This is one of the many independent shows going on at New York City for WrestleMania 35. In fact, there are too many shows for one wrestling fan with a full-time job to cover. I chose to follow the RevPro show since the promotion has been impressive in the several times I've been able to catch them. So, this is one of the few independent shows this weekend that I will be watching.
RevPro Wrestling
4/5/19
After about 13 minutes on the feed, RevPro gets started. Kevin Kelly is one of the commentators on this show. He's with Andy Boy Simmonz.
The President of Revolution Pro Wrestling is introduced to the crowd. He thanks the fans for being there. He puts over the show for the crowd. He wants the crowd to enjoy themselves and create memories to last a lifetime.
Match #1- NJPW Young Lions (Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors) vs. CCK (Chris Brookes and Jonathan Gresham)
Connors is impressive early on going move for move with Gresham. Fredericks gets tagged in, and he tosses Gresham into the corner for Brookes to get in the match. Brookes uses his technical skills early on to control Fredericks, but Brookes gets double-teamed by the Young Lions. Gresham gets a nice Mid-Air Hold into a German Suplex on Connors. Brookes and Gresham take a few minutes taking Connors to school with some technical work on the legs. Fredericks gets the tag after a minute or so. Connors and Fredericks hold their own against CCK, locking both men in stereo Boston Crabs. But eventually they succumb to CCK when Gresham hits one of the Young Lions several times with running forearms.
(Good opening match here. The Young Lions were wrestling from the LA Dojo and looked great. Shibata's influence can definitely be seen in the way these two Young Lions performed. Gresham looked impressive, as always. And both teams did enough to make each other look better after this was done. Well done.)
Match #2- Carlos Romo vs. A-Kid vs. Kid Lykos vs. Flamita
A-Kid and Lykos go at it on the floor while Flamita and Romo start off the match in the ring. Nice sequence of moves and high-flying acrobatics by the four competitors early on with each having a moment to get some offense in. We get a series of dives over the top rope onto the opponents which ends with Flamita hitting a Somersault Dive over the ring post to the floor.
Good back and forth action here with all four men getting offense in the ring. Flamita seems to be a fan of Rey Mysterio as he busts out a couple 619s in the match. Muscle Buster into a Lungblower by Flamita is impressive as well. Flamita gets caught in a Triangle Hold. He tries to power out, but A-Kid hits a Canadian Destroyer from a Fireman's Carry position. But Romo comes in and rolls up Flamita for the win.
(A fun quick match here between four Junior Heavyweights. They seem to be telling a story of A-Kid and Romo being part of a stable "Team White Wolf." And there's been some tension in the group. So the sneak pin seems to be building more towards some sort of blowoff. I have a few problems with this match, including the fact that the match didn't get much going in terms of psychology. This just seemed to be a match for being a match with a slight connection to a story going on. But as it stands, it was just fine.)
Match #3- Michael Oku vs. Brian Cage
Oku is probably a dead man in this match. Cage just overpowers Oko from the start throwing him around the ring like a rag doll. The bloodthirsty fans encourage Cage to keep throwing him around the ring. He even pulls a Monkey Flip on Oku. (Imagine a young Schwarzenegger doing a monkey flip to someone. That's what this was like.) Cage German Suplexes Oku, but Oku lands on his feet and dropkicks Cage in the head. But Cage gets right back up and clotheslines Oku inside out. Oku gets a moonsault on a standing Cage from the top rope. Moments later, Oku does a Fosbury Flop to Cage on the floor. Back in the ring, Oku gets a Canadian Destroyer on Cage. 2 count. Cage, moments later, gets a Sit-out Powerbomb. But Oku kicks out at 2. Oku gets a headscissor takedown for a 2 count. Cage decimates Oku with a clothesline and a Michinoku Driver for the win.
(Oku made this interesting, but Cage took one too many bumps for Oku in my opinion. Cage is a monster of a human being. He needs to be treated as such and not selling the offense for a man 1/4 his size and weight.)
Match #4- Will Ospreay and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr and Minoru Suzuki
All four men get great reactions coming out to the ring. This feels like a big time match. "All These Guys" chants from the crowd. Some shoves and discussion between the combatants to start things off. Then Sabre and Tanahashi start us off officially.
Tanahashi gets close to Suzuki's corner, and Suzuki grabs the hair. The ref points at him, and Suzuki swipes at the referee from his corner. "Kill the ref" chants. ZSJ and Tanahashi do a good mix of mocking and technical wrestling in the opening moments. Ospreay gets tagged in, and Tanahashi/Ospreay get some double-team offense in. Ospreay, in a good character moment, slides instead of going off the ropes near Suzuki to set up his flip pose. But Suzuki catches him when he doesn't pay attention the second time and does the classic Hanging Armbar on the ropes. Suzuki-Gun start attacking their opponents around ringside. Suzuki is loving this. ZSJ tags in Suzuki legally.
Back in the ring, Ospreay is stuck with The King. Talk about a contrast of styles here. Ospreay chops Suzuki, and Suzuki just shrugs each one off. Ospreay is bleeding from the nose. Suzuki decks Ospreay with a couple huge chops. Ospreay eventually crumbles to the mat. Ospreay is bleeding heavily from the nose while Suzuki-Gun double-team him in the corner. Suzuki-Gun then hit double submissions on the faces. The referee tries to stop them, and Suzuki hooks the leg. Suzuki lets him live and tags in ZSJ.
Sabre works on ZSJ for a few moments, even twisting the bloody nose. Suzuki comes in and hammers the nose with elbows and stomps. Wow. This escalated quickly. Suzuki does his signature mocking kicks to Ospreay. Ospreay fights back against Suzuki, but Suzuki just knocks him back down. ZSJ is back in, and he pulls back on the nose of Ospreay! Ospreay fights out and hits the Handspring Backkick to ZSJ.
The Ace is legal!!! Crossbody to ZSJ. Somersault Senton off the corner. 1-2-Kickout. Sling Blade is countered into a Abdominal Stretch. Both men counter and trade Abdominal Stretches. Suzuki is tagged in eventually. Suzuki starts kicking at Tanahashi and paintbrushes him. The forearm shots are traded between the two legends. Tanahashi opens up his jaw for a forearm shot. He wants it! Suzuki gives him what he desires! Suzuki even pulls back Tanahashi's hair to get it nice and clean. Dragon Screw is countered by Suzuki into the armbar! Ospreay jumps in and stops the move from getting a submission. Forearm by Tanahashi to Suzuki.
A bloody Will Ospreay gets tagged in. Springboard Forearm to Suzuki. Forearms over and over and over again to Suzuki in the corner!!!! He's going nuts on him. Suzuki crumbles in the corner. Dropkick in the corner. Suzuki GETS UP!!!!! He's smiling and sticking his tongue out! FOREARMS BY SUZUKI AND OSPREAY! Suzuki hits repeated shots on Ospreay, but Ospreay gets a superkick in to knock down Suzuki. "This is Awesome!" chant. (I agree.) Gotch Piledriver avoided. Rear Naked Choke by Suzuki. ZSJ is legal. Double-team by Suzuki-Gun on Ospreay. A few PKs by them only get a 2 as Tanahashi breaks up the pin. It's chaos in the ring now with all four men. Suzuki-Gun put in Double Octopus Locks on their opponents. Ospreay hits a double attack on Suzuki-Gun to knock them down. He sets up ZSJ in the corner and hits the superkick. Stormbreaker is stopped by Suzuki. Dragon Screw to Suzuki by Tanahashi. Sling Blade. Ospreay is on the corner. Shooting Star Press to ZSJ. 1-2-Kickout! 20 minutes have passed.
Stormbreaker is again avoided as ZSJ gets a Triangle Hold on Ospreay. Powerbomb to ZSJ! ZSJ gets the Float-Over Rollup on ZSJ. 1-2-3!!!!
Suzuki-Gun wins! Suzuki gets the referee after the match and beats him up. ZSJ holds up the referee on the floor and Suzuki kicks him down. Suzuki-Gun celebrates in the ring!
(An awesome tag team match here. This was everything that is great about all four men rolled up into one 20+ minute match. Suzuki is amazing at his age to be able to continue to work this style of match. This is worth the money for this show alone. Check it out.)
Intermission (15-20 minutes)
Match #5- Rocky Romero vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Our comedy match of the show here. Rocky works as the heel in the match. Solid technical wrestling by both men early on with each working submission to submission on the other. Rocky shakes hands with the ref and hugs him. He wants Taguchi to do the same with him. Taguchi gets suckered in and attacked for his trouble. Really good fast-paced action between the two men with each avoiding moves from the other. Funky Weapon connects. Taguchi and Rocky trade rope poses, but Rocky gets hit again with the Funky Weapon. Moments later, Romero gets a Suicide Dive to Taguchi on the floor.
Romero takes the match back into the ring and starts attacking Taguchi. He mocks Taguchi with Hip Attacks of his own. Taguchi starts fighting back with his own Hip Attacks. More to Rocky repeatedly including a Hip Attack up from the floor into Rocky's face in between the ropes. Three Amigos connects! Rocky avoids a Hip Attack, sending Taguchi down on the mat. Springboard Double Stomp on the hanging back of Taguchi. Forever Clotheslines to Taguchi in the corner, only to be met with Forever Hip Attacks. Rocky gets a Tornado DDT off the corner to Taguchi.
Sliced Bread avoided by Taguchi. Roll-up reversals by both men. Punches, kicks, and chops exchanged by both men. Enziguri by Taguchi. Bomaye!!! 1-2-Kickout! Dodon! 1-2-3! Taguchi wins.
(A very good undercard match here with Romero and Taguchi both overperforming. They had the crowd invested after a big tag match and 15 minute intermission before. Good work by both men. Another solid match on this show.)
Match #6- David Starr vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Starr's prolonged introduction by the ring announcer continues to be an amazing thing to behold. But when you talk about people who should be on people's radar, Ishii continues to be someone that is criminally forgotten.
Ishii proves to be too big for Starr to move around. Meanwhile, Starr tries to mock and get Ishii emotionally rattled early on including rubbing Ishii's head in a mocking fashion. He chops Ishii, which Ishii no-sells. Ishii just shrugs his shoulders. One chop by Ishii knocks Starr down. Ishii bulldozes Starr over with tackles and strikes. Starr's facials are spot-on and add to the match. Starr starts using his head to ram Ishii with, which causes Ishii to respond in kind. Starr uses moment to finally knock Ishii down and goes on the attack. He plays up to the camera after attacking Ishii in the corner. He kicks Ishii in the head, which only serves to anger The Stone Pitbull. Starr punches and attacks Ishii in the corner, which Ishii no-sells. Ishii starts decking Starr in the corner with strikes.
Powerslam by Ishii. Starr tries to fight out of it, but Ishii eventually does connect with the Saito Suplex. Starr gets a Cartwheel Kick on Ishii followed by a Suicide Dive on the floor! Starr catches Ishii coming in the ring with a Clothesline/Flatliner combo. He follows that up with an elbow drop for a 2 count. German Suplex by Starr only ticks off Ishii! Ishii knocks down Starr! Ishii puts Starr on the corner. Ishii climbs up. Starr tries to fight off Ishii, but he no sells them. One headbutt hits Starr and knocks him loopy. SUPERPLEX BY ISHII! 1-2-Kickout! 10 minutes have passed. Sliding Lariat misses. Crucifix by Starr. 2 count!
Starr attacks Ishii over and over again. Big lariats (ala Stan Hanson). 2 count only. Superkick to Ishii! Tomorrow Driver (Suplex Neckbreaker on the Knee). 2 count. Starr ponders his next move. Starr tries to headbutt Ishii. Big mistake. Ishii knocks him down. Sliding Lariat! Vertical Drop Brainbuster! 1-2-3. Ishii wins.
(A very good match again here. Ishii helped make Starr look very good here by taking a lot of Starr's offense and making Starr look better than he did coming into the match. This is the second match of Starr's I've seen this weekend. I see a big future for him. He's got the charisma and the in-ring work to go places.)
Main Event
Roppongi 3K (SHO and YOH) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis)
Slow start here with 3K having difficulty against the larger Aussie Open team. Fletcher does a moonsault on a standing YOH for a 2 count. 3K double up on Fletcher and then on Davis to get the advantage. 3K flies over the top with a Somersault Dive onto Aussie Open. 3K continue to team up on Fletcher. SHO is now legal for his team, but not for long as SHO tags in YOH. 3K tag in and out to continue the double-team on Fletcher. Aussie Open return the favor and double Flapjack SHO to the mat. Aussie Open now focuses their attack on SHO with some frequent tags and strikes. Davis ptus a deep chinlock on SHO, but YOH breaks it up to avoid the submission. 10 minutes have gone by as SHO continues to be isolated from his corner. A spear by SHO!
YOH is legal! He goes after Fletcher and hits a couple high impact moves. Dragon Screw to Fletcher. Figure Four Leg Lock to Fletcher. Davis and Fletcher nail YOH with a big Double Team move. 2 count only as SHO breaks it up. Fletcher and YOH continue to go at it in the ring as SHO is worked on by Davis outside the ring. They exchange kicks. Fletcher gets kicked near his corner and tags in Davis. But SHO gets tagged. Davis just knocks down SHO as soon as he gets in the ring. Heavy chops by SHO. SHO tries to knock down Davis several times with lariats, and he finally gets him down. German Suplex on Davis for a 2 count. Tag to YOH. Double-Team on Davis by 3K. Fletcher catches SHO with a big Crossbody off the top rope. Superkick to SHO. Some sort of Double-Team by Aussie Open only gets a 2. (I'm not exactly sure what to call that maneuver.)
Inside Cradle by YOH gets a 2 as does a roll-up afterwards. Sharpshooter by YOH on Fletcher, transitioned into an STF. Davis is put in a submission as well to prevent him to get to his partner, but Fletcher gets his foot on the rope anyways. 3K gets a Combination Cutter/Dominator for a 2 count. 3K goes for 3K , but Davis stops it. Double Slam by Davis to 3K. SHO almost gets a surprise Roll-Up on Fletcher. 20 minutes have passed.
Double-Team on YOH. Deadlift Piledriver. Aussie Open hit their finisher called Fidget Spinner. 1-2-3.
(A good match here, although it shouldn't have closed the show. The actual main event was a lot earlier on this show. This is an example of a show that had a displaced main event. The only reason I can think that this may have happened is due to the fact that this was right before NXT TakeOver. And they may have ran the main event early in order to give fans time to make their way to Barclays if they wanted to attend the NXT show.)
After the match, 3K and Aussie Open shake hands. As soon as the WrestleCon logo shows up, we return to see SUZUKI-GUN jump Aussie Open!!!!! ZSJ gets on a mic and runs down Aussie Open. May 10th, they're apparently having a match. ZSJ tells the fans that next year won't be a RevPro event. It will be a Suzuki-Gun event! Suzuki tells Aussie Open "(bleep) you." Suzuki-Gun ICHIBAN!
Overall, this was a very good show with a lot of solid wrestling going on. I was impressed with a lot of the wrestlers I've never seen before, especially the NJPW LA Dojo wrestlers at the beginning. If you are a wrestling fan looking for an independent show to watch from WrestleMania 35 weekend, this is a very good choice.
Until next time, take care of yourselves. Spread some awesomeness.
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