Welcome back to REVOLVER and another high-stakes, high-impact show as the company looks to get back to business after the Vegas Vacation. It had managed to come back with everything intact though I imagine Chris Bey is still sad after the Unit made him the shortest reigning champion and made JT Dunn a two-time champ. Across the card tonight we’d see, the aforementioned champ defending his title against Jake Crist, a Dayton Street Fight between Myron Reed and Alex Colon, Trey Miguel trying to retain his REMIX Title against Alex Shelley, Crash Jaxson vs Larry D, Prisoners of Society defending the Tag Titles against two hungry teams and so much more leading to the main event super fight between Jon Moxley and “Speedball” Mike Bailey. There was so much to look forward to on this show so let’s delay no further and get into the action.

Rich Swann defeated Jordan Oliver via 450 Splash

The show opened with the East Coast Ace filling in last minute to take on the new Impact Digital Media Champion, Rich Swann. Since Blake Christian couldn’t be here, Oliver was stepping up, ready to show another crowd the power of being young, dumb, and broke. Well, I’m damn happy Oliver had been elevated from the scramble to take this spot because he bloody killed it. Oliver always finds a way to flourish in singles matches and this was no exception. It was very stiff, very dynamic, and very competitive. Swann tried to have fun alongside fighting off this younger foe whilst Oliver just looked to destroy with a barrage of stiff shots and heavy kicks, using his speed to catch Swann off-guard countless times. It was a contest of invincibility as both refused to stay down for the three-count no matter what they were hit with. By the end, both were sore and drained but still hungry for the win, leading to even more harsh slaps. Swann took the win here but Oliver showed out in his first singles match for REVOLVER. Another crowd got to see why he calls himself an Ace. This opened the show with a bang and as expected got a hell of a lot of buzz across the web. Everyone loved this and it brought the early-show intensity and competition you’d want to see.

Sudden Death Scramble: Jessicka Havok defeated Billie Starkz, Cole Radrick, Aiden Prince, Nate Wings & Tre Lamar via Avalanche Tombstone on Wings

The anarchy was cranked up for the next contest as six combatants took to the ring for the sudden death scramble. It would be Billie Starkz, Cole Radrick, Aiden Prince, Tre Lamar, Nate Wings, and Jessicka Havoc all looking to score a win and destroy anyone in their way. It was a time of returns and wonder with only one getting their hand raised at the end of the shows. Yep, this was great. Scrambles are nearly always going to be a good time but this one managed to mix athleticism with fun as Radrick remained a force for ass-kicking and personality, Havok was the constant Kaiju threatening the match that everyone tried to take out whilst everyone else got their time to shine. Prince is insanely good and watching him fly around the ring was pretty epic. Everyone had fun, everyone got their stuff in and it all led to a fun scramble. It’s great seeing Lamar in action again and I don’t think anyone was too surprised when Havok demolished another group of competitors, that’s just what Kaiju do.

Madman Fulton defeated WARHORSE via End of Days

Kick up the metal and prepare for an ass ruling as WARHORSE was in the building and ready to get into a battle of the giants with Madman Fulton. We had two mammoth-sized marauders ready to lay waste to each other here and everyone was ready to watch the wreckage happen in real-time. The early stages of this one were Fulton dominating as he seemed to be the better headbanger and made of heavier metal. That trend didn’t go anywhere as Fulton would continuously wrest control from WARHORSE and wreck him around the ring. I always forget how deceptively agile Fulton is and he used this to keep WARHORSE guessing. Even then, nothing can keep the ruler of ass down as he kept getting up, knocking Fulton down and headbutting him into oblivion. It wasn’t as one-sided as one might have expected as WARHORSE will always excel as the underdog when he isn’t the biggest man in the fight. I had fun with this one and it sounded like the crowd did too as they tried to will WARHORSE back to life whenever Fulton crushed him. In the end, adrenaline was WARHORSE’s downfall as he ran right into Fulton’s finisher and the L. There were no hurt feelings though as after that monstrous match, the pair rocked out together. Also props to Bork Torkleson for the Warhammer 40k references.

REMIX Title: Trey Miguel defeated Alex Shelley via Smoking Roll-up

It was time for the first title fight of the night. Trey Miguel has been in some “high” stakes matches but now he was getting one hell of a challenge in the ultimate indie darling, Alex Shelley. Since coming back, Shelley has been gunning for the best in the business and now he was fighting Trey Miguel on REVOLVER turf after a war in Impact. Since people had raised some questions about the ending there, it was time to settle it in a rematch. What a hell of a rematch it became. It was odd watching Miguel work at a slower pace as he looked to show off his technicality against a submission master. When that eventually stopped working, aggression boiled over and things got way nastier with heavier striking and Shelley seeming to try and break Miguel’s ribs. It got pretty violent as the pair were continuously changing pace, countering and beating the hell out of each other as desperation took over. Miguel hit one of the fastest Suicide Dives I’d ever seen, I’m surprised he was still cognisant after that collision. Once again, Shelley lost because of a roll-up, this time because of Miguel blowing smoke in his face and rolling Shelley up. It had been a valiant effort on both sides with both guys taking each other to the limit. It looked like we were going to get a nice bit of respect at the end of this one but nope, Shelley snapped and attacked Miguel, trying to break his opponent and disrespect the belt. That raised everyone’s ire and led to Miguel throwing out a challenge, Motor City Machine Guns vs The Rascalz, Miguel and Wentz. Shelley couldn’t handle the smoke in this one and now, he’d just invited a whole lot more. That match happens in August when REVOLVER returns to Dayton.

Dayton Street Fight: Alex Colon defeated Myron Reed via Seated Pinfall

It was time to take the action to the streets as Alex Colon prepared for another REVOLVER Street Fight. After facing Jimmy Jacobs in Las Vegas, he was now taking on the Young G.O.A.T Hot Fiyah Myron Reed. It’s not often I see Reed in hardcore matches so I was intrigued to see what he had planned for this one. We also got to see the pair’s trophy collection as Reed is the MLW Middleweight Champion and Colon holds the TNT Extreme Title and the GCW Ultraviolent Title. It was going to be one hell of a fight here. This was a fun-as-hell brawl to watch as the pair mixed their athleticism with plunder spots, venue brawling, and good old hardcore. Reed held nothing back and tried to match the hardcore expertise Colon is known for. We got to see the entire venue as the pair brawled through the sea of humanity to the food truck outside and back again, slamming each other off as many walls as they could in the process. Even an injured fan got in on the action as Colon threw Reed head-first into his ankle boot. In the ring, it was no safer as the pair collided with doors, fell into plunder piles, and continued to try and brain each other. It was a hectic fight that saw Colon eventually get the win with a wrestling pin. No plunder needed just three seconds and a way to keep your opponent trapped. Experience trumped fire and Colon walked away from REVOLVER with another hardcore win against a tough opponent.

PWR Tag Team Titles: Prisoners of Society (Steve Maclin & Weston Blake) defeated Infrared (Logan James & Tyler Matrix) & Dadscout (Manscout Jake Manning & Dan the Dad) via Double Stomp Inverted DDT on Matrix

After intermission, we returned to the title action with some PWR Tag Title action. The new champions P.O.S, the Prisoners of Society were going to have to defend their titles against not one but two teams. Both Infrared and Dadscout were coming for those belts. It had been originally scheduled as P.O.S vs Infrared but karmas a bit so Dadscout were invading their match. Blake and Maclin had got those belts by defeating the Wolves, would they survive their first defence? They were more than okay welcoming the challenge and actually had fun working with Dadscout destroying Infrared. It was rather entertaining to see P.O.S falling to dad tricks and the tips from the scout’s guide. The match kept getting funnier as Infrared had to fight each other due to tag rules and P.O.S found themselves watching a match they couldn’t be a part of. Once it got going though, it was all systems go and all three teams got their time to shine before P.O.S retained. No one felt like dead weight and it made for something entertaining and engrossing. Considering they bested these odds, I’m not too sure who’s going to stop P.O.S right now though. Stamper had unintentionally gotten rid of Dadscout but wasn’t there to save his boys from destruction.

Sami Callihan murdered Damian Chambers via Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down

Some people never learn. Damian Chambers keeps invading REVOLVER shows and keeps wondering why he gets hurt. He doesn’t care if anyone likes him, he just wants to get his spot on these shows, even if it means holding the show hostage. Once again, he got his wish as he got to say his piece then got folded like an accordion as the Death Machine, Sami Callihan came out and dumped him with the Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down. Calling this a match is charitable as it was technically an open challenge that the boss quickly shut down before Chambers could hold up a hoss fight.  Hell, Sami didn’t even need to take his jacket off to fuck Chambers up. Moose, I’d be scared right about now. The Death Machine is back.

Crash Jaxon defeated Larry D via Crash Landing

Time for a hoss fight. We had a whole lotta dude heading our way as Crash Jaxon made his way to the ring in hopes of continuing his winning streak. This time he was taking on one of the company’s most dependable hands, Legendary Larry D. This was going to get very hard very fast as these two know their way around a hoss fight. The ring shook for so much of this one as the pair just kept colliding. They both just battered each other around the ring, trying to outpower and outdo each other at every turn. It was very physical and again, gave us a different style of fight. Larry D had not come to play around and tried to work over Jaxon any way he could. When that didn’t work, it was just hard chops and harder strikes. These two bulls just kept butting. Jaxon never let his fire go out and that never say die attitude carried him to victory over the most dependable hand in the house. Larry D is no pushover and Jaxon had thrown him around like a cruiserweight. This was another hoss fight at its finest and Jaxon is continuing to cement himself as REVOLVER’s new Hoss of Hosses. I’m not sure who will kill this streak and what the hell it will take for them to do so.

After the match, Gia Miller came out to spread some glam and brought us Ace Austin via satellite feed. He delivered a message from Tokyo, lapping up the reputation he was building and celebrating his new place in Bullet Club. He had not forgotten about REVOLVER though and the next time the company came to Dayton, he was bringing the Bullet Club.

REVOLVER Title: JT Dunn (w/Phil Stamper) defeated Jake Crist via Rebound Death by Elbow

It was time for the final title fight of the night. JT Dunn had regained the REVOLVER World Title in Vegas and now he was looking to re-establish himself as the champion and maintain the Unit’s place at the top of the company. The Saviour even had a pre-match message for everyone in the building, well he would have had if people had been worth it. Instead, Dayton could suffer in silence. Jake Crist thankfully cut off this charade and looked to take the company’s top title away from the Unit or die trying. This was another masterclass. As someone who has only recently gotten acquainted with the work of JT Dunn, I have been blown away by the intensity he brings and how he commands himself. Tactics don’t matter, he’ll cheat if he needs to but more often than not, he’ll out-wrestle you and break your jaw. The problem here was, that he was in with another masterful veteran, Jake Crist, the hometown hero. Crist has survived some of the nastiest deathmatches in the company so his toughness couldn’t be questioned. He brought the fight to Dunn and introduced hardcore elements the champ just wasn’t quite ready for. He had the champ right where he wanted him, despite the plunder not playing nice and kept kicking out when Dunn unleashed some of the nastiest spots of the match. The One and his Unit were being severely tested by Crist and his resiliency but Stamper proved to be the lynchpin for Dunn and retaining his title. Infrared also tried to get involved but Crist just mashed both of them into a door. Stamper became the distraction and with no ref in sight, Dunn managed to get the win despite Crist securing a three-count. It was an unfortunate set of circumstances for Crist who had secured victory so many times but even he couldn’t stop the numbers from screwing him. Dayton won’t forget the bullshit they saw today. Even sadder was the promo Crist cut after the match decrying everyone, Sami included. He can only rely on himself.

Jon Moxley defeated “Speedball” Mike Bailey via Paradigm Shift

Last but not least, the main event. Jon Moxley was invading REVOLVER and before the Switchblades could reunite, he was getting his hands on one of the top stars on the scene right now, “Speedball” Mike Bailey. This was going to be one of the hardest-hitting matches of the night as Moxley’s new Blackpool Combat Club style was going to clash with Bailey’s arsenal of kicks and creativity. This could get very rough but no matter what, everyone was in for a treat here, a very unpredictable treat. Moxley loves a good fight and a good dose of anarchy. Bailey was going to give him both and then some. Did this live up to the hype? You bet it did. No one has the presence Moxley has and watching him trying to lock down and showing the Regal teachings to Bailey was a sight to behold. It was serious, scrappy, and full of moments as Moxley just tried to kill Mike Bailey. He was the brawler here and Bailey was getting taken out of his comfort zone so often that all he could do was throw caution to the wind and do what he does best, fly, flip and kick the absolute shit out of Moxley. We even saw him flatten Moxley with a Moonsault off the tower of speakers. He proved time and time again to Moxley why he’s one of the scene’s most adored workhorses and left him hurting. Even then, he couldn’t find the secret weapon to end the Death Rider. Despite the pain and exhaustion, the pair were clearly having fun just beating the shit out of each other. It was a top-tier main event with everything just clicking. Both guys knew the assignment and ended this show with a bang. Moxley is one of the biggest stars on the planet and manages to work with anyone, putting them over whenever they impress him. Bailey brought his best and looked amazing, even in a losing effort. This was well worth the price of admission. Dayton, you were rocked tonight.

All images courtesy of REVOLVER, Aregularindyfan

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