There I was, at my first Warrior Wrestling event in South Bend, Ind. on Jan. 22 and it was about halfway through Myron Reed vs KC Navarro – my match of the night – when I just knew this was the promotion for me. Warrior Wrestling showed out in South Bend, headlined by an amazing Warrior Wrestling Championship match between Will Ospreay and Brian Cage. It was all around one of my favorite events I’ve attended live.

Now, here we are, only a few days away from Warrior Wrestling 19 at Cicero Stadium in Chicago. Naturally, I just had to preview this card because folks, let me tell you, it’s absolutely STACKED! Let’s dive into it, shall we?

Lince Dorado vs. Sam Adonis Warrior Wrestling Lucha Championship

Sam Adonis just won the Lucha Championship at WW18 in an awesome scramble featuring Gringo Loco, ASF, Drago Kid, and Aramis. This Saturday, Adonis will look to take down his biggest opponent yet, former WWE superstar Lince Dorado. This has all the makings of a great showing as both men are incredibly talented and work the Lucha style very very well. I know Adonis is a bigger guy, but don’t sleep on his ability to keep up with the likes of Dorado. Ultimately I think this is just the beginning of the Sam Adonis era in Warrior, so I think he will retain the belt. 

Blake Christian vs. Alex Zayne vs. Myron Reed vs. Gringo Loco

I mean, I could easily just say, “read the names and let’s move on. This is going to be, without a shadow of a doubt, a BANGER!” 

What’s not to love here? Christian is a human highlight reel and looks absolutely revitalized now that he’s back on the indie scene. It’s like he has a chip on his shoulder and out to prove what a certain promotion missed out on. The same can be said for Alex Zayne aka The Sauce God. Add one of my favorites, Myron Reed, plus Gringo Loco to this four-way dance, and this is a main-event level match in most places. A case can be made for all of them to pull out the win. Blake Christian stands out as the obvious choice due to name value alone. However, he can take a loss in a four-way and still look strong so I’ll roll with the Sauce God to walk with the win. 

Skye Blue vs. Miranda Alize

Skye is coming off a big win in a mixed tag match at Warrior 18 with her partner Dante Martin against Kylie Rae and Isaias Velazquez. She will look to keep that momentum going against Miranda Alize, the Lucha Baddie. I like this matchup for Alize as the big spot isn’t going to scare her. She’s no stranger to big matchups, as she’s taken on the likes of Jordynne Grace, Taya Valkyrie, and Britt Baker. Skye Blue is full of potential and is without a doubt a fan favorite. Saying that I’m feeling an upset for this matchup, though as a big Alize fan myself, is it really an upset?

Santana vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey

Another interesting matchup. I’m excited to see how this plays out. I really enjoy Santana and think he is slept on as a singles competitor. Opposite the Proud & Powerful star is newly signed Impact star Speedball Mike Bailey, who seems to be on a mission to work everywhere possible in 2022 – which, of course, is a great thing for independent wrestling! I’d most likely be disowned by my Love Wrestling team if I don’t pick Bailey to get the win on Saturday, so that’s how I’m rolling. Sorry, Santana, you’ll get ’em next time!

(Fun fact: I was going to pick him anyway, but I’m definitely not trying to get fired today!)

Dalton Castle vs. Warhorse

What do you get when you take wrestling’s most high-energy performer in Warhorse and put him up against one of the most eccentric in Dalton Castle? I fully expect this to be a high-energy crowd favorite matchup. I got the chance to see Warhorse live last month, and the crowd just eats him up. Add Castle to the mix and this will be a highlight for me. Warhorse gets the win if I have to pick. 

The Acclaimed vs. Brian Cage and KC Navarro

The Acclaimed are entering WW19 on a bit of a hot streak as they are constantly in the top five of the AEW tag division. However, the duo will be taking on the holder of the Warrior Wrestling Contenders Medallion, KC Navarro, and his partner, Brian Cage. Navarro clearly has his sights set on Warrior Wrestling Champion Will Ospreay, with the pair engaging in an intense staredown to end Warrior Wrestling 18. Ironically, it was Brian Cage who came up just short in that evening’s championship match.

I’m just going to go ahead and say it: can they coexist?! If you don’t think there’s a bit of a rivalry here, you’re crazy. Cage almost got it done tagging with the guy that thinks he’s getting it done eventually. That small wrinkle alone has me riding with the Acclaimed on Saturday night.

The Briscoe Brothers vs. The Workhorsemen

Is there a hotter tag team in professional wrestling right now than the Briscoes? All the internet wrestling community is talking about is what’s next for the soon-to-be ROH Hall of Famers. Well, what’s next is The Workhorsemen, a team made up of Anthony Henry and JD Drake. This has the makings of being the best tag match on the card as, compared to the Briscoe brothers, Henry and Drake will come in as underdogs. That said, don’t sleep on them: they aren’t called the Workhorsemen for nothing! These two can flat-out go and hang against anybody. Unfortunately, even with all of that said, they will ultimately come up short. Even should they lose, I hope it’s not the last time we see Drake and Henry together in Warrior Wrestling. 

Bandido vs. Dante Martin

What is life right now? Bandido vs Dante Martin is a damn dream matchup, to use a cliche. One of the selling points for me attending Warrior Wrestling 18 was getting the opportunity to see Dante Martin live. Let me tell you, he lives up to the hype and his skillset is even more impressive in person. Throw in a wrestler as highly skilled as Bandido and there is a real chance we see something truly special at Cicero Stadium. Give me my guy Dante Martin getting the win here, which hopefully puts him in a position to challenge Will Ospreay for the Warrior Wrestling Championship. Talk about a potential banger of a match-up! 

Thunder Rosa (c) vs Athena Warrior Wrestling Women’s Championship

I’m sure by this point you’ve noticed a theme of this card: it’s absolutely STACKED. Rosa vs Athena fits this theme like a glove. Holy crap, this is a match I didn’t think I needed in my life until it was announced. If you’ve ever listened to my podcast or followed me on socials, you know I’m a huge fan of Thunder Rosa. Add Athena, who looks fantastic and revitalized since her non-compete clause is up, to the mix and you’ve got the recipe for a certified banger.

So here’s where I’m at: we all know how amazing Rosa is at everything she does. So here’s the chance to make a massive statement and put the belt on Athena and start her new road off with a massive bang. 

As you all can tell, I’m more than excited for this card on Saturday night, beginning at 7 pm at Cicero Stadium in Chicago. If you can’t make it to Chicago, you can catch all the action on FITE TV. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Warrior Wrestling. Which matches are you most looking forward to? Don’t be afraid to hit me up in the comments and talk about it!

Until next time, friends, peace out!

Pluggo on Twitter: @Pluggo_

Pluggo on Facebook: Pluggo Loves Wrestling

Between Two Beards: @B2Beards

Virtual Pro Wrestling 2

Systems: Nintendo 64 (Japanese Exclusive)

American Wrestling titles continue to be made on a year to year basis. 2K sports dominate the video game scene for the time being with its WWE 2K series. But in the 90’s, the king of Pro Wrestling games was very different.

Three letters, AKI. AKI were the masterminds behind the greatest North American wrestling games including, WWF No Mercy, WCW World Tour, WCW/nWo Revenge, WWF WrestleMania 2000, and the more unknown WCW vs The World (under the developer name “The Man Breeze”). But a series that some may not know is their Japanese release of these games. WCW World Tour rebranded to Virtual Pro Wrestling 64 for the Japanese market. This included everyone from the WCW game, but introduced reskinned and renamed superstars from Japan including Jushin Liger, Great Muta, Jun Akiyama, Toshiaki Kawada and many more to face off against the WCW roster. They also allowed you to change the gear and names of everyone in the game, allowing you to make custom characters, or make the default superstars look like their real life counterparts. This made it the DEFINITIVE version of the game. But how do they follow this huge success?

Well, following the release of WWF WrestleMania 2000, and released before WWF No Mercy, AKI created the ultimate version of an AKI title. VIRTUAL PRO WRESTLING 2 [2000]. Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 takes the key concepts that were perfected in WrestleMania 2000 and WCW/nWo Revenge and adds some new ideas that would only be present in this title.

GAMEPLAY

The gameplay style is consistent from what you would get from an AKI title around this time period. The control schemes did not change in this time period, making every game easy for fans and non-fans to pick up and play.

The scenery in the game changes though with Tokyo Dome, Budokan Hall, and Kawasaki Stadium (yes, a BASEBALL arena!

) being 3 of many new venues to choose from, all with unique looks. You also have the option to play the game in black and white to give it an old-school filter whenever you wanted to!

Some new features added into the game were running grapples. Running grapples are something we all see in wrestling games now, but until this game, it was AKI’s first foray into this mechanic. Creating new move opportunities such as running neckbreakers being introduced to characters’ move sets.

Another new addition was a shoot fighting (MMA) mode. This mode let you knock out opponents with certain strikes, have your fight in rounds, gain points from takedowns, etc. With a new batch of shoot fighters being put into the game, it made this gameplay mode stick out over every other AKI game, being the ONLY time it was ever used in one of their games.

CUSTOMIZATION

Keeping the customization aspect of WrestleMania 2000, one HUGE addition that is exclusive is MASKED characters. The masks options in American titles were non-existent, and continued to be into WWF No Mercy. This game let’s you completely customize any mask in the game down to wings on the ears and laces coming off the back of the head, opening the mask for their hair to come out and so much more.

The ability to create custom championships is a feature that carried over from WrestleMania 2000. Though this included the chance to have up to 3 CHAMPIONSHIPS on your wrestler at the same time. They will even enter the ring with their belts in title matches! A great addition was including real-world titles like the NWA Championship to fight over with your friends.

GAME MODES

A favorite of mine is the Pay-Per-View mode. A show creator of sorts that continues on from WrestleMania 2000, giving you the chance to put together your own shows. Each show at the end will bring in a certain number of fans based on the quality and venue of your shows. This mode is endless and if you have a way to keep track of your show results, it can create a really fun universe.

I booked about 2 years of monthly “NWA Japan” shows and kept track of all my titleholders, match results, and win/loss records for my roster. The PPV mode was a fun time and something you can get lost in for hours, days, months, and/or years!

The story mode in this game is reminiscent of WrestleMania 2000 as well, giving you the reigns of 2 wrestlers as you fight for singles and tag team gold. Also, there is an ability to win tournament trophies for certain matches along your career path. Another fun mode to dig your teeth into, especially if there is a character you love playing as.

CONCLUSION

Virtual Pro Wrestling 2 is a goldmine of fun. It’s first title is as well, but this presents you with a multitude of match type and customization options that an AKI game before, or after never reached. WWF No Mercy has always been held up as the greatest wrestling game of all time. I would argue that point this THIS game is one for the ages. It does everything the AKI games before it and after it do, but adds more to the table.

This game lives on through mods the same way that No Mercy does. FreeM presents this game with a fresh coat of paint and a roster including some heavy hitters from America. Shawn Michaels can fight Vader. Steve Austin or AJ Styles can now do battle with Spider-Man if they wanted to! Also places like VPW2 Dojo on Twitter shine a light on this game like no other. Check them out for everything Virtual Pro!

Seeing as the game just turned 22 years old last week; let’s give a belated birthday shoutout to a game that lives on to this day as a secret goldmine.

OVERALL: 9.5/10 I can continue talking about this game for days. I think this game needs to speak for itself once you play it. PLEASE get your hands on this game, it may be pricey right now, but it is worth every penny. I would give it a 10 out of 10, but even perfection has wiggle room to make it even BETTER!

Do you have a wrestling game suggestion for me to review?

Let me know on Twitter: @CFGstreams

Or watch me play all of these wrestling games with my buddies over on Twitch: twitch.tv/CFGstreams

FreeM Twitter: @aj_187

VPW2 Dojo Twitter: @VPW2Dojo