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The thought of going to an independent professional wrestling show often brings to mind images of empty bingo halls and wrestlers hoping to make it big.
Awesome Championship Wrestling (ACW) on Saturday night in Poughkeepsie, New York, couldn’t have been further from those preconceived notions. ACW Reckoning took place in front of a packed MJN Center and streamed on Triller. There were several matches that featured fireworks, television quality productions, multiple champions and even a steel cage match to cap the night.
The event had a controversial and chaotic ending.
Awesome Championship Wrestling stars Hale Collins and Danny Maff were in action at Reckoning on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Pak Gazette Digital)
Vik Dalishus and Hale Collins, the tag team duo known as The Now, defended the ACW Tag Team Championship against Sent 2 Slaughter: Shawn Donovan and Danny Maff. It was supposed to be the end of a long feud that included Donovan and Maff crashing Dalishus’ wedding and Collins’ wrestling school ceremony. The four men were locked in a cage.
MEET RICHARD HOLLIDAY: THE ‘MOST MARKETABLE’ MAN IN THE PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING TAKING THE INDIES BY STORM
Collins and Maff nearly won the belts with the cage door open. Whoever escaped first would be declared the winner. However, both Collins and Maff arrived on the track simultaneously. The referees argued over which fighter struck first, but the match was apparently declared a draw. It caused Sent 2 Slaughter to burst out in anger.
The duo took out their frustrations on ACW officials and referees. Sent 2’s manager Slaughter then entered the ring with Maff and locked the cage. Collins was beaten on the outside. Vincent and Dutch, known as The Righteous, came out from behind. But instead of helping, Collins was handcuffed to the cage and his belts were stolen. Collins was forced to watch as Sent 2 Slaughter pummeled Dalishus, hitting him with multiple chair shots and hitting a piledriver.
Awesome Championship Wrestling star Richard Holliday will face Andrade El Idolo at Reckoning on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Pak Gazette Digital)
Awesome Championship Wrestling star Richard Holliday was in action at Reckoning on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Pak Gazette Digital)
Dalishus’ wife came out and began banging on the cage as officials rushed to open it. They finally opened the side of the cage and she fell on top of Dalishus, trying to avoid further damage. Sent 2 Slaughter was ejected and when they reached the ramp, fans started throwing water bottles at them. Fans were shocked to see how the event came to an end.
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Dalishus revealed the extent of his injuries in a post on Instagram.
“Last night’s cage match ended with me being stretchered out of the arena after suffering multiple injuries. At this time, I am still under evaluation as we gather more information on the extent of the damage,” he captioned the post with photos showing the extent of his injuries.
“I want to thank everyone who has reached out with concern, support and prayers. It really means a lot to me and my family during this time. Please continue to keep me in your thoughts as we move forward and learn more in the coming days.”
This is how the rest of the card looked.
Awesome Championship Wrestling National Champion Zack Clayton was in action at Reckoning on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Pak Gazette Digital)
- Leo Sparrow (c) defeated. GKM and Liamo will retain the ACW Cruiserweight Championship.
- Vincent and Dutch defeat. Wrecking Ball Lagursky and Yoscifer.
- Flip Gordon defeated. Matt Taven, Mance Warner, Brian Cage and Hammerstone will become the number one contender for the ACW National Championship.
- Vicious Vicki and Lady Frost defeat. Steph De Lander and Indi Hartwell thanks to interference from J Rod.
- Def. lever. Vargas in a street fight in Poughkeepsie.
- Zack Clayton (c) defeated. Dante Casanova will retain the ACW National Championship.
- Ben Obispo defeated. Foxx Vinyer.
- Andrade The Idol (c) def. Richard Holliday will retain the Chilean Knockout Wrestling Championship.
The night also featured the induction of Randy Savage and Mike Bell into the MJN Center’s Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Killer Kross and Shotzi promised to make appearances at ACW’s next event, Independence Day on July 18.
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Sami Zayn gets introspective
Sami Zayn battles Trick Williams during WWE Backlash at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 9, 2026. (Kevin Sabitus/WWE)
Life hasn’t been fair to Sami Zayn. He lost the United States Championship to Trick Williams at WrestleMania 42, lost their rematch at Backlash and was told he had to prove himself to challenge for the title again.
But in recent weeks, Zayn has complained about the state of professional wrestling. He disagreed with the Gingerbread Man at the Gingerbread Man’s funeral. He’s not sure why fans have turned the other cheek when he’s done nothing wrong.
Again, with a catatonic Johnny Gargano at his side, Zayn soared again.
“Things are changing around here. This place ain’t what it used to be. You know who feels it the most? Guys like us,” Zayn said. “I mean, remember wrestling? Remember when wrestling was a thing? When you were just great at it and you gave it your all, your passion, your heart, and as long as you did great, the fans would always be on your side and you were guaranteed to rise because the cream always rises. Remember when that mattered?”
Zayn’s trauma seemed to trigger something in Gargano as “Johnny Wrestling’s” eyes followed Zayn as he walked away as the segment ended.
Pro wrestling fans have been trying to deal with the fact that Zayn was apparently kicked out of the main picture. But there is something to think about that goes hand in hand with what Zayn has been saying.
Surprisingly, it has been over 15 years since he debuted in WWE NXT. The veteran has seen it all in WWE. He has been NXT Champion, Intercontinental and American Champion, and Tag Team Champion. He’s seen John Cena and AJ Styles retire within weeks of each other and his best friend, Kevin Owens, sidelined due to a serious injury.
Zayn is the perfect example of anyone dealing with the ebbs and flows of a business. He’s still highly respected in WWE, obviously, but everyone else is clamoring for upstart rookies who are doing things he used to do. Anyone who sits in the arena to watch it or sits on their couch watching “Friday Night SmackDown” at home can absolutely relate to how Zayn feels if put in the context of the WWE Universe.
Hell, Gargano is as old as Zayn and hasn’t been able to talk in weeks.
The fact is, Zayn’s character development becomes more relatable each week. It will be interesting to see how he deals with the time that begins to pass. SmackDown has had a few call-ups over the last month with Ricky Saints joining Williams on the roster and Carmelo Hayes returning to the fray on Friday.
Try not to get goosebumps as Natalia Jiménez sings ‘Me Muero’ as Místico leaves Super Viernes:
Super Card of Honor Results
Athena enters the ring during the Stardom women’s wrestling event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on January 13, 2025. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
Ring of Honor held the Supercard of Honor on Friday night.
Athena continued her long reign as Ring of Honor Women’s Champion by defeating Billie Starkz, Maya World, Trish Adora, Yuka Sakazaki and Zayda Steel in a Survival of the Fittest six-way match.
Here were the other card results.
- Sammy Guevara defeated. Andretti action.
- Rush defeated. LSG.
- Mina Shirakawa and Queen Aminata defeat. Janai Kai and Lacey Lane.
- Dezmond Xaver and Myron Reed defeated. Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese.
- Nigel McGuiness defeated. Josh Woods.
- Red Velvet defeats. Viva Van will retain the Ring of Honor Women’s World Television Championship.
- AR Fox defeated. Lio Rush will retain the Ring of Honor World Television Championship.
- Deonna Purrazzo defeated. Diamond to retain the Ring of Honor Pure Women’s Championship.
- Lee Moriarty defeated. Ace Austin will retain the Pure Ring of Honor Championship.
- Dalton Castle, Truth Magnum, Turbo Floyd defeated. Carlie Bravo, Shane Taylor and Shawn Dean to win the Ring of Honor Six Man Tag Team Championship.
- Mark Davis defeated. Xelhua to retain the AEW National Championship.
- Bandit def. Blake Christian will retain the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship.
Blake Monroe is coming to SmackDown:
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More notes from a week in professional wrestling
Cody Rhodes stands next to Gunther during SmackDown at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina on May 15, 2026. (Rich Wade/WWE)
- Dominik Mysterio defeats. The original Great American will retain the AAA Mega Championship on “Monday Night Raw.”
- Gunther earned a shot at the WWE Undisputed Championship with a victory over Royce Keys. He will face Cody Rhodes for the title at Clash in Italy.
- Chelsea Green made an appearance on “Friday Night SmackDown” after an injury and heart procedure kept her out of action.
- Darby Allin defended his AEW World Championship twice in one week, defeating Konosuke Takeshita and Sammy Guevara. “Speedball’s Mike Bailey is next ahead of his title fight against Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) at Double or Nothing.
- Cedric Alexander became the new Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) X Division champion, defeating Leon Slater at “Impact”.
- Fabian Aichner appeared at “Impact” after Alexander defeated Slater.
- Piper Niven shared an update on her injury from a hospital bed.
- AEW star Chris Jericho appeared at the Minnesota Vikings schedule launch.
- TNA announced the return of the Ultimate X match for Slammiversary on June 28.
- Major League Wrestling announced a strategic alliance with Stardom. The company said in a post on X: “The partnership will focus on talent sharing and creative collaboration, allowing athletes from both globally recognized promotions to compete on new stages and in front of new audiences.”
- Killer Kross became the new champion of the World Series of Wrestling in Australia.
- Myla Grace became the new World Series Wrestling women’s champion.
- Tiffany Nieves seized her opportunity and became the National Wrestling Alliance Women’s World Champion.
