REVIEW: Colosseum Pro Wrestling

Colosseum Pro Wrestling
Conway Hall, London
Saturday, July 16, 2022
Reviewer: Daniel Polat (@DpuizY, @Honour_club, @RGXUK)

They say all roads lead to Rome, but the Colosseum I was at, wasn’t in Rome! It was slap bang in the heart of London, but with the amount of Gladiators, Centurions and Praetorians that were in action, it would be easy to think you were indeed, in the heart of Rome…

After a chore-filled afternoon I started to make my way towards the venue, for a 7pm start. I’d done a route on my phone and computer beforehand so ideally should not have much issue getting there.

I jumped on a 243 going to Waterloo, I knew my destination and stop, aaaand I proceeded to get off at the wrong stop because it had a similar name and I could not fully remember the rest of it…

So after a further ten minute wait, another bus came, and I finally made it to the place, before entirely missing that stop because I thought there might be a closer one, before being taken around several corners and streets towards the next stop (Holborn train station).

Needless to say, I was already feeling the heat before I’d even stepped foot in the venue.

Speaking of the venue, the location for this encounter, Conway Hall, is an Ethical Society Building owned by the Charity Conway Hall Ethical Society, first opened in 1929!

I found myself a seat in the front row and sat down, waiting for the 7:30pm start time, while doing so, vignettes played on the screen by the stage, showing videos previously shown on twitter and other various social media outlets. Around 7:30pm we were ready to get into the show!

To kick off the show, we were introduced to the show’s host for the night, SilentMark! I was not personally aware of who he was before tonight but he is known to the folks of Odyssey Pro Wrestling.

We were then introduced to Colosseum’s “principles”, a set of rules pertaining to the wrestlers. The rules were as follows; victory can only be attained by pinfall, submission or knockout; no closed fist strikes; no manoeuvres that result in head landings; no slams into turnbuckles; and the use of weapons will result in an indefinite suspension.

Following on from that, we were introduced to the night’s ring announcer, Jessy Maria! She’d be the one introducing us to the wrestlers as they come out and do what they do best! So without any further ado: Let’s get into the matches!

Shreddy vs Iestyn Rees

I was not aware of how, quite literally, ‘jacked and stacked’ Shreddy was, I originally thought the graphic for the match was exaggerated thanks to modern day technology however it was not! Shreddy is indeed that well-built.

It was a very good opener, with Shreddy and Iestyn both playing off the crowd (who were lively), and after a couple tests of strength between the two Iestyn took the low road by kicking Shreddy in the knee.

The next few mins saw the “Alpha Male” have the upper hand with the crowd trying to reignite the fire in Shreddy, with “who’s your/the daddy?” chants, which worked, and Shreddy was able to land a “Jacked-Hammer” Jackhammer suplex, only getting a two count.

Iestyn was able to come back with shoulder tackles but with the combination of Shreddy’s strength and agility, with chants of “evil uncle” directed at Rees, The Jacked, Stacked Daddy was able to pick up a win with a TKO!

Harley Hudson vs LA Taylor

This was an interesting encounter for me as it was my first time seeing either person, and both women impressed in a major way.

Taylor used her strength advantage to gain the upper hand several times in this match whereas Hudson would use her speed and agility to try and gain an advantage and tire Taylor out.

After a leg drop from the top rope which didn’t catch all of Taylor upon landing, Taylor was able to take advantage with some lethal and vicious knees to the head, before putting Hudson away for the three count! Hudson displayed plenty of heart, but it was unfortunately not enough for her to get a victory on this night.

These women put on a great show and showed why they are the future of this business. Both really displayed a lot of potential in their respective roles.

Doug Williams & Joel Redman vs Leyton Buzzard and Theos Doros

Leyton Buzzard and Theos Doros played the bad guys role here very well, embracing the not-so-much love from the fans while Doug and Joel enjoyed a more hospitable welcome from the people in attendance.

This match was very much a clash of two different styles, with Doug and Joel focusing on more mat-based technical moveset, and had control of the match for a fair majority; and Buzzard/Doros who did not really have a set style per se, as opposed to a mixture of everything.

The person who really did shine for me in this match was Joel Redman, I was familiar with his work beforehand but had never seen him live, and seeing him live really opened my eyes to see what he can do… The ending of the match came with Redman picking up the three.

Jim Diehard vs Simon Miller

Both men are interactive with the crowd, with Miller slapping his head instead of clapping, and Diehard not being a fan of this, mocking it a couple times to boot.

There was further interaction with Diehard being the subject of “Uncle Albert” chants, along with “Send him back to Peckham” and “We want Rodney”, of course, linking to the famous BBC sitcom “Only Fools and Horses”, and we did get Rodney! Well, it was someone who came out to support Diehard, with a microphone in hand, berating Miller for being “Youtube famous” and for not being a real wrestler…

The main focus of the match was building that Diehard was a big man and that Miller would have an issue trying to lift him, which was true for the most part, until Miller successfully landed a scoop slam, but only getting a two count.

Further interruption from the un-named distractor would eventually be costful, as Diehard would grab Miller and eventually get him with a falling powerslam…Earning him the pinfall victory!

After the match, the unnamed individual would jump into the ring and with Diehard, both men beat down on Miller, this was until a certain someone came out to help…

When their music played, goosebumps rose on the back of my neck, I hadn’t heard that music for a few years and was almost certain I’d never hear it again, never mind live! It was Martin Kirby!

Kirby runs to the ring, assisting Miller, by taking the fight to Diehard and the unnamed person. Both heels leave the ring and Kirby teases a tag match for the next show, an indicator that there is indeed, more to come with Colosseum Pro.

Regina Rosendhal vs Ronnie Knocks vs Kira Chimera - Three Way Eliminator Match

Unfortunately, due to circumstances, we were not able to see Aurora Teves in action tonight, so as a result of that, we were next treated to the first of two triple threat eliminator matches, with the winners receiving an “incentive” from an unknown sponsor.

These three women, all masochistic maniacs in their own right, looked to take to fight to each other, it’s only a shame that Kira could not use her patented bat.

Early stages of the bout saw Ronnie and Kira work together to take on the bigger Regina, which resulted in her being sent to the outside, and her taking a seat among the crowd with a scowl on her face, which was comedic for me.

Regina spends the next minute or so walking around the outside of the ring, looking for an opportunity to involve herself in the match once again, and once she does, she’s able to take control of the match, Ronnie is able to hit a beautiful double crossbody from the top rope however it was not enough to save her as she is very soon eliminated, thanks to a stolen pinfall from Regina on Kira’s move.

It was at this point that there was some auditory confusion from the crowd because they believed that Regina had won the match outright(?).

However the match would continue with just Kira and Regina, who put on a slightly slower match, but one that made sense as both were feeling the effects of the match, Regina’s and Kira’s stamina levels were hitting a low however with a swift knee strike, Kira Chimera was able to pick up the victory! We did not get to find out what she had won, but she had won something…

Levi Muir vs KM Lane vs Nico Angelo - Three Way Eliminator Match

This match came about because of complications and MVK not being available, before that, both KM Lane and Nico Angelo were not advertised for the show, however I am glad this match came about, gave me a my first look at KM, and at Nico, both of who impressed, along with Levi Muir, who impressed in his own way.

This was a very quickly-fought and fast-paced affair as all three would look to gain upper hands on the others. Levi was the standout just on looks alone from the get-go, and as so, he became a target, eventually, he’d be forced out of the ring, allowing Nico and KM to showcase themselves, which they did until Levi was able to catch KM’s suicide dive attempt on the outside and proceeding to then throw him into Nico, who happened to also be on the outside at the time.

Back in the ring now, and Nico lands an impressive innovative Kiwi Crusher variation on KM Lane, however Nico is unable to put KM away as Levi does that job for him! KM gets eliminated but not for a lack of impressive skills and speed.

Nico and Levi are left now, and what follows is a showcase of two young men who both know what they want, that incentive promised by Leslie. After Nico attempts a top rope move, Levi is able to counter into a brainbuster, which is followed up by an overhead gutwrench backbreaker rack drop, which gets Levi the three!

This was a very good match, which did not surprise me, but did enough to make me want to see more of these lads.

Following that match, Leslie Bestington came out and berated the losers of that match, while congratulating Levi, on his big money cash prize that we never see. He berates the ring announcer, who is not afraid to give Leslie a piece of her mind, Leslie sulks off and the next match gets underway!

The 87 (Roy Johnson and Alexander Roth) vs The Kings of the North (Damien Corvin and Bonesaw)

This was a good tag match, showing the Kings’ ability to separate a team member from his partner, as both Corvin and Bonesaw worked on Roth, the smaller man of the 87.

Johnson would eventually get the tag however and when he did, he was on a hot streak, taking out both Corvin and Bonesaw, however the Kings of the North are able to take advantage when Roth is tagged back in.

The Kings would find their confidence not only to be an influential part of their game, but also to be their downfall, as Roy is able to pull Bonesaw down from beyond the ropes, Roth is able to roll up Corvin and take the three! This was a fun and enjoyable tag match, both teams knew their roles and played it well.

Charlie Morgan vs Aliss Ink

Charlie Morgan is a name I’ve seen all around the UK circuit, however this was my first time actually seeing her live, and the same went for Aliss Ink, who I’d personally never heard of before this night.

Both women would be looking to not only put on a show, but to also walk out with an important win, Aliss would make use of her limbs as her offence was mainly kicks and leg chokes, whereas Charlie was not afraid to use whatever she had in her arsenal to pull off a win, including using an audience member who was sitting next to me, as a means to hold Aliss in place, before chopping her out of the fan’s arms…

This was swiftly followed by another move, done more or less directly in front of me, where Aliss was placed on a chair, and Charlie would superkick her off that chair, to the floor.

This match did well to show Charlie’s reckless side, as well as show off some of what Aliss could do, utilising her kicks and leg offence to take the upper hand multiple times, catching Charlie off guard, and perhaps it was enough, because Aliss would pick up the surprising win with a meteora, and a three!

These women both show a lot of promise and are sure to be even bigger prospects as their respective careers progress, maybe ventures into the Colosseum is not a too far-fetched idea.

Warren Banks vs “The Prince of Panache” Sheikh El Sham

Warren was a clear fan favourite, receiving applause and shouts from the crowd before he’d even made his way to the ring, and who would be taking on Warren?

Well, we were introduced to his opponent thanks to a funky theme, which had me bopping my head I cannot deny. Sheikh El Sham, accompanied by Nadia Sapphire.

Sapphire introduced herself and her man, Sheikh El Sham, as the “Millionaire’s Club”. Sapphire played her part in this match tremendously, she was obnoxious and proved to be a distraction at the times when Sheikh needed it most.

For example, when Sheikh fell to the outside of the ring, he’d grab Nadia, and use her as a shield! Warren and Sheikh would trade control of this match several times over the course of it happening, Warren’s heart really showed during this match, and it was seen by the crowd in attendance who responded in kind with words of encouragement as only wrestling fans could.

At one point during the match Nadia would get onto the apron and distract the referee, which allowed for Sheikh to rollup Warren but only getting a two count.

Meanwhile a bit later on, Sheikh would trick Warren into taking out the referee, the referee was down and with no one to officiate Nadia would get into the ring, once more, and while Warren was busy with Sheikh Nadia would low-blow him!

This allowed for Sheikh to come in with a huge lariat! Sheikh would then pick up the pinfall victory! The result caught me off guard, I did not expect Sheikh to win this match so it was refreshing to go into a match thinking I knew who was going to win, just for it to turn upside down on its head.

What followed next was something that was painful to hear, Warren remained in the ring, with a microphone in his hand, and he’d announce to the crowd that he’d been wrestling the last few months with a torn rotator cuff, and that this show, was the last time we’d see Warren in the ring, for a while. I hope he’s able to recover quickly and come back with just as much steam as he had this night…

And that was Colosseum’s first ever show! Overall I really enjoyed myself and I look forward to the next time the Colosseum comes around!

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