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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.
Indie wrestling is, of course, still shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic and that doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon, so our cavalcade of freebies rolls on!
And again, a number of streaming services and Twitch channels are offering a constant stream of material for you that’s hard for me to include in the listing, so make sure to check ‘em out—
Free matches here!
Evolve 134
In lieu of a proper WrestleMania weekend schedule, the World Wrestling Network dropped three, count ‘em three Evolve shows from the last year. This bad boy features Anthony Henry vs. Arturo Ruas in a no holds barred match, Shotzi Blackheart vs. Brandi Lauren in a kendo stick fight, and, in the main event, Drew Gulak defending his WWE Cruiserweight Championship against KUSHIDA!
Evolve 141
Andrew Everett and Matt Sydal challenging the Skulk for the tag titles, Josh Briggs defending against JD Drake, and a very special main event of Timothy Thatcher vs. WALTER!
Evolve 142
Eddie Kingston vs. Sharkbait! Thatcher vs. Ruas! WALTER vs. Josh Briggs!
Smash Any Given Sunday 8
From the fine folks up at Smash in Canada, they’ve uploaded the entirety of their January show to the YouTube! Check it out!
NJPW New Beginning in America
New Japan’s uploads of the New Beginning in America tour roll on!
AWE Pirate TV Episode 5
Carnies vs. Devil’s Rejects AND Kiera Hogan vs. Ivelisse? Sold!
RISE Who’s NeXT?
A match compilation from the fine folks over at RISE spotlighting a number of talent who have walked through their doors on their way to WWE, from Deonna Purrazzo to Shayna Baszler, and finishing up with a surely excellent Mercedes Martinez vs. Toni Storm!
Beyond Tournament for Tomorrow 2019
From our friends over at Beyond Wrestling, they’ve put up the entirety of the 2019 Tournament for Tomorrow for your viewing pleasure! Check out the stars of tomorrow, today!
NWA Houston
A little outside of our normal purview, but when this slice of classic NWA Houston wrestling came across my feed from the modern-day NWA, I couldn’t ignore it. Harley Race! Andre the Giant! “Superstar” Billy Graham!
Drew Galloway vs. Tommy End
2020 Raw ain’t the first time Drew McIntyre and Aleister Black have been on the same brand, and Scotland’s ICW has offered up this throwback match between the two from back when Drew held their biggest prize.
Jimmy Lloyd vs. Joey Janela
Wrestling in this time of pandemic is inherently risky, but does it have to be? Can we have a match while adhering to social distancing guidelines. Janela and Lloyd found out at a GCW show not long back, don’t miss it!
Blood Diamond (Jake Lander & Tre LaMar) vs. “All Ego” Ethan Page
From our friends over at BLP, we’ve got the tag title match from their 2019 year-ender, Slamilton 2. All Ego challenges for the tag titles alone... or does he?!
Anthony Greene vs. Davienne
Courtesy of Limitless Wrestling up in Maine, we’ve got the Retrosexual staring down one of the baddest women on the indies, check it out!
Bear Country (Bear Beefcake & Bear Bronson) vs. EYFBO (Angel Ortiz & Mike “Santana” Draztik)
From our friends over at Beyond, we’ve got some hype tag team action as Bear Country take on a team you probably know better as LAX or Proud-N-Powerful, enjoy!
Dragon Lee & Golden Magic vs. Flamita & Rey Fenix
From the folks over at +LuchaTV, we’ve got some top shelf indie lucha tag action for you, check it out!
Louis Lyndon vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
From the fine folks over at AIW, we’ve got a hell of a styles clash here. Veteran indie high flyer and Captain of the Ship Louis Lyndon takes on the MMA stylings of Filthy Tom, enjoy!
Alex Colon vs. Drew Blood
Some ultraviolence for you here, courtesy of Matt Tremont’s Hardcore Hustle Organization. Panes of glass and light tubes, oh my!
Ethan Page’s Body Guy Extravaganza
Among the casualties of Wrestlemania weekend was All Ego’s star-studded show focused on physique, but he found a way to make it happen. Watch this footage, friends!
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.