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It took me a few days to get to it, but Chapter 47: Complicated Simplicity is up on Demand Progress, so let's dig in!
Eddie Dennis vs. James Drake
Drake attacks Dennis during his entrance! Suplex on the floor! The bell rings, corner dropkick, Eddie kicks out at the last second! The Pride of Wales going hard, uppercuts, knocking James off the top turnbuckle with a big boot, tope con giro! Back in the ring, crucifix powerbomb into the buckles, Next Stop Driver reversed to a pin and Drake takes him to the mat for mounted punches.
Fighting to the outside, Drake in firm control at first but Dennis pulls back ahead and gets the match back in the ring, where he finds himself subject to the ground and pound once again. Taking Eddie to the woodshed, shifting to the arm before climbing up top again, where the Pride of Wales is able to catch him with a delayed superplex!
Trading strikes, jumping clothesline, Dennis fired up, charging uppercut, tilt-a-whirl black hole slam... NOPE! Drake back at it, enzuigiri, exploder suplex, Eddie kicks right out, a dropkick missies in the corner, Next Stop Driver countered to an O'Connor roll, Dennis back with a superkick, bridging fisherman's suplex, not enough to end it.
Pride of Wales laying chops and forearms in, but James sneaks one in...
James Drake wins by pinfall with Mr. Mayhem.
Fun opener, glad to have Eddie Dennis back for sure.
Alex Windsor vs. Laura Di Matteo (Natural Progression Series IV Semifinal Match)
Basic grappling early, jockeying for position, but Windsor gets hot and starts shoving, so Di Matteo takes her to the mat for grounded punches! A bit of light lucha ending in a legscissors pin and Alex bails. Cut off on the dive, the fighting goes outside, back suplex on the apron, Windsor takes her shirt off and beats Laura with it before choking her!
Back in the ring, Di Matteo immediately takes flight with a suicide dive but Windsor regains control once the match proper actually returns to the ring, throwing dropkick on dropkick. Hammer whip, caught up in the ropes, Laura takes a wicked rope-hung neckbreaker onto the knee in the corner but the cover is only good for one and Alex gos after her braids.
Whip, jockeying for position, schoolboy for neckbreaker, getting nearfalls, Windsor ahead with a curb stomp but it's not good to finish the match. Off the ropes, Di Matteo back in, kick, headscissors, flying clotheslines, to the corner, up and over to the apron, forearm smash, up top, missile dropkick!
Fired up but Windsor gets a Blue Thunder Driver off, Di Matteo with a Codebreaker in return, up top, Alex cuts her off with a slap, double wrist-clutch electric chair drop for a nearfall. Inverted Sharpshooter applied, Laura reverses...
Laura Di Matteo wins by submission with a grounded octopus hold.
This one didn't quite come together for me. Early stuff outside was good and then they got in the ring and it fell apart a little. Cool finish, though.
Mike Bird vs. "Flash" Morgan Webster
Bird starting strong with a takedown, going after Webster's previously injured shoulder, grinding and stomping. To some more even-handed grappling, Mike takes him down easily and goes right back at the arm with a wristlock, slapping Flash clean in the face and spitting on him when he breaks it.
Hard slap in return, a bit of light lucha, arm drags a-plenty, Bird ends up outside, Morgan thinking about a dive but he gets dragged outside, thrown into the crowd and slammed face-first into the apron! Back in the ring, Bird perched up top, diving elbow strike only good for two and he punishes Webster with disdain.
Flash back in it, throwing hands, but he gets caught off the ropes and Mike absolutely pastes him with an awesome half nelson Flowsion! Looking to end it with a powerbomb, Morgan reverses to the Strangler! Out with a charge in the corner, up and over, laying bird out with a larait, charging blows, ducking and dodging, a vicious headbutt sends Mike outside!
Plancha dodged but Webster whips him head-first into the ringpost, pops up on the apron... AROUND THE RINGPOST FRANKENSTEINER! A crossbody takes both men into the third row! Back in the ring, Bird on dream street but able to get his wits about him enough to cut Flash off on the climb.
Swinging Blue Thunder Driver, he immediately follows with an elevated crucifix powerbomb... FLASH MORGAN WEBSTER LIVES! Trying another, Webster reverses to a pin, kicked out, dive ducked, German suplex, Flash lands on his feet, tilt-a-whirl blocked, Bird with a powerbomb lift to fireman's carry, Morgan reverses to a poison Frankensteiner!
Fireman's carry neckbreaker on the knee... NOT ENOUGH! Struggle in the corner, the Strangler is in on the top rope! Mike reverses to a gourdbuster, leaps off the top... RIGHT INTO A KNEE TO THE FACE! Wristlock applied, shiranui, no good, but right back to the Strangler, Bird flips, uh, the bird...
"Flash" Morgan Webster wins by submission with the Strangler.
That was a hoot. Flash has really had a fire lit under him on his return to Progress and I was quite pleasantly surprised with my first time seeing Mike Bird. Good stuff!
Post-match, Bird spits in Webster's face and leaves sour as Flash cuts a promo. He says this was a year since he had his Cruiserweight Classic Qualifying Match, and he's been quiet since coming back because he didn't know if his injury would reaggravate itself, but three months clear and he's strong.
He thanks everyone for listening to his podcast and retweeting stuff and keeping him going during his ten months off, and whatever he does next, he's gonna tear it apart. He goes to leave and James Drake attacks him on the stage!
London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) vs. South Pacific Power Trip (TK Cooper & Travis Banks)
Banks and Lynch to start, a bit of bull moose strength testing and Travis takes Rob off his feet with a shoulder block! Banks helps him with an kip-up and Lynch gives him an enzuigiri in return, and takes are made. Davis in control but Cooper manages to even it up, a bit of lucha, arm drags and dropkicks and a shake of the hands.
TK gets a bit emotional and referee Chris Roberts consoles him with a hug and a pat on the bum, much to the dismay of Dahlia Black at ringside. James offers a hug as well, Cooper takes it and then proceeds to play a quick round of the circle game to get a knockout punch in!
Rob Lynch looking to fly, TK cuts him off with a scissors kick! Moonsault off the apron! Rob Lynch tope con giro! Low suicide dive from Banks! Cooper climbs up top but Davis cuts him off, hooks him... AVALANCHE EXPLODER SUPLEX TO THE FLOOR! JD back up top, diving moonsault from the top to the floor!
Back in the ring, Dahlia confronts him and takes her walking boot off, she ducks him and throws it in his face! Brawling outside, all hell breaking loose, fighting into the crowd as the Riots take firm control.TK gets the better of Davis as Lynch drags Banks to ringside where the SPPT man turns the tide a bit as well.
Switching it up, the Riots gain brief advantage but Cooper puts Rob into the post and Travis lays wild forearms in James, pushing him up to the stage where Davis knocks him back down the steps! Back in the ring, Lynch charging on TK, shot after shot, he breaks away but Davis exploder suplexes him in the corner!
Hanging him across the second rope, JD drops the diving senton! Banks is there with chest kicks for both men, Kiwi Buzzsaw in full effect! Charging blows, he kicks James' legs out from under him, stacking both Riots in the corner, cannonball, Cooper back at it with a hesitation dropkick! Pop-up cutter... NO GOOD!
TK and JD trading forearms and headbutts, to which Cooper points out he's Samoan and shrugs it off! Superkick for lariat, both men out on the mat! Davis ducking and dodging, Lynch in, throwing slaps, he back suplexes both men but they land on their feet and throw stereo superkicks! Rob bounces off the ropes and comes back with a double lariat! ROB LYNCH FLIP PILEDRIVER! TK COOPER LIVES!
Setting up the catapult spear but Banks runs interference, Cooper in with a neckbreaker but Davis catches him with an Air Raid Crash! Up top, TK cuts him off... SPANISH FLY! LYNCH BREAKS IT UP WITH A SENTON ATOMICO! BANKS COAST TO COAST! Riots hit SPPT's assisted DDT on Travis... NOT ENOUGH!
CATAPULT SPEAR ON DAVIS! NOPE! Lynch fighting them off two-on-one, the shirt comes off, he hits the ropes but Banks has the springboard kick and the fisherman driver, TK Cooper springboard 450 splash...ROB LYNCH KICKS OUT! Tandem superkicks...
South Pacific Power Trip win by pinfall with Sky Tower on Rob Lynch.
Excellent match, as expected from these two teams. A bit cute early on, but that stuff all worked with the very real emotion generated by Cooper and Black's visa expiring, and once we got to the fountain of dives (and that INSANE exploder to the floor!), it was full speed ahead, straight excellence.
The South Pacific Power Trip have grown leaps and bounds since their debut, especially TK Cooper, who's really come into his own as a complete performer as opposed to a woman punching machine, and I'm gonna miss having the full Power Trip around for sure. Gotta hope the wheels of government turn to get them back quickly!
Dahlia gets on the mic to say when they came over here they were just kids and it sucks that they have to go home, but they go home having achieved so much, and they owe so much of that to Progress who, for some reason, saw something in them and took a huge risk on them, and Progress is their home.
TK says she's right and adds the worst thing is they've seen folks leave and say their goodbyes before and it sucks that they're not leaving because they're going somewhere but because they just can't stay. But he's had a hell of a time punching girls and wearing dungarees, and after two years the South Pacific Power Couple may have been born in New Zealand, but they were made in Progress.
They share a rare kiss that doesn't involve staring at the camera and Glen Joseph gets on the mic talking about two bits of business he has to take care of, and neither of them is the visa so don't get excited. But believe it or not, not everyone in the wrestling business is amazing, there are some really shitty people. (TK waves.)
You can have people you work with, colleagues, people you respect, and the SPPT came to England on a wing and a prayer but they go back as heroes, two of the best professional wrestlers anywhere in the world. For himself, Jon, and Jim, they're their friends and they're sad to see them go, but he wants to do business here, and they just beat the London Riots, so he'll make them a promise-- any time they want, anywhere in the world, they get a shot at the Progress Tag Team Championship.
This brings British Strong Style out, and Trent Seven gets on the mic. Not to interrupt the wonderful piece of business going on, but to be honest, he thinks it's a bit shit and he's rich now, so he'll buy them visas. Anyway, this whole title shot around the world is pretty exciting, or they could give them the belt shot now!
At which point he literally hits TK with the belt and Tyler Bate takes Dahlia down and forces her to watch her man take a beatdown. Pete Dunne provides a chair, Seven wraps it around Cooper's leg, he picks up another chair... PILLMANIZED! RINGKAMPF MAKE THE SAVE!
BSS run off and the ring crew check on TK, but he insists on getting up under his own power.
After intermission, Pastor William Eaver comes down, fresh off a charity marathon, and Jim Smallman puts him over big before announcing him for this year's Super Strong Style 16 tournament.
Mark Andrews vs. Mark Haskins (Progress Championship #1 Contender's Match)
An extended handshake to start, into grappling, Haskins going after the arm, Andrews fighting back with some flying and Haskins gives it right back to him! Back to the grappling, White Lightning having a go this time, ducking and diving, the bridging Fujiwara armbar catches for a second but Andrews escapes!
Hurricanrana gets two in return; and Haskins goes right back to trying to ground him, throwing dragon screw on dragon screw but Andrews block one and hits a double stomp! Off the ropes for some exchanges, roll-through into a pin and then Stretch Muffler, Haskins clearly having settled on the leg now.
Punishment in the corner, a slingshot dropkick catches Andrews flush, he hits a shinbreaker, leg drop to a British figure four leglock, Andrews gets the ropes and catches him with a jawbreaker. Pass to the apron, slingshot back in, wheelbarrow bulldog! Double knees, northern lights suplex, Haskins rolls him through, throws him outside, suicide dive!
Andrews returns the favor with a tope con giro, Haskins in and out, White Lightning catches him with a Frankensteiner into the crowd! Andrews thinking moonsault off the apron, cut off, throwing chest kicks but Haskins hoists him up... DEATH VALLEY DRIVER ON THE APRON!
Off the ropes, roll-through into another DVD... MARK ANDREWS LIVES! Pumphandle, Andrews rolls through, double stomp, he snaps a Frankensteiner off in the corner, double stomp to the back! Double stomp empty, Haskins with a superkick, he catches a boot, roll-through transition but White Lightning slips out, superkick of his own, Tiger Feint, slingshot countered!
Superkick, thinking suplex... STUNDOG MILLIONAIRE! Shooting star press, nobody home, running shooting star press... HASKINS CATCHES HIM IN A TRIANGLE CHOKE! Andrews pivots up and pins him but he's tapping?!
The match goes to a draw due to Mark Andrews tapping as he had Mark Haskins pinned for a three count.
Good match with a cool finish. Could maybe kvetch about the leg not mattering as much as I'd like but it's not like Haskins went after it THAT hard and Andrews did a lot of small "this hurts but I'm fighting through it" stuff that went a long way.
Jim Smallman announces that as a result of the draw, both men will advance to a title shot at Chapter 48!
Jack Sexsmith vs. Paul Robinson (Super Strong Style 16 Qualifying Match)
JACK ATTACKS PAUL FROM BEHIND DURING HIS ENTRANCE! JUST CLOBBERING HIM ON THE WAY TO THE RING!
The press continues after the bell, punishing him in the corner, bicycle knee, climbing but Robinson slips out, sets him up Cheeky Nando's style and bites the back of his ankle before yanking him to the mat! Choking him over the ropes, stepping on the side of his neck, just taking Jack to the proverbial woodshed here.
Wrenching the nose, sticking his finger in Sexsmith's mouth, taking him back to the corner, hammer blows to the shoulder, the running stomp is ducked and Jack hits the LGBDT... NOT ENOUGH! Trading forearms, Paul switches to body blows, Sexsmith catches his arm, flips him around, schoolboy pin gets two!
Draws him up for the ol' Greco-Roman liplock and Robinson comes up hot but Jack keeps his cool, keeps him off-balance, and drops him with the Pearl Neckbreaker! Mr. Cocko in play but Paul takes the wind out of him with a knee. Stomp blocked, the Crippler Cockface is in! Robinson bites the hand for a break and eats Mr. Cocko!
Essex Destroyer! Sexsmith with a flip piledriver commentary informs me is called Rainbow Ride! LGBDT blocked, the stomp to the back of the head connects... NO GOOD! OsCutter... JACK SEXSMITH LIVES! Shooting star press... JACK SEXSMITH WILL NOT DIE! Crushing hands to Jack on the mat as Robinson backs off to figure out what's next, he goes for Blackout again... SEXSMITH CATCHES HIM INTO THE CRIPPLER COCKFACE! HE'S TAPPING! IT'S OVER! JACK SEXSMITH IS IN SUPER STRONG STYLE 16!
Jack Sexsmith wins by submission with the Crippler Cockface, qualifying for Super Strong Style 16!
That was awesome, a perfect climax to the story of Jack Sexsmith becoming a "real boy", as it were. His forearm strikes in this, just clubbing, pushing through Paul Robinson's head. Excellent.
It got moved to the end of the VOD but I'll note Paul's retirement here and say that he will be missed. His match against Spud at Chapter 42 remains one of my favorite matches of the year so far and in Progress period.
British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven, & Tyler Bate) (c) vs. Ringkampf (Axel Dieter, Jr., Timothy Thatcher, & WALTER) (Progress Championship / Progress Tag Team Championship)
Dieter and Bate start, Tyler taking his sweet time but eventually they get to the grappling. Axel in firm control, working through three or four holds in quick succession, settling on a cravate and holding it through thick and thin until the WWE UK Champion gets the ropes. Bate's turn, working a full nelson, catching the Ringkampf man back in it every time he tries to escape.
The ol' World of Sport leg escape takes and Dieter grabs a knucklelock, dragging him around, shifting to a hammerlock and then tagging Thatcher in when it seems Tyler was in danger of breaking it. Tim wants Pete, however, and Dunne tags in obligingly. Intense grappling, waistlock for facelock, wristlock, Seven comes in and catches an uppercut for his trouble, the former Evolve World Champion locking a rear chinlock in and wrenching it down hard.
Trent with a double leg, Tim fighting from guard, jockeying for position, Thatcher tosses a slap off, rolls him around and starts raining strikes down! All hell breaks loose, Dunne throws a chair in the ring, Thatcher sets it up, sits down, and flips him off! Peter back in, test of strength, Dunne bridging out of the pin repeatedly but Tim puts his heel into the champion's nose and shifts to a cross armbar!
Pete bails and WALTER tags in, leaving Dunne understandably unwilling to face the Austrian behemoth. But he gets in and bravely tries a few shoulder blocks, getting Seven in for stereo action but WALTER will not fall. Bate in, all three BSS men cannot knock him down! WALTER catches all three with a huge dropkick!
Ringkampf line all three men up, whips, HHH single knee facebreakers, Trent gets a bottle of water and they all do Triple's water spitting taunt on the apron only to get clobbered by boots from Ringkampf! Things break down on the outside, all six men brawling, Thatcher with Dunne, WALTER with Bate, Seven with Dieter.
WALTER takes care of Bate in short order and helps Axel take Trent out and then he comes to Tim's assistance. Dieter and Bate in the crowd, back to the ring and Peter kicks Dieter's leg out of his leg. Seven and WALTER in the ring, Trent throwing a lariat but it just fills the Ringkampf man with resolve.
Gojira Clutch applied, Ringkampf break against the ropes into the German suplex! Butterfly suplex gets two and things threaten to break down again but cooler heads prevail. Dragging Seven to his feet, he throws a chop that cracks across the ring but WALTER is unfazed and absolutely drops him with one of his own!
Tyler suffers the same fate, Pete comes in and throws Bate in front of the chop with his name on it, raking the big man's eyes! Tyler takes offense and they have a shoving match that Trent breaks up, Thatcher in wait but they patch it up for a superkick party before trapping the former Evolve World Champion in their corner for a beatdown.
Smashing his leg over the apron and choking him on the ropes as referee Chris Roberts struggles to get some order, leaving Tyler in with Tim, kicking his head in and tagging Dunne in. Kick to the ribs, setting up the Romero Special and mocking the Ringkamp pose before stomping the knees and wrenching on Thatcher's ear!
Wishboning the fingers, Seven tags in and grabs a hand, they snap both hands at the same time! Kick to the back, reverse chinlock and Tyler comes into start picking the leg apart. Shoulder kneebar, spinning toehold, kneeling figure four, Tim keeps sitting up and Bate shoves him down. Trading slaps, tag to Peter, double stomp to the chest!
Thatcher desperate for the tag, Dunne stomps him between the shoulders and they proceed to trade forearms, they clear each other's corners, Tim gets the belly-to-belly suplex off the ropes! Tag to WALTER barely missed as BSS yank him from the apron! Double lariats, Thatcher keeps his wits about him, back suplex!
Tim calling for WALTER, desperate for the tag, Dunne picks the leg and rolls into an inverted figure four leglock before shifting and adding a stepover armbar to the mix. He sits back on the leg, shifts to a deathlock, repeated stomps to the back and he breaks, thinking suplex but Thatcher reverses!
Crawling, stumbling, desperate, tag to Axel Dieter, Jr.! Uppercuts for everybody! Diving corkscrew uppercut on Bate! Ringkampf! Off the ropes with another but Peter breaks it up! He springboards into another uppercut of his own and Axel drops Trent on Tyler with an Air Raid Crash!
Dunne calling for the brainbuster, Dieter reverses, rope-hung DDT from the top! But Seven is there... SEVEN STARS! He ducks a boot from Thatcher, wristlock, Tim blocks with a slap to the face! Butterfly suplex, Pete breaks it with a diving double stomp! WALTER IN, GOJIRA CLUTCH! DUNNE BITES THE THUMB TO BREAK!
Pump kick, lariat, the big man from Austria is fired up! Looking for a German suplex, Tyler tries to block... HE GERMANS BOTH OF THEM! Gojira Clutch on Seven, Dieter ties Dunne up with a Lotus Lock and Thatcher has Bate locked down with the Fujiwara! But with the ring full, the ropes are close by and a break is inevitable.
Thatcher throwing uppercuts at Bate, he catchs Bop and Bang but is unfazed, cracking the young man across the sternum with his signature headbutt! Everything breaks down into the "everybody do something cool" section of our match, WALTER turns Bate inside out with a lariat but the young man comes back with a running shooting star press and a German suplex for a nearfall!
Dieter throwing uppercuts but he comes off the ropes into a triple team uppercut, Dunne picks him up... SPIKE TOMBSTONE! NOT ENOUGH?! Dunne dives on WALTER, gets caught and slammed into the apron! Seven follows... APRON POWERBOMB! But Bate's dive connects! He tries again with Tim but Thatcher catches him into a Fujiwara armbar on the outside!
WALTER lifts Trent up for the powerbomb / diving uppercut combo... NOT ENOUGH! WALTER's fired up, Gojira Clutch, he falls back, bodyscissors, it's in! Bate runs interference, Trent taps and Dunne catches the big man in the head with the title! Trent is out cold but he's on the big man...
British Strong Style win by pinfall with Trent Seven unconscious on a prone WALTER, retaining the Progress Championship and Progress Tag Team Championship.
Great match, really fantastic. It's always a question in my head when I see dudes with so much technical wrestling prowess in a tag match like this, of how well it'll work and whether I'll come away thinking they should have done singles matches for MAXIMUM GRAPPLING, but on this one, no such thought enters my head. Just a shame this is likely the only time we'll get to see the full Ringkampf trio in action here in Progress.
Overall
Another great outing from Progress, who are on a real hot streak here. The main event six-man and the South Pacific Power Trip's farewell match were the absolute highlights of the show, but aside from a mildly disjointed women's outing, none of the matches disappointed.
And storyline-wise, we mostly got endings, with the Power Couple taking a forced break, Robinson retiring, and Dieter moving on to bigger things, but we still set up some cool stuff, with a triple-threat title defense next Chapter and the continuing rises of Webster and Sexsmith. Plus, conveniently we have a big tournament just around the corner that can punch way above its weight as far as setting stories goes.
Check it out on Demand Progress, folks.