The British Beat - Mainstream Exposure for Marsden
--British ring announcer Luke Marsden is among the contestants in this year's UK edition of Big Brother. The GPW announcer and former NPWA authority figure is currently a 12/1 third-favourite (equivalent to +1200 in Vegas-style odds) to win the series. Marsden's wrestling career has already been covered in national newspaper features.
--Tickets for this weekend's Lucha Libre London shows are now available at heavily reduced prices. The website lastminute.com now has ringside seats (originally £75) for £25, while standing room tickets are half-price at £10. The events run at the Roundhouse in Camden on Friday through Sunday evenings, with a matinee show on Saturday. It appears there will be different line-ups of matches at each event.
--Mark Sloan, the UK promoter for the recent NOAH tour, is taking pre-orders for DVDs of both nights, priced at £12 for one show or £20 for both. Orders can be made at www.a-merchandise.co.uk, while a trailer is online at http://santorini.globat.com/~wrestling-training.co.uk/noahsite/euronavtrailer.avi
--This weekend features another triple-header in the North West of England. GPW celebrate their fifth anniversary on Friday in Hindley, Wigan with a rumble match featuring mystery guests from the group's past. Other matches include TJ Cain vs Joey Hayes in an unsanctioned brawl (Cain's interference caused Hayes to lose a retirement match last December), Heresy vs Simon Valour in a bullrope match and Darkside vs Johnny Phere vs Bubblegum vs Dirk Feelgood for the GPW title.
--XPW runs Morecambe on Saturday with its own four-way title match pitting champion Jonny Storm against Phere, Stevie Knight and Sam Slam. Other matches include Stixx vs Martin Stone (a clash between men who started their careers together as ‘bodyguards' in the FWA) and Joey Hayes teaming with a mystery partner against the Kartel.
--Futureshock Wrestling rounds off the weekend on Sunday in Stockport with Chris Egan vs Simon Valour, Dave Rayne vs a member of the Domino Death Squad and the Nordic Warrior against football-lover Raynaldo.
--All Star wrestling have drawn some disappointing crowds (by their 2008 standards) in recent weeks, with several reports of attendances in the low hundreds and many empty seats. Some fans were also disappointed when Bryan Danielsen did not appear as advertised on a show in Cardiff.
It's possible the decision to run during the summer months, when the group has traditionally concentrated on the holiday camp circuit, may not have paid off as well as expected. It'll be interesting to see how the promotion performs during its weekly run in the 1000+ seat Tower Circus in Blackpool which starts next weekend.
--The next major event aimed at the internet wrestling community takes place in Wolverhampton on September 26-28. The curiously named ‘Indypendance Day' includes shows on the Saturday and Sunday evening, an awards dinner titled ‘The Indys' on the Friday, a special IPW-UK show on the Sunday evening, plus a signing session and an after-show party. Announced stars include Nigel McGuinness, the Briscoes and Davey Richards. With every listed performer a current or former ROH regular, there had been speculation this was promoter Alex Shane's replacement for both an ROH tour and the King of Europe tournament. However, Shane has said he is not the main promoter of this show and that there will be a King of Europe event next year.
--The WAW group is running a ‘Wrestling Weekender' event from 31 October through 3 November at the Pontins holiday camp in Pakefield, Sussex. The event includes 12 hours of live matches, plus training sessions for would-be grapplers and Q&A/autograph sessions. Prices including accommodation and meals start from £150.
