PROGRESS Chapter 18: The Show We Can't Call Progresslemania For Legal Reasons

You know the drill by now – it’s another sold out, rabid crowd in the Electric Ballroom in Camden, and this is the first main-chapter show that’s presented “end-to-end” rather than the usual indie wrestling “show match graphic to cut out entrances” format. The downside is that this adds many minutes to the show, but it also helps keep the live event feel on tape. We get our first taste of a Jim Smallman pre-show spiel – and to show his feelings (at the time), he’s bedecked in a Die Havoc Die t-shirt. Jim leads a “Happy Birthday” chant for the company, which gives way to “we want cake” chants, before the crowd show their respects for the (then) recently-passed Perro Aguayo Jr., Cincinnati Red and Drew McDonald. Jim then teases the crowd with “something after the interval” – but chants of a raffle are quickly shot down. Those never go well in PROGRESS… nor do falafel raffles, but they do make for an exceedingly good chant.