wrestling / Video Reviews
Hamilton’s Best of Eddie Dennis in PROGRESS Report (12.05.20)
Loading...A reminder: these are old reviews, and while I’ve not updated any names from what they were announced as on the night, I’ve done my best to remove mentions of people here who are on that suspected persona non-grata list…
Eddie Dennis vs. Mark Andrews – from PROGRESS Chapter 17: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (January 25, 2015)
After the original attempt was abandoned and turned into an impromptu tag title match, this was take two! This was sort-of Mark Andrews’ farewell match, but since the TNA gig didn’t work out as well as it perhaps should have done, he ended up appearing in PROGRESS again by the end of 2015… and a little over a year after that, working for WWE in their UK Championship Tournament. Life can be funny, eh?
This seems to be where the “one fall” rubbish originated, as Jim Smallman messed up the introductions. Cue “we want two falls” chants, which would make for an awkward match…
Andrews tries for an early double stomp after a wheelbarrow takedown, but of course, there was a lot of even-ness to this match between the recently-deposed tag champions. Andrews counters a sidewalk slam with a multiple-rotation satellite ‘rana, before Dennis just walked away from an attempted dive.
Dennis caught a plancha attempt and dumped Andrews on the apron with a swinging side slam for a two-count, then gets another two from a knee drop off the ropes. After a front facelock, Andrews counters a suplex with the Stundog Millionaire, then landed a corner enziguiri before slingshotting himself into a wheelbarrow bulldog from the apron. A standing shooting star press gets Andrews a two-count, but his standing moonsault gets caught as Dennis picks him up into a headlock suplex.
Dennis pops up Andrews into a side-slam for a near-fall, but Andrews flipped out of the Next Stop Driver and scored a wheelbarrow into a double stomp. A uranage-style takedown sees Dennis set-up for a crucifix bucklebomb, but Andrews slips out onto the apron for a springboard cross body, but it’s caught and turned into the Emerald Fusion for another two-count. From there, Dennis picked up Andrews for a crucifix bomb off the top rope, but Andrews flips out and counters with an armdrag to the outside as it’s now time to fly with a springboard elbow into the front row. Cue a “TNA” chant, and a lot of boos… They both return to the ring, but Dennis just rolls into the path of a shooting star press for another two-count.
A corner dropkick rocks Dennis, as Andrews tries to lift him up to the top rope for a superplex, but Dennis counters it into a super Next Stop Driver that was enough to seal the win. Considering the circumstances, this felt a little muted, but this was more about the occasion than the match for me. ***¼
Eddie Dennis vs. Pete Dunne – from PROGRESS Chapter 52: Vote Pies (July 23, 2017)
Eddie’s got new gear, and he’s to afraid to flaunt the “Defend Indy Wrestling” banner in the face of his former team-mate… who kicked away the flag as if he were Chris Jericho with a Brazilian flag.
Both men come flying out of the gates with forearms, as Eddie took an early advantage with a uranage before dumping Dunne into the corner with the Severn Bridge buckle bomb. A Next Stop Driver’s teased, but Dunne slips out and heads to the floor for cover. Which included getting forearmed so hard he spilled a fan’s drink!
Eddie’s all over Dunne in the opening stages, but Dunne quickly comes back with a double stomp and a series of kicks as Eddie’s left laying on the outside. Once Eddie beat the count, Dunne took over, stomping on Eddie in the corner before trapping his hand in the turnbuckle to stomp on it some more.
Eddie’s thrown into the crowd, but he rises from the dead and levels Dunne with another forearm, only for the tide to turn back-and-forth as Eddie’s reliant on forearms and chops to get himself in the game… only for Peter to bite and snap the fingers to keep any kind of advantage.
Dunne works into a Pedigree, but he’s backdropped to the floor, here he takes a tope con hilo from Eddie… only to drag him into a triangle armbar back in the ring. Eddie fights free and delivers another crucifix bomb for a near-fall, before catching Peter on the top rope with a hanging superplex! More charges in the corner eventually backfired for Eddie, who fell to an X-plex for a near-fall
A simple forearm from Dunne knocked Eddie into the corner… before that favour was returned as the pair continued to drop each other with kicks and clotheslines, before Eddie’s thrown deeper into the crowd yet again. That crowd brawling continued onto the stage as Eddie’s slammed, before Dunne flips out of a German suplex attempt, only to get dropped with a tombstone!
Back in the ring, Dunne punts Eddie low, but can’t follow up as his Bitter End’s turned into a Next Stop Driver for a near-fall. The Bitter End does come though, but Eddie kicks out, and that’s the cue for Peter to play Paul, as he goes under the ring for a sledgehammer, but referee Joel Allen disarms the champ.
That leads to a ref bump as Eddie accidentally superkicks Joel… so we get the Pedigree as Dunne goes for the sledgehammer again, but he misses and takes another Next Stop Driver. Of course, Joel’s still out, so the cover is for nought. Dunne eventually connects with that sledgehammer on the outside, before chaining together a Pedigree and the Bitter End, just as Joel awoke to count the pin… Pete Dunne ends, and I can sort-of see why this match drew a lot of criticism. It did feel a little like a Raw TV match, with shortcuts a-go-go, but I also get why they did it – in a weird way, it built Eddie up a little, but these “you need to beat me to get a title shot” is going to lead to a lot of strange atmospheres in the build up to Alexandra Palace. ***½
Eddie Dennis vs. Rickey Shane Page – from PROGRESS Coast to Coast: Boston (August 5, 2018)
There’s “Defend Indy Wrestling” history between these two, but Eddie’s convinced that Page is only on this tour as a favour to Mark Andrews… which doesn’t sit-well as he called RSP an “over-rated death match guy”… to which RSP said something about Eddie’s WWE contract, and we’re off! Page starts off strong, using a suplex throw to take Dennis out of the corner as he had the upper hand early on. Eddie’s lifted to the top rope, but he shoves Page onto the rope to avoid a ‘rana before clotheslining him to the mat for a near-fall. A back elbow off the ropes helps get another near-fall, before some repeated knees to the head, then a knee drop drew a similar result as Eddie started to break down Page, who was sporting a bandage on his forehead from the prior night’s efforts.
Eddie tries for a swinging side slam, and eventually gets it off as Page – bloodied nose and all – again kicked out. That blood seemed to fire up Page, as he begged for, and got, forearms to the face, before he gave some back ahead of a roundhouse kick and a sit-out side slam on the Welshman. A chokebreaker from Page gets a near-fall, but Eddie’s able to rebound with a crucifix bomb out of the corner for a near-fall. He tries for the Next Stop Driver, but Page rolls him up for a two-count, before catching Eddie up top with a gamengiri ahead of a superplex that brought both men down hard. After kicking out of a roll-up, Page nails a Twist of Fate before returning up top… but his senton bomb lands in the knees of Dennis, who quickly capitalises with a Next Stop Driver for the win. An enjoyable match, but a lot of these “Three and In” matches kinda fall flat knowing the end result, although if you’re watching these chronologically you shouldn’t have that problem. ***¼
Eddie Dennis vs. Mark Andrews – from PROGRESS Chapter 76: Hello Wembley (September 30, 2018)
Oh boy. Eddie Dennis and Mark Andrews in a TLC match for a shot at the PROGRESS title. That stipulation felt rather extraneous, given that this was the first match in their feud, and let’s be honest… there’s not been any matches where tables, ladders or even chairs had played a part in their feud, which led to some rather dismissive tones that this blood feud was turned into “I hate you… I’m gonna climb a ladder”.
Maybe that angered the “booking Gods”, as what ended up happening was at best, mildly unfortunate, and at worst, infuriating. While we started with brawling and a dive, the weaponry quickly came into play as the Welsh pair used chairs on each other before Mark Andrews went for a table. Uh-oh. Eddie went for a ladder, but he was taller than the damn thing, which meant that the ladder was only good for a weapon rather than for climbing.
Who blew the budget on those step ladders?! Mark tries to climb one of them, which was almost comical, but he was able to hit a ‘rana as Eddie went to the outside, and was teasing going through a table. Instead, Eddie ends up taking a Stundog Millionaire on the apron, sending him bouncing off a table. It would become the trend as the Japanese tables. German tables. PROGRESS tables. Whatever you want to call them, they did not break, despite Eddie and Mark throwing themselves and each other onto them.
A snap powerbomb just sees Andrews bounce off the table, as the legs gave way rather than the wood… and another powerbomb sees Mark bounce again. All we got was bouncing and sickening thuds as the hot feud turned into a farce, with the crowd cheering ironically for every such attempt. Instead, Eddie pulls out a HUGE ladder from under the ring for later, before setting up a chair in the ropes… which of course he takes courtesy of headscissors.
Next up, Eddie teases a superplex through a table, before Andrews shoved him down for a Code Red that barely budged the table… but definitely ripped up the canvas. Andrews climbs the ladder… but gets shoved off onto a smaller one, as Eddie decides to drop down and continue the match as sections of the crowd groaned. Especially when Mark looked to evoke the spirit of Jeff Hardy as he tried to senton bomb Eddie through a table. Off of one of those near 20ft ladders. Bounce. Again, the legs gave way as Mark skidded off Eddie and took the landing on his backside.
The crowd groan again as Mark sets up another table in the ring, before using a chair to leave Eddie laid across a table. Eddie pops up though and catches Mark on the ladder, looking to bring him down with a Next Stop Driver… and finally the table bends enough for people to consider it “broken”! All that’s left is for Eddie to scale the ladder and retrieve the contract, and he’s now in line for a PROGRESS title shot! Playing Devil’s advocate, you could argue that after the first two or three table snafus, they perhaps should have ditched the tables rather than keep on plugging away and risk this being a mockery – but by the end, you had to feel bad for them as the story they wanted to tell… just wouldn’t be told. ***
Eddie Dennis vs. Mike Bailey – from PROGRESS Chapter 78: 24 Hour PROGRESS People (November 11, 2018)
Huge pops for Eddie Dennis, whose promo at the last Ballroom show seems to have turned him babyface… or at least serve to at least accept the cheers he’d been getting anyway. He’s got a new ring jacket which has teeth on it, and is made of the same kinda textured material that Kris Wolf and Alpha Female’s gear’s made of. Mike Bailey has no ‘tron, and isn’t using the royalty free music he uses in Defiant/DDT…
Eddie attacks Bailey at the bell, and he enjoys the lion’s share of the offence early, sending Speedball into a Rikishi bump from a clothesline before an early bid for a Next Stop Driver was countered with a roll-up for a near-fall. The Speedball kicks send Eddie powdering to the outside, but the Golden Triangle moonsault’s avoided, meaning that Bailey springboards back in with a dropkick for a near-fall. The dive follows… but Eddie catches him and lands a swinging side slam onto the apron instead. Back in the ring, a cravat keeps Bailey at bay, with some knees to the head thrown in for good measure, before we get a sweet cravat suplex that looked like Eddie was gonna pull off Bailey’s head. Some kicks put a stop to that, with Eddie getting taken down ahead of a standing corkscrew press from Bailey.
A uranage in the corner gets Eddie back in, ahead of a Severn Bridge buckle bomb… but Bailey makes a comeback, taking him outside for a Golden Triangle moonsault. Bailey keeps up the pressure as he kicks Eddie in the crowd, making the Welshman beg off and onto the apron as more kicks follow. Eddie catches one of them and returns fire with a forearm, only to get backdropped on the apron ahead of a missed moonsault knee drop. Speedball will pay for that in his older age, I fear.
A crucifix bomb followed back inside… but it’s not enough as Bailey kicks out. Eddie goes for it again, but Bailey slips out and tries for a step-up kick in the corner. He misses, as the pair go back-and-forth with corner charges, with Eddie’s forearms rocking Bailey, clocking him as Speedball went for a discus roundhouse. That looked brutal! Another crucifix bomb’s turned into a ‘rana, as Bailey finally followed up with moonsault knees that had Eddie rocked… as did the discus roundhouse and shooting star knees to a doubled over Dennis.
Somehow Eddie kicks out from that, but he’s put right back down with another head kick as Bailey goes back to the shooting star knees. It’s a trip too many to the well as he crashes and burns… leaving himself prone for a Next Stop Driver for a near-fall?! How’d he kick out of that? Eddie picks him back up in a fireman’s carry, then turns it into another Next Stop Driver… and that’s all folks! A really good opener, even if you’re still left wondering “what the hell is Eddie Dennis’ character”. Much like the new PROGRESS canvas, we’re dealing with shades of grey here folks. ***¾
Eddie Dennis vs. Mark Haskins – from PROGRESS Chapter 79: One Big Neck With Sausage Hands (November 26, 2018)
So off the back of his speech here last time out, Eddie’s now being treated like a good guy. Either that, or Camden really likes the dragon onesie!
We’ve duelling chants to start this match between two of PROGRESS’ stalwarts, and it’s a tempered start as Eddie’s search for a headlock ended in nought. Some ground work just ends with Eddie taking Haskins to the corner as he put the boots to him. There’s a turnaround as Haskins heads out with a tope… then his misdirection tope as he ended up tossing Eddie into the crowd.
Back in the ring, Haskins heads up top but misses a stomp before he ran into a uranage from Eddie, who found the mark with his knee for a two-count. Whips into the corner keep Eddie ahead, before a cravat keeps Haskins at bay. Dennis tries to wrench the head off of Haskins’ neck with that hold, but the former PROGRESS champion fights back… and ends up taking a cravat suplex for his woes. Another cravat has Haskins grasping for the ropes as Eddie stood tall. Well, at least until one of his kicks was caught and turned into a Dragon screw by Haskins. He followed up with a leg lariat as Haskins keeps up the momentum… until he’s caught with a forearm from Eddie! A knee to the gut keeps the momentum poised as neither man could hold the lead… until Eddie lands a Severn Bridge buckle bomb and a clothesline to leave both men down.
They fight back their feet, where Haskins edged ahead as he trapped Eddie in a crossface as the submission game was getting him back into it… as were some well placed kicks to the legs. Eddie blocks a roll-through Sharpshooter and counters with a swinging side slam for a near-fall before another crack at the Severn Bridge was countered into a ‘rana… which is rolled through as Haskins instead nails a rolling death valley driver for a two-count!
Heading up top, Haskins gets caught… but he tries to fight out and gets superplex for his troubles, before another Severn Bridge rudely dumps Haskins in the buckles, as the Next Stop Driver earned Eddie another near-fall! The duelling chants intensify as Eddie pulls up Haskins, but ends up getting caught in a Sharpshooter as Eddie needed the ropes. A double stomp follows for another near-fall, as Eddie kicks out and counters into a crucifix for the flash pin. A hell of a match here, as two guys whom could well have been in the firing line as part of a refresh of the roster pulled out all the stops. Make time to watch this one again! ***¾
Eddie Dennis vs. Marcel Barthel – from PROGRESS Chapter 82: Unboxing Live! 3 – A Dukla Prague Away Kit (December 30, 2018)
My God, the pop when the RINGKAMPF music led to Marcel Barthel’s appearance. My poor speakers. Introduced as the former Axel Dieter Jr., this was the latest in a string of one-off surprises on the show.
The crowd manages to fit Barthel’s name into a song. The John Cena song, to be exact, as we get going with Barthel pulling Eddie down into an armbar, then sending him scrambling into the ropes. After that, a snapmare saw Barthel attempt to work over Eddie’s arm, but he has to counter a hold from Eddie as he rolled through into headscissors, before a bridging hammerlock kept the Welshman down.
A leg trip frustrates Eddie next, as Barthel works a toe hold, then a toe and ankle hold, as the mat work from the former wXw unified world wrestling champion was as sublime as you’d expect. Barthel switches it up, throwing Eddie through the ropes before a low dropkick took him outside, but a RINGKAMPF post looked to give Dennis a way back in… only for him to take a cross chop to the throat. Eddie’s right back in with a big boot and a swinging side slam for a near-fall, as he looked to take control.
Chops in the corner had Barthel rocked, but he replied in kind before running into a back elbow as Eddie picked up a two-count. Barthel’s back with clotheslines, then a running European uppercut, before a back suplex set up Bartel for another uppercut off the middle rope as he picked up a two-count. Barthel’s back to the chops in the corner, but Eddie has a forearm shot or two before he’s caught in the ropes with a gamengiri. A back elbow from Eddie finds its mark, before he ran into a Hamburgerkreuz from Barthel for a near-fall, as the pendulum kept on a-swinging. Eddie tries for a Severn Bridge out of the corner, but Barthel holds on, only to get hauled down with a superplex for a near-fall.
A PK’s good for a near-fall before Barthel’s bid to go for a Landungsbrücke is pushed away, allowing Eddie to quickly work his way into a Next Stop Driver for the win. This was a fun match with a rather sudden finish – but an enjoyable outing that would steal pretty much any episode of NXT UK if they were to rematch. ***½
