By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Wrestlecore “Fear & Wrestlecore in Las Vegas”
Streamed on IndependentWrestling.TV
April 18, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada at Swan Dive LV
I thought I was done with the Mania-week Vegas shows! However, this event was just released on IWTV on Tuesday. This is now the fourth event I’ve seen some or all of the action at the Swan Dive night club during WrestleMania week. I’ll reiterate that the Swan Dive is one mile north of the Stratosphere in an area I do not consider to be safe or in part of the main tourism district.
I’m sure this is a fine location to see live music, but it was just far too dark in here for pro wrestling; they desperately needed to add some lighting. (The New Texas Pro and a women’s lucha show were really poorly lit. By comparison, this event was lit MUCH better, but still subpar.) The crowd was maybe 120; it’s an awkward-shaped room, so there is only room for more than two rows of seating on two sides of the ring; the other two sides have just two rows. Zicky Dice and Pollo Del Mar provided commentary.
* I watched this largely because both Zack Sabre Jr. and El Phantasmo were in the lineup. (Admittedly, the results had not been shared yet with cagematch.net and I wanted to provide those as well.) I know most of these wrestlers from watching several indies from the Seattle area.
* The show opened with a clip from “Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas.” Now that the show is underway, I can tell that the ability to see the show is much better from one camera than the other; it is actually rather startling.
1. Casey Ferreira vs. Gregory Sharpe vs. Evan Rivers vs. Sonico in a four-way. I’ve seen the slender, young Casey just a few times; I’m much more familiar with the masked Sonico, the heel Rivers, and the crazed G Sharpe. All four fought at the bell. Casey hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor on his opponents. In the ring, Rivers hit a forward Finlay Roll. G Sharpe hit some chops, then some German Suplexes at 4:00. Sonico hit a series of spin kicks to Sharpe’s head. Rivers jumped in, pushed someone to the floor, who hit a big move, and covered Casey, stealing a pin from someone else. I seriously couldn’t see who he stole a pin from.
Evan Rivers defeated Casey Ferreira, Gregory Sharpe and Sonico in a four-way at 5:32.
* Yes, the lighting is THAT BAD from one of the cameras. I hate to belabor the point, but it’s a big factor in the ability to see this action. I am pointing it out here, because the camera work got substantially better from this point through the rest of the show. I think they turned the lights on so it could be better seen. SO, if you are turned off by the darkness of the first match… it does get better!
2. Casanova Valentine vs. Dark Sheik in a Disco Death Match. I don’t think I’ve seen Valentine; he’s dressed like a big, burly trucker with a long, unkempt beard and long hair; think WWE’s Ivar. (His wrestling name is not an accurate description of his look at all!) Trans athlete Dark Sheik is beloved here. Valentine easily tossed Sheik across the ring and kept Sheik grounded. Some disco music began and it fired Sheik up! Valentine hit a uranage at 5:00. Sheik hit a punch to the groin and a superkick.
Sheik got a small disco ball (bigger than a softball, smaller than a bowling ball), but Valentine attacked before Sheik could use it. Sheik picked it back up and bowled it into Valentine’s groin at 8:30 (it seemed to be quite light and he probably barely felt it.) Sheik immediately hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread for the pin. An acquired taste; not for me but the crowd liked this.
Dark Sheik defeated Casanova Valentine at 8:32.
3. Steven Crowe and Taryn From Accounting vs. Nicole Matthews and Elliot Tyler. Crowd wore a bedazzled, flamboyant cowboy outfit. Taryn has at least one AEW TV match; she wears a full-body singlet. Elliot is a bit rotund and still looks like he’s a teen. Nicole, who was in the original Mae Young Classic, is taller and generally bigger than an average female wrestler, and I’m a fan. The men opened, and Crowe ‘rode’m cowboy!” on Tyler’s back, to the delight of the crowd. Tyler was embarrassed. The women locked up at 3:00, and TFA got a backslide for a nearfall.
Taryn covered Tyler and got a nearfall, and she chopped him. Nicole got in and repeatedly punched at Crowe’s knee at 9:00 and worked him over. Tyler hit a back suplex on Crowe. Crowe finally hit a double clothesline but couldn’t tag out. Taryn finally got a hot tag at 11:30 and hit some clotheslines. Nicole hit a running knee. Tyler and Matthews hit a Chasing the Dragon (spin kick and brainbuster combo) for a nearfall, but Taryn made the save. All four brawled. Tyler and Matthews each applied a half-crab, but the babyfaces powered out. Crowe hit a twisting neckbreaker to pin Tyler. Adequate.
Steven Crowe and Taryn From Accounting vs. Nicole Matthews and Elliot Tyler at 14:44.
4. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Artemis Spencer. I’ve always compared Spencer to Curtis Axel, and he’s a good mat-based guy so he was a good selection to take on Sabre. Pollo noted that Sabre was twisted into a pretzel a night ago by Jonathan Gresham. They shook hands before tying up. Sabre immediately tied up the left leg on the mat. Spencer tied up Sabre’s arms. They got back to their feet at 3:30 in a standoff, then went back to some mat-based reversals. Not a lot to describe here but this was good, authentic-looking action.
They got up and Spencer hit a hard forearm strike at 6:30; Sabre countered with his European Uppercuts, and they went back and forth, until Sabre fell through the ropes and to the floor; fans in the front row waved their arms to cool him off. Zack got back in the ring and immediately grapevined the leg on the mat. Spencer hit a roundhouse kick at 10:30 that dropped Sabre. Sabre hit his Pele Kick to the shoulder. Spencer tried a rear-naked choke, and he switched to a Triangle Choke. However, Sabre flipped his body over to put his weight on Artemis and got the flash pin! A really nice finish. The winner was never in doubt but that was fun.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Artemis Spencer at 11:48.
5. Amira vs. Tara Zep. Amira is the short powerhouse and has quickly become one of the better female wrestlers on the West Coast. Zep is the goth girl with ghostly white makeup. Tara hit a shotgun dropkick at the bell; Amira hit a hard forearm and her own shotgun dropkick. Zep hit some running forearms and knee strikes in the corner and she took control. She applied a rear-naked choke and kept Amira grounded; Amira got up and fell backwards on Zep to escape. Tara hit a pair of DDTs and got a nearfall at 5:30.
Amira hit a brainbuster for a nearfall. They went to the floor and brawled through this small building, away from the ring. They grabbed beers and threw them at each other. They returned to ringside, where Tara pushed Amira’s head into the ring post. Meanwhile, the ref had been counting, and he counted both women out! They got back into the ring and kept brawling. When the ref tried to get between them, they attacked him and stripped off his clothes, revealing he was wearing women’s-style lingerie. Silliness to end a good brawl.
Amira vs. Tara Zep ended in a double count-out at 7:13.
6. El Phantasmo vs. Maki Itoh in a World’s Cutest Match. Just on the match title alone — and the sheer size disparity! — this match should be all comedy. To lose, you must say on the mic that the other person is cuter! They played to the crowd and we had a loud “Maki’s cuter!” chant. I didn’t hear a bell so I started the stopwatch at first contact as they locked up. She backed him into a corner and hit a series of punches. He hit an Atomic Drop but she showed that it didn’t affect her at all! So, he did a ‘titty twister’ on her, so she did them back on him! The ref held the mic up to each of them, but both refused to say the other was cuter.
ELP stomped on her and was heavily booed. The crowd was INTO THIS ONE. He tied her in a Tree of Woe at 4:00 and stood on her crotch (which of course, pro wrestling has taught me that this doesn’t hurt a woman one bit.) She refused to say he’s cuter. He stomped on her right wrist. He walked the tight rope, but she crotched him on the top rope. She hit a top-rope crossbody block to the floor on him at 6:30.
In the ring, she hit a tornado DDT and applied a sleeper, but he refused to say she’s cuter, and he got a foot on the ropes. He got a folding chair; she fell to her knees and cried at 9:00 and the crowd booed him. She hit a low blow and stole the chair, and hit him over the head with it. She wrapped it around his neck and choked him with it. He submitted, saying she is cuter! A bit raunchy, and plenty of silliness, but this was highly watchable.
Maki Itoh defeated El Phantasmo at 9:21.
7. Jody Threat vs. Bestia 666 vs. Mecha Wolf in a three-way for the Wrestlecore Infinity Title. I haven’t watched NWA in the past year, so I don’t know if “La Rebellion” Bestia and Meca Wolf are now enemies. As champion, Jody came out last, and her title belt lights up and looks like a Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome prop, with spikes and chains hanging from it. Mecha Wolf dropped her with a punch, sending her to the floor. Pollo also wasn’t sure if these guys are on the same page; they traded quick lucha reversals, and this was easily the best wrestling exchange of the entire show. They had a standoff at 1:30, and they hugged.
They both attacked Jody! Mecha bit her on the forehead. They worked her over. She dove through the ropes onto both of them at 5:00. They brawled to the bar, and she chopped both men. She leapt off a bar and nailed a somersault flip onto the guys on the floor at 7:00. In the ring, Jody hit a Michinoku Driver on Bestia 666 for a nearfall, but MW made the save. Wolf hit a standing powerbomb, then a running knee to her nose for a nearfall. Jody hit a running knee strike to the back of Bestia, then she hit a German Suplex and a TKO slam. Jody hit a F5 Slam on Mecha Wolf, dropping him onto Bestia 666; she jumped on them and pinned them both! Fun match.
Jody Threat defeated Mecha Wolf and Bestia 666 in a three-way to retain the Wrestlecore Infinity Title at 10:29.
8. Drexl vs. Funny Bone in a Wheel of Misfortune Death Match. I think I’ve seen Funny Bone once; He paints half his face, a bit like Darby Allin. At the bell, they rolled to the floor and each grabbed a chair and tossed them at each other. Funny Bone got a plastic bat covered in tacks, and he hit Drexl over the head with it. They brawled to ringside. They took turns using a staple gun on each other’s bodies, including on their crotch. Tacks or glass were dumped on the mat, and Drexl dropped FB on them at 8:30, and he poured salt on Funny Bone’s wounds.
Fans were encouraged to throw chairs into the ring, so yes, perhaps 50 or more chairs were thrown in. Funny Bone powerbombed Drexl onto the chairs at 10:00. They super-glued tacks on their thumbs and did a ‘thumb war.’ Funny Bone suplexed Drexl on the chairs. Drexl went to the back at 15:00 and returned with a barbed-wire-covered door. A woman got in the ring, just wearing pasties over her nipples, and she lit the pasties on fire, and one of the guys was pushed into her breasts (This is Vegas!). Funny Bone hit a top-rope doublestomp onto a board over Drexl and pinned him.
Funny Bone defeated Drexl at 16:59.
Final Thoughts: I hate to make the venue the story… but after watching all or parts of four shows at the Swan Dive… I really encourage any indy promotion that is considering running here again next year (presuming Vegas is indeed the Mania host city!) to insist on more lighting being brought in to make the shows here easier to see. On the plus side, this was the biggest crowd of the four shows I saw from this venue, and the lighting was better than some of the others, too.
The comedy of Phantasmo-Maki worked — it was light-hearted and didn’t feel like he was really assaulting her, and that takes the best match. The lucha action of the Jody Threat three-way was fun, and I’ll give that match second. The Sabre-Spencer mat-based action was fine with a unique rollup pin, and that takes third. The hardcore main event was certainly unique: I have never seen anything like that flaming breast spot before!
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