By @specficluchador

Southside Wrestling’s first show of the year came from The Priory Centre in St Neots that built up to the bigger show in the evening. Day of Reckoning VIII delivered a fun show that featured talent from over the world ranging from the likes of Robbie E to Andrew Everett.

Joseph Connors & The Pledge vs London Riots

Pretty solid opener that contained nothing offensive. Connors and James Davis, by far the superior workers in the match, spent the majority of the time in the ring, trading offence back and forth. Connors looked to secure the victory with his Southside Title but was prevented in doing so by Stixx, who Connors would face in the main event later in the evening at Battle of the Egos. A distracted Connors would leave The Pledge ripe for the picking, as The Riots delivered GBH for the win.

Another teased babyface turn for The Pledge post-match, which is something I can’t really buy into nor did anyone else. Since his debut he has been a brainless flunky and a turn will leave him in the wilderness.

El Ligero vs Damian Dunne

Really good match that contained lightning fast exchanges, high flying and all round good fun. Damian Dunne, although behind his brother Pete in terms of intensity and limb work, has really improved over the past year and never fails to draw decent heat from the crowd. My main criticism of Dunne, though, is that during his heat portions of his matches he just works the body aimlessly as opposed to focusing on one limb or part. The finish came when the ref spotted Dunne’s arms on the ropes in an attempted pinfall before El Ligero delivered a frogsplash to secure the win.

Second City Collective (Pete Dunne & Ryan Smile) vs Lucha Cousins (Leva Bates & Nixon Newell

Ryan Smile emerged, cutting a brilliantly insufferable promo on how the women couldn’t hang with the SCC. Bates and Newell emerged, both dressed as cowboys for inexplicable reasons-although I have recently been told that they were dressed as two Harrison Ford characters-Hans Solo & Indiana Jones. The heels got the heat early on after receiving numerous blows by the women, working a wrestling match and being economic with strikes-something that will please some. The momentum shifted when Lucha Cousins began spamming superkicks before delivering tandem Canadian Destroyers. Leva Bates made a fumbled attempted at a sliced bread that, despite a few in the crowd’s comments, was not better than Eva Marie’s. Smile caused a distraction on the apron that allowed Dunne to land the pump handle face buster to secure the win. Ryan Smile is legitimately one of the best mic workers in the country and deserves a lot more credit than he gets. He always receives vociferous boos from the audience that bay for his blood. And when Smile’s receives his comeuppance, his selling of offence is outstanding.

DJ Z vs BT Gunn vs Martin Kirby vs Chris Tyler

In a minor production error, DJ Z came out to BT Gunn’s NAK music. Another really fun match that was easy to watch, often underscored with this is awesome chants for large portions. DJ Z was really impressive, directing the traffic throughout whilst flying to the outside numerous times. Chris Tyler has always looked slightly apprehensive in the ring but was considerably better here when working with experienced hands like Zeema, Gunn & Kirby. In a somewhat surprising finish, DJ Z pinned BT Gunn following a 450.

Tommy End vs Timothy Thatcher

Oh boy, this was really great. As you already know, I’m a huge fan of all things Timothy Thatcher and a match vs Tommy End is always going to deliver. It is such a shame not many will see this. Both men attempted to force the other to work his style of match early on: with Thatcher looking to out grapple End and End looking to out strike Thatcher. As expected, the grappling throughout this match was impeccable. End secured the victory in emphatic fashion, landing consecutive knees to the face followed by a roundhouse kick for the win. The intensity both men brought was something to behold.

Despite the excellence of this match, Southside really wasn’t the place for it to get over huge. People wanted to see high spots and weapons, not nuanced mat work.

Later on in the evening, Tommy End would state that he wouldn’t working the evening show and would heading back to the Netherlands to have scans on both his knees. End said that he would hopefully be returning for the next PWG shows, in a conversation.

Mark Haskins & Robbie E vs Will Ospreay & Andrew Everett

Originally, this was scheduled to be Mark Haskins & Robbie X facing Ospreay & Everett but Southside shot an angle where Robbie X didn’t show up to tease tension between him and Haskins- a recurrent theme on recent Southside shows. Robbie E replaced him and appeared in a jovial mood, asking to team with an apprehensive Haskins. This was a really good main event that teased tension between Ospreay/Everett heading into the evening show. Both men entered a game of one upmanship that centered around doing flips on to Robbie E, with Mark Haskins being the glue to hold this together whilst he was in the ring.

Will Ospreay is so over in the UK, he was easily the most popular on both cards. There is something tangible you can buy into him as a babyface. Great interactions between Haskins and Ospreay as always, with the highlight coming when Haskins caught an attempted 450 in a guillotine choke. Following dives to the outside by Ospreay and Everett, Everett landed a shooting star press to Robbie E-but Ospreay had made the blind tag. Ospreay secured the win with the Jump Tuck Prey.

Final Word: Southside’s first show of the year delivered a lot of fun, with Ligero/Dunne, Thatcher/End and the tag main event all being very good. The TNA guys were incredibly popular- a theme for both shows- which is a surprise as it is a challenge to watch the show for the most part but is perhaps a reflection of the accessibility of TNA on free tv. Super fun show that everyone should watch if they get the opportunity.

Follow @KayfabeToday on Twitter for the latest reviews from the British Independent scene.