Sin City Stampede
Date: April 16, 2026
Location: Bizarre Bar, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Cam Hawkins, Dan Miller

This is New Texas Pro, which I’ve looked at before, though they have only impressed me so much in previous viewings. They’re often around for the weekend though so I’ll give them another shot. You never know what you’re going to see on a show like this one so hopefully it works out. Let’s get to it.

We don’t get any opening video, which is odd as they have nice name graphics.

Starboy Charlie/Cosmo Orion/Epydemius Jr. vs. Shimbashi/Dragon Kid/Andrew Cass

Charlie and Cass start things off with Cass flipping out of a headscissors attempt. Charlie’s legsweep doesn’t work and they trade dropkicks for a standoff. Shimbashi and Orion come in with Orion getting planted off a Wasteland. Kid comes off the top to stay on Orion and it’s off to Jr., who sticks the landing on a headscissors.

It’s back to Charlie, who holds Kid for a kick from Cass as things slow down. Charlie’s shooting star press gets two but Kid Stundog Millionaires his way out of trouble. That’s not enough for a tag though as Charlie is back in with a northern lights suplex for two. Jr. hits a standing moonsault for two but Kid manages a quick hurricanrana.

The double tag brings in Shimbashi and Cass as house is quickly cleaned. Everything breaks down and Charlie snaps off a headscissors. Jr. is back up with a corkscrew moonsault to Shimbashi. That’s shrugged off as Shimbashi knees Charlie into a lifting DDT for two, with Orion making the save. Everything stays broken down and Kid’s crucifix finishes Orion for the pin at 10:38.

Rating: B-. It was a fast paced match to start things off and that’s always going to work. I’m not sure how many of these people are regular stars in New Texas but that’s the point of a show like this at this time of the year. Nice stuff here, though I’m kind of surprised that a WWE ID talent was on the losing team.

Post match Shimbashi praises Dragon Kid for everything he has done to get us here. Orion says something similar.

1 Called Manders vs. Timur The Great

Manders gives the referee his hat and flips Timur off as we’re ready to go. They fight over a lockup with Timur actually giving him a clean break in the corner. Timur knocks him down though and Manders bails outside to avoid a suplex. That’s fine with Timur, who follows him out for some chops against the…well chair. Manders’ chop only hits post but he’s able to fire off more chops back inside.

They trade clothesline for a double down and the fans seem to approve. An exchange of chops (again) goes from their knees to their feet until Timur sends him into the corner for a splash. A powerslam gives Timur two but Manders is back with an Oklahoma (so he’s a heel here) stampede for the same. The big lariat is countered with a spear but Manders hits the big lariat (mach two) into an elbow drop for the pin at 9:34.

Rating: C+. I still like Manders a good deal and he is a regular on the Wrestlemania Week circuit. It was nice to see someone wrestle a bit more old school Texas style match, or at least as close as you can get to one, with the striking and laying it in. That’s where Manders tends to shine and Timur was there to hang with him the whole way. At the same time, it was a nice change of pace after the very different opener, which is a good idea.

Jak Galloway vs. Jackpot J-Rok vs. Prince Kxriuki vs. Chris Marcell vs. Devin Carter vs. Ethan Hunter vs. Travis Cudi

Scramble of course…and apparently this has staggered entrances as it’s Prince vs. Cudi to start things off. They trade some respect until Prince knocks him hard into the corner. Cudi rolls away from him and they trade some rapid fire rollups for two each. Prince sends him hard into the corner and Cudi nails a side kick.

Marcell is in at #3 and easily runs Cudi over with a shoulder. A belly to belly gets two with Prince making a save. Marcell misses a charge into the corner and J-Rok is in at #4. Naturally he gets to clean house but Cudi blocks a Code Red. Instead J-Rok hits a double moonsault to Prince as Galloway is in at #5.

The entrances speed way up as Hunter is in at #6 about ten seconds later and cleans house as well. J-Rok is down in the corner so three people go up for Coast To Coast dropkicks at the same time (and he’s dead). Carter is in at #7 and wrestles in women’s underwear, complete with some additional spanking. We get a parade of knockdowns, with Carter rather enjoying hitting a Bronco Buster. Carter fires off some kicks but gets caught in a package piledriver to give Hunter the pin at 10:05.

Rating: C+. The staggered entrances helped SO MUCH here as it let some of the wrestlers have a chance to showcase themselves a bit. If nothing else, it’s a lot better than having seven wrestlers running around all at once with no way of keeping track what is going on. This still wasn’t great, but it could have been FAR worse given how some scrambles tend to go.

The ring announcer plugs socials and some kind of deal you can get.

Vin Massaro vs. Oli Summers

Massaro is rather Italian and Summers is lovestruck (whatever that means). We get a hug to start and they touch hands before locking up. Summers takes him down to start and hits a basement clothesline as commentary talks about the greatness that is this week. Back up and Massaro pulls him hard out of the corner, setting up the chinlock.

Quite the elbow drop gives Massaro two but Summers gets the boots up in the corner. Summers knees his way out of a belly to back suplex and a belly to belly gets two. Massaro t-bones him for the same but Summers does one better with a straitjacket German suplex. The pace picks up as they trade rollups for two each until Massaro ties him up for the pin at 9:20.

Rating: C+. Yeah it was fine. That’s about all there is to this one as it was a basic match where they didn’t embarrass themselves and the ending was pretty nice. The best thing here was Massaro’s rather catchy theme, which thankfully we get to hear again after the match. This was just a random match and while it was fine, it wasn’t anything beyond that.

Post match Massaro uses the same rollup to pin the referee so Summers can learn it. Summers demonstrates it as well.

Adam Priest vs. Dustin Nguyen

Nguyen is into martial arts and commentary doesn’t think he’s going to be much trouble for Priest. They pose at each other until Priest takes his belt off and wraps it around his head. Then he slaps Nguyen in the face, earning a leg lariat for being rude. A basement dropkick gives Nguyen two and there’s another kick to the back for the same. Priest snaps off a DDT and kicks him in the back before going with a more basic rip at the face.

A camel clutch (with more face ripping) has Nguyen in more trouble and Priest catapults him throat first into the bottom rope. Back up and Priest’s brainbuster gets two (Commentary: “That’s not much of a brain to bust.”) but Nguyen kicks him out of the air. A leg lariat connects for Nguyen and a snapdragon follows, with Priest getting a foot on the rope. Nguyen misses a big strike but manages to kick Priest out to the floor. Back in and Priest chop blocks him down, setting up a half crab for the tap at 8:37.

Rating: C+. This was mostly goofy fun as Priest played with his food, got in a bit of trouble, and then finished him off without much effort. That’s all the match needed to be as commentary wasn’t exactly selling Nguyen as a big threat. Priest is a bigger deal due to his time on AEW so this had some star power. And ninja skills to make it even better.

Tag Team Titles: Dream Team vs. Toxic Tour vs. Meat Market vs. LJV/Maya World

The Dream Team (Danny King/KC Kr’eme) is defending against the Tour (Pac Ortega/Prince Ly) and the Market (Cutlet/Isaiah Morales). Oh and LJV and World but their names are a bit easier to remember. World and King start things off but LJV tags himself in and gets headlocked down by King. KC tags himself in for a nice dropkick but World takes over on him in the corner.

World gets slammed onto KC and Ortega comes in to send him hard into the corner. The rather needed tag brings in King to clean house but Morales cuts him off rather quickly. Cutlet it in for a double chop to King and it’s off to the Meat Train, with everyone (well almost everyone) dropping elbows on King. Somehow King gets up to hit a Backstabber on Ortega and it’s World coming in as everything breaks down.

LJV takes Ly out but the Tour is back up with a Shatter Machine to LJV with the champs making a save. A wheelbarrow bulldog gets two on Morales and a top rope double stomp/Big Ending drops King for two more. LJV knees King for two and a 450 connects (impressive as LJV is pretty tall)…and then LJV knees World down. A Michinoku Driver drops World again and an assisted DDT lets King pin Cutlet to retain at 11:48.

Rating: B-. It was pretty much the match you would expect, with all kinds of people running around and a not so easy task of keeping up with who was whom. The turn near the end was a big angle for the match and I’m sure World and LJV will have a big fight as a result. The champs retaining is fine and at least they had a lot to sweat on the way there.

Dimitri Alexandrov vs. Ishin

They fight over wrist control to start and go to the mat for a rollup into a standoff. Ishin shakes hands with the referee (nice guy) and does the same to Alexandrov, which means a kick to the ribs (smart guy). Alexandrov is back with a slam and basement clothesline for two so Ishin bails out to the floor. Back in and Ishin grabs a triangle choke, followed by a running shoulder to drop Alexandrov again.

A quick fisherman’s suplex takes Ishin down for two but he one ups Alexandrov with a superplex. Back up and a discus lariat connects for Alexandrov and they’re both down. Naturally that means the exchange of forearms until Ishin plants him with a DDT. Ishin’s frog splash gets two so Alexandrov discus lariats him for the same. A suplex slam gives Alexandrov the pin at 8:40.

Rating: B-. I’m not overly familiar with these two but they beat the heck out of each other and had a nice match in the process. This is the kind of thing that I love about the week as you get to see all kinds of wrestlers you might not see otherwise. Alexandrov had a nice presence about him and I liked this rather well.

Raychell Rose interrupts the announcement of the next match and rants a lot. She’s interrupted as well and it seems we’re ready to go.

Raychell Rose vs. Kitti Hisatomi

They seem to have a history and Hisatomi sends her hard into the corner for a shoulder to the ribs. Rose is back with a knee and a World’s Strongest Slam gets two. Rose’s running kick misses though and she hammers on Hisatomi…who jackknifes her for the pin at 1:45.

Women’s Title: Gabby Forza vs. Charity King

King is defending and I’m not sure why Forza is wearing a dunce cap. King gets a dunce cap of her own and they pose together before giving them to the referee, who poses with them as well. With that out of the way, they lock up and take turns backing each other into the corner.

The exchange of shoulders doesn’t go anywhere and they yell at each other a lot as I’m getting mixed emotional messages from this match. King gets the better of a collision to take over but gets dropkicked hard into the corner. Forza fires off some clothesline in a different corner, including one after a cartwheel.

A charge misses for Forza though and King grabs a belly to back suplex. King grabs a string of slams and they trade some big forearms. A full nelson slam gives King two and Forza’s Alabama Slam gets the same. King catches her going up top though and powerbombs her down for a rather near fall (I bought that one). Forza hits a spear, only to have her suplex reversed into a World’s Strongest Slam to retain the title at 11:24.

Rating: B-. I have no idea what the opening with the dunce cap was about but this turned into a nice power match with the two of them hitting the other with one big spot after another. It didn’t quite hit that top level stuff but at least it was something different than what we’ve been seeing tonight. That always helps and it did so again here.

The ring announcer has the fans slap the mat to hype things up for the main event.

New Texas Pro Title: Bryan Keith vs. Danny Orion

Orion is defending for the first time while Keith is the longest reigning champion in the title’s history. They take their time starting with the grappling and that’s an early standoff. Orion takes him down and the pace picks up, with Orion flipping over Keith and hitting a dropkick. Keith boots him in the face and sends him outside, meaning it’s time to fire off some chops on the floor.

Keith’s chop most hits the post but he stops himself in time and slaps Orion in the back of the head. They get back in with Orion breaking out of a double underhook and firing off some chops. Keith gets sent face first into the corner and Orion grabs a Boston crab. With that broken up, Orion knocks him down again and adds a slingshot corkscrew splash for two.

The fans are still behind Keith, which is the problem with a legend challenging. We’re about eight minutes in and get the ten minutes remaining call, which isn’t a great sign. Orion rolls out of a sunset flip and fires off some kicks to the head but gets caught in a spinning powerbomb. Back up and they chop it out (rather hard at that) until Orion knocks him into the corner.

Keith snaps off the tiger driver for two more before taking him up top with five minutes left. Orion gets back down and grabs a straitjacket German suplex for two. We’re down to two minutes as they stare each other down, with Keith pulling his hair. Another tiger driver is blocked so they chop it out again, with Keith grabbing an emerald tiger driver for a rather near fall. Time runs out at 15:42.

Rating: B-. What in the world was that? I’m guessing they just mistimed the 42 second part, but what in the world was the thinking behind having a main event World Title match with a fifteen minute time limit? They completely telegraphed it just a few minutes in and it was almost all downhill from there. The idea of the match was fine, but it’s hard to get into some big struggle after something that didn’t even last as long as an episode of Doug.

They seem to want to keep fighting but some seconds have to be separated as the ring announcer explains that the match is over to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: C+. That ending left a bad taste in my mouth as it felt like they ran out of time and just went with it instead of doing something that made more sense. The rest of the show was perfectly ok, though there isn’t anything that you need to go out of your way to see. It’s an improvement from what I’ve seen the promotion do before though and that’s a nice enough success. Not a bad show, but nothing worth special attention.

Results
Shimbashi/Dragon Kid/Andrew Cass b. Starboy Charlie/Cosmo Orion/Epydemius Jr. – Crucifix to Orion
1 Called Manders b. Timur The Great – Elbow drop
Travis Hunter b. Jak Galloway, Jackpot J-Rok, Prince Kxriuki, Chris Marcell, Devin Carter and Travis Cudi – Package piledriver to Carter
Vin Massaro b. Oli Summers – Arm trap rollup
Adam Priest b. Dustin Nguyen – Half crab
Dream Team b. Toxic Tour, Meat Market and LJV/Maya World – Assisted DDT to Cutlet
Dimitri Alexandrov b. Ishin – Suplex slam
Kitti Hisatomi b. Raychell Rose – Jackknife rollup
Charity King b. Gabby Forza – World’s Strongest Slam
Danny Orion vs. Bryan Keith went to a time limit draw

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Smackdown
Date: April 17, 2026
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Corey Graves, Joe Tessitore

Well, it’s a day before Wrestlemania and I’m not sure how much can be done to help the show. The big story continues to be Randy Orton with Pat McAfee vs. Cody Rhodes and…what are they supposed to do to make that work? This show is almost always light on wrestling and heavy on talking, but we do at least have the Andre Battle Royal. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a variety of wrestlers (and Jelly Roll) talking about various big Wrestlemania moments that meant the most to them over the years. This was good stuff and could have been on the Wrestlemania broadcast.

Randy Orton and Pat McAfee arrive, with Nick Aldis showing up with a contract for McAfee. He has to look at it before he signs it…and then signs it anyway. Orton is off to say something while Aldis can park McAfee’s truck.

Here is Orton for a chat. Orton gets to the point: he doesn’t need McAfee around but he wants him there. McAfee is the one who tells him what he needs to hear, which is how we got here. Orton talks about how he was ready to face Drew McIntyre for the title but then Rhodes became champion.

Then Rhodes told Orton to be himself and WHO DOES RHODES THINK HE IS TO SAY THAT??? Rhodes does nothing but take, like needing Seth Rollins at Wrestlemania XL, which got Orton put through a table. Then he gave Kevin Owens a title shot and Orton got attacked again. Now Orton is going to take something with an RKO.

Orton and McAfee leave, with Nick Aldis left holding the contract. That could be interesting.

MFT’s vs. Wyatt Sicks

Street fight so it’s a big brawl to start (of course) with the Wyatts clearing the ring early on. Rowan teases a dive but gets pulled outside, where Talla gets in a shot of his own. Talla grabs the steps and wrecks Gacy and Lumis before tossing them right at Rowan’s head (that always looks great).

We take a break and come back with Howdy getting stomped down in the corner until Gacy is back in for the save. Lumis nips up for a legdrop but Mateo is back in to start wrecking people. Talla does the same until Rowan is there to knock him outside. Rowan’s big dive connects and let’s get the weapons. The Wyatts clean house again and we take another break.

We come back again with Howdy cleaning house with a chair, with Sikoa being release Rock Bottomed onto said chair. Nikki Cross hits a dive of her own but Talla breaks up the Sister Abigail. A Superfly Splash gives Sikoa two but Gacy and Lumis are back in for the save. Rowan and Talla crash to the floor, with Rowan coming up holding his knee. Tama loads up the Cutthroat but Sikoa quickly Spikes Howdy for the pin at 14:36.

Rating: B. That ending seems designed to sew some tension in the MFT’s, which isn’t exactly a surprise. The MFT’s winning is a bit of a surprise but there is a good chance that this somehow isn’t over yet. That makes for some interesting options, though Tama splitting off is an intriguing concept.

R-Truth and Damian Priest are still confused over who is running around cursing people. It might be New Day, Asuka or Grayson Waller. It turns out they have a title defense tonight, which is news to Priest.

Earlier this week, Miz and Maryse were renewing their wedding vows, with Kit Wilson officiating…when Danhausen popped in. Danhausen says he’s ring bearer and maid of honor and maid of honor before cursing Maryse. This causes her to get hit in the face with some cake.

Video on Royce Keys losing his mother to an overdose and she never saw her kids getting to do what they loved. He wants to make her proud. This is quite the emotional video and that’s a good thing. Now let Keys do some more stuff in the ring.

We look at Drew McIntyre attacking Jacob Fatu last week.

A police car drives into the arena and it’s Fatu driving. Yeah he used to be a criminal but he’s changed his life. No he didn’t mind being put in handcuffs last week because he’s not that person anymore. Tomorrow it’s unsanctioned so there is no one to save McIntyre this time. McIntyre wants to put him back in the jail cell but that’s in the rear view. After Wrestlemania, McIntyre is in his rear view mirror too because tomorrow, it’s a beating.

Alexa Bliss and Charlotte want to win the titles tomorrow but they want to win tonight too. Charlotte wants the title more than friendship, which doesn’t seem to surprise Bliss.

We look at the Wrestlemania set reveal.

Tag Team Titles: R-Truth/Damian Priest vs. Grayson Waller/Kofi Kingston

R-Truth and Priest are defending in quite the random match. I’m going to assume R-Truth mentioned this in his talk earlier but….yeah it’s kind of easy to get lost listening to him. Waller slugs away at Priest to start and gets kicked in the face for his efforts. Priest sends him flying into the corner and hammers away before handing it off to R-Truth. Waller manages to knock R-Truth down but runs into Priest, with Kingston making a quick save.

We take a break and come back with R-Truth still in trouble but the illegal Waller’s cover not counting. Kingston isn’t happy with Waller and gets sent into him, allowing the tag back to Priest. House is quickly cleaned…and R-Truth gets on the apron for the tag from Kingston. R-Truth initiates John Cena’s finishing sequence and the champs hit stereo Shuffles. An elevated Little Jimmy retains the titles at 9:25.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of match that fits in perfectly on this show as it’s not like there was any doubt about the titles changing, but R-Truth and Priest got to do their thing. There were some stakes to the match and it was fine enough all things considered. If nothing else, it was nice to see the match get some extra time, which it probably wouldn’t have gotten on a regular Smackdown.

Video on Cody Rhodes vs. Pat McAfee from last week, with Randy Orton attacking Jelly Roll.

Here is Jade Cargill, with Michin and B-Fab, for a chat. Well she would be but here is Rhea Ripley to interrupt instead. Ripley could lay Cargill out right now but she doesn’t want Cargill to have any excuses at Wrestlemania. She accuses Cargill of hiding in any way she could find so this is Cargill’s last chance to say something to Ripley alone.

Cargill mocks the idea of being scared of some cosplaying goth girl. Ripley has had her way around here because of the weak locker room. If Ripley keeps talking, Cargill will make it quick at Wrestlemania. Ripley laughs off the idea that she wants to be like Cargill and says her insecurities are the reason she is the woman she is today. They go face to face and Cargill walks away.

Solo Sikoa says they won as a team and now Talla Tonga needs to win the Andre. Now though, it’s time to get the Tag Team Titles back. That’s what Tama Tonga wanted, but he doesn’t seem thrilled.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Jordynne Grace

For a Women’s US Title shot and I had forgotten Grace was on the main roster. Giulia and Kiana James are at ringside and we get a handshake before we’re ready to go. Stratton gets an early rollup for two and they’re right back up for a standoff. Grace sends her into the ropes, with Stratton flipping away with ease. Grace goes strong with an electric chair drop onto the rope and a clothesline for two.

We take a break and come back with Stratton reversing a suplex into a DDT to leave them both down. Grace can’t hit a powerbomb but Stratton can elbow her in the face, setting up a basement dropkick for two. Back up and Grace ties her in the ropes for some rapid fire headbutts, followed by a package powerbomb for two more. Stratton is back with a handspring Stunner into the Prettiest Moonsault Ever for the pin at 8:05.

Rating: C+. I was a bit surprised by the match as I had thought Stratton already was the #1 contender given how much she’s been around Giulia as of late. If nothing else it’s nice to see someone wanting to be the champion, which still doesn’t have much of a history. This was a perfectly decent match, though DANG Grace has felt like nothing in WWE.

Here is Trick Williams for a chat. He’s not happy with Sami Zayn, who went too far last week by going after Lil Yachty. Zayn hurt his friend last week and that hurt something much bigger: it hurt Williams’ Wrestlemania entrance! Williams wants Zayn out here right now…but he gets a gingerbread man instead, with Williams having quite the laugh. Williams thinks Zayn’s friends might be on Drury Lane but here is Zayn to interrupt.

Zayn says he’s not having a good time with this and hasn’t in a long time. What exactly did he do wrong? He doesn’t know and he doesn’t care, because this is for the ride or die Zayn fans. Those people will be in his corner at Wrestlemania and beyond…but can this Gingerbread Man get away? Zayn says that Williams has talked a lot but hasn’t shown Zayn anything in the ring. All Zayn sees is a little punk rookie about to walk into his first Wrestlemania with one of the best ever.

Williams says he is the plan and that he sees two gingerbread men. The fight is on with Zayn Helluva Kicking the Gingerbread Man but getting taken down by Williams, who holds up the title. They’ve basically done the double turn now and that’s what it should be. Williams is on fire right now so go with him.

Video on the four way Women’s Tag Team Title match, with the Bellas saying Nikki is still hurt. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria and the Irresistible Forces are ready, sans injuries.

Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria

They start fast…and the Irresistible Forces run in for the DQ at 30 seconds. As dumb as that might have been, it’s not like the match needs any more build.

Post match the Forces lay everyone out.

Video on Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi.

Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal

Royce Keys, Axiom, Psycho Clown, Zack Ryder, Ilja Dragunov, Shinsuke Nakamura, Johnny Gargano, Joe Hendry, Rey Fenix, Berto, Angel, La Parka, Otis, Kit Wilson, Original El Grande Americano, Alex Shelley, Aleister Black, Shiloh Hill, Chris Sabin, Nathan Frazer, Talla Tonga, El Grande Americano, Apollo Crews, Akira Tozawa, Cruz del Toro, Joaquin Wilde

It’s a brawl to start with Gargano laying on the mat…where Wilson trips over him to eliminate himself. Eh I chuckled, but then again I like Wilson. Frazer and Sabin brawl to the apron and Gargano gets rid of Frazer, with Sabin following. Talla dumps both Americanos and it’s Hill vs. Dragunov in the middle.

Dragunov kicks Hill out and Los Garza get rid of Parka. Fenix gets rid of Berto and Psycho Clown goes, uh, psycho, only to get clotheslined out by Keys. Gargano slingshot DDTs Axiom out and runs into Shelley on the apron. Fenix kicks Shelley out and Nakamura does the same to Crews. Hendry stops to pose and gets dumped by Black (that’s a natural feud). Talla tosses del Toro and Wilde with ease and it’s time for everyone to go after the giant.

Talla shrugs that off and chokeslams Fenix onto the apron for an elimination. A bunch of strikes drop Talla but Black throws Nakamura out. Black kicks Dragunov out as well and Black Mass is enough to eliminate Tozawa. Otis runs Black over and tosses Angel as Gargano drops to the mat again.

That’s an easy elimination for Otis and Cardona gets the same treatment. We’re down to Otis, Talla, Black and Keys, with Black kicking Otis down in a hurry. Keys throws Black out so Otis runs the other two over. Talla kicks Otis in the face though and we’re down to Talla vs. Keys. The spinebuster plants Talla and Keys wins at 10:01.

Rating: B-. Ok then. I said do something with him and while the track record for winners is hit and miss for these things, that is certainly a notable win. The rest of the match went by quickly enough and it was the kind of match that gets people around Wrestlemania. I was looking forward to this and that’s a nice feeling, as it means we’re at the biggest time of the year and with the right winner.

Wrestlemania rundown.

Video on CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns.

Here is Cody Rhodes for the big final speech. We’re not going to talk about the last three Wrestlemanias and the theory that someone is needling him. Tomorrow is simple: it’s two men having a match for the most important prize in this business. Earlier tonight, Orton was out here talking about Rhodes always taking things. That’s interesting as Orton has never taken responsibility for anything.

As good as wrestling has become…and here is CM Punk to interrupt. Rhodes: “Champ to champ and friend to friend, if I shake your hands and we hug right now, are you going to turn on me and kick me in the balls too?” They take some shots at each others’ formal wear due to the Hall Of Fame ceremony tonight, with Punk saying he hasn’t been in a suit on WWE TV since Teddy Long’s wedding.

Punk says he isn’t Rhodes’ teacher now but on Monday, the two of them will be there and he wants the fans to be there too. Go get it done tomorrow and have some fun. Punk goes to leave but Rhodes says hang on. This Sunday, Punk is up against someone who is so good they’ve had to invent names for him.

Punk wasn’t born into this like Reigns and Rhodes were but Punk came here because WWE wanted him. Now Punk is back and better than ever and making a case to be the new Mr. Wrestlemania. Rhodes thanks him for everything he’s done and Dusty would be proud of Punk (that has Rhodes near tears). Punk thanks him and they go into the crowd to celebrate with the people.

We get what looks like the opening video to Wrestlemania, as narrated by Lin Manuel Miranda. It’s about being there for the moments and how one day, you’ll tell your kids about where you were this weekend when more moments take place and more memories are made. Great stuff here, as WWE knows how to turn up the nostalgia.

Overall Rating: C+. This is one of the most unique shows of the year every single year and you know what you’re getting with it. The wrestling is usually a few midcard matches to go along with the battle royal and a lot of talking about Wrestlemania. That’s exactly what we got here and the show was completely acceptable for what it was supposed to be. It’s little more than a big Wrestlemania preshow and tomorrow the real stuff starts. In other words, this was the Wrestlemania Week Smackdown.

Results
MFT’s b. Wyatt Sicks – Samoan Spike to Howdy
R-Truth/Damian Priest b. Kofi Kingston/Grayson Waller – Elevated Little Jimmy to Waller
Tiffany Stratton b. Jordynne Grace – Prettiest Moonsault Ever
Charlotte/Alexa Bliss b. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria via DQ when the Irresistible Forces interfered
Royce Keys won the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal last eliminating Talla Tonga

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

CWC vs. The World 2026
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: FSW Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Chad Kalina, Rocco McSweets

This is the Colorado Wrestling Connection as I like to get in some of the smaller promotions as well. I have a grand total of no idea what this is going to include but that’s part of the point of this week. My money would be on the world in this kind of a battle but I’ve been surprised before. Let’s get to it.

There appear to be less than 100 people here.

The host welcomes the CWC owner, who hypes up all of the titles on the line, including many from outside of the CWC. He talks about a six man tag but a monster team called Stand On Business interrupt. One of them says they own the CWC and another wrestling promotion in Colorado, which brings out presumably their opponents to start fast.

Tag Team Titles: Stand On Business vs. Justin Andrews/Marlion Bishop

Business is defending. The camera is handheld and it feels like things are clipped a bit here and there. Andrews sends Dorian Maddox into the barricade but Andrews’ partner gets cut of, meaning Andrews is beaten down in the corner. Maddox’s partner (seems to be Papa Lypto) comes in to kick Andrews in the back of the head.

Maddox hits a Rock Bottom for two, followed by a spinebuster for…well not two as there’s no cover. Maddox’s Old School is blocked but he’s fine enough to hit an elbow to the face. Lypto grabs a choke, which is quickly broken up for the tag to Bishop. House is quickly cleaned and the rather muscular Bishop hits a Big Bang Catastrophe for the pin and the titles (with Andrews getting a pin of his own) at 7:30.

Rating: C. It was a very basic match but they played the formula well enough. The problem here comes down to I have pretty much no idea what is going on with these people or who they are, but I was able to pick up enough from commentary and what I could see. It’s not a great opener, but starting with a title change is often a smart way to go.

Reality Of Wrestling Women’s Title: Dani Mo vs. Lady Bird Monroe

Monroe is defending. They grapple around to start with Monroe grabbing a Sling Blade. A Regal Roll puts Mo down but Mo pulls her off the ropes for a crash. Mo’s backflip splash (not really a moonsault as it didn’t include any jumping) gets two and Mo slams her for two. There’s a fall away slam to Monroe and we hit the chinlock.

One heck of a clothesline sets up a leglock to keep Monroe in trouble but she’s back up for a double knockdown. Monroe wins a chop off and snaps off a powerslam, setting up a moonsault for two. Mo’s belly to belly into a Vader Bomb gets two but Monroe is back up with an AA. A Swanton retains at 7:31.

Rating: C+. It was better than the opener as you could keep track of what was going on as it’s a simple enough story. Monroe is the easy to cheer for heroine while Mo is more of the monster coming for the title. I liked this well enough and it was nice to have a guest star, with Monroe getting to showcase herself rather well.

Heritage Title: Manny Lemons vs. Ryzin

Lemons (with his two other belts) is defending and Ryzin is a ringmaster (complete with whip). Ryzin teases using the whip to start but settles for choking using Lemons’ own boa instead. Lemons fights up and hammers away in the corner, with the fans rather approving. A cheap shot out of the corner puts Lemons back down and Ryzin drops a leg for two. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by a boot scrape across the eyes. Lemons avoids a moonsault though and fires back, only to get caught with a superkick. Ryzin gets crotched on top and slammed down, meaning the Lemon Drop (fireman’s carry slam) retains at 5:54.

Rating: C. I could go for seeing a bit more of Ryzin, as his gimmick and look are enough to stand out a bit. Lemons felt like a standard slightly silly star and that’s not a terrible way to go. Commentary suggested that these two had a lot of history together but you wouldn’t have imagined it here, as it felt like a pretty basic match.

United Wrestling Network Tag Team Titles: 5150 vs. Delta Jr./Toxin

5150 (Slice Boogie/Danny Limelight) is defending, at least after some confusion over which match was next, with the ring announcer saying the owner set her up for sabotage. The champs jump them to start fast but get knocked into the corner. Toxin grabs a chinlock but Boogie comes in for a cheap shot to take over.

Back up and Toxin is sent into the corner and a snapmare sets up a rolling knee. Toxin makes Limelight kick Boogie in the face and then helps Delta hit a kick to the floor. Commentary says they’re lost as everything breaks down. With Toxin sent outside, a piledriver/superkick combination gets two but Toxin runs in for the save. Delta grabs standing crossface kind of thing but Boogie rips his mask off and steals the retaining pin at 7:18.

Rating: C+. The “heel takes the mask off and gets the pin” finish needs to go away for a long, long time. It’s just so cliched these days and that was the case again here. I don’t need a get out of a lucha match free spot like that and it doesn’t offer anything new. The match was ok, though neither team stood out for the most part.

CWC Women’s Title/CSW Women’s Title: Hussy Steele vs. Pixi Pulsing

Title for title. Steele (who has a bad ankle coming in) tackles her down to start fast but gets elbowed in the face. A running Downward Spiral sends Pulsing out to the floor so she charges back inside, where Steele grabs a backbreaker. Pulsing gets smart by going after the ankle and a brainbuster drops her again. A Vader Bomb gives Pulsing two but Steele manages a crane kick of all things.

They forearm it out from their knees until Pulsing knocks her into the corner, crushing the referee in the process. The referee is down and Pulsing grabs a studded belt to whip Steele. Pulsing goes up and calmly shoves off a Stratusfaction attempt. Steele grabs a German suplex for no count and hits something like a reverse Nightmare On Helm Street. A triangle choke makes Pulsing tap at 10:24.

Rating: C+. Neither of them tore the house down here but Steele working through the injury and fighting for the win was good stuff. Steele sold the leg well, though Pulsing didn’t feel like she was really going after the leg full blast. I do like the title changing hands though, as it actually feels like a big deal, which should be the case here.

Post match Steele is happy with her win.

Bret The Threat vs. Royce Isaacs

Tom Lawlor and Josh Barnett are here too, making the seconds more interesting than the wrestlers themselves. They go straight to the grappling (of course) with neither being able to get a hold so they get back up. Isaacs goes for the leg but Bret keeps spinning around to escape. Back up and Isaacs kicks at the leg before they trade some chops. A suplex sends Bret flying but he’s right back with a leglock to slow Isaacs down for a change.

An ankle lock sends Bret over to the rope but he escapes for a kick to the face. Isaacs is back up with a German suplex into a leglock, sending Bret back to the rope. Bret’s ankle lock works a bit better so Isaacs rolls him into a cradle for two. A brainbuster gives Isaacs the same but Bret flips out of a reverse dragon sleeper. Bret tries an armbar, which is reversed into a Texas Cloverleaf for the tap at 10:47.

Rating: B. I wasn’t expecting this but they wound up having a heck of a match and that’s a great thing to see. This was all about the grappling and striking with little in the way otherwise. It worked very well and felt so different than anything else on the show. Good stuff here, even with the biggest names on the floor.

Trios Titles: AMF vs. Hybrid Hit Squad

AMF (America’s Most Famous, the combined forces of Michael Avalon, Frankie Gonzalez and Audric Gallegos) is defending against Codah Alexander/Mikey O’Shea/Jack Moody…and we lose the signal. Commentary can be heard scrambling to get it back on and after about two and a half minutes away, we come back to a split screen and then the regular feed (commentary apologizes and fair enough as these things do happen) with the match joined in progress.

Moody rolls Avalon up for two and it’s off to the rather large O’Shea, who manages a knockdown. Avalon gets dropped with a suplex and it’s off to Gonzalez to knee away at Alexander. Three straight backsplashes give Gonzalez two but Alexander fights back, allowing Moody to go after the arm. Gonzalez comes back in to knee Alexander in the face and a double basement dropkick has him down again. Avalon rolls him around into an Angle Slam for two, followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb for the same.

They clothesline each other down though and it’s a double breather. The camera gets knocked down as O’Shea (by far the biggest man in the match) is in to clean house. Everything breaks down and O’Shea teases a dive but opts for a drop down into a double spank instead. Alexander hits a top rope clothesline…and AMF steals the referee’s glasses. That means she can’t see Avalon bring in a belt (that’s kind of brilliant) but Moody takes it away, only to hit Alexander on purpose. Avalon gets the easy pin to retain at 13:52.

Rating: C+. The ending was a twist and felt like a surprise, though I was more impressed by the glasses stealing deal. That’s not something you often see and I can appreciate thinking outside of the box like that. The rest of the match wasn’t bad, with O’Shea being different enough to really sand out. Nice job with some good thinking.

Colorado Springs Wrestling Title: Niles Blood vs. Sam Stackhouse

Stackhouse (who has to weigh close to 500lbs) is defending in a Last Man Standing match. Apparently Stackhouse is some kind of a big traitor, with commentary hating him for something he has done. A spinwheel kick puts Blood down fast and the beating is on as commentary talks about Stackhouse being Blood’s former friend when Blood won the title and then turning on him.

Stackhouse sends him into the post and talks a lot of trash, with commentary hating him even more each time. Blood is already bleeding but beats the count so Stackhouse puts him in a chair in the corner. The Cannonball only hits (and crushes) the chair but Stackhouse is up again. Blood hammers him down in the corner again and hits him with a trashcan, followed by a DDT onto the trashcan for another near count.

A running dropkick drives a chair into Stackhouse’s head for nine but he gets a boot up in the corner. Stackhouse, also busted open, manages an ax kick and sits in the chair as Blood tries to get up. That’s quite the target so Blood is back up with a superkick to knock him out of the chair. Stackhouse tries to tie Blood in the corner but another wrestler, apparently out with an injury, runs in for a distraction. Blood grabs a Heatseeker onto a chair for nine so he uses the rope to choke Stackhouse out for the title at 15:16.

Rating: C+. Well, they didn’t go too insane with the weapons here and that helped a lot. I’ll take this kind of violence over the deathmatch nonsense any day, as this was more about two men that hated each other wanting to hurt the other. It might not have been great but there was a story to it and since they haven’t done this stuff all night, it had more of an impact.

Post match Blood grabs the mic and thanks the crowd.

CWC Title: Duke Lawrence vs. Lonnie Valdez

Valdez is defending but Lawrence (hometown star) has a title of his own, which might be some kind of interim thing. Lawrence low bridges him to the floor and hits a big running flip dive, only for the bigger Lawrence to grab a rather delayed vertical suplex back inside. A big toss sends Valdez flying and they go outside for some rather loud chops. Valdez’s comeback doesn’t last long but he’s able to send Lawrence into the post.

Back in and Valdez takes out the leg before starting in on the arm. The arm is sent into the mat and the Fujiwara armbar goes on. Lawrence fights up and hits a heck of a clothesline but Valdez knocks him down again. The Swanton gives Valdez two so he hits it again, only for a third to hit knees. A spinning powerslam gives Lawrence the pin and the title at 10:36.

Rating: C. The match was good enough, though I’m not entirely clear what is going on with the whole double titles thing. What matters is that they had a big moment in the main event, which is hard to do. I’m not sure what the story was supposed to be here either as neither of them felt like a villain, but Lawrence getting the win seemed to be a popular enough result.

The host (she was rather good and had a charm to her so nice find with her in this role) thanks us for coming out and tells us about another show next month.

Overall Rating: C+. I wasn’t expecting much of anything and got an ok show here, which I’ll take. There are some weak points to this show but the good parts (Last Man Standing, the technical match and the host) were enough to put it just over the top. It needed some better commentary to explain some things (along with any kind of name graphics) but I did like the variety of things we saw. I can go with having all of the guest stars coming and CWC wrestlers fighting over various titles, as the roster can’t be that deep in the first place. I wouldn’t call it good, but I’d call it good enough all things considered.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Wrestlemania XLI Night Two
Date: April 20, 2025
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Michael Cole, Pat McAfee, Wade Barrett
Star Spangled Banner: Ava Max

It’s the second night of the show and in this case it’s going to be a bit of an odd card. The big main event is Cody Rhodes defending the Smackdown World Title against the now evil John Cena, which sounds good on paper but it might wind up being quite the mess. Other than that, we have a triple threat for the Raw Women’s Title which sounds promising. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is a recap of last night’s show, followed by a preview for tonight. This is rather generic by Wrestlemania standards.

Here is Stephanie McMahon to get things going. She talks about Wrestlemania IX happening when she was 16 years old and now she’s here with her 16 year old daughter. Anyway welcome to the show.

Raw Women’s Title: Iyo Sky vs. Rhea Ripley vs. Bianca Belair

Sky is defending. Belair won the Elimination Chamber but Ripley stole the contract and signed it herself (as contracts in wrestling are weird) but Belair was guest referee. It ended in a double DQ so here’s the triple threat. Belair has a double dutch team and a bunch of young girls, which feels like it has to be a charity thing (cool). Ripley gets a ridiculous reaction and is definitely the crowd favorite.

Sky breaks up their staredown to start because she’s tired of being an afterthought. A nice hurricanrana takes Ripley down but she’s right back up with a dropkick to send Ripley outside. That gives us Belair vs. Ripley, with Belair sending her into the corner to hammer away. Sky is back in with a double Blockbuster and Ripley is sent outside,, allowing Belair to roll some suplexes.

Ripley breaks up Belair’s handspring but Belair catches a diving Sky and swings her into the barricade. Back in and Belair has to save Sky from the Prism Trap so they go to the corner for a kind of backwards Tower of Doom. Sky is back up to drop Ripley but gets caught with Belair’s 450. Ripley makes the save and grabs the Riptide for two on Belair and she’s shocked at the kickout. Sky reverses a Riptide into a DDT and puts Ripley on top. Ripley’s super Riptide is countered into a headscissors but Over The Moonsault hits raised boots.

The KOD hits Sky but Ripley makes the save, leaving everyone down. Belair yells at Ripley and gets knocked outside as a result. Sky tries a super poisonrana to Ripley but gets reversed into an Alabama Slam onto the post. Belair can’t hit the KOD but she can whip Ripley with her hair (YEOWCH). Now the KOD connects but Sky comes in with Over The Moonsault for the pin to retain at 14:24.

Rating: A-. This was outstanding, as they basically went out there and did everything they could think of trying, albeit with the match making sense and going until one of them stole the pin. You had a case where all three could have won and it made for an incredible opener. This is one of the Wrestlemania classics and it was great stuff all around. Check this out if you get the chance.

We recap Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest. McIntyre won the World Title last year at Wrestlemania but Priest took it from him via Money In The Bank. McIntyre has blamed Priest for all of his problems, which Priest doesn’t like. They’ve brawled multiple times, with McIntyre’s eye being injured and Priest getting dropped head first onto the steps. Now it’s time for a street fight.

Drew McIntyre vs. Damian Priest

Street fight.  McIntyre looks like a half Celtic Warrior/half Terminator, while Priest is played to the ring by the guitarist from Slayer. They waste no time in brawling out to the floor and Priest gets the better of things. Priest throws the steps at McIntyre’s head and loads up the table, which takes too long and allows McIntyre to fight back. Another steps shot drops Priest for a change and McIntyre hits him in the side of the head with a chair.

Two more tables are set up next to each other at ringside and McIntyre seems way too pleased. Priest fights back but gets knocked out to the floor, with McIntyre hitting a big running flip dive. The Claymore is cut off with a thrown chair, which McIntyre somehow blocks and hits a Claymore for two. McIntyre wraps the chair around Priest’s neck but Priest fights back again.

That earns him a spinebuster and a table is set up in the ring. That’s broken up so the steps are brought in, with Priest getting Futureshocked onto the steps for two. Priest gets back up and tries Old School, only to take too much time and get knocked off the top and through the tables at ringside. Priest is mostly done so McIntyre puts his head against a chair in the corner. The big Claymore sends Priest’s head into the chair for the pin at 13:57.

Rating: B. The opener was about all kinds of action while this was all about violence and carnage. They beat the heck out of each other with McIntyre getting the better of things for the most part. It was a match between two people who hated each other and wanted to hurt each other in as many ways as they could. Good stuff here, though I could have gone for more offense from Priest.

We recap Bron Breakker defending the Intercontinental Title. Judgment Day, in this case Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio (who are having issues of their own) are coming for the title, with Penta getting in on things as well. Since it’s Wrestlemania, it’s four way time.

Intercontinental Title: Bron Breakker vs. Penta vs. Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor

Breakker is defending and goes after Mysterio to start but gets sent outside instead (where Carlito is lurking around too). Penta sends Judgment Day to the floor and hits the big running flip dive. Breakker runs Penta over though and then hits a World’s Strongest Slam. The gorilla press powerslam drops Balor and a Super Spear gets two on Mysterio with Balor making the save.

Breakker is not pleased with Balor’s actions so Penta throws Mysterio and Balor into the corner for the double slingshot dropkick. Breakker doesn’t like that and takes out Judgment Day, only to spear the post by mistake. Mysterio is back up and goes after Breakker, who suplexes Mysterio and Balor at the same time. Breakker’s super Frankensteiner gets two on Balor but he’s able to knock Breakker outside. Mysterio dropkicks Balor in the back and tries a 619, earning himself quite the beating from Balor.

Penta Penta Drivers Balor for two with Breakker making the save. Breakker and Penta trade shots to the face but Carlito low bridges Breakker to the floor. Carlito makes another save after a Mexican Destroyer to Mysterio and goes after Penta, only to get speared through the announcers’ table. Back in and we hit the parade of knockdown, including a Super Spear to Penta but Balor dropkicks Breakker into the corner. The Coup de Grace connects…but Mysterio hits the frog splash to steal the pin on Balor for the title at 10:31.

Rating: B-. This was a way to get the title off of the unstoppable Breakker and dang if they didn’t have a great way out of it. Mysterio is the best choice of the three challengers as the fans are into what he’s doing and it’s easy to see why. He’s a great choice of someone in over his head but making it work out so well. Another rather entertaining match, with Breakker looking safe and getting to move up and Mysterio getting his big moment.

Mysterio celebrates like nuts, even leaving the ring and then running back down the ramp to do it again.

Video on Randy Orton’s Wrestlemania history. Orton was set for a big grudge match with Kevin Owens but Owens needs neck surgery, leaving Orton with no opponent. It’s open challenge time and for once, that’s the best option they had.

Randy Orton vs. ???

Orton (in gear reminiscent of what he wore in his debut) calls out anyone and…TNA World Champion (this is non-title of course) Joe Hendry of all people accepts. I didn’t see this coming at the time and it’s a heck of a surprise. The fans go rather nuts for him and we cut to Orton with a look on his face saying “ok, this guy has something”.

Hendry wrestles him down to start and hits a running shoulder on a slightly surprised Orton. The fans get behind Hendry, who tries the Standing Ovation. Orton is NOT pleased and pokes him in the eye, followed by the snap powerslam. Hendry is right back with the fall away slam and does his spinning pose…right into the RKO for the pin at 3:11.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t a great match or anything, but they were stuck in a rough situation here and did the best they could. Hendry was literally a fill in for Owens and had no issue with Orton. It was a cool surprise and the fans were into Hendry so this went about as well as it could have gone. I’ll take this over some thrown together grudge match as it’s certainly more memorable.

Post match Orton helps him up and of course gives him another RKO. Orton does Hendry’s spin into his own pose and gives Hendry a friendly slap on the chest.

We recap Logan Paul vs. AJ Styles. This gets a rather intense build, with the focus being on Styles being a career wrestler who pulled himself up while Paul showed up as a superstar. Therefore, it’s time to fight with a natural issue between them. As usual, sometimes it’s better to keep it simple.

Logan Paul vs. AJ Styles

Paul has a drone filming his entrance, which then flies around the stadium until he catches it back in the ring. That’s certainly different. Paul powers him into the corner to start and grabs a headlock. That’s broken up so Styles gives him a running shoulder into a dropkick. Paul knocks him outside but Styles catches him in the ring skirt (ala Fit Finlay) and chops away.

Styles whips him into the barricade but Paul manages some rams into the post. The drone starts shooting the match as Paul sends him back inside for the frog splash. The Overbomb (Big Show’s Alley Oop) gets two, with Styles having to grab the rope. Styles is back up with some right hands so Paul moonsaults him out of the corner for two. Paul fires off some European uppercuts and poses (makes sense for him), allowing Styles to fight back.

The Styles Clash is broken up though and Paul hits a great looking Lionsault (with some distance on it) for two. Styles catches him in the corner but the Styles Clash is blocked. Instead Paul sends him into the corner and hits a Buckshot Lariat for two. Paul’s big right hand is countered into a torture rack bomb for two.

Paul knocks him back down and hits a Styles Clash, only for Styles to roll into one of his own. They’re both down though so here is one of Paul’s goons with the brass knuckles. Karrion Kross pops up to cut the knuckles off though and Styles sends the good flying. Kross puts the knuckles down but Styles throws them away and decks Kross before going back inside. Back in and Paul hits the big right hand and grabs the Paulverizer for the pin at 17:32.

Rating: B. As usual, Paul gets to show what he can do on the big stage and does it rather well. Styles is someone who can work with any opponent and make them better, which is a big part of why he stayed around at such a high level for so long. This was pretty much exactly what you would expect and it wound up going well. Paul gets a big win and Styles looks fine in defeat. It works fine.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Raquel Rodriguez/Liv Morgan vs. Lyra Valkyria/???

Valkyria and someone are challenging after Bayley was attacked yesterday. The mystery partner is…Becky Lynch, who has been gone since May. Morgan and Lynch start things off but let’s go with Rodriguez instead. Lynch decks Rodriguez but goes after Morgan instead. Valkyria comes in for the springboard wristdrag and the fans certainly seem to approve

Back in and Morgan shoves Valkyria off the top, right into a boot from Rodriguez for two. Morgan comes back in and stomps away in the corner before rolling some suplexes. That means an Eddie Guerrero dance before she knocks Lynch off the apron and covers Valkyria for two. Rodriguez’s slingshot Jackhammer gets two but she misses an elbow drop. An enziguri hits Morgan, who goes outside and pulls Lynch out to the floor.

Lynch comes in to clean a bit of house but she’s sent outside, leaving Rodriguez to give Valkyria a Tour Of The Islands. Valkyria fights up and makes the real tag off to Lynch and the pace picks way back up. Rodriguez has to save Morgan from a cross armbreaker so Lynch low bridges Rodriguez to the floor. Oblivion hits Lynch with Valkyria making the save. Valkyria takes out Rodriguez and it’s the Manhandle Slam to pin Morgan for the titles at 8:39.

Rating: B-. Lynch coming back was a nice surprise, though I think you’re seeing where this is going (mainly because it was a year ago). They would drop the titles back to Morgan and Rodriguez the next night on Raw and of course Lynch attacked Bayley. It was still a nice return, with Lynch showing up after a rather long absence, as she always makes things better. The action was good too, which isn’t a surprise as Morgan and Rodriguez work well together.

Here is Steve Austin on his four wheeler and yes he rams into the barricade, knocking a woman down in the process (cue Nick Khan to check on the woman and probably give here whatever she wants). Austin announces the attendance of 63,226 but thinks that’s low so he demands a recount. He starts counting the fans (complete with WHAT) and gets to about twenty before announcing that it’s a two night total of 124,693 (which would eventually be revealed to be good for about SIXTY SIX MILLION DOLLARS in ticket sales). Also, note that Austin literally just got a reaction for counting. That’s talent.

We recap John Cena challenging Cody Rhodes for the Smackdown World Title. Cena is on his retirement tour and won the title shot by winning the Elimination Chamber. Then the Rock showed up to offer Cody Rhodes a spot on the team (in exchange for his soul). Rhodes turned him down…but Cena didn’t, as he was now evil for the first time in over twenty years and now has the Rock behind him on the way towards getting his 17th World Title. Rhodes will be fighting for WWE, which actually works as the fans do NOT like Cena, who is claiming that he doesn’t need the fans and their abuse.

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. John Cena

Rhodes has a bunch of motorcycle/motocross drivers on the stage for his entrance. After the Big Match Intros, Rhodes grabs a headlock and then shoulders Cena to the floor, leaving Cena less than thrilled. Back in and a hammerlock sends Cena to the ropes again so he goes outside for another breather. A headscissors puts Cena down again but he’s back up with a headlock this time.

Rhodes isn’t having that and drives him into the corner, where Cena comes back with a right hand to put Rhodes down. Cena stomps away and catapults Rhodes throat first into the bottom rope. A clothesline drops Rhodes again and we hit the chinlock. Rhodes fights up and gets taken right back down with a side slam for two. Some ax handles rock Rhodes again and Cena pokes the eyes to cut him off again.

A tornado DDT gives Cena two and some flying shoulders have Rhodes in more trouble. Rhodes gets up from the Shuffle though and it’s a powerslam into the Cody Cutter for a quick two. The AA out of nowhere gives Cena two and he can’t help but laugh. Cena takes him up top for a super AA and another near fall. That leaves Cena to go up top but he dives into a powerbomb for two. The Cody Cutter gets two but it’s another AA into the STF. Cena tries to pull him into the middle, only for Rhodes to kick Cena into the referee.

Cross Rhodes connects for no cover so Cena ribs a turnbuckle pad off. Rhodes is sent into the buckle twice in a row and there’s the fourth AA for two more. Cue Travis Scott (with a replica Hardcore Title, because that was a thing for him) who comes to the stage….and is finally off of it almost a minute later.

After nearly two minutes, Scott is on the apron as the match has just entirely stopped for this entrance. Rhodes is distracted by Scott but grabs Cross Rhodes, only for Scott to pull the referee. Scott FINALLY gets inside for the staredown with Rhodes, who gives him Cross Rhodes. Cena’s belt shot is blocked so Rhodes teases one of his own, but Cena begs off. Since Rhodes hesitates, Cena kicks him low and hits Rhodes with the belt for the pin and the title at 25:04.

Rating: D+. So this is a weird one, as they had a slow paced match (which was fine) for the most part, which then picked up near the end and felt more like a big main event fight. The problem though is the Scott stuff, which was a mixture of bad and unwanted. I’m still not sure why Cena and Scott were supposed to be friends but it was tied to the Rock, who wasn’t there. At the same time you have Rhodes looking like a moron while Cena got to look that much smarter. This wasn’t a great match, though it was fine enough until everything fell apart at the end.

Post match Cena gets his 17th title and Scott comes back in for the big celebration. Rhodes staggers away to end the show. No Rock, which would be the case for…the rest of Cena’s in-ring career, because the whole thing got dropped, leaving the story with nowhere to go. You know, because that’s a good thing for the biggest story in wrestling.

Overall Rating: B-. There were good matches during the show, with the opener being a classic, but the main event really didn’t work out so well (ok that’s an understatement). If you can get away from the main event, the show is that much better, but dang it drags things down. It’s far from a great show, but the opener and things like Hendry’s surprise appearance and Mysterio winning the title are enough to carry it.

Overall Overall Rating: B. As has been the case with every year since Wrestlemania went to two nights, there is a heck of a one night show in there but there is so much dragging it back down. On the positive sides though, you have the great set and production, some solid matches and Punk finally getting a Wrestlemania main event. I did like the show, but stretching the whole thing to about seven hours, even over two days, is still a long sit. The good here is very good, though you might want to stop it when the Rhodes and Cena recap begins.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Wrestlemania XLI Night One
Date: April 19, 2025
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
Attendance: 58,538
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett, Pat McAfee
God Bless America: Jelly Roll

It’s kind of hard to fathom that we’re a whole year removed from this show but here we are again. The show is in (or near) Las Vegas and as usual it’s a double night spectacle, with the first main event seeing Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk in a rare non-title match. Gunther vs. Jey Uso will handle the title match aspect so let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at the influence of Wrestlemania and how many people talk about wrestling. HHH narrates about these legendary stories, but sometimes they’re true.

Here is HHH to welcome us to the show and let us know we are being seen worldwide.

A DJ and some dancers are here.

Raw World Title: Jey Uso vs. Gunther

Uso is challenging after winning the Royal Rumble. We get some people waving YEET flags on the ramp and the Las Vegas Raiderettes as Uso comes into the stadium with tens of thousands of people doing the YEET dance. There is a great shot from just over Uso’s shoulder showing what he’s seeing and my goodness it’s always cool to see this kind of thing happening because of one person.

After they Big Match Intros, they take their time to start until Gunther powers him into the corner. That earns Gunther a heck of a shot to the face to send him outside. Back in and Gunther takes him down with a headlock takeover, which doesn’t last long either. The threat of an enziguri sends Gunther outside again and we slow back down. Gunther gets back in and Uso grabs a slam before going up, where Gunther chops his soul out to the floor.

The slow chopping ensues but Uso hits a quick spear for two. Gunther is back up to try a powerbomb, which is countered into a Samoan drop. Uso goes up again and gets superplexed down, setting up the powerbomb for two. That leaves Gunther more than a bit surprised and Uso spears his way out of trouble again. The Superfly Splash gives Uso two so Gunther teases walking out.

It’s enough of a distraction for Gunther to get in a belt shot and the top rope splash for two. NOW Gunther is getting serious and we hit the sleeper. Somehow Uso makes the rope and Gunther is just mad. Uso is down in the corner so Gunther chops him anyway, which has Uso laughing (must be a family thing).

More chops don’t keep Uso down as he comes back with a headbutt. Uso has to counter a sleeper into a German suplex but Gunther is right back with the big dropkick. Another powerbomb is countered into one from Uso though and he drops Gunther with a spear. Back to back to back Superfly Splashes set up a sleeper and Gunther actually taps (and quickly too) to make Uso champion at 16:20.

Rating: B. This turned into a heck of a match with Uso throwing everything back at Gunther and beating him at his own game. At the same time, I couldn’t believe that Uso actually won the title but that is exactly what happened. They made a new big star with a clean submission in the middle of the ring. Good opener here but an awesome moment which had to happen after the way Uso was built up in the previous weeks.

Post match Jimmy Uso is the first person out to celebrate with Jey and they leave through the crowd.

We recap the War Raiders defending the Raw Tag Team Titles against the New Day. After New Day had some issues, Big E. tried to get them back on the right track but they turned him down, with New Day’s heel turned earning them a full on shunning from the crowd. This included their FAMILIES, as everyone hated them over their actions, down to Kofi Kingston’s mother walking out on him. They got a title shot anyway so here we go.

Raw Tag Team Titles: New Day vs. War Raiders

New Day is challenging and jump the champs tost art fast. Erik doesn’t care for being punched in the face and rams Kingston into Woods. That’s enough to send New Day outside, where Erik slams Ivar onto the two of them. Ivar crushes both of them against the ring video board and it’s back to Erik vs. Woods inside.

A belly to back suplex/top rope splash combination gets two on Woods but he’s able to cut off Erik’s dive. Kingston adds a top rope backsplash to Erik and we settle down to Kingston hammering away. Woods’ top rope double stomp hits Erik in the ropes but Erik fights out of the corner. It’s back to Ivar to clean house, including sitting on Kingston’s chest out of the corner. Kingston comes back with a spinning kick to the head but Ivar runs Kingston over without much trouble.

The Honor Roll connects for Woods and the Daybreak is loaded up. Erik cuts that one off and Erik kicks Kingston in the face. The Doomsault hits Kingston so Woods makes the save with the Limit Break Elbow. Another Honor Roll is broken up though and Erik hits a heck of a running knee. The springboard clothesline/German suplex combination is broken up though and the Daybreak finishes Ivar for the pin (with Kingston holding the leg) and the titles at 9:17.

Rating: B-. This was better than I remembered, though that might be due to not having to watch a dull build up to the match. The tag division was just nothing and unfortunately there wasn’t much of a reason to care. The big heel turn came from the turn on Big E., but that was several months ago. You can only get so far after that much time and it didn’t help that Big E. had no involvement. It’s a rare case where the time has helped a lot and that’s a nice relief.

Post match New Day runs out before they get destroyed again.

We recap Jade Cargill vs. Naomi. Last fall, someone attacked Cargill and put her out of actions for months. She came back at Elimination Chamber and it wound out that it was Naomi. Cargill was ready to wreck Naomi, while Bianca Belair was rather upset by everything Naomi did too. Now, as expected, it’s time for revenge.

Naomi vs. Jade Cargill

We get a celebrity cameo as….a meteorologist from the Weather Channel says we have a perfect storm in Las Vegas. From Muhammad Ali to this people. Cargill powers her into the corner to start and gets in a slam off the top. Naomi gets in a shot to the eyes though and snaps the throat across the ropes. A ram into the steps has Cargill staggered, with Naomi hitting a Blockbuster onto the floor.

Back in and Naomi grabs a chinlock while cranking on the arm as well. Cargill gets up and tosses her into the corner for a splash but charges into a raised boot. Naomi tries another Blockbuster but gets pulled out of the air into a Jackhammer, because that’s something a human can do.

Naomi fights back and goes up again but gets caught again. This time Naomi is able to bulldog Cargill off the top though and a split legged moonsault gives Cargill two. Jaded is reversed into a rollup and Cargill powers out of the Rings Of Saturn. Cargill pulls her into an electric chair and spins it into a powerbomb, followed by Jaded for the pin at 9:25.

Rating: B-. There were some sloppy moments in there, but Cargill looked like an absolute star. The power game she has is off the charts and she looks like a Greek statue come to life. Naomi was in over her head here with the power and athleticism, as the experience wasn’t enough to carry her. Nice stuff here, as Cargill felt like a monster in a great way.

We recap LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu. Knight is the very popular US Champion and Fatu is the new smashing machine. I don’t know Knight’s chances.

US Title: LA Knight vs. Jacob Fatu

Fatu is challenging and Knight rides onto the stage in a rather expensive looking card. Knight grabs a neckbreaker for two but Fatu grabs a backbreaker to take over. The pace slows down a lot with Fatu hammering away, only to be knocked outside. Knight’s dropkick through the ropes connects but Fatu suplexes him out of the air for two back inside. The running backsplash hits raised knees though and Knight hits a standing top rope elbow for two.

Fatu runs him right back over and goes up, with Knight breaking up the moonsault. That lets Knight grab a top rope flipping German superplex for the big crash as Fatu is actually reeling. Naturally he shrugs that off and huts the running Umaga Attack in the corner, followed by a Swanton for two more. The triple jump moonsault is loaded up but Knight grabs him out of the air with the BFT (and nailed it) for the rather near fall. Knight is stunned and goes up, only to get Samoan dropped down. A pair of moonsaults makes Fatu champion at 10:40.

Rating: B-. That BFT alone made this one pretty memorable as the timing required to make that work was outstanding. At the same time, it made a lot more sense to have Fatu win here as he’s the kind of monster who had to win something at some point. It came after a good enough match too, with Fatu getting through to the next level, which Knight needs to do again.

We recap El Grande Americano vs. Rey Fenix. Americano is basically mocking the idea of lucha libre and Mysterio doesn’t like it so it’s time to stand up for the sport’s heritage. Chad Gable has been accused of being Americano but insists it is NOT him. Then Mysterio got hurt and he’s replaced by Rey Fenix. This needs more Mike Tenay’s Lucha Libre And The Mexican Luchadors.

El Grande Americano vs. Rey Fenix

Americano gets the sepia tone entrance ala the old newsreels about his career and is played in by a mariachi band. Hold on though as Americano goes outside and gets into it with AAA’s El Hijo de Vikingo, who kicks him in the head. Americano gets back inside for the opening bell and a hurricanrana for two.

They fight over a test of strength and go to the mat for a double bridge up. Fenix’s super hurricanrana sets up a missile dropkick to put Americano on the floor, meaning the big dive can follow. As commentary continues to bicker about whether it’s Americano or Gable, he suplexes Fenix for two but gets kicked in the face for his efforts. Back up and Americano LAUNCHES him into the corner with an overhead belly to belly for the huge crash.

A moonsault backsplash (commentary tries to figure out the degrees) hits Fenix for two more and Americano goes after the mask. That earns him a hurricanrana and the mask is loaded up. Fenix tries a springboard kick and hitsthe metal in the mask to leave him injured. The ankle lock goes on but Fenix rolls his way out. That means a springboard headbutt hits Americano but with Gable getting knocked out. A loaded Swan Dive finishes Fenix at 7:57.

Rating: C+. This was more about getting Americano on the show but it would have made a lot more sense against Mysterio. At the same time, this was about as good of an option as they had as a substitute, with Fenix being able to fly around so well. Americano had to win as he was still a pretty new idea and the goofiness was still working rather well.

Post match Vikingo checks on Fenix.

We look at the WWE Bought AAA announcement from earlier.

Here is Shawn Michaels to announce the attendance: 61,467. The number being written on the card in big numbers is rather amusing.

We see some celebrities, including UFC CEO Dana White for the second time.

We recap Charlotte challenging Tiffany Stratton for the Smackdown Women’s Title. Charlotte won the Royal Rumble and Stratton is rather cocky and believes she deserves everything she has. Charlotte also has her usual “I’m awesome” going and they’ve been rather nasty to each other in recent weeks.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Tiffany Stratton vs. Charlotte

Charlotte is challenging. Stratton has a rather cool entrance where she appears as three different kinds of Barbies in big pink boxes and walks out of the middle one. Charlotte charges at her to start and they go to the mat to slug it out. The fight goes outside with Charlotte still in control but Stratton gets in a shot to take over.

Back in and the Flair Flip is broken up with a running elbow and a double stomp takes Charlotte out of the corner for two. They head outside with Charlotte dropping her onto the barricade and then the apron as things slow down. Charlotte takes her back inside for what would become the Devi’s Kiss, followed by the rolling figure four neck lock rolling slams. The Liontamer goes on until Stratton reverses into a rollup for two.

Some handspring elbows connect for Stratton in the corner but Charlotte gets in a neck snap across the top rope. Stratton knocks her back down but the moonsault hits knees. Instead Stratton hits a basement dropkick for two and we pause for a double breather. A big boot gives Charlotte two and they chop it out with Stratton winning the exchange of strikes. Stratton misses a charge in the ropes though and Charlotte kicks her down.

Natural Selection is blocked though and Charlotte hits a nice sitout powerbomb for two. Stratton catches her up top and hits a spinebuster for two and they’re both down again. A high crossbody hits Charlotte but she’s able to knee Stratton outside. The moonsault to the floor is broken up though and Charlotte’s recently repaired knee is banged up. Stratton kicks away at the leg so Charlotte kicks away at the head for two.

Charlotte wraps Stratton’s knee around the post and crashes down onto it in the corner. The Figure Four goes on but Stratton gets smart by hammering on the bad knee to escape. Stratton’s Prettiest Moonsault Ever hits raised knees so the banged up Charlotte gets two and they’re both down again. Charlotte goes up and knocks her off the top, setting up a super Natural Selection for two. Another Figure Eight attempt is blocked and Charlotte misses a charge into the corner. An Alabama Slam sends Charlotte into the corner and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever retains the title at 19:12.

Rating: B. They accomplished the big goal here by having Stratton win over the most successful star in women’s wrestling history. Stratton was a star but needed something like this to really make her feel like a bigger name. She’s a big part of the new generation of women’s wrestling and Charlotte put her over, which happened to come after quite the athletic display. They worked well enough together and the result was the right call.

We look at the Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.

Here is the class:

Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin from Wrestlemania XIII (doesn’t get much better than that)
Natural Disasters (they needed a tag team)
Michelle McCool (you knew it was coming)
HHH (that’s a top level headliner)

That’s about as much of a mixed bag as you can get but I do like the smaller number. Lex Luger was also in the class but apparently suffered a fall the morning of the show and couldn’t be there.

Iyo Sky was on the Goodyear Blimp over Las Vegas.

We recap Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk. Reigns and Rollins have a long history due to the Shield and subsequent betrayals, while Punk is here because he hates both of them. The match has been made, with the caveat that Punk is FINALLY a Wrestlemania main eventer. As a bonus, Paul Heyman is in Punk’s corner to pay back the favor owed to Punk for being on Reigns’ team at Survivor Series. They also had a big fight at the Royal Rumble and then Reigns cost Punk a cage match against Rollins.

Seth Rollins vs. CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns

Rollins has a flamethrower, Reigns has white shoes and Punk has Heyman. Advantage: Reigns. Punk also gets a special video on his career, showing his rise from OVW to ECW to Raw and all the way to the main event. Tonight is his night and his main event. Yeah that’s well deserved after it was such a big deal to him. And of course Punk is played to the ring because we need to stretch this out even longer.

The bell rings and Punk heads outside to chat with Heyman, leaving Reigns to go after Rollins. Punk gets back in and Reigns clotheslines both of them, including one to send Punk outside. Reigns gets posted and suicide dived, with Rollins sending him into the steps. Punk and Rollins go into the crowd with Punk firing off some chair shots to take over. That’s broken up with a metal stand to the ribs and a trashcan to Punk’s head but he suplexes Rollins onto a trashcan.

They head back towards ringside, where Reigns dives over the barricade to take them both out. Reigns loads up the announcers’ table (Heyman is worried) but instead takes Punk back inside for a Samoan drop. Punk fights back and cuts Reigns off, which brings Punk quite the smile. Punk’s running knees in the corner set up a DDT/neckbreaker combination to drop both of them.

The top rope elbow hits Rollins but he’s able to catch Punk on top. Reigns breaks that up and gets Rollins on his shoulder, setting up Punk as Hawk in a Doomsday Device. Reigns and Punk slug it out with Punk getting the Anaconda Vice. Rollins dives in with a suicide dive to make the save and even covers Reigns for two. Back up and Rollins hits a buckle bomb to both of them but Punk tries the GTS.

That’s broken up by Reigns’ spear but Rollins reverses another into a Pedigree (they LOVE that spot). A Stomp connects but Rollins stops to get rid of Punk, allowing Reigns to kick out. Rollins’ phoenix splash misses Reigns so he spears Rollins down. A quick GTS gives Punk two on Reigns as Heyman is looking frustrated. Rollins is back in with a Pedigree for two on Punk, allowing him to yell at Reigns about how useless Reigns is without him. Rollins goes outside and the other announcers’ table is loaded up.

Rollins teases the DoubleBomb but Reigns punches him in the face and powerbombs Punk through the table. Rollins is powerbombed through the other but the spear to Rollins is only good for two. Reigns yells at Heyman about the favor and then grabs a guillotine choke on Punk, even jumping up onto him. That’s reversed into the Anaconda Vice but Rollins is in with a Sharpshooter to Punk. Reigns breaks that up with the guillotine, which is broken up for a GTS to Rollins. Heyman is now sitting on the steps as only Punk can get up.

Another GTS hits Rollins but Reigns spears Punk, only to get Stomped by Rollins to leave everyone down. That’s enough for Heyman to grab a chair, but he isn’t sure if he should give it to Punk or Reigns. He slides it to Punk and gets in the ring (and you can see it coming from here).

The chair shot is loaded up and it’s a low blow to Punk, leaving Reigns smiling (those are some amazingly white teeth). Heyman offers Reigns the chair so he can go after Punk but points Reigns at Rollins. Reigns loads up the chair and of course Heyman hits him low as well, revealing his real allegiance. Rollins gets the chair and blasts Reigns in the back (there’s your call back), setting up a Stomp for the pin at 32:41.

Rating: B+. This went on for a good while but once they started trading finishes, it got rather good. The question became how Heyman would get involved, but at the same time the action they had was rather good. It was a grudge match built around the idea of Heyman making his choice in the end, with everyone hating each other and wanting to beat the living daylights out of each other on the way there. I’m not sure if it’s a classic Wrestlemania main event, but dang it wound up working.

Overall Rating: B. I did like it and it feels like a big show, though I’m not sure if it felt all the way up to a Wrestlemania level show. The main event was rather great and most of the rest of the show worked, though the Americano vs. Fenix match could have probably been dropped. For a first half of the biggest show of the year it’s good enough, but it needed that one great match to put it up to the next level.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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TJPW Live In Las Vegas
Date: April 16, 2026
Location: Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Veda Scott, Unknown

This is Tokyo Joshi Pro, meaning Japanese women’s wrestling. I’ve watched their Wrestlemania Week offering a few times now and had a good time with it, as this is usually much more lighthearted in a lot of ways. That should be the case again here, with some awesome wrestling going with the mirth and merriment. Let’s get to it.

Our ring announcer/host welcomes us to the show and gets us to cheer before introducing what sounded like the Up Up Girls, who warm us up with a rather perky song and dance.

We run down the card.

Toga/Uta Takami vs. Wakana Uehara/Yuki Kamifuki

Toga and Uehara trade waist and wristlocks to start with Uehara taking her down for a front facelock. They flip up to a staredown so it’s off to Kamifuki to slam Takami. A double choke has Takami in trouble and Uehara gives her a running elbow in the corner. The running dropkick puts Takami down for two but she’s up with a dropkick of her own. That lets Toga come back in for Rolling Thunder and a near fall of her own.

Uehara pulls Toga into a weird armbar but that’s broken up for a hard clothesline to put Uehara down instead. Kamifuki gets a Black Widow, which is escaped with a needed grab of the rope. Toga gets in a slam and it’s back to Takami for a dropkick of her own. Kamifuki blocks an attempt at a choke and boots Takami in the face. Takami is right back up with the Koala Clutch (a hanging cobra clutch), which is broken up without much trouble. Kamifuki grabs a brainbuster and Fameassers Takami for the pin at 10:01.

Rating: B-. This was a nice fast paced opener and the fans were into what they were seeing. As usual, it’s a good sign when I don’t know who these people are but I could understand what was going on. They weren’t out there too long either an it wound up being a nice opener. Well done.

Pom Harajaku/Raku/Yuki Aino vs. Alexis Lee/Himawari/Shino Suzuki

Hold on as the referee pulls out a remote and mutes one of the wrestlers, which is certainly a brilliant/stupid idea (your call). They all shake hands and we’re ready to go. A pillow comes out so Lee’s team teases a nap, only to get rolled up for a triple near fall. Lee and company send them into the corner, with Shino picking up Himawari to swing her into Aino

Himawari swings her hair at Raku, who takes her back down, runs the ropes, and calmly sits on her for two. Aino’s backsplash gets two and it’s off to Pom…who has a big die and rolls a three. That means three forearms so Himawari rolls a six…and Pom forearms her six times. Himawari manages to roll a zero but is fine enough to grab a Blockbuster.

Lee comes in for a rollup out of the corner before biting Pom’s neck. She teases checking on Pom, who rolls her up instead and hits a dropkick. Raku knocks Lee down in the corner and gets two off a running dropkick. Lee slams Raku’s head into the mat but misses a charge. Instead she settles for biting Raku’s arm, only to get caught with a Sling Blade. Aino comes in to face Himawari and pick up the pace, with Aino hitting a spinning Vader Bomb for two.

Himawari uses her own hair to choke and Shino holds Raku up for a spear. Aino comes back in and gets dropkicked but Pom (die) and Raku (pillow) are up to clean house. Back in and Pom cleans house with the die but Shino takes it away and rolls…a zero. Somehow she gets to throw six forearms until Lee is back in with a spear to Raku. The pillow is brought in and thrown out Aino gives Shino a reverse layout DDT for the pin at 14:33.

Rating: C+. I have no idea what a lot of this was about, but I think I liked it and I’ll call that a win. This is the definition of something that doesn’t exactly translate and I had a lot of instances of “WHY”, but the wrestling we got was good enough. Call it a culture clash, though it could have been worse.

Miyu Yamashita vs. Mizuki vs. Miu Watanabe

They seem to get along as we’re ready to go. Mizuki gets the worst of a three way test of strength before Yamashita grabs a double snapmare. Yamashita kicks both of them in the back and takes them to the entrance for some running kicks to the chest. Mizuki is ready for a kick on the ramp though and sends Yamashita to the floor for a double stomp.

Back in and Watanabe beats on Yamashita until Mizuki breaks up the giant swing. Yamashita drops Watanabe with a running clothesline before grabbing a kind of reverse cobra clutch. With that broken up, Yamashita hits an AA but Mizuki is back in for the save. A high crossbody gives Mizuki two but Yamashita drops her with a wheelbarrow suplex.

Watanabe is back in with the giant swing before they knock each other down for a triple breather. Back up and Mizuki’s spinning crossbody hits Yamashita for two, leaving Yamashita to kick the head out of Watanabe. Mizuki’s top rope double stomp hits Watanabe for two but Yamashita is back with a running knee to pin Mizuki at 14:06.

Rating: B. That’s probably the match of the night as it’s almost all action throughout. You don’t get many matches like this and it’s the match with the least silliness thus far. Yamashita is someone who feels like a force every time she’s in there and Watanabe is easy to cheer for due to her size. I liked this a lot and that’s nice to see, even with nothing on the line.

International Princess Title: Sakura Hattori vs. Suzume

Suzume is defending. Hattori tries to strike away and gets rolled up for some early near falls. A running back elbow puts Suzume down and a handspring kick gives Hattori two. Hattori’s victory roll out of the corner gets two more but Suzume is back with a springboard bulldog for a breather. A non-springboard bulldog gives Suzume two and they head to the apron, where Suzume grabs a running bulldog to send her onto the floor.

Back in and Hattori ties up her…well everything really for two, followed by a standing choke. Suzume slips out and hits a Gory Bomb before going up, only to get crotched down. Hattori spider superplexes her down so a top rope forearm can connect for two. A spinning Swanton misses though and Suzume hits a running dropkick. Suzume’s running cutter retains at 11;38.

Rating: B. Commentary didn’t seem to know much about Hattori but you could feel the basic idea of the match very easily. Suzume felt like the crowd favorite who was fighting from underneath against an aggressive challenger. That’s something that will work every time and they played it rather well here. I could see Suzume being a popular act and that seemed to be working, which isn’t a big surprise.

Princess Tag Team Titles: IInspiration vs. Shoko Nakajima/Hyper Misao

The IInspiration is challenging and Misao thinks she’s a superhero. The champs rip up a sign to start and the fans want to see a title change. Misao says their mission is to get the titles back so they jump the champs to start fast. The IInspiration fights back and strikes their pose, only to get wrapped up in the ring skirt.

Back in and Misao hits a running knee for two on Lee and Nakajima adds a slingshot hilo for two. That just earns her a drop toehold into a knee to the face, followed by a double choke in the corner. Lee forearms her down but Nakajima is back up for the tag off to Misao. McKay gets sent throat first into the ropes, only to come back with a big boot for a double down.

Nakajima is back in with a springboard dropkick but McKay cuts off the 619 attempt. The Idolizer is broken up as well though, allowing Misao to put on her cape and hit a double high crossbody. They all strike it out until McKay easily fights out of the corner. The Idolizer finishes Nakajima to retain the title at 12:35.

Rating: C+. As usual, the IInspiration are not the most polished in-ring team, but they know how to wrestle a story that works well enough for them. The ending kind of came out of nowhere here as the IInspiration just shrugged off what was thrown at them and retained the titles. Not a great match, but Misao continues to be memorable, as I remembered everything about her the second her name came up. That’s a good sign.

Princess Of Princess Title: Yuki Arai vs. J-Rod

Arai is defending the company’s top title. The rather muscular J-Rod isn’t having any of this being headlocked and hits a hard shoulder to put the champion down. Arai manages a takedown and drops a knee, only to get suplexed. A hair takedown drops Arai so a splash can give J-Rod two. They head outside with Arai being dropped onto the apron and we hit the double arm crank back inside.

Arai gets up and kicks her in the face before managing an impressive slam. Some kind of leglock is blocked and J-Rod’s spinebuster gets two. Arai tries a sunset flip, which lets her pull J-Rod into a Sharpshooter. J-Rod is into the ropes (the fans get sad) and it’s a big spear for two, with Arai making it to the rope as well. Another spear hits post though and Arai gives her a full nelson slam. The ax kick retains the title at 11:04.

Rating: B-. Perfectly fine match here, even though J-Rod was only doing basic stuff. She has a phenomenal look and is basically all muscle but is going to need some more time and experience in the ring. Arai didn’t exactly stand out, but it was pretty clear that she had more experience and polish here.

Post match respect is shown and here is the roster to celebrate to end the show (as it TJPW’s custom).

Overall Rating: B-. This show might be the definition of “not for everyone” as there are definitely parts that embrace the sillier side of wrestling. Throw in all of the princess themed stuff and there are going to be things that don’t keep everyone’s attention. That being said, there is some rather good action here and I definitely had a good time with the whole thing. If you like some of the less serious stuff which still has nice wrestling, maybe check it out. Or wait for Stardom if you still want to see women’s wrestling with a straighter style.

Results
Wakana Uehara/Yuki Kamifuki b. Toga/Uta Takami – Fameasser to Takami
Pom Harajaku/Raku/Yuki Aino b. Alexis Lee/Himawari/Shino Suzuki – Reverse layout DDT to Suzuki
Miyu Yamashita b. Mizuki and Miu Watanabe – Running knee to Mizuki
Suzume b. Sakura Hattori – Running cutter
IInspiration b. Hyper Misao/Shoko Nakajima b. Idolizer to Nakajima
Yuka Arai b. J-Rod – Ax kick

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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CMLL
Date: April 16, 2026
Location: Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Johnny Loquasto, Jorge Rivera

This is an interesting one as CMLL has been a regular feature in AEW over the last year plus but this is a show from the promotion itself. I have no idea what to expect here but they’ve been around for over ninety years so they probably know how to put on a good show. This should be interesting so let’s get to it.

Opening video.

If I’m understanding commentary right, this is CMLL’s first ever show in America, or at least their first broadcast. Dang indeed.

Kemalito/Periquito Sacaryas vs. Chamuel/Tengu

Minis match. Sacaryas (who is a bird of some sort) gets taken down a few times to start and it’s off to Kemalito vs. Chamuel. Kemalito grabs a headscissors but Tengu is in with a double underhook faceplant. It’s back to Sacaryas, who is chopped into the corner and a running dropkick has him down again. Tengu gorilla presses Kemalito ten times in a row before going after the mask like a true rudo.

Chamuel drops a leg but Tengu dropkicks him to the floor by mistake. Sacaryas hits a dive and Kemalito comes in, slowly climbs, goes over to the corner, and then grabs the referee’s hand before diving. Thankfully the other team was nice enough to just stand there and wait on him the entire time. Sure they look like morons but at least they’re polite.

Back in and Sacaryas grabs a headscissors out of the corner but gets kicked into the corner. Kemalito comes back in for some armdrags until Tengu gives him a butterfly suplex. Kemalito is back up with a running seated senton for…two, though everyone else seemed to think that was the pin. A quick splash gives Kemalito two more and a Vader Bomb (from the middle of the rope) finishes Tengu at 12:06.

Rating: C+. This is a very different style than you’ll see and it’s weird to see it played…well as straight as it can be played when one of the wrestlers is a bird. These guys can wrestle rather well and it wasn’t a comedy match, making for a rather unique opener. It did have some problems though, with that dive being so delayed that they would have been better off just scrapping the thing. I did like seeing something different though and that’s what we got here.

Women’s Title: Tessa Blanchard vs. Persephone

Persephone is defending. Blanchard takes her to the mat to start and works on the leg before they go with some grappling. Blanchard’s chinlock doesn’t last long as Persephone grabs a belly to belly. Back up and Blanchard sends her into the corner for a running right hand and Persephone is rocked. Granted she isn’t rocked enough as she’s back up with a missile dropkick.

Persephone goes up but gets taken out by the leg as the fans are rather into this. Blanchard kicks her in the head and a springboard splash gets two. It’s back to the leg so Persephone punches her in the face for the break. A dropkick puts Blanchard outside but the leg is banged up. Persephone is able to hit a superkick but Blanchard stomps her on the apron in a nasty crash.

A ram into the post has Persephone in more trouble and they head back inside. Blanchard stays on the leg before firing off some kicks to the chest. They go to the apron for a slugout and Persephone grabs a German suplex to rock Blanchard for a change. Back in and Blanchard hits three straight running cutters for two. Persephone fights back and puts her up top but has to block a sunset bomb. A spear into a Razor’s Edge retains the title at 14:50.

Rating: B+. This was a hard hitting, well fought match between two talented wrestlers. Blanchard has a lot of baggage holding her back because otherwise she would be headlining the WWE women’s division. She’s more than good enough to hang in there and it would be great to see her have a chance on the big stage. On the other hand you have Persephone, who is showing she can hang with anyone anywhere. This was a heck of a match and I got way into it, as it felt like you had two women fighting over a prize. Nice job.

Blue Panther vs. Ultimo Guerrero

They’re both legends and Guerrero jumps him to start fast and they’re quickly on the floor with Guerrero chopping away. Back in and Guerrero chops him into the corner for a baseball slide back out to the floor. The fans certainly approve as Guerrero goes after the mask (which Panther has lost before but he gets to wear it due to a special occasion).

With the mask still on, Guerrero chops away but misses a charge into the corner, allowing Panther to knock him outside. There’s the big dive from Panther and he takes his mask off on his own. Panther hits another dive off the ramp but Guerrero grabs a big powerbomb back inside.

That’s fine with Panther, who hits a pair of dives, followed by another dive off the ropes to drop Guerrero again. Back in and Guerrero knocks him down but misses a top rope flip dive. Panther’s top rope hurricanrana gets two and Guerrero goes up, only to get super armdragged down for the pin at 12:53.

Rating: B-. This was a good example of a match that was all about the legends getting in the ring and it worked out well enough. Panther does look a bit out of place in there but he was more than capable of doing the athletic stuff and looked good in the process. I liked this more than I was expecting and you certainly can’t argue the star power.

Post match respect is shown and money is thrown.

Barboza/Difunto/Soberano Jr. vs. Esfinge/Valiente Jr./Xelhua

2/3 falls. Xelhua and Soberano start things off and lock up against the ropes to no avail. They go to the mat with Soberano working on the let but getting rolled up for two. Xelhua takes him down by the arm and ties up the legs but Soberano reverses into a leglock of his own. Difunto and Valiente come in with Valiente flipping around, including rolling on the rope (awesome) into an armdrag.

Everything breaks down but Valiente and company’s triple dives are cut off. Valiente gets chopped against the ropes and a triple basement dropkick gets two on Xelhua. Esfinge gets sent into the corner for some clotheslines, followed by a top rope rope walk dropkick to give Difunto the first fall at 8:28.

Difunto goes after Esfinge’s mask and a double flapjack puts Xelhua down. A running boot drops Xelhua and Valiente gets beaten down as well. Valiente gets thrown into the air but lands with a hurricanrana to Barboza in a sweet counter. Esfinge is back in with a high crossbody before firing off some tilt-a-whirl backbreakers. A rather crazy leg trap rollup pins Difunto and we’re tied at 14:01.

We pause for a bit before Soberano and Barboza tease a brawl before hugging instead. Xelhua cleans house and it’s off to Esfinge, who gets kicked down from the apron so the rudos can stomp away. Esfinge fights back and hits a Lethal Injection for two on Soberano. Valiente and Soberano trade superkicks with the latter grabbing a suplex for two. Difunto comes in and gets kicked down by Esfinge, who hands it back to Xelhua.

Valiente’s standing moonsault hits Difunto for two and Esfinge fights out of the corner. Soberano’s top rope splash gets two on Esfinge, leaving Valiente to hit a dive to the floor. Back in and Esfinge and Xelhua hit stereo frog splashes for two each. Xelhua hits a dive and Valiente does the same, leaving Valiente to Spanish Fly Soberano for two more. Back up and Soberano grabs a sitout Tombstone to finish Valiente for the win at 27:21.

Rating: B+. Here’s how I can tell this worked: I barely know anything about these guys (I know a few names) but they were paired together and I understood the story they were telling. That’s one of those things that goes beyond language and makes wrestling work so well. It was a good match and the time flew by, as this was great stuff.

Commentary talks for a bit while the ring announcer hypes the crowd.

Captain Suicida/Flip Gordon vs. Mascara Dorada/Neon

They trade rapid fire takedowns to start until Gordon hand walks away from Neon. A springboard wristdrag takes Gordon down and Dorada comes in with a high crossbody to Suicida. Gordon and Dorada trade missed shots until Gordon hits a springboard missile dropkick. Suicida is back in with a dive to Dorada on the floor.

Everything breaks down again and Neon and Dorada hit a superkick each. The running flip dives take Suicida and Gordon down again, followed by Dorada’s standing shooting star press for two on Gordon. Suicida gets in a cheap shot from the apron and Gordon adds a moonsault but Neon kicks him in the head.

Gordon is back up with a springboard spinning Stunner to Dorada and everyone is down. Back up and a rather spinning armdrag out of the corner brings Gordon down, with Dorada adding a super Spanish Fly for two. Suicida is fine enough to hit a twisting Swanton on Neon, who pops up for a poisonrana. Neon and Dorada hit big dives to the floor, followed by an inverted 450 and shooting star press for the stereo pins at 11:43.

Rating: B. There’s a reason Dorada/Neon and Mistico are such big deals in CMLL as they can fly around with the best of them. It was fun to see these guys tearing the house down, with Gordon and Suicida more than holding up their side. Rather fun stuff here and it was good to see them getting a chance on this big of a stage.

Atlantis Jr. vs. Claudio Castagnoli

Castagnoli jumps him to start and even whips him with his own cape. Atlantis is back up with a headscissors to the floor but Castagnoli is out of the way before a dive can launch. Castagnoli hammers away against the barricade before working on the arm back inside. It’s too early to take off Atlantis’ mask so he sends Castagnoli outside for a suicide dive.

Back in and a rolling cutter gives Atlantis two but Castagnoli cutters him off the top for two more. The Neutralizer is blocked but they clothesline each other down for a double breather. Atlantis’ short DDT gets two so he goes up, only to get butterfly superplexed right back down.

Castagnoli misses a charge into the corner and gets powerslammed down, with Atlantis dropping a frog splash for two. Another frog splash misses and Castagnoli hits Swiss Death for a rather near fall, followed by a basement uppercut for the same. The Swing sets has Atlantis in trouble and the Neutralizer finishes him off at 14:31.

Rating: B. It was almost surprising to see Castagnoli win here but he is a former CMLL World Champion so this did fit in all things considered. The end was Castagnoli activating Beast Mode, which is where he shines the most. There is a level he can reach which makes him feel like an unstoppable monster and that was more than enough to run through Atlantis.

Post match respect is shown before Castagnoli leaves in a hurry.

Angel de Oro/Hechicero vs. Mistico/Templario

2/3 falls. Hold on though as Angel walks up the ramp, with Hechicero having to go get him. Templario and Hechicero start things off with Hechicero tying the leg up in the ropes. They go to the mat for some grappling, with Templario actually managing to send him into the corner. Hechicero isn’t having that and they trade rollups until Templario is taken into the wrong corner.

Angel comes in and gets armdragged down, allowing Mistico to come in for quite the reaction. A tilt-a-whirl backbreaker hits Angel but Hechicero goes after Mistico’s mask. Mistico elbows his way out of trouble and it’s Templario with a superkick. Templario’s Samoan driver and Mistico’s Swanton (the latter of which doesn’t come close) are good for the first fall at 6:57.

Angel comes back in to forearm away at Templario, who is fine with fighting back as well. Templario walks the rope for a hurricanrana and then Spinaroonis up. Mistico comes in for an exchange of bows to the crowd but Hechicero sneaks in a dropkick. That doesn’t get them very far as Mistico hits a 619 into a springboard missile dropkick. The suicide dive is pulled out of the air before the rudos pull at Templario’s legs. A spinning faceplant drops Mistico and Angel’s top rope frog splash gets the pint o tie it up at 14:17.

Templario comes back in and gets superkicked, leaving Mistico to get chopped in the corner again. The good guys are back up with some running hurricanranas, followed by Mistico’s Code Red. Hechicero hits his swinging backbreaker but gets dropped by Templario. Angel cuts him off as well but Templario does…something to Hechicero on the floor. La Mistica makes Angel tap at 19:27 for the win.

Rating: B. There was no way the main event was going to be anyone but Mistico and that’s what we got here. Templario is more than good enough to hang in there and Hechicero is the World Champion. That leaves Angel, who did rather well in his own right. The fans were into everything they were seeing here, which isn’t surprising as it had one of the most popular stars in the world.

The winners celebrate to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: A-. There’s a reason this promotion is on such a hot streak and they showcased it right here. There was nothing close to bad and the action was pretty much non-stop. I completely get that this style isn’t for everyone, but dang this wound up being an outstanding show. Really fun stuff here and you can enjoy it without following CMLL whatsoever, which is a great bonus.

Results
Kemalito/Periquito Sacaryas b. Chamuel/Tengu – Springboard splash to Tengu
Persephone b. Tessa Blanchard – Razor’s Edge
Blue Panther b. Ultimo Guerrero – Super armdrag
Soberano Jr./Difunto/Barboza b. Valiente Jr./Xelhua/Esfinge 2-1
Neon/Mascara Dorada b. Captain Suicida/Flip Gordon – Double pin
Claudio Castagnoli b. Atlantis Jr. – Neutralizer
Mistico/Templario b. Angel de Oro/Hechicero 2-1

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Midnight Xpress
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: Horseshoe Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Emil Jay, Mo, Righteous Reg

What would Wrestlemania Week be without some cross promoted shows? That’s what we’re getting here, with Hybrid Wrestling teaming up with Pro Wrestling Unplugged. I’m really not sure what that is going to mean as I don’t follow either promotion, but that can make for some interesting results. Let’s get to it.

Opening video, featuring a bunch of people in rather shiny pants.

The ring announcer welcomes us to the show.

BackSeat Boyz vs. Effy/Joey Janela vs. Jordan Oliver/Ryan O’Neil

O’Neil is filling in for Alec Price, who was apparently injured earlier tonight while he…walked down some stairs. Effy on the other hand is apparently going a bit insane. Janela annoys JP to start and JP flips out of a wristlock. Effy comes in for a double atomic drop and a double hip shot to the head.

Oliver and O’Neil come in to clean house but the Boyz come in to clean house. A Devil’s Kiss has O’Neil in trouble and a spinning top rope splash gets two. Oliver makes the save and grabs a German suplex/rollup combination for two on both of the Boyz. Back up and the Boyz hit a Hart Attack into the Dream Sequence but Janela and Effy suplex them down.

Some clotheslines leave everyone on the mat for a breather and the fans get to count. The Boyz are up for a middle rope G9 and Tommy gives Effy an Air Raid Crash. O’Neil hits a Swanton for the ave but he walks into a double spinebuster to give the Boyz the quick pin at 10:18.

Rating: B-. Pretty nice three way tag with everyone going all over the place until the finish. The Boyz aren’t quite as good as the originals (shocking) but they do well enough for what they are. It’s a shame that Price is hurt as he and Oliver work well together and make for a good team. Effy being on the brink of snapping is interesting and you can all but guarantee to see more of that in the coming days.

Hybrid Women’s Title: Mia Friday vs. Brittnie Brooks vs. Ruthie Jay vs. Jazmin Allure

Jay is defending and Kiera Hogan is guest referee. We get a four way test of strength to start until Jay and Allure are knocked outside. Friday springboard armdrags Brooks down and sends her outside, only for Allure to trip Friday from the floor. Allure’s neckbreaker gets two on Friday but Brooks is back in with a double high crossbody.

Jay is back in with a rolling X Factor to Brooks, followed by an airplane spin of all things. Friday’s running neckbreaker makes Jay DDT Allure for two each but Brooks drops Friday with a belly to back. Jay sunset flips Allure for two but Hogan sees a rope being grabbed to cut it off. That has Jay yelling at Hogan so Friday grabs a rollup for the pin and the title at 6:51.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time here and that hurt things a bit, especially with the ending being built around the guest referee. That being said, it’s nice to see a title change on a show like this, as you don’t often get such a thing. Unfortunately I still don’t know much about Friday, as storytelling is not quite the focal point of such a match. They did good spots in the time they had here, but they only had so much time in the first place.

Video on BLKOUT vs. VNDL48. They hate each other and keep attacking each other with lots of threats ensuing.

BLKOUT vs. VNDL48

That would be JGeorge/Robby Illuminati/Face (with Skillz da Great) vs. Atticus Cogar/Christian Napier/Otis Cogar. It’s a big brawl on the floor to start with 48 cleaning house and sending JGeorge inside for a triple beating. A moonsault and hilo hit JGeorge, who is busted open and favoring his ankle. Atticus gives him an Air Raid Crash but Face is back in to send the Cogars into each other.

Naturally it’s time for a door but Napier is back up to dropkick it into Face’s face. Atticus saves Napier from being suplexed through the door so Napier takes over on Illuminati. That doesn’t last long as Illuminati spears him through the door. The Cogars are back in to tie Face up with some rope in the ropes and of course it’s time for some skewers to JGeorge’s head. Otis loads up a chair to Face but Matt Tremont (who got the same thing before) runs in to cut it off…and the match just ends at we’ll say 10:00.

Rating: D+. What am I supposed to say here? It’s the hardcore/weapons match of the night (at least the first one) and they didn’t even have an ending. I’m still not sure why they’re fighting but they certainly did, though it wasn’t exactly much of a match. This felt more like a fight in a long running feud, and it would have helped if I had known why they were fighting. Or if someone won.

Post match Tremont takes his jacket off and he’s ready for his scheduled match as the other people leave. It’s as random as it sounds.

Matt Tremont vs. Gangrel

They start fighting in the aisle before the bell and chop it out at ringside. Gangrel goes to the eyes to cut him off and grabs a door before opting for a kendo stick. They go inside with Tremont using the kendo stick before grabbing the chairs. That means they both get to sit down and slug it out until Gangrel throws a chair at his head. Tremont misses a fork shot, which hits the door instead. A spear puts Gangrel through a door and the big splash gives Tremont the pin at 1:57. It might be better to keep it that short.

Post match, respect is shown.

Billy Gold/Kidd Legend/LiveDanger vs. Channing Decker/Corazon/Juni Underwood/Simon Gotch

The latter has a manager named Amadeus with them and LiveDanger is the team of LiveWire Charlie and Danger Ross (doing an 80s throwback). Danger and Decker lock up to start with Danger knocking him down. Charlie comes in to gorilla press Corazon into a fall away slam (that looked great) and it’s already off to Gotch vs. Legend for a slugout. Legend is sent into the wrong corner and triple teamed, which lasts all of a few seconds before he gets over to Gold.

Underwood gets taken into the wrong corner for a double gorilla press and everything breaks down (I’m stunned it took this long). That actually doesn’t last as it’s Charlie sending Corazon flying for the tag back to Danger. Everything breaks down and Corazon gets backdropped into a powerslam from LiveDanger (not bad) for the pin at 8:20.

Rating: C+. As usual, there is only so much to be gained out of this many people having so little time, though LiveDanger were a fun team with some nice combinations. If the Outrunners weren’t a thing, they could become a nice act on the circuit. The rest of the people didn’t have a chance to showcase themselves, but that’s how matches like this tend to go.

PWU Silver Skywalker Title: Deklan Grant vs. Angel Metro vs. Angel Orsini vs. Don Freeze vs. Jazmyne Hao vs. JJ Doze vs. Mickie Knuckles vs. Tarzan Duran

Grant is defending in an eight person scramble. Grant is sent outside fast to start and the other men join him. That leaves the four women in the ring but they would rather dive than fight each other. Doze is back in for some dives but Hao gives him a Samoan drop. Freeze drops Hao with a spinning belly to back suplex so Duran flips in with a slingshot double faceplant.

The door is set up on the floor, leaving Orsini to chop away at Duran. Orsini manages to get up top for a moonsault onto the pile so Knuckles gives her a suplex back inside. A door is broken over Knuckles’ head and Grant wraps a bag over her head. That and a piledriver is enough for Grant to pin Knuckles and retain at 7:59.

Rating: D. Between the random lineup, everyone going everywhere at once and the rather horrible ending, there was nothing to see here. I get why these scramble matches have to take place but my goodness they can be a wreck. At the same time, this show could really use some more one on one matches, as this was another mess of a match, but without the good parts.

1 Called Manders vs. Thomas Shire

Apparently PCO isn’t here so they’re fighting each other despite being partners and friends. Manders takes him into the corner for a…nice pat on the trunks. They trade big strikes in the corner until Manders hits a springboard (off the bottom rope) elbow of all things. Shire is back with an ax handle and they clothesline each other down.

They get back up for a slugout from their knees until Shire drops him with a German suplex. Manders hits a lariat from his knees and they go outside, which can’t end well. Shire cuts him off with a jumping knee and a spinning torture rack slam drops Manders for two back inside. Back up and Manders slips away from…something, setting up a heck of a lariat to pin Shire at 6:39.

Rating: B-. Maybe it was just the previous match being such a mess, but this was two big, strong guys beating the fire out of each other. Manders is not a complicated gimmick but he does it pretty well. I’m still not sure why he’s never gotten a chance elsewhere but he certainly gets the idea well enough. I haven’t seen much of Shire but he fits in well with Manders.

PWU Women’s Title: Lacey Lane vs. Mercedes Martinez vs. Priscilla Kelly

For the inaugural title and Kiera Hogan is guest referee. Martinez is sent outside early to start but comes back in to break up the cover. Lane rolls Kelly up for two but Martinez is back in to throw both of them down. Martinez is knocked into the corner, allowing Lane to Death Valley Driver Kelly into her.

Kelly knocks Martinez outside and kicks away at Lane, followed by a nasty looking suplex. Lane is knocked outside so Kelly teases a dive, only for Martinez to catch her with a spider superplex. Back up and Lane is sent outside again, leaving Martinez to spinebuster Kelly for the pin and the title at 7:02.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have much time out there but they were going as fast as they could with the time that they had. That’s not easy to do but it worked well here, with Martinez being the one who stayed in the ring most of the time. She doesn’t have much time left in the ring, though she can still more than hang in there. Lane did well too, as she’s quite the athlete who looks natural in the ring. That leaves Kelly, who more than held her own and will probably be back in a bigger promotion one day.

PWU Title: Jack Evans vs. Pat Dynamite

Dynamite is defending. They go with the grappling to start until Dynamite hits a quick dropkick to knock him outside. Back in and Evans gives him a handshake before posing on the ropes. An enziguri hits Dynamite to cut him off though and Evans sends him outside. Dynamite gets tossed into the steps and suplexed on the stage to make it even worse. Back in and a Falcon Arrow sets up a chinlock.

That’s switched into a Muta Lock but Dynamite makes the rope in a hurry. A brainbuster onto the knee has Evans down for a change, setting up a top rope clothesline for two. Evans is back up to send him outside for the tumbling flip dive, followed by a 450 back inside. Another 450 is loaded up (Evans loves his flips) but Dynamite gets the knees up and small packages him to retain at 10:33.

Rating: C+. Evans is someone who has been around for the better part of ever and you know what you’re getting with him. He’s going to run his mouth and flip a lot, but the good thing is he still knows how to do that style pretty well. The ending didn’t offer much, though at least the match had some time for a change.

Overall Rating: C. There are some talented wrestlers on here and some of the matches were pretty nice. At the same time, there were multiple parts that felt either dumb or almost incomplete, including the weird ending to the six person tag. I’ve seen far worse shows, but this felt like it needed more planning and structure, as it’s kind of all over the place otherwise.

Results
BackSeat Boyz b. Effy/Joey Janela and Jordan Oliver/Ryan O’Neil – Double spinebuster to O’Neil
Mia Friday b. Brittnie Brooks, Jazmin Allure and Ruthie Jay – Rollup to Jay
BLKOUT vs. VNDL48 went to a no contest
Matt Tremont b. Gangrel – Splash
Billy Gold/Kidd Legend/LiveDanger b. Channing Decker/Corazon/Juni Underwood/Simon Gotch – Backdrop into a powerslam to Corazon
Deklan Grant b. Angelo Metro, Angel Orsini, Don Freeze, Jazmyne Hao, JJ Doze, Mickie Knuckles and Tarzan Duran – Piledriver to Knuckles
1 Called Manders b. Thomas Shire – Lariat
Mercedes Martinez b. Lacey Lane and Priscilla Kelly – Spinebuster to Kelly

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Impact Wrestling
Date: April 16, 2026
Location: Upstate Medical University Arena At The Oncenter War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re done with Rebellion and that means we should be in for a big time fallout. Mike Santana is still the World Champion after dispatching Eddie Edwards and the Hardys FINALLY lost the Tag Team Titles, oddly to the System. There is a lot of fallout to cover here, including a heck of a return to the ring so let’s get to it.

Here is Rebellion if you need a recap.

We open with a long Rebellion recap, covering pretty much everything.

Opening sequence.

Here is Nic Nemeth, who stumbles down the ram, to join commentary on the opening match.

KC Navarro vs. AJ Francis

The much bigger Francis shoves him down to start but it’s too early for the Down Payment. Navarro knocks him outside but a dropkick is countered into a faceplant onto the apron. Francis posts him and then fires Navarro into the corner back inside. For some reason Navarro tries an Angle Slam and is promptly LAUNCHED with an AA.

A jawbreaker and dropkick work a bit better for Navarro and he hits some running dropkicks in the corner. They go up top and a super Angle Slam actually connects to give Navarro two. Francis Pounces him though, which lets Francis yell at Nemeth. That’s enough for Nemeth to get up, which allows Navarro to grab a rollup for the pin at 7:04.

Rating: C+. Navarro is back with a quick win and that’s a good thing to see. At the same time you have Francis ticked off at Nemeth, which should work out well for both of them. It’s certainly a step up for Francis to go after a star like Nemeth, though I’m wonder what is next for Navarro as well. He’s been gone for so long and was never a singles star, though he might just be lost in the shuffle again.

EC3 talks about carrying the company through its darkest time and then leaving for a long time. Now he’s back, and has to deal with Eric Young. What a great way to start.

Here is the System, once again with Alisha Edwards, for a chat. They’re happy to have the Tag Team Titles but Eddie Edwards blames Moose for not being the World Champion. Alisha mocks Moose for being stupid (even though he knew she was doing) and Cedric Alexander wants the X-Division Title.

Cue Leon Slater, who asks when Alexander will shut up. Moose comes in to insult all of them, who he finds to be b******. Slater wants a match right now but here is Daria Rae to say no but Slater says Santino Marella would do it. That’s enough for Rae to make the 4-2 handicap match for later.

We look at Frankie Kazarian cheating to beat Elijah at Rebellion.

Elijah comes in to see Daria Rae, who wants to face Kazarian again. Rae calls Kazarian, who says no. End of discussion.

Tasha Steelz vs. Jada Stone

The rest of Order 4 is here with Steelz and Mustafa Ali brags about his win at Rebellion. He’s a champion who doesn’t need a second chance so he’s GIVING a second chance, in the form of an open challenge for his newly won International Title. Stone storms the ring and we’re ready to go. They slug it out at the bell with Stone headscissoring her into the corner. Steelz bails to the floor and manages to post Stone to take over. That means some posing from Steelz and we take a break.

We come back with Steelz suplexing her for two and grabbing a camel clutch. That doesn’t last long so Steelz stomps away in the corner instead. Stone fights up and scores with a middle rope Meteora into a split legged moonsault. Steelz is right back with a neckbreaker and a German suplex but Stone gets in a facebuster. Ali offers a distraction though and Steelz grabs a middle rope cutter for two. The referee tosses Order 4 so Stone superkicks her into the Spark Stunner for the pin at 13:17.

Rating: B-. They had a good back and forth match here and it got some time. The other good thing is you can see Stone being treated as someone who could become a star. That is something that is always welcome, as the division needs some fresh blood. I don’t know if that’s going to be Stone but at least she’s getting some attention.

We go to the Undead Realm where Rosemary finds Joseph Park. He’s looking for his brother (“You know”) Abyss but is so happy to see Rosemary that he gives her a hug. Park is going to do something for her (she seems pleased) and is off to work on it. We cut to Tessa Blanchard trying to find her way out and beating up some women before running off. To be continued.

Nic Nemeth and KC Navarro are happy with his win but the System comes in for some mocking. Nemeth is ready to fight Bear Bronson any time.

Here is Mike Santana for a chat. He’s put down every former World Champion he’s faced so now he wants to issue a challenge of his own. There is someone else back there who has turned his life around so he wants Rich Swann out here. Swann asks if this is a good idea because he’s in the best shape of his career and is ready to fight all night long. Santana says the people have spoken and he’s ready for the title match next week. It seems to be on.

Lei Ying Lee talks about falling in love with wrestling and gaining a friend in Xia Brookside. She doesn’t know why Brookside abandoned her.

Brookside has nothing to say.

EC3 vs. Eric Young

Young jumps him from behind to start fast and the brawl is on, with EC3 getting beaten up on the floor and inside. EC3 fights up and runs over Young and the referee, which is enough for the no contest at 2:31. Well that’s odd.

Post match Young wraps a chair around EC3’s neck and sends it into the post.

Back in the Undead Realm, Rosemary runs into a masked man named Frank, who is holding an ax. They have a chat about his mother and he goes on his way. Mara Sade and Allie discuss vegan options and run into a woman who teleports around them. They aren’t impressed and move on.

Tessa Blanchard finds Rosemary and wants out so the fight is on, with Blanchard beating her up and tying her to a chair. Allie and Sade come in and untie her, with Rosemary finding it funny. Allie gives chase and we cut to Blanchard and her friends escaping, as James Mitchell lets them out. The teleporting woman comes in and Mitchell introduces himself to her. Hannifan: “What the h*** is going on?”

In the arena, Blanchard, Mila Moore and Victoria Crawford crawl out from underneath the ring…but the lights go out and Rosemary and Mara Sade are here for the brawl. Sade is beaten down but Rosemary isn’t worried. The lights go out again and Allie is back to quit the reaction.

The Hardys swear vengeance on the Righteous. Brokenness is teased.

The System vs. Moose/Leon Slater

Alisha Edwards is here with the System. Slater and Alexander start things off but the numbers game lets Alexander get in a shot from behind. Moose (who played college football here) comes in for a backsplash and sends Bronson outside. Myers spears Bronson by mistake and Moose powerbombs Alexander onto the two of them. Slater busts out the big dive and Moose spears Alexander back inside.

Myers makes the save and Edwards hits a Boston Knee Party to put Moose down. Bronson sits on Moose’s chest for two and Edwards ties up his leg. Moose fights out and drops Edwards, allowing the tag off to Slater. Some running boots in the corner connect but Edwards pokes Slater in the eye. Alexander frog splashes Slater for two and Moose accidentally takes out a security guard on the floor. Back in and Alexander reverses a rollup into a Lumbar Check to pin Slater at 7:50.

Rating: B-. This was pretty much what you would have expected here, as there was no reason for Slater and Moose, as great as they are, to overcome these odds. The ending is a fine way to give Alexander another shot, as Slater is less than a month from the longest reign in history. It’s a star studded main event, which went exactly as you probably thought it would have.

Commentary gives us a recap of the night (not a bad idea) to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. There was a lot to like here, as they set up something with Slater vs. Alexander II, plus Nic Nemeth possibly getting in on the battle against the System. Throw in the women getting out of the Undead Realm and things are looking up. I liked this show a good deal and it’s nice to see them hitting the ground running after a pay per view for a change.

Results
KC Navarro b. AJ Francis – Rollup
Jada Stone b. Tasha Steelz – Spark Stunner
EC3 vs. Eric Young went to a no contest
The System b. Moose/Leon Slater – Lumbar Check to Slater

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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The Gate Of Sin City
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: Horseshoe Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Larry Dallas, Joe Dombrowski

It’s Dragon Gate USA time, meaning some great athleticism and very impressive in-ring work, albeit from a promotion that I only know from Wrestlemania Weekend. That’s one of the best signs about a promotion where I don’t know what’s going on, as it shows how much of a universal language wrestling can be. Let’s get to it.

Dombrowski welcomes us to the show

Kai vs. El Cucuy vs. Willie Mack

Cucuy (pronounced “coo-coo-e”) has a belt but this is non-title. Kai bails to the floor to start and shakes hands with a fan holding a Japanese flag. Back in and Kai drops to his knees to shake hands with Cucuy, who then rolls him up for two. They go to a three way standoff before Kai gets double teamed into a suplex.

With Kai down, Cucuy gets armdragged out to the floor but Kai trips Mack to the floor. Mack is sent into the barricade and then misses a clothesline, which hits the post by mistake. They all get back inside, where Cucuy and Kai have a tentative alliance to take over on Mack. That lasts all of eighteen seconds until Kai drops him with a DDT.

Mack’s frog splash gets two on Kai but Cucuy gives Mack a Shining Wizard for two of his own. Kai is back in and doesn’t seem worried about his competition so he takes Cucuy up top. Mack turns that into a Tower Of Doom and everyone is down again. Mack’s big dive to the floor take Cucuy out and a spinning Michinoku Driver plants Kai for two. Mack kicks Cucuy and Stunners Kai for the pin at 10:56.

Rating: B-. It’s not a great match but the fans like Mack and he’s able to move around out there despite not having the usual cruiserweight style look (to put it mildly). They had a really nice mixture of different styles and looks here and it made for a good start. If nothing else, having people who look so different makes me want to watch and that’s a big start.

Hoho Lun/Estrella vs. Channing Decker/Rhys Maddox

Decker and Lun start things off with Lun blocking a takedown attempt and grabbing an armbar. A slam puts Lun down though and drops a spinning legdrop before coming in to work on Lun’s arm for a change. Estrella comes in to tie Maddox up without much trouble before Maddox pops to his feet for the slugout. Maddox takes him into the corner so Decker can come in for some shots of his own.

The…I guess we’ll say villains get to start taking turns beating on Estrella, with Maddox grabbing a chinlock. That doesn’t last long (chinlocks so rarely do) and Estrella fights up for the tag off to Lun. A double dropkick sends Maddox and Decker out to the floor and Estrella adds a 619 in the corner. Decker hits a double clothesline though and a double high crossbody gets two. Maddox spears Lun and a cutter gets two more. Estrella is back up with a flipping suicide to Decker and Lun rolls Maddox up for the pin at 9:49.

Rating: C+. This was a more standard tag match with the villains getting the heat on Estrella before the comeback. That’s a formula that has worked for the better part of ever in wrestling and it worked again here. Lun is someone who has impressed me in the limited times I’ve seen him and he did well in this one too. Maddox has been around a lot this week, though I’ve only gotten so much out of him so far.

Post match Maddox shows respect but Decker isn’t pleased.

Susumu Yokosuka vs. Marcus Mathers

We get the handshake to start before Mathers takes him down by the arm. A crucifix gives Mathers two and it’s an armdrag into a dropkick to send Yokosuka to the floor. This lets commentary explain the title structure in Dragon Gate, which is a good idea when there are probably a lot of new viewers watching.

Back in and Yokosuka dropkicks the knee out to take over and starts cranking on the leg. Said leg gets kicked in the corner but the limping Mathers fights up to trade chops. Yokosuka slams him down onto the knee and the Figure Four goes on. That sends Mathers over to the rope, as you might expect, and he backdrops out of a piledriver attempt.

Yokosuka is sent outside for a PK, but Mathers hurts his own leg again. Back in and a dragon screw legwhip takes Mathers down again but Mathers uses the good leg for a question mark kick. One heck of a clothesline gives Yokosuka two and they trade rollups for two each. Mathers’ brainbuster drops Yokosuka and the 450 finishes him off at 12:43.

Rating: B. Gah they were getting close to a great match and then Mathers’ leg is fine enough to use a 450 after Yokosuka worked on it for so long. That’s a case where a rollup is a perfect finish as it lets Mathers escape rather than hit his big move. The rest of the match was rather good, but that last big pulled it down a bit.

Love And Peace vs. Bustah And The Brain vs. Jungle Brothers

That would be Ben-K/Hyo vs. Alex Price/Jordan Oliver vs. Aero Panther/Fight Panther Jr. Price somehow hurts his leg during his entrance, which can’t be a good sign. Hyo, Price and Aero start things of with Price’s leg being good enough to run the ropes. Hyo’s leg lariat puts Aero down and we get a three way staredown.

The other three come in and Oliver German suplexes Ben-K into a roll on Fight for two each (I think). Everything breaks down and the Brothers double faceplant Hyo. That’s broken up and a double stomp sends Fight crashing out to the floor. Ben-K comes back in and muscles Price out of the air for a suplex. Everything breaks down and it’s Love And Peace slugging it out with Bustah And The Brain.

Price hits a big dive over the top to the floor, with the Brothers coming in for the save. The Brothers hit stereo kicks to put Price out on the floor, followed by a dive each (one inside, one outside). Back in and Ben-K is put in a torture rack, with Aero diving in for a spinning gutbuster (that was sweet) and a near fall. Fight’s big flip dive to the floor connects but Ben-K gives Aero a spear. Hyo’s diving cutter gets the pin at 11:02.

Rating: B. Take six guys, let them go nuts at the same time with the tags being completely dropped a few minutes in. Yes it goes against the rules, but that’s kind of the point in something like this. It was certainly an entertaining match and it’s nice to not have Bustah And The Brain lose for a change. Fun stuff here, with the fast paced style this place seems to be known for featuring.

Yamato vs. Jonathan Gresham

They shake hands to start, with Gresham seemingly respectful of Yamato, who is apparently quite the legend around here. Yamato takes him down by the arm to start but Gresham is right back up to fight over a wristlock. A hammerlock is broken up as Gresham sends him outside…but Yamato gets smart by crawling underneath the ring and sneaking around to jump Gresham from behind.

Gresham tries a chop, which doesn’t do much good whatsoever. For some reason Gresham tries it again and stops to look at his hand, which is never a good sign. With that not working, Gresham chops him low, which has some more success. Gresham goes to the leg with a Figure Four and holds onto it for a good while. Yamato makes the rope and knocks him away, but the leg is slowing the comeback down.

An overhead suplex gives Yamato two and he grabs the ankle lock. That’s broken up as well so they fight over hurting the other’s leg. Gresham gets the better of things and Figure Fours him again, with Yamato getting to the ropes a second time. They get back up and slug it out, with the pace picking up to the fans’ delight. Yamato’s hurricanrana gets two but Gresham is right back on the leg. A shooting star press gets two but Yamato turns over a third Figure Four…and Gresham actually taps at 17:06.

Rating: B+. This was a heck of a match as you had some rather good technical stuff, as Gresham is known to do so well. At the same time you had Yamato, who came off like a legend with Gresham trying to figure him out. I got way into this and liked it as much as anything I’ve seen so far this week so nicely done indeed.

Post match respect is shown, with Yamato bowing like Gresham did before the match.

Dragon Kid/Kzy/Yuki Yoshioka vs. Ishin/Madoka Kikuta/Yoshiki Kato

Kikuta seems to be the top singles champion and his team jumps the others to start before the bell. We officially start with Ishin shouldering Kid down, which doesn’t get him very far as it’s off to Yoshioka to dropkick Kikuta. Kzy comes in to lock up with Kato, who powers him up against the ropes for a mostly clean break.

Kzy takes over and it’s back to Kid for a top rope ax handle. Kid and company start taking turns on Kato’s arm before Yoshioka grabs a chinlock. Kzy gets to work on the leg before Kid goes with a Jamie Noble Trailer Hitch (thankfully commentary knows the name too). Everything breaks down (you knew it was coming) and thankfully go split screen, showing us Kzy getting kicked low on the floor.

Back in and Kid gets double teamed by Kikuta and Kato, the latter of whom sends him into the corner. Ishin starts going for Kid’s mask, with the fans freaking out at the prospect. It works so well that Ishin takes him up top to try it again but Kid fights back. Ishin misses a splash and another hits raised knees. Kid manages a Stundog Millionaire to Kato and Yoshioka gets the tag to clean house.

Everything breaks down and Kzy goes after Kikuta’s leg, followed by a triple submission (as you do). With that broken up, Ishin superplexes Kzy for two and a double big boot drops him again. A death Valley Driver gives Ishin two and it’s off to Kid and Kato to slug it out on top. Kid gets the better of things and Kikuno piledrives Yoshioka for two.

Yoshioka is back with a quick frog splash for two and it’s time for Yoshioka and Kikuta to chop it out. A chair is brought in and forearmed into Kato’s face. That means a running forearm knocks him into Kid’s crucifix for two, with Ishin making the save. Kzy grabs a double underhook piledriver to finish Kato at 21:50.

Rating: B+. These six man tags are Dragon Gate’s signature match and there was pretty much nothing else that could headline the show. It was another crazy athletic match as you can see that they know exactly how to do this kind of thing. The fans were way into it too and it’s easy to see why. They had heat segments and then portions of total insanity, which is exactly what you want here. Heck of a match.

Post match the winner thank the fans and hope they had a good time. They hope they can come back again and the locker room comes out to celebrate.

Overall Rating: B+. It started off a bit slowly (though far from bad) but after the first two matches, it was all gravy with one awesome match after another. I have no idea how they do storylines or anything close to it, but Dragon Gate has some of the most exciting in-ring stuff you’ll find anywhere. This was one of the best shows of Wrestlemania Week last year and that was certainly the case again here. Great stuff.

Results
Willie Mack b. El Cucuy and Kai – Stunner to Kai
Hoho Lun/La Estrella b. Channing Decker/Rhys Maddox – Rollup to Maddox
Marcus Mathers b. Susumu Yokosuka – 450
Love And Peace b. Bustah And The Brain and the Jungle Brothers – Diving cutter to Aero
Yamato b. Jonathan Gresham – Reversed Figure Four
Dragon Kid/Kzy/Yuki Yoshioka b. Ishin/Yoshiki Kato/Madoka Kikuta – Double underhook piledriver to Kato

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6