wrestling / Video Reviews
Euro Fury: PROGRESS Super Strong Style 16 2016
Loading...PROGRESS Chapter 30: Super Strong Style 16
May 29 2016
We’re in Camden, London at the Electric Ballroom for the first night of the Super Strong Style 16 tournament, year two. Last years tournament was a big crowd pleaser and turned this weekend into one of the most hotly anticipated UK grappling events of 2016. This show was really late starting after the van carrying the ring broke down. Jim Smallman flew in from Norway on one hours sleep to host this show. Hosts on commentary are Glen Joseph and Callum Leslie. Despite tiredness everyone is super-hyped up.
SSS16 Round One
Pete Dunne vs. Mark Haskins
Dunne is getting better every time I see him. He’s one of the guys who has had a break-out 2016. It’s a rough draw for him as Haskins is one of the tournament favourites. Dunne looks to bully Haskins in the early going but finds that Haskins can strike as well as grapple. Dunne can just about hang with Haskins but finds himself outclassed at times. That’s down to the excellence of Haskins rather than any shortage of skill from Dunne. The crowd is suitably rowdy, which allows Dunne to just soak up the heat. An ideal gig for him. The mat work in this is really strong and Haskins brings some terrific improvisation down there. Dunne baits him into striking again but Haskins finds counters there and simply outdoes everything Dunne brings. This results in Haskins countering into the Star Armbar for the submission. Haskins looked fantastic here, a cut above the very good Dunne.
Final Rating: ***1/2
SSS16 Round One
Mikey Whiplash vs. Damon Moser
There is another talent gap here, even wider than in the opening match. Moser is essentially part of the field as a representative of the Projo. He’s not expected to win. He’s cannon fodder. Whiplash looks a little cumbersome doing his rebound spots and Moser tries hard to make this a star-making turn. Moser refuses to stay down but gets planted with a Death Valley Driver. This wasn’t particularly well received and it wasn’t very good either.
Final Rating: *
SSS16 Round One
“The Bollocks” Kenny Williams vs. Zack Gibson
I love Back to the Future so I love Kenny Williams coming out to “The Power of Love” in full Marty McFly in Back to the Future Part II gear. Hoverboard included. Gibson is one of the most effective heels PROGRESS have. I can’t help but think he’d be better away from the Origin where he’d stand out more. Kenny looks surprisingly lightweight when faced with a solid wrestler like Gibson. Kenny has a lot of fun with springboards and mucking about but Zack takes his arm and dismantles the body part. It becomes a contest of Williams innovation versus Gibson grinding him down. Gibson is able to stop enough of Williams’ offence to turn the tide. Kenny’s lack of power is a definite issue as he can’t knock Gibson out with any of the strikes and Zack overpowers him to finish with the Shankly Gates.
Final Rating: ***
SSS16 Round One
Jack Gallagher vs. TK Cooper
Cooper is another warm body to make up the numbers, having qualified on an ENDVR show. He’s nowhere near as good as Gentleman Jack. TK does benefit from having Dahlia Black in his corner though. TK, being an arsehole, jumps Jack before the introductions. That’s generally not done in PROGRESS, even by the mega-heels. You must let Jim finish his introductions. Gallagher does a good job of selling the impact of being blindsided but soon takes over with superior mat skill. There’s some delightful selling from Dahlia too as Gentleman Jack kisses her hand when she goes to slap him. This display of chivalry takes her by surprise and is good character work all round. Cooper actually grows into this spot and ends up looking pretty solid until Gallagher dropkicks him square in the face for the pin. TK spending a little too much time making eyes at his missus. That dropkick though, it was bang on target. A knock out blow.
Final Rating: **1/2
Atlas Tournament
SSS16 Round One
Dave Mastiff vs. Big Daddy Walter
This is not only a Super Strong Style tournament match but also a Block match in the Atlas tournament. The Atlas matches have a time limit. If that limit is reached they’ll get a point each for a draw in the Atlas tournament but this match must continue until there’s a winner. Walter has never won a match in PROGRESS despite his big European reputation. This is the #BigLads division though so anyone can win via a freak knock out. Walter throwing Mastiff around is amazing, considering Dave’s low centre of gravity and sheer mass. Both guys hit with huge impact and the big suplexes are immense. You know you’re onto a winner when they hit a superplex and the crowd chant “holy shit”. Walter takes Mastiff down with his choke and Dave submits. This was two big blokes smacking each other around. Very enjoyable if you like the Big Lads.
Final Rating: ***1/4
SSS16 Round One
Mark Andrews vs. Chris Hero
Hero was the last entrant named and the one that caused the most excitement. Hero has been one of the best wrestlers in the world during the first half of 2016 and his presence is in no way accidental. Hero plays his role ever so slightly heel, acknowledging how great he is while virtually ignoring Andrews. Mark is clearly out-sized and overpowered by a borderline disinterested Hero. Andrews quickly reminds him that he’s got a big speed advantage but Hero completely no sells a headlock and a shoulderblock. It’s realistic though. He’s a much bigger man. A veritable Big Lad. Andrews is a clear cruiser. Hero murders the poor boy with elbows and kicks. It’s horrifying. Andrews has a lot of plucky comebacks in between Hero crushing the little guy. It gets to the point of being uncomfortable where you want Andrews to just stay down so Hero doesn’t kill him. This is offset by Andrews hitting insane moves like reverse ranas and getting near falls. It’s so close to being a Cinderella story. Andrews’ kick outs start to get insane towards the end where he survives a massive piledriver and a barrage of elbows. It finally gets to Hero. Andrews will not stay down. Andrews’ resilience is amazing. The final kick-out, from a Rolling Elbow, draws a standing ovation. “You are fucking kidding me” says Glen Joseph. A Tombstone piledriver finishes Andrews off but his resilience was incredible. This was one of PROGRESS’ best matches.
Final Rating: ****1/2
SSS16 Round One
Sami Callihan vs. Matt Cross
Cross is an Indie veteran, formally going by M-Dogg 20 and is currently in Lucha Underground as Son of Havoc. Callihan gives precisely zero fucks about all of that and they start the match by trying to see who go do the most completely out of control tope. They definitely have a goofier match than the last one with Cross doing wacky dives and Callihan getting into it with a chair. Having to live up to the last match they go to town on the strikes. It’s a stiff match up, mixed up with flips. Callihan’s moves seem more brutal and effective. When a sunset flip fails he gives up and superkicks the knee instead. The whole match has a ridiculous number of kicks and violence. Sami positions the ref, hits a low blow and progresses with a double underhook piledriver. A devious piece of heel work. Callihan’s personality was all over the shop here as he tried to deliberately play heel and nobody wanted to boo him. Strong match. Beautifully violent.
Final Rating: ***3/4
SSS16 Round One
Tommy End vs. Rampage Brown
This is the final first round match up and features one of the favourites in Tommy End. This is another magnificently stiff match with a super hot opening sequence. Both guys have been great at violent matches and sequences and that’s brought to the fore here. Rampage looking to destroy Tommy in order to bypass one of the favourites. End’s response is a mass of strikes. His strike combos are among the best in the world. The match goes back and forth with lots of heavy lumber. End survives the piledriver and finishes Rampage with the roundhouse that beat Scurll.
Final Rating: ***1/2
PROGRESS Tag Team Championship
The Origin (Nathan Cruz & El Ligero) (c) vs. The London Riots
This has been building for ages with the Riots having to first overcome and disband the Sumerian Death Squad. No easy task. The Origin have done fine work as heel champions and both Cruz and Ligero have been miserable bastards in an unusual setting for them. They’re both better recognised as plucky babyfaces. Mastiff and Gibson didn’t have back up in their matches. However they’re both out here to back up the tag champs but referee Chris Roberts kicks them out. This is to set up the hope of a title change but the Origin maintain their dominance due to Rob Lynch struggling with an injury and James Davis being isolated for heat. It’s solid heel work from the champions. It’s not the best title defence for the Origin, nor is the work all that clean, even if Ligero pulls out some sensational countering. Roberts annoys Ligero a second time by refusing to count a pin when the Origin pin the wrong man. That gets him kicked in the nuts. It’s fun to see a carnage filled main event from the Origin. Gibson returns, with the ref gone, and Lynch spears him off the apron. Referee Paz replaces Roberts but gets laid out too. This brings out Damon Moser to chair shot Ligero! Moser was in the Faceless, the Origin before the Origin, but got kicked out so he’s out for revenge. Joel Allen runs in as the third referee and somehow doesn’t get bumped when Cruz is powerbombed into him. Ligero goes after Joel and Allen punches Ligero out! Slingshot spear is so close to being a pinfall that the music kicks in! Ligero gets back in, gets thrown off the top rope into a spear and the Riots win the belts. The music playing screw-up aside this was a fine pay-off for a very long storyline. The run ins and booking worked to perfection.
Final Rating: ***3/4
Day 2
May 30 2016
Once again we’re in Camden, London at the Electric Ballroom. The crowd are hungover. Jim Smallman introduces the show and apologises because Mark Haskins collapsed after the show yesterday and won’t be fit to compete. Smallman segues off into pimping the next Chapter show in London, which will feature Johnny Gargano. Jim takes ten minutes to make fun of everyone who didn’t come to night one (“you spent the day in bed? You are worse than Hitler”) before addressing the replacing of Haskins. Basically everyone who lost in round one is in a scramble match. First pin advances back into the tournament.
Second Chance Redemption Scramble Match
TK Cooper vs. Dave Mastiff vs. Pete Dunne vs. Matt Cross vs. Damon Moser vs. Mark Andrews vs. Kenny Williams vs. Rampage Brown
A couple of potential winners. Rampage has championship pedigree. Andrews performance against Hero on night one alone should allow him to progress. Dunne is someone with potential to go on a run. I could see any of those winning and maybe Mastiff and Williams at a push. Before we get underway Nathan Cruz and El Ligero, the former tag champs, join us. They want into the match as well but before anyone confirms it Andrews wipes out Cruz with a tope. Chat shit, get banged. The wrestlers take it in turns to work, leaving it as one on one. Which makes it a better match even if it’s illogical. Andrews and Cross do flips, the crowd chant “Vader hates this” (props to Chris Linay @CLinay on the Twitter machine) and Matt does the flip pose on the fly. The Origin try to team up as there are three of them. The only success is removing enemy Moser. They don’t get rid of babyface ref Joel Allen though and he backdrops Ligero to the floor! There are a lot of guys in the match but they do a good job of making it flow and never crowding the ring out. In the midst of the chaos Andrews catches Dunne with the SSP and gets back into the tournament. A good choice considering his exemplary performance in the first round.
Final Rating: ***1/2
SSS16 Quarter Final
Mark Andrews vs. Mikey Whiplash
Mikey jumps Andrews as he’s celebrating and we go right into the quarter finals. Whiplash has a weird look. Not so much the facepaint but the fishnets. It’s just weird isn’t it? While Whiplash is cocking around in his fishnets Andrews rolls him up! Whiplash is out!
Final Rating: *
SSS16 Quarter Final
Zack Gibson vs. Jack Gallagher
Gibson accuses the crowd of some form of racism because he’s got every tool there is but nobody likes him because he’s a Scouser. Both these guys are really fun BritWres style mat workers and Gallagher breaks out some smashing counters. He’s going to blow them away at Full Sail. He ties Gibson in knots for his own amusement, which really annoys the Liverpudlian. There’s really nothing in the world as good as BritWres when it’s done properly. Gallagher does so many things that I enjoy, which make me smile, that it’s impossible not to love him. They run a near falls sequence in this so quickly that the ref can’t even get one counts. It’s a delight. Gibson isn’t as technically good as Gallagher but he can keep up and he’s solid. Just not spectacular like Gallagher can be. Gallagher is also pretty sensational when it comes to taking bumps and he has a stunning one off the Codebreaker. He just flies off that impact. There’s a fantastic spot where Gibson botches his kick-off the buckles, the crowd laugh and Gallagher kills him with a dropkick. They swiftly get back on track and the Shankly Gates finishes for Gibson. Really good match and Gallagher is a lot of fun to watch right now.
Final Rating: ***3/4
SSS16 Quarter Final
Big Daddy Walter vs. Chris Hero
The only bad thing about Hero is knowing that he was in better physical condition a few years back and he’s got a horrible looking beer gut today. This is a match Hero can’t bully his way through like the Andrews one, as they do a switch on the running shoulderblocks spot with Walter being the one unmoved. These two are certifiable #biglads so there’s heavy lumber. It’s as if Hero missed the challenge against Andrews and wants a fight. The strong style chemistry is gold from the opening bell and they have themselves a war. Walter looks fairly at ease to start with until Hero starts unloading with the massive strikes. Hero crumples Walter a few times with boots and elbows. It’s majestic. I love watching two big blokes leathering each other with strikes and suplexes. This is pure gold. Like with Andrews, it’s shocking how many times Walter kicks out of the abuse. Walter gets spiked with the Gotch Piledriver though and Hero advances. This was brutal. I loved it. Hero is two for two in great matches this weekend.
Final Rating: ****
SSS16 Quarter Final
Tommy End vs. Sami Callihan
These two are so intense they just stare at each other during the announcements. When the match gets underway Sami isn’t ready though and End unleashes hell upon him. It’s scary how awesome End is during this, outclassing former NXT employee Callihan, a man known for his stiff striking. Sami cannot compete with Tommy for intensity, hard hitting and unpredictability. The only issue with End is a slip on the ropes, which allows Callihan to hit him with a freakish cradle piledriver. Callihan repeats his low blow and hits the Sami Driller and yet End kicks out. It’s a bit over the top with End taking two vicious moves where he lands on his head. The match gets better when they start wind-milling each other with strikes. Sami tries more psychological warfare with a kiss but End murders him with a roundhouse to progress to the semi’s.
Final Rating: ***1/2
Post Match: Jim introduces the special guest commentator for the top end of the tournament; PROGRESS Champion Marty Scurll. Getting booked to come and watch wrestling in a suit. He’s living the dream.
SSS16 Semi Final
Mark Andrews vs. Zack Gibson
Andrews has been the story of the tournament to this point, having lost an epic first round match to Chris Hero and yet recovered to sneak in the back door and then upset Mikey Whiplash to get to the semi’s. Good lad. Andrews runs his continued gimmickry of trying for flash pins while Gibson grinds him down with his usual scumbaggery. As Andrews tries for a bulldog Marty points out he “looks like an angry Milky Bar kid”. Like in the Hero match, Andrews keep surviving and kicks out of load of Gibson abuse. As we’re quite deep into the tournament both men look tired, Andrews especially being slow to his feet. Gibson traps him in the Shankly Gates but Andrews somehow slips out and gets a roll up to make the final. Gibson is out of his mind with upset, knowing Andrews was worn down and should have been easy prey but he took him too lightly.
Final Rating: ***1/4
SSS16 Semi Final
Tommy End vs. Chris Hero
Digging the “Heroes Eventually Die” dynamic as that tag team collides. Scurll goes on a few delightful ramblings on commentary. “Basketball? That’s not even a real sport” he rants. Meanwhile Hero and End kick the ever-loving shit out of each other and do so on the floor so the crowd can get a good look at it. This becomes a game of attrition with both men taking it in turns to hit each other. The striking is incredible but it does feel like a taking turns mentality that stops it from being legitimate. Although the impacts are way harsh. Eventually it becomes more of a contest, which is a lot of fun. Scurll spends the whole match burying Hero to set up a match at Chapter 31 in Manchester. End gets to look almost as good as Andrews did against Hero, taking a hellacious beating. It’s a fantastic fight with a tonne of heavy strikes. Hero no sells the double stomp but stands up into the roundhouse kick and yet he kicks out. Scurll is outraged, having jobbed to that move. Hero’s response is a Gotch Super Piledriver and End kicks out of that! Absolutely ridiculous. “Just stop the damn match” yells Scurll. Hero goes after a Rip Cord but End catches it and counters into a roll up, pinning the tournament favourite and advancing to the final. What a sensational fight this was. Just intense and violent. I loved it.
Final Rating: ****1/4
Post Match: Scurll gets a bit carried away screaming “loser” at Hero and they have words. That match should be tremendous fun if Hero’s weekend is anything to go by.
Street Fight
The Dazzler Team vs. Sweet Jesus
Winners will be the first team to challenge new champions the London Riots. The Dazzler Team are probably not good enough to be on a Chapter show. Being the heels they’re more likely to go up against the newly crowned babyface champions unfortunately. This is a change of pace to allow the crowd to recover from all the goodness that preceded it. The talent of the guys involved amounts to nothing because they just hit each other with plunder. It feels like a regression for William Eaver, who won the Natural Progression Series III, to be involved in this crap. Both of the Dazzler Team take rough bumps and if it wasn’t for Sweet Jesus’ personalities this match would be next to nothing. They pull out thumbtacks for no discernable reason, other than that’s what happens in hardcore matches. Eaver takes a brainbuster in the tacks for the loss and the shitty Dazzler Team have a title shot, which will suck.
Final Rating: *
Tangent: I’m sure Tommy and Mark don’t appreciate these idiots covering the ring and the area around it in the thumbtacks. At least they have a second interval to clean all the crap up. Eaver and Mambo are better than this.
Wasteman Challenge
Before the main event hits we give End and Andrews a bit more resting time by bringing out Roy Johnson for the Wasteman Challenge. Eddie Dennis, complete with four-pack, answers! “Truth is, I’m not very good at rapping” says Eddie but he likes Karaoke so he sings Goldie Lookin Chain’s “Your Mothers Got a Penis”, an entirely appropriate song for PROGRESS. Roy wasn’t expecting this “Welsh Dragon to be spitting FIYAAAH”. That line manages to crack up the entire building, it’s quite beautiful. Roy borders on heel by putting Eddie down but does a little dance afterwards, thus provoking a “you got served” chant. They both have a beer to celebrate but Roy accidentally spills Eddie’s so Dennis lays him out. This was a fun enough sportz entertainment lark. Roy is great on the microphone, and the Welsh Dragon line was worth having this segment, but I’m not sure whether he’s a face or a heel and he could conceivably work as both, such is his gimmick. Eddie was over like a rock star here.
Super Strong Style 16 Final
Tommy End vs. Mark Andrews
End has beaten Rampage, Callihan and Hero to get here so he fucking deserves to be in the final. Andrews won a redemption match to get back in after taking a beating from Hero in MOTN on Night one before beating Whiplash and Gibson. Both guys are tired but start fast, hitting sprint levels rather than dragging out a long ass final match. I approve. End is casually dangerous in killing poor Andrews. Mark takes the roundhouse kick right to the face and again the lights go out, as they did when End was on the verge of winning the PROGRESS title. Whiplash appears in the ring but End knocks him out. Andrews takes full advantage and almost wins with the SSP. When that doesn’t work Andrews tries to run the old Rope-A-Dope but unfortunately for him giving End a free shot results in another roundhouse and End winning the match. Probably not the best of ideas from the little Welsh fella. This was solid but really short.
Final Rating: ***
