Minoru Suzuki made his return to the 229 as the road to High Stakes saw the arrival of new faces.
Quick Results
Robbie X pinned Mirko Mori in 10:01 (***¼)
Ricky Knight Jr. pinned ELIJAH in 12:42 (***½)
Luke Jacobs pinned Nico Inverardi in 12:53 (***¾)
Connor Mills defeated Trent Seven via referee stoppage in 23:06 (****¼)
Safire Reed & Alexxis Falcon pinned Dani Luna & Kanji in 12:52 (***¼)
Yuto Nakashima & Oskar Leube submitted Kieron Lacey & Mark Trew in 9:10 (***¼)
Minoru Suzuki pinned Leyton Buzzard in 18:42 (***½)
— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com
We’re at a packed 229 in London for this one – and we’ve got Andy Quildan and Gideon Grey on commentary opening the show to camera.
Mirko Mori vs. Robbie X
It’s a Rev Pro-in-London debut for Mirko Mori… I’m old enough to have seen him elsewhere in London on a freedom road…
Mori trips up Robbie X early on, while Robbie returned with a headlock takedown as he looked to keep things on the deck. Headscissors from Mori are escaped, as was a wristlock, with Robbie X countering out with an armdrag into an armbar… the pace quickens as Mori blocked an X-Claimation, before they caught each others kicks and reached a truce.
We resume with waistlocks before Mori found his way in with a crucifix pin for a two-count before he landed a dropkick. Chops take Robbie X into the corner, before he sidestepped and took Mori onto the apron… a handspring kick takes him down to the floor, ahead of a pint-spilling plancha.
Back at ringside, Robbie X chops Mori around ringside ahead of a Molly Go Round back inside… it’s good for a two-count as Robbie keeps Mori downed with a chinlock. A chop defies the sudden quietening of the audio as the former cruiserweight champion remained on top.
Robbie’s enziguiri earned him a Falcon arrow in return as Mori almost snatched the win. Robbie stays a step ahead with a cartwheel and a low dropkick in a sudden sequence, while the Beyblade kick into the corner and a standing shooting star press kept Robbie on top. A slam sets up Robbie X for a moonsault… he rolls through before Mori countered another X-Claimation into a German suplex.
Mori stays on Robbie with a tornado DDT for a near-fall, while a frog splash almost put Robbie away. Some trash talk from Mori fills up the swear jar, only for Robbie X to return with a backflip kick and a monstrous X-Claimation for the win. ***¼
ELIJAH vs. Ricky Knight Jr.
It’s a London debut for ELIJAH, and commentary’s noticing the run of bald, bearded fellas on the card today…
ELIJAH jumps RKJ from behind during the entrances, but an early chop just gets laughed off as Ricky ended up getting his eyes raked. Recovering, RKJ rails ELIJAH with a dropkick, before a missed plancha looked to put RKJ in trouble… but he catches ELIJAH and just dumps him on the floor with a suplex.
Blistering chops follow before ELIJAH was thrown back into the ring for a delayed vertical suplex, with RKJ going up to the count of 60. ELIJAH’s able to kick out though, but it’s too soon for RKJ to put him away, as ELIJAH raked the eyes to avoid the Fire Thunder driver… then came back with a springboard crossbody for a two-count.
ELIJAH stays on the front foot, but RKJ’s able to come right back with a snap powerslam before he ate mat on a moonsault. Capitalising, ELIJAH hits a knee strike for a two-count, following with a bodyslam as RKJ began to fight back, landing a sucker punch before ELIJAH’s clothesline looked to shut him down.
Another crossbody from ELIJAH’s caught as he’s chucked into the corner with a death valley driver… RKJ follows with a couple of dropkicks in the corner, before the draping DDT almost got the win. ELIJAH avoids a 450 splash as he jumps back in with a Slingblade… then with a reverse ‘rana, but RKJ shrugs it off and just barges through him with a clothesline.
RKJ trade shots once more, lighting up ELIJAH with chops ahead of a CLONKING headbutt… only for ELIJAH to land a springboard Destroyer as he was swinging for the proverbial fences. A Styles Clash puts RKJ back on top though, but ELIJAH’s able to hit a top rope ‘rana after escaping the Shell Shock… and almost won it once more after a sliding lariat.
A Graveyard Smash almost got ELIJAH the upset, but RKJ refused to let any distance get put between him and ELIJAH… which led to Ricky catching ELIJAH up top with a gamengiri before a Shell Shock led to the hard-earned win. ELIJAH got way more here than I expected, as he proved to be a tough test as RKJ headed into High Stakes. ***½
Post-match, RKJ got the mic and demanded Anthony Ogogo answer his challenge from last month… and noted that next weekend Ogogo would be in Southampton. RKJ promised to be there too to get his answer…
Nico Inverardi vs. Luke Jacobs
Inverardi joins his Brixia Bone Breakers partner in making his Rev Pro return – and it’s another tough test.
Luke goes to work straight on, targeting Inverardi’s arm before things were taken to the mat. Breaking free, Jacobs took Nico into the ropes and slapped him in the mush as progress was made, leading to see-saw shoulder tackles and right hands as the Italian tried to out-strike the Mancunian.
A dropkick takes Jacobs into the corner, as Nico then sprinted in with an elbow before he tried to stomp on Luke’s elbow. That’s avoided as a slam and a back senton turned it back around for Jacobs, whose chops eventually took Inverardi back down. Jacobs ends up getting caught with an O’Connor roll for a near-fall as Inverardi forced an opening, stomping on the elbow before an Exploder chucked Luke across the ring.
Jacobs caught Inverardi with a Samoa Joe-esque uranage out of the corner before we headed outside once more… with Jacobs’ powerbomb ensuring Inverardi had an uncomfortable meeting with the edge of the ring. They keep going, trading chops around ringside before Luke used his head, taking things back in for a snap suplex for a two-count.
Inverardi’s whipped into the corner next, but he meets Luke with a back elbow and a ‘rana out of the corner, before Luke kneed his way out of a suplex. More back-and-forth sees the pair trade shots en route to another Inverardi dropkick, this time followed-up with a release German suplex as Jacobs spilled outside and into the path of a wild low-angle tope. A quick return allows Nico to hit a missile dropkick for a two-count, before a forearm and superkick earned Inverardi a pop-up powerbomb.
A folding powerbomb’s next as Jacobs again came close… he cues up for a lariat, but a Skayde special from Inverardi almost causes an upset, before Jacobs used his head again. Jacobs tries for a Bull lariat, but ends up taking a Destroyer, only to rebound with a wicked lariat before the pair collapsed.
Back to their feet and we’re back to the forearms with a dizzied Nico falling into the ropes… he chops away a headbutt attempt, but Jacobs eventually caught him with a capture headbutt. With a THUD. A Manchester Torpedo’s next, then a Tiger Driver… but it’s still not enough as Luke then got caught with a sheer-drop brainbuster as both men continued to dig deep
More lariats from Luke nearly do it, before he went all RKJ with a Fire Thunder Driver to get the win. Holy hell, this was wonderful – Luke’s really found that niche as he beats the snot out of everyone in front of him, and it’s a delight to watch. ***¾
Post-match, JJ Gale sprints from the back to attack Luke with a Gale Force cutter… the attack got Gale booed, as he then took the mic and told Jacobs he’d run through him again at High Stakes. Normally, this is where we’d be done, but Jacobs didn’t just chase Gale to the back… he threw him back down the stairs as the brawl continued with Gale getting posted, then chopped as we ended up with a pull-apart in the ring.
It still doesn’t end there though as a Cactus Clothesline from Jacobs took things back outside, before Gale snuck into the ring and hit a flip senton into the restrained Jacobs. Luke took that as well as you’d think, pelting the microphone into the desk before threatening to end JJ in the back, then do something unspeakable with the mullet.
Connor Mills vs. Trent Seven
The stipulation for this one was that Gio Nolastname was barred from the building…
The opening lock-up sees Trent take Mills into the corner, before Mills tried his luck with shoulder tackles and chops. Trent’s frying pan-like chop stings Mills – the first of oh so many on this night – but Mills quickly had him on the deck for a kick to the back. Chops and kicks were the order of the day early on as Mills just absorbed Trent’s chops, before he was flung skyward with a lofty back body drop in return.
Biting from Mills earns him a chop as he’s sent over the top rope to the outside, where more chops were waiting as Mills’ chest was beginning to mark up badly. There’s even a Trent Seven lookalike – although I’d say it was vaguely more Lexis King in a sheepskin coat – waiting for a chop, which somehow wasn’t a DQ.
Mills shrugs it off and posts Trent from there, before they head up onto the apron as Trent ate a shinbreaker onto the edge of the ring. Back inside, a missile dropkick keeps Trent on the back foot, as did a Dragon screw as Mills had pinpointed Trent’s left leg and knee. Kicks from Mills became predictable as Trent caught one, then kicked him away, only for Mills to go back to the knee.
Mills ties up Trent in an Indian deathlock, which was eventually chopped away to the point that Mills was looking close to bleeding from his chest. Trent’s comeback’s cut off as he’s taken into the corner… but he sidesteps a running dropkick as Mills hung himself up in the corner for more chops.
Trent goes for broke, scoring an avalanche back suplex a la Razor Ramon, before a wild punt to the eye of Mills left him with a wound that quickly rose up. That was bad news for Trent as Mills was determined to fight through it, swinging for the fences with chops and kicks as he got baited into battle, only for Mills to eventually go back to the leg.
With Trent on his knees, Mills peppers him with kicks, but they’re eventually caught… a trio of rebounds from Mills eventually see him land a lariat, but he had to take a German suplex and a right hand for it to happen. Trent’s right back with his take on the Emerald Flowsion for a near-fall, while a Seven Star lariat landed at the second attempt for another near-fall.
A finger snapper awaited as Mills flipped off Trent… before a Bitter Flowsion (?) nearly put away the former Cruiserweight champion. Pushing on, Trent tries for a Birming-Hammer, but Mills grabbed onto the rope, only to get himself caught with a Dragon screw between the strands. Trent looks to up the ante with a Birming-Hammer on the apron, but instead he chops Mills back into the ring, where Mills lands a clothesline to the back of Trent.
The crowd eventually scatters as Mills hit a tope into the third row, before another trip up top saw Mills go flying with a double stomp to knock Trent out of a chair. I see what you did there Gideon… Mills’ recent travels are making him something of a world warrior…
Trent somehow manages to beat the ten-count, but a missile dropkick knocks Trent back down as he was pulling himself up. A Burning Cutter’s next, but Trent’s up at one and returned with a lariat and a short piledriver for a near-fall. Another crack at the Birming-Hammer’s stopped as Trent’s back gave out – Mills pulls him into a heel hook, and finds a way to tie up the arms as well as Trent came agonisingly close to the ropes, before finally chopping himself free.
Mills stays on the leg, but gets caught in a Figure Four after he tried to roll Trent into a heel hook. Another chop gets Mills free ahead of a crossface, turning it into a double armbar with some ZSJ-ish kicks to the head as the referee waved it off. My GOD… this was an unexpected gem of a match, and that’s coming from someone who expected little here. Not quite a “I didn’t know they had it in them” outing, but a “my God, that’s going to put eyes on them” match for Mills. ****¼
Post-match, Mills reiterated that he didn’t need Gio to win matches – but he trusts him to steer his career the right way… before calling out Zack Sabre Jr. and promised to
Alexxis Falcon & Safire Reed vs. Dani Luna & Kanji
Safire Reed’s still got that siren in her theme – and has Dani Luna in a fortnight for the women’s title…
Luna and Falcon start us off, with Luna’s side headlock being pushed off ahead of a return dropkick from the champion. Kanji tags in and catches Falcon with an armdrag ahead of an arm snapper a la ZSJ. Safire Reed’s in to get caught with a shoulder tackle after a couple of leapfrogs, before Reed scurried away when Luna got the tag in.
We’re back to Luna and Falcon, with Alexxis taking a fallaway slam and an Exploder, before Kanji returned to hit a splash to the back of Falcon for a two-count. Reed rushes around the ring to knock Dani Luna off the apron, allowing Falcon to catch a distracted Kanji with a dropkick as the match turned on its head.
Reed’s back to hit a suplex on Kanji for a two-count, while a clothesline knocked Kanji down off the ropes. Falcon’s back to hit a release Fisherman suplex for a two-count, before a pop-up European uppercut caught Kanji in the corner. Falcon baits Dani Luna into the match, causing a distraction as Kanji’s beaten on behind the ref’s back. Reed’s back with an armbar, before Kanji finally found a way back in… only for Reed to again distract Luna from making the tag.
Falcon’s German suplex bounced Kanji away from her corner. The double-teaming eventually backfires though as Kanji leapt off of Falcon’s back to dropkick Reed, then finally made the tag to Luna, whose rebound Blue Thunder bomb spun Falcon to the mat. A crushing Samoan drop nearly puts Reed away seconds later, but a blind tag has Falcon back in…
Alexxis one-ups Luna with a German suplex, which inadvertently triggered Luna’s avalanche German suplex to Reed, who looked like she’d taken a bad landing. The match keeps going with a swinging hooking DDT from Falcon for a near-fall as things broke down… they settle down with Falcon being rolled through into an Indian deathlock. Reed’s back to break the hold up, before Falcon’s cutthroat Burning Hammer almost put Kanji away.
Reed’s back, but she’s caught with kicks to the back from Kanji… Luna gets a tag in, but a planned double-team goes awry as Falcon shoved Kanji… to knock Reed into Luna. Safire adds a Shining Wizard to the mix, and that’s enough for Reed to get the win over the champion two weeks ahead of High Stakes. ***¼
Next up, we had an in-ring segment as Andy Quildan invited Will Ospreay and Michael Oku to deliver a face-to-face statement going into High Stakes. With a heckler on the headset, Andy ran down two of the countries Rev Pro were running in this year (Spain and Germany… weirdly not mentioning Costa Rica, which took me by surprise), before revealing that both Michael Oku and Will Ospreay would be able to add another stipulation to the match.
Quildan made sure to word Ospreay’s match at High Stakes as his last independent wrestling appearance with Rev Pro – so as not to rule out him returning under the guise of AEW…
A tense face-off ended with Ospreay being invited to make some comments, where he questioned whether people were buying tickets to see Ospreay’s match… or just to see him? Ospreay again took credit for doing the work to keep the British scene alive, then told Oku he was in hostile territory – something he’d had no experience of being in.
Oku’s response took aim at some of Ospreay’s previous comments, where he’d said that the British scene was “as bland as cabbage,” before calling out Ospreay for his goal of taking the Rev Pro title away from the company. After defending the cabbage comment, Ospreay clarified that he wasn’t going to take the Rev Pro title away from the promotion – he was just going to take the title away from Oku and then put the belt up in March’s Revolution Rumble.
As for the stipulations, Oku asked for a run back of the “no ref stoppage” rule that he asked for last time he faced Ospreay… which prompted Ospreay to retell how that went down first time around. Amira stepped in to finish Ospreay’s sentence and neuter his rant. A heartfelt Amira prophesied how Oku’d win in two weeks before things threatened to blow up as Ospreay brought up how it was Amira who threw in the towel first time around… before saying a repeat would see Oku forfeit the title. Not quite a stipulation, those were the final words going into Crystal Palace…
Kieron Lacey & Mark Trew vs. Young Blood (Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima)
Trew and Lacey had called out Young Blood a month ago… and they’ve given themselves a big test against the on-excursion Leube and Nakashima, whose entrance theme feels like it’d be at home in a video game.
Trew and Lacey jump Yuto before the bell, but Oskar’s back in to level it up as reversed whips bounced Trew and Lacey into each other. The bell goes as Oskar laid into Trew with a forearm and a chop, before a lofty hiptoss brought Trew down to earth with a bang. Kieron Lacey stops Nakashima on the top rope, allowing Trew to kick out Oskar’s leg as the German found himself isolated, at risk of having his leg kicked out of his leg.
Oskar gets a foot to the rope to escape a sleeperhold, but Lacey attacks as Trew had the ref distracted. DDTs to the leg keep Oskar down ahead of an elbow drop from Lacey for just a one-count. Lacey’s forearms are met with one in return from Oskar, before Trew charged the ring to dropkick Nakashima off the apron… and leave him in the path of a progressively pissed-off Oskar. Lacey chop blocks the knee out of Oskar again, while a low enziguiri from Trew kept things going their way.
A flapjack from Oscar pancakes Trew before Yuto got the tag in and ran wild with kicks to Trew in the corner. Lacey intervenes but gets some kicks too, before Yuto’s knee drop drew a two on Trew. Charging Nakashima into the corner opened things up for Trew and Lacy again, leading to a double-team suplex on Yuto, who fought back to avoid a spike piledriver by press slamming Trew off the top onto Lacey. Splat.
Oskar’s back in to blast through Trew with a shoulder tackle, then with a spinning slam. Trew tries to hit back with a forearm, but he’s spun inside out with a chop, before a high/low kick/chop block combo brought in Lacey to stomp apart the pin. Lacey chucks Oskar outside for a dive into the second row, while Trew’s Ralph Wiggum-esque diving headbutt looked to neutralise Yuto.
The Black Flag suplex/powerbomb combo almost puts Nakashima away, before a spike piledriver was stopped again, this time with Oskar pushing Trew off the top rope and onto the side of the ring. OW. An overhand chop from Yuto drops Lacey ahead of a guillotine choke, while Oskar restrained Trew… and that’s more than enough to force the stoppage as Young Blood marked their debut with an emphatic win. An obviously different proposition than much else in the British scene – and I for one can’t wait to see how they pan out! ***¼
Post-match, Trew and Lacey attacked with chairs, but Oskar and Yuto shrugged it off and chased them to the back. This feud shall continue!
Leyton Buzzard vs. Minoru Suzuki
It’s a huge test for Buzzard, who weirdly got “welcome back” chants from a section of the crowd… who clearly weren’t here a month ago!
We get going with Buzzard offering a lock-up with Suzuki, before a hammerlock was easily elbowed away by Suzuki… who began to go for the arm as he took Buzzard down in an armbar. The ropes save Buzzard, whose attempt at a waistlock was broken up as Suzuki began to work over the wrist and fingers.
Buzzard manages to power out and take down Suzuki into a toe hold, but Suzuki just laughs off Leyton and hooked his mouth to force a separation. A rear naked choke’s escaped as Buzzard’s taken into the ropes for a clean break… something he was unwise to not replicate moments later.
Suzuki bursts into life from there, taking Buzzard into the corner, only to get charged down with a shoulder tackle off the ropes. Buzzard falls into Suzuki’s trap as a hanging armbar caught him by the ropes, before Suzuki threw Buzzard next to Andy Quildan… who was almost used as a human shield. Buzzard and Suzuki head around ringside as Andy’s heart was in his mouth over a merch table again.
The pair continue to scrap around ringside as Suzuki just walked through Buzzard’s strikes, then nailed Buzzard with a forearm in return. Suzuki demanded a rapid count-out, threatening the referee as Buzzard made it back into the ring… where a kick to the back was waiting for him. A PK to the chest followed, as Suzuki went back to work on the arm with Buzzard again falling into the ropes to force the break.
Standing over Buzzard, Suzuki throws some slaps, which sparked some back-and-forth… and some CLONKING elbows from Suzuki. A chop by the ropes from Buzzard stuns Suzuki, as did a dropkick, before Buzzard caught Suzuki by the ropes for a superkick as an unlikely turnaround continued. A second missile dropkick gets Buzzard a two-count, as did a vertical brainbuster, but it’s not long before Suzuki found his way back in.
A PK gets Suzuki a near-fall before we returned to the back-and-forth strikes, and some more CLONKERS from Suzuki. Buzzard’s rolling elbow took Suzuki off his feet, before Buzzard opened his mouth and left himself open for Suzuki to try for another jaw-breaker of an elbow. The pair continue to trade, ending with Suzuki finding his way in with a rear naked choke… but Buzzard back body drops away a Gotch piledriver!
A clothesline from Buzzard almost nicks it, before Leyton went up top and missed a moonsault… that left him open as Suzuki hit back with headbutts and elbows, before a delayed Gotch piledriver led to the win. Valiant in defeat, but Suzuki suggested a rematch afterwards – and maybe those lessons learned will be enough next time around? ***½
I keep saying it, but Rev Pro’s monthly shows at the 229 have been the surest thing in British wrestling for a while now – with Minoru Suzuki drawing in some extra eyeballs as the build for High Stakes later this month looks to be peaking at just the right moment. Come for Suzuki, stay for Jacobs/Inverardi and make damn sure you don’t skip Trent Seven vs. Connor Mills either!