Sermon on the Mat (Aug. 1, 2019): AIW, SCI, CRAB, & 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...

AIW Absolution XIV (Aug. 2, 7:30PM Eastern)

1. Nick Gage vs. Zach Thomas
2. Jock Samson vs. Mance Warner (Bunkhouse Brawl)
3. 40 Acres (AJ Gray, PB Smooth, & Tre LaMar) vs. the Production (Danhausen, Derek Director, & Eddy Only)
4. Maxwell Jacob Friedman vs. “Big” Twan Tucker
5. Hornswoggle vs. Joey Janela
6. Dominic Garrini vs. Tim Donst (Submit or Surrender Match)
7. Philly-Marino Experience (Marino Tenaglia & Philly Collins) vs. To Infinity and Beyond (Cheech & Colin Delaney) (c) (AIW Tag Team Championship)
8. Joshua Bishop vs. Matthew Justice (c) (AIW Intense Championship Falls Count Anywhere Match)
9. Eddie Kingston vs. Tom Lawlor (c) (AIW Absolute Championship)

Yes, folks, AIW are back in Cleveland for their biggest show of the year, and do I really have to spell it out? Sure sure, Donst and Garrini tearing each other apart in a submission match is gonna rule, Jock vs. Mancer in a bunkhouse brawl, great stuff, NXT vs. AEW (kinda) in MJF vs. Big Twan, I’m into it... but really, c’mon. Hornswoggle vs. Joey Janela. Is there even another match?

Get your tickets here or check this one out live on FITE, folks.

Scenic City Invitational 2019 (Aug. 2-3)

—Night One (Aug. 2, 7:30PM Eastern)—

1. AC Mack vs. Jaden Newman (Scenic City Invitational 2019 First Round Match)
2. Daniel Makabe vs. Tony Deppen (Scenic City Invitational 2019 First Round Match)
3. Brett Ison vs. Matt Tremont (Scenic City Invitational 2019 First Round Match)
4. Kevin Ku vs. Nick Iggy (Scenic City Invitational 2019 First Round Match)
5. B-Boy vs. Slim J (Scenic City Invitational 2019 First Round Match)
6. JD Drake vs. O’Shay Edwards (Scenic City Invitational 2019 First Round Match)
7. ”Wild” Billy Buck vs. Marko Stunt (Scenic City Invitational 2019 First Round Match)
8. Anthony Henry vs. Joey Lynch (Scenic City Invitational 2019 First Round Match)

—Night Two (Aug. 3, 7:30PM Eastern)—

1. Scenic City Invitational 2019 Tournament Matches

Yes indeed, the south’s crown jewel, the tournament of tournaments of the southeast, has returned to Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee! This year’s tournament field is as great as ever, so let me single out three matchups that I think really capture the spirit of the SCI, folks-- Makabe/Deppen, two standout young wrestlers from opposite ends of the country, they come to make their names. B-Boy and Slim J, long-time indie vets who have seen and done it all, brought to Tennessee for one truly epic battle. And last but not least, Henry vs. Lynch, a rematch of a non-tournament match from night two of the original SCI as two of the men most identified with the tournament go to war, and my money says whoever wins this one goes on to win the whole deal.

Get your tickets here or check it out, along with shows from Crux, Action, and SUP this weekend, LIVE and FOR FREE on IWTV, folks!

CRAB Alpha Ox (Aug. 3. 6:30PM Eastern)

1. Harlow O’Hara vs. Lady Frost
2. Cheeseburger vs. Josh Fuller
3. Breaux Keller vs. Dezmon King vs. John Kermon
4. Team AWA New South (Christian James, Damien Wayne, Kid Dynamite, & Shawn Hurley) vs. Team CRAB (AK, Bobby Shields, Dame, & Ivan Ali) (Turf War)
5. Capital Vices (J-Sin & Money Greene) vs. Over the Top (Mack Buckler & Mikey Banker) (c) (CRAB Wrestling Tag Team Championship)
6. Isaiah Frazier vs. Logan Easton LaRoux (c) (CRAB Wrestling Championship)

CRAB Wrestling is back in their new home in Ashburn, Virginia, and hey, Cheeseburger’s in town! Plus top women’s action, the next edition of CRAB’s ongoing series of Turf Wars, and Isaiah Frazier gets his rematch for the title he held for exactly a year!

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

RPW Live at the Cockpit 44 (Aug. 4, 5:30PM GMT)

1. Brendan White & Kenneth Halfpenny vs. Gabriel Kidd & Shaun Jackson (Road to Royal Quest Tag Team Tournament Match)
2. Dan Magee & Kurtis Chapman vs. Josh Bodom & Sha Samuels (Road to Royal Quest Tag Team Tournament Match)
3. Dan Moloney & MK McKinnan vs. Team White Wolf (A-Kid & Carlos Romo) (Road to Royal Quest Tag Team Tournament Match)
4. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs. the Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) (Road to Royal Quest Tag Team Tournament Match)
5. El Phantasmo vs. Michael Oku
6. David Starr vs. Senza Volta

RevPro are back in the Cockpit in London, England, and by god we got a tag tournament! The winners of these opening round matches will go on to decide what lucky team will get to challenge the IWGP Tag Team Champions at NJPW Royal Quest at the end of the month, plus two big junior heavyweight challenge matches!

Tickets are sold out, but you can check this bad boy out on RPW On Demand same as always, folks.

Free matches here!

Jimmy Lloyd vs. Pierre Carl Ouellet

From the folks over at Game Changer Wrestling, we’ve got a generational clash of the breakout stars. It’s a former WWE World Tag Team Champion against a CZW dojo kid made good, check it out!

Jason Kincaid vs. Myron Reed

From the good folks over at Glory Pro, we’re dipping back into their match of the week for some action featuring two of the hottest young flyers in the game. The Gift takes on Hot Fire, enjoy!

Rise Pride & Joy

Last but certainly not least, we’ve got Rise’s entire Pride show for you, folks! Check it out on the pure dream match strength of Cassandro vs. Mercedes Martinez alone, but whatever you do, don’t miss it!

Results

Progress Chapter 93: Cheer Up Juice (July 28)

1. Rickey Shane Page over Travis Banks
2. Do Not Resuscitate (Spike Trivet & “Present” William Eaver) over the NIC (Charlie Carter & Oisin Delaney)
3. Dani Luna over Gisele Shaw, Jody Threat, & Yuu
4. Paul Robinson over Lucky Kid
5. CCK (Chris Brookes & Jonathan Gresham) over South Pacific Power Trip (NIWA & TK Cooper)
6. The OJMO over Shigehiro Irie
7. Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) over Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) (c) to win the Progress World Tag Team Championship

Well, let’s get right into it, shall we? Some hay has been made of Grizzled Young Vets winning the tag titles here and how that brings Progress’ men’s titles directly into line with NXT UK’s and... I gotta admit, I’m not a huge fan. Like the tag titles have been a bit “your turn, my turn” ever since British Strong Style first lost them to CCK back in 2017, so it’s not out of line with the usual booking, but... I dunno. Just feels weird. Granted, they still have separate women’s champs, and Progress is about to introduce a new midcard title, so it’s not like it’s an absolute overlap, but even so.

All that aside, you can of course check this one out when it hits Demand Progress soon, 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.