Predicting and Breaking Down The 2016 Super Strong Style Tournament

Written by Ben Hercik

Progress Wrestling is one of the best independent wrestling companies in the world. You look at their all time wrestlers roster, it reads as a who’s who of recent wrestling history. Names like Marty Scurll, Will Ospreay, El Ligero, Jimmy Havoc, Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Toni Storm and Travis Banks have all been with the company for so long, and have helped shape the company to what it is today. Since its creation, Progress has become a promotion that is more and more talked about. Since partnering with WWE, more and more people seem to be taking notice to this promotion, and it is well worth the watch.

Progress has two big annual tournaments, and while Natural Progression is a very fun tournament and you see some new faces, the names aren’t out yet and it is a lot harder to predict. The other one is Super Strong Style 16, which has been an annual tournament since 2015. It is a very fun, fast paced three day 16 man tournament where the winner earns a Progress Championship match, at the time of their choosing. Its similar to money in the bank, except you announce when you want your title shot. Previous winners of this tournament are Will Ospreay, Tommy End (now Aleister Black), Travis Banks, and Zack Sabre Jr. Who will join these four after this year is said and done? Here are the 16 men that can do just that, and ranked based on what I think are their chances to win the tournament.

16) Paul Robinson

Robinson has been a mainstay in the British wrestling scene for the last 15 years. I think at this point in his career, Robinson is best suited for a tag team, which he is with Will Ospreay and Swords of Essex. I think that in a singles tournament, especially one as stacked as one, Robinson isn’t going to do anything to special. He is a very talented wrestler, it just isn’t his year this year.

15) Kyle Fletcher

Fletcher is a lot like Paul Robinson, in the fact that he is a tag team specialist who is competing in a singles tournament. Fletcher and Mark Davis, who are Aussie Open, just won the Progress Tag Team Championships from Swords of Essex in a crazy TLC Match. He is also in the same boat as Robinson, in a very stacked tournament. Fletcher’s biggest advantage is his age. He is only 20 years old, and has a huge amount of potential. Fletcher is going to be a fantastic wrestler in a few years, but for this tournament, don’t expect anything to crazy.

14) DAGA

Daga is someone who focuses a lot on the big moves. He is someone that seems like a real big move wrestler, and lives and dies by it. In all my research and looking him up, I only saw him have one submission move, and that was against Son of Havoc in Lucha Underground. I think Daga has a good base to work with, and something that he can even build off of, but I don’t have high expectations for him in this tournament. He will be making his Progress debut, and I think fans will love him, but compared to some of the other names in this tournament, I just don’t see him making it too far but there’s always next year.

13) Artemis Spencer

When I first saw the name Artemis Spencer, I had no clue who he was. I looked up some of his matches on Youtube, and this guy is someone who is a hidden gem of the independent scene. He has wrestled matches with the likes of DJ Z, Brody King, Shane Strickland, Jeff Cobb and so many big names. Spencer is a wrestler who has a little bit of it all. He can wrestle, he can brawl, he can fly, and he has great submissions. Where I think Spencer is at his best is his striking. All the moves are so crisp and clean, they just seem to have a little something more behind them. Spencer is the one with the least (maybe) experience in a Progress ring, competing in a fatal four way, which was won by Mark Andrews, on their Coast to Coast tour when it was in Seattle, Washington. While I don’t think that the Canada native is a favorite to win the tournament, I think he could make some history and compete in both the Super Strong Style 16 and Natural Progression tournament in the same year.

12) Darby Allin

I’m not afraid to admit that I am not a fan of a wrestler, and that is the case for Darby Allin. He is talented, I just am not a fan of him. I think that he is someone that is more for the neish crowd. If I had to describe his style in the ring, he is a lot like an old school Jeff Hardy mixed with ECW. That is a style that doesn’t work in tournament wrestling and we all know that. I think that if you are looking for an underdog in this tournament, then you need to look away from Darby Allin

11) David Starr

This is where things got very hard. Spots 11 through 8 are very close, and all the men from here on out can win the the tournament. David Starr is maybe the most underrated technical wrestler that nobody is talking about. He may not be as flashy as Zack Sabre Jr, or as good at joint manipulation as Pete Dunne, but Starr is one of the most complete pro wrestlers in the world. The reason I have him so low, is Starr’s inconsistencies in tournaments like these. Starr has only won three tournaments in his seven year career. That doesn’t seem like a bad average, but you look at the amount of tournaments he has entered, he has a horrible average. Starr has entered 37 different tournaments in his career, and they are some big ones. He’s been in four Best of the Best Tournaments (CZW), three 16 Carat Gold Tournaments (wXw), a Battle for Los Angeles Tournament (PWG), and this will be his third Super Strong Style 16 tournament. Starr wants to have a good outting in this tournament, but it will be a challenge for him to do this, to say the least.

10) Aerostar

Aerostar is a very interesting wrestler. He is talented wrestler, but he seems inconsistent to me. He is a high flyer who has found a home in AAA and is a very good highflyer. He rose to prominence in Lucha Underground. He was able to stand out in the promotion that had the likes of Ricochet (Prince Puma), Rey Fenix, Pentagon, King Cuerno and many more. Where Aero Star has thrived is tag team wrestling. The reason I have him higher than the likes of tag team wrestlers like Fletcher and Robinson is because I think that Aero Star is set for a breakout singles year. He has all the tools to be a star, and this tournament could be the start of it.

9) Trevor Lee

Trevor Lee is an interesting case. Lee is a former three time Impact X-Division Champion and a member of the NXT Roster, has been wrestling for 11 years and is only 25 years old. That means he started wrestling when he was roughly 14 years old! Lee is someone who can do the high flying and has a good ground game as well. That is something that not a lot of light heavyweights can say. Many are good at one of them, but not many are good at both. It is really hard to justify putting Lee this low, but you can say the same about Starr and Aero Star as well. The reason I have Lee at only number nine on this list is because of his unpredictability both in the ring and how available he will be after the tournament. You never know what Trevor Lee will show up, and with the little depth on the NXT men’s roster, NXT might need Lee a lot more than Progress would need Lee.

8) Chris Brookes

This man just loves to wrestle. In 2016, Brookes wrestled 90 matches, in 2017, he upped it to 158, and in 2018 he wrestled 152 matches. So far in 2019, Brookes has already wrestled in 90 matches. Brookes history in Progress dates back to 2017 at Chapter 50: I give it Six Months, where he and Kid Lykos as the team CCK (Calamari Catch Kings) beat Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate and Trent Seven) to win the Progress Tag Team Titles. In their debut match with the promotion! Brookes has also wrestled matches for RevPro, Ring of Honor, New Japan, and Attack!. Brookes strength is in submission wrestling, which helps in this tournament as his style varies from many of the other wrestlers. I hope this is the year we see a lot more of Brookes in the singles department. He is very talented, and is ready to make the jump from consistent wrestler in the british independent wrestling to main event player. Brookes can have a break out tournament here, and he is my sleeper for the tournament.

7) DJZ

Another former Impact X-Division Champion that recently signed with NXT, and man is DJ Z very impressive in the ring. His second rope assisted Tope Con Hilo and his Reverse Spike Hurricanrana are just two moves of his very impressive repertoire. I think that DJ Z entering the tournament is going to be so much fun to watch, especially if he draws Aero Star in the first round, that will be a lot of fun to watch. I think DJ Z has a lot of potential and he still has a ton of room to grow as a wrestler that we are excited to see. He is somewhat in the same boat as Trevor Lee in that NXT really needs him to help their depth problem, but I could see him being in Progress more than Lee simply because I think his style allows him to stand out more than Lee in the British Independents and allow him to stand out more and have him garner more popularity.

6) Jordan Devlin

It was very tempting to put Devlin even closer to the top given that he just recently beat WALTER, who is the Progress Heavyweight Champion, to win the OTT World Championship. The best way to describe Devlin is a lot like Finn Balor, but a lot more aggressive. Many people have seen greatness coming for Devlin for a long time, and now he has the perfect opportunity to show the world what many fans from Ireland have known for years, and that is he can go with anyone. Now I know what your thinking, Devlin is in the same boat as Lee and DJZ and needs to help the NXT depth. But Devlin is a part of NXT UK, which has an abundance of talent. Devlin can stick around in in Progress if he wins the tournament. Devlin’s aggressive in ring style matches up well with WALTER, and we could see another emotional win for Devlin if he gets through this stacked tournament.

5) Lucky Kid

If you thought that picking the wrestlers 11 through 6 were close, I spent days debating between Lucky Kid and Chris Ridgeway as who I think will clear to the semifinals. Ultimately I had Lucky Kid as the odd one out, simply because of what he did in this years 16 Carat Gold Tournament. In that tournament, you saw the coming out party for Lucky Kid as he defeated Timothy Thatcher, Axel Dieter Jr (Marcel Bartel), Ilja Dragunov and WALTER on his way to winning the tournament. I first found Kid when he was a part of the German leg of the WCPW World Cup, and have been a big fan of his before his breakout year he’s having this year. While I think Kid is immensely talented, it is tough task for someone to win two of the biggest tournaments in pro wrestling in the same year. That being said, I don’t think we should count out Lucky Kid just yet.

4) Chris Ridgeway

He has a black belt in being hard as f**k. How can I not be a fan of Chris Ridgeway. The first time I saw Ridgeway wrestle at a progress show, I knew he was something different. He isn’t just a hard hitting brawler, he is as crisp as they come, and I think he has a ton of momentum going into this tournament, as he has found success in tournaments for the past year. Ridgeway won the WLGP Title Tournament for Wrestling League and the International 8 tournament held by International Pro Wrestling UK, beating Mike Bird, Jimmy Havoc, and Jack Sexsmith to win the tournament. Ridgeway has also reached the semifinals of the Brighton Title Tournament, and this years Ambition tournament. He was also a finalist in Natural Progression Series V last year. I said the same about Chris Brookes, but the same can be said for Ridgeway, 2019 can be a breakout star of 2019, and this tournament is the perfect place for him to make his name known.

3) Travis Banks

He is the only returning winner of this tournament and the only one in the tournament who is a former Progress World Champion. Banks has been asking and trying to get a rematch for the title he wants back, but management has not given him the match yet. He has to earn it and this is the way he can earn it. I have been high on Banks for a long time, and I think that most people are at this point. We all know how good Banks is in the ring, but Banks fills out another role and that is the upset veteran of the tournament and we can see that in the ring. I expect Banks will be more aggressive and angry in the ring which will give him an advantage in the earlier rounds, but he will need to keep his composure if he reaches the semi-finals, or even the finals if he wants to be the first ever two time Super Strong Style 16 winner and have a chance to win back the title from WALTER.

2) Kyle O’Reilly

When Kyle O’Reilly was announced as an entrant, I penciled him in to win the tournament. I am liking seeing O’Reilly competing as a singles wrestler in promotions like Evolve and now Progress. Kyle O’Reilly is a very talented wrestler, and has an excellent mixture of strikes and submissions. His strikes are super crisp and his submissions look dangerous and fantastic. I think O’Reilly is someone that doesn’t get enough time to shine in the NXT spotlight and this is a shame. Don’t get me wrong, I love Undisputed Era, but he can be a singles star. There isn’t much that hasn’t already been said about O’Reilly as he has been one of the independent legends for such a long time. In most years, I think that O’Reilly would be the favorite to win this tournament. But that is not the case this year.

1) Ilja Dragunov

My pick to win this tournament is Ilja Dragunov. The reason I think he will win is that I want Dragunov vs WALTER to happen. Dragunov has such a physical style and WALTER with his natural powerhouse stature is a perfect opponent. Dragunov is someone that has been tearing it up on the independent scene, and this is his next big step in his indy dominance. He came into the promotion as a big deal and had a match against Pete Dunne, a Progress legend, in the companies first event in Wembley. With how deep of a tournament this is, it would be fantastic to see Dragunov win the tournament, and get a shot at the title. Dragunov has been a star on the rise, and win his second big pro wrestling tournament (first was 2016 16 Carat Gold Tournament) would do just that.