It was about this time last month (29th July to be precise) that my brother and I were sat in Malone Rugby Club getting ready to watch PWU’s “Proving Grounds” event. It had been a few years since I last caught any of the PWU shows, back when they were held in the Wellington Hotel, and I was ready to get stuck back in.
I’ve been a wrestling fan myself for as long as I can remember – bar a few years at secondary school when it dropped off my radar – I’ve always enjoyed it. From sitting in the Kings Hall chanting for Big Boss Man and the Undertaker, to proposing to my wife at Wrestlemania 21 in Los Angeles (yes this is a true story), the big time wrestling of WWE and not TNA is a great spectacle for all. But let’s not forget the smaller organisations, the local ones. Well this is where PWU comes in. All tickets were priced at £5, a bar and screaming and shouting welcome.
“Proving Grounds” is a yearly show that is used to showcase new and emerging talent alongside the existing stars of Pro Wrestling Ulster and what a great show it truly was. We’re sat in the Rugby club and before us is a 20”x20” ring squeezed in the corner, it’s the same size as the WWE use and it’s huge! There’s a crowd of between 70-90 people, a mix of couples, kids, parents and groups of friends. It’s a good atmosphere with the majority really getting into it.
The Battle Royal
Tonight we’re getting 6 matches and a battle royal. We begin with the biggest guy on the roster, standing somewhere over 7 feet and having spent a while in WWE development, it is easy to see that the guy has come on leaps since the last time I saw him years ago. He has a look, he can talk and by god he can wrestle! He has a lovely opening match verses Bonesaw with the crowd and especially the kids really enjoying this classic good versus bad match-up (or in wrestling speak – Face vs Heel). Then just before the 20 minute break is my favourite match of the night – Darren ‘Blue Guy’ Andrews vs ‘All Ulster Champion’ Christopher Tiberious Banks III. A really quick, crisp and (as much as the low ceiling will allow) high flying affair. These two really put on a show and I would thoroughly look forward to seeing them again.
Throughout the night we get a triple threat with some wrestlers from south of the border, a tag team bout with Vampires and Mexicans and then we round it all off with all the competitors in the Terry Thompson invitational Battle Royal. For those not familiar, Terry Thompson is the Vince McMahon of PWU, he’s the money, he’s nefarious and he’s the man in charge. So it was only right that at the end of the battle royal as he went to hold the “winners” hand aloft, he quickly revealed that he was in the battle royal too and threw him over the top rope to declare himself the true winner!
The timing of the show was spot on, 2 hours with an interval. It held my attention the whole time and it brought me into the storylines as well as the action.
PWU have an upcoming show on Sunday 26th August at the Balmoral Hotel. It will have the re-match between Darren ‘Blue Guy’ Andrews vs ‘All Ulster Champion’ Christopher Tiberious Banks III. This time for the belt and my money is on it stealing the show once again! Unfortunately we’ll not be in attendance due to previous commitments but we’ll be doing our best to catch all the shows going forward. It’s a great way to spend a Sunday night regardless of your age and at £5 it is a bargain for live home grown entertainment, oh and there’s a bar so there really is no excuse!
