Zen Arcade Reviews: PROGRESS Chapter 20: Thunderbastard 2; Beyond Thunderbastard!

I used to be a much more prolific reviewer back in my pre-child days. I was an avid, barely-out-of-high school ROH fan just wanting to watch as much wrestling possible. I mean, I went so far as to actually take significant time out of days to type up one review a week of this crap and let people see it, just because I liked to. And those reviews are pure A-1, one hundred percent trash. Back in the days when this website had a much, much different layout, I was much different than I am today. I thought the Young Bucks were “forced heels” (seriously, go back and read that garbage), I once snarkily commended Jim Cornette for working the ROH fans at Boiling Point 2012, and I constantly started DVD sets I didn’t finish the reviews of. And hell now, I’m prone to vast overrating (see Balor/Joe in London) and over-hyperbole. And now, you’re lucky to get two non-PWG reviews from me a year. It’s not a “I fell out of love with wrestling” because if I did, I wouldn’t keep this “spotlight” and bore people with my ramblings of how great wrestling used to be. It’s not a “I don’t have time”, because while I do work ridiculous hours at my hilariously blue collar job, I can make time for wrestling due to the magic of internet and DVR and the fact that it’s my favorite hobby. In 2016, it’s impossible to find wrestling you don’t enjoy. Everything is at the tip of your fingertips. But I don’t know what it is that causes me to not review things. I still enjoy it, I still like hearing feedback, and I selfishly love watching myself improve as I type out the analysis of the matches. I like to think my reviews go a long way to prove PWG isn’t just mindless spot wrestling. But this love of PWG that I have, many people have for PROGRESS Wrestling in England. And that intrigues me.

I’ve heard of PROGRESS, as it came to my attention when TJ Hawke starting reviewing it way back in 2013 or so. And many of our favorite independent stars got a large amount of their buzz from PROGRESS: Tommy End, Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll, Jimmy Havoc, and the list goes on. But I’m still walking in blind. I am unaware of the storylines, why everybody is so invested in PROGRESS, and how it’s gotten to be one of the premier promotions in the world. I want to change that. Due to the greatness of the Highspots Wrestling Network, I decided to embark on a journey; review Chapter 20 (the earliest show of PROGRESS’ catalogue to be uploaded on Highspots) and make a decision after. Do I like PROGRESS? If yes, I will try my damndest to catch up on their shows, review them, and hopefully give my few readers something else that isn’t just gushing over PWG shows. And if I don’t like it? Well, a first impression isn’t the only impression. Whether or not I like or dislike Chapter 20, I’m going to give Chapter 21 a chance either way. And if I see it fit, I’ll subscribe my happy ass to PROGRESS’ On-Demand service and review everything from then on. Sound good? Good. Now I’ll shut up, and get on with what you clicked for.

We cold-open to the ring in a really neat, intimate venue, and so officially… we are TAPED from the Electric Ballroom in London, England on July 26, 2015.

We open with Jim Smallman, co-founder of PROGRESS Wrestling in the middle of the ring, as “For Whom The Bell Tolls” by Metallica plays. That song – along with “Stranglehold” by Ted Nugent – are perfect combat sports songs and deserve to be played as much possible. Smallman does some easygoing banter as the lights come up, quipping that the lady at the bar is more over than him, and he’s the co-owner. It’s immediately apparent that this is a crowd with stark familiarity to its entire surroundings, so there’s a lot of inside stuff I’m probably going to have to figure out here. Jim says that Dave Mastiff is not there, but will be replaced against Noam Dar by Pastor William Eavers to a huge pop. Smallman talks about shaving his wife’s head for charity, joking that he’d have to fight her in a Hair vs. Hair match first before quipping that his bald head makes the match hard to figure out. He banters some more, and establishes the “Don’t Be a Dick” rule which is easily the best thing in wrestling history. This reads like a Full Sail crowd who doesn’t have to try too hard to be hip, and that means it’s great. He then introduces brand new commentators for the evening…

Your hosts are Glen Joseph and RJ Singh, coming out to a mediocre Snoop Dogg track, but it’s the effort that counts.

Pastor William Eaver vs. Noam Dar
Noam Dar is currently competing in the WWE Cruiserweight Classic, while Pastor William Eaver (the aforementioned replacement for Dave Mastiff) is the current PROGRESS Champion after cashing in some sort of Money in The Bank type deal to win at Chapter 32. I’ve loved what I’ve seen of the guy in the small amount of PROGRESS I watched, while I’ve managed to not see a damn thing of Noam Dar. Guess that’s what I’m here for right?

Right away, it’s clearly aware PROGRESS has put a ton of time, money and effort into their production values. Almost to an astonishing degree, and it’s really commendable. Everything looks appropriately gritty, but with a nice shine that no independent promotion can touch. Eaver’s entrance with Personal Jesus is the BEST, as the guy just oozes charisma and makes the outlandish character work like a charm. Sure, it’s a wacky gimmick with the Pastor tapping the referee on the head as well as praying, but it’s Independent Wrestling, who gives a shit? The guy rules! The crowd casually throws out an incredible “Let’s Go Jesus/Jesus Sucks” dueling chant before the bell rings. A lot of posturing and crowd interaction early on, as this crowd is just geeked to even be in the building. Eaver uses a handshake to force Dar’s hands together in the prayer position, which Dar uses to say that he’s Jewish, and here we go. A dropkick from Dar sends the Pastor tumbling to the floor, followed by a Tope Suicida that sends Eaver reeling into the fans. Eaver takes control as the action hits the ring, hitting a combo of an Uppercut and a shoulderblock for a lazy two count. Dar kicks Eaver’s knee out from under him, but runs into an uppercut again from the Pastor. Eaver postures a bit too much, and Dar kicks him from the second rope and takes control once more. Dar locks in a Kneebar, but the Pastor finds the ropes before he has to tap. Static goes off through the speakers, which results in a CM Punk chant and a GTS tease from Dar. Eaver uses this distraction drop Dar with a forearm, but Dar again wraps the Pastor’s knee up in the rope. Dar misses a double stomp to the knee, and finds himself nearly pinned with a Small Package. Dar rolls out and looks for something, but the CLOTHESLINE FROM HEAVEN gives the Pastor the surprise win in 8 minutes. ** Not much to this match, I’m afraid. It wasn’t quite to the detriment of said match’s quality, as it relied mainly upon crowd interaction and character-work than big spots. So they did their jobs correctly, but I’d imagine it translates better to the crowd in the building than to the fans at home.

Jim Smallman takes the mic once more as Dar leaves, grilling the referee for alleged sexual intercourse with the Israeli. He introduces the next match.

Mike Hitchman vs. Bubblegum vs. Flash Morgan Webster vs. Kyle Ashmore
I can confirm one hundred percent I’ve not heard of any of these guys. I’ve heard Bubblegum’s name, mainly for its sheer ridiculousness, but never seen a second of the man’s work. I’d imagine this one’s going to be Spotfest City, so I’m ready.

Bubblegum comes out to Dizzee Rascal’s JUS A RASCAL which means he’s automatically my favorite until further notice. Although, Kyle Ashmore’s beard-centric theme is pretty sweet too, Boy In Da Corner is one of my favorite albums, so that takes precedent. Bubblegum looks like a sleazy Drake Younger, which is another feather in his cap. Bubblegum corners Webster and victimizes him in the corner, but Bubblegum’s cockiness gets him a 3-on-1 ass whipping. The crowd is pleased. After Bubblegum is incapacitated, it’s spotty madness from jump street. Ashmore gives Webster a nasty powerbomb on his knee, followed by an equally nasty senton from the Jeff Cobb-esque Mike Hitchman. I mean Jeff Cobb in body, not whatever the merry hell is going on with homeboy’s hair. He looks like Lester from The Cleveland Show, which is a reference I immediately regret making. Ashmore and Hitchman fight it out in the ring, until Ashmore nearly murders himself by missing a twisting pescado. Luckily, he’s all good and rises up. Webster kicks him off the apron, but Bubblegum stops an attempted dive in its tracks. Hitchman looks for a Package Piledriver (comedically called the Trapper Keeper) before Bubblegum dropkicks Ashmore in the corner and double stomps Hitchman for a nearfall. Ashmore finally gets alone time with Bubblegum, but Bubblegum dropkicks him out of the ring. Webster rolls in just in time for an Ice Cream Headache (Pedigree), but Webster rans out and beats him down. Hitchman tries to hit the Trapper Keeper on Webster, but Webster gets out and Hitchman subsequently eats a kick from Bubblegum… who Webster takes out with a crossbody. Ashmore takes out Webster with the Finn Balor corner dropkick, topped off by Hitchman beheading Ashmore with a lariat. All four men trade various strikes with each other, as well as headbutts and eye rakes. Webster goes HAM on Ashmore, but Bubblegum interrupts… until ASHMORE HITS A C-4! Hitchman hits Ashmore with a corner spear and an Exploder, but Webster attacks Ashmore with a Busaiku Knee. Webster attempts a dive to the outside, but Bubblegum interrupts… only for Webster to nearly mess up a reverse rana, but he recovers well and hits it to a huge pop. WEBSTER WITH A HUGE SENTON TO THE OUTSIDE ONTO EVERYBODY! He got some impressive air on that. Webster looks for something on Ashmore, but Ashmore battles up, only for Bubblegum to run off him and kick Webster off the top rope! Ashmore goes to the top rope to meet Bubblegum, who prevents a deadlift superplex. Hitchman interrupts by pulling Bubblegum’s tights down Shawn Michaels style, and he and Ashmore hit a MELTZER PACKAGE PILEDRIVER~! Hitchman looks for the pin, but WEBSTER BREAKS IT UP WITH A 450! Webster picks up the win at the 13 minute mark. *** There was a bit too much meandering at points for me to go higher, but there were some pretty neat spots here. Albeit nothing we’re going to marvel at in three years, but with stuff like a Front Flip Spike Package Piledriver, it’s hard to penalize the match too much for minor nitpicks. I liked how all four men had a specific role in the match; Bubblegum was the weird, asshole heel, Hitchman was the brick shithouse bruiser, Ashmore was the jack-of-all-trades, and Morgan Webster was the high-flyer. Bubblegum did a great job interrupting all of Webster’s cool dives early, so when Webster was finally able to hit them, the flashy stuff meant more and contributed to the match rather than being there for the sake of it. So hey, you’ll get no big complaints from me here.

Smallman again takes the mic, and I kind of like his little emcee role here. It’s a bit different, keeps the crowd in good spirits as well as room to breathe, and gives the matches some spotlight even if they’re mindless spotfests or fairly low-key matches like the opener. I really like the presentation.

Sebastian vs. Damian Dunne
Again, another two guys who I’ve never even so much as heard of but that’s kind of the fun of what I’m doing here, so hey. Damian Dunne looks like a mini Mike Bennett mixed with Trevor Lee (in the face at least) with less awful hair in Bennett’s case, which doesn’t quite bode well for him if Bennett is anything to go by. The crowd is fairly unresponsive to him, but Sebastian and his GZR light-up jacket (as well as being accompanied by his partner Tom Irvin and TURN DOWN FOR WHAT) are what the crowd is here to see.

This is a quarterfinal in the Natural Progression series, a tournament to determine who gets an eventual shot at the PROGRESS title. Dunne Pearl Harbors Sebastian, but Sebastian fights back with relative ease. Sebastian locks in a rope hung headlock, and lets go at the count of 4 causing Dunne to faceplant hilariously. Sebastian does some jawing with the crowd and Dunne as Dunne stalls on the outside, when all of a sudden Dunne kicks Tom Irvin in the nuts. HEEL~! Dunne uses this distraction to take control of Sebastian, hitting a bridging German for two. Damian Dunne’s offense is straight out of 2009 FCW, which keeps his comparison to Mike Bennett alive. Sebastian battles back with an awesome STO though, getting two out of it. Dunne took a great bump on that one, gotta admit. Dunne hits a spear for a two count of his own. Dunne attempts to cut the padding off the turnbuckle, but Sebastian uses the distraction to his advantage to hit the Copyright Infringement Driver, which is basically the Dudleyz’ WAZZUPP. Dunne recovers and hits a nasty Double Knee Driver, but Sebastian kicks out! Sebastian superkicks Dunne and gets the win with the Geez-To-Sleep, a cool GTS variant, at the 9 minute mark. **1/4 Dunne was thoroughly unimpressive on offense during this match, pretty much using generic Create-A-Wrestler transition moves instead of mounting much in the way of believable sequences. He played a good heel foil to the eccentric GZR’s, but not much else. Even with that, it was a fine match, so no harm done.

PROGRESS Tag Team Title Match: Sumerian Death Squad © vs. The Hunter Brothers
It’s always going to be great when Tommy End is involved, so even though I’ve not heard of he and Dante’s opponents, I couldn’t really care less. I’m not entirely familiar with the other half of the SDS, but I’ve liked what I’ve seen of Dante enough to be suitably excited. And lastly, if you’ve yet to hear, certified badass Tommy End is to be starting with WWE in September, which is hopefully good news to brighten your day.

Tommy End and Lee Hunter start things off, and it’s some light catch wrestling to start. They dodge hard kicks from each other, and we’re at a standoff. Here comes Michael Dante, and that brings in the other Hunter Brother, Jim. These guys look like slightly chubbier versions of the Cutler Bros from PWG, down to the hair and gear. Dante uses his size to his advantage early, but Jim uses his speed to negate it. Tommy End comes back in, prompting the ever-great “You’re Gonna Get Your Fuckin’ Head Kicked In” chant. Jim hits a Springboard back elbow, and Lee comes in for a double team on Dante. The Giant Swing/Dropkick from the Hunters sends Tommy End to the outside, and the challengers are in firm control. Tommy is isolated by the Hunters, but does a nice sequence en route to getting the hot tag to Michael Dante, who cleans house. He destroys Lee with a lifting Downward Spiral into a lariat, but Jim breaks the pin. Jim hits a running neckbreaker to Dante, with Dante landing on Lee’s knees. Tommy End blind tags in, but Lee dropkicks Tommy off the apron directly after. The Hunters look for their Rana/Frog Splash, but the legal Tommy End comes back and stops things. Lee hits Dante with a crossbody, followed by a double team Neckbreaker/Swanton from the brothers. A pair of enzuigiris drop Tommy End, but Dante catches both Hunters and destroys them! Lee Hunter accidentally frog splashes his brother, and he TURNS RIGHT INTO A SPINNING BACK KICK FROM END! That was the most badass thing I’ve ever seen. He tries to cover Jim, but only gets 2! The Hunters again isolate End with a Tandem Tombstone, but Dante breaks up the pin! End prevents the Neckbreaker into the Knees that Dante fell victim to by hiptossing Lee onto Jim’s knees! DOUBLE STOMP FROM END! LEE PUSHES DANTE INTO THE PIN! TOPE SUICIDA FROM LEE HUNTER ONTO DANTE! That leaves Tommy End and Jim Hunter alone in the ring, and they throw bombs. SPIN KICK FROM END! JIM SUPERKICKS TOMMY! TOMMY BICYCLE KICKS JIM! DOUBLE CORNER SPEAR! DOUBLE STOMP ON JIM HUNTER! HUNTER KICKS OUT~! ANTI HERO! The Sumerian Death Squad retain their titles in a tremendous 13 minutes. **** I didn’t expect anything bad from this match or anything, but I know I absolutely did not expect something of this quality. This match was absolutely phenomenal, wrestled at a breakneck pace from Jump Street with some awesome subtle psychology as well as some entirely believable nearfalls. I love how the Hunters constantly attempted to isolate Tommy End here, as they knew Michael Dante was the bigger man and harder to control. Thus, every time Dante came in and made it a fair fight, you could tell who the better team was in a 2v2 environment. But still, the Hunters were very worthy adversaries and made a wonderful first impression on me, while I continue to be thoroughly impressed with Tommy End every time I see him. The guy has some of the best silent killer charisma in wrestling, and he even manages to play a good face-in-peril for versatility. He was a lot more active in terms of moves and whatnot compared to Dante, who mainly came in for some bruiser-type moves in between the Hunters attempts at destroying Tommy, but it all made sense in the context of the match. Absolutely a match I did not envision being quite this great, but I’m all the happier for it. It’s a shame we may never see The SDS in PWG before Tommy End leaves for WWE.

That brings us to an intermission of sorts. We cut to a video featuring interviews from Pollyanna and Ginny, chronicling their feud in PROGRESS. Ginny basically hates Pollyanna because she has bad taste in fashion, which is right out of 2010 Divas lore. Meh.

Co-owner of PROGRESS Wrestling Glen Joseph comes in with a bit of somber news, telling the PROGRESS fans that Ali Armstrong (the first ever PROGRESS Training School graduate) has to retire due to injury. He brings the man himself into the ring so the crowd can say goodbye… but Metallica’s “Turn The Page” cover hits, much to the chagrin of an emotional Glen Joseph, and out comes Nathan Cruz, one of the participants in the upcoming match. Cruz walks to the ring with a shit-eating grin on his face, taking the mic from a pissed off Glen Joseph. Cruz taunts Armstrong, saying he’s been wrestling for 3 years and with the first injury, he failed. Glen Joseph calls out Damon Moser to start the Thunderbastard match prematurely, and here we go!

THUNDERBASTARD~! Match: Tom Irvin vs. El Ligero vs. Mark Haskins vs. Eddie Dennis vs. Nathan Cruz vs. Rampage Brown vs. Damon Moser vs. Marty Scurll
Thunderbastard makes every cool match-name from Lucha Underground look like the Last Rites match. It’s basically Aztec Warfare, wherein the winner gets a PROGRESS Title shot at a time of his choosing. It’s merely a number one contender match where the contender gets to choose the show he fights for the belt at, not a Money in the Bank sort of thing.

Moser double-legs Cruz immediately and starts raining down fists, as the commentators tell us Cruz kicked Moser out of The Faceless, a former faction. Moser has a hair style that makes NXT-era Sami Callihan look like Tom Ford. The next entrant ends up being El Ligero, Nathan Cruz’s stablemate in The Origin. Moser hits the Kevin Owen’s Pumphandle Buster on the knee, but the number’s game ends up being too much for Moser, who is eliminated by an Air Raid Crash from Ligero at the 4 minute mark.

Our next entrant is Rampage Brown, who comes in and raises hell immediately. I’ve heard the guy’s name before, but have never seen him work, which appears to be a mistake as this dude is immediately establiahsed as a huge badass who dishes out powerbombs to both Ligero and Cruz. The numbers game overwhelms the big man right before our next entrant Mark Haskins makes his way in. He’s a pretty well-known guy on the UK scene, who’s going to make his debut at this year’s BOLA for PWG. He takes out Ligero immediately, and Rampage helps him take out Nathan Cruz. They turn to fight each other, and Haskins knees the big man out of the ring, and COUNTERS A SPRINGBOARD WITH A SPRINGBOARD POWERBOMB! That was an awesome spot. That leads us to our next entrant Marty Scurll, who most reading this are going to be aware of. The guy is awesome, and not much else needs to be said. Cruz tries to catapult Scurll, but Scurll flies into a Tornado DDT on El Ligero. TOPE’S FOR EVERYBODY! Ligero is able to escape the Chickenwing, but accidentally kicks his partner on an attempted double team, and falls victim to a release suplex. Our next entrant Eddie Dennis trots out and gives Marty a nasty Gunn Slinger on the apron. A Crucifix Buckle Bomb scores for Dennis, who catches a flying Cruz and puts Ligero in the Michal Elgin Fireman Carry/Fallaway Slam position for the big show of strength. Our next entrant is the second half of The GZRs, Tom Irvin who we saw get kicked in the nuts earlier in the night by Damian Dunne. He is our last entrant, and he tells Rampage Brown to bring it. STUNNERS FOR EVERYBODY! El Ligero don’t play that shit, which backfires as Irvin small packages him for our second elimination at the 13 minute mark. And quick as a hiccup, Cruz backs up his partner by punting Irvin in the head to eliminate the GZR only seconds later.

Cruz is happy with himself, but turns around to find Eddie Dennis mean-mugging him. Eddie hits a standing Gunn Slinger, and he and Rampage have a HOSS FIGHT, ending with Rampage murdering Eddie with a pair of lariats only for Eddie to kick out. Dennis fights out of a piledriver, and eliminates Rampage with the Next Stop Driver at the 15 minute mark. Cruz eliminates him directly after with Show Stolen, just like last time.

We’re down to our final three, as Nathan Cruz taunts… but turns right into a barrage from The Villain. Marty looks for the Chickenwing, but Cruz counters out and looks for another Landslide… only for Scurll to counter out and snap his fingers! Marty puts Cruz in the Tree of Woe, and puts Haskins up top for a superplex… but CRUZ POWERS UP AND GERMAN SUPLEXES MARTY AND HASKINS DOWN TO THE MAT! Cruz punts Haskins out after the latter gives Marty a superkick, and it’s Scurll and Cruz in the ring together. Cruz hits a slingshot back suplex, and hits Show Stolen for a nearfall! Cruz’s befuddlement gets the best of him, as Marty crucifixes him out of nowhere to eliminate Cruz at the 20 minute mark.

Haskins and Scurll are the last ones left, and they duke it out in the middle of the ring amidst duelling chants. Haskins counters a Frankensteiner into a Stretch Muffler after a furious sequence of counters, but Scurll finds the ropes. Haskins rolls into a Fireman’s Carry position, and hits the FU for a two count. Scurll rolls Haskins around and into the Chickenwing, but Haskins himself rolls out and curb stomps Marty’s arm! Marty counters into a reverse suplex, and a diving uppercut for 2! Haskins Bicycle Kicks Scurll, who chases him to the other corner with one of his own! Tornado DDT into the Chickenwing… but Haskins counters into a Schoolboy to win the second-ever Thunderbastard match in 25 minutes! ***1/2 This wasn’t anything blowaway or incredible, but for a 25 minute match, it absolutely flew by. There were no real lulls in the action, everybody had a defined role, and the match was treated seriously enough that the eliminations mattered. It stooped to a few elimination match cliches – i.e. the quick rapid fire eliminations – but even those were somewhat rooted in the story of Nathan Cruz being a total dick, and that story was paid off well when Marty Scurll eliminated him. I do think the match could have used a grander finishing sequence between Scurll and Haskins, who do have really good chemistry, but it can be forgiven. It was an easy-to-watch multi-man match with enough intertwining story elements to keep you interested, so I got what I wanted at the end.

Haskins takes the mic from Jim Smallman after the match, and he declares he’s facing the winner of tonight’s main event at Chapter 21.

We get a video package to build the main event of Jimmy Havoc vs. Will Ospreay. Will Ospreay falls to Jimmy Havoc in January, but finds himself #1 Contender once more after winning the Super Strong Style 16 tournament 5 months later. Havoc is portrayed as a complete badass here, coming off like an absolute superstar even in vignette form. Ospreay gets his title shot once more but this time, it’s No DQ per request of Jimmy Havoc, and Will Ospreay swears that Chapter 20 will be the last time Jimmy Havoc wears the PROGRESS Title. I kinda wish I’d have started earlier because this feud looks great. Absolutely phenomenal video package, on the level of a Ring of Honor or TNA in terms of editing and overall coherence. To say I’m impressed with PROGRESS’ production values would be an understatement.

Jim Smallman introduces the special enforcers for this No DQ match, the London Riots, former Regression allies of Jimmy Havoc.

No DQ Match for the PROGRESS Wrestling Championship: Jimmy Havoc © vs. Will Ospreay
Everybody knows who Will Ospreay is at this point, whether or not you’ve read my reviews. He garnered a hilariously intense reaction after his match in NJPW with Ricochet (a MOTYC by the way) and Vader’s dismissal of the opening sequence. But even with that, Ospreay is a phenomenal talent on the level of a 2007-08 PAC when it comes to sheer innovation and excitement. Jimmy Havoc is a name I’ve heard plenty of due to his deathmatch ways as well as his PROGRESS run, but surprisingly I’ve never seen him wrestle. As far as I know, he’s currently incapacitated with a knee injury which has rendered his 2016 quite a dormant year. But this match is clearly built as a big deal and even though I’ve only seen a video package of it, I’m quite excited.

Ospreay has a grandiose Assassin’s Creed entrance, complete with hooded figures in Will Ospreay get-ups. By the time AC/DC’s “Shoot to Thrill” hits, shit just gets awesome as the crowd ERUPTS for Ospreay after that ridiculousness. Jimmy Havoc’s entrance to “Prelude 12/21” leading into “I Hope You Suffer” by AFI is infinitely more badass however, mainly because AFI is awesome and Jimmy Havoc’s facepaint puts Finn Balor to shame. Personally I’d have preferred “God Called In Sick Today” but beggars can’t be choosers. This guy just rules. Man, PROGRESS is doing its damndest to make this match something huge and they are SUCCEEDING. Havoc sends his Regression cronies to the back…

They have a tense staredown, before they throw heavy leather to start things off. Ospreay beautifully rana’s the champ outside of the ring, followed by a Fosbury Flop! Ospreay throws Jimmy Havoc all over the Electric Ballroom, culminating in a running dropkick to Havoc seated in a chair. Ospreay himself actually is the first to introduce a table to the proceedings, but that allows Jimmy Havoc to recover and just STARCH Ospreay with a kendo stick shot to the face. They try to suplex each other through the set-up, but Ospreay escapes and hits the Sami Zayn Tornado DDT through the turnbuckles! Ospreay again goes searching for plunder, which allows for Havoc to recover once more and take out Ospreay momentarily. OSPREAY HITS AN ORANGE CRUSH INTO A PILE OF CHAIRS! STANDING MOONSAULT! That only gets 2. Ospreay tries setting up a chair in the corner, but Havoc gets up and Falcon Punches the chair into Ospreay’s face! Havoc leathers him with a chair a few times for a casual two count. Havoc sets Ospreay up for the curb stomp into the ropes, but instead he goes out to get thumbtacks! Ospreay uses this lull in action to fight back, but Havoc knees him in the face for his troubles. Havoc picks up a handful of thumbtacks, sticks the tacks in his mouth, and PUNCHES HIM IN THE FACE! Ospreay gets out of the Acid Rainmaker, but HAVOC CATCHES HIM MID-HANDSPRING INTO A BURNING HAMMER ON A CHAIR~! OSPREAY KICKS OUT! Ospreay wiggles out of a Fireman’s Carry and sends Havoc into the cornered steel chair! But here’s Paul Robinson! Regression is out to fight the London Riots! Robinson curb stomps Ospreay! Regression and The Riots fight to the back, and now it’s 1 on 1 with Ospreay and Havoc! ACID RAINMAKER! OSPREAY KICKS OUT! Ospreay nearly gets the win with a Schoolboy, but Havoc gets right back up and superkicks him! HAVOC GIVES THE REF AN ACID RAINMAKER! Havoc sets up a table, but Ospreay slinks out of the top rope and superkicks a crumpled Havoc, and drives him through the table! Havoc kicks out! SHOOTING STAR PRESS TO HAVOC! RED ARROW! HAVOC KICKS OUT~! Ospreay sets Havoc up on the top rope and positions the table on the outside, but Havoc is able to resist and send the Brit to the apron. HAVOC DOUBLE STOMPS OSPREAY THROUGH THE TABLE! Ospreay kicks out! Havoc curb stomps Ospreay into the bottom turnbuckle before giving the new ref an Acid Rainmaker! That apparently leaves Jim Smallman as the official! That’s who counted the pinfall for Jimmy Havoc when he won the PROGRESS Title from Mark Andrews! ACID RAINMAKER TO OSPREAY! OSPREAY KICKS OUT!~! Havoc sets Ospreay’s face on the seat of a chair and pulls an axe out from under the ring! He threatens to use it on Ospreay, but OSPREYA LOW BLOWS HIM! RAINMAKER FROM OSPREAY! SPRINGBOARD CUTTER! ESSEX DESTROYER… COUNTERED INTO ANOTHER ACID RAINMAKER! OSPREAY KICKS OUT AGAIN~! Havoc looks for Styles Clash, but Ospreay boots out of it! SMALL PACKAGE… HAVOC KICKS OUT! ACID RAINMAKER… INTO AN ESSEX DESTROYER~! 630 FROM OSPREAY!~! ONE, TWO, THREE! WILL OSPREAY WINS! 26 minutes later, and we have a new PROGRESS Champion in Will Ospreay! ****1/4 Given that I wasn’t entirely privy to the storyline surrounding this match – although PROGRESS did a tremendous job recapping it via videos and commentary – this really was a sensational 35-40 minute package of professional wrestling. From the start of the fantastically-produced video package to the massive entrances, this was built up to be THE biggest match in PROGRESS Wrestling history, and as an outsider looking in, that’s something I’d be willing to believe. The crowd was on another level throughout, heckling Havoc relentlessly in between pleas for Ospreay to win. The distortion on the crowd mics after the Acid Rainmaker nearfalls were grating in the most delightful manner possible. It also showed a different side of Will Ospreay I would imagine most fans and/or detractors didn’t think he had. Sure, he does flips. Sure, he may value excitement over “protecting the business.” But you know what he did here? He told a story, and he did a damn amazing job of doing it. He was the quintessential babyface against the most psychopathic heel in the business, the whitest of white meat. But you know what? That WORKS. It works with Sami Zayn, it works with Bayley, and it worked here with Will Ospreay. The crowd wanted Jimmy Havoc’s head on a silver platter, and when Ospreay gave it to them, they were over the moon. The hardcore stuff didn’t get too out of hand either, but still provided some wicked spots (like Havoc punching Ospreay with a mouth full of tacks) and gave Jimmy Havoc an outlet to utterly massacre the challenger before good eventually overcame evil. So in closing, this was everything the match needed to be. Havoc and Ospreay were in top form, the crowd may have been even better, and we got one of the best happy endings of 2015 in the process. Two thumbs up for an incredible main event match.

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Color me madly impressed with PROGRESS Wrestling. From the presentation to the booking to the crowd, everything about this promotion strikes me as something worth watching. Yes, I have a few nitpicks. They need to mix their commentary better and probably just up their audio in general, but everything else? Phenomenal. As for the workers in the ring, I got exactly what I signed up for. I got spotfests, I got comedy, I got stories, and I got drama. The wrestling on Chapter 20 was delightfully varied, and formatted in such a way that I never found myself getting burnt out from the action by the time the incredible main event took place. I think PROGRESS has earned itself a new fan, and I giddily await whatever comes next.