Sermon on the Mat (Aug. 16, 2018): Action, CMLL, GCW, RevPro, BLP, OTT, A1, & PWX 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...

Action Wrestling (Aug. 17, 7:30PM Eastern)

1. Bobby Flaco vs. Dani Jordyn vs. Kevin Ku vs. Matt Sells vs. Shawn Dean vs. Teddy King vs. Tommy Maserati (7-Pack Challenge)
2. Alan Angels vs. James Bandy
3. Ike Cross vs. Slim J
4. Cain Justice vs. Dominic Garrini
5. Lynch Mob (Joey & Matt Lynch) vs. Team TAG (Chris Spectra & Kevin Blue)
6. Arik Royal vs. Fred Yehi
7. AC Mack vs. Austin Theory

Action Wrestling are back in Tyrone, Georgia with another card benefitting charity, and this time all proceeds will be going to Armed Forces Mission. Of course, they’re not skimping on the card, as the south’s best and brightest up-and-comers are joined by a few guests to make some magic here. The most intriguing match to me here is the Ace of the Mid-Atlantic, Arik Royal, up against the unorthodox grappling expert Fred Yehi-- a battle of POUNCE! vs. Koji Clutch that oughta just be swell.

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

CMLL Super Viernes (Aug. 17, 9:30PM Eastern)

1. Disturbio & Yago vs. Oro, Jr. & Super Astro, Jr.
2. Blue Panther, Jr., Esfinge, & Rey Cometa vs. Los Revolucionarios del Terror (Dragon Rojo, Jr. & Polvora) & Okumura
3. Atlantis, Guerrero Maya, Jr., & Kraneo vs. Los Guerreros Laguneros (Euforia & Gran Guerrero) & Rey Bucanero
4. El Audaz vs. Forastero (Lightning Match)
5. Diamante Azul, El Valiente, & Mistico vs. Kazuchika Okada, Negro Casas, & Ultimo Guerrero
6. Caristico, Matt Taven, & Volador, Jr. vs. Los Ingobernables (Bestia del Ring, El Terrible, & Rush)

CMLL are back with your weekly Friday night dose of lucha libre action from the venerable Arena Mexico and yes, less than a week after the end of the G1 Climax, the Rainmaker returns to Mexico! And in a dream trio alongside Negro Casas & Ultimo Guerrero, no less! Do I really need to sell it harder?

Check it out, as always, free for nothin’ on Marca Claro, folks.

GCW Joey Janela’s Lost in New York (Aug. 17, 8PM Eastern)

1. Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. “Spyder” Nate Webb
2. Eli Everfly vs. G-Raver vs. Gringo Loco vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Tony Deppen vs. ??? (Grab the Brass Ring Ladder Match)
3. “All Ego” Ethan Page vs. Penelope Ford
4. Chris Dickinson vs. Teddy Hart
5. Matt Riddle vs. Pierre Carl Ouellet
6. Nick Gage vs. ???
7. Jinsei Shinzaki vs. Joey Janela

GCW are back and Joey Janela’s brand of pro wrestling madness has transcended WrestleMania weekend! Joey’s opponent this time is yet another 1990s legend, the mysterious monk Jinsei Shinzaki, perhaps better known to WWE viewers as Hakushi! Plus MJF vs. Webb (with Nate played in live by Wheatus!), a wild ladder match, Riddle/PCO, and while it’s a bummer that Meng had to pull out of the show to attend Jim “the Anvil” Neidhart’s funeral, GCW have a hell of a replacement lined up for the ultraviolent king, Nick Gage.

Tickets are sold out, but you can watch on internet pay-per-view through FITE, folks!

RPW Summer Sizzler 2018 (Aug. 17, 7PM BST)

1. Great O-Kharn vs. Shane Strickland
2. Dan Magee vs. Josh Bodom
3. Soberano, Jr. vs. Titan
4. Jurn Simmons vs. Lance Archer
5. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. CCK (Chris Brookes & Jonathan Gresham)
6. Adam Brooks vs. KUSHIDA
7. David Starr (c) vs. El Phantasmo (RPW British Cruiserweight Championship)
8. Tomohiro Ishii vs. WALTER

RevPro are back in London, England’s York Hall for one of the biggest shows of their calendar, and it’s an exceptional card, but really, it all comes down to two men.

Tomohiro Ishii.

WALTER.

Two of the absolute best in the world, most at home in bruising brawls but equally competent at technical mat grappling, and here, at long last, they clash in one of the biggest dream matches remaining on the board in the year of our lord 2018. But there’s one more dimension here to consider-- WALTER was trained by Ishii!

Get your tickets here (if there are any left, it was getting low when I wrote this) or check it out when it hits RPW On Demand, folks.

BLP 8: National Slampoon’s Wrestling Vacation (Aug. 18, 7:30PM Central)

1. Kevin Ku & ??? vs. Percy Davis & ???
2. Allie Kat vs. Mance Warner (Mancer Rules Match)
3. No Consequences (Chase Oliver & Tre LaMar) vs. Space Pirates (Shane Sabre & Space Monkey)
4. Josh Briggs vs. Kobe Durst
5. Gringo Loco vs. Pat Monix vs. Sammy Guevara
6. CW Anderson vs. Tom Lawlor
7. D’Lo Brown vs. Joey Janela
8. Darby Allin vs. Pierre Carl Ouellet

Black Label Pro are back in Crown Point, Indiana, and does it get any better than that double main event? Joey Janela continues his one-man nostalgia trip against D’Lo Brown AND we get the two men with arguably the least regard for their own well-being in wrestling today hurling themselves at each other with great force in Allin vs. PCO? The wrestling is too good, my friends.

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

OTT WrestleRama 2 (Aug. 18, 7PM IST)

1. Legit 100 (Curtis Murray, Michael May, & Scotty Davis) vs. More Than Hype (Darren Kearney, LJ Cleary, & Nathan Martin) (Losing Team Splits Up)
2. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Fletcher) vs. Club Tropicana (Aiden Epic & Captain Sexsea)
3. Angel Cruzers (Angel Cruz & B Cool) vs. Kings of the North (Bonesaw & Damien Corvin)
4. KUSHIDA vs. Shane Strickland
5. David Starr vs. Timothy Thatcher
6. Juice Robinson vs. Tomohiro Ishii
7. Katey Harvey vs. Sammii Jayne (c) vs. Valkyrie (OTT Women’s Championship)
8. Jordan Devlin (c) vs. WALTER

It’s WrestleRama time and that means OTT are back in Dublin, Ireland with a huge show for us, folks. Jordan Devlin defends against WALTER, Juice and Ishii clash one more time off of hot G1 runs, Starr and Thatcher in a technical clinic, and perhaps most interestingly, KUSHIDA goes one-on-one with Evolve World Champion Shane Strickland in a match that could take on basically any style they so choose.

Tickets are sold out, but you’ll be able to catch this on OTT’s Pivotshare, folks.

A1 Diamond in the Rough (Aug. 19, 2PM Eastern)

1. Holden Albright vs. Josh Briggs vs. Kobe Durst
2. Alessandro del Bruno & Mark Wheeler vs. Cooler House (Anthony Greene & Gregory Iron)
3. Space Pirates (Shane Sabre & Space Monkey) (c) vs. Western Med Connection (Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham & Jim Nye) (Alpha-1 Tag Team Championship)
4. Beautiful Beaa vs. Jody Threat
5. Brett Michael David vs. Justin Sane (Street Fight)

Alpha=1 are in Oshawa, Ontario and they’ve got some strong action lined up! Former Alpha Male champ Kobe Durst seeks to snap his losing streak in three-way action, BMD and Sane’s issue comes to a head in a street fight, and Western Med Connection get their rematch for the tag titles... with Santino Marella as guest referee!

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

PWX Land of Opportunity (Aug. 19, 3PM Eastern)

1. Savannah Evans vs. Xia Brookside
2. Elijah Evans IV vs. “Manscout” Jake Manning vs. John Skyler vs. Serpentico vs. Slim J (Opportunity Knocks Ladder Match)
3. Cam Carter, Ian Maxwell, & Tracer X vs. the Syndicate (Jason Cade, Montana Black, & TJ Boss)
4. Country Jacked (Brady Pierce & Drew Adler) vs. Ugly Ducklings (Lance Lude & Rob Killjoy) (Crockett Cup 2018 Semifinal Match)
5. GymNasty Boys (Timmy Lou Retton & White Mike) vs. WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & James Drake) (Crockett Cup 2018 Semifinal Match)
6. Ethan Case (c) vs. Scorpio Sky (PWX World Heavyweight Championship)

PWX are back in Concord, North Carolina and opportunity, it is a-knockin’. The Opportunity Knocks Ladder Match, the winner of which gets a Money in the Bank-esque anytime, anywhere contract for a title match of their choosing is back, we’ve got two EXCELLENT looking Crockett Cup semifinals, and Ethan Case gets to defend his title in a personal dream match against Scorpio Sky!

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

RPW Live in Southampton 4 (Aug. 19, 4:30PM BST)

1. Great O-Kharn vs. Psycho Phillips
2. Lord Gideon Grey vs. Sugar Dunkerton
3. Chris Ridgeway vs. Kurtis Chapman
4. Adam Brooks vs. Titan
5. David Starr vs. Soberano, Jr.

But wait, RevPro aren’t done just yet! Not all the matches for their return to Southampton have been annoyed, but boy howdy do I like the look of the two matches the CMLL lads have. Starr/Soberano especially had ought to be a corker!

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

Free matches here!

“All Ego” Ethan Page vs. Gregory Iron

From the good folks up at Alpha-1 Wrestling in Canada, have a SWE World Championship match, why don’t you? It’s All Ego against the Handicapped Hero, check it out!

Team CWC (Cedric Alexander, Drew Gulak, & Johnny Gargano) vs. Warriors Three (Oleg the Usurper, Princess KimberLee, & Estonian Thunderfrog)

From the good folks over at Chikara, we’ve got some throwback King of Trios action. Go back to the distant year of two thousand sixteen, when “2016!” was the war-cry of wacky wrestling happenings, and witness three WWE cruiserweights going head-to-head with three of Chikara’s finest. Don’t miss it!

Da Hit Squad (Dan Maff & Monsta Mack) vs. Janelope (Joey Janela & Penelope Ford)

Last but not least, we’ve got some wild intergender tag team action from our friends at Beyond. You may recall this match for the absolutely devastating pounce that Ford took at one point that went viral, enjoy!

Results

Progress Seattle / Chicago / Detroit (Aug. 9, 11, & 12)

—Seattle (Aug. 9)—

1. TK Cooper over Eddie Dennis
2. Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) over Amerikan Gunz (Ethan HD & Mike Santiago)
3. Brody King over Elliot Sexton
4. British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Trent Seven, & Tyler Bate) over Bandido, Flamita, & Rey Horus
5. Mark Andrews over Artemis Spencer, King Khash, and “Flash” Morgan Webster
6. CCK (Chris Brookes & Jonathan Gresham) (c) over Sexy Starr (David Starr & Jack Sexsmith) to retain the Progress World Tag Team Championship
7. WALTER (c) over Jimmy Havoc to retain the Progress World Championship

—Chicago (Aug. 11)—

1. Jimmy Havoc over Mark Andrews
2. Tyler Bate over TK Cooper
3. Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) & Jinny over Darby Allin, Jack Sexsmith, & Toni Storm
4. Pete Dunne (c) over “Flash” Morgan Webster to retain the WWE United Kingdom Championship
5. Brody King over Elliot Sexton, Matt Riddle, and Trent Seven
6. Bandido & Flamita over AR Fox & Chris Brooks (c) to win the Progress World Tag Team Championship
7. WALTER (c) over Eddie Dennis to retain the Progress World Tag Team Championship

—Detroit (Aug. 12)—

1. Tyler Bate over Eddie Dennis
2. Jinny (c) over Jordynne Grace, Natalia Markova, and Toni Storm to retain the Progress Women’s World Championship
3. British Strong Style (Pete Dunne & Trent Seven) over “All Ego” Ethan & Rickey Shane Page
4. WALTER (c) over Mark Andrews to retain the Progress World Championship
5. ”Flash” Morgan Webster over AR Fox, Brody King, Chris Brookes, Elliot Sexton, & Jack Sexsmith
6. Jimmy Havoc over TK Cooper
7. Bandido & Flamita (c) over Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) to retain the Progress World Tag Team Championship

Progress have finished up their US tour and I’ll keep it short and sweet as always since I intend to recap these shows, but... NEW TAG CHAMPS! AGAIN! IN LUCHA FORM! That’s pretty cool. And headed into the last eligible show, it’s down to Mark Haskins, Tyler Bate, and Jimmy Havoc all on two wins-- any of them that win singles matches at Chapter 75 will move onto challenge WALTER in the main event at Wembley!

Check ‘em out when they hit Demand Progress, folks.

Chikara Chikarasaurus Rex: A Deadly Secret (Aug. 11)

1. Danjerhawk (c) over Sage Philips to retain the Chikara Young Lions Cup
2. Volgar over Hype Rockwell
3. Team FIST (Tony Deppen & Travis Huckabee) over Cajun Crawdad & Hermit Crab, the Colony (Green & Thief Ant), and Xyberhawx2000 (Nytehawk & Razerhawk)
4. Beast Warriors (Oleg the Usurper & Proletariat Boar of Moldova) over Cornelius Crummels & Sonny Defarge
5. Solo Darling over Ophidian
6. Boomer & Dasher Hatfield over Legion of Rot (Frightmare & Hallowicked)
7. ”Mr. Touchdown” Mark Angelosetti over Juan Francisco de Coronado (c) to win the Chikara Grand Championship

TOUCHDOWN! IT’S GOOD! Yes, folks, after 497 days, Juan Francisco de Coronado’s reign of terror with the Grand Championship has come to an end and Mr. Touchdown is the seventh person to hold that hallowed title. Plus a big win for the new Team FIST, and Boomer Hatfield’s started off on the right foot courtesy of a tag team win over one of the other men to have held the Grand Championship, and the only one to have done so twice, Hallowicked.

Check it out on Chikaratopia, folks.

Evolve 110 & 111 (Aug. 11-12)

—Evolve 110 (Aug. 11)—

1. Jake Parnell (c) over Gary Jay to retain the Zero-1 USA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
2. Isaias Velazquez (c) over Matt Knicks to retain the Freelance World Championship
3. Anthony Henry over Jon Davis and Josh Briggs
4. DJ Z over AR Fox
5. WALTER over JD Drake
6. Jaka over “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams
7. The Skulk (Adrian Alanis, Leon Ruff, & Tommy Maserati) over Catch Point (Chris Dickinson & Dominic Garrini) & Stokely Hathaway
8. Austin Theory & Shane Strickland over Joey Janela & Saieve Al Sabah
9. Darby Allin over Matt Riddle

—Evolve 111 (Aug. 12)—

1. Saieve Al Sabah over Jaka
2. Darby Allin over Bryan Idol
3. Jon Davis vs. Josh Briggs went to a double disqualification
4. WALTER over Anthony Henry
5. Matt Riddle over JD Drake
6. Shane Strickland (c) over DJ Z to retain the Evolve World Championship
7. AR Fox over Austin Theory, Darby Allin, and Joey Janela (c) (WWN Championship)
8. “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams over Chris Dickinson & Stokely Hathaway (“I Quit” Career vs. Career Handicap Match)

As always with Evolve I’ll keep it short and sweet and point you to my recaps for these shows (110, 111), but suffice it to say Evolve finished August with a hell of a double-header, and we’ll miss Stokely Hathaway. One man we may NOT be missing so much, however, is Matt Riddle, who ended the weekend with a victory and no farewell speech, so it seems like he might have at least one more Evolve weekend in him before heading to WWE, if that is indeed the plan.

Check the VODs out as part of your Club WWN subscription, 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.