Fight Club: PRO – International Técnico – The Hangar, Wolverhampton – Review

2019 may have been a challenging night for many British pro-wrestling promotions but its been year that has seen Fight Club: PRO go from strength to strength.

That more shows than not have sold out, actually understates the commercial success of their monthly shows in Wolverhampton, with The Hangar’s capacity creeping up throughout the year.

The final show of 2019 saw their biggest crowd of the year witness several tremendous matches that pitted local guys against the world’s best.

Perhaps the most interesting straw in the wind was that Dudley’s Tyler Bate and Wolverhampton’s Trent Seven both react badly to losing their matches.

Bate had a gripping scientific contest against American veteran Mike Quackenbush which saw them both excel in complicated grappling exchanges, only for Bate to surprisingly fall to a tombstone piledriver after missing a spiral tap splash from the top rope. Likewise, Seven lost a hard hitting brawl with fellow WWE superstar Jordan Devlin.

The problems began when Chuck Mambo challenged Devlin to a contender’s eliminator match at next month’s event. Devlin was incensed at Mambo highlighting that he beat him last month, verbally and physically assaulting the fan favourite.

To loud boos from the audience, Devlin swatted away Seven’s attempt to intervene, demanding the Fight Club: PRO co-promoter remember that they’re WWE superstars and better than independent pro-wrestlers. A conflicted Seven ultimately slunk away without consoling Mambo.

Likewise, Bate refused to shack Quackenbush’s hand after their match.

We got another hint at matches to come after Mexico’s Mecha Wolf and Bestia 666 defended their Crash Tag Team Titles against Ireland’s More Than Hype.

They took to the microphone to berate the crowd and brag about how in their previous appearance they had injured Tipton’s Jim Hunter. Them versus The Hunter Brothers promises to be a big match for next year.

Birmingham’s Dan Moloney would end the best year of his career by successfully making his first defence of the Fight Club: PRO World Title, defeating Mexico’s Rey Horus in a good opener that contrasted the champion’s power with the challenger’s high-flying.

Whilst Moloney was celebrating his victory, Kurtis Chapman came out to confront him before the six-man scramble match. Despite Moloney brutally laying him out, Chapman recovered to be that match’s incongruous winner. Alas, Chapman did not learn his lesson, coming back to brag at the end of the show, only for Moloney to respond by welcoming Birmingham’s Pete Dunne to the ring.

The fans went wild for a rare appearance in the UK from the WWE superstar, as Dunne destroyed Chapman.

By Will Cooling

• International Técnico will shortly be available on VOD and DVD. Fight Club: PRO returns to The Hangar on Friday 31st January. For more information visit fightclubpro.bigcartel.com