Progress Atlas title tournament Night 3 (Orlando, Florida)

LOCATION: Orlando, Florida
ARENA: Amway Center
ANNOUNCERS: Mauro Renallo & Corey Graves
BROADCAST: Streaming live on YouTube TV and the Progress TWITCH channel



* Mauro Renallo and Corey Graves are back for night 3 of the Atlas title tournament ....  AJ Styles and ‘The Machine’ Brian Cage have already advanced to the Finale, and tonight we will find out the 3rd entrant .... In addition, The Shimmer tag team titles will be defended as The EST get their shot at Santana & Alexa Bliss and in the main event the UK title will be defended on US soil for the first time as Killian Dain defends against ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll and ‘The Bruiserweight’ Pete Dunne ....*




**** (USA) 8. Johnny Gargano def. (USA) 1. The Miz ****  .... Lots of history in this one .... Miz and Gargano were the first 2 entrants in the Gauntlet for the Gold, with Miz eliminating Gargano to win the United States title .... Miz then defeated Gargano to retain the US title at Progress: Unified over Mania weekend .... Gargano then made Miz tap on the last episode of Progress USA .... Miz doesn’t think Gargano is in his league, and he takes him lightly here .... the match goes back and forth, but ends with Gargano catching the Miz in the GargaNO escape in the middle of the ring!!!!  Miz taps!!!!  Gargano advances in the biggest upset of the tournament so far ....  

POST MATCH - Gargano celebrates with the fans but the Miz attacks him and lays him out with 2 consecutive Skull Krushing Finales ....


**** (UK) 2. Finn Balor def. (UK) 7. Tyler Bate ****  .... This is a very competitive match between 2 guys with similar styles .... Bate has the slight power advantage and he uses it to his advantage, but Balor is too good .... he hits a double stomp to the back of a standing Bate, then the shotgun dropkick .... Balor finishes Bate off with the Bloody Sunday to advance ....


**** (USA) 3. Roderick Strong def. (USA) 6. Bobby Fish ****  .... Hard-hitting match between 2 guys that have wrestled mainly in tag matches lately .... Strong gets his first big singles win since coming to Progress after pinning Fish following the End of Heartache ....


**** (USA) 4. Eddie Edwards def. (USA) 8. Homicide w/ Salina De La Renta in a street fight ****  .... MVP added the stipulation to this match, making it a street fight after Homicide and Low Ki violently attacked the Wolves in their return to the company .... This is a brutal match that sees everything from Eddie smashing a cinder block over Homicides crotch to Homicide trying to choke out Edwards with a wire coat hanger .... there is blood .... Low Ki tries to interfere, but this leads to the return of DAVEY RICHARDS!  Richards takes out Low Ki with a five, but Homicide has a chair .... before he can hit Edwards with it, Eddie explodes out of nowhere with the Boston Knee Party that knocks the chair back into Homicides face!  This allows Eddie to score the pin and advance ....


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We get a segment where Charlotte calls out Ember Moon for a 1 on 1 match .... Charlotte says she wants another shot at ‘HER’ Women’s Universal title and she wants it one on one .... no Nia Jax, no one else involved .... Charlotte says Moon can’t call herself the Champion until she beats Charlotte straight up .... Moon comes out and says she’s going to be a fighting champion and not hide behind anyone like Charlotte has hidden behind her ‘hired guns’ like the Submission Sorority .... She asks Charlotte if she is going to ‘woman up’ and do the same?  Charlotte agrees and Moon accepts the challenge ....


****  The EST (Bianca BelAir & Naomi) def. Shimmer tag team champions Alexa Bliss & Santana Garrett to win the titles ****  .... The EST have become the thing that has galvanized Santana and Alexa’s relationship, and now they are finally on the same page fighting against a common enemy .... The EST control this match, showing they are the superior athletes but Bliss and Santana show they have the superior heart .... The champs battle back and retake the advantage, with Bliss hitting the Twisted Bliss on Naomi .... BelAir bulldozes Santana into Bliss, breaking up the pin .... this leads to Bliss questioning Santana, but Santana sees Naomi coming and shoves Bliss out of the way and gets taken out by the Rear View!  BIG right hand from Bliss takes out Naomi, and she goes up top but BelAir trips her up .... BelAir hits a dead lift super-plex on Bliss, then Naomi is up top and hits the split-legged moonsault!  BelAir hooks the leg for the 3 count!!!!  We have new champs!!!! ....

POST MATCH - BelAir and Naomi celebrate their win, while Santana checks on Bliss in the ring ....


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**** (USA) 8. Johnny Gargano def. (USA) 3. Roderick Strong ****  .... Garganos Cinderella run continues here as he takes a beating from the various backbreakers in Strongs arsenal .... Gargano battles back with the slingshot Spear, and he locks on the GargaNO escape but Strong gets out .... Gargano reverses End of Heartache and lands on his feet, then drills Strong with a Superkick and then the slingshot DDT for a 2.99999 .... Strong hits a sick kick, then goes for the stronghold but Gargano reverses it into a victory roll for the 3 count!!!! Gargano advances ....


**** (UK) 2. Finn Balor def. (USA) 4. Eddie Edwards ****  .... This is an excellent battle between 2 faces here .... but the crowd is solidly behind Balor .... Edwards took a beating in that street fight, but he takes it to Balor here .... it’s not enough though, as the punishment Eddie took eventually causes his downfall and Balor catches him with the shotgun dropkick followed by the Coup De Grace and the pin and Balor has a spot in the finals ....


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**** Shayna Baszler def. Nia Jax ****  .... Baszler uses strikes and leg kicks to keep Jax at bay early, but Jax eventually draws her in so she can use her power .... Baszler avoids the Samoan Drop and tosses Jax shoulder-first into the ring post, then she goes for a cross-arm breaker .... Jax powers out and picks Baszler up for a thunderous powerbomb to break the hold .... Baszler kicks out of the leg drop, then comes back with more leg kicks and a shining wizard .... Jax responds with an avalanche splash in the corner, then she goes for the pop-up Samoan Drop but Baszler reverses it in mid-air into the Kirafuda Clutch!!!!  Jax battles but Baszler sinks it in deep and Jax is forced to tap out!!!! ....


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**** (UK) 2. Finn Balor def. (USA) 8. Johnny Gargano ****  .... Match of the night and maybe the match of the entire tournament .... The fans are split on who they want to win this one as BOTH guys are super over with the crowd .... Gargano is the huge Cinderella Story here, knocking off the #1 and #4 seeds to get here .... the action goes back and forth, with Gargano nearly getting the pin on numerous occasions .... Balor finally gains the advantage, pinning Gargano after the Coup De Grace to win Block 3 ....

POST MATCH - the fans give both guys a HUGE standing ovation .... Balor and Gargano shake hands, then Balor leaves the ring and the fans continue to give Gargano a standing ovation ....


**** MAIN EVENT: Killian Dain def. ‘Bruiserweight’ Pete Dunne & ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll to retain the United Kingdom Championship ****  .... This one is hard-hitting between 3 of the UK’s rising stars .... They have all passed the U.K. title around between them lately, with Dain holding the title currently .... Dunne and Scurll have developed a fierce rivalry as of late too .... Scurll is the first one eliminated here as he tries to use his umbrella in true Villain fashion but William Regal (who is at ringside) stops him .... this allows Dunne to hit the Bitter End on Scurll and eliminate him!  The match continues and Dunne works the arm of Dain pretty good .... Dain battles back and somehow summons the strength to reverse a cross-arm breaker into the Ulster Plantation with the injured arm!!!!  This is enough for Dain to get the 3 count and win the match to retain the title....

POST MATCH - Dain celebrates with the title to end the show