On the second day of their mid summer US excursion PROGRESS made the 220 mile trip northeast from New York for PROGRESS: Boston. The show was headlined by Ringkampf team of WALTER and Timothy Thatcher challenging British Strong Style for British Strong Style’s PROGRESS Tag Team Titles.
PROGRESS: Boston
August 13, 2017
Arts at the Armory
Boston, Massachusetts
Watch: Demand PROGRESS
Jeff Cobb def. Mark Andrews
We have a PROGRESS original in Andrews taking on a man who made his PROGRESS debut in this years Super Strong Style 16 Jeff Cobb. The match told a very basic story of Cobb using his superior power and strength while Andrews used his quickness and experience to counter. Even though he relied mostly on his strength in this one Cobb is called Mr Athletic for a reason and I will never tire of seeing him do a standing moonsault or a standing shooting star press; just insane ability for a guy of his build. It proved to be Cobb’s power that proved the difference in the end as Andrews looked to follow up a stundog millionaire but Cobb was able to catch him and put him down with a Tour of the Islands. **3/4
Dakota Kai def. Deonna Purrazzo & Jinny
This match was supposed to be a fatal four way with Dahlia Black added but due to TK Cooper’s unfortunate injury the previous night Dahlia was not ready to compete. Before these PROGRESS shows I had not seen Dakota Kai before but man am I a fan now. She picked up the win with a top rope double foot stomp on Deonna while she was bridging into a cover on Jinny. All three women impressed and work very well together. Some of the strikes in this one would even have brought a tear to WALTER and Matt Riddle’s eyes. Every time I see her Jinny becomes more vicious and aggressive, but this was Dakota’s night and it seems to me that WWE have picked themselves up a real star in this lady. ***1/2
Jack Gallagher def. Travis Banks
Mr 205Live Jack Gallagher completed his weekend vacation in PROGRESS with a second victory this time over the #1 contender to the PROGRESS title Travis Banks here at PROGRESS: Boston. Gallagher spent the early portion of the match working over Banks’ left arm while Banks opted to use his strikes especially his lethal kicks. Banks has been on a bit of a singles losing streak since winning the Super Strong Style 16, with Pete Dunne getting deeper into his head with each passing show. Following a close believable nearfall after a Kiwi Crusher on Gallagher, Banks went to the corner looking to hit the Slice of Heaven kick but was distracted by Dunne’s presence on the ramp. This distraction allowed Gallagher to counter with a headbutt and his trademark corner dropkick. I will say if things don’t work out for Jack Gallagher in WWE he will be able to return a huge star on the indie circuit; he is constantly improving and has all the tools to be a star. ***1/4
Matt Riddle def. Martin Stone
This was fun! Riddle and Stone just beat the absolute piss out of each other for eight minutes. There was nothing fancy in this one; they had a chop battle for two minutes that left both of their chests a horrible shade of red. Stone, like Gallagher in the previous match, used some wicked looking headbutts to put down the King of Bros and even kicked out of a Riddle tombstone at one. In what is becoming a familiar scene Riddle fired up after no selling a Canadian destroyer and soon got the tap out victory via Bromission. ***1/2
Jimmy Havoc def. Zack Gibson
So Zack Gibson is just as popular for PROGRESS: Boston as he is in London, Manchester and Birmingham: not very! The US fans had a great time booing Liverpool’s #1 and the chant of number two directed at Gibson during the match was great. For no real reason this match evolved into a No DQ match with a couple of chairs involved. This was nowhere near the level of violence seen the night previous in the Havoc-Janela match, but still Havoc picked up his second win of the weekend after a double stomp onto a chair on Gibson followed by the Acid Rainmaker. ***
PROGRESS Tag Team Championships
British Strong Style (Seven & Bate) def. Ringkampf (Thatcher & WALTER)
On paper this is a great match and a fitting main event. In execution: just a match. WALTER was coming in off the back of his brutal battle against Matt Riddle the previous night while British Strong Style had a battle just to get to Boston after a series of mishaps delayed their journey. Thatcher worked the majority of the match for his team and while I enjoy his matches his countrymen in Boston seemed less enthused by his involvement. Trent in particular opted for a lot of comedy with their selling and even getting involved with the fans. Anytime WALTER was involved the match went up a notch and it must be said that nobody else can deliver a chop like WALTER can, just sickeningly vicious. Trent would pick up the surprisingly clean win when WALTER put him in the sleeper but Seven was able to roll through and pin the former Atlas champion. **3/4
After the match, WALTER announced that even though Thatcher was the number 1 contender to Matt Riddles Atlas Championship and was getting a shot at Chapter 55 in Alexandria Palace, that he was owed a rematch against Riddle and he was making the match at Ally Pally a triple threat match.
Final Thoughts:
Even though there is nothing must see on PROGRESS: Boston, due to clocking in at a little over two hours long this show breezed by. If PROGRESS was to ever run a house show this is what I imagine it would look like. It was a novelty to see PROGRESS in a more intimate venue again, but seeing them in a US indie venue really highlighted how great of a job they do with their venue selection in the UK. It is an inoffensive show with no real stand out match but still I enjoyed it as it did not overstay its welcome.
