 |
| Photo Credit: Texas Anarchy |
Robert Evans vs. Portia Perez, ACW Guilty By Association 6, 1/15
Originally published in my review for ACW Guilty by Association 6
Justin Bissonette and Rachel Summerlyn set the stage perfectly and gave at least the company line on what was happening. For someone like me, who hadn't been following as closely as I would have liked, it was a great way to play catch up on the story, even if according to other folks like Brandon Stroud, it took on a different tone.
There was just so much going on in this match. There was base emotion, Evans acting like a man possessed because Perez ripped his heart out. It was wondered whether Perez had a heart with which anyone could do the same. Regardless of how the story played out, let's meditate on the fact that a professional wrestling love story between a man and a woman played out to a match between the two, and it was even mostly throughout. If that doesn't feel game-changing to you, then you're not paying attention.
To the untrained eye, I think it might have come off as misogynist fantasy realized, especially given the results. That would be patently ignoring the fact that Perez had an advantage throughout most of the match and spent a good portion of the closing minutes of it wrenching Evans' neck in the crossface. In fact, it could be argued she was the better competitor but was only felled because Evans got breaks, literally, on being able to target her back and to benefit from her "slipping" on a steel chair to cause an ankle injury.
Regardless, this was a phenomenal realization of what storytelling in wrestling could be about. It had all the classic tropes of technical wrestling thrown in with the things that made matches like that "personal." It had a big match feel and it hit on every note that I was looking for in a match.
Rachel Summerlyn vs. Jessica James, ACW Guilty by Association 6, 1/15
What started out as an amicable display of roll ups and arm drags between friends turned into one tag team partner getting LOUD in the other one's face about respect. How did the House of Paincakes get to where they got? It's the little things, like Summerlyn going just a bit too rough on a basement yakuza kick. One kick to the face while James was kneeling down, ready to get back up, set the brunette portion of the legendary Texas tag team off. That's the brilliance of this match. It started subtle and it build to the point where Lady Poison was inside, waiting to strike at a vulnerable moment which came too late for James to do anything about winning this one.
 |
| Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
Originally published in my review for ROH Homecoming.
Maybe I'm biased, maybe I'm not, but holy crap, what a fun match. It started out with Mark getting double-teamed by Jig and 'Wicked, getting isolated in the corner with quick tags, arm wringers and flying strikes from the top. It was all basic tag stuff unless a basic knowledge of Chikara was had by the observer. If that were the case, one might know that Jig and Wicked are the most tecnico of all the tecnicos and to see them work rudo in a match was just a spectacle to behold.Mike Quackenbush vs. Green Ant, Chikara The Thirteenth Hat, 1/28
This didn't last long, as the match moved on into almost uncomfortable squash-match levels of dominance by the Briscoes. The thing though was that even though I'm almost programmed to hate on uncompetitive high up on the card, I couldn't totally not be impressed here. The Briscoes just work as such a well-oiled machine. Obviously, being brothers and tagging together for the better part of a decade will do that for a team, but there's just a certain beauty in the carnage doled out by #DemBoys. It helped that both opponents, Jigsaw especially, bumped their asses off in an effort to make them look like world-beaters. The count out spot where Jig made it back in on 19, leading to the Chikara masks all pouring out, was the exclamation point on that second act.
The third act was something special though. I loved how the mere presence of Quack and his students was enough to uplift the challengers to a point where they were now matching the Briscoes blow for blow. There was an energy, one that would be explained after the match by UltraMantis Black as family. The ring surrounded by masks clearly rattled the Briscoes, and it was perfect storytelling for two rednecks from Slower Lower to be spooked by a colorful masquerade of wrestling's motley crew of bandits. Obviously, in order to make this story last past Philly, there had to be some shenanigans, and they were played off so well, starting with Jay acting on his almost xenophobic reaction to the flood around the ring by decking Dasher Hatfield with a clothesline. One thing led to another, and before anyone knew it, Bryce Remsburg had to turn away from a Hallowicked whose mask was still mangled from Mark clawing and grabbing at it to count a 1-2-3 by Jigsaw to secure the victory. It was a spectacle. It was a hard-hitting match. It was a show, and when wrestling is at its best, it's going to be a show.
Watch it here!
Do you like mat wrestling and submission trading? I don't. I love it. Quack and Greenie have had two really awesome sprint-type matches in the last couple of years. Obviously, I was excited for this, but wow, this was clearly the best of their three encounters. The mat exchanges were so intricate that it would be impossible for me to explain each one in great detail. It almost felt like they were ad libbing, doing their best impression of the World of Sport greats that no doubt the two watched together at Wrestle Factory training sessions.
Things got a bit chippy around the middle when the two were trading double handed chops while locked up. It was a small preview of some bubbling tensions that might have sprung up, but it led more into a high-octane rope running moves sequence than a heated brawl, which given the context, was the optimal road traversed.
The match finish was the perfect cap on the story these two mat masters were telling. Quack went for Quackendriver III, but Greenie slipped through it seamlessly into his Chikara Special Green for the clean tapout victory. The amazing thing? That wasn't even the best counter exchange of the match, which happened about a minute or so before when Quack escaped the cloverleaf by lifting himself up onto Greenie, countering out with a sunset-flip style move into a standing rear position. It was just masterful wrestling all around. Green Ant is worth the hype.
 |
| Photo Credit: WWE.com |
Watch it here!
This match was the first time I had seen either wrestler. Steamboat had bigger expectations to live up to for me at the time, because I was such a fan of his father's, but it was Sandow who stole the show for me. It was the start of a beautiful year for the former Idol Stevens, but all journeys start somewhere, don't they?
Sandow's methodical pace and his awesome mannerisms won me over. There was a sequence on the outside where Steamboat went for a baseball slide from the ring, and Sandow just pulled up the skirt and let Steamboat fall between the ring and the apron. I love that kind of ring play. It's a huge reason why I loved pre-3MB Drew McIntyre; he's the best at using the ring as a weapon in legal ways. Afterwards, when he had Steamboat knocked out on the outside, Sandow patted Steamboat in the face as if to say, "Good boy. Sweet dreams," before getting back into the ring. You can't teach that kind of instinct to taunt the opponent.
A lot of indie matches have the "boo-yay" volley where guys trade strikes all punch drunk to the differing reactions of the crowd. This match had its own variant of that trade-off, only both men were on the canvas, struggling to get up even on their knees let alone feet. It was so well done. The finish, with Steamboat gaining the deciding fall to put himself up 2-1 with 8 seconds left on an inside cradle reversal, was very well-timed and felt organic. This would be the first match these two would have in a series that spanned for the rest of the winter, but if you seek this match out, you get the entire gist of the series.
Kyle Matthews vs. Maxwell Chicago, Kiefer Classic, 1/29
Watch it here!
Great matches aren’t always chock full of innovative stuff. Sometimes, it’s the classic, well-worn tropes that can deliver when they’re executed excellently, with a new coat of paint if you will. Maxwell Chicago is a guy who wrestles in a tuxedo and is borderline incompetent at the wrestles. He stalls, he complains to the referee, he stooges, he falls over punch drunk after getting the 10-punch in the corner. At one point, he had Matthews down for three consecutive one-counts, then turned to the ref and exclaimed “ONE ONE ONE EQUALS THREE!” It was delightful and amusing. Of course, he wasn’t the only star in this match; Kyle Matthews is one of the most able and versatile stars in wrestling today, and his acumen at getting the crowd behind him, playing that crowd, and working those same tried-and-true good guy comebacks, mixing in some modern indie sensibilities at the same time. For all the basicness of his offense though, I really dug Chicago’s finisher, a springboard back leaping Ace crusher. It was enough to put finality on the match even though Chicago spent most of it getting his tuxedoed ass handed to him.
 |
| Photo Credit: Wayne Palmer/DDS |
Originally published in my review for Girls' Night Out 5
Mickie Knuckles and Sara del Rey capped off the night with a strong, emotionally-charged main event that felt like the richest prize in the company was on the line. It was a match that had a little bit of everything and it told a neat story that worked for everyone even if the only knowledge of the history between the women was told to them during the actual match.Tyler Cook (c) vs. SBC, Falls Count Anywhere in Kansas NWA Kansas Championship Match, Metro Pro TV, 2/4
It was a match that had something for everyone. It had mat work, comedy, stiffness, antics and even an interlude on the microphone where del Rey, quickly becoming one of the most popular wrestlers on the independent scene, made sure that the fans wouldn't cheer her and instead be behind the local hero Knuckles. During the promo, an in-character del Rey said that Knuckles used to be her equal. During the match, the Champion showed that she certainly still was.
The biggest sign of quality happened on a misstep towards the end of the match. Knuckles was trying to do a move in the corner that would've sent del Rey crashing into the turnbuckle, but in the process, she virtually gave herself a powerbomb. Other times in the night, there have been places where a botch happened and the match participants just continued to go about their business as if it didn't happen. Knuckles and del Rey worked it into the match and it was amazing. Some people think that a botch happens and OH MY GOD DEDUCT TWO STARS FROM THE MATCH! UNACCEPTABLE! In a way, I kinda hope that things end up getting jiggered (not seriously, obviously), because that's real life, and the really great wrestlers handle it in a way that enhances the match. That's what happened here.
Watch it here!
Pro wrestling is great when it’s absurd. I don’t care what anyone says, I like seeing fish out of water when the rasslin is on. If I see a dude in a bar fight trying to Irish whip a guy into the wall, I will piss my pants laughing as long as I’m actually not one of the ones fighting. But watching SBC whip Cook into a brick wall on the outside of Turner Rec Center and then roll him up on the concrete ground with a school boy didn’t make me laugh derisively. If any laughter came from my person, it was giddiness, excitement. As far as crazy brawls, that moment was the punctuation on a brouhaha that went from the ring to the stands to the concessions to outside back into the ring area where SBC would win with a heaping helping of interference from his buddies Jeremy Wyatt and Mark Sterling. Schmozz finish aside though, it’s very hard to hate on a match with a suplex on top of bleachers, tossing a dude over the concession table, two separate trash can tosses, and yes, most importantly, the school boy off slamming a dude into a brick wall. About the only thing the match was missing was a cross-state convoy that somehow involved them ending up with a near fall six hours west in Goodland. But then again, I guess they didn’t have all night.
Mike Posey (c) vs. Kyle Matthews, NWA All-Out Championship, NWA Pro South House Show, 2/10
Watch it here!
This match was nitty-gritty pro wrestling personified. The arena was dimly lit, the match was shot on a handheld camera and the only noises emanated from the crowd, which was vociferously behind Matthews, the challenger here. It was really everything that's great about seedy pro wrestling in local hub arenas, only with two guys that looked to me like they belonged on a bigger stage on the basis of their talent. Matthews was a pro selling his arm all match. Posey kept going back to it, and Matthews integrated it seamlessly into his whole repertoire for maximum reaction. Posey actually had some neat offense here too. I've seen cutters done to kneeling wrestlers, but to a wrestler on all fours? That was some crazy shit. The spot of the match was when Posey had Matthews in the tree of woe and went for a leaping, springboard wraparound dropkick that he missed, crotching himself on the ringpost. It was an insane bump, one of the best ones I've seen. Both these guys should be on all promoters' radars, but they won't, because the South is criminally ignored. However, that's what God created YouTube for. God created YouTube, right?
 |
| Photo Credit: Texas Anarchy |
Watch it here!
Yes, this was the infamous Yoga Pants Party match. It was sexualized from jump, and none of the competitors shied away from that fact, male or female. There were ass slaps. The women did yoga in the opening stages of the match (well, three of them did yoga, Angel Blue tried to with hilarious results). There were booty pops. But even without context, this isn’t your normal sexy time match. The girls arguably hit harder than the boys. The sexy tropes were used for effect in the matches to the point where it seemed to poke fun at how WWE uses them. Summerlyn went for the booty pop moonsault, but she ended up getting rolled up by Athena. The stink face was followed up by a hard butt thump in the corner. ACW plays with a lot of the more unsavory parts of wrestling and uses them to elevate the artform into something better, and this match may have been the pinnacle of that subversion.
Portia Perez vs. Rachel Summerlyn, Tournament Semifinal, 2CW Girls Grand Prix, 2/24
Originally published in my review for Girls Grand Prix
It's a match that is as Texas as brisket, cowboys, and football, but there was something about the semifinal between Portia Perez and Rachel Summerlyn happening in New York that breathed new life in their rivalry. Lesser wrestlers might have just gone at it without giving the crowd a reason to believe they hated each other. Summerlyn and Perez though? Yeah, they don't roll like that. Summerlyn mocking Perez's stalling elicited a loogie from the diminutive Canadian Ninja, and the two-woman riot began.Sara del Rey vs. Archibald Peck, Chikara A Death Worse Than Fate, 2/25
In typical fashion between the two wrestlers, there was plenty of lightheartedness mixed in, mostly from Summerlyn's end. Obviously, someone as free-spirited as the Queen of Anarchy is has to keep things light, which is why her breaking out a prosthetic foot and a VIKING HAT as weapons was not only awesome but totally a propos to her character. Some people just "get" pro wrestling. Summerlyn was born to be a pro wrestler, and she proves it every time out. Of course, she wouldn't be nearly as awesome in this match if she didn't have her mortal rival to pinball around the guardrail. Perez was just as awesome on the brawling-on-the-outside portion. It also can't be stated enough how great Bryce was during this match. A lesser referee might have just stayed in the ring and counted. Bryce, working in the context that this tourney should have a winner, tried to shovel the action back into the ring, but kept his distance when things got hot and heavy.
Bryce would play into the finish as well, as Perez argued with him over some kind of call he made. This allowed Summerlyn to drill her in the back with a lariat that sent Perez flying to the ground in a visually stunning bump. Summerlyn may have advanced right after with her Texas Cloverleaf, but everyone was a winner in this match. Maybe Perez wasn't technically a winner, but hey, she played her role smashingly.
Originally Published in my review for A Death Worse Than Fate
This was a smorgasbord of wrestling goodness that legitimately had something for almost everyone. It had opening silliness for fans of comedy. It had del Rey selling her stomach for the fans of psychology. It had del Rey breaking out the upper-lip fishhook AND Peck locking in the stomach claw for fans of arcane submission holds. Veronica interfering and Peck attempting the baton whack scratched the itch for cheating heel stuff. del Rey's school girl of Peck into the bottom turnbuckle had your innovative offense. Both competitors had great facial expressions throughout the match, the best being Peck's sulk face in the beginning.
Seriously, for a match between two people who had no prior quarrel with each other, this turned out to be one fantastic exercise in storytelling. I've noted this before, but it bears repeating that I want to see a rematch. Hell, I would've liked a whole series before del Rey went to WWE to train the lasses down in NXT. Then again, both are mentioned every time someone asks who the best in the world is, so there's that.
 |
| Photo Credit: Texas Anarchy |
Originally published in my review for Gateway to Danarchy
It's not that hard to make me like a match. Just throw me a few bones here and there, and I'm good. But how do you construct a match of the year candidate? How do you connect with everyone, whether live or watching on delay on tape? You make everything you do in the match seem important. You attack with urgency.Matt Cage, Joey O'Riley and Alex Castle vs. Colt Cabana, Luke Gallows and Cliff Compton, IWA Unlimited TV, 2/29 (airdate)
In this match, the main event of the first half of the card so to speak, ACH and Perkins made everything matter. You could see it in every motion, none of which were wasted. Most wrestlers take the feeling-out process to be garden variety, but not Perkins or ACH here. They went full bore from the beginning, and they had answers for each other throughout the match. It wasn't one of those trite, "hey, I kick you, you kick me" things that Davey Richards is famous for either. Everything made sense.
Whether it was Perkins answering ACH's DBZ thrust with a lightning fast superkick or the sequence at the end where ACH shrugged off another kick and was able to break out the pin, everything worked. It was visceral in its speed. It felt like they were really engaged in an athletic contest. That's the most you can ask for in any wrestling match.
Watch it here!
This match was part of Cabana's "Wrestling Road Diaries 2" tour, and it was a great match for reasons that you might not think of at first. Cabana has made his bones as a lovable babyface who relishes his role as the underdog, or at the very least, hamming it up for crowd support. He does no such thing here, as he and his cohorts played the role of big time sports entertainers going against the local heroes, acting like they were below them. It made for a great comeback segment, including some of the best shit-eating by Cabana that I've ever seen in a match. Everyone in this match was great, but Cabana's big shot shtick was the real eye opener for me here.
Bo Rotundo vs. Kassius Ohno vs. Antonio Cesaro, FCW House Show, 3/2
Watch it here!
It was jarring seeing the Kings of Wrestling in the same match with another wrestler and not having them tagging together. But under their newly-delivered NXT Name Generator appellations, they were pitted against each other as well as Bo Rotundo on this fan-cam shot house show in Kissimee, FL. They nodded towards their prior, elseworldly alliance early, taking it to Rotundo with their patented teamwork, but that soon evaporated when Cesaro thought to get a cheap roll up on Ohno. This was very much a typical WWE triple threat in that most of the action was between two of the three competitors with the third on the outside, Rotundo usually as the odd man out.
However, the match didn’t play out with the third guy being ignored as it tends to happen in most of them. Any time the third man got on the apron, he was picked off or at least there was an attempt to pick him off. The action was exceedingly fluid and felt natural, and Rotundo’s babyface comeback in the final act had good fire behind it. His spear could use a little work, but it did the job, finishing off Ohno and allowing Cesaro to yank Rotundo out of the ring so he could snake the pin.
Jeremy Wyatt (c) vs. ACH, NWA Central States Championship, Metro Pro TV, 3/3
Watch it here!
Their first match was good, but this one, the sequel? It was blowaway fantastic. Seriously, you had Wyatt as the sleazy, swarthy heel jerkbag Champion, demanding that if ACH lost this one, he had to go to the back of the line. Then you had the cocksure, athletic and mind-blowing challenger in ACH. It was the perfect combo. Wyatt, who looks like Will Ferrell in that sketch where he's nude-modeling for cash, is just the perfect kind of foil for ACH, almost like a beefier, less hairy Gary Jay. I think ACH showed off his skill at facial expressions in this match better than anyone I've seen this year. Some of the stuff they did, moves-wise, was pretty crazy too. I have to give Wyatt a lot of props for knowingly whiffing on a spear to the outside. That's a crazy bump. The cheap finish was warranted and well-done too.
Jeremy Wyatt (Central States c) vs. Bull Schmitt (Metro Pro c), Double Championship Match, Metro Pro TV, 3/3
Watch it here!
Without context, this was a glorified squash match. However, thanks to both the announcers and to the visual evidence, the match was revealed to have layers. Schmitt, the valiant Metro Pro Champion, entered the match with his arm injured. Wyatt, the cheap dick Central States Champion, attacked it from jump. The entire match was a physical referendum on Schmitt’s arm. Every comeback felt important, and because of that, every time Wyatt quashed said comeback, it felt impactful. Wyatt went full-tilt on his crossface to finish the match, taking time to drag Schmitt to the center of the ring, wailing on his injured arm with elbows. Even though the finish was never seemingly in doubt, this contest had high drama and a taut conclusion.
 |
| Photo Credit: Scott Finkelstein |
I went into the match feeling bad for Jacobs, and came out of it as a bigger fan of his than I ever was. The New York crowd totally shit all over the unveiling of his Age of the Fall jacket by sitting on their hands for it. Whether it's because they didn't know or because they didn't care, it was a shame, because it made a powerful statement, that Jacobs wasn't playing with Wrestling's Worst Nightmare wearing kid gloves, or in this case, a child's jacket. We've come to expect the kind of carnage and bloodshed from Steen that he brought here, and Jacobs kept up with him blow for blow, especially on the outside of the ring. The finish of the match was a masterful stroke of storytelling, with Jacobs going for the killshot on Steen with his railroad spike, only to have a moment of humanity overcome him, allowing Steen to move in for his own finishing stroke. This is the kind of wrestling I want to see in ROH's main event scene.
Kana and LuFisto vs. Hailey Hatred and Kalamity, SHIMMER Vol. 45, 3/17
This felt like a 20 minute match condensed into half the time, but with the wrestlers involved, it strangely enhanced the match rather than made it feel rushed. It was concentrated insanity, punctuated most by the jousting Kalamity and Lufi did from their rear ends on the canvas with their legs. The referee couldn’t keep control of the match with illegal members of the match running in making endless saves. I didn’t want the match to end when Hatred planted Lufi with her signature running Liger Bomb, but alas, as all good things do, this one had to have a finish. Hopefully, they’ll get 20 minutes the next time they meet, preferably as the main event of their own volume with the Tag Championships on the line.
 |
| Photo Credit: Gregory Davis/DDS |
Originally published in my review for SHIMMER Vol. 45
There's something to be said about being able to engender hate through only encounters in the wrestling ring. Anyone can pull off a feud where the main interests despise each other for actions that take place separate of the action in the ring. The match in and of itself is the catharsis, the resolution of the hit-and-run, cuckolding, or the spilling of hot coffee. But what about when you take a series of matches and build a story just from what goes on in the ring? That's wrestling in its purest form. That's Athena vs. Mercedes Martinez.Honorable Mentions:
Even though I came in on this series in the third and ostensibly final act, I could have gotten the gist of what was going on even without the recaps. You don't go to the outside and attempt to inflict grievous bodily harm through usage of the metal barricades for someone you're embroiled in a professional rivalry with. Martinez, from choking the life out of Athena with her own t-shirt to trying to launch her into the legions of Berwyn faithful who had, in her mind, turned their backs on her, displayed the kind of loathing that really sinks in deep. Athena knew she was in the fight for her life. After all, Martinez tried to injure her outside the confines of the match. So why not fire back with every mode of escalation without resorting to things that would cost her what she had been craving in the first two encounters anyway?
Nestled into this war that primarily was waged outside of the ring was probably one of the best displays offensive prowess I've seen from Athena, who proved she's as much the rockstar as her theme song suggests. There were the two O-Faces, including the one where she launched herself from the apron, her most impressive one yet. Then there was the stump DDT to the floor from the barricade. Martinez took her lumps and fired back accordingly. Still, she fell on her sword, and Athena was a made wrestler by the end of the affair.
- Damien Sandow vs. Leo Kruger, FCW TV, 1/1 (airdate)
- CM Punk (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler, WWE Championship Match, RAW, 1/2
- Sami Callihan (c) vs. Rich Swann, CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship Match, CZW An Excellent Adventure, 1/14
- Player Uno and Stupefied vs. Chuck Taylor and Rich Swann, EVOLVE 10, 1/14
- Sami Callihan vs. Bobby Fish, EVOLVE 10, 1/14
- Athena (c) vs. Lillie Mae vs. Angel Blue, ACW American Joshi Championship Match, ACW Guilty by Association 6, 1/15
- ACH (c) vs. Gary Jay, Anarchy Championship Match, ACW Guilty by Association 6, 1/15
- Sami Callihan vs. Rich Swann vs. Alex Colon, MCW Rage TV, 1/18 (airdate)
- Adam Cole vs. Roderick Strong, ROH Homecoming, 1/20
- Jesus Kruze vs. Johnny Plinko, Devil Mountain Wrestling Show, 1/21
- Mat Fitchett vs. BJ Whitmer, AAW Chaos Theory, 1/27
- Samuray del Sol and TD Thomas vs. Christian Able and Josh Raymond, AAW Chaos Theory, 1/27
- Hallowicked vs. Archibald Peck, Chikara The Thirteenth Hat, 1/28
- 2 Cold Scorpio vs. Vordell Walker, Pro Wrestling Xtreme Show, 1/28
- Tony Nese vs. Adam Cole, FTW Wrestling Showdown on Queens Blvd., 1/28
- Davey Richards and Harry Smith vs. Matt and Nick Jackson, PWG Kurt RussellReunion 3, 1/29
- Mascarita Dorada, Candice LaRae, B-Boy, and Cedric Alexander vs. Joey Ryan, Pretty Peter Avalon, Ray Rosas, and DEMUS 316, PWG Kurt RussellReunion 3, 1/29
- Mia Yim vs. Allysin Kay, AIW Girls' Night Out 5, 1/29
- CM Punk (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler, WWE Championship Match, Royal Rumble, 1/30
- Cameron Thomas vs. Brian Caige, Ultimate Wrestling Show, 2/4
- Jeremy Wyatt, Mark Sterling, and SBC vs. Trevor Murdoch, Matt Murphy, and Bull Schmitt, Metro Pro TV, 2/4
- Sami Callihan vs. DJ Hyde, CZW 13th Anniversary Show, 2/11
- Harry Smith (c) vs. Chavo Guerrero, PWA Championship Match, PWA Fruition, 2/18
- Daniel Bryan vs. CM Punk, Smackdown, 2/21
- Allysin Kay vs. Sara del Rey, 2CW Girls Grand Prix First Round Match, 2CW Girls Grand Prix, 2/24
- Mia Yim vs. Mercedes Martinez, 2CW Girls Grand Prix First Round Match, 2CW Girls Grand Prix, 2/24
- Brodie Lee vs. Jigsaw, Chikara A Death Worse Than Fate, 2/25
- Michael Elgin vs. Evan Gelistico, St. Louis Anarchy Gateway to Danarchy, 2/25
- Seth Rollins vs. Rick Victor, FCW TV, 2/26 (airdate)
- Colt Cabana vs. UltraMantis Black, Chikara Caught in a Spider's Den, 2/26
- Davey Vega vs. Michael Barry, Metro Pro TV, 3/3
- AJ Cruise (c) vs. Mikaze, CTWE Shooting Star Championship Match, CTWE March to Madness IV, 3/10
- Cheerleader Melissa (c) vs. Nicole Matthews, SHIMMER World Championship Match, SHIMMER Vol. 45, 3/17
