This show came a day after the most recent terror attacks in London. Andy Quildan said before the show the recent attack wouldn't prevent him from putting on a show in memory of all those people affected by attacks last night. A classy move by one of the better promoters in this country.
The show didn't have the biggest feel going in anyway and the main event kind felt like it was put together rather than it being built naturally as #CCK faced Zack Sabre Jr., the RPW British Heavyweight Champion, and Davey Boy Smith Jr. Also slated was Josh Bodom defending his RPW Undisputed Cruiserweight Title against newcomer and APEX regular Ashley Dunn, plus a whole lot more. The opening part of the show featured RPW promoter and Booker Andy Quildan cutting his classy promo and then it was right into the action. Singles Match David Starr Vs El Phantasmo I must admit wasn't familiar with El Phantasmo at all when I saw his name. I was expecting a luchador but what I got was something completely different. El Phantasmo is from Canada and like Travis Banks and Kyle Fletcher, he's moved here to continue to grow his career and pick up some much-needed experience. The fact he was in there with David Starr shows Quildan must be high on the Angelico look alike but maybe not his entrance music which Quildan pointed out himself was a bit colourful. The two had a good enough match that was a little sloppy in places and the crowd was rather subdued early on. They tried to muster up the enthusiasm but it just wasn't there. I wasn't overly impressed by El Phantasmo he looked good in places during the match but what would he be like in there with a lesser performer? Only time will tell. El Phantasmo did an impressive dropkick from the top where he jumped from one side of the ring to the other to connect to a downed Starr. El Phantasmo missed a moonsualt and that was his downfall as Starr nailed him with a homage driver to his knee and a straight jacket German suplex to pick up the win. Winner: David Starr Tag Team Match The London Riots (James Davis and Rob Lynch) vs Josh Wall and Kurtis Chapman Last time out The Riots murdered the poor, young contenders in a one-sided squash match. I was expecting a less one-sided match here with the contenders coming close but not quite beating the rugged team of James Davis and Rob Lynch who would beat the contenders. That's not quite what I got though in the end. Early on The Riots dismantled the contenders all over the building to no or very little reaction. There was a sloppy counter when Chapman tried to hurricanrana out of a powerbomb. He redeemed himself with a fancy flip to the outside. The Riots came back by back dropping Wall on the floor while Lynch gave Chapman a sit-down powerbomb back in the ring. The Riots isolated Chapman and began to work him over building to the hot tag nicely. Wall came in and immediately ate a big boot by Lynch but battled back with a code red and a double stomp. The contenders came close when Wall held onto Davis and Chapman hit him with another double stomp for a near fall. Lynch and Davis nailed the contenders with a pair of brutal clotheslines then followed it up with a pair of powerbombs. The Riots avoided going for the pin and were just toying with the Contenders which would lead to their downfall as #CCK came out and distracted the Riots and referee Chris Roberts. Brookes stole the cricket bat and while everyone was distracted, Banks sneaked in and nailed Davis with a belt shot to the head. Meanwhile, Chapman went up top and came off with a big splash to Davis for the one, two and three. At least it keeps the ongoing feud between the Riots and #CCK going along I guess. Winners: Kurtis Chapman and Josh Wall RPW Undisputed British Cruiserweight Title Match Josh Bodom (Champion) Vs Ashely Dunn This match was built up on the last show and I was genuinely looking forward to it. I see big things for Dunn in Rev Pro and here he was going up against one of the most hated men in BritWres today. Early on Bodom sold Dunn's offence well which in turn made Dunn look like a threat. Then out of nowhere Bodom nailed Dunn with a bliss buster and it seemed as if it was over but yet again someone kicked out of it. That was a bit unbelievable and didn't mean as much as Bubblegum and Dijak have previously kicked out of the move. Bodom took control of the bout working over Dunn with a number of kicks. Bodom dived out onto Dunn and then nailed him with a big boot in the corner. Bodom tried to follow it up with a Bodom buster but Dunn slipped out of the move. Dunn came back with a big dropkick and roll up for a two count. Bodom dropped Dunn with an enziguri for a two count then threw Dunn Into the ring post and Bodom covered him cockily for the three. Another good match from Bodom and he really needed to be booked like that after his last two matches. Dunn looked really good here but a clear message was sent he isn't even on Bodom's level. Which is very true especially in Rev Pro anyway. Hopefully, Quildan has a rematch scheduled between the two at some point as I genuinely enjoyed that. Winner: Josh Bodom (And Still RPW Undisputed British Cruiserweight Champion) Singles Match Eddie Dennis Vs Donovan Dijak Another thing I've enjoyed on the cockpit shows as of late is Eddie Dennis's losing streak angle. The guy is still insanely over in the cockpit and he's really making it work while others would not necessarily be able to make it work. Early both men took it to one another brawling all over the cockpit. Quildan mentioned on commentary how Eddie likes to have to much fun and that is his downfall and almost on cue, Eddie begins to mess around again. Dijak came close with a tilt-a-whirl slam while Dennis came close with a DDT and a big leg drop. The crowd came alive for the closing stages as Dennis got a near fall with a tilt-a-whirl side slam. Dijak countered a Razors edge and super kicked Dennis but it leads to nothing. Dijak gave Dennis a chokeslam to his knee and followed it up with moon sault for a near fall. Dijak killed his finish yet again but letting Dennis kick out of the feast your eyes but the crowd really did bite for that near fall. Both men traded forearms then Dijak gave Dennis a chokeslam onto the ring apron. Eddie no sold it and did a flip dive out onto Dijak. Dijak then no sold the dive and flipped out onto Dennis. Eddie gave Dijak a big chokeslam from the top rope and both men were down and finally selling. After some more back and fourth Dijak finally hit the Feast Your Eyes for a second time to pick up the win. Another good match which did at least pick the crowd up temporarily. I'm enjoying this story with Eddie but the finish was a bit telegraphed because of it. I would argue they probably did too much which made it a bit unbelievable in places. Winner: Donovan Dijak After intermission, Andy Quildan got in the ring but was interrupted by RICKY I mean Rob Lias. Lias explained he was here because his music Played. He then explained his name was not RICKY it was Rob ad eventually got to his point. By saying he was sick and tired of being MUGGED off. He didn't even have a match tonight. He asked for things to start changing and asked for his terrible music to be changed. Quildan said if it was good enough for him then it was good enough for Rob. Rob then tripped over his lines and the crowd made fun of him. Rob said he was putting everyone on notice here in Rev Pro including Sha Samuels and ended up calling Sha an "East End slag". Singles Match Zack Gibson Vs Angelico Zack cut his usual promo at the beginning and then turned his attention to Will Ospreay saying he was to watch this match and see what he could do to guys like him. He then turned his attentions to Angelico and Lucha Underground and finished up by saying he was going to make Angelico tap to the Shankley Gates. Early on Zack worked over Angelico's arm and the two traded some nice holds on the mat. During these early stages, Andy Boy Simmons and Andy Quildan had some fun exchanges about World of Sport and all I'm going to say is Andy obviously wasn't a fan. Gibson spent the first few minutes working over Angelico's arm softening him up for the Shankley Gates. It was smart psychology wise and made a lot of sense. Gibson continued to work over the arm and really silenced the crowd like a true pro so when Angelico made his comeback the crowd was super hot for it. The thing was Gibson and Angelico decided to cut the crowd off at each turn by having Gibson cut Angelico off during every comeback. Gibson continued to let Angelico come back at him and cut him off each and every time and then went back to the arm. Angelico eventually came back with a hot comeback nailing Gibson with a big knee smash and then both men traded forearms. Angelico nailed Gibson with a big roundhouse kick for a two count and then went for something and then Gibson took him down and tried to apply the Shankley Gates which Angelico battled out of. Angelico rolled up Gibson out of nowhere for a two count before blocking a code breaker by holding onto the top rope. Angelico followed it up with a double foot stomp for a near fall. Gibson caught Angelico with a vicious right hand to the point of his elbow and nailed Angelico with the code breaker for a near fall. Angelico came back with a cradle roll-up for a two count then Angelico dropped Gibson with a dropkick for a near fall. Angelico went for the Mount Splashmore, which Gibson countered and dropped Angelico with a twisting brainbuster. Zack then locked in the Shankley Gates and Angelico was forced to tap out. Zack Gibson's strong push continues as he beat Angelico clean here but something was off as both just didn't click in my opinion. It was a shame because wanted these two work a great match here but it was kind of lacking and I think it was due to the two not clicking well. Winner: Zack Gibson Woman's Match Jinny Vs Nina Samuels Onto another match featuring a talent being strongly pushed by Rev Pro in Jinny. Here and Nina from pro wrestling Eve was a decent effort by both ladies who busted their ass to get a strong reaction out of this crowd. Unfortunately like everyone else they had a hard time getting a strong reaction out of this crowd. Jinny came close late on with a big roundhouse kick then Jinny viciously stomped on Nina over and over again. Nina was just fodder here for Jinny who is getting a push so anything she did, didn't really resonate with this reviewer or the crowd of I'm honest. Samuels near falls didn't really elect much of a response which was a shame as she did work hard here. Jinny countered a Razors edge by pulling Samuels' hair and nailed her with a rainmaker for a near fall. Samuels got a decent pop for one near fall with a sit-down powerbomb but it meant nothing as Jinny dropped Nina with a sit down powerbomb of her own to pick up the win. Winner: Jinny Main Event Non-Title Match Zack Sabre Jr and Davey Boy Smith Jr Vs #CCK (Travis Banks&Chris Brookes) Banks and Sabre start out with some nice chain wrestling which neither man was able to come out on top of. Brookes and Davey Boy are tagged in and Davey applies an arm bar. Brookes battles out and takes down Davey with a top wrist lock. Davey counters and applies a hammerlock but Brookes counters that and takes Davey down with the hammerlock. Davey comes back with a big scoop slam then tags Zack but Brookes forces Zack into his corner. Zack and Travis trade forearms and elbow smashes which fired up this crowd. #CCK work over Sabre with some sick double team moves. #CCK go back and fourth with Zack while making quick tags. Zack fires up and elbow smashes Brookes while Banks is cut off by Davey and the two spill to the outside. Davey tags in and works over Brookes' leg and now the Suzuki Gun teammates work over Brookes with quick tags. Zack targets Brookes' legs and applies a variety of leg bars on Brookes who counters with a rake to the eyes. Zack then tags in an unmotivated Davey who works over Brookes. Davey seems to be uninterested and barely gives a fuck as he applies a leg bar. Davey goes for a crossface but Brookes reaches the ropes. More quick tags and Zack comes in and puts on a show continuing to work over the leg. Brookes finds himself in the wrong comer but battles back with a big knee smash. Brookes finally makes the hot tag and Banks unleashes a sick barrage of strikes to Davey and Zack. Cannonball Splash by Travis to both Davey and Zack. Double superkick by #CCK and they get a near fall on Davey. Davey battles back with a hip toss and an arm bar to Travis. Meanwhile, Zack Catches Brookes in an octopus stretch. Travis battles back with a flying clothesline to both Davey and Zack. Davey rolls to the outside and then back in the ring Brookes enters and takes out Sabre with a DVD. Brookes hoists banks onto his shoulders and tosses him off into Zack and Banks nails Sabre with a code breaker. Banks covers Sabre for a two count as Davey just breaks it up. Davey tosses banks out of the ring and the two battle to the back. Zack and Chris are all alone now. Brookes drops Zack with a Michinoku Driver for a near fall. Zack battles back with a penalty kick for a near fall. Both men are exhausted and the crowd begins to come to life. Zack slaps Brookes over and over in the face. Brookes battles back but then gets caught with a dragon suplex for a near fall. Zack misses a penalty kick and then Brookes nails him with a big knee. Brookes goes for another Michinoku driver but Zack counters into a guillotine choke but Brookes counters and now has Zack in the octopus stretch and Zack is forced to say I quit. Afterwards, Brookes takes the RPW British Heavyweight title and celebrates with the crowd as Zack is furious in the ring kicking the bottom rope and shouting abuse at the referee and fans. I would have been ranting and raving about how great this match was if it wasn't for Davey he seemed unmotivated and disinterested during this whole match. That shouldn't be the story of the match though as it was all about Chris Brookes (yes not Travis banks) who made the RPW British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr say I quit. That was one hell of a moment and one I'll never forget everyone seems to be pushing Travis at the moment and for good reason, so it was refreshing to see a promotion take a gamble on someone else and put another premier British wrestler in a spot Rev Pro could have easily filled with Travis banks. Less than 24 hours later Rev Pro announced Brookes would face Zack at their next big York Hall show summer sizzler on August 17th and I'll be in attendance for that and cannot wait. Winners: #CCK (Chris Brookes & Travis Banks) Overall this show felt like it was lacking something. The cockpit shows have been so good this year that my expectations for them have gone up. Last year this show wouldn't have looked out of place as a cockpit show but this show it was by far the weakest this year. The crowd being so subdued didn't help but they can be forgiven after what happened 24 hours earlier in London. The main event was ok but it was obvious at times Davey Boy Smith Jr was just phoning it in. I liked the finish as it set up a fresh and new challenger for RPW British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. Ashley Dunn continued to impress as did Josh Bodom in their match. The riots match with Chapman and Wall raised an eyebrow of this reviewer but not in a good way. The Jinny, Eddie Dennis and Zack Gibson focus is still there and is only a plus going forward. So there were some positive things happening even if there was more negative. Again thanks for reading my review and if this has inspired you to check out RPW then why not buy a ticket to their Summer Sizzler show on August 17th. Hell Rey Mysterio Jr. is on the show so why not. If not then head on over to pivot share and subscribe to RPW on demand. As always I'll say thanks for reading and I'll finish with my Bill Apter ripped off line with I'll see you at the matches.
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