Progress: United States #31

VIDEO PACKAGE -

Show opens with a video of Matt Riddle training in an MMA gym for his match tonight against Bobby Lashley .... It cuts to Lashley in the parking lot and he has brought his own camera crew!  They follow Lashley inside and he finds Riddle and attacks him in the middle of his training session, and tosses Riddle into the Octagon and locks the door!  Lashley is talking trash as he puts on MMA gloves and then goes to town with strikes to Riddle .... Riddle fires back with kicks and Lashley gets driven back into the cage!  Riddle with a triangle choke but Lashley turns it into a powerbomb!  Riddle is out and Lashley goes right into the anaconda vice!  A bunch of lunks from the gym finally climb into the octagon and pull Lashley off of Riddle ....


We go to Mauro Renallo & Renee Young at ringside as they discuss what we just saw and also recap the U.K. Great American Bash .... The landscape of Progress has been changed, as ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll won the Atlas title with the help of his greatest foe, William Regal .... Styles will get his rematch against Scurll at the Bash in Miami ....


* * * * OPENING SEGMENT * * * *


The live action in the arena gets kicked off with the arrival of former Atlas Champion AJ Styles .... Styles mentions what happened at the U.K. Bash, and he calls out Marty Scurll and William Regal but he knows they aren’t here .... He doesn’t care why Regal did what he did, but he’s going to pay for it .... Styles tells Scurll he is getting his Atlas title back in Miami .... Out comes Bobby Lashley with Bill Alphonso .... Lashley says Styles isn’t relevant anymore because he isn’t the champion .... that means he’s nothing, and he has Lashley to thank for that .... Matt Riddle thought he was on Lashley’s level too, but he didn’t even make it to the arena tonight .... Lashley says he is the top of the food chain now and he wants the title shot instead ....

This brings out MVP, and he tells Styles that he will not be getting his rematch at the Bash in Miami after all .... AJ has had enough and he lays MVP out with a right hand!  Lashley attacks AJ and lays him out with a spear!  Lashley rips off AJ’s shirt, revealing heavily taped ribs underneath .... MVP gets a chair and looks like he’s about to hit AJ, but instead hands it to Lashley .... Lashley smashes AJ with it!  MVP says it will be Lashley vs. AJ tonight and tells Lashley now he owes Lashley a favor ....


**** 1. Britt Baker M.D vs. Deonna Purazzo vs. Reina Gonzalez .... This is the Progress debut for all 3 of these women, and they put together a nice match that is largely dominated by the power of Gonzalez .... Baker and Purazzo are able to take Gonzalez out and go one on one, and after a bit of back and forth Baker is able to fire up and connect with a superkick followed by the ‘Britt Buster’ (brainbuster onto the knee) to Purazzo for the 3 count .... ****

POST MATCH: Nia Jax’s music hits and she stalks out to the ring making her Progress return!  Baker immediately escapes, and Jax enters the ring and delivers a Samoan drop to Purazzo!  Baker scurries up the ramp while Jax and Gonzalez stare each other down ....  


IN THE BACK -

Victoria is shown in a dark room watching a replay of the Queen of the Ring where she hit Charlotte with a chair and caused her to be eliminated .... Victoria is giving off the full psycho vibe here .... She accuses Charlotte of stealing her moment, so she took the Queen of the Ring away from her .... she says she is coming for Charlotte at the Bash and then she will be the Queen ....


**** 2. TJ Perkins vs. Flip Gordon .... highly athletic match here as we get yet-another debut with TJP .... Good fight back and forth with lots of high-flying, but TJP manages to catch Gordon in the TJP Clutch and get the tapout win  .... ****


IN THE BACK -

Keith Lee cuts a promo about all these ‘shiny new toys’ in Progress lately and warns everyone not to sleep on Keith Lee .... he promises that he is going to make everyone ‘Bask in his glory’ ....


Street Profits come out and talk about their first show with official Progress contracts .... They are here to bring the ‘swag’ and they want to make an impact .... They want to challenge Young Money for the Progress tag team titles! .... Instead out comes the ONE% and they say they are tired of being ignored while MVP abuses his power as GM .... they never got their rematch and they want it .... this leads to a match right now ....  


**** 3. Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins) vs. The ONE% (Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilley) .... The Street Profits are already over BIG TIME and facing the ONE% just adds to it .... Fords athleticism is on display here, hitting a flip dive to the outside to take out Strong & O’Reilley right from the start .... Strong & O’Reilley are master tag team wrestlers so they eventually take over before Dawkins gets the hot tag and cleans house .... The Profits set up for the sky high/ frog splash combo but Strong breaks it up and crotches Ford on the top rope .... Strong with a super-plex to Ford, but as Strong floats over Ford hooks him in a small package and both men’s shoulders are down as the ref counts the 3 count!****

POST MATCH: The match is ruled a no-contest and both teams end up continuing to brawl after the bell .... Dawkins and Ford clean house and send the ONE% packing up the ramp, and they dance in the ring ....


PROMO -

Toni Storm cuts a promo about the Bash show in the U.K., and she is interrupted by Bianca BelAir .... BelAir says she should be the champion because she dominated Toni and the only thing that saved Toni was the 30 minute time limit .... She is still ‘UN ... DA ... FEET ... TED!’  Toni says if BelAir wants another shot then she can have it at the USA bash show and suggests they make it 60 minutes! .... Bianca agrees and says it won’t take 60 minutes for her to become the new champion but Storm says it’s gonna be ‘Toni Time’ ....


* * * * MizTV w/ The Miz & Maryse * * * *


The Miz comes out for MizTV and puts himself over as usual .... Maryse insults the crowd in French .... Miz says his guest is the man that returned last week, ‘The Machine’ Brian Cage! .... Cage comes out and the crowd is giving him the Terminator clap .... Miz asks him questions, but then interrupts before Cage can even answer them .... Cage is about ready to destroy The Miz until Johnny Gargano’s music hits and he interrupts ....

Gargano wastes no time getting right in Cages face .... Gargano says he got Cage’s message last week loud and clear (When Cage stepped on the title and prevented Gargano from picking it up) .... Johnny says Cage may be a ‘Machine’ but he isn’t afraid of Cage and will defend the US title against him at any time .... They are interrupted again, this time by Austin Aries .... Aries says while Johnny is offering free title shots, Aries is the only one that deserves it .... He addresses Cage and says he doesn’t deserve it, and neither does the Miz .... Miz reminds Aries he beat him last week .... We get bickering between Aries, Strong and Gargano .... Cage finally takes the mic and tells Aries if he doesn’t think Cage deserves it then prove it ....


**** 4. Austin Aries vs. ‘The Machine’ Brian Cage .... this match is largely dominated by the power of Cage .... Gargano and Miz are at ringside and eventually get into it .... Aries wipes out Gargano with a heat seeking missile through the ropes .... Aries takes the US title and KO’s Cage but he kicks out at 1!!!!  Gargano back in and goes after Aries, but Cage takes him out with a discuss clothesline!  Cage takes out Aries with the Drill Claw!  Miz tries to get a cheap shot in, but Cage takes him out with the Weapon X and stands tall holding up the US title .... ****


IN THE BACK -

The Briscoes and War Machine confront MVP and both want a shot at Young Money for the tag titles .... They argue about who deserves it more, and MVP asks how are they going to fight Young Money when they are too busy fighting each other? .... War Machine vs. Briscoes is booked for the Bash ....


We get an announcement that Tessa Blanchard is the new UWF Women’s Champion and she will now defend her title against Shayna Baszler at the Bash ....

Brian Cage vs. Johnny Gargano vs. The Miz vs. Austin Aries for the United States title is made official for the Bash show ....

also announced for the show is a Street Profits vs. ONE% rematch ....


**** 5. AJ Styles vs. Bobby Lashley w/ Bill Alphonso .... They start flying out of the gates with AJ dominating but Lashley takes control after spearing AJ into the guardrail .... from then on it’s Lashley working the injured ribs before AJ makes a comeback .... AJ goes for the Styles Clash but gets backdropped to the floor .... AJ gets in MVP’s face on the floor but Lashley attacks before AJ can do anything to him .... AJ connects with the Pele and then hits the Phenomenal Forearm, but MVP is on the apron jawing with the ref!  AJ knocks MVP off the apron, but Lashley with another spear and this time it’s enough to get the 3 count!  Lashley has pinned the former Atlas Champion! ****


POST MATCH: MVP says thats the 2nd time AJ put his hands on him tonight and he’s suspended indefinitely!!!!  As far as the Bash goes, MVP names HIMSELF the No. 1 contender!  Lashley is like ‘WTF?’ but Matt Riddle hits the ring and attacks Lashley!!!! .... both men brawl to end the show and have to be separated by the entire Progress locker room to set up their match at the Bash ....


FINAL CARD FOR THE PROGRESS: US Bash show from Miami ....

Atlas title: ‘The Villain’ Marty Scurll defends against MVP

Matt Riddle vs. Bobby Lashley

UWF Women’s title: New champ Tessa Blanchard defends against Shayna Baszler

60 minute time limit: Toni Storm defends the Women’s title against Bianca BelAir

Street Profits vs. The ONE%

Briscoes vs. War Machine

United States title: (c) Johnny Gargano vs. The Miz vs. Austin Aries vs. ‘The Machine’ Brian Cage

Grudge Match: Charlotte Flair vs. Victoria ....