Summers Gazette #36: The Big Xmas Bash

Summers Gazette Entry #36: The Big Xmas Bash

Season’s Beatings CPW Galaxy, Frankie Summers reporting on the final show CPW of the year and of the 2010s, and it was an absolute doozy, a crazy Christmas show just for you. We came to you from the Henley Green Community Centre. Thrills, spills, surprises and holiday cheer were spread all around. The CPW Galaxy really went all out with costumes for the show and got us in the festive mood right off the bat as the show was opened up by Russell Hardwood and Caitlyn James opened up proceedings with a song. We put it to the public vote on the Facebook page and the winner of the poll was Last Christmas by WHAM! Sorry for people who were taking part in Whamageddon this year, 21 days isn’t a bad run. We got a few members of the CPW Galaxy singing along as we ran the breakdown for the show.

8 matches, titles to be decided, some debuts and tons of high-quality action throughout the show to be expected. As I was absent for most of the show recovering from my match and only announcing half of the matches this will be a stripped-down version of what happened. Let’s get right into it.

We opened up the show with 8 man tag team action as the team of myself, Eli Conners, Dr Gage and Mr Ace took on the team of CPW Galaxy Champion Drake Wynter, Kevin Isaac, Alex Conners and Iron Serb. Lots of rivalries involved here. I had a personal beef with 3 of these men, Dr Gage and Eli had beef with 2 and Mr Ace, of course, had beef with Iron Serb. This was a perfect chance for all of us to have a scrap and try and settle some scores. It was the 4 plucky underdogs against the 4 grizzled veterans. The odds were stacked against us, but we had the love of the CPW Galaxy behind us. In a match of good vs evil pretty much.

Mr Ace wanted to start with Serb, but Serb wanted no part of Ace, so I volunteered to start off and Alex Conners took the stage. We faced off and I pointed my finger in his face and said told him that I thought he was Apollo Vela. He slapped me and told me he would never be Mexican, being a red-blooded American and all. I spun round and slapped him in return, knocking him dizzy before throwing him into the corner as all members of my team tagged in and out to take turns stomping on Alex. I pulled him up and called for the fast finish after planting Alex with a savage DDT. He kicked out at 2 but I gave him too much time as I pulled him up. I whipped him off to go for the Headliner, but Alex countered with a savage leaping clothesline that took me to clean off my feet. Then it was the turn of the bad guys to work on me as they tagged in and out to kick me about a bit. Working me over in the centre with wear-down holds and in for corner with roughnecking as I tried a few times to fight back and get to my corner to bring in Eli, Gage or Ace.

Kevin Isaac got hold of me last as he grabbed me by my hair and pulled me up, but I hit him with a Jawbreaker which rocked him back to his corner I clawed my way back over to my corner and tagged in Eli. Kevin tagged Alex Conners and these two brothers went at it tooth and nail with strikes once more. It devolved into quick-fire takedowns as we all came in and did a high impact move to get rid of that person in the ring. This ended in Mr Ace and Iron Serb being the last two in the ring, and finally, these two got to tear each other apart. Mr Ace got the better of the exchange as the rest of us were outside the ring recovering before coming in to do a big team suplex which my team got the better of. In the end, Eli and Drake Wynter were legal and Eli hadn’t noticed that Drake had snuck into the ring and while he and referee Oddball Eightball were distracted Drake hit Eli with a low blow before rolling him up for 3. It was a sad turn of events for it to end this way. Alex, Kevin and Serb got out of Dodge quickly but Drake stayed in the ring to gloat. At this point, some familiar music played as Lucia Lee charged out of the curtain with her Golden Ticket briefcase to cash in her title shot against Drake. Dr Gage flattened Drake with the Chokeslam before Lucia handed over the case and leapt to the top before hitting the big elbow. Lucia is your new CPW Galaxy Champion, making her the 7th person to hold the belt this year, and the first female to do so. However, we will have some new rules in terms of defending the belt and they will be made clear soon. Ace, Gage and I all celebrated with Lucia in-ring and we all got a round of applause as we left. It was a great way to kick off the show and I am very proud of the team, we did our best to hold out as long as we did. It was a pleasure to work with Gage and Ace again and cool to work with Big Eli for the first time.

The next match was the 4-way showdown for the Nextgen Heavyweight Championship as James Cross defended the championship against Bashby, Scott Oberman and Tommbie. Tommbie has been at the top of that mountain before losing the belt to Fifi at History 6. Bashby was getting his first shot at the big time and Scott Oberman has been in the picture for the title before but never won it.
The action in this match was on another level from what I saw. Bashby showed us exactly how far he has come in the past year by delivering the best counter to the Occult Assault I’ve ever seen. Tommbie has Bashby up in the Electric Chair position and called for the drive, but as he turned Bashby over, he flipped out of it and landed on his feet before hitting back with a savage superkick to the jaw. The match ended after Bashby tried to end it by hitting James Cross with a Frog Splash but Scott Oberman jumped into the ring and caught him in mid-air with a jaw-dropping cutter. James Cross being the opportunist however threw Scott off and got the 3 count for himself. It was a shocker and James Cross goes into 2020, still your Nextgen Heavyweight Champion. It may not have been with honour, but James has that belt and is holding onto it with hungry desperation. Since the dissolution of the G6, James has made his own way, perhaps showing that he didn’t need them after all, even if it hasn’t improved his attitude at all. He’s going to be a tough opponent to beat now and woe betide anyone who gets in the ring with him.

Next, we had the tag team title match as the team of Kieran Young and George Lydon, the Living Proof took on the team of the 666 Pack, Dread and Lyon. This match came about after the match at Xmas Tidings after George came out with no partner after being berated by the 666 and being told since the G6 dissolved, he had no friends and no one wanted to side with him. George brought out Kieran to fight alongside him, who willingly gave up his place in the gauntlet match to help out George. After a shock victory, they got the title shot which has shaken the CPW Galaxy and the roster alike as they’ve shown that they are a threat to those titles and this run with them may be short for the 666. Against all odds, George and Kieran managed to pull off the shock victory beating the two larger men yet again with the quickness and cunning advantage. These two may have remnants of the G6, but they seem to have both seen the light and turned to the side of good. Let’s hope they keep this momentum up as those 666 boys will be back on their heels snapping like hungry gators to get those belts back. Sorry for the brevity of these two matches, I was in the back recovering and changing to announce the rest of the show, so I didn’t get to see them first hand. The titles have not moved and will still be in the sights of challengers in the coming months.

The final match of the first half was the final to the CPW Ruler of the Galaxy Tournament as Apollo Vela took on Morgan Black. Apollo defeated 2 members of Team Madness to get to the finals of the tournament, first getting through Dr Gage and then through Bashby in the Semis. Both wins were controversial after Vela tried to pop Gage and Bashby’s shoulders out of the sockets, along with Leyton Simms’ afterwards. With Morgan, it was somewhat different. Morgan originally faced Jester Jayrow in the first round and Jayrow had to cheat to get by Morgan. Then he worked on Morgan after the bell and Bashby ran in to save him. CPW Management looked over the footage and stripped Jayrow of his place in the tournament, but Morgan was given a second chance against then CPW Galaxy Champion Drake Wynter whom Morgan managed to get by in a fantastic match. Then at Superstars, Jay J Roberts beat Will Starr in his first round and decided to grandstand, saying he could beat Morgan right there and then if he was in the building. Morgan came out and surprised him with a roll-up when earned him his ticket to the finals, much to the disgust of Jay J.
I came out to announce the match and immediately my calculations were wrong as Alex Conners was sat at the commentary booth with Mr Richards. If it wasn’t him, who could it be? I announced them both and the match began. I assume Morgan thought the same as me. His offence lacked the fire that it normally has, I guess because he was thrown off by whoever it would be behind that mask. I heard talking through the crowd throughout the whole match with speculation as to who Apollo Vela could be this time. Some had already come to the conclusion I had but they were seemingly wrong. The match ended with Apollo getting the win after hitting what appeared to be the Final Destination. After his hand was raised, the mask was removed and Apollo Vela was revealed to be none other than Fifi. I haven’t seen a crowd turn on someone so fast. The crowd were begging me to go in there and deck him but I’m not contractually allowed to hit any other member of the CPW roster unless physically provoked first. The crowd were angry and wanted a way to show it, even if it was for me to get in there, but myself and our GM for the night Lauren got into the ring and presented Fifi with the trophy for winning the tournament. I noticed something however, the makeup was different under the mask, and there was a reason for this. The story is that now Fifi is no more and he has been replaced with Cleopatra, and what her intentions are will be brought to light shortly.

This led to the interval where the fans got to have pictures with Tommbie, Lucia Lee, Living Proof and our special guest Tyson T-Bone. All photography for this show was done by our friends at UK Wrestling Media who have taken some fantastic photos for us since we began our partnership with them in November.

We opened up the second half with a singles match for the CPW Heavyweight Championship as Sugar Jimmy Vice took on former Heavyweight Champion Niall Fairchild in the clash we have been looking forward to for a while as Niall fought for the belt he was never pinned for against a man he never lost to. That CPW heavyweight belt has been on quite the ride this year, originally in the hands of Will Starr, taken away by Kevin Isaac under the most controversial fashion seen in recent times. At History 6 Kevin was pinned in record time before the title, effectively vacant at that time was decided in a classic between Niall and Tom Lindsay to where Niall prevailed against all odds. Niall held that belt valiantly for months before losing it in a 4-way match after Mr Ace got a sneaky pin over Craig West. 6 weeks later at Superstars part 2, Mr Ace got his first defence against Jimmy Vice who, with the help of Iron Serb got that title and has had a *coughs* Vice like grip on it since.
This was an explosive match that showcased the efforts and talents of both men as they proceeded to tear each other apart with higher impact, higher risk and more desperate moves to try and put the other man away. Niall tried to finish Jimmy with the Natural Disaster, but it didn’t work as Jimmy kicked out. Jimmy got frustrated and walloped Niall with the title belt getting himself disqualified. Niall won the match but Jimmy kept the belt and this has frustrated the fans and Niall himself as this was his moment, but the Miracle on Wyken Croft didn’t happen.

Next, we had the long-awaited Women’s title match as Women’s unified champion Lucia Lee took on Lana Austin, defending the Women’s title belt. Lana wanted both belts to be on the line but this was denied. This was a dream contest for some, especially for the two competitors. The young and plucky upstart in her debut year, blazing a trail against the experienced and grouchy veteran in Lana Austin, a former CPW Women’s Champion and a national wrestling star that even WWE has had her on their programming for her experience and ability in the ring. Lana’s return was the big buzz in the run-up to the show and I’ve seen her in venues all over the Midlands and can vouch for how great her unorthodox combat style is. She’s a fantastic mix of strikes, technicality and trickery, topped with a generous dose of lewdness, as incorporated in some of her moves. Thank you for the info provided for this one.

Lucia graced us with the scarlet and white with her Santa outfit as Lana pulled out the black lace and sparkly trim with the Bah Humbug hat to show her utter disdain for Christmas. This match was everything we expected it to be and more with the mix of staples from both women and easily the toughest task that Lucia Lee has ever faced in that ring, in CPW or anywhere else. It started with Lucia pulling a cracker with Lana, who reluctantly accepted the offer after being called a chicken. Lana retaliated with a big slap to the face after losing and smacked Lucia around the ring. Lucia has whipped off the ropes but countered with a head scissors, then a dropkick which sent Lana flying.
Lucia followed with a corner assault which Lana tried to reverse but was countered with another head scissors and a pin attempt. Which only got 2. Lana was put in the corner and Lucia went for a 10 punch but Lana reversed it, straddled Lucia on the ropes and hit a reverse neckbreaker. Lucia got up and countered the charge with 2 kicks but the third was countered with her leg being thrown on the ropes before being followed up by attacks on the ropes. Lucia fought back as the crowd willed her on, trying to win with a roll-up as Lana argued with Dale. Lana fought this off and levelled Lucia with a savage Russian Leg Sweep which got a 2 count. Lucia struck back with a sit-out jawbreaker and tried to follow up with a boot, but Lana countered and got another 2 count.

Lana pulled Lucia up by her hair and hit a running shotgun dropkick to get another 2 as Lucia got the ropes. Lana was visibly frustrated and started trash-talking Lucia who snapped and started chopping and striking Lana before wrangling her for a Straddle DDT which got a 2. Lucia fired up with another flurry of strikes before Lana levelled her with a vicious headbutt which pretty much put her out, but Lucia just kicked out before 3. Lana went for a twist of fate but was answered by a reverse thrust kick. This scored another 2 but Lana shot up and hit a Stunner, this scored a 2, Lucia shot up and hit a Uranage, which Lucia didn’t follow up with the pin, but instead measuring up, but Lana hit the Twist of Fate which got a close 2. Lana pulled Lucia by her hair and hit the ropes but was hit with a spinebuster before Lucia called to the crowd and went for a People’s Elbow of all things. All fired up, Lucia charged but Lana got in with a spear, taking Lucia clean off her feet. Again Lucia kicked out just before 3. Thinking she could end it, Lana pulled her up and took too much time before Lucia answered with a big kick, knocking Lana down before hitting the rolling neck snap then following up with the Big Elbow to pick up the win to retain the CPW Women’s championship in the biggest win of her career so far in CPW. Lucia is now the longest-reigning CPW Women’s Champion in CPW’s History, the first female double Champion and just a trailblazer in all in CPW. She’s had an absolutely killer year for 2019 and it makes you wonder, what else will she do this year as she expands in the big wrestling world and sets the standard for women’s champions not just here but all over the nation. Well done Lucia, commiserations to Lana Austin who put on a fantastic showing in her return to CPW and showed exactly why she is the national star that’s so highly regarded. Let’s hope we see her back again.

Our next match was our special attraction presentation that has to be seen to be believed. As The Merseyside Merc Squad’s Dan Evans took on WWE UK’s own Tyson T-Bone in the latest special guest exhibition match to show the national appeal to outside talent that CPW has. Tyson T-Bone is a legend of the UK scene with over 10 years experience, trained by the legendary Killer Kowalski who was one of the dangerous big men in wrestling back in the 60s and 70s, and he was trained by Lou Thesz, the Hungarian great who is seen as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Also by British Wrestling legend Robbie Brookside who has also trained some of our CPW regulars, known for his extremely tough training regimens, so you know anyone who can survive it is tough as nails. In his time he has won the Preston City Wrestling championship 3 times. A title contested by many NXT UK greats. He’s wrestled all over the nation and has even done the All-Star Wrestling roadshow where they travel from town to town on a tour that goes all over the nation, bringing wrestling to old school wrestling towns bringing stars of the past and today into the spotlight. Even Attitude Era WWE talent still make appearances.

If you’re a fan of Dan Evans you may want to look away from this one as the man I called the scourge of CPW in a match was met with heavy strikes and brutality. It was a flat out brawl between 2 big meaty hosses and Tyson had the upper hand for most of the contest. His offence may be pretty or refined, but it’s effective as backed up by his 6ft stature and massive muscle mass. Dan was slapped around the ring in the early going but Dan managed to sneak his way around and use his technical skill to his advantage and lay the punishment on T-Bone for a good chunk of the match.
T-Bone fought back which ended in a cross body press which flattened Dan, T-Bone tried to finish it with his Suplex Tombstone but Dan slipped out and shot him into the corner with a dropkick, followed by a devastating spear which he kicked out of. Dan went for the Death Valley Driver which was fought out of, so he went for an F5 instead which was countered with T-Bone shoving Dan into the corner. Dan had the presence in mind to leap to the buckle pad to stop himself crashing into it. He leapt from the second looking for a double axe handle but T-Bone superkicked him clean out of mid-air with an impact that could shake your fillings from the next building over.

This was followed up by a big splash in the corner succeeded by a belly to belly suplex which launched Dan across the ring. T-Bone tried to wrap it up with another corner charge but Dan dodged it and T-Bone went head first, smashing his head into the post, possibly concussing him which gave Dan a golden opportunity as he took advantage of the dazed T-Bone and rolled him up for the 3, finishing this barnstormer of a match on top. This was a Knock Down Drag Out match and T-Bone definitely captured the imaginations of the fans which his large stature and tendency to mow through his enemies. I hope we get to see him again one day as his seminar was extra educational and we all got a lot of pointers and advice and he was just a joy to have as a guest. Thank you, Mr Bone, we hope to have you back soon.

Lastly, we move on to our final match, the main event, the match that’s been in the making for more than half a season. Master vs Student, Old Guard vs New Guard, Veteran vs Upstart, it was Will Starr, the Chosen One, your CPW Lineal Heavyweight Champion taking on the NBO Warrior, the Golden Ticket Holder, the CPW Wrestler of the year, Morris. These two have been at each other’s throats since Morris cashed in the briefcase on Will Starr in the summer, saying he wanted to challenge for the belt fair and square at the biggest chance he could get. Of course, this road has not been smooth. These two men have been at each other’s throats since, but why wouldn’t they be? You wouldn’t forgive someone who said they wanted your significant other, we’re very open about it and had made a plan to take them off you.

That was the kind position Will was in, so when made to work together as they have done in the past, it just couldn’t work. This was evident at F U when they lost to a team that everyone said didn’t stand a chance. Even poor Bashby was roped into it having to stop them from pummeling each other. They faced off at Super Secret Showdown in a match where a sneaky pin cost Will Starr the match and a lot of momentum going into the Bash. The contract signing finally happened at Xmas Tidings which caused 80% of the roster to be knocked down after Will Starr jumped 15 feet off the balcony on top of the CPW stars below. This showed the level this has gone to, the animosity between these two ran so deep that no ring could hold them. This was being held under Let’s Go to War rules which means there are no rules. No Ring Out Count Outs and No DQs. The only way to win is to Pin your opponent, make them submit or knock them out so they cannot answer a count of 10. This is a match I highly suggest you watch this match on CPW On Demand where you can see this match and all of the others in full too.

The atmosphere was heavy and thick, as well as tense. I took my place inside the barrier to make sure I could help if needed. I placed the Lineal Championship on my lap and the match began. The sound from the crowd was deafening throughout this. It started off quite civilised with some straight-up wrestling holds, which swung the momentum like a pendulum to start off with, but this soon devolved to spilling out of the ring and brawling all over the arena. They brawled through the crowd before Will dragged Morris to the tables at the back rows and Will tried to suplex Morris onto the table but Morris fought out and they made their way back to the ring. They exchanged their best moved but nothing was getting the job done. Morris kicked out after the Elbow, Will kicked out after the NBO Drop. It was all up in the air and could have gone either way. The momentum swung when Will got out of the ring and angrily snatched the belt out of my lap with a look on his face that will be burned into my memory until the end of time. Will jumped back in the ring and swung for Morris with the belt and Morris ducked it and hit an NBO Drop which got a 2.9 count. Morris went high risk and went for a frog splash which Will dodged. Will took advantage, hopped up and hit another Super Starr Elbow Drop which hit Morris right in the heart and scored the pin, which got a loud and mixed reaction from the crowd. Will Starr is your winner and still CPW Lineal Heavyweight Champion.

There was a delayed show of respect at the end and a big cheer from the crowd as it seemed for now that the war was over. Or was it just at a ceasefire as these two men as this defining battle was done. Caitlyn James signed off the show and wished the fans a Merry Christmas and a happy new year, but not before we drew the Xmas Raffle with big wins for the Cross Section and some of our other CPW Galaxy regulars. This match was everything we could have hoped for, it was fast-paced, varied, tense, exciting, brutal and any description I could give could never do it justice. Will Starr is still on top, but what lies in his future? Same for Morris, what lies ahead for him? What is going to happen as we blast off into the next decade of CPW? What guests will come along? Only time will tell. Overall this was an amazing show, well worth the wait and you can tell why it’s my favourite show of the year and I am honoured to have wrestled at it, opening the show for the second year in a row. This was just a set of fantastic matches all around with shocks and surprises and moments that had the fans jumping out of their seats. It was a thrill ride for sure and it does make me wonder what we will do to top it. I know for a fact we will. For now, I will wish you, the CPW Galaxy a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from myself and the rest of the CPW Roster and CPW Management.

Frankie Summers is signing off, I will see you in the 20s!