Hamilton’s Rev Pro Live at the Portsmouth Guildhall 11.27.2023 Review

Quick Results
Robbie X pinned Scotty Rawk in 11:23 (***¼)
Great British Tag League 2023 Block A: Kieron Lacey & Mark Trew pinned Mark Billington & Thomas Billington in 11:22 (**¾)
Maya Matthews pinned Safire Reed in 10:18 (***)
Trent Seven pinned Sha Samuels in 13:53 (***)
Levi Muir won a Revolution tag match in 18:14 (***¼)
Alex Windsor submitted Maya Matthews to retain the Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship in 10:35 (***¼)
Michael Oku submitted Mitch Waterman in 20:45 (***½)

— If you’re on Twitter/X/the bird app, give me a follow over on @IanWrestling. I’m also over on BlueSky, Instagram and Threads by that same name, and if you’ve put your chips in on Mastodon, catch me here. One of those has to be the winner, right? And I’ll be hopping around those until they fall off… In the meantime, check out the GoFundMe that’s still open for Larry’s family…

— To watch this show, head over to RevProOnDemand.com – they’re currently running a free trial…

We’re back at the Portsmouth Guildhall for this one, with commentary coming from Andy Quildan, who’s running solo today, We’ve got a good omen too as the feed dropped offline almost instantly…

Scotty Rawk vs. Robbie X
Rawk won the BWR title in Cleethorpes the prior night, so he’s had a hell of a trip ahead of his Rev Pro debut.

Rawk claimed a hair pull as Robbie X took him to the corner to start, but Rawk had trouble once Robbie got going. An attempted ‘rana to stifle Robbie’s just floated out of, but a ‘rana off the middle rope takes the former Cruiserweight champion outside as Rawk faked out a plancha.

Robbie’s back in to chop Rawk around the ring, following with a standing moonsault for just a one-count. Rawk continues to stall as Robbie seemed to have one up on him, but Rawk boots the ropes to avoid a Molly Go Round, knocking Robbie down ahead of a face-washing boot in the corner.

Rawk slows the pace down with a chinlock, before he took Robbie into the ropes with knees to the gut. A Kitchen Sink knee cuts off Robbie some more, but the comeback kicks off as a spinning heel kick knocks down Rawk, while a hiptoss and cartwheel dropkick picked up another two-count.

A German suplex sees Rawk turn things around as he then went back to the arm of Robbie X, but Robbie again broke free as he pushed back with a Beyblade kick and a Molly Go Round for a near-fall. From there, Robbie wallops Rawk with some clotheslines, before Rawk avoided an X-Clamation and hit a swinging DDT before a Jig ‘n’ Tonic spiked Robbie on his dome for a near-fall.

Robbie looks to snatch a win with a cradle, before he leapt off the top rope into a roundhouse kick as Rawk returned with a reverse ‘rana and an ushigoroshi… it’s still not enough though as Rawk looked to add a stomp off the top, which Robbie evaded before he hit back with an X-Clamation for the win. A decent opener, with Rawk looking solid in his debut – and hopefully this isn’t a one-and-done for him here. ***¼

Great British Tag League 2023 Block A: Mark Trew & Kieron Lacey vs. Billington Bulldogs (Mark Billington & Thomas Billington)
It’s a dead rubber in block A here, as neither team here have won any points so far… this is their final block match, so someone’s 0 is gonna go. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have binned off Rule Britannia as their theme…

We start with Trew and Thomas laying into each other, as Thomas’ series of shoulder tackles had him ahead, leading to a release German suplex to take Trew outside. There’s a missile dropkick from the top rope to the floor from Thomas, before the Bulldogs double-teamed Trew back inside.

Mark’s in with some uppercuts to Trew, before Thomas’ snap suplex picked up a two-count. Trew’s fightback led to him getting charged back into the corner as a brainbuster from Thomas kept the Bulldogs on top ahead of an… Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex?! It’s good for a two-count before Mark’s clothesline dropped Trew, who hit back with a jack-knife cover for a two-count.

Thomas misses a dropkick, going through the ropes… Trew capitalises, but almost eats crap on a tope con giro to the outside… they rush back in as Lacey tagged in to hit a Gravedigger for a quick two-count. Trew and Lacey exchange quick tags as they isolated Thomas, leading to a suplex from Trew for another two-count.

Lacey charges Mark off the apron with an elbow, but Thomas capitalised on that distraction as he made a come back with a series of dropkicks… before he went up top and got double chopped down to the floor. A back body drop from Thomas counters a piledriver attempt as the Bulldogs again got back in it, with Mark tagging in to try and clear house on Lacey.

A handspring back elbow’s blocked though, before Mark found a way through with an enziguiri and a twisting suplex. That’s good for a near-fall on Lacey, before a double-team ended with Trew shoving Thomas off the top… allowing Lacey to roll up Mark Billington with a handful of tights to steal the win. This one had its moments, and a win for Trew and Lacey should mean they’ll be sticking around going into the new year. **¾

Safire Reed vs. Maya Matthews
The winner of this one’ll get a shot at Alex Windsor’s title later in the night…

Reed takes Matthews into the ropes to start, before the favour was returned… Matthews hits back with a lot of misdirection ahead of a crossbody for just a one-count. Matthews and Reed trade strikes, but it’s Maya who pulls ahead with a crossbody off the middle rope for a two-count, before Reed hit back, running Maya down the apron and into the buckles.

Matthews gets laid out by the guard rails as Reed began to control the pace, stretching Maya back inside before a kick to the back drew a rather arrogant one-count. Stomps to Matthews’ arm follow, only for Maya to hit back with a mounted sleeperhold. It’s quickly thrown off though, as Reed’s stomp to the back put things in her favour, leading to an armbar that ended in the ropes… but not before Reed stood on Maya’s head for good measure.

A baseball slide knocks Matthews back outside… and things take a while to improve when she returned, as another dropkick was waiting for Maya, as was another armbar. An overhand chop looked to give Maya an opening, as did a shotgun dropkick, before a gamengiri in the corner and a Slingblade led to just a one-count for Matthews.

Maya stays on Reed with a grounded sleeper, but Safire gets out again, hitting a dropkick for a two-count. A cutter from Maya switches things up once more, but a missed spear allows Reed back in as a Dragon suplex looked to have her back on top… only for Matthews to steal the win with an inside cradle. This was mostly Reed’s match, but it was a set-up for an underdog story later on… ***

Post-match, Reed attacks Matthews from behind, stomping away on Maya’s knee as Alex Windsor watched on from the stage. They resisted the temptation to rush into the Women’s title match, at least…

Trent Seven vs. Sha Samuels
There was a little cuteness from Trent ahead of this one, taking shots at Sha Samuels for “ripping off the Enfield playbook” by dropping weight to become a Cruiserweight. Touche. Of course, this was a rematch from July’s Epic Encounter, which was won by Trent via some unfair means…

Sha got the better of Trent early on, only to get caught with a crossbody as Trent looked to go all Hogan with us seconds later, landing a leg drop for a two-count. Sha gets back in control, taking down Seven before some elbows to the neck led to a punt to the back, following with a clothesline for another two-count.

Trent bails to the outside to try and take the sting out of things, but an accidental chop to the ring post allowed Sha to take control again, dumping Trent into the crowd as Trent then bailed… forcing the camera crew to make use of their zoom lens. Trent bounces a styrofoam head off of Sha in an ode to Al Snow, as we continue to go around the crowd, before they made it back towards ringside… where Trent again chops the post.

Finally back inside, Trent actually connects with chops as he bounced Sha to the mat before he distracted the referee with a towel throw… so he could then choke Trent with it. Once the towel’s gone, Trent goes for Sha’s scarf instead, following up with the cricket chop in the corner, then an Emerald Flowsion for another two-count.

Sha mounts a comeback with punches and an atomic drop, before a Michinoku driver drew a two-count. A superplex follows, which almost led to a double knock-down as Trent and Sha eventually stirred and fought back to their feet. Sha ducks a ripcord lariat and instead hit back with a uranage backbreaker for a near-fall, only for a back body drop to throw away an East End Destroyer attempt.

Trent struck back with a backfist and a Seven Star lariat, before Trent missed a Whisper in the Wind. Sha’s right back with a spinebuster for a near-fall by the ropes, before Trent hit the Tyler Bate bop/bang… and tried a cheating roll-up in the ropes. The ref spots the obvious and refuses to count, before a teased ref bump led to Sha getting met with a backfist… and a Birming-Hammer for the win. This was fine, but never felt like it really got going. ***

Revolution Match: Gideon Grey, Levi Muir, Will Kaven & Jordan Saeed vs. Cameron Khai, Samuel Hawkes, Kelly Sixx & Harry Milligan
The Revolution match is pretty much New Japan elimination rules, but with no DQs. We’ve got a debut and a bunch of returns here – Saeed and Milligan were making their Rev Pro bows, while this was Sixx’s first time in, erm, six years, back when he used to be a Contender.

A jump start led to the ref just throwing his hands up as everyone fought before the bell… eventually bell dot MP3 sounds after Hawkes dove off the top rope. Kaven’s big boot dumped Milligan, only for Harry to snap back with a Michinoku driver for a two-count. A crossbody off the top gets Milligan another two-count, only for Kaven to snap back with a Dragon suplex.

Milligan gets laid out with a forearm moments later, before he hits… a Sega Mega Driver as Saeed had to dive in to break up the cover. Saeed’s spinning death valley driver is enough for Kaven to pin Milligan at 3:11 for our first elimination…

Hawkes comes in next as he’s forced to kick out of a slam from Saeed, before Gideon Grey came in to clear the opposite apron. A spinning heel kick drops Grey from there, as Hawkes looked to push on with a springboard cutter for a near-fall… before we have our second elimination at 5:25 as Saeed pushed Hawkes off the top rope and into the guard rails. That sounded like a nasty landing, and it left Gideon’s crew with a 4-2 lead.

Kelly Sixx comes in next to trade shots with Saeed, finding a way through with an enziguiri before a trip up top led to nought. Saeed’s back with a clothesline off the ropes, before Sixx’s sunset flip and roll-up put Saeed away at 7:28. Levi Muir jumps in to wipe out Sixx with a clothesline for a near-fall, following up with a suplex for a two-count before Sixx was able to hit back… but he can’t make the tag out as Grey knocked Khai off the apron. Kaven’s in to try and wear down Sixx some more, but Kelly’s able to find a way back in with an up-kick and a dropkick, before a Ricola Bomb almost put Kaven away.

Sixx and Kaven trade German suplexes, but Gideon Grey decides to join in… and gets one as well before Khai came in to put Kaven away with a slingshot cutter at 11:25. Muir pounces on Khai again, landing a swinging neckbreaker, before he launched Khai with a suplex for another two-count.

A TKO attempt from Muir’s escaped as Khai countered with an O’Connor roll for a near-fall, before Sixx tagged in. Gideon’s forcibly tagged in by Muir, but couldn’t find his target with chops as Sixx instead hit some of his own before Grey surprised Sixx with a heel hook stretch for a submission at 14:25.

That leaves Grey and Muir against Khai… who tried to take them both on at the same time. It initially didn’t work out for him, but he’s able to escape a TKO attempt as Grey ends up punching out Muir… before Gideon vaulted over the top and eliminated himself at 15:58 to avoid Levi’s clutches. From there, a roll-up from Khai gets a near-fall, while a Falcon arrow drew a similar result, before Levi struck back with a swinging side slam for a two-count of his own.

Another crack at the TKO follows, but Khai switches it into a DDT of sorts… before we got a ref bump as Muir shoved Khai into the corner. A low blow and the TKO follows, and that’s enough to get Levi the win in an entertaining match, but one that weirdly didn’t play into any existing stories. ***¼

Rev Pro Undisputed British Women’s Championship: Maya Matthews vs. Alex Windsor (c)
Maya’s win earlier in the evening led to this shot – but she’s jumped by Alex Windsor on the stage to exacerbate the knee injury dealt to Matthews at the hands of a sore loser in Safire Reed.

Windsor chops Matthews around ringside before the bell… when we got going, Windsor charged at Matthews in the corner, virtually smothering her in the early going. Stomps to the injured leg follow the expected playbook from Windsor, but Matthews finds an opening and took Windsor down with a suplex… only for the champion to sidestep a follow-up and instantly go back to the leg.

A hanging neckbreaker out of the corner gets Windsor a two-count, as she continued to stay on the bad leg despite Maya’s attempts to fight back. The Sharpshooter follows, but Maya quickly crawls to the ropes to force a break… only for Windsor to stay on her with dropkicks to the back of the head. Shrugging it off, Maya’s able to head up top and land a crossbody for a two-count, before a spear ended up getting countered into a DDT by Windsor in response.

Windsor adds a Blue Thunder Bomb moments later for a two-count, before she ran into a spinning forearm from Matthews. Maya keeps going, adding a spear for a near-fall, before Windsor took her up top and wrenched the bad leg around the rope some more. Trying to escape, Maya looks for a hanging sleeperhold, before she shoved Windsor to the mat and reapplied the hold.

Matthews’ sleeperhold gets broken though, as Windsor goes back to the Sharpshooter, only for the ropes to once again force a break. We cross the ten-minute mark with Matthews again trying to forge an opening, but a spin-out suplex from Windsor leads to another Sharpshooter… and that’s too much for Maya to bear as she tapped out. Maya was always having to fight from behind owing to the injury from earlier in the night – as Alex Windsor racks up another successful defence. ***¼

Mitch Waterman vs. Michael Oku
This was Waterman’s debut – he’s relocated to the UK recently, after dropping the Melbourne City Wrestling title to Buddy Matthews (yep, the same one) at the start of the year. Oku was flying solo here, with no Amira alongside him for the first time in a long, long while…

We had yay/boo appeals to the crowd before the bell as we opened with Oku and Waterman trading wristlocks, before Oku’s side headlock kept Waterman grounded. Rolling free, Waterman gets back to his feet as he tried to rile up Oku with a slap… before he got shoved off and charged down Oku with a shoulder tackle.

Oku hits back with a tijeras and a dropkick, before a much-delayed half crab ended with Waterman grabbing the ropes. Waterman’s sucker punch in the ropes led to a flying knee off the middle rope for a two-count, then a snap suplex for another two-count. A Bulldog choke keeps Oku down, while a dropkick earned a two-count ahead of a trip up top as Waterman wrenched Oku with a spider Dragon sleeper. Bloody hell Mitch…

Oku’s able to hit back with a missile dropkick off the top, then with a spike DDT for a two-count. My Internet drops out here, recovering in time to see Waterman mock Oku’s setup for a Fosbury flop, only to throw Oku back inside and play to the crowd as Oku ended up hitting a Fosbury flop moments later, with Waterman taking a face-full of boots.

Back inside, Oku heads up top, but Waterman rolls away from a frog splash and instead hit a superkick. Oku returns the favour, then went back up for the frog splash for a near-fall. The pair trade strikes from there, with Oku at one point needing the ropes to stay upright, before duelling clotheslines took both men down.

Waterman’s back up first, and with a second wind took down Oku with a springboard double stomp out of the corner that nearly won it… only to get caught with a Destroyer out of nowhere seconds later. A frog splash off the top followed, but Waterman again kicks out before he got caught in a half crab. Powering free, Waterman ends up sidestepping a running dropkick into the corner before he hit a noshigami into the corner on Oku… then a back suplex/back cracker for a near-fall.

Oku ducks a sliding backfist attempt as he looked to catch the Aussie in the half crab again… and this time it’s enough to force the submission as Oku leaned all the way back until Waterman tapped. It’s another win for Oku as he’s preparing for Zack Gibson next month… after a solid debut for Waterman, who I suspect is going to be sticking around. ***½

Post-match, Oku took the mic and ran through the trials and injuries he’s had since he won the title… then brought up today’s debutants, including Harry Milligan. He’s called out to ringside by Oku, and gets put over for doing the music and cameras so he could get on the shows one day. Oku asked the crowd to keep following their hometown hero on his wrestling journey… as we ended with Oku letting Harry hold the title belt before Harry closed out the show.

6.6

The final score: review Average

The 411

This was a pretty decent show for Rev Pro, but aside from the main event and the women’s title match, you’d be forgiven for skipping over this show as very little seemed to play into next month’s Uprising.