Progress: Orlando recap & review: Coming to America – Cageside Seats (blog)

Issues with the WWNLive website lead to the iPPV being largely inaccessible for the first half, but now the VOD is up (and anyone that ordered it live only has been given the VOD for free!) So, yesterday I recapped what I could, and I am, in light of the events, leaving all that untouched and picking up what I missed right now. As a result, the tag match recap will be joined in progress when we get to it. (Pun not intended, but welcome!)

On with the show!

Technical grappling early, Havoc hanging with the Technical Wizard and nearly pinning him for a finish at one point. Elbow strike and a small package nearly does it again and the pace picks up, suicide dive and a facewash. Sabre back in it with a northern lights suplex rolled into a guillotine choke but Jimmy gets the ropes!

Slugging it out now, Sabre gets an Indian deathlock and bridges back before applying a Jim Breaks Special for added wrist damage. Forearm for uppercut, cut off on a charge, Havoc plants him with a DVD, stomp comes up empty, some jockeying, ZSJ with a wheelbarrow Tiger suplex!

He keeps the clutch, transitions to a Stretch Plum before going for a crucifix pin that gets two. Off the ropes, thinking octopus hold, he's got it in but Havoc reverses to a Beach Break... NOT ENOUGH! Zack is busted wide open above the eye now and they go striking. charging blows, Jimmy gets a rolling elbow!

Charging knee strike, to the second, double stomp connects! Acid Rainmaker countered into a flying armbar but Havoc reverses to a pin! Sabre kicks out, omoplata, wrenching the other arm back but again Jimmy counters to a pin for two! Half nelson suplex, elbow, Acid Rainmaker ducked, backslide...

Zack Sabre, Jr. wins by pinfall with a bridging backslide pin.

Awesome opener. Love these two guys and they always make magic together.

Drake blindsides Spud during intros and lays a beating on him! Outside, to the woodshed, beating him unholy before he can even get his ring jacket off here. Back in the ring, Spud hanging on the ropes and James pulls him off to level him with an uppercut.

Snapmare to a shoot kick, standing on Spud's hand, back suplex, the abuse keeps coming. Drake spits in his face and Spud fires up! Right hands, kicks in the corner, James is able to get him around for another snapmare into a kick but you can't keep the little guy down now!

Tit for tat, Spud adds a dropkick that sends Drake outside! Suicide dive bowls him over! Back in the ring, step-up enzuigiri, a neckbreaker, up top for a diving elbow drop but Drake dumps him on his head with a counter suplex on a charge Folding powerbomb... SPUD LIVES!

James jawing at Spud, off the ropes, the Rockstar catches him with a tilt-a-whirl DDT! On a charge, Drake goes low, schoolboy roll through...

James Drake wins by pinfall with Mr. Mayhem.

Spud is two-for-two in very good work-from-underneath matches in Progress now! Drake isn't quite as vicious as Robinson was, but his size did a lot to make up for it. Great stuff.

Drake attacks Spud after the match, just for good measure.

Toni keeps forcing Jinny in the corner early and, naturally, Jinny takes offense and snaps off a flying headscissors into mounted punches! Storm has a big roundhouse kick and big double-hand chops in the corner, before the butt bumps begin. Jinny counters a charge with a flipping arm drag that sends Toni into the turnbuckles.

Stomps laid in, clubbing overhand strikes, Storm back in with forearms that daze Jinny in the corner. But the fashionista gets a reverse surfboard and kicks her freakin' head in! More stomps, a wicked elbow, choke in the corner and mocking the double-hand chops.

But Toni turns it around, knife-edge chops, Jinny cuts her off, charging knee, a second, snapmare into taunts. Kick, cover, no good. Disdainful stomp, another cover, Storm is hurting but she won't give it up yet, and Jinny heads outside to get a... garbage bag?

SHE'S MAKING TONI STORM WEAR THE GARBAGE BAG! Forearms laid in, just yelling at her unholy but Toni blocks one and fires forearms in return before Hulking the garbage bag off! German suplex, charging hip attack, bridging fisherman suplex... Jinny kicks out!

Powerbomb blocked, Jinny throws a series of kicks for a nearfall, heading up top but she gets cut off... MUSCLE BUSTER! NOPE! Looking for a powerbomb again, big slap, Rainmaker blocked, reverse neckbreaker connects! But Toni doesn't capitalize, instead going to the corner, and Jinny yanks her off...

Jinny wins by pinfall with her feet on the ropes.

Man, the Progress women's division is something special right now. Really good match, can't wait for Natural Progression Series IV finals.

My feed goes live with Callihan going ham on Travis Banks, so I'm just gonna start recapping the match here! Strickland in on Cooper, pummeling him with kicks and dropping him with an Ace Crusher. Kicks for everybody and all four men are laid out on the mat!

JML back in it first, laying the Power Trip out in the corners and setting Banks up for a Swerve Stomp-assisted powerbomb. Sami has the Stretch Muffler on and TK's trying to break it with kicks! They succeed and run wild on Shane, flying knee connects...

South Pacific Power Trip win by pinfall with an assisted DDT on Shane Strickland.

Well, what I saw of that was very fun!

Jim Smallman uses his between match comments to speak to the memory of Kris Travis, who sadly passed away a year ago.

Trent needs this to hurry up and get over with because he has to be at WWE Axxess, because 2017 pro wrestling.

Feeling out to start, Seven a bit tentative and Riddle gets on him with a waistlock takedown. Trent struggling, forcing a break, and things soon go to strikes. Bro forcing him in the corner, catches him with an exploder suplex, goes for the hight jump senton but Seven has the knees up!

Charging overhand chop, Trent gets some Fromunda on his hand but Matt blocks it and knocks him off the apron with a triangle knee that sets up the baseball slide slap. Strike for strike and the Progress tag champ puts his hand into the ringpost!

A low suicide dive wipes Riddle out and Seven tries to follow it off the top but Bro meets him and plants him with an avalanche fisherman buster! Shotgun knees, but Trent fires up, waistlock, standing swtich, German suplex, he pops up, gives one to Riddle, Bro pops up! Another German suplex from Matt and both men are wiped out!

Blocking lariats with boots, Seven connects with a backfist, Seven Stars blocked with a kick, another backfist, Dragon suplex, Riddle pops up, Pele kick, bridging German suplex... NOT ENOUGH! Forearms and kicks, springboard knee ducked, SPINNING PILEDRIVER! BRO LIVES!

In the corner, setting him up, thinking avalanche piledriver but Bro slips out and hits a folding powerbomb! Scoop, jumping Tombstone... NO GOOD! Trent is firing forearms, Riddle returns with kicks, Seven with the backfist, Seven Stars... NOPE! Powerbomb escaped, knee strike, jumping Tombstone... OUT AT ONE! BROMISSION LOCKED IN! IT'S OVER!

Matt Riddle wins by submission with the Bromission, retaining the Progress Atlas Division Championship.

Shock of shocks, Bro is three-for-three on awesome matches this week. Little bit of a slow start but once we got to bomb trading it was really good.

Trent goes to take a bow post-match but just flips the crowd off instead.

A WWE-recognized title is being defended on iPPV. What a world.

Bit of stalling early as both men marinate in the atmosphere of the crowd, but soon enough Tyler's going after the leg. Andrews trying to go hold-for hold and he gets some reversals in and forces Bate outside for a moment. Grappling intensifies, but eventually, inevitably, we get flips.

Lucha evasions like mad here, it's wild. Champ sends challenger out with a boot and Andrews responds by sliding back in for a tope con giro! Arm drags on arm drags, Mark backed in the corner and Bop claims a victim! Snapmare to a vicious kick, Tyler steps on one and hand and applies a Jim Breaks Special to the other before tying him up on the mat with an arm-trap cloverleaf.

Standing senton atomico gets two, lifting European uppercuts beget chops from Andrews but Bate takes his leg out from under him. Looking for the Tyler Driver, Mark blocks, Bate stays with it, tries again, Frankensteiner reversal! Northern lights suplex, too long setting up the moonsault, schoolboy nearfall!

Tyler cuts a springboard off with an uppercut, off the ropes, he eats an enzugiri, SHIRANUI ON THE APRON! Moonsault senton gets two and Bate takes Andrews' head off with a lariat and follows it with a deadlift delayed sheerdrop brainbuster... NOPE! Slugging it out from their knees now, to their feet, Mark comes out ahead.

Charging strikes, Andrews with an enzuigiri, Bang connects, Tyler counters a guillotine with a Cozy Crush Dynamite! Underhooks, Mark forces him in the corner to break, eats a huge knee but snaps off a jumping Frankensteiner! Bate blocks a handspring and deadlifts him into the airplane spin!

Andrews counters out with a poison Frankensteiner! TYLER HITS A SHOOTING STAR PRESS! ANDREWS WITH ONE IN RETURN! COP KILLER! BATE KICKS OUT! Nobody home on the shooting star press! Bate hits a superkick, suplex lift, STUNDOG MILLIONAIRE! Rolling Koppo Kick, underhooks...

Tyler Bate wins by pinfall with the Tyler Driver '97, retaining the WWE United Kingdom Championship.

Holy hell. Bit of a meandering start, not sure we needed all the mat grappling from Mark Andrews, but once it got going, my word. Good stuff.

In hard and dirty, fighting for position and forcing referee Joel Allen to separate them repeatedly. Dunne clawing the beard and face to grind Haskins down. but Mark has hamstring kicks and a snap scoop powerslam in return. Pete heads outide and Haskins dives on the other two British Strong Style men!

Dunne with a diving moonsault but Mark avoids him and throws a suicide dive! He sets Peter up on the apron, walks all the way up the entranceway and runs back down it to clobber him with a knee strike! A second try but the Bruiserweight has a forearm to cut him off.

Back in the rings, evasions, roll-through Sharpshooter in full effect! Joel ejects Bate and Seven! Peter spikes Haskins with a rope-hung DDT in all the confusion! Romero Special grapevines in, he gets Marks left hand and goes to bite the fingers but is blocked, and so simply stomps the knees hard.

Champ with a vicious falling forearm, now just toying with Haskins. Wrenching his nose unholy before stomping the injured neck! Slugging it out, Mark Haskins is back in it! Rock Bottom backbreaker into a Falcon Arrow... NOT ENOUGH! Pasting Dunne in the corner but Peter wants more, clasping hands behind his back!

Dunne walking through the shots, forearms and stiff kicks, he throws one forearm in return and knocks Mark down! Haskins has a similar one in return, though, and both men are running low. Springboard right into a forearm, Bitter End... countered with a DDT! Half and half, reversals, briding Fujiwara armbar applied but Dunne gets the ropes!

Sitdown striking, slap for slap, charges, Haskins with a tilt-a-whirl takedown but Peter drops him with a Tombstone! He keeps it held, hits the piledriver again... MARK HASKINS LIVES! Pumphandle applied, Bitter End... SMALL PACKAGE COUNTER! PEDIGREE... NOPE!

Struggle in the corner, Mark Haskins flip piledriver! Roll-through Death Valley Driver... NOT ENOUGH! The bridging Fujiwara's back on! Peter counters and bites the fingers! SUPERKICK! Roundhouse ducked, Bitter End connects this time... NO GOOD!

Dunne has a crazy crossface variation in...

Pete Dunne wins by submission with a modified arm-trap crossface, retaining the Progress Championship.

Awesome match. The determination of Mark Haskins through that finishing sequence, my word.

Jim Smallman thanks the crowd to send us out.

Technical issues with the live broadcast aside, Progress made excellent work of their US debut. Not much storyline movement, but all the matches delivered, and hey, Zack Sabre, Jr. wore all three of his titles to the ring. Dude is running out of torso!

And a special shout-out to Lenny Leonard and Excalibur on commentary, who really did their research in a big way and made sure it wasn't just a good show, but an easy watch.

Check it out on VOD now on WWNLive, or wait for the show to go up on Demand Progress after the offices reopen in about two weeks.

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Progress: Orlando recap & review: Coming to America - Cageside Seats (blog)