Indie Matches of the Weekend is simply going to be me yammering about my favorite matches coming up this weekend. Because I’m saying weekend and not week, any event running Monday through Thursday won’t be considered. Typically I will try to gather up 5-10 matches to highlight.
Ricochet & Sammy Guevara vs. Penta el 0M & Rey Fenix (The Crash 12/15/17)
"Amigos de Arena Neza"
Nos vemos este 15 de diciembre, 8:30 P.M. con este gran combate.¡LOS ESPERAMOS! 👊 pic.twitter.com/Ki9qIgafVq
— The Crash LuchaLibre (@TheCrashLuchas) November 18, 2017
Almost feels weird to give The Crash a spot on the list as they clearly have the funds to make some wild stuff happen. They may eventually get TV. Also feels weird to book a match that essentially feels like a cool looking match you would expect to happen in Reseda. For some reason I have a better connection with the Mexico crowd than the PWG one. The whole aesthetic is more in line with what I want to see when watching my professional wrestling action. Now, if it was shot well that would help but I can’t have it all. Ricochet and Sammy Guevara are two of the premier flyers America has to offer. Penta and Fenix have a similar case for Mexico, though they probably fall behind some of the contemporaries like Flamita. Expecting a wild spotfest that makes all the boys go wild. I’m here for it.
Dean Allmark vs. Chris Ridgeway [SUBMISSION MATCH] (PCW 12/16/17)
Chris Ridgeway vs Dean Allmark 3 and this time the stakes are higher than ever! pic.twitter.com/k9zhA0VgT3
— PCW UK WRESTLING (@PCW_UK) November 24, 2017
Despite PCW being on Highspots and having their own streaming service, I view PBTV as the place to view Preston City Wrestling. Feels like they are partners rather than the simply a host.
Moving on to talk about the match. Allmark is a long time camp circuit favorite while Ridgeway is breaking out as we speak. These two are in the midst of a program in PCW for the PCW Cruiserweight Championship. The gimmick seems to play more into Ridgeway’s skill set than Allmark’s but having seen him for so long I have no doubts in his ability to adapt. These two have had some bangers and not expecting this to be any different. This match will likely go under the radar as everyone is putting together their year end lists as we speak which means everyone is trying to keep up while filling in gaps. Being a hardcore wrestling fan is tough stuff. Make sure not to miss this one as Ridgeway looks to be making statements left and right as we enter 2018. And hey, maybe Allmark will get the buzz he deserves finally.
Matt Tremont vs. Nick Gage (GCW 12/16/17)
TREMONT vs GAGE 3 – The Final Battle for the GCW World Championship – 12/16/17 at "Ready to Die" – #Ultraviolence
Tix: https://t.co/KlKDmXug1q pic.twitter.com/h54XcaYnNq
— GameChangerWrestling (@GCWrestling_) November 25, 2017
The King versus The Bulldozer. One last time. The trilogy comes to an end. If you aren’t psyched out of your mind for this one then get a new mind. Actually, don’t do that, you are great the way you are and don’t let anyone tell you differently.
Game Changer World is a weird but beautiful venue that encapsulates the wrestling GCW provides so fully. Never was it more present than during the finals of Tournament of Survival II. Barbed wire instead of ropes. Towers of fluorescent light tubes lining the barbed wire ropes. The ring still showing signs of the carnage that had taken place early in the evening. The stage was so perfectly set in a venue that looks more like an underground fight club than the adult Chuck-E-Cheese it masquerades as during normal business hours. In this specific match the lighting highlights the fluorescent light tube particles in a lovely way. The quick and dirty is this match was a dream deathmatch that delivered on all fronts.
I have not seen the second match of Tremont and Gage but I have heard good things. No doubt in my mind they will attempt to top all of it when they face each other for the GCW Heavyweight Championship in what will be their final confrontation. Want big match feel? You are going to get a big match feel here. Unsure of the setup they are going to put together for this but I am expecting it to be full of sharp objects. Let’s get nasty. MDK gang affiliated.
Matt Riddle vs. Homicide (GCW 12/16/17)
The "King of Bros" MATT RIDDLE takes on "The Notorious 187" HOMICIDE this Saturday as GCW presents "Ready to Die!" at GCWorld in Howell, NJ!
Tix: https://t.co/KlKDmXug1q pic.twitter.com/ufvBaBLasO
— GameChangerWrestling (@GCWrestling_) December 14, 2017
Is Homicide back? I think Homicide is back. Seemed like Homicide was active last year but wasn’t ACTIVE last year if you get what I mean. This year feels like he decided to toss it back to his old self and put on quality matches on a regular basis. And now he’s going to be a trainer…with NICK GAGE! Would not be shocked if the school closes in the not too distant future because a student got beat up. Hope for the best. This match here puts Homicide against one of the best going today in Riddle. If you haven’t watched Homicide versus David Starr from wXw I would recommend watching that as it gives an idea of how Homicide looks against a talent that can go. All Riddle seems to do is go these day. Homicide is a fun matworker so kinda hoping they tap into that as it would be a unique angle to take here. I like matwork, what can I say. If nothing else I hope we get a strong mid-2000’s ROH midcard match.
Abyss vs. Jimmy Havoc [MONSTER’S BALL] (IPW:UK 12/17/17)
https://twitter.com/IPWUK/status/937292667649773568
Okay, here me out…wrestling is dumb. Super dumb. Couldn’t imagine it being dumber unless it was all comedy wrestling and in that case I feel like some trendy comedian would sell it to their audience as art. This match will be my kind of dumb. Not sure if Abyss was ever good or I came into TNA at the time where that was the narrative. He had the Mick Foley endorsement which was a big deal to younger Sam. Less a big deal now. Jimmy Havoc…not sure I have seen a match from him I actually liked. I also haven’t seen many of his matches so that isn’t a slam on him. Seen enough gifs of the dude to know he can throw out some fun hardcore spots. That’s what this entire match should be. Set up elaborate, dumb spots that end in a big car crash.
Mance Warner vs. Dominic Garrini (AIW 12/15/17)
Buy Tickets:https://t.co/pCUWuTQarm pic.twitter.com/sNASGNqYez
— Absolute Intense Wrestling (@aiwrestling) November 27, 2017
Two can’t miss prospects working the regional circuit before they inevitably break out. Despite a promotion having an entire tournament built around “top prospects” you don’t often get these types of matches. Fair to say there is a fine line between a cog in the indie scene and a prospect. As soon as a good talent starts traveling they start popping up everywhere which is rad but also takes away from their uniqueness. They quickly go from someone who has all these fresh matches on the table to another good talent working the proper promotions. Dominic Garrini is traveling, now working for EVOLVE, but doesn’t feel exposed yet since the other promotions he works have a strong local talent base. Odd that he feels like an outside talent for the promotions that don’t book a lot of outside talents. Mance “Mancer” Warner is Mr. IWA Mid-South. The promos he delivers, the matches he produces, he is the guy from there. He has also worked CWF Mid-Atlantic in the past which is where I first saw him. He can talk the talk and walk the walk. If an indie with good distribution doesn’t make him a key player in 2018 then the scene might as well be dead. Toss it in the bin. Putting Warner and Garrini together is a recipe for magic.
Kobe Durst vs. AJ Gray vs. Joey Janela vs. Alex Daniels (Alpha-1 12/17/17)
This match is WILD as hell!
Sunday! #Oshawa https://t.co/2A9OxReWfW
$20 tickets @ the door! pic.twitter.com/FOcSqbyrlL
— Alpha-1 Wrestling (@A1Wrestling) December 12, 2017
Another match full of big time prospects. Okay, Janela isn’t a prospect but he does sick moves and his stock keeps rising so he makes sense in the match. He’s the dude everyone else in this match should aim to be. Durst, Gray, and Daniels should look to get Mother F’n Bomb’d off a building into a flaming mess in the back of a pickup truck by the late great Zandig. Life goals.
Back to the bout. Talked about Gray a few times in this feature but rest assured, he is still a wild flyer with a sweet lariat. Kobe Durst I keep hearing good things about from accurate star raters. Alex Daniels could be the next Johnny Gargano.