From Friday, April 10th, through Sunday, April 12th, the independent wrestling scene was flooded with some incredible action from many different promotions on the final stop before the largest independent wrestling weekend of the world, WrestleMania week. This included multiple title matches, two matches which featured one of the best independent wrestlers in the world today, and a young upstart from up north toppling a legendary wrestler. From the likes of Dreamwave Wrestling, Greektown Wrestling, TWE, NSPW, and ETU, here are five must-see matches from this past weekend that every fan of independent wrestling should check out.

5. The Hype vs. Hidden Gems from Dreamwave Wrestling’s “Anniversary XI: Undeniable“

Kicking off the list, we saw The Hype, 12 Gaige & Hunter Holdcraft, put their Dreamwave Tag Team Championships on the line against Hidden Gems, AMB & Rafael Quintero. This match occurred second on the show, right after Kody Lane put his Dreamwave Alternative Championship on the line against Christian Rose in a ‘Title vs. Career’ match. This show saw a ton of excellent action, including Channing Thomas putting the Dreamwave Championship on the line against Connor Hopkins, and B3CCA and Rebecca J. Scott putting their respective titles on the line (Dreamwave Women’s Championship & Uprising Alternative Championship) in a winner-take-all match. However, the tag title match completely stole the show. The Hype has been the Dreamwave Tag Team Champions for over the past 120 days. This is their second reign with the belts, and it all began when they won the titles back from Bang & Matthews in a four-way tag match back in December of 2025. As for AMB & Rafael Quintero, they have been endearing themselves to the Dreamwave fans for a while now. I’m not extremely familiar with the Hidden Gems, but after seeing this match, I can see why they call themselves the Hidden Gems. This match started fast as the two teams began the night by brawling on the floor. A mere few seconds in, the Hidden Gems hit stereo frog splashes and almost had the match won. After just a few minutes, we knew we were in for a treat, and that’s exactly what we got. While this match was just 11 and a half minutes, you would have thought they wrestled for an hour. That’s how much both teams put into this match. This match was a tag team wrestling masterclass. I highly recommend people go check this one out on the Dreamwave Wrestling VOD channel on IWTV.

4. Marcus Mathers vs. Bryce Hansen from Greektown Wrestling’s “April 10th”

Next up, we saw Greektown Wrestling return to its home in Toronto, Ontario, for its big event, “April 10th.” The show opened up with Marcus Mathers going one-on-one with Bryce Hansen. Unfortunately for everyone else who had to follow this one, it was going to fail in comparison. That’s saying something, as we also saw Joey Janela & Channing Decker team up to face off with Bill Collier & Sam Holloway, and B3CCA battle Jody Threat in her debut with Greektown Wrestling. However, despite some very fun matches, Mathers and Hansen truly take the cake for the work they put in on this one. Mathers is a WWE ID prospect, and for good reason. Every time he steps in the ring, he puts on quite the show with whoever you put in front of him. In this one, while I wasn’t too familiar with Hansen heading into this show, I’m now a full-blown fan of his. Hansen recently won a title at Alpha-1 Wrestling, further showcasing his talents throughout the Canadian independent wrestling scene. He also recently had a tour with NOAH. That is abundantly clear when it comes to his wrestling style. He complimented Mathers very well, and the two styles meshed together damn-near perfectly. Mathers & Hansen went to a 16+ minute war. We witnessed many nearfalls where it looked like either man could have won this match. When Hansen hit a big clothesline and followed that up with a powerbomb, it really looked like this match was done. For Greektown, they started out this show hot, perhaps too hot. It was tough to beat for any wrestlers left on the show, and truthfully, while the show was fun, no match even came close to this one. Go back and check this one out on TrillerTV+. It’s well worth it.

3. Hunter Drake vs. Jamesen Shook from TWE’s “Sink or Swim 2026”

Coming in next on the list, we head to the main event of TWE’s big event, “Sink or Swim.” The main event of this show saw Hunter Drake put his TWE Undisputed Championship on the line against Jamesen Shook in a ‘Barbed Wire Baptism 2’ match. This show also had many fun matches, including Ravenna Vein vs. Corinne Joy, Drako Starx vs. Derek Neal, and Darian Bengston in action to kick it all off. However, if you’re a fan of violence, then you would love the main event. They set up the ring with a bunch of barbed wire on the ropes and barbed wire toys to play with in the ring. Drake first won the title almost 40-days ago. He defeated Jamesen Shook, John Wayne Murdoch, and Kasey Owens in an Exploding Cage Death match. While Drake was never supposed to be in it, he cashed in his opportunity at the title before the match even started to get himself in there with the best of the best. Nobody took it easy on him either. Drake was a bloody mess when all was said and done. He proved himself to be a fighter in this one, love him or hate him. He continued that momentum on Saturday, April 11th, when he battled the former champion in a singles match this time. Drake once again showed that he is just an absolute star. He took all the punishment that Shook could muster, and he stood in this one until the very end, and even excelled. The major story coming out of this match, too, was Matt Tremont confronting Hunter Drake and now calling him out. Drake is beginning to etch himself in the history of TWE, and a long and serious run with the TWE Undisputed Championship could truly make him one of the best wrestlers to come into TWE. Go back and check this one out on the TWE VOD channel on IWTV.

2. Dreya Mitchell vs. Mercedes Martinez from NSPW’s “Injustice”

Coming in at number two on this list, we saw NSPW hold their big event, “Injustice.” The show, like the others, saw a ton of excellent matches. However, perhaps no matches measured up to the match that kicked it all off between Dreya Mitchell and the legendary Mercedes Martinez. Mercedes Martinez has said that this is her final year of in-ring competition. She wants to wrestle the best of the very best in her final year of competition. She got just that and more up north when she battled one of the hottest, young, up-and-comers from the Canadian independent scene, Dreya Mitchell. For those who may not be very aware, Dreya Mitchell is beginning to really put herself on the map for the Canadian independent wrestling scene. For good reason, too. Mitchell has it all. She has the look, the charisma, and all of the talent in the world to back it up. She has single-handedly made me want to check out the independent wrestling scene more in Canada and learn more about it. Spoiler alert, I wasn’t disappointed. This was the biggest match of Mitchell’s career to date. She has been in many wars and many fantastic showings with some of the very best to do it up in Canada; however, she has never shared the ring with someone of the stature of Martinez. A win over Mercedes Martinez could be massive for Dreya Mitchell in continuing to put her on the map, not just on the Canadian independent scene, but just on the independent wrestling scene as a whole. She made her Limitless Wrestling debut not too long ago, and she’s already on her way back to the states for another Limitless show. She is a million bucks, truly. I give it a couple of years before the major companies start taking note of Mitchell’s star power. Martinez is truly one of the greats, and she deserves to be viewed as such. However, this match was more about Mitchell and her ability to not only hold her own against Martinez but look amazing doing it. Go back and check this one out when it becomes available on the NSPW VOD channel on IWTV.

1. Marcus Mathers vs. Devious Cass from ETU’s “Coronation”

Coming in at number one on the list for the final ‘Five Must-See Matches” list for the final weekend of independent wrestling before the major WrestleMania week, we saw Marcus Mathers battle one of his close personal friends at ETU’s big event, “Coronation.” While this show was one for the women, the non-tournament showing between Mathers and Cass truly stole the entire show. Both Mathers and Cass are from Philadelphia and are two of the best rising stars around today. Mathers has already proven his skill and is on a WWE ID prospect contract now, and rightfully so. Mathers has defeated a who’s who of professional wrestlers on the independent scene, and his skill in the ring is unmatched. Before these two even locked up in the match, we got a “both these guys!” chant. Cass extended his hand to Mathers before the match, which Mathers declined and screamed, “This is my house!” at Cass, telling him he has to earn it. So, Cass set out to do just that. Mathers and Cass went to a nearly 20-minute-long perfect match. There’s no such thing as perfect, but this one was damn near it. For those who are unaware of Cass, he’s essentially a younger version of Marcus Mathers. While Cass is certainly younger, that doesn’t mean he’s any worse than Mathers. The potential Cass possesses is truly out of this world, and a lot of what we can say about Cass now is what we said about Mathers roughly 4-5 years ago. The match went south for Cass when he was hit by Mathers with a tombstone piledriver on the outside of the ring. However, when Mathers threw Cass back into the ring and hit a fisherman’s buster and seemingly had the match won, Cass somehow found the wherewithal to stay alive. Anything Mathers hit Cass with in this one, he absorbed and came back trying to hit harder up to the very end. At the conclusion of the match, Cass earned the handshake from Mathers, and the two embraced, with Mathers giving a large show of respect to Cass. After the match, Cass challenged Isaiah Broner to a match at the next show. Yeah, that match will be absolutely insane. Go back and check out this utter masterpiece on the ETU VOD channel on IWTV. You will not be disappointed.