TV Review: Lucha Underground #3.06 - Pentagon Dark v Rey Mysterio Jr v Chavo Guerrero Jr.

The 12th October 2016 episode of Lucha Underground, featured a main event including Pentagon Dark (Pentagon Jr.), Rey Mysterio Jr and Chavo Guerrero Jr. battling in a triple threat that had a lot of history behind it. In an action package hour, Dr. Wagner Jr, Jack Evans, Son of Havoc (Matt Cross), Gift of the Gods Champion Sexy Star and Famous B were all involved, but was that action any good?

The night's main event with Pentagon Dark, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Chavo Guerrero Jr. tangling in a triple threat was enjoyable contest, that featured some nice interactions between all three men in different combinations. The bout was paced well, with Guerrero being used to simmer the action down, whilst the flashier Mysterio and more physical Dark picked things up. The spots involved all three were done well, usually coming as a nice jolt following a string of singles action, like Guerrero sliding into the ring to drop toe hold Dark into a chair wedged in the corner during a Dark and Mysterio section and Mysterio leaping over the top rope with a body scissors that top both he and Guerrero to the outside whilst Guerrero fought Dark. The finish saw Guerrero trip Mysterio on the top rope, Guerrero take a superkick off the apron from Dark, with Dark pulling Mysterio in Fear Factor (Package Piledriver) to earn the win. Guerrero and Mysterio's issues deepened post-match as Guerrero attacked Mysterio with a chair, hanging him in a tree of woe and hammering on his knee, in a scene reminscent of their 2007 "I Quit" match in WWE. 

This episode's semi-main was Sexy Star retaining the Gift of the Gods Championship over Jack Evans in a violent clash, that ended with a series of interference from the Worldwide Underground (Johnny Mundo (John Morrison) & PJ Black (Justin Gabriel)) and Trios Champions Aero Star, Drago & Fenix. I thought Evans did some wonderful work in this match as he came across like an absolute dick, whenever he was in control. He was frustrating to watch, but in a good way as it meant whenever Star began to turn the tables it was even more satisfying to watch. This was helped by the viciousness that Star brought to her offence, with a particularly memorable moment being the multiple rope-aided bronco busters in the corner. The match would end devolving into a series of fun run-ins, with Mundo & Black giving Evans a wonderful near fall and Aero Star & Drago eventually running them off. I would've liked to have seen Star and Evans get to have one last exchange before the finish and feel that that could have elevated the match further, but Fenix distracting the ref and Evans, as Star hit her opponent low with a kendo stick and hits a spinning Fisherman's suplex for the win, will probably open up more option going forward.

The opening match saw Dr. Wagner Jr & Famous B (seconded by Brenda) defeat Mascarita Sagrada and Son of Havoc in varied encounter, that had plenty of fun. I felt like the bout started and finished strongly with the Havoc and Sagrada face-shine getting over the odd-couple vibe with their entrance on a bike and side-car getting a great reaction. The finish with Havoc getting pushed off the top rope by Wagner, before Sagrada took the Doctor Driver and Famous B pinned the mini with his stethoscope was also well worked. Unfortunately the contests mid-section didn't do a whole lot for me and I began to lose interest in the match a few minutes in. There wasn't particularly anything wrong with what was going on, I just didn't find it particularly interesting either.

Best of the Rest 

• Rey Mysterio Jr. & Chavo Guerrero Jr. came to blows in Dario Cueto's office, which lead to Cueto adding them to the main event with Pentagon Dark - Chavo Guerrero Jr. brutally assaulted Dragon Azteca Jr. with a steel chair in the locker room, with Rey Mysterio Jr. discovering DAJ following the incident

Finally... 

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.25/10 

Show in a Sentence - A fun hour, with two good matches, that open opportunities for bigger bouts to come. 

Strongest Moment - Pentagon Dark v Rey Mysterio Jr. v Chavo Guerrero Jr. 

Weakest Moment - Dr Wagner Jr & Famous B v Mascarita Sagrada & Son of Havoc

Words - James Marston

The Merch Table - Kayfabe Clothing, Mark Haskins, SPLX, Pro Wrestling Tees & One Fall Media

So, The Merch Table has been away for awhile and well it has returned as a three part special for this week, no really. Divided into three parts, Part one focuses on the wrestlers merchandise, Part Two aimed at the Promotions and concluding on Friday with a combination of anything I may of missed and even requests from yourselves of merchandise from your favourite wrestlers that I’ll hunt for.

With that said and done, let’s move on time is not our friend and we start off with the superb Clothing line of...

I featured this line from other wrestlers before namely The Filthy Generation (Stevie Boy and Kay Lee Ray) and Carmel Jacob in a previous Merch Table but let’s focus a bit more in what the clothing line aims for & who else they feature…

“Kayfabe Clothing aim to bring the highest quality in alternative pro wrestling T-Shirts inspired by the industry itself or parodies. We supply Men's T-Shirts, Ladies T-Shirts, Hoodies of both the pullover and zip variety and other apparel inspired by the pro wrestling industry.” - Kayfabe Clothing Website. 

You know what, they are absolutely right, I can vouch that what they say is true, 

BT Gunn

Who is BT Gunn? - In a nutshell, he is one of the UK’s most dynamic and resilient wrestlers in the world today. He is the PBW Heavyweight and BCW Heavyweight Champion as well as Co-Holder of the PWE Tag Team Championships with Chris Renfrew. He is responsible for being involved in some of ICW’s most brutal rivalries throughout it’s 10 year history and continually leads by example as a trainer in the GPWA Academy.

http://www.kayfabeclothing.com/bt-gunn

Hoody: £34.99.
Available in Sizes: S - 2XL.

Wolfgang

Who is Wolfgang? - He is the ICW World Heavyweight Champion and he is one of Scotland’s most prominent figures in wrestling. Some people say big men can’t fly, those people haven’t seen Wolfgang in the ring, wither he’s matching power with power against some of the strongest men across the UK, he also has the agility to surprise opponents and fans alike with his highflying ability.

http://www.kayfabeclothing.com/wolfgang

T-Shirt: £19.99.
Available in Sizes: S - 2XL.

Mark Coffey

Who is Mark Coffey? - The SWA Heavyweight Champion as well Co-Holder of the ICW and SWA Tag Team Championship alongside Jackie Polo. Straight up one of the most respected men in UK wrestling, equally responsible of some of the best and shocking moments on SWA, ICW and PWE. When he’s good he’s good but when he’s bad…Who’s Bad? He Bad.

http://www.kayfabeclothing.com/product-page/49ea99f3-173f-96df-2bc4-55e6bdce34db

T-shirt: £19.99.
Available in Sizes: XS - XL 

“I do this for my kids, my wife, for the never ending passion that burns within me, to where every moment of each day my brain can only think of that one thing. I hate it when people say that your dream can't be reality, like, come on, look at me. I’m a 5'6 180lbs country boy from England and yet I get to travel the globe, striving forward in the land of the big guys, living my dream in front of thousands of fans. That’s pretty fucking mental to me. Dream big.” - Mark Haskins.

More than I can ever say really, the PROGRESS World Champion

http://www.fighthaskins.com/product/haskins-never-stay-down-pre-order

T-shirt: £20
Available in Sizes: S-XL

“Suplex (SPLX) is a team formed of top athletes from the professional wrestling world. We fully embrace the athletic aspect of the industry and believe we have formed a stellar unit featuring Zack Sabre, Jr., Adam Cole, Dave Mastiff, Gail Kim, Prince Devitt, and Kyle O’Reilly.Thank you for supporting the SPLX brand and our sponsored athletes. We aim to always progress as a company and help assist in creating your legacy.” - SPLX

The mission statement of the illustrious SPLX team.

http://store.suplexapparel.com/product/team-suplex-ampersand-t-shirt-zack-sabre-jr-adam-cole-dave-mastiff-fergal-devitt

T-shirt: £16.99
Available in Sizes: M-XL

“Here at ProWrestlingTees.com we work directly with some of the greatest wrestlers in history. By allowing wrestlers to create their own stores it gives you, the fans, the opportunity to own t-shirts you have seen at shows, in pictures or may have never seen before. All stores, products and photos are owned by the wrestlers themselves. Profits go directly to the wrestlers to support what they do and what you love.” - ProWrestlingTees.com

I’ve personally ordered from PWT and found them to be excellent also I find it’s no surprise that many more wrestlers are becoming part of their ever growing circle.

Viper

One of the many stars to be featured in the recent ITV World of Sport Pilot and Alpha Omega Wrestling Wrestling Champion.

http://www.prowrestlingtees.com/catalog/category/view/id/847

We are focused on his T-shirt: Prices start at $19.99
Available in Sizes: S-5XL

Kimber Lee

World famous star who has already made of hell of an imp at in the UK and soon to be seen on ICW’s Road to The Hydro tour, she has been a multiple Champion in many different promotions across the world, need I say more.

http://www.prowrestlingtees.com/princess-kimber-lee.html

T-shirt: $19.99
Available in Sizes: S-5XL

Su Yung

This was a special request, so I’ve found images of several t-shirts by the lady in question on Pro Wrestling Tees. For fans who may not have seen Su Yung, she has excelled and terrified fans alike in any promotion she has been a part of, like Shine, Shimmer, FCW, MLW to name a few and many many more.

T-Shirt: $19.99
Available in Sizes: S-5XL

Concluding today’s Merch Stand is…

This team are hosting the debut of The One Fall Sessions LIVE from Glasgow on Thursday 17th November, as part of the Insane Championship Wrestling. Hosted by Simon Cassidy, bringing  exclusive interviews and Q&A hosted with Tag Champions Mark Coffey & Jackie Polo, Polo Promotions, DCT - Wrestler and Kenny Williams ahead ICW in The Hydro.
The event will also feature stand up from the one and only Billy Kirkwood!

To celebrate this show or just simply support them…

http://www.mansruinstore.co.uk/onefall/

T-shirt: £14.99
Available in Sizes: S-3XL

Words and Images - Craig Hermit 
Editor - James Marston
        

Opinion: NJPW Power Struggle 2016 - AKA The Los Ingobernables de Japon Show

Power Struggle this year is all about one group, the wonderful Los Ingobernables De Japon; of the 5 matches announced so far for the 5th November event, 4 of them involve members of the stable in headline matches. 

The group, led by Tetsuya Naito, have been a true standout in New Japan this year, successfully filling the void of AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson and participating in main event level clashes throughout the year. Clearly they deserve to have this PPV based around them and I’m very excited to see their path of destruction continue in Osaka.

Throughout the year they have been a menace to all those before them, including: CHAOS, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, commentators, ring announcers and beyond as Tetsuya Naito sneaked his way to win the New Japan cup and IWGP Heavyweight belt earlier in the year. People were worried after he dropped the title back to Kazuchika Okada that the clan’s momentum would be stunted and they would perhaps struggle to recover but in actual fact the opposite has occurred, as Naito, EVIL, BUSHI and SANADA have all going from strength to strength.

The 3 heavyweights all had solid showings in the G1 Climax with Naito just missing out of a place in the finals after a match of the year contender versus Kenny Omega and now he holds the IWGP Intercontinental championship having knocked off Elgin last month in another classic bout whilst BUSHI managed to claim his Junior Heavyweight strap over the same set of Destruction shows.

But how will their matches go at Power Struggle? Will they be able to topple their foes or could the faction have bitten off more than they can chew recently? I’m predicting a 50/50 split of wins and losses for the foursome, and here’s a rundown of their quartet of announced matches.

Match #1 – BUSHI (C) versus KUSHIDA

As mentioned previous, BUSHI managed to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship last month at the Destruction in Tokyo event. The masked apprentice won the belt in a match littered with dirty tactics as we saw interference from the other LIJ members, T-shirt choking and even the dreaded black mist to blind his foe. 

The man he screwed over that night was his challenger, KUSHIDA. BUSHI criticised the automatic rematch clause and was reluctant to give the number one contender his deserved shot, but following their 8-man tag at King of Pro Wrestling last week, BUSHI and company laid out KUSHIDA, forcing him to leave on a stretcher and ruling him out of the Power Struggle house shows with a neck injury.

Given the damage Ingobernables have inflicted on the former champion in recent weeks, BUSHI is the clear favourite to keep hold of his new belt as he is the fresher of the two and with the other members of L.I.J having their own fights to focus on I would predict far fewer shenanigans around the contest, which I’m all for based on their match in February at the New Beginning PPV. 

Expect a whole heap of high-flying from the pair as they both are high-risk, high-reward style fighters, and with the belt on the line again they are sure to give everything they have for the most prestigious junior championship in the game. BUSHI should have enough to defeat an injured KUSHIDA with his MX finisher again but it should be 15 minutes of pure action and is not one to be missed.

Match #2 – SANADA versus Hiroshi Tanahashi

You may know SANADA, the newest member of Los Ingobernables, from his orange-haired days in TNA but now the man is almost unrecognisable from those days as he looks to topple one of the greatest pro-wrestlers Japan has ever seen, Tanahashi. 

Tana hasn’t had the best of years so far, he lost the Wrestle Kingdom main event, his Intercontinental Championship match against Omega, got injured and didn’t reach the finals of the G1 Climax. He really needs a victory in order to end his 2016 on a high heading into the January 4th Tokyo Dome show where he is sure to have a huge match once again. 

SANADA on the other hand beat his opponent at the aforementioned G1 on the first night with his dragon sleeper submission and I would imagine this match will be very similar barring the finish. Tanahashi, who is still getting over his shoulder injury will likely get dominated in the early game by SANADA’s striking before making a huge comeback to hit his patented Hi-Fly-Flo in order to gain revenge for his G1 defeat. But simply beating SANADA will surely not be enough for the face who runs the place in Japan…

With the January Tokyo Dome show looming Tanahashi will surely be in the co-main event at the very least, and as his rivalry with L.I.J just bubbling under at the moment I would predict it to boil over after this PPV with him almost certainly colliding with Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Champion at Wrestle Kingdom 11. The match has been in the pipeline for some time and seeing the pair explode on the grandest stage in Japan would be a delight, keep your eyes out for this feud unfolding.

Match #3 – EVIL versus Katsuyori Shibata (C)

EVIL gunning for Shibata’s NEVER Openweight Championship is something I have personally wanted to see for the majority of the year, and since the champion has beaten a whole flock of worthy contenders the King of Darkness seems an appropriate choice to attempt to knock of one of the hardest men in pro-wrestling today.

The big enforcer got his shot at the belt after blindsiding Shibata at Kings of Pro Wrestling when the latter was distracted by Go Shiozaki, who will instead get a non-title match with Katsuyori at NOAH’s show on October 23rd. With NOAH versus Shibata set to run throughout the winter his match with EVIL feels more like a side-quest rather than a main story adventure for the current belt holder, but that adds to the intrigue over who will leave with the strap. 

This match is going to be rougher than me on a Sunday morning after a night on the booze. As per the majority of Shibata’s matches, he and EVIL are going to kick the stuffing out of one another until one of the pair has nothing left to give. Clotheslines, giant kicks and suplexes will be the flavour of the bout with only the stronger surviving when the dust settles. 

Either man may finish the strongest in this case. Shibata could easily carry the belt through to Wrestle Kingdom to face either Go Shiozaki or Minoru Suzuki, but the story would still work without it, and EVIL could gain some real pedigree by having the championship round his waist, but in the same breath, he could kill it in the world tag league alongside Naito or SANADA. Personally, I’m going for a Shibata win as the belt has become synonymous with him this year and a big match for the title at WK11 would be the icing on the cake of his reign.

Match #4 – Tetsuya Naito (C) versus Jay Lethal

What more can be said about the 2016 of Tetsuya Naito? He has pushed the boundaries to become the most entertaining character and is right up there with Styles and Omega as my pick for wrestler of the year. He is more over than ever before and now the Intercontinental champion in New Japan after capturing the title from Elgin last month in a breathtaking match – and in this main event for Power Struggle I would expect another wonderful face-off.

Elgin was due for his rematch here but since he suffered an injury to the eye socket at KOPW the former ROH champion, Jay Lethal has stepped up. Lethal had aligned with L.I.J back in February but after turning face in August he no longer associated with the faction and scored a victory over Naito at ROH’s All Star Extravaganza, making him the perfect replacement as he is owed a title match.

Their previous match was very slick and smooth as to be expected and I would love to see them turn in up an extra notch here in Osaka; I’m dying to see a Lethal Injection reversed into a Destino or vice-versa. Lethal will surely put on a great show and give a tremendous fight to Naito but I can only see this top-card bout going one way, and that’s to the champion. 

Lethal, having beat his former partner previously, will lose little in defeat, and should he show the heart and desire we have come to expect from him, the New Japan crowd will surely get behind him through the contest and in the future. But Naito is perfectly placed to star in the co-main at the Tokyo Dome and a loss here would make zero sense to the man who has more momentum than a bullet train right now. Naito v Tanahashi is a dream match and if it doesn’t occur it’ll be criminal, I just pray we get given what we so crave. 
So there you have it, Los Ingobernables De Japon are on a roll and deservedly will be featured all across the Power Struggle card. Naito and BUSHI should retain their prestigious belts and so long as SANADA and EVIL perform well in their matches they will be able to threaten in the upcoming World Tag League too. 

If you have not checked out Japan’s hottest faction yet I would fully recommend it as you are missing out on some incredible matches, antics and stories. Here’s to them and here’s to Power Struggle 2016, it should be a cracker!

Words & Images - Thomas Brady 
Editor - James Marston 

TV Review: WWE Smackdown Live #895 - AJ Styles v James Ellsworth + WWE Talking Smack #12 - Nikki Bella Interview

Two days removed from the No Mercy supercard, WWE's Smackdown brand was in San Jose, California with a card headlined by World Champion AJ Styles facing hand-picked opponent, James Ellsworth, with Dean Ambrose slotting in as the special guest referee. With Kane, Randy Orton, NEW Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler, Bray Wyatt and a returning Luke Harper getting major spots, would Smackdown come out of swinging as the brand began it's journey towards Autumn's biggest event, Survivor Series? 

So, yeah, this week's main event saw World Champion AJ Styles pinned by lowly underdog job guy James Ellsworth. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this and it was quite possibly one of the hardest matches I've ever had to give a rating to. For a bit of context, Dean Ambrose played the role of special guest referee and, of course, gave Ellsworth every opportunity he could. This included various comedy spots, Ambrose tripping Styles and seemingly taking a phone call just as Ellsworth tapped to the Calf Crusher. Of course, after Styles had hit a Styles Clash (that would have broken Ellsworth's neck, had Styles not been able to shift his weight at the last moment), Ambrose refused to count the pin and went on to hit two Dirty Deeds to give a limp Ellsworth the win. I found it all mildly entertaining, but not all that funny and I'm not quite sure what it achieves in the long run. With six weeks of television to fill before Survivor Series, I can see why a side story was needed and I understand why Ellsworth was chosen for his cult stardom, but the whole shape of the match felt backwards and I'll go into a bit further down.

The semi-main was Luke Harper's return to action for the first time since March, tagging with Bray Wyatt for a victory over Randy Orton and Kane. I wasn't particularly enamoured with main bulk of the contest, which mainly consisted of Orton and Kane getting beats on, feeling like every piece of Wyatt Family offence was responded to with five or six things from the makeshift babyface team of former WrestleMania opponents. I'm not sure what was up with Kane because his offence was sloppy and he took a poor bump into the barricade. A sub-par performance from a guy who is usually reliable for this kind of spot. For all the awkwardness of the build to finish with Kane arguing with the ref, giving Harper a chance to slide in a hit a superkick on Orton, the actual finish was pretty damn cool. Moments after the superkick, Wyatt missed a running senton and with both men reaching for the tag, the lights went out, Wyatt's screen gimmick hit and when they came up, Harper was standing in Orton's corner and Kane had completely disappeared. It looked fantastic and was worked quickly enough that it got a good pop out of the crowd. Wyatt won the bout with a Sister Abigail on Orton. With Harper back there's potential to create some interesting stuff with Orton and Wyatt, parts of the match touched on how good it could be, hopefully it's those parts that are empathised going forward.   

So, I've explained the Styles v Ellsworth bout, but not quite how it came about. It all began with what was probably the strongest work of the show as Styles dazzled on the microphone with a powerful egotistical promo. He spoke about his victory at No Mercy, bragging about his beating John Cena and Dean Ambrose in the same night, glossed over the fact that he tapped out to both, as well as playing with the crowd, initially basking in a portion of cheers, before burning those cheering, by saying that they had to live through him. After a short interlude where Dean Ambrose claimed Styles was afraid to fight him, Styles announced his hand-picked opponent as James Ellsworth, who confusedly walked down the ramp, apparently unaware. The segment would conclude with General Manager Daniel Bryan making Ambrose the special guest referee. As mentioned above this didn't quite sit right with me as stacking the deck against a champion, having the Authority figure place a crooked referee in charge, almost makes Styles the match's babyface. 

The opener saw the new Intercontinental Champion Dolph Ziggler get a victory over The Spirit Squad duo of Kenny (Dykstra) and Mikey (Mondo) in a Two-on-One Handicap match, that would hopefully put that story to bed. The match went too long for me, which might have been something to do with them airing it through the advert break. With The Miz on commentary, I would have bought more into the action had he been more involved in the action, giving the distractions that allowed Kenny and Mikey to take control. The bout plodding along for four or five minutes and I just couldn't buy into the Spirit Squad as threat. The double DDT spot by Ziggler was nice, but having the momentum switch back and give Kenny a near fall felt unnecessary at this point. The most interesting thing that came out of the match was Tag Team Champions Heath Slater and Rhyno making the save for the victorious Ziggler, as Miz and Spirit Squad attempted to take him out post match. 

Before the bout, Dolph Ziggler opened the show with a hot crowd hanging on his every word. It was the right decision to start the show with the hottest storyline that the show had coming out of No Mercy and Ziggler took the moment and ran with it. He built his promo wonderfully, talking about his feelings before his retirement match and concluded with a passion declaration that he belonged in this ring. He also made the belt feel like a big part of what he had to say, constantly referencing what it meant to him and making sure to hold it aloft at every opportunity. The Miz and Maryse's interruption also featured some good content, with the highlight having to be the pair dressed entirely in black and supposedly being in a period of mourning for Miz's title loss. Whilst Ziggler and the crowd taking the piss out of Miz for seemingly crying on Sunday at first didn't sit right to me, Miz rallying out with a fiery speech, saying that he'd do absolutely anything to get the title back and leading into introducing the Spirit Squad for the aforementioned handicap match.

Best of the Rest 

• Naomi pinned Carmella after Nikki Bella caused a distraction at ringside, with Carmella eventually able to escape an attack from Bella by running through the crowd.

• Against the run of play, Jimmy Uso defeated Chad Gable - Commissioner Shane McMahon & General Manager Daniel Bryan challenged RAW's Commissioner Stephanie McMahon & General Manager Mick Foley to three matches for 20th November's Survivor Series supercard, all traditional Survivor Series elimination matches with one for male singles, one for female singles and one for tag teams – Before her match, Carmella attacked Nikki Bella backstage...

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 3.88/10

Show in a Sentence - Strong promos, ineffective matches and questionable stories.

Strongest Moment - Dolph Ziggler and The Miz opening the show

Weakest Moment - Dolph Ziggler v The Spirit Squad

Only a short episode of Talking Smack this week, but an interesting one for sure. Nikki Bella's interview was the headliner, but there was a lot going on elsewhere also. 

I found myself rather enjoying Renee Young and Daniel Bryan interviewing Nikki Bella, in a way that I perhaps didn't expect I would. This was mainly because Bella felt like she being real, rather than attempting to deliver a promo or play a character, whilst still remaining true to current storylines. This was helped by her chemistry with brother-in-law Bryan, which came across well as they joked and teased each other. A really good plug for the Total Bellas reality show. I would have liked to have seen Bella discuss her feud with Carmella a bit more, as well as sell the attack from Carmella earlier in the night, but perhaps that is asking too much? 

Best of the Rest 

• James Ellsworth's appearance was highlighted by Daniel Bryan announcing that Ellsworth had a World Championship match on next week's Smackdown Live - Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper appeared in the studio and both cut angry and creepy but low key promos 

Finally... 

Show in a Sentence - A nice way to round out the evening, with some brave experiments with different styles.

Words - James Marston

Smackdown Live Banner - Kai Stellar

TV Review: WWE Monday Night RAW #1220 - Chris Jericho v Seth Rollins 3

The 10th October episode (Episode #1220) of Monday Night RAW came from Oakland, California as the fallout from Clash of Champions continued. 

The main event saw Chris Jericho face Seth Rollins for the second time in just over a month, with Jericho having the chance to join a Hell in a Cell match between Rollins and Universal Champion Kevin Owens on 30th October. With Paul Heyman, Cesaro, Universal Champion Kevin Owens, General Manager Mick Foley and Women's Champion Sasha Banks all in major slots on the show, could RAW produce a show that drove them succesfully out of the post-Clash of Champions feel and towards Hell in a Cell? 

The main event saw Seth Rollins defeat Chris Jericho to keep Y2J out of 30th October's Hell in a Cell match in a very good TV main event. The two wrestled a clever bout, that saw Jericho control the action by focusing in on the ribs that Rollins had injured against Kevin Owens back at Clash of Champions. Indeed, it was Owens turning up on the ramp that gave Jericho the opening in the first place. This was all about furthering Rollins cause as he continues to slowly slip in the babyface role, as his gutsy performance whilst fighting against the pain on numerous moments. Fighting to reach the ropes whilst in the Walls of Jericho and kicking out of a Lionsault, moments after struggling to the top rope for a Frog Splash only to miss. Y2J is one of the best people in the business for making his opponent look good and he worked hard to make sure that Rollins looked a million bucks. There wasn't a lengthy period of dominance for Jericho, meaning most of the match was hope spots for Rollins or Rollins kicking out or surviving offence from Jericho or Rollins selling his injuries. 

The finish saw a flash of the pair heading into the next gear, with Jericho blocking a Pedigree and going for another and surely match-winning Walls of Jericho only for The Architect to grab a small package and walk out victorious. The events that followed made it clear why Rollins was given a flash win, as opposed to a more convincing Pedigree victory. Rollins quickly turned the table on an Owens attack, with Jericho saving KO from a Pedigree, before KO would bail and leave Y2J alone with Rollins to take a Pedigree. Whilst it was a nice tease for the upcoming Owens v Rollins rematch, but the real story was the seeds being planted for a Jericho v Owens feud. I'd suggest that this was the reason for Jericho not taking the Pedigree in the match. It's good to see some forward planning from WWE and hopefully the work that was put in here will pay off with an incredible Hell in a Cell bout with Owens and Rollins, before Owens transitions in a feud with Jericho, that could end up defining his title run and The Prizefighter right up to WrestleMania season. 

Slotting into the semi-main slot was Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston (accompanied by the rest of The New Day (Big E & Xavier Woods) going over Cesaro in a decent match, where the in-ring action was never the focus. After New Day's fun pre-match promo, most of the wrestling flowed nicely with Cesaro and Kingston having a nice chemistry in the ring, that I'd like to see explored more. The story of the bout was that E & Woods had Kingston's back when required, but Sheamus was too busy on Facebook Live to ever help his rival turned tag partner, Cesaro. Of course, this played into the finish, where Sheamus for some reason decided to grab Woods' trombone, Francesca 2, leading to a scrap with E & Woods, before Kingston rolled up Cesaro for the victory. It was entertaining, made sense, but was formulaic and didn't allow the wrestlers to flourish quite as well as it could have. This could be an interesting feud, but I'd like to see get some extra depth over the next two weeks building to Hell in a Cell.

Promoted as Mick Foley's Hell in a Cell address and pushed around the idea that Foley had competed in the most iconic version of the contest, Foley was joined by Stephanie McMahon to initial answer Sasha Banks' earlier request (more on that below). The segment would quickly become the Jeri-KO show as Chris Jericho & Universal Champion Kevin Owens headed to the ring as soon as Foley announced that Owens' match with Seth Rollins at Hell in a Cell, would actually be a Hell in a Cell match. Owens and Jericho were their usual uber delightful selves, as Jericho quickly distracted from the fact that Owens didn't want to have a Hell in a Cell match, calling Foley a genie, requesting a private jet and putting Foley on the list twice. I found the ending particular interesting as McMahon appeared to get angry with Jericho, but also gave him an opportunity to get a title match that would also stack the deck against Rollins. The smile on Jericho's face told the story well and whilst I'm not sure how many people will have picked up on it, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing how this unfolds across the rest of the Autumn programme. 

The mid-card was topped by a mixed tag team that saw Charlotte & Rusev (seconded by Lana) put over Women's Champion Sasha Banks & United States Champion Roman Reigns. For me, the best thing about this match was the finish as Banks reserved a roll up from Charlotte, locked on the Banks Statement with Reigns seemingly flying through the air and nailing Rusev with spear to deny The Bulgarian Brute the opportunity to interfere. The spear was perhaps the best that Reigns has ever hit and got a massive pop, partly because of it's visual and partly because of the perfect timing. Outside of that the action was solid, but didn't seem to correspond with some of the stories that had been introduced earlier in the show. For me, Reigns was a little too dominant, especially considering he was winning the match. I would've liked to have seen Rusev look incredible for a long time, build him up to look like he would've defeated Reigns, if Reigns hadn't been able to tag out and you've got an interesting story to go forward with into Hell in a Cell. 

Rewinding a little, the set-up for the mixed tag came at the top of the show as Sasha Banks opened RAW. Banks opening promo about winning the title and her journey to winning it was very well done. It was written well, felt personal and delivered with conviction. However, things became a bit messy from there as WWE struggled to bring the four competitors together to set up the match. As Charlotte headed out to discuss Hell in a Cell, Rusev interrupted before she'd even made it down the ramp. It quickly became clear that this was another attempt to get Roman Reigns over with the audience. Charlotte & Banks teamed to knock Rusev from the ring, because he called them "Lost women" in a misogynistic rant. There was a wonderful shot of a fuming Rusev dusting himself down outside of the ring and seemingly getting ready to assault The BFFs in some shape or form. Of course, Reigns music hit and he saved the women like a knight in shining arm. Unfortunately, instead of a massive pop, Reigns got a loud boo (mixed reaction, if you're being generous). Not sure how I feel about the message that the companies' top two women couldn't have handled themselves against Rusev.

The highlight of the show for me was Paul Heyman's return, as he announced that Brock Lesnar was issuing a challenge to Goldberg for a match at a future date. This was hype heavily throughout the show with Goldberg's ESPN interview with Jonathan Coachman being shown. The simple fact that Heyman made me want to see a rematch from a WrestleMania match that has featured one many a list of the worst matches ever to take place on that show stands as a testament for just how good this man is with a microphone in his hand. Heyman introduced the idea that Lesnar and Goldberg had had similar trajectories, showing a believable frustration that Lesnar lost the original match before passionately building it to a crescendo by challenging The Myth to a bout with The Beast. Just over five minutes of screen time, but every seconding was fascinating to watch. Bravo, Mr. Heyman, bravo. 

In the top contest from the Cruiserweight division this week, Cruiserweight Champion TJ Perkins continued to steadily get over with the audience as he defeated Ariya Daivari via submission. This was simple and effective contest, that showcased Perkins perfectly as he showed off some of his flashy offence, before Daivari worked effectively as the rough and tumble heel, before some back and forth lead to a strong finish. Daivari was brilliant in his role, generously helping Perkins to look as good as he possibly could, bumping crisply for him when called up, but also allowing him to show his ability to fight from underneath and survive big moves like the hangman's neckbreaker. The finish saw Daivari miss a Frog Splash, appearing to bang his knee in the process, with Perkins hitting a wrecking ball dropkick before locking in a knee bar for the submission victory. Brian Kendrick did as good a job as he could on commentary, despite having to fight against some repetitive questions from Saxton and Cole. The last thing heard was the comparison off Perkins' knee bar and Kendrick's Captain's Hook submissions and that should prove to the story of their 30th October.

Best of the Rest 

• Lince Dorado & Sin Cara went over Drew Gulak and Tony Nese in a decent Cruiserweight Division bout, that the crowd warmed to well.

• Bayley defeated Cammy Fields, before Dana Brooke attacked Bayley - Braun Strowman defeated The Splash Brothers (Clay Splash & Steven Splash) in a Handicap Match, before asking Mick Foley for more competition – Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson attacked Big Cass & Enzo Amore before a match – Neville & Sami Zayn defeated Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel - R-Truth (seconded by Goldust) defeated Titus O'Neil

Finally... 

ATPW Scale Rating - 5.56/10

Show in a Sentence - Mostly entertaining but with some odd or ham-fisted booking, but with a fine TV main event and a wonderful promo from Paul Heyman.

Best Moment - Paul Heyman calls out Goldberg

Worst Moment - Cesaro v Kofi Kingston 

Words - James Marston

Banner - Kai Stellar

Event Review: PROGRESS Chapter 37: A Sudden Sense of Liberty - Zack Gibson v Mark Haskins 2

Just three weeks after the companies biggest show of the year, Chapter 36: We're Gonna Need A Bigger Room...Again in Brixton, London, PROGRESS Wrestling returned to Manchester, with the landscape almost completely changed since their last trip north in August for Chapter 34: Keep It Unreal.

Following pinned Jack Gallagher in his final independent match, The Origin's Zack Gibson got the first show at Mark Haskins' World Championship in the main event, new Tag Team Champions British Strong Style (Pete Dunne and Trent Seven) were involved in a Four Way Match with Atlas Championship tournament runner-up, Joe Coffey and deposed World Champion Marty Scurll and The Origin's Dave Mastiff and El Ligero took on The South Pacific Power Trip (TK Cooper and Travis Banks) and FSU (Eddie Dennis & Mark Andrews) in a Three Way that whilst not a #1 Contender to match to BSS's Tag Team titles would have major repercussions in the division. Talent like Kay Lee Ray, Fabian Aichner (Adrian Severe), Kimber Lee, Atlas Champion Rampage Brown and Mikey Whiplash featured on the under the card. 

Could PROGRESS continue to expand on the momentum that Chapter 36 and it's build up created or would there be a big show "hangover" effect?

"The Star Attraction" Mark Haskins' first World title defense was a successful one as he tapped out "Liverpool's Number One" Zack Gibson in a superb main event. From before the opening bell, the O2 Ritz Manchester were captivated by the story of the brilliant wrestler from a despised local rival attempting to play spoiler to brilliant wrestler who probably still had a buzz from when Marty Scurll tapped out three weeks earlier. Whilst it may sound curious, if you're familiar with the recent PROGRESS product then you'll know exactly why I wrote "before the opening bell" for this clash, of course, I'm referring to Gibson's now infamous pre-match promo. It's become something of a game to boo as you physically can whilst Gibson is trying to talk, because of his exaggerated Merseyside accent and general cuntish behaviour with the recent addition of people lobbing loo roll at the ring, a la "the streamers thing" as Cody put it, giving the occasion a terrific visual to match. I couldn't tell you what Gibson said though, but it was probably something about how he'd seen be the #1 wrestler in werld.

Let's not be mistaken here, these are two of the best wrestlers in the country (and perhaps beyond), both of which have improved tremendously over the last two or three years, and that was made even more evident by the quality of this match in almost every department. The opening cleverly settled the crowd down from the Gibson promo, but also planted seeds later in the match. Around some crisp "feeling out process" action, Haskins attempted to lock in his title-winning Sharpshooter, whilst Gibson would wrench the Smash Champion's arm across the top rope to give the match the bulk of it's narrative going forward. Gibson worked extremely well as a methodical heel, focusing the majority of his offence on the arm going forward, which included a piledriver-style shoulderbreaker. Haskins continued to impress with his sympathetic babyface selling, not just with the arm but all over his face (which could be clearly seen even from the balcony). Haskins offence, which featured a vast variety of submissions, was often impacted by the injury, included an attempt at one of his signature holds, the Stretch Muffler. I love this kind of stuff, more than I love pie...and I love pie.

The second half of the match was even better, with some world class grappling and a pacing which showed a real intelligence. Gibson hitting a pair of Ticket to Rides (Double knee facebuster) including one that came off the middle rope and whilst it would be easy to write that this was a strong near fall, there was much more behind it as it would drive the action for the finishing stretch. The frustration was painted on Gibson's face as he fired up hitting an arm trap DDT, before through Haskins between the ropes and into the ringpost and then nailed a spinning piledriver, which had a similar effect to the previous near fall, exaggerating the frustration further and putting Haskins over as a gutsy motherfucker. It was then time for the Shankly Gates (Grounded Wristlock) which got a huge pop from the crowd, in an anticipation that they could see a new champion, thanks to the work done across the previous fifteen minutes. The conclusion to the story was a satisfying one as The Star Attraction escaped the hold and moments later had the Sharpshooter locked on and wrenched back in a way that I have never seen. It married the stories together and when Gibson tapped it felt like a logical conclusion. Haskins credentials as champion have been bolstered, with his blood and guts, fight til fall down character came across in a way that will only aid any future defenses, whilst Gibson looked capable and comfortable in the main event slots.

The show's semi-main came in the form of Marty Scurll tapping out Joe Coffey in a Four Way that also involved Tag Team Champions Pete Dunne and Trent Seven, with Seven substituting for CZW star Shane Strickland (who had travel issues getting from Germany after a wXw show the prior evening). I would be lying if I said Seven replacing Strickland didn't hurt the contest as it certainly changed the dynamic. I'm a huge fan of Seven, but the announced bout appeared to be a mixture of four different styles, with Strickland down as the representative for the high-flying US Indy variant. Seven is a hard-hitting British strong style competitor, he's also Dunne's tag team partner and was initially down to second The Bruiserweight for the bout, which in itself would have offered more storytelling options. Having just one babyface in match, meant that things were left feeling a little uneven and whilst things could have worked, Coffey isn't over enough to play that role. When Seven asked owner and announcer Jim Smallman to be included in the contest, I was expected Smallman to swerve and introduce a different competitor. 

Whilst the bout had it's problems, don't for a second think was dull. All four were game for an exciting and pacy contest that was full of fun spots that would involve multiple competitors at a time. Whilst the crowd mimicking Seven shouting "Peter" to help escape a signature move threatened to overpower what was trying to be done in the ring, the four were more than capable of bringing the audience back in to what they were doing. A sequence that combined Dunne's penchant for biting and Scurll's desire to snap people's fingers was put together superbly and got great reactions from simple low impact moments. A Dunne v Scurll singles match, whether it be in PROGRESS or somewhere else is surely a must within the next 12 months, too my knowledge it'd be a first time clash. The finish was a pacey as all four began to shine, including a lariat from Coffey that appeared to murder Dunne, a nice sequence between Coffey and Dunne, before Scurll picked up the win with his Cross-faced Chicken Wing with a leg scissors. As good as the match turned out to be, the biggest pop came milli-seconds after a rising promo saw Scurll proclaim himself the greatest World Champion in company history and AFI's I Hope You Suffer blared through the venue and former champ Jimmy Havoc blindsided The Villain, attacking him for the second show in a row. I'm extremely excited to see where this is heading.

Rounding off the top of the card was The South Pacific Power Trip (TK Cooper and Travis Banks, accompanied by Dahlia Black) winning a three way tag bout over The Origin (Dave Mastiff & El Ligero) and FSU (Eddie Dennis & Mark Andrews) in a bout that mostly mixed comedy with stimulating action well. I say mostly because some of the humorous hijinx didn't sit as well with the rest of the bout as they could have. The one thing in particular that hurt things for me was Mastiff and Ligero revealing a pair of foam hands and using them as weapons. Now, it was funny and it worked with Ligero's gimmick, whilst Mastiff hamming it up on the apron was also great, even the repeated foam hand chest strikes to Andrews in the corner was fine by me...but Andrews selling the strikes? Not so much. For the majority of the crowd this didn't seem to be a problem, but it took me a little out of the moment, especially considering how there's been a strong feud between FSU and the Origin for months. 

With six (or seven) talented wrestlers the three way was predictably strong, as everyone pulled their weight within their roles. Andrews worked effectively as the face in peril, whilst the tension between the two heel teams was played perfectly and Dennis offered a sweet hot tag sequence before the match would break out into a pacier sprint. The break down included a beautiful German suplex from Mastiff to Andrews, that my mind has somehow saved almost photographically. The fact that it was surrounded by a series of strikes and big moves as the talent rotated in and out of the ring made it feel even more special. The last few minutes included a number of strong near falls, including SPPT using their Elevated DDT style finish, Cooper moonsaulting into a Dennis superkick and FSU using their Go Home Driver/Double Stomp combination. Black would get involved as well, trying to distract Dennis for a bicycle kick from Cooper and ended up taking the move herself as she went flying off the apron. When the dust began to settle it was Banks who got the win for his team, managing to pin former World Champion Andrews with a reverse fireman's carry airplane spin! The SCCP are undefeated since forming in June and with a match with The Shirtlifters (Jack Sexsmith & Roy Johnson) in Camden on 30th October, they seem to be on the road to lifting the Tag Team shields.

The undercard was highlighted by Mikey Whiplash answering Rampage Brown's open challenge and unsuccessfully challenging for the Atlas Championship in the belts first defense. In a nice piece of storytelling, in June Whiplash cost Brown a tag match in the Atlas Tournament, subbing for Michael Dante, but leaving Brown high and dry against Damian O'Connor & Joe Coffey. This was a stellar heavyweight scrap, in a style that has become synonymous with the Atlas Division in PROGRESS. Big hard strikes, brawling on the outside and general big lads stuff fitted well just before the main event. The duo added some touches in final stages that saw the match really come into it's own. Whiplash's frustration and Rampage's fiery comeback, lead to Whiplash pulling out a tope conhilo that I'm not sure anyone saw coming! The finish was well-worked, increasing in pace, until Whiplash attempted a pendulum lariat, only to be caught mid-way through and dragged leg first in a piledriver. After Brown's title win over Coffey and subsequent defense here, the Atlas division seems to have found it's sea legs, there's a lot of potential for the division and things are heading in the right direction for sure. 

Fabian Aichner (Adrian Severe) was on the losing end of his PROGRESS debut, as James Drake picked up the win, in a match where Aichner shined. Drake initially seemed to get over as a heel because he has his own face on his trunks, in a terrific example of how PROGRESS fans will attempt to find absolutely anything to chant. However, it was Aichner's performance that was the standout moment of the contest. Whilst Drake dominated, his offence was anything but flashy, which seemed to be a decision to allow Aichner's attacks to stand out even more than they would have otherwise. Whilst the two time NEw World Heavyweight Champion had appeared in WWE's Cruiserweight Classic, he looked like a big guy and much closer to 230lbs than 205, so seeing him pull out a huge dive over the top at the beginning and a superb double jump moonsault was ridiculous impressive. As Drake dodged a Frog Splash and won with the Head and Shoulders DDT, he got a strong amount of heat, which is something he can use on future appearances and at just 23 years old, he's got buckets of potential. I'd like to see a lot more for Aichner in the future, as I feel like there's a lot more to come from the Italian.

Former CHIKARA Grand Champion Kimber Lee suffered a loss on her debut, against fellow debutante Kay Lee Ray after a potentially controversial angle. The pair have worked together across the US for SHIMMER  & AIW, as well a bout in Nottingham for SWE and their previous meetings were clear throughout as the action was crisp and flowed wonderfully. The wrestling was mostly even, with the pair often mimicking each other, with repeated suicide dives and German suplexes among the back and forth strikes and pinfall attempts. Two seeds were planted and grew throughout, both circling around KLR's offence. The first was an early Gory Bomb attempt that Lee turned into a version of the sunset flip and the second was KLR trying to grab a guillotine choke at each and every opportunity. The Gory Bomb was used for an effective false finish, that protected Lee slightly, before KLR got the win the choke in a closing angle. It was the old injury angle, that saw Lee down and holding her neck, after being tripped on the top rope, before KLR would lock the hold on for an instant tap. I know some people found this distasteful after Sebastian's injury at the previous Chapter and there's a case for overuse to be made seeing as Will Ospreay had a similar angle on the Chapter before that. I didn't mind it particularly and thought it got some good heat for KLR while leaving the door open for a future Lee return. 

The opening match saw Bubblegum make a successful return after an eight month absence to pin Chuck Mambo in a funny and athletic opener, that was supremely entertaining and warm the audience up well for the rest of the show. The two characters slotted together well, with the opening setting the tone as Bubblegum joked with the crowd and the wrestling had a nice pace to it. The build to a big tope from Mambo was done well, in another character based sequence. There was a lot of sophomoric humour from Bubblegum involving his groin, including a prolonged superplex attempt, that I'll leave you to discover on demand rather than even attempt to describe or critique. The finish was stunning version of the Pedigree, a move that Mambo had earlier reversed, with Mambo's legs elevated on the middle ropes. It was good to see both these men getting used by the promotion once again and both could excel in more prominent roles if given the opportunity. 

Finally...

ATPW Scale Rating - 7.27/10

Show in a Sentence - A strong card across the board, taken up a notch or two because of the quality of the main event.

Match of the Night - Zack Gibson v Mark Haskins 

Words & Images - James Marston

All images belong to PROGRESS Wrestling.