Progress Wrestling issued the following to PWMania.com:
PROGRESS WRESTLING – CHAPTER 136 – 24/7 – Sunday 24th July 2022
Electric Ballroom, Camden, London, UK
SPIKE TRIVET STORMS THROUGH THE THUNDERBASTARD
CHRIS RIDGEWAY AND KANJI RETAIN PROGRESS SINGLES CHAMPIONSHIPS
KANJI AND DI MATTEO IN REMATCH CONTROVERSY
SUNSHINE MACHINE CONTINUE TO SHINE IN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP WIN
NICK WAYNE MAKES UK and EUROPEAN DEBUT WITH STUNNING VICTORY
PROGRESS Wrestling made a glorious return to the Electric Ballroom at the weekend with an amazingly stacked card including three Championship Title defences, capped by their stunning signature match, the THUNDERBASTARD.
A near capacity crowd saw Spike Trivet once again deploy his increasingly underhand tactics to claim the win in the THUNDERBASTARD with a pin against the final surviving competitor Dan Moloney. Moloney was reeling from a vicious eye gouge effected by Trivet, who has fast become the Bête Noir of PROGRESS following his banishing of the much loved Cara Noir.
The THUNDERBASTARD contained striking performances from Gene Munny (unhappy that he was not facing Chris Ridgeway in a title match), Axel Tischer, Kid Lykos II, Man like Deriess, Robbie X and Danny Black who provided a spectacular finale to the day.
Trivet is now entitled to a PROGRESS Championship shot – anytime, and anywhere.
Two-times PROGRESS women’s champion Kanji successfully retained the belt in the first defence of her current reign against PROGRESS favourite Laura Di Matteo.
However, the champion was visibly distraught by the uncharacteristically cruel onslaught she had launched at the number one contender. After the bell, Kanji offered Di Matteo an apology and a rematch, which Laura accepted, before unleashing her own brutal attack on the champion.
Kanji and Di Matteo will meet again, as this increasingly bitter feud develops, in Sheffield on 13th August for the first leg of PROGRESS’S recently announced UK tour.
Chris Ridgeway, still fresh from his incredible win at Super Strong Style 16, made a first successful defence of the PROGRESS World Championship against the ever resilient Dean Allmark. Despite a riveting, technical and violent battle, Ridgeway made it 2-1 against Allmark to retain his title.
The effervescent and smiling Sunshine Machine (TK Cooper and Chuck Mambo) retained their Tag Team belts against the high octane and up and coming duo of Leon Slater and Ricky Knight Jr. As an opener for the day, this really set the pulses raising and set a standard that the rest of the card maintained.
After the final bell, Sunshine Machine were quick to compliment Leon and Ricky on their debut tag team efforts, but an on-line intervention by long-time rivals to The Sunshine Machine, The Greedy Souls who had not forgotten the clashes the two teams had during the Peckham era, opened up their return to PROGRESS and their intention to resume this rivalry.
There was some disappointment with the non-appearance, due to injury, of the now stripped–bare Tom Dawkins formerly known as Cara Noir. Spike Trivet showed considerable disdain for this absence with a highly disrespectful, but now fully expected, pleasure being drawn from Dawkin’s continued plight.
LK Mezinger, due to face Dawkins, in contrast took no pleasure from the day, as his dismal losing streak at PROGRESS, now well into double figures, continued at the hands, and feet, of Big Guns Joe.
The crowd were then treated to what history may reflect upon as a very significant match with Nick Wayne making his long awaited UK and European debut.
On the day of the THUNDERBASTARD, thunderstorms in America prevented ‘The Realest’ Swerve Strickland who was fresh from winning the AEW Tag Team championship from appearing. However, Robbie X rose to the challenge as Nick’s opponent, and despite his looming appearance in the THUNDERBASTARD he gave Nick a debut to remember. A match of high flying jinx’s, and breathtaking moves ended with a narrow win for Wayne with a vintage finish belying his years. The match clearly revealed the bright future that the emerging talent of Nick Wayne has.
A match of pure entertaining outrage delighted the crowd, with the increasingly charismatic Son of Nothing, Maggot, overcoming Charles Crowley, who was not shy in claiming that ‘If he is not the most fascinating thing in PROGRESS, he doesn’t know what he is.’ Maggot showed him otherwise, capturing his jacket, hat, and indeed the essence of Crowley.
After being humiliated by Lana Austin on more than one occasion, the ‘Soulless’ Raven Creed teamed up with Alexxis Falcon in a Women’s tag match against Lana and the recent NXT-UK signing of Eliza Alexander (Lizzy Evo).
Lana and Eliza played predictably dirty and in winning the match, made a spectacle of Raven Creed, using her own straight-jacket to strap her to the ring-post like the sad, broken and forlorn figurehead of a sinking ship.
PROGRESS Wrestling, under its new ownership, continues to go from strength to strength with Strong Style action, complex storylines, and showcasing some of the best talent in independent wrestling from across the UK and beyond. Next up they embark on a 5 city UK tour across Sheffield, Newcastle, Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester whilst also tying in with the much-anticipated WWE PPV in September.
