FSW ID Showcase (4.16.26) review 

 

April 16, 2026 

 

WRESTLEMANIA WEEK REVIEW #20 

 

We’re in Las Vegas, Nevada at the cool looking Hyper X Arena. Home for the Ladies Night Out show. Hosts are Trevin Adams & Jake Black. This is the WWE indies show. I normally wouldn’t watch this shit, but I’m trying to do everything so here we are.  

 

WWE ID Championship 

Starboy Charlie (c) vs. Marcus Mathers 

This is like watching two children pretend to do something they’ve seen adults doing. It’s very dancy with lots of copying of famous wrestlers in recent years. If this is the future of pro-wrestling, you can fucking keep it. I wonder how many Will Ospreay matches Marcus Mathers has watched? I’d wager there’s been a few. I’ve seen him wrestle too, bro. I recognise that shit. Charlie does something called a Cosmic Swirl, and it completely misses. Like, doesn’t even touch Mathers and comms call it “beautiful”. I call it shit, lads. You can do all the flips in the world but if you completely miss…what’s the point?  

 

Anyway, no one cares. This just exists to get these guys reps in front of an audience. Charlie finishes with the SSP. This is not my style of wrestling at all. They both need to work on two things. 1. Why should I care about you? 2. Intensity. **. I was borderline bored here. Two young guys going through the motions.  

 

Post Match: Sam Holloway beats up Charlie and says they’re all too SAWFT around here. He calls out Tim Thatcher and let’s go, I guess. 

Ring announcer points out this is a “WWE ID SHOWCASE”. The whole show is? She did this ahead of each match, and it really grated at me.  

 

Sam Holloway vs. Timothy Thatcher 

Tim is way too nice. He should fucking cream this little cunt and teach him the business. That’s not what Thatcher is about though. He’s going to sell for Sam and help him to get over.  

Holloway, who complains of others being too soft, works too soft. Oh, the irony. Tim sells it anyway. He’s just too nice. Holloway tries to pin Tim when he’s face down at one point. What a goober. Tim catches Holloway in the Fujiwara armbar and gets the submission. I’m shocked Tim didn’t lose. It feels like he enjoys putting people over. This was very solid, but Holloway is a long way off being useful. **¼ 

 

Jha’Quan McNair vs. Jarial Rivera vs. Jimmy House 

The ring announcer again points out this is a WWE ID Showcase. No shit. McNair is surely on the gas. He looks JACKED. To be fair, they all look like they live in the gym and were trained exclusively by WWE. That’s not a compliment. This feels entirely soulless from start to finish. Some Codebreaker thing gets it done for Rivera. Zero reaction. This felt like three children playing a video game. ½*  

 

Brittnie Brooks vs. Valentina Rossi 

Brooks is ok. I’ve seen her a few times this weekend and she’s got by. I’ve seen Rossi once so this is my first singles with her in. She…needs work. There’s no real follow through or follow up on anything. Brooks tries to sell the arm here, and she fails on a sunset flip because of the arm. I can see that. Good work. Rossi is a tough sell though. Her movements around the ring are bad. It’s funny that Brooks is the only one not on an “ID” deal, when she has the best range of skills. Brooks wins when Rossi does a lazy pin. Brooks is streets ahead of Rossi. I can only assume she has much more experience. Rossi was a struggle here. *½ 

 

Airica Demia vs. Fallyn Grey 

Anime gamergirl nerd vs. Bird. This is the kind of match where two workers know their entrance down to the last detail but have no distinct style in the ring. WWE has a lot to answer for, and we’re seeing it right here, live and in person. Grey tries to sell the leg a bit and that’s hit and miss. If you have a bad knee, which you sell for several minutes, do not hit a Codebreaker and then not sell at all. Just a tip. Then the 619, which puts far less impact on the knee, and there’s the selling again. Demia wins with a poorly executed shotei. No reaction from the crowd. * 

 

Mike Cunningham vs. It’s GAL 

Interesting GAL hails from “Mount Olympus” because Tel Aviv probably wouldn’t go over well. Triple H’s obsession with body guys is sickening. I’m so sick of everyone he signs looking exactly the same. GAL’s corner strikes in this look laughable. I think my biggest beef with this show is there are too many people who aren’t TV ready. I shouldn’t be seeing these people yet. Cunningham tries some sort of springboard to the floor, and it looks wrong. GAL springboards into…something. This match just isn’t quite there, across the board. Springboard dropkick finishes for GAL. This was not good. * 

 

WWE ID Women’s Championship 

Laynie Luck (c) vs. Notorious Mimi 

I’ve only seen Mimi against good wrestlers like J-Rod and Brittnie Brooks.  

Mimi struggles with her set ups, her selling and her positioning here. She is good at strikes and she plays to the crowd a little more than everyone else on this show. Luck seems proficient at bumping around and working underneath. I’m not sold on Mimi controlling the pace. It feels a bit rushed. It does improve as the match goes on, and she feels less inclined to fill the time with spots and remembers her character. And her character does work. I can feel it. Which is better than a lot of the other robotic performances on this show.  

 

Mimi has an issue with telegraphing stuff that’s about to get blocked. A slow motion punch that’s way off target is about to get blocked? I am shocked. Laynie Luck is solid and more creative in her spot work. You can see why she’s the champion around here. They do a tornado DDT, and it sucks, and everyone knows it sucks. They do a better job on the DVD finish from Luck. This was ok. It felt too long and Mimi isn’t there yet, but I get the feeling she will be. **¼  

 

WWE EVOLVE Championship 

Aaron Rourke (c) vs. Cappucino Jones 

I don’t want to say no one cares about this show, but I see multiple people on their phones, and this is the main event. Rourke is one of the most annoying wrestlers I’ve seen all weekend. Thigh slapping his little heart out and visibly having a chat with Cap during the match. Exposing the business.  

 

The crowd start chanting “this is awesome”, which I cannot understand or condone. Even when Rourke does some interesting stuff, it’s just WWE superstars moves. Like Vaquer’s Human Centipede gimmick or Charlotte’s Figure Eight. There’s a hundred years of pro-wrestling, and you’re pulling from this week’s Smackdown for your whole shtick. Rourke’s finish, a 450 press is kinda neat, but it is his finisher. This match was a chore to sit through. ½*  

 

The 411: 

Sanitised, cookie cutter pro-wrestling. Each of these matches in a vaccuum would probably score a little better. Having a bunch of trainee style, early NXT, Performance Center shite one after another made this one of the hardest shows to watch all weekend. Wrestling is a variety show. Here, we’re trying to force people with less in-ring experience against others in the same boat. Look at wrestling throughout history and it works better when talent learns from older talent. Randy Orton didn’t get good wrestling Ted DiBiase Jr did he? I worry that WWE is producing the most boring generation of wrestlers we’ve ever seen.  

 

“Well, I went to school in Olympia and everyone’s the same. We look the same. We talk the same. We even fuck the same” – Courtney Love (Rock Star, 1994) 

 

 

 

Show Ranking:   

Effy’s Big Gay Brunch 8.0  

WWE Wrestlemania N2 7.8  

NJPW Death Vegas 7.5  

Wrestlecon Supershow 6.3   

HOG Culture Clash 6.1 

MLP Multiverse 5.9  

Dragon Gate USA: Gate of Sin City 5.8   

Progress 5.6   

Bloodsport 5.5  

Spring Break 5.2  

Gringo Loco’s WRLD on Lucha 5.0  

Clusterfuck 4.6  

Ladies Night Out 16 4.5   

Hybrid x PWU Midnight Xpress 4.1   

MDK Fight Club 4.0   

Wrestlemania N1 3.8  

CCW High Rollers 3.4   

Podermania~! 3.1  

FSW ID Showcase 2.8  

Juggalos 2.2   

  

Best Matches:   

Tremont & Gage vs. Takeda & Yamashita vs. Desperado & Kasai (NJPW Death Vegas) ****¼   

Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk (Wrestlemania N2) ****¼  

Brick Savage vs. Mad Dog Connelly (Effys Big Gay Brunch) **** 

Bandido vs. Amazing Red (HOG Culture Clash) **** 

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Fuminori Abe (NJPW Death Vegas) ***¾   

Mark Davis vs. Masato Tanaka (Wrestlecon Supershow) ***¾   

Man Like Dereiss vs. Michael Oku (Progress) ***½   

Tim Thatcher vs. Charlie Dempsey (Bloodsport) ***½  

Gisele Shaw vs. Persephone vs. Killer Kelly vs. Shotzi Blackheart (MLP) ***¼  

Gunther vs. Seth Rollins (Wrestlemania N1) ***¼  

Manders vs. Thomas Shire (Hybrid/PWU) ***¼   

Zack Sabre Jr vs. Effy (Effys Big Gay Brunch) ***¼  

IC ladder match (Wrestlemania N2) ***¼  

Jacob Fatu vs. Drew McIntyre (Wrestlemania N1) *** 

Bandido vs. Galeno del Mal (Wrestlecon Supershow) ***  

Hechicero vs. Jonathan Gresham (MLP) *** 

Perry & Stunt vs. Stackhouse & Orso (Spring Break) *** 

Charles Mason vs. Michael Oku (HOG Culture Clash) *** 

Ben K & Hyo vs. Aero Panther & Fight Panther Jr vs. Jordan Oliver & Alec Price (DGUSA) ***  

Fuminori Abe vs. Erick Stevens (Bloodsport) *** 

Thunder Rosa vs. Julissa Mexa (WRLD on Lucha) *** 

Dark Sheik vs. Nyla Rose (Effys Big Gay Brunch) *** 

10 person tag (Effys Big Gay Brunch) *** 

 

Sandman vs. Invisible Man (Spring Break) 

  

Matches watched: 154 

Number of coffees drunk; 13 

Number of Geoguessr seeds played as a welcoming distraction: 9 

Number of motivational/tactical Irn Bru’s drunk: 8