Florida’s No Peace Underground kicked open the doors of WrestleMania Week for the independents on Wednesday with NPU Fatalism, and they return for a second dose of their unique brand at 11:59 pm on Thursday night as part of the IndependentWrestling.tv (IWTV) series of events, with NPU Murder Mania. NPU has emerged as one of Florida’s top independent promotions, creating an anything-goes environment in an n0-ring environment. Here’s a look at Thursday’s card.
The Hallowed (Lord Crewe & Otis Cogar) vs. Nolan Edward & Wolfe Taylor
The Hallowed is a fairly new tag team on the U.S. indies, born in IWA Mid South last month. But the two men involved are not rookies. Lord Crewe has been building his presence since his debut in the Ohio indie circuit around 2015, but he’s shown a mean streak that has brought him to IWA Mid South, Paradigm Pro Wrestling, Rockstar Pro, and more, including Florida’s No Peace Underground. His partner is Otis Cogar – if the last name sounds familiar it’s because he’s the “brother” of Atticus Cogar, with whom he won various tag team titles several years ago. While Atticus was the first of the Cogar Brothers to break nationally, Otis has spent the past year showing he’s no Marty Jannetty. Together, the two men are determined to prove they belong and Murder Mania. Michigan’s Nolan Edward had an absolutely explosive 2020, with a fearless style in the ring that has made him an instant star with the likes of ICW No Holds Barred, PPW, ACTION Wrestling, No Peace Underground, and many more. He’s even competed on recent editions of Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport. Wolfe Taylor is a veteran of the Florida indie scene and NPU regular, who has also worked for Generation Championship Wrestling (GenCW), Pro Wrestling 2.0, and others.
Treehouse Lee vs. JJ Garrett
Treehouse Lee has been a rising star in the Florida indies since 2017, and finally broke out on a national level at the end of 2019 when he made his GCW debut at GCW Jimmy All The Way, where he was victorious in his debut Scramble Match. He returned to GCW for two more events in early 2020 before the pandemic hit, somewhat sending Treehouse Lee into hiding, just as the rest of the country was becoming aware of his amazing in-ring abilities. In December of 2020, he made his GCW return at Good Riddance, where he defeated another GCW returnee in Saieve Al Sabah. Two months into 2021, he’s rebuilding his momentum with strong showings in VxS and Florida’s No Peace Underground, and faced Joey Janela at GCW Wind of God during GCW Fight Forever. JJ Garrett is a near 10-year pro, starting out in his home state of Iowa before breaking out into promotions like IWA Mid-South, Beyond Wrestling, and AAW Pro. Over the next few years, he became a staple on the Midwest indie circuit, adding the likes of DREAMWAVE, Freelance Wrestling, Pro Wrestling ZERO1 USA, Glory Pro, and Zelo Pro Wrestling to his travels. Long considered an underrated talent, the past couple of years has seen his profile finally reach a national audience, capped off by his All Elite Wrestling (AEW) debut on AEW DARK this past February.
Ace Austin vs. Jamie Senegal
The current reigning 2x IMPACT X-Division Champion Ace Austin has found a way to be both a top star with IMPACT Wrestling and continue to build his legacy on the indies, working with the likes of AAW Pro, Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), Ohio Wrestling Alliance (OWA), Warrior Wrestling, and more over the past few years. At Murder Mania, he faces “The Punk Rock Kween” Jamie Senegal. Senegal was a mainstay with Pennsylvania’s Atomic Championship Wrestling (ACW), where she’s a former ACW Heavyweight Champion and 2x ACW Cruiserweight Champion. In November of 2019, she made her SHIMMER debut in a dark match against New Zealand’s Candy Lee and has been one of the regular stars with NPU since that same year. Senegal was on a winning streak before Wednesday night’s loss to Atticus Cogar, but she’ll be looking to regain her momentum in the midnight hour against IMPACT’s resident magician.
Tony Deppen vs. Jake Something
Tony Deppen has been one of the gatekeepers of the indies, having been with GCW since 2016, and continues to have big match after big match. But his success isn’t relegated to just GCW rings – he’s also been a standout with CHIKARA, Beyond Wrestling, ICW No Holds Barred, Violence X Suffering (VxS), and many more, including debuting with Ring of Honor last fall in the ROH Pure Tournament. He’s recently had two incredible ironman matches – one a two-hour match against Jordan Oliver at GCW Fight Forever, plus a 6o minute match against Trish Adora in Beyond Wrestling. Apart from competing in the 2020 ROH Pure Tournament, he competed in his first Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) Battle of Los Angeles in 2019. His NPU debut this past February was a loss to Parrow, so Deppen will be looking to get his first win with the company. But that will have to come at the expense of IMPACT’s Jake Something. Jake Something has been a monstrous threat in the U.S. indies for a few years now, where he’s the current Black Label Pro Champion and a former AAW Heritage Champion and Glory Pro Crown of Glory Champion. These are two men who are at the top of their game right now, and this has all the potential to be the MOTN at Murder Mania.
Casanova Valentine vs. Mad Man Pondo
Casanova Valentine is one of the top stars in the current American deathmatch scene and a man who has perfected the “no-ring” deathmatch. The inaugural NPU Champion, he’s a veteran of the New York/New Jersey indie scene, with the likes of New York Wrestling Connection (NYWC), ICW No Holds Barred, and others. He’s heading into battle against a Deathmatch legend in Mad Man Pondo. Mad Man Pondo has been one of pro wrestling’s most violent offenders in the American hardcore scene, debuting in 1989. But he wasn’t always the hardcore legend he was now – he initially began as a more “traditional” wrestler. However, it didn’t take long before the Mad Man was unleashed. In 1996, he joined IWA Mid South, where his hellacious penchant for violence was fully realized, becoming IWA Mid South Heavyweight Champion in 1999. He continued being a top star with IWA Mid South well into the 2010s. Despite competing in multiple IWA Mid South King of the Deathmatch tournaments, beginning with the first one in 1997, it wouldn’t be until 2003 that he would finally win the tournament himself, defeating “Spyder” Nate Webb, Nick Gage, and JC Bailey to win the crown. In 2000, he would make his debut in Japan with Big Japan Wrestling (BJW), where he would compete regularly for the next 14 years, immersing himself in the Japanese deathmatch community as well. This match will put the murder into Murder Mania.
Orin Veidt & The End (Parrow & Odinson) vs. Colby Corino & The Rejects (John Wayne Murdoch & Reed Bentley)
Orin Veidt has become a violent sensation over the past few years, working with GCW, Hardcore Hustle Organization (H2O), ICW NHB, and many other hard-hitting promotions, including working GCW’s tours in Japan. He’s teaming up with one of the roughest tag teams in the US indies, who have also competed in All Japan and recently debuted with the NWA, in The End. Parrow and Odinson are no stranger to playing rough, and Parrow has been working more and more singles deathmatches over the past year. The trio is facing off against The Rejects tandem of John Wayne Murdoch – who has emerged as one of the biggest deathmatch stars of the past two years after years in IWA Mid-South – and Reed Bentley, two men that have individually and collectively won a lot of gold. They were originally a trio that included third Reject AKIRA, but due to a positive Covid test, AKIRA had to withdraw from the week. In his steed stepped in Colby Corino. The son of former ECW World Heavyweight Champion and NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Steve Corino, Colby has been a star in the U.S. indies for over a decade and he’s only 24 years old. He’s a regular with Premier Wrestling Federation (PWF) and Premiere Wrestling Xperience (PWX) in the Carolinas, as well as working with everyone from EVOLVE Wrestling to Freelance Wrestling, as well as appearances for WWE and Ring of Honor.
Murder Mania will air LIVE on IWTV.
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