A wild Revolution tag match in Sheffield closed out Rev Pro’s latest double-header as the road to the Anniversary show continued.
Quick Results
Joshua James pinned Goldenboy Santos in 10:50 (***)
Kanji defeated Lizzy Evo via disqualification in 11:30 (***¼)
Connor Mills submitted Chris Ridgeway in 13:48 (***½)
Cameron Khai pinned Robbie X in 13:17 (***½)
Neon pinned Will Kaven to retain the Rev Pro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship in 9:45 (***)
Alex Windsor pinned Haley J in 8:11 (**¾)
Ethan Allen won the Revolution Tag in 22:35 (***½)
— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com
We’re back at the Network in Sheffield for this one, as the road to the Copperbox continued with a show that rather unfortunately went head-to-head with an England game during the European Championships. Commentary comes from Andy Quildan and Leyton Buzzard…
Goldenboy Santos vs. Joshua James
David Francisco’s accompanying Santos to the ring for this one, after taking a detour to patronise Buzzard on commentary.
The opening lock-up is quickly thrown aside, before Santos took James into the ropes for a chop on the break. James walks through that and throws some of his own, before the pair traded running shoulder tackles… at least until a kick from Santos earned him a POUNCE.
Santos heads outside, but James follows him as the pair exchanged strikes going around ringside until Francisco provided a distraction, allowing Santos to sneak from behind and throw James into the post. Back inside, Santos scores a two-count from a clothesline, before James got caught with a bodyslam coming off the ropes.
James back body drops away a powerbomb attempt, then came back in with a shotgun dropkick and a spinebuster for a two-count. We’re back to the big lads clubbering each other, as Santos and James traded clotheslines, leading to a spinebuster from Santos for a two-count… which then morphed into a Boston crab after the kick-out.
Switching up into an armbar, Santos goes for the fingers… forcing James into the ropes. Francisco gets in James’ face as Santos teed up for a Midas Touch, but it’s blocked as James instead came back with a knee strike… only to get hauled up for a brainbuster that almost took home the win.
Another crack at the Midas Touch misses, as James instead came back with a spear. A follow-up chokeslam ends in the ropes, with Francisco again getting in James’ face… he’s almost wiped out again by a Midas Touch, as James sidestepped the line, returning with one of his own and a chokeslam to get the win. ***
Post-match, Francisco acted like he was going to punch out his former Contender colleague, before he offered out a handshake. James refused, and turned around into a Midas Touch from Santos. Some double-teaming followed as Santos held up James for a series of low kicks, ahead of one last Midas Touch as the Portuguese lads stood tall… and Francisco even got the handshake he wanted!
Lizzy Evo vs. Kanji
Francesca again exits stage left as Lizzy Evo had Safire Reed and Mercedez Blaze in tow.
Evo takes Kanji into the ropes from the opening lock-up, but the aggression stays high as headlock takedowns from Kanji and escapes from Evo gave way to a shoulder tackle to the Scouser. A trip-up has Evo down, ahead of a crossbody to the back for a two-count… and a triangle armbar from the kick-out that forced Evo into the ropes, where she got some help in escaping.
A tope from Kanji wipes out Evo, leading to a scrap by the side of the ring that ended with Kanji getting posted. Some hairpulling using the guard railings kept Kanji on the defensive, before Kanji used the railings to her advantage, wrapping Evo’s arm around the bars before hopping the railings to get some extra leverage on it.
Mercedez Blaze tries to get involved, but Kanji stomps her away before a wild clothesline by the ropes, then a running kick from Evo sent Kanji to the outside. Returning to the ring, Kanji remains on the back foot as Evo began to pick her spots. Eventually though, those kicks by the ropes got caught as Kanji rolled Evo down for a forearm to the back of the head… a headbutt with the back of the head looked to give Evo an opening, but a Tiger Feint into a German suplex ensured Kanji remained on top.
A swivelling lariat from Kanji downs Evo, as did a missile dropkick, before a knee strike and a snap DDT almost saw Evo snatch the win out of nowhere. Evo takes things up top, but Kanji fought free and was able to catch Evo with a hanging sleeperhold off the top rope. Crossface punches come next after the break, then another headbutt… before Evo managed to sidestep a missile dropkick.
Kanji’s dumped awkwardly on a powerbomb, but manages to kick-out before a superkick sent Evo falling into her clutches… with the follow-up triangle armbar almost surely forcing a submission, only for Blaze and Reed to hit the ring for the obvious DQ to end a match that was really heating up. ***¼
Post-match, Kanji tries to fight off the trio, only for Alex Windsor to hit the ring and get involved, landing a discus clothesline. Haley J runs out to make a save with her Sock of Rocks, sending everyone packing as I guess we’re not doing the Heyman Special into the next match.
Chris Ridgeway vs. Connor Mills
These two were tag team partners at the start of the month, but now face each other to close out June.
Ridgeway charges with a boot at the bell, but Mills ducks it as headlock takedowns ensued, along with escaped before Mills back into the ropes for the break. Picking the leg, Ridgeway takes Mills down to the mat, going after Mills’ fingers before he got kicked away onto the apron.
Staying on the mat, Ridgeway grabs Mills’ arm and manoeuvred into a hammerlock, trapping the other arm as he rolled Mills into a two-count. Turning it around, an avalanche Dragon screw sends Ridgeway flying, while a grounded one kept him on the deck as Mills began to focus on that left leg.
A Romero special from Mills almost led to both men getting pinned, before the pair seemingly played “got your nose” for a spell. Another Dragon screw on the break keeps Ridgeway down, but Ridgeway hit back with one of his own before a dropkick to Mills’ knee put him firmly in control.
The ring post comes into play next as Mills had his leg wrapped around it, ahead of a bridging Indian deathlock with a couple of cravats as the pair tried to one-up each other. Mills blocks a Dragon screw and went for a roll-up – getting a two-count – before a low dropkick kept Ridgeway on the back foot.
A swinging kick to the hamstring from Ridgeway earned him one in return as the pair looked to give each other dead legs. In the end, a kick to the midsection from Mills knocked Ridgeway into the corner, before we went back to them trading kicks. The pace quickens on the exchange, leading to an enziguiri from Mills… only for Ridgeway to respond with a kick to the back.
From the rebound, Mills lands a rebound lariat for a two-count, before he grabbed an ankle lock… then lifted up Ridgeway for a kick to the chest. A diving kick follows in the corner, only for Ridgeway to return with a brainbuster for a two-count. A PK gets a similar result, before a shot to the back of the head to lay out Ridgeway as they teased a TKO stoppage.
With no stoppage coming, Mills goes back to Ridgeway, but gets met with a barrage of shots. Mills’ rebound lariat doesn’t find its mark, but he’s able to pull Ridgeway down to the mat, tying up Ridgeway for the flash submission. A big win for Mills in a hard-hitting outing in front of a somewhat muted crowd, but this was a heck of an outing – especially if you’re into the style on show. ***½
Robbie X vs. Cameron Khai
Robbie’s won both meetings against Khai – including at Sheffield just over a year ago…
Starting off hot with leapfrogs and roll-throughs, Robbie X went for the X-Claimation early as we had a lot of swinging and missing in the opening thirty seconds. Khai manages to find a way through with a neckbreaker for a one-count, before kicks and a standing moonsault led to a two-count.
Floating over Khai’s charge in the corner, Robbie X manages to take things outside with a handspring kick, then a dropkick through the ropes, before a senton atomico back inside led to a two-count. A bridging chinlock from Robbie X kept Khai down, as did a dropkick, before a suplex almost put Khai away.
Robbie X’s standing corkscrew senton crushes Khai for a two-count, while a Koppo kick drew a similar result before things headed outside as a big boot took Khai into the guard rails. After getting himself distracted, Robbie found himself on the back foot as Khai mounted a comeback, leading to the rolling Northern Lights suplexes… Robbie puts on the brakes as he had to take the long way around into the hiptoss and cartwheel dropkick.
Khai’s caught with a missile dropkick to the back of the head as the former Cruiserweight champion continued to pressure, at least until he walked into a jawbreaker. A missed kick trapped Robbie in the corner briefly, ahead of the elevated German suplex from Khai that almost won it.
An overhead kick knocks Khai off the apron as he was teeing up for a Pingshot cutter… a plancha followed outside, then a Beyblade kick on the inside as a standing shooting star press almost got the win. Robbie fakes out offering a free shot, stomping Khai’s hand instead before an X-Claimation was countered into a roll-up.
From there, Khai heads up for an avalanche deadlift Falcon arrow for a near-fall. The Pingshot cutter’s blocked as the pair went for their finishers… Robbie’s able to land his X-Claimation, but Khai scurries to the outside smartly to avoid being pinned. Back inside, an inside cradle nearly snatched the win, before Khai sidestepped a charging gamengiri into the corner… a pair of Pingshot cutters – one on the edge of the ring, then one back inside – follow… and there’s a HUGE win for Khai! A good showing for Khai here, and a completely different universe to the “eh” match with Neon in Stevenage, but the question now lies in the follow-up! ***½
Rev Pro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship: Will Kaven vs. Neon (c)
Kaven’s picked up a string of wins in recent weeks to earn him this spot…
A diving knee from Kaven before the bell got things underway, but Neon shrugs it off and returned with a hooking clothesline, before a lucha armdrag took Kaven outside for a plancha. Kaven’s sent into the guard rails, then taken back inside before he dropkicked Neon out of the air and took control.
Neon kicks out at two from an elbow drop, before he looked to stomp a mudhole through Neon in the corner. A snapmare and a cravat follows, while a big boot downed Neon for another two-count as Kaven continued to target the champion’s mask. Kaven’s butterfly suplex into the buckles had Neon rocked, but he’s able to get back up and catch Kaven on the top rope with an armdrag for a two-count.
Kaven’s forced to kick out at two from a Quebrada, returning with a snap Dragon suplex and a diving knee for a near-fall. Kawada-ish kicks keep Neon on the back foot ahead of an attempted scoop tombstone… but Neon’s able to roll through at the second attempt after a moonsault press almost went awry.
A pop-up powerbomb puts Neon back in control, but Kaven’s right back up to stop an imploding senton out of the corner… instead, an avalanche Dragon suplex flipped Neon to the mat for a near-fall, before the tombstone forced another near-fall. In return, Neon’s able to snap Kaven back with a Code Red, before the imploding senton out of the corner crushed Kaven for the win. ***
Alex Windsor vs. Haley J
You know the drill by now… Francesca escapes, as Alex Windsor has Mercedez Blaze and Safire Reed out with her.
Windsor’s derisive strike led to Haley J snapping as Alex was sent to the outside… where Haley followed with a crossbody off the top to the unnamed pile. Back inside, a leg sweep and a low superkick cracked Haley for a one-count, while a short range Irish whip took Haley into the corner for some boot choking.
Windsor’s playing with her foe as Haley wasn’t able to show much in defence… she’s able to duck a shot and land a series of chops to Windsor in the corner, only to get hung up in the ropes for a neckbreaker out of the corner. A Whoopee Cushion out of the corner gives Haley an opening as strikes and a superkick led to the diving knee to the back of the head.
Crawling into the corner, Windsor’s given Haley’s Sock of Rocks… the ref disarms Windsor, only to have Haley shoved into him. With no ref, Blaze and Reed held up Haley by the ropes… but Windsor pulled an Eddie Guerrero and feigned being hit with the Sock of Rocks, just as the ref came to. Haley argued her innocence, and almost lost to a roll-up as the match continued with the pair exchanging strikes.
Windsor snaps back with a headbutt before Safire Reed hit the ring… the referee’s distracted as Kanji hit the ring, but Lizzy Evo’s out to nullify that as she used that Sock of Rocks on Kanji… then on Haley… allowing Windsor to pick up the pieces with a Fisherman suplex for the win. **¾
Revolution Tag: Young Guns (Luke Jacobs & Ethan Allen), Ricky Knight Jr. & Sunshine Machine (TK Cooper & Chuck Mambo) vs. Michael Oku, Zozaya, JJ Gale & Young Blood (Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima)
It’s New Japan elimination rules here – with no disqualifications. Remember that…
Sunshine Machine’s “lose and we’re done” thing isn’t applying here, while Young Blood and Young Guns got in each other’s faces during the entrances. Zozaya and TK start us off with TK getting ragdolled in the opening seconds before he calmed things down with an armbar on Zozaya. A floatover from TK in the corner led to him landing a leg lariat on Zozaya for a two-count, before JJ Gale tagged in and connected with an armdrag and a dropkick to TK.
Mambo’s in to land a chop, before he lifted JJ over the top rope… JJ makes it back inside, only to get caught with a drop toe hold into a Romero special. TK’s back to finish off with a Flatliner for a two-count, as Sunshine Machine began to work over Gale’s arms… before the Greedy Souls’ music distracted Chuck Mambo, allowing JJ Gale to lift him over the top rope for the first elimination at 4:47.
Luke Jacobs takes over on Gale, leading to all hell breaking loose as the nine remaining guys scrapped around the extremely tight confines inside the Network. Zozaya’s thrown through a fire escape… but returns up on the stage as he took a running jump into a pile in the makeshift aisle.
Eventually making it to the ring, Young Blood and Young Guns turned their sights on each other, leading to Oskar slamming Allen, then Jacobs, before a pair of big boots dealt with Ethan. TK’s in next, landing a headbutt and a scissors kick to Oskar before the Greedy Souls hit the ring and swarmed TK. Of course, no DQs, but Young Blood weren’t too keen on the help they’d been given and instead scrapped with Brendan and Danny, sending them packing before TK lifted out both Oskar and Yuto at 9:52.
Young Blood and the Greedy Souls brawl to the back, so expect that at the 229, as TK Cooper’s then caught with the de Madrid al cielo at 10:24 as Zozaya scored the next elimination. Luke Jacobs pounces on Zozaya, but eats a double-jump stomp to the lower back before Oku hit the ring with a running dropkick to Luke in the corner. Oku took too long on a frog splash and gets nothing but knees as the Young Guns prepped for a Doomsday Device, before Allen rolled Oku into the path of RKJ’s 450 splash as Oku needed JJ Gale to make a save.
Gale thought twice about a plancha as things calmed down a little… at least until Oku’s misdirection knee cracked Jacobs, along with a superkick. A reverse ‘rana has Jacobs down, but he’s able to roll through a half crab, only for Oku to cradle Jacobs for the elimination at 12:56. Allen tells Jacobs to “smash him”, which he duly does as a couple of lariats smashed Oku ahead of a powerbomb as Allen got the nonchalant pin at 13:39 to eliminate the champion.
JJ Gale’s in, crashing into Allen with uppercuts in the corner and a spinning heel kick… RKJ tags in after Allen escaped a suplex. RKJ’s superkick stops Gale’s springboard, before a Fire Thunder Driver took JJ out at 14:54. Zozaya’s next, throwing RKJ over the top rope, but RKJ lands on the apron and was able to chop his way back inside.
Zozaya keeps swinging, catching RKJ’s floatover and launching him to the floor at 15:35 for the next elimination. We’re down to Zozaya and Ethan Allen as the last two after that flurry. Zozaya’s caught with a roll-up for a two-count, but goes right back to Allen with strikes… Ethan’s got a KO shot of his own, while Zozaya’s able to shrug it off and take the Mancunian down with an overhead throw for a near-fall.
Another exchange of shots led to Allen cracking the Spaniard with a spin kick, before an Olympic slam almost got the win. Rapid fire knee strikes from Allen earned him shoulder charges from Zozaya in the corner, before a headbutt from Zozaya knocked Allen off the top rope… he took too long to follow up as Allen’s superplex brought things down for a near-fall, with a charging knee to the ribs almost getting Ethan the win.
Zozaya tried to hit de Madrid al cielo, but Allen slips out into a mounted double armbar, and that’s enough to force Zozaya to submit – a big win in the main event for Allen, who closed out his first “full” weekend back on top. ***½
Post-match, Allen went head to head with Zozaya – ending with the pair shaking hands before Allen took the mic to close out the show. Reiterating that he’s accepting Connor Mills’ challenge, Allen ended up being jumped from behind as Mills hit the ring and went right for the knee, landing a diving chop block before he took Allen to the corner and wrapped the leg around the ring post. Going full Bret Hart, a Figure Four around the ring post ended with Mills grabbing a chair… and hitting the knee by the post before he popped the seat off of it as he laid out Lee Dawson at ringside.
We’re back to the theme of the weekend – Pillmanizing – as Mills stomped the chair over Allen’s knee… then headed to the back as the show ended with Ethan Allen fighting to get back to his feet.
All in all, this was a solid outing in Sheffield – and infinitely preferable to the dross that was largely being served up on the football that took some of the live audience away from the Network. There’s three shows left – London, Coventry and Southampton – and then it’s the Copperbox… with a LOT to pack in, surely.