Sermon on the Mat (Jan. 18, 2018): AIW, CMLL, PCW Ultra, NJPW, AAW, RevPro, wXw, & ICW 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...

AIW Death Rowe (January 19, 7:30PM Eastern)

1. Johnathan Wolf vs. Malcolm Monroe III
2. Matthew Justice vs. Shane Mercer
3. No Consequences (Chase Oliver & Tre LaMar) vs. the Production (Frankie Flynn & Magnum CK)
4. Parker Pierce & “Big” Twan Tucker vs. Weird World (Alex “Worldwide” Kellar & Evan “Weird Body” Adams)
5. No Consequences (AJ Gray, Garrison King, & Josh Bishop) vs. the Production (Colby Redd, Derek Director, & Eddy Only)
6. Dedication Personified (Brian Carson & Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham) vs. Philly-Marino Experience (Marino Tenaglia & Philly Collins) vs. To Infinity and Beyond (Cheech & Colin Delaney) vs. Young Studs (Bobby Beverly & Eric Ryan) (AIW Tag Team Championship #1 Contender’s Match)
7. Dominic Garrini vs. Juice Robinson
8. Keith Lee vs. Ray Rowe

AIW are back once again in Cleveland, Ohio, and well, you’ve heard the news, folks-- this is Ray Rowe’s last independent date before he heads to WWE! And he’s got a hell of a challenge on his way out as he goes against the Limitless One himself, Keith Lee. Plus you know Dominic Garrini and Juice Robinson are gonna tear the house down themselves.

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

CMLL Super Viernes (January 19, 9:30PM Eastern)

1. Fantasy & Ultimo Dragoncito vs. Mercurio & Pequeno Nitro
2. Amapola, Tiffany, & Zeuxis vs. Lady Maravilla, Marcela, & Princesa Sugehit
3. Esfinge, Rey Cometa, & Triton vs. Raziel, Sagrado, & Tiger
4. Hechicero vs. Kraneo (Lightning Match)
5. El Valiente, Stuka, Jr., & Titan vs. Euforia & La Peste Negra (El Felino & Mr. Niebla)
6. Caristico, Diamante Azul, & Marco Corleone vs. El Terrible, Rey Bucanero, & Vangellys

CMLL are back in Arena Mexico with your usual Friday night dose of lucha libre action and... it’s another light show while the bulk of the usual Friday night roster is in Japan for Fantastica Mania. In particular, that lightning match, well... I dunno. But the trios match before it should be quite good, and the main should be a solid slice of CMLL action, so still not a bad way to spend your Friday, I suppose.

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

PCW Ultra Anniversary 2K18 (January 19, 8:30PM Pacific)

1. Kikutaro vs. Mariachi Loco
2. AR Fox vs. Brody King vs. Flip Gordon vs. Shane Strickland
3. Alexander Hammerstone vs. Brian Cage
4. ACH vs. Rey Fenix
5. Douglas James (c) vs. Ganseki Tanaka (PCW Ultra Light Heavyweight Championship)
6. Jimmy Jacobs & Joey Janela vs. Warbeast (Fatu & Josef) (c) (PCW Ultra Tag Team Championship)
7. Great Muta & Penta el Zero M vs. John “John Morrison” Ultra & Sami Callihan

PCW Ultra are back in Los Angeles, California, and do not adjust your set, that is indeed Great Muta’s first match on US soil in several years! It’s a dream tag team match pitting him and PCW Heavyweight Champion Penta against John Morrison and Sami Callihan, so it should be a hoot even if the ol’ Shining Wizard is a little off-kilter.

Plus (assuming a few weeks off have healed the Zombie Princess’s bum leg up) that dream team tag title match, ACH vs. Fenix, that crazy four-way (having seen Brody King three times for WWN over the last weekend I can assure you he is very fit to flip with those other three men), comedy master Kikutaro in action... It’s poised to be a hell of a show, folks.

Get your tickets here or check it out live on Fite.tv iPPV, folks.

CMLL / NJPW Fantastica Mania 2018 (January 19, 21, & 22)

—Night Six (January 19, 4:30AM Eastern)—

1. Fuego vs. Okumura
2. Dragon Lee, Hirai Kawato, Satoshi Kojima, & Star, Jr. vs. Los Ingobernables (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Rush, & Tetsuya Naito)
3. Atlantis, Drone, Mistico, & Volador, Jr. vs. Barbaro Cavernario, Disturbio, Puma, & Ultimo Guerrero
4. Angel de Oro (c) vs. Cuatrero (CMLL World Middleweight Championship)
5. Sanson vs. Soberano, Jr. (c) (Mexican National Welterweight Championship)
6. Gran Guerrero vs. Niebla Roja (c) (CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship)

—Night Seven (January 21, 4:30AM Eastern)—

1. Disturbio & Puma vs. Drone & Star, Jr.
2. Fuego, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Soberano, Jr. vs. Okumura & Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH)
3. Atlantis, Hirai Kawato, KUSHIDA, & Satoshi Kojima vs. Los Ingobernables (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Rush, & Tetsuya Naito)
4. Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja vs. Los Guerreros Laguneros (Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero) (CMLL Brother Tag Team Tournament First Round Match)
5. Cuatrero & Sanson vs. Dragon Lee & Mistico (CMLL Brother Tag Team Tournament First Round Match)
6. Barbaro Cavernario vs. Volador, Jr. (c) (NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship)

—Night Eight (January 22, 4:30AM Eastern)—

1. Disturbio & Puma vs. Fuego & Ryusuke Taguchi
2. Chaos (Rocky Romero, SHO, & YOH) & Okumura vs. Jushin Liger, KUSHIDA, Star, Jr. & Tiger Mask IV
3. CMLL Brother Tag Team Tournament Loser’s Bracket Match
4. Atlantis & Hirai Kawato vs. Barbaro Cavernario & Gedo (Hirai Kawato Sendoff Match)
5. Drone, Soberano, Jr., & Volador, Jr. vs. Los Ingobernables (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, & Tetsuya Naito)
6. Rush vs. Satoshi Kojima
7. CMLL Brother Tag Team Tournament Finals

CMLL and New Japan are back together for the finishing stretch of their annual co-promotional tour and I’m telling you folks, if you watch New Japan and have ever thought “I’d like to get into lucha libre”, this is the way you do it. CMLL’s best come in, you get a little interpromotional action, a little bit of what they do on their own, it’s great fun.

Check it out on NJPW World, folks.

AAW The Art of War (January 20, 7:30PM Central)

1. Curt Stallion & Jake Something vs. Zero Gravity (Brett Gakiya & CJ Esparza)
2. Eddie Kingston vs. Kevin Lee Davidson
3. Jessicka Havok & Kylie Rae vs. ??? & Scarlett
4. ACH vs. Paco
5. Myron Reed vs. Teddy Hart
6. Juice Robinson vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman
7. Killer Kult (Dave Crist, Jake Crist, & Sami Callihan) vs. WRSTLING (David Starr, Jeff Cobb, & Trevor Lee)
8. Besties in the World (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) (c) vs. Keith Lee & Shane Strickland (AAW Tag Team Championship)
9. Matt Riddle vs. Rey Fenix (c) (AAW Heavyweight Championship)

AAW are back in Chicago, Illinois with another trademark supercard. We’ve got Riddle vs. Fenix on top (with the winner going on to defend against ACH in February) for the big one, the Besties putting their gold on the line against the deadly combination of Lee and Strickland, and OI4K and WRSTLING meeting in pitched trios battle, but wait, there’s more.

Perhaps most exciting to me is that pair of matches I’ve listed just below those three. Featuring long-time veteran talent against the hottest up-and-comers in their styles, Reed vs. Hart is a high flying explosion waiting to happen and Robinson vs. MJF should get down and dirty on the mat as well as being about the purest heel/face matchup you’re gonna find this side of kayfabe’s funeral!

Get your tickets here or check it out on Smart Mark Video and Highspots, folks.

RPW High Stakes 2018 (January 20, 6:30PM GMT)

1. Adam Brooks vs. Ryan Smile
2. Mark Andrews vs. Will Ospreay
3. CCK (Chris Brookes & Travis Banks) vs. Josh Bodom & Zack Gibson
4. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL & SANADA)
5. Bea Priestley vs. Jinny (c) vs. Millie McKenzie (RPW British Women’s Championship)
6. Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) (c) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre, Jr.) (RPW British Tag Team Championship)

RevPro are back at York Hall in London and yeah, it’s another “don’t adjust your sets” type moment, because that IS WWE UK stars Moustache Mountain defending their tag titles against the Suzuki-gun combo of current British Heavyweight and Evolve World Champion Zack Sabre, Jr. and his mentor in violence, Minoru Suzuki. 2018 pro wrestling!

Plus Jinny’s first defense of her title, a couple other dynamite tag matches and Mark Andrews’ return to RevPro and it’s gonna be a good time for sure.

Get your tickets here or check it out when it hits RPW On Demand, folks.

wXw Back to the Roots XVII (January 20, 5PM CET)

1. Jay-FK (Francis Kaspin & Jay Skillet) vs. Pretty Bastards (Maggot & Prince Ahura)
2. Chris Colen vs. Da Mack
3. Melanie Gray vs. Session Moth Martina
4. Dirty Dragan vs. Jurn Simmons
5. Killer Kelly (c) vs. Toni Storm (wXw Women’s Championship)
6. Monster Consulting (Avalanche & Julian Nero) & Ringkampf (Timothy Thatcher & WALTER) vs. RISE (Ivan Kiev, John “Bad Bones” Klinger, Lucky Kid, & Tarkan Aslan) (Die Käfigschlacht)

wXw sind zurück im Oberhausen, Deutschland, und was ist die Käfigschlacht?

Er, sorry, couldn’t help but exercise my rusty high school German, folks. What is the Käfigschlacht? Well, simply put, it’s wXw’s version of WarGames! That’s right, Ringkampf and Monster Consulting will be locked in a cage against RISE, staggered entrances and all, and it’s gonna get violent!

Get your tickets here or check it out when it hits wXwNOW!, folks.

ICW It’s Always Raining in Glasgow (January 21, 6:30PM GMT)

1. Chris Renfrew vs. Leyton
2. DCT vs. Joseph Conners
3. Jordan Devlin vs. Mikey Whiplash
4. Kid Fite vs. Wolfgang
5. Bram & Session Moth Martina vs. Kasey Owens & Ravie Davie
6. Filthy Generation (Aspen Faith, Lewis Girvan, & Stevie Boy) vs. Jack Jester, Kenny Williams, & Sha Samuels (Glasgow Street Fight)
7. Polo Productions (Jackie Polo & Mark Coffey) vs. ??? & ???
8. BT Gunn (c) vs. Red Lightning (ICW World Heavyweight Championship)

ICW are back in Glasgow, Scotland with an event dedicated, of course, to the memory of Rum Ham. No, really, check the poster, it’s on there! Anyway, you’ve got a little bit of everything here, a mixed tag grudge match, a trios street fight, the tag champs taking on mystery opponents in non-title action, there’s a lot going on here.

Get your tickets here or check it out when it hits ICW On Demand, folks.

Free matches here!

Defy 1: Legacy

Kicking off with a free SHOW this week from the good folks over at Defy, to celebrate their first anniversary they’ve put their entire first show up! Featuring Matt Cross and Jeff Cobb in action with a main event of Cody Rhodes defending the GFW NEXGEN Championship against Shane Strickland, don’t miss it!

Joey Janela vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.

From the good people over at Blitzkrieg Pro, we’ve got a hell of a dream match for you here, folks. A Bad, Bad Boy shows down with the Technical Wizard, but don’t count Janela out as one-trick pony because the man can do a little bit of everything. Check it out!

Dez Peloton (Donald Kluger & Jasper Tippins) vs. “The Osirian Portal” (“Amasis” & “Ophidian”)

From the fine folks over at Chikara, we’ve got some tag team action for you. Biking experts Dez Peloton pedal their way into a case of identity theft as they face off against the false Osirian Portal. Enjoy!

Results

MLW Zero Hour (January 11)

1. Rhett Giddins over Kotto Brazil
2. Jason Cade & Jimmy Yuta over Dirty Blondes (Leo Brien & Michael Patrick)
3. Mike Parrow over Vandal Ortagun by disqualification
4. Brody King over Maxwell Jacob Friedman
5. Barrington Hughes over Chico Adams
6. Darby Allin over Sammy Guevara
7. Santana Garrett over MJ Jenkins
8. Penta el Zero M over Rey Fenix
9. Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle) over Seth Petruzelli & Tom Lawlor
10. Low-Ki vs. MVP went to a no-contest
11. Jimmy Havoc over Shane Strickland (Deathmatch)

MLW had an eventful night as Saieve Al Sabah allied with Vandal Ortagun (being the cause of that DQ loss there), Petruzelli and Lawlor tried to put their thumbs on the scales to no avail with a pre-match beatdown on Jeff Cobb, and Low-Ki vs. MVP ended in chaos with Ki laying the referee out with one of his trademark kicks.

But perhaps most newsworthy is that we not only have a name for the next show, but an additional date in April, and they all revolve around one thing-- crowning an MLW World Champion! Road to the World Championship and the World Championship Finals now bookend MLW’s own version of spring break and I for one am really interested in seeing what their tournament field looks like.

Check it out on MLW.tv, folks.

PWG Mystery Vortex V (January 12)

1. David Starr over Fred Yehi
2. Joey Janela over “Flash” Morgan Webster
3. Sammy Guevara over Rey Fenix
4. Keith Lee over Zack Sabre, Jr.
5. Trent? over Marty Scurll
6. Chosen Bros (Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle) (c) over Ringkampf (Timothy Thatcher & WALTER) to retain the PWG World Tag Team Championship
7. Chuck Taylor over Ricochet (c) to win the PWG World Championship

Yes, folks, the rumors are at long last true-- Fred Yehi has made his way to PWG!

...what? Oh yeah, after a grueling hardcore war that saw Chuck Taylor reclaim his title, Ricochet said goodbye, too, so that’s kinda noteworthy, I guess, given that he made some other headlines since then and all.

Check the official site for DVD preorders, folks.

Evolve 98 / 99 (January 13-14)

—Evolve 98 (January 13)—

1. Jason Kincaid over Brody King, Jarek 1:20, and Snoop Strikes
2. Ringkampf (Timothy Thatcher & WALTER) over Catch Point (Dominic Garrini & “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams)
3. Chris Dickinson over Parrow (No Disqualification Match)
4. AR Fox over Matt Riddle
5. Austin Theory (c) over Fred Yehi to retain the FIP World Heavyweight Championship (FIP Rules Match)
6. Jaka over Keith Lee
7. Zack Sabre, Jr. (c) over Darby Allin to retain the Evolve World Championship

—Evolve 99 (January 14)—

1. Brody King vs. Darby Allin goes to a ten-minute time limit draw
2. Jarek 1:20 over Snoop Strikes
3. Kyle the Beast over Wheeler YUTA
4. Austin Theory vs. Jason Kincaid goes to a no contest
5. Timothy Thatcher over Fred Yehi
6. The End (Odinson & Parrow) over Catch Point (Dominic Garrini & “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams) (Tornado Tag Team Match)
7. Matt Riddle over Jaka
8. WALTER over Zack Sabre, Jr.
9. Keith Lee (c) over Chris Dickinson to retain the WWN Championship

As always since I’ve recapped these shows I’ll keep it short and sweet here and just link you folks up (Evolve 98, Evolve 99), but suffice it to say Evolve started their 2018 off with a bang and an armload of great matches, foremost among them the Catch Point vs. Ringkampf tag and Sabre/WALTER. And they also made a crazy awesome announcement for their Mania weekend shows, the return of Munenori Sawa, last seen wrestling Bryan Danielson in an Evolve ring way back in 2010!

Check ‘em out on WWNLive.com, folks.

PWX X16 (January 13-14)

—Night One (January 13)—

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

—Night Two (January 14)—

1. Tracer X over David Starr (PWX X16 Tournament Quarterfinal Match)
2. Elijah Evans IV over Harlem Bravado (PWX X16 Tournament Quarterfinal Match)
3. James Drake over Juice Robinson (PWX X16 Tournament Quarterfinal Match)
4. Anthony Henry (c) over Joey Mercury to retain the PWX World Heavyweight Championship
5. Elijah Evans IV over Tracer X (PWX X16 Tournament Semifinal Match)
6. James Drake over Corey Hollis (PWX X16 Tournament Semifinal Match)
7. Chip Day (c) over Billy Brash, Darius Lockhart, Drew Adler, Joe Black, Myron Reed, Suger Dunkerton, and White Mike to retain the PWX iTV Championship
8. James Drake over Elijah Evans IV (PWX X16 Tournament Finals)

As always with shows I’m gonna recap I’ll keep it short and sweet but by god James Drake did it! Just as I predicted, even! Feels real good, cannot wait to watch that Juice quarterfinal soon.

Best of all, they got it up on Highspots Wrestling Network basically immediately after it happened, so don’t wait for me-- go check it out already!

Progress Chapter 61: Don’t Touch Me... Don’t... Don’t Touch Me (January 14)

1. Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) (c) over Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) to retain the Progress Tag Team Championship
2. Drew Parker over Chris Ridgeway
3. Charli Evans & Millie McKenzie over Bea Priestly & Nina Samuels
4. Pete Dunne (c) over Joseph Conners to retain the WWE United Kingdom Championship
5. Will Ospreay over Adam Brooks
6. Jimmy Havoc & Mark Haskins over Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
7. Travis Banks (c) over Chris Brookes to retain the Progress World Championship

As always with a show I’ll be recapping once it hits VOD, I’ll keep it short and sweet here, but an interesting wrinkle has turned itself up in the main event-- TK Cooper interfered on Travis Banks’ behalf to help him keep the title, but was he merely supporting a friend or is he simply gunning to make sure his title shot remains against the current champion?

Check it out when it hits Demand Progress, folks.

Style Battle Season 1 Episode 8 (January 14)

1. Matt Riddle over Rayo (Style Battle Season 1 Episode 8 Bracket B First Round Match)
2. Kyle the Beast over Brody King (Style Battle Season 1 Episode 8 Bracket B First Round Match)
3. Joey Janela over Brandon Watts (Style Battle Season 1 Episode 8 Bracket A First Round Match)
4. Nick Gage vs. WALTER went to a no contest (Style Battle Season 1 Episode 8 Bracket A First Round Match)
5. Matt Riddle over Kyle the Beast (Style Battle Season 1 Episode 8 Bracket B Semifinals)
6. Jimmy Lloyd over Jack Gallow
7. Jaxon Vile over Adrian Alanis, James Bandy (c), and Liam Gray to win the WWA4 Championship.
8. Matt Riddle over Joey Janela to win Style Battle Season 1 Episode 8. (Tournament Finals)

As always when I recap a show I’ll just direct you to that and keep it short and sweet here, but suffice it to say... don’t let the no contest fool you, WALTER/Gage was very satisfying and hopefully set up a second match with, ah, less in the way of rules.

Check it out on WWNLive.com, 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.