“In THE BEGINNING, they set a tone.
They ignited a fury within the South West.
Then that fury became a passion, a call for an Army to follow the SECOND COMING.
And as that Army set on their way, there was great rejoicing as they witnessed ACT 3.
The fury, the passion, and the rejoicing would lead to that THURSDAY NIGHT REACH, when the people learned…If you know…you know.”
A Championship can set a tone for the organisation it represents. A Championship, by default, must be the beacon, the pinnacle, the brass rings upon which its competitors may focus and battle for. The Championship can represent your biggest mainstream name, the Monster who appears a few times a year but has the rub of legitimacy upon your Universal Championship. Or your Title can be bestowed upon a man who causes money to fall from the sky, whose name represents Honour, Workrate, and Ability, holding the IWGP Championship high upon the sky. Or in your worst nightmares, your Championship may be won by a former Jobber riddled with back acne and steroid belly in a shameful attempt to corner an unimpressed market. But in a company that has proven itself to be proud of their excellent events, their top-notch matches and vigorous atmosphere, it shall be obvious that whoever wins their first ever Championship will win on principle, ability, having battled over the months against three excellent opponents. But every Journey has a Beginning, and we shall take a look below at the eight competitors in the opening matches, but only after we look at some of our other possible show stealing matches, including the return of two men I cannot wait to see myself, and also an interesting development: the first ever event with more than six matches for fans to watch…
Singles Match:
Joseph Miller Vs Xander Grey
Sometimes, there are some people who just don’t care about being liked; in fact, they revel in alienating and hurting people, and there’s not many worse than the man who injured Vinnie Clay at The Second Coming to earn a contract with Reach Wrestling. Since then, he’s also gone on to attack Blake Harrison before their match at ACT 3, leaving his opponent limping and struggling to the back afterwards. Since then, facing Miller has become a fearful name for wrestlers invited to Reach Wrestling, having gained a cruel reputation. It seemed it would take a man of darkness, with no fear, to rise to the challenge against Miller, and in the end, he not only took on the challenge, but Xander Grey would request to take on Miller. Grey is an unknown quantity for the Reach Army, but they will gladly back him as he takes on the despicable Miller. Will Miller leave in the ring another battered and broken opponent, or will Xander back up his promise of taking Miller to ‘The Grey Area’? This could be Miller’s biggest challenge yet, and I for one cannot wait.
Singles Match
Lance Cole Vs Beano
If there’s one guy who has been quickly taken to the hearts of the Reach Army, it will be the perennial underdog that is Beano. Beano has been an ever present from day one, and despite early setbacks in consecutive losses to ‘Bronco’ Brendan White and ‘Country Big’ Josh Knott at The Beginning and The Second Coming, has refused to back down against any man. This would culminate in a wonderfully cathartic victory over White and Knott alongside tag team partner ‘Dirty’ Dick Riley at ACT 3, which left fans cheering wildly and proudly for their adopted favourite. Even at Thursday Night Reach, when fans were least expecting it, Beano would come out to surprise his fans, battling in an excellent Six-Pack Challenge, but yet again, he would lose out to his old foe, ‘Country Big’ Josh Knott. However, it was another man who debuted that night, Lance Cole, who will take on the Reach favourite, describing Beano as ‘the easiest paycheck I will ever make’. Cole had an impressive showing at Thursday Night Reach, almost defeating hometown hero Eddie Ryan, but in the end, he couldn’t get past the explosive support of the Reach Army. Cole would later return to help ‘The Winner’ PJ Jones defeat Psycho Phillips in a No Disqualification match, which suggests a burgeoning relationship between the two. Will Beano and the inspiring Reach Army lead to another loss for Cole, or will Cole take after his new partner, and prove himself a ‘Winner’ in front of the rabid Reach army?
Tag Team Match
Heritage City Hitmen (David Eton & Joshua Goodwin)
Vs
Brothers Awe (Otis & Alfie)
There has been a sudden inclusion of tag team matches over the last two events, with ACT 3 featuring the debuts of Team Reach (co-owners Grayson Reeves and Jason King), the dastardly double team of ‘Bronco’ Brendan White and ‘Country Big’ Josh Knott, a makeshift team in Man Like Dick (Beano and ‘Dirty’ Dick Riley), and a returning team in Sinners and Winners (Marcus Bain and PJ Jones). Both tag team matches were excellent and got the crowd hugely involved, and this was quickly followed up by a huge tag team announcement of Team Reach taking on a legendary tag team in The Magnums (‘Dirty’ Dick Riley and ‘Filthy’ Chris Walker). Despite the tremendous reactions to all three matches by the Reach Army, there are two men who were left unimpressed, two men who briefly featured at The Beginning and that I have been hoping to return for months: David Eton and Joshua Goodwin of the Heritage City Hitmen.
Eton and Goodwin have sneered and lambasted the growing Tag Team division, referring to them as ‘thrown together’ tag teams, used to end feuds, but not true tag teams. Heritage City Hitmen have had enough and are determined to demonstrate what true tag team wrestling can be, and in response, Reach Wrestling have booked them against one of the best tag teams in the entirety of the South West: The Brothers Awe. Otis and Alfie are renowned for their playful and daft personalities, their promo debut for Reach Wrestling even featuring references to certain adult entertainment, but this belies their actual ability in the ring, their agility and smooth interplay together. Both teams pride themselves on representing the tag team division, The Brothers Awe through high octane action and smooth attacks, whereas Heritage City Hitmen are the rough smashers, crueller and more vicious in their actions. Whoever wins this match will not only win on behalf of their respective style and beliefs but will also set a standard for any future tag team division that Reach Wrestling may develop.
Journey To Gold Quarter-Finals Match:
‘Bronco’ Brendan White Vs Grayson Reeves
“Time to lace up your boots, and prepare for war…”
Possibly the most volatile of the four Quarter Final matches, featuring a local hometown hero in Grayson, who seemed surprised at the warm welcome he received at The Beginning in an excellent but losing effort against ‘Dirty’ Dick Riley. Since then, Grayson has been focused on a developing war against the antagonising PJ Jones, having won a singles match by disqualification and then an awesome tag team main event alongside his bromance companion Jason King against Jones and Marcus Bain at ACT 3. It was a slight surprise to see Grayson continue his tag team winning ways against The Magnums in the lead up to this event, but he has tremendous momentum behind him as he takes on a man who will be basking in the anger and fury of the Reach Army…’Bronco’ Brendan White. White has been on a mission to antagonise and alienate Grayson’s home town of Plymouth, insulting them several times in the weeks leading up to this event. If Grayson shuts up ‘The Suplex Slinger’, he may earn the biggest cheers of the day; but despite his words of vitriol and arrogance, there is a tremendous wrestler in the vein of Arn Anderson looking to bust out of White. Grayson will march into the event on Sunday looking to leave White bruised and battered, but could he be lulled into a false sense of security following White’s recent losses against Beano and ‘Dirty’ Dick Riley? Might ‘Bronco’ actually steal the victory, whipping the home town into a frenzy and prove whilst he may not be able to shut up, he can definitely put up? We’ll find out this Sunday in front of a packed house…
Journey To Gold Quarter-Finals Match:
Eddie Ryan Vs Adam Maxted
“Tape up your wrists and march on out the door…”
‘The English Lion’ Eddie Ryan has been a mainstay of Reach Wrestling, with a tremendous undefeated record featuring wins over Charlie Sterling (who has never gotten over the loss in a top class match), Big Grizzly (excellent comeback against a man mountain) and Lance Cole (very entertaining battle), as well as a time limit draw against Joel Redman (after a great back and forth battle), leading to him being the favourite when announced as a member of the tournament to crown the first ever Reach Wrestling Champion. However, this impressive undefeated streak has left Ryan with possibly the biggest target on his back, as every wrestler will be battling to be the one to end his undefeated streak. Originally Ryan was to take on Ricky Knight of the infamous Knight family (you might have recently seen a film based on his sister, Paige, called Fighting With My Family), but he unfortunately had to back out, and who could Reach Wrestling acquire to take his place? How about one of the undoubted stars of ITV’s World Of Sport, former Love Island contestant Adam Maxted? Maxted has an interesting connection to Reach Wrestling, having defeated and retired original mainstay of the earliest shows, ‘Devon Powerhouse’ Chris Andrews. Maxted may be one of the biggest stars from World Of Sport to have appeared at Reach Wrestling, but the last time a former WOS alumni appeared, they were defeated in their first match…by Chris Andrews. Will Ryan continue his impressive run with possibly the biggest scalp yet, or will the run finally end in combat against the fitness fanatic, Maxted? And that doesn’t even take into account whether a certain angry individual named Charlie may want to get involved…
Journey To Gold Quarter-Finals Match:
Joel Redman Vs ‘Country Big’ Josh Knott
“Victory is determined by the bravery of the bold…”
Former NXT veteran Joel Redman made an excellent debut at ACT 3, instantly impressing audiences with a smooth and clean style, with a tremendous engine befitting of being one of the most respected wrestlers in the United Kingdom. So far, Redman has proven himself to be the equal of one of the few undefeated wrestlers in Reach Wrestling, Eddie Ryan, and he has been named as a possible favourite for the tournament. However, whilst last time he may have faced one of the most popular members of the roster, this time he will be facing the villainous ‘Country Big’ Josh Knott. Knott has been one of the most successful members of the Reach roster, having debuted winning the Battle Royal for a one-year contract, followed that up with a tainted victory over Beano at The Second Coming, and won a huge Six-Pack Challenge at Thursday Night Reach. In fact, it has only been in tag team action that Knott has lost a match, having demonstrated an underrated intelligence, able to take advantage of situations and sometimes, bend the rules just enough to achieve victory. Could it be that Knott will prove himself the ultimate dark horse and defeat the much more heralded Redman, or will Redman’s ability, strength and tremendous technical ability battle past the underhanded tendencies of Knott and claim victory? We shall see, at Journey For Gold…
Journey To Gold Quarter-Finals Match:
‘Dirty’ Dick Riley Vs Charlie Sterling
“As they prepare for sacrifice on their Journey…For Gold.”
You would probably be unlikely to find two more contrasting experiences in the history of Reach Wrestling. The hugely popular ‘Dirty’ Dick Riley was in probably the first match stealer in Reach history, defeating Grayson Reeves in a tremendous match at The Beginning, before continuing his victorious ways over ‘Bronco’ Brendan White at The Second Coming. It would be at ACT 3 that he returned to tag team action, teaming with Beano to defeat both White and ‘Country Big’ Josh Knott, and even teamed up with former tag team partner ‘Filthy’ Chris Walker at the tremendous Thursday Night Reach, where he suffered his first loss to Team Reach. However, in singles action, Riley has proved himself an excellent and capable wrestler, one who fans have grown to love for his cheeky and saucy nature. On the opposite side of the ring, his opponent Charlie Sterling has had a subtle and ongoing storyline since The Beginning, losing to Eddie Ryan in an amazing main event. He would accost Grayson Reeves for a rematch with Ryan but would be informed that he would need to earn his right to face Eddie Ryan. He would firstly take on Big Grizzly at ACT 3 but would lose cleanly and would retaliate by viciously attacking Ryan after his own match with Joel Redman. Sterling’s next opportunity would be at Thursday Night Reach, where he faced a legend of the British wrestling scene, ‘The Phoenix’ Jody Fleisch, but even despite his nefarious attempts, Sterling still couldn’t achieve victory. Now, Sterling has been informed that his only chance of facing Eddie Ryan is going the hard way, winning his tournament matches. Will Sterling finally break his duck and achieve his first victory in Reach Wrestling, or will Riley compound Sterling’s frustration by continuing his winning streak in singles competition? The one guarantee is that this match may steal the entire event…
There are some tremendous matches on the card being featured this Sunday, with at least three capable of being excellent main events. However, there is also a huge announcement to be made by co-owner Jason King, which is rumoured to possibly feature him announcing his retirement, or the unveiling of a Tag Team Tournament, or maybe even featuring somewhere up country. But the fact that there is tantamount attention to just a promo, let alone seven matches, are indicative of Reach Wrestling in general: it’s the details that matter, the victories count, the stories develop, and because of it, the Reach Army love their shows. They’ve had four tremendous events in a row that have sold out each time, and it’s been near impossible for fans to wait so long since the beginning of February. Reach Wrestling is here to stay, and they are prepared to join you on their Journey For Gold…see you Sunday.
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