Views from the Hawke’s Nest: PROGRESS Wrestling’s Chapter Six: We Love Violence

March 31, 2013
Islington, Greater London, England

Commentator: Jimmy Barnett

Noam Dar [3-1] vs. Dave Mastiff [2-1]
Mastiff is so fucking awesome. Every promotion around the world should be built around Dave Mastiff. Dar tried to avoid Mastif for a while. He then tried a headlock. Dar slapped him. Mastiff responded with a Liger Bomb for an early nearfall. Dar came back by going after Mastiff’s left leg. Mastiff came back with a flapjack and a senton. Mastiff hit an awesome delayed superplex. Dar came back with more kicks to the injured leg of Mastiff. Dar locked in the Champagne Super Kneebar. Mastiff survived and came back with a Buckle German and a cannonball splash. Nathan Cruz came out. Boo. I don’t like shenanigans. I want clean finishes. Cruz has a bodyguard. The distraction allowed Dar to low blow Mastiff and get a rollup with a handful of tights: 1…2…3.

That was an awful finish to what was the first three fourths of a great opener. I love these two, but the booking handicapped them here. Dar is now the number one contender for the PROGRESS Championship.
Match Rating: **3/4

Paul Robinson [0-2] vs. MK McKinnan [0-0]
They went back and forth a lot. McKinnan hit a tope con hello early on. Back in the ring, Robinson hit a Trouble in Paradise for a nearfall. They went back and forth some more. Robinson hit a standing shooting star press. McKinnan hit a nasty brainbuster, and he followed it up with a Shining Wizard: 1…2…NO! Robinson came back with a big kick to the head and a middle rope legdrop: 1…2…3!

This is what I want from PROGRESS Wrestling: wrestlers busting their ass to deliver the best match possible in the time allotted.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Nathan Cruz [4-2] vs. Jimmy Havoc [0-3]
Havoc needs a win badly. Havoc is the head trainer of the PROGRESS wrestling school. They traded some holds to start the match. Havoc got the advantage for a bit. Once they ended up on the floor, Cruz got control of the match, and he worked Havoc over for a while. This went on for a really long time. The crowd really rallied behind Havoc, and he eventually made a great comeback. Havoc got a nearfall with a DVD. Cruz came back with a bridging German for a nearfall. Havoc came back with La Mistica, but Havoc used a crossface instead of an armbar. Cruz stood up out of it and reversed it into a tombstone piledriver: 1…2…3!

Cruz’s bodyguard gave Havoc a couple of chokeslams after that match.

Best match on the show so far. The crowd hates Nathan Cruz. The crowd loves Jimmy Havoc. That is almost always a recipe for success, especially considering how talented both men are. Great stuff here. I love Jimmy Havoc. The dude is the perfect babyface right now.
Match Rating: ***1/2

The London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) [4-0] vs. The Hunter Bros. (Lee & Jim Hunter) [0-1] [Weapons Match]
The Hunters started the match with a couple of dives. The Riots were wearing orange collared shirts with their collars popped. Quite tremendous. Lots of brawling. Lots of weapon shots. Unfortunately, both teams are dressed alike. That means my recap will be scarce because I have no idea which member of the teams are doing what. The Hunter Bros were in control for a while, but this match was a back and forth brawl most of the way. The Riots were going to use a chocolate bunny, but they decided to throw it at the fans instead. The Riots were in control for a few minutes until one of the Hunter Bros came back with a chocolate bunny shot to the head (and a DDT). The Hunter Bros. nearly had the match won with a super hurricanrana and a Superfly Splash (both moves were plunder assisted). Lynch and Jim Hunter traded weapon shots. Davis tied Lee Hunter to a ringpost. Ok, the commentator may have gotten the Hunters confused. Yep, Jim Hunter was tied to the ringpost. The Riots killed Lee Hunter for a while and then hit a double team powerbomb: 1…2…3!

This was a really fun brawl. After six shows, I would say The London Riots are the “breakout” stars in the promotion. I don’t know who is going to eventually defeat them, but I hope it doesn’t happen any time soon. The Hunter Bros. need to work on adding some personality to their act, but they are already pretty good at the physical part of pro wrestling.
Match Rating: ***3/4

Loco Mike Mason [1-1] vs. Mexican Eagle [0-0]
I believe Mason hasn’t appeared in PROGRESS since he defeated Colt Cabana on the first PROGRESS show. Mason was heel on the first show. He’s a babyface here. Eagle is like a shitty version of Generico. It also seems more racist. Eagle frustrated Mason early by pretending to throw a tennis ball around. Eagle worked Mason over for a while. I think this was meant to be a comedy cooldown match. I was mostly bored. The crowd was politely into it. Mason came back with a spinebuster and a spear. Mason avoided a Swagger Bomb. Eagle tried to pull an Eddie Guerrero by pretending that Mason hit him with a chain. The referee didn’t fall for it. The Eagle then hit Mason with a tiny guitar shot: 1…2…3

Mexican Eagle carried Mason’s unnamed valet to the back.

This was lame. I never need to see the Mexican Eagle again.
Match Rating: *

The Bhangra Knights (RJ Singh & Darrell Allen) vs. Team Defend (Eddie Dennis & Mark Andrews)
After being a heel all throughout 2012 in PROGRESS, Singh turned babyface at Chapter 5 after his match with Allen. The teams went back and forth for a while. Team Defend got the first advantage, and they worked over Singh for a while. Andrews got a nearfall with a standing corkscrew moonsault. Singh eventually managed to hit Dennis with a springboard, and he then tagged out to Allen. The Knights made a big comeback on Dennis. The Knights were in control for a bit; they were working over Dennis. Andrews eventually tagged in and made a big comeback; he used a variety of flippy moves, including a tope con hello on Singh. Dennis gave Allen a Border Toss to the floor. Singh came back with the Ethnic Submission on Deniss. Andrews broke it up with a kneeling superkick. The teams went back and forth for a while. Eventually, the Knights hit Dennis with a variation of the Cryme Tyme finish: 1…2…3!

This was a really fun tag match. I like the Knights as a team in PROGRESS going forward. Hopefully PROGRESS establishes some sort of direction/purpose for the tag division. Mark Andrews is super talented. I need to see MUCH more of him. I hope PROGRESS books him a lot going forward.
Match Rating: ***1/2

El Ligero© [4-2] vs. Ricochet [0-0] [PROGRESS Championship]
Ricochet is the first American star to appear in PROGRESS since Colt Cabana on Chapter 1. Ricochet sent Ligero to the floor early, and he then did a feint dive. It’s immediately evident that Ricochet is significantly better than almost every PROGRESS regular roster member. Ricochet was in control for a bit. Ligero eventually came back with a double jump tope con hello. Ligero was in control for a bit after that. Ricochet, of course eventually came back. Ricochet hit a sequence of kicks that slowed Ligero down. Ricochet got a pair of nearfalls on a springboard lariat and then on a standing shooting star press. Ricochet went for a Phoenix Splash, but Ligero avoided it and came back with a Flying Chuck and a Tenchi Crash: 1…2…NO! Ricochet came back with the Air Jordan. Back in the ring, Ricochet hit a deadlift, bridging Regalplex: 1…2…NO! Ricochet went for a shooting star, but Ligero got his knees up. Ligero then killed him with a reverse hurricanrana and a springboard DDT: 1…2…3!

This main event was a ton of fun, and I am so happy that there is a clean finish (bad sign for PROGRESS: I’m conditioned to believe that clean finishes are not a given). This didn’t have that great drama down the stretch that great matches tend to have, but I enjoyed this whole thing for sure. Ricochet became one of the best wrestlers in the world in the last year or so. He’s a welcome addition to any show.
Match Rating: ***1/2

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The 411: PROGRESS has had a little bit of trouble since Chapter 1 managing to have a consistently good show AND a great match to “sell” the DVD. While this show didn’t quite have that one special match you all need to see, I think this is the best PROGRESS show since Chapter 1. With the exception of the opener (which had the bad finish), every match on this show was put in a position to succeed. The wrestlers got the time and the booking they needed to put on a great show. Strong recommendation. Buy this show at the Progress Wrestling DVD Store as either a DVD or a MP4. Sample PROGRESS for free right here.

Final Score:  7.5   [ Good ]