Sermon on the Mat (Mar. 29, 2018): CMLL, AAW, Chikara, OTT, & 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 30, 10:30PM Eastern)

1. Akuma & Templario vs. Flyer & Robin
2. Dalys, Seductora, & Zeuxis vs. Kaho Kobayashi, Marcela, & Princesa Sugehit
3. Blue Panther, Blue Panther, Jr., & the Panther vs. Dragon Rojo, El Felino, & Kawato San
4. Johnny Idol, Okumura, & Sam Adonis vs. La Peste Negra (Barbaro Cavernario, Mr. Niebla, & Negro Casas)
5. Atlantis, Caristico, & El Valiente vs. Kraneo & Los Ingobernables (Bestia del Ring & Rush)
6. Matt Taven vs. Volador, Jr. (c) (NWA World Historic Welterweight Championship)

CMLL are back in Arena Mexico for your weekly Friday night dose of lucha libre action and folks... we got some fine-lookin’ trios matches here. Panther family vs. assorted rudos is the one that leaps out to me most, as young lion Kawato against old man Panther should be a really fun time, but the Peste Negra and Los Ingobernables matches should be fun as well.

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

AAW Path of Redemption (March 31, 7PM Central)

1. Kylie Rae vs. Scarlett
2. Besties in the World (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) vs. Curt Stallion & Jake Something
3. AR Fox & Myron Reed vs. Stephen Wolf & Trey Miguel
4. Moose & Shane Strickland vs. WRSTLING (Eddie Kingston & Trevor Lee)
5. David Starr vs. Jimmy Jacobs
6. 20-Man AAW Heritage Championship #1 Contender’s Heritage Rumble
7. Ivelisse vs. Jessicka Havok (c) (AAW Women’s Championship)
8. ACH (c) vs. Keith Lee (AAW Heavyweight Championship)

AAW are back in LaSalle, Illinois with another properly stacked card for everybody. The big obvious attraction is the 20-man rumble, which will feature the likes of PACO, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Ace Romero, Kevin Lee Davidson, Samantha Heights, and more, but all the usual entrees are available, including a pair of hype title matches, ACH defending against Keith Lee and Jessicka Havok defending against Ivelisse.

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

Chikara Young Lions Cup XIV - 2nd Stage (March 31, 3PM Eastern)

1. Anthony Greene & DL Hurst vs. Xyberhawx 2000 (Nytehawk & Razerhawk) (Tag World Grand Prix 2018 Qualifying Match)
2. Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream, Jr.) vs. the Noveau Aesthetic (Still Life With Apricots and Pears & Ursa Minor in the Night Sky) (Tag World Grand Prix 2018 Qualifying Match)
3. Cornelius Crummels, Merlok, Oceanea, & Sonny Defarge vs. Green Ant, Rumblebees (Solo Darling & Travis Huckabee), & Thief Ant
4. Legion of Rot (Frightmare & Hallowicked) vs. the Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield & “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti) (Tag World Grand Prix 2018 Qualifying Match)
5. BLANK vs. Proletariat Boar of Moldova
6. Cam Zagami vs. Omari (Chikara Young Lions Cup XIV Finals)
7. Juan Francisco de Coronado (c) vs. Ophidian (Chikara Grand Championship)

Chikara are back in the Wrestle Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and they’re ready to finish what they started! New England up-and-comer Cam Zagami and UK standout Omari do battle for the Young Lions Cup, Ophidian gets a shot at the Grand Championship now that his business seems to be settled, we’ve got two Tag World Grand Prix qualifying matches, there’s a lot going on here!

Get your tickets here or check it out on Chikaratopia, folks.

OTT Martina’s Gaff Party 3 Sayonara Session Moth / Defiant (March 31 / April 1)

—Martina’s Gaff Party 3: Sayonara Session Moth (March 31, 7PM GMT)—

1. Chris Ridgeway vs. El Phantasmo
2. Mark Haskins vs. Scotty Davis
3. Adam Brooks vs. Dunkan Disorderly
4. Angelico vs. Jordan Devlin
5. Joey Janela vs. Session Moth Martina (c) vs. TK Cooper (OTT Gender Neutral Championship)

—Defiant (April 1, 7PM GMT)—

1. Debbie Keitel vs. Raven Creed (OTT Women’s Championship Qualifying Match)
2. Katey Harvey vs. Valkyrie (OTT Women’s Championship Qualifying Match)
3. Nina Samuels vs. Sammi Jayne (OTT Women’s Championship Qualifying Match)
4. Charli Evans & Charlie Morgan vs. Kris Wolf & Laura Di Matteo)
5. Dash Chisako vs. Jordynne Grace
6. Session Moth Martina vs. ??? vs. ??? vs. ??? (OTT Women’s Championship)

OTT are saying sayonara to the Session Moth as she heads to Japan for the first time with a pair of big cards from Dublin, Ireland, including their first all-women card! And, I mean, what better way to send Martina off than in a crazy three-way featuring the Bad Boy himself, right? Even better... why not give her a bye to the finals of a mini-tournament for the women’s championship? OTT are doing both and more!

Get your tickets here or check ‘em out when they hit OTT On Demand, folks.

NJPW Sakura Genesis 2018 (April 1, 3AM Eastern / 12AM Pacific)

1. Bullet Club (Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)
2. Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi & Takashi Iizuka)
3. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, & Tanga Loa) (c) vs. Taguchi Japan (Michael Elgin, Ryusuke Taguchi, & Togi Makabe) (NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship)
4. Chaos (Hirooki Goto, “Switchblade” Jay White, & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. David Finlay, Hiroshi Tanahashi, & Juice Robinson
5. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito) vs. Suzuki-gun (Davey Boy Smith, Jr., Lance Archer, & Minoru Suzuki)
6. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi) vs. Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) vs. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (c) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship)
7. Marty Scurll vs. Will Ospreay (c) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)
8. Bullet Club (Cody Rhodes & Hangman Page) vs. Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi)
9. Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. (IWGP Heavyweight Championship)

New Japan Pro Wrestling is back in Tokyo’s Ryogoku Sumo Hall and I’ll put my cards on the table, folks-- I hope Zack Sabre, Jr. wrenches Okada’s arms so hard the pants his mother made fell off while he taps. Total ZSJ fangirl bias aside, this should be a good one, with two highly dramatic tag team matches moving the Bullet Club civil war along and the return of EVIL to active competition after he busted his orbital bone back in February.

Check it out on NJPW World.

Free matches here!

Jonathan Gresham vs. Ricochet

This one comes from the fine folks over at Beyond Wrestling and hey, why not celebrate Ricochet’s impending NXT debut by watching him wrestle one of the best, most underrated technical wrestlers on the indies? Don’t miss it!

Jimmy Havoc vs. Mikey Whiplash

And now for something completely different! Deathmatch action from Scotland’s ICW, pitting two of the absolute masters of the craft in the UK against one another. Enjoy!

No New Friends vs. Space Pirates vs. Viking War Party

Fresh off the presses from Glory Pro’s last event just this weekend, we have fast and furious and sprinty fresh three-way tag team action. Check it out!

Results

AIW Gauntlet for the Gold 13 (March 23)

1. Maxwell Jacob Friedman over “Supercop” Dick Justice
2. The Production (Donovan Danhausen & Eddy Only) over DukeMoney (Jock Samson & Mance Warner), Philly-Marino Experience (Marino Tenaglia & Philly Collins), and Young Studs (Bobby Beverly & Eric Ryan)
3. Louis Lyndon over Eddie Kingston
4. No Consequences (Chase Oliver, Joshua Bishop, & Tre LaMar) over Josh Prohibition & To Infinity and Beyond (Cheech & Colin Delaney)
5. Tim Donst over Gringo Loco, Russ Myers, and Shane Mercer
6. ”Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams over DJ Z
7. Nick Gage (c) over Matthew Justice to retain the AIW Absolute Championship
8. ”Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams won the 30-Man Gauntlet For the Gold to become #1 contender to the AIW Absolute Championship

It’s official-- for the second year in a row, “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams will get a shot at the Absolution Championship at Absolution. He’s fallen short against Nick Gage once before, but at the biggest show of AIW’s year, all bets are off. Plus Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham got El Kabong’d by future WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett, Tim Donst made his return winning a four-way (and appearing in the GFtG in his NOVA Pro “Safety First” gear!), and even Josh Prohibition’s aces in the hole, former tag champs To Infinity and Beyond, couldn’t keep young upstarts No Consequences from besting him.

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

PWG Time Is a Flat Circle (March 23)

1. Joey Janela over Rey Horus
2. Brody King over Douglas James, Eli Everfly, and Jake Atlas
3. Jonah Rock over Jeff Cobb
4. Scarlet and Graves (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) over Bandido & Flamita
5. Will Ospreay over Adam Brooks
6. Zack Sabre, Jr. over Matt Riddle
7. Keith Lee over Chuck Taylor (c) to win the PWG World Championship

For full details you can check out our man Marc Raimondi’s complete results right here, so I’m not gonna drone on, but... who’s all ready to bask in Keith Lee’s glory with the PWG World Championship added to his list of accomplishments?

You can pre-order the physical release on PWG’s website as always, folks. (And actually just because this is light here I’ll toss out my occasional reminder that PWG shows go up on the Highspots Wrestling Network about a year after the fact, which is a great way to keep up if you don’t mind being behind.)

WrestleCircus Raise the Curtain (March 24)

1. Shane Taylor over JT Dunn
2. Teddy Hart over Andrew Everett, Myron Reed, and Zachary Wentz
3. Gentleman Jervis & Kylie Rae over Leva “the Snake” Bates & Serpentico
4. Rey Fenix over Dezmond Xavier
5. Dirty Devils (Andy Dalton & Gregory James) over Extra Talent-ed (Aaron Solow & Ricky Starks) (c) to win the WC Big Top Tag Team Championship
6. MASADA over Jordan Len-X to become #1 contender to the WC Sideshow Championship
7. Tessa Blanchard (c) over Chelsea Green to retain the WC Lady of the Ring Championship
8. Shane Strickland over Penta el Zero M

WrestleCircus were back with another of their trademark high-intensity shows, so let’s break it down real fast, shall we? Highlights include Ted Hart standing around in the corner watching the three younger men do stuff for much of the match, Fenix/Xavier and Blanchard/Green tearing the house down, MASADA turning Len-X into a bloody mess, and Leva Bates showing up thematically appropriate to team with Serpentico dressed as Jake “the Snake” Roberts.

Check it out on their Twitch channel with a subscription or just keep an eye out for a replay, folks.

wXw London Calling III (March 24)

1. Bobby Gunns (c) over TK Cooper to retain the wXw Shotgun Championship
2. Killer Kelly over Millie McKenzie
3. Marius Al-Ani over Chris Brookes
4. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) over Hunter Brothers (Jim & Lee Hunter) to qualify for wXw World Tag Team League 2018
5. Alexander James over Jack Sexsmith
6. Ilja Dragunov (c) over David Starr, Travis Banks, and WALTER to retain the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship

Say it with me, folks-- UNBESIEGBAR! And in the aftermath, the 2017 16 Carat Gold finals rematch is set, and it’ll be WALTER vs. Dragunov once again at True Colors next month! Plus Aussie Open in World Tag Team League should rule, so we’ve got that to look forward to as well.

Check it out when it hits wXwNOW!, folks.

Glory Pro Gateway to Glory (March 25)

1. Aaron O’Ryan, Justin D’Air, & Mance Warner over Barackus, Leone Mephisto, & Roy Lewis
2. Cole Radrick over Sage Philips (Gateway to Glory Championship First Round Match)
3. Air Wolf over Pat Monix (Gateway to Glory Championship First Round Match)
4. Donovan Danhausen over Xavier Walker (Gateway to Glory Championship First Round Match)
5. Edvin Kudic over Kobe Durst (Gateway to Glory Championship First Round Match)
6. No New Friends (Danny Adams & Kevin Lee Davidson) over Space Pirates (Shane Sabre & Space Monkey) and Viking War Party (Alex Herzog & Jake Parnell)
7. Cole Radrick over Donovan Danhausen (Gateway to Glory Championship Semifinals)
8. Air Wolf over Edvin Kudic (Gateway to Glory Championship Semifinals)
9. Jake Something (c) over Hakim Zane to retain the Crown of Glory Championship
10. Air Wolf over Cole Radrick to win the vacant Glory Pro Resurgence Championship (Gateway to Glory Championship Finals)

It’s official-- not only will Air Wolf go on to face Jimmy Jacobs at Only the Strong Survive, but he’s also been crowned champion of Glory Pro’s new expansion brand, the former Pro Wrestling Resurgence! Plus some wild three-way tag action (that you can watch in the free matches above) and a successful title defense for Jake Something.

Check it out when it hits Highspots Wrestling Network, folks.

NJPW Strong Style Evolved (March 25)

1. Chaos (Rocky Romero, SHO, & YOH) over SoCal Uncensored (Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, & Scorpio Sky)
2. David Finlay & Juice Robinson over Chaos (Gedo & Hirooki Goto)
3. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer) over Chaos (Chuckie T & Toru Yano)
4. Bullet Club (Cody Rhodes & Marty Scurll) over Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
5. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito) over Dragon Lee, Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, & Ryusuke Taguchi
6. Will Ospreay over Jushin Liger
7. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre, Jr.) over Chaos (Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii)
8. Jay White (c) over Hangman Page to retain the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship
9. Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) over Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson)

Since I can just point y’all to my match recommendations to see what I thought in detail, I’ll do so, but suffice it to say that Strong Style Evolved was a solid show highlighted by an absolutely great main event... that unfortunately suffered from some rough production and worse commentary from the AXS TV team of Jim Ross and Josh Barnett.

Check it out on NJPW World, folks, just... maybe run the Japanese commentary feed even if you’re like me and you generally prefer English.

Progress Chapter 65: Have Some Faith in the Sound (March 25)

1. Rob Lynch over Doug Williams
2. Charlie Morgan over Chakara, Millie McKenzie, and Session Moth Martina
3. Chris Brookes over TK Cooper (No Disqualification Match)
4. WALTER (c) over Rampage Brown to retain the Progress Atlas Division Championship
5. Danny Duggan over Danny Jones (Natural Progression Series V First Round Match)
6. Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) (c) over Jimmy Havoc & Mark Haskins and Sexy Starr (David Starr & Jack Sexsmith) to retain the Progress Tag Team Championship (Elimination Match)
7. Travis Banks (c) over “Flash” Morgan Webster to retain the Progress World Championship

As always since I have a recap coming once this bad boy goes up on VOD, I’ll keep it short and sweet here, but the big news here is WALTER finally exorcising his zero-wins record over Rampage and challenging Banks in the aftermath of a main event that admittedly has me a bit wary due to a Dusty Finish where Webster had a win overturned due to the Kiwi Buzzsaw having a foot on the ropes. We’ll have to see how it plays on tape, folks.

Check it out when it hits Demand Progress, if you will.

PWX Rise of a Champion XIII (March 25)

1. Darius Lockhart over Chip Day (c) to win the PWX iTV Championship
2. Martin Stone over Billy Brash, Drew Adler, Effy, Ian Maxwell, and Jason Cade (Opportunity Knocks Ladder Match)
3. Tessa Blanchard over Su Yung
4. White Mike over “Manscout” Jake Manning
5. Tracer X over Matt Cross
6. John Skyler & Ugly Ducklings (Lance Lude & Rob Killjoy) over Country Jacked (Brady Pierce, Corey Hollis, & Gunner Miller)
7. Darius Lockhart (c) over Shane Strickland to retain the PWX iTV Championship
8. Elijah Evans IV over Timmy Lou Retton (Loser Leaves the Syndicate Match)
9. Ethan Case over Anthony Henry (c) and James Drake to win the PWX World Heavyweight Championship

And so, at long last, Ethan Case has exorcised the demons of his failure to capitalize on winning the first ever PWX X16 by winning the PWX World Heavyweight Championship! Plus Chip Day’s attempt to set up a quick open challenge defense against High Profile backfired with Darius Lockhart reclaiming the iTV Championship in short order, Martin Stone won a Money in the Bank style shot at a title of his choosing, Jake Manning lost his mind after White Mike defeated him, and Chase Owens attacked Lockhart after his first defense, so that’s interesting.

Check it out when it hits Highspots Wrestling Network, folks.

WWR From the Pinnacle to the Pit (March 25)

—Powerbomb Pre-Game—

1. Oceanea over Willow Nightingale
2. Solo Darling over Allie Recks
3. Faye Jackson over Delmi Exo
4. Maria Manic over Terra Calaway

—Main Show—

1. LuFisto over Shotzi Blackheart
2. Kennedi Copeland over Nadi
3. Vanity over Kasey Catal
4. Davienne over Kris Stadtlander
5. Tenille Dashwood over Jordynne Grace
6. Penelope Ford over Barbi Hayden
7. Team Adams (Karen Q & Tasha Steelz) over Alisha Edwards & Gilian Leigh
8. Skylar over Rachael Ellering
9. Jordynne Grace over Deonna Purrazzo

Jordynne Grace with the double duty! She may have fell short against the erstwhile Emma, but taking down Deonna Purrazzo in the main event shows that she remains having as much of a claim to being the ace of WWR as anybody. Plus Skylar with the arguable upset on Rachael Ellering, both members of Ruthless Ambition picking up big wins, and LuFisto putting Shotzi Blackheart down with the Burning Hammer!

Check it out on Powerbomb.tv, 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.