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The idea of going to an independent professional wrestling show usually conjures up images of empty bingo halls and wrestlers hoping to make it to the big time.
Awesome Championship Wrestling (ACW), Saturday night in Poughkeepsie, New York, couldn’t have been further from these preconceptions. ACW Reckoning took place in front of a packed MJN Center and aired on Triller. There were several matches with fireworks, quality television productions, multiple champions and even a steel cage match to close out the evening.
The event had a controversial and chaotic ending.
Superb Championship Wrestling stars Hale Collins and Danny Maff were in action at Reckoning on Saturday May 16, 2026. (PK Press Club 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 in which Donovan and Maff had crashed Dalishus’ wedding and Collins’ wrestling school ceremony. The four men were locked in a cage.
MEET RICHARD HOLLIDAY – THE “MOST MARKETABLE” MAN IN PRO WRESTLING TAKES THE INDIES BY STORM
Collins and Maff were each close to winning the belts with the cage door open. Whoever escaped first would be declared the winner. However, Collins and Maff reached the ground simultaneously. The referees argued over which wrestler struck first, but the match was apparently declared a draw. This caused Sent 2 Slaughter to explode in anger.
The duo took out their frustrations on ACW officials and referees. Sent 2 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 the back. But instead of helping, Collins was handcuffed to the cage and they stole the belts. Collins was forced to watch Sent 2 Slaughter beat Dalishus, hitting him with several chair shots and hitting a spiked piledriver.
Superb Championship Wrestling star Richard Holliday takes on Andrade El Idolo at Reckoning on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (PK Press Club Digital)
Superb Championship Wrestling star Richard Holliday was in action at Reckoning on Saturday May 16, 2026. (PK Press Club Digital)
Dalishus’ wife appeared and began banging on the cage as officials rushed to open it. They finally opened the side of the cage and she fell onto Dalishus, trying to avoid further damage. Sent 2 Slaughter was kicked out and as they reached the ramp, fans started throwing water bottles at them. Fans were shocked to see how the event ended.
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Dalishus revealed the extent of his injuries in an Instagram post.
“Last night’s cage match ended with me being carried out of the arena on a stretcher after suffering multiple injuries. At this time, I am still being evaluated while we gather more information on the extent of the damage,” he captioned the post along with photos showing the extent of his injuries.
“I want to thank everyone who has reached out to me with concern, support and prayers. This truly 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 days to come.”
Here’s how the rest of the card turned out.
Championship Wrestling’s impressive National Champion, Zack Clayton, was in action at Reckoning on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (PK Press Club Digital)
- Leo Sparrow (c) def. GKM and Liamo will retain the ACW Cruiserweight Championship.
- Vincent and Dutch def. Lagursky and Yoscifer wrecking ball.
- Flip Gordon def. Matt Taven, Mance Warner, Brian Cage and Hammerstone will become #1 contenders for the ACW National Championship.
- Vicious Vicki and Lady Frost def. Steph De Lander and Indi Hartwell thanks to the intervention of J Rod.
- Presser foot def. Vargas in a street fight in Poughkeepsie.
- Zack Clayton (c) def. Dante Casanova will retain the ACW National Championship.
- Ben Bishop def. Foxx Vinyer.
- Andrade El Idolo (c) def. Richard Holliday will retain the Wrestling Knockout Chile Championship.
The evening also saw Randy Savage and Mike Bell inducted into the MJN Center Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Killer Kross and Shotzi vowing to make appearances at ACW’s next event, Indypendence Day on July 18.
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Sami Zayn gets introspective
Sami Zayn faces Trick Williams at WWE Backlash at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida on May 9, 2026. (Kevin Sabitus/WWE)
Life hasn’t been fair for Sami Zayn. He lost the United States Championship to Trick Williams at WrestleMania 42, lost his rematch at Backlash and was told he had to prove himself to get back up and challenge for the title.
But in recent weeks, Zayn has been complaining about the state of professional wrestling. He challenged the gingerbread man at the gingerbread man’s funeral. He doesn’t know why fans are turning the other cheek to him when he hasn’t done anything wrong.
Once again, with a catatonic Johnny Gargano lying beside him, Zayn took off 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, do you remember wrestling? Remember when wrestling was a thing? When you were just good at it and you gave it your all, your passion, your heart, and as long as you did it well, the fans would always be on your side and you were guaranteed to rise because the cream always rises. Remember when that was important?”
Zayn’s trauma seemed to trigger something in Gargano as “Johnny Wrestling”‘s eyes followed Zayn as he walked away at the end of the segment.
Pro wrestling fans have been trying to fight against Zayn seemingly being kicked out of the title picture. But there’s food for thought to go along with what Zayn said.
Surprisingly, it’s been over 15 years since he debuted on WWE NXT. The veteran has seen it all in WWE. He has been NXT champion, Intercontinental and American champion, and tag team champion. He saw John Cena and AJ Styles retire within weeks of each other and his best friend, Kevin Owens, sidelined with a serious injury.
Zayn is the perfect example of anyone dealing with the ebbs and flows of a business. He’s obviously still highly regarded in WWE, but everyone is clamoring for upstart rookies doing things he used to be able to do. Anyone who sits in the arena to watch him or sits on their couch watching “Friday Night SmackDown” at home can absolutely relate to how Zayn feels when placed in the context of the WWE Universe.
Hell, Gargano is just as much of a veteran as Zayn and he hasn’t been able to speak in weeks.
The point is, Zayn’s character development is becoming more and more relevant by the week. It will be interesting to see how he deals with the time that begins to pass him by. SmackDown has received a few call-ups over the past month, with Ricky Saints joining Williams on the roster and Carmelo Hayes returning to the fray on Friday.
Try not to get goosebumps when Natalia Jiménez sings “Me Muero” while Místico comes out at Super Viernes:
Results of the Supercard of Honor
Athena enters the ring during the Stardom women’s professional wrestling event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on January 13, 2025. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
Ring of Honor held a Supercard of Honor on Friday night.
Athena continued her long reign as Ring of Honor Women’s Champion by outlasting Billie Starkz, Maya World, Trish Adora, Yuka Sakazaki and Zayda Steel in a six-way survival of the fittest match.
Here are the other results on the map.
- Sammy Guevara def. Action Andretti.
- Rush definitely. KJV.
- Mina Shirakawa and Queen Aminata def. Janai Kai and Lacey Lane.
- Dezmond Xaver and Myron Reed def. Ariya Daivari and Tony Nese.
- Nigel McGuiness def. Josh Woods.
- Red Velvet def. “Viva Van to retain Ring of Honor Women’s World Television Championship”.
- AR Fox def. Lio Rush will retain the Ring of Honor World Television Championship.
- Deonna Purrazzo def. Diamante will retain the Ring of Honor Pure Women’s Championship.
- Lee Moriarty def. Ace Austin will retain the Ring of Honor Pure Championship.
- Dalton Castle, Truth Magnum, Turbo Floyd def. Carlie Bravo, Shane Taylor and Shawn Dean will win the Ring of Honor Six Man Tag Team Championship.
- Mark Davis def. “Xelhua to retain AEW National Championship”.
- Bandido def. Blake Christian will retain the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship.
Blake Monroe arrives on SmackDown:
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More notes from a week of professional wrestling
Cody Rhodes stands in front of Gunther during SmackDown at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina on May 15, 2026. (Rich Wade/WWE)
- Dominik Mysterio def. The original El Grande Americano 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 the Clash in Italy.
- Chelsea Green made an appearance on “Friday Night SmackDown” after an injury and heart surgery took 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 up next before his hair vs. title match 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 on “Impact”.
- Fabian Aichner appeared on “Impact” after Alexander defeated Slater.
- Piper Niven shared an injury update from a hospital bed.
- AEW star Chris Jericho appeared on the Minnesota Vikings schedule.
- TNA announced the return of the Ultimate X match for Slammiversary on June 28.
- Major League Wrestling has announced a strategic alliance with Stardom. The company said in an article on X: “The partnership will focus on talent exchange and creative collaboration, allowing athletes from both globally recognized promotions to compete on new stages and in front of new audiences.”
- Killer Kross has become the new champion of World Series Wrestling in Australia.
- Myla Grace has become the new World Series Wrestling Women’s Champion.
- Tiffany Nieves seized her opportunity and became the National Wrestling Alliance Women’s World Champion.
