The annual WWN Mercury Rising supershow is back for WrestleMania 35 weekend, featuring a whole host of exciting matches. This year’s supershow will feature competitors from the usual WWN-affiliated promotions – Full Impact Pro, Shine Wrestling, EVOLVE Wrestling, etc. – but it will also include performers from Germany’s Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) and Japan’s Dramatic Dream Team (DDT Pro) and Tokyo Joshi Pro. The mix of talent here has created for some truly tantalising contests, as evidenced by the announced match card.
Six Way Elimination Match for a WWN Contract: Colby Corino vs John Silver vs Harlem Bravado vs Anthony Greene vs Barrett Brown vs ???
An exclusive contract with WWN will be awarded to one lucky competitor who is able to come out victorious over five other combatants in an Elimination Match. Five out of the six entrants have been unveiled so far, those being Colby Corino, John Silver, Harlem Bravado, Anthony Greene, and Barrett Brown, with one spot still out in the open. Colby is the son of WWE producer/trainer Steve Corino and has wrestled for American indies such as Ring of Honor (ROH), Premiere Wrestling Xperience (PWX), and Game Changer Wrestling (GCW). Silver has become a regular fixture in high-profile indie promotions like Beyond Wrestling and Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), and also enjoyed a brief reign with the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) World Tag Team Championships alongside his Beaver Boys partner Alex Reynolds. On to another tag team name in Harlem Bravado, who’s already featured numerous times on WWN-related shows. Since December, he’s challenged for both the WWN Championship and the EVOLVE Tag Team Championships, and also made it to the semifinals of the 2019 PWX X Sixteen Tournament before being ousted by Slim J. Out of Randolph, Massachusetts is Anthony Greene, a man who travels the American indie circuit waiting for that opportunity to break out. He’s previously held gold in Alpha-1 Wrestling and Chaotic Wrestling and is also the reigning World Xtreme Wrestling Elite Tag Team Champion alongside Cam Zagami as The Cam-An Connection. Last but not least is Barrett Brown. As of writing, he’s the defending Bayou Independent Wrestling Deep South Heritage Champion, a title he captured in November 2018 after besting Andy Dalton in a two out of three falls match. With one spot remaining, it’s anyone’s game to win that coveted WWN contract.
Intergender Match: Austin Theory & Brandi Lauren vs Darby Allin & Priscilla Kelly
An intergender tag team match has been signed for the afternoon’s proceedings, featuring four of the independent circuit’s elite talents. Austin Theory goes by the nickname of The Unproven One, a moniker that describes him perfectly. He’s one of the biggest names under the WWN banner, currently holding the EVOLVE Championship and being a former WWN Champion and FIP World Heavyweight Champion. His partner for the match is Brandi Lauren – fans may know her better as Ava Storie. She’s a permanent star in Shine Wrestling at the moment, while also being given the opportunity to appear on an episode of NXT last summer in a losing effort to Lacey Evans. On the other side of the ring, you’ve got one of the independent circuit’s greatest high flying talents in Darby Allin alongside one of the more controversial names in Priscilla Kelly. Darby’s athleticism has made him one of America’s most beloved talents, earning him EVOLVE matches with NXT stars such as Roderick Strong and Kassius Ohno. Meanwhile, Priscilla has been making waves over the last few weeks for her use of vomit and tampons in her matches. Questionable as it may be, it makes her stand out from her opponents, something which can be hard to do these days.
FIP World Heavyweight Championship: Anthony Henry (c) vs Absolute Andy
One of three championship bouts will see the FIP World Heavyweight Championship on the line, as Anthony Henry puts his gold on the line against wXw’s Absolute Andy. The Five Star King won the title last September from Austin Theory at the FIP Accelerate event, with successful defences soon following against AR Fox and Eddie Kingston. His third defence is against a man who’ll be very familiar to German fans, “The Sexiest Man Alive” Absolute Andy. Andy recently lost the wXw Unified World Wrestling Championship to Bobby Gunns over 16 Carat Gold weekend. During his reign however, he successfully defended the championship against the likes of Suzuki-gun member Zack Sabre Jr., recent NXT UK signing Ilja Dragunov, and 2019 16 Carat Gold winner Lucky Kid. He held the title for 217 days, as well as holding several other singles and tag titles throughout his 15 year career. He may not be a contracted WWN/FIP star, but that could all change depending on the outcome of this match.
Shine Championship: Allysin Kay (c) vs Miyu Yamashita
Allysin Kay‘s reign with the Shine Championship up to now has been dominant to say the least. After defeating fellow Mae Young Classic competitor Mercedes Martinez to win the vacant title in September, The AK-47 has ran roughshod through the roster, with successful defences against LuFisto, Su Yung, and Shotzi Blackheart so far. With members of the Shine roster seemingly unable to stop Kay, her defence at the WWN supershow comes way of a name from Tokyo Joshi Pro – Miyu Yamashita. The 24-year-old is making a name for herself in her home promotion, where she is the reigning TOKYO Princess of Princess Champion in her second reign. Outwith Japan, Yamashita also entered last year’s CHIKARA King of Trios tournament alongside Shoko Nakajima and Yuka Sakazaki. The trio made it to the semifinals before being ousted in the semifinals at the hands of The Four Nations trio of Adam Hoffman, Jack Bonza, and Mick Moretti. Perhaps an unknown name to American audiences, this is the chance for Miyu to leave her mark on the scene.
WWN Championship: JD Drake (c) vs Kazusada Higuchi
The last of the three championship bouts will see the WWN Championship on the line with JD Drake defending his most prized possession against DDT Pro star Kazusada Higuchi. Following an injury to Joey Janela towards the end of 2018, a new champion was needed and that man would be JD Drake, as he defeated Anthony Henry, AR Fox, Austin Theory, Darby Allin, and Harlem Bravado in a ladder match. Successful defences have followed since over Eddie Kingston, Jaka, and The Street Profits’ Montez Ford, with Higuchi being another name to add to that ever-growing list of talent. In his home promotion of Dramatic Dream Team, Kazusada is typically seen in tag action, and is a former two-time KO-D Tag Team Champion and a former two-time KO-D Six Man Tag Team Champion. He’s never had a reign with a singles championship – will he strike big over WrestleMania weekend?
The Skulk (AR Fox, Leon Ruff & Adrian Alanis) w/ Alya vs Team DDT (Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo & Soma Takao)
One of two huge six man tag team matches sees AR Fox, Leon Ruff, and Adrian Alanis, collectively known as The Skulk, taking on the DDT trio of Daisuke Sasaki, Tetsuya Endo, and Soma Takao. As of late, AR Fox has been a regular for promotions such as EVOLVE Wrestling and AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined, as well as featuring on previous seasons of Lucha Underground under the alias of Dante Fox. His partners are two names that are perhaps unknown to a wider audience. As we’ve seen with WrestleMania weekends in the past though, that could all change based on their performances here. They could be leaving this show as two of the biggest up and comers in WWN. Don’t bet on it though, as they’ve got quite the task ahead of them in the form of three members of DAMNATION. Daisuke Sasaski and Soma Takao are the reigning KO-D Tag Team Champions, with Sasaki also being a former DDT Extreme Champion and KO-D Openweight Champion while Takao is a former All Japan Pro Wrestling World Junior Heavyweight Champion. Endo is a multi-time tag team champion in March, and also came out victorious in the 2017 King of DDT tournament.
The Unwanted (Shane Strickland, Eddie Kingston & Joe Gacy) vs Team wXw (Lucky Kid, Bobby Gunns & Marius Al-Ani)
Another six man tag team match will see Shane Strickland, Eddie Kingston, and Joe Gacy, known collectively as The Unwanted, taking on wXw stars Lucky Kid, Bobby Gunns, and Marius Al-Ani. Strickland is the reigning PCW ULTRA Heavyweight Champion, a former EVOLVE Champion, a former CZW World Heavyweight Champion, and has for a long time been rumoured to have been on WWE’s radar. His two partners here just so happen to be the reigning EVOLVE Tag Team Champions, with Kingston also being the inaugural CHIKARA Grand Champion and Gacy being a former multi-time CZW Wired Champion. Over in Germany’s wXw, Lucky Kid has been on an absolute tear, having submitted WALTER to win this year’s 16 Carat Gold tournament. On that same weekend, Bobby Gunns captured the Unified World Wrestling Championship to quite the reaction from the wXw faithful, whereas Marius Al-Ani has reigned supreme as the Shotgun Champion for the last 236 days at the time of writing. An all-star team of some of wXw’s best.
