Rev Pro returned to Sheffield for the final time this year, as the Legion looked to throw some spanners in the works of upcoming title matches.
Quick Results
Michael Oku submitted Shaun Jackson in 11:13 (**¾)
Danny Jones & Brendan White pinned JJ Gale & Callum Newman in 14:12 (***¼)
Mercedez Blaze pinned Maya Matthews in 10:07 (**¾)
Luke Jacobs pinned Dan Moloney in 14:21 (***½)
Will Kaven defeats Robbie X by count-out in 9:23 (***)
Screwface Ahmed & Lucian Phillips pinned Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper in 12:46 (**¾)
Ricky Knight Jr. pinned Nathan Cruz in 16:42 9***½)
— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com – they’re currently running a two-week free trial…
We’re coming live-via-tape from the Network in Sheffield, with Andy Quildan and Kelly Marshall on commentary.
Shaun Jackson vs. Michael Oku
Shaun really loves that Italian wrestling promotion’s shirt… almost as much as he loves berating ring announcer Francesca.
Jackson charged Oku into the corner out of a side headlock, breaking cleanly as Jackson’s side headlock was pushed out. He charges down Oku, then got ‘rana’d into the ropes before a superkick took Jackson down. A frog splash is aborted as Jackson got up to squash Oku with a crossbody.
Oku’s thrown across the ring from a suplex for a two-count, before a front big boot sent Oku to the outside as Jackson seemed to want a count-out. Of course, Oku beats the count, so Jackson stays on him with some elbows for a two-count, before another suplex-throw flung Oku again.
Oku avoids a splash into the corner as he looked to begin a comeback, blocking Jackson’s punches before he landed a DDT in the middle of the ring for a two-count. A springboard moonsault looked to have been blocked by Jackson, but Oku caught the legs and countered the counter into a half crab… albeit one that ended instantly in the ropes. Jackson hung up Oku in the ropes as he then measured himself for a springboard forearm… but Oku’s springboard dropkick knocked him down into the guard rails instead.
Oku followed that up with the Fosbury flop, nearly taking out the cameraman alongside Jackson, before a crossbody back into the ring was caught and turned into a swinging neckbreaker by Jackson for a near-fall. Jackson tries to add to that with that springboard forearm, wiping out Oku for a near-fall, before Oku DDT’d his way out of Jackson’s powerbomb.
The springboard moonsault’s next for Oku for a near-fall, before Jackson got rolled into the half crab… but Jackson powered free, only to shove Oku into the ropes for a rebound PK. Oku’s back up top for a frog splash to the back of Jackson, which was added to with another half crab for the submission. A pretty solid opener, but the Sheffield crowd struggled to buy into Jackson – a prolonged run on cards ought to sort that one out though… **¾
Post-match, Jackson attacked Joshua James at ringside, then went to grab a chair… so he could whack it against James’ arm in the guard rails.
Greedy Souls (Brendan White & Danny Jones) vs. Callum Newman & JJ Gale
We’ve a non-title outing here, with the Greedy Souls having another title defence due against Sunshine Machine after this…
Gale and White start us off, with White’s chinlock getting fought out of as Gale applied a side headlock. They switch between the hold as Gale’s headscissors escape led to a reset and a lock-up. White’s tripped down into another side headlock, before he grabbed Gale’s hair to pull him into the corner.
White whips Gale into the opposite corner, but the follow-through’s avoided as Gale hit the ring for a rewind leapfrog and a springboard ‘rana… adding a springboard wheelbarrow and a dropkick for a pair of two-counts. Callum Newman’s in to trip White, while a low dropkick prompted Danny Jones to tag in… only for Danny to get trapped in the opposite corner ahead of an eventual wheelbarrow ‘rana.
Gale’s back to batter White into the corner, before Jones turned the match around by low-bridging Gale to the outside. Newman’s save ends with his leg being swept, before Jones tagged White back in for some double-teaming and an assisted bodyslam for a two-count.
Jones returns to drive a knee into the ribs of Gale, while a back senton kept Gale down as the champions took their time. A German suplex from White and a diving uppercut from Gale adds to the momentum, before Callum Newman inadvertently distracted the referee as the Greedy Souls capitalised. Gale’s trapped in the corner with shoulder charges… he broke free, but Brendan White’d made it around ringside to take Newman off the apron as the Greedy Souls remained ahead.
Eventually Gale broke free of White, scoring a rewind enziguiri… then a wheelbarrow stomp before finally tagging out to Newman, who instantly tripped up Danny Jones for a senton atomico. Newman adds a springboard clothesline too, then a shooting star press off the middle rope.
An enziguiri from White stopped all that offence though, as Brendan White returned to land a pop-up powerslam for a near-fall on Gale, before Gale countered a slingshot Bossman slam into a Destroyer. Newman’s back to hit a stomp as Jones was in a Gory stretch, which nearly put away the champions, as did stereo superkicks…
Newman fires away with forearms on Jones, but gets flipped back to the mat, then piledriven as the Greedy Souls took care of him… Gale’s still legal though, and it’s only a matter of time as they put him away with the Soul Destroyer (Magic Killer backbreaker). A solid tag match as the Greedy Souls continue to rack up wins – but their presentation thus far has been missing a certain edge… ***¼
Mercedez Blaze vs. Maya Matthews
It’s a rematch of Blaze’s Rev Pro debut, as she continues to gun for the Women’s title…
Blaze locks up into the ropes, but a switcheroo from Maya allowed her to get some shots off… before misdirection in the ropes allowed Maya in with a Slingblade. Blaze powders to the outside, which drew out Maya… who’s pulled onto the side of the ring as Blaze began to push ahead with forearms back in the ring.
Matthews gets slapped in the corner… and that starts the comeback as she rattled Blaze with some forearms, only to get knocked down into a grounded full nelson. When Matthews didn’t give up, Blaze snapmared her and hit the ropes for a running Meteora for a two-count, before a shotgun dropkick took Matthews into the corner.
Matthews returns the favour though, and followed up with forearms in the corner, before a gamengiri and a snapmare led to a bull lariat off the ropes. Blaze rolled all the way to the outside, which again suckered in Matthews… but this time Maya’s able to fight back with forearms on the apron, and leapt back in for a double stomp to the back.
Blaze has to kick out at two from a PK, before she baited Maya into the corner for a hip attack. A spear off the middle rope’s next, then a swinging Fisherman’s suplex for a near-fall, before Matthews hit a running cutter to give herself a near-fall. In the end though, Blaze goes to Maya’s eyes, allowing her to hit a DDT then a head kick for the win – despite Matthews looking to have been in the ropes. Post-match she argued that her tights were pulled.. But that didn’t get caught on camera… **¾
After the match, Blaze tried to cheapshot Matthews, who caught her with a cutter. Fool me once, and all that…
Luke Jacobs vs. Dan Moloney
This one’s non-title, for the obvious reason…
Moloney wins the opening lock-up as Jacobs was taken into the corner, before a knuckle lock saw Jacobs bridge back… he powers back up and took down Moloney with a waistlock, moving up into a side headlock, only to get sent into the ropes. Jacobs’ shoulder tackle barely budged Moloney, as the pair trade forearms, leading to Moloney chopping Luke into the corner.
Jacobs catches a leapfrog from Moloney, turning it into a slam as a back senton added a two-count. Moloney’s taken into the corners by Jacobs, then suplexed out for just a one-count, before Moloney charged into another slam… this time getting the knees up for Jacobs’ follow-up back senton.
Moloney pounces with a backbreaker and a PK to the back on Jacobs for a two-count as the match descended back into chopping. At least until Moloney went to the eyes. We head outside for more chops, which looked to lead to the count-out… but Jacobs charged back in… and quickly got caught with a back body drop out of the corner for a two-count.
Jacobs manages to charge back into it, scoring a Northern Lights out of the corner for a two-count. A dropkick from Moloney puts the brakes on that comeback though, as the pair went to ground to test each other with forearms and chops. Moloney’s ripcord chop is ducked as Jacobs ends up landing a rolling elbow, only for Moloney to hit right back with a brainbuster.
A superkick takes Moloney back into the corner as Jacobs measured up for a superplex, eventually taking Dan down ahead of a sit-out powerbomb for a near-fall. Jacobs tries to counter a back body drop into a sunset flip, only to get stomped on as the pair upped the ante… leading to a Moloney spear for another two-count.
Jacobs escapes a Drilla, then lariat’d Moloney down… a back body drop from Moloney led to another stomp, but this time Jacobs caught the boots and grounded Moloney in an ankle lock. Moloney tries to roll free, but Jacobs sits down on it and snatched the three-count – a good ending to a decent match, and one I’d love to see them run back in a higher profile setting. ***½
The brawl continued after the bell, prompting in Joshua James, Lee Dawson and Chris Hatch to separate the pair… eventually.
Robbie X vs. Will Kaven
Kaven’s been a thorn in Robbie X’s side as of late, with the pair getting involved in each other’s matches, especially after Robbie’s British J Cup win.
Kaven attacked Robbie X on the stage during his entrance, but Robbie recovered to avoid a suplex and instead shoved Kaven off the stage. Robbie followed with a stage dive into Kaven (and some contenders), before dragging him into the ring to officially start things off with a missile dropkick.
A running shooting star press gets Robbie X a one-count as he worked away on Kaven, chopping him into the ropes before Kaven pulled Robbie into the top turnbuckle… then followed with a curb stomp-like knee for a two-count. Kaven’s suplex keeps it going, as he then headed to the ropes for a neckbreaker over the top rope.
Robbie sidesteps Kaven into the corner for a roundhouse kick, before a springboard Molly Go Round crashed into Kaven for a near-fall. A reversed Irish whip looked to lead to a handspring from Robbie X, but it’s countered into a back suplex as Kaven then led to an avalanche Dragon suplex.
Robbie rolls to the floor to avoid being pinned, but he rolls back in just before the count of 10… and found a way in for a Code Red. Kaven kicks out from that, then from a Spiral Tap, before an X-Clamation was countered into a roll-up for a near-fall. Second time was the charm as Kaven’s caught with the move, but he rolls outside to avoid being pinned/
Robbie followed after Kaven, but gets swept onto the edge of the ring, returning the favour with a German suplex onto the hardest part of the ring. The pair look to stir and beat the count-out, but Kaven pulls Robbie into the guard rails, then slid back into the ring at the count of 8, before taking the count-out win. This feud shall continue, as Will Kaven took home a rather unpopular win here. ***
The Legion (Lucian Phillips & Screwface Ahmed) vs. Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper)
I wasn’t expecting a Krankies reference as a late card shuffle saw Lucian Phillips drafted into the Legion team as Nathan Cruz went up the card. We had a distraction before the bell as Brendan White and Danny Jones took a seat on the stage, leading to the Legion jumping TK and Mambo…
The bell never actually went, but referee Oscar Harding’s allowing tags so I guess we start with that beatdown and double-teaming that Mambo eventually overcame, with TK Cooper’s dropkick helping Mambo’s crossbody take down the Legion. Screwface powders outside as Phillips eats a bunch of front kicks… Screwface ran in and got flapjacked, and now the bell goes as Phillips and Mambo were the legal two in the ring. O-kay then…
Mambo hits the ropes for his springboard armdrag, and the match isn’t even 15 seconds old and that middle rope’s gone. MAMBO! That rope going inadvertently crotches Mambo on the top rope, but the match carries on as Andy Q left commentary to help with the running repairs. Meanwhile, TK Cooper tagged in to hit a crossbody off the top to Phillips for a two-count… Mambo’s back in as the former champions try to run their playbook as best they can, but a Designated Driver’s broken up when Phillips just buckle bombs Mambo into TK.
Screwface returns for a backbreaker on TK, who powdered to the outside… and we’re now fighting in the crowd to buy some time for the ring crew. Mambo chops Phillips by the rails, then went for a back rake before Phillips fought back, dropping Mambo onto the side of the ring… then berated the “bunch of corpses” that he felt made up the crowd.
TK’s posing with someone in the crowd among the melee as Michael Oku joined commentary momentarily… right as Mambo got crotched on the railings. Francesca just about avoided having Screwface thrown into her as the final repairs were made. Still that didn’t stop TK slingshotting Phillips into the underside of a chair as the match finally returned to the ring. The Legion double-team TK with a spinebuster for a two-count, following up with a clothesline off the ropes as the former champions were left on the back foot. TK hits the middle ropes for the Omelette du Fromage twisting legdrop, before Screwface pulled Mambo off the apron to prevent a tag out from being made.
TK’s thrown into the corner, but escapes the Legion and made the tag out for a Mambo springboard dropkick. Mambo tries to chop his way ahead, but he’s overwhelmed at first, before he recovered to hit a springboard back elbow. The Greedy Souls pop up to distract TK and Mambo as they went for a Designated Driver, which almost worked, but Screwface misses a lariat and got superkicked for his woes.
Instead, Sunshine Machine tease hitting the Soul Breaker, which prompted the Greedy Souls to march towards the ring. They end up getting knocked off the apron as the Legion were shoved into them, before Screwface took a Designated Driver… only for Brendan White to pull Mambo out of the ring to break up the pin. Rather than call for a DQ, the ref ejects the Greedy Souls… and after a short scuffle, Mambo returned to the ring and ran into the Deep Wounds as the Legion took home the win. Decent for what they were able to put together after the middle rope broke, as Sunshine Machine continue to get outfoxed by the new champions. **¾
Post-match, the Legion exit as the Greedy Souls put the boots to TK and Mambo…
Nathan Cruz vs. Ricky Knight Jr.
The other part of “card subject to change” sees Nathan Cruz getting into the main event, as he replaced Zak Knight in what was meant to be an all-Knight main event. Zak was over in the States supporting his sister Saraya’s return to the ring, hence the change…
The opening lock-ups see Cruz take RKJ into the corner for a break, before Cruz backed into the opposite corner to avoid any retaliation. A roll-up from RKJ is good for a two-count as Cruz headed into the ropes… then returned with a leaping knee back inside as RKJ then hit the ropes for a series of leapfrogs and go-throughs that ended with a cracker of a dropkick.
Cruz sidesteps as he threw RKJ into the corner… then wrapped the arm around the ring post before a crossface back in the middle of the ring looked to cause a stoppage. RKJ rolls his way out for a two-count, but couldn’t avoid a Thanks, Tully slingshot back suplex that put Cruz right back in the driver’s seat.
An Irish whip from Cruz bounces RKJ into the corner, before a second crack at the Thanks, Tully was countered with a sunset flip for a two-count. RKJ adds a leaping forearm and a running dropkick into the corner, before a London Bridge draping DDT drew a two-count on Cruz.
RKJ pushes out of a Cruz roll-up, then added a superkick and a clothesline either side of another leaping knee from Cruz. The pair exchange forearms and clotheslines from there, before a front kick and a release German suplex from RKJ earned him a rebound German from Cruz… only for both men to charge at each other with clotheslines to leave them laying.
RKJ takes a pop at Cruz’s (old?) nickname, asking the “Showstealer” if he had anything left in him… which led to a chop exchange. RKJ tries to end it with a piledriver, but a jack-knife cover from Cruz stops him for a two-count, before Cruz flapjacked RKJ and followed up with a Codebreaker in the corner.
RKJ returns with a package DDT for a two-count, while a follow-up saw Cruz escape a Fire Thunder driver… and instead come back with a Destroyer. Was NOT expecting that out of him. Cruz adds a swandive headbutt off the top for a two-count, before repeatedly whipping RKJ into the corner.
Another trip up top for Cruz was cut off as RKJ superplexes him, then landed a Razor’s Edge for a near-fall. The Fire Thunder Driver’s escaped again, before a switcheroo ended with Cruz charging RKJ towards the referee… then punting Ricky in the balls as the referee cowered. Another blast from the past sees Cruz come close to the win with a One Night Stand.
Cruz goes back to the crossface from there, but Knight slips out and eventually powerbombed his way free, before a superkick and a Fire Thunder Driver finally put Cruz away. A solid main event, helped by this not being a title match (and thus perhaps telegraphing the result), as RKJ continued to run through the Legion en route to his title defence against the Great O-Khan next month. ***½
Post-match, Lucian Phillips and Screwface Ahmed ran out to attack RKJ before Sunshine Machine ran off the Legion. Except the Greedy Souls charged out… and got run off too as RKJ and Sunshine Machine stood tall to end the night.
There’s been a fair bit said about Rev Pro’s recent form – whether it be the booking or the build-up… and yes, it’s odd that Robbie X is continuing his hit-and-miss form en route to a cruiserweight title shot. Rev Pro have a habit of pulling themselves out of these perceived slumps with their York Hall shows, but there’ll be a lot of focus on how things go in 2023.