WWE WrestleMania 42 will take place on April 18 and 19. But the megashow at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas will be only a small piece of the picture for many wrestling fans.
Any independent company worth its salt will bring a show to Las Vegas during WrestleMania Week. With shows happening in the morning, at noon, and at midnight, companies have to get creative to bring the fans in.
Here are some of the craziest matches booked by independent companies during WrestleMania Week. With ticket prices for WWE WrestleMania 42 being a hugely contentious situation, many fans boycott the show and only attend independent shows.
Most of these shows are available to watch on Triller.TV. Meaning no matter how far away from Vegas you might be, you can get a piece of the action.
WrestleMania Week Match Picks
Paul Walter Hauser vs. Big Damo
PROGRESS Wrestling: PROGRESS Las Vegas II
11am, Thursday, Horseshoe Las Vegas
Proving it’s not just WWE that will hook a celeb during ‘Mania time, Paul Hauser competes for PROGRESS Wrestling. The international movie star is anything but a part-time player, though. If he can defeat former WWE star Big Damo, he will have held the PROGRESS Proteus Championship for a full year.
Joey Janela vs. Brodie Lee Jr.
GCW: Joey Janela’s Spring Break X
Friday, Horseshoe Las Vegas
Joey Janela’s Spring Break is often the most hyped non-WWE show of WrestleMania Week. Last year, he fought 61-year-old Sabu in a barbed wire death match. Moving in a different direction, Janela fights a 14-year-old boy. The child in question is the son of the late Brodie Lee (Luke Harper) and has had to ask his mother to sign a permission slip for the match.
Elsewhere on the card, The Sandman faces The Invisible Man.
Vampiro Retirement Match: Vampiro vs. PCO vs. Big Vito
Juggalo Championship Wrestling: Stranglemania
Friday, Horseshoe Las Vegas
Former WCW, AAA and NWA champion Vampiro closes out more than 40 years in professional wrestling. His retirement match takes place at the place that brought him out from his previous retirement – Juggalo Championship Wrestling. The Insane Clown Posse-owned, Vince Russo-backed promotion has set up a meaty swansong for Vampiro.
Vampiro faces one-time-dress-wearer, full-time mobster Big Vito and PCO.
Parrow’s HIGHWAY TO HELL Parade of Punishment: TWINKS UNLEASHED!!!
GCW: EFFY’s Big Gay Brunch
Saturday, Horseshoe Las Vegas
For years Effy has been laying on the best LGBTQ+ talent on a platter as part of his Big Gay Brunch. Big, butch gay Parrow has been beating the living daylights out of twinks for just as long – and not in the way they’d enjoy.
This year, Effy faces Zack Sabre Jr., but he’s found the time to gather up a parade of twinks for Parrow to fight. Fabulous
The Headbangers vs. Rhyno & Heath Slater
WrestleCon: Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow
3:00pm, Thursday, Horseshoe Las Vegas
Some matches really don’t need much explaining. Thrasher and Mosh teaming together 26 years after they appeared at WrestleMania 16 in big, fluffy, fake boobs should be on any indie fan’s list. Pitching them against Rhyno and Heath makes for a fun and nostalgic affair.
Love & Pieces 3-Way Deathmatch – At Journey’s End: Nick Gage & Matt Tremont vs. El Desperado & Jun Kasai vs. Masashi Takeda & Rina Yamashita
El Desperado Presents Death Vegas Invitacional
8pm, Thursday, Horseshoe Las Vegas
Guaranteed to be the bloodiest and most brutal match across WrestleMania Week is a three-team deathmatch. Nick Gage is a name enough to sell any deathmatch. But adding Matt Tremont to his team gives you a team more sinister than any before them. Rina Yamashita’s inclusion will surely do a lot to back detractors of inter-gender wrestling.
Shayna Baszler vs. Nattie Neidhart
Game Changer Wrestling: Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XV
3pm, Friday, Horseshoe Las Vegas
We finally get to see all the potential WWE wasted when two of its most legitimate badasses meet in Bloodsport. Nattie goes into another ‘Mania without a match on the card. Three years ago, they were on opposite teams in the WWE WrestleMania 39 women’s tag team showcase.
They will meet this year, where they can both fully express themselves.
Bandido vs. Amazing Red
House of Glory, Slam Fest
Friday, Palms Casino Resort
High-flying pioneer Amazing Red takes on the equally adept in the air Bandido. This should be a fast-paced dream match that will live on in GIFs.
More From LWOS Pro Wrestling
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