There aren’t many things that will make me willingly visit London. It’s too busy, too loud and too expensive.

The biggest weekend in the British Wrestling calendar, a now annual celebration which orbits the centrepiece of a big AEW event, is one of the things that will make me store away my Northern biases for a few days and head down to that there London.

While there were a few ways that you could slice up the weekend proceeding AEW Forbidden Door, with both Riot Cabaret and Pro Wrestling EVE holding shows, I opted for both nights of the RevPro 13th Anniversary Weekend at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre – Global Wars UK and the 13th Anniversary.

I’m going to hold onto my opinions about Crystal Palace as a venue for the review of the 13th Anniversary show (the Saturday), as the issues I had personally were far more apparent on that evening, than they were at Global Wars.

There’s also certainly a conversation to be had about how some of the UK promotions could come together in future years to create more of a “festival of wrestling” vibe similar to a WrestleMania weekend, but that’s for another day.

For those in attendance at Global Wars or tuning in on RevPro OnDemand, you’d have been forgiven for thinking you were watching a WrestleMania as the sun poured through the Crystal Palace windows, throwing a golden blanket over proceedings for the opening hour or so.

Global Wars UK opened with an exhibition contest between Leon Slater and Francesco Akira. It’s fascinating to see the make-up of the crowd at these flagpole RevPro events, with plenty of support for Akira despite him facing a usually overwhelming favourite in Leon.

With a far more important match the following day for Slater against Michael Oku, this was a statement of intent and a sign of progression for the current TNA X-Division champion. Yes, he still had to pull out the corner dive to the outside and Swanton 450 to get the win (neither of which ever get old), but does the Leon Slater of 12-18 months ago get the victory over a New Japan talent?

Opening matches on wrestling cards should do at least one of two things, in my opinion. Either, you give a crowd a defined goodie vs. baddie matchup or quick-paced action to warm them up. If you can do both, that’s even better. Opening with Leon and Akira gave the crowd some exciting action without forcing anyone to indulge, a delicate canapé.

RevPro then offered up a definied goodie vs. baddie matchup, so all bases were covered, as Alexxis Falcon took on CMLL’s Persephone.

Alexxis Falcon was up to her typical shithousery in this one, constantly mocking and trying to avoid engaging with her opponent, in a way that is quite different to the output that is usually expected in RevPro with Alexxis using her manipulative crowd skills honed on large-scale family shows in NGW.

It was critical for Falcon to dip into her bag of tricks for two reasons. The notion of Global Wars creates an “us vs. them” atmosphere between UK and international talent and Alexxis was cheered coming out, despite being a nailed on baddie in RevPro.

Also, out of all of the international talent that would be featured across the weekend, Persephone was arguably the least well-known to the majority of fans in attendance, so going down this route helped to establish her – as did her blend of stiff strikes and technical work.

With Persephone able to overcome her skullduggery time and again, Falcon snapped, leathering her with a chair and beating her down after the bell had rang, leading to Zoe Lucas and then Amira Blair coming out to take down Falcon furthering the current rivalry between the Wicked Bitch of BritWres and Pretty Psycho.

After two relatively “light bites”, the crowd was served up one of the tentpole matches of the weekend as Young Guns defended the Undisputed British Tag Team Championships against Grizzled Young Veterans, following GYV’s win over the champions during the Great British Tag League.

There was some criticism amongst RevPro fans that this match, a day before the Tag League Final, had undermined the Tag League, though it just seems to be Wrestling 101 to me. You beat the champions in any circumstance, you should be eligible for a title shot. The same thing happens every year coming out of the G1.

Young Guns certainly weren’t concerned about the intricacies of who had first dibs at their tag titles, they just wanted to settle the score with GYV, steaming to the ring for a scrap. Ethan Allen in particular, was fucking amped for this, barking out his introduction from Francesca the way some UFC fighters do with Bruce Buffer.

Young Guns flew out of the traps in the opening exchanges overwhelming GYV, who looked like they’d underestimated the intensity their former students would bring. That might seem disrespectful to doubt such an established team, but it happens when you’ve got a senior-junior relationship.

How many parents have suffered an embarrassing defeat to their child on a video game, bamboozled by the speed that their offspring is manoeuvring through the complicated controls, when it only feels like yesterday that you were blowing your own parent’s minds on the PlayStation or Sega Mega Drive?

How many eldest siblings have had their spot at the top of the family tree shaken by a punch from a younger brother/sister during a playfight that has gone too far?

Time waits for no man and time had come for the Grizzled Young Veterans.

Try as they might, Gibson and Drake could not stem the march of time, which was lead by the vanguard of Luke Jacobs and Ethan Allen. Even though they were able to isolate and bloody Luke, the Young Guns kept on coming, determined to prove that British Wrestling is in a new era and that this era is Young Guns Country.

This match emphasised that, while Luke Jacobs is the more acclaimed half of the team as a singles wrestler, Young Guns are equals when they step through the ropes as a united force.

It was Jacobs’ quality that kept the Young Guns motoring forward as he had to battle back in 2 vs. 1 situations on a number of occasions, while it was the spirit and sheer bloody mindedness of Ethan Allen that saved the team by splitting up pinfalls and GYV’s attempts at double team moves.

There could be an argument made that at times, Luke isn’t fully focused on the tag division whereas this is the be all and end all for Ethan. That idea reared its head when Jacobs, for all of his fighting spirit, momentarily took his eye off the ball and accidentally cleaned Ethan out with a lariat which gave GYV the opening to almost snatch the tag titles.

However, Ethan was able to reach his feet and even the odds, saving Luke and setting in motion the barrage of Young Guns offence that eventually helped them to retain the belts at the end of a thriller.

Perhaps in shock at the beating they’d received, in the same way a parent might refer to a modern games console as “fancy nonsense” after taking a beating, GYV refused the post-match handshake.

A man familiar with both Young Guns and GYV, Chris Ridgeway, looked to make his own statement at Global Wars UK by setting his sights on a legendary figure in Blue Panther.

If I’m in half the nick that Blue Panther is in when I get to my sixties, I’ll be chuffed. A performer with over forty years experience in the business, Blue Panther had already got the entire crowd hitting the “SI” chants before he’d even made it to the ring – that’s a pro.

It was a great touch that RevPro had been granted “special dispensation” for Blue Panther to wrestle in his iconic mask, having lost it to Villano V in 2008.

Seemingly showing respect to a legend of the game in the early stages, Ridgeway traded technical holds with Panther before bringing out his patented stiff strikes and trying to undo his mask.

Ridgeway eventually made his statement, blocking an attempted sunset flip and whipping the mask off and making the cover, as Panther instinctively tried to cover his face.

I won’t pretend to be a big Cagematch weirdo that’s studied Panther’s win/loss record over recent years, but that feels like a big moment for Chris Ridgeway as he now sets his eyes on the British Cruiserweight championship.

In what was becoming a theme for the night, Connor Mills entered Crystal Palace aiming to claim his own big moment against New Japan’s Yuya Uemura.

New Japan are in an incredibly frustrating position at the moment, but if they decide to pull the trigger on creating some new, legitimate main eventers, they have to include Yuya Uemura. He’s everything you think of when you think of glorious periods in Japanese wrestling history. There’s a regal air and grace to him.

Uemura used that regal air to suffocate his opponent, having Mills’ number throughout the contest, often too slick for Mills’ aggressive style.

When Mills was able to build momentum by landing a thudding lariat or kick, Uemura would counteract the next attack with a well-timed arm drag, though Mills did have the apparent heir to Tanahashi’s throne in trouble with one bastard of a lariat that he followed up with an Ankle Lock.

Uemura’s class did tell eventually, landing his signature Deadbolt Suplex to pick up the win. Respect was shown by both with a handshake at the end and with the strong relationship between RevPro and NJPW, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see these two run this back in the future when they both hold singles gold.

Talking of singles gold, a Title for Title match between the Belt Collector, the CEO Mercedes Moné and Emersyn Jayne followed Uemura vs. Mills.

I understand some people are sick of Mercedes Moné waltzing in and hoovering up title after title. Some of that criticism is warranted – there is little jeopardy in her matches and it does mean that multiple companies are without their women’s champion for months on end.

However, there is no denying the impact that she has on business – Moné makes the world go round after all – but more importantly, she’s uplifting an entire scene. Her passion for females in wrestling and professional wrestling as a whole is as obvious as a slap round the face.

She does not have to do this but she’s helping to bring eyes to independent wrestling and independent wrestlers.

Ask Kanji, Safire Reed and now Emersyn Jayne how they feel about Mercedes Moné. Ask Andy Quildan how much better off the RevPro coffers are since Moné first appeared for the promotion. Her positive impact far outweighs the negative.

Fittingly, on the anniversary of her historic NXT:Takeover showdown with Bayley that was part of inspiring an entire generation of women to take up pro wrestling, Mercedes and Emersyn Jayne may have inspired another wave of young girls with the show they put on at Global Wars UK.

Moné’s RevPro matches have all felt different and showcased a different side to her as a champion, while best highlighting her opponent. Against Kanji, there was a respect for the technical excellence that the pair shared. Against Safire, there was more of a student/teacher vibe, as Mercedes stayed one step ahead of the much less experienced but volatile talent.

In both those contests, Mercedes was firmly in the driving seat. She completely outranked Safire in terms of experience and some of her stardust seemed to blind Kanji in key moments.

Emersyn Jayne didn’t give a fuck about Mercedes Moné or her litany of achievements that were reeled off by Francesca which gave this match a top-tier big fight feel. With over 13 years experience of her own, Emersyn only cared about keeping the Discovery Wrestling Scottish Women’s Championship and capturing the Undisputed British Women’s Championship.

Though she couldn’t use the darts and light tubes she’s become famous for, Emersyn brought everything else in her arsenal to Mercedes, exhibiting a vicious streak that the AEW TBS Champion hasn’t experienced on the independent scene. Special mention to the power-up suplex spot from Emersyn, armbar reversals and Moné’s callback to that NXT:Takeover match with a Bayley-to-Belly suplex.

For the first time in her foray onto the independent scene, Mone was on the ropes. It’s a credit to both wrestlers that, despite discussing how there is little jeopardy in Moné’s matches, when Emersyn Jayne hit a moonsault for a close nearfall, the crowd BIT. For a moment, people thought Mercedes belt collection was going to shrink.

Bringing that full-court press to Moné went to Jayne’s head as she mocked the CEO, which gave her the breathing space to land a lungblower and lock in the Statement Maker submission to add the Discovery Wrestling title to her collection. After the match, the Cut Throat Collective attempted to corner Moné, but her RevPro BFF Kanji made the save as Safire Reed cautioned the CTC to the back.

If this ends up with Mercedes Moné trotting out at the Portobello Town Hall in Edinburgh for Discovery, I don’t want to hear anymore whinging.

In a break from the action, Jushin “Thunder” Liger was inducted into the RevPro Hall of Fame with a cracking video package outlining his importance to the company and a belting introduction from Andy Quildan.

Having a Hall of Fame could come across as cringe and corny, but this was handled really well and it’s fucking Jushin “Thunder” Liger at the end of the day. You don’t get much more legendary and deserving of a place in any Hall of Fame, plus it gave plenty of people the opportunity to meet him over the weekend. With RevPro’s rich history with international talent and partners, this is going to be a great addition to the anniversary show each year.

The only person who wasn’t happy to see Liger was Ricky Knight Jr. who interrupted the ceremony, shoving Quildan away before laying into the legend, which prompted Sha Samuels to storm down to the ring. Liger and Samuels put Ricky down together.

RevPro certainly did everything in their power in the build up to push the RKJ/Sha main event for the following night and this was the final roll of the dice. Did it work? Well, we’ll see in the 13th Anniversary Review dropping tomorrow (August 29th)

This was the MOMENTS portion of the evening as before Francesca could announce the semi-main event, Mercedes Blaze came down full of hell that she hadn’t been booked for either night of the weekender, demanding a challenger. And she got one, in the form of Athena.

This was proper cool. A genuine surprise, given that Athena was challenging for the AEW Women’s World title two days later.

Could I have a whinge that beating down Mercedes Blayze of all people in the post-match angle (for ROH TV) to get boos was an odd choice as was the fact none of the Cut Throat Collective, who we’d seen 25 minutes earlier, came to help? I could but it all went down well with the crowd, as did Mina Shirakawa chasing Athena off, and I enjoyed it too.

I certainly enjoyed the penultimate match of the night as Jay Joshua took on Tomohiro Ishii in the now annual RevPro Anniversary Ishii Invitational™.

This time last year, Jay Joshua outlined on social media his desire to face Ishii. Joshua has had a tremendous 12 months both in singles competition and alongside Connor Mills in the tag division, absolutely earning this match.

While Joshua’s attitude is best encapsulated by his Say Less catchphrase, a straight to the point, no nonsense individual, there will have been butterflies as he entered to a great reception with loads of his lovely American Football jerseys on display in the crowd. Everyone understood that this was as much Jay’s dream match as it was for his fans.

That level of respect and admiration for his opponent was apparent in the first few exchanges as Joshua threw some uncharacteristically soft chops at Ishii. It was like when a lower-league team goes to a Prem side in the cup and rather than getting in their faces, they sit off and allow the big name players to get comfortable.

That would soon change as Joshua shook off any jitters or uncertainty and he started to deliver the treble hard bastard offence that has made him a favourite with BritWres fans and Ishii replied in kind.

I love pro wrestling for so many different reasons. I love having my emotions manipulated and being taken on a rollercoaster ride. I love investing in stories where characters collide, develop, progress and overcome obstacles. I love being wowed by athletic feats.

I also LOVE it when two dudes just beat the shit out of each other and that’s exactly what Jay Joshua and Tomohiro Ishii did here. Two dudes trying to out-dude each other in a stand your ground and fight until you can’t fight no more shootout.

Chops, forearms, elbows, smacks, slaps, punches, suplexes and gnarly headbutts, we got the full works. All the good stuff until Ishii dropped Joshua on his head with a brainbuster to win.

While his short-term future lies in the tag division, Jay Joshua proved here that he has the capabilities to be a main event player in RevPro, someone who could go on to follow in the footsteps of Luke Jacobs by parlaying a series with Ishii into a run with the Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship.

I say a series as after the match, unlike his partner Connor Mills had earlier in the night with Uemura, instead of shaking his opponent’s hand Joshua attacked Ishii.

Before moving to the main event, a massive shout out to Tomohiro Ishii. What he’s done for British Wrestling, especially RevPro, by helping to elevate a number of male stars over the years should never be underestimated. Someone get the man a pint.

It was fitting that someone like Ishii, who has done so much for this scene, was followed by a Wildcard 10-man tag featuring ten wrestlers who had all made an impact on Revolution Pro Wrestling throughout the years.

In the match were 3 former British Heavyweight Champions in Michael Oku, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata. We had 2 British J-Cup winners in Robbie X (also a former Cruiserweight champ) and “Speedball” Mike Bailey.

The tag division was represented by a former British tag team champ in Kyle Fletcher and tag league finalists in Cowboy Way. Zozaya has become “one of our own” in RevPro and Hechicero has been a popular big show regular.

RevPro’s past, present and future was on display and you can’t ask for more than that on an anniversary weekend.

This match was worth going to London on its own. The chance to see Shibata and Tanahashi up close again and to welcome Mike Bailey and Kyle Fletcher back to these shores was too good to pass up, never mind getting to see BANGING combinations like Manders trading bombs with Shibata, Oku and Kyle Fletcher interacting and Bailey and Robbie whizzing round.

Everyone was in celebratory mood for this one, with the GOOD LADS (including Amira) hitting Shibata’s pose before the crowd broke out into chants. All of the chants. For everyone. You get a chant, you get a chant, you get a chant. It was magic, man.

I never do move-by-move breakdowns but for this match especially, it wouldn’t fit. Not only did it quickly break into brawling around ringside further fuelling the party atmosphere, with Oku diving off the bleachers, but it was so much more than moves.

When people talk about “the feeling” in wrestling, this was it for me. I hope nobody was watching me during this, as I could feel the big stupid grin plastering my face and my eyes starting to tear up, especially when Tanahashi and Shibata teamed up. I didn’t want it to end, until Shibata hit the PK and Tana leapt off the top with a High Fly Flow for the pinfall on Manders and I punched the air.

RevPro use the tagline pro wrestling at its best and they delivered it with this main event.

It wouldn’t be the last time they did that over the weekend, either.

Image Credits: @Themfster, Revolution Pro Wrestling