'It's the most wonderful time of the year!' is something you'd likely be heard singing at Christmas time, but for Progress fans it's far more likely to be a song about the annual Super Strong Style 16 tournament! Contested over 3 days, this 16 man tournament finds a new Number 1 Contender for the Progress World Championship! It's an event that has grown year after year, and mixes Progress' finest with some stellar imports! The 2017 even was an absolute doozy, so join me as we look at the weekend as a whole, focusing in on the best bits (and there were many!).
Day 1 After some fun chat from Jim Smallman, where he found out where fans had come from for the show (which included America, Canada, Australia, Italy, Germany, Singapore and the Phillipines!), we kicked off with our first import, Jeff Cobb (better known as Lucha Underground's Matanza) taking down the leader of the Origin, Nathan Cruz. Cobb looked very impressive here, tossing Cruz round like a ragdoll at times, showing why his nickname is Mr Athletic, even nailing an amazing standing moonsault. He really made an impression on the ones unfamiliar with him in Camden, and took out Nathan with his patented spinning slam, the Tour Of The Islands. The quality of wrestling on Day 1 was so consistent. Mark Haskins and Flash Morgan Webster told a great story in their hard-hitting affair, with the former Progress Champion making Webster tap after spending time working his leg. And that was followed up by another cracker, as Travis Banks took on Jimmy Havoc. A wild encounter that featured plenty of chair throwing at ringside and dives into the crowd. Banks came into the weekend as one of the favourites and he took down the longest reigning Progress Champion with a brutal Kiwi Crusher. Some brutal sequences in this one from two of the best in the world! The final match of the first half of Day 1 saw Zack Sabre Jr take on another man making his Progress debut, David Starr! This really was wrestling of the highest quality and undoubtedly the best match of Day 1 (pipping Banks/Havoc to the accolade). As you'd expect this was so technically sound, with both guys exchanging holds, throws and strikes as the crowd lapped it up. This was my first exposure to Starr and he immediately turned into someone I want to see a lot more of! Zack worked Starr's arm viciously at times, the submission specialist looking for a tap-out victory. The match just grew in intensity as it went on, the strikes getting harder and Sabre taking a nasty flatliner through the ropes. The Technical Wizard was able to fight back though, making Davey Wrestling tap out to a Rings Of Saturn. A fantastic match. The consistency continued with Jack Sexsmith vs Zack Gibson. These two met not long ago, with the Scouser Gibson taking the win there via countout, and this match was even better! A fantastic story was told, with Sexsmith never giving up, taking everything Gibson could throw at him and still coming back for more. Zack even tried what got him the win last time, a Helter Skelter on the floor but even that wasn't enough! After trying it again in the ring, a battered Sexsmith was somehow able to counter into a roll-up to send the crowd wild! Jack's popularity continues to rise in Progress, he really is one of the most over stars in the company! Tyler Bate came into the tournament without his WWE UK Championship, having lost it to Pete Dunne in Chicago the week before, but that didn't stop him putting a beating on Pastor William Eaver, managing to get by the former Progress Champion with a brutal Tyler Driver! So, we moved on to a match which had me drooling when the draw was made, as Mark Andrews took on the high flying luchador from DragonGate, Flamita! After the ring introductions (Flamita's in Spanish, naturally!), the two exchanged quick counters to the delight of the crowd. The pace continued to build and soon there were backflips and rope armdrags flying everywhere! When Flamita was announced for the weekend, barely anyone had heard of him but he quickly won the crowd over! Just as the pace went up, it went back down as the two men entered a hard strike battle, working the crowd like complete pros, showing there's more to their game than speed and flips. After Flamita picked it up again after a huge swan dive to the outside I knew that we were seeing maybe the most well-constructed match of the first round. The crowd lapped up the final stages of this contest, which saw some incredible offence from both men, with Flamita finally taking the win with his patented Flam Fly in what some may call an upset. The final contest of Day 1 was a real surprise. I was all ready for a great battle between Matt Riddle and Trent Seven, but the Progress Tag Team Champion seemed determined to delay proceedings with a promo that touched on his success in WWE's UK division, even giving a shout out to his 'colleague' Brock Lesnar! This only served to fire up the Progress Atlas Champion, nailing Seven with a huge flying knee right off the bell, knocking him out for the pinfall victory in SIX SECONDS! The crowd erupted at such an amazing moment, as Day 1 of Super Strong Style 16 ended on a high! Day 2 We moved into Day 2 with some mouth-watering quarter final matches on the card and it was another show filled with great matches! After a non-tournament match saw Mark Andrews and Morgan Webster overcome the London Riots, the quarter finals kicked off with Mark Haskins taking on Tyler Bate. What a start! These two have always had such great chemistry, and this was no exception. The bout didn't take to heat up, with Haskins connecting with some brutal strikes and it wasn't long before both men were wailing on each other in the middle of the ring before Bate took control with some submissions. The match continued and built to a great pace, with both men hitting nearly everything in the arsenal to try and advance to the semis! But after a run in from his stablemates Pete Dunne and Trent Seven, it was Bate who was victorious. A screwy finish to a very good match. Unfortunately Zack Sabre Jr vs Jack Sexsmith did not last very long at all. The Pansexual Phenomenon coming to the ring with his arm in a sling, saying that he was injured the previous day. However this did not stop him from competing, against the wishes of Progress management. Sadly, despite his best efforts to wrestle with one arm, Sabre made quick work of him before the crowd gave Sexsmith a standing ovation for his brave effort. And so we come to a match that will live long in my memory. The final quarter final of the half saw Jeff Cobb take on Matt Riddle. The Atlas Champion tried to end things just like he did the previous day, but the big Cobb was having none of it, exchanging holds with Riddle before chopping the hell out of each other. The Ballroom faithful really came alive when they then exchanged gut wrench suplexes as the intensity increased. Cobb really has made his name on these shores through his Lucha Underground work as Matanza, but his performances this weekend really will open the eyes of so many more fans. Some amazing sequences here, including a Riddle knee lift countered into a brutal spinning back suplex. It was at this point fans realised they were seeing something rather special, and it just continued to build! A simply incredible final few minutes had the crowd unglued, as Riddle was finally able to connect with the running knee strike to put Cobb away. I urge everyone to watch this match. Simply amazing, and I'd even go as far to say in the Top 5 Progress matches of all time! The second half kicked off with an all international affair with New Zealand's Travis Banks taking on the Mexican Flamita. Again, Flamita was quick out of the blocks here, taking control using his quickness and attacks over the top rope. The Ballroom crowd really took to Flamita over the weekend, a talent that very few of them would have heard of beforehand, a real testament to his ability. After Banks had come back into the game with a cannonball and stiff kicks the two competitors were evenly matched, before Banks hit a big fishermans buster. The finish to this strong contest came when Flamita tapped to a crossface after missing a huge move off the top rope. Travis Banks advances to the final day alongside Bate, Riddle, and Sabre Jr! After a non-tournament tag team match saw Trent Seven (mercilessly taunted by the crowd following his six second loss to Matt Riddle the previous day) and the Progress Champion Pete Dunne take down the team of Pastor William Eaver and David Starr, we moved onto our historic main event. The first ever Progress Women's Champion was crowned as Jinny took on Laura Di Matteo and Toni Storm in a Triple Threat match! The final of the Natural Progression Series was certainly high stakes! All three women started off exchanging roll-ups, looking to get the early shock win, before Di Matteo took it to her former boss, Jinny. It's really telling that 2 of these ladies were trained at the Progress training school, the ProJo. The facility in London really has produced some brilliant talents over the last 3 years! Toni managed to get back into the match with some suplexes, before Di Matteo showed what she is willing to risk with a big somersault flip to the outside. After Toni and Jinny were sent through the ringside chairs, the action hotted up even more in ring with Storm coming close to the win, before Jinny nailed both ladies with a Rainmaker, an homage to her trainer, Jimmy Havoc. As the action got even hotter, the ladies battled up to the entrance stage to inflict more damage! The crowd willing on 'Anyone But Jinny' as they fought back to the ring, with Jinny trying to employ dirty tactics to get the win. However, it was not to be, as Storm was able to hit her fourth piledriver of the match to make history and become the first ever Progress Women's Champion! A brilliant main event to close out Day 2, with plenty still to come on Day 3! Day 3 So we come to the final day! Who would become Number 1 Contender? Before the tournament continued, we had a 'Wasteman Challenge' where a lot of wrestlers wanted to answer the open challenge of Bodyguy Roy Johnson. David Starr, Pastor William Eaver, Flamita, Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews all came down to the ring and took time to cut some rhymes on Johnson (with Andrews being particularly savage!). This eventually broke down into a fun six-way match which saw Flamita come away with the win. So, to the semi finals! Who would stamp their ticket into the final? Travis Banks took on Zack Sabre Jr in a match where the technical skill on show was off the charts, however surprisingly it started off as a hard hitting brawl, with some hard strikes from both men. But before too long, it turned into a technical battle between two of the best in the world, the intensity already increasing. With Sabre trying for the tap-out victory, Banks was forced to concentrate more on his hard-hitting offence, powerbombing his way out of a triangle hold. With Sabre hitting an uncharacteristic powerbomb of his own, you could really tell that these guys would do anything to advance to the final, with Banks finally able to take down the Englishman with his second Slice Of Heaven! A match high on quality, but what else were you expecting with these two?! Who would The Kiwi Buzzsaw face though? The second semi final saw Atlas Champion Matt Riddle going up against Tag Team Champion, Tyler Bate! Could Riddle knock off both Tag Champions in one tournament? After taking his shoes off to match Riddles style, the two exchanged throws and holds, before Riddle took control with rolling gut wrench suplexes. Even early on, you could tell these two had great chemistry, as demonstrated at the Progress show in Manchester the month before. Looking back at this match, you would never guess it was between a man who has been wrestling for around 2 years, and a 20 year old. It just shows just how great each of these guys are. Both have such a great future! As this match went on, the strikes just got harder and harder, with some big suplexes thrown in for good measure. But when Riddle was unable to keep Bate down with his biggest moves, he had to wonder what he had to do to punch his ticket into the final! It was for nothing however, as Bate shortly after hit 2 straight Tyler Drivers to advance to the Super Strong Style Final. And what a statement, beating the Atlas Champion without the aid of his British Strong Style partners! Before the final, we had some other business to take care of. First of all, we found a Number 1 Contender for Toni Storm's newly-won Progress Women's Championship, with Kay Lee Ray taking down Katey Harvey. She'll take on Storm at the next Chapter, 'I Give It Six Months'. Next up, we saw a Submission Match with Mark Haskins with a score to settle with Trent Seven after he cost Haskins his match against Tyler Bate on Day 2. Unfortunately it was Seven who took this in controversial fashion, putting a Sharpshooter on an unconscious Haskins, after he had ducked a Jimmy Havoc chair shot! I'd say this is definitely not over! Finally, before the tournament final, we had a Progress Championship match as Pete Dunne defended against a man who had what will surely be one of the best matches of the year the previous day, 'Mr Athletic' Jeff Cobb! As you'd expect, Cobb threw the champ around like ragdoll at times, with Dunne using cheap tactics to get back into the contest. It was not a day for a new champion however, with Dunne retaining in a solid match with via a big Bitter End. So, it comes down to this. The final is upon us as Travis Banks goes up against Tyler Bate to become Number 1 Contender! Banks defeating Jimmy Havoc, Flamita, and Zack Sabre Jr to reach the climax of the weekend, where Bate bested Pastor William Eaver, Mark Haskins, and Matt Riddle. The stage was set, and it was an absolute barnstormer! The Progress Ultras were in fine voice as the two started out cautiously, not wanting to make a mistake as they exchanged early holds. The match countinued to move at a methodical pace, with strikes being exchanged and Bate bringing out Bop and Bang. After taking one of Bate's airplane spins (one of the fastest I've seen too!), Banks should have had it won three times, but a combination of refs being taken out and run ins saw the match descend into chaos, as CCK ran in to a huge pop to take out Dunne and Seven! So the playing field was level again, and the match intensified even more, becoming one of the best of the weekend. After trading dives to the outside, Bate looked to seriously injure Banks with a Tombstone on the floor, even trying to bring a chair into the mix. The Kiwi had the crowd on their feet soon after though, nailing a Coast To Coast dropkick! Bate however still fought back, hitting a picture perfect Spiral Tap, a move I've never ever seen him even attempt before. No matter what Bate hit, Banks just would not die. Such drama. Bate's downfall came though, when he was unable to hit a top rope Tyler Driver, with Travis coming back with a huge top-rope Kiwi Crusher before locking in the Crossface to have Bate finally tap out in a fitting final! The Progress Ultras throwing streamers into the ring as confetti rained down! A real celebration! Post-match Travis took to the mic, and declared when he'll be taking his title match. In September at Alexandra Palace, Progress Wrestling's biggest show of the year! Will he become Progress World Champion? Will Pete Dunne make it there still with his title belt? I for one cannot wait for the journey over the summer. Join me next month as we'll take a look at the next stop to Ally Pally, 'I Give It Six Months'! If you like my ramblings, give me a follow on Twitter at @TopRopeElbow
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Steve DawsonPro graps fan for almost 25 years! Archives
June 2017
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