Sermon on the Mat (Jan. 11, 2018): MLW, CMLL, PWG, BLP, CWF, NEW, PWX, Progress, & Style Battle 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...

MLW Zero Hour (January 11, 7PM Eastern)

1. Dirty Blondes (Leo Brien & Michael Patrick) vs. Jason Cade & Jimmy Yuta
2. Brody King vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman
3. Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara
4. MJ Jenkins vs. Santana Garrett
5. Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle) vs. Seth Petruzelli & Tom Lawlor
6. Penta el Zero M vs. Rey Fenix
7. Jimmy Havoc vs. Shane Strickland (Deathmatch)
8. Low-Ki vs. MVP

MLW are back in Orlando, Florida and that’s a hell of a show they’ve got lined up right there. Lucha Brothers explode, Havoc is gonna give Strickland a Cage of Death flashback barely a month after he put himself through hell in CZW’s most legendary structure. But it’s Low-Ki vs. MVP that commands most of my interest, and that’s in no small part thanks to the sheer promotional effort they’ve put behind it. Don’t just take my word for it, check their YouTube and watch some of their excellent preview videos!

Get your tickets here or wait for it to go up for VOD on MLW.tv, folks.

CMLL Super Viernes (January 12, 9:30PM Eastern)

1. Electrico & Stukita vs. Mercurio & Pequeno Nitro
2. Cancerbero, Raziel, & Universo 2000, Jr. vs. Flyer, Pegasso, & Stigma
3. Blue Panther, Jr., the Panther, & Triton vs. El Sagrado, Tiger, & Virus
4. Rey Cometa vs. Titan (Lightning Match)
5. Blue Panther, El Valiente, & Stuka, Jr. vs. Los Hijos del Infierno (Ephesto & Mephisto) vs. Sam Adonis
6. Caristico, Diamante Azul, & Marco Corleone vs. El Terrible, Kraneo, & Shocker

CMLL are back in Arena Mexico for your usual Friday night dose of lucha libre action and while a good chunk of the roster is off in Japan for Fantastica Mania, they still have plenty of roster to put together a card for you. While only the lightning match jumps out at me as likely guaranteed great, it still seems like a solid way to spend your Friday night, folks.

Check it out, as always, free for nothin' on ClaroSports or CMLL's Facebook page, folks.

PWG Mystery Vortex V (January 12, 8PM Pacific)

1. ???

PWG are back in Reseda, California and my job is easy this time because it’s Mystery Vortex! That means we have no announced talent, no announced matches, anything and everything is possible!

Tickets, of course, sold out almost immediately, and so you’ll have to wait with the rest of us schlubs for the DVD release.

BLP 4: We’re Not the Mounties (January 13, 7:30PM Central)

1. Brian Pillman II vs. Dan O’Hare vs. Eric Ryan vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Kobe Durst vs. Mance Warner vs. Markus Crane vs. Matt Knicks vs. Pat Monix vs. Stevie Fierce vs. Tre Lamar vs. ??? (Black Label Pro Rumble)
2. AJ Gray vs. Sammy Guevara
3. American Strong (Jay Freddie & Rory Gulak) vs. Lynch Mob (Joey & Matt Lynch)
4. Carnies (Kerry Awful & Nick Iggy) vs. Space Justice (“Supercop” Dick Justice & Space Monkey)
5. Joey Janela vs. Jonathan Gresham
6. ”All Ego” Ethan Page vs. Quebecer Pierre
7. Gunner Miller vs. Tom Lawlor (c) (BLP Championship)

Black Label Pro are back in Crown Point, Indiana and yes, that’s Pierre Carl Ouellet, yes he can still go, and yes he’s wrestling Ethan Page! Plus Lawlor facing a tough challenge in his first title defence, staring down the People’s Captain, a dream match of Janela and Gresham, a couple awesome-looking tags and hey, who doesn’t love a Royal Rumble, right? (And you may want to mark the date, as this is the first Sermon appearance of Brian Pillman II, who from all reports has been doing his father proud and looks to become a major player on the indies sooner rather than later.)

Get your tickets here or check it out when it hits Smart Mark Video, folks.

CWF Mid-Atlantic New Year’s Knockout 2018 (January 13, 7:30PM Eastern)

1. Aric Andrews vs. Cam Carter
2. Cain Justice vs. Jesse Adler
3. Chet Sterling vs. Ethan Alexander Sharpe
4. Arik Royal (c) vs. ??? (CWF Worldwide Television Championship)

CWF Mid-Atlantic are back in the Sportatorium in Gibsonville, North Carolina and although the card is, as per their tradition, not laid out in full, the Ace having an open challenge out sure raises my interest.

Get your tickets here or check it out when it hits CWF’s YouTube as episodes of Worldwide, folks.

NEW Over the Top (January 13, 7PM Eastern)

1. Brad Hollister vs. Brian Milonas vs. Bull Dredd vs. Cam Zagami vs. Chris Battle vs. Christian Casanova vs. Dan De Man vs. Daniel Evans vs. Foxx Vinyer vs. Glacier vs. Hale Collins vs. Hammer Tunis vs. Josh Briggs vs. Keith Youngblood vs. Mike Gamble vs. Mike Verna vs. Nico Silva vs. Robbie E vs. Ron Zombie vs. Tyler Nitro vs. Wrecking Ball Legursky vs. Zane Bernardo vs. ??? (30-Man Over the Top Rumble)
2. Chris Battle vs. Dexter Loux
3. Ashley Vox vs. Penelope Ford
4. Fox Vinyer vs. Mike Verna
5. Adrenaline Rush (Daniel Evans & Keith Youngblood) & Christian Casanova vs. Cam Zagami, Robbie E, & Tyler Nitro
6. Flip Gordon (c) vs. Joey Mercury (NEW Championship)

NEW are back in Bethany, Connecticut and I say it a lot, but who doesn’t love a Royal Rumble? Add in Flip Gordon defending against Joey Mercury and you’ve got a show that should be a fun time.

Get your tickets here or check it out when it hits NEW’s on demand service.

PWX X16 2018 (January 13-14)

—X16 Night One (January 13, 7PM Eastern)—

1. Serpentico vs. Tracer X (PWX X16 Tournament First Round Match)
2. Darius Lockhart vs. Myron Reed (PWX X16 Tournament First Round Match)
3. Chip Day vs. Harlem Bravado (PWX X16 Tournament First Round Match)
4. Drew Adler vs. James Drake (PWX X16 Tournament First Round Match)
5. Elijah Evans IV vs. Sugar Dunkerton (PWX X16 Tournament First Round Match)
6. Corey Hollis vs. Joe Black (PWX X16 Tournament First Round Match)
7. David Starr vs. White Mike (PWX X16 Tournament First Round Match)
8. John Skyler vs. Juice Robinson (PWX X16 Tournament First Round Match)
9. Syndicate (Timmy Lou Retton & TJ Boss) (c) vs. Ugly Ducklings (Lance Lude & Rob Killjoy) (PWX World Tag Team Championship Ducks, Ladders, & Chairs Match)

—X16 Night Two (January 14, 3PM Eastern)—

1. Anthony Henry (c) vs. Joey Mercury (PWX World Heavyweight Championship)
2. PWX X16 Quarter-, Semi-, and Final Matches

PWX are in Charlotte and Concord, North Carolina for a double-shot to kick their year off right with the X16. The field, as you can plainly see, is star-studded with everyone from a returning David Starr to New Japan’s Juice Robinson, and we’ve got a DLC match and Anthony Henry defending against a multiple-time WWE Tag Team Champion?

Get your tickets here or check it out when it hits the Highspots Wrestling Network, folks.

Progress Chapter 61: Don’t Touch Me... Don’t... Don’t Touch Me (January 14, 2PM GMT)

1. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. Jimmy Havoc & Mark Haskins
2. Adam Brookes vs. Will Ospreay
3. Chris Ridgeway vs. Mark Andrews
4. Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) (c) vs. Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) (Progress Tag Team Championship)
5. Joseph Conners vs. Pete Dunne (c) (WWE United Kingdom Championship)
6. Chris Brookes vs. Travis Banks (c) (Progress World Championship)

Progress are back in heavy metal’s home town of Birmingham, England for Chapter 61 and we’ve got a card that’s making good for the snowed-out Chapter 59. In addition to the two big title matches originally scheduled for that one, we’ve got CCK exploding in the main event, the debut of Adam Brookes, and a tag team match with real implications for the title scene.

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

Style Battle Season 1 Episode 8 (January 14, 3PM Eastern)

1. Kyle the Beast vs. Shane Mercer (Style Battle Season 1 Episode 8 Bracket B First Round Match)
2. Matt Riddle vs. Rayo (Style Battle Season 1 Episode 8 Bracket B First Round Match)
3. Joey Janela vs. Joey Lynch (Style Battle Season 1 Episode 8 Bracket A First Round Match)
4. Nick Gage vs. WALTER (Style Battle Season 1 Episode 8 Bracket A First Round Match)
5. ??? vs. ??? vs. ??? vs. ??? (WWA4 Student Fatal Four-Way)
6. Style Battle Season 1 Episode 8 Semifinals and Finals

Style Battle is headed to Brooklyn, New York for its most star-studded tournament yet! And even better, the brackets have been laid out so the biggest, baddest dream match they have here is right there in the first round. Nick Gage. WALTER. MDK vs. Ringkampf. Prison brawler vs. catch wrestling master. It is going to be absolutely nuts, and I cannot wait.

Get your tickets here or check it out on WWNLive, folks. (And remember, Club WWN is still offering free trials to get 50% off the iPPV pricing.)

Free matches here!

Dale Patricks vs. Jordan James (Mousetrap Hardcore Match)

From the fine folks over at WCWO in Indiana, we have some hardcore action! Dale Patricks is a name to watch coming out of the midwest right now, and he thrives in the ultraviolence, so why not check it out?

Blue Demon, Jr. & Lucha Brothers (Penta el Zero M & Rey Fenix) vs. Hijo de LA Park, LA Park, & Rey Mysterio

From the good people over at +Lucha TV we’ve got some lucha royalty in action! It’s a clash of multi-generational teams as Blue Demon joins up with Penta and Fenix to take on the original La Parka, his son, and Rey Mysterio! Don’t miss it!

Curt Stallion vs. Fred Yehi

St. Louis’ Glory Pro have been going over their 2017 and posting the best matches, and forgive my Evolve bias but how could I not share the World Wrestling Network MVP’s match against Curt Stallion here? Check it out!

Results

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 / New Year Dash!! (January 4-5)

—Wrestle Kingdom 12 (January 4)—

1. Masahito Kakihara wins the New Japan Rumble
2. Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) over Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) (c) to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
3. Chaos (Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii, & Toru Yano) over Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, & Tanga Loa) (c), Michael Elgin & War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe), Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Takashi Iizuka, & Zack Sabre, Jr.), and Taguchi Japan (Juice Robinson, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Togi Makabe) to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (Gauntlet Match)
4. Kota Ibushi over Cody Rhodes
5. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA) over Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer) (c) to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship
6. Hirooki Goto over Minoru Suzuki (c) to win the NEVER Openweight Championship (Hair vs. Hair Match)
7. Will Ospreay over Hiromu Takahashi, KUSHIDA, and Marty Scurll (c) to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
8. Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) over “Switchblade” Jay White to retain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship
9. Kenny Omega (c) over Chris Jericho to retain the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship
10. Kazuchika Okada (c) over Tetsuya Naito to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship

—New Year Dash!! (January 5)—

1. Manabu Nakanishi, TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima), & Yuji Nagata over Ren Narita, Shota Umino, Tetsuhiro Yagi, & Tomoyuki Oka
2. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku, Takashi Iizuka, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) over Henare, Hirai Kawato, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask IV, & Togi Makabe
3. “Switchblade” Jay White over Katsuya Kitamura (Kitamura Challenge Series Match 1)
4. The Elite (Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson, & Nick Jackson) over Cheeseburger & Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)
5. Bullet Club (Chase Owens, Cody Rhodes, Leo Tonga, Marty Scurll, & Yujiro Takahashi) over Taguchi Japan (David Finlay, Juice Robinson, Kota Ibushi, KUSHIDA, & Ryusuke Taguchi)
6. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, & Tonga Roa) over Chaos (Beretta, Tomohiro Ishii, & Toru Yano) (c) to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
7. Suzuki-gun (Davey Boy Smith, Jr., Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki, & Zack Sabre, Jr.) over Hiroshi Tanahashi, Michael Elgin, & War Machine (Hanson & Ray Rowe)
8. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito) over Chaos (Gedo, Hirooki Goto, Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay, & YOSHI-HASHI)

New Japan’s biggest week of the year is done and dusted and I’ll just point you at my match recommendations for Wrestle Kingdom and my list of cool stuff that happened at New Year Dash!! rather than spending all day recounting everything that was great about these shows but suffice it to say you should probably watch them if you haven’t.

And you can do so, as always, on NJPW World.

RPW Live at the Cockpit 24 / 25 (January 6-7)

—Live at the Cockpit 24 (January 6)—

1. Martin Stone over Dan Magee
2. Zoe Lucas over Zan Phoenix (RPW British Women’s Championship Tournament First Round Match)
3. Deonna Purrazzo over Sammii Jayne (RPW British Women’s Championship Tournament First Round Match)
4. Josh Bodom & Zack Gibson over Kurtis Chapman & Ryan Smile
5. Pete Dunne over El Phantasmo
6. Jinny over Nina Samuels (RPW British Women’s Championship Tournament First Round Match)
7. Millie McKenzie over Charli Evans (RPW British Women’s Championship Tournament First Round Match)
8. CCK (Chris Brookes & Travis Banks) vs. Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) (c) went to a no contest (RPW British Tag Team Championship)

—Live at the Cockpit 25 (January 7)—

1. Gideon Grey over Eddie Dennis by disqualification
2. Deonna Purrazzo over Zoe Lucas (RPW British Women’s Championship Tournament Semifinal Match)
3. Jinny over Millie McKenzie (RPW British Women’s Championship Tournament Semifinal Match)
4. Kurtis Chapman, Travis Banks, & Will Ospreay over Josh Bodom, Rob Lias, & Zack Gibson
5. Pete Dunne over Chris Brookes
6. Charli Evans & Nina Samuels over Sammii Jayne & Zan Phoenix
7. Zack Sabre, Jr. (c) over Martin Stone to retain the RPW British Heavyweight Championship
8. Jinny over Deonna Purrazzo to win the RPW British Women’s Championship (Tournament Finals)

Jinny, to the surprise of no one, has carried through her undefeated streak all the way to becoming RevPro’s first ever women’s champion! But she can’t rest easy, as her first defense is already scheduled for High Stakes, and she’ll have to fend off TWO contenders at once as Bea Priestley and Millie McKenzie step up in three-way action!

Check it out on RPW On Demand, folks.

As always...

Remember folks, no matter what type of wrestling you like, no matter how down you feel about the state of WWE, Impact, 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.