Review: Wrestle Carnival - Carnival Mania

Wrestle Carnival - Carnival Mania
Portland Centre, Nottingham
Sunday, November 21, 2021
Reviewer: Matt Laurillard (@MatMagazineUK)

Sunday was the final Wrestle Carnival event of 2021, as this new promotion looked to end its debut year on a high after already carving out a reputation for the variety they present.

It must be said before we start, a 1pm kick off on a Sunday is a nice start time for those of us who travel a bit so that was appreciated.

Danny Black vs Adam Bolt vs Joe Lando vs Man Like Dereiss

Starting a show with a fast-paced cruiserweight match has been a tried and tested approach for years, and this was no exception. Black and Dereiss will be familiar to anyone who follows PROGRESS, but Lando and Bolt are both very exciting talents as well.

This was your typical rapid cruiserweight showcase, mixed with some impressive displays of power from Dereiss. Danny Black stood out with two dives to the outside I’d personally never seen before.

There were a few bumpy moments where it lost some structure but the energy of everyone involved kept it entertaining until Dereiss picked up the win.

Ivy vs Lana Austin

Lana Austin has been one of the pillars of women’s wrestling in the UK for a long time and Ivy has come on leaps and bounds since wrestling returned earlier this year, so this was an intriguing matchup.

Both women are charismatic as hell and their match was full of little details like facial expressions and moments of crowd interaction that elevate any match.

It was Ivy who won in the end but both of these two will hopefully be part of the upcoming women’s title tournament in January.

Myles Kayman, Nathan Cruz & Sean Kustom vs Blake, Brady Philips & Will Kroos

The story of Will Kroos in Wrestle Carnival has been one of their best told so far, as he’s gone from a surprise attacker on the first show to now being undefeated and surrounded by a growing group of allies.

His team with Blake is well established but adding Brady Phillips to anything will improve it, the guy is simply that good. Their opponents though were a strong team themselves and they all gelled very well once the bell rang.

Myles Kayman was an x-factor, usually he’s a monumentally annoying smug prick but in this match he showed a more likeable side and really impressed.

In the end the undefeated streak of Kroos and co continued after a breakdown in communication between Kustom and Cruz let them down. Cruz abandoned his teammates after the match as well to add some more tension.

Jay Joshua vs ELIJAH

Two versatile guys who can work in a variety of ways, ELIJAH has had lots of exposure via the WWE Network and PROGRESS, but Jay Joshua has been your writers favourite ‘new discovery’ since going to Wrestle Carnival.

They started off slowly with some very nice technical exchanges but it all ramped up towards the end as Joshua picked up a big first win in the company.

There were a couple of points during the match where they seemed to lose the crowd but that might simply be a by product of where I was sat and the size of the room, I certainly enjoyed it a lot.

Chris Ridgeway vs Luke Jacobs

I have written elsewhere about how much I enjoy North West Strong and the work of Ridgeway and Jacobs so this was a special match for me to watch.

If you like your wrestling hard hitting but technical, visceral in a way that makes grown men wince three rows back then this is it. If you’ve ever seen either of these two wrestle you can probably picture this match to some extent and it really was that good.

Even trying to take out my personal bias towards this style these two absolutely smashed it and it bodes well for British wrestling as a whole that these matches are starting to get more notice, because they really are something to behold.

Ridgeway won to continue his own winning streak in the company heading towards the crowning of the first champions in January.

Charles Crowley vs Lion Kid & Joe C-Me

Much like I mentioned earlier about Will Kroos being part of one of the longest running stories so far the saga of who the ‘fan’ that entered the gauntlet match on that debut show and has since become a thorn in the side of Charles Crowley has been a surprisingly well told comedic tale.

It was obvious from the moment he stood up that the ‘fan’ was Big Guns Joe but with tongue firmly in cheek it has been played in a way that always brought a smile, even to more jaded faces.

Lion Kid has had his own issues with Crowley so this match, with the stipulation that Joe C-Me had to unmask if he lost, was made.

Lion Kid spent the majority of the match out having seemingly got something in his eye after a sneak attack by Crowley, it was hard to tell how legitimate this was, but he was able to return by the end.

Rather than save the reveal of Joe C-Me for the end Crowley managed to remove the mask during the match to reveal it was indeed Big Guns Joe, who tagged Lion Kid back in for the win.

After the match we had the return of Terry Isit, who picked up a nasty looking injury teaming with Joe C-Me and is thankfully back. He turned on the now Big Guns Joe and looks to be teaming up with Charles Crowley going forward.

This hasn’t been the most serious or deep story but it’s been very entertaining, carried by the charisma of the performers involved, particularly Charles Crowley, who is genuinely captivating.

Gia Adams & Alexxis Falcon vs Heidi Katrina & Visage

This was the match where I got a little confused because it was due to be a six person tag and promoted as such until pretty much the moment the bell rang.

There had already been a lot of substitutions and replacements in this match as well, so it was a bit hard to follow. That being said it was still a very entertaining match with four wrestlers who all bring something a bit different and worked well in each combination.

Alexxis Falcon has got a great ability to get reactions and the moment when Visage took off their wig to use a weapon always brings a smile to my face, and surprised quite a few people in the crowd as well.

In the end it was Falcon and Adams who won but all four showed lots of upside, particularly with the presumably late changes to the line-up.

Rhio vs Emersyn Jayne

This was the other half of the matches that were changed late in the day but as someone who has seen Rhio wrestle more than anyone else I’ve particularly seeing her get these opportunities in more and more places across the country, she really is a hell of a talent and improves every time I see her.

Emersyn Jayne was someone I wasn’t expecting to see and given she is one of the very few workers around to have had their Cagematch profile removed at their own request, it took me a while to remember I had seen her before.

They worked well together but the victory for Rhio was probably the most important part of this as she will almost inevitably be part of the women’s title picture in 2022.

Doug Williams vs Joe Hendry – Pure Rules

And now time for your main event as we get another example of Wrestle Carnival’s commitment to presenting Pure wrestling through their relationship with Ring of Honor.

Doug Williams has shone in this style throughout his career and 100% has not lost a step as he remains one of the smoothest wrestlers you will ever see.

Hendry might have flown a little under the radar to some but he has got into insane shape, returned to his always captivating entrances and continues to be a very capable technical wrestler to boot.

Pure matches always take on a certain form but it never suffers from that, the technical exchanges here were exciting and innovative and the few occasions where either man went to the top rope or pulled out a power move were more exciting for their rarity.

In the end Hendry picked up the victory after Williams had exhausted his three rope breaks. Once again Wrestle Carnival present a brilliant Pure rules main event.

Overall this was a very entertaining show, albeit a little bit long at nine matches even thought it never really sagged. The venue is well set up and the production values, with the set and the lighting are a credit to the company.

Ridgeway vs Jacobs and the main event were the main standout matches but there was nothing underwhelming either. It’s been a strong opening few months for Wrestle Carnival and they look set for a good 2022 as well. And if their commitment to helping out fans who missed the show due to travel disruption is anything to go by they are quickly building a reputation as a place that cares about their fans in return.

A company to keep an eye on.

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