By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
Reality of Wrestling “Platinum” (Episode 24)
Taped February 7, 2026, in Texas City, Texas, at Walker Texas Lawyer Arena
Streamed March 8, 2026, on the YouTube.com
As always, lighting and overall production is top-notch for an indy, but they still don’t use on-screen graphics, which just drives me nuts. Chris Russo and Carolina provided commentary.
* Backstage, champion Danny Limelight was boasting to Gaspar Hernandez about having previously beaten Zilla Fatu and recently beating Jesse Funaki. Jesse walked up and said Danny is just a bully. Gaspar and Danny beat him up. Gaspar choked him. Danny told him to find a tag partner, and they can meet in the ring later! Blake Troop walked in and helped Jesse to his feet.
1. “The Command” Terrale Tempo and Big Luther vs. “The Dungeon Boys” Cam Fox and Baby Keith for the Reality of Wrestling Tag Team Titles. Again, Tempo reminds me of Rich Swann, while Luther is like a young Keith Lee — he’s a big, powerful man, and the crowd has really gotten behind him. Right on cue, the crowd chanted “Luther!” after I wrote that. I don’t know the challengers at all. Tempo hit a spin kick to Keith’s jaw and kipped up. Cam, wearing black/silver pants, tagged in. The commentators said Cam was Nattie Neidhart’s first-ever student, thus their team name.
Baby Keith, wearing green trunks, hit a Swanton Bomb that was in the center of the ring! He slapped Luther, who was on the apron. Luther got a hot tag, and he hit a double clothesline. Luther splashed both challengers in a corner and hip-tossed Cam. He hit splashes in opposite corners, then a Pounce. He hit a massive chokeslam on Baby Keith (really more like Joe Hendry’s finisher). This crowd was going nuts. He hit a Choke Bomb on Baby Keith for the pin. I love a good squash!
“The Command” Terrale Tempo and Big Luther defeated “The Dungeon Boys” Cam Fox and Baby Keith to retain the Reality of Wrestling Tag Team Titles at 4:09.
* Ooe quick note — for the second consecutive match, Terrale was slow and hesitant to tag in Big Luther. I think they are showing signs of Terrale being jealous of all the love his big partner is getting.
* Backstage, Brooke Havok was interviewed. She’s excited to be here, and she’s pumped about her title match later. Not the strongest promo, but I don’t know if I’ve heard her speak before!
* Backstage, AJ Francis talked to someone who was in a six-way later. He offered to help the kid out. AJ offered him $1 and told him that by taking it, it makes their agreement final. The kid protested that he hadn’t agreed to anything!
2. “Lady Bird” Monica Monroe vs. Brooke Havok for the ROW Women’s Title. I see Havok isn’t wearing big knee braces anymore, so I think she’s doing better after some ACL injuries. A clean tie-up to open. The commentators noted this is Havok’s debut here, but she’s well-traveled. They twisted each other’s left arms and had a standoff at 1:30. They went to the floor, where Havok pushed Monica face-first into the ring post. They got into the ring, and Havok hit some chops. The commentators talked about Havok being trained by Cody Rhodes at the Nightmare Factory.
Havok hit some spin kicks in the corner and a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall at 4:00. Monroe hit a second-rope superplex, and they were both down. Monica hit a Sling Blade clothesline, then a dive to the floor, almost completely going over Havok! In the ring, Monroe hit a Blockbuster for a nearfall. Havok hit a pumphandle slam and a running knee for a nearfall at 6:30. Monica hit a Cradle Shock slam off her shoulders, then a Swanton Bomb for the pin. That was pretty good; they filled the time well.
Monica Monroe defeated Brooke Havok to retain the ROW Women’s Title at 7:22.
3. Rhys Maddox vs. Erik Lockhart vs. Will Austin vs. Jossiah Jean vs. Quentin Wynters vs. Matty Ice in a battle-for-the-bell ladder match. We had the women’s match on the last show… you have to climb the ladder and ring a bell three times to win. I’m not sure if I’ve seen Will Austin; he’s young but mostly bald. Wynters took the place of the kid that AJ Francis had approached backstage earlier!
All six brawled at the bell. Rhys and Lockhart pushed a ladder into the other guys. Austin and Rhys climbed the ladder but fell off at 2:30. Matty (think Matt Cardona-meets-QT Marshall) began climbing, but he brawled with the long-haired Lockhart, and they also fell to the mat. Rhys ran up a ladder that was leaning against the ropes at 4:30, and he leapt onto several guys on the floor. Nice move. Long-haired Jossiah brawled on the floor with Austin. Austin leapt off the top rope to hit a stunner on someone on the ladder, and suddenly everyone was down at 6:30.
Matty hit a uranage on Wynters, then one on Jossiah. He started to climb the ladder, but Lockhart pulled him down. Lockhart and Rhys set up a ladder structure with a horizontal ladder between two open ladders. (Realistically, this doesn’t help you win the match one bit.) “That ladder is about as stable as the global economy,” a commentator said. Several guys climbed the ladder. Lockhart climbed it, and he rang the bell once, but the ladder structure was knocked down below him. He was dangling while holding the bell and fell to the mat at 11:00.
“I don’t know how Erik survived that,” Carolina said. Matty climbed but was only able to ring the bell twice before he got knocked down. “There is just no comfortable way to land on a ladder!” a commentator said. Quentin and Jossiah worked together to beat up Matty Ice. Austin climbed a ladder, but Quentin and Jossiah knocked it over, and Will crashed through a table at ringside at 14:00! That was a dangerous spot, but he landed squarely through the table.
Matty Ice fired up and beat up Wynters and Jossiah. AJ Francis jumped in the ring and speared Matty through a table in the corner at 16:00. He set up a ladder and helped push Jossiah Jean up the ladder. Jossiah rang the bell three times to win. A good ladder match, but it did have some spots that could have gone very badly.
Jossiah Jean defeated Rhys Maddox, Erik Lockhart, Will Austin, Quentin Wynters, and Matty Ice at 16:20 to win the battle-for-the-bell ladder match.
* A commercial for Booker T’s school aired.
4. Danny Limelight and Gaspar Hernandez vs. Jesse Funaki and a mystery partner. I’ll reiterate that Limelight has morphed into Chavo Guerrero; he’s become a really good heel. They came out first. Jesse came out first, holding his ribs from that beatdown to open the show. His partner will be Zilla Fatu! (NIce! They teased Blake Troop earlier!) Zilla went to start, so Danny tagged out. The muscular, heavily-tattooed Gaspar brawled with Zilla. Zilla hit a flying headbutt. The heels started working over Jesse and kept him grounded.
Again, Funaki is probably right around 20 years old. Jesse hit an enzuigiri on Danny at 4:30, but he couldn’t tag out. Fatu finally got the hot tag, and he hit some forearm strikes on Hernandez. He backed the heels against the ropes and hit chops. Zilla hit his pop-up Samoan Drop on Danny, but Gaspar made the save. Hernandez hit a chokeslam on Zilla for a nearfall, but Funaki made the save. Funaki nailed a flip dive to the floor on Hernandez. Meanwhile, Zilla hit a flying Samoan Spike to Limelight’s throat for the pin. Really good action.
Zilla Fatu and Jesse Funaki defeated Danny Limelight and Gaspar Hernandez at 7:55.
Final Thoughts: A strong hour of TV. Zilla is my clear No. 1 unsigned U.S.-based indy talent (especially with LaBron Kozone ‘off the board’ by signing an MLW deal.) I hope the reasons he hasn’t been signed get resolved, because he’s clearly got the size, skills, and presence to be a big name on TV. That was a strong main event. Funaki showed some high-flying skills. Limelight is a good heel.
The ladder match felt extra dangerous and a bit reckless. Placing a ladder horizontally between two open ladders looked reckless, especially trying to climb across it. I enjoyed it, but I did worry about their health as the action continued. I’ve always liked Brooke Havok, and it’s great to see them bring her in and have a good match with a top local name. Big Luther is still pretty raw and green, but he has size and a presence and aura to him. And as I noted, I do love a good squash.
The episode clocks in at 60 minutes even.
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