PROGRESS Chapter 101 results: The new era begins

  • Dei Owen
  • By 

PROGRESS Wrestling held its first show of the year Sunday at the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London, marking the start of a new era in the company as Matt Richards takes over from Jim Smallman as the face of the organization.

Here are the results, courtesy of @Gadget80:

Dark match: Warren Banks defeated Rudy Ryan (7:20)

Ryan controlled the early stages of the match until Banks caught him with a spear as he dove from the top rope. 

The main show started with PROGRESS Unified World Champion Eddie Dennis interrupting Matt Richards to announce that he is not able to wrestle tonight due to a shoulder injury he sustained at Friday’s NXT UK taping. Dennis wanted to hand the title over to FSU stablemate Mark Andrews.

It was then announced that the main event would be a four-way elimination match for the suddenly vacant world title. Cara Noir was already scheduled to challenge for the title, whereas the three remaining spots would be decided by the other matches on the show: Ilja Dragunov vs. Mark Andrews, LJ Cleary vs. Kyle Fletcher, and A-Kid vs. Paul Robinson.

Main event qualifier: Ilja Dragunov defeated Mark Andrews (0:08)

Dragunov quickly hit a Torpedo Moscow and pinned Andrews to advance to the main event.

Pretty Deadly (Sam Stoker & Lewis Howley) defeated More Than Hype (Nathan Martin & Darren Kearney) (14:13)

Main event qualifier: Kyle Fletcher defeated LJ Cleary (16:30)

Cleary was pinned after he was hit with a lawn dart into a pumphandle tombstone piledriver. Fletcher, who advanced to the main event, came out to new music and a new entrance video to match his revamped aesthetic.

Main event qualifier: PROGRESS Proteus Champion Paul Robinson defeated A-Kid (9:44)

Per Robinson’s stipulation, the match could only be won by knockout or submission. He submitted A-Kid with a half-crab after transitioning from a curb stomp, advancing to the main event.

Destination Everywhere (The O.J.M.O, Charlie Carter & Oisin Delaney) defeated Do Not Resuscitate (Spike Trivet, William Eaver & Danny Duggan) (14:22)

O.J.M.O pinned Duggan with a frog splash.

PROGRESS Women’s World Champion Jinny defeated Mercedez Blaze (5:55) to retain

Jinny hit Blaze with an Acid Rainmaker to retain her title via pin. The match was reportedly going very well, but the finish came rather suddenly. Afterward, Jinny changed the Chapter 102 match between Dani Luna and Gisele Shaw into a three-way match, stating that it should be for her PROGRESS Women’s title. Just as she finished speaking, she was attacked from both sides by the Medusa Complex (Millie McKenzie and Charli Evans).

Cara Noir defeated Ilja Dragunov, Kyle Fletcher, and Paul Robinson in a four-way elimination match to become the new PROGRESS Unified World Champion (24:36)

Robinson was the first to be eliminated as Fletcher pinned him in 12:22. Fletcher was next out as Noir eliminated him via pinfall in 18:45. The final two came down to Dragunov and Noir, who earned each other’s respect in a recent trilogy. Noir pinned Dragunov in 24:36 with a Torpedo Moscow and a package piledriver to kick off his first reign as PROGRESS World Champion. The match was very well-received and the atmosphere at the Ballroom was intense throughout. 

PROGRESS’ next outing sees the promotion’s Welsh debut as Chapter 102 emanates from the Tramshed in Cardiff on February 2nd. 

6.5.0