Sermon on the Mat (May 16, 2019): AIW, CMLL, & Freelance 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...

AIW Keep Their Heads Ringin’ (May 17, 7:30PM Eastern)

1. Dominic Garrini vs. Tim Donst
2. Eddie Kingston vs. Nick Gage
3. Jollyville Fuck-Its (Russ Myers & T-Money) vs. Lucha Brothers (Penta el Zero M & Rey Fenix)
4. Joshua Bishop vs. Matthew Justice (c) (AIW Intense Championship)
5. Philly-Marino Experience (Marino Tenaglia & Philly Collins) vs. To Infinity and Beyond (Cheech & Colin Delaney) (c) (AIW Tag Team Championship)
6. Mance Warner vs. Tom Lawlor (c) (AIW Absolute Championship)

AIW are back in Cleveland, Ohio, and dang that is a hell of a card they have lined up. AIW originals challenge for the tag titles, Mancer gets a shot at the big one, the Boys from Jollyville get the Lucha Brothers AND those two killer undercard singles?!

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

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

1. Akuma & Espanto, Jr. vs. Magia Blanca & Star, Jr.
2. Amapola, Metalica, & Tiffany vs. Kaho Kobayashi, Marcela, & Sanely
3. El Felino, Hechicero, & Tiger vs. Esfinge, Rey Cometa, & Triton
4. Negro Casas vs. Soberano, Jr. (Lightning Match)
5. Los Guerreros Laguneros (Euforia, Gran Guerrero, & Ultimo Guerrero) vs. Los Hijos del Infierno (Ephesto & Mephisto) & Mascara Ano 2000)
6. Caristico, Mistico II, & Volador, Jr. vs. Matt Taven & Nuevo Generacion Dinamitas (Cuatrero & Sanson)

CMLL are back with your weekly Friday night dose of lucha libre action from the legendary Arena Mexico and hell yeah that’s Negro Casas in the lightning match! Against Soberano, we should get a really hype generational clash to add to the pretty solid batch of trios we’ve got here.

Check it out, as always, free for nothin’ on Marca Claro, folks, and the VOD will go up on CMLL’s YouTube channel (where they also stream shows every Monday and Tuesday free of charge) after the fact for those of you who can’t watch live.

Freelance Battle Royale (May 17, 9PM Central)

1. Arik Cannon vs. Ophidian
2. Jody Threat vs. Laynie Luck vs. Shazza McKenzie vs. Solo Darling
3. 3rd Annual 30-Entrant Freelance Battle Royal
4. GymNasty Boys (Timmy Lou Retton & White Mike) vs. Hooligans (Devin & Mason Cutter) vs. Ugly Ducklings (Lance Lude & Rob Killjoy) vs. WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & James D. Drake) (c) (Freelance World Tag Team Championship)
5. Craig Mitchell (c) vs. GPA (Freelance Underground Championship)
6. ”All Ego” Ethan Page (c) vs. Rickey Shane Page (Freelance World Championship)

Freelance are back in Chicago, Illinois for their third annual Freelance Battle Royal! In addition to the 30-person rumble, they’ve got a battle of brothers for the world title, a WILD four-way for the tag titles, and more!

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

Free matches here!

Matt Tremont vs. Jimmy Havoc

From the fine folks over at IPW:UK, we’ve got two deathmatch legends meeting in action last year. Tremont. Havoc. Ultraviolence! Enjoy!

Keith Lee vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey

From the good people over at Ireland’s OTT Wrestling we’ve got a real blockbuster power vs. speed(ball) matchup for you this week. The Limitless One goes one on one with the man with the most educated feet in all of Canada, check it out!

RISE #JustWrestling

Last but not least, we have an hour-long TV-style show from RISE, featuring matches from 2017, including Kylie Rae vs. Deonna Purrazzo and Toni Storm vs. Mercedes Martinez. Don’t miss it!

Results

Shine 58 (May 10)

1. Allysin Kay over Samantha Heights
2. Brandi Lauren over Thunderkitty
3. Lindsay Snow over Marti Belle
4. Santana Garrett over Kimber Lee
5. Shotzi Blackheart over Aja Perera (c) to win the Shine Nova Championship
6. Ivelisse over Natalia Markova
7. Mercedes Martinez over Su Yung
8. Rainbow Bright (Gabby Gilbert & Luscious Latasha) (c) over Twisted Sisterz (Holidead & Thunder Rosa) to retain the Shine Tag Team Championship

You can see it there clear as day, folks-- between her weekend in Evolve and her claiming of the Nova Championship here, Shotzi Blackheart is here in WWN to stay!

Check the whole show out on the World Wrestling Network, whether as an individual purchase or at no additional cost through your Club WWN subscription, folks.

Evolve 127 / 128 (May 10-11)

—Evolve 127 (May 10)—

1. Adrian Jaoude over Josh Briggs
2. Steven Pena over Liam Gray
3. Babatunde over Adrian Alanis
4. Anthony Greene over Stephen Wolf
5. Anthony Henry over Juntai
6. The Skulk (AR Fox & Leon Ruff) over Harlem Bravado & Kassius Ohno
7. Brandi Lauren over Randi West
8. Curt Stallion over Eddie Kingston
9. JD Drake (c) over Joe Gacy to retain the WWN Championship
10. Adam Cole over Austin Theory

—Evolve 128 (May 11)—

1. Anthony Greene over Steven Pena
2. Adrian Jaoude over Harlem Bravado
3. Leon Ruff over Brandon Taggart, Juntai, and Stephen Wolf
4. Babatunde over Liam Gray
5. Curt Stallion over Ace Perry
6. Austin Theory (c) over “Spyder” Nate Webb to retain the Evolve World Championship
7. Shotzi Blackheart over Natalia Markova
8. Kassius Ohno over Josh Briggs
9. The Unwanted (Eddie Kingston & Joe Gacy) (c) over WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & JD Drake) to retain the Evolve Tag Team championship
10. Adam Cole over AR Fox

As always here in Sermon I’ll keep it short and sweet and just point y’all to my recaps (Evolve 127, Evolve 128), but suffice it to say these two shows made for a nice interlude for Evolve-- nothing super, super exciting, but some good solid matches (especially Briggs/Ohno, which was a grade A slice of that classic Chris Hero Evolve action) that go down easy.

Check both shows out on the World Wrestling Network, whether as an individual purchase or at no additional cost through 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.