Rev Pro’s busy month culminated with a rare Monday night show, as Portsmouth was witness to a surprising main event.
We’re back on familiar ground as Portsmouth’s Guildhall played host to proceedings, and it’s a rather laid-back atmosphere as Steve Lynskey’s doing dress down Mondays, ring announcing without a suit. Andy Quildan and Lord Gideon Grey are on commentary as the wacky Rev Pro revolving door of voices threw up another combination, which this time saw a lot of general deprecating humour from Gideon.
Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) vs. Josh Wall & Kurtis Chapman
The Aussies got a rather mixed reception, but that was unsurprising when you consider that the local contenders were mobbed last time they were in Portsmouth. They’ve ditched their old music, so I guess “As I Lie” is solely being used by Andy Q at the live shows now?
We also seem to have ditched a physical ring bell for bell sound.mp3 (I exaggerate, it’s “Boxing Ring Bell 2” on Spotify), and we’re underway as the Contenders tried to get a flash pin on Fletcher early on. A leapfrog from Fletcher’s turned into a sunset flip as the Aussie barely left his feet, and the Contenders continue on the up as Chapman tagged in and shoved out Fletchers knees, sending him into an “accidental” Codebreaker.
A blind tag finally brings in Mark Davis, allowing Dunkzilla to propel Josh Wall with a flapjack, as it’s all power as the Aussies isolated Wall. That perhaps wasn’t the smartest idea, but it worked for a spell, with the Aussies adopting some unusual tactics for them, antagonising Chapman into the ring to force a distraction for the ref.
Gideon’s evil laughs when the Contenders got chopped were a joy to behold, but those laughs quickly silenced as Wall broke free and tagged in Chapman for a comeback. Which would be a little more believable had he more size on him… Wall’s back in and back body drops Chapman onto the Aussies outside, before hitting a Stunner on Davis.
The Contenders roar back in with a lungblower/double stomp combo as our referee took forever to even make a count, proving that yes, you can get worse than Chris Roberts. Wall ducks a clothesline from Wall, but can’t avoid Davis, who responds with a one-armed powerbomb before dropping Wall with a right hand.
Fletcher keeps up with a Destroyer off the middle rope as Wall’s taken out with a Fidget Spinner… only for Chapman to mount a brief one-man comeback. He even escaped a pop-up cutter, as Kyle Fletcher accidentally took out his own man before being wheelbarrowed into the Chapman Clutch… and the Contenders get the upset win! This was a fun opener, but I’m not a fan of the way they planned this. Size-wise alone, Kurtis Chapman right now should be taking the beating, not making the saves. ***
Zoe Lucas vs. Veda Scott
What’s this? A women’s match in Rev Pro… without Jinny?! *faints*
It’d been almost a year since Lucas last wrestled for Rev Pro, which says something. Especially when Veda Scott’s had four in the last month! Andy Q buries the cameraman as Zoe went under the ring for a cupcake… who the hell wants floor cupcakes?! Zoe ignores some kids who actually wanted the sweet treat, and instead teased Veda with it. They drop it and it seemed that a kid tried to steal it, but instead Veda retrieves it and just shoves it in Zoe’s face to get us going. That’s perfectly reasonable.
Gideon seemed to be relishing how Veda had changed her outlook here, but it didn’t seem to work early as Lucas threw in some Three Amigos… only to be pie-faced again. Zoe returns with some kicks, before a PK misses and gets her rolled up for a near-fall. Veda confuses her with some rope running, landing a spear for a near-fall, and then hits a rolling Koppo kick to stay on top.
Some of this looked clumsy, it has to be said, but given that Lucas hasn’t had that many matches it was sort-of to be expected. More kicks from Zoe drop Veda for a near-fall, and we’re into boo/yay forearms. Hey, it got a reaction, as did an axe kick to the kidneys from Scott, who followed up with a swinging Fisherman’s suplex for a near-fall. From the kick-out, she rolled Lucas into a crossface until a rope-break’s called for.
Scott keeps on top with a forearm into the corner, before almost slipping into a clothesline out of the corner. Lucas mounted a comeback, landing a Fisherman’s suplex for a two-count after missing a splits legdrop… Scott tries a German suplex but only gets a similar result, as Zoe ended up getting the win with the legdrop-assisted reverse DDT. This was full of back-and-forth action, but this felt incredibly clumsy at times. I’m putting it down to lack of experience more than anything else. *¾
Rob Lias vs. El Phantasmo
Andy Quildan teases that he’s been joined by a “certain Villain”… and we’ve got Marty Scurll on commentary for, reasons. Apparently he just rocked up on the day, and that means we’ve got my favourite thing: commentators doing an Art Donovan, except instead of asking for people’s weight, Marty was all about “who’s that guy?”
Lias doesn’t want any part of Phantasmo early, so the Canadian just chops him as we trade off with headlocks. Phantasmo edges ahead with an atomic drop, throwing Lias to the outside before hitting a flip senton off the apron. Commentary diverges onto some cheapshots at Andy Simmonz whilst Phantasmo sources a chair to give Lias a seat for a running kick.
Ever the gent, Phantasmo returns the seat before going back into the ring, where Lias uses the ref as a human shield. Some dirty tactics put Lias ahead, as a low dropkick put Phantasmo down for a two-count, but the Canadian mounted a comeback that Lias tried to curtail. Unsuccessfully, mind you, as an enziguiri flipped him down, before a standing moonsault and a Quebrada earned ELP a two-count.
Phantasmo lifted Lias up for a whirlibird neckbreaker, but Rob escapes and hits a sit-out DDT, before ELP shrugged away from a back cracker and jack-knifed him for another two-count. Roll-ups ensue, as ELP worked back into the whirlibird, this time landing it for another near-fall…
ELP heads up top but gets crotched by Lias… but recovers to shove away a superplex and hit a huge big splash, flying across the ring, before turning into an ankle lock as Lias again held on. Lias tries to feign injury after that ankle lock, and it works as he surprised ELP with that back cracker… but again Phantasmo hit back, catching Rob on the top with a ‘rana before chaining together a senton bomb and moonsault for the win. A competitive outing as Rev Pro seem to be doing these more and more with the Contenders, but it was El Phantasmo who got the win here as he continues to solidify his spot on the Rev Pro roster. Enjoyable stuff, even if a fair chunk of the crowd weren’t keen on it. ***½
Revolution Pro Wrestling British Cruiserweight Championship: Mike Bailey vs. Josh Bodom (c)
Marty’s hanging around on commentary for this match, so I’m hoping he dials himself down here. Although dropping Andy Q in it when it comes to music rights was an interestingly awkward moment.
Bailey offers a handshake, and what do you think Bodom does? If you said “accept it”, you’ve clearly not seen him before. Unlike “Josh Bodom Fan”, who got a shout-out from Marty. What the hell is going on with this commentary?
Bodom starts by sweeping the leg as he tried to keep Speedball on the mat during the feeling out part of the match. It’s not long before Bailey busts out the kicks like he’s want to do, and if you’ve seen just Bailey’s matches in Rev Pro on this tour, then you can guess where we’re going. Except this time, Bodom kicks away a moonsault attempt from the apron and sent Bailey crashing down hard.
Bodom’s attitude just roared Bailey into life, as they gave and received kicks and forearms. It’s always nice when Bailey’s kicking game can be matched… but that’s when Bailey breaks out something different, such as a diving knee and an enziguiri out of the corner and the moonsault fallaway slam for a near-fall.
Some standing sliced bread doesn’t go to plan as Bodom’s hiptoss knee – tagged the Lo-Bodom-y – gets a near-fall. Bailey backdrops out of a Bodom Breaker and squashes Josh with the moonsault knees, but Bodom cuts him off with another enziguiri, before going for a Bliss Buster. It’s avoided as the pair end up on the apron for another moonsault knee drop, which this time misses as Bodom rolled away.
Ouch.
Bodom tries to capitalise with a moonsault to the floor, which was good for another two-count as Bailey slipped ever-closer to a loss. A Bodom Breaker doesn’t help things, nor does a corkscrew enziguiri, but it still can’t get the job done, and Bailey’s able to rebound with the flurry of left/right kicks. A spinning back kick left Bodom in a heap on the mat, almost like he was meditating, but the pair roar back up with another flurry of big moves… at least until Bodom used the referee as a human shield.
The crowd actually cheered Bodom hitting Bailey low off the top rope, which led to the finish as Speedball landed on the apron, in prime position for the Bliss Buster to retain the title. This was all sorts of fun – and I would not be too shocked if these two get a rematch in the near future. Well worth a watch, even if (like me) you’re not that keen on Speedball. ***¾
David Starr vs. Timothy Thatcher
Gideon’s back on commentary as we’ve had the intermission, and again we’ve got Andy Q burying the cameraman. I wonder if the Portsmouth School of Wrestling’s going to be offering videography lessons?
Starr buries Portsmouth in his pre-match promo, saying that he prefers Southampton. I always love it when “imports” take the time to research local rivalries… The burials move onto Rev Pro management as Starr bemoans his perceived lack of opportunities in the company.
Once we get going, Starr tries – and fails – to ground Thatcher, before he clung to the ropes in a bid to keep Thatcher away from him. As soon as he let go though, we had wrestling, in the form of Thatcher working over the arm, whilst Starr kept grabbing the ropes for freedom as it seemed to be his only answer to Timmy’s grappling. Well, that and being mouthy, anyway.
A bow-and-arrow hold gave Starr another chance to grab the ropes, and that seemed to finally frustrate Thatcher into action… but Starr’s tactics saw him slip free of a sleeperhold and finally start throwing some right hands on the ground. Timmy escapes and throws shots of his own, targeting Starr with a series of uppercuts as neither man seemed to be able to maintain much of an advantage.
Thatcher puts down Starr with a crossbody, before following in with a pair of belly-to-belly suplexes off the ropes. Timmy’s offence stopped when he missed a knee off the middle rope, giving Starr a chance to burst into life with a superkick on the apron, before rolling him up into another one as the legs of Thatcher were wrapped into a Texas Cloverleaf.
Finally a British crowd picked up on the obvious chant, serenading “Davey Wrestling” with a round of “Twinkle Twinkle, David Starr”, and that distraction allowed Thatcher to make a comeback. Sadly, it also had the crowd chanting “we are awesome”, which loses them any credit they’d build-up… Starr makes another comeback, trapping Thatcher in the ropes for a Cherry Mint DDT on the apron, before a Blackheart Buster gets a near-fall. Points to Gideon for getting the right name for that move!
Thatcher tries to grab a submission again, but it proves to be his undoing as Starr sunk to the mat, then flipped back – propping his legs in the ropes – as the submission led to a pinfall for “Davey Wrestling”. Unusual, but very effective as Starr’s shortcuts get him a monumental win. This “new” side of David Starr is very entertaining to watch, and he too joins the logjam for a title shot. ***½
Dave Mastiff vs. Moose
Like last night in Leamington, we’ve got some big lads wrestling before the main event… and dear God, it’s Moose again. Again, nothing against Moose, just *that* chant…
Mastiff is similarly unimpressed, and he starts with a series of battering shoulder tackles, before a rare trip up the turnbuckles led to him getting dropkicked down to the outside. Moose joins him for some chops and a running boot – which leads to him getting caught on the second attempt as Mastiff picks him up and powerbombed him on the apron.
Mastiff stays on top of Moose outside with some chops, before doing the same back in the ring. It’s a very typical, slow-paced outing here, with a lot of deliberate offence from big Dave, which seemed to turn off those in the crowd who weren’t so eager to chant for Moose. An impressive dropkick crushes Moose for a near-fall, before doing the arm-pump thing that gets Gideon to try and spark some chants of “Dave! Dave! Dave!”
It doesn’t catch, sadly.
Mastiff tries to rile Moose by snorting on him, but a clothesline ended whatever comeback Moose was trying, as does a knee to the gut as Moose tried to sneak in a spear. A Finlay roll squashes Moose, as does a back senton, but the American gets up at two, and flips off Dave… which earns him more right hands.
Eventually Moose is going to make a comeback, right? Right! He caught a boot and delivers a pump kick as Moose roared into life, whacking Mastiff with a hanging dropkick into the corner, before catching him with the Go To Hell chokebomb for a near-fall. That comeback quickly gets snuffed as Mastiff catches a back elbow in the corner and turns it into a German suplex.
More back and forth led to Moose taking a clothesline to the back of the head, but he’s able to respond with a spear. Mastiff gets back up though, and after hitting Moose low, the American’s cornered… leaving him open for a cannonball as Big Dave wins. This wasn’t my cup of tea – although the pace changed, it felt way too slow for way too long, and didn’t do anything for me. That’s three wins in a row for Mastiff in Rev Pro, and you have to wonder what’s next for him? *¾
Revolution Pro Wrestling British Tag Team Championship: Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) vs. CCK (Chris Brookes & Travis Banks) (c)
Moustache Mountain made this a tag title shot by way of their win over the Hunter Brothers 24 hours earlier, and for some reason Marty’s back on commentary. The Wolf wasn’t joining the champions tonight, so we had a fair fight for what Marty called “the Battle of the Angry Vegans”. Fair enough then.
The opening exchanges were very cagey, with Tyler Bate edging ahead as Brookes headed outside for a breather. CCK tried to slow the pace to a crawl to keep some control, but instead we headed into a chop battle as commentary mentioned that Portsmouth had never seen a Rev Pro title change. At least according to Cagematch, that’s surprisingly true, given that Rev Pro’s base is in Portsmouth…
The challengers isolated Travis Banks after that feeling-out process ended, with Tyler Bate getting a near-fall from a sit-down splash, before the CCK Codebreaker/back senton crushed Tyler. Wet willie time follows, as Trent Seven cringed at ringside rather than make the save when Tyler got it in both ears. CCK keep Tyler in their corner as they looked to wear him down mentally and physically – with kicks from Travis Banks helping things along – but Bate’s able to crawl away and get the hot tag to Trent.
Seven comes in with chops to CCK, before working up to a chop-assisted “accidental DDT” on CCK. Cricket chops to Brookes follow, as does a uranage out of the corner, only for Travis Banks to fire back with a dropkick and a double stomp for a near-fall as the champions regained their advantage. An attempted double-team goes wrong as Trent manages to suplex both halves of CCK at once, and now Tyler returns to try and switch things around.
A uranage sees Brookes squash Banks in the corner, before Tyler busts out a new package brainbuster-style move for a near-fall. More double-teams from Moustache Mountain nearly do the job, but instead Brookes is able to get the tag back out as Travis Banks hits back with a series of kicks to the challengers. That allowed Banks to fire back with a cannonball into Moustache Mountain, before a powerbomb on Bate – with a cheeky kick from Brookes on the way down – got a near-fall.
We move into duelling topes as Banks and Seven took turns diving, which led to Travis Banks somehow getting isolated as a clothesline-assisted German suplex nearly caused a title change. An insane back-and-forth series ensues, with Tyler deadlifting Brookes into a German suplex… but a double stomp from Banks breaks that up violently, before Tyler ran into a slingshot cutter as the Parade of Moves continued!
A Slice of Heaven from Banks just sent Trent into the ropes, where the challenger runs into a Kiwi Crusher for another two-count. Tyler Bate has a go, but he gets used as the wolf as CK dropped Trent with their usual finish, only for Trent to come back out of nowhere with a small package as Banks went for another Kiwi Crusher… and it’s enough for the upset as we have new champions! A historic title change, as a solid main event ended with some new gold for Moustache Mountain. ***½
After the match, CCK yanked the tag title belts away, before seeing sense and handing over the belts as the new champions celebrated to end the show.
Rev Pro’s latest trip to Portsmouth was a bit of a mixed bag, but largely a successful outing. The call to change the tag titles was a bit of a weird one, given how rarely Moustache Mountain have been in Rev Pro. Then again, the same can be said for CCK since they won the titles in their first match in. I guess we can expect much speculation over the reasons why, although if we’re looking for storylines, perhaps Rev Pro are looking to edge away from the Brookes/Banks flavour of CCK and take us to the “classic” #CCK tandem. After all, they spent money on getting so many Lykos masks made (and sold), it’d be weird for them to not go down a route like that…
Next up for Rev Pro is their monthly Cockpit show in a little over a week’s time – and you’d have to expect some fall-out from the goings on in Portsmouth on that show.