Hamilton’s Rev Pro Live in London 70 02.05.2023 Review

Quick Results
Robbie X pinned Kid Lykos in 14:04 to retain the Rev Pro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship (***¼)
Dan Moloney pinned Chris Bronson in 9:23 (***)
Brendan White & Danny Jones pinned JJ Gale & Callum Newman in 12:58 (***½)
Michael Oku pinned Eddie Dennis in 18:57 (***½)
Connor Mills pinned Luke Jacobs in 15:58 (***¼)
Dani Luna pinned Jody Threat in 12:01 to retain the Southside Women’s Championship (**¾)
Dover & Icarus pinned Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper in 15:46 (***½)
Gabriel Kidd pinned Yota Tsuji in 20:42 (***)

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We’re back at the 229 in London for this – with Andy Quildan reuniting on commentary alongside Gideon Grey for the entire show…

Rev Pro Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship: Kid Lykos vs. Robbie X (c)
With all respect to Lykos, this perhaps speaks to the dearth of cruiserweights at Rev Pro’s disposal – given the challengers last singles match in Rev Pro was almost a year ago. At least that was a win…

Gideon’s all upset at how little things have changed in his absence, as we start with shoulder tackles before Lykos sat down on a grounded monkey flip attempt. Robbie X reverses as the fast-paced start ends with a stand-off… and some boot-kissing from Lykos. An eye poke’s blocked as the Champion of the British Cruiserweights read Lykos the riot act, before he caught Lykos’ dropdown with a standing moonsault.

Chops follow as Robbie X blistered Lykos, before the wolf came back with a springboard crossbody and a low dropkick. Lykos wears down Robbie X in the ropes, before a handspring kick knocked Lykos off the apron following a quick turnaround. That’s followed up with a senton atomico back into the ring for a two-count, before Lykos’ DDT and back senton earned him a two-count.

A stomp keeps Lykos ahead as some mudhole stomping wore down the champion in the corner. Robbie X gets back in with a snap springboard Molly Go Round, before a barrage of strikes led to a dropkick for a two-count. Heading into the corner, Robbie X’s spinning roundhouse kick lands, but his standing shooting star press out of the corner misses as Lykos then searched for an avalanche brainbuster… which amazingly came off.

Lykos heads back up top for a senton bomb, which almost wins the match… he goes for the regular brainbuster, but calling for it bought Robbie X time to fight it off. Robbie’s shoved to the outside as Lykos dives onto him.

Lykos refuses it, and ends up getting caught with a handspring overhead kick on the top rope… Robbie X adds a double moonsault, then a standing shooting star press to keep the pressure up. A leaping knee from Lykos looked to set up for the brainbuster, which eventually lands for a near-fall, while a TKO allowed Lykos to take Robbie X into the corner for some running double knees to the back of the head.

Robbie X shrugs it off as a superkick and a reverse ‘rana led to a sit-out powerbomb for a near-fall. Lykos cuts off a handspring with a dropkick into the ropes… then followed up with a plancha as Gideon Grey left commentary… and seemed to offer Lykos his cane. Lykos refuses, but gets dived onto by Robbie X, who took things back inside for a Spiral Tap… before the X-Clamation gets the win. A really good outing that had Lykos come close to the unlikely win – but it’s a third successful defence for Robbie X as an apopleptic Gideon turned the air blue on commentary. ***¼

Dan Moloney vs. Chris Bronson
This was Bronson’s London debut for Rev Pro, as he’s still looking for his maiden win.

Bronson locks up with Moloney into the corner to start, before someone plugged their iPhone in. A second lock-up ends with Moloney back in the corner, but Moloney swings with a chop before he took Bronson to the mat with a headlock. A leaping ‘rana from Bronson, then a dropkick surprises Moloney for a two-count, and allowed Andy to get a plug in for Rev Pro’s training school – connecting it to the new ref Dylan Harvey.

Stomps from Bronson take Moloney to the corner, before Dan’s dropkick brought another Adam Maxted reference in. A snapmare and a kick stings Bronson for a two-count, while a back elbow in the ropes kept Bronson down. Chops from Moloney follow for another two-count, while uppercuts prompted a fightback from Bronson, who scored with a stalling suplex.

Moloney blocks a sunset flip by stomping on Bronson for a two-count, before a Drilla was countered with a back body drop. A snap German suplex, then a Dragon suplex looked to keep Moloney ahead, but a clothesline keeps Bronson in it, before he caught Moloney off the middle rope, turning him in with a spinebuster for a near-fall.

A double powerbomb nearly wins it for Bronson as he looked to surge ahead, but Moloney fights back with a spear out of the corner. It’s not enough for the win though, as Moloney goes for the Drilla, planting Bronson for the win. Moloney gets back in the winning column with that – while Bronson continues searching… ***

Post-match, Moloney got the mic and called out Luke Jacobs… Jacobs instantly appears as a pullapart broke out… ending with Dan Moloney landing a spear to Jacobs to end things.

Greedy Souls (Brendan White & Danny Jones) vs. Callum Newman & JJ Gale
Newman and Gale were coming into this with a woeful record, having not won a tag match in over a year at this point.

Jones charged at Newman at the bell, eventually locking up with him into the corner, then into the ropes before Newman’s trip allowed him to kick away Jones’ arm. Brendan White tags in to light up JJ Gale, only to get caught with a springboard ‘rana and a dropkick that took White outside ahead of a dive into the crowd.

Back in the ring, Gale and Newman catch White with dropkicks for a two-count, before a pair of standing moonsaults, then a springboard corkscrew senton from Gale landed for another two-count. Newman goes for a brainbuster a la Lykos, and gets the same result as Danny Jones blind tagged in… and handed off Newman for a White powerslam.

Newman’s kept isolated as the champions wore him down while exchanging frequent tags. An uppercut from Jones sinks Newman, as did some chops, before a back suplex from Jones led to the Greedy Souls’ pair of back sentons, with White getting a two-count from all those.

Eventually Newman began to find a way back in with a rewind springboard stomp to White off the top, before he finally tagged in JJ Gale. Uppercuts and forearms from Gale clear away the champions, before he floated out of a back suplex and took down Jones with a springboard uppercut.

Gale heads outside for a springboard Whisper in the Wind to White into the crowd, before a moonsault back inside almost put Jones away. Newman’s tagged back in to hit a rope-walk clothesline to Jones ahead of a Gory bomb/backpack knee, before a superkick/knee strike sandwich almost got Newman the win.

Gale’s tagged back in, and ends up walking into an enziguiri from Jones… Gale’s springboard gets caught as Brendan then threw him off his shoulders and into a Jones uppercut, scoring a near-fall as Newman broke up the cover in the nick of time. A clothesline from Jones takes Newman outside as Gale ate a powerbomb/neckbreaker combo that almost put him away.

White’s taken outside, but he holds Newman on his shoulders for a doomsday punt kick off the apron… there’s more onslaught awaiting Gale ahead of a Soul Destroyer, and that’s enough for the win. An efficient outing for the Greedy Souls, who had a few scares – but ultimately breezed past their opponents here. ***½

Post-match, Gale and Newman were quizzed about their poor run of form – and revealed that they’d agreed to go their separate ways were they to lose today. I smell a pair of future contenders for Robbie X…

Eddie Dennis vs. Michael Oku
It’s teacher vs. student here – with some tension coming in based around Connor Mills’ involvement in both men’s recent past.

Dennis got caught with a wristlock early on, but Oku clings on… then let go, almost dismissively of Eddie before trying something similar with a side headlock. Headscissors got Eddie free, but his attempt at a headlock takedown’s rolled through as Oku went for a half crab… then pushed Eddie’s leg away.

Eddie rightly took offence to that, then clobbered Oku from behind before rudely throwing him to the outside. A slam splats Oku on the floor, before a dropkick back inside picked up a two-count on Oku. An Irish whip introduces Oku into the corner, complete with almost a Ric Flair bump, before Oku kicked away at Eddie’s leg to try and escape a wristlock.

Instead, Eddie waffled Oku with a forearm, then took him up top for a superplex… but Oku fought free and came down with a missile dropkick instead. Oku beats Eddie to a series of forearms, before a swinging DDT landed for a near-fall. Forearms from Eddie have Oku on the defensive, but a second swinging DDT from Oku gets caught and turned into a swinging side slam for a near-fall.

Oku swipes at Eddie’s knee to block a buckle bomb attempt, but Eddie stays on him, going for a piledriver before he got lifted to the outside. A dropkick knocks Eddie to the floor… and it’s time to move as the Fosbury flop took Eddie down… and my chair flying into the crowd. Nice catch, by the way…

Back inside, Oku heads up top only to land in Eddie’s knee from a frog splash, as Eddie goes back to the wrist control… which Oku tries to break with kicks. Doing so, Oku looks for a half crab, but gets kicked away… Oku adds a superkick and a springboard moonsault, only to get punched away in mid-air.

Dennis adds a Severn Bridge buckle bomb from there, before a Next Stop Driver planted the former Cruiserweight champion for a near-fall. Eddie looks for a death valley driver, but Oku slips out for a misdirection knee… then missed a dropkick and hung himself up in the corner. A low dropkick to a helpless Oku followed, as Eddie then muscled him up top for an avalanche Severn Bridge.

Eddie’s bid to cover Oku led to him rolling Oku’s shoulders off the mat in mistake. An attempt to follow up ends with Oku rolling Eddie into the half crab, but Dennis is able to claw his way to the ropes for a break. Another crack of the Severn Bridge sees Oku backflip his way free, before he cradled Eddie for the flash pin! Going to the proverbial well too often proves to be Dennis’ downfall – as Michael Oku snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. ***½

After the match, Eddie once again refused Oku’s offer of a handshake, then told him to leave as Eddie told the crowd that following his departure from NXT UK last year, he wanted to share the ring with people he’d had an influence on… but not to lose to everyone. Eddie said he felt he could still be the British Heavyweight Champion, but he needed to go away for a while. Eddie named the Revolution Rumble on March 26 for his return – but if he couldn’t win the Rumble, he’d retire from wrestling.

Connor Mills vs. Luke Jacobs
Jacobs came out with taped-up ribs after Dan Moloney’s earlier attack…

Mills tried to end this one in a hurry, landing a shotgun dropkick and a Burning Cutter in the opening seconds, but Jacobs was able to kick-out… only for Mills to elbow and knee away on Jacobs’ ribs.

Heading outside, Mills stayed on Jacobs, applying an abdominal stretch while grinding at the ribs, before Jacobs found a way through with clotheslines in the corner… only to get sent into the turnbuckles seconds later. A telegraphed back body drop allowed Jacobs to hit a neckbreaker, but Mills rolls through on the cover and threw some rights as Jacobs was struggling.

A punt to the back of Jacobs was next, but Mills couldn’t follow up as he ends up getting chopped into the corner. Mills elbows free, then dropped Jacobs ribs-first onto the knee for a two-count, before another stretch forced Jacobs to reach the ropes for a break. Forearms from Jacobs rock Mills, who chopped back before a Mills crossbody was turned into a slam, with a swift back senton on the follow-up.

Mills’ push-down stomp caught Jacobs in the corner, but Luke chopped back as Mills was caught on the top rope. Some biting from Mills avoids a superplex, only for him to leap into a cutter on the way down before a gut shot from Mills stemmed the tide. Briefly. A superkick and a spinebuster put Jacobs back in control, only for a Millshot and some kicks to take Jacobs outside as the crowd scattered ahead of a dive into the crowd.

Mills stays on Jacobs with a 450 splash back inside for a near-fall… then sprayed some energy drink at Jacobs. Luke tries to chop his way back in, then dropped Mills with a lariat. A leaping enziguiri keeps Mills rocked ahead of a sit-out powerbomb, but it’s not enough for the win.

Another shot to the midsection looked to get Mills back in it, as did a knee to the ribs, before another knee strike left Jacobs laying. A running boot catches Jacobs in the corner… but Mills gets carried away – literally – and powerbombed out of the corner. Unwisely though, Luke opts to head up top… and gets caught with a superplex for a one-count.

Jacobs gets caught with a wicked clothesline in the corner as Mills pushed on… but another lariat from Luke nearly shuts the door on things, before Mills pulled up his shin pad and landed one final head kick for the win. ***¼

Southside Women’s Championship: Jody Threat vs. Dani Luna (c)
With Alex Windsor on the shelf, the Southside Women’s title has become the focus… and of those belts aren’t unified by the end of June 2024, the Southside belt would have been a Rev Pro belt longer than a Southside one. The debuting Threat gets a title shot on her debut, but got jumped during the introductions…

Luna lays into Threat in the corner, but there’s a quick turnaround as Threat splashes her into the corner. A kick to the side of Luna’s head in the ropes, then a clothesline adds a two-count for the Canadian, before Luna slid outside and pulled Threat out with her.

Threat throws Luna into the wall, then back into the ring… but Luna’s low dropkicks take the challenger down for a two-count. A scoop slam gets Luna a two-count, prompting Threat to fight back with a bulldog side headlock, only for Luna to throw her free. A forearm from Luna keeps Threat down, before Threat hit a sunset flip out of a Fireman’s carry… and took Luna to the corner for shoulder charges.

Threat gets caught on the top rope by Luna, but fought back with a tornado suplex out of the corner… then with some forearms before she pulled Luna into the ropes. Some knees to the back, then a German suplex out of the ropes left Luna by the ropes, as a Cactus clothesline took them both to the outside.

A cannonball off the apron sees Threat wipe out Luna, before a flying seated senton off the top rope splatted Luna back inside. Threat tries for a Fireman’s carry, but Luna elbows her way free… then landed a clothesline. A snap powerbomb’s next for a near-fall, while another clothesline pushed the champion nearer, as knees to the midsection continued to wear down the challenger.

Luna got spiked with a Michinoku driver out of nowhere for a near-fall, but then managed to avoid more running knees as she hits a German suplex to bring Threat out of the ropes. From there, Threat ‘rana’s her way free of Darkness Falls, following up with a spear… then a F5, but it wasn’t enough as Luna kicked out at two.

Heading up top, Threat’s dropkick’s turned into a snap spinebuster before Darkness Falls put away the Canadian. This started off slow, but the crowd got onside by the end as Dani Luna continues to rack up the defences. **¾

Post-match, Gideon Grey hit the ring to berate Jody Threat for having been given a title shot on her debut… and it’s the cue for the return of Skye Smitson, who’d been away from Rev Pro since September 2021. Smitson lays into Threat until Dani Luna made the save – and with Gideon bringing up the title shot that Skye never got when things restarted in 2021… it looks like we’re getting Luna vs. Smitson down the line.

Arrows Of Hungary (Dover & Icarus) vs. Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper)
It’s a Rev Pro return for the Arrows, who looked to bring the hammer down on Sunshine Machine.

Dover and Mambo start us off as Dover chucks Mambo aside with ease. A shoulder tackle barged down Mambo, who tripped up Dover seconds later ahead of a prawn hold for a two-count. Mambo takes to the ropes and lands a springboard armdrag, then a chop before Dover’s telegraphed back body drop was kicked away.

Mambo low bridges Dover onto the apron, but Mambo’s attempted clothesline was clotheslined away before Icarus was tagged in… and had Mambo uranage’d onto his knees for a two-count. The pair trade chops, with Mambo then having his superkick countered into a roll-up… before TK Cooper came in and got cradled for a two-count.

Mambo’s back to eat a hiptoss for a two-count, before Icarus had a go at chopping both halves of Sunshine Machine. A superkick and a headbutt dropped Icarus as the former tag team champions took over with the German Suplex Turbo Charged By The Power of Friendship for a two-count.

A big boot and an Exploder chucks Icarus out of the corner for a two-count, before some double-teams led to a neckbreaker for another two-count on Icarus. Mambo’s surfboard stretch led to TK Cooper tagging in to hit a Flatliner as the former champions were in a groove.

Kneedrops to both of Icarus’ arms follow, as did a double-team flapjack, before Icarus fought out and rolled past TK to make the tag out to Dover – who was all about the shoulder tackles. A back body drop on TK led to a standing fallaway slam on Mambo as Dover ran wild. There’s a chop from Mambo that earned him a Timothy Thatcher-esque swipe as Dover proceeded to slam both of Sunshine Machine at the same time.

A back elbow off the top from Mambo buys some time, ahead of a B-Roll attempt that Icarus broke up… only for Icarus to get kicked into the corner ahead of the Gutterball. Mambo’s Reef Break crashes into Dover as a TK dive took care of Icarus… a frog splash and a wild Spiral Tap crash into Dover next for a near-fall. A missed clothesline sets up for a Designated Driver on Dover… but he counters by buckle bombing Mambo into TK.

Icarus is back to eat a pair of superkicks, as the Designated Driver finally found its man… with Dover breaking up the cover in the nick of time. All four men stay in the ring, trading shots as Dover boots away Mambo’s springboard… then charged Mambo into the corner for an assisted cannonball.

A kick-aided slam nearly wins it, before TK pushed Mambo out of the way of a Crossfire. He leaves himself prone for it, as Mambo then looked to steal a roll-up… only for Dover to kick out as a swift Crossfire squashed Mambo for the win. A decisive win for the Arrows – who surely have designs on some fresh hardware… while another loss for Sunshine Machine pushes them away from contention. ***½

Gabriel Kidd vs. Yota Tsuji
Kidd was given the returning Tsuji as an opponent following his win over a game JJ Gale last month… and for a change, Gideon Grey’s not interrupting the ring announcements. They tried to paint this as the LA Dojo vs. the Hontai dojo…

We open with the big lads’ lock-up, then some shoulder tackles and forearms as neither man looked to budge. A front kick from Kidd sends Tsuji to the ropes, but Yota returns in kind before a side headlock from Tsuji was shoved off… only for Kidd’s leapfrog to see him land on Tsuji’s shoulder.

Kidd shakes it off as we go back to the shoulder tackles, with Tsuji finally getting taken off his feet. Pushing on, a back senton gets Kidd a two-count, before Tsuji’s push-down stomp caught Kidd in the corner. They head outside with Tsuji chopping Kidd into the front row, before an Irish whip hurled Kidd into the scattered crowd.

Fighting back, Kidd’s throat thrust takes Tsuji back to the ring, as they headed back inside for some stomps from Tsuji. Kicks from Tsuji are laughed off as Kidd demanded more, and got more, courtesy of a snapmare and a kick to the back. Kidd goes for Tsuji’s hair as he tried to keep things close… and to be fair, chops from Tsuji keep him close to Kidd ahead of the eventual returns.

Tsuji gets rocked into the ropes from Kidd’s chops, as they continued to exchange shots. Kidd’s faked out on a chop as Tsuji kicked him instead, and it’s back to the ear-splitting chops that rang around the 229. Sitting down, Kidd brings Tsuji down for some slaps as they continued to go at it, but it’s Tsuji who pulled ahead until the pair went at each other with clotheslines.

Kidd threatens to change it up with a German suplex, then found a way through with a dropkick instead. We’re back to chops after Tsuji’s taken back into the corner, ahead of a brainbuster out of the buckles for a near-fall. A tijeras from Tsuji surprises Kidd, taking him outside for a tope into the crowd. Rushing back inside, Kidd’s met with a leaping forearm in the corner, then a baseball slide dropkick.

Tsuji takes his time following up, but manages to hit a tiltawhirl backbreaker to Kidd ahead of a Boston crab. Kidd dragged his way to the ropes, but Tsuji grabs the arms and turned the hold into a pendulum before Kidd broke free and forced the break. In the corner, Tsuji goes back to chops, with Kidd asking for more… and eventually getting it as he caught Tsuji up top, pulling him down into a death valley driver for a near-fall.

Kidd escapes Snake Eyes, but gets rolled through into a Falcon arrow for a near-fall. Tsuji takes his time again though, and ends up getting caught with a boot before he headbutted Kidd away. Clotheslines from Kidd offer a response, but Tsuji doesn’t go down as Kidd instead rebounded off the ropes for a Bull lariat. It’s good for just a one-count, as Kidd added a second for another near-fall, before the spinning tombstone finally put Tsuji away. As a match, this was lacking something – normally I’m a fan of matches that’s mostly “both guys hit each other hard, a lot”, but outside of the crowd reacting to the noises of the strikes, the story they were telling just didn’t seem to connect. ***

Post-match, Gideon Grey came in to low blow Kidd as he’d been offered a handshake by Tsuji. The pair put the boots to Kidd until he was saved by Ricky Knight Jr.s music – which took some by surprise after tweets from RKJ expressed his disappointment at not being on the bill.

RKJ lays out the Legion pair, stomping a mudhole in Grey as Tsuji was being dealt with by Kidd. Ricky then lifts Kidd and Tsuji over the top rope to the floor – because it’s rumble season – before RKJ took the mic and moved his online dissatisfaction into real life. Well, once Kidd and Tsuji were done brawling to the back, that is…

Knight took aim at the circumstances at how he lost the Undisputed British Heavyweight title, and also mentioned how when he was cleared to wrestle, he called two companies. One booked him, the other didn’t. So because of the disrespect shown after he worked when others weren’t around to, he’s no longer about Rev Pro. Gideon Grey attacks RKJ from behind, going about as well as you’d expect, before Ricky told the crowd he’s going to get his title back from the “fake, phoney, paperweight” O-Khan.

7.7

The final score: review Good

The 411

Another strong showing at the 229 keeps things warming up for next month’s York Hall show - and seemingly crystallises title contenders for Great O-Khan, Dani Luna and the Greedy Souls. Rev Pro’s got a bunch more shows ahead of the Rumble - with Southampton, Cardiff, Birmingham, London, Stevenage, Sheffield and St. Neots before the York Hall show, so there’s plenty of water to go under the bridge ahead of the Rumble.