A tournament to crown a new contender for Michael Oku kicked off, while CPF tried to put an end to the Young Guns’ reign as tag team champions.
Quick Results
Leon Cage pinned Chris Ridgeway in 16:49 (***¼)
TK Cooper pinned Stephen Wolf in 12:03 (***)
Will Kaven, Mark Trew & Kieron Lacey pinned Harry Milligan, Sha Samuels & Joshua James in 8:28 (***)
Kanji submitted Charli Evans in 19:27 (****)
Michael Oku submitted Robbie X in 17:31 (***½)
Rev Pro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship Contenders Tournament Quarter Final: Ricky Knight Jr. submitted David Francisco in 1:25
Rev Pro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship Contenders Tournament Quarter Final: Zozaya defeated Jay Joshua via count-out in 13:10 (***½)
Ethan Allen & Luke Jacobs pinned Danny Black & Joe Lando to retain the Rev Pro Undisputed British Tag Team Championship in 21:39 (***½)
— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com
One week on from High Stakes, we’re back at the 229 – and with the British J Cup and the Revolution Rumble happening in June, we’re about to hit tournament season. Commentary for this one’s from Dave Bradshaw and Gideon Grey once again…
Chris Ridgeway vs. Leon Cage
This was a rematch from earlier in the month – but now Leon’s got a win under his belt, is there new-found confidence? Well, in short, yes…
The early going here didn’t bode well, but Cage was able to counter Ridgeway’s early armdrags as things spilled outside with Ridgeway taking an apron PK. Back inside though, RIdgeway regained the upper hand as he tried to rip apart Cage’s knee with Dragon screws, then with a bridging deathlock, before Cage bounced up ugly after being dropped knee-first onto the side of the ring.
Cage tried to fight back, but Ridgeway avoided a stomp as that knee continued to take some punishment. Fighting back, Cage nearly beaned himself on a top rope ‘rana, before he managed to haul up Ridgeway with a brainbuster. After getting himself hung up in the ropes, Cage manages to trade places as he hung up Ridgeway for a stomp out of the corner. That’s added to with a cartwheel enziguiri, only for Cage to crash and burn again on a Phoenix splash as the door once again opened up for Ridgeway.
A release German suplex flipped Cage inside out from there, but Cage is forced to hold on through ankle locks before an exchange of roll-ups led to a Euro clutch, and then finally a wheelbarrow roll saw Cage escape with the win. Progression for Leon, who again took a beating, but this time to a different result… I wonder if we get a third one in a tournament setting in June? ***¼
Stephen Wolf vs. TK Cooper
Last time we saw TK in Rev Pro, he was beside himself, having lost to Connor Mills and Jay Joshua at the start of March. He’s back now though, albeit without Chuck Mambo at his side…
This was also Wolf’s final match in this Rev Pro run, so the pair wanted “a good one” to close things out. An even, jovial start looked to have had TK get the better of things, as he armdragged Wolf into the buckles as Cooper enjoyed an uninterrupted run of offence.
Responding, Wolf baits TK into the corner for a gamengiri, only to get caught in the ropes ahead of the Omelette du Fromage corkscrew legdrop seconds later from TK. Wolf ducks under a diving headbutt, but can’t avoid a slingshot into the corner as things got more tit-for-tat, building up to a bicycle knee and a standing moonsault from Wolf.
A pop-up Samoan drop gets TK back in it, before he dropkicked away Wolf in the ropes mid-6-1-Line. Things get more even though after another missed Omelette du Fromage, with Wolf adding a Destroyer off the top before he managed to get his knees up to avoid a shooting star press from TK. That does about equal damage to both men though, but TK’s up first to score with a diving headbutt, a scissors kick, before snatching the win with a roll-up – and a big handful of tights too. A questionable ending, and you’d have to think that TK Cooper’s perhaps had enough of playing things cleanly and coming up short? ***
Mark Trew, Kieron Lacey & Will Kaven vs. Sha Samuels, Joshua James & Harry Milligan
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a lot of these guys in Rev Pro – as they’re reigniting the Sha Samuels/Joshua James/Harry Milligan story.
The early going saw Sha charge through Mark Trew, who was back from his apparent run in “NXT Japan” (blame Gideon for that one!), before Joshua James came in and rudely dumped Trew for a quick two-count. Sha took umbrage at Harry Milligan doing the volley kick, so came in to do it himself before Harry returned… and promptly found himself on the receiving end of a flying knee from Will Kaven.
A triple-team just squashes Harry in the corner for a two-count before he forced his way free… and just dabbed before finally tagging in James. Sha keeps it going, before some dissension between Sha and James led to Trew hitting that Ralph Wiggum headbutt to leave Harry on his own. Harry gave it a good go with a spinebuster, before James POUNCED Harry into Lacey.
More arguments end with Will Kaven hitting a Cactus clothesline to take care of Sha, before a stompy Black Flag triggered by a bloodied Kaven put young ‘arry down for the count. This was exactly what this needed to be – long enough to remind us of what was going on with everyone, and giving a win to the Kaven, Trew and Lacey trio. ***
We’ve a video recap of High Stakes last week, wrapped up with Mercedes Moné praising it all as we wait for her next challenger.
Charli Evans vs. Kanji
We’ve got quite the storied history between these two, dating back to November 2018 in Wrestling Resurgence, where the majority of this rivalry has been held, with Kanji beat Charli for the Resurgence title at the end of last year. And boy, Charli’s entrance video is quite the throwback to three venues of Rev Pro Old – the Cockpit, St. Neots and Cardiff’s Tramshed.
Much like Wolf/Cooper earlier, this one started off all friendly, testing the other out with duelling ankle locks and pinning attempts that ended up with Charli flipping Kanji off with a neck bridge. From there, Charli pulled ahead with a low crossbody to Kanji in the bottom rope, before a bridging Fisherman’s suplex almost got the win.
Kanji’s forced to block a Saito suplex attempt before she countered a PK attempt and jammed Charli’s knee into the mat. In return, Evans goes for Kanji’s leg, almost making her kick her own head in the process, before Kanji broke free and twisted Charli’s neck with some headscissors, a la ZSJ.
Kanji keeps going with a full nelson, turning it into Cattle Mutilation for a brief moment, before a diving forearm to the back of the head left Charli laying. More back-and-forth sees Charli try to strike her way back in, countering a rear naked choke into a death valley driver to put some distance between her and Kanji.
Evans trips up Kanji into a toe and ankle lock, before a Saito suplex tease led to nothing more than an ankle lock as Kanji’s counter put her back in trouble. On the apron, things escalated with Charli’s diving knee as Kanji’s head was between the ropes, before third time proved to be the charm with that Saito.
Going back to the ankle lock forces Kanji to strike her way free, giving her an opening for a mounted Octopus hold. Another neck twist has Evans laying, before Kanji pulled off almost a Makabe Lock π out of a rear naked choke… it’s rolled out of though, before Charli flew in with a rear naked choke for the flash submission. That was a fantastic outing to get Kanji back in the winning column – and these two continue to make magic whenever and wherever they meet in the ring. ****
Post-match, Kanji took the mic and thanked the crowd for their support after last week’s disappointing result… only to be attacked from behind by Emersyn Jayne. Kanji’s (former?) tag partner elsewhere left her laying with a Jig ‘n’ Tonic, before mocking Kanji for letting everyone down. Emersyn promised to climb up to the top to get herself a title shot… before Charli Evans made the save as Kanji was threatened with a piledriver.
Robbie X vs. Michael Oku
These two have met five times previously around the country, with Robbie X yet to get a win in any of those meetings.
A rather tense start isn’t helped with Robbie taking verbal pot shots at Amira at ringside, before things burst into life… ending with Robbie scooting to the outside to avoid a superkick. Back inside, a dropkick flips Robbie X inside out as Oku began to chop his way through the former Cruiserweight champion.
After using the referee as a shield, Robbie X poked Oku in the eyes – starting a period on top for Robbie X, whose grounded abdominal stretch kept Oku down ahead of a senton atomico. Robbie returns the favour on those earlier chops before he’s caught with a DDT out of the corner as Oku began to build from scratch again.
A missile dropkick takes Robbie outside for a Fosbury flop, while a froggy crossbody back inside looked to put Oku back on course, but a quick turnaround sees Robbie snap back with an armbreaker before a clothesline, Beyblade kick and shooting star press out of the corner almost slammed the door shut on this one.
Aborting a Spiral Tap, Robbie X tried his luck with an X-Claimation… but that’s blocked as the pair end up trading poisonranas with differing results, before that X-Claimation finally landed as the match headed towards its home stretch. More back-and-forth strikes end with Oku having to escape a half crab, before he hit Robbie X with an X-Claimation instead. From there, a PK, a frog splash and a half crab lead to the submission as Oku left with another win as he remained unbeaten this calendar year in Rev Pro. ***½
Rev Pro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship Contenders Tournament Quarter Final: David Francisco vs. Ricky Knight Jr.
David Francisco reckons he still ought to be the champion, so being in this tournament at all is another grievance.
Offering to forfeit the match, Francisco just jumped RKJ from behind… and that was perhaps the worst idea he could have had as RKJ took Francisco into the corner, before a draping DDT and a Fire Thunder driver looked to get the win. Except RKJ pulled up the pin, so he could force the submission with the half crab. Thanks for coming David… although I could have done without the threat of another reversal “win”…
Rev Pro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship Contenders Tournament Quarter Final: Jay Joshua vs. Zozaya
Joshua’s peeved that he’s accomplished more in less time in Rev Pro than Zozaya, but isn’t getting any credit for it… and this one started out hot, with Zozaya launching himself into the Welshman, only to get sent flying into the ring post, then the merch table before the bell had even gone.
When the match did get underway, Zozaya simply couldn’t get going as his roll-through dropkick was turned into a bodyslam as Joshua seemingly had the Spaniard figured out. Strikes from Zozaya looked to be for nought as Joshua knocked him down into the corner, only for Zozaya to return with a rolling thunder-esque dropkick.
A stomp off the top followed, then a German suplex as Zozaya began to make inroads… only to get caught with a deadlift German suplex out of nowhere. Roll-ups from Zozaya end up with him almost getting caught with a legdrop, but it’s avoided as a curb stomp out of nowhere drove Joshua’s head into the mat for a quick two-count.
Another trip up top from Zozaya ends with another stomp to the back of the Welshman, only for another stomp to miss as Joshua instead flew in with a torpedo headbutt on the proverbial rebound. A second torpedo headbutt’s stopped with almost a leaping leg lariat as both men were going to the well too often… and another trip outside ended with Zozaya springboarding into a headbutt the floor.
They narrowly beat the standing ten-count from there, but it’s Joshua who retained the upper hand, stomping away on Zozaya in the corner, who fired back with a double-leg takedown as things descended almost into a slap fight. Zozaya’s strikes see him pull ahead as a pop-up de Madrid al Cielo only got him a one-count?!
Undeterred, Zozaya pulls ahead, taking things up top… but Joshua slips out and adds a Gotch piledriver that almost won it. Things spill outside again as the pair fight on the apron, but a rising headbutt stuns Zozaya as he was climbing the ropes… only for Zozaya to hit back as he broke free of a rear naked choke in the ropes… turning it into a de Madrid al Cielo onto the side of the ring. That looked ugly, lads… and that proved to be the end as Zozaya narrowly beat the 10-count to win the match. There’s very much plenty of milage left between these two, and while Zozaya makes it to the semi-finals in Sheffield next month, this feud very much will continue. ***½
Rev Pro Undisputed British Tag Team Championship: CPF (Joe Lando & Danny Black) vs. Young Guns (Luke Jacobs & Ethan Allen) (c)
CPF earned this shot by beating the Young Guns (and Leon Slater) three weeks ago in a trios match – without having to cash in any of their trios trophies to get here.
We’ve another jump start as CPF launched themselves onto the champions before they’d even gotten to the ring, looking to get this one put away quickly. Danny Black started really brightly here, having both Ethan and Luke on the back foot. Quick tags looked to have Luke a little discombobulated, but an attempt at the Event Omega ends up with Lando getting dumped to the outside before Danny Black was almost spiked into the mat with a uranage.
That provided the spark for a turnaround as Ethan Allen led the charge, keeping Danny in the corner as the champions were taking their shots. Black’s discus forearm manages to get him free from the pack as Joe Lando came in to mount some offence, before some misdirection took things outside with Allen baiting Lando into a pop-up powerbomb onto the apron.
Luke remained aggressive, charging Black into the wall to leave Lando almost at their mercy, whose front facelock choked out Lando en route to a suplex to shake things up. Danny Black’s booted off the apron again, then quickly returned to argue his case… but all that did was mask some double-teaming on Lando behind the ref’s back as the champions looked to be in complete control. Knee strikes and kicks from Allen kept Lando on all fours, before an errant kick from Allen knocked Luke Jacobs off the apron, while a German suplex from Lando bought him enough time to bring Danny Black back in.
Another missed dive sees Ethan eat the turnbuckles as Black bolted ahead, wiping out Luke with an Orihara moonsault to the outside, before a Clash Bomb back inside almost put Allen away. Lando’s back as he hit a Quebrada, landing shins-first across Allen’s upper body as Black’d added a back cracker seconds earlier. Things looked to be coming up all CPF here, but an aborted shooting star press from Black just cleared the way for another turnaround.
A DDT from Lando saves himself though as the match descended into a Parade of Moves… with Young Guns edging ahead once more thanks to a stacked-up German suplex from Jacobs. From there, a lariat traps Black in the corner ahead of the old Aussie Open Dental Plan as Allen measured up Black for a series of unanswered strikes… but the momentum swings back and forth yet again as a ‘rana into a cutter was countered by Allen grabbing Danny Black into a crossface.
In the end though, CPF held on a little longer, with Lando’s reverse ‘rana planting Jacobs before Allen returned to hold up Lando for a wild Hart Attack… and after one more scare for the champions, Luke used Danny Black to swat Lando out of the ring before a tombstone, a Doomsday Device and a kick-assisted piledriver finally put CPF to bed. A strong attempt for the challengers, but on this night it was a bridge too far as the Young Guns successfully defended their titles for the first time. ***½
Post-match, Luke told CPF to enjoy their fluke win earlier in the month… but that was all they were getting, and to sod off to the back of the queue. CPF weren’t ones to let sleeping dogs lie though, with Joe Lando taking the mic to remind everyone that they had those trophies… and could cash them in to get another title shot if they wanted. That just brought the Young Guns back for another beatdown, with Danny Black poking the bear one more time as CPF ended up getting laid out with chairshots before being granted their wish… a no-DQ shot at the titles at the Revolution Rumble at York Hall in June. I guess it was nice knowing them…
After Rev Pro’s last few shows came up as mixed bags, this felt like a return to form – with nothing outlasting its welcome, and everything serving to move stories along. That being said, we’ve got a relatively-fair amount lined up for the York Hall show and not the British J Cup that’s a week prior… which may end up being the show folks end up sleeping on as Rev Pro heads into a busy summer.