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Report by Jack Cooledge
On Saturday 28th of October, Ruthin was welcomed to Theatr John Ambrose on Mold Road to spectate British Wrestling at its finest, with many Wrestlers travelling from all parts of the UK in order to compete for a hard fought Win. Also in attendance were associates of our Sponsor, many thanks once again to SP KELL ACOOUNTANTS Ltd for their continued support of Union Wrestling, as we also welcome the support of another local business in The Park Place. Master of Ceremonies DAFYDD VAUGHAN began the evening by allowing a member of the audience to pick our ‘Beat The Champion’ "SLIM" JIM BRENNAN's opponent, as he looks to continue on his path to the £2000 grand prize. CONNOR MAXON was selected, and unannounced, would make his way to the ring to give his thoughts on his chances for the evening. The loud and brash Wrestler wasn’t met with the reception he had hoped, making some outlandish remarks to all in attendance, CONNOR MAXON was soon sent on his way.
All bouts on the evening were sanctioned and judged by 7-time Mid-Heavyweight World Champion and current European and British Wrestling Commissioner, MARTY JONES.
Our first bout of the evening welcomed back HARRY LEE DANIELS the Lightning fast Lightweight of Stockport [66Kg, 6ft], who would face off against local Welterweight favorite and close friend THOMAS WILLIAMS of Mold [70Kg, 5ft 11in] in a 6 Round Contest, where two pin falls, two submissions or one knockout is required to decide the winner. Each round lasting 4 minutes if they go the distance.
A back and forth tussle ensued, with both athletes having their chances to take an early advantage, however it would be THOMAS WILLIAMS who would score first with a submission in the 2nd round using a neck crank and body scissors. LEE DANIELS visibly shook after the fall responded valiantly, pinning WILLIAMS 2 minutes into the 3rd round. This contest looked to be going all the way as WILLIAMS and LEE DANIELS matched each other hold for hold, however it would be the local man, THOMAS WILLIAMS who would secure victory late on in the 6th round by way of pinfall after a tremendous set of suplexes.
Our next contest of the evening would be a single fall match (20 minute time limit) as we welcomed the Middleweight Menace from Sheffield, JAY VERTIGO [76kg, 5ft 9in], pictured below, who would face off with the 20 year old Mid-Heavyweight Puppy with Big Paws, [91kg, 6ft 4in] JACOB QUINN of Doncaster.
VERTIGO clearly at a disadvantage against his towering opponent had numerous tricks up his sleeve, risking several late count outs and gaining an early yellow card warning for using an offensive strike off the top rope (3 yellows would equal a red, unless a straight red is issued, and a result of Disqualification would be recorded). QUINN showing his natural strength throughout the bout looked set for an easy win. However, unknowingly to officiators, VERTIGO in a moment of unsporting frustration gouged the eyes of JACOB QUINN. Referee THOMAS PHILPOTTS of Solihull was alerted by ringside judge MARTY JONES of the transgression. After discussing the incident, referee PHILPOTTS would issue VERTIGO a straight red card resulting in a disqualification. VERTIGO has since been issued with a 3 match ban in Ruthin and will therefore be ineligible to compete until SATURDAY 24th OF FEBRUARY at the earliest. Though the official result of the match is a no contest, JACOB QUINN was announced to the spectators as the winner.
The Mid-Heavyweight KARL LAWSON, from Barnsley [94Kg, 6ft 4in] who had expected to wrestle was given the news by MC DAFYDD VAUGHAN in the ring that his opponent for the evening was unable to compete due to personal family events. LAWSON refused to leave the ring demanding a match and demanding to be paid the winners purse. The overconfident Yorkshire man challenged any two men in the hall to a wrestling match, offering the £200 winners purse as a prize to anyone who could beat him. Several burly Welshmen, without hesitation, stepped forward to answer the challenge. LAWSON, however, suddenly changing tact stipulated for insurance reasons that only licensed wrestlers could answer the challenge. It would be THOMAS WILLIAMS and LEE DANIELS who would answer the call, despite LAWSON outweighing each of them by over 20Kg. DANIELS and WILLIAMS agreed to only one man being in the ring against LAWSON at any given point, with a TAG deciding which of the challengers is the legal opponent. Both DANIELS and Williams were relentless throughout and gave LAWSON no chance to recover and respond. Even with LAWSON having the weight and strength advantage, it was obvious that the stamina and conditioning of the pairing was the winner of this bout, pinning LAWSON in 7 minutes 8 seconds into the contest was LEE DANIELS.
After a brief interval, we welcomed our next competitors to the ring for the penultimate bout of the evening, a 6 Round Contest, where two pin falls, two submissions or one knockout is required to decide the winner. Each round lasting 3 minutes if they go the distance. The Monstrous Heavyweight JOSHUA KEMPER from Leeds [114Kg, 6ft 7in], pictured below, would face off against a Light Heavyweight, KANE GOODWIN [87Kg, 5ft 10in] of Altrincham. A whitewash performance from KEMPER, who didn’t allow his opponent any room to apply any wrestling hold or moves. KEMPER pinned GOODWIN in 22 seconds of round two after a devastating "choke slam". GOODWIN had barely recovered before being met by an enthused KEMPER who managed by brute strength to lift GOODWIN, by the waist in a clean jerk movement, over 10ft into the air and brought down hard to the canvass in a "Power Bomb" move. GOODWIN was pinned again by KEMPER, this time 15 seconds into the 3rd round.
Our main event of the evening welcomed back our current ‘BEAT THE CHAMPION’, from Manchester, "SLIM" JIM BRENNAN [87Kg, 6ft 1in] back to the squared circle as he took on the challenger CONNOR MAXON, Penrith [86Kg, 5ft 10in], who was selected at random by a member of the audience earlier in the night. The bout would be a 6 Round Contest, where two pin falls, two submissions or one knockout is required to decide the winner. Each round lasting 4 minutes if they go the distance. Both Wrestling athletes each with moments of momentum, but neither could force an advantage over the other as we entered the 3rd round. BRENNAN was relentless as he continued to hound MAXON, cornering him into the turnbuckle. BRENNAN was able to acrobatically launch MAXON high into the air, to come crashing down on the canvas to secure the first pinfall, 2 minutes 40 seconds into the 3rd round. MAXON turned the tide in the 4th, despite receiving a yellow card warning for attacking BRENNAN before the bell of the 4th round, MAXON was able to spear "SLIM" JIM BRENNAN late in the 4th round to gain a pinfall and square this match up 1 fall a piece with two rounds to go.
In the 5th, a further yellow card warning was issued to MAXON, this time for disobeying the referee THOMAS PHILPOTTS for not breaking when told and allowing his opponent out of the corner. We entered the final round with scores still square, the final 10 seconds of the round saw "SLIM" JIM BRENNAN catch MAXON in a favoured neck crank, but was unable to force the submission. After 6 rounds, we went to judge MARTY JONES for the scorecard to decide the victor. Former 7-time Mid-Heavyweight World Champion MARTY JONES scored it 58-58, but due to the 2 yellow card warnings issued against MAXON, it was ruled that 2 points were deducted for each yellow card. Final score 58-54 in favour of "SLIM" JIM BRENNAN and would remain undefeated and continue on in his quest in the ‘BEAT THE CHAMPION’ Competition. BRENNAN now takes another step closer to the £2000 grand prize in his 3rd leg of the competition next month in Theatr John Ambrose, Ruthin, on SATURDAY 25TH OF NOVEMBER.
Thank you to all in attendance for the evening. Keep an eye out on our Union Wrestling Facebook and Instagram pages for up to date information and news; @UnionWrestling. Tickets are on sale and available through our website www.unionwrestling.co.uk