March madness for Chicago independent wrestling
By Mike Pankow
March 15, 2022
The NCAA Tournament is tipping off this week and we’re counting down the days to WrestleMania weekend where the wrestling world will converge on Dallas for loads of independent shows in advance of WWE’s two-night extravaganza at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
But one could make an argument that the center of the wrestling universe will be the Chicagoland area this weekend (March 18-20) with no fewer than 15 independent events in the area and Southeast Wisconsin.
Current AEW stars and former WWE Superstars will be appearing at numerous events while a couple of promotions will be running milestone shows. It’s also Freelance weekend where both Freelance Wrestling and Freelance Underground will be running on back-to-back days.
AAW Women’s Champion Skye Blue, right, facing Miranda Alize at Warrior Wrestling 19, will defend her title against Christi Jaynes at AAW Epic this Saturday night. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
Among the larger promotions in the Chicago area, AAW Pro presents “Epic,” its 18th anniversary show this Saturday night (March 20) at the Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago. Among the top attractions for include AAW Champion Mat Fitchett defending his title against SCHAFF and AAW Women’s Champion and Chicago native Skye Blue defends against Christi Jaynes, who has built some momentum over the last few AAW events.
Also, Ace Steel will enter an AAW ring for the first time in over 15 years when he faces Davey Vega. His last match for the promotion, according to cagematch.net, came in Jan. 2007 when he teamed up with Zach Gowen and Silas Young to lose to Jimmy Jacobs, N8 Mattson and Truth Martini in a six-man tag team match. Steel, originally from Chicago, spent the last few years as a coach in the WWE Performance Center in Orlando before being released.
Other contests include a four-way contender’s match for a future shot at the AAW Heritage title with Gringo Loco, Myron Reed, Gnarls Garvin and Brayden Lee. In tag team action, ACH and Jah-C face the duo of Hakim Zane and Karam. The recently returned Shane Hollister takes on Stephen Wolf. Also advertised is former AAW Champion Fred Yehi and the “Boss of the Plains” Manders.
AAW has featured many stars in the wrestling business over its 18 years in business, including Seth Rollins (as Tyler Black), Colt Cabana, Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, Killer Kross, Bobby Fish, Kyle O’Reilly, Keith Lee, Moose, MJF, The Lucha Bros., Kris Statlander and Ruby Soho (as Heidi Lovelace).
Chicago Style Wrestling presents its card, this month’s show entitled, “St. Patrick’s Day Massacre” from the American Legion in Franklin Park on Friday night the 19th. The main event features Joey “Jet” Avalon defending the CSW Championship against Blanco Loco of the International Superstars in a 2-out-3-falls tables match. Loco’s partner with the International Superstars, Dream Girl Ellie will face Avalon’s girlfriend, Sierra in a strap match.
Among the other featured bouts include “Superstar” Steve Boz defending the Metra Division Championship against the brash and cocky Ryan Matthews and a tag team affair involving the CSW Women’s Champion Heather Reckless and monstrous Cypher, who will face Adam Stallion and Casey Nova (subbing for Skye Blue, who has an AEW commitment).
Also, former WWE Superstar and Wisconsin native Swoggle will be part of a six-man scramble with “Ice Pick” Vic Capri, TJ Steel, Acid Jaz, Axel Rico and Iniestra.
“The Ice Pick” Vic Capri, left, has taken on all comers in Berwyn Championship Wrestling, including Trevor Outlaw in Sept. 2021. Capri defends the BCW Championship against Blanco Loco on Saturday night in Berwyn. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
Berwyn Championship hosts the appropriately titled “March Madness” at the Berwyn Eagles Club on Saturday night the 20th. Blanco Loco will be vying for his second top championship in two nights as he faces BCW Champion Capri in the main event. Also, the newly crowned BCW Tag Team Champions Justa Mazing and Mike Strong defend their titles against Big Mood, the tandem of “Fat Fem Asian Sensation” Mateo Valentine and Jack Moody.
“Chicago’s Sweetheart” Missa Kate makes her return to BCW to face Heather Reckless. Masked NWA star Cyon takes BCW’s resident luchador Yakuza while Joe Alonzo faces Sabin Gauge in a battle of young, rising stars.
Freelance Wrestling makes its mark this weekend as it hosts “A Shift in Power” at Logan Square Auditorium on Friday night the 18th with veteran Chicago grappler Robert “Ego” Anthony being assigned the task of defending both of his championships in separate matches. Alan “V” Angels of AEW’s Dark Order challenges Anthony for his Freelance World Championship and Texas sensation Bryan Keith bids for Anthony’s Freelance Legacy Championship.
Calvin Tankman hoists up GPA on the night where Tankman won the Freelance Underground Championship last October. GPA gets his rematch this Saturday in Joliet. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
In other matches at Freelance, the dastardly GPA takes on Shazza McKenzie in a bout that was scratched a couple of years ago around the time the coronavirus pandemic was starting to affect wrestling in the United States. GPA cut a scathing promo on McKenzie on social media, calling her a coward. GPA’s fiancée Laynie Luck takes on fan favorite Effy. And in a quirky championship match, Freelance’s tag team titlists, The Take-It Homewreckers (Darin Corbin and Bucky Collins) take on unlikely challengers in Kylie Rae and Alfonso Gonzalez.
The next night, Freelance Underground makes its first stop in Joliet for the first time in over two years with “Double Back” at the Cantigny VFW. The main event is one of the headline contests of the entire weekend as FU Champion “Heavyweight Hustle” Calvin Tankman faces GPA in a rubber match.
GPA won the first meeting back last June at “Back to Church Street, Part Brew,” in Itasca when “The Academic Standard” gained a leverage pin on the 350-pount Tankman by holding the rope, a maneuver that the referee failed to detect. Tankman attained his revenge and ended GPA’s two-year reign as champion by squashing him in 30 seconds during an open challenge at “The Final Phase” last October back in Itasca. GPA, who has slumped in both Freelances since that loss, can make up for his struggles by regaining the title in which he previously had a stranglehold.
Alan “V” Angels will be wrestling Robert “Ego” Anthony for Freelance Wrestling on Friday night in Chicago and Storm Grayson for Freelance Underground on Saturday night in Joliet. (Photo by Mike Pankow)
Also in Joliet, Angels challenges the red-hot Storm Grayson for the FU Independent Championship. Grayson has had a strong run since winning the title from Luck in a six-way scramble last October, including a 1-on-1 victory over Luck last month in Itasca. Grayson appeared at Warrior Wrestling 20 last weekend in a loss to Jake Crist and faced Veer Mahaan on a recent episode of WWE Main Event.
The Project M.O.N.I.X.-Matt Knicks rivalry will continue as each man will select the other’s opponent for 1-on-1 matches from a list of selected wrestlers. Knicks earned the right for a rematch with M.O.N.I.X. after defeating M.O.N.I.X.’s friend and confidant Chico Suave at last month’s FU show. M.O.N.I.X. had defeated Knicks in a no-DQ match in December and M.O.N.I.X. executed the “Ultimate Swerve” at “The Final Phase” in October where he brutally attacked Knicks at the end of the show.
In addition, Joliet native and Black and Brave graduate Gunner Brave takes on JJ Garrett. Brave also currently holds the Rocket Pro Wrestling Outer Limits Championship. Check for the Championship holder “Iron Demon” Shane Mercer faces the challenge of Alfonso Gonzalez. In a three-way tag match, The Bang Bros (Davey Bang and August Matthews) take on Pick N’ Pop (Darius Latrell and Koda Hernandez) and Golden Dragon and Atomico Jr.
Former WWE Superstar “The Godfather” will make an appearance at GLCW’s “All Aboard” at Circle B Recreation in Cedarburg, Wis., just north of Milwaukee, on Saturday night the 19th. Other wrestlers advertised include GLCW Champion Backwoods Brown, whose title reign has lasted nearly 26 months, The Express (Ryan Kross and Dr. Jeff Luxon), Joey Avalon, “Mr. Pec-Tacular” Jessie Godderz and Mahabali Shera.
Also on Saturday night, Northland Pro Wrestling presents “Shamrock Showdown” in Woodstock. Southland Championship Wrestling has “Shenanigans” in Chebanse with the possibility of a POWW presence during the long-standing POWW-SCW rivalry. Brew City Wrestling, run by former WWE and AWA wrestler Frankie DeFalco, will hold its 500th show, “Parade of Championships” in Waukesha, just outside Milwaukee.
On Sunday the 20th, AEW star Penta El Zero Miedo, half of the former AEW Tag Team Champions “The Lucha Bros” will be making an appearance for autographs and photo ops prior to the GALLI Lucha Libre show at the Ramada in Glendale Heights. The Penta meet and greet is separate from the GALLI event later that evening. The GALLI Lucha Libre show at the Ramada features Arez, Christi Jaynes, Bryce Benjamin, and La Sociedad Boricua among others.
Also Sunday, Lucha Libre Total takes over the Berwyn Eagles Club with Laredo Kid advertised for the show, along with Dulce Tormenta and other luchadors and young local talent such as Mario Pardua, AJ Flyer and Mateo Valentine.
And if all of that local independent wrestling wasn’t enough, WWE rolls back in town for Monday Night Raw on Monday the 21st at Allstate Arena for one of the company’s final stops before WrestleMania before returning to the area in June for “Hell In A Cell.”
Around the ring: In the main event of Warrior Wrestling 20 last Saturday in Indianapolis, former Warrior Champion Trey Miguel and Myron Reed defeated the returning Top Flight (AEW’s Darius and Dante Martin) and the makeshift duo of Arez and Dante Leon. Thunder Rosa retained her Warrior Women’s Championship over Athena and Skye Blue in a three-way match and Lucha Champion Sam Adonis outlasted AAA rival Psycho Clown after a low kick and ripping off Psycho’s mask to gain a pinfall victory. … Signs are pointing toward Warrior Wrestling Champion having to defend the title in a future War of Attrition match against the likes of Miguel, Blake Christian, Brian Cage and several other contenders. … Congratulations to “Old Evil” Christian Rose, who cashed in an opportunity to win the Rocket Pro Wrestling Championship in Joliet last weekend.
Listen to Ep. 110 of Windy City Slam Podcast with special guest Matt Knicks and a look at the upcoming weekend in Chicagoland wrestling: https://bit.ly/3CJWRMN.
Catch Windy City Slam editor Mike Pankow talking local and national pro wrestling every week with Chicago-area wrestling guests on Windy City Slam Podcast, part of the Broadcast Basement On-Demand Radio Network. Episodes drop early Tuesday morning wherever you download podcasts or at https://windycityslam.podbean.com/.
We are looking for guests to appear on future episodes of the Windy City Slam Podcast! Please contact Mike at mikepankow@windycityslam.com, message him on Facebook or DM him on Twitter.
