While there’s good independent wrestling to choose from, it’s not every weekend that you get to see a match of the year contender between two of the hardest-hitting female wrestlers on the entire scene today. But this was only the tip of the iceberg, as we also saw some other tremendous matches take over the whole scene on one of its strongest weekends in some time. From the likes of House Of Glory, C4 Wrestling, Cannonballooza, Limitless Wrestling, and Rising Stars of Women’s Wrestling, these are five must-see matches that every fan of independent wrestling should go back and check out.
5. Ricky Sosa vs. The Amazing Red from House Of Glory’s “Inferno”
Kicking off this list, we saw a battle between TNA Wrestling’s past and TNA Wrestling’s present. On Friday, June 19th, House of Glory returned to the Logan Square Auditorium in Chicago, IL, for its big event, “Inferno.” The event was one of the promotion’s strongest of the year, with “High Intensity” right around the corner, marking House of Glory’s biggest show of the year in August. This show was headlined by Charles Mason putting the House of Glory World Championship on the line against TNA Wrestling’s own, Nic Nemeth. We saw several other show stealers, including Gringo Loco and Vengador teaming up against Bang & Matthews, Mustafa Ali vs. Rich Swann, and the return of “Blackheart” himself, Lio Rush. However, no match hit quite as hard as the hottest young upstart in the TNA X-Division, Ricky Sosa, going one-on-one with arguably one of the best TNA X-Division stars that we’ve ever seen inside of a TNA ring, the Amazing Red. Sosa received a great reception from the House of Glory fans in attendance. I can’t remember the last time we really saw someone burst onto the scene as well as Sosa has. However, he had a tall task in front of him in this one, as he battled off with a much smaller, but much more experienced opponent, Amazing Red. As many times as we’ve seen the spot, I will never get tired of seeing Red shoot himself through the ropes onto an opponent and landing in the second row of the crowd—such a marvelous thing of beauty. There were a few minor missteps at the end of the match. However, none could discredit the absolute masterclass that Sosa and Red put on for over 15 minutes. The match came to an epic conclusion when Sosa hit a blue thunder bomb for the pinfall. This was one of the best Amazing Red matches of the year, which is undoubtedly saying something. With that said, it’s easy to see why Amazing Red will go down in history as one of the best high-flyers to ever grace the world of professional wrestling. However, with that said, the future is incredibly bright for Sosa, who is about to go on a Leon Slater-esque run with TNA Wrestling. Go back and check out House of Glory’s final show on TrillerTV+.
4. Leah Sparks vs. Wanda Del Rey vs. Kristara vs. Kacey Diamond vs. Dreya Mitchell vs. Amira from C4 Wrestling’s “Final Destination”
Next on the list, we saw a very fun scramble match take place at C4 Wrestling’s big event, “Final Destination” on Friday, June 19th. The match pitted five of the very best women on the Canadian independent scene, and one from the Pacific Northwest, against each other. Leah Sparks, Wanda Del Rey, Kristara, Kacey Diamond, Dreya Mitchell, and Amira all absolutely delivered in this one. If you’re a fan of women’s wrestling, this match is truly for you. I can say many great things about all of the six women above. For example, I’ve had the absolute pleasure of working with Sparks, Kristara, and Mitchell before, and their knowledge of this business is truly very wise beyond their years. Adding Wanda Del Rey and Kacey Diamond to the fray, it really makes me realize that the women’s division is in very good hands, whether up north or anywhere else. This was such a stellar six-woman match. All six women looked absolutely incredible in this one, one of them really stole the show. Leah Sparks. Sparks has been a fan favorite since coming to C4 Wrestling, but this may have been her very best match yet. She deserves a ton of praise for her performance in this one. She took the fight to some of her much taller opponents, like Dreya Mitchell & Wanda Delrey. She continues to show that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. All six women truly deserve their praise and flowers for this one. They all showed up and showed out. This match was a very important reminder that women’s wrestling rules. The crowd was hot for this whole match, and all six women did an incredible job at keeping them on their feet and entertained. It was quick, crazy, and above all else, awesome. Book women’s wrestlers everywhere. If you’re only having one women’s match per show, that’s definitely a problem. Go back and check this one out on IWTV. Support women’s wrestling.
3. Marcus Mathers vs. Joey Janela from “Cannonballooza”
At number three, we saw two of the hottest stars on the entire independent scene do battle as WWE ID prospect, Marcus Mathers, faced off with arguably one of the greatest independent talents to ever grace the sport, Joey Janela. When you put these two one-on-one with each other, magic gets made. Thankfully, it was for a great cause too, as “Cannonballooza” was a fundraiser for the family of Jeff Guerreiro, known to many as Jeff Cannonball. Cannonball has been battling ALS, and while it’s a very serious disease, the wrestling world really rallied around him, Terra Calaway, and their family. The event was live at the Sellersville VFW in Sellersville, PA, on Sunday, June 21st. The show saw a bunch of great action, all for a great cause. Janela and Mathers each delivered a stellar performance at the Jeff Cannonball/Guerreiro fundraising event. Joey Janela is someone who is super polarizing on the independents, and often times gets some weird hate online. Not for any good reasons, though. He’s one of the top talents and can wrestle anyone you put in front of him. He also put on an absolute banger with HOOK at GCW this past weekend, which deserves note too. Janela is someone I have the utmost respect for. Whether he goes for 25 minutes or a rare 10-minute appearance, you’re never disappointed watching a Janela match. His dance partner in this one is a damn-near perfect choice. Mathers is someone whom I’ve been incredibly high on now for years. He’s someone who is finally becoming a world-known name, and for good reason. Regardless of who you put in front of him, similar to Janela, you will never be disappointed. Mathers is a WWE ID prospect, and it’s only a matter of time before he shows the world on NXT and beyond just how damn good he is. Spoiler alert, he is that damn good. Go back and check this one out on IWTV. You will not be disappointed.
2. Nic Nemeth vs. Anthony Greene from Limitless Wrestling’s “Built For Speed”
Coming in at number two on this list, TNA Wrestling star, Nic Nemeth, came to Limitless Wrestling to challenge Limitless Wrestling’s own, Anthony Greene. This was an absolutely stellar show that came to Madrid’s in Portland, ME, when Limitless Wrestling presented “Built For Speed” on Saturday, June 20th. The main event of the show saw Donovan Dijak put his Limitless Wrestling World Championship on the line against one-half of the TNA World Tag Team Champions, Bear Bronson. This was an excellent main event between two of the best big men on the independent scene today. However, the show-stealer of this show was really one of the most underrated matches I’ve seen all year. There is a lot that Nemeth and Greene have in common. They are two of the most underrated wrestlers of all time. Nic Nemeth has accomplished a lot in his career, but some could argue that he didn’t accomplish as much as he should have. In WWE, he was severely underrated as Dolph Ziggler, but thankfully, at TNA, he’s been accomplishing much more. Very well-deserved. While Nemeth and Greene were in WWE at the same time, I don’t think they’ve ever shared the ring. As for Greene, he’s another name that was in NXT for some time before WWE prematurely released him. With that said, he’s still one name to always be on the lookout for at these independent shows. Whenever you see his name, you know you’re in for a treat. Nemeth and Greene worked so well together. The two men put on a masterclass for just under 16 minutes. Nemeth came to Limitless Wrestling fresh off his match in Chicago the night before with House of Glory. Nemeth was very much the babyface in this one. The ending of this match saw Nemeth hit a superkick and land the Danger Zone on Greene to win the match. This was a fantastic match for the price of free. Watch it for free on the Limitless Wrestling YouTube channel.
1. Lei Ying Lee vs. Janai Kai from Rising Stars of Women’s Wrestling’s “One Year Anniversary Show”
Number one on this list could be a main event at any single show. The TNA Knockout’s Champion, Lei Ying Lee, went one-on-one with the “Kick Demon” herself, Janai Kai. When I tell you that this was the damn-near perfect match, I mean that. This match was about as perfect a match as it came. Rising Stars of Women’s Wrestling is one of the hottest, young, up-and-coming promotions on Long Island, NY. Started by Mercedes Martinez, Rising Stars of Women’s Wrestlers gives so many tremendous women an opportunity to do something special. At this show, on Saturday, June 20th, we saw so many great matches, including Mercedes Martinez defending her Rising Stars Women’s Championship against Indi Hartwell, Tiphani Grady putting her VPW Women’s Championship on the line against Amity LaVey, and Dolli Darko and Taylor Yorke doing battle to kick off the main card. We even saw Emily May make her professional wrestling debut at this event. Lee is the current TNA Knockouts Champion, arguably doing the best work of her career with TNA. In no way is that a slight on her time with WWE; however, she didn’t get the same opportunity there to shine and show her best work as she has in TNA. She is truly one of the best and most crisp workers out there today. As for Kai, she hasn’t really reached that next level yet, despite appearing for AEW and Ring of Honor at times. She’s someone who, without a doubt, should be signed and can be a mainstay in any spot she lands. The professional wrestling world has slept on Kai for years, but her work continues to show why she’s truly a can’t-miss star. Nonetheless, Lei Ying Lee and Janai Kai had the show stealer of the night, and certainly a match of the year contender. Lee and Kai are two of the absolute hardest-hitters of the entire professional wrestling landscape. That was on full display in this one. Lee and Kai hit each other incredibly hard and landed some lethal strikes and kicks. The chemistry they had is truly unmatched. This is a MUST-WATCH and certainly a match of the year contender. If you like hard-hitting action, be sure to check this one out. It will be posted on the Rising Stars YouTube channel in a little while. Seek this match, and this whole show out.