wrestling / News

PROGRESS Super Strong Style 16 Tournament Results 5.27.17

May 27, 2017 | Posted by Larry Csonka
Matt Riddle Evolve EVOLVE 93

PROGRESS Wrestling held Day 1 of their three-day Super Strong Style 16 Tournament on May 27th at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London. The show was dedicated to three fans who were caught up in the bomb in Manchester, and are currently recovering in hospital.

1: Jeff Cobb defeated Nathan Cruz in the First Round – Cobb largely dominated Cruz with his Olympic pedigree wrestling and power moves, though Cruz took some shortcuts to get whatever advantage he could. Cobb got the win in his PROGRESS debut with the Tour of the Islands.

2: Mark Haskins defeated “Flash” Morgan Webster in the First Round – a very even contest, though Haskins gained some success by going after Webster’s bad ankle. Webster had Haskins in the Strangler and nearly submitted him, but Haskins fought back to submit Webster with a Sharpshooter. Webster looked very frustrated after the match, which could be something to look into.

3: Travis Banks defeated Jimmy Havoc in the First Round – a lot of brawling throughout, with a great atmosphere. They threw each other into the ringside chairs, and Banks even batted away chairs being thrown at him by Havoc. A lot of counters near the end, before Banks put the former PROGRESS Champion away with a Ki Krusher.

4: Zack Sabre Jr. defeated David Starr in the First Round – a very politically charged match, prompted by Sabre Jr. coming out wearing a shirt of the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, which got a tonne of support from the generally left-wing PROGRESS audience. Starr gave as much to Sabre Jr. as he got in return, in one of PROGRESS’ most stiff matches. The referee put a stop to the contest with Starr trapped in a double Sabre Jr. armbar with stomps. Starr then got a great reaction following the match from the fans.

5: Jack Sexsmith defeated Zack Gibson in the First Round – Sexsmith was greeted with many LGBT flags in support for him, though Gibson ran him down in one of his infamous promos. The match played off their Chapter 44 meeting right down to Gibson hitting a Helter Skelter outside the ring, though this time, some fans helped Sexsmith get back into the ring to beat the count. Gibson was caught in an inside cradle for the pin, as Sexsmith moves on to face Zack Sabre Jr. tomorrow.

6: Tyler Bate defeated “Pastor” William Eaver in the First Round – Bate was taunted by the fans for losing the WWE United Kingdom Championship last week. A nice quick match where Eaver had his chances to win, but Bate overwhelmed him, and defeated the former PROGRESS Champion with the Tyler Driver 97. Bate takes on Mark Haskins in the quarter finals tomorrow.

7: Flamita defeated Mark Andrews in the First Round – a fantastic high-flying exhibition, with Andrews matching the Dragon Gate star for each incredible move. After some big dives, Andrews stemmed Flamita’s closing rally with the Stundog Millionaire, but as Andrews went for the kill, Flamita caught him with the Flam Fly to eliminate last year’s losing finalist. Flamita meets Travis Banks in tomorrow’s quarter final.

8: Matt Riddle defeated Trent Seven in the First Round – Seven spent a long time disparaging Riddle for his UFC failures and the fans for supporting Riddle, and boasted about all the money he was being paid by the WWE, criticising Riddle for vowing to retire Brock Lesnar when Lesnar is Seven’s “colleague”. Riddle responded by knocking Seven out cold with a high knee to the face to win the match in just SIX SECONDS, and book a quarter final against his tag team partner Jeff Cobb. Seven’s British Strong Style partners Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate had to retrieve him once he came to.

A recap of Sunday’s quarter final matches as follows:

* Jack Sexsmith vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
* Flamita vs. Travis Banks
* Mark Haskins vs. Tyler Bate
* Jeff Cobb vs. Matt Riddle

Sunday’s main event will be the final of the 4th Natural Progression Series to determine the first ever PROGRESS Women’s Champion – a three-way match between Jinny, Laura Di Matteo and Toni Storm. The tournament concludes this Bank Holiday Monday (May 29th)