By @specficluchador

Anniversaries are a time to reflect on the past and the journey that has been taken to arrive at the present: on 27th March, Progress celebrated four years since its inception. Four years of not only some of the most diverse, but some of the best wrestling in the world. Four years of some of the most compelling story telling in professional wrestling that has helped elevate previously unheard of names to main eventers across the globe. Four years and one hell of a ride.

Jim Smallman had two pieces of huge news to begin the show; firstly, Progress, on the next London show (04/24), will be hosting two qualifiers for WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Series tournament; secondly, Smallman announced that Progress would be introducing a STRONG LAD title, named the Atlas Championship, for wrestlers exclusively over 205 lbs. At this stage, it is not clear if this will prevent larger men from challenging for the Progress Title or not. There will be an eight man tournament, beginning in Manchester 04/10 and culminating on the 09/25 Brixton show, to determine the first ever winner.

Pastor William Eaver vs Damian Dunne

Natural Progression Series semi-Final

The Natural Progression Series resumed following a short break with the semi-finals: Pastor William Eaver, graduate of the Pro-jo, defeated Tyler Bate at Chapter 22 to advance to the semis. Damian Dunne, too, defeated Tyler Bate in a second chance match at Chapter 25. The winner of the match would advance to the final, in which they will face either Damon Moser or Ashton Smith to determine who will be crowned the 2016 Natural Progression Champion. This was a solid back and forth opener that was underscored by perpetual chants in reference to Easter. Dunne controlled the middle stages after Pastor William Eaver had the better of the beginning. As The Pastor made his comeback, fans chanted “the power of Christ compels you”. The finishing stretch was pretty hot, filled with near falls and reversals before Bill Eaver followed the Crucifix Bomb with a Clothesline from Heaven to advance to the final.

Jack Gallagher vs Johnny Kidd

In a World of Sport throw back match, Johnny Kidd, British grappling legend that debuted almost forty years ago against Tony Scarlo in 1978, made his Progress debut against one of the premiere grapplers in Europe today, Jack Gallagher. As expected, this match was worked primarily on the mat in the catch style, with numerous intricate holds, reversals and some comedy. The story was that Kidd, the veteran, outsmarted Gallagher throughout, always one step ahead of the game. Gallagher secured the victory following a jack knife roll up in what was an excellent exhibition of British wrestling past and present. The crowd was respectful and subdued throughout, but provided a huge ovation with chants of please come back towards Johnny Kidd. This was awesome.

Roy Johnson’s Wasteman Challenge

The Pro-jo has quickly gained a reputation of producing some of the most unique characters in professional wrestling: Roy Johnson was the latest to debut on a Chapter show and my word what a debut. Johnson, a real bad man, made his entrance to Boy Better Know’s Too Many Man accompanied by two cheerleaders whilst dabbing. He laid out his Wasteman challenge, that was answered by premier wasteman, Dave Mastiff. Johnson proceeded to slay Mastiff with a series of sick bars: people were throwing money and roses in the ring, children were crying and men were offering their wives to him. Outstanding.

Mastiff, though, was in no jovial mood, suplexing Johnson from pillar to post. Johnson made a brief comeback, summoning his little remaining strength to impressively lift Mastiff for a Samoan Drop. Crucially, Johnson’s naivety showed as he turned his back on Mastiff, who secured the victory following a Canon Ball.

Post-match, Mastiff stated his intentions to claim the Atlas Championship, before stating Johnson had potential so long as he turned his back on the fans. Johnson was fabulously charismatic here and someone I’m looking forward to seeing develop over the coming years. Definitely one to look out for.

London Riots vs Sumerian Death Squad

TLC-Losing Team Must Disband Match

This rivalry encapsulates why Progress story telling is great; it has slowly unfolded from chapter to chapter, progressing in an equally logical and compelling fashion. Tensions rose between these teams as they both blamed each other for The Origin walking away tag team champions at chapter 23; tension continued to develop over the following shows, culminating in an absolute war at Chapter 27.

Let me preface this by stating that this was an phenomenal match. Well, it wasn’t a match. More a war. Both teams tore into each other, more concerned with hurting each other than winning the match, delivering a multitude of imaginative uses of the weapons. At times, this was wince inducing. However, the poor quality of the furniture put a dampener on the closing stages, which is a terrible shame because all that had proceeded was excellent. The furniture was Poundland quality; Dante was laid on a table, which broke instantly; most of the ladders couldn’t possibly have allowed either team to reach the contract suspended above the ring due to their size and the only one that could have was nigh on unusable, selling all four men short in the process. James Davies unhooked the contract from above the ring after both referees and Rob Lynch held the ladder up to ensure the London Riots would be able to team again in Progress. This rivalry deserved better than the shoddy tables and ladders involved that prefaced the finish.

Such was the brutality of the war, bitter enemies earned one another’s respect that translated into a hug after the conclusion as differences were settled. Despite the downright dangerous ladders, this was thoroughly compelling and well worth going out of your way to see.

The Origin (El Ligero & Nathan Cruz) (C) vs Zack Sabre Jr & Tomasso Ciampa

Following The Origin’s attempts at evading Sabre and Ciampa early one, both Cruz and Ligero were tied in knots on the mat by Sabre. The Origin gained control through chicanery, working towards a hot tag to Ciampa. Ciampa and Sabre, or Psycho Sabre (I hate myself), scored a series of near falls following a series of brutal strikes to Cruz. A Project Ciampa followed by a PK gained only a near fall on Ligero before Nathan Cruz, ever underhanded, distracted the referee. Ligero low-blowed Sabre before rolling him up to secure the victory and retain the titles. Although The Origin did not have the majority of the match, Cruz and Ligero, through their illicit tactics, found a way to cling to their title through any means necessary. I’m forever intrigued by Cruz and Ligero’s work in The Origin: for most promotions, both men are fan favourites but at Progress they are universally despised due to their insouciant arrogance. There ability to transfer between the two is testament to their diversity as performers.

Sabre and Ciampa teased tension before all appeared to have been settled as Ciampa headed to the back. Moments later, Ciampa returned, laying out Sabre with a series of knees before cutting a brilliant promo on how he was the best in the world. Ciampa challenged Sabre at Brixton on the 24th September. As Sabre recovered, he accepted the challenge.

Nine Man ThunderBastard Match for the Progress Championship

Such is the structure of these matches, ThunderBastard matches are incredibly difficult to keep track of, so I will reel off some bullet points and hope to do it justice. The rules of the match are that two men begin, with another contestant emerging every two minutes until all men are entered. Eliminations come through pinfalls or submissions.

Entrant number: 1. Mark Haskins 2. Paul Robinson 3. Zack Gibson 4. Will Ospreay 5. Mark Andrews 6. Eddie Dennis 7. Flash Morgan Webster 8.Rampage Brown 9. Marty Scurll (C)

-Haskins out wrestled Robinson early on before the third contestant entered.

-Robinson and Zack Gibson, who was the glue in this match that held it together, teamed up in an attempt to eliminate Haskins. The number four contestant, Will Ospreay, granted Haskins some respite as Gibson and Robinson’s attention turned towards him.

-In a surprise turn of events, Ospreay and Robinson, formerly known as The Swords of Essex, teamed up to wok over Haskins. The truce, however, did not last long, with both men trading offence soon after.

-Mark Andrews and Will Ospreay shared some incredible interactions, working at a lightning pace.

-Flash Morgan Webster made an immediate impression with a series of impressive flurries of offence that culminated in several dives to the outside: Will Ospreay punctuated the dives with a beautiful springboard shooting star press.

-Hitherto, the match had been filled predominantly with lighter, more agile wrestlers. Rampage Brown’s entrance into the match put an end to that as he left a path of destruction in his wake, powerbombing anything that moved.

-Marty Scurll, the Progress Champion, was apprehensive to enter. Instead, he determined to join the commentary team whilst the challengers to his title battled each other.

-Robinson was the first to be eliminated. After Rampage delivered a piledriver, Gibson prevented Rampage from securing the fall by tossing him to the outside before pinning Robinson himself. My word, the sell on the piledriver by Robinson. Incredible.

-Dave Mastiff, fellow member of The Origin, emerged to assist Gibson, brawling with Rampage ringside in a prelude to the STRONG LAD Atlas Championship Tournament.

-Gibson submitted Eddie Dennis, Mark Andrews then Flash Morgan Webster with the Shankley Gates before Mastiff, who had distracted all of the aforementioned, was asked to leave by the referee.

-Haskins dead lifted Rampage Brown, who is a good 50 lbs heavier than him, into a michinoku driver to eliminate Rampage.

-As soon as Haskins rose to his feet, the opportunistic champion, Scurll, raced to the ring before applying the chicken wing to Haskins, who submitted moments later.

-The match hit another level with the final three participants: Zack Gibson, Will Ospreay and Marty Scurll, who were the stars in the match. Ospreay and Scurll have such incredible chemistry. Wherever the wrestle, they always light up the crowd with something different from their previous meetings. Gibson, who was excellent throughout, was equally a part of the closing stages, scoring numerous near falls on both men, even getting some sections of the crowd supporting him.

-Ospreay eliminated Gibson following a Spanish Fly. Scurll, the wily champion, rolled up Ospreay with a handful of tights to retain his Championship and was greeted with chorus of boos.

Post match, Scurll stated that he would not be defending at the Manchester show in April, claiming that he had defeated all challengers. Smallman retorted that Scurll would, instead, defend the championship in Dallas at WrestleCon, against Will Ospreay.

There was a ton of great stuff throughout this match, most of which I failed to record. My only quibble with the match is that, on numerous occasions, falls and submission attempts were broken by other participants, which is foolish considering the nature of the match. Regardless, this was a fantastic match that provided a little of everything.

Scurll, in Progress, is incredible: his entrance, demeanor and mannerisms immediately alter the mood of The Ballroom. I’ve said it before and I will say it again: Scurll is the most complete wrestler in the UK in terms of character, promos, mannerisms and wrestling ability. Scurll manages to elicit vociferously boos despite fan’s visceral urge to cheer him.

Another statement I will reiterate here is that Zack Gibson is so damn great: he is someone to watch out for this year and perhaps an early contender for SSS16.

Elimination Number: 1. Paul Robinson 2. Eddie Dennis 3. Mark Andrews 4. Flash Morgan Webster 5. Rampage Brown 6. Mark Haskins 7. Zack Gibson 8. Will Ospreay.

Marty Scurll retains the Progress Championship.

Final Word: This show wasn’t without its faults: despite the same finish in the final two matches and the poor furniture in the TLC match, Chapter 27th was a celebration of all that has made Progress what it is: each match on the card delivered something different to the last, with an electric crowd underscoring some of the best wrestling around.

After defeating all comers, Marty Scurll leads Progress into its next chapter, firmly seated on his throne.

Exciting times lay on the horizon. Here is to the next four years.