Nerd Watch Wednesday - Riptide Pride of Brighton 2019

May 6, 202016 min read

Updated: Jun 3, 2020

G’day lads, DVD here; welcome to my latest pick for Nerd Watch Wednesday. You might remember me from such Nerd Watch Wednesdays as Heatwave 98, Spring Stampede 99 and Survivor Series 2002.

I was a bit stumped about which show to select this week; I’ve picked my favourite ECW PPV, (one of) my favourite WCW PPV and a forgotten gem from the Ruthless Aggression era. I thought this week was a chance for the fellas to broaden our horizons and finally check out what all the buzz is about, with Riptide Wrestling in Brighton.

All of the punditry that I’ve heard about Riptide is around the cinematic way that the wrestling is shot and edited, second only to the long story arcs which develop across several shows.

This show was offered free for a short time on the company’s Youtube channel and it was a cunning stratagem from the promoter as I chose the show, committed to the review and then had to subscribe to their service Pivotshare service so I could watch the show after it was taken off YouTube.

You win this round, Riptide but I think that the service might just be great value for money and as such, I’ll come out on top in the end.

RIPTIDE PRIDE OF BRIGHTON TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH: CHAKARA vs. CASSIUS

By Nineties Mike

Good thing I started this from the start as Chakara kicks us off with a fire promo dissing Cassius and letting us know she’s a badass (she dropped Jimmy Havoc on his head!). A Pride of Brighton semi-final spot is on the line she says, and his eyebrows and slut drops just don’t cut it. Saucer of milk for table two!

Cassius’ turn now, and he’s talking trash…LITERALLY! Comparing Chakara with the rubbish on the street is a sure-fire way to get her mad. He points out that she has a lot to say, but not to his face. Her cheap extensions are going to be made into tassels on his next outfit, and then he’ll be done with her and progress in the Pride of Brighton tournament.

The Golden Goddess, Chakara, enters first and she has no time for the announcer or the booing masses, stealing one nerd’s hat, mugging off a poor guy’s hairline and even making a bloody child cry!!! HEAT! (The venue, while it looks sick, I feel is WAY too bright. Get some black-out curtains in and it’d look great.)

Cassius, in silver sequin jacket and orange hot pants is out next with several squeals. He enters to the fantastic Hey Mickey by Toni Basil! Love it! Great giggle when the ref tries to search Cassius and he wraps his legs round his head! Naughty boy!

Pushing and verbals before the bell has even rung. When it has, Cassius gets the crowd clapping along immediately and they lock up. Some comedy mimicking and they lock up again, with Cassius getting the first advantage. Chakara with a head-lock and block tackle off the ropes, but Cassius follows with a leap-frog, athletic arm-drag reversal and cover for our first 2-count.

Cassius points out how close the pin was and wipes his feet in Chakara’s general direction. She is not happy. Some rather flirty punch dodging from Cassius ends in the inevitable slut drop. Chakara, once again, is not amused, flicking her opponent with her hair, only for Cassius to grab said hair and slam her to the ground.

He continues the attack with a deep arm-drag, clothes-line and spring-board-crossbody for another 2-count. (The camera work is also really good here, not static, constantly moving, HD, interesting angles).

Cassius goes for a DDT, but is countered and eats a headbutt, which drops him to the mat and Chakara covers for a 2-count. Head-lock from Chakara, but Cassius isn’t down for long, until some big punches to the back bring him back down and he’s locked in a Camel Clutch. He manages to escape, so she forearms him across the chest from behind and holds him in the corner with her foot on his throat for 4 of the referee’s 5-count.

He counters the Irish Whip into the opposite corner though, and hits a sweet swinging neck breaker for one of those 2-counts. Cassius attempts to drag Chakara out of the corner but she resists. When he does manage, she reverses and scores a kick to the gut, knocking Cassius to the ground, where he is greeted with stomps and she is greeted with more boos.

Sleeper is locked in by Chakara, but she gets bored, pulls him to his feet and hits a Snap Suplex. Both combatants are up and in the corner. Cassius tries to counter the charge, but Chakara catches him with another neck-breaker off the ropes. Running knee in the corner and Cassius is in trouble. Closest 2-count yet, there. Chakara now talks smack, insulting Cassius again, and going there with his hairline!

An insult regarding his eyebrows is one step too far, however, and he blocks a couple of strikes before not one, not two, but THREE running clothes-lines and a big hair toss. A DDT gets even closer to a 3-count, but we go on. He goes for another, but Chakara rolls through and transitions into a brutal Dragon Suplex.

Cassius gets some encouragement from the crowd and he manages to wriggle out of an attempt at a Widow’s Peak and create some separation with an arm-drag. It does him no good, however as Chakara reverses another running clothesline by smashing Cassius’ face into the buckle. Big right fist dazes Cassius and Chakara goes for the Widow’s Peak again. She hits it and… 1,2,3! That is all she wrote. Chakara wins, boooo.

SUMMARY: While this was never going to be a mat classic or killer main event, this is great for an opener, establishing that the men and women are equal, that the Pride of Brighton is a tournament worth fighting for, and an obvious but perfect heel/face dynamic.

We’ve been saying it for ages but A) Chakara is phenomenal for her age and B) we really need to get down to a Riptide show as soon as this lockdown is over. Bravo!

WINNER - CHAKARA BY WIDOW'S PEAK

RIPTIDE PRIDE OF BRIGHTON TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH: KURTIS CHAPMAN vs. THE O.J.M.O

By JCH

OJMO is cutting a promo from where I (pre-covid) play football on Thursday. OJ is a very good promo and here he talks about how the Shoreditch he grew up in was very different to the coffee shops and hipsters we see now. Chapman cuts a promo from his keyboard, so I think he’s still the keyboard warrior at this stage and not full on Mad Kurt.

OJ out first to an excellent reaction, Chapman is out carrying his keyboard to chants of keyboard Wally. We have a clear face/heel divide here which is nice. Shay Pursor and Kid Lykos are on commentary. OJ responds to an early slap from Chapman by taking Kurtis outside and battering him out of the ring for a bit, including throwing a banana at him from what looks to be a tuck shop.

Chapman hits a big power slam on the floor and calls for the countout, with the valiant OJ just breaking the 10 count. Chapman in a pre-covid world then traps OJ and puts his gum shield in OJ’s mouth. Disgusting.

Chapman throws OJ into a wall and goes for another countout victory which OJ again breaks just before 10. Chapman again beats up OJ in what looks to be a kids play area and attempts another countout victory!

Chapman still in control but is put off by the crowd from the top rope and he misses a double stomp and OJ hits a big drop kick to turn the tide. OJ now with the big stinger splashes and unloads with a lot of rights, before hitting a DDT and a springboard moonsault for 2.

OJ takes a while setting up his finish, which Shay and Lykos bemoan him for, and Kurtis fights off the Crab for now, but walks into a huge Han Stansen from the O.J.M.O. The aggressor grabs both of Kurtis’ legs in the corner, pulls him out and hits Chapman with an awesome reversal into a codebreaker.

He follows up with a big pounce knee, but Chapman rolls to the outside. Kurtis avoids the fosbury flop and catches OJ coming back in with a top rope knee, leaving his opponent draped over the ropes.

Kurtis goes for a double stomp and OJ catches him with the half crab, but Kurtis battles out. Kurtis reaches for the keyboard, so the ref takes it, but that only allows Chapman to hit a low blow and strike O.J.M.O with a second keyboard for the win.

Kurtis Chapman advances in the tournament. Nice match there.

WINNER - KURTIS CHAPMAN BY LOW BLOW, KEYBOARD COMBO

TAG TEAM MATCH: GENE MUNNY & SUGAR DUNKERTON vs. THE ANTI-FUN POLICE

By Shafi

Much has been written about the the mass acquisition of British talent by the likes of NXT UK and the effect it has had on what was a resurgent British wrestling scene. With the benefit of hindsight NXT UK may be viewed as the worst thing to happen to British wrestling since Greg Dyke cancelled the original World of Sport. Promotions all over the country have been left with slots in their cards that need to be filled.

However for the unsigned performers across the UK there are now more opportunities than ever. Of all the acts that I have seen during this period there is not a single one I have enjoyed more than the Anti Fun Police. Chief Deputy Dunne and Los Federales Santos Jr are the best comedy act not just in British wrestling, but in any promotion in the world.

Dunne is a fantastic straight man who is dedicated to eradicating fun from professional wrestling. Santos is his enthusiastic second who is unwittingly drawn into the fun antics of their opponents much to Dunne's chagrin.

The success of the AFP was demonstrated recently with Los Federales Santos Jr being crowned the winner of the Wrestling Should Be Fun World Cup. The win was the result of thousands of Twitter votes being cast for the most fun wrestler of all time which incredibly Santos won ahead of the likes of Ric Flair, The Rock, Kurt Angle and Eddie Guerrero.

I haven't seen a Riptide show before so the chance to see the AFP perform with them was too good to pass up. I don't know much about Gene Munny or Sugar Dunkerton but they appear to be dedicated to the comedy life too. Sugar's entrance to Taylor Swift is inspired and Gene appears to be the wrestling manifestation of Keith Lemon.

The match starts as it means to go on. Santos protests that their opponents are not wearing correct wrestling attire and takes it upon himself to strip them down himself. This results in the reveal that Gene Munny is wearing half a dozen pairs of wrestling trunks and a G string, with the trunks around his ankles he hits a dropkick, boom drop and suicide dive to the outside that is ridiculous as it is impressive.

There are several comedy set pieces that are hilarious such as the referee being forced to hit Kojima style chops on Dunne. Throughout the contest Gene and Sugar find ways to make Santos dance and Dunne despair. The mixture of verbal and physical humour is a delight.

The crowd are hugely receptive to both teams and are engaged throughout, a crowd reaction is arguably more important to a comedy bout than any other and the Brighton faithful provide the laughter track at all the right moments.

Just before you can question how many more shenanigans can possibly occur Gene Munny picks up the win with the Ainsley Larriot.

SUMMARY: It's clear that the Anti Fun Police have learnt the value of always leaving the crowd wanting more. When lockdown is over and regular shows resume then I for one will be first in line to see them ply their trade again.

WINNERS - GENE MUNNY & SUGAR DUNKERTON BY AINSLEY LARRIOT

RIPTIDE PRIDE OF BRIGHTON TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH: CONNOR MILLS vs. JORDON BREAKS

By Brum

I was double happy when DVD picked this show for NWW as (1) it was the ever joyous Riptide which I had a subscription to but haven’t got around to feasting on their back catalogue, & (2) it had a Jordon Breaks match.

Jordon is right up my street, wrestling wise. No-nonsense World of Sport ZSJ style mat porn. Sign me up. When I first came across him up, another bonus was that he was named after the Bradford grap-machine Jim Breaks which, as a Yorkshireman, tickled my fancy.

However, since Jim’s murderous goings on in the Med, I think I’ll gloss over that bit.

I’ve seen loads of Connor & he seems to get better & better so nice to review one of his matches too. My only gripe with Mills is that with his hair, he should always be a heel. That is a baddie lid if ever I saw one.

Mills out first to Shady’s Without Me. Home town boy Breaks out next to a big pop. We also have “Mad Kurt” Kurtis Chapman on commentary which is an added Brucie Bonus. He joins Kid Lykos at the desk.

We start off with some solid mat stuff with, no surprise, Breaks having the advantage. Mills gets back into it when he manages to integrate his signature flippy tekkers with the mat style. All good stuff.

A quick note on the cinematic style of Riptide. I know every other reviewer has probably said similar so this may be boring by now, but I like how it works with mid-card matches as well as the grander main events. The panning camera shots rather than needless cuts emphasises the mat work & makes you feel that you’re watching something special.

The match picks up the pace a bit, starting off with a seated European uppercut on Breaks. However, when Mills goes for a springboard European, Breaks catches him midair and reverses into a backslide. That was pretty & gets a 2 count.

Breaks looks to set up what looks like a Styles Clash and fails. This allows Mills to hit the springboard European on a second attempt. Mills is now ramping up his striking game which is putting him on top. Breaks isn’t enjoying those chops.

Mills goes for the 450. Breaks moves and Mills rolls through. Smooth. Mills goes for another springboard attack but Breaks reverses into a pop up inverted rolling Samoan drop which is gorgeous.

Strike battle time & Breaks is keeping up with Mills. A lot of heavy European uppercuts on both sides. A stunner from Breaks gets a 2 count. He then hits a Style Clash which also gets a 2 count. A kimura attempt is ended when Mills gets to the ropes.

We then get into strike battle no 2, this one is slap themed. Jesus, these lads are properly going for it. Black Mass style kick from Mills & followed up with the Mills Shot! This should be it. But Breaks kicks out at 2!

Mills isn’t letting it get to him though & hits back-to-back tope suicidas before getting Mills back in the ring. Mills goes for the 450 but Breaks catches him with a kimura! This time Mills is in the middle of the ring & taps!! Breaks wins!

Post-match: The Photo Man from David Starr’s podcast interviews Breaks whose chest is an absolute mess! Breaks says the Pride of Brighton tournament means everything to him.

SUMMARY: Really good match. The mat stuff of Breaks vs Mills’ flips & strikes told a good story. They knocked seven shades of shit out of each other too. Thanks again to DVD for picking Riptide. These strange times are a perfect opportunity to go & binge their stuff which I will definitely be doing later this month!

WINNER – JORDON BREAKS WITH A KIMURA

TAG TEAM MATCH: CHRIS BROOKES & NICO ANGELO vs. EXPERIMENT IN TERROR

By Ross Casey

Firstly, I have to say that the RipTide PivotShare service is very good and easy to use, whilst the product is produced in a super slick manner. If you like your wrestling character based and narrative driven, you can do worse than giving them a go.

Sadly, I missed a huge portion of the build to my match as the Kid Lykos invitational was muted for what I can assume was lots of the swears. So, I missed the silliness of AFP and the like on the mic.

However, I did see ELIJAH & LK Mezinger attack Nico Angelo (in a Kid Lykos mask) only for Chris Brookes to make the save. That kicks off the beginning of a tag match. Sadly, no Teddy Long to announce it as such.

We see all four of these competitors a lot at the Attack! shows we go to at The Dome, and it is no surprise that this one is a very enjoyable encounter. The Experiment In Terror are exactly what you expect, with dastardly actions and underhand tactics, but both are sound in the ring.

Angelico offers brilliant speed and agility, and plays the face in peril really well, whilst Chris Brookes is great here, coming in with strong strikes and sick fucking tag moves, screaming big name player.

Don't be fooled by the size of Mezinger, either. At one point he dives over the top rope to the outside majestically and lands on his feet after hitting his pair of opponents. Impressive stuff.

There have been no tags and I am beginning to wonder if this is under tornado rules, when suddenly Chris Brookes superkicks his partner! HOLD ON. Is this a four-way? I'm pretty confused...

Nope, they are back to partnering and doing sick tag moves on Mezinger. Still no tags, though. Who knows what is going on - at least the wrestling is brilliant fun.

The finish comes when Angelo hits Mezinger with a destroyer, a brainbuster and then a shooting star press for a two count, only for Kid Lykos to pull him out of the ring, hit him with a baking tray and then steal the pin for himself.

SUMMARY: Well, that was a blast of a match, but without the sound on the previous segment it was pretty bewildering to know exactly what was going on and the winner of the match was someone technically not actually in it. Man, I love wrestling!

SUMMARY EDIT: Gene Munny now on commentary says Oh my god, the old Lykos is the new Lykos. So this match was to see who the new Lykos was? I think? The old Lykos stole the win, so he's the new Lykos! Obvious, innit.

WINNER - KID LYKOS BY BEING A SHITTY LITTLE WOLF

RIPTIDE PRIDE OF BRIGHTON TITLE TOURNAMENT MATCH: CANDY FLOSS vs. SHAY PURSER

By Dom Van Dam

We start with a promo from Candy Floss on the streets of Brighton and although it seems like floss wouldn’t melt in her mouth she promises to “break (Shay Purser’s) arm because he’s in (her) way.”

Shay Purser has been a real bit player in some of the most intriguing, long-term storylines in the British independent wrestling scene in the past couple of years. He reigned as ATTACK Pro Wrestling Champion after being brainwashed by The Kabal.

He also acted as David Starr’s personal referee in RPW, contributing to Starr’s British Cruiserweight Championship reign. Here in Riptide, I can tell by his entrance music that he is part of a faction with Spike Trivet; Money vs Everybody.

Purser is clearly a bit of an Il Capitano style buffoon here, where his own hubris will be his downfall. He trips himself up trying to show off and leapfrog into the ring and he never really recovers.

Candy Floss, more of a Columbina type, who once asked me to dance after a wrestling show in a successful ploy to get a free drink, takes Shay down, rides him for about 2 minutes and that’s enough for Purser to handle. Floss grabs the Cross Armbreaker and Purser submits.

WINNER - 'COLUMBINA' CANDY FLOSS BY SUBMISSIVE... I MEAN SUBMISSION

PAUL ROBINSON vs. CARA NOIR

By Matt Connolly

So onto the main event and a real treat for a fans of British Wrestling. I get to see my favourite wrestler on the circuit right now, Cara Noir, take on the stubborn stain of the scene Paul Robinson.

Riptide has built up a reputation for the cinematic and I admire their attempts to reach out not only to sweaty nerds like us that admire workrate and Canadian destroyers but to the people of Brighton as a whole. An artistic and vibrant city whose love for the arts should most definitely extend to wrestling.

If that is to be the case, I can't think of many people higher on the list to convert people to this magical art than Cara. His brand of wrestling is as much about presentation as it is physicality. A beautiful blend of all the things I adore about the one true sport of professional wrestling.

Let us not sleep on his opponent though. Although I could easily run out of ink writing love letters to The Black Swan, Robinson offers quite the opposite. An in your face bully who manages to make me forget that even an average sized human like myself has a couple of inches height on him. Whether you admire the 'F U' attitude or despise his violent rants it's hard to argue that he has carved out a unique spot for himself on Brit Wres cards up and down the land.

Initially I just wanted to watch a Cara match but the opposites that both offer are what has my excited. Plus, of course loving the identity of Riptide. I've dipped my toes in before. I've seen Cara have barn burners with PAC and Speedball Mike Bailey. I've seen Session Moth and my childhood hero Dave Benson Phillips vanquish those darn Anti-Fun Police (#reinstateSantos).

They make their product their way and I reckon I could watch a broom fight a mop and the cinematic experience their production offers would have me screaming for Oscar nods for both. So I guess I should get onto this match.

First out we have the Jack Russell incarnate Paul Robinson. He is introduced as being from a "Proper seaside town like Southend". He's worked me there. Brighton is as good a seaside town as you will get and Southend is a hole that they forgot to fill in.

Anyway, next is the pageantry of Cara Noir. An entrance that I always get thrilled for despite seeing it so many times by now. Like all the great entrances he manages to make his ring walk as much a part of the show as his match. The closing shot is over the shoulder of a disgruntled Robbo, looking out from behind a clutch of fans going wild for Cara as he is posing, peacocks feathers in full bloom. It is Art.

It is at this moment that I get all the feels and start to miss wrestling as a live experience.

Early stages are naturally a feeling out process. Noir has a clear size advantage but Robbo is adapt at fighting close quarters, so it turns into a battle where Cara has to utilise his power over the scrappiness of Robinson. Robinson is of course unwilling to just trade with the bigger guy though and uses his smarts to gain the advantage where he can.

It's a really fun contest. Noir is trying to put moves together but Robbo is playing spoiler so well. There is a lot of working the bare foot of Cara from Robbo which is not a fetish that does anything for me. Robbo does a strike. Big boos. Cara does a strike. Big cheers. The face/heel dynamic here is on point. A small but passionate crowd playing along with the characters. My only gripe is that every minute or so we get a camera cut to commentary.

A special spot during the middle section is Cara catching Robbo mid air in a high vertical suplex position, before driving him over his knee for the move he calls 'Madame Guillotine". Robbo gets his striking game going and fights back strongly before being over powered and nailed with a neckbreaker that not only lives up to it's name but pops the crowd big.

This looks to be time for Cara to take this one home but his attempt at his package piledriver finish is thwarted as Robbo flips out. A few seconds later Robbo manages to hit his calling card 'the curb stomp' and to my surprise it is Paul Robinson who wins this one.

SUMMARY: That match was really good. Classic old school good guy trying to overcome the bad guy. Robbo didn't cheat, but his persona and spoiling tactics meant even if you had the sound off you could tell that you were meant to hate the little scumbag.

Overall a really well spent 20 minutes and further evidence for why I miss wrestling. Get me to a live show asap!

WINNER - PAUL ROBINSON BY CURB STOMP