By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
There is so much good indy wrestling out there, there is far more than I can possibly watch. So, in this review, I’m popping in on four indy shows that occurred over WrestleMania weekend in Las Vegas, and watching just a few matches from each show that interest me. The reality is I wasn’t going to get to watch every match from every one of these shows.
GCW presents Effy’s Big Gay Brunch 10 on April 19, 2025 (Triller+)
As I’ve noted in previous reviews, the lighting in the Palms Casino and Hotel was really good. This was the 11th of 13 shows at The Collective, and the first show of the day. Veda Scott was on commentary. This canvas was clean and new at the start of the weekend shows, but it’s blood-stained now.
Aaron Rourke vs. Rico Gonzalez. WWE ID prospect Rourke just made his Evolve TV debut on Wednesday. Rico is under-sized but talented; I’ve seen him from Atlanta to Chicago to Cleveland; I’ll compare his size and style to Rocky Romero. Rourke hit a Helluva Kick and a top-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall at 1:30. They brawled to the floor. In the ring, Rico hit a snap suplex at 3:30. Rico hit a neckbreaker out of the corner for a nearfall. Rico climbed the ropes, but Rourke pushed the ropes to crotch Rico in the corner. Rourke hit a neckbreaker over his knee for a believable nearfall at 7:30, and he applied a standing Figure Four leg lock (it’s almost a Texas Cloverleaf). Rico hit a running kick into the corner and a leaping DDT for a nearfall. Rourke got a rollup with his feet on the ropes for added leverage for the tainted pin.
Aaron Rourke defeated Rico Gonzalez at 9:48.
Zack Sabre Jr. vs Kidd Bandit. Sabre had quite a whirlwind of intriguing matchups over Mania weekend and I knew this was one I wanted to see. They immediately traded holds on the mat and Sabre grapevined the leg. Bandit hit a spin kick that dropped Sabre at 4:30. Sabre applied an ankle lock and tied up Bandit’s legs. Bandit got up and hit some forearm strikes, then a shotgun dropkick at 8:30. Bandit hit an enzuigiri for a nearfall and applied a sleeper, then a leg lock around Sabre’s neck.
They traded punches and forearm strikes, and the crowd booed Sabre. They got up and traded kicks. Sabre switched to a single-leg crab at 13:30, but Bandit reached the ropes. Bandit hit a Kamigoye knee strike, then applied a modified Triangle Choke. Bandit hit a tornado kick to the head at 17:00, but missed a top-rope corkscrew splash. Zack hooked both arms, got a rollup, and the flash pin. That was really fun. This crowd was so behind the plucky Bandit and really made this a standout match.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Kidd Bandit at 17:33.
* Sabre pulled Bandit up, and they hugged and got a nice ovation.
Abadon vs. Sonny Kiss. Abadon’s hair was blue, and they were looking particularly spooky here. Kiss hit a running dropkick at 2:00. Sonny hit a Giant Swing to the mat for a nearfall, then a running knee strike to the chest for a nearfall. Sonny went for a Gorilla Press, but Abadon somehow escaped and turned it into a Lungblower to the back at 4:00. Nice! They brawled to the floor and looped the ring. In the ring, Sonny hit a discus forearm and a Bulldog Powerslam at 9:00, then a backflip-into-a-kneedrop on Abadon’s gut. Abadon caught Kiss and hit a German Suplex. Sonny tripped coming off the ropes; Abadon hit a Sister Abigail swinging faceplant for the pin. AEW way underutilized Abadon.
Abadon defeated Sonny Kiss at 10:15.
Winner’s Circle Pro Wrestling “The Score” on April 17, 2025 (Triller+).
This was among several shows held at the FSW training center in Las Vegas, which has banners of past graduates like Hammerstone, Killer Kross and Chris Bey. This venue can only hold about 100 people. The audio is a bit quiet; I had to turn the volume all the way up.
Alpha Zo vs. Jonathan Gresham. Zo is a vastly improved star on the West Coast; he’s slimmed down a lot in the past two years. An intense lockup to open; these two are fairly identical (except Gresham is bald, of course!) They traded chops at 2:00. Zo hit a fallaway slam and stomped on Gresham. They had a test of strength, and Gresham focused on the left arm and tied Zo in a hammerlock. Gresham hit a deep armdrag at 8:30. Zo hit a back suplex, and they grapevined each other’s leg on the mat. Gresham hit a Lionsault Press. Zo dropped him with a shoulder tackle at 10:00. Zo hit some running boots into the corner. Gresham hit an enzuigiri. Zo hit a neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 12:00. Gresham hit a diving forearm strike for the pin. Intense, believable mat-based action.
Jonathan Gresham defeated Alpha Zo at 12:30.
Ice Williams vs. Jai Vidal vs. Alex Kane vs. Tyler Bateman to be No. 1 contender. All four brawled at the bell, with Kane battling Ice. Kane is Georgia-based, so this being a No. 1 contender’s match indicates to me he won’t win. Vidal hit a head-scissors takedown on Bateman. Ice hit a back suplex on Kane at 3:30, then a slingshot elbow drop for a nearfall. Kane nailed a spinebuster on Ice, then a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Vidal hit a top-rope corkscrew splash and an enzuigiri on Bateman, then a flip dive to the floor. Kane dove through the ropes at 5:30.
In the ring, Ice tied Jai in a Sharpshooter, but Kane made the save. Kane hit a Jackhammer-style suplex for a nearfall. Bateman hit a brainbuster on Bateman for a nearfall. Ice hit a superkick on Jai. Kane hit a German Suplex. He tied Jai in a sleeper on the mat, but Jai escaped. Ice hit a superkick on Bateman for the pin. Good, fast-paced four-way action.
Ice Williams defeated Jai Vidal, Alex Kane, and Tyler Bateman to become No. 1 contender at 10:10.
Slice Boogie vs. Scorpio Sky for the WCPW Title. This was the main event. I haven’t seen Boogie in at least a year, and he looks to be in great shape. I couldn’t help but think about AEW running in a packed venue in Boston at the same time that Scorpio Sky was here in front of 100. They opened in a test of strength, and they traded rollups early on. Sky hit some knee drops on the elbow at 3:30 and targeted the left arm. Boogie took control and kept Sky grounded. Boogie hit a second-rope elbow drop for a nearfall at 6:30.
Sky hit a shoulder tackle and they both went down at 9:00. Sky nailed a leaping Flatliner for a nearfall, then a hard clothesline. Boogie hit a swinging sideslam for a believable nearfall at 11:30. Scorpio hit a D’Lo-style Sky High for a believable nearfall, and the crowd chanted, “that was three!” Boogie hit a flipping stunner off the ropes for a believable nearfall. This has picked up nicely. He hit a springboard flipping axe kick to the back of the neck. Boogie accidentally collided with the ref! Sky hit a TKO stunner for a visual pin at 14:30, but we didn’t have a ref! Boogie hit a low blow uppercut and a Gotch-style piledriver for the cheap pin. That match topped my expectations.
Slice Boogie defeated Scorpio Sky to retain the WCPW Title at 15:16.
Oasis Pro “Ninth Islvnd” on April 17, 2025 at The Swan Dive (free on YouTube.)
I noted in a review of the New Texas Pro Show that The Swan Dive music venue is located maybe one mile north of The Stratosphere in an area I would consider outside the Las Vegas tourism district. I mention this because the crowd here was only 20 to 30 spectators. Not 200 to 300 — there were maybe 30 fans here. (I noted the New Texas Pro show drew about 75, while Cagematch.net generously listed it at 150.) They left the lights on for this one. I didn’t know almost everyone on this show, but I watched the double-header main events.
* The commentary track played over the speakers in the venue. This is a TERRIBLE IDEA. I’ve seen it many times. The problem with it is fans sit quietly and listen to the commentators and don’t get vocally into the action.
Gringo Loco vs. El Fatal. I don’t know El Fatal. The masked Fatal hit a flip dive to the floor almost immediately. Loco hit an Exploder, then a snap suplex for a nearfall at 2:30. Fatal hit a Pele Kick, then a huracanrana, and they were both down. Fatal missed a top-rope corkscrew press. Loco hit a second-rope Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall. Fatal hit a low blow and a Lungblower to the chest for the pin. Underwhelming.
El Fatal defeated Gringo Loco at 5:22.
Zilla Fatu, Juicy Finau, Journey Fatu, and Iosefa Parisi vs. Jack Cartwheel, Super Crazy, and “The Mane Event” Jay Lyon and Midas Black. This was the main event. Super Crazy came out last. TME’s team hit some dives to the floor to open, and they all brawled at ringside. TME were whipped into the rows (and rows!) of empty chairs. Zilla whipped chairs at his opponents. Super Crazy finally got into the ring at 3:30 and planted a foot in Parsi’s throat, and he hit a twisting elbow drop for a nearfall.
The massive Juicy hit a double clothesline on TME. Juicy climbed the ropes, but Lyon hit him with a chair. Lyon got underneath Juicy in the corner and hit a powerbomb! Journey hit a splash off the ropes on Lyon. Cartwheel hit a DDT on Journey, then a superkick on Zilla. However, Zilla hit a pop-up Samoan Drop on Jack! Midas hit some superkicks on Zilla. Midas leapt off the ropes, but Zilla caught him with a flying Samoan Spike for the pin! The quality of the video wasn’t ideal here; they missed some of the action. I feel this should have gone a lot longer as the main event.
Zilla Fatu, Juicy Finau, Journey Fatu, and Iosefa Parisi defeated Jack Cartwheel, Super Crazy, and “The Mane Event” Jay Lyon and Midas Black at 6:46.
New Tradition Lucha Libre “Viva Las Reinas” on April 16, 2025 (free on YouTube)
This was an all-womens lucha show and was one of the first events to kick off the WrestleMania week shows. New Tradition posted each of the seven matches on this show as separate video files on YouTube; the whole show is not together in one video. This show was also held at the Swan Dive, but they made the mistake of turning the lights off (just like New Texas Pro did!) and it was just far too dark in this room to see the action well. One spotlight in the middle of the ring was not nearly enough. I chose to watch matches featuring the women I know the best. (I actually watched fewer matches of this than I planned because I just couldn’t see the action at all.) The crowd is maybe 100-130; easily bigger than the other two shows I checked out from this venue. We have NO commentary; I wasn’t expecting that.
Jazmin Allure vs. Carolina Cruz. They traded basic reversals. Jazmin hit a stunner in the ropes and took control and she kept Cruz grounded. She hit a basement dropkick into the corner and a snap suplex. I cannot stress enough how bad the lighting is here. Cruz fired up and hit some clotheslines, then a shotgun dropkick at 6:30, then a handspring-back-elbow in the corner. Jazmin hit a DDT for a nearfall and she screamed in frustration. Cruz hit a spear for a nearfall. Allure hit a swinging slam for the clean pin. Okay match.
Jazmin Allure defeated Carolina Cruz at 8:35.
Jody Threat vs. Alice Blair vs. Amira. Blair took turns chopping each opponent. Amira and Jody worked together to hit a fallaway slam. Amira hit a rolling cannonball into the corner at 2:30 on Jody. The action spilled to the floor and they fought at ringside. Jody was whipped into rows of chairs at 5:00. They fought away from the already-poorly-lit ring and vanished into the background as they fought by a bar. Jody hit a flip dive off the bar onto her opponents at 6:30. (If it wasn’t for her red hair, I wouldn’t know who it was. The lighting is THAT bad!) In the ring, Jody hit some clotheslines and was fired up. Amira hit a German Suplex at 9:00. Jody hit a Michinoku Driver. Jody and Amira traded rollups. Blair speared Amira and pinned her.
Alice Blair defeated Jody Threat and Amira at 9:51.
Final Thoughts: The number of quality shows over WrestleMania weekend was just incredible, and I really don’t know how fans made up their minds on which events to take in live. I feel so bad for the wrestling promotions who booked their shows at The Swan Dive. Hey, it might be a great venue to watch a concert. But the fans just didn’t show up for any of the three events I tuned in for. The lighting was incredibly inadequate; at least Oasis Pro opted to leave the lights on so fans at home could see. Of the ten matches I watched here, Bandit-Sabre is the one to definitely check out.
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