United Wrestling Network celebrates Easter Sunday with sweat, screams and slams

Most people associate Easter Sunday with going to church, some wholesome egg hunting and family bonding, but wrestling fans in Long Beach celebrated with high-flying slams and a good old-fashioned power bomb.

Nine fights were on the card for Long Beach’s Sunday Night Slam with three title fights and intriguing standouts such as Koto Hiro, the Crazy Chickens, Cha Cha Charlie and Jack Cartwheel, each boasting unique fighting styles. 

The pre-show match between Koto Hiro and El Primohenio kicked off a high-energy evening with strong slams and punches. Koto Hiro, who sports a mask honoring the Lucha Libre tradition, showed his quick and shifty style in the beginning minutes of the fight, dodging El Primohenio’s strong punches as he ducked and dodged from each side of the ring. 

El Primohenio’s strength proved itself an equalizer after he slammed Koto Hiro between his knees and violently elbowed him into the canvas. But after a failed moonsault and a double stomp on the ropes from Koto Hiro, he got the submission after going for the brainbuster. 

One of the more intriguing matches was when the Crazy Chickens went into the ring, throwing goodies out to the audience as they did the chicken dance. However, the tag team Delirium came in to spoil the Chickens’ party. Commanded by Carma, the duo rushed into the ring, throwing one of the Chickens out and with a snap of the fingers, the Delirium duo slammed the lone Chicken to the ground and got the submission. 

The title matchup between the New York tag team duo 5150 and Midnight Heat commenced for the UWN Tag Team Championship. 5150 took over from the start with quick knee strikes, choke slams and stomps. 

Ricky Gibson from Midnight Heat tried going for the tag multiple times after the entourage of attacks, but the New York duo kept him away from his teammate, leaving devastating injuries. Limelight of 5150 screamed at Gibson, “Tap out Ricky,” as he held him in the choke, but Gibson was able to finally get the tag in after the two 5150 teammates hit each other in their side of the corner.

Even with Eddie Pearl’s surge of elbow strikes and leg kicks once tagged in, the momentum quickly switched after the 5150 crew came back to attack Gibson with a devastating kick to the back, ultimately securing the title.

The Sunday Slam card had its fair share of faces and heels. Fans heckled, screamed and taunted the heels throughout the night but with every scream, every boo and every expletive, each wrestler played to the crowd differently. 

No fight showed that off more than the women’s fight between Simone and Gypsy Mac. Simone used gray rule tactics such as hair-grabbing early in the fight, trapping Gypsy Mac into the corner. As Simone took control throughout the fight, a sneaky smile formed on her face, reveling in ruining Gypsy Mac fans’ nights. 

Gypsy Mac played to the crowd, getting them to cheer as she landed her own leg strikes and jumped on the top rope to slam Simone hard onto the canvas. The momentum quickly shifted as Simone countered the hooks from Gypsy Mac with quick and powerful elbows and ended the fight with a devastating slam. 

After getting the submission win, Simone went to showboat to the fans, giving them a thumbs-down and a broken-heart sign with a smug grin.

Easter night ended with two intriguing title fights with the champions being heels of their own.

Maximilien and Royce Isaacs were first up. The crowd quickly showed who they hated, showering Maximilien with Easter Eggs when he got into the cage. 

Jordan Castle, who supported Maximilien just before his ring walk, was intensely watching the fight, shushing the crowd and giving Maximilien words of encouragement.

Isaacs took the fight to the champion early with slams and submission attempts, but after a low blow from Castle, the tide quickly shifted. Maximilien was able to sink the submission while the referee was reprimanding Castle, resulting in a submission.

The final title fight was equally controversial. Jordan Cruz and Fred Rosser ended the Sunday Night Slam with an intense slugfest, with Rosser dominating most of the fight. His punches and slams continued to stun Cruz, including a sitout splash on the bottom side of the cage. 

Cruz went back into the cage and took the fight back as he clawed at Rosser’s eyes and struck him with a knee and head strike. 

Rosser showed his resilience with multiple hard slams onto the hard cage. He had Cruz on the literal ropes as he slapped him in the corner, but Cruz had one thing up his sleeve. 

Throughout the fight, Cruz kept loosening the turnbuckle inside the wrestling ring. After Rosser had him in a body lock, Cruz walked into the corner and threw down the turnbuckle. The ref and Rosser were both focused on fixing it, but Cruz took advantage with a heavy kick and a roll-over submission.

With the boos rolling in after Cruz received his title, he winced in pain, grabbing his back. 

United Wrestling Network’s Sunday Night Slam showed that even though it’s Easter Sunday, the heel always wins.