PROGRESS Chapter 54 Report: Banks & Dunne vs. Haskins & Havoc
Credit: Martin Bentley
PROGRESS Wrestling held “Chapter 54: Go To Your God Like A Soldier” on August 27th at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London, which was the first show following the company’s tour of the United States, and the final show before the company’s biggest show of the year at Alexandra Palace on September 10th.
0: Never Say Die (Alex Cupid & Dillon D’Angelo) beat Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) – this match arguably stole the show, as Australian stars Fletcher and Davis, who have toured the UK and made an impression over the last several months for various promotions, got a shot on the pre-show match against the Knucklelocks Gym graduates Cupid and D’Angelo. The two teams clicked really well, with Never Say Die utilising speed to counter Fletcher’s aerial tactics and Davis’ power. Never Say Die got the win, and it looks certain that the next time these two teams meet will be on a main card, as they both made great showings.
1: Strangler Davis beat Connor Mills – “Strangler” is the new name for James Davis following his betrayal of Rob Lynch last month, as he now comes to the ring with a noose, bringing unfavourable comparisons to the Bullet Club’s Hangman Page from some fans. Mills is one of Davis’ students, and he performed well, but this match was about showcasing Davis’ new attitude, and he got the win with the Strangle Hold.
“Flash” Morgan Webster hosted a live edition of his “Wrestling Friends” podcast, with special guests Jimmy Havoc and Mark Haskins. The two appeared to make up following their issues over the past couple of months, but problems flared up again when both claimed they wanted “their” PROGRESS World Title back. Travis Banks then came out, and told both Haskins and Havoc that he would be winning the title at Alexandra Palace in two weeks. Pete Dunne then arrived, burying the segment, and announcing that he had picked both Haskins and Havoc to face Banks as his match choice. Banks then said that he had also chosen Haskins and Havoc for Dunne, leading to Jim Smallman announcing that the main event would be Banks teaming with Dunne against Haskins and Havoc.
2: Tyler Bate beat Kid Lykos – this was the first of two matches to determine the stipulations for the British Strong Style vs. #CCK match for the PROGRESS Tag Team Championship at Chapter 55 in two weeks. Lykos had just come back this weekend from injuring a shoulder earlier in the month, and Bate focused his attacks on the shoulder. Lykos was fighting back, and was about to put Bate away with the top rope Brainbuster when Trent Seven interfered, allowing Bate to win with the Tyler Driver 97. Afterwards, Seven jokingly declared that the first stipulation would be a Punjabi Prison Match, before calling the PROGRESS fans fools and announcing it would be a normal 2 on 2 tag team match, where Falls Count Anywhere… in the ring.
3: Dahlia Black beat Jinny in a Number One Contenders Match for the PROGRESS Women’s Championship – Black went right for Jinny, who had angered her by going after Black’s previously injured ankle in New York City. Jinny went for the ankle again here, and had a lot of success throughout the match by stomping on it and pulling it in different directions. Black managed to kick out after Jinny hit a Rainmaker and the Style Clash, and was then able to roll Jinny up for the win. As a result, Black gets the shot at Toni Storm’s PROGRESS Women’s Title at Alexandra Palace in two weeks’ time.
4: Chris Brookes beat Trent Seven – before the match, Seven boasted about wrestling in front of 15,000 people in Brooklyn, and having his WWE theme song on iTunes and Spotify. Brookes and Seven brawled outside the ring, with Seven throwing Brookes through chairs, and Brookes back dropping Seven several rows deep. When Brookes fought back, Tyler Bate tried to interfere, but Brookes kicked out of Seven’s piledriver. Bate hooked Brookes in the Tyler Driver 97 position, but referee Chris Roberts caught him, and threw Bate out of the ring. While Roberts was distracted dealing with Bate, Kid Lykos ran in, and #CCK hit the Sick F***in’ Tag Move on Seven to give Brookes the win. Brookes then over-rulred Seven’s stipulation, making their Tag Team Title match in Alexandra Palace a Ladder Match.
5: Grizzled Young Vets (James Drake & Zack Gibson) beat FSU (Eddie Dennis & Mark Andrews) – this was a better demonstration of how quickly Drake and Gibson have gelled as a team, as they had an answer for nearly everything Andrews and Dennis threw at them. Andrews had returned to PROGRESS during the United States tour, and he hadn’t missed a beat after his recent injury layoff, pulling off his trademark moves including a sweet Stundog Millionaire to counter Gibson. The Grizzled Young Vets were able to isolate Dennis at the end, and won by hitting him with the Ticket To Mayhem – a Drake DDT into Gibson’s lungblower.
6: Timothy Thatcher beat Doug Williams – this was Williams’ first match in PROGRESS for three years, and he had a fun grappling contest here with Thatcher, who has recently moved to Germany to work extensively with the Westside Xtreme Wrestling training academy. The match largely stayed on the mat, with Thatcher slowly gaining control over his more tenured opponent. Williams was able to answer back with some strikes, but Thatcher got him back on the ground, and eventually submitted him with an armbar. Thatcher is one of two challengers for the PROGRESS Atlas Championship at Alexandra Palace, as he and Ringkampf partner WALTER face two-time champion Matt Riddle.
7: Pete Dunne & Travis Banks beat Jimmy Havoc & Mark Haskins – Dunne slapped Banks at the start and walked up to the stage, where he snatched PROGRESS commentator Callum Leslie and kicked him down low, before taking Leslie’s place on commentary, forcing Banks to wrestle Haskins and Havoc on his own. Haskins and Havoc destroyed Banks, throwing him through chairs and taking advantage of the handicap, but after a while, frustrations grew over not being able to put him away, and they started fighting with each other again. Banks broke up their brawl to attack them, but after a while, Haskins and Havoc both ended up missing Banks and hit their big moves on each other. With Haskins down and Havoc choosing to walk out on him, Dunne returned to the ring, threw Banks out, and pinned Haskins with The Bitter End.
After the match, British Strong Style started to triple team Banks, when #CCK made the save, running off Dunne and getting the better of Bate and Seven. Dunne then returned with a sledgehammer, dragging Dahlia Black onto the stage, threatening to shatter her bad ankle with the sledgehammer. This distracted Banks and #CCK long enough for Bate and Seven to attack them again, whilst Dunne took Black’s ankle out. Bate and Seven held Banks in place, and this time Dunne was successful in hitting him with the sledgehammer, before doing the same to Brookes and then Lykos in his bad shoulder, leaving British Strong Style on top in the last image before the Alexandra Palace show.
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“Chapter 55: Chase The Sun” is sold out on September 10th at London’s Alexandra Palace, and the following is the card as it stands:
*Pete Dunne vs. Travis Banks for the PROGRESS World Championship
*British Strong Style vs. #CCK in a Ladder Match for the PROGRESS Tag Team Championship
*Matt Riddle vs. Timothy Thatcher vs. WALTER in a Triple Threat Match for the PROGRESS Atlas Championship
*Toni Storm vs. Dahlia Black for the PROGRESS Women’s Championship
Tickets go on sale on Monday (August 28th) at 12pm for the next Electric Ballroom show, “Chapter 56” on October 29th. There are some tickets remaining for “Chapter 59: Whatever People Say We Are, That’s What We’re Not” on December 10th at the O2 Academy in Sheffield, and “Chapter 61: Don’t Touch Me… Don’t… Don’t Touch Me” on January 14th 2018 at the O2 Academy in Birmingham, available at progresswrestling.com