#WrestleManiaWeek Preview – IndependentWrestling.tv Family Reunion (4/4/19)

Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) has spearheaded a united front over WrestleMania week called The Collective, featuring various promotions from around North America working together. It officially kicks off Thursday at noon with IndependentWrestling.tv‘s Family Reunion, which features one match presented by various promotions from around the world that house their on-demand catalogue on IWTV but don’t have a full showcase event. It will air live on IWTV.

ACTION Wrestling presents ACTION Championship: AC Mack (c) vs. Fred Yehi

ACTION Wrestling is one of the top Southern indies, based out of Tyrone, Georgia. For their featured match, they’re sending their very best, the ACTION Champion AC Mack into action with a title defense. A 3-year pro from Atlanta, AC Mack is a star on the rise, who has also worked for other Georgia promotions like Anarchy Wrestling and Peachstate Wrestling Alliance (PWA), as well as EVOLVE and Carolina Wrestling Federation (CWF) Mid Atlantic. Mack’s opponent on Thursday afternoon is no stranger to gold. Fred Yehi held the Full Impact Pro (FIP) World Heavyweight Championship for 562 days and was a star with EVOLVE Wrestling as part of Catch Point (along with Drew Gulak, “Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams, Matt Riddle, Chris Dickinson & Jaka, and TJ Perkins), where he held tag team gold with Williams.

Southern Underground Pro (SUP) presents Mr. Brickster, Cabana Man Dan & O’Shay Edwards vs. Sadkampf (Kevin Ku & Dominic Garrini) & Bret Ison

One of the South’s hottest new promotions over the past couple years has been Nashville’s Southern Underground Pro (SUP). SUP is sending six of their finest to compete in a 6-man tag team match that should be plenty of fun. Cabana Man Dan, an 18-year pro from Alabama’s Pro South Wrestling (PSW) is one of SUP’s veterans and he leads a team featuring an emerging powerhouse in O’Shay Edwards and Mr. Brickster, a protege of former WCW World Champion Lex Luger. The other side features SUP Bonestorm Champion Brett Ison, teaming with one of the fasting rising tag teams from the South in Sadkampf, featuring former EVOLVE star Dominic Garrini and Southern star Kevin Ku.

Women’s Wrestling Revolution (WWR) presents Kris Statlander & Kimber Lee vs. Shazza McKenzie & Jessica Troy

Women’s Wrestling Revolution (WWR) is the sister promotion of Beyond Wrestling and is based out of Worcester, Massachusetts. WWR is being repped by a tag team match featuring four top stars in the world today. Kimber Lee has been a top veteran of the indies since 2011, working for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), SHIMMER, Shine, Beyond and many more. A regular with CHIKARA, she became the first woman to win the top title usually held by men (CHIKARA’s Grand Championship) in 2015. She briefly competed in NXT as Abbey Laith before returning to the indies last year. Her partner is one of the breakout stars to watch in 2019, in Kat Statlander. Trained at Create-A-Pro in 2017, she’s exploded in the past six months, now working regularly with Beyond, WWR, CZW, and many more. Their opponents are two of the best that Australia has to offer, starting with 11-year pro Shazza McKenzie. A 2x (and reigning) Pro Wrestling Australia (PWA) Women’s Champion, she’s competed for most of the top Aussie indies, as well as multiple tours in the US with SHIMMER, CHIKARA and others. Jessica Troy, who frequently partners with Charli Evans in Blue Nation, is another top star from the Australian scene as well.

St. Louis Anarchy presents a Last Man Standing Match: “Warhorse” Jake Parnell vs. Gary Jay

St. Louis Anarchy has been running on the border of Illinois and Missouri since 2003 and for their showcase match, they feature one of the biggest feuds of the past year in the Midwest indies. “Warhorse” Jake Parnell and Gary Jay have been going at each other since 2014, when their tag teams at the team first met up at the Pro Wrestling Championship Series. They’ve fought nearly 30 times since, but since last July, when Gary Jay beat Warhorse in a Best 2-out-of-3 Falls Match at St. Louis Anarchy, they’ve been relentless. They’ve fought in CZW, ZERO1 USA, SUP, Freelance Wrestling and EVOLVE, but on Thursday, it all comes down to this – a last man standing match, where two of the top grapplers in the Midwest will face each other to finally settle the score.

Alpha-1 presents Kobe Durst, Justin Sane & Kody Lane vs. Space Pirates (Shane Sabre & Space Monkey) & BMD

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada is the home base for Alpha-1 Wrestling, the promotion founded by “All Ego” Ethan Page back in 2010. In the past year, arguably no Canadian promotion has seen as many of its homegrowns reach success in the US indies as Alpha-1, and their showcase match, another 6-man tag team, is proof of that. Kobe Durst is the reigning 3x A1 Alpha Male Champion, who has been making waves in the US the past couple of years with Black Label Pro (BLP), Freelance, Glory Pro and others (he was the inaugural BLP Indiana State Champion as well). Durst is leading a team with two indie stars who are looking for their big break in the US and this event could be it. Justin Sane has been performing in Canada since 2005, and has been with A1 since it opened. He’s also the current reigning A1 Outer Limits Champion. Kody Lane isn’t Canadian – he’s from Texas – but he’s been an impact player in A1 for the past year. A 3-year pro from the Texas indies originally, he’s looking to break out in 2019. They face a team led by reigning A1 Tag Team Champions Space Pirates, featuring two men, Shane Sabre and Space Monkey, who are already seeing success in the US indies. They’re joined by 3-year pro Brett Michael David (aka BMD) who recently made his US debut last year, working with CZW, Freelance and Glory Pro.

Pro Wrestling Australia (PWA) presents Mick Moretti, Jack Bonza & Unsocial Jordan vs. Robbie Eagles, Caveman Ugg & Bel Pierce

Pro Wrestling Australia (PWA) Black Label has been one of Australia’s premier indie promotions since 2007, and they’re sending over six stars for their own 6-person tag match. PWA Tag Team Champions Four Nations (Mick Moretti & Jack Bonza) form two-thirds of one trio in the match, as they’re joined by Unsocial Jordan, a member of the faction SMS in Australia. They face a squad that features the PWA Heavyweight Champion Caveman Ugg and he’s brought some pretty capable back-up in Bullet Club member and Aussie superstar Robbie Eagles. Rounding out Ugg’s team is rookie Bel Pierce. A student of Aussie legend Madison Eagles, Pierce has a golden opportunity to show the world what she’s made of.

Freelance Wrestling presents Shotzi Blackheart & “Ego” Robert Anthony vs. Kylie Rae & Isaias Velazquez

Chicago’s Freelance Wrestling has only been around since 2014 but in five years has emerged as one of the strongest indies in a hotbed of Illinois and Chicago area promotions. Shotzi Blackheart is on the verge of exploding on the indies, as she’s one of the fastest rising women on the circuit today. Shotzi teams up with veteran “Ego” Robert Anthony, an 18-year veteran and former CZW World Heavyweight Champion (best remembered for his past alter ego, Egotistico Fantastico) who has been a regular with Freelance since 2015. They have a tough challenge ahead of them, as they face reigning Freelance Champion Kylie Rae, who earlier this year signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW). As if facing the champion wasn’t enough, her partner is Isaias Velazquez, the very man that Kylie Rae defeated to win the title (and a former 2x Freelance Champion himself).

Independent Wrestling Championship, European Rounds: Orange Cassidy (c) vs. Jonathan Gresham

In the main event, we have a title defense for the Independent Wrestling Championship, IWTV’s title that’s defended amongst it’s broadcast partner promotions. The reigning champion is on a hot streak the past year, as “The Clown Prince of Lethargy” Orange Cassidy puts his title on the line. A longtime veteran of Beyond and CHIKARA, the sloth-like athlete has surprised many of late with his sudden outbursts of energy in retaining his championship. On Thursday, his title is on the line against the inaugural Independent Wrestling Champion, “The Octopus” Jonathan Gresham. An international superstar who competes in Germany, UK, and Japan, the American is one of pro wrestling’s most underrated technical grapplers, who has only recently had his shackles removed in Ring of Honor.

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