Rev Pro’s final show of the year sees a rematch from the Copperbox as Michael Oku looks to regain the British Heavyweight title from Luke Jacobs.
Quick Results
Kanji pinned Serena Deeb in 15:54 (***½)
Joe Lando, Danny Black & Maverick Mayhew pinned Mark Trew, Kieron Lacey & Ethan Allen in 7:07 (***)
Mina Shirakawa pinned Dani Luna to retain the Rev Pro Undisputed Women’s Championship in 13:39 (***¼)
Zozaya defeated Leon Slater 3-2 in an Iron Man Match in 63:02 (****½)
Connor Mills & Jay Joshua pinned TK Cooper & Chuck Mambo to win the Rev Pro Undisputed British Tag Team Championships in 15:48 (***½)
Mascara Dorada pinned Robbie X in 12:23 (***)
Michael Oku submitted Luke Jacobs to win the Rev Pro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship in 15:54 (***½)
— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com
We’re at Bethnal Green’s York Hall on the shortest day of the year for this one – Rev Pro’s last show before a long winter break. Commentary comes from Dave Bradshaw and Gideon Grey, after they shut off the looping video plugging next year’s season tickets and dates.
Kanji vs. Serena Deeb
Kanji’s not been on a good run as of late – but this test against Serena Deeb should be one of those “iron sharpens iron” moments.
Deeb looked to work over Kanji’s arm in the early going as a quick exchange ended in a stalemate. Deeb nicely countered a hiptoss, then maneuvered Kanji into a seated surfboard a la Liger, then pulled her up into a Gedo clutch for a flash two-count. That seemed to be a wake-up call for Kanji, only for her to get pulled through the ropes as Deeb dropped her with a neckbreaker between the strands.
A Paradise Lock follows from Deeb, which drew a few boos ahead of a manjigatame that ended in the ropes. Standing switches dizzy the camera crew ahead of an O’Connor roll from Kanji, who was looking for flash pins ahead of a springboard forearm that caught Deeb off guard.
Kanji pushes on from there, using headscissors to pull Deeb into the corner for a Tiger feint kick as she headed into a short-range spear for a near-fall. Out of nowhere, Kanji gets pulled into a half crab, escaping, only to get taken down with a rebound German suplex… and then a trapped clothesline as Deeb’s take on the Jewel Heist nearly won it.
Kanji’s forced to escape a piledriver attempt, countering with some neck twists to Deeb, before a Cattle Mutilation wore down Deeb’s neck some more. Forearms to the back of the neck follow, but Deeb takes out the knee as she looked to remove Kanji’s vertical base, leading to another half crab. Again, Kanji escapes and slid her way into a calf slicer on Deeb, rolling with her foe as an attempted escape ended up getting countered into a Banana Split.
Deeb bites her way out of the hold and manages to manipulate Kanji into a triangle choke, but the ropes force a break before the pair broke in with back-and-forth uppercuts. Kanji’s eventually caught with a backslide, before the Serenity Lock was escaped. Kanji can’t create enough distrance though as she’s yanked out of the corner with a Dragon screw, then powerbombed into a Stretch Muffler… only for Kanji to roll Deeb into a cradle for the flash pin! This was a really good opener – with Kanji taking a bit of a beating, before proving she was able to dig deep to catch out Deeb with a flash roll-up. ***½
We’ve a video package announcing the return of Stephen Wolf – he had a few matches in Rev Pro earlier this year, and is coming back in 2025 for an extended run, with an eye on the Cruiserweight title.
Ethan Allen, Mark Trew & Kieron Lacey vs. CPF (Joe Lando, Danny Black & Maverick Mayhew)
Allen was a late replacement for the unwell Will Kaven, in a match that saw CPF put their “three wishes” on the line from having won last month’s Trios Grand Prix. Allen going for a chance to get a match he wanted works out much better than if this were for bog standard trios titles. Hey, whatever happened to those triangle belts last seen in a field somewhere in Essex…
A jump start clears the ring as the match finally gets going with Lacey and Mayhew… a blind tag brought in Mark Trew for a wishbone leg splitter on Mayhew, while Allen’s PK followed up for a quick two-count. Mayhew’s kept isolated as Allen wrenched away on Mayhew, who just couldn’t get out of the corner… at least until a missed double-team from Trew and Lacey allowed Mayhew to get free as CPF finally got their foot in the match.
Allen charges in… but gets overwhelmed with a wheelbarrow into a cutter as CPF seemed to be immune to the “one in, one out” rule ahead of a shooting star press from Lando for a two-count. Trew and Lacey return to save Allen from the FIJ triple-team… allowing Ethan to take down Black with an Allen slam ahead of a superplex to Mayhew.
A quick turnaround sees a Ralph Wiggum-aided headbutt to Lando as the Parade of Stuff continued… ending with a holy crap Awful Waffle from Mayhew to Trew. Allen barely breaks it up in time before the Aim Assist from Trew and Lacey led to a Doomsday Ralph Wiggum on Lando for another near-fall. Look lads, come up with a name for it and I’ll stop with the Ralph!
Ethan’s low bridged to the outside as CPF again pushed on, cutting off Trew with a pair of knees before the FIJ led to the win. They kept this brief and action-packed, but the lack of trios in Rev Pro – established or otherwise – makes you think the trophy defence thing will be a regularity. ***
Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship: Dani Luna vs. Mina Shirakawa (c)
It’s a rematch from the Copperbox as Dani Luna looks to regain her title… and we’ve got a shot of Zoe Lucas just before the entrances. Should Mina retain here, she’ll be defending the title against Mercedes Moné at WrestleDynasty next month – which would be quite the thing.
When we finally get going, Luna looked to be the aggressor in the opening stages, before Mina’s early showboating looked to unsettle the challenger. A crossbody’s caught and turned into a fallaway slam by Luna, before a snap overhead suplex and a sliding clothesline almost shut the door on things.
Luna stays on Shirakawa with a diving kick, then with an armbar before Mina broke free and returned with a satellite into a side Russian legsweep. Mina tries to go for a Figure Four, but Luna kicked it away before she countered some headscissors into a ragdolling backbreaker. From there, a snapping powerbomb almost puts Mina away, prompting Mina to go back to the knee as she wrapped Dani’s leg around the rope, then the ring post.
A ringpost Figure Four only exacerbates things, before the pair returned inside as Luna’s charging clothesline… just earned her a back suplex. Mina adds a Figure Four from there, but Luna rolls it over before Mina reversed the reversal. A strong backfist rocks Luna next ahead of a diving Slingblade off the middle rope… while a draping DDT almost got the win.
Luna tries a Luna Landing, but ends up losing Mina as she slipped onto the apron… only for Shirakawa to get caught with a deadlift German suplex back into the ring. The Luna Landing follows, but it’s not enough as Mina kicked out, then worked her way into a Skayde special to snatch the win. That was something of a popular win, but based on the direction of travel, I wouldn’t be floored if this was the last time we saw Mina with those belts in England. ***¼
Speaking of, we’re interrupted by a cameo from Mercedes Moné – who apparently wasn’t asked to shoot her video horizontally. She hypes up the now-double-title match with Shirakawa at WrestleDynasty, which’ll have the NJPW Strong Women’s title and the Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s title up for grabs… but we can’t ponder too much longer as the Cut Throat Collective (save for Lizzy Evo, who was selling the effects of Millie McKenzie last week) swarm the ring and attack Luna and Shirakawa, leaving them laying. After all that, Safire Reed then made a beeline for Zoe Lucas, who got pulled over the guard rails and assaulted, leading to a quadruple-team powerbomb onto the back of Dani Luna… and I think we’ve a one in four shot of guessing who Zoe’s comeback match is against.
Iron Man Match: Leon Slater vs. Zozaya
On paper, this match was a huge risk. One of, if not the first iron man match in modern English history, between two guys who are very much on the ascent of their careers… but also weeks off of a 30-minute draw that very much hit differently depending on whether you were there live or just watching on tape.
Gideon Grey tags out here, passing the baton to Leyton Buzzard for this as we got a video package covering the Zozaya/Slater rivalry to date. They shoot out of the gates, but both men know the other’s finishes and quickly reach a stand-off inside the opening thirty seconds. Slowing the pace down saw Slater work over Zozaya’s left arm, but a dropkick freed the Spaniard as we continued to wait for the first real breakthrough. The extended feeling-out process finally snaps as Zozaya bailed to the outside, only to get caught with a plancha on the floor.
Slater’s aggression ends up getting stifled as a dropkick took him back outside… but Zozaya pauses a plancha before switching up to catch out Slater as he tried to get out of harm’s way. A turnaround sees Slater try to hurl Zozaya into the guard rails… but Zozaya vaults them as Leon didn’t stop to figure why he didn’t hear the clanging of body on steel… and ended up getting caught with a leaping Zozaya coming back into the ringside area.
Back inside, Slater began to focus on Zozaya’s injured shoulder with Leon slowly taking control… until a standing frog splash got nothing but knees. A lofty release German suplex from Zozaya countered a handspring from Slater as Zozaya began his run on offence, leading to a tornado DDT out of the corner for a two-count as the match was approaching a third of the way in to its time limit.
A wild Gator roll from Zozaya takes Slater away from the ropes… but a turnaround allows Leon back in with a dropkick in the corner before he upped the aggression with shots to Zozaya’s back. Upping the ante, Zozaya’s lifted onto the apron… but he vaults a charge from Slater and returned with a flip dive of his own, leaving Leon laying on the floor. Back inside, Slater slingshots Zozaya back into the ring for a cutter, before an exchange of kicks led to a leg lariat as Slater almost picked up the first fall.
Zozaya avoids a swanton 450, but eats a leg lariat… before the pair jockeyed over suplexes, leading to the pair tumbling over the top rope to the floor, with Leon holding firm for a snap twister suplex onto the apron instead. Christ, that was a rapid-fire sequence that almost took us to the halfway mark – without half as much fluff as their prior 30-minute outing, it seemed.
After some brawling on the floor, Slater’s sudden back cracker almost breaks the deadlock as Leon resumed the focus on Zozaya’s right arm and shoulder as the crowd finally woke up with duelling chants. Some showboating from Slater earned him a kick to the face from Zozaya, before a flash roll-up put the Spaniard 1-0 up at 33:04 into the match.
The clock keeps ticking during the rest period, but Leon’s eagerness to equalise almost puts him even further behind as Zozaya nailed a spinning roundhouse, before the de Madrid al Cielo off the top rope was escaped. A top rope ‘rana from Slater’s rolled out of as see-saw pins ensue, and it’s Zozaya who capitalises snatching a 2-0 lead at 34:59.
Slater puts the boots to Zozaya after that before he headed to the corner for his thirty seconds… and when things resume, Leon Slater resumes the aggression as he removed Zozaya’s shoulder brace, just in case you didn’t get his game plan before. A missed dropkick in the corner puts Leon in trouble as things headed back outside with Zozaya looking for an overhead lift on the apron… only for Slater to counter with a sunset bomb that launched the Spaniard into the crowd. That came so, so close to going south as Zozaya clipped the railings on the way down…
The crowd, not caring, started a count-out on behalf of the referee, passing a visual ten count before Oscar Harding started his own… but Zozaya’s able to make it back to the ring in the nick of time, much to the crowd’s annoyance, as Leon quickly added a splash, and a leg lariat before the Rings of Saturn helped pull a fall back at the 42:00 mark.
Zozaya can’t get back to his feet before the end of the rest period, eventually pulling himself up in the corner as Slater charged back in with a front kick. The duelling chants return as Zozaya tried to stop the tide, only to get sent onto the apron by way of a superkick. Shaking it off, a springboard dropkick from Zozaya stops Leon as he looked to build up to de Madrid al Cielo, only for a Twisting superplex from Leon to provide a more than effective rebuttal.
Zozaya rolls to the floor to avoid a pin… but Leon changes tactics as he headed for Zozaya with an over-the-post flip dive. Instantly, Leon grabs his knee – but found enough in him to punch away Zozaya as the referee called the medics down. We’ve been down this path before, but in wrestling aren’t we conditioned to take these injury stoppages as not legitimate unless the match is stopped?
Of course it’s a ruse as Leon Slater spat at Zozaya after getting to his feet… before Zozaya almost crashed and burned with a furious springboard body press to the floor. Taking things back inside, Zozaya’s booed as he rolled Slater into a Sharpshooter, with the hold falling apart almost as much as his trunks were as things switched up into another hold before Leon got to the ropes.
We’re into the final eight minutes as Zozaya measures up Slater on the apron, but his charge misses as Leon’s slicing leg drop connects, before a one-man Spanish fly off the top almost put Zozaya 3-1 up. Slater slumps to the mat to avoid a superkick, but Zozaya refuses to show mercy, and that nearly backfires as a cradle almost equalises the match… before Slater’s one-legged Blue Thunder Bomb took us into the final five minutes.
A powerbomb out of nowhere from Slater, then a Drilla Killer almost equalises, but Zozaya gets a foot onto the rope to save himself. With time ticking away, Slater goes back to Zozaya’s arm, before he shrugged off a slingshot Destroyer to land a leg lariat… but 57 minutes deep, neither man’s able to really follow up as Leon instead heads up top with his one good wheel. Zozaya’s rising headbutt stops that as he instead looked for de Madrid al Cielo…
Again, Slater resists as he tried to chop Zozaya out of the corner, but we’re into the final sixty seconds as Leon switched up with an avalanche uranage off the top rope! Leon can’t make the cover instantly, but manages to drag his way over to Zozaya for the equalising pin at 59:54… and time runs out on us! As you’d expect, there’s a mixed reaction to the draw, prompting Leon to grab the mic and demand that Andy Quildan restart this under sudden death rules.
In a line that’ll surely be repeated in impressions of a vengeful Andy Quildan, “You people want sudden death?!” – we get the restart with Zozaya and Slater charging out into a hockey fight, before duelling kicks put them on the mat. For some reason, we’ve a duelling ten-count despite us having literally been told there must be a winner, and fortunately we’re not getting a double restart as both men beat the count… only for Leon to hit another wild leg lariat.
From there, a trip up top leads to the swanton 450, but the roll-up from Leon was too tight, and Zozaya’s foot ends up touching the ropes. Hoisted by his own petard! Firing back, Zozaya catches Leon up top finally with de Madrid al Cielo… and after crawling over to drape an arm across Slater, we have our sudden death winner as Zozaya took home the win!
Alright then, this was streets ahead of the thirty-minute draw on tape, even when you consider the foundation work that was the opening half of the match here. Iron Man matches at the best of times are a test, and while this match had a lot going against it, Zozaya and Slater passed this test with flying colours. A match that’ll definitely be rewatched and studied in the years to come – and while this may be the end of the rivalry between these two, something tells me they’ll be opposite each other plenty of times in the years to come. ****½
Rev Pro Undisputed British Tag Team Championship: Connor Mills & Jay Joshua vs. Sunshine Machine (TK Cooper & Chuck Mambo) (c)
This match was made following Mills and Joshua’s attack at Sheffield – but the challengers have been on a rich vein of form here while Sunshine Machine have been globetrotting.
The champions look to clear the way early, taking Mills and Joshua before Mambo leapt off of TK’s shoulders onto the pair. TK takes a more conventional way for this dive to the floor, before a tope from Mambo was caught as he then got turned into a lawn dart, headed straight for TK Cooper in the crowd.
Keeping TK in the crowd, Jay Joshua rearranges the furniture as Mills leaps off the top rope and into a stomp on Cooper as the challengers looked to be making short work of things. Fortunately, Mambo’s able to stifle the challengers for a spell, but his usual playbook’s been scouted as the lucha armdrag gets countered into a spin-out back suplex from Joshua ahead of a toe hold from Mills.
A missed PK from Joshua led to a derisory roll-up attempt… Mambo has more luck at the second time of asking before he caught Mambo’s leap frog with a Buzz Sawyer-ish powerslam. Mambo tries to fight back, but he’s caught with an uppercut on the top rope by Mills, only to win a strike exchange ahead of a top rope ‘rana… just in time for TK Cooper to make it back to the apron.
Joshua charges TK off the apron to prevent the tag though, before Mills’ seesaw lariat was cut off with a slicing legdrop from TK, who finally gets a tag in as he tried to make some inroads. Even a worn-down TK was able to take down Joshua with a drop as the champions finally mounted some offence with a German Suplex Turbo Charged By The Power of Friendship to Mills… then a Designated Driver to Joshua for a near-fall.
Another turnaround sees the challengers lay out with the rebound lariat, before a kick-assisted Ki Krusher almost led to the title change as all four men stayed in the ring. The “he’s Samoan” reminder from TK’s interrupted by a diving headbutt from Jay Joshua as the match descended into a tornado, ending with TK getting a receipt on Joshua with a headbutt of his own.
Mambo pulls out something wacky as he stepped off of Joshua’s back for a springboard back senton onto the Welshman… before an Air Raid Crash onto the side of the apron wiped out the big man. TK’s left in there with Connor Mills, who went nuts with ankle and toe holds to the champions as the crowd seemed to be fading a little. A leg lariat from TK’s a nice fake-out into a spiking tombstone piledriver on Mills though, before a frog splash and shooting star press should have gotten the win… but Jay Joshua pulls out the referee to save the match.
In the confusion, referee Chris Hatch misses low blows to Mambo and TK, before a double Burning Cutter to TK almost led to the title change. A double-team spike piledriver forces Mambo to make the save, but he’s dispatched as the challengers combine a Burning Cutter into a spinebuster for the win. This was about the only result that made sense, given how resurgent Mills and Joshua have been as a team – compared to just how flat Sunshine Machine’s reign had become after they’d nixed the “lose and we’re done” rocket that they’d put under themselves. ***½
We get a trailer for the “How To Start a Revolution” documentary that’ll be dropping on Rev Pro’s YouTube channel on Boxing Day. I will say, between that and the plugging of season tickets and upcoming dates, Rev Pro made a real good fist of plugging upcoming stuff on this show.
Robbie X vs. Mascara Dorada
This was a rematch from last year’s British J Cup – which saw Mascara Dorada beat Robbie X in under ten minutes.
A tentative start gave way to a flash crucifix pin as Robbie X picked up a two-count, before a blocked ‘rana allowed Dorada to snatch a two-count of his own from a roll-up ahead of a backflip stand-off. Lucha leapfrogs and roll throughs led to a lovely double rebound armdrag to take Robbie to the outside, before a Sasuke special wiped out the Bullet Club newbie on the floor.
Back inside, Dorada’s kick to the back sees him stay all over Robbie, as did a back rake, before an overhand chop from Robie X led to a fancy double jump ‘rana… then a handspring kick before he met Dorada on the floor with a deft moonsault. A senton atomico back inside gets Robbie a two-count, before he started to indulge in foul means as he bit away on Dorada’s hand.
Dorada’s able to recover with a superkick to spin Robbie inside out, following up with a wacky powerslam for a near-fall, before things headed outside as Dorada nailed a shooting star press off the apron to the floor. Ow. It’s enough for a two-count back inside, but Robbie X recovers to hit a handspring overhead kick to take Dorada off the top as a Finlay roll, standing shooting star press and Quebrada combo picked up a near-fall.
A Splash Mountain into a facebuster almost gets the win for Dorada going the other way, before some back-and-forth between the two led to duelling high kicks… they’re back up, only to land duelling clotheslines for a pair of two-counts. A kick to the thigh sets up Robbie for a Revolution kick, then a satellite DDT for a near-fall, before the X-Claimation laid out Dorada for a near-fall.
Trying to get the crowd going, Robbie X heads up top… but he aborts his dive as Dorada’s crucifix bomb finds its mark ahead of a shooting star press for the win. This was alright, but the match felt just “there” – and for the live crowd wasn’t even a backdrop for a bar run since the York Hall bar shut during this match. ***
We get a trailer for the return of 1 Called Manders, who’s going to be working a LOT of dates for Rev Pro in February and March as part of his wider tour of Europe.
Rev Pro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship: Michael Oku vs. Luke Jacobs (c)
The rematch from the Copperbox saw Luke Jacobs don the cowboy gear one more time – this time walking the aisle as champion as he looked to underline a title reign that so far has been feeling a little lacking.
We didn’t start off slowly either, with Oku charging into Jacobs with a corner dropkick… only for Luke to retaliate with a lariat as things quickly broke down into a hockey fight. A Cactus clothesline takes both men outside, but Oku’s back in for a crack at the Fosbury flop… only to get spun onto the apron as Jacobs was in no mood for any messing around here. It’s almost like they’ve binned off the typical first half of the main event format?
Oku avoids a lawndart attempt as he superkicks Jacobs into the crowd, then headed up top for a froggy crossbody that just about found its mark. In return Jacobs charges Oku with a spear into a guard rail that almost came with a double-whammy of Oku crashing into the bottom of the ring post as Luke came up red from all that.
Returning to the ring, Jacobs targets Oku with a kick to the head, before a misdirection knee caught the champion off guard. Another corner dropkick’s avoided as Jacobs sent Oku onto the top turnbuckle… but an attempted Burning Hammer is fought off as Jacobs instead gets planted with an avalanche reverse ‘rana.
A Fosbury Flop greets Jacobs on the outside, but Oku’s bid to chase Jacobs down the aisle just ends with him taking a piledriver onto the walkway. Oku narrowly beats the count-out, but can’t avoid Luke’s lariat that almost ends things… a ‘rana’s rolled through as Oku finds a half crab, which Jacobs pushes out of, only to get met with a swinging DDT and a springboard moonsault as Oku was emptying the chamber early here.
A diving knee to the head of Jacobs sets up for a frog splash, but Luke kicks out at one… and waffles Oku with a lariat for a one-count of his own. Another lariat keeps Oku down ahead of a death valley driver, but the challenger kicks out and returns with a lariat of his own, only to run into a series of headbutts to the neck from Jacobs.
The back-and-forth bombs continue, with Jacobs inching ahead until Oku… caught him with a screwdriver?! What on earth?! That finisher steal isn’t enough though as Jacobs slapped Oku on the top rope for the disrespect, before a powerslam off the top rope left Oku down for a near-fall. Another lariat keeps the near-falls coming, before Jacobs returned the favour from earlier and rolled Oku into a half crab.
Oku manages to escape and hit a half crab of his own, grabbing the ankle to lean back… but Luke uses the momentum to roll out of it, only for superkicks to keep the champion down as a parade of frog splashes drew a near-fall. Oku stays on Luke, going back to the half crab, turning it almost into a Liontamer as he proceeded to kick Jacobs in the head before one last stretch on the hold forced the submission. That was a complete surprise as Michael Oku regains the title he lost four months earlier in what felt like the second half of what would have been their expectedly-great match. Not a disappointing main event, but certainly a match that feels like there’s a lot of “this happened because…” moments around it. Perhaps something that’ll be discussed in interviews in the years to come… ***½
Post-match, Oku’s celebrations were cut short by a returning Ricky Knight Jr., who charged out through the crowd to attack the new champion… RKJ shoves aside contenders and referees, before Amira came in and repeatedly slapped Knight. She’s shoved down for that as Oku’s then planted onto the belt with the Fire Thunder Driver as RKJ spits on the belt, throws it onto Oku, then exited through the crowd as the show came to a close.
So, Rev Pro’s got six weeks off before they return in February 2025. RKJ is the obvious next big challenger, and even though this isn’t a match that’s been overdone, it also doesn’t feel like one that crowds want to see. Yet. There’s also the nailed-on David Francisco title match in Southampton, given he’s got a win over Oku, and but otherwise there’s a real lack of names that are in a position to be seen as a viable challenger as we go into the new year. Uprising wasn’t a bad show, not by any stretch of the imagination, but the new year will need to bring some fresh faces in fresh places to help shake things up a little.