RevPro Global Wars Review 

If you asked fans to think of places synonymous with professional wrestling they’ll likely think of places like Madison Square Garden, Arena Mexico, Tokyo Dome, the Cow Palace, Korakuen Hall, the Hammerstein Ballroom and the Greensboro Coliseum. 

Arenas steeped in history, woven into the very fibre of professional wrestling, the stomping grounds of the greatest to ever lace up a pair of boots. Places that hold a mythical quality for those who dream about attending a show in those hallowed halls or dream about returning once again.

For a select number of people, that list may include a little place known as the Doncaster Dome. For years, the all-purpose arena and leisure centre has held a place in the hearts of a particular section of British Wrestling fans, not always for the right reasons. 

Once the home of the infamous 1PW, the Dome has seen names like Bryan Danielson, AJ Styles, Rob Van Dam, Sterling James Keenan (now Corey Graves), Raven, Steve Corino and Abyss throw down alongside multiple generations of British talent in front of some of the biggest crowds that UK independent wrestling has seen in the modern era. 

When 1PW collapsed last year, for the second time, an opportunity opened up for a promotion to make a statement and secure themselves a new audience in one of the more unique venues in the country. 

On Saturday, Revolution Pro Wrestling tried exactly that, by bringing Global Wars 2024 to the Doncaster Dome. While a collection of talent from across the globe were on hand for the evening, proceedings started with two of RevPro’s own in the form of British Cruiserweight Champion Will Kaven defending his title against Cameron Khai. 

While there were a large number of Brit Wres/RevPro regulars in the crowd of *around* 700 familiar with both talents, putting Kaven and Khai out first felt like a good introductory bout for anyone unfamiliar with the promotion. 

Not sure who to cheer for? It takes 5 seconds of looking at Will Kaven to realise that he isn’t the guy to cheer for while Khai is a fantastic example to young, up and coming wrestlers on how to keep a crowd engaged. Clap, slap, roar. Clap your hands in lulls, slap the mat when you’re rising against adversity, roar to the crowd after a big move. It works every time. 

Kaven was showered with chants from the crowd – the highlight being “whose house, shithouse!” – as he continued to be one step ahead of Khai. Kaven doesn’t feel like a typical RevPro champion and specifically like a typical Cruiserweight Champion.

There is no unnecessary flash or pizzaz with Kaven, he’s just an old school arsehole who takes pleasure in pissing off the crowd and gets the job done by hook or by crook. 

When someone eventually unseats him as champion, it will be a relief for the RevPro crowd but that person was not Cameron Khai (this time), as Kaven landed an avalanche tombstone for the win.

With the division in a state of flux, with a number of the homegrown juniors either being positioned in the heavyweight division or having their attention drawn elsewhere, fans’ hopes rest on Lio Rush who secured a title shot after winning the British J Cup. 

After a solid start from two RevPro regulars, the Global Wars aspect of the show began to kick into gear with JJ Gale and Callum Newman reuniting to face off against the Los Ingobernables de Japon representatives Titan and Hiromu Takahashi. 

This was the first of a number of “what the fuck is X doing in Doncaster” moments of the night. Even though I was aware of the full card, what the fuck was Hiromu Takahashi doing in Doncaster? I really hope that he went for a wander around before the show to take in the sights. 

With the fantastic sight lines on offer at the Dome, it was a pleasure to be able to watch these four athletes up close and personal. The PACE on all four of them was incredible to watch in person as they raced around the ring and flowed from move to move.

A special mention has to go to JJ Gale, who is growing show by show into a potential flagbearer for the company, for keeping in step with two of the best juniors in the world on the opposite team. 

Hiromu and Titan put an absolute shift in after spending the opening exchanges shithousing the referee, while it’s easy to see why Callum Newman became a popular figure with the Japanese audience during the G1 – the kid can MOVE. 

After a double footstomp from Titan on Gale had secured the win for LIJ, Gale and Newman tried to share a moment in the ring, the two friends and former tag partners acknowledging how far they’d come, before Charlie Sterling rudely interrupted and attacked, thus continuing his assault on the Heart and Soul of RevPro. 

Charlie lad, I’m sick of it, you keep running past me to get in the ring and putting the shits up me. Next time, it’s personal between me and you (I’m kidding, obviously. He’s well big). 

While Gale technically holds two wins over Sterling (by countout in Sheffield and pinfall in Southampton), this story is far from over. Hopefully they get a featured match at the recently announced York Hall show in December. 

From some rather ungentlemanly conduct from Sterling, we headed into a matchup with far more class and decorum, which fitted beautifully in with the Global Wars theme, as Stardom’s AZM made her RevPro debut against Kanji. 

Though AZM is the more internationally acclaimed of the two, being a major star of the Joshi scene, this match was heavily influenced by British wrestling as the two effortlessly exchanged holds and counters. 

I will hold my hands up and admit I’m not a Joshi fan – more through lack of exposure and time than anything else – but AZM was thoroughly impressive  and I will be searching more of her work out. 

Kanji on the other hand is someone I’m much more familiar with and she never fails to impress. Her style is flawless and she connects well with crowds up and down the country. Despite losing here, it feels like she’s gearing up for a huge 2025. One of the standouts of the 5 vs. 5 match at the Copper Box, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Kanji holding the championship next year. 

That incredible technical showing between AZM and Kanji was like rolling out the red carpet in preparation for royalty as a King of professional wrestling entered the building. Hiroshi Tanahashi, welcome to Doncaster. 

It was at this point in the show where it felt like business really picked up. The vibe was UP and it wasn’t just because of Tanahashi playing the air guitar. On one side of the ring was King of Cunt Style Gabe Kidd, Connor Mills and Jay Joshua. Partnering Tanahashi were Leon Slater and Zozaya and you could see just how much that meant to both young men. Leon was beaming. 

With the trios tournament coming up, Mills, Joshua and Kidd made a case for inclusion as a team by being utterly exquisite dickheads. Constantly needling at Tanahashi, the fans and the ref while cutting off Zozaya like a pack of hyenas, the trio had the crowd by the balls until the Spanish standout was able to break free. 

There’s only one wrestler on the UK scene that does the sympathetic good guy routine better than Zozaya (and we’ll get to him later), the kid has just got *it*. As long as he isn’t snapped up by a major company, his eventual championship runs in RevPro and beyond are going to be stunning. 

Despite the main selling point of this match being Tanahashi, everyone came out of this with an extra glow. It was a reminder to UK fans of how lucky we are to still see Gabe Kidd, Connor Mills has grown exponentially from the skinny boy with Gollum hair that he used to be and Jay Joshua slotted perfectly into a powerhouse pricks following his turn at the 229. 

For Zozaya and Leon Slater, it was yet another example of them being the future of the scene, which was pointed out post-match by Tanahashi (and their own futures may be intertwined judging by their discussion leaving the ring) and when it comes to the 3x G1 winner, Global Wars represented the start of his retirement tour which will ironically conclude in another Dome in 2026. 

He may be old and knackered, but getting to see Hiroshi Tanahashi live again was a privilege that was worth the price of admission on its own. A man whose impact on wrestling in the 21st century is incalculable, being mere feet from a genuine legend hitting his signature moves, even at this stage of his career made me FEEL. 

Tanahashi, Okada, NJPW and Wrestle Kingdom 9 was one of the first things that showed me what professional wrestling can be, away from American TV cameras and I can never thank any of them enough for that. 2026 seems like as good a time as any to tick the Tokyo Dome off the bucket list, doesn’t it?

When Tanahashi leaves his in-ring career behind, he will leave behind humongous shoes and this match was followed by a competitor who will try to fill them.

Lio Rush had faced travel issues, so his match with Mascara Dorada had been altered. While it was disappointing to not see two premier high flyers duke it out, Andy Quildan couldn’t have done much better than welcoming back Yota Tsuji to RevPro as the replacement for Rush. 

We like to talk about aura and all of that malarkey when it comes to wrestling in 2024. I’m nearly 30 now so I don’t really get it, but Yota Tsuji has that. He’s got the X factor.

You know you’re watching a star, whether we’re discussing his build, explosive offence, unspoken charisma or that million dollar smile. Yota Tsuji is the type of guy promoters in the 70s and 80s would’ve committed crimes to have in their company. 

Trust me on that smile by the way. As the match spilled out into the crowd, I got a live and in colour showcase of Tsuji’s nashers. They’re fucking mega. 

This match was one of a few instances where an exhibition-style supercard can hit a sticky patch. Tsuji tried his damnedest to get the crowd to turn against him but to no avail. Even going after Dorada’s mask only resulted in brief boos before the majority of the fans went back to chanting for Yota.

Whether that was down to the crowd being more familiar with Tsuji than Dorada, Tsuji’s LIJ connections or simply that X Factor he possesses, he couldn’t fully point the crowd in the direction he wanted. 

Yota Tsuji may be hopeful of heading towards the top level of NJPW but the next contest featured the man who is at the top. Zack Sabre Jr is the IWGP Heavyweight Champion and he’s brought it home for us all. 

However, the night wasn’t all about Zack Sabre Jr. This match wasn’t even all about Zack Sabre Jr because across the ring stood Robbie X and this was the biggest night in Robbie’s career. Make no mistake, ZSJ had “brought it home” but Yorkshire is very much Robbie X country. 

An unsung hero on the British scene, Robbie X had the opportunity to show the world that he was capable of being the one to welcome back the IWGP Champion and to show Zack that he was worthy of a place in TMDK. He had to earn the level of respect that he has deserved but never been given. 

Zack treated the opening of this match as an inconvenience. He had a belt to shine before his first defence the next day against Sanada, so he toyed with Robbie in typical Sabre Jr. fashion.

As Robbie kept pace with Sabre, frustration crept into the champion’s face, with the G1 winner upping the ante both in the technical department and with the ferocity he landed his strikes. 

It’s become a running joke amongst fans that Robbie X is often left looking up at the lights – he’s lost 64.6% of his matches this year according to Cagematch – and that’s irked him.

He’s always been respected for his in-ring abilities but that only gets you so far. It’s winning that counts the most, for various reasons, to professional wrestlers. Winning means you’re respected. Winning means belts, more opportunities, more money. 

In Sheffield, against Robbie Eagles, he pulled the tights in the winning pinfall and he tried the same again against Zack, though this time it didn’t work with Sabre eventually locking in his *insert quirky name* submission hold for the win at the end of a quality match between two of this country’s best. 

ZSJ did show Robbie X (or Robbie Big Bollocks) respect after the match. He even offered him a place in TMDK, but that wasn’t the respect Robbie was after. Is being the substitute junior, the waterboy behind Kosei Fujita and Robbie Eagle respect?

Not to Robbie X, who turned down ZSJ and would go on to be revealed as the newest member of Bullet Club at Royal Quest. 

After 6 matches, I really could’ve done with a ten or fifteen minute interval. I appreciate blasting right through the card meant people got home/to the pub early doors but it meant that the Undisputed British Women’s Championship bout between Mina Shirakawa and Lizzy Evo really suffered for me. 

As previously stated, I’m not up to snuff when it comes to the likes of Stardom so the brief glimpses of Shirakawa I’ve had through AEW and RevPro haven’t landed enough with me to the point where I could get up for a seventh match in a row. She’s really popular, she’s just not clicked with me yet. She might never. 

I also don’t need to hear the same fucking boring Scouse stuff that was chanted at Zack Gibson almost a decade ago being directed at Lizzy Evo. Yeah, I get that she’s dead Scouse and that, but she’s far more deplorable than simply being from Liverpool.

She’s one of the most interesting wrestlers in the women’s division and it wouldn’t have been a bad move to put the title on her here but I get that Mina is a major name and the benefit that brings. 

Michael Oku might soon be joining Mina Shirakawa on AEW TV. I’m not massive on the whole rumour mill side of wrestling but whatever happens to Oku, he certainly looks ready for the big time.

He and Amira as a package are one of the best tandems in wrestling. Nobody does the beaten down underdog overcoming all odds thing on the independent scene like Oku and Amira is the best manager in the game, period. 

Her actions bring a gravitas to every match. She treats every strike, hold and pinfall attempt as life and death. In pro wrestling, it should be life and death. Losing should hurt. Winning should make you want to burst with joy. Watching someone you care about get the shit kicked out of them should turn your stomach and it does to Amira. Her and Oku make it easy to care about them. 

Ricky Knight Jr. does not. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Embrace the fucking hate, Ricky. I don’t mean highlight the real world shit in the ring like some freaks *cough Drew Gulak cough* have but follow the darkness. Use SOME of the negativity pointed at you and you’ll have crowds eating out of the palm of your hand. 

Don’t change who you are. You can still be a vicious bastard. Just stop doing 450s and other cool shit. Drop heroes on their heads, destroy their chests with chops and put a beating on people like you did in large portions of this match. Release the anger. This match showed exactly who you can be. 

That was in no small part due to the help of Michael Oku. He’s the best at this type of match and he’s mastered the nearfall. Getting his foot on the ropes after an avalanche Styles Clash and the kickout that followed the failed rebound Moonsault into a tombstone by RKJ were stunning. 

Due to the real world shit going on around RKJ, this match could’ve easily been derailed by fans venting their opinions on Knight.

It’s a credit to RKJ, Oku and Amira that they had everyone enthralled by the end, with Oku landing multiple Frog Splashes to become #1 contender to the heavyweight gold and RKJ declining Oku’s hand afterwards was the cherry on the cake. Maybe RKJ is heading for the dark side. 

Professional wrestling doesn’t need to be hard. Oku and RKJ had just proven that and that was stamped with authority by the main event between Luke Jacobs and Tomohiro Ishii. 

Jacobs couldn’t beat Ishii at the Copper Box and he couldn’t beat him at Crystal Palace, so when Jacobs clinched the Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship, Ishii was waiting for him.

Ethan Allen didn’t turn on Luke to side with Ishii, Ishii didn’t have to stalk Jacobs for months, they didn’t have to have an uneasy tag team run before detonating. 

Luke Jacobs just couldn’t beat Tomohiro Ishii. Sometimes, it can be that simple. 

Luke Jacobs might have become champion at the Copper Box this year but it was in the Doncaster Dome where he became THE MAN in Revolution Pro Wrestling. He showed Ishii that he was a man, not a boy or a young lion trying to make a name for himself. He’s Luke Jacobs, North West Strong and he’s the man around here. 

Everything Jacobs threw at Ishii seemed to have the slightest bit more pop, more thump, than what Ishii was able to throw back. Even when Ishii landed one of the most devastating forearm blows you’ll ever witness or dropped Luke onto his head from a stalling superplex, it was Jacobs that was first to his feet and firing again. 

Jacobs beat Ishii at his own game, fair and square. He took the elbows, the forearms, the sickening thudding headbutts, the suplexes and smiled. He stained the mat with a glob of Ishii’s blood after a lariat before putting him to sleep with a chokehold.

Luke Jacobs didn’t just beat Tomohiro Ishii. He broke the Stone Pitbull. It might be 2-1 on paper but Luke Jacobs landed the killing blow. 

If big boy, hard bastard wrestling is your thing, this is the match for you. A fittingly beefy end to an encapsulating trilogy of matches that have highlighted Jacobs ascension to the title who now sets his sights on one more match with Michael Oku. 

Global Wars was a success for RevPro in the ring. Whether they will return to Doncaster is to be seen. Over 700 fans at an independent wrestling show in 2024 can’t be sniffed at. It would be a great shame to see the Dome left without wrestling. There isn’t anywhere else quite like it in the UK.

 If they do return, they will have to make changes to their marketing strategy to hit the four figure mark. Get advertising on the Dome website. Get posters in the chippies and on the high street. Doncaster isn’t London or Manchester. It’s a special place, synonymous with British wrestling.

Photo Credits: Revolution Pro Wrestling