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Fire up Demand Progress and away we go!
Show opens with a music video on the entire history of Progress to date that you can check out right here.
Jim Smallman’s opening spiel focuses on how crazy it is that they went from 323 in paid attendance on the first show to over 2400 here. Glen Joseph then brings the brand new Atlas Championship title belt (made by the same beltsmith that made the new WWE Cruiserweight Championship!) to the ring for its unveiling.
Joe Coffey vs. Rampage Brown (Atlas Championship Tournament Finals)
Only now realizing that Joe Coffey’s Jimmy Hart Iron Man fakes the riff by borrowing from a Tony Martin-era Black Sabbath tune, Get a Grip. Good work, lads!
Rampage with an early advantage but Coffey comes back with a big dropkick and puts the former Progress Champion on the other side. Back and forth it goes, Rampage hitting a big spinebuster and Coffey sending him to the outside in return. Brawling on the outside, shot for shot until Coffey hits a big powerslam on the mats that leaves Brown reeling.
Joe keeps the advantage back in the ring, taking Rampage to town and sending him outside to collect himself before getting right back on him when he comes back in. Slugging away, Rampage looking for the piledriver but gets denied, giant swing from the Iron Man right into the Boston crab! Rampage back in it with a heel kick and a Rock Bottom but it’s not enough.
Slugging it out again, chop for chop, forearm for forearm, both men end up on their knees throwing headbutts until they’re laid out. They take the majority of the standing ten count to get back up and get right back into on their knees, eventually ending up on their feet and trading lariats. German suplex from Coffey gets a back suplex from Rampage and they’re laid out again.
Diving crossbody from the Iron Man gets two and he takes the elbow pad off. Rampage ducks the discus lariat but gets a left arm Northern Lariat and ends up eating the discus on a rebound! Not enough! More struggle, Rampage hits a Samoan Drop off the second and finally gets the piledriver but Coffey kicks out! It’s no avail, though, as Rampage sets him up top...
Rampage Brown wins by pinfall with a rope-hung piledriver, becoming the inaugural Progress Atlas Champion.
Solid match. I’m not the biggest fan of Rampage but he did well for himself here, and Coffey has been pretty enjoyable every time I’ve seen him.
Alex Windsor, Dahlia Black, & Jinny vs. Laura Di Matteo, Nixon Newell, & Pollyanna
Newell and Windsor starting, Nixon takes the lead pretty hard and Windsor backs off for the tag. On to Black & Pollyanna, Black initially delivering a bit of a beating but Pollyanna comes back and again the rulebreaker slips off for a tag. Jinny and Laura in now and they start off hot throwing hockey fight forearms at each other. Laura wins the exchange, quick tag to Pollyanna who picks Di Matteo up and physically throws her into a missle dropkick on her former employer.
But before Pollyanna can capitalize TK Cooper gets himself involved and now it’s quick tags as the rudos beat on Pollyanna. An overhead arm drag from Jinny dumps Pollyanna on her head in the corner and nearly ends the match right then and there. Pollyanna manages to get some separation with a back body drop on Windsor off the second turnbuckle.
Tags made and Jinny and Laura are going at each other again, a big boot from Jinny nearly ends it but Nixon breaks the pin. Style(s) Clash on Di Matteo but she kicks out! Jinny berates Laura and double teams her with Dahlia for a wheelbarrow DDT. Nixon in clearing house, Dahlia misses a Mafia kick right into Jinny’s face and eats a Shining Wizard herself. Nixon and Pollyanna with a flapjack DDT on Windsor and then the Pollinator on Jinny but Black cuts her off.
Referee Paz has his back turned and TK Cooper comes in for the knockout punch but Pollyanna ducks and he nails Dahlia with it! Nixon kicks him in the balls and hits a Tiger suplex on Dahlia only to eat a Blue Thunder Driver from Windsor! Lungblower from Laura and she goes to the second but Jinny cuts her off...
Alex Windsor, Dahlia Black, & Jinny win by pinfall when Jinny hits a rope-hung X-Factor on Laura Di Matteo.
Excellent trios match, really enjoyable. Progress’ women’s division has really come into its own in a big way this year and this made for a good showcase.
As a note for anyone that hasn’t heard, the Pastor William Eaver/Sebastian match would have been here, but he was legitimately knocked out by a Clothesline From Heaven before the match properly began and the match was thrown out as a result. He’s now out indefinitely with a nerve pressing on his spine that needs treatment.
British Strong Style (Pete Dunne & Trent Seven) vs. London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) (c) (Progress Tag Team Championship)
Seven cuts a quick promo saying that the Riots aren’t strong style enough and offering that they should go ahead and leave and forfeit the titles without a fight. Lynch fires back saying this is their house and they’re going to have to fight for ‘em.
Fighting back and forth early on, a double spinebuster from the Riots to BSS punctuates the opening. The action spills outside and the Riots hit tandem suicide dives! Referee Chris Roberts being very generous here, neither counting nor threatening to throw the match out for a lack of tags as they go to war on the outside.
A good old sit-down slugfest ensues and the Riots outlast Strong Style easily. Riots with tandem cannonballs off the apron to the seated Strong Style boys! Rope-hung DDT takes Davis back into the ring and order breaks out. Dunne sets up a Romero Special but opts to bite Davis’ hand and stomp his knees.
Lynch and Seven going at it now but Dunne cuts Lynch off and attacks his injured right eye. Davis has his man’s back and Air Raid Crashes Seven onto Dunne while Rob recovers. Davis gets both of BSS up on his shoulders for a Samoan drop! Things completely break down for a while, all four men in the ring, Lynch eating a lariat to the bad eye at one point.
Dunne bites Lynch’s hand again, which sets up a human handipede as Lynch bites Seven, Seven bits Davis, and Davis completes the chain by biting Dunne! Tandem Germans from the Riots followed by tandem powerbombs! District Line on Dunne but Seven breaks it up. Spear from Lynch gets another nearfall and Seven comes back into the ring.
British Strong Style go two-on-one on each Riot, hitting an awesome uppercut-assisted Dragon suplex on Lynch before clobbering him with strike after strike. A defiant Lynch flips them off but they bite his birds and go back to gouging the injured eye! Double spear but he can’t capitalize! Davis gets back in a moment but Dunne maneuvers the referee around, they get rid of Davis and then hit Lynch in the bad eye with the Riots’ own cricket bat to set up the finish.
British Strong Style win by pinfall with a kick-assisted piledriver on Rob Lynch, becoming the NEW Progress Tag Team Champions.
What a war. Maybe would have preferred for the match to be made no-DQ ahead of time instead of playing the “referee doesn’t want to throw a title match out” card, but that’s a minor quibble.
Jim Smallman introduces us to the second half by singling out a few folks from Canada and Italy (and Hertfordshire) who traveled long distances to get to the show, but when he’s about ready to announce the first match of this half, Paul Robinson’s music interrupts. He’s angry that they ran the show without including him, since he’s been here from the beginning and paid a cost in blood, sweat, and bones. He’s not leaving the ring until he gets a fight.
Chuck Mambo vs. Paul Robinson
Mambo stars off superkicking Robinson to the outside into a springboard somersault seated senton! Robinson cuts him off getting back in and rains fists down on a grounded Mambo. Robinson continues to take Mambo to the woodshed, biting his ear and raining knee after knee on him in the corner.
Mambo mounts a comeback with a diving blockbuster and a flying forearm but Robinson cuts him back off with a diving elbow, stomps and knees. Hooking the nose, the abuse continues, taking a break only to go and spit at the crowd. He spits on Mambo and rubs it in, soaking in the crowd’s hate as Mambo gets back to his feet.
Strikes exchanged, springboard Meteora from Mambo but it’s not enough. Robinson with a boatload of knee strikes to the face...
Paul Robinson wins by pinfall with a jumping stomp to the back of Mambo’s head.
Obviously a bit of a squash to reintroduce Paul, but well executed.
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. (Two Out of Three Falls Match)
Stalling early as Ciampa lets the crowd’s support for Sabre get to him. They finally lock up and get to the grappling, Sabre with a natural early lead but Ciampa’s able to hold his own. Ciampa finally gets frustrated and fires of a back elbow and a knee that sends Sabre to the outside. In his element now, Ciampa takes charge with chop after chop and the big running knee.
A second strikes home after a wind-up that saw Ciampa go deep into the crowd for his running start, but when he looks to follow up with Project Ciampa Sabre’s ready and grapples out of it! Sabre starts going to town on the arm now that there’s no reason to keep it gentlemanly. Wrenching, tearing, twisting, kicking, you name it.
Ciampa eventually gets some separation and fires back with chops from the good arm, but an arm wringer to the bad arm later and Sabre’s back on him. Old-school seated cross armbar into a triangle choke and Ciampa grits it out to deadlift Sabre up, walk him over to the turnbuckle and send his face crashing into it.
Corner knee and following some jockeying at the turnbuckle for the avalanche version Ciampa settles on a normal Air Raid Crash as a followup. Ciampa tries giving back as good as he got on the arm but Sabre’s able to slip out of a whip and Pele the arm! Project Ciampa ducked, Penalty Kick ducked, roll-up with the trunks fails to put Sabre away!
Sabre back on the arm, armbar, Ciampa rolling, Sabre bends the wrist back, Ciampa out with a stomp to the head, Sabre right back on him, deadlift one-arm Project Ciampa! No fall! Chops for kicks, Ciampa ducks the last one and goes to town before they trade quick nearfall attempt and...
Tommaso Ciampa and Zack Sabre, Jr. each earn a fall following a double pin.
Firing kicks off at each other, Sabre catches Ciampa with an uppercut to the arm and into the armbar but Ciampa rolls through and reverses to an arm-trap crossface and then into a crucifix neck crank but Sabre gets the ropes! Striking on the apron now, Ciampa wins the exchange and looks for the Air Raid Crash but the bad arm gives Sabre an opening and he takes it.
Tornado DDT rolled through into the bodyscissors Kimura but Ciampa forces him up top and finally lands the second rope Air Raid Crash! But Sabre’s got his wits about him and rolls with it to transition to Ode to Jim Breaks! Ciampa rolls him over for a nearfall before he can lock it on all the way and hits a damn Pedigree for two!
Knee pad down, running knee, Sabre kicks out again! He’s out of it, though, and Ciampa has plenty of time to decided his next move, or so he thinks when Sabre hits a half nelson suplex on him! Two Penalty Kicks, not enough! Sabre up top, Ciampa tries to counter, Sabre wrenches the arm, Ciampa fires back... PROJECT CIAMPA OFF THE SECOND ROPE!
Ciampa firing huge slaps off and Sabre fires his own back. Flying armbar attempt, Ciampa blocks, Sabre turns it into a triangle, Ciampa tries to deadlift, Sabre switches to the double arm octopus and wrenches it hard all the way to the mat! Ciampa tries to hold out...
Zack Sabre, Jr. wins by submission, two falls to one, with Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than The Last; The Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness.
What a match! Just excellent, a perfect cap to their Progress rivalry and to Tommaso Ciampa’s independent wrestling career.
Damon Moser, F.S.U. (Eddie Dennis & Mark Andrews), & Jack Gallagher vs. the Origin (Dave Mastiff, El Ligero, Nathan Cruz, & Zack Gibson) (If the Origin lose, they must disband)
Nathan Cruz attempts to lead an “Us Four Guys!” chant in advance of the match and Jim Smallman reads some prepared introductions for the Origin, including “He’s big, he’s bad, ask your mum, he’s probably your dad” for Dave Mastiff. And, of course, Zack Gibson does his thing to deafening boos and a Jimmy Rave-esque wave of toilet paper raining down on him. If Zack Gibson could bottle his heat and sell it to the rest of wrestling, he’d be a billionaire and we’d be in another wrestling boom.
Once the match finally begins, all hell breaks loose and ringside area is bleached white with TP. Brawling, tandem dives from F.S.U., fighting deep into the crowd, even Gentleman Jack has eschewed the grappling arts in favor of throwing forearms at Zack Gibson. Mark Andrews with a moonsault off the balcony!
The brawling hasn’t died down but finally Gallagher and Gibson are in the ring having a wrestling match. Andrews in with a big bulldog, Gibson cuts him off and looks for a suplex but Andrews defies gravity and hits that wicked stunner of his. Cruz in, Show Stolen, Dennis is in but no fancy moves, just forearms and chops for Cruz until Ligero shows up and he and Cruz double-team the Pride of Wales.
Moser in, laying strikes before hitting a half nelson neckbreaker onto the knee on Ligero, who pulls referee Joel Allen in to block the knee and get a low blow in. Gallagher punishes him by tying him up into a ball, and then Gibson too! A THIRD ON NATHAN CRUZ! Dave Mastiff in to save his pals and wallop a diving Moser with a lariat besides! The Progress loyalists dump everybody but Ligero out of the ring and he resorts to begging.
Crucifix buckle bomb/enzuigiri combo, Gallagher looking for the running dropkick but referee Joel Allen gets pulled in by Ligero. Joel’s had enough and hits a stunner that sets up a shooting star press assisted Next Stop Driver! But Cruz pulls Allen out of the ring before he can count three!
Origin start clearing house but Gallagher lands a big headbutt on Gibson to even the score. Forearm for forearm, Gallagher gets the advantage but Gibson picks the legs and locks the Shankly Gates! Gallagher escapes, running dropkick in the corner but nobody’s home! Off the ropes into a shot from the car stereo by Mastiff!
The Origin win by pinfall with a twisting brainbuster from Zack Gibson on Jack Gallagher.
Awesome match, started hot and never really let up. Really glad the Origin are sticking around, hoping they get to play a more central role going forward. And of course, Gallagher goes out of the indies on his shield, a true gentleman.
Mark Haskins vs. Marty Scurll (c) vs. Tommy End (Progress Championship)
All three men in and trading shots early, nearly getting their respective finishers in. Haskins gets dumped out and Scurll and End go at it for a bit until Haskins catches the apron superkick and takes Scurll outside. Tiger feint kick, suicide dives on both the Villain and the Anti-hero! All three in and going again, I keep waiting for a breather but I’m not getting one.
But eventually End goes outside and Haskins lays it on Scurll only to get arm-wringered hard on the bad shoulder. Haskins with a kneeling deathlock, End tries to break it up and gets caught a moment in an abdominal stretch. Scurll out, End firing knockout kicks at Haskins, Mark gets fired up to throw one of his own but Tommy catches it, stomps the back of the knee and fires a knee to the back of the head.
Scurll back in, cutting Tommy off before the double stomp and superplexing him. But he wants to go back to work on Haskins’ shoulder for the chickenwing and suplexes him onto the apron. Haskins ain’t dead, though, and wins a fast and furious strike exchange back in the ring only to walk into a boot from End. Marty looking to break End’s finger and Haskins cuts him off and creates an opening for End to fire off a strike rush at the champ.
Strike rush on Haskins, too, and Haskins runs right into a double stomp! Owari Death Stomp on Scurll, knockout kick into a German on Haskins, Tommy End is on fire! Knockout kick and a bridging German on Scurll but Haskins breaks up the pin and rolls through looking for the Stretch Muffler. That’s denied but he manages the roll into the Death Valley Driver and the bridging armbar!
Scurll breaks it up and locks the crossface chickenwing on End, Tommy rolls it over and Haskins runs in and grabs the bridging Fujiwara on both men! Made in Japan gets a nearfall but Scurll is back in and goes to town on both guys, folding powerbomb on End, none of it to any avail. Both other men dazed, Scurll throwing strikes but he runs the ropes into fakeout superkicks to the knee before Scurll and Haskins bicycle kick each other at the same time, leaving all three men laid out on the mat.
Marty digs out some umbrellas, because he’s remembered it’s technically no DQ, lays End out, but Haskins blocks and looks for the Sharpshooter. It’s on but he eats an umbrella and the Villain gives him one in return before End hits a roundhouse on the champ and looks for plunder of his own. The Dutchman gets a table out and sets it up outside, but when he takes Marty to the apron he eats an eyepoke and they fight it out a while until Haskins gets back in it.
They cut Haskins off and suplex him over the ropes and through the table! End and Scurll fighting it out alone again for a bit, Marty dislocates a finger and goes for the chickenwing but End goes to he knees to block and gets his head elbowed in. Scurll’s got the fingers locked but End gets the ropes and the Villain chooses to break in order to fire off more umbrella shots.
Tommy flips him off and Scurll breaks his middle finger before getting the title belt out and hitting him with it. Cradle tombstone piledriver on the Anti-hero but he kicks out! Umbrella shot to referee Chris Roberts before a second tombstone, Joel Allen runs out to count and End kicks out again! So of course Marty waffles Allen with an umbrella, too! Gotch piledriver now, referee Paz runs out, but TOMMY END REFUSES TO DIE.
Again, the Villain takes it out on the referee, Paz eating it extra hard. Crew members run in to try and stop him and he wails on all those guys too! Jim Smallman checks on Paz and tries to talk Marty down when I Hope You Suffer hits! IT’S JIMMY HAVOC! He gets in the ring, flips Marty Scurll off and drops him with an Acid Rainmaker before picking up the title that he held for over 600 days and throwing it Jim Smallman.
Tommy End with a tope con giro on a waking Haskins but Scurll hits him with the umbrella before he can hit the double stomp. Haskins ducks and dodges, rolling through into the Sharpshooter. Chris Roberts is awake!
Mark Haskins wins by submission with a sharpshooter on Marty Scurll, becoming your NEW Progress Champion.
That started off pretty strong, dipped in the middle, and then Jimmy Havoc came back to save Jim Smallman and that was an awesome enough plot beat to save it. Not the best farewell for Tommy End, but you can’t win ‘em all.
Overall
A damn good show. Everything delivered pretty well aside from that sag in the main event, especially the three tags and Sabre/Ciampa. Progress have had a bit of a bumpy ride this year, but I feel like this show shows that between the women’s division, their brace of new champions, and of course, the return of Jimmy Havoc, they have a real chance to come back on the upswing. Check it out on Demand Progress, folks. .