Thunder Road Review //Sat 24th June

By Harry Miller

It’s the last show before the big one and we got a tank full of gas, ready to storm down Thunder Road on the way to Thunderstruck.

However, before the show can get properly started, an ominous video of a ticking clock plays on the screen. Wonder what that could be…

Puf Bodyslam Challange

The night started on a high with the exuberant Puf in the ring, performing an impressive dance routine with Tom Campbell. As lovely as it would have been to watch the two dance the night away, the scheduled bodyslam challenge had to take priority, but who would answer the call?

Shockingly, Shreddy came out to make his first appearance at NORTH this year. Even more shockingly, the crowd were actually pleased to see Shreddy for the first time in many years.

Unfortunately, Shreddy was still carrying an injury that would rule him out of this challenge but he was here to let everyone know that he was the only man in the locker room who would be able to bodyslam Puf. The Jacked Stacked Daddy was so confident on this, he put his PSA 10 Charizard Pokémon card (worth £10,000) on the line for anyone who could complete the seemingly impossible feat.

With a huge bounty now set, Myles Kayman, with the Guiding Light Isaiah Quinn, was first to accept the challenge. After some pleasant introductions, Kayman had decided that the Guiding Light would be attempting the challenge on his behalf.

This has suddenly turned into the biggest underdog story in NORTH history as Quinn geared himself up to lift a 418 pound man and slam him. Despite his best efforts, the Guiding Light could not even make Puf come an inch off the ground. After a failed second attempt, Quinn’s frustration boiled over and he slapped Puf which was about as huge as a mistake you could make; it took just a few short seconds for Puf to bodyslam his challenger in retaliation.

Myles Kayman didn’t want to be left out anymore and entered the ring to throw a bunch of his strongest running and springboard uppercuts at Puf. It was very ineffective. Puf brushed off the Golden Boy’s attacks and gave him a brutal bodyslam/back senton combination for his troubles.

Now the challenge was out the way, it was time for another instalment of Puf dancing with various guests. This time Shreddy was getting jiggy with it, or at least he was before he decided to be his despicable self again.

Shreddy low blowed a dance-occupied Puf and delivered a splitting spear, stripping his sling in the process. We had all been tricked, backstabbed and quite possibly bamboozled by Shreddy but for why?

We didn’t have to wait long to find out as Shreddy got on the mic and announced he was back and already had his first target in sight: Scotty 2 Hotty. It was time for revenge and it was going to happen at the biggest show of the year, Thunderstruck!

Rhio vs Luke Jacobs

A bout between two stable mates would usually be a competitive exhibition but this match was anything but friendly.

Jacobs started off immediately aggressive, delivering more chops than a butcher’s supplier. After an onslaught of violence from the Young Gun, Rhio was finally able to counter with a huge suplex followed by a combination of kicks and knee strikes.

Rhio tried to capitalise on her new found momentum with a dive to the outside but Jacobs quickly extinguished the comeback with a spine shattering slam onto the ring apron. Jacobs had taken full control of the match and had made Rhio’s back the victim of a targeted assault.

It had looked like the end was near after Jacobs inflicted even more damage with repeated bodyslams but there is no quit in the indestructible Rhio. The Braided Bruiser fought back with power moves of her own, tossing Jacobs across the ring with ease. The two North West Strong members then traded German suplexes, unable to keep the other one down.

The Red Rose Among The Thorns took complete control, throwing an entire arsenal of manoeuvres at Jacobs that would have put many men away for a three count but this match did not end there.

The Young Gun somehow survived the attacks and had his opponent in position for another suplex but Rhio expertly reversed the momentum to transition into a pinning combination which finally resulted in a three count.

Rhio continued to add fuel to her blazing momentum after a cracker of a match with Jacobs. Before this segment could come to an end, AEW star Mercedes Martinez appeared on the screen to challenge Rhio to a match at Thunderstruck! Two of the best wrestlers in the world battle for the first time ever on July 15th in a bout that will be an instant classic.

Shigehiro Irie vs Will Kroos

A match with more beef than a slaughterhouse between two of the greatest big men on both sides of the equator. What more could you possibly ask for?

The two bulls butted heads, going blow for blow to see who was the true alpha. Irie finally took Kroos off of his feet with a humongous shoulder tackle off of the top rope. However, the Headline wasn’t down for long, coming back with a series of chops and kicks.

Despite the magnitude of the match, Kroos wrestled with his usual confident swagger and got the first near fall in the bout after a corner splash and back senton combination. The dominance from Kroos was short lived as Irie fought back with a flurry of elbows, leaving his opponent sitting dazed on the ring apron. Seizing his opportunity, Irie through his entire body at the seated Kroos, sending both men crashing out of the ring.

Once both were back in the ring, the two Kaijus both fought to recapture control, colliding with each other like Beyblades over and over again. Irie caught Kroos with a Samoan drop followed by a gigantic superplex from the top rope that shook the ring. The Osaka Obliterator locked Kroos into a deep sleeper hold but the Headline would not quit and threw both his own and his opponent’s bodies into the turnbuckle.

The Final Boss quickly took the downed Irie and hit his signature Kroosficition piledriver to end this incredible exhibition.

Amir Jordan vs Michael Oku

Two of the country’s finest wrestlers fighting in their adopted homeland in front of a raucous crowd. This match had all the factors to deliver a match of the year calibre affair.

As expected, the competitors channelled their inner Vin Diesel and went at a fast and furious pace, not letting the other have a second to catch their breath. A devastating drop kick from the top rope allowed Oku to take control but only until Jordan fired back with an abundance of strike combinations.

Jordan took to the air with a hellacious dive out of the ring and directly onto Oku and some of the seated NORTH faithful.

Each elite athlete traded animal based submissions with Oku locking in his signature half crab before Jordan reversed positions to sink in a camel clutch. The OJMO decided to show off his ridiculous athleticism once again with a springboard dropkick followed by a Fosbury Flop inspired dive outside onto his opponent.

Michael Oku was in the driver’s seat at Thunder Road, delivering a Shearer-esque penalty kick to the chest of Jordan. After a sensational springboard moonsault, Oku climbed to the top in preparation for the world’s greatest frog splash but Jordan intercepted with a massive dropkick. The Karachi Kid followed up with an electric chair driver from the top rope before going Air Jordan, the move that had won him many championships around the world but it was not enough to put Oku away on this occasion.

Jordan continued to thrive with a rolling cutter and piled on the pressure with a pummelling pop-up powerbomb. The result looked finalised as Jordan put on a jackknife pinning manoeuvre but Oku reversed the momentum to create a pinning combination of his own that was enough to get a three count.

After this epic collision, Jordan took to the mic to express appreciation to his opponent and also the NORTH faithful as this was to be his last match before a venture west. However, this touching speech was interrupted by the same clock video that had appeared early in the night but what did it mean?

It meant disaster for Amir Jordan because Rampage Brown had just made his return to NORTH and he was wasting no time before making an impact. Brown hit Jordan with the most brutal piledriver I’ve ever seen before declaring the two will face off at Thunderstruck!

Alexxis Falcon vs Chantal Jordan vs Eve Bateman vs Hyan

Four competitors who have never won a match at NORTH face off in a match with truly nothing to lose and everything to gain.

The action started in an expected frantic manner with Jordan and Hyan tussling in the ring while Bateman and Falcon taking to the ringside to scrap. Jordan went for a huge dive to the outside but the force of Falcon’s spit was enough to disrupt all momentum.

This act of unhygienic villainy was enough for the Iron Queen to take charge of the bout, hitting consecutive exploder suplexes to Jordan and then Hyan and then delivering a suplex to Jordan onto Hyan.

A chorus of dives came next, first from Jordan onto Bateman followed by Hyan onto both of her outside opposition. Chantal Jordan went high risk again, delivering a mega meteora to Hyan but couldn’t capitalise as Falcon had snuck behind to hit a backstabber.

Hyan had found a resurgence of energy to hit a huge DDT to Falcon which would have been enough to end the match if the dastardly Bateman did not pull the referee out of the ring before he could count three.

Bateman then took the fight to Falcon who only invited more aggression from the Crime Lord by spitting in her face. Eve Bateman did not take to this too kindly and it only took one fireman’s carry driver to send Falcon to sleep with the fishes.

This is a massive victory for Bateman and could easily be the start of the journey to becoming to don in the NORTH.

Rory Coyle vs Ace Matthews (with The Landed Gentry)

Rory Coyle was ready to turn Ace Matthews into the victim of his latest slasher flick but the malicious motivator requested for this to be a straight-up wrestling match with no weaponry or tomfoolery.

The lack of weapons didn’t stop Coyle from being his best vicious self, starting the bout with cranium cracking headbutt before taking Matthews on a trip to and over the bar. After taking a short drinks break, Coyle brought the action back to the ring for a little bit of vintage finger biting.

The Sick Boy was about to make this match into a short-film, setting up for a DDT but the deplorable Benji caused an interference that got him thrown out of the match. During the commotion, Zeo Knox hit Coyle with a kendo stick which was only enough for Matthews to get a two count.

Despite his plea for a clean fight, Matthews went to hit Coyle with a steel chair with a wild swing which not only missed his opponent but rebounded off the ropes and hit himself in the face. The Video Nasty wasted no time hitting the Dip In The Lake to end the match. Or at least, it would have ended the match if not for Knox stopping the referee from counting three.

While the referee dealt with this Tory, the other Tory found his way back to the ring to low blow Coyle and clobber him with a croquet mallet. Ace Matthews quickly fell into the pin and successfully defeated Rory Coyle.

After the bell, Matthews took to the microphone to declare his vanquished foe to be finished but this was not the end of Rory Coyle. The Sick Boy wants one more match, against the Landed Gentry at Thunderstruck.

The Conservatives accept the challenge on the condition that Rory Coyle’s NORTH career would end if he were to lose. Coyle accepted but wanted something from the Gentry if he won: Benji’s hair. Zeo Knox accepted on behalf of his shocked partner before mocking Coyle’s apparent lack of partner.

The Sick Boy didn’t come without a plan however and revealed that his partner would be none other than…Gangrel! Rory Coyle and Gangrel vs The Landed Gentry: Career vs Hair at Thunderstruck!

Millie McKenzie vs Natalie Sykes

Two of Britain’s finest prodigies fighting to each defend their own undefeated records could only meet and exceed all expectations.

From the off, McKenzie took her opponent lightly, taunting Sykes after overpowering her in the initial lockup. This was a big mistake.

Sykes came out to prove a point, hitting a perfectly executed Northern Lights suplex to quash any doubt that she couldn’t hang with McKenzie. The 21st Century Liability continued the flurry of offence with an abundance of chops and forearm strikes before moving onto uppercuts and kicks.

McKeznie did not lay dormant for long, disrupting Sykes’ mojo with a devastatingly strong cutter that was enough to earn a two count. Suplex Millie had now erupted, throwing her opponent across the ring with a pair of German suplexes and a brutal back suplex.

Before McKenzie could inflict any more damage, Sykes returned the favour of a cutter variant of her own before locking in Fujiwara armbar that had found her success in her previous matches but it was not enough to score a victory on this occasion.

Natalie Sykes went to the second rope to put the finishing touches on the match but was caught mid-dive by an astonishing spear. McKenzie rolled into the pinfall and got the three count in a very close match-up.

Liam Slater, Liam Slater and Man Like DeReiss vs Bad Boi Gym Gang

It’s main event time and what a stellar lineup it is. The greatest NORTH Champion ever, Liam Slater teams with the greatest tag-team champions ever, Leon Slater and Man Like DeReiss against the current tag-team champions, Lykos Gym and Gene Munny is also here. Liam Slater and Leon Slater were set to battle in the main event of Thunderstruck for the title but could they put that aside to focus on the challenge of the BBGG?

Liam Slater starts proceedings, dominating Kid Lykos II with technical wrestling before doing the same to Kid Lykos I. It was Gene Munny’s turn next, getting caught in a Slater wristlock that was seemingly inescapable. Munny tried using an airplane spin the get out of the hold but Slater maintained wrist control throughout all attempts of avoidance.

Man Like DeReiss tagged himself in and took no time to show his physical dominance over the furry foes. DeReiss and Leon Slater enacted some vintage Boisterous Behaviour double team manoeuvres on Lykos II with frequent tags to one another.

This train of tandem attacks came to a halt when Liam Slater tagged himself in after being ignored by both partners. The trio went for a triple-team attack but miscommunication lead to both Slaters accidentally colliding but before the tension could boil over, BBGG took advantage and cleared the pair out of the ring. With DeReiss now isolated, the troublesome trio pounced like a pack of wolves.

After a period of domination, DeReiss found a tag to Leon Slater who quickly recaptured momentum with an impressive handspring assault onto a pair of opponents. Liam Slater found himself back into the match, locking both Lykos I and II into a double single leg crab submission.

Coming to the rescue, Munny caught Slater slacking and tossed him across the ring in an incredible feat of strength. Leon Slater and DeReiss made their return, hitting a giant assisted blockbuster to set their team back on the path to victory. Liam Slater went to join in on a triple attack once again but yet again, the former tag champions could not gel well enough with the world champion. BBGG quickly took advantage and hit DeReiss with a triple manoeuvre of their own.

Leon Slater tagged back in to salvage the match for his team and turned a Kid Lykos II brainbuster into massive powerbomb. Slater ascended to the top rope and went for his signature 630 splash but Lykos II got his knees up in time. The Problem Child got Slater up for a brainbuster and finally hit his signature move and pinned Leon Slater for three.

This was an astonishing end to the match. This was only the second time Leon Slater had been pinned at NORTH with both occasions having Kid Lykos II be the perpetrator. Man Like DeReiss had just lost his third match in a row after going undefeated for nine consecutive matches. Liam Slater was on the losing side for the first time since winning the NORTH Championship. Bad Boi Gym Gang had won what was seemingly an impossible match against the true all-stars of NORTH.

How will this impact the main event of Thunderstruck? Find out on July 15th.