The last knockings before Epic Encounter in Wolverhampton saw Luke Jacobs try to get one over Connor Mills ahead of next weeks’ tag title shot.
Quick Results
JJ Gale pinned Chris Ridgeway in 14:24 (**¾)
Millie McKenzie pinned Lizzy Evo in 11:22 (**¾)
Stephen Wolf & Leon Cage pinned Will Kaven & Robbie X in 16:03 (***)
Ricky Knight Jr. pinned Cameron Khai in 13:05 (**¼)
Kanji submitted Lucia Lee in 17:05 (***)
Joe Lando, Danny Black & Maverick Mayhew pinned Zander Bryant, Leland Bryant & Nino Bryant in 17:05 (***¼)
Connor Mills pinned Luke Jacobs on 16:47 (***½)
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We’re live on stream from the HMV Empire in Coventry – commentary comes from Andy Quildan and Leyton Buzzard duelling their Big Japan and New Japan tracksuits for the last show before Epic Encounter in Wolverhampton next weekend…
Chris Ridgeway vs. JJ Gale
Gale’s got Ricky Knight Jr. next weekend in Wolverhampton – and Ridgeway’s being used as a warm-up of sorts here.
An even start to proceedings was finally broken as Gale charged through Ridgeway with a diving uppercut, before a trip to the corner saw Gale fire off a couple of chops. Using the referee as a shield of sorts, Ridgeway came out of the corner to trip up Gale ahead of a high-angle calf slicer, morphing the hold into a chicken wing that ended in the ropes.
Ridgeway began to target the knee and legs of Gale, wrapping them around the ring post, before he snapped back on the left leg and knee with a deathlock as the ropes quickly became Gale’s friend. Gale fires back, but had to shrug off a kick to the leg before a rebound German suplex and a double stomp took Ridgeway down… albeit at the expense of Gale’s bad wheel.
That same leg came back into play as Ridgeway rolled through for an ankle lock, before Gale rolled over to counter a Figure Four… this time forcing Ridgeway to the ropes. Kicks from Gale target the legs, but a simple chop block from Ridgeway stops him in his tracks as snapping German suplexes were eventually cut off with another wheelbarrow roll through into a stomp.
Another flurry of strikes from Ridgeway in response were eventually countered with a forearm from Gale, who came back with almost a Last of the Dragon for a near-fall… before the Gale Force springboard twisting cutter got the win in a solid opener, but one that merely served to weaken Gale more ahead of the RKJ match next week. **¾
Lizzy Evo vs. Millie McKenzie
Last time we saw Millie in Rev Pro, she rebuffed the Cut Throat Collective’s offer to join them… and three months later, we’re getting the first bit of in-ring response.
Millie tried to win it with a spear right out of the blocks, but Evo rolled outside to take the sting out of things. It eventually turned into a chase as Millie went after Evo, but of course it’s a ruse as Evo met her with stomps back in the ring as Millie had trouble finding that spark again.
McKenzie tries to fight back, but Evo just boots her to the outside as a cheeky back heel from Mercedez Blaze went unnoticed by the referee. Evo retained the upper hand back inside, before Millie finally found an opening and almost took home the win with a back suplex.
A shotgun dropkick careers Evo into the corner ahead of a release suplex… but of course it’s not enough as Millie manages to land a German suplex, before rebounding from a headbutt to clothesline Evo down to the mat. An eye poke from Evo just earns her a superkick, before a big boot, a DDT and a Northern Lights suplex almost put away Millie.
Avoiding a knee trembler, Millie remained on the defensive, but finally sparks a series of German suplexes before some Angel’s Wings led to a near-fall… Mercedez Blaze intervenes again as Millie went for a spear, only to get ejected by the referee. In the meantime, Evo’s recovering and catches Millie from behind with a roll-up, before a retaliatory spear off the ropes finally got Millie the win. **¾
Post-match, Mercedez Blaze attacks Millie from behind, pulling her hair around the ropes before leaving McKenzie laying with a hammerlock’d DDT… so you know what this means. Blaze called out Millie for next week in Wolverhampton, as this feud must continue, hopefully with a reactive crowd next time. And hey, at least we’re not waiting three months for the next story beat in this feud – something which could have hurt the crowd here, because if you’ve got some storylines with follow-up going on a week or two later, then the crowd will figure out (storyline-wise) that there can’t really be any hatred going on if the participants happily are waiting months to cross paths again.
Two matches in, and this crowd feels like the kind they used to have in St. Neots – the worst kind that were almost afraid to make a noise during matches, and it’s really dragging things down as the low-energy look and feel had me close out of the show and come back a day or so later.
Robbie X & Will Kaven vs. Leon Cage & Stephen Wolf
This was a preview of next week’s Cruiserweight title match, with Leon Cage (not Jr., as a dodgy match graphic somehow made it onto the edit) being thrown in as a fourth man. We start with Robbie and Wolf going hold for hold, before Kaven came in… and found he wasn’t enjoying a good run against Wolf, as he got taken down with a tijeras and a dropkick coming out of the corner.
There’s a seed sewn on commentary for a future Leon Cage/Mike Bailey match as Leon picked up a two-count on Kaven, before Robbie X tagged himself in as he was starting to get fed up with his partner’s performance. We keep going as a dropkick takes down Robbie X, who then found himself trapped in the wrong corner ahead of a suplex from Wolf and a standing stomp from Cage.
A turnaround sees Kaven take control, wearing down Cage with elbows to the back of the neck… it draws in Stephen Wolf, but it’s just a cover for Robbie X to sneak in and punt Cage in the ribs. Tagging in, Robbie X continued to pick apart Leon, eventually catching Cage as he tried to go for a tag, before Leon finally broke free to tag in Wolf once more.
Wolf clears house from there, landing a Tiger Feint kick to Robbie X, then a springboard clothesline before Robbie tried to find a way back in. A Fisherman Driver nearly puts Robbie away, before Kaven cut off Wolf’s 6-1-Line attempt to turn the match on its head. Cage and Robbie X have another go, with Leon’s ‘rana taking Robbie outside for an Orihara moonsault, but it’s Kaven and Wolf who remain legal as they trade barbs, leading to Wolf’s 6-1-Line and Cage’s 450 splash to Kaven… only for Robbie X to stomp apart the pin.
The crowd finally start to awaken as they got behind Cage briefly, but Robbie X remained resurgent despite a tag bringing Wolf back in. Robbie’s one step ahead of Wolf’s stuff, leading to an X-Claimation for a near-fall after Robbie had avoided the Vertigo, before Kaven tagged himself in. Robbie X bailed because of that, and seconds later Kaven’s caught with the Vertigo for the win. If I was rating this solely on crowd reactions, it’d be low-scoring… but three matches deep I’m just resigned to the fact that this Coventry crowd may as well have not been there. ***
Cameron Khai vs. Ricky Knight Jr.
This came around after Khai was attacked by RKJ a week earlier in London… Khai jumps Ricky in the aisle with a tope to get us underway, following up with a trip to the ring post.
RKJ tries to retaliate, but he’s met with a moonsault off of a crowd barricade, before a clothesline off the top found its mark. A Pingshot cutter’s blocked though, and that’s the opening for RKJ, who methodically began to dissect Khai, going for covers after each big move.
A stalling suplex forces a solid two-count out of Khai, as did a dropkick after Khai’d been sent into the ropes. Trying to get any kind of reaction out of this crowd, RKJ offered a free shot for Khai, but the exchange ends with a front kick by the ropes that took things outside so he could put Khai into a chair before a stage dive almost wiped out Khai… and a fan as well!
Back inside, RKJ stays on Khai, trolling him and the crowd as he went, before Khai finally found his way back in with some rolling Northern Light suplexes. A leg sweep and a superkick keeps Khai on offence en route to a Falcon arrow, but RKJ’s able to respond with a lovely pull-up cutter out of the corner that was really undersold on camera.
Khai barely kicks out from a Muscle Buster, but does manage to get in some hopeful pinning attempts… only for RKJ to respond with a Shining Wizard for another near-fall. A teased Fire Thunder Driver’s taken to the middle rope, but Khai escaped only to get brought down with a superplex. Somehow, Khai’s able to retaliate with an over-the-knee brainbuster, then with a Pingshot cutter, but RKJ rolls to the outside to avoid being pinned.
A second cutter followed, onto the apron, before a third one into the ring’s caught… Khai’s able to roll-up Ricky, but it’s reversed as RKJ grabbed the rope to snatch the win. Commentary notes that RKJ won the same way that David Francisco “won” the title from Michael Oku last month, and there’s a reference I’d hoped would be consigned to the dustbin of history. **¼
Post-match, Ricky continues to beat on Khai, only for Leyton Buzzard to abandon commentary to try and talk sense into RKJ. That didn’t work, as Ricky slapped him, before Buzzard’s knee seemingly gave out as he went to go after RKJ… who then went after said knee before JJ Gale made the save. At the very least, that’s telling you Buzzard’s still a ways off of making a return, right?
Lucia Lee vs. Kanji
Lucia’s yet to even be as much as on a winning team in Rev Pro, let alone pick up a singles win. As a contender (although she gets her own music), that’s to be expected, and with Kanji on the run of her Rev Pro career to date, you’d think this’d be a straightforward one. Foreshadowing is a literary device used by authors to hint at or suggest future events or outcomes within a story…
Kanji being announced as “Nottingham’s own” got some boos here. Thank God Rev Pro don’t run Derby. It’s a pretty even start, with Lucia more than matching Kanji as we reached some see-saw pins that ended in Kanji diving for the ropes as Lucia seemingly looked to set up for a deathlock.
Countering back, Kanji went after Lucia’s neck with a twist in the corner, then on the mat, before a bridging deathlock targeted Lucia’s knee… but Lucia’s able to respond with clotheslines, showing she wasn’t the pushover that her win/loss record here showed. A guillotine from Kanji ends in the ropes, before Kanji went back to the legs with a British Figure Four.
Kanji switches the hold into a pinning attempt, but Lucia kicked out and responded with a head kick, then with some more running kicks in the corner before Kanji went for the legs again with a Dragon screw in the corner. That scrap took things onto the apron, but Kanji remained ahead as she tied up Lucia back inside with a Kimura, before it almost went south as a sunset flip from Kanji ended in the ropes.
Back to her feet first, Lucia targets the arm for a spell, before a Saito suplex almost upset Kanji, before a Cattle Mutilation from Lucia ended with Kanji breaking the grip before she went back to the Kimura for the quick submission. This was a real good showing for Lucia in defeat, but with Deonna Purrazzo next for Kanji this weekend (and assuming Kanji’s got the Mercedes Moné match next month), this felt like bad timing to do this match – especially the length of it and the way it was played out. ***
Flying Bryant Brothers (Leland Bryant, Nino Bryant & Zander Bryant) vs. CPF (Danny Black, Joe Lando & Maverick Mayhew)
This was a rematch from last year’s Trios Grand Prix – and the first time we’ve seen CPF here this year. I’d almost forgotten about those trophies…
The one time the crowd tried a chant, it got booed down. I mean sure, it’s not lucha libre, despite this being under lucha rules, but at least someone tried! When we got going, the Bryants enjoyed the best of the early going, with Joe Lando getting caught out with the lucha rules as Nino scored with a springboard crossbody.
The Bryants seemed to be making better use of the lucha rules, sliding out so another brother could take advantage of the quick exit – something CPF were really struggling to deal with as Joe Lando was kept in the ring for a long time. Lando tries to fight back, but he’s unable to break out of the corner… and when he did, Lando was pushed back as he opted to take down the Bryants before making a tag. When just leaving the ring was an option that commentary called out…
Finally Lando tagged out to Danny Black as CPF finally began to make inroads, with an elevated reverse DDT nearly ending things. Maverick Mayhew’s in to keep things going with a snapping slam, before Lando returned as CPF were finally getting the hang of the lucha rules here.
Lando absolutely crushes Leland with the landing on an elevated back senton ahead of a stomp-assisted DDT as the Bryants were beginning to struggle. A fake-out created an opening for the Bryants as Leland brought in Zander, then Nino as the Bryants tried to regain their form from earlier in the match, this time targeting Mayhew.
CPF regain the advantage though as they were able to isolate Nino, with Danny Black’s handspring into a tornado DDT landing ahead of a Meteora/Powerbomb combo for a near-fall. A nice turnaround sees the Bryants hit back with a pop-up reverse ‘rana and a Destroyer, and bloody hell, the tranquilisers must have worn off because Coventry’s finally making some noise!
A Three Post Massacre from CPF flattens Danny Black for another three-count, before CPF reset things with a six-way brawl. Danny’s Clash Bomb sparks a Parade of Moves, ending with Leyland getting stacked up with an Awful Waffle from Mayhew ahead of the FIJ stomp-assisted pumphandle driver triple-team finish for the win. This felt a little too loose at times, but easily the best thing on the show so far. ***¼
Post-match, Mayhew gets the mic and said that they’ve not forgotten what those trophies mean… but they’re not about to cash them in yet, as they want to prove they’re the best trios in the world.
Connor Mills vs. Luke Jacobs
Our main event was a warm-up for next week’s Young Guns vs. Mills/Joshua tag title match – and we’re going back a year to their rivalry last year over a spot in the Revolution Rumble. A lot’s changed since then, eh?
Mills charged out of the gates as he trapped Jacobs in the corner with kicks early on, but retaliation from Jacobs just earned him more kicks as things spilled outside as things played out just as you’d expect, with Mills throwing Luke’s hand in the ring post to try and nullify his chops.
On the stage, Jacobs nibbled away at Mills ahead of a DDT onto the ramp, before he looked to force a submission… but Mills escaped and ended up getting met with a back elbow off the ropes instead as Jacobs wasn’t looking to drag this one out. Targeting the knee, Luke tries to neutralise Mills’ kicks… but a grounded Mills was still able to knock Luke down for a rear naked choke out of hope more than anything.
A hanging armbar in the corner from Mills reminded Jacobs that he wasn’t going to have it all his own way… only for Luke to pluck Mills out of the air for a spinebuster seconds later. Luke’s follow-up Figure Four ends with him having to reach for the ropes after Mills rolled it over. Mills was able to get back into it from the restart, dumping Jacobs with a Ki Krusher, but Luke walks back in with a suplex into the corner… then a German suplex out of it for a near-fall.
More back-and-forth ends with Mills eating a forearm from Jacobs, before his rebound swivelling lariat just earned him a suplex in return. Luke runs into an elbow in the corner as Mills again tried to make inroads, but a running dropkick’s caught and turned into a Last Ride powerbomb… with the rebound earning Mills a clothesline seconds later. Somehow that’s for nought as some kicks took down Jacobs for a near-fall, before a crossface from Jacobs tried to end things.
Mills rolls out of the crossface and back in for an ankle lock… but an inside cradle nearly nicks it for Jacobs as the crowd seemed to be getting behind Mills. An exchange of strikes saw Mills edge ahead until Luke’s headbutts find their mark… leading to a lariat for a near-fall as Mills was beginning to leak the red stuff from his head.
More back-and-forth strikes end with a rebound lariat from Mills… but Jacobs kicks out, only to get caught in an ankle lock for the quick tap. I wasn’t a fan of all of this, but this was a good fight to end the show, with Mills getting the W to give food for thought for those thinking his run with the tag titles will be ending next week. ***½
Less is absolutely more (except when it comes to crowd reactions!), and this show felt like this was proof of that axiom. Even though this show, without intermission, clocks in at two and a half hours, some matches on the card still felt long – with the Kanji/Lucia Lee match in particular feeling egregious given the trajectories of both competitors at the moment. In addition to the crowd looking as animated as 2001-era Linda McMahon and simply not sounding engaged for large parts of the show, made this feel almost like a pandemic-era show. In short, if you’re pushed for time, this is the first Rev Pro event in a long time that you’d be forgiven for just handwaving.