Reach Wrestling have lit a fire upon the South West, having stormed out of nowhere to grab the imagination of their followers. 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 then followed up with an even more consistently good event in The Second Coming, one that featured five top notch matches in an excellent environment. Reach have created a great venue with tiered seats and an awesome big screen behind the ring, is currently focusing currently on generating a family environment for all ages (in fact, a friend of mine takes her son to each event), with an upcoming over-18s event as well that will feature a British legend in Jody Fleisch. Not just that, but Reach Wrestling, in an unprecedented and unexpected move, have announced events up to December 2019, totalling eight six upcoming shows next year including their Over-18’s event.
I feel like I’m at the formulation of an uprising and a movement, I have previously admitted that 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). Act 3 is down to a handful of tickets left (literal handful, according to Reach Wrestling themselves) from another sell-out audience willing to pack themselves into a baking hot oven of a theatre (seriously, whilst last time wasn’t as bad, The Beginning was pretty much a sweat box with not a single person caring). 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 towards what keeps bringing the fans back every time: the matches.
Tag Team Match:
Man Like Dick: Beano and ‘Dirty’ Dick Riley
Vs
‘Country Big’ Josh White and ‘Bronco’ Brendan White
Before looking upon the match itself, I’d like to look back at one of the most consistent elements of Reach Wrestling so far: opening the event with the ‘Devon Powerhouse’ Chris Andrews, who has previously defeated Psycho Phillips and ‘The Alpha Male’ Iestyn Reeves. Unfortunately, the popular man mountain has retired recently, and will no longer be featuring at Reach Wrestling, with the question becoming, who will replace our former fan favourite? Well, why not replace the former local fan favourite, with two massive fan favourites in Beano and ‘Dirty’ Dick Riley? ‘Dirty’ Dick has proven himself with two barnstorming performances, defeating Grayson Reeves at The Beginning in a match that the audience couldn’t get enough of, and following it up with defeating ‘Bronco’ Brendan White at The Second Coming. His second victory was especially impressive, as he was battling not just his opponent, but ‘Country Big’ Josh Knott, who seems to have aligned himself with White. This would lead to the appearance of Beano, who had lost to both White and Knott at The Beginning and Second Coming respectively. Beano’s frustration would lead to him challenging both White and Knott to a match, but under Reach Wrestling’s command, he had to find a partner, and found one in Dick Riley.
Knott and White have been causing havoc in Reach Wrestling so far, gaining through victories through underhanded trickery at times, but both are proven winners and already seem to be on the same page when it comes to attempting victory. On the other hand, whilst ‘Dirty’ Dick is a proven tag team champion, he’s never partnered with Beano, and Beano is currently desperate to get his hands on Knott and White, possibly to the detriment of the team plan? Could Knott and White possibly take advantage of their opponents’ lack of chemistry to sneak another victory, allowing Knott to continue his winning streak and White to bounce back from his loss to Riley last time? Or could Beano’s anger and Riley’s tag team experience allow them to rally back and defeat their demons? One interesting wrinkle to the match was the reveal recently that of the four men featured in this match, three will be in the upcoming tournament to unveil a new Reach Wrestling Champion. The one outlier; the only one of the four in this match to yet claim a victory…Beano. Only thing we know for certain is that this match should be full of pace and vigour, to possibly kick off the show in a manner leaving the audience desperate for more.
Singles Match:
James Mason Vs Kian Fox
There was a surprising turn of events when Reach Wrestling had to announce a change of date from December 2nd (due to a double booking at the venue) to December 9th, when it allowed Reach to book a previously unavailable star. James Mason is a twenty-five year veteran, having debuted in 1993, and has wrestled wrestlers such as Doug Williams, Kendo Nagasaki, Daniel Bryan (in his American Dragon guise), Drew McDonald, Robbie Brookside, MVP and many more. Mason also featured as the captain of Team Britain alongside Robbie Dynamite, Dean Allmark and Frankie Sloan in the America’s X-Cup Tournament 2004 for Total Nonstop Action and is revered as one of the best technical wrestlers on the British wrestling scene today. Mason brings tremendous pedigree to the profession, and the excitement from Reach Wrestling for this opportunity is palpable. Most likely, we will see an old fashioned technical chess match, ala Zack Sabre Jr or Doug Williams of years gone by, but who will be facing the veteran?
Opposite the crowd favourite will be Kian Fox, a well-travelled but nasty individual who will stoop as low as required to gain victory. Fox is probably one of the competitors I know the least about, but even just from the little I’ve found, he comes across as having a dastardly nature. There is a distinct possibility that Mason’s technical ability will gain him control in the match, but Fox’s nastier habits will allow him to leave Mason in pain and anguish. This could be an interesting blend of styles, Fox the Pete Dunne or Marty Scurll to Mason’s Williams or Sabre Jr, and what’s more, this match has a distinct possibility of being a dark horse to steal the whole show, and when the relative least hyped match (two unknowns debuting) could still steal the show, Reach must be doing something right.
No Disqualification, No Count Outs, Grudge Match:
Team Reach: Grayson Reeves and Jason King
Vs
Winners And Sinners: ‘The Winner’ PJ Jones and Marcus Bain
“Two times, Jones, two times, you have managed to come here and PISS ME OFF!”
Jason King and Grayson Reeves may be proud of their achievements in creating Reach Wrestling, but there is one negative that they cannot move past, and that’s their hatred for ‘The Winner’ PJ Jones. Jones’ underhanded tactics at The beginning, attacking a fan in order to get the beloved Jason King counted out, left Jones with a target on his back. That target was attempted by Grayson, who gave Jones a tremendous beating at The Second Coming, but Jones escaped after being disqualified for low blowing Reeves in front of the referee. Just when the audience felt the worst was over, Jones put Grayson through a table, which led to a furious King marching to the ring. As Jason saw to his good friend and partner Grayson, he grabbed a microphone and screamed out the above words, to the shock of the audience. It was then that Jason declared that he wouldn’t accept it anymore and booked a match where Jones couldn’t get away by disqualification or count outs. The only caveat would be that Jones, the man whose obnoxious, blowhard mannerisms had alienated many people, would require a partner.
However, there is something I mentioned in the Preview for The Second Coming, 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. Jones always finds a way to survive, to Win, and to do so here, he’s secured an unlikely weapon: Marcus Baine. Baine and Jones were once a successful tag team referred to as Winners And Sinners, in reference to Jones’ gimmick and Baine’s savagery. Bain also appeared at The Beginning in an unsuccessful attempt for a Reach Contract, so here he gains a second opportunity to join the roster permanently. This match will most likely be violent and physical, but the true question is, will Grayson and ‘The Best Man’ finally gain a measure of revenge on ‘The Winner’, or will Winners and Sinners leave Team Reach down, beaten and broken as they survive once again?
Singles Match:
Big Grizzly Vs Charlie Sterling
At The Beginning, we saw possibly the finest match in Reach Wrestling’s short history, as an absolute instant classic unfolded between Eddie Ryan and Charlie Sterling, with Ryan pulling out the victory, to Sterling’s disgust. Afterwards, during an interview with Jason actually conducted by my colleague Taylor, Charlie interfered and decreed that his beef with Eddie wasn’t over. The expectation for the Second Coming was a rematch, but instead Ryan was announced to be facing Big Grizzly, where Ryan squeaked out another victory after an excellent showing. Just a few nights later, Grayson Reeves was doing some scouting in Bristol at Pro Wrestling Chaos, when he was accosted by Sterling, demanding a match against Ryan again. However, in Grayson’s own words, “you have to EARN Eddie Ryan”, and informed Sterling he would have to face someone for the right to face Ryan, pointing to a man stood behind Sterling…Big Grizzly himself.
Both men are desperate to bounce back from their respective losses to Ryan, with Sterling especially needing a victory to gain some momentum before his participation in the Journey For Gold 8 Man Tournament for the Reach Wrestling Championship. It was slightly surprising to see Grizzly not featured as well in the upcoming Tournament, it might even lead to some sore discussions in the eventuality that Grizzly does win! Who knows, there’s always the possibility a good performance from Grizzly could lead to a changing in the cards, Grizzly having ‘earned’ the right. Either way, this match could steal the entire show as we see two main eventers battle for victory.
Singles Match:
Joseph Miller Vs Blake Harrison
For all the parts of Reach Wrestling massively enjoyed by fans, there is one man they cannot stand, and that’s Joseph Miller. At The Beginning, he was one of the last three members in the Battle Royal for a Reach Wrestling contract, which led to his opportunity at The Second Coming, being booked to face Adam Flint for a last chance at a contract. At The Second Coming, Flint would be announced as injured, and instead Miller would face the also injured ‘Mad Dog’ Vinnie Clay (who was part of commentary that night). To the disgust of many, Miller would completely decimate Clay’s leg, leaving him in agony, before tapping out for Miller to claim his victory. Miller’s vitriol and manner towards the crowd demonstrated how little he cared, and his smugness over his victory alienated many of the audience. So far, the audience has mostly seen Miller in a Battle Royal, attacking Eddie Ryan on behalf of Charlie Sterling, and cruel treatment of Clay, but they have yet to see him feature in a true singles match against someone able to defend themselves.
Opposite Miller is Blake Harrison, who recently completed a tour of America where he resided at the Black and Brave Training School, which features head trainer Seth Rollins, WWE Superstar. Harrison has been focusing on travelling the country to gain as much experience and knowledge as possible, originating from Paignton in Devon, and seemingly has handpicked Reach Wrestling as one of his objectives. The reason for this could be unfinished business, as Harrison actually featured at The Beginning in the same Battle Royal as Miller, even eliminating one of the competitors by headscissors. Their familiarity with one another and Miller’s arrogance could lead to an underestimation of Harrison and having been recently trained by one of the best in the world, anything is possible. But on the other side, Miller has proved himself capable of doing whatever is required to take the victory he believes he deserves.
Singles Main Event:
‘The English Lion’ Eddie Ryan Vs Joel Redman
The hometown hero Eddie Ryan returned to Plymouth for The Beginning to face a former friend in Charlie Sterling whilst at The Second Coming, Ryan took on the monster Big Grizzly, two vastly different but difficult opponents. Ryan has defeated Sterling and survived Grizzly, but now may take on his biggest challenge yet…Joel Redman. Redman might be one of the biggest names yet to appear at Reach, having appeared in NXT as Oliver Grey, an inaugural Tag Team Champion alongside future NXT Champion Adrian Neville, but in 2014 was released. Redman has experience in front of TV Cameras and large audiences, but here he’s facing the hometown hero with a rabid crowd behind ‘The English Lion’, and the crowd will most likely turn against Redman as he originates from Exeter, Devon, Plymouth’s rival city. Can the highly aggressive, technical Redman, the current Pro Wrestling Pride Tag Team Champion and former NXT superstar, battle against the odds and defeat the ‘Pride Of Plymouth’? Or will Eddie Ryan, having recently appeared on NXT UK in Plymouth, continue his momentum, defeating one more to enter The Journey For Gold as the overwhelming favourite? Either way, could this be the third event that Eddie Ryan participates in an excellent match to leave the audience in amazement? Find out on Sunday, December 9th, for the latest showing from Reach Wrestling.
Reach Wrestling are in the midst of creating something special, and right now, they are getting a good reputation not just with wrestlers, but the fans. Last time I went, I followed up with two nights of NXT UK tapings, and Reach was probably my most enjoyable of the three nights. But I will also be looking in an upcoming article at some of their upcoming events and discussing the possible trajectory of this South-West promotion. I’ve never been lucky enough to watch the beginning of something special, to be with them every step of the way, and right now, I feel like this is what I’m seeing. There’s been two successive sell-outs, this show is inches from likewise, and there’s a true future to this company. Be a part of history, be a part of the future, and get to Reach Wrestling. Just don’t take my ticket by doing so.
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