Luke Jacobs looked to put an end to Michael Oku’s record-breaking reign as Rev Pro celebrated their 12th anniversary.
Quick Results
Joshua James, Sha Samuels, Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima pinned Brendan White, Danny Jones, Goldenboy Santos & David Francisco in 9:09 (**¾)
Ethan Allen pinned Connor Mills in 8:31 (***)
Ricky Knight Jr. pinned Zozaya in 13:28 (***¼)
Will Kaven pinned Cameron Khai, Neon, El Phantasmo, Leon Slater & Dante Martin to win the Rev Pro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship in 12:07 (***¼)
Tomohiro Ishii pinned JJ Gale in 17:47 (***¾)
No Disqualification: Alex Windsor, Lizzy Evo, Mercedez Blaze, Nina Samuels & Safire Reed pinned Rhio, Gisele Shaw, Debbie Keitel, Kanji & Nightshade in 22:56 (****)
Gabe Kidd pinned Donovan Dijak in 10:17 (**¾)
TK Cooper & Chuck Mambo pinned James Drake & Zack Gibson to win the Rev Pro Undisputed British Tag Team Championship in 12:15 (***½)
Mina Shirakawa submitted Dani Luna to win the Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship in 12:18 (***)
Zack Sabre Jr. submitted Hechicero in 22:51 (****½)
Luke Jacobs pinned Michael Oku to win the Rev Pro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship in 33:54 (****½)
— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com
For the second year in a row, Rev Pro made it to London’s Copper Box Arena for card that was beyond stacked. Commentary comes from Andy Quildan and Gideon Grey.
David Francisco, Goldenboy Santos & Greedy Souls (Brendan White & Danny Jones) vs. Joshua James, Sha Samuels & Young Blood (Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima)
We had a surprise guest for this, with Grado (of all people) coming out to Madonna as Gideon Grey did his damndest to channel me from back in the day…
This one had ties back to the four-way tag match at York Hall a fortnight ago, but there were plenty of storyline threads all over this, with Joshua James having been bullied by fellow former Contenders David Francisco and Brendan White. I’d have gone for someone smaller to be honest.
Francisco also had issues with Sha Samuels, taunting him throughout with the scarf he’d stolen back in Stevenage, and it’s not long before Sha found himself isolated and cornered. An attempted East End Destroyer’s countered with a back body drop from Jones, but a spinebuster helped Sha back in before Young Blood had a pop at the Greedy Souls… which bled into the good ol’ Parade of Moves, featuring a hell of a Midas Touch from Santos to Sha.
In the end, it’s Joshua James who pushed on for the win – splashing Brendan White into the corner before Grado interfered, neutralising Danny Jones before a Dusty elbow to Brendan set up for an East End Destroyer from Sha, and a big splash from Josh off the top for the win. **¾
Grado plugged his live show later in the day as we bleed into the main show…
Ethan Allen vs. Connor Mills
This all started when Allen returned at the Revolution Rumble to save Luke Jacobs from an eliminated Mills… and took a detour in Coventry when Allen faked out an injury to confirm his spot at the Copperbox.
Eschewing all airs and graces, Mills and Allen went for each other at the bell, trading strikes until a knee strike from Allen spun Mills to the mat ahead of an inverted bodyslam. In return, Mills went for Allen’s historically-injured knee, forcing Allen to scrap his way free before blocking another Dragon screw.
An Allen Slam dumped Mills ahead of a charging knee to the ribs, but a Ki Krusher puts Mills back in contention… only for Allen to leap in with a mounted sleeperhold, which got countered into an Electric Chair drop and an armbar. The pair continued to scrap for a submission, ending with another rear naked choke as Mills charged out of the corner… with Allen switching it up into the Hypernormalisation/Young Boy Killer for the submission. This was a little shorter than you’d expect, but this was “all gas no brakes” as the Americans would say. ***
Zozaya vs. Ricky Knight Jr.
This was the rubber match after Zozaya’d beaten RKJ at York Hall a fortnight earlier via referee stoppage. In terms of big show gear, Zozaya had drawn inspiration from Team Angle, while RKJ went down the Prince Devitt route of bodypaint – along with having Zak Knight and Saraya accompany him to ringside. Bet you can’t guess which one of them got boos…
Starting off hot, RKJ charged into Zozaya with a cannonball at the bell before Zozaya’s early chop had no effect. Eventually Zozaya’s able to make inroads with a springboard dropkick, then a body attack to RKJ on the floor, only for RKJ to toss him with a swinging slam into the guard rails.
Clubbering Zozaya with chops in the ropes left the Spaniard on his knees before he was able to counter a teased Styles Clash on the apron with a trip and a stomp. Some back-and-forth kept Zozaya in it, only for a suplex from the ring to the floor to send both men crashing over the top rope to the outside.
Shaking it off, RKJ tried for a Styles Clash, but Zozaya rakes the eyes and took things outside… only to finally get caught with a Styles Clash on the edge of the ring. RKJ doesn’t get the count-out from that though as Zozaya found a second wind, superkicking away a springboard… while a stomp almost got the win.
De Madrid al Cielo nearly won it for Zozaya, who added an avalanche de Madrid al Cielo for another near-fall, which meant one thing. He had to go for the Shooting Star of Doom. Cue the maligned NXT face as he had second thoughts, leading to RKJ catching him with a Tiger superplex and a Kudo Driver for the win. At least they kept the “I’m conflicted” stuff short, and it directly led to the finish as RKJ got revenge for the rare singles loss in York Hall. ***¼
Post-match, Zak and Saraya sprinted back out to celebrate as they tried to egg on RKJ to dish out more punishment… but instead he shook Zozaya’s hand.
Rev Pro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship: El Phantasmo vs. Will Kaven vs. Leon Slater vs. Cameron Khai vs. Neon (c) vs. Dante Martin
Cue some frantic rope tightening, and oh hi there ELP…
Dante Martin was the mystery entrant in this one, sans Top Flight pilot gear here, while Gideon was bringing the puns. Things cleared out early on as Dante Martin and Leon Slater started us off, leading to an early plancha to Dante as the revolving door effect. In comes ELP to trade blows with Slater, leading to a springboard crossbody/Quebrada combo as Neon was forced to break up the pin.
Khai’s next for a mini run, at least until Kaven came in with a snap Dragon suplex to leave Khai laying. ELP returns for some rope-walking, but Neon interrupts it as we built to a springboard double-jump moonsault to the floor… then Leon Slater’s over-the-post dive before things returned to the ring for a Tower of Doom.
After trying to snatch pins, Kaven’s cornered… he tries to go after Leyton Buzzard on the outside, but got slapped and thrown back in to a pile of superkicks, then got Spirit Squad’d up into the air. Cue a Parade of Moves, with Neon landing an imploding senton to Khai, before ELP’s UFO planted Dante ahead of a CR2. The tempo races up as Kaven broke up the pin on a Swanton 450, but we’re back to the Parade of Moves ending with Kaven punting Khai in the balls to break up a Northern Lights suplex, before stealing the pin. Will Kaven’s your new Cruiserweight champion – in what most would have called an upset. ***¼
JJ Gale vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Gale was looking to go one better than Luke Jacobs last year – in making a name for himself and beating Tomohiro Ishii.
Gale’s early salvos didn’t make much of a dent on Ishii, who knocked him into the corner with elbows… so Gale tries to switch it up off the ropes, only to just bounce off of Ishii with a dropkick. A second one had more luck, taking Ishii outside for a wild flip senton, but it’s not long before Ishii was able to wrestle control back.
Throwing strikes perhaps wasn’t Gale’s best idea as he threw a load, then got wiped out by a single elbow from Ishii that was so hard it switched camera angles. Daring Gale to throw strikes again and again, Ishii absorbs the blows and returns the favours until a rolling elbow finally took Ishii down.
Ishii’s quickly met with a lofty German suplex after that as Gale finally had a grip on things, only for Ishii to give a receipt for that German suplex. A Violence Party traps Gale in the corner as we were back to all Ishii for a spell, with a superplex almost putting Gale away… only for Gale to counter a sliding lariat. The backpack knee’s caught at the first attempt but Gale’s persistency pays off as he went toe-to-toe with Ishii once more, eventually landing a Side Effect before a Falcon Arrow almost did the deal.
Gale adds a Codebreaker out of the corner a la Mad Kurt, but a snap German suplex stopped the momentum as Gale was suddenly having to avoid the sheer-drop brainbuster. JJ was getting ahead of himself though, as he saw a Gale Force stopped with a diving knee from Ishii… a second one finds its way through, but it was not enough. Heading up top, Gale rolls through on a 450 splash before he ate a headbutt and a lariat… before the sheer-drop brainbuster put him down for the count. A heck of an outing, but Gale wasn’t able to one-up Luke Jacobs here – leaving London with another loss. ***¾
No Disqualification: Cut Throat Collective (Alex Windsor, Lizzy Evo, Mercedez Blaze, Nina Samuels & Safire Reed) vs. Debbie Keitel, Gisele Shaw, Kanji, Nightshade & Rhio
Gisele Shaw was the mystery partner opposite the Collective, appearing for the first time since she lost the women’s title to Alex Windsor almost three years ago.
The no-DQ stipulation added last week in Southampton changed the landscape of this match, and all hell broke loose from the bell. It wasn’t long for weaponry to come into play as Blaze brought in a chair, but accidentally laid out Safire Reed in the opening minutes – and that set the template for plunder.
Kanji one-ups everyone with a step-up flip senton to the outside, before she used a table to slide a chair into Reed’s midsection. We get the “hello old friend” reunion between Windsor and Shaw, but it was far from friendly as they picked up where they left off in 2021. A table comes into play again as Nightshade slammed Windsor through it in the corner, but Nightshade’s evening turned sour as she got cut open after a bin shot to the head.
With Nightshade out, the Collective were able to play the numbers game, holding a defiant Rhio by the ropes as she was given a caning. The Air Canada from Shaw saves the day as Nightshade and Kanji joined her in more fun with Kendo sticks, before a stacked-up death valley driver to Evo and Blaze nearly closed things out, but we were far from done.
After a brief revolving door moment, we’ve a Coast to Coast from Windsor to kick a bin into Rhio – who came up red – before a Parade of Moves looked to put the Collective on the back foot. Until Safire’s torpedo headbutt, anyway…
A wild spear from Nightshade rocked Windsor and got the crowd on their feet, leading to another table coming out. It’s not used straight away though, as Safire Reed’s caught up top and given a Spanish Fly by Gisele Shaw into the pile below, before Rhio took over on Windsor, looking for a superplex… only for Blaze to hit Rhio with a back. You know what that means in wrestling. Drawing pins! The bag’s emptied onto the able, with Rhio sent into it with a twisting superplex… and that’s enough for the Collective to get the win in the damndest match you’d have thought possible. A big win for the Collective – and you sense there’s a lot still to play out here. ****
Donovan Dijak vs. Gabe Kidd
This one had an unenviable task, and it’s safe to say this didn’t quite hit the mark.
Starting off hot, Dijak and Kidd swung for the fences, but on a show without an interval it felt like the crowd were taking this as an interval, no matter how hard these guys laid into each other. Kidd teased using a chair on the floor, but Dijak superkicked it away before a chokeslam onto the side of the ring sent Kidd back inside.
The crowd tried to stay in this one as Kidd and Djiak resumed the strikes with dualling clotheslines, leading to a Bull lariat from Kidd, who finally managed to maintain an advantage as he tried a guillotine choke on the top rope. Dijak’s able to break free though as he brought Kidd down with a chokebomb, following with a Feast Your Eyes… which sent Kidd rolling outside to avoid getting pinned.
Dijak stayed on Kidd with a flip senton that wiped out the Contenders, but Kidd turned it around back inside with a brainbuster, a knee strike and a short piledriver… and that’s all. This one had a hard time landing with the crowd, but this ended up being something of a scalp for Kidd after his so-so G1 campaign. **¾
Rev Pro Undisputed British Tag Team Championship: Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper) vs. Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) (c)
The ride or die for Sunshine Machine reached its apex here – the only question was would they be able to sustain?
A jump start from Sunshine Machine took the champions to the outside for an early Mambo dive, while a tope con giro from TK completed the set as Mambo tried to snatch a pin at the bell. When that didn’t work though, the Grizzled Young Veterans blasted their way back in, initially isolating TK and keeping him ensconced in the champions’ corner.
Eventually catching Drake with an Exploder, TK’s unable to make the tag before Zack Gibson came in… but was able to fight his way into the corner as Mambo flew in to try and turn the tables. A Reef Break forces Drake in to break up the pin, while a springboard double Blockbuster made sure of it.
TK’s back to snuff out Drake as Sunshine Machine dipped into their playbook with a Gutterball, then a frog splash/shooting star press double header for a near-fall… before James Drake sidestepped a superkick as Mambo laid out TK Cooper. And then, the dream nearly died.
A Ticket To Ride almost puts Mambo away as the champions reverted back to how they were earlier… adding a Doomsday Device that drew TK Cooper back towards the ring. Except… he had second thoughts and ended up bailing on the match as the crowd cried out in disbelief. Mambo’s left alone as the champions looked to hit Grit Your Teeth, but it’s a ruse as TK made the save in time for a Designated Driver… and Sunshine Machine not only live to fight another day, but they left the Copperbox as champions! When they started the ride or die journey, my feeling was that Sunshine Machine would come unstuck here – but the crowd reaction here proved the win was the right call, even if this is the beginning of the end. ***½
Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship: Mina Shirakawa vs. Dani Luna (c)
A title shot in Shirakawa’s UK debut, but it wasn’t as if the Copperbox weren’t familiar, judging by the reaction to just her music. Problem was, it also carried into the match, which saw the crowd take Luna as the defacto baddie…
Shirakawa got a little overconfident in the early going, which was jumped on with a lariat from Luna, before a Falcon arrow… didn’t do a deal. Luna began to lean into the crowd reactions as she measured up Shirakawa for chops… with Shirakawa in return dumping Luna on her knees.
That looked to be the set-up for a Figure Four, but Luna fought it off only to get caught in a Romero special choke. Shirakawa’s able to lock in a Figure Four, but Luna makes it to the ropes as she was having to dig deep as Mina had exposed the champions’ key weaknesses. A rebound Blue Thunder bomb gets Luna close, as did a Saito suplex and a powerbomb, but the Figure Four’s eventually reapplied, forcing Luna into the ropes, but a third time proved to be too much for Luna to take as a bridging Shirakawa forced the submission. An upset, in terms of “nobody expected Dani Luna’s lengthy reign to end this way” ***
Hechicero vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Unsurprisingly, Sabre got a hero’s welcome a week after winning the G1 Climax – as he renewed rivalries with Hechicero.
Also unsurprisingly, this match was a sheer delight to watch for fans of the ground game as Hechicero and Sabre tried each other in knots, flowing like water as they found their way in and out of holds. Only negative on that was the crowd were so happy to see Sabre here as the G1 winner (and his first time on a show here under a Labour government) that a lot of the early going was set to chants.
That aside, once that was out of everyone’s systems, the crowd got set on backing Sabre as Hechicero tried to dominate things, but switching things up into strikes created an opening for Sabre, but again Hechicero was shutting him down… at least until Sabre found his way in with an Octopus hold… which Hechicero spun his way out of.
Headscissors and a neck twist looked to change the tide in Sabre’s favour, despite scares from Hechicero, whose spin-out slam almost got the win. A whiffed dropkick from Hechicero’s pounced on by Sabre, who grabs a triangle armbar before popping him up into a cross armbar… but Hechicero breaks out and went for his own pop-up submission. Heading up top, Hechicero’s top rope ‘rana took Sabre down, before a Zack Driver out of nothing swung the match back… as did Hechicero’s headscissor neckbreaker… before Sabre eventually tied up Hechicero in knots with the Clarky Cat G1 34 Winning Version to force the submission. This was a match you really have to watch and just take in, and just enjoy all of the swings back and forth – Zack Sabre Jr. was clearly a class apart on this night, but Hechicero pushed him to the line here. ****½
Rev Pro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship: Luke Jacobs vs. Michael Oku (c)
Every title had changed hands so far tonight… and Jacobs was looking to make it a clean sweep. Michael Oku’s biggest strength in his career has been playing the underdog role to a tee – and it’s one that he’s slowly evolved away from since beating the previously-undefeated Great O-Khan just over a year ago.
Luke Jacobs got the fancy entrance, with Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead or Alive greeting him as he came out like a cowboy. Or maybe a Modern Nomad? Using his size advantage early on, Jacobs threatened to bully Oku from the off, blasting through him with a chop before Oku took things outside with some headscissors.
Of course, it’s way too early for a Fosbury flop, as Jacobs just caught and spun Oku onto the apron… then chucked him into the guard rails with a uranage. OW. A back body drop back inside kept Oku on the defensive, but he’s able to make inroads with a missile dropkick as he took Jacobs off his feet. A uranage and back senton stopped Oku’s offence in a hurry though, as it was back to the high impact stuff with a delayed Saito suplex, then a German suplex as Jacobs effortlessly went back in control.
Those suplexes eventually backfired as Oku escaped one… but the turnaround was short-lived as a wicked lariat cut off a misdirection knee. A crossbody from Oku in response sent both men outside, teasing a double count-out, but Oku’s able to make it back in and hit that Fosbury flop.
Staying aerial doesn’t work for Oku though as a froggy crossbody’s caught and turned into a Snow Plow for a near-fall, before elbows knocked Oku into the corner. Another lariat spun Oku to the floor, but he’s able to avoid further damage for now as a sidewalk slam onto the side of the ring targeted Jacobs’ back some more in preparation for a hopeful half crab.
Oku goes all El Generico on us with a running dive on the floor, going across the turnbuckles and into a tornado DDT on the other side of the ring – busting Jacobs open in the process. That looked to be a major turning point, with Jacobs unable to muster much behind his chops, as Oku started to pick his spots, easing into his usual playbook as he felt the threat had subsided.
A half crab has a bloodied Jacobs crawling for the ropes, before he rudely yanked Oku down off of the top rope, sending the champion crashing to the floor. That drew blood from Oku as well, and that was the cue for Jacobs to dial it up with a murderous lariat and powerbomb combo.
Jacobs teed up for a Torpedo headbutt, but Oku countered into a half crab, only for Jacobs to roll through and apply one of his own. Of course, it ends in the ropes, but Oku’s quickly on his back once again via a lariat, before a desperation knee forged a brief opening. Albeit one that a rising headbutt in the corner shut down as Jacobs elevated things with an avalanche powerbomb for a near-fall. Swinging for the fences left Luke open for a superkick, before Oku hit a lariat of his own…
That set the stage for a froggy crossbody, then a frog splash to Jacobs’ back… the crowd start to boo as Oku went up for a second frog splash, but Jacobs kicked out to a huge roar. A half crab followed as Oku tries to force the stoppage, but the extra lean back gave Jacobs a way out as he pulled Oku out of the hold and in for a lariat. Another missed dropkick into the corner was the beginning of the end for Oku though, as he’s brought out with a Burning Hammer… before one wild Northern lariat to the back of the head and a screwdriver piledriver signalled the end of one era and the start of another.
A monumental end to Michael Oku’s reign on top of Rev Pro, one which saw him push the company ahead out of the pandemic era and take the title internationally once more. This was also a historic moment, as Luke Jacobs became the first man to simultaneously hold the top titles in Rev Pro and PROGRESS. Luke Jacobs is on top of British wrestling – a landscape-changing moment. ****½
Post-match, Jacobs offered a hand up to the defeated Oku, and with the torch passed Oku exited stage left… while Luke’s celebratory speech was interrupted by Tomohiro Ishii. The reaction for the sirens on Ishii’s theme was one of utter shock, and that looks to be Luke’s first challenge – a huge test, given Ishii’s already got two wins over him from last year.
Rev Pro’s second sojourn to the Copperbox was perhaps a bigger all-around success than their first. Returning with a card that didn’t have the (on paper) blowaway match for the travelling fans like Oku/Shingo last year, and still drawing well north of 3,000? Very few of the “big” British promotions have stuck their neck out for a big arena once, let alone twice, so in any universe that’s a win – and with the core Rev Pro roster firing away on all fronts, things really bode well as the company will be buoyed going into the rest of the year.