REACH Wrestling – The Second Coming Preview

On the 13th and 14th October, I shall have the opportunity to see WWE in Plymouth, having bought tickets for NXT UK to both events. This will be my opportunity to possibly see stars such as Tyler Bate, Trent Seven and Pete Dunne, who all have the potential to be huge stars in America and should be a weekend I remember for decades to come, a weekend I’ve paid about £80 for the privilege of. And yet, I find myself more excited about the weekend previous, where I get to return to the Plymouth School of Creative Arts to see Reach Wrestling with their second live event. Their first event was a huge success, displaying six matches with some great crowd interactions, tremendous atmosphere, and an amazingly good main event that had the crowd rocking. The show was less than three hours, and whilst not every match was a world beater, at no point was the crowd restless or disappointed.Reach Wrestling, who created a great venue with tiered seats and an awesome big screen behind the ring, is focusing currently on generating a family environment for all ages (in fact, a friend of mine is taking her son along for the second time), with the possibility of an upcoming over-18s event as well. I would highly recommend people read my colleague Mike’s excellent appraisal of the first event

If watching any upcoming WWE events leaves me worried about watching a modern-day WCW of nonsensical booking decisions and a focus on older or part time wrestlers, Reach Wrestling might be the closest I will get to enjoy watching an ECW-esque promotion (young, fresh, determined, mild cult following of fans desperate to return). The debut event was a surprising sell-out, and with less than a week to go, Reach Wrestling: The Second Coming is less than twenty tickets away from another sell-out audience willing to pack themselves into a baking hot oven of a theatre (seriously, last time was like a sweat box, and not a single person cared). Jason King and Grayson Reeves have come together to create their own wrestling company proudly waving the flag for South-West Devon and Cornwall, with tickets ranging from about £8-14 (seriously, I could legitimately watch at least three Reach Wrestling events for the same price of one NXT UK show and be guaranteed an excellent show) and the tremendous value is backed by the ability to meet many of the stars beforehand. But let’s look at what brings the fans to the dance: the matches.

Singles Match:

‘The Alpha Male’ Iestyn Reeves VS ‘Devon Powerhouse’ Chris Andrews

When looking back at the history of REACH Wrestling, Chris Andrews’ name will be the answer to the question “Who won the first ever match of REACH Wrestling”, and deservedly so. Andrews kicked off The Beginning outsmarting Psycho Phillips for the three count, with the audience latching onto the proud Devonian after a strong performance. This man mountain can easily shame any opponent with his magnificent physique and might be the strongest man at REACH Wrestling, so if anybody can carry the weight of kicking off an event to raise the crowd up, he can. However, this former Seven-time Heavyweight Champion of the Devon region will find himself across the ring from one of the biggest names currently in British Wrestling: Iestyn Rees. Rees has just come off of a successful tenure on WOS Wrestling as one half of the WOS Tag Team Champions, but not just that, at 6ft 4 he may be one of the few wrestlers capable of matching Andrews strength for strength. This match is likely to be physical and hard hitting, and whilst Rees might be on top of the world after his performances in WOS, he’s facing a man who has already won in front of a molten REACH crowd. Will Andrews capitalise on his momentum to continue his winning ways, or will Rees just be too big and powerful for even the Devon Powerhouse to defeat?

Singles Match:

‘Country Big’ Josh Knott VS Beano

It’s near impossible to have two more contrasting wrestlers in one match when it comes to the first ever REACH Wrestling event. On one side is Beano, the youthful looking dance lover who narrowly lost to Brendan White at first event, and on the other side is the ‘undisputed’ winner of the REACH Contract battle royal, Josh Knott. Beano may have lost his last match, but he’s battled under the boiling lights of the auditorium and battled the draining fatigue it hits you with, whereas Knott sneaked several eliminations from behind, including a controversial elimination of ‘The Mad Dog’ Vinnie Clay, who happens to be on commentary this time. Can Knott demonstrate the stamina required to defeat the adrenaline pumping Beano, or will Beano’s agility and speed allow him to bounce back from his loss and defeat Knott? It might even come to a case of who needs it more, the man with a guaranteed contract, or the lad with a point to prove. This could be a dark horse for this event.

The Answered Challenge:

‘The Winner’ PJ Jones VS Grayson Reeves

If Eddie Ryan and Charlie Sterling left audiences rushing to get home to buy their tickets for this event after an awesome main event, Grayson is one half of the match that left people reluctant to go to interval after a cracking back-and-forth with the excellent Riley. Whilst he may have lost, Grayson was able to walk away with his head high after a match that seemed to remind him why he loved wrestling. However, this match is not for professional reasons, but it’s gotten personal for Grayson, and he was more than happy to officially answer PJ Jones’ open challenge with venom in his eyes. Jones’ underhanded tactics at the first event, attacking a fan in order to get the beloved Jason King counted out, has left Jones with a target on his back. However, there is something to keep in mind, and that’s Jones’ ability to mimic the 70’s and 80’s NWA Ric Flair. No, he doesn’t offer sixty-minute wrestling matches, but what he has done is ape Flair’s ability to escape with the title, or in Jones’ case, victory, in his hand. Flair used to regularly go to many regions, face their biggest star, get beaten from post to post and somehow escape either the winner, or still Champion.

At The Beginning, Jones fell out of the ring, was made to look a fool, and was embarrassed by King. Jones walked out the winner. At the most recent CPW event I saw, Jones had Jimmy Havoc and Eddie Dennis both drenching him with beer and stapling him in the nuts. Jones walked out the winner. Grayson has promised to Powerbomb Jones through the apron and is looking to decimate Jones until he lays crying on the floor. Will Jones continue the habit of a lifetime, backing up his claim of ‘Winner’, or will his luck catch up with him?

Singles Match:

‘Dirty’ Dick Riley VS ‘Bronco’ Brendan White

At The Beginning, both ‘Dirty’ Dick and ‘Bronco’ Brendan both experienced victory, one to the utter joy of the crowd, and the other to their dismay. With two victorious men looking to continue their impact, Reach Wrestling has cheekily decided to bring these two men together to battle for supremacy. Dick Riley has carved a tremendous path as one half of the popular tag team Magnums with Chris Walker, but is proving just as capable in the singles division. Riley is renowned as one of the most entertaining men on the roster, his nickname of ‘Dirty’ referring more to his humour than his actions, and the crowd will be roaring him on against his opponent. But Brendan White had a similar opponent last time, Beano being cheered on strongly, and White proved he doesn’t need the crowd on his side to defeat his opponent. This match could be a possible show stealer as two tremendous wrestlers take one another on. Will the ‘Bronco’ shoot down another crowd favourite, or will ‘Dirty’ Dick leave the crowd in rapturous pleasure as he takes down White?

Last Chance To Earn A REACH WRESTLING CONTRACT:

Adam Flint VS Joseph Miller

For all the good that occurred at The Beginning, there was one thing that stood out for a possible travesty of justice: The Battle Royal. Josh Knott was eliminated but a distracted referee missed it, allowing him to sneak back in and take advantage by winning the entire match, earning his right to a REACH contract. Since then, the office staff have been reviewing tapes to decide who will be given a second opportunity to win a contract and finally narrowed it down to the final two competitors: Joseph Miller, a ruthless and hard hitting strongman who is looking to slap his opponent down, and Adam Flint, the young underdog who is reminiscent of Daniel Bryan or Mikey Whipwreck, refusing to let his small stature determine his ability in the ring. The controversy though is the fact that a certain ‘Mad Dog’ Vinnie Clay, who eliminated Josh Knott during the original battle royal, is not involved at all in the match, instead relegated to commentary for the evening. But the office has made their decree, and the match is on, so who will take the opportunity to achieve their chance of a contract: the hard-hitting nasty man, or the fighting spirit of the young lad?

Singles Main Event: 

‘The English Lion’ Eddie Ryan VS Big Grizzly

The hometown hero returned to Plymouth for The Beginning to face a former friend in Charlie Sterling in an absolutely amazing main event that had the crowd jumping out of their seats, a back-and-forth contest that told an engrossing and imaginative story, with Ryan finally getting his hand raised as the crowd cheered him on. The feeling of euphoria in the audience as they basked in the joy of victory, left me on a high as I left the centre. Sterling would end up interrupting a post-interview with Jason King where he would claim that it wasn’t over, and he would be looking for retribution against Ryan. However, whilst the audience was sat in anticipation to see these two similar wrestlers, both technically brilliant and fluid in the ring, meet back together again, just as the audience thought they knew all the answers? REACH Wrestling changed all the questions, booking Ryan against a monster of a man…Big Grizzly. The former rugby player is a nasty powerhouse of a monster, willing to decimate his opponents in an attempt to gain victory. Big Grizzly won’t care about the fans, the referee, or anybody that gets in the way, with Ryan far from guaranteed to succeed. But if anybody can battle back against this monstrous figure, then it can be the brave Lion, but one thing you’ll be guaranteed is a tremendous main event. Will the hometown hero defeat the impossible, or will Big Grizzly send a disappointed crowd home after he destroys the Lion?

No matter what, October 7th is going to a fantastic event, and I can’t wait to witness the Second Coming. Less than twenty tickets to go with just a few days to buy, and you do not want to miss this opportunity.

@bigbadabruce

@rasslinblogs

#TeamRB