Today, PROGRESS lands in Las Vegas with a card that feels like it actually matters. PROGRESS Chapter 193: PROGRESS Las Vegas II is set for 11:00 AM PT at Horseshoe Las Vegas as part of GCW’s The Collective, and the promotion is wisely treating this like a real chapter instead of a random WrestleMania week cameo. The lineup has a world title match, a Proteus title defense with a big personality hook, two Super Strong Style 16 tournament matches, and enough variety underneath to keep the show from feeling one-note. In a week where a lot of cards are fighting to stand out by being louder, stranger, or more overloaded, PROGRESS is taking a different route. Today’s show looks built around stakes, structure, and identity.
Here is everything advertised for today’s show
- Man Like DeReiss (c) vs. Michael Oku (PROGRESS Men’s World Championship)
- Paul Walter Hauser (c) vs. Big Damo (PROGRESS Proteus Championship)
- Ethan Allen vs. Lio Rush (Super Strong Style 16 First Round)
- Rhio vs. VertVixen (Super Strong Style 16 First Round)
- Subculture (Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews) vs. Kuro & Tommy Tanner
- Emersyn Jayne vs. Lena Kross vs. Renee Michelle vs. Mercedes Martinez
- Simon Miller vs. Danny Jones Â
PROGRESS has always carried a little more baggage than most promotions, and that is part of what makes today’s show interesting. Its history matters. This is still one of the defining promotions of the 2010s BritWres boom, a company that built its identity on loud crowds, strong character work, big-match presentation, and the sense that its shows meant something beyond the individual night. But PROGRESS also has had to spend the last several years rebuilding, reshaping, and trying to convince fans that it is not just living off old reputation. That tension follows the promotion everywhere now, especially onto a stage like The Collective, where every show is a referendum on whether it deserves your time.
That is why the top of this card works. Man Like DeReiss vs. Michael Oku feels like the right kind of world title match for this setting. DeReiss brings momentum, charisma, and the kind of champion energy that feels current. Oku brings polish, credibility, and a proven big-match presence. This is the bout that gives the show its backbone. If PROGRESS wants today to feel important, the world title match has to carry that weight, and on paper it absolutely can.
The Proteus title match is where the card gets more divisive, but also more interesting. Paul Walter Hauser vs. Big Damo is either the exact kind of left-field booking that gives a show personality or the sort of match that makes some fans roll their eyes before the bell rings. The upside is obvious: Damo is a serious presence, the title has its own oddball identity, and Hauser gives the match attention value that a more straightforward pairing would not. The downside is also obvious: some fans will always be skeptical when a promotion trying to sell itself as serious wrestling leans into a celebrity-adjacent champion attraction. But at least this one has a purpose. It is not random. It feels like a deliberate swing.
The Super Strong Style 16 matches might be the most important part of the whole show beyond the world title. Ethan Allen vs. Lio Rush and Rhio vs. VertVixen immediately give the card connective tissue to something bigger than one morning in Vegas. That matters because tournament matches tell the audience this is part of an actual promotion calendar, not just a branded stop on Mania week. PROGRESS needs that. A lot of promotions can parachute into WrestleMania week and try to get by on novelty. PROGRESS is better off reminding people it still has a structure, a rhythm, and stakes that carry forward.
The rest of the card does a solid job supporting that framework. Subculture vs. Kuro and Tommy Tanner should be the kind of tag match that keeps the pace honest and the crowd engaged. The four-way with Emersyn Jayne, Lena Kross, Renee Michelle, and Mercedes Martinez gives the card veteran presence and some needed depth. Then there is Simon Miller vs. Danny Jones, which is a much cleaner fit than the earlier version of the card I referenced. That pairing makes more sense for the tone of the show too. Miller brings personality and recognizability, while Danny Jones gives the match a stronger wrestling-first edge. It feels like the right kind of lower-card bout for a PROGRESS chapter running inside The Collective.
The reaction around the show mostly lines up with what the card is trying to be. The praise centers on the world title match, the tournament ties, and the idea that PROGRESS is bringing an actual chapter with meaningful stakes to The Collective rather than just a throwaway exhibition. The criticism is broader and more familiar: some fans still see PROGRESS through the lens of what it used to be and are waiting to be fully convinced again. So a card like this gets judged a little harder than it otherwise might. That is not necessarily a bad thing. It just means the promotion has to deliver with intention.
There is also something to be said for where this show sits on the schedule. Running in the morning as part of GCW’s The Collective can work in PROGRESS’ favor because a coherent, title-driven card stands out more in that setting than another overload-style supershow would. Today does not look like it is trying to be the weirdest card of WrestleMania week or the flashiest. It looks like it is trying to be a PROGRESS show first. That alone is probably the smartest creative decision attached to it.
Final thoughts
Today’s card looks like a real attempt by PROGRESS to remind people what the promotion is supposed to feel like. The world title match has weight, the Proteus title match has personality, the Super Strong Style 16 bouts add genuine stakes, and the undercard has enough balance to keep everything moving. Most importantly, the corrected lineup now reads cleaner top to bottom, with Simon Miller vs. Danny Jones fitting the card the way it should. In a week built on noise, PROGRESS has a chance today to stand out by being focused. That may be the best lane it could possibly choose.
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I’m the quiet one until the bell rings then I’ve got takes. I live for WWE NXT and TNA, I want every promotion to succeed, and I will absolutely roast the bad decisions on sight (because someone has to). Anime taught me to respect long-term storytelling; wrestling taught me that sometimes the plan is “we panicked” and called it “unpredictable.” The Miz got me into all of this, so yeah I appreciate confidence, commitment, and the art of talking like you’re already the main event. Now I bring that same energy to the page as the main writer for Late Night Crew Wrestling because if you’re not here to be must-see and tell the truth, why are you here?!