Welcome back to 31 Days of Deathmatches Volume 2. The second edition of the annual deathmatch advent calendar put together by yours truly. Each day we will open another bloody door on the calendar and explore another deathmatch until we hit Halloween. We’re going to explore a ton of different companies, wrestlers, and stipulations as the days go on with a few surprises here and there. So, strap in as we prepare for another round of blood, broken glass, and barbed-wire on our road of deathmatches.
It’s time to travel to the UK and the wonderfully shot world of Riptide Wrestling. Riptide is probably one of the best independent promotions in the UK. It has nice shows with excellent matches and a lot to offer in its IWTV back catalogue. It was here I discovered a lovely little violent gem of a match. Cara Noir, the PROGRESS heavyweight champion and one of the most recognisable British talents in wrestling right now against Su Yung, the Undead Bride, and all-round hardcore wrestling genius in a no DQ match with some very interesting weapon choices. This would main event the 2019 Brighton Spirit Night 1 show and do so in a highly dramatic and highly violent fashion.
After two exceptionally captivating entrances and some unique mind games, we got into a match that mixed elegant wrestling, smash-mouth brawling, and ridiculous weaponry spots. What started with controlled submissions and chaotic striking descended into chair shots, mist spots, gross-out humour, and violence as the fight went everywhere. Things really entered the realm of the absurd when Cara Noir brought out a bicycle and tried to mash Su Yung’s head into the spinning back wheel of it. This back-fired as he was driven into instead. Plus, I can now say I’ve seen some get crotched by a bike wheel. Yung’s weaponry adeptness shone through as she continued to use plunder to injure Noir. As if it couldn’t get any weirder Su Yung destroyed Noir’s make-up with a wet-wipe and the match broke into a musical interlude. This felt like a ruse as Noir used the distraction to kick a chair into her face and pummel her with moves. This match also had one of the nastiest looking chair spots ever as Noir was launched into two upright chairs face-first. They continued to trade moves and fought to corrupt the other toxic scraps of cloth and bodily fluids. There’s something quite disturbing about seeing Cara Noir launch a stream of water into Su Yung’s mouth. Yung fired back with a spray of her own too, because you can never be too hydrated right? Throw in toe and finger biting for good measure too. Noir put up a valiant fight but, in the end, the red mist and the Purge (Mandible Claw) saw the lights go out for him.
Whilst not strictly a deathmatch, I feel this match earned its spot through creativity and more bodily weapons. It may not have been bloody or full of glass but it had its weapons and took a more pantomime approach to the hardcore match. After the backyard brutality yesterday, I wanted to take a more elegant look into hardcore wrestling today and after seeing someone get hit by a bike wheel, I think I made the right choice. One of the best at this game said matches should be about the story over the spots and this match encapsulates that nicely as we got shock spots, amazing wrestling, and the story of two massive characters trying to tear each other apart, all shot in a masterful style. Come back tomorrow for something much bloodier as we see the next deathmatch delight.
All images courtesy of Rob Brazier (Head Drop)