By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
Juggalo Championship Wrestling “Strangle-Mania: Viva Las Violence”
April 18, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at The Horseshoe
Streamed live on New Japan World
This was the eleventh show of The Collective, and the last of the Friday shows (it technically started early Saturday morning). I also reviewed PoderMania, Dragongate USA, Hybrid/PWUnplugged Midnight Xpress, Progress Chapter 193, Mark Hitchcock Memorial, NJPW Death Invitational Vegas, Gringo Loco’s The WRLD On Lucha, Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XV, and Joey Janela’s Spring Break X from The Collective.
Joe Dombrowski, Mark Roberts, and Zac Amico provided commentary. They started LATE; Dombrowski said it is past 4 a.m. in the East! Considering how late it is there, a crowd of 500 or so is pretty impressive.
* Again, this is a large convention hall and the lighting is tinted red. They have their own canvas; the mat is red and white and looks sharp.
* I admittedly don’t love a lot of this roster, so I’m going to skip a few matches. I do NOT follow JCW, so I won’t know the storylines.
* The show opened with a car stopping in an alley and dumping off a body in a plastic bag. There was a full video to introduce the show. Violent J came to the ring.
* Backstage, Vince Russo argued with Jasmin St. Claire. Russo is planning to disband the Monster Corporation if they lose tonight. Russo has been here six months! (And he hasn’t been fired yet?)
1. “The Monster Corporation” Mr. Happy, Kongo Kong, and Beastman (w/Jasmin St. Claire) vs. George South, Robert Gibson, and Ricky Morton. I haven’t seen Mr. Happy before, but he is 400 pounds or more and wears a mask. This is one of the matches I opted to skip. I zipped to the end. Mr. Happy accidentally splashed his partners in a corner. The old-timers piled on them for the pin.
George South, Robert Gibson, and Ricky Morton defeated Mr. Happy, Kongo Kong, and Beastman at 4:42.
* Claude, a “noted artist and influencer,” was the special referee for the next match.
2. Kerry Morton vs. Mickie Knuckles. Again, I don’t pay much attention to JCW, but I thought Mickie had been fired. Maybe that was just a storyline. I like Kerry; he’s pretty smarmy, and the crowd loves to boo him. He got on the mic and said, “Women aren’t allowed in my sport.” He vowed, “I’m gonna whoop a woman’s ass!” Morton attacked Mickie. She dumped him to the floor. She set up for a dive, but he hit her in the head with a garbage can. In the ring, she grabbed him in the groin and suplexed him at 2:00.
Kerry hit her in the head with a garbage can lid. He went to grab her groin and came up empty; the commentators didn’t know how to call that. He hit her with a chair. Mickie bit him in the groin at 3:30. “If he didn’t want her to do that, why did he put it near her biters?” a commentator asked. Mickie hit some buttbumps in the corner. She set up a door bridge. “There is a reason she’s been fired twice,” Dombrowski said. They fought on the top rope, and he made some lewd gestures, but Mickie pushed him backwards through the door bridge for a nearfall at 6:30; the ref stopped counting!
Mickie stood up and grabbed the ref. Kerry accidentally ran into Claude, and he went down. Mickie hit a back suplex on Kerry, then a German Suplex, then a Northern Lights Suplex for a visual pin, but we had no ref! Kerry suplexed her through a door in the corner, then hit her over the head with the door debris. Kerry repeatedly hit her on the back with the garbage can. Claude got up and made the pin, even though Kerry was clearly in the ropes, and Claude saw that, too.
Kerry Morton defeated Mickie Knuckles at 8:58.
3. “The Outbreak” Jacksyn Crowley and Abel Booker (w/Barnabus) vs. “The Brothers of Funstruction” Yabbo the Clown and Ruffo the Clown. The Outbreak are zombies, and they do a great job of looking scary. They look like they just came off the set of The Walking Dead. I am not entertained by the Clowns, and this is another match I planned to skip. In the final seconds, I learned that zombies are NOT ticklish from the clown’s rubber chicken. One of the Outbreak hit a frog splash for the pin. The Outbreak celebrated by pulling out a bag of cocaine and snorted it.
“The Outbreak” Jacksyn Crowley and Abel Booker defeated “The Brothers of Funstruction” Yabbo the Clown and Ruffo the Clown at 7:46.
* Backstage, Big Vito spoke to CoKane about their match later tonight with Vampiro. Vito wants them to work together. Vito gave him a wad of bills to leave him alone tonight.
4. Facade vs. Mecha Wolf vs. Ninja Mack vs. Disco Ray (w/Ring Rat) vs. Mikey Avalon for the JCW American Title. I am a huge fan of Ninja Mack; he’s only about 5’2″, but he always dazzles. My first time seeing Disco Ray, he’s similar in size to KC Navarro. My first time seeing Avalon, and he’s a surfer dude, and he brought a board with him to the ring. Facade is a two-decade pro, and he’s an entertaining high-flyer. Ray danced at the bell and got others to join in. Ray hit a spinebuster on Mecha Wolf.
Ray hit a series of jab punches on Avalon. Facade backed Ray into a corner and hit some chops. Wolf got back in and hit some punches on Facade. Facade hit a Cody-style Disaster Kick off the ropes on Wolf at 4:00. Avalon through his board at Facade and bodyslammed him. Mecha dove through the ropes onto Facade. In the ring, Mecha hit a frog splash for a nearfall on Avalon, but Ray made the save. Avalon hit a sidewalk slam on Mecha Wolf at 7:30, then a rolling cannonball in the corners on several guys.
Mecha Wolf sprayed green mist in Avalon’s eyes! Ninja Mack superkicked Mecha Wolf. Mack nailed his Sasake Special dive to the floor, and that POPPED the crowd. Facade got a rollup on Ray for a nearfall. Ray hit a Shellshock swinging faceplant on Facade for a nearfall at 9:00. Ring Rat got in the ring, but she hit a low blow on Disco Ray! Facade struck Ray in the head with a chair. Facade hit a double-jump springboard moonsault and pinned Ray! Ring Rat joined Steven Flow on the stage; he looks like a Nirvana-era grunge reject. The three veterans were really good here.
Facade defeated Mecha Wolf, Ninja Mack, Disco Ray, and Mikey Avalon to retain the JCW American Title at 10:21.
* Backstage, Violent J told Big Vito not to interfere in Vampiro’s retirement match tonight. Russo came up and joined the conversation. I’m having WCW 2000 nightmares. (People who compare what Triple H is doing now to what Russo did in WCW or here… they just don’t know what they’re talking about.) “I’m just stunned by the stupidity of it all,” Violent J said. No truer words have ever been said… Anyhow, Big Vito gave Shane Mercer a wad of cash and told him he knew what he needed to do.
* The ring announcer welcomed the Green Phantom to the ring. His mask is green and yellow, and his beard is dyed green. He appears to be taller than average, maybe 6’2″. He looped the ring and left. What was the point of that????
* Katie Forbes is our special guest referee for the next match. Her referee one-piece is rather revealing.
5. Big Alice Crowley and Dani Mo vs. “J-Rod” Jennifer Roden and a mystery partner for the JCW Women’s Title. Al’s title is on the line in a tag match; that just happened in Glory Pro a few weeks ago, too. Again, J-Rod is in the new season of American Gladiator; she’s tall (maybe 5’10”?) and she’s really athletic. Dani wore Juggalo-style makeup on half of her face. Coming out last was a big surprise… it’s Nyla Rose! Apparently, Big Al and Dani haven’t been on the same page lately, and they argued before the bell. J-Rod and Alice opened, and Alice hit an Air Raid Crash for a nearfall.
Mo entered and hit a Vader Bomb on J-Rod. Nyla entered at 2:30 and locked up with Alice. Nyla knocked her down with a shoulder tackle, then Nyla hit a splash in the corner. Rose and J-Rod worked over Mo in their corner. J-Rod choked Dani. Mo fired up and hit some forearm strikes on Nyla at 5:30. Mo hit a Code Red for a nearfall. Rose hit a left-arm clothesline to drop Dani. J-Rod hit a Samoan Drop for a nearfall at 7:30. Forbes ordered Big Al to get back into their corner, and Katie missed the heels, hitting a team chokeslam on Dani. J-Rod pinned Dani Mo! Big Al lost her belt without being pinned!
J-Rod and Nyla Rose defeated Big Alice Crowley and Dani Mo at 8:06; J-Rod won the women’s title.
6. Kenta and “The Good Brothers” Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows vs. 2 Tuff Tony, Willie Mack, and Rob Van Dam (w/Bill Alfonso). RVD came out last and got a big pop (the last time we saw him, he broke his ankles or shins during a Chris Bey benefit show). Tony was about to start against Anderson, but he got a bottle of liquor hidden at ringside and took a big drink first. Gallows entered. Is anyone going to wrestle? Gallows and Tony locked up and traded standing switches. Is anyone going to bump?
Mack entered and hit a shoulder block on Gallows at 4:00. Willie hit a flying knee that dropped Gallows. Kenta tagged in, and he pointed at RVD! So, Rob got in, and Dombrowski said they’ve never shared a ring before! They traded just a few blows, and Kenta suddenly had blood pouring out of his nose! What happened? Karl pulled RVD to the floor and brawled with him. Everyone but Kenta was brawling. The brawling on the floor was slow and sluggish.
Anderson and Mack got in the ring, and Willie hit a stunner at 7:30. Kenta hit a running knee. RVD hit a flying kick on Kenta. Kenta flipped a chair to Gallows and hit a Van Daminator swinging kick. 2 Tuff Tony lit his fist on fire and punched Gallows. RVD hit the Five-Star frog splash on Gallows for the pin. Well, we just found the worst match of the weekend. I can only assume they decided to wrap up early, as Kenta was bloody and appeared dazed.
2 Tuff Tony, Willie Mack, and Rob Van Dam defeated Kenta and “The Good Brothers” Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows at 8:56.
* In the locker room, Vince Russo fired up Caleb Konley. The more I see and hear Russo, the more I think about how bad WCW was in 2000-01. His presence alone is reason enough not to watch this product.
* Justin Roberts is our special guest ring announcer for the final two matches. Jeeves came to the ring to also introduce someone. He introduced EC3, who was the special referee for the next match. EC3 cleaned up Kenta’s blood. “His nose just seemed to explode,” a commentator said of the injury.
7. Cokane vs. Caleb Konley (w/Vince Russo) vs. Matt Riddle vs. Nic Nemeth in an elimination match for the JCW Title with EC3 as special referee. Nemeth had the Juggalo makeup on. Cokane had stringy blond hair coming out from his mask. I think I’ve seen him just once, on one of the GCW-JCW crossovers last year. Riddle’s hair is a light purple these days. Vince Russo joined commentary to torture my ears some more. Everyone hit Caleb at the bell. Riddle and Cokane traded kicks. Riddle hit a gutwrench suplex and a senton at 1:30.
Dombrowski questioned why Konley was stalling on the floor. Joe said it was a one-fall match, and he had to be corrected by Zac. (If Dombrowski isn’t paying attention to the stipulations, who is?) Caleb hit a double stomp to Cokane’s back. Nemeth hit a Rocker Dropper on Caleb at 4:00. Riddle hit a stunner. Nemeth superkicked Riddle and fell on him for a believable nearfall. (I wouldn’t have been surprised if Riddle was eliminated there). The crowd grumbled, thinking that was a pin.
Caleb hit a low-blow kick on Nemeth and hit a Burning Hammer to pin Nemeth at 5:18!! The crowd booed that. Riddle hit an Exploder Suplex and another senton. He hit a fisherman’s buster on Cokane for a nearfall. Riddle hit a top-rope twisting Broton onto both opponents at 6:30. Riddle hit his piledriver on Cokane, but Caleb pulled Riddle off of him! Why? Caleb hit a Burning Hammer and pinned Riddle at 7:24. Caleb hit a hard back fist.
The ref got bumped! Cokane hit a Lethal Injection. He pulled out a bag of cocaine, but Steven Flow appeared again and confiscated it! Caleb again hit a low-blow kick and nailed a Burning Hammer for a visual pin… but ref EC3 refused to make the third count! EC3 argued with Caleb. Cokane pulled out another baggie of cocaine, and he poured it all over himself! He hit a “Coke-slam” (chokeslam) and pinned Konley. Russo got in the ring and shoved EC3, so EC3 slapped Vince.
Cokane defeated Caleb Konley, Matt Riddle, and Nic Nemeth in an elimination match to retain the JCW Title at 11:20.
* Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope were at ringside for the main event!
8. Vampiro vs. Big Vito vs. PCO in a three-way. Again, this is Vampiro’s retirement match. Dombrowski noted he had been part of Vampiro’s retirement event in Mexico a few years ago. Vito wore a button-down shirt, and Vampiro wore a loose-fitting T-shirt. PCO wore a weird, green mask. PCO hit some chops on Vampiro, and they all traded chops. Vampiro and Vito brawled into the bleachers, away from the ring. They returned to ringside, and PCO joined in trading punches and forearm strikes.
Vito and Violent J got in the ring, and Vito hit him. Shane Mercer got in the ring, but he accidentally hit Vito. Violent J clotheslined Mercer to the floor. PCO attempted to pin Vito, and Vampiro didn’t even attempt to break it up. Vampiro backed into a corner and watched as PCO hit a guillotine leg drop, but this time, Vampiro broke it up, and he got a nearfall on Vito. PCO hit some clotheslines that dropped Vito. PCO hit a chokeslam on Vito. Vampiro kicked PCO to the floor. Vampiro hit the “Nail in the Coffin” bodyslam and pinned Vito; Vito got his shoulder up a fraction of a second too late!
Vampiro defeated PCO and Big Vito in a three-way at 10:42.
Final Thoughts: I am prepared to get a lot of hate mail and nasty Twitter responses, because this show was bad. Just bad. The top matches had too many guys in their 50s or 60s, and it was almost devoid of action. No bumping. Sluggish and plodding action.
What was the average age in that six-man RVD match? Maybe it’s because it was 3 a.m., but they all looked sluggish and out of sorts. Yes, it went nine minutes, but no one bumped in the first four minutes. It was almost completely devoid of action. I do presume they cut it short before Kenta got popped in the nose and busted open, but for a group of veterans, they sure didn’t look like they knew what to do when the injury occurred.
What was good? I liked the women’s match. Alice Crowley and J-Rod are both fresh faces whom I want to see more of. Dani Mo is a steady veteran, and it was good to see Nyla Rose in the ring. I also like Mecha Wolf, Ninja Mack, and Facade. I wish that match had just been a three-way or a singles match, and jettisoned the newer cartoonish guys in that match. Kerry Morton is the type of heel you want to see just so you can boo the heck out of him. And you have a beast like Shane Mercer present and don’t give him a match?
My conclusion? Too much Vince Russo. Too many wrestlers who are age 45 or older. Dombrowski, who is usually pretty good and on his game, not knowing that the four-way was an elimination match, kind of summarized this mess in a nutshell.
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