WRESTLEZONE- BATTLE OF THE NATIONS 2012
18th August 2012- Northern Hotel, Aberdeen

A jam-packed card was in store for Aberdeen’s wrestling fans this past Saturday night, as WrestleZone returned to the Northern Hotel for “Battle of the Nations 2012”. This year, the Celtic Connection duo of Scotty Swift and Bingo Ballance would face-off against England’s Rob Cage and Dave Rayne in the battle for national pride. Also, Crusher Craib would look to seal a meeting with Richard R. Russell as he took on Sterling Oil and Damien in a 3-on-1 handicap match. Plus, Aberdeen wrestling legend Len Ironside was in attendance, while WrestleZone management’s Dave Paterson had TWO huge announcements to make. All this made for an exciting event in front of almost 200 fans packed into the Northern Hotel.

GRANITE CITY HOTSHOTS & BLUE THUNDER V HOLYROOD BLONDS & MR MALICE

Six-man tag team action would kick-off this event in style, with the Blues managing to frustrate the Blonds and Malice in the early running. But the dastardly trio isolated Johnson from his corner, but no matter what they did they could not put the tag champion away!

Eventually, he tagged in Thunder who rallied on Malice. This one soon descended into a brawl between the Blonds and Hotshots, with the current tag team champions getting the better of it. And when they hooked up with the ‘Masked Marvel’ to go to work on Malice, the Blonds wanted nothing more to do with this match and retreated to the locker-room. In the end, Thunder pinned Malice after a top-rope splash, much to the delight of the enthusiastic audience.

CYSTO V BRIAN STARR

The “Tangerine Dream” marched into the Northern Hotel with dreams of stopping the runaway train that is Brian Starr. However, those dreams were short-lived as Starr managed to counter Cysto’s unconventional offence, and after a crushing Spinebuster, he added insult-to-injury as he forced Cysto to submit to the Liontamer.

For three events in a row, Starr has picked up the victory by submission, and there must be something behind the ‘Forgotten Son’s” tactics in recent contests - the question is what?

UNDISPUTED TITLE: JOHNNY LIONS V JD SASSOON

Lions would look to extend his championship reign closer to the six-month mark, as he took on a man looking for the perfect debut, fan favourite JD Sassoon. The grappler had a chance to mark his debut in amazing fashion here, while Lions was out to avoid embarrassment and hold onto his previous championship.

The opening minutes were a feeling out process as both men got to grips with the other’s style. It was clear that Sassoon had studied the “Tenacious One” ahead of this match, and his efforts worked from the start. But Lions’ run has been built on his ability to escape from the stickiest of situations, and despite a great effort from Sassoon here, the champion was able to retain his title.

The win came out of the blue as Lions was able to counter Sassoon’s charge and catch him with a surprise Lion Driver that have him a pinfall victory. Lions will now pass the six-month mark as Undisputed Champion and will have his sights set to go on past the one year mark to prove his dominance in the WrestleZone.

HANDICAP MATCH: CRUSHER CRAIB V STERLING OIL & DAMIEN

The fight that everyone had come to see was next, with Crusher Craib looking to clear the final hurdle on his way to a match with Richard R. Russell. All the ‘Creator of Carnage’ needed to do here was pick-up the victory, and the match with his former boss would be signed for our event in October at Inchgarth.

Many of the fans in attendance at the Northern Hotel expected to see a mauling – and from the start they got exactly that. ‘Wonderful’ William, ‘Adorable’ Alan and Damien tried their best but they could not contain the enraged monster. Bodies flew across the ring as Crusher fought off all their attentions and it was clear there could only be one winner here.

But there was a twist in the tale here, and it was not the end that Crusher wanted! Despite leaving all three of his opponents – and Mr. Malice – in a tangled mess, Crusher would not win this match! And there is one man to blame for all of that – referee Andy Andrews!

In what is the biggest controversy ever seen in the WrestleZone, Anderson counted Crusher’s shoulders down for a three-count after ‘Wonderful’ William managed a sneaky roll-up on the monster. However, video evidence clearly shows that Crusher’s shoulders were not pinned to the mat for more than a momentary second!

The Northern Hotel audience were outraged – and so was Crusher as he heard the announcement that he had lost his chance for a match with Russell. He took out his frustrations on William, Alan and Damien, and followed them as they tried to escape. The focus of the fans’ frustrations were aimed at Andy Andrews, who had a staunch look on his face.

However, the motives behind this one became very clear when Richard R. Russell entered the ring and preceded to hand Andy Anderson a wad of cash, which the official gleefully accepted! WrestleZone management’s Mr Paterson was clearly unhappy with the goings-on, and there is sure to be an internal inquiry into all of this.

Whatever happens, the record book shows that Sterling Oil beat Crusher Craib and that means there will be no match forthcoming between Crusher Craib and Richard R. Russell!

MR NEWS V ASPEN FAITH

Wrestling newsreader Mr. News returned to WrestleZone duty, and looked to further the trouble for the ‘Hippie Horror’ Aspen Faith, after his unbeaten run came to an end last week in Stonehaven. And it is clear that loss does not sit well with the ‘Psychedelic Psycho’, and he was back to his most vicious here as he targeted News’ arm.

But we have seen before what a strong character the Tay FM personality can be, and he battled back with one arm to put Faith on the ropes. However, given the toll that punishment had already taken, he did not quite have enough to win this, and after Faith hit a Knee Trembler to the side of his skull, News was adjudged to have been knocked out and Faith was declared the winner!

MR PATERSON'S TWO ANNOUNCEMENTS

WrestleZone representative Dave Paterson was back in the ring to tell the Northern Hotel fans about big plans for WrestleZone in 2013. His first big announcement was to inform fans that next year’s Regal Rumble event will take place in February at the Northern Hotel!

However, he saved the best to last as he announced the first WrestleZone supershow to take place at the Beach Ballroom in June 2013, which will be a celebration of our five-year anniversary. This will be the first-time in almost 30 years that wrestling has been at the historic venue, and he gave us a sneak peak of plans to come as he announced he is in negotiations with two former WWE stars for the event!

Mr. Paterson could not allude any further, but this blockbuster announcement stunned the fans who rejoiced at the prospect of local wrestling returning to the big stage once more. Exciting times ahead!

LEN IRONSIDE

Mr. Paterson’s wasn’t finished there, as he introduced our special guest of honour, Aberdeen wrestling legend and current City Councillor Len Ironside! The former grappler was enthused about the great spirit around the WrestleZone and likens it to his time in the glory days of British wrestling.

However, all was not rosy as ‘Pretty Boy’ Benjamin Steele and ‘Gigolo’ James Midas returned to the ring to confront Len. The ‘Pretty Boy’ baited the councillor and his remarks were completely disrespectful to a man who has wrestling and Aberdeen at his heart. So it was with great pride that Len gave Steele something to think about when he knocked him off his feet! Not bad for an old relic!

But there was trouble ahead as the Blonds threatened to gang up on the former council leader – only for the Granite City Hotshots to make the save, sending the Blonds flying! The bad blood between these two teams just intensified, and no doubt Steele will want revenge having been put in his place by Cllr Ironside. Still the fans were delighted to see that Len has still got it!

BATTLE OF THE NATIONS: SCOTTY SWIFT & BINGO BALLANCE V ROB CAGE & DAVE RAYNE

National pride was at stake in the 2012 edition of Battle of the Nations, as Scotty sought retribution for last year’s defeat to Dave Rayne, and the subsequent mockery of his tag team partner Rob Cage. The “Red-Haired Warrior” was not alone as he had the back-up of Ireland’s Bingo Ballance, and together the Celtic Connection had their sights set on sending the English homeward…to think again!

Clearly, the WrestleZone fans were on the side of Scotty and Bingo as the big fight feel filled the Northern Hotel. The duo showed exactly why they are fan favourites, as they rallied on Rayne and Cage and left them wondering what they had to do to keep up with the Red and Green express!

But things would turn ugly as Rayne and Cage pinpointed Scotty’s ribs, and they took great pleasure in dishing out the punishment, leaving Bingo to watch-on helplessly! But as the audience supported Scotty, they could see that burning desire in his eyes and eventually he was able to make-the-tag!

The ‘Zenith of Zero-Gravity’ showed why he is one of the top grapplers in Europe as he battled the attention of both Rayne and Cage, and he made the difference here! But as Bingo looked for Scotty’s help, a familiar face appeared at ringside intent on ensuring Scotty’s dreams would not come true! Brian Starr tried to interfere, only to be countered by a spanner-wielding Davey Annan!

This distraction allowed Rayne and Cage to regain some of the momentum, but it was short-lived as Scotty and Bingo were able to dispose of Cage, and then double-team Rayne, with Bingo picking up the winning fall! Celtic pride beamed throughout the Northern Hotel as Scotty and Bingo had picked up the win!

The fans celebrated with their heroes, but there was some unfinished business on Bingo’s behalf. The Emerald Isle superstar was delighted to stand-up for WrestleZone but there was now something on his hit list, something that he missed out on in the past but was reclaiming on the back of this win!

Bingo Ballance challenged Johnny Lions to an Undisputed Championship match on October 27th at Inchgarth Community Centre, Aberdeen, and it has been made official. On the back of this win, Johnny Lions’ odds on a long-championship reign just got shorter as Bingo is out to make history by becoming the first overseas champion in WrestleZone history.

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