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

 

 

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

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

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

Su Yung/Leva Bates vs. Joseline Navarro/Mazzerati

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

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

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

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

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

Amira/Lil Marz vs. Jazzy Yang/Toga

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

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

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

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

Nixi XS vs. Shazza McKenzie

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

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

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

Gypsy Mac vs. Brittnie Brooks vs. Izzy Moreno

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

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

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

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

Kaia McKenna vs. Allie Katch

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alex Gracia vs. Aleah James

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

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

Poder Title: Brittany Blake vs. Shotzi Blackheart

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

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

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

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

Carolina Cruz vs. Miranda Alize

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

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

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

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

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

Charli Evans vs. Billie Starkz

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

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The House Always Wins
Date: April 17, 2025
Location: Freemont Country Club, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Elliot Tyler, Jordan Castle

So this is Pandemonium Pro, which is an independent promotion that I know nothing about. I wanted to do one of their shows a few years ago but could never actually find it so we’ll try it again here. I’m always a sucker for a gambling themed named and what are the odds of seeing one of them in Las Vegas? Let’s get to it.

Note that I know nothing about this promotion so I apologize in advance if I miss any plot or character points.

Apparently there was a pre-show battle royal but it does not seem to have been broadcast.

Sean Legacy vs. Tommy Billington

For some reason this is a separate video from the YouTube stream of the show so I’m not sure if it’s officially part of the show or some kind of pre-show. Legacy takes him to the mat to start as commentary is at very different levels, with one of them sounding like they are in a different location. A victory roll gives Legacy two and he grabs a headlock takeover.

Billington flips out of a wristlock and takes him down into an armbar. Legacy is right back with a standing moonsault for two so Billington drops him with a clothesline. Back up and Billington stomps away in the corner but gets caught with a DDT for two more. They slug it out….and the video ends without a winner. Another video on the page shows Legacy leaving after a win, though there are no details about how he got there. No rating due to the incomplete match, but they were starting to pick it up when the video ended.

Here is Miu Watanabe to sing a song. I’m not sure what she’s saying but the fans seem into it and it’s rather fast paced.

Jordan Cruz/Sonico/Wicked Wickett vs. Alan Angels/Duke/Fuego del Sol

Duke is better known as Duke Hudson. Angels and Sonico start things off as we lose commentary for a bit. Sonico rolls him up for some near falls and it’s already off to del Sol vs. Wickett. They trade hurricanranas for a standoff…and the video ends again after just over two minutes. Apparently Cruz and company went on to win, though again I have no idea how they did it or how long it took.

Mao vs. Masha Slamovich

Neither gets an introduction and we’re seemingly joined in progress. Slamovich’s headlock doesn’t last long and they’re quickly on the mat, which goes to a standoff. Mao flips her off as commentary reads off some sponsors and then apologizes to them. A hiptoss takes her down before Mao teases a hanging DDT, only to drop her face first instead. The half crab keeps Slamovich in trouble before a split legged moonsault (with Mao grabbing the lighting rig) gets two.

Slamovich is back up with a rolling kick to the face and the rear naked choke goes on. Mao slips out but gets it again, only for Mao to fight up with a cutter for two. They trade enziguris until Slamovich knocks him out of the air for a crash. An exchange of German suplexes doesn’t get either of them anywhere so they trade kicks to the head…and Slamovich falls onto him for the fluke pin at 9:30.

Rating: C+. This was a nice enough back and forth match, with Slamovich being able to hang with Mao fairly well. Granted it helps when Mao’s big offense is flipping off the crowd, so Slamovich only had so much to keep up with here. Slamovich’s star continues to rise and she got a good win here on the big weekend.

Mustafa Ali vs. Ninja Mack

Ali has no interest in shaking hands to start so he drives Mack into the corner. Back up and Ali grabs an armbar, only for Mack to flip away and nip up into a standoff. Mack flips out of a hurricanrana but Ali does Mack’s own pose with quite the big grin. That’s fine with Mack, who hits a spinning kick to the head and they head outside, where Mack’s sliding dive is countered into a DDT onto the floor (ouch).

Back in and Mack seems to be having trouble seeing so Ali knocks him down again and hits a standing moonsault. Mack catches him on top with a kick to the head, only to get German suplexed down. Ali mocks Mack again and they trade rollups until Ali backslides him with feet on the ropes for the pin at 9:35.

Rating: B-. What were you expecting here? Ali is one of the better stars on the independent circuit and Mack is a rather entertaining high flier. Getting Ali on the show makes things feel more important and he got to showcase his talents rather well. Mack is going to be fine as well as he’s that good of a high flier and this worked well enough.

Hyan vs. Kingsley

Kingsley is apparently replacing WWE ID Prospect Zara Zakher and is the lead singer of the Backslide Girls. Which is apparently a thing. They circle each other to start and then trade legsweeps for a quick cover each. A dropkick sends Kingsley outside and Hyan drags her back in by the hair, which isn’t very nice.

Back in and Kingsley kicks away as commentary throws us to a commercial on the local TV broadcast as this is a rather odd production. Kingsley stacks her up for two and grabs a chinlock to keep things slow. Back up and Hyan sends her to the floor and a dive takes Kingsley down again. They get back inside with Kingsley grabbing an STF variation until Hyan makes the rope. Hyan’s CT Knee gets two and it’s a spear into Beauty Sleep (Glam Slam) to end Kingsley at 10:09.

Rating: C+. This was a match where the production brought down the enjoyment as there were issues in telling which of them was which or what was going on. That’s an annoying detail as the match was good enough, though it was kind of just trading moves without building towards much of anything.

Miu Watanabe vs. Maya World

Watanabe wrestles her down to start before Maya misses a swinging kick. Maya manages to send her to the apron for a basement dropkick and it’s time for a bit of a breather. Back in and Watanabe is fine enough to hit a running shoulder, only to get caught in a gory stretch spun into a knee to the face. Watanabe pops up with a comeback so sudden that commentary sounds surprised, including with World being driven into the corner.

The giant swing is broken up though and World superkicks her into a crossface. Watanabe fights up and hits a big backbreaker, which is enough to set up the giant swing. World slips out of an over the shoulder backbreaker and grabs a sunset bomb out of the corner for two. Back up and Watanabe misses a right hand and gets cuttered, only to shrug it off for a powerslam. The Tear Drop (flapjack) finishes World at 11:28.

Rating: B-. This was good enough, though Watanabe seemed to survive a good bit of offense and just pop up to take over again. That’s not the best way to go, but World definitely got to showcase herself for a bit. Watanabe definitely has star power, though it was nice to see World doing well too.

Kzy vs. Cappuccino Jones

Kzy is from Dragon Gate. Jones takes him down by the arm to start and they fight over a hammerlock. Back up and Jones cranks away on the arm, only for Kzy to Worm his way out. Jones isn’t sure what to make of that so he has some coffee and dances a bit as well. Kzy has some of said coffee and they both do indeed dance. Jones does a reverse Worm and then gets kneed in the ribs, only to come back with a dropkick for two.

They run the ropes until Kzy hits a running Blockbuster for a big smile. Jones hammers him down and drops a fist for two, setting up the neck crank. Kzy fights up and hits a running shoulder in the corner, setting up a fireman’s carry sitout powerbomb for two. A frog splash misses for Kzy and a half and half (clever) suplex gives Jones two more.

The Macchiato Driver gives Jones another near fall and they slug it out. Back up and Kzy hits a running clothesline and they’re both down. A sliding lariat gives Kzy two but Jones gets to the coffee and hits a Decaffinator for two. Kzy is back with another basement clothesline into a frog splash for two of his own. They trade rollups for two each until Kzy piledrives him for the pin at 13:14.

Rating: B. This was a lot of fun as Jones has turned what should be a pretty basic gimmick into something rather entertaining. You wouldn’t expect to see someone whose entire deal is “he drinks a lot of coffee” get somewhere but he has the in-ring talent to back it up. Kzy has looked good in his time in the ring this weekend and he got to do well again here.

Barbaro Cavernario/Yamato vs. Ben-K/Titan

Cavernario and Ben-K start things off and they go to the grappling, with Cavernario taking him to the mat. That’s broken up and they circle each other again before heading right back down. Ben-K drops him with a running shoulder and it’s off to Yamato vs. Titan, with commentary going into a discussion of wrestlers’ hair. Yamato gets taken down and Ben-K comes in to work on the ribs.

A gutwrench suplex gets two and it’s time to tie up the legs for something like a reverse surfboard (that’s a weird one). Yamato fights up and sends him into the corner for the running dropkick, allowing the tag off to Cavernario. Everything breaks down and Cavernario hits a big dive out to the floor.

Back in and Cavernario gets faceplanted for two, leaving Yamato and Ben-K to go at it for a change. Yamato can’t hit a brainbuster but he can forearm Ben-K a few times, setting up a suplex for two. Titan is back in to kick Yamato in the face and everyone is down for a bit. Back up and Titan hits a top rope double stomp on Yamato with Cavernario breaking it up. Yamato kicks Ben-K in the face and gets German suplexed for two. A quick hurricanrana gives Yamato the pin at 14:05.

Rating: B. Another match designed to be a bunch of people getting in some fast spots and hard hits, which worked rather well. It was a mixture of different styles but they meshed together, likely due to familiarity. Good, fast paced match here and all of them got a chance to showcase themselves.

Ella Envy/Brittnie Brooks vs. B3cca/Joseline Navarro

B3cca, a singer, dances to start and Envy joins in before decking B3cca from behind. Navarro comes in to take Brooks down but gets dropped with a quick shot to the face for two. Everything breaks down and B3cca and Navarro drop them, meaning we get tandem dancing. Envy fights out of the corner and hits a running hip attack in the corner to B3cca. Brooks comes back in and gets caught with a superkick, only to get kicked in the back for two.

A slightly aggressive tag brings Envy back in but she’s fine enough to grab a snap suplex. Envy accidentally drops Brooks and B3cca crossbodies both of them at the same time. Navarro comes back in to clean house but Envy drops her from the apron. B3cca hits a Death Valley Driver onto the knee but she gets sent outside. A catapult into a clothesline gets two on Navarro with B3cca making the save. Navarro takes Brooks outside and B3cca hits….something we don’t see off the top for the pin at 11:35.

Rating: B-. This was a nice showcase from four women who might not be as well known and that’s one of the best things that can happen int his kind of a weekend. B3cca has a gimmick that can get your attention rather quickly and Envy/Brooks were both good as the pink obsessed stars. Nice match here, though the missed ending hurt it a bit.

Hechicero vs. Kevin Blackwood

We get an anxious handshake to start before Blackwood grabs a hammerlock. Hechicero grabs a leglock and they go to the mat with Blackwood having to take it to the ropes. Blackwood’s choke sends Hechicero over to the ropes as well and they get up for the chop off. Blackwood gets the better of things and hits some clotheslines but Hechicero pulls him into a swinging backbreaker for two.

Hechicero pulls him into a leglock in the ropes and a top rope forearm gets two more. That’s broken up and Blackwood kicks away, setting up an exploder suplex. The running corner dropkick rocks Hechicero again but he pulls Blackwood out of the air, setting up the surfboard. Blackwood powers out of that and pulls him into a leglock.

Hechicero gets out of that as well and a spinning slam gets two. They chop it out from their knees until Blackwood hits a running knee. The brainbuster gets two more but Hechicero dropkicks him into the corner. The headscissors driver plants Blackwood again and something like an Octopus on the mat makes him tap at 13:45.

Rating: B. This was the technical showcase match and it worked well, with Hechicero getting to work his magic and finally put Blackwood away. Blackwood was presented as a mixture of skilled and tough, which was going to give Hechicero a difficult out. Good main event here, with Hechicero feeling like a star throughout the whole thing.

Post match Blackwood shows respect and Hechicero says…something the microphone is far too low to understand.

The ring announcer thanks us for coming out to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: B-. There was a lot of good stuff on here and the biggest problem was the production, with the lighting being not so great and the camera angles having issues. That being said, this was a nice mixture of styles and stuff throughout, which made for a fun show. It flew by and was certainly entertaining, with enough star power to make things interesting. Maybe not a classic, but certainly a fun enough way to spend about two hours and fifteen minutes.

Results
Sean Legacy b. Tommy Billington
Jordan Cruz/Sonico/Wicked Wickett b. Alan Angels/Duke/Fuego del Sol
Masha Slamovich b. Mao – Kick to the head
Hyan b. Kingsley – Beauty Sleep
Miu Watanabe b. Maya World – Tear Drop
Kzy b. Cappuccino Jones – Piledriver
Yamato/Barbaro Cavernario b. Ben-K/Titan – Hurricanrana to Yamato
B3cca/Joseline Navarro b. Brittnie Brooks/Ella Envy
Hechicero b. Kevin Blackwood – Seated Octopus

 

 

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For The Culture 2024
Date: April 5, 2024
Location: Penns Landing Caterers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Big Swole, AC Mack

This has become a tradition from GCW over Wrestlemania Weekend and the shows tend to be pretty good more often than not. The show focuses on Black wrestlers and there is quite a bit of talent on the card. GCW can do rather well when they try and hopefully that is the case again here. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Team Myron vs. Team Dolla

Myron: Myron Reed, Ruckus, Devon Monroe, Darian Bengston, Calvin Tankman
Dolla: AJ Francis, Isaiah Broner, Keita, Mr. Danger, Terry Yaki

Francis yells at Reed to start with Reed not being able to do the test of strength. Instead Reed hits him in the face but gets taken down with a single shoulder. Tankman comes in for the rather large lockup with Francis taking him into into the corner but missing the big chop. Back up and Tankman hits something like a Pounce to send Francis into the corner. It’s off to Monroe for a bouncing hurricanrana to send Broner outside.

Keita comes in and kicks Monroe into the corner for a suplex right back out of it. It’s off to Bengston to take Keita down by the arm but Danger comes in with a springboard moonsault. Francis cleans house and everything breaks down, as you probably expected it to do. We get back to back stereo dives to leave almost everyone down.

That leaves Francis to tease a dive, only to flip the fans off instead. Danger busts out a big springboard corkscrew moonsault and NOW Francis busts out the big dive. Back in and we get the parade of big knockdowns until a hanging F5 hits Broner, followed by a sitout powerbomb from Ruckus to give Reed…the pin (it wasn’t quite clear) at 11:48.

Rating: C+. The problem here is there were so many wrestlers in there at once that it was hard to keep track of what was going on. It doesn’t help that they had so much going all over the place, with no one really getting to stand out. Francis was the biggest name in the whole thing and was only featured part of the time. Fun enough match, but not exactly focused.

Thick N Juicy vs. Kings Of The District vs. Killionaires Club vs. The Mane Event

That would be Brooke Valentine/Faye Jackson vs. Eel O’Neal/Jordan Blade vs. J Boujii/PB Smooth vs. Duke Davis/Ganon Jones Jr. Hold on though as we need to see if Jackson will give Smooth (a 6’9 giant) a Stinkface. That won’t be happening so it’s Blade starting with Valentine instead. Blade snapmares her down for a dropkick to the back before it’s off to the test of strength.

That goes nowhere so they trade running shoulders to limited avail. A double knockdown gives us a double tag to O’Neal and Jackson, with O’Neal’s headlock not getting him anywhere. Jackson runs him over with a shoulder and sits on his chest for two and O’Neal, dubbed Bad Brain, goes into the wrong corner in a not so bright move. Thick N Juicy hit running hip attacks on the Kings, who seem to approve. Stereo Cannonballs crush the Kings again but the Club comes in to clear the ring.

We get the big Club vs. Event showdown, with Boujii not being able to do much against the rather large Duke. Almost everyone heads to the floor, allowing Jones to hit a big dive onto the pile. Back in and Blade manages a German suplex on Jones but the Kings Club clears the ring again. O’Neal strikes away at Jones to limited success. Jackson goes up (taking over a minute due to a bunch of slipping) and dives onto almost everyone else, setting up a Banzai Drop to pin O’Neal at 12:45.

Rating: C+. This was a bit easier to keep track of than the opener, though that might have been due to having four teams instead of two. There were some short form showdowns in there and that helped a bit, though again there is only so much you can get out of a match with eight people involved at once. Thick N Juicy were the focal point here, which is impressive given a giant like Smooth being involved.

Man Like DeReiss vs. Sonny Kiss

Kiss grabs the wristlock to start and flips around to start to slip away. Some hip shaking has DeReiss out on the floor but he comes back in for some dancing of his own. Back in and Kiss does Naomi’s headscissors to ram him into the back of the trunks, only for DeReiss to hit a hard shoulder.

DeReiss works on the arm until Kiss flips out of a belly to back suplex and strikes away. A German suplex and a hard clothesline give DeReiss two and they trade rollups for two each. Natural Selection gives Kiss two but DeReiss is back with a sitout powerbomb for another near fall. Kiss gets up and manages a gorilla press (that’s impressive) into a torture rack Stunner for the pin at 9:03.

Rating: C. While it was rather nice to have a singles match and both of them have a good bit of charisma, the action was nothing special. It was mainly a power vs. speed match, though Kiss’ gorilla press at the end was quite the surprise. Perfectly fine match, but nothing that stood out much for what is supposed to be a special show.

Janai Kai vs. Jada Stone vs. Joseline Navarro vs. Maya World vs. Mazzerati vs. Tiara James

Elimination rules…or not actually as the ring announcer says there is a change of plans, making this one fall to a finish. It’s a brawl to start with Maya, Mazzerati and Stone hitting stereo dropkicks to the floor. Maya and Mazzerati hit dives, followed by Stone’s corkscrew moonsault onto the pile.

Back in and Stone strikes away on Maya until a German suplex drops Stone for two. Mazzerati comes in and gets kicked in the head and hits a sliding clothesline to the back of the head. Navarro avoids a charge in the corner and hits a basement DDT to put Mazzerati down. James comes back in and gets kicked in the face but catches a returning Kai with a gutbuster.

Everyone gets together for a suplex attempt, with Mazzerati, Maya and Stone managing to get the others over. Mazzerati goes for covers on a bunch of people but can’t get anywhere. Well she can get to two but that’s it. Everyone is back up Mazzerati hits a hurricanrana to send Kai into everyone else. We hit the parade of suplexes and throws until Navarro hits a running crossbody in the corner to pin Mazzerati at 10:32.

Rating: C+. Much like the first two matches, there was so much going on here with so many people that you can only get so much out of it. No one had a chance to stand out and it felt like who managed to get a pin first rather than whoever won. That’s the problem with these scramble matches and it was on full display again here.

2 Cold Scorpio vs. Jah-C

They shake hands to start and fight over arm control, with Jah-C powering out of a top wristlock. We get a standoff, allowing Jah-C to yell at a woman in the crowd, which seems to be a bit of an overreaction. They go to the mat with Scorpio grabbing a front facelock, which is reversed into an armbar. Jah-C takes him down and seems to tell Scorpio to bring it, which works for him. An armdrag puts Jah-C down before Scorpio lures him into a fake handshake.

Scorpio kicks him down and grabs the chinlock, which doesn’t last long. They slug it out until Scorpio leverages him outside without too much effort. Back in and Scorpio kicks him down, setting up a springboard moonsault for two. Jah-C rakes the eyes though and hits his own springboard moonsault for his own two. Scorpio drops him and busts out the Tumbleweed for another near fall but Jah-C kicks him down again. A Lionsault gives Jah-C and a superkick finishes Scorpio off at 10:43, with Scorpio kicking out at 3.1 in a bit of a weird look.

Rating: C+. I’m always going to be interested in seeing Scorpio as I’ve been a fan for over thirty years. The guy has such a natural charisma and while he can’t quite go like he used to (as he’s 58), he still has enough ability to put on a good match. I’m curious about that ending though, as it definitely did not seem to go as it was supposed to.

Post match Scorpio gets to dance a bit.

Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Wrestling Title: Suge D vs. Alex Kane

Kane is challenging and has Faye Jackson with him. The much bigger Kane blocks a whip into the ropes to start and Suge realizes he needs to do something else. Suge hits about ten straight running shoulders but can’t get anywhere, so he stomps on the foot and then runs Kane over. Back up and Kane shrugs off a shot to the face and grabs a German suplex. Kane fires off some knees to the head but Suge is back with a facebuster for two.

That just annoys Kane again as he ties Suge in the ropes for a running boot to the face and two of his own. Some rolling German suplexes set up a t-bone suplex to send Suge into the corner but Suge talks trash as he comes out. Some running clotheslines and forearms stagger Kane and Suge grabs his own German suplex. They trade more suplexes until Suge gets two but Kane is back up with a Crash Landing. A spear gives Kane two but Suge hits his own, setting up a piledriver to retain at 12:07.

Rating: C+. Suge seems to be more of the scrappy brawler while Kane is there to throw suplexes. It turned into a hard hitting fight and that helped a good bit, making it perhaps the best match on the show so far. Kane is a bigger deal in MLW so he has some status here, which made him feel like a stronger threat to take the title. Nice match here.

Darius Carter vs. Billy Dixon

Darius Lockhart is the guest referee. Commentary says this is five years in the making though doesn’t exactly explain how we got here. Carter shoves him to start and gets pummeled out to the floor, where Carter manages a quick posting. Back in and Dixon kicks away, setting up a middle rope elbow to the face for one. Carter’s dropkick puts Dixon down again though and the pace slows a lot.

Carter starts going after the leg and grabs a Hartbreaker, despite Lockhart’s protests. The Figure Four goes on back inside but Dixon makes the ropes in a hurry. That’s fine with Carter, who takes it to the apron for a piledriver, which is countered into a backdrop. Back in and Carter starts in on the finger so he can stomp away in the corner. For some reason Lockhart helps Dixon up and tells him to fight back, which is exactly what Dixon does. The comeback doesn’t last long as Carter knocks him outside but Dixon beats the count.

Carter hammers away at the forehead but Dixon runs him over with a shoulder. Dixon sits up ala Undertaker and gets two off a middle rope Thesz press. Another shot drops Dixon but Carter stops to yell at Lockhart, allowing Dixon to grab a Pedigree for two. Carter picks the leg again though and we hit the Figure Four again. Dixon fights up but gets his fingers snapped to put him back down…and he passes out for the pin at 19:14.

Rating: C. This is a match where commentary really hurt things, as it felt like it was supposed to be this big grudge match and we were never given any reason why. Was there some significance to the Figure Four? Or why do Lockhart and Carter not like each other? This was the main event and something treated as bigger than the rest of the show but you would never guess it based on most of the presentation.

Overall Rating: C-. For The Culture has been hit and miss over the years and this was on the latter side. The biggest problem here was a focus on quantity over quality, with three of the seven matches being multi-person messes in one form or another. The main event, while not bad, didn’t feel overly important and that hurt things even more. On top of that, the show didn’t start until around midnight so the main event was starting around 2:30 in the morning. Overall, this wasn’t a great show and it needed to be laid out a good bit better to really improve.

 

 

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