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Safety First

Before getting to the shows, I hope that everyone on the east coast in the United States stayed safe during Hurricane Ian. This issue is dedicated those that were affected by the wrath of the hurricane.

Progress Chapter 138: The Deadly Viper Tour—Codename: Cottonmouth

We’ll kick things off with a belated recap as promised.

The 138th chapter of Progress Wrestling took place on August 14, 2022 at the Boiler Shop in Newcastle, England in the United Kingdom; it served as part 2 of the Deadly Viper Tour. From what I saw on Peacock, the ring in the venue had fans on three sides, with the fourth side consisting of glass doors and windows.

Like in the last chapter that kicked off the Deadly Viper Tour, this chapter had eight matches on the card; it consisted of two championship matches, one match where the winner would qualify for this year’s Natural Progression tournament, and five exhibition matches that did or didn’t have champions competing.

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To me, all eight matches ranged from fair to excellent. My favorite regular match of the chapter would go to Konosuke Takeshita’s second Progress match that saw him go toe-to-toe with veteran Dean Allmark. It was a great back and forth bout between the two, even with moments that occurred at ringside besides in the ring prior to near falls being made after signature maneuvers—including finishers—were exchanged left and right. In the end, it was Takeshita picking up his second straight Progress victory.

As for the championship matches that took place, we saw both the Progress Tag Team Championship and the Progress Women’s Championship on the line. Out of the two bouts that occurred, my favorite would go to the women’s championship match between Kanji and Rhio. Not only was it good to see Rhio back in Progress action, but also what she had in store for Kanji especially in this title bout. In the end, it was Kanji who retained the belt after overcoming moments such as getting one of her ankles worked on—instead of her left arm which has been targeted several times even, going back to last year, before taking time away due to injury—besides not being preoccupied with her current rival Laura di Matteo who appeared after the match came to a close. SoCal Val—who joined Olie Spring on commentary in this chapter—was not kidding when she said that the women’s division in Progress is, like the tag team division, “scorching hot”; this championship match definitely proved it that day.

Here are the match results from Newcastle…

Match #1: The Sunshine Machine defeated Lykos Gym to retain the Progress Tag Team Championship.

Before the match started, Kid Lykos and Kid Lykos II blindsided TK Cooper and Chuck Mambo until the champions fought back. Early in the match, the Sunshine Machine took turns holding up Lykos II in a delayed vertical suplex position both in and out of the ring, leading to SoCal Val making a Coldplay reference on commentary (i.e.: “Talk about a rush of blood to the head…”). Also, during the match, Lykos knocked Mambo off the apron and fought him out of the building and locked him out; Mambo would return to the doors that were—as I mentioned in the beginning of this recap—at one side of the ring seconds before tagging in and cleaning house.

Near the end, Lykos sent Cooper head first into a post while Lykos II took a tray out of their satchel and hit Mambo with it before crotching him and hitting him with a brainbuster; Cooper recovered in time to break up the pin afterwards. Then, the Sunshine Machine made a comeback and—after Cooper hit Lykos with a shooting star press from the apron—hit Lykos II with Captain Midnight’s Revenge (Death Valley driver/double knee gutbuster combo) for the win. My score: 3.75/5

Match #2: Liam Slater defeated Screwface Ahmed and Shreddy in a triple threat match to qualify for the Natural Progression tournament.

(NOTE: Liam Slater is not to be confused with Leon Slater who also competed on this chapter as you’ll see shortly.) Before the match started, Shreddy said that he dislikes fighting “skinny fat ass Johnnies” like Slater and Ahmed, and then poked fun of the fans and their chants before calling them “disgusting sweat hogs.” Earlier, Slater had Ahmed in a cloverleaf before—while holding onto Ahmed—putting Shreddy in an abdominal stretch until Shreddy powered out of the hold. Later, Slater had Shreddy in a half crab while Ahmed had the same wrestler in a crossface until Slater surprised Ahmed with a crucifix for two.

Towards the end, Slater hit Ahmed with a cross bomb until Shreddy broke up the pin before Slater put him in a half crab; Ahmed fought back until Slater rolled him up with a seated La Magistral for the win. After the match, Tate Mayfairs came into the ring and said that he was helping Progress grow, then said that he didn’t need to be in a qualifying match like the three did because he’s a “certified superstar”; he then vowed to knockout Effy and then win the Natural Progression tournament and the Progress World Championship, and then had ring announcer Simon Miller hold up one of his shirts before leaving. My score: 2/5

Match #3: Raven Creed defeated Eliza Alexander. Both women went at it seconds before the bell rang.

The match ended with Raven hitting Eliza with the Hellmouth for the win. Afterwards, Raven—while interviewed by Jayde—challenged Lana Austin to a straitjacket match. My score: 2/5

Match #4: The Greedy Souls defeated the Smokin’ Aces.

After Brendan White and Danny Jones hit Nick Riley with back-to-back Claymores, Jones hit Charlie Sterling with a piledriver on the apron; then, the Greedy Souls hit Riley with a catapult/sidewalk slam combo for the win. My score: 3.5/5

Match #5: Kanji defeated Rhio to retain the Progress Women’s Championship.

Rhio worked on Kanji’s left ankle during the match; Kanji would fight back by forearming and dropkicking her while she was tangled in the ropes, causing Rhio to bleed from the mouth. The match ended with Rhio going for an air raid crash until Kanji countered and won with a hard back elbow. After the match, Laura di Matteo ran in and attacked Kanji and Rhio—who was helping the champion during the beatdown—before working on the ankle while vowing to win the belt. Laura then stood over Kanji with the title until Rhio shoved her out of the ring before helping up Kanji. My score: 4.75/5

Match #6: Maggot defeated Spike Trivet by disqualification.

Before the match started, Trivet came to the ring and threw a kid’s cap elsewhere in the audience before telling him “Wait until your father tells you about Santa Claus.” Then, Trivet took the microphone from Simon Miller before the introductions were wrapped up, and poked fun of Maggot’s nickname “Son of Nothing”—saying “nothing is [f-bombing] right”—before calling him a “disgusting freak”, calling Newcastle a “shithole”, and saying that Maggot being nothing doesn’t make him special.

During the match, Trivet attempted to use his key as a weapon, but slid it by his opponent to distract him and hit him with a cheap shot; he then worked on Maggot’s nose and tongue piercings until Maggot responded back with—to quote the cartoon “Ed, Edd n Eddy”—a purple nurple. Trivet would later pretend to be Cara Noir after hitting his opponent with a trifecta of Swan Woo dropkicks, and then hit him with a necktie neckbreaker until Maggot spat at him…and I have to admit it besides sound disgusting, but that was one big ass loogie…that aside, Maggot won by DQ after Trivet attacked him with the key before storming off and throwing the kid’s cap elsewhere again. My score: 2/5

Match #7: Konosuke Takeshita defeated Dean Allmark.

During the match, after Takeshita hit Allmark with a piledriver (after Allmark did a headstand while in a headscissors) followed by a DDT on the apron, he fought his opponent into the audience—including having him sit on a fan’s lap—before hitting him with a running big boot into the chairs. Near the end, Allmark countered the running knee strike with a rollup for two, then backslid him while performing a headstand for another two until Takeshita came back with a running knee strike for a near fall followed by a sit out powerbomb for three. Both men shook hands and bowed to one another afterwards. My score: 4.5/5

Main event: Hayata, Luke Jacobs & Big Damo defeated the 0121.

Leon Slater is now officially a member of the 0121. Combinations by both teams occurred during the bout including Slater, Man Like Dereiss and Dan Moloney hitting Damon with a powerbomb/double kick combo, the aforementioned Progress World Champion hitting Slater and Dereiss with a Samoan drop/fallaway slam combo, and a neckbreaker/powerbomb/backcracker combo to Hayata by the 0121. Then, moments after Slater dove onto Damo and into the chairs in the audience, the opponents came back and beat down Dereiss and Moloney before Hayata, Jacobs and Damo won with Jacobs’ Burning Lariat, Hayata’s Headache and Damo’s Wasteland, senton and Belfast Blitz to Slater. The winning team showed respect to the 0121 afterwards. My score: 3.75/5

ICW Fight Club

We now head to the GPWA in Glasgow, Scotland for an episode of ICW Fight Club.

After getting Whit’s Occurrin’?! out of the way, it was time for ICW to refocus on Fear & Loathing XIV come November.

We will indeed see a match for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship, but we don’t know how many opponents the champion Kez Evans will have come F&L XIV.

This week’s episode started off with Craig Anthony coming into the ring and said that, while out of action due to an arm injury he suffered last year, thoughts of the current champion—including his recent actions such as sneaking his way to the top of ICW like a snake (after calling Evans “poison”)—were eating him and then announced that he was fighting Evans for the title at Fear & Loathing XIV. Evans came out and said that Anthony need to earn a title shot, and then noted that no one came close to defeating him for the belt.

This led to “The Outlaw” Stevie James coming into the ring and reminded Evans that he—James—came close to winning the title months ago on an episode of Fight Club (where weapons brought in by the fans were used if you remember), and then said that he deserved a shot while Anthony needed to wait his turn. Then, Leyton Buzzard—Square Go! briefcase and all—appeared and despite understanding that Anthony and James had a score to settle with the champion, he—after saying that he’s nothing like Evans who “beats a man while he’s down”—announced that he would cash in the briefcase at F&L. Then, after Buzzard got under Anthony’s skin by telling him “save me a spot in Zero-G”, Anthony and Buzzard brawled until Evans put Anthony in the Blood Clot Clutch before James hit the champion with a super kick. Normally, I try not to jump to conclusions, but I got a feeling that—regardless of who is next in line as well as who needs to earn what—we’re going to see a four-way dance for the title at F&L.

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Three matches took place this week and weren’t too bad, although I saw one match that was better than the other two. My favorite match of the episode once again involved BT Gunn, and this time, his opponent was Levi who was looking to get back on track after his match with Aaron Echo at Shug’s Hoose Party 7. Not only did it involve Levi attempting to make a comeback, but it also involved—both during and after the match—Gunn finally cementing his heel turn after tactics that had wrestlers, fans, officials and others ticked off.

Here are the match results from Glasgow…

Match #1: Jason Reed (w/ Coach Trip) defeated Vaughn Vertigo.

After Vertigo hit Reed with back-to-back half nelson suplexes, he then hit Reed with a Bryan Danielson knee for a near fall. Vertigo then went for the Coup de Grace to the back, but Reed dodged it and hit him with a clothesline before winning with the Club Deck powerbomb. My score: 2.5/5

Match #2: BT Gunn defeated Levi.

Levi’s right shoulder had kinesio tape. As soon as the match began, Gunn offered Levi a handshake, and Levi was hesitant at first before finally giving Gunn the handshake until Gunn suckered him with a kick to the gut. Gunn would later on attempt to chop Levi at ringside, but missed and hit the post, leading to Levi slamming it on the apron a few times before the action was brought back into the ring. Gunn worked on Levi’s shoulder later on, and this made Levi unable to perform a springboard maneuver due to the pain in his shoulder; Levi then attempted to go for a top rope maneuver instead of a springboard maneuver until Gunn took him down with a chop followed by the Kill Shot (buzzsaw kick) for a near fall. Then, towards the end, Levi shoved Gunn away and hit him with a shining wizard for two, then went for a top rope maneuver before missing, allowing Gunn to win with a roundhouse kick.

After the match, Gunn beat down Levi and put him in a crab; guards and referees came in and attempted to stop Gunn until Gunn punched two guards down before working on Levi’s shoulder and putting him back in the crab. Then, Jack Jester ran in and settled Gunn down until Gunn blindsided Jester—who was helping up Levi—and then headbutted another guard on his way out. Jester chased him to the back, and then looked for him backstage until—inside Mark Dallas’ office—Gunn appeared from the closet in the office and attacked him with a nightstick before referees came in and separated the two. My score: 3.25/5

Main event: Glasgow Grindhouse defeated Ian Skinner & Charlie Vyce to retain the ICW Tag Team Championship.

As noted not too long ago, Skinner and Vyce are no longer members of Thatcher’s Cabinet. Near the end, Lou King Sharp hit Vyce with the 0141 (or 619 if you’re Rey Mysterio), Krieger hit him with a sidewalk slam, and Sharp hit him with the Tadpole Splash until Skinner broke up the pin. Then, Thatcher Wright appeared and slid the book in for Skinner and Vyce until the two kicked it out of the ring; the distraction led to the Glasgow Grindhouse winning after a wheelbarrow slam/top rope cutter combo to Vyce. Afterwards, Thatcher came into the ring and wanted Skinner and Vyce to rejoin him until the two ignored him and headed to the back; Thatcher then got down on his knees and asked himself why. My score: 2/5

NXT

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

Not only will there be a ladder match for the currently vacant NXT North American Championship, but there will also be a match for the NXT Championship.

Last week, we saw JD McDonagh win a shot at the title by defeating Tyler Bate; then, as soon as the match concluded, and the champion Bron Breakker stood face to face with McDonagh, Ilja Dragunov—returning from an ankle injury he suffered on an episode of NXT UK—came in and encountered the two in the ring.

This week, the “Czar” Dragunov came into the ring and talked about conquering “unbeatable machines” such as Walter (now Gunther) for the NXT United Kingdom Championship at NXT TakeOver 36 last year before vowing to do the same thing to Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship. Then, McDonagh came into the ring and said that he wasn’t surprised that Dragunov followed him to America before Dragunov reminded him of their “loser leaves NXT UK” match; McDonagh then vowed to reinjure Dragunov and end his career until Breakker came into the ring. McDonagh originally wanted to face Breakker for the title again at Halloween Havoc until Breakker had an idea of his own, using the “Steiner math” by saying that McDonagh had a 33 1/3% chance of winning; at Halloween Havoc, Breakker will defend the title against McDonagh and Dragunov. Dragunov does indeed make a great wildcard for what was originally going to be a rematch between Breakker and McDonagh for the title; I definitely look forward to seeing what both NXT UK have up in their sleeves for the NXT Champion come later in October.

Eight matches took place on this week’s episode. Aside a slew of short matches (and yes, I am aware that I’m being fussy over short matches…lol…), there were two matches that I enjoyed; one match had an ending that I didn’t expect (and neither did Wes Lee as you’ll see shortly), and the other became my favorite match of the episode.

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That match was the main event between Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen and Gallus members Mark Coffey & Wolfgang in a Pub Rules match. This match was a street fight that was made to look like both teams were in a bar, with kegs at the entryway and a standing table with a mug and glasses among other items that both teams used as weapons. Many shows love to have no-DQ matches as main events, and this no-DQ match didn’t disappoint me one bit; this battle between two teams of heavy hitters definitely ended this week’s episode on a high note. Here are the NXT results from Orlando…

Match #1: Mandy Rose (w/ Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) defeated Fallon Henley in a non-title match.

Fallon didn’t have Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen at ringside because they brawled with Gallus backstage. Mandy won with the Kiss By the Rose. After the match, Mandy said that she knows that Alba Fyre was jealous of her unifying both the NXT Women’s Championship and NXT UK Women’s Championship at Worlds Collide until Alba appeared on the screen; Alba said that she’s more of a visual woman before setting a message on fire—reading “#ANDNEW”—on the ground. My score: 2/5

Match #2: Wes Lee (w/ Quinn “The King Crusher” Molitor) defeated Tony D’Angelo (w/ Stacks) by referee stoppage to qualify for the NXT North American Championship match at Halloween Havoc.

Molitor is a Connor’s Cure patient. Also, Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams watched the match backstage. During the match, Stacks blocked Lee’s attempt of hitting D’Angelo with a tope until Lee hit him with the dive; this made Stacks livid and refusing to calm down for D’Angelo, and then trip Lee at ringside before being ejected to the back. The match came to a screeching halt after Lee hit D’Angelo with a drop toehold into a corner, and then D’Angelo being unable to get up with a leg injury; Lee, who looked concerned, ended up as the winner. My score: 2.5/5

Match #3: Sol Ruca defeated Amari Miller in almost five minutes with a flipping Boom Drop (ala Kofi Kingston).

Both women shook hands and hugged afterwards. My score: 1.5/5

Match #4: Joe Gacy (w/ the Dyad) defeated Cameron Grimes in three minutes.

During the match, Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler blocked Grimes from diving onto Gacy at ringside, but he jumped over the two and dove onto his opponent with a cannonball anyway. The match ended with Fowler getting on the apron and Grimes knocking him off before Reid clipped him, and then Gacy winning with the handspring clothesline (now known as the Upside-Down World). My score: 0.5/5

Match #5: Nikkita Lyons (w/ Zoey Stark) defeated Kayden Carter (w/ Katana Chance) in almost five minutes with a jumping heel kick followed by a leg split leg drop.

My score: 2/5

Match #6: Ilja Dragunov defeated Xyon Quinn in almost five minutes with the Torpedo.

My score: 1.5/5

Match #7: Brutus Creed defeated Damon Kemp by disqualification in three minutes.

Creed fought Kemp at the entryway and into the ring before the match began. Creed fought Kemp out of the ring until Kemp grabbed a steel chair and hit him with it, giving Creed a win by DQ. Kemp continued to attack Creed with the chair afterwards until referees separated the two.

Main event: Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen defeated Mark Coffey & Wolfgang in a Pub Rules match.

Briggs came into the ring with a bull rope. Trashcans, trashcan lids, tables, chairs, Briggs and Jensen’s belts, and beer glasses were also used as weapons in this bout. Towards the end, Briggs and Jensen put Mark in a trashcan, and then saw Joe Coffey appear until the two knocked him off and through a table at ringside. Then, Wolfgang charged at the two until he was tossed into another table that was set up in a corner. Finally, the two hit Mark—who was still in the trashcan—with a clothesline/chop block combo for the win.

After the match, Briggs and Jensen celebrated their win with Fallon Henley while security was backing Gallus away; one guard got knocked down, and the referees came to do the same thing until one referee was knocked down. Then, police came and had all three members of Gallus handcuffed and escorted out of the arena. My score: 3.75/5

NXT: LVL UP

Staying in Orlando, we wrap things up with NXT: LVL UP.

I was afraid that this week’s episode was going to be like the last two episodes I watched (and made me fear that it was going to be like the Philadelphia Phillies struggling in the final handful of games and trying to qualify to be in the MLB postseason tournament), but I was proven wrong as soon as I saw the episode get better match wise.

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Out of the three matches that took place, the tag team main event was my favorite; it was the team of Malik Blade & Edris Enofé, who is building a winning streak on NXT: LVL UP, taking on Guru Raaj & Ikemen Jiro. Just like Blade and Enofé who have been on a roll as of late, this new team of Raaj and Jiro also showed tag team chemistry as well as ways to metaphorically cut the ring in half. In the end, it was Blade and Enofé chalking up another win.

Here are the NXT: LVL UP results from Orlando…

Match #1: Javier Bernal defeated Ru Feng.

After suplexing and kicking Bernal, Feng ended up crashing into a corner, leading to Bernal winning with a jumping flatliner. My score: 1.5/5

Match #2: Thea Hail (w/ Andre Chase and Bodhi Hayward) defeated Valentina Feroz in four and a half minutes.

Valentina countered Thea’s discus punch with a spear for two, then put her in a sleeper hold until Thea turned it into a rollup for the win. My score: 2/5

Main event: Malik Blade & Edris Enofé defeated Guru Raaj & Ikemen Jiro.

Jiro hit Enofé with a Swanton for two, then went for the Ikemen Slash, but missed; Blade tagged in and he and Enofé hit Jiro with a Samoan drop/neckbreaker combo (now known as the Climax) for the win. My score: 2.5/5

Next time…

Again, my currently usual trifecta of shows and probably one or two belated recaps…as well as a bonus!

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(Photos shown in the newsletter are from WWE, Progress and ICW.)