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Five Thoughts on Progress Wrestling, Chapter Fifteen: “Just Because You’re Paranoid, Doesn’t Mean They’re Not Out To Get You”

By | September 2nd, 2018
Posted in Television | % Comments

After the dodgy ending to Chapter Fourteen, Regression and Team Progress will fight for the future of the company. On top of that, another, more personal story, is reaching a tipping point.

Tonight’s card:

Martin Kirby and Doug Williams vs Screw Indy Wrestling
Flash Morgan Webster vs Pete Dunne (Natural Progression Series semi-final)
Stixx vs Pastor William Eaver
Rampage Brown vs Zack Sabre Jr vs Marty Scurll
RJ Singh vs Michael Gilbert
Martin Stone vs Dave Mastiff vs El Ligero
Noam Dar, FSU and Will Ospreay vs Regression (Titles vs Careers)

1. Semi-Finals

The first of two semi-final matches in this year’s Natural Progression Series takes place here between “Dynamite” (lol) Pete Dunne and Flash Morgan Webster. This match is a series of firecrackers, doesn’t last long but it’s very snappy. It starts a bit slow, where we see the flashes of the hard-hitting torture technician that Pete Dunne would become as the Bruiserweight. On the other hand: we had Flash Morgan’s acrobatics and shear resilience, kicking out of both a sit-out powerbomb and a tombstone piledriver and still kicking out of it. That fire turned the crowd around from booing Flash to cheering him as he connected his 450 Splash, which would eventually be his finisher called the Shadows Over Malice and would move on to the Finals.

Pete Dunne has torn his way through the indies and as of time of writing, he is currently the longest reigning champion in the WWE right now, holding the United Kingdom Championship for nearly 500 days. With that said, Flash Morgan Webster, to me at least, is very underrated. In this short match he was able to turn the crowd over to his side and his skill will only improve from here on out.

2. #1 Contender, the First

The first of two number one contender triple threat matches was between Marty Scurll, Zack Sabre Jr. and Rampage. I have to admit, I was of two minds with this match. First of all, I do love all three of these wrestlers and they do put on a real good match, with Rampage going over. On top of that, the slow burn of Scurll going from “Party Marty” to “The Villain” continues, Scurll now coming to the ring in fur-coat alongside his umbrella and sunglasses, as well as kicking his former tag-team partner Zack in the face after to massive booes.

What kind of bugged me is a good chunk of the match was very comedy-focused. Don’t get me wrong: it’s good comedy, based around the smaller Scurll and ZSJ trying to shoulder charge and knock down the ginormous Rampage. Even referee Chris Roberts gets an attempt, earning a “You Deserved It!” chant for his troubles. Not bad comedy… but this is a number one contender match for the championship, which is currently being held be a madman. Maybe I’m being a crumudgedy “taking this seriously” guy, but I feel like I would’ve enjoyed this a bit more if it was just an exhibition match instead of for a title shot.

3. Three Faces of Singh

Michael Gilbert a.k.a. The Once and Future Mikey Whiplash has forsaken the notion of “gimmicks” (despite the chants of “Gilbert is a Gimmick!” from the crowd) is supposed to take on RJ Singh, but there has been a slight change: he will instead be facing RJ Sting! As Singh comes out, complete in Sting face paint, red scorpion shirt and baseball bat in tow, Gilbert runs through him. But that’s not all, as Gilbert gets a new opponent: Singhcara! But again, Gilbert runs through him. Finally, we get the match of Gilbert vs. the actual Singh and it’s a brief match, only for Singh to tap out.

However, this was more angle than match as Singh’s friend and peer, Stixx (who lost his earlier match with Pastor William Eaver) comes out to talk with his friend. It’s a bit tense, Stixx is sick of seeing Singh treat this as a joke as they both were getting on in years and up-and-comers are growing in the business. There is quite a bit of venom here and it’s effective, referring to each other as “Ross” and “Paul,” Singh having a “cushy teacher job” and Stixx’s daughter. This slice of realism helps set the foundation for their match in the next Chapter: Career vs. Career. It’s an interesting undercard story, those that sometimes feel like they can get drowned in the noise of the main event scene, but it’s one worth considering for next time.

Continued below

4. #1 Contender, the Second

The second number one contender’s match saw El Ligero, Dave Mastiff’s beard (and subsequently the rest of him) and the debuting Martin Stone compete in a match that was much more serious than the previous one. There is a definite David vs. Goliaths element to this match: how is the smaller and leaner Ligero going to fight against these two behemoths? He tries to isolate them, and it works for a bit. That said, both Martin and Mastiff feel the more focused two in this match. It’s doubled when Michael Gilbert comes out to distract Ligero, and the two end up fighting to the back.

In the end, Mastiff would take the victory and it’s here where I kind of contradict myself from before? Ironically, despite this match being more “serious” I liked the first triple threat better? Like, purely as a wrestling match, Scurll/ZSJ/Rampage was a lot more fun and the crowd was in it more, but I suppose this one kept more of a focus on what was at stake. I’m totally not a hypocrite for this, right? Right.

5. Crack in the Armor

Regression vs. FSU/Dar/Ospreay a.k.a. The Match with the Moonsault. Which moonsault? This moonsault. The moment of insanity where Ospreay proved that A. He’s a goddamn lunatic. B. He’s a Goddamn Lunatic!

This eight-man tag match had an… interesting stipulation. Careers vs. Titles. In short, if Havoc takes the pin, then the man that pinned him is the new Champion. If either of FSU are pinned, they lose the tag matches. If the Riots, Dar or Ospreay take the pin, they’re gone from Progress. When you think on this stipulation, it kind of benefits the Heels, being a more cohesive unit and the prize of the Progress Championship being so tempting. But here’s the thing: the company made this stipulation… but Regression are very much at war with Progress. Like, half the time it feels like Jimmy Havoc would gladly burn the Electric Ballroom down if someone looked at him funny. If Regression were the lackeys of the company and had their backing, this would work a lot more, even if the stipulation does work in at the end.

To put it simply: this match was pure chaos. It’s spot after spot, with Ospreay smashing his former friend Paul Robinson’s head into the projection wall, the London Riots flying like giant scary cannonballs over the ropes and, of course, the above mentioned does of “Oh God, I Really Hope They Didn’t Just Kill Someone.” The whole idea of “Tagging” in this match felt like such a formality and the brawling got so bad both teams got counted out after the Moonsault, only to be restarted by Jim Smallman.

The match was a massive spotfest, but it’s the ending that put a big twist to the story. Dar was getting ready to wallop Havoc with a chair, only to hit James Davis instead. But Havoc wasn’t safe, taking a superkick and falling onto Davis. It’s at this point Ospreay climbs the turnbuckle, ready to perform his 630 Senton. However, mid-air, Robinson pulls Havoc out of dodge, but the move connects fully with Davis! 1-2-3, Ospreay pins Davis. The London Riots are gone from Progress, thrown to the wolves by Havoc and Robinson. Jimmy may have retained his title, but it was this moment, where he tossed aside the two men he “respected” back in Chapter Nine, that will mark the beginning of the end for Havoc…


//TAGS | 2018 Summer TV Binge | Progress Wrestling

Ken Godberson III

When he's not at his day job, Ken Godberson III is a guy that will not apologize for being born Post-Crisis. More of his word stuffs can be found on Twitter or Tumblr. Warning: He'll talk your ear off about why Impulse is the greatest superhero ever.

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