Tag: revpro results

RevPro Uprising results: Ishii vs. Starr, Suzuki & ZSJ vs. Aussie Open

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by Matt Dagnall

York Hall in London wasn’t quite sold out, but it was pretty full and had a great atmosphere for the night.

– Taichi defeated Chris Brookes (15:03)

Taichi kept leaving the ring and avoiding Brookes at the start, and when they eventually came to blows, a crazy brawl erupted all around the arena. The two had good chemistry when back in the ring and had a decent back-and-forth match.

Brookes had Taichi in a submission when El Desperado came out and distracted the official — who then didn’t see Taichi tap out. Will Ospreay came down to even the odds (despite not yet being cleared to wrestle) and went to hit Desperado with Taichi’s mic stand, but Taichi ducked and Ospreay hit Brookes, and then got a superkick from Taichi.

Taichi took advantage and submitted Brookes after a low blow. After the match, Ospreay apologized and raised Brookes’ hand, only for Brookes to turn on him and give the still-injured Ospreay a moderate beatdown. This was expertly booked and the crowd lapped it up.

– The Great-O-Kharn defeated Shane Taylor (7:14)

Lord Gideon Grey came out and said that RevPro had given in to his demands for The Dominator to have a match, but said it would be against a mystery opponent. Shane Taylor came down to little reaction and got an alright match out of the improving O-Kharn

 There were a lot of strikes and suplexes, but O-Kharn won fairly quickly with a chokeslam after interference from Gideon Grey. Taylor got a good ovation at the end. This was a pleasant surprise on the card and O-Kharn remains undefeated.

– Josh Bodom defeated Chris Ridgeway (8:19)

This started off very hot with both wrestlers wanting to get at the other. They fit a lot into a short amount of time here, as the match hit top gear a few minutes in.

Ridgeway went crazy with kicks and nearly won with an ankle lock. Bodom was incredible. He did a picture-perfect moonsault to the outside, followed by a tombstone on the apron and a Bliss Buster for the win. Bodom was busted open halfway through and looked sadistic with blood all over his body — this was a really good showing from him, as per usual.

– El Phantasmo defeated El Desperado (15:58)

As is often the case, the first half main event was stellar. It started off pretty fast paced as both men ran the ropes and got the crowd involved. They slowed down a bit, with Desperado gaining control until Phantasmo started to get the upper hand, leaping all over the place with the crowd firmly in his corner.

The last few minutes were insanity, with all sorts of near falls as the crowd became very invested. Phantasmo won this with his swanton and moonsault combination and received a huge ovation. Phantasmo is a superstar and it is only a matter of time before he is signed up somewhere.

– Satoshi Kojima defeated WALTER (11:40)

Kojima is incredibly over in the United Kingdom and WALTER is a pretty effective heel, so this made for a good dynamic. WALTER chopped the life out of Kojima, who kept on attempting to fire up but being swatted down.

Eventually, Kojima quickly won with a lariat in what was barely a three count — a clearly improvised finish due to WALTER being apparently hurt. WALTER was taken to the back with the medics, but it didn’t seem to be too serious.

Kojima cut a promo and was about to challenge Tomohiro Ishii until Bodom came out announcing he was moving up to heavyweight. He said Kojima was the past and he was the future, while demolishing a loaf of bread, much to the distress of the leader of Bread Club.

The match could have gotten very good had it not ended abruptly — but regardless, you have to again question the booking of WALTER here. It genuinely baffles me why he isn’t treated as a bigger star in RevPro and there was no need for Kojima to win this.

– MK McKinnan defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey (14:37)

This was Bailey’s return to York Hall after an over two-year absence following his incredible run in 2016. It was awesome to finally see him back. McKinnan was clearly not that over at the start of the match and the crowd was pretty worn out too, however this incredible match brought them right back up.

Both men wrestled really well, starting off on the mat before going to the top rope and the ramp. Bailey hit his double-knee moonsault on the apron, there was a massive superplex, and several great near falls. McKinnan got Bailey in a choke and elbowed him till he passed out.

This was really good stuff, and a very strong win for McKinnan, who has looked fantastic since returning. Hopefully Bailey can stick around too as he’s such a valuable asset.

– Undisputed British Tag Team Champions Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) to retain their titles (21:50)

This had a really big-fight feel as both teams have been pretty invincible in RevPro this year. Suzuki dominated both opponents early on, scaring Fletcher, who was worked over for a lot of this. Davis tagged in and ran wild before being worn down by Suzuki’s submission-based offense.

Davis tagged Fletcher back in for an awesome staredown between Fletcher and Suzuki — Fletcher finally facing his fear. However, just as Fletcher was getting the upper hand, Sabre came in and they started applying double submissions. Davis eventually broke it up and Aussie Open hit their double-team finishers, each of them being kicked out of. Then while Sabre had Davis in a submission, Suzuki pinned Fletcher with the Gotch-style piledriver.

This was an odd result, — Aussie Open had been building to this since January and I’m not sure where they go from here.

– Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii defeated Undisputed British Cruiserweight Champion David Starr to retain his title (19:07)

The build to this match was great, with Starr claiming he is not just the best cruiserweight but the best wrestler. The match was designed to appeal to the fans who object to NJPW talent holding RevPro titles and would prefer full-time champions like Starr.

Starr mocked Ishii’s walk and stance, while Ishii just stared down his opponent. Starr outwrestled Ishii early on, being too technical, nimble, and agile for the heavyweight and wearing him down. As you’d expect, Ishii came firing back with heavy forearms, but Starr was able to match him and never gave up despite taking a beating.

They exchanged more strikes and chops, with Ishii often no selling Starr’s strikes and even hitting the best superplex I’ve ever seen. Starr hit a combination of lariats and followed with a Han Stansen — but Ishii kicked out at one. Ishii then hit his brainbuster for the win.

A really good main event and the crowd was very into Starr potentially being a double champion. After the match, Suzuki-gun attacked Ishii and Sabre announced that he never got his rematch from when Ishii beat him for the title back in April. Sabre will get his rematch at Wrestle Kingdom 13. The crowd loved this announcement — it almost made up for Starr not winning.

Final thoughts —

This was an excellent show from top to bottom, with every match ranging from good to incredible. RevPro is often criticized for being all in-ring and no story, but they did very well to combat that at this show. The three big angles were really well booked and will lead to other matches down the line, with the Ospreay/Taichi stuff and Sabre/Ishii stuff standing out in terms of story.

The in-ring side was as good as ever, with The McKinnan vs. Bailey match, Phantasmo vs. Desperado, and obviously the main event standing out. The only concern is in the booking decisions. The main criticism of RevPro right now is that the NJPW guys that come over always win, after at Global Wars UK when every New Japan guy won except from against El Phantasmo. This was again the case here.

The WALTER loss hurt, as well as both Starr and Aussie Open losing their title matches. I think most people assumed at least one of Ishii and Suzuki-gun would lose their titles and neither did, which came as a surprise. It does make the RevPro roster look weak if they always lose to NJPW guys and it’s certainly an issue that needs addressing before more of the fan base become angered.

RevPro British J-Cup day two results: Tournament winner crowned

Posted on by F4W Editors

With a format similar to PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles where the opening rounds narrowed the field to a multi-person final, Revolution Pro Wrestling’s British J-Cup continued in Manchester, England yesterday.

In this case, the field of 16 was reduced to a four-way final. Day one saw the opening round matches, and yesterday’s event began with the first match of the second round.

– El Phantasmo defeated Jushin Thunder Liger in a British J-Cup second round match

Liger is the defending tournament champion, while El Phantasmo recently had an excellent match for the Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship.

They began with comedy, as Liger borrowed Phantasmo’s sunglasses to mimic his pose, and then made Phantasmo promise not to double-cross him before shaking his hand. There was then an extended sequence of the larger Liger using mat-wrestling to wear down Phantasmo, with Liger busting out the Gory Special, Camel Clutch, and abdominal stretch.

They exchanged high spots, with Liger doing a nice cannonball off the ring apron onto Phantasmo. The finish came with Liger struggling to get ELP back to his feet after hitting him with the brainbuster. A frustrated Liger asked to be declared the victor by knockout, only for Phantasmo to roll him up for the win.

A slightly silly finish but this was a fun opener. And as somebody who has bought tickets to see Liger in Revolution Pro Wrestling three times only for real life to intervene each time, it was cool to finally see him.

– KUSHIDA defeated David Starr in a British J-Cup second round match

Starr is the Undisputed British Cruiserweight Champion, and unlike elsewhere, works as a heel in RevPro. Before the match, Starr cut his standard heel promo, complaining about how the promotion’s management is conspiring against him. As ever, he was joined by his preferred official Shay Purser.

This was a really good match as the two combined technical wrestling with stiff striking exchanges. The finish centered on Purser. Starr used him as a human shield, forcing KUSHIDA to move the referee out of the way. This created the distraction for Starr to land a low blow. However, the following pinfall only got a two. Starr went for his championship belt, only for Purser to argue with him, ultimately grabbing the belt from him. This allowed KUSHIDA to hit the small package driver for the victory.

Nice touch in the post-match, with Starr staring at the British J-Cup before going to the back.

– CCK (Chris Brookes & Jonathan Gresham) & Chris Ridgeway defeated Tiger Mask IV, Ryusuke Taguchi & Dean Allmark

This was the first of many consolation matches for defeated British J-Cup participants. They began with an awesome chain wrestling sequence between Gresham and Allmark. Eventually, they tagged out to Brookes and Tiger Mask. Ridgeway and then Taguchi tagged in, with Taguchi hitting all three men with the hip attack. Indeed he ran wild, hitting it on them multiple times. He went for one off the top rope, but Ridgeway countered into a dragon screw.

Brookes tagged back in, with the heels rotating the tag as they worked over Taguchi, with a particular emphasis on his hip and backside. Taguchi’s selling of this destruction was something to behold. At the third attempt, he hit the hip attack on Ridgeway and tagged in Tiger Mask. The heels rallied and almost secured the pin on Tiger Mask, but he managed to kick out and then tag in Allmark.

Allmark teared into the opposition by hitting several big high-flying moves, including a moonsault from the top rope to the outside. However, Ridgeway was able to trap him in the rear naked choke. With some added manipulation of the fingers, Ridgeway secured the submission victory.

– Rich Swann defeated Yoh in a British J-Cup second round match

Yoh’s full entrance routine is really something to see in person. They had a great match, which had plenty of action and shifts in momentum.

Swann dominated the early stages, landing some hard chops to the chest of Yoh. The Chaos member made a comeback, working the leg of Swann for an extended period of time. They traded big moves until Swann re-injured his leg. Yoh trapped him in a figure four, managing to move Swann into the center of the ring. Swann was able to escape after reversing the hold. The finish came when Swann hit the 450 splash for the victory.

– Rocky Romero defeated Sho in a British J-Cup second round match

What began as a good-natured babyface match between the two Roppongi 3K members gained some extra spice added to it when Sho accused Rocky Romero of poking him in the eye. He proceeded to lay in heavy strikes, demanding his trainer do the same. Romero regained the advantage after stretching Sho with an abdominal stretch. Sho made a comeback, getting a two count following a flurry of kicks.

A fun sequence left both men on the floor after they both kept trying to go for clotheslines and V-Triggers. Romero escaped and secured a bridging pin on Sho for the victory after evading a slam. They embraced afterwards.

– Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defeated Flamita & Bandido

They opened with some comedy about the size difference between Davis and the other competitors. Not only did we have the usual big man vs. little man spots (i.e. test of strength and shoulder charges), but we had fun moments like where the other three kipped up while Davis needed time to psych himself to jump to his feet. At one point, he even used the second rope to do a lucha escape.

The match was more than comedy with there being some spectacular moments as all four let loose in an all-action match. Aussie Open secured the win with the fidget spinner. I hope that we get to see these two teams face each other again when they have more time and a livelier crowd.

– Ringkampf (Timothy Thatcher & WALTER) defeated LAX (Santana & Ortiz)

This was a fairly basic big-man match, although both sides worked well together. LAX spent much of the match trying to isolate Thatcher from WALTER, in particular winding up the big Austrian so that he would make mistakes to the detriment of his tag team partner.

Ringkampf would however rally, ultimately securing the double submission victory.

– El Phantasmo defeated Rich Swann, Rocky Romero, and KUSHIDA in a four-way elimination match to win the British J-Cup

They had a really fun match that was only slightly marred by the odd brainfart of having several pinfalls interrupted by other wrestlers in what was an elimination match.

This was a showcase for the eventual winner El Phantasmo, who started the match by doing his always impressive trademark spots of evading opponents attacks while walking the ropes. KUSHIDA and Romero were eliminated in quick succession, with Romero pinning KUSHIDA after he was hit by David Starr with the British Cruiserweight title belt, only to then fall victim to a superkick from El Phantasmo.

There was then a prolonged battle between Phantasmo and Swann, with the crowd firmly behind Phantasmo. Phantasmo secured the victory by following up a super hurricanrana with a frog splash and then a moonsault from opposite corners of the ring.

The show ended with El Phantasmo being presented the British J-Cup and being congratulated by the other babyfaces.

Final thoughts —

A fun show, and the eclectic mix of performers led to a variety of matches throughout. The big story was El Phantasmo’s victory, which surely will set up a rematch with Starr for the British Cruiserweight title. There is also the question of whether KUSHIDA’s interactions with the champion will lead to him challenging Starr sometime soon.   

Both nights of the British Super J Cup 2018 will soon be available on Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Video On Demand Service, which you can subscribe to at https://rpwondemand.pivotshare.com for $8.49 per month.  

RevPro TV taping results: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. KUSHIDA

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by Noel Rattigan

Revolution Pro Wrestling’s television tapings for FreeSports began at York Hall in London yesterday. They’ll continue today before starting to air later this month.

– The set up was a lot better than a normal RevPro show at York Hall. Whenever i glanced at the monitors, the camera work seemed much improved also. Andy Quildan (the promoter) has noted previously that FreeSports is handling the production for this project.

– The tapings started with Kevin Kelly addressing the camera.

– Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Chris Brookes

The crowd was hot for this, doing loud dueling chants throughout. Liger won with a brainbuster in about 8-9 minutes. Brookes attacked him after the match and went for his mask, but El Phantasmo came out for the save.

– The Great O-Kharn (w/ Lord Gideon Grey) defeated Harrison Thompson

This was a squash match, with O-Kharn winning in about 3-4 minutes. Thompson didn’t get an entrance but got some offense in.

– Sha Samuels interrupted an interview Kelly was doing with Dan Magee. A brawl broke out before it was broken up.

– Zack Sabre Jr. defeated KUSHIDA

Chris Ridgeway walked out to observe the action. Sabre won with a kneebar-type submission. They had a really good back-and-forth match, with it probably being the main event of the first episode. There was a slight botch from KUSHIDA where he caught the ropes jumping to the apron, but that should be easily edited out.

– Colt Cabana defeated Greg Burridge

Cabana won with a bridging pin in about 10 minutes. Fun match with some humor in it.

Cabana did a post-match interview and stated his case for the Undisputed British Heavyweight title.

– Roppongi 3K (Sho & Yoh) defeated James Castle & Dan Head

Sho & Yoh won in 10 minutes with a double-team move.

– Chris Brookes defeated El Phantasmo

This was probably the main event for episode two. Brookes was booed here. Gresham came down the aisle way for the distraction, which led to Brookes winning in about 12-15 minutes.

– Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) defeated Team White Wolf (A-Kid & Carlos Romo)

Excellent match — Aussie Open are ridiculously good.

– Rocky Romero went to a no contest with Chris Ridgeway

Sabre was watching in the aisle way, and it ended in a disqualification as Sabre ran in and attacked both. He laid out Romero first and it was declared a no contest. Sabre will face Romero on night two.

– Sha Samuels vs. Dan Magee ended in a DQ

The disqualification came when both shoved the referee. A fight between Samuels and Magee was broken up.

– Undisputed British Cruiserweight Champion David Starr defeated Kurtis Chapman to retain his title

Starr retained in about 10 minutes. This was likely the episode three main event.

– The Hunter Brothers (Lee & Jim) defeated Arrows of Hungary (Aaron Icarus & Dover)

Good match, but the crowd was getting tired.

– Samuels was supposed to be on commentary for a match involving Magee, but Samuels attacked him before the bell. Lord Gideon Grey came out to introduce The Great O-Kharn as Magee’s replacement.

– The Great O-Kharn (w/ Lord Gideon Grey) defeated The O.J.M.O

O-Kharn won in a squash.

– Josh Bodom defeated MK McKinnan

Bodom won in about 10 minutes.

– James Mason defeated Darrell Allen

Mason won with a roll-up. People didn’t care about this with it being this late.

– El Phantasmo defeated Jonathan Gresham by DQ

Gresham low blowed Phantasmo for the DQ. Brookes and Gresham beat down Phantasmo after until Liger made the save.

Liger & Phantasmo challenged them to a tag match, but Brookes & Gresham left. Brookes & Gresham tried a sneak attack after, but Liger & Phantasmo made a comeback to end the tapings.

RevPro High Stakes results: Bate & Seven vs. Suzuki & ZSJ

Posted on by F4W Staff

Image and report submitted by reader Matt Dagnall

– British Cruiserweight Champion Kurtis Chapman defeated Rob Lias to retain his title

Eddie Dennis came out and distracted Lias. This was somewhat sloppy and the crowd found it hard to get into it.

– CCK (Travis Banks & Chris Brookes) defeated Zack Gibson & Josh Bodom

Before the match, Dennis stayed at the ramp and had a pull-apart brawl with Gibson and Bodom before CCK came out. Gibson cut a promo about how the fans only care about New Japan talent and should really care about him and Bodom.

The match was fast paced and had some hard-hitting elements. Banks was the most over guy in it. After some cheating from Gibson, Kid Lykos evened the odds by hitting Bodom with a tray. CCK got the win and Bodom and Gibson argued afterwards, with the latter walking out furious.

– Adam Brooks defeated Ryan Smile

This was a terrific match that went for over 20 minutes. It started quickly with a brawl all over the arena. Both men were equally over and got dueling chants from the crowd throughout.

Things got really good in the latter stages with a series of very convincing near falls for Smile. Brooks came back with a flurry of offense and several big moves to put Smile away. This match had everything and the crowd was super into it. Smile was left in the ring to soak up the applause as he waved goodbye.

– SANADA & EVIL defeated Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher)

There was a huge reaction for SANADA and EVIL, but Aussie Open were almost as popular. There were again dueling chants throughout. It looked early on like SANADA may have gotten hurt but he continued the match.

Fletcher eventually found himself caught in a submission and was forced to tap. SANADA and EVIL got a standing ovation afterwards and both teams were more over following the match.

– British Women’s Champion Jinny defeated Bea Priestley and Millie McKenzie to retain her title

Priestley had an elaborate entrance, very similar to Finn Balor’s demon one. McKenzie was extremely over and was the highlight of the match. She went wild with some German suplexes, even suplexing both women at the same time.

There was a crazy dive from Priestley from the ring post onto McKenzie, who was draped across the barrier. McKenzie also botched a dive badly to the outside but was okay. She then hit a move from the top rope on Priestley, which looked incredibly dangerous, but Jinny stole the pin to retain. 

– Will Ospreay defeated Mark Andrews

Ospreay came out to a superstar reaction and the crowd was incredibly hot for him. The match started at a quick pace, with both doing dives right away. This was everything you would expect from Ospreay and Andrews, with moonsaults, shooting star presses, and plenty of Frankensteiners. It was a real spectacle to watch with reversal after reversal.

Ospreay eventually won with the OsCutter. This felt like a premature ending and the match could have gone on longer. Andrews endorsed Ospreay afterwards, but Adam Brooks came out and laid out both. He cut the Australian flag off Ospreay’s ring gear.

– Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) to win the British Tag Team Championship

This was the match of the night by a large margin. Everyone involved performed excellently, especially Suzuki. The match was a total war. Everyone got huge reactions, but it was clear that Suzuki was the main attraction. Bate and Seven wore towels around their heads to mock him.

Suzuki traded chops with Seven early on, with Suzuki laughing at Seven’s efforts before striking him down with just one chop. Bate tagged in and got in some signature offense before he was worn down by Suzuki’s power. Sabre Jr. tried multiple submissions on Bate, then Suzuki did too before Seven made the hot tag. He lit up Sabre Jr. with some fierce strikes in the ring while Suzuki and Bate brawled on the outside.

Suzuki laughed at Bate’s strikes before firing back himself much harder. After some nice sequences from both teams in the ring, Bate hit the Tyler Driver — only for Suzuki to kick out. Things really got good from here, with some more crazy sequences before Suzuki and Sabre got the win to a huge reaction.

The new champions beat down Moustache Mountain, who were sent packing. CCK came out to face off with Suzuki and Sabre but were too scared to get in the ring and left the champs to soak up the applause.

RevPro Global Wars UK results: Minoru Suzuki vs. Matt Riddle

Posted on by F4W Staff

Image: @RevProUK. Report submitted by reader Noel Rattigan.

Revolution Pro Wrestling presented the second of their two Global Wars UK shows in Walthamstow last night, headlined by a first-time meeting between Minoru Suzuki and Matt Riddle and Will Ospreay challenging for Zack Sabre Jr.’s Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship.

– CCK (Travis Banks, Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos) defeated Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo

This was a good opener. The finish saw Lykos do a dive over the top onto YOSHI-HASHI, Goto, and Brookes, leaving Banks to hit the Kiwi Buzzsaw on Gedo for the win. CCK are really good.

– Toru Yano defeated Zack Gibson

They had a really good comedy match. Gibson cut his promo at the start, with him getting his usual tons of heat. He pretended that smart fans make him sick and referenced Dave Meltzer/the Observer. Referring to Yano, he said most of the audience were thinking that Grado looks like a different person.

Yano responded by mocking Gibson and saying that his DVD is number one. Yano took out a car stereo from under the ring near the finish. He didn’t use it, but it led to him doing two low blows and a roll-up for the finish.

– Josh Bodom defeated Rocky Romero

Good match. The action was on the outside for a period of time, with Bodom hitting a moonsault to the outside on Romero while landing on his feet. Bodom got a near fall from a powerbomb backstabber/draping Pedigree spot after dragging Romero back into the ring.

For the finish, Romero hit an arm drag from the top rope and went to lock on an armbar, but Bodom rolled through for the pin.

– Tomohiro Ishii defeated Dave Mastiff

This wasn’t anywhere near as good as Ishii vs. Keith Lee from the night before, but that’s to be expected. The crowd was trying to get into it, with the action mostly being strike exchanges. Ishii won with a brainbuster.

– Undisputed British Cruiserweight Champion Ryan Smile defeated El Desperado to retain his title

After some brawling on the outside early, Smile was thrown over the first row of seats. Desperado then started working on his leg. Smile hit a plancha over the top to the outside but kept selling the leg.

Desperado worked over Smile’s leg with a submission, and Smile did a good job of selling as the crowd bought that as the finish. Smile eventually hit a frog splash for the win, though he kept selling his leg after the match.

– Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI defeated Yuji Nagata & Keith Lee

They had a good match with a lot of spots throughout. BUSHI spat mist into Lee’s eyes near the end of it and Naito hit two Destinos for the pin.

– Minoru Suzuki defeated Matt Riddle

Excellent match that went about 15 minutes. They exchanged chops early, brawled on the outside, and Suzuki threw Riddle over a few rows of chairs. Riddle did some nice suplexes after there was a bit of Suzuki-gun interference.

After a ref bump, El Desperado spiked Riddle with a chair to the head and Suzuki hit the Gotch-style piledriver for the victory.

– Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Will Ospreay to retain his title

This was the match of the night. There were lots of great spots throughout, the crowd was hot for the whole thing, and it was constantly back and forth. Sabre ended up retaining with a bridging submission move where he yanked Ospreay’s arms badly and there was a verbal tap.

RevPro Global Wars UK results: Ishii vs. Keith Lee steals the show

Posted on by F4W Staff

Image: @RevProUK. Report submitted by reader Paul Martinovic.

In collaboration with NJPW, the first of Revolution Pro Wrestling’s two Global Wars UK shows took place last night. York Hall in London hosted a show-stealing match as Tomohiro Ishii faced off with Keith Lee, then Hirooki Goto & Will Ospreay teamed against Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr. in the main event.

– Ryan Smile defeated Josh Bodom and BUSHI to win the Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship

This was a really fun opener. There were some big high spots, including Smile doing a crazy tope con hilo over the turnbuckle and Bodom doing a moonsault to the floor. 

BUSHI hit the mist on Bodom, which allowed Smile to get the pin and win the title after an RKO/frog splash combo.

– Toru Yano & Gedo defeated Lord Gideon Grey & No Fun Dunne (Damian Dunne)

As expected, this was an entertaining comedy match. It began with the heels opening Yano’s powder-gimmicked DVD. There was lots of nonsense from there, with Yano getting the pin on Dunne with a low blow and a roll-up.

– Matt Riddle defeated El Desperado

Riddle is adored in the UK. The match was very good. Riddle hit some big chops and strikes early, then Desperado came back and worked on his knee. Riddle sold that really well, staging a comeback and finishing the match with a tombstone and the Bromission.

– Tetsuya Naito defeated Marty Scurll

The crowd was incredibly torn here, though Scurll played the clear heel and worked over Naito’s arm. Both guys were very protected. Scurll was about to lock in the chicken wing when BUSHI distracted him. There was also a great near fall towards the end where Scurll hit Naito with his umbrella and tried to pin Naito with his feet on the ropes.

A ref bump led to Scurll being distracted and Naito hitting the Destino for the win. This was fun because both are so over and charismatic, but they were both wrestling well within themselves.

– Yuji Nagata defeated Zack Gibson

As he usually does, Gibson got booed out of the building. Nagata looked a bit slower than in the past but was still great. The match was slow paced, with the story of it being Gibson disrespecting Nagata. Nagata ended up beating him with a backdrop suplex, though the finish seemed to come a bit out of nowhere.

– CCK (Travis Banks & Chris Brookes) defeated Rocky Romero & YOSHI-HASHI

This was a fun tag match with some great and innovative tag moves from CCK. Romero didn’t get much of a reaction when he came out, but the crowd got really into him. They didn’t seem to care about YOSHI-HASHI, though.

For the finish, Banks pinned Romero with the Kiwi Buzzsaw.

– Tomohiro Ishii defeated Keith Lee

This was the best match I’ve seen live — better than Ishii’s previous RevPro matches against Riddle and Chris Hero. It was expertly laid out, had insane heat, massive strikes, and some remarkable feats of athleticism.

They started off with Lee no-selling Ishii’s offense, which played well since the York Hall crowd is used to seeing Ishii dominate. Lee then laid in some absolutely heinous chops. The story of the match was all about Ishii trying to find an opening and wearing Lee down, while Lee got increasingly smug.

After teasing a suplex on Lee for a long time, the place came unglued when Ishii finally got him up and held him in place. The pace picked up from there, with more strikes, kick outs at one, and fighting spirit. Lee missed a second rope moonsault, then Ishii chopped him down with lariats and hit the brainbuster to win.

– Hirooki Goto & Will Ospreay defeated Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr.

While they had a really difficult job trying to follow Ishii vs. Lee, they put on a really fun main event. The clash of styles worked surprisingly well, and for a Suzuki match it had almost no interference.

Suzuki’s facial expressions are amazing live. He and Sabre did lots of great heel tag team work. At one point, Sabre had two submissions on Goto and Ospreay before Suzuki followed it up with a double kneebar on them both.

Suzuki distracted the ref a lot, and there were some great striking battles between him and Goto and Sabre and Ospreay. Finally, Goto got the upper hand on Suzuki on the outside, which allowed Ospreay to hit the OsCutter on Sabre for the win.

RevPro Summer Sizzler results: Rey Mysterio vs. Marty Scurll

Posted on by F4W Staff

Submitted by reader Peter Hitchcock

Revolution Pro Wrestling presented their Summer Sizzler 2017 event at York Hall in London on Thursday night. It was a fun and enjoyable evening despite an odd looking card on the surface for a York Hall show, although there were no classic matches.

– Martin Stone defeated Eddie Dennis

This was two unrelated storylines coming together. Stone has a feud going with Sami Callihan, who was recently injured, while Dennis is looking for his first win in RevPro and has recently gone full-time as a wrestler.

The match was a fun opener. Stone won in a somewhat underhanded manner but cut a promo after putting over Dennis and how that first big win will be worth it.

– Bully Ray defeated Sha Samuels

This was a no DQ, falls count anywhere match, but it ended in the ring after a top rope splash from Bully Ray. There was a nice moment after as RevPro trainee Rob Lias jumped both and ended up being hit with the “Wassup” by both Bully Ray and Samuels (playing D-Von) and put through a table.

Bully Ray then invited a kid into the ring and gave him a big piece of the broken table in a cool moment.

– Zack Gibson defeated Dalton Castle

As usual, Gibson got a lot of heat. He worked the arm in a fun match. After Castle went into the ring post, Gibson locked on the Shankly Gates for the surprisingly clean submission win.

– The Briscoes defeated Ryan Smile & Shane Strickland

This was the final match before intermission. I think the crowd was ready for a break as they were definitely quieter for this.

– Jay White defeated Travis Banks

Banks is a tag champ in RevPro and White has done a number of shows as part of his excursion. They had a good technical match with hard chops, though it suffered by being the first match after intermission. White won with the Liontamer.

– RPW Undisputed British Cruiserweight Champion Josh Bodom defeated Jushin Thunder Liger to retain his title

Good match that played off of their earlier bout at the British J-Cup, with Bodom winning this time. Liger was incredibly over and got a standing ovation after the match despite Bodom winning clean.

– RPW Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Chris Brookes to retain his title

They had the best match of the night in my view. It was a good technical bout. Brookes is a tag champ with Travis Banks and this was probably his highest profile singles match to date. He did very well, but Sabre won with a gnarly submission with elbows and kicks thrown into the mix.

– Marty Scurll defeated Rey Mysterio

Mysterio absolutely still has it, though he’s obviously older and works smarter. It was a fun match with Scurll winning clean with a finisher I hadn’t seen before, not the chicken wing.

Scurll has always been too over to be a heel, but since joining the Bullet Club he was on another level at this show. He was more over than Mysterio and was probably the most over guy on the show.

Scurll and Mysterio cut promos after putting each other over as an inspiration and hero (Mysterio) and part of the future (Scurll) for a nice feel good ending to the show.

RevPro British J-Cup results: Matt Riddle vs. Tomohiro Ishii

Posted on by F4W Staff

Image: @RevProUK. Report submitted by reader Nick Wright.

– Marty Scurll defeated Tiger Mask IV in a British J-Cup tournament match

This was a fun match. Scurll had the crowd in the palm of his hand, with them loving and hating him whenever he wanted them to. There were lots of good comedy spots and they both got their big moves in before Scurll won.

– Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Josh Bodom in a British J-Cup tournament match

Liger was really over, though everyone expected Bodom to move on given that he’s RevPro’s British Cruiserweight Champion. But to the delight of the crowd, Liger shocked Bodom within three minutes and won with a brainbuster.

– KUSHIDA defeated Kyle O’Reilly in a British J-Cup tournament match

You could tell that this was going to go long after the last match, and it ended up being 20 minutes of intense action. KUSHIDA is just so awesome and O’Reilly played a subtle heel in this one. It had lots of chain wrestling and back-and-forth action. KUSHIDA hit the Back to the Future to win a high-quality contest.

– Will Ospreay defeated Ryusuke Taguchi in a British J-Cup tournament match

This was another fun match that had a lot of comedy, especially around Taguchi’s posterior-based offense. There was a great bit where Taguchi was running the ropes for a lariat and Ospreay kept ducking. Taguchi eventually got tired and Ospreay gave him a Red Bull, then he ran the ropes again and Ospreay ducked again.

Ospreay ended up advancing after hitting the OsCutter.

– The Tempura Boyz (Yohei Komatsu & Sho Tanaka) defeated Kurtis Champion & Josh Wall

The match had decent action, with Champion playing a good face in peril. But there was a big gulf in class and the Tempura Boyz picked up the win with a combo piledriver.

– CCK (Travis Banks & Chris Brookes) defeated Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI by DQ

Another decent bout here. Takahashi is great and so charismatic. It ended when Banks got misted by BUSHI and the ref called for the bell.

– Tomohiro Ishii defeated Matt Riddle

There was brutal, brutal action in this one. It had one of the most electric starts that I’ve ever seen. There was a chop fest and Ishii followed with an awesome German suplex, then Riddle popped up and Ishii gave him a German suplex of his own. Ishii popped up right after and the place became unglued.

There were so many chops, forearms, big suplexes, and it was utter carnage. Ishii eventually won with a brainbuster. They have to have a rematch because everyone loved it.

– Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Marty Scurll, Will Ospreay, and KUSHIDA in a fatal four-way elimination match to win the British J-Cup

You could have expected this to have a hard time following the last match (and there were a few technical issues with the introductions), but it was a great contest. There were lots of clever spots.

Scurll superkicked Liger about five times to leave him out of the action for the majority of it. Scurll first eliminated KUSHIDA to the disappointment of the crowd, but they were picked up by a few fantastic sequences between Ospreay and Scurll. Eventually, Scurll pinned Ospreay to leave him with a wounded Liger.

Just when you thought Liger was done, he found something extra and emerged as the first winner of the British J-Cup after a Liger Bomb and a brainbuster.

Bodom attacked Liger after and then had a pull-apart with the legendary Marty Jones (who was giving Liger the trophy and had given a great speech earlier in the night). Half of the roster for the show came out to get Bodom out of the ring. It will be Bodom vs. Liger at RevPro’s Summer Sizzler in August.