Former WWE stars set to appear at English event

Well I've never heard of One Pro Wrestling but the English promotion has former ECW and WWE stars Nunzio, Balls Mahoney, Kid Kash and Sandman on it's upcoming match card.

When I first saw this I couldn't quite believe it and the event 'To The Extreme' which is taking place this weekend at the Doncaster Dome is not to be missed.

There is some confusion as to when the event is starting as the times are mentioned twice on this page however they are not the same!

The biggest draw by far is Sandman who had a stint on WWE Raw for a while and if I saw him on any card I would go to event purely to see him perform live.

He always gets an electric reaction from crowds and a prime example of this can be seen below at One Night Stand.


I do find it hard to understand why this popular crop of American wrestlers have ended up in Doncaster but I suppose once you have worked for the WWE the only way is down.

I'm sure the four men in question will have been offered quite handsome deals to make an appearance on the English independent scene.

Ticket prices suggest this with the cheapest option at £20 for stalls. Floor seats come in at £35 and a ring side seat would set you back £50. This seems rather steep in for an English promotion and this is put into perspective when you consider my WWE Raw ticket cost £40.

EXCLUSIVE :: Interview with Chris Blackwood

Chris Blackwood is an English wrestler currently working for Midlands based promotions Leicester Pro Wrestling and Alternative Wrestling World.

He has been part of the independent business for around two years after joining a training scheme at AWW in early 2007. At the moment he is performing as Lucian L. Jones who is a despicable street thug and he is loving it.

In this interview Blackwood reveals how he got into the business, why he likes it so much and why it's so good to play a heel character.

Why and at what age did you decide to get into wrestling?

Watching-wise, I’ve been into wrestling since I was about 4. My granddad used to sit me on his lap and we’d watch World of Sport together on a Saturday afternoon. I started watching WWF as soon as we got satellite TV, and it’s just spiraled out of control from there.

As far as actually wrestling, I did some backyard stuff when I was about 18, just doing stupidly dangerous stuff with no training for our own amusement.

I got into training and such by getting drunk at an AWW show in Birmingham about 2 years ago. They announced they had a training school, and in my lack of sobriety I decided that I was going to start wrestling again.

When did you do your first show?

I had my first “proper” match as part of a 20 man Royal Rumble style match on 30th November 2007. I sucked big time and got thrown out too early and messed up the order of the rumble. Thankfully I’ve got a lot better since then.

What is the best thing about the job?

Most definitely it is the rush from hearing people either boo or cheer you. Wrestling is all about getting a reaction from the crowd, and as soon as you hear those boos or cheers, you know you’ve done your job right. The worst thing for a wrestler is to have an audience that really couldn’t give a damn one way or the other about them. Well that, and being able to get away with being horribly slack to people because I’m “in character”. He he!

Are you making money out of it or is more a hobby?

I’m in it purely for fun at the moment. If I get travel expenses it’s a nice bonus, as I haven’t ended up out of pocket, but I don’t think there’s too much money to be made from the UK wrestling scene at the moment.

Have you had professional training? How often?

I’ve been in training on and off since late 2007. I used to go twice a week, but now money’s getting tight I’ve had to cut that down to maybe once or twice a month to keep the ring rust off. Luckily I’m still getting booked on shows, so that means I can use that to keep in some kind of decent wrestling condition.

How important is it to have a good body? Do you work out?

Some people would say having a good body is the most important thing, but I honestly don’t think it’s the case. Sure if you’re massive and muscular then you’re more likely to get noticed, but I’m a firm believer that there’s no substitute for talent. I do work out, but not religiously. I’m starting to think I’m just not built to be anything over 14 and a half stone!

What character do you play?

Basically my character thinks and acts like he’s a bad boy, but he’s not really. He’s all about being ghetto-fabulous, being “overtly urban” so-to-speak. It’s just a jumped up version of those kids who you usually see in gangs with their hoods up, hanging around outside shops, smoking fags, listening to the latest grime track on their new Sony Ericsson, and holding a Staffordshire Bull Terrier on a lead. Couple that with the catchphrase “Don’t you know who I am? I’m Lucian L. Jones, Bitch!”, and that’s my character!

Do you prefer being heel or face?

It’s difficult really as being a face is great as they’re the guys who always get cheered, and get to be everyone’s friend (and more importantly people actually want to buy your t-shirt at the end of the night!). Whereas when you’re a heel it’s like a kind of catharsis. If I’ve had a bad day then it’s a great way to vent by getting all up in the audiences faces and giving them grief. You get to lie, cheat, just pretty much do whatever you can to make the crowd hate you. It’s so much fun it’s untrue.

Did you find taking bumps hard to get used to? Do you ever think twice about a bump now?

The hardest part was not automatically putting my hands down to try and protect myself. It’s quite hard to try and overcome years of nature telling you not to let yourself fall over! After pretty much my first lesson I started to get the hang of it though. Now it’s second nature though. The only bumps I worry about are the ones that I’d be taking outside the ring, but truth be told 9 out of 10 of those don’t really “hurt” as such.

I interviewed another wrestler, Simon Platt of WAR Wrestling in Rugby and he said that the ability someone has to pull off a good match was more important than their image... do you agree/disagree?

I agree to a certain extent, same as I said earlier you can be the biggest most muscular guy in the world, but if you can’t carry a match then it doesn’t mean squat. Just look at someone like the Ultimate Warrior, he was bought in because he had “the look”, and then turned out to be one of the most appalling in-ring workers ever. Ideally though, if you can work a great match, AND have a good image then you should have it made.

He also said that the business is too easy to get into due to promotions needing people to fill their cards and therefore there are a lot of poor performers out there. Do you agree/disagree?

Again, I agree to a certain extent. Some promotions will just drop you straight into a match, no matter how wet behind the ears you are. But generally speaking, those are the kind of promotions that put on the worst shows. I think a lot of problems also stem from promotions saying they do training, but have a trainer that isn’t as experienced as they should be. Generally a student can only be as good as whoever teaches them, and if the trainer isn’t great how do you expect the trainees to get on?

Do you have another job?

Yep, not quite that famous yet! I work in forensics by day, but by night become Lucian “Legendary” Jones. Who knows, one day wrestling may be able to become a living for me, but I can’t see it happening anytime soon!

JBL deserved a better retirement match

I expected JBL to come out on RAW last Monday and give one of his outrageous ten minute speeches to explain why he lost so easily.

Despite saying he had quit the WWE at Wrestlemania I presumed that he wouldn't leave the business after losing the intercontinental title in a match that lasted 21 seconds.

Unfortunately he didn't appear and the next day I came across a blog post from him on wwe.com.

In it he confirms his departure and talks about starting the next chapter of his life. He mentions how one of his biggest regrets after getting injured was that he wasn't going to make it to Wrestlemania 25.

It was fitting that he did in fact make it which is a credit to him as clearly he never gave up and got his wish of appearing at the 'grandest stage of them all' for one last time.

He said he had no plans to be involved in any type of on air character in the future which is disappointing because he was a brilliant commentator. His partnership with Michael Cole was hilarious and a real hark back to the days where the colour commentator disagreed with absolutely everything the play by play man said.

I regard JBL as the best heel mic worker ever and I think his 13 year career warranted a better send off.

If the match had to be short then so be it but it would have nice if he had come out of character at the end and said thank you to the crowd. When he angrily said 'I quit' I don't think too many people knew if he was being serious or not.

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I hate sledgehammers

I said we could possibly witness one of the best Wrestlemanias of all time and I think I got a little too excited with that prediction.

This was a really good pay-per-view however it wasn't amazing mainly because the two title matches simply weren't thought out well enough.

I think it was absolutely criminal to set up the ending to Wrestlemania with a sledgehammer shot. What an outrageous decision and I think the writers really need to get over using that 'iconic' weapon.

It made Triple H look weak as he wasn't able to beat Orton without cheating. I know Triple H has a lot of say behind the scenes and why on earth he would want to win the main event like that is beyond me. Orton was built up so much in the run up and to have him lose in a mediocre match like that seems completely pointless.

The encounter between Shawn Michaels and the Undertaker was so good that it set up the preceding matches for a fall. Everyone wanted the same level of emotion and it just could not be re-created particularly with the world title match ending so suddenly.

These two legends showed everyone how it's done and had the every single person in the crowd in the palm of their hands. The match structure was just perfect with a number of brilliant moves, counters and unexpected kick outs and it will go down in history as one of the best ever.

I must mention how good the performance of Ricky Steamboat was. I was wondering before hand who out of the legends would work the majority of the match and I soon got my answer. The beginning was awful but when Steamboat got in the ring he showed that he had kept himself in shape and could still pull off a great match.

The match between the Hardy brothers wasn't as good as I though it was going to be. When Jeff came out I immediately felt that he should be involved in a title match and not some meaningless poorly plugged battle with his not so popular brother.

My overall rating for Wrestlemania is 7/10. Do you agree or disagree?

Wrestlemania Preview - Spoiler free

The biggest date in the pro wrestling calendar is once again upon us and what an event it promises to be.

The match card this year is packed with interesting rivalries and it's a certainty that there will be a number of special moments which will go down in history.

Every year people say it's going to be the best Wrestlemania ever which is not always true in my opinion. However I thoroughly believe that this Sunday we will be witnessing one of the greatest Mania's of all time.

I will now give my opnion on the matches I am looking forward to most.

Triple H (C) vs Randy Orton

This match has been promoted brilliantly and is the clear main event. In recent years there have been 2 or 3 matches that could have been at the top of the bill but this strategy has now been changed. The Triple H / Orton rivalry has been given the most airtime and has included some shocking moments. The WWE clearly see Orton as their new top man and I would be very surprised if he didn't walk out as champion.

Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels

Two of the biggest names in wrestling history go head to head and I just know this match will be a bit special. The build-up has been pretty good and I particularly liked Michaels religious entrance last week on Smackdown. Michaels has done most of the VT's and promos and I have to say the one in the graveyard was slightly embarrassing. When he said 'rest in peace' I burst out laughing. I want HBK to win but I suppose Taker's record will be protected.

Matt Hardy vs Jeff Hardy

Brother versus brother matches always make for good viewing. Ignore the poor advertisement of this match - the WWE have had bigger rivalries to plug. Matt Hardy's VT with the dog was absolutely ridiculous! This match will be emotionally charged and I am confident that these two talented individuals will deliver the match of their lives and do their family proud. I really don't have a clue as to who will get the victory.

Edge (C) vs John Cena vs Big Show

Big Show makes his first appearance in a championship match at Wrestlemania since 2000 however I think he is just there to make up the numbers. If he did win the title it would be pretty amazing but I can't see this happening. The story line involving these three isn't the best as I think everyone is a little bored of the Edge and Vicky love hate relationship hence why I have this as the fourth best match. This title has changed hands quite often so I'm not sure what they have in store next. Surely Cena can't win a championship at Wrestlemania again?

Money in the bank

This is always an entertaining match and should include some neat spots. My only snag about this is that none of the wrestlers included seem worthy of winning it.

What is your opinion on the Wrestlemania card? No spoilers please.