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Fourteen

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Somewhere in either May or June of 1999, I started watching WWE—back when it was a “Federation”—more often. It was during the Attitude Era, and it was during one of the final few weeks of the Corporate Ministry that was led by Vince and Shane McMahon and the Undertaker and would target top names including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and the Rock. At that time, Monday Night Raw—back when it was Raw Is War and was two hours long—was rated TV-14.

This month, WWE—with no date mentioned yet—announced that Raw was going back to TV-14 after being TV-PG since 2008. The reason why the idea of changing the TV rating for Raw is because the storylines are going to be edgier with more profanity like in the Attitude Era; it is supposed to be, however, much more different than the Attitude Era from 1997 to 2008 such as no bra-and-panties matches and no bloodbaths.

In my honest opinion, I’m okay with this upcoming change because I’ve seen edgier storylines (profanity wise) in other pro wrestling shows—such as NXT in the black-and-gold era, the original ECW, AEW and so forth—that do or don’t often have bloodbaths. Besides, it has been a while since I’ve seen WWE programming with a TV-14 rating even though I still enjoy watching their shows with a TV-PG rating (especially NXT, NXT UK, NXT: LVL UP and so forth) per se. If you’re not ready for a TV-14 rating or if you’re not a big fan of edgier storylines, that’s okay; I’m not going to complain about it, and to quote the Cranberries, there’s “no need to argue.”

TV ratings aside, let’s recap the shows that took place this week, shall we?

Progress Chapter 135: Super Strong Style 16—Day 3

As promised, I have a belated recap of day 3 of Progress’ 135th chapter.

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Day 3 of the 135th chapter of Progress took place at the Electric Ballroom in London, England in the United Kingdom; it served as the conclusion of three day long Super Strong Style 16 weekend. Day 3 consisted of the semi-final round and final round matches, where the winner would become the new Progress World Champion. It also had a four-on-four tag team match where the captains of both teams would choose competitors, a tag team match that featured three past SSS16 competitors, a two-out-of-three falls match with the Progress Women’s Championship on the line, a one-on-one challenge made by Anthony Ogogo, and a Progress Atlas Championship match.

We also learned that the Spike Trivet/Cara Noir rivalry is still going on, but this time, it’s similar to how John “Bradshaw” Layfield coerced Shawn Michaels to work for him back in the late 2000s. After Trivet said that he made Cara Noir instead of Thomas Hawkins quit Progress in an “I Quit” match, he told Hawkins to start working for him for money and for his family without gimmicks including his character Cara Noir which now belongs to Trivet along with his signature maneuvers such as the Swan Woo, Madame Guillotine, Rude Awakening and package piledriver. I was pretty sure that the rivalry came to a halt after the “I Quit” match and that Cara Noir would reemerge chapters later, but this addition to the storyline made me think otherwise. Not sure how to make of this “teamwork” that Trivet has created…

All three SSS16 matches that took place in Day 3 were good, and I kind of figured that Warren Banks and Chris Ridgeway would make good finalists for the tournament; it would have been nice to see Gene Munny win gold—especially the Progress World Championship—on Progress, but I’m sure that his time will finally come when it comes to going after the company’s metaphoric brass ring. Plus, I wasn’t sure if Banks would finally end up winning the belt after closing in on it several times, even back when Ring of Honor/AEW wrestler Jonathan Gresham was defending the title both with and without help from Lykos Gym. In the end, Chris Ridgeway gave both Munny and Banks the same ending that Corey LaJoie ended up getting at Atlanta Motor Speedway weeks ago (even though I would be happy with either a Chase Elliott or Corey LaJoie win at Atlanta per se); their Cinderella stories ended at midnight.

Outside the tournament, my favorite match would have to go to the two-out-of-three falls match for the Progress Women’s Championship between Gisele Shaw and Kanji. It was indeed a great back and forth battle, and I wasn’t sure if that match was going to be short-lived after seeing Gisele pick up the first fall in almost two minutes. Both she and Kanji proved us wrong in a hard-hitting battle, even with Gisele targeting Kanji’s left arm coming into play. In the end, we saw Kanji emerge victorious with the title, and—now focusing on her Impact Wrestling tenure—also the conclusion of Gisele’s good run in Progress. (P.S.: Belated congrats go out to Gisele for coming out as a trans woman.) Here are the Progress results from London…

Match #1: Team RSP defeated Team Damo. Big Damo and Rickey Shane Page chose members for their teams;

as soon as Damo made his first pick, Charles Crowley came out until Damo told him “Piss off.” In order, Damo—who picked first after calling tails in a coin toss—Jody Fleisch (who was accompanied by Dan Maloney and Leon Slater), Page picked Charlie Dempsey, Damo chose Maggot, Page chose the “English OG” (not Crowley) Dean Allmark, Damo chose Callum Newman (who was brought to the ring by Danny Black and Joe Lando), and Page—after jokingly picking Johnny Saint and “Rollerskate Rocco” said “Bring in the [t-word that rhymes with swat]” and added Crowley to the team. As soon as all team members were chosen, both teams, the referee—who was equipped with a soccer ball (or football if you live outside the United States or other countries that also say “soccer”—and Simon Miller did a photo op. (Edited for the Peacock and the WWE Network broadcasts, the Champion’s League theme was taken out, and a disclaimer on the bottom of the screen reading “Editors note: The theme to a popular British football show played out over the speakers. It was very funny at the time.”

During the match, a Three Stooges moment occurred as Maggot blocked a surprise eye poke that Crowley attempted to give him (even though Maggot still got poked in the eyes less than a minute later per se), and then Maggot and Crowley went for knuckle locks and then hip toss until they turned those attempts into dances before Damo and Page said “We’ve seen enough” by pulling the two apart. The end of the match saw Crowley blind tag in, and—as soon as Page took down Newman—dropkick Page out of the ring before stealing the pin for the win. Afterwards, the rest of Team RSP chased Crowley to the back. My score: 2/5

Match #2: Warren Banks defeated Johnny Progress in the semi-final round of the Super Strong Style 16 tournament.

Again, Banks competed with a taped shoulder. Also, before the match, Progress had Simon Miller take part of the dueling “Johnny Progress/Warren Banks” chant. During the match, after Banks hit Progress with a jawbreaker, Progress hid under the ring until he came back in after the referee started the ten count. After Banks hit Progress with a Spanish fly, he won with the Bullet Vehicle. Afterwards, Progress received a standing ovation including “Please come back” chants. My score: 3.5/5

Match #3: Chris Ridgeway defeated Gene Munny in the semi-final round of the Super Strong Style 16 tournament.

Munny wore his shoulder strap once again, and also had his left hand taped because he broke a knuckle in his round 2 match against Malik. Ridgeway worked on Munny’s left knee, then added salt to the wound by taking off the boot and knee pad while working on the limb. Munny came back until Ridgeway hit him with a running punt to the chest for two, a Randy Orton punt to the head and a brainbuster for three. Afterwards, Ridgeway threw Munny out of the ring and stomped him while the ring crew checked on him. Munny would then get a standing ovation while being helped to the back. My score: 3.25/5

Match #4: Kanji defeated Gisele Shaw in a two-out-of-three falls match to become the new Progress Women’s Champion.

Gisele took the 1-0 lead after making Kanji submit to a Fujiwara armbar in almost two minutes. Later on, Gisele had the upper hand and went for a half-and-half suplex until Kanji countered with a rollup for three to tie the score 1-1. In a battle for the third and final fall, Gisele went after Kanji’s arm by taking the padding off, leading to the ring crew as well as a cameraperson trying to settle her down before attempting to break the arm. Gisele would then berate the fans until Kanji came back with a triangle choke; Gisele got out of it with a powerbomb until Kanji put her back in the triangle, making Gisele tap out. After the match, Gisele received a standing ovation. My score: 4.25/5

Match #5: Jack Evans & Aramis defeated Lykos Gym.

As soon as the match began, Lykos Gym challenged Evans to a dance off; Evans accepted and danced until Kid Lykos and Kid Lykos II went after him and Aramis. The team of Evans and Aramis won after Aramis hit both members of Lykos Gym with the Three Seconds Around the World (airplane spin slam). My score: 3.75/5

Match #6: Anthony Ogogo defeated Tate Mayfairs.

Seconds before the match began, Mayfairs charged at Ogogo, but missed and crashed into the corner and out of the ring. Ogogo won after hitting Mayfairs with the Commonwealth Slam (or Olympic Slam if you’re Kurt Angle). After the match, Mayfairs told Ogogo to come back in; Ogogo did so and hit him with a Tower of London neckbreaker. Then, Mayfairs badmouthed Ogogo again until Ogogo came back in, said “[f-bomb] you”, and hit him with a pop-up punch. Ogogo would then drape the United Kingdom flag and then the Progress Wrestling banner on the unconscious Mayfairs before leaving. My score: 1.5/5

Match #7: Luke Jacobs defeated Axel Tischer to retain the Progress Atlas Championship.

Early in the match, Jacobs hit Tischer with a Death Valley Driver into the chairs in the audience, and then threw him into another set of chairs. Tischer came back, including hitting him with a powerbomb for two until Jacobs hit him with the Burning Lariat for two before missing with a moonsault. The match ended with Jacobs hitting Tischer with the second Burning Lariat for two, a piledriver for another two, and then the third Burning Lariat for three. Afterwards, Jacobs helped up Tischer until Tischer took the belt from him before putting it around Jacobs’ waist and then shaking his hand. 8My score: 3.75/5*

Main event: Chris Ridgeway defeated Warren Banks in the final round of the Super Strong Style 16 tournament to become the new Progress World Champion.

As soon as Simon Miller was wrapping up the in-ring introductions, Ridgeway blindsided Banks with his GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship belt, then—as soon as the bell rang—hit him with a brainbuster for two before two fought on the apron; Banks would hit him with the Bullet Vehicle on the apron afterwards before fighting in the crowd where Ridgeway threw Banks—who went for another Bullet Vehicle—into the chairs prior to Banks hitting him with a Death Valley Driver through another set of chairs.

Ridgeway would then work on Banks’ left leg before the two fought out of the ring once again where Banks countered a brainbuster with a deadlift suplex on the floor prior to Ridgeway hitting him with a brainbuster at the entryway. Later on, Ridgeway worked on Banks’ taped shoulder besides his left leg before—towards the end—wearing him down with multiple punts for both one and two counts before hitting him with a brainbuster for two, and three Randy Orton punts for the win. After the match, Ridgeway took a chair from the fan and celebrated his win by sitting on the chair while holding the Progress World Championship title and using Banks as a footrest before leaving. Then, Gene Munny came and checked on Banks while surrounded by fans chanting “Banks, Warren Banks”, “This is Progress” and “Gene and Warren.” **My score: 3.5/5 **

ICW Fight Club

Belated recap aside, let’s go to the GPWA in Glasgow, Scotland in the United Kingdom for an episode of ICW Fight Club.

Normally, I would give ratings to matches; this week’s episode—storylines, matches and all—gets a 3 out of 5 just like (SPOILER ALERT unless you either want to go to the results or go to the next paragraph right away!) all three matches that took place this week.

The first match that took place was between Leyton Buzzard and Andy Wild. You could tell in the match that Buzzard was keeping his foot on the metaphoric gas pedal ever since winning the Square Go! briefcase in a battle royal as well as picking up wins including the Super Smok’n Thunderdome—in a team led by Daz Black—against the Manifesto at Barred II, and also Wild trying to shake away—like an Etch-A-Sketch—thoughts of Coach Trip stirring the pot while toying with his friendship with Jason Reed. Both veterans of ICW did a good job in this match, even with a distraction that came into play from start to finish.

The second match that took place was ICW Women’s Champion Molly Spartan taking on the debuting Aurora Teves. Aurora had a good showing in her ICW debut despite coming up short in her match against the champion; as for Molly, she continues to improve as a champion even in matches where the belt isn’t on the line. She did receive a surprise however after the match. (Here’s a hint unless you want to go to the results right away, we have seen her soon-to-be SHP7 opponent on the first few chapters of Progress of 2022 among other shows!) The third and final match of the episode was Jack Jester taking on Aaron Echo. You could tell in the main event that Jester was focusing on Kez Evans—for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship—at SHP7 as well as preventing everybody including Echo from winning the ₤10,000 bounty that was announced by the champion a couple episodes prior. Echo on the other hand continues to be a damn good tough-as-nails heel, even with his SHP7 opponent Levi on the horizon.

Here are the match results from Glasgow…

Match #1: Andy Wild defeated Leyton Buzzard. BT Gunn sat at the entryway and then in the crowd during the match.

Near the end, Buzzard hit Wild with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex, and then went for the X Marks the Spot until Gunn distracted him; this led to Wild hitting Buzzard with a Saito suplex before winning with the Dad Bomb. Afterwards, Gunn threw several chairs from crowd into the ring, and he and Buzzard attempted to fight with chairs until Mark Dallas, the Young Team, Ravie Davie and Levi came and separated the two. My score: 3/5

Match #2: Molly Spartan defeated Aurora Teves in a non-title match with a spear.

After the match, Session Moth Martina appeared on the screen, announced that she’s returning to ICW after a four year absence and challenged Molly for the ICW Women’s Championship at Shug’s House Part 7. My score: 3/5

Main event: Jack Jester defeated Aaron Echo.

Both brawled out of the ring and into the crowd, the merchandise table, and—for a few seconds—the hallway during the match. Near the end, Echo brought in a chair and Jester kicked him in the gut before Echo could use it as a weapon; Jester then attempted to hit Echo with the chair until Echo used the referee as a shield and had him take the bullet. Echo then hit Jester with a discus punch, and then hit him with the chair several times; he then attempted to close the chair around his neck until Levi came from the crowd and hit Echo with a missile dropkick. Then, Jester hit Echo with the chair, woke up the referee, and pinned Echo for the win; Jester chased Echo out of the ring with the chair afterwards before standing tall with Levi. My score: 3/5

NXT

We now head to Orlando, Florida in the United States for an episode of NXT.

After seeing Cora Jade stab Roxanne Perez in the back in her match against Mandy Rose—for the NXT Women’s Championship—last week, Cora explained why she turned on Roxanne; she put the blame on the fans for cheering for Roxanne ever since she came to NXT courtesy of Cora who brought her in. She then said that she—along with Roxanne—wanted to make the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship relevant before Roxanne became selfish by gunning for the NXT Women’s Championship. After explaining her actions, Cora got out of the ring and said that the women’s tag team championship belt was “a lie”, before saying that “the new generation of Cora begins”…and then threw the title in the trash! If that didn’t give you flashbacks from 1996 where Alundra Blayze/Madusa did the same thing to the WWF (now WWE) Women’s Championship belt on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro, I don’t know what would. All I know is that we were given a surprising way to kickoff Cora’s run as a heel competitor.

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On a lighter note when it comes to NXT’s women’s division, we were treated to a 20-woman battle royal that would determine the #1 contender for the aforementioned NXT Women’s Championship. I was pretty sure that either Ivy Nile or Nikkita Lyons would end up victorious in this match until we saw a returning wrestler take part of the main event. Zoey Stark, who was out of action since November of last year due to a torn MCL, was also in the 20-woman battle royal; she proved that she had no ring rust on her whatsoever, especially while clashing with the rest of the participants in this match. It’s definitely good to see Zoey back in action, and I’m hoping that she wins more gold—even if it’s the women’s championship in the near future—real soon.

Besides the women’s battle royal, we also saw three singles matches and a tag team match for the NXT UK Tag Team Championship. Out of the five matches that took place, my favorite would go to the opening match between a black-and-gold NXT original and a former NXT UK competitor. Cameron Grimes took on the Irish Ace who is nowadays going by his new name JD McDonagh (instead of Jordan Devlin as I’ve mentioned a few times), and both wrestlers had a strong showing in this opener. In the end, it was McDonagh who picked up his first NXT win under his new name; I’m looking forward to seeing what else the Irish Ace has in store for the NXT brand including his upcoming run for the NXT Championship. Here are the NXT results from Orlando…

Match #1: JD McDonagh defeated Cameron Grimes.

McDonagh worked on Grimes’ left leg during the match. Also, Joe Gacy appeared on the stage to watch the bout. Near the end, Grimes got his left leg tangled in the ropes, leading to McDonagh attacking the leg before winning with the Devlin Side. Afterwards, Joe Gacy approached Grimes—who was in no mood for an interview—and asked him to join him until Grimes stormed out of the arena. My score: 3.75/5

Match #2: Roderick Strong defeated Damon Kemp.

This match was made after Strong accused Kemp for costing them the NXT Tag Team Championship—against the Creed Brothers—at the Great American Bash. Towards the end, Tony D’Angelo appeared on the screen and said that Diamond Mine was “shining no more”, showing the rest of his family—Stacks, Joaquin Wilde and Cruz del Toro—attacking the Creed Brothers backstage. Kemp attempted to get out of the ring to help Brutus and Julius Creed until Strong hit him with a jumping knee for the win. My score: 2/5

Match #3: Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen (w/ Fallon Henley) defeated Pretty Deadly to retain the NXT UK Tag Team Championship.

Elton Prince and Kit Wilson came to the ring wearing cowboy pants, cowboy hats and tops that had cow spots. During the match, Briggs threw Prince out of the ring and—accidentally—into Fallon; Fallon was still able to stay at ringside afterwards. Near the end, Pretty Deadly brought in the tag team championship, and Prince gave one of the belts to Briggs. Then, Wilson attempted to use one of the titles as a weapon until Fallon stopped him from doing so, leading to Briggs and Jensen hitting him with a clothesline/chop block combo for the win. My score: 3.5/5

Match #4: Axiom defeated Dante Chen in three minutes.

Axiom, the former A-Kid, competed in a comic book-inspired luchador-like outfit. He won after hitting Chen with a running jumping heel kick. My score: 1.5/5

Main event: Zoey Stark won the 20-woman battle royal to become the #1 contender for the NXT Women’s Championship.

Toxic Attraction watched from the Toxic Lounge in the audience. Order of elimination: Amari Miller, Arianna Grace, Lash Legend, Alba Fyre, Yulisa Leon, Valentina Feroz, Fallon Henley, Wendy Choo, Sloane Jacobs, Elektra Lopez, Ivy Nile, Katana Chance, Kayden Carter, Tatum Paxley (who eliminated herself after seeing Kayden and Katana attack Ivy at ringside), Indi Hartwell, Kiana James, Nikkita Lyons, Tiffany Stratton and Cora Jade (who was targeted by the rest of her opponents in the beginning before hiding until near the end). My score: 3.5/5

NXT UK

We now return to the United Kingdom, but this time we head to the BT Sports Studios in London, England for an episode of NXT UK.

NXT competitors are in NXT UK this week as well as the following week and perhaps one week later. We saw Fallon Henley take on Isla Dawn this week, we will see Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen defend the NXT UK Tag Team Championship against Mark Andrews & Wild Boar after seeing the champions accept the challenge this week, and—after seeing Meiko Satomura tell Sarray “Let’s fight, but be prepared” this week—we will see Meiko defend the NXT UK Women’s Championship against Sarray on a future episode (the following week probably) of NXT UK.

It’s still good to see current NXT competitors get a taste of NXT UK in—I haven’t used this term for a while—Worlds Collide-like matches each Thursday; this includes championship matches such as Ilja Dragunov defending the NXT United Kingdom Championship against Roderick Strong, Brooks & Jensen taking part of a match that involves the aforementioned tag team belts, and—recently—Ivy Nile fighting Meiko Satomura for the women’s championship.

Out of the four matches that took place, my favorite match of the week will definitely surprise you. The match I enjoyed was Josh Morrell taking on Dave Mastiff. Mastiff is currently on a singles run because his tag team partner—Jack Starz—is out of action according to Andy Shepherd on commentary. This match definitely showed what Morrell had in store ever since he picked up his first win on NXT UK weeks ago against Primate, as well as Mastiff still having what it takes when it comes to one-on-one competition besides tag team competition. Both wrestlers did very well in this bout, and it was better than I expected when I saw Mastiff challenge Morrell to a match not too long ago.

Here are the NXT UK results from London…

Match #1: Isla Dawn defeated Fallon Henley after a roundhouse kick followed by a half nelson suplex.

My score: 2/5

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Match #2: Dave Mastiff defeated Josh Morrell.

Morrell’s shoulders were covered in tape. Towards the end, Mastiff hit Morrell with a powerbomb and a steamroller for two, then hit him with another steamroller followed by a senton for the win. After the match, Mastiff helped up Morrell and then gave him a fist bump. My score: 2.5/5

Match #3: Emilia McKenzie defeated Nina Samuels in five minutes with a spear.

My score: 0.5/5

Main event: Trent Seven defeated Sam Gradwell.

As soon as the match began, Seven threw his British Strong Style towel at Gradwell until the two brawled out of the ring. Seven worked on Gradwell’s left knee, including taking off the knee brace. Towards the end, Seven hit Gradwell with the Seven Star Lariat for two, then attempted to use the brace as a weapon until Gradwell hit him with a clothesline for two. Then, Gradwell wanted to use the brace as a weapon until the referee took it away from him; behind the referee’s back, Seven hit Gradwell with a low blow before winning with a second Seven Star Lariat. Afterwards, Seven attacked Gradwell until Tyler Bate came from the audience and chased him out of the ring and into the crowd. My score: 2.25/5

NXT: LVL UP

Finally, we return to Orlando for an episode of NXT: LVL UP.

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My favorite match for this episode would have to go to the main event bout between Duke Hudson and Hank Walker. It was definitely a hard-hitting battle between the two wrestlers, and in the end, it was Hudson who would emerge victorious. I got a feeling that seeing Hudson this week as well as not too long ago is Hudson’s way of creating a comeback trail especially as a mid-card competitor on NXT’s roster; not only did he prove it by picking up a win weeks ago on NXT: LVL UP but also in this match that saw what Progress’ Simon Miller would jokingly call “big meaty men slapping meat.”

Here are the NXT: LVL UP results from Orlando…

Match #1: Thea Hail (w/ Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward) defeated Brooklyn Barlow with a standing moonsault followed by a standing tornado DDT (known as the “Hail Yeah”).

My score: 2/5

Match #2: Bryson Montana defeated Ru Feng in four minutes with a sit out spinebuster.

My score: 1.5/5

Main event: Duke Hudson defeated Hank Walker.

Near the end, Walker attempted to splash Hudson, but missed and crashed into the corner, leading to Hudson winning with a big boot. My score: 2.5/5

Next time…

Again, my usual four shows. Plus, I may throw in a belated recap of one of the wXw shows that came to Peacock, starting with True Colors.

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Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment! I’ll see you next time!

(Photos shown in the newsletter are from TV Parental Guidelines, WWE and Progress.)