Going back to Rev Pro’s 2018 TV show, as we see Zack Sabre Jr. main event against Rocky Romero.
A quick note before we jump into this – the matches for this show were taped in September 2018. There are names on these shows which came up during Speaking Out – mentions of those names will be kept to a minimum.
We’re back inside York Hall with Kevin Kelly and Andy Simmonz on commentary… they run down the card, including the main event of Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Rocky Romero… before Kevin Kelly runs down the rules as they’ve done on every episode thus far.
KUSHIDA vs. Josh Bodom
Commentary were looking to frame this as a contender’s match for down the line…
KUSHIDA’s offer of a handshake goes nowhere as he’s suckerpunched and chopped around the ring. An Irish whip bounces KUSHIDA into the corner, while a standing moonsault draws a two-count, ahead of shots in the corner as KUSHIDA ended up taking a punt to the back.
Fighting back, KUSHIDA lands some palm strikes, before he added a hiptoss and a cartwheel dropkick to the mix. A rolling DDT’s pushed away though, with KUSHIDA instead blocking a sunset flip and countering with a cross armbar… but things end in the ropes.
A kick knocks KUSHIDA into the ropes, while a bicycle kick took him outside ahead of a flip senton that just about found its mark. Back in the ring, KUSHIDA’s dragged between the ropes… but he pushes away a finisher, only to have the ropes kicked into his groin. Right hands from KUSHIDA just earn him an eye rake, before he wound up for a baseball punch…
A pop-up knee lands in return as a bridging German suplex almost put KUSHIDA away. KUSHIDA’s able to counter a powerbomb into a DDT though, before a strike exchange led to KUSHIDA hitting an overhead kick. A kick to the arm, then some headscissors lead us to the Hoverboard Lock… forcing the eventual submission. ***
After break, they hype up Kip Sabian’s upcoming Cruiserweight title shot which is coming up next week…
Sha Samuels vs. Dan Magee
Sha chucks aside “our timekeeper” on his way to the ring – poor Ken Halfpenny… and I’d forgotten about Dan Magee’s M jacket.
After taking his time, Sha powders outside… that baits Magee to the outside, with Sha taking advantage as he cheapshotted Magee back in the ring. A splash takes Magee into the corner before Sha tried to use his scarf… but the ref removes it, so Sha ends up having to use the ropes instead.
A shoulder tackle off the middle rope gets Sha a two-count, before he chucked Magee to the outside for a slam on the floor. Magee barely beats the count-out, returning to the ring as he eventually scored with a crossbody out of the corner as the pace remained slow. Magee picks up with some clotheslines before a low dropkick took Sha to his knees, as a sliding Flatliner and a running legdrop almost got the unlikely win.
Magee adds a Slingblade, but that sends Sha to the outside… where he’s found the chair from earlier. THWACK! Magee’s tope’s swatted away with it, and that rang around York Hall as much as the bell did for the DQ – and this feud MUST continue! **½
Medics come out to check on Magee as they replay the chairshot either side of a break…
We get a series of recaps ahead of the main event – starting with Zack Sabre Jr. interfering in a Rocky Romero/Chris Ridgeway match a few weeks earlier. We’ve got over 20 minutes left in the show when the entrances start… so this may be going relatively long.
Rocky Romero vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Sabre was one half of the Rev Pro tag champions – but those were sort-of on ice as they were in the midst of a top contender’s tournament.
We’re quickly going to ground here as Rocky tried to take Zack’s back, eventually finding the mount before opting against throwing any strikes. A front facelock from Sabre ends in the ropes, before some swung kicks from Rocky forced Sabre to back off into the ropes for respite.
Zack tries his luck with kicks, stinging Rocky ahead of an armbar in the middle of the ring. Sabre switches holds, giving Rocky an opening to lock in some headscissors as the back-and-forth ended with Sabre walking free. Rocky took offence and threw some right hands to take Zack into the corner, only for Sabre to come back and kick Rocky’s leg out of his leg, sparking another trip to the Rolodex of holds.
Rocky breaks fee with a wheelbarrow, before armdrags and a rear spin kick sunk Sabre… Zack pushes away a Shiranui, but ran into a knee strike as Rocky managed to take Sabre across the ropes for a running knee to the ribs. Chops from Rocky just fire up Sabre, who pulls Rocky down by the foot before he stomped on the ankle.
Some back-and-forth ends with Sabre twisting Rocky’s neck between his legs, and it’s back to the rotating holds as Sabre’s chinbar stretched Rocky ahead of another neck twist. Sabre’s picking his spots here as Rocky fought back to his feet, but a cravat takes him right back down before Rocky floated out and hit a dropkick.
Sabre goes back to the holds, but Rocky’s quickly in the ropes to force the break… a straitjacket choke goes back-and-forth until Rocky hit a swinging DDT off the ropes. Both men get back to their feet as Rocky manages to slip in some of those Forever clotheslines, before he draped Sabre over the top rope for a springboard dropkick to the back. It’s good for a two-count, as he proceeded to draw Sabre into a striking contest.
Zack returns the strikes though, only to get pulled into a Diablo armbar… Sabre’s counter gets countered with a roll-up for a two-count, before Rocky lit up Sabre with a chop. A leaping knee looks to lead to a tornado DDT as they teased having to air the finish on next week’s show should we run out of time. More shows should do that… or at least threaten it.
Sabre counters that tornado DDT as a leg sweep and PK has Rocky laying, while a full nelson proved problematic. Rocky escapes, then tried another leaping knee… only for Sabre to catch it and pull Rocky down into a STF, which ends in the ropes. More kicks from Sabre keep Rocky on his haunches, but Rocky catches one and ends up spitting Sabre’s face… it’s a bad move as Zack tries to hit a Zack Drive, only to get caught with a rewind enziguiri, then a running Shiranui for a near-fall.
A second Shiranui’s pushed away in the end, with Rocky getting wrapped up in a Cobra Twist… then a grounded manjigatame… and that’s enough for the sudden stop. A good main event, but one that lacked intensity at times – like an exhibition outing. ***½
Post-match, Chris Ridgeway hits the ring and lays out Sabre with a head kick… then stood over Zack’s body to close out the show.