This is part 2 of my rundown of the minor-league shows streaming from Dallas this weekend. (See part 1 here.) There are a lot of shows going on, and I'm seeing new matches announced right up the last minute. For the latest, check out each promotion's Twitter feed.
LA Fights vs. JCW
12pm EDT (11am CDT) - $9.99 on Fite or part of The Collective bundle (12 shows for $139.99)
LA Fights is a Los Angeles-based indy promotion created last year as a sort of subsidiary to GCW. The idea is to build up West Coast indy talent in the same way GCW's New Jersey group JCW does. So now they're going to fight. Most of the names on this show would be prelim wrestlers on a GCW show, so don't expect a lot of star power.
The main attraction (for me, anyway) is a 7-on-7 elimination tag match, although I can't find a list of all the participants' names.
Zicky Dice's Trouble in Paradise 2
2pm EDT (1pm CDT) - Free on Twitch.tv/zickydice
Remember that weird Zicky Dice guy from NWA Powerrr a few years ago? Well, he's a prelim guy on Impact! And also now he runs his own indy shows. I missed the first one, but this one has a bear, so I gotta check it out this time. And you can't beat the price...
Rich Swann vs. Scotty 2 Hotty
Masha Slamovich vs. a bear
EFFY vs. Mike Bailey
Lince Dorado vs. Black Taurus
and more!
GCW: For the Culture 3
4pm EDT (3pm CDT) - $13.99 on Fite or part of The Collective bundle (12 shows for $139.99)
This is GCW's showcase for Black wrestlers on the independent scene. If you're bummed out about AEW cutting Big Swole or WWE cutting Hit Row, then you ought to check this show out because they're all on it.
Impact women's world title: Tasha Steelz vs. Big Swole
Rich Swann vs. JTG
AJ Francis (Top Dolla) & Tehuti Miles (Ashante Thee Adonis) vs. Shane Taylor & O'Shay Edwards
Trish ADora vs. MJ Jenkins
and more!
NJPW STRONG: Lone Star Shootout
6pm EDT (5pm CDT) - $14.99 on Fite or part of the WrestleCon bundle ($74.99 for 5 shows)
I've completely lost track of New Japan's US branch, but they seem to be carrying on quite well as they emerge from the closed-set shows. This isn't a blowaway card by New Japan stards, but the intrigue of Killer Kross starting his post-WWE career by calling out Minoru Suzuki is enough to get me interested.
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Chris Dickinson
Jay White vs. Mike Bailey
Minoru Suzuki vs. Killer Kross
and more!
ROH: Supercard of Honor
8pm EDT (7pm CDT) - $29.99 on Fite
This is arguably the centerpiece of the non-WWE programming in Dallas this weekend, if only because it's ROH's first show under the ownership of AEW's Tony Khan. Everyone will be looking for any clue what ROH's future will look like. For an ROH pay-per-view, the card is remarkably all-killer, no-filler. But the main attraction is going to be the hype for any potential surprise announcements.
ROH men's world title: Jonathan Gresham vs. Bandido
ROH tag title: Jay Briscoe & Mark Brsicoe vs. Dax Harwood & Cash Wheeler
interim ROH women's world title: Mercedes Martinez vs. Willow Nightingale
ROH pure title: Josh Woods vs. Wheeler YUTA
Swerve Strickland vs. Alex Zayne
and more!
GCW: Gringo Loco's The Wrld on Lucha
8:30pm EDT (7:30 pm CDT) - $13.99 on Fite or part of The Collective bundle (12 shows for $139.99)
GCW always seems to have a token lucha match on their big shows, and they're always wild and crazy. So here is a show full of nothing but lucha matches. I think the main draw here is Psycho Clown vs. Dr. Wagner Jr., in that they got into a (possibly real?) fistfight during a GCW show a couple of months ago.
Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Psycho Clown
Johnny Caballero (John Morrison) vs. Jack Cartwheel
Laredo Kid & Rey Horus & ASF vs. Gringo Loco & Flamita & Abismo Nego Jr.
Psicosis vs. Tony Deppen
and more!
Impact Wrestling: Multiverse of Matches
9pm EDT (8pm CDT) - $19.99 on Fite or part of the WrestleCon bundle ($74.99 for 5 shows)
Impact isn't as big as AEW, and it isn't as hot as GCW, and its future isn't as fascinating as that of ROH. But the one thing they've got going for them is that they've been right in the middle of a lot of "forbidden door" crossover stuff, so the name of this show is a savvy marketing move. This is probably going to be an underrated show.
Matt Cardona (Zack Ryder) & Chelsea Green vs. Mickie James & Nick Aldis
Josh Alexander & JONAH (Bronson Reed) vs. Moose & PCO
Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows vs. Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Eddie Edwards
and more!
GCW: Joey Janela's Spring Break 6, Part 2
12:59am EDT (11:59pm CDT) - $19.99 on Fite or part of The Collective bundle (12 shows for $139.99)
The main attraction here is the return of the Clusterfuck battle royale, where Janela tries to book as many goofy surprise entrants as possible. So far I've seen the Invisible Man and Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp announced for the show. It will probably get weirder.
I'm trying to map out all the minor-league shows that will be running in Dallas over Wrestlemania weekend. There's a lot! This post will just cover Thursday, so check back later for the rest.
Since I won't be in Dallas, I'm just focusing on the ones that I know will be streaming live. I'll call out some of the matches that catch my eye, but for the full card I recommend googling each show or checking the promotion's Twitter feed.
Glory Pro Wrestling: Cemetery Gates [The Collective]
12pm EDT (11am CDT) - $12.99 on Fite or part of The Collective bundle (12 shows for $139.99)
Glory Pro is an indy promotion that mainly runs in the St. Louis/East St. Louis area. I mainly hear about them because of Davey Richards and WARHORSE, but they're also turning out a lot of up-and-coming Black wrestlers like Tootie Lynn and Mike Outlaw. I believe this is their first Mania weekend show so I hope they do well.
Josh Alexander vs. WARHORSE
Davey Richards & Rocky Romero vs. Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett
Jake Something vs. Max the Impaler
Tootie Lynn vs. Janai Kai
Mike Outlaw vs. Bryan Keith
and more!
GCW: Josh Barnett's Bloodsport 8
4pm EDT (3pm CDT) - $19.99 on Fite or part of The Collective bundle (12 shows for $139.99)
I've never actually checked out Bloodsport before. As I understand it, it's meant to be a hybrid of MMA and pro wrestling that emphasizes grappling and strikes without all the flips and dives. If you dig Jon Moxley and Minoru Suzuki matches, you'll probably love this shit.
Jon Moxley vs. Biff Busick (Oney Lorcan)
Minoru Suzuki vs. Chris Dickinson
Josh Barnett vs. JONAH (Bronson Reed)
Marina Shafir vs. Zeda Zhang
John Hennigan (John Morrison) vs. Simon Grimm (Simon Gotch)
Masha Slamovich vs. Janai Kai
and more!
AAA Invades WrestleCon
6pm EDT (5pm CDT) - $14.99 on Fite or part of the WrestleCon bundle ($74.99 for 5 shows)
The top promotions in Mexico are CMLL, which is entrenched in traditional lucha, and AAA, which goes all out with ridiculous overbooked clusterfucks. Do you enjoy heel referees, fucky finishes, scary dives, endless run-ins, false advertising, and unprofessional conduct? Well, even if you don't, AAA has a certain car-crash appeal.
Psycho Clown vs. Black Taurus
AAA cruiserweight title: Laredo Kid vs. Flamita vs. Bandido
NWA tag title: Bestia 666 & Mecha Wolf vs. Aero Star & Drago
and more!
GCW: Joey Janela's Spring Break 6, Part 1
9pm EDT (8pm CDT) - $19.99 on Fite or part of The Collective bundle (12 shows for $139.99)
This is the centerpiece of GCW's sprawling empire of Mania weekend shows. I've never watched a JJSB but I've always spent Mania weekend hearing all about it. I expect at least one deathmatch on this show, but for the most part this looks like it'll be more about big names than blood 'n' guts.
GCW world title: Jon Moxley vs. AJ Gray
Joey Janela vs. X-Pac
Mickie James vs. Allie Katch
GCW tag title: Nick Gage & Matt Tremont vs. Mark Briscoe & Jay Briscoe vs. Mance Warner & Matthew Justice
GCW ultraviolent title: Alex Colon vs. John Wayne Murdoch
and more!
WrestleCon: Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow
9pm EDT (8pm EDT) - $14.99 on Fite or part of the WrestleCon bundle ($74.99 for 5 shows)
WrestleCon has been a fan convention over Mania weekend since 2013, and the Supershow since 2014. The show was renamed in 2018 to honor Mark Hitchcock, a member of the con's team. This show is running head-to-head with JJSB, which should get more buzz, but this one's arguably got the biggest star power of the night. Incredibly, the Briscoes are booked for both events, which are three miles apart, so I guess somebody's going to give them a ride.
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Timothy Thatcher
Minoru Suzuki vs. Biff Busick (Oney Lorcan)
Athena (Ember Moon) vs. Mia Yim
Johnny WrestleCon (John Morrison) vs. Taya Valkyrie (Frankie Monet)
Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe vs. Homicide & Low Ki
Bandido vs. Mike Bailey
and more!
Control Your Narrative: The Awakening
9pm EDT (8pm CDT) - Free (with ads) on Pro Wrestling TV
After EC3 was released from WWE he turned "Control your narrative" into a catchphrase, a mantra, and now a wrestling promotion. This isn't CYN's first show, but it's gotten a lot of negative buzz, due to its weird rules and the booking of problematic wrestlers like Austin Aries. (There was also a crazy Reddit post claiming the whole thing is a right-wing operation backed by Donald Trump, which is absurd, but the upshot is that a lot of people are rooting for EC3 to fail.)
I've read this will be exclusive to a new streaming venture called Pro Wrestling TV, which tweeted that the show will be free. But PWTV's site is very short on details, which isn't very promising. We'll see what happens.
EC3 & Adam Scherr (Braun Strowman) vs. Damo (Killian Dain) & Erick Redbeard (Erick Rowan)
Westin Blake (Wesley Blake) vs. Austin Aries
Dirty Dango (Fandango) vs. Flip Gordon
Killer Kross (Karrion Kross) vs. Vincent Marseglia
and more (maybe?)
GCW: Planet Death
12:59am EDT (11:59 CDT) - $12.99 on Fite or part of The Collective bundle (12 shows for $139.99)
GCW loves doing these midnight shows. This looks to be the real deathmatch show, for anybody who thinks there isn't enough broken glass on the rest of the lineup. I'm not familiar with anybody announced for the card, so I take that to mean they're deathmatch specialists that make Nick Gage look tame.
