Progress #369 - ‘Ring of Victory Night 1: Queen of the Ring’

STRONG STYLE /strôNG/ /stīl/ 1. ‘... A style of wrestling evolved from Japanese Puroresu (プロレス) and traditional British Catch wrestling that incorporates full contact martial arts kicks and strikes with a strong emphasis placed on submission wrestling ...’ In Progress, the emphasis is more on the competition and the combatants fighting spirit rather than characters, and we settle things in the ring ....

LOCATION: London, England ARENA: Royal Albert Hall ANNOUNCERS: Mauro Renallo, Wade Barrett & Renee Young

Mauro, Wade & Renee are at ringside to kick the show off .... This is Progress’ biggest 2 days of the year  and the stakes could not be higher .... Tonight, we crown the 2020 Queen of the Ring and Interim Women’s Champion, and find out who will make it to the Elite 8 of the Progress World Cup .... let’s go up to the ring ....


* everyone on the show tonight are wearing black arm bands that say ‘Soupbone’ on them in memory of Hagen Jones .... *



HBK kicks off tonight’s action in our first Word Cup match against Jinder Mahal .... HBK is MEGA over with the UK crowd .... Mahal gets an early advantage due to roid rage, but HBK comes back with the flying forearm .... HBK hits the top rope elbow and tunes up the band .... Sweet Chin Music ends this one in just under 8 minutes ....



Big hoss battle .... These two behemoths beat the shit out of each other, and Rock has a good accounting of himself by giving just as well as he gets .... Rock goes for broke with the top rope splash, but there is no water in the pool and WALTER kills him with a massive burning lariat for the pin ...


Lauren Brooke is on the stage and she brings out Internet champion Bianca BelAir ....

Lauren talks about Bianca’s successful defense against Rhea Ripley on the last Youtube show, then asks her comments on the Queen of the Ring .... BelAir says she is the EST of Progress and that means not only is she the QuickEST and the StrongEST but she is also the SmartEST!  What she did against Rhea Ripley on Youtube was what she HAD to do to make sure she was still the Internet champion .... And after tonight she will have 2 belts, all the gold and do something no one else has ever done and that’s be a back 2 back Queen of the Ring ....

Rhea Ripley walks in on the interview and calls into question how she won their match on Youtube .... She says she respected Bianca but not anymore .... Ripley says Belair will be the Queen of the Ring over her dead body .... BelAir gives her the ‘talk to the hand’ gesture but Ripley nails her with a right hand instead!  Both ladies start brawling and it has to be broken up ....



Fast-paced Cruiserweight style action in this one .... Garza gets the win after hitting the Wing Clipper ....



Lots of stiff strikes and strong style showcased here .... Both guys are over .... Banks nearly pulls off the win several times, creating drama with the false-finishes .... Dragunov escapes the Lions Clutch and fires back with strikes and kicks .... 6-1-Line (tiger feint kick into roaring lariat) gets 2 for Dragunov .... Spinning back-fist by Dragunov but Banks counters into the Slice of Heaven!  Ilja escapes the Kiwi Krusher, but Banks misses another Slice of Heaven and Dragunov strikes out of nowhere with Torpedo Moscow for the win to advance to round 2 ....


*** VIDEO PACKAGE ***

We get a hype video for the 10th annual Queen of the Ring match, including a recap of the previous 9 winners .... History will be made tonight as only for the 2nd time in the events 10 year history will the Queen of the Ring also be crowned the Universal women’s champion ....

* 2009 - FINAL FOUR: Sara Del Rey, LOVE, ‘Sensational’ Sherri Martel, Mercedes Martinez .... WINNER: Sara Del Rey

* 2011 - FINAL FOUR: Madison Rayne, Wesna Busic, LOVE, Sara Del Rey .... WINNER: Madison Rayne

* 2013 - FINAL FOUR: Madison Rayne, Jessicka Havok, Allysin Kay & Paige .... WINNER: Madison Rayne (Rayne wins the vacant Women’s title)

* 2014 - FINAL FOUR: Paige, AJ Lee, Allysin Kay, Mickie James .... WINNER: Paige

* 2015 - FINAL FOUR: Eva Marie, Becky Lynch, Tessa Blanchard, Charlotte Flair .... WINNER: Charlotte Flair

* 2016 - FINAL FOUR: Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Ivelisse, Allysin Kay .... WINNER: Ivelisse

* 2017 - FINAL FOUR: Toni Storm, Shayna Baszler, Nia Jax, Sasha Banks .... WINNER: Nia Jax

* 2018 - FINAL FOUR: Alexa Bliss, Shayna Baszler, Bianca Belair, Lacey Evans .... WINNER: Lacey Evans

* 2019 - FINAL FOUR: Lacey Evans, Bianca Belair, Tegan Nox, Becky Lynch .... WINNER: Bianca BelAir



Andrews woes the crowd with high-flying moves, while some of the crowd is enamored with Scurll’s villainous tactics .... Scurll methodically grounds Andrews, eventually slapping on the Chickenwing for the tapout victory ....



This may be the match of the first round so far .... Goto pushes the Atlas champion to the limit, forcing Balor to reach deep down to fight Goto off .... The match teases going to the time limit, but Balor hits Coup De Grace for a near-fall .... Goto isn’t the same after that, and may have suffered a rib injury as Balor is able to hit Bloody Sunday for the win at the 11 minute mark ....



This is Mcintyre’s first match after being injured by Jacob Fatu, and he is still showing the effects of the injury .... that + PCO’s wild and crazy style has Drew in danger from the beginning .... lots of brawling, complete with PCO spearing Drew through the barricade .... PCO-sault misses allowing Drew to hit Future Shock, but PCO kicks out .... Drew hits the Claymore, then another for good measure and that keeps PCO down for the 3 count .... Drew sells the effects of the injured ribs and back after the match ....  



This is a solid ending to round 1
As these tag team partners in Imperium give no quarter .... they beat the shit out of each other in a very clean and even contest .... Aichner gains the advantage with power moves, hitting a Buckle Bomb on Barthel followed by the double jump moonsault .... Barthel survives and continually tries to ground and submit Aichner, but Aichner battles out .... Aichner manages to get the win after unleashing a series of powerbombs, including another Buckle Bomb followed by the spinning powerbomb for the 3 count ....

Both men shake hands and bow in respect to each other as Aichner moves on to round 2 ....





The stakes are big in this one.  For the first time in 7 years a title is being decided in the Queen of the Ring, and the winner will become the Interim Universal champion after Charlotte Flair has been put out of action by Ronda Rousey ....  


Order of Entry:

1. Shayna Baszler
2. Xia Brookside
3. Aaliyah
4. Nina Samuels
5. Jessamyn Duke
6. Marina Shafir
7. ‘Native Beast’ Nyla Rose
8. Millie McKenzie
9. Rhea Ripley
10. Nikki Nitro
11. Bianca BelAir
12. Jungle Girl
13. ‘Russian Crush’ Natalya Markova
14. Dakota Kai
15. Reika Saiki
16. Gisele Shaw (Reyna Reyes)
17. Tegan Nox
18. ‘Big Swole’ Ariel Monroe
19. Rachel Ellering
20. Jinny

STORYLINES:

1. Tegan Nox is announced as entrant #1, but she is attacked in the aisle by Shayna Baszler!  Baszler has the #17, but she tosses that number down on Nox and then heads to the ring because she wants to start the match ....

2. Baszler does her best Brock Lesnar impression as she steamrolls through the first 3 eliminations .... #6 is Marina Shafir, then Jessamyn Duke, so all 3 Horsewomen are in the ring awaiting the next entrant ....It’s ‘Native Beast’ Nyla Rose! .... The Horsewomen attack Rose 3 on 1 and beat the fuck out of it, then Baszler slaps on the Kirafuda Clutch and chokes her out for the submission ..... next out is Millie McKenzie and she gets the same treatment, getting beat down .... Shafir & Duke hit Total Elimination to eliminate McKenzie .... the buzzer sounds .... IT’S RHEA RIPLEY!  There are zero fucks given as Ripley hits the ring and takes on all 3 Horsewomen by herself!

3. When we get to Shayna Baszlers original number of #17, and out comes a less than 100% Tegan Nox .... she goes right after Shayna and they brawl ....

4. Internet Champion Bianca BelAir continues her dominant run, scoring 3 eliminations while becoming the first woman to make 3 straight final four appearances .... Baszler leads the way with 5 eliminations while Rhea Ripley has 4 & BelAir finishes with 3 ....


Order of Elimination:

1. Aaliyah; by Shayna Baszler (Kirafuda Clutch)
2. Xia Brookside; by Shayna Baszler (Kirafuda Clutch)
3. Nina Samuels; by Shayna Baszler (Trump Card)
4. Nyla Rose; by Shayna Baszler (Kirafuda Clutch)
5. Millie McKenzie; by Jessamyn Duke (Total Elimination)
6. Marina Shafir; by Rhea Ripley (Riptide)
7. Jessamyn Duke; by Bianca BelAir (KOD)
8. Reika Saiki; by Jinny (Makeover)
9. ‘Russian Crush’ Natalia Markova; by Rhea Ripley (Hanging Cloverleaf)
10. Nikki Nitro; by Bianca BelAir (KOD)
11. Gisele Shaw; by Tegan Nox (Shiniest Wizard)
12. Big Swole; by Bianca BelAir (KOD)
13. Rachel Ellering; by Dakota Kai (Kai-o-practor)
14. Jungle Girl; by Rhea Ripley (Riptide)
15. Dakota Kai; by Jinny (Pain-maker)
16. Jinny; by Rhea Ripley (Riptide)


We are down to the FINAL FOUR and it is defending Queen of the Ring and Internet champion Bianca BelAir, Rhea Ripley, Tegan Nox and former women’s champion Shayna Baszler!  Nox is here for the 2nd year in a row, while BelAir is here for an unprecedented 3rd straight year!  One of these women will become the new Interim Universal Champion! BelAir and Ripley are no strangers, and they meet in the middle and start throwing bombs ....  They battle to the apron, but Nox scores with a dropkick that sends both women to the floor .... Nox turns around and gets hit with a knee strike from Baszler!  1 ... 2 ... Nox kicks out!!!!  Baszler immediately transitions to the Kirafuda Clutch, but BelAir is back in .... AND SCOOPS BOTH WOMEN ONTO HER SHOULDERS!!!!  DOUBLE DEATH VALLEY DRIVER TO NOX & BASZLER!!!!  BelAir up top, BUT NOX IS UP AND GRABS HER BRAID AND PULLS HER OFF THE TOP AND SHE CRASHES TO THE MAT!  Nox hits the Shiniest Wizard on BelAir!  1 ... 2 ... 3!

BIANCA BELAIR HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

BelAir is gone and we are guaranteed a new Queen of the Ring .... Ripley is back in, and she and Nox go at it but Nox with an enziguri .... she goes up top and hits the high cross body on Ripley!  Ripley rolls through!  She still has Nox in her arms and she stands to her feet in an incredible show of power!  Nox battles out with elbows, causing Ripley to drop her and she hits a Canadian Destroyer!!!!  She goes for the Shiniest Wizard but Baszler cuts her off with a bicycle knee strike!  TRUMP CARD (Yokosuka Cutter)!  1 ... 2 ... 3!

TEGAN NOX HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

It’s down to Shayna Baszler and Rhea Ripley now .... These two are no strangers, as Baszler defeated Ripley in a street fight at the Queen of the Ring last year to win the Internet title, then cashed in the title to win the Universal women’s title .... They meet in the middle, and we get a stare down with the fans on their feet .... They just start throwing bombs on each other, and Ripley hammers Baszler back .... Baszler has been in since #1, but she has got a 2nd wind and is as strong as ever .... Baszler with strikes, but Ripley comes back with a rebound lariat .... Metal Health (Full Nelson Slam) but Baszler kicks out at 2!  Ripley sits her up top, but Baszler gets a hanging Kirafuda Clutch in the corner .... She breaks before 5, but Ripley slumps to the mat .... Baszler leaps off, but is met in mid-air with a standing dropkick from Ripley!  1 ... 2 ... Baszler kicks out!  Ripley goes for Riptide but Baszler slips out .... TRUMP CARD!  1 ... 2 ... NOOOOOO!!!!  Baszler picks Ripley up, BUT RIPLEY WITH A SHOOT HEADBUTT ROCKS BASZLER!  Both women drop to one knee from the force of the contact, and Ripley busts herself open from the contact .... They stagger, and Baszler throws a desperation right hand but Ripley catches it .... RIPTIDE!  1 ... 2 ... 3!  Ripley is the Queen of the Ring!




Ripley celebrates being crowned the new champion, and fireworks go off as she stands tall ....