Sermon on the Mat (Mar. 1, 2018): CMLL, NEW, Xcite, OTT, AAA, RevPro, & NJPW 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...

CMLL Super Viernes (March 2, 9:30PM Eastern)

1. Mercurio & Pequeno Nitro vs. Shockercito & Ultimo Dragoncito
2. Blue Panther, Jr., Fuego, & the Panther vs. Puma, Tiger, & Virus
3. Esfinge, Titan, & Triton vs. La Peste Negra (El Felino & Negro Casas) & Shocker
4. Atlantis & Soberano, Jr. vs. Caristico & Volador, Jr. vs. Dragon Lee & Mistico vs. Euforia & Kraneo vs. Hechicero & Mascara Ano 2000 vs. Los Guerreros Laguneros (Gran Guerrero & Ultimo Guerrero) vs. Los Ingobernables (Pierroth & Rush) vs. Nuevo Generacion Dinamitas (Forastero & Sanson) (CMLL World Tag Team Championship Tournament Phase 1)
5. Angel de Oro, Marco Corleone, & Niebla Roja vs. Cuatrero & Los Hijos del Infierno (Ephesto & Mephisto)

CMLL are back in Arena Mexico for your weekly Friday night dose of lucha libre action and it’s... tournament time again! But we barely finished the last one! Yes, Shocker and Negro Casas had to vacate the titles they held for almost four years after two years of inactivity with regards to title defenses, so that means it’s time to crown new champions, although it’s a little weird that the old champs are finally teaming again on the undercard, but CMLL whatcha gonna do?

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

NEW Wrestlefest XXII (March 2, 8PM Eastern)

1. Hale Collins vs. Ron Zombie
2. Josh Briggs vs. Wrecking Ball Legursky
3. Brad Hollister vs. Matt Riddle
4. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Tenille Dashwood
5. Brian Anthony vs. “Manscout” Jake Manning
6. Adrenaline Rush (Daniel Evans & Keith Youngblood) (c) vs. Cam Zagami & Robbie E (NEW Tag Team Championship)
7. Caleb Konley & Joey Mercury vs. Flip Gordon & Rey Mysterio

NEW are in Waterbury, Connecticut and, well, I can’t tell you whether Rey Mysterio is going to be at WrestleMania, folks, but I can guarantee he’s got some dream tag main event action going on at Wrestlefest! Plus the erstwhile Emma in action against Deonna Purrazzo, a HOSS fight between up-and-comers Legursky and Briggs, and the Manscout’s losing streak... likely continues.

Get your tickets here or check it out on NEW’s Pivotshare site, folks.

Xcite VI: Anniversary (March 2, 8PM Eastern)

1. Rob Cook vs. Simon Queen
2. Boots & Lariats (Pat Sawyer & Ray Ross) vs. Killer Instinct (Jacoby Riddick & Mike Skyros)
3. Alex Payne vs. Axel Lennox (Tables Match)
4. Coast 2 Coast (Leo St. Giovanni & Shaheem Ali) vs. Cloudy & Isys Ephex
5. Brute VanSlyke vs. “Supercop” Dick Justice
6. Braxton Sutter vs. Greg Excellent vs. “Chainsaw” Joe Gacy vs. Sean Carr (c) (Xcite Heavyweight Championship)
7. Nick “Magnus” Aldis (c) vs. Slyck Wagner Brown (NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship)

Xcite are back in Binghamton, New York and they’re hosting the Aldis Crusade! And getting the shot at the ten pounds of gold is northeastern indie stalwart Slyck Wagner Brown, no less. Plus a four-way title defense set up by the last show, Brute vs. Dick in a HOSS fight, a tables match, and more!

Get your tickets here or check it out on their Twitch channel, folks, live and for free!

OTT Outer Space Odyssey IV: Floating in a Most Peculiar Way (March 3, 7PM GMT)

1. Adam Brooks vs. Scotty Davis
2. David Starr vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
3. Polo Promotions (Jackie Polo & Mark Coffey) vs. the Rapture (Charlie Sterling & Zack Gibson) (c) (OTT Tag Team Championship)
4. Pete Dunne vs. Session Moth Martina (c) (OTT Gender Neutral Championship)
5. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) & Mark Haskins vs. Jordan Devlin & Kings of the North (Bonesaw & Damien Corvin)

OTT are back in Dublin, Ireland and my pitch for this one is simple, folks. If the idea of watching WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne wrestle Session Moth Martina (who, for the uninitiated, is a fun-loving drunk lady in a leopard print onesie) for her Gender Neutral Championship doesn’t sell you on this show, I don’t know what will.

Get your tickets here or check it out on OTT On Demand, folks.

AAA Rey de Reyes (March 4, 6PM Central)

1. Angelikal vs. Dave the Clown vs. Pimpinela Escarlata vs. ??? (Rey de Reyes 2018 Semifinal Match)
2. Bengala vs. Mascara de Bronce vs. Scoria vs. ??? (Rey de Reyes 2018 Semifinal Match)
3. Angel Mortal vs. Cuervo vs. Hijo del Vikingo vs. ??? (Rey de Reyes 2018 Semifinal Match)
4. Dinastia vs. La Parka vs. Venum vs. ??? (Rey de Reyes 2018 Semifinal Match)
5. OGT (Averno, Chessman, & Super Fly) vs. Poder del Norte (Carta Brava, Jr., Mocho Cota, Jr., & Tito “Not That One” Santana) (Tables, Ladders, & Chairs Match)
6. Rey de Reyes 2018 Finals
7. Dr. Wagner, Jr., La Mascara, Maximo, & Psycho Clown vs. Hernandez, Hijo de Dr. Wagner, Jr., ???, & ???
8. Hijo del Fantasma vs. Texano, Jr. (Hair vs. Mask Match)

AAA are into their second big show of the year, coming at you from Puebla, Mexico. With four empty spots in the four four-way qualifiers as well as a mystery team in the semi-main event, there are a lot of luchadors sorpresa on the show, which means a lot of surprises, assuming AAA don’t just change half the card on the way.

Check it out live and for free on their Twitch channel, folks.

RPW Live at the Cockpit 27 (March 4, 5:30PM GMT)

1. Josh Bodom & Zack Gibson vs. Team White Wolf (A-Kid & Adam Chase)
2. Adam Brooks vs. “Flash” Morgan Webster
3. David Starr vs. Jody Fleisch
4. El Phantasmo vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
5. Kurtis Chapman (c) vs. No Fun Dunne (RPW British Cruiserweight Championship)

RevPro are once again back in the Cockpit in London, England and while I’m pretty sure there’s at least one more match to be made, what we’ve got here works just fine for me as is. Sabre/Phantasmo in non-title action is a great start, Brooks/Webster is real added value, but man I am looking forward to catching Starr/Fleisch in a big bad way when I do my next round of RevPro catchup, folks.

Tickets are sold out, but you’ll be able to check it out when it hits RPW On Demand in short order.

NJPW 46th Anniversary (March 6, 5AM Eastern / 2AM Pacific)

1. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Liger, KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Tiger Mask IV vs. Ren Narita, Shota Umino, Tetsuhiro Yagi, Tomoyuki Oka, & Yuji Nagata
2. Katsuya Kitamura vs. Manabu Nakanishi (Kitamura Challenge Series Match 7)
3. Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, & Toru Yano) vs. David Finlay, Juice Robinson, & Toa Henare
4. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) (c) vs. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship)
5. SANADA vs. YOSHI-HASHI
6. Taichi vs. Tetsuya Naito
7. Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. Togi Makabe (IWGP Intercontinental Championship)
8. Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay

New Japan are back at the site of their very first show ever, Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan, to celebrate their 46th anniversary and while it’s not the most slam-bang amazing card, it should be a good show all the same. We finish up the Kitamura Challenge Series, got a three-way junior tag title match, a special challenge match between SANADA and YOSHI-HASHI to replace the originally-scheduled heavyweight tag match owing to EVIL’s broken orbital bone, what had ought to be a knockdown brawl between Suzuki and Makabe, and a rare champion vs. champion main event that should make a lot of folks happy.

Check it out on NJPW World, if you will.

Free matches here!

JT Dunn vs. Super Crazy

From the fine folks over at Limitless Wrestling, we’ve got a doozy here. One of ECW’s premiere luchadors faces off against the man that’s the heir to Chris Hero’s elbow, check it out!

Jody Fleisch vs. Mikey Whiplash

From the good folks over at Scotland’s ICW, we’ve got one reasonably hot off the presses, folks. From the February 2 Fight Club taping, it’s a living legend taking on a self-proclaimed god, enjoy!

WHAT II

What? Another free show from the folks over at Wrestling Has a Tomorrow?! You bet! Keith Lee vs. Martin Stone! Anthony Henry vs. Austin Theory! Tenille Dashwood vs. Rachael Ellering! Dreamer & Tremont vs. Dunn & Jacobs! Don’t miss it!

Results

AIW We’ve Got a DilEMMA (February 23)

1. Jock Samson over Mance Warner
2. Matthew Justice over Calvin Tankman, Louis Lyndon, and Tim Donst
3. Maxwell Jacob Friedman over Colt Cabana
4. Tom Lawlor over Dominic Garrini
5. Philly-Marino Experience (Marino Tenaglia & Philly Collins) over Jollyville Fuck-Its (Russ Myers & T-Money), To Infinity and Beyond (Cheech & Colin Delaney), and Young Studs (Bobby Beverly & Eric Ryan
6. Twins (Hornswoggle & PB Smooth) (c) over Dedication Personified (Brian Carson & Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham) to retain the AIW Tag Team Championship
7. The Production (Derek Director, Donovan Danhausen, Eddy Only, Frankie Flynn, & Magnum CK) over No Consequences (AJ Gray, Chase Oliver, Garrison King, Joshua Bishop, & Tre LaMar)
8. Tenille Dashwood over Britt Baker
9. Joey Janela (c) over DJ Z to retain the AIW Intense Championship
10. Nick Gage (c) over “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams to retain the AIW Absolute Championship

The big bummer coming out of this one is Tom Lawlor broke his arm on a lariat to the back of Dominic Garrini’s head and, well, take a look at the x-ray yourselves, folks. My proverbial hat is off to him for finishing the match and of course, we wish him a speedy and thorough recovery.

In happier news, title retentions all around, a big win for the erstwhile Emma, and Josh Prohibition made his return to AIW after the ten-man, saving Bishop from a beatdown only to turn around and attack him himself, setting up a match for the next show on 3/10.

Check it out when it hits Smart Mark Video, folks.

CZW Greetings From Asbury Park (February 23)

1. Charlie Tiger vs. Connor Braxton vs. El Cheapo vs. Ellis Taylor vs. Frankie Pickard vs. Griffin McCoy vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Jordan Oliver went to a no contest (Dojo Wars Showcase)
2. Storm of Entrails (Dan O’Hare & SHLAK) over Mitch Vallen & Mr. Claxton
3. Alex Reynolds over John Silver
4. House of Gangone (Anthony Gangone, Juba, & Smiley) over FEAR (Blackwater, Dan Barry, & “Chainsaw” Joe Gacy) (Mask vs. Mask Match)
5. Kit Osbourne over Mike Del (c) to win the Dojo Wars Medal of Valor
6. The REP (Dave McCall & Nate Carter) (c) over Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) to retain the CZW World Tag Team Championship
7. Penelope Ford over Layla Hirsch
8. Brandon Kirk & DJ Hyde over the Awakening (G-Raver & Stockade)
9. Dezmond Xavier over Jonathan Gresham
10. Rickey Shane Page (c) over Matt Tremont to retain the CZW World Heavyweight Championship

CZW kicked off their Friday night in Asbury Park with a bang as Storm of Entrails broke up to the opening scramble and ended up challenged to a match by an apparently drunk Mr. Claxton, who of course bailed on the actual match as Vallen got destroyed by Storm of Entrails. Plus Brandon Kirk’s mystery partner turned out to be none other than DJ Hyde and from all reports, Xavier and Gresham tore the proverbial house down.

Check it out on CZW Studios, folks.

Beyond I Want It All / Abbondanza (February 24-25)

—I Want It All (February 24)—

1. Janelope (Joey Janela & Penelope Ford) over Beaver Boys (Alex Reynolds & John Silver)
2. Martin Stone over Wheeler YUTA
3. Amityville Project (Mike Verna & Rex Lawless) over Massage NV (Dorian Graves & VSK)
4. DJZ over Brandon Watts
5. Doom Patrol (Chris Dickinson & Jaka) over American Strong (Jay Freddie & Rory Gulak)
6. Orange Cassidy over Bill Carr
7. Rickey Shane Page over Josh Briggs
8. Skylar over Jordynne Grace
9. “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams over Maxwell Jacob Friedman
10. Nick Gage over Joey Janela

—Powerbomb.tv Pre-Game (February 25)—

1. Brian Milonis & Cam Zagami over Da Hoodz (Davey Cash & Kris Pyro)
2. Chuck O’Neil over Mikey Webb
3. Anthony Greene over Connor Braxton
4. Kyle the Beast over Brandon Watts

—Abbondanza (February 25)—

1. Janelope (Joey Janela & Penelope Ford) over Doom Patrol (Chris Dickinson & Jaka)
2. Josh Briggs over DJZ
3. Team PAWG (Jordynne Grace & LuFisto) over Beaver Boys (Alex Reynolds & John Silver)
4. “Supercop” Dick Justice, Orange Cassidy, & Shockwave the Robot vs. Pull It Club (Dorian Graves, Johnny Cockstrong, & VSK) goes to a no contest
5. Nick Gage (c) over Rickey Shane Page retain the GCW Championship (20,000 Thumbtack Match)
6. Amityville Project (Dan Barry, Mike Verna, Rex Lawless, & Ryan Galeone) over Hooligans (Devin & Mason Cutter) & Viking War Party (Alex Herzog & Jake Parnell)
7. Wheeler YUTA over Maxwell Jacob Friedman (2017 Tournament For Tomorrow Finals)
8. EYFBO (Angel Ortiz & Mike Draztik) over American Strong (Jay Freddie & Rory Gulak)
9. “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams over Jonathan Gresham (c) and Martin Stone to win the Powerbomb.tv Independent Wrestling Championship (Elimination Match)

For full results check out our posts (I Want It All here, Abbondanza here), but this was an awesome pair of shows. Top highlights include Williams/MJF, Gage/Janela, Gage/RSP, YUTA/MJF, the absolutely excellent Powerbomb.tv Championship three-way, and of course, the six-man that ended in Shockwave the Robot short circuiting, beating everyone else in the match down, and leaving to roam the streets of Worcester, Massachusetts with evil intentions. I’d tell you to lock your doors, folks, but he’s a real strong robot and I don’t think that would help.

Check ‘em out on Powerbomb.tv.

Progress Chapter 64: Thunderbastards Are Go (February 25)

1. Sexy Starr (David Starr & Jack Sexsmith) over Anti-Fun Police (Chief Deputy Dunne & Federales, Jr.)
2. Charlie Morgan over Millie McKenzie
3. Mark Davis over Maverick Mayhew (Natural Progression Series V First Round Match)
4. Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) over Jimmy Havoc & Mark Haskins (c) to win the Progress Tag Team Championship
5. Zack Sabre, Jr. over Jonah Rock
6. ”Flash” Morgan Webster over Chris Brookes, Eddie Dennis, Mark Andrews, Pete Dunne, TK Cooper, Trent Seven, and Tyler Bate to become #1 contender to the Progress World Championship (Thunderbastard Match)
7. Travis Banks (c) over Matt Riddle to retain the Progress World Championship

As always with a show I’ll be recapping I’ll keep it short and sweet here, but there are two things that intrigue me very much about this show. The first is the tag titles changing hands right back, which seems super confusing at first but I got to thinking... Progress DO have a Thunderbastard announced for WrestleMania weekend in New Orleans, and wouldn’t it be weird to do two normal singles Thunderbastards basically back to back? Especially now that we have a bunch of different teams with roughly equal claim to the titles...?

The other note is on the main event, where the Progress faithful were none too happy at Travis Banks retaining over Matt Riddle, continuing a trend that reared its head at Chapter 63 but frankly I wasn’t expecting to take hold nearly so quickly. It’ll be interesting to see where the title scene goes from here, folks.

Check it out when it hits Demand Progress, likely before the end of the weekend.

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.