Indie Watch is our regular series that looks at all of the amazing talent working the independent circuits around the world. Some are veterans revitalizing their careers, some are indie prospects hitting their peaks, while others are names to be on the watch for! This edition looks at one of the Midwest’s rising indie superstars, Zachary Wentz, a tag team specialist who is making waves as a singles as well.

A professional wrestler of only five years, Zachary Wentz has been able to excel in the ring after just a short time. ‘The Sickest Dude in All the Land’, has quickly shown fans what he is about, and what he can do in the ring to make himself noteworthy. His rapid growth can be attributed to competing all over the United States. He has shown, through his character work, how quickly he was able to find himself as both a heel and a face. This can be attributed to his steadily increasing bookings, but also his work with Rascalz tag team partner Dezmond Xavier. While many wrestlers never find that ability to connect, Wentz has done this before the age of thirty.

‘Too Sick For This World’ Zachary Wentz

He has been recognized as a risk taker with a tremendous array of moves. His career began in his home town of Dayton, Ohio, with him competing for the Rockstar Pro Wrestling. His first match was in a losing effort, when he tagged with Bradley Abraham against Benjamin Kimera and Jerrod Harris, at Rockstar Pro’s Amped event back in 2014. Improving in the ring takes time, and to help with that his first nine matches were multi-man matches. While he wasn’t successful in them, they gave him opportunities to showcase his talent. In fact, Wentz lost his first thirteen matches in his career. It wasn’t until March 18th, 2015, during a number one contenders match for the Rockstar Pro Title, which in fact was a ten-man scramble match that was part of the Rockstar Pro Amped event in Dayton, Ohio, that he claimed his first victory. Despite losing the title match against Ron Mathis a few days later, Wentz certainly made a statement along the way.

Wentz began to journey outside Rockstar Pro and competed for the Wrestling and Respect Promotion, also based out of Ohio. While his win-loss record wasn’t necessarily the most favorable, he was gaining experience and knowledge along the way. During that time he also made new allegiances, teaming with Dave Crist to form O14K Inc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vAmJY9UTSY

For the better part of 2015 and into 2016, Zachary Wentz competed almost exclusively for Rockstar Pro. During that time, he continued to build a resume while facing notable talents such as Dylan Bostic, Kyle Maverick and David Starr. It wouldn’t be until 2016 where Wentz would branch out in a broader manner, competing for promotions such as Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), EMERGE, International Wrestling Cartel (IWC) and Premiere Wrestling Xperience (PWX), just to name a few. That was also the year when opponents would become allies. While Wentz had teamed with Crist at times, they also were part of a faction in CZW known as Scarlet & Graves, that also included JT Davidson and the aforementioned Dezmond Xavier. As Wentz progressed in his career, there were more demands for him and booking opportunities. By the end of 2016, he had 126 matches under his belt, a number that was only going to increase in future years.

In 2017, the number of matches Wentz had nearly doubled the total of the previous three years. His win-loss record aside, it was apparent how good he was becoming at telling a story in the ring. That was the year that his name was heard much more often, and many more people had a chance to catch a glimpse of him in the ring. He has been a member of several stables, and has long working relationships with Xavier, Crist and Trey Miguel has helped to elevate Wentz’s overall skill in the ring. In August of 2017, Wentz had the opportunity to compete in a couple of matches for IMPACT Wrestling, during television tapings that took place during the time that IMPACT and GFW were unifying. Both matches were tag team contests with one being against the Latin American Exchange and the other being with very familiar faces in Dave and Jake Crist of oVe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UANGOBwEia0

During 2018, Wentz has competed in over eighty matches and continues to build his ring knowledge by competing in different promotions in not only North America but now other parts of the world. He along with Dezmond Xavier will be competing for Southside Wrestling Entertainment (SWE) in the United Kingdom this September, where they will face GBH and then the Joseph Conners Experience. This illustrates that he is turning heads regardless of where he competes. He recently teamed with Xavier to face Matt & Nick Jackson, the Young Bucks, for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) in a match that was highly regarded for its execution. There appears to be quite a great deal of chemistry between Wentz and Xavier and the Young Bucks. The two teams faced each other in a triple threat that included the team of Jeff Cobb and Matt Riddle. His development has resulted in his being trusted with championships in multiple promotions: he is currently the co-holder of the PWG World Tag team championships with Xavier, not to mention the PWR Tag Team championships, again with Xavier. He has held a couple of those titles for several months. He’s also a 2x CZW World Tag Team Champion and All American Wrestling (AAW) Tag Team Champion with Xavier, and just recently lost the CZW Wired title.

The commitment it takes to compete at a high-level is apparent in Wentz. In addition, his social media is as fun to read as he is to watch in the ring. He is a bright light that hopes to continue to excel, and someone fans that haven’t seen him should be keeping an eye out for.

Catch Up on Previous Indie Watch Articles!

• Indie Watch: Scotty Davis (Ireland), September 4, 2018
• Indie Watch: SCHAFF (USA), August 21, 2018
• Indie Watch: Bandido (Mexico), August 15, 2018
• Indie Watch: Aiden Prince (Canada), August 7, 2018
• Indie Watch: Jordynne Grace (USA), April 27, 2018
• Indie Watch: D.L. Hurst (USA), April 13, 2018
• Indie Watch: The Maine State Posse (USA), January 24, 2018
• Indie Watch: The Women of PROGRESS (UK), January 20, 2018