We’re going back almost two months now, for Rev Pro’s 9th “Live At The Cockpit” show. Headlined by Pete Dunne defending his Cruiserweight title against Matt Cross, this promises to be entertaining.
#TLDR: Another fine Cockpit show from Rev Pro, with a really good tag team display and a solid Cruiserweight main event, but the whole event was sadly ruined by camera work which left the show at times unwatchable. If this show were a song, it’d be the 2001 Puddle of Mudd song, “Blurry”…
The Full Review: This show was held on June 5th, but for those who only watch On Demand, two of the three Rev Pro shows since then have been released… so some of today’s results are kinda obvious thanks to things coming out out-of-sync. Also, the hard camera for this show was ultra-blurry, to the point where parts of the show were unwatchable. Did nobody think to check the camera before recording?
Kurtis Chapman vs. Dan Magee vs. Rob Lias
This is another contender’s match – the equivalent of those New Japan openers, if you like – so prepare for lots of black trunks and black boots in this triple-threat match.
Kurtis Chapman, who could do with a good meal or two, is dropkicked to the mat by Magee early on, before Chapman returns to the ring and gets some retaliation by tying up Magee in an Octopus hold… before Lias dropkicked him out of the move. We’re thankfully joined by RPW owner Andy Quildan instead of Andy Simmonz after his debacle on commentary last time out, and we see an awkward three-way submission move as Chapman ties up his opponents with a crossface and legscissors at the same time.
Chapman’s low-bridged out of the ring, and that leaves us with Lias holding Magee in a rear chinlock. Lias hits an uppercut for a near-fall, before Magee lands a Slingblade, as Chapman slides in to toss him out and steals a near-fall on Lias.
Magee drops Chapman with a Side Effect, but Lias comes back only to take another helping of that move for a near-fall. An enziguiri takes down Lias, but both he and Magee were taken down by a senton dive by Chapman off the top rope, getting the youngster a near-fall, as he follows up with a lungblower for a two-count that Magee had to break up.
Chapman corners Magee and drills him with a cannonball dive, and then rolls out of the ring to recuperate… but that leaves Chapman all alone with Magee, who catches an avalanche into the corner and switches it into the Last Chancery to force Chapman to tap out. A decent, short opener, but it really didn’t need to be a three-way in my mind. **½
The show then moved on to Pete Dunne making his entrance, to a song that I swear was a remake of an Insane Clown Posse song, and Dunne cuts a promo saying that he’s sick of how Ricochet vs. Will Ospreay “redefined cruiserweight wrestling”. Dunne re-brands the belt the “Bruiserweight” title then leaves the ring.
Sha Samuels vs. Noam Dar
At the time of this recording, Samuels was about a week away from losing his Rev Pro tag titles. Someone from the crowd got into Samuels’ face, which isn’t hard to do given the intimate nature of the Cockpit Theatre, and Dar “tagged” out to the fan who actually leapt onto the apron before Dar got into the ring and actually started the match.
Samuels charged at Dar at the bell, but he ducked a clothesline before a dropkick sent Samuels to the floor. Dar followed out there and wrapped Samuels around the ringpost, using a t-shirt to tie the legs together. That left Samuels exposed for a couple of shots from Dar, before getting into it with James Castle on the outside as Samuels untied himself.
A dropkick from Dar aimed straight for Samuels’ knee, and they go back to the ring where Dar’s eyes are raked, before Samuels tries to use his braces to whip Dar… the referee catches that, but he doesn’t catch the scarf until it’s too late, or James Castle who joins in by choking Dar in the ropes.
Samuels grounds Dar with a front facelock, and keeps the hold on after Dar gets to his feet, before the Scotsman sweeps the leg and drops Samuels to the mat. A pair of palm strikes and an uppercut sends Samuels into the corner, but he recovers to try a shoulder block off the middle rope, only for Dar to avoid it.
A flying dropkick into the corner downs Samuels for a two-count, but Samuels catches Dar with a spinebuster and gets a near-fall of his own. Dar gets sent into the ropes with a right hand as the pair trade shots, before Dar reversed an Irish whip that saw Castle accidentally trip Samuels – thinking it was the Scotsman.
As Castle was ejected from ringside, Samuels caught Dar in a sleeperhold, immediately taking him to the mat. Dar grabbed his arm to make sure it didn’t fall a third time, and he fought his way back to his feet, then dropped down for a roll-through, before dropping Samuels with a forearm. From there, Dar locked in the Champagne Super-Knee-Bar out of nowhere, and the immediate tap-out. That felt short, but a pretty good TV-style outing for both men. ***¼
Charlie Garrett & Joel Redman vs. The Hunter Brothers (Jim Hunter & Lee Hunter)
The team with no-name here, facing Britain’s answer to the Young Bucks (as far as being very hard to tell apart!)
Garrett and Lee Hunter start us, but before anything can happen, Lord Gideon Grey comes out for the hell of it. He’s got a microphone, and goes into the ring to declare himself and Rishi Ghosh the best tag team in Rev Pro. Standard heel stuff, and Grey declares himself the special guest referee… then proceeds to strip Chris Roberts of his shirt.
The Hunters immediately superkick Grey, as do Garrett and Redman… then Roberts decks Grey with a clothesline before getting his shirt back. And that’s an end to that nonsense!
Garrett gets a one-count from a roll-up on Lee , then does an athletic leapfrog/roll-through sequence that ends in a stand-off. Jim gets tagged in, and has his hand slapped away as Garrett tags in Joel Redman, who does shake the hand.
Redman goes for a surfboard on Jim, then slips him out into some bodyscissors, which Jim leans back onto try and get a pinfall attempt. Jim slips out and grabs a toe-hold, but a wristlock from Redman sees him regain the advantage, before he snaps back on Jim’s arm. Garrett comes in with an elbow off the top rope for a near-fall, before a top rope kneedrop from Redman gets a similar near-fall.
A standing knee drop from Redman gets another two-count, before Garrett lands a suplex and an impressive leaping senton splash for another near-fall. The quick tags continued as Redman floored Jim Hunter with a dropkick, but he backflips out of a suplex then brings in Lee Hunter… who quickly gets launched into the wrong corner, and tries to leap off the top rope onto Redman. Except Redman had made a blind tag, but he still caught Lee with a spinebuster before slingshotting him into a bodyslam from Garrett.
Lee kicked out at two from that, and Garrett cornered him before another tag to Redman who landed a back suplex for a near-fall. More pseudo double-team action saw Lee take a pair of dropkicks, then a T-bone suplex from Garrett for a near-fall before Lee hung onto the ropes to avoid a back body drop… and time stood still. Jim was tagged in and dropped Garrett with a neckbreaker onto the knees of Lee for a two-count, then scored a floatover suplex for another two-count.
Jim back in now helped with a double suplex, and Garrett had to kick out at two before a snapping Finlay roll. Lee tagged in for a double-team back suplex, and an imploding senton (think Morgan Webster’s “Special Brew Flip”) for a near-fall as the Hunters kept on their period of offence. Lee hit a slingshot plancha into the ring, before trading shots with Garrett, whose sunset flip was nullified, but he was able to avoid a penalty kick from Lee and then land a springboard corkscrew press off the middle rope as Jim tried to run in.
Garrett tried to make the tag, and after he kicked away Jim Hunter, he made it, and brought in Redman for German suplexes and overhead belly to bellies on both men. Both Hunters ended up on the outside, but their attempt to suplex him to the outside went wrong as he brought them both in, before lifting Garrett up for a moonsault onto Lee Hunter’s ankle.
Jim came in to kick away a back body drop from both Redman and Garrett, but a headscissors attempt was blocked… until he finally took himself Redman to the outside. Lee Hunter joined them with a tope, and Garrett completed the set with a tope con hilo to the pile on the floor.
Back inside, Jim Hunter low bridged Garrett out of the ring, then dived onto Redman with a senton bomb as Lee held him in a neckbreaker position. Two superkicks should have won it, but Garrett broke up the pin. Redman landed a gorilla press slam into a gutbuster on Lee Hunter, then an overhead slam/neckbreaker double team for another near-fall.
Jim tossed Garrett to the floor again, then followed up with a tornado DDT on Redman, but Jim took his time recovering, and ended up seeing a second tornado DDT blocked by Garrett, who turned it into a brainbuster instead. Lee superkicked Garrett, then went for a neckbreaker, only to take a superkick from Garrett, and then turn into a spinning tombstone from Redman for another near-fall.
After that kick-out, it was curtains for Lee, as Garrett suplexed him onto Redman on the top rope, who planted him with a tombstone piledriver off the top rope, before Garrett squashed Lee with a spiral tap – as he tried to roll to safety – for the win. Fantastic, action-packed tag team match – the Hunters did their best to make this not a squash, but this was a clear highlight package for Redman and Garrett. Both of those guys, in my eyes, should be up there when it comes to being the next to make the leap to Stateside (and yes, I know Redman has already been there and been an NXT tag champion…) ***¾
Post-match, Redman looked to tend to Lee – who was visibly shaken by the way he took the Spiral Tap – before the Hunters walked away without shaking hands. Sore losers, in more than one sense of the phrase!
Mike Bailey vs. Josh Bodom
Something must have gone wrong with the video here, as we got a clip of Bailey’s entrance video before a jump cut to him being in the ring. Bailey, of course, is appearing pretty frequently for Rev Pro these days with four appearances in about six weeks as he increased his European schedule.
Bodom slaps away Bailey’s handshake, then shoves him away as Bailey’s bowing seemed to infuriate him. Bailey teases a few early kicks, but Bodom takes down Bailey and forces a rope break. More teased kicks sends Bodom between the ropes to get some distance, but when Bailey made a connection with the kicks, Bodom went flying.
After seeing a kick of his own caught, Bodom got rocked in the ropes with some more kicks to the midsection, before replying by hanging Bailey’s arm over the ropes, and landing a pair of knees to the arm, a la a lungblower. Given that 95% of Bailey’s offence is kicks, wouldn’t it be more effective to target the legs? Bodom mocks the crane pose, then continues to beat down Bailey’s left arm, then wraps the arm around the ring post.
A standing moonsault onto the arm sees Bodom get a two-count on Bailey, before Bailey bounces off the ropes and into a dropkick. From there, the pair trade kicks, but Bodom’s struggle to make an impact, so he goes back to the arm… before a spinning back kick makes Bodom drop like a stone. Bailey connects with the rapid fire left/right kicks, then nails a standing Shiranui for a near-fall.
A pair of step-up knees in the corner rock Bodom, as does a Yakuza kick, but Bodom replies with a rushing enziguiri … and Bailey returns fire with a spinning enziguiri and a standing corkscrew press for a near-fall. Bodom hits a knee to the head then takes down Bailey with a seated cobra clutch, but Bailey stood up and rolled him up, then nailed a moonsault double knees to the chest.
Bailey followed in with a shooting star press, but missed, and was caught with a powerbomb into a back-cracker by Bodom for a near-fall. Bodom cracks Bailey with a spinning roundhouse kick for a two-count, before Bailey blocked charges in the corner with the knees, before landing a shooting star kneedrop for another near-fall.
Bailey replies with some more kicks to Bodom’s chest, but he asks for more, before grabbing the left arm and locking in an armbar. Bailey works free and lands another kick, before landing a moonsault press dive from the inside out (via a blurry camera). Bodom rolled back into the ring first somehow, but caught Bailey as he came back in with the Bliss Buster, and that was enough. A good win for Bodom, but this seemed to expose Bailey’s offence as being 95% kicks when he’s not in with the right man. ***¼
We jump to the introduction of Zack Sabre Jr., and he’s out there to talk about his forearm injury. He took time off to ensure he was at full fitness for his match with Kurt Angle… and he was. Andy Quildan quizzes Sabre for his tag team partner, Marty Scurll’s villainous tactics. It seemed like Sabre hadn’t seen the incidents, or he was doing his best impression of a football manager who was pretending to be oblivious. Scurll came out to answer the charges, and said that he only did what he did to save Sabre’s title. Big Damo came out to respond, but Scurll ran off… and we’re left with a match for later in the night.
James Castle vs. Trent Seven
Castle comes across like a clone of Jimmy Havoc… anyway, they lock up to begin with, but they go into the ropes and reverse back and forth before the referee orders the break. Castle slaps Seven at the break, but Trent chops back, only to take a running forearm.
Seven catches a big boot and flips Castle out to the floor, then runs for a dive, before sliding through the bottom ropes into a punch from Castle. A spear gets Castle a two-count, and he keeps up the beatdown on Seven with shoulder charges in the corner, before throwing in some more stomps and chops.
Seven barely reacted to the lackadaisical chops, and even walked into them before turning the tables and doing his best Kojima impression with some rapid chops in the corner. Seven follows up with a charge, but eats Castle’s feet, then a forearm, before taking the GBH (double underhook suplex into the turnbuckles).
Castle replied with some forearms, but got dropped by a lariat from Seven, but another clothesline off the rope was ducked as Castle hit a running knee strike for a near-fall. Seven takes an Irish whip into the turnbuckles, then a knee strike, before Castle removes the kneepad and misses a second leaping knee in the corner.
Seven retaliates with a slap to the chest, then a suplex for a near-fall, before a combination of a backfist, a Dragon suplex and finally a folding powerbomb got Seven closer to a victory, but Castle still kicked out. Castle caught Seven on the mat in a double armbar, but managed to reverse it somehow into a Texas cloverleaf, only for Castle to flip free and land another knee to the midsection.
Castle stood over Seven and dragged him to his feet, then set up for a reverse DDT, before Seven turned it around into a clothesline, then a German suplex and a spinning piledriver… and that was enough for Trent Seven to pick up the win in this brutal encounter. Nice, solid work, but spoiled by the cameras that plagued this entire card. ***½
Oh good lord, the hard camera’s short-sightedness just got worse. They masked this during the intro here with a bit of Marty Scurll’s entrance video,
Marty Scurll vs. Big Damo
They go at it with forearms at the bell, but Damo immediately decks Scurll and tosses him into the turnbuckles. It’s all Damo early on, and Scurll demands some more strikes… so he gets punched to the mat. Again. And again.
Scurll avoids a clothesline then kicks Damo in the knee, before kicking him to the outside, where he follows up with a superkick from the apron. Our first dive of the match sees Scurll fly out with a low-pe, before they trade chops in front of the ring post. Surprisingly, none of them accidentally chops the ring post, but we do get Damo giving Scurll an uppercut to the back.
Back inside, Damo whips Scurll hard into the turnbuckles, as the Villain’s comebacks keep getting cut-off. A slap from Scurll is responded to with a stiffer slap, then a headbutt that gets Damo a near-fall.
Scurll tries to fire back with forearms, but they don’t impress Damo… nor do the rapid-fire slaps, before Scurll’s attempt at a bodyslam sees Damo fall on top of him for a near-fall. Damo kept Scurll grounded with a neck crank, but Scurll worked free and into the path of a running forearm. The “Just Kidding” superkick and a similar knee to the head finally sent Damo to the mat, but Damo was able to block a chicken wing, then throw Scurll to the mat and hit a body splash for a near-fall.
Damo lifted Scurll into a Fireman’s carry, but he bit his way free… only for Damo to land a big headbutt to avoid the finger snapping. A running cross body got Damo a two-count, before Scurll countered a reverse suplex into a chickenwing attempt. Damo squashed Scurll into the corner to counter it, before the pair traded kicks and knees, ending with Scurll surprising the Belfast beast with a suplex.
From their knees, Scurll and Damo trade forearms, but Scurll kips up and drops Damo with a stiff kick to the head. Scurll went up top, but was quickly stopped by Damo who went for a superplex, but Scurll slipped out and powered Damo to the mat with a powerbomb that got him a near-fall.
Scurll grabbed his umbrella, but the referee grabbed it and the distraction led to Scurll being dropkicked into the corner, before a Vader bomb got him another count of two. Damo left Scurll in the corner, then went to the top rope for a Coast to Coast dropkick, but he was kicked on the top by Scurll, who landed the Tower of London (‘cutter from the top rope) for another two-count.
The finger snap came next for Scurll, but Damo quickly caught him in a fireman’s carry slam then a back senton, getting a two-count from it. A powerbomb and a diving elbow followed as Scurll kicked out, and Damo kept up the attack with chops to a kneeling Scurll, sending the Villain down to the mat… but it was a ruse, and it led to a second finger snap on Damo, but that just angered him as Damo laid into Scurll in the corner.
As the referee pulled Damo away for a break, Scurll popped up and kicked Damo low, before springing off the ropes for a tornado DDT, and then locked in the chicken wing with added elbows to force the submission. A fine, fine outing for both men, with a nice twist on the classic “big man felled by cheating” story. ***¾
Post-match, Damo punted Scurll low in revenge, then wrapped his hands around Scurll’s throat on the mat… until Zack Sabre Jr. came out and whacked Damo with Scurll’s umbrella to break the hold. Sabre and Scurll immediately exited stage left, and Damo left in hot pursuit.
Jinny vs. Addy Starr
At the last Cockpit show, Jinny came in at the end of the women’s match between Rhia O’Reilly and Addy Starr – and this time she’s back for more of Addy… this time without the false surname.
The “Primark Princess” chants followed her here from PROGRESS, and Jinny immediately started by putting herself between the ropes to avoid an early lock-up. Jinny then slid out of the ring to keep up the stalling, before leaping up to the apron and slap Starr as her opponent was talking to the referee.
Back in the ring, Jinny gets whipped into the ropes, and is met with a clothesline in the corner, and then a diving elbow to the back for a two-count. Starr kicked away at the back, before Jinny caught a kick and swept it back for the Botox Injection. In the corner, Jinny kept stomping away, before a slap and another kick took Starr back to the mat, eventually getting a two-count.
They’re using the “move, taunt, move” formula that worked well in the 80s, but really ruins the flow to matches in modern-day wrestling, and Jinny hits a floating suplex for a near-fall… and then some taunting to the crowd. Another kick to the back, then a taunt, but Starr fires back with a slap, only to get some more clubbing shots from Jinny, before being taken into the corner again.
Jinny snapmares Starr out of the corner, before going for the Acid Rainmaker clothesline, but Starr ducked it and hit a pair of rolling underhook suplexes for a near-fall. Starr went for a kick but it was blocked, and Jinny turned it into a seated surfboard stretch a la Jushin Liger, before rolling her up for a near-fall.
After kicking out, Starr landed a stomp to the back, before catching Jinny in the Cattle Mutilation, and then a curb stomp in the middle of the ring for just a one-count. In response, Jinny hit a Japanese armdrag into the turnbuckles, with Starr looking to take an awkward bump there. A couple of near-falls follow from that, and Jinny again goes back to stomp, taunt, stomp, taunt whilst worrying about her nose from the earlier curb stomp.
Starr takes a curb stomp as a receipt, getting a two-count with a really lackadaisical foot-on-the-chest pin, before Jinny uses a big boot to coke Starr in the corner a la Kevin Nash. A snapmare takes Starr out of the corner, and Jinny taunts again before landing a running kick to the head for a near-fall.
Back in the corner, some palm strikes followed from Jinny as she went to set up Starr in the Tree of Woe. A couple of kicks to Starr’s back came as she tried to free herself, and Jinny took her down the hard way for a couple of near-falls. Starr ducked a clothesline and hit a Northern Lights suplex into the turnbuckle that looked uncomfortable as hell to take… but Jinny had the presence of mind to grab the ropes at the count of one.
A shoulder charge in the corner goes wrong for Jinny, who finds herself draped across the middle turnbuckle, and then gets sent to the mat with a diving double knee-stomp off the top rope for another two-count. Starr looked to go for a Shiranui, but Jinny pushed her into the corner then landed some mounted punches on the mat, and then some more kicks in the corner.
Jinny lifts Starr to the middle rope, then slapped her in preparation for the Facelift (middle rope X-Factor), but Starr shoved Jinny into the path of the referee… giving an opening for Jinny to leave the ring and spray some water into the eyes of Starr, before returning to deliver the Facelift for the win. Eh, it was what it was – the move/taunt/move formula got really tiresome early on, those two moves into the turnbuckles looked ugly, and that referee bump at the end was needless, but all told this wasn’t that bad a match. **¼
Post match, Jinny gets into it with someone in the crowd – identified as Zoe Lucas. Jinny slaps her, and gets chased to the back… and there’s your match for the next Cockpit show!
Revolution Pro British Cruiserweight Championship: Matt Cross vs. Pete Dunne (c)
They start with a headlock, before Dunne takes down Cross and tried for some joint manipulation. Cross recovers and grabs the wristlock though, and keeps the advantage as Dunne eventually reversed in this grappling-heavy opening phase.
Dunne locked Cross in a reverse figure four, but Cross immediately scurried to the ropes, before Dunne snapped back in an Indian Deathlock as he released the hold. A headlock from Dunne ends in him being shoved into the ropes, but he retained the upper hand with a shoulder tackle before laying into Cross with strikes and a headbutt.
A back elbow from Cross stunned Dunne, before some headscissors took Dunne to the outside… but he ran back in with a lariat to counter a dive attempt from “M-Dogg”. Another wristlock from Dunnn gets turned into a hammerlock and then a single leg crab, before he moves to the dark side, biting away at Cross’ hand.
Dunne keeps on top of Cross with another arm bar, but he elbows free, and then flips out of a back suplex attempt. A low bridge sends Dunne to the outside, and he finally connected with a series of topes, sending Dunne into the theatre steps.
Back inside, Cross connects with a handspring elbow and a springboard crossbody for a near-fall, before kicking Dunne in the ropes and going airborne once more, this time with a double stomp to the back of a bent over Dunne. A standing moonsault gets Cross a two-count, and he immediately goes to an armbar, forcing Dunne into the ropes.
Dunne again bites at Cross’ hand, then goes for the Drop Dead (pumphandle facebuster), but Cross rolls him up for a near-fall, before a second roll-up into a beautiful-looking double stomp gets Cross even closer. Cross gets sent into the ropes, but uses his head to spring back off the top rope and into a cutter for a near-fall.
Cross misses a double stomp off the top, then springboards into a forearm smash by Dunne, whose release suplex gets him a near-fall… but Dunne stays on top of him with a tombstone piledriver, again for a two-count. Dunne plants Cross onto the top rope, and looks to lift him up into a Fireman’s carry, but Cross counters with a top rope ‘rana then a running shooting star press as he almost won the match.
Dunne retaliates with elbows in the corner, but a handspring elbow from Cross gets met with a dropkick… Cross nails a big boot as this goes back and forth, before Cross counters the Drop Dead into a DDT. “M-Dogg” looks to finish it off the top, but he landed on his feet from a shooting star press, as Dunne ends up nailing the Drop Dead facebuster for the win. A good, albeit short TV-style main event, but this is the inherent problem of “supercard” booking – more often than not, the imports don’t win these sort of title matches, which really affects the crowd. ***¾
As a wrestling show, this was another fine card presented by Rev Pro, highlighted by the showreel-esque tag team match in the midcard. The major disappointment here though, was that it was a struggle to watch. I usually try to watch these cards in full, but the blurry hard camera (which also affected at least one of the mobile cameras too) meant that I had to split this up across several days to prevent getting headaches.
This isn’t the first time a Rev Pro show has had this problem, but they have usually been able to salvage something from it. Sure, they got a show out of this in the end, but if it is genuinely a headache to watch, then the efforts of the guys (and girls) on the card is for nought.
For the wrestling within, I recommend this show, but for the sake of your eyes, only watch this in small doses, and definitely NOT on a big-screen…