members of the UKPW roster and a chat with a few people before getting home for 17:30, You Fucking Love to See It!

Overall, this was a big improvement from their last show in Falconwood, presentation made for pleasant experience in attendance, got to see some new wrestlers that I haven’t seen before and all three championship matches delivered and would be the recommended matches to watch on YouTube when they hit there.

Not everything on the show was great but as they say you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs and these shows are good for trying new stuff out and if it doesn't work then you can try again and keep improving. 

Last thing to say, is that I’m very impressed with UKPW, along with WrestleForce, they’re the two best family friendly promotions in all of the aouth, they put on just real good fun shows and it won’t break the bank to go along.

One of my favourite moments from the show as this little boy turning around to us during the show and saying that it’s his first show and he’s loving it, that's what you love to see.

UKPW returns with events in April in Canterbury and then in May they once again return to Falconwood.

Thanks for Reading the Review as always, Follow me on Instagram @IwanMack