Rev Pro’s busy June kicked off with the usual trip to the 229 – with a hectic six-man tag main event on tap.
Quick Results
British J Cup 2025 Qualifier: Nino Bryant pinned Leland Bryant & Zander Bryant in 12:58 (***¼)
Mark Trew pinned JJ Gale in 6:49 (**¾)
Kanji submitted Aluna in 14:24 (***)
Leon Slater pinned Cameron Khai in 16:38 (***½)
Connor Mills & Jay Joshua pinned Harry Milligan & Joshua James in 11:11 (***)
Chris Ridgeway pinned Jordon Breaks in 12:05 (***¼)
Danny Black, Joe Lando & Michael Oku pinned Ethan Allen, Luke Jacobs & Ricky Knight Jr. in 16:30 (***½)
— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com
It’s the start of a busy June for Rev Pro, with four shows this month – two of them being marquee events, with the British J Cup and Revolution Rumble. Speaking of… there’s been a reshuffle involving those two shows – Leon Cage, who was scheduled to challenge Will Kaven for the British Cruiserweight title at the Revolution Rumble, is out injured. As such, the winner of this month’s British J Cup will have a quick turnaround as they’ll claim their title shot on the Rumble show (as opposed to August’s anniversary weekender, as previously stated). Cage still has his title shot, but that’ll wait until he’s back in action.
The show opened with a tribute from Andy Quildan in memory of the late Dylan Shah – “one of the good ones” who our fandom sadly lost in late May.
Commentary comes from Dave Bradshaw and Gideon Grey – once we get past an unexpected video package for our opening match…
British J Cup 2025 Qualifier: Leland Bryant vs. Zander Bryant vs. Nino Bryant
Thankfully, the Bryants wardrobe was raided for this one – a thumbs up for each of them having distinct gear, particularly for newbies watching!
This spell of sibling rivalry burst into life quickly with each of the Bryants getting a moment to shine… Zander’s roll-through monkey flip into a double stomp was a nice change from the expected before the trio traded pinning attempts. Zander sidesteps a dropkick as Nino took out Leland instead, but Leland’s able to hit back with a rear spin kick to Zander for a two-count, before he picked up another two-count on Nino. Should have covered the older one first!
Leland seemingly jarred his ankle escaping a Zander powerbomb – not helped with Nino shoving Zander into him before he began to go after the youngest Bryant. The crowd turned on Nino for that… before Zander came in to break up an ankle lock to save things… then break down into a fight for good measure.
A big splash from Zander lays out Nino, with Leland doing one of his own only to get chucked outside as things kept rolling on. Leland’s back body drop turned into a sit-out driver for a near-fall as the Bryants dug deep, but that left Nino and Zander on the outside as we began our dives. Or we would have done, had Zander not delayed it, as a double reverse ‘rana led to him landing a flip dive to the outside.
A swift one-two PK/dive combo from looked to put him in control, but Leland’s quickly back up to hit a dive of his own as the match remained wide open… until a double mouse trap pin from Nino pinned both of his brothers in one go. A nice finish to a match that was nothing like what I was expecting – a lovely start to the show. ***¼
Mark Trew vs. JJ Gale
With Kieron Lacey accompanying Mark Trew to ringside, you could probably see where this was heading…
Trew’s attempted jumpstart was thwarted by Gale, who enjoyed the better of the early going as he launched Trew across the ring with a hiptoss. Lacey’s distraction gives Trew an opening for a diving Ralph Wiggum headbutt to Gale for a near-fall, following up with another as Gale was trapped in the ropes for good measure.
A dropkick in the corner looked to tweak Trew’s leg, but it’s just a cover to give Lacey a chance to attack Gale on the floor. Back inside, almost a brainbuster gets Trew a two-count, before a turnaround allowed Gale to take Trew outside for a flip dive. A spinning wheel kick followed back inside, along with a snapping rebound German suplex, before his Crimson Sunset – a torture rack into a sit-out driver – almost got the win.
In the end though, Gale ends up having to stop a Gale Force attempt… before a second one missed, allowing Trew to go for a backslide, with some help from Lacey on the floor… and that’s enough to snatch the win. **¾
Post-match, Trew and Lacey put the boots to Gale before David Francisco ran out to make the save. Gale again refused to thank Francisco for his help, before the pair got on the same page and sent Trew and Lacey packing. We’re getting a tag match between those two in Southampton this weekend, and I must say, it’s nice that they’re doing a soft roster split for Southampton. Right?
Video package time as TK Cooper is somewhere in Bristol as he’s not booked for the 229, because management didn’t expect him to have won the number one contender’s tournament and thus need him. TK warns us that he’s the one that we can’t anticipate, as I’m reminded that foreshadowing is a literary device…
Aluna vs. Kanji
Kanji was a replacement for Emersyn Jayne, who was pulled from the show as a precaution after getting stitches following a death match the prior night in Liverpool.
Kanji controlled this one from the off, working Aluna’s arms while kicking her in the back of the head. Aluna returned the favour, only to get countered into a straitjacket choke, with kicks to the back forcing Aluna to dive into the ropes for a break. Kanji remains on the offensive though, bridging over on a hammerlock before moving her focus onto Aluna’s legs.
Aluna’s able to kick away an ankle lock as she finally looked to create some offense… but Kanji’s right back out, sunset flipping her way free before trapping Aluna in a deathlock. A second one sees Kanji bridge all the way back for extra torque, but Aluna wriggles free and bought her some time with a straightforward headbutt.
A reactive PK from Kanji made sure Aluna couldn’t follow-up, at least until a short-arm clothesline found its way through. More clotheslines finally added to the long-awaited comeback, as did a neckbreaker, before the Kanji Sabre Jr. neck twist shut down that offence. Kanji tries to go back to the arm, but gets caught out with a DDT as Aluna looked to retain the upper hand, before Kanji’s latest crack at an ankle lock ended in the ropes.
From there, Kanji goes back to the double arm stretch as she took Aluna back down to the mat, rolling it over in her take on the Makabe Lock π for the submission. In hindsight this was an extended squash as Kanji put on a clinic here, wearing down pretty much all of Aluna’s limbs until the submission – perhaps not the match the crowd was expecting at the start of the day. ***
After the match, Kanji took the mic and brought up Emersyn Jayne’s absence – which at this point hadn’t been addressed to the live crowd. Kanji took exception to how Jayne had forced her way back into Rev Pro, trying to jump the queue to “take our championship back” (someone’s been listening to Gideon’s commentary!)… and that led to Kanji challenging Jayne to a rematch at the Revolution Rumble in a few weeks’ time.
Cameron Khai vs. Leon Slater
Khai’s one of a number of names on this roster who seem to be treading water – at least as far as breaking out from the pack. Last time out in Coventry, Khai lost to Liam Slater… and turned down an offer of help afterwards. Maybe he’s waiting for Leyton to come back?
Slater looked to get under Khai’s skin early on, but that just wound up Khai into fighting back with a series of body shots that left Leon laying in the corner. Shrugging off Leon’s response, Khai added a neckbreaker for a quick one-count, before a rapid-fire exchange ended with Slater nastily dumping Khai into the ropes.
Somehow Khai’s able to kick out after that, only to get launched chest-first into the corner as Slater took control of proceedings. Khai looked to go for a Pingshot cutter, but Slater just slings him into the ring into almost a Codebreaker for a two-count, continuing the offence with some more kicks to the downed Khai.
Khai’s launched into the turnbuckles again a la Bret Hart, before he cut off Slater’s telegraphed Twist of Fate and turned it into some rolling Northern Lights suplexes. A shot to the gut stops a third one as Slater eventually hit the Twist of Fate, before he brought Khai back in from the apron… and got caught with a Pingshot Cutter out of nowhere. Slater rolls to the outside to avoid being pinned, but Khai refuses to take a count-out win and rolled Leon back inside.
Leon rolled away as Khai teed up another Pingshot… we keep going with Slater winning out on a battle of cutters, before Khai got obliterated with a running leg lariat. Rather than go for the kill straight away, Slater measured Khai with more kicks as he was playing with his prey, only to get tripped up into a low superkick as Khai again threatened.
A lofty over-the-knee brainbuster floated Slater into trouble for a near-fall, but Khai took his time following up, eventually landing a knee strike before Leon struck back with a dropkick in the corner. The back-and-forth continued with an Alley Oop in the corner as Khai countered a top rope ‘rana, before an elevated German suplex went nowhere because of the damage already done in the match.
More knee strikes from Khai seemed to have him back in charge, but the injury slammed the brakes on yet again as another Pingshot gets caught and turned into a spinning Blue Thunder bomb for the win. Khai was mostly fighting from behind here, and remains winless for the year as you sense that something’s got to give with him sooner rather than later. ***½
Post-match, an exasperated Slater took aim at Khai not making a good enough go of it, trying to light a fire under Cameron while doing so. Khai’s gotten a spot in the British J Cup… and that offer from Liam apparently still stands as well.
We’re shown footage from Sha Samuels after his tournament exit last week – where he was seemingly thinking about throwing in the towel on his career…
Connor Mills & Jay Joshua vs. Harry Milligan & Joshua James
This was the first time we’ve seen Mills in Rev Pro since he dropped the tag titles back in March…
Harry enjoyed a promising start against Mills, but he’s quickly taken down and tied up as Mills pulled him into almost a Haas of Pain en route to a two-count. Mills and Joshua play pass the parcel with Harry before Joshua just bulldozed through him with a shoulder tackle. Joshua James comes in as the two Joshuas charged into each other, this time with James winning out, before a suplex and a splash drew a two-count out of Mills.
Harry’s quickly back in for a double sledge to Mills’ arm, but a quick turnaround has Harry on the defensive as Mills’ through-the-ropes dropkick took out Joshua James and a couple of fans. An attempted satellite DDT from Harry’s easily blocked as Joshua just launched him across the ring to prevent a tag out…
More strikes leave Harry in a heap, with Mills’ deathlock hardly helping things. Another attempt to break free finally works as Harry lands a double DDT before making the tag out… Josh James runs wild, suplexing both Joshua and Mills in one go, before he countered Mills’ rebound lariat with a POUNCE!
Mills avoids a chokeslam as he eventually returned with a rebound lariat as the tide turned… all four men hit the ring as the Joshuas traded strikes, but again it’s Jay who looked to pull ahead, only to get laid out with a lariat from James. That’s the cue for Harry to tag himself in, but James returned the favour, not wanting to fall to defeat… but Harry’s a persistent bugger and tagged himself back in once more, only to leap into a Jay Joshua powerslam for a near-fall.
From there, Mills and Joshua combine with a Burning Spinebuster… and that’s your lot. ***
Post-match, we’ve a lot of talk. Connor Mills’ reacted to the “welcome back” chants by declaring that he’d be in the Revolution Rumble – and teased he and Joshua being in the final two. Let’s see..
After that, Joshua James helped up Harry Milligan, only to repeatedly get shoved away. As tempers boiled, Sha Samuels came out to address his future… and wouldn’t you know it, the boots he came out with weren’t for the ceremonial retirement scene, but rather for show and tell, because he’s gonna be wearing his first wrestling boots as he enters the Rumble for one more shot at the title.
That wasn’t where things laid though – Joshua James clobbered Sha from behind with a lariat to put a dampener on things, before laying out Harry and Sha with a series of top rope splashes. Something tells me that James and Harry will be part of the Rumble as well, and their paths will cross…
Chris Ridgeway vs. Jordon Breaks
Last time Breaks was here, we’d been told that he was no longer a part of the cruiserweight division… so on paper, this is a bit of a test ahead of the British J Cup for Ridgeway.
As you’d expect, these two kept it tight, trading holds on the mat as we almost had to send the man to the commentary desk. Trading Japanese strangleholds led to Ridgeway breaking out, only for his attempt at a trip to get neutralised as Breaks took him into the ropes. Resuming, Ridgeway’s cravat helps him roll Breaks to the mat for some two-counts, before Ridgeway rolled to the outside for a breather.
Back inside, Ridgeway hyperextends Breaks’ left leg as he followed up with some grounded Dragon screws before Breaks had to crawl towards the ropes to force a break from a calf slicer. Ridgeway repositions to stop that as he maintained the pressure, but Breaks manages to get out and attempt a Sharpshooter… but it’s too close to the ropes for it to be locked in for long.
Ridgeway resumes by going for a key lock on Breaks, but it’s broken up with a sit-out bodyslam. Undeterred, Ridgeway takes Breaks into the corner for more knee work… but a sit-down pin looked to thwart Ridgeway, only for Ridgeway to again regain the upper hand.
Another keylock’s almost slammed out of, but Ridgeway keeps hold, only to get lifted up by the arm… that breaks things as we counter… counter… counter… and a roll-up gets Ridgeway the win out of nowhere. He learned from Leon Cage then! This was a good match to watch live, but the crowd didn’t seem that into it. ***¼
Ricky Knight Jr. & Young Guns (Ethan Allen & Luke Jacobs) vs. CPF (Danny Black & Joe Lando) & Michael Oku
With no TK Cooper on the card, RKJ’s filling in the empty slot for this “challengers and champions face off” main event. We’ve a jump start as RKJ and the Young Guns knocked their opponents off the apron… with some crowd brawling seeing Michael Oku launched through the chairs towards the bar.
Joe Lando and Danny Black met similar fates, before a turnaround led to Oku landing a Fosbury flop while CPF hit duelling moonsaults to the floor. After a lap of honour went awry, RKJ and the Young Guns hit triple apron powerbombs before we finally got going in the ring, with Lando very much on the defensive.
A snapping brainbuster gets RKJ an early two-count as Lando looked to be in deep trouble – even more so after RKJ teed up a chop, only to go low in the corner. Lando’s attempt to break free finally bore fruit when he planted RKJ with a cutter – before a tag brought in Michael Oku to clear house.
Oku’s tornado DDT took down RKJ ahead of a springboard moonsault for a near-fall, before RKJ’s sit-out powerbomb countered an Oku dropkick to leave both men laying. Tags bring in both members of CPF as they worked over Luke Jacobs – and it’s my own bugbear, but that whole “CPF tag in and both come in for a spell” really takes me out of their matches, particularly when there’s no visible attempt from the ref to enforce the legal man.
RKJ’s double-team suplex stops that, but some triple-teaming has CPF back in it with a back cracker/Quebrada combo in the ropes for a near-fall. A stacked up Samoan drop gave RKJ time as the Young Guns gave CPF a dose of their own medicine, with RKJ helping out on a double Doomsday Device.
Luke Jacobs is the first one up after Oku dove in to break up the pin – and when things calm back down, tags bring us back to Oku and a fired-up Allen to trade shots. Oku’s series of unanswered shots have Allen in a heap, as did a misdirection knee strike, before Oku got himself caught in the corner and lifted up for a Doomsday Destroyer from RKJ. Somehow it’s not enough, and things spilled outside once again with Joe Lando’s shooting star press almost introducing him to the front row.
Oku’s Fosbury flop’s stopped by RKJ, which led to another scuffle that saw the pair suplex each other from the ring to the floor. That skirmish ends with the referee laid out before Oku and RKJ brawled to the back… in the melee, the Young Guns miss a belt shot, only to get caught with them as CPF ended up snatching the win. ***½
CPF celebrated with the tag titles after the show – but we’re not done. Remember, we’re in Rumble season, so we have to empty out the locker room! First, Mills and Joshua… then Trew and Lacey… then the Bryants… Harry Milligan, Joshua James, Jordon Breaks, Chris Ridgeway keep our unofficial battle royal going, before JJ Gale sent Ridgeway packing to sign us off with his music.
Except we’re still not done as Leon Slater hit the ring to resume the scrap, followed by Cameron Khai, who aligned himself with Leon to hit duelling dives to the floor. That was the cue for RKJ and Michael Oku to return to ringside, with Oku hitting the ring to put some distance between he and Ricky, only for… TK COOPER?
Yep, he’s hot footed it from Bristol as TK Cooper came through the crowd to attack Oku – that appearance got a heck of a reaction. With Oku laid out from a headbutt, TK then took the mic and gave us his rendition of the Pipe Bomb promo. Thankfully it’s more than just a recital of the Cagematch transcription as TK verbally laid into how he’d been his career was stalling in Rev Pro – getting “Contender level” names while Oku was getting big names. I miss Rob the Gob. Pipebomb homage aside (and the fact that this ended with “singles guy” TK getting the Sunshine Machine music), this was a really damn effective promo from TK as he readies himself for his first singles title shot in Rev Pro.