The West Coast has long been one of the U.S. indie scene’s most underrated and underappreciated territories, but recent shifts in the past few years, and a strong legacy with Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), has created quite a stir. With the likes of California’s Hoodslam, PCW ULTRA, Championship Wrestling From Hollywood, and others, Las Vegas’ Future Stars of Wrestling, and Game Changer Wrestling (GCW)‘s frequent stops, the West Coast is on a surge. In the fall of 2018, San Francisco joined the fray with Scott Bregante’s West Coast Pro Wrestling, who found their groove at the end of 2019 and into the beginning of 2020, just as COVID hit and shut everything down. West Coast Pro returned to live events in July with Cruel Summer ’21, crowned a new West Coast Pro Heavyweight Champion in AJ Gray, and continue to hold bigger and bigger events, with them streaming live on IndependentWrestling.tv (IWTV). West Coast Pro returns live on Friday night with West Coast vs. The World, which will pit some of West Coast Pro’s top regulars against talents from literally around the world.
West Coast Pro – West Coast vs. The World, Friday, November 12, 2021, 7 pm PST, 10 pm EST
West Cost vs. The World – Full Card
Card Subject to Change
- West Coast Pro Wrestling Championship: AJ Gray (c) vs Black Taurus
- Jeff Cobb vs Chris Dickinson
- Vinnie Massaro vs Tomohiro Ishii
- West Coast Wrecking Crew and Titus Alexander vs Juicy Finau and Reno Scum
- Levi Shapiro vs Yuya Uemura
- Rey Horus vs Karl Fredericks
- Steven Tresario vs Mr. Iguana
- Sandra Moone vs Nicole Savoy vs Masha Slamovich
Vinnie Massaro vs. Tomohiro Ishii
A West Coast veteran of nearly 25-years, Vinnie Massaro began in the late 90s with All Pro Wrestling (APW). Best known to national audiences from his time on Lucha Underground, as well as his run as Ultimo Panda that included a stint in All Japan Pro-Wrestling (AJPW) in 2018 (and an AEW Dark appearance last Fall), the tough grappler faces off against New Japan’s “Stone Pitbull” and 5x NEVER Openweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii. These two are going to have a physical encounter, as the two vets with nearly 50-years combined experience will be sure to put on a clinic.
Steven Tresario vs. Mr. Iguana
Steven Tresario is another West Coast indie star who has been a regular with West Coast Pro since 2019, as well as frequently appearing for Hoodslam, Championship Wrestling For Florida, and others. He’s facing Mexican luchador Mr. Iguana, a current star with AAA Lucha Libre who has also competed for Consejo Mundial De Lucha Libre (CMLL), The Crash Lucha, and many other Mexican indies in his 12-year career.
Levi Shapiro vs Yuya Uemura
The reigning United Wrestling Network (UWN) Television Champion with Championship Wrestling From Hollywood, Levi Shapiro is another West Coast veteran. Shapiro is a former 3x APW Tag Team Champion with Buddy Royal in The Classic Connection and is appeared for WWE on 205 Live in February of 2020, and on AEW Dark in early 2021. The West Coast vet is taking on one of New Japan’s Young Lions on Friday night when he faces Yuya Uemura. Uemura began in 2018 with NJPW and in August of this year headed to the U.S. for his excursion, appearing for the LA Dojo produced NJPW STRONG as well as appearing for West Coast Pro, GCW, and DEFY Wrestling.
Rey Horus vs Karl Fredericks
Ring of Honor’s Rey Horus is a veteran luchador from the Mexican independents who, like Massaro, gained national attention on Lucha Underground, where he appeared as Dragon Azteca Jr. Since then, Rey Horus has competed in three PWG Battle of Los Angeles tournaments (2017, 2018, 2019), last year’s U.S. version of the Super J-Cup, and won the ROH 6-Man Tag Team titles alongside Bandido & Flamita in the Mexisquad. Rey Horus faces one of the LA Dojo’s greatest students in New Japan’s Karl Fredericks, one of the stars of NJPW STRONG and a regular with West Coast Pro since they returned in July.
West Coast Wrecking Crew (Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson) & Titus Alexander vs Juicy Finau & Reno Scum (Adam Thornstowe & Luster the Legend)
At the beginning of 2019, One Percent (Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson) were not only one of the top tag teams on the West Coast, but emerging as a threat nationwide. But then Isaacs left to join the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), winning the NWA World Tag Team titles with Thomas Latimer. Then COVID hit and Isaacs left the NWA. It all seemed to be over. In March of this year, Isaacs & Nelson reunited and made a string of appearances on AEW Dark, and the duo returned to the West Coast with a new drive and moniker, the West Coast Wrecking Crew.
Since then, they’ve turned to taking over the West Coast, joining Team Filthy on NJPW STRONG, and dominating in West Coast Pro. They team up with another veteran, Titus Alexander, who has been making his rounds on the West Coast and Pacific Northwest loop with DEFY, Without A Cause (WAC), and DOA. They face Las Vegas veterans Reno Scum, as the former IMPACT Wrestling stars team up with one of the West Coast’s breakout stars in 2020 during the pandemic, Juicy Finau, who has drawn national attention thanks to working with GCW. Reno Scum is 4x FSW Tag Team Champions in their hometown, but they’ve also owned in California as well, as they’re 3x APW Tag Team Champions and 2x UWN Tag Team Champions.
Sandra Moone vs Nicole Savoy vs Masha Slamovich
An amazing three-way match-up featuring the past, present, and future of women’s wrestling. We use the term “past” lightly, as Nicole Savoy is still very much in her prime in 2021, despite being a 10-year veteran who was SHIMMER Champion for a whopping 721-days (plus a 462-day run as Heart of SHIMMER Champion prior) and has competed for the likes of Ring of Honor, Major League Wrestling (MLW), NWA, AEW, and in WWE for the inaugural Mae Young Classic in 2017. Savoy has traveled the world as well, where she’s competed in Stardom, Pro Wrestling EVE, and PROGRESS Wrestling. Savoy is still the real deal.
Masha Slamovich spent 2020 in Japan with Marvelous, Sendai Girls, Ice Ribbon, and others, and returned for a monstrous run on the U.S. indies this year with Beyond Wrestling, Mission Pro Wrestling, New Texas Pro, GCW, and more, as well as appearing at NWA EmPowerrr and AEW Dark. After facing Deonna Purrazzo at IMPACT Knockouts Knockdown, “Russian Dynamite” joined the company as their newest Knockout. The future is bright on the West Coast with the likes of Sandra Moone, who has become a buzz name on the U.S. indies of late, after strong appearances this year for Paradigm Pro Wrestling (PPW), GCW, DEFY, and others, including her hometown promotion, FSW, where she’s the current FSW Women’s Champion. This match has all the makings to steal the show.
Jeff Cobb vs Chris Dickinson
This will be the third encounter between these two hosses, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Both men currently star on NJPW STRONG and both accumulated impressive pedigrees on the U.S. indies the past few years. Jeff Cobb broke out on Lucha Underground before exploding with PWG, AAW, EVOLVE, and others. He’s been competing for NJPW since 2017 (and ROH since 2018) and continues to be one of the most impressive big men in the game.
Chris Dickinson is a quintessential brawler who shows remarkable technique as well, and over the past five years has become one of the Aces of GCW. He also entered the New Japan and ROH world this year, where he’s proven to be just as big of a threat. Dickinson won their first encounter, back in 2016 with Beyond Wrestling, but Cobb beat Dickinson by TKO this past February at GCW’s Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport 4. The rubber match is set for Friday, and Dickinson will have revenge on his mind to prove that he’s better than their previous encounter.
West Coast Pro Championship: AJ Gray (c) vs Black Taurus
Few indie stars have made the leap to main event star in the past two years than GCW enforcer and Second Gear Crew member AJ Gray. A former GCW World Champion, Gray has been a monster in the ring across the U.S. the past year, and in September, he ended MLW World Champion Hammerstone’s 924-day reign as West Coast Pro Champion. Last month, he backed up that win with a huge title defense against former ROH World Champion Davey Richards, and on Friday, he meets another juggernaut in the ring in IMPACT Wrestling and AAA Lucha Libre star Black Taurus. This one is going to be yet another physically imposing test of strength, grit, and mass, that will surely leave both men battered and bruised come Saturday morning.
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, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Catch West Coast Pro’s West Coast Vs. The World LIVE on IWTV on Friday, November 12, 2021, at 7 pm PST, 10 pm EST.
