Two minutes into the first bout of the night and I was a changed man. The crowd loved Mason Storm and I wasn’t going to go argue with their expertise.
This was Exposure Wrestling’s Sunday evening show at Pontnewydd Working Men’s Club. From the moment Mason appeared through the smoke and curtains to chants of ‘Let’s Go Mason!’ it was clear he was the fans’ favourite.
My plan was to watch quietly and politely clap the good moves of either wrestler. That’s me all over. But the lively atmosphere in the packed room meant I would have been the odd one out. David Eton, his opponent, was annoying the crowd which meant he was annoying me. I booed and jeered at every move he inflicted on Mason.
The pair of them set the tone for the evening with an eye-watering display of moves. We had kicks, flips, elbows, jumps, throws, slams, slaps and flying knees. Nearly all of these moves ended with a big whack on the canvas. Ouch.
Well done to David Eton for ruining the start of the night for us fans by beating our Mason. Only joking 😀
The queue to get in
The queue was winding around the building before the doors opened at 5pm. I remember spotting a few Facebook posts from friends earlier this month about the WWE Clash in the Castle Show in Cardiff and ticket prices were a hot topic. My ears are always open and the chit-chat among wresting fans in Pontnewydd was about the prices in Cardiff.
A woman behind me said: “I paid £400 for tickets to the WWE in Cardiff and hardly saw a thing.”
Entrance to this event was from £7 and for that got you nearly two hours of entertainment. And as for the view, well I popped to the bar for a can of coke and suddenly found myself in the middle ‘a brawl’ as two wrestlers left the ring to fight just a couple of yards from me. The crowd loved it and the pair made sure all the audience got a close-up look of the action as the scrap continued around the room and back into the ring. You could hear the ref, the wrestlers and fans around the room throughout the show. There is no such thing as a bad seat.
Tilly Gordon
Sixteen-year-old Tilly Gordon has featured on Cwmbran Life a few times this year. The former Cwmbran High School pupil wants to be a professional wrestler. This year she has been building up her skills and experience in the gym and being put in the spotlight as a referee on several shows. Tonight was no different and she found herself in the middle of two bouts and finding herself called up for a third by the crowd after Chris, the referee in the final bout, was ‘knocked out’ following a clash in the C.J. Rawlings v Jack Stars bout. This led to the dramatic finale of the night. Jack had C.J pinned down and as Tilly was counting to three, CJ’s teammate sneaked into the ring and landed a strike to her head and this stopped the count. Chris recovered moments later to see C.J back in control and awarded him the win in controversial circumstances.
It was brilliant to see her in action in front of a raucous crowd and making sure the wrestlers followed the ‘rules’. Putting yourself in the ring takes some confidence and the skills she learns from being a referee will help her so much when she finally makes her debut in a bout.
Action-packed
It may be a cliche but the five bouts were action-packed. In my notes the word ‘winced’ was used a lot. And I did wince, a lot.
It’s hard to believe how these wrestlers were doing these moves without hurting each other. How do you hold someone vertically above your head, and the pair of you fall back onto the canvas without some incredible levels of training? One man bounced his bum off the top rope and backflipped into the ring and landed on his opponent. This all happens so close to you. Like I said there is no such thing as a bad seat at these shows.
The wrestlers all showed strength, fitness, timing, and I would add bravery judging by some of the move they put their bodies through. My notebook also included the line, ‘oh ow, that’s gotta hurt’. I could have written that a dozen times in every bout.
A video round-up
Value for money
I had to pop this in here. In big sporting stadiums, my wallet has been known to break out into a sweat while queuing to buy snacks. Here it set me back just £2.80 for two cans of pop and a bag of Quavers. Bargain!
Photo gallery from the show
Next show
Keep an eye on the Exposure Wrestling website. Their next show is on Sunday 30 October at the Neon in Newport. Doors open at 6pm. First bout is 7pm. Tickets from £10.
Full results from Sunday’s show
- David Eton defeated Mason Storm
- Casey Wild defeated Jay Stynes
- Max Steel defeated GL2
- Tiger Cub defeated Joshua Goodwin
- C.J. Rawlings defeated Jack Stars
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