Ladies Night Out XVI
Date: April 16, 2026
Location: HyperX Arena Las Vegas At The Luxor, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Emily Mae, Rae Lyn

This is a women’s supershow and seems to be part of at least a somewhat recurring promotion. That could go in a lot of ways but it is great that we have reached the point where women’s wrestling can have this kind of a show. I’ve seen enough good women’s wrestling this week to think that this could work rather well so let’s get to it.

The hosts welcome us to the show and ask who is here to see some professional wrestling. You mean they’re not here for an Amway presentation?

Vipress vs. Lacey Lane

They shove each other to start until Lane ties the arms back and slaps her in the chest. Back up and the threat of a right hand lets Vipress dance a bit, only to get dropkicked out to the floor. Vipress gets back in and snapmares her for a dancing kick to the chest. Some chops have Lane in more trouble but she avoids a charge. A spinning springboard legdrop connects but Vipress Death Valley Drivers her into the corner for two. Vipress goes for the hair but gets backdropped into a cradle for two more. Lane sends her to the apron and a hanging Pedigree finishes Vipress off at 5:05.

Rating: C. They didn’t have a ton of time but they kept things moving here for a fast paced opener. Lane is someone who can work in just about any spot and it makes sense to spotlight her here after her time in WWE. I could go for having her back in a bigger promotion, as she definitely has the talent to be a player somewhere. You also have Vipress, who has been around a lot over these last few and has quite a bit of potential of her own.

Madisyn Maxxwell vs. Brittnie Brooks vs. Carolina Cruz vs. Mazzerati vs. Tiffany Nieves

Maxxwell seems to be a news anchor. Nieves chills on the floor but gets back in due to a lack of attention and the brawl is on. Everyone goes out to the floor and it’s Mazzerati vs. Cruz back inside in a battle between the two wearing checkered flags. Nieves comes back in to sit on Brooks’ back but gets broken up, allowing Brooks to bulldog Maxxwell. All of them get inside to slug it out for a five way knockdown and a breather. Mazzerati gives Cruz a spinning side slam but Brooks throws her outside…and Maxxwell throws Brooks outside to steal the pin at 5:04.

Rating: D+. You can only get so much out of this kind of a match and this really didn’t work. It was a big mess of a match with too much going on and pretty much no structure to the thing. In other words it came off like “yeah go do your thing for a few minutes and you win”, which doesn’t make for a great match.

Lexa Valo vs. Lili La Pescadita

Valo powers her into the corner to start and grinds away on a headlock while commentary babbles on (they’re bad about that) about how strong these two are. Lila muscles her over with a suplex but stops to dance before the cover. Valo goes with the power to put her down again and Lili can’t muscle her way up. The chinlock doesn’t last long so Valo hits a full nelson slam for two. Lili comes back with some clotheslines and a slam gets two, only for Valo to DDT her into a dragon sleeper for the tap at 5:27.

Rating: C. This show isn’t exactly giving me hope as these matches aren’t getting a bunch of time and it feels like they’re going more for quantity than quality. I get the thinking, but we barely heard anything about these two other than Valo is from Europe and Lili’s full name means Lili “little fish”, which commentary went on about for most of the match. At least there was a fresh pair of names in there, as it’s often fun to see some new stars.

WrestleLit Rumble

Raeven Marie, La Spooky, Kolbe Max, Kayla Lopez, Jem, Jazmyne Hao, Gema, Diamond Virago, Christyan XO

This is your standard battle royal and everyone comes to the ring at once so I have pretty much no idea whom is whom. Jem grabs some nipples (as commentary puts it) and gets tossed as a result. As the other women (who aren’t important enough for commentary to identify) brawl, XO comes in to tower over everyone.

XO hits a double chokeslam (minus the elevation) and dumps both of them. Another woman is out and XO gets a fourth (commentary isn’t saying names either) but for some reason, an attempt to toss XO is cut off. XO gets rid of the woman who tries to toss her and we’re down to three. Spooky clotheslines Marie (hey names) out and goes after XO, even managing to get her to the apron. XO knocks her out for the win at 7:58.

Rating: D. Oh yeah this show is going downhill in a hurry as there was nothing to this one either. The fact that commentary didn’t bother telling me who most of these people were didn’t help, nor did XO coming off like she was this match’s Andre. It makes sense as XO is already in ROH, but that doesn’t make her the most interesting person to watch. Pretty terrible stuff here.

Alexis Littlefoot vs. Monica Monroe

Littlefoot is from Lexington so she’s off to a good start. Monroe grabs a headlock to start and flips over Littlefoot in the corner but gets hammered down rather quickly. An ax kick (or faceplant according to commentary) gets two on Monroe and Littlefoot gives her a spinning back elbow for two. Littlefoot’s DDT out of the corner gets two more and we hit the chinlock. Monroe fights up and drops down onto her for the break, followed by a powerslam. A non-running Lionsault finishes Littlefoot at 4:34.

Rating: C. That might be the best match of the show thus far, which is mainly due to them finally slowing down a bit and having a match. It helps that it was just the two of them rather than trying to squeeze in everyone they could. This wasn’t great by any means, but I’ll take what I can get on a show like this.

Poder Title: Brittany Blake vs. Jazzy Yang vs. Kristin Blaze vs. Sai Perez

Blake is defending. Blaze and Blake hit hurricanrana and dropkicks to put the other two on the floor, leaving Blaze to grab an armbar. Yang and Perez pull Blaze outside for stereo superkicks before going after Blake back inside. That’s enough working together though as Yang and Perez go after each other, allowing Blaze to high crossbody both of them. Blake is back in with a top rope double stomp to Perez’s back to retain at 4:05.

Rating: C-. So the theme here seems to be “get everyone in as fast as you can and don’t worry about anything else”. That’s not helping much as the matches are hardly getting the chance to be set up. There are talented people in here and I’ve seen them do good things this week and otherwise, but this isn’t a good way to showcase them.

Myka Madria/Selene Hysteria vs. Joseline Navarro/Vanity

Commentary goes away to start this match as Navarro and Vanity take turns tagging before starting in with action. Vanity drops Madria and gives her a legdrop, followed by a running low blow in the corner. Some double stomping has Madria down again but it’s an enziguri for the tag off to Hysteria. Everything breaks down and Navarro grabs a Tombstone for the pin at 4:12.

Rating: C-. Well the problem doesn’t seem to be the commentary, but rather four mostly unknown stars fighting rather quickly for about four minutes. There’s just not much that can be done in such a match and they didn’t really pull it off here. As has been the case, it’s not that they aren’t trying or that it’s terrible, but rather it’s just in and out so fast that it doesn’t have a chance.

Sofia Sivan vs. Rachel Ley vs. Corrine Joy vs. Fallyn Grey

Grey is WWE ID Prospect Veronica Haven and she has quite the set of wings, which feels a bit too high level for this show. We get a handshake to start and Sivan and Joy clear the ring rather easily. Sivan flips around a lot and suplexes Grey onto Joy. They go outside with Sivan diving off the ramp to take out the other three. Back in and Ley gives Sivan a handspring elbow in the corner and Grey adds a Bronco Buster. Grey rolls over to give Ley an X Factor but gets brainbustered by Sivan. Ley moonsaults onto Sivan but Grey is up with a spinning full nelson faceplant to pin Ley at 5:46.

Rating: C+. The best thing here is they were actually doing something different for a change. That helps quite a bit as you don’t want the same stuff every single match, especially with a previous four way on the card. If nothing else, it was nice to see them go out of the ring, just for a change of pace. Mixing it up a bit is a good thing, which hasn’t been the case very often thus far.

J-Rod vs. Notorious Mimi

Mimi is WWE ID Prospect Sloane Jacobs. The rather strong J-Rod shoves her down to start so Mimi goes to the apron and fires off a string of knees to the chest. Back in and a fall away slam sends Mimi flying and it’s time to stomp away in the corner. Mimi’s forearms don’t do much good as J-Rod is right back with a spinebuster.

A big boot puts Mimi down for two and J-Rod puts her in the torture rack. With that broken up, Mimi grabs a hurricanrana and uses it to ram J-Rod’s head into the corner over and over (that’s a new one). Mimi kicks her in the face a few times, followed by a high crossbody for two. Back up and J-Rod sends her hard into the corner, setting up a spear for the pin at 6:30.

Rating: C+. That was a nice surprise, as I wasn’t going to expect Mimi, a WWE prospect, to lose here. That being said, J-Rod has stood out quite a bit over the week as she looks like one of the best athletes you’ll see anywhere in wrestling and can do the power game rather well. This was one of the better matches on the show thus far and that is nice to see.

Frankie B./Kingsley vs. Shazza McKenzie/Laynie Luck

Frankie and Kingsley jump them to start and a double suplex drops McKenzie for an early two. A basement dropkick/running kick to the back combination gets two and we settle down a bit. McKenzie gets choked in the corner, which draws Luck in for a failed save attempt.

Luck gets drawn in again so McKenzie can be sent into the corner again (kind of a cause and effect thing there). McKenzie hurricanranas her way out of trouble, allowing the tag off to Luck to clean house. Everything breaks down and a faceplant sets up a slam to send Frankie onto McKenzie’s raised knees. McKenzie Stunners Kingsley into a middle rope cutter from Luck for the pin at 5:35.

Rating: C+. They’re on a bit of an upward swing here as this was another match where the talent involved helped. Luck and McKenzie are a regular team so they know each other well enough. It’s still too short to be much more than a midcard match, but the star power and in-ring chemistry boosted this up a bit more.

Angelica Risk vs. Sirena Veil vs. Lady Leigh

The ring announcer gets the entrances wrong and has to introduce Risk again. Risk hits an early hip attack on Veil, which has Veil running at both of them with corner forearms. Leigh kicks Veil down and plants Risk with a Michinoku Driver for two. Leigh loads up a DDT on Risk but Veil neckbreakers Leigh to drive her down as well. Risk jumps off of Leigh’s back for a Codebreaker and Veil gives Risk a Sister Abigail. Leigh is back up with some kind of weird Crossface variation to make Veil tap at 4:31.

Rating: C. This felt like a match that belonged on a low level independent show that wanted to make sure it had something involving women. It just felt like they were trying to have a match and didn’t really care what they did or how it lasted. Risk is someone who has been on various shows and I’ve seen Veil before. Leigh is fairly tall but that’s about all I can tell you about her after this match.

Jada Stone vs. Ruthie Jay

Stone works on the wristlock to start and grabs a headlock takeover. That’s reversed into a headscissors but Stone sends her outside for a baseball slide. Back in and Jay chops away before grabbing a rolling X Factor for two. Stone’s comeback attempt is easily cut off but she’s back up to chop away.

A kick to the head out of the corner puts Jay down and a moonsault hits Jay for two. Jay is right back with a northern lights suplex for two but Stone grabs a quick tornado DDT for the needed breather. Stone sends her outside for a moonsault to take Jay down again. Back in and the Spark (handspring) Stunner finishes Jay at 7:21.

Rating: C+. Stone has been turning into something better almost every week on Impact Wrestling and it’s cool to see her having some success elsewhere. The good thing is that she’s still in the ring and figuring out what she can do, which is how you become a better star. This was a slightly longer match than usual and it allowed Stone to build towards her comeback a bit more, which did help things out.

Su Yung/Lindsay Snow/Mickie Knuckles/Tara Zep vs. Freya The Slaya/Gypsy Mac/Haley J/Sammi Chaos

Yung and company (the PWO and I’ll let you guess what the P stands for) jump them from behind to start and it’s a brawl on the floor until Knuckles suplexes Freya back inside. Freya sends Knuckles into the corner and flips Zep into her. Back up and Knuckles rakes Freya’s eyes and a Saito suplex finishes at 3:14.

Rating: D-. And so much for that. This was a big brawl and about thirty seconds of action, which isn’t quite enough for an eight person match. It was a case where I actually knew some of the people involved and had some hope but again, there is only so much you can do with about twenty five seconds per participant.

Steph de Lander vs. Airica Demia

Demia is WWE ID Prospect Anya Rune. Before the match, de Lander says she was injured last year but this time she’s back to beat this stupid anime “b****”. De Lander shoves her around to start but Demia avoids a charge and strikes away. That’s enough for de Lander to be sent outside, where she catches Demia for a face first drop onto the apron. De Lander’s chop only hits post though but she’s fine enough to grab a snap suplex for two back inside

Demia tries to fight back but gets caught on top with a running big boot. A suplex out of the corner sets up a chinlock, followed by the driving shoulders to keep Demia in the corner. Demia fights out and they trade forearms, followed by Eat Defeat and a neckbreaker to give Demia two. De Lander’s spear gets two more and the frustration is setting in. Back up and Demia puts her in the corner for a palm strike, only for de Lander to grab an F5 for the pin at 8:08.

Rating: C+. De Lander has the power and size to be a threat to anyone and it’s good to have her back in the ring after such a long time away. She still tends to work better when she has someone to play off of though, which is likely why she works so well with Matt Cardona and Mance Warner. Demia is an interesting prospect, though a lot of that might be due to her fairly unique look.

Violent Romance vs. Ray Lyn/Alejandra Quintanilla

Violent Romance are Nixon Newell/Miranda Alize. Quintanilla and Alize start things off and they trade early armdrags. Alize can’t do anything with Quintanilla so it’s off to Newell vs. Lynn for an aggressive lockup. Newell runs her over but Lyn is back up with a running dropkick. The hip attack connects in the corner and Alize is thrown into the same corner for another hip attack, with some bonus shaking. It’s back to Quintanilla to rake Alize’s back but Newell takes over without much trouble.

Quintanilla gets sent into the corner and stomped down, with Lyn’s failed save attempt allowing the double teaming to continue. Some running shots in the corner keep Quintanilla down but she manages a reverse Sling Blade to Alize. Lyn is back in to kick away at Newell and a high crossbody gets two. Everything breaks down and a bunch of kicks to the face leaves them all down. Back up and Alize rakes Lyn’s eyes and it’s a cutter into the Shiniest Wizard for the pin on Lyn at 10:00.

Rating: B-. Well I’ll be danged they actually got to double digits. Newell and Alize work well together and, for the most part, this was playing to the standard formula. At the same time, it might have just been the best match out of so many by default. The extra time helped (imagine that) but Lyn was more of the “fun” style which is only going to work so well.

Ladies Night Out Title: Jazmin Allure vs. Izzy Moreno vs. La Rosa Negra

Allure is defending…here is Jazz as a special guest referee. Moreno starts fast by suplexing both of them for an early two each. With Moreno sent outside, Allure and Rosa slap it out, with Allure getting the better of things. A northern lights suplex gets two, with Moreno coming back in for the save. Rosa is back up with some shoulders in the corner, followed by some rolling suplexes for two on Moreno. An airplane spin gets two on Moreno and she is almost sent into Jazz.

Allure is back up on top and we get a Tower Of Doom to leave everyone down. Moreno is the least banged up and fires off some clotheslines, followed by a dive for two each. Rosa powerslams Moreno and drops a leg for two on Allure. Rosa’s frog splash misses though and Allure hits a cutter, with Moreno making a save. Moreno almost runs into Jazz again and Jazz won’t count a cover as a result. Allure grabs something like a Cemetery Drive to pin Moreno at 8:57.

Rating: C. The action was better as they kept things moving, but the Jazz stuff brought it right back down. Do they really need to run something close to an angle between Moreno and the retired Jazz when the promotion runs about one show a year? I don’t get this one, but this wasn’t much to see, even with some more familiar names involved.

Thunder Rosa vs. Vert Vixen

They fight over a lockup to no avail to start, with Vixen eventually driving her into the corner for a chop. Rosa chops her even harder and it’s a dropkick to put Vixen down. A clothesline gets two on Vixen but she sends Rosa into the corner. Vixen’s big boot gets two but Rosa sunset flips her out of the corner for two more. Commentary calls Vixen’s Michinoku Driver a “sitout bodyslam” and “pretty cool”, even as it gets two.

Vixen sends her into the corner for a sliding dropkick and knocks Rosa down for two more. Rosa is right back up with the clothesline comeback and some slingshot knees in the corner. Back up and Rosa’s charge is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two but a brainbuster is countered into a small package for two more. Rosa hurricanranas her into the corner and a Death Valley Driver plants Vixen for a rather near fall. A double stomp sets up a seated cobra clutch to make Vixen tap at 8:46.

Rating: B-. Vixen continues to be someone who can work well in there but she has never gotten the chance to do anything on the bigger stage. It’s nice to see her hanging in there against an established name like Rosa, but there was no doubt about the result here. The other problem is it came at the end of this marathon and it was hard to get interested in what they were doing.

Rosa thanks the fans to wrap up the night.

Overall Rating: D+. Well dang that was a lot. By my count, we had 62 wrestlers over 17 matches, which is quite a lot for any night, let alone a show that ran less than three hours. This was a show that absolutely went with the idea of getting as many people on the show as possible and that really didn’t work. They had talented people here and could have done a lot with some of them, but instead it was more about cranking out content. It doesn’t work in Ring Of Honor and it didn’t work here either as this was a miss via complete overload.

Results
Lacey Lane b. Vipress – Hanging Pedigree
Madisyn Maxwell b. Brittnie Brooks, Carolina Cruz, Mazzerati and Tiffany Nieves – Spinning side slam to Cruz
Lexa Valo b. Lili La Pescadita – Dragon sleeper
Christian XO won the WrestleLit Rumble last eliminating La Spooky
Monica Monroe b. Alexis Littlefoot – Lionsault
Brittany Blake b. Jazzy Yang, Kristin Blaze and Sai Perez – Top rope double stomp to Perez
Joseline Navarro/Vanity b. Myka Madria/Selene Hysteria – Tombstone to Hysteria
Fallyn Grey b. Sofia Sivan, Rachel Ley and Corrine Jay – Spinning full nelson faceplant to Ley
J-Rod b. Notorious Mimi – Spear
Shazza McKenzie/Laynie Luck b. Kingsley/Frankie B. – Middle rope cutter to Kingsley
Lady Leigh b. Angelica Risk and Sirena Veil – Crossface to Veil
Jada Stone b. Ruthie Jay – Spark Stunner
Su Yung/Lindsay Snow/Mickie Knuckles/Tara Zep b. Freya The Slaya/Gypsy Mac/Haley J/Sammi Chaos – Saito suplex to Slaya
Steph de Lander b. Airica Demia – F5
Violent Romance b. Ray Lyn/Alexander Quintanilla – Shiniest Wizard to Lyn
Jazmin Allure b. La Rosa Negra and Izzy Moreno – Cemetery Drive to Moreno
Thunder Rosa b. Vert Vixen – Seated cobra clutch

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

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

Wrestlemania XLII Night Two
Date: April 19, 2026
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We’re back in the stadium and this half of the lineup has some promise we have the main event of Roman Reigns challenging CM Punk for the Raw World Title, plus Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar in a heck of a hoss fight. Other than that, there is the almost traditional Wrestlemania ladder match so let’s get to it.

Here is Night One if you need a recap.

The opening video is mostly a sequel to last night, with Lin-Manuel Miranda talking about how the memories and moments are still coming but you haven’t seen anything yet.

Here is host John Cena to get things going. He basically says yesterday was big and tonight will be too so let’s start with something huge.

Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar

Yeah this qualifies and Paul Heyman is here with Lesnar. They fight over a lockup to start and neither can get anywhere early on, leaving Lesnar a bit unsure about this. Lesnar goes with the amateur stuff by driving Femi into the corner for the shoulders, with Femi easily shoving him away. Lesnar’s clotheslines don’t really work and Femi clotheslines him out to the floor. Heyman gives Lesnar a “WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT” look and Lesnar throws the steps to blow off some steam.

Femi reaches out for him and gets his throat snapped across the middle rope to let Lesnar take over. Femi gets posted a few times, followed by a ram into the steps and they head back inside. The German suplexes start rolling but Femi fires off some elbows in the corner. The F5 connects but Femi pops up for a chokeslam. The Fall From Grace finishes Lesnar at 4:44.

Rating: B+. The wrestling might not have been perfect, but my goodness that is as great of a big stage debut as you could have gotten. Lesnar made Femi look like a million bucks out there, as Femi took everything Lesnar had, got up and finished him with one Fall From Grace. Absolutely excellent here and Femi looked outstanding. Also, points to Heyman, whose facials and mannerisms boosted it up that much more.

Post match Lesnar stays down through the replays and Femi going all the way up the ramp and to the stage. That’s the kind of little thing that makes it that much bigger. Lesnar sits up, looks at the fans for a bit, and takes off his gloves and boots (while crying). Heyman gets in the ring and gives Lesnar a very emotional hug, with Heyman (also crying) raising Lesnar’s hand. The fans give him a big THANK YOU BROCK chant as he poses on the ropes, showing more emotion than he did in his entire career. Assuming this is it, that couldn’t have gone much better.

Intercontinental Title: Rusev vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee vs. Penta vs. JD McDonagh

Penta is defending in a ladder match and gets a special entrance talking about how he’ll beat anyone. Then he puts on a big helmet (apparently Shao Kahn from Mortal Kombat). McDonagh jumps Lee before the bell and we start fast with the luchadors (all in red for a nice touch) clearing the ring. Rusev pulls Mysterio to the floor and sends him into the steps, leaving Lee and Penta to dropkick a ladder into Rusev, who doesn’t seem to mind. A ladder is bridged between the apron and the announcers’ table and McDonagh hits Penta with the ladder on the floor.

Evans hits a great looking dive out to the floor, leaving Mysterio to miss the 619 to Lee. Instead Lee hits him with a superkick as Rusev gets back in to clear the ring with the ladder. Penta bulldogs Rusev down and Evans is there to cut McDonagh off atop the ladder. The ladder is turned over and McDonagh lands in the ring as Evans goes flying off screen. Thankfully Evans is back in with a springboard clothesline to cut McDonagh off, leaving Lee to get caught inside a ladder.

That’s fine with Mysterio, who gives the ladder a 619 to clear the ring. The climb is cut off and Mysterio is tied up in the ladder with Lee getting to clear the ring for a change. Rusev is there to cut him off as well and Evans is slammed onto a bridged ladder. Lee throws Mysterio at Rusev to knock him off the apron and through the ladder bridged at ringside. Back in and Mysterio goes up top to cut Lee off, only to have Lee pull him into a Styles Clash.

That lets Lee go up but McDonagh plants him with a Spanish Fly off the ladder. McDonagh climbs but Penta is there with a Mexican Destroyer onto another bridged ladder. Evans is up to go after the title but Rusev is there to cut him off and send him crashing outside. Rusev climbs but Evans dives in with an OG Cutter to bring Rusev off the ladder and everyone is down again. Penta climbs up and retains at 15:10.

Rating: B. That ending was a bit of a letdown as nothing was topping that cutter from Evans. It felt like they were building towards Evans getting the big moment but Penta just won instead. Penta retaining is perfectly fine, but dang they could have had a heck of a great moment with Evans getting the big moment. All that being said, heck of a match here.

We look back at Lesnar’s loss and seeming retirement. Commentary gives Lesnar a big thank you.

We look at the ending of last night’s main event. Are you sure that’s a good idea?

Club WWE ad.

We run down the remaining card.

US Title: Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams

Williams, with Lil Yachty is challenging and the train of his jacket stretches out for almost the entire length of the ramp in a great visual. Zayn starts slugging away and knocks Williams outside, only for Williams to drop him with the spinning kick. The Trick Kick is blocked and Williams gives him a jumping neckbreaker. The Trick Shot is countered into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two and Zayn starts kicking away in the corner.

Zayn posts him and drops him hard onto the floor as they’re just leaning into the double turn (if it hasn’t already happened). A Helluva Kick against the barricade gets a near countout and Zayn is ticked at Williams for surviving. The Helluva Kick is loaded up but Yachty gets in a cheap shot. The Trick Shot gets a VERY close two but a second misses, allowing Zayn to roll him up for two. Zayn suplexes him into the corner, only to charge into the Trick Shot for the pin and the title at 7:03.

Rating: B-. That’s how it should have gone as Williams has looked like the biggest star in the world as of late and Zayn has been a made man for the better part of ever. This was a heck of a way to make Williams feel like a star and he already looks the part. I could have gone with it going a bit longer, but the pieces are there for Williams to be a huge deal.

Post match Williams celebrates with his parents in a nice touch.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor

Street fight, which was added earlier today. Mysterio comes out on a throne, with a bunch of luchadors carrying their king. That’s rather awesome, though Balor is back as the Demon and has a heart on the stage in front of him to make it even better. Balor hammers away to start and knocks Mysterio outside without too much trouble. It’s already time for the weapons but the table takes too long, allowing Mysterio to get in a shot. Mysterio sets up some chairs inside but gets dropped onto them for his efforts.

A superkick drops Balor though and the 619 into the frog splash gets…one, leaving Mysterio shaken up. Balor knocks him down but misses the Coup de grace, allowing Mysterio to hit him with a chair for two. Mysterio takes too much time to load up the table as well but Balor charges into a superkick and gets thrown through it (with the table exploding).

A chair to the back sets up a 619 with the chair around Balor’s neck. The frog splash gets two so Mysterio gets another table, which again takes too long (Cole: “Uh oh, Demon’s up.”). A bunch of chair shots knock Mysterio silly and the Coup de Grace through the table finishes Mysterio at 10:26.

Rating: B-. That’s about all it should have been, even though I did think it would have been amazing to see Mysterio get the huge upset here. At the same time, Mysterio is someone who can take all kinds of losses and bounce back so it isn’t like this is going to hurt him. If nothing else, it’s nice to see Balor win a big match for a change.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill

Ripley, in white for a very big change of pace, is challenging. Cargill slams her down to start but Ripley is right back up to knock her outside. That’s fine with Cargill, who sends her into the barricade to take over again. Back in and Ripley tells her to bring it and smiles a lot, earning herself a chinlock. Ripley pops up with the handstand kick to the head but Cargill knocks her down again.

Ripley reverses Jaded into a victory roll for two but here are Cargill’s lackeys for a distraction. The beatdown is on outside but Iyo Sky runs in to cut them off. Sky Asai moonsaults onto them (avoiding Cargill’s pump kick in the process). The Riptide is escaped but so is Jaded, allowing Riptide to give Ripley the pin and the title at 10:07.

Rating: B-. I wasn’t sure which way this was going to go but if it sets up Sky vs. Ripley in another singles feud, I’m all for it. Ripley has been needing something to do for awhile now and this certainly fits the description. This wasn’t the biggest match coming into it but they had a good power match which went by the book and it worked well enough.

We look at the Brock Lesnar retirement again.

Here is John Cena to announce tonight’s attendance: 55,255, for a two night total of 106,072. Cena says this concludes his hosting duties, but here are Miz and Kit Wilson who want their Wrestlemania moment. This brings out Danhausen, who has a group of mini Hausens and drives down in the Danhausenmobile. Danhausen introduces himself to Cena (he’s a big fanhausen) but Miz cuts them off again.

He still wants his moment but Danhausen sicks one of the minis on Wilson, who punches him low. Danhausen: “DOGPILE!” Miz is knocked to the floor and carried out by the minis, leaving Danhausen to hit a Shuffle. A mini explosion goes off and Danhausen, uh, escapes. Cena cracks up and says retired life is great. With that, it’s on to the main event. This was hilarious as Danhausen is so goofy but it works.

We recap CM Punk defending the Raw World Title against Roman Reigns. Punk has been champion and hates Reigns, who won the Royal Rumble. They have talked quite a bit of trash to each other and now it’s time to fight, with Punk saying he’s jealous of Reigns’ success and Reigns saying Punk is a fake.

Raw World Title: CM Punk vs. Roman Reigns

Punk is defending. Reigns gets played live to the ring with drums, a piano and live single. Punk on the other hand gets a big montage and walks through the back to his old Ring Of Honor theme. He walks onto the stage in silence and does IT’S CLOBBERIN TIME to start Cult Of Personality. As a bonus, Punk has a jacket with names of three WWE employees who passed away recently, plus Larry and a Harley Race crown on the back.

The bell rings and they stare at each other to start for the early trash talking. Punk’s headlock doesn’t get him very far as Reigns is right back with the Samoan drop. They go outside with Punk being sent into various things and Reigns goes inside to break the count. Punk gets thrown over the barricade and sits down, with Reigns going after him and getting punched down. A clothesline off the barricade drops Reigns but he sends Punk into the announcers’ table to cut him off again.

Back in and Reigns tells Punk to call him a b**** again because this ain’t promo day. Reigns punches him down again but Punk gets in a few shots of his own. The high crossbody lets Punk hammer away, followed by the running knee in the corner. It’s way too early for the GTS though and Reigns scores with the Superman Punch for two. The spear is loaded up but Punk cuts it off with a running knee and they head outside with Punk hammering away on the announcers’ table.

The elbow takes forever to load up though and Reigns gets up to cut him off. Punk gets tied in the Tree Of Woe as he’s hanging over the apron. That lets Reigns fire off Superman Punches and hit him with the steps to really bust him open. The announcers’ table is loaded up and Punk gets powerbombed through as he is gushing blood. Back in and the spear is countered into a GTS out of nowhere for two. Another GTS is countered into the spear for a rather near fall and Reigns says it’s time to go to sleep. Punk escapes and hits his own Superman Punch for two…so he grabs the ulafala.

Punk calls for the spear, which is of course countered into a guillotine. Punk swings around for two and grabs the Anaconda Vice, which is reversed into another guillotine. That’s reversed into a failed Sharpshooter attempt, which is reversed back into the guillotine, with Punk flipping over for two. They get up and talk more trash before slugging it out. Punk headbutts Reigns and knocks himself half silly but distracts the referee, followed by a low blow.

Another GTS connects for two so Punk lays him on the announcers’ table. After taking his sweet time, Punk drops the elbow and they’re both mostly dead. Punk takes what’s left of Reigns back inside for another GTS but Reigns bounces off the ropes onto Punk’s shoulders…but Punk collapses. Back up and the spear drops Punk, who bounces back up to his knees. Another spear gives Reigns the pin and the title at 33:43.

Rating: A. This was a near masterpiece as they beat the fire out of each other and I wasn’t sure who was going to win until the finish. That’s a great sign and it turned into a war between two people who were trying to beat the other no matter what. I love the clean finish too, as it looks like Reigns is the better man, which he should be. It’s a case of Punk’s body ultimately giving out on him and Reigns finally beat him. Great stuff and an instant classic.

Overall Rating: A-. I’m not sure what they put in the dinner after last night but this was a polar opposite of what we got on Saturday. This was outstanding stuff and even the worst match on the card was perfectly fine. You don’t get this kind of a show very often and WWE absolutely brought it here, with the main event being an instant classic. I had a blast with this show and it’s one of the better shows I’ve seen in a long time. In addition to the main event, they made some stars with Williams and Femi, so the future even looks bright. Heck of a show.

Overall Overall Rating: B. I’m kind of in awe over how much better Night Two was than Night One, as it might as well have been two different companies. There are good parts to Night One, but the second night just blew it away in ever aspect. Overall it’s rather good, but if you mix the two nights together, it’s an all timer. Sunday saved the weekend for WWE though, as it’s just not even close in quality between the two. Check out the main event for sure, but skip most of the first night.

Results
Oba Femi b. Brock Lesnar – Fall From Grace
Penta b. Je’Von Evans, Rey Mysterio, Rusev, JD McDonagh and Dragon Lee – Penta pulled down the title
Trick Williams b. Sami Zayn – Trick Shot
Finn Balor b. Dominik Mysterio – Coup de Grace through a table
Rhea Ripley b. Jade Cargill – Riptide
Roman Reigns b. CM Punk – Spear

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

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WrestleCon Supershow 2026
Date: April 16, 2026
Location: Horseshoe Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Joe Dombrowski, Veda Scott

Here we have one of the featured attractions of the week, with a bunch of independent wrestlers getting together and having a show. That’s the kind of thing that can make for some fun moments, though it can also lead to some absolute headscratchers as well. This could go anywhere so let’s get to it.

We open with the traditional tribute video to Mark Hitchcock, a Highspots employee who died on his honeymoon and as a result, the show has been named in his honor. This year’s also includes some of his friends talking about how much this would mean to Hitchcock.

The ring announcer is ready for the opening match but here is Teddy Long as a surprise. He’s going to make the first match a TAG TEAM MATCH PLAYA! Nice moment there as the surprises can often be good.

Heath/Rhino vs. Headbangers

Hold on as Mosh has a big brace on his arm due to a recent torn bicep so he can’t wrestle tonight. He does however have a replacement tonight in the form of…Headbanger Swoggle! Heath and Thrasher start things off and that’s good for an early standoff. A hiptoss puts Heath down but he’s back up with a flying shoulder. Thrasher is fine enough for a hiptoss but Swoggle wants in. He does indeed come in and thrusts his hips a lot, to the point of wearing himself out.

After not being able to nip up, Swoggle wants Rhino and…no he can’t slam Rhino. Some kicks to the leg don’t work either (Swoggle: “Son of a b****!”) so Swoggle bites the back of Rhino’s tights to send him outside. Heath comes back in and gets sent into the corner for some swats at the top of his head. Thrasher gets to hammer on Heath for a bit before it’s back to Swoggle for the same.

A big boot finally cuts Swoggle down and Rhino comes in to hammer on him as well. Heath even gets in a cheap shot from the floor before coming back in for a clothesline from his knees. Heath’s right hands in the corner are countered into a powerbomb and it’s back to Thrasher to clean house. Everything breaks down and Swoggle chokeslams Heath…but gets Gored by Rhino. Thrasher is right back with a rollup to pin Rhino at 12:00.

Rating: C+. Now this is what I was hoping to see from this show (fair enough on Mosh’s injury as there’s nothing you can do about that) as it’s just goofy fun. They weren’t trying to do anything here besides have a good time and tie back into a story from ten years ago (when Heath and Rhino first teamed together against the Headbangers) and it went as well as it could have. Swoggle was was a great choice for a replacement and I liked this a lot.

Mala Fama vs. Love And Peace vs. The StarMen vs. CPF

That would be, in order, Latigo/Toxin vs. Ben-K/Hyo vs. Starboy Charlie/Starman vs. Danny Black/Joe Lando and this is elimination rules. Starman is a guy in very generic gear (it’s based on an NES character) and has to be someone surprising. Lando and Charlie start things off with an exchange of legsweeps before they trade missed dropkicks. Mala Fama runs in to clear the ring and everything breaks down.

Starman is double teamed down but manages a double suplex into a backsplash. Charlie’s running shooting star press gets two on Ben-K and it’s Mala Fama back in to put Charlie in trouble. Mala Fama collide by mistake though and Charlie is back in with a springboard headscissors. Starman gets to come back in and chop away, followed by a cutter. CPF come in and get dropped by Starman as well but he freezes (ala NES).

With nothing working on him, Charlie picks him up and puts him in the corner before going after Mala Fama. That doesn’t work either so here are Love And Peace to take Mala Fama outside. Starman wakes up but misses a charge into the corner (ignore that no one was in the corner), only to pop up for a moonsault onto the pile. Charlie is sent outside though and Starman gets double kicked in the corner. Black dives onto the floor and Lando’s shooting star elbow finishes Starman at 9:50.

Starman rapidly walks off like he (probably) does in the game as we’re down to three. Love And Peace take over on Latigo, with Toxin making a save. Ben-K spears Toxin though and Hyo adds the middle rope backsplash for the pin at 11:54. So we’re down to CPF vs. Love And Peace and they start fast with a pulling piledriver dropping Hyo before all four collide for a double down. They slug it out from their knees and Hyo hits a middle rope cutter, setting up Ben-K’s spear to pin Lando for the win at 15:44.

Rating: B. Starman of course stole the show (I would bet on that being Joey Janela, as it’s the kind of goofy stuff he would do) and as usual, Dragon Gate guys get to look awesome. The other teams got to showcase themselves as well, which is great to see as they aren’t the most well known teams. The fans get to see some new (or at least new to them) stars and that is a great thing, as it was here.

Here is our official WrestleCon ambassador: Sgt. Slaughter. His job is to basically to tell us to have fun and come see him at WrestleCon. Nothing wrong with that.

Mark Davis vs. Masato Tanaka

Tanaka rams into him to start and gets dropped with an even bigger shoulder. Back up and Tanaka hammers away in the corner but Davis knocks him back down for a big slam. The knees to the chest have Tanaka in more trouble and it’s a backbreaker into a Boston crab. That’s broken up with a rope though and Tanaka snaps off a big suplex. Back up and Davis puts him on the apron for a running shoulder to the floor, followed by another beating in the corner.

Tanaka fights back and grabs a superplex, but Davis pops up for a jumping enziguri. That’s not enough to keep him down either though and it’s a clothesline to leave them both down. Back up and they slug it out, with Davis missing an enziguri and getting caught with a sliding lariat. Tanaka tries it again but gets rolled up for two, allowing Davis to hit another enziguri. A big lariat gives Davis two and the piledriver finishes Tanaka at 8:26.

Rating: B. I appreciate a match where it is exactly what you would expect it to be. This was two guys beating on each other very hard until one of them couldn’t get up again. Tanaka has been around for the better part of ever and it still means something for him to get beat. Davis is getting somewhere with that piledriver and it’s cool to see him win a match like this. The lack of Don Callis helps a lot too.

Subculture vs. The Swirl

Webster and Johnson go to the mat to start, with Johnson grabbing a headlock. That’s broken up and it’s off to Andrews vs. Christian as the pace picks up. That doesn’t last long either as they go to a staredown, with Andrews knocking Christian into the corner. A standing moonsault gives Andrews two and Webster’s imploding Swanton gets two.

Johnson comes back in and Andrews is knocked outside, leaving Webster to get 619ed in the corner. Christian makes Webster clap before it’s an enziguri into a dragon screw legwhip. Webster elbows his way to freedom though and moonsaults onto both of them. That’s enough for the diving tag to Andrews, who Falcon Arrows Johnson for two.

Johnson is sent face first into Christian’s knees in the corner and it’s a top rope flipping Stunner to put Christian down. Webster’s Swanton to the back gets two but Johnson is back in for the brainbuster/enziguri combination. Andrews makes a save of his own and they strike it out until a quadruple clothesline leaves everyone down again. A Meltzer Driver hits Andrews and the Death Valley Driver/top rope double stomp combination finishes Webster at 12:14.

Rating: B+. This got rolling near the end and that’s not a problem. These teams have a history of working very well together, with the Swirl being rather underrated as they almost never get out of Ring Of Honor. On the other hand you have Subculture, who are a rather good team that I would love to see get back in a bigger company. They’re more than good enough to do it and can hang with anyone. If they’re interested, it would be great to see.

Team Mancer vs. Team Beast

Mancer: Mancer Warner, Steph de Lander, Vaughn Vertigo, Gravity, LJ Cleary
Beast: The Beast Mortos, Danny Jones, Derek Dillinger, Jimmy Townsend, Lacey Lane

This is the ten person tag, the show’s signature match. De Lander and Lane start things off with Lane charging into a boot in the corner and getting side slammed for two. Dillinger and Warner come in to chop it out with Warner getting the better of things. Vertigo comes in and avoids a basement dropkick, allowing Townsend to avoid a kick on the apron.

Townsend gets in and is kicked in the chest for the standing moonsault. Jones and Cleary come in, with Cleary begging off from the much bigger Jones, who isn’t impressed. Jones hits a discus lariat and Cleary is right over for the tag to Gravity. It’s off to Mortos for the exchange of armdrags but gets kicked out to the floor.

Lane can’t shoulder Cleary down and he finds the attempt rather amusing. Instead it’s Gravity coming back in to argue with Dillinger before all ten get in for the slow motion Gravity walk. With almost everyone on the floor, Warner teases a dive but goes outside to poke the other five in the eyes. Mortos powerbombs Gravity into a backbreaker but Vaughn plants him with a tornado DDT.

We hit the parade of knockdowns, with Warner hitting his lariat but walking into Jones’ Falcon Arrow. De Lander spears Jones and Warner chairs him in the back a few times. Gravity’s top rope splash gets two but Mortos is back up with the spear to Cleary. The spinning piledriver finishes for Mortos at 19:37.

Rating: B-. This is the usual insane tag match that you would expect in this spot and that’s a great thing to see. What matters the most is that they got some new names in there and it wasn’t just some wild scramble. I liked the match well enough and was surprised at how long it went so well done on not getting dull.

Bandido vs. Galeno del Mal

Bandido’s Ring Of Honor World Title isn’t on the line (of course). We get a nice handshake to start and Bandido is a bit slow to go after the much bigger Mal. They trade headlocks to little effect until Bandido hits a dropkick. A top rope hurricanrana brings Mal down but he sends Bandido to the apron and then out to the floor. Mal sends him crashing into the chairs and then into the post, allowing Mal to grab some water.

A big boot staggers Bandido but he avoids a character to send Mal into the seats for a change. Back in and Mal rips off part of Bandido’s mask, followed by a big boot to put him down again. They trade running corner clotheslines and Bandido scores with a leg lariat. A tornado DDT drops Mal to the floor and Bandido is right there to take him down with a dive. Back in and Bandido rips at Mal’s mask for a change, followed by a high crossbody for two.

Mal mixes it up with a reverse suplex and a discus lariat cuts off Bandido’s comeback. Mal goes up…and gets pulled out of the air for a World’s Strongest Slam (that looked amazing). Somehow Mal is up first for a backsplash for two, setting up a Michinoku Driver for the same. Back up and Bandido shrugs off a big boot and muscles him up for a suplex. The 21 Plex finishes Mal off at 16:27.

Rating: B. I’ve seen Mal a few times now and the guy definitely has something to him. He’s a bigger guy and can go out there and keep up with the athleticism, which isn’t something you would expect. On the other hand you have Bandido, who feels like a star and should be a much bigger deal than he’s presented as being. Like maybe having him defend the title at some point.

Post match Bandido thanks everyone for coming and praises Mal, his former student, calling him the next big Mexican superstar.

Progress World Title: Man Like DeReiss vs. Ethan Allen

DeReiss is defending in a bonus match. They start fast with Allen missing some kicks and going outside to yell at a fan. Back in and DeReiss hits some running shoulders but Allen pulls him off the top. Allen slows the pace down and they fight over a suplex with DeReiss finally getting him up. Allen knocks him out of the corner though and hits a falling top rope elbow. They fight over a pinfall reversal sequence until DeReiss catches him with an elbow to the face. A spinning belly to back suplex sets up a 450 to retain the title at 8:40.

Rating: C+. For a bonus match, I’ve seen far worse. That’s one of the great perks of this weekend, as you can get random matches like this thrown on and it makes things that much more interesting. DeReiss got in a quick title defense and the fans got the cool moment of his entrance. It’s no classic, but it certainly didn’t hurt anything.

Jet Speed/Michael Oku vs. The Demand

Oku and Ricochet start things off with Ricochet flipping over him and blocking an O’Connor roll. They both miss dropkicks until Ricochet sends him out to the floor. Everything breaks down and Jet Speed hit some dives to the floor as they pair off on the outside. Oku is back in to try the Fosbury Flop but Liona kicks him out of the air, with Oku’s leg getting tied in the ropes.

Liona throws Knight through the entrance (off camera) as Oku is taken into the corner for some hard shoulders to the ribs. Ricochet comes in to get the two count as Knight is finally starting to come back towards the ring. Oku gets beaten down in the corner again as the villains get to take more turns on him.

A missile dropkick finally gets Oku out of trouble and Knight is back up for the tag to start the comeback. Some uppercuts knock Liona down and a twisting splash gives Knight two. Back up and Kaun hits a heck of a clothesline, allowing Liona to come back in for a backsplash. Knight gets knocked into the tag off to Bailey for the rapid fire strikes and he avoids a backsplash.

It’s back to Oku for the moonsault as everything breaks down. Liona tosses Jet Speed without much trouble but Oku is back up. We get the parade of knockdowns and Ricochet kicks at Bailey, who moonsaults onto the Gates on the floor. Back in and Oku half crabs Ricochet for the tap but the referee doesn’t see it. The Gates get back in for Galaxy Impact (double Doomsday Device) for the pin on Oku at 18:51.

Rating: B+. These six man tags have been the recurring theme of the weekend and this was another good one. That shouldn’t be a surprise as the people involved are rather good with Oku being more than talented enough to hang in there. The Gates were a good choice as well as they add in something different than just the same people flying around. Rather strong main event here.

Overall Rating: B+. This was a nice flashback to some of the better Supershows as it felt fun. That’s been missing a bit in recent years as this show isn’t supposed to be anything more than a fun night of wrestling. Adding in a bunch of surprises and having one match after another is a good thing and they made that work here. Stuff like Swoggle and Starman and the rather good tag matches made this work, as did having DeReiss as a surprise. I had a great time with this and it’s nice to be able to say that again.

Results
Thrasher/Swoggle b. Heath/Rhino – Rollup to Rhino
Love And Peace b. The StarMen, CPF and Mala Fama last eliminating Mala Fama
Mark Davis b. Masato Tanaka – Piledriver
The Swirl b. Subculture – Death Valley Driver/top rope double stomp combination to Webster
Team Beast b. Team Mancer – Spinning piledriver to Cleary
Bandido b. Galeno del Mal – 21 Plex
Man Like DeReiss b. Ethan Allen – 450
The Demand b. Michael Oku/Jet Speed – Galaxy Impact to Oku

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

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WWE World
Date: April 19, 2026
Location: Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Jeremy Borash, Jose Manuel Guillen, Roberto Figueroa, Robert Stone

Well they did this on the first day of WWE World and I guess we’re doing it again to close things out. This is basically just background noise and a chance to have some live matches while the WWE World convention is going on and this time they happen to be broadcast with commentary. Let’s get to it.

Creed Brothers vs. LWO

Brutus and Wilde start things off with Wilde teasing him with a shirt like a bull. That doesn’t work so del Toro comes in for a double knockdown and an assisted moonsault connects. It’s off to Julius, who is quickly headscissored and dropkicked. Brutus comes back in to take over on Wilde for the first time and knocks del Toro off the apron as well.

Julius slams Brutus onto Wilde for two but he crawls through the lets and gets the tag off to del Toro. House is quickly cleaned and a moonsault gets two, with Brutus making the save. Everything breaks down and the LWO hit stereo suicide dives, followed by a top rope splash for the pin on Brutus at 8:00.

Rating: C+. This has been your latest reminder that the Creeds are indeed employed and I’m a bit surprised that they got a chance here. It’s not that they’re a bad team but they haven’t gotten to do anything for such a long time that it’s easy to forget they exist. The LWO is good for your regular high flying pair and the match wasn’t bad at all.

Erik vs. Psycho Clown

This is part of a pretty hot feud in AAA. They actually go technical to start before trading the big clotheslines. The running clotheslines in the corner don’t get anywhere until Erik is knocked outside. Clown gives chase and gets cut off on the way back in, as tends to be the case when chase is give.

The reverse chinlock goes on for a bit before Erik just hammers away with right hands. That’s enough for Clown to fight up and kick him in the head in the corner, followed by an air raid crash for two. Erik is back up with a spinebuster for two but a full nelson slam is blocked. Clown knocks him outside for a suicide dive and the frog splash finishes at 8:48.

Rating: B. This was a match where they had no reason to go this hard and they wound up having a heck of a match, with both guys working incredibly hard. That’s all this could have been and it’s not a surprise that one of the biggest stars in AAA beat half of a tag team. Still though, heck of a hoss fight here that completely exceeded expectations.

Fallon Henley vs. Jaida Parker

They go with the grappling to start and Henley accuses her of pulling hair. That’s not working so Henley takes her down and sits on her back for some riding. Back up and Parker knocks her into the corner before firing off some big shots to the face. Henley fights back and mocks Parker’s high stepping pose, earning herself a slam. The Tear Drop connects for Parker but the Hipnotique is cut off. The second attempt connects though and it’s Deja Vu to pin Henley at 7:04.

Rating: C. Parker continues to feel like an absolute star in the making. She has that X factor to her and you can see the charisma in her eyes. If she can get the in-ring side of things down (and she’s getting better), the sky is the limit for her. Henley did her usual stuff here and was perfectly fine as well.

Myles Borne/Shiloh Hill vs. Los Americanos

Borne and Rayo start things off with Borne winning an exchange of shoulders. Bravo comes in for the double team striking but everything breaks down with Hill helping make the save. Rayo gets crotched against the post and Bravo gets the same treatment on the rope. Borne grabs a very delayed vertical suplex and hands it off to Hill, who actually drop Rayo.

The Americanos take over on Hill and snap his legs, with Rayo suddenly having a three foot tag rope. That doesn’t work and Bravo accidentally drops Bravo before missing a flag assisted top rope splash. The tag brings in Bourne to clean house and everything breaks down, with Hill coming back inside. The loaded up headbutt knocks Hill silly for the pin at 10:00.

Rating: B-. The fact that a mostly makeshift team had me wondering who was going to win is a good sign. Borne not taking the fall is nice to see and at least Los Americanos cheated to get the win. I’ve seen others do that hand off suplex before and it’s still rather impressive. Nice match here to wrap things up.

Overall Rating: B-. This was fun to see and it more than accomplished its goal. These matches weren’t going to be anything important and there wasn’t much in the way of star power. The matches were meant to be live wrestling for the sake of live wrestling and it worked out well, with Clown vs. Erik being far better than I would have expected.

Results
LWO b. Creed Brothers – Top rope splash to Brutus
Psycho Clown b. Erik – Frog splash
Jaida Parker b. Fallon Henley – Deja Vu
Los Americanos b. Shiloh Hill/Myles Borne – Loaded headbutt to Hill

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

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AAA On FOX
Date: April 18, 2026
Location: Gimnasio Olimpico Juan de la Barrera, Mexico City, Mexico
Commentators: Jose Manuel Guillen, Roberto Figueroa

We’re back to Mexico but in this case the commentary is in Spanish as WWE didn’t upload the show to their YouTube channel (likely due to a case of Wrestlemania). There is no telling what we’ll get around here, but the show has been one of the more consistently entertaining series in recent months so hopefully that continues. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Aerostar vs. Lince Dorado vs. Joaquin Wilde

Dorado knocks both of them down to start and backbreakers Aerostar for two. Aerostar is sent outside but comes back in for a double superkick to Dorado. Wilde sends Dorado into a DDT from Aerostar, who gets taken down with a neckbreaker. Back up and Aerostar is sent outside for a heck of a flip dive from Dorado but Wilde takes both of them out with an even bigger dive.

Back in and Wilde poses on Aerostar and gets his picture taken until Dorado breaks it up. Dorado is sent outside and Wilde superkicks Aerostar, who catches Wilde on top. A powerbomb out of the corner gives Wilde two, with Dorado shooting starring in for the save. Aerostar knocks Dorado outside for a suicide dive and then takes Wilde out as well. Back in and Aerostar gives Dorado a rolling cutter but Dorado rolls through a super hurricanrana for the pin at 7:05.

Rating: B. This was, pardon the expression, total nonstop action and that’s what the match should have been. It was a case where any of the three winning would have been fine, though Dorado is probably the biggest name out of the three. Good opener here as they certainly started the show fast.

The War Raiders and Psycho Circus get in a fight before tonight’s main event.

Dorian Roldan appeals to his mother about Mini Vikingo costing El Hijo del Vikingo the Intercontinental Title last week. Things have been insane and the company has no leadership so he should be the new GM. She wants a week to think about it.

Mixed Tag Team Titles: Dinamico/La Hiedra vs. Mr. Iguana/Lola Vice

Iguana and Vice are defending. Dinamico isn’t sure what to make of the stuffed iguana and Iguana flipping around and having a seat makes it worse. It’s quickly off to the women with Hiedra working on the arm but getting pulled into an armbar. Hiedra pops up and shakes her hips, only to get pulled into a cross armbreaker. Iguana gets the same thing on Dinamico but both of them are broken up.

Iguana is sent into the corner for a running hip attack and Hiedra gives Vice something like Shattered Dreams. The fans react to Hiedra giving Vice a spank but Vice is right back with a suplex. Iguana comes back in for a big spinning headscissors on Dinamico, who is right back with a running cutter. It’s back to Vice, who gives Dinamico the running hip attack but gets rolled up to give Hiedra two. Vice kicks Hiedra in the face, leaving Dinamico to powerbomb Iguana for two. Iguana gets caught in an electric chair but spins out into a DDT to retain at 7:57.

Rating: C+. There was a lot going on here but these titles are hardly the most serious thing in the world. It’s fine to see something like this, with a bunch of comedy spots and the fans mainly there for Iguana and Vice’s shtick. You could do just about anything here and it would have been fine, which was on display with this one.

We look back at the battle of the Americanos last week, with the mask vs. mask match being set.

El Grande Americano talks about how what he said at Rey de Reyes came from the heart. El Texano is with him and says all the titles and accomplishments mean nothing if you won’t fight. Americano is ready to fight and Texano respects him for accepting the mask vs. mask match. They seem ready to team up.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

We look at the Psycho Circus vs. the Viking Raiders at Rey de Reyes with the match ending in a double DQ.

Ivar vs. Psycho Clown

They start fast with an exchange of clotheslines in the corner until Clown takes over. Clown knocks him outside and hits a big suicide dive but Ivar is back up with a Tour Of The Islands. Clown’s comeback is cut off by Ivar sitting on him out of the corner but Clown knocks him down again. A split legged moonsault gives Clown two and he hits a running corner boot.

Ivar spinebusters him out of the air but misses the Doomsault. That’s shrugged off and Ivar kicks him in the face, followed by a tiger bomb for two more. Clown fights out of a superplex attempt and hits a sunset bomb, followed by a Code Red for another near fall. The referee gets bumped so Clown’s Samoan drop doesn’t get a count. Cue Erik to lay Clown out and a double powerbomb gives Ivar the pin at 8:43.

Rating: B. This was two big men hitting each other really hard until…well until it took a bonus big man to cause the pin. That’s all this was supposed to be and since we haven’t seen anything close to it on the show, it stood out that much more. I liked this a good big and it was a rather fun way to wrap up the show.

Post match Pagano runs in for the late save. The Raiders leave and Clown yells at Pagano for not being there. They keep arguing to the back and violence seems likely but they go different ways. Clown finds Murder Clown attacked with a Pagano shirt to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show continues to be simple, easy to follow, and entertaining. Part of that is due to it not taking up too much time every week, but I have more fun watching this show than just about anything else. I’m glad to see it finding its groove while giving some WWE stars something to do. Another good show this week with above average wrestling.

Results
Lince Dorado b. Aerostar and Joaquin Wilde – Sunset flip to Wilde
Mr. Iguana/Lola Vice b. Dinamico/La Hiedra – Spinning DDT to Dinamico
Ivar b. Psycho Clown – Double powerbomb

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

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Gringo Loco’s Wrld On Lucha 2026
Date: April 17, 2026
Location: Horseshoe Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: John Mosley, Veda Scott

This is one of those shows where you can probably get the concept just based on the title. The show will feature a bunch of lucha style matches, which should make for an entertaining card. I’m not sure how it is going to be that much different than a lot of what you see on these other shows as lucha is rather popular but let’s get to it.

Gringo Loco narrates the opening video, talking about his love of lucha libre and how this is about the style at its best. Welcome to its world.

Opening video, which seems to be a standard GCW video.

Rafael Quintero vs. Resplandor vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Dulce Tormenta vs. Devon Monroe vs. KJ Orso

Orso runs his mouth to start and gets kicked in the face before the bell. Monroe snaps off a poisonrana and the ring is mostly cleared until Orso comes back in to poke Resplandor in the eye. That earns him a rather springboardy armdrag to the apron, where Orso hits a brainbuster. Quintero comes back in and gives Orso a running elbow, only to get suplexed by Lloyd.

Monroe grabs a flipping facebuster so Tormenta comes in for a butterfly backbreaker and a clothesline. Orso crotches Tormenta on top and goes for her mas, only to get super hurricanranaed down by Monroe. Tormenta is back up to dive onto a pile, leaving Quintero to hit a corkscrew dive from the top. Back in and Resplandor’s double moonsault gets two on Orso and Moore grabs a tornado DDT on Lloyd. Tormenta powerbombs Resplandor into Quintero in the corner. A Blue Thunder Bomb connects but Orso hits a double stomp to pin Tormenta at 9:35.

Rating: C+. It was a bunch of insanity but as usual, you can only get so much out of having this many people flying around. That was the case here, with Orso being a fairly obvious winner as he was the only one really hyped up at the beginning. As usual, I get why there are so many people in these things and why they exist, but they’re far from my favorite.

Video on Julissa Mexa, who is on a roll lately. Now she gets some better competition.

Thunder Rosa vs. Julissa Mexa

Rosa rolls away from Mexa to start so Mexa takes the leg out and cranks on the leg a bit. A dragon screw legwhip has Rosa in more trouble but she gets up and hammers away. Rosa’s headscissors into the ropes has Mexa reeling but she sends Rosa outside for the running flip dive. They fight into the crowd with Rosa firing off some chops and it’s time to get back inside.

Mexa avoids a shot and dances a bit, only for Rosa to knock her down as well and dance right back. Rosa sends her into the ropes for some running dropkicks, followed by something like a tabletop superplex. Mexa catches her on top though and it’s a flipping fall away slam. Rosa isn’t having this and grabs the over the shoulder piledriver for the on 10:31.

Rating: C+. Well that happened. Mexa was introduced, presented as a big deal, and then lost to a bigger name in a match that was just ok. It was far from bad, but I’m not sure why they made such a big deal out of Mesa before having her lose like this. Rosa is a star, but that’s all I know coming out of this.

Mexa’s Boys/Briyante Jr. vs. Mala Fama/Rey Horus

That would be Noisy Boy/Spider Fly and Latigo/Toxin. The Boys and Briyante waste no time in knocking the other three to the floor for the big running dives. Back in and Fly spins around Latigo and sends him out to the floor. Noisy headscissors Toxin out as well but gets hurricanranaed by Horus. Briyante comes in and gets stomped down by Mala Fama, who are sent back outside.

Another set of dives is cut off and Horus chops Briyante to the floor. A double spinebuster drops Noisy and Horus gives Fly a UFO splash for two. Briyante is back up with a moonsault to the floor and Fly follows with a running flip dive of his own. Back in and Briyante’s frog splash gets two on Toxin, followed by a six man Tower Of Doom for the huge crash. Latigo fails on three straight attempts at a nip up until Fly helps him up. Well that was nice of him. Back in and Horus gives Noisy a super victory roll for the pin at 11:58.

Rating: B. This was more what I was expecting from the show with six talented stars flying around and going nuts with one big spot after another. It worked out rather well with mostly non-stop action. Mala Fama has shown up around the weekend a few times now and they’re not bad at all for what they’re doing as a heel lucha team. Keep an eye on them.

Post match respect is shown and money is thrown.

Galeno del Mal vs. Jack Cartwheel

The idea is that Cartwheel has never been able to beat Mal. Cartwheel, who is about six inches shorter, gets shoved away a few times to start and a running forearm puts him down as well. Cartwheel gets in a kick to the chest and sends him outside, where Mal pulls a dive out of the air. Back in and Mal kicks him in the head, followed by a hard chop in the corner.

They go outside with Mal dropping him off a single shot to the face. Cartwheel gets a running charge and tries a dive over the steps, only to get caught and swung into them. Back in and Cartwheel low bridges him to the floor for the running tornado DDT. A spinning slingshot elbow connects back inside. Cartwheel hits a springboard Phoenix splash…and has hurt his arm so the match is called at about 7:05.

Rating: C+. It’s hard to rate a match like this as they were just starting to roll when everything stopped. Hopefully Cartwheel is ok as that’s a terrible thing to see. It was a nice story going as Cartwheel was trying to slay the giant and I’m curious about where it was going before the injury.

Arez/Gringo Loco/Vengador vs. Hyo/Kzy/Yuki Yoshioka

Loco armdrags Kzy down to start and they flip up to a standoff. They run the ropes until Loco tells him to stop, meaning it’s gyrating time. Arez and Yoshioka come in, with the grappling sending Yoshioka into a rollup for a near fall. They both miss dropkicks and flip to their feet for another standoff.

Now it’s Hyo vs. Vengador and Hyo takes his straps down, only to pull them right back up. They shake hands, but Vengador doesn’t let go, meaning it’s time to run the ropes. Vengador knocks him down and hands it off to Loco, who goes up top for a gyrating split legged moonsault. Hyo gets slammed into a sitout powerbomb and a brainbuster drops him again. Yoshioka is powerbombed too and a toss into a DDT makes it worse.

Kzy fights out of the corner but gets thrown into Loco’s super sitout powerbomb (that looked GREAT). Arez kicks Kzy down again but Hyo is back in for a running headscissors and double stomp to Loco. Yoshioka hits a big springboard dive to the floor and Arez gets caught with a sitout fireman’s carry slam. It’s Loco back up with the save but Hyo gyrates right back at him for a change.

They fight to the floor and Yoshioka tries a sunset bomb on Arez to no avail. Instead Loco and Arez break up stereo moonsaults so Vengador can hit a running flip dive of his own. Back in and Hyo takes the straps down again for a middle rope cutter to Arez. Loco is up with some kind of a double crucifix bomb (commentary doesn’t know how to describe it either), leaving Vengador to hit a pop up cutter on Hyo. Loco’s moonsault is good for the pin at 18:54.

Rating: B+. Awesome match here, which shouldn’t be a surprise given who was in there. They were just going nuts with one spot after another here and you could tell how much Loco was putting into the big match on his own show. The Dragon Gate guys were more than doing their thing and I had a heck of a time watching this one.

Post match, respect is shown.

We recap El Desperado vs. Vipress. They’re both into death match stuff and they’re having a death match. Sometimes it’s that simple.

Vipress vs. El Desperado

Death match but they actually go with some grappling to start. With that not working, it’s already time for chairs. As in a lot of chairs. Back in and Vipress sends him right out to the floor and follows, only to get sent into the chairs. With Vipress’ head in a chair, Desperado blasts her with another chair.

A door is set up at ringside and they go back inside, with Desperado’s superplex being turned into one from Vipress. Desperado belly to back suplexes her into a brainbuster for two and goes up again, only to be shoved down through the door. Back in and something like a pumphandle Blue Thunder Bomb gives Desperado two and they’re both down.

They forearm it out until Vipress is knocked down but she hurricanranas him for two. A Deadeye gives Desperado two but Vipress is back with a Canadian Destroyer for two more. Desperado’s tombstone gets another two and it’s time to throw in a bunch of chairs. Angel’s Wings onto the chairs finish Vipress at 15:32.

Rating: B-. The match wasn’t exactly a classic but my goodness what a relief that they didn’t go insane. The weapons used here were nothing more than a bunch of chairs and a single door. Other than that it was a clean match and I had a good enough time with it. While not exactly great and I’m not sure why it was the main event, it could have been much worse.

Veda Scott: “We’ll catch you next time! Which is in like two hours!”

Overall Rating: B-. While this show might not have been some all time classic, it was the kind of show that flew by and had some entertaining action. That’s all it was supposed to be and the six man tags were both rather good. There’s nothing must see on here but if you want something a little easier to watch, you’ll have a fine time.

Results
KJ Orso b. Resplandor, Rafael Quintero, Jimmy Lloyd, Dulce Tormenta and Devon Moore – Double stomp to Tormenta
Thunder Rosa b. Julissa Mexa – Over the shoulder piledriver
Mala Fama/Rey Horus b. Mexa’s Boys/Briyante Jr. – Super victory roll to Noisy Boy
Galeno del Mal b. Jack Cartwheel via referee stoppage
Arez/Gringo Loco/Vengador b. Hyo/Kzy/Yuki Yoshioka – Moonsault to Hyo
El Desperado b. Vipress – Angel’s Wings onto a pile of chairs

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

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Well with that out of the way (because I’m absolutely writing this after Night One wrapped up and certainly not a few days in advance of course), we’re on to Night Two, which has the bigger and better main event, plus a rather interesting battle of the monsters. This show looks a lot better on paper, but that’s not how good wrestling is made. I’m hopeful going in so let’s get to it.

Oba Femi vs. Brock Lesnar

We’ll start big here as this is an absolute showdown between a couple of monsters who have been teasing their big fight for about a month now. Lesnar issued and open challenge for Wrestlemania and Femi is trying his luck. That should be more than enough to make things interesting, but Femi has run through him a few times now and it has me wondering what we might be seeing.

At the end of the day, as hard as it might be to believe, I don’t see a reason to have Femi lose here so we’ll say Femi gets the huge win. Lesnar seems to be wrapping up his career (he’s 48 so it isn’t going to be much longer anyway) and having him lose to some up and coming stars like Femi on the way out is a good way to go. Lesnar is more than a made man so a loss isn’t going to hurt him (never has before) so yeah, Femi gets the big win.

Intercontinental Title: Penta(c) vs. Rusev vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Dragon Lee vs. JD McDonagh vs. Rey Mysterio

It’s Wrestlemania so of course we’re seeing a big multi person mess of a ladder match. As usual, the best thing to do here is just eliminate a few names who aren’t leaving with the title. Therefore, Rusev, Lee and McDonagh are gone, as there’s pretty much no chance they’re winning here. That leaves us with the other three options and that’s not as easy as it should be.

Of the three remaining options, I think I’ll go with Penta to retain. He’s doing well enough as champion and save for Mysterio getting a title win that he absolutely does not need (a possibility), I don’t see anyone but Evans being a serious threat to win the title. Evans winning is absolutely in the cards, but I think they might wait for a bigger moment. Penta wins, with Evans as a legitimate second option.

Smackdown Women’s Title: Jade Cargill(c) vs. Rhea Ripley

Now here we have a match that has my interest, as I’m really not sure where it’s going to go. On one hand you have Ripley as one of the biggest stars women’s wrestling has ever seen, but at the same time you have Cargill, who shouldn’t be losing very often. You also have the Iyo Sky factor, as this whole thing seems primed for her to turn on Ripley and cost her the title. This really could go either way, but it’s only so interesting of a match in the first place.

I’ll go with Cargill to retain, though I’m not sure about Sky turning on her. It’s almost so much of a simple story that I don’t know if I can see it happening. Both Ripley and Cargill need the win, but Ripley can take a loss better than Cargill here. Cargill beating someone on Ripley’s level would help her a bit, as getting to brag doing doing her cocky pin on Ripley would be a big deal. Cargill wins, but it’s probably the least confident I am in anything all weekend.

Dominik Mysterio vs. Finn Balor

Here we have a straight up grudge match as they were partners in Judgment Day for the better part of ever and then Mysterio turned on Balor who wanted to do things the right way. As a result, Mysterio and company turned on him to set up this match. That’s enough to get going here, but Balor is also bringing back the Demon to make things all the more intense.

As much as it would seem to make sense to have Balor win here, I’ll take Mysterio to win. We’ve seen that one of the best things Mysterio can do is brag about his upset wins and this would be pretty high up on the list. Mysterio is someone who could very well wind up in the World Title picture someday and Balor has way too much of a history of choking in big matches. I’ll go with Mysterio to win in a heck of an upset, though again I’m far from sure about it.

US Title: Sami Zayn(c) vs. Trick Williams

This is another match where I’m not sure what is going to happen as it feels like we’re in for a big turn, or maybe even two of them. Zayn seems to be changing over to the side of evil (or at least the side of the middle) while Williams is already one of the most popular stars on the Smackdown roster. Zayn basically won the title to guarantee he’s on the show, but Williams wants to be a big star going forward.

I want to say that Williams wins the title here and becomes a hero, but there might be something bigger in having Zayn cheat to keep Williams from winning the title here and getting it later. I think that’s what we’ll go with here, as Zayn embraces more of the dark side to keep things going the right way, while Williams eventually becomes the cool hero that the fans want him to be.

Raw World Title: CM Punk(c) vs. Roman Reigns

This is the match that interests me the most and it makes sense that it’s the last match taking place over the whole weekend. Punk is the older champion who is trying to hang on against the former champion who wants the top spot back. That is more than enough to carry the feud but dang their promos have been great throughout. This is a match that feels like a tossup and I’ll absolutely take that in a Wrestlemania main event.

As possible as it seems that Reigns gets the title back here, I really don’t see the point in giving him the win. Therefore, I’ll take Punk to retain, with next to no idea who comes after the title next. The best thing I can say here is that this feels like a Wrestlemania main event, which is a lot more than you can say about some of them over the years. I don’t know where this is going and that’s a good feeling to have for a match of this magnitude.

Overall Thoughts

This is a show where the big parts are looking rather good, but the rest is quite a bit weaker. Hopefully there are a few strong surprises in there, though Lesnar vs. Femi and the main event should be enough to carry things. The potential is certainly there, but it’s going to need more than that to pull it off. That very well may be the case, but it’s no guarantee.

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

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Wrestlemania XLII Night One
Date: April 18, 2026
Location: Allegiant Stadium, Paradise, Nevada
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Michael Cole

We have arrived. After a less than great build and some questionable choices, it’s time for the biggest weekend of the wrestling year. No matter what happens here, this is a special event and we have Cody Rhodes defending the Smackdown World Title against Randy Orton in the main event. Let’s get to it.

The opening video, as narrated by Lin-Manuel-Miranda, talks about the memories and moments that are made at Wrestlemania. Years from now, our children will ask us where we were when things happened at this show. Heck of an opener here and it still worked even though it aired on Smackdown last night.

Here is John Cena as the host. He seems actually taken aback by the reception and then talks about how the Road To Wrestlemania has been rough this year. As Michael Cole has said, it’s been polarizing, but the important thing is that we’re here now. Cena getting emotional was a great thing to see as you can tell this means a lot to him.

Usos/LA Knight vs. Vision/IShowSpeed

The Usos come through the crowd and Knight comes to the stage in a customized truck. The Vision and Speed have a unique entrance of their own, as they have nine different camera angles shown at once to cover everything. We officially start and the Vision is knocked to the floor, leaving Speed alone with Knight. Speed’s headlock doesn’t work as Knight just stands up and walks around with him, sending Speed running off.

Knight stomps on Paul in the corner and it’s back to the Usos for a double elbow. Theory comes in off a blind tag though and jumps Jimmy so the villains can take over. The stomping has Jimmy in trouble but he fights back on Paul and gets over to Jey. Theory comes in as well and gets punched in the face, followed by the spear. Paul dives in for the save and everything breaks down, with Speed snapping off a headscissors. Speed accidentally knocks Paul down so Theory tells at him, only for Knight to send them into each other. The BFT finishes Theory at 7:07.

Rating: C+. It’s no classic, but it did exactly what it needed to do. They go the celebrity in there and he didn’t embarrass himself, with Knight getting the pin in the end. It’s just a basic match, but I do like the idea of taking something simple and doing it well. Nice enough here and that’s a good way to start the show.

Post match Paul yells at Speed and drops him with the metal fist. Paul loads up the announcers’ table but Jimmy and Knight make the save. Knight helps him up and Speed goes up top for the huge splash through the announcers’ table.

Drew McIntyre vs. Jacob Fatu

Unsanctioned. Fatu comes out with fire dancers while McIntyre knocks down a stone wall and walks through the hole. The entrances take a long time so Fatu dives onto McIntyre to start fast. The weapons are thrown in early on but Fatu is smart enough to knock McIntyre down again. It takes too long to get a toolbox though and McIntyre decks him from behind. A catapult sends Fatu face first into the bottom of the ring and it’s time for a table.

Actually it’s time for McIntyre to continue his tradition of tweeting during a match, which allows Fatu to fight back. A pop up Samoan drop gives Fatu two but McIntyre knocks him down again. The chair is loaded up in the corner but they both avoid going into it. Instead Fatu misses a charge and goes face first into the post, allowing McIntyre to suplex him down. McIntyre gets knocked back down though and Fatu’s triple jump moonsault connects….for two.

McIntyre finds a piece of metal to jab into Fatu’s head and then sends him onto some open chairs for two more. That’s not ok with McIntyre, who grabs the referee’s belt, only to walk into a superkick. Fatu chairs him in the back a few times and now it’s his turn with the belt. The whipping ensues so Fatu goes to grab the toolbox, allowing McIntyre to hit a Claymore for two.

McIntyre screams at the referee some more but loses a slugout with Fatu, who fires off some headbutts. Fatu puts him on a table and hits him with a chair to keep him down. That doesn’t really work either as McIntyre is right back up to hit him with a chair as well. Fatu is shoved off the top and through a table at ringside, which somehow doesn’t do much to slow him down. Back in and Fatu hits him in the head with the toolbox, setting up the triple jump moonsault through the table to finish McIntyre at 14:17.

Rating: B. That’s what this should have been, as Fatu survived everything a former multiple time World Champion threw at him and then finished him off. Some of the no selling and things that were shrugged off were a bit much, but that was how the match needed to go. Fatu gets probably the biggest win of his career and can move on to…whatever is next, just like McIntyre. Good brawl.

We run down the remaining card.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Charlotte/Alexa Bliss vs. Bella Twins vs. Irresistible Forces vs. Bayley/Lyra Valkyria

The Forces are defending, there is one from each team in at all times and it’s one fall to a finish. Actually hang on as Nikki Bella says she can’t get medically cleared so she’s called in an old friend. And PAIGE is back, which is great to see after how bad her neck has been over the years. It’s a brawl to start with Jax taking over, only to get knocked outside by Charlotte.

Brie’s chops don’t get her very far as Valkyria hits a dropkick. Back up and Brie kicks away at Valkyria and Charlotte but the tag to Paige is cut off. Legend takes Brie outside for a drop onto the apron, leaving Bayley to middle rope elbow Bliss. Legend is back in to start taking over but she gets pulled out of the corner, allowing Brie to hit a middle rope dropkick. The tag brings in Paige, who strikes away at Jax and cleans house as everything breaks down.

The Paige Turner connects with Bayley making the save. A Lash Extension hits Valkyria so another save is made. Legend is knocked outside so it’s off to Paige vs. Charlotte for a big showdown. Paige wins the slugout and gets two off a small package. Charlotte is sent outside where Nikki beats on her with the crutch. Bliss tries Twisted Bliss but hits raised knees. The Rampaige gives Paige the pin and the titles at 8:29.

Rating: C-. Well that happened. As usual, these matches are kind of all over the place and it’s just a collection of spots that only kind of tie together. The ending was all about the big moment of the Bellas and Paige getting a special win. I’m not big on the Bellas, but it is good to have Paige back. Other than that, this was just kind of a mess with way too much going on to have a coherent match.

Women’s Intercontinental Title: Becky Lynch vs. AJ Lee

Lee is defending and comes out with an army of school girls dressed like her and carrying replica belts. On the other hand, Lynch is played to the ring live for a pair of cool entrances. Lynch is ticked off to start and gets sent outside, with Lee’s dive being powerslammed into the barricade. Back in and Lynch puts her down again and goes to take the turnbuckle pad off. The referee (Jessika Carr, who has had issues with Lynch) calls her insane and ties it back up.

Lee uses the delay to fight back for two but the Black Widow is countered. Lee’s standing Sliced bread connects but the Shining Wizard is countered into a powerbomb for two. A quick Black Widow attempt is swung into the corner and the Manhandle Slam gives Lynch two. Lynch gets into it with the referee again and they shove each other, allowing Lee to grab a Manhandle Slam for two of her own.

Lee grabs the Black Widow so Lynch pulls the hair to escape. The referee checks on Lee so Lynch gets the buckle off and pulls the referee over. That’s enough of a distraction for Lee to be sent into the buckle, setting up the Manhandle Slam to give Lynch the title back at 8:18.

Rating: C+. This felt like it should have been a Raw main event more than big time Wrestlemania title match. The stuff with the referee did fit well with the story, but these two just don’t have the best chemistry. Lee can go away for a bit again and come back to do something fresh, as anything she does now is pretty much bonus money. Lynch has a bunch of people who can come after the title, so this is the right result after an ok match.

Gunther vs. Seth Rollins

Rollins’ eyes are blacked out for a cool look. Gunther jumps him from behind before the bell though and hits the dropkick into the powerbomb to send him outside. Rollins goes to the eyes when they get outside and throws some chairs at Gunther as the bell hasn’t rung yet. Rollins flips him off and they get inside, with the bell ringing and Rollins taking over. Gunther gets knocked down again and stomped in the head but knocks Rollins down for a breather.

The pace slows way down and Gunther stands on Rollins’ head before trying a delayed vertical superplex. That’s broken up though and Rollins somehow gets him up for the Buckle Bomb. It’s too early for the Stomp so Rollins hits a clothesline and they’re both down. They kick away at each other until Rollins wins a chop off, only to get powerbombed for two more.

Gunther slowly hammers away but the clothesline is countered into a failed Pedigree attempt. Rollins hits a knee but the Pedigree is blocked again, only for tries it again and connects (though it didn’t look great). A Stomp gives Rollins two but Gunther pulls him into the sleeper. Rollins manages to get out and they trade big shots, with Gunther’s clothesline putting Rollins down.

Gunther takes too long going up though and gets superplexed into a Falcon Arrow for two. Rollins gets his own sleeper to send Gunther to the ropes and then out to the floor. The suicide dive is blocked and Gunther powerbombs him onto the apron and announcers’ table. Rollins shakes that off and counters the powerbomb into a Pedigree on the table. The Stomp drives Gunther into the table…and Bron Breakker is back with a Super Spear to Rollins. Back in and the sleeper finishes Rollins at 15:53.

Rating: B+. This took time to get going but they wound up having a heck of a fight. Gunther winning is fine as Rollins can get back to Breakker, where he belongs. Gunther is probably getting ready to retire Brock Lesnar at Summerslam so he needs all the build he can get. Good match here, despite a slow start.

Post match Breakker glares at Rollins…and runs all the way down the ramp to spear him again. Breakker hugs Paul Heyman as he leaves.

We meet the Hall Of Fame class:

Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant (biggest match ever so that fits)
AJ Styles (yep)
Demolition (as overdue as it gets)
Dennis Rodman (someone had to get the celebrity spot)
Sycho Sid (how was he not in already)
Bad News Brown (put him in or he might hurt you)
Stephanie McMahon (yeah she’s probably still talking too)

Raw Women’s Title: Liv Morgan vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Morgan is challenging and basically does the music video to Trouble down the ramp. Vaquer goes after after her to start and Morgan is in early trouble. The Devil’s Kiss is blocked though and Morgan is right back up with a Backstabber. Morgan loads up her own Devil’s Kiss but Vaquer is grabs an SVB for two.

Vaquer hits her own Oblivion for two but here is Roxanne Perez for the distraction, allowing Raquel Rodriguez to knock Vaquer off the top. Oblivion gives Morgan two but Vaquer is back to dive onto Rodriguez and Perez. Morgan is up to send her into the steps though and a middle rope Codebreaker knocks Vaquer silly. Another Oblivion gives Morgan the title back at 6:52.

Rating: C+. Well that was quick. I’m not sure why they were flying through this match so fast but it didn’t feel like they had time to really do anything. At the same time, Vaquer only had so much of a chance in this one as Morgan has been on fire as of late. You could only stretch that out so far, as this was pretty much all about Morgan getting her coronation and it wasn’t a secret.

Here is John Cena for the attendance announcement: 50,816. Last year both nights had over 60,000.

Hold on though as here is Bianca Belair for a surprise. Belair says they need to add one more to that list and opens her rather feathery blue attire to reveal that she’s pregnant. Yeah ok that’s awesome.

We recap Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton. They were close back in the day and Rhodes considers him his mentor. Then Orton won the Elimination Chamber to get the title shot and Rhodes wants the old Orton, who listens to those voices. Orton turned evil thanks to someone calling him, who was revealed to be Pat McAfee of all people. This resulted in Orton attacking Rhodes to quite the positive reaction and beating up Jelly Roll. Yeah see why this has been kind of a mess?

Smackdown World Title: Cody Rhodes vs. Randy Orton

Rhodes is defending and his entrance is…a lot. He has basically a museum of his previous ring gear and clips of him in it before rising up through the stage as he does for big matches. Pat McAfee is here with Orton and handles Orton’s entrance. Also of note, not counting the Big Match Intros or the pre-match video, from the time McAfee’s name appeared on the Titantron to the end of Rhodes’ music: 15:18, or 35 seconds shorter than the longest match of the show.

McAfee jumps Rhodes before the bell but Rhodes fights back and sends Orton outside. Cross Rhodes takes McAfee out and here is Jelly Roll to put him through the announcers’ table. McAfee is taken out on a stretcher as Cole talks about Orton possibly having a back injury. As McAfee is wheeled out, he gives a thumbs up in a great moment. The bell actually rings and they fight over a top wristlock, which is quite the way to go for this kind of a feud.

Back up and Orton tries the over the back backbreaker…but he’s hurt. A poke to the eye lets Orton grab a chinlock but Rhodes fights up and puts him down again. That sends Orton out to the floor for a breather so Rhodes sends him back inside for a half crab. With that broken up, Rhodes switches to a waistlock but Orton fights out and…needs some time. Orton takes him up top for a superplex and then hits the powerslam, allowing him to shake his back a bit.

The hanging DDT slows Orton down again but the RKO is blocked. Rhodes sends him outside, where Orton cuts off a suicide dive. Orton drops him onto the announcers’ table for another breather but Rhodes stops him with a posting. Back in and Rhodes starts in with a few stomps (it looks like he’s trying a Garvin Stomp but doesn’t quite know how to do it). The Disaster Kick gets two so Rhodes rubs the blood on his own chest. A hanging DDT gives Rhodes two but Orton is back with a Cross Rhodes for two of his own.

The RKO is countered into a backslide to give Rhodes two, followed by an RKO to Orton for two more. They head outside again with a ticked off Rhodes being dropped onto the announcers’ table. Back in and a quick RKO gives Orton two and they slowly slug it out. Rhodes goes to the eye so Orton RKO’s the referee but the low blow is blocked. Rhodes kicks Orton low but the Cody Cutter is countered into an RKO. Cue Pat McAfee with a referee shirt (and a neck brace) to count two. That means an RKO to McAfee, allowing Rhodes to hit Cross Rhodes to retain at 23:40.

Rating: C. Well, it got better near the end (it couldn’t have gotten much worse) and Rhodes seemingly got rid of McAfee for good so we’ll call that a win. I still have no idea what is going on or how this is supposed to make sense, but I don’t think WWE is quite sure either. This felt like “throw a bunch of stuff out there and hope they’re confused enough by the time we’re done”, which is quite the way to go for the main event. It turned into a better match near the end and that was enough to save it (kind of) but wow this was a mess.

The problem is that’s just the insanity that went with it, as you also have the majority of the match being Rhodes working on the back in slow motion. I’d assume there’s a bit of truth to Orton being hurt but nothing terrible, which just leaves me wondering why they went in this direction. It’s not some terrible match overall, but sweet goodness it’s an amazing spectacle of nuttiness.

Post match Rhodes celebrates but Orton takes the title from him. A belt shot drops Rhodes and Orton Punts him before holding the title to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show was ok enough for the most part, but as usual these two night Wrestlemanias just feel incomplete when you watch them this way. It’s a mixture of there being too much for one night but not enough for two and that leaves you with stuff like this, with short matches and some very questionable nuttiness.

Rollins vs. Gunther and Fatu vs. McIntyre were both good, but wow those things were few and far between. It’s not awful, but as usual it leaves you with a “that’s it?” feeling as there is so much left tomorrow. Overall, the good outweighs the bad and….whatever that main event was supposed to be, but just barely.

Results
LA Knight/Usos b. IShowSpeed/Vision – BFT to Theory
Jacob Fatu b. Drew McIntyre – Triple jump moonsault through a table
Brie Bella/Paige b. Irresistible Forces, Bayley/Lyra Valkyria and Charlotte/Alexa Bliss – Rampaige to Bliss
Becky Lynch b. AJ Lee – Manhandle Slam
Gunther b. Seth Rollins – Sleeper
Liv Morgan b. Stephanie Vaquer – Manhandle Slam
Cody Rhodes b. Randy Orton – Cross Rhodes

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

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Maple Leaf Pro Multiverse
Date: April 17, 2026
Location: Pearl Theater At Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Johnny Laquasto, So Cal Val

Maple Leaf Pro has gone from a promotion that doesn’t exist about a year ago to a pretty consistently good independent company. That is a heck of an impressive feat and it’s great to see them as part of the lineup around here. I’m assuming there are going to be a lot of guest stars here so let’s get to it.

The opening video focuses on how worlds come together and how the greats will rise, but some will fall.

Subculture (Attack Wrestling) vs. Guy Cool/Vaughn Vertigo (UWN)

The sound mix is WAY off to start, as the theme music is drowning out everything, from the ring announcer to the commentary. Vaughn and Webster start things off with Vaughn taking him to the mat by the arm. Back up and Webster takes him down for an inverted flipping backsplash. Cool (“confidently aloof”) comes in and brings Vaughn right back in for a failed double suplex attempt.

Vaughn is quickly taken down by Subculture, who start in on the arm but manages to take Webster into the wrong corner. A cheap shot to the knee takes Webster down and a pumphandle backbreaker…seems to be a bad idea as Webster fights back. It’s back to Andrews for the double Pele as everything breaks down. Webster gets sent outside and Vaughn’s Swanton hits the standing Andrews. A Stundog Millionaire gets Andrews out of trouble though and Fall To Pieces (shooting star press) finishes Vaughn at 8:21.

Rating: B-. Rather good choice to open the show here, with Subculture getting to show off their rather impressive talents. They’re a team who have done well every time I’ve seen them in the ring and that was the case again here. Cool and Vaughn were fine as villains and held their own rather well, which isn’t surprising given how much experience commentary said Vertigo had.

Commentary previews the rest of the show.

Steven Borden (Ring Of Honor) vs. Kiran Grey (Defy Wrestling)

They shove each other to start and Borden wrestles him down, followed by a backdrop and dropkick. Grey knocks him outside and takes over though and it’s a running elbow back inside. The chinlock goes on and Grey cuts off a comeback rather quickly. A running neckbreaker gives Grey two and he goes up top, where Borden catches him.

The superplex is broken up but Grey misses a top rope splash. Borden hits a Stinger Splash and bulldog but a full nelson slam is blocked. A pump kick drops Borden and Grey tries his own Scorpion Death Drop. That’s broken up as well and the full nelson slam finishes for Borden at 5:55.

Rating: C. The main thing to remember here is that Borden is still brand new in the ring. He’s still certainly a work in progress and that’s going to be the case for a long time. He has a good look and is very athletic. The good thing is that you can see a lot of his father in him. Get him in a good developmental program and there is absolutely a shot of him going somewhere.

We see Paul Hauser on Jimmy Kimmel, talking about his wrestling career.

Sidney Akeem (GCW)/Rich Swann (MLP)/Michael Oku (RevPro) vs. The Demand (AEW)

Ricochet and Swann start things off but it’s off to Kaun before anything happens. Kaun tosses Swann into the corner and runs him over with a shoulder. Everything breaks down and Akeem and Oku go up, only to have the Gates pull them out of the air. That’s reversed into a pair of hurricanranas to the floor, leaving Swann and company to hit three straight dives.

Back in and Kaun chops the heck out of Swann in the corner and it’s back to Ricochet. Swann fights out of the corner and avoids a charge from Ricochet, allowing the tag off to Akeem. House is quickly cleaned and Oku comes in for a triangle dropkick. The Gates double team Akeem into a backsplash for two and Ricochet’s springboard splash gets the same.

Open The Gates is countered into a double DDT and some trouble teaming manages to knock Liona down. A pair of top rope splashes gets two on Liona with Ricochet and Kaun having to make a save. The Gates are knocked to the floor but come back in to clear out Swann and Oku. Open The Gates and the Ricocsault finishes Akeem at 12:37.

Rating: B. While it was fairly obvious that Akeem was out there to take the pin, at least he got to showcase his impressive athleticism first. This was about four people flying all over the place and the two monsters…well being monsters really. It was a fast paced and flashy match and it did exactly what it was designed to do so well done.

We look at the announcement of MLP’s upcoming weekly TV show. Yeah that’s a big deal.

CMLL World Title: Jonathan Gresham (MLP) vs. Hechicero (CMLL)

Hechicero is defending and actually shakes hands to start. They start off rather slowly with neither getting very far on while going for the legs. Hechicero twists the leg around and now Gresham isn’t interested in a handshake. We pause for Gresham to tie his boot and they go back to trying for the leg again and it’s a standoff.

Hechicero’s boot is undone this time and Gresham uses the distraction to hit a quick dropkick. A not so great Figure Four has Hechicero in trouble but he flips Gresham off anyway. The rope is grabbed but Gresham won’t let go as this is quite the evil side of him. Gresham dropkicks the leg out so Hechicero hits one heck of a chop to send him outside. Back in and Gresham’s chops have no effect on Hechicero’s rather large chest so it’s a low blow to put Hechicero in trouble instead.

Hechicero is right back with a dragon screw leg whip over the rope, followed by a top rope elbow for two. The hammerlock backbreaker drops Gresham again but Hechicero’s knee is banged up. An octopus doesn’t last long for Gresham as he gets faceplanted down. Gresham reverses a surfboard into an ankle lock, with Gresham switching into a German suplex for two. A springboard hurricanrana sets off a pinfall reversal sequence until Hechicero knees him down. Hechicero’s spinning sunset flip retains the title at 16:25.

Rating: B+. This turned into a chess match and I liked what we got here with Hechicero getting to be the hero for a change. It worked well for him with the technical stuff being so easy to cheer. On the other hand you have Gresham as a villain, which works out very well for him too. I liked this a lot and they had a great match.

We recap Paul Hauser vs. QT Marshall. They had a street fight in Ring Of Honor last year and they’re running it back here.

Paul Hauser (Progress) vs. QT Marshall (Ring Of Honor)

Street fight with Hauser actually as the villain this time. They circle each other to start until Marshall starts sending him into the corner. An early Diamond Cutter sends Hauser rolling out to the floor and Marshall knocks him over the barricade. Marshall spits an energy drink in his face and whips out a door but Hauser fights back.

A chair shot off the apron puts Marshall down but he’s back with a DDT inside. More weapons are brought in, including a barbed wire board, though Hauser blocks a suplex onto said board. Instead Marshall is sent into the wire and Hauser hits him in the head with his Progress title.

Hauser stomps away and sets up a table, which of course is covered in thumbtacks. A superplex takes too long though and Marshall sunset bombs him through the tacks (and table) instead. Hauser low blows his way out of trouble and hits a spinebuster into a quickly broken half crab. Some kind of Sharpshooter variant makes Marshall tap at 12:30.

Rating: C+. Hauser isn’t exactly a polished wrestler but he knows how to do a nice enough brawl. At the same time, he is absolutely playing with the house’s money, as he loses nothing for doing this kind of thing and can gain another following. I was a bit surprised by the ending as it came out of nowhere, but it was a nice enough brawl.

Gisele Shaw is ready to retain her Women’s Title against a bunch of opponents.

Women’s Canadian Title: Gisele Shaw (MLP) vs. Persephone (CMLL) vs. Shotzi Blackheart (MLW)

Shaw is defending…and hang on as we’re making this a four way.

Women’s Canadian Title: Gisele Shaw (MLP) vs. Persephone (CMLL) vs. Shotzi Blackheart (MLW) vs. Killer Kelly (Wrestling Revolver)

Shaw is still defending and rolls Persephone up for an early two. Blackheart sends Shaw outside though, leaving Persephone to roll Kelly up for two. Blackheart’s high crossbody takes the two of them down and the reverse cannonball hits Kelly. Shaw is back in to superkick Blackheart and a hanging swinging neckbreaker gets two. Back up and Blackheart hits a rolling kick to the head and a legdrop connects as well.

Persephone pulls Blackheart to the floor though, only for Blackheart to get back up for a heck of a suicide dive. Shaw dives onto all three of them and the head back inside, with Blackheart hitting a Doomsday Dropkick to Persephone. Everyone is down and it’s Kelly up first to crawl around a lot. Shaw spears the heck out of Blackheart and Kelly Death Valley Drivers Persephone for two. Kelly grabs a Tree Of Woe dragon sleeper on Kelly, which can only last so long. Persephone is back up with a Razor’s Edge to Kelly…but Shaw steals the pin to retain at 12:21.

Rating: C+. This was another perfectly fine match, with Shaw not so much winning as much as surviving. That’s how she should be going, as she has a big mouth but can back it up just well enough. Kelly as an addition was a surprise, though I’m not sure how big of a deal it was to have her in there. Good enough match, though nothing that hasn’t been done before, especially the finish.

Rascalz (AEW) vs. Mistico (CMLL)/Mascara Dorada (CMLL)/Amazing Red (HOG)

Yeah this should work. Dorada and Xavier start things off and they trade wrist twisting. With that not being the most thrilling, Xavier flips over him and brings Wentz in to stay on the arm. Dorada fights back on both of them before handing it off to Mistico for a quick dropkick. Red kicks Wentz to the floor but Reed cuts him off, setting up a Dream Sequence for two on Dorada.

A flipping legdrop gets two on Dorada and we hit the chinlock. Mistico breaks that up and hits a springboard elbow before Red plants Xavier with a tornado DDT. Back up and Reed and Xavier are tied up for a Boston crab/camel clutch, with Red adding a running dropkick. Wentz is back in for the save and it’s a triple dropkick to Dorada. Red kicks Xavier into the corner but Mistico gets kicked down and we get a needed breather. The Code Red gets two on Wentz but Reed hits his running cutter to take Red down. Back up and Mistico La Misticas Reed for the tap at 11:32.

Rating: B+. I love a match where it’s exactly what you’re expecting it to be and that was the case here. This was a situation of “here are six high fliers, watch them fly the whole time”. They did their job well, with one of the biggest stars in the world being there at the end for the show’s main event. Heck of a main event.

Overall Rating: B. Maple Leaf Pro is rapidly developing an identity for itself: they might not do anything new or revolutionary (which is fine) but whatever they do is done well. That’s all you can ask for in a promotion like this and I’ve yet to see them have a bad show. I’m curious about their upcoming TV show, as they’re certainly making things work with these stand alone events.

Results
Subculture b. Guy Cool/Vaughn Vertigo – Fall To Pieces to Vertigo
Steve Borden b. Kiran Grey – Full nelson slam
The Demand b. Rich Swann/Michael Oku/Sidney Akeem – Ricosault to Akeem
Hechicero b. Jonathan Gresham – Rolling sunset flip
Paul Hauser b. QT Marshall – Leglock
Gisele Shaw b. Killer Kelly, Persephone and Shotzi Blackheart – Razor’s Edge to Kelly
Amazing Red/Mascara Dorada/Mistico b. Rascalz – La Mistica to Reed

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