Rev Pro’s final (taped) show of the year saw them return to Chelmsford as they put on a solid if not engrossing card.
We’re back inside the rather Christmas-sy Hamptons Sport and Leisure… whatever it is. A centre? An arena? Andy Quildan and Dan Barnsdall (“Generic Ring Announcer Number Three”) are doing commentary today as Andy Boy Simmonz seems to have an aversion to Chelmsford.
Lord Gideon Grey vs. Michael Oku
Oku’s had a fair few cracks of the whip in Rev Pro lately, as he staked his claim for a roster spot in 2019.
Gideon started by having to fight out of a wristlock, reversing the hold as he throws Oku to the mat. There’s a half-hearted boo as he derided Oku, whose attempts at a monkey flip didn’t quite get himself free, but a roll through and some arm wringers ended up doing the trick.
Oku keeps up with a kick to the head, then a jaw breaker before some tiltawhirl headscissors finally found its mark. A dive followed, but Oku came up short, allowing Gideon to take over on the outside as he dumped him on the apron with a Tiger driver like throw. After beating the count-out, Oku’s stomped on by Gideon, before a snap suplex drew a near-fall.
Oku slips out of a package piledriver and lands an enziguiri, only to get caught with a high German suplex as Grey almost took the win. Gideon keeps up the offence by putting the boots to Oku, but there’s a clothesline in retaliation as Oku then took Grey into the corner for some clubbering… following up with a back cracker out of the corner and a dropkick by the ropes for a near-fall.
In looking for the finish, Oku tries for a single leg crab, but he has to fight for it before Grey shoved him into the ropes… another dropkick is the response, before Oku leaps off the middle rope into a spinebuster, as a Gotch style tombstone gets Gideon the win. Decent stuff here, but the crowd were successfully shouted down by Grey at the start, which led to a rather muted reaction. **¾
After the match, Gideon wrestles the suit jacket off of Dan Barnsdall… because he’s here as a manager for our next match. You know what that means. BUG EYES! And a dry cleaning bill for Dan’s sweaty jacket…
Great O-Kharn vs. MK McKinnan
The sight of Great O-Kharn staggering by a Christmas tree is… something.
It’s a curious opponent for O-Kharn here, as MK McKinnan had been getting a bit of a push lately, with wins over Mike Bailey and Mark Haskins on recent shows. MK’s lighting up O-Kharn early with chops, before a baseball slide takedown and a thrust kick sends the former Young Lion outside… but he responds with a cross chop to stop a dive.
MK’s big boot takes O-Kharn back to the floor, but another dive’s stopped by Gideon Grey… who then ate the dive instead! A second dive takes out O-Kharn, as a tope con giro took out the “Dominator”, who’s then put in a chair for some kicks, with a running dropkick knocking him out of it.
Back in the ring, MK traps O-Kharn in the ropes with a dropkick before Gideon grabbed onto MK’s leg to stop him from going airborne. That allowed O-Kharn back into it as he stomps through McKinnan, before he started to settle into his usual playbook, sitting on MK in the corner before a hotshot across the top rope drew a near-fall.
Mongolian chops follow, which took MK down to the mat for another two-count. More chops just rile up MK, who hits back in kind, before a DDT switched things around. Another head kick gets a near-fall, before MK locked in a rear naked choke on O-Kharn, scissoring the body before O-Kharn backed into the corner.
O-Kharn fought back, charging MK back into the corner for a front suplex, then a dropkick and a simple body splash for a near-fall. The pair trade forearms back-and-forth, but O-Kharn edges ahead with a clothesline, before a kick gets caught and rolled through into a neckbreaker. The tit-for-tat continues as O-Kharn goes for a back suplex, but flips it thru into a facebuster, before a claw-assisted abdominal stretch wore down MK some more.
From there, MK flips out of the claw chokeslam before scoring with a Shining Wizard for a near-fall – cutting open O-Kharn once again. A grounded rear naked choke, but Gideon Grey again interferes, distracting MK before throwing in his cane… MK snatches it and uses the cane on O-Kharn, and there’s your DQ. A weird ending, but it keeps O-Kharn undefeated. He’s getting a habit of getting busted open these days, but otherwise this was perfectly fine graps. ***
Chardonnay vs. Jamie Hayter
This was Hayter’s first match since losing the Rev Pro women’s title – and up against the debuting Chardonnay, she wouldn’t have it all her own way.
The lack of reaction for both women was… astonishing, it had to be said. Dan on commentary power talks over Jamie saying something to the crowd, and she starts by taking Chardonnay into the corner with a tie-up. Swap, wash, rinse and repeat, this time with Chardonnay getting shoved away from the clean break, as both women tried to get under each other’s skins early on.
Chardonnay comes out steaming from there, booting Hayter into the corner before trapping her there with forearms. The match gets a little scrappy before Hayter’s thrown across the ring before we go old school with a rope rake to the eyes! Hayter responds with some forearms and kicks, but she’s quickly shoved down ahead of a suplex as Chardonnay picked up a near-fall. The tit-for-tat continued as Hayter seemed rather emotional… which was her undoing as Chardonnay pulled her down to the mat by the hair for a near-fall.
Finally Jamie fought back with a series of kicks, following up with a chop before a roll through out of the corner gets a near-fall. More chops from Hayter trap Chardonnay in the corner ahead of a running knee, before a suplex dumped her back into the corner ahead of a Meteora. A uranage backbreaker follows, as does a diving knee, but Chardonnay’s right back in with a single leg crab… something that Jamie eventually rolled free of.
The pair swing and miss with kicks before they clobbered each other with clotheslines. A running kick from Chardonnay finds its mark, as does an eventual butterfly suplex as Hayter’s again forced to kick out. In the end though, Chardonnay looked to take too long for a reverse DDT and gets sent into the ropes for a spinebuster. A stunner through the ropes catches Chardonnay, as does a running knee from the apron before a bulldog finds its mark… but Chardonnay hit back with a tree slam for a near-fall, before a Falcon arrow drew a delayed near-fall.
A curb stomp’s next… and that’s your lot. Far from a decisive win for Hayter as Chardonnay brought her A game… and quickly had to dash back to London for her second match of the day. **¾
Post-match, Jamie takes the mic and tells Zoe Lucas she wants her title back.
Team WhiteWolf (A-Kid & Carlos Romo) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
Dan’s still not got his suit jacket back…
We start with Kyle looking to work over the arm of Romo, Carlos reverses into a hammerlock as Kyle drops out and tries to fend off the Spaniard. It doesn’t work, with Romo pulling him into a bow and arrow hold, before a long rope-running series ended with Fletcher drilling Carlos with a dropkick for a delayed one-count.
Romo responded shortly after with a leg lariat, but he can’t get much more of a count before A-Kid came in and took Fletcher into the corner for a Shibata-ish dropkick. Mark Davis comes in as we got a little-and-large outing, starting with Kid kicking Davis in the leg while he ducked some chops. One of those kicks is caught, as Davis looked to get on top, only to get met with a springboard armdrag and a dropkick as A-Kid edged further ahead.
There’s a 619 in the corner from A-Kid, before he leapt off the top and into a chop for a near-fall. Davis followed that up with a Gory special, as he stretched A-Kid… then pulled him down to the mat for a near-fall. Fletcher tags back in to try and stay on top of A-Kid, using a chinlock that’s quickly fought out of as A-Kid tried to chop his way back in… then eventually gets free with a dropkick as Carlos Romo finally got the tag back in.
Romo flies back in with a ‘rana to Fletcher, then the Miz-like clothesline in the corner before he followed up with a diving knee. Mark Davis comes in but he’s quickly nullified… until he lands a chop! Romo tried to hit back with a forearm, but he’s booted away before a clothesline dropped Dunkzilla… who then blocks a ‘rana, only to get dumped with a DDT instead.
Team Whitewolf keep up the pressure with duelling guillotine chokes as they then worked well together on Fletcher, chaining together a lungblower, a German suplex and a pair of thrust kicks for a two-count. Davis tags back in and instantly charges A-Kid into Romo before he unleashed with the chop/clothesline comeback, throwing in an enziguiri for good effect as the Aussies took control.
A sliding punch into the corner barely gets a two-count on Romo, who responds with a bicycle knee before A-Kid comes in with some superkicks and a Spanish Fly to almost cause the upset. Topes to the outside go awry for the Spaniards, as Romo dove into the double-team Go To Sleep, while A-Kid was kicked away as an assisted cutter almost puts him away.
Somehow, A-Kid counters a Fidget Spinner into a ‘rana as Romo turned the tables again with a step-up cutter in the ropes… but Mark Davis had to make the save from the pin. Kyle’s second wind allows him to lawn dart Romo into the turnbuckles, before A-Kid leapt into a punch as the Fidget Spinner followed for the decisive win. A really good tag team match, as you’re always going to get with these two teams, but the crowd atmosphere really brought it down a notch or two, sadly. ***¾
HxC (Dan Head & James Castle) vs. Kurtis Chapman & Dan Magee
It’s been a bit of a rocky road for HxC, who come into this against what looked like a makeshift pair of former Contenders.
This was Chapman’s return after picking up a facial injury against Great O-Kharn on a non-taped show (an injury that was meant to put Chapman out until the new year). James Castle was all over Magee early… which wasn’t the only one-sided beating we had early, as Andy Quildan decided to take his shots at Number Three’s many slip-ups. Frisk.
Magee puts a stop to that as a hiptoss restored everyone’s attention, before a pair of tags looked to have Dan Head cheapshotting Kurtis Chapman, but Chapman’s wise to it as he cornered Head with a gamengiri and a headlock suplex. Chapman followed up with a rolling cutter for a near-fall, as Magee returned to help out with a back elbow and a back senton for a two-count of his own.
Chapman’s back, but he’s caught with a backbreaker/elbow drop combo as HxC started to go for his facial injury. Bryan Danielson elbows are next as Castle stomped on Chapman’s head, before Dan Head came in with various strike to Chapman’s head. A pop-up uppercut and a clothesline keeps Chapman down for a near-fall, as did a Final Cut-like clothesline out of the corner. It’s very much a throwback to the days of old for the “Super Contender”… the days where he took a pasting, that is!
Head keeps up with a rear chinlock, but Chapman switches out and begins a fightback, only to get sent flailing through the ropes with a discus punch. Chapman catches Head with a lungblower as he was pulled off the ropes, before both men tagged out as Magee mounted his own comeback, scoring with a sliding Flatliner for a near-fall. Magee lands the Morning Glory – the reverse DDT-like move – for a near-fall, before a crossbody into Head needs some assistance from Chapmans’ senton to get going. Magee then powerbombs Chapman onto Castle for a near-fall… but a spinebuster from Head opened the door as Castle’s double double stomp finds its mark.
The camera crew misses James Castle and Dan Magee heading outside, but does catch Chapman overcoming a two-on-one attack, only to fall to a backslide as Head gets his feet on the ropes for leverage. A rather devious ending to a match that could really have gone either way. **¾
Bobbi Tyler vs. Zoe Lucas
Zoe’s still edging slightly towards being a heel here, and it’s a rematch from October’s Cockpit show, which Zoe took the win at.
Lucas stalled a lot before the bell, and the match started with her shrugging off a wristlock before she grabbed Tyler by the head, then wrestled her down to the mat by it. Some headscissors are quickly broken in the ropes, before a knuckle lock forces Tyler to show off her neck bridges as she got free.
Tyler tries to go all classic World of Sport on Lucas, but her resulting roll-up quickly ends in the ropes as she picked up some two-counts. Bobbi sidesteps a charge as Zoe headed into the corner, but a Miz-like clothesline misses as Bobbi lands in the corner herself, allowing Lucas to hit back. There’s a chinlock to keep Tyler down, before a handful of hair stopped her from escaping.
In the corner, Lucas stretches her legs to choke Bobbi, before a running leg lariat and a PK left her down for a near-fall. Tyler… does something to take Lucas down, but the champion responds with some boots as Tyler was almost forced to grab whatever she could to get free. An arm wringer jolts Lucas’ shoulder, before a cutter and a superkick picked up a near-fall.
Lucas avoids a running boot, but she’s got to back into the corner to break up a sleeperhold, before a roundhouse kick knocked Tyler down. The pair trade forearms and chops until Lucas’ scorpion kick earned her a rebound Downward Spiral in the ropes – or the Ty Dye – for a near-fall. With Zoe still down, Tyler looked to head up top, but she’s caught and met with another scorpion kick before a running axe kick drew another near-fall.
Out of nowhere, Tyler scissors Lucas with a Dragon sleeper, but she got too focused on the submission as Zoe rolled back and pinned Bobbi as she was in the hold… and that’s inexperience right there. So on match number one as champion, Zoe Lucas is squeaking out wins, and I have a feeling that Chelmsford “got” the bad guy character more than the Cockpit did! ***
Josh Bodom vs. Shane Taylor
Did somebody say “heavyweight”? Well, Bodom got himself perhaps the heaviest heavyweight on the roster right now, with Shane Taylor wrapping up his UK stay with this match.
Bodom used his speed early on to evade Taylor, trying to sucker the big guy into something… he kinda worked, as he clocked Shane with a forearm, but he couldn’t move the American with an Irish whip, so he goes to the eyes before he ran into a massive POUNCE!
Taylor hurls Bodom across the ring next, then splashes him in the corner before another Beele throw saw us wash, rinse and repeat. A double-hand chop swats Bodom in the corner, as the match then headed outside, with Shane Taylor throwing Bodom into a fan’s shoe. That seemed to fire up Bodom into some chops, but Taylor hit back and took him onto the apron only for Bodom to switch things around with a hotshot as he was forced to pick his shots.
Bodom puts the boots to Taylor, then some knees before he charges in with an avalanche clothesline. Taylor dares Bodom to hit back, throwing some shots to tempt him, but Bodom ends up getting clocked with a headbutt before a clothesline sent him spinning. A big splash flattened him quickly for a near-fall, but Bodom’s right back up before he springboarded into a hangman’s neckbreaker as Taylor threatened again.
Taylor drags Bodom onto the apron, but he misses a legdrop before he’s caught with a tope as Bodom capitalises. Another tope knocks Taylor down, before an Orihara moonsault puts Shane back on the floor. Back in the ring, Bodom scored with a revolution kick and a snap German suplex, before a running clothesline decked Taylor for a near-fall. Some more kicks from Bodom get caught as Taylor shoves him off into a bicycle knee, before a package piledriver got another near-fall.
From there, Taylor dragged Bodom towards the corner, but his trip up top ends badly as Bodom pushes Chris Roberts into the ropes… then brought Taylor out of the corner with a Ligerbomb as he almost won the match. Bodom ups the ante as he looked for a piledriver on the apon, but Taylor gets free and slapped his way out before he clotheslined Bodom into the ring…
Which just opened things up as Bodom shoves the referee into the ropes as Taylor was returning, leaving him prone for a Bliss Buster for the easy pin. This was a solid main event, with the clash of styles playing well as Josh Bodom ends the year with another W. ***¼
While Live in Chelmsford 2 was fine, this was clearly a show best witnessed live than on-demand. The problem with being a completist during Rev Pro’s expansion is that there’s a LOT of shows that are just that: shows. The promotion’s gone on record in the past saying that they don’t want to start running show-to-show storylines until they’re comfortable in the venue… but there’s nothing stopping from at least dangling on threads from, say, Cockpit shows. If you’re up for cherry picking, Aussie Open vs. Whitewolf was predictably good, otherwise this is one to have on in the background.
And no. Dan didn’t get his jacket back. We shall remember it…