On a rare day of hot sun in the UK we're all in a beer garden, right?
Wrong... around 120 of us packed into St. Benedict's in Warrington for the third show from Off The Page. With a huge 9 match card our stylish as always announcer Mark Adams wastes no time getting straight to the action and I shall do the same.
Match 1 - Prince Pele v Sam Bailey
For our opening match, Prince Pele is accompanied to the ring by Leon Grey who is wearing the stolen OTP belt and insists Mark Adams announces him as the Off the Page champion. Once the bell rings Bailey takes control of the match early on before Pele escapes to the safety of Leon on the outside. Clearly not taking things seriously and frustrated by the repeated headlocks from Sam, Pele starts arguing with the referee allowing Mr Grey to interfere and attack Bailey through the ropes. Coach however manages to get the upper hand despite the continued foul play, takes out Leon Grey up on the apron. Pele fights back and almost gets the pin, throwing Bailey into the corner as he kicks out and announcing it's time for a stink face. The wily coach instead switches Grey into his place and appears at the other side of the ring as Pele realises he's mistakenly attacked his mentor. Bailey hits his finish and it's night night for Prince Pele and Sam Bailey with his hand raised as winner.
Despite the loss Pele and Grey linger in the ring gloating about possessing the championship prompting OTP owner Ben Cecil to make an appearance. The boss wants his belt back! Leon negotiates returning the belt for spots in the title tournament for him and Pele. Grey is granted his wish and returns the belt, but Ben hasn't finished speaking, for thieving it in the first place Prince Pele is suspended and told to leave immediately.
Match 2 - Zoe Nix v Lucy Sky
When Alexxis Falcon unfortunately had to pull out due to injury OTP management wasted no time sourcing a fabulous replacement in Lucy Sky, however she clearly was not impressed by being second choice and made her feelings very clear to the Warrington crowd. Sky flies at Zoe as the bell rings, pinning her in the corner and launching a frenzied attack on the pop punk princess. Nix showing impressive fortitude escapes and takes back control of the ring throwing Lucy outside, though a baseball slide off the apron backfires as it allows Sky to catch her and slam her face first into the mat. Rolling Nix back inside and proceeding to ragdoll her around the ring, Sky's foul mood even more evident after flattening Nix with a lariat but only getting a two count. Zoe recovers to an extent trying to mount a comeback, but once Lucy hit her running knee and devastating spinning spear its game over for Nix. Lucy Sky taking the win on this one.
Match 3 - Issac North v KC Payne
North out first, his ominous music a fitting introduction to the terrifying figure on stage. KC Payne accompanied to the ring by just one member of VGS today, Tommy Jackson. A predictable dominant start from Isaac, taking KC a good few minutes to find any momentum but eventually he takes the wraith down with a huge spine buster. The referee imploring them to protect themselves as the two big men trade blows in the centre of the ring. An almighty chop from North leaves Payne breathless for a minute but when he regroups and returns, a bitter battle of wills ensues as they match each other shot for shot till they're both left on their backs from simultaneous big boots. Both men stagger back to their feet, both pulling out all the stops to get the win, when his choke slam initially fails thanks to a huge right hand from Payne, North spits a cloud of charcoal into KC's face and is disqualified. Not content with his cheating North grabs Payne and this time hits his earth shattering chokeslam after the bell. Jackson jumps into the ring to protect his friend, facing off in the centre of the ring, I'm not sure we'll have seen the last of this. Though KC Payne is the official victor, this is definitely not the way VGS like to win.
Match 4 - Christy Quinlan vs Max Brooker
After Christy staked his claim on the new OTP belt last show, OTP management stipulated that whoever wins this match up would get a by to the final of the title tournament in August. With such high stakes we saw a fiery opening to this match and Christy very quickly jumps out the ring for a breather after Max's quick start. An incredibly even and fair match up back and forth until we see Quinlan's vindictive side come out as he starts picking apart Brooker lower leg and ankle. Unable to stand Max still tries to fight out the corner, kicking out at Christy trying to find any space he can to regain his composure and get back to his feet. Max is no stranger to fighting under such pressure and manages to muster some strength yet his comeback short lived when Christy grabs the ankle and grounds him once again. Always underestimated but never short of self-belief, with a last ditch burst of energy Max manages to foil Quinlan's plans and kicks him in the stomach, sending him down to the mat and getting the pin very shortly after. Max Brooker gets the win and is through to the final.
Match 5 - Street Fight - Ben Reid vs Liam Carr
With Rizman Khan unable to compete today Ben Reid is still looking for a fight and issues and open challenge to the back. "Anyone who has the balls, come and fight me!"
Liam Carr answers the call and faces a barrage of attack straight from the off. A rapid exchange back and forth with neither one being able to keep the other down. The action spills to the outside with Carr launching Reid out the front doors and there is absolutely nothing our Referee Liam James can do about it. Thankfully, we don't lose the action for long as Ben drags Liam back into the building and pummels him into the wall next to the bar. Carr is then thrown back into the ring after having his face bouncing off a ring post with Reid clattering him across the head with a steel chair as he gets to his feet. A sustained assault in ring with the chair is soon followed by thunderous slaps across the back with a kendo stick.
Carr survives Reid's attack and a sickening powerbomb onto two chairs, somehow finding the strength to put Reid through a table he'd set up across the corner. True to his word through, one last chair short straight to the head and Ben Reid gets the three count and walks out victorious. One hell of a debut for Liam Carr though and someone I am sure the crowd would love to see again.
It was finally time for a much-needed break, grab a drink, some fresh (slightly cooler than inside) air and take a breath!
Then we go again
Match 6 - Connor Clyne, Lewis Johnson & Lily Winter vs EJ Walsh, Kiya & Nishki
A huge 6-person tag team match to open the second half, Lewis and EJ in first and there is obviously bad blood lingering from the last show as Lewis tags out. Quick tags from both teams who are working very well together considering they are usually solo competitors. Connor Clyde takes advantage of a disagreement between EJ and the official and attacks Nishki, escaping just before getting caught. When the cycling opponents finally lands EJ across the ring from Johnson, he is hot on the offensive, much to the anger of Lewis's teammates and the match swiftly descends into chaos with everyone piling in the ring and the referee being injured in the process. As the ring finally clears, Lily and Kiya are left in the ring to fight it out with Kiya skilfully tying her opponent up in a submission and Lily quickly tapping. Kiya celebrates alone as it appears the rest of the teams have continued fighting into the back. EJ Walsh, Nishki & Kiya all getting a mark in the win column for this one.
Match 7 - FTM (Critchy & Tom McColl) vs Act Two (Benjamin Harland & Jack Knudsen)
Hot start from Act Two with Knudsen having McColl's shoulders to the mat in seconds. Kicking out only finds Tom facing both members of Act Two and looking to his partner for rescue. Quick tags from FTM turn the match in their favour though the crowd very much on Act Two's side after the insults hurled at them by Critchy before the match. Stretching the tag rules to their limits and maxing out every referee count FTM dominate. Motivated by the crowd Knudsen finally makes it to the corner for a tag to find his partner being dragged off the apron by Critchy. Harland fights back to the apron just in time for the tag and makes the most of the fresh burst of energy taking out both members of FTM. Referee Neil Adams has his work cut out for him with this many tags and pin attempts from both teams. After Knudsen accidentally takes out Ben, Critchy is up to his usual mischief and hits Harland with the microphone behind the referees back and steals the victory. Another win by nefarious means for FTM, but a win is a win.
Match 8 - Megan v Helen Charlotte Campbell
A couple of tough lock ups between these two powerful women, Megan finding herself in the unfamiliar position of being up in the air on her opponent's shoulders. Demanding Helen put her down not her best idea either as she is launched full force towards the mat. Megan using her brain as well as her brawn, outsmarts Helen and evades what would surely have been a match ending attack from the top turnbuckle. Pure power on display from this pair, the speed of HCC just about keeping her on top. Her resilience tested by some incredible strength from Megan, but experience pays dividends this time as Helen Charlotte Campbell gets the win. What a match up, personally the match I'd been looking forward to most and I was not disappointed.
Match 9 - Jack Bandicoot vs Padraig Quinlan
A much slower start to our main event than expected from these two but it doesn't take long until their speed is on show as they fly rope to rope. A very sportsmanlike handshake between the pair before they're off again, back and forth, under and over each other. The ropes both slingshot and trampoline as they try to one up each other with their acrobatics. Bandicoot forward rolling across the apron and showing off to WrestlingJebus's camera as he flips back into the ring and takes all the wind from Quinlan with a backdrop. A real back and forth between two intense competitors but Pud does not let his youth hold him back and forces Bandicoot to use every trick in the book to stay with him.
His ever-impressive Jetpack Joyride gives Bandicoot enough time to climb the turnbuckle for one of his showstopping finishes but Quinlan isn't far behind. Precariously balanced, they tussle on the top rope until Pud escapes. When you're on the top turnbuckle, the only way is down and unfortunately for Jack it was down hard. Padraig makes the cover, gets the three count and his hand raised in victory. After an incredible battle for our main event, the real winners of that match were most certainly the crowd, hopefully this won't be a one time visit from Bandicoot and we see Jack back again in Warrington soon.
After announcing their last show, I certainly enjoyed being outside the ring and getting to appreciate all the fantastic action this time. We may have all been slowly cooking but it was definitely worth it!!
Off The Page will be back August 10th with "Got It Memorised?" tickets available nowhttps://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Warrington/St-Benedict%27s-Club/Off-The-Page-Wrestling-Got-It-Memorised/36479899/
Before then why not checkout their Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/OffThePagePromotions,
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or catch up with their previous shows onhttps://www.realrasslin.net/network.
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