Hamilton’s Best of Trent Seven in PROGRESS Report (01.30.21)

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…

Trent Seven vs. Doug Williams – from PROGRESS Chapter 76: Hello Wembley (September 30, 2018)
This was almost surely going to be Doug Williams’ farewell – in what was one of wrestling’s worst kept secrets, and that’s before we even go down the fact that this was announced as a “if Doug loses, he retires” outing… despite the entirety of his Atlas title reign having that same stipulation.

Fortunately Comedy Trent was barely on show here, which meant that this match had a bit more gravitas to it. We started with the pair trading wristlocks early, before Doug tried to keep Trent on the mat… but in Serious Mode, Trent was able to show some of his grappling chops that had been kept under wraps as of late. Yes, we did see Trent badly whiffing on a comedy crossbody, but it was somewhat fortuitous as that move proved to be finish. The one time he hit it… it was enough to retire one of the biggest names of the current generation. Doug rolled back the years as best he could here, but with the short build and the fact that he’d embarked on something of a retirement tour in the weeks before, the result was perhaps not in question. ***

Trent Seven vs. Kyle Fletcher – from PROGRESS Chapter 79: One Big Neck With Sausage Hands (November 28, 2018)
The Open Challenge continued, with Trent’s opponent this time not being the much-mooted PCO, but instead… Kyle Fletcher?!

We start with a tie-up as the newly-heavyweight Fletcher tried to impose himself on Trent. On commentary, Mark Davis went for the Josh Bodom route, saying that Kyle had bulked up without losing speed or agility, but we’re in with shoulder tackles as both men refused to budge. Eventually Kyle edged ahead, before he was crushed with the retiring cross body for a near-fall. Sound mixing becomes an issue as commentary became a strain to hear as Fletcher grounds Trent, only for it to almost backfire as a roll-up gets the champion a near-fall while the pace remained deliberately slow. There’s a big chop from Trent, but Kyle just seems to absorb it before he issues a receipt, which has Trent doubling over in agony before he went a smidgen high on his return.

Kyle’s sent into the corner as Trent’s chops are already marking him up, but a Quebrada catches Trent off guard for a near-fall. Fletcher tries to kick away from a figure four, and succeeds as he maintained control, knocking Trent down with a back elbow for a delayed two-count. Chops seemed to be Trent’s way back into the match, with one of them suckering Kyle in for a DDT, before eventually working his way into a Figure Four. Kyle tries to fight out of it, but he’s chopped – while still in the hold – before he rolls Trent over… only to get flipped back as the champion ends up rolling into the ropes. On the apron, Kyle blocks a chop as he tries to clothesline Trent back over the ropes, before he instead was caught with a Dragon suplex onto the apron. Ow.

Kyle somehow gets back in with a low-pe and a dropkick to keep Trent outside, before a step-up flip senton collided with Trent on the floor. Back in the ring, Kyle keeps the pressure up with a running boot in the corner before he looked for Snake Eyes… only for Trent to slip out into another Dragon suplex. Fletcher’s back up with a superkick before lawn darting Trent into the corner for a near-fall. Another attempt at the retiring crossbody’s caught and turned into a Michinoku driver as the crowd believed they may just see a shock… but Trent got up in the nick of time. Keeping up the pressure, Fletcher lands a forearm, before he’s met with a backfist and a Rainmaker for a near-fall, as Trent looked to finish him off with a Burning Hammer.

Kyle’s added heft causes Trent problems, as he slipped out and went after the knee brace of Trent before he teases a Ganso bomb?! No! He turns it into a powerbomb for a near-fall as Trent had to fight back… and fight back he did as he took Fletcher up top and threatened a super Dragon suplex… and got it! Fletcher flips on the landing, but still kicks out before Trent goes back to the Figure Four for the submission. A valiant effort from Fletcher here, who somehow established himself as a heavyweight in a company that really only delineated the big men (as opposed to having separate junior/heavy divisions). Still, this match’ll make you open your eyes if you were ever thinking of pegging Kyle as the “Marty Jannetty” if Aussie Open were to split… ***¾

Trent Seven vs. Dan Moloney – from PROGRESS Chapter 80: Gods and Monsters Stronger (December 08, 2018)
Moloney takes Trent into the corner early on as the pair sized each other up, while the crowd tried to shoehorn “Dan” into everything they could. Dan grabs a headlock on Trent, who easily threw his way free before Trent’s bid for a hammerlock ended in the ropes. They move onto shoulder charges, with the crowd going mental for… absolutely nothing?

They do the shoulder tackles again, but they have to chip away at each other, with Moloney edging ahead as he was able to take Trent into the corner before an attempt to work over the arm was shoved off, with Trent instead eating a shoulder tackle for a near-fall. A snap suplex from Moloney gets a near-fall as he began to work over the arm, before a chop battle was started, with Trent blocking chops, hitting his and eventually landing a DDT for good measure.

Trent keeps up with a sit-out side slam for a near-fall, before a Figure Four trapped Moloney in the middle of the ring. After making it to the ropes, Trent joins him on the apron where a slap from Dan was replied to… with a slap, a chop and a brainbuster onto the apron. Good Lord, that was NOT how I expected that to end. Rolling Moloney back in, Trent tried to go up top but was intercepted with a belly to belly superplex ahead of a ripcord Bossman slam for a near-fall. A Ligerbomb’s next out of Moloney, then a gutwrench powerbomb for a pair of near-falls, before Trent’s rolled into a single leg crab. After escaping it, Trent looked for a figure four but is rolled up for a near-fall, before he decided to just go for it, landing a ripcord lariat and a piledriver for a near-fall… before a Burning Hammer finally put Dan away.

A spirited effort, and a match that did more for Dan Moloney’s “indy cred” than any other so far, even if the bout was hampered by nobody really believing Trent was going to lose. ***½

Trent Seven vs. Austin Theory – from PROGRESS Chapter 86: Corrupted Harmony (March 10, 2019)
Trent addressed Theory’s challenge for the Atlas title… but since Trent already has his SSS16 match booked, there was no way he was going to accept. So Theory just clocks him with his EVOLVE belt to start the match, but a cover at the bell just gets a near-fall as Theory tried to end things quickly. The match spills outside as Theory threw Seven into the ring, before a battle of chops led to Trent going for (and missing) an enziguiri, before a standing moonsault from Theory drew a near-fall. Chops keep Trent down, as does a suplex… but he can’t even get a one-count from it… so he proceeds to throw Trent outside again.

Seven fires back with chops around the ring, before a DDT dropped Theory on the outside as he had tried to duck a chop. Back inside, an Emerald Fusion nearly gets Trent the win, before he clotheslines Theory outside for a low-pe as the Atlas champion began to build up a head of steam, only to miss a Whisper in the Wind back inside. Theory tries to capitalise with some wild swings, but he just runs into a clothesline before a piledriver from Trent drew a near-fall. Some clubbing blows from Theory, and a duck on a Seven Stars lariat help him get a near-fall, before a rolling thunder blockbuster almost got the upset… only for the referee to spot him with his feet on the ropes. A trip takes Trent into the corner as a rolling thunder dropkick and a forearm caught Trent ahead of Ataxia… but the cross-legged over-the-knee brainbuster can only get Theory a near-fall.

Trent fires back with some backfists, before Theory slipped out of a Burning Hammer. A superkick hits flush, but Trent’s able to rebound with a Seven Stars lariat and a Burning Hammer for the win. Another enjoyable outing, with the crowd biting for everything Trent did… see what an invested crowd does to a show?? Still, that’s two losses for Theory, which I’m sure would have upset the EVOLVE fan in the crowd… even if he did get “please come back” chants. I’ll give you this, Theory’s in the Timothy Thatcher bucket of guys who do nothing for me in EVOLVE, but impress virtually everywhere else. ***¼

Trent Seven vs. Paul Robinson – from PROGRESS Chapter 92: Entertaining Friends (July 07, 2019)
Well, this is a bit random – Trent’s not had a singles match here since he lost the Atlas title to WALTER at Super Strong Style 16… and with Paul Robinson on a good run, you could see this as a bit of a roadblock.

Robinson plays the big man early, slapping Trent after taking him into the corner. It doesn’t faze Trent, who looked to go for a chop, only for Robinson to duck and hit a series of forearms as he had Trent in the corner again. It’s all Robinson early, as he was catching Trent horribly off-guard, crashing into him with a Shibata-ish dropkick in the corner. Trent finds his groove pretty quickly with some chops, then a DDT that folded Robinson in on himself for a near-fall, before a massive Beele throw brought Robbo down with snow on him. A Figure Four follows, before Trent tried for it again and almost got rolled up… but he kicks out and propelled Robinson with a back body drop, sending him outside where Trent ended up chopping the ring post.

He does it again, as the “Greatest Hits” of Trent Seven backfired… allowing Robinson to start headbutting that bad hand. Back in the ring, Robinson pulls Trent into a triangle armbar as he worked on Trent’s self-inflicted injury, which commentary began to outright tag as if it were inspired by Pete Dunne. Out of nowhere though, Trent hits a Dragon suplex and a spinning Emerald Fusion for a near-fall, before a clothesline takes Robbo outside for a lowpe. It’s like a switch went as these two sprung into life, before Trent missed a Whisper in the Wind. He’s able to catch Robbo with another Dragon suplex, before a Seven Stars lariat was countered… Robinson lands on his feed and hits his own Robinson Special for a near-fall. Trent’s back with a superplex attempt, but Robinson seemed to low blow him as a headbutt put Trent down, before he missed a stomp off the top.

Robinson avoids a Burning Hammer, eventually catching Trent with a reverse ‘rana as the shooting star press almost got the win… Robinson follows up with a slingshot DDT on the apron before throwing Trent into the crowd, before joining him there with a flip senton off the top. Returning to the ring, Robinson’s moonsault’s blocked, but he countered that with a DDT, then a middle rope spear, before a missed curb stomp opened the door for Trent, with a Seven Stars lariat and a Zangief-like piledriver. But it’s still not enough for the pin, so Trent just dumps Robinson with a Burning Hammer for the win. This was good in parts, but man this crowd just didn’t seem to be that into this, save for a spell in the middle. Commentary trying to paint this as a match of the year contender straight afterwards was extremely misguided, going by those GRAPPL ratings from fans there live… ***¼

7.4

The final score: review Good

The 411

A weird selection of matches this, given that Trent's bigger matches had come as part of tag teams - so we're left with Trent's singles run from 2018 and 2019 from when he was Atlas champion (and a little bit thereafter). Perhaps not Trent's finest work, but a good sample of what he's been able to do on his own in PROGRESS after Pete and Tyler moved on.