I know, this review of UKW Friday Night Showdown is after this week’s Showdown. But I covered it on my podcast, there’s loads of wrestling and I’m busy and…
OK, let’s leave it there. I said I was busy! OK, I feel bad about it. Mea culpa etc.
Did You Wait Because This Episode Was Poor?
God, no. This was a building episode of UKW Friday Night Showdown without last week’s shocks, but it was still bloody good.
When you’ve built strong storylines and big characters, when you’ve made big decisions that will work for ages, when you know what you’re doing, a building episode is never boring.
The UKW TV Title Tournament
The meat of this episode. All the tastier because Johann Hunt wants to win it. He perhaps has to win it, to please his Persian Empire pals, so no pressure, then…
Robert De Caro v Jayrow Lewis
This could be the sleeper success of the night. De Caro took it to the former UKW champ early on but was stopped by a Basement Dropkick, not for long as he got his leg up high to connect with Lewis’ face, the Suplex cement it, only to taste a Missile Dropkick.
Good stuff.
Lewis followed up with a rolling neck breaker and was that a Cross Rhodes? Remarkably close by De Caro and lovely to see.
But the pin came from nowhere with a Lewis Stunner; a very fine match that could have gone longer but which opened UKW proceedings very well.
Remus Caine v Cliff Harrison
Both these two can go between the ropes, but I forgot one thing…
Caine is naughty. Hence the beckoning in of Harrison and the slap. Cliff just slapped back harder, taking Caine off his feet.
Caine also wiped Harrison’s eyes across the top rope, a nice old skool move and a great feature of matches tonight.
Now, Caine will have scouted his opponent’s neck breaker and hold on for a second move preference, but he surely didn’t expect to have his head smacked into the mat – it looked brutal.
So Caine got spiteful. After a big Spinebuster, he disrespectfully chopped Cliff’s back and then, shortly after, bit him. Yum…
Harrison looked to be picking up momentum after an old-style Atomic Drop and running kick, but here was Joe Sedgwick again, after enjoying his interference so much last week; belt shot to the head from Caine who didn’t need to put the Devil’s Clutch sleeper on, Harrison was already out.
A great melding of styles here and good sneaky wrestling. Match Of The Night? A contender…
The Yorkshireman v Mad Ed
2 big fellas. The former has shown great wrestling in UKQ on occasion. The latter shown some good wrestling in UKW recently.
And here the old skool moves dominated;
Yorkshireman Hip Tosses and Slam
Ed Atomic Drop and Stomp
When his opponent hit him with a clothesline, Ed showed him how it was done and almost took his head off.
After a 3 Amigos, which the Yorkshireman of course calls the 3 Peaks, only just getting the bigger Ed up, he drove his point home with a tough Spinebuster and then hit the Muta Lock for the pin.
Except Ed didn’t tap in the quick ‘It hurts, make it stop’ type way. He hit the mat slowly as if he didn’t want to but knew the pain was excruciating. Nice work.
And this big man colliding match was certainly more than that.
Johann Hunt v Jonathan Sedgwick
The UKW Friday Night main event. And more than the TV tournament on the line. Enmity excellently stirred over weeks.
Of course, the rest of the Persian Empire was there, to offer immoral support. This was a big deal.
Sedgwick hit an early old-style Uppercut, Backdrop and a Backbreaker which was wonderful to watch – some of Sedgwick’s moves look picture perfect.
Hunt was smart though; one of Sedgwick’s finishers in the Superkick, is it? Work on the leg. Another one is the Sharpshooter, you say? Hit an Arm Breaker, Bulldog and then that nice Chicken Wing shoulder manipulation manoeuvre.
Of course, Sedgwick wasn’t just letting this happen, he managed a lovely Sit Out Powerbomb and then a Superkick out of nowhere which he just couldn’t follow up.
He hit it! Hunt stomped Sedgwick’s face into the mat…
2 count! The crowd were amazed, the commentary team of Sid and Henri Winter were amazed and Hunt was apoplectic.
How did it end? Old skool of course, Leonie Rose held Sedgwick for a Hunt Dropkick, but he wasn’t there when the kick came and she tasted boot sole.
Hunt apologised, turned straight into a Superkick and then tasted the One Drop Death Valley Driver for the pin. This was the Match Of The Night, so much heat from so many detections.
Hunt didn’t progress. He was angry. Persian Empire leader Mustafa Khan was stony-faced. The Empire don’t lose. Not like this. Not as a result of a mistake.
What will happen to Hunt? Will he still be a Persian Empire member in next week’s UKW Friday Night Showdown?
This is even tastier than my chicken shawarma. And that’s saying something.
Action Packed Then?
Oh yes, and that’s without mentioning the pretty good UKW Genesis match with Jacob Reid, Sebastien Mercer and ‘Captain’ Dan Adams (dig that feathery cap) getting some TV time and trying to impress us, plus Mustafa Khan’s imperious heel promo; week in and week out he and his cohorts are the most watchable thing on UKW Friday Night Showdown.
Not that we have a roster of slouches here. This promotion constantly delivers and delights with its in-ring and character work. UKW has become something to look forward to and I can’t wait for the next episode.
Which has just been on. But not really on…oh, never mind…