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“Her name is Rio and she dances...” no, wait wrong one. “Hungry like the Wolf” was the title for Progress’ most recent chapter, which took place at the legendary Electric Ballroom in Camden last Sunday. We at RR had the privilege to tag along; here are our biggest moments & takeaways from this stellar show.
Simon gets a Down
If you’re a fan of wrestling, you should know the name, or at the very least have seen fan signs asking Simon for “an Up”, well that’s in reference to WhatCultures own, Mr. Simon Miller. The wrestling journalist certainly wasn’t here to provide Progress with a review, that’s for sure. His intentions were much more physical; to give Tate Mayfairs a good old beating.
Tate made his way to the ring first, sporting some brass knuckles on his fancy-ass necklace, followed by Miller, looking like what you would get if you ordered Goldberg from “Wish”, but seriously though he is jacked!
Things got started pretty quickly with Miller taking it right to Mayfairs, and it didn’t take long for the pair to spill straight out of the ring and into the crowd. The YouTuber, now wrestler had the upper hand taking it right to Mayfairs and bringing the action back into the ring. With the beating continuing, Tate crumples into a corner of the ring, clutching at his leg. With the referee holding Miller back, this only fuels his angst, causing him to push the ref & charge for Tate. Unbeknownst to Miller, during this time Tate had brandished his Brass Knucks and clocked Miller square in the jaw, causing the bigger man to crash in the middle of the ring. With Miller out, Tate put him in a simple wristlock, and with Simon unresponsive the referee had no choice but to call for the bell. Tateness truly was Greatness on this night! It’s an Up from us.
Cracks in the Lana Austin Experience?
This was an epic mis-match. We had the towering LA Taylor going up against “The Lady of Wrestling” Rene Michelle, who made her way to the ring wearing her husband Spud’s, old Progress jacket!
Despite the obvious size differential, this did not stop Rene, who at many times during the match was the aggressor, taking it right to Taylor. But perhaps the bigger story here was whenever LA got in some offense of her own. With the rest of the “Lana Austin Experience” at ringside, Rob Drake took it upon himself to goad & berate Taylor at every opportunity. With “Is that all you’ve got?” and “She kicked out at one!” being spewed at Taylor, she definitely took notice. Squaring off with and taunting Drake on a regular basis.
Taylor did ultimately walk away with the win, with Lana & Smitson having to keep the female powerhouse & Drake apart, post match. There is some clear dissention amongst Lana’s ranks; I personally hope the two come to blows!
GCW’s in the House
In the first title match of the evening we had GCW’s own Blake Christian defend his GCW World Championship against Progress’ “Spectacular Twat” Charles Crowley. Crowley came out first with all of his usual pizzazz and weirdness, followed by the champ, along with his usual chorus of boos and middle fingers.
Shortly after SoCal Val’s ring introductions, Blake took note of Crowley’s shoulder, heavily taped & braced up. Blake calls his shot, stating that’s what he will work on, with Crowley theatrically claiming it was for aesthetics only.
Crowley made sure to get all of his stuff in, as only he can do – seriously this guy is incredibly entertaining! But true to his plan “All Heart” Blake Christian worked on the shoulder in technical fashion, which ultimately proved too much for the Twat, who gave up the L.
Majestic in defeat, Crowley takes to the mic, claiming there is another World title he has his eyes on, that was until the Smokin’ Ace’s interrupted him, threatening him to never speak of the World Championship again.
THE Pop of the Night
Speaking of the Smokin’ Aces, their match immediately followed, as they were primed to defend their World Tag Team Championships against the “Good Boi” Gene Munny & Connor Mills. On paper this match was always the Smokin’ Aces to win, with so much more tag team experience under their belts.
The match was back and forth, Mills had a great opportunity at showing off just how intense he can be, and Gene was a whacky as ever. Eventually the two gained the upper hand over the Ace’s Charlie Sterling & Nick Riley. With all four men in the ring, chaos and confusion ensued, and with tag team offense both Munny & Mills pinned one of the Smokin’ Ace’s simultaneously... 1, 2, 3! I cannot explain how sudden & loud the crowd blew up, in both shock & excitement, the Electric Ballroom lit up!
The champs took their time celebrating, and right before they were about to exit the stage. SoCal Val had an announcement. Connor Mills was indeed the legal man, but unfortunately the Smokin’ Ace he pinned was not – this was not a legal pin! To a barrage of boos the match was re-started, and the Aces did not mess around, cleaning Mills’ clock, they picked up the pin fall, #AndStill.
The Hunger Grows
This was always going to be the match, and my God, did it deliver. This match was wrestling’s 101 “Good Guy vs Bad Guy” with the good guy having a tremendous comeback story, climbing his way to the top, and finally getting a shot at the bad guy sat on top. I can’t do the back-story any justice, not when Progress already have with this incredible vignette:
This was it, main event time, the marquee match. The challenger Kid Lykos make his way to the ring, sporting his new mask, blending his usual look with that of Rey Mysterio’s, and of course accompanied by Kid Lykos II. Then, the Progress Men’s World Champion, Spike Trivet, who also didn’t come alone, with the rest of Dominatus Regnum accompanying him.
The match was only a few minutes old when there was outside interference from the Smokin’ Aces, and as expected Kid Lykos II wasn’t going to let his happen, he rushed the opposing faction causing an all out brawl that needed ring crew to restore order. The ref too, was having none of it. Banning both Lykos II and the Aces. This only left Bullit in Trivets corner.
The match continues and the “Shit Wolf” continues his uphill struggle against the two men, with the action spilling to the outside and delivering a Brainbuster to Trivet onto a pile of chairs! Back in the ring a 2nd Brainbuster is delivered to Trivet, who, like the veteran he is, rolls to the outside.
Eventually the ref goes down, and Spike ceases his opportunity and grabs a steel chair. Chaos ensues once more when Lykos II and the Ace’s rejoin the action. Amidst the chaos Spike takes advantage & cleans out Lykos with a chair, with the ref now awake, Lykos kicks out at 2! Lykos then shakes it off, and hits another Brainbuster, but doesn’t stop there! Ascending to the top Lykos attempts to hit a Senton but “The Vulture” in one last ditch attempt, tears off Lyko’s mask, rolling him up, and successfully defends his World Title.
No review can do this match justice – it was a must see match. Available at https://progresswrestling.com/watch/
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