Rev Pro celebrated their seventh anniversary with what was advertised as Jushin Thunder Liger’s final UK appearance in the main event.
We had some late card changes to contend with, as El Phantasmo’s flight never took off… so he never made it to the UK. As such, he was out of the main event against Michael Oku and Jushin Thunder Liger, with Chris Brookes filling in while the remainder of the card saw some slight tweaks. This one comes from a packed Town Hall in Cheltenham, with the two Andys on commentary.
Gabriel Kidd vs. Sha Samuels
There’s no Josh Bodom tonight, as Sha’s looking to warm up for the Road to Royal Quest tournament finals by beating up a Contender. And Gabriel Kidd.
The opening tie-up has Kidd in the corner as Sha tried to bully his way ahead, but Kidd took him down with an armdrag as he looked to stretch the tag champion’s arms. All while the mobile camera struggled to stay still… Sha got free and tried for a headlock, only to get shoved into the ropes as they began trading shoulder tackles. A forearm from Sha suckers Kidd, who just kipped up and returned with a dropkick to take Samuels outside, as he played a game of keep away with Kidd, who was wise to his antics as those goddamn cameras shook.
Back inside, a running knee gets Kidd a near-fall, but Sha turns it around as he roughed up Kidd, punting the former WCPW Internet champion in the back. There’s a receipt as they go back and forth on each other’s spines, before they slapped each other silly. A snap slam almost went badly for Kidd, who narrowly avoided a head drop, as Samuels grabbed the mic and tried to do a Mug of the Week skit, where he called out the Contenders en masse. Oh, and Zack Sabre Jr. for not granting him title shots… Samuels goes “nnnh” as he tells Kidd he’ll fail, then turned around into a clothesline as Kidd began a comeback, sending him into the ropes for another dropkick. Sha’s run into the turnbuckles ahead of a lariat, then a missile dropkick, before he slammed Sha down for a near-fall. Out of nowhere we get a three-minute time call, as Sha seemed to be heading for the exit… and rather than take the win, Kidd goes after him and cleared out the crowd so Sha could get tossed into the chairs.
Kidd heads back into the ring as he looked for the win, catching Sha with a lariat for a near-fall, before he got caught with the Butcher’s Hook out of nowhere, with Sha ragdolling him to the mat for the tap-out. A decent showing from Kidd, but remember – he’s still a Contender, so even going close was a good outing for him. ***
After the match, Shaun Jackson hit the ring and dropped Sha with a German suplex… then had a rather terse exchange as Kidd initially didn’t seem to appreciate his help.
Kurtis Chapman vs. Dan Moloney
Well, if you’re looking to see a rubber-boned pain sponge getting a beating, this is the match for you.
Chapman slaps Dan at the bell… then chops him as perhaps this was a fight for his life. Moloney hung onto the ropes as he got slapped again, before a kitchen sink knee to the gut began the human demolition of Kurtis Chapman. Kurtis offered himself up for chops, which sent him sailing through the ropes, as things threatened to really become one-way traffic. A snap suplex gets Dan a two-count, as Chapman tried to mount a comeback, catching Moloney in the corner with a gamengiri before some headscissors sent Dan outside… but his baseball slide dropkick’s caught. Chapman evades Moloney as he proceeded to shove him into the ring post three times.
Back inside, Dan exploded with chops before he got caught with a lungblower out of the corner. Kurtis again tries to chop back into it, but Moloney just goes all defiant on him. A satellite DDT’s good for a near-fall as Chapman came closer still with a Destroyer… but he takes too long heading up top, and gets caught with a superplex as we’re back to square one. Another flurry sees Chapman try his luck with roll-ups and an ankle lock, but Moloney gets free… only to eat a low dropkick as it was he who was becoming Desperate Dan. A moonsault off the top’s good for another near-fall, before Dan swatted him with slaps and a quick Drilla piledriver… but Chapman managed to get to the rope as Moloney helped him out.
Not to worry, a second one plants Chapman in the middle of the ring, and there’s no coming back from that. Brave effort from Chapman, but we got what we came for in the end. ***
After the match, Dan Magee stood up to Moloney, and got shoved off. I guess that’s coming down the line…
Brendan White & Kenneth Halfpenny vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
Well, if Sha Samuels can warm up against a contender, then Aussie Open can do the same too…
Fletcher and Halfpenny start us off, with Halfpenny tripping Kyle early on, only to run into a slam as both men tagged out… with Brendan White making a point of facing Davis. Those two locked up into the ropes, only for White to cling on with a side headlock, despite Davis’ sidewalk slam attempt. A headlock takedown’s quickly countered… but the Welshman’s right back onto the hold ahead of a shoulder tackle, with the pair going back and forth as White eventually dook down Davis. Forearms follow in the corner, but Davis responds by popping him up and squashing him with a back senton. Davis ups the ante with chops and boots, before Fletcher came in to kick away at White.
Dunkzilla’s back as Brendan’s trapped in the wrong corner, with nowhere to go as he got booted and suplexed. White tries to fight back, but he’s restrained as Fletcher flies in to knock Halfpenny off the apron… only for White to shove the Aussies into each other. Problem was… he’d nobody to tag. A suplex bought him some more time as he finally tagged out, as Kyle found himself stuck in there. Halfpenny flies in with a back elbow and an atomic drop to Kyle, before a trip and a sliding lariat got him a two-count. An Angle slam comes to nought as Halfpenny and Fletcher swing and miss, prompting tags to bring us back to the big lads who laid into each other with chops and clotheslines. Davis’ thunderous lariat dumps Brendan though, as the Gold Coast Waterslide followed… with White slipping out and nearly winning with a roll-up.
Andy Q tries to cover for Chris Roberts not enforcing tag rules by saying it’s his last night on the job (must have been a forever-extended notice period then!), as all four men were in the ring, with the Aussies getting taken outside. The Contenders duo double-team Davis, with Halfpenny’s running Blockbuster getting a near-fall… but the Aussies hit back with an assisted Aussie Arrow, before White was left prone for the Fidget Spinner for the hard-fought win. White and Halfpenny pushed the Aussies far, but in the end it was business as usual for the former champions. ***¼
After the match, Davis got the mic and put over the Contenders before bigging up the opportunity they’d have at York Hall – as winning the Road to Royal Quest tournament would open the door to New Japan for them. The Rev Pro tag titles aren’t on the line in that match, by the way…
David Starr vs. Mike Bailey vs. Mark Haskins
Andy Quildan was noticeably anti-Starr on commentary here, giving up any notion of neutrality he’d had at the Cockpit.
Meanwhile, we get Crobot back for Mark Haskins. I missed those days. Understandably, Starr looked pissed, presumably at being the only guy having to have custom music… We’ve a three-way scrap at the bell that quickly ends in the ropes before Mike Bailey was left looking on in confusion as Starr and Haskins had another scrap… with Speedball’s only part being to pose when Haskins got free. Bailey finally got involved with a lucha armdrag as we still were left without a clear advantage, before Starr powdered outside in a sulk as the crowd wouldn’t chant for him.
Haskins and Bailey work well together, in spite of Starr’s interference on the outside, until a double Cherry Mint DDT forced Starr into it. A chop just seemed to agitate Bailey, who asked for more… then got sucker punched. He’s quickly back with chops and kicks of his own though, only to get swept to the mat as things get unwatchable. Seriously, this is Kevin Dunn levels of camera shake guys. Haskins stops Bailey with a sit-out death valley driver before an attempt at Made in Japan on Starr was rolled through for a near-fall. Bailey’s back with kicks before a running corkscrew press lands on Haskins for a near-fall, as the Canadian looked to kick his way into the lead. It sort of worked as Haskins ends up firing back out of defiance while Starr looked to soil himself at the prospect of those kicks. He ended up going an EVIL with them, passing the kick to Haskins before he rebounded off the ropes with a clothesline as all three men were on the deck.
Starr tries to build momentum, choking away on Haskins… but the hold’s broken up as Haskins took him outside for the misdirection tope as things swung around. Bailey eats a Made in Japan for a near-fall, before Starr went flying with a tope of his own. Bailey tries his luck, but gets back body dropped to Haskins on the outside, before another tope’s aborted as Bailey countered with an Asai moonsault on the outside. Things move onto the apron as Haskins hits a PK to Starr, before Starr shoved Haskins back into the ring as Speedball’s shooting star knees hit nothing but the apron. Haskins seemed a little less thrilled at being saved, as he went for Starr, only to run into a Han Stansen for a near-fall before the Republican Remorse (Edgucator) was attempted on Haskins… who resisted long enough for Bailey to get back in and crane kick the hold away.
There’s some wacky double pins that had Andy Q frothing as Tom Scarborough was counting without knowing who’d win, before back-and-forth sunset flips on Starr and Bailey ended with a Haskins getting back body dropped onto Starr ahead of the shooting star knees. Haskins and Bailey head up top, but Starr cancels all of that as he ends up getting crushed in shooting star knees off the top as Haskins delayed his death valley driver too long. We pass the 20 minute mark as we’re still breaking up pins, until Haskins ran into moonsault/fallaway slam. Bailey keeps up the momentum with a corkscrew kick before Starr shoves Haskins away from some more shooting star knees… then came in with a Blackheart Buster on Bailey for a near-fall, before the Kaepernick got the win. This looked fun, but left me wanting to reach for the Ibuprofen. It’s rare when a match is filmed so badly I’m left wanting to crap all over it… but congratulations Rev Pro. You never learn. ***½
There’s a cute video package highlighting the dissension between A-Kid and Carlos Romo – all of which started with that fabled ***** rating last year. They try to make sense of Romo being wooed by Sha Samuels and Josh Bodom only to get turned on months down the line, as we move to the hurried blow-off…
A-Kid vs. Carlos Romo
So this is the truncated finish to the feud, and we start with Romo charging A-Kid into the corner… only to get laughed at.
From there, the pair head to the mat as Romo went for a front facelock before he backed away, as the two former partners had a rather scrappy start to proceedings. A-Kid thought he’d edged ahead with a bow-and-arrow hold, but Romo flips out for a one-count before his search for some flying headscissors ended with A-Kid throwing him down to the mat as he looked for an armbar instead. Romo gets free and lands a leg lariat, sending A-Kid powdering out into the front row as Andy Simmonz brought up rumours of how this’d be a one-time-only match… bringing commentary to a screeching halt. A-Kid’s back in to hit a nice floatover suplex on Romo for a two-count, before he rolled through a sunset flip to wallop Romo with a clothesline on the back of the head for another near-fall.
Romo tries his luck with a mounted rear naked choke… which A-Kid thought he’d broken up by falling on his back. Romo reapplies it until a back suplex forces separation, with A-Kid following up with an apron PK that saw him land quite the follow through. The pair continue to fight outside, which led to the obligatory “chop the ringpost” spot from A-Kid, before Romo headed up to the stage and leapt into a superkick from A-Kid (a la Shawn Michaels/Shelton Benjamin), who dove into the ring to search for a count-out. That fan-cam version of the superkick was much better caught than the promotion’s own work…
Romo makes it back to the ring, but gets obliterated with a PK for a near-fall, before he spat on him. That fires up Romo, who clocked A-Kid with a bicycle knee, sending him outside for a tope, then throwing him in for a Blockbuster. A Busaiku knee’s good for another near-fall as Romo built up momentum, only to get caught with a standing Spanish Fly as A-Kid pushed back. Romo offers himself up for a chop, and instead gets wrecked with a superkick, before a Goomba stomp missile dropkick brought back memories of the turn… with Romo grabbing the rope at two to keep the match alive. It’s back to the mid-kicks for A-Kid, but Romo finds a second wind, almost shocking A-Kid after a Spiral Tap only to get caught up top… as a Spanish Fly brings him back down the hard way. A cutter from Romo stops the threat though, as A-Kid ends up eating a springboard cutter… and that’s the win. A pretty good match, although I’m gutted this wasn’t held in a “home” Rev Pro venue as I’m sure the reactions would have been amplified… but needs must and all that. ***¾
After the match, A-Kid stayed back and bowed to all four sides of the ring in what many suspect was the last time he’ll appearing here.
Matt Sydal vs. PAC
On paper, this has an element of intrigue to it – with PAC’s’ recent matches seeing him steadfastly refusing to fly unless he absolutely has to.
PAC starts us off, taking Sydal into the corner for a clean break, while Sydal looked to work over the Geordie’s arm in the early going. It doesn’t quite work as a headlock takedown has PAC on top, before Sydal’s attempt to frustrate found a way through as PAC rolled outside. Sydal snuck outside and blindsides PAC before he made a point of working over PAC’s injured leg. An out-of-place referee (and cameraman) misses PAC kicking Sydal low, before returning to the ring as shaky-camera-vision did its best to mask a lot of stuff. PAC decides to fly with a missile dropkick, but makes a lackadaisical cover for a two-count on Sydal, as a grounded side headlock looked to make sure that gravity continued to forget about PAC.
Sydal tries to kick his way back into the match, before a sidewalk slam almost saw PAC land on his head as he tried to flip out of it. Nevertheless, Sydal picks up the momentum, using a ‘rana out of the corner to send PAC outside again, but an Asai moonsault’s rudely interrupted as PAC shoved him into the ropes to send the American crashing and burning to the apron. From there, PAC goes to fly, landing an Orihara moonsault that’s barely caught, before he threw Sydal back inside for a springboard 450 that drew a near-fall. PAC takes it back up top, but his superplex is shoved away as Sydal made him flip on the way down ahead of a Meteora that found PAC’s head for a near-fall. A ‘rana from Sydal shocks PAC as he kept building up those two-counts, only for the exclamation mark of a shooting star press to backfire as Sydal lands in PAC’s knees as the tables turned.
A superkick from PAC dumps Sydal as PAC then went up for a Black Arrow… landing it flush for the win. A little flat for the finish, but PAC “refusing to fly until he absolutely had to” would probably feel more effective were he doing more than standard work on the mat before “snapping” into his old self. ***
Chris Brookes & Hikuleo vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Michael Oku
This was billed as Liger’s final “scheduled” UK appearance, and was the big selling point for this show. Even more so, if you take Slick Lombardo’s big introduction for him.
This was also Chris Roberts’ final match in Rev Pro. “For now”. Hikuleo and Oku start us off, heading into the ropes as Hikuleo’s attempted cheapshot missed. Oku tries his luck with kicks to the legs, but Hikuleo catches one and throws Oku into the corner, before a switcheroo led to some mounted punches. Those too get caught, as Oku’s taken into another corner, where Brookes tagged in… which quickly led to Liger getting the tag as we had a throwback to the ill-fated World of Pro Wrestling TV show last year.
Liger lands a quick Shotei, but Hikuleo rushes the ring to stop Brookes from losing in short order, as the bad guys went to work, with Brookes threatening to unmask the soon-to-be-retiring Liger. Hikuleo’s back in to stomp away on Liger, before a leaping legdrop draws a two-count. Brookes returns to whip Liger’s leg into the mat before more stomping kept him down as the bad guys worked some simple, but effective offence here. Brookes looks for a brainbuster, but of course Liger reverses it, before Oku tagged in and went to town on Brookes in the corner. Some misdirection in the ropes leads to a ‘rana on Brookes, before Hikuleo ran in to take some dropkicks… and refused to leave his feet until a diving knee sent him to the outside. Oku followed out with a pescado, but got caught as he had to avoid being lawn-darted into the ring post, before returning to the ring as Hikuleo just POUNCES into him.
Oku’s thrown outside as Brookes and Lykos attack him behind the ref’s back, before things settled down with Oku getting worn down with a variety of chinlocks. A camel clutch led to Brookes going for a wet willie, before Hikuleo slowed things down further with a stalling suplex for a near-fall. Brookes is in to mock the crowd, but it just fires up Oku into landing a satellite DDT, before the hot tag brought in Liger, who leapt off the apron into Brookes and Hikuleo on the outside. Back inside, Brookes takes some chops as Liger set up for a superplex, but Hikuleo breaks up the cover, only to get thrown outside. A Ligerbomb looked to follow on Brookes, but a back body drop stops that as Brookes built up to a flying back senton as Oku had his go at breaking up the cover.
Hikuleo’s back in, but Brookes gets tripped outside as Liger mounted a comeback with a back elbow, while Oku’s springboard moonsault connected for a near-fall. Oku tags back in as he looks for a single leg crab on Hikuleo, who just pushes away and wiped out Oku with a lariat before a Winning Combination (big boot/Fireman’s carry facebuster) led to another near-fall. Hikuleo looks to win with a suplex, but Oku – whose win over El Phantasmo at the Cockpit two weeks earlier was hardly referenced here – finally gets the single leg crab on Hikuleo while Brookes was trapped in an armbar. Both of the bad guys got to the ropes simultaneously to free themselves, before Lykos provided a distraction as Brookes scores a low blow and a Twister for Hikuleo to pick up another near-fall.
Brookes tags in next, looking to finish the job with a Praying Mantis Bomb, but Liger rolls him up for a two-count. Another Shotei rocks Brookes on the top rope, as a Liger Bomb followed up for a near-fall, with Lykos pulling out the ref. Cue Hikuleo attacking Liger from behind, but it backfires again as Brookes brains Hikuleo with the baking tray before Shoteis cleared the ring, with Oku landing one of his own… then played his part with duelling frog splashes onto Hikuleo for the win. A heck of a moment for Oku, who picks up the win in Cheltenham on Liger’s last appearance in the UK – in a match that did a pretty decent job splitting the Liger farewell with Oku’s build for Summer Sizzler. ***¼
After the match, Oku demanded that they play Liger’s music instead, as the good guys celebrated to close the show…
Rev Pro’s never really made a big deal of their anniversaries in the past… and something tells me if they didn’t have Liger, they wouldn’t have made a deal of it here either. Considering this was two weeks before Summer Sizzler, this felt like as awkward a big show you could get – with only A-Kid vs. Carlos Romo being really built for this, while everything else just felt… there in terms of being anything special.
That’s not to say nobody tried on this show, far from it, but this felt like an attempt to trump up what otherwise would have been a very ordinary show.
It takes a lot for me to really have a pop at something in these reviews… but for the love of God, Rev Pro, sort out the camera work. It’s painfully obvious that nobody watches these shows back before they hit on-demand, otherwise there’d at least be brief mentions about picture quality when these shows drop. I’m not up to speed on video editing, but if your “1080p” video stream is packed chock-full of interlacing lines, then something tells me you’re not really filming in 1080p. Add in weird editing cuts and the camera crew simply being in the wrong place, then something needs sorting out. Either headset-up your camera crew and have a director direct, or perhaps bite the bullet and bring in someone new to handle this stuff. Being a DIY promotion absolutely has its charm, but when smaller promotions (ESPECIALLY companies like Riptide) are kicking your arse in terms of how good the show looks on-demand, it quickly lets down the entire promotion.
…and don’t even get me started on “how on earth is that hard camera almost always out of focus?”