Hamilton’s Rev Pro Live in Southampton 13 08.08.2021 Review

Quick Results
Doug Williams pinned Brendan White in 13:08 (***¼)
Great British Tag League Block B: Joel Redman & Charlie Sterling pinned JJ Gale & Callum Newman in 15:45 (***)
Rob Lias pinned Big Guns Joe in 10:16 (***)
Chris Ridgeway pinned Lee Hunter in 10:44 (***)
Great British Tag League Block B: Lucian Phillips & Screwface Ahmed pinned TK Cooper & Chuck Mambo in 11:22 (***¼)
Robbie X pinned Mark Haskins in 14:33 (***½)
Shota Umino & Adam Maxted pinned Shaun Jackson & Dan Moloney in 14:53 (***¼)
Gisele Shaw X Hyan in 11:33 to retain the Rev Pro British Women’s Championship (***½)

— If you’re on Twitter, give me a follow over on @IanWrestling – and check out the GoFundMe that’s still open for Larry’s family.

For the first time since February 2020, Rev Pro returned to Southampton as they wrapped up block B of the Great British Tag League on a show that had some late changes thanks to injury and covid protocols…

Commentary comes from Andy Quildan and Gideon Grey from The 1865 in Southampton.

Brendan White vs. Doug Williams
Gideon gets in a cheapshot at the “oldest man in the Contender’s division” as we get going with Doug willing White to the mat, before allowing him back up.

A surfboard stretch from White is countered out with headscissors from Williams for a two-count, as the pair worked on the mat, looking for an advantage. Williams rolled White into a seated surfboard, as Andy Q dropped in that Gideon was facing Doug on the pop-up London show next week…

White takes Williams to the corners, but Doug backs up before a sunset flip sparked some ref-trolling back-and-forth pins, before we got shoulder charges. Dualling clotheslines led to another shoulder block from White, but Williams returned with an Exploder for a two-count. A neckbreaker builds the pressure from Williams, as did uppercuts, before a seated double armbar stretch saw Doug will back into a pinning attempt that almost ended things.

Williams goes airborne with a diving uppercut for a two-count, before a sleeperhold gave White something else to fight out of. The ref does the arm drop gimmick as White powered free, but he’s pulled back into the hold, before a third one was countered into a side suplex.

After getting back to their feet, the pair trade strikes, but Williams boots White out of the corner before he ran into a backbreaker. A suplex from White builds momentum, as did almost a Drill Bit double underhook spin-out suplex, which nearly got White the win. White gets another near-fall out of a clothesline, while Williams returned with a roll-up.

Catching White in the corner allowed Doug to head up top, but he’s caught with chops, only to powerbomb White back to the mat before a piledriver spiked the Welshman for the win. A nice and easy match to watch – with both men making sure everything meant something, rather than just what some call the “modern” “moves for the sake of it” style. ***¼

Post-match, Williams offered to tag team with Brendan White going forward…

Great British Tag League Block B: Charlie Sterling & Joel Redman vs. Callum Newman & JJ Gale
This is effectively a wooden spoon match, after both teams lost their first two matches in block B.

After the Legion’s music accidentally hit, we got going with Gale and Redman exchanging waistlocks before Redman snapped back on Gale’s wrist. Charlie Sterling tagged in on “Jonathan Jonathan”, and nearly got rolled up for a pin before Callum Newman tagged himself in.

Newman’s ‘rana takes down Sterling, with a running shooting star press drawing a two-count, before Gale came back in and got taken into the opposite corner. Redman’s back to stomp a mudhole in Gale, before he pulled him up by the trunks and brought Sterling back in.

A floatover suplex gets Sterling a two-count, while Redman kept the pressure on with a stomp to the gut. Sterling’s body shot has Gale down again, but Newman tags in to hit a springboard uppercut and a pop-up ‘rana to Redman as the tide turned. Redman lifts Newman onto the apron, but a trip up top’s stopped as Redman caught Newman for a superplex… except Sterling thought he tagged in and wanted to do the move himself.

Eventually they tag properly, as Sterling tagged in to hit a superplex… while Redman added a Bomb Scare knee for a two-count. A backbreaker from Redman gets another two-count as the former tag champions looked to be controlling the pace. Newman’s worn down, but he’s able to push out of a slam from Sterling, who’s then pushed into Redman in the corner as Gale returned with uppercuts and forearms.

A Falcon arrow gets Gale a two-count, before a stomp-assisted Gory Bomb Knee and a gourdbuster left Redman prone for a pair of superkicks. Sterling broke up the pin and gets tossed outside, before Newman and Gale’s double-team backfired. Instead, a slam/neckbreaker combo nearly gets Redman the pin as Sterling again seemed frustrated, losing sight of Newman and his double dropkick off the top.

Things continue to break down as Newman hits an overhead kick, then a 619 to Redman in the corner, before a backbreaker and a powerbomb led to a two-count from Sterling. A superkick gets another near-fall, before a Cloverleaf/crossface combination was just allowed to happen by a ref that’d long since given up on the concept of the legal man.

Sterling jarred his knee and ankle flipping out of the corner, which drew the on-site paramedics to check on him… but the match isn’t waved off, which is a red flag for me. Sterling gets air, but amid that Joel Redman low blows JJ Gale and rolled him up for the pin as everyone else was caught out as Sterling’s ankle was fine. I’m not a fan of feigned injury angles, especially to the degree it went. The match itself was fine, as we finally find out which side of the divide Sterling and Redman land on… ***

Post-match, Sterling and Redman keep the beating going – Sterling went as far as emptying a bin over JJ Gale in the crowd. I pity the sod who cleared that and the merch table up…

Rob Lias vs. Big Guns Joe
Rob Lias has new music, as I guess not everything he says makes total sense…

The opening lockup takes Lias into the corner, then into the ropes as Lias looked to have been caught out by Joe in the early going. Shoulder blocks don’t faze Joe, who manages to fling Lias with a back body drop ahead of a stalling suplex. Down come the straps, but Lias grabbed the ropes as Joe tried to roll him over, before a suplex back into the ring was also thwarted with Lias hanging up Joe in the ropes.

A senton atomico sees Lias come back in on top, roughing up Joe in the ropes ahead of a back elbow for a near-fall. Joe’s thrown into the ropes with a suplex, but he comes back with a series of forearms and a deadlift suplex that led to a Vader Bomb elbow out of the corner.

Joe’s deadlift gutwrench gets another two-count, before Joe plays with his straps again, only for Lias to level him with a clothesline for a near-fall. From there, Lias heads up top for an elbow drop for another two-count, before Joe caught some shits and landed a capture suplex. A spinebuster’s next for a two-count for Joe, who plays with the straps yet again, before he blocked some wrist tape choking… but Lias kicks out the knee and boots Joe down.

All that’s left there is a draping double-underhook piledriver – dubbed the Overdose – and that’s the win for the Substance. A heck of a finisher, ending an otherwise even match as Joe’s strap fetish perhaps doesn’t jive with Andy Q? ***

Chris Ridgeway vs. Lee Hunter
Ridgeway’s shot at the Cruiserweight title was on the line here in one of the changed matches on the card. Out of interest, what unit of time does “shut up” equate to, just for Gadge and the stopwatch crowd?

Early work on the mat leads to Ridgeway going for the ropes, before a headlock and headscissors led to a reset. Ridgeway tries to pick the ankle out, eventually doing so as Hunter neutralised things in the ropes. An attempted cross armbar from Hunter’s blocked, as Ridgeway locked in more headscissors that were countered out of. Hunter pulls Ridgeway in for some shoulder blocks, as the match descended into elbow strikes, before Ridgeway threw in a Dragon screw.

More kicks and a grounded Dragon screw leave Hunter down, but an enziguiri offered a return, only for Ridgeway to respond with shots to the gut. A Blue Thunder Bomb from Hunter gets a near-fall, while an armbar almost forces the stoppage, but Ridgeway got a foot to the rope for a break.

Switcharoos lead to Hunter backing Ridgeway into the corner for a superkick, before Mark Haskins ran out to grab hold of Hunter. A Dragon screw off the top rope leads to a PK for Ridgeway, and that’s your lot. This one didn’t really grab me – particularly since the story had been pushing for Ridgeway to perhaps win the title in Manchester, I didn’t “buy” Ridgeway losing. I need to stop over-thinking this… ***

Great British Tag League Block B: The Legion (Lucian Phillips & Screwface Ahmed) vs. Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo & TK Cooper)
It’s winners-book-the-finals as both teams came in winning their first two block matches…

There’s some good aggression to start from the Legion as they smothered TK and Mambo early… only to get taken outside for duelling topes. More dives keep the Legion down, as Gideon Grey stayed at ringside…

TK and Mambo hit a reverse Fidget Spinner for a two-count at the bell, before a spike Chuck You was stopped with Phillips crotching Cooper in the ropes. Screwfaces bucklebomb’d TK into Mambo ahead of a clothesline for a two-count, before Cooper shrugged off being thrown into the corners. You know, he’s Samoan.

A suplex from Phillips lands for a two-count, while Screwface gets floated over and booted into the corner by TK. Screwface spins TK down with a lariat for a two-count, before crossface punches in the ropes wore Cooper down. Phillips’ knee gets a two-count, as did a sit-down splash from Screwface, before TK headbutted away a superplex effort, only to get caught with a Tower of London out of the corner for a two-count.

Phillips is back with a bear hug, which TK escapes by… pulling Phillips’ back hair. Screwface tags in, but TK manages to tag out as Mambo slipped into the ring ahead of a missile dropkick on Screwface. Chops follow as he wore down Screwface ahead of a springboard back elbow off the top rope.

Mambo’s diving book takes out Screwface and Phillips in the corner before a Gory Bomb Cutter almost got the Sunshine Machine the win.

As is typical with tag matches these days, things break down as the concept of the legal man’s tossed out of the window, leading to duelling headbutts and an inside cradle that nearly wins it. The moves keep ramping up as a TKO from Phillips gets a near-fall, before Phillips tagged in to double-team Mambo some more.

There’s a kid in the crowd doing a better job of enforcing these tag rules as Mambo returned with a Reef Breaker, then a springboard splash to Phillips… TK’s 450 is next, but Gideon Grey pulls out the referee and blamed a fan for it. In the ensuing melee, Phillips low blows TK, as the Deep Wounds (fireman’s carry cutter) ends up getting the win – booking the Legion’s spot in the final. This got a little unfocused at the end, but I’m seeing that in a LOT of tag matches, as the Legion look to regain those tag titles in Manchester. ***¼

Mark Haskins vs. Robbie X
Gideon’s staying ringside to do Mark Haskins introduction, as Mark gets to use another song for his entrance that isn’t the Legion’s…

Haskins rolled up Robbie X early on, then went down with a side headlock as the Gorilla Monsoon/Bobby Heenan act on commentary continued with Andy Q chewing out Gideon for his interferences. Haskins keeps the side headlock clamped on, before he charges down Robbie X… whose enziguri misses as Robbie instead landed a cartwheel and a dropkick for a two-count.

A kick from Haskins takes Robbie X outside, as he’s then dropped onto the side of the apron, then trapped for some chops. A kick to the arm keeps Robbie down, before he got thrown shoulder-first into the post.

Back inside, Haskins keeps wearing down Robbie X with knees to the back, then stomps to the arm, before a cravat gave Robbie something to fight out of. There’s a Kitchen Sink knee to the gut that gets Haskins another two-count, before a cross armbar ends in the ropes. A Rings of Saturn similarly ends there as Robbie X remained on the defensive, with his arm getting pinged in the ropes before Robbie managed to hit a cartwheel overhead kick to get himself some space.

A handspring kick knocks Haskins off the apron ahead of a tope, while a missile dropkick back inside landed for a near-fall. Blocking an X-Clamation, Haskins kicks out the arm as he looked to end things, following up with a back senton off the top and a double stomp, crushing Robbie X for another near-fall.

Robbie X nearly nicks it with a small package, then takes Haskins into the corner for a head kick ahead of a shooting star press for a near-fall, before Robbie aborted a spinal tap… only to get met with a spinebuster instead. A roll through sit-out death valley driver gets Haskins a near-fall, before a running knee laid out Robbie X.

Haskins hops outside for a chair, while Chris Ridgeway’s attempted interference was snuffed out by Lee Hunter… allowing Robbie X to catch out a distracted Haskins with an X-Clamation for the win. A lot of this was Haskins dominating Robbie X, as commentary had this under the lens of “wearing down Robbie X ahead of Manchester” – an angle that worked, even if Haskins didn’t leave with the win. ***½

Dan Moloney & Shaun Jackson vs. Adam Maxted & Shota Umino
This was originally Moloney & RKJ vs. Maxted & Umino, but Ricky Knight Jr. was pinged as a close contact of someone who’d caught covid, so he was out… and in his place was someone “who’d appeared on a Rev Pro show since they’d returned with fans.”

Cue the disgust on Dan’s face when Zoe Lucas’ theme hit, as she offered up Shaun Jackson. I mean, it could have been worse… Umino and Jackson start us off with shoulder tackles, as Umino blasted through one of the TEAM. Tags bring in Maxted and Moloney, but Moloney chickened out and tagged Jackson back in before he’d lock up.

Jackson tries to sneak attack Maxted, but gets caught with a dropkick before Jackson tried to pull him into a back suplex. A scoop slam out of the corner gets Maxted a two-count, before Moloney pulled Maxted outside and threw the Northern Irishman into the ring post. Boots from Jackson keep Maxted down, before Moloney tagged in and looked to wear down Maxted with chinlocks.

Maxted fought free and took Moloney into the corner, only to get caught with a running boot before a crossbody was caught by Maxted, who tries for a suplex. Moloney slips out to tag in Jackson, who just gets clotheslined and dropkicked in the corner, as Umino came in to swing for Moloney.

Umino takes down Jackson with a backbreaker, before a back senton drew a two-count. An uppercut from Umino takes down Moloney as Maxted came in to take his shots… a back body drop has Moloney down again, before Maxted missed a moonsault and ate a spear. Moloney goes for a Drilla, but ends up having to go for an O’Connor roll, only for Maxted to hit another dropkick.

Tags bring us back to Umino and Jackson, trading blows before Jackson caught Umino for a slam. A swinging twister suplex almost puts Umino away, before Jackson rolled up Umino for a Fisherman suplex, only for Umino to dropkick him into the corner. Shota’s swinging DDT is next, then a brainbuster as he implanted Jackson in the mat for a near-fall.

Maxted goes for a plancha on Moloney, but gets thrown into the ring post instead as Moloney then got taken down by Umino… who then had to duck Jackson, backsliding him through into a pumphandle powerslam. From there, a Death Rider followed, and that’s the win for Umino as he picks up steam going into his title match in Manchester. A fun little tag match that did as much as it could to build up those matches later in the month. ***¼

RevPro Undisputed British Women’s Championship: Hyan vs. Gisele Shaw (c)
Hyan was given this shot after eliminating Shaw in the semi-finals of the Queen of the Ring tournament some two weeks earlier…

We open with a handshake before swings and misses led to Hyan and Shaw charging each other into the ropes. Leg sweeps from both women don’t draw one-counts, as Shaw got rolled with a Hyan armdrag, but the champion heads to the apron for a sunset flip, rolling through to blast Hyan with a forearm.

Chops sting in the corner, while an uppercut from Shaw dropped Hyan for a two-count. Things head outside, as Hyan took a spill, then got charged into the side of the ring as the champion took over, following in with a suplex back inside for a two-count. A boot gets another two-count, while a chinlock looked to wear down Hyan… but she fought free, exchanging chops before getting chucked into the corner.

Charges from Shaw keep Hyan in the corner, while a kick to the back drew a two-count, before Hyan fought back with some forearms. An Orton-ish backbreaker from Shaw cuts her off for a two-count, before an uppercut in the ropes from Shaw led to a diving boot as she countered away from a clothesline.

Hyan throws some more forearms and chops, before diving forearms and a Wasteland left Shaw down for a legdrop. That’s good for a two-count, as Hyan continues to push ahead. Shaw charges into the corner to avoid a Glam Slam, then hit a tornado DDT for a two-count, before Hyan fought back with a knee strike.

The Glam Slam’s again escaped as Shaw countered with a half-and-half suplex, before an OsCutter dropped Hyan for a near-fall. From there, Shaw looked for an armbar, but Hyan blocks… only for Shaw to hit another knee strike as we roll back to the armbar, levering back as Hyan had no choice but to tap. A little short, but very good for the time it had as Hyan never really felt too far behind – but that armbar proves to be a lethal weapon for Shaw. ***½

After the match, Shaw and Hyan shake hands – and you have to wonder when the rubber match is coming as they’re now 1-1. But first, Zoe Lucas and Mariah May attack from behind, spraying hairspray (?) in Shaw’s eyes before Hyan chases them away. Shaw took the mic and offered out a tag match for London the following week… in return, Zoe screeches, my ears bleed, and she instead accepted the match: except it’ll be against TEAM – Shaun Jackson and Kenneth Halfpenny.

7.2

The final score: review Good

The 411

With one show left before Rev Pro’s 9 Year Anniversary in Manchester next week, this trip to Southampton tied up a couple of loose ends in the Great British Tag League, while keeping things hot for some of the announced matches. A solid show, boosted by Britwres’ answer to Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan on commentary.