Another WrestleMania week has come and gone. WrestleMania week itself has become so much more than just a weekend. Starting on the Wednesday night before WrestleMania, independent wrestling once again truly took over the city of the biggest professional wrestling event of the year. Game Changer Wrestling, PoderMania, House of Glory, New Japan, and so many other promotions showed up and showed out for this year’s week, with many fantastic shows taking place.

Professional wrestling was abundant from Wednesday, April 15th, through Sunday, April 19th. From the likes of GCW, PoderMania, House of Glory, New Japan Pro Wrestling, Mark Hitchcock Memorial show, ACTION Wrestling, and PROGRESS Wrestling, take a look back on 10 matches that were truly must-see for every fan of independent wrestling for the biggest weeks of the year for independent wrestling, WrestleMania week.

10. Brick Savage vs. Mad Dog Connelly from EFFY’s “Big Gay Brunch 11”

Kicking off this list, at number 10, we saw Brick Savage battle Mad Dog Connelly in what can only be described as a HOSS fight. This match took place on the matinee event on Saturday, April 18th, at 11 a.m. PST, when GCW and EFFY presented one of their biggest shows of the year, “Big Gay Brunch 11.” What made this match so special was just how hard-hitting it was. For a long time in professional wrestling, LGBTQ+ talents were pigeon-holed. They were designed to be flamboyant characters at times, who often faced off against other sexually ambiguous characters in what was, more often than not, an unserious match. However, Brick Savage and Mad Dog Connelly said screw all of that. These two didn’t listen to any of the haters online or any of the “know-it-all” producers and went out there to do what they do arguably better than anyone: have a hard-hitting war. If I wanted to book a hard-hitting fight of a match, I would look no further than Savage and Connelly. For EFFY, he perfectly booked this match, and Savage and Connelly perfectly executed everything. This match serves as a reminder that LGBTQ+ talent is more than just a “one-trick pony.” The talent in the LGBTQ+ scene can put on whatever match you want to see, and arguably do it better than a lot of straight wrestlers can, but I digress. This match card was absolutely bonkers. We also saw EFFY vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Dark Sheik vs. Nyla Rose, and so many other top-tier matches. However, to me, this match stood head and shoulders above everything else on this card. The whole show was top-notch, but this match alone is truly must-see. Go back and check this one out on TrillerTV+.

9. Brittany Blake vs. Shotzi Blackheart from “PoderMania~!“

The event to kick off all of The Collective’s festivities was “PoderMania~!” which returned to Las Vegas, NV, for its second year in a row on Wednesday afternoon, April 15th, at 3 p.m. PST. This match card was all-in-all one of the most perfectly put together all-women’s cards of the year so far. We saw many different women showcase their talents on the independent scene from all over the world. This card saw matches of the likes of Billie Starkz vs. Charli Evans (which I had high hopes for but was less than five minutes, so not fun), Jazmin Allure put the Ladies Night Out Championship on the line against Alejandra La Leona, Miranda Alize vs. Carolina Cruz, and so much more. However, the match that won the show for me was Brittany Blake putting her Poder Women’s Championship on the line against Shotzi Blackheart. These are two women who are so similar in many ways on the independent scene, so to see them work together truly created magic. Since returning to the independent scene from her time in WWE, Shotzi Blackheart is picking up right where she left off. She’s showing everyone exactly how damn good she truly is. It has been such a sight to see. As for Brittany Blake, she might be one of the most underrated professional wrestlers around today. She has been the Poder Women’s Champion for over 600 days. She may not be someone who has the “ex-television star” backing, but she’s so damn good. I’ve yet to see her have a bad match, and this was once again another truly amazing showing. This one showcased both Blake and Shotzi as two of the very top women on the independent scene today. It would be great to get to see Blake booked more, as she’s far too good not to. Go back and check this one out on TrillerTV+. You won’t be disappointed. As always, SUPPORT WOMEN’S WRESTLING.

8. Charles Mason vs. Michael Oku from House of Glory’s “Culture Clash”

Next on this list, we saw House of Glory return to Las Vegas for one of its biggest shows of the year, “Culture Clash.” The event took place on Thursday, April 16th, at 8 p.m. PST. If you are looking for star-studded events from WrestleMania week, look no further than this one. The show was headlined by The Hardy Boys, Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy, who put their HOG World Tag Team Championships on the line against The Good Brothers, Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows, and The Mane Event, Midas Black & Jay Lyon. We also saw special attraction matches like AEW’s Bandido face off with HOG founder, Amazing Red, and AEW’s Brody King face off with the HOG Crown Jewel Championship in a non-title match. However, the match that stole the night was Charles Mason putting his HOG World Championship on the line against Michael Oku. Mason has been on the best run of his career lately, and this match with Oku just further cemented that. He has truly been out of this world. He has represented the House of Glory company as their top champion proudly, but sometimes underhandedly. Michael Oku truly brought the best out of Mason. Mason has held the title for over 300 days and has worked with the likes of Carlito, Man Like DeReiss, Dezmond Xavier, Cedric Alexander, Mustafa Ali, and so many more. However, this match may have been his best match to date with the title. As for Oku, he is one of the very best talents from across the pond. How he’s not signed yet is truly beyond me. This is not his only time on this list, either. But we’ll get to that one later. Go back and check this one out on TrillerTV+. It’s well worth the money to watch this event.

7. The Hate Club (Matt Tremont & Nick Gage) vs. El Desperado & Jun Kasai vs. Masashi Takeda & Rina Yamashita from New Japan Pro Wrestling’s “Death Vegas Invitational”

Next up, we saw New Japan Pro Wrestling take part in The Collective with GCW, as they presented their massive show, the “Death Vegas Invitational.” The event took place on Thursday, April 16th, at 8 p.m. PST and saw so many fantastic matches, one more of which we’ll get to a little bit later on this list. We saw the likes of Ishin vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. EFFY, Kushida & Yamato team up to face off with the MXM Collection and Bustah & The Brain, El Phantasmo team up with Maika to face off with Dragon Kid & Starlight Kid, and Joey Janela team up with Gringo Loco in tag team action. However, one of the best matches on this card was the main event, which saw The Hate Club’s Matt Tremont & Nick Gage team up to face off with El Desperado & Jun Kasai, and Masashi Takeda & Rina Yamashita in a three-way tag team match featuring six of the very best deathmatch wrestlers in the entire world. While Tremont and Gage are two of the very best deathmatch wrestlers in the United States, they rarely cross each other’s paths. As a matter of fact, they haven’t teamed up in over two or three years. A few years back, Tremont told PWPonderings that he and Nick Gage were supposed to team up against Takeda & Kasai right before the pandemic. As for the other four competitors – El Desperado, Jun Kasai, Masashi Takeda, & Rina Yamashita – they are without a doubt the best deathmatch wrestlers in Japan to this day. Rina Yamashita has completely reinvented what it means to be a women’s wrestler over in Japan, while Desperado has found himself as somewhat of a deathmatch legend. Kasai & Takeda are also two of the very best deathmatch wrestlers from over in that region. So, with all of this known, this match was truly shaping up to be a can’t-miss. It was, without a doubt, one of my favorite matches of the weekend. I haven’t always been a deathmatch fan, but it truly is an art form like no other. Go back and check this one out on TrillerTV+ if you’re a fan of brutal, all-out wars between six of the very best to ever do it in the deathmatch scene. More from this event in a few.

6. Miyu Yamashita vs. Janai Kai from GCW’s “Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XV”

Next up on this list, GCW, alongside Josh Barnett, presented its big event, “Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport XV.” The event took place on Friday, April 17th, at 3 p.m. PST. The show was headlined by Josh Barnett going one-on-one with Yuji Nagata in a powerhouse fight. We also saw Nattie Neidhart battle Shayna Baszler in a can’t-miss bout, as well as Fuminori Abe battle Erick Stevens, and Royce Isaacs meet Shane Mercer in a heavyweight mat contest. While all of these fights were very, very good, the one that stands head and shoulders above the rest was the battle between Miyu Yamashita and Janai Kai. While this was a very close one with Nattie & Shayna, this one ultimately took that cake. It’s no secret how good Nattie & Shayna are, especially with their time spent on the biggest professional wrestling company of all time. However, Yamashita and Kai don’t necessarily have that backing. These are two women who had to come up on their own and really own their craft. They didn’t get to train at a Performance Center type of place yet; that’s what makes this match truly so special. Yamashita is otherworldly in the ring, whether in a match or a fight. She has lethal strikes and kicks to look out for, and unfortunately for Kai, she found that out the hard way. However, a lot of the same that’s said about Yamashita can be said about Kai. Kai is one of the best strikers and kickers in the business today, and it’s not even close. Watching these two beat the hell out of each other with strikes and kicks was truly magical. The chemistry these two possess was very noticeable, and played a major reason as to why this fight was so good. This whole show was fantastic, but this fight was truly a must-watch. Go back and check this one out on TrillerTV+.

5. Bandido vs. Galeno Del Mal from WrestleCon’s “Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow”

Coming in at the halfway point on this list, we saw Bandido battle Galeno Del Mal in a Mexican dream match on the WrestleCon “Mark Hitchcock Memorial Supershow.” The event streamed live on Thursday, April 16th. The event saw everything from fun and light-hearted matches like Heath & Rhyno against Headbanger Thrasher & Swoggle, to hard-hitting brawls between Mark Davis and Masato Tanaka, to even an impromptu PROGRESS Men’s World Championship match as Man Like DeReiss put his title on the line against Ethan Allen. However, perhaps the best match of the show saw Bandido go one-on-one with the powerhouse of the Wagner Dynasty, Galeno Del Mal. All Elite Wrestling’s Bandido has been showcasing all over the world and on national television, proving that he’s truly one of the best professional wrestlers around today, and why he’s one of the best luchadores around today. His opponent in this one was a bit younger, by seven years exactly, with still a ton left to go in his very early career. With that said, Galeno Del Mal is one of the brightest young up-and-coming luchadores around today. He will almost certainly be signed and be on national TV in the United States in no time. Everything about this match ruled. These two had such great chemistry, which I believe translated over to a downright fantastic, high-flying, and hard-hitting match. The best way to describe this match was the incredible, outright-amazing agility of Bandido facing off with the power and the size of Galeno Del Mal. This was a typical match of “speed vs. power,” and it more than lived up to the hype. This was not only an outright incredible match between the two, but was also a beautiful showcase of the Mexican tradition of Lucha Libre, and its diverse landscape. Despite mainly being known for their speed, Luchadores are no longer just agile. They have size, power, and all of the above. This match only proved that. Go back and check this one out on TrillerTV+.

4. EFFY vs. Allie Katch from Joey Janela’s “Spring Break X”

Coming in at number four on this list, let’s head to one of GCW’s biggest events of the year, as they partnered with Joey Janela for the 10th installment of “Spring Break.” This event may have been a rather early show of the year contender. This show had absolutely everything. The main event saw Joey Janela go one-on-one with 14-year old Brodie Lee Jr. However, we also saw some wacky matches like Sandman vs. The Invisible Man, and all the antics in that roughly 30-minute showing. This show saw the likes of The Rascalz vs. Marcus Mathers and Bustah & The Brain, Atticus Cogar vs. Hayabusa, Megan Bayne teaming up with Nick Gage to face off with Mance Warner & Steph De Lander, Jurassic Express teaming up against KJ Orso and Sam Stackhouse, and so much more. There truly wasn’t a bad match on this entire show. However, the best of the very best on this show came in the story that EFFY and Allie Katch told in their Loser Leaves GCW match. This has been one of my favorite stories of 2026 so far. Is EFFY really “fine” like he says he is? Since dropping the title, EFFY has been spiraling to the point of turning on his best friend, Allie Katch. However, she wasn’t going to go down quietly. This match and story were damn-near perfect. EFFY had the chance to finally go back to his normal, nice self in this Loser Leaves GCW match, and even at times looked to potentially maybe go back and help Allie in the match; however, he made his decision. He succumbed to the craziness in his own brain. From the opening bell to the final bell, everything was truly beautiful in this one. Go back and check this one out on TrillerTV+.

3. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Fuminori Abe from New Japan Pro Wrestling’s “Death Vegas Invitational”

Returning to the New Japan Pro Wrestling “Death Vegas Invitational” event, Zack Sabre Jr. faced off with Fuminori Abe in the opening match of the show. This show saw a ton of excellent action and matches, both hardcore and standard wrestling style. However, Sabre Jr. and Abe stole the show in the opening match of the night and set a very high bar for other matches on the show to beat. Zack Sabre Jr. is one of the world’s top technical wrestlers. He’s picking up in many ways where someone like Bryan Danielson left off. He can break down his opponents systematically before forcing a submission or defeating them. However, the issue for Sabre Jr. in this one was he didn’t even know who he was going to be facing. His opponent was hand-picked by Hikaru Sato and was known as the “First-Class Third-Rate.” For Sabre Jr., Abe being his opponent was right up his alley. He knew that this was going to be a technical war and that was exactly what it was, with some big strikes and kicks involved, including a very fun sequence where the two competitors wrestled outside the ring and in the fans. This was the damn-near best way to start it all off. However, with that said, it also was going to be a very hard match to beat, and it absolutely was for everyone else on the card. The card lived up to the hype. The main event was fantastic, but this was the show-stealer. Go back and check this one out on TrillerTV+ and treat yourself to the full show. You will not be disappointed.

2. Minoru Suzuki, Adam Priest, & Fuminori Abe vs. Jonathan Gresham, Zack Sabre Jr., & Erick Stevens from ACTION Wrestling’s “We Gambled Away The Graphix Budget”

Perhaps the show of the week came on Friday, April 17th, at 11 a.m. PST, when ACTION Wrestling held its big WrestleMania week event live in Las Vegas, NV, with their big show, “We Gambled Away The Graphix Budget.” The show was headlined by Karl Greco-Malenko going one-on-one with Mad Dog Connelly. We also saw 1 Called Manders battle Paul Walter Hauser, Top Team put their ACTION Tag Team Championships against New Fever’s Danny Orion & Shimbashi, Darian Bengston put his ACTION World Championship on the line against Timothy Thatcher, and so much more tremendous action. However, one of the absolute greatest six-man tag matches I’ve ever seen came on this show as Minoru Suzuki teamed up with Adam Priest & Fuminori Abe to take on the team of Jonathan Gresham, Zack Sabre Jr., and Erick Stevens. If you’re a fan of technical wrestling, this is heaven for you. Talk about a star-studded match? This was six of the VERY BEST technical wrestlers around today going at it. Jonathan Gresham? Legend. Minoru Suzuki? Legend. Zack Sabre Jr.? Future legend. Adam Priest, Fuminori Abe, and Erick Stevens? A++ talents who can all be future legends in their own right. When this match was announced, fans knew this was going to be crazy, and this just cemented ACTION Wrestling as a staple to watch during the past WrestleMania week event. As good as this match looked on paper, it was as good as it was live. I truly cannot say enough good things about ACTION Wrestling’s entire event, and this match alone. It was truly can’t miss and one of the best shows of this past weekend, which is saying something considering they had some very strong competition. ACTION Wrestling won the weekend, and this match was in large part the reason why. Go back and check this one out on IWTV, it’s so worth it.

1. Man Like DeReiss vs. Michael Oku from PROGRESS Wrestling’s “Chapter 193: Las Vegas II”

Coming in at number one on the list, we saw PROGRESS Wrestling return to Las Vegas on Thursday, April 16th, at 11 a.m. PST. Last year at this time, we were talking about PROGRESS Wrestling also having the best match during WrestleMania week as Luke Jacobs defended his PROGRESS Men’s World Championship against Michael Oku. It appears not much has changed, except that this year, it was Man Like DeReiss putting his Men’s World Championship on the line against Michael Oku. DeReiss has held the PROGRESS Men’s World Championship for the past 240 days, first winning it from Luke Jacobs back in August of last year. He has had 15 title defenses so far, defeating the likes of Darian Bengston, Tommy Bryan Keith, Tommy Billington, Charlie Sterling, Carlos Zamora, Lio Rush, Tate Mayfairs, Kid Lykos II, Tommy Tanner, Robbie X, Kid Lykos, Ethan Allen, and now Oku. For PROGRESS Wrestling, Oku has been a heaven-sent for WrestleMania week, now for the second year in a row. They had some stiff competition on this show, too, as Rhio battled Vert Vixen in probably the second-best match on the whole show, “Blackheart” Lio Rush went one-on-one with Ethan Allen, Simon Miller battled Danny Jones, and Subculture’s Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster face off with Kuro & LJ Cleary. However, despite all of these crazy matches this weekend, both on the show and just during WrestleMania week, Man Like DeReiss and Michael Oku perhaps put on the best match. This was the ultimate clash of styles. So, once again, not much has changed from last year. PROGRESS just knows how to book their WrestleMania week events. Once again, PROGRESS Wrestling officially had the entire week’s best match on their show. All of these matches were terrific, but this one truly takes the cake. Go back and check this one out on TrillerTV+.