With two weeks to go to High Stakes, Kanji looked for her biggest scalp to date as she took on Dani Luna in the main event.
Quick Results
Ricky Knight Jr. pinned Cameron Khai in 12:58 (***)
Zozaya pinned Jordon Breaks in 12:32 (***½)
Chris Ridgeway pinned Leon Cage in 14:32 (***¼)
Michael Oku submitted Nino Bryant in 25:38 (***½)
Seiki Yoshioka pinned Stephen Wolf in 10:17 (***)
Joe Lando, Maverick Mayhew & Danny Black pinned Ethan Allen, Luke Jacobs & Leon Slater in 22:59 (***¼)
Kanji pinned Dani Luna in 19:20 (***)
— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com
It’s the first of two shows this month from the 229 in London as we’re heading towards High Stakes in Doncaster in two weeks’ time. For the sake of brevity, I’m keeping this short.
Commentary comes from the seemingly-ubiquitous Dave Bradshaw and Gideon Grey.
Ricky Knight Jr. vs. Cameron Khai
RKJ and Khai have had a few run ins as of late, originally around JJ Gale but now it’s because Leyton Buzzard is back on the scene. A pre-match attack from RKJ is shrugged off as Khai went tit for tat with Ricky, going for chops and the balls after he’d launched Ricky into the merch table.
Speaking of, I don’t get the feeling “a handful of penis” is about to find its way onto the next round of Rev Pro merch.
When things settled down, RKJ was throwing bombs at Khai, leading to him flipping Khai out of the corner into a cutter… like a reversed Sol Snatcher. After stopping to deal with some overheard commentary, Ricky opened the door for Khai to make a comeback, building up to a Falcon arrow that almost won it.
RKJ’s Quebrada’s kicked away as Khai’s over-the-knee brainbuster kept him ahead, before RKJ started to play dirty. A mule kick missed, but Khai couldn’t avoid a rake to the eyes as Ricky got back in his groove, only for a Destroyer to send things spilling outside as Khai’s triangle moonsault found its mark… only for a swift Fire Thunder Driver to get the win back inside. ***
Post-match, RKJ’s offer of a handshake was just a means to beat down Khai some more – stopping only to kick away contenders – before Leyton Buzzard chased him off. Staying behind with the mic, Buzzard revealed he’d been cleared in February but was biding his time to make his return, choosing to go after Ricky Knight Jr. as he was fed up of blaming his shortcomings on everyone but himself.
Buzzard’s facing RKJ in Southampton next week – as he looks to go back to where it all started for him in Rev Pro… and with the outfit Buzzard was out in tonight, I’m half expecting there to be a Beautiful Day on the South Coast.
RKJ wasn’t done though – before the next match could be introduced, he beat Buzzard back through towards ringside, laying him out with a chair before a Fire Thunder Driver onto it left Buzzard convulsing.
Jordon Breaks vs. Zozaya
This was Zozaya’s first appearance at the 229 this year – with that big tour of NOAH having taken up the bulk of his year so far. Here we’ve got a change of pace, with Jordon Breaks giving Zozaya a chance to flex his muscles on the mat…
Curiously, this was Breaks’ first outing of any kind for Rev Pro since he dropped the cruiserweight title to Neon almost a year ago. When we got going, this was almost a playful encounter with Breaks getting in Zozaya’s head with some of the basics from back in the day. Even more so when Zozaya tried to return the favours.
Back-and-forth exchanges of holds kept the action going until Breaks went “sod this” and hit an uppercut to take the Spaniard down as he looked to keep it even more grounded. An abdominal stretch is eventually reversed by Zozaya as the back-and-forth continued, swinging each other around as we headed into a Giant Swing from Breaks.
A superkick from Zozaya looked to be a last gasp finish as he fell on top of Breaks, with the pair trading near-falls after that, before Zozaya scrapped his way out of a Sharpshooter, returning with almost a Chaos Theory. Breaks finally lands a Styles clash, but the ensuing see-saw pinning attempts end with Zozaya snatching the win to end a match that was like a breeze of fresh air. ***½
When you consider the last time we saw Zozaya in London, he’d beaten Leon Slater – with Leon seemingly on the outs. Now, Leon’s ended up in getting a shot at the title, while Zozaya’s took the mic after the match to enter himself into June’s Revolution Rumble. Things have definitely changed since December…
They changed even more during this, as Jay Joshua ran out from the crowd to attack Zozaya with a charging headbutt… before a Gotch piledriver left him laying.
Chris Ridgeway vs. Leon Cage
Tag team match aside in Coventry, Leon’s winless in Rev Pro… and has amassed quite a run of matches here where he’s managed to bloody his nose. It’s almost like he’s trying to carve out his own version of the Muta scale.
We were pretty armdrag heavy to start, as Ridgeway looked to go after Cage’s arm in the early going, stopping to take a breather in the front row. Returning to the ring, Ridgeway picks up with Kitchen sink knees that laid out Cage, who was having real trouble avoiding those knees.
Cage finally forced his way in, planting himself onto Ridgeway with a double stomp out of a Dragon screw attempt. That built up to a top rope ‘rana from Cage, who busted his own nose in the process before an apron PK left Ridgeway on the floor. Things got a little scrappier from there as Ridgeway kicked out Cage’s knee on the apron as Leon was continually having to mop up his nose.
Cage was just about to beat the count-out, but leapt over Ridgeway’s baseball slide and followed him to the floor with an Asai moonsault as Leon finally found form. A cartwheel enziguiri lands, as did a 450 splash, before a diving knee to the back of Cage’s head almost ended it. Some flash roll-ups almost get Leon the win, but in the end it’s another Dragon screw and a brainbuster that gets the win for Ridgeway. ***¼
Nino Bryant vs. Michael Oku
Ahead of this, Nino had yet to win a single match in Rev Pro, with all seven of his prior singles and tags ending in loss. With Oku defending his title against Leon Slater in two weeks time, an upset would be seismic, so the main thing to ponder would be “how would the win come?”
With Nino having his younger brothers at ringside, and of course Oku with Amira, there was always the potential for flashpoints, and the longer this match went, the more feisty it became… but my joking pre-match prediction that this was going to tease going the distance played out.
Bryant has wins over Oku elsewhere on the scene, having beaten him three times over the years in Purpose – including the pair exchanging wins for the Purpose title – so I wasn’t expecting this being a Contender-level squash. That being said, going on the verge of teasing a 30-minute time limit draw was striking, as the match started with Nino surprising Oku from the off, faking out a PK before a second one sent Oku rolling to the outside for cover.
Nino tried to remain a step ahead, using the ropes to slingshot his way in for a roll-up before a corkscrew headscissor driver a la Aigle Blanc had Oku’s neck going in ways it probably shouldn’t. Recovering, Oku’s able to take down Nino with a torture rack into a backbreaker, before his first real attempt at a half crab was scrambled out of by Bryant.
The match continued to morph as Nino was stubbornly refusing to go down, and at points almost nicking the win. A body press off the top rope flattened Oku on the apron as time continued to tick away. Something that wasn’t ticking away was the 10-count on the outside as Oku had Nino in a half crab on the apron, which Nino fought out of… only to get suplexed onto the side of the ring. Remaining on the floor, Zander and Leland Bryant stood in the way of the ring post as Oku threatened to send Nino into it… the stalling bought Nino time as we headed back in with Nino landing in Oku’s knees from a big splash.
We keep going with an Oku frog splash, before Nino fought to get to the ropes to escape a half crab… but from there Oku upped the ante with an inverted superplex that almost turned into a facebuster, before a pair of frog splashes got the win. Make no bones about it, this was a good match, but given where everyone is in Rev Pro today, it’s definitely one of those that would have people screaming about had it been done in half the time. ***½
Post-match, Oku took the mic and put over Nino as one of the leading lights of the future of Rev Pro – then called out Leon Cage to share the spotlight. Stopping to throw in a dig that Leon Slater’s “not even the youngest Leon in Rev Pro anymore,” Oku left with a cheeky suggestion: “which of you’s better?” Well, that’s put the wheels in motion for a future Cage x Nino match… which would be nice had either of them managed to pick up any singles wins. See, introducing Cage and Nino in parallel, both with the same “they’re up and coming stars, but they’re not quite good enough to get wins on the current roster” has boxed us off – in the sense that one of them is going to get slotted with a loss. I’m not at all saying that Nino should have beaten Robbie X or Will Kaven, nor should Leon Cage have beaten any of the established names that he’s faced… but surely the Contenders could have been drafted in? Whinge aside, Cage vs. Nino should be a heck of a match wherever it happens, but I’m just not loving the journey they’ve had to get there.
Seiki Yoshioka vs. Stephen Wolf
Wolf’s announced he’s making his way back Stateside after this month, so this was a bit of a pick’em. Things nearly went sour in the opening minutes as Yoshioka took a nasty spill through the ropes to the floor… and despite what sounded like an ugly landing, was able to shrug it off and keep going.
A snapmare and a kick to the back from Yoshioka saw that he wasn’t fazed by that trip, but Wolf looked to force a way in… only to see an attempt at the Vertigo avoided as Yoshioka was blitzing his way through the former title challenger.
Wolf tried to stem the tide with chops and dropkicks, taking Yoshioka into the corner for a move dubbed elsewhere as the CT-Knee, only for Yoshioka to retaliate with a superkick. A pop-up powerbomb and a cutter from Wolf keeps him in it, who followed up with a Regal Stretch that ended in the ropes.
A Mistica from Yoshioka proved to be an effective counter to Wolf’s 6-1-Line as a follow-up clothesline almost got the win… before a Made in Japan proved to be enough to put the American away. ***
Youngest Guns In Charge (Ethan Allen, Leon Slater & Luke Jacobs) vs. CPF (Danny Black, Joe Lando & Maverick Mayhew)
CPF still have those trophies from last year’s Trios Grand Prix, and as we’re nearly halfway through the 12 month window, they’d better start thinking about what they want to use them on!
Leon, Ethan and Luke had dubbed themselves the “Youngest Guns in Charge” – and were in a rather playful mood, perhaps taking CPF a little lightly, you may say. Danny Black smartens up after Luke Jacobs refused to acknowledge his chop, opting to tag in Maverick Mayhew instead… and Mayhew made the most of his relative free hit. At least until he got slapped in the mouth by Jacobs.
CPF managed to make some inroads on Leon Slater, with Lando’s uppercut off the ropes signalling a turnaround… including a wacky take on the old CCK special. A blindside attack on CPF starts a long period on the back foot for Mayhew, who had water spat at him in amid the attack. Problem was, out of the six involved in the match, Slater had a big match in his immediate future – and the appearance of Michael Oku during the contest provided the obvious distraction.
A miscue from Slater opened the door for Mayhew to make the tag out as fresh bodies entered the fray. Lando’s shooting star press almost put Slater away… of course things spill outside as Danny Black’s moonsault off the top got a lot of height on the way down into the pile.
Back inside, Leon slips out of an attempt at the FIJ as he manages to get a tag out to Jacobs, whose suplexes fling CPF around the ring, leading to a Chaos Theory on Black before Allen’s charging knee to the ribs drew a two-count. Luke goes all Matt Hardy on us, using himself as a springboard for Leon into the corner, sparking a Parade of Moves that led to the JJ Elbow from Lando for a near-fall.
Slater’s Blue Thunder bomb keeps things moving ahead of a frog splash to Lando – pointedly aimed at Oku at ringside – before Leon opted against leaping into CPF and chose to hit an over-the-post dive to wipe out Oku. Ah, the true front row experience. The finish came seconds later with Leon preoccupied on the outside, as Danny Black’s forced to duck a Doomsday Device attempt from Allen… who then stumbled into an inside cradle as CPF snatched the win. ***¼
Post-match, the crowd (and Michael Oku) got in Leon and the Young Guns’ heads… which led to the Guns wiping out contender Lee Dawson with a nasty pair of Last Ride powerbombs before exiting stage left.
Dani Luna vs. Kanji
Much like with Oku/Bryant earlier, since Dani Luna had been announced for the Revolution Gauntlet match at High Stakes, this felt more like an “iron sharpens iron” outing, rather than a banana peel-style risk for Kanji. Perhaps had Dani not already been announced for High Stakes, there could have been some peril here – a win could have added her to the Mone match, for example?
Anyway, Kanji came in with an obvious target – working Dani Luna’s arm – while a modified Tequila Sunrise kept Luna in trouble in the opening stages. A Cattle Mutilation keeps Luna down, before Dani began to return the favour, working over Kanji’s arm, before Kanji found her way in with the ZSJ-esque neck torques.
A rebound Blue Thunder bomb looked to make a dent for Dani, but Kanji’s right back on the arm and neck. Luna keeps looking for the elevated German suplex, but to no avail as Kanji remained in control, at least until Dani dug deep and hauled in Kanji with that elevated German.
An attempt to follow up with the Luna Landing’s countered with a manjigatame, but Luna powers up and charged Kanji into the ropes to force the break. Duelling wrist locks end with Luna kicking her way free before Kanji caught Luna in a key lock. Luna smartly defends by grabbing her own hand, but loses grip as Luna ended up having to throw her way free.
From there, the pair exchange forearms, but a Hidden Blade out of nowhere from Kanji catches everyone by surprise… with her falling on top of Luna, peeling her shoulder up off the mat to prevent the double-pin as Kanji snatched the win. Live, it came across as a flat finish with the crowd perhaps having not bought into any kind of intensity in the match – but it’s another big win for Kanji as she prepared for Mercedes Moné in two weeks’ time. ***
Post-match, Luna took the mic and gave Kanji her seal of approval – declaring that Kanji would “bring it home.” We’ll have to see if that comes to pass…
While not quite the “go home” for High Stakes, this was a bit of a mixed bag of a show. In terms of results, this “went chalk” – and while some interesting things for down the line were set up (Leon vs. Nino, and whatever transpires out of CPF pinning the Young Guns, I’m getting the sense with the booking that we’re right in the middle of another transition period