Good choice, welcome.
What took you so long? No matter. What’s important is you’re finally here.
As far as I’m concerned, Deadlock Pro Wrestling has been the must-watch promotion on the American indies since early 2023. It’s combination of a highly talented roster, pristine production quality, and rock solid booking has made it one of the most compelling promotions anywhere in the world. Visually, I’ve made the comparison that DPW shows remind me of what a modernized peak ROH might have looked like. Black curtains on the stage, a black canvas, darkened venues accented with well-placed orange lights. It’s an indie that has a distinct look owing to its top notch production.
DPW’s qualities are far from skin deep. Over the last two years especially, it’s pieced together a who’s who of the best talent on the American indies, and typically done a great job of allowing those talents to shine in the best ways possible. This is helped by the company being pretty simply divided into four championship divisions: the Men’s World Championship, the Women’s World Championship, the World Tag Team Championship, and a midcard National Championship. It’s about as simple as it gets, and this allows all the booking to feel purposeful and forward moving, even when the standard promotional woes such as injuries or travel issues interfere with the set plans. Most everything in DPW gets done with intention, and while it’s far from a perfect promotion (we’re living in the 2020s after all, the super indie is far behind us), all these qualities come together to make them must-see regardless.
With their 2024 calendar year having just concluded with their third anniversary show, I thought I’d take the time to produce a little primer to guide anybody looking to hop on board. Listed below are some of my favorite matches from the past twelve months, combined with a few key matches that might work best for context. Feel free to pick and choose or dive right in for the full experience. Either way, I’m certain you’ll find something to your taste.
A brief note on dates: this is a uniquely DPW problem, but DPW utilizes the broadcast date of each event being posted to their streaming service as the “kayfabe” date of the event. As such, dates included below are reflective of the date each event is premiered on the DPW streaming service.
DPW 2nd Anniversary (12/16/23)
We start at the end.
In this instance, the final show of 2023 is key to understanding some of the key stories running through 2024. It’s become clear that the promotion uses the final December show to set the table for big things ahead. Importantly too, this show just fucking rules. Every match on here is good at the very least, and a couple of them breach into “great” territory. Key highlights include:
- The start of the Violence is Forever & LaBron Kozone vs. Team Filthy feud
- The first time Jake Something & Mike Bailey team in tag team action
- The blow off to the BK Westbrook vs. Andrew Everett feud, but more importantly the post-match angle that sets the tone for both in the year to come
- The Motor City Machineguns dethroning the best tag team of 2023, The Workhorsemen for the tag titles (***3/4)
- Calvin Tankman winning the vacant DPW World Title in a great match vs. company stalwart Colby Corino (***3/4)
- Miyuki Takase dethroning long reigning Women’s Champion Emi Sakura
Adam Priest vs. Andrew Everett (DPW You Already Know 1/28/24)
Adam Priest spent much of 2023 with DPW as a midcarder rounding out the card, with his biggest accomplishment being a very strong rivalry against young prospect Jackson Drake. In this bout from January, he begins a much more focused ascent in the company by going after one of its most beloved figures in Andrew Everett, and fighting for victory in the most despicable ways possible.
Rating: ***3/4
Calvin Tankman vs. Colby Corino (DPW You Already Know 1/28/24)
The easy comparison to make with regards to Calvin Tankman as DPW World Champion is being Samoa Joe-esque. I want to qualify this here, of course, by saying that Tankman never really comes close to reaching those same heights but he does show a marked improvement that matches his cocky, domineering aura such as this great cage match against the heart and soul of the early part of DPW’s history Colby Corino.
Rating: ****
The Motor City Machineguns vs. Mike Bailey & Jake Something (DPW Live 5 3/10/24)
Initially meant to be a Guns/MxM title defense, Mansoon’s travel issues lead to Bailey & Something being slotted into the challenger position instead. Their surprising chemistry pays off in a big way here: dethroning Motor City to kick one of the most significant championship runs in the company all year.
Rating: ***3/4
Bryan Keith vs. Anthony Henry (DPW Live 5 3/10/24)
A great National Title match that puts over the title’s value being enough to carry a main event (important for later on) while also just kicking a metric ton of ass. Quite infamously, the reason that Anthony Henry gets briefly fired from AEW is because of breaking his jaw in this bout. Neither man is long for DPW for the rest of the year, but this match is worth watching on its own, and for how it utilizes TV talents that otherwise might not get the right opportunities.
Rating: ****+
Adam Priest vs. Andrew Everett (DPW No Pressure 4/20/24)
Priest continues his rise through the company by once again dispatching Andrew Everett in the meanest ways possible: picking apart the hero’s bad leg and putting over his leg attack and Single Leg Crab as a killer strategy that will come to plague the company for months to come.
Rating: ***3/4
Violence is Forever & LaBron Kozone vs. Tom Lawlor & West Coast Wrecking Crew (DPW No Pressure 4/20/24)
The feud between these two trios comes to a close in a well-structured, thrilling tag. It’s expected that VIF and West Coast Wrecking Crew have strong chemistry, but one of the key takeaways from the feud as a whole is the talent of one LaBron Kozone. His success amongst such great talents at this point of the year speaks to the heights he would come to reach later on.
Rating: ****
DPW Limit Break (5/24/24)
While I’d say that 90% of DPW shows are an easy enough watch to sit through as a whole (with a slight side eye to some of the longer tournament shows and their less than ideal booking choices), it’s Limit Break that really put forth just how strong the company could get when they had it in mind to really stack up a card. I highly recommend the entire show but the key highlights include:
- LaBron Kozone upsetting dominant former champion Bojack to advance to a National Title eliminator
- Adam Priest vs. Kevin Blackwood: Once again, Adam Priest gets the very best out of an opponent. Blackwood’s hit and miss for me, but when he hits, it’s some truly great stuff. Priest once again applies the best of the old school with his sneaky heel control escalating into death by a thousand cuts that leaves Blackwood vulnerable to be defeated. (****)
- Roderick Strong vs. Fuminori Abe: Abe hits Roddy in this match so hard that it almost feels like it awakens the beastly performances Roddy populated his 2024 with after. This is a dream match of potshots and big blows, and they deliver in abundance. (****)
- Calvin Tankman vs. Kevin Ku: Gold lust has turned Tankman to the dark side, and regular rival Kevin Ku gets a great match as a result. It’s up to Ku to chop down the big man, but Tankman doesn’t make it easy, applying himself to a vicious big man performance that sees brutal cut offs and devastating bombs that drop our hero into the dirt. (****1/4)
Adam Priest vs. LaBron Kozone (DPW Live 6 6/16/24)
Adam Priest takes on the ever likeable LaBron Kozone for a shot at the National Championship. And what wonderful they chemistry they display from the word go. Initially focused on being a power wrestler and striker, Kozone demonstrates a proficiency for keeping up with Priest on the mat, only to find that Priest’s dastardly tactics and ability to sink to the lowest lows make him an opponent too dangerous to overcome.
Rating: ****
Dani Luna vs. Danni Bee (DPW Live 7 7/6/24)
A first round match from DPW’s Battle of the Best tournament between hard-hitting British standout Dani Luna and the brash Danni Bee. Much like the Priest/Kozone match, a great example of DPW using the tournament format to sow the seeds for bigger things down the line as this issue would become much more personal down the line.
Rating: ***1/4
Adam Priest vs. Kevin Blackwood vs. BK Westbrook (DPW Tag Festival 2024 7/17/24)
Bryan Keith breaks his arm and gets sucked into the Learning Tree, leaving the DPW National Championship vacant. Having already been declared #1 contender for the title, Priest gets thrown against two of his rivals from this year: Blackwood who he defeated in the eliminator, and BK Westbrook who’s taken on a mentee role with another Adam Priest rival in Andrew Everett. Priest gets his way once again, and while it’s not his best match, it’s the start of one of the most important title reigns in the company’s year.
Rating: ***
Calvin Tankman vs. Trevor Lee (DPW High Noon 8/24/24)
Trevor Lee comes to DPW. Despite the company being primarily based in Trevor’s old stomping grounds of North Coralina, he’d make his debut in front of a Texas crowd instead. He brings his sharp form and great mind for match structure to an old school David vs. Goliath dynamic that makes the most of the fundamental joys of professional wrestling.
Rating: ****
Jake Something vs. Mad Dog Connelly (DPW Carolina Classic 2024 9/22/24)
And now, the Mad Dog.
As of this writing, Mad Dog’s still carving out his place on the Deadlock roster, but as far as debut’s go, this is a strong way. The crazed brawler runs into the big man Jake Something himself and the two slug it out in a bid to make it to the finals of the annual Carolina Classic. As he so often does when arriving to a territory, Mad Dog takes the loss here, but his scrappiness always leaves an impression.
Rating: ***3/4
Timothy Thatcher vs. LaBron Kozone (DPW Carolina Classic 2024 9/22/24)
So Kozone got outfoxed by Adam Priest. The only thing to do is build himself back up, push himself against the best so he can be sharp for another rematch. Here he takes one of the best in the world, Timothy Thatcher himself, and Kozone has to further develop that technical ability while displaying enough heart and guts to survive a dissection. Watching Kozone here captures the experience of someone realizing their potential in real time.
Rating: ****1/4
Dani Luna vs. Shoko Nakajima (DPW Super Battle 10/19/24)
Dani Luna impresses once again, enough so that she takes the win in the Best of the Best tournament. While the match itself isn’t my favorite, the post-match angle here shows DPW’s ability to make multiple threads of booking come together into a sensible and propulsive angle. Hyan, who’s been bitter about her lack of championship opportunities all year, brings on Danni Bee to take their frustrations out on the victorious Dani Luna. Just like that, the tournament transitions smoothly into a grudge feud. Wrestling looks so easy when done with this level of artful skill.
Rating: ***
FTR vs. Violence is Forever (DPW Super Battle 10/19/24)
A dream match that was a long time coming. Originally scheduled to be an FTR/Workhorsemen bout, Anthony Henry’s injury took that off the table. This was the only suitable replacement to be made, and it delivers for the most part. Big hits, control segments, escalating action. Pretty damn great still.
Rating: ***3/4
Calvin Tankman vs. Jake Something (DPW Super Battle 10/19/24)
Tankman, fully heel at this point of his reign, runs into someone just as big and bad as him. What results is an occasionally meandering title match that nonetheless delivers big on crazy bombs and big bumps. They hit hard and bump hard, and there’s still exhilaration to be found in someone as likeable as Jake Something getting his big moment over the big bad champ.
Rating: ***1/2
Adam Priest vs. KUSHIDA (DPW World’s Strongest 11/24/24)
The walls are closing in on Adam Priest. He’s got LaBron Kozone waiting for him at the anniversary show, but before that, he’s still got to get through KUSHIDA too. This is another more lowkey bout from Priest as the technician vs. technician pairing doesn’t always utilize his skills the best. But there’s just enough of his smug southern gruff that comes through, especially with the finish seeing him settle for a DQ to retain the title. A bit of political booking on DPW’s behalf? Sure. But in practice, a demonstration of Priest’s growing desperation as a focused challenger is breathing down his neck.
Rating: ***1/2
DPW 3rd Anniversary (12/15/24)
Once again, the anniversary delivers with a show worth seeing in full. Every match advances an important player for the new year to come, or otherwise pays off a story long building within the company. Another triumph of booking here from DPW, capping off their strongest year yet with what might just be their best show yet, and one of the best shows in pro wrestling this year period. Again, this one is worth seeing in full but if you must only pick and choose, then make sure not to miss:
- Mad Dog Connelly vs. Kevin Blackwood: Mad Dog’s profile grows in DPW. This time around, he starts off with a vicious attack on the ringside attendants with his chain before crashing headlong into Kevin Blackwood in a bout filled with great control work from Mad Dog and Blackwood letting off some of his crunchiest strikes ever. Even eating the loss here, one gets the very real feeling that Blackwood snuck a win and that the Mad Dog’s rampage has only just begun. (****)
- Trevor Lee vs. Andrew Everett: Old friends and rivals meet once again. It’s a great display of just how sharp Trevor’s felt on his current run in the indies. He seems to grab everything with such force and snap, that it truly does feel like that every hold and strike lands with the full intention of victory. But so much more develops from here too: Trevor’s growing bitterness at Everett’s resilience, Everett’s bad knee troubling him once again and costing him, and then the reassertion of Trevor as a force to be reckoned with. Much as Everett’s position in the company was used to make BK beloved and Priest reviled, he once again uses his ability here to be sympathetic and likeable as the perfect foil for a Trevor Lee heel turn. (****+)
- Mike Bailey & Jake Something vs. Violence is Forever: It’s not perfect, there’s maybe just a little too much in the back half and it feels like it wanders in the way modern tag matches so often do. Importantly though, all the big bombs still land so satisfyingly, and the mid-level offense used to fill the space in between rocks too. One of the stiffest performances from Speedball earlier, complemented by VIF using some classic structuring tactics like a floor attack isolating one of the champions. I can’t help but feel it could have been even better with a little more care, but there’s just enough great to make it worthwhile. (****)
- Adam Priest vs. LaBron Kozone: The sand runs out of the hourglass, the bag of tricks goes empty. In spirit, something like if MJF/Wardlow were somehow even better and worked by two better wrestlers. Adam Priest empties the clip. He uses every trick in the book, but it’s just one of those special moments where it’s as clear as day: it’s not his fucking night. LaBron Kozone stands tall, takes the champion further than he’s ever gone, and lays in a hellacious and cathartic beating the likes of which I don’t think we’ve seen on the indies all decade long. There’s been more brutal bloodbaths, there’s been slicker technical work, but for the first time in the decade, the entire machine works together for the sole purpose of giving a guy his moment. It’s not just that the match is so fucking great, it’s that the groundwork for the whole thing was laid out months in advance and the journey made the destination all the sweeter. It’s the best match in DPW history, and if this one doesn’t convince you, I really don’t know what else I can say. (****1/2)
And that’s just the stuff I like.
There’s a lot left in the cracks that may not appeal to me specifically but may yet pull you in. If a lengthy feud between Mike Bailey and Titus Alexander sounds like your cup of tea, for example, then you’ve got a lot to dig into that I haven’t even covered here. There’s also the major tentpole tournaments (Tag Festival and Carolina Classic) whose finals matches I didn’t love but still do a lot to setup major moments in the year. All that being said, DPW succeeds where so many other promotions of all sizes fail: feeling like a cohesive whole with a clear direction forward instead of merely being a mishmash variety show. It’s not an easy thing to do on the indies in 2024.
But someone’s doing it, and doing it well, and I’m hoping you can enjoy the ride while it lasts.
