Hollow Knight: Silksong - Is it possible to do better than Perfection?

MINOR SPOILER WARNING for Hollow Knight: Silksong below the picture. All images are early game, and I intentionally avoid mentioning any person or boss not featured in trailers, but if you want to enter Pharloom 100000% unspoiled step away and come back once you have beaten the game for the first time. 

7 years ago, Team Cherry – 3 guys from Australia, Ari Gibson, William Pellen and Jack Vine – stormed onto the scene with Hollow Knight.

A sprawling indie metroidvania that has quickly become the crown jewel in the genre’s crown. A mix of crunchy combat; exploration of a massive, interconnected world; bewitching hand drawn art; and a cast of homely and brilliant characters had gamers crying out for more.

Now, these many years on, the prayers of the waiting have been answered. Hollow Knight Silksong is here. Taking the role of Hornet – your antagonist come eventual ally from the first game – you set off upon the next great adventure.

This game started life as a DLC for the original game, but as it got bigger the decision was made to move forward with a full-blown sequel.  

And my oh my have the words “full-blown” never felt so adequate as they do here in Silksong.

The world of Pharloom here feels perhaps twice as large as that of Hallownest before it, and Hallownest was no small map. Around every corner is a new area, a new hidden room, a new enemy or boss to face off against.

More than once I thought “Ok, I’ve definitely seen everything now”, only to suddenly discover a full new area I didn’t know existed. It’s a feat of true exploration and the fact it keeps you guessing all the way throughout its runtime is a massive plus.

I touched briefly on the idea of bosses above. The boss encounters here are all unique and fantastically designed. They are HARD, but never once did I think they were unfair.

With every passing death (and oh boy will you die A LOT) you learn the patterns, you improve, and the feeling of celebration when the finally deal the final blow is one of catharsis and relief – until you go a few rooms down and start the cycle all over again with the next boss.

With a current play time of over 55 hours, I have to now only rolled credits on the first of several endings, but it’s a testament to the game that I am still enjoying exploring, still looking for every last secret it has within it. Every minute I am away from Pharloom I’m thinking of something I want to do when I get back into it.

The fact this is basically the work of 3 men (but for some localisation staff and playtesters) is simply bewildering. The big AAA games studios would struggle to build a game that feels this uniquely brilliant to play.

And with it comes the heart of these normal people. It shines through in the NPC characters. If Hollow Knight had a broad cast, Silksong has a whole menagerie. From the small, warbling Sherma, to the map making warrior Shakra, to Garmond and Zaza (a Knight of the realm and his trusty steed), and countless others, you meet these characters over and over, and it genuinely feels like they’re off on their own adventures.

Different moments with them trigger depending on what you’ve done up to certain parts of the game, so sometimes they’ll spawn, sometimes they won’t. Its as if you either just missed them, or got there before them, and your paths didn’t cross.

It makes the world feel alive. You are not the only sentient being moving around it. You come to care for these characters.

I can’t tell you the joy I would feel as I explored an area and heard little Sherma’s song in the distance, or spotted one of Shakra’s tell tale dropped rings, signalling our friend was nearby

I almost can’t believe I’m come this far without mentioning the 4^th part of Team Cherry’s group of compatriots. Alongside the three - aforementioned - designers, I would be remiss not to mention Christopher Larkin, the games conductor and sound designer.

Hollow Knight’s soundtrack was always impressive, but to say he has surpassed himself here would be a fair statement. Both in terms of the incredible orchestral range of songs for each area and fight, but also in the ambient sound.

The crunch of your Needle sword against an enemy. The clink of a bell or metal surface as you bash up against it. The mechanics of the cog work Citadel in which much of the games second act takes place. It’s all perfectly balanced. It’s another sign that this is a real, breathing world.

If there is one thing I can say (and as I will make clear, this is not a criticism), its that the difficulty spike versus the first game is a huge one, and for some this may be off putting. Even in the very early game many of the enemies hit for double damage, and the bosses are a definite step up from Hollow Knight.

That said: I don’t think this is a bad thing. This is a sequel in the truest sense of the word. Its clear that it being a post-game DLC for Hollow Knight was the original intent.

Team Cherry expects you to have already completed and mastered that game. They know you will be used to the combat loop, and the kinds of platforming that will be expected. There are absolutely new mechanics – Hornet is far more athletic and gymnastic than the Knight of the first game – but the central core gameplay is of a kind they expect you to know.

And that’s fine. It’s a singular vision that allows them to present the game they wanted to present. They know it may not be for everybody, and that’s fine. But for those who can master it, it is the first games better in almost every way.

It is, by some margin, the most difficult game I have ever had the pleasure to roll credits on. Some bosses took literally 50+ attempts to beat, and one particularly hard enemy gauntlet took multiple HOURS across several days to finally see the end of.

The cheers of triumph as those challenges were defeated though were all the louder BECAUSE it was a challenge. It was a case of buckling down, and trying to find a route through, and we got there.

 

Hollow Knight Silksong is a master work. The definitive example of the metroidvania game style.

“Until we meet down the road” Team Cherry muse in the end credits sign off. We can only hope its not 7 more years until we meet again with this trio of game makers. But if it is, I can believe it will be because they are putting as much love into whatever comes next as they have to this game.

The game is a love letter to a genre that clearly means the world to the three of them, just as they know it does to others around the world. It draws on every influence, both the obvious, in Metroid and Castlevania (Hornet’s signature moveset is HEAVILY reminiscent of Alucard in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night), but also in games as widely ranged as Ori and the Blind Forest, the Legend of Zelda, and dozens of others.

And what it leaves is, despite (or maybe even because of) its minor imperfections, is the closest I’ve ever experienced to a perfect gaming experience. They did what I and many others thought was impossible. They took Hollow Knight, itself already one of my favourite games ever, and somehow managed to better it in almost every conceivable way.

Thank you Ari Gibson. Thank you William Pellen. Thank you Jack Vine. Thank you Team Cherry for this magnificent game.

See you down the road. We will be patiently waiting, and until then we will just have to run through Pharloom again, just as we ran through Hallownest for the best part of a decade before it. 

Kid Lykos Vs Chris Brookes - Return of the Fly - Reflections on a Masterpiece

Sometimes you attend a wrestling show, you have a good night out, but its forgotten 5 minutes after you leave the venue. Other times though you walk out knowing you have just had an experience which will live with you forever. A moment which transcends entertainment and goes beyond.



Last night, in the Dome in Tufnell Park London, I had one such experience. 



For context, when I was first getting back into the British Wrestling scene in 2016, I quickly found myself drawn to a pair of wrestlers who I felt had everything. They were a charismatic tag team, with fantastic free flowing tag moves, and a cockiness which meant even as baby faces they felt like assholes. 



That pair was Chris Brookes and Kid Lykos: The Calamari Catch Kings: CCK. 



I followed their escapades across the country, from HOPE, to Tuesday Night Graps, but particularly in PROGRESS.



I’ve always been a fan of the psychology of tag wrestling - more so even than singles in a lot of ways - and these two guys had it all. 



But then Lykos got injured, and had to retire, and Chris got the chance to move to Japan to live his dream. CCK was finished, with only a newly minted Kid Lykos II (Joe Nelson) to hold the fort. 



Those of us who followed the team never quite gave up hope though.

For nearly 3 years, through a pandemic and its after effects we sat and waited. 



Lykos against all the odds made a comeback, returning as the dickhead heel who would arrogantly announce his BRAINBUSTAH finish was coming, only to inevitably be thwarted, usually only winning with the help of trusty sidekick Lykos II and their patented Baking Tray to the Head style of offence.



Brookes meanwhile went from strength to strength, forming CDK - the Calamari Drunk Kings - with Masa Takanashi, and winning gold in DDT. 



But still that inkling remained. Lykos and Brookes both active again. Could it happen? Could we see CCK once more?



Well, that brings us at last to this year. At Super Strong Style 16 weekend its announced that Chris Brookes is coming home. 2 shows, one in Birmingham, one in London. And that was it. Surely CCK were back, we were going to finally pick up where we left off?!



And here’s the masterstroke. PROGRESS, Brookes, Lykos, they could have taken that easy way out. We could have had CCK vs CPF, or CCK vs Greedy Souls, and it would have been great fun. But it would have fallen into that first category of match I mentioned earlier - fun but forgettable.



Instead it was announced that in Birmingham we would get CDK (notably CDK not CCK) vs Lykos Gym, and that in London, at the Dome, it would be Chris Brookes Vs Kid Lykos. No Disqualification. 


On September 27th 2022, at Return of the Fly they were going to go to war. 

Every ounce of pent up frustration that might have been languishing inside Lykos at being left behind, the feelings of betrayal and sacrifice, all of it was going to come to a head.



Out Lykos marched, Lykos II with him, and a door ready to be smashed through emblazoned with the words FUCK CCK across the front. Boos reigned down upon him. How could he forsake the team which made him famous.



Brookes of course came out to the hero’s welcome. He got the best of the early going to, dropping Lykos around the ring multiple times, much to the crowd’s delight. 

Chants of Kill The Wolf rung out across the hall. 



But thats where the match kicked up from good to great in a tiny instant. Brookes, holding Lykos in place began to tear at the Wolf mask upon his former friends face. 

The crowd gasps audibly, the disrespect of trying to unmask a masked wrestler is well known. Those gasps only intensified when Lykos climbed back in the ring and it very quickly became apparent that his head had been ripped open along with the mask, and was GUSHING blood. 



The crowd, so firmly in Brookes’ corner from the start began to see that perhaps on this occasion that he may have gone to far - a smattering of cheers for Lykos as he defiantly flipped Chris off; a slightly larger smattering of Fuck You Chris chants as he proceeded to continue to rip the mask. 



These two storytellers, who had always so clearly got it when it came to holding a crowd were proving just that.



In a matter of minutes a crowd which was 100% in favour of Brookes, morphed to 50-50, and then morphed to almost entirely 100% the other way. 



With ladder bumps, table crashes, and several horrific looking thumbtack bumps, it became clear these men were not going to quit. 



This wasn’t the story of a hero coming home to teach his former friend a lesson in manners. 

This was instead the moment Lykos got to show the world how much he deserved the spot he has. He’s not just Chris Brookes’ best mate. He’s one of the very best wrestlers in the world.



When Lykos II offers Lykos the baking tray, telling him to finish it, and Lykos declines, only for Brookes to smash him over the head with it instead, its a moment entirely informed by years of what has come before. He doesn’t want to destroy Chris. He loves Chris and always will. But he needs to feel seen, in a relationship that has always had him appear second best.

This was a match that would draw on everything the two men have done together. It was a match where the shared history between the performers and the crowd allowed it to rise up into true art. 



It would have been so easy to just do a quick buck CCK reunion tour, but by giving us this instead, it elevates both men, and elevates the company. 

This is the best match of the Under New Management PROGRESS era. Bar none. Its also probably the best PROGRESS match of all time if I’m honest. 



For probably nigh on 40 minutes (I apologise I don’t have the exact match time), these two men put it all on the line. They showed the world why they are two of the very best storytellers that our country has ever produced. 



They understand exactly what makes both characters tick, and exactly what drew the fans to each of them, and exploited every ounce of the history to execute a double turn so perfect that I honestly didn’t think it was possible. 



I cannot wait to watch the match again on the Network when it drops. Its an absolute must see if you weren’t lucky enough to be in attendance. 



And then, beyond it all there was the post match. With Lykos finally prevailing, the two men stare at each other. Lykos, all but unmasked (its hanging around his neck by this point), and Brookes, and Lykos asks for a mic. 

Before he can get half a word out though, Brookes grabs the mic: “SHUT UP LYKOS” he bellows. 

One more call back, to the most famous CCK promo ever - in the lead up to their PROGRESS tag title win at Alexandra Palace. 

And just like that, the two men smile. The war is over. 

Brookes accepts his friend has risen to a level far above the level he was at pre-retirement. They hug, and CCK chants, Thank You Lykos chants, This is PROGRESS chants, all shower down. 



Its a moment of euphoria. One day we will see CCK again - the post match reconciliation all but confirms that - but this roadblock along the way has made that eventuality all the sweeter. 

They had to go through each other. They had to know that the other guy still cared as much as they did. They had to know that CCK was worth fighting for. And this match told that story and so much more.



Its a masterpiece. A bonafide masterpiece. 

Thank you Chris. Thank You Lykos. I love you both, and I’ll see you down the road. 

The Firefly Funhouse Match, and the Rebirth Of The Fiend

For nearly a year, Bray Wyatt and The Fiend have run roughshod over the WWE. Brutalising everyone they came into contact with (but of course for Bill Goldberg, though the less said about that the better), Bray would not only physically but more importantly mentally break his opponents, leaving them changed men. 

Seth Rollins and The Miz turned heel following their encounters, while Daniel Bryan’s entire look and demeanour was altered, bringing back the Yes Movement

When The Fiend challenged ultimate babyface John Cena to a Firefly Funhouse match at Wrestlemania then, the stage for his greatest masterwork was set. 

This time though rather than seeing the situation through the eyes of our universe, we were whisked into the world of The Fiend – The Firefly Funhouse itself. 

Wyatt and the leader of the Cenation have a history themselves of course, with Cena’s defeat of Wyatt at Wrestlemania 30 often cited as the moment the original Bray Wyatt character began to lose his lustre.

History would be the key to Bray’s tricks here, as he would force Big Match John to relive his past, making him face his greatest failures. 

First, in a darkened ring the Mr Rogers version of Bray would mimic Kurt Angle’s promo from the day of Cena’s debut all those years ago. Suddenly John was there in full Ruthless Aggression debut gear.

When asked what quality he might possess to be able to go face to face with (in this case) Wyatt, Cena would reply with the immortal “Ruthless Aggression” answer and take his swing, but – knowing his history – Wyatt expected it and ducks out of the way. 

Wyatt impresses upon Cena that he’s too cookie cutter for his own good, – transporting both men to an episode of Saturday Nights Main Event in the 80s and cutting a Hulk-Hogan-esquepromo, before turning on Cena and shoving him into the next room.

Here John was now in Doctor of Thuganomics gear, able to speak only in rhyme. After some witty back and forth, the gimmick gets stale fast, and Bray clocks him with the Chain Gang chain, knocking Cena out and bringing us into the next phase. 

Finally we had reached the crux of the matter. The moment Wyatt and Cena’s path would cross. Wrestlemania 30. We see Bray now in his cult leader garb, in the Wyatt house on his rocking chair. He cuts a promo on Cena and then they’re back in the ring, this time with Cena in the same clothes he wore that fateful night.

In the original match Bray had handed John a chair, and told him to embrace the hate and smash him across the face but Cena refused. This time Bray again gives him the choice. 

Having presented him with so many places he went wrong in his career, the psyche of Cena has been damaged and this time he takes the swing – only for Bray to disappear. 

The cracks were showing and the moment to strike was finally there. In one final jump we arrive on – of all places – WCW Monday Nitro. Bray this time is mimicking Eric Bischoff and introduces a new John Cena – an nWo John Cena – who has turned heel. This is the Hollywood Hulk Hogan treatment for the next great superhero of the WWE. 

Hate running through his veins at last – The Fiend’s trick having worked - Cena began to pummel Bray only for the spell to break and suddenly reveal it wasn’t Bray but Huskusthe Pig in the ring. 

Cena looks broken and dejected, realising he has been lead down the destructive path – and finally The Fiend appears, locking in the mandible claw and pinning Cena for the 3 count, before Cena’s body would literally vanish from the Funhouse.

If there was any danger The Fiend might have been ruined by his loss to Goldberg, we needn’t have worried. A master of mind tricks and manipulation, we have just seen him break the man many thought was unbreakable. 

In one match arguably the greatest superhero in the history of the company was completely deconstructed to the point he broke his own rule. He couldn’t rise above hate at the hands of the Fiend, and if Cena can’t, the question can only be: Who can?

The Firefly Funhouse match was not only wildly entertaining – more so even that the equally cinematic Boneyard Match from night one - but offers us our most brutal look at the powers of this new iteration of Bray Wyatt yet.

If Wyatt can destroy Cena’s very essence to the point he vanishes without a trace, what might he be able to do to someone lesser on WWE’s totem pole?

In one match the mystery and the mystique have been completely reinvigorated, and the memory of the loss to Goldberg eradicated. 

Whats next for Wyatt and the Fiend? I don’t know. But I can’t wait to find out.

From Southside to Schadenfreude: My love for Chris Brookes

Sometimes, as a wrestling fan, you find yourself inextricably linked to a certain wrestler. You feel it from the moment their music hits, and you’re ready to follow them into battle, cheering them or booing them.


I grew up a wrestling fan, and watched a local indie in the early 2000s with the likes of Robbie Brookside and the late great Drew McDonald doing battle, and between them that face/heel pairing got my 10year old blood flowing.



After a few years away - I kept up with WWE even if I wasn’t watching religiously, but really did slip away from the indie side unfortunately - I found my way to another local indie, this time in Nottingham, where I had moved for university.



The year was 2015, and the show, run by Southside Wrestling, was super fun, featuring the likes of (an INCREDIBLY YOUNG) Tyler Bate, Martin Kirby, Jimmy Havoc, and others, and I was hooked.



I went back a few more times when they would come back through town and I started to notice a guy on the shows. I honestly don’t remember if he was there that first one, but he certainly was moving forward, and thats Chris Brookes.



Taller than the average indie guy (especially at the time, but even now), he instantly stood out. Teaming at the time with Travis Banks, the pair caught my eye, and, even though I probably saw them lose more than win, the fluid style of Brookes’ wrestling in particular would stick with me.



As I began to get more and more into the scene, and with the rise of social media, even shows I wasn’t at I could see how my favourites were getting on. Over the course of 2016 and into the start of 2017, it was clear there was a new partner on the horizon for Brookes - “Mondai” Kid Lykos - the Problem Child. 



Bringing back the CCK team name which Chris had shared with former partner Jonathan Gresham, this new iteration of CCK tore it up wherever they went, and in April of 2017, at FightClub Pro’s annual Dream Tag Team Invitational, the team would see off Moustache Mountain, the Hunter Brothers, and then finally the Lucha Bros, to solidify themselves as one of THE go to tag teams on the planet.

They would go on to win the CZW Tag championships, as well as a myriad of other belts besides around the UK. 

This guy who I started out quite liking was proving himself to be a megastar in the making, and I was hooked.

Like many in the BritWres bubble, we knew it was only a matter of time until PROGRESS, at the time seen as the top indie promotion in the country, came knocking. With Travis Banks, closely aligned with Brookes in the minds of the BritWrest faithful, having won Super Strong Style 16, and heading on to face British Strong Style leader Pete Dunne, surely the Best Boys wouldn’t be far away to even the score.


To an explosive pop, the team would finally debut in Manchester, immediately setting sights on BSS and their tag team championships for the upcoming Chase the Sun event at Alexandra Palace. 

It was after this debut that I got to see even more of what would come to define Chris Brookes as my favourite BritWres wrestler of this generation.

 His in-ring work had already wowed me, but it was in his promo work that I would find out his personality. The now infamous “Shut Up Lykos” line, still quoted today nearly 3 years later. He was funny in almost effortless way. 

I knew from that moment on: I was a Chris Brookes guy.



I would cheer him wholeheartedly on that fateful night at Chase the Sun, as he and Lykos would pick up yet another title for the trophy cabinet, and would continue to cheer them through the trials and tribulations which would follow.



A series of heartbreaking injuries to Lykos would leave Brookes without a partner again, but rather than flounder or give up, he thrived.

He took part in 2018’s Super Strong Style 16 tournament, and though he was defeated in the first round by Kassius Ohno, even Ohno himself would sing his praises, and the adoring crowd kept the memory of the Calamari Catch Kings alive. 

Challenging for titles around the country, building a passionate and dedicated fanbase, Brookes cultivated a community, and despite the hardships, he would come out the other side.


He would join forces with Aussie Open and form Schadenfreude, a stable of arguably two of the most dominant teams in BritWres, and would once again prove to be a reinvention by Brookes which would pay dividends. The team began as a reign of terror in Fight Club Pro, but it was quickly apparent that these guys had bigger plans.



They would launch Schadengraps, a promotion in Manchester taking over from IPW’s Tuesday Night Graps at the Frog and Bucket Comedy Club. Through a mix of fan interactions, great banter, and great matches, Brookes and the rest of Schadenfreude created the hottest product in the country, regularly selling out in moments.



I recently had the chance to attend my first Schaden show (the 5th overall), and it genuinely warmed my heart. In the opening contest, Lykos, now retired, would bring out Brookes and introduce Joe Nelson, a cruiserweight wrestler, as Kid Lykos 2. He would hand off the mask and the gimmick, so it could live on.

It was by this point no secret that Chris was on his way to Japan. After a tour in DDT, the promotion saw the value in him that myself and so may here do, and have invited him to live and work there for the rest of the year.

At the time I thought this Schadengraps show would be the last time I saw Brookes, and while the passoff of CCK to Lykos 2 would have been a fitting end, I needed closure.

There is one more Schadengraps show he’s due to work, but because of another engagement I can’t go, so that seemed to be that.

 Which brings us, finally, to tonight. January 31st 2020 (or indeed as I write this now, its 2AM on the 1st of Feburary, but the point stands).



After some incredibly last minute (the actual day before) working out of my work schedule, I realised I would be able to attend Fight Club Pro’s Wrestlehouse ’20, on which Chris was booked for one of his last UK dates for the foreseeable future, and I knew this was my chance to say goodbye properly.

In the main event, Brookes, Lykos 2, and Kyle Fletcher, would face off against FCP Tag Champions Moustache Mountain and FCP Champion Dan Maloney.

 The crowd was firmly behind Schadenfreude - the supposed heels of the piece of course, but on this night no-one was going to boo them. 

When Brookes himself got the pin, the place came unglued. Trent Seven would give him a fitting sendoff, and then gave Chris an open mic to say goodbye.

 His usual self deprecating self, this was a promo thanking the fans for everything he had achieved, and the fans - and the entire locker room which emptied to the stage, gave him a standing ovation.



This was one of the true greats of this generation of BritWres, and (but for a few more dates, though not for FCP), this was the last we would see of him for at least a year.


The work Chris Brookes has done to help this scene is immeasurable. From his work with Attack, to Lucha Forever, to Rev Pro, to Defiant, to FightClub, to PROGRESS, and of course to Schadengraps,

Chris Brookes leaves BritWres in a much better state than he found it. He’s worked tirelessly to get guys into positions to get themselves over, and has elevated everyone he has worked with.



It has been an honour to watch as this lovely person (has evolved and grown over the past 5 years I’ve been aware of him, and I am so incredibly proud to see him heading off to live his dream in Japan, something I know has always been a goal of his.



Thank You Chris. From the very bottom of my heart.

 Without you, and the community you have fostered around you, I probably wouldn’t still be watching wrestling today.

 The spark was there from my childhood, but you fanned the flames and lit an eternal burn in my heart that BritWres can keep burning.



There will be a huge hole in our scene with you gone, but because of you, I know there are people waiting in the wings - the likes of Mad Kurt, the likes of Cara Noir, and countless others, who have your example to build on.

We’ll keep the revolution going for you while you’re gone. But don’t stay gone forever. 



We need to fly that CCK/Schadenfreude banner over the BritWres landscape again soon. So we won’t say goodbye. I’ll say: Until the next time my friend. Enjoy yourself, but hurry back. 



#ThankYouChrisBrookes


Star Wars - The Rise of Skywalker - Review - SPOILERS

IF YOU HAVE YET TO WATCH STAR WARS EPISODE 9: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER, STEP AWAY NOW.

SPOILERS FOLLOW BELOW THE PICTURE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. 

“No one is ever really gone” mused Luke Skywalker at the end of The Last Jedi. Words which would have an eerie foreboding over the franchises final outing. Right from the opening crawl we know that “The dead speak!” and that the long dead Emperor Palpatine is broadcasting a message of hatred and destruction of the Resistance throughout the galaxy.

While Ian McDiarmid’s return had been announced earlier in the year I think many had decided he might be returning as a Sith Force Ghost, or in flashback. The opening scene however confirms that Master Skywalker’s prophecy is closer to the true than anyone could have realised. Palpatine has survived the fall through Death Star 2 and has been living in secret, amassing a cult of followers, on the Unknown Territories.

How? Honestly its never fully explained nor fleshed out, though it is referenced at one point that the Sith had cloning abilities and other ways to cheat death. So…one of those I suppose?

This opening sequence is emblematic of The Rise of Skywalker as a whole. It looks brilliant on the surface, with some of the most beautiful and sweeping vistas in franchise history, but on a second glance it doesn’t add up to much, and seems to contradict earlier entries over and over.

Where The Last Jedi asked exciting, new questions, about the nature of rebellion, and about heroes coming from the most unlikely of places, it feels like JJ Abrams (returning to round out what he began in The Force Awakens) had to juggle taking up Rian Johnson’s narrative points while simultaneously having his own vision for Star Wars which was in deep conflict with the middle chapter.

Where Johnson looked to the future and what lay beyond the Skywalkers, Abrams’ approach was instead to cling onto history with both hands and never let go. So desperate was he for example for Rey to somehow fit into a lineage for the franchise, to make her journey somehow her destiny, that the choice of who’s family line she falls into is silly at best and almost insulting at worst.

He acknowledges the previous outing just long enough to have Palpatine tell Kylo “She is not who you think she is”. I rolled my eyes.

It isn’t all bad – indeed far from it, some of the franchises best moments exist in this film. It is easily Anthony Daniels’ best Threepio movie since the original trilogy. He gets every single laugh he's playing for here and it feels like they wanted to put our old friend front and centre. Meanwhile both Daisy Ridley and Adam Driver shine as series leads Rey and Kylo Ren.

Rey’s story in particular (but for the lazy reveal mentioned above) is her strongest of the trilogy, as we see her teeter on the edge of the darkness. Fear and a need to belong has controlled her entire life. Finally she has been offered that belonging, but still she doesn’t feel truly at home. Ridley plays the duality of the dark and the light perfectly.

Despite these bright spots though Rise of Skywalker feels like its trying to please everyone by appeasing those put off by Last Jedi while still trying to honour it at the same time. It falls somewhere in the middle and ultimately I would suggest falls flat because of it. There is too much fan service. Too many calls back to moments gone by.

JJ tried to cap off a 40+ year franchise with a whistle-stop tour back through its past, but in doing so the story of this movie, this chapter, feels cluttered and without enough of a direct through line of its own.

Where Avengers Endgame earlier in the year took a huge spanning franchise and made a movie which honoured it while feeling uniquely its own story, this film feels like it cannot escape its past long enough to move forward.

Its very final scene will be perhaps its most polarising. Even if you have gone with it up to now, the final sentence of the Skywalker saga is one I simply couldn’t get on board with. We have a rich and storied history and the end (while clearly trying to be homage) comes off more as like “Huh?!”

Two years ago I walked out of a cinema in the early hours of a morning with a beaming smile across my face knowing I had just witnessed the finest Star Wars film of all time - The Last Jedi. Future viewings and thoughts confirmed my initial opinion, but it was there right from the off. Walking out of this film in contrast I felt confused. Not loving it, not hating it, just struggling to form a coherent opinion.

Several hours, and some much needed sleep, later, and I can say that Rise of Skywalker is messy. Not without its joys, but messy undoubtedly. Its not the worst the franchise has to offer, not by a long shot, and at its best its spectacularly good. But its simply not at its best for enough of the runtime.

Booksmart - Film Review

Olivia Wilde's directorial debut is an equal parts funny and cathartic take on the classic Coming of Age story.

Following best friends Amy and Molly on their final 24 hours as High School students, we are first introduced to the usual teen movie cliques - the nerds, the jock, the theatre kids, the popular slutty girl - and it seems like business as usual.

But very quickly we learn all is not as it first appears, and while Amy and Molly begin feeling superior - their hard work in school has paid off, they are off to prestigious universities - they quickly learn that their party hard classmates did just as well as they did.

Molly - a star making performance from Lady Bird's Beanie Feldstein - realises they have missed out on the the High School experience, and set the girls off on a trail to find the Grad Night party, finally trying to let the pairs hair down.

There has been a real renaissance of the great Teen Movie in the last few years. From the aforementioned Lady Bird, to Perks of Being a Wallflower, to The Way Way Back, many filmmakers have tried to capture that unique moment in life all teenagers feel where they feel like everyone else is fitting in while they simply don't fit.

Very few films get it as right as Booksmart.

The performances of the two leads in particular really display the camaraderie the two girls feel, while also showing that as we grow up we can become too stuck in our own minds. Too ready to judge someone or their position and get stuck there. Too stubborn to see things from anyones point of view but our own.

Its not just in the acting that the film shines either, some excellent music choices allow the story to flow, through the hedonism of the rush through the night, into the softer more character driven moments. Wilde clearly has not just an eye for her story but an ear for it.

Its impossible to bring this movie up without talking about its politics either. Amy is an openly gay teen, madly in love with the masculine presenting Nonbinary girl Ryan.

The film never once passes judgment on this in a way a less well handled offering might have. It simply presents it as business as usual. All the same shots you might get if the sexuality was flipped you get here. It just feels like any other teen movie, but dealing with LGBT youth rather than straight. This is how it should be done. Deftly and with a soft touch, and for that its to be applauded.

Though it released here in the UK this week, many cinemas seem to be opening it wider from Friday, so I implore you to search it out. This is a gem of a film, one of the very best I've had the joy to see this year so far, and it deserves to be seen.

AEW Double or Nothing - Review/Recap

Last night, from the Garden Arena at the historic MGM Grand in Las Vegas Nevada, All Elite Wrestling finally kicked off, after months of anticipation with their premier event: Double or Nothing.

Kicking off with hour long pre-show The Buy In on ITV4, the fans were first treated to the Casino Battle Royal, 21 guys vying for a spot in the first ever AEW World Title match. A frenetic and chaotic few minutes followed, with big moments for the man formerly known as Tye Dillinger in WWE as the Perfect 10, as well as hardcore spots between the likes of death match legend Jimmy Havoc and ECW’s Tommy Dreamer. This wasn’t going to be a 6* Tokyo Dome classic, but it wasn’t meant to be. It was crazy good fun, and by the time Hangman Page (the surprise 21st entrant following the high profile cancellation of his match with Pac on the main card) finally eliminated MJF, the fans were rabid for more.

Britains own Kip Sabian was up next, in a high flying and fast pace cruisers contest with former AAA Cruiserweight champion Sammy Guevara. Some frankly insane spots - including a shooting star press onto a prone Sabian hanging over the crowd barrier - would follow before the Norfolk boy would hit his Deathly Hallows finisher for the win, sending us into the main card hot. For those keeping score at home, this also means Kip was the first person to ever win a singles match in AEW, so when that trivia question comes up in a few years there’s your answer. 



An excellent six man tag would start the show proper with SCU taking on the Strong Hearts from OWE. Again this was high paced, with all 6 men working their butts off to bring spot after spot before finally SCU would leave with the big victory.



Going into the evenings event Tony Khan and the other AEW execs had promised plenty of surprises, and the first of them was just around the corner. As the 3 competitors in the women’s triple threat waited for the bell to ring Brandi Rhodes would suddenly appear on the stage, in full gear, saying that she had thought about it, and while a triple threat would be great, it was lacking something. In the biggest swerve of the night - everyone in attendance assumed she was about to insert herself - she then said simply that great wasn’t good enough. This match needed to be AWESOME. And with that Awesome Kong’s music hit, and the roof came off the Garden. The commentary did a really good job of selling the swerve, asking amongst themselves what was happening, and if Brandi was about to insert herself, so the moment the shock comes it really lands.

The most dominant force in the last decade of American women’s wrestling, Kong marched to the ring and the KONG KONG KONG chants reigned down.

The four women quickly went to work on another - allow me to say for me the stand out was Kylie Ray. I didnt know her going in, but she seems to be the purest babyface character I can remember. Cheering and smiling, completely unironically. She feels like NXT Bayley - and anyone who knows me knows that’s a compliment from where I’m sat. Her workrate was excellent, and her character work even better, so I can’t wait to see more of her. 

As the match drew on, the two big women in the match, Kong and Nyla Rose took each other out as Nyla speared Kong through the ring steps, and Britt Baker was able to capitalise and get the 3 count of Kylie.

Next up was for me the one real mis-step of the night. A 6 women tag match which would pit legend Aja Kong, Yuka Sakazaki and Emi Sakura against Hikaru Shida, Riho Abe and Ryo Mizunami was unfortunately let down by a couple of pretty egregious botches here. Chiefly among them, as the match was reaching its climax the ref counted a 2 count on a pinball but for some reason the timekeeper rang the bell. The 6 women (and the ref) did their best to salvage the situation, with the ref waving off the call immediately, but the fans noticed and the “You F**ked up” chants would ring out. A few seconds later the other team would pick up a 3 count and send the match home.

It was at that moment made clear that the mistake would have led the wrong team to win, which is why it had been so imperative to call off the decision, but it completely took the fans out of the match.



On a lesser show this could have been a death knell, the crowd lost, but thankfully they needn’t have worried because next up was - for my money - the match of the night. AEW founder and EVP Cody Rhodes would take on his brother Dustin in a match the pair had wanted to have for many years. 

It had been well publicised during their time in WWE that both Goldust and Cody were lobbying for a Wrestlemania match between the brothers, but in the end Vince McMahon’s company had decided the match was not worthy of PPV and blew it off in a TV match.

With something to prove then, both men went out clearly ready to give it their all. Before the match even got going the fans were on their feet, with Dusty chants - celebrating their father the late great Dusty Rhodes - calling through. The story of this match was one of two men who knew each other so well. Constantly reversing moves and stealing eachothers movesets they were working the crowd into a frenzy early.

Brandi would make herself a presence again - here spearing Dustin while the ref’s back was turned, but when he turned back he quickly worked out what had happened, leading to her ejection.

When she refused to go, DDP of all people came out, and forcibly removed her from the arena, leaving just the two men to go to war.

Soon after the camera found Dustin’s face and it was covered in blood (ostensibly from a hard turnbuckle spot just before the ejection) and this would change the complexion of the match. It became a hard hitting brawl, with Dustin fighting on and on even when it felt like the match might have to be stopped. Cody hit Cross Rhodes, but Dustin kicked out, getting back up and hitting Cody with a Cross Rhodes of his own for the closest near fall of the night so far.

Eventually Cody would hit a disaster kick and a final CR for the win, but this wasn’t the end of the emotion. With Dustin sat broken, crying and covered in his own blood in the ring, the fans began a loud and respectful Thank You Dustin chant. This felt like the retirement moment which had long been teased. The brothers had their match. Dustin had nothing left to prove.

But as the chant reached its crescendo Cody got back in the ring, saying that he wouldn’t let Dustin retire just yet.

At the next AEW event Cody was signed in a tag match with the Young Bucks, with a partner of Cody’s choosing.

He said he didnt need a partner. He didnt need a friend. He needed his big brother. As the two embraced, their war finally done and their reconciliation complete, I burst into tears. 

This was such fantastic storytelling. There had been rumours of a Cody heel turn for the end of the match, but this redemption story was so much stronger, and it leaves us moving into the next phase of AEW at Fyter Fest next month.

It almost goes without saying given the competitors, that the final two matches - Young Bucks Vs Pentagon and Fenix, and a main event of Chris Jericho Vs Kenny Omega were also both great, but for my money Cody Vs Dustin was THE match we will be talking about moving forward as the defining match in the promotion so far.

 Indeed it was one of the very best matches from a pure storyline perspective which I can remember seeing this year. Absolute magic, and it shows why pro wrestling can be the best entertainment source in the world

At the end of this match was another of my minor blips on the evening (it actually happened after most of the matches, but it felt most blatant here), as they went to show some highlights. On other wrestling shows this might have been a 15 moment, recapping 1 or 2 spots. I feel like the production strategy here was to recap like a good minute or two of the match, showing every major moment. It was just too much. We just saw the match, we don’t need it again in a digestible form.  Its a tiny teething issue on a brand new promotion though, so I give them plenty of leeway here that this can improve in an instant. 



After the aforementioned main event, with Chris Jericho standing victorious in the ring though, heeling it up demanding a thank you from the crowd, well, then came the headline you’ll inevitably be reading coming out of the show.



A roar came through the crowd. Starting in a corner of the arena and slowly spreading across the screen as the news clearly spread like wildfire. Sauntering through the crowd came the man many had theorised would be AEW bound, but who I don’t think many ever really expected to see, certainly here tonight

Jon Moxley had come to AEW. You hear about the roof metaphorically blowing off a building well with this pop the roof must have reached half way to space. Meeting Jericho in the ring with a Dirty Deeds DDT, and then one from the ref, the unhinged Moxley turned his attentions to Kenny Omega. 

Tired and broken from his battle with Jericho it looked like Mox might get the best of him too, but as he went for a third Dirty Deeds, Kenny managed to push him out of the ring to the floor, and the pair would battle into the rabid crowd. 



As they eventually reached the stage, both would climb up on a set of giant poker chips which made up the set, before Moxley would finally drop Omega with the Dirty deeds. Even this wasn’t enough though as he would pick up Omega and perform a HUGE standing Death Valley Driver, dropping Kenny probably 10-15 feet to the stage floor below, standing victorious, and sending the crowd home ecstatic.

For a debut show you couldn’t ask for a better conclusion.

The purpose of the final shot of any PPV is to make you want to come back next time, and I think you’d struggle to find anyone who saw the conclusion of last nights show and isnt immediately All In (if you’ll excuse the pun) on whatever comes next.



Taking everything into account, this was an exceptional debut. There were a few very minor teething issues from a technical standpoint (all easily fixable), and the end to the womens six man was a real shame as its the closest we came to a genuine sour point on the night, but otherwise this was outstanding. 



Bring on what’s next. If they can keep up anything like this pace, it’s going to be special. Really, really special.

Review - Super Mario Odyssey

For as long as I’ve been a fan of video games, I have been a fan of the Mario series. The first game I remember playing was Super Mario All Stars on the SNES, playing through Super Mario Bros in particular more times than I can think to remember – it’s by far my most completed game of all time. This love traversed into the 3D era when I picked up Super Mario 64 back in 1997, instantly falling in love with it.

I recently bought a Nintendo Switch, and I knew that one of the first games I was going to pick up was going to be the latest offering from the Mushroom Kingdom’s favourite plumber, so I hastily downloaded Super Mario Odyssey and cracked on.

To say this game is a love letter to the history of the Mario franchise would be an understatement. It mixes all the game play mechanics we have known and loved from previous 3D Marios, but introduces a whole lot more besides.

As the game opens we are introduced to the first and most important of these changes: Cappy. A living sentient hat who joins Mario on his quest, a throw of the cap allows you to capture and inhabit a whole host of creatures. From series favourites like the Goombas and Koopa Troopers, to far less conventional options – a T Rex early in the game is a particular highlight, as is a Christmas Tree in a later realm.

The level design too is gorgeous and incredibly varied. One minute you're in a huge desert, climbing through a ruined pyramid, and the next you're inhabiting a kingdom of living fork creatures (yes really) as you jump over a colourful array of fruit and vegetables - avoiding steaming hot tomatoes which turn into a molten tomato juice. Every inch has been meticulously crafted, and you can feel the love the Mario team have put into it.


No two worlds - or Kingdoms as this game calls them - are the same, and each have their own unique creatures and scenarios to master.

As you explore you find yourself inhabiting more and more of these as you try and discover new routes and new collectibles.

This too is one of Odysseys big wins – the sheer amount there is to see and do. While you technically only need a little over 120  Power Moons – Odysseys version of Mario 64’s Power Stars -  to “beat” the game and reach the final boss, this is in reality barely an eighth of what the game actually has to offer.

After the credits roll there are still more than 700 moons to collect (and even several Kingdoms you haven’t yet seen). Again this feels like the Mario of old – without drawing too many comparisons to 64, that game too had multiple endings, with a final prize for anyone willing to draw out every star – the game is built with multiple players in mind.

For the casual gamer, or children playing the game, the “final fight” with Bowser feels rewarding, and like a real end point. If that’s where you stopped you wouldn’t feel at all cheated by the games length or its story, and this is clearly a deliberate choice from the creators.

For the more hardcore gamer though this is arguably where the game really begins. Everything which has come before is a mere prologue for the game beyond, and the real quest to 999 Power Moons.

The Moons though aren’t the only place Odyssey shines. We have suggested already that the game celebrates what has come before for the franchise, and this isn’t just in its 3D history either.

There are sections of the game – accessed through classic Mario warp tunnels – where a 2D Mario sprite can play full 2D levels on the sides of walls – often allowing him to climb towers or sections which the 3D world would leave unreachable.

These are beautifully designed, and they really pay homage to those early NES and SNES Mario games I loved so much.

A nice easter egg is that each of Marios outfits in the game (and there are more than 40 complete Outfits) are translated into 2D sprites, so if you enter the warp tunnel in a particular outfit then Mario is still wearing that outfit in the 2D world.

It’s a tiny little detail – and something no one would have complained had they missed – but its this kind of attention to the little things which makes Odyssey such a joy.

Mario has had many great showings over the years, but this genuinely feels like a high point. Between Mario 64, Mario Sunshine, and the Galaxy series, the 3D hero has been through many iterations. Odyssey though feels like the franchise at its most complete. The sheer sprawling insanity of it is its greatest credit. Around every corner there is something new to explore and to discover. You could play for hours and hours and still not see a fraction of what there is to experience.

Even now I’m close to 100%ing the game, and I can’t wait to start all over, to discover new and faster routes through sections, and to simply experience the joy all over again. This isn’t just the best Mario game of all time, it’s one of the best games of all time.

PROGRESS Wrestling - Chapter 76 - Hello Wembley - Review

Tonight we got to experience something truly epic. A crowd of more than 4750 people -  officially the largest independent wrestling crowd in England for over 30 years - packed out Wembley Arena for PROGRESS Wrestling’s Chapter 76: Hello Wembley



Right from the off the crowd were raring and ready to go. The pre-show battle royal got things off to a great start, with fan favourites like Chuck Mambo, TK Cooper and others being joined by a few surprises - Mad Man Manson, Ricky Shane Page, and the Inflatable Kid Lykos doll (just go with it) among them.



After some hilarious antics, it finally came down to Escaping the Midcard trio Chuck, TK and Spike Trivet, with Chuck eventually dispatching his friends to end the first match of the night with cheers of adulation.

It was a really fun little opener, and got the crowd super hyped for things to come.



As the main card began, Wars played out the official Hello Wembley theme song live to get us started up on stage, before some of the loudest chants of This Is Progress ever reigned down as co-owner and ring announcer Jim Smallman marched down the ramp to For Whom The Bell Tolls.


“If I didn’t have this mic in my hand, and my Mr Showbiz brain hadn’t kicked in, I’d be crying my eyes out right now” he admits, clearly shaken by the immense swell of love from all in attendance. 



The first match of the main card proper was a hard hitting brawl of an affair between PROGRESS mainstay Mark Haskins and the newest signee of NXT, Matt Riddle (himself firmly engrained in the history of PROGRESS’ Atlas Division).

The crowd was relatively split, favouring Riddle, but Haskins was certainly not without his supporters, and in the end it was the hard hitter from Malvern who would prevail, foregoing the traditional handshake, instead opting to hug Matt, and send him on his way out of the indies and off to Orlando.

Next up came the Women’s Championship match, which saw defending champion Jinny (accompanied by her House of Couture stable) take on young up and comer Mille Mckenzie, and former Women’s Champ Toni Storm. 



The HoC used their usual numbers advantage tricks, climbing on the apron to distract referee Paz, before the babyfaces too were joined by some assistance, this time in the form of Candyfloss and Laura DiMatteo - on which more in a moment. 



As the match progressed, Toni hit the Strong Zero piledriver to Millie on the apron of the ring, prompting Candy to rush over and check on her. I’m honestly not sure if this was kayfabe or legit but Candyfloss looked worried, and a few seconds later the match came to a conclusion.

The heel faction jumped in the ring, all facing Toni, prompting the baby faces to join them, and the stare down to ensue.



Just when it looked like all hell might break loose though, DiMatteo shocked the on looking crowd by smacking Toni in the back of the head, handing Jinny the victory in the process, and seemingly joining the House of Couture in the process. 



With DiMatteo’s history with Jinny this was a massive shock but it wasn’t over there, as suddenly Jordynne Grace’s music hit and she debuted on this side of the pond for PROGRESS at last. She would clear house, and end up the last woman standing. 



Shockwaves were felt throughout the entire women’s division tonight then as we now seemingly have a new contender to the crown, but also a new thorn in our good guys paws in Laura. 

It will be particularly interesting to see what comes next in this on going story.



Moving on from this shocker to one of the nights more seemingly inevitable - but nonetheless emotional - contests. Trent Seven would challenge for Doug Williams’ Atlas championship with the caveat that if Doug lost, his career would be over.



The two gave it their absolute all. Williams managed two Chaos Theory Suplexes, only for Trent to kick out both times, just when the fans began to think maybe, somehow, he could pull his way through.



Midway through the match, Trent tried his patented crossbody spot - which (as is the running gag), he missed, as usual. This should have been the hint we needed though, because following the second Chaos Theory, Seven got back to his feet, and finally hit the cross body pinning Doug to the mat for a count of 3.

One of the greatest professional wrestlers the UK has ever had the pleasure to give to the world, and for every person in attendance we had witnessed history, we had witnessed the end.

As Trent left the ring, gifting it to his fallen compatriot, the entire roster came to the stage, clapping and cheering just as loud as any fan.

The Honour Guard had come to take their fallen warrior home. As Williams staggered up the ramp, he stopped to shake every single hand of every wrestler on the stage, one at a time, showing them the respect they were showing him in return.



It was a truly beautiful moment, and one which really demanded this kind of stage. Someone of William’s stature wasn’t going to retire on a rainy Wednesday night in Scunthorpe (no offence to any Scunthorpians), but Wembley Arena felt just incredibly fitting.  

The chants of Thank You Doug eclipsed just about everything up to this point, and honestly if this had been the main event I don’t think anyone would have complained.



We were not even nearly done though as one of PROGRESS’ most brutal blood feuds was up next. Their previous match is still seen by many as the most brutal match in the promotions history, but here Paul Robinson, and PROGRESS stalwart Jimmy (F’N) Havoc looked to top themselves

Painted entirely white, but for black paint under his eyes, Jimmy and his trusty axe got to work early, literally opening the match with an Acid Rainmaker, before battering Robinson with chairs, and even a door, before turning to a collection of light tubes that the pair would basically take it in turns to smash over one another in ever more disturbing ways.



I’ll be honest: Death match wrestling has never really been my thing. I’m completely OK with people who like it (unlike some others who seem to take pleasure in mocking it as somehow “Less Than”, which clearly it isn’t), but its just not for me.

I found this hard to watch to be honest, and as the crimson masks began to adorn both mens faces and chests I was excited when finally Havoc picked up the win, sending us into our interval.



One note would be (and we will touch on this more as the night goes on), I get the feeling these matches - the women’s one as mentioned possibly excluded - must already have been running over, as we still have 4 matches to get to, and we were over half way through the allotted time for the show (which was meant to conclude at 8:30).



We returned from the break to the announcement that Super Strong Style 16 weekend will once again return to Ally Pally next May, and then former SSS16 winner and PROGRESS Champion Travis Banks came down to say that despite being injured right now he was declaring himself right now for the tournament. 



The second half of the announcement (Travis’s half) really should have been cut in retrospect and moved to the next Chapter, because with the time constraints being what they were, a long promo segment really didn't help, but thats one of those hindsight being 20-20 things, and I know they wanted to make the SSS announcement feel big by getting a competitor in there early.



As the action resumed, we were treated to the first ever Tag Team Thunderbastard match, with Flamita and Bandido defending against 7 other teams. This was super fast paced, and with action all over the place.

One slight sour spot came as Mills and Mayhew’s elimination came during an entrance, so most of the crowd (myself included) were facing the tron, and suddenly heard Jim announce the elimination. I still don’t know who got them even now, so will have to watch back on the On Demand service next week.

Otherwise this was a really fun match, with all the teams gelling nicely, and giving us some huge spots. In the end it was Aussie Open, Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis, who would see off the Grizzled Young Veterans last to pick up the gold. 

Fletcher in particular looked incredibly emotional at the win, visibly sobbing in the ring as he held his belt above his head. The pair have come an incredibly long way since coming together as a team a little over a year ago, and to see them getting their just desserts was lovely.

Next we would be joined by CMJ - again cutting a promo which in retrospect should have been left on the script editing room floor - to hype our next contest, the biggest super-card match in European wrestling; Unbesiegbar Ilya Dragunov vs The Bruiserweight Pete Dunne.

The two men held the fans in the palms of their hands for what felt like one of the longer matches of the night (especially singles wise).

Every false finish felt big, and the match built from a slow start through to a crashing and almighty crescendo at its finale. 

For what was clearly a home crowd for Dunne, the reception was more split than it could have been, and the longer the match went, the more duelling chants could be heard ringing out throughout the arena.



In the end though it was the Bruiserweight who would make his opponent tap out, finally ending the bitter rivalry which began all those months ago at Super Strong Style 16.



Speaking of bitter rivalries, next came what for me was the hardest match to watch all night. I’ve already mentioned: I’m not a fan of death match wrestling at the best of times, but this was something else.

Mark Andrews and Eddie Dennis, who have been locked in a bitter rivalry for more than a full calendar year, would finally do battle in a TLC match. As the match wore on though it became clear there was a problem. By my count 5 different table spots were attempted. Not one table broke. 

The fans were practically pleading with the wrestlers to stop trying. Use the ladders, use the chairs, but every time we saw raw flesh bounce off a table because it wasn’t snapping, it made it really hard to watch.



It could be said of course in many ways with how brutal this feud promised to be, this accidental level of brutality fit nicely, but honestly we come to see simulated combat not to watch two guys really get hurt but to entertain us with the SIMULATION of pain.



In the end, a Next Stop Driver from the very top of a ladder was enough to FINALLY send both men crashing through a table, and Eddie climbed the ladder to retrieve his contract.



I mentioned earlier that the show promised to be finished by 8:30PM. As Eddie stood atop the ladder I looked at my watch and saw it was already 8:24. Clearly, unless our main event went 6 minutes, this was not finishing on time.

Looking around, you could see clusters of people leaving, realising they had trains to catch and the like. This was perhaps the ONE detractor from an otherwise excellent night - some people were going to miss out on the main event because the show was clearly running not just over but WAY over. 



For those of us who did stay though we were treated to what was for my money the match of the night. Big man WALTER would defend his PROGRESS Championship against the Big Strong Boi Tyler Bate. 

While both were ostensibly faces in the match, it seemed like WALTER was working perhaps the more heel leaning of the two, really battering into Tyler.


The young lad from Dudley gave as good as he got though, and a few massive feats of strength - dead lift german suplexing the Austrian, and getting him up for Bate’s patented helicopter spin come to mind in particular - gave fans hope.

After what was a very long night the crowd could have sat on their hands in this one, they could have shown the exhaustion that could be setting it, but to their credit this was the loudest they were all night.



Near fall after near fall, I heard more than one fan around me say “I don’t know who’s gonna win this!” on several occasions.



At one point Tyler hit Tyler Driver 97, and the entire arena came to its feet to count the 1,2….we all shouted 3, but no, at 2 and 99 100ths WALTER kicked out, and the place came unglued.



In the end, a thunderous piledriver would put Bate down, and WALTER would retain the title he won back in July. 



It was clear throughout the evening that we were witnessing history. Real history. From the epic main event, to Doug’s retirement, to the first ever Tag Thunderbastard, this big show more than lived up to its hype. The energy of the crowd, and of every competitor who stepped through the curtain, was palpable.

It was a real I Was There kind of night. A landmark in the history of wrestling that we will remember moving forward. I am so proud of not just Jim, Jon and Glen, but of everyone who worked so tirelessly to make this show, and more importantly this wrestling scene, possible. 



We started from the bottom. Now: We’re here.

Progress Wrestling - Super Strong Style 16 2018

This past weekend saw Progress Wrestling’s annual Super Strong Style 16 tournament descend on its biggest go around yet, at London’s historic Alexandra Palace.

With sixteen of the very best independent wrestlers in the world right now, from WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne, to David Starr, to Zack Sabre Jr, and even the returning Kassius Ohno (Chris Hero), this was a tournament card which packed a whole lot of punch right from the get go.

I won’t recap every match we saw over the weekend (there were 24 of them after all) but I’ll hit on some big highlight moments.

Day One

As Day One kicked off, we saw the first round matches, beginning with the aforementioned Pete Dunne taking on British legend Doug Williams. Its fair to say Doug’s journey in Progress of late has been tough, he’s raked up a string of losses, but he has kept fighting, and thats exactly what we saw here. In many ways this was a passing of the torch moment. One of the best of a bygone generation giving the brightest star in the next one his blessing. Doug wasn’t going to go down without a fight, and the two put on an incredible contest before Pete would finally get the better of the older statesman.  If Williams’ career is winding down, this was a really nice spot on that road. Personally I’d like to see him maybe get one more title run (on which more later), but for now this was a nice moment, and a really hot way to get the crowd going. 

Next up the technical wizard Zack Sabre Jr would begin his tournament against for my money the biggest shock of the tournament: Chuck Mambo. 9 months ago in this very venue Mambo had faced Spike Trivet in a pre-show match, he wasn’t even on the main card. When he got announced for Strong Style then he was considered a major underdog, even more so when the bracket came out and we saw he was facing Sabre. How could the comedy character stack up against the best in the world?

Everyone - myself included mind you - was counting Mambo out. As the two men told a story though, Chuck managing to fight out of Sabre’s submissions and mount a surprising amount of offence you could feel the crowd come alive. They began to believe that maybe Mambo could do it. In the end Sabre proved too much, but it was Chuck who was given a much deserved standing ovation. Sometimes in wrestling we make a lot out of one match, but genuinely, given the reaction he got the rest of the weekend this should be the launchpad that propels him into the next stage of his career. This was easily the match of Day One, and its one I can’t wait to revisit it on Demand Progress in the coming weeks.

After we saw David Starr make pretty easy work of TK Cooper we were treated to a debuting Angelico against Mark Andrews to close the first half. Of course the thought on everyones mind as the match went on was “Where is Eddie Dennis?” and it wouldn’t take too long to find out as he sauntered out to ringside where he has apparently bought a ticket and simply stared at him, distracting him long enough for Angelico to pick up the win. This again was top notch story telling from what is for my money the best feud in Progress today. Eddie didn’t have to touch Mark, he didn’t even have to get in the ring. Just his presence sent a message. These two are not done, and the story would continue as the weekend progressed (if you’ll excuse the pun).

Jordan Devlin and Tyler Bate put on a fantastic match to open the second half, followed up by the Grizzled Young Veterans who were given a choice of who they wanted to enter the tournament. As their would be opponent Joey Janella got bored of waiting for a response he began to beat both men down, eventually targeting Drake. Just when it looked like he was going to beat Drake though Gibson grabbed the mic, reminded him that they had never revealed who was in the match and that as of right now it would be him. The bell rings and Gibson rolls Janella up and steals a victory in about 10 seconds.

The continued descent of Flash Morgan Webster into the arms of Vicky Haskins’ stable continued as he took on Keith Lee. Having been absolutely rag dolled by the big man for most of the match their came a point where Vicky would get on the apron and distract the ref. Flash grabbed his trusty helmet and was about to knock Lee out when his conscience got the better of him. The hesitation would cost him dear as Lee got back up and flattened him to advance.

Then in the main event of Day One, and the final first round match, CCK’s Chris Brookes would take on the returning Kassius Ohno from NXT. The history between the two men has been documented (a - very - young Brookes would do a lot of Ohno’s design work when he was on the indies and the two had been friends since). To see them knock ten bells out of each other exchanging kicks and punches then was particularly special. Several times Brookes looked to lock in the Octopus Stretch, but in the end it was the Knock Out Artist who would pick up the fall over his friend after a thunderous elbow to the back of the head.

He grabbed a mic and thanked Brookes for one of the hardest matches, and some of the hardest kicks he had taken in his nearly twenty year career, sending the crowd home happy after a great night of wrestling. 

If these 8 matches had been it the crowd would have had its moneys worth, but no: this was just Day One, and there were two more to follow. 

Day Two

The second day would kick off with Pete Dunne once again getting things underway, this time against Zack Gibson, who commented that all Pete had done lately was throw a shoe. Which of course led a fan to give Pete a shoe to throw again. Because: Wrestling. It was hilarious, and the two were just beginning to put together a nice match when Haskins Havoc and Webster interfered. They will meet Dunne and the other members of British Strong Style in a few weeks at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse.

Dunne fought them off with a chair before any of them could lay a finger on him, but then turned round and smacked Gibson with the chair, intentionally or not is unclear, leaving referee Joel Allen with no choice but to disqualify him, meaning Gibson would advance. At this point Haskins’ crew would start the beat down proper before Tyler Bate would come down to make the save.

Having both impressed heartily on Day One Chuck Mambo and Jordan Devlin (along with T K Cooper) would meet in a triple threat match. The match itself was excellent but what this segment will be remembered for came before it. Chuck Mambo’s entrance had involved filling the arena with beach balls bouncing all over the place.

As they fell into the ring the wrestlers had been kicking or throwing them out. Then Devlin jumped up, and gave the best over head kick I have ever seen in my life to kick one sky high into the crowd. The pop was immense, and people were still talking about this hours later. It was amazing. One of those unique moments that you couldn’t possibly script because it wouldn’t work out as perfectly as it did just being in the moment.

The Vicky Haskin’s trio would come back out next to face another 3 of the eliminated SSS competitors in Chris Brookes, Andrews and Joey Janella. The former made surprisingly easy work of them, but after the match Janella said that he had come to Progress to prove himself and so far all he had done was get beaten by c**ts, and that Havoc (who he had faced off against in New York for Progress last year) was the biggest c**t of them all. He wanted to finish what they started back then, and demanded a death match for Day Three. Havoc accepted and owner Jim Smallman made the match official. This felt huge and the crowd ate it up.

Keith Lee would show once again just how dominant he could be as he put away Angelico - who himself had a great showing, nearly getting Lee up for his Crucifix Buckle Bomb, but dropping him after a step or two and allowing Lee to get the win to advance to Day Three’s semi finals. 

The start of the second half though was for me the highlight of the entire tournament. David Starr, my gun to head pick to win it all going in would take on Zack Sabre Jr in a quarter final match which will go down for the ages. Every move one had the other had a counter for. Starr tried to go hard against Sabre’s technical style. I literally lost count of how many Han Stansen’s he hit as the match went on, but incredibly both men kept getting up. It was an actual clinic of a wrestling match, the kind trainees should have to watch as required viewing. In the end it was the boy from Sheppey who would prove the victor, but honestly the real winner with this was the fans in attendance, who were just lapping it up.

The night finished with two David Vs Goliath stories as first Tyler Bate went against Ohno, telling the story that Bate couldnt get Ohno up, no matter how strong he was, until finally he got the dead lift German suplex off and then his patented airplane spin. The crowd exploded when the latter occured and came to their feet, where they would remain as he hit a thunderous Tyler Driver 97 to secure his own semi final place.

Then came a main event more than 9 months in the making as the Progress World Championship would be defended by Travis Banks against the Atlas Champion Walter. A fantastic hype video package told the crowd all they needed to know - these were the two most dominating men in Progress, both undefeated since Chase the Sun back at Alexandra Palace last September, and that something was about to give. 

Rather predictably given the difference in size Walter manhandled the champion. The crowd, tired of Travis’s constant Terminator antics were squarely on the side of the Austrian as chants of “Walter’s our champion” and “Walter’s gonna kill you” rang across the arena. An interfering T K Cooper (dressed in full Roman Reigns flack jacket) got knocked out for his troubles but it was then that Travis enacted his awful master plan. As champion and challenger battled on the outside Walter eventually slid back in to break his own countout. Trav though decided that was it. He picked up his title, and he walked away, before Walter had a chance to go after him and senior official Chris Roberts counted the ten to count Banks out.

Walter had won, but had failed to pick up the title. He called Travis a disgrace and power bombed TK in the middle of the ring before storming out clearly fuming, to close off the wrestling portion of Day two. 

I say the wrestling portion because there was still more to come. Across town at the Dome in Tufnell Park, Mark Andrews’ band Junior were the official Day Two afterparty. They put on a great gig but just as they began the encore none other than Eddie Dennis appeared, attacking the MC before security could drag him out. Mark was incensed, and took to twitter soon after to say simply “Eddie, be at Alexandra Palace tomorrow.” After months of build up, Mark had finally snapped. Which leads us nicely on to…

Day Three

The final day of Super Strong Style 16 began where the second day let off. Jim Smallman played a video of the events of the night previous and Mandrews stormed the ring, saying that when Eddie attacked him, or other wrestlers, that was fine - they could defend themselves, but this was an innocent bystander. Enough was enough, and he was finally accepting Eddie’s constant challenges for a match once he was healed from injury. He said he would accept as long as Eddie promised that until that day he has to leave Mark and his friends alone.

Eddie jumped at the chance but had his own condition: he gets to pick the stipulation for the match. The two gave a brutal stare down and it was clear the match was set for Eddie’s return in a few months time.

Next up was Roy Johnson’s Wasteman Challenge, featuring most of the guys who had been eliminated from the tournament up to this point. After Chuck Mambo, and Devlin in particular got some big pops for their rhymes, Jim made the crowd aware that as Tyler Bate was unable to continue in the tournament because of an injury sustained during his Day Two match, this challenge would now instantly become a scramble match for his spot in the semi finals, and to ring the bell. All the men in the match made it clear how huge an opportunity this was and started knocking the hell out of each other, but in the end Ohno would lay waste to everyone with his swinging elbows. A highlight in particular to watch for on Demand Progress is the moment he catches Devlin in mid air with one as Jordan was coming of the top rope. It was brutal to watch but fantastic. Suddenly the big man was back in the tournament. 

The semis would see ZSJ take on Keith Lee and then Ohno Vs Gibson. The former was a brilliant display of Sabres fortitude to get up from everything Lee would throw at him, before finally bridging a pin fall to get three against the big man. The latter was more akin to a PRO wrestling match than the technical side we got in the first semi. The match became about Gibson’s partner James Drake trying again and again to interfere, before finally getting caught by Joel Allen and ejected, leading to Gibson taking an elbow to the back of the head while he was distracted for the loss. Both matches were very different, but they showcased how many great styles of wrestling there are, and ever 3 days in this crowd were buying into every minute. 

The first half of Day Three would end with the Death Match which we had had announced earlier in the weekend. Now I’m not going to slate this match, I’m just going to say Death Matches aren’t my thing. I don’t like them very much. I completely get there are people who love them (and clearly the crowd were getting a lot out of it, so I’m not going to slate it). It just wasn’t my cup of tea.

What came after the match though got probably the pop of the entire weekend it was so out of left field. Jimmy, having lost the match began to cut a promo on Progess and Jim Smallman. He said that he and Haskins had joined forces because after the last Ally Pally show when they had put their lives on the line in a death match they hadn’t been booked on the next show.

They were frustrated with their clear lack of direction and took it out on David Starr and Jack Sexsmith who they thought unworthy of the spot. Nice to begin with to finally have that answer as to why the team came together, but it was when he then started going after Will Ospreay and how he had returned from his Loser Leaves Town stipulation so easily that he got really dark. He said that in the years since their feud Will had become a megastar and Jimmy had simply become more and more broken down. Maybe, he said, it was time to….

Before he could finish the sentence though the Aerial Assassin himself’s music hit and he walked down the ramp, Jimmy’s old axe in hand, to a thunderous reception from the Ally Pally crowd. 

He said he had watched from afar but that Jimmy didn't get to decide when he was done. Will had that power. He had always had that power because their story had been engrained together since the very beginning. He was fed up of watching some bloke called James stumble through Progress. He wanted the bastard who nearly decapitated him with an axe. He wanted Jimmy F***ing Havoc. He wanted him at Wembley Arena on September the 30th. The promo was absolutely on fire, and one of the best I have ever seen Ospreay deliver. Jimmy accepted, before throwing himself not just once but like five or six times back bumping onto a collection of thumbtacks on the floor from the death match to show that he had snapped and that Jimmy Havoc was finally back. The ovation was like very little you could imagine, especially as this crowd had been chanting and screaming for nearly three solid days at this point. 

The second half would see Toni Storm first see of Charlie Morgan in convincing fashion to retain her Women's Championship and set up the match nearly a year in the making as she will finally go on to face Jinny at Victoria Warehouse for the title.

Next up Walter would look to pick up a measure of retribution over the Kiwi Buzzsaw after the events of Day Two as he effectively ate up his little poodle T K Cooper and spat out the carcass. This was an annihilation. Once again though it was what happened in the after math that will be remembered. Travis cut a promo saying it was unfair that Walter could claim to be in two weight classes and that as long as he holds the Atlas title he would not get another World championship match.

To which Walter said: Ok then, and handed Jim his Atlas title before chasing Travis out of the arena. Its amazing to see that Walter will clearly not be done with Travis until he gets his hands on him for that belt, and even more interesting that this is the way they choose to get the Atlas belt off Walter. It frees him up to take that world title spot without having to lose and thus break some of the mystique.

I also hope, to refer all the way back to the first match Day One, that the fatal four way match at Victoria Warehouse between Joseph Conners, Rob Lynch, Rampage and Doug Williams will now be for the vacant Atlas belt and that Doug Williams might get one more run to close out his career.

All of which brings us nicely to the Grand Final of the Super Strong Style 16 tournament for 2018. Who would join Ospreay, Tommy End and Travis Banks as the fourth winner? In the end there could be only one. The first British born winner of the New Japan Cup would also finally get the demon of his back. He had been so close to touching this moment on a couple of occasions over the years that in many way this year simply had to belong to: Zack Sabre Jr.

As he celebrated, he called his title shot the only way a boy from Kent can: “Wembley, Innit” and with that the confetti fell form the rafters, and the streamers filled the ring.

As Jim tearfully thanked everyone in attendance for making the entire weekend as special as it was, it was hard to believe this was it. One of the best weekends of wrestling probably ever, had come to an end. The family that we had all become over several days were returning to our lives outisde the world of Progress.

But to misquote a great film: We’ll always have Ally Pally.

We will always have the memories of what we all shared together. We laughed, we cried, we made new friends and rekindled old ones. We all lived our best lives and cheered our hearts out because we were united. No matter how bleak the world outside, for one weekend 1500 people in North London were united in euphoria and bliss.

If that isn’t Progress, I don’t know what is. Lets do it again some time yeah?