FRANKIE SUMMERS – The Xmas Bash Blog #14

Happy new year, and hello there once again CPW Galaxy. I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas. I want to welcome you to the last show breakdown of 2018. This time is for the Big Xmas Bash. An annual tradition in CPW always full of thrills, spills and surprises. This show was no exception. We had the returning WWE NXT UK Star Flash Morgan Webster making his comeback to CPW to face a select opponent. Every championship was on the line at this show apart from the Academy belt and the CPW Lineal Heavyweight belt. We had 2 triple threat matches, one for the women’s belt, and one for the Nextgen belt. We had a singles for the Godiva championship scheduled. Along with the tag team belts up for grabs too. As well as matches to end grudges and rivalries, to which there are many right now in CPW, let’s get on with it.

First off myself, Caitlyn James and Dominic Dewinter all came out to open up the show. We jumped in the ring and began with a song as normal. This time we went for a Christmas song, and the people’s choice was “All I want for Christmas is you”. I couldn’t help but sing along to the bits that I knew, which surprised Dominic. The song was cut short however as Dominic ran down the show quickly and Caitlyn and I opened up the show and talked about our sponsor and fan interaction. However my appearance there was cut short as I could see someone calling me from the back. I ran back there and the first match was announced.

The Godiva Championship match between Morris and Shaun Ruben. Shaun hasn’t been seen in CPW since History V when he lost in a 6 man match and it was Morris who pinned him. Morris was introduced first oddly, and he came out on crutches, hobbling to the ring. Shaun followed, he marched intently to the ring and demanded to know what was up. Morris explained he’d had emergency surgery on his foot and was not cleared to compete. Angered by this Shaun grabbed Morris’ crutch and started thrashing him with it.

From back stage I had done what I had to and had gone to change, but part way through I overheard the commotion. So you know I wear my wrestling gear under my smart clothes. Morris and I are good friends as is known, so I peeped through the curtain and dashed out and into the ring. I grabbed the crutch off Shaun and told him to stop right there. Tossing it down beside me and we faced off. Shaun asked if I wanted some of the beating. I said I was more than up for it and begged Dominic to make it official. Dominic asked if I was sure. The universal response was they wanted me to take this guy out and I was more than happy to oblige the CPW Galaxy, especially considering it’s Christmas.

First, Shaun shoved me, but I shoved him back further, he came back at me with a kick and proceeded to beat me up. After a few strikes I was thrown outside, where I took a tumble, he worked me over on the outside a bit before going to the other side to gloat at the crowd. This gave me an opening to get him. I smacked him about on the outside, before throwing him into the apron, then back in the ring. I whipped him into the corner, hit a back splash, then a snapmare, into a reverse chin lockwhich didn’t work and he broke out in seconds and got back to work striking me. I got a knee to the back of the head for my trouble and was taken down and dragged over to the near corner. Shaun went to the top rope, and took his time getting up there which gave me time to recover. He went for the frog splash and I rolled out of the way, leaving Shaun to eat canvas on the landing.

He got up. I hit my discus clothesline I couldn’t hit Tom Lindsay with at Superstars, followed by my short arm line, then topped off with me grabbing him and nailing him with the DDT. This catapulted him over to near the ropes. I pinned him and he kicked out at 2. While he was dazed I thought this may be the time to finish him off with my ‘secret move’. I grabbed the front face lock and tried to turn him over, but he broke out of it, booted me in the guts, hit me with an enzigiri jump kick, right to the face. I went down like a ton of bricks. I was dazed. Shaun tried to pin me but I kicked out at 2. Frustrated, Shaun grabbed the clutch, Referee Martin tried to get him to put it down, but he didn’t listen. Shaun smacked me in the guts with the crutch, followed by hitting me in my knee repeatedly before pushing me out with the crutch.

Morris helped me up and to get out and to the back. He jumped into the ring to say that after what just happened he wanted to raise the stakes, so at the next NextGen show, the CPW Godiva championship will be decided inside a steel cage. The young outlaw against the rough and tough challenger will be explosive.

I think it’s fair to say that this will be the toughest challenge that Morris has as Godiva champion. If you look at Shaun’s record in CPW, while he hasn’t had many matches, he has been dominant. He’s only been beaten in singles once before, and now you can add another singles loss, even if not a defeat against me. Morris did pin Shaun at History in the 6 man tag match. So Morris has an edge, but Shaun has been away and improving in the past 5 months, and believe me, this lad is dangerous. I’ve found out how much so first hand. We look forward to Warfare in February.

Next was a grudge match between FIFI and the Imperial Dragon which stemmed from Dragon’s interference at the Ruler of the Galaxy tournament, which cost FIFI his place in the final. FIFI gave an emotional promo after losing the match, to state that he isn’t just our Queen of Drag and Prince of Camp. He’s a man and was going to prove it. This was highly anticipated as Dragon has been making his presence known in the months since coming back to CPW. He uses his height, strength, experience and scary appearance to his advantage and it has given him a decent amount of success here. He uses that kendo stick to great effect as well, to the point where someone suggested a Kendo Stick match between the two competitors. CPW would not sanction this however under safety concerns so we got this match instead.

I didn’t see most of the match due to having to get my leg seen to, but from what I did see, FIFI has the upper hand for a good portion of the match and at one point FIFI got Dragon’s mask off. With his facial covering gone, Dragon decided to retreat outside to not be seen. He went under the ring, where Dale, and FIFI looked over the side trying to see where he went. Dragon popped out from the other side and jumped back in, then sprayed FIFI with the green mist behind Dale’s back, he hit the Black Mass kick and the match was over. The fans did not appreciate this at all. Imperial Dragon gets the win. I don’t think this is the end to these two however. FIFI had the Dragon on the run, but of course, the wily veteran that he is used what he could to his advantage, and didn’t use the stick. I give all the credit to FIFI for getting in there with Dragon after all the issues previously caused. Let’s hope this ends in a definitive fair and square way with the best man winning.

Next was the tag team championship match as the No 1 contenders House of Beards, Lucky Bowden and Jay J Roberts, as they faced off against the reigning champs, the Merseyside Murder Squad, Dan Evans and Scott Oberman.

The Beards got their Number 1 contenders shot at Xtreme Tidings after beating the team of Morgan Black and Drake Wynter. They’ve had 2 impressive showings, and their efforts have been recognised and that’s why they have the shot at the titles. It started off with Lucky leading against the MMS, getting the better of them in terms of quickness and technical skill in the early going, showing their team contingency that make them the formidable force they are. After a cheap shot however, Dan and Scott got the upper hand. With repeated strikes and cheap shots. They tried to put Lucky down on numerous occasions but he kept kicking out. Jay J got the tag after an attempt by the MMS at the Albert Docks Homicide and leapt into the ring and cleared house, and yelled to get the crowd behind him. He took them both out and eventually it devolved into a 4 man brawl. The MMS took out Jay J and threw him outside, pulled up Lucky, hit him with the ADH and that was it. Another successful title defence for the Squad.

The Merseyside Murder Squad cannot be seen as cheap champions as they have taken on all comers and beaten them with their moves and ability. They have held the belts for more than 140 days. They beat West and Joy to get them. They haven’t backed down from anyone, and the only defeat that they had was in a non title match against ‘Hey Ho Steve-O’ and that was only by an exceptional turn of luck that no-one could see coming.

Anyone else who has challenged for those belts has been decimated. However I’ve noticed something. The crowd seem to be booing and jeering the squad less lately, the squad themselves seem to be goading the crowd less too. They’ve been taking their matches far more seriously too as they eye the prize. The chance to be named the longest running tag team champs in CPW history, and the way they’re going, it seems like they will do just that. I personally think the crowd are starting to respect them for their achievements as time goes on. It could be a new direction, it could be a swerve as we all know what these two are really like. They will turn on loved ones and friends just to get ahead as was shown at Betrayal. Who knows who they will attack next and how.

The Beards have been very impressive so far, and considering I’m unfamiliar with the Welsh scene, these guys are definitely the real deal. They show a kind of tag team contingency that you just don’t seem to see much, even on TV. They have moves that compliment eachother, they can get a crowd behind them and are an excellent mix of speed and power. A great combination and they stood up to the Murder Squad so well, but unluckily came off worse this time. I think they’ll be back for another shot somewhere down the line.

Next was the Nextgen championship match as George defended against previous championship Alex Conners and the menacing Tommbie in a triple threat match.

Alex was needing to get his wind back after 3 successive losses to George. First being champ vs champ, next was number 1 contender and the last was for the title, and he pulled it off to the delight of everyone. This time Alex has brought back up, in the form of ‘Big’ Eli and the Sheriff John Eastwood. John, you’ve surprised me man, you were after the bounty, you’ve detained him and split the money with Eli…now Alex has been released and you’ve sided with him. Not sure if I’ve missed something but let’s see how this pans out. Tommbie made his presence felt after beating DeReiss recently and a close match with Will Starr in the Galaxy tournament. His most recent outing was a losing effort against the Merseyside Murder Squad for the tag belts with Danny O’Neil.

George came out to a roar from the crowd, holding both his Nextgen and Academy belts

with much pride. Undeterred by the 2 big men he has to deal with. He got in the ring and then an announcement was made. A 4^th man was to enter the match. Cashing in his golden ticket was none other than Danny O’Neil. He charged to the ring as Alex Conners through George out, throwing him to the wolves really. Eli and John jumped him but George fought back and got back into the match while the brawl went on inside. Alex went for a pitchfork driver on Danny early, he hit it but Dale was distracted by the fight on the outside, and Tommbie broke it up. From then it was a mix of high risk from George, Brutality from Tommbie and Conners and sheer heart from Danny. This all culminated on Alex hitting another Pitchfork Driver on George while Dale was distracted, but during this, Tommbie scooped up Alex and hit him with his electric chair driver and got the 3. Tommbie is your new Nextgen Champion.

A very well deserved victory for Tommbie and what a way to end this year for him, as he’s been on/off in CPW for most of the year, but whenever he comes back he makes a solid impact. He also took out Alex Conners to win the belt which pleased the Chicken Club no end.

After the break we had the big one, the one that people have been waiting for since Xtreme Tidings, to get a definite resolution. Will Starr vs Beast for the CPW Championship with Mr Richards as special guest referee.

Beast and Will’s match last time ended by Disqualification and as a result he got to keep the belt. I didn’t get to see the match as I was ill, but Beast walked away with the belt, and a quick one-two from Mr Richards for his trouble. This time there was to be no chicanery and no excuses. One man would prevail with a referee who now has beef with both competitors.

Will came out thick and fast with offence, wailing on Beast, but no matter what he did it didn’t take much effect. Grappling didn’t work, running strikes didn’t work but in the end he resorted to aerial moves which eventually rocked the big man. On a few occasions Will would build up a head of steam and Beast would level him, before getting in the face of Mr Richards, and it nearly came to fists between them on a couple of those. He took the advantage he got however, turning on Beast Mode and nearly flattening Will on a couple of occasions. It all ended after Beast went to the well too many times and Will fought back and hit 2 spinning wheel kicks, eventually getting the monster down. Will signalled, went to the top, hit the Super Starr Elbow and got the 3.

The crowd exploded with cheers. Will got his hand raised and soaked in the moment with the realisation that he had finally done it. He had beaten slain the Beast and become CPW champion. After a brief celebration Mr Richards called Beast back in and announced his retirement from wrestling. That’s right. The Beast is retiring from pro wrestling all together. He’s had a fair old run and was one half of the first team to win the CPW tag team titles here at least. He just decided it was time to hang up the boots.

He got a great response and a thank you chant from the crowd, before being abruptly cut off and pedigreed by Mr Richards. He was then rolled over and Will hopped up to the top rope and dropped the elbow one more time before leaving with their belts. Angrily Beast, after coming to his senses got out of the ring and stomped to the back, still with the audience clapping. I will admit we didn’t always see eye to eye, Beasty, but you’ve been a good sparring partner for these reviews. Always letting me know that I must improve as I go along, and need to make more concise notes of what I need to pay attention to. Or at least research what people call their moves if unsure. See you around I’m sure.

I must commend the athleticism of Will Starr in this match because on multiple occasions, he didn’t just climb up the buckle to the top rope, it was a grab and a single leap. The man still has a few impressive surprises to show me. Very well deserved victory to top off this fantastic run he’s had this year. Well done my man.

Next was the Women’s title match, again I missed most of this one due to being in the back, so I’ll talk about the situation surrounding the match. It was a triple threat with Victoria Adams defending against Natalie Wild once again along with returning CPW star Nadia Sapphire. Nadia and Natalie wrestled at Xtreme Tidings, in Nadia’s big return to CPW after some time away. Nadia was the first ever CPW women’s championship, and in its long lineage it has been held by some great names over the years, and is being fought over by some fantastic names now. Big shout out to Natalie Wild for her outfit for this year, it was certainly a hit with everyone.

I did manage to catch the ending. From what I was told the whole match was very back and forth and could have been won by any of the 3 women at the time, I just managed to catch the ending where Tori once again locked in the rear naked choke on Natalie, but instead of trying to fight out this time and letting herself be put to sleep again she tapped out. Which I can understand her doing. This leaves Tori only having lost one time in her run here in CPW, and that was to Lucia at Superstars in an absolutely giant killing effort. However she is unbeaten on the main roster, and has never been counted out or disqualified either. What a year this has been for her, even if it’s only been a few months, few women have made such an impact in such a short time in CPW. There is one however who she hasn’t faced, and she just happens to be a goddess as well. I think you know who I’m referring to. It’s great to see Nadia back in CPW as well, one of the early talents and the first ever CPW women’s champion I’ll have to look over some of her older matches from that time so I can make a fairer judgement for next time. Natalie as well has had 2 great runs as women’s champion so far, but the last few attempts to get that belt have been unsuccessful, as have everyone else’s. I don’t know whether at this point it may be wise to take a step back and work on a new strategy to take Tori on if given another chance. She doesn’t have the MMS backing her up anymore, not that she needed it, but that moral support was always there. Now she’s going it alone, but has the fans behind her. We can only hope her fortunes turn.

Next was a singles match between Isaac Quentin III as he took on Jake Casanova.

Isaac, in a recent interview I had with him said that his recent losing streak has not been a case of him being cowardly, or him being outclassed by his opponents lately. He disagreed with this and said that he has been simply beating himself. I don’t get that logic, but he’s still not been beaten. Jake Casanova hasn’t had the best luck in most matches these days which is sad as he’s such a beloved fan favourite. He always puts on a good show however, with his most recent win being a quick one over the Beast, as well as beating him in a dance off. He’s fallen victim to House of Beards as part of Casalicious and to Tom Lindsay in the Ruler of the Galaxy tournament.

This match was another close one as you’d expect. Both men are tough and experienced,

and are high in the singles ranks. This match was both for pride and to show that they’re both deserving at a shot at the big one. Jake being a former CPW champion and Isaac a former Nextgen Champion.

This match was fast and hard hitting. Both men pulled out everything they had in their respective arsenals. A fine mix of technical and hard hitting strikes from both men. It all came to a head when Jake tried to finish Isaac off and the attempt was escaped. Isaac picked up Jake and dropped him into a stomach crusher with both knees right to the stomach. One quick 3 count later, Isaac wins and continues this undefeated run.

Bad luck for Jake on this occasion as he fought so hard, and people thought he would be the one to finally end this streak, but it wasn’t meant to be. The closest of late was the returning Disco Bert, who took out Isaac’s knee which caused him to roll outside to not rouse it further. I’m still liking Bert’s idea of a no DQ and no count-out match, possibly a death-match as an extreme way to try and resolve this issue. Still whoever goes for it will have to work for it.

Next was the 6 man tag team match as James Cross teamed up with Iron Serb and the returning Bashby against Leyton Simms, Dr Gage and Stevie W.

James and Leyton wrestled at Xtreme Tidings in which Leyton got the win. This was a follow on as James requested some back up to put Leyton in his place. However CPW Physician Dr Gage stepped in to help out along with Stevie W. Serb we’ve not seen since Summerfest 3, and I can’t say if it’s good to see him back or not. He has rocking entrance music and is an experienced vet and he invokes a real 80s vibe when he comes around. As in that era of wrestling. Bashby is back from injury, still rocking the man bun. In that time however he has been working hard at CPW shows with the production crew, so he has still been on the scene. It is great to see him back in the ring, even if the greatness is him being slapped about when he gets cocky. James Cross of course made an impact with his match at Superstars. So much so he was awarded the regular spot on the main roster and having done the Superstars programme with him, I say it was deserved. He attended every session and advanced super fast, and it resulted in a fantastic match with Will Starr.

Leyton and Gage’s sessions have been going well as can be seen in Leyton Simms and Dr Gage on CPW On Demand. Speaking of which I need to book an appointment to see him about my ‘unspecified persistent cough disease.’ Stevie W came in to show his gratitude for Dr Gage fixing him up after he got the flu. I think it’s a great way for them to go. Leyton has been trying to sort himself out, by wearing a tie, giving flowers to strangers as a good will gesture and actually showing affection to fans. He’s got the fans behind him no end. When you think back to 6 months ago he was feuding with FIFI and getting lots of stick from the crowd. How the tides have turned. Dr Gage seems to have caught the imaginations of the fans since appearing in the Leyton and Dr Gage show. He seems to derive some power from the flowers as well. I may have to try it myself one day.

This match was just fun, full of action and cheap tactics from the bad guys and heroism from the good guys, mainly it resulted in cut offs and good tag team tactics. The main one being a fantastic 6 man suplex war which ended in Team Cross coming off worst. After this, Leyton and Gage got so annoyed at the cheap tactics they leapt in the ring to save Stevie, but Dale stopped them which didn’t help matters. In the end Leyton got so annoyed, when he finally got tagged in he essentially exploded on all 3 opponents. Then with a quick bit of team work, took out the Iron Serb and got the pin for 3. They went away with the win much to the joy of everyone. I hope that Leyton keeps up this kind of pace. His ways are changing and he’s winning matches now. Gage showed how well he can work with his client as well, and Stevie showed his toughness as he always does. I can’t wait to see what they get up to next. Maybe first hand next time I land in the doctor’s office.

Lastly we have the main event as The Wasp, Tom Lindsay took on the returning Flash Morgan Webster. Tom was given the chance at this match after Stevie W wasn’t able to accept his prize for winning the Ruler of the Galaxy tournament due to illness. However this caused something rather strange. As much as a pain and a problem Tom has been over the past year or so, people have actually campaigned in support of him. Lead by the Chicken Club, we are all requested to #hugthewasp. This made this match even more interesting. After my match with him, as a result of losing I’ve sworn never to wear my Lindsay Sucks shirt to a CPW show again. Both of these men have been with CPW from the start, but Flash was one of the big names right from the start. Starting out in a school in the Welsh Valleys with some now well known faces (Some we have seen in our ring before), he came to CPW as a lot of young and upcoming talent always seems to come from this area. Even now it’s no exception it seems. Flash took a seminar with a group of us before the show and he was very impressed and could see potential in all of us. His wisdom was given and now I know what I need to focus on. He’s also requested I please try and work on my leg strength, cardio and flexibility as I’m going to need it. Enough about me though, the match set up.

Flash came back to celebrate him being signed by WWE, as a bit of a homecoming really as he was a former CPW champion back in the early days. He has made leaps and bounds since then and became the Modfather, competed in the Battle of Los Angeles in 2016, competed in Defiant/WCPW in the Pro Wrestling World Cup, has done a tour in holiday camp wrestling and is now finally signed with WWE NXT UK. What a set of accolades and that’s just the start, and one of his big steps was being in CPW. When you stop and think about it, we’ve had some unbelievable talents step in our ring and we got to see, a prodigal son of sorts return after being away from us for one last rumble.

What is there to say about this match? My only advice is if you didn’t see it live, go and see this match on CPW On Demand, sign up and watch the match when it becomes available. I promise you it’s worth the price of subscription. It had high flying, hard hitting, square offs, risk taking, cheating, fighting with honour, duelling chants from the crowd, showing love for the returning hero, and our Wasp. Tom came out black and blue from the match, with a massive pink mark on his chest from Flash’s chops. The match went on for over 20 minutes and it is well worth the watch. One of the best matches that I’ve seen and possibly even one of the best in CPW history. It’s fantastic all round and a match of the year contender easily. I must mention what happened at the end however and I’ve wanted to talk about this since it happened. Tom and Flash shook hands in the middle of the ring as a sign of respect, but Tom hit a low blow kick on Flash and proceeded to beat him down. He called in Isaac Quentin III from the back to help him out, and they starting trying to take Flash out. Jake Casanova jumped into the ring to save him, but it was to no avail. Flash was weakened and they got a double team going on Jake. But then…something amazing happened. Some festive music hit, and only St Nicolas himself, Santa Claus came out to save the day. Isaac and Tom were stunned. They didn’t know what to think. A chant of “Santa’s gonna kill you” rang throughout the Xcel centre as he clubbed both men. Tom hit back and they went to charge him but Santa hit a double clothesline that knocked them both down, in this chaos, Flash and Jake had found their footing and the 3 proceeded to get some payback on ‘Mr Fancypants’ and the ‘Wasp’. They were booted out of the ring, and all 3 stood triumphant in the ring. So they celebrated with a dance to Jake’s entrance music. What a way to end the year.

2018 has been such a roller coaster and it’s only the first year I’ve been with CPW. The company has gone from strength to strength and I feel I’ve joined at a perfect time as only bigger and better things can come of it. I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read my blogs since I’ve been doing them. I am sorry if anything that happened was misinterpreted, incomplete or inaccurate. I also want to thank you, the CPW Galaxy as a whole for being so welcoming to me and my mum who is always there to watch me announce or wrestle. I’ve made some great friends here, in the crowd and behind that curtain. I’m just thankful for my chance to have a place in British Independent wrestling. Dominic said about making my Christmas wish come true before my match, well some of my wishes did come true this year. Let’s make 2019 even better.

My resolution will be to improve this blog as it carries on, and to make sure I am able to take notes while watching matches. I’ll be coming to you early next year with a countdown list and breakdown for the year. So on behalf of management, and the CPW Roster. I, for one last time this year,

I am Frankie Summers, signing off.