Indies and Insanity: March 5, 2020 no

As of this writing, I’m not sure what show I’ll recap, but it will be something from Southern Underground Pro, in tribute to Nashville.

Tonight, the NBA on TNT has Clippers/Rockets, then Raptors/Warriors (Stephen Curry alert).  ESPN has Illinois/Ohio State, then Wichita State/Memphis.  ESPN2 has Pac-12 After Dark with Washington/Arizona State, then Cal/Oregon.  CBSSN has Houston/UConn, then a pair of Mountain West Conference quarterfinals (New Mexico/Utah State and Wyoming/Nevada — Utah State could steal an at-large bid).  FS1 gives us Nebraska/Michigan, then Wazzu/Arizona.

It’s one of the signature indie show weekends coming up, so let’s take a look!

Let’s not keep the world in suspense, the big story this weekend is:

• WXW TOURNAMENT WEEKEND!  We open with 16 Carat Gold, the 3-night, 16-wrestler, single-elimination tournament considered one of the most prestigious in Europe!  Round 1 is Friday, Round 2 is part of a TRIPLE-HEADER Saturday, and the finals are Sunday.  Here’s the first-round series of matchups, in no particular order:
  • Alexander James vs. Jeff Cobb
  • Bandido vs. Julian Pace
  • Black Taurus vs. Shigehiro Irie
  • Cara Noir vs. Marius Al-Ani
  • Chris Ridgeway vs. Mike Bailey
  • Daniel Makabe vs. Eddie Kingston
  • Jurn Simmons vs. Lucky Kid
  • Puma King vs. Rotation
• But wait, there’s more!  The 12th annual AMBITION tournament takes place on Saturday and is a 1-day, 8-man, single-elimination tournament!  Here’s the quarterfinal field:
  • Chris Ridgeway vs. Vincent Heisenberg
  • Daniel Makabe vs. Kevin Lloyd
  • Mike Bailey vs. Scotty Davis
  • Rust Taylor vs. Tyson Dux
• (By the way, if I said it was uncertain whether Vincent Heisenberg would take part, would you all throw tomatoes at me?)
• In between AMBITION and 16 Carat Gold Round 2 is a WXWNOW Showcase!  The British Empire Shooting Star Championship is on the line as Lexa Valo defends against Kat Von Kage!  In addition, two US East Coast mainstays face off as Anthony Greene faces Joe Gacy!
• Oh, the main event of Night 2 of the tournament?  Bobby Gunns puts the big gold on the line against David Starr — and if Starr loses, he is done in WXW!
• In addition to the Final Four on Sunday, Avalanche defends the Shotgun title against Ilja Dragunov, and in an incredible tag match, Daisuke Ikeda teams with WALTER against Yuki Ishikawa and Timothy Thatcher!
• MEANWHILE IN AMERICA, Freelance Wrestling is in Chicago on Friday Night for Lucky Punks (IWTV, 9PM ET)!  Warhorse defends the IWTV title in a triple threat against Alex Zayne and Kobe Durst!  EFFY defends the Legacy title against Mark Wheeler!  Six teams will take part in a gauntlet to win the tag titles!  Plus, how about this for a scramble: Arik Cannon!  Danhausen!  Danny Adams!  Darin Corbin! Gary Jay!  GPA!  Isaias Velazquez!  Kenny Sutra!  (Apparently 8 is the new 6.)
• EVE is back in London on Saturday for Women Behaving Badly (FITE, 3PM ET)!  Rhia O’Reilly defends the big gold against Alpha Female!  Session Moth Martina faces Skye Smitson!  And the International Title will be on the line TWICE!  Sammii Jayne defends against Holidead, while Kasey faces Maddison Miles, with the winner of that match getting a title shot later that night!
• Prime Time Pro is live in downtown DC on Saturday night for Butch Vs. Gore (IWTV, 7PM ET)!  O’Shay Edwards defends the big gold against Billy Dixon!  The tag titles are on the line as Eel O’Neal and Jordan Blade face Willow Nightingale/Solo Darling and Ariela Nyx/mystery partner!  And in, and I’m just quoting here, an “Erotica Explosion Extravaganza”, EFFY defends the secondary title against Faye Jackson!
• Revolution Pro is doing a doubleheader in Sheffield on Saturday!  The first show is She’s All That, a women’s show!  Gisele Shaw faces Little Miss Roxxy, while the Madusa Complex faces off against the Sanitarium!  Then, at Risky Business in the evening, Jay Lethal main events against Shota Umino, while Clark Connors takes on Kyle Fletcher!
• But wait, there’s more!  Sunday they head to St Neots, Cambridgeshire, for Lethal Weapon!  Jay Lethal is back and taking on Ricky Knight Jr.!  Clark Connors takes on Mark Haskins!  And Millie McKenzie squares off against Chakara (not to be confused with the indie promotion)!

Our INDIE MATCH OF THE WEEK comes to you from Beyond, where MLW’s Dynasty (Hammerstone, MJF, and Richard Holliday) take on Chris Dickinson and EYFBO (now known as Proud and Powerful)!

Bring the insanity!