TOP 10 BEST NON-WWE MATCHES FROM MANIA WEEKEND

We’ve come a long way from the Undertaker emceeing for the Cherry Popping Daddies at the Wrestlemania XV Rage Party. Over the years, Wrestlemania has transformed from a one-day event to a 5 Day celebration of everything professional wrestling. A countless number of Indy and foreign promotions gathered around the Las Vegas area last week to give wrestling fans a little taste of what they do best. While it’s logistically infeasible to watch every event, I personally tried my best to  watch as much as possible. In total, I watched around 125 matches spanning across 15 shows, not including Wrestlemania. In fact, I didn’t even watch night one of Wrestlemania. There were too many other good graps to catch up on. While I know my list isn’t in any shape or form definitive, here are the top 10 matches that I enjoyed the most:

 

10) Clusterf**k Battle Royale - GCW Clusterf**k Forever (4/20/25)

A rather unorthodox entry on any top 10 list, but it’s also a rather unorthodox match. For those unaware, the Clusterf**k is a Wrestlemania weekend tradition occuring well after Midnight on Saturday night. It’s a royal rumble-style match that features somewhere around 100 wrestlers, all entering at random intervals. It typically lasts over two hours and it typically wears out it’s welcome really quickly. Mainly because it happens so late at night, but also it’s just plain goofy. However, this year’s entry kept my attention from bell to bell. The surprises didn’t stop coming, from Snitsky kicking a baby, the Mexicools reuniting with Microman (complete with toy lawnmower), the Invisible Man cleaning house and of course, the eventual last entrant and winner. That was none other than Brodie Lee Jr, the 13 year old son of the late Brodie Lee. After exchanging a few impressive moves and sells with Joey Janela, Brodie hit him with a stunner that sent him over the top rope. In his first official professional wrestling match, hours after his bedtime, Brodie Lee Jr will go down in the books of defeating 100+ other wrestlers. It was hard to not feel something in that moment, no matter how tired you were. 

 

9) Atticus Cogar vs Fuego Del Sol - Mask vs GCW Career - GCW “Joey Janela’s Spring Break 9“ (4/18/25)

On paper, it felt like the match shouldn’t have been booked. A match with a mask on the line hardly ever goes well for the masked one. In the last year or so, Fuego Del Sol has been working the grind like none other, cementing himself as one of the more polished luchas on the Indy scene. Losing his mask would stall any kind of momentum he worked so hard for. There’s also the matter of Atticus Cogar not being very versatile to work with. He’s a deathmatch wrestler through and through, the whole thing just felt like a mismatch, But when the bell rung, it became apparent that Fuego was willing to go great lengths to hang onto his pride. The match was fast-paced, violent and wholly emotional. Fuego stepped all the way out of his comfort zone and went out of his way to ensure that Cogar also felt uncomfortable. But alas, he was outnumbered by Cogar’s Ohio-dwelling goons and was forced to remove his mask. But that wasn’t the only thing he removed. He also removed his boots and left them in the middle of the ring. Is this actually the end of Fuego Del Sol or is he channeling his mentor, Cody Rhodes? Either way, he left an impression on everyone that saw the match.

 

8) Minoru Suzuki vs Yoshihiko - DDT Goes Las Vegas (4/18/25)

This was a style of match that is rarely seen, let alone understood, in American wrestling. Yoshihiko is one of the most well-known wrestlers in Japan, he ominously comes out to the Undertaker’s Ministry of Darkness theme and he is, in fact, a doll. It is very common practice for a Japanese wrestler to have a match with Yoshihiko. One, because it’s hilarious. But also, it’s an extremely difficult task. How does one wrestle a doll and make it seem real and interesting? Yoshihiko matches are actually about showcasing a wrestler’s skills in selling. If you can go 20 minutes with Yoshihiko without losing the plot, you can make literally anybody look good in the ring. In recent years, some impressive things have been done, including a believable ankle lock submission. But Minoru Suzuki did something to Yoshihiko that I’ve never seen before. He made the doll bleed. Just let that set in for a second. Wrestling is not just a sport, it’s a fine art. 

 

7) Kevin Blackwood vs Leon Slater - Prestige “Nothing To Lose” (4/17/25)

With the abundance of shows last weekend, many wrestlers took advantage and worked as many booking as humanly possible. Among the two workhorses were Kevin Blackwood and Leon Slater. They’re both well-traveled and well-known in the Indy community and they’re both seemingly on the verge of making it big somewhere. So of course, when given the opportunity to fight each other, they held absolutely nothing back. Nothing too flashy, just meat and potatoes, pound for pound sound wrestling. They didn’t need to take any risks, they knew they could tell a compelling story without it. A highlight of an all-around banger of a card that you can find on YouTube.

 

6) Konosuke Takeshita vs MAO - DDT Goes Las Vegas (4/18/25)

This was the classic example of trainee vs mentor gone evil. A tale as old as time, really.. When Takeshita left DDT to go stateside, he left the keys to to spa with MAO, who has since been the spiritual leader of their faction, 37KAMIINA. But after turning to Don Callis in AEW, he in turn started rubbing elbows with the heel cult, DAMNATION T.A., and thus starting a war with his former clique. This was their 6th singles match against each other and no matter how much he improves and grows, MAO has never been able to defeat Takeshita. But you didn’t need to know all of that lore in order to be fully sucked into what they were doing. It was compelling, hard-hitting, inventive, emotional, anything you would want out of a grudge match. 

 

5) Ben-K, Hyo & Kzy vs Shun Skywalker, Kota Minoura & ISHIN - Dragongate/Pro Wrestling Revolution “The Gate To The Revolution” (4/18/25)

In my exploits, I have spent at least a cup of coffee following every major Japanese promotion. But one that I had never been able to touch was Dragon Gate. Rather than being all about sport like other Japanese promotions, this one is extremely story-driven. As someone that doesn’t know Japanese (well), that’s really intimidating, a deal-breaker for most. But as this main event progressed, I got more and more drawn in. Off the rip I could see the coolness of Hyo and the madness of Shun Skywalker. And through the 20+ minutes, they built up the action like a slowly burning story. And in the last 5 minutes, they were in an absolute fever pitch, climaxing with physics-defying moves and action in every corner of the screen. When it was all said and done, I pulled out my credit card, navigated through signing up for the Dragongate Network, looked up some YouTube videos to explore the lore and dove right into the promotion head-first. The main purpose of these Wrestlemania weekend showcases is to get people hooked on your product and brother, Dragongate succeeded with me. 

 

4) Mizuki vs Miyu Yamashita - Princess Of Princess Title - TJPW Live In Las Vegas (4/18/25)

Some wrestlers have their soulmate in the ring. Steve Austin had The Rock, Bryan Danielson had Nigel McGuiness, Kenny Omega had Kazuchika Okada, Mitsuharu Misawa had Toshiaki Kawada and Mizuki has Miyu Yamashita. Every time they clash in the ring, it’s a scientifically sound symphony. Everything they do complements the other so well that you never want their matches to end. This one was no different, except for the fact that it was on a stage for people to see it for the first time. So if this is in fact your introduction to Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, welcome. Matches like this are very common, they almost never put on a bad show and something is always guaranteed to put a smile on your face. It’s the most fun promotion in wrestling today and hopefully this match helped get a lot of fresh eyes on it. 

 

3) Zack Sabre Jr vs Kidd Bandit - GCW Effy’s Big Gay Brunch 10 (4/19/25)

There was a time that it seemed like we would never see Kidd Bandit again. After a devastating injury, it seemed clear that she was giving up on the dream. Luckily, none of that was true and in her 2nd match in as many years, she faced off against one of her mentors, Zack Sabre Jr. A certainly tall order that she took in stride. Blow for blow, hold for hold, she was able to keep up with the best technical wrestler in the world. It really felt like a coming-of-age match, where we can see the final form of the self-proclaimed “Protagonist Of Professional Wrestling”. Kidd Bandit got into wrestling as a frail and reckless boy and is now a strong, resilient, calculated woman. This match was exactly what she needed to affirm these improvements and turn the right heads in her direction. We’re going to be looking back at this match years from now and see where the tide changed for Kidd Bandit. I’m sure of it. 

 

2) The Lucha Solos (Arkangel Divino & Ultimo Maldito) vs Los Hermanos De La Jungla (Aero Panther & Fight Panther Jr) - PWR Tag Team Titles - Dragongate/Pro Wrestling Revolution “The Gate To The Revolution” (4/18/25)

Every now and then, a tag team match comes along that makes you re-think what a tag team match should be like and restores your faith in the match type. This was one of those matches and so much more. An absolute tornado of lucha insanity. You can clearly tell that they know each other well, as moves were executed at breakneck speed with no hesitation, no second guessing, no moments to breathe. It was a bona fide clinic in what luchadore wrestling can be like if all the elements go right and should be an inspiration for tag team wrestling to come. If you have any interest in pro wrestling or even have a pulse, I implore you to dunk 15 minutes of your life to watch it. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know the guys in the match, you will afterwards. 

 

And somehow, that wasn’t the best tag match of the weekend.

 

1) Violence Is Forever (Kevin Ku & Dominic Garrini) vs Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) - Sin City Street Fight - DPW “Title Fight In Vegas” (4/19/25)

Through the course of 100+ matches, I saw the absolute best and absolute worst of professional wrestling. But I did not see anything more gritty, emotionally charged and violent as Deadlock Pro Wrestling’s semi-main event. This match has been building up for over a year and boiled over into a fever pitch. Every strike is felt, every chair shot makes you turn away and every kick out makes you want to run through a brick wall. The atmosphere was reminiscent of southern territory wrestling of yesteryear. You could feel the humidity in the building, you could explicate the hate they felt for each other and they used only traditional plunder. There was no need for light tubes or razor wire. Just some good ol’ chairs, tables and chains (or scarves). The result was raw, blood-soaked and left the audience wanting more. Considering how well this match went, we’re going to get plenty more. 

 

Outside of Wresltemania weekend, I watched over 50 other matches this week. Most of it was just educating myself on Dragon Gate, but the moral of the story is that you don’t want to be like me (unless you have a forgiving wife like I do). But you should definitely use this guide to check out some things you might have missed. Because no matter what the state of the world is, good wrestling is happening somewhere. You just need to know where to look.