Yesterday, Grizzled Young Veterans shockingly dethroned Aussie Open to win the PROGRESS tag titles. This marks the team’s third run with those particular titles. The teams’ second reign had been terminated by Aussie Open at Wembley last September. The finish of the match came via submission, to the Shankly Gates.
We're never gonna stop!
From Blackpool down to Camden… pic.twitter.com/8IfaqcEQrB— Zack Gibson (@ZackGibson01) July 28, 2019
Zack Gibson and James Drake have proven themselves to be massively reliable heat magnets. Since first winning the PROGRESS tag titles from CCK in 2017, they have gone from strength to strength. A quick title switcheroo with Jimmy Havoc & Mark Haskins saw them become two-time champs. Their stock rose and rose through that reign to the point that the team transitioned to NXT UK.
Everybody is now familiar with chants of ‘if you hate Gibson stand up…’ etc. With James Drake standing on the sidelines goading the crowd on, like Salacious Crumb by Jabba’s side. They really are a special double act.
The question now is what next for Aussie Open? A tremendous double act on the British scene, they’ve lost two major championships in just over a month. As a piece of pure speculation, you have to wonder whether the Rev Pro tag tournament played a part in this. A bit tinfoil hat, perhaps, but the BritWres scene is increasingly political.
Going forward, as double champions in PROGRESS and NXT UK, things will be very interesting for GYV. A rematch with Aussie Open should be on the cards sooner or later. And a plethora of new match possibilities are available within the company now. Just imagine them taking on: Team White Wolf; Do Not Resuscitate; or LAX! That last one, in particular, is very enticing.
So there we have it. Three-time PROGRESS tag team champions, Grizzled Young Veterans. We love to boo them, but it’s great to have them back. It will be interesting to see what happens as the PROGRESS tag team titles will be defended abroad in Toronto, Ontario Canada next week.
