For the past two weeks, the TV Guide has turned its focus to Japan, which always has a busy and important start to its calendar year. But the country will take somewhat of a break this weekend, allowing for the rest of the world to get highlighted in today’s column. We have curated nine different shows taking place over the next three days, all available for you to consume via streaming or traditional TV.
The upcoming schedule includes: TNA’s first PPV of 2026, a massive Smackdown from London, the continuation of AEW’s “Maximum Carnage” week, a big show for AAA, and so much more. Let’s get started.
Friday
Limitless Rumble 2026 / 7 p.m. ET / IndependentWrestling.tv
It’s rare for MJF to make an independent wrestling appearance. In fact, he hasn’t done so since 2024, now more than a year ago. But that will change this weekend when he returns to his old stomping grounds, Maine’s Limitless Wrestling, for the promotion’s annual Limitless Rumble card tonight.
MJF will put his AEW World Championship on the line for the second time this week, facing Limitless up-and-comer Alec Price. While the AEW star is a big get for this card, he’s by no means the only big booking for Limitless, who have honestly put together a super-indy of sorts for this evening. The show also sees the rare Eddie Kingston indy booking, teaming with Ortiz to face Channing Thomas and Anthony Greene. The match comes just a day before Ortiz returns to AEW TV in a tag match with Kingston. Donovan Dijak will be in championship action against Dezmond Cole. Oh, and a rumble will take place!
A subscription to the highly underrated IndependentWrestling.tv service gets you live access to tonight’s show.
- Eddie Kingston & Ortiz vs. Channing Thomas & Anthony Greene
- Laynie Luck vs. B3CCA (WWE ID Women’s Championship)
- Dezmond Cole vs. Donovan Dijak (Limitless Wrestling World Championship)
- 2026 Limitless Rumble
- MJF vs. Alec Price (AEW World Championship)
WWE Friday Night Smackdown / 8 p.m. ET / USA Network
A new era for Friday Night Smackdown will start today at the OVO Arena in London, England. After the lengthy reign of Cody Rhodes as Undisputed WWE Champion came to an end last weekend, Drew McIntyre is now the king of the Friday-night brand.
We’re expecting to hear from McIntyre tonight in his first remarks since becoming world champion once again. Tonight will also see the road to finding his first contender begin through four #1 contendership qualifying matches. Eight wrestlers will compete this weekend in singles bouts, with the four winners advancing to a four-way #1 contenders match taking place at Saturday Night’s Main Event later this month.
The bracket features appearances from names like Randy Orton, Damian Priest and Smackdown newcomer Trick Williams. The match I’m most looking forward to is Ilja Dragunov vs. Sami Zayn, a rematch from their U.S. Open Challenge clash last year, which was magical.
Speaking of the Open Challenge, Carmelo Hayes will host another one of those today. Who will answer the call? Many are speculating it could be TNA’s “Youngest in Charge” Leon Slater, who we know is in Europe right now. The only way to find out is to tune in!
Important note: In the U.S., Smackdown will air on the USA Network at its usual 8 p.m. ET start time on a tape delay. However, in markets where Smackdown airs on Netflix, the show will air live at 3 p.m. ET.
- Undisputed WWE Champion Drew McIntyre to appear
- Randy Orton vs. The Miz (Undisputed WWE Championship #1 Contendership Qualifying Match)
- Damian Priest vs. Solo Sikoa (Undisputed WWE Championship #1 Contendership Qualifying Match)
- Sami Zayn vs. Ilja Dragunov (Undisputed WWE Championship #1 Contendership Qualifying Match)
- Matt Cardona vs. Trick Williams (Undisputed WWE Championship #1 Contendership Qualifying Match)
- Carmelo Hayes hosts the U.S. Open Challenge
CMLL Viernes Espectacular / 9:30 p.m. ET / Youtube or Triller PPV
Lucha libre promotion CMLL will head to a sold-out Arena Mexico this evening to kick off their “International Weekend.” Tonight’s card is the first of three Mexico City lineups this weekend which will place AEW stars against CMLL talents. This card has a stellar double main event in Ricochet defending his National title against Titan, and Hechicero going one-on-one with Roderick Strong. Both of those matches have high potential.
Subscribers to CMLL’s paid Youtube page will have access to tonight’s feed. If you don’t want to commit to their paid plan, a one-off pay-per-view is also available for purchase on TrillerTV.
- Magia Blanca & El Hijo del Pantera vs. Polvora & El Coyote
- Valiente Jr., Max Star & Futuro vs. El Cobarde, Felino Jr. & Hijo de Stuka Jr.
- Soberano Jr. & Barbaro Cavernario vs. Bishop Kaun & Toa Liona
- Blue Panther vs. Ultimo Guerrero
- Hechicero vs. Roderick Strong
- Ricochet vs. Titan (AEW National Championship)
Saturday
TNA Genesis 2026 / 8 p.m. ET / Triller PPV or TNA+ PPV
Under 48 hours removed from their debut episode of Impact on AMC, TNA Wrestling will go live this weekend with their first pay-per-view event of the year, Genesis.
This is a card which has, honestly, suffered a few significant blows this week. We learned on Thursday night that the show will be without 21-year-old TNA star Leon Slater, nor will it see rising heel talent Dani Luna get her long-awaited shot at the Knockouts title. They were both in big spots on the card, and their exclusions from this lineup certainly make it harder to justify a steep $34.99 price point.
But, here’s what the show still has: Mike Santana will try to turn back Frankie Kazarian one last time, defending his TNA World Championship in a Texas Death Match. Nic Nemeth, who can still cash in a title opportunity at any time with his Call Your Shot trophy, will be the special guest referee for the match, adding extra drama to the segment – will he be the one walking out with gold in the end?
Lower on the card: The Righteous attempt to dethrone TNA tag champs The Hardys, NXT’s Zaria takes on Lei Ying Lee for the Knockouts title, Mustafa Ali faces the recently-returned Elijah, and JDC has his retirement match against fellow The System member, Eddie Edwards.
Here’s everything set to go down tomorrow night. The show notably has a free kick-off lineup beginning at 7 p.m. ET, although we don’t know what will be on that just yet.
- Rich Swann vs. AJ Francis
- JDC vs. Eddie Edwards
- Mustafa Ali vs. Elijah
- Ryan Nemeth vs. Mara Sadè
- Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy vs. Dutch & Vincent (TNA World Tag Team Championships)
- Joe Hendry vs. Cedric Alexander vs. Moose
- Lei Ying Lee vs. Zaria (TNA Knockouts World Championship)
- Mike Santana vs. Frankie Kazarian (TNA World Championship) (Texas Death Match w/ Nic Nemeth as Special Guest Referee)
AEW Collision: Maximum Carnage / 8 p.m. ET / TNT
AEW has loaded up its lineup for this weekend’s “Maximum Carnage” edition of Collision.
Out of the seven bouts announced for this weekend’s taped edition of the show, the biggest is a six-man tag match which sees Hangman Page team with JetSpeed to challenge for Samoa Joe and The Opps’ six-man tag titles.
Other headlines earlier on the card include: Andrade El Idolo wrestling in AEW for the first time since 2023, Penelope Ford returning to action after an injury kept her out of the ring for over three months, Zayda Steel making her AEW in-ring debut against Marina Shafir, a new AEW National Championship challenger being determined, Ortiz returning to AEW in-ring action for the first time in over a year, and more!
If you don’t want to watch TNA (or simply don’t want to pony up the money to watch a pay-per-view), AEW is a free and stacked option tomorrow night at 8.
- Eddie Kingston & Ortiz vs. James Drake & Zack Gibson
- Andrade El Idolo vs. Angelico
- Dante Martin, Darius Martin & Scorpio Sky vs. Josh Alexander, El Clon & Kyle Fletcher
- Marina Shafir & Zayda Steel
- Penelope Ford & Megan Bayne in action
- Jungle Jack Perry vs. Anthony Bowens (AEW National Championship #1 Contenders Match)
- Hangman Page, Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey vs. Samoa Joe, Katsuyori Shibata & Powerhouse Hobbs (AEW World Trios Championships)
GCW Code of the Streets / 9 p.m. ET / TrillerTV+
GCW will head to Dallas, Texas, this Saturday night to present Code of the Streets, their second event of 2026. The show will feature one of the final qualifying matches for the upcoming Jersey J-Cup tournament as part of the busy lineup set for Gilley’s in Dallas. One of my favorites, Gringo Loco, will take on Samuray Del Sol in a matchup I’m personally really looking forward to. If you are craving something more of the indie flavor this Saturday night, GCW has the best option for that.
- Effy vs. KJ Orso
- Gringo Loco vs. Samuray Del Sol
- Shotzi Blackheart vs. Emersyn Jayne
- Krule vs. Dimitri Alexandrov
- Megan Bayne vs. Priscilla Kelly
- Brick Savage vs. Thomas Shire
- Aaron West vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Max Heights vs. Oro vs. Vengador vs. Gavin Ash (Jersey J-Cup Qualifier Match)
- Matt Tremont vs. Otis Cogar (GCW Ultraviolent Championship)
- Atticus Cogar vs. 1 Called Manders (GCW World Championship)
AAA on FOX Premiere / 9 p.m. ET / Youtube
WWE-owned Lucha Libre brand AAA will make its debut on FOX Latin America this weekend, hosting a live event from the Arena Ciudad de Mexico in Mexico City. The biggest match on the show will see El Hijo de Vikingo attempt to begin his road toward a third reign with the AAA Mega Championship, meeting El Grande Americano in a #1 contenders match. The winner will go on to face Dominik Mysterio, who is currently out of action with an injury.
While just a few matches have been announced, we also know that Omos, the giant who WWE have kept inactive for the better part of a year, will return as part of the show.
- La Parka, Nino Hamburguesa & Mr. Iguana vs. Abismo Negro, Taurus & Histeria
- Flammer vs. Lady Shani
- El Grande Americano vs. El Hijo del Vikingo (AAA Mega Championship #1 Contenders)
Sunday
Mystery Wrestling #21 / 12 p.m. ET / Twitch.tv
The Canadian cult-following brand of Mystery Wrestling will head to the U.K. for the first time ever on Sunday night, presenting a show from the Cathays Community Centre in Cardiff, Wales. Mystery Wrestling’s whole schtick is that nothing gets announced ahead of time, so you never know what to expect. You would think that might make some shows underdeliver, but that has never really been the case for the Evil Uno-run brand through nearly two-dozen events. If you’re free on Sunday afternoon, this is well worth your time.
- I’d place a lineup here… If I had one!!!
GCW Crime Wave / 6 p.m. ET / TrillerTV+
GCW will close out this weekend’s lineup with Crime Wave from Wichita, Kansas. A lot of the names from Saturday night’s card will also be appearing here, an intriguing match for me is the tag bout with Cowboy Way facing Unsigned and Don’t Care.
- Samuray Del Sol vs. Vengador
- Shotzi Blackheart vs. KJ Orso
- Jordan Oliver vs. Oro
- Effy vs. Gringo Loco
- Gavin Ash vs. Terry Yaki
- Thomas Shire & 1 Called Manders vs. Aaron Williams & Gary Jay
- Matt Tremont vs. Brick Savage (GCW Ultraviolent Championship)
- Atticus Cogar vs. Priscilla Kelly (GCW World Championship)
