Views from the Hawke’s Nest: PROGRESS Chapter 9: Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kick Me, Kill Me

September 29, 2013
Islington, Greater London, England

Jim Smallman started the show by mentioning there was a NFL game in London that day, AND it was the last episode of Breaking Bad that night. He then thanked the crowd for their well-wishes in regards to his sick mother. He then announced Danny Garnell was off the show due to an injury. Jimmy Havoc is also off and being replaced by Tommy End. His final announcements were about the Chapter 10 show. The finals of the Natural Progression Tournament, and the start of the PROGRESS Tag Team Championships Tournament will begin at that show.

Commentator: Jimmy Barnett

Dave Mastiff [2-3] vs. Tommy End [0-0]
I love Dave Mastiff. He overpowered End early on. End came back with a couple of strikes. Mastiff cut him back off with a running crossbody. Mastiff worked him over for a while. End finally came back with a big forearm and a quebrada. End followed it up with a Meteora and a roundhouse kick for a nearfall. End then hit a ghetto stomp that caused Mastiff to roll to the floor. End got Mastiff back in the ring, but the bastard killed him with a lariat and a deadlift, bridging German: 1…2…NO! End came back with a roundhouse kick and another ghetto stomp: 1…2…3!

Without question, this is one of the best openers PROGRESS has done. This is also the match from Dave Mastiff that I have been waiting for. He’s one of the most fun performers in PROGRESS, and I *need* him to do an American indie tour one day.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Eddie Dennis [1-1] vs. Paul Robinson [1-3] [Natural Progression Series Semi Final Match]
Dennis is a tall fucker. Robinson is a short fucker. Dennis was mostly in control to start the match. Robinson got some hope spots though. They fucked up a complicated headscissors spot. Dennis caught him in a Brian Cage fashion in the suplex position. He then hit a Jackhammer for a nearfall. Robinson finally made a comeback. He dropped a lot of elbows. He then sort of botched a standing shooting star off of Dennis’s back. Dennis killed him with a Border Toss: 1…2…NO! Robinson came back with a running DDT, an enzuigiri and a shooting star press: 1…2…3!

The shooting star press is the finish of Mark Andrews, which is Robinson’s opponent in the Natural Progression Finals. This was a really fun formula match. A couple of sequences could have been smoother, but overall, I enjoyed this a lot. Robinson vs. Andrews could be INSANE.
Match Rating: **3/4

Mark Haskins [0-1] vs. Ricochet [0-1] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. [1-1]
I am very excited for this match.

Haskins did his own ring announcing, which got MASSIVE heat from the crowd. I could not believe how much the crowd hated him. Haskins called Sabre a “faggot.” The crowd chanted “homophobic” at him. PROGRESS has the best crowd. Haskins cockblocked the crowd from getting dives from Ricochet and Sabre early on. A great heel. I just remembered that prefer Haskins as a high-flying babyface, but he has some genuine heat here. Haskins dominated for a bit until Ricochet got a nearfall on Sabre with a standing shooting star. Ricochet was in control for a bit. Haskins cut off Ricochet and worked him over. Sabre presumably is dead on the floor. Sabre finally returned and got a double submission. Haskins dumped him right back to the floor. They traded uppercuts. Eventually, Ricochet and Sabre just hit Haskins with them and then sent him to the floor with stereo kicks. Ricochet hit a springboard Meteora on Haskins for a nearfall. Ricochet went for a handspring move, but Sabre just kicked him right in the arm or the face. It was awesome. They traded a bunch of moves until they all went down. They traded some nearfalls. Haskins hit Ricochet with a Made in Japan, but Sabre caught the exposed Haskins with the Penalty Kick: 1…2…3!

Wow, that was just one of the more unique and fun matches of 2013. They kept things at a great pace throughout the length of the match, and the crowd was obviously into everything they did. Zack Sabre pretty much always has the MOTN whenever he comes to PROGRESS. Ricochet clearly needs to be on as many PROGRESS shows as possible, but obviously they are limited on that front. That was also one of the best matches from Haskins that I’ve ever seen. He’s usually better as a babyface, but the PROGRESS crowd seems to genuinely hate him.
Match Rating: ****

After intermission, Jim Smallman and Jimmy Havoc were in the ring. They gave the raffle ticket prize out to the winner. I was expecting an angle. It did not happen.

Nathan Cruz [5-2] vs. Stixx [2-3]
Before the show, they showed some promos from these two men. They do not like each other.

Cruz tried to convince Stixx to join the Screw Indie Wrestling movement. Cruz kicked him in the balls before the bell. Looks like we got a storyline going on here. Cruz obviously dominated the early portion of the match. Stixx eventually came back with a Cactus Clothesline. They brawled on the floor. It was not especially interesting. When they got back to the ringside area, the fans chanted “Welcome Back!” They finally got back in the ring with Cruz in firm control. This match is not good. Cruz called for a running boot, but Stixx blocked it and hit an awesome spear. It was so awesome that I almost no longer care that this match has sucked so far. Stixx came back with a spinebuster and a sliding lariat for a nearfall. Stixx came back with a Bossman Slam and then locked in the single leg crab with an arm locked. Cruz was forced to tap out.

I did not care for this much at all. Stixx just continues to be one of the least interesting performers that I’ve seen consistently from the British indie scene. He’s over to a degree, but it does not translate to his matches. I do not need to see more of him going forward.
Match Rating: **

Grado & The Bhangra Knights (Darrell Allen & RJ Singh) [1-0] vs. Project Ego (Kris Travis & Martin Kirby) & T-Bone [1-1]
Danny Garnell was injured and replaced by Grado. Grado had recently gone viral after some Colt Cabana deal that I never paid much attention to.
There was a ton of gaga at the start of the match. Grado had not even tagged in as far as I can tell. T-Bone was very frustrated with his teammates. Grado tagged in and made a fool of T-Bone. Grado is like a fresh Colt Cabana. They both eventually tagged out. The Bhangra Knights did some “gay fear” spots with Project Ego that were obviously lame. The Knights then locked in a Stereo Ethnic Submission. They did not stop at the five count, and the referee called the bell.

The Knights then pulled out “RACE CARDS” (LITERALLY) that they decided to “PLAY.” The match was re-started! Ok, that was genuinely very amusing. The teams went back and forth. Grado hit Travis with a Rock Bottom. T-Bone cleared the Knights out of the ring. Grade gave T-Bone a scoop slam, but then Travis caught Grado with a schoolboy and a handful of tights: 1…2…3!

While this match could have used some tightening up, there was a ton of fun sequences and spots. Grado clearly needs to become a regular on PROGRESS shows. The homophobic tag team spots need to go though. That is beneath everyone involved in this promotion.
Match Rating: ***

After the match, The London RiotsJimmy Havoc ran in for the save! Smallman buried the Riots and said PROGRESS was all about people like Havoc. Havoc then killed Smallman with chairshots and a paddle shot! The crowd was SHOCKED. This was like when Steen turned heel at BOLA 2013. Havoc ran down Jim Smallman and the crowd. He had various grievances. He then slapped Smallman across the face. The crowd went along for this ride; the heat was fantastic. The fallout from this should be quite good.

Rampage Brown© [1-1] vs. Doug Williams [1-0] [PROGRESS Title Match]
Jim Smallman being taken out means Jimmy Barnett cannot do commentary for this match. That sounds suspicious to me!

That Williams went after the arm of Brown. I hate when there is no commentary in wrestling. Rampage eventually cut him off and worked him over. Williams managed to send Rampage to the floor. He went for a tope suicide and took out Nathan Cruz by mistake. Rampage cut him off again though. Rampage worked him over some more. Douglass made a big comeback and the crowd rallied behind him. They wanted Chaos Theory, but Rampage avoided it. They went back and forth. Douglass hit the Chaos Theory: 1…2…NO! BOOOO! They went back and forth more. Bomb Scare from Douglass: 1…2…NO! Douglass called for another Chaos Theory, but Rampage hit a piledriver: 1…2…3!

These two had a very admirable main event considering the crowd was pretty wound up after the big Jimmy Havoc angle. While this match did not reach the heights of that angle or the triple threat match before intermission, they ended up having one of the better PROGRESS Championship matches in the promotion’s history. Thumbs up!
Match Rating: ***1/2

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: I would say this is the best PROGRESS show yet. They had what may be my favorite PROGRESS match ever (Ricochet vs. Sabre vs. Haskins), the definitive best angle they've ever done (Havoc's heel turn), and just generally one of their more consistent shows up and down the card. The only negative on the show was the Stixx/Cruz match, but the good far overwhelms the bad on this show. I strongly recommend that you check this show out.

Final Score:  7.8   [ Good ]