REVIEW: Wrestling Resurgence - Bring Me The Mask Of Cara Noir
Wrestling Resurgence: Bring Me The Mask Of Cara Noir
The Y Theatre, Leicester
Saturday, January 15
Reviewer: Jamie Walker (@walker_this_way)
I finally managed to make my way up to Leicester to check out the first Resurgence show of the year - and boy was it worth the trip. A relatively simple journey from London and one I’ll definitely be making again!
Resurgence pride themselves on truly understanding pro wrestling as an art form and they had an absolutely stacked card to kick off 2022.
So let’s not waste any more time and get straight into it…
Big Dangerous Scary Mammals (BDSM, Charles Crowley and Clementine) vs Lykos Gym (Kid Lykos and Kid Lykos II)
Credit: Wrestling Resurgence
Despite getting on the mic early on and declaring that they wanted a traditional tag match ‘following the rules’, Lykos Gym certainly were partial to some sneaky shenanigans as they took on the team of Charles Crowley and Clementine
What a way to start your first show of 2022, an absolute war of a tag contest that pitted four of the best in BritWres together.
Lykos gym were out for revenge after BDSM beat them at Resurgence in November in a Capture The Flag match.
The masked pair were cutting corners everywhere, raking eyes, pulling hair, doing whatever they could to get the upper hand. Although we can’t be too mad at them as they did bring their own tag ropes.
Towards the end of the match Nico Angelo made a shock appearance to aid Lykos Gym in their quest to topple Crowley and Clementine.
He did just that as, with the referee distracted, they hit both members of BDSM with a tray and picked up the win.
A cracking contest and a clear indicator of why Lykos Gym are so good at being the bad guys and why BDSM are two of the most entertaining performers in BritWres.
But it wouldn’t be the last we’d see of these teams…more on that later
RJ Singh vs Jim Diehard
Credit: Wrestling Resurgence
RJ starts this match fast attacking with quick strikes and kicks to knock the returning Diehard back on his feet and into the ropes and turnbuckle.
The fight spills to outside and Diehard takes control with his size advantage a big factor in helping him toss the King around the ring.
The grudge that fuels this match stems from the previous show, when Diehard made his surprise return to Resurgence to attack RJ after his match with Hari Singh - who actually introduced RJ into this contest.
The bad blood is clear to see with neither holding anything back as they go to hurt the other as much as possible.
The crowd are fiercely behind RJ and he does not give up despite being squashed to the mat numerous times by Diehard - who by the way it’s great to see back in the ring.
A quick burst of pace and RJ back in it as the crowd rally him on with deafening chants of ‘Singh is King’. He hits Jim with a senton, moonsault, punches to the head and more but Diehard refuses to stay down.
In the closing stages the big man is back on top and urges Singh to stay down but the King won’t listen. After one final huge power bomb he has no choice and Diehard takes in the ire of the crowd as he celebrates his victory.
Man Like Dereiss vs Nico Angelo
Next up is not a billed match but a birthday welcome for Dereiss. When asked his age of course he won’t reveal.
He puts out an open challenge for a birthday battle and out come Lykos Gym and their new buddy Nico Angelo It’s Angelo who accepts the contest as he attacked Dereiss before the bell.
The man from 0121 doesn’t take too kindly to the trio trying to ruin his special day and lays into Angelo with some fierce strikes, knocking him to the ground on a number of occasions.
Once again Lykos Gym bent the rules to their favour and get involved to help put Angelo on top. But Dereiss turns the tide once again.
That is until Lykos gym AGAIN distract the referee and assist Nico in thumping Dereiss over the head with a tray Nico gets the win and a post match beat down starts until BDSM come out to make the save.
A six man tag seems nailed on for the next show - but I’m sure Dereiss has had less painful birthdays.
Spike Trivet vs Gene Munny
Credit: Wrestling Resurgence
Now it’s time to enter the Munny-Verse, the portal that the damn dirty dog opened in the last show. Spike Trivet, the unlikely hero of Resurgence’s last show is the man who has been sucked into it.
But this is no ordinary Gene Munny, This is a new, dark gothic Munny - just don’t call him that out loud he was not happy when someone else did that.
Tonight he is the Damn Evil Dog, he is, from want of a better phrase, Mean Gene.
It’s weird to hear Spike Trivet cheered, even he seems a little unsure how to handle it. Gene Munny says he’s a bad boy and pulled Spike - or Spikael as he’s referring to him - into the Munny-Verse in order to challenge him.
The high point of this match comes early on as he encourages Spike to ‘feel the darkness’ as he cackles maniacally - even Trivet can’t help corpsing.
In terms of in ring action it’s the perfect mix or hard hitting and hilarious that you’d expect from this pair.
Heel Munny is so desperate to be booed but it doesn’t work for him too well as the crowd are still loving every moment.
Something else we learn is that in the Munny-Verse numbers are quite different and people can jump from Their knees.
Try as he might Gene just can’t seem to turn Spike back to the dark side - despite clearly being an excellent Sith Lord candidate.
The evil one thinks he has the match won when he knocks the ref to the ground, but he should’ve known better than to try a low blow against Spike Trivet. Spike returns the favour and makes Munny tap.
This is possibly one of the most fun and funny matches I’ve ever seen and was probably my favourite match of the night. It was as much comedy performance as it was wrestling match and the entire room was in fits of laughter throughout.
Post match Spike gets on the mic and says that after being the worst version of himself for four years - minus a pandemic - he will try to be better. That’s all we can ask and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for this new, nice, Spike Trivet.
Hari Singh vs Mike Bird
Credit: Wrestling Resurgence
Back after the break and an exhibition in pure technical wrestling. Hari goes for a handshake before the match starts but Bird tells him that ‘like Paul Hollywood’ he has to earn it.
These two are both masters of the mat and showed exactly why in a fantastic contest, different from anything else on the card.
Both have control at various points in the match, as you’d expect, but the crowd really push Hari on. Hari wins with a roll up and more than earns his handshake, but Bird decides not to give him one, leaving to a chorus of boos.
This was an excellent contest. I personally prefer to see technical bouts in the middle of a block of matches as they can sometimes be slower and don’t get the crowd fired up immediately after the break.
However this was an exception as the fans were all into it from the off. Credit to both men for being able to pull that off.
Everett Mad Kurt Connors vs Boris Jayde Johnson vs Quintessential Gentleman Warren Banks vs Big Daddy Alexxis Falcon vs Granny Elijah - Great British Scramble Match
Unfortunately Everett Connors wasn’t able to make what was set to be his UK debut, we wish him well on his recovery from illness.
However the perfect understudy was on hand, Mad Kurt was happy to play Connors for the evening.
Warren Banks was entering the Great British Scramble as the quintessential gentleman. Meanwhile Elijah was fighting out of the 70s as Granny Elijah, coming out to Led Zepplin was a great touch as was the the inflatable walking stick.
Jayde steals the show though, coming out as Boris Johnson. Wonder if she knows it’s work not a party…
Last out was an icon of British wrestling, Big Daddy! Okay it was Alexxis Falcon but come on it was amazing!
Banks starting by offering the stand in Connors a scone - he doesn’t accept. Big Daddy Falcon starts by flooring everyone to chants of ‘Easy’. She then does some extra athletic stuff we’re not sure the original Big Daddy would’ve been able to pull off.
Nanny Elijah starts the match as a fan on the sidelines until Boris ‘Jayde’ Johnson takes away her bus pass. Then, all hell breaks loose.
We have all kinds of scenarios going on here, including Mad Kurt Connors proclaiming his hatred for his ‘dumbass grandma’ while attacking nanny Elijah - whose wig falls off.
It is Kurt who wins the contest but no amount of review can do this match justice - just go and watch it, it’s bonkers!
Charli Evans vs Cara Noir
Credit: Wrestling Resurgence
Finally, after nearly two years away, the champ is BACK!
Charli Evans blows the roof off the Y Theatre as she returns to Resurgence and she wants the mask of Cara Noir.
Noir attacks Evans before the bell and takes the bout to the outside before the bell has even rung.
The Violence Artist gets the upper hand with a back body drop on the venue’s stage before Cara takes her down and bites her leg
The bell finally rings and Cara goes on the offensive. It must be said Charli’s selling is top notch throughout.
Cara has always been a relentless competitor but this new heel turn he’s taken at Resurgence makes his brutality almost difficult to watch at times.
The brawl goes in and out of the ring, Cara working the left leg of Evans the whole time.
For the opening ten minutes of this match it’s Cara dismantling Charli systematically, but then the fightback starts. A little momentum and the Iron Woman of Resurgence is in the ascendancy.
A wicked double clothesline leaves both on the mat and the crowd are hooked on every second. But the injured leg is still an issue for Charli, and an effective way for Cara to halt her momentum.
And he doesn’t let up at all, Charli is kicked around the ring in a manner that I’ve never seen Cara do to an opponent.
Like with Spike earlier in the night, it’s become bizarre to see Cara booed so heavily. He has been a heel before but this seems something different all together.
He looks to finish the match but can’t lift Charli to her feet, she’s completely out, shattered. He keeps beating her down and eventually gets her in a sleeper hold.
She fights out of it and delivers a huge knee to the face followed by a draping DDT off the top rope but Cara kicks out.
A brilliant closing saw Chevs hit her huge clothesline to finally put the Black Swan away.
This was possibly the best match Charli has had since returning to the UK and will be a tough one to top.
I will admit the result did surprise me. After his heel turn at November’s show I thought momentum would dictate Cara winning the title. It will be interesting to see where his new evil side takes him from here.
There is a real moment of worry in the match as Charli seems to pick up a neck injury - hopefully it’s not too serious and we wish her all the best in her recovery.
This was a fantastic show and a great way for Resurgence to start the year. If all their shows are as good as this one then they are gonna be a treat to watch for the next 12 months.
A note must also be said about the beautiful Y Theatre, hosting its first Resurgence show. It’s a delightful, intimate theatre space, perfect for what Resurgence offers. Hopefully they’ll host more shows moving forward.