FTGU Braunstone: the one with Eric Young

FTGU Wrestling, it's good to be back writing and watching this after about 3 months of being back in my home during the summer holidays. I love my home back in Norfolk, but I struggled to find much wrestling. That was partly due to my laziness to search for events near me but also a lack of good advertising in a place that is nearly synonymous with wrestling. Some great English wrestlers come from Norfolk such as Sweet Saraya and the wrestling family that birthed Paige, currently known as Saraya in AEW.

Anyway, before I ramble on too much about my home county, let's focus back on Leicester and this plucky indie company that has encapsulated me in a way that I never thought it would. I love FTGU as is, but when you add current TNA wrestler Eric Young into the mix, you get a review from someone who spent the night excited for a meet and greet with him.

After watching WWE Bad Blood the night before and getting a good amount of rest, I woke up with a confident feeling that this was going to be good, regardless of Eric Young being there. However, would it be able to take the top spot as my favourite FTGU show?

I will also be leaving a link to a gofundme for one of FTGU's star talents known as Chocolate Thunder or Neil Patel. On Wednesday 25th September 2024, his wife, Maureen Susan Ann Patel, sadly passed away at just 39 years old due to an aggressive disease. The gofundme was set up by Gareth Harris, who runs FTGU, in order to help him in this difficult time, and any donations that you can make would greatly help Neil in this very difficult time.

https://gofund.me/68612786

Rest In Peace Maureen Susan Ann Patel.

Elano Stone vs The Invisible Man Richard Walker:

Our first match of the night saw one of my favourite heels in the business, Elano Stone go head to head with the beloved Richard Walker AKA The Invisible Man. Already the crowd was much louder than I have heard at FTGU before, but maybe that's because I haven't been to enough shows.

The bell rang and both men started with a good range of technical wrestling that got the crowd loud and vocal, showing just how despised Stone is. It was also interesting to see how much Walker used the middle rope for splashes, and everytime I felt like he was about to hit his head on the lights just above him.

The halfway point of the match saw a lot of sustained control from Elano Stone and it even included a standing moonsault from Stone which I was not expecting but I will always take it. All well and good for the VWO henchman until a standing suplex saw Walker pick up Stone for at least 5 seconds before slamming him into the mat.

From there it was a lot of back and forth, a nasty backbreaker from Stone was met with a chorus of boos and even a Camel Clutch applied to Walker, which made me realise how long it has been since I've seen one of them. Walker managed to escape that and would go on to hit a splash from the middle rope which allowed him to pick up the win.

All in all, a very good match made better by a hot and lively crowd and it would be a good start to any show no matter how big or small. I could go on about how much I like Elano Stone's heel work, but Walker also done a very good job at keeping the crowd alive, so it would be unfair to not give credit where it is due.

Rating:7/10

Ockerby and CK Light vs Snow and Major Barracks

This new alliance of Viktor Snow and Major Barracks is scary, and I'm not even the one in the ring fighting them. I would hate to be either of Ryden Ockerby or CK Light in the ring going up against even one of them.

Snow and Barracks come to the ring in masks, with Snow taking off his before the match started and the ever mysterious Major keeping his on. Meanwhile, Ockerby and Light came out to the ring happy as Larry, and I even got a high five from Light, whether that was to try and boost my rating of the match I'm not sure, but either way it's working.

Early on CK Light was struggling, as a Master Lock was applied by Viktor Snow which again made me realise how little submissions are used now, what happened with that. Give me my submission matches because those were fun to watch, anyway I'll stop yelling at the clouds now and carry on.

As Major Barracks was tagged in, the crowd were quick to call him 'Major Loser' and CK Light was struggling as they kept Ockerby out of the match. That was until Light managed to turn the tide and get the hot tag to his tag team partner.

Eventually, all men were in the ring brawling as per the rules of tag team matches in the indies, and it seemed like Ockerby and Light were about to get the advantage. That was until the ever annoying Elano Stone came out and superkicked CK Light which allowed Snow to get the pinfall whilst Major Barracks and Ryden Ockerby were fighting outside the ring.

Whilst Snow and Barracks looked good during the match, Stone coming out and costing Light felt like it undid all of the good build up for this new tag team. If Stone came out after the match had finished, it would have felt better as it builds the rivalry and makes Snow and Barracks into a strong tag team. A good match with a disappointing ending, which is a shame but not every match can be a banger, but I am interested to see where the new tag team goes and the heights they can reach.

Rating:6/10

Midge vs Cardigan Measures

As Midge came out being serenaded by the fans to the sound of The Fratellis song Chelsea Dagger, I was hoping to see a FTGU World Championship match against William Wylde. However, the ever sly Wylde got a 'doctor's note' (that was probably written by him) which meant that he wasn't going to fight.

Instead, he managed to drag his new best friend, FTGU Rumble winner Cardigan Measures, out of his care home to fight Midge for him. H even bought his lunchbox (also known as the FTGU briefcase) to the ring, which he dropped which was met with "dropped your lunchbox" chants from the crowd.

This was a very hard hitting match, with Measures showing that age does not matter (I don't know how old he is but his dress sense says 70) and getting some hard clotheslines and punches to Midge. Although Midge did have moments of promise from the middle and top rope, landing some nice splashes, it wasn't enough to dislodge the FTGU briefcase holder. Measures would hit his finisher, the Cardi-plex, to put Midge down for the three count

Now my notes for this match aren't as in depth as the others and there is a good reason why, it was a really good match that I enjoyed a lot. I was captivated by both Measures and Midge, with the latter's high flying maneuverers capturing my interest, with the hard hitting style of Measures keeping me engaged in the match.

Overall, both men can hold their head high after the match, with Midge even getting a big round of applause from the crowd as he left the ring. I'm happy, they're happy, and my dad who is still in Norfolk is happy because he likes Measures, or as he refers to him "Cardigan Man"

Rating:8/10

VWO vs Air Felix and Cardigan Nathan

After a short intermission which included me buying 5 raffle tickets and still not winning the raffle (thanks raffle king), we were back with more tag team action. The VWO, consisting of The Vegan Prescott and Peter Ocelot, made their way out to the ring whilst Felix had to announce that Jeffery couldn't make it to the show, but he had a replacement.

That is when Cardigan Nathan stepped out to a roaring crowd who adores him and for good reason, how can one man look so good in a cardigan. Unfortunately, the VWO didn't think so and attacked both men before the bell had rang and threw them out of the ring.

Soon enough, both teams were back in the ring, with Nathan and Prescott starting the match and the former taking early control of it. I even had the privilege of seeing a swanton bomb from the apron, which was a very pleasant surprise.

The VWO kept in control for a while until a hot tag from Nathan to Felix, which would lead to a brawl in the ring including all four men, because it wouldn't be a tag team match without it. Eventually Nathan would get the upper hand thanks to a roll across the back of Prescott and then hitting the VWO leader with a dropkick.

A pin attempt from Prescott would be interrupted by referee Danny Marks, as he saw Prescott's feet on the rope, good officiating Danny. The pin attempt would swing the momentum, as Felix would hit a 619 and a Rough Ryder for the three count.

After the bell, Ocelot and Prescott were at odds with each other, getting into a small shoving match before Prescott stormed off, with Ocelot in chase. It seems like there may be some cracks growing within the VWO,

A decent tag team match, although did feel very similar to the previous tag match of the night, just with a different result. I will give it credit where it is due, I did enjoy watching the in-ring action more than the previous tag match, but it just felt too similar in terms of what happened and when it happened. I am excited to see where the VWO goes after this, and to see if they are able to cover over the cracks, or whether they tear the VWO apart.

Rating:6/10

Eric Young vs H Hood

The main event of the night, FTGU's own H Hood walked into a crowd that would make you think he came from another company. Meanwhile, TNA superstar Eric Young came out to an ovation from the crowd that would make many think that he came from FTGU and had a house and family n Braunstone, even though he probably never heard of the place before.

As the TNA chants rang out, the bell rang and the match got off to a slow start whilst both men took in the atmosphere. However, when both men locked up for the first time, you could tell that this match was going to be top quality.

The first few minutes was full of slow, technical wrestling and it was brilliant. It didn't try to do too much or change the tempo of the match too much, both men took their time with it and made the wrestling look very good and it wasn't only me that felt that way.

It really surprised me to see that Eric Young is 44 years old, because in the ring he looks like he's barely in his 20's. I've seen him in TNA and have seen how he moves and his style of wrestling, but seeing it in person, it really made for some good viewing.

The match would go back and forth between Hood and Young before Hood would head to the outside of the ring for a short amount of time before going under the ring, leaving everyone confused. However, as Eric Young looked for him, Hood came out of the other side and sprinted to gain the upper hand on Young and brutalise him.

Hood made sure to put in the work, even putting his boot on the throat of the former WWE superstar, which was of course met with a lot of boos from myself and the rest of the attending crowd. This crowd was red hot all night, but they really came unglued in the main event,

The match was closely contested with both men giving their all to try and gain the upper hand, with technically brilliant wrestling at the forecourt. Towards the end of the match, it was near fall after near fall, and each time the crowd thought it was about to be the end.

Eventually, H Hood would call for the piledriver, but Young was quick to reverse it and put Hood into his own piledriver, which he hit and got the pin onto Hood for the three count. Mid way through his celebrations, Young stuck his hang out to Hood, and as both men shook hands as a sign of respect, a very eventful night of wrestling concluded.

I loved this match, it was a slow and technical affair, and usually I am not a big fan of matches like this, but this was done very well by two very talented athletes. A fiery crowd during this also helped, but as a first taste of H Hood, I am very excited to see more in the future.

Rating:9/10

After such a long time from indie wrestling, getting back into the swing of it here was simply brilliant, and even going back through my notes makes me feel slightly giddy once again. I came into this excited to not only see some great wrestling, but also to see my favourite member of Sanity in action.

Whilst I walked out, with a photo with myself and Young, a signed poster from all of the talent on the night, I felt enthralled and I still do days later. This has become one of my favourite events so far that I have been to. Even though the tag team matches left me wanting more, the singles matches more than made up for it.

So where does this leave FTGU Braunstone, I hear you ask dear reader. Well, it leaves it in a very, VERY good place I will tell you. I'm surprised that some of these guys aren't in promotions like ICW or ROH or maybe even a TNA.

So dear reader, no matter where you are reading this from, whether it be in Wigston or somewhere in North America, FTGU is worth making the trip for. I will certainly be making my way back there in due time, and I can guarantee one thing for that event which I watch. Cardigan Measures will still be a chicken.

SHOW RATING: 9/10