From Friday, August 22nd, through Monday, August 25th, we saw an abundance of independent wrestling across the globe. PWPonderings’ Scott Mitchell had a chance to watch some of the top independent wrestling promotions from this past weekend. From the likes of Chaotic Wrestling, Focus Pro Wrestling, PROGRESS Wrestling, and Game Changer Wrestling, here are five must-see matches that every fan of the independent wrestling scene should go back and check out.

5. Mortar vs. Ricky Smokes from Chaotic Wrestling’s “In Deep Water”

Kicking off this list, we saw Mortar and Ricky Smokes go to battle in the main event of Chaotic Wrestling’s “In Deep Water.” The event was held on Friday night, August 22nd, kicking off the fun weekend of professional wrestling. If you’re like me and you keep up with the northeast scene of independent wrestling, you should know that Mortar and Smokes have one of the greatest rivalries in the entire northeast. I can watch these guys go every single night. Ultimately, Mortar retained his Chaotic Wrestling Heavyweight Championship. Following the match, we saw Smokes turn babyface and help Mortar take the fight to Richard Holliday. Regardless of heel or face, Mortar and Smokes are two of the absolute greatest wrestlers to come out of the New England Pro Wrestling Academy. Go check this one out on the Chaotic Wrestling YouTube channel now.

4. Post Game vs. Fresh Air from Focus Pro Wrestling’s “Sabotage”

On Saturday, August 23rd, Focus Pro returned to Braintree, MA, for its big event, “Sabotage.” The event had a ton of great wrestling and big moments. However, what fans didn’t realize is that they were going to see potentially the greatest tag team match of 2025. Macrae Martin of Fresh Air took to X and shared his sentiments: “I strongly encourage everyone to watch it…@JuniorBenit0 and I probably had one of the best tag matches of our career against @Mike_Walker_30 and @vinnytalotta.” He wasn’t kidding either, that match was truly insane! Post Game and Fresh Air went to war to be crowned the Focus Pro Tag Team Champions. I’m fairly new to Post Game, but I don’t think I’ve ever been as impressed by a tag team as I am with them. As for Fresh Air, we all know how great they are. If you don’t, go check out their work too. Easily one of the best tag teams on the independent scene today. When the show comes to IWTV, be sure to go watch this. Post Game’s Mike Walker & Vinny Talotta, and Fresh Air’s Junior Benito & Macrae Martin absolutely crushed it. This was an amazing must-see tag match. Go back and check it out.

3. Rhio vs. Kanji from PROGRESS Wrestling’s “Chapter 183: 100 Volts”

On Monday, August 25th, PROGRESS Wrestling returned to the Electric Ballroom in London for its biggest show of the year, “Chapter 183: 100 Volts.” This was an absolutely amazing show. Truthfully, every match on PROGRESS’s event was just fantastic, and I highly recommend checking it out. However, one of the best matches of the event saw Rhio put her Women’s World Championship on the line against Kanji. This was a great match between two of the best women on the independent wrestling scene in England. Rhio has been an amazing Women’s World Champion, but if there was any time fans thought she was going to lose the title, it was against Kanji. However, in the end, Rhio won via referee stoppage. Everything about this match was perfect. Rhio landed big shots to the back of Kanji’s head and seemingly knocked her out. This continued to show Rhio’s dominance. As for Kanji, her story doesn’t end here. Expect her to run it back with Rhio after she handles her Nina Samuels problem. This was a stellar match, and one of the best on PROGRESS Wrestling, period. There was only one match, I’d say, that was ranked higher, and we’ll get to that shortly.

2. Matt Tremont vs. Bear Bronson from Game Changer Wrestling’s “GCW Homecoming 2025, Part 2”

On Sunday, August 24th, we saw GCW’s jam-packed “Homecoming” weekend come to an end, as GCW returned to The Showboat for its big event, “GCW Homecoming 2025, Part 2.” This was certainly the better of the two shows. I highly recommend checking this one out. The six-man between Marcus Mathers & YDNP and Miracle Ones was an incredible match. However, perhaps none were bigger than the main event of the whole weekend, which saw Matt Tremont put the GCW Ultraviolent Championship against Bear Bronson. This match was as bloody, brutal, and violent as we thought it would be, and then some. Bronson has been killing it in his return to the independent wrestling scene. In my opinion, this was the match that solidified Bronson as one of the best new deathmatch wrestlers around today. It’s also imperative to know he’s so much more than that. Bronson can kill it in the ring in any style of pro wrestling, and now, Deathmatch is yet another style Bronson has shown he can hang in. As for Tremont, when you think of a Deathmatch legend, he fits that bill. Tremont retaining the belt was a great decision. He has been on the best run of his career lately, and it’s awesome to see Tremont getting known more worldwide with GCW. This was a fantastic match, and one everyone should go back and watch.

1. Luke Jacobs vs. Man Like DeReiss from PROGRESS Wrestling’s “Chapter 183: 100 Volts”

Let’s get back to PROGRESS Wrestling, shall we? As I mentioned earlier, this show was top-tier from the first bell to the final bell of the show. However, no match on the weekend could top, or even come close to topping, the damn near 45-minute war Luke Jacobs and Man Like DeReiss went to in a “Tables, Ladders, and Chairs” match. Jacobs and DeReiss went through everything they had and then some at each other over the top prize in PROGRESS Wrestling. DeReiss earned this opportunity when he won the Super Strong Style 16, after defeating his Boisterous Behavior partner, Leon Slater, in the finals. DeReiss has the crowd in the palm of his hands, and we knew he was going to have a big moment soon. When DeReiss sent Jacobs crashing down on the exposed wood planks covered in thumbtacks, it solidified the hope that everyone had. In the end, DeReiss unhooked the title, and the fans went nuts, celebrating DeReiss as PROGRESS went off the air. This was an amazing moment, culminating in an even more amazing show. Luke Jacobs brought the PROGRESS Men’s World Championship to new heights, and that cannot go unnoticed. It remains to be seen where Jacobs goes from here, but one thing we know for sure is that Jacobs put himself in very prestigious company with his amazing run. Now only one question remains, where will DeReiss rank amongst the best PROGRESS Men’s World Champions? Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride.