REVIEW: PROGRESS, Chapter 156, Steal Yourself

Progress Wrestling: Chapter 156 “Steal Yourself”
The 02 Academy, Sheffield
Sunday, September 9, 2023
Reviewer: David South (@DavidSouth1980)

Back in my hometown for the second day of Progress’ away weekend, with a really strong card of debuts, returns, imports and surprises. Oddly, Progress had laid out benches, rather than chairs for this show, which, I’ll be honest, isn’t ideal for those of us in our forties and in need of some back support.

Simon Miller is on hosting duties and having welcomed us to the show and asked us to make the best of the bench situation, began the event with a title match.

Boisterous Behaviour (Man Like Dereiss and Leon Slater) vs. The Velocities (Paris De Silva and Jude London) - SAJ ASCA tag team Championships

Dereiss starts for his team along with Paris De Silva, and it’s a quick and physical commencement that sees Boisterous Behaviour get on top and Dereiss hitting his 0121 stomps in the corner.

Dereiss and Slater isolate Paris for a while, until he can make the tag to Jude London who explodes in and cleans house, hitting a Super Stunner off the top for the first real near fall.

An attempted Doomsday device would be reversed into a cutter by De Silva. Dereiss though would duck under the follow up clothesline and hit a Matrix style cutter of his own.

The Velocities would lay out Slater with a Superkick and stomp, then De Silva would hit a beautiful shooting star press only for Dereiss to break up the pin with his 450 Splash. De Silva attempts a standing moonsault, but Dereiss catches him, he bounces him off the ropes and they hit a move similar to a 3D.

London tries to come in a breakup the pinfall but is cut off by Dereiss and just like that we have new SAJ ASCA Tag champions. The teams shake hands at the end of a hard-fought encounter.

Session Moth Martina vs Renee Michelle

Martina looks nervous about this one and Michelle quickly capitalises trapping her wrist and taking her down into a series of headlocks. She perhaps gets a little overconfident though and takes some time to pose for the crowd after knocking her down.

This recovery time does wonders for Moth, who hits a running dropkick off the ropes. She slides under the bottom rope and fetches a drink from the crowd. The returns to the ring and hits some running chops in between swigs from the pint.

With the beer returned to its purchaser, Michelle fights back with a three-kick combo getting her a near fall. Martina responds with a spear off the ropes. The end comes when Michelle ducks under a swing and applies an armbar, leaning back and further back until Martina is forced to tap out.

As with the last match, the pair shake hands at the end of it and, as she is the queen of the Sesh, share another drink.

Renee Michelle has looked really good in her too matches this week, and I’m happy to see she’s sticking around until the next show back at the Electric Ballroom.

LJ Cleary vs Yoshiki Inamura

Inamura is accompanied to the ring today by Nosawa, currently the head booker for Pro Wrestling Noah. There is a clear and apparent strength advantage for Inamura, so Cleary speeds things up and an arm drag has Inamura out and on the floor.

Cleary tries to capitalise, but Inamura whips his legs out from under him. He slams him, very heavily, four time back in the ring, and then rolls him back out and distracts the ref whilst Nosawa get some of his own kicks in.

Inamura hits a delayed suplex, a belly-to-belly suplex and a running powerslam, with Cleary responding with a running clothesline and a rope assisted dropkick. Inamura hits a pounce, that sees Cleary flying into the corner.

He tries an Irish whip and then ducks for a back body drop, but Cleary goes for the sunset flip and manages to hold him down long enough for what might be considered the upset victory.

Martyn Best comes to the ring and thanks Nosawa for what he hopes is the start of a good collaboration between the two companies. Nosawa leans in and talks to Best for a few moments and then Best announces that Nosawa would like to offer Cleary a contract, to come to Japan and perform with Noah. The deserving Cleary graciously accepts both the offer, and a Noah T-Shirt.

Mark Haskins vs Brian Cage

Like the previous day, Vicky won’t allow Simon Miller to introduce her husband, so she takes the mic and does it herself, unlike yesterday though, Mark Haskins attacks Brian Cage just before the end of the introduction and before the bell rings.

His focus is very much on the legs of Cage, though Cage muscles him to the apron and attempts his suplex in, but Vicky grabs hold of Mark’s legs and stops it.

Vicky again proves a distraction for Haskins to push Cage into the ringpost then slap on a submission leg lock back in the ring. The match is then about Haskins countering Cage’s power moves.

He flips back through a belly to back suplex, fakes another kick and the lays Cage out with a straight right hand. Haskins is close to victory, particularly with a powermove of his own, hoisting Cage up into a neckbreaker for the near fall.

Cage is so powerful though, that just a few moves can make the difference. He hits a discus forearm, which has Haskins crawling to the apron. This time Cage does hit the big suplex from the second rope.

He then powers him up into the drillclaw, which is enough for the victory. Again, Haskins looks to try and show respect to the opponent that has just beaten him, but this time Vicky physical stops him from doing so. More dissension in the Haskins household.

Damo vs Bullit

Yesterday in Birmingham, Bullit told Damo that he wanted his best today, so he could prove who the best big man in Progress is. In the words of Gorilla Monsoon, this started as the ‘irresistible force meeting the immovable object’.

They crash into each other, and trade chops and uppercuts. On the floor, Bullit reverses Damo into the post. Bullit slams Damo, give him a snake eyes and then a clothesline. Confident, he tells him that his “time is over”.

Damo punches his way out of the chokeslam, that would have been the end, and slams him. He hits a uranage near the ropes and then a Senton Dive into the ring. Double clotheslines have them both down, and they fight up from their knees.

Damo goes for a splash off the rope, but Bullit gets his knees up. Bullit misses a moonsault, Damo dropkicks him into the corner and follows up with a cannonball.

Damo elbows his way out of a chokeslam, but Bullit responds with a running boot and then hits the chokeslam for the statement victory. Dominatus Regnum come to the apron and Bullit receives a congratulatory handshake from his employer.

Charles Crowley vs Axel Tischer

Before the bout starts, Crowley takes the Mic and says that if he’s going to complete his quest, and become Progress Champion, then he must overcome challenges like Tischer, but not just beat them, make them tap out.

He tries to pick the leg but Tischer knows all the counters and his technical wizardry keeps Crowley on the back foot for much of the early going. Tischer misses a knee strike though and Crowley has a spell of offence, including a spinning side slam, but the momentum moves back when he misses a moonsault.

Tischer comes off the top rope but Crowley blocks it and applies an Octopus submission hold that Tischer is forced to fight his way out of. Crowley applies a ‘Hell’s Gate’ type submission, which Tischer lifts him out of, but Crowley catches the follow up and reapplies the move.

This time Tischer bites his figures to escape the hold. He powerbombs Crowley, who kicks out at 2 but he’s fading and the lifting suplex slam is enough to get the job done. Again, the pair shake hands and embrace after the match, but what does this loss mean for Crowley’s title aspirations?

Gene Munny vs Laurance Roman - wXw Shotgun championship

Just after the bell rings, Munny reaches into his tights and pulls out a German/English dictionary. He asks Roman to pause whilst he looks up a word, then shouts “Achtung” and hits Roman with a step up enzulgiri.

A drop kick sees Gene in charge, and he calls for some ‘Ainsley Lariat’ but Roman ducks the clothesline and flattens Gene with a forearm of his own. He applies a crossface and Munny slowly crawls to the corner, picks up the dictionary again and scrolls through until he finds the word he wants “nein”.

After a spinebuster, Gene is on top again and hits a European uppercut and then does hit a full ‘Ainsley’ but Roman get his foot on the ropes to stop the pin count. It was not to be for the local hero, as a kick and Cross Rhodes style cutter was enough for the angry German to retain the title.

At least Gene doesn’t have a long journey home.

Following this, Simon Miller tries to do a competition to win his hat, but he’s brutally attacked by Tate Mayfairs, who hits him from behind and then wears him out with a chair. Miller has to be helped to the back by the ring crew and referees.

Fortunately, the next match has a guest ring announcer lined up.

LA Taylor vs Alexiss Falcon

So, Falcon will get a title shot if she beats LA Taylor here. Unfortunately for her, Lana Austin is the ring announcer, Skye Smitson is the referee and Rob Drake is on the outside as an enforcer.

Austin tries to do her bit but is met with loud and prolonged “Yorkshire!” chanting. Eventually we do get started and the “Demolition Woman” has a pronounced advantage in the early lockups and quickly pushes her to the floor.

Drake provides a distraction and Taylor levels her from behind, but is then very vocal against Drake touching her, shouting that she doesn’t need his help. Falcon does get back in the ring, only to take a big suplex and to be choked in the ropes, with Smitson taking her time over the count.

Falcon eventually hits a clothesline and has Taylor down, only for Smitson to count slowly. Falcon hits a backstabber, then flutters her eyelashes at Smitson’s who seems to forget why she’s there (she’s only human after all) and counts normally, though Taylor kicks out at two.

Whilst Smitson apologises to Lana Austin, Taylor has had enough. She hits a spear and then a Samoan drop and then a spinebuster and takes the 3 count, whilst glaring at Rob Drake the whole time (He’s certainly a destabilising factor in the L.A.E).

They all start to leave, but Austin returns to the ring alone, kicks Falcon and plants her with a DDT. She sets a chair over her, pinning her down. She says that whilst she’s an entertainer, she’s not a joke.

She looks to do a running stomp onto the chair, but Falcon moves it, and hits a drop toe hold, with Austin colliding with the chair. She wraps Lana’s arm in the chair as the Experience run back to help, but Falcon tells them that she’ll break her arm if they come in the ring.

She demands the title shot, again threatening to break her arm, and Austin agrees, and to the stipulation that her entourage are banned from ring side.

Falcon lets her go but as she’s leaving Austin says that she’s not the only one who can set stipulations and if Falcon loses this time, then she can never challenge for the Progress women’s championship again.

Simon Miller comes back to the ring, clearly still in a lot of pain. He talks directly into the camera, cutting an impassioned speech about how much he loves being the host and how much he hates Mayfairs for trying to take that from him.

He says that he does have some sway with Progress management and, at Progress’ next show, back at the Ballroom it will be he and Mayfairs one-on- one. He then takes a seat in the front row and announces the main event.

Dominatus Regnum (Spike Trivet, Charlie Sterling and Nick Riley) vs Kid Lykos, Dan Moloney and Luke Jacobs

This immediately breaks down into a brawl around the building. Over where I was sat, Jacobs was throwing Charlie Sterling into the walls and the hurling one of the (well, frankly my) bench at him.

Team Lykos dominates on the outside, but when the match gets to the ring it’s a different story and Lykos is isolated and worked over by all three, with Spike focus the attack on his shoulder.

He makes the tag to Jacobs, but the tag team experience of the Smoking Aces gets their team back in control. After what seems like most of the match, Dan Moloney gets the tag and his first legal action.

He hits a spinebuster on Sterling and a stomp. Throws up a “too sweet” which Trivet tries to bite, but Moloney whips him away then hits a top rope brainbuster on Sterling for a close two count.

The ending of the bout would be all about Trivet and Lykos. Lykos calls for the Brainbuster, and though he gets Trivet up, he bites his way out of the move. Trivet then hits a vicious straight right to the back of Lykos’ neck and the neckbreaker finish, but Lykos kicks out.

Bullit causes a distraction as Trivet heads to the floor, Lykos leaps out after him, then climbs to the stage and hits a running dive onto the Aces. He slides back into the ring and locks Trivet in a leg-based pin and holds him for three seconds.

The aces looked stunned by the loss, particular as it’s proven that Lykos is capable of pinning Trivet to take that title.

This was another fun weekend of Wrestling from Progress, and whilst many of the actual debuts happened yesterday, their matches and, indeed the whole event, felt much more significant here today (no more benches though, please).

REVIEW: PROGRESS, Chapter 156, Steal Yourself

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