PROGRESS 11/26/17 Chapter 58: Live Your Best Life Report

PROGRESS Wrestling held “Chapter 58: Live Your Best Life” on November 26th at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London.
Credit: Martin Bentley

0: Chris Ridgeway defeated Damon Moser in a qualifying match for the Tetsujin Hybrid Tournament – the tournament will be held in Liverpool in February, and features matches akin to the old UWFi, with no pinfalls, and matches only ending via submission or knockout. Fighters are only allowed three rope breaks per bout, and the end came shortly after Moser exhausted his third rope break, and Ridgeway then trapped him in a submission hold in the middle of the ring for the tapout. Ridgeway will join previously announced entrants Travis Banks, Omari, Chris Brookes, Mike Bird, Kyle Fletcher, Mark Haskins and Craig Kollins in the tournament on February 9th.

1: Travis Banks defeated Matt Riddle to retain the PROGRESS World Championship – the World Title match opened the show, as Riddle had to make another booking later in the evening against Alberto El Patron. This was an outstanding contest, as Banks withstood constant strikes from Riddle, doing his best to fire back. Banks survived several submission attempts, and the tide turned when Banks kicked out of Riddle’s Jumping Tombstone, before hitting Riddle with an avalanche Kiwi Krusher, the Slice of Heaven, and a regular Kiwi Krusher, then submitting Riddle with the Lion’s Clutch to retain the title.

2: Jimmy Havoc & Mark Haskins (with Vicky Haskins) defeated Connor Mills & Maverick Mayhew – Mills and Mayhew hit some high flying moves early in the contest, but Havoc and Haskins overwhelmed the young duo shortly afterwards, winning a short match with a Superkick from Haskins into a Havoc Acid Rainmaker on Mayhew. Vicky took the microphone after the match, but then threw it down without saying anything, adding to the mystery of why the team was formed.

3: Eddie Dennis defeated Jack Sexsmith via Referee Stoppage – this was largely one sided, as the freshly turned Dennis dominated Sexsmith for much of the contest. Sexsmith rallied back, and locked Dennis in the Cocko Crossface, but Dennis fought out, and hit Sexsmith with the Next Stop Driver, only to pull him up after a one count. Dennis hit another one, and then pulled Sexsmith up after a two count, and kept striking him until referee Chris Roberts called a stop to the contest. Travis Banks ran out to prevent any further damage, and Dennis challenged him to a match for the PROGRESS World Championship.

4: Jinny defeated Dahlia Black in a No Disqualification Match for Number One Contendership for the PROGRESS Women’s Championship – Jinny came out wearing a face mask similar to that of her trainer Jimmy Havoc, while holding a chair wrapped in barbed wire. Black went right for her, and they brawled up to the stage, where Black powerbombed Jinny through the commentary table. After a while, Black set up another table at ringside, but Jinny ended up putting her through it. Black went for The Dark Side of The Moonsault, but Jinny threw the barbed wire chair in her path to turn the tide of the contest. Black kicked out of the Style Clash, but then Jinny hit another one on a chair to get the win, and a shot at the PROGRESS Women’s Title that has eluded her since the first title match at Super Strong Style 16.

5: Timothy Thatcher defeated Strangler Davis in a Number One Contendership Match for the PROGRESS Atlas Championship – Davis was forced to defend the title shot he had won at Chapter 53 in July after cheating to defeat Thatcher at Chapter 56 last month. The match was only a minute in when music heard in a promo video PROGRESS released on Friday played, and the man who declared “Til Valhalla” in the video was revealed as Rob Lynch, Davis’ former tag team partner. Thatcher took advantage of the distraction to pin Davis and take his title shot from him. The former London Riots started brawling until backstage agent Paul Robinson and PROGRESS security staff broke them up, with Lynch vowing to get revenge for Davis’ betrayal. After the match, Thatcher returned to the ring and vowed to take his shot at the Atlas Title when his Ringkampf partner WALTER was ready to have the match, and then requested to have another match to give the fans value for his time.

6: Timothy Thatcher defeated Chris Ridgeway – after his win in the Tetsujin qualifying pre-show match, Ridgeway re-emerged to accept Thatcher’s challenge. This was a solid striking and grappling contest, with Ridgeway doing his best to test Thatcher with leg strikes and submission holds, but Thatcher eventually trapped Ridgeway in an armbar for the submission victory. Ridgeway gained the fans’ support in the space of two matches, and a great appreciation for stepping up to face Thatcher at short notice.

7: Joseph Conners defeated “Flash” Morgan Webster – Conners stalled for a lot of the contest, and his slow and deliberate pace, whilst designed to draw heat, was a detriment to the contest, despite Webster’s efforts to get the fans back into it. The slow pace wasn’t helped by Webster looking like he hurt himself on a Swanton Bomb attempt, and a few minutes later, Conners won with his Don’t Look Down DDT style move.

8: Toni Storm defeated Alex Windsor to retain the PROGRESS Women’s Championship – this was a very good match, although the fans weren’t fully into it as a result of the previous match. Windsor had Storm in more trouble than any of her previous challengers, hitting her with heavy strikes, and putting her in several submission holds. Storm had several hope spots, but Windsor was able to stop her momentum each time. Windsor only made one mistake, which Storm capitalised on to hit the Strong Zero Piledriver for the win, retaining her title.

9: The Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) defeated #CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos) to win the PROGRESS Tag Team Championship – Gibson used his pre-match promo to make fun of #CCK’s merchandise and Kid Lykos’ injuries, which was an eerie fortelling of this match. After a few minutes, Drake and Gibson caught Lykos on a dive, and tossed him into the ringside chairs, leaving them two on one against Brookes. Once the Grizzled Young Veterans worked on Brookes for a while, Lykos reappeared and hit a dive off a side platform onto Drake and Gibson, but injured his shoulder in the process, and was taken to the back by paramedics. Brookes fought valiantly on his own, even throwing Gibson off the stage through chairs, but after a while, the Grizzled Young Veterans overwhelmed him, and Gibson locked Brookes in the Shankly Gates to draw the submission and hand him and Drake the PROGRESS Tag Team Titles. Lykos was taken to hospital, where his shoulder was popped back into place.

The next PROGRESS show is “Chapter 59: Whatever People Say We Are, That’s What We’re Not” in Sheffield on December 10th at the O2 Academy, which is sold out. The next show at the Electric Ballroom in Camden is “Chapter 60: Unboxing Live”, the annual mystery show on December 30th, which is also sold out. Weekend tickets are on sale for the 2018 Super Strong Style 16 Tournament, being held on May 5th, 6th and 7th at London’s Alexandra Palace, with individual day tickets going on sale from December 4th. Tickets remain on sale for PROGRESS Wrestling’s debut at the SSE Arena in Wembley on September 30th.

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