This past Sunday, Revolution Pro Wrestling held its annual “Summer Sizzler” spectacular, with a seven match card highlighted by the appearance of two of New Japan’s finest: Tomohiro Ishii and Katsuyori Shibata. We were there live, here’s our full review…
#TLDR: An absolute barnstormer of a show from top to bottom, with the three matches in particular standing out: Marty Scurll/Mike Bailey would have been match of the night on pretty much any other night, whilst the two singles title matches were neck-and-neck for match of the night honours, depending on how you like your wrestling.
The only downsides, for me, is that very little on this card built towards future matches. Sure, we got Samuels/Damo for down the line, and a rematch of Sabre and Shibata, but aside from that, where do we go from here? No new challenger’s been set up for Ospreay since he’s on ice until after the Vader match, whilst the tag team title scene has just seen three sets of challengers nullified in one fell swoop.
It’s not overly negative to say that this is the result of the “supercard-style” of how Rev Pro look to book things, but without a consistent roster against each other, these shows tend to be like Summer Sizzler: a lot of fantastic standalone wrestling that does little to build to a future. Needless to say, though, it’s still well worth spending your money – and time – watching!
The Full Review: The full show is up on the RPW On Demand website, so we’re going to be basing our review on that, with a few of our live thoughts interjected here. For the full live effect, you may want to lock yourself in a small room and turn the heating on full blast for the first few matches, just to get the real York Hall sweatbox effect going!
Oliver Bennett and Andy Boy Simmonz are on commentary – one of those guys, I really didn’t miss hearing on Sunday!
Revolution Pro Wrestling British Tag Team Championship: Legion of Lords (Lord Gideon Grey & Rishi Ghosh) vs. British Young Bloods (Jake McCluskey & Kieran Bruce) vs. Jody Fleisch & Jonny Storm vs. Charlie Garrett & Joel Redman (c)
In my live review, I noted how Gideon Grey’s match graphic image looks nothing like him, particularly as the man the crowd called “Princess Unicorn” resembles a guy who’s not slept in weeks. It’s the standard “one fall to a winner” four-way, with no eliminations,
At the last Cockpit show, Grey and Ghosh thought they’d won the tag titles, only for the match to be restarted after the referee had noticed that Grey’s cane had entered the ring.
Everyone teases attacking each other at the bell, with the referee “accidentally” getting a kick to the leg in the middle of it as he threatened to throw out the whole match before it got started. We start with Garrett and Ghosh – who disrobes to show a Fred Flintstone-like leotard.
Ghosh immediately tags out to Jody Fleisch, and Garrett and Fleisch start off with a flashy exchange, ending with a dropkick sending Fleisch to the mat. In comes Redman to work an arm wringer, but Fleisch reversed it and took down Redman with a spinning heel kick. Jake McCluskey then tagged himself in and immediately stomped away on his former tag team partner in the corner. Redman fired back with a back body drop, then a dropkick into the corner. Another tag saw Bruce come in and take a military press slam from Garrett, then a standing moonsault as Jonny Storm then tagged himself in.
Bruce blocks a clothesline and hits an armbreaker, before floating out of a hiptoss… and then receive a couple of nonchalant slaps from Storm. A version of Total Elimination saw Jody Fleisch come off the top to take out Bruce, before a step-up enziguiri knocked him down once again.
McCluskey entered the ring without a tag, and took down Fleisch with a dropkick, as did Bruce, to score a near-fall, who then gets monkey-flipped onto Fleisch by his own partner for another near-fall. Bruce and McCluskey then bust out a pair of moonsaults, forcing Ghosh to come in to break up the pin, but the Young Bloods remained on top of the veteran Fleisch.
McCluskey lands a discus clothesline that folds Fleisch in two, before wearing him down with a waistlock on the mat. Some neat double-team from a tag saw Jonny Storm hit a sunset flip onto Fleisch, who linked that into a German suplex on McCluskey, a move that earned Storm a near-fall as Bruce accidentally elbow dropped his own partner.
Storm took a blind tag from Garrett as he pulled off a Spanish Fly on McCluskey, and Garrett followed up with an elbow drop off the top, but Jonny Storm’s protests prevented a count from being made. Garrett scored a corkscrew moonsault out of the corner to take out both of the Young Bloods, but Gideon Grey got involved and we finally got the Lords involved as they went two-on-one against Garrett in their own corner.
The aerial attacks then started as Redman back body dropped Garrett to the outside, taking out both of the Lords, before McCluskey’s headscissor takedown sent Redman to the outside as well. McCluskey landed awkwardly from a moonsault as Bruce just about connected with a tope, before Jonny Storm landed a corkscrew body press to the floor… and finally, Jody Fleisch went for a shooting star press off the top rope, but he went too close to the ring and smashed his shins into the apron.
After those dives, Storm and Fleisch brawled to the back with the Young Bloods, leaving the champions alone at ringside with the Legion of Lords. Ghosh fought free of a double team slam/neckbreaker, and dropkicked Redman into the corner as Grey hit an elbow drop as Redman was dropped from a torture rack position. Charlie Garrett was forced to make a save from there at the count of two, before Ghosh knocked his own man out of the ring, and we finally got the clothesline/bodyslam combo from the champions.
Gideon Grey went up top, but was caught in a spinebuster before taking a slingshot into a bodyslam by Garrett. The breathless finale continued with Ghosh nailing Garrett with a DDT, before taking a Redman superkick. A Redman gutbuster was setting up for something, but Grey shoved the referee into the ropes, and we got a cane shot, as Garrett got hit with the cane.
Garrett kicked out as Rishi Ghosh had fled to the back expecting to be celebrating a win, but that left Grey alone in the ring, and that left him vulnerable to the tombstone off the second rope from Redman, and Garrett’s spiral tap, and the champions retained! A fun opener, that felt a little spotty in parts. Pro tip – if there’s a minimal gap between the ring and the barricades, perhaps don’t plan to have a six-way dive-fest there? ***¼
Josh Bodom vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Very few people gave Bodom a snowball in hell’s chance here, especially as Ishii was looking to avenge his loss at this show last year. Bodom shoved Ishii to begin with, and worked a headlock early on, only to meet a proverbial brick wall with a shoulder tackle. Again, and again, and again.
Ishii fired back with a bunch of forearms to Bodom, who gave as good as he got, before an elbow rocked Ishii… only for a second, as the Japanese veteran blasted Bodom down with one of his own. Chops from Ishii rang out across York Hall, and eventually decked the younger Bodom, before taking him up and down to the mat with a suplex for a near-fall. An eye rake opened things up for Bodom, who took to choking Ishii on the bottom rope, much to the displeasure of the fans.
Bodom went for a couple of covers, before stomping away on Ishii in the corner and then nailing a standing moonsault for a near-fall. Ishii invited some forearms, but Bodom’s strikes had little effect… compared to a single forearm that sent the younger man flying into the middle turnbuckle. A looping combination of chops and forearms sent Bodom to the mat, before a shoulder block had the same result as Ishii came out of the corner.
Ishii took Bodom up to the top rope, going for a superplex, and was able to hit a stalling superplex for a two-count. Bodom punched free from a powerbomb, before sending Ishii into the ropes with a powerbomb, and then again with an enziguiri. Ishii rolled to the outside, only to be met with a tope from Bodom, before Bodom dragged him in for the Bliss Buster (draping piledriver)… but Ishii kicked out at two!
Ishii staggered back to his feet and was knocked down by a roaring elbow for a near-fall, before Ishii backdropped his way out of a powerbomb. A series of German suplexes and back suplexes rocked Bodom, scoring him a near-fall. Bodom then shoved Ishii towards the referee, and although Ishii put on the brakes, that left him open for a low blow from Bodom, before kicking out of the resulting schoolboy.
Bodom followed up with a knee lift to the head then a standing shooting star press for another two-count on Ishii. That led to a series of stiff headbutts from Ishii, and then the diving clothesline for another near-fall from the Japanese veteran, who sealed things with a brainbuster for the win. Fantastic strong-style action, with Bodom getting more than most expected in the way of offence. I’m going to go a little higher than what I gave this live… ***¾
Sha Samuels vs. Moose
And so, the Moose Invasion began. Much like Korakuen Hall, York Hall really got into the “Moose!” chants… and the former NFL offensive tackle as well! As an aside, on commentary, Simmonz noted how this was the first time he’d ever seen Moose. Me too, but I’m not being paid to do commentary on a wrestling show (that’s being sold to others). Do your research, for heaven’s sake!
Moose takes Samuels to the corner, before pinging Samuels’ braces against him. Samuels takes off his braces and elbow pads in frustration as he was unable to shift the 300lber… who then took him down with a massive dropkick. Samuels hit a back elbow, but took a spill to the floor when Moose dropkicked him off the second turnbuckle.
Samuels recovered, before backdropping Moose onto the entrance ramp. Moose beat the ten count, but Samuels jumped on him and pounded away, before using the braces, then his scarf to choke away at Moose. Some chops in the corner keep Moose rocked, but the tables quickly turn as Moose launches some rapid-fire chops at Samuels, who responds with a low dropkick for a one-count.
A leglock kept Moose grounded, before some slaps seemed to enrage the former ROH man – who fired back with a vertical suplex on Samuels into the turnbuckles. Samuels got caught with a trio of corner splashes, then a springboard crossbody out of the corner before Moose landed a series of punches, before turning into a DDT from Samuels.
Samuels takes Moose up to the top rope, and succeeds with a superplex, but Moose immediately pops up with a discus lariat. Back to their feet, the two men trade strikes, before a headbutt and an uppercut rocks Samuels briefly, only for the “East End Butcher” to level Moose with a spinebuster for a near-fall.
Samuels went to the top rope again but got caught with a two-handed chokeslam off the middle rope by Moose for a near-fall. Samuels replied with a Pedigree (!) that got him only a one-count, and looked to set up another Moose comeback, only for Samuels to sidestep a spear, then a roll-up with the feet on the ropes for the win. A good match from these two big guys, with Moose making himself a star in one night. ***
Revolution Pro Wrestling British Cruiserweight Championship: Will Ospreay vs. Pete Dunne (c)
Ospreay came out with red tape on his face, ripping it off as he mocked Vader’s mask. Pete Dunne’s entrance video froze for his entrance, not that he cared, and his pre-match promo showed it, as he outright called out Ospreay as a failure for not being able to get the job done when it mattered – namely beating KUSHIDA for the IWGP Junior heavyweight title.
Dunne’s gotten rid of his top-knot hairstyle by the way, and he’s now sporting a hairstyle straight out of the 1990s. After being called out, Ospreay booted Dunne in the face, and we’re underway.
Ospreay flew into Dunne in the corner with a forearm, but Dunne returned the favour with a kick to the midsection, as Ospreay fired back with a headscissor takedown and a dropkick, sending the champion to the outside, where he was met with a cannonball dive off the apron. Now that’s what I call a frenetic start!
Dunne was sent into the crowd near me (and a couple of guys in GOOD Wrestling t-shirts), with Ospreay following in after him with a Phenomenal forearm off the crowd barrier. To celebrate, he grabbed a fan’s drink, and grimaced upon tasting the strawberry cider he’d just picked up. Can’t win ‘em all, I guess!
Back in the ring, Ospreay tied up Dunne with a modified abdominal stretch, then lands a slingshot back suplex and a slingshot tope into the ring, before Dunne tosses him onto the apron. An elevated DDT takes Ospreay back in for a near-fall, and Dunne takes over from here, stamping on Ospreay’s left arm, before utilising an Exploder suplex. Dunne works over the ear of Ospreay, before biting away on the hand of Ospreay and going for a near-fall.
Dunne clotheslines Ospreay to the mat, but Will counters as he’s tossed into the rope, and turns it into a handspring kick as both men crash to the mat. Dunne avoids another Phenomenal Forearm, but takes a tornado DDT then a lifting reverse DDT for a near-fall as Ospreay looked to make the most of his advantage.
Ospreay looked to go for the Rainham maker, but took a stiff elbow from Dunne instead, who then saw his powerbomb attempt reversed, flying into the corner from some headscissors. Placing Dunne on the top rope, Ospreay yanked Dunne into the Tree of Woe, and then went flying for a Coast to Coast forearm for a near-fall. Will went up top again but avoided Dunne’s attempt to knock him off, only for Dunne to bit him, and then level Ospreay as he went for the OsCutter. A release suplex, then a sit-out powerbomb got the champion another near-fall.
Dunne toyed with Ospreay, who replied by biting back at Dunne’s hand, before the pair traded slaps, which wore out both men… with Ospreay leaping into a headbutt, before flipping out of a clothesline and dropping Dunne with a Spanish Fly to end an amazing exchange.
Both men were grounded after that, but kipped up to beat the standing ten count, with Ospreay roaring in with some kicks, but another OsCutter was blocked, only for Ospreay to reverse out of the release suplex, and connect with a standing shooting star press after two fake-outs. A corkscrew splash off the middle rope got Ospreay another near-fall as the crowd thought he had it won.
Dunne avoided another OsCutter, sliding to the outside, before catching a Sasuke special, before dumping Ospreay with a tombstone on the floor. Ospreay beat the ten-count in, but took a series of repeated kicks and stomps from the champion. Will sits up a la the Undertaker, and gets his finger bitten as Dunne tries to finish him off with a pumphandle facebuster, but Will rolls him into a small package for another near-fall.
Dunne kicks away the Cheeky Nandos kick, and lands a tombstone in the middle of the ring for a two-count. Another pumphandle facebuster is blocked by Ospreay, who finally lands the Cheeky Nandos, then a reverse ‘rana, before Dunne crotches him on the top rope. Ospreay fights him off the top rope, as a headbutt staggers Dunne, and leaves him in position for a reverse ‘rana off the middle rope and a corkscrew diving kick for a near-fall. It’s then third time lucky for the OsCutter, and Will Ospreay regains the Cruiseweight title! This was better on the second viewing, and a match that’s going to be up there in the match-of-the-year standings. This has to go to the top of your “must watch” lists! ****½
Live, I lost count of how many times my jaw dropped or I said “holy…” or similar during this match. I’m pretty sure you will too when you see this.
Post-match, Ospreay cut a promo, saying how “social media can make a nobody into a somebody”. Will was pretty scathing towards Vader – and one fan in particular – over their opinions of him. Eh, that guy was looking pretty morose throughout the show anyway (and he’s blocked a number of people on Twitter for this by now, so… meh!)
Marty Scurll vs. Mike Bailey
The ongoing storyline here is that Scurll is still the number one contender, but he’s reluctant to take his title shot as long as his tag team partner – Zack Sabre Jr. – holds the belt. Here, he’s got the bare-foot Mike Bailey as his opponent, and of course, Scurll mocks his karate and bowing entrance. Particularly after a handful of fans brand “Speedball” as a “shit Ricky Steamboat”…
Scurll takes Bailey into the corner and scuttles back into a crane pose, before ducking a series of kicks… and then getting knocked to the mat by a kick to the chest. Scurll gets kicked to the mat as he tried a cheapshot from a handshake, then takes a tiltawhirl headscissors, then a dropkick to the outside, before he’s baseball slid into the guard railings. Bailey tries to launch an attack off the apron, but takes a poke to the eye as Scurll grounded the Speedball, before ducking out of the way of a kick from the apron, as Bailey’s kick got nothing but ring post.
Back in the ring, Scurll wedged Bailey’s foot in the metal turnbuckle support, then grabbed a screwdriver to turn the supports more and wrench away at the toes of Bailey. A shooting star press off the apron from Bailey misses, and Scurll dumps him on the apron for good measure.
An arm whip keeps Bailey on the mat, as Scurll goes to target the left arm of the Canadian, but Bailey tries to fire back with some chops, with little success. Scurll pulls back on the nose of Bailey in a surfboard position, then stomps the knees into the mat as he continued to toy with his foe.
Bailey misses a backflip double knee on Scurll, but succeeds in pulling off the rapid-fire kicks to the ribs, and then lands a moonsault press from the inside and out to the floor. An enziguiri sends Scurll into the corner, where he followed up with some step-up knee strikes, but Scurll replies with an uppercut, whilst Bailey comes back with a Yakuza kick. A running standing corkscrew star press gets Bailey a near-fall, but Scurll quickly goes for the chicken wing, but Bailey works free and tries to go for a Shiranui… only to land on the apron and get taken down with a Tower of London (Ace crusher out of the corner) from Scurll.
A Gotch-style piledriver gets Scurll a two-count, before Bailey fires back with some more kicks to the chest. Scurll’s “Just Kidding” superkick is followed by a laria that turns Bailey inside out, but he quickly recovers by blocking a sunset flip and landing a standing moonsault into the diving knees. As the referee makes a standing ten count, the crowd adds “Moose!” chants to the count-ahead gimmick, and the two men trade slaps from their knees, before Bailey lands a springboard kick… only to miss a shooting star press and land in a chicken wing.
Bailey works free and lands a shooting star knee drop to Scurll’s back, but “The Villain” gets the feet on the ropes, and lights up Bailey with slaps and a knee lift. Bailey replies with a some spinning back kicks for a series of near-falls. Scurll blocks a third kick, then tweaks away at Bailey’s feet, snapping the toes, but again Bailey avoids a chicken wing. The moonsault knee drop is missed, and Scurll briefly has the chicken wing again, but he replies by bending Bailey’s fingers all the way back and then snapping them… and it was elementary from here as a suplex from Scurll saw him drop Bailey into place for one more chicken wing and the tap-out win.
A fantastic contest with some memorable moments – finger and toe manipulations aside – and a match that would easily have been match of the night on most other cards… but not tonight! ***¾
Big Damo vs. Matt Sydal
This match screams “David and Goliath” doesn’t it? Sydal, who has his NEVER six-man tag title belt with him, is almost half the size of Big Damo.
Sydal high-fives Damo as he was shoved out of the corner, something which Damo did with gusto when he had the chance to return the favour moments later. Damo patronisingly patted Sydal on the top rope as they again went for a rope break, and after a handshake they got going with a drop toe hold from the bigger man, who overwhelmed Sydal in the early going.
Sydal flipped out of a surfboard stretch for a near-fall, then clung onto a headlock as Damo went for a rope break. Damo called Sydal a “spider monkey”, earning a brief chant before he went for a headlock. Sydal’s response was through a flurry of kicks, chopping Damo to the mat, before Damo was taken down with some headscissors into the corner.
A diving dropkick into the corner sent Damo reeling into the middle of the ring, but Sydal followed up with an Indian deathlock instead of a pin, bridging back for extra torque. Damo was picked up from the corner for a chop, but that had little effect as Sydal instead bridged up out of a sunset flip, before taking a stiff European uppercut. Some more strikes from Damo grounded Sydal, as did a swift bodyslam, which earned the Belfast native a two-count.
Sydal looked to go airborne, but was chopped in mid-air by Damo, sending him flying to the outside instead. A suplex into the ring from Damo’s transitioned into a cross body from Sydal for a near-fall, something which Damo hits himself for a similar result.
Damo dropped Sydal onto the top rope for a superplex, but after shoving Damo down, Sydal caught the diving double knees off the top rope, sending Damo to the mat, and Sydal into the ropes on impact. A leg lariat drops Damo to the mat again, as Sydal goes back to kicks in a bid to chop away the legs of Damo, before turning a tiltawhirl slam attempt from Damo into a legdrop/reverse DDT for a near-fall.
Damo looked to go for a pump kick, but he missed Sydal’s head and instead lodged his foot onto Sydal’s shoulder. From there, Sydal pushed down Damo and hit a standing moonsault for a near-fall. Sydal got caught on the top rope and was dropped to the mat, then squashed with a back senton, and a powerbomb for a near-fall.
After going for the Ulster Plantation, Damo saw Sydal elbow his way free, and into a victory roll for a two-count. Sydal went up top again, but had to leap over Damo, who replied with a huge dropkick into the corner. This time, Damo landed the Ulster Plantation for a two-count, but Damo got caught on the middle rope as he tried to finish off Sydal, and instead was taken down with a pop-up rana and then the shooting star press as Sydal scored the upset over the monster from Belfast. A good match, but there seemed to be a killer instinct missing from Damo, which held this match back somewhat. ***¼
Post-match, Damo cut a promo that seemed to tease fans into thinking he was leaving, but before he could get his words out, Sha Samuels slid into the ring and attacked Damo. The York Hall crowd, calling back to earlier in the night, chanted for Moose to make the save. In the “bad timing award” of the night, Moose was actually walking through the crowd to go to the bar through all this, and no, he didn’t make the save!
Revolution Pro Wrestling British Heavyweight Championship: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (c)
Shibata and Sabre go toe-to-toe at the bell, and the crowd hushes everyone down as this match is held in front of the closest thing you’ll get to a Japanese audience this side of the Land of the Rising Sun.
Sabre and Shibata’s feeling out process sees the two attempting for various holds, before the pair scurry off into opposing corners, none the worse for wear. Another tie-up attempt is stuffed by Sabre, who looks to avoid or escape at every turn, before Sabre goes from a facelock into a waistlock, but Shibata works free and into the ropes.
A rope break ends with Shibata nailing a forearm strike, and then invites some back in response, and this quickly degenerates into a series of forearms going back and forth. Shibata nails a big boot, but Sabre rolls away from a penalty kick attempt as the NEVER openweight champion seemed to earn a slight advantage.
Shibata slowly worked his way towards a Figure Four, breaking free of some wrist manipulation from Sabre before locking in the hold, as Sabre tried several times in vain to work himself free, reversing the hold numerous times, before reaching the ropes. Some kicks from Shibata sends Sabre to the floor, but he doesn’t go after him, instead waiting for Sabre to return to the ring where he again kicks him out to the floor, poking him out to the floor with a boot.
Sabre replies with a series of kicks to Shibata as he’s caught on the apron, with Shibata recovering outside the ring, and returning to more kicks from Sabre. Shibata gets sent towards the ropes with an European uppercut, but he replies with forearms, before Sabre utilises a leg trip out of nowhere and resumes work on the left arm of Shibata.
An attempt avoid an abdominal stretch by Shibata led to the pair spinning around the ring, but that only delayed the inevitable as Sabre locked in the hold, and adding in some wrist work as well for extra pain. Sabre wrenched back the arm of Shibata, before quickly floating into a sunset flip for a near-fall, as Sabre fired away with uppercuts.
Shibata replied with more forearms, before sending Sabre into the corner and following in with a Yakuza kick. An attempt at a running dropkick was quickly cut-off by an onrushing Sabre, who took to the mat with some more forearms, and then a diving drop kick a la Shibata. Sabre scores with the penalty kick, but Shibata pops up at one!
Another series of kicks stagger Shibata, but he invites them again, only to fall into an armbar, which Sabre modifies into an armbar whilst the other arm was trapped, forcing Shibata to twist his way into the ropes for a break. More uppercuts from Sabre lead to Shibata demanding more shots, and they trade stiff slaps and forearms once more, as Shibata sets up for his own diving dropkick to a cornered Sabre.
Sabre kicked out at two from that, but worked free from a rear chinlock, and was forced to bite into the rope for a break after Shibata pinned back both of his arms. That’s something I’ve not seen before! Sabre took a kick the chest, before rolling out of the way of a Shibata penalty kick, and catching him in a bridge for a near-fall.
Shibata quickly went for a sleeperhold, but that was avoided by Sabre, who reversed Shibata into another bridge for the three-count out of nowhere. A fantastic technical masterpiece from these two, which felt a tad short at just under 20 minutes in length. Not to say what they did was rotten – far from it – just a big part of me left York Hall on Sunday wishing they’d gone longer… and I felt the same again after watching this on demand too! ****½
The post-match saw Shibata and Sabre face-off once more, teasing one more match… Rev Pro have already said that they have a second date for Shibata, and it looks like we’re going to get them facing off again. Where? When? How? I hope really, really soon!
From top to bottom, this was a fantastic show – both live, and on tape. The commentary wasn’t offensive as other shows have been (ahem), and you were left feeling that you’d gotten more than your money’s worth. Really, isn’t that what all wrestling groups should aim for? To put on a hell of a show, and leave you feeling satisfied, yet wanting more?
For me, this has to be a contender for show of the year, with the only drawback being the lack of long-term matches that this leads to, due to the nature of how this group is booked.