Some of the names gunning for Michael Oku lined up with him and against him in Sheffield as we continued to head towards Epic Encounter.
Quick Results
Jay Joshua & Connor Mills pinned Lee Dawson & Jordan Saeed in 2:45
Kanji submitted Skye Smitson in 17:10 (***½)
Richard Holliday pinned Harry Milligan in 9:55 (**½)
Robbie X pinned Nino Bryant in 19:32 (***¾)
Stephen Wolf pinned Ethan Allen in 13:43 (***)
JJ Gale pinned Ricky Knight Jr. in 11:14 (***¼)
1 Called Manders & Michael Oku pinned Liam Slater & Leon Slater in 23:32 (***½)
— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com
It’s safe to say it’s been a busy week at Rev Pro Towers, particularly as far as it goes to announcing marquee events. Next time they’ll be in Yorkshire, they’ll be bringing Mercedes Moné to Doncaster… but as for today, it may be a new year but it’s the same Sheffield as these shows stick out as the only Rev Pro ones that aren’t either numbered or given a special name. We’re up to 18 in Sheffield now, but if you want to start the clock with the first show that wasn’t named, I guess we’re up to Live in Sheffield 11?
Either way, commentary’s from the voices of Dave Bradshaw and David Francisco, once they sort out the audio mix. Francisco’s throwing a fit about what happened in Southampton two weeks ago…
Lee Dawson & Jordan Saeed vs. Connor Mills & Jay Joshua
We cut to black as Mills and Joshua rush the ring, and this is predictably a murder as Mills charged through Saeed with a diving kick in the corner.
Lee Dawson’s made to tag in and has a bit more luck, but he eats a rebound lariat from Mills… Joshua pulls up the pin so he can hit a lariat of his own, then a second one to truck through Dawson. Mills pulls up the pin after landing a PK, before a torture rack passed off into a spinebuster ended the squashiest squash… a match that was just background noise for David Francisco quietly whinging on the headset.
Skye Smitson vs. Kanji
It’s been a while since Legion Skye Smitson has been around – since the first Copperbox show, in fact.
Kanji controlled things early on, wearing down Smitson with a side headlock before a dropkick to the knee and a crossbody to the back picked up a two-count. Smitson’s able to return with a stalling suplex, but Kanji slips out and snatched a two-count from a roll-up as she began to find her groove again.
Just as I typed that, Smitson crashes back in with a dropkick as she then began to wear down Kanji with a sleeper… it’s fought out of though, so Skye pokes at the eye and looked to take things up top, only for Kanji to counter out with a crossbody. It’s caught, so Kanji switches up into a mounted double wristlock, only for Smitson to counter the counter with a fallaway slam.
A grounded chinlock from Smitson leads to some boot choking in the corner before Kanji found a way out with a neck twist in the corner. Kanji’s Tiger Feint kick in the corner follows, then another neck twist before she began to wear down Skye’s arm. Kicks to the back left Smitson rocked as Kanji then worked her way up into a trapped-arm armbar, adding a half crab to the mix before switching it up into a triangle armbar, and then into a Crossface.
Smitson almost has the ropes, so Kanji relents and hits a couple of diving forearms to the back of the head, but Smitson’s able to kick out… and almost turn the match on its head with an Air Raid Crash for a near-fall. Things descend into back-and-forth forearms, then kicks as Kanji then found her way in for a Calf Slicer.
Smitson holds on and manages to roll up and out for a Smitson Effect… it’s blocked as Kanji ends up putting her down with an enziguiri. More strikes end with a short-range lariat from Smitson, only for a second Air Raid Crash to get countered as Kanji snapped back in for an Indian deathlock.
Kanji keeps Smitson tied up as she worked in for a butterfly lock as well, forcing Smitson to try and roll Kanji into a pin while she was in the hold, but Kanji again just switches it up and rolled Smitson into an unnatural position while trapping the arms for the “no way, you’ve gotta submit” tap-out. Some good stuff here with Kanji not sticking to a route-one gameplan – and given her momentum, you’d have to think she’s in pole position for the Moné match. Ahem. ***½
Richard Holliday vs. Harry Milligan
Holliday’s ruined a perfectly fine suit jacket for his ring gear… and apparently this is built off of something a year ago when Holliday attacked Sha. So we’re getting Holliday against Harry Milligan, whose music takes me back.
Harry needs some geeing up… but a double-handed chop from Sha apparently does the trick, as did Holliday offering up a free shot. Harry takes it, then built on it as well as he took Holliday to the corner for some charging uppercuts in the buckles. A charging elbow out of the corner put us back to square one though as Holliday continued to pick apart at Milligan.
Sha’s leaning through the ropes as he tried to coach Harry mid-beatdown, but Milligan’s just taking a beating as Holliday proceeded to slingshot him into the bottom rope. Holliday turfs Millgan to the outside, where another Sha pep talk just led to… more beatings. This time though, Milligan reverses things and chucks Holliday outside for some follow-up dives… only for the third one to get caught.
Milligan’s able to escape and hit a twisting cannonball off the apron before they returned to the ring for an elbow drop off the middle rope. Harry looks for a SEGA Mega Driver, but it’s blocked as Holliday ends up returning with a backbreaker and a sit-out powerbomb for a near-fall as the feed gave out momentarily.
Sha teases throwing in the towel for Harry, despite not having one, and that creates a distraction as Milligan charged Holliday into Sha. Rather than go for the pin, Harry checks on him, only to get low blowed and hit with the 2008 DDT for the win. This was fine story-wise, with them painting Milligan as a plucky underdog who almost got the win… **½
Post-match, Sha challenged Holliday to a match… next week at the 229.
Robbie X vs. Nino Bryant
Sheffield’s internet is throwing a wobbly at the start of this, but that’s just a natural reaction to Robbie X’s kettle whistle intro.
A quick opening exchange saw Robbie X school Nino, taking him down for a quick crucifix pin before going to the corner for a breather. Nino responds, diving over Robbie X’s attempt at a trip before headscissors took Robbie into the corner before a springboard crossbody into the ring kept Nino ahead.
Robbie manages to get back in with some inadvertent help from the referee, before things headed outside with Robbie X laying out Nino with a forearm. A suplex back into the ring looked to have Robbie further ahead, as did some chops as Nino eventually began to fire up, hitting back with forearms of his own before Robbie’s attempt at a diving kick into the corner was ducked.
Bryant sneak in a roll up, then a wacky diving overhead kick that bought him some time as some corner dropkicks and a superkick led to Nino hitting a wacky rebound reverse DDT off the ropes. Bloody hell, I’ve not seen that before. Keeping going, Nino leaps off the top, but Robbie evades as he almost slung Nino out of the ring as he hung him up in the ropes… before a handspring kick turned the match on its head.
Back inside, a Molly Go Round gets Robbie a near-fall, before Nino’s rebound tornado DDT sent Robbie to the outside… where a flash flip senton off the top kept up the pressure. Bloody hell, the upset’s on, but Nino gave Robbie too much time to recover, as a follow-up Argentine backbreaker set-up was fought out of.
The pair hit the ropes, but it’s a diving boot from Nino that found its mark… but again, not following up bites him in the rear as Robbie X hits him with an apron death valley driver, before a Beyblade kick into the corner and a standing shooting star press out of it almost won the match.
Robbie goes for an X-Claimation, but Nino counters it… Robbie flips him off, but Nino just bites the digit before a sit-out powerbomb from Robbie X looked to get the win. Nino tries to cradle out of a follow-up Fisherman Buster, but it lands anyway for a near-fall as Nino was looking to be running on fumes after those last two big shots.
More buffering intercepts the stream as Robbie X’s dilly-dallying almost cost him as Nino went for roll-ups, before a bridging brainbuster and a small package driver got him close to the upset. Nino scrambles up top for something else… but his big splash lands in the knees of Robbie X, who quickly followed up with an X-Claimation for a enar-fall… before the diving gamengiri in the corner finally put Nino away. It’s one of those “you gain more in defeat” losses as Nino took Robbie X to the limit for 20 minutes, but with Robbie X having already had his title match announced, this was always the expected result. Carve out time for this one on the replays! ***¾
Ethan Allen vs. Stephen Wolf
Allen’s looking to build on his win over Leon Cage back in his last singles match here in December – but with both men walking into title matches in a few weeks, this may be too close to call.
Allen’s the early aggressor here, charging through Wolf with a shoulder tackle before he smothered him on the mat. Wolf sneaks in a sunset flip roll-up, only to get waylaid with a point-blank clothesline as Allen tried to regain control… only for Wolf to return with a lucha armdrag and a dropkick to take Ethan outside.
Back inside, Wolf’s quickly on the defensive as he took a kick to the back, then a strong slam to the mat as Allen again took control with a side chinlock. A backbreaker takes Wolf into the corner, and it’s not long before Allen’s back to the chinlock… but this time it’s escaped as Wolf took things to the corner as he lifted Allen outside for a wild dive through the ropes.
Wolf keeps up the momentum with a swift forearm back inside, then a springboard clothesline for a two-count. Allen avoids a 6-1-Line in the ropes, but couldn’t quite retaliate with an Allen Slam as he instead had more success with a reversed bodyslam. Wolf’s able to use the ropes to catch out Allen ahead of another 6-1-Line attempt, following up with a standing moonsault for a two-count before Allen snapped back with a crossface.
Allen switches up into almost a Rings of Saturn, but Wolf gets a foot to the ropes. A trip up top from Wolf ends with a butterfly superplex, then a rapid follow-up with a charging knee to the midsection from Allen… who stopped to mouth off at the crowd before he booted Wolf in the head. In the end though, Wolf’s able to hit the 6-1-Line at the third attempt, before the Vertigo (inverted suplex into a cutter) brought home the win. ***
Post-match, Robbie X wandered out to ringside to sarcastically applaud Wolf… only to get blindsided by Will Kaven at ringside. Robbie fights back, until Wolf joined in with a plancha as the three-way feud for the Cruiserweight title continued. We’ve got a changeover too, with Jay Joshua passing Wolf on the stage as he headed to the ring to go for the downed Ethan Allen – and with Luke Jacobs elsewhere, I think Ethan’s in trouble. Especially when Connor Mills rewound the clock to last summer and dove at Allen’s knee with a chop block to start the beatdown, culminating with the Argentine backbreaker into a spinebuster.
Ricky Knight Jr. vs. JJ Gale
RKJ and JJ Gale are part of that big ol’ list of names going after Michael Oku’s title – but their paths have crossed a little lately, so here we are.
RKJ jumps Gale with a dropkick on the apron before he fought towards the bar, then back towards the ring so he could… troll the crowd. The match officially starts with RKJ’s diving kick getting a two-count, before RKJ grabbed JJ’s Gales en route to JJ hitting back with a leaping clothesline.
A cartwheel kick surprises RKJ as Gale kept the upper hand, only for RKJ to smash his way back in with a clothesline of his own. Chops sting Gale in the corners from there ahead of a stalling suplex and a big back body drop to Gale for a lackadaisical two-count. RKJ keeps going, smashing in with a back elbow and a suplex into the buckles, while a dropkick saw him pick up another two-count.
Gale turns it around, taking out RKJ for a tope through one of the chairs, before he got some receipts for the earlier chops as he knocked RKJ into the front row. The scrap continued with Gale posting RKJ… only for RKJ to reverse a whip and send Gale through a camo-covered guard rail. That’s why he missed it, then?
Another posting from Gale has RKJ on jelly legs, but a follow-up tornado DDT into the front row was blocked as Gale just got dumped onto the apron instead, before Gale got placed into a chair for a wild stage dive out of it. A second stage dive from RKJ turns into an elbow to Gale on the side of the ring, before a Jackhammer almost ended things back inside.
Somehow Gale’s able to retaliate with a Destroyer and a Slingblade for a two-count out of nowhere, before a Gale Force was countered into a roll-up. The ref stops the count as she spotted RKJ’s feet in the ropes, before Gale’s roll-up and a twisting uppercut out of the corner almost earned him the win…
Gale tries another roll-up, but RKJ’s mule kick stops that ahead of a piledriver… but it’s still not enough, as Gale then rolled his way out of a Fire Thunder Driver for the unexpected win. This had some good fire to it, even if it felt a touch one-sided at times. ***¼
RKJ and Gale continued to scrap afterwards – and I guess this means this feud will continue… perhaps through Wolverhampton. Which means Michael Oku’s challenger there remains in question? Or maybe not, as RKJ chucked a chair at Gale as the trainees separating the pair of them fell asleep on the job.
Leon Slater & Liam Slater vs. Michael Oku & 1 Called Manders
Liam came out in a Leon Slater tee, but sadly Liam didn’t return the favour for the Unrelated Slaters.
Leon and Oku start us off, but Oku’s attempt at a half crab ends early in the ropes during a testy exchange, before Leon tried to snatch a cradle pin after a missed Oku dropkick. Tags look to calm things down as Liam Slater swarmed Manders, forcing him into the ropes before Michael Oku came in and got caught out with a blind tag that brought in Leon.
The Slaters swap frequent tags to isolate Oku… but Oku fights out of the corner and eventually made the tag to Manders, who charges through Leon before he chopped and suplexed Liam for a quick two-count. Leon has more luck as he grounded Manders, but Leon keeps going after Oku on the apron, which could open up opportunities for later.
In the meantime, the Slaters continuer to wear down Manders, utilising some questionable tactics as they made the most out of the ref’s five count. Manders gnaws away at Liam to force a break, but the elder Slater prevents a tag out as Leon kept Manders grounded for some hooking and stretching.
Finally Manders manages to get free as a hot tag brought in Oku to light up Leon… this time Oku’s able to withstand the two-on-one threat as his tope wiped out Liam in the front row before a froggy crossbody back inside nearly put Leon away. Liam’s back to hand off Oku to Leon for a Blue Thunder Bomb that almost got Liam the win, before Liam charged at Oku… whose half crab managed to get countered into one from Liam instead.
Liam even twists the ankle a la Oku, before he turned it into a Lion Tamer-esque version of the hold as Oku finally made it to the ropes for a break. Manders is back to try a Stampede on Liam, but the knee gives out as Liam proceeded to capitalise with a powerbomb, but Manders is able to kick out at two.
A back body drop from Manders take out Liam, but Leon’s able to absorb an atomic drop before Oku flew in to break up a sunset flip on Manders, as history almost struck twice for Leon. Manders shakes it off and tees up for a lariat to Leon, eventually landing it at the second crack as Oku proceeded to tag in and pick up the pieces, rolling Leon into a half crab… but Liam Slater comes in to trap Manders in a half crab as things turned into a game of chicken.
Liam’s slaps to Oku eventually ended with Manders pushing the hold free… but Liam’s sent into Oku as both half crabs ended up falling apart. We resume with all four men squaring off… Oku damn near punts Leon’s leg out of his leg as the exchange of fire eventually took us back to Leon and Oku’s suicide suplex from the ring to the floor. Bloody hell lads. That leaves Manders alone with Liam Slater… and one strong lariat was enough to put an end to things. A fantastic main event, even if it did the usual Rev Pro thing of going a touch too long for its own good. ***½
Post-match, Manders just clobbers the bell out of Oku with a lariat… and with Liam Slater telling Leon to back off, and if you’d suspect that we’re getting Oku and Manders for the belt in Wolverhampton next month, Oku confirmed as much as we closed out the show.
Rev Pro’s first show of the year in Sheffield was a strong outing – and one that set up plenty for upcoming shows. Well worth the Sunday afternoon viewing, as long as you can tune out David Francisco’s persistent commentary complaints about what happened in Southampton…