Saying I was excited for this event is an understatement, and it did not disappoint! It had some great action, star power, and story telling throughout.
The three standouts for me were Callum Newman, Like Jacobs and Mark Davis. But everyone put in a shift, and seeing PAC live again was awesome.
6 Man Scramble Match – AEW All Atlantic Championship #1 Contenders Match – 3⭐
The opening contest was a chaotic match to get the fans pumped up, and it did just that. It had Callum Newman, Robbie X, RKJ, Will Kroos, Dereiss and Connor Mills.
The main take-aways for me were Newman shone, and proved he can hang with the top stars like RKJ and Robbie X. Both Newman and Robbie X hit huge top rope dives to the outside, almost hitting the lighting grid on the way.
Also, RKJ was awesome and took most of the offence from the match. He hit a huge 3 man Samoan drop, before him and Will Kroos brawled to the back, I would assume to start a mini rivalry until Ospreay comes back to the UK.
The match finished after Mills pinned Newman, which surprised me, continuing Mills’ push in a big way. A fun match to start the show and get some of the lesser known guys some good experience in front of a big crowd.
Yota Tsuji Vs Shota Umino – 3⭐
A match between former best friends needed to start strong, and it did with them both firing head shots, almost hockey fighting. This was good intensity for the story.
Shota took control early, attacking Yota whilst avoiding Gideon Grey on the outside. But the numbers game caught up, Gideon grabbed the ankle and Yota took advantage. The middle part of this match was a tad too long for me, Yota just working over Shota slowly, being methodical.
There was a beautiful transition from Yota into a chicken wing, just before the finish of the match. We had a ref bump, leading Gideon to throw Yota the cane. Umino reversed the shot, grabbing the cane, giving it to Gideon and then hitting him to the ground. Shota was able to hit some big moves onto Yota but only managed some near falls. Yota hit a spear and picked up the win. A good match that lost intensity in the middle.
Lykos Gym Vs Sunshine Machine (c) – Undisputed British Tag Team Championship – 3.5⭐
The first talking point for me was that Sunshine Machine came out with the Progress Titles, I don’t know why this felt like a big deal to me. Anyway, this match was awesome, and I love Lykos Gym. They are my favourite team to boo right now.
Lykos gym tried to jump the champs as the bell rang, but sunshine Machine countered this. The two teams had a good back and forth, leading to the exercise band spot from Lykos gym. Sadly, the first attempt was botched as the band snapped. This was sold perfectly by Lykos. The second attempt had TK hold the band, and cut it in half.
After more great team moves and combinations from both sides, lykos were up to more heel shenanigans tying TK to the guard rail, and double teaming Mambo for a while. After 2 baking tray shots to the head, and 4 brainbusters, Mambo still kicked out. TK came back into the ring and Sunshine Machine picked up the win. The right result but I’m not sure they needed to hit 4 brainbusters on Mambo to kick out. It doesn’t help put that move, or even Lykos Gym, over at all. Still a fun match with fun spots.
Mike Bailey Vs Francesco Akira – 4⭐
This was one of my most anticipated matches for the night, and I loved it. Both these guys are two of the best cruiserweights in the world right now, and they had all the strikes and strike reversals in the match.
Two of the big highlights for me was Bailey’s double knee moonsault on the apron, which looked like it sucked to take. Followed up with a massive top rope hurricanrana from Akira. The pace of this match was awesome and kept the crowd into it throughout, with lots and lots of songs for speedball.
The final act had multiple near falls that I bought, but Akira managed to get the win with double knees to the back of the head. A well worked match that got the crowd invested, and whenever the United Empire wins I’m happy.
Alex Windsor (c) Vs Alexxis Falcon – Undisputed British Women’s Championship – 2.5⭐
Sadly, this match didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I think it being after the interval, and after the previous match the crowd was worn out. Another factor sadly is no one believed Falcon was going to win. At this point, Rev Pro haven’t built up anyone who could realistically beat Windsor. I think the smaller shows need to include more women matches if possible and more story telling to build up a realistic challenger.
The match was good though, it wasn’t bad it was just lacking any heat and momentum. Falcon was a good heel, back chatting to the crowd and getting some reactions.
Windsor was able to get the pin, and retain the belt. I hope we see more of Falcon in Rev Pro after this, and get more consistently booked women, again if it’s possible.
Luke Jacobs Vs Michael Oku (c) – Undisputed British Cruiserweight Championship – 4.5⭐
This was my match of the night. These two tore the house down. Jacobs was such a hometown hero, flanked by Ethan Allen, and it felt like if he lost there’d be a riot. Oku came to the stage with Amira and Mills, but Mills went back to prepare for his main event, creating more tension.
The match started with Oku ducking a Jacobs lariat, and the intensity did not let up from there. There were multiple hard chops and strikes, followed by some great reversals. The end began with another red bump, and Oscar sold it incredibly. Jacobs got a visual pin, and I really thought that meant Oku was going to retain here.
This led to Oku and Allen having a tug of war with the belt, and it finally collided with Jacobs head busting him open. Oku put him in the half crab, and this was an awesome visual of Jacobs fighting the pain with a crimson mask. Once he broke out, he hit two huge lariats for two very very near falls.
He finally won after hitting a piledriver, and the crowd erupted. This was a great match with a great atmosphere. Jacobs grabbed the mic to address the fans, which led to Akira coming back out, setting up Jacobs first defense possibly.
Oku was left in the ring, and received a standing ovation. He kissed the logo on the ring mat, and stood at the top of the ramp sobbing. This really felt like a goodbye so I’m excited to see what the future has for him. This year he has put on some of my favourite matches and hopefully this isn’t the last time he wrestles at Rev Pro.
Aussie Open Vs The Velocities – Great British Tag League Final – 4.5⭐
First things first, I preferred their match at Epic Encounters, and that’s still my favourite tag match ever. But this match still ruled. I truly believe Aussie Open are one of, if not, the best tag team in the world. I also become a bigger Velocities fan every timeI see them.
The match started fast again, but there was a scary botch early on. Paris de Silva was whipped into the corner and did a handstand on the top rope, but his momentum kept him going to the outside, Davis ran to grab him and saved him enough. Silva had a nasty looking mark on his back from the top of the post. The next sequence was a bit shaky but they managed to get back on track after.
After this the match was near flawless, with great team moves and combinations. Silva and London are so quick between the ropes, and the arrogance and charisma Aussie open have just made this match feel very big time.
Davis for me was the stand out of this match though, with an awesome 1 on 2 sequence, beating up both Velocities at once. He also hit a HUGE European uppercut on London during a shooting star press. Another highlight for me was London hitting an awesome looking avalanche double hurricanrana on both Davis and Fletcher.
The match came to an end, after multiple near falls from Aussie Open. Velocities got the upper hand, and Silva got the win after a shooting star of the top rope into a double DDT. An awesome match that I wished had 5 more mins. Velocities win the Tag League and will challenge Sunshine Machine down the line, which I think could be a lot of fun. This also sets up a rubber match, as it’s 1-1 now and surely they’ll complete the trilogy.
PAC (c) Vs Connor Mills – AEW All Atlantic Championship – 4⭐
The main event, and technically my first love AEW match. PAC is a star, and it was great to see him wrestle live. I also had doubts when Mills won the #1 contenders match, but he did step up and did not feel out of place during this. He worked more of a heel, and I think Mills has to be more heel in future I think it fits him much better.
Just before the match, Kip Sabian sat front row and I am so excited for him to un box. And for the first time I’ve seen, he was referenced with PAC standing face to face with him.
The match was great, Mills has some great kicks and I absolutely love the way PAC moves around the ring. The two worked well together but the result was never in doubt. Mills had some near falls towards the end but PAC managed to get the win with the black arrow.
This match was made for PAC to feel like a star, Mills’ push to continue, and keep the intrigue of Sabian going and all the above was achieved. A great end to a fantastic show, Rev Pro continues to be my favourite promotion here in the UK.
Ralph Wrestling Reviews 