By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Texas Pro Wrestling “The Audacity of Hope”
Austin, Texas, at the Backyard Bar
Streamed live February 22, 2026, on New Texas Pro YouTube Channel
NJPW lead announcer Walker Stewart was on commentary. This was an outdoor show under a canopy. It started mid-afternoon so we have good lighting. The sound is good, too.
* The commentators said there are 11 matches on the show! However, New Texas Pro champion 1 Called Manders is in Europe.
1. LVJ vs. Oli Summers vs. Izzy James Oli is like New England indy wrestler Love, Doug — he is beloved by the fans. Izzy was a surprise participant; he apparently just returned from a tour in Japan, and he carried an NWA Texas Title belt. LVJ attacked Izzy, and we’re underway! Oli gave LVJ a belly-to-belly suplex. LVJ hit a neckbreaker over his knee on Oli. Izzy hit a top-rope missile dropkick on LVJ at 1:30. They traded some good reversals. LVJ hit a Michinoku Driver on Oli.
Izzy hit a half-nelson suplex on LVJ. The ref got knocked down but wasn’t knocked out like most refs! Suddenly, everyone was down at 4:30. LVJ and Izzy got up and traded forearm strikes. Oli hit a big boot to LVJ’s face, then a Dalton-style Bangarang faceplant. Teflon John jumped in the ring and attacked Oli! (And of course, it’s no-DQ because it’s a three-way). Izzy and Oli traded rollups. Izzy hit a spin kick out of the ropes to pin LVJ. Good, non-stop action.
Izzy James defeated Oli Summers and LVJ at 7:03.
2. Danny Orion vs. Travis Cudi. Orion is a top-20 U.S. indy talent. He stalled on the floor, so Cudi chased him. Orion fell hard in the ring, and Cudi stomped on him. Cudi repeatedly slammed Orion’s head on the top rope at 3:00 and stomped on his back in the corner, then hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. Danny hit a Frankensteiner and a tornado DDT for a nearfall at 5:00. Cudi hit an Alabama Slam and a slingshot twisting splash. Cudi hit an F5 Faceplant for a nearfall at 6:30.
They fought on the apron, and Orion flipped him overhead and to the floor. In the ring, Orion hit his slingshot tornado splash. He went for a Lionsault but Cudi got his knees up to block it. Orion hit a spin kick in the corner. Cudi hit a dropkick; Orion hit a clothesline. Orion missed a Swanton Bomb and crashed on the apron at 8:30, and he rolled to the floor. Orion got back in before being counted out, but Cudi stomped on him. Orion nailed his Crucifix Driver for the pin! Good action.
Danny Orion defeated Travis Cudi at 9:54.
* Orion got on the mic and put over Cudi. However, Orion said Cudi will never be the best in Texas as long as he’s here. He then called out (an absent) 1 Called Manders and wants a title shot.
3. Charity King vs. Anarkid Ash for the ASE Women’s Title. Ash has face paint that looks like a leopard, and she has messy blonde hair; I don’t think I’ve seen her before. Cagematch.net only shows 46 total matches for her. Standing switches to open, and King has the size advantage. Ash grabbed her around the waist, but couldn’t budge Charity. King hit a big clothesline in the corner at 2:00, then a suplex, then a basement clothesline for a nearfall.
Charity hit a big bodyslam and was in charge. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Ash tried some clotheslines that had no effect, but she dropped King with a spinning back fist. Ash hit running knees to the back of the head for a nearfall at 6:00. King fired back with a Samoan Drop and a uranage for a believable nearfall. Ash hit an enzuigiri for a nearfall, but she missed a frog splash. King immediately hit a World’s Strongest Slam for the decisive pin. Solid.
Charity King defeated Anarkid Ash to retain the ASE Women’s Title at 7:56.
* They took a “brief five-minute break” that took… wait for it… 10 minutes.
4. Andrew Cass vs. Shimbashi. Cass is a talented kid from West Coast Pro, and I’ve compared him to a young Jordan Oliver. Shimbashi has competed all over the country in recent months. An intense lockup to open as the commentators noted Cass has won a prior matchup. Cass hit a dropkick at 1:30. He hit a splash to the mat for a nearfall. They traded forearm strikes on the ring apron.
Shimbashi hit a double stomp to the chest in the ring, then a snap suplex for a nearfall at 4:00. Cass hit an enzuigiri, then a baseball slide dropkick to the floor. Cass hit a second-rope corner moonsault to the floor at 6:00! In the ring, he went for a 450 Splash, but Shimbashi got his knees up to block it. Shimbashi planted Cass with a DDT move on the top turnbuckle for the pin. Good action that should have gone a bit longer.
Shimbashi defeated Andrew Cass at 6:50.
* Dimitri Alexandrov came to the ring. Earlier in the day, I saw that his scheduled opponent, Anakin Murphy, suffered a severe cut and had to cancel his match. Murphy came to the ring; he’s the scrawny emo kid with spaghetti-limp arms. The commentators noted the news that Murphy is injured. Jak Calloway came out of the back to accept an open challenge!
5. Dimitri Alexandrov vs. Jak Calloway. Jak took off his shirt, threw it at Dimitri, and attacked him. The bigger Dimitri hit some chops. Jak hit a Spinebuster for a nearfall at 2:00. He hit a flying elbow drop for a nearfall, then a clothesline into the corner. Dimitri fired back with a fisherman’s suplex at 3:30 that sent Jak to the floor to regroup. In the ring, Jak hit a double-arm DDT for a nearfall. Jak hit a clothesline and a Bulldog Powerslam for the pin. Good action.
Dimitri Alexandrov defeated Jak Calloway at 6:02.
6. Vert Vixen vs. MJ Santana for the New Texas Pro Women’s Title. MJ wore an amateur wrestling-style singlet; I don’t know if I’ve seen her before. Cagematch.net shows she has 76 total matches, and it doesn’t appear I’ve seen those shows. The bell rang, but she was barking at fans. She is a lot smaller than Vert, and she jumped on Vert’s back. She hit some forearm strikes to the chest. Vert dropped her with a hard shoulder tackle, then another. Vert hit a bodyslam for a nearfall at 2:00. MJ hit a crossbody block and a twisting neckbreaker for a one-count.
MJ hit a snap suplex. Vert hit a punch to the jaw for a nearfall at 4:00. Santana hit a clothesline for a nearfall, and she applied an Octopus Stretch. Vert dropped her ‘snake-eyes’ in the corner and hit a back suplex at 5:30. Vert hit an enzuigiri, then a hard pump kick and a release suplex. She hit a Helluva Kick in the corner. MJ applied a front guillotine choke, then an armdrag. She went back to an Octopus Stretch, then hit a Code Red for a nearfall at 9:00. Nice! Vert hit a discus clothesline for a nearfall, then her Blue Thunder Bomb for the pin. I liked that; a good showing for the young Santana.
Vert Vixen defeated MJ Santana at 9:53.
* Charity King marched to the ring and confronted Vixen. They bumped chests and argued, and a ref got between them. Vert rolled to the floor and held her title belt above her head as she headed to the back.
7. Effy vs. Isaac Morales. Morales has two lackeys with him. I’ve noted this multiple times, but Effy is surprisingly tall and thick — more than you’d expect. Isaac flexed and posed at the bell. Effy did some dancing and played to the crowd. Isaac dropped him with a leaping shoulder tackle at 2:00. Effy did some of his gay humor. He fell to the floor and was attacked by Morales’ two goons. Isaac hit a crossbody block from the apron to the floor at 4:30.
In the ring, Morales was in charge. Effy hit his Doink-style butt drop to the chest, then a second one for a nearfall at 6:00. Morales hit a German Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall. Effy threw him snake-eyes in the corner and hit a Helluva Kick, and dragged him to the mat by his leg. Effy hit his second-rope Blockbuster. Isaac hit a Sabin-style Cradleshock powerbomb for a nearfall at 8:30. Effy hit a TKO stunner and applied a Dragon Sleeper.
One of the goons distracted the referee, while the other attacked Effy and stomped on him. Two flamboyant characters I don’t know came to the ring, and they brawled with the two henchmen on the floor. Meanwhile. Effy hit a flying Fameasser for a nearfall at 11:30. They fought on the ropes in the corner, and Isaac kissed Effy. Effy flipped Morales to the mat for a nearfall. Morales applied a choke submission hold on the mat, and Effy passed out.
Isaac Morales defeated Effy at 13:10.
* Time for another ‘brief’ intermission…. it went 19 minutes.
8. “Toxic Tour” Pac Ortega and Prince Ly vs. “The Dream Team” KC Kr’eme and Danny King for the New Texas Pro Tag Team Titles. The Toxic Tour guys have similar looks; Pac has his name across his butt, while Ly wore pink trunks. KC and Ly opened, with Kr’eme hitting a hard chop that popped the crowd. King entered at 1:30 and hit an armdrag on Pac. The Tour worked over King in their corner. KC finally got a hot tag at 8:00, and he hit a German Suplex. KC dropkicked Pac in a corner and hit a crossbody block on Ly. They all fought to the floor, and the Dream Team pushed the champs into each other and threw them back into the ring.
All four brawled. King hit a bulldog on Ly. King put Ortega in a Figure Four, and Kr’eme put Ly in a Muta Lock. King dove through the ropes but was caught. KC dove off the top turnbuckle onto all three on the floor at 11:30. The Tour chopped Kr’eme’s knee and targeted it, and they were booed. Prince Ly applied a half-crab on KC’s damaged knee. King tried to get in to make the save, but Pac pulled him out of the ring. KC reached the ropes at 13:30. KC then rolled up Ly out of nowhere for the flash pin! New champions!
“The Dream Team” KC Kr’eme and Danny King defeated “Toxic Tour” Pac Ortega and Prince Ly to win the New Texas Pro Tag Team Titles at 13:51.
9. Devin Carter vs. Raychell Rose. Carter was one of the flamboyant wrestlers who came out earlier to help Effy, and Devin came out to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” Carter immediately stomped on her in the corner and hit a buttbump for a nearfall. They fought to the floor and away from the ring. The commentators said they have gone beyond “our wireless capabilities,” so we couldn’t even see the fight.
They apparently fought on top of a mechanical bull; too bad we can’t see it! They returned to ringside at 5:00. They got in the ring, where Rachel got a nearfall. She hit the “Off With The Head” Shining Wizard for a nearfall at 7:30. Carter took control and hit a pop-up knee strike for a nearfall at 9:30. Devin put a chain on the knee, hit another kneestrike, and pinned Rose. An acquired taste.
Devin Carter defeated Raychell Rose at 10:05.
* A woman jumped in the ring and attacked Carter. She shoved the refs out of the way and hit a swinging faceplant on Carter. I think the commentators said her name was Thalia Peta, or something like that.
10. Timur the Great vs. Jesse Funaki for the Lonestar Title. Timur has a significant muscle mass advantage over Funaki, who may still be a teen. He easily shoved Jesse to the mat to open the match. Jesse hit a dropkick. He went for a plancha at 3:00, but Timur caught him and slammed him back-first into the ring post, then slammed him onto the apron. He did a Gorilla Press, throwing Jesse into the ring between the second and top rope. Timur nailed a scoop powerslam at 6:00 and was in complete control.
Funaki went for a bodyslam, but he collapsed, and Timur got a nearfall. Timur applied a bear hug and flung Funaki around in his arms. Funaki hit a tornado DDT at 9:00, and they were both down. Funaki hit a tornado DDT out of the corner, and this time he hit the bodyslam for a nearfall. Timur hit a discus clothesline and a bodyslam. Jesse caught him with a running knee to the sternum for a nearfall at 11:30. Timur hit a spear for a believable nearfall, and the commentators were shocked at Jesse’s kickout. He shoved the ref and got a chair and brought it into the ring. He cracked Jesse across the back with it, and the ref called for the bell.
Jesse Funaki defeated Timur the Great via DQ at 13:15; Timur retains the Lonestar Title.
11. Carter Blaq vs. Ethan Hunter vs. Exodus Prime vs. Gary Jay in a four-way. They all brawled at the bell, and Gary dove through the ropes onto Ethan Hunter. Prime hit a slingshot senton on Blaq and a faceplant. Exodus dove to the floor on two guys. Blaq hit a bodyslam and an elbow drop on Prime. Gary re-entered and hit a huracanrana on Blaq at 2:00, then a Flatliner. Ethan hit a springboard stunner. Blaq hit a Q Cutter on Prime. Ethan backed Gary into a corner and hit some chops.
Ethan hit a running knee. Prime hit an enzuigiri on Blaq at 4:00. Ethan hit a unique German Suplex on Blaq and Prime that popped the crowd. Blaq set up for a Razor’s Edge on Jay, but Prime hit a forearm strike on Jay! Prime hit a Swanton Bomb on Ethan for a nearfall. Blaq and Jay brawled on the floor. Ethan hit a baseball slide dropkick. In the ring, Ethan came off the ropes, but Prime caught him with a stunner and an X-Factor for a nearfall. Blaq put Prime in a Torture Rack, spun several times, and spun into a powerbomb to pin Exodus. Good action but far too short for a main event.
Carter Blaq defeated Exodus Prime, Gary Jay, and Ethan Hunter in a four-way at 6:58.
Final Thoughts: A good show but also missing some stars. As I noted, 1 Called Manders was overseas. Also missing were top-tier names like Brick Savage, Hyan, and Stephen Wolf. While it was early in the show, I’ll go with Orion-Cudi for best match. And while it should have been longer, the main event takes second. Timur-Funaki – even without a clean finish – takes third. Only a few new faces for me. Santana was impressive. Granted, she was facing arguably the best unsigned female talent in the U.S., but Santana held up her end, too.
The show clocks in at 3 hours, 39 minutes, but as I noted, two intermissions totalled 30 minutes.
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