MOTW 131: Speedball Mike Bailey vs Walter

"M.O.T.W. #131: Speedball Mike Bailey vs. Walter" - ink & digital illustration

Today brings us to the 131st edition of our Chris Things Art 'Match of the Week' illustration series! And this week we travel to Brighton & the exciting melting pot that was the 2018 UK indie wrestling scene for a 2026 dream match!

This utterly amazing match took place on July 6th, 2018 for Riptide Wrestling's "Riptide International Waters" event at the Brighthelm Centre in Brighton, East Sussex, UK.

So this is what wound up officially being mine and several others favourite match from this past Sunday evening's Wrestling Club w/Chris Things at The Scratch! Which I found quite fitting as this one is really what our little Wrestling Club is all about!

There is a lot to love here. I'm obviously a big fan of both Speedball and Big Van Walter. So I feel this is an excellent showcase of makes both of them such totally wonderful Pro Wrestlers.

I also remember having a lot of love & excitement about the thriving UK indie scene at this time. And Riptide really caught that magic in a bottle at that time. From the incredibly atmospheric venue, to the amazing passion of the local faithful to the absolutely beautiful lighting & videography. All of these things just elevate this already incredible match to something even better!

The match itself is everything you would hope for from these two but somehow even better. Lots of chops, kicks & generally extremely painful-looking thudding blows. Mixed with a heck of a lot of heart and an insane chemistry. It is a true crime that as far as I am aware, this is the only singles match these two would ever have! But if this is it, then I'm still satisfied because this was just magical!

Artists' Note: There were so many visually striking moments in this, that made it so hard to pick which one. Whichever it would be I really wanted to capture a bit of the amazing atmosphere & that beautiful lighting. Hope I did it justice.

I was just so happy to get to watch this with everybody at The Scratch! This match gives me a big ol' smile. Highly recommended!

ENJOY!!

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