Mad Kurt looks to snatch Dan Moloney’s spot in the Southside Championship tournament final on the latest Epic Encounters.
Quick Results
Skye Smitson defeated Jamie Hayter via disqualification at 4:05 – Jamie Hayter retains the Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship (**)
Ricky Knight Jr. pinned JJ Gale in 11:34 (***¼)
Michael Oku & Connor Mills pinned Kenneth Halfpenny & Shaun Jackson in 8:25 (***)
Chris Ridgeway pinned TK Cooper in 11:46 (***)
Lee Hunter pinned Kid Lykos in 10:35 (***)
Dan Moloney defeated Mad Kurt via referee stoppage in 10:31 (**½)
We’re back at the Portsmouth School of Wrestling for this one, with Andy Quildan introducing us as Rev Pro inches closer to returning with fans. James Castle is back alongside him for commentary as they run down tonight’s card…
Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship: Skye Smitson vs. Jamie Hayter (c)
They’re starting out hot with this one – when they last met back in March, this went to a double count-out in about five minutes.
Smitson jumps Hayter during the introductions, but Hayter chases the challenger outside. When they return to the ring, Hayter unloads with elbows and kicks in the corner, before a slam left Skye on the mat. Gideon Grey trips Hayter in the ropes, providing a distraction as Smitson BOOTS Hayter down, before she cornered the champion. Hayter elbows out of a Fireman’s carry and DDTs Smitson for a two-count, but Smitson recovers quickly, only to lose a Dragon sleeper as Hayter clotheslines her way back in. Gideon Grey distracts the ref – and slides in his cane behind everyone’s back – but Smitson can’t use it as Hayter spotted it… then began to beat away on Hayter for the clear DQ. Much like the first time, this was more a bit to build up for the BIG match down the line, that will probably be no DQ going by the first matches… **
Promo vignette – Shota Umino is returning to Rev Pro this summer. He’d gone back to Japan at the start of the pandemic, and had been a request question in Rev Pro’s weekly Twitter FAQ. There’s your answer.
JJ Gale vs. Ricky Knight Jr.
RKJ took this match on as he continued to follow the “Ospreay path,” with Ospreay having had a match with JJ Gale earlier in this run of shows.
Knight starts by taking Gale into the ropes, then to the mat with a front chancery, but Gale escapes and tries for a waistlock takedown. Instead, Knight trips him and works in a toe hold, but Gale again escapes and tries to vault towards RKJ, eventually catching a dropkick for nary a one count. RKJ hits the springy ropes as he tries to catch out Gale, landing a superkick before a suplex lands. Kicks keep Gale down, as did a knee drop, before Knight just leathered Gale with a forearm shot. Knight works the arm a little as he then dumps Gale with a pendulum backbreaker, but Gale’s back up with some uppercuts, including a springboard European uppercut out of the corner.
Gale gets a near-fall from a superkick as he looked to push ahead on the Southside tournament finalist. Another uppercut caught RKJ in the corner, but a second one’s countered with an overhead belly-to-belly into the buckles. Knight trips Gale into the corner for a low dropkick through the Contender, as he then dragged him up to the top rope, looking for a superplex… but instead a brainbuster onto the top buckle led to an awkward landing for Gale. A draping DDT’s next, but Gale kicks out at two before he came back with a Destroyer out of nowhere. The pair get back to their feet, throwing right hands, but Knight’s edging ahead with forearms and a barrage of strikes before he ran into a superkick. RKJ shrugs it off and nails a Ligerbomb for a near-fall, before a Fire Thunder Driver’s escaped, with Gale instead nailing a backpack knee and a Falcon arrow.
RKJ kicks out at two from that, then avoids a springboard European uppercut as he turned it into a German suplex… before the Fire Thunder Driver planted Gale for the win. A solid effort from Gale, who continues to impress in his role – but there was no way RKJ wasn’t winning this. ***¼
Post-match, Knight tells us he picked Gale as he continued to compare himself to Will Ospreay – then vowed that next time we see him, he’ll be leaving with some hardware.
Kenneth Halfpenny & Shaun Jackson vs. Michael Oku & Connor Mills
Oku & Mills’ spot in the upcoming Great British Tag Team League is on the line here…
Halfpenny and Jackson attack before the bell – the referee formally starts things once Mills got himself to his feet, before a barrage of stomps from Jackson. Oku tries to make a save, but he gets dumped outside as Halfpenny and Jackson worked well, leading to a double-team STO on Mills for some near-falls. Mills remains cornered as Halfpenny and Jackson – who sadly weren’t using their T.E.A.M. moniker off of Rev Pro’s trainee shows – continued to wear down Mills, with Halfpenny doing his best BUSHI as he choked Mills with a t-shirt. Shaun Jackson distracts the ref as Halfpenny chokes on Mills in the corner, and the one-way traffic continued without the Contenders really feeling like they were on the doorstep to a win.
Yet again, Oku’s knocked off the apron, but Mills escapes what looked like the set-up to a 3D and clobbers Jackson with a lariat… before escaping Halfpenny as he finally got the tag out to Oku. A Codebreaker from Oku and a springboard moonsault lands for a near-fall, with Shaun Jackson barely breaking it up as Oku then had to fight the numbers game. The numbers go against Oku as a flurry of double-teams lead to a near-fall. Oku’s whipped into the corner, but evades charges from Halfpenny and Jackson, as Connor Mills springboards in to help out. There’s a dive from Mills to Jackson on the floor, while Halfpenny misses a shoulder charge in the corner as an Electric Chair drop/neckbreaker combo leaves Halfpenny prone for a frog splash from Oku for the win. A solid tag match with some good offence from the Contenders, but at the end of the day they were unable to steal that Great British Tag League spot. ***
Michael Oku channels some vintage Nigel McGuinness in his post-match promo, as he then asked that their team be called Destination:Everywhere when it comes to the tag league. Oku has designs on winning the tag titles while retaining the Cruiserweight title… Mills didn’t look quite as thrilled.
TK Cooper vs. Chris Ridgeway
This was TK’s return to Rev Pro, having last been seen on their shows in pre-pandemic times – his last outing a loss to the Legion pairing of Great-O-Khan and Rampage Brown back in February 2020.
Commentary noted that Ridgeway had designs on winning the Cruiserweight title… from the start, the pair lock up into the ropes, but Ridgeway grounds TK with a wristlock ahead of an armbar. TK manages to counter out, but Ridgeway regains control as a rear naked choke attempt ended with Ridgeway mounting TK ahead of an eventual rope break. Ridgeway grabs a knee bar on TK, but opts to torque the foot some more before a STF also ended in the ropes. The aggression continues, but TK finds a way free with a leaping leg lariat for a near-fall, but Ridgeway gets back in control, looking for a grounded side headlock on the New Zealander.
TK runs into a kitchen sink knee as he tries to build up some offence, as Ridgeway again boots him into the ropes as some well-placed kicks kept him ahead. A crossface wears down TK some more, before Ridgeway went back to the kicks as he looked to take away Cooper’s hopes of standing back up. Cooper blocks a kick and begins to find a way back in, landing some short clotheslines before a belly-to-belly overhead suplex left Ridgeway down. A big body attack cracks into Ridgeway for a near-fall. A springboard Quebrada from the outside in lands, but TK can’t make the cover at first and only gets a two-count.
Out of nowhere, Skye Smitson comes out to grab TK’s ankle… but Jamie Hayter runs out to resume their fight from earlier… and in among the melee, Screwface Ahmed and a returning Lucian Phillips runs in. Phillips hits a backbreaker, with Ahmed’s elbow drop and a Ridgeway PK getting the win. ***
So the Legion has a new member in the former Psycho Phillips – who I’ve not seen in over two years (at the ill-fated WrestlingDeutschland 2 show, while he was training in Germany with wXw).
Lee Hunter vs. Kid Lykos
Lykos demanded that Hunter face him for a shot at the Cruiserweight title, with some comments that were saturated in irony.
We’ve another before-the-bell attack as Lykos baited Hunter in to start… and it looked like a bad choice too as Lykos started on the defensive. Hunter stomps a mudhole on Lykos in the corner, but a kick back turned things around as Lykos just stands on Hunter in the opposite corner. Hunter responds with a clothesline, before Lykos wrapped himself around the ropes in a bid to protect himself. A boot out of the corner from Hunter led to him going up top, but Kid Lykos II distracts as Lykos I just boots Hunter in the knackers. A punt to the shoulder follows as Lykos worked the arm, wrenching away and striking it before he took Hunter down for an armbar.
Lykos keeps the laser-like focus on the left arm, but Hunter breaks the pattern with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two-count. Lykos is quickly back on Hunter, faking out a superkick before he went for a grounded Octopus that ended in the ropes. A brainbuster’s telegraphed as always, but Hunter ends up rolling up Lykos for a two-count, before an O’Connor roll was blocked with the help of Lykos II. The ref kicks away Lykos II, but the O’Connor roll’s countered as Lykos grabbed the rights. That and a kick to the face can’t get the job done, so he goes back to the arm and the grounded Octopus, but again the pair rolled into the ropes to force a break.
Hunter nails a powerslam as he found an opening, before a superkick saw Lykos beckon in Lykos II for a distraction. Hunter avoids a low blow, hits two of his own, then pulled up Lykos for a reverse DDT for the win. It’s some unusual shady tactics from Hunter that sees him beat Lykos at his own game – and earned himself a shot at Michael Oku’s Cruiserweight title. ***
Mad Kurt vs. Dan Moloney
Moloney got baited into putting his place in the Southside Championship Tournament final on the line here… and just imagine the reaction if it’s Mad Kurt vs. Ricky Knight Jr. in the final after that entire build up…
We’ve an inset promo from Dan Moloney, who’s a little annoyed at how Mad Kurt’s still a thing in his world. Meanwhile, we witnessed Mad Kurt’s voice breaking as he did his own entrance. Mad Kurt sits on the turnbuckles as the match starts, so we don’t get a 15-second squash…
When we do start, Moloney just charges Kurt into the ropes and throws him outside… there’s a shot for Dan Magee too, who got Mad Kurt dumped onto him for good measure. Chops wreck Kurt on the outside, before he’s press slammed through the ropes and back inside, where he’s snapmared and punted in the back. Uppercuts keep Kurt down, as did a belly-to-belly toss, but Dan pulls him up at two… which usually ends up being the kiss of death in these matches. Stomps to the hands look to make sure Kurt can’t tweet, before Kurt got hung up in the ropes after getting knocked loopy from a chop. A one-handed press slam drops Kurt again as Moloney was having fun here, leading to a headbutt and a cobra clutch that bent Kurt over his knee.
That’s turned into a ripcord shoulder charge, with Dan going back to bloody Kurt’s hands with stomps. A knee to the gut keeps Moloney ahead as Kurt tried his luck with a roll-up, before a Codebreaker out of the corner surprised Moloney again. Dan charges in, but gets booted, then hits the corner before Mad Kurt went for the sleeperhold…
But lightning doesn’t strike twice. Nor thrice, as Kurt reapplies it, but Moloney fights back from his knee and backs into the corner to break it up. Kurt goes back to it, but his foot’s stomped on before he rolled Moloney down in a rear naked choke out of the corner, forcing Moloney to roll back as he tried to get a pin while in the hold. After the kick-out, Kurt slaps away on Dan, but just gets ragdolled into a series of powerbombs, as a hattrick led to the KO stoppage. Thanks for coming Mad Kurt. A fun squash, unless you had Kurtis Chapman on your trunks. **½
After the match, Mad Kurt was checked on as Dan Moloney grabbed a keyboard… and tossed it across the ring. He tells Andy Quildan that he’s had enough of the games, accusing him of “wasting his time,” as Moloney prepared for that Iron Fist match for the Southside title. That’s a 30-minute Iron Man match that can also end on a KO – with Moloney having a 1-0 lead by way of winning block A of the tournament. Got that? We’re told that match will be at Epic Encounters 12 as they recap the card we just saw. Epic Encounters 12 will have Hunter vs. Oku for the Cruiserweight title, Moloney vs. RKJ in the Iron Fist match… while Hayter vs. Smitson will be a no-DQ match for the title on Rev Pro’s first scheduled show back at the sold-out London Cockpit on July 4.
The eleventh Epic Encounters was a rather breezy watch as Rev Pro continue to while away the time before they (hopefully) return with fans in July. While the presentation may be too straight-laced for some, both in terms of visuals and how they do the product, these Epic Encounters continue to be some of the better booked empty arena shows out there – and with all of them having been free, hopefully it’s able to be parlayed into some business as we hit the summer return.