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:

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

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:

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

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:

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

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

Progress Chapter 193: Las Vegas II
Date: April 16, 2026
Location: Horseshoe Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Joe Dombrowski, D’Lo Brown

We’re back in Las Vegas with the British promotion that you might have heard of before. I’ve only seen a bit from this place over the years so I’m not sure what to expect this time around. Believe it or not, the main event is for the World Title, which is a pretty safe way to go. Let’s get to it.

The opening video seems to be a standard one for the promotion rather than this show.

Subculture vs. Kuro/LJ Cleary

Kuro is a replacement for Tommy Tanner who isn’t here because…I’m guessing aliens. Cleary ties up Webster for two off la majistral and it’s off to Andrews for a change. Kuro snaps off a dropkick and faceplant to drop Andrews, who cuts him right back off. An inverted flipping backsplash gives Andrews two and it’s back to Cleary for a slam.

Cleary poses a bit and drops an elbow before sending Andrews into the corner. A dropkick into a leg trap Tombstone gets two, with Webster not getting in for the save. Andrews’ double Pele misses and everything breaks down. Clearly’s tornado DDT takes out Kuro by mistake and it’s a poisonrana/big boot combination to pin Cleary at 7:55.

Rating: C+. They had a quick but fine match with a story being told as well. The idea here was rather simple: Subculture are a regular team and know each other while Kuro and Cleary were thrown together and didn’t have the same chemistry. That’s more than I was expecting and the match wound up going pretty well. Subculture has done well almost every time I’ve seen them and that was the case again here.

Video on the Super Strong Style 16 tournament, which will have a men’s and women’s edition this year.

Simon Miller vs. Danny Jones

Miller works on a headlock to start and mocks Jones a bit. Jones gets low bridged to the floor, where he can slam the knee into the apron to take over. Back in and Jones chops him down before slapping the top of Miller’s head for some disrespect. Miller picks him up and puts him down with a belly to back suplex and the straps come down. Jones pulls him into a Falcon Arrow for two but takes WAY too long going up. Miller avoids a charge and hits a spear into the Jackhammer for the pin at 7:29.

Rating: C+. Miller is a rare case where he went from a celebrity to someone who was actually making a run out of an in-ring career. He’s not bad at all and works well as a power guy with some charisma. While I can’t imagine him getting much further than a star in Progress and similar promotions, he’s doing rather well with what he’s doing and that’s pretty impressive.

Super Strong Styles 16 First Round: Ethan Allen vs. Lio Rush

Rush is in full on Gollum mode and talks to himself in the corner at the opening bell. Allen goes after him and gets attacked in the corner but whips Rush in instead. Rush blocks a kick though and hits an enziguri to send Allen outside. That’s fine with Allen, who drops Rush hard onto the apron.

Back in and a kick to the back sets up Allen’s chinlock, with Allen punching him in the face to make it worse. Rush fights up and gets the speed going, with a flip into an enziguri dropping Allen for two more. Allen slaps on a quick rear naked choke before switching to a double arm crank. With nothing else working, Rush bites the rope to make the escape. Rush sends him outside and does his weird crawl thing, setting up a suicide dive. The Blue Thunder Bomb gives Rush the pin at 10:08.

Rating: C+. The more I see of Rush’s new character, the less necessary it seems to be. Rush is an athletic star and has a good look in the first place. This just makes him seem more goofy than anything else and that isn’t a good sign. Hopefully it doesn’t last long, though I have a bad feeling it is going to be around for the foreseeable future.

Emersyn Jayne vs. Lena Kross vs. Mercedes Martinez vs. Renee Michelle vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Jayne is “the Mother Teresa Of Workrate”. It’s a brawl to start of course and Blackheart is sent outside. She’s right back in to break up stereo delayed suplexes, followed by a dropkick to break up a Doomsday Device. We get a four way Devil’s Kiss until Martinez kicks them in the head to cut that off.

Kross gets to snap off some suplexes but Jayne takes over on Michelle. Back up and Michelle hits a dive, leaving Martinez to German superplex Jayne. Blackheart ties Martinez in the Tree Of Woe for a stomp but she’s right back with a spinebuster to Michelle. Jayne rolls Martinez up for the pin at 6:43.

Rating: C+. Take a bunch of people, put them in the ring at the same time and let them go nuts. There isn’t much else you can do for a match like this, though having five people in there rather than almost double that many is a nice relief. As usual, no one really got to stand out but there were some familiar names so at least it wasn’t a bunch of random spots from strangers.

Proteus Title: Paul Walter Hauser vs. Big Damo

Hauser (the actor) is defending and is putting up $100,000 for a bonus. In addition, Hauser has been champion for over a year but refuses to defend the title on British soil, making him a big heel for a change. Damo chases him to the floor but Hauser…slaps him, which doesn’t seem to be a good idea.

Some big forearms put Hauser down but a backsplash misses. Hauser’s rather weak chops just tick Damo off and he puts Hauser down with a single shot. A spinebuster and elbow give Damo two and he plants Hauser with a superplex. The gets pulled into the corner so Damo can crush him with a splash. Hauser gets in a low blow to retain the title at 6:48.

Rating: C. I remember Hauser winning the title last year and I’m kind of stunned to see him still holding the thing. If nothing else, making him a heel is quite the move and he did it well enough. Hauser isn’t a great worker or anything, but it’s cool to see him taking this seriously and trying something new. Not a great match, but I got what they were going for here.

Post match Hauser praises the American fans and mocks the British fans. Simon Miller, the former champion, shows up to chase Hauser back inside, where Damo gives him the Belfast Blitz. Then he does it again..and Miller goes to steal the $100,000. There’s no money in the suitcase though so Hauser gets hit in the head with the case.

Women’s Super Strong Style 16 First Round: Rhio vs. Vert Vixen

Rhio avoids a charge into the corner to start and they go out to the apron. A package piledriver doesn’t work so Rhio hits a belly to back suplex instead. Back in and Vixen takes her down for an early chinlock, followed by a choke in the corner. Rhio gets kicked out to the floor, where Vixen drops her again and poses a bit.

As usual that takes too long and Rhio is back with a dive to take over. They get back in and slug it out with Vixen getting the better of things, followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. Rhio’s MuscleBuster gets the same and a crossbody puts Vixen down again. A fireman’s carry backbreaker gives Rhio two but she still can’t hit the package piledriver. Vixen’s charge misses and now the package piledriver finishes for Rhio at 10:55.

Rating: B-. It’s no surprise that Rhio is on so many radars, as she checks a lot of boxes. She has the size, a nice look, and is a heck of an athlete. Having her move on is a smart idea as she seems like a favorite to win the whole tournament. Vixen is an interesting case as well, as she’s quite the star outside of AEW, which is a shame as she rarely gets a chance to do anything there.

Progress World Title: Michael Oku vs. Man Like DeReiss

Oku, with Amira, is challenging and DeReiss (with Brodie Lee Jr.) raps his way to the ring as usual. Oku dropkicks him in the corner at the bell, setting up a frog splash for two. A backdrop puts Oku down but he’s right back with something like a Sling Blade over the top. Back in and Oku grabs a snapmare but has to bail out on a top rope moonsault.

DeReiss knocks him down again though and an elbow to the face gets two. They trade shots for a double down and Lee slides in the title. DeReiss doesn’t want it that way so Amira goes after Oku. DeReiss has to save Lee from a half crab but misses Cool Runnings (450). Instead DeReiss kicks him into the corner for a very spinning Blue Thunder Bomb.

Oku escapes a leg lock and gets the half crab, with Lee teasing throwing in the towel. That’s broken up and Oku sends DeReiss outside, setting up the Fosbury Flop. Back in and DeReiss pulls a dive out of the air for a swinging Downward Spiral, setting up Cool Runnings for two. A piledriver gets two more and DeReiss Sharpshooters him to retain at 13:46.

Rating: B. This was more like it, as it came off like a main event World Title showdown between two rather talented wrestlers. You don’t get to see that very often, and it’s nice to see DeReiss being able to back up his cool entrance in the ring. Oku is slowly growing on me and his in-ring abilities are more than good enough to keep him around for a long while to come. Good main event here.

Post match Lee makes amends with Oku and Amira. DeReiss celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. As usual, Progress puts on a good show with a solid main event and enough hard work from a talented roster. It’s not a classic or anything (though the main event is worth a look) but for a show that runs just over two hours, it’s worth your time. I could go for more of Progress, as they’re always worth a look when they come stateside.

Results
Subculture b. Kuro/LJ Cleary – Big boot/poisonrana combination to Cleary
Simon Miller b. Danny Jones – Jackhammer
Lio Rush b. Ethan Allen – Blue Thunder Bomb
Emersyn Jayne b. Lena Kross, Mercedes Martinez, Renee Michelle and Shotzi Blackheart – Rollup to Martinez
Paul Walter Hauser b. Big Damo – Low blow
Rhio b. Vert Vixen – Package piledriver
Man Like DeReiss b. Michael Oku – Sharpshooter

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

High Rollers
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: FSW Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Bill Alfonso, Frank The Clown, Trevin Adams

This is Coastal Championship Wrestling (Florida), a sister promotion of Boca Raton Championship Wrestling. I watched the latter earlier in the day and it left a bit to be desired so we’ll have to see if the sibling can do much better. I have no idea what to expect here as I’m coming in blind so let’s get to it.

A host welcomes us to the show and hopes we have a good time. Nice way to go for a promotion a lot of fans won’t know.

We go to meet commentary (including Adams, the host from a few moments ago) and cut to the first match.

Beastman vs. Crush

Beastman is a cross between singles Barbarian and…well like two of them as he’s a rather big guy (probably pushing 400lbs). Crush (not that one, as he’s been dead for almost twenty years) is absolutely jacked with a great physique. Beastman goes right at him to get start but gets knocked into the corner for some right hands. Crush can’t slam him so Beastman grabs a belly to belly for two.

A running crossbody to the back hits Crush in the ropes and we hit the chinlock. Crush is back up with an enziguri, only to get hit with a Thesz press from behind (that’s a new one). Another chinlock doesn’t last long as Crush manages a spinebuster for quite the crash. A top rope elbow hits Beastman for two and there’s a suicide dive. Back in and Beastman knocks Crush off the top, setting up a Banzai Drop for the pin at 7:13.

Rating: C. Crush had a great look and will probably get a chance to do something based on that alone. Beastman is just a huge guy who didn’t do much outside of standard big man stuff. That’s not a bad thing as it’s something that has been done forever in wrestling, but this only had so much to offer as even someone as muscular as Crush can’t do much against a monster like that.

Sam Holloway vs. Jai Vidal

Holloway is a WWE ID prospect and a rather tall guy. Vidal (with his broken ribs) does his entrance twice to get double the cheering. We get the old school weapons check, with Vidal making sure to check Holloway’s leg. Holloway powers him into the corner to start but gets knocked out to the floor. Vidal is dropped onto the barricade for a heck of a chop, followed by an elbow for two back inside.

Some more chops set up a chinlock but Vidal is right back up, only to get caught in a swinging Rock Bottom. Holloway gets smart by going after the ribs but Vidal flips out of a belly to back suplex. A jumping kick to the head sends Holloway outside and there’s a dive to hit him as well. Back in and Vidal manages a sunset bomb for two but Holloway is back with a sitout chokeslam for the pin at 7:00.

Rating: C+. They didn’t do anything overly unique here as it was a pretty standard David vs. Goliath story, though in this case Goliath took advantage of the bad ribs to beat him. It’s another case of the monster villain winning, though it was hard to imagine someone signed to a WWE deal losing here. Holloway isn’t bad but he isn’t quite there yet. With that size though, he’ll certainly get the chance.

Danny Everbourne vs. Justin Andrews vs. Kuro vs. Marcus DeAngelo vs. Dillon McQueen vs. Rhys Maddox vs. Romeo Quevedo vs. Shreddy vs. Tyler Shoop

This was originally a six man scramble but let’s make it nine instead. DeAngelo apparently hosts a podcast with Ted DiBiase and broke his hand, so he has THE BLACK GLOVE from Mid-South. Well he’s suddenly more awesome. The bell rings and everyone surrounds DeAngelo, who is promptly beaten up by everyone else to send him outside. So much for the power of the glove.

Kuro teases a dive but gets clotheslined down as things into the expected mess. Shoop pulls Maverick McQueen (Dillon’s husband/cousin, which is apparently a thing) into a dive and Dillon isn’t happy but they both get clotheslined down. Quevedo hits a rolling cutter on Andrews and it’s off to Kuro vs. Everbourne. The latter hits a powerslam but Maddox is back in with a spear. McQueen clotheslines Shoop outside and crossfaces DeAngelo for the tap at 6:07.

Rating: C+. What do you want me to say? There were nine people flying around the ring and ringside for about six minutes. It’s not like they had a chance to showcase themselves at all, with the entrances being the most chance they had to stand out. I get the idea of wanting to have as many people on the show as possible, but this really didn’t work.

Post match Shoop and McQueen brawl some more.

Stallion Rogers vs. LJ Cleary

The fans certainly seem to like Cleary, who slides around Stallion to start and gives him a springboard armdrag. That earns Cleary a basement dropkick to slow things way back down and sets up a big chop to Cleary in the corner. Stallion drops a knee for two but Cleary is back up with some rapid fire chops in the corner. Back up and Cleary hammers away, setting up a springboard double stomp to the back of the neck.

The Liontamer is broken up and Stallion Air Raid Crashes him onto a knee. Back up and Cleary hits a springboard Canadian Destroyer for two and can’t believe the kickout. Now the Boston crab goes on but Stallion makes the rope. A running headbutt knocks Cleary silly and a…pumphandle/package piledriver (that’s a bit complicated) finishes for Stallion at 6:34.

Rating: B-. They kept things going here and it felt like a match between two people who wanted to take each other out. Cleary had the fast paced offense that makes for some entertaining matches and it’s easy to see why he’s been around on various bigger shows. At the same time, Stallion being a former WWE star isn’t surprising either, as he certainly has some talent. Nice match here, and it was nicer after the insanity of the previous outing.

Women’s Title: Kristin Blaze vs. J-Rod

Blaze is defending, J-Rod is going to be on the new American Gladiators and they’re both in outstanding shape. J-Rod takes her down with a headlock takeover and Blaze goes after the hair to limited effect. Back up and Blaze hits a dropkick before dropping a knee to keep J-Rod in trouble.

They strike it out and Blaze knees her in the ribs to set up a chinlock. A Backstabber gives Blaze two but J-Rod is back with a release German suplex. J-Rod powerbombs her down and adds a suplex but Blaze shoves the referee into the ropes. This isn’t a DQ for whatever reason so Blaze hits her split legged moonsault to retain at 7:38.

Rating: C+. This was power vs. power despite neither of them being the biggest physically. What they are though is completely made of muscle, which certainly makes them both stand out. They both need a lot more experience and polish (which is fine), but they are at least off to good starts.

Matt Riddle vs. Ben Bishop

Bishop is just shy of 7 feet and shoves Riddle down to start. Riddle gets knocked down again and then has to jump to try a test of strength. With that not working, Riddle tries a choke in the ropes but charges into a side slam. Riddle fights out of a chinlock and kicks away at the chest, only to get choked back down.

Bishop throws him into the corner a few times and fires him out with a fall away slam. Back up and Riddle hits a quick Floating Bro for two but the RKO is blocked. A not so great looking chokeslam puts Riddle down again and he has to get a foot on the rope. Some choking out of the corner staggers Bishop for a change and a middle rope cutter gives Riddle the pin at 9:37.

Rating: C. This was basically Riddle trying to find a way around the monster’s size and power, which is a good story to tell. Unfortunately it wasn’t exactly an exciting match, with Bishop doing some very generic power stuff. I more than get the idea of wanting to present someone his size, but he needs to add some spark to his matches. Riddle was…well you know what Riddle is by now.

Shotzi Blackheart vs. Izzi Moreno vs. Sammi Chaos

Chaos gets the wrong music and doesn’t seem happy. Some double teaming knocking her to the floor makes it worse so Moreno trips Blackheart down and hits a basement dropkick. Blackheart is back up with a high crossbody but Chaos is back in with a crossbody of her own. Chaos hits some running splashes to Blackheart but gets choked by Moreno, who is crushed in the corner.

Moreno is back up to headscissor Chaos into Blackheart for two before Chaos is put down. Some clotheslines put Blackheart down but she sends the other two outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Moreno tries a sunset flip but Chaos sits onto her, with Blackheart’s save not being enough to break up the pin at 8:07.

Rating: C. This was about trying to keep the monster Chaos down and that only worked for so long. Blackheart was easily the best in there and that’s hardly a surprise as she was already something in WWE. Moreno is clearly still learning and getting experience, but she’s off to a decent start.

Cha Cha Charlie vs. Josh Bishop

Charlie charges at Bishop to start and gets sent flying with a fall away slam. A regular slam gives Bishop two and he shoves Charlie around a bit. The delayed vertical suplex gets the delayed cover for two but Charlie fights back with some kicks to the chest. A cha cha elbow gets two but Bishop is right back up with a spinning Boss Man Slam. Bishop tries a Razor’s Edge, which is reversed into a not so smooth sunset flip to give Charlie the pin at 5:47.

Rating: C-. I get that Charlie is supposed to be less of a serious star but I’ve seen him twice today and I really don’t get the appeal. Thankfully he didn’t dance a lot, which was the first thing I was expecting when I heard his name. Bishop has a nice look and feels like he should be a good heel, maybe in the old school style, but it wasn’t really clicking here.

Post match Sam Holloway runs in for the beatdown on Charlie but Jai Vidal makes the save. Dancing ensues.

CCW Heavyweight Title: Gangrel vs. Jimmy Lloyd

Gangrel is defending and tries to get the fans behind him to start. Some early right hands have Lloyd in trouble and out on the floor Gangrel rams him into various things. Back in and the Impaler is broken up so Lloyd can hammer away, followed by a hair takedown. Lloyd drops an apron legdrop for two and we hit the chinlock. Gangrel fights up and grabs a Russian legsweep but Lloyd hits an elbow to the face. The moonsault misses though and Gangrel hits the Impaler for the pin at 8:59.

Rating: C-. I get the idea of Gangrel being in here due to his name value, but there is only so much to get out of him in the ring. The Impaler is good, but outside of that it’s just a bunch of basic offense that doesn’t add up to much. Lloyd was fine enough as a challenger as he’s a name on the indies, but this was pretty flat as a main event.

Overall Rating: C. There were some nice parts to this and some of the matches were entertaining, but the last few kind of staggered across the finish line. The show didn’t have anything that really made it stand out and the star power that it had didn’t really boost it up that much. It’s not a terrible show, but it’s rather basic with nothing that you would need to see.

Results
Beastman b. Crush – Banzai Drop
Sam Holloway b. Jai Vidal – Sitout chokeslam
Dillon McQueen b. Danny Everbourne, Justin Andres, Kuro, Marcus DeAngelo, Rhys Maddox, Romeo Quevedo, Shreddy, Tyler Shoop – Crossface to DeAngelo
Stallion Rogers b. LJ Cleary – Pumphandle package piledriver
Kristin Blaze b. J-Rod – Split legged moonsault
Matt Riddle b. Ben Bishop – Middle rope cutter
Nikki Cross b. Shotzi Blackheart and Izzi Moreno – Sitdown splash to Moreno
Cha Cha Charlie b. Josh Bishop – Sunset flip
Gangrel b. Jimmy Lloyd – Impaler

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

Podermania 2026
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: Horseshoe Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Veda Scott, Val Capone

I’ve seen this show on the Wrestlemania schedule year after year and it’s time to give it a shot. As usual I have no idea what to expect from the show but apparently it is a self-described “mostly” female wrestling company. That could mean quite the good results given the available talent so let’s get to it.

There’s an anime opening video and I have no idea if this sword fight has anything to do with the show.

Su Yung/Leva Bates vs. Joseline Navarro/Mazzerati

Yung and Bates are Team Demonslayer. Mazzerati poses at Bates to start so it’s off to Yung, who scares Mazzerati off to Navarro. Bates comes right back in and goes after Navarro’s leg so we’ll try Yung again. Some double teaming has Yung in trouble and Mazzerati gives her a spinning middle rope crossbody.

Bates comes in for the save and Yung (described as the Demon, despite being on Team DEMONSLAYER) has the big staredown with Navarro. Yung gets knocked down but Bated tagged herself in and gets kicked in the face for two. Yung’s Arachnarana (cool name) send Navarro into the corner and it’s the Panic Switch (Samoan driver) into a basement superkick to pin Mazzerati at 8:41.

Rating: C+. Good enough opener here with a nice, fast paced tag match. That’s often a smart way to start things off and while the pairings felt a bit random, it wound up working well enough. I didn’t know much about the women (I’ve seen them all before but that’s about it) but they got me into the match and I’ll call that a win.

Post match Tara Zep (another odd looking woman) runs in to beat on Mazzerati before leaving with Yung.

The ring announcer thanks various people for making the show possible.

Amira/Lil Marz vs. Jazzy Yang/Toga

Amira works on Toga’s arm to start with Toga reversing into a headlock. A running shoulder gives Toga one and Amira is back up with a dropkick. Marz comes in for a running basement elbow in the corner but it’s quickly off to Yang. Amira elbows her down and grabs a suplex, followed by a running clothesline in the corner.

Marz’s suplex gets two and a Cannonball in the corner gets two. Yang finally gets up for a crossbody though and it’s back to Toga for a heck of a forearm to Amira. Everything breaks down and Yang fires off some superkicks before going outside with Amira. That leaves Toga to hit a kind of Rock Bottom to pin Marz at 8:47.

Rating: B-. This match was similar to the opener but in this case I had no idea who anyone was and they pulled me into it again. It was a good enough showing between what felt like (again, not sure if they are) a match between two makeshift teams and that’s hard to do. I liked this well enough and Marz and Amira could be worth following going forward.

Some weapons are brought in, which can’t go well.

Nixi XS vs. Shazza McKenzie

This is a street fight. They sit down at a table…and start to play poker. Even the referee is playing (and dealing, while partially dressed like Elvis) and I’m more curious about the brand of card they have (my collection continues to grow). The fight breaks out and they go outside to find a fringe covered kendo stick. Nixi (who is apparently an evil bride) finds her own (non-fringed) kendo stick and hammers away but gets sent back inside. McKenzie finds a chair…and Blair Onyx (feuding with McKenzie) is attached to it.

The distraction lets Nixi fights back and cut McKenzie’s mouth with a card before pouring liquid into the cut. The bag of rhinestones are poured out and McKenzie is sent face first into them for a near fall. Nixi pulls out…what looks to be some powder, which McKenzie grabs and puts near her nose, triggering an energized comeback (I’m going to assume it was Hulk Hogan Python Powder and move on). Onyx gets on the apron though and the distraction lets Nixi hit McKenzie in the head with a bottle. A tornado DDT finishes McKenzie at 6:45.

Rating: B-. This was certainly a change of pace from the first two matches and, possible cocaine inspired comeback aside, I liked it well enough. I’ve seen McKenzie over the years and she always seems to put in a lot of effort. Nixi has popped up in AEW/ROH a few times but it wasn’t quite like this, which granted wouldn’t make sense when she’s out there as a jobber.

Gypsy Mac vs. Brittnie Brooks vs. Izzy Moreno

Mac grabs a rollup to start and Moreno sends her outside. Brooks takes Moreno down and drops Mac on the floor before throwing her back inside. Moreno is knocked to the floor again and it’s a running hip attack to give Brooks two. Brooks gives Mac a faceplant but gets tripped down by Moreno, who comes back inside. Mac hip checks Brooks in the corner but gets Falcon Arrowed by Moreno for two.

Moreno northern lights suplexes Mac but Brooks’ slingshot save doesn’t work, leaving Mac to kick out on her own. Mac is back up with a spear to Brooks, who manages a wheelbarrow bulldog. Moreno grabs a DDT but gets dropped by Mac. Brooks offers a distraction so Moreno can slam Mac off the top. Brooks comes back in to plant Mac for two but Moreno sends Brooks outside and steals the pin at 8:17.

Rating: C+. Brooks continues to feel like a star in the making (as she did last year) but Moreno continues to be the interesting aspect. She’s by no means ready for it yet, but can you imagine if she managed to get to WWE for a run with Bayley? It would be one of the coolest super long term stories in wrestling and dang it’s somehow a possibility.

Post match Moreno thanks the fans for helping her get better.

Kaia McKenna vs. Allie Katch

McKenna is rather tall. They fight over a test of strength to start with neither getting very far so McKenna knees her in the ribs. A suplex gives McKenna two but Katch is back with a Pele kick. Katch whips her hard into the corner for two and it’s a hip attack into the Cannonball for two. McKenna belly to back suplexes her for the same but Katch is right back with a quick piledriver for the pin out of nowhere at 8:01.

Rating: C+. Katch continues to feel like one of the more polished independent women in the industry and she was doing well here again. She seems to be more of a permanent star on the indy circuit rather than doing anything in a big company. At the same time, McKenna had an interesting look and I could go for seeing her again.

Journey Burke/Sirena Veil/Valentina Rossi vs. Dani Mo/Emily Jaye/Rachel Ley

Jaye and Rossi (who is now Gianna Capri in Evolve) start things off with Jaye slapping her in the face, setting up a running faceplant. It’s off to Ley for a handspring elbow in the corner to Burke. A neckbreaker cuts Ley off for two but she kicks Journey in the face, allowing the double tag to Mo and Veil.

Mo gets knocked down rather quickly and a Vader Bomb elbow gives Veil two as the other four are in a chase around ringside. Mo is right back up to strike away and a Code Red gets two on Burke. Everything breaks down and Burke gives Ley an Air Raid Crash. Mo’s Michinoku Driver drops Burke for two and Veil gets planted with a double chokeslam. Ley’s 450 is good for the pin at 8:24.

Rating: B-. They had a tough task with getting everyone a chance to shine with so many people involved. It wound up working out pretty well though, with the winners feeling like interesting prospects. Rossi is already more than a prospect and the other two were far from bad. Nice job here, even with a bunch of less than familiar (not a bad thing as it applies to everyone at some point) names.

Alex Gracia vs. Aleah James

They fight over a lockup to start with Gracia using the hair to pull her into the corner. James spins out of a wristlock and kicks Gracia into the corner. Gracia trips her down though and gets in some rams to the apron but the referee catches the feet on the ropes. Back in and Gracia’s belly to back suplex gets two but James breaks out of the double arm crank. James strikes away and grabs a fisherman’s suplex for two, only for Gracia to go for the eyes. A knee lift and headplant put James away at 5:05.

Rating: C. This didn’t have a ton of time to go anywhere but Gracia, who has been on some bigger shows before, was a solid hand out there. James was fine enough on her own, but there is only so much you can do in so little time. Maybe they’re running long or something, because this barely felt like it was getting started.

Poder Title: Brittany Blake vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Blackheart is challenging. They go to the mat to start with Blake getting two off a quick jackknife rollup. Back up and Blackheart gets the better of a test of strength before hitting a quick dropkick. Blake snaps off some armdrags before sending Blackheart out to the floor. They slug it out on the apron with Blake getting the better of things and hitting a suicide dive. Back in and Blackheart suplexes her into the corner for two, followed by a Boston crab.

Brooks makes the rope rather quickly and sends Blackheart into the corner for two. Blackheart tries a superplex but Blake blocks that and manages to reverse into a powerbomb. A hard knee sends Blackheart out to the floor…and now we both have kendo sticks. Blackheart gets the better of a strike off and puts her in a chair for a running knee. The top rope backsplash hits raised knees back inside though and a Texas Cloverleaf Gangsta’s Paradise finishes Blackheart at 10:55.

Rating: B-. Blackheart is a star and on a roll in the independent scene as of late and it’s good to see her getting a high profile spot on a show like this. She has a lot of matches scheduled this weekend and there is a good chance she’ll be in something pretty big over the next few days. Blake has been champion for going on two years though and certainly got to show off a bit here. Nice match and it did feel more important.

Post match Blake says…I’m not sure as the audio isn’t great.

Carolina Cruz vs. Miranda Alize

Alize’s headlock takeover starts things off but Cruz is back up with a running shoulder. After a quick dance, Cruz snaps off some armdrags but Alize pulls her down out of the corner. The double arm crank goes on for a few moments before Alize switches to hammering away in the corner. Cruz fights back with a Stunner to start the clothesline comeback, followed by a dropkick. A sliding clothesline gives Cruz two but Alize slaps on a crossface. With that broken up, Cruz grabs a jumping Downward Spiral for two but Alize is back with a Shining Wizard for the pin at 6:40.

Rating: C+. It was good while it lasted, but it just didn’t last long. That’s kind of a problem as you can only just so much into a match so short. I’ve seen both of them before and they’re both talented, but there was only so much to get out of a match that was going up against this kind of limitations.

Ladies Night Out Title: Alexandra Le Leona vs. Jazmin Allure

Allure is defending. Leona takes her down by the arm to start and they trade legsweeps for two each. That means we’re off to an early standoff until Leona rolls some suplexes. A 619 misses and Allure is right back with a neckbreaker. Leona’s reverse Sling Blade drops Allure again though and now the 619 connects. The springboard splash gives Leona two and an Angel’s Wings connects for the same. Allure hits the ropes and grabs Tatum Paxley’s Cemetery Drive to retain at 4:34.

Rating: C. Are they just really short on time or something? The previous match didn’t get much time and this match, a title match, was about a third shorter. I’m not sure what’s going on with that but they could only do much here. Allure is good at what she does and Leona is good at doing a lot of Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio stuff.

Charli Evans vs. Billie Starkz

Starkz doesn’t seem serious about a handshake to start so they clothesline each other down less than a minute in. An exchange of German suplexes are both shrugged off so Starkz brainbusters her onto the knee. Evans catches her on top and hits a Death Valley Driver for two, followed by a sliding kick to the head for the same. They slug it out with Evans raining down right hands in the corner, only for Starkz to ram her into the buckle. Evans tries a victory roll but Starkz reverses into a cradle of her own for the pin at 4:28.

Rating: C. Yeah they must be running long here as there is no reason for your main event to run about four and a half minutes with pretty much nothing going on. They started fast and just blitzed through everything, which isn’t the greatest way to go. This could have wound up being a good match, but I need a good bit more than what they had here.

Post match Evans chases Starkz to the back to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I love the idea of a show like this where the incredibly talented women are given the chance to showcase themselves. At the same time though, everything after Blackheart vs. Blake felt like a dark match where the wrestlers were hoping to beat the traffic. There was good action here, but they would have been better off cutting a match or two and letting some of the latter stuff breathe.

Results
Su Yung/Leva Bates b. Joseline Navarro/Mazzerati – Basement superkick to Mazzerati
Togo/Jazzy Yang b. Amira/Lil Marz – Rock Bottom to Marz
Nixi XS b. Shazza McKenzie – Tornado DDT
Izzi Moreno b. Gypsy Mac and Brittnie Brooks – Nightmare On Helm Street to Mac
Allie Katch b. Kaia McKenna – Piledriver
Dani Mo/Emily Jaye/Rachel Ley b. Journey Burke/Sirena Veil/Valentina Rossi – 450 to Veil
Alex Gracia b. Aleah James – Headplant
Brittany Blake b. Shotzi Blackheart – Arm trap Texas Cloverleaf
Miranda Alize b. Carolina Cruz – Shining Wizard
Jazmin Allure b. Alexandra Le Leona – Cemetery Drive

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

Vegas Vacation
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: FSW Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentator: Frank The Clown

We are officially kicking off Wrestlemania Week with this, from Boca Raton Championship Wrestling, which is in fact a thing. I have a grand total of no idea what to expect from this show but that’s one of the perks of the whole week. Thankfully I do know a few names on the card so let’s get to it.

After a 20+ minute delay, we’re joined by our host, a rather large shirtless guy drinking out of a red solo cup. He brings out the company’s owner, who says this isn’t going to be our usual show because they’re not in Boca Raton. The owner brings out Frank The Clown (who doesn’t even have his face painted) for a pretty extended entrance, with the owner saying they might be stalling.

Frank goes to commentary (where he says he’s not sure if we’re on Youtube or not) as the owner introduces Mark Long, apparently the Godfather Of Reality TV. Our first match will be the Mark Long Open Challenge. Zack Clayton (he wrestled in AEW for a few months and didn’t do anything) comes out and Long says he’s a full blooded Italian, so he has a partner who is also into blood. Cue Gangrel and we’re ready to go, with Long on commentary.

Zack Clayton/Gangrel vs. Ben Bishop/Stallion Rogers

You might remember Rogers as Curt Stallion. Gangrel shrugs away at Stallion to start and gets two off an early Russian legsweep. Clayton comes in to take over on Stallion but it’s off to the 7ft Bishop for a big boot. Bishop’s side slam gets two on Clayton and it’s back to Stallion for some forearms. A double knockdown allows the tags back to Gangrel and Bishop, with the former striking away.

Everything breaks down and Bishop gets taken down with a double middle rope DDT. Stallion is back up with a backbreaker but Bishop hits the chokeslam (as required by Big Man Wrestling law) to Clayton with Gangrel….not making the save as the pin goes down at 6:14. There seemed to be some confusion over the result as Gangrel thought he made the save but the referee rang the bell anyway.

Rating: C. This was just a quick opener with Gangrel being out there for the legend spot. Stallion looked fine and I can see why he was in WWE for a bit. The match wasn’t exactly great but Bishop was big enough to get some attention. I’m not sure why this was billed as a surprise when the match was listed in advance but it’s a weird week.

Rhys Maddox vs. Justin Andrews vs. Rey Fury vs. Steve Person

For a Cruiserweight Title shot, which has me wondering what the cruiserweight limit is as Andrews is a pretty good sized guy. And there’s no Person, so the owner makes it a triple threat instead. Odd but ok.

Rhys Maddox vs. Justin Andrews vs. Rey Fenix

Andrews gets double teamed down to start and a handspring moonsault keeps him in trouble. With Andrews on the floor, the other two go at it until Andrews pulls Fury outside. Maddox drops Fury but misses a clothesline to the back of the head. Instead it’s Andrews running in for the save (the fans approve) as we talk about various people who have trained at FSW. Maddox gives Andrews the running elbow to the back of the head for the pin at 3:53.

Rating: C-. It wasn’t bad while it lasted but it’s not a good sign when I was expecting the show to go about twice as long at a minimum. Maddox is apparently wrestling ten times over the next few days, which is quite the work load. He’s the only one who really stood out but the whole thing felt like something of a mess.

We have a guest ring announcer with a big purse.

Cha Cha Charlie vs. Big Tito Lincoln

Tables match (for no apparent reason) and Lincoln has Lloyd Anoa’i (you might know him as LA Smooth) in his corner. Hang on though as this is officially sponsored by Wrestle Lit and since the company now has more money, they’re going to introduce a new title. The owner calls it a “midcard championship” which doesn’t go well.

After calling it similar to the Intercontinental, North American and Latin American Title, he says it’s a “Latin Themed” championship and FINALLY names it the Cha Cha Championship. This owner is really not a smooth talker. Charlie slugs away to start but gets powered around by the much bigger Lincoln. Some right hands in the corner don’t get Charlie very far so Lincoln splashes him down.

An elbow out of the corner does a bit better for Charlie, who is promptly powerslammed down. The table is finally loaded up and they both manage to avoid crashing through it in the corner. Lincoln’s powerbomb is countered and Charlie is back with a Sling Blade. Charlie goes up but gets slammed down, only to fight up and grab his sombrero (now it’s serious). Lincoln is sent hard into the table…which doesn’t break. Charlie spears him through to win at 8:39.

Rating: C. Somehow this is the best match of the night and it’s for the Cha Cha Champion ship. Thankfully commentary pointed out the, ahem, irony in having a guy named Cha Cha win the Cha Cha Championship. There was pretty much no reason for this to be a tables match but I guess this counts as spicing things up a bit.

Mark Long leaves commentary. He’s back in about a minute and a half.

CCW Women’s Title: Roma vs. Kristin Blaze

This is the Coastal Championship Wrestling Women’s Title (they have their own show coming up tonight) and Roma is challenging. The rather muscular Blaze sends her into the corner to start as commentary has to explain that they’re admiring Blaze’s physique rather than drooling over her. Blaze fights out of trouble and takes Roma down to hammer away. A boot to the face rocks Roma as commentary decides to call Blaze “KB”.

A camel clutch has Roma in more trouble as this is rather one sided thus far. Roma fights up and makes the clothesline comeback, followed by a butterfly suplex for two. Blaze knocks her down and goes up, only to get caught with a superplex for a delayed near fall. A knee to the back and a hair pull down lets Blaze hit a split legged moonsault to retain at 7:24.

Rating: C. Blaze has a great look with a physique that is approaching Jade Cargill levels but there wasn’t much to the match itself. The problem here was that Roma was basically beaten up for a good while until the ending. I didn’t get into this and Blaze only showed a bit of star power here. Not great, but Blaze could become something if developed a good bi more.

Long brings in the host from earlier (Red Cup Jeff) but here is Steve Person to interrupt. He’s not happy because his head was recently shaved so we get a MR. CLEAN chant. He didn’t know the time the show was supposed to start because of the time zone and fell asleep in his car. Apparently he has to get through what sounded like, I kid you not, the Beefcake Accords, and grow his hair back. Jeff gives Person a red cup and Person seems rather disgusted. Person gets thrown over the top. I have no idea what this was supposed to accomplish.

Tag Team Titles: EJ Nduka/Kenny King vs. Sons Of Boca

The Sons (Cezar Bononi/Noah Kekoa (better known as Kona Reeves) with Neil The Heel) are defending. Bononi rips up a shirt that he steals from the crowd, with commentary saying it was from Temu. Nduka and Bononi (some big boys) start things off and trade heavy shoulder blocks. Stereo big boots knock them into the corner and it’s off to King vs. Kekoa. Everything breaks down and the champions go to the floor and take the countout at 2:52. What in the world is this show?

Post match Neil says Nduka and King don’t deserve a title shot so they have to win a six man tag against the Sons Of Boca and Maluta, with this man as their mystery partner.

Sons Of Boca/Sean Maluta vs. EJ Nduka/Kenny King/James Ellsworth

And since everyone is ok with this, we’re ready to go with King armdragging Maluta down and giving him a slam. Ellsworth tags himself in though and runs into Bononi, who gets annoyed at a right hand. It’s back to King, who gets booted in the face, followed by a big boot/side slam combination for two. Maluta’s headbutt hits King for two more but King powerslams his way out of trouble. It’s back to Nduka to clean house but Ellsworth comes back in. The superkick hits King by mistake and Maluta rolls Ellsworth up for the pin at 6:04.

Rating: D+. This was slow and dull, which doesn’t help when it comes after the bait and switch title match. Ellsworth was little more than a joke and felt like a total flashback that didn’t need to be around. The result wasn’t much of a shock, but dang this show is dying in a big way more and more every match.

Naturally the ring announcer says the champions retain the titles in a non-title match. Ellsworth seems to join the Sons and they beat him up anyway.

Matt Riddle vs. Joe Coffey

This is the main event despite the show starting about an hour and twenty minutes ago. Coffey takes him down to start but gets caught in a headscissors, which is broken up rather easily. Back up and Coffey runs him over a few times, at least until Riddle catches him in a guillotine choke.

That’s broken up so Riddle grabs a triangle choke over the ropes. With that broken up, Coffey hits an elbow into a front facelock to slow things back down. Riddle is back up with a kick to the head for two but the backsplash hits raised knees. Back up and Riddle reverses a suplex into a fisherman’s buster but Coffey is right back with a powerbomb. Coffey goes up but dives into a cutter. The Bro Derek finishes Coffey at 6:32.

Rating: C+. Apparently this makes Riddle the #1 contender and sets up a title match against Steve Maclin…in August. The match had some talented people in there and they were able to do some more things, but the match was another short one with no time to do anything of note. Somehow, best of the night and that’s a bad sign.

Post match Maclin pops up on screen to mock Riddle and say he’ll be waiting for him in August. Ben Bishop and Stallion Rogers run in to go after Riddle but Coffey makes the save.

Overall Rating: D. And that’s on a sliding scale for an independent show. I’m not sure if this was cut short by the long delay to start the show but there was nothing resembling a very good match here and some of the stuff just felt thrown out there because it had to be there instead of having any thought put into it. The owner couldn’t talk to save his life and Frank The Clown was a nightmare as he kept talking in the third person. This was a big miss and one of the weaker Wrestlemania Week shows I’ve seen in a good while.

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

AAA On FOX
Date: April 11, 2026
Location: Gimnasio Olimpico Juan de la Barrera, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Corey Graves, Rey Mysterio, John Bradshaw Layfield

We’re back to a fresh show after last week’s taped post-Rey de Reyes event. This week is big enough, as we have Flammer’s Reina de Reinas celebration, but the bigger deal is Penta defending the Intercontinental Title for the first time in AAA. That’s quite the big deal and that has me interested so let’s get to it.

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

We’re starting with Flammer’s record setting Reina de Reinas celebration, with the other members of Las Toxicas handling her introduction. We get a video on her title reign, with various comments from celebrities/wrestlers praising the accomplishments. Back in the arena, Flammer says she doesn’t know these people but they’re beneath her.

She beat Bayley and others, but she also wants to thank the Mexican women she stepped on to get here. She has beaten everyone and her coronation will never end. We cut to a pink car and La Catalina is here. This gets quite the reaction and she praises Flammer, but says Flammer has never faced someone like her. Flammer is sent into the cake and gets cleared out as Catalina looks at the title. Catalina was in CMLL as of about two weeks ago so this is quite the fast turnaround.

Octagon vs. Original El Grande Americano

They trade legsweeps and get a near fall each until Americano chops him into the corner. Octagon climbs the corner for a dropkick and nails the suicide dive to the floor. An Asai moonsault misses though and Americano hits a running shoulder. Back in and Americano teases going after the mask but Octagon gives him an enziguri. Something like a top rope Vader Bomb hits raised boots and Americano suplexes him into the corner. Americano misses the moonsault but ties up the legs and takes off Octagon’s mask. The ankle lock makes Octagon tap at 5:28.

Rating: C+. They only had so much time here and the bigger deal was Americano going after the mask. That’s quite the big deal in lucha libre and Rey Mysterio was NOT cool with it on commentary. At the same time, this seems like a setup for the mask vs. mask match with the other El Grande Americano and that should be good.

Post match some singers are interviewed by Americano goes after them. He goes after the interviewer as well and here is El Grande Americano for the brawl. Security can only keep them apart for so long as the fans certainly approve.

Intercontinental Title: El Hijo del Vikingo vs. Penta

Vikingo, with Dorian Roldan, is challenging. They trade poses to start until Vikingo has to elbow his way out of a waistlock. Penta kicks him in the ribs to break up a handstand but Viking grabs a headscissors out to the floor. Vikingo’s dive is cut off with a gorilla press onto the announcers’ table but he hits a dropkick off of said table to put Penta down again.

Back in and Penta gets superkicked for two and Vikingo bites Penta’s boot. Penta is right back up with a reverse Sling Blade as the fans are way into this. The Penta Driver is blocked and Vikingo ties him in the ropes for a top rope double stomp. They forearm it out from their knees and then their feet until Penta’s dropkick breaks up a handspring. Vikingo sends him into the corner for the running knees but the inverted 450 is countered into a powerbomb for two (sweet).

They head out to the apron for the exchange of chops until Vikingo snaps off a poisonrana. A running shooting star hits Penta again but here are the battling Americanos again. Penta uses the distraction to hit a dive and a Penta Driver gets two. Roldan pulls Penta’s leg and gets ejected but Vikingo grabs the belt. Cue Mini Vikingo to to take it away though, allowing Penta to hit the springboard Mexican Destroyer to retain at 13:39.

Rating: B. They had a hot match here, which shouldn’t be a surprise whatsoever. As you might have guessed, this was much more about getting the title on a AAA show rather than having the title be in any kind of jeopardy. That’s perfectly fine as Vikingo is a big deal and this checked pretty much all of the necessary boxes.

Post match the Vikingos stare at each other again but here are Los Americanos to keep up their brawl on the floor. They head inside and break away from security but are finally held apart. Americano says this has to end and it should be eye for eye, tooth for tooth and mask vs. mask. Original seemed to be in to wrap things up.

Overall Rating: B-. This was more of an angle heavy show with the Americanos stuff getting some red hot crowd reactions. The main event was good and the Flammer/Catalina stuff served its purpose. This show wasn’t so much about what was happening here but rather what it was setting up, which is a fine way to go every so often. Good enough show here, with the crowd going nuts over the Americanos stuff.

Results
Original El Grande Americano b. Octagon – Ankle lock
Penta b. El Hijo del Vikingo – Springboard Mexican Destroyer

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

AAA On FOX
Date: April 4, 2026
Location: Show Center Complex, Monterrey, Mexico
Commentators: John Bradshaw Layfield, Corey Graves, Rey Mysterio

We’re finally done with Rey de Reyes and it’s time to start doing something new around here. In this case that means we have some title matches coming up, including new Rey de Reyes El Grande Americano challenging Dominik Mysterio for the Mega Title. That should be enough to carry things for a bit, but hopefully there is some more to keep things interesting. Let’s get to it.

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

We open with a long Rey de Reyes recap.

Tokyo Bad Boys vs. Lince Dorado/El Mesias/Mecha Wolf

The Boys are Nobu, Takuma and Kento. Dorado offers Nobu a handshake to start and kicks him in the ribs but Nobu is back with a dropkick. The other Boys get in some slaps from the apron and it’s off to Wolf vs. Takuma. Wolf tries to pick up the pace but gets kicked down, with Takuma being rather fired up.

It’s off to Mesias, with JBL sounding rather pleased on commentary. Some triple teaming slows Mesias down and it’s a triple dropkick to make it worse. That’s shrugged off and Mesias clears the ring in a hurry before it’s Kento getting back inside. Mesias and Wolf hit some clotheslines in the corner, setting up Mesias’ powerslam for two. Wolf suplexes him into a kind of snap Jackhammer (commentary isn’t sure what to call it either) for two more.

Dorado gets in on the near falls with a Backstabber before Mesias hits a sliding lariat for another two. A kick to the face just seems to annoy Kento though and he enziguris Mesias to escape. Nobu is back in to strike away and Takuma adds a missile dropkick to put Mesias outside. Back up and Nobu gets double gorilla pressed onto Mesias, followed by a dive and top rope moonsault onto the other two.

The fans approve of the Boys, including Nobu suplexing Mesias for two more. Mesias is back with a double spear and a powerbomb to Takuma but Kento gets in a clothesline. Dorado hits a double Golden Rewind and a big flipping dive, leaving Mesias to Downward Spiral Takuma for the pin at 11:12.

Rating: B. Mesias was like a big statue who happened to be able to move a bit, though he looked so much different than anyone else out there that it made up for his mobility issues. The other guys were flying all over the place, with the Boys showing off some great speed and athleticism. This was all about getting in as much stuff as they could and it worked better than I would have bet on. Good stuff.

Earlier this week, Nathan Frazer was trying to learn Spanish to come to the show. Axiom came in and it turns out they’re on different teams tonight. They seem cool with it though.

Reina de Reinas: Sussy Love vs. Flammer

Flammer is defending and, after the Big Match Intros, throws her down with ease. Love cuts off a kick so Flammer hits her in the face in a change of pace. Flammer gets tied in the ropes so Love hits a quick springboard elbow. With Flammer on the floor, Love tries to pull her back in by the hair, which doesn’t quite work as Flammer gets in a neck snap. Back in and Flammer grabs a camel clutch but Love is back up with some crossbodies. A German suplex connects for Love and a middle rope moonsault gets two. Flammer is right back with a Codebreaker though and a running dropkick against the ropes retains the title at 4:08.

Rating: C+. They only had so much time here and while I was expecting Love to potentially steal the title right before Flammer’s big celebration, that wasn’t exactly the case. Instead this was Flammer shutting Love down and winning in pretty dominant fashion. Love wasn’t bad, but that wasn’t the point of a match like this one.

Video on Penta agreeing to defend the Intercontinental Title against El Hijo del Vikingo.

Penta talks about all of the changes that have taken place over the last year, which have mainly centered around WWE buying AAA. He loves being a part of the rise of a Mexican wrestling company but would love to see his brother win some gold of his own. The only way to pay the fans back for believing in him is to defend the Intercontinental Title in Mexico and he’s ready to do it against Vikingo. Catchphrases ensue.

Nathan Frazer/Charlie Dempsey/Tristan Angels vs. Elio LeFleur/Dorian Van Dux/Axiom

Angels and Dux (pronounced Dukes) are from Evolve and this is UK vs. Europe. Dempsey and Axiom start things off with Axiom taking him down to work on the arms. That’s reversed into quite the variety of arm cranking from Dempsey, who gets reversed into an Octopus. Dempsey makes the rope so Axiom grabs a suplex to send it off to Frazer for the big partner showdown.

We don’t actually get the fight as Angels tags himself in and gets taken down by Dux’s hurricanrana. LeFleur dives in to take Angels down again but Frazer flips over him in the corner. Frazer and LeFleur trade some flips until Frazer scores with a dropkick. Angels comes in for a suplex and stomps LeFleur out of the corner. Dempsey comes in for two off a wheelbarrow suplex but LeFleur pulls Frazer out of the air with a neckbreaker (nicely done).

A rolling tag brings in the rather muscular Dux to clean house, with a cutter getting two on Angels. Dempsey butterfly superplexes Dux for two, with LeFleur’s diving splash making the save. NOW we get the Fraxiom battle, with Frazer hitting a superkick, only for Axiom to superkick his moonsault out of the air.

Frazer kicks him down again and goes up, where Axiom is waiting with a super Spanish Fly. Angels makes the save and everything breaks down with a parade of knockdowns to leave everyone down. Dux throws Axiom over the top onto Frazer and Dempsey, leaving LeFleur to give Angels a headscissors driver for the pin at 11:54.

Rating: B+. Take two teams, let them go nuts for about twelve minutes. That’s exactly as this was advertised and then it wound up going well. I had a great time with this, which went all over the place and even gave us the teased Fraxiom fight. What matters the most is having everyone get in some stuff and show off, which is what we got here. I want to see more of the people I hadn’t seen much before and that’s a rather nice bonus to the entertaining action.

Flammer promises a big celebration next week to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. It was a total throwaway show with pretty much nothing going on as far as plot points, but dang it was fun with the action we got instead. This was all about the two six man tags, with Flammer’s match being entertaining as well. It’s absolutely not a show that you need to see, but dang it’s a fun sit for under an hour.

Results
Lince Dorado/El Mesias/Mecha Wolf b. Tokyo Bad Boys – Downward Spiral to Takuma
Flammer b. Sussy Love – Running dropkick against the ropes
Elio LeFleur/Dorian Van Dux/Axiom b. Nathan Frazer/Charlie Dempsey/Tristan Angels – Headscissor driver to Angels

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