Great Scott! Marty it’s 2026! Love Pro Wrestling is kicking off the season with a massive Friday night show at the Rec Room! This card has a very Old Guard vs New Blood feel. I don’t say “Old Guard” negatively either. Talents like Michael Richard Blais, Zoe Sager and Rich King have a hungry group of challengers looking to flip LPW into an alternate 2026 that only Doc Brown and Marty McFly could possibly put back together. So let’s hop in our DeLorean, gun this baby to 88 and preview the 1st Friday Night LPW show of 2026!
Need to Know
Date: Friday, January 23rd, 2026
Bell Time: 7:00 PM Start Time
Location: The Rec Room South Edmonton Common
Tickets: CLICK HERE for Tickets!
Rich King vs. Scotty Ace
If I was making the schedule, I’d put this match immediately after TY Jackson vs Dean Rictor. Let’s hope for Scotty’s sake Dean Rictor takes care of TY Jackson, or it could be a rough night. Will Rich King be laser-focused on the task at hand? We have seen in the past Rich take his eyes off the ball and it cost him. Just ask Jack Pride about that. Scotty Ace will be looking to pull off the massive upset to position himself for success heading into LPW 45 and beyond to build off a very successful 2025.
TY Jackson vs. Dean Richtor
One has to imagine Dean Rictor’s camp wants nothing more than to break down TY Jackson as much as possible to kickoff 2026. TY Jackson has an upcoming Grand Championship opportunity at the LPW Anniversary show in March, which you know has rubbed Rich King the wrong way. I couldn’t begin to fathom what Rich would do if his former RADz running mate won the Grand Championship before he did. Sending Dean Rictor not only sends the message this group isn’t messing around – it also puts TY Jackson against one of the heaviest hitters in LPW, if not the heaviest hitter.
TY Jackson continues to defy the odds and always finds a way, and I expect 2026 to be the year of TY Jackson. Getting a hard-fought victory off Dean Rictor is a heck of a way to start.
LPW Challenge Championship Match: Michael Richard Blais vs. Jaxx Wylder
Will the landscape change on Friday Night?Jaxx Wylder sure hopes so. No one has figured out how to stop God’s Gift to Wrestling since he secured that Challenge Championship. If I’m Jaxx Wylder I would have been studying as much tape on MRB as possible to find a weakness in his game. The nice part about that is, Jaxx doesn’t have nearly the amount of tape in LPW as MRB does, so the element of the unknown could be a big advantage for Wylder.
LPW Tag Team Championship Match: Para Lira (Sheik Shabaz & Berat Gorani) vs. The Mad Lads (Nate Nixon & William Taylor) vs. The Short Kings (Marz the Specialist & Reid Matthews)
If you ran this match through a simulation 10 times, you would easily get 10 different outcomes. It’s rare you find a match where any way you slice it the outcome wouldn’t shock anyone. Para Lira could be the most well oiled machine in LPW and have no signs of slowing down. The Mad Lads are a force we haven’t seen in LPW in quite some time, and on any given night they can change the course of a promotion with the way they insert themselves into everything. Then you have day one LPW staples, the Short Kings, whom it’s hard to beat in any situation. One has to wonder if the 1-on-1 between Marz The Specialist and Reid Matthews at the Oil Rumble two days later is weighing on them. Can they put that aside and become Tag Team Champions?
LPW Scramble Championship Match: Nick Shostastyk vs. Zoë Sager vs. Jack O’Connor vs. Christian Starr vs. Lumberjack Larry Woods
This is the perfect balance of hungry up-and-comers and LPW all-timers. You can’t predict the chaos of a Scramble. This is my type of match. Nick Shostasyk enters in as your champ after capturing his first LPW Gold at LPW 43. Ask anyone who has won the Scramble Championship – winning it can be far easier than retaining it. For The Runway Model, he’s going to have to hold off one of LPW hottest newcomers, Christian Starr, who always makes a moment in the Rec Room. Larry Woods is as motivated as ever to get back to a championship. Jack O’Connor is a looking to make a big splash in a loaded field. Then we have Zoe Sager ,who on her own is as ruthless as they come but after aligning with The Mad Lads adds an extra layer of protection that makes her almost unstoppable. If what I said earlier about retaining the Scramble Championship is the hard part, it’s going to get put to the test right here at LPW 44!
LPW Grand Championship Match: Steven Crowe vs. The Canadian Goose Kyle Shaw
The Goose is as motivated as ever to snatch that LPW Grand Championship away from Steven Crowe, and do it not only for him but the whole roster, as he believes it’s time for The Rhinestone Cowboy to be knocked off the top of the mountain in LPW. I’m a huge Rhinestone Cowboy fan, but is it time for some new blood at the top of LPW? The Goose pulling off the win of his LPW career would signal a new era in Love Pro Wrestling and more than likely lock up the Moment of The Year in January. The intrigue here is incredibly high.
There it is, friends! Another big show feel in the works. Let me know who you’ve got winning in the comments, and as always keep it locked right here for all the latest content from your favorite Love Wrestling personalities! We will see you all at LPW 45!
