Sermon on the Mat (May 9, 2019): CMLL, PWG, RevPro, Shine, AAW, Chikara, CZW, EVE, wXw, PWX, & WC 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 (May 10, 9:30PM Eastern)

1. Espanto, Jr. & Hijo del Signo vs. Magia Blanca & Stigma
2. Drone, Fuego, & Guerrero Maya, Jr. vs. Kawato San, Polvora, & Vangellys
3. Amapola vs. Kaho Kobayashi (Lightning Match)
4. Atlantis, Atlantis, Jr., & Soberano, Jr. vs. Los Villanos (Hijo del Villano III & Villano IV) & Rey Bucanero
5. Dinamitas (Cuatrero, Mascara Ano 2000, & Sanson) vs. Los Guerreros Laguneros (Euforia, Gran Guerrero, & Ultimo Guerrero)
6. Dragon Lee, Mistico II, & Volador, Jr. vs. La Peste Negra (Barbaro Cavernario, Mr. Niebla, & Negro Casas)

CMLL are back in the legendary Arena Mexico for your weekly Friday night dose of lucha libre action and hey, we’ve got a rare women’s lightning match! Any of the three trios matches above that one on the card could potentially deliver hard, given the combinations of hype younger stars and old men (of varying quality— Mascara 2000 and Villano IV don’t have much left in the tank, but you bet Negro Casas can still go!), to boot!

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.

PWG Mystery Vortex VI (May 10, 8PM Pacific)

1. ??? vs. ??? (Guerrilla Warfare Match)

PWG are back in Los Angeles, California and oh hey, it’s Mystery Vortex time, my job is easy! This is a secret show, folks, and all we know for sure is that it has a Guerrilla Warfare match on it. Now, let me preface this bit by saying I do not in any way expect this to happen. BUT... Normally, Mystery Vortex doesn’t have ANYTHING annoucned for it, and Guerrilla Warfare is one of the most violent matches in indie wrestling. Bodies, as they say, have been broken.

Who’s a high profile free agent who seems to want to jump right back into the ultraviolence from whence he came?

I want to reiterate. It’s not happening. He just signed on to do a movie. It’s not him. BUT...

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

RPW Epic Encounter 2019 (May 10, 5:30PM GMT)

1. Carlos Romo vs. Kip Sabian vs. Michael Oku vs. Shigehiro Irie vs. TK Cooper (Scramble Match)
2. Artemis Spencer vs. Chris Brookes
3. Dan Magee & Kurtis Chapman vs. Josh Bodom & Sha Samuels
4. A-Kid vs. Matt Sydal
5. David Starr (c) vs. El Phantasmo (RPW British Cruiserweight Championship Ladder Match)
6. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre, Jr.) (RPW British Tag Team Championship

Spring is the air and RevPro is back at London, England’s York Hall, which means it’s Epic Encounter time! And truly, there are two epic encounters lined up for us on this show, with Starr and ELP doing battle in a ladder match as well as Suzuki-gun defending the tag titles against Aussie Open!

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

Shine 58 (May 10, 3PM Eastern)

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

Shine is back and in Livonia, Michigan as part of a double-header with Evolve, but more on that in my preview tomorrow morning! In any case, this Shine show is just about stacked, with Lee/Santana, AK/Heights, Martinez/Yung, and Perera/Blackheart all just leaping off the page as potential standout matches for me. And hey, who knows, if Shotzi wins the Nova title, maybe she’ll go on to be the first Shine/Evolve double champ?

Get your tickets here or check it out through WWNLive, whether as an individual purchase or at no additional charge through your Club WWN membership, folks.

AAW Take No Prisoners (May 11, 7:30PM Central)

1. Adam Brooks vs. Josh Alexander
2. Myron Reed vs. TJ Perkins
3. Lucha Brothers (Penta el Zero M & Rey Fenix) vs. Team Tremendous (Bill Carr & Dan Barry)
4. Jessicka Havok (c) vs. Thunder Rosa (AAW Women’s Championship)
5. Besties in the World (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) vs. LAX (Angel Ortiz & Mike “Santana” Draztik) (c) (AAW Tag Team Championship)
6. Mance Warner vs. Maxwell Jacob Friedman (c) (AAW Heritage Championship)
7. David Starr vs. Sami Callihan (c) (AAW Heavyweight Championship)

AAW are back in Chicago, Illinois and that’s a hell of a weekend David Starr has set up from himself-- from defending the RevPro Cruiserweight Championship in England to challenging Sami Callihan for the AAW Heavyweight Championship in the US within less than 24 hours! Plus TJP debuts, Team Tremendous get a big challenge match against the Lucha Brothers, and it’s a real bout of class warfare when the Mancer pits his light beer brawling skills up against MJF’s upper crust grappling attack!

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

Chikara Infinite Gauntlet (May 11, 3PM Eastern)

1. Der Wildebeest vs. Missile Assault Man
2. The Colony (Fire & Green II Ants) vs. Creatures of the Deep (Cajun Crawdad & Merlok)
3. Lucas Calhoun & Stray Kat vs. Team FIST (Icarus & Travis Huckabee)
4. Still Life With Apricots and Pears (c) vs. Thief Ant (Chikara Young Lions Cup)
5. The Infinite Gauntlet

Chikara is back in their home of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and once again the Infinite Gauntlet is upon us! Chikara’s own version of the Royal Rumble, this year’s edition features entrants from stalwarts like Ophidian and Hallowicked, to newbies like Molly McCoy and Armbreaker Amir, to off-the-wall legends like Duke “the Dumpster” Droese! Plus our nonbinary hero Still Life defends his title against Thief Ant, Jakob Hammermeier’s Wildebeest has his first singles match, and more!

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

CZW Tangled Web (May 11, 8PM Eastern)

1. IFHY (Johnathan Wolf & Shawn Kemp) vs. YDNB (Charlie Tiger & Ellis Taylor)
2. Casanova Valentine vs. Dan O’Hare (Hardcore Match)
3. Fred Yehi vs. Gary Jay
4. The REP (Dave McCall & Nate Carter) (c) vs. ??? (CZW World Tag Team Championship)
5. John Silver (c) vs. Matt Tremont (CZW World Heavyweight Championship)
6. Brandon Kirk vs. MASADA (Tangled Web Match)

CZW are back in Voorhees, New Jersey and oh, what a tangled web they weave! Yes, it’s time for one of CZW’s signature deathmatches to come back around, as Kirk and MASADA will end their night tangled up in the sharp points of that most beloved of hardcore staples-- barbed wire! Plus the REP have an open challenge, Jay and Yehi finish the business they started in a four-way last month, Silver defends against Tremont, and more!

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

EVE She Persisted (May 11, 8PM GMT)

1. Bobbi Tyler vs. Jinny
2. Nicole Matthews vs. Roxxy
3. Erin Angel & Jetta vs. Kay Lee Ray & Viper

Pro Wrestling: EVE are celebrating their ninth anniversary in their usual home of the Resistance Gallery in London, England, and it’ll be KLR and Viper’s last time appearing for them at that venue, so they’ve opted to team them up ahead of their title match at Wrestle Queendom 2 against the team of Angel and Jetta! Plus, Nicole Matthews returns and Jamie Hayter will have to make a decision on what title she’s challenging for at WQ2!

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

wXw True Colors (May 11, 7PM CET)

1. Amale Winchester vs. Killer Kelly vs. Valkyrie
2. Oliver Carter vs. Veit Mueller
3. Julian Pace & Wheeler YUTA vs. the Crown (Alexander James & Jurn Simmons)
4. Absolute Andy vs. Lucky Kid
5. Avalanche vs. Emil Sitoci (c) (wXw Shotgun Championship)
6. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) (c) vs. Jay-FK (Francis Kaspian & Jay Skillet) (wXw World Tag Team Championship)
7. Bobby Gunns (c) vs. Ilja Dragunov vs. Marius Al-Ani (wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship)

wXw is in Dresden, Germany in time to show their... ahem... True Colors with what looks to be just a good solid night of Germany’s finest indie wrestling. Gunns defends in a three-way, Aussie Open put the titles on the line against former champs Jay-FK, Kid has a chance for a big win over former unified champ Andy, and more!

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

PWX The Art of War (May 12, 3PM Eastern)

1. El Demon Azteca vs. Serpentico
2. Adam Brooks vs. Darius Lockhart
3. Drew Adler & Tracer X vs. WorkHorsemen (Anthony Henry & James D. Drake)
4. Saieve Al Sabah (c) vs. TJ Perkins (PWX iTV Championship)
5. Monster Squad (Billy Brash & Joshua Cutshall) vs. the Revolt! (Caleb Konley & Zane Riley) (c) (PWX World Tag Team Championship)
6. Team PWX (Corey Hollis, Ethan Case, Harlem Bravado, John Skyler, & Tommy Dreamer) vs. the Syndicate (Elijah Evans IV, Jason Cade, Montana Black, Savannah Evans, & TJ Boss) (WarGames Match)

PWX are back in Concord, North Carolina and... mother of god, it’s WarGames! Two rings, one cage, the match beyond-- the American Dream Dusty Rhodes’ baby live and in living color as a team of PWX faithful look to take the Syndicate down a notch! And what’s more, this will be the first time the Bruiserweights of Hollis and Skyler have teamed together in PWX in over two years! Plus TJ Perkins challenges Al Sabah, Monster Squad get a shot at the tag titles, and more!

Get your tickets here or check it out LIVE on the Highspots Wrestling Network, folks.

WC Encore (May 12, 7PM Central)

1. Colin Delaney vs. Lance Hoyt vs. “Pretty” Peter Avalon
2. Alex Gracia vs. Christi Jaynes vs. Leva Bates vs. Shazza McKenzie
3. Dirty Devilz (“Dirty” Andy Dalton & Gregory James) (c) vs. the Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz) vs. the Riegel Twins (Logan & Sterling Riegel) (WC Big Top Tag Team Championship)
4. Orange Cassidy vs. Gentleman Jervis
5. Jake Atlas vs. Puma King
6. JT Dunn vs. Sami Callihan
7. Dezmond Xavier vs. Scorpio Sky
8. Joey Janela vs. Sammy Guevara

Yes, folks, at long last WrestleCircus returns right to their old stomping grounds of Austin, Texas! And what’s more, they’re back from the grave with their signature super-indie vibe as if they didn’t take a hiatus of over a year!

Get your tickets here or check it out, as always, live and for free on Twitch!

Free matches here!

Dustin Thomas vs. Tony Deppen

From the folks over at GCW, we’ve got a match I couldn’t NOT feature-- Dustin Thomas, who if you don’t know, has no legs, takes on Tony Deppen, who very much does have legs. Check it out!

PWX Battle at BB&T Ballpark

From the fine folks over at PWX we’ve got a full, if short, show they did in a baseball field last year. It’s got the finals of the 2018 Crockett Cup, featuring Ugly Ducklings vs. WorkHorsemen, enjoy!

Mercedes Martinez vs. Tessa Blanchard

Last but certainly not least, from the good folks over at RISE, we’ve got a colossal SEVENTY-FIVE minute match between two of the best women on the indies today. Martinez. Blanchard. More than an hour. Don’t miss it!

Results

Progress Chapter 88: Super Strong Style 16 (May 4-6)

—Night One (May 4)—

1. Ilja Dragunov over Chris Brookes (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
2. Kyle Fletcher over Daga (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
3. Travis Banks over DJ Z (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
4. Jordan Devlin over Lucky Kid (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
5. Trevor Lee over Aerostar (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
6. David Starr over Artemis Spencer (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
7. Paul Robinson over Darby Allin (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)
8. Kyle O’Reilly over Chris Ridgeway (Super Strong Style 16 First Round Match)

—Night Two (May 5)—

1. Aerostar over Daga
2. Jordan Devlin over Kyle Fletcher (Super Strong Style 16 Quarterfinal Match)
3. Ilja Dragunov over Trevor Lee (Super Strong Style 16 Quarterfinal Match)
4. Session Moth Martina over Jinny to qualify for the Progress Women’s Championship Match
5. El Ligero, Jimmy Havoc, Mark Andrews, & Mark Haskins over Do Not Resuscitate (Chuck Mambo, Drew Parker, Spike Trivet, & “Present” William Eaver) (No Disqualification Match)
6. Kyle O’Reilly over Paul Robinson (Super Strong Style 16 Quarterfinal Match)
7. David Starr vs. Travis Banks went to a double count-out draw (Super Strong Style 16 Quarterfinal Match)
8. Chris Ridgeway, Darby Allin, & Lucky Kid over Artemis Spencer, Chris Brookes, & DJ Z
9. WALTER (World) over Trent Seven (Atlas) to win the Progress Atlas Division Championship and retain the Progress World Championship

—Night Three (May 6)—

1. Chris Brookes over Artemis Spencer, Chris Ridgeway, Connor Mills, Darby Allin, DJ Z, Lucky Kid, Roy Johnson, the OJMO, and Trevor Lee (Wasteman Challenge Hangover Scramble)
2. David Starr over Ilja Dragunov and Travis Banks (Super Strong Style 16 Semifinals)
3. Jordan Devlin over Kyle O’Reilly (Super Strong Style 16 Semifinals)
4. Paul Robinson over Jimmy Havoc (Deathmatch)
5. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) (c) over Aerostar & Daga to retain the Progress World Tag Team Championship
6. Jordynne Grace (c) over Millie McKenzie, Nina Samuels, and Session Moth Martina to retain the Progress World Women’s Championship
7. David Starr over Jordan Devlin (Super Strong Style 16 Finals)

There’s a certain irony to committed independent David Starr going over in a tournament where WWE-contracted talent dominated otherwise, isn’t there? Plus now he finds himself on a collision course with unified champ WALTER, a man he’s been unable to beat in over a dozen singles matches to date. Plus Jimmy Havoc said goodbye to Progress with really the only fitting match he could have gone out on-- one last deathmatch against his old mate Paul Robinson.

Check the VODs out when they hit Demand Progress, folks.

Beyond Lethal Lottery (May 5)

1. Orange Cassidy & Penelope Ford over Shockwave the Robot & Veda Scott (Lethal Lottery)
2. Jake Parnell & Solo Darling over Dasher Hatfield & Puf (Lethal Lottery)
3. Chris Dickinson & Joey Ryan over Ashley Vox & “Supercop” Dick Justice (Lethal Lottery)
4. Curt Stallion & Joey Janela over Alex Reynolds & Tony Deppen (Lethal Lottery)
5. Kris Statlander over Kimber Lee
6. Matt Cross over Gabriel Skye
7. Stevie Richards over Anthony Greene
8. Josh Briggs over VSK
9. Chris Dickinson over Curt Stallion, Jake Parnell, Joey Janela, Joey Ryan, Orange Cassidy, Penelope Ford, and Solo Darling (BattleBowl)

By dint of his victory in BattleBowl, the Dirty Daddy gets the right to choose his opponent for this year’s edition of Americanrana, and he both wasted no time and has a doozy of a match for us... He wants Daisuke Sekimoto! Plus Josh Briggs was successful in his return match and Statlander added another big win to her trophy case when she took out Lee.

Check the VOD out on IWTV, 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.