Andrew SpoorsLet The Cannons Fly 4 @Anarchy Brewery, May 20 2023
With just two months until their biggest show ever, NORTH Wrestling headed back to their spiritual home of Anarchy Brewery for Let The Canons Fly 4, a show that would have big implications on the main event for Thunderstruck in July.
Our king of the ring, Andy Spoors, looks back on a dramatic night of pizza, beer and grappling action from one of the country’s leading lights on the independent scene…
Something special has been happening up in Newcastle.
As the wrestling industry booms and Britain prepares itself for huge profile events in London from two of the world’s biggest promotions, NORTH Wrestling has been gearing up to their own blockbuster show in July.
Inside Walker Dome, Thunderstruck will be the culmination of an unbelievable journey for a promotion that first swung its doors open in 2016.
A journey that has been done their own way, priding itself on a passionate, inclusive fan base and an up-close atmosphere.
At Let The Cannons Fly 4, fans were treated to a highly entertaining night featuring some of the very best on the British independent scene and beyond.
Kicking things off, The Landed Gentry (Zeo Knox & Benji) were on the receiving end of a hostile and vocal crowd when waxing lyrical about the recent coronation and defending the conservative council losses at the recent local elections.
If that sounds a little too highbrow for a variety wrestling show, the mood would soon change as NORTH legend, resident sickboy and death match enthusiast, Rory Coyle made his way to the ring for a showdown.
A challenge for a tag match later that night was issued and with no immediate support, for the former NORTH champion, a brave (or foolhardy) member of the audience named Phil volunteered his services to Coyle.
Moving swiftly on, the opening match of the night, saw tag champs Boisterous Behaviour (Man Like Deriess & Leon Slater) face off against Crashboat (Jake Silver and Jack Bandicoot) and The Bad Boy Gym Gang (Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II) in a triple threat match.
It’s worth pointing out the champions have become firm fan favourites in Newcastle, their 315 day reign with the titles and inaugural custodians have seen their matches regularly steal shows.
Tonight they even had a pizza named after them by local vendor Two J’s Pizza in the form of the delicious Boisterous Beefhaviour.
Triple threat tag matches can play fast and loose without the threat of a disqualification and that was no exception here.
Leon Slater was thrown over the bar counter. Superkicks met their marks with frequent accuracy, ‘this is awesome’ chants rained down and a remarkable amount of high risk manoeuvres saw light fittings threatened regularly (a NORTH custom these days).
The match received a standing ovation at the end of a gruelling and pulsating encounter that lasted well over 20 minutes with The Lykos Gym claiming a shock victory thanks to just a little help from Gene Munny.
A stunned Anarchy Brewery had however, not seen the last of the now former tag champions for the night…
A NORTH debut for Raven Creed vs the 21st Century Liability, Natalie Sykes in a quick match to cleanse the palette while showcasing two up and coming talents.
The finish saw Sykes jumping from the top rope into a modified code breaker for the victory.
Another tag match swiftly followed, this time seeing Joe Wade & Joe Kessler vs Myles Kayman & Vusyk, the latter stepping in for the originally billed CPF (Joe Lando and Danny Black).
For every bit the opening tag title match was highflying, this encounter was brutal and hard hitting: the victory going to Wade and Kessler after a lethal looking stomp from the top rope, hitting its mark on Kayman.
One of the great features of NORTH is the variety of matches on their card.
From technical masterclasses through to hardcore matches, nothing is off the table.
At LTCF4, the Ultraviolent Championship was on the line as champion Clint Margera looked to defend his title against The Head Cat Gary Jay.
This was a chance to show the twisted side of wrestling as ladders, chairs and plenty of out of the ring action saw the now well-hydrated crowd through to the intermission.
A brutal powerbomb onto a set of ladders precariously resting on the top rope outside the ring providing a blend of ingenuity and barbarity.
Margera retained his championship with a swinging fisherman superplex from the top rope onto a pile of steel chairs in the ring for the win.
After the break, with pints refilled and merchandise purchased, the buzz around the NORTH faithful in attendance increased.
The night’s main antagonists, The Landed Gentry managed a sneak victory over Rory Coyle and surprise partner Joe Hendry, thanks to help from Ace Matthews and much to the chagrin of everyone inside Anarchy Brewery.
Although he may have been on the losing side, Hendry, the current Impact Digital Media Champion made his entrance to another fantastic video, roasting both opponents Zeo Knox & Benji to the tune of Pulp’s Common People.
NORTH’s champion Liam Slater has held the title for 371 days, the self proclaimed post-modern pro wrestler has proven himself to be a fighting champion, often scouting future opponents from the back of Anarchy Brewery.
Tonight, his open challenge for the belt was answered by Jet Martial, a previous ally of Slater in events gone by.
A game Martial picked up the pace early on with a series of stinging slaps and wince inducing kicks.
Political gimmicks be damned, this was British wrestling. Smash-mouthed and brutally brilliant. A hellacious off the shoulder driver would not be enough for the champion.
This was a stark reminder that British wrestling has moved on from pure pantomime.
Sure, it’s still there, but matches like this are a needed evolution.
A somewhat abrupt end to the match saw Slater snap on a single leg crab submission, that left his challenger little option but to submit and submit quickly.
The ever gracious champ insisted on putting over a tricky opponent in Martial, rather than play his theme in celebration.
On to the main event of the night, a Scramble match to determine who will challenge Liam Slater for the NORTH Wrestling Championship at Thunderstruck.
Starting with two men, a new participant would enter the match at regular intervals.
Ace Matthews and Amir Jordan looked set to kick things off before a vengeful Rory Coyle took out Matthews for costing him his match earlier.
This gave Jordan plenty of time to relax and soak up the adulation from the NORTH faithful. The reaction not just to his entrance, but throughout the entire match, was some of the loudest of the night.
Man Like Deriess was next out followed by the massive Will Kroos, Gene Munny, Jack Bandicoot, Leon Slater and finally Saxon Huxley.
A Boisterous Behaviour team up to eliminate their opponents, led to an unfortunately inevitable showdown in this every man for himself match.
Amir Jordan, in from the start, had the unenviable task of trying to break up one of the most dominant tag teams in the history of NORTH.
It wasn’t to be, however, and one more double team finishing move saw it come down to the team mates for the opportunity to main event in July.
The quick fired wit of British wrestling fans soon reared its head, with the crowd beginning a rendition of War’s Why Can’t We Be Friends? and chants of ‘friendship’ echoed around Anarchy.
A pulsating back and forth laced with remorse at having to face a close friend and team-mate was evident throughout.
The culmination of the match saw Slater springing from the top rope only to be caught by a powerbomb and a quick 450 splash by Deriess.
Just as it looked like that would be enough to claim victory, Slater managed to kick out at the last second.
A missed opportunity for Deriess changed the momentum of the match, Slater quickly hitting a Blue Thunder Bomb and a 450 splash of his own that would prove to be enough for one of Britain’s most exciting stars to claim victory and seal his place in Walker Dome history.
With one more opportunity for some of the country’s best talent to cement their place on what promises to be a historic night of action in July, fans can’t afford to miss next month’s event inside Anarchy Brewery. For tickets to Thunder Road, visit www.northwrestling.co.uk
Let The Cannons Fly 4 will be available to watch in its entirety on Fite + on 1 June.