By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
Hybrid Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Unplugged “Midnight Xpress”
April 15, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Palms Casino Resort
Streamed live on TrillerTV+
The show started at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday. This was the third show of The Collective and the third show of the day (I also reviewed the PoderMania and Dragongate USA events).
* Again, this is a large room, and the lighting is tinted red. I’ll reiterate that the canvas is new and clean and has the Collective logo in the middle. John Mosely, Righteous Reg, and Emil Jay provided commentary. Because it’s essentially midnight, it’s not a surprise that the crowd was perhaps 150.
1. “Backseat Boyz” JP Grayson and Tommy Grayson (w/Angel Orsini) vs. Jordan Oliver and “Flyin” Ryan O’Neill vs. Effy and Joey Janela in a three-way tag. O’Neill replaced Alec Price, who got injured when the stage steps collapsed earlier in the day at the Dragongate USA show. Both Oliver and O’Neill avoided those steps as they came off the stage. Joey slowly, cautiously, walked down those steps. The commentators wondered if Effy is mentally “fine” today. Joey and JP Grayson opened. Effy tagged in, and the commentators noted that Effy and Joey are working well as a team so far.
Effy hit an Earthquake buttsplash to the chest. Oliver tagged in at 2:00, and they flipped Joey to the mat. Angel choked Jordan in the ropes, and the Backseat Boyz worked over O’Neill. JP hit some Vaquer-style faceplants into the mat. Oliver got a hot tag and hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 5:00. O’Neill hit a dive to the floor. Emil noted the injury to Price and hoped his leg was okay. The Boyz hit team superkicks on Oliver. The Boyz hit the ‘Dream Sequence’ team moves. Janela and Effy hit stereo Dragon Suplexes.
The Boyz went for splashes, but Oliver and O’Neill each got their knees up to block it, and suddenly all six were down at 8:00. Joey hit a brainbuster. Tommy hit an Air Raid Crash, but O’Neill hit a Swanton Bomb to break up a pin. Oliver and Janela brawled on the floor, and Jordan’s head hit the knee of a fan in the front row! In the ring, the Graysons hit a team slam on Ryan O’Neill for the pin. Good action, and I’ll reiterate my hope that Price is able to wrestle his other matches slated for the weekend.
“Backseat Boyz” JP Grayson and Tommy Grayson defeated Jordan Oliver and “Flyin” Ryan O’Neill, and Effy and Joey Janela in a three-way tag at 10:17.
2. Ruthie Jay vs. Brittnie Brooks vs. Jazmin Allure vs. Mia Friday for the Hybrid Wrestling Women’s Title. Allure wore different gear than earlier in the day; this is more of a leopard print. Mia is a babyface here and high-fived all the fans in the front row. Ruthie generally competes in Florida; she wrestled on the TNA live show in Minneapolis in September. Her hair is completely silver. All four women appear to be roughly 5’2″ to 5’6″. Coming out last was special guest referee Kiera Hogan! (She’s blonde today; no blue hair.) They opened in a four-way knuckle lock. Mia and Brooks hit stereo kicks and flipped their opponents to the floor.
Brooks and Friday traded armdrags. Brooks dove through the ropes at 2:00. Jazmin jumped back in and attacked Mia. She dropkicked Mia in the corner and hit a suplex. Brittnie hit a top-rope crossbody block and some clotheslines on Allure. Ruthie hit an X-Factor faceplant on Brittnie for a nearfall at 4:30, then a guillotine leg drop for a nearfall. Ruthie glared at Kiera. Ruthie hit a Cradle Shock for a nearfall. Mia got some nearfalls. Allure hit a stunner on Brooks. Ruthie hit a powerbomb for a nearfall, but Allure grabbed the ropes, so Kiera stopped counting. Ruthie yelled at Kiera! It allowed Mia to roll up Ruthie and get a (quick?) pin. Good action.
Mia Friday defeated Ruthie Jay, Brittnie Brooks, and Jazmin Allure to win the Hybrid Wrestling Women’s Title at 6:47.
3. “VNDL 48” Atticus Cogar, Otis Cogar, and Christian Napier vs. “BLK OUT” JGeorge, Robbie Illuminati, and Face. The BLK OUT wore white suits to the ring. I don’t think I’ve seen Robbie or Face before. They started brawling on the floor; I started my stopwatch, but I’m not sure if we had the bell. VNDL 48 rolled JGeorge into the ring, and JGeorge already had a bloody forehead. VNDL 48 stomped on him. JGeorge was limping and selling an ankle injury. Atticus hit an Air Raid Crash on JGeorge at 3:00.
Face hit an Exploder Suplex; he has long, straight black hair and a good physique. (How do you wind up with such a generic ring name as “Face?”) A door was set up in the corner of the ring. Otis hit a uranage on JGeorge. Robbie and Napier traded slaps to the face. Napier hit a neckbreaker and a Lungblower to Robbie’s back. However, Robbie speared Napier through the door in the corner at 6:00. Atticus hit a low blow uppercut on Face. They all continued to brawl. The Cogars hit a modified Magic Killer on JGeorge for a nearfall.
Blood had dripped onto JGeorge’s white suit. Atticus got some cooking skewers and jabbed them into the top of JGeorge’s head, too. Otis threw a chair at JGeorge’s head, and I HATE that. He was way too close to throw a chair that hard. Otis was about to clock Face over the head with a chair, but the sounds of Journey played, and the fans knew Matt Tremont was on the way to the ring! Tremont confronted his nemesis, Otis, who rolled to the floor rather than battle Matt. The match just … ended… without a finish. Blah.
“VNDL 48” Atticus Cogar, Otis Cogar, and Christian Napier vs. “BLK OUT” JGeorge, Robbie Illuminati, and Face ended without a finish at 10:00.
* Gangrel came out of the back… he was slated to face Matt Tremont, so we’re having that match right now!
4. Gangrel vs. Matt Tremont. Matt confronted him in the aisle, and they started brawling; I always start the stopwatch at first contact or the bell, whichever is first. They looped ringside. They got in the ring, sat down on chairs, and traded punches to the jaw. Gangrel threw a chair at the head (I still hate that!). Tremont speared Gangrel through a door in the corner, then hit a splash to the mat for the pin! Short, but the crowd got what they wanted here.
Matt Tremont defeated Gangrel at 4:06.
5. Billy Gold, Kidd Legend, Danger Ross, and Livewire Charlie vs. Channing Decker, Corazon, Juni Underwood, and Simon Gotch (w/Amadeus) in an eight-man tag. This was a bonus match; Emil had no idea who was in this one. I haven’t seen Gold, Legend, or Corazon before (and I see Gold and Legend don’t have bios yet on cagematch.net). Corazon wore a mask. Charlie and Ross have appeared at the NJPW Academy shows; they are big, muscular guys who dress like the Ultimate Warrior. Decker and Ross opened in an intense lockup.
Charlie and the shorter luchador Corazon battled, with Charlie hitting a release fallaway slam. Former “Vaudevillain” Gotch got in the ring and traded punches with Kidd Legend, who has long hair and wore green gear. Jui tagged in, and his team worked over Kidd in their corner. Billy Gold entered — he’s really tall and wore Diesel-style pants with tassels on the side, and he hit a big sideslam.
Ross and Charlie hit some team moves on Juni, and the commentators talked about how they love the tribute to the 1980s. Gotch hit a senton on Charlie at 6:00 as they kept Charlie in their corner. Ross got a hot tag and hit some clotheslines; he really does have the full Ultimate Warrior look and vibe going. Legend hit a Jay Driller. Jui hit a Michinoku Driver. Gold hit a Boss Man Slam. Danger Ross slammed Corazon and pinned him. Okay action.
Billy Gold and Kidd Legend and Danger Ross and Livewire Charlie defeated Channing Decker and Corazon and Juni Underwood and Simon Gotch at 8:18.
6. Deklan Grant vs. Angel Metro vs. Angel Orsini vs. Tarzan Duran vs. Don Freeze vs. Jazmyne Hao vs. JJ Doze vs. Mickie Knuckles for the PWU Silver Skywalker Title. So, we have four women in this eight-person scramble. My first time seeing Metro, who looks like a ‘skater girl.’ I don’t think I’ve seen Orsini before this show; she has long blonde hair. Once again, Emil had no idea who was in this match or how many. Doze has been on the HOG shows in New York. Freeze competes regularly in upstate New York and the New England shows — he has started appearing on several GCW shows. Jazmyne is taller than average; I’ve seen her just a few times in Wrestling Open, and Emil hadn’t seen her yet. Mickie got the final slot. What an eclectic group from all over the country! I swear I wrote “eclectic” seconds before Emil said that word!
All eight fought at the bell. The women dumped the men to the floor. Two women hit flip dives from the apron to the floor on the guys. Mickie dove through the ropes onto Freeze at 1:30. Doze hit some flip dives to the floor. In the ring, Deklan bodyslammed Doze. He hit a DDT on Metro. Hao hit an Air Raid Crash on Deklan. Freeze and Knuckles fought on the floor. In the ring, Freeze hit a spinning back suplex on Hao. Duran hit a spin kick to Freeze’s head.
Orsini hit some chops on Tarzan Duran, but he basically no-sold them, then he dropped her with one chop at 5:30. He hit a plancha to the floor on Freeze. Orsini hit a top-rope moonsault to the floor onto some of the guys. In the ring, Angel unloaded some blows on Mickie, but Mickie hit her with a Death Valley Driver through a door in the corner for a nearfall. However, Deklan clocked Mickie over the head with door debris! Deklan pulled out a plastic bag and put it over her head! He hit a piledriver on Mickie for the pin. A bit messy, but it certainly never dragged.
Deklan Grant defeated Angel Metro, Angel Orsini, Tarzan Duran, Don Freeze, Jazmyne Hao, JJ Doze, and Mickie Knuckles in a scramble to retain the PWU Silver Skywalker Title at 7:56.
7. Thomas Shire vs. 1 Called Manders. These two are regularly teammates as “Cowboy Way!” This wasn’t the planned match — Manders noted that PCO was supposed to be here but isn’t. Shire was in Germany just days ago for wXw! They locked up but almost immediately traded LOUD and thudding chops. These guys are teammates! They hit stereo clotheslines. Another stereo clothesline, and they both went down at 3:30. They got to their knees and traded forearm strikes. On their feet, they traded more chops.
Shire hit a half-nelson suplex, but Manders nailed a hard clothesline from his knees, and they were both down. They rolled to the floor. Shire caught him with a jumping knee to the chin! They got back into the ring at 5:30. Shire did the airplane spin-into-a-slam for a nearfall. Manders hit two more hard clotheslines and scored the pin. As good a match as you’ll see for being that short. They went to the back together, and the commentators noted they had some tag matches in a few hours, as it was now Thursday morning.
1 Called Manders defeated Thomas Shire at 6:38.
* Once again, Kiera Hogan was our special ref for the next match!
8. Priscilla Kelly vs. Mercedes Martinez vs. Lacey Lane for the inaugural PWU Women’s Title. Mercedes has been wrestling for more than two decades, and she’s retiring at the end of the year. Emil accurately called her a “trailblazer.” Kelly and Lane dropkicked Martineze to the floor, then those two battled. Kelly hit a Lungbower on Mercedes, and Martinez went right back to the floor. Kelly rubbed her butt in Lane’s face. Kelly hit an STO uranage on Mercedes. Lane hit a rolling DVD, dropping Kelly onto Martinez in the corner, and they were all down at 3:00.
Kelly hit a double stomp on Mercedes for a nearfall, but Lane made the save. Kelly hit some kicks on Lane, then a doublestomp. Kelly hit a leg capture back suplex on Lane! Nice move. Mercedes hit a Spider German Suplex on Kelly out of the corner for a nearfall, but Lane stole the cover for a nearfall at 6:00. Lane hit a piledriver out of the ropes on Mercedes for a nearfall, but Kelly made the save. Martinez hit a spinebuster and pinned Kelly! I didn’t expect her to win it!
Mercedes Martinez defeated Priscilla Kelly and Lacey Lane at 7:03 to become the inaugural PWU Women’s Champion.
9. Pat Dynamite vs. Jack Evans for the PWU Title. Righteous Reg noted it was nearly 2 a.m. It’s been a few months since I’ve seen Evans, but he really is ageless, and he did a few flips and a spinaroonie while waiting for Pat to come out. When I first saw him a few years ago, Pat wrestled as “Ellis Taylor” in a faction with Jordan Oliver and Griffin McCoy, but I doubt I’ve seen him wrestle in the past six months, possibly longer. A basic lockup to open. Evans rolled to the floor to regroup. As he got in the ring, he asked for complete silence so he could concentrate.
Evans jumped him from behind, and he stomped on Pat. They brawled out of the ring, up onto the stage, and Evans suplexed him on the stage, then hit a somersault dive from the stage to the floor. They got back into the ring at 5:00, and Jack hit a Northern Lights Suplex, then a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Evans put him in a Muta Lock, but Dynamite grabbed the ropes at 7:00. Dynamite hit a shoulder-breaker over his knee, then a running knee to the jaw in the corner.
Pat hit a top-rope clothesline for a nearfall. Jack hit a swinging neckbreaker and a spin kick to the head. Jack hit a Sasuke Special dive to the floor at 9:00. Jack hit a top-rope 450 Splash for a believable nearfall. Jack hit a huracanrana out of the corner. He went for another 450 Splash, but Dynamite got his knees up to block it. Pat immediately rolled up Evans for the pin. Good action, but a fairly lame finish.
Pat Dynamite defeated Jack Evans to retain the PWU Title at 10:30.
Final Thoughts: Disappointing but understandable that Alec Price didn’t wrestle, but I’ll still give that show opening three-way tag best match. Mander-Shire was short but hard-hitting for second. It wasn’t long, but I really liked the women’s three-way with the surprise win for Mercedes, and that took third. A decent main event takes honorable mention. I liked the women’s four-way, too.
The VNDL 48 brawl didn’t work for me — I’m just not a fan of any of those guys, and I just hate seeing chairs so casually being thrown around at other people’s heads. Some of the matches felt as thrown together at the last minute, as the commentators indicated. Certainly, some newer guys who wrestled people they were probably unfamiliar with.
This concluded night one of the Collective, all on Triller+.
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