Connor Mills looks to provide a late roadblock for Mike Bailey’s Cruiserweight title match as Rev Pro returned to Huntingdon.
Quick Results
Karl Fredericks pinned Chuck Mambo in 9:49 (***)
Yota Tsuji pinned Doug Williams in 13:07 (***)
Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis pinned Robbie X & Callum Newman in 12:20 (***¼)
Alex Coughlin submitted TK Cooper in 9:56 (***½)
Luke Jacobs pinned JJ Gale in 9:28 (***)
Mike Bailey pinned Connor Mills in 12:30 (***½)
It’s the first of two shows in a day at Commemoration Hall in Huntingdon, England… Andy Quildan and Gideon Grey are on hand for commentary.
Chuck Mambo vs. Karl Fredericks
Mambo and TK are facing the LA Dojo lads at Uprising, so we’ve got some singles matches to warm us up…
Fredericks took Mambo into the ropes early on, then took Mambo down in a double wristlock… Mambo tries to block it, rolling Fredericks up for a two-count, before a springboard armdrag had Fredericks down in the corner.
A drop toe hold sets up Fredericks for a Romero special, before Fredericks got free and hit the leapfrog/crossbody, then a leaping knee to turn it around. Fredericks stays ahead with a slam and a stomp for a two-count, before chops lit up Mambo in the corner…
Mambo retaliates, elbowing Fredericks away ahead of a springboard armdrag, then a running knees into the corner and a dropkick to boot. Chops from Mambo earned him an enziguiri, before a hesitation dropkick into the corner leads to a rolling brainbuster, then a leaping fist drop for a near-fall.
A swinging side-uranage gets Mambo a two-count out of nowhere, before a superkick stopped a DDT only for Mambo to take a spinebuster for a near-fall. Fredericks quickly followed up with the Manifest Destiny DDT, and that’s your lot – they got in and out quickly, with both guys showing plenty in their ten minutes. ***
Doug Williams vs. Yota Tsuji
Tsuji’s got Gideon Grey tomorrow, so we’ve perhaps got a battle of those who’ve been sniped at from afar here?
Tsuji and Williams trade wristlocks to start, before the pair ended in the ropes, before a side headlock from Williams was pushed free, only for him to charge down Tsuji. They begin to trade forearms, before Tsuji finally charges down Doug, only for Williams to return with a slam off the ropes.
Headlock takeovers and headscissors are next, before Tsuji splashes Williams on his back. More forearms follow, as did some kicks as Tsuji built up to a dropkick, while chops seemingly crumbled Williams down to his knees. A back elbow’s next for a two-count for Tsuji, who then got taken back into the corner as Williams chopped back, as we’re back with forearms.
Williams gets snapmare’d and kicked in the back for a near-fall, before a European uppercut out of the corner lands. More uppercuts follow, then clotheslines, before Tsuji blocked an Exploder, only to eat an overhead belly-to-belly instead. Yay/boo strikes follow, as Tsuji pulled ahead with some more kicks that eventually knocked Doug down.
The kicks only get a two-count as Tsuji returns with a suplex, before another clothesline adds another near-fall. Williams gets up to avoid a shooting star press, and caught Tsuji in the ropes with an avalanche Exploder… a regular Exploder followed, before a Tiger Driver nearly gets the win.
From there, Williams keeps going for a Chaos Theory, but Tsuji rolled him up instead and snatched the win. A good showing for Tsuji, with these sort of matches going to serve him well on excursion. ***
After the match, Tsuji went up to the commentary desk and stared down Gideon Grey ahead of their match at York Hall.
Callum Newman & Robbie X vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
This one’s a non-title outing for Aussie Open, ahead of their title match against the Knights at York Hall.
Davis takes Robbie X into the corner to start, before a head mare just tossed Robbie X down as Robbie was having trouble getting going. A tijeras gets cartwheeled out of by Davis, before he charged into the corner and tagged in Fletcher. Newman’s in too, but he’s kicked by Fletcher as the pace then quickened leading to a dropkick from Callum.
A front facelock from Newman is broken up as the Aussies stormed the ring, leading to Robbie X and Newman getting dumped with simultaneous back suplexes onto the edge of the ring. Fletcher pulled Newman away from a tag before a snap slam gets a two-count, while Davis returned to take a shot at the ribs.
Newman retaliates with forearms, but gets chucked outside as again, the Aussies stopped him from making a tag out. A Boston crab from Davis drew in Robbie X to break it up, but Davis just breaks the hold to wallop Robbie with a forearm. Newman again fights out of the corner, then surprised Davis with a step-up ‘rana off of Fletcher before tagging out to Robbie X.
Forearms from Robbie X lead to a hiptoss and a low dropkick to Fletcher, before a roundhouse in the corner and a running shooting star gets a near-fall. Davis breaks up the pin and gets sent outside as Newman and Robbie double-team… that’s stopped with a double-team to Newman, before the assisted cutter back inside nearly put Robbie X away.
Robbie X ‘ranas out of a Coriolis, then looked to Herc up Davis for a suplex… he eventually lands it, as Newman came back with a Meteora for a near-fall on Davis. A rebound hook kick from Newman has Fletcher dazed, before a rolling death valley driver from Robbie X followed… leading to an aborted Spiral Tap. Fletcher and Davis swarm him from there, before Newman’s dropkicked into the front row. The Aussies then push on with a Coriolis to Robbie X, who had no partner to make the save as Aussie Open survived a scare to leave with the win. ***¼
TK Cooper vs. Alex Coughlin
Karl Fredericks beat Chuck Mambo in the opener – now it’s TK Cooper looking to even things up going into Sunday…
We’ve switches and takedowns to start, as TK tries to end it early with an inside cradle. Coughlin’s up at two, before he rolled outside and got into it with a fan – putting his moustache on the line if he lost. Back to the wrestling, Coughlin’s headscissors are escaped by TK, who replies with a hammerlock as he rolled Coughlin over for a one-count.
A nice double leg from Coughlin DUMPS Cooper, before they locked up into the corner. A back elbow frees Coughlin, who ran into a leg lariat, before TK built up with chops. TK’s splash gets caught and turned into an overhead belly-to-belly, before Coughlin tied up TK into a STF.
Coughlin stretches back nastily on the hold, then maneuvers into a bow-and-arrow hold right by the ropes. He stays on TK with a toe hold, moving things into a deathlock that he almost pinned TK with. Breaking the hold, a head and arm choke wears down Cooper, who’s saved by the ropes, before he came back with some pull-up clotheslines, ahead of an Exploder.
Cooper tries again, but gets elbowed away before a body attack was almost countered into a belly-to-belly. TK knees his way free, then booted Coughlin down ahead of a springboard Quebrada for a near-fall. A missed scissor kick opens it up for Coughlin, whose swivels in with a clothesline ahead of a bridging fallaway slam for a near-fall.
Coughlin chains it with a Boston crab after that, leaning so far back he fell… but it doesn’t matter as that torque was enough for TK to tap out. If you’re a fan of the style, this was a lovely, tidy wrestling match – Coughlin already feels like he’s a well rounded out in his particular game, and when he gets to graduate from the black trunks, he’ll be a force to be reckoned with. ***½
Luke Jacobs vs. JJ Gale
Jacobs might well be at a loose end in Rev Pro with Ethan Allen on the sidelines…
We’ve a lock-up to start, with Gale breaking cleanly in the ropes… then again, as Jacobs just double-legged him on the break. Gale ducks a chop, then tried with shoulder tackles only to get charged down by Jacobs, who went for a Figure Four before a chop sank Gale once again.
Gale springboards past Jacobs, landing a springboard ‘rana and a dropkick to take Jacobs outside for a plancha. Jacobs just shoved Gale over the ropes as he was going for another springboard, following with a uranage onto the side of the ring, before the pair returned to the ring for Jacobs to pick up a near-fall.
A gut shot from Jacobs looked to weaken Gale, who went for a front suplex… only to have to push Jacobs out of the corner ahead of a crossbody… but Jacobs rolls through and hits a fallaway slam in return. Gale returned fire, eventually getting Luke up for a suplex amid a barrage of strikes, while a springboard European uppercut out of the corner landed.
Another suplex is escaped by Jacobs, who took a pop-up dropkick for a near-fall, before a springboard’s countered into a back suplex, with a wicked lariat seconds later almost getting Jacobs the win. Gale’s inside cradle nearly wins it, so Jacobs chops him again before a rolling forearm gets a Gale a near-fall. The Gory knee from Gale’s pushed away and met with another lariat, while a folding powerbomb swiftly puts away JJ for the three-count. A lovely sprint with Jacobs being put in peril throughout, but Gale’s love of springboards ended up being his undoing. ***
Connor Mills vs. Mike Bailey
Bailey’s facing Michael Oku for the Cruiserweight title the next night, so Oku’s tag partner gets a chance to make things easier here.
We’ve leapfrogs and roll throughs to start as Bailey and Mills do the double dropkick stand-off. Bailey offers a handshake, but cheapshotted Mills before some missed kicks and a series of standing switches led to a diving uppercut to the back of Bailey. A springboard uppercut has Bailey down again, but Speedball kicks away Mills as he teed up for a dive, before a second kick sent Mills spilling outside.
Back inside, a double knee drop gets Bailey a two-count, before a frog splash from the middle rope gets a near-fall. Bailey then goes for a half crab, while staring a hole through Michael Oku… but that’s quickly broken in the ropes as Bailey tried to wind up Oku at ringside.
Mills and Bailey trade elbows, then chops, before a Quebrada from Mills had Bailey laying. Uppercuts, clotheslines and diving boots keep Bailey down ahead of a Millshot for a near-fall, before Bailey unleashed with some more kicks. A corkscrew press lands for a near-fall, as more kicks follow as Bailey began to dictate the pace.
Chops and uppercuts offered hope for Mills, including an up-kick and a rebound lariat as Bailey gets caught off guard. Bailey drops to a knee to block a suplex, then clung onto Mills’ leg as an inside cradle nearly put away Mills. Connor returns with a gamengiri as a Tower of London’s blocked, with a kick blasting Mills outside for a triangle moonsault.
Bailey pulls Mills up by the dreadlocks for some chops, before they headed up onto the stage as Bailey ran across with a PK to Mills. Oku gets in Bailey’s face as Mills leapt off the stage, over the crowd and into Bailey, before heading back inside… where he’s caught on the top rope.
A second time, Mills escapes Bailey, but avoids the Ultima Weapon before rolling through a tijeras for a near-fall. Mills’ head kick leads to a Burning Cutter, but Bailey lands on his feet and hits the moonsault double knees… then a buzzsaw kick, but it’s still not enough to put Mills away. Mills rolls out of a Flamingo driver and nails a Tower of London out of the corner, but Bailey kicks out at two…
…then rolled away from a 450 splash as a moonsault/fallaway slam ends up getting the win for Bailey. Some lovely stuff here as Mills was more than a “warm body” here, providing a real test for Bailey despite coming out with the loss. ***½
In and out in 90 minutes, this matinee show might not be one you’ll have gone out of your way to see, but there’s some pretty damn good wrestling on offer here as Rev Pro turned the heat up going into Uprising… and with nothing going north of 15 minutes nothing had a chance to outstay its welcome.