One promotion will step foot into the same stratosphere as others this Saturday and host it’s first stand-alone women’s show in its home state of Virginia.
From the very beginning, NOVA Pro Wrestling has been at the forefront when it comes to providing a respected platform for its female competitors. Whether it’s putting Angelus Layne on such a plateau where she’s holding the entire promotion hostage or resorting to and inflicting extreme violence upon the promoter and kickstarting one of their biggest storylines to date, the promotion has showcased the opposite sex and their sport at a higher caliber without creating an obvious division between the men and women. “Rip Her To Shreds” will be the promotion’s first jump into putting on a full card dedicated to the women ahead of the tournament show in June. It features their regulars like Faye Jackson going up against a heap of debutees, as Holidead, Kylie Rae, Machiko San and Terra Calaway are apart of the announced talent pool.
Rain was one of the first competitors announced for the show, as her debut will be added to her ongoing post-retirement tour that kickstarted last November after bowing out three years earlier. The former and inaugural SHINE Champion will meet Angelus Layne in the show’s main event and the matchup will mark the first time the competitors have ever crossed paths. Around the time Rain was approaching her final matchup in January of 2014, where she dropped the SHINE Title to Ivelisse, Layne was making her comeback from injury and rebuilding her roster of bookings for that year. The decision to book this contest as the show’s big matchup is a good one, being that Rain is still one of the hundreds of women in this sport that is completely underrated and disregarded when it comes to talent and pitting her up against Layne, who’s the promotion’s biggest heel, is like adding gasoline to a fire, literally.
Besides the aforementioned debuts, Barbi Hayden will also be making her first appearance as part of Saturday’s card, as she squares off with Solo Darling. Faye Jackson and Terra Calaway will be competing in a qualifier for the 2018 Women’s Commonwealth Cup, as the winner will go onto join the two other participants announced for the tournament on June 9th. Isla Dawn will be taking on Kylie Rae and Brittany Blake will battle Hudson Envy in what I believe is Envy’s first time wrestling in the state. The California native has faced Blake previously in a tag team match at the Volume 99 tapings for SHIMMER back in November, however, like the matchup between Kylie and Isla, this will be their first one-on-one fight.
I should go ahead and say that this entire card is full of first-time clashes, as Laynie Luck and Machiko San will face off along with Holidead and Allie Kat getting a piece of one another. Mia Yim is also scheduled to make a special appearance at the show, which will be held at the AVFD Hall in Annandale, Virginia. The first and second entrants into the first-annual Women’s Commonwealth Cup have officially been announced months ahead of NOVA Pro Wrestling’s big weekend on June 8th and 9th. Three months after allotting the women their own show, the promotion will be implementing them into their own version of their tournament, with Chelsea Green and Jordynne Grace setting the tone for the field. Six additional competitors are set to be announced in the coming weeks leading up to the event; it will be a one-night tournament for the women in Annandale, Virginia on June 9th.
Let’s begin talking about some of the upcoming tournaments that are going to be happening this Spring going into the Summer…
The official field has been set for the Making Towns Classic and despite one competitor dropping out due to championship commitments, the almost-sixteen woman tournament is a great representation of the current scene inside the indies. Delilah Doom was the first name to be entered into the sixteen-seed competition along with teenage sensation, Savanna Stone, Jordynne Grace and later Su Yung. Hudson Envy was also added shortly after kicking things off with Yung; their feud has now landed on the doorsteps of Queens of Combat. Over time, the talent pool deepened with more competitors getting drafted into the tournament. The names range from some of the more popular and in-demand names like Angelus Layne, Veda Scott and Kylie Rae to some other names that are still on the up and up like Aja Perera, Isla Dawn, Penelope Ford and Allie Kat. Doom was forced to back out of appearing due to obligations she has with RISE, as the promotion will be running that same day with a set of tapings in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The current titleholder will need to be on hand and visible for RISE’s launch of their streaming service, which will feature matches from the tapings as part of a weekly episodic program.
Samantha Heights, Faye Jackson, Laynie Luck and Priscilla Kelly are some of the final names to be announced for the tournament in addition to Doom’s replacement, which is none other than Valentina Loca. Her name might not be too familiar for some, though she’s already appeared for RISE, working their November lineup as a tag team partner to Amanda Carolina Rodriguez. Their partnership crossed over into the pre-show matches before that weekend’s SHIMMER tapings and aside from those appearances, she was trained under Seth Rollins and Marek Brave and broke into the business around July of last year – competing in the Making Towns Classic will be another big booking to add to her growing resume that sees her work for one of the bigger women’s promotions four-months into her career.
Each woman’s story and the matches’ play-by-play will be voiced by Amber Gertner and Dylan Hales on commentary. Gertner is a longtime contributor to women’s wrestling and is a backstage correspondent and interviewer for SHIMMER and has worked with Queens of Combat, SHINE Wrestling amongst other promotions, while Hale’s resume features work with NOVA Pro and Southern Underground Pro Wrestling amongst other places. The venue has long been secured and ready to go, as the women will be battling it out inside the Sports Arena at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds come the twelfth of May. The building was constructed back in 1922 and was originally intended to be a flea market of sorts, however, promoter Nick Gulas began holding professional wrestling events inside the venue in the 1960’s through the 70’s. The building is also known for housing Impact Wrestling’s production of their earliest shows before taking off to Orlando and played bare witness to showcases of legendary competitors in the decades before.
In an update… Valentina Loca is now no longer appearing at the Making Towns Classic due to circumstances and another replacement is said to be announced soon.
Alternative Wrestling Show’s per-usual women’s tournament goes down at the tail-end of June and its brackets and participants have already been announced by the Californian promotion. It housed several names competing on the local circuit within the state or the West Coast region in the past, however, this time around its heavily influenced by the influx of talent that’s going to be on board for the previous night’s RISE event in the same city and building. Former two-time SHIMMER Champion Madison Eagles along with Nicole Matthews will be facilitators for the promotion’s seminar and will be actively competing at both events, especially the tournament, as Eagles battles Shazza McKenzie and Matthews takes on an-AWS regular, Shotzi Blackheart. The six-annual women’s soiree will feature competitors that are not only new to the promotion and area but will be competing in the tournament for the very first time aside from Jordynne Grace, who lost in the first round of last year’s show to the eventual winner, Raze.
Grace will face Willow Nightingale in their first-round qualifier – Nightingale worked the collaboration with RISE back in December and wound up losing the battle royal to Aerial Monroe, as she landed a permanent spot on the roster as a result. Monroe is also a participant in the tournament, as she faces Miranda Salinas or simply “Miranda” these days in the fourth and final announced matchup of the brackets. The winner of the tournament will be afforded an upcoming shot at the AWS Women’s Championship, which is currently held by Kris Wolf. Wolf last defended the title against Scarlett Bordeaux back in December and the matchup occurred almost-three weeks after she unseated Nicole Savoy in the main event. She last wrestled sometime in January and managed to work STARDOM’s Janaury 21st show in Tokyo despite being out of competition for a few weeks. It was reported following the promotion’s January 3rd show that she had sustained an injury and would be missing that weekend’s show in Osaka. Wolf has upcoming bookings set aside for March, with a clash with Sammii Jayne under non-title capacity announced for Pro Wrestling: EVE. On top of that, she’s one of the many facilitators announced for RISE’s event in April amongst other shows, therefore her return to the Japanese promotion and Alternative Wrestling show should be around the corner.
Pro Wrestling: EVE holds another event at the Resistance Gallery in London and has a first-time matchup carrying the card, as Jordynne Grace’s debut sees her taking on Viper. The match will be the first of Grace’s inaugural tour of the country, which will continue on the following evening in Colchester. Rhia O’Reilly spent the majority of last year on the shelf after her No Disqualification title defense against Sammii Jayne back in March resulted in her retaining successfully and sustaining a broken leg and ankle. O’Reilly had wrestled Jayne to a double count-out the night before at the Colchester Charter Hall – a bulk of her title defenses occurred during shows for XWA Wrestling as part of their ongoing working relationship. Jayne has since won the championship in O’Reilly’s absence and bested Kay Lee Ray in the tournament finals that May under the same stipulation that was coincidentally responsible for O’Reilly’s demise.
The competitors will face off a whole year later for the Pro Wrestling: EVE Championship as part of the “Sheroes” lineup that promises to deliver like previous shows. Nothing additional has been announced for this Saturday’s card, however, the promotion has been steadily stapling matches to its March 30th show, which takes place back at the Resistance Gallery in London. Regardless if she happens to retain against Rhia O’Reilly or not, Sammii Jayne’s matchup against the returning Kris Wolf will be under non-title contention. “Shevolution” will also feature a first-time, one-on-one collision between Kay Lee Ray and DASH Chisako. Despite her multiple trips over to Japan for extended work with STARDOM, she’s only stood across from Chisako on one occasion while teaming up with Leon as part of a one-off appearance for JWP back in 2012. The matchup would be apart of Kay Lee Ray’s first tour of the country; her tour was very short and besides working for PURE-J’s predecessor, she appeared for STARDOM, taking the loss to Hailey Hatred at the year-end show.
In the six years since their tag team matchup, Chisako’s sister, Sendai Sachiko (her partner for the match) finished up her career in 2016 after sharing multiple tag team championship reigns together as a duo. DASH has been able to maintain that success and has held the SENDAI Girls Tag Team Titles three additional times. She currently co-holds the belts with KAORU and they are already up to their third oncoming title defense in their second reign. DASH has also stepped out and embarked on a singles career and did the unthinkable back in December and unseated PURE-J’s beloved babyface, Hanako Nakamori of the Openweight Championship. Those in attendance that night watched the former titleholder endure humili*ation and have her hair be shaved as a result of the stipulation; Nakamori regained the title back in Osaka on February 18th.
The matchup will serve as a formal introduction between the competitors, as she and the Scotswoman will be officially acquainted two months ahead of EVE’s biggest show that features Kay Lee Ray going up against another competitor of such expertise. Meiko Satomura will be making her return to the promotion as part of “Wrestle Queendom” on May 5th, as she’s the one that’s going to be taking on Ray in what’s being dubbed an “International Dream” challenge match. Chisako has proven that she is capable of delivering regardless of the opponent, even if the matchup happens to be abroad from the usual venues in Japan like her trainer Satomura, who’s got to be one of the most-used Japanese competitors of today aside from her male counterparts that get much more exposure due to being backed by a company like New Japan Pro Wrestling.
With another show happening in April on the fourteenth, Pro Wrestling: EVE is promising to deliver Europe’s biggest women’s wrestling attraction in history the following month along with it being their most significant show to date. The co-headliner and the official main event were announced months in advance, as the winner of the inaugural SHE-1, Charlie Morgan will be getting her shot at Sammii Jayne or Rhia O’Reilly’s championship. Morgan outlasted the tournament’s best back in November and became the bonafide “ace” of the promotion – knocking Jayne off her pedestal which is sitting pretty high with the Discovery and Revolution Championship Wrestling Women’s Titles helping to keep it afloat. Its hard to fathom that the London show will be Aja Kong’s first gig on European soil, however, it is – she faces Viper, a competitor of similar size and a comparable reputation.
The winner of the six-woman “Wild Card” ladder match receives a future shot at the EVE Championship via a contract stating their right to do so. Thus far, only four competitors have qualified for the matchup, as Livvii Grace, Leah Owens and Millie McKenzie had beaten Bea Priestley, Charli Evans, and Toni Storm respectively back in January. That same show featured a fourth qualifying matchup between Laura Di Matteo and Jamie Hayter; both competitors were eliminated after their match was declared a No Contest. Another qualifier was held at last month’s show, “Kick ‘Em In The Stereotypes,” with Nina Samuels getting the better of Martina via pinfall.
While we’re in the midst of discussing what’s coming up in the United Kingdom, let’s also bring some attention to additional shows that are going to be happening within the country… and crossing over stateside…
Fight Club: PRO has signed a huge championship matchup for their March 30th event at the Starworks Warehouse in Wolverhampton. The promotion will be presenting night one of their annual Dream Tag Team Invitational in the city, as it’s been announced that current champion, Chris Brookes will defend his Fight Club: PRO Title up against Meiko Satomura. Satomura along with Martina has also been added to their conjoined show with Pro Wrestling Revolver as part of WrestleCon on April 7th at the Sugar Mill in New Orleans. She’ll face off with Jessicka Havok in a dream match, a first-time collision while Martina and Joey Ryan take on the team of Marty DeRosa and Colt Cabana.
WrestleMania weekend in Louisianna is going to be an overfilled cup of talent from overseas and those that are stateside; more promotions are getting chances to showcase their product. Whether its holding standalone shows under WrestleCon’s umbrella or loaning their roster, European groups are getting more attention these days and partially due to the success of PROGRESS and similar companies launching an online service in order to present their product to a wider, unfamiliar audience. The Sugar Mill in New Orleans will host multiple events throughout the duration of the gigantic weekend. The Crash will be running its own shows as part of WrestleCon’s festivities; one matchup has been announced, as Lacey Lane teams up with Black Danger to take on the duos of Christi Jaynes and Oráculo, Barbie Hayden and Joey Ryan and lastly, Diamante and Douglas James.
Jinny and Toni Storm have been announced for PROGRESS’ April 6th and 7th events down in the area and it appears that Storm will likely be pulling double duty, as she’s already set to be apart of the first night’s show and will also be making her debut for SHIMMER that Saturday afternoon. The fallout from Toni Storm’s latest title defense and ambush at Chapter 62 led to the current Women’s Champion teaming up with Charlie Morgan to take on Jinny’s recruited henchmen, Nina Samuels and Chakara back on February 11th. The matchup ended up going in her and Morgan’s favor, however, Charlie too would align herself with Jinny following a post-match beatdown of the titleholder. The new alliance has lent Morgan a win over Millie McKenzie at Chapter 63 after the group’s acting manager hit her opponent with her shoe, causing a distraction.
The win made sense and acted in a form of retribution for Charlie, as she along with four additional competitors including Chakara were beaten by McKenzie back in December at Chapter 61. Morgan’s well-liked by Pro Wrestling: EVE’s audience and its a different pace to see her playing the bad guy role and going for the ultimate betrayal a day later after teaming up Storm in a losing effort to Kay Lee Ray and Sammii Jayne, whom she challenges in May, at EVE’s show in London. PROGRESS has not announced the exact implication of Storm’s involvement in that Friday and Saturday’s lineup at the Pontchartrain Center, the same building SHIMMER will be running in Kenner, Louisianna. However, with Jinnny scheduled to appear, I wouldn’t put it past her to get involved in a title defense or challenge Storm head-on for the championship if she was indeed fully recuperated from her injury and that does not appear to be the case right now.
She underwent surgery sometime at the tail-end of January following her first Revolution Pro British Women’s Title defense and her championship matchup against Storm getting scrapped days before. It was announced by the promotion that Jinny would be unable to compete for the belt after sustaining a broken hand and concussion during the previous weekend’s shows. After gaining three consecutive wins under her belt, making her the defacto number one contender to the belt, Millie McKenzie was then slotted into the title matchup in Jinny’s place. She too would be out of the championship bout, leading to Storm’s original opponent announcing that she’ll be taking on Chakara. The title match happened and Jinny, along with the assistance of Nina Samuels and Chakara attacked the champion moments after she retained with the Strong Zero. Despite the loss to Charlie Morgan, McKenzie is the first to stand up to Jinny and be against the apparent influence she’s establishing over the division and sadly, it cost her.
Rachael Ellering and Savannah are advertised for Wildkat Sports’ show on April 5th, in addition to Tenille Dashwood being announced for WrestleCon’s super show that evening at the Sugar Mill. SHIMMER has continued to add competitors to its lineup and even announced another matchup that is now scrapped. Cheerleader Melissa and Madison Rayne were set to clash in their first one-on-one situation in sevens years, as their previous matchup got turned into a seventeen-second spot at the Impact Wrestling tapings in March of 2011, with Madison beating Melissa under her “Alissa Flash” character. The matchup would have been a non-title situation, as either competitor of a championship or within contention of one within the promotion right now. The matchup would also serve as another meeting between SHIMMER originals that’s never happened inside the confines of the Berwyn Eagles Club. Due to personal reasons, Rayne will no longer be available for her scheduled appearances during that weekend in New Orleans; a replacement has not been announced.
Mia Yim returns from injury to be apart of the one-hundredth showdown in the New Orleans area along with a whole heap of others making their return like Shotzi Blackheart and Veda Scott. Delilah Doom and Leva Bates will be on board and I’m sure their third title defense will be apart of the show’s plans, as tag teams, Blue Nation (Jessica Troy and Charli Evans), LuFisto and Hudson Envy, Fire And Nice (Chelsea Green and Britt Baker) will be in the building. Kellyanne and Zoe Lucas are the international contingents that are going to be apart of SHIMMER 100 along with more names to be announced in the coming weeks. The promotion has also announced that former titleholder, Kellie Skater will host the afterparty festivities during the Volume 101-104 weekend tapings back in Berwyn. With the exception of Toni Storm, everyone booked on the New Orleans show will be working the following weekend’s tapings in Illinois along with a bunch more names like Kiera Hogan and Kris Wolf, who’s also going to be apart of RISE’s seminar the night before in the same building.
Here’s some things that happened over the weekend here in the United States, Canada, Mexico, overseas in Europe and Japan… title changes, retainments and more…
Amber Nova and Axx Clover picked up their first AWA Florida Tag Team Title defense on Friday in Orlando after they successfully retained against Aaron Epic and Chasyn Rance… German Wrestling Federation held another women’s event in Berlin on Saturday, which was supposed to be headlined by Katey Harvey’s latest title defense, as she was scheduled to meet Blue Nikita in a No Disqualification matchup. However, due to the ongoing circumstantial weather in Ireland, Harvey along with Valkyrie was unable to make the show. The promotion managed to find last-minute replacements for the champion and Valkyrie and brought in Killer Kelly and Veda Scott, who’s still working a tour throughout the continent. The card was re-jigged as a result, with Wesna Busic and a partner of her choosing, Tarkan Aslan, beating Killer Kelly (Valkyrie’s replacement in the match) and Lucky Kid in the promoted mixed tag team matchup. Ayesha Raymond wound up beating Kat Siren, as her original opponent, Kati Libra defeated Melanie Gray in the show’s opener. Audrey Bride’s opponent, Lissy Lennox, also missed the event; she defeated Veda Scott via disqualification. Shanna, Melanie Gray, and Tracy were set to face off a triple threat, elimination matchup, however like the rest of the card, it got changed to a singles match between Shanna and Tracy, which was won by the Portuguese competitor. The main event did become a three-way match, as Blue Nikita got inserted into Kaitlin Diemond’s matchup against Laura Di Matteo and defeated both competitors… Xia Brookside has officially became a member of the STARDOM roster and was presented the promotion’s authentic tracksuit by Io Shirai at Sunday’s show… Big Mami and Nino Hamburguesa remain the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Champions after beating La Hiedra and Villano III Jr. for the belts in Pachuca, Mexico on Thursday… ASUKA and Takuya Sugawa came up short in their initial challenge for the NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Title on Sunday, as the current champions, Masamune and SUGI, successfully retained… Jaylee retained her OVW Women’s Championship against Torey Payne on Saturday…
Nina Samuels and Viper’s challenge to Sammii Jayne for the Discovery Wrestling Women’s belt will have to wait, as Sunday’s show in Edinburgh, Scotland got postponed due to the area being heavily affected by snow and ice… Pro Wrestling WAVE had a show booked for Shinkiba 1st RING on Saturday. It’s card seen multiple tag team matches with the exception of Rina Yamashita’s bout up against Mika Tanaka. The soon-to-be-retired Mika Iida and Sakura Hirota went up against Cherry and Kaori Yoneyama and lost. New champions, Yuki Miyazaki and Nagisa Nozaki teamed up with ASUKA and together they defeated Fairy Nipponbashi, Misaki Ohata, and Ryo Mizunami. Yumi Ohka and Mio Momono won their matchup against Hiroe Nagahama and Moeka Haruhi… Blood Brothers Pro Wrestling presented its hardcore, eight-woman tournament in Sun Valley, California on Saturday. The tournament featured all its participants competing in various stipulated and dangerous matchups. Buggy Nova was scheduled to face Kikyo in a Tequila Sunrise: Falls Count Anywhere matchup, however, the match never happened, as Kikyo went onto defeat Ludark Shaitan and Maria James instead. Sage Sin and Mariah Moreno faced off in a Texas Bull Rope match, with Sage getting the win and heading onto the semi-finals of the Goddess Of Gore tournament, while Randi West and Brittany Wonder traded blows in a Singapore Cane matchup. Ludark Shaitan defeated Kikyo in the semifinals; she was scheduled to face Maria James in a Staple Gun match, but due to the absence of Buggy Nova, the matchup got nixed and reconfigured. Sage Sin overcame Randi West in their semifinals matchup and went onto overthrow Shaitan in the tournament’s final match to become the inaugural Goddess of Gore winner… Azusa Christie and Saki-sama’s first defense of the TOKYO Princess Tag Team Titles went down at Saturday’s show at the Seijo Hall in Tokyo. They defeated Nodoka-Oneesan and Yuu to retain
February 24: Femmes Fatales presented its twentieth event in Ottawa, Ontario as part of a collaborative effort with C*4 Wrestling, a promotion based in the province. One title match was signed for the show and it involved Mercedes Martinez successfully defending the flagship championship up against Vanessa Kraven. Despite originally having the current SHIMMER Champion on the show, as Nicole Savoy and Tessa Blanchard’s debut for the promotion was going to be under non-title contention, Savoy skipped on the appearance and instead, decided to extend her tour with STARDOM and defended the title against Jungle Kyona. The championship bout happened to be scheduled the same day as Femmes Fatales’ event, with Savoy retaining in her first title defense since unseating Martinez of the belt in November. The matchup marked the fifth time that a championship within SHIMMER had been contested for outside its platform and is the first time the main belt was defended in Japan alone. That same show at the Osaka World Hall featured a title defense by Xia Brookside, as she retained the IPW: UK Women’s Championship against Natsuko Tora in the second match on the card. The matchup was also Brookside’s first defense since beating Livvii Grace for the belt back in December.
Hideki Suzuki unseated Tsukasa Fujimoto of the Triangle Ribbon Championship in Yokohama. The title match also involved former titleholder, Miyako Matsumoto; Suzuki becomes the first man to ever hold the championship… Lacey Lane’s title defense against Santana Garrett ended in a disqualification, retaining The Crash Femenil Title as a result… Diamond Doll retained the Cape Championship Wrestling Women’s Title against Sarah Summers in Cape Girardeau, Missouri… Champ7 Pro Wrestling held the semifinals of their women’s title tournament in Jacksonville, Florida, as Amber Nova and Addie defeated Layne Rosario and Lexi Gomez to move onto their matchup in the finals that ended in a No Contest… Londyn Ali became the new Renegade Wrestling Alliance Women’s titleholder after beating Nina Monet and unseating Holidead in her third title defense in West Newton, Pennsylvania… The CTW Women’s Championship changed hands via a four-way match in Markham, Illinois, as The Angel unseated Renee Van Peebles of the title. Kaci Dillon and Kylie Rae were also participants in this matchup… Shazza McKenzie defeated FaceBrooke in Newcastle Pro Wrestling’s 2018 Queen Of the Castle qualifying matchup… A special challenge match between Davienne and Alisha Edwards ended in a count-out at Lucky Pro Wrestling’s show in Clinton, Massachusetts. The lineup also included a Women’s Title defense by Adira, as she retained her belt against Rosalie… Little Miss Roxxy bested Shax in the quarterfinals of the 3CW Women’s Title Tournament in Darlington… Deonna Purrazzo, Maria Manic, and Jessie Brooks all collided for an opportunity to face LuFisto for the JAPW Women’s Title in Rahway, New Jersey, with Purrazzo picking up the victory… Jawsolyn and Christina Marie have advanced to the next round of the Dynasty’s Diamond Championship tournament, beating Corrine Mink and Tasha Steelz respectively… Katarina Leigh’s Maverick Pro Women’s strap was on the line in Los Angeles, as she beat out Madison Rayne to walk away with her first title defense
February 25: Christi Jaynes unsuccessfully challenged Sage Sin for the American Joshi Championship in Austin. Believe it or not, this match was Sage’s first time defending the belt since capturing it last June when she defeated Su Yung in the finals of last year’s Queen Of Queens tournament… Jamie Hayter successfully retained the Big League Wrestling Women’s belt against Ayesha Raymond in Exmouth, England… Aoi Kizuki defeated Manami Katsu in a number one contender’s match and as a result, she will be going on challenge Hanako Nakamori for the PURE-J Championship on April 15th… Willow Nightingale picked up another title defense of the Starlet Championship in Deer Park, New York against Mike Mondo
A double title match, a deathmatch involving exploding baseball bats, a new champion being crowned, new title belts being awarded – No seriously, deathmatches have made their way over to Rossy Ogawa’s neighborhood…
The promotion held a press conference earlier this week to officially announce the card for their March 25th event at the Shin-Kiba arena and to also announce a chunk of matches that are happening during their three-day event, Dream Slam, starting on March 28th at Korakuen Hall. For starters, Io Shirai and her co-titleholders will be defending the Artists of STARDOM belts up against the team of Bea Priestley, Toni Storm and Xia Brookside as part of the Shin-Kiba 1st RING event along with the debut of one of their newest trainees, Reo Onozaki, as she wrestles Natsuko Tora in her first matchup. The promotion made the announcement sometime last month that they were in the process of introducing new competitors trained at their respective dojo, with Nao Yamaguchi debuting first at Sunday’s show in Tokyo, working her first matchup against Shiki Shibusawa. The announcement came packaged with another big decision by the promotion, as they are not only working on building up their younger roster, but the division would be getting a championship to fight for.
Azumi (AZM), Starlight Kid, Shibusawa, Hanan, and Ruaka stood in the ring while Rossy Ogawa presented the newly created Future of STARDOM Championship to the attending crowd at Korakuen Hall back on February 18th. It was announced that these five competitors would be the ones fighting to become the inaugural titleholder, fitting the requirements to contend for the championship in the first place. Unlike most of their golden hardware, the Future of STARDOM Championship is simply a belt for the rookies, however, those grouped into that portion of the roster must under the age of twenty-years-old or have less than two years of in-ring experience. The requirements do blur the lines when it comes to which competitors are qualified to compete for the belt especially when age is one of the factors.
Shiki Shibusawa is the oldest entrant in the tournament at twenty-seven-years-old, but because she lacks the tenured experience that would knock her out of the running, she’s apart of the title chase. Starlight Kid’s real age is unknown, however, she’s been one of the many rookies the promotion has employed over the years that’s been a mainstay – her implementation into the tournament makes sense along with AZM, who’s the next oldest competitor. The almost-sixteen year-old started out wrestling five-minute matches in the shows’ opener to becoming a visible member of the promotion’s ace, Io Shirai’s stable. Hanan and Ruaka will both be turning fourteen this August and are actually four days apart in birth.
I discussed the idea of the promotion implementing something for their younger, inexperienced roster a while back with Alex on an episode of Josy, Joshi, Joshe, as the rookies appeared to be flushed into the cards for the shows and not having a definitive role besides grouping them together. I even pointed out recently that the High Speed Title is suffering its own dilemma and that it was once used to give rookies that reflected former titleholder, Natsuki*Taiyo’s high-flying, acrobatic and speed demon style a championship to contend for before jumping towards the secondary title. However, the belt’s also lost its steam, practically exists along with the other six belts and is used as a prop to sell a couple more tickets, despite its actual significance waining. I have suggested that its possibly time for the belt to be retired after coming to fruition nine years ago and Taiyo becoming the forsaken, inaugural champion. Mary Apache is not around often enough to defend the belt, therefore it’s visibility has decreased and is only mentioned when she returns to the country – it’s pretty similar to the deal we are getting with Toni Storm, however, she manages to defend the SWA Championship way more than the World of STARDOM Title.
Every time Storm reappears, there’s usually a new face lumped in with the latest foreign contingent and because the SWA Undisputed Title requires that her opponents range from different countries, she gets to easily knock out those defenses. Storm pulled out her fifteenth victory with the belt back in Osaka on February 24th, becoming the first competitor to obtain that many title defenses within the promotion and setting a new record. Ahead of this achievement, Io Shirai had etched her own record for defenses with her first and second reigns of the World of STARDOM Championship. The inaugural titleholder, Nanae Takahashi had originally set the pace with her run back in 2012, making it to seven successful defenses before Alpha Female knocked her off her totem pole at the following year’s “Stardom The Highest” in March of 2013. Shirai unseated the German brute that next month in Tokyo and went onto carrying the championship through ten defenses. She lastly retained against Meiko Satomura before losing the belt to Yoshiko exactly a month later in August of 2014. Shirai’s second reign seen her rack up even more defenses and actually outdoing herself on purpose. Her fourteenth championship matchup went to a time limit-draw as she and Toni Storm fought all the way down to the match’s final second. Shirai had pulled off thirteen consecutive, clean wins with the belt before dropping the title to Mayu Iwatani in June.
Toni has two title matches signed for night one of Dream Slam and on the final night’s show. She’ll be putting her SWA Undisputed Championship on the line up against Viper and her ICW Women’s belt in a double title match on March 28th. I see this matchup resulting in a time limit-draw, with both titleholders escaping with their respective championships and their reigns intact. I can not see Storm being able to defend another belt along with other hardware she’s already amassed in the past year – she’s booked up. The finals of the Future of STARDOM Championship tournament will also take place on this show, as Starlight Kid takes on AZM and Shiki Shibusawa, with the winner becoming the inaugural holder of the new title belt.
Shirai’s latest Wonder of STARDOM matchup has been signed for night two of Dream Slam on March 31st; she defends the championship against Bea Priestley. The Osaka show will also feature Mary Apache and her sister, Faby Apache challenging Kagetsu and Hana Kimura for the Goddesses belts three days after the debut of Mary’s daughter, Natsumi at the first night’s event. The match will be Faby’s first-ever appearance for the promotion and it’s her first trip back to Japan since November of 2012, where she competed in the AAA Reina de Reinas tournament against Kaguya (Mio Shirai’s masked persona) as part of a partnership with Pro Wrestling WAVE. It’s going to be of interest to see if this one-time appearance leads to Faby getting more work with the promotion and possibly establishing a funnel system between STARDOM and AAA for the future.
Saki Kashima’s official return from retirement will also be apart of the lineup at the Osaka Edion Arena #2, as she faces Shiki Shibusawa and Sumire Natsu in a three-way fight. Kashima’s name might be familiar to longtime fans of the product, however, for those that are not aware, Kashima’s a returning competitor and was a member of the inaugural Artist of STARDOM Champions back in 2013. She went inactive (February of 2013) from competition a month after winning the belts with Act Yasukawa and Natsuki*Taiyo that January and wound up retiring from the sport after it was cited that she was suffering from “poor health.” That year turned out to be the nail in the coffin for most of their rookies, as some of them like Natsumi Showzuki left the promotion due to injuries or were terminated like Sumire Yoshino.
The belts were officially declared vacant that May after Yasukawa suffered her own injury, a cervical spine injury, and the champions were decided the next month, as Kairi Hojo, Kaori Yoneyama and Yuhi, otherwise known as the “Chibis” due to their small stature, defeated Hailey Hatred, Christina Von Eerie and Kyoko Kimura for the belts in Tokyo. Kashima has not stepped foot back in the ring over the past five years and at twenty-four years old, she has the potential for this return to become a years-long run if her body doesn’t give way into the physicality. Hiromi Mimura announced that her final date as an active competitor on the roster will be on March 28th, as she teams up with Konami to take on Momo Watanabe and Jungle Kyona. Mimura will face ten opponents as part of a gauntlet at the March 25th show – besides sharing a month’s reign of the Artist titles last year with Konami and Hojo, Mimura’s career in STARDOM did not meet the full potential that could’ve been explored eventually. Instead, she’s hanging up the boots for good after less than three years with the promotion.
Toni Storm’s long-anticipated championship rematch against Mayu Iwatani is not the only title match on the card for April 1st, as Xia Brookside continues to defend the IPW: UK Women’s belt, this time she faces off with Konami. The title match between Storm and Iwatani pretty much needs to happen in order for either competitor to be able to move forward; it will bring more resolution to the situation that was already solved in the quickest way possible. Iwatani was never pinned for the championship, nor did she ever submit, instead, an attempted dropkick and eventual spill onto the outside of the ring lead to Ogawa awarding Storm the title after witnessing the star’s injury firsthand. Iwatani is being forced to again prove herself against the current World of STARDOM Champion like once before when the red belt was strapped in around the waist of Io Shirai. The promotion has announced that new Wonder and World of STARDOM title belts will be introduced during their respective defenses in Osaka and in Nagoya. I wonder if the promotion has decided to forgo the belt’s traditional look of incorporating a “star” and having the secondary and main championship pattern after the WWWA World Single Championship and the WWWA All-Pacific Title, otherwise known as the “red” and “white” belts of All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling fame.
Regardless of the belts’ redesign, a possible deathmatch has been announced for Dream Slam’s card on April 1st. Tam Nakano’s issues with her former Oedo Tai teammates has reached such high proportions that the entire stable, including Nakano, is calling for their matters to be resolved in one of the most violent displays in professional wrestling. Nakano along with Sumire Natsu and Kagetsu have agreed to obliterate each other in an Exploding Baseball Bat Deathmatch, however, Tam’s partner, Io refuses to take part in this matchup and cited that the match and its concept is not what wrestling is about. Shirai has taken a “traditionalist” role in wanting nothing to do with the dangerous stipulations that are still to be announced. The “deathmatch” has not been made official though Shirai and Tam will be taking on Sumire and Kagetsu on the show still despite the delayed announcement.
I am on the fence when it comes to the idea of this matchup happening – I do not feel that this feud between Tam and Oedo Tai deserves this extreme of a resolution; it’s far too early.
Plus, the promotion has never booked such a match of its reputation beforehand, therefore it appears to be out of left field. STARDOM has remained squeaky clean when it comes to promoting wrestling at a higher level, especially after the infamous Yoshiko and Act Yasaukawa incident a few years back. The promotion has managed to stay away from multiple stipulations and even match types over its eight years in the business, while other promotions like OZ Academy, Ice Ribbon and even PURE-J cross those lines on the regular. Its weird and I believe this is the “wow factor” that the promotion want’s going into the show, but its like they are jumping the shark here. Also joining the card is Jungle Kyona’s challenge to Viper and a matchup between HZK and Hana Kimura, who broke out into a brawl at the press conference.
Here’s a look at what’s going this weekend on the North American indies, overseas in Europe and elsewhere…
Lana Austin faces Little Miss Roxxy for Fighting Spirit Wrestling in Maghull, Sefton on Friday… Delilah Doom has two opponents lined up for Live Pro Wrestling’s event in Pleasant Hills, Pennsylvania, as she takes on Sahara Se7en and Hellen Vale on Saturday… Jordynne Grace’s tour of the United Kingdom continues on Sunday when she debuts for XWA Wrestling show in Colchester. She faces the legendary, Emi Sakura, who will also be making her debut… Nikki Addams faces Tessa Blanchard and Rachael Ellering when Warriors Of Wrestling heads to Staten Island for their latest show on Saturday. Addams’ Women’s Title will likely be on the line here… Two championship matches are signed for SHINE 49’s debut at the La Boom in Woodside, New York on Friday night, as Priscilla Kelly defends the Nova Championship up against Candy Cartwright and LuFisto’s title will be on the line against an old-rival, Mercedes Martinez. Depending on whoever escapes the title match as SHINE Champion, the winner will go onto defend the belt at WWN’s Super Show in New Orleans on April 6th. Vanessa Kraven’s feud with Dementia D’Rose comes to a head in an Anything Goes match. Luscious Latasha and Gabby Gilbert reunite for the first time in a year to take on Maria Manic and Penelope Ford in their official SHINE debuts, while Kiera Hogan takes on Aerial Monroe and Brandi Lauren will be taking on Shotzi Blackheart. Two more singles contest help finish out the show’s card; Stormie Lee will face Allie Recks, also making her debut and Amanda Carolina Rodriguez takes on Amber Nova…
Karen Q and Britt Baker’s one-on-one matchup will be apart of Absolute Intense Wrestling’s debut at the Tadmore Shrine in Akron, Ohio on Saturday… Cassandra Miyagi and Heidi Katrina have challenged DASH Chisako and KAORU to a rematch for the SENDAI Girls Tag Team Championships at the promotion’s show on Sunday at Shinjuku FACE… On Friday, Faye Jackson faces off with LuFisto in Elmhurst, New York for Brii Combination Wrestling… After beating Killer Kelly and Veda Scott in a number one contender’s match back on February 25th, this Saturday Melanie Gray challenges Toni Storm for the WXW Women’s Championship in Oberhausen, Germany. The matchup will be Storm’s third title defense since dethroning Kelly of the championship back in January… Sonya Strong faces Diamante for House Of Glory’s show in Jamaica, Queens… Tenille Dashwood works Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment’s show at the Opera Night Club; she faces the oncoming challenge of Isla Dawn… Tidal Championship Wrestling has two women’s matches booked for Sunday’s show in Leeds; Charli Evans will face Little Miss Roxxy and Rhio will face Shauna Shay… Wrestling Has A Tomorrow hosts a show at the infamous Fete Music in Providence, Rhode Island on Sunday. Rachael Ellering returns following her matchup against Tenille Dashwood last month and will be taking on Sonya Strong and Britt Baker, who makes her debut… Kay Lee Ray takes on Kenny Williams at Insane Championship Wrestling’s event in Edinburgh, Scotland. Viper will also be in action on the show, as her matchup against Aivil will be non-title… Taya Valkyrie and Tessa Blanchard collide at Bar Wrestling’s on Thursday in Baldwin Park, California. Heather Monroe, Britt Baker, Chelsea Green and more also scheduled to appear
While we’re in the midst of discussing this weekend’s events, let’s dive into next weekend’s forecast…
March 16: Jessicka Havok has her first of two title defenses pinned for the month of March scheduled for AAW’s fourteenth-anniversary show Merrionette Park, Illinois. She defends the Women’s Championship against Hudson Envy in her debut for the promotion
March 17: World Series Wrestling’s newest tour kicks off in Melbourne with a triple threat matchup, that sees Indi Hartwell going up against Shazza McKenzie and Deonna Purrazzo… Brittany Blake teams up with Delilah Doom and Savanna Stone at ZERO 1 USA’s show in Vandalia, Illinois, as all three competitors will face the team of Madison Rayne, Nevaeh, and Sierra… Just Plain Evil faces off with Candy Lee and Delilah takes on Grace Lightning for Maniacs United’s show in Auckland. Ashlee Spencer is also scheduled to appear… Mayumi Ozaki challenges Yoshiko for the OZ Academy Openweight Championship in Tokyo. If Ozaki wins, it will be her third stint with her promotion’s flagship title… Laurel Van Ness challenges Britt Baker for the International Wrestling Cartel Women’s Title at the promotion’s show in Elizabeth, New Jersey
March 18: Savannah Summers takes on Deonna Purrazzo when World Series Wrestling rolls through Adelaide, Southern Australia
March 19: Madison Eagles will face Deonna Purrazzo at the final night’s show for World Series Wrestling in Penrith, a suburb in the metropolitan area of Sydney
WWE
It’s official – Stephanie McMahon and her husband, Triple H will face Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle at WrestleMania XXXIV in New Orleans… Alexa Bliss and Braun Strowman defeated Jimmy Uso and Naomi in the finals of the Mixed Match Challenge… According to online reports, Abbey Laith has been released from her NXT contract… Ruby Riott challenges Charlotte for the Smackdown Women’s Championship at Fastlane this Sunday in Columbus, Ohio. Becky Lynch and Naomi will also be apart of the show; they face Natalya and Carmella
North America
Joining the already-announced matchup between Jordynne Grace and Tenille Dashwood on March 25th is the debut of Shotzi Blackheart as she takes on LuFisto for the very time at Women’s Wrestling Revolution in Worchester, Massachusetts. Rachael Ellering will face Skylar and Deonna Purrazzo will finally square off with Sonya Strong in a Grudge match. Barbi Hayden, Solo Darling, and others are set to return… Holidead and Thunder Rosa get a chance to reclaim tag team gold once again, as Freelance Wrestling has announced that the “Twisted Sisterz” will face Kylie Rae and GPA for their titles in Chicago on April 27th… Warriors of Wrestling has another all-female lineup posed for their April 14th show in Brooklyn. Tasha Steelz, Riley Shepard, Christina Marie, C-Bunny, Katred, Allie Recks, Nyla Rose, the current champion, Nikki Addams and more are plastered onto the promotion’s flier for the event… Savanna Stone will be defending the brand new ZERO 1 USA Women’s Title against Kara Noia in Mattoon, Illinois on April 7th… Queens of Combat’s next shows in Gibsonville, North Carolina will be a double DVD taping on March 24th. Isla Dawn, Veda Scott, Angel Rose and Jordynne Grace are among the announced debutees for the shows in addition to the returns of Kiera Hogan, Faye Jackson, current tag champions, Maria Manic and Penelope Ford with more names left to be confirmed. The show, “Rise From the Grave,” will be headlined by a Queens of Combat Title defense, as Su Yung meets Hudson Envy in the promotion’s first-ever Steel Cage matchup… Kylie Rae’s return to Inspire Pro Wrestling on March 25th will see her collide with Thunder Rosa… Girl Fight Wrestling has two shows coming up on March 14th in Panama City, Florida and on March 20th in Jeffersonville, Indiana… Nicole Savoy will face Delilah Doom at Alternative Wrestling Show’s March 24th event that already features matchups between Jessicka Havok – Raze and Hania taking on Shotzi Blackheart… Solo Darling and Faye Jackson are the first two names for Pro Wrestling Magic’s fourth-annual Casamento Cup, which takes place in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey on May 19th… Maverick Pro Wrestling has announced the debuts of Deonna Purrazzo, Laynie Luck and Salina de la Renta for their event on March 31st… Taeler Hendrix takes on Heather Monroe for National Pro Wrestling League’s March 24th show in Petaluma, California… Kleo Mallette and Flo Riley will be heading over to Spain in April to be apart of Revolution Championship Wrestling’s show in Barcelona. Both Mallette and Riley are students of Dru Onyx and were trained at the Torture Chamber Wrestling Dojo up in the Montreal area of Quebec. Onyx is also responsible for the tutelage of former Femmes Fatales International Champion, Jessika Black. Killer Kelly, Kris Wolf, Laura Di Matteo, Chakara, Tracy, Viper and RCW Women’s Champion Sammii Jayne have also been added to the event… Jessicka Havok goes one-on-one with Ivelisse on March 31st for the AAW Women’s Title… Sabotage Wrestling has yet to begin announcing the official matchups for their April 28th event in Austin, however, a bunch of names has been dropped months ahead of the show. Rachael Ellering, Lacey Lane, and Isla Dawn will all be making their debuts for the promotion as part of the event, as Dawn takes on Lane; Leva Bates, Ivory Robyn Phoebe, Thunder Rosa, Angel Blue, Delilah Doom and new champion, Erica Torres were also announced… The same day Penelope Ford makes her debut for Limitless Wrestling’s March 30th show in Westbrook, Maine, Allie Kat also returns to the promotion along with Ashley Vox. Kris Stadtlander will also be making her debut… Tessa Blanchard has been entered into CZW’s Best of the Best tournament, which takes place on April 14th in Voorhees, New Jersey
Europe
Main Event Wrestling will be crowning its inaugural Women’s Champion come March 23rd in Longbenton, as Little Miss Roxxy takes on Sammii Jayne… Killer Kelly goes up against Millie McKenzie when WXW Germany headlines the Dome in Tufnell Park on March 24th… Nadia Sapphire has announced that she’ll be heading to the United States in June and is looking to fill her calendar up with bookings ahead of the trip… Chakara faces Livvii Grace in one of the first semi-final matchups for the Apollo Championship Wrestling Women’s Title tournament on March 31st… Southside Wrestling Entertainment has begun announcing competitors for their upcoming women’s show in Sheffield on June 23rd. Xia Brookside, Charli Evans, Katey Harvey, Martina, Shanna, Sammii Jayne and Mia Yim are the confirmed cast for “She’s All That;” Southside has also announced LuFisto’s debut for their May 11th show in Stevenage, as she takes on Kasey Owens… Two more competitors are left to be announced for the scramble match that’s taking place at Shropshire Wrestling Alliance’s April 7th show in Telford. So far the matchup sees Kat Von Kaige taking on Candyfloss and Jayde… German Wrestling Federation has announced the official date for their next women’s event. The show takes place in Berlin on May 4th and the champion, Katey Harvey, Blue Nikita, Wesna Busic and Valkyrie have already been confirmed for the lineup… Tenille Dashwood’s opponent has been confirmed for her appearance for IPW: UK on April 29th. She faces the current Women’s Champion, Xia Brookside in what appears to be under non-title contention… Mia Yim’s debut was announced for Tidal Championship Wrestling’s June 22nd show in Leeds
Mexico
Princesa Sugehit tugged at Zeuxis’ mask during their matchup on Saturday in Naucalpan de Juárez, Mexico and used the tactic to her advantage in order to get the cradle pinfall on her rival for the win… Faby Apache defeated Lady Shani once again on Sunday in a short number after interference from Estrella Divinia… Chik Tormenta faces Mystique in Mexico City on Sunday
Japan
Makoto heads to Singapore for a matchup against Alexis Lee as part of a trilogy series on March 23rd… Rookie, Aiko makes her debut at STARDOM’s March 25th event in Tokyo… Hamuko Hoshi and Tsukasa Fujimoto will face Maya Yukihi and Risa Sera for the International Ribbon Tag Team Championship on March 25th
Australia & New Zealand
Shazza McKenzie takes on Melina and Kellyanne in the main event of Battle Championship Wrestling’s March 30th show in East Burwood, Victoria… Melbourne Championship Wrestling, Explosive Pro, and PWA will be hosting PROGRESS’ three-city tour of the continent in April. The promotion invades Balcatta, Perth on April 18th and will be live at the Vasto Club alongside Explosive Pro. They will head to Northcote, Melbourne on April 20th and will close out their tour with Pro Wrestling Australia at the Star Casino Event Centre in Pyrmont, Sydney. Toni Storm is one of the first competitors named for the events… One of the first Austrailian dates for Tenille Dashwood’s ongoing return to the indies tour has been announced by a promotion by the name of Wrestling GO!, as Dashwood will be apart of their July 12th show in Marayong, New South Wales
Results (February 28th – March 7th)
February 28: SENDAI Girls (Nagoya, Aichi, Japan) – Aiger d Sakura Hirota; DASH Chisako d Heidi Katrina; Cassandra Miyagi d KAORU; Hikaru Shida & Meiko Satomura d Hiroyo Matsumoto & Mio Momono; Aja Kong & Hana Kimura d Chihiro Hashimoto & Mika Iwata
February 28: Ohio Valley Wrestling (Louisville, KY) – Torey Payne d Maria James
March 1: NXT Live (Columbus, OH) – Shayna Baszler d Kairi Sane by DQ; Dakota Kai d Lacey Evans; Candice LeRae & Johnny Gargano d Andrade Almas & Zelina Vega
March 1: AAA (Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico) – Big Mami(c) & Nino Hamburguesa (c) d La Hiedra & Villano III Jr.
March 1: NXT Live (Ocala, FL) – Aliyah d Zeda; Ember Moon d Reina Gonzalez
March 2: Northeast Wrestling (Waterbury, CT) – Tenille Dashwood d Deonna Purrazzo
March 2: La Descente Du Coude (Montreal, Quebec) – Vanessa Kraven d Stefany Sinclair
March 2: Riptide Wrestling (Brighton, East Sussex) – Candyfloss d Charli Evans; Rhia O’Reilly d Chakara
March 2: WWE Live (Kalamazoo, MI) – Asuka, Bayley, Mickie James & Sasha Banks d Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, Alexa Bliss & Nia Jax
March 2: I Believe In Wrestling (Orlando, FL) – Kaci Lennox & Sofi Castillo d Raegan Fire & Raeven Marie; Amber Nova(c) & Axx Clover (c) d Aaron Epic & Chasyn Rance
March 2: Westside Xtreme Wrestling (Gotha, Germany) – Killer Kelly d Veda Scott
March 2: Imperial Wrestling Revolution (Coalgate, OK) – Salina de la Renta d Cameron Bra’Nae
March 2: NXT Live (Cleveland, OH) – Candice LeRae & Johnny Gargano d Andrade Almas & Zelina Vega; Kairi Sane d Lacey Evans; Shayna Baszler d Dakota Kai
March 3: Riptide Wrestling (Brighton, East Sussex) – Charlie Morgan d Candyfloss
March 3: Professional Championship Wrestling ( Ferntree Gully, Victoria) – Indi Hartwell d Aysha
March 3: Pro Wrestling 4 U (Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire) – Rhio d Jennie B
March 3: Pro Wrestling WAVE (Tokyo, Japan) – Mio Momono & Yumi Ohka d Hiroe Nagahama & Moeka Haruhi; Shoji Fukushima d Keisuke Goto; ASUKA, Nagisa Nozaki & Yuki Miyazaki d Misaki Ohata, Ryo Mizunami & Fairy Nihonbashi; Cherry & Kaori Yoneyama d Mika Iida & Sakura Hirota; Rina Yamashita d Miki Tanaka
March 3: Target Wrestling (Dumfries, Scotland) – Chelsea Blaze d Ivy Mist
March 3: Pura Raza (Naucalpan de Juárez, Mexico) – Princesa Sugehit d Zeuxis
March 3: Acclaim Pro Wrestling (Ottawa, Ontario) – Cecil Nyx & Xandra Bale d Logan Reid & Spunk
March 3: Source Wrestling (Glasgow, Scotland) – Sammie Jo d Jayla Dark
March 3: WrestleClash (Canberra, Australian Capital Territory) – Kellyanne d Shazza McKenzie
March 3: Deutsche Wrestling Allianz (Delmenhorst, Germany) – Sadie Gibbs d Stephi Stern
March 3: Ohio Valley Wrestling (Louisville, KY) – Jaylee(c) d Torey Payne
March 3: Blood Brothers Pro Wrestling (Sun Valley, CA) – Randi West d Brittany Wonder; Sage Sin d Mariah Moreno; Kikyo and Ludark Shaitan d Amazing Maria; Sage Sin d Randi West; Ludark Shaitan d Kikyo; Sage Sin d Ludark Shaitan
March 3: Tokyo Joshi Pro (Tokyo, Japan) – Raku & Yuka Sakazaki d Hinano & Miu; Rika Tatsumi d Hikari; Hyper Misao & Shoko Nakajima d Maki Ito & Yuki Kamifuki; Miyu Yamashita & Mizuki d Maho Kurone & Marika Kobashi; Azusa Christie(c) & Saki-sama (c) d Nodoka-Oneesan & Yuu
March 3: Academie de Lutte Estrienne (Magog, Quebec) – Kira d Xiao Lee
March 3: WWE Live (Moline, IL) – Becky Lynch & Naomi d Carmella & Lana, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan; Charlotte Flair (c) d Natalya & Ruby Riott
March 3: CMLL (Mexico City, Mexico) – Amapola, Dalys & Tiffany d Kaho Kobayashi, La Vaquerita & Marcela
March 3: NXT Live (Orlando, FL) – Sage Beckett d Zeda; Alexander Wolfe, Killian Dain & Nikki Cross d Reina Gonzalez, Steve Cutler & Wesley Blake
March 3: World Xtreme Wrestling (Minneola, FL) – Brittany Diamond d La Loba Varoneza & Raeven Marie
March 3: Southern Hemisphere Wrestling Alliance (Thornlie, Western Australia) – Roxy Ryot d George Lainoff
March 3: STARDOM (Kasukabe, Japan) – Natsuko Tora d Ruaka; Kaori Yoneyama d Hanan & Shiki Shibusawa; Konami d Hiromi Mimura; Bea Priestley, Toni Storm & Xia Brookside vs Hana Kimura, Kagetsu & Natsu Sumire – Time Limit Draw; AZM, HZK, Io Shirai & Momo Watanabe d Jungle Kyona, Mayu Iwatani, Starlight Kid & Tam Nakano
March 3: German Wrestling Federation (Berlin, Germany) – Kati Libra d Melanie Gray; Shanna d Tracy; Audrey Bride d Veda Scott by DQ; Tarkan Aslan & Wesna d Killer Kelly & Lucky Kid; Ayesha Raymond d Kat Siren; Blue Nikita d Kaitlin Diemond & Laura Di Matteo
March 3: Ring Of Honor (New York City, NY) – Deonna Purrazzo & Tenille Dashwood d Jenny Rose & Sumie Sakai
March 3: Battle Club Pro (Ridgefield Park, NJ) – Harlow O’Hara d Willow Nightingale; Jessicka Havok d Su Yung
March 3: Ice Ribbon (Saitama, Japan) – Miyako Matsumoto & Karen DATE d Ibuki Hoshi & Tsukushi; Nao DATE d Giulia; Kyuri & Risa Sera d Satsuki Totoro & Maruko Nagasaki; Hamuko Hoshi & Tsukasa Fujimoto d Mochi Miyagi & Akane Fujita
March 3: NXT Live (Royal Oak, MI) – Kairi Sane d Shayna Baszler by DQ; Dakota Kai d Lacey Evans; Candice LeRae & Johnny Gargano d Andrade Almas & Zelina Vega
March 4: Kamikaze Pro Wrestling (Birmingham, West Midlands) – Shanna d Veda Scott
March 4: STARDOM (Tokyo, Japan) – Starlight Kid d Hanan; AZM d Ruaka; Shiki Shibusawa d Nao Yamaguchi; Kaori Yoneyama & Natsuko Tora d Hiromi Mimura & Konami; Io Shirai d Xia Brookside; Bea Priestley & Toni Storm d HZK & Momo Watanabe; Hana Kimura, Kagetsu & Natsu Sumire d Jungle Kyona, Mayu Iwatani & Tam Nakano
March 4: Stricktly Nsane Pro Wrestling (Sims, IL) – Sophie King d Lynn Ramsey
March 4: AAA (Puebla, Mexico) – Faby Apache d Lady Shani
March 4: K-DOJO (Chiba, Japan) – Taishi Takizawa d Bambi
March 4: Pro Wrestling ZERO1 (Tokyo, Japan) – Masamune(c) & SUGI (c) d ASUKA & Takuya Sugawa
March 4: International Wrestling Revolution Group (Tlalnepantla, Mexico) – Lilith Dark & Luna Mágica d Cristal & Dulce Luna
March 5: Monday Night RAW (Milwaukee, WI) – Asuka d Nia Jax; Bayley d Mandy Rose
March 6: CMLL (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico) – La Amapola, Metalica & Zeuxis d Kaho Kobayashi, La Vaquerita & Marcela
March 6: WWE’s Mixed Match Challenge (Green Bay, WI) – Alexa Bliss & Braun Strowman d Jimmy Uso & Naomi
March 6: Smackdown Live (Green Bay, WI) – Becky Lynch d Carmella
March 7: PURE-J (Tokyo, Japan) – Command Bolshoi d Koharu Hinata; Konami d KAZUKI; Manami Katsu d Rydeen Hagane; Mika Iida d Yako Fujigasaki; Emi Sakura & Aoi Kizuki d Leon & Hanako Nakamori
Upcoming (March 7th – December 24th)
March 8: Bar Wrestling (Baldwin Park, CA) – Taya Valkyrie vs Tessa Blanchard; Britt Baker; Laura James; Heather Monroe; Chelsea Green
March 9: Fighting Spirit Wrestling (Maghull, Sefton) – Lana Austin vs Little Miss Roxxy
March 9: Brii Combination Wrestling (Elmhurst, NY) – Faye Jackson vs LuFisto
March 9: CMLL (Mexico City, Mexico) – Lady Maravilla, Princesa Sugehit & Sanely vs Dalys, La Seductora & Tiffany
March 10: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Bethnal Green, London) – Viper vs Jordynne Grace; Rhia O’Reilly vs Sammii Jayne(c)
March 10: Warriors Of Wrestling (Staten Island, NY) – Nikki Addams(c) vs Tessa Blanchard vs Rachael Ellering
March 10: NORTH Wrestling (Newcastle, England) – Candyfloss vs Shax
March 10: House Of Glory (Jamaica, NY) – Sonya Strong vs Diamante
March 10: STARDOM (Niigata, Japan)
March 10: SHINE 49 (Woodside, NY) – LuFisto(c) vs Mercedes Martinez; Priscilla Kelly(c) vs Candy Cartwright; Vanessa Kraven vs Dementia D’Rose; Luscious Latasha & Gabby Gilbert vs Maria Manic & Penelope Ford; Kiera Hogan vs Aerial Monroe; Brandi Lauren vs Shotzi Blackheart; Stormie Lee vs Allie Recks; ACR vs Amber Nova
March 10: Live Pro Wrestling (Pleasant Hills, PA) – Sahara Se7en vs Delilah Doom vs Hellen Vale
March 10: NOVA Pro Wrestling (Annandale, VA) – Laynie Luck vs Machiko San; Allie Kat vs Holidead; Isla Dawn vs Kylie Rae; Faye Jackson vs Terra Calaway; Brittany Blake vs Hudson Envy; Mia Yim; Solo Darling vs Barbi Hayden
March 10: Westside Xtreme Wrestling (Oberhausen, Germany) – Toni Storm(c) vs Melanie Gray
March 10: Absolute Intense Wrestling (Akron, OH) – Britt Baker vs Karen Q
March 10: Reckless Intent Wrestling (Alloa, Scotland) – Emily Hayden vs Ayesha Raymond
March 11: Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment (Atlanta, GA) – Tenille Dashwood vs Isla Dawn
March 11: Tidal Championship Wrestling (Leeds, West Yorkshire) – Charli Evans vs Little Miss Roxxy; Rhio vs Shauna Shay
March 11: Fastlane (Columbus, OH) – Charlotte(c) vs Ruby Riott; Becky Lynch & Naomi vs Natalya & Carmella
March 11: 4TB Wrestling (Tooting, London) – Nina Samuels vs Candyfloss
March 11: SENDAI Girls (Tokyo, Japan) – Cassandra Miyagi & Heidi Katrina vs DASH Chisako(c) vs KAORU(c)
March 11: MDA (Mexico City, Mexico) – Chik Tormenta vs Mystique
March 11: XWA Wrestling (Colchester, Essex) – Jordynne Grace vs Emi Sakura
March 11: Wrestling Has A Tomorrow (Providence, RI) – Britt Baker; Sonya Strong; Rachael Ellering
March 11: Insane Championship Wrestling (Edinburgh, Scotland) – Kay Lee Ray vs Kenny Williams; Viper vs Aivil
March 14: Girl Fight Wrestling (Panama City, FL) – Kiera Hogan; Hudson Envy(c); Su Yung; Renee Michelle; Joseline Navarro; Maria James; Aerial Monroe; Aspen Rose; Mickie Knuckles; Nina Monet
March 15: Create A Pro Wrestling Academy (Hicksville, NY) – Kris Stadtlander & VSK vs Alex Reynolds & Izzy McKenna
March 16: World Series Wrestling (Ferntree Gully, Melbourne) – Deonna Purrazzo; Shazza McKenzie
March 16: AAW (Merrionette Park, IL) – Hudson Envy vs Jessicka Havok(c)
March 17: WrestleCircus (Austin, TX)
March 17: Maniacs United (Auckland, New Zealand) – Just Plain Evil vs Candy Lee; Delilah vs Grace Lightning; Ashlee Spencer
March 17: International Wrestling Cartel (Elizabeth, PA) – Chelsea Green
March 17: OZ Academy (Tokyo, Japan) – Yoshiko(c) vs Mayumi Ozaki
March 17: ZERO 1 USA (Vandalia, IL) – Brittany Blake, Delilah Doom & Savanna Stone vs Madison Rayne, Nevaeh & Sierra
March 17: World Series Wrestling (Ferntree Gully, Melbourne) – Indi Hartwell vs Shazza McKenzie vs Deonna Purrazzo
March 17: International Wrestling Cartel (Elizabeth, NJ) – Laurel Van Ness vs Britt Baker(c)
March 18: World Series Wrestling (Adelaide, Southern Australia) – Savannah Summers vs Deonna Purrazzo
March 18: Over The Top Wrestling (Dublin, Ireland) – Martina vs LJ Cleary
March 18: Beyond Wrestling (East Greenwich, RI) – Penelope Ford & Joey Janela vs Santana & Ortiz
March 19: World Series Wrestling (Penrith, New South Wales) – Deonna Purrazzo vs Madison Eagles
March 20: Girl Fight Wrestling (Jeffersonville, IN) – Hudson Envy; Mickie Knuckles; Thunderkitty; Savannah Evans; Joseline Navarro; Maria James; Randi West; Nina Monet; Miss Monica
March 21: STARDOM (Kanazawa, Japan)
March 21: OZ Academy (Maebashi, Japan)
March 22: F1RST Wrestling (Minneapolis, MN) – Rachael Ellering; Jessicka Havok
March 23: Main Event Wrestling (Longbenton, Newcastle upon Tyne) – Miss Roxxy vs Sammii Jayne
March 23: Singapore Pro Wrestling (Far East Square, Singapore) – Alexis Lee vs Makoto
March 24: National Pro Wrestling League (Petaluma, CA) – Taeler Hendrix vs Heather Monroe
March 24: Westside Xtreme Wrestling (Tufnell Park, London) – Killer Kelly vs Millie McKenzie
March 24: Alternative Wrestling Show (South Gate, CA) – Jessicka Havok vs Raze; Hania vs Shotzi Blackheart; Nicole Savoy vs Delilah Doom
March 24: Queens of Combat (Gibsonville, NC) – Veda Scott; Su Yung(c) vs Hudson Envy; Isla Dawn; Faye Jackson; Jordynne Grace; Maria Manic(c); Penelope Ford(c); Kiera Hogan
March 25: Inspire Pro Wrestling (Austin, TX) – Kylie Rae vs Thunder Rosa
March 25: STARDOM (Tokyo, Japan) – Reo Onozaki vs Natsuko Tora; Io Shirai(c) Viper(c) & HZK(c) vs Bea Priestley, Toni Storm & Xia Brookside; Hiromi Mimura vs TBD
March 25: Ice Ribbon (Tokyo, Japan) – Hamuko Hoshi & Tsukasa Fujimoto vs Maya Yukihi(c) & Risa Sera(c)
March 25: PURE-J (Tokyo, Japan)
March 25: Women’s Wrestling Revolution (Worcester, MA) – Tenille Dashwood vs Jordynne Grace; Rachael Ellering vs Skylar; Barbi Hayden; Deonna Purrazzo vs Sonya Strong; Shotzi Blackheart vs LuFisto; Solo Darling
March 26: Defiant Wrestling (Newcastle, England) – Kay Lee Ray; Millie McKenzie
March 28: STARDOM’s Dream Slam Night I (Tokyo, Japan) – Starlight Kid vs AZM vs Shiki Shibusawa; Hiromi Mimura & Konami vs Momo Watanabe & Jungle Kyona; Natsumi vs Io Shirai; Viper(c) vs Toni Storm(c)
March 28: National Pro Wrestling League (Petaluma, CA) – Chelsea Green vs Taeler Hendrix(c)
March 30: Fight Club: PRO (Wolverhampton, West Midlands) – Meiko Satomura vs Chris Brookes
March 30: Limitless Wrestling (Westbrook, ME) – Penelope Ford; Allie Kat; Kris Stadtlander; Ashley Vox
March 30: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Bethnal Green, London) – Kay Lee Ray vs DASH Chisako; Kris Wolf vs Sammii Jayne
March 30: Battle Championship Wrestling (East Burwood, Victoria) – Shazza McKenzie vs Melina vs Kellyanne
March 31: STARDOM’s Dream Slam Night II (Osaka, Japan) – Saki Kashima vs Shiki Shibusawa vs Sumire Natsu; Mayu Iwatani & Tam Nakano vs Toni Storm & Xia Brookside; Io Shirai(c) vs Bea Priestley; Kagetsu(c) & Hana Kimura(c) vs Mary Apache & Faby Apache
March 31: Southside Wrestling Entertainment (Bedford, Bedfordshire) – Kay Lee Ray & Stevie Boy vs Ashley Dunn & Jayde
March 31: AAW (LaSalle, IN) – Ivelisse vs Jessicka Havok(c)
March 31: Southside Wrestling Entertainment (Bedford, Bedfordshire) – Ashley Dunn & Jayde vs Kay Lee Ray & Stevie Boy
March 31: Maverick Pro Wrestling (Los Angeles, CA) – Deonna Purrazzo; Laynie Luck; Salina de la Renta
March 31: Apollo Championship Wrestling (Bermondsey, London) – Chakara vs Livvii Grace
April 1: Revolution Pro (London, England)
April 1: Over The Top Wrestling (Wimborne Minster, Dorset) – Jordynne Grace; Charlie Morgan; Kris Wolf; Jinny; Martina; Katey Harvey; Nina Samuels; DASH Chisako
April 1: STARDOM’s Dream Slam Night III (Nagoya, Aichi, Japan) – Mayu Iwatani vs Toni Storm(c); Xia Brookside(c) vs Konami; HZK vs Hana Kimura; Jungle Kyona vs Viper; Tam Nakano & Io Shirai vs Kagetsu & Sumire Natsu
April 5: Wildkat Sports (New Orleans, LA) – Rachael Ellering; Savannah Evans
April 5: WrestleCon SuperShow (New Orleans, LA)
April 6: Impact Wrestling (New Orleans, LA) – Rosemary; Taya Valkyrie
April 6: H20 Wrestling (Williamstown, NJ) – Terra Calaway vs Mickie Knuckles vs Maria Manic
April 6: PROGRESS (Kenner, LA)
April 6: WWN Live Super Show (New Orleans, LA) – LuFisto(c) vs TBD
April 6: The Crash (New Orleans, LA) – Black Danger & Lacey Lane vs Christi Jaynes & Oráculo, Barbie Hayden & Joey Ryan, Diamante & Douglas James
April 7: Pro Wrestling Revolver (Kenner, LA) – Meiko Satomura vs Jessicka Havok; Martina & Joey Ryan vs Colt Cabana & Marty DeRosa
April 7: Shropshire Wrestling Alliance (Telford, Shropshire) – Kat Von Kaige vs Candyfloss vs Jayde vs TBA vs TBA
April 7: PROGRESS (Kenner, LA)
April 7: ZERO 1 USA (Mattoon, IL) – Savanna Stone(c) vs Kara Noia
April 7: SHIMMER 100 (Kenner, LA) – Mercedes Martinez vs Nicole Savoy(c); Shazza McKenzie(c) vs Tessa Blanchard; Deonna Purrazzo vs Madison Eagles; Toni Storm vs Nicole Matthews; Cheerleader Melissa vs Madison Rayne; Zoe Lucas
April 7: Ultimate Wrestling Corporation (Ludgershall, Buckinghamshire) – Bobbi Tyler
April 8: WrestleCircus (New Orleans, LA)
April 13: AAW (Merrionette Park, IL) – Tenille Dashwood; Su Yung
April 13: RISE 7: Sensation (Berwyn, IL) – Mercedes Martinez vs Taya Valkyrie; Thunder Rosa; Delilah Doom(c) vs Deonna Purrazzo
April 14: Warriors Of Wrestling (Brooklyn, NY) – Tasha Steelz; Nikki Addams(c); Nyla Rose; C-Bunny; Allie Recks; Katred; Riley Shepard; Antionette Marie; Christina Marie; Ariela Nyx; Corinne Mink
April 14: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Bethnal Green, London)
April 14: Combat Zone Wrestling (Voorhees, NJ) – Tessa Blanchard
April 14: SHIMMER 101-102 (Berwyn, IL)
April 15: PURE-J (Tokyo, Japan) – Hanako Nakamori(c) vs Aoi Kizuki
April 15: SHIMMER 103-104 (Berwyn, IL)
April 15: OZ Academy (Tokyo, Japan)
April 19: IWA Mid-South (Memphis, IN) – Shazza McKenzie vs Rain; Hudson Envy; Dementia D’Rose; Delilah Doom; Maria James; Shotzi Blackheart; Kikyo; Christi Jaynes; Nevaeh; Allie Kat; Raze; FaceBrooke
April 18: PROGRESS / Explosive Pro Wrestling (Balcatta, Perth)
April 20: PROGRESS / Melbourne Championship Wrestling (Northcote, Melbourne)
April 21: Remix Pro Wrestling (Marietta, OH) – Roni Nicole vs Alexia Nicole; Tenille Dashwood vs Britt Baker
April 21: XWA Wrestling (Bethnal Green, London)
April 21: WrestleCircus (Austin, TX)
April 23: PROGRESS / Pro Wrestling Australia (Pyrmont, Sydney)
April 27: GRL Wrestling (Canterbury, Kent) – Xia Brookside(c); Livvii Grace; Ayesha Raymond
April 27: Freelance Wrestling (Chicago, IL) – Kylie Rae(c) & GPA(c) vs Thunder Rosa & Holidead
April 28: Revolution Championship Wrestling (Barcelona, Spain) – Kleo Mallette; Flo Riley; Killer Kelly; Sammii Jayne(c) vs Viper; Kris Wolf
April 28: Pro Wrestling Chaos (Yate, South Gloucestershire) – Tenille Dashwood
April 28: Sabotage Wrestling (Austin, TX) – Delilah Doom; Erica Torres(c); Rachael Ellering; Thunder Rosa; Robyn Reid; Leva Bates; Phoebe; Lacey Lane vs Isla Dawn; Angel Blue
April 29: IPW United Kingdom (Rochester, Kent) – Xia Brookside vs Tenille Dashwood
April 30: STARDOM (Tokyo, Japan)
May 4: German Wrestling Federation (Berlin, Germany) – Katey Harvey(c); Blue Nikita; Wesna Busic; Valkyrie
May 4: Pro Wrestling WAVE (Tokyo, Japan)
May 5: Westside Xtreme Wrestling (Oberhausen, Germany) – Tenille Dashwood
May 5: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Bethnal Green, London) – Charlie Morgan vs Sammii Jayne(c); Aja Kong vs Viper; Kay Lee Ray vs Meiko Satomura; Erin Angel; Jetta; Emi Sakura; Jamie Hayter; Leah Owens; Laura Di Matteo; Nina Samuels
May 11: Southside Wrestling Entertainment (Stevenage, Hertfordshire) – LuFisto vs Kasey Owens; Rosemary
May 12: Making Towns Classic (Nashville, TN) – Savanna Stone; Jordynne Grace; Su Yung; Hudson Envy; Aja Perera; Veda Scott; Angelus Layne; Samantha Heights; Isla Dawn; Allie Kat; Penelope Ford; Kylie Rae; Faye Jackson; Laynie Luck; Priscilla Kelly; Valentina Loca
May 12: RISE/ International Wrestling Cartel (Pittsburgh, PA) – Tessa Blanchard vs Britt Baker(c)
May 13: Revolution Pro (London, England)
May 19: WrestleCircus (Austin, TX)
May 19: Pro Wrestling Magic (Ridgefield Park, NJ) – Faye Jackson; Solo Darling
May 23: STARDOM (Tokyo, Japan)
May 26: Battle Club Pro (Ridgefield Park, NJ) – Tessa Blanchard vs Mia Yim; Jessicka Havok vs Harlow O’Hara; Su Yung; Diamante; Kiera Hogan; Willow Nightingale; Jordynne Grace
June 9: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Bethnal Green, London)
June 9: NOVA Pro Wrestling presents 2018 Women’s Commonwealth Cup (Annandale, VA)
June 16: WrestleCircus (Austin, TX)
June 17: STARDOM (Tokyo, Japan)
June 23: Southside Wrestling Entertainment (Sheffield, South Yorkshire) – Martina; Mia Yim; Xia Brookside; Katey Harvey; Sammii Jayne; Shanna; Charli Evans
June 29: RISE 8: Outback (South Gate, CA) – Madison Eagles; Nicole Matthews; Shazza McKenzie; Delilah Doom; Shotzi Blackheart
June 29: Sabotage Wrestling (Austin, TX)
June 30: Alternative Wrestling Show (South Gate, CA)
July 8: Revolution Pro (London, England)
July 12: Wrestling GO! (Marayong, New South Wales) – Tenille Dashwood
July 14: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Bethnal Green, London)
July 16: STARDOM (Tokyo, Japan)
August 5: Revolution Pro (London, England)
August 11: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Bethnal Green, London)
August 12: STARDOM (Tokyo, Japan)
August 25: Sabotage Wrestling (Austin, TX)
September 1: Sabotage Wrestling (Las Vegas, NV)
September 2: Revolution Pro (London, England)
September 8: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Bethnal Green, London)
September 24: STARDOM (Tokyo, Japan)
October 7: Revolution Pro (London, England)
October 13: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Bethnal Green, London)
October 13: German Wrestling Promotion (Schwabach, Germany) – Millie McKenzie
October 23: STARDOM (Tokyo, Japan)
November 4: Revolution Pro (London, England)
November 10: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Bethnal Green, London)
November 10: Sabotage Wrestling (Austin, TX)
November 23: STARDOM (Tokyo, Japan)
December 2: Revolution Pro (London, England)
December 8: Pro Wrestling: EVE (Bethnal Green, London)
December 24: STARDOM (Tokyo, Japan)
Data collected from but not limited to: Cagematch, Puroresu Spirit, Hashtag Wrestling, WrestleRopes UK, Battle-News, EnzuigiriPuro
@Ciara92189 on Twitter