We’re coming off the heels of LPW 16, which was an incredible night for the promotion, which of course you know we had to top this month. As my excitement built up as the LPW 17 card was announced, I said, ‘Let’s do it up again!’ and decided to get my preview on.

On Friday, July 28, at the Rec Room in Edmonton, Alberta, it’s LPW 17. It’s Violence! Violence! Violence! time, and while Paramore might be in the business of Misery, here at LPW are in the business of putting on kick-ass wrestling shows. This card is shaping up to do just that. So let me stop the rambling and dive headfirst into the absurdly stacked card, full of bad blood, intrigue, and title matches!

Any way you slice this one, there is a lot of intrigue for this first-ever match type in LPW. Can Zoe escape again as LPW Champion? Will Gigi Rey get her win back in a massive way? Will Reid Matthews become the #1 Contender to Zoe’s Title? All I know is on the surface, this has LPW Match of the Year potential written all over it. 

Son of Irish(c) vs Amir Jordan

Challenge Championship Match

I feel like every month I say “this is Irish’s toughest challenge to date,” this month I truly think it is. No disrespect to my new friend Mitch Clarke, but Jordan is heading to Canada and looking to make a statement. What better way to do that than to come in and go after LPW Gold?

The Former NXT UK Star had high praise for Son Of Irish, even comparing him to his younger self during his recent interview with JPJ during the LPW Show.

Son of Irish has his hands full this month, but it’s nothing Irish hasn’t seen before, as the fan favorite will look to continue his winning ways. Dare I say, Amir might just become the fifth Challenge Champion in LPW history and get his Canadian tour kicked off in a big, big way. Oh, hell, that’s what I’m saying. #ANDNEW baby!!

Berat Gorani vs Shaun Moore

Look, I’m not the smartest person on the planet, but I do know you don’t mess with Shaun Moore without expecting a beatdown in response. Well Berat, my friend, that’s exactly what Shaun will be looking to do this month. What got us here, you may be asking? Our new LPW Tag Team Champions took it upon themselves to attack his partner, Fil Deadly, after their massive win over the former champs, the RADz. While Shaun was calling his shot in this wide-open tag division, Shabaz and Goroni struck, sending a message that they won’t be messed with as champions.

If it was me, I’d give Deadly and Moore the shot outright, but this is a wonderful consolation prize for Moore. He can get his hands on Berat, and a win would virtually guarantee he then would get a shot at the champs for Tag Team Gold. I fully expect Violence…Violence…Violence (I said it again) from Moore to set up a must-see Tag Team Championship fight in the future. 

Jack Pride(c) vs TJ Cannon vs Marz The Specialist vs Rich King vs Larry Woods vs TY Jackson vs Michael Richard Blais vs Steven Crowe

LPW Scramble Championship Match

Yes friends, you read that correctly, Jack Pride is defending their LPW Scramble Championship against seven other competitors. And yes, those competitors are all members of the three top factions in LPW. 

Se7en, The RADz and The Clandestine Society have been at each others throats since Se7en exploded onto the scene. It all came to a head last month at LPW 16, when chaos ensued during the Se7en vs Clandestine Society six-person tag match. When the RADz got involved as a little payback from Se7en costing them their tag match against Deadly and Moore, it got so chaotic that the match ended in a no contest and the teams had to be separated heading into an intermission to calm all the teams down. So Spencer made it official that we will try and settle this once and for all and he threw all three teams in a match against one another. Talk about the possibilities.

Could we see a Rich King teaming up with TJ Cannon to get an advantage on MRB? What about MRB and Pride, who have a history together; will they coexist if need be to get that advantage? The possibilities here are endless. The RADz have stated that if one of them wins, they all win; is that true of the other two teams in the match? Will Se7en be able to keep past in-house issues from coming back up? There are a lot of combustible parts in this powder keg of a Scramble match. 

So dare I try and make sense of all of this? Should I make a pick? Who leaves LPW 17 as Scramble champion? Even with all the odds stacked heavily against themselves, I’ve got to lean with Jack Pride, the man of two minds. There’s just an edge about them that seems to thrive in these type of situations. Not to mention, when push comes to shove, I think they are willing to go the furthest to secure the win. So in my opinion, Love Wrestling, get the #ANDSTILL graphic ready to go. 

Reid Matthews vs Travis Williams vs Michael Richard Allen Clark vs Jared Rodgers vs El Asesino

#1 Contenders Gauntlet Match

For the 1st time in LPW history, the #1 Contendership will be decided in a gauntlet matchup. Whoever draws #1 in the match will have to outlast the other five opponents to win, so placement is key. 

Each one of these competitors would be a fine challenger to whoever escapes the 3 Stages of Hell between Zoe Sager and Gigi Rey. 

I’d absolutely love the idea of Reid Matthews becoming the #1 Contender to Zoe’s Title – talk about some major intrigue. For MARC, coming off the only Grand Championship title shot of all the contenders, you know he’s itching to be back. 

Travis Williams is back in LPW and every time he’s at the Rec Room, a banger is almost a certainty. He looks like a million bucks and has found a new groove that has me feeling it could be his night. 

Jared Rodgers, or the wily vet, as we have dubbed him here at Love Wrestling, is coming off the biggest upset in LPW history over Sebastian Wolfe last month. What better way to build off that momentum than to score the biggest win in his short career? 

El Asesino has the least amount of LPW experience amongst the challengers, but hanging your hat on that would be doing this incredibly talented individual an injustice. His unique offensive style could play to his advantage against the field. Plus anyone who can go blow for blow with Shaun Moore like he he did at LPW can’t be slept on. 

Like I said, any one of the five would be a fantastic challenger for the Grand Championship. If I was picking, and that’s exactly what I’m doing here, I’ll take Reid Matthews. Number one, I think it’s the most interesting move whether Zoe wins or loses, plus, I think Reid is due for a big moment. 

Jazmin Allure(c) vs Taylor Rising

GCWA Championship Match

What a big-time matchup we have here, friends. Two of the wrestling scene’s most well-traveled and talented competitors going one-on-one for the first time in an LPW. All I can say is, LET’S GO!! 

Taylor Rising has been here before and knows just what it takes to win when you step into an LPW ring, as she came up just short of beating Zoe Sager at LPW 10. With that under her belt and that understanding that one big win can catapult you into the Grand Championship scene, Don’t believe me? Well, I talked to Taylor for the LPW show, which you can find right here on our Patreon page!

Jazmin Allure is making her debut at Violence! Violence! Violence! and is so confident she will be putting up her GCWA Women’s Championship. Talk about a way to turn some heads in your debut. Jazmin has no plans of losing her title, as she discussed with Blair over on the LPW Show, but Taylor will be ready and willing to snatch that title up and make her way to the Grand Championship here in LPW. This one, friends, will be must-see TV and a big-time candidate for the match of the night. So if I’m forced to make a pick, I’ll stick to my pick I made on For Exposure – Taylor Rising will rise to the occasion.

Zoe Sager (c) vs Gigi Rey

3 Stages of Hell LPW Grand Championship Match

A feud rooted so deep, it needed not one, not two, but three stages of hell to settle this issue. Let’s be honest here, it may not even settle it, but damn it Zoe Sager and Gigi Rey are surely going to try.

For those wondering, the three stages will consist of a normal match, a submission match, and a ladder match.

Zoe Sager continues to impress as Grand Champion, even if her last defense against TY Jackson ended in some controversy. The RADz have been incredibly vocal about their unhappiness with the decision. Nonetheless, Sager has continued time and time again to find a way to keep that belt around her waist.

In steps Gigi Rey, who finally got the big win she had been looking for in LPW last month against Shazza McKenzie. The history with her runs deep; Gigi even tried to talk some sense into Zoe early on. Zoe was having none of it and the bad blood ended up in a match at LPW 7, and with the help of Reid Matthews, Zoe escaped victorious. The stakes are at an all-time high with the Grand Championship on the line and a rejuvenated Gigi Rey as her opponent. You have to factor in Matthews, who is always an X factor with Zoe. Matthews will have had a #1 Contenders match for this very title – will that be in the back of Zoe’s mind?

If I have to pick, my heart says Gigi, the crowd favorite, gets a massive win at LPW 17. That said, I just can’t go against Zoe Sager right now. She continues to find a way to get it done no matter the odds.

There you have it, friends: Your LPW 17 preview is in the books. I cannot wait for what looks to be another historic night in LPW as we have a few firsts, combustible elements, and most importantly Violence! Violence! Violence! We will see everyone at 9 p.m. Eastern on Twitch.TV/LoveWrestlingCA.