All around the clock, this weekend is a busy one for wrestling. Between AEW’s first pay-per-view of the year, AAA’s Rey de Reyes event getting started, both NJPW and STARDOM continuing their top annual single elimination tournaments and much more, there’s a ton of options over the next 72 hours. We have picked out nearly a dozen cards to consider for the next few days. Let’s get started!
Friday
NJPW New Japan Cup Night 7 / 5:30 a.m. ET / NJPW World
This weekend’s action has already started, as NJPW continued its New Japan Cup tournament this morning from Osaka, Japan. 12 men remain in the promotion’s top single-elimination tournament of the year, and a couple more will be out of the mix following today’s second-round action.
Hirooki Goto will make his first appearance of this year’s tournament in the main event, going one-on-one with recent title challenger Jake Lee. Will this bracket give Goto the chance to begin his second quest towards the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship? Catch the replay on NJPW World to see whether he can.
The other second round bout of the evening will see United Empire leader Callum Newman face off against TMDK’s Hartley Jackson. Here’s how the card looks:
- Shota Umino & Masatora Yasuda vs. Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi
- YOSHI-HASHI, Satoshi Kojima & Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa & Kosei Fujita
- Boltin Oleg, Aaron Wolf & Toru Yano vs. Ren Narita, Don Fale & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- Yuya Uemura & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shingo Takagi & Drilla Moloney
- Yota Tsuji, Yuto-Ice, OSKAR, Gedo & Daiki Nagai vs. HENARE, Great-O-Khan, Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young & Zane Jay
- Hartley Jackson vs. Callum Newman (New Japan Cup Second Round)
- Hirooki Goto vs. Jake Lee (New Japan Cup Second Round)
WWE Friday Night Smackdown / 8 p.m. ET / USA Network
We learned last week that Randy Orton’s Wrestlemania opponent will actually be Cody Rhodes instead of Drew McIntyre, as “The American Nightmare” snatched the Undisputed WWE Championship on Smackdown. In their first meeting since the title change, Wrestlemania opponents Rhodes and Orton will meet for a contract signing tonight at the PHX Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.
This evening’s card will also see WWE Women’s Champion Jade Cargill in non-title match action, and an appearance from Jelly Roll.
- Michin vs. Jade Cargill
- Jelly Roll to appear
- Cody Rhodes & Randy Orton meet in Wrestlemania contract signing
CMLL Viernes Espectacular / 10:30 p.m. ET / Youtube
While AEW talent will be Los Angeles-bound this weekend, Claudio Castagnoli will be heading to Mexico City this evening for a high-stakes title fight.
Castagnoli will defend his CMLL World Heavyweight Championship in the headlining spot of an Arena Mexico card, looking to continue a reign which just crossed the 100-day mark. He’ll look to once again take down Ultimo Guerrero, who he defended against as part of a card back in December.
Will Castagnoli be able to keep his reign alive? Or will Guerrero, who has held the title for a combined over 2,000 days over the course of his career, begin a third run with the belt? Paid subscribers to CMLL’s Youtube channel will be able to watch live during the late-night hours of this evening.
- Shockercito vs. Full Metal
- Magia Blanca, Tornado & Rey Pegasus vs. Raider, Espanto Jr. & El Gallero
- Tessa Blanchard, Lluvia, La Jarochita & La Magnifica vs. Persephone, Zeuxis, Olympia & Keyra
- Flip Gordon, Esfinge & Xelhua vs. Barbaro Cavernario, Gran Guerrero & Yutani
- Atlantis Jr., Templario & Titan vs. Volador Jr., Soberano Jr., & Angel de Oro
- Claudio Castagnoli vs. Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL World Heavyweight Championship)
Saturday
NJPW New Japan Cup Night 8 / 4 a.m. ET / NJPW World
The second round of this year’s NJPW New Japan Cup will wrap up tomorrow when the promotion travels to Nagoya. The main event has the potential to deliver, as TMDK faction leader Zack Sabre Jr. will battle with understudy Ryohei Oiwa. These two competed as part of last year’s New Japan Cup and put on an entertaining 19-minute contest, which they’ll try to follow up on tomorrow.
The other tournament matchup will see Yujiro Takahashi try to continue the tournament success for House of Torture by getting past Shota Umino.
- Yujiro Takahashi vs. Shota Umino (New Japan Cup Second Round)
- Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ryohei Oiwa (New Japan Cup Second Round)
AEW Collision / 8 p.m. ET / TNT
A taped go-home episode of AEW Collision is set to take place tomorrow night, providing a final preview for some of Revolution’s matches.
While it’s hard to expect too much from these matches, as they are just a means to preview Sunday’s card, there are two pairings I’m overly giddy about here: Kevin Knight vs. El Clon, and Andrade El Idolo vs. Mascara Dorada. Knight and Clon have been on fire as of late and could produce some magic. Andrade has been fun as well, and Dorada is one of CMLL’s most fun names at the moment.
It’s also important that Saturday’s show will give a spotlight to the Thekla and Kris Statlander title match this weekend, which didn’t get much mention on Wednesday’s Dynamite. Thekla will be in action with the rest of the Triangle of Madness, and we’ll hear from Statlander.
- Kevin Knight vs. El Clon
- Lena Kross vs. Mina Shirakawa
- Andrade El Idolo vs. Mascara Dorada
- Mark Davis vs. Komander
- Ricochet, Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona vs. Ace Austin, Juice Robinson & Austin Gunn
- Triangle of Madness in action
- We’ll hear from Kris Statlander
GCW Ashes to Ashes / 9 p.m. ET / TrillerTV+
GCW will head to the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, this weekend for a doubleheader of cards, beginning on Saturday with Ashes to Ashes. While Saturday’s show features numerous interesting bouts, including AEW’s Blake Christian taking on ex-WWE ID talent Marcus Mathers, a big spotlight on the night will be on Marko Stunt’s “goodbye to professional wrestling.”
Stunt quietly retired from wrestling in recent years, citing health concerns, ending a run which saw him as a stand-out both in GCW and AEW. He’ll come back for one last night tomorrow evening in a promotion which played a huge factor in his career.
- Mr. Danger vs. Jimmy Lloyd
- Alec Price vs. Gary Jay
- John Wayne Murdoch vs. Vipress
- Blake Christian vs. Marcus Mathers
- Otis Cogar vs. Conor Claxton (GCW Ultraviolent Championship)
- Atticus Cogar vs. Slade (GCW World Championship)
- Marko Stunt says goodbye to professional wrestling
AAA Rey de Reyes / 10 p.m. ET / Youtube
AAA’s annual Rey de Reyes event will begin on Saturday night with a live broadcast from Puebla, Mexico. Similar to what WWE does with NXT and EVOLVE’s TV specials, this year’s Rey de Reyes will air over the course of numerous weeks. While the later episodes will be taped, tomorrow night’s hour-long broadcast will be live.
Two of AAA’s top feuds will be showcased on tomorrow’s show: A long-awaited rematch between AAA Mega Champion Dominik Mysterio and El Hijo del Vikingo will take place, following up on their first showdown from all the way back in September. Vikingo will try to begin his third Mega title reign while competing under a no-disqualification stipulation.
The card will also include the annual Rey de Reyes match. Santos Escobar, who only made his in-ring TV return on last week’s show, will be in a four-way featuring the currently feuding El Grande Americanos, as well as La Parka.
A Flammer title match and a Penta appearance are also set for Saturday’s show:
- Penta to appear
- Flammer vs. TBA (AAA Reina de Reinas Championship Open Challenge)
- El Grande Americano vs. Santos Escobar vs. The Original El Grande Americano vs. La Parka (Rey de Reyes 2026 Final)
- Dominik Mysterio vs. El Hijo del Vikingo (AAA Mega Championship) (No Disqualification)
Sunday
NJPW New Japan Cup Night 9 / 2 a.m. ET / NJPW World
Quarter-final action for the NJPW New Japan Cup will kick-off Sunday in Yamanashi. With just eight left by this point, we’re getting down to the serious matchups, like a bout between Shingo Takagi and Yuya Uemura which is set for this card. Uemura has never beaten Takagi one-on-one in their three past meetings. Going face-to-face for the first time in two years, maybe Uemura will finally be able to get that elusive win.
And while I’m not excited to see Boltin Oleg try and overcome the tiresome cheating antics from House of Torture, he has been a fun one to watch recently and could possibly get something out of Ren Narita in the main event.
- Shingo Takagi vs. Yuya Uemura (New Japan Cup Quarter-Final)
- Ren Narita vs. Boltin Oleg (New Japan Cup Quarter-Final)
STARDOM Cinderella Tournament 2026 Finals / 3:30 a.m. ET / StageCrowd PPV
Remember how, in last week’s column, I told you to catch STARDOM’s Cinderella Tournament while you can? Just one week later, the tournament is nearly complete. The good news: If you haven’t caught any of the bracket action just yet, it’s not too late. Sunday’s show, streaming live on STARDOM World, will see both the semi-final and finals take place from the Yokohama Budokan. Still in the running this year are 2024 winner Hanan, 2025 runner-up Rina, former Future of STARDOM Champion Miyu Amasaki, and Aya Sakura.
Sunday’s show also features a pair of title matchups, as well as the return of Saya Kamitani, wrestling for the first time since her 27-minute bout against Starlight Kid last month, which caused her to undergo surgery due to a hand injury.
- Hanan vs. Aya Sakura (Cinderella Tournament Semi-Final)
- Miyu Amasaki vs. Rina (Cinderella Tournament Semi-Final)
- HANAKO vs. Ranna Yagami (Future of STARDOM Championship)
- Hazuki vs. India Sioux (CMLL Japan Women’s Championship)
- Saya Kamitani & Konami vs. Natsupoi & Sayaka Kurara
- Cinderella Tournament Final
GCW So Much Fun / 6 p.m. ET / TrillerTV+
Want to catch something before AEW goes live? GCW will begin its second night in Atlantic City on early Sunday evening, presenting a show featuring Atticus Cogar defending against Slade for the first time, AEW’s YDNP putting their tag titles on the line, and the tag duo of Allie Katch and Effy, Bussy, reuniting in a GCW ring for the first time in a year and a half.
- Charles Mason vs. Terry Yaki
- Bussy vs. Unsigned & Don’t Care
- Bear Bronson vs. Beastman
- Matt Tremont vs. Christian Napier (Career vs. Title Shot)
- Alec Price & Jordan Oliver vs. Don Freeze vs. Ruckus (GCW Tag Team Championships)
- Atticus Cogar vs. Slade (GCW World Championship)
AEW Revolution / 8 p.m. ET / PPV
We’re saving the best for last this weekend, as the top event of the next few days is undoubtedly AEW Revolution. The pay-per-view event, AEW’s first of the year, sees the promotion return to the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, for a stacked lineup.
AEW PPVs always have too many strong matchups to discuss all at once. The main event will see MJF try to beat Hangman Adam Page at his own game, putting his AEW World Championship on the line in a Texas Deathmatch. Earlier in the night, Thekla will try to end her feud with Kris Statlander for good when they meet in a best two out of three falls bout.
Personally, I think there are a few picks for matchups that could steal the show: Andrade El Idolo vs. Bandido, if given an adequate amount of time, could be a banger. Jon Moxley and Konosuke Takeshita meeting in their trilogy bout should undoubtedly be a highlight. And I’m expecting something fun when Mistico teams with JetSpeed to take on the Okada & Aussie Open.
AEW has brought out some really great matchups for its first PPV of the year. I have high expectations for a ton of it, and the matches I highlighted were just scratching the lineup’s surface. Here’s the full card:
- Big Boom AJ & QT Marshall vs. Carlie Bravo & Shawn Dean (Zero Hour)
- Willow Nightingale vs. Lena Kross (TBS Championship) (Zero Hour)
- AEW National Championship 21-Man Blackjack Battle Royal (Zero Hour)
- Darby Allin, Orange Cassidy & Roderick Strong vs. David Finlay, Gabe Kidd & Clark Connors
- Willow Nightingale & Harley Cameron vs. Megan Bayne & Lena Kross (AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championships)
- Toni Storm vs. Marina Shafir
- Swerve Strickland vs. Brody King
- Andrade El Idolo vs. Bandido
- Kazuchika Okada, Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis vs. Kevin Knight, Mike Bailey & Mistico
- Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (AEW World Tag Team Championships)
- Jon Moxley vs. Konosuke Takeshita (AEW Continental Championship)
- Thekla vs. Kris Statlander (AEW Women’s World Championship) (Best Two out of Three Falls)
- MJF vs. Hangman Adam Page (AEW World Championship) (Texas Death Match)
