NFL
By: Jon Blayne
Most wrestling fans are aware of the major companies in pro wrestling. Some of them include WWE, AEW, ROH. Impact Wrestling and others. But a lot of people forget that a majority of the wrestlers we have seen in these major promotions started out in a local indie promotion. Due to my show, Around the Ropes Podcast, I have had the opportunity to see a lot of them between Northern New Jersey, Long Island, and upstate New York. Since I have been to quite a few shows, I have seen some matches that would be worthy of TV. Some of this includes the storytelling done by the wrestlers or how the match came out.
To see any of these matches, you can go to either the Title Match Network website or IWTV.
So, I have decided to give my top three matches I have seen live in person
3- Christina Marie vs. Darius Carter for the Grand Dragon Tournament at Brii Combination Wrestling: Back around Halloween, BCW announced a tournament where a new champion was going to be crowned. In one of the semi-final matches, we saw Darius Carter take on Christina Marie for a spot in the finals. I know a lot of wrestling fans, frown upon an intergender match. I have said for the longest time that if you have two people who can work well together and tell a story it shouldn’t matter what gender they are. In recent memory, WWE legend Chyna was the only female wrestler who could make it look believable.
This match had everything. You had great storytelling, two people who want to be at the top of the indie scene and more importantly, the top of Brii Combination Wrestling. What also made this match interesting was how Christina brought the fight to Darius right away. At certain points in this match, you thought Christina Marie was going to pull off the upset.
2- Gabriel Skye vs. Speedball Mike Bailey at the Invictus 2-year anniversary show: Another match that I was lucky to see live came at the 2-year anniversary show for Invictus Pro Wrestling in the main event. Gabriel Skye is not someone I knew prior to that match. Obviously, I was aware of Bailey for this time in Impact Wrestling. Before I explain about this match, I will say that I’m now a huge fan of Gabriel Skye and feel that the sky is his limit in 2023 and beyond. Unlike the Marie/Carter match, there wasn’t a huge story being told in this match.
In my opinion, this match was brilliant for the moves and how both superstars allowed them to marinate with the fans. Yes, there were a lot of big spots in that match, but you remember them. You see the Young Bucks in AEW trying to put a lot of moves into a match, but the difference is that they don’t allow the moves to resonate with the fans.
1- Danny Maff vs. Darius Carter for the PWM Heavyweight Championship at Guardians of the Kingdom
This match had everything. For starters, the build was incredible. It was announced that this would be the last time Maff would ever be allowed to challenge for the title. The story being told made the fans become very much invested in what they were doing. Everyone who was there that night was on their feet throughout that whole match. Once Maff won, they added more of a story as they were teasing whether or not Carter would shake Maff’s hand.
What made this match was you had two guys who have been wrestling for a long time. Maff has been wrestling for 23 years and Carter has been wrestling for thirteen years. As we see with the veterans in wrestling, they are the ones who know how to put together a great story.
Tune into the Around the Ropes Podcast every Tuesday night at 8 pm est for all your pro/indie wrestling talk. They can be found on the ATR Network.
