Following an incredible two months of Loaded episodes being back on YouTube, it’s time for Defiant Wrestling to host their first pay-per-view of the new era of the promotion. That event would be Unstoppable, airing live from Manchester on Saturday evening. Despite some unfortunate events preventing two men in particular from appearing, the rest of the card is jam-packed with some lovely action that is sure to blow the roof off the Manchester Academy.
‘Bad Bones’ John Klinger vs Justin Sysum
‘Bad Bones’ John Klinger‘s opponent for the show was scheduled to be the debuting Ilja Dragunov, but contractual obligations have meant he is unable to head to the event. Dragunov and Klinger would’ve been a match of the night contender for sure, so it’s a real shame we won’t be seeing Ilja in a Defiant ring. Replacing him is one of the most controversial men in British wrestling right now in the form of Justin “The Hammer” Sysum. Sysum has previously made two appearances in a Defiant ring, firstly beating Nathan Cruz last March and then as a competitor in the 2018 No Regrets Rumble Match. Since then, he’s become the World of Sport Champion and blown Twitter up for a comment he made relating to the NXT UK contracts. He’s a tremendous talent in fairness though – who else in wrestling can do a spear from the floor of the venue up through the ropes to an opponent in the ring? Despite that, John Klinger had too much of a fantastic 2018 to lose to a replacement opponent.
Prediction: ‘Bad Bones’ John Klinger
Nathan Cruz vs Omari
One of the minor rivalries in Defiant at the moment is between Nathan Cruz and Omari. Both men are relative newcomers to the promotion, with the former debuting opposite Justin Sysum in March and the latter coming in as part of July’s Ringmaster Tournament. Since then, both men have gone on to have brilliant success. “The Professional” has picked up victories over Simon Miller and TK Cooper as well having an excellent showing against David Starr at Refuse to Lose, whereas Omari has found his way past both Lucky Kid and Kurtis Chapman while also coming close to pinning ‘Bad Bones’ John Klinger. Cruz isn’t too happy with the younger generation of stars (Omari, Millie McKenzie, Aussie Open, etc.) waltzing into Defiant and taking the spotlight away from the veterans. He demanded a match with Omari at Unstoppable, threatening to break the neck of Man Like Dereiss with a steel chair unless The Big O accepted. Omari, of course, accepted but Dereiss’ neck was stomped on either way. The Fight Club: PRO graduate picked up a surprise victory over Nathan on a recent episode of Loaded, having the advantage heading into the event. Time to tie the score.
Prediction: Nathan Cruz
Falls Count Anywhere Match: Bea Priestley vs Lana Austin
Bea Priestley and Lana Austin‘s rivalry has been raging on for a number of months now but due to Bea’s obligations over in Japan, there hasn’t been much going on until now. The seeds were first planted at Stacked in August when Lana ambushed the then-Women’s Champion following her successful defense over Zoe Lucas, punt kicking Priestley’s head while it was wedged in a steel chair. Both men were then part of a six-person Elimination Gauntlet Match in December with the title on the line. Austin cost Priestley the gold by smacking her with the title belt, only to be pinned herself by the new champion Kanji. Despite being offered a championship rematch on Saturday evening, Bea instead vowed to face Lana instead, which actually means the Women’s Championship won’t be on the card. It has since been revealed that the bout will be a Falls Count Anywhere Match, something that will be beneficial to both competitors. It’ll be a brutal one and one that could find the next contender for Kanji’s Women’s Championship.
Prediction: Lana Austin
Joe Hendry & The Primate vs The Yard (Gabriel Kidd & Rory Coyle)
When the news broke that Primate had been cleared to return from his career-ending jaw injury, the Defiant Wrestling fans made sure to welcome him back with a standing ovation. He’s one of only a few men left that’s been with the company from the beginning, winning both the Hardcore and Tag Team Championships along the way. While he was out of action and serving as the General Manager, Gabriel Kidd ensured to make Primate’s life a living hell, which included slapping him in the jaw at Fight or Flight. When the monster of Defiant came back, his sights were set clearly on The Young Bull. What no-one saw coming though were the actions of Rory Coyle, a man who Primate brought into Defiant. The Video Nasty revealed that he had always been aligned with Kidd, telling us all to Remember The Yard. This called back to the first ever Built to Destroy event in July 2016 at the leaky warehouse in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where Coyle debuted during Primate’s rivalry with Joe Coffey. The segment wasn’t shown as part of the final broadcast, with Defiant management (then-WCPW) finding Rory’s antics too much for their audience. As a result, The Yard was born. Primate’s backup for this tag team match is someone who was apparently leaving Defiant just a few weeks ago, Joe Hendry. The Prestigious One was seemingly on his way out the door but instead decided to stay with the promotion. From the brawls we’ve seen on Loaded, this one will get out of hand from the get go. Good luck to the official!
Prediction: Joe Hendry & The Primate
Defiant Tag Team Championships: The Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) (c) vs CCBlaaaaah (Chris Brookes & Lucky Kid)
What was originally going to be the return of CCK has ended with another Chris Brookes mystery partner story. He’ll still be challenging The Aussie Open for their Tag Team Championships, with Lucky Kid set to step into the place of Kid Lykos. While Brookes has been chasing the titles for the past few months, his SCHADENFREUDE partners Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher have kept their hands clenched to the gold ever since last April. In the near 300 days they’ve been champs, they’ve seen off challenges from the likes of Prospect, The Filthy Kliq, Alpha Bad, and also Chris Brookes on two separate occasions. The first time saw him team with Lykos, while the second saw him team with Jonathan Gresham. Now, Lucky Kid joins the tallest man in British wrestling. This is General Ameen‘s way of apologizing to The Young Lion after he was framed for stealing El Phantasmo‘s glasses. Those glasses really are linking to a lot of the stories right now. Despite that, This is likely the end of Aussie Open’s reign with the titles. They’ve done all they possibly can with them.
Prediction: CCBlaaaaah
Anti-Hardcore Match for the Defiant Hardcore Championship: Jimmy Havoc (c) vs No Fun Dunne
Jimmy Havoc is known worldwide for his love of hardcore wrestling. He would rather have light tubes and glass smashed over his back as opposed to doing an arm drag. Because of his desires to inflict buckets of pain upon his body, he’s held on to the Hardcore Championship for 419 days as of writing. Granted, it’s only been defended twice since he won it but still. As you could imagine, there’s a group of men, in particular, looking to shut down the Defiant hardcore division as we know it – those guys are of course The Anti-Fun Police. No Fun Dunne, Los Federales Santos Jr., and Deputy Drake are adamant to bring an end to the hardcore style of wrestling within the promotion. Drake failed in his quest for the gold a few weeks ago on Loaded, so now the challenge is in the trusted hands of the Chief. Dunne wriggled his way into this championship match by showing footage to General Ameen, seemingly giving him clues as to where El Phantasmo’s LED glasses have gone. It’s a weird way to earn your match, however, it doesn’t end there. The Dunne who stops the fun has requested for the match to be held under Anti-Hardcore rules. That means if Havoc uses a weapon, he will be disqualified and No Fun Dunne will be crowned the new champion. It won’t be the most extreme Hardcore Championship match in history, but it’s what needs to be done in order to maintain an adequate level of enjoyment in Defiant Wrestling. No fun allowed.
Prediction: No Fun Dunne
Defiant Internet Championship: Martin Kirby (c) vs El Phantasmo
As mentioned, El Phantasmo’s LED glasses have gone missing, and he’s acting as if it’s the biggest travesty in the world. Commentator James R. Kennedy has been sure to mention on the weekly ReLoaded podcast that he can just buy another pair, but that’s hardly the point. As a result, General Ameen gave him an Internet Championship against Martin Kirby while he copes with his loss. Project Ego won the title at the end of December, becoming the first man to pin WALTER in a Defiant Wrestling ring. Despite the title being the Internet Championship (meaning it’s supposed to be defended for free on the Internet), Kirby has refused to defend it unless the match airs as part of a pay-per-view. Hence, he has a defense at Unstoppable. Coming into this bout, Kirby has just suffered a loss to the ever popular Benji on a recent episode of Loaded, with The Super Sub asking to challenge the winner of this match when Defiant return to Newcastle. Having just won the title and the fact it was WALTER he defeated to win the gold, it’ll be hard to predict Kirby losing the title in his first defense.
Prediction: Martin Kirby
Defiant World Championship: Rampage (c) vs David Starr
It’s the match almost nine months in the making. The seeds for the bout were first planted at No Regrets 2018 – Rampage won the World Championship from Austin Aries and Martin Kirby won the No Regrets Rumble Match, with David Starr confronting Kirby post-match. Since then, both men have had different paths heading into Unstoppable. Rampage has remained on top of Defiant for nearly a year, defeating the likes of Gabriel Kidd, ‘Bad Bones’ John Klinger, and Joe Hendry to remain the Defiant World Champion. Meanwhile, Starr hasn’t had the best success. In his quest to get a title opportunity, Starr failed to defeat WALTER, he failed to win the No Regrets Rumble, he failed to win the Ringmaster Tournament, he failed to defeat PAC. Even with all these losses under his belt, he put in some class performances that has allowed him to earn the championship match anyway. When The Product made his debut at Exit Wounds in March 2017, he received no reaction at all. Nowadays, the fans chant his name all night long. It’s been a remarkable journey for the man of many nicknames – could this possibly be his crowning moment in Defiant Wrestling?
Prediction: David Starr
