Progress: United States #3 - ‘Fall of the Roman Empire’

LOCATION: Pensacola, Florida
ARENA: Bay City Arena
ANNOUNCERS: Mauro Renallo & Renee Young






PREVIOUSLY ON PROGRESS USA ....
- Highlights of the Charlotte-Molly Holly main event for the UWF world title are shown ....
- Because Roman Reigns was never officially eliminated from the Gauntlet for the Gold match, MVP books the Miz to make his first US title defense against Reigns tonight ....
- Johnny Gargano continued his improbable rise to stardom by defeating Seth Rollins and Austin Aries in a triple threat match .... Gargano makes it known that he wants a US title shot against the Miz ....


We are at ringside with Mauro Renallo and Renee Young .... They start to run down the card, beginning with the BIG main event as the Miz defends the US title for the first time against Roman Reigns!  Reigns stands alone now that the other members of the Samoan Power Trip are gone, but tonight he will have 15,000 people on his side because they are in Reigns’ hometown!!!

‘AWWWWWEEEESOOOOOOOME!’

Out comes the new United States Champion The Miz .... MVP stacks the deck against him by making him defend the US title against Reigns in front of his hometown .... He bets everyone here thinks MVP is doing such a great job but really he doesn’t care about the fans .... if he did he wouldn’t have made this match tonight because every fan in the crowd that cheers for Roman Reigns is going to go home disappointed .... he is a star and brings instant credibility to this show and the US title .... Roman Reigns only has any value to this company when Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose were dragging him around .... The Miz points out Roman Reigns’ family sitting in the crowd, which quickly brings out Reigns but Miz bails before he gets in the ring .... Reigns takes the mic and is short and sweet about it and says he’s gonna beat the Miz’s ass .... Believe that!


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VIGNETTE -
We get a video package for 19 year old rookie Austin Theory .... Theory is hyped as a ‘future superstar’ .... he makes his debut tonight ....


‘Ladies and gentlemen .... Elias,’

The spotlight is on Elias in the ring, and he has his guitar .... ‘WHO WANTS TO WALK WITH ELIAS???’  Elias sings a song and trashes Pensacola, saying he should be the guy in the main event instead of Roman Reigns .... He is interrupted by the debut of Austin Theory ....


Elias Sampson - vs - Austin Theory ~~~ Singles match

Decent match with Theory getting a decent amount of offense and the announcers putting him over as a blue chip prospect .... But this match is more about getting Elias over, and he wins with the ‘Drift Away’ ....


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BACKSTAGE -

We see Kenny King backstage and he is chatting up Jojo behind the scenes .... he is approached by Darren Young, his tag team partner in the Young Kings from XWA .... King rolls his eyes and asks Young what he’s doing here .... Young says he got his release from XWA so they could keep the team together .... Jojo bounces, which annoys King even more because Young ruined it while he was trying to spit game .... King walks off with Young following closely behind ....


The Revival (Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder) - vs - Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) ~~~ Tag Team match

The Street Profits are one of the young promising tag teams getting a shot to prove themselves because of the Progress ‘brand split’ .... they are basically the anti-thesis of the Revival, who are hard-nosed and old school with ZERO swag ....

Dawkins and Dawson to begin, and Dawkins runs wild .... The Profits clear the ring, until Dawson clips out Dawkins’ knee .... The Revival go to work on the body part like a machine .... Quick tags in and out .... Dawkins fights back and catches Wilder with a spinebuster and crawls to the corner .... Hot tag to Ford, and he runs wild .... Wilder tossed to the floor and the Profits hit the Sky High/ Frog Splash combo on Dawson .... Wilder makes the save!  Dawkins misses a charge and goes shoulder-first into the ring post, and Ford goes for a springboard move but the Revival catch him in mid-air .... SHATTER MACHINE!  Dawson hooks the leg and gets the 3 count ....


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VIGNETTE -

We get a video package for AJ Styles .... AJ will return to Progress USA next week ....


Austin Aries - vs - Moose ~~~ Singles match

Chain wrestling to start but Aries gets the better of Moose and arrogantly lays across the ropes in the corner .... They lock up again, and this time Moose takes him down with a shoulder block .... Aries rolls outside and Moose follows but Aries gets a basement dropkick as Moose tries to get back in the ring .... Moose with a dropkick and sends Aries back to the floor, then teases a dive but Aries cuts him off with a forearm and then hits the heat seeking missile!  Aries tried to ground Moose, but Moose fires up and hits an exploder into the turnbuckles!  Moose with a series of head butts, then a powerbomb and running senton for the near fall .... Aries survives Moose’s onslaught of offense and comes back with a tornado DDT .... IED dropkick in the corner!  Aries goes for the brainbuster but Moose reverses it and goozles Aries .... sit-out choke slam!  They trade strikes in the center, but Moose scores with a Bicycle kick but Aries comes back with the discus 5-arm!!!!  With both guys down, we hear a guitar playing and out on the stage walks Elias Sampson!  Moose is distracted by this, allowing Aries to hit the IED dropkick to the back of the head!  He rolls up Moose from behind!  1 ... 2 ... 3!

Elias continues to strum his guitar with a big smile on his face as he has cost Moose the match here ....


BACKSTAGE -

Renee Young tries to get a word with Johnny Gargano .... Gargano says he proved last week that he is no fluke .... he’s the real deal and the whole shebang .... he’s Johnny ‘freakin’ Wrestling!  And he’s not done chasing his dream of being the US champion .... Gauntlet for the Gold proved that he belongs, and it also proves that the people are ready for a change and he represents that change ....

Tomasso Ciampa interrupts and tells him not to worry about the US title right now and that he got them a tag team match tonight .... Gargano asks against who and Ciampa says they didn’t tell him but they need to focus on their team and becoming the Progress tag team champions ....


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Project Wrestling (Tomasso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) - vs - Young Kings (Kenny King & Darren Young) ~~~ Tag Team match

King and Ciampa start and we get some athletic back and forth pin attempts that ends in a standoff .... Young and Gargano get tagged in and Young takes Gargano down with a shoulder block .... Young controls the wrist and tags in King but Gargano finds an opening and hits his school boy into a rolling roundhouse kick .... King eats a step-up knee/enziguri corner combo .... King scores with a handstand capo kick that stuns Ciampa and then Young comes in with a discus Lariat .... King and Young take over on Ciampa, but he battles back with open hand strikes and then gets a bicycle knee!  Ciampa tags Gargano, who comes in with the slingshot spear on King for two!  Young in but Gargano gets a boot up as he charges .... Gargano goes for the slingshot ddt but Young catches him and hits a flapjack .... Gargano looks to tag but Ciampa is hurt outside, so he hits a tornado DDT on Young while also kicking an incoming King!  1 ... 2 ... Nooo!  ‘JOHNNY WRESTLING’ chants now ....  Ciampa back in and they try their corner double team spot but Young knocks Gargano off the apron and hits Ciampa with the exploder .... He sets Ciampa up top and tries a superplex, but Ciampa blocks it and they exchange strikes .... King comes in just as Ciampa headbutts Young off, and he leaps to the top rope in one jump and super-plexes Ciampa off!!!!  1 ... 2 ... Noooo!  King goes for the Coronation, but Gargano breaks it up with a Superkick!  PROJECT CIAMPA TO KING!  Young breaks up the pin!  Gargano charges but Young backdrops him to the apron and Gargano quickly scores with an enziguri .... SLINGSHOT DDT!  King is down on the outside, and Ciampa & Gargano hit ‘Meet in the Middle’ (knee strike/ Superkick) combo on Young for the 3 count!

King comes in and checks on Young after the match, obviously frustrated by the loss .... He helps Young up, and Young is apologetic about the loss .... he keeps telling King he’s sorry, and King tells him it’s OK .... they go to leave the ring, BUT KING TAKES YOUNG OUT WITH A CLOTHESLINE!  King stares down at Young, while the fans boo .... King jumps on Young and hammers him with mounted forearms, then he picks him up and drills him with the Coronation!  King walks off and leaves Young laid out in the ring ....  


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BACKSTAGE -

Ciampa and Gargano talk about their win .... In walks Kyle O’Reilley & Bobby Fish, REDRAGON!  They compliment Gargano & Ciampa on their win but say that Redragon is here now .... they are former world tag team champions, and the ‘baddest team on God’s green’ ....  they want to test themselves against the best .... Ciampa challenges them to a match next week before Gargano can say anything and it doesn’t appear Johnny is happy about it at first ....


(Champion) The Miz - vs - Roman Reigns ~~~ for the Progress United States title

The hometown crowd is MOLTEN for Reigns .... despite not really changing his character, Reigns is getting more and more cheers lately since the Samoan Power Trip disbanded ....

Reigns overpowers Miz to begin .... Miz rakes the eyes and tries to come off the top but jumps right into a big punch from Reigns!  Reigns with a Samoan drop and Miz bails to the floor .... Reigns nails the drive by kick and is in full control .... he tosses Miz back into the ring and climbs in, but Miz catches him with an elevated DDT .... Miz takes over, but Reigns comes back with flying clotheslines and take control .... Reigns gets Miz in the corner and hits the rapid fire clothesline, then a big boot off the ropes .... Reigns rolls outside and goes for the drive by kick, but Miz rolls in to avoid it .... Big boot from Miz, then he hits the swinging corner clothesline .... Miz up top and hits the double axe handle, then crouches begins Reigns as he gets up .... goes for the Skull Krushing Finale but Reigns arm drags out of it .... SUPERMAN PUNCH!  Reigns picks Miz up, BLACK TIGER BOMB!  1 ... 2 ... Noooo!  Miz kicks out!!!!  Reigns sets for the Spear, but Miz counters with a kick that spins Reigns around!  SKULL KRUSHING FINALE!  1 ... 2 ... Reigns kicks out!!!!  Miz mocks Reigns and then goes for another one, but Reigns with elbows .... he breaks the hold, then explodes with a SPEAR!  1 ... 2 ... the ref is pulled out of the ring at the last second by BRIAN CAGE!  Reigns sees this and dives over the top rope onto Cage!!!!  

Reigns and Cage start brawling around the ring, with Reigns dominating, but Cage turns the tables quickly and then powerbombs Reigns onto the ring frame!!!!  Cage tosses Reigns back in, then whips him into the corner chest-first!  CAGE THROWS HIM SO HARD THAT IT SNAPS THE TOP TURNBUCKLE!!!!  Trainers immediately hit the ring and check on Reigns, who is rolling around on the mat clutching his chest!  Cage stands over him menacingly, but Reigns is in bad shape as the show goes off the air ....