By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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WrestleCon: Super Show 2025 – Mark Hitchcock Memorial
Streamed on TrillerTV+
April 17, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Pearl Theater at Palms Casino
This is the fourth show of the 13-event Collective, featuring promotions from quite literally across the world. This began at 3 p.m. local time and was the second show of Thursday’s four-event lineup here. The ring canvas is clean, appears new, and has the Collective logo in the center. The lighting over the ring was really good.
* We opened with a video to honor Mark Hitchcock. Veda Scott and Nick Knowledge provided commentary, and we’re starting with a lucha 10-man tag.
1. Arez, Latigo, Toxin, El Bendito, and Canis Lupus vs. Gravity, Spider Fly, Aero Panther, Fight Panther, and El Vengador. If you haven’t seen Bendito before, he has the size and build of WCW-era La Parka. I don’t recall seeing Canis Lupus before. Arez’ team are the rudos. Okay, I had to pause the screen to jot down everyone on Gravity’s team because I’ve never heard of any of his four teammates. Yeah I’m not going to be able to describe this action because their masks and gear all look too similar. Nick Knowledge said the Panthers are brothers. Vengador wore white and he’s taller than the shorter chubby Latigo; those two opened with basic reversals and a standoff. Arez entered at 2:00 against a panther with a purple mask.
Gravity entered against the black-clad Toxin. Gravity started ‘moonwalking’ forward in slow motion. Spiderfly enters at 5:00; he wore a gold mask and gold-and-black pants, and he hit some quick armdrags on Latigo and Toxin. The rudos began stomping on Spiderfly. Vengador got back in at 8:30 and hit a clothesline. The purple panther hit some offense. Lupus entered; he wore white with his werewolf theme mask. Bendito hit a stellar dive to the floor; so did the other technicos. Gravity hit a flip dive to the floor at 10:00. Vengador hit a piledriver on Arez for a believable nearfall; I was reaching for my stopwatch!
The technicos took turns hitting forearms on Arez in the corner. The rudos took turns kicking one of the panthers. The panther brothers hit a cool twisting Lungblower move on Lupus. They went to do an eight-man suplex spot, but then Arez and someone else climbed on their backs and hit a twisting suplex onto the eight guys leaning over below at 14:00! That was cool! Bendito hit a Buckle Bomb on a panther. Bendito hit an Asai Moonsault. Lupus hit a second-rope twisting sideslam on a panther for a nearfall. A panther hit a springboard moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Toxin hit a shoulder breaker over his knee on Spiderfly, and Arez immediately hit a top-rope doublestomp to Spiderfly’s chest for the pin. Good action; I assumed the heels would win as they are the more well-known group.
Arez, Latigo, Toxin, El Bendito, and Canis Lupus defeated Gravity, Spider Fly, Aero Panther, Fight Panther, and El Vengador at 16:12.
* Former WWF announcer Sean Mooney was introduced as a special ambassador for the night; I certainly wouldn’t have known it was him. He talked about the “making of WrestleMania IX” special on Peacock. (I hated that Mania at the time because even as a young wrestling fan, I had already turned on Hogan and loved Bret Hart.)
2. Ninja Mack vs. Mascara Dorada. Ohhh, this should be awesome. Nick said this was a first-time-ever matchup. An intense lockup; Mack is only around 5’2″ and it shows here. They climbed to the top rope while in a knuckle lock; Dorada hit a Frankensteiner but Mack rotated and landed on his feet at 4:00! That popped the crowd. They took the martial arts stance, and Mack kicked him to the floor. Dorada hit a corkscrew plancha to the floor on Mack. They brawled up onto the stage, and Dorada hit a huracanrana, sending Mack down to the floor at 6:00. Dorada then ran off the stage and dove onto Mack on the floor! Some big spots already in this one!
In the ring, Mack hit a spin kick and got a nearfall. They traded rollups. Mack nailed a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 8:00. Mack missed a top-rope corkscrew senton. Dorada set up for a Razor’s Edge but flipped him over into a faceplant. Dorada hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press for the pin. Yeah, I loved that.
Mascara Dorada defeated Ninja Mack at 9:08.
* Next up is a seven-man scramble that has Royal Rumble-style intervals; the match cannot end until all seven have entered. Veda said we know six people in it. (Again, I hadn’t looked at the lineup so I don’t know any of them!)
3. The Las Vegas Seven Scramble. No. 1 is Canadian star Vaughn Vertigo; he looks a lot like Alex Reynolds and James Drake, and I’ve seen a lot of him in C*4 Wrestling near Montreal. TJP drew No. 2; he lives in Vegas so you knew he’d show up on some shows. Mat reversals to open. Super Crazy was No. 3 at 2:00, and he hit a double armdrag. Vaughn has a bright red forehead and I’m not sure what he hit it on. Crazy hit twisting elbow drops on each guy. Mike D Vecchio drew No. 4 at 5:00; he’s Belgium and I’ve compared him to Brian Cage for his mix of strength and agility. He hit a decapitating clothesline on Vaughn. He hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on TJP.
1 Called Manders was No. 5 at 8:00, coming out to Bon Jovi’s “Dead or Alive,” and he was carrying his wXw World Title from Germany (I assume he just returned to the U.S. this week.) Veda told viewers about the wild success Manders has had in Germany and across Europe for the past two months. Vaughn hit a Swanton Bomb onto Manders’ back. D Vecchio hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press onto everyone on the floor. “This is a massive man!” Veda shouted. Cheeseburger was No. 6 at 11:00 and he wore a teal cowboy shirt. “I’m obsessed with this look,” Veda said. He hit some forearm strikes that D Vecchio no-sold.
Cheeseburger hit the Shotei palm strike on several guys. Manders no-sold it and looked pissed. Cheeseburger hit a Shotei on TJP and they were both down; everyone else was somewhere on the floor. Mystery No. 7 at 13:30 was Danhausen! Very nice! Very evil! We had a bell at 14:17 for no apparent reason but it means we can now have a winner. Danhausen cursed Cheeseburger. He suplexed TJP into the corner. Danhausen tried to flex as he stood across from the massive D Vecchio; he tried some chops but it hurt his own hand. Funny. He cursed Manders and hit a German Suplex on him. He got his jar of teeth and poured it into Vaughn’s mouth, then kicked Vertigo in the face and pinned him. Fun match; fairly light-hearted but it also gave D Vecchio to show off his stuff.
Danhausen defeated Vaughn Vertigo, 1 Called Manders, Mike D Vecchio, TJP, Super Crazy, and Cheeseburger at 16:25.
4. Matt Makowski vs. Matt Riddle. I guess he’s now just “Matt Mako;” he has made WWE talent look good in recent Bloodsport shows. The crowd decided to chant “Both these Matts!” A feeling-out process and slower mat-based reversals. Mako tied him in a knot. Riddle hit a loud overhand chop at 4:00, so Mako returned them. Riddle hit some sentons at 5:30 and a fisherman’s buster for a nearfall. Riddle applied a cross-armbreaker in the ropes at 7:00 but let go at the four-count. Riddle hit a second-rope fisherman’s suplex, and Mako has a cut above his left eye. Riddle hit a top-rope corkscrew senton for a believable nearfall. Mako hit a top-rope belly-to-belly suplex and applied a cross-armbreaker as they landed at 9:30, but Riddle fought to his feet, hit a Gotch-style piledriver, and scored the pin. I liked the intensity of this one.
Matt Riddle defeated Matt Mako at 9:50.
5. Maki Itoh vs. Mickie James. The crowd popped when Itoh’s music hit; it’s been at least two months since I’ve seen her. (I’m curious about how this show was booked? Everything is so fun but so random! Were names just pulled out of a hat?) Mickie looks great; cagematch.net records say she hasn’t had a match since September (and only 3 in all of 2024!) Armbars to open. They tied up in a knuckle lock at 2:00 and Mickie shouted that “my hands are a helluva lot bigger than yours, baby!” Mickie got a rollup and they had a standoff.
Mickie rolled to the floor and got a mic. She’s not here to get a five-star match, she’s here to entertain! That led to a “Meltzer sucks!” chant. Funny. She admitted it’s been a while since she wrestled. Mickie said it was time for a sing-off! Maki sang in Japanese. Mickie started to sing, but she sang that she was going to “mop the floor” with Itoh and she sang a bit of her “Hardcore Country” and she got booed. Then she struck Itoh with the mic at 9:00 and the match was back on! James shoved her foot into Itoh’s throat and was booed louder.
Mickie hit a running kick to the head and Nick said she’s “done with the fun and games,” as she kept Itoh grounded. James rammed Maki’s head into a turnbuckle but of course Maki no-sold it, and she hit a headbutt and a Kokeshi falling headbutt on Mickie for a nearfall at 11:30. Maki hit a Facewash, then a top-rope crossbody block. Mickie hit a flapjack. Itoh applied a half-crab. James hit a spin kick to the head; Itoh hit a headbutt. They traded rollups and Mickie hit a superkick, then her leaping DDT for the pin. The crowd loves Maki so Mickie got booed.
Mickie James defeated Maki Itoh at 14:24.
* The next match has four two-minute rounds, but there WILL be a winner. Dan Severn came out as he’s our special ref. (I am just going to let the clock run.)
6. Minoru Suzuki vs. Butterbean. Jeez, how old is Butterbean? 60? 70? He’s actually 58, but he looks terrible. I admittedly have only seen him that one time at Mania, and based on where I was living at that time, it was 1998-2000. We got a clock on the screen counting down from 3:00. (I thought they said two-minute rounds. Whatever.) Suzuki threw some kicks. Butterbean threw some punches that Suzuki easily avoided. This is a disaster. Suzuki moved in closer so Butterbean could actually reach him. Butterbean backed him into a corner and threw some body blows and the clock expired to end round one, but they didn’t immediately separate.
Now we have a two-minute clock for the second round. Go figure. (This is why there should not be worked boxing matches.) Butterbean was leaning on the ropes; he’s gassed and isn’t even coming out of the corner. Suzuki went for a knee and tackled Butterbean; I’m not sure Butterbean will even be able to get up! Suzuki tied him in a Figure Four; we’re only halfway through the 2 minutes! Butterbean twisted Suzuki’s ankle. The time limit expired at 6:00. Butterbean was able to pull himself to his feet. (I have to believe in some states that have athletic commissions, this match would have been blocked from beginning.)
Round 3 began and Butterbean hit a series of bodyblows, and Nick reminded me it was Bart Gunn who got knocked out by Butterbean. (My brain was thinking it was another disastrous Big Show match!) They brawled to the floor. “Butterbean is in a fight for his life here” Nick said, and no truer words have been said. Round 3 ended. Dan Severn counted both men out so this was a double count-out. The crowd loudly booed this. I doubt I’ll see a worse match than this all weekend. I hope not, anyway.
Minoru Suzuki vs. Butterbean went to a double count-out at 8:58.
7. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Bad Dude Tito, and Shane Haste vs. Hechicero, Michael Oku, and Flip Gordon. Oku has four matches today alone. I am a big fan of Flip but I haven’t seen him in probably a year as I know he’s been pretty full-time in Mexico. Oku and Haste opened; Shane hit a dropkick and posed. Oku hit his own dropkicks. Flip entered to face Tito at 2:00; the massive Tito hit some loud chops, but Flip returned fire. Fierce foes Sabre and Hechicero entered at 3:30 and Nick noted that their prior matchups have been “instant classics.” Sabre tied him up on the mat and they traded mat counter holds. (I want to add that we’re in Nick Knowledge’s wheelhouse with the call on the lucha matches.)
Oku and Sabre tied up, and Zack grabbed a leg to tackle him at 7:00. TMDK made several quick tags and hit bodyslams on Oku. Tito hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall at 8:30. Haste hit a swinging back suplex. Flip finally got in at 11:00 and hit a double crossbody block. Flip hit a springboard dropkick on Haste, then a forward Finlay Roll, a middle-rope moonsault and a top-rope moonsault for a nearfall at 12:30. Haste hit a release suplex and they were both down. Tito got in, backed Flip into a corner and hit a series of punches, then a release Blue Thunder Bomb and he was fired up! He dove through the ropes onto Flip at 14:00! “Are you kidding me?” Nick shouted. In the ring, Tito hit a frogsplash on Flip for a nearfall.
Hechicero got in; Sabre got in and hit some European Uppercuts. They traded rollups. Hechicero hit an enzuigiri. Oku got back in and traded rollups with Sabre. Oku applied a half-crab on Zack! Sabre reached the ropes at 17:30. Sabre got up and hit a hard slap to the face! He snapped Oku’s neck between his ankles. Sabre locked in a cross-armbreaker on Flip, and he switched to a leg lock, then back to the cross-armbreaker, but Oku hit a frog splash to make the save. Oku hit a double DDT on Haste and Tito. Flip dove to the floor on Sabre. Hechicero hit a dive to the floor. Oku hit a Fosbury Flop to the floor onto everyone at 21:00. Flip missed a 450 but landed on his feet. Sabre immediately tied up Flip’s left arm on the mat, and Flip tapped out! That was a blast.
Zack Sabre Jr., Bad Dude Tito, and Shane Haste defeated Hechicero, Michael Oku, and Flip Gordon at 21:32.
Final Thoughts: What a fun show. I wrote it early on, but it feels like someone pulled names out of a powerball hopper and said “Sure, why not?” The main event was really good and takes best match. It was a nice reminder of how incredibly talented Gordon is, and we got to see more of an Hechicero-Sabre rivalry. Dorada-Ninja Mack takes second. The seven-man scramble edges out the opening lucha 10-man for third. No, the Butterbean-Minoru match was not good at all, but everything else here was fun.
801 attendance number