Rhio finally got her re-arranged shot at Dani Luna’s undisputed Women’s championship, as this month’s 229 show closed on a bombshell.
Quick Results
Michael Oku pinned Jordan Saeed in 6:00 (***)
Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper pinned Chris Ridgeway & Connor Mills in 21:53 (***½)
Brett Semtex pinned Lee Dawson in 5:57 (**¾)
Zozaya pinned Cameron Khai in 13:12 (***½)
Will Kaven pinned Fuego del Sol, Robbie X & Leon Slater in 14:22 (***½)
Ricky Knight Jr. pinned Joshua James in 9:24 (***)
Ethan Allen & Luke Jacobs pinned Kieron Lacey & Mark Trew in 20:56 (***¼)
Dani Luna pinned Rhio to retain the Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship in 18:33 (***½)
— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com
We’re back at the 229 in London once again as it’s full steam ahead as we head into the anniversary show at the Copperbox in August…
Andy Quildan and Gideon Grey are back on the headsets for this one.
Jordan Saeed vs. Michael Oku
After main eventing against Ethan Allen last time out, Saeed’s got another big test here as his Contendership continued with a non-title outing.
Opening with a lock-up into the ropes, things broke down into a game of chicken over shoulder tackles, which Saeed initially won out on, before he turned Oku’s leapfrog into an atomic drop. We’ve a big back body drop out of Saeed afterwards, before a back elbow dumped Oku by the ropes.
Oku recovers with a missile dropkick off the middle rope, following up with a snapping DDT before going up top a la Tanahashi (with better knees, admittedly). Oku aborts a frog splash, but was able to crash into Saeed with a dropkick in the corner, only for Jordan to flip the champion to the mat with a clothesline.
The test continues with a pumphandle slam from Saeed for another two-count, only for Saeed to miss a top rope elbow afterwards. That opened the door for Oku to come back with a superkick, the misdirection knee and a frog splash to pick up the win. This was exactly what this needed to be – not quarter of an hour long and even, this was a decisive win for the champion against someone who’s extremely new in his Rev Pro journey. ***
Post-match, Oku took the mic… but was interrupted by a video from Anthony Ogogo, who seemed to be in the middle of having a school photo taken, judging by that background. Ogogo bragged about his winning record in boxing and in wrestling, before they spliced in footage of him KO’ing Oku, leading to Ogogo challenging Oku for the title at Raw Deal in Stevenage at the end of the month. Ogogo then threatened Luke Jacobs with bloody diarrhoea as well, before Oku’s responded to the ever-growing list of challengers he’s being faced with.
Video package time, as they recap TK Cooper’s threat that Sunshine Machine will disband if they lose again in Rev Pro…
Chris Ridgeway & Connor Mills vs. Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper)
It’s a rather makeshift combination against Sunshine Machine, but a dangerous one nonetheless.
Ridgeway and Mills were trolling TK in the early going by refusing to engage, prompting Mambo to tag in before TK blew his top. Things eventually kicked off with Mambo going for a roll-up, before he shoved Mills into Ridgeway… a quick Designated Driver and a TK shooting star press almost closed this one out, but Ridgeway’s in to break up the pin.
Ridgeway pulls Mills to the outside for some respite, before tagging in… and found himself on the deck as TK and Mambo worked over the arms as Mills was out of commission by the corner. Things weren’t completely smooth for Sunshine Machine, with slight missteps around blind tags, but they were able to withstand them… until Mills popped up to stop a rope-walk armdrag and hold Mambo in the ropes for a kick to the back.
Mills comes back to kick and chop through Mambo as Sunshine Machine were really taking a pasting here. Back in the ring, Ridgeway worked over Mambo’s knee with stomps and Dragon screws, before a bow and arrow hold ended with Mambo falling into the ropes. An avalanche Dragon screw nearly puts Mambo away, before a legdrop counters another Mills Dragon screw.
TK finally got the tag in as he tried to clear a path forward, chucking Ridgeway with an Exploder ahead of the Omelette du Fromage corkscrew kick to Mills. Double-teaming stops TK in his tracks though, as Ridgeway and Mills began to target TK with a series of double stomps off the top rope.
Ridgeway isolated Mambo on the floor, as TK’s again left to fend for himself as he ate a myriad of kicks… Mambo’s able to make it in, but Sunshine Machine were starting to run on fumes after that prolonged beating. A double clothesline from Mambo offered some home, but a rebound lariat and a Ki Krusher almost ended things.
TK comes in to try and stomp apart a Deathlock, but Ridgeway drags him away into an ankle lock as Mambo was on the verge of tapping… somehow he clings on and makes it to the ropes, just as TK kicked off Ridgeway into Mills. Things flare up between those two as Ridgeway accidentally booted Mills off the apron… prompting Mills to abandon Ridgeway and walk to the back.
On his own, Ridgeway tried to snatch the win after a poke in the eye, before TK countered an inside cradle… but Ridgeway countered the counter into another roll-up. It’s kicked out of, as Sunshine Machine hit back with another Designated Driver to get the win – and live another day. A good start to their self-imposed gauntlet, but they’ve got a long road ahead of them you feel before they take the millstone off their own necks. ***½
Leyton Buzzard comes out next for the first time since he had knee surgery. He reminds the fans that he’s been offering help to people while he’s on the shelf, but everyone’s been turning him down… except for one person who stood by him. Out comes Brett Semtex, and here’s our next match…
Brett Semtex vs. Lee Dawson
Shockingly, this was Dawson’s first match in Rev Pro for almost a year…
Semtex explodes into “Dynamite” Lee Dawson with a spear at the bell, following up with a release German suplex as the crowd taunted him with those Gladiator chants. Dawson tries to fight back, but nearly got spiked on his head with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex in return, before a stalling suplex held up Dawson for a count of 20. The crowd mocked Semtex, saying “Ricky does it longer” – remember that…
Dawson manages to mount a comeback, launching into Semtex with a gamengiri in the corner, then with some Wrecking Ball knees, before a missile dropkick took down Semtex. Heading outside, Dawson’s dive gets caught and turned into a slam onto the front row, before an Exploder back inside launched Dawson across the ring.
Dawson barely kicks out from an arrogant cover, but he’s able to counter a F5 into a DDT… Semtex is right back on him with an avalanche pumphandle fallaway slam, before he pulled up his own cover from a F5, so he could hit a running knee and another F5 for the win. Squash, just as you’d have expected. **¾
Cameron Khai vs. Zozaya
Buzzard hung around at ringside as we bled into the next match, which saw him again try to offer his guidance to Cameron Khai.
The pair roll around the ring – literally – and trade backflips in a game of one-upmanship as Andy Q offered himself up for an impromptu spot of breakdancing. When we got going, Zozaya’s able to take control as he and Zozaya traded takedowns and escapes.
A knuckle lock from Zozaya ends in the ropes, before some rope running ended with Khai taking a dropkick to the face. Khai retaliates with a Saito suplex to fold Zozaya in half, as he built up to a standing moonsault for an easy two-count. Zozaya fights out of a neck crank, but is quickly taken back down with a neckbreaker.
Strikes from Zozaya get shut down as Khai hit the ropes, avoiding a Zozaya dropkick… only to run into one seconds later. Shoulder charges in the corner from Zozaya lead to a back body drop for another two-count, before the crowd scattered… as Khai had been thrown outside. He avoids a dive before a deadlift Falcon arrow nearly did a deal.
Rolling Northern Lights from Khai keep him ahead, at least until Zozaya rolled through into a suplex of his own to stop the tide. Khai flipped out of a de Madrid al cielo, but couldn’t avoid a German suplex as the Spaniard pushed on… only to slide into a vile knee strike in the corner. A second knee strike led to an over-the-knee brainbuster from Khai for a near-fall, but Zozaya’s able to retaliate with a dropkick and a double stomp, almost getting the W there.
A double-jump moonsault comes up short as another Khai-knee almost won it, before de Madrid al cielo crunched Khai for a near-fall. Khai caught Zozaya up top and countered with a Croyt’s Wrath, but it’s not enough… so Khai heads up top, only to get caught and brought down with a brutal avalanche de Madrid al cielo for the win. To quote Gideon Grey, this started off with roly polies and ended up with a lot of head drops – Zozaya’s become a favourite virtually overnight, but Cameron Khai more than held up his end of the bargain here. ***½
Post-match, Leyton Buzzard got into the ring and tried to coach Khai… only for Brett Semtex to run out and blindside Khai. Buzzard watched on as Semtex picked up Khai for a F5, before he used one of his crutches to knock Semtex out of the ring. WELL THEN! Fortunately for Buzzard, Semtex left rather than go after the obvious target on Buzzard’s right leg, as Leyton and Cameron finally shook hands.
Will Kaven vs. Robbie X vs. Leon Slater vs. Fuego Del Sol
It’s a Rev Pro debut for Fuego del Sol as the former AEW star’s on a brief tour of the UK…
Kaven charged at Fuego with a dropkick at the bell, as the ring cleared out early on with Robbie X and Leon Slater trading barbs. Fuego’s double crucifix nearly nicks a win, before he took Robbie X outside with some headscissors. Slater’s targeted next, with a running European uppercut into the corner leading to a tornado DDT that was pushed off, with Slater’s running boot turning things around.
Slater pops up Fuego ahead of a rolling splash for a two-count, before Robbie X’s handspring kick took him over the top rope as he knocked Will Kaven off the apron. A backflip sees Robbie avoid Slater ahead of a dive to Kaven on the floor, before a cartwheel dropkick nearly put Slater away back inside.
Kaven trips up Robbie X amid a handspring as he took over… but Fuego’s back in to try and cut off Kaven, only to be taken right back outside with a German suplex. Robbie X is hurled upside down into the corner from Kaven as he continued to control things. Fuego bakes it back inside as he took aim at Kaven, only for Kaven to rake both men’s eyes before a crossbody off the top from Leon Slater wiped everyone out.
Slater keeps going with a handspring back elbow, then a plancha as he ran wild, leading to a leg lariat and a twisting suplex on Kaven for a near-fall. An enziguiri keeps Kaven on the back foot, as did a superkick, before Robbie X returned and tried his luck with a piledriver… it’s countered with a back body drop by the ropes, but Robbie X rebounded into almost a 21 Plex-like powerbomb as the ring began to fill up.
Fuego del Sol’s caught with a superplex from Kaven… but a Robbie X destroyer on Leon Slater broke up the pile. A Beyblade kick from Robbie X led to a standing shooting star press and a Quebrada on Kaven for a near-fall, before Fuego’s reverse ‘rana spiked Robbie X, ahead of a step-up stomp that Kaven broke up the cover on.
Kaven picks up from there with a flying knee to Fuego in the ropes, before Fuego rolled out of a tombstone for a nearfall. A Cactus crossbody from Fuego took Kaven to the outside as the crowd scattered as Fuego’s corkscrew Asai moonsault saw him bounce off of the chairs. Hashtag not my chair!
Robbie X tries to put it in peril again with a Molly Go Round into the pile, while Leon Slater’s over-the-post dive kept things going… back inside a swanton 450’s aimed at Fuego del Sol, but Will Kaven pulls out the referee to stop the count. Everyone’s going off the top rope as Fuego del Sol finally hits a tornado DDT, but Will Kaven stops him with a low blow before he snatched the win with a tombstone. Some absolutely insane stuff here, but it’s a stolen win for Will Kaven as there was some suggestion of this playing into the Cruiserweight title picture… ***½
Ricky Knight Jr. vs. Joshua James
This was James’ first match since graduating as a contender… and he tried to catch RKJ unawares at the bell, as the pair instead traded shoulder tackles, leading to the pair colliding with simultaneous clotheslines.
A rebound German suplex from James sees him briefly have RKJ down, ahead of a POUNCE. RKJ’s back with a paintbrushing slap to James, before a barrage of shots took the big man down. Picking James up, RKJ chops him in the ropes… then went all Vinny Jones on him.
Remember the stalling suplex out of Brett Semtex earlier? RKJ hoists up James for a sixty count with one of his own, before he took James into the corner, looking for a muscle buster. James fights free and returned fire with a shotgun dropkick. An avalanche splash and a pop-up spinebuster gets James a two-count, only for RKJ to return with a hook kick and a springboard forearm.
From there, RKJ picks up James for a Razor’s Edge, before an attempt at a Splash Mountain out of the corner was slipped out of. James recovers for a back suplex and a big splash for a two-count, before James’ headbutt knocked RKJ out of the corner. Seconds later, a shoulder tackle off the middle rope’s countered into a cutter, before RKJ hit back with a headbutt of his own as he pulled James into a Shell Shock for the win. ***
Post-match, RKJ refused a handshake, before taking the mic and ran down the list of names of those who’d stabbed him in the back – be it friends or family. He then talked about someone who wouldn’t stab him in the back, calling out Gabe Kidd… and hopefully some of that’s edited out as those two are now on a collision course.
Kieron Lacey & Mark Trew vs. Young Guns (Ethan Allen & Luke Jacobs)
This was billed as the Young Guns’ first match back in as a team in 973 days…
Allen and Trew start things off with headlock takedowns before Luke Jacobs tagged in and had to break free of a cravat before taking Trew down. Kieron Lacey’s in but is instantly double-legged by Luke, as the Young Guns looked comfortable in the early going.
Allen’s back in to land a hiptoss and bodyslam on Lacey for a two-count, before dome double-teaming led to Trew and Lacey eating some boots. Chops from Jacobs took Lacey off his feet and into the corner, ahead of a butterfly suplex from Allen as the Young Guns remained resolute, laying waste to the upstarts.
A palm strike laid out Lacey in the corner as Allen laid into him, leading to a baseball slide dropkick that gave Lacey a bad landing. Luke tags in and rolls Lacey back into the ring for more of a beating, aided by a charging knee from Allen as he returned. At this point it’s literally the Young Guns playing with their foe, but Lacey’s able to break free and tag in Mark Trew… who ran into a wild lariat. Thanks for coming!
Things head outside as Trew and Lacey got bowled into the crowd… Lacey finally gets back up to the apron as Trew as getting hoisted up for a Doomsday device, but Lacey’s able to stop it as a leaping Koppo kick from Trew took Jacobs off the apron… before Trew hurled his own partner through the ropes into a tope. Back inside, headbutts from Trew had Allen on the back foot as a Gravedigger nearly got the unlikeliest of wins.
Allen’s kept isolated as Trew charged in with a running dropkick into the corner for a two-count, while a wishbone leg splitter kept Allen on the deck. Trew’s able to drag Allen back into the corner as a double-team suplex looked to lead to the Black Flag… but Allen escapes and back body dropped Trew into Lacey.
A tag brought Jacobs back in to hit a suplex throw on both Trew and Lacey, before a folding powerbomb stacked up Lacey for a near-fall. Another double-team traps Jacobs in the corner ahead of a Codebreaker for a near-fall for Trew, before another crack at the Black Flag was countered by Jacobs… and there’s not long left for Trew as he ate a death valley driver, before a running dropkick in the corner from Allen and a Doomsday Device almost ended things.
Back-and-forth strikes follow from there, but leaping headbutts took the Young Guns outside as a moonsault off the top rope from Trew wiped them out on the floor. Lacey’s back in with an X-Plex to Jacobs, before Trew’s shooting star press missed… he’s instantly pounced on by Jacobs with a crossface, and with Allen tying up Lacey, Trew tapped out to put an end to this one. This one almost lost the crowd, you sensed, but it’s more much-needed minutes in the ring for Ethan Allen. ***¼
After the match, Jacobs took the mic and again reiterated his desire to face Michael Oku… and got a little irritated at how any Tom, Dick and Harry was getting a shot at the title ahead of him. Luke teased demanding his match right now, and called out Michael Oku, which led to him being mugged by the Young Guns, only for Connor Mills to come out for the save, ending with an uneasy stare between the former tag champions. What on earth…
Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Title Championship: Rhio vs. Dani Luna (c)
This was the rescheduled title match after Dani Luna missed out last month due to travel issues…
The opening lock-up sees Rhio and Luna take each other into the ropes, before Dani lifted up Rhio for an early crack at the Luna Landing. It’s escaped, but things head into the corners as an Exploder chucked Rhio across the ring, ahead of a seated clothesline for a two-count. Rolling suplexes from Luna are eventually countered into an inside cradle, as Rhio tried her luck with flash pins ahead of a shotgun dropkick into the corner.
Things quickly head outside for a low-pe from Rhio, who stayed on top of Luna back inside… things head back outside again as Luna teased a suplex from the ring to the floor, but Rhio avoided it… only to get booted down for a two-count back inside. Luna stays on Rhio with a bodyslam, before Rhio looked to fight back, only to get caught with another sliding clothesline for a two-count.
A straight right hand from Luna seemed to wake up Rhio, who kicked out at one before firing back up, leading to a spinning heel kick and a twisting Fisherman neckbreaker for a near-fall. Rhio adds a Magic Screw for another near-fall, before some palm strikes from Rhio looked to wear down Luna, who’s able to break free of a package piledriver attempt and come back with a clothesline.
A snap powerbomb – almost a sugar bag throw – sees Luna build a fresh advantage, only for Rhio to roll onto the apron. Luna tries to bring her back inside with an elevated German suplex, but Rhio just dragged her onto the apron as the pair traded shots before Rhio clotheslined Luna into the ring. That was a mistake as Dani was able to come back with the elevated German suplex that almost ended badly for the challenger.
Rhio tries to roll away again, this time baiting Luna onto the apron once more for a package piledriver onto the side of the ring. Luna just about makes it back before the ten-count, but walks into a superkick before Rhio landed an ushigoroshi. Another package piledriver’s attempted, but Luna countered out into a Luna Landing for a near-fall, before Rhio again mounted a comeback. Yet another clothesline drops the challenger though, before a second Luna Landing finally put Rhio away – a heck of a showing, but Dani Luna’s able to retain through her toughest test as champion yet. ***½
Post-match, Luna put over Rhio in defeat – before she called out Stephanie Vacquer for the Copperbox, seemingly hinting at a title-for-title outing. Luna was interrupted though, and all hell quickly broke loose.
Nightshade appeared in the aisle, followed by Safire Reed and Mercedez Blaze… they attacked the referees and Contenders who were trying to get between them, before Nina Samuels and Lizzy Evo came through the crowd and attacked Luna and Rhio in the ring. Bedlam ensued as Rhio and Luna tried to fight back, but were easily swarmed and out-numbered as Nina Samuels posted Lee Dawson and referee Oscar Harding.
Ring announcer Francesca Oliver tried to send everyone home – but her usual sign-off just led to the quintet turning their sights on her, with Blaze rolling Francesca into the ring as referees and Contenders again were unable to break things up with Nightshade threatening a splash off the middle rope. Ringside photographer Sarah Hatch is also called into the ring to get some shots, but her refusal led to Safire getting in her face. Chris Hatch manages to get into the ring to try and calm things down, but he’s just punted low by Lizzy Evo before Sarah was headbutted by Safire before Nightshade flattened Francesca with that splash.
Nina Samuels finally ended things by grabbing the mic – which of course, didn’t work on the first go – and verbally laid into Rev Pro for overlooking the five of them. That got a cheer that probably wasn’t by design, as Samuels threatened change as the show went off the air, leaving everyone behind to pick up the pieces.
Last month’s complaint of every match getting similar time was well and truly taken care of this month – with the two established roster members vs. Contenders matches being kept short while still doing what they needed to. As for the show-closing angle – the women’s Nexus, if you want to make that comparison – it’s a big opportunity for Rev Pro to address the nagging complaint about how they’ve booked their women’s roster.
Out of the returning quintet, Nina Samuels has perhaps been the biggest omission from the Rev Pro scene, having last been used in February of 2018. A LOT has happened since then of course… Lizzy Evo’s only had two shows, the last of which was in September 2021, the other of which didn’t make it to on-demand… and while Safire Reed and Mercedez Blaze have been around recently, Nightshade was “next up” for a shot at the title. Where things go from here will be a welcome change from the norm. As someone once was misremembered as saying, we know who they are, but we don’t know what they’re here for…