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| Will Busick be able to survive 60 minutes with an American Wolf? Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
Well, well, well, the fates have conspired to bring the masses to another weekend. For those lucky enough to have jobs with stable, normal hours, your time for frivolity begins tonight, and what a coincidence, so does another fantastic slate of wrestling shows for the three days ending every long slog through work. I will be previewing the best and brightest of shows in my opinion this weekend, but for those who want a more complete slate of cards, check out Pro Wrestling Events for the complete list of events happening around the world. The shows I want to highlight start below.
FRIDAY
Ring of Honor kicks off the weekend with Pursuit, Night 1, at the Ford Community Center in Dearborn, MI. The show starts at 7:30 PM, and on the top of the card, the newly reinstated Jimmy Jacobs will challenge for the ROH World Championship in his hometown against Adam Cole. Another local boy, Zach Gowen, will challenge Matt Taven for the Television Championship. Eddie "Eddie Edwards" Edwards will kick his weekend off against Jay Lethal, while his American Wolf tag team partner Davey Richards will once again tango with Roderick Strong. Mark Briscoe will unleash his Redneck Kung Fu against Michael Elgin in an attempt to soften up the Unbreakable one for his brother at Final Battle. The Tag Team Champions will be in separate triple threat matches against various contenders. Kyle O'Reilly will be in the ring against ACH and Caprice Coleman, while Bobby Fish draws Tadarius Thomas and Cedric Alexander. Tommaso Ciampa and Outlaw, Inc. (Eddie Kingston and Homicide) are also scheduled to appear.
NWA Houston is gonna have some Fallout from their New Japan invasion going on at the VFW Post 8905 in Cypress, TX at 7:30 PM local time. The main event will be a NWA North American Championship match, "The Tokyo Monster" Kahagas defending his strap against Carson. Byron Wilcott will also be defending his NWA Lone Star Championship against Ray Rowe.
House of Glory Wrestling will Fight for Gold tonight at their wrestling school in Ridgewood, NY at 7 PM local time. They're looking to crown their first ever Tag Team Champions, and they've lined up some premium tag teams to put into the fray, including the team of Jigsaw and Fire Ant, the Young Bucks, and the reunited Latin American Xchange of Homicide and Hernandez. Also appearing on the show will be Tony Nese.
SATURDAY
House of Glory isn't the only promotion looking to crown Tag Champs. Inter Species Wrestling's Burger King of the Ring II: Double Whopper will throw eight teams into the bracket with the prize being the first ever ISW Tag Team Championships. Those eight teams are as follows: Tremendous Investigations (Dan Barry and Bill Carr), the Food Fighters (Pasquale the Chef and Bastian Snow), the GLAAD Boys (Glaad Badd and Craigslist Homo), Kitsune and Shynron, the Badd Boys (Chad and Brad Badd), Tabarnak de Team (Mathieu St. Jacques and Thomas Dubois), Team BFFs (Jigsaw and Gran Akuma), and Leon St. Giovanni and Jaka. Head over to the Heirloom Arts Theatre in Danbury, CT for a 8 PM local bell time to catch all the action.
ROH's second night of Pursuit lands them at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, OH, also at 7:30 PM. The main event will see the Tag Team Championships put on the line as reDRagon battles Cedric Alexander and Caprice Coleman. In a "Proving Ground" match, ACH will go one-on-one with Adam Cole. If ACH wins, he will bank a future shot at Cole (or Michael Elgin or Jay Briscoe, or even Jimmy Jacobs). Speaking of Elgin, he will be in a four-corners elimination match against Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Jay Lethal. In what could be the most intense, non-Beyond Wrestling match of the weekend, Tommaso Ciampa will lock horns with Mark Briscoe. Finally, the American Wolves will welcome the challenge of Outlaw, Inc.
Pro Wrestling Syndicate kicks off the "Welcome back to the indies, Chris Hero" tour with Wrestle Bowl at the Center Circle Soccer Dome in Rahway, NJ at 8 PM local time. The aforementioned Hero will go one-on-one with a hero of a different breed, Hurricane Helms. Early era WCW clashes with later years ECW as Big Van Vader collides with Justin Credible. Dan Maff tangles with the ever-popular Starman. The bWo (!!!), Insane Clown Posse, Devon Moore and Facade will also appear on the show.
Kaiju Big Battel will be taking over Stage 48 in New York City, NY for Japandemonium at 6 PM local time. All your favorite fiends and friends will be there, including Los Platanos, Dr. Cube, Dusto Bunny, and the evil, nightmare-inducing Tucor. Eek, I get shivers just thinking about that abomination before everything that is holy, including breakfast cereal.
Dragon Gate USA kicks off their doubleshot of Internet pay-per-view broadcasts this weekend with Fearless at the Queensboro Elks Lodge in Elmhurst, NY. The show starts at 9 PM, Eastern Standard Time, and you can order the show via WWN Live. The first half of the double main event will see the Young Bucks defending their Open the Unified Gate Championships against the Bravado Bros. in what should be a highly entertaining, high-octane matchup between two charismatic teams. The second main event pits Johnny Gargano, beginning year three of his epic Open the Freedom Gate reign, against Masaaki Mochizuki in a non-title affair. Genki Horiguchi imports the Open the Brave Gate Championship from Dragon Gate Japan to defend against Rich Swann, while AR Fox's EVOLVE Championship is in danger in a four-way freestyle match against Andrew Everett, Fire Ant, and Shane Strickland. If Fox gets pinned or submits, he loses his belt. Jimmy Susumu will battle Anthony Nese, while the Best Friends EXPLODE as Trent? takes on Chuck Taylor. Ricochet battles Biff Busick, while Jon Davis will try to tackle Mark Angelosetti.
CWF Mid-Atlantic will rock the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium, doors opening at 7 PM, for Survivor. The top three matches on the show will embody the show's titular theme. The main event will be an eight-man Steel Cage Warfare with War Games rules pitting Arik Royal, Matty DeNero, Mark James, and Donnie Dollars against Nick Richards, Jason Miller, and two teammates to be announced. In a trios elimination match, Lance Lude, Aaron Biggs, and Chris Lea will team up to take on Trevor Lee, Chet Sterling, and Drew Myers. However, the match closest to my heart that will take place will be an eight-on-eight TORNEO CIBERNETICO, which will feature Ric Converse and the Mecha Mercenary among others.
Branded Outlaw Wrestling's Thanksgiving Throwdown II is coming to San Antonio, TX at the Woodlawn Gym. Doors open at 7 PM local time, and the main event will pit Jax Dane against Matt Morgan. Also on the show, Charlie Haas defends the BOW Championship against Carson, while Ray Rowe will battle Scot Summers.
Empire Pro Wrestling will be back at 22 Austin Avenue in Rossville, GA at 8 PM, and the main event will see a rematch for the Tag Team Championships. The Double Dragons, KT and Keith Hamill, will look to reclaim their lost belts against the new Champs, Lamar Phillips and Dyron Flynn. Also appearing on the show will be EPW Champion Shaun Tempers.
Platinum Championship Wrestling will be hitting up the Main Event in Porterdale, GA at 6 PM local time. IN addition to seeing what Quasi Mandisco's new group, MAIM, will do to further cement their reign of terror, the Washington Bullets will make their long-awaited return to PCW.
Prairie Wrestling Alliance hosts Remembrance at the Century Casino in Calgary, AB. Doors open at 7 PM local time. Colt Cabana will be among the stars on the card.
Monster Factory Pro Wrestling's Turkey Slam is also Saturday. Check out this post on the blog for more info.
SUNDAY
If one show is happening this weekend that I would urge everyone and anyone who can attend to attend, the Tournament for Tomorrow capstone show on Sunday at Fete Music in Providence, RI would be the one to go to. I wanted to write a larger preview for this one, but time and energy precluded me from getting the chance. If you're heading out to Rhody Sunday, you want to be at the venue at 4 PM local time. The tournament itself will be taping tonight and tomorrow. Fifteen wrestlers will vie for the chance to make the finals, including Darius Carter, Hania, Green Ant, Allysin Kay, JT Dunn, Kimber Lee, Matthew Palmer, Candice LaRae, John Silver, Christina von Eerie, Anthony Stone, Lexxus, Rory Mondo, Jewells Malone, and David Starr. In addition to the tournament finals, Biff Busick and Eddie Edwards will take their rivalry to the ultimate level in a 60 minute Iron Man match. Chris Dickinson will meet his match in terms of psychopathy against Tommaso Ciampa. Michael Elgin makes his Beyond return to battle the savage Jaka. Women's Superstars Uncensored will have a three-match sampler. And to top the whole event off, the ten-team tag gauntlet will be the hootin'est, most hollerin' match of the entire weekend. If you're anywhere close to Rhode Island, get your ass to Fete Music, plunk down with a grilled cheese from Championship Melt and a cold beer from Revival Brewing Company and check out a solid five hours of the best wrestling action you'll find anywhere.
Anarchy Championship Wrestling will cap the weekend of tournaments with the 8th Annual Lone Star Classic. Doors open at the Mohawk in Austin, TX at 5:15 PM local time. Ten of the 12 competitors have been announced already: Jason Silver, Steve, Shawn Vexx, Pierre Abernathy, JC Bravo, Kevin Douglas, Jojo Bravo, Thomas Shire, Davey Vega, and Barrett Brown. In addition to the tournament, Scot Summers, Angel Blue, Jessica James, and Darin Childs will compete in a four-way match to see who gets a shot at the Anarchy Championship at Guilty by Association 9. Also, Evan Gelistico is getting a bit greedy for gold, as he'll team up with Gary Jay to try and wrest the ACW Tag Team Championships away from Jack Jameson and Paul London.
DGUSA's Freedom Fight is live on iPPV from the Brooklyn Lyceum in New York, NY at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time. Chris Hero's welcome-back tour continues with a shot at Johnny Gargano's Open the Freedom Gate Championship. Ricochet will battle Tony Nese in a grudge match, and Trent? takes on Rich Swann. The Young Bucks will battle Masaaki Mochizuki and AR Fox, while the Bravado Bros. get a special tag challenge from Genki Horiguchi and Jimmy Susumu. In a battle between Chikara and the state of North Carolina, Jigsaw and Fire Ant will go up against Andrew Everett and Caleb Konley. Meanwhile, a match straight out of the Chikara playbook will take place when Chuck Taylor tangles with Mark Angelosetti.
Again, the above are only a smattering of the shows happening around the country, continent, and world this weekend. If you don't see one in your area, fear not. A show probably will be taking place within a drivable distance for you. All you need to do is go out and take the chance. You never know, your favorite wrestler or company may be out there. You just don't know it yet.
FRIDAY
Ring of Honor kicks off the weekend with Pursuit, Night 1, at the Ford Community Center in Dearborn, MI. The show starts at 7:30 PM, and on the top of the card, the newly reinstated Jimmy Jacobs will challenge for the ROH World Championship in his hometown against Adam Cole. Another local boy, Zach Gowen, will challenge Matt Taven for the Television Championship. Eddie "Eddie Edwards" Edwards will kick his weekend off against Jay Lethal, while his American Wolf tag team partner Davey Richards will once again tango with Roderick Strong. Mark Briscoe will unleash his Redneck Kung Fu against Michael Elgin in an attempt to soften up the Unbreakable one for his brother at Final Battle. The Tag Team Champions will be in separate triple threat matches against various contenders. Kyle O'Reilly will be in the ring against ACH and Caprice Coleman, while Bobby Fish draws Tadarius Thomas and Cedric Alexander. Tommaso Ciampa and Outlaw, Inc. (Eddie Kingston and Homicide) are also scheduled to appear.
NWA Houston is gonna have some Fallout from their New Japan invasion going on at the VFW Post 8905 in Cypress, TX at 7:30 PM local time. The main event will be a NWA North American Championship match, "The Tokyo Monster" Kahagas defending his strap against Carson. Byron Wilcott will also be defending his NWA Lone Star Championship against Ray Rowe.
House of Glory Wrestling will Fight for Gold tonight at their wrestling school in Ridgewood, NY at 7 PM local time. They're looking to crown their first ever Tag Team Champions, and they've lined up some premium tag teams to put into the fray, including the team of Jigsaw and Fire Ant, the Young Bucks, and the reunited Latin American Xchange of Homicide and Hernandez. Also appearing on the show will be Tony Nese.
SATURDAY
House of Glory isn't the only promotion looking to crown Tag Champs. Inter Species Wrestling's Burger King of the Ring II: Double Whopper will throw eight teams into the bracket with the prize being the first ever ISW Tag Team Championships. Those eight teams are as follows: Tremendous Investigations (Dan Barry and Bill Carr), the Food Fighters (Pasquale the Chef and Bastian Snow), the GLAAD Boys (Glaad Badd and Craigslist Homo), Kitsune and Shynron, the Badd Boys (Chad and Brad Badd), Tabarnak de Team (Mathieu St. Jacques and Thomas Dubois), Team BFFs (Jigsaw and Gran Akuma), and Leon St. Giovanni and Jaka. Head over to the Heirloom Arts Theatre in Danbury, CT for a 8 PM local bell time to catch all the action.
ROH's second night of Pursuit lands them at the Ohio Expo Center in Columbus, OH, also at 7:30 PM. The main event will see the Tag Team Championships put on the line as reDRagon battles Cedric Alexander and Caprice Coleman. In a "Proving Ground" match, ACH will go one-on-one with Adam Cole. If ACH wins, he will bank a future shot at Cole (or Michael Elgin or Jay Briscoe, or even Jimmy Jacobs). Speaking of Elgin, he will be in a four-corners elimination match against Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, and Jay Lethal. In what could be the most intense, non-Beyond Wrestling match of the weekend, Tommaso Ciampa will lock horns with Mark Briscoe. Finally, the American Wolves will welcome the challenge of Outlaw, Inc.
Pro Wrestling Syndicate kicks off the "Welcome back to the indies, Chris Hero" tour with Wrestle Bowl at the Center Circle Soccer Dome in Rahway, NJ at 8 PM local time. The aforementioned Hero will go one-on-one with a hero of a different breed, Hurricane Helms. Early era WCW clashes with later years ECW as Big Van Vader collides with Justin Credible. Dan Maff tangles with the ever-popular Starman. The bWo (!!!), Insane Clown Posse, Devon Moore and Facade will also appear on the show.
Kaiju Big Battel will be taking over Stage 48 in New York City, NY for Japandemonium at 6 PM local time. All your favorite fiends and friends will be there, including Los Platanos, Dr. Cube, Dusto Bunny, and the evil, nightmare-inducing Tucor. Eek, I get shivers just thinking about that abomination before everything that is holy, including breakfast cereal.
Dragon Gate USA kicks off their doubleshot of Internet pay-per-view broadcasts this weekend with Fearless at the Queensboro Elks Lodge in Elmhurst, NY. The show starts at 9 PM, Eastern Standard Time, and you can order the show via WWN Live. The first half of the double main event will see the Young Bucks defending their Open the Unified Gate Championships against the Bravado Bros. in what should be a highly entertaining, high-octane matchup between two charismatic teams. The second main event pits Johnny Gargano, beginning year three of his epic Open the Freedom Gate reign, against Masaaki Mochizuki in a non-title affair. Genki Horiguchi imports the Open the Brave Gate Championship from Dragon Gate Japan to defend against Rich Swann, while AR Fox's EVOLVE Championship is in danger in a four-way freestyle match against Andrew Everett, Fire Ant, and Shane Strickland. If Fox gets pinned or submits, he loses his belt. Jimmy Susumu will battle Anthony Nese, while the Best Friends EXPLODE as Trent? takes on Chuck Taylor. Ricochet battles Biff Busick, while Jon Davis will try to tackle Mark Angelosetti.
CWF Mid-Atlantic will rock the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium, doors opening at 7 PM, for Survivor. The top three matches on the show will embody the show's titular theme. The main event will be an eight-man Steel Cage Warfare with War Games rules pitting Arik Royal, Matty DeNero, Mark James, and Donnie Dollars against Nick Richards, Jason Miller, and two teammates to be announced. In a trios elimination match, Lance Lude, Aaron Biggs, and Chris Lea will team up to take on Trevor Lee, Chet Sterling, and Drew Myers. However, the match closest to my heart that will take place will be an eight-on-eight TORNEO CIBERNETICO, which will feature Ric Converse and the Mecha Mercenary among others.
Branded Outlaw Wrestling's Thanksgiving Throwdown II is coming to San Antonio, TX at the Woodlawn Gym. Doors open at 7 PM local time, and the main event will pit Jax Dane against Matt Morgan. Also on the show, Charlie Haas defends the BOW Championship against Carson, while Ray Rowe will battle Scot Summers.
Empire Pro Wrestling will be back at 22 Austin Avenue in Rossville, GA at 8 PM, and the main event will see a rematch for the Tag Team Championships. The Double Dragons, KT and Keith Hamill, will look to reclaim their lost belts against the new Champs, Lamar Phillips and Dyron Flynn. Also appearing on the show will be EPW Champion Shaun Tempers.
Platinum Championship Wrestling will be hitting up the Main Event in Porterdale, GA at 6 PM local time. IN addition to seeing what Quasi Mandisco's new group, MAIM, will do to further cement their reign of terror, the Washington Bullets will make their long-awaited return to PCW.
Prairie Wrestling Alliance hosts Remembrance at the Century Casino in Calgary, AB. Doors open at 7 PM local time. Colt Cabana will be among the stars on the card.
Monster Factory Pro Wrestling's Turkey Slam is also Saturday. Check out this post on the blog for more info.
SUNDAY
If one show is happening this weekend that I would urge everyone and anyone who can attend to attend, the Tournament for Tomorrow capstone show on Sunday at Fete Music in Providence, RI would be the one to go to. I wanted to write a larger preview for this one, but time and energy precluded me from getting the chance. If you're heading out to Rhody Sunday, you want to be at the venue at 4 PM local time. The tournament itself will be taping tonight and tomorrow. Fifteen wrestlers will vie for the chance to make the finals, including Darius Carter, Hania, Green Ant, Allysin Kay, JT Dunn, Kimber Lee, Matthew Palmer, Candice LaRae, John Silver, Christina von Eerie, Anthony Stone, Lexxus, Rory Mondo, Jewells Malone, and David Starr. In addition to the tournament finals, Biff Busick and Eddie Edwards will take their rivalry to the ultimate level in a 60 minute Iron Man match. Chris Dickinson will meet his match in terms of psychopathy against Tommaso Ciampa. Michael Elgin makes his Beyond return to battle the savage Jaka. Women's Superstars Uncensored will have a three-match sampler. And to top the whole event off, the ten-team tag gauntlet will be the hootin'est, most hollerin' match of the entire weekend. If you're anywhere close to Rhode Island, get your ass to Fete Music, plunk down with a grilled cheese from Championship Melt and a cold beer from Revival Brewing Company and check out a solid five hours of the best wrestling action you'll find anywhere.
Anarchy Championship Wrestling will cap the weekend of tournaments with the 8th Annual Lone Star Classic. Doors open at the Mohawk in Austin, TX at 5:15 PM local time. Ten of the 12 competitors have been announced already: Jason Silver, Steve, Shawn Vexx, Pierre Abernathy, JC Bravo, Kevin Douglas, Jojo Bravo, Thomas Shire, Davey Vega, and Barrett Brown. In addition to the tournament, Scot Summers, Angel Blue, Jessica James, and Darin Childs will compete in a four-way match to see who gets a shot at the Anarchy Championship at Guilty by Association 9. Also, Evan Gelistico is getting a bit greedy for gold, as he'll team up with Gary Jay to try and wrest the ACW Tag Team Championships away from Jack Jameson and Paul London.
DGUSA's Freedom Fight is live on iPPV from the Brooklyn Lyceum in New York, NY at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time. Chris Hero's welcome-back tour continues with a shot at Johnny Gargano's Open the Freedom Gate Championship. Ricochet will battle Tony Nese in a grudge match, and Trent? takes on Rich Swann. The Young Bucks will battle Masaaki Mochizuki and AR Fox, while the Bravado Bros. get a special tag challenge from Genki Horiguchi and Jimmy Susumu. In a battle between Chikara and the state of North Carolina, Jigsaw and Fire Ant will go up against Andrew Everett and Caleb Konley. Meanwhile, a match straight out of the Chikara playbook will take place when Chuck Taylor tangles with Mark Angelosetti.
Again, the above are only a smattering of the shows happening around the country, continent, and world this weekend. If you don't see one in your area, fear not. A show probably will be taking place within a drivable distance for you. All you need to do is go out and take the chance. You never know, your favorite wrestler or company may be out there. You just don't know it yet.
