November progress :)
I went into November's PROGRESS show with an absolutely streaming cold, my nose running like a tap, passed onto me by my husband. But I refused to let that prevent me from attending the show lol. We stopped off into Boots at Waterloo station and got some cold & flu pills and a lot of balsam tissues. My poor nose was rosy and so very painful by the end of the day.
Our lovely friend C wasn’t with us for this show - work had nabbed him. In fact we won’t see him at a PROGRESS show until January now. In the queue, we got chatting to a couple of guys behind us; for one of them it was his first Camden show, having only been to Manchester shows before. They were in good spirits and we had fun chatting with them about all things PROGRESS and indeed wrestling as we ate lunch. Once the doors opened, the queue moved quickly, a real Godsend. But once inside coowner Jon made it clear that people were still sitting in the wrong seats - most likely on purpose because they want a better seat than they paid for - and that the new system is in danger of reverting to the old one. Oh dear. I do hope it doesn’t!! I like the quick way we now get into the building, especially in the cold weather.
It was a very different show to normal as the winners of each match - except the women’s match - would all compete in the main event, to crown a new champion, as Mark Haskins had to relinquish the belt due to his injuries. So every match was high stakes. They started with a bang as FSU (Mark Andrews & Eddie Dennis) took on the South Pacific Power Trip (TK Cooper & Travis Banks) for the number one contenders slot for the tag team titles. It would have been the Hunter Brothers but one of them is seriously injured so FSU replaced them. Get well soon, Jim! This was a match filled was great moments - like Dahlia Black being powerbombed over the top ropes and onto Banks and Cooper on the outside. With the exception of Cooper, the others all work together quite regularly elsewhere so they know how to make each other look great. The aspect that really stood out was Travis Banks’ ear bleeding profusely - it’d gotten mangled badly in a match the previous day. He had it bandaged from the start of the match but the blood ended up soaking his neck and shoulder! It really was disturbing.
The other tag team match that night was British Strong Style (Pete Dunne & Trent Seven) defending the tag team titles against former champions the London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch). Lynch had a face guard on, due to the severe cheek fracture he suffered in September. It was another tough blunt match from these four, who really do make me wince, including a spot where they all chopped a ring post when someone else ducked and all four ended up the hand of someone else - biting people has been Pete’s schtick for a while. The crowd really love getting under Pete’s skin by chanting ‘Peter’ at him, he reacts brilliantly, looking furious and stepping out of the ring to confront fans. There’s so much delighted hate for him, which is exactly what a villainous character needs. I still hate booing for Trent as I adore him so much but he’s great in a villainous role that he plays nowhere else. The Riots sadly lost again but it was wonderful to have them back in the Ballroom. Some say they’ve growna bit stale and need to refresh their act. It would be as good a time as any. They’re still Progress’ number one tag team, I have faith they can reinvent themselves and remain relevant. Frankly, I love them either way because their passion is always clear and they always give everything.
The mighty Joe Coffey was in action against Pastor William Eaver, accompanied by Sebastian. It was a good little match; always wonderful to have Coffey in action in Camden and it’s good Eaver’s getting the chance to wrestle someone so enormously good. I was interested to see where they’re going with the ‘Sebastian owns Eaver’ storyline. Thankfully it doesn’t seem like they’re going to go the route of ‘Sebastian choosing what Eaver wears and says’ which would have been unenjoyable, the sort of thing WWE would do. Yes, it’s the most sports entertainment angle in PROGRESS right now but it’s working so far. Eaver cheated to win, by using Coffey’s trunks for leverage in the pin, which neither ma was happy about. It became clear why it’d happened after - Sebastian announced that he would be in the main event not Eaver, which the crowd hated. Mission accomplished lol. He’s so good at getting everyone to boo him, yes that is a talent in this business lol.
In women’s action we had the undeniably wonderful Nixon Newell against debuting Katey Harvey, an Irish wrestler who works in a tag team with Pollyanna elsewhere. Part of her outfit was just one sleeve which was silver and caused many chants from the crowd, comparing her to the Winter Soldier for example. Harvey is a good solid wrestler for sure and Nixon continues to be an inspired delight, leading the crowd in singing her bouncy entrance theme - ‘C’est La Vie’ - and being so good in the ring, smooth and believable and tough while still being immensely likeable without being sexualised at all. She’s like a British Bayley in a way, only not skewing so young. I’m really hoping she gets to the finals of this Women’s Championship tournament because any time we get more Nixon is a really good time.
We had a big debut -Matt Riddle. A former UFC fighter, Riddle has become a big star in American company Evolve (which has very close ties with WWE) due to his great mat skills and undeniable charisma. He’s the most chilled out sweet dude and wow, has only been training in wrestling for 2 years. He’s going to go to WWE; no doubt, he’s going to be amazing there. He faced our very own Will Ospreay, still chasing the PROGRESS win that’s eluded him since his return this year. It was an amazing idea - two of the hottest most-talked-about talents in the world right now, in a PROGRESS ring, facing each other for the very first time anywhere. Riddle was as fantastic as advertised - Anthony’s been a fan for a while - and played brilliantly off Ospreay. Both came out of it looking top drawer. Riddle’s star power is off the charts, he’s so smiley and happy (he was let go by UFC for his pot smoking and yes, that vibe completely comes across lol) and so delighted to be wrestling and loved all the chants from the crowd. Ospreay lost again and appeared frustrated but still shook Riddle’s hand. Match of the Night for sure.
Jimmy Havoc vs Marty Scurll. Jimmy got a standing ovation again. To be there in the Ballroom, getting goosebumps and applauding and thinking so hard ‘you DESERVE this’, it’s one of my favourite things ever, singing along to ‘I Hope You Suffer’. The love for Jimmy is off the charts and the two of them are gold together in the ring. Vicious and uncompromising and believably furious. This was the match I was really looking forward to and it didn’t disappoint. They’ve known each other for years and it really showed, the crowd loved every beat of it. Once again, it showed that if a company wants most of a crowd to actually boo Marty, put him in the ring with Jimmy. The match started with an aping of the recent WWE shocking Goldberg victory over Lesnar (two Spears and a finisher) which the crowd just loved and I was thrilled to see Jimmy win - by pretending Marty had hit him with an umbrella (a la Eddie Guerrero) and getting Marty disqualified. It was one of the most glorious moments and made me incredibly happy. A most unexpected and wonderful match ending.
The main event had a lot of time to breathe and boy did it work -a seven man elimination match. Marty attacked Jimmy before he got to the ring though, taking Jimmy out of the match for quite a while. There was also a brilliant moment where Sebastian was talking to all the other villains in the match and trying to get them to follow his lead, instead they all exited the ring and left him there alone with Matt Riddle. Wonderful. I was quite afraid Sebastian would win - he is booed most loudly of anyone right now and understandably as he’s brilliant in his role so would make a truly detested champ which is always a good idea as people will pay to see him lose - but thankfully he was eliminated after Jack Sexsmith attacked him during the match and Jimmy finished him off. This led to a wonderful little moment where Jack sauntered off; stopping to nod at Pastor William Eaver who was at ringside to reluctantly support Sebastian and the Pastor swatted him firmly and thankfully on the arse in thanks. Marvellous. I hope this leads to a Jack vs Sebastian rivalry; I assume Jack interfered as he’s a fellow ProJo trainee like both Eaver and Sebastian and doesn’t want to see Eaver abused and humiliated in such a way. It’ll be interesting to find out.
The match was very well put together - the more competitors in the ring at the same time, the more complicated it gets. There was another wonderful moment where the crowd started singing for Riddle - using the chorus of the song ‘Gold’ by Spandau Ballet, only replacing the world ‘gold’ with ‘bro’. It’s the word Riddle is most associated with, using it all the time, even his merchandise sports it. Now, he didn’t really get that we were singing for him to start off with, he wouldn’t know the song for a start, so one of the villains in the ring had to subtly signal it was all for him. The adorable dawning delight on Riddle’s face as he got it and started dancing along was really something to behold. Oh yes, he’s one of us now : )
It ended up, after eliminations, being down to Jimmy Havoc vs Pete Dunne with Trent Seven still at ringside. And here’s where things got swervy. Tyler Bate - Trent’s former tag team partner that he turned on to tag with Pete in PROGRESS - ran down to the ring, tearing off his shirt, ready to take on both Pete and Trent who were cowering in the corner. Everyone was cheering, loving the surprise appearance. Then Anthony whispered to me urgently ‘Tyler’s going to turn’. And he did, he turned and punched Jimmy! He’s become a villain! Joining British Strong Style and shortly after Pete pinned Jimmy to become the new PROGRESS Champion. It’s very much deserved - this year has been a breakout year for him and he’s incredibly good at the Bruiserweight character.
I’m thrilled for him but horrified that Tyler has gone dark side. He very very rarely plays the villain and while yes, I’m pleased Trent and Tyler are back together in PROGRESS (they still tag together everywhere else) I hate that I have to boo them both now! As Anthony says, PROGRESS are breaking my heart. He guessed Tyler was turning by the way from the way Tyler was positioned in the ring, a demonstration of just how much wrestling the two of us watch lol. Jimmy magnificently played the underdog this match, in a different way than he ever has before in PROGRESS, like back when he was the lovable loser and then the monster champion who was outmatched without his army or vicious cheating. He’s an absolute fan favourite now but he’s not pandering to the crowd. He acknowledges them when he stumbles his way to the entrance ramp post match, thrusting his fists in the air but that’s it really. He’s still a monster in the ring but he’s our monster. And man, does that feel amazing.
I think Pete will be a terrific champion; he’s booed very loudly, the crowd love to taunt him, and PROGRESS have obviously brought Tyler into the group so that he can take over as tag team champion with Trent while Pete concentrates on the PROGRESS title. These three are rising stars on the UK scene and around the world too and I cannot wait to see what they do next in PROGRESS. Of course I’m especially pleased for Trent. And should Mark Haskins return to wrestling, to PROGRESS, Pete is the perfect opponent for him to face for the title he never actually lost.
I didn’t chat to many wrestlers as I was so full of cold I didn’t want to infect them. It’s a shame as Matt Riddle was there with his merch, as all imports are lol, and Anthony said hi to him and chatted for a bit. We also chatted to Mark Andrews who sounded really rough; clearly he was having health (or hangover lol) problems. It’s a real shame that we don’t get to chat to folk like Travis or Trent at PROGRESS - as they’re particularly despicable villains, their merch is on the table but not sold by them. Interestingly, for the first time since he turned full nasty villain, Marty Scurll was behind the table selling stuff. Also Will Ospreay was there and now charges £5 for anyone wanting a photo taken with him using their phone. He’s a big enough worldwide star for that to make sense sadly. I also got to meet the boyfriend of a friend of mine, who was lovely which is great as she really deserves a good one. She sits front row; her chair got destroyed three times that night thanks to wrestlers leaping out of the ring to the outside. One of the company coowners told her she’s not allowed to sit front row anymore lol but she’s already bought a front row season ticket for next year : D
So for the next show, I hope for no colds! That show, late in December post-Christmas, is also a complete mystery show - no wrestlers or matches are being announced beforehand. So we’ll have no idea who or what we’ll be seeing. I expect things will be on the ridiculous side seeing as it’s so close to Christmas but I also expect very good entertaining matches. Someone suggested that we should see at some point Jimmy & the Riots vs British Strong Style. That’d be amazing, Regression reunited as fan favourites and no doubt it’d be a hard-hitter and utterly enthralling. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.