PROGRESS Super Strong Style 16 Weekend Review

Day Three:

The third and final day at Alexandra Palace for PROGRESS would feature two semi-final matches, a Women’s Championship defence, the final PROGRESS match of Jimmy Havoc, and the final of the Super Strong Style 16 tournament. It really promised to be another fantastic day of wrestling.

One. Last. Time. pic.twitter.com/cvhbrKrPIZ

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) May 6, 2019

Day Three Results:

Hangover Battle Royal- Chris Brookes def. Roy Johnson, Darby Allin, Trevor Lee, DJZ, Chris Ridgeway, OJ, Artemis Spencer, Lucky Kid and Connor Mills. Chris Brookes won the match after an appearance from his recently retired CCK tag team partner Kid Lykos. The match got the crowd hot and allowed each guy to get in their signature offence and shine.

David Starr def. Ilja Dragunov and Travis Banks- The match was contested under elimination rules, but for most of the match the three men in the ring worked well together, blending their styles to great a nice dynamic. They produced a triple threat match that didn’t just involve one of the men being thrown to the outside while the other two fought in the ring like we have become used to in WWE. Dragunov was eliminated by Banks, leaving Travis and David Starr in the ring. Starr overcame the NXT UK star, and proceeded to the final where he would face the winner of Jordan Devlin vs. Kyle O’Reilly.

Jordan Devlin def. Kyle O’Reilly- Jordan Devlin is far more than a discount Finn Balor as some members of the crowd decided to chant. He was exceptional here, with O’Reilly playing the role of the heel working over Devlin’s knee. Devlin managed to escape three submisson attempts, valiantly rolling-up O’Reilly whilst still locked in a knee bar. Devlin was then set for a clash with David Starr in the main event the show, one which I expected him to win.

Paul Robinson def. Jimmy Havoc- This was the most brutal hardcore death match I have ever seen. Aside from the usual chairs, tables and ladders, we had staplers, thumbtacks, light tubes, and a table made of lighttubes. The amount of blood in this match makes Ric Flair’s blade jobs look like a light graze. This was special and like nothing else on the card. It would have felt wrong for Jimmy Havoc last PROGRESS match before leaving for AEW to have gone down any other way. He went out by putting Robinson over, which was nice and the video package for Havoc recapping his seven years with PROGRESS was touching.

Aussie Open def. Daga and Aerostar to retain the PROGRESS Tag Team Championships- This match was a perfectly fine wrestling match. It had its fair share of cool spots, and Daga and Aerostar earned the respect of the crowd. Predictably, however, Aussie Open picked up the win. After the match, Wild Boar and Flash Morgan Webster rushed the ring, attacking Aussie Open stealing their titles.

Jordynne Grace def. Millie McKenzie, Nina Samuels and Session Moth Martina to retain the PROGRESS Women’s Championship- If you thought the crowd were hot for Session Moth yesterday, that was nothing compared to the reception that McKenzie recieved when she came out from the PROGRESS faithful. The match was perfectly fine, but nothing special, with Grace picking up the win and retaining her title.

David Starr def. Jordan Devlin to win the 2019 PROGRESS Super Strong Style 16 tournament- Jordan Devlin was somewhat of a crowd favourite this weekend, but as soon as he was in the ring with David Starr, the crowd turned against him. David Starr was easily the most over person here, and the pop when he tapped out Devlin was deafening. The match was fantastic, with both men putting over their exhaustion from competiting in four other matches this weekend. Devlin will be a star in the years to come, but Starr finally has the rocket strapped to him, and he is coming for WALTER, a feud and match I fully expect him to win.

Your winner of #SSS16 2019, @TheProductDS. pic.twitter.com/I7Tw0nPn8q

— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) May 6, 2019

Overall, day three was great, with Jimmy Havoc’s farewell match being a particular highlight. He has given everything for the promotion in his seven years there, and it is undeniable that the company would not be as successful as it is without the work of Havoc. David Starr’s win was great, and it really feels that PROGRESS is going to be the first promotion to properly back him as their top star. His match was Devlin was great, but not as good as Devlin vs. Fletcher from day two, which would have been extremely hard to top.

The weekend was extremely enjoyable, and the matches were far and away better than any you’ll see on Raw and Smackdown each week. PROGRESS will be back to Alexandra Palace for another big show in September, be sure to get your tickets by clicking here. In the meantime, have a look at PROGRESS’ demand service, Super Strong Style 16 should be uploaded in the next five-seven days. I really recommend this show.

• Super Strong Style 16
• review
• PROGRESS
• Jimmy Havoc

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