Sermon on the Mat (Apr. 12, 2018): MLW, AAW, CMLL, PWX, Chikara, CZW, wXw, & Alpha-1 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 The World Championship Finals (April 12, 7:30PM Eastern)

1. Dirty Blondes (Leo Brien & Michael Patrick) vs. Jason Cade & Jimmy Yuta (Elimination Match)
2. Aerial Monroe vs. Santana Garrett
3. Fred Yehi vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman
4. ACH vs. Tom Lawlor
5. Low-Ki vs. Matt Sydal
6. MVP vs. Sami Callihan
7. Penta el Zero M vs. Rey Fenix
8. Jimmy Havoc vs. Joey Janela (Joey Janela’s Bogus Adventure Match)
9. Matt Riddle vs. Shane Strickland (MLW World Championship Tournament Finals)

MLW are back and they’re crowning their champion at long last! It’s all come down to Riddle and Strickland in the finals, and the King of Bros is coming off of an exceptionally excellent WrestleMania weekend, so my money’s on him, as it were. Plus Havoc and Janela in a match that can only be described as a bogus adventure, the rematch between Penta and Fenix, and a couple big debuts in Fred Yehi and Matt Sydal!

Get your tickets here or check it out as it starts airing on TV, folks.

AAW Never Say Die (April 13, 7:30PM Central)

1. Ace Romero vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman
2. Eddie Kingston vs. Joey Janela
3. Hudson Envy & Tenille Dashwood vs. Jessicka Havok & Su Yung
4. Keith Lee & the Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) vs. WRSTLING (David Starr, Jeff Cobb, & Trevor Lee)
5. Penta el Zero M vs. Teddy Hart
6. Besties in the World (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) (c) vs. OI4K (Dave & Jake Crist) (AAW Tag Team Championship)
7. ACH (c) vs. Rey Fenix (AAW Heavyweight Championship)

AAW are right back at it in Merrionette Park, Illinois and let’s get the bummer out of the way first-- this show is NOT when David Arquette will be wrestling Mat Fitchett. That aside, it looks like your usual strong AAW card, with a heavyweight title rematch for Fenix on top, some nigh-guaranteed awesome WRSTLING trios action, and a hell of a women’s tag team match lined up.

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

CMLL Super Viernes (April 13, 9:30PM Eastern)

1. Espanto, Jr. & Templario vs. Flyer & Oro, Jr.
2. Amapola, Dalys, & Seductora vs. Lady Maravilla, Marcela, & Princesa Sugehit
3. Esfinge, Titan, & Triton vs. Johnny Idol, Kawato San, & Okumura
4. Negro Casas vs. Sam Adonis (Lightning Match)
5. Caristico, El Valiente, & Volador, Jr. vs. Los Guerreros Laguneros (Euforia & Ultimo Guerrero) & Mephisto
6. Atlantis, Diamante Azul, & Kraneo vs. Los Ingobernables (Bestia del Ring, El Terrible, & Rush)

CMLL are back with your usual Friday night dose of lucha libre action from Arena Mexico and there are two things I really like about this one, folks. Number one is that the new and improved Los Ingobernables are all teaming together in the main event finally, and two... Casas vs. Adonis in a lightning match! Nigh-guaranteed hoot!

Forgive me, folks, but in all the WrestleMania weekend chaos I still haven’t quite sorted out saving updated links to the new Claro feed here, so to watch, free for nothin’ as always, please keep an eye on luchablog’s Twitter (which you should be keeping an eye on for all manner of interesting lucha news anyway!) the night of the show.

PWX School House Rock! (April 13, 7:30PM Eastern)

1. Kamilla Kaine vs. Savannah Evans
2. Country Jacked (Brady Pierce & Gunner Miller) vs. High Profile (Shea Shea McGrady & Will Demented)
3. Drew Adler vs. John Skyler
4. Darius Lockhart vs. Tracer X
5. Ethan Case & ??? vs. WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & James Drake)

PWX are making a rare excursion to South Carolina for a charity show in support of Saint Anne Catholic School and while it’s a card light on title defenses, it’s not light on intrigue. Newly-crowned world champion Case brings a mystery man up against the WorkHorsemen, Darius Lockhart does non-title battle against Tracer X, Country Jacked jockey for position in the tag division with High Profile, and surely there’s more to be announced beyond this.

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

Seems like this one’s canceled due to venue permit issues, folks.

Chikara Tag World Grand Prix 2018 (April 14, 3PM Eastern)

1. BLANK vs. Oleg the Usurper
2. Dez Peloton (Donald Kluger & Jasper Tippins) vs. The Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield & “Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti) (Tag World Grand Prix First Round Match)
3. Los Ice Creams (El Hijo del Ice Cream & Ice Cream, Jr.) vs. Merlok & Oceanea (Tag World Grand Prix First Round Match)
4. Cornelius Crummels & Sonny Defarge vs. Green Ant & Thief Ant (Tag World Grand Prix First Round Match)
5. Janelope (Joey Janela & Penelope Ford) vs. Rumblebees (Solo Darling & Travis Huckabee) (Tag World Grand Prix First Round Match)

Chikara are back in the Wrestle Factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and it’s all about Tag World Grand Prix! Six of Chikara’s finest tag teams are joined by newcomers Green and Thief Ant as well as 2018 pro wrestling’s most exciting intergender tag team Janelope with one mission-- win the tournament and earn a tag title shot in the process!

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

CZW Best of the Best 17 (April 14, 8PM Eastern)

1. Myron Reed vs. Trey Miguel vs. Zachary Wentz (Best of the Best First Round Tournament Match)
2. Brandon Kirk vs. Joe Gacy vs. Joey Janela (Best of the Best First Round Tournament Match)
3. David Starr vs. Peter Avalon vs. Tessa Blanchard (Best of the Best First Round Tournament Match)
4. Curt Stallion vs. Matt Riddle vs. Wheeler YUTA (Best of the Best First Round Tournament Match)
5. Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Rickey Shane Page (c) (CZW World Heavyweight Championship)

CZW are back in Voorhees, New Jersey, and it’s time to find out who, exactly, is the Best of the Best! The annual tradition reaches its seventeenth installment, and true to form the field this year is a mix of established BITW-level talent like Matt Riddle and David Starr all the way on down to up-and-comers like YUTA and Myron Reed. One up-and-comer who ISN’T in the tournament is MJF, however he’s got a hell of an opportunity, a chance to unify the CZW World and Wired Championships against RSP!

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

wXw True Colors 2018 (April 14, 7PM CET)

1. Audrey Bride vs. Killer Kelly
2. Absolute Andy vs. Marius Al-Ani (wXw 16 Carat Gold Title Shot Tables, Ladders, & Chairs Match)
3. Alexander James vs. Bobby Gunns (c) vs. Lucky Kid vs. Mark Davis (wXw Shotgun Championship)
4. EYFBO (Angel Ortiz & Mike Draztik) vs. Jay-FK (Francis Kaspin & Jay Skillet) vs. Monster Consulting (Avalanche & Julian Nero) (wXw World Tag Team Championship)
5. Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. WALTER (wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship)

wXw return to Dresden, Saxony with an absolutely drama-packed card. Following the indefinite suspension of RISE leader John “Bad Bones” Klinger (which is not a storyline as far as I can tell), the tag titles have been vacated, and that monster three-way will decide who holds them going forward! Plus WALTER gets a chance ot beat the unbeatable and avenge his 16 Carat loss from last year, and A4 explodes once again with Andy’s title shot on the line in TLC action!

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

Alpha-1 Show Me What You Got (April 15, 4PM Eastern)

1. Chris Dickinson vs. Kobe Durst
2. Josh Alexander vs. Simon Grimm
3. ”All Ego” Ethan Page (c) vs. Josh Briggs (SWE World Championship)
4. BMD vs. Myron Reed vs. Shane Sabre vs. Space Monkey vs. Wheeler YUTA (A1 Outer Limits Championship Elimination Match)
5. Alex Daniels (c) vs. Curt Stallion (A1 Zero Gravity Championship No Disqualification Match)
6. Cooler House (Anthony Greene & Gregory Iron) (c) vs. Western Med Connection (Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham & Jim Nye) (A1 Tag Team Championship Match)
7. Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. Rickey Shane Page (c) (A1 Alpha Male Championship)

And in Hamilton, Ontario, if MJF comes up short for CZW, he has an immediate second chance to divest RSP of some gold! Plus Josh Alexander vs. the former Simon Gotch, Page defending the SWE title against up-and-coming giant Josh Briggs, and more... and best of all, it’ll be LIVE on Powerbomb.tv for the first time ever!

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

Free matches here!

AR Fox vs. Jack Swagger

From the fine folks over at Limitless Wrestling, we have a dream match that I know I never expected to see! Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Jack Swagger takes on former Evolve Champion AR Fox, check it out!

Caristico, Fuerza Guerrera, & Volador, Jr. vs. Mistico, Negro Casas, & Octagon

From the good people over at +Lucha TV, when I saw the participants in this trios match I immediately knew I’d have to link it here. There’s a lot going on here, folks-- Caristico vs. Mistico, two of the best old dudes in the business in Guerrera and Casas, Volador, Jr.’s here for some reason, enjoy!

Cole Radrick vs. Sage Philips

From the youth-movement oriented Glory Pro, we’ve got a match that’s a perfect encapsulation of that philosophy. From the first round of the Gateway to Glory tournament, we’ve got two of the midwest’s finest fighting for a chance to fight Jimmy Jacobs in May. And better yet, they’re going to release the entire tournament this way! Don’t miss it!

Results

GCW Matt Riddle’s Bloodsport (April 5)

1. Dominic Garrini over Kyle the Beast
2. Eddie Kingston over “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams
3. MASADA over Martin Stone
4. WALTER over Tom Lawlor
5. Dan “the Beast” Severn over Chris Dickinson
6. Nick Gage over Timothy Thatcher
7. Minoru Suzuki over Matt Riddle

As always with a show I’ve recapped I’ll point you to that recap (right here) and keep it to a minimum here. But let’s just say I was putting a lot of faith in Bloodsport to be the pure shoot-style pro wrestling show I wanted it to be, and it delivered in spades, folks.

Check it out on WWNLive or FITE VOD, if you will.

Beyond Lit Up (April 5)

1. Matt Riddle over Deonna Purrazzo
2. Team PAWG (Jordynne Grace & LuFisto) over EYFBO (Angel Ortiz & Mike Draztik)
3. Josh Briggs over Davienne
4. Twisted Sisterz (Holidead & Thunder Rosa) over Doom Patrol (Chris Dickinson & Jaka)
5. Jonathan Gresham over Karen Q
6. Rumblebees (Solo Darling & Travis Huckabee) over Joey Ryan & Laura James
7. “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams (c) over Kimber Lee to retain the Powerbomb.tv Independent Wrestling Championship.
8. Tessa Blanchard over Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Mia Yim, and Wheeler YUTA
9. Jessicka Havok over Jimmy Havoc
10. Janelope (Joey Janela & Penelope Ford) over Orange Cassidy & Session Moth Martina
11. Toni Storm over Timothy Thatcher

Beyond’s all-intergender show delivered big, with Storm/Thatcher and Gresham/Q really standing out as excellent and worth going out of your way to watch. Other notable happenings include Orange Cassidy hitting the world’s slowest flip piledriver and James Ellsworth attacking Matt Riddle after his victory over Deonna Purrazzo, although I haven’t been able to find out whether custody of Son of Havoc was actually on the line when Jessicka beat Jimmy.

Check it out on WWNLive or FITE, or just wait for it to hit Powerbomb.tv sooner or later, folks.

WrestleCon Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow (April 5)

1. Penta el Zero M over Joey Janela
2. Joey Ryan over Jerry “the King” Lawler by disqualification
3. Madison Eagles, Nicole Savoy, Shazza McKenzie, Tenille Dashwood, & Tessa Blanchard over Caleb Konley, “Manscout” Jake Manning, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Trevor Lee, & Zane Riley
4. Tomohiro Ishii over Jeff Cobb
5. Rey Fenix & Rey Horus over Bandido & Flamita
6. Chico el Luchador & Mexicools (Psicosis, & Super Crazy) over Jason Cade, Matt Classic, & Teddy Hart
7. Will Ospreay over Adam Brooks, Sammy Guevara, and Shane Strickland
8. Brian Cage, David Starr, & Minoru Suzuki over Death Juice (Juice Robinson & Sami Callihan) & Hiroshi Tanahashi
9. Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi) over Chuck Taylor & Flip Gordon

For full details and a sweet photo gallery you can check out our post right here, but suffice it to say, WrestleCon Supershow was full of surprises this year, huh? Joey Ryan’s penis got lit on fire, women rule the day in intergender ten-person action, Ishii and Cobb had a crazy slugfest, a lucha tag stole the show, Ted Hart did a lot of awkward standing around, and poor Dan Barry got disrespected badly by the Best Bout Machine and replaced by a man who believes the world is flat.

Best of all, you can already watch this bad boy on the Highspots Wrestling Network!

Evolve 102 / 103 (April 5-6)

—Evolve 102 (April 5)—

1. DJ Z over Austin Theory
2. Will Ospreay over AR Fox
3. The End (Odinson & Parrow) over Catch Point (Dominic Garrini & “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams), Doom Patrol (Chris Dickinson & Jaka) (c), and WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & James Drake) (Evolve Tag Team Championship Scramble Match)
4. Keith Lee over Darby Allin
5. Ringkampf (Timothy Thatcher & WALTER) over Daisuke Sekimoto & Munenori Sawa
6. Matt Riddle over Zack Sabre, Jr. (c) to win the Evolve World Championship

—Evolve 103 (April 6)—

1. Austin Theory (FIP) over Keith Lee (WWN) to win the WWN Championship and retain the FIP World Heavyweight Championship. (Title vs. Title Match)
2. Timothy Thatcher over Dominic Garrini
3. AR Fox over Chris Brookes, DJ Z, and Jason Kincaid
4. Chris Dickinson over Mark Haskins (Evolve vs. the World)
5. WALTER over “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams (Evolve vs. the World)
6. Munenori Sawa over Jaka (Evolve vs. the World)
7. Matt Riddle (c) over Daisuke Sekimoto to retain the Evolve World Championship (Evolve vs. the World)

As always since I can direct you folks to my recaps, I’ll do so (Evolve 102, Evolve 103) and keep it short here, but I have two big takeaways from Evolve. One, technical wrestling needs Munenori Sawa now more than ever, and I beg you, sir, if you read this somehow, please do not stay away for another seven years. And two... Bro’s crusade against rope breaks was absolutely worth it.

Check ‘em out on WWNLive or FITE, folks.

WWN Supershow Mercury Rising 2018 (April 6)

1. AR Fox, DJ Z, & Trey Miguel over Austin Theory, Travis Banks, & Zachary Wentz
2. Zack Sabre, Jr. over Munenori Sawa
3. WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & James Drake) over Catch Point (Dominic Garrini & “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams) and the End (Odinson & Parrow) (New Orleans Street Fight)
4. LuFisto (c) over Holidead to retain the Shine Championship.
5. Daisuke Sekimoto over Keith Lee
6. Doom Patrol (Chris Dickinson & Jaka) (c) over Ringkampf (Timothy Thatcher & WALTER) to retain the Evolve Tag Team Championship.
7. Matt Riddle (c) over Will Ospreay to retain the Evolve World Championship

Again, short and sweet, go read the recap, but Ospreay/Riddle was, without exaggeration, one of the best matches in Evolve history.

Check it out on WWNLive or FITE, folks.

GCW Joey Janela’s Spring Break 2 (April 6)

1. Eli Everfly over DJ Z, Gringo Loco, Kyle the Beast, Teddy Hart, and Tony Deppen (Scramble Match)
2. Matt Riddle over James Ellsworth
3. Pierre Carl Ouellet over WALTER
4. Nick Gage (c) over Penta el Zero M to retain the GCW Heavyweight Championship
5. David Starr over “Lightning” Mike Quackenbush
6. The Invisible Man wins the Second Annual Clusterf#&%
7. Joey Janela over Great Sasuke

A common theme this week, but the recap’s there for a reason, folks. In short, Spring Break 2 was a worthy sequel to the original, arguably an improvement over it, and most importantly, if anyone was worried about the Louisiana athletic commission raising a fuss, they literally broke every single rule that was reported before the show with zero obvious pushback.

Plus, you know, 50-year-old Quebecer Pierre out here showing everybody why he’s still great.

Check it out on WWNLive or FITE, folks.

RPW WrestleCon 2018 (April 6)

1. David Starr over Martin Stone
2. Adam Brooks over Brian Cage
3. Chaos (Chuck Taylor, Rocky Romero, & Will Ospreay) over Flip Gordon, Kota Ibushi, & Shane Strickland
4. Minoru Suzuki over Jeff Cobb
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Juice Robinson over Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
6. Tomohiro Ishii over Zack Sabre, Jr. (c) (RPW British Heavyweight Championship)

A great weekend for the quality of his work, but a bad one for retaining titles when it comes to Zack Sabre, Jr.! The Stone Pitbull took the rubber match and the title, although I wouldn’t feel too bad for ZSJ because he’s still tag champs with Suzuki.

Check it out on RPW On Demand, folks.

Progress Chapter 66: Mardi Graps / Chapter 67: Bourbon Is Also a Biscuit (April 6-7)

—Chapter 66: Mardi Graps (April 6)—

1. Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) (c) over Moustache Mountain (Trent Seven & Tyler Bate) to retain the Progress Tag Team Championship
2. Will Ospreay over Mark Haskins
3. Ringkampf (Timothy Thatcher & WALTER) over David Starr & Keith Lee
4. Jeff Cobb over Austin Theory, Chris Brookes, Darby Allin, Joey Janela, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Parrow, and Rickey Shane Page (Thunderbastard Match)
5. Jinny & Mercedes Martinez over Shazza McKenzie & Toni Storm
6. Matt Riddle over Jimmy Havoc
7. Pete Dunne over Mark Andrews and “Flash” Morgan Webster
8. Travis Banks (c) over Shane Strickland to retain the Progress World Championship

—Chapter 67: Bourbon Is Also a Biscuit (April 7)—

1. Chris Brookes over Rey Horus
2. Toni Storm (c) over Mercedes Martinez to retain the Progress Women’s Championship
3. Austin Theory & Jinny over Kay Lee Ray & Will Ospreay
4. Jimmy Havoc, Mark Haskins, & “Flash” Morgan Webster over David Starr, Keith Lee, & Matt Riddle
5. WALTER over Zack Sabre, Jr. to become #1 contender to the Progress World Championship
6. Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) (c) over “All Ego” Ethan Page & Rickey Shane Page to retain the Progress Tag Team Championship
7. Travis Banks (c) over Jeff Cobb to retain the Progress World Championship

As always since I recap these shows I’ll keep it short and sweet here (and if you’re curious, Chapter 65 will hopefully be coming by the end of the week, WrestleMania weekend stuff kinda pushed it out of the way for a while), but, I mean, just look at the fresh names all over these two shows! All Ego and MJF I’m particularly excited to see how they work in Progress, and hopefully this will lead to more from both men.

Check it out on Demand Progress, folks.

Shimmer 100 (April 7)

1. Team Blue Nation (Charli Evans & Jessica Troy) over Fire and Nice (Britt Baker & Chelsea Green)
2. Rhia O’Reilly & WDSS (Kay Lee Ray & Mia Yim) over Kellyanne, Veda Scott, & Zoe Lucas
3. Kimber Lee over Samantha Heights
4. Delilah Doom & Leva Bates (c) over Hudson Envy & LuFisto to retain the Shimmer Tag Team Championship
5. Cheerleader Melissa over Shotzi Blackheart
6. Madison Eagles over Deonna Purrazzo
7. Toni Storm over Nicole Matthews
8. Shazza McKenzie (c) over Tessa Blanchard to retain the Heart of Shimmer Championship
9. Nicole Savoy (c) over Mercedes Martinez to retain the Shimmer Championship

Shimmer always kills it on iPPV come WrestleMania weekend and this year was no different. Lee/Heights, Storm/Matthews, and especially Eagles Purrazzo were the best matches on the card, but the main and co-main were a pair of damn good matches as well and aside from a bit of awkwardness here and there in the tags, this was a really consistently strong show.

Check it out on VOD on WWNLive or FITE, and keep an eye out because Shimmer have made some hints that they’ll have a full-on streaming solution of their own in the near future!

Style Battle Season 1 Finale (April 7)

1. AR Fox over Tracer X (Style Battle Season 1 Finale Bracket B First Round Match)
2. Anthony Henry over Jason Kincaid (Style Battle Season 1 Finale Bracket B First Round Match)
3. Matt Riddle over Snoop Strikes (Style Battle Season 1 Finale Bracket A First Round Match)
4. Keith Lee over Nick Gage (Style Battle Season 1 Finale Bracket A First Round Match)
5. Shawn Dean over AC Mack, Adrian Alanis, Alan Angels, James Bandy, and Kavron Kanyon (Scramble Match)
6. Anthony Henry over AR Fox (Style Battle Season 1 Finale Bracket B Semifinal Match)
7. Matt Riddle over Keith Lee (Style Battle Season 1 Finale Bracket A Semifinal Match)
8. Pump Patrol (Curt Matthews & Jared Wayne) over Aero Boy & Crazy Boy, Black & Wild (Blake Wilder & Purple Haze), Chance Champion & Omar Amir, Jimmy Lloyd & Tony Deppen, and Matt Knicks & Stevie Fierce
9. Logan Creed over Andrew Jackson, Blanco Loco, Francisco Ciatso, and Joey Ozbourne
10. Matt Riddle over Anthony Henry (Style Battle Season 1 Finale Finals)

Style Battle Season 1 is in the books (check out my recap here) and ever since it was introduced Style Battle has been something of an afterthought for most folks, but this finale is everything that has been great about these tournaments over the past year and change writ large. Top level match-to-match storytelling, the culmination of Anthony Henry’s long arc fighting for a spot in the tourney and also Riddle’s journey to be the ace of WWN... this is a great show and if you’ve been sleeping on Style Battle, you should give it a shot.

Check it out on WWNLive or FITE, folks.

AAW / Fight Club Pro / Wrestling Revolver Pancakes & Piledrivers 2018 (April 7)

1. Jeff Cobb over Shane Strickland
2. Joey Ryan & Session Moth Martina over Colt Cabana & Marty DeRosa
3. Juice Robinson over Eddie Kingston
4. Meiko Satomura (c) over Jessicka Havok & Kimber Lee to retain the FCP Championship
5. ACH (c) over Trevor Lee to retain the AAW Heavyweight Championship
6. OI4K (Dave Crist, Jake Crist, & Sami Callihan) over AR Fox, Brian Cage, & Joey Janela (Tornado Tag Team Match)
7. Matt Palmer (c) over Ace Romero, Caleb Konley, Clint Margera, Connor Braxton, Curt Stallion, “Manscout” Jake Manning, Jason Cade, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Myron Reed, Omari, & Trey Miguel to retain the WR Open Invite Scramble Championship
8. Lucha Brothers (Penta el Zero M & Rey Fenix) over Jack Evans & Teddy Hart
9. Besties in the World (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) (c) over Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) and the Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) to retain the AAW & WR Tag Team Championships (Ladder Match)

Pancakes & Piledrivers 2018 is a hoot, folks. You got an uproariously funny comedy tag early, ACH and Trevor Lee tearing it down in less than five minutes, a blast of a trios match, an absolutely wacky scramble, the lucha tag rules, and my god the main event is a ladder-driven trainwreck in the best possible way. And, you know, David Arquette showed up, so that’s neat.

Check it out on Highspots Wrestling Network, if you will.

CZW Welcome to the Combat Zone (April 7)

1. Douglas James, Matt Knicks, Peter Avalon, Stevie Fierce, & Suede Thompson over Ace Austin, Dan Barry, Dan O’Hare, Josh Briggs, & Kit Osbourne
2. Maxwell Jacob Friedman (c) over Kyle the Beast to retain the CZW Wired Championship
3. The Rascalz (Myron Reed & Trey Miguel) over Bandido & Flamita and OI4K (Dave & Jake Crist)
4. Janelope (Joey Janela & Penelope Ford) over Joey Ryan & Laura James
5. David Starr over Juice Robinson
6. Zachary Wentz over Ace Romero, Adam Brooks, and Jason Cade
7. ”Chainsaw” Joe Gacy over Jeff Cobb
8. Rickey Shane Page (c) over “All Ego” Ethan Page to retain the CZW World Heavyweight Championship
9. Will Ospreay over Dezmond Xavier

Highlights from this one include Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz drumming Myron Reed and Trey Miguel into their new faction, the Rascalz, the same way the Crist Brothers brought them into OI4K, Gacy and Cobb arguably having the best match of Mr. Athletic’s weekend (out of matches I’ve seen, at least, but given that includes the Ishii bout, that’s no mean feat), and Will Ospreay capping an incredible weekend off for himself by tearing the house down with Xavier.

Check it out on CZW Studios, folks.

House of Hardcore 40 (April 7)

1. J. Spade over Matt Lancie
2. Alex Reynolds over Hornswoggle (HOH Twitch.tv Championship Tournament Semifinals)
3. Willie Mack over Killer Kross (HOH Twitch.tv Championship Tournament Semifinals)
4. Rock & Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) & “Hurricane” Shane Helms over Squat World Order (Hot Young Briley, Kenny, & Mikey)
5. MVP over Carlito
6. Joey Ryan over Teddy Hart
7. Super Crazy over Ace Romero, Clayton Gainz, Myron Reed, and Trey Miguel
8. Austin Aries over Brian Cage
9. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer) over Billy Gunn & Tommy Dreamer (Street Fight)
10. Willie Mack over Alex Reynolds and Sami Callihan to win the inaugural HOH Twitch.tv Championship (Tournament Finals)

Chocolate Thunder has claimed the gold! And on a show that also featured the Rock & Roll Express going over on the Spirit Squad in trios action, no less!

Check the VOD out on House of Hardcore’s Twitch channel, although note that you may have to subscribe if they archive it at some point.

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.