After its debut in Orlando, Rev Pro was less than a week later in London at the Cockpit Theatre for its 'Live at the Cockpit 15' show with a huge main event as RPW British tag team champions #CCK (Chris Brookes and Travis Banks) defended their newly won belts against the 'International King of Swerve' Shane Strickland and the 'All Day Star' Ryan Smile.
It's your usual open but no Steve Lynskey for this show so Andy Quildan will be pulling double duty as ring announcer and commentator. Singles Match: Eddie Dennis Vs Rob Lias I was expecting a rather average match but was surprised by how good it ended up being. My thinking was Eddie Dennis deserved better, but then after his losing streak in RPW I could sort of understand it from a storyline point of view. It was also a big deal for contender Rob Lias who has been getting a push in that division. So I'm sure it meant a lot to him to step up and face Eddie and he more than held his own here against 'The Pride of Wales'. The finish saw Lias fake an injury like he had against Dan Magee then nail Eddie with a low blow and a running knee/foot smash to pick up the win. Obviously I was a bit disappointed in Eddie having to lose again but I still don't think it's damaging his popularity as he was still really over here and he has done a great thing for Rob by giving him the rub. Obviously Quildan has big plans for Lias and I think he'd be right in choosing him as he has future BritWres star written all over him. Winner: Rob Lias Singles Match: Lord Gideon Grey Vs Dan Magee After an embarrassing loss to Swoggle and Colt Cabana in Portsmouth, Grey continues his character transformation as he slips further and further into desperation, even though he beat Swoggle in Orlando but he's really getting over in my opinion. I'm enjoying Grey's character work as of late, even if I'm a bit critical of his comedy matches as of late. It's actually refreshing to see a comedy guy get out of his comfort zone and try something new and go in a new direction with his character. After a few minutes of so-so action, which was solid but nothing special, fellow contender Rob Lias came out and distracted Magee. It lead to Grey nailing Magee with a Styles Clash for a near fall and a version of a running Powerslam for the win. Winner: Lord Gideon Grey Afterwards Lias had a huge smile on his face as Magee looked on none to pleased by Lias' distraction. Women's Match: Jinny Vs Toni Storm They set up the return of Jinny at the last Cockpit show after RPW quietly dropped its women's division last year when Rhia O'Riley confronted the 'Primark Princess'. Unfortunately Rhia broke her leg in a match for XWA back in early March. So she was now off this card and the replacement was Toni Storm. The two are bound to end up battling for the newly created PROGRESS Women's title which is up for grabs in this years Natural Progression Tournament and to be honest, there aren't any two more qualified than these two to build a women's division around. Early on Jinny cut the same promo she did last time out and then proceeded too mock Rhia for her injury and call Toni Storm the second best women's wrestler in the country behind her of course. Both ladies work the top wrist lock early on then counters out of it with a toe hold and pulls at Toni Storm's hair. Toni comes back with arm bar then moves back to the wrist lock. Jinny and Toni traded slaps then Jinny hits Toni with a hurricanrana. Storm strikes Jinny with forearm smashes then nails her with a big boot. Toni chops Jinny in the corner but Jinny fires back with a slap Toni's face. Toni drives her butt into a Jinny's face but Jinny comes back with a Japanese arm drag. Jinny talks down to Toni while slapping her then works Toni over in the corner. Storm battles back with some chops but Jinny cuts her off with a knee to the gut. Jinny scores with a clothesline for a two count. Jinny continues to talk down to Toni which fires up the Australian. Jinny takes down Toni and puts her into a stretch but Toni makes the ropes to break the hold. The crowd chant "Primark Princess" while Jinny continues to talk smack. Jinny rakes Toni's eyes and pulls her hair for the advantage. Jinny continues to kick and stomp on Toni then beats her down with some elbow smashes. Jinny goes to the outside and grabs a black bag and puts it over Toni's face. Jinny continues to talk trash while slapping the shit out of Storm and applies lip stick to Toni's face as the crowd finally start to boo and cheer on Toni. Toni fires up again and takes it too Jinny's chin with elbow smashes and busts out of the black bag like Hulk Hogan and German Suplexes Jinny for a near fall. Toni follows it up with a Muscle Buster into a bridge for a another near fall. Jinny comes back with an Eat Defeat out of nowhere for a near fall and goes for a rainmaker but Toni gets out of it with a vicious headbutt. I would assume Toni and Jinny watched Okada and Shibata earlier that day. Toni goes up top but Jinny gets up and cuts her off. Jinny pulls out a chunky bracelet and clocks Toni in mid air to pick up the win. This was a great match with a finish that has a built in rematch going forward and let's hope Andy only continues to use Jinny and Toni and this time pulls the trigger on the women's division in RPW. Winner: Jinny Tag Team Match: Will Ospreay and Bubblegum Vs Zack Gibson and Josh Bodom Another very good fast paced tag team match to follow up that very good women's match. All four men were over here and all four men worked a fantastic pace to have a chance to follow the previous outing. It's great to see BritWres veteran Bubblegum in RPW again and I can only hope he's earning himself a regular spot in RPW. Gibson was over very much so as per usual and he had a great showing here days before his big match in the York Hall with New Japan's Hirooki Goto. Ospreay as per usual was also solid doing all of his spots and not phoning it in. Something you could never accuse him of but you could argue he didn't need to do as much as he needed to do as he had a number of big matches lined up the following week. Now if you're a regular reader of my reviews you'd expect me to be burying Josh Bodom right about now but don't tell anyone I said this but he put in a really good shift here for someone who i seem to found a problem with every time I watch RPW. After all the big spots which included a crazy looking Tower of Doom German suplex, an Os-cutter into the Shankley Gates, Bubblegum's insane dive from the top rope into the crowd and Will just being on another level with his pace and timing. You could argue this match suffered the legal man syndrome but in this day and age, does it even matter? Everyone breaks the legal man in tag team matches on indies. The finish saw Bubblegum defeat Josh Bodom clean with a Shooting Star Press which sets up a match between the two down the line. But does that mean Josh will beat Ospreay in the York Hall later on in the week. To be honest i don't think Josh should have been doing the job or even Zack and will should be doing the job. In my opinion Bubblegum should have been doing the job. It wouldn't have hurt him but they did a good job as they've now set up the Bubblegum v Bodom down the line I guess. Winners: Bubblegum and Will Ospreay Singles Match: Luke 'Dragon' Phoenix Vs The Guvernor Martin Stone My first thoughts was I'm having flashbacks to 2008 in IPW:UK when these last two met. Anyway it's good to see both of these two back in Rev Pro on more of a regular basis. I my have been critical of Marty Scurll vs Luke last time out but that was down to the lack of psychology in their match and I might have been critical of Stones matches back at York Hall, but then when they have not been built up properly they were going to be lacking crowd support like all of his previous encounters in Rev Pro have been. Here in the Cockpit Theatre Martin and Luke in fact received decent support from this crowd. After 15 minutes of good action, Stone gave Phoenix a big headbutt and picked up the win. Winner: The Governer Martin Stone Afterwards Stone talked about how much RPW had grown and how much BritWres in general had grown. He then thanked Luke for coming out today and run down there history together. Stone then announced he would face with Sami Callihan on Thursday in York Hall. Then he was interrupted by #CCK (Chris Brookes and Travis Banks). Brooke's called Stone a "failure" and said "#CCK were trying to save the revolution from old guys like you (Stone) and added there is no spot for you (Stone) on the card so why don't you just stay in the back or sell your shirts out at the merch table because I don't care what you do because you ain't taking a spot from the RPW British tag team champions!" Stone then attacked Travis but he was out numbered. Stone came back and the champs rushed to the back. Stone then said "Fuck it me and the Death Machine Sami Callihan vs #CCK!" Singles Match: Sha Samuel Vs RJ Singh This was a decent enough effort from these two Rewrites regulars. Both men were solid as you would expect. They did some comedy, took some shortcuts, it had a ref bump and both men worked well off of the crowd who were hot for this one as well. It seemed as if all of this worked to get the crowd invested. Sha's stick will never get old with me as I found him highly entertaining as usual. The finish saw James Castle hit the ring after a referee bump and he attacked Sha with a running drop kick then RJ went up top and nailed Sha with a Swanton Bomb to pick up the win. Winner: RJ Singh Afterwards Sha challenged James to a bout at Thursdays big York Hall show which Andy Quildan confirmed would be taking place on commentary. MAIN EVENT RPW British Tag Team Title Match: #CCK (Chris Brookes and Travis Banks) (Champions) Vs The All Day Star Ryan Smile and The International King of Swerve Shane Strickland Banks and Strickland start out and both men tie up and Travis applies a headlock. Both men go back and forth then Travis nails Shane with a drop toe hold and a roll up for a one count. Brookes is tagged in and Shane and nails Brookes with a European uppercut and a headscissors. Brookes battles back with an attempted octopus stretch but Shane counters out of it and tags in Ryan Smile. Ryan comes in and unloads on Brookes with a number of quick strikes to his gut, then all four men enter and miss a number of big kicks and have a stand off In the middle of the ring. #CCK go to shake Ryan and Shane's hands but of course turn on them and all four all brawl to the outside. Brookes and Ryan disappear to the back while Travis takes the fight to Shane on the outside. Brooke's and Ryan return and go at it in the ring where Brookes clobbers Ryan with a big superkick. Ryan then gets flat jacked onto the mat but Strickland is back and he gives Brookes a Hurrincanran off the top rope. Banks comes in and nails the Shane with a Coast to Coast dropkick. Banks gives both Ryan and Shane kicks then German suplexes Ryan and Shane out of their boots. Cannonball by Banks to both Shane and Ryan and Brookes covers Shane but only gets a two as Ryan breaks it up. Ryan unloads on both Banks and Brookes but they cut him off with a double Superkick for a near fall. Shane comes in a does a roll and pops up with a cutter to both Brookes and Banks and Ryan nails both with a superkick and all four are out now. Banks forearms Shane's over an over as Brookes and Ryan brawl on the outside. Banks gets stunned with a big bicycle kick but comes back with a Michinoku driver for a near fall. Ryan is back and he gives Banks a back cracker. Brookes returns and German's Ryan but then Shane is back up and he gives Brookes a jumping DDT. Shane then dives out onto #CCK before Ryan does his Ricochet dive over the ring post to the outside on top of Banks and Brookes. Back in the ring Shane and Ryan kick Banks in the face over and over again and then Give banks a double superkick. Then Shane and Ryan do the altitude adjustment (a powerbomb/double stomp combo) and cover banks for the 1, 2...no as Brookes just breaks up the pinfall attempt. Banks then throws Ryan into the ring post shoulder first while Shane tries to fight off both #CCK members but falls to kick from Travis to the knee and Brookes blasts Shane with another Michinoku driver for a near fall. #CCK then finish off Strickland with the assisted code breaker and a pair of superkicks to pick up the win and retain their belts. Another quality outing from these four which was spot heavy and like the other tag match suffered from the legal man syndrome but how can I hold it against them when it produces a match of this quality. It was the perfect main event for this show in my opinion. Winners: #CCK (Chris Brookes and Travis Banks) (And Still RPW British Tag Team Champions) Another top notch Cockpit show courtesy of Revolution Pro Wrestling. With three very good matches, three solid passable outings and a match which was good but had some puzzling booking in it. This was a diamond in the rough for me personally as beforehand I didn't think it was a show that would matter but did set up two undercard matches for the York Hall 'Epic Encounter' show. So I was happy it delivered. If you're reading this review and wondering how you can see this show, then go over to Pivotshare and subscribe to RPW on demand or if you're in the area then go to the RPW website and maybe purchase a ticket for one of their upcoming shows. Finally I'll finish with as I always do with "see you at the matches!" @Billy_Jay83
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Rev Pro returned for another show during WrestleMania week with its debut in Orlando and America on March 31st apart of Wrestle Con. It wasn't the only BritWres group who decided to do Orlando during Wrestlemania as Progress also ran two shows with the WWN the first was simply called Progress Orlando and the second was WWN vs Progress show which was held on April 1st. Also WCPW got in on the Orlando shows buzz and ran a BritWres...well their version of a BritWres show that week as well which aired on their on demand service but I ain't here to talk about them. I'm here to talk about Rev Pro's show. In the build Rev Pro promised its American fans they would run a York Hall style show that afternoon at Wrestle Con and announced a pretty solid card for the show. So let's get into the show shall we?
It's your usual open with the Rev Pro theme playing in the background as the crowd cheers. Andy Quinlan comes out to crickets along with British referee Chris Roberts. Quinlan thanks the audience for coming out and seeing his show and dedicates the show to the fallen Kris Travis who when this show run was exactly a year ago. Quinlan said Kris wouldn't have wanted a one minute silence so we're Just going to honour him with some great wrestling. Singles Match: Sami Callihan Vs Jay White This wasn't Callihan first outing that week as he was quite a busy chap that week working for progress, WWN, Pro Wrestling Revolver and CZW among others. Callihan didn't hold back as he went all out here to have a good outing with the ever improving NJPW Young Lion Jay White. Early on the two brawled on the outside. Let's be honest I haven't seen a Callihan match from that week where Sami didn't take it too the outside and brawl. There was a nasty looking spot where Jay gave Sami a brain buster onto the ring apron. Callihan nearly got counted out but got back in the ring barley at nine. The two traded stiff strikes in the middle of the ring and then Callihan drilled Jay with three face washes. Jay was in all kinds of trouble when Sami gave him a DVD into the corner but was able to capitalise with a pinning attempt. Jay came back with knee strike and a float over suplex. Jay then applied a crossface but Sami refused to tap in fact he countered it into a stretch muffler but then Jay recountered it back into the crossface but Sami made it too the ropes. Both men traded then Sami nailed Jay with a lariat, a sit down powerbomb and then the stretch muffler but this time Jay reached the ropes. Sami went for a inside cradle but Jay countered it into a Boston crab and Sami was forced to tap out. It was a solid opener but I have to wonder why Quinlan chose not to put a British guy in the opener but then RPW does like to use imports so I guess it made sense and Jay white has worked a number of York Hall shows since last summer as well. Winner: Jay White Singles Match: 'The Governor' Martin Stone Vs 'Mr Athletic' Jeff Cobb This was an OK match which featured two big lads knocking the crap out of one another, but nothing really memorable happened and nothing really stood out for me with this match. Cobb did his suplex's and, yeah they looked great but something was missing. Martin played his "hard man" role well and took everything Cobb threw at him but it seemed as if something was missing. Maybe it was the fact the crowd audio was poor because it seemed as if the crowd was quieter than usual. Anyway after ten minutes of so-so action, Stone drilled Cobb with a London Bridge draping DDT to pick up the win. Winner: 'The Governor' Martin Stone Andy Quinlan tried his best to fire up a subdued crowd and was about to introduce the next match but out came Lord Gideon Grey. So the Lord did it! He got on a WrestleMania week card and this crowd didn't seem to even know who the great princess unicorn was. What a shame anyway. Grey cut a promo at the start of match running down Swoggle and how he had embarrassed him in Portsmouth and called out Swoggle for a match. Singles Match: Lord Gideon Gray Vs Swoggle Thankfully this was over quickly because as soon as the bell rang Swoggle hit Grey with a stunner for a near fall. There was some crap comedy involving Chris Roberts and then a genuinely funny spot where Swoggle gave Grey a number of German suplex's as the crowd chanted "suplex village". Anyway the finish happened moments later when Grey nailed Swoggle with a side suplex to pick up the win. Winner: Lord Gideon Grey Singles Match: 'The Villain' Marty Scurll Vs Ricochet The crowd came to its feet when the ROH World Television Champion made his way to the ring. This was what they came to see: 'The Villain'! Not comedy invoking a former WWE superstar, not two out of place single matches they came to see the Rev Pro BritWres regulars and big indy names clashing in indy dream matches (sorry Sami and Jay). Early on both men traded headlocks then come face to face to let the crowd chant there respective names. Marty shoulder blocks Ricochet, but Ricochet pops back up and poses. Marty then does a handstand to a massive reaction. Marty asks Ricochet to shake his hand but Ricochet is smart to 'The Villain' and pokes him in the eye. Handspring headscissors by Ricochet to Marty which sends 'The Villain' to the outside. Ricochet does a fake dive then back in the ring gives Marty a Gory Guerrero special. Ricochet chops Marty then gives him a snapmare and a soccer kick. Ricochet gives Marty a back drop and the people's Moonsault for a two count. Ricochet takes time to chat shit with a punter who screams something that made the rest of the crowd chant fuck that guy. The fight spills to the outside and Scurll does his superkick from the ring apron spot. Scurll signals to the crowd to move out of the way and ends up tossing Ricochet back into the ring. Back in the ring Marty gives Ricochet a scoop slam and then does the people's stomp. Marty begins to chop away at Ricochet and then 'The Villain' does a back rake. Marty works over Ricochet with the Japanese strangle hold. Ricochet fights out and nails Scurll with a back elbow and a springboard uppercut. It's time to fly as Ricochet dives out onto Marty. Back in the ring Ricochet gets a near fall with a standing shooting star press. Ricochet goes for the bendriller but Marty ducks the knee smash from Ricochet and does his 'Superkick...just kidding!" to take Ricochet down. Marty drops Ricochet with a brain buster for a two count. Marty then signals for the chicken wing but he took too long and Ricochet cuts him off with a chop. 'The Villian' follows up with a knee strike and cutter. Ricochet goes for another standing shooting star press but Marty gets his knees up. Both men get up and Ricochet does a pop up German suplex and both men are down. Both men trade elbow smashes while their on there knees. Both men are up now and trade chops and then forearm smashes. Marty grabs the fingers but Ricochet nails him with a knee strike and a swinging neckbreaker. Ricochet goes up top and comes off with a shooting star press but Marty moves. Marty then grabs ricochet and hoists him up into a Piledriver position. Marty let's the blood rush to Ricochet's head and drops him hard into the mat but only gets a two count. Marty finally snaps the fingers and then applies the chicken wing. Eventually ricochet gets out of the hold and nails Marty with a benadriller. 'The Villain' is still standing, so Ricochet does a handspring off the ropes but Marty catches him in the chicken wing and this time Ricochet can't escape and is forced to tap out. Thankfully it took an hour to get a great Match and at long last we got one but then you wouldn't expect any less from these two would you? Winner: 'The Villain' Marty Scurll Afterwards Marty grabs a microphone and says every time we step into the ring we make magic. Marty says this is the reason he loves pro wrestling. It's companies like this that make him love pro wrestling. He then calls ricochet by his shoot name (Google it I ain't breaking kayfabe) and says he loves him. Marty then acknowledges his fallen comrade in Kris Travis and dedicates his match to him. Ricochet then says he doesn't remember his first Rev Pro show but he remembers how great guys like Marty are and thanks Andy for booking him on this show. Ricochet then plugs his gimmick table outside in the main hall which made this reviewer laugh. Non title Match: Josh Bodom Vs David Starr This was a typical Bodom match which this reviewer as usual just didn't enjoy. Not even my 'favourite wrestlers, favourite wrestler' David Starr could get a good match out of Bodom. It was rather weird that Bodom showed up without his title and the crowd immediately picked up on it even if they didn't seem to have a clue to who he was. In fact Bodom announced beforehand this was now a non-title match even though they announced at the Cockpit show earlier on in the month it was for the title. After 12 minutes of so-so action which lacked any crowd heat whatsoever even with a ref bump and a number of cheap tactics to get heat, Bodom pinned Starr with a bliss buster for the three count. Can we just get the title off Bodom already and do something different with him please? I could just about stand him in his feud with Jimmy Havoc but now he's back to sucking up the Cruiserweight division with his usual cheap finish matches I really can't stand him again and it's not like he's bad in between the ropes. It just his attitude and reliability. I really have to question like with Garrett and Redman why Andy Quinlan continues to ram this guy down are throats. Now I just sound like a broken record when it comes to Bodom but as long a his push continues I'll keep complaining! Winner: Josh Bodom Singles Match: Will Ospreay Vs Rey Fenix Up next was a legit great Cruiserweight match as Internet darlings Rey Fenix and Will Ospreay locked up. After seeing what both men did with one another at PWG BOLA last year I was really rather hyped for this contest. They started off slow as both men worked a headlock, armbar then the madness began. Both men flipped off the ropes and posed and this shit was on, or so I thought. Will nailed Fenix with a running dropkick and then they took the fight to the outside. Will kicked away at Fenix on the outside and then tossed him back into the ring for a two count. Will went back to the arm and grounded Fenix and then rolled him up for a two count. Will in fact really slowed the match down but Fenix picked up the pace with a hurricanrana. Will rolled to the outside and the Fenix flow over the top rope out onto Will. Back in the ring Fenix springboarded to the middle rope and came off with a Swanton down onto Will for a two count. Will did his handspring flip but Fenix caught him with a cutter in mid air. Ospreay came back with a cheeky nandos kick for a two count and followed it up with a standing shooting star and a corkscrew moonsualt for another two count. Will did the Chris Sabin hesitation dropkick but Fenix came back with a reverse rana then will popped up and did the same to Fenix. Both men were down and eventually they got back to there feet and traded kicks then Ospreay did his best Great Sasuke impression doing a handspring moonsault onto Fenix on the outside. Will came back with an Essex destroyer for a two count then went up top and came off with a Hayabusa Pheonix splash for a near fall. Fenix blocked the Os-Cutter and nailed Will with a awkward looking kick. Fenix then gave Will a Canadian destroyer for a near fall. Will battled back with a revolution kick to the back of Fenix's head and followed it up with the Os-cutter for the one, two and three. Another great match from Ospreay and Fenix but you wouldn't expect anything less from these two now would you? Apart form a few awkward spots there wasn't a lot I could moan about here. As I'm a big fan of their PWG match at BOLA last year my expectations where high but were met and both men delivered as usual. Winner: Will Ospreay Tag Team Match: The All Day Star Ryan Smile and Shane Strickland Vs The Unbreakable F'N Machines (Michael Elgin & Brain Cage) It was great to see Ryan finally get on show in the States as he's someone I believe will be a big star one day in the States and mixing it up with two established indy names in "Big Mike" and the unbreakable one Brian Cage. Early on Cage proved he was just as good at flippy shit as Smile by doing a standing moonsault and hurricanrana. Elgin and Shane came in and messed around for a bit which ended with Big Mike doing a worm which made Shane leave and go to the back. Shane returned eventually and the wrestling resumed. Big Mike ran through Shane with a shoulder block then did a handspring off the ropes once again proving he could do some flippy shit. Shane nailed Elgin with a headscissors then Big Mike wiped out Smile and Shane over the top. Shane then moonsaulted off of Elgin's chest down onto Cage and Smile. Elgin dominated smile throwing him around like he was a child. Elgin then did his vertical suplex. The Machines then did their spot where they tag in and out while still holding Smile up in a vertical suplex. Cage came in and over powered Smile unsurprisingly and threw him across the ring at one point while he had Smile up in a suplex position. Smile battled back with a top rope missile dropkick and made the not so hot tag to Strickland. Shane came in and cleaned house with a superkick to Elgin and a leapfrog face buster to cage. Shane followed it up with a enziguri and then tagged in his partner Smile. The two double teamed Cage with an assisted codebreaker for a two count. Big Mike came in and he and Cage took out Smile with a double superkick for a near fall. Strickland was then double teamed and Elgin gave Shane a wheelbarrow suplex and a Super Elgin Bomb. Super Elgin Bomb to Smile and then Cage gave Ryan an F5 for a near fall. This match was suffering from the legal syndrome at this point. Elgin then gave both Strickland and Smile a fall away slam/Samoan drop combo move for a near fall. Then Smile and Strickland battled back with a powerbomb/double stomp combo and then Ryan followed it up with stars in the sky from the top rope to pin the former IWGP Intercontinental champion and ROH World champion, Michael Elgin. The crowd booed the finish of course as they probably didn't believe the finish or the fact the unknown Smile could beat such a big star clean. Let's face it Elgin and Cage are bigger stars but they did a great job in this reviewers opinion of putting over the two smaller guys who probably needed the win more than the established and over Unbreakable Machines. Overall I really enjoyed this match, even if it was a bit rushed and unbelievable in places. Winners: Ryan Smile and Shane Strickland Main Event RPW British Heavyweight Title Match: Penta El Zero M Vs Zack Sabre Jr Earlier on in the dayZzack suffered a nasty cut above his eye wrestling Jimmy havoc on the progress Orlando show. So it lead a lot of people to speculate he may have taken it easy here but you'd be wrong. As usual Zack went all out to steal the show much like he did with ACH at EVOLVE 80 on the Thursday night of Mania week. Zack got an appreciative small applause but was mostly booed. I would assume this crowd know about Rev Pro and Zack's heel turn in that company by that reaction as everywhere else that weekend and mostly in America they cheer for Zack. Zack flipped off Penta when he did his pose in front of him and grabbed Penta's arm and bent it backwards. Early on the two traded holds on the mat with either man getting the advantage. Zack stretched Penta's knees and then transitioned into bridge putting more pressure on the knees of Penta. Penta came back with a knee bar of his own but it was nowhere as impressive looking as Zack's. Sabre took down Penta and sat on his back while pulling back on his arms and that really did look nasty. Penta came back with a Mexican surfboard and pulled back on Zack's chin, but Zack was able to get out of it. Zack gave Penta three arm drags but then Penta cut him off and slapped Zack hard sending Zack to the outside. Penta rammed Zack head first into the ring post. Penta then began to work over Zack's thighs and legs with kicks then Penta went for a chop but hit the post, much like Trent Seven. Zack took advantage and zeroed in on Penta's hand. Zack stepped on Penta's throat to huge boos on the outside. Back in the ring, Sabre mocked Penta and stomped and stood on his hand to more boos (this was masterful way for Zack to get heat). Penta flipped Zack the bird but Zack kicked him in the mouth for such a ballsy move by the luchadore. Penta came back with a side slam and then went for a package piledriver but Zack countered Into a octopus stretch. Sabre followed it up with a penalty kick which got him a two count. Penta comes back with a big roundhouse kick and went for he package piledriver but Zack countered it into one of his own and then applied an armbar. Penta finally found his way to the bottom rope to break the hold. The two battled on the ring apron and Penta drilled Zack with the package piledriver onto the ring apron. Penta rolled Zack back into the ring for a near fall. Penta then did the babyface spot of 10 punches in the corner. Penta went for a Canadian destroyer but Zack countered it into one of his own and then applied a triangle choke. Penta then fell to one side but Zack rolled over and applied a arm bar while kicking and elbow striking Penta in the head and Penta passed out. I obviously really enjoyed this match. The stoppage finish only added to Sabre's new character and made him look like a real bad ass. Not many people can say they made Penta El Zero M pass out in pain now can they? Winner: Zack Sabre Jr (And Still RPW British Heavyweight Champion) Overall it was another solid show from RPW. Yeah there was some cold matches on the show and not everyone was over (i.e. Ryan Smile, Josh Bodom, Martin Stone) but the established RPW main eventers like Scurll, Ospreay and Zack were. Quinlan will really need to do something about that if he sees those guys as the guys replacing Scurll, Ospreay, Dunne and Sabre in the future. Anyway there was some real solid wrestling on the show. Basically every match from a in ring point of view delivered expect maybe the Bodom match. It set everything up nicely for the next Cockpit show and the Epic Encounter event happening on April 13th in this reviewers opinion. If this review has made you want to check out RPW then go on over to Pivotshare and sign up for 8 bucks to RPW on demand or even if you live in Blighty and near London then purchase a ticket. That's if you can get one of course because both of those shows are sold out. Anyway thanks for reading and as always I will close with my ripped off Bill Apter line with "see you at the matches!" @Billy_Jay83 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 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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