Rev Pro made their debut in Doncaster with a stacked card that saw Luke Jacobs defend the British Heavyweight title against Tomohiro Ishii.
Quick Results
Will Kaven pinned Cameron Khai to retain the Rev Pro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship in 11:12 (***)
Titan & Hiromu Takahashi pinned JJ Gale & Callum Newman in 13:46 (***)
AZM pinned Kanji in 12:39 (***¼)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Zozaya & Leon Slater pinned Connor Mills, Gabe Kidd & Jay Joshua in 15:01 (***)
Yota Tsuji pinned Mascara Dorada in 13:03 (***¼)
Zack Sabre Jr. submitted Robbie X in 16:45 (***½)
Mina Shirakawa submitted Lizzy Evo to retain the Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship in 14:13 (***¼)
Michael Oku pinned Ricky Knight Jr. in 23:03 (****)
Luke Jacobs defeated Tomohiro Ishii via referee stoppage to retain the Rev Pro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship in 21:04 (***¾)
— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com
It’s a new town for Rev Pro as they’ve headed up the M1 and beyond to the Dome in Doncaster – yes, the same place 1PW used to run. Commentary comes from NOT Andy Quildan, instead we’ve a debut for Dave Bradshaw alongside Leyton Buzzard.
Rev Pro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship: Cameron Khai vs. Will Kaven (c)
Khai was “gifted” this title shot by Lio Rush after Sheffield a few weeks back… but Lio’s getting his shot down the line after winning the British J Cup last month. Meanwhile, Will Kaven had a hell of a tribute to that one fan in the front row of every wXw show. Middle fingers for the masses…
Starting off with a flurry of strikes, Kaven had Khai covering up before Cameron got all flippy into a low superkick. Heading outside, a tope from Khai took out Kaven in the entrance way, as did a moonsault, while a flying clothesline to the back of the head saw him pick up a two-count back inside.
Kaven recovered with a back suplex onto the side of the ring, then a butterfly suplex into the buckles as the crowd started to get to him. An ushigoroshi out of nowhere cuts off Kaven, ahead of Khai’s rolling Northern Lights suplexes that turned into some restrained stomps to the collarbone. Khai’s Falcon arrow doesn’t quite do the deal, before the pair connected with leaping knees at the same time.
A huge pop-up Ligerbomb almost nicked the win for Khai, before an attempted Pingshot cutter onto the edge of the ring was caught and turned into a tombstone. Narrowly beating a count-out, Khai had his face spat on… and returned with a trio of knees that almost put Kaven away, before a Pingshot cutter led to Kaven getting his foot to the rope to save the match.
Unperturbed, Khai Heads up top for something or other, but Kaven crotched him in the ropes, then brought him down with an avalanche tombstone for the pin. This made sense putting out there first given it was perhaps the match that was never going to travel well – but the pair put on a good effort here, with Kaven picking up the clean win to frustrate Khai once again. ***
Callum Newman & JJ Gale vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Titan)
It’s a reunion between Newman and Gale – whose tag team in Rev Pro didn’t exactly have the best win-loss run, but has so far proved to have inspired both men’s singles careers.
Gale and Titan start us off, heading into the ropes as Gale rolled through a tornado DDT before the pair reached a stalemate. Tags bring in Newman and Hiromu, and it’s Hiromu who drew first blood with a tijeras after kicking the ropes into Newman’s throat. A front kick bought Callum some time, ahead of a corkscrew springboard senton from Gale as the LIJ tandem looked to be on the defensive.
A quick turnaround from Hiromu blitzed through Gale and Newman as Titan came in with a stomp off the top to the arm of Gale. Some misdirection ahead of a diving kick to a seated Gale followed from Titan, before a wishbone leg splitter from Hiromu continued to keep Gale on the back foot.
Gale tries to chop his way back into things, but Hiromu was more than even to it before a wheelbarrow stomp finally carved JJ an opening. Newman tags in to go to work on Hiromu, and also had to deal with an onrushing Titan, landing a hiptoss into a neckbreaker before he refocused on Hiromu. Newman had more luck with chops on Hiromu, taking him into the corner before an exchange ended with a standing Spanish Fly from Newman.
Tags brought us back to Gale and Titan as a diving European uppercut took Titan into the corner… a superkick drops him ahead of a springboard split-legged moonsault for a near-fall, before Newman’s stomp off the top set up for a backpack knee strike that almost won it.
A dive from Hiromu to the outside almost sees the crowd eat guardrails, before Gale got double-teamed with a through-the-corner clothesline from Titan, who returned for a kneedrop off the top rope for another two-count. Recovering, a tornado DDT and a front suplex from Titan helped him on his way to a near-fall on Gale, before a big stomp off the top went through Gale for the win in a decent enough tag match, but one that never really threatened to get into any kind of high gear. ***
Post-match, Hiromu had a brief reunion with Daryl… while Gale and Newman shared a handshake… before Charlie Sterling hit the ring and attacked Gale. Eventually referees hit the ring to separate the pair after a pull-up death valley driver to Gale… even drawing out the New Japan ref Taito Nakabayashi.
Kanji vs. AZM
Fortunately, nobody said “eh zed em”…
Opening with a tie-up after the ring bell took its time to get hit, Kanji ended up absorbing a series of shoulder tackles before AZM charged her down. A pair of kip-ups take us to a stand-off, before things spilled outside for a quick plancha from Kanji.
Back inside, Kanji stayed on AZM, wearing her opponent down with kicks before AZM tripped up Kanji and scored with a kick to the head. That’s followed up with an apron PK, before a scrap in the ropes ended with Kanji getting caught with an Octopus stretch on the top rope. Bloody hell.
AZM focused on the arm some more with a Fujiwara armbar, only for Kanji to fight out… and get taken back down with a suplex. Missing a stomp off the top, AZM’s tripped up by Kanji, whose attempt at a Kimura turned into a hybrid with a manjigatame. Breaking the hold, AZM charged into the corner before a superkick left both women laying.
Back-and-forth elbows end with a Dragon screw out of Kanji, taking AZM onto the apron ahead of some chops to AZM in the ropes… but another turn around sees AZM land that stomp off the top, before some wizardry from Kanji led to a bridging clutch for a near-fall… only for a Mistica from AZM into a roll-up to lead to the win. This was pretty good, but absolutely not helped by the lukewarm crowd. I suspect that win will put AZM in pole position for a title shot? ***¼
They announced live that Lio Rush was off the show due to travel difficulties… but Mascara Dorada will still be in action.
Gabe Kidd, Connor Mills & Jay Joshua vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Zozaya & Leon Slater
The week started with Hiroshi Tanahashi announcing his retirement in January 2026… and ends in Doncaster. The meaner-spirited of you may connect the dots there.
After a jump start, we started with Kidd and Zozaya in the ring, but Zozaya’s able to avoid a Bull lariat attempt before a front flip into a dropkick caught out Kidd. Leon Slater’s in next to go for Connor Mills, diving with a baseball slide ahead of a handspring back elbow to Mills.
Jay Joshua’s in next after Mills scarpered away from Slater’s dive… and we’ve a big Rampage Brown/Buzz Sawyer slam from Joshua to put his mark on things. Joshua throws Slater into the corner so he could have a go with Tanahashi – perhaps wanting to see just how good Tana’s no-knees are?
Instead, Joshua got to face Zozaya, whose delayed back body drop took him down before Joshua’s chops looked to soften the Spaniard. After dealing with Joshua and Kidd, Zozaya’s caught on the top rope with a superplex. Mills is back to work a spinning toe hold on Zozaya, while stopping to poke fun at Tanahashi en route to a bridging Indian deathlock. Distractions from Mills unsight the referee as Kidd and Joshua snuck in cheapshots, before Kidd won out on a chop battle with Zozaya.
Joshua’s back to hit an elevated Dragon suplex to Zozaya for a near-fall, before Zozaya cleared the way free from Mills to bring in Slater. Leon’s running wild with leaping forearms and leg lariats to Mills, but it’s not long before tags got us to Tanahashi and Joshua. A slam and a flip senton off the middle ropes awaited the Welshman, before a Twist and Shout neckbreaker took down Mills.
Kidd ran his mouth and paid the price as he bore the brunt, before Leon Slater helped Tanahashi back to the corner so he could tag in. He took too long on a swanton 450 as the tables quickly turned as Zozaya came in to break up the pin on a Bull lariat. Tanahashi eventually returns to even the numbers out as part of the Parade of Moves, leading to a delayed Ki Krusher on Slater for a near-fall.
A Spanish Fly-like armdrag from Zozaya takes out Mills as Leon Slater’s over-the-post dive to Kidd and Joshua on the floor led to a High Fly Flow from Tanahashi for the win. Perfectly fine, but on this form watching Tanahashi’s retirement tour is going to be so depressing going by how badly he moved at times here. ***
Post-match, Tanahashi took the mic and put over Zozaya and Slater before… the stream died. It returned to Tanahashi confirming his retirement after next year… but he promised to return once final time to Rev Pro.
Mascara Dorada vs. Yota Tsuji
Yota Tsuji was the late replacement for Lio Rush, and that got a huge reaction…
This gave us a sample of Tsuji’s excursion to Mexico as he and Dorada started off pretty even, at least until a handshake from Tsuji turned into a cheapshot. Dorada took things outside for a WILD corkscrew plancha… but that perhaps backfired as Tsuji just wrecked the guardrails by launching Dorada into them.
Tsuji takes Dorada into the crowd, then bowled him into some seats before they took the long way back into the ring, where Tsuji then began to toy with Dorada’s mask, loosening the laces to the point where we almost saw Dorada’s face. After replacing the mask, Dorada’s hung into a Tree of Woe for a baseball slide, before Dorada hit back with an overhand chop.
An eye poke from Tsuji proved an effective reply, only for Dorada to armdrag Tsuji outside for a tope into that battered guard rail. Back inside, Tsuji’s backbreaker and curb stomp had Dorada in a heap, as did a tiltawhirl backbreaker and a short-arm clothesline. Another curb stomp kept Tsuji ahead, only for Dorada to find his way in with a dropkick and a sit-out Dominator for a near-fall.
Dorada came even closer from a Code Red, before he dragged Tsuji into the corner for a 450 splash… instead switching it up as he crashed and burned on a shooting star press, with Tsuji getting the knees up before cradling Dorada for the win. ***¼
Robbie X vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
We’ve a homecoming here from Zack Sabre Jr after his victory over Tetsuya Naito this past Monday for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship… only the second Brit to hold that title. Also on the table here was the story from a couple of weeks ago, where Robbie X had been teasing he was the mystery new man in TMDK… that didn’t happen, but there’s an offer on the table apparently. Although from WHO?
Sabre instantly took Robbie X to the mat as commentary felt like they were telling off the fans for assuming Robbie was X for TMDK last month. A side headlock on the mat’s pushed out of, before Robbie’s leapfrog was pulled down as another exchange had Sabre backing away from him.
Headscissors from Sabre on the mat are eventually scooted out of by Robbie X, who then took Sabre onto the apron for a handspring kick and a plancha to the floor. A prompt return inside with a senton atomico just got Robbie a one-count though, while a standing moonsault got a little more after Sabre was caught off-guard with a kick.
Going back to his usual playbook, Sabre’s half crab quickly ends in the ropes, before a dropkick from Robbie X caught the new IWGP champion as he came off the ropes. A backflip kick followed, as did a Molly Go Round, but it wasn’t enough to cause the seismic upset. In return, Sabre twisted at Robbie’s neck, only to get taken into the corner for the Beyblade kick and a swinging DDT as Sabre again was looking to take Robbie lightly.
Robbie looked for the finishing touch with an X-Claimation, only for Sabre to counter into a triangle armbar… morphing it into a double armbar as Robbie squirmed into the ropes to force the break. Kicks from Sabre eventually baited Robbie into a comeback, where he lands that X-Claimation for a near-fall… before a roll-up with a handful of tights nearly stole the win.
Instead, a Finlay roll from Robbie X lands, but Sabre got the knees up on a moonsault and returned with a PK before a bridging Dragon suplex almost put away Robbie X. A backslide from Robbie X provides some hope, but he doesn’t move away from the kick-out and got tied in knots by Sabre for the submission. Whether it was a verbal submission or a ref stoppage is moot, but this almost felt like Robbie was on a hiding to nothing here – the crowd only wanted to see Sabre’s victory parade, and at times it felt like there was hardly anything Robbie X could have done to change that. ***½
Post-match, Sabre took the mic and addressed the whole “Robbie X wasn’t the mystery man in TMDK” thing from last month. That then morphed into Sabre formally offering Robbie a spot in TMDK, if only to even out the Aussie slant in the group, but after the crowd got a chant going, Robbie took a handshake… then threw away the shirt. Maybe there’s another Club he’s thinking of going to?
Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship: Lizzy Evo vs. Mina Shirakawa (c)
Evo got this shot after beating Dani Luna at the 229 earlier in the month… and it’s Mina’s first defence of the title that she won at the Copperbox two months ago.
Shirakawa shows off early, knee sliding under a clothesline attempt before Evo pulled her down by the hair. Some rope choking from Evo sees her take the mickey, only for Mina to trip her to the floor for some chops. Back inside, a seated dropkick put Evo back in charge, trapping Mina into a camel clutch, then into a Dragon sleeper with some hammer elbows either side of it.
More hair pulling from Evo eventually starts a fight back, but she resists a headscissor takedown before Shirakawa threw a kick at Evo’s leg. A stomp to the back of the knees followed, as did a Figure Four as Evo was forced into the ropes for a break. Evo couldn’t get much going afterwards though, at least until a front kick sank Mina before a running knee almost put Mina away.
Mina’s quickly back with a Figure Four, but yet again Evo drags her way to the ropes for a break, before some rope-walking from Mina led to a diving knee to the arm for another two-count. Another crack at a Figure Four’s avoided as Evo tried to make a comeback, ducking a backfist before hitting a back suplex… only for a springboard enziguiri from Mina to leave both women laying.
Evo’s trying to fight off a dead leg as she got back to her feet, eventually getting up top for a missile dropkick for a near-fall. A headbutt knocks down Mina as a diving uppercut nearly took the win, before Mina found her way back in with a third Figure Four leg lock, which again ended in the ropes. From there, a Magic Screw kept Mina on top, before an implant DDT only got a one-count.
That defiant kick-out led to nought though, as Mina’s right back with the Figure Four, and this time it was too much for Evo to fight out of as Shirakawa forced the submission. A solid first defence for Mina as yet another member of the Cut Throat Collective racked up an unsuccessful crack at the titles. ***¼
Ricky Knight Jr. vs. Michael Oku
This one’s for a shot at the title… and with Oku having said he’s not going anywhere til he’s had another crack at the title he lost in August, there’s a lot of moving parts here.
A tentative start sees RKJ control things with the basics, taking Oku to the ropes with a waistlock before throwing a stinging chop on the break. Returning with a tijeras, Oku had Ricky rocked ahead of a missile dropkick, before a follow-up crossbody off the top was caught and turned into a death valley driver into the corner.
RKJ’s running dropkick almost took Oku to the outside… as Ricky then piled on the pressure with a draping DDT for a near-fall. A stalling suplex keeps Oku on the back foot, while a hard Irish whip into the buckle sent Oku flailing over the top to the floor. Following on, chops to Oku left RKJ feeling buoyant.
Back inside, Oku’s bounced into the buckles again before he finally mounted a response, booting RKJ out of the corner before scoring with a satellite DDT. Oku adds a series of charging dropkicks by the ropes, then a pair of Quebradas for a two-count, before RKJ hit back with a big boot and a back senton after he teased a Fire Thunder driver.
Oku connected with an overhead kick before a double clothesline left both men laying, before Oku found that his chops were having little effect. Unlike Ricky’s. After some biting, a misdirection knee bought Oku time, taking RKJ outside for an eventual Fosbury Flop… which RKJ caught before he found himself knocked into the crowd as Oku hit a springboard moonsault into the front row.
RKJ rolls outside to avoid a frog splash, but ended up in trouble as Oku went for an El Generico dive through the buckles… only to get caught with a brainbuster on the floor. Now it’s RKJ’s time to go off the top back inside, hitting a 450 splash for a near-fall, which seemed to spark up chants from the mostly-silenced RKJ fanbase.
Heading up top, Oku’s top rope ‘rana’s caught and turned into an avalanche Styles Clash, but Oku’s foot got to the rope and was thankfully spotted by the referee – because the recently-deposed champion was toast. RKJ tries to capitalise with a Fire Thunder drive, but Oku cradles out… only to get wiped out with a lariat. From there, RKJ looks for a knee trembler, and nails a diving knee at the second try, before another crack at the Fire Thunder driver was avoided.
Only for Oku to go for a springboard moonsault… which was caught and turned into the driver for a near-fall. Somehow Oku’s surviving as we’re 20-minutes deep, but RKJ teases going up top for an avalanche Fire Thunder driver… only for Oku to counter with a swinging DDT, then with a half crab from the kick-out. The ropes save RKJ, but Oku stayed on him with a frog splash to the back… then one to the front… then another one… and that’s enough to book Oku another shot at the title. Starting slowly, the crowd took their time to get warmed to this, but once things got cooking – as the kids say – the pieces finally fell into place. ****
Rev Pro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Luke Jacobs (c)
Luke’s never beaten Ishii, with two high profile matches – and losses – last year… if third time isn’t the charm, we’re getting a new champion tonight. Also, it’s a little jarring that the history books don’t get to show this as his first defence, thanks to the impromptu match with Rambo in Germany…
A steady start sees both men get taken into the ropes from collar and elbow tie-ups, before they traded shoulder blocks ahead of them teeing off on each other with elbows. There’s almost no give between the pair ahead of a slam and back senton from Jacobs, which finally kept Ishii on the deck.
Jacobs wears down Ishii with elbows in the corner, but the former champion’s able to fire back after that storm, charging down Jacobs before Luke absorbed a series of chops… then returned the favour. The exchange only increased from there as Luke began to get bloodied from those chops before he booted Ishii down off the ropes.
A snap back suplex has Ishii laying, but he’s right back up as he took a barrage of forearms from Jacobs… then laid him out with a singular shot. Ishii’s powerslam off the ropes followed, but Luke’s able to return with an enziguri and a strong death valley driver that almost put Ishii away. We’re back to strikes, this time in the form of clotheslines going back-and-forth, until Ishii ran into a pop-up powerbomb.
Ishii kicks out at two, but Jacobs stays on him with a sliding lariat for a near-fall, before another brief exchange of strikes ended with an elbow from Ishii to leave both men laying. Next up… Ishii caught Luke up top for a delayed avalanche brainbuster, following with another lariat as Jacobs’ title reign was starting to slip.
Things escalate with sickening headbutts that left both men laying, but they’re able top get up for more of the same, ending with a rear naked choke from Jacobs to take Ishii down… but this time a sliding lariat misses as Ishii hits a lariat… then a sliding lariat of his own for a near-fall. Another Ishii lariat only garners a one-count, as Luke ripcorded back in for a headbutt as he then found out – you can’t piledrive a man with no neck!
Ishii’s right back up, but a clothesline to the back of the head takes him down again as Luke teed up for one big bomb… pulling up Ishii for a brainbuster, except that’s getting a one-count out of the challenger. An elbow stops any chance of a comeback, as Luke again trades headbutts before a lariat laid out Ishii ahead of a piledriver… before a rear naked choke forced the referee stoppage. A good match, but like most of the show, not helped on the live stream by a crowd that didn’t seem to get invested until the home stretch – as Luke finally exorcised last year’s losses to Big Tom Ish. ***¾
Post-match, we’ve got the obligatory staredown between Jacobs and a still-battle-scarred Oku. Cue “My Way,” and we’ve got the main event sorted for December’s Uprising at York Hall!
Global Wars 2024 was a strange show – and one that your perception of will likely change depending on whether you were there live or not. I’ve got a lot of thoughts to unpack, which I’ll likely put into a column or a podcast down the road… On stream, the energy of the Doncaster crowd seemed really low, and that hampered a lot of the card. Storyline-wise, we at least ended with a strong declaration of the main event going into December… whereas elsewhere the only other big storyline for Rev Pro seemed to be on how concise Will Kaven was in his win over Cameron Khai, which surely sets the stage for Kaven/Rush.