PROGRESS Boston results: British Strong Style vs. Ringkampf

Image: @joegagne

PROGRESS Wrestling capped off its weekend in the United States with an intimate show (only 300 tickets were sold and they sold out right after being put on sale) in the Boston area last night. Here’s a rundown of the event:

– PROGRESS co-owner Jim Smallman opened the show discussing the stress of the promotion’s last couple of days, including injuries to Pete Dunne and TK Cooper, the building in New York being absurdly hot, and the travel issues they had getting to Boston. He mentioned the positivity of the fans in New York despite the issues and did his usual welcome.

– Jeff Cobb defeated Mark Andrews

This was about what you’d expect from them in the opener. Cobb used his power and Andrews tried to fight back. Andrews showed his own strength by hitting a powerbomb at one point, with Cobb also utilizing his athleticism with a standing moonsault. Cobb ended up hitting the Tour of the Islands to win.

– Dakota Kai defeated Deonna Purrazzo and Jinny

it wasn’t surprising given that a lot of the crowd seemed to be hardcore fans, but their familiarity with PROGRESS showed with how much heat Jinny got when she made her entrance. Purrazzo and Kai both got good babyface reactions. Purrazzo seems to always be improving in the ring.

Two people were in the ring while the other was on the floor for most of the match. There was a great spot at the finish where Purrazzo gave Jinny a German suplex and was bridging for the pin until Kai hit a double stomp off the top for the victory.

– Jack Gallagher defeated Travis Banks

The crowd was pretty split for this. They were having a really good match until Pete Dunne walked out to the stage and distracted Banks at the finish. Gallagher then connected with the running corner dropkick to win.

Gallagher cut a promo after the match thanking WWE for letting him work the show and praising Banks. He mentioned Banks’ losing streak heading into his PROGRESS title match against Dunne at Alexandra Palace in September, telling Banks that he wants him to be the fighter he was in New York when he took on British Strong Style by himself after Cooper’s injury.

Dunne came back out to attack them both. He gave Banks a pedigree after knocking both down, but Gallagher recovered and Dunne backed down after that.

– Matt Riddle defeated Martin Stone

This was great. It was the total hard-hitting sprint that everyone wanted. They started off with striking exchanges, with Stone doing a toe-breaking spot and Riddle then gaining the advantage. Stone invited him to keep striking and made a comeback.

There was a moment where Stone kicked out of a tombstone at one, but he tapped out when Riddle applied the Bromission while striking him with his free hand.

Riddle got on the mic and thanked Stone after. He mentioned beating WALTER for the Atlas Division Championship in New York, saying that he only got to win back the title because WALTER gave him a rematch. Riddle said he’ll give WALTER his rematch at the Alexandra Palace show.

– Jimmy Havoc defeated Zack Gibson

Havoc came out wielding chairs before Gibson entered. Being part of Gibson’s pre-match introduction was surreal, with (as usual) him being booed so loudly that you couldn’t hear him. That went on for several minutes before the match started.

Gibson went to use one of the chairs. The referee tried to stop him, but Havoc said that he’d kill the ref if he disqualified Gibson. They both ended up using the chairs and Havoc won with the Acid Rainmaker.

– PROGRESS Tag Team Champions British Strong Style (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) defeated Ringkampf (Timothy Thatcher & WALTER) to retain their titles

British Strong Style entered wearing NXT jackets and played up being under contract with WWE, including Seven disparaging Boston and saying that he was going to fly on a private jet to Connecticut after the show. Seven was playing heel and got into a confrontation with a younger fan at ringside as the match started.

The match itself was really good. WALTER came off like a total star. The audience wasn’t particularly familiar with him at first, but his power spots won everyone over. Him and Bate especially worked well playing off of the size difference. Bate hitting a German suplex on him may have been the spot of the night.

WALTER had Seven in a sleeper, but Seven was able to counter it and pin him to retain. That happened while Thatcher had Bate in an armbar, which led to some teased dissension between Ringkampf. WALTER offered to make the Atlas title match at Alexandra Palace a triple threat with Thatcher added. They were then back on the same page to close the show.