Continuing their expansion from late 2017, Rev Pro brought some familiar faces as they broke new ground with their first show in Southampton since 2015.
Okay, it’s only about 20 miles from Rev Pro’s “home” base in Portsmouth, but the new venue was a little significant as the promotion looked to keep wrestling going in the city, following last year’s closure of Lucha Forever. We’re in the same venue too, the 1865, after Andy Quildan paid off some unrelated debts to get the building…
Steve Lynskey is back on ring announcing duty, with the two Andys on commentary.
Rob Lias vs. Flash Morgan Webster
There’s something horrible with the picture quality on this VOD, as any kind of sudden motion or lighting changes heavily distorts the image, like a badly-tuned TV. This is going to make this show very hard to watch in any kind of detail, or even screenshot, I fear…
Lias and Webster start off with wristlocks and reversals as they keep the pace slow in the early goings… but it’s Flash who turns it up first, getting a near-fall out of a Special Brew Flip before sidestepping as Lias charged himself to the outside. They end up on the floor where a running knee decked “the Gob”, but Lias hits back inside the ring, hanging up Webster with a neckbreaker and a lifting reverse DDT/backbreaker as he tried to take over.
It ought to be noted that Lias has toned down his gear here, opting for a rather more sedate graffiti-like motif as opposed to the “throw every colour into a blender and put it on my gear” look he originally had. Lias keeps up on Webster, whipping him into the turnbuckles, but Flash is right back in with some misdirection as he came in with a clothesline to turn things around. Lias gets taken to the outside for a dive, before taking a Brit Pop Drop back inside as Flash looked to be firmly in control… only to have to roll out of a 450 Splash as Lias got out of the way. The momentum’s back with Lias briefly, but he’s caught out of nowhere with the Strangler… before countering out into a Blackheart Buster for a near-fall on Flash.
A roll-up nearly gets Flash the win as Lias took too long setting up for a powerbomb, and Webster keeps up with the Eton Rifles for a near-fall. The Angel’s Wings nearly connect, but Lias slips out and gets a back cracker before his attempt at a Last Chancery was countered with a roll-up as Webster stayed a step ahead, finishing off Lias with a headbutt, a wacky senton, and then another Strangler for the submission. A solid opener here, with Webster getting back on the board after some recent shaky form in Rev Pro. ***
Jinny’s introduced next, giving her a chance to shoot down the hecklers really quickly. She took offence at Rev Pro still having women’s matches while she’s on the shelf – and issued a warning to the folks in our next match.
Sierra Loxton vs. Jamie Hayter
Both women were making their return to the promotion, with Hayter appearing in her home town… but not quite being the hero here. Loxton’s the early aggressor, but Hayter gives as good as she got as the pair jockeyed for position, ultimately leading to Hayter landing a running knee at Loxton.
More German suplex attempts follow, but Sierra backs up and spikes Hayter with a release Dragon suplex as she picked up a near-fall. Hayter tries to chop her way back into the match, but Loxton snuffs that out as she went to work on the leg, before throwing some double-handed chops into the corner.
Eventually Hayter escapes and fights back, suplexing Loxton into the turnbuckles before following Sierra outside with a crossbody off the top! Back inside, Hayter throws Sierra back into the corner with a German suplex for a near-fall, before some headbutts left them both down on the mat. They both come back with back-and-forth forearms in the ropes, before another German suplex from Loxton left Hayter down ahead of a flying seated splash that almost ended things.
Hayter tries to come back, nailing a cannonball and missing a second, allowing Loxton to rush in with hip attacks, before a nonchalant leg sweep earned a near-fall. In the end though, Hayter shocks Loxton with a modified Falcon arrow for a near-fall, before nailing a moonsault for the win. A bit of a surprise come-from-behind win for Loxton, but both women looked good here and did themselves no harm as far as future appearances go. ***¼
After the match, Jinny appeared on the stage, looking disgusted as Loxton and Hayter hugged… there’s a staredown between the two, before Jinny suckered Hayter with a high kick. I’d guess that’s setting up for something down the line?
Legion Of Lords (Los Federales Santos Jr. & Rishi Ghosh) vs. Team WhiteWolf (A-Kid & Adam Chase)
A week after making his debut, Santos was back, partnering with Rishi Ghosh while having a conflict over liking Rishi… and not liking fun.
Santos was a little bemused as he was up against someone else who could speak Spanish… but it seems that being Mexican meant that he couldn’t understand a damn word Adam Chase was saying. We finally get going with Chase forcing Santos to run the ropes, looking to tire him out… and it worked too as Santos almost mooned the crowd.
A-Kid tags in after Chase was shoved into him… and fortunately rolled away as Santos went for a sit-down splash. Problem was, Kid’s lucha-style offence didn’t work as he fell for the false alarm enziguiri as Rishi tagged in to put his hard-man haircut to good use. A rake to the eye knocks Chase down as the Lords maintained control, with Chase taking a German suplex by Rishi for a near-fall.
Chase fights back out of the opposite corner, before missing an enziguiri as the, erm, chase to tag in A-Kid was stopped in its tracks. Santos keeps up with double-teams, while a T-bone suplex almost gets Rishi the win… and it’s extremely one-way stuff here as Chase was in there for a long time… until Ghosh accidentally charged into his own man, before Chase sent Ghosh into Santos again with some headscissors as he finally got the tag out!
To zero reaction!
Kid flew into Santos with a crossbody, then nails Ghosh with a floating Northern Lights suplex as he unloaded on the Lords. A springboard clothesline gets a near-fall as the Spaniards threw together a series of double-team moves, including a springboard Total Elimination that almost got the win. Santos and Rishi looked finish off Kid with a double-team DDT, but Chase makes the save, only for his dive to get cut-off by Santos. Meanwhile, Kid recovers with a 619 into the corner on Ghosh, before a springboard senton wipes out the Lords on the floor! Looking to join in the fun, Santos flies with a tope of his own, before rolling Kid and Rishi back into the ring to try and claim the win.
Kid kicked out at two, before delivering a reverse ‘rana to Santos… which wasn’t enough for the win despite Team White Wolf piling on him for the cover. Some misdirection helped the Spaniards take out each other as a Rishi spear set up for some more flying Santos… as hs splashed onto a stacked-up pair before Rishi was slammed onto Chase for the win. This new combination is working out, methinks, even if it is Santos doing a lot of the legwork! This was (sssh) fun! ***
Josh Bodom vs. Jordan Devlin
Hey, Bodom’s alive! He had been scheduled to wrestle in Germany the prior day as part of shows for WrestlingKult and #WrestlingDeutschland in Oberhausen… but he no-showed. Ah well!
This marked a return to the promotion after nearly five years away for Devlin, and he came with a heavily-taped leg, but Bodom avoided the leg early, instead working on the wrist as he took down the Irishman in those opening stages. A diving double knee drop from Devlin keeps him ahead, as does a standing moonsault and a dropkick as Bodom looked to be firmly on the back foot. The pair ended up outside, with rough-housing Bodom in his element as he kicked Devlin on the floor… then again in the ring as Devlin asked for, and received, a kicking. Devlin surprises Bodom with a back cracker in the ropes, as all Andy Simmonz on commentary can think about is Devlin’s physical shape… one that he used to stomp through Bodom after a nice wheelbarrow takedown.
A slingshot cutter keeps Devlin ahead, but Bodom’s right back in with a hiptoss knee as he looked to bully back into it, only to run into a standing Spanish fly from the Irishman! Devlin tried for the package piledriver, but instead Bodom slips out and nails a Bodom breaker to nearly win. The comeback sees Devlin nail a pop-up powerbomb and a headbutt, but Bodom’s got enough to kick-out, eventually replying with a German suplex into the turnbuckles as Bodom’s rush of offence got him a two-count.
In the end, Devlin’s flying cost him as a Lionsault’s caught, and turned into a tombstone as Bodom eked out a win after a fantastic contest. Any chance of a rematch, Andy? ***½
Kip Sabian vs. El Phantasmo
“I follow him on Twitter for some reason”, is perhaps not the best endorsement of the debuting Kip Sabian, who didn’t have his classic Superbad theme here. They dubbed in El Phantasmo’s entrance video here, because it sure as hell didn’t get played live!
In the meantime, Andy Q on commentary tried to play MMA Maths, trying to make you join the dots that were between “El Phantasmo beat Zack Sabre Jr… who beat Tetsuya Naito… so ELP can beat Naito.” You never know… Sabian tries to get under ELP’s skin by powdering to the outside, before everyone eggs on Chris Roberts into doing a cartwheel. Or something approximating it… in the aftershock of that, ELP almost rolled up Sabian for the win, who was more keen to play to the crowd and stop anyone else from doing his shtick. We’re pretty quick into the ELP rope-walking, as he eventually took down Sabian with a ‘rana before he dove into the path of a kick from the debutant.
Sabian’s right back as he whipped Phantasmo from corner-to-corner, before wrenching away on Phantasmo’s arm and nose as the Canadian was thrown to the outside ahead of a dive… of the apron! ELP cuts him off mid-air as they start trading chops on the floor, then again in the ring The pace has slowed right down here, as Sabian ended up getting caught by a springboard cross for a near-fall, then a Quebrada and an enziguiri as ELP… flew!
The tope wipes out Sabian, as did a plancha, as ELP looked to keep it up with the whirlibird back in the ring… but instead Sabian escapes and cradles him for a near-fall. A slingshot falcon arrow keeps Kip ahead, as does a cross-legged brainbuster… but it’s still not enough! Sabian followed with a PK for yet another two-count… but his attempt at apeing the whirlibird led to a black screen as the live edit went a bit wrong, before ELP hit the move himself.
A superkick’s blocked by Sabian, who returned fire with an axe kick before trying to steal a pin… after arguing with the ref, he turns around into a superkick, before a Ganso bomb set up ELP for the senton and moonsault combination for the win. A decent showing for Phantasmo, but the crowd were weirdly subdued for a large portion of this, aside from the handful who were into Sabian’s shtick. ***
Post-match, Phantasmo took the mic and acknowledged his win over Zack Sabre Junior the prior week… he called Rev Pro his home, and asked for “the best pound-for-pound wrestler on the planet”… Will Ospreay. That’s been booked for Epic Encounters in May, and that is a really promising match!
Rev Pro British Cruiserweight Championship: Wild Boar vs. Kurtis Chapman (c)
With the crowd chanting “Hitchman’s gonna kill you”, the Wild Boar flew out of the gate, almost beating Chapman in the opening minute with a spear and cannonball into the corner.
Chapman fired back with a low dropkick as he rocked Boar with a corner dropkick, then a couple of running uppercuts, before a diving senton took down the Boar on the outside. Boar manages to take over with a pumphandle fallaway slam into the crowd, as the pace again became rather deliberate. Like the slaps the pair of them traded as a back elbow from Chapman just earned him a hard receipt.
Recovering from that, Chapman’s back with a satellite DDT, only to get caught with a torture rack drop and a back senton as the Boar got back right in it, before clubbing away at the downed champion. A superkick out of nowhere gives Chapman hope, as does a tornado DDT as he took Boar into the ropes for a flying stomp! A Code Red nearly gets Chapman the win, but Boar keeps up, trying a pop-up powerbomb before nailing a sit-out tombstone that looked like he’d just committed murder! Another sit-out tombstone’s countered into a roll-up as Chapman mounted a comeback, only to get tossed into the corner with an Exploder ahead of another cannonball, as the Trapper Keeper squashed Kurtis for… a two-count?!
The crowd didn’t buy that, as Boar just kneeled over the downed champion, who escaped a second Trapper Keeper before wheelbarrowing Boar for the win! That was not a popular result, as Chapman is still to have anything close to a dominant win… how long can the “Super Contender” keep eking out wins before the novelty wears off? A good match, but the crowd really didn’t buy into this at times. ***
Adam Brooks & Sean Kustom vs. Will Ospreay & Jody Fleisch
This was Kustom’s in-ring debut for Rev Pro, having been barely-named after appearing at the Cockpit a week or so earlier.
Ospreay and Fleisch were jumped before the bell as the Aussies tried to get the upper hand, but Fleisch was able to avoid Kustom and land an overhead kick before Brooks took over briefly, until Fleisch got in a handspring back elbow. Will Ospreay tagged in, but Adam Brooks wanted no part of him, and quickly tagged himself out.
Despite going at it with Kustom, Ospreay took the chance to dive into Brooks on the outside as things got a bit flippy, with Fleisch heading out too, finishing with a springboard top rope moonsault to the Aussies on the floor. Back inside, Ospreay and Fleisch double-teamed Kustom for a near-fall, before Brooks got involved again, knocking Fleisch off the top rope. Fleisch tries to fight back against Brooks, but he’s kept isolated with a sliding dropkick in the wrong corner for a near-fall. A ‘rana from Fleisch turned things back around before he and Kustom went for a clothesline at the same time… but Kustom’s tagged out first as Fleisch had to fight free of both Aussies before Brooks pulled Ospreay off the apron to keep Fleisch in the ring.
Brooks is right back in to take the mick out of the Cheeky Nando’s, but it’s Fleisch who responds by making the tag out to Ospreay, who went right to Kustom with kicks and jawbreakers. The Shibata-ish dropkick connects in the corner, as did a handspring overhead kick and a running shooting star as Kustom looked to be hanging on in there. A Cheeky Nando’s surprises Kustom as the Aussie thought he’d gotten a chance… and Ospreay’s having to avoid more interference as Brooks tries to block an OsCutter.
Instead, Ospreay makes it into the corner as Fleisch tagged in to hit a Doomsday Hart Attack for a two-count on Kustom, who very much looked to be the whipping boy of his team… and of course just as I type that, he nails a spinning side slam before tagging in Brooks. Fleisch falls into a flying lungblower after his ‘rana misses, and we start a big parade of diving moves, with Ospreay’s springboard forearm being the piece de resistance. Ospreay and Brooks bump into each other after that, and they went toe-to-toe there, with Will landing a savate kick before some distraction and double-team led to a superkick-assisted reverse DDT/backbreaker combo. Fleisch is back as the pace keeps wavering, but he falls into a running knee from Brooks, before a referee was distracted as a ripcord low blow barely got Brooks a near-fall.
Ospreay gets the tag back in, crushing Kustom with a corkscrew kick before an OsCutter’s blocked and met with a discus forearm. A second one misses as Kustom ran into a Spanish fly, with Ospreay clinging onto the wrist, only to get clocked with a head kick. Kustom tries to tag out, but Brooks wanted no part, as he was left high and dry for an eventual OsCutter for the win – but you’d not know it as Brooks jumped Ospreay the second the three-count was made! A fun main event, but I’m not a fan of a debutant getting battered as much as Kustom did here – clearly looking second fiddle… ***½
Brooks clearly noticed Ospreay had newer gear with the Australian flag on, but he was unable to cut it off again as a 720 DDT from Fleisch put paid to him as the good guys stood tall at the end of it all… until El Phantasmo came out to shake Ospreay’s hand ahead of their York Hall match… which we got, as well as a staredown to close the show.
I’m not entirely sure what it was, but there was something to Rev Pro’s return to Southampton that fell distinctly flat. On a show with some of the bigger names available to Rev Pro, we had a card full of matches that were alright, in front of a crowd that seemingly wanted something different. Granted, Rev Pro is an entirely different product compared to what Southampton had here previously with Lucha Forever, but it’s clear that some work’s going to be needed to win over this town…