PROGRESS Chapter 193: PROGRESS Las Vegas II (4.16.26) review 

 

April 16, 2026 

 

WRESTLEMANIA WEEK REVIEW #5  

 

We’re in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Horseshoe. I’ve fucked up a little bit here as I’ve not finished show #4 yet (I mean, I have now). However, if I don’t drop into this live, I’m going to get behind by a silly amount so here we go. Ring announcer is So Calorie Valorie. The Yanks chant “PROG-RESS”, which is wrong. Hosts are Joe Dombrowski & D’Lo Brown. Nothing screams UK wrestling like former ITV wrestling icon D’Lo Brown. He’s been waiting to call this show all week. Waiting a whole week to mispronounce the company’s name, get match stipulations wrong, and get wrestlers confused because he looked at the run sheet wrong.  

 

Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster vs. LJ Cleary & Kuro 

This is quite dancy and features Mandrews and Flash doing the exact same spots they were doing six years ago. As everyone does all this pre-planned stuff Kuro seems to just stroll around all chilled out. Many pleather clad thighs are slapped. We get multiple stupid miscue spots and Subculture pick up the win on Cleary. This is not my kind of pro-wrestling. It’s try hard nonsense. Thigh slaps and pre-planned stuff that looks shit. * 

 

Simon Miller vs. Danny Jones 

Miller gets called the original influencer turned wrestler. Oh, so we have this cunt to blame for that do we? Fabulous. D’Lo politely calls him “a young man”. He’s 41. Brown must be reading his run sheet wrong because he thinks Lio Rush is in this match and starts talking about Rush and has to change tack when Jones appears through the curtain.  

 

This plods along with Jones able in the striking and Miller trying to work from underneath. It’s just not very good. At least Jones keeps it snug. Danny slips on the ropes, and we get a “you fucked up” chant! E-C-Dub! It may be a work as Miller immediately hits the spear and the Jackhammer finishes. This was borderline boring. Very sluggish. Miller does nothing for me. * 

 

Super Strong Style 16 R1 

Ethan Allen vs. Lio Rush 

The whole point of doing a weekend tournament is that it’s hard because you have to win four matches in a weekend to get the duke. Doing R1 before the tournament makes no sense. Not that Nu-Gress has ever understood the original appeal of SSS16.  

Rush’s Blackheart gimmick is something I’m into. He’s thinking outside the box. Allen is smart enough to know he doesn’t have to be scared of the gimmick to sell the gimmick. Rush’s unusual approach catches him unawares a few times.  

The technique in this match is clean, and the narrative makes sense. Sometimes, that’s all I ask for. Lio is the kind of guy who can switch gears out of nowhere. You almost forget how quick he is.  

Brown has never seen someone bite the ropes to escape a hold. Well, I have. So, who’s seen more wrestling D’Lo? Lio turns the gimmick up, and the Blue Thunder finishes. This lost momentum at the worst possible time and Rush couldn’t find the right gear in the final third of it. **½ 

 

Emersyn Jayne vs. Renee Michelle vs. Lena Kross vs. Mercedes Martinez vs. Shotzi Blackheart  

Jayne is now dubbing herself as the “Mother Theresa of Workrate” 

Lena Kross has stunning presence. I’m annoyed we have a bunch of other women in here, so I don’t get a better look at her in-ring. She’s large, six feet tall, and moves around the ring with confidence. It’s not a surprise she’s a star in AEW already. They attempt a human centipede spot, and it doesn’t work AT ALL. Poor Lena Kross having to drive her own head into the ring like a jabronie. You’re better than that. Immediately afterwards she suplexes everyone. YES! That’s what I want. A monsterous suplex machine who cannot be beaten by normal human beings.  

 

Everyone else just pales in comparison, and as soon as Kross is written out of a sequence, the life goes out of the crowd. Mercedes looks to be calling the shots. You can see her checking to see if people are in position all the time. Shotzi is good here too, in her defence. The crowd like her and she’s able to hit spots with enough intensity to make people forget Kross isn’t doing them. Jayne gets a roll up out of nowhere for the win. Huh. That’s…not a popular decision. **¾. Lena Kross is great. An absolute stud. I should start watching AEW.  

 

Progress Proteus Championship 

Paul Walter Hauser (c) vs. Big Damo 

Is it mad that I think Hauser is a bigger star than anyone WWE has been using recently because he was in the Naked Gun? I’m aware that the only non-wrestling spheres I understand relate to European sports and movies in general. Predictably Damo just beats Hauser up here. Hauser gets genuinely beaten up, and his one kick out is not a kick out at all. Hauser looks completely out of his depth. They work in a bad ref bump, followed by a low blow. Hauser looked blown up after suffering after a Damo elbow drop. This was BAD. DUD. 

 

Post Match: Simon Miller prevents Hauser’s departure, and he gets a beat down. This whole angle was awful. I think the hope was that Damo could be Bigelow to Hauser’s LT.  

 

Super Strong Style 16 R1 

Rhio vs. Vert Vixen 

This is one of those matches where I don’t dislike it for any reason, but there isn’t a reason to love it either. Rhio works snugly and takes a good bump but too often the positioning isn’t there. Usually the spacial awareness and one of them is too close for a spot. It’s not bad or overly noticeable, but it’s just not right. Which is a shame because they do land stuff spot on at times and that is noticeable that they nail it. Vert’s rolling elbow for example. It does feel like the match improves as it goes on. As if they start to trust each other a bit more. Rhio finishes with a Package Piledriver. This was almost good enough to make the list of best matches on the weekend so far. Which makes the best match tonight. **¾ 

 

Progress World Championship 

Man Like Dereiss (c) vs. Michael Oku 

Dereiss is cornered by Brody Lee Jr. They do a decent job of making this feel important, and Oku tries to win in the first minute. They almost fuck up in a huge way, but Oku turns it into a Slingblade over the rope. If that was intentional, I’ll be amazed. They lay it in on the spots and have great chemistry. I love that Oku keeps switching it up and going after a quick pin. It feels like a legitimate strategy.  

 

I love how they both throw their bodies at each other. It’s great intensity. I’m genuinely having a lovely time. Unfortunately, the match becomes about Brody Jr as he throws water at Amira and tries to get Dereiss to bash Oku with the belt. I don’t know why they felt the need to derail the match like that. They try and get it back on track, but once your match is gone to bits, it’s gone.  

We do go to big bombs and kick outs, which is unfortunate as Oku seems to have developed that as a crutch. Dereiss gets the Sharpshooter and Oku taps. I would have liked to see some work on the back or legs to set that up. Especially as Dereiss survived in the half crab for ages beforehand. ***½. This was obviously on its way to being a great pro wrestling match until the middle segment with Brody Jr and Amira ruined the momentum on it.  

 

The 411: 

I was dreading this going horribly wrong, but some of it was decent. Main event was very good but obviously, the booking in this promotion is dog awful. Far worse than at any point when the much maligned three mates were in charge.  

 

Show Ranking: 

Dragon Gate USA: Gate of Sin City 5.8 

Progress 5.6  

Hybrid x PWU Midnight Xpress 4.1  

Podermania~! 3.7  

CCW High Rollers 3.4  

 

Best Matches: 

Man Like Dereiss vs. Michael Oku (Progress) ***½  

Manders vs. Thomas Shire (Hybrid/PWU) ***¼  

Ben K & Hyo vs. Aero Panther & Fight Panther Jr vs. Jordan Oliver & Alec Price (DGUSA) *** 

 

Number of coffees drunk; 2