Thread by @BritWresAwayDay, 15 YEARS AGO TODAY: The Orpington Halls in, erm, Orpington, Kent was [...]

B.E.N.

15 YEARS AGO TODAY: The Orpington Halls in, erm, Orpington, Kent was the somewhat unlikely home for hot US indie promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and their first ever UK show. I was there, front row centre, to tell the story...
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PWG had been in existence for less than 3 years but had already gained a following for it's shows in the Los Angeles area that featured a blend of the best US indie talent and the home SoCal regulars. There was great action, but also a firm focus on fun, and often wacky.
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So, recognising their cult status across the Atlantic, PWG embarked on their first ever 'European Vacation' (a nod to the 1985 National Lampoon film), arranging back-to-back shows in Germany (in conjunction with wXw) and England (in associated with IPW:UK).
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UK fans were well used to seeing imported US stars on UK shows, but this was the first time an entire promotion itself was 'the import', the idea being it was a rare chance for UK fans to see a fully-fledged 'authentic' show (ROH would follow that summer, then others).
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The sleepy London Zone 6 town of Orpington in Kent may seem like an unlikely destination, but for 18 months had been home to the upstart IPW:UK promotion, whose monthly shows had quickly caught on with south-east wrestling fans and were taking a lot of attention from FWA.
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Despite all the recommendations, I hadn't yet been down to an Orpington show. It was the PWG show that convinced me to make my first trip. IPW:UK cleverly ran their normal monthly show in the building the night before, calling it 'A Taste of IPW', so I went to see both.
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'A Taste of IPW' was a really enjoyable show and immediately made me a fan of what they were doing. There were characters and storylines, and the audience was a perfect balance of local families and 'smarter' fans sitting as one. Atmosphere was raucous, cheeky and funny.
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Martin Stone (now Danny Burch) v Andy Boy Simmonz was super-heated. Stone was technically a heel, but they were working a double-turn as the Orpington fans loved the no-nonsense arse-kicking hard man and cheered him over then-babyface Simmonz, who was becoming obnoxious.
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While IPW:UK was running in Orpington, PWG was already starting their European Vacation in Essen, Germany. It was the wXw all-standing-fans-right-up-to-the-ring style, with all the banging on the mat (which SoCal PWG fans then copied when they saw it on DVD), songs etc..
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The next day I made my way from the Comfort Inn in Vauxhall back to Orpington Halls in what I remember being atrocious weather in time for the afternoon's PWG Meet n' Greet.

So, here's 2006 me with Steen, Generico, Excalibur, Disco Machine, Super Dragon & Davey Richards..
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... and here's 2006 me with TopGun Talwar, Ricky Reyes, Frankie Kazarian, Quicksilver, Dino Winward, Scorpio Sky, Chris Bosh and Scott Lost.

Scorpio Sky's unmasking hadn't been released on DVD by that point (or I hadn't yet seen it), so that came as a surprise to me.

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I bought a 'Best of Aerial Express' DVD from Scorpio Sky and Quicksilver, featuring a load of their SoCal matches with added funny skits, and got it signed. They were such a great team, one if my favourites, having so many bangers in that era of PWG.
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After the meet n' greet, the rain was so bad outside they let everyone stay in the hall until the show. All tickets were £30, but some were designated as front row based on how quick you'd bought them when they went on-sale. In practice for PROGRESS later, I'd been QUICK.
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The show itself was sooo much fun. The ring announcer was PWG's Dino Winward, who was great in the informal 'host' type role that wasn't really a thing for ring announcers back then. Opening 6-man featured UK's Aviv Maayan & Spud (now Drake Maverick) in with PWG regulars.
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Carrying on from night before, Simmonz was a super heel to this audience, which kinda bemused the PWG guys (including on commentary on the eventual DVD release). There was a big "STAND UP IF YOU HATE SIMMONZ' and, yep, everyone stood. Everyone kept their shoes on, though.
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This was first time I'd seen/heard that type of chant/song/reaction in a wrestling setting. While the football songs/darts/boxing type UK sporting atmosphere would be a signature of British wrestling during it's later boom, most chants back then were copying US indie style
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Kevin Steen (now Owens) & El Generico (now, erm.... retired) tore the house down in a super match full of big crazy moves. This was the 1st time Steen had ever wrestled in the UK (and only 3rd for Generico), but they'd be back multiple times for IPW:UK over next few years.
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AJ Styles vs. Jody Fleisch was one that a lot were looking forward to the most, being an international dream match (and a rematch from a well-remembered cracker at FWA just over 3 years prior). It was indeed great, but couldn't take MOTN honours from that Steenerico belter
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I also enjoyed the Super Dragon/Davey Richards vs. Arrogance main event, though I know others thought it was overlong and a bit dull. I loved both of these teams at the time, and Dragon and Richards' title defences could legitimately headine shows over the singles belt.
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And that was that. I did get the DVD of the show months later (I got every show up to about 2013), but it didn't come over how fun the atmosphere was in that building on that day. Individual PWG stars did come back to Orpington for IPW:UK shows on occasion throughout 2006-7
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The trip to Orpington for this pair of shows also convinced me that IPW:UK was worth the monthly trip to follow and I didn't miss another of their main run of events until 2012 (when Orpington Halls had closed and they'd moved to Bromley & Swanley... then Sittingbourne).
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PWG itself obviously grew in terms of recognition and appreciation, and did come back for their second European Vacation the following year, adding a third stop in France and this time hosting the English leg all the way down in PORTSMOUTH. They never came back after that trip...

So, I'll leave you with some more of my photos from the day...

Topgun Talwar
Dino Winwood
Excalibur
Rick Knox

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