Wrestlecade, the huge annual convention that sees wrestling superstars from the WWE to the indies, legends to emerging stars, that runs US Thanksgiving weekend in Winston-Salem, North Carolina every year is running several pay per view events (all on Fite.tv), starting on Friday night with Showcase of Champions. It features multiple indies sending champions to the event to defend against challengers, including many of the top stars on the indie circuit today.
WCWC North American Championship Finals: Mik Drake vs. Mike Camden
Oregon’s West Coast Wrestling Connection (WCWC) holds the finals of their North American Championship Tournament on Friday, with Mik Drake facing Mike Camden. Both are longtime veterans of the indies, with Mik Drake competing for the likes of United Wrestling Coalition (UWC), D2W Wrestling, WCWC and Booker T‘s Reality of Wrestling. He faces another long time vet in Mike Camden, a mainstay with SoCal Pro, Empire Wrestling Federation (EWF) and Alternative Wrestling Show (AWS).
AML World Tag Team Championship: The Dawson Brothers (Zane & Dave Dawson) (c) vs. The Lynch Mob (Joey & Matt Lynch)
America’s Most Liked (AML) Wrestling is Winston-Salem’s premier indie promotion who are co-promoting the weekend with Wrestlecade, and their tag team champions will be in action on Friday night. The Dawson Brothers are just over 50 days as champions, having defeated 4x AML Tag Team Champions The Heatseekers recently for the belts. The Dawsons are one of the Carolina’s top indie tag teams, who usually patrol the rings of Carolina Wrestling Federation (CWF) Mid Atlantic, where they previously held the CWF Tag Team titles for 392 days. The Lynch Mob were a top threat in Georgia’s Anarchy Wrestling (where they’re former Anarchy Tag Team Champions) and the duo continues to fight for such promotions as Tennessee’s Next Generation Wrestling (NGW) and Georgia’s ACTION Wrestling. Joey Lynch made a name for himself earlier this year, winning the 2018 Scenic City Invitational Tournament.
BCW Heavyweight Championship: Darius Carter (c) vs. Azriel
BriiCombination Wrestling (BCW) out of New York sends their champion, 9-year veteran Darius Carter to Wrestlecade to defend his newly won title. A vet of such New York indies as Warriors of Wrestling (WOW), Battle Club Pro (BCP) as well as Beyond Wrestling, he’s defending against a longtime New York indie star in 16-year pro Azrieal, who has worked for Ring of Honor, Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), and New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC) amongst others.
TCW UWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship: The Heatseekers (Elliott Russell & Sygmon) vs. Chase Owens & Jason Kincaid
Speaking of The Heatseekers, one of the most dominant tag teams in indie wrestling, not only are they 4x AML Tag Team Champions, but also 4x NWA World Tag Team Champions. They currently hold Tokyo Championship Wrestling (TCW)‘s Intercontinental Tag Team titles, which they won on a tour of Japan, and they’re defending it against a team of two rising stars in Chase Owens and Jason Kincaid. “The Crown Jewel” Chase Owens is no stranger to the hard-hitting style of Japan, as a long time member of Bullet Club until his recent ousting from the Firing Squad. He’s pairing with indie star Jason Kincaid, a regular with EVOLVE, Innovate Pro, and multiple other indies, who also knows a thing or two about Japan – he’s spent considerable time this year with DDT Pro.
AML Prestige Championship: Billy Brash (c) vs. Luchasaurus
AML’s secondary title, the AML Prestige Championship, is up for grabs, as current champion Billy Brash puts it all on the line. A Mid Atlantic indie veteran who has spent time with Premier Wrestling Xperience (PWX), Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment (AWE), WrestleForce and more, he’s closing in on 190 days as AML Prestige Champion. He’s facing one of the breakout stars from the past few seasons of Lucha Underground in the frightening giant Luchasaurus (Vibora on LU), who has been a regular with Bar Wrestling, Millenium Pro Wrestling and others, including appearances with Beyond Wrestling and House of Hardcore.
BCP ICONS Championship: Harlow O’Hara (c) vs. LuFisto
New York City’s Battle Club Pro (BCP) is sending their ICONS Champion Harlow O’Hara to Wrestlecade to defend their top title, who won it back in July from Jordynne Grace. O’Hara’s dark persona has become one of the new emerging stars on the women’s and indie circuits and she faces a pioneer on Friday, when she defends against Canadian legend LuFisto. The 20+ year veteran has won titles all throughout her career and will look to add one more piece of hardware to an already legendary career.
AML Championship: Caleb Konley (c) vs. PJ Black
AML’s top title will also get defended as AML Champion (and IMPACT Wrestling star) Caleb Konley defends his title against “The Air Wolf” PJ Black. Konley has long been in the shadow of his Cult of Lee mentor Trevor Lee, but he’s also quite an accomplished singles star on the indies as well. PJ Black (formerly Justin Gabriel in the WWE) is in town this weekend alongside his LU partner Johnny Mundo/Impact of Worldwide Underground, but on Friday he goes for a piece of singles gold of his own.
NGW Heavyweight Championship: Shane Strickland (c) vs. Matt Cross
NGW Heavyweight Champion Shane Strickland is the subject of all kinds of rumors, but he’s still holding three titles, including the DEFY Championship and PCW ULTRA Light Heavyweight Championship. “Swerve” is one of the hottest stars on the indie circuit today, also working for Major League Wrestling (MLW) and Lucha Underground (as Killshot) and he’s facing a man he’s faced (and teamed with) before in LU, in “Mad Dogg” Matt Cross (aka Son of Havoc in LU). This is a world class title bout between two absolute stars of the business.
