\nDunne busted out a new mask for this show, and in truth this ought to be a simple result for him given the career trajectories the pair are currently on.<\/p>\n
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They keep it measured early on, with Dunne going for holds in the opening stages, but it just gives Doug Williams chances to escape as he tried to target Dunne\u2019s arms and legs, splashing Dunne\u2019s left arm, before a diving elbow out of the corner barely gets Doug a one-count.<\/p>\n
That seemed to wake up Dunne, as he rolled up Williams\u2026 but they\u2019re too close to the ropes. Williams kicks the rope into Dunne\u2019s groin as he mounted a comeback, before nailing an overhead belly-to-belly as he countered Dunne\u2019s leap off the top. Dunne counters with a forearm when Doug tried to go airborne, before missing a stomp off the top as the back-and-forth nature of the contest continued\u2026 right until Dunne started to have a snack.<\/p>\n
An Exploder from Doug gets him back in it, as he manages to nail the Bomb Scare knee drop for a solid two-count. The Chaos Theory is next, as Doug nailed it\u2026 but Dunne\u2019s too close to the rope and he\u2019s able to splay a leg onto the bottom strand to save the match. Williams tries it again as Dunne went for an X-Plex, but it\u2019s turned into a roll-up, and Peter picks up the win! A fantastic opener, playing more to Williams\u2019 strengths than Dunne\u2019s, but that just shows his versatility. ***\u00bd<\/p>\n
Super Strong Style 16 – First Round: Chuck Mambo vs. Zack Sabre Jr.<\/strong> On paper, this was another match that threatened to be massively one-sided, especially with Sabre going straight for Mambo\u2019s arm as Chuck\u2019s only chance was to avoid the submissions. Chuck manages a little bit, rebounding off the ropes to give him a chance, before kicking Sabre down to the floor as Chuck followed up with a nice Parkour-like leap onto the apron for a stomp to Sabre\u2019s back, as the Mambo Number Dive wiped out Zack on the floor.<\/p>\n It was a nice flurry of offence, but Sabre started to get riled up when Mambo went for a surfboard, as he counters it with a wristlock\u2026 nice! Then angry Sabre gets unleashed as he kicks away on Mambo, before pulling at Mambo with a modified STF, seemingly busting Chuck\u2019s nose in the process. An eye rake stops Mambo\u2019s intentions of a bulldog as we\u2019re getting glimpses of sadistic Sabre here, as he climbs around Chuck into his usual litany of submissions until Mambo got to the ropes, dazed and probably sore. Out of desperation, Mambo gets a tiltawhirl backbreaker in, then a Blockbuster and the Reef Break springboard knees\u2026 and even the Chuck You neckbreaker slam\u2026 but it\u2019s not enough.<\/p>\n That flurry was enough for Sabre though, as a trapped-arm Dragon screw and a PK rocked Mambo\u2026 but he wanted more! Another PK gets a near-fall on Mambo, who replied with a half-nelson suplex and a Gory bomb, as the unlikely win came closer\u2026 until his frog splash landed on Sabre\u2019s knees, and it was pretty elementary from there, despite the kick-out, and Mambo\u2019s renewed fire as he exchanged palm strikes\u2026 but the bridging roll-up was the last straw as Zack kicks out and brutally bent Mambo back on himself in a Dragon sleeper for the win. An expected result, but Mambo\u2019s performance here has him a made man in PROGRESS if they captialise on it. ***\u00bd<\/p>\n Super Strong Style 16 – First Round: TK Cooper vs. David Starr<\/strong> TK jumped Starr during the List o\u2019 Nicknames, landing a diving enziguiri before Jim could get anywhere close to the \u201creally good at Twitter\u201d part. Starr quickly responds with body blows, before taking TK down with a dropkick to the floor, as commentary mentioned that David Starr\u2019s tournament records, CZW\u2019s Best of the Best aside, has always seen him come up short.<\/p>\n Starr refuses to play the Circle Game and punches out TK instead, before he got sent into the ropes for a rebound neckbreaker as he enjoyed a spell of offence on Starr, dropping elbows and forearms as the Product tried to fire back. A back elbow and a clothesline helps Starr into a comeback, landing the Pretty Pumped for a near-fall, before a German suplex out of the corner somehow sparked TK into a response of his own, nailing an axe kick for a near-fall.<\/p>\n Cooper almost charged into a Cherry Mint DDT, but instead gets clotheslined to the outside as a Product Recall gets Starr a near-fall. TK comes back with a palm strike as he looked or a Spanish Fly\u2026 but Starr shoves it off and gets a crossbody for a near-fall. Another axe kick misses as Starr responds with the Han Stansen lariat, before taking TK into the corner for a Violence Party. TK tries to pull the hair as he followed in with a forearm off the apron, ahead of a 450 splash, which hit the mark for another near-fall.<\/p>\n Starr has to escape the Rihanna twice, and ends up countering it into a Blackheart Buster, dumping TK head-first across his knee for the win. Good God, that looked like a nasty landing. A solid match, but the crowd didn\u2019t seem too invested in this, with neither man realistically being considered as even a semi-finalist. ***\u00bc<\/p>\n Super Strong Style 16 – First Round: Mark Andrews vs. Angelico<\/strong> Even though there\u2019s been little physicality, the crowd figured that things wouldn\u2019t really progress (sorry) until Eddie arrived, so we had a rather muted reaction as they worked an initially ground-based match. Eddie appeared early, doing the Batista wave, as he apparently was super late to his front row seat, pint in hand and happy to take selfies with anyone who wanted them. That distraction allowed Angelico to take over, sending Andrews chest-first into the turnbuckles, before a back suplex earned a near-fall. The match slowly descended into chops, with Andrews being left reeling\u2026 but he\u2019s back with a satellite headscissors as Eddie\u2019s presence continued to cause issues as the crowd slowly started to turn on Andrews as he again turned his attention to Eddie.<\/p>\n More strikes from Angelico ended with a Capoeira-like kick from the ground for a near-fall, before Andrews escaped the Fall of the Angels powerbomb to spark some pinning attempts. A double stomp from Angelico out of a sunset flip attempt left the Welshman rocked, but he\u2019s still able to escape another Fall of the Angels, only to get knocked onto the apron as he went for a springboard.<\/p>\n Angelico\u2019s able to block a top rope \u2018rana, but Andrews hits it anyway after they landed on the mat, getting a near-fall with the West Coast Pop-like \u2018rana, but yet again, Easily Distracted Mark is back in play, as he turns around into a knee before landing Stundog Millionaire. Eddie gets up to take a shot, causing Mark to get easily distracted yet again, as he misses a shooting star press before Fall of the Angels put him away for the win. This was fine, but there were issues\u2026 I like the Eddie Dennis storyline, but it\u2019s gotten to the point where it\u2019s overshadowing Andrews\u2019 matches – not helped by Eddie not being able to compete. ***<\/p>\n Why would you go to a show and complain about spoilers. About things you\u2019ve just seen?!<\/p>\n They play a trailer for the new season of Freedom\u2019s Road, featuring David Francisco in his gear, Damon Moser and Spike Trivet seemingly trying to fight off the Rat People. \u201cIt\u2019s not about wrestling anymore,\u201d posited Spike\u2026 we\u2019ll see whether this is all new stuff in the vein of the German Wrestling Federation\u2019s Three Count series, or a soap opera with the matches they taped a year ago.<\/p>\n Super Strong Style 16 – First Round: Jordan Devlin vs. Tyler Bate<\/strong> …was a Sledgehammer.<\/p>\n Tyler started by doing the sumo wrestling stomps as we had a rather tense staredown as there was louder-than-expected duelling chants. They broke into some rather fast-paced stuff as Bate and Devlin burst into those indy\u2019riffic pinning attempts, before a Tyler Driver was escaped as Devlin scurried into the corner.<\/p>\n A back elbow from Devlin cuts off Tyler\u2019s offence though as the \u201cMassive Head\u201d chants reared themselves. But Devlin shrugged them off as he wore down on Bate\u2019s arm, but Tyler\u2019s back with a knee to the back of the head, then a standing shooting star press for a near-fall. We\u2019re back to the indy\u2019riffic pins as Devlin counters a rebound lariat into a Dragon suplex, following in with a slingshot cutter from the apron as the Irishman picked up a near-fall.<\/p>\n Devlin tries more kicks, but Bate leans into them before decking Devlin with a punch as Bate nearly eked out the win. Tyler heads up top next, but Devlin shoves referee Paz into the ropes, crotching Bate in the process before looking for a Spanish Fly\u2026 and getting it off the top! That’s enough for a near-fall, as Devlin countered a Tyler Driver with a knee, before falling to it eventually as Bate earned his win. A fantastic match, and one that finally shed Devlin of the \u201cLOL he\u2019s big head Balor\u201d tag that some held. With any luck, that\u2019ll grow into more returns in PROGRESS after this weekend\u2026 ***\u00be<\/p>\n Ahead of the next match, the gimmick was that the Grizzled Young Veterans were in the tournament\u2026 but they had to pick which one. Joey Janela, out to his usual theme, didn\u2019t mind, and while some were perhaps predicting the appearance of the Invisible Man, we instead had a long Zack Gibson promo, with someone beaning him in the face with a streamer. Nice aim.<\/p>\n Yeah, he was crowing about Liverpool getting to the Champion\u2019s League final, and it goes on for so long that Joey Janela decided to take them on, on his own. The bell\u2019s not gone, so this is just a long spot of brawling around ringside, whipping Janela into the newly-made PROGRESS ring steps, but that just fired up Joey into a comeback, taking Drake up towards the stage as piledriver was teased\u2026 but instead Drake just gets thrown down to the floor as a cannonball off it takes him down\u2026 and Gibson gets one too as Janela leaps over the ring steps into Zack Gibson!<\/p>\n Drake finally gets thrown into the ring, as Gibson tries to stall by saying they hadn\u2019t decided who\u2019s been picked. That allowed Drake to hit a corner dropkick, only to get met with a German suplex into the bottom turnbuckle, before missing a moonsault. The Deftones enziguiri from Drake left us still waiting for clarification\u2026 even more so when Zack Gibson came into beat down Janela\u2026 but we weren\u2019t waiting for much more as Drake declared that Zack was in the tournament afterall.<\/p>\n Super Strong Style 16 – First Round: Zack Gibson vs. Joey Janela<\/strong> Super Strong Style 16 – First Round: Flash Morgan Webster vs. Keith Lee<\/strong> A low-pe keeps Lee in the front row, as did a flip plancha after Lee\u2019d thrown Flash back in between the ropes. When we got going, Webster tried to win with the Special Brew Flip, but Lee\u2019s up early, only to fall for the hand\u2019s up headbutt as Flash was poking the proverbial bear\u2026 a bear that easily charged out of the Strangler.<\/p>\n Flash keeps going for the Strangler, and he looked to wear down Lee eventually, only to get bulled into the corner again before his attempt at a sunset flip is stuffed and turned into a Spirit Bomb, which Flash recoiled from and rolled out of the ring. Vicki Haskins rolls Flash back into the ring as a count-out loomed on, but Flash takes his new opportunity to try and work on Lee\u2019s leg\u2026<\/p>\n …but he\u2019s sent back to the mat with a clubbing forearm instead.<\/p>\n Lee telegraphs the double handed chop, so Flash escapes as the crowd boos. They quickly follow though, as Webster crumpled in the corner, before returning fire with some chops of his own, only for Lee to hit back with forearms and another chest-caving chop. A Beele throw hurled Webster across the ring as things became a tad one-sided\u2026 but Webster avoids a charge into the corner and went for the Rude Boy moonsault, before turning it into a DDT.<\/p>\n Flash\u2019s comeback continued in earnest, but ended with a POUNCE! He\u2019s right back in with a reverse \u2018rana as Webster\u2019s only hope of beating Lee seemed to fade away\u2026 before surprising Lee with a Code Red out of a Spirit Bomb. The Shadows Over Malice lands\u2026 but Lee catches him and lifts Flash into one more Spirit Bomb as the near-falls kept coming. A defiant Flash flicks the V\u2019s at Lee, before trying another reverse \u2018rana\u2026 that\u2019s blocked as Flash is smashed into the corner, before recovering again with a Rude Boy\u2026 for a one-count!<\/p>\n Some more knees from Flash loosens his belt and put Lee down again for another Shadows Over Malice\u2026 followed by yet another, but still Lee kicked out at two! Vicki distracts the referee as Flash grabs Arabella, his helmet, but Webster struggles to use it\u2026 and instead gets caught with Ground Zero for the win. Ah, so close Flash, but he needs to find that edge to get away from being the \u201cnearly man\u201d. A fine match, and Keith Lee progresses! ***\u00bd<\/p>\n So at this point, I\u2019d left to make it to York Hall for EVE, so let\u2019s see how this main event was, eh?<\/p>\n Super Strong Style 16 – First Round: Chris Brookes vs. Kassius Ohno<\/strong> These two have met previously, on an IPW show two years ago of all places, in salubrious Swanley. From the White Oak Leisure Centre to Alexandra Palace, eh\u2026<\/p>\n We start with Ohno taking down Brooks with some arm work, then with a waistlock takedown before returning the favour with a headlock. Ohno\u2019s back up with a cravat, but Brookes escaped and took him back down in a wristlock as the duelling chants got going once again. Brookes escaped a full nelson as they keep things simple, before Ohno won out with a shoulder block before nonchalantly booting away a leapfrog from Brookes. Nice.<\/p>\n Another kick\u2019s caught as Brookes pushes down Ohno, before going for the arm again\u2026 but Ohno gets free and takes Brookes into the corner as the back-and-forth ended with a Cyclone Boot as Brookes was taken back down! Knees to the face of Brookes led to a near-fall as we retained the methodical, \u201cmain event style\u201d pace, but Brookes edged ahead with a back senton\u2026 before getting punched out as Ohno shows him how it\u2019s done.<\/p>\n Clubbing forearms keep Ohno ahead, as he choked Brookes with his boot in the corner, before going airborne with a nice legdrop off the middle rope as the former hero started to edge ahead. Chops come next, despite a fightback attempt, but Brookes is able to use a backslide to get a near-fall as he looked for the rope-hung neckbreaker. Ohno gets the ropes, but it only delays the inevitable, as Ohno ends up outside for safety\u2026 and gets himself a flip plancha from Brookes for his troubles.<\/p>\n Back inside, Ohno slaps the taste out of Brookes\u2019 mouth, before flipping onto the apron as he ran back into the path of a Michinoku Driver, with Brookes coming achingly close to victory. Ohno\u2019s forced to escape a Praying Mantis Bomb, hitting an elbow in return as a piledriver tease was countered…before we gave way to some sunset flip near-falls. A release suplex from Ohno, almost a la Pete Dunne, is next as both men crashed to the mat.<\/p>\n In the corner, Brookes is met with a running boot, before returning fire with a gamengiri and a slingshot cutter, only for a rolling elbow to lay Brookes spark out. Rolling outside, Brookes looked to get a breather, but he\u2019s back in with a springboard\u2026 that\u2019s interrupted by a pump kick as the lights went out, only for Brookes to hit a brainbuster for a solid two-count.<\/p>\n Brookes mounted Ohno for a version of the Octopus that sorta looked like Zack Sabre Jr\u2019s double armbar, but Ohno slips free and hits a big atomic drop. Death By Elbow almost gave way to Death By Roll-Up as Brookes gets a near-fall, but Ohno\u2019s straight back up with Death By Elbow\u2026 only to get caught by Brookes in a crucifix as we almost got the upset! Ohno fires back with more elbows, as Brookes threw back in kind, avoiding rolling elbows with kicks, before a boot from Ohno left Brookes draped in the ropes, as a leaping elbow to the back of the head puts away Brookes for the win. A good main event, but to me it felt like the crowd perhaps expected only one result? Brookes had a really good showing here, but in the end his first outing of Super Strong Style 16 ended in the first round as Ohno\u2019s music completely drowns out commentary to close the show! ****<\/p>\n Post-match, Ohno gets mad at how “he’s gone for a year and you have a new favourite Chris?” The crowd remind him he’s not Chris anymore, but Ohno puts over Brookes’ last kick as the hardest he’s been hit – and that’s coming from a guy who’s faced off with the likes of Misawa before. Ohno does the “embarrass the guy for stories when they were younger”, recalling how Brookes offered to design his merch in the past, before thanking him for the match as we really closed out here!<\/p>\n The first night of Super Strong Style 16 was a fine place-setter. In terms of matches, there wasn\u2019t anything that stood head and shoulders above the pack, but an eight-pack of good wrestling is never a bad thing. Days two and three definitely picked up, and while some may skip the opening night of a three-day tournament, this is not a show to gloss over. From the opener of Williams\/Dunne, to Devlin\/Bate, and Chuck Mambo\u2019s coming out party, this had its strong points\u2026 and is well worth the watch.<\/p>\n
\nMambo\u2019s appearance in this tournament was an odd one going in, but the sea of beach balls that greeted him just showed the love that PROGRESS fans have for him. Cue everyone searching for \u201cGnarly \u201cby Showboy\u2026<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/progress-ch68-sss16n1-chuckmambo.jpg?resize=700%2C395\")
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\nHere\u2019s where the return of the \u201crecognised music\u201d hit, as David Starr – for the first time, used Joan Jett in PROGRESS, while the cameraman decided to go all Kevin Dunn with wacky zooms on TK Cooper\u2019s entrance.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/progress-ch68-sss16n1-starrtk.jpg?resize=700%2C395\")
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\nYes, Angelico got Bangarang! This was a weird one\u2026 a lot of the wrestling world perhaps first heard about Angelico when he jumped off of high stuff in Lucha Underground. Problem is, just about everywhere else he\u2019s been\u2026 he\u2019s not done as much flying as you\u2019d expect. So take a match that people expected to be flippy, but wasn\u2019t, and the looming shadow of Eddie Dennis, and you had a contest that a lot of folks seemed to struggle to get invested in.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/progress-ch68-sss16n1-eddiedennis.jpg?resize=700%2C395\")
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\nIn the theme music stakes, Devlin – who got a huge cheer from the Irish contingent (one of whom had their flag backwards, so today the Import Killer wasn\u2019t the Killer Import\u2026 he was the Tropmi Rellik!) – had his WWE UK theme, while Tyler\u2026<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/progress-ch68-sss16n1-tylerbate.jpg?resize=700%2C395\")
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\nThe bell rings after Drake begged referee Joel Allen to get the match going, and it almost ends quickly with an inside cradle\u2026 but after Janela superkicks Drake off the apron, Gibson steals it with a schoolboy. Like winning with a heavily deflected shot in injury time.<\/p>\n
\nFlash is back In The City, as the \u201cis he, isn\u2019t he?\u201d deal with Haskins and co. continued to play out. Webster dove into Lee as he was in the aisle, and we get underway as Flash perhaps sensed his only chance was to hit hard and hit early.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/progress-ch68-sss16n1-webster2.jpg?resize=700%2C395\")
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\nChris was still using his Hot Tag music\u2026 but not for long. It\u2019s a very Chicago Bull-ish Ohno here as well, as the crowd sang along to his theme music. Beat that, Full Sail. Oh\u2026 Matt Richards gets added to the commentary team for this match for\u2026 I dunno. He\u2019s a nice guy, so let him cross this off his bucket list, okay?<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/backbodydrop.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/progress-ch68-sss16n1-ohnobulls.jpg?resize=700%2C395\")
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