By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Banger Zone Wrestling “Viva Las Vegas”
April 17, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada at Swan Dive
Replay released June 3, 2025 via TrillerTV+
This is yet another show from WrestleMania week, and it’s back at the Swan Dive music club. I have now seen multiple shows from this location, and it’s deeply disappointing, as the lighting was terrible. Also, the Swan Dive is located one mile north of the Stratosphere in an area I would consider to be outside the Vegas tourism district, so I think that really hurt the draw to all the shows in this venue. As I feared, the crowd was maybe 50.
* All those complaints about the venue and lighting aside, I opted to watch this because it has a nice mix of U.S. and European talent.
* Joey Janela came to the ring and he talked about participating in past BZW shows and watching it grow. (It feels awkward to hear him say he isn’t wrestling tonight because he’s got his big match against Sabu the next night. Sad…)
1. Heddi Karaoui vs. Zak Patterson vs. Connor Mills. Zak is an impressive young Canadian with muscles on his muscles, and I compare him to a young Brian Cage. Mills wrestles often in Progress. I think I’ve seen Heddi once before; he’s bald and muscular. We got started, and I can barely see the fans across from the hard camera because the lighting is so awful. Heddi tied up Connor’s legs. Mills hit a basement dropkick. Zak hit some big German Suplexes on Mills, just tossing him around. Mills grabbed onto Heddi, but Zak hit a German Suplex on both for a nearfall at 3:00. Nice!
Patterson hit a double clothesline, and they were all down. Heddi hit a double suplex. He tied up Zak’s right arm on the mat, then snapped the left arm backward. Connor tied Heddi in a Stretch Muffler, but Zak made the save at 6:00. Zak put one guy on his shoulders and did an airplane spin, while doing a Castagnoli-style Giant Swing on the other guy! What power! Zak hit a running knee on Mills for a nearfall. Mills hit a Rebound Lariat on Zak for a nearfall. Connor switched to an ankle lock, and Patterson tapped out. Good action.
Connor Mills defeated Zac Patterson and Haddi Karaouie at 8:26.
2. Marcus Mathers and Alec Price vs. Mao and Yoshihiko. Marcus competed in NINE matches over Mania weekend; I think with this, I will have seen eight of them. I would consider Mathers/Price an indy dream team. Unfortunately, they are taking on Yoshihiko, the mannequin doll. Mao is great, but there is only so much I can pretend to be entertained by a lifeless adult-sized doll in the ring. Price and Mao opened (I really wish the lighting were better. I know I’m a broken record, but it’s just awful how poorly these shows are lit from this venue.) Yoshihiko got in the ring opposite Mathers, and Marcus threw around the doll.
Price took his turn throwing around an inanimate object. Marcus stomped on Mao. I was frankly bored by them taking their turns beating up a doll, but the crowd tried their best to make it work. Mao got a ‘hot tag’ at 13:00 and hit a shotgun dropkick on Price. Price hit a tornado DDT. Mao leapt over the ref to hit a stunner on Alec. The doll got back in at 15:00. Mao hit a stunner on Alec for a nearfall. (I simply refuse to call any offense thrown by a doll, but Mathers and Price sure are bumping for the mannequin.) Price hit a dive over the ropes onto Mao at 23:00. Yoshihiko ‘pinned’ Mathers. Amusing at times, but just not my thing.
Mao and Yoshihiko defeated Marcus Mathers and Alec Price at 23:52.
* The next match is a five-man scramble, with each competitor coming from a different country!
3. Ultima Sombra vs. Kuro vs. Gravity vs. Ariel Van Go vs. LJ Cleary. I’ve seen the masked Sombra at least once, I think from a show in France or Germany. I’ve seen Kuro a few times; he looks a lot like Kevin Knight; same confidence and style, too. Cleary is seemingly everywhere all at once right now. Kuro kicked Cleary, and we’re underway. No tags; all five are in. Kuro dove through the ropes. Sombra and Gravity were alone in the ring and locked up, and Gravity started his slow-motion walk. They traded chops. Kuro hit a doublestomp to the chest at 2:30, then a Falcon Arrow on Cleary for a nearfall.
Sombra hit a top-rope double crossbody block. He hit a double-arm DDT on Kuro for a nearfall at 5:00. Van Go hit a handspring-back-elbow into the corner on Gravity; Gravity hit a sunset bomb. Kuro nailed a spinebuster on Cleary. Cleary hit a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall at 7:00. Van Go hit a Pele Kick move on LJ. Several guys brawled on the floor and into the crowd; Sombra ran the length of the stage and barreled onto three opponents. In the ring, Sombra hit a tornado DDT. Gravity hit a powerslam, then a top-rope frogsplash to pin Sombra. Really good action.
Gravity defeated Ultima Sombra, Kuro, Ariel Van Go, and LJ Cleary at 9:14.
4. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Big F’n Joe. If you haven’t seen Joe wrestle before, he’s a deathmatch guy who wrestles in a button-down white shirt and his underwear. It’s a first-time-ever meeting, which is a bit of a surprise, as Joe has competed in GCW in the past. Basic brawling and Jimmy hit a running neckbreaker for a nearfall at 2:30. They fought to the floor, and Joe shoved a chair into Jimmy’s throat. Joe buried him under a pile of chairs, then he struck the pile repeatedly with a chair. Joe placed a thin cooking dish over Lloyd’s groin and struck the dish with a baseball bat at 6:00. Yikes!
They got in the ring, and Joe got a coat hanger and, um, used it on Jimmy’s rear. Gross. Jimmy got thumbtacks and poured them into Joe’s mouth, then hit a Death Valley Driver onto a folded chair for a nearfall at 10:00. Joe chokeslammed him across two open chairs and got a nearfall. Jimmy jabbed some cooking skewers into Joe’s forehead. Joe hit a Tombstone Piledriver — with the cooking skewers still jabbed into his skull — and got the pin. For fans of this style, I’m sure that was good. Joe was bleeding a lot as he celebrated his win.
Big F’n Joe defeated Jimmy Lloyd at 11:05.
5. MBM vs. Santana Jackson. I find the use of a Michael Jackson impersonator in 2025 to be deeply disturbing and troubling, and rather gross. Where is the Jared from Subway impersonator to hand out sandwiches to kids while you’re at it? I think I’ve seen MBM just once; he has a lot of similarities to Joey Janela. MBM hit a superkick at 2:30 that dropped Santana, and they fought to the floor. In the ring, MBM snapped Santana’s fingers and kept him grounded. MBM shoved Santana through an exit door, and he celebrated at 8:00. However, Santana came back in, wearing the Thriller wolf mask. He speared MBM. MBM blocked the Moonwalk DDT and hit a package piledriver for the pin.
MBM defeated Santana Jackson at 9:56.
6. Joseph Fenech Jr. vs. Arez for the BZW Title. I’ve compared Fenech to Aquaman actor Jason Momoa, and a bit like Roman Reigns; he’s a regular in Germany’s wXw. A feeling-out process early on; Fenech is bigger. Arez hit a dropkick at 2:30. Fenech went for an ankle lock and switched to tying up the head on the mat. Arez hit a plancha to the floor, and they brawled at ringside. (Strangely, the lighting is actually better on the floor than over the ring. Explain that one to me!) They got into the ring and brawled, and Arez hit an enzuigiri, then a Lungblower to the chest at 8:30.
They brawled back to the floor, and Fenech dove onto Arez on some chairs. Back in the ring, Fenech hit a top-rope elbow drop for a nearfall at 10:30. Fenech hit a Lethal Injection; Arez hit a basement dropkick to the back, and they were both down. Fenech grabbed Arez’s leg, pulled it up into his groin, and pretended like Arez had hit a low blow. The ref was considering whether to DQ Arez, as Arez pleaded his innocence. It allowed Fenech to get a rollup for the pin. Lame, lame finish.
Joseph Fenech Jr. defeated Arez to retain the BZW Title at 12:52.
Final Thoughts: I really do hate that the story of these shows at the Swan Dive is how bad the venue was lit, and the challenges that made in enjoying the action. Again, it’s not just this show; I watched all or parts of five other shows held in this music hall during Mania week. One left the lights on; the rest turned them down, but it made the action really hard to see. So ultimately, your willingness to watch this show will rest a lot on your willingness to put up with subpar lighting. The talent of the wrestlers here isn’t in question, though. The five-way scramble was fun and takes best match, ahead of the main event.
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