This weekend’s wrestling schedule includes big WWE title matchups in Italy, a high-stakes mask-versus-mask showdown headlining AAA’s card in Monterrey, junior heavyweight action in Japan, and much more! Here’s a selection of more than half-dozen shows taking place this weekend on streaming and TV, plus the details on where and when to watch them. Let’s get started!
Friday
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Night 9 / 5:30 a.m. ET / NJPW World
NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament is just past its halfway point, with just half a dozen shows left to go. Tournament action will continue this weekend with two events, including one which aired this morning from the Niigata Tsubame Civic Gymnasium.
Today’s show has a focus on the A Block, which is currently led by CMLL star Titan. While the luchador continues to have a solid lead over the rest of the division, decorated junior heavyweights like past tournament winners Master Wato and Kosei Fujita as well as deathmatch star Jun Kasai are creeping up on him in the standings. Both Titan vs. Nick Wayne and Kosei Fujita vs. Valiente Jr. in the main event seem like matches which could be fun.
- Tiger Mask vs. Tatsuya Matsumoto
- Daisuke Sasaki, Masatora Yasuda & Toru Yano vs. Hartley Jackson, Robbie Eagles & Ryohei Oiwa
- Dick Togo & SHO vs. Gedo & Taiji Ishimori
- El Desperado, KUSHIDA & YOH vs. Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young & Zane Jay
- Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Hyo (B Block)
- Master Wato vs. Daiki Nagai (A Block)
- Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Robbie X (A Block)
- Titan vs. Nick Wayne (A Block)
- Kosei Fujita vs. Valiente Jr. (A Block)
WWE Friday Night Smackdown / 8 p.m. ET* / USA Network
Two nights before WWE heads to Italy, the Friday Night Smackdown brand will touch down at the Olimpic Arena in Barcelona, Spain, for a special episode. This show is likely to feature the go-home angle for Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes and Gunther’s Clash in Italy match, as well as something involving Jade Cargill and Rhea Ripley. So far, however, all we know for sure is that The Miz will be in action one-on-one with Axiom as part of an ongoing midcard feud.
*Note: While this event will air at its usual start time of 8 p.m. ET in America, international viewers will be able to tune in live on Netflix at the show’s local start time of 2 p.m. ET.
- Axiom vs. The Miz
Saturday
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors Night 10 / 2 a.m. ET / NJPW World
BOSJ action from NJPW will continue on Saturday morning with a card from the Takaoka Techno Dome (yes, that’s the real name). The B Block remains incredibly tight, with Francesco Akira, SHO, and El Desperado all tied for first place. When looking at the matches for this lineup, I’m especially looking forward to KUSHIDA tangling up with El Desperado, and DDT’s Daisuke Sasaki facing Robbie Eagles.
- Daiki Nagai & Robbie X vs. Taisei Nakahara & Tatsuya Matsumoto
- Nick Wayne & Valiente Jr. vs. Masatora Yasuda & Tiger Mask
- Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Francesco Akira & Zane Jay
- Kosei Fujita & Ryohei Oiwa vs. Gedo & Titan
- Hyo vs. Jakob Austin Young (B Block)
- Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. YOH (B Block)
- Daisuke Sasaki vs. Robbie Eagles (B Block)
- KUSHIDA vs. El Desperado (B Block)
- Taiji Ishimori vs. SHO (B Block)
AEW Collision / 8 p.m. ET / TNT
A live edition of AEW Collision will go down tomorrow night, with action taking place from the Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama. We currently know that the show will include AEW World Trios Champions The Conglomeration putting their titles on the line against Rocky Romero, Trent Beretta, and Lance Archer of the Don Callis Family. In another match with title implications, Divine Dominion will try to beat the TayJay duo in under five minutes as part of their latest women’s tag title eliminator.
We’re officially on the road to Forbidden Door, and no better way to get ready for the upcoming pay-per-view than with some crossover action. STARDOM vet Hazuki will be in singles action this weekend against Maya World. And staying on the topic of the women’s division, we also know that AEW will announce their plans for crowning the next TBS Champion, as the title has been vacant since Willow Nightingale relinquished it due to injury last week.
- TBS Championship situation to be addressed
- Hazuki vs. Maya World
- Lena Kross & Megan Bayne vs. Anna Jay & Tay Melo (AEW Women’s World Tag Team Championships Five-Minute Eliminator)
- Kyle O’Reilly, Orange Cassidy & Roderick Strong vs. Lance Archer, Rocky Romero & Trent Beretta (AEW World Trios Championships)
AAA Noche de los Grandes / 10 p.m. ET / Youtube
In arguably the biggest event since WWE’s purchase of the company last year, AAA will head to Arena Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico on Saturday night for Noche de Los Grandes. While there are some fun matches on the undercard, like El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. facing Vikingo, the main attraction is the incredibly-hyped mask-versus-mask match between the two El Grande Americanos.
The feud between the two Americanos has been built up for months, first igniting at the Royal Rumble when the “Original” version of the character returned. If you haven’t checked out clips of how hot this rivalry is in Mexico, it’s must-see. And because of that, this high-stakes feud between the Americanos is one of, if not the most exciting match of the weekend.
Much like all AAA content as of late, the program will be free to watch for American fans live at 10 p.m. ET tomorrow.
- Laredo Kid vs. Rey Fenix (AAA World Cruiserweight Championship)
- Pagano & Psycho Clown vs. Erik & Ivar (AAA World Tag Team Championships)
- El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. El Hijo del Vikingo (AAA Latin American Championship)
- El Grande Americano vs. The Original El Grande Americano (Mask vs. Mask)
Sunday
WWE Clash in Italy / 2 p.m. ET / ESPN Unlimited
The country of Italy will receive its first-ever WWE PPV/PLE on Sunday night, playing host to “Clash in Italy.” Attendees at the 16,000-capacity Inalpi Arena in Turin will be seeing some high-stakes matchups, including three of the four top singles titles on the line.
Rematches will be the theme of the night, as nearly all bouts are a do-over for a recent event.
The biggest matchup of the night is a rematch between Roman Reigns and Jacob Fatu, meeting for the second time with the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on the line. The feud between these two has gotten even more personal over the past few weeks, causing the rematch to be held under Tribal Combat rules — a type of match Reigns is notably two-for-two in.
In another big Monday Night Raw feud, Brock Lesnar will return to the ring and attempt to get back his loss to Obe Femi, an impressively quick performance that was one of the stand-out moments from this year’s Wrestlemania. In another Mania second chance, Jade Cargill will look to reclaim the WWE Women’s Championship against Rhea Ripley.
The show will also see Gunther look to end Cody Rhodes’ run as Undisputed WWE Champion, and will feature recent NXT call-up Sol Ruca looking for her first main roster title, challenging WWE Women’s Intercontinental Champion Becky Lynch.
Since the show is over in Italy, it’ll have an earlier than usual start time of 2 p.m. ET. You’ll need a subscription to ESPN Unlimited to catch the entire event, but the first hour will be simulcast on ESPN’s main TV channel as well.
- Rhea Ripley vs. Jade Cargill (WWE Women’s Championship)
- Cody Rhodes vs. Gunther (Undisputed WWE Championship)
- Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi
- Becky Lynch vs. Sol Ruca (WWE Women’s Intercontinental Championship)
- Roman Reigns vs. Jacob Fatu (WWE World Heavyweight Championship) (Tribal Combat)
Four more options to consider for this weekend
- The annual King of DDT single-elimination tournament will wrap up this Sunday with a card from Korakuen Hall. The semi-finals and finals of the bracket will take place on the same night, with the remaining competitors being MAO, Danshoku Dieno, Shinya Aoki, and Minoru Suzuki. (Wrestle Universe)
- The NOAH Global Tag League will continue this weekend with shows on Saturday and Sunday. The A Block is currently tied at the top, with Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI, as well as the Good Brothers holding four points. The B Block is much closer, with the MaruKen duo, Yoshiki Inamura’s team, and the unlikely pairing of Manabu Soya and Yuki Iino all sitting tied for first. (Wrestle Universe)
- Last weekend, GCW visited France for a co-promoted card with Banger Zone Wrestling, then made their debut in Italy the next day for a show alongside Squash a Jobber Wrestling. Both shows didn’t air live, but can be viewed for the first time as part of tape-delayed broadcasts on TrillerTV+ this weekend.
- Utami Hayashishita will wrestle inside a STARDOM ring for the first time in two years on Saturday night, returning to the promotion with a match as part of the brand’s show in Kobe. She’ll also be back the following night in Kyoto, as well. Both shows will be available to stream on STARDOM World.
