On a rather cold and rainy weekend in Wolverhampton, fans from all over made their way to see if Team FCP could take back over the company that Schadenfreude has had a hold on.
Fans were treated to two days of amazing wrestling, filled with surprises, violence, and much more. Going into the weekend fans were prepared for an all out war between Schadenfreude and Fight Club Pro, the promos leading up to Death House alone were worth the price of admission.
Not only did fans have Death House to look forward to, but there were matches from The Besties in the World, Travis Banks, Omari and a few surprise appearances. Fight Club Pro has been one of my favourite companies to follow and the Mayhem weekender did not disappoint. Let’s take a look at some of the matches the weekend had to offer.
Night One
Travis Banks, Omari, and Jordan Devlin defeated The Rascalz
This match was fun straight from the introductions, as Banks, Omari, and Devlin had fun doing their own little version of the Rascalz entrance. If you have seen matches from any of these competitors you know you are going to get a fast paced and most likely high flying match up. Unsurprisingly, that is exactly what we were treated to.
It was a great match to start the weekend off with and having the Fight Club Pro based team win made it even better. The fans really got into this one, chants for both sides were rather strong and gave a fun atmosphere for the rest of the show.
Personally, the best part of this match for me was Omari. He got the biggest pop out of anyone in the match and it was just really great to see him wrestle in a Fight Club Pro ring again. Omari is one who truly should be booked everywhere so I hope that starts to happen.
Dani Luna defeated Joe Nelson, Chris Ridgeway, and Jim Hunter
A match that featured two debuts – Joe Nelson and Chris Ridgeway – who were surprises. This fatal four-way was really enjoyable with all four involved getting plenty of time to showcase themselves.
Dani Luna is a treasure; so fun to watch in the ring and you can just tell she is having a great time being there. Joe Nelson getting a huge pop was awesome because he really is putting on some of the best matches and is still so young, it blows my mind. Jim Hunter was involved in a lot of this match and was fun to watch and we all know how hard hitting Chris Ridgeway can be. This was a good match to have after the hard hitting first match-up and while it was slower than the first, this match showed that Fight Club Pro has talent to rely on if people depart.
Medusa Complex defeated Besties in the World
I definitely am a tad biased when it comes to this match because the Besties in the World are one of my absolute favourite tag teams; it’s truly hard for me to root against them. Medusa Complex is a tremendous tag team though and I was not disappointed by this match.
Charli Evans and Millie McKenzie are already great on their own, but putting them together is really fantastic to watch. Both teams know their partners so well, which makes for an enjoyable match up.
Even though the Besties lost, which is sad for me, seeing Medusa Complex live for the first time was great. With the win, Medusa Complex could very well move up in the tag team division and a chance to add to their tag team gold. Also, anytime “Truly, Madly, Deeply” plays more than once at a show, it’s a top tier night.
Speedball Mike Bailey defeated Cara Noir
In what seemed like a highly anticipated match, Cara and Speedball really brought it. This match was a perfect one to send us to intermission because after watching this one, how could your energy not stay up?
With a lot of kicks, licks, and well, feet biting this match certainly had a lot of entertainment value. Speedball is one of the best in the game right now and Cara Noir is certainly becoming one of the best the UK has to offer, so seeing these two face off was a treat. Match of the weekend contender for sure.
Team Fight Club Pro defeats Schadenfreude in Cage of Death House
This was the match I was most looking forward to, and to be honest I was nervous the days leading up to it that it wasn’t going to be a deathmatch, as tweets I had seen stopped mentioning Death House. As they announced they needed time to set up the cage and weapons, I just got giddy for it.
There is a lot to unpack here, from the cage to the light tubes and barbed wire, but I think this Death House is the best one they’ve ever put on. The match began with one representative of each team and then a clock would appear to count down to the next person entering. Of course with the injury to Mark Davis, Schadenfreude needed to find a new member and they chose El Phantasmo. With Fight Club Pro having Trent Seven, I was wondering if he would actually be in the whole match, I was pleasantly surprised to hear “I Hope You Suffer” fill the Hangar. A death match in Fight Club Pro just doesn’t seem right without Jimmy Havoc.
Once all members were in the ring, chaos ensued. Jimmy stapled Timothy Thatcher and he just pulled the staples out, truly a sight to behold. Dan Moloney got a hold of a power drill, while Chris Brookes just seemed like he was involved in everything. This is definitely one to buy on demand as soon as possible and watch because just talking about it doesn’t do it justice.
Night Two
Speedball Mike Bailey defeated Timothy Thatcher
This match featured my most surprising outcome, definitely was expecting Thatcher to pull off the victory here. With Thatcher losing, that put Schadenfreude at 0-2 on the weekend.
Both men in this contest are tough, hard hitting, and can be very technical wrestlers, but with Thatcher being in a rather pissed off mood, I gave him the advantage. It was nice to see how versatile Speedball can be, as this match was a nice change from his match with Cara Noir.
As it seems Speedball has become somewhat of a FCP regular, the wins from the weekender could put him in some sort of title contention. Time will tell on that though.
Chuck Mambo defeated Lucky Kid, Millie Mckenzie, and Omari
This four way match-up had a bit higher energy than the one on the first show. It was hot right from entrances, with Millie and Charli dancing to Omari’s entrance music and the crowd being really happy to see Mambo.
While I was expecting Omari to get his second victory of the weekend, seeing Mambo win was just as good. It was a great way to continue the show and keep the crowd interested into what was to come.
Rickey Shane Page defeated Jimmy Havoc to “retain” the GCW Title
In case you don’t know the story of Rickey Shane Page and the GCW title, I’ll fill you in a little bit. He attacked Nick Gage at a GCW show with light tubes, spray painted the belt, and ran off with it. RSP is now going around calling himself the champion and has decided he will defend it everywhere he goes until Gage can take the title back.
As you can see, this title match is a tad controversial, but it happened and it was mental. When RSP issued the challenge I think there was a lot of people hoping it was Nick Gage, even knowing he can’t leave the States. Jimmy Havoc answering the challenge was perfect, as Jimmy has worked for GCW, has faced Nick Gage, and has a history with RSP.
This one got crazy pretty quick, lots of weapons involved and they were both all over the place. The ending of the match was insane as both men went through a table with two chairs on top and drawing pins all over everything. You’d think they both would have taken it a tad easier with Death House the night before, but that’s not the kind of people they are.
Joe Nelson and The Besties in the World defeated The Rascalz
I really enjoyed this one and I think all involved did too. Seeing Joe Nelson tag with the Besties was a wonderful surprise. This was a good match to take us to the intermission – it was a fast paced match up and both teams involved got in a lot of their signature moves. A highlight of this match for me was seeing Joe join in on the Handsome Boy Stretch, even though Dezmond Xaiver landed a sick move on Joe to break it up.
Dan Moloney defeated Chris Ridgeway
While Dan was originally supposed to be facing Dunkzilla for the Fight Club Pro Championship, this match with Ridgeway was a nice substitution. Hard kicks and punches basically made up this entire match. Both men beat the crap out of each other for our enjoyment and it was great to watch.
Even with the loss I think this weekend puts Ridgeway in a good spot whenever he comes back to FCP next, he had a great showing. As for Dan, I really look forward to the day he gets his title shot because I really believe he’ll make a great champion for FCP.
Moustache Mountain defeated Schadenfreude to become the new Fight Club Pro Tag Team Champions
This arguably was my favourite match of the weekend. Schadenfreude coming in as the champions, but probably a bit of confidence drained because of the losses they endured this weekend, then facing off against one of the most popular tag teams to come out of Fight Club. The story this match told was amazing, matches that have a true story are some of my favourite things and this had it all.
Right from the jump the crowd was hot with the duelling chants, it was loud and it was exciting. As much as Kyle and Chris tried to use their underhanded tactics, it wasn’t going to work this night. Trent and Tyler were ready for a fight, as all four men eventually ended up outside of the ring. At one point Trent was in the crowd, Tyler was doing an airplane spin to Kyle all around the ring, it was fun. The fight did go back and forth, lots of near falls, until Moustache Mountain finally found a way to close out the match.
After being defeated, Schadenfreude looked rather brokenhearted. With all members of Schadenfreude coming down to the ring, they left all the belts and a flag, seemingly bidding FCP a goodbye. Loved them or hated them, FCP without Schadenfreude will certainly be a change.
All in all, Project Mayhem was a weekend to remember. Filled with emotion, it’s something I am so glad I got to attend. Go check out the video on demand of this one, you won’t regret it.
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