Friday, March 28, 2014

Any Shows This Weekend? Mysterious PWG and Breaking Ground in Arizona

Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug
Michael Elgin looks to give Shane Hollister the what for Saturday
Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein

The weekend is here. Some people like to go to the park. Others like to test their physical limits in marathons or Spartan races. Still others watch sports and drink beers. However, if you're a wrestling fan, the weekend presents a wide-ranging opportunity to check out the best and brightest local promotions. Odds are, if you live anywhere in the world where wrestling is popular, then a show is happening somewhere near you tonight, tomorrow, or Sunday. I will present to you the crème de la crème for this weekend.

FRIDAY

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla is running Mystery Vortex II at the American Legion Post #308 in Reseda, CA at 8 PM local time. No card has been announced yet, mainly because the gimmick of the show is that everything is a surprise going in.

NWA Southern All-Star Wrestling will be presenting its weekly slate from the SAWMill Arena in Millersville, TN at 8 PM. Among the wrestlers booked to appear are Jason Kincaid, Damien Wayne, and Primetime Brian Lee.

SATURDAY

Freakster's Roadhouse in Pontiac, IL will play host to AAW as the promotion's stars will Take No Prisoners Saturday. Doors open at 7 PM local time. The main event pits current AAW Champion Shane Hollister, seconded by the lovely Scarlett Bordeaux, against the one-man wrecking ball known as Michael Elgin. Also scheduled to appear on the show are Heritage Champion Matt Cage, ACH, Rhino, Zero Gravity, Marion Fontaine, Louis Lyndon, and Kyle O'Reilly.

The International Wrestling Federation makes its debut this weekend with the appropriately named show Breaking Ground. The show will emanate from the Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, AZ, and the show starts at 7 PM local time. The main event is a veritable dream match from where I sit, as Chris Hero battles Chris Masters. In a No Limits match, AR Fox, JT Dunn, Anthony Nese, and Rich Swann will presumably take to the air to see who will fly supreme. Austin Aries makes a rare non-TNA appearance to battle Ricochet, while Shad Gaspard returns to the ring to hoss it out with Brian Cage. John Morrison and Shelton Benjamin will collide in a match that may have been for the Intercontinental Championship at one point in WWE five years ago. In a special lucha libre exhibition, Ultimo Guerrero and Mascara Dorada will team up to take on Reaper and Valiente. Also appearing on the show will be the Young Bucks, Redrum (formerly Rellik, which is Killer spelled backwards), Mickie James, Kevin Steen, Carlito Colon, and Shane Helms.

The Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium will be rocking with Madness in Any Direction, one of CWF Mid-Atlantic's signature events. Bell time is 7:30 PM sharp, and the main event will pit Mid-Atlantic Champion Arik Royal against Marcellus King. Royal has held that title for a dog's age. Will this be the show where he finally drops it? Also appearing on the show will be Andrew Everett, the Mecha Mercenary, and Trevor Lee.

NWA Houston will hit up VFW Post #8905 in Cypress, TX at 7:30 PM local time. Byron Wilcott will defend his Lone Star Championship against the unstable Scot Summers. Also appearing on the show will be Carson, NWA Women's Champion Barbi Hayden, and "One Man" Mike Dell. If you're feeling frisky afterwards, head on over to Diablo Loco's Willowbrook location in Houston, TX for the official after party.

NWA Smoky Mountain continues the Alliance-sponsored action with Battle for the Belts at the Kingsport Civic Auditorium in Kingsport, TN at 8 PM local time. The main event is for the NWA World Tag Team Championships. The three-way dance pits the Champs, Rob Conway and Jax Dane, against two hungry teams. The first challengers are the Illuminati of Chase Owens and Chris Richards. The other team is the Lords of Kaos, Damien Wayne and Lance Erikson. Also appearing on the show will be Sigmon and Jason Kincaid.

Anarchy Wrestling's Hardcore Hell 2014 takes place at the Anarchy Arena in Cornelia, GA at 8 PM local time. Among those on the show will be Anarchy Champion Mikael Judas, Tag Team Champions the Washington Bullets, Shaun Tempers, "Hit for Hire" Bobby Moore, Mike Posey, Corey Hollis, and the incomparable Iceberg.

Deep Southern Championship Wrestling heads north to Copperhill, TN's Copper Basin High School for some rasslin' action. Doors open at 7 PM local time, and the show includes KT Hamill and Cyrus the Destroyer.

Empire Pro Wrestling will be at 22 Austin Ave. in Rossville, GA at 8:05 PM local time. The show is headlined by a street fight between Logan Alvey and Bobby Hayes.

Destination One Wrestling will be riding down the Road to Destiny at the Charlestown Civic Center in Charlestown, IN. Doors open at 7 PM. The main event a match straight outta Smoky Mountain Wrestling, as Tracy Smothers defends his D1W Championship against "Grandmaster Sexay" Brian Christopher. Mad Man Pondo will battle Nikolai Volkoff, and the Road to Destiny battle royale will take place with the winner receiving a golden ticket of sorts to get any match he or she desires. Also appearing on the show will be Ron Mathis and the Irish Airborne.

New England Frontier Wrestling's Slamrock 2 takes place at the First Congregational Church in West Springfield, MA. If you get the VIP tickets, you can enter the building at 6 PM local time for a meet-'n-greet with the wrestlers. General admission lets in at 6:30 PM. Scheduled to appear on the show are Vader, Icarus, Aaron Epic, Latin Dragon, Bobby Ocean, and Latin Dragon.

Monster Factory Pro Wrestling will be opening the doors of its school in Paulsboro, NJ at 7 PM. Go and see the future stars of WWE today.

SUNDAY

Destiny Awaits SMASH Wrestling at the 227 Lounge in Ebiticoke, ON at 4 PM local time. The main event will give local boy Tyson Dux the opportunity of a lifetime, as he takes on Chris Hero. In four way action, Vanessa Kraven, Seleziya Sparx, Courtney Rush, and LuFisto will compete for the honor of being Canada's team captain for the Canusa Classic 2014. Also appearing on the show will be Louis Lyndon, Pepper Parks, Johnny Gargano, Rich Swann, Matt Cross' Beard, and Alex Shelley.

BattleWar 17 will emanate live from Les Foufounes Electriques in Montreal, QC at 8 PM local time. The main event will pit BattleWar Champion "Dirty" Buxx Belmar against the mysterious Big Bad Quentin, the barbecue thief. Portia Perez will look to strike a blow for women everywhere as she looks to smack the misogyny straight out of Shane Matthews' mouth. Also appearing on the show will be Le Tabarnak de Team.

Great wrestling happens everywhere. I can only shed light on so much. Go to the shows listed above if you can, but if you find a show locally where you live, go to that too. Sure, the event might literally be in a barn, but it might be the most fun you'll have all week. Wrestling only grows artistically if people like you and I support it. Besides, your favorite wrestler or promotion may be out there already. You just don't know it yet.