LIVE REVIEW: North Wrestling @ Walker Dome, Newcastle (15.07.23)

Image by Stomp Photography

Professional wrestling is currently experiencing the sort of boom in popularity that hasn’t been seen since the days of The Rock and Stone-Cold Steve Austin. American promotions WWE and AEW have each brought stadium shows to the UK in consecutive years, and wrestling is enjoying the sort of mainstream success that rivals the best in combat sports.

The surge in excitement surrounding the squared circle reached Newcastle some time ago, with North Wrestling producing fantastic shows to rabid crowds ever since they resumed in 2021. Typically taking place at Anarchy Brewery, the promotion has an ever-expanding hardcore of fans that have made the shows one of the most enjoyable nights out that Newcastle has to offer.

Their most recent, Thunderstruck, was their most ambitious yet. Lapsed fans of the WWE’s Attitude Era would’ve been pleasantly surprised and baffled to see Gangel & Scotty 2 Hotty arriving at the Walker Dome. The show didn’t rely on American imports, however, with local talent providing many of the shows highlights. Newcastle’s own HT Drake was excellent against some of the best talent on the circuit, including the bruising Will Kroos and high-flying Man Like Dereiss. The rest of the card was exceptional, with tag-team and hardcore bouts offering incredible variety for the over 700-strong crowd that packed out Walker Dome.

The show’s finale, for the North Wresting Heavyweight championship, was the British indie wrestling scene at its absolute best. Leon Slater is an outrageously talented wrestling prodigy, who was entrusted with main eventing North’s biggest ever show at just 18 years old. In the opposite corner was the reigning champion, namesake, and his very own wrestling trainer Liam Slater. Leon’s victory was an astonishing way to pass the torch, and provided exactly the sort of master vs apprentice narrative that makes professional wrestling so special.