Views from the Hawke’s Nest: PROGRESS Wrestling’s Chapter 7: Every Saint Has A Past, Every Sinner Has A Future

May 19, 2013
Islington, Greater London, England

Commentator: Jimmy Barnett

Jim Smallman started the show by warming up the crowd. He was eventually interrupted by Noam Dar. Dar spoke with his Scottish accent. I could not understand a single word he said. Looks like we’re getting the title match as the opener. Ligero came out. Smallman asked if he agreed. Ligero promptly dropkicked Dar.

El Ligero© (5-2) vs. Noam Dar (4-1) [PROGRESS Title]
Ligero officially started the match with a tope con hello. The crowd did the Seven Nation Army chant, which I popped for. Ligero got an early nearfall with a standing moonsault. Ligero vs. Dar was the first match ever in PROGRESS history. So, feels. I guess. Dar managed to get control of the match of course, and he worked Ligero over. He specifically went after the left leg of Ligero. Dar got the Champagne Super Kneebar, but Ligero made the ropes. Dar got a nearfall with a fisherman buster. Ligero came back with a lung blower, but Dar then dropkicked him to the floor. Dar hit a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Ligero got a nearfall with a small package. They traded superplexes. The fans hummed Darth Vader’s theme. Ligero killed him with an Air Raid Crash: 1…2…NO! Dar got the kneebar again. Ligero rolled and rolled until they both fell out of the ring. Ligero dropped Dar on the apron with a DVD. Back in the ring, Ligero hit a springboard DDT. Dar somewhat no-sold it. Ligero hit another one: 1…2…3!

This was most definitely the best opener in PROGRESS history. These are two of the most talented European indie guys at the moment, and they took the crowd on a wild ride. I will say though that Dar’s work On Ligero’s leg didn’t pay off at all. Especially since Ligero used back to back springboard moves to win the match. That’s the one knock on the match.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Darrell Allen (1-2) vs. Eddie Dennis (0-0) vs. Joey Lakeside (0-0) vs. Xander Cooper (1-1) [Four Way Elimination Match]
This is a part of the Natural Progression tournament, which is basically PROGRESS’s young boy tournament.

Everyone did lots of stuff. Lakeside got a pinning combination on Cooper out of nowhere: 1…2…3! Cooper attacked Lakeside after that.

Lakeside recovered and tried to schoolboy Dennis. Dennis came back with a God’s Last Gift: 1…2…3!

Allen and Dennis are the last two left. They traded a couple of nearfalls. Dennis got a good one with a bridging fisherman suplex. Allen hit a superkick and a Trouble in Paradise. Dennis came back with a German, Buckle Razor’s Edge, and a God’s Last Gift: 1…2…3

This match was okay. I never got all that emotionally invested into any of these guys winning though.
Match Rating: **1/4

Project Ego (Kris Travis & Martin Kirby) [0-0] vs. The London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch) [5-0]
The Riots yelled at the fans to start the match. They brought up their IPW tag titles, which they had just won yesterday. They then declared themselves the PROGRESS tag champions. To be fair, they pretty much are the de facto tag champions of PROGRESS, as they have yet to lose a match.

Project Ego managed to get an early advantage. The Riots were eventually able to cut off Kirby, and they worked him over for a while. The crowd made fun of the Riots’ weight. Travis finally managed to tag in, and he made a great comeback. Project Ego then hit a very fun sequence of movez. They teams went back and forth for a while. Kirby hit Davis with a superplex off of Lynch’s back. Davis killed Kirby with a STO. Travis got sent to the floor. The Riots then gave Kirby the District Line: 1…2…3.

Smallman gave the Riots their pay envelope and reminded them that they only have one match left on their contract. Smallman told them to get out of the fucking ring. I’m always skeptical of an authority figure getting involved in a storyline. Smallman says the Riots will get fucked up at the next show.

This was a solid tag team match. The Riots are a great act, and I’m glad they remained undefeated here. Apparently Project Ego are normally heels, but they did a good job as babyfaces here. They are quite amusing.
Match Rating: ***

Jimmy Havoc (0-4) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (0-1) [Special Referee: Nigel McGuinness]
I am super excited for this match. I love both of these guys. Sabre is someone you should all know, obviously. Havoc is a great performer. He’s also the trainer of the PROGRESS wrestling school.

Smallman introduced the surprise special guest referee. They started the match with lots of holds and whatnot. It was fun to watch. Havoc is such a great performer. Sabre managed to kick Havoc to the floor. Sabre hit two tope suicidas, but Havoc blocked a third attempt. Havoc then hit a tope suicida. Havoc then hit a double stomp off the apron. Sabre came back with a Liger Bomb for a nearfall. Sabre got the cross armbreaker, but Havoc made the ropes. Havoc came back with a DVD. Sabre hit a number of strikes, but Havoc caught a kick and hit a Jig ‘n’ Tonic: 1…2…NO!!! Havoc then got a weak nearfall with a Lionsault. Sabre got another armbreaker, but Havoc reversed it into the crossface. Sabre survived and hit a nasty Tiger suplex. He then got a nearfall with a dragon suplex. Sabre hit a nasty soccer punt, before he locked in an incredible armbar variation! Havoc taps!

Nigel put Havoc over HUGE after the match. He told if he can hang with Sabre, he doesn’t need to do hardcore wrestling. Nigel then put Sabre and the rest of the locker room over. This was a good use of time. I miss Nigel.

This was one of my favorite matches in PROGRESS history. As I’ve written several times, Jimmy Havoc’s story in PROGRESS is the story/character that this promotion has made me the most invested in. He is such a talented wrestler, and his quest to be a respected wrestler (instead of just being known as a “deathmatch” guy) is working perfectly. Sabre was his usual excellent self.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Mark Andrews (3-0) vs. Will Ospreay (0-1)
If Ospreay wins, he gets Andrews’s spot in the Natural Progression tournament. If Andrews wins, Ospreay must leave PROGRESS.

Ospreay hit a Fosbury Flop early on. Back in the ring, Ospreay got control of the match. Ospreay made a comeback; he got a nearfall with a standing moonsault. Andrews came back with a standing corkscrew moonsault. The crowd is very much into this. Ospreay came back with a falcon arrow. Andrews avoided a super reverse hurricanrana, and he then hit Ospreay with a reverse hurricanrana! Andrews dropkicked Ospreay to the floor, and he then wiped him out with a tope suicida! Back in the ring, they traded a ton of pinning combinations. Ospreay seemingly had the match won, but he couldn’t put Andrews away. Ospreay went to the top rope. Andrews caught him with a belly-to-belly suplex moonsault: 1…2…3!!!

While this match lacked the character work and selling of the last match, it made up for it by being so much gosh darn fun. They almost managed to top their show-stealing effort from Chapter 4. These guys are really good.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Danny Garnell (2-0) vs. RJ Singh (2-2)
Singh turned babyface at a recent show.

This is a fairly random matchup. Garnell isn’t the most interesting performer on the PROGRESS roster. Garnell got control of the match early on, and he worked Singh over for a while. Singh called for the Ethnic Submission, but Garnell avoided it. Singh tried to come back again, but Garnell caught him with an exploder. Garnell then hit a diving DDT: 1…2…3

Singh went to do a Fandango style dance after the match. The London Riots attacked him. Where is Darrell Allen? They used a chair to attack him. Allen and Garnell made the save.

This was the definition of a cool-down match. Singh should primarily be used in tag team matches with his partner, Darrell Allen.
Match Rating: **1/4

Rampage Brown (0-1), Marty Scurll (1-3) & Paul Robinson (1-2) vs. Mark Haskins (0-0), Nathan Cruz (-) & ????
This is pretty much an all-star trios match for PROGRESS. Smallman kicked Cruz’s bodyguard out before the match began. Cruz took a while to announce his mystery opponent. Rampage turned on Scurll and Robinson and joined the heels! Dave Mastiff made the save!!! Yay!

Dave Mastiff (2-2), Marty Scurll (1-3) & Paul Robinson (1-2) vs. Team Screw Indy Wrestling (Mark Haskins (0-0), Nathan Cruz (-) & Rampage Brown (0-1))
Mastiff is the best. What does Cruz, Rampage, and Haskins have against wrestling based out of Indianapolis????

I believe the winner will be crowned the number one contender. The babyfaces were mostly in control early on. Once things settled down, Team Screw Indy Wrestling managed to isolate Robinson, and they worked him over for a while. Robinson managed to tag out to Scurll, who made a comeback. Scurll eventually got cut off, and he was then worked over for a while. By a “while,” I mean a really long time. Mastiff finally tagged in and made a comeback. The teams went back and forth. Mastiff’s comeback turned out to be quite underwhelming. That’s surprising. Mastiff killed Haskins with his cannonball splash. Mastiff had the match won, but Scurll broke up the pinfall because he wants a title shot. Mastiff was not happy. Rampage caught Mastiff with a piledriver: 1…2…3

This was a relatively flat way to end the show. The action itself was fine, but it just never reached that fourth or fifth gear you would expect from a main event. Also, I really detested the finish. Yes, the finish “made sense,” but if your finish makes sense AND harms the quality of the match, I’m not going to be happy. Keep the storylines during the pre and post-match segments, please.
Match Rating: ***

Thanks everybody for reading! You can send feedback to my Twitter or to my email address: [email protected]. Also, feel free to check out my own wrestling website, FreeProWrestling.com. Also, check out my Best of Chikara blog and an archive of all my 411 video reviews.

For more information on Progress Wrestling, check out their:
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Watch some PROGRESS matches for free:
Marty Scurll vs. Dave Mastiff vs. Stixx
El Ligero vs. Noam Dar
The London Riots (James Dahmer & Rob Lynch) vs. The Velocity Vipers (Alex Esmail & Will Ospreay)
Mark Andrews vs. Xander Cooper
Nathan Cruz vs. Rampage Brown

The 411: While PROGRESS continues to have some noticeable flaws on each show, they continue to be one of my favorite promotions to watch right now. I think the biggest way they can improve is to do their angles before or after matches instead of having "storyline finishes" that make the matches less satisfying. This particularly harmed the main event this time around. However, there is more than enough quality action on this show to make it an easy 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:  7.3   [ Good ]