A sold-out Milton Keynes’ Ice Arena was on-hand for a solid show with a cracking main event… – a show that was billed as a New Japan show in the UK. Sort-of.
Let’s get the moans out of the way here. When this went on sale, the show was promoted as New Japan… but when it came to the night of the show, the only New Japan representation was two logos on the video screen. Everything else was Rev Pro, which rankled quite a few people, it seemed, especially going by the elevated ticket prices. Anyway, for this show, the blurry hard camera made a return as we saw a run through of the card on the video screen, with the commentary team of Kevin Kelly and Andy Simmonz in the background. I was already missing that they hadn’t flown out Kimihiko Ozaki to do Japanese ring announcing, like the US New Japan shows have had.
Shota Umino vs. Great-O-Kharn
So this was billed as Shota Umino vs. X, with X being announced on the night. It turned out to be a repackage/debut for “Dominator” Great O-Kharn. Perhaps a little oversold by Andy on commentary, once O-Kharn had negotiated the entrance ramp without falling down the stairs (having a tea towel hanging from your face with a question mark on it will restrict your view), it was revealed to be… the former Tomoyuki Oka in a gimmick that apparently is based on a Chinese “hopping” vampire. So the tea towel in front of his head wasn’t just for the mystery man thing…
So, a surprise graduation and perhaps an excursion for O-Kharn, which starts with a second-time ever match against Umino. O-Kharn refuses a handshake, as he took over on Umino early, kicking him outside and into the guard railings, courtesy of a Snake Eyes. Umino gets posted too, as O-Kharn used generally underhanded means to wear down his (former) Young Lion colleague, using chinlocks and… Mongolian chops. Lots of Mongolian chops. Tenzan-san may not be thrilled.
Umino did offer a fightback with a missile dropkick, then a back elbow, but his double-leg takedown is stuffed as O-Kharn starts to bust out those Mongolian chops. A spinebuster from Umino stops that, as does another missile dropkick for a near-fall, as Umino resorts to his Standard Issue Submission… the Boston crab! Despite pulling O-Kharn away from the ropes, we get a rope break, and O-Kharn’s able to fight back with more of the same – Mongolian chop, thrust to the throat, head claw, before combining the claw with a backbreaker. A neckbreaker followed for a near-fall from O-Kharn, before he scaled the ropes and hit a Mongolian chop off the middle rope for the win. A decent showing, even if the gimmick was presented like something straight out of 1980s WWF… but if Oka/O-Kharn is over here for seasoning, there’ll be time for these tweaks. **¾
Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori) vs. Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher)
So, if we’re ripping on attention to detail (ignoring the ring bell that couldn’t be rung without holding it or knocking it off the table), how about “ring announcer leaves the ring after the first introductions” or announcing “Yugioh Takahashi”? Meanwhile, Kevin Kelly actually references the split between Aussie Open at Fight Club Pro the night before, so perhaps expect a split here too?
Fletcher and Ishimori get us going, before Mark Davis came in and took Ishimori’s wacky rope stuff, including the springboard seated splash early on. Yujiro’s in and gets flapjacked, as neither team was able to keep much of an advantage… at least until the Bullet Club pair double-team Fletcher, setting up for a quick low dropkick. Ishimori keeps Fletcher cornered and isolated, building up to the sliding German suplex that left Fletcher doubled-over in the ropes.
A submission attempt forces Fletcher into the ropes, but Kyle’s finally able to mount a comeback with a missile dropkick before Dunkzilla comes in and clears house with clotheslines and chops. The Alphamare Waterslide takes down Yujiro as a sliding forearm keeps Ishimori in the corner, before a huge rolling clothesline cracked Yujiro down to the mat. Fletcher returned to lay into Ishimori with forearms, following in with a crossbody off the top for a near-fall, but the Aussies couldn’t follow-in with the double-team powerbomb and instead Fletcher gets dumped with a double-team flapjack for a near-fall.
That double-team spinebuster/powerbomb finally comes off for the Aussies, but Yujiro makes a save as Fletcher ends up taking a shotgun dropkick and running knees before the tombstone gutbuster, then the Bloody Cross finally put away the Aussie Arrow. A decent showing from Aussie Open, who perhaps looked the better team – but with other stuff in the background, they perhaps felt a little too disconnected here. ***¼
David Starr vs. Tiger Mask
Originally announced as a title match, Starr again reneged as he didn’t feel like the “fourth generation of an anime character” deserved a shot.
Tiger started out well against Starr, but the Product rolled to the outside as he tried to play some mind games and use the New Japan 20-count in his favour. An early attempt at a Tiger Driver sees Starr scurrying again, but this time he’s able to sucker Tiger outside and drop him on the ring apron with a back suplex. Back inside, Starr goes for the mask, before wearing down Tiger Mask with a single-leg crab as we’re outside again with Tiger Mask again going into the barricades as Starr looked to claim a count-out win. Returning to the ring, Starr runs into a spinning back kick as Tiger Mask mounted a comeback, landing a crossbody off the top for a near-fall. A missed splash gets Starr back into it with the Pretty Pumped for a near-fall, before he looked to go for the Trapped Arm Bob Fossil piledriver… Tiger Mask escapes, but his Tiger Driver’s countered into a suplex, only for him to roll back up and into a Tiger Driver afterall for a near-fall.
Starr comes back as he looked for the Han Stansen lariat, but Tiger evades it and ends up taking Starr up top for an avalanche butterfly suplex. It’s still not enough, and Starr manages to make a comeback of sorts, fouling Tiger Mask with a mule kick, before another Han Stansen’s caught and turned into a crucifix driver… and just like that, Tiger Mask scores the upset! Solid enough, but that finish was really out of nowhere… with the crowd perhaps not ready. Another loss as champion for David Starr, and there’s the post-match hissy fit. ***
Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Taichi & Takashi Iizuka) vs. Jay White, Toru Yano & Gedo
You’ll be shocked, but this began with a jump start.
Well, it did after everyone made it to the ring, including “Tory Yano”. I’m just saddened that Taichi didn’t get to sing…
You know the drill here, with all six men brawling outside the ring, giving the poor camera guys – and the crowd – no idea where to look. When we got to the ring, there’s cheapshots from Taichi’s mic stand, before Taichi chokes Gedo into the corner by the beard. Takashi Iizuka comes in and goes to bite Gedo… but his Hannibal Lecter mask stopped him… at least until Taichi released it, and we’re soon into chants of “bite forever”.
Taichi’s back in as he built up to his big thing – ripping off his trousers – but not before he’d been swiped to the mat by Gedo… and taken a backbreaker from Switchblade in the process. A buzzsaw kick from Taichi nearly puts away White as the trousers come off, which of course is missed by the director, before White suplexed him into the corner and tagged in Toru Yano. BIG POP.
Off comes the turnbuckle pads as Yano outwits Iizuka… only to get his hand bitten. Yano! Toru! OW! The pair swap inverted atomic drops, but Iizuka’s all bitey again before Desperado comes in and gets whipped down. Gedo gets tagged in as Yano doesn’t want a break, and here comes the Dusty punches from Gedo… but we’re quickly again outside as the ring barriers get wrecked – and almost wipe out the crowd. In the middle of all that, Chris Roberts misses an eye poke and Iizuka’s funky oven glove, and that’s enough for Desperado to get the win! Typical Suzuki-gun stuff, but live this was a blast. **
WALTER vs. Yuji Nagata
If you’re the kind to read into these kind of things, Rev Pro’s using Defiant’s remixed version of WALTER’s theme.
This was one of the more anticipated matches on the card, purely because some read into this as perhaps being a tryout for WALTER, who had a very vocal German following behind him. If you’re wondering what those “auf die Fesse” chants mean, I asked… it basically means (hit him) “in the face”. There was a lot of that attempted early as WALTER looked to go for some chops, but Nagata evaded and hit a stuttering low dropkick and a series of kicks as WALTER finally was taken off his feet.
Nagata throws some kicks, but eventually one’s caught and… CHOP! Yeah, those first ones always, always sting. For the crowd and the wrestler. Nagata powders to the outside, as anyone would, but it just ends with him getting a backdrop suplex on the apron as the Austrian started to ease into the match, dropping Nagata with a sit-down splash for a near-fall. The wearing down continued as Nagata’s stretched in the ropes then clubbed in the chest, but Nagata begins to fight back with elbows… only to miss an enziguiri and get rolled into a Boston crab.
There’s a pretty quick rope break from Nagata, who comes back with elbows and kicks to the leg, before an Exploder attempt was countered with a butterfly suplex for a near-fall. A knee to the gut from Nagata sparks another fightback, with WALTER getting thrown into the corner for a big boot and an Exploder out of it, almost ending the match right there for the veteran. Instead though, WALTER kicks out and comes right back with a chop before the Gojira clutch led to a rope break… and a RINGKAMPF German suplex.
Nagata’s out at two from that, as he’s forced to squirm out of a powerbomb, before hitting another big boot. Another chop connects, but Nagata shrugs it off as an elbow war began, ending with an enziguiri that WALTER tried in vain to block. We’re back to chops against kicks, with neither man budging, but Nagata’s kicks were slowly losing some steam, so he tries for the Backdrop Hold, and instead sees WALTER counter it. Undeterred, Nagata manages to grab the arm and takes down WALTER into the Shirome armbar, but der Ringgeneral gets a foot to the rope, and comes right back in with a Gojira clutch.
The hold’s fought out of as Nagata hits an armbreaker, but ends up running into a lariat for a near-fall, before WALTER hits him with one more murderous lariat for the win. A rather surprising loss for Nagata, given who he’s gotten wins over in Rev Pro, but this was everything I was hoping for it to be. Now, how about a rematch over on a “proper” New Japan show? ***¾
Chris Brookes vs. YOSHI-HASHI
Kid Lykos was back out with Chris Brookes as the “original” CCK returned to Rev Pro.
We started with Brookes trying to work over the arm of YOSHI-HASHI, but YOSHI reverses it… and sees how easily Brookes can get to the ropes. Plan B sees YOSHI take him to the mat, but a leglock ends with Brookes reaching for the ropes, and eventually gets knocked down as YOSHI-HASHI charged into him with a shoulder tackle. Lykos gets involved early as he trips YOSHI in the ropes before wrapping his CCK baking tray over his head… helping Brookes get a near-fall as he found a foothold in the match.
Brookes keeps YOSHI-HASHI down as he worked over the arm, but his attempt at a brainbuster’s countered into the Bunker Buster. Some shoulder charges keep Brookes down, as does a low dropkick and a DDT, following up with a dropkick after Brookes had been draped in the ropes. The slingshot cutter from Brookes helps him turn things around, as the pair continued to go back-and-forth, with a Butterfly lock countered into a roll-up for a near-fall.
YOSHI’s Western Lariat nearly ends things, but Brookes is back in with an inverted cloverleaf, taking YOSHI down in the middle of the ring… after getting free, YOSHI’s forced to escape a Praying Mantis Bomb as he hits a reverse spin kick and a superkick, before setting up for a powerbomb. That lands for a near-fall, before the Karma pumphandle driver followed for the win. This was a bit underwhelming – YOSHI-HASHI, perhaps one of the least compelling characters in New Japan at the moment, didn’t get much of a reaction, but at least the match was decent. If this is in Rev Pro canon, it’ll be interesting to see where Chris Brookes heads from here, as his first steps since declaring his independence were faltering ones. ***
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Will Ospreay
Another second-time match-up here, with these two having their first singles outing a month earlier during the Best of the Super Juniors. The pop for Ospreay was immense, like a hero returning home… and of course, we have a jump start. Suzuki-gun, innit?
When @WillOspreay meets a chair. pic.twitter.com/VbYot932W0
— rEDamel falcao 🇨🇴 (@EddieSideburns) June 30, 2018
Ospreay’s able to shrug it off and take Kanemaru outside for a plancha, before setting him in a chair as he got ring announcer James Daniels to whip him into the junior tag champion… but Kanemaru gets up and just flings the chair into Ospreay. In slow-motion, that looked outstanding – and almost caused the finish as Ospreay barely beat the count-out, only to run into a DDT as Kanemaru took control, wearing down Ospreay’s neck with headscissors and boot chokes.
An attempt at a comeback from Ospreay’s quickly snuffed out as he’s shoved onto the apron as he tries a springboard, before Kanemaru took him onto the entrance ramp for a nasty DDT, which again led to a count-out tease, with Ospreay barely getting back in in time. Problem was, Ospreay’s neck was again targeted, but he’s able to rebound with a handspring enziguiri off the ropes, before taking Kanemaru into the ropes for an over-the-top 619. A monkey flip’s next as Ospreay kept up his offence, landing a standing shooting star press for a near-fall, then a springboard forearm as we almost saw the end of the match in short order.
Kanemaru back body drops out of a Storm Breaker as he made a comeback of his own, nailing Ospreay with another DDT. With the referee distracted by Ospreay, Kanemaru takes a swig of whiskey, but Ospreay blocks the spray and kicks it out out of his mouth before lifting Kanemaru onto the ropes for another shooting star press. That’s enough for a near-fall, so in comes the Robinson special before an OsCutter’s swatted away with a dropkick from the junior tag champion.
Kanemaru heads up top for Deep Impact, connecting with the flying DDT for a near-fall, and that perhaps was the tipping point as Ospreay’s kick-out started another resurgence, with a running Spanish Fly and a Storm Breaker in short-order finally putting Kanemaru away. Another solid match – I don’t ever recall Ospreay being in a stinker, to be fair, and this was no exception. Not the “headline grabbing” match some may have wanted, but this was exactly what you’d expect. ***½
Rev Pro British Tag Team Championship: Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki) (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada
Okay, let’s get those nitpicks out of the way: champions entering first, ring announcer coming within nanoseconds of talking over “Kaze Ni Nare” and Okada having new, slowed down music, which threw quite a few folks.
Still, at least they didn’t call Suzuki “Menorah Suzuki”, as Minoru received a hero’s welcome here. So, what did we expect going in? A hot atmosphere? A war? Well, that’s what we got. That and Kazuchika Okada’s shiny new red disco pants…
Going for over 25 minutes, we started with Okada and Sabre – giving us a taste of their singles match for the next night – as Zack instantly took Okada to the mat, tying up the former IWGP champion as Okada was forced into an early Rainmaker attempt… which Sabre ducked away from. Tags out gave us a peek of the other match for the next night, as we got Suzuki and Ishii, and an initial barrage of elbows! Suzuki suckers Ishii into the ropes with a hanging armbar, while Sabre’s off on the outside, tying up Okada in a Cobra twist… and we’re into the ringside brawling!
Imagine waking to that in the morning. Yeah fuck that. pic.twitter.com/w7yg6Oc2D5
— Leggett (@ThisIsLeggett) June 30, 2018
Suzuki uses a chair on Ishii, before Chris Roberts tried to disarm him which led to him running for his life. We’re back to chops as Suzuki and Ishii lit each other up by the ringside barriers, while Okada’s arm just got worn out by Sabre, who took the time to wander around to help out Suzuki a little. Back in the ring, Suzuki’s on fire with duelling submissions to Okada and Ishii at the same time, before trapping Okada on the ring apron with a cross armbreaker as Suzuki-gun looked to be coasting. The champions go through their Rolodex of submissions, double-teaming Ishii as Okada had the referee accidentally distracted – prompting chants of “we want Red Shoes” from sections of the crowd.
Meanwhile, Sabre continued to do what he does best on Ishii, as the British Heavyweight Champion was left isolated… but he eventually gets free and tags in Okada, who deals with Sabre’s interference with a flapjack as he took Suzuki from corner-to-corner. A DDT to Suzuki nearly gives us a title change, but Suzuki’s right back in with a knee to the gut as Sabre gets the tag back in, and countered the neckbreaker slam with an Octopus hold!
Eventually Okada countered that back into the neckbreaker slam, before a top rope elbow drop gives us the Rainmaker pose – complete with zoom-out – as Sabre manages to hit back with a nice, heavily-torqued guillotine. Okada looked to counter that into a tombstone, but Sabre countered back into a Euro clutch for a near-fall before nailing a PK… with Okada returning fire with a dropkick instead.
Another Rainmaker’s teased and countered into an Octopus hold, and this time Okada countered back into a tombstone as more tags got us back to Ishii and Suzuki… and their elbows. My God… their elbows. A quick flurry gave way to the crowd hushing everyone as the VOD barely did justice to the clonking and thudding of each other’s elbow strikes. Good. LORD.
Eventually Ishii crumbles, but he’s able to rebound with a Saito suplex before he ran into a barrage of palm strikes from Suzuki. A headbutt stops those briefly, before duelling palm strikes put them on the mat – and brought the crowd to their feet! Sabre looked to pick apart Ishii on the mat, stomping and working on the arm as Ishii was left isolated, needing Okada to make a save as the match almost came to an end.
Okada’s shotgun dropkick dispatched Suzuki, before he came right back with a death valley bomb to Sabre. Ishii’s back with a German suplex, but his sliding lariat’s caught by Sabre, who starts to torque away on him, pulling him into what looked like Orienteering with Napalm Death, which Okada breaks up. An enziguiri from Ishii turns the tide, as does a headbutt, with Sabre finally taking a sliding lariat for a near-fall, before the sheer-drop brainbuster’s escaped.
Sabre goes right back to the arm, and uses some headscissors to take Ishii down into an arm triangle… clinging on when Ishii tried to powerbomb his way free, and with Suzuki restraining Okada with an Octopus hold in the ring, Sabre pulls Ishii down with a duel leg grapevine/armbar for a huge submission out of nowhere! Yes, this was a war, and perhaps a shock upset given that Ishii had beaten Sabre barely three months earlier for the Rev Pro title… and with Ishii left laying afterwards, Suzuki took the chance to pose with the British heavyweight title to leave us with a closing shot ahead of the second night. ****½
Post-match, Taichi and El Desperado came out to continue the beating, before the post-match promo from Suzuki had a lot of brave people “what”ing it.
If you can look past the issue that several had here, that being “this was sold as a New Japan show but was quite clearly a Rev Pro show”, the opening night of the Strong Style Evolved UK weekender was quite solid. Save for the main event, there’s not much here that’s must-see, but there wasn’t a bad match on the show. WALTER/Nagata is worth tracking down, while the opener will be noteable, if only for the sight of Tomoyuki Oka progressing away from the Young Lions brigade. Live, there were a few nitpicks – whether you’re of the mindset that Rev Pro should have flown over a Japanese ring announcer, or perhaps played up the New Japan stuff a bit more aside from having their logo on the LED boards just the two times. Or even things like the lack of Young Lions/ringside attendants, which made for some hairy moments at the ringside barriers became progressively more dangerous throughout the first half.
It’s the little details that can make and break shows, especially from a live perspective. Alas, for everyone watching on VOD, those won’t be clear – and at the end of the day, if you’re looking at this and wondering “should I watch this?”, the answer you will get is an unequivocal yes.