Main photo by Oli Sandler
1) Angle & Sabre Jr were a knockout at the York Hall.
The last time Revolution Pro-Wrestling ran Bethnal Green’s York Hall, it was for AJ Styles’s last UK appearance before he turned up at the Royal Rumble. This time around, they presented another very special occasion, with what some were calling a “dream match” between RPW Undisputed British Heavyweight champion Zack Sabre Jr and the former-WWE star – and Olympic gold medal winner! – Kurt Angle.
The match was a non-title affair, which was fortunate for Sabre Jr as he couldn’t quite put the Olympian down, and the crowd were unerstandably happy at the result, a win by ankle lock submission for the veteran. The reaction for Angle, strong as it was, was nothing compared to that received by Will Ospreay, making his first RevPro appearance since signing for New Japan, and after winning the Best Of The Super Juniors last week. Ospreay soaked in TWO standing ovations before beating “Speedball” Mike Bailey.
Ospreay receives a standing ovation – photo by Oli Sandler
The only championship on the line – the RPW Undisputed British Tag-Team titles – changed hands, as The Revolutionists’ long reign came to an end at the hands of Joel Redman & Charlie Garrett, but there was some success for the heel faction as Marty Scurll beat Noam Dar and Josh Bodom downed Chris Hero. Given RevPro is the only one of the UK’s “big” promotions that Bodom works, that result raised a few eyebrows – as did Bodom’s subsequent challenge to Tomohiro Ishii for Summer Sizzler next month – but the promotion are obviously high on the lad, and it’s a great chance for him to make an impact.
Cleaning up the rest of the results from the show (which also saw Zack Sabre Jr announced as Katsuyori Shibata’s opponent for the Sizzler), Pete Dunne used a low blow to beat the returning Martin Stone in a non-title match and Big Damo submitted Big Daddy Walter in the battle of the super-heavyweights. RevPro return to York Hall with that big Summer Sizzler show on July 10, but before that they have a show at the Cockpit in Marylebone on July 3rd. All their shows are available on RevPro On Demand.
2) Joe Coffey makes an Evolutionary leap across the Atlantic.
With Ospreay doing so well in New Japan – and Marty Scurll becoming a regular for Pro-Wrestling Guerilla – opportunities for UK talent are opening up at a breakneck pace, with Big Damo just off an extended tour of the US north east, where he defended his ICW title at Tier 1 Wrestling, as well as making appearances for Beyond & AIW.
The latest name to make that jump across the water is Joe Coffey, who picked up two dark matches victories on his Evolve debut over the weekend, on a pair of events which also saw Drew Galloway pick up a couple of wins in furthering the TNA vs NXT feud they kicked off last time around.
Joining Coffey on that list of imports could soon be Nixon Newell who, it was announced by Fight Club:PRO at the weekend, has a chance of appearing on future Shimmer and Shine events. Newell is one of the top women performers in the UK right now, and would also rank in a list of the top workers of any gender, wrestling more men than women up & down the country and looking more than competitive every time.
With the WWE brand split about to deplete the NXT roster, the chances are that more UK names could soon be added to those plying their trade stateside. Let’s hope that they make better use of them than TNA, who – Galloway aside (and even he just lost the title he’d been defending all over) – have been guilty of criminally-misusing their British talent, however much the likes of Spud & Bram might appreciate the regular income…
3) There’s a Riot going on… in Gloucester?
Showing that the wrestling people of the south west are considerably more mature than those in other parts of the country, the arrival of a new, adults-only promotion in Gloucester was not only welcomed by the family-friendly group already running that area – Pro-Wrestling EVO – but also promoted by them on their social media, because two shows targeting different audiences can only be good for the local scene.
Riot House Promotions, using Gloucester’s Liquid Diva nightclub as a base, exploded into life on Friday night with Numero Uno: Beers, Beats & Brainbusters, promising the best of the Midlands’ main event talent in a very adult setting, and they delivered on that promise with a beautifully-branded show, brilliantly promoted on social media.
Tyler Bate photo by The Dude Abides
The show was headlined by a triple threat, won by Pete Dunne over Chris Brookes & Tyler Bate, as the big names manoeuvre before the creation of the inevitable title, with Joel Redman (over BigGrizzly) and Wild Boar (pinning Charlie Garrett) also picking up big wins lowe down the card.
Also on the show, which also featured Chuck Cyrus & Mike Bird, Toni Storm defeated Kat von Paige in a wild women’s match, and the Fever beat The Heritage City Henchmen in tag-team action. Plans are underway for show 2 and you can find all the details on Riot House’s Facebook page.
4) Grand-Pro paid tribute to a fallen idol.
Held every year in memory of former wrestler Dom Travis, who died in 2012 aged just 32, Grand Pro-Wrestling’s A Night To Remember certainly lived up to its name this time around. The show, at the Rose Club in Hindley last Friday, had a double man-event attraction – a GPW Heavyweight Championship rematch between T-Bone and Ste “Bin” Mann and the latest induction into the Grand-Pro Hall of Fame.
That title match was necessary because, during the same contest on last month’s show, the Hate Club had interfered, costing the Bin Man his hard-fought opportunity. Ordering a second contest, Grand-Pro head honcho Dirk Feelgood banned the Hate League from the building, in order that a result could be reached. Although T-Bone beat Man clean, there were shenanigans when a man in a motorcycle helmet ran in and seized T-Bone’s girlfriend Lana Austin. That man was revealed to be Hate League member Dylan Roberts, and T-Bone acquiesced to a title match before Roberts slapped Austin and released her.
T-Bone & Lana Austin photo by Tony Knox
The inductee into the hall of fame turned out to be current GPW British champion Bubblegum, who accepted it gratefully after beating Jet Fashion in a title defense, and he joins Johnny “Heresy” Branningan, who was inducted last year. Earlier in the show, which also featured Jack Gallagher, Ashton Smith & Damon Leigh, the Island Brothers (Rio & Tabu) won a tag-team gauntlet match – overcoming the challenge of The Circus, Martin Kirby & The Sheikh, and the Bad Lads to become number one contenders to the tag-team titles, and Craig Kollins & Chris Ridgeway brought their Alpha-Omega feud into Grand-Pro. This show – and Grand-Pro’s past events – can be seen on Grand-Pro On Demand.
5) Will Ospreay came home (and other stuff).
Will Ospreay may have received 2 standing ovations at RevPro on Sunday evening but the reception he got at Reloaded Championship Wrestling Alliance, in his hometown of Rainham, Essex, on Saturday night, must have been equally special for this year’s standout talent. Ospreay has a hand in the promotion but even the winner of the Best of the Super Juniors tournament didn’t put himself in the main event, instead working underneath and pinning The Mexican Eagle.
The show was headlined by RCWA British champion Chuck Cyrus, who successfully defended that title against Wild Boar, and also featured successful title defences by Elite-1 champion Kip Sabian and Tag-Team champions The Reckoning, as well as Paul Robinson clashing with hotly-tipped rookie Malik in the opener. RCWA return to Rainham Methodist Hall on July 17th.
While much of the attention paid to the Sumerian Death Squad has been on Tommy End of late, Michael Dante has been quietly going about his ultra-destructive business, and was over in the UK last weekend to defend his Target Wrestling Heavyweight title. The border-straddling company ran a weekend double shot, with shows in Dumfries and Carlisle, and the whole shebang ended with Dante putting his title on the line against Target’s big bad Medallion, in a Medallion’s Rules match. Despite this advantage, Medallion came up short, and Dante left the building with his title belt.
On Friday night, at the Lochside Social Club in Dumfries, Mark Coffey pinned Johnny Moss in the main event, with Medallion reduced to working the opener, teaming with The Coyote Kid & Luke Ross to beat Benny Monroe, Andre Decker & Ben Vicious. Also on the Scottish half of the double-shot, Shady Nattrass kept hold of his Target Wrestling High Octane Division title, defeating Jackie Polo with a belt shot behind the referee’s back.
The following night, at the Venue in Carlisle, besides Dante versus Medallion, the show featured Johnny Moss beating Martin Kirby, and Toni Storm pinning Kay Lee Ray, as well as appearances by Jody Fleisch, Jonny Storm, Johnny Phere, Craig Kollins & Danny Hope, in addition to Coffey, Nattrass and the Target regulars. Target are in Stranraer this Saturday, at The Ryan Centre.
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