Revisiting the best of bouts
‘Warrior Wrestling-Greatest Matches’ counts down its 50 best contests at Marian Catholic High School
Pro wrestling fans can watch weekly TV shows from WWE, All Elite Wrestling and Impact Wrestling to Ring of Honor Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance and Major League Wrestling.
Stars from those promotions and others have competed at Chicago Heights’ Marian Catholic High School and are featured on “Warrior WrestlingGreatest Matches,” which premieres episodes Thursday nights through late spring on YouTube.
“We are in a bit of a hibernation. When we finished the Stadium Series in September we told everybody the reason we did three shows in three weeks was we’d probably be off,” Warrior Wrestling owner Steve Tortorello said.
“With this long lull it was a great time to share some matches we’ve had over the years for fans who were there and fans who may not have been there. It keeps us relevant and hopefully builds excitement for when we return in summer.”
Episode 1, which premiered Jan. 7, included Darby Allin (current AEW TNT champion) vs. Jay Bradley (formerly Aiden O’Shea in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Ryan Braddock in WWE) from September 2018’s Warrior Wrestling 2.
The first episode also included AEW’s Luchasaurus and Tay Conti (formerly Taynara Conti in WWE’s NXT) vs. Impact Wrestling’s Chris Bey and Women of Wrestling’s Ray Lyn in an intergender match from Sept. 19’s Warrior Wrestling Stadium Series Night 2.
“We started with a fan survey. The original intent was to do the top 25 matches,” said Tortorello, a Tinley Park native who lives in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood.
“We’ve had 150 matches, give or take. We asked fans for their opinion. We asked wrestlers for their opinion. We asked crew members for their opinion. We developed a list of 25 and shared it internally. We went back and decided to expand it to 50.”
Episode 2 featured Lance Archer, Brian Pillman Jr., Sam Adonis, Michael Elgin, Aramis, Black Taurus, Andrew Everett and more in a War of Attrition match from February 2020’s Warrior Wrestling 8 to crown a new champion.
“There are heavyweight matches, lucha libre matches, women’s matches. That’s always been our goal — to serve a buffet of wrestling. That has been what’s on display so far and will continue to be on display for the matches going forward,” Tortorello said.
“We’ve been lucky to find people who are on their way up as well as work with people who are already established. We’ve always tried to find the best talent and talent that people have not heard of that we hope they will be talking about.”
The free show’s third episode included Pentagon (aka Penta El Zero M in AEW and current Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide tag team champion as Pentagon Jr.) vs. Matt Sydal (formerly Evan Bourne in WWE) vs. DJZ (currently Joaquin Wilde in WWE’s NXT) from Warrior Wrestling’s first show in May 2018.
Episode 3 also includes Alex Shelley vs. TJP (current Impact Wrestling X Division champ) from Sept. 12’s Warrior Wrestling Stadium Series 1 and Brian Cage vs. El Phantasmo (aka ELP and current New Japan Pro-Wrestling IWGP junior heavyweight tag team champ) from December 2019’s Warrior Wrestling 7.
“We wanted this to get to as many people as possible so we did not want it hidden behind a paywall,” Tortorello said about “Warrior Wrestling-Greatest Matches,” which is sponsored by Wrestling Travel and Highspots Wrestling Network.
“We want people to be able to say to friends, ‘Check out this really cool match.’ It’s keeping us connected to our fans but also helps spread awareness by allowing people to share it and see it for free.”
Familiar faces likely to show up on “Warrior Wrestling Greatest Matches” include former Rascalz members Dezmond Xavier and Zachary Wentz who debuted Jan. 13 on WWE’s NXT in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic as Wes Lee and Nash Carter of MSK.
“Over the course of Friday Night Lights and the Stadium Series they became the linchpin of Warrior Wrestling. They also happen to be some of the best performers,” said Tortorello, who also is principal of Marian Catholic High School.
“When you see good things happen to good people it warms your heart.”
Upcoming episodes include Rey Mysterio, Will Ospreay (current Revolution Pro Wrestling British heavyweight champ), Jake Hager (formerly Jack Swagger in WWE), Ultimo Dragon, Killer Kross (currently Karrion Kross in WWE’s NXT), Minoro Suzuki and Bully Ray (formerly Bubba Ray Dudley in WWE).