REVIEW: Triumph Pro Wrestling - Volume Two, Cruise Control

Credit: Triumph Pro Wrestling

Triumph Pro Wrestling: Volume Two - Cruise Control
North Romford Community Centre, London
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Reviewer: Bertie Wanlass (@poshbertie)

On this fine Saturday I had the pleasure of travelling to Romford for Triumph Pro Wrestling’s second event, but before I get into the review let me tell you an incredible story from when I went to their first show back in October.

Basically I’m a big non league football fan and I often go and watch Ebbsfleet United who are my local team and for over four years I’ve sat next to the same man (his name is Kevin in case your wondering!). On October 16th I went straight from Ebbsfleet to Grays to watch Triumph and when I got in I bumped into Kevin again! We just sat next to each other at the footy!

It was a real life replication of the pointing Spider-Man meme! It turns out his partner is the mother of Taylor James. Me and Kev bonded a lot more after that! I actually sat with him and the rest of Taylor’s family tonight.

I was in a bit of a grumpy mood when I got there though as I was stuck in traffic for most of the journey but there’s nothing like good grappling action that can cheer me up, eh?

The show opened with Triumph’s ring announcer Jessy coming out to loud cheers from the crowd which was so lovely to see. Although based on the rather sassy attitude she showed in that video as Phenomenal Elite Wrestlings general manager, one wonders what reaction she’ll get when she heads to the midlands?

Jack Toreno vs Richie

Richie made his way to the main card by getting a pre-show victory back in October but the student of the game faced an unruly welcome as he had to take on one half of The Rebellion, Jack Toreno.

This was a great matchup in terms of characters, you had the valiant determined babyface in Richie and the big bad brute in Toreno. The in-ring action was solid too. The crowd was firmly behind Richie throughout the match but it wasn’t enough as Jack got the win with a very nice piledriver.

Richie was well loved though. I think Triumph may potentially have a future star on their hands!

Tommy Kyle vs Taylor James

This was meant to be a tag team match between Tommy and Evie Madden vs The Bryant Brothers but the match couldn’t happen due to Nino Bryant unable to compete.

Tommy Kyle came out on his own and said he still wanted to fight. He issued an open challenge. For the second time tonight RISE by I Prevail blasted through the speakers! Out came Taylor James. Now this I didn’t mind at all!

Everyone was booing Taylor apart from his family who I mentioned I was sitting near. Speaking of which, Taylor’s three-year-old daughter was with us shouting “COME ON DADDY” multiple times which of course led our section of the crowd to chant “let’s go daddy!” The most wholesome thing I’ve ever witnessed at a wrestling show.

Yes, Taylor was the heel but our section saw him as the babyface! This match was very fast paced and enjoyable with lots of unpredictability in terms of who was going to win.

The eventual winner was Tommy Kyle. It was a great match to watch hats off to both competitors. Whilst the Rebellion are a brilliant tag team. Taylor and Jack are very good singles wrestlers.

Corey McCrae vs Callum Newman vs Warren Banks

This was a number one contender’s match for the Triumph Championship. We got chants of “anyone but Corey” as soon as the match started. After a bit too much crowd pandering for my liking the match got fully underway.

Based on the three wrestlers in the ring you knew this match was going to be a corker and it certainly delivered with plenty of action. Callum did a brilliant superplex to Corey over Warren but as they were about to do it again Warren speared Callum leaving both him and Corey on the floor.

Both Callum and Warren had a great showing together but much to most peoples dismay Corey picked up the win. I wasn’t expecting that result I thought it would be Banks or Callum. Especially as I’ve seen Callum put on excellent matches with Ashley Dunn and Danny Black.

But regardless, role on Corey McCrae vs Ashley or Danny at the next show in March.

It was then time of the interval followed by the raffle. I didn’t win anything (again) Richie came back out to host the raffle and... lets just say he is a miles better wrestler than he is a raffle host. Sorry Richie!

Joe Lando vs TK Cooper

Another change to the card. This was meant to be Lando vs Vaughn Vertigo but the latter wasn’t able to attend due to travel restrictions. But we got a great replacement in TK Cooper.

I’ve not seen TK live before but I’ve heard great things about him and Sunshine Machine and with him facing an exciting high flyer in Joe Lando I was very much intrigued.

These two had great chemistry and the match was pretty much what you’d expect from these two. Fast paced action with tons of impressive counters. TK actually used a man’s walking stick as a weapon outside the ring. I’m not kidding!

Lando got the win in the end. A great win for him. I was right to be intrigued.

Ashley Dunn vs Danny Black - Triumph Pro Championship

It’s main event time and a lot of the action started outside the ring with Dunn headbutting Danny onto the merch table! The action inside the ring wasn’t too bad either.

Now, the match was alright and both Dunn and Black worked well together however it did suffer a little bit as the crowd seemed a little bit weary. It was like that in some parts of the previous match too.

We did pick up a bit towards the end firmly rooting for Danny Black but it wasn’t meant to be as Ashley Dunn got the win and retains the Triumph heavyweight title which means we’re getting Ashley Dunn vs Corey McCrae at the next show in March.

A pretty bad night for babyfaces this evening (especially if you include Taylor as one!).

Overall: Although I thought Triumphs show in October was a bit better it was still a pretty decent show with solid matches to watch. They did well considering they had to make a few tweaks to the card.

I did think the second half suffered because of the quiet crowd and even I wasn’t invested in the matches as much as I wanted to be but maybe that’s because I was in a bit of a mood when I got here due to the traffic! It was none of the wrestlers fault. They still did brilliantly in the ring.

Triumph Pro have a good blend of household names and young up and comers. I do think they should have a women’s division soon though. The promotion has a lot of potential and you should keep a closer eye on them in the future.

That’s the end of the review but before I go I do want to take this time to wish Hannah Taylor the speediest of recoveries. When I heard about the stroke she suffered I was heartbroken beyond belief.

She’s a fantastic wrestler and she doesn’t deserve this horribleness at all. But from what I’ve seen from her it’s clear she’s a fighter and I’m confident she’ll come out of this stronger than ever before. When she returns the pop will be biblical! Get well soon Hannah.

Thank you.