My thoughts on the current SPW roster, Part 1

Welcome to my first wrestling column! I started attending Singapore Pro Wrestling (SPW) shows in early 2016 – Ladies Night on 14 Dec will be my 10th show. Me and my fiancée have always liked to critique and analyse matches and the wrestler bookings, and throughout the shows we’ve seen the growth and progress of our local wrestlers,  so I thought I will write a piece about my thoughts for each of them.

Once again these views are purely my opinion, so here we go…

(All images via SPW Facebook page)

Power Warrior: If my memory serves me correct he was the first ever SPW Singapore champion. Interestingly I was told that the first SPW show I attended was Power Warrior‘s debut match, against former professional sumo wrestler Hoshitango.

Power Warrior is your standard chickenshit heel, always whining and using dirty tactics. What I like about him is that he plays along to the reactions of the crowd and he is able to emote well while in a mask, as a result he always draws good heat from the crowd. But I noticed that crowd reactions tend to die down during some of his matches, possibly due to his safe style. Or maybe his shenanigans is starting to be repetitive?

Ever since he lost his title he hasn’t had much success in single title opportunities until the most recent show Triple Thrill Extra where he and heel General Manager Carl Hella screwed Mighty Dragon for the SPW Tag Team titles. I’m not sure what is the tag team scene going forward, whether they are transitional champions (e.g. to shift the belts to The Horrors) or continue to be in the feud with Mighty Dragon over the titles.

Overall: I think it’s a good move to put him in the tag team division, as there is a lack of heel tag teams currently—Onslaught, The Horrors and Mighty Dragon are all faces, while I’m still not sure what the Social Misfits are all about. But they need to book them properly as they are comedy-based and seemed lightweight compared to the three face teams I’ve just mentioned.

“The Arsenal” Affi: Affi is an interesting case. On one hand I love his hard-hitting style—for his size he is very agile, and he has a good mix of power and technical moves. On the other hand I feel he has some issues connecting with the crowd, which could be his stoic look—his expression hinders his selling ability, something akin to Steve Blackman. I also noticed that he doesn’t interact much with the crowd, he just goes into his match, performs his shift and walks back to the backstage.

As SPW is populated with a number of over-the-top characters (a doctor from Changi Hospital, a maniacal butcher, a Korean band, a superhero just to name a few), he could stand out by going full heel and adopting a quiet sadistical personal. Tommaso Ciampa is a good current example.

Overall: With some tweaks Affi could contribute significantly to SPW. I’m not sure if he is still aligned with MK (where they had a short run as tag champions) and “manager” Sayn RH, but with the tag team division being saturated he should go back to singles action. Maybe introducing a storyline which he can get over with the SPW fans.

Current SPW Singapore Champion Aiden Rex: When I first saw his match I knew he had the skills but was somewhat lacking in the charisma department. But as time passes he has improved tremendously—smiling more and playing to the crowd. It is not difficult to support him, as he has that tenacious underdog vibe mixed with his high-flying move-set. All this, together with his current long-ish run as champion (more than six months already?) has elevated the SPW Singapore belt, as he fought off competitors in both single and multi-men title matches. Also he has better looking gear now, incorporating some Spiderman/Robin-esque designs with his mask and outfit.

So what’s the plan ahead of him? Staying face and fending off challengers until he loses the belt? From what I have seen there isn’t much local wrestlers below the upper-card so I’m expecting him to continue working with overseas wrestlers, and gain more experience.

Overall: I look forward to every Aiden Rex match— he has been a great champion and one of the mainstays in the shows, providing stability to SPW. Hopefully some time in the future he will get an opportunity to main event and challenge for the South East Asian title.

That’s all for now, thanks for reading!