The day after the British J-Cup saw Rev Pro return to London as Alex Windsor took on Gisele Shaw for the Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship.
Quick Results
Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper pinned Michael Oku & Connor Mills in 15:46 (***½)
Debbie Keitel pinned Kira Chimera in 5:00 (**½)
Yota Tsuji pinned Lucian Phillips in 11:49 (**¾)
Mike Bailey pinned Luke Jacobs in 10:22 (****)
Brendan White & Doug Williams pinned David Francisco & Joshua James in 13:33 (**¾)
Ricky Knight Jr. pinned JJ Gale in 7:46 (***¼)
Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis pinned Callum Newman, Lee Hunter & Robbie X in 16:21 (***¾)
Alex Windsor submitted Gisele Shaw in 19:44 to win the Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship (***¾)
We’re back at the 229 in London for a show that’ll provide the fall-out to the British J-Cup and most of the building blocks for Uprising later in the month. Andy Quldan and Gideon Grey are on commentary once again…
Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper) vs. Destination Everywhere (Connor Mills & Michael Oku)
“Can they co-exist?” is a legitimate question here after Michael Oku eliminated Connor Mills in the British J-Cup final the prior night…
We’ve got a nice bit of Gorilla Monsoon and the Brain on commentary to start Oku and TK began the feeling out process. A strait jacket choke from TK, then a wristlock followed, but Oku returns the favour as talk of Cagematch quickly ended with a TK dropkick. Oku replies with a tijeras, then a dropkick to Mambo, before Mills came in to build up some momentum. Mills gets a two-count off a dropkick before Oku returned… and took the Macho Man stun gun as TK tagged in on the way over. Cooper’s able to capitalise as the Sunshine Machine lads hit knee drops to both of Oku’s arms, with Mambo following with a trip as a Romero special ended up propelling Oku into a Flatliner on the way out.
A suplex floats Oku across the ring for a two-count, before Oku leapt over TK… only to get jumped on by Mambo as the Sunshine Machine continued to isolate the Cruiserweight champion. Oku manages to return with a frog splash crossbody, which bought him enough time to tag in Mills… just as TK tagged in too. Mills boots Mambo off the apron so he could focus on TK, hitting a Quebrada into TK before he dove out of the ring into Mambo on the outside. A springboard uppercut back in lands for a near-fall on TK, before a Burning Cutter’s blocked by TK, who came in with pinning attempts… a Gory Bomb Flatliner combo’s escaped by Mills, but Oku tagged himself back in as Mills went up top… Mills hits his frog splash, but Oku stops his as Mills and Oku ended up leaping outside for headbutts and superkicks.
The B-Roll back inside neary puts away Oku, before a Burning Hammer gutbuster was blocked by Oku… who countered back with a half crab instead. TK breaks it up as he threw Mills off his back into the pile… Oku manages to return fire with chops, before dual superkicks just tied up Oku and Mambo to start a big ol’ Parade of Moves, ending with a rebound lariat from Mills and dualling frog splashes leave no advantage. Mambo and Oku swing for the fences, leading to more superkicks, then stereo 450 splashes as we reset… Oku follows with a frog splash, but Mills tried to take the pin, except he’s not legal. Oku only gets a two-count from that, then went back to the half crab… but Oku’s pushed off and met with a pop-up Samoan drop, while Mills took a propelled wheelbarrow German suplex.
From there, Oku’s picked up for a Burning Gutbuster, and that’s enough for the win as Destination Everywhere slowly seem to be falling apart. Sunshine Machine have really come along in leaps and bounds since “the restart,” building together their tag team work – which hopefully pays off with some hardware soon. ***½
Debbie Keitel vs. Kira Chimera
Chimera was a late substitute for this one, as Debbie Keitel continued her push towards a Women’s title shot…
Keitel slaps Chimera at the bell, before she was taken into the corner. Kira breaks cleanly, before the pair kick each other in the leg as Chimera looked to pull ahead with a kick to the back, then a double sledge for a two-count. Chimera’s caught in the ropes with a dropkick as Keitel refused to let her out, as stomps kept Chimera down in the ropes.
Keitel continues to target the knee, but Chimera retaliates with knee strikes from the clinch before a cravat knee and a forearm took Keitel down. Again heading up top, Chimera manages to land a tornado suplex for a near-fall, only for Keitel to waffle her in response with a knee of her own. Chimera manages to flip Keitel with a Stunner for a near-fall, before Keitel fought out of a DDT and hit a sitout Pedigree for the win. Short, but it did what it needed to do as Chimera proved to be no pushover here. **½
After the match, Keitel asks for the mic but has to fight the crowd to be heard at first, complaining over how Alex Windsor’s got “her shot,” before mentioning how she’d earned her shot back in 2019… beating people she couldn’t name for legal reasons… then called out whomever the women’s champion is at York Hall.
Lucian Phillips vs. Yota Tsuji
This one was made after Phillips attacked Tsuji the prior evening – as Yota’s continuing to spurn the Legion’s advances.
Phillips jumps Tsuji before the bell, as we open with back-and-forth forearms before Tsuji got chopped. They go back and forth as Phillips took Tsuji to his knees, before shoulder tackles and back elbows dropped Phillips ahead of the Mount Tsuji splash. A big boot from Phillips has Tsuji down for a two-count as Phillips proceeded to kick Tsuji when he’s down. Tsuji’s kept down with a backbreaker, but he eventually fought back in, kicking Phillips down ahead of a shoulder tackle, with a slam following for a two-count. Phillips is rolled over for a Boston crab next, but was able to get to the ropes before he caught a tijeras and powerbombed Tsuji instead.
Tsuji’s caught with a pop-up knee and a clothesline after that, before he had to fight out of a chokeslam… only to spin Phillips into a backfist. A sit-out chokeslam’s next as Phillips nearly won it, but Tsuji gets back in it, trading strikes before Tsuji went for the chest hair. Someone’s been watching too much ELP… Tsuji flips out of a chokeslam, then hit a suplex in return, following up with a spear… before going up top and… HOLY SHOOTING STAR PRESS… and that’s the win! A hard-fought win for Tsuji, whose dalliances with the Legion seem to be never-ending… **¾
Especially because Gideon keeps flirting with Tsuji afterwards… and ends up with an offer: Tsuji wants a match with Gideon at Uprising in York Hall; if Tsuji loses, he joins the Legion, otherwise the Legion disbands. Those Legion t-shirts may become collector’s items soon…
Luke Jacobs vs. Mike Bailey
We’ve a rematch of the final two from the prior night’s British J-Cup, as Mike Bailey made his first London appearance since December 2019.
They picked up where they left off in Stevenage, lighting each other up with forearms to start with. A dropsault from Bailey took Jacobs onto the apron, which he was then booted off of before a lariat dropped the Canadian on the outside. Things spill outside briefly, before a half-and-half suplex dumped Bailey for barely a one-count. Jacobs roughs up Bailey in the ropes, then took him down for another one-count, before a Figure Four grounded Bailey in the middle of the ring. After getting free, Bailey’s decked with an elbow strike, then another, before the cavalcade of kicks left Jacobs down on his knees. More kicks drop Jacobs, who eats a running corkscrew press for a near-fall, before he ducked an enziguiri and hauled up Bailey for some German suplexes.
Another half-and-half suplex folds Bailey in half, but he’s back with another series of kicks that Jacobs replies to with more chops… before he avoided an Ultima Weapon. A handspring’s countered, but Bailey flips out of a German suplex, then took Jacobs outside for a triangle moonsault. The pair pick up on the apron, trading kicks and chops like there was no tomorrow, leading to an apron powerbomb as Jacobs almost won it… a second one in the ring gets ‘rana’d out of to spark back and forth pins, before a buzzsaw kick keeps Bailey in it… a running corkscrew roundhouse has Jacobs down, but Bailey misses another Ultima Weapon, getting clotheslined in the process as Jacobs resorts to another wild lariat.
Bailey still kicks out, and surprises Jacobs with the moonsault/fallaway slam… and that ends a hell of a sprint. They packed SO MUCH into their ten minutes without this feeling like it was overly “movez” heavy – and if you’re looking for a good sample of the current scene, well, this ought to be on your playlist. ****
David Francisco & Joshua James vs. Brendan White & Doug Williams
Francisco and James are the first of the new class of Contenders in Rev Pro – with Francisco first wrestling in the UK some six years ago, while James has been around Rev Pro for a while, working their Contenders shows in addition to other promotions around the South.
We open with Williams and Francisco tying up into the ropes, with Francisco offering a handshake on the break. A toe hold from Francisco has Doug down, but Williams counters up into a side headlock, with the headscissors escape leading to another escape as we race through those again before tags brought us to Brendan and Joshua. This feels, erm, GOOD…
A lock-up from James took White into the corner, before they head into the ropes as James grabbed a side headlock. Things switch up into shoulder tackles from there, before James eventually Herc’d up White for a slam that caused a brief silence! James hits the ropes for more shoulder tackles, but White knocked him down, then hit a slam, before a back senton squished him for a two-count. Doug tags in and drops a knee on James for a two-count, before James’ limbs were worked over. A neckbreaker from White’s good for a two-count, as James was just being left isolated… just before he flew in with a shotgun dropkick to White. Francisco’s back in to land a neckbreaker for a two-count, while a legdrop from Francisco and a splash from James nearly won it.
Francisco returns again to wear down White, but he needs help on a suplex… but White ends up suplexing them both on his own. Williams tags back in to hit a leaping uppercut on James, then an Exploder for a two-count, before he teased a Chaos Theory on James. Instead, Doug gets a two-count out of an inside cradle, before James and Francisco combined for another near-fall on the veteran. A quick turnaround from White sees him nearly put away Francisco with a backbreaker, before James gets tossed outside, leaving the formerly Fantastic one prone in the corner for clotheslines, as a slingshot into a Black Hole Slam from White gets the win. A decent enough tag match as the new class of Contenders started life with a predictable defeat. **¾
Post-match, James and Francisco are interviewed by ring announcer Francesca… but they’re interrupted by some of the last class of Contenders. Yep, it’s Kenneth Halfpenny and Shaun Jackson in their jackets, and they’re here to provide a sarcastic welcoming party. They patronise the newcomers, and demand a handshake… but instead we get fisticuffs as I guess that’ll be their first feud.
JJ Gale vs. Ricky Knight Jr.
An unadvertised match as JJ Gale looked to get back on track after going out to Connor Mills in the first round of the British J-Cup.
Gale locks up with RKJ into the ropes as he looked to work the wrist early… but RKJ switches out and charged Gale down with a shoulder tackle. Dropkicks and back sentons squash Gale, whose early momentum was well and truly quelled, while a stalling suplex drew a two-count for Knight. A chop in the ropes lit up Gale, before an eye poke annoyed Gale… who ends up eating a dropkick and a punt to the back for good measure. RKJ’s death valley driver into the corner follows, then a pair of dropkicks lead to a draping DDT for a near-fall.
RKJ takes some uppercuts in response, including a springboard uppercut, but it’s only enough for a two-count as RKJ headed outside… and got caught with a tope con giro. Back inside, Gale rolls through a 450 splash, then gets dumped with a clothesline before a sit-out powerbomb almost put him away… as RKJ then planted him with a Fisherman DDT that made him a little shorter, yet still didn’t end things. RKJ goes for the Fire Thunder Driver, but Gale escapes… returning with some elbows that just wound up Knight some more, as he decked him with a rear spin kick, a release Tiger suplex, a punt… and then the Fire Thunder Driver for the win. Very aggressive, very squashy as RKJ looked to stake another claim for Will Ospreay’s title with this. ***¼
Callum Newman, Lee Hunter & Robbie X vs. United Empire (Kyle Fletcher, Mark Davis & Will Ospreay)
Newman was a late substitute for Dean Allmark in the originally-advertised match..
Live, I remarked “good luck recapping this,” and of course… I’ve gotta try, right? Much like his the Empire’s match in Stevenage was right out of the holiday camp show, this one was much more aimed at the “Internet fan,” as it were. From Ospreay offering Callum Newman a spot on his team (because he had a hand in training him), before berating him as a “budget Will Ospreay” to lead to the match shooting out of the blocks. A tijeras from Newman has Ospreay down early on, before Lee Hunter came in to whip Ospreay between the corners ahead of a big back body drop. Such a simple move, but I always get a kick out of it. Ospreay returned with a jaw breaker as Kyle Fletcher came in… but was instantly taken down by Hunter, then got isolated for a bit as quick tags cycled the “Dream Team.”
Fletcher has to kick out from a Hunter crossbody, before Hunter kicked Mark Davis away… following in with a Blockbuster off the top for a two-count. Things spill into the crowd, as Ospreay threw some merch at Newman, while Davis looked to flatten Hunter with slams and back sentons. That leaves Hunter isolated at the Empire’s mercy, eventually with Hunter getting free with a neckbreaker before tags got us to Robbie X and Mark Davis. Robbie tries to clothesline through Davis, before he tried to Herc him up in a Fireman’s carry. A kick to the leg and the head in the corner ratchets up the pace, while Kyle Fletcher got summarily dispatched before Davis got Herc’d up into a death valley driver as a running shooting star nearly ended this. CHRIST.
Chops from Robbie X are responded to in kind, with Davis eventually getting knocked down, before tags bring us back to Ospreay and Newman trading forearms. The pace quickens again, but a hiptoss and a low dropkick gives Newman a two-count, but Ospreay returns fire with a springboard forearm before Newman blocked the Chelsea Kiss. Robbie X and Lee Hunter flood the ring to triple-team Ospreay, leading to a Spiral Tap and a stacked up pin for a questionable two-count. A handspring enziguiri from Ospreay drops Hunter, as Aussie Open look for the double team Go 2 Sleep… Hunter escapes though, only to get body slammed, then pancaked before he countered a powerbomb into a Meteora.
Hunter’s quickly swarmed again though as the Empire looked to set up for the assisted OsCutter… but Newman and Robbie X make the save as all hell breaks loose, leading to a seated senton from Davis as the Parade of Moves broke out, with a swinging DDT from Hunter and a shooting star press from Newman almost upsetting Ospreay. Newman misses a diving knee as Ospreay fought back with a Stundog, before a sit-out powerbomb almost ended things. Ebb and flow, as the double team Go 2 Sleep takes out Hunter, who’s then has Ospreay THROWN into him… more kicks take care of Robbie X, as did a trip of forearms, before Newman was dispatched with the Coriolis and a Hidden Blade. Breathless. Bonkers. Absolutely fun if this is your kind of grapes, and another entry on the surprisingly versatile list of matches from this form of the United Empire. ***¾
Post-match, Ricky Knight Jr. came out and low blowed Aussie Open… then punted Ospreay before he scarpered out of the ring. RKJ took the mic and challenged Ospreay for York Hall – since the originally mooted trios match with Shota Umino and the Young Guns against the United Empire was off due to injury.
Ospreay… had RKJ’s version of the challenge rejected by Kyle Fletcher, who offered him a tag title match against Aussie Open. Conveniently, Knight had a tag partner to mind – his dad, Roy Knight. It’ll be Roy’s first appearance for Rev Pro in nearly seven years. Ospreay sought solace in him not wrestling… except Andy Quildan had an ace up his sleeve, and announced that Ospreay had an opponent after-all – the cleared, and returning-from-Japan Shota Umino.
Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship: Alex Windsor vs. Gisele Shaw (c)
Windsor beat Shaw in Southampton last month to set up this title shot – with the winner expected to face Debbie Keitel at York Hall two weeks’ later.
Windsor started with some pinning attempts as she looked to surprise Shaw out of the gate, before a cannonball off the apron kept Shaw in trouble. More low dropkicks back inside are good for a two-count for the challenger, while Shaw also got thrown into the corner ahead of a bow-and-arrow hold that had Shaw in more trouble.
Shaw gets free and hits a clothesline to the back for a one-count, before a running uppercut had Windsor down for a two-count. Windsor’s taken into the corner for some boots to the face, before a draping DDT gets Shaw a near-fall. Windsor recovers, taking Shaw into the corner ahead of a fallaway slam, while a uranage landed for a near-fall. After she took a tornado DDT, Shaw punches Windsor away… then caught the challenger on the top rope with a Spanish Fly for a near-fall. An attempted armbar from Shaw ends with a roll-up from Windsor… who’s then drilled with a knee as Shaw perhaps was jarred by the near-miss there. Shaw’s aggression was starting to have the crowd turn on her, right as Windsor came back with a spinebuster. Yay/boo punches follow as both women exchange strikes, right as it descended into a hockey fight…
Shaw pulls ahead with another flurry, but Windsor keeps on fighting, throwing a headbutt before a spinning roundhouse took her down. A release half-and-half suplex throws Windsor into the corner, as Shaw measures up for something… only to get spiked onto her head as Windsor countered with an Exploder. Windsor heads up top and nails a Coast to Coast dropkick, before another roundhouse from Shaw countered back, leading to the springboard cutter for a near-fall as Windsor got a foot to the ropes. Slaps wear down Windsor in the corner, before Shaw took her up top… and got caught with an avalanche Blue Thunder Bomb for a near-fall. Emboldened by that, Windsor got hold of Shaw for a Sharpshooter, rolling her over… but Shaw pulled the hair to try and get free.
Except Windsor reapplies the hold and sits back on it, forcing the shock submission as the women’s championship changed hands! A really good main event, although the crowd not knowing who to cheer for until the second half of the match hurt things a little… but it’s an emotional win for Windsor to crown a long road back from injury. ***¾
With only two matches standing on the morning of the show, this had the potential to be a real mixed bag… but thankfully this ended up being one of the better instalments of Rev Pro’s London monthlies. Say what you will about the British scene, but of the top level companies, Rev Pro seems to have ridden out the storm the best, at least as far as returning to normality and shows like this are just another example why.