Sermon on the Mat (May 25, 2017): AAW, Lucha Forever, CMLL, FIP, Glory Pro, Chikara, AIW, Style Battle, WrestleCircus, Progress, & RevPro cards;

Welcome back to the Sermon on the Mat, your weekly one-stop shop for news from the wider world of wrestling beyond the big cable TV monoliths that get all the coverage.

Coming soon...

AAW Thursday Night Special (May 25, 7:30PM Central)

1. Jake Crist vs. Joey Janela vs. Laredo Kid vs. Myron Reed
2. Besties in the World (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) vs. Stephen Wolf & Trey Miguel vs. Team Tremendous (Bill Carr & Dan Barry)
3. Colt Cabana vs. Trevor Lee
4. Donovan Dijak vs. Keith Lee
5. Jack Swagger vs. Michael Elgin
6. AR Fox & Rey Fenix (c) vs. Lio Rush & Shane Strickland (AAW Tag Team Championship)
7. Juventud Guerrera vs. Sami Callihan (c) (AAW Heavyweight Championship)

AAW are in the Eagles Club in Berwyn, Illinois tonight for a special Thursday night show. Featuring Jack Swagger's first US indie match since being released from WWE against Big Mike Elgin, that alone would be a hoot, but you've also got Sami Callihan continuing his vendetta against masked men against Juventud Guerrera of all people, another in Dijak and Lee's series of excellent matches, and a superteam tag title match that oughta tear the roof off.

Get your tickets here or wait for the show to go up on Smart Mark Video and Highspots.

Lucha Forever Catch Me Outside (May 25, 2:30PM Eastern)

1. Kip Sabian's Superbad Challenge
2. Alex Windsor vs. Kay Lee Ray
3. David Starr vs. Omari
4. Bea Priestley vs. Viper
5. Bubblegum vs. Chris Ridgeway vs. Dan Moloney vs. Mark Haskins
6. Jinny vs. Toni Storm
7. #CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos) vs. Scarlet and Graves (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) (c) (CZW World Tag Team Championship)
8. Matt Riddle vs. Travis Banks (c)

Lucha Forever are in Birmingham, England in... about three and a half hours, actually! And boy, do they have a show lined up-- some last minute changes shook things up but they made more than good on the proceedings, with Riddle/Banks on top, a CZW tag title defense, and no less than three dynamite women's matches.

Tickets are likely sold out at this stage, but you can watch live or VOD on FloSlam, folks.

CMLL Super Viernes (May 26, 9:30PM Eastern)

1. Cancerbero & Raziel vs. Flyer & Oro, Jr.
2. El Sagrado, Misterioso, Jr., & Virus vs. Fuego, Star, Jr., & Stigma
3. Blue Panther, Jr., Rey Cometa, & the Panther vs. Puma, Sam Adonis, & Tiger
4. Pólvora vs. Stuka, Jr. (Lightning Match)
5. Ángel de Oro, Místico, & Niebla Roja vs. Los Guerreros Laguneros (Euforia, Gran Guerrero, & Último Guerrero)
6. Carístico, El Valiente, & Marco Corleone vs. Los Ingobernables (Pierroth & Rush) & Mr. Niebla

CMLL are back in Arena Mexico after an eventful week of cars being smashed up and top guys being fired and they have a solid show set up for us. The tournaments to crown replacement champs for Máscara and Máximo haven't begun, but hey, Niebla Roja's finally on the technico team!

Check it out free for nothin' on ClaroSports unless somebody once again forgets to take the region block off.

FIP Accelerate 2017 (May 26, 9PM Eastern)

1. Aria Blake & Dynamite DiDi vs. Lindsay Snow & Priscilla Kelly
2. J. Spade vs. Matt Lancie
3. Buku Dao, Danny Flamingo, & Socorro vs. Drennen, Odinson, & Parrow
4. Austin Theory vs. James Drake vs. Jason Cade vs. Jon Cruz
5. AR Fox vs. Jason Kincaid
6. Anthony Henry vs. Teddy Stigma
7. Caleb Konley vs. Jon Davis (c) (FIP Florida Heritage Championship)
8. Fred Yehi (c) vs. Martin Stone (FIP World Heavyweight Championship)

FIP are back in their home base of Ybor City, Florida and they have a hell of a show lined up. Featuring a number of guests from WildKat Sports in showcase as well as six-man action, plus James Drake fending off three high flyers at once, Teddy Stigma trying to cash in on Dontay Brown's ongoing bounty on Anthony Henry's head, and AR Fox and Jason Kincaid going at it in what is sure to be a real spectacle of a match. Plus, two dynamite title defenses on top!

Get your tickets here or check it out live or VOD on FloSlam, folks.

Glory Pro United Glory (May 26, 7:30PM Central)

1. Danny Adams & Paco Gonzales vs. Zero Gravity (Brett Gakiya & CJ Esparza) (United Glory Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round Match)
2. Besties in the World (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) vs. the Fraternity (Channing Decker & Trent Gibson) (United Glory Tag Team Championship Tournament First Round Match)
3. Alexia Nicole vs. Shotzi Blackheart (c) (Rise Championship)
4. United Glory Championship 12-Man #1 Contender's Gauntlet Match
5. Curt Stallion vs. Kyle O'Reilly
6. Keith Lee vs. Michael Elgin
7. United Glory Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals
8. Myron Reed (c) vs. Rey Fenix (Crown of Glory Championship)

Big Mike's Glory Pro is back for their third show, and this time they're crowning tag team champions! Plus some big first-time singles matches in Stallion/O'Reilly (which, if Curt can win, he'll be halfway to a title shot) and Lee/Elgin (HOSS!) as well as a huge match for newly minted Crown of Glory Champion Myron Reed as he goes one on one with Rey Fenix.

Get your tickets by emailing here ($12) or wait for this bad boy to go up on Smart Mark Video.

AIW JT Lightning Invitational Tournament 2017 (May 26-27)

—Night One (May 26, 7:30PM Eastern)—

1. Britt Baker vs. Mike Tolar (JT Lightning Invitational Tournament First Round Match)
2. Facade vs. Matthew Justice (JT Lightning Invitational Tournament First Round Match)
3. Colt Cabana vs. Space Monkey (JT Lightning Invitational Tournament First Round Match)
4. "All Ego" Ethan Page vs. Shawn Shultz (JT Lightning Invitational Tournament First Round Match)
5. Jimmy Rave vs. Tom Lawlor (JT Lightning Invitational Tournament First Round Match)
6. Hornswoggle vs. Mordecai (JT Lightning Invitational Tournament First Round Match)
7. Dominic Garrini vs. Little Guido (JT Lightning Invitational Tournament First Round Match)
8. Colin Delaney vs. Gringo Loco (JT Lightning Invitational Tournament First Round Match)
9. Alex Daniels vs. Steve Pain (JT Lightning Invitational Tournament First Round Match)
10. Joey Janela vs. Laredo Kid (JT Lightning Invitational Tournament First Round Match)
11. Eddie Kingston vs. "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams (JT Lightning Invitational Tournament First Round Match)
12. Matt Cross vs. Super Crazy (JT Lightning Invitational Tournament First Round Match)

—Night Two (May 27, 7:30PM Eastern)—

1. JT Lightning Invitational Tournament Semifinal Match
2. JT Lightning Invitational Tournament Semifinal Match
3. JT Lightning Invitational Tournament Semifinal Match
4. Louis Lyndon vs. Tim Donst's Choice of Opponent
5. Tim Donst vs. Louis Lyndon's Choice of Opponent
6. JT Lightning Invitational Tournament Finals

It's JLIT time, folks! Yes, AIW's monumental tournament celebrating the memory of JT Lightning is back around again and I mean... Hornswoggle vs. Mordecai. Yes, that Mordecai. Kevin Thorn. Oh, it's real and it is fantastic. 24 wrestlers feed from 12 first round matches to three four-way semi-finals and then to a three-way elimination finals, and it's gonna be wild every step of the way!

Plus, on Saturday afternoon, the Back to the Future Cup, featuring the best up-and-comers AIW can lay their hands on! Oh, and Adam Cole is gonna be in action on Night Two!

Get your tickets here or wait for the show to go up on Smart Mark Video, folks.

Chikara Aniversario: School Reunion (May 27, 7PM Eastern)

1. Crossbones vs. Merlok
2. Arik Cannon & Jigsaw vs. Fire Ant & Mark Angelosetti
3. Missile Assault Man vs. Oleg the Usurper
4. Dez Peloton (Donald Kluger & Jasper Tippins) vs. Cornelius Crummels & Sonny Defarge (c) (Chikara Campeonatos de Parejas)
5. Dasher Hatfield, Icarus, Mister ZERO, Ophidian, & UltraMantis Black vs. Frightmare, El Hijo del Ice Cream, Gran Akuma, Hallowicked, & Juan Francisco de Coronado

Chikara turns fifteen in style in Hellertown, Pennsylvania this Saturday! Fittingly, we have several returns, including Gran Akuma, Crossbones, and a man who was on the very first Chikara show way back in 2002, Mister ZERO! Plus the tag titles are on the line in two out of three falls as is Chikara tradition.

Get your tickets here or check it out when it goes up on Chikaratopia.

Style Battle S1E4 (May 27, 8PM Eastern)

1. Jason Cade vs. Socorro (Style Battle S1E4 Bracket A First Round Match)
2. Austin Theory vs. Odinson (Style Battle S1E4 Bracket A First Round Match)
3. Ethan Case vs. James Drake (Style Battle S1E4 Bracket B First Round Match)
4. Jason Kincaid vs. Sean Maluta (Style Battle S1E4 Bracket B First Round Match)
5. Anthony Henry vs. AR Fox vs. Buku Dao vs. Danny Flamingo vs. J. Spade vs. Matt Lancie vs. ??? (Staggered entry elimination FRAY!)
6. Style Battle S1E4 Bracket A Semifinal Match
7. Style Battle S1E4 Bracket B Semifinal Match
8. Style Battle S1E4 Final Match

Style Battle join their sister promotion FIP in Ybor City once again for their fourth installment. The field has several returning members this time, creating almost kind of an all-star feel to it. There's also kind of a HOSS vs. High Flyer aspect to the eight men selected, with Case, Drake, and Odinson in the latter category and nearly everyone else in the former.

Plus, Anthony Henry enters the FRAY! for a chance to get one more try at Style Battle success. If he wins, he's got a spot at the table, and if he loses, that's it-- for him, Style Battle is over.

Get your tickets here or check it out live or VOD on FloSlam, folks.

WrestleCircus Lucha Carnival (May 27, 6PM Central)

1. Jordan Len-X vs. Zenshi
2. Jervis Cottonbelly vs. Super Thunderfrog
3. Allie Kat & Christi Jaynes vs. Leva Bates & Thunder Rosa vs. Taya Valkyrie & Tessa Blanchard
4. Andy Dalton vs. Garza, Jr.
5. Joey Ryan (c) vs. the Boys (Brandon & Brent) (WC Sideshow Championship)
6. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Rachael Ellering (WC Lady of the Ring Championship)
7. Michael Elgin vs. Scorpio Sky
8. Extra Talent-ed (Aaron Solow & Ricky Starks) vs. Roppongi Vice (Beretta & Rocky Romero) (WC Big Top Tag Team Championship #1 Contender's Match)
9. John Morrison vs. Keith Lee
10. Juventud Guerrera, Penta el Zero M, & Rey Fenix vs. Mr. 450, Sammy Guevara, & Shane Strickland (No Disqualification Match)

The circus is back in town-- Austin, Texas, to be precise-- and they have a heaping helping of fun lined up. I mean, just look at that main event six-man, no? But also what's sure to be a dynamite women's title match, BIG MIKE and Keith Lee in action in big match, a #1 contender's match for the tag titles, it all looks pretty swell.

Hit WrestleCircus' website up for tickets or the iPPV, or watch the whole first hour for free on IRW!

Progress Chapter 49: Super Strong Style 16 2017 (May 27-29)

—Day One (May 27, 4PM GMT)—

1. Jeff Cobb vs. Nathan Cruz (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
2. Jack Sexsmith vs. Zack Gibson (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
3. Flamita vs. Mark Andrews (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
4. David Starr vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
5. Mark Haskins vs. "Flash" Morgan Webster (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
6. Pastor William Eaver vs. Tyler Bate (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
7. Jimmy Havoc vs. Travis Banks (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
8. Matt Riddle vs. Trent Seven (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)

—Day Two (May 28, 4PM GMT)—

1. Jinny vs. Laura Di Matteo vs. Toni Storm (Progress Women's Championship / Natural Progression Series IV Finals)

—Day Three (May 29, 4PM GMT)—

1. Roy Johnson's Wasteman Challenge
2. Katey Harvey vs. Kay Lee Ray (Progress Women's Championship #1 Contender's Match)

It's a tournament kind of weekend, folks! Progress are back in London, England with the third annual Super Strong Style 16 tournament. 16 of the best wrestlers Progress has to offer enter, but only one man can take the trophy and earn himself a shot at Pete Dunne's Progress World Championship.

Plus, on night two, Natural Progression Series IV comes to an end and Progress crown their first women's champion! But whoever wins won't have time to rest on her laurels, because already confirmed for night three is a #1 contender's match!

Tickets, as always with Progress, are long since sold out, but you can take a crack at the official ticket resale site or just wait for the show to go up on Demand Progress with the rest of us schlubs.

RPW Live in Portsmouth 8 (May 28, 5PM GMT)

1. Josh Wall & Kurtis Chapman vs. Scarlet and Graves (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz)
2. Luke Phoenix vs. "Speedball" Mike Bailey
3. Dave Mastiff vs. Michael Elgin
4. Bubblegum vs. Josh Bodom (c) (RPW British Cruiserweight Championship)

RevPro haven't announced a full card for their return to Portsmouth, but what we've got ain't bad, is it? A cruiserweight title defense, a HOSS dream match, Speedball and the CZW tag team champions in action? Yeah, that'll do.

Get your tickets here or wait for the show to go up on RPW On Demand.

Free matches here!

APW Weekly Episode 1

Well, I figured APW would get that Cow Palace footage to us somehow, and it turns out they're doing a free TV show on their YouTube channel! This first episode features the women's three-way between Candice LeRae, Rachael Ellering, and Shotzi Blackheart as well as the Steel Cage match between Joey Ryan and Cody Rhodes. Plus, subscribe and keep your eyes on their channel, because they do occasionally stream their events through there, and the next edition of Gym Wars is coming up on Friday. Enjoy!

SUP The Battle For Bonestorm

It's a full show kinda week around here on Sermon on the Mat! Southern Underground Pro have uploaded their first show to YouTube for free as previously promised. Featuring top rising indie talent like Kerry Awful, Nick Iggy, Curt Stallion, Dominic Garrini, Alex Daniels, and Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham in a tournament to crown their first champion, give it a watch and find some new favorites, folks!

Anthony Henry vs. Jay Freddie

Last but not least, a single match of singles action from the fine folks over at Limitless Wrestling. Anthony Henry takes on Jay Freddie from their March event Hysteria. Check it out!

Results

Lucha Forever Bark Twice If You’re In Southampton (May 18)

1. Kelly Sixx over Jake McCluskey
2. Josh Bodom over Jordan Devlin
3. Jimmy Havoc & Kay Lee Ray over Dan Moloney & Viper (Street Fight)
4. Logan Bryce over Damian Dunne
5. Session Moth Martina over Alex Windsor, Bea Priestley, and Jinny
6. Angelico over Kip Sabian
7. British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven, & Tyler Bate) over #CCK (Chris Brookes, Kid Lykos, & Travis Banks)

One week ago, Lucha Forever brought you a tag team street fight that literally went into the street, a wild and wooly women's fourway, and, I mean, holy crap, that trios match, right? It’s not on the FloSlam VOD, unfortunately, but such is 2017 pro wrestling with its everchanging boundaries and whatnot.

House of Hardcore 26 (May 19)

1. Little Guido over Papadon
2. Matt Striker over TJ Marconi
3. Alex Reynolds over Lance Anoai
4. Moose over Dan Maff
5. Rhett Titus over Action Ortiz, Bull James, and Pat Buck
6. Bully Ray over Ethan Carter III
7. Spirit Squad (Kenny & Mikey) over NOW (Hale Collins & Vik Dalishus) and Team Tremendous (Bill Carr & Dan Barry)
8. Cody Rhodes over Tommy Dreamer

House of Hardcore brought us an eventful show last Friday, with the Spirit Squad once again appearing to shut things down on behalf of their "boss" Vince McMahon. As well, Mick Foley made an appearance in Bully Ray's match, putting the mandible claw on EC3, and Cody turned on Tommy Dreamer after beating him to close the show because why not?

Check it out on FloSlam, folks.

NOVA Pro The Great Grapsy (May 19)

1. Isaiah Frazier over Jimmy Danger, Percy Davis, and Sage Phillips
2. Sandwich Squad (Aaron Biggs & Mecha Mercenary) over Dominic Garini & John Kermon
3. Angelus Layne over Jordynne Grace
4. Tim Donst over Chip Day
5. Veda Scott over Faye Jackson and SIS
6. Fred Yehi over Jonathan Gresham
7. Arik Royal, Chet Sterling, & Rayo over Bobby Shields, Logan Easton LaRoux, & Tripp Cassidy
8. Sonjay Dutt over Jimmy Rave
9. Carnies (Kerry Awful & Nick Iggy) over Cutie and the Beast (Beau Crockett & Isaiah Santero)

I'll keep it short and sweet and direct you to my man Duke's excellent recap of the show, but man, that Yehi/Gresham sounds fantastic, doesn't it? Plus a closing angle bigger than anything this side of #DIY breaking up and it sure seems like a winner.

Check it out when it goes up on Smart Mark Video, folks.

PWG Head Like a Cole (May 19)

1. Keith Lee over Trevor Lee
2. Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle) over reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O'Reilly)
3. Michael Elgin over Shane Strickland
4. Sami Callihan over Adam Cole
5. Lio Rush over Mark Haskins
6. Lucha Brothers (Penta el Zero M & Rey Fenix) (c) over Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) to retain the PWG World Tag Team Championship
7. Zack Sabre, Jr. (c) over Trent? to retain the PWG World Championship

Well, PWG have settled it. Keith Lee is the Lee-most and Trevor will have to join Trent? in the realm of the single-named. ...what? That wasn't actually a stipulation? Darn. Anyway, it's PWG, folks, either you're salivating over these matches just fine without my help or you wish half of them were held somewhere more relevant to your interests. No goodbye from Adam Cole here, but it's pretty cool seeing Lio pick up another big win like that.

Pre-order the DVD here if you like, folks.

Beyond Death Knell (May 20)

1. Jordynne Grace over Jonathan Gresham
2. Chuck O'Neil over Kyle the Beast
3. AR Fox over Brandon Watts
4. David Starr over Tessa Blanchard
5. Tabarnak de Team (Mathieu St-Jacques & Thomas Dubois) over XXXL (Ace Romero & Brian Milonas)
6. Wheeler YUTA over Mikey Webb, Rex Lawless, and Ryan Galeone
7. Maxwell Jacob Friedman over Buxx Belmar
8. EYFBO (Angel Ortiz & Mike Draztik) over Gentleman's Club (Chuck Taylor & Orange Cassidy)
9. John Silver over Sami Callihan

As you can see, Drew Cordeiro's gallows humor was in full effect when he changed the name of the show to Death Knell when Paul London had to pull out due to injury. He was replaced against David Starr by Tessa Blanchard, Brian Milonas turned on Ace Romero after their match, Ryan Galeone quit before Veda Scott could fire him, and after beating Sami Callihan, John Silver called out Batista, because why not.

Check it out on Beyondemand, folks.

Evolve 84 / 85 (May 20-21)

—Evolve 84 (May 20)—

1. Keith Lee over Donovan Dijak
2. Fred Yehi over Jason Kincaid
3. Lio Rush over Austin Theory
4. "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams over Jeff Cobb
5. Doom Patrol (Chris Dickinson & Jaka) (c) over Isaias Velazquez & Matt Knicks to retain the Evolve Tag Team Championship
6. Zack Sabre, Jr. (c) over "All Ego" Ethan Page by pinfall to retain the Evolve World Championship
7. Matt Riddle (c) over Kyle O’Reilly to retain the WWN Championship

—Evolve 85 (May 21)—

1. Dominic Garrini over Alex Daniels
2. Doom Patrol (Chris Dickinson & Jaka) (c) over Austin Theory & Jason Kincaid to retain the Evolve Tag Team Championship
3. Allysin Kay over Priscilla Kelly
4. "All Ego" Ethan Page over Donovan Dijak
5. "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams over Kyle O’Reilly
6. Keith Lee over Fred Yehi
7. Matt Riddle (c) over Jeff Cobb to retain the WWN Championship
8. Zack Sabre, Jr. (c) over Lio Rush to retain the Evolve World Championship

As always, since I have my recaps (84, 85), I'll just point you to those, but Evolve had a killer weekend of shows here, with in particular the escalating series that was Williams/O'Reilly, Yehi/Lee, and Sabre/Rush II on 85 all being top, top matches.

Check it out on FloSlam, folks.

IPW:UK Supershow 9 (May 21)

1. El Ligero over Dezmond Xavier
2. Livvii Grace (c) over Chakara to retain the IPW:UK Women's Championship
3. Big Grizzly over Angelico
4. DND (Cieran Donnelly & Danny Duggan) & Tom Dawkins over Jimmy Havoc & the NAK (BT Gunn & Chris Renfrew)
5. Jon Ryan over Cuban Heat, winning the 10,000 Cuban Peso Challenge
6. Jody Fleisch & Jonny Storm over #CCK (Chris Brookes & Kid Lykos), Hunter Brothers (Jim & Lee Hunter), and London Riots (James Davis & Rob Lynch)
7. Scott Star over Sammy Smooth (c) to win the IPW:UK All-England Championship

Despite some late roster changes with Zachary Wentz and Ryan Smile out of action, IPW shuffled the card and had some big happenings all the same. Amazon made her return after the women's title match, Jon Ryan came back and ended Cuban Heat's challenge at Joel Gertner's behest and, perhaps most ineffably, the events of the trios match.

Jimmy Havoc, before the match, warned the babyface team that he had a mole amongst them. It seemingly lead to discord during the match but that turned out to be a ploy to take Havoc off guard and Dawkins pinned the champion. Afterwards, however, Duggan blindsided his partner Donnelly and claimed he wasn't turning on him for Havoc, but for his own reasons. DND, meanwhile, are still the tag champions. Interesting times!

Check it out on FloSlam if you like.

PWX What Lies Beneath (May 21)

1. Elijah Evans IV (c) over James Drake to retain the PWX iTV Championship
2. High Profile (Shea Shea McGrady & Will Demented) over Ace Austin & Malakai Matthews
3. Tracer X over Darius Lockhart
4. Corey Hollis over David Starr
5. John Skyler over Jonathan Gresham
6. "Manscout" Jake Manning over White Mike and Zane Riley
7. Syndicate (Devan Knight & Timmy Lou Retton) over Ugly Ducklings (Lance Lude & Rob Killjoy) (c) to win the PWX Tag Team Championship
8. Anthony Henry (c) over Ethan Case to retain the PWX World Heavyweight Championship

As always for shows I'll be recapping, we'll keep it short and sweet, but know this-- Teddy Long was present, and he made both a tag team match (the second on the card there) AND he made someone go one on one (on one) with the Undertaker. Or, well, White Mike dressed as the Undertaker. Same thing! White Mike is a legend in his own time.

Check it out when it goes up on Highspots Wrestling Network.

As always...

Remember folks, no matter what type of wrestling you like, no matter how down you feel about the state of WWE, TNA, ROH, or any other "big-time" pro wrestling, there's something out there for you. There's a pro wrestling product that can hit you in the right spot and make you love wrestling like you thought you'd never be able to love it again. It's there, I promise. You just gotta reach out and find it, and that, my friends, is what the Sermon on the Mat is all about.