It’s an unusually busy month for Rev Pro, who started with their regular Cockpit date as they set up for shows in the coming weeks.
With Cardiff, Leamington Spa and Portsmouth on tap later this month, Rev Pro’s are making moves… and as such, need to build up those debut shows. We’ve got the two Andys back on commentary for today’s card.
Legion of Lords (Lord Gideon Grey & Rishi Ghosh) vs. Kurtis Chapman & Josh Wall
A year ago, the LoL were part of Rev Pro’s tag title picture… since then they’ve been largely kept to the Portsmouth-level of shows, with this being their first match as a team here since last July.
Grey obliterates Chapman with his cane before the bell, forcing Josh Wall to start on his lonesome, and it’s not long before the numbers game quickly worked in the Lords’ favour. After a while, Chapman returns to the apron and gets tagged in so he can cannonball into those pesky Lords. As a team, Gideon and Rishi work really well as comedic, evil genius kind of characters, with enough in their arsenals to be a real threat.
Grey came in and charged Chapman into the corner, but the Lords took way too long in going for a Meltzer Driver, and Kurtis was able to headscissor his way free. I wonder what the UK equivalent of that is? An Exploder off the top stops Chapman from stomping onto Grey as everyone took it in turns to take shots, before Chapman hit his other top rope move… the cannonball!
Rishi Ghosh surprises the Contenders pairing with a double spear, before threatening to use a cane. There’s another one… but Chris Roberts stops that one too, although Ghosh managed to hit Chapman with it. Ghosh has more plunder: a canvas painting… and an antique chair?! Where the hell are they keeping this stuff in the Cockpit?!
Chris Roberts gets rid of the chair, and so misses a low blow as Rishi hits the Ghosh-Buster for a near-fall. The Contenders launch a comeback with a tornado DDT before Chapman stomped onto Grey’s back as he was held in a lungblower in the ropes, ahead of a package piledriver from Chapman. Ghosh pulls out the ref to keep the match alive, but then we have a run-in… Chief Deputy Dunne dumps Wall with a springboard lungblower before superkicking Chapman, and that’s enough for the Lords to win! A pretty solid opener, but that pairing of Chief Deputy/No Fun Dunne with the Lords sure looks wacky. Especially because they like evil fun. **¾
Zack Gibson vs. Mike Bailey
Zack’s crusade for real wrestling took him to this match… against a guy whom I wasn’t too keen on seeing live, out of fear that he’d be all kick-spammy. You know the drill with Zack though – molten-heat for his pre-match promo, which he labelled the Cockpit crowd as “Cockney Bellends”. Hey, I’m more Northern than you Zack!
Gibson goads Bailey into bowing, but his cheapshot of a kick’s caught… and in lieu of a bell, a dropkick gets us underway. Straight into kicks from Speedball now, sending Gibson rolling to the floor for cover, where he hits back with an apron powerbomb as Bailey tried to join him outside with a plancha.
Commentary spends the match running through other potential title challengers instead of Gibson – with Sha Samuels and Jay White in the mix – which meant that they pretty much had to change track as Bailey escaped the Shankly Gates before gong to his array of kicks. A running corkscrew splash gets Bailey a near-fall, but his offence gets cut-off as Gibson shoves Roberts into the ropes. That led to a lungblower out of the corner for a near-fall, but Speedball hits back with a leg lariat after escaping another Shankly Gates.
After joining Gibson with a moonsault to the outside, Bailey heads back in and slipped out of a Helter Skelter as he continued his offence… then went back to the kicks… with a roundhouse into the corner getting caught. Gibson sweeps the leg and dumps Bailey awkwardly on his back, before grabbing Speedball’s judo suit top.
For some reason, Chris Roberts was distracted when Gibson threw it across the ring, allowing the Scouser to hit a low blow and an avalanche Helter Skelter for the win. Deary me, two Roberts Crutches in succession, is it? A decent match, aided by the lack of kick spamming from Speedball, but this felt a little wonky at times. ***¼
After the match, the masked assailant hit the ring and curb stomped Bailey, before going to his backpack for some spray paint. No, he still can’t figure out how to spray hair and make it noticeable on camera or to the live crowd.
Jinny vs. Veda Scott
Rev Pro’s revolving door of challengers continued with Veda Scott, who had not one but two presents for Jinny. Where the cat t-shirt fails, plan B… fell as well. Hey, you can’t expect a Tesco carrier bag to have gone down well!
After fighting free of an attempt to suffocate her, Veda gets a near-fall out of a springboard bulldog before Jinny started to pull the hair a lot. Meanwhile, commentary distracts themselves over how the timekeeper’s bell ringing hadn’t been audible for two matches in a row…
Back to the action, and Jinny peppered Scott with knees, but eventually Veda hits a rolling kick to get herself a breather. Jinny shoves away from a snapmare driver attempt, but can’t avoid a second one as Scott gets a near-fall, before she struggled to roll Jinny around into the Billy Goat’s Curse (reverse Boston crab).
A rope break keeps Jinny in it, and she quickly builds up some momentum, nailing Veda with a DDT for a near-fall. Veda gets a spear and a diving kick in return, but it still not enough, and she’s quickly caught in a Jushin Liger seated surfboard, before Jinny rolled her up into the cover. No Style Clash then, but this wasn’t any great shakes I’m afraid. The motif of the Rev Pro women’s division has been that there’s nobody but Jinny in here who’s a threat, and that’s really starting to hurt these matches. **¼
Josh Bodom vs. Flash Morgan Webster
Flash’s first appearance in Rev Pro in over 18 months was a non-title contest against Josh Bodom – perhaps an odd choice for the velvet-trunked champion.
This was a fun, intense contest as Webster came in looking to reassert himself in the company once more. Armdrags and ‘ranas take Bodom outside, before he’s forced to fight out of Webster’s Strangler guillotine… which he does so by charging Flash into the corner, before sending him crashing to the floor. That Josh Bodom fan seems to want a count-out, but Josh just wants to chop Flash instead. Back inside, the Brit Pop Drop dumped Bodom on his neck, before escaping a Bodom Breaker and busting out a Special Brew Flip as Webster looked to have the champion on the back foot.
Webster’s clothesline flips Bodom inside out, as does a tornado DDT, and Flash is very much on top, crushing Bodom with a senton off the top rope for a very near-fall! A uranage facebuster keeps Webster in control, only for Bodom to sneak in a roundhouse kick… but his running shooting star press lands him into another Strangler, which he escaped by way of a brainbuster.
A Bodom Breaker propelled Webster into the air as the crowd willed on the Mod, who pushed on through some brutal kicks to headbutt Bodom, then plant him with a reverse ‘rana as the Angel Wings… don’t get a cover because Bodom had rolled under the ropes. Finally, Chris Roberts did his job!
Bodom teases a Bliss Buster onto the apron, but it’s countered… only for him to superkick a moonsaulting Webster instead. Webster blocks another Bliss Buster and nearly wins with a roll-up, before countering the Bodom Breaker into another Strangler as Josh is forced to tap out! A fantastic outing here, and a match that’s going to sail under the radars of a lot of people – especially since it’s set up a title shot for Webster in Cardiff later this month. ****¼
After interval, Sha Samuel’s music hits… but it’s not really Sha, it’s Rob Lias with a pillow in his chest. That tickled Andy Simmonz, and no, I didn’t know. Oh Sha, why did you leave one of your shirts laying around? Lias deals with some hecklers as he shoots down Sha’s dreams of a title shot, before running down the rest of the contenders. The upshot was Lias said he was moving on from Sha… which I swear he’s said already?
Eddie Dennis vs. David Starr
This was meant to have been Kid Lykos against David Starr, but… yeah. Add this to the pile of matches the wolf’s unfortunately missed. We got a new David Starr here, jumping Eddie as Andy Simmonz on commentary seemed to think that Eddie was still a teacher. I think you might be a few months behind the curve mate…
Starr continues the cheap shots when he used his t-shirt, before whipping Eddie with his own jacket. Dennis takes him outside for the a forearm smash that sent Starr into the camera crew, hen into a handily-empty seat in the front row.
That corner-cutting from Starr became evident as his response to having his hair pulled was to literally grab Chris Roberts, obscuring a mule kick as a Product Recall violently took Eddie back inside as the Cockpit slowly realised that Starr was embracing villainy. Starr escapes a swinging side slam by dragging Dennis into a small package, before taking him outside – only to get dumped with that move onto the apron instead. Another one of those in the ring gets a two-count as Eddie’s back on top… but Starr sneaks in a Cherry Mint DDT to take Eddie to the outside as he begged for a fast count-out.
That’s the cue for Andy Q’s monthly burial!
Eddie rolls back in and nearly gets a win with a roll-up, but Starr keeps on fighting and exchanges rolling elbows, before finding out the hard way that he can’t beg out of a crucifix bomb. A bucklebomb and clothesline gets a near-fall, but Starr snapped back with a Blackheart Driver to come a little closer.
Starr nearly steals a win with his feet on the ropes, but Roberts spots it, before we get a ref bump. ANOTHER ROBERTS CRUTCH?! Even Andy Simmonz calls it pathetic, and a low blow, then a diving knee gets him the unpopular win. A pretty good match, but I got sick of all these Roberts crutches – we’re 3 for 5 so far! ***¼
After the match, David Starr demands that Andy Q kneels and holds the mic for a promo. Andy refuses, so David sulks. Eventually Andy does it, and gets kicked out as Starr rails on how management turns a blind eye to cheating from the likes of Josh Bodom. As a promo, it was passionate and it worked in making David Starr a likeable bad guy. Who flips off hecklers.
El Phantasmo vs. Ryan Smile
Hope you like flips! Or light up rings… they’ve got both here as Andy Q started off sounding really unhappy with David Starr. Maybe it was the swears?
After a slow start, Smile chops ELP and leaps up to the top rope for a flying armdrag… then has the favour returned as Phantasmo goes old school on us. At least this time he didn’t hit any ceiling lights! Phantasmo threatened Smile after he said he’d kick out of an “authentic” Canadian Destroyer, before being taken outside as Ryan fired up with some dives.
Back inside, a huge pop-up Ace crusher dropped Ryan for a near-fall, but Smile is able to edge back into things for a moment, until a clothesline flipped him down to the mat. Some charges from Phantasmo end by way of a big boot or two, and Smile starts to gain control. ELP gets thrown into the ring post as Smile looked for the count-out, which wasn’t forthcoming as Phantasmo got back into the ring.
More money gets thrown into the Rev Pro swear jar as ELP goes for a purple nurple, which led to duelling big boots that left both men laying. Once they were back to their feet, Smile edges ahead with some strikes, before a missile dropkick took ELP to the outside… and right in place a sequence that ended with a tope into the front row! The across-the-corner flip tope follows next, then a top rope elbow… but still ELP kicks out.
Once he blocked a springboard cutter, Phantasmo looked to go for an ankle lock, but can’t keep it on and ends up eating a springboard cutter, then a frog splash… but still finds a way to kick out! Smile teased a top rope Destroyer, but gets caught as Phantasmo lands an enziguiri in the corner before his top rope rana sent Ryan crashing down hard! A big splash connects, but it’s still not enough, so Phantasmo goes straight for the ankle lock, only for Smile to escape yet again.
Phantasmo tries to chain together a senton bomb and a moonsault, but the second one misses, and leaves him prone for a Smile High frog splash to the back as Ryan gets back on track with a victory! Really enjoyable stuff here – starting a little slow, but these two meshed really well against each other. More please! ***½
Afterwards, David Starr came out to slow-clap Ryan Smile, before sarcastically putting him over. Ryan challenged him to a fight, but instead Starr went to the steps to laugh off Smile… and then bust out a pretty bad fake Birmingham accent. Points for throwing in the “bell end” line though!
Rev Pro British Tag Team Championship: Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) vs. CCK (Chris Brookes & Travis Banks) (c)
After a couple of wins, Aussie Open have gotten themselves a title shot – and have to deal with a wolf! Commentary gets a slight dig in on the split-up London Riots, who were gunning for CCK before they turned their sights on each other instead.
Fletcher and Brookes started off on each other, with Brookes initially going for the arm before deciding to just flatten Kyle with a back senton for an early two-count. Mark Davis levelled Brookes after getting tagged in, then went toe-to-toe with Travis Banks, who made fairly light work of the Aussies.
Fletcher gets double-teamed… and in comes Kid Lykos to… pee all over the Aussie Arrow. Charming.
They shrug off Lykos’ attempt to mark his territory and went back to Brookes, getting a two-count from a sliding forearm in the corner by Dunkzilla, who had no issue throwing punches. Commentary takes another diversion as they tell us who recommended Aussie Open, before veering over to 1PW talk (?!) just in time to see Travis Banks make a comeback, stacking up the Aussies for some cannonballs.
Banks and Brookes take it outside so they can pull off stomps onto the backs of the Aussies from the apron, before a Slice of Heaven and a slingshot cutter put down Davis. Kyle Fletcher damn-near gets decapitated with a powerbomb onto a kick from Brookes, just in time for Mark Davis to make a brief comeback. Yeah, it doesn’t last.
Fletcher dumps Brookes with a Destroyer out of the corner, before a Fidget Spinner left Banks on his own… as he capably handled his challengers until they combined to land a pop-up Ace Crusher for a close two-count. Banks avoids a pop-up powerbomb before Fletcher became a makeshift wolf for that lungblower/double stomp combo… but still, it’s a two-count! Once Fletcher had taken a rope-hung neckbreaker from Brookes, a Coast to Coast from Banks and a superkick-aided Jay Driller from Brookes, that was all she wrote. A pretty good main event, but one that left me wanting a heck of a lot more. Potential for a rematch, especially since CCK don’t seem to have any obvious challengers for the coming months? ***¾
After the match, CCK left pretty sharpish… leaving the Aussies in the ring as the Legion of Lords and No Fun/Chief Deputy Dunne hit the ring for a beatdown. CCK return to make the save – and that show-closing spot sets up Dunne and Grey vs. Aussie Open in Cardiff later this month.
Rev Pro’s latest Cockpit outing was business as usual – with the added wrinkle of the company throwing in some stuff to build up to their newly-added touring shows. Bodom vs. Webster was perhaps the standout from the card – which was the usual solid fare from the Dream Factory.