Rev Pro was back with its 3rd Cockpit show of the year and after a solid outing last time out in the 13th addition of the show at the Cockpit Theatre. I was looking forward to seeing what they could do for the 14th edition of the show.
It was a cold opener as usual and straight into the action as usual to start the show Andy Quinlan was back on commentary for this Cockpit show and thankfully Steve Lynskey was back as ring announcer. Contenders Match: Rob Lias Vs Kurtis Chapman Lias has dropped his black tights look by getting him himself some blue, red and white pants. The bell rang and Lias kicked Chapman low and then nailed him with a DDT for the one, two and three. After the bell Chapman extended his hand to Lias who kicked him low again. Which brought out Dan MaGee who gave Lias a sling blade. Lias then retreated to the back while MaGee and Chapman stood looking on in disgust. A nothing match which only existed to further angle between Lias and MaGee. I'm actually liking the direction they are going with both men here. Winner: Rob Lias Singles Match: Eddie Dennis Vs Zack Gibson Before the match, Zack cuts his super heated Liverpool's Number One promo and announces he will wrap Hirooki Goto in the Shankley Gates at York Hall next month. He then says he will do the same to Eddie Dennis tonight. Eddie then grabs the microphone and says he can beat Zack with the thousand different holds he knows like number one the sausage strangler which makes the crowd chant "sausage strangler". Eddie then gets attacked from behind by Zack and referee Chris Roberts rings the bell. The Match itself was rather decent but the result was kind of obvious as Gibson has been getting pushed since he came to RPW in January and Dennis has been on the losing end of things since he has joined RPW in January. Gibson went over clean with the Shankley Gates which only continues to establish that move as a devastating finish. Winner: Zack Gibson Singles Match: Bubblegum Vs The Man with a thousand nicknames David Starr It was good to see the Bubblegum I know best from his 1PW days after not really being able to buy him as a heel in Progress over the last few years. Bubblegum was sporting some pink tights in tribute to his mate Kris Travis, a man he feuded with in 1PW back in the day as Bubblegum teamed with El Ligero (Hubba Bubba Lucha), going against Travis and Martin Kirby (Project Ego). Anyway this match was really rather decent but then you would expect it to be. Bubblegum who hasn't been in RPW for a few years now had a tremendous comeback and I hope he comes back at some point as he's an incredible worker. Starr on the other hand is a solid up and up comer and his work in WXW since last October has been stellar. So did you expect anything else but a good match from these two? After lots of back and forth action which the crowd and myself really seemed to enjoy. The finish saw Bubblegum nail Starr with a Bubble Bomb (swinging tornado DDT) but Starr came back with a knee to the head and a German Suplex to pick up the win. Afterwards both men got a standing ovation and both men shook hands as the crowd cheered Winner: David Starr Tag Team Match: The Revolutionists (Sha Samuels and James Castle) Vs Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate) Sha made his way out to the ring on his own and he told the crowd "James Castle tried to impress me last month by beating up some kids. He said "that doesn't impress. If you want to beat up kids you're going to get treated like one!" Sha then brought out Castle who came out to the contenders music and Castle looked none to impressed. Sha said "he took Castle out of the mugs division and made him a champion and one of the longest reigning tag team champions in Rev Pro history." Sha then pushed Castle around and pulled his jacket off of him while shouting at him. Castle and Sha attack Trent and Tyler before the bell to boos. Sha and Castle beat down Trent and Tyler who then came back with a pair of headbutts to both members of the Revolutionists. Trent and Tyler then dive out onto Sha and Castle but Sha recovers then the 'East End Butcher' goes up top and Moonsaults out onto Trent, Tyler and Castle. On the outside both teams brawl with one another around ringside. Back in the ring Trent nails Sha with a float over suplex for a two count. Castle and Sha then take over control of the match and isolate Trent in their corner and beat him down. Castle has something to prove and double stomps Trent for a near fall. Sha comes in and mocks Tyler and gets distracted so Trent can make a comeback with a Rainmaker. Both men tag their partners and Tyler does his deadlift German suplex for a two count which gets broken up by Sha. Mountain take control of the match hitting Castle with a double brain buster but again Sha breaks up the fall at a two count. Sha takes out Trent and Castle nails Tyler with a double underhook powerbomb for a two count as Trent breaks up the fall. Castle then nails Trent with a Canadian Destroyer for another near fall. Sha gets angry and shouts at Castle for not getting the job done. Sha and Castle double team Trent but Trent comes back then castle accidentally hits Sha with a running drop kick sending Sha to the outside. Back in the ring Trent nails castle with a short Piledriver and then Tyler does his Tyler Driver 97 to pick up the win for his team. On the outside, Sha looks outraged while Trent and Tyler celebrate. After Trent and Tyler leave, Sha gets in the ring and starts to push around Castle and call him a mug. Sha then slaps Castle and Castle who had enough by this point nails Sha with a slap of his own and running knee smash to leave Sha laying. I guess The Revolutionists are over. This was a real fun match which was more about the ongoing angle between The Revolutionists. It may have been a little short but it didn't need to go long as mentioned above because it was all about the angle rather than the match. Winners: Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven and Tyler Bate) Singles Match: Dave Mastiff Vs 'Mr Athletic' Jeff Cobb I was really rather looking forward to this as I knew both men would just beat the hell out of one another. Early on both men bulit anticipation nicely by slowly circling one another. Then both big men run into one another but neither man went down. Then out of nowhere Cobb slammed Dave which was quiet impressive considering Dave hadn't been manhandled like that since his return to Rev Pro this year. Both men hit one another with a number of big shoulder blocks and then Dave took control of the match with a big clothesline and sat down on Cobb for a nearfall. Cobb came back giving Dave a massive Amateur wrestling slam for a nearfall. Standing Moonsault. A standing 450 got another near fall for Cobb. Both men traded elbows but then Dave nailed Jeff with a DDT for another near fall. Jeff went for a brain buster but couldn't get Dave up and Dave pushed Jeff away from him and nailed him with a running dropkick into the corner and Jeff crumbled. Dave then saw his chance and nailed Jeff with a running cannonball to pick up the win. Another good match it my have been a slow start but both men were trying to make the other look like a threat to the other. I liked the finish and the right man went over in my opinion and the push continues for Dave. Winner: Dave Mastiff Then the scariest person in BritWres, 'The Primark Princess' Jinny, made her way out to the ring. Jinny announced that if Rev Pro was to have a womens division (RPW did its first ever Womens match last year but then it was quietly forgotten about) then it needed to have the best women's wrestler in the world today which was her. Jinny claimed she did not come to London for a day out because she was around from here and not off some council estate. Someone then started a Tory scum chant and Jinny admitted she did vote for them. That made this reviewer laugh as she delivered it so deadpan and seriously. Jinny said she shouldn't be here she should be wrestling in York Hall. She said the truth is she was this division and she was simply the best. Rhia O'Reilly then came out to the ring and got in jinny's face. Jinny said "You think your on the same level as me?" She said Rhia is the past and she is the future and the best. Rhia remained quiet then Jinny slapped her but Rhia grabbed her and gave her a fall away slam to send Jinny packing. Rhia then challenged Jinny to a match at the next cockpit show. Singles Match: 'The All Day Star' Ryan Smile Vs 'The Bruiserweight' Pete Dunne Pete attacked Ryan smiles before the bell (that's happened a lot tonight) then goes and gives Ryan a Xplex on the ring apron. Back in the ring Pete mocked Ryan as the referee began to count him out. Like every good babyface, Ryan just about made it back into the ring. Ryan then took it to Pete with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Pete then gave Ryan top rope suplex and followed it up with another Xplex for a two count. On the outside both men traded elbow smashes and chops then Pete took a bite out Ryan's fingers. Pete continued to assault Ryan on the outside then Pete rolled him into the ring and slapped the shit out of Ryan. Ryan tried to stand up to Pete but Pete just manhandled him with slaps and kicks. Ryan then hit Pete with an enzigiri out of nowhere and Pete rolled to the outside but Ryan dived out over the top of the ring post out onto Pete. Back in the ring Smile went up on top and nailed Pete with a top rope missile drop kick for a nearfall. Both men then trade forearms in the middle of the ring and Pete wins the exchange. Then Dunne no sells a Canadian Destroyer (does that move mean anything now?) and Ryan no sells a German suplex. Pete grabs Ryan's head and kicks him in the head over and over again. Pete then goes for the Bitter End but Ryan counters into a DDT and then does a springboard RKO for a one count. Ryan follows it up with a superkick and then nails Pete with a frog splash for the near fall. 'The All Day Star' goes up top again but Pete cuts him off with a forearm. Pete joins Ryan up top but Ryan grabs Pete's hand and bites it. Pete falls to the mat below and Ryan goes for the 450 splash but Pete moves. 'The Bruiserweight' then goes for the Bitter End again but Ryan counters it into a small package for the one, two and three. This was a massive win for Ryan and his push continues which I can't say I have a problem with. I think Andy Quinlan has a star on his hands in Ryan Smile. I'm still puzzled as to why he didn't pin Josh Bodom to become Interim Cruiserweight champion but me moaning about that strange piece of booking should come for another day. This was by far the best match on the entire show and is well worth checking out. Winner: The All Day Star Ryan Smile Afterwards Pete Dunne looked furious as the crowd chanted Bruiserweight. Dunne just walked off looking incredibly annoyed as that's another big loss for Pete in RPW this year. RPW British Cruiserweight Title Match; Josh Bodom (Champion) Vs RJ Singh If you've read my reviews before here then you will know I am not a fan of Josh Bodom. I feel this guy is not a dependable enough guy and am sick to death of his push in Rev Pro. There are many more guys deserving of a of his push in Rev Pro than him in my opinion. The match itself was good but nothing special. RJ gave Bodom his best match this year in Rev Pro but then RJ is a BritWres vet. You could argue RJ Carried Josh, but Josh held his own here and yet again put in a good shift. As I've pointed out before I just find that Josh is not a reliable guy for this spot and he'll fuck up again and get in trouble again. Anyway the finish saw Bodom finish off RJ with a Bliss Buster and then a Bodom breaker for the win. Afterwards Bodom screamed "Who is the champ, huh?" Bodom asks Quinlan "Is this the best you have for your champion?" Bodom calls RJ a "washed up has been" and a "loser". Bodom then calls Will Ospreay a fake. He says he's walking around Japan calling himself the champ when he's not. Josh then says Orlando and challenges Will to a title unification in Orlando during WrestleMania weekend. David Starr then walks out and grabs the microphone from Bodom and mocks him. Starr then comes out and challenged Josh to a title match in Orlando which Josh accepts. This promo made no sense but at least it set up Bodom v Starr, however still holds off the eventual unification title match. I will guess it will happen at some point in the summer. Winner: Josh Bodom (And Still RPW British Cruiserweight Champion) Singles Match: Timothy Thatcher Vs 'The King of Bros' Matt Riddle I've seen this match plenty of times and as always was not disappointed. Thatcher isn't popular with everyone but I enjoy his matches and his style. I like his slow methodical hard hitting style but I can see why it ain't everyone cup of tea. This match was a little shorter than their EVOLVE matches but it was probably the right length for this crowd. As during longer Thatcher matches fans tend to get bored easily and it also avoid Thatcher and Riddle doing too much grappling which fans tend to find boring these days for some reason. Both men worked over one another and went back and fourth. Thatcher worked the ankle of Riddle throughout as did riddle on Thatcher. There was some nice strikes from both men here as well. The finish saw both men going for the ankle lock then Riddle had Thatcher tied up and stretched his legs then cinched in the Bromission and Thatcher was forced to tap out. Winner: The King of Bros Matt Riddle Main Event RPW British Tag Team Title Match: Charlie Sterling and Joel Redman (Champions) Vs #CCK (Chris Brookes and Travis Banks) As always the faces Sterling and Redman got booed out of the building while the heels Banks and Brookes got cheered. Which is no surprise really if you've followed Rev Pro for more than 5 minutes. Early on all four men brawl all over the Cockpit Theatre. Sterling then dives out onto all three men on the outside. Meanwhile on commentary Andy Quinlan acknowledges that Sterling and Redman might not be the most popular team in Rev Pro at the moment. Sterling and Redman then begin to argue with some punters in the front row and started to show some heel tendencies by blaming the fans for there new attitude. Back in the ring Travis Banks beats down Redman and then Brookes and Banks give Redman a double wet willy. Quinlan then acknowledges the fans turning on Sterling and Redman and the fact they have cheered #CCK throughout this feud. Redman battled back with a double suplex to Brookes and Banks and he tags Sterling. Sterling comes in with a double dropkick and then a Moonsault to both #CCK members. Then Sterling dives out onto Banks and Brookes as the fans chant you still suck to Sterling. Sterling nails Banks with cutter for a two count. Then the champs double team Brookes with a slingshot Powerslam for a near fall. Sterling then shouts at the audience as well as Redman while Quinlan mocks the audience for turning on his team. Redman and Banks then trade forearms and Redman then drills Banks with a twisting tombstone for the 1.2...no as Brookes just pulls the referee out in the nick of time. Back in the ring Banks grabs the tag title on the outside and comes back into the ring and nails Redman with the strap and covers Redman for the one, two and three and we have new champions or do we? As referee Chris Roberts sees Banks holding the belt and decides to restart the match. Which did not go down too well with the crowd. Sterling and Redman hit Banks and Brooke's with a pair of superkicks for the near fall. Banks then fires up and takes out Sterling and Redman with kicks but Sterling then nails Banks with another twisting tombstone but Banks no sells it and pops right back up. Banks then dives out onto Redman and Sterling who are on opposite sides of the ring. Back in the ring Brookes nails Sterling with a Michinoku Driver for the nearest of near falls. Banks then wipes out Redman with a tridal kick. Banks and Brookes then do the pendulum plex for another near fall. Brookes then launches Banks into Sterling who is up and holding the tag title and Banks nails him with an assisted lung blower. Then Brookes does a Senton Bomb onto Sterling while Banks gets up and dives out onto Redman. Brookes then covers Sterling for the one, two and three and now we have NEW tag team champions! That was one hell of a match and thankfully the belts have changed hands. I've been critical of Redman and Sterling ever since they won the belts but this was there best performance to date. Hopefully going forward these two will solidify themselves as heels and could even have another run as champs in this reviewers opinion. As for #CCK they only debuted in January but they deserve a run with the gold and I can't wait to see their first title defence as they face Ryan Smile and Shane Strickland at the next Cockpit show. Winners: #CCK (Chris Brooke's and Travis Banks) (And NEW RPW British Tag Team Champions). In closing this was another fine Cockpit show. I must hand it to Rev Pro for making these shows must see along with their York hall shows. I would highly recommend you go to Pivotshare now and subscribe to RPW on demand and check this show out its well worth the price of a monthly subscription. As always I'll end with my favourite Bill Apter line: I'll see you at the matches! @Billy_Jay83
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After a decent RPW Live At the Cockpit 13 show, RPW returned for its family friendly show Live in Portsmouth on February 24th. The show had two big battles booked which Rev Pro had been building since the start of the year as 'The Villain' Marty Scurll faced 'The All Day Star' Ryan Smile, and Dave Mastiff battled current ICW Champion Trent Seven. Also on the card was a hotly anticipated bout as 'The Bruiserweight' Pete Dunne clashed with the former AAA/Lucha Underground star Pentagon Jr in the main event.
It's right into it as the opening shot of the show after the Rev Pro graphic is Marty Scurll making his entrance. Calling the action for this show is Andy Quilan and Andy Boy Simmons and old FWA heel ref Steve Linsky is the ring announcer. Singles Match: ROH World Television Champion 'The Villain' Marty Scurll Vs 'The All Day Star' Ryan Smile Early on Marty takes down Ryan and begins to work a top wrist lock but Ryan counters into a arm ringer and Marty backs Ryan up into the corner to break the hold. Marty shoulder blocks Ryan but he pops back up with a leapfrog up and over Marty and gives him two arm drags. Marty is on the outside, slides underneath the ring and pops out the other side to attack Ryan from behind. Ryan is sent to the outside and Marty nails him with a superkick from the ring apron. On the outside Marty chops Ryan in the chest and rolls him back into the ring and drops him with a side back breaker for a two count. Ryan comes back chopping at Marty but 'The Villain' cuts him off by raking his eyes. Marty pulls at Ryan's eyes and hair and then poses doing his chicken wave. Rear chinlock by Marty as he tries to wear down Ryan. Referee Chris Roberts drops Ryan's arm once, twice but not a third time as Ryan battles back and nails Marty with a top rope drop kick. Ryan follows it up with a blue thunder powerbomb for a near fall. Ryan goes up top again but misses his double stomp as Marty moves. Marty then gives Ryan a brain buster and a superkick to the side of the head for the nearfall. Marty does the "Superkick...just kidding' but Ryan pops back up with a superkick of his own. Marty then gives 'The All Day Star' a lariat but Ryan pops back up again and nails Marty with a brain buster. Both men pull themselves back up and Marty gives Ryan a body slam into the ring ropes. Marty gets ready for the Chicken Wing but Ryan battles out of it but then Marty snaps Ryan's fingers. Ryan battles back with a back forearm and spring board cutter then goes up top again but Marty knocks him off and piledrives Ryan for a nearfall. Marty fires up pulls up Ryan and chicken wing and Ryan is forced to tap out. That was a hell of a hot opener and right way to kick this show off. Winner: The Villain Marty Scurll Singles Match: Dave Mastiff Vs Trent Seven Dave is all business early on as he refuses to play Trent's fun and games. Which is a bit weird if your familiar with Dave's Progress work where he's apart of the Banter Edition with El Ligero. Dave goes to work on Trent with a number of stomps and then slaps the crap out of Trent which the kids in the building really disliked him for. Trent does his chop the ring post spot early on and then Dave mocks Trent. The two brawl out into the crowd trading strikes in the crowd. Trent then gets a bunch of kids to chop Dave which Dave over sells but it was a very funny spot and something those kids will never forget. Getting back to the ring Dave gives Trent a back drop on the ring apron. Trent rolls into the ring and then, as Dave runs his mouth at some old granny in the front row Trent dives out on top of him. Trent teases suplexing Dave into the crowd but Dave counters and gives Trent a big superplex from the top back into the ring. Both men trade forearm and elbow smashes in the middle of the ring. Trent then drills Dave with a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall as a "This is Awesome" chant breaks out. Trent then gives Dave the Seven Stars Rainmaker but only gets a two count. Trent delivers his cricket ball slap but Dave ducks on the third attempt and nails Trent with a back suplex. Dave puts Trent up top and both men battle up top. Trent goes for a sunset flip powerbomb but slips. Trent gets up and powerbomb's Dave for the nearfall. That looked awkward but I felt this crowd cared. Dave battles back ducking a Seven Star Rainmaker, takes down Trent applies a Boston Crab and Trent is forced to tap out. It wasn't anything special but I'm sure the families in attendance enjoyed it. Winner: Dave Mastiff Tag Team Match: The Legion of Lords (Lord Gideon Grey and Rishi Ghosh) Vs Colt Cabana and Swoggle (F.K.A. WWE Superstar Hornswoggle) Rishi Ghosh cuts a promo which I wasn't able to really hear as the audio for this show was pretty bloody shocking. Anyway from what I could make out Rishi, introduces the new and improved Lord Gideon Grey who is meet with Princess Unicorn chants. Rishi Ghoshi then gives Grey a trophy for some reason and then some confetti guns explode. If only I could hear what was being said I might be able to explain it better. Anyway the match itself was what you would expect it to be pure comedy but again this crowd seemed to enjoy it, especially the kids which was who it was booked for. After lots of crowd pleasing antics including nipple cripples, cane shots and dick kicks as well a tone of stalling by all four. The finish saw Swoggle hit his Tadpole Splash on the Lord for the one, two and three. This won't be a purist cup of tea in fact, I hated it, but Colt Cabana is so good at this match which is all the more confusing WWE let him go in 2009 after doing nothing with him as Scotty Goldman. This match is perfect for this kind of setting. So can I really have that much of a problem with it? Well yes because I had to sit through it and review it. Winners: Swoggle and Colt Cabana Contenders Match: Rob Lias Vs Dan Magee These two had a pretty solid but very basic match at RPW Live at the Cockpit 12 and this feud has been ongoing the last two months. So at least it's had some build and importance to it for this match here. Again here they did a match the two have probably had a hundred times together at RPW training school in Portsmouth. It wasn't great or good, but it was solid both men again executed their spots well and did the basics well but it was nothing special. After 10 minutes of average action Lias who's been cheating to pick up wins threw his coat at Magee and then drove Magee's head into the exposed steel on the top rope (Lias had removed the turnbuckle pad earlier) and then nailed Magee with a lung blower to pick up the win. Winner: Rob Lias RPW British Tag Team Title Match: Charlie Sterling and Joel Redman (Champions) Vs The Spirit Squad (Kenny and Mikey) Early on, the Spirit Squad tried to get this crowd against them by cutting a promo. Again I couldn't hear shit but the crowd seemed unhappy with what they were saying. Thankfully this crowd were pro Sterling and Redman which can't be said for them when they wrestle in York Hall or at the Cockpit. So they came across as stars here who ended up beating two stars (well in 2005/06 they were stars) which only kind of made them look better. Or was that was what booker Andy Quinlan was thinking anyway? Yeah I've been harsh in my criticism of the champions and so have a lot of other people, or they wouldn't have got the reactions they've been getting ever since they won the gold last Summer but here they looked half decent and they are starting to win me over. Anyway after some passable Action between both sides the finish saw Redman powerbomb Mikey and then Sterling did his sky twister press to pick up the win. Winners: Charlie Sterling and Joel Redman (And still RPW British Tag Team Champions) Main Event: The Bruiser Weight Pete Dunne Vs Penta El Zero M (F.K.A. Pentagon Jr) Pete attacks Pentagon while he was getting the kids to chant Perro, Perro. Both men trade headlocks then step it up with a pair of arm drags by Pete Dunne. Pentagon follows it up with a hurricanrana, but Pete gets right back up again. Pentagon then gets his fingers bitten and then Pete nails pentagon with a Pedigree for a two count. Pete mouths off at some children in the front row then drives his knee into Pentagon gut over and over again. Pete goes to the outside to chase around some mouthy children then comes back in and Pentagon flips him off but Pete just bites his middle finger (hold on someone tell Penta this is a family show). Pete grabs Pentagon's arm and stomps on his head and then bites his fingers some more. Pete works over Pentagon's knees and arms for a couple of minutes with stretches. Pentagon fires up and hits Pete with two sling blades for a two count. Pentagon tosses Pete to the outside and goes to dive out onto Pete, but he cuts Pentagon off with a European uppercut. Both men brawled around ringside sending one another off the ring post and super kicking one another as well. Pentagon chops Pete back in the ring and nails Pete with a open hand Palm strike. Pentagon then nails Pete with a back cracker for a nearfall. Pete battles back with a X-Plex and a German suplex for a two count. Pete then goes up top and nails Pentagon with a double foot stomp for another nearfall. The crowd chant PETER at Dunne and he plays up to it of course. Pentagon takes advantage of Dunne being distracted and nails Pete with a DDT and a Code Red for a nearfall. Pete battles back with a number of headbutts but then walks into a superkick which rocks Pete. Pete comes back with a enzigiri and a Canadian Destroyer but he doesn't get all of it and then Pentagon nails Pete with a Canadain Destroyer of his own. Pentagon then goes for a package piledriver but holds onto Chris Roberts and Pentagon lets go of the move. Pete then pushes Pentagon into Roberts and then gives Pentagon a low blow and a tombstone for a nearfall. Pete blames Roberts giving Pentagon time to recover. Pete goes for the Bitter End but Pentagon counters it with a DDT. Pentagon gets up and nails Pete with a pump handle bomb for the one, two and three. Winner: Penta El Zero M Overall this show was passable at best. The lighting and audio was shocking. During current camera angles it was damn near impossible to see what was happening. The audio was terrible you could hardly hear the crowd or entrance music but unfortunately you could hear the commentary when they shouted. If both Andy's spoke quietly you had no chance hearing what they were saying unless you turned your TV volume all the way up. At least the wrestling was good. Well three matches anyway as Marty Scurll vs Ryan Smile, Trent Seven Vs Dave Mastiff and Pentagon Jr vs Pete Dunne all delivered and ranged from good to decent. The rest of the card was passable but wasn't aimed at a fan like me. It was aimed at the kids and families in the crowd. So I can't hate on it too much. Anyway thanks for reading my review and be sure to check out RPW on demand on Pivotshare to relive this show if you dare and I'll sign off as always with see you at the matches. @Billy_Jay83 It's Rev Pros first show since high stakes 2017, which was tremendous and well worth a look. These Cockpit shows are getting a make over now and are must watch shows which you could argue they weren't before. Rev Pro are building them to seem more important as of late. Which in my opinion is only a good thing for the product. It can't continue to promote big shows every four months at the York Hall while the other shows really don't mean anything. So let's see if Rev Pro can follow up the success of its last Cockpit show which featured that stunning six man tag main event where Marty Scrull, Pete Dunne and Travis Banks beat Ryan Smile, Will Ospreay and Shane Strickland. A match that has received rave reviews and for good reason.
It's a cold open with a new ring announcer and commentary team can't say I caught anyone's names but it's a slight improvement. Singles Match: Zack Gibson Vs Dan Magee/with Rob Lias This was a quick match which existed only to establish Gibson and gain Gibson some traction going forward as he continues to get a push on these shows to ready him for his eventual debut on the York hall show. Magee is essentially a young lion or as they call them in Rev Pro: Contenders. So the result was pretty obvious. At least they are continuing the the on/off friendship feud with Magee and Lias. It was nothing special Gibson ended up winning with Shankley Gates. It was the right result in this reviewers opinion. Afterwards Gibson cuts his highly entertaining Zack Gibson number one promo which always gets tremendous heat as well as taking shots at the contenders Lias and Magee. After Gibson left Lias and Magee argued as Magee was hot at Lias for interjecting himself into his match. Basically Magee doesn't want Lias cheating on his behalf and Lias slapped Magee to leave him laying. Winner: Zack Gibson Singles Match: Timothy Thatcher Vs Lord Gideon Grey I like this new serious direction they are going in with Lord Gideon Grey. Here he was a lot less animated and did far fewer comedy routines to get over with the crowd and proved to this reviewer he's actually quiet a decent talent in ring when he wants to be. Early on, Grey held his own with the king of grapple fuck, Timothy Thatcher and was able to escape Thatcher's wrist lock, leg lock and Fujiwara arm bar. Grey targeted the leg and the knee and worked it over to good heat throughout the middle of the match. Thatcher came back against Grey, obviously, and trapped Grey in an ankle lock. Somehow Grey was able to fight out of it and nearly sent Thatcher into the referee Chris Roberts but Thatcher stopped just in time! Then Grey went back to his old bag of tricks and tried to low blow Thatcher, but Thatcher caught Grey and slapped him in a Fujiwara arm bar and Grey tapped out. Winner: Timothy Thatcher Tag Team Match: The London Riots (James Davis&Rob Lynch) Vs The Contenders team of Kurtis Chapman and Josh Wall They are building this as no easy challenge for the Riots, as Wall and Chapman had beaten the Revolutionists (Sha Samuels and James Castle) the previous time out in record time. In fact, Wall went for the quick roll up early, similar to the finish from the match with The Revolutionists. The Riots then proceeded to beat the holy hell out of Wall and Chapman only giving them a few hope spots here and there for the rest of the match. It ended after a few minutes of very one sided against with the Riots picking up the win when Lynch speared Wall for the one, two and three. Winners: The London Riots (Rob Lynch and James Davis) Afterwards one half of the Revolutionists James Castle beat up Wall and Chapman and left them laying. Sha had blamed Castle, his partner in The Revolutionists last time out hence why we got this beat down here. That was great attention to detail In my opinion Mr Quildan. Non Title Match: ROH World Television Champion 'The Villain' Marty Scurll Vs Luke 'Dragon' Phoenix It's good to see Luke back on the Brit Wres scene after a eight year absence. I didn't know he had retired to be honest as he always looked like a prospect when I followed FWA during its dying days over a decade ago, but that what happens when you finish following Brit Wres like I did! Early on Phoenix held his own with Marty and showed some solid ground game against 'The Villain'. The match went up into second gear as Phoenix nailed 'The Villain' with a hurricanrana and a dropkick. 'The Villain and 'Dragon' took it to the outside where both men faked dives which ended up with Marty poking Luke in the eye. On the outside Marty worked over Luke as the crowd cheered Marty on. Back in the ring Marty worked over Luke targeting the fingers by just stamping on Luke's hand. Marty just toyed with Luke, slapping him in the face and then mounted him and punched away at Luke's head. The Phoenix was starting to fire up (Get it?) and took the beating back to Marty. The Phoenix nailed a top rope flying headbutt for a near fall. Phoenix nailed Marty with a Superkick and then applied a bridging Indian Death Lock but Marty battled out. Dragon Suplex by Luke for another near fall then a crucifix pin for another near fall. Scurll fought back with his finger breaking spot and then went for the Chicken Wing but Phoenix countered into another nearfall. Phoenix went for anther top rope missile headbutt but Marty got his knees up and nailed Phoenix with a tombstone for a nearfall. Marty then nailed Phoenix with a gotch style Piledriver and the Phoenix kicked out again ( I had a bit of a problem with that as that move is a finisher and should be used as such). Then Phoenix kicked out of three superkicks. Marty then nailed Luke with a lariat, another gotch style piledriver and then another tombstone for another nearfall (FFS guys I get the story you're trying to tell but seriously your killing a bunch of finishers which don't need to be killed). Marty was in disbelief by now and then began to stomp on Luke over and over again. Marty applied a Chicken Wing and Luke tried to hang on but eventually had to tap out. So far it's match of the night but I have to say I did not appreciate the lack of psychology in this match. Yeah, Marty was trying to make someone he respects look like a star, but did he need to sacrifice a bunch of finishing moves in the process! Winner: 'The Villain' Marty Scurll Singles Match: 'The Kiwi Buzzsaw' Travis Banks Vs 'The All Day Star' Ryan Smile This was a match I was really looking forward to and for good reason. It was a hot start as both men went back and fourth. After a fancy crisscross Ryan hit a dropkick and then Trav nailed Ryan with a big running penalty kick. On the outside both men traded chops with one another as well as forearms and other strikes. Trav beat the hell out of Ryan back in the ring with a spine shattering Irish whip into the corner which sent Ryan upside down. Travis began to work over Ryan's back and arm in a very vicious manner indeed. Ryan began to fight back with open hand slaps to Travis but he brushed it off and nailed Ryan with a big wheel kick for a two count. Travis nailed Ryan over and over with vicious kicks and then a big suplex for another two count. The crowd began to get behind Ryan chanting his name. Ryan came back with some big elbow smashes and a top rope missile dropkick. Travis went to the outside but Ryan did his Ricochet dive over the ring post and to the outside. Back in the ring Ryan missed a double stomp and Travis nailed Ryan with another big kick for another two count. Cannonball splash (hey ain't that Dave Mastiff's move?) in the corner by Travis to Ryan for another two count. Travis and Ryan both go for a suplex but both men counter it. Travis nails Ryan with a Superkick and then Ryan nails Travis with one of his own. Running knee to the face by Travis to Ryan and then a big clothesline by Travis to Ryan for another two count. Travis continues to strike Ryan over and over again with forearm smashes while he mounts Ryan, but Ryan fires up with a jumping knee smash and a springboard cutter. Ryan goes back up top and hits Travis with a frog splash for the one, two and three. This match was tremendous I loved the strikes both men exchanged with one another and this match really wouldn't look out of place in NJPW. The story of the match was much better than the Phoenix and Scurll match. Because basically they didn't ruin it with psychology killing spots. Don't have enough time to put over this match how much I enjoyed it and hopefully we get it again in Rev Pro at York Hall again at some point. Yeah the finish came out of nowhere but it was really, really good in my opinion. Winner: 'The All Day Star' Ryan Smile Afterwards Travis Banks partner in #CCK Chris Brookes hit the ring and attacked Ryan. Chris grabbed a microphone and "Said him and Travis came here looking for two very specific people in the RPW British Tag Team Champions, Charlie Sterling and Joel Redman. Meanwhile Travis continued to beat down Ryan with forearms. Brooke's says "the champs choose not to be here to avoid us and then Brookes laid out a challenge to Redman and Sterling for the next Cockpit show with the titles on the line. After #CCK left the ring, Ryan pulled himself up and left under his own weight walking to the back. Singles Match: Dave Mastiff Vs Eddie Dennis The push for the big, bad Dave Mastiff continues as this time Dave dismantled Eddie Dennis in a match which was really nothing special. Dave dominated for most of the match by over powering Dennis and beating him. Dave used his body weight as well to inflict pain on the 'The Pride of Wales' Eddie Dennis. The finish saw Mastiff counter a big top rope splash and put Eddie into a Boston crab and Eddie quickly tapped out. This match didn't have a chance in hell of following Ryan smile vs Travis Banks. Winner: Dave Mastiff RPW Interim British Cruiserweight Title Match: Josh Bodom (Champion) Vs Oliver Carter Another good performance by Josh but again I'm still put off by him for his antics outside of the ring and still don't think he's a very reliable person to build your Cruiserweight division around. This is his third reign with the belt and still don't think he's the right guy to have won the belt at High Stakes. In my opinion it should have been put on Ryan Smile. Bodom has improve in the ring greatly but I'm still not sold on him. I've never heard of the Swiss wrestler Oliver Carter and I can't say I disliked him. He put on a more an acceptable performance here against Bodom. Bodom picked up the win with a lung blower powerbomb. I guess he ain't trying to get that bliss buster over anymore then? Winner: Josh Bodom (And still interim RPW British Cruiserweight Champion) Afterwards Bodom says "guess who's still the Cruiserweight champion?" He says he "doesn't care about the wrestlers in the back or the keyboard warriors on the Internet" and claims he's the true Cruiserweight champion. He adds Will Ospreay is walking around Japan with a fake title and playing games with that dick Shibata and says to Will "come at me bro!" Josh then drops the microphone and leaves. Main Event: Zack Sabre Jr. Vs 'Speedball' Mike Bailey Early on both men are trying to get the advantage on the other to no avail. Zack eventually takes down 'Speedball' and tries to tie him up with but 'Speedball' shows off his own ground skills by getting out of the hold. Both men grapple with one another on the mat but again neither man can get the upper hand early on. Zack slaps 'Speedball' which fires up the Canadian who unloads with kicks to Zack's upper body. Zack rallies back with slaps but 'Speedball' nails Zack with a dropsault (drop kick moonsault). 'Speedball' nails Zack over and over again in the corner with kicks but Zack catches 'Speedball's' leg and begins to work over 'Speedball's' knees. Zack applies a number of stretches to 'Speedball' to continue to inflict pain on him. Zack ties up 'Speedball' and does a Romero special but 'Speedball' refuses to tap so Zack lets the hold go. 'Speedball' does his karate kid kick which sends Zack to the outside. 'Speedball' works over Zack on the outside with kicks while selling his sore knee. Zack comes back with forearms and European uppercuts. Zack then applies a ankle lock on Bailey on the stairs of the cockpit theatre. Bailey tries to get up but can't and falls down the stairs. Sabre smells blood and rolls 'Speedball' into the ring and continues to zero in on the knee. Zack kicks away at Bailey's knee and then applies a heel hook. Both men try to kick one another in the hold but then Zack rolls over and reapplies the ankle lock. 'Speedball' reaches the ropes then Zack charges Bailey in the corner but Bailey gets his leg up and Zack runs into it. Bailey can barley stand but begins to fire strikes at Zack. Bailey nails Zack with a slice bread number two for a nearfall. Bailey misses with a big spin kick and Zack holds onto his leg and takes him down into a leg bar but again Bailey reaches the ropes. Both men get up and trade forearms, uppercuts and chops in the middle of the ring as the crowd comes to its feet. 'Speedball' nails Zack with a enzigiri and both men go down. Bailey gets back up and nails Zack with a knee strike. He goes for a second but Zack cuts him off with an uppercut. Bailey counters a second uppercut by Zack with a knee strike of his own. Bailey then follows it up with a sky twister press for another near fall. Bailey is in shock at Zack has kicked out and sends Zack to the outside and then dives up to the second rope and moonsualts out onto Zack. Bailey goes up top but Zack rolls out of the way. Bailey hoops off the top rope to the mat below and Zack charges him but Bailey nails Zack with a Spinning Roundhouse kick. Bailey goes back up top and goes for a Shooting Star knee drop but moves and Bailey lands on his feet. Zack grabs hold of Bailey and drops him with an Impaler DDT for a near fall. Zack then grabs Bailey's ankle and he's trapped in the ankle lock but somehow counters it and gives Zack another Roundhouse kick. Bailey then nails Zack with the Shooting Star knee drop but doesn't go for the pin. Bailey gets up and goes for another Roundhouse kick but Zack ducks and takes Bailey down. Zack stretches Bailey in a number of different positions then pulls Bailey's leg back over his head and Bailey is forced to tap out. Winner: Zack Sabre Jr Afterwards cocky Zack gives credit to Bailey but adds I still tapped you out mate. He then announces that he will face Shibata next week at NJPW 45th Anniversary show in Tokyo Japan for the RPW British Heavyweight Title. Overall it was another solid Cockpit show by Rev pro they should be proud with the fact they continued to push and establish Zack sabre Jr, Zack Gibson, Dave Mastiff, Ryan Smile, Marty Scurll etc while managing to keep everyone looking strong who was on the receiving end of a loss. In my opinion Rev Pro are doing a damn fine job of booking its talents going forward and are keeping its shows interesting by establishing all of its talents at current levels. Thanks again for reading my review and if this review has made you want to check out the show then head on over to Pivotshare and search RPW on demand to see this show. You won't regret it and I'll sign off as always by ripping off Bill Apter by saying "See you at the matches!" @Billy_Jay83 |
Billy Johnson25+ years as a graps fan Archives
October 2017
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