With the departure of SCW from the Scottish wrestling scene, a new promotion featuring close to all of those who had previously worked for SCW debuted. Titled the SWA (Scottish Wrestling Alliance) - they debuted on Saturday July 17th with a show in Bellshill, just outside of Glasgow, which made their mark on the wrestling scene.

As a fan of SCW, I was disappointed to see the company close, but with the formation of a new company in the area, I decided to go along to see what they had to offer…and I was impressed. The SWA seems to have picked up where SCW had left off, promoting high quality shows in the Glasgow area. The Sir Matt Busby Sports Centre was the chosen venue to play host to the show, and 234 fans - higher than any SCW show - were there to witness it. SCW always had a small but loyal fan base, and most of the old faces turned out to see the ‘Rebirth’ of Scottish wrestling.

The show kicked off with the ring announcer, GC Mac, coming to the ring and announcing he had been appointed as the new commissioner. He was then interrupted by the heel stable of Total Annihilation, consisting of Hatred, Adam Shame, Chris Charizma and their manager Draven. GC Mac announced that Hatred and Adam Shame would face Conscience and Eric Canyon in an Open Tag Match with the winner becoming the NWA Scottish Heavyweight Champion. Draven then asked about Chris Charizma’s opponent. GC Mac said that he would be facing the massive Sabotage!

The opening match saw Cameron Knite face Danny Oxman. Knite has a ’pretty boy’ gimmick, while Oxman is much more of a ‘tough guy.’ Both men seemed to impress the fans with their styles. This match was probably the stiffest of the night, with both men laying into each other with some very stiff kicks. In the end, Knite got the win by cheating with his feet on the ropes.

Match two saw two new guys in action, as Eden faced off with ’Pure Sex’ Lance Thunder. In my opinion, this match was one of the few that never really got going. Eden got the win with his finisher that he calls ’The Flash Magik.’

Next up was a tag match featuring four of the SWA trainees. The heel team of the Lowlanders - Glen and Grant Dunbar - faced off with the masked team of Flight and Falcon - more commonly known as Soaring High. For relative newcomers to the wrestling scene, I was impressed by the performances of the participants. The finish came when Flight pinned Glen Dunbar following an Elbow Drop from the top rope by Falcon.

The last match before the Intermission saw two of my personal favourites go up against each other, as the NWA-UK Junior Heavyweight Champion, Majik, defended his title against the ‘Pigman’ Andy Hogg. For those who haven’t saw either man in action yet, I’d advise you to watch these guys if you ever have the chance. Majik is one of the top technical wrestlers the UK has, and as a result is over with the fans. Hogg on the other hand, is just so entertaining, its unbelievable. His ‘gay’ gimmick is just so hard not to like. The match itself was possibly somewhat of a disappointment, compared to their last match in Scotland at SCW Caledonian Skirmish in November of last year, but was still one of the top matches of the night. In the end, Majik got the victory with a Japanese Roll Through Pin to retain his title.

Following the brief intermission, a 10 Man Gauntlet match fought under similar rules to a Royal Rumble was held to determine the first T-Division champion. Every minute another participant entered, and a wrestler could be eliminated by pin, submission or by being thrown over the top rope. The T-Division is the name given to the wrestlers from Area 52, SWA’s training centre. The participants in the match were White Tiger (who was the crowd’s favourite despite it being his first match with the promotion), Jonny Milla, CJ Hunter, Pete ‘The Ref’ O’Neill, Malice Mascarado, Raging Bull, 'Mr. Natural' Nathan Hyndman, Jayson Mayson, Johnny Darko and Diablo. The final 3 participants left in the ring were White Tiger, Jonny Milla and CJ Hunter, when all 3 ended up on the mat, lying side by side. Each managed to pin another participant, and the three different refs, counted the 3 different pinfalls….But who was the winner? An electric atmosphere was created in the venue as the refs held up the hand off the man they thought was the winner. GC Mac announced that the T-Division Champion would now be determined in a Three-Way Dance at SWA’s next show, between Milla, Tiger and Hunter.

Up next was a match between Ice XVII and Edgar Stryfe. This match was the second match which never really got going in my opinion. Ice XVII is technically gifted, and Stryfe looks to be a colourful character, but the action was slow, and the fans were dead for this one. Stryfe got the win by making Ice submit to a version of the Million Dollar Dream.

Next up was the match we learned about earlier - Sabotage versus Chris Charizma. Once again, I’d have to urge anyone who hasn’t seen Sabotage yet, to do so as soon as possible. He is seriously amazing to watch…and is extremely over with the fans. Sabotage dominated this match, until Charizma’s Total Annihilation stalemates, Hatred and Adam Shame, ran in to attack Sabotage. The referee ruled the winner to be Sabotage as a result of a disqualification.

Aidan Corrigan and Billy Grange had apparently been feuding at the SWA Training Centre, and they had been put in a match to end their feud. Billy Grange’s gimmick is funny to watch, he is a ‘school boy’ and the majority of his moves have titles that refer to school. Corrigan’s gimmick is a pro-Canadian one. The match finished when Grange tapped out to Corrigan’s ‘Maple Leaf’ submission. After the match, Corrigan said he wanted to rid himself of the ‘trainee’ tag, so challenged Majik to face him at SWA’s next show. Majik first laughed off his challenge, but then accepted his challenge.

The show finished with the Open Tag Match to determine the NWA Scottish heavyweight Champion that was set up earlier, featuring Eric Canyon and Conscience going up against Hatred and Adam Shame. Chris Charizma ran in to interfere on behalf of Total Annihilation, but was chased from the ring by Sabotage in a revenge attack from their match earlier. Canyon and Conscience were really popular with the SWA fans, but the fans were stunned when Conscience turned on Canyon, to join up with Total Annihilation! They laid out Canyon, and Conscience pinned Canyon with one boot on him. Total Annihilation continued the attack, before Majik, Andy Hogg and several other fan favourites ran in to make the save.

SWA haven’t yet announced a date or venue for the next show, but I for one, will definitely be there. SWA got off to a great start, and promoted what turned out to be a cracking show. They have though, announced that Jonny Milla will take on White Tiger and CJ Hunter in a Three Way Dance for the T-Division Title and that Majik will face Aidan Corrigan.

For more information about the SWA see: swa.t2u.com

Eddie Murdoch