REVIEW: PROGRESS Wrestling - Deadly Viper Tour, Codename: Sidewinder

Progress Wrestling: Deadly Viper Tour – Codename: Sidewinder
Venue: The O2 Ritz, Manchester
Sunday, October 9, 2022
Reviewer: David South (@DavidSouth1980)

PROGRESS Wrestling’s Deadly Viper tour kicks off again, as Codename: Sidewinder slithers into Manchester to draw a line under a mega week (well… 10 days) of grappling action in the City.

We’re in for a long old show too, with nine matches on the announced card, including two quarter finals in the Natural Progression series and the chaos of Super Mob Smash XII. Seats are taken, Simon Miller comes to the ring and the show gets underway.

Alexxis Falcon vs Millie McKenzie

Cheers for both competitors in this one and a match that reflects that even support, with Falcon making the early running with a bulldog and McKenzie responding with a drop kick following and Irish whip.

They would then look to trade German Suplexes, though McKenzie came off best with three to Falcon’s single reply. They would continue to trade similar moves, with both getting two counts off stunners.

Alexxis must have thought she had the match won having hit Falcon’s Fury, but McKenzie kicked out and though she looked dead on her feet, dug deep and responded with a running knee strike and a spear to take the victory.

The pair shook hands and Falcon would leave Millie to take the crowds appreciation, she would be back later though.

Elijah vs Tom Dawkins

It’s not long into this encounter before Spike is out on the stage reminding Dawkins that he submitted to him and lost the rights to anything that could define him as Cara Noir. This includes the Noir T-shirt he’s wearing, that he demands he removes.

He makes his presence felt again a few moments later, when a fired-up Dawkins looks like he might be planning his ‘Swan Wu’ running dropkick and Spike tells him it’s not allowed.

This time Elijah is able to take advantage and a long combination of Snake Eyes into the corner, a fisherman bomb and a Springboard suplex all get him near falls.

Dawkins rallies though, and has Elijah set for the package piledriver but again Spike reminds him that he owns that move now and Dawkins has to let Elijah go.

This distraction is one too many and Elijah picks up an undeserved win. Spike orders Dawkins to leave, before leaving himself.

Elijah poses for an annoyed crowd, but the feed of his entrance video is interrupted by a series of numbers. Though there’s no direct hint about what it might be about, I’m sure it’s going to be . . . spectacular.

Tate Mayfairs vs Sam Bailey - Natural Progression Series Quarter Final

Mayfairs interrupts Simon Miller’s introductions to provide his own and ingratiate himself to the Manchester crowd even more. He then compounds this by avoiding contact with Bailey for a long time, using the floor and the ropes to break up any momentum.

Bailey eventually does catch him though and begins his strategy of working Mayfairs left arm. A finger in the eye would swing things Tate’s way and he’d get a series of two counts from running kick, a fisherman’s suplex and the ‘Tateness is Greatness’ elbow.

The match would end on yet more Mayfairs cheating. With both on the outside, Mayfairs nips under the ring and returns with something in his tights.

This turns out to be brass knuckles and with the referee distracted, Mayfair would knock Bailey out and then apply a sleeper hold which the referee quickly called in his favour. Mayfair added insult to injury, shaking hands with a still unconscious Bailey.

Taonga vs Nina Samuels

If Nina Samuels’ had been expecting a warm welcome back to Progress after three years away, she was soon disappointed with the crowd firmly behind Taonga.

She would get the first near fall with a bulldog. Samuels swung the match back in her favour, tripping Taonga with her head crashing into the bottom turnbuckle, she would then attempt pinfalls after a running dropkick and a legdrop but Taonga would kick out both times.

Taonga would fight back, with some punches and a short DDT but Samuels would pick up the win with her ‘Hell to the Knee-a’ finish, a variation on the GTS.

Samuels would get the mic and thank the roster for all the work they’ve done in her absence. She decides to present a physical award to the one that had showed the most excellence…. Herself.

The scene goes on until Alexxis Falcon returns demanding that she shuts up and tells her that “at the next Camden show she’s going to stick that award up her” . . . . well, you get the idea.

Luke Jacobs vs Kid Lykos

With Ethan Allen announcing that he’s going to take the rest of the year to properly recuperate, this match was changed from a tag bout to a one-on-one contest, with Allen accompanying his Young Guns partner to the ring and Kid Lykos II also there to make trouble.

Early in the match, Lykos grabs Jacobs by the nose which clearly infuriates him. Lykos tries to apologise, even kissing Jacobs boot, but then sticks his finger in his eye.

Apoplectic now, Jacobs tries to chop Lykos soul out of his body, both inside and outside the ring the forearms echo around the O2, he even manages to stop himself chopping the corner posts, when Lykos ducks. Lykos does manage a little offense, hitting a swanton bomb after Lykos II manages a distraction.

Back on the outside, Jacobs hurls Lykos into some quickly abandoned chairs and then chokeslams Lykos II on top of him. Sensing victory, he slides Lykos back into the ring and climbs to the top for a frog splash.

Though he hits it, Jacobs does serious damage to his arm in the landing and, sensing this, Lykos manages to roll him up for the victory.

The Wolves sneak away perhaps not believing their luck, whilst the medical staff treat Jacobs. Later on, we’d learn that the injury is (hopefully) not serious but it was certainly concerning at the time.

Liam Slater vs Leon Slater

The Slater derby was the second quarter final of the Natural Progression Series. They shook hands before the match but, after his recent performances, the crowd were firmly behind Leon.

This was every bit as rapid as you might expect, with reversals and counters flowing. On the outside, Liam sees that Leon has his over the turnbuckle dive planned but manages to get nearer the corner post forcing Leon to abort.

As Leon turns away, Liam spies his opportunity and dashes in the ring, hits a chop block Leon’s knee and begins to make that the focus of his attack.

There were some flurries of desperation from Leon, but they were little respite as Liam kept his focussed attack going. He rolled a pinning combination into a single leg crab but, despite the pain, Leon wouldn’t give in.

He finally got some separation with a kick to the head, then and single flip splash following a release suplex. Leon then slowly climbed to the top turnbuckle, nearly stumbling disastrously before hitting a 450 splash, on one leg, for the win.

They shake hands after the match and the 0.000001 wins a bunch more adoring fans.

Joe Lando, Callum Newman & Danny Black vs Maverick Mayhew, Omari & Mike Bird vs Vaughn Vertgo, Keinen Krishna & Tu Byt vs Sunshine Ma-Gene (Gene Munny, TK Cooper & Chuck Mambo) - SUPER MOB SMASH XII

So, the rules, for as long as they lasted were; three teams of four, two men in the ring at any one time but they can tag anyone. The person (not team) that gets the pinfall gets to call their shot for a match.

There were two stories in the first section of this match. One was poor Maverick Mayhew being on the opposite to the rest of the CPF.

He was unsure who to pull for until tagged in, and facing Callum Newman, at which point he kissed him and lied down quicker than Kevin Nash on the Finger Poke of Doom Day, the rest of the competitors burst in though to break up that count.

The second story was the crowds absolute favourites, due to their North West Strong affiliations, Tu Byt and Keinen Krishna facing up to the tag champs after scuffling between the teams, Gene hit Byt with a big Ainsley and everyone bundled in again, this moves us into the second part of the match, chaos!

From here rules were abandoned and it was none stop highlights until the end. They included; Tu Byt’s dive over the corner, Gene’s Cactus Jack style elbow off the apron to the floor, Mayhew rejoining the CPR and then trying a craft rollup on Newman and the two spots you might have seen online.

Lando, Newman, Omari and TKs’ quadruple shooting star presses and Danny Black hitting a cutter on Mambo as he attempted a splash off TK’s shoulders to the floor.

The ending was no less dramatic. Mike Bird hauled Vaughn Vertigo up into a piledriver, whilst stood on the second rope, and managed to cover him before anyone could break up the pin.

After the standing ovation, Bird took the mic and in an impassioned speech, said that his partners, Omari and Mayhew, deserved a shot at the tag titles, but that he, the son of a miner from Newport, would strike back against 30 years of Tory oppression and challenge Spike Trivet next weekend, in Cardiff.

Rhio vs Skye Smitson

Rhio is a substitute for Kanji, who is unfortunately ill today and unable to attend. The Lana Austin Experience comes to the ring and Lana begins to sing freestyle Lana-oke which, mercifully, Rhio comes to the ring to cease.

These two are heavy hitters and take it in turns to smash each other. Smitson though is not above pulling Rhio’s hair to gain an advantage. Rhio’s power brings her back into it and she hits a backbreaker and a gut wrench suplex out of the corner.

Sensing they’re in trouble, the Experience try distraction tactics. LA Taylor distracts the referee, whilst Austin grabs hold of Rhio, she ducks though as Smitson attacks and Austin is knocked to the floor.

As the other two come to check on her, Rhio hits the ropes and then dives through onto all three. Rhio would then clinch the victory, dragging Smitson back in for a package piledriver.

The three on one assault continued after the match, until Millie McKenzie came back to make the save. Deciding they’d had enough revenge,

The Lana Austin Experience go to leave, but are joined on the stage by Taonga, is she there to even the numbers or to join Lana’s line-up? Even Lana looks confused.

Dan Moloney vs Spike Trivet

This match is not for Spike’s PROGESS Championship, but so Dan can have a measure of revenge as Spike takes great pleasure in reminding him of what he’s stolen from him in the last few months, all whilst hiding behind his bodyguard Bullit.

Moloney starts to take out his frustrations on Spike, but the Bullit is a regular distraction, patrolling the floor and catching Spike when Driller knocks him off the turnbuckles.

They fight on the floor, where Moloney gets an assist himself from Charlie Crothers, who held Spike in place for him to hit a running kick. (Braver man than me, Charlie. I’ve seen Spike in Deathmatches, I wouldn’t cross him).

Spike manages to get the upper hand though on their return to the ring, twisting wrists, stomping on joints and utilising Cara Noir style running dropkicks.

He then goes for Noir’s package piledriver finish, which Moloney reverses into a ‘last ride’ style powerbomb. Bullit give him the advantage again though, distracting the ref who misses a low blow, then a codebreaker of the ropes give Spike a very near fall.

In the key moment of the match, Moloney bounces off the ropes near Bullit and fakes that he’s tripped him. The ref didn’t have a great view but saw enough to eject the bodyguard from ringside.

Distracted by these actions, Spike then is speared by Moloney, who then ties him up into a La Nieblina which he then deadlifted Spike into a German Suplex.

Having had all the revenge he needed, Moloney then hit a piledriver and pinned the Progress Champion clean in the middle.

It remains to be seen whether this concludes the battles between this pairing, but while ever he continues to antagonise Tom Dawkins, with former Champion Jonathan Gresham returning in November and with Mike Bird looking for a cathartic victory next week, Spike remains a marked man.

REVIEW: PROGRESS Wrestling - Deadly Viper Tour, Codename: Sidewinder

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