No doubt about it now: hardcore wrestling has officially arrived in Poland
We’ve discussed Warsaw, Poland’s PpW here on WrestleMap a few times now. Their unique product on the Polish scene and the excellent crowds they’ve drawn have made it hard not to. From holding Poland’s first barbed wire match to hitting the road for a super show, the unique Polish company has been making moves that are hard to ignore. The same can be said about the company’s latest full show event video which recently hit YouTube, Inside Job.
PpW’s edgy product is unlike anything else on the Polish pro wrestling scene. The result of that edgy and unique product has brought in a young, hip and energetic crowd that keeps growing in size and intensity with each new PpW event. The crowds are growing so much that in order to accommodate a bigger audience, they may have to consider a bigger venue. But then the question arises as to if a bigger venue might strip away some of the charm and atmosphere that their home venue of 2KOLA has provided thus far. But if the company does have to expand its operations, it’s hard to envision this fanbase quieting down or no longer being drawn to events just because they’re being held at a new building.
Aside from the great matches and awesome crowd, Inside Job also had some surprises including a big one to start the night out. In what was supposed to be a contract signing for a rematch between former PpW Champion Mr. Z and Osamu, who had just beaten Mr. Z for the belt at Ledwo Legalne, things took an interesting turn. Instead of signing the contract, Osamu tore it up and announced that he had quit the company and was vacating his title belt. That left Mr. Z in limbo for the night but he would soon have a new opponent—the lover of violence and pain, Johnny Blade. Mr. Z and Johnny Blade would then meet in the main event. More on that later
The surprises continued in the opening match as Tony Sk1n and Adam Wong were set to meet one on one. To the surprise of both the referee and both competitors, The Bill Feager appeared to make it a triple threat match. Feager, a PpW original that dates back to the group’s days before the regular performances at 2KOLA, showed some power and looked to have things wrapped up at one point in the match after delivering a tombstone pile driver to Adam Wong. In a desperate attempt to keep the match going and break up the pin, Tony Sk1n delivered a super kick to the referee, knocking them unconscious and drawing the ire of the crowd. The boos continued to rain down on Tony Sk1n but he would come out of the match as the winner, much to the disapproval of the crowd on hand.
In a last ditch effort to save a victory from the jaws of defeat, Tony Sk1n super kicks the referee right before they counted to three.
The second match of the night was absolutely brutal. Rob Scaffold and Direk wrestled in a hardcore grudge match that was full of incredible violence. All sorts of weapons got involved in this one and the ring crew even had to hit the ring mid-match to clean up. Rob Scaffold took to the air early and often, taking out Direk and nearly himself with his high risk offense. It took two impressive aerial moves in the end but Rob Scaffold was able to put Direk through a wooden board and down for the count following a swanton bomb.
Rob Scaffold launches himself from the top rope with an impressive aerial maneuver.
The bad blood and violence continued in the night’s next bout between Isnorr and Steven Strong as they went at it in a last man standing match. Steven got an incredible reaction from the fans on hand and both wrestlers put in a great effort. This match spilled outside the venue at one point with nearly the entire venue’s worth of fans following the action. In a cool scene during the brawl outside, fans lit up road flares that helped to light the area in the dark of night as both wrestlers climbed to the top of some type of industrial materials and brawled there. At some point during the brawl outside, Steven got cut open badly and was absolutely gushing blood from his forehead. Despite the difficulty the excessive blood loss caused, Steven Strong was able to put away Isnorr after leaping from the top rope on to Isnorr who was positioned on a table outside of the ring. This was a big win for Steven Strong following Isnorr’s recent success at the Poznań Super Show and created a big future opportunity for Steven that we’ll touch on later.
Steven Strong launches a weapon at Isnorr’s head while perched up high.
The night’s main event was between Mr. Z and Johnny Blade and was set up at the outset of the show when Osamu abruptly quit. PpW called this one a “stairway to Hell match” and both competitors definitely climbed down that stairway in this match. Tons of violence, tons of weapons. These two are amongst the most beloved wrestlers by PpW’s fanbase and the crowd was absolutely deafening throughout this one. Like usual, Johnny Blade took a ton of punishment, at one point being slammed bare-back first onto a barbed wire board. Mr. Z is well versed in both hardcore wrestling and technical pro wrestling and he showed both off very well here. Johnny Blade was able to withstand loads of punishment and in the end, surprised Mr. Z with a quick pinfall for the victory.
Johnny Blade gets forcefully bodyslammed by Mr. Z with his exposed back coming down hard on barbed wire.
Following the main event, the voice of PpW, Michael HT, hit the ring with a big announcement. At PpW’s next event, Mr. Z, Steven Strong, Rob Scaffold and Johnny Blade will all wrestle in a fatal four way to determine the next PpW Champion! You can check out the full event below and we really recommend that you do!
