Rev Pro returned to the 229 as Callum Newman had a crack at Michael Oku’s Cruiserweight title.
Quick Results
Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper pinned Mad Kurt & Dan Magee in 11:17 (***¼)
Alex Coughlin submitted Joshua James in 9:52 (***)
Hyan pinned Debbie Keitel in 10:24 (***)
Michael Oku submitted Callum Newman in 17:28 to retain the Rev Pro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship (***¾)
Dan Moloney pinned JJ Gale in 9:27 (***¼)
Gabriel Kidd pinned Ricky Knight Jr. in 11:27 (***¾)
Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis pinned Yota Tsuji & Shota Umino in 19:19 (***½)
We’re back at the 229 with some additional lighting – which can make for some unfortunate effects during entrances. Andy Quildan and Gideon Grey are on commentary as ever…
Mad Kurt (Mad Kurt & Dan Magee) vs. Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper)
I think this was Mad Kurt’s first show for Rev Pro since the restart… unless you count that scrap he had outside the Cockpit back in July. Custom pyjamas? Yep, Kurt’s got some of those too!
Opening up, Mad Kurt tries to pepper Mambo from the off, but just gets chopped down… as he then needed help kipping up in the early going. Instead, Mambo tries for a monkey flip, but Kurt went for a punch before some lucha broke out, ending in an inverted atomic drop and an enziguiri as tags followed.
Entering the ring, Magee’s low dropkick and sliding Flatliner put him on top, but Kurt blind-tagged in… and found himself getting powerbombed onto TK in the process. Dan’s back in, but he let Kurt distract him as a roll-up gave TK a two-count, with the tag champions then taking over with a double sledge to the arm.
A rope-walk armdrag from Mambo evades Mad Kurt as the champions built up to the Cagna Marta reverse DDT/elbow drop for a near-fall. Mad Kurt tries for the rope-walk armdrag too, but just crotches himself instead as Kurt remained on the defensive. He fights out of a chinlock, but was quickly put in a neck crank ahead of the Macho Moonsault combo for a near-fall for TK.
Mad Kurt finally finds a way out with a Codebreaker to TK, before the Surfboard Flatliner provided one of the more “it does what it says on the tin” double-team combinations. A Gutterball is kicked away from by Kurt, as Dan Magee finally got the hot tag in and cleared house with forearms and clotheslines, before a Side Effect and a leg drop looked to have Dan ahead.
A splash keeps TK in the corner before Magee’s cannonball off the apron kept Mambo on the floor… a crossbody back in nearly wins it for Magee, before a Sega Magee Driver attempt saw Cooper lift Kurt and Magee to the outside, in an accidental Davey Richards suplex to the floor…
Mad Kurt gets back up to stop TK and Mambo’s circus dive, intercepting it with a cutter to Mambo before a Sega Mega Driver planted TK. Kurt doesn’t go for a cover, despite Magee’s protests… Kurt dabs at Dan, and the end is nigh as he ate a superkick, a headbutt, before the B-Roll left him laying.
Magee takes the German Suplex Turbo Charged By The Power of Friendship, before Mad Kurt was put away with the Captain Midnight’s Revenge. Now I can put away my notepad of those move names for another show, as an entertaining opener came to a close. ***¼
After the match, TK tried to give Dan Magee a pep talk saying that we’d all seen before how he belonged here – but staying associated with Mad Kurt was holding him back… and if they could focus, they may be fighting for the titles next time.
Joshua James vs. Alex Coughlin
A contender vs. graduate match as Coughlin continued his brief trip to Rev Pro. They dubbed this the biggest match of Joshua James’ career in Rev Pro…
Opening with a handshake, James backed Coughlin into the ropes but broke cleanly… allowing Coughlin to take him down and into the ropes on the other side. James responds with a chop, with Coughlin baiting him into some more as the sounds of meat slapping meat rang around the 229.
An overhand chop had Coughlin briefly rocked, but he’s back with more of those before he herc’d up James for an elevated overhead belly-to-belly. He then deadlifts James up for a gorilla press slam, which nearly wins it, before a side headlock restrained James on the mat. Headscissors got James free, but Coughlin manages to roll out of them and into almost a camel clutch as he effortlessly turned defence into attack.
James finds a way back in with a shotgun dropkick, then a splash and a big splash off the middle rope for a near-fall. Wild clotheslines follow from James, but there’s a lariat from Coughlin too for a near-fall as he then went for a gutwrench. A chop to the back breaks James’ resolve as Coughlin impresses with the deadlift gutwrench suplex, before he pulled James down into a rear naked choke for the stoppage. Coughlin’ll be getting the headlines here, but James more than held his own here – even if the contender status likely means he’ll be on the wrong end of results for a while. ***
Debbie Keitel vs. Hyan
Both Keitel and Hyan returned at High Stakes a week earlier – and we had a jump start here as Keitel hit a German suplex of the corner as Hyan was doing her entrance…
One of the earned “oh Jesus Christ”s out of Gideon Grey on commentary as we got going, but Hyan manages to shrug it off and take down Keitel with some mounted punches. She takes Keitel outside for a low-pe, but back in the ring Keitel began to target Hyan’s arm, whipping it into the mat ahead of a Northern Lights suplex.
Keitel’s stomps take Hyan into the corner for some more arm work, leading to a Rings of Saturn-like hold continued the onslaught. Hyan escaped and rolled Keitel into a cravat knee… but another arm whip has her down, with Keitel raking at Hyan’s arm ahead of a grounded Million Dollar dream.
Hyan’s taken into the corner for a knee strike as she’s sent outside, then into the ring post, arm-first. Narrowly beating the count, Hyan rolled back in, then mounted a comeback with forearms and clotheslines, before a Wasteland and double leg drop picked up a two-count. A deathlock followed, with Hyan chopping Keitel in the process ahead of throwing in an elevated butterfly hold as Keitel was tied up in knots.
After Keitel got free, she’s taken into the corner with Snake Eyes before a spear’s blocked with a knee strike… Keitel followed with a Stroke, but Hyan kicked out as the pair began to trade strikes again. A low bridge takes Keitel back outside, but an apron PK ends with Keitel being pulled onto the apron as Keitel wanders back in… and gets caught with an inside cradle as Hyan snatched the win! An even match that Keitel was pulling ahead on before she was caught off-guard – and you’ll have to think this feud will continue once Hyan’s followed that advice and iced her shoulder… ***
Rev Pro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship: Callum Newman vs. Michael Oku (c)
This was Oku’s first defence since he beat Mike Bailey back in November – having been focused on the heavyweight title in recent months…
Oku was looking more aggressive than usual going in, but it’s Newman who burst out of the blocks with shoulder tackles as he then cartwheeled out of some headscissors. A dropkick in the ropes took Oku outside as a tope con giro wiped out Andy Q’s chair deposit… before Newman’s springboard dropkick back in was met with a superkick from Oku.
Oku picks up with a back elbow for a one-count, but Newman’s forearms earn him some receipts as Oku took him down for a low dropkick. That’s good for a two-count, as Oku then stretched Newman on the deck ahead of him getting kicked back outside. Newman picks up with chops, before Oku put him in the crowd so Callum’s family could get a good shot of him getting chopped.
Returning to the ring, a hiptoss version of the Millshot has Oku down, before Newman headed up top for a springboard uppercut a la JJ Gale. An attempted F5 from Newman’s countered into a DDT for a near-fall, before Oku went for a springboard moonsault… he stopped himself as Newman got the knees up, but the counter of a counter into the half crab was stopped.
Newman rebounds from the ropes for a roundhouse kick, then hit the fireman’s carry into a swinging Flatliner that always makes me shudder a little. Oku responds by flipping Newman back into a half crab, but it ends in the ropes as Oku then heads up top… and got caught with the rope-assisted gamengiri. A superplex attempt from Newman’s countered, but Newman lands on his feet before he countered Oku’s leaping knee into a Blue Thunder bomb for a near-fall.
Oku returns with a roll-through, then his leaping knee for a near-fall, before a frog splash kept things going… a half crab’s kicked out of as Oku more than telegraphed it, before a dropkick took Newman outside as we cleared out for a Fosbury flop. Newman’s thrown back inside as we get a Sasuke special in return as the danger absolutely was not over.
On the apron, the pair trade strikes again, leading to Newman snapping in with a Made in Japan, before a shooting star press back in landed for a near-fall. Newman doesn’t stay on Oku though, eventually rolling him into a Boston crab, before Oku was pulled up… and countered with a guillotine… then a Destroyer. From there, he rolled Newman into a half crab, and there’s the one-two combo for the submission. Newman becoming more of a regular around here has increased the number of eyeballs on him – but just in what I’ve seen of him live in 2022 (for Rev Pro and for GOOD Wrestling), it’s starting to feel like things are really falling into place for Callum. Sure, he came up short here, but on this sort of form you feel like it’s only a matter of time… ***¾
After the match, Oku took the mic and brought up the first time he saw “that child” (Newman), before embarrassing Callum… of course, Oku brings up that five-star match from the prior week, and thanked those in the crowd who were there from his debut match all the way through to today. Oku apologised to the crowd for “letting us down,” before announcing that he’d defend the Cruiserweight title this weekend (as this goes up) in Southampton against Luke Jacobs.
The second half of the show caught a few unawares as Will Ospreay’s music started things off, as Big Belt Billy gave everyone an eyeful of his new title. The air’s turned a little blue as Ospreay talked about High Stakes, putting over everyone on the card before making a dig at how Oku’s first five-stars came despite his girlfriend throwing the towel in on him. I have a feeling the swear jar might be covering the chair deposit tonight…
Talking about “levels,” Ospreay took digs at him compared to the rest of the indies, PROGRESS, NXT UK and New Japan… before a heckler pointed out how Ospreay lost to Okada. Jon Moxley’s name is thrown out there too, before Ospreay mentioned that there was nobody left in Rev Pro. Ospreay demanded that Andy Q find a new contender through him – bring up the idea of a British G1 once again – before Ricky Knight Jr.’s music hit as he answered the call.
In among the head-to-head, RKJ thanks Ospreay for building what’s around now, but vowed that he would “kill Ospreay” if it meant giving his new-born son the best life possible. Some choice words from Ospreay in return of course ended with the pair going nose to nose, with RKJ snapping one of Ospreay’s chains in the process…
Dan Moloney vs. JJ Gale
We had a jump start to this as Gale went after Moloney at ringside – looking to get some payback for last month’s attack.
In the ring though, Moloney hit back, before Gale’s springboards back inside led to the triple-jump ‘rana and a dropkick. Moloney’s back outside for a somersault plancha from Gale, before a return to the ring led to Gale getting taken down. Chops keep Gale down as the crowd took digs at Moloney’s upcoming TV appearances.
Gale trades strikes, but got kicked down by Moloney for a two-count, before a slam cut off Gale’s uppercuts. A back senton’s next for a two-count, then some more chops, before Gale fought back with a deadlift German suplex. Forearms waffle Moloney ahead of a triple-jump springboard moonsault as Gale made damn sure he wasn’t out of this one.
A Gory Bomb Knee’s blocked as Moloney tries a powerbomb… headscissors counter it as Gale hits the Gory Bomb Knee, only for a rolling elbow to get blocked as Moloney ended up being nailed with a Destroyer. From the kick-out, Gale goes for the springboard cutter, landing it at the second try as Moloney rolled to the ropes to prevent the pin.
Moloney’s down as Gale goes up top, but a 450 splash is rolled through as Gale’s eventually met with a German suplex… and from there it’s elementary as a spear and a Drilla spiked JJ for the win. A rather efficient outing from Moloney, who had more of a fight to deal with than he expected as he continued to build his stock in Rev Pro – and potentially go for a future title shot? ***¼
Gabriel Kidd vs. Ricky Knight Jr.
This was a match I was really looking forward to – and wasn’t expecting to come as soon as it did. It was Kidd’s second match for Rev Pro in his brief trip over here, and up against the newly-named top contender, it’s a new test for Gabe here…
Both men came out of the blocks, trading right hands and German suplexes as Kidd was sent outside… where a somersault plancha from RKJ put another dent in that safety deposit. RKJ throws Kidd into the sound booth, before they traded punches around ringside, going via the merch table, as RKJ began to target Kidd’s hands – so he could prevent those chops that blistered up Francesco Akira last week.
Kidd swings with a chop, but it hurt him more than RKJ before he had it thrown against the ring post. Finally hitting the ring, Knight boxes Kidd into the corner before Kidd lifted Knight up top and unceremoniously shoved him to the floor. Returning to the outside, Kidd offered himself up for chops as they again ignored the ref’s count… until they opted to swap chops back in the ring.
A double-hand chop took Knight down, but more boxing led to RKJ decking Kidd as a death valley driver into the corner and some dropkicks followed. RKJ pulls up Kidd for a Rainmaker, then for a Made in Japan, but Kidd kicks out at two before he escaped a Fire Thunder driver and caught RKJ on the back of the head.
RKJ shrugs it off, but again couldn’t get the Fire Thunder Driver off as Kidd escaped, and hit the ropes for a Bull lariat. Knight kicks out at one, so Kidd hits the ropes for a second Bull lariat… getting a near-fall, before a spinning tombstone got the win. That one shocked the room live, as they’d clearly expected RKJ to get the win – but Kidd provided a solid test for RKJ, and perhaps showed that Knight has a little work to do ahead of his title shot. ***¾
Post-match, RKJ said that his mind was elsewhere tonight, but vowed that next time, the result would be different.
Ahead of the main event, Gideon Grey barged past Stephanie Chase during one of her to-camera bits… then refused to do ring announcing for Yota Tsuji, opting instead to take a dig at Tsuji by saying that he’d “chosen the wrong guy” when it came to campaigning for Tsuji to join the Legion instead of Shota Umino. There’d be no introductions here, as Gideon told Tsuji to “have a lovely tag team match with somebody better than you.” Shade.
Shota Umino & Yota Tsuji vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
Aussie Open are looking to get back in the hunt after losing to Sunshine Machine at York Hall – and show that last week was just a blip…
Fletcher and Umino start us off with a lock-up, going back and forth as a headlock and headscissors escape led to a stand-off. Shoulder tackles from Umino yield little at first, before he took down Kyle for a low dropkick, before Tsuji tagged in to help with a pair of shoulder tackles for a two-count.
Tsuji’s taken into the Aussie Open corner as Mark Davis came in to waffle him with forearms, but some headscissors get Tsuji free… Davis pulls Fletcher outside, then charged Umino into the apron as Shota went for a save, while Tsuji took the double-team Go 2 Sleep, then an assisted Aussie Arrow back inside for a near-fall.
A slam from Davis drops Tsuji for a two-count, before he held Tsuji in the corner with a chokehold. Fletcher’s legal and does a Davis, slamming Tsuji for a kneeling pin, before Tsuji fought out of the corner… only to have to slip out of a suplex as he eventually got booted in the head, then walloped in the back of the head with a clothesline.
Somehow, Tsuji shrugs it off and hits a suplex as Umino was begging for a tag in. A pop-up knee from Shota and a suplex has Fletcher down, while a double shotgun dropkick took the Aussies down. A tornado DDT has Davis rocked ahead of a Fisherman suplex for a near-fall, before Shota slipped onto the apron to avoid an Alphamare Waterslide.
Umino’s caught on the top rope with a chop as Davis brought him down with a superplex, before another double dropkick from Shota took care of the Aussies. Tsuji’s back in to trade elbows with Fletcher, before the pair reversed tombstones back and forth, leading to Tsuji taking superkicks. An inside cradle nearly nicks the win as the pair trade clotheslines, then palm strikes, before Tsuji found a way through with a clothesline.
The ring fills as all four men break out for a Parade of Moves, ending with a Michinoku driver from Fletcher before Shota and Davis teed off on each other. A rolling elbow and a dropkick keeps Shota ahead briefly, until a clothesline from Davis wiped him out as the Aussies peppered Tsuji in the corner with splashes and kicks.
Referee Oscar Harding nearly gets caught in the corner until Fletcher intentionally elbowed him… all hell breaks loose there as Gideon leaves commentary to give Tsuji his cane after he’d speared the Aussies… but Tsuji refuses to use it. Instead, he tosses Gideon out of the ring with an ugly landing, before superkicks from the Aussies looked to set up a cane shot.
Shota makes the save, using the cane to knock down Davis, then block a Fletcher low blow, before a swing accidentally took out Tsuji. Second time’s the charm for that Fletcher low blow as Kyle pulled in the referee to get him ready for the finishing stretch, as a sliding punch to Tsuji, before the Coriolis got the win. The story of Yota Tsuji getting bullied from all sides continues as Aussie Open got back on track – by not-exactly-fair means… ***½
After the match, Will Ospreay came out to celebrate with his United Empire buddies while Mark Davis continued to beat up Tsuji and Joshua James… Ospreay deals with a heckler as Gabriel Kidd’s music hits. Andy Q’s going full Danhausen as far as the swearing here as Kidd got in the Empire’s faces, pointing out that he beat RKJ… so that should put him next in line for a title shot. In the meantime, Kidd told Ospreay that he’d take on Kyle Fletcher in Southampton as the number of challengers for Ospreay’s title is starting to grow…
Coming off of what some felt was the best show in Britain in recent memory, Rev Pro managed to keep the hot streak going here as they ride the current wave of momentum that that York Hall in part spurred on. While there may be no York Hall shows on the current schedule, they’ve got enough plates spinning to make sure that the next run of shows have some meat on the proverbial bones.