Table of contents for Summer 2025 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated

THREE WEEKS AFTER a successful defense against red-hot Shota Umino at Windy City Riot in Chicago (check out our coverage in our “Supercards” section), IWGP World champion Hirooki Goto walked into the Fukuoka Convention Center on night two of Wrestling Dontaku and retained the belt against Callum Newman in a technical and aerial clinic. Callum Newman? The 22-year-old protege of Will Ospreay debuted in New Japan less than two years ago and has never held a singles title in the company. With lackluster showings in both the New Japan Cup and G1 Climax, and only a nine-day IWGP World tag team title reign with Jeff Cobb, Newman took many by surprise when he declared himself the new leader of United Empire after TJP failed to negotiate a long-term contract with New…

PROMOTION: NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING • DATE: 04.11.2025 • LOCATION: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS OUT OF ALL THE NJPW STRONG shows regularly run in America, Chicago’s Windy City Riot tends to be most consequential to the overall product. Last year’s event ended up breaking the attendance record for an NJPW show in America—not counting co-promoted shows like Forbidden Door—and the IWGP World heavyweight championship changed hands. This year featured a solid house that filled most of the lower bowl in Wintrust Arena and a fun, albeit slightly unmemorable undercard (aside from a few bright spots). In the sole match on the pre-show, NJPW Academy graduate Zane Jay defeated CJ Tino via Boston crab in a scrappy Strong Survivor match. After the bout, Zane Jay announced that he would be relinquishing the title of…

PROMOTION: WORLD WONDER RING STARDOM • DATE: 04.17-04.18.2025 • LOCATION: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA ONE WEEK BEFORE its scheduled All Star Grand Queendom pay-per-view at the Budokan in Yokohama, Japan, Stardom sent some of its premier performers to Nevada for a two-stop tour during WrestleMania Week. And what the April “Stardom American Dream” cards lacked in major title bouts, they made up for with unique and novel match lineups. At both Las Vegas shows, the likes of Starlight Kid, Mina Shirakawa, and Syuri were joined by rising stars from the American independent circuit. Both cards impressed fans—in person and watching on Triller TV—while offering some fresh contests we may never see again. DAY ONE: SIN CITY A co-presentation with SPARK Joshi Puroresu of America, Stardom American Dream in Sin City took…

PROMOTION: EAST COAST WRESTLING ASSOCIATION • DATE: 03.22.2025 • LOCATION: MORGANVILLE, NEW JERSEY BEFORE LATE-MARCH 2025, Leo Sparrow’s name was generating some buzz in the shadows of the independents. After winning ECWA’s 29th annual Super 8 tournament in front of a stunned Morganville, New Jersey, crowd, the “Son Of The Sun” took a major step into the light. A four-year veteran out of the Create A Pro Wrestling Academy—where he was trained by Pat Buck (WWE), Brian Myers (TNA), and Max Caster (AEW)—Sparrow experienced some success, picking up 32 wins over a three-year period. That’s just one side of him. Sparrow is also a vegan and champion of the planet. His personal goal is to raise awareness and single-handedly save Earth from disaster. Unfortunately, as ECWA recently discovered, there is…

IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT that a team of Italian archaeologists discovers some film cans of never-before-seen footage from the days of the Roman Colosseum. Viewers marvel at scenes of ancient architects directing the placement of limestone columns as gladiators chat casually about their forthcoming contests and animal handlers debate the best feed for their hungry lions. Of course, for a variety of reasons, that scenario is—as Gorilla Monsoon might say—highly unlikely. But Peacock and WWE have now given us the next best thing with the new documentary Becoming a Spectacle, which offers wrestling enthusiasts the purportedly true story of WrestleMania IX. Becoming a Spectacle appropriately frames WrestleMania IX as a turning point in the cultural institution that would eventually become known as “sports entertainment.” Indeed, if one agrees with the…

PRIOR TO THIS YEAR, WWE held Wrestle-Mania in a gambling-centric city on three different occasions—in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1988 and 1989, and in Las Vegas in 1993. And, to put it mildly, none of those events were widely heralded as all-time classics. So, the odds were not with WWE when the company decided to return to Sin City for this year’s WrestleMania. If you placed a bet on WrestleMania 41 being one for the ages, you likely had a tough realization the moment Travis Scott began his (very long) walk down the aisle: You busted. Ante up for this gambling-themed edition of “Quick Count.” FULL HOUSE This year marked the 17th WrestleMania I’ve had the privilege to witness in person. The absurdly high ticket prices relegated me and…

PROMOTION: WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT • DATE: 04.20.2025 • LOCATION: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA WITH WWE BOASTING A two-night attendance figure of 124,693—along with bombastic live gate, streaming, and merchandising numbers—WrestleMania 41 proved to be an undeniable commercial success. Promised seven blockbuster matches on each night, fans packed into Allegiant Stadium expecting big things … and, for the most part, they weren’t disappointed. Although critics remain divided on where this year’s event stands in the pantheon of great WrestleManias, the 41st edition of pro wrestling’s biggest event is unquestionably a supercard to remember. WRESTLEMANIA SATURDAY Following a rendition of “America The Beautiful” by singer Jelly Roll, Wrestle-Mania kicked off in high gear with a World heavyweight title bout. Royal Rumble winner Jey Uso, promised a main-event title shot at this year’s ’Mania,…

PROMOTION: TNA WRESTLING • DATE: 04.17.2025 • LOCATION: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA THE ECHOES OF HISTORY reverberated through the Cox Pavilion Center on April 17, as TNA Wrestling presented its WrestleMania Week offering. Two decades after the original Unbreakable event—a night fondly remembered in TNA lore—fans were eager to see if the company could recapture the same magic of 20 years ago. THE SPIRIT OF 2005 The 2005 iteration of Unbreakable was headlined by the now-iconic three-way X division title match between AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, and Christopher Daniels. So good was the contest that PWI readers named it the top runner-up in Match of the Year voting in that year’s Achievement Awards. Perhaps as a tip of a cap to this, Unbreakable 2025 featured several three-way matches. Things got underway…

PROMOTION: MAJOR LEAGUE WRESTLING • DATE: 04.05.2025 • LOCATION: LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA CONTROVERSY AT BATTLE Riot created interest—and hopefully cash—as occasional guest booker Eric Bischoff forced MLW World champion Matt Riddle to defend against 39 other men in the signature event. Statistically speaking, Riddle would have only a 2.5-percent chance of retaining the championship. Add an international lineup featuring the greatest diversity of styles anywhere, and it was no surprise the show was moved from a hotel/casino in Commerce, California, to the larger-capacity Thunder Studios Arena in Long Beach for a paid attendance of 2,021—certainly impressive for a card available free on YouTube. Truly, where else would you find joshi queen Shoko Nakajima and CW Anderson in the same building? BEFORE THE RIOT Accompanied by Jesus Rodriguez, on-air MLW President…

10. WWE ACQUIRES STORIED LUCHA PROMOTION LUCHA LIBRE AAA. R-Truth responded with excitement, stating that he’s heard great things about their roadside assistance program. 9. JACOB FATU CAPTURES HIS FIRST WWE SINGLES TITLE. In light of his newfound success, “The Samoan Werewolf” announced that he’s going to pause his side gig as that one scary guy at every traveling carnival. 8. AEW DYNAMITE SURPASSES WCW NITRO’S TELEVISION RUN. In another big milestone, the Khan-owned property has also outlasted the entire run of Global Force Wrestling’s Amped … 18 times over. 7. SLAYER COFOUNDER KERRY KING PLAYS DAMIAN PRIEST TO THE RING AT WRESTLEMANIA. For the performance, King unveiled a new guitar tone, which he referred to as “The Tuba Emulator.” 6. SABU WRESTLES HIS RETIREMENT MATCH. The ECW original received congratulatory flowers from Ric…

PROMOTION: ALL ELITE WRESTLING • DATE: 04.06.2025 • LOCATION: PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA ONE OF THE NEWER events on the AEW calendar, the second annual Dynasty show marked the company’s hotly awaited return to the City of Brotherly Love and a packed Liacouras Center. The card also had the unenviable task of following March’s Revolution pay-per-view, which was one of the more widely acclaimed AEW shows in recent memory. Would Tony Khan and company be able to rise to the occasion? The simple answer is “not quite.” However, high expectations aside, Dynasty 2025 still yielded its fair share of memorable matches and moments. Perhaps more importantly, it helped set the stage for more of each in the months to come. OWEN HART CUP First, the good: Dynasty was notable for featuring three matches…

PROMOTION: GAME CHANGER WRESTLING • DATE: 04.17.2025 • LOCATION: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA IN FEBRUARY 1988, Bloodsport (starring Jean-Claude Van Damme) was released in theaters. The premise of the movie focuses on an underground martial-arts tournament called the “Kumite,” where fighters from around the world compete to see whose fighting style is superior. On April 17, 2025, Game Changer Wrestling presented the 13th edition of its own version of the “Kumite” at the Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada. Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport shows have become synonymous with a gritty, realistic style of wrestling that leans heavily into MMA. Combatants can win via submission, knockout, or referee stoppage; and, just as in the movie the shows pay homage to, matches take place in a ring without ropes or turnbuckles. In what was…

PROMOTION: PROGRESS WRESTLING • DATE: 04.18.2025 • LOCATION: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA IN THE WEE HOURS of April 18, PROGRESS Wrestling etched another entry into its rich history with PROGRESS Chapter 179: PROGRESS Las Vegas. Held at the Pearl Theater at Palms Casino Resort, the event had the dubious distinction of starting at midnight local time. We aren’t sure if this was more accommodating than the 8 a.m. start time for the British brand’s fans back home. Either way, PROGRESS Las Vegas received plaudits on both sides of the Atlantic. Things got under way with a high-octane tag team opener that pitted Lykos Gym against the Boisterous Behaviour duo of Leon Slater & Man Like DeReiss. Quick tags and double-team moves were the order of the day from both tandems for a…