One of the new events taking place this coming WrestleMania Week as part of The Collective, is the multi-promotional branded event, Texas is Forever. The Texas indies have become a rising force in the past few years, providing much top tier talent and amazing new prospects to the national (and international) stage. On Thursday April 2, Inspire Pro (Austin), Sabotage Wrestling (Austin), Heavy Metal Wrestling (San Antonio), New Texas Pro Wrestling (Abilene), and Lucha Brutal (Dallas) team up to present a huge card featuring some familiar faces and some faces that should be more familiar. Earlier this month, we saw three big names announced in “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, Hyan, and Ricky Starks, and in the past few days, we’ve seen four more announcements.
Allie Kat
One of the breakout stars of 2019, Allie Kat cut her wrestling teeth in the Texas indies starting in 2015. While now she competes for the likes of CHIKARA, Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), RISE Wrestling, SHIMMER, and much more, she started out with the likes of Anarchy Championship Wrestling (ACW), Inspire Pro, and others.
Chandler Hopkins
Originally starting his home state Oklahoma indies in 2015, he became a regular in Texas in 2017 with Metroplex and then added Inspire Pro and Heavy Metal Wrestling. This January, he made his Major League Wrestling (MLW) debut against Low Ki and now he looks to break out in 2020.
Ruben Steel
A tough hombre from San Antonio, Ruben Steel is no stranger to danger. A veteran of Heavy Metal Wrestling, he’s gone toe to toe against hardcore legends like MASADA. He’ll be coming for blood.
Mysterious Q
Mysterious Q is a veteran of the Texas indies, debuting in the late 2000s. Originally starring for Cypress, Texas’ World of Wrestling (WOW), he joined Booker T‘s Reality of Wrestling (ROW) in 2013 and has remained with them, as well as working with Inspire Pro and Heavy Metal. He’s the reigning 2x ROW Television Champion and is a former 2x ROW Heavyweight Champion and 2x ROW Texas Champion.
Shigeyuki Kawahara
Shigeyuki Kawahara, the youngster from Sapporo, Japan, has been working in the Texas indies for the past few years, becoming more of a Texas indie star than a Japan one. A regular with Heavy Metal, he’ll be showing his wares on a national stage over WrestleMania Week.
EFFY
For years, EFFY was Florida’s best kept secret, but he’s exploded in 2019 as one of the best characters in the industry. He’s worked Texas indies like Inspire Pro, Heavy Metal, and Sabotage the past couple years, but now he returns to Texas Forever to help shed a spotlight on Texas’ explosive scene.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. We provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. GCW’s events usually appear live on FITE.TV.
