Pro2 Wrestling
David Milloy
Wrestling in the UK might not quite enjoy the same high profile that it did when the likes of Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks, Kendo Nagasaki, and Mick McManus regularly featured on TV, but make no mistake it’s still alive and grappling.
It has a strong presence in Ayrshire, but perhaps this shouldn’t come as a surprise with Ayr-born Drew McIntyre having become the first British wrestler to win a WWE World Championship in the USA.
Closer to home, former wrestler Cameron Findlay, known to wrestling fans as Logan Storm, set up Pro2 Wrestling in 2020 as a way of bringing something of the glitz and pizzazz of WWE wrestling to Ayrshire.
Pro2 held their first show in November 2021 and have since held several shows a year throughout Ayrshire, ranging from Kilwinning in the north to Patna in the south. Each successive show has brought further enhancements, and with its latest event, Battlelines III, promising to be the biggest and most colourful yet, we just had to check it out.
Upon arrival at Walker Hall in Troon on a windy October Sunday, it soon became very clear that Storm Ashley (a good name for a wrestler, perhaps?) had failed to deter anyone from attending, with the full capacity crowd of 250 all present, correct, and looking forward to the six scheduled wrestling matches, five of which were championship bouts.
Pro2 prides itself in running family-friendly events, and this was evident from the make-up of the crowd, which spanned both ends of the age spectrum.
The wrestling ring had been set up close to the stage but on the same level as the seating, which meant that no-one was too far away from the action. It also offered plenty of scope for the action to spill over from the ring onto the floor of the hall itself; needless to say, it did.
A video screen, which played a succession of videos made by Kid Thomson, Pro2’s commentator and video creator, was located behind the ring and an excellent PA system delivered crystal clear sound that was powerful without being unpleasantly loud.
The first bout was a tag team contest for the Big Massive Wrestling Tag Team Championship between Opulence (Che Monet and Luke Kyro) and Lucha Scotland (Lucha DS and Soldado), with the masked wrestlers of the latter team being very much the crowd’s favourites. As would be the case throughout the show, each competitor was introduced not only by MC James Hamilton but also by the playing of their theme music and a custom video made by Kid Thomson – a nice touch. Having been roundly booed since first entering the ring, Opulence further incurred the audience’s ire for cheating whenever the opportunity presented itself. It would be pleasing to write that they got their comeuppance in the end but, alas, their chicanery won out on this occasion and they took the title and the coveted belts from Lucha Scotland. One-nil to the bad guys, then.
The next bout featured two female wrestlers, with Angel Hayze defending her Pro2 Belles Championship title from KT Mills. This was a clash of two contrasting styles, with the speed and agility of Hayze being pitted against the strength and power of Mills. The result was a contest in which each wrestler was able to get the upper hand for a time, but in the end it was Hayze who scored the winning pinfall, much to the delight of the crowd. But if she thought that her battles were over for the evening, she was mistaken, as fellow wrestler Kate Calloway announced herself to the Pro2 crowd by ambushing Hayze as she celebrated her victory.
Wrestling fans will, of course, know that this can only mean one thing: a grudge match between the two is in the offing.
Next up was a meaty encounter featuring BT Gunn (aka The Oddity) and crowd favourite Logan Smith. Obviously disappointed at the relative lack of cheating in the women’s bout, BT Gunn decided to redress the situation by attempting to throttle Logan Smith with some wrist tape after referee Edith Summer’s attention had been diverted. This particularly upset some of the younger fans present, whose annoyance was mildly but loudly expressed! They needn’t have worried, though, as their hero somehow managed to drag victory from the jaws of defeat and thereby retain the Pro2 Why So Serious Championship.
There was then a break in the action, during which the audience could buy some nibbles, pick up some merchandise and grab an autograph or selfie with some of the wrestlers.
When the action resumed, it was the turn of young Sam Taylor from Kilmarnock to take on not only Davey Blaze, The Glasgow Gladiator, but also his rather less than popular manager, Charles Boddington, for the Scottish Interpromotional Championship. The scene was set from the start with Boddington laying down the law to the officials and even scuffling with his own wrestler at one point. As with the Hayze/Mills match, this was a contrast of styles and physiques, with the slender (but quick and agile) figure of Taylor taking on the older, more powerful Blaze. And he largely gave as good as he got, although he came off second best when Boddington illegally joined in the fight as soon as the referee’s back was turned. Once more the crowd aired their feelings, with Boddington in particular being the target of some amusing invective. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to prevent Blaze from taking the win, proof positive that the good guys don’t always win.
The penultimate bout was a non-title match contested according to rodeo rules (nope, me neither) between the popular self-styled cowboy Frank X. Cross and the mean, moody, and quite possibly mad Frank Gallo, who announced himself to the crowd by biting the ropes of the ring! The crowd did their best to will Cross to victory but it was the more powerful Gallo who took the spoils after an entertaining tussle. The audience’s disappointment was soon dispelled, however, when show manager/ring master Big Bad John decided that Cross’s polite request for a rematch should be granted.
The final bout was for the Pro2 Ayrshire Heavyweight Championship, and it was a cracker. It saw the holder, TJ Rage, aided and abetted by the incorrigible Charles Boddington, take on the up-and-coming crowd favourite Hunter Samson. Needless to say, Boddington wasted little time in helping his fighter and to heck with what the rules might say. This time, however, his antics attracted the attention of Big Bad John, who promptly sent Boddington packing from the venue, much to the delight of the crowd. Now contested one-on-one, the bout was fought not only in the ring but also in the hall and even in the corridor outside the hall. The battle for supremacy ebbed and flowed as the two big men threw everything but the kitchen sink (if Boddington had still been around we might even have seen an actual kitchen sink) at each other. Ultimately, it was Hunter Samson, younger and bigger than his opponent, who managed to eke out just enough of an advantage to successfully pinfall his opponent for the three seconds necessary to secure victory and the title, to the joy of his manager (Suave Gav, who also doubles as one of Pro2’s commentators) and the assembled throng.
But – stop me if you’ve heard this one before – there was more action to come. As Pro2 supremo Cameron Findlay addressed the crowd he was bushwhacked by wrestler Dick Naylor and took something of a beating until his erstwhile friend and former tag team partner TJ Rage came to his aid. The result was that Naylor was sent packing, Cameron and TJ had an emotional reconciliation, and the crowd went home happy.
There’s an element of theatre and pantomime to wrestling, in that it’s performed to a script with storylines that usually transcend a single fight, has well defined characters (the goodies and the often hissable baddies), and encourages audience participation (just ask the ‘baddie’ wrestlers who were hit by inflatable hammers wielded by some younger members of the audience about that). On the other hand, wrestlers require stamina, strength, skill, and timing far beyond that needed by mere actors. Yes, they’re performers, but they’re also very talented sportspeople who work hard and whose bodies take a pummelling every time they step in the ring. As everyone involved with wrestling will tell you: if it looks like it hurts, it hurts!
Most of all, though, wrestling is great entertainment delivered in a family-friendly package with multi-generational appeal. And in Pro2’s case, it’s presented with love, care, and no small amount of hard work. It’s stonking good value too – my ticket to Battlelines III cost £10 plus a small booking fee and the merchandise was all very reasonably priced.
Perhaps the highest compliment I can pay to Pro2 is that Battlelines III was the first wrestling show I’ve ever attended; it will most certainly not be my last.
As previously noted, Pro2 run wrestling events throughout Ayrshire. Their next show, run in association with Patna Extravaganza Group, will take place at Patna Primary School on Sunday 24th November. Doors open at 4.00pm and the wrestling starts at 4.30pm. Tickets, which cost £6.00 a head for adults and £4 a head for children, can be reserved by calling 07388 558089.
Pro2 also have a dedicated YouTube channel on which you can view bouts from previous events and other wrestling content: www.youtube.com/@Pro2Wrestling
And should you fancy becoming a wrestler, Pro2 is currently in the process of setting up a training academy in Ayr, details of which will be published on their Facebook page.
www.facebook.com/Pro2Wrestling/?locale=en_GB
