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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.
Before we get into our usual features, if you missed it, be sure to go check out D.E.O.’s photo post covering his time at Mucha Lucha Atlanta last week. Great stuff!
And also dig into regular Sermon correspondent BryanDanielson’sBeard’s preview of Fight Club: Pro’s big weekend. He does an excellent job breaking down their triple shot, match by match.
Coming soon...
Gold Rush Pro Wrestling Golden Wolves Showdown 2 (October 22)
Cowboy Charlie & Shamrock the Leprechaun vs. Manny Mars & Matt Carlos
Alexander G. Bernard vs. Kaka Meng
Kenny K vs. Ryan Kidd
“War Pig” Jody Kristofferson vs. King Kratos vs. Super Beast vs. Synn (Gold Rush Heavyweight Championship #1 Contender’s Match)
Marcus Lewis vs. Will Roberts
Boyce LeGrande (c) vs. Jacob Fatu (Gold Rush Dynamite Division Championship)
Mr. Prime Time (c) vs. Rik Luxury (Gold Rush Heavyweight Championship)
Gold Rush are coming into Canyon, California this time, and while the show isn’t quite so heavily studded with national stars it still has plenty of talent on it. From War Pig and Kratos doing four-way HOSS BATTLE, to Marcus Lewis (recently on Raw losing to Braun Strowman) squaring off with young lion Will Roberts, to recent WWE try-out Jacob Fatu taking a crack at Boyce LeGrande’s Dynamite Division Championship, they’ve got quite a crew assembled here.
Get your tickets here or just keep an eye on Gold Rush’s YouTube channel, where they stream most of their shows for free.
PWX Battlefield X (October 22)
Darius Lockhart vs. Mason Maddox
Colby Corino vs. Davey Vega vs. Jason Cade
Ethan Case vs. Gary Jay
The Revolt! (Caleb Konley & Zane Riley) vs. Viking War Party (“American Viking” Alexander Rudolph & “Littlest Viking” Jake Parnell)
Corey Hollis vs. Martin Stone
Jon Cruz vs. Trevor Lee
Anthony Henry vs. Jon Davis
Bravado Brothers (Harlem & Lancelot Bravado) (c) vs. Ugly Ducklings (Lance Lude & Rob Killjoy) (PWX Tag Team Championship)
Gunner (c) vs. James Drake (PWX iTV Championship)
Jake Manning (c) vs. Sami Callihan (PWX World Heavyweight Championship)
PWX are back in Hickory, North Carolina for what had ought to be a real barn-burner of a show. Up and down the card there’s nary a match that looks like it should be anything less than good, and matches like Corino/Vega/Cade, Hollis/Stone, Cruz/Lee, and Bravados/Ducklings look like they could really steal the show.
So pick up your tickets here or wait for it to go up on Highspots, but either way, make sure to check it out, because PWX haven’t let me down yet.
Why We Wrestle Fright Night: Last House on the Left (October 22)
Billy Buck vs. Bobby Moore
Big F’n Deal (Brian Blaze & Geter) & Elijah Evans IV vs. the Devil’s Rejects (Azrael, Brad Cash, & Se7en)
Monster Cyrus vs. Odinson
Kevin Blue vs. Slim J (Tables, Ladders, & Chairs Match)
Lynch Mob (Joey & Matt Lynch) vs. The Monarchy (Black Baron & Prince Apollo) (c) (wWw Tag Team Championship)
Crystal Rose vs. Dementia D’Rose vs. Jessica Leigh vs. Nina Monet (wWw Women’s Championship)
Jacob Ashworth vs. Nemesis (Steel Cage Career Match)
Gunner Miller (c) vs. Stryknyn (wWw Triple Crown Championship)
Why We Wrestle are back in Cornelia, Georgia this Saturday and the fine folks over at WHOO! Wrestling (who delivered the Scenic City Invitational to us in such picture perfect quality) are taping it for VOD and DVD distribution. They’ve got a huge show planned, with a tag title defense that ought to be fire, the crowning of their first ever women’s champion, and a steel cage match that’s going to see someone’s career end.
Pick up your tickets here or hit up WHOO! Wrestling on Vimeo when it comes out on VOD, and in the meantime, you can check out their weekly TV free for nothin’ on their YouTube channel.
Smash Wrestling CANUSA Classic / Legend of Smash (October 22-23)
—CANUSA Classic—
Ingrid Isley vs. Leah Vaughan
Heidi Lovelace vs. Jewells Malone
KC Spinelli vs. Mercedes Martinez
Vanessa Kraven vs. Veda Scott
Leva Bates vs. Xandra Bale
Cat Power vs. Jade
Allie vs. Rosemary (Steel Cage War)
—Legend of Smash—
John Greed Invitational
Frankie TM vs. Kevin Bennett
Halal Beefcake (Idris Abraham & Joe Coleman) vs. Well Oiled Machines (Braxton Sutter & Mike Rollins)
Facade vs. Tarik
Evil Uno vs. Stu Grayson vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
Cody Rhodes vs. Tyson Dux
Brent Banks vs. Scotty O’Shea (Steel Cage Match)
Smash are back in Toronto for their huge annual CANUSA Classic weekend, pitting some of the best women wrestlers the United States and Canada have to offer against one another once again, all headlined by TNA’s Allie and Rosemary going at it inside of a steel cage. And then the next day, the men have at it, without the international flair, but with Cody Rhodes, what should be an absolutely insane three-way match between Evil Uno, Stu Grayson, & “Speedball” Mike Bailey, plus Brent Banks and Scotty O’Shea continuing their long feud inside of a steel cage themselves.
It’s gonna be a hell of a weekend, folks! So get your tickets here or wait to check ‘em out on Smash On Demand or, thanks to their ongoing partnership with Progress Wrestling, Demand Progress.
Alpha-1 Wrestling Causing a Ruckus (October 23)
Ruckus Rumble
Dom Garrini vs. Justin Sane vs. Ryan Swift vs. Young Myles (Elimination Match)
Alex Daniels vs. Rickey Shane Page
Alexia Nicole vs. Heidi Lovelace
Michael Elgin has something to say
Theory of Evolution (Jim Nye & Space Monkey) (c) vs. the Virus (Joey Kings & Josh Alexander) (Alpha-1 Tag Team Championship)
“All Ego” Ethan Page vs. “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan
Kobe Durst (c) vs. the winner of the Ruckus Rumble (Alpha-1 Alpha Male Championship)
Yes, folks, Ethan Page vs. Jim Duggan is a match that is happening in the year of our lord 2016. If you’re in the vicinity of Oshawa, Ontario, you can pick up your tickets here or wait for it to hit VOD/DVD through Smart Mark.
Free matches here!
American Destroyers (Donovan Dijak & Mikey Webb) vs. Heidi Lovelace & Kimber Lee
Intergender action courtesy of Beyond Wrestling from New England Mania earlier this month, featuring two women fresh off WWE tryouts against one of Ring of Honor’s rising stars, because 2016 pro wrestling knows no limits.
Cedric Alexander vs. Ethan Case
Provided by the good folks over at CWF Mid-Atlantic, Cedric Alexander takes on PWI Ultra J Champion Ethan Case back in April of this year, mere months before he leapt into Mr. Hs’ heart. Enjoy!
Mark Andrews vs. Scotty O’Shea
Coming at you from last month’s Smash vs. Progress shows, Progress regular Mark Andrews took on Smash stalwart Scotty O’Shea in a match that tore the house down right as the show began. Check it out!
Results
AIW Season of the Witch (October 15)
Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham over Jake Manning
Frankie Flynn over Philly Collins
Weird World (Alex Kellar & Evan Adams) over Garrison King & PB Smooth
Dominic Garrini over Ryan Kaplan
Laredo Kid over Gringo Loco and Triton
Rex Brody over Brian Carson
Alex Daniels (c) over Eric Ryan to retain the AIW Intense Championship
Ray Rowe over Jeff Cobb
Not much in the way of notable happenings to pick out here, folks, but if the thought of that lucha libre three-way or the Rowe/Cobb HOSS FIGHT whets your whistle, you can camp out at AIW’s Smart Mark VOD page and wait for it to go up for sale.
Evolve 70 & 71 (October 15-16)
—Evolve 70—
Darby Allin over Anthony Henry
Nathan Cruz over Jason Kincaid
Fred Yehi over DUSTIN
The Gatekeepers (Blaster McMassive & Flex Rumblecrunch) over Bunk ‘n Funk (CT Brown & Rex Bacchus)
Timothy Thatcher (c) over “All Ego” Ethan Page to retain the Evolve World Championship
Zack Sabre, Jr. over “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams
Chris Hero over Drew Gulak
Matt Riddle over AR Fox
—Evolve 71—
Drew Gulak over Timothy Thatcher (Non-title Fight to the Finish Street Fight)
”Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams over Jason Kincaid
The Gatekeepers (Blaster McMassive & Flex Rumblecrunch) over Erick Locker & Joe Coleman
”All Ego” Ethan Page over Sami Callihan
DUSTIN over Darby Allin
Zack Sabre, Jr. over Fred Yehi
Chris Hero over Matt Riddle
Not going to spend a whole lot of time here when I can just refer you to my reviews if you missed them (70, 71), but suffice it to say, Evolve had a good weekend. 70 was a solid show, above average, brought down slightly by Page and Thatcher in the middle, but 71 was superlative in every way, one of the best shows of the year. In particular, both men really redeemed themselves with violent brawls, and Sabre and Yehi made magic together.
Head on over to WWNLive.com to buy them on VOD if you missed ‘em, folks, you won’t regret it.
Progress Chapter 37: A Sudden Sense of Liberty (October 16)
Bubblegum over Chuck Mambo
Kay Lee Ray over Kimber Lee
James Drake over Fabian Aichner
Marty Scurll over Joe Coffey, Pete Dunne, and Trent Seven to become number one contender to the Progress Championship
South Pacific Power Trip (TK Cooper & Travis Banks) over F.S.U. (Eddie Dennis & Mark Andrews) and the Origin (Dave Mastiff & El Ligero)
Rampage Brown (c) over Mikey Whiplash to retain the Atlas Championship
Mark Haskins (c) over Zack Gibson to retain the Progress Championship
Shane Strickland couldn’t make the show, unfortunately, so he was replaced in the #1 contender’s match with Dunne’s co-champion Trent Seven. Other than that, title retentions all around, plus Jimmy Havoc appeared to give Marty Scurll another Acid Rainmaker following his victory. And what’s more, in the aftermath, Mark Haskins has asked that Jimmy be added to the title match at Chapter 38, and Progress management have agreed, so long as Jimmy’s doctors clear him to compete.
I’ll have a full recap and review of this bad boy once it hits Demand Progress, of course, but for now you can go and check out Bubblegum vs. Mambo, which was streamed live on Progress’ Facebook page.
As always...
Remember folks, no matter what type of wrestling you like, no matter how down you feel about the state of WWE, TNA, 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.