It’s Rumble time for Defiant Wrestling as they head to the Manchester Academy on Saturday evening for the third annual No Regrets event. While the No Regrets Rumble Match is usually the main attraction on the show, the previous two events have also featured other notable moments in Defiant history. From Gabriel Kidd ending his near one year losing streak in 2017 to Rampage starting his record-breaking 11 month reign as the World Champion in 2018, No Regrets is always a great night for all, something that looks set to continue this year.
Simon Miller vs John Klinger
After being out on the shelf since last July, Simon Miller made his return to in-ring competition a few weeks ago on Loaded, where he teamed with general manager General Ameen and assistant to the general manager Adam Foster in a successful effort against The Anti-Fun Police. No Regrets will mark his second match back from injury, but it could send him back on the shelf as he’s coming after John Klinger. The Badness has been a thorn in the side of just about anyone on the roster, especially Miller. Klinger was part of that ambush on Simon, Joe Hendry, and David Starr while the man who ups the downs still wasn’t cleared to compete. Now that the doctors have cleared him though, Miller is coming straight after The German Psycho in an effort to bring an end to the John Klinger problem. The Defiant historians amongst you will remember it was last year’s No Regrets where Simon Miller made his wrestling debut, entering the second No Regrets Rumble Match. A year later, can he mark a successful anniversary with a huge victory over one of Europe’s biggest names?
Prediction: Simon Miller
No Regrets Rumble #1 and #30 spots on the line: David Starr vs Gabriel Kidd
When it comes to Rumble Matches, the number you draw can play a huge role in deciding how likely you are of winning the match. Some people can go all the way and win the whole thing, while others enter later on to pick up the victory. David Starr and Gabriel Kidd will have to learn all about that the hard way. Starr drew number one in this year’s contest while Kidd, with the biggest smug look you’ve ever seen across his face, picked out number thirty. But when The Young Bull demanded another opportunity to defeat The King of Taunts, General Ameen was keen to oblige on one condition. Whoever won would enter with the number 30 spot and whoever lost would earn number one. This is another huge chance for David Starr to prove himself inside a Defiant ring which, as we’ve come to learn, never usually ends well for him. After recent failures against the likes of Rampage, Joe Hendry, and of course Kidd, Starr will be out for retribution and remind everyone why he is considered one of the best on the independent circuit at the moment.
Prediction: Gabriel Kidd
Defiant Tag Team Championships: The South-Coast Connection (Ashley Dunn & Kelly Sixx) (c) vs Team WhiteWolf (A-Kid & Carlos Romo)
Back in March, The South-Coast Connection shocked the world when they ended The Aussie Open‘s mammoth reign with the Tag Team Championships, albeit with the use of a pre-match assault with a steel chair. Nevertheless, Ashley Dunn and Kelly Sixx are indeed our champions, something that disgusts commentator Dave Bradshaw more and more as the weeks go by. Initially brought in as two guys who no-one knew about, The SCC quickly changed the opinions of everyone with their jaw-dropping performances. It’s performances like the one from Chain Reaction 2017 that led to them capturing the tag straps from Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher. So far, they’ve retained against the former champions, The Dynamic Duo (Mark and Thomas Billington), and Team WhiteWolf, all through nefarious means. A-Kid and Carlos Romo have been granted another crack at Dunn and Sixx’s titles, an opportunity that they’re not taking lightly. The Spanish tandem has only appeared twice in Defiant thus far, with both matches resulting in controversy. With The South-Coast Connection proving they’ll do whatever it takes to remain champions, perhaps it’s Kid and Romo who can put an end to that come May 25th.
Prediction: The South-Coast Connection
Defiant Women’s Championship: Lizzy Styles (c) vs Lana Austin
The last time Defiant was in Manchester saw the surprise debut of Lizzy Styles, as she answered Kanji‘s open challenge and pinned her to the mat. In the months that have followed, the likes of Little Miss Roxxy, Natalie Sykes, and Gia Adams have all stepped up to face The One Woman Army, and all have been knocked down thanks to Lizzy’s brutal Virgil Van Stryk knee smash. At April’s Lights Out event, the Scouser was awarded the Women’s Championship after Kanji was ruled out of action for the time being with an arm injury, a title she then retained by defeating Lana Austin. Now, Styles has issued an open challenge for No Regrets, with Manchester’s very own Lana accepting. Their match at Lights Out was one of the better contests that evening, something that will undoubtedly be the case come Saturday evening. Lizzy has been a dominant force since her arrival in Defiant. There’s seemingly no stopping her for the time being.
Prediction: Lizzy Styles
Defiant World Championship: Rampage (c) vs Mark Haskins
A year on from capturing his first World Championship, Rampage enters this year’s No Regrets as the defending champion where he comes up against Mark Haskins. Rampage’s initial run with the title came to a crashing halt at Magnificent Seven in March when Rory Coyle used all manner of weapons to lift the gold, ending the match with a DDT on to a VHS player. Although Rampage would regain the top prize just one month later, the bad news wasn’t over for Defiant management as Coyle was able to manipulate Rampage into joining his cause, with the champ signifying his allegiance to The Video Nasty by whacking Justin Sysum across the skull with a steel chair. This weekend, he finds himself across the ring from Mark Haskins, who is arguably on the roll of his career at the minute as the only man to have won a match inside both Wembley Arena and Madison Square Garden. Haskins earned this opportunity by defeating both David Starr and Nathan Cruz on a recent Loaded episode, with the contract signing for the bout taking place this past Sunday. As is typical with wrestling contract signings though, it descended into chaos, culminating with Rampage delivering a piledriver to Vicky Haskins while Rory Coyle forced Mark to watch his wife be assaulted. He’s a tough performer as it is but now that things have turned to a personal level, Mark Haskins will surely be that extra bit violent when Defiant rolls into Manchester.
Prediction: Rampage
2019 No Regrets Rumble Match: Adam Foster, David Starr, Gabriel Kidd, General Ameen, Joe Hendry, John Klinger, Lizzy Styles, Man Like Dereiss, Mark Billington, Nathan Cruz, Robbie X, Sean Kustom, Simon Miller, Thomas Billington, and Visage will enter
Let’s get ready to rumble! The No Regrets Rumble Match is only in its third year, but the previous two bouts have proven to be excellent contests full of twists and turns. 2017 saw Martin Kirby come out victorious to capture the World Championship, while 2018 also saw Kirby on the winning side of things to earn the right to challenge Rampage at Built to Destroy. This year, the favorites to win include the likes of David Starr and Gabriel Kidd, who’ll do battle over the number one and thirty positions earlier on in the night. There’s a good mix of talent currently announced for the bout – the high-flying of Robbie X and Sean Kustom, the pure brutality of John Klinger, the technical prowess of Nathan Cruz and Joe Hendry. We may see some strange alliances formed throughout, with one team – The Dynamic Duo – already announcing their participation. Even General Ameen has thrown his name into the hat by the looks of things after he pulled out a number on Sunday night. It’s anyone’s game.
Prediction: David Starr
No Regrets airs LIVE on Access Defiant from 6:30pm onwards. Remember, new subscribers get a 30 day free trial!
