REVIEW: RevPro Wrestling - Live In Sheffield

Revolution Pro Wrestling: Live in Sheffield
Network Club, Sheffield
Sunday, November 20, 2022
Reviewer: David South (@DavidSouth1980)

Back in July, a packed and sweaty Network club saw a Rev Pro card headlined by PAC defending the AEW All-Atlantic Title against Shota Umino.

Back again four months later, with a quality, but less star-studded card, I’d imagine that Rev Pro management would have been disappointed with about half the attendance of last time through the door.

There are mitigating factors; competing shows up and down the country and, perhaps most importantly, people’s entertainment budgets are stretched tight with Christmas on the horizon.

Still, I hope it doesn’t cause the company to question their commitment to having a Sheffield home.

With the venue so cold that most people decided to keep their coats on, the show gets underway.

Shaun Jackson vs Michael Oku

Jackson stormed to the ring to interrupt the ring announcer Francesca and demanded that she announce him correctly, he also told us that Michael Oku had peaked and was going to lose tonight.

At the start of the match, it looked like he might have a point as he hurled Oku across the ring and stood on his neck. He knocked Oku to the floor and looked to claim the count out victory, but Oku made it back in before the referee could reach 10.

Oku would gain control having dropkicked Jackson to the floor, he followed up with a Fosbury flop style dive to the floor.

He would get a near fall following a DDT and a splash off the ropes but would claim victory with a single leg crab after a frog splash, with ‘action’ Jackson tapping out.

After the bell, Jackson would take out his frustrations on the ring crew. This was just the start of a busy evening for those guys.

Greedy Souls (Brendan White and Danny Jones) vs Callum Newman and JJ Gale

Bronco and JJ would start this match for their respective teams, trading arm bars but JJ is quicker and would get an early pinfall attempt rolling White up off the ropes.

He would then tag in Callum Newman who, for my money, is the most rapid man in Britwrestling today. He had both opponents unable to catch him and dove onto Brendan White over the top rope.

He is stopped though, when Danny Jones pulls down the same top rope and he crashes to the floor. The Greedy Souls would isolate Gale and work him over for a long time, occasionally knocking Newman off the apron when it looked like the tag might happen.

He would eventually make the tag though, and Newman exploded in, hitting the ropes and again diving to the floor.

It was not to be for Newman and Gale though. A DDT and Dragon suplex would see Newman eliminated on the floor and leave Gale against both men, who hit their twisting neckbreaker double team move for the win.

Mercedez Blaze vs Maya Matthews

Young Matthews gave up a little in size, but a lot in experience to Mercedez Blaze, who was looking to avenge the tag team defeat that she and Kanji suffered at the hands of Matthews and Alex Windsor a few weeks ago.

Blaze would get off to a good start, with running forearms into the corner and was clearly enjoying herself when she stopped one run and slapped Matthews across the face.

She put her in a full Nelson and demanded that Matthews submitted. She would not.

Maya would mount some offence though, mostly clotheslines and forearms and got a two-count following a PK.

Whilst Matthews never really looked like pulling off what would have been an upset victory, she can feel aggrieved by the specifics of the loss.

Blaze hit a DDT, then a kick to the head and rolling her up. It looked to me like Matthews legs were on the ropes, but the referee didn’t see it and the match was over.

It looked like we might see an uncharacteristic moment of sportsmanship following the match, as Blaze picked her opponent up and asked the crowd for some applause.

Mercedez was insincere though and went for a clothesline, Maya though was wise to it and ducked underneath before hitting a cutter of her own and leaving.

Luke Jacobs vs Dan Moloney

This was for me, and no offense meant to what follows, the most appealing match on the card. Two big strong boi’s battling to see who is the bigger, stronger boi.

They must have felt the same too, as they began with strong lock ups and battling to push each back. This then turns into an old-fashioned test of strength, which Moloney came out on top of, but mostly through converting the move into a takedown.

Neither man was able to gain the upper hand for any period of time, perhaps because they were both happy to trade chops at regular intervals.

And what chops they were, ringing out like shotgun blasts in a cold echoey room. They traded two counts too, Jacobs hitting a superplex and a powerbomb, Drilla after a spear.

Jacobs would get the win here. He’d put Moloney in a Boston crab, which he would try to escape by rolling through, but Jacobs would lean back midway through the escape and hold Moloney down for three.

Moloney didn’t like that outcome and the fight continued with the referees and ring crew getting between them. A little shoutout here for ‘Dynamite’ Lee Dawson who was on the ring crew here who put himself between two much bigger athletes and who would be busy for the next couple of matches too.

I’d love to see these two fight again.

Robbie X vs Will Kaven

Kaven would attack Robbie X on the ramp before the bell. He’d push him off the ramp to the floor and then dive on his opponent and the ring crew.

In the ring Robbie would start to get a measure of control, but Kaven would reverse a handspring off the ropes into a big German Suplex and the pair would continue the fight on the floor, both getting back in the ring on the nine count.

Robbie hit the Lethal Injection, but Kaven would roll under the bottom rope before he could follow up. Robbie would then hit a slow release German suplex on the apron and both men would fall to the floor.

With the referee’s count on ‘8’ Kaven would throw Robbie over the barrier into the crowd and then dash into the ring for the count out victory. Nobody, but Kaven, seemed impressed with the manner of the victory.

The Legion (Lucian Phillips and Screwface Ahmed) vs Sunshine Machine (Chuck Mambo and TK Cooper)

With Nathan Cruz elevated to the main event, Lucian Phillips was promoted to represent The Legion against the former tag champions.

Before this match could properly get underway the current champs returned to the arena, and sat on the ramp to watch, this distraction allowed The Legion to get the early upperhand.

Mambo would recover though and locking fingers with Phillips began a sequence of bouncing on the ropes. However, as he dropped to the second rope, one of the turnbuckles broke away causing the rope to collapse and Mambo to be crotched on the top rope.

The teams would split off and fight around the room, whilst the ring crew did running repairs. Highlights included TK pinning Ahmed under a chair and asking fans to sit on it and Mambo flipping off the guardrail onto a prone Phillips.

With the ring repaired, Sunshine Machine looked poised to win, which caused the Greedy Souls to come to ringside.

The victory looked complete after the Footstomp Piledriver double team move, but Danny Jones pulled Mambo out of the ring. The teams scuffled on the floor and the referee demands The Greedy Souls leave, but The Legion have had enough time to recover and hit their double team move for the win.

The Greedy Souls and Sunshine Machine continue to fight to the back.

Nathan Cruz vs Ricky Knight Jr

An even contest to begin with, until RKJ misses a spear into the corner and runs through to the post. Cruz spies the opportunity and begins to do further damage on the outside.

He would get the first near fall following a rope assisted back drop. Momentum would shift though as Knight hits a running forearm after both men had hit the ropes.

Further two counts would follow for both men. Cruz after a codebreaker and Ricky Knight’s following a cradle DDT. Cruz must then surely have thought he’d won, hitting a Canadian Destroyer and headbutt off the top, but RKJ would kick out.

He may also have thought he’d clinched it, with a crossface after a low blow behind the referees back, but Knight would power out of the move and hit a powerbomb, then a second cradle DDT for the win.

The Legion would then hit the ring and beatdown RKJ, which drew Sunshine Machine back out to make the save, which in turn drew the Greedy Souls back for a five on three beatdown.

The three would rally though and force their aggressors to leave. With the house mic, Knight invited them to come back for more, though they wouldn’t return, and Sunshine Machine promised to regain the Tag Belts soon.

It was a decent show from Rev Pro despite a crowd that was lukewarm in both senses of the word.

REVIEW: RevPro Wrestling - Live In Sheffield

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