We’re four weeks away from the Revolution Rumble – and there was a taste of that chaos in the main event as the 229 saw a 12-man Revolution Tag.
Quick Results
Robbie X pinned David Francisco in 12:26 (***¼)
Alex Windsor pinned Laura di Matteo on 12:54 (***)
James Drake & Zack Gibson pinned Kieron Lacey & Mark Trew in 13:05 (***¾)
Luke Jacobs submitted Royce Isaacs in 13:05 (***¾)
Connor Mills defeated Stephen Wolf via referee’s decision in 12:55 (***¾)
Jordon Breaks pinned Leon Slater to win the Rev Pro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship in 17:22 (****¼)
JJ Gale won the Revolution Tag Match in 29:37 (****)
— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com
We’re live via stream from the 229 in London, with commentary from Andy Quildan and Gideon Grey.
David Francisco vs. Robbie X
Robbie X is looking to get back on track after recent losses to Leyton Buzzard and Mustafa Ali…
The early back-and-forth saw Robbie X take down Francisco with tijeras and headscissors, before Francisco hit back with a tijeras and a pop-up flapjack for a two-count. A neckbreaker lands for just a one-count there, before a clothesline dumped Robbie X over the top… only for a switcheroo to see Robbie X’s Koppo kick knock Francisco off the apron ahead of a tope into the chairs.
Back inside, a missile dropkick to the back of Francisco knocked the Portugal native down, while chops wore down Francisco ahead of a senton atomico. Robbie X pushes on with a manjigatame, dragging Francisco down to the mat and into a pinning attempt that garnered a two-count.
Francisco’s slammed down to the mat, but he pops up to superplex Robbie X off the top before anything could happen… he stays on top of Robbie with strikes in the corner, following up with a Lisbon Stampede for a near-fall. A quick turnaround sees Robbie X hit back with a Molly Go Round, following with a Beyblade kick and a standing shooting star press for another two-count.
An aborted moonsault from Robbie X looked to open things up for Francisco, who caught an X-Claimation and turned it into a Blue Thunder bomb for a near-fall. A double-jump crossbody out of the corner almost wins it for Francisco, who added a crossface, but it was just a mildly-annoyed face as Robbie was able to roll it into a pin, before he was sent out and dropkicked into the crowd.
Robbie X baits Francisco back onto the apron for a squatting death valley driver onto the edge of the ring. PUG?! Back inside, a Spiral Tap almost put Francisco away, before some misdirection saw Francisco avoid an X-Claimation and hit a diving boot. He’s not able to follow-up though, and seconds later fell to that X-Claimation as this proved to be the latter in the “win or learn” scenario for the contender. ***¼
Post-match, Francisco refused a handshake from Robbie X… only to be scolded by fellow contender Joshua James, who made him follow that code.
Alex Windsor vs. Laura Di Matteo
Windsor returned at High Stakes… chain in hand, while this was di Matteo’s first appearance in Rev Pro in almost two years.
Windsor looked to go for the chain at the bell, and almost lost instantly to a roll-up as di Matteo was all over the former champion early on. A dive to the outside took Windsor down, before armdrags back inside led to a release Fisherman suplex. Di Matteo stays on Windsor with a dropkick, before a trip up top ended with Laura rudely being pulled down onto the buckles.
Windsor began to pull ahead from there, crashing into di Matteo with a low dropkick for a two-count, before kicks and forearms kept her on the deck. Repeated shots to the lower back kept di Matteo down, while clotheslines by the ropes eventually got Windsor a two-count.
Di Matteo’s prodded with kicks as Windsor dared her to fight back, with Laura eventually hitting back with clotheslines and an enziguiri. A low superkick and DDT follow, as did a spin-out facebuster, but they’re only good for a two-count, before Windsor fought out of the Veni Vidi Vici grounded Octopus.
More kicks from di Matteo looked to keep her in it, but Windsor catches an enziguiri and rolls di Matteo into a Sharpshooter… but it’s right by the ropes as we have an instant break. A Codebreaker out of the corner keeps things even, as di Matteo went back to the Veni Vidi Vici, only for Windsor to make it to the ropes.
A swinging DDT in return gets Windsor another two-count, before another Sharpshooter was eventually rolled out of. Instead, a Shining Wizard keeps Windsor ahead, only for di Matteo to hit a swinging DDT of her own as neither woman was able to keep much of an advantage. A snapmare driver almost wins it for di Matteo, who again goes back to the Veni Vidi Vici, which again ends in the ropes.
Di Matteo goes for a missile dropkick, but it’s countered into a sit-out powerbomb for a near-fall, before a headbutt, a lariat and a sit-out Ki Krusher got the win for Windsor. A late flurry does the deal – but di Matteo had Windsor in trouble towards the end. ***
Post-match, Windsor grabs her chain and goes to choke di Matteo with it… Dani Luna makes the save, and demanded that she defend her title against Windsor at York Hall in a dog collar match.
Kieron Lacey & Mark Trew vs. Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson)
I have a feeling they ran out of time to come up with nicknames and team names after Mark got his done…
It’s a Rev Pro debut for James Drake, which kinda took me by surprise… as did the GYV working as good guys. Like with Gideon’s positive commentary throughout the night, that didn’t quite feel right!
Gibson starts by locking up with Trew into the ropes, giving a clean-ish break before James Drake came in and wound up Trew’s arm. Lacey tagged in and was instantly mocked by the crowd, before standing switches took the pair into the corner. Drake offers himself up for forearms from Lacey, before a blind tag to Gibson led to a double clothesline.
A quick turnaround saw Gibson take a double-team pop-up knee as Trew tagged in, but another blind tag has Drake back in as a low dropkick from Gibson and a step-up dropkick from Drake to Lacey wiped out the upstarts. Trew’s arm’s wrenched on as Lacey remained down on the outside.
An eye rake from Trew winds up Gibson, whose protestations distracted the referee… and allowed Lacey in for some attempted double-teaming. We’ve a short-range headbutt from Trew ahead of a slam/neckbreaker combo for a two-count, before a Trew suplex only got a one-count on Drake.
A double-team suplex keeps Drake down, but the ref refused to count a double pin. Lacey tries to stay on Drake with a chinlock, but things broke down into a tug of war that saw Lacey successfully tag out as Drake got cornered once more. Eventually, Drake’s able to fend them off, taking Trew down with a missile dropkick before an eye rake neutralised Lacey.
Trew sneaks under the ring… but Gibson’s smart to it, and was waiting for him to pop up so he could give him a kicking. Finally, Gibson gets the tag in and clears house with clotheslines to Lacey… there’s some mudhole stomping for the pair of them, before a T-bone suplex slung Trew into Lacey in the corner.
A trapped enziguiri from Drake, then an assisted Asai DDT gets a near-fall on Lacey, before a flying Ralph Wiggum headbutt from Tree stopped a Doomsday device. Trew and Lacey keep going with a wheelbarrow Codebreaker to Drake, then the Black Flag, before Gibson came in to hit a cross-chop to Trew… that left Lacey alone to take a Doomsday device, before a double-team Codebreaker finally got the win. A heck of a showing for Trew and Lacey, who more than held their own, but in the end it was the debuting GYV who left with the win… ***¾
Post-match, Gibson got the mic and declared that they’d be going for the tag titles at York Hall – regardless of whether it was Subculture or the Greedy Souls who left Coventry in two weeks with the belts…
Royce Isaacs vs. Luke Jacobs
It’s a Rev Pro debut for Isaacs, and if you wanna keep up Luke Jacobs’ matches with Team Filthy, well I guess this makes it number two?
We’ve a tense opening stage as the pair trade holds with Jacobs taking Isaacs to the mat, before things ended up in the ropes for a break. Jacobs slaps Isaacs on the break, and things pick up steam from there as the pair exchange shoulder tackles, leading to Isaacs charging Jacobs down to the mat.
A knee strike out of the corner rocked Jacobs ahead of a forearm off the middle rope, while a stalling suplex saw Isaacs march with Jacobs around the ring. Elbows keep Luke in the corner, but he just absorbs those shots and hits back with one of his own before he charged Issacs down out of the corner.
Chops follow from Jacobs, who invites Isaacs to a Violence Party in the corner before a slam and a back senton squashed Royce for a two-count. Jacobs rolls Royce down for another two-count, as we’re back to the pair exchanging elbow strikes before a German suplex flung Jacobs across the ring.
Isaacs stays on Luke with knees in the ropes, but a snap roll-up almost ends things… before another Kitchen Sink took Jacobs down. A deadlift gutwrench suplex sees Isaacs parade Jacobs around some more, leading to another two-count as Jacobs looked to be in big trouble.
Jacobs hits back, dumping Isaacs with a uranage out of the corner as he began his comeback, charging in with clotheslines in the corner before a forearm looked to rock Isaacs. A German suplex quickly follows, then a brainbuster for another near-fall, before Isaacs tried to go for a Cloverleaf… Jacobs rolls through and tries for a Boston crab, but it’s kicked away.
A big powerslam from Isaacs dumps Jacobs a la Buzz Sawyer, while a wrist-clutch Northern Lights almost got the win. In response, Jacobs swings for the fences, scoring a pop-up powerbomb before he almost Ganso bombed Isaacs for a near-fall… Luke calls for a Torpedo headbutt, but Isaacs sidesteps as Jacobs crashed into the bottom buckle.
Shrugging it off, Jacobs tries to boot Isaacs out of the corner, but he’s caught and pulled into a Cloverleaf. Luke gets to the ropes, and manages to retaliate with a headbutt, only for Isaacs to land the Hushmoney elevated German suplex for a near-fall. In response, a roll-up from Jacobs gets him back in, before it’s back to the meaty strikes, leading to a Tiger driver for a near-fall and a Boston crab as the bloodied Jacobs finally got the submission. From coming out to little reaction to having the crowd engaged by the end, this was a heck of a debut for Isaacs, but Luke Jacobs powers on as he continues to go for the gold this year. ***¾
Connor Mills vs. Stephen Wolf
After losing to Leon Slater last week in Sheffield, Wolf’s got another big test here… and another crowd to win over.
Going to ground early, Mills and Wolf feel each other out as Gideon campaigned for Mills vs. Hechicero later this year. A knuckle lock from Mills forces Wolf down in a Test of Strength, forcing some pinning attempts as Wolf was forced to bridge up… and then got stomped in the gut for his efforts.
Wolf fights back with a chop as he began to use Mills as a sounding board, blistering up the former Cruiserweight champion before a springboard armdrag out of the corner and a dropkick took things into the corner. More chops drop Mills ahead of a slingshot dropkick in the corner for a one-count, before it’s back to the chops.
Mills catches Wolf up top and Dragon screws him to the mat… and there’s your big turnaround. Chops see Mills return the favour from earlier, as he then began to wear down Wolf’s leg, before an Irish whip took Wolf into the corner chest-first a la Bret Hart. A modified Indian deathlock to the leg followed from Mills, before another Dragon screw was blocked as Wolf sat down for a two-count.
Wolf’s Tiger feint spin in the ropes into a clothesline buys him some time, before a gamengiri to the back of Mills in the corner, then a diving knee took Mills down for a two-count. Mills tries for a chop block, but Wolf evades and instead took him down for a one-legged standing moonsault.
Dropping to his knees, Mills tried to avoid being sent into the ropes… before he went back to Wolf’s legs. A dropkick’s caught and turned into a knee stomp, before a diving boot into the corner caught Wolf unawares. A rebound lariat’s next from Mills, but it’s only good for a near-fall, as he then moved into a leg lock that eventually ended in the ropes. Heading outside, Mills gets caught with a moonsault off the apron from Wolf, before things headed back inside for a missed shooting star press.
Mills pounces with an Orange Crush for a near-fall, before another Indian deathlock ended was fought out of… Mills pummels Wolf with kicks on the mat, and that’s enough for the referee to stop it. A heck of a showing in defeat, but again it’s Mills who powers on as he continues his excellent start to the year. ***¾
Post-match, Mills took the mic and after vowing that one day he’ll beat Zack Sabre Jr. he then demanded a spot in the Revolution Rumble… but specifically, Luke Jacobs’ spot. Of course, that prompted Jacobs to storm out and throw Mills over the top rope… before Luke agreed to put his spot in the rumble on the line earlier in the evening at York Hall. There’s plenty of spots to go around, surely?!
Rev Pro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship: Jordon Breaks vs. Leon Slater (c)
Breaks earned this shot by pinning Slater in that trios match at the 229 two months ago… and this is going to be a bit of a styles clash, to say the least.
Slater’s made to wrestle Breaks’ match, and almost got caught with a prawn hold in the opening minute. A lock-up takes things into the corner, where Breaks punished Slater for refusing to break by clamping in a front facelock. Breaks stays on Slater with cravats, but Leon eventually rolls down… only for Breaks to stay on before Slater flipped free and hit a low dropkick.
A handspring from Slater’s caught and turned into a backslide for a two-count as he seemingly had Slater sussed… following up with more work on the arm and wrist of the champion. Jordon baits in Slater for another roll-up, before Slater landed on his feet following a monkey flip.
Buoyed by that, Slater begins to slap Breaks around, but Jordon stays in his lane, going back to the arm before he peppered Slater with uppercuts. A crucifix pin gets a two-count for Slater, who then missed a pair of enziguiri and got caught with a leg lock on the mat. Getting free, a handspring back elbow took Breaks outside for a plancha as he then looked to make things more deliberate.
A low dropkick back inside crashed into Breaks for a one-count, but another roll-up gets Breaks back in the game as he began to outfox Slater with pinning attempts. We’re back in with a Sharpshooter as Slater tries to get to the ropes… only for Breaks to switch it up into a bow and arrow hold instead, before he grapevined the legs and almost snuck in another pin.
Breaks’ headbutt winds Slater, who rolls outside… but Breaks doesn’t give chase and instead let Slater roll back inside. Another headbutt to the midsection rocks Leon again, but Slater finally hit back with a sunset flip, before he countered a guillotine into a twister suplex. Slater took an age to head up top, but he aborts a swanton 450 as Breaks got back up…
More back-and-forth led to a Finlay roll from Breaks, who then went back to the Sharpshooter… this time Slater fights free as the pair baited each other into strikes before Slater cradled Breaks out of a Figure Four. Kicking out, Breaks barely got back to his feet before Slater tried to decapitate him with a leg lariat. Jesus H…
Slater takes too long to follow-up and gets caught as Breaks torqued on the wrist leading to the Breaks Special. Another Prawn Hold almost got the win as Breaks went back to pinning attempts, but another leg lariat drops the challenger ahead of a running Yakuza kick in the corner. From there, Slater heads up top… but his swanton 450 got nothing but the mat, allowing Breaks to leap in with a roll-up to get the win out of nowhere! Jordon Breaks upsets Leon Slater two matches running in the 229 to win the title – with Leon falling on his first title defence. This was a low-key cracker of a match with Breaks having undone all of Leon’s hard work last year with a simple roll-up. ****¼
Revolution Tag Match: Gabe Kidd, Leyton Buzzard, Brett Semtex, Spike Trivet, Reece & Rogan vs. Michael Oku, Ricky Knight Jr., JJ Gale, Sha Samuels & Young Blood (Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima)
Twelve men, one ring… and that clearly brought up some unwelcome memories for Andy (albeit prompted!) before things got going.
Eliminations come from pinfall, submission and being thrown over the top rope – and to add an extra layer of chaos, there’s no DQs here.
Oku and Buzzard get things underway, with Oku battering Buzzard with elbows by the ropes. Oku leaps over a pop-up powerbomb and nailed a tijeras, then a dropkick as Buzzard was left reeling… but Buzzard makes the tag out to Rogan. Oskar desperately wants in too, and gets it with those two trading elbows, leading to a vile overhand chop from Oskar in the corner.
The pair trade shoulder tackles before Rogan broke a choke and dragged Oskar over to tag in Reece… Rogan’s sent through the ropes as Oskar avoided some double-teaming, before a trip to the corner led to Yuto Nakashima tagging himself in, much to Oskar’s chagrin. We get elbows from those two before a headbutt from Yuto took down both men.
Gale and Kidd tag in next, but Kidd’s able to catch a crossbody… he escapes and takes Kidd down with a dropkick before Semtex tagged in and some mocking chants from the crowd. “Legend from Wish” was a particular favourite for those watching the current Gladiators reboot… as Semtex snapped Gale in half with a spear.
Semtex ignores the crowd and wheelbarrow suplexed Gale across the ring, before RKJ got the tag in and kept the pace high. A dropkick cracks Semtex in the corner, while a snap powerslam of the ropes and a moonsault out of the corner led to an early two-count. Semtex nonchalantly walks away from a chop and tags in Spike Trivet as our revolving door finally completed with Sha coming in for a hockey fight.
Spike punts Sha in the balls to end that exchange, and things just blow up from there as everyone spills outside… and good luck keeping up. Trivet and Kidd end up in the wall as everyone brawled around the room. Semtex and Buzzard double-team Oku on the floor, while Kidd used a chair on Sha on the floor. Yeah, there’s a lot of noises and camera cuts as we then see Oku trying to squash Buzzard behind a wooden door.
Oku decides to do a bit of parkour, traversing the stage before he dove off it onto Trivet… the brawl continues as two contenders and a ref was decidedly nowhere near enough for this match. Thankfully things calm down doing back towards the ring… but the crowd scatters as Buzzard went up top and threatened a dive into the pile, only to be dropkicked on the top rope as RKJ then decided to superplex Buzzard into the pile. Sha decides to keep things aerial with a tope to Spike on the other side of the room, before they scrapped in the ring, leading to a flying Codebreaker from Spike for a two-count.
Samuels heads up for an East End Destroyer, but a back body drop throws him away… he shrugs it off though and nails a spinebuster instead, before Sha dumped Spike onto the apron with a suplex. The pair end up on the side of the ring after Sha was low bridged, but Sha just clotheslines Spike back into the ring… a Cactus Clothesline on the other side took both men back onto the apron, before Spike’s Codebreaker sent Sha and himself down to the floor for a double elimination at 13:37.
Oskar and Rogan pick up with shoulder tackles… Yuto’s back in to double-team Rogan with chops, before a slam and a knee drop led to a two-count. Rogan’s kept isolated, but Reece saves a double-team before a dropkick from Oskar caught Rogan right in the ribs… a big boot from Oskar’s aimed at Rogan, only for it to miss as Reece helped Oskar over the top to the floor for an exit at 15:32. Yuto pounces on Reece and Rogan, kicking away on Reece in the corner ahead of some running knees for a two-count.
Reece catches a PK as the pair go back to strikes, leading to a side suplex for a one-count as Rogan dove in to break up the cover. A clothesline-assisted German suplex from Reece and Rogan lay out Oskar, before a double chokeslam eliminated the second half of Young Blood at 17:30.
RKJ’s in next to crash into Reece and Rogan with a crossbody off the top… he keeps going with dropkicks before he stacked up the big lads for a double Samoan drop out of the corner. Oku’s in next as they target Rogan with the Low Down suplex/frog splash combo, which is enough to eliminate Rogan at 18:42, while a superkick from Oku dumps Reece off the apron seconds later at 18:47. Trust your gut Francesca, Reece did go over the top!
The chaos continues with Kidd and RKJ trading shots… Kidd’s brainbuster sends RKJ rolling outside, before Gale snuck in and had his eyes raked. Kidd caught a Gale Force and came back with a Gale Force for a near-fall. A Falcon Arrow from Gale almost does the deal, before Kidd blocked a backpack knee, only for the pair to collide into each other with a double crossbody.
Tags bring in Oku and Buzzard, who light each other up anew, leading to a Pele kick from Oku… before Buzzard wiped him out with a dropkick. A knee to the back caught Oku in the ropes, only for Oku to catch Buzzard with a dropkick as he went up top. Semtex sneaks in for a F5, but RKJ makes the save before an errant superkick from Oku laid out RKJ. Again.
Semtex tries to capitalise, but Oku just rolls him up for the elimination at 22:31… RKJ’s back to his feet and drops Oku with a Fire Thunder Driver before handing him off for Buzzard to get the fall with a 450 splash at 23:16. Amira’s in to admonish RKJ for that, slapping him before Buzzard caught RKJ with a low blow and roll-up at 23:50 as he benefitted from that distraction.
The contenders hit the ring as RKJ was about to blow up… he’s calmed down and ends up going to the back as Buzzard paraded with Oku’s title belt. Amira’s back to play tug of war, leading to Oku sneaking in to hit a reverse ‘rana and clothesline Buzzard out of the match at 24:47… before a flash plancha crushed Buzzard on the floor.
We’re left with Gale and RKJ as the final two as Oku and Buzzard scrapped to the back… Gale’s flash roll-up nearly wins it, prompting Kidd to bite back in return ahead of a slam. Uppercuts from Gale created an opening, as did a spinning heel kick, while a German suplex just seemed to fire up Kidd, only for Gale to land a springboard uppercut for a near-fall.
Kidd blocks a Gale Force cutter and chucks Gale with a Saito suplex in response, but it’s not enough… nor was a sheer-drop brainbuster as the pair went back to the strikes. A Slingblade pushes Gale ahead, before Kidd just punched away another Gale Force. Kidd’s piledriver doesn’t quite win it though, and Kidd’s urgency ended up proving his undoing as Gale sidestepped his charge, sending him over the top rope to win the match! ****
I feel like a broken record, but Rev Pro have been on a hell of a run at the 229 lately – and this latest outing in London was just another example. With everyone on the roster having been challenged to step up following Will Ospreay’s departure, the early days are looking pretty rosy as Rev Pro continue to remain busy! Just dropping by? Check out GYV vs. Trew & Lacy, Slater/Breaks and the main event!