By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
Progress Wrestling “Super Strong Style 16, Day 1”
May 3, 2026, in London, England, at Electric Ballroom
Streamed live on TrillerTV+
The lighting seemed especially bad today — the center of the ring was lit, but wrestlers vanish into shadows in the corner and can be downright impossible to see on the floor. (The poor production is what holds this promotion back.)
There are women’s and men’s tournaments running simultaneously. The first round has concluded on indy shows quite literally around the world, so we are at the quarterfinals for both brackets.
Your updated brackets ahead of the weekend!
Who are you going with? pic.twitter.com/Tm9zWf1FQu
— PROGRESS Wrestling (@ThisIs_Progress) April 27, 2026
1. Simon Miller vs. Jay Joshua in a quarterfinals match. They immediately traded forearm strikes. The picture froze, but we could hear the fighting and the commentary. The picture was frozen for a long time — was anyone monitoring the live feed???? This is just embarrassing for them. The commentators were apparently oblivious to the fact that the screen was frozen. OKAY, we got the picture back at 5:15!
Jay hit a flying headbutt, but Simon hit a spear for a nearfall. Joshua hit a German Suplex and a decapitating clothesline for a nearfall. He locked in a sleeper on the mat. The ref checked Simon and called for the bell. Well, at least we didn’t miss the finish, at least. The sound is going in and out, too — this production is in all-out disaster mode today — we saw about two minutes of that.
Jay Joshua defeated Simon Miller at 7:12 to advance to the semifinals.
2. Rhio vs. Stephanie Maze in a quarterfinals match. This is Maze’s debut in this venue; I’ve seen her in Germany’s wXw — she’s dressed like a shootfighter with a plain black top and her hair in cornrows. She tried some kicks, but Rhio hit a T-Bone Suplex, a dropkick, and a basement dropkick for a nearfall at 1:30. Rhio hit an Irish Whip and was in charge early on. Maze hit a basement dropkick at 3:00 that sent Rhio to the floor to regroup. In the ring, Maze hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall.
Rhio hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip and a crossbody block for a nearfall at 5:00, and she targeted the damaged leg and kept Maze grounded. Maze hit a superplex at 8:30, and they were both down. Maze hit some roundhouse kicks and a Claymore Kick! She hit a back suplex for a nearfall. They traded rollups. Rhio hit a springboard fadeaway stunner. Maze hit a kick that sent Rhio to the floor, and they were both down at 11:00. Maze hit a second-rope missile dropkick. Rhio hit a powerslam for a nearfall. She hit a headbutt, then a neckbreaker over her knee and a package piledriver for the decisive pin. Good action, but the winner was never in doubt.
Rhio defeated Stephanie Maze at 12:29 to advance to the semifinals.
3. Charles Crowley vs. Elijah Blum in a quarterfinal match. The tattoo-covered Blum is another wXW regular from Germany, and it’s also his debut in the Electric Ballroom. (I can’t stress enough how awful the sound is, going in and out, during intros.) We got the bell, but Crowley played to the crowd. They finally locked up at 1:00, and Blum shoved him into a corner. Basic standing switches early on, and Crowley twisted Blum’s nipples, then hit a back-body drop at 3:30. Blum hit a running crossbody block for a nearfall.
Blum hit a double-underhook suplex for a nearfall at 5:30. Crowley hit an F5 Slam, and they were both down. Crowley grabbed four helium-filled balloons from the corner and hit a missile dropkick. (Dumb!) He hit a leaping Russian leg sweep while still holding onto the balloons. He came off the ropes, but Blum hit a neckbreaker at 8:00. Blum went for the cover, but the helium balloons lifted Crowley’s arm. Okay, I smiled at that. Blum grabbed the balloons and popped them all, earning a “you sick f—!” chant. He hit a German Suplex. Crowley hit a corner fadeaway stunner for the pin. I’ll call that an upset — yes, this is Crowley’s home promotion, but I thought Blum was going over.
Charles Crowley defeated Elijah Blum at 9:34 to advance to the semifinals.
4. Shotzi Blackheart vs. L.A. Taylor (w/Skye Smitson) in a quarterfinal match. Taylor is a tall, strong blonde; I’ve only seen her a few times. They shook hands before locking up; Taylor’s height advantage is rather notable. Shotzi hit a 619 and a top-rope crossbody block, but Taylor caught her and hit a fallaway slam at 1:30. Taylor applied a full nelson and spun her several times before slamming Shotzi and getting a nearfall. Taylor hit a pump kick that leveled Shotzi at 3:30. She applied a Cobra Clutch and bent Shotzi over her knee with the submission hold locked on. Nice!
Taylor hit a running clothesline for a nearfall at 5:00. Shotzi hit a second-rope missile dropkick and a running knee and a variety of kicks, then a tornado DDT at 7:00. She went for a Sliced Bread out of the corner, but Taylor blocked it. The lighting is so awful in that corner! Taylor caught her and hit a Spinebuster, then a release F5 for a nearfall. Shotzi finally hit the Sliced Bread out of the corner, then her big top-rope senton splash for the pin! Good action.
Shotzi Blackheart defeated L.A. Taylor at 8:53 to advance to the semifinals.
5. Peter Tihanyi vs. Spike Trivet in a quarterfinal match. Tihanyi is yet another wXw talent; the commentators said he was here in 2022. Tihanyi hit him before the bell; we got the bell at 00:11, and Tihanyi hit some chops. He’s taller and lankier than Spike. The bald Trivet dropped Peter with a hard back elbow. Peter tied him in a straitjacket choke. He hit an enzuigiri. Trivet hit an Exploder Suplex at 5:30. Spike hit a series of chops and jab punches to the jaw, then a clothesline that dropped Tihanyi.
Peter applied an ankle lock, and he hit a running knee, then a slingshot stunner for a nearfall. Trivet hit a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall at 7:30. He hit a top-rope superplex. Tihanyi applied an ankle lock, but Trivet got a rollup for a nearfall. Tihanyi hit a DDT for a nearfall at 9:30. Tihanyi hit a superkick. Trivet hit a Lungblower to the chest and a neckbreaker over his knee for the pin. I’m surprised to see all the wXw names losing. That was pretty hard-hitting.
Spike Trivet defeated Peter Tihanyi at 10:39 to advance.
* A 30-minute intermission is just too long…
6. Gisele Shaw vs. Skye Smitson (w/L.A. Taylor) in a quarterfinal match. Skye’s whole look and demeanor is exactly like Shayna Baszler — she comes off as tough-as-nails and legit. Standing switches as they twisted each other’s left arms. Gisele rolled to the floor at 2:30 to regroup. Gisele put Skye in the ring curtain and punched her. In the ring, Shaw hit some chops. Shaw hit a Magic Screw twisting neckbreaker off the ropes at 4:00. Skye got up and hit some jab punches and a hard clothesline for a nearfall.
Skye hit a gutwrench powerbomb for a nearfall at 6:00, and she was shocked she didn’t win there. Gisele hit a superkick; Skye hit a jumping knee to the chin. Shaw hit a backbreaker over the knee for a nearfall, then a Cradle Shock for a nearfall. Shaw nailed a running knee to the side of Skye’s head for the pin. Hard-hitting but shorter than anticipated.
Gisele Shaw defeated Skye Smitson at 7:56 to advance to the semifinals.
7. Charlie Sterling vs. Lio Rush in a quarterfinal match. Lio slithered to the ring, as he’s still doing his “blackheart” gimmick. Sterling wore a suit jacket but no shirt. He seemed perplexed and unsure how to approach Lio, who was on his knees in the corner. Lio whispered in the ref’s ear. They still haven’t touched. Lio fired himself up; Charlie grabbed him at 2:00 for the first contact of the match. Lio did his misdirection offense, and his manic movements sent Sterling to the floor to regroup. The commentators wondered how you approach Lio.
Sterling hit a snap suplex, then another, then a delayed vertical suplex for a nearfall at 5:30. He bit Lio’s fingers! Lio hit a series of punches and a clothesline. He hit a rolling Koppo Kick that sent Sterling from the apron to the floor, then he dove through the ropes onto him at 8:00. In the ring, Lio hit a Final Hour frog splash for a believable nearfall. Lio hit the Rush Hour stunner out of the ropes. He grabbed Sterling’s jacket at 10:30 and put it on. Why? He missed a frog splash. They traded rollups. Sterling got a rollup with his feet on the top rope for added leverage and the tainted pin. Wow… all the men in the semis are regulars.
Charlie Sterling defeated Lio Rush at 11:20 to advance.
8. Kanji vs. Hollie Barlow in a quarterfinal match. Kanji had two belts with her. Hollie is fine, but she’s not in Kanji’s league, so my Spidey sense is going crazy. They shook hands, but then Kanji hit a superkick for a nearfall at 00:30 — if this wasn’t the main event, I wouldn’t have been surprised if that was it! Hollie stalled on the floor while recovering from that kick. Kanji chopped her, and Hollie collapsed to the apron. Kanji stomped on her in the ring and kept Barlow grounded. She tied up Hollie’s leg and leaned back for pressure. Kanji hit a Sabre-style neck-snap between her ankles at 4:00.
Hollie got a rollup for a nearfall, but Kanji popped up and hit a pump kick, then did a Divorce Court armbreaker at 6:00, and Barlow clutched her damaged arm in pain. Hollie fired up and hit three back suplexes. Hollie dove through the ropes at 8:00. The commentators wondered if Kanji “played with her food too long.” In the ring, Kanji hit a Mafia Kick, then a Helluva Kick, and she again twisted Hollie’s neck between her ankles. Hollie hit a stunner and they were both down at 9:30. They got up and traded forearm strikes.
Hollie hit a discus forearm strike and a top-rope elbow drop for a nearfall at 11:30. Kanji locked in a unique Octopus Stretch. Once on the mat, Kanji locked in a cross-armbreaker. She hit a Hidden Blade to the back of the head for a believable nearfall at 13:30! Kanji immediately applied a hammerlock and twisted the arm, and Barlow tapped out. Good match; easily the best I’ve seen from Barlow. Kanji helped Barlow to her feet and raised her arm.
Kanji defeated Hollie Barlow at 13:50 to advance to the semifinals.
* The ring announcer listed off the eight competitors who have reached the semifinals between the two brackets, but did NOT reveal the semifinal matches!
9. Man Like DeReiss vs. Cara Noir in a no-DQ match for the Progress Title. The sound is just awful — I don’t care that I’m writing it over and over — it keeps going up and down. We got the bell, and they immediately brawled to the floor. Ugh, the lighting is awful, and they vanished into the shadows from the hard camera. They switched to a ringside camera as DeReiss hit a snap suplex onto a row of empty chairs at 2:00. They fought over by a bar, and it’s just impossible to see. They brawled over to the stage stairs, and Noir tossed DeReiss onto chairs at 4:30. Noir tossed several chairs into the ring.
Noir got into the ring but hit a baseball slide dropkick at 7:00 onto a table that DeReiss had pulled out. DeReiss slid the table back under the ring, drawing boos. Noir hit a Con-chair-to onto MLD’s foot! He then hit one on the left arm! He tied up DeReiss on the mat and kept him grounded. He hit a Stomp onto a folded chair at 11:00, then he bit DeReiss’ fingers! DeReiss hit several spin kicks to Noir’s thighs. He grabbed a chair and cracked it several times over Cara’s back at 14:00. DeReiss hit an unprotected chairshot to the head; so unnecessary.
A table was opened in the ring, but Noir again closed it and set it aside, and the crowd booed him again for that. DeReiss powerbombed Noir across two open chairs. Noir hit a Shining Wizard for a nearfall at 21:00. He slammed one chair on top of another chair on DeReiss’ chest. The table was AGAIN opened on the floor, so Noir smashed it with a baseball bat or some other similar weapon. DeReiss hit a running cannonball on Noir, and they again crashed into the rows of chairs.
DeReiss went for a springboard move, but Noir threw a chair at him. Noir hit a Rude Awakening and a neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 23:30, and we got a “This is Progress!” chant. Noir swung a mallet at DeReiss’s head, but MLD moved. Noir went for a punt kick, but DeReiss held up a chair, and Noir’s bare foot struck it! DeReiss applied a Sharpshooter. Noir got to the ropes but MLD pulled him back to the center. Noir punched the ref and knocked him out! Because DeReiss had him in a Sharpshooter, he didn’t see it!
Noir “tapped out,” so DeReiss let go of the hold! (Nice twist on something we’ve seen countless times). Noir hit DeReiss with a chair and hit a running Shotgun Dropkick at 26:30. He hit another one! Noir went for one more, but DeReiss hit the bare feet with a chair. DeReiss hit a piledriver for a visual pin, but we had no ref! A new ref ran in for a two-count at 28:00. DeReiss hit a modified Blue Thunder Bomb, but he missed a 450 Splash at 31:00. Noir hit a running Penalty Kick to the face for a nearfall. Noir grabbed the sledgehammer and struck DeReiss in the ribs! He hit a package piledriver onto a folded chair for the pin! New champion!
Cara Noir defeated Man Like DeReiss to win the Progress World Title at 31:45.
Final Thoughts: The inability to figure out the problems with the volume on music intros for the entire show just perplexes me. The lighting is mediocre at best. The production quality here is so far below what is standard in the U.S., it’s rather shocking. Unfortunately, it detracted from some really good wrestling. (Coming off of watching a GCW show with really good production values, the difference is vast.)
The main event was really good, but like the long Andrade-Tsuji match a few hours earlier, I don’t know if this needed to be more than 30 minutes. They really did almost nothing between the 14-minute mark and the 21-minute mark — I jotted down almost nothing notable during that stretch. They ramped it up at the end, of course. Again, a good match, but it felt like they could have told the same story in 22 minutes instead of 33.
The tournament matches were all fine, but it is mildly disappointing that all the wXw talent was eliminated, and that the final four men are all from Progress Wrestling. I guess I was hoping for at least one outsider in the bunch. The women’s tournament gave us that. I will certainly be disappointed if Shotzi faces Gisele in the semis, because they can do that in the U.S.; I would much rather have them each face a UK talent. The tournament wraps up on Monday!
Be the first to comment