Rev Pro UK: New Orleans Live Report
One more indy show, just in case I haven’t had enough of them quite yet. Last year in Orlando I took a shot at the Revolution Pro Wrestling show despite not having known much about the promotion. The lineup looked good though and the show wound up being a lot of fun. It was enough to get me to go again this year and again, it wound up being a good afternoon of wrestling.
Ring announcer and owner Andy Quildan started things off and, just like last year, challenged us to be louder than the London crowd. It’s a simple idea and yet it’s also a great way to start off a show.
1. David Star b. Martin Stone – Rollup with feet on the ropes, 11:40, C.
Stone is also known as Danny Burch in NXT, a line which got him a lot of flack from Starr. It’s taken some time but I’ve started to come around on Starr, who has about fifteen nicknames, which he insists be read every time he comes to the ring. Starr also claimed a conspiracy against him, which he would overcome just because he’s that good at professional wrestling. The match was fine for an opener with a loud exchange of chops, one of which had Stone, the face, asking for a second to recover. Nothing great but it did all it needed to do.
2. Adam Brooks b. Brian Cage – Low blow into a rollup, 11:06, B-.
This was more of a standard formula with the monster Cage (a face here) dealing with Brooks’ rampant cheating. Brooks looked very good here, showing that he knew how to deal with someone like Cage. As usual, Cage is one of the scariest athletes you’ll ever see, flying around like someone a third of his size and still showing off the crazy power game. It’s a fun match with both guys looking good, though I’m assuming Brooks is more of a full timer so it makes sense to give him the win.
3. Rocky Romero/Will Ospreay/Chuckie T. b. Shane Strickland/Flip Gordon/Kota Ibushi – Oscutter to Gordon, 22:17, B+.
This was all about Ibushi vs. Ospreay and there was no hiding the fact, or really an attempt to hide it. They took their time setting up the match and both teams got to showcase their talents. As mentioned though, this was ALL setting up the showdown between Ospreay and Isbushi, which completely delivered. They beat the heck out of each other to leave all six laying in an exchange that has to be seen to be properly appreciated. I’m looking forward to seeing this match again and if Ibushi doesn’t get another chance to challenge Osprey for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title in the near future, I’ll be stunned.
During intermission, I was able to snag this.
4. Minoru Suzuki b. Jeff Cobb – Sleeper, 9:43, C+.
I would have liked this match a lot more if I hadn’t seen Cobb vs. Tomohiro Ishii in an even better match. Much like the Ishii match, this was all about beating the heck out of each other with Cobb managing to suplex Suzuki, only to push his luck by hitting Suzuki in the face a few too many times. Suzuki got all fired up and destroyed Cobb, giving him a heck of a beating. Cobb got in one more suplex but ultimately fell to the sleeper, oddly tapping out instead of passing out.
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi/Juice Robinson b. Aussie Open – High Fly Flow, 16:10, B.
Aussie Open is Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis, a team I’ve never heard of but showed off a lot and looked rather awesome. Robinson was a big star in his own right but this was ALL about Tanahashi, as you might have expected. The fans were begging to see him come in and do all of his signature stuff, which is exactly what he did. As cool as that was, Aussie Open needs some attention as well as they got to showcase some very real talent. I could see them getting a spot in a bigger promotion down the line, especially since Fletcher is only 18. Think about that: you’re 18 years old and you’re in the ring with Tanahashi. That’s not bad.
6. British Heavyweight Title: Tomohiro Ishii b. Zack Sabre Jr.(c) – Brainbuster, 20:07, A.
There’s no other way to put this: these two had an outstanding match and they sucked me completely into everything they were doing. This is all about Ishii’s never say die attitude vs. Sabre’s absolutely incredible technical skills and ability to destroy one arm after another. Sabre got to work on the arm and put on a long series of too complicated to describe holds. Ishii made the ropes over and over again with one great save after another. He finally fought up and got in a suplex, followed by the brainbuster for the pin and the title to end the show.
This was an EXCELLENT main event as the fans were buying into every single thing the two were doing. It told a great story and made you want to see them keep going until Ishii managed to hang on and end Sabre’s year long title reign. It was incredible stuff and another match I can’t wait to see again.
Overall, Rev Pro did exactly what they did last year: deliver a solid show (six matches felt short though) with great action and some nice guest stars that made you feel like you were getting to see something special. I had a blast at this show and everything went very well. Check out the main event if you can find it and go take a look at more Rev Pro, which puts on rather good shows.
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Aussie Open works mostly in the UK for Progress and the aforementioned Rev Pro. I definitely agree that they both have a lot of potential and could explode internationally if they get a break in an American or Japanese promotion( their weight difference makes it harder for them to stick in Japan though). Mark Davis and his way to hard high fives are great and he feels he could bust out as a singles guy any moment too.
Unfortunately Ibushi v Ospreay won’t happen in NJPW proper since Ibushi is a heavyweight and Ospreay is a junior heavyweight( Ospreay might jump to heavyweight after this epic run he is setting up, by tearing through his rivals and his idols)
Ishii and ZSJ have such great chemistry together. I really need to see this match. Also this makes it 2-2 in the Ishii v ZSJ rivalry in the past year( counting the Ishii’s submission in a tag match at Strong Style Evolved). I really hope we get another encounter in the G1 this year and get the score settled.