Cero Reviews PROGRESS Chapter 64: THUNDERBASTARS Are GO!

[cero2k]

PROGRESS Chapter 64: THUNDERBASTARDS Are GO!
February 25, 2018
Electric Ballroom, Camden, Eng

Jim Smallman Intro - They had trouble with the sound system today, not sure if lost or stolen, but they're missing the whole left side of the Ballroom where we usually get the video projections. Don't Be A Dick.

Sexy Starr vs Anti-Fun Police - 6.5/10
Santos started arguing that he wanted his introduction in Spanish, but it didn't end up happening because that would had been 'too fun'. After a lot of shenanigans about kissing and penis, the Police finally got the better of Sexy Starr and worked over Starr for a bit. The lovely couple of Starr and Sexsmith turned it around, they went back and forward for a bit and at the end, Sexy Starr won with a Footstomp into a German double move. Good fun opener.

Post-match - Sexsmith talks about this being the first step towards his title shot, but he also has unfinished business with Haskins and Havoc and make an challenge.

Charlie Morgan w/Jinny vs Millie McKenzie - 5/10
Morgan had some offense early on until McKenzie went full into her suplex machine phase. They kinda went back and forward a bit towards the end until the really anti-climatic finish with Jinny hitting Millie leaving her ready for Morgan to pin. Not a particular good match, but I actually do kinda agree with Morgan winning here, since they have to show that it actually pays off to be with Jinny, plus it gives McKenzie a reason to come aid Storm when the time comes.

Natural Progression Series V First Round Match
Maverick Mayhew vs Mark Davis - 7/10 Squash
Big man vs small puny boy story, with Davis beating the shit out of Mayhew, and Mayhe getting some hope spots here and there, but after what Davis went through vs WALTER, you know that Davis was gonna take it out of Mayhew. Some of the shots looked terrible as in they looked painful, but some looked awesome as the very first closed fist to the jaw. Finish was that ugly looking pop-up piledriver. Good squash. I haven't seen the brackets, but Davis should face Ridgeway at the finals IMO.

Mayhew reminded me of a really young ROH Matt Sydal, both look and style. Mayhew got a standing ovation after the match.

PROGRESS Tag Team Championship Match
Jimmy Havoc & Mark Haskins (C) w/Vicky Haskins vs Grizzled Young Veterans - 5/10
Have I mentioned recently how much I love GYVs now? Favorite tag team in PROGRESS right now that SPPT are doing their own thing. I really hope I get GYV vs Ringkampf before WWE snatches all four men. Different from the usual "Both these guys" chants, tonight we get "None of these guys". Even ref Roberts got chants.

From early in the match, everything was chaos, ref tried to get control over the match, but all four just kept brawling. It was in this brawl, that Jimmy hits a foot stomp over GYV from the apron into chairs, Jimmy injures his knee here and the match was immediately paused. Mark Haskins helps Jimmy to the back.

Gibson grabbed a microphone. Tells the crowd to not applaud a wanna-be wrestler that comes out and falls apart. Gibson runs down over CCK that also got injured and couldn't keep the titles. Gibson calls out Mark Haskins and challenges him to finish the match. Haskins going from total heel to super babyface, goes up against both men. Gibson threw a low blow bringing up he gave up the PROGRESS title once. He talked shit about his son and Haskins came out full of fire.

Haskins valiantly fought against both men, GYV just couldn't put him down even after hitting their finishers and Haskins at one point seemed like he could actually retain. Havoc eventually came out, Haskins wasn't sure about tagging Havoc, but once he did, Havoc just came in to get pinned after an assisted Ticket To Ride. Grizzled Young Veterans regain those cursed tag team championships. I'm giving the match a low rating since wrestling wise, we actually didn't get much of it and what we got was good, but nothing out of this world. Giving the circumstances, the story was good, but it's hard to see where things will go from here on for the titles and H&H.

Zack Sabre Jr vs Jonah Rock - 8.5/10
A match of power vs technical proficiency. This was similar to their Battle of Los Angeles match with Sabre finding ways to octopus his body around Rock's limbs, but Jonah being strong enough to just fuck him off with ease simply by using his strength. Sabre worked over Jonah's legs trying to bring him down, while Jonah just started striking and tossing Sabre as much as possible. Later in the match, Sabre's work of the arms started, but Jonah's arms are so thick and he so strong that Sabre had some trouble keeping the submission locked.

As the match went on, injures on Jonah were starting to pile up, and while he kept putting Sabre down with incredible looking strikes, Sabre just kept getting up. Finish saw Jonah getting ready to decapitate Sabre, but Sabre turns it around and locks a heel lock/knee bar to make Rock submit. Jonah got a standing ovation at the end, and Sabre winning so many matches, I'm guessing we'll get Sabre vs Banks soon.

Thunderbastards Match
Trent Seven vs Tyler Bate vs Mark Andrews vs Eddie Dennis vs Flash Morgan Webster vs Pete Dunne vs TK Cooper vs Chris Brookes w/ Kid Lykos - 8/10
First men in the match is Bate and Brookes. They did some wrestling. Third man was TK Cooper and him and Brookes went straight at each other started brawling on the outside, fans divided between "Fuck em Up TK" and "Let's Go Brookes" chants. Eventually, Bate feeling lonely, broke the match off by getting involved. Fourth man was Trent Seven, and so now we have two guys that love each other and two that hate each other, they ended up just working over Cooper. Fifth man was Eddie Dennis, to the cheer of no one, Brookes tried to jump on him, but Eddie took him off, got in the ring and knocked out everyone. Eddie dominated the match until the next entrant, thinking that it would be Andrews, Eddie was finally ready to face him, but unfortunately for him, it was another dude that has a beef with him, Flash Morgan Webster. The match at this point is a bit of a clusterfuck with bodies all over the place. Number six is Pete Dunne who comes out to a big ovation, he kills Webster, Brookes, and no sells to Cooper.

In the background , we're getting footage that Eddie Dennis injured his shoulder, which I'm guessing it's the angle to not have Dennis and Andrews fight tonight. At this point also, British Strong Style all join in the ring and start killing everyone, and to kill my idea, Dennis comes out, gets rid of everyone and we finally get Dennis and Andrews. I'm actually hyped about this. Andrews gets in the ring, but since we finally get everyone in, Cooper legally School Boys Dennis from behind and eliminates him before he can touch Andrews. The build continues! Glenn and refs drag him to the back.

Back in the ring, BSS teamed up against everyone else, going after them one by one, but never actually pinning them. At one point, behind the ref's eyes, Cooper low blowed Bate and Seven, but Dunne as he tries to get back at him, he low blows him right in front of the ref, getting himself DQd. Among the chaos of getting rid of Dunne, Cooper rolls up Seven for the 3 count, and while celebrating, Brookes hits Cooper with Lykos' board and pins him.

We're down to the final four, who all start fighting in the ring. First one out is Brookes as he takes everyone's finishers and Andrews pins him. Bate pins Andrews after a Tyler Driver '97, and as the final two, Webster and Bate start going at it. They started trading strikes and fuck Webster looked awesome going at it with Bate. At this point it looks pretty obvious that Bate is getting the win, but once again, Vicky Haskins comes out in a Webster match and distracts the ref and Bate, Webster tells her to fuck off, Webster comes in to the ring and rolls up Bate for the win. Haskins didn't help Webster win here, but she saved him from getting pinned.

Early in the match, Glenn announced that there will be another Thunderbastards match in the New Orleans show, which begs the question, why the fuck are we having this one? Not only did we have a really similar match some chapters back where Sexsmith won his title shot that he hasn't even cashed, now tonight we get a new challenger, and in less than a month, we get YET another one via Thunderbastards. I'm just hoping that NOLA winner goes for Dunne's insignificant title.

Post-match - Webster offers Bate a hand shake, but Bate is untrusting of Webster. Webster gets a title shot and I think we are to believe that with Haskins always finding herself in Webster's wins, she could most definitely lead Webster taking the title from Banks.

PROGRESS World Championship Match
Travis Banks (C) vs Matt Riddle - 8.5/10
This match was voted on by fans, but let's be real, the voting was between Riddle and Jonah Rock, so whoever put up that poll knew exactly what match they needed in this show.

Story of the match is similar to Okada vs Omega, where Riddle is slowly getting closer and closer to defeating Banks, as their last match, Banks won properly, but this time, Riddle was kicking out of the Kiwi Crusher and when it seemed like Riddle could be the victor, Banks only won via rill up. I have to imagine that when the fourth match happens, Riddle will take the win, whether there is a title on that line that time, it's still to be seemed. At this point, Riddle (or WALTER that hasn't been announced) are the likely winners of SSS16. At the end, fans even booed the finish because they knew Riddle had it.

Match started with tons of strikes, Banks was somewhat on the upper hand, but they started going back and forward soon after. At one point Riddle just got control and kicked Banks ass, finish being Riddle hitting a Gotch Style jumping Piledriver and locking in the Bromission, but Banks turns it around and rolls him up.

Post-match - Riddle is pissed off that Banks won like that, but accepts the decision like a man. Pissed off, Riddles rises Banks' hand and walks away without the usual Bro hug. Interesting turn of events, I wonder if they're turning Banks heel.

And before the show is over, a bathed Webster comes out and faces off with Banks telling him he is coming for the title. Behind him, Vicky Haskins comes out, but Webster doesn't really react to her this time. Good teases here. It seems like Webster is getting a title shot before Sexsmith.

OVERALL THOUGHTS
Good show top to bottom, second part of the show felt like a heavy watch with the Thunderbastards match and main event, but the wrestling keeps you glued. We now have two rightful contenders and Riddle who is lurking in the shadows now.