Just a heads up, PROGRESS Chapter 150 is not available to watch online yet. If you wish to avoid spoilers, you may wish to stop reading now. It should be available this Saturday at 17:00 BST/12:00 EST on Demand Progress.
This past Sunday, PROGRESS Wrestling returned to their home, the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London, for PROGRESS Chapter 150: When the Man Comes Around, headlined by the final match in the year-long storyline between Spike Trivet and Tom Dawkins, formerly known as Cara Noir with the Cara Noir gimmick on the line. However, if Spike won, Dawkins must leave forever. In the coming days, I will write about that storyline in full, but first here is everything that went down on Sunday in Camden Town.
Kodi Salihu vs. Pup Zinzan
Before PROGRESS Chapter 150 kicked off, we had a dark match between Kodi Salihu and Pup Zinzan, two trainees from PlayFight, the London-based wrestling school owned by Cara Noir/Tom Dawkins. For all I know this may well have been these two young men’s first time in front of a crowd, and to do this in front of a PROGRESS crowd is a massive show of faith from the organization and Tom Dawkins. For this reason, I don’t think it is fair to critique the match in a way that I normally would. It lasted around four or five minutes and was interrupted by Bullit, World Champion Spike Trivet’s muscle, taking out both men for a no-contest. This was a move that made sense at first, Spike is trying to mess with the big moment for his nemesis’ trainees, almost as an added “f*** you” to Dawkins before their main event clash. It came full circle though during the main event, as will be explained later.
Nick Wayne vs. Callum Newman
SoCalVal came out to host the show and introduced the first match, which was the match originally scheduled for last September between Nick Wayne and Callum Newman. This match was sensational and lived up to all of the hype from PROGRESS fans. One sequence in the middle of the match had the crowd as loud as I’ve ever heard them in the Ballroom. Nick Wayne has become a well-established name on the independent scene over the last couple of years and is less than a year from his 18th birthday, seemingly signaling his AEW debut on the horizon whereas Newman himself is only 20 years old and is one of the more established names on the UK independent scene as a protégé of Will Ospreay. If enough of the right people see this, and I hope that they do, this was a genuine star-making performance for Newman, and he could follow in the footsteps (along with his CPF cohorts) of Michael Oku and Leon Slater and begin being flown into the US for regular independent shows. The match ended with a double springboard cutter from the corner from Nick Wayne, earning him the win after 13 minutes. This match is absolutely worth a watch if you’re into fast-paced, high-spot-filled wrestling.
Next, a recap video was shown of the last event and the Smokin’ Aces’ heel turn and subsequent violent beatdown of Sunshine Machine, specifically Chuck Mambo. They also aligned themselves with Spike Trivet. It transitioned into a video from earlier in the day, specifically 6:30 a.m. when the Smokin’ Aces arrived at the building (which I don’t find believable in the slightest but hey ho). They were met by the other half of Sunshine Machine (who are the current Progress Tag Team Champions), TK Cooper who took both Charlie Sterling and Nick Riley out with a chair, gaining revenge for his fallen partner and thus, wiping them out of any involvement in the main event.
Axel Tischer vs. Mike Bird
Axel Tischer (the former Alexander Wolfe) and Mike Bird were the men tasked with the impossible task of following the match prior and with a highly technical style, I thought this would be a struggle. It wasn’t long until Mike Bird brought out the comedy (which he is excellent at by the way) and started getting loud pops as he traded simple rolls with Tischer, slowly graduating to a cartwheel. I would hazard a guess that anyone outside of the UK, like in the last match with Newman, has not heard of Mike Bird, but for my money, the “Ginger Jesus” is one of the most underrated guys in the business today. Despite my questions about the positioning (which admittedly stem from TEW warning me not to book technical matches after high spot matches one too many times), they did a good job keeping the crowd interested and energized in a majority technically-based match after what they were given in the opener. Tischer got the win, again in 13 minutes.
One thing PROGRESS did well in regards to this match was booking a match that at the time seemed random, but by the end of the night, both men were involved in respective storylines. More on Tischer later, but after the match whilst Bird was alone in the ring, a voice was heard. The voice of a God. Charles Crowley gave a quite frankly bizarre promo while eating Chow Mein with the key points being Crowley saying “you are now in my story” to Bird, as well as asking him to bring the Boar, seemingly referring to the former tag team partner of Mike Bird, Wild Boar, who if you excuse the pun, has returned to the wild after the recent closure of another brand based in Enfield, the less said about that brand the better.
Warren Banks vs. Dan Moloney
Up next was a match that I was looking forward to coming into the show, the recently returned Warren Banks taking on “Drilla” Dan Moloney. This was a hard-hitting affair from the two big lads and was a very fun match following on from being on opposing teams on last month’s London show. The key here though is the feud building between Banks and Tate Mayfairs, and he emerged during the match to attempt to get into the head of the “Nigerian Kaiju”. Moloney got the win shortly after this with the Drilla Killer, and for the second month in a row, Mayfairs attacked Banks after the match, this time with his trademark brass knuckles. Warren will surely be looking for revenge soon enough, so expect that match in the next couple of months.
Nina Samuels vs. Alexxis Falcon
Up next was Nina Samuels vs. Alexxis Falcon, which was billed as a “grudge match” after a feud lasting the last few months, stemming from Nina’s attempts to expose Falcon as a fraud. And by fraud, I mean Disney nerd. The two fought for a few minutes and things were good…until we got the worst finish in professional wrestling. You know, the disqualification for kicking too much ass. They broke into a brawl and had to be pulled apart by PROGRESS staff. Both women are excellent though and I am excited to see what they do next, which later in the show was announced to be a “Clock Strikes Midnight Match” in May at Super Strong Style 16.
Atlas Championship: Big Damo vs. Ricky Knight Jr
Up next was the main event of the first half in the form of the Atlas Championship match between reigning champion Big Damo (Killian Dain to WWE fans) and Ricky Knight Jr., who earned the shot by winning the Natural Progression Series back in November. Ricky may have needed to hide some rocks in his pocket to make the title’s 205lb minimum weight limit but we’ll allow it, it was his birthday after all. The match was excellent, as you would expect from these two. Ricky Knight Jr. is another one of the guys on the British scene that seems poised to break out even further in the near future, and winning the Atlas Championship is a step towards doing that. His RevPro British Heavyweight Championship was short-lived due to injury, but he has a chance to win it back later this month and if he can do that, he will have really started off 2023 in a big way. He is a guy in a great position to do big things in the near future at just 23 years old. The match went 14 minutes and had the crowd invested the whole way. From RKJ trying to challenge himself in trading power spots with the much larger Damo, to catching the 320lb Northern Irishman in mid-air without even needing to take a step back before finishing him with the Kishi Driver for the win. Damo handed the Atlas Championship to RKJ and raised his hand after the match, before being joined in the ring by Axel Tischer. The two of them have been friends in PROGRESS due to their past in SAnitY together, but to pick Damo up after his loss, Tischer suggested that they should join forces full-time to make a run for the PROGRESS Tag Team Championships, the one title in the company that Damo is yet to hold. Damo agrees, so this is something to look forward to going forward.
A one-hour (!!!) interval followed.
Skye Smitson vs. Raven Creed
The return from the extended interval saw the scheduled match between Lana Austin and Raven Creed for Austin’s PROGRESS Women’s Championship not actually take place. Lana came to the ring with her fellow Lana Austin Experience member Skye Smitson and told the world that instead of her competing in the match that had been scheduled and promoted for about a month, in fact, Raven should wish to get revenge on Smitson instead of her. They apparently agreed and this was okay with PROGRESS management as the match just immediately began. There was a legitimate reason for this, rather than it just being a storyline piece, but I believe it could have been handled better. I was happy with the match though, as Skye Smitson is a favorite of mine who seemingly finds herself on every show which I attend (I saw her live 20 times in 2022). The match was good and seemed like it would have the natural conclusion of Raven getting the win and forcing Lana Austin into the ring with her at an upcoming show. Color me shocked when Skye Smitson got the win in a little over 9 minutes. It leaves a question as to who Lana’s next challenger will be. Perhaps the winner of a later match.
Lio Rush vs. Man Like Dereiss
First though, Lio Rush vs. Man Like Dereiss, and boy was this a banger. Lio Rush as a semi-regular has been an excellent addition in the last couple of months, so the news that he will be back in April for shows in London and Manchester (and hopefully Super Strong Style 16!!) was very welcome. These two meshed very well and seeing Lio Rush, legitimately one of my favorite wrestlers in the world to watch, regularly in there with favorites from the UK scene is a treat. I feel like I’m repeating myself, but Dereiss is another one of those guys seemingly on the cusp of something bigger and it was great to see him announced for WrestleMania week shows in Los Angeles. The constant trash talk between the two men in addition to the high-paced action kept the fans engaged and generally, this was just a really great match. Lio Rush picked up the win with a frog splash in 20 minutes.
Millie McKenzie vs. Lizzy Evo
Millie McKenzie and Lizzy Evo are two of the most consistently excellent wrestlers in Britain, regardless of gender and this match absolutely lived up to those expectations. The match started out as a brawl and became a very technically well-wrestled match. Millie picked up the win after 13-minutes after playing possum from a superplex and catching Lizzy off guard with a small package. It’s a finish that implies more to come between these two which I am all for, but, as I said earlier, the champion Lana Austin does now need a challenger.
Spike Trivet vs. Tom Dawkins
So then we came to the main event. Spike Trivet and Tom Dawkins. If Dawkins wins, he can bring the Cara Noir gimmick back. If Spike wins, Dawkins must leave forever. The culmination of a year-long violent battle between the two. I cannot do this feud and even this match justice in this review, so a piece dedicated to the eighteen months these men’s lives and careers were intertwined will be coming soon, so with that being said, I will limit what is said here. The headline though: Tom Dawkins won, with help from his wife Claire, meaning that Cara Noir can return. The match began with Spike Trivet entering the match to Cara Noir’s music and sporting his face paint. The irony of this coming from a man who made it his goal in PROGRESS throughout 2022 to show the world the real Tom Dawkins and bring him out from the façade as he called it, of course referring to Cara Noir. Dawkins was out next and brought out the recently reunited Big Damo and Axel Tischer to remove Bullit from ringside, as the match was announced to now be taking place under no-disqualification rules. With him gone, the fight began and it was GOOD. A little while into the match, Spike Trivet took off his boots and kick pads of Dawkins in order to bite his toes because he is in fact, as the crowd told him, a “sick f***”. This is where the Cara Noir-fication of Tom Dawkins began. He started mixing a couple of old Cara Noir moves in and the fans began to notice. It went a step further though, and when he had Trivet mounted and instead of going on the attack, he rubbed his face on Spike’s transferring the paint across to his own. Now, this was Cara Noir. He appeared to have the win but Kodi Salihu, one of his own trainees from the dark match, pulled the ref. I guess after his beatdown he was threatened or paid off. I can’t see us finding out more there and it was largely inconsequential. It did however prompt the return of Bullit, who apparently disposed of SAnitY, I guess. He was fought off by Claire, the wife of Tom, who was key in the storyline some nine months earlier. She impressively pulled off a tornado DDT and a moonsault foot stomp among other moves. Again, her involvement in the story will be explained in the piece coming soon. Tom, or now, Cara would get the win soon after with a package piledriver in 24 minutes and while celebrating, Claire brought a bag containing essentially the Cara Noir gimmick in a bag. He put on the mask and the cape, giving Claire a luchador mask of her own as they celebrated as the iconic Cara Noir theme song, Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” played.
Cara Noir was back. The man, or rather, “The Swan” had come around.
Overall, I feel the show was PROGRESS’ best effort in a long time, a genuinely excellent show with three truly great undercard matches in Newman vs Wayne, Damo vs RKJ, and Rush vs Dereiss and a main event which was the perfect climax to their first year under new management and a fitting end to the milestone 150th chapter. If each show is a chapter, then this was the end of a book, and on the back of this, I look forward to seeing what the next book has in store.
Oh yeah, the next PROGRESS show features Fuminori Abe vs Shigehiro Irie.
Stay tuned to the Five Star Network for all updates on the world of Joshi, Puro, and more!