Must-see 'Mania weekend matches that aren't happening at WrestleMania

It's that time of year again; indie promotions putting shows on with stacked cards in the city hosting WrestleMania. Every year, it gets bigger and more anticipated. A lot of the indie promotions have matches that have more buzz than whatever WWE is doing. With this year's "Show of Shows" having a lackluster build, the indie shows have more of a chance to steal the weekend with multiple Match of the Year contenders or at the very least, Match of the Weekend.

As the weekend grows, so do the promotions involved and the number of matches happening. Prior to signing with AEW, Speedball Mike Bailey would often wrestle the most matches of the weekend. Last year, they wrestled ten (!!!) matches over four days. British standout, Michael Oku, is wrestling four matches on Thursday. Oku called it the "Speedball diet".

With the sheer number of matches, it's hard to narrow down the must-see matches of the weekend, but I shall try. In no particular order:

The King Bees vs. Fire 'N Flava - ASÉ Wrestling

ASÉ Wrestling will have its first show outside of North Carolina during its first 'Mania weekend. It's a stacked card with matches like the Ettore Invitational and Suge D putting up the Pan-Afrikan World Diaspora Championship against JTG. But for fans that have been following ASÉ either live or their weekly YouTube shows, there is one match that's the most anticipated: The King Bees (Charity King & Danni Bee) vs. Fire 'N Flava (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz). This match is more than a year in the making as Hogan has feuded with both Bees. Unfortunately, Hogan was injured and the match was postponed.

Watch live Thursday, April 17 at 11 AM PT on ASÉ's website.

Sabu vs. Joey Janela - No Rope Barbed Wire match - Joey Janela's Spring Break 9

If you've ever watched any iteration of Joey Janela's Spring Break, you know you're always in for something wild. In true Janela fashion, he's delivering once again. His opponent is the legendary hardcore wrestler, Sabu. This isn't just any match though. This is the final match for the "Homicidal, Suicidal, Genocidal Death-Defying Maniac". Janela is coming off surgery for a bicep tear in February, so of course this match has a crazy stipulation. "The Bad Boy" and "The Human Highlight Reel" will be facing off in a no-rope barbed wire match.

Watch live on Friday, April 18 at 7 PM PT on Triller+.

Minoru Suzuki vs. Yoshihiko - DDT Universal Championship match - DDT Pro

DDT Pro has two shows at The Collective 2025. One is a DDT show and the other is TJPW vs. DDT vs GCW. While both cards are stacked, the most anticipated match might be the match for the DDT Universal Championship. Minoru Suzuki will be defending his title about one of wrestling's most notorious characters, Yoshihiko. Yoshihiko is a multi-time champion himself, inclduing holding the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship 16 tiimes.

Watch the show on Friday, April 18 at 3 PM PT on Triller+.

Megan Bayne vs. Bozilla - Joey Janela's Spring Break 9

A couple of paragraphs ago, I said that Janela's Spring Break has crazy matches. This one has a lot of buzz around it. Bozilla has been making a lot of noise in Japan. The 21-year-old German powerhouse has been primarily wrestling for Marigold. While I haven't had the chance to watch her wrestle, her name keeps popping up. Megan Bayne is a powerhouse in her own right, making a name for herself in promotions like STARDOM and GCW. The "Megasus" took "Timeless" Toni Storm to the limit at AEW Dynasty for the Women's Championship. This match will be the first time these two have stepped inside a ring together.

ZSJ - Multiple shows at The Collective 2025

This may be cheating, but this is my list and Zack Sabre, Jr. is one of my favorite wrestlers. He has a busy weekend and I'm here for all of it. To kick it off, he'll face fellow technical wizard (and another wrestler I'm a fan of), Jonathan Gresham at Bloodsport XIII. This will be their first matchup since 2016. Next up is Joey Janela's Spring Break. He'll face newly crowned wXw Unified World Wrestling Champion, 1 Called Manders for the first time. On Saturday, ZSJ will face Kidd Bandit at EFFY's Big Gay Brunch 10. This will be his first match at BGB and his first time facing Bandit.

All three shows will be on Triller+.

-Bloodsport XIII: Thursday April 17 8 PM PT.

-Joey Janela's Spring Break 9 Friday April 18 7 PM PT

-EFFY's Big Gay Brunch 10 Saturday April 19 11 AM PT

This is just a sample of matches from a handful of promotions. Many other great promotions such as DEFY, West Coast Pro, and Deadlock Pro are running shows. I hope you found a match or two here that you're interested in seeing. If not, there are tons to choose from. Support indie wrestling. They are the lifeblood of the pro wrestling business and need support year-round.