With 2019 being in our rear view mirror, it will be remembered as the year that the landscape of professional wrestling changed. With All Elite Wrestling starting up and being a major wrestling promotion, this meant that they needed talent. AEW turned to the indies as a resource to fill the roster, while WWE continued to stockpile talent. This allowed other wrestlers such as Alex Zayne, Kris Statlander, Tony Deppen, Effy, WARHORSE, and others, to step up as top stars in independent wrestling.
Now that we’re in the year 2020 there’s a new batch of wrestlers that are biting and clawing for the top spots. Below is the first part of a list of wrestlers that I believe are going to make an impact on the independent wrestling scene this year. Part two is coming later this week. Share your thoughts and opinions with me on Twitter: @zerepwrestling.
Header photo credit: @JWasherBeyond.
Leyla Hirsch
Leyla Hirsch is a 2 year star trained out of the CZW Dojo. Despite defeating independent wrestling legends such as LuFisto and Mercedes Martinez in CZW, Hirsch had her big break when she made her Beyond Wrestling debut. Hirsch entered the Discovery Gauntlet on Season 1 Episode 13 of Uncharted Territory. Although she lost her debut match against Christian Casanova, Hirsch returned to every remaining episode of the premiere season. She went on to have great matches in Beyond Wrestling against Jody Threat, John Silver and David Starr.
Since her Beyond Wrestling debut, Hirsch took her first tour of Germany with wXw, where she made it to the finals of the Femmes Fatales Tournament. She also made another huge debut in early 2020 by going to Japan for the first time and making her debut for Stardom. Hirsch’s 2020 is looking bright already, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s signed to a major company by the end of the year.
Christian Casanova
Christian Casanova has been a New England staple for quite some time now, but it was only until fairly recently that Casanova started to gain buzz outside of the New England scene. It started when Casanova stepped inside Uncharted Territory’s Discovery Gauntlet, where he defeated fan favorite Thomas Santell. After putting an end to Santell’s winning streak, he went on to have great matches in Beyond Wrestling against Leyla Hirsch, Alex Zayne, Chris Dickinson, and John Silver.
The Boston native competed and won the 2019 Tournament For Tomorrow Pride of New England tournament. On that very same night he challenged Tony Deppen to a match at Heavy Lies The Crown. Casanova came out victorious against Deppen to end his 2019. In 2019, he also competed for Evolve and Ring of Honor. The year 2020 is already looking bright for Casanova. He’s set to challenge for the Limitless Wrestling World Championship on January 24th. He is also scheduled for GCW’s For The Culture.
Treehouse Lee
Treehouse Lee is someone that has been quietly making waves in independent wrestling. This all changed when he made his GCW debut at GCW’s Jimmy All The Way. Lee came out victorious in a six man scramble match. He already has another scramble ahead of him this Saturday at GCW’s I Can’t Feel My Face. He’s also appearing on GCW’s For The Culture show, which is part of The Collective, taking place in Tampa during WrestleMania weekend. Expect Treehouse Lee to be a big name coming out of that weekend.
Oswald Project
Another competitor in the six man scramble match this Saturday is Oswald Project. Oswald Project is no stranger to scramble matches, as he made his Limitless Wrestling debut in a five man scramble at Twilight Zone in November. He will be making his return for the promotion at the upcoming “Flirtin’ With Disaster” on January 24th. The man created out of a petri dish has also been impressing at the promotion Pizza Party Wrestling. He is booked for their upcoming show as part of the Collective. Other promotions would be crazy not to book this man during WrestleMania weekend.
Masha Slamovich
On November 22, 2019, the Moscow, Russia native, Masha Slamovich celebrated her five year anniversary of stepping inside a wrestling ring. In these five years she’s wrestled for promotions such as House of Glory, Battle Club Pro, Limitless Wrestling, Women’s Wrestling Revolution and Beyond Wrestling. She appeared on Uncharted Territory Season 2 Episode 10, where she lost to Aaron Rourke in the Discovery Gauntlet. In 2019 she also made her TV debut by squaring off against Jordynne Grace on an episode of Impact Wrestling’s Xplosion. Slamovich is set to make her Chikara debut in the Young Lions Cup tournament. I expect that we’ll be seeing Slamovich in a lot more promotions in this new year.
Tre’ LaMar
Trained by Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae out of the AIW Academy, the Ohio native, Tre’ LaMar has been making a name for himself in promotions such as AIW and Black Label Pro. Once a part of the tag team No Consequences, he’s now joined forces with AJ Gray and PB Smooth. The trio is known as 40 Acres in AIW. In the Indiana promotion, Black Label Pro, LaMar is part of another stable. He is ¼ of the stable Blood Diamond, alongside Joshua Bishop, Jake Lander and Kobe Durst. The young talent has had standout matches in 2019 against Lee Moriarty and Eddie Kingston, and more is expected in the year 2020.
Jake Lander
Another member out of Blood Diamond, would be Jake Lander. Trained by Michael Elgin, the man out of Illinois is a regular in Black Label Pro and Glory Pro. He’s also ½ of the former BLP Tag Team Champions, along with Tre’ LaMar. In 2019, Lander was a standout in a six man scramble at GCW’s Long.Live.GCW. in his Game Changer Wrestling debut. He had a fantastic match at Warrior Wrestling’s Warrior 7 show against Templario. Lander also has his sights on making a name for himself in AAW. It was recently announced that Lander will be taking on Jordan Oliver on their January 24th show. Expect both men to show up hungry for this opportunity.
Cole Radrick
Cole Radrick is a 22 year old out of Indiana. Even though he’s only 22, he has 4 years of experience under his belt. He’s wrestled for promotions such as Revolver and Glory Pro, and in 2019 he made his debuts for promotions such as Black Label Pro and SUP. He also made his debut for GCW this past November at “Chopper City In The Ghetto” where he was a standout in a six man scramble match. He has another opportunity with GCW this upcoming Saturday in another six man scramble. A win could get him a regular slot in the promotion, and most people know GCW’s track record when it comes to creating new stars.
Chris Bey
The 23 year old Chris Bey has been making a name for himself in the SoCal area for quite some time now. He showed his skills off to a wider audience when he made his GCW debut at GCW’s Curtain Call. He then went on to have a fantastic match with Tony Deppen at GCW’s Slime Language. Bey was victorious against what many consider GCW’s gatekeeper and one of the best in the independent scene today.
In 2019, Bey has also been on TV for three major promotions, WWE, Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor (well, they used to be considered a major promotion). He also simultaneously held four championships for four different promotions. He has two huge upcoming singles matches for Game Changer Wrestling against Alex Zayne and AJ Gray. That is just the beginning of Bey’s 2020.
Nolo Kitano
Nolo Kitano had his pro wrestling debut match on August 9, 2019. He competed in a suicidal six way match at House of Glory’s High Intensity 8. Even though it was his debut match, the trainee out of the House of Glory school impressed with his great athleticism. At HOG Nine he was on the receiving end of a Spanish Fly to the outside from Amazing Red, in a moment that got the internet buzzing. Since his debut he’s wrestled for PPW based out of Pennsylvania and VxS, a promotion ran by Pinkie Sanchez. The future is bright for the Ghetto Samurai.