PROGRESS Wrestling Chapter 181 Preview: Far From Ordinary People
Date: 29th June 2025
Location: Manchester O2 Ritz, Manchester, England
PROGRESS returns to Manchester with Chapter 181: Far From Ordinary People – a night promising intense rivalries, hard-hitting drama, and a collection of match-ups that feel anything but ordinary. With championships on the line, grudges being settled and egos clashing, the O2 Ritz is set to shake with the energy only PROGRESS can bring.
PROGRESS World Championship
Luke Jacobs (c) vs. Cara Noir
Luke Jacobs defended his PROGRESS World Championship against Cara Noir in a brutal, 20-minute war of attrition at Super Strong Style 16, scraping through with a roll through pinfall during a Blackout submission. Jacobs went so far as to call the manner of his own victory “embarrassing,” framing the rematch not just as a battle for gold but a war of his own pride.
For Noir, who once ruled PROGRESS for a record-breaking tenure, this second chance isn’t just a title shot, it could be redemption, whilst for Jacobs, every brutal blow he lands reinforces his belief that he’s the superior champion. In Manchester, Chapter 181 becomes the definitive chapter in their long trilogy — strip away the mythology, and it’s two men fighting for their identities as much as for the belt.
PROGRESS Wrestling Tag Team Championship
The Sunshine Machine (c) vs. Lykos Gym
Fresh off reclaiming the titles on 30th March at Chapter 178: Fix Your Hearts, Sunshine Machine face Lykos Gym who recently cemented themselves as top-tier contenders with a brutal win over Mills & Angelo in a no‑ropes “I Quit” match at the same show and Boisterous Behaviour one chapter later in Las Vegas.
Which of these two hugely popular staples of the PROGRESS Tag Team division leave Manchester with the gold?
Pick Your Poison Match #1
Lana Austin vs. Kanji
Lana Austin and Kanji return to the ring with stakes steeped in history: Lana dethroned Kanji at Chapter 146, snapping her title reign and fuelling a deep-seated rivalry ever since. Now, in a Pick Your Poison bout, Nina Samuels has chosen Lana as her opponent, taking the approach that someone from her past who knows her weaknesses will make her chances of winning their loser leaves PROGRESS match at Chapter 182 in July very low.
Nina Samuels calling out Kanji’s poisoned pick, noted that Lana has beaten her “not once, not twice but six times”. Austin, ever the charismatic former PROGRESS Women’s World Champion, will be on home turf thanks to her Manchester roots . This feels less like a match and more like a reckoning: with Kanji’s chance to vanquish a ghost from the past and Lana’s opportunity to prove her previous victories were no fluke.
Pick Your Poison Match #2
Shotzi Blackheart vs. Nina Samuels
With the Pick Your Poison stipulation in play, Kanji has hand‑picked former NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion Shotzi Blackheart as Nina Samuels’ next challenge, setting the stage for Shotzi’s first-ever PROGRESS UK match at Chapter 181.
Shotzi’s return to Europe after departing WWE in May brings her fierce, high‑octane style to a promotion built on grit and intensity — she’s made it clear she’s hungry to prove herself again on a new stage. Samuels, meanwhile, isn’t intimidated—she’s been vocal on X, declaring that PROGRESS is “the Nina Samuels show” and vowing to expose Shotzi’s ‘free-agent’ mindset as a weakness.
Since then, Matt Cardona has broken Shotzi’s arm in their ongoing feu to be known as the true INDY GOD, but Shotzi has declared the match is going ahead, which is music to the ears of Nina, who has utilise arm injuries in the past on Kanji!
Their paths have crossed before only in multi‑woman bouts, but this one-on-one gives Samuels her first true shot at dominating Shotzi on her own terms. Don’t miss this one!
Chris Ridgeway vs. Man Like Dereiss
As Chapter 181 arrives, the Ethan Allen vs. Man Like Dereiss feud is reaching a boiling point. On social media, Allen has made one thing clear: this is personal. Dereiss, undefeated and fresh off tournament victory, wants to cement his dominance. Allen wants to use his hometown pride and proven in-ring pedigree to knock his nemesis down a peg before he can attempt to reach the pinnacle.
Plans may have changed due to Chris Ridgeway’s injury, but the intensity will remain. Expect a hard-hitting, emotionally charged showdown packed with fast kicks, brutal strikes, and raw energy. At Manchester’s O₂ Ritz on 29 June, this rivalry could turn into one of PROGRESS Wrestling’s most memorable matchups of the year.
Alexxis Falcon vs. Hollie Barlow
Fresh from her Manchester debut at Chapter 176 where she lost to Lana Austin, Hollie Barlow is now looking to strike back and claim her first-ever Chapter victory on home soil against Alexxis Falcon, who returns to a Manchester PROGRESS chapter for the first time in over two years.
Falcon, no stranger to this ring, has been on a mission to rebuild momentum, her rivalry with Lana Austin still fresh, and now facing the energetic newcomer from her hometown.
Their singles match will be a test of rising ambition against seasoned resilience and is sure to prove a pivotal moment for both women’s futures in PROGRESS.
Charlie Sterling vs. RPD
In what could be the sleeper match of Chapter 181, veteran grit meets fresh brutality. After an incredible run in this year’s Super Strong Style 16, Charlie Sterling defends his PROGRESS singles identity against the newcomer electrifying the independent circuit, RPD. Expect a wrestling‑craft vs pure strikes showdown that could shake up the singles landscape or launch a future star.
This is a matchup built for impact. Don’t miss it.
Four-Way Mayhem
Simon Miller vs. Jack Morris vs. Adam Maxted vs. Charles Crowley
This four-way has been simmering over the past few months and is set to explode in Manchester. Simon Miller returns to the O₂ Ritz off the back of a dominant showing in the Super Strong Style 16 weekend Battle Royal, proving that even without the Proteus Championship, he’s still a force few can outlast.
Jack Morris, the slick technician with Japanese pedigree, brings his NOAH-honed precision and offence that’s had fans buzzing across social media. Then comes the returning Adam Maxted, a man whose absence from PROGRESS has only made his ambition burn brighter. Now back in the mix, Maxted steps into this chaos with something to prove and the confidence to back it.
Rounding out the field is Charles Crowley—part showman, part savage—whose unpredictability and theatrical flair make him a constant danger. At Chapter 181: Far From Ordinary People, it all boils down to momentum, experience, reinvention and raw chaos… but only one of the four will walk away with the win in Manchester.
Don’t miss Chapter 181 – where the ordinary ends, and PROGRESS begins.
Tickets are still available, but for how long? Join us at the O2 Ritz on 29th June – you’ll want to say you were there.
Chapter 181: Far From Ordinary People is shaping up to be anything but ordinary!
Tickets are now on sale for Chapter 181 – Far From Ordinary People, which will take place at the 02 Ritz, Manchester on Sunday 29th June, 3pm start. To purchase tickets for the event, please CLICK HERE.