RevPro Epic Encounter 2019

GABRIEL KIDD vs. BRENDAN WHITE - 5.75/10

A good showing from both Contenders, but maybe don't do a fighting spirit spot in your nine-minute student's match opener. We want to save that stuff for matches where it's actually necessary so that it doesn't feel watered down.

ARTEMIS SPENCER vs. CHRIS BROOKES (w/Kid Lykos) - 4.75/10

Kid Lykos did several things which should have caused a DQ but wasn't even ejected from ringside. His interference allowed Brookes to win.

DAN MAGEE & KURTIS CHAPMAN vs. JOSH BODOM & SHA SAMUELS - 6.25/10

Before the bell they brawled all over the room. Unfortunately, the cameras they had were not even close to being properly equipped to catch it. They wound up back in the ring and it turned into a regular tag match, but they managed to make it not feel like they were just resetting the intensity.

SHA SAMUELS PROMO - He's got a match with Suzuki this Sunday, apparently. He thinks he's going to win, LOL.

A-KID vs. MATT SYDAL - 7.25/10

Both guys worked over the head. In what may or may not have been a planned spot, Sydal attempted a poison-rana and landed on his head. Sydal won with a great reversal that the announcers used to put over his "third eye" gimmick, while they put this strong showing over as an important "learning experience" for A-Kid.

SCRAMBLE MATCH:
Michael Oku vs. Carlos Romo vs. T.K. Cooper vs. Rob Lias vs. Shigehiro Irie - 7/10

This was originally scheduled as a five-way between Cooper, Romo, Oku, Irie, and Kip sabian, but as Cooper (the first man to come out) made his entrance, he was attack from behind by Rob Lias. Lias beat him down with a chair, then said that he was inserting himself into Cooper's match tonight just like Cooper did in his match against Kip Sabian this past Sunday at Live from the Cockpit 41. Lias also informed us all that Kip Sabian will not be appearing as advertised because he had an unfortunate "accident" backstage. An accident so serious that it might also prevent him from challenging Zack Sabre Jr. for the Undisputed British Heavyweight Title this coming Sunday at MAYhem 2019... and Lias generously volunteers himself as a replacement.

They had a very exciting, action-packed four-way giving everyone the chance to shine. Lias in particular did a fantastic job playing the sneaky heel. Eventually Cooper came back and took Lias out, then ran wild on everybody... only for Lias to sneak in and roll him up for the win, continuing Cooper's story of being, as the announcers put, "not able to catch a break."

RPW UNDISPUTED BRITISH TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH:
Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr.)(c) vs. Aussie Open - 3.5/10

Suzuki-Gun jump the bell on their opponents. Suzuki was allowed to use a chair on Fletcher because referee Chris Roberts is too scared of Suzuki to do anything about it. This is dumb on its own, but this has been happening more MONTHS now. Why has the company not brought in a trouble-shooting referee by now?

This sort of crap completely snowballed. Roberts being scared of Suzuki resulted in people cheering Suzuki for being cool because the ref was backing away from him in a comedic way, and from then on every time Suzuki would manipulate or threaten Roberts, or any time Roberts got duped into dealing with Mark Davis on the apron while Suzuki-Gun double-teamed Fletcher in the ring, the fans were laughing. That is the opposite of the desired reaction.

Fletcher's selling of his knee was horrendous. He finally made a hot tag to Davis who ran wild for a while... and then slowed down and did the "take turns slowly measuring and chopping each other" spot. The last time these two teams were in the same place, Suzuki-Gun assaulted Aussie Open from behind and brutalized them. Tonight they jumped the bell on them, beat them with a chair, and then Davis had to stand there on the apron and watch while the Suzuki-Gun illegally double-teamed his partner because the dumb-f*ck referee was being manipulated by Suzuki-Gun. This is not the time for "let's see who is tougher." This is the time for "I'M GOING TO F*CKING KILL YOU, YOU BASTARD!"

This dumb exchange ended with a double-down and tags on both sides. Fletcher is finally selling his knee. How does it make sense that he wasn't selling it while it was getting pummeled, but is selling it after a long rest on the apron?

Things got a little bit better towards the end, but there were still one or two spots which felt way too choreographed and cutesy. There was some pretty good stuff towards the end and the fans popped big for the finish, but it wasn't even close to making up for the previous twenty minutes of crap. This is what happens when you try to have a "cool" match instead of making sure your story makes sense and is appropriate for the situation. Davis getting the pin on Zack sets him up for a shot at the heavyweight title as well.

LADDER MATCH FOR THE RPW UNDISPUTED BRITISH CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE:
David Starr(c) vs. El Phantasmo - a PERFECT 10/10!

THIS is how you blow off a feud! This wasn't about ladder stunts; it was about two guys trying to kill each other so that whoever won could then climb the ladder and pull the belt down. They also did a phenomenal job of incorporating various elements of the feud, whether it was the belt shot or Chris Roberts or David Starr's supposedly "independent" referee Shane Mercer or low blows... they found a way to incorporate pretty much all of it. Starr's selling was amazing, there were some brutal, crazy spots, and they even managed to find one or two new twists to put in a ladder match, which seems like a rather difficult feat these days. THIS is what the climax of your story should be!

Final Thoughts
This was a tough show to judge, but overall, I'm going to call it "good." It had some big down points and I was hoping certain matches would deliver a lot more than they did, but they moved some stories along well, Suzuki-Gun's reign of absentee terror is finally over, and it was all capped off with an unforgettable main event. I was on the verge of giving up on RevPro before this show, but tonight they earned my money for at least another month.