Euro Fury: Rev Pro Angle vs. Sabre

Rev Pro Angle Vs. Sabre

 

June 12 2016

 

This was a special bonus York Hall show from Revolution Pro Wrestling after the possibility of booking Kurt Angle came up. The result is a dream match main event of Angle vs. Sabre Jr. Rev Pro stacked up the undercard as best as they could and on paper it looked all kinds of great. Big matches up and down this card. We’re in historic York Hall, Bethnal Green, London. Hosts are Oliver Bennett and Andy Boyz Simmonz.

 

Marty Scurll vs. Noam Dar

Scurll has a new white fur coat. He looks very stylish. Dar is on his way to the Cruiserweight Classic in Florida and Scurll isn’t best pleased about that. This is a tidy, technically proficient match up. Scurll works firmly heel but is still loved by the crowd. His work over the past few years has gotten him over regardless of his attitude. Dar is a strange wrestler. He never seems to have a game plan, merely reacting to assaults upon his person. That works here as Scurll is the aggressor and Dar can fight from underneath. There’s an attempted story about duelling submissions but there’s a lack of limb focus to make that fully work. The match works far better when they’re rocking counters as they’re both great at that. It gives the match a sense of epic. When they go back to the limb stuff it feels like another weird change of pace. The match as a whole is two separate matches tacked together. Dar sees the “superkick, just kidding” spot coming and sweeps the legs. Dar is at his best when dealing with offence. He can’t deal with the Crossface Chickenwing though and Scurll gets the submission. This worked in dribs and drabs. Those counter-heavy sequences made the match memorable.

Final Rating: ***1/2

 

Pete Dunne vs. Martin Stone

Brother Stone has been travelling the American Indie scene this year and doing good business. Meanwhile Dunne’s reputation in the UK is growing significantly. He’ll soon be too big to be the cruiserweight champion. That title isn’t on the line here and Dunne may be over the 215lbs limit already. Stone meanwhile has dropped a tonne of weight in 2016 and looks skinny as fuck. Stone used to carry around some 250lbs but here there’s barely any difference here and Oli Bennett claims he weighs 187lbs, which cannot be right. My claims, pre-show, that Dunne would make Stone look small are partially true. Stone plays his role as a seasoned veteran with sneaky offence but still relies on the brawling style that made him famous. His change in physique should probably include some technical prowess; a general self improvement program (there are signs of that, here and there). Stone’s size may have changed but the direct and brutal tactics have not. He seems to get weight behind moves despite cutting pounds. Stone’s war-like approach, with big lariats and headbutts, seems to suggest an upset win. Dunne kicks Martin in the groin and hits the Drop Dead to win however. This was solid with two guys beating each other up.

Final Rating: ***1/4

 

Big Daddy Walter vs. Big Damo

The Battle of the Big Lads! PROGRESS has both these big fellas in their Atlas division. You could argue they’re the two best big lads in Europe right now. The match doesn’t reflect that unfortunately. The pacing is slow and relies heavily on Damo taking a pasting off Walter, who isn’t messing around. Walter is keen to be the big dog in this fight and emphasise his spot as Europe’s top hoss. A problem the Big Lads now face is that they’re stuck against each other so much now that the impact of two big guys fighting is depleting. Like it did with Vince McMahon’s hoss wars in the 1980s. People ended up craving variety. Speaking of variety, Damo gets legitimate heat for hitting a Vaderbomb! BritWres fans are upset about Vader levelling complaints at Will Ospreay’s spotty style. The Vaderbomb sets up a Rings of Saturn and Damo gets the submission as Walter loses consciousness. This was fine but the repetitive nature of the Big Lads matches is detracting from it as a spectacle. The matches don’t seem to differentiate between themselves.

Final Rating: **3/4

 

Mike Bailey vs. Will Ospreay

Bailey gets a decent pop. He’s working the UK a lot more now thanks to a ban from entering the USA due to visa issues. However that is dwarfed by Ospreay’s “welcome home” reaction, which is amazing. Apparently the live noise for Ospreay was off the charts for York Hall reactions. Let me put it like this: you cannot hear his music. Ospreay gets a hero’s welcome as this is his first major show since winning New Japan’s Best of the Super Juniors. Five minute standing ovation? Oh, go on then. Will looks genuinely blown away by it all. It’s incredible. Almost as ridiculous is the chant of “fuck you, Vader” during an Ospreay-Speedball match. Bailey is in danger of being an also-ran in a two man contest until he starts unleashing kicks. Ospreay has taken spots from New Japan based on his time there and the Okada stuff has been at the forefront but he also lifts Kojima’s chop rush. Ospreay does a shade too much Rob Van Dam posing but the one does set up a Vaderbomb. Bailey kicks out at one in a funny spot. Bailey does a pointless backflip to make fun of Ospreay and wrestling is a lot of fun right now. Ospreay looks on his game, more so than during the KUSHIDA re-match at Dominion. Everything he hits is flush whether it’s a kick or a Sasuke Special. Bailey is able to match Ospreay at every turn, aiming to not get outdone. Ospreay isn’t losing in his return match though and his strikes match the strikers best efforts. Ospreay’s strikes are often overlooked but everything he does is on point. The headbutt in this match is insane. It’s beautifully reckless. I worry about Ospreay’s health in the long run but the matches he’s having are just brilliant. Bailey survives the Imploding 450 Splash but gets laid out by the Fade Cutter. This match was all kinds of great. Ospreay is on another level. Bailey gained kudos by hanging with him. This might be the best Speedball match I’ve ever seen. Just another day at the office for Will. His 2016 is one MOTYC after another.

Final Rating: ****1/2

 

Post Match: Ospreay soaks up another standing ovation before cutting a promo. “I’ve been wrestling for four years. I’ve got plenty more in the tank”. He tells veterans in the business to “get with the times”, which is out of character but he’s clearly been annoyed by Vader’s remarks about him. Ospreay goes on to talk about loyalty and how he’s been loyal to Rev Pro and it’s made him. He talks about not looking or talking like a star but “when I step through those ropes I know exactly who I am”. Ospreay says he won’t work so many Indie dates in the future, due to his NJPW commitments and his body falling apart at an early age but he promises to carry on working for Rev Pro as long as he can.

 

Josh Bodom vs. Chris Hero

Hero has been rocking the UK dates, this coming two weeks after his appearance in the Super Strong Style 16 tournament for PROGRESS. Hero was influenced by the UK style, among many others, so he’s not put off by Bodom nor the environment he’s in. Hero is a bully, capable of overpowering everyone on the Indies and Bodom should get a lot of sympathy, as others have, but he’s such an asshole that doesn’t happen. It’s testament to Bodom’s churlish attitude that nobody likes him in any situation. The match is at its best when Hero is leathering the twattish Bodom with strikes. As a worker Bodom is improving but he’s not on Hero’s level, nor anywhere close. He tries throughout the match and Hero is nice enough to not outshine Bodom too much. Bodom has the common sense to take what he is given. Hero’s no selling at times is perfect to showcase the size, skill and experience difference. Hero seems one step ahead throughout, even when Bodom catches him with the Blissbuster. The kick-out effects Bodom and he struggles from that point onward. That is until an accidental ref bump allows him an opening. A low blow sets up the rolling elbow and Bodom takes the win. Should have finished with the Blissbuster really. The elbow didn’t look convincing. Strong performance by Hero and Bodom hung for a lot of it.

Final Rating: ***1/2

 

Post Match: Bodom calls out Tomohiro Ishii. So that’s on for Summer Sizzler. As much as I rate Bodom, I hope Ishii beats the shit out of him.

 

British Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

The Revolutionists (Sha Samuels & James Castle) (c) vs. Joel Redman & Charlie Garrett

The Revolutionists year long title reign has been unimpressive. They’ve been going for constant cheap heat and that’s it. While Sha is more than capable in that respect, Castle feels very one-dimensional. Redman and Garrett are fun enough, even though they’re cobbled together as a team. Redman used to be one half of the tag champions until his partner, Mark Haskins, got injured and they dropped the belts without the Star Attraction being there. Redman & Garrett is more of a powerhouse team with Redman popping off suplexes and such. The Revolutionists can’t overcome the power difference without cheating. They’ve retained with a lot of belt shots over the past year but Redman kicks out of that spot. Redman hits a Tombstone and Garrett comes flipping off the top for the belt change. Given the dire run of the Revolutionists it’s nice to get a change.

Final Rating: **

 

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kurt Angle

As a long-time wrestling fan, who can remember Angle’s entire WWF run in great detail, it’s perhaps not so much of a big nostalgia deal for me to see him. Which is why I didn’t go to the show. Angle’s reaction is enormous. Deafening, even. The difference between him and Ospreay is a roar when his music starts and then polite love, rather than the sustained reaction for Will. He looks thrilled to get the support from a room full of hardcore grappling fans though. Andy Quilden’s ring introductions take almost as long as the match, building the atmosphere and excitement. The match they have is short and to the point. That we’re watching the best wrestler in the world today clash with an all-time great in that respect. Angle is way past his best, in his late 40s and he’s a lot slower than at any other point in his career. I’ve been watching some 2001 RAW shows recently and Angle is so fantastic on those. Angle keeps it basic because he’s older than dirt and the crowd chant “this is awesome” at a fucking chinlock. That’s the power of Angle’s reputation. They hit the big finisher counters stuff very early, after 6-7 minutes, and it’s the meat of the match. It reminds me of Angle at his very best when he developed a finisher heavy match up in WWE around 2002-2003. Angle escapes from the hold that AJ Styles tapped out to and hooks the Anklelock for the submission in just under nine minutes. This was a spectacle while it lasted and the counter wrestling was really solid. Angle was walked through a lot of it by the super-worker that is Sabre and this is a sign of his arrival. The Cruiserweight Classic will showcase Sabre Jr. to the world and he’s ready for that.

Final Rating: ***3/4

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Angle sums it up post-match when he says he didn’t realise how good Rev Pro was. Until you dip into BritWres at the moment you’d be forgiven for not realising the standard it is operating at. While Sabre Jr. and Ospreay are being exposed to larger audiences there are still plenty of BritWres treasures to discover beyond them. That said their matches stole this show. The Ospreay match was especially outstanding but the Sabre one was a real spectacle. The show is pretty consistently good throughout, even though on paper it looked to be even better. The Ospreay-Bailey match over delivered but that’s just how excellent Will is right now. The venue and opponent don’t seem to matter to him!