Death Vegas Invitational
Date: April 16, 2026
Location: Horseshoe Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Veda Scott, Jordan Castle

This is from New Japan, though I’m not entirely clear just how much impact they’re going to have on the show. The good thing is that the promotion is getting some attention during the biggest wrestling week of the year, though hopefully the DEATH name is more just some odd name rather than a certain type of wrestling. Let’s get to it.

The opening video…yep it’s death match stuff, as presented by El Desperado. Thanks for that.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Fuminori Abe

The graphic says that Sabre is the World’s Best Technical Wrestler while Abe (who is listed as X) is a third rate wrestler. I sense shenanigans. Anyway they go to the mat to start with Sabre’s cranking on the leg not getting him very far. Abe cranks on a hammerlock but Sabre slips out and stomps Abe’s arm for a change.

Back up and Sabre takes him to the rope for a slap to the face, which doesn’t sit well with Abe. Sabre misses a charge and crashes to the floor, with Abe sending him into some chairs. Abe chops and kicks him in the back but takes too long, allowing Sabre to get in a neck twist. Back in and Sabre ties up various limbs, followed by another neck twist to keep him down.

Sabre’s kick to the ribs is cut off though and Abe twists the knee around. A spinning kick to the ribs drops Sabre and Abe grabs a failed cross armbreaker attempt. Sabre wins another grapple off and gets his own cross armbreaker, followed by a double arm crank. Abe gets over to the rope and they both need a breather.

They trade some big shots to the face and both go down again. It takes a bit longer to get up as we hit the fifteen minute call. Abe wins a slugout and grabs an octopus, which is reversed into the ankle lock. That’s broken up as well but Sabre snaps on the Zack Driver for the pin at 16:52.

Rating: B+. This was a technical showcase and that’s a great thing to see. They were trading one hold after another and trying to wear the other down until someone got the big shot at the end. That’s exactly how it should have gone and it was quite the opener, with Sabre knowing how to do this match in his sleep.

Post match, respect is shown.

Effy vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Ishin

This is billed as Cute Sexy Hardcore and I think that is the right order for these three. It’s a dance/gyrate off to start, with Lloyd knocking them both down. Effy sits in a chair and wants a lap dance before watching the other two thrust their pelvises. Ishin runs Effy over but gets knocked down by Lloyd’s chair shot.

The chairs are brought in but Ishin suplexes Lloyd onto the side of an overturned chair (OUCH). Ishin knocks Effy down and pokes him in the back of the trunks while Lloyd pushes his thumbs into Effy’s mouth. Castle: “Double penetration here.” Effy fights up and kicks Ishin in the face and gives him a leg bulldog out of the corner.

It’s time for the first door, which he rams into Lloyd in the corner. Effy’s double Rough Ryder gets two but Lloyd is back up with a powerbomb through the door. Ishin makes the save and puts some chairs on Lloyd, only for Effy to cut him off on top. Ishin kisses Effy on top and superplexes him onto the chairs onto Lloyd. A frog splash onto the chairs onto Lloyd gives Ishin the pin at 8:24.

Rating: C+. Weird spot in the middle aside (uh, yeah), this was a somewhat fun match, mainly because they didn’t go with the crazy hardcore. Chairs and a door are fine and the match didn’t go too long. Effy continues to be a talented star who can have some good matches and he fit in well here. Ishin has been around a lot this week and it’s nice to see him get a win for a change.

MxM Collection vs. Kushida/Yamato vs. Bustah And The Brain

This is billed as “Runaway Rush And Crash: A Drop Dead Gorgeous” match, which makes perfect sense. Thankfully Price is walking and he jumps over the steps (after getting hurt on them yesterday). Price, Yamato and Mansoor start things off with a three way test of strength. Yamato gets the better of things but the other two knock him down. Price isn’t about to touch tips with Mansoor so Yamato is back up with a running shoulder to Mansoor.

Madden comes in but gets sent to the apron by Kushida as everything breaks down. Bustah And The Brain take over but Mansoor breaks up a double suplex. Madden’s running hip attack connects, only for Kushida to pull Mansoor out of the air for the Figure Four. Price add and Oliver add neck cranks but Madden turns it over for a four person Boston crab.

With that broken up, Kushida and Yamato hit stereo dropkicks on Oliver and Price…and we lose signal from the venue. The signal stays gone for a few minutes and we come back with Kushida and Yamato winning at we’ll say around ten minutes. I won’t rate it due to missing that much of the match but what we got to start was working well, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

El Phantasmo/??? vs. Dragon Kid/Starlight Kid

Phantasmo’s partner is…Maika, who is replacing Maki Itoh, who has visa issues, for the “High-Stakes Heartbreak Jackpot” tag match. Funny way to say “mixed tag”. Phantasmo gives Maika the light up glasses before starting with Dragon. A running shoulder puts Dragon down and Phantasmo sticks the landing off Dragon’s headscissors.

Starlight comes in for a headscissors to Maika, followed by a standing moonsault (Scott calls it “adorable”) before everything breaks down. Phantasmo declares them the second cutest tag team in the world and Maika kicks Starlight out to the floor. Back in and Phantasmo ties Starlight in the Tree Of Woe and stands on her, along with Maika.

Starlight comes back with some nipple twisting and avoids Maika’s falling headbutt. Maika misses it again and tries a third time, which hits Phantasmo by mistake. It’s back to Dragon for a tornado DDT and a 619 to Maika’s back. Everything breaks down again and Phantasmo and Maika collide again, meaning it’s time to argue.

We get some mixed submission holds until Phantasmo and Maika make the ropes. Phantasmo is sic of this and suplexes Starlight before kneeing her in the head on top. Dragon is back up with a super poisonrana, allowing Starlight to hit a big splash for two. Phantasmo kicks Dragon and gives him a spinning torture rack neckbreaker. Maika breaks up Dragon’s sunset flip and Phantasmo gets the pin at 12:23.

Rating: B. This was little more than an athletic comedy match and that was a nice change of pace after everything else that has gone on with this show. They didn’t try to do anything too crazy here and the women were just as good as the men. Phantasmo and Maika’s arguing was funny and this wound up being the most entertaining thing on the show thus far.

Gringo Loco/Joey Janela vs. Daisuke Sasaki/Gedo

House Rules Hardcore match which can’t go well. Gedo is sent outside to start fast and a double elbow drops Sasaki. Loco’s split legged moonsault gets two on Sasaki and it’s time for some chairs. Janela gets knocked down though and it’s time for Gedo’s fork. Gedo stabs Janela in the mouth and then in the stomach, allowing Sasaki to wrap a chair around Janela’s neck.

A Twist Of Fate (with chair) drops Janela again and let’s stab him in the tongue. Since that’s just stabbing and a possible neck injury, Janela is right back to kick a chair into Sasaki to send him outside. Loco (busted open) hits a big flip dive and then plants Sasaki for two back inside. Sasaki DDTs his way out of a powerbomb attempt, leaving Janela to load up a door in the corner.

Gedo Downward Spirals him through said door though and there’s a fork shot What’s Up (thankfully minus the jumping). Loco is back with a fork to stab Gedo in the head a few times (just go with it) and Sasaki gets the same. A door bridge is set up but Sasaki goes up, where Loco gives him a super Spanish Fly through the door for a crazy crash. Sasaki pops up for a La Mistica crossface but Janela and Gedo are back in as the hold is broken.

Gedo is laid on some open chairs so Janela goes up, only to get superplexed down through the chairs instead. It’s Gedo with a fork and everyone else with a chair, with Gedo being knocked down. Loco’s corkscrew moonsault onto the chair misses so Janela snapdragons Sasaki. An AA sends Gedo through some open chairs for two, followed by a top rope double stomp through a piece of the door to pin Gedo at 18:45.

Rating: C. This could have been a lot worse, though it could have been a lot better too. The fork stuff was stupid, if nothing else because they kept doing the same stuff over and over again. Other than that it was a pretty standard hardcore tag match, even if Janela’s tendency to go long was on full display. Not my thing, but it could have gotten a lot worse than they wound up going.

We get a bunch of tarps and light tubes brought out because…oh let’s get this over with already. Oh and panes of glass and barbed wire because they’re going full boar here.

Matt Tremont/Nick Gage vs. El Desperado/Jun Kasai vs. Masashi Takeda/Rina Yamashita

Love & Pieces because each match has a name of some sort. Gage comes in through the crowd for the MDK chants and after the Big Match Intros, we’re ready to go. They go right for the light tubes to start, with Gage having them broken over his back. A double suplex sends Gage through the pane of glass and it’s Yamashita vs. Desperado. Tremont breaks that up and gets stabbed with a fork (it gets stuck in his head), allowing Takeda to carve him up with scissors.

Desperado’s mask is cut but Tremont runs Yamashita and Takeda over. Gage is back up with a light tube to Yamashita and stabs her with a broken piece. Yamashita pops up to try a super hurricanrana to Tremont but gets superbombed through some glass instead. Gage and Tremont get stabbed with skewers but Gage is back up with the pizza cutter. Kasai and Desperado go up and splash Yamashita and Takeda (glass tubes includes) for two.

Gage is back up with the pizza cutter and some running knees connect as well. Gage’s Vader Bomb crushes the tubes on Yamashita, who pops back up because hardcore or something. Desperado picks up some tubes, which are dropkicked into him for a big explosion. Desperado kicks Gage low and suplexes him onto more tubes. Gage blocks a powerbomb through the glass so Tremont chokeslams Desperado through the glass instead. Gage’s chokebreaker and two piledrivers into a powerbomb finish Desperado at 14:26.

Rating: D+. Yeah I’m not going to try to validate any thoughts on this. I’ve ranted about how I don’t want to see this stuff and how it isn’t good, mainly just because of how repetitive it gets. They do the same stuff over and over and then just do a bunch of it for the ending. Nothing to see here, as usual.

Post match Gage calls out Kasai for a singles match and swears a lot. The catchphrase wraps us up.

Overall Rating: B. The last two matches bring this down a lot (though the Janela match wasn’t THAT bad), with the main event definitely being the biggest problem. The good thing is that a lot of this show wasn’t hardcore or deathmatch stuff, with the triple threat being a pretty standard weapons match. This could have been a lot worse and if you cut out the main event, it’s a very good show. I know the deathmatch stuff has an audience, but it’s just not me and never will be.

Results
Zack Sabre Jr. b. Fuminori Abe – Zack Driver
Ishin b. Jimmy Lloyd and Effy – Frog splash onto chairs onto Lloyd
Kushida/Yamato b. Bustah And The Brain and MxM Collection
El Phantasmo/Maika b. Dragon Kid/Starlight Kid – Rollup to Dragon
Gringo Loco/Joey Janela b. Gedo/Daisuke Sasaki – Top rope double stomp through door to Gedo
Matt Tremont/Nick Gage b. El Desperado/Jun Kasai and Masashi Takeda/Rina Yamashita – Powerbomb to Desperado

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1 Called Manders vs. Timur The Great

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vin Massaro vs. Oli Summers

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

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

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

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

Adam Priest vs. Dustin Nguyen

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dimitri Alexandrov vs. Ishin

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

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

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

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

Raychell Rose vs. Kitti Hisatomi

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

Women’s Title: Gabby Forza vs. Charity King

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

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

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

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

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

New Texas Pro Title: Bryan Keith vs. Danny Orion

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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

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

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

Dombrowski welcomes us to the show

Kai vs. El Cucuy vs. Willie Mack

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

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

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

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

Hoho Lun/Estrella vs. Channing Decker/Rhys Maddox

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

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

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

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

Susumu Yokosuka vs. Marcus Mathers

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yamato vs. Jonathan Gresham

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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