With two weeks to go until Epic Encounter, Rev Pro’s trip to the 229 continued to set the table for those heading to Wolverhampton.
Quick Results
Kanji submitted Safire Reed in 15:08 (***½)
Luke Jacobs & Ethan Allen pinned JJ Gale in 12:16 (***)
Sha Samuels pinned RIchard Holliday in 9:10 (**¾)
1 Called Manders pinned Leon Slater in 16:20 (****)
Zoe Lucas, Amira & Dani Luna pinned Nina Samuels, Mercedez Blaze & Alex Windsor in 16:31 (***¼)
Stephen Wolf pinned Leon Cage in 16:45 (***¼)
Jay Joshua & Connor Mills pinned TK Cooper & Chuck Mambo in 21:03 (***)
Michael Oku pinned Thomas Shire in 14:46 (***½)
— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com
We’re live via stream from the 229 in London for our second show of the year. Commentary comes from Dave Bradshaw and Gideon Grey.
Safire Reed vs. Kanji
While these two have been in each other’s orbits for a while, it’s been over a year since they last met one-on-one – with Reed’s win at the end of 2023 in St. Neots getting her own back for a loss at the 229 in October 2023.
Kanji’s on a rich vein of form here, having not lost a singles outing since going down to AZM at Global Wars back in October. A scrappy start sent Reed into the ropes as she powdered to the outside, but in the ring Kanji was largely able to keep things at close quarters… countering Reed’s armbar attempt into a roll-up for a quick two-count.
A dropkick to the knee and a crossbody to the back kept Reed on the back foot, but Reed’s able to make a way back in, targeting Kanji’s arms as she went, but avoiding a clothesline allowed Kanji an opening, twisting the neck a la Zack Sabre Jr before an armbar almost popped Safire’s shoulder out of its socket.
More armbars helped Kanji tie up Reed in knots, but an elevated German suplex from Reed looked to buy her time… only for Kanji to fire right back with a spear. A clothesline to the back from Kanji follows, before a springboard Warhead headbutt out of the corner almost nicked Reed the win… only for Kanji to kick out and lock in a double wristlock.
Reed slips out of the hold though, only to miss a Shining Wizard as Kanji pushed on, literally using the bottom rope to push out of a crossface as she countered with a wacky crossface armbarm for the eventual submission. Kanji’s clearly in the form of her life – at least in Rev Pro – and this sustained run has brought back memories of her early days, before injuries derailed things. With Deonna Purazzo next, on this current trajectory you’d have to think Kanji is nailed on for that Moné match in April – and it’d not be undeserved. ***½
Ahead of the next match, Cameron Khai was attacked by an onrushing Ricky Knight Jr. – who then upped the ante from “inconveniencing JJ Gale” by dumping Khai with a Fire Thunder Driver, before having a pull apart fight with Gale. David Francisco, of all people, came out to offer his services to Gale as a replacement tag partner, but that wasn’t happening, so instead we’ve got an impromptu handicap match.
JJ Gale vs. Young Guns (Ethan Allen & Luke Jacobs)
Of course, Gale and Jacobs have had a storied history here – with Gale famously not having been able to beat Luke. Given that the Young Guns are the number one contenders for the tag titles, you’d have expected this to have been one-sided… and for the most part, it was.
Luke started off with Gale, but the Young Guns frequently going for tags meant that JJ was pretty much had to have his wits about him at all times. Spilling outside, a flip senton took out Jacobs – but Ethan Allen had avoided it, and that allowed him to capitalise as JJ kept his focus on Jacobs… and there the tables turned.
A sharp bodyslam from Allen dumps Gale in the middle of the ring, but JJ’s forced to try and make the most out of the little things as a roll-up to Jacobs just earned him a spinebuster seconds later. Constant double-teaming led to Gale getting dumped on the apron with a DDT from Jacobs, and things didn’t improve much from there as Gale got caught with a bulldog choke from Allen back inside.
Allen roughs up Gale on the outside, but the Young Guns misfire as Luke accidentally clotheslined Ethan as he was holding up Gale in the ropes… and Gale manages to capitalise on that ricket, wheelbarrowing Allen into a stomp, before blasting Ethan with a forearm. That just bought Jacobs time, but he’s cracked with a forearm as well as Gale threatened to do the unlikely, even more so after a double springboard cutter.
That was the cue for David Francisco to come out to take the glory, but Gale still wanted none of it… and with Luke landing a lariat, then a forearm to the back of the head, that was lights out for JJ, who got pulled up from a double-team powerbomb before a kick-assisted piledriver finally got the win. Commentary painted this as Gale getting softened up for this match with RKJ – but this was just about the right length given those involved and their relative stories. ***
Sha Samuels vs. Richard Holliday
One moment, I’m just checking to make sure I’ve not accidentally loaded an episode of The Grind… nope, that is Harry Milligan in Sha’s first-seen-onNXT UK tracksuit.
Sha’s all over Holliday to start as he looked to be the generous kind and give his birthday bumps to Holliday. Problem was, telegraphing that gave Holliday an opening, only for Sha to respond with a back body drop and a Michinoku driver for a two-count.
Elbow drops were serenaded by the crowd mocking Holliday to the sounds of Queen… but Holliday misses one of his own before Sha shoved down Milligan on the outside, fed up of being given a pep talk from someone half his age. Roughly. Holliday takes over after that, stomping on Sha before clotheslines and right hands allowed Samuels back into it.
Holliday’s attempt to go for the eyes gets stuffed before Sha called out for a spinebuster… Holliday blocks it and goes for a tiltawhirl slam, then a sit-out powerbomb, but it’s not enough… and as Holliday looked to go for the win, Milligan gets up onto the apron. He’s dragged into the ring, but Sha capitalised on that distraction to hit Holliday with a spinebuster for the win. **¾
Post-match, Holliday atttacked Milligan, then Sha… which brought out a returning Josh James to make the save with a POUNCE. Sha didn’t take too kindly to that help, arguing with James before Holliday shoved them into each other… and I guess that’s where we’re going next?
1 Called Manders vs. Leon Slater
A rematch from their outing in Southampton last month – but with Manders having maneuvered himself into title contention, we’re in a rather different spot here.
Manders walloped Slater with a lariat as the ref was calling for the bell – even though it sounded, the ref ruled they’d jumped the gun, and so refused to count the pin. An ugly trip into the turnbuckle followed for Leon as they continued to fight before the bell, with Manders setting up a chair so he could charge out of a three point stance and aim towards Leon… but he’s cut off with a front kick instead.
Slater’s forearm off the apron leaves Manders laying, as did a front suplex onto the top of a chair. We finally get going as Slater hits a frog splash as the ref called for the bell… but the official quick win didn’t happen. One rule for Manders and another for Leon, I see how it is here…
It’s all Slater for a spell as things head outside with Manders avoiding one dive zone… only to get caught with an over-the-post tope con giro from Slater. Manders fought back, dragging Leon out of the ring as he charged him into the ring post, then tied him upside down by the post for some unprotected shots to the legs… and there’s the target for Manders.
Back inside, Manders rakes Slater’s eye as Leon tried to fight out of a toe hold, before a chop block to the front of Leon’s knee spun him down to the mat. That was all about ensuring Leon couldn’t fly, but Leon was able to slip out of a Stampede and hit a leg lariat… albeit having to have one leg up in the cover as he couldn’t bear much weight on that knee.
Leon tried to head up top, but he’s slow and gets caught by Manders who swipes out the knee before bringing him down with a Stampede for a near-fall. Slater’s knee betrays him time and again, but he’s able to get them up to stop an elbow drop as the match returned to being a back-and-forth striking battle. Slater slaps Manders into the corner as he launched into a flurry of shots, but Manders goes for the throat as the referee separated them, before an Oku-taunting half crab ended with Leon cradling Manders for a near-fall.
In return, Manders just bounced Leon off the ropes with a front suplex, before Leon retaliated with a clothesline of his own for a near-fall. I’d have said “unlikely” but given Leon won last time they met… you know. Another trip up top ends with Leon slipping, but Manders’ avalanche slam is countered into a tornado DDT before Leon eventually hit a swanton 450.
Manders roll outside to avoid being pinned, and eventually finds his way back in with a chair… but it’s blocked by Leon, as a tug of war knocked down the ref. Manders twangs the rope into Leon’s groin from there, before Michael Oku sprinted out to stop Manders using the chair… only for a follow-up crossbody to take out Leon. From there, Manders lariats Leon into next week… and that’s your lot! A lovely scrap that underscored Manders’ title contentions. ****
Post-match, Oku superkicked Manders away, then went for a half crab as Leon ummed and ah’d over breaking it up, opting to bail instead as Oku eventually relented, only for Manders to clobber him from behind, then from the front to leave the champion laying.
Cut Throat Collective (Alex Windsor, Mercedez Blaze & Nina Samuels) vs. Amira, Dani Luna & Zoe Lucas
It’s the first time this year that the Collective’s been in tag team action, while the same was true for Dani Luna – having last fallen to Mina Shirakawa at the end of last year.
Blaze and Amira start us off as Gideon threw a fit at one of the crowd’s chants. Not the first time, nor the last. Amira takes Blaze into the corner for a hip attack, but the follow-up cover’s quickly kicked out of as Zoe Lucas came in to help as we were still in the early stages of this. Nina Samuels tags in to club away on Zoe, before Dani Luna’s blind tag helped her team get back in front.
Alex Windsor’s in next as she came face to face with a former championship rival… those two picked up where they left off, minus the blood, albeit briefly as tags quickly took us back to square one with Blaze and Amira (not Blair). Except where Amira had started on fire, this time she’s firmly on the defensive as the Cut Throat Collective sliced the ring in half to isolate Amira.
Windsor began to get frustrated as Amira kicked out from a suplex, culminating with a neckbreaker out of the corner as Amira bought herself some time. Windsor stopped to knock Zoe Lucas off the apron, allowing Amira to land a roll-up before tags brought in Dani Luna and Mercedez Blaze… Dani clears house and looked to wear down Blaze, but Mercedez is able to tag out as Alex Windsor eventually came in to kick out Zoe’s knee ahead of a Sharpshooter attempt.
Zoe kicks that away and hits a brainbuster for a near-fall… tags bring in Amira, whose Saito suplex stacked up Windsor for a near-fall. Windsor retorts with a half crab, but Lucas runs in with a facebuster to break it up, sparking a Parade of Moves that looked to culminate with Amira going up top… but Windsor’s rising headbutt stopped all that as she instead threw Amira out of the corner with a Blue Thunder bomb. We keep going through a swear jar donation from Alex as I’ve lost all track of who’s legal…
Zoe’s Scorpion kick earns her a head kick from Samuels in return, before a jack-knife pin out of nowhere nicked the win! ***¼
Post-match, Windsor and Luna brawled to the back – while Blaze and Samuels jumped the victors. Safire Reed helped regain the advantage as Amira and Zoe fought back, with the Collective standing tall at the end of it.
Stephen Wolf vs. Leon Cage
Leon’s still looking for his first win in Rev Pro – and with Stephen Wolf in line for a title shot, I don’t think many expected Leon to go anything other than 0-7 in Rev Pro with this one. “You win or you learn” is the common mantra around here, but when you’re telling the same story twice in the same division (also with Nino Bryant), it’s a bit much.
A tentative start saw Cage almost get caught with a sunset flip before we reached a stalemate. Leon looked to have more luck with a top rope ‘rana, but Wolf cartwheels out of it before he dumped Cage with a back body drop. Chops from Cage light up Wolf in the corner, but the response left the Welshman laying.
Things spill outside with Cage catching Wolf with an apron PK, before a dropkick back inside kept Leon ahead… at least until he was lawndarted into the corner. Wolf’s all over Cage as he countered a floatover with a simple knee strike, before a flying clothesline nearly put the 18-year old away.
Cage’s brainbuster announced his return for a near-fall, but his attempted cartwheel enziguiri was stopped as we moved to back-and-forth pinning attempts, ending with an X-Plex and a standing moonsault out of Wolf. At this point, Cage looked to be running on fumes, even more so when he ate a springboard Destroyer… but somehow Cage was able to connect with an enziguiri that almost got him the win as Wolf needed to reach to the ropes to save the match.
Another kick to the back of the head has Wolf down, as did a cartwheel enziguiri into the corner, before he got caught with a backslide for a near-fall. Cage finally lands the Uncaged – a spin-out double-underhook Dominator – but Wolf barely kicked out in time, before Cage crashed and burned on a Phoenix splash. That’s going to go awfully for him one of these days.
This time though, Wolf’s able to hit a shooting star press for a near-fall, then the Six-One-Line and the Vertigo… and that’s enough to put Cage away. Hey, there’s even no sneak attack this time, as Wolf was able to exit without having to put up with any afters. ***¼
Connor Mills & Jay Joshua vs. Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper)
This wasn’t for the titles, so this wasn’t one of those WWE-style automatic rematches… and with Mills and Joshua facing the Young Guns in two weeks’ time, this felt off as a match-up right out of the gate, particularly since “Sunshine Machine winning and getting added to the match” would be a complete left-field move. Even more so given TK Cooper’s tweet the morning after about heading home…
Anyways, we got going with Chuck Mambo having to deal with Jay Joshua – a chop and a rope-walk almost turned sour for him before Joshua’s powerslam and back senton drew in TK Cooper to level things up. Connor Mills deals with him, only for Mambo to hit the rope-walk armdrag ahead of a stand-off.
Sunshine Machine manage to pull ahead with the Cagna Marta to Joshua. Connor Mills comes in to target TK’s ankle, snapping at it as the champions found TK’s Achilles heel. Quite literally. A Deathlock from Mills adds more pressure to TK’s ankle, before Mills spat at Mambo and drew him into the ring.
TK’s able to fight back with a stacked up Samoan drop – something that’d have done his ankle wonders – before an inside cradle just fired up Mills. Some Poetry in Motion from the champions goes awry as TK caught Mills and powerbombed him onto Joshua, before tagging in Mambo to clear the way. Mambo’s able to catch Mills with a Reef Break off the top, following up with a swinging side slam that drew in Joshua to make the save.
Mambo continued to rope-walk with a rebound back splash to Joshua, before calling in TK for some Gutterball action on Mills. Joshua’s able to return with a lovely suplex to TK – while clotheslining Mambo on the way back – as the champions kept on, only for TK to hit back with a knee strike.
Joshua avoids a scissors kick seconds later though as the former champions remained on the back foot, even more so after a leaping headbutt from Joshua caught Cooper. TK’s able to slip out of a Muscle Buster as some back-and-forth ended with that scissors kick for a near-fall as the match felt like it was heading into the home stretch. TK escapes a double-team Burning Cutter to spark a Parade of Moves, featuring a lovely powerslam from Joshua in the ropes… but he’s caught by TK’s Omelette du Fromage seconds later, before TK had to withstand an ankle lock from Mills.
That he does, as things spilled outside as Mills ate a Turbo Suplex Turbo Charged Into The Wall By The Power of Friendship, before another Gutterball back inside almost led to the win. A Designated Driver followed, but Joshua’s diving headbutt breaks it up in the nick of time, only to be taken outside as a Mambo splash and a shooting star press from TK crashed into Mills… but again it’s not enough.
Mills chop blocks TK’s knee as they looked to go back to their original game plan, via a double back suplex from Joshua, and TK’s a virtual tackling dummy as he’s lariated into the mat as Mambo needed to dive in to break up the pin. TK manages to bounce out of a kick-assisted Ki Krusher, but we were finally into the dying embers of the match as TK ate the Argentine backbreaker into a spinebuster… and that’s all folks. Way too long a match live, particularly given the vibes around both teams and their trajectories – but I could see what they were going for here. In the end, this was what many see as the Rev Pro staple – the match that could have done with time being shaved off. ***
Post-match, TK and Mambo rolled into the corner as Mills took the mic and called out Young Guns for a fight. Ask and you’ll receive, but low blows from the Young Guns gave them an edge as they left standing tall over the champions… before a dejected Sunshine Machine were applauded out of the ring.
Thomas Shire vs. Michael Oku
Oku was coming into this less than 100% after being attacked by Manders earlier – and with Thomas Shire making his Rev Pro debut, things were primed for an upset.
Shire’s cravat forced Oku into the ropes early on as Oku had trouble even getting into first gear here, as Shire laid waste to Oku. Two different, but still nasty-looking, backbreakers have Oku down by the ropes, before a claw to the midsection left Oku fighting for an escape.
Oku’s able to land an enziguiri, but he just runs into an uppercut before Shire picked up Oku for a UFO. Shire resists an inside cradle before a deadlift back body drop from Oku sent him to the mat, before a triangle dropkick sent Shire to the outside as he eventually staggered into place for the Fosbury flop.
Back inside, a froggy crossbody’s good for a two-count, before Shire’s attempt at a half crab was pushed off. An overhead kick lands, but Shire just ragdolled Oku with a German suplex in return before a last-ditch superkick led to Oku falling on Shire for a near-fall. Oku’s strikes just got him sent to his knees with an overhand chop from Shire… the champion persists though, kicking at Shire’s leg before Shire tried to take him to the mat. Instead, Oku countered out with a half crab, dragging Shire away from the ropes before the Texan powered his way out.
Another backbreaker from Shire dumps Oku, but Shire telegraphs a second UFO… Oku countered it into a Destroyer, then cradled Shire for the win. ***½
Post-match, Mander runs out to attack Oku – Shire joined in as he held Oku’s arms down for a Manders lariat, before handing the title belt to Manders as the Americans stood tall to close out the show.
Rev Pro’s March trip to the 229 was a solid show, but one that didn’t click in some areas – with some matches feeling line foregone conclusions when set against already-announced matches (and in the case of the Young Guns match, the match being turned into a two-on-one affair!)