Sermon on the Mat (Mar. 8, 2018): MLW, wXw, CMLL, Freelance, AIW, BLP, CZW, NOVA, PWR, Shine, & 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...

MLW Spring Break (March 8, 6:50PM Eastern)

1. Barrington Hughes vs. Vandal Ortagun
2. Dirty Blondes (Leo Brien & Mike Patrick) vs. Jason Cade & Jimmy Yuta
3. Garza, Jr. vs. Ultimo Ninja
4. Lance Anoa’i vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman
5. Brody King vs. Sami Callihan
6. Jimmy Havoc vs. Shane Strickland (MLW World Championship Tournament Semifinals)
7. ACH vs. Matt Riddle (MLW World Championship Tournament Semifinals)
8. Darby Allin vs. Joey Janela (Fans Bring the Weapons Match)
9. Low-Ki vs. MVP (Unsanctioned Match)

MLW are back in Orlando, Florida and when they announced this one as Spring Break I was... skeptical. Bogarting in on Joey Janela’s big show? C’mon now! But no, the one-two of running a Fans Bring the Weapons between Janela and Allin and an unsanctioned fight between two of the baddest dudes around, and I think that lives up to the Spring Break spirit, even without the Invisible Man.

Plus the semifinals to the MLW World Championship tournament (with ACH replacing the injured Tom Lawlor), MJF calling out Lance Anoa’i’s whole family (if you don’t know MJF, watch that promo and get ready to fall in love) and more, this feels like it’s gonna be a good one.

Get your tickets here or check it out on MLW.tv when the VOD drops, folks.

wXw Inner Circle 5 / AMBITION 9 / 16 Carat Gold 2018 (March 8-11)

—Inner Circle 5 (March 8, 7PM CET)—

1. Mark Haskins vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
2. Jonah Rock vs. WALTER

—16 Carat Gold 2018 Night 1 (March 9, 8PM CET)—

1. Emil Sitoci vs. Ivan Kiev vs. Julian Nero vs. Julian Pace (wXw 16 Carat Gold Qualifying Match)
2. David Starr vs. ??? (wXw 16 Carat Gold First Round Match)
3. Alexander James vs. Chris Brookes (wXw 16 Carat Gold First Round Match)
4. Lucky Kid vs. Matt Sydal (wXw 16 Carat Gold First Round Match)
5. Avalanche vs. Keith Lee (wXw 16 Carat Gold First Round Match)
6. Absolute Andy vs. Marius Al-Ani (wXw 16 Carat Gold First Round Match)
7. Mark Haskins vs. Travis Banks (wXw 16 Carat Gold First Round Match)
8. Da Mack vs. Matt Riddle (wXw 16 Carat Gold First Round Match)
9. Jonah Rock vs. Timothy Thatcher (wXw 16 Carat Gold First Round Match)

—AMBITION 9 (March 10, 1PM CET)—

1. David Starr vs. Heddi Karaoui (AMBITION 9 First Round Match)
2. Bobby Gunns vs. Rafa (AMBITION 9 First Round Match)
3. Jonah Rock vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey (AMBITION 9 First Round Match)
4. Alexander James vs. Timothy Thatcher (AMBITION 9 First Round Match)
5. Matt Riddle vs. WALTER (AMBITION Super Fight)
6. AMBITION 9 Semifinals & Finals

—16 Carat Gold 2018 Night 2 (March 10, 7PM CET)—

1. wXw 16 Carat Gold Quarterfinal Matches
2. Melanie Gray vs. Toni Storm (c) (wXw Women’s Championship)
3. Bobby Gunns (c) vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey (wXw Shotgun Championship)
4. John “Bad Bones” Klinger (c) vs. WALTER (wXw Unified Wrestling World Championship)

—16 Carat Gold 2018 Night 3 (March 11, 5PM CET)—

1. wXw 16 Carat Gold Semifinals & Finals

Oh, it’s that time again! Two of Europe’s biggest tournaments in one weekend, all under wXw’s banner.

Allow me to start with AMBITION as the nearer and dearer of the two to my heart. Eight men competing in shoot style action with nothing but pride on the line, I might be inclined to call it pro wrestling’s purest form, and the lineup is a good one, with regulars and newcomers in equal turn. Not even to mention the superfight, another in Riddle and WALTER’s series that never, ever disappoints, and I bet it’ll be even better under the AMBITION environment.

Onto the main tournament, a more standard 16-man affair where the winner takes home a title shot at a later date, but no less exciting given how stacked the lineup is. Avalanche vs. Lee in HOSS WARFARE, A4 exploding months after Andy turned on Al-Ani, Haskins vs. Banks for a little Progress flavor... And speaking of Progress, after the match Jonah Rock had against Zack Sabre, Jr. for them, I am stoked to see the big man take on Timothy Thatcher, I tell you what.

Plus three title defenses on night two, a host of fun stuff that can’t be announced until people start getting eliminated, and I haven’t even touched on the Inner Circle show that kicks it all off!

Tickets for most of these shows are sold out as I write this, but a few remain for 16 Carat Gold Night One and AMBITION here, otherwise you’ll have to check it out on wXwNOW! like the rest of us when it hits VOD, folks.

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

1. Astral & Electrico vs. Cancerbero & Raziel
2. Dalys, Seductora, & Tiffany vs. Lady Maravilla, Princesa Sugehit, & Sanely
3. Guerrero Maya, Jr., Rey Cometa, & the Panther vs. Johnny Idol, Kawato San, & Puma
4. Blue Panther & Blue Panther, Jr. vs. Diamante Azul & Stuka, Jr. vs. El Terrible & Rey Bucanero vs. La Peste Negra (Barbaro Cavernario & Mr. Niebla) vs. Los Hijos del Infierno (Ephesto & Mephisto) vs. Marco Corleone & Niebla Roja vs. Okumura & Sam Adonis vs. Titan & Triton (CMLL World Tag Team Championship Tournament Phase 2)
5. Angel de Oro, Atlantis, & Volador, Jr. vs. Cuatrero, Negro Casas, & Ultimo Guerrero

CMLL are back in Arena Mexico as always with your usual Friday night dose of lucha libre action and it’s not shocking that we’re moving on to the second phase of the tag tournament. The winners of this grouping will go on to face last week’s winners El Valiente & Volador, Jr. next week with the CMLL World Tag Team Championship on the line. Plus a star-studded main event and Kawato in action in the third match and this should be a pretty good way to spend your Friday night, folks.

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

Freelance This Very Moment (March 9, 9PM Central)

1. Brandon Espinosa vs. Gregory Iron vs. Isaias Velazquez vs. Roy Gordon vs. Shane Sabre vs. Shotzi Blackheart (Scramble Match)
2. Arik Cannon vs. Jake Parnell
3. Craig Mitchell vs. Hornswoggle
4. Four Star Heroes (Chris Castro & Matt Knicks), Kobe Durst, & Space Monkey vs. the N-Words (Acid Jaz & Bryce Benjamin) & the Unfortunate Pairing of Pat Monix & Elliott Paul
5. Aero Boy vs. Draztick Boy vs. Gringo Loco vs. Robert Anthony
6. Anthony Henry vs. Stevie Fierce (Chicago Street Fight)
7. Darin Corbin vs. Suge D (c) (Freelance World Championship)

Freelance are back in Chicago, Illinois and they’ve got another stacked card for us, folks. Darin Corbin’s crusade against Suge D climaxes with a title shot, Henry and Fierce meet again in a street fight, the tag division is settled in for eight-man war, you got a four-way lucha match, and yes, Craig Mitchell is wrestling Hornswoggle.

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

AIW Enter the Dragon (March 10, 7:30PM Eastern)

1. Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham vs. Kevin Thorn
2. DJ Z vs. Tre LaMar
3. Philly-Marino Experience (Marino Tenaglia & Philly Collins) & Weird World (Alex “Worldwide” Kellar & Evan “Weird Body” Adams) vs. the Production (Derek Director, Eddy Only, Frankie Flynn, & Magnum CK)
4. Josh Prohibition vs. Joshua Bishop
5. Parker Pierce & “Big” Twan Tucker vs. Twins (Hornswoggle & PB Smooth) (AIW Tag Team Championship)
6. Dominic Garrini vs. Eddie Kingston

AIW are expanding to a new market this weekend as they debut in Akron, Ohio, and as you might guess from the title, Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat will be on-hand for a meet and greet, although I personally think he has the gas in the tank for one more match and one of the posters makes it look like he’s wrestling Dom. Make it happen, AIW!

Anyway, fever dreams of one who can’t get enough of old dudes wrestling aside, this should make AIW a good first impression in Akron. Prohibition vs. Bishop follows up on the events of We’ve Got a DilEMMA last month, homegrown ace Dominic Garrini goes one-on-one with Eddie Kingston in a match that’s sure to be intense, and more.

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

BLP 6: Jar of Flies (March 10, 7:30PM Central)

1. Jake Parnell vs. Josh Briggs
2. Eric Ryan vs. Kobe Durst
3. Everett Connors vs. Space Monkey
4. Draztick Boy vs. Facade vs. Gringo Loco vs. Matt Knicks
5. CW Anderson vs. Dasher Hatfield
6. Danny Adams & the Warlord vs. Kevin Ku & Percy Davis
7. AJ Gray & Mance Warner vs. the Carnies (Kerry Awful & Nick Iggy)
8. Nick Gage (c) vs. Teddy Hart (GCW World Championship)

Black Label Pro are back in Crown Point, Indiana and while the broken arm their champion, Tom Lawlor, suffered at AIW recently forced a bit of a card shuffle, they’re determined to do their best, and they’ve got Nick Gage defending his GCW World Championship to prove it! Plus Dasher Hatfield meeting an ECW legend, AJ Gray and Mance Warner as a dream team against the Carnies!

Ticket presale has been closed, but you can try your luck at the door or just watch live on Powerbomb.tv, folks.

CZW Proving Ground (March 10, 8PM Eastern)

1. Gary Jay vs. Mike Verna vs. Wheeler YUTA (CZW Trifecta: First Round Match)
2. Ace Austin vs. Brandon Watts vs. KC Navarro (CZW Trifecta: First Round Match)
3. Anthony Bennett vs. Kit Osbourne vs. Rayo (CZW Trifecta: First Round Match)
4. ”Chainsaw” Joe Gacy vs. Rich Swann
5. Ace Romero vs. Joey Janela
6. ??? vs. ??? vs. ??? (CZW Trifecta: Finals)
7. The Awakening (G-Raver & Stockade) vs. the REP (Dave McCall & Nate Carter) (c) (CZW World Tag Team Championship)
8. Brandon Kirk vs. Matt Tremont (Tangled Web Match)

CZW are back in Voorhees, New Jersey and there’s a lot on the line here. First and foremost, the Trifecta will earn its winner a spot in Best of the Best next month, plus the REP defend the tag titles against the onslaught of the Awakening, and Matt Tremont is giving Brandon Kirk a shot to prove he can hang with the big boys with the return of the Tangled Web!

Get your tickets here or check it out when it hits CZW Studios, folks.

NOVA Pro Sink or Swim / Rip Her to Shreds (March 10)

—Sink or Swim (March 10, 3PM Eastern)—

1. Josh Fuller vs. Mikey Banker
2. Darius Lockhart vs. Donnie Primetime
3. Mik Drake vs. Steve Manders
4. Aspyn Rose vs. Harlow O’Hara vs. Hyane vs. Jinx
5. Tim Donst vs. Logan Easton LaRoux

—Rip Her to Shreds (March 10, 7:30PM Eastern)—

1. Barbi Hayden vs. Solo Darling
2. Brittany Blake vs. Hudson Envy
3. Faye Jackson vs. Terra Calaway (Women’s Commonwealth Cup Qualifying Match)
4. Laynie Luck vs. Machiko San
5. Isla Dawn vs. Kylie Rae
6. Allie Kat vs. Holidead
7. Angelus Layne vs. Rain

NOVA Pro are back in Annandale, Virginia and that means as always our man on the scene Duke (follow him on Twitter!) is ready to break stuff down for y’all, folks.

As Monty Python would say, “And now for something completely different.”

The Saturday twin-bill is a departure from normal goings-on in NOVA Pro. The first show, Sink Or Swim, will feature dozens of hungry wrestlers looking to get onto the NOVA Pro undercard. (Okay, Tim Donst and Logan Easton LaRoux wanted a match too.)

This is the second such event; the first introduced NOVA Pro fans to Allie Kat, Cabana Man Dan, Laynie Luck, and Sugar Dunkerton, all of whom were instant crowd favorites. Shown above are the only confirmed matchups: there’s plenty more talent where that came from. Let’s see what the future holds.

In the nightcap, NOVA Pro is following up on their commitment to the women’s side of wrestling by giving them an entire show! The women of NOVA Pro are already some of the most popular acts (in particular Faye Jackson and Allie Kat), so now’s the time to roll the dice.

Plus, it’s a chance to see some of the hottest women’s acts such as Holidead and Kylie Rae in person! I’m excited; I hope you are too! See you in Annandale!

So if that sounds good to you (and it sounds good to me), get your tickets here or wait to check these out when they hit Smart Mark Video, folks.

PWR San Francisco (March 10, 7PM Pacific)

1. Fuerza Azteca, Skayde, & Ultimo Panda vs. Grappler III, Ojo Blanco, & Papo Esco
2. Nicole Savoy vs. Ruby Raze
3. Colt Stevens vs. El Dinamita vs. Fatu vs. VAPOR
4. El Prostipiropgolfo & Jungle Boy vs. Los Luchas (Phoenix Star & Zokre) (c) (PWR Tag Team Championship)
5. Arkady Federov vs. Vaquero Fantasma
6. Jushin Liger & Misterioso vs. Puma King & Rocky Romero

It’s a Saturday night in San Fransisco... and Jushin Liger’s in the house! Do I really need to do more to sell it? Alright, alright, how about we look at his opponents-- Rocky Romero, good start, good start... and CMLL’s Puma, going as he usually does on the US indies as Puma King. Now that’s a hell of a match!

Get your tickets here or check it out live and for free on Pro Wrestling Revolution’s Twitch channel, folks.

Shine 49 (March 10, 6PM Eastern)

1. ACR vs. Amber Nova
2. Allie Recks vs. Stormie Lee
3. Brandi Lauren vs. Shotzi Blackheart
4. Aerial Monroe vs. Kiera Hogan
5. Gabby Gilbert & Luscious Latasha vs. Maria Manic & Penelope Ford
6. Dementia D’Rose vs. Vanessa Kraven (Anything Goes Match)
7. Candy Cartwright vs. Priscilla Kelly (c) (Shine Nova Championship)
8. LuFisto (c) vs. Mercedes Martinez (Shine Championship)

Shine are making their New York City debut this weekend in Evolve’s regular home of La Boom and they’ve got WrestleMania weekend implications in mind. While it’s true that Shine don’t have a whole show of their own coming up, there WILL be a Shine Championship defense at Mercury Rising, so this is, in a very real sense, the most important defense of LuFisto’s reign as champion. Plus, being in New York means the roster has received a little bit of a shakeup, with Allie Recks, Maria Manic, and Penelope Ford all making their debuts!

Get your tickets here or check it out live on iPPV at WWNLive.com, and at 50% off with a Club WWN subscription at that.

RPW Live in Southampton (March 11, 5:30PM GMT)

1. Legion of Lords (Los Federales Santos, Jr. & Rishi Ghosh) vs. Team White Wolf (A-Kid & Adam Chase)
2. El Phantasmo vs. Kip Sabian
3. Jamie Hayter vs. Sierra Loxton
4. ”Flash” Morgan Webster vs. Rob Lias
5. Jordan Devlin vs. Josh Bodom
6. Adam Brooks & Sean Kustom vs. Jody Fleisch & Will Ospreay

When Lucha Forever shut down at the end of last year, they promised someone would be carrying on their schedule in Southampton, England, and RevPro is here to make good on that. And making good on it they are indeed, as LF mainstay Kip Sabian makes his debut against El Phantasmo. Plus Jordan Devlin vs. Josh Bodom, a dream tag match teaming the past and present of UK high flying in Fleisch and Ospreay against the future, and more.

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

Free matches here!

David Starr vs. Nick “Magnus” Aldis

We don’t cover the NWA closely here in Sermon, but we do like David Starr a whole hell of a lot, so when this entry in the Aldis Crusade landed in my inbox I knew I was going to feature it here. The King of Taunts was looking to get his hands on the Ten Pounds of Gold in the UK, check it out!

Anthony Henry vs. Stevie Fierce

Ahead of the Chicago Street Fight rematch tomorrow night, the fine folks over at Freelance Wrestling have seen fit to release the first one for free. Freelance’s aesthetic ace takes on the WorkHorsemen’s lean, mean, grappling machine, it’s a good one, don’t miss it!

Jordynne Grace vs. Rachael Ellering

Last but certainly not least, some sprinty fresh women’s action from the good folks at WWR Pro featuring two of the best up-and-coming wrestlers on the indies. Enjoy!

Results

AAA Rey de Reyes (March 4)

1. Faby Apache over Lady Shani
2. Rey Escorpion over Angelikal, Dave the Clown, and Pimpinela Escarlata (Rey de Reyes Semifinal Match)
3. Bengala over Argenis, Dark Scoria, and Mascara de Bronce (Rey de Reyes Semifinal Match)
4. Hijo del Vikingo over Angel Mortal, Jr., Dark Cuervo, and Pagano (Rey de Reyes Semifinal Match)
5. La Parka over Dinastia, El Mesias, and Venum (Rey de Reyes Semifinal Match)
6. Poder del Norte (Carta Bravo, Jr., Mocho Cota, Jr, & Tito “Not That One” Santana) over OGT (Averno, Chessman, & Super Fly) (Tables, Ladders, & Chairs Match)
7. Rey Escorpion over Bengala, Hijo del Vikingo, and La Parka (Rey de Reyes Final)
8. Hernandez, Hijo del Dr. Wagner, Jr., Monsther Clown, & Murder Clown over Dr. Wagner, Jr., La Mascara, Maximo, & Psycho Clown
9. Hijo del Fantasma over Texano, Jr. (Mask vs. Hair Match)

So obviously the two big stories coming out of this one are Rey Escorpion winning Rey de Reyes and Hijo del Fantasma taking Texano’s hair, but also Hijo del Dr. Wagner, Jr. got the pin on his father and thus has likely earned a future title shot at the AAA Mega Championship.

If you’re fast, you may still be able to catch the VOD on AAA’s Twitch channel, otherwise keep an eye out on their YouTube to see this when it gets uploaded, folks.

RPW Live at the Cockpit 27 (March 4)

1. Legion of Lords (Los Federales Santos, Jr. & Rishi Ghosh) over Never Say Die (Alex Cupid & Dillon D’Angelo)
2. Adam Brooks over Dan Magee
3. Josh Bodom & Zack Gibson over Team White Wolf (A-Kid & Adam Chase)
4. Kurtis Chapman (c) over No Fun Dunne to retain the RPW British Cruiserweight Championship
5. CCK (Chris Brookes & Travis Banks) over Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
6. David Starr over Jody Fleisch
7. El Phantasmo over Zack Sabre, Jr.
8. Zack Sabre, Jr. (c) over El Phantasmo to retain the RPW British Heavyweight Championship

Never say that Zack Sabre, Jr. isn’t a fighting champion, folks. You can see it right there, after El Phantasmo beat him in non-title action, he offered up a once in a lifetime opportunity-- an immediate rematch with the title on the line! Of course, beating Zack Sabre, Jr. once is no mean feat, and twice in a row, well, you see how that went. But even so, you gotta think it’s going to enhance Phantasmo’s positioning in RevPro going forward.

Check it out on RPW On Demand, folks.

NJPW 46th Anniversary (March 6)

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

I’ll keep it short and sweet as always and just point you at my match recommendations post, folks, but suffice it to say, Naito got something watchable out of Taichi, Suzuki and Makabe clubbed the crap outta each other, and Okada and Ospreay and a great main event to cap the night off.

Check it out on NJPW World, if you will.

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.