A printed page from the Eastern Indies Watch newsletter dated 7/10/25

I’m going to preface these results with a quick personal note. Some subscribers have written to the newsletter in recent weeks because they’ve been baffled by our detailed coverage of the revival of the Appalachian Trail Wrestling League, especially since the promotion is a smaller one. After all, there are bigger shows with more established stars going on elsewhere in the region this publication is concerned with. However, I have been following nu-ATWL for sentimental reasons. I am Weirton, WV born and raised as some of you may know, and my Grandpappy Burton was a huge fan of the original incarnation of ATWL. I was too young to ever go to a show with him during that time, but I do remember him watching the broadcasts on the huge cabinet TV at his house and cussing at the screen. He’s still with us and still cussing, God bless him, and I hope I can interview him about the current version of ATWL at some point.

But, to everyone’s concerns about the bigger shows out there, I have made a concession. Turns out a lot of ATWL’s workers are very busy during their ostensible days off and have appeared on other promotions’ shows. This week, a strange pattern appeared: Every single one of them won in their non-ATWL appearance. Reports are below.

Beau LeRoux def. El Saguaro (Hardcore International Productions, Athens, GA, July 1st) The Bayou Butcher really shone in this deathmatch main event, proving that having great psychology and big cojones will get you far at any age in the wrestling biz. El Saguaro, the Spiny One, is a fan favorite in this particular promotion and although Beau had never wrestled there before, my informants have said he cut some kind of promo at the beginning of the show before the recording started that had the crowd hating him all night, and there were beer cans thrown at the ring when he won. The story of the match was that Saguaro unhesitatingly used any kind of innovative weapon or move possible to catch LeRoux off guard, but LeRoux was willing to use attacks that harmed himself as long as Saguaro suffered more. There was a barbed wire-involved bear hug spot that is probably going to go viral.

Michael Sorenson def. Norman Gurewicz (City Combat Council, Pittsburgh, PA, July 1st) The green and untested Michael “Silver Screen” Sorenson - whom I do not hesitate to point out is the only son of West Virginia athletic commissioner Thor Sorenson - beat longtime Pittsburgh grappler Norman Gurewicz in a surprising result. Gurewicz is a career heel who plays up his hairiness and ugliness (not a bad looking guy in the shoot world but an all-time weird-face-maker) but is something of a local meme for his social media videos where he does things like eating five Primanti Bros sandwiches and washing them down with three Steel Reserves. Sorenson actually submitted him, of all finishes - not sure what was happening there. Not sure the crowd was all that into this, but Sorenson’s Hollywood stuntman gimmick will probably sell a lot of merch once people start believing in it.

Them White Boys def. Team BAC (Milwaukee Graps, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, July 1st) The more comedy-oriented Milwaukee Graps was as good a place as any for Genki and Jyotish White to do a match that was all schtick, and by God did they ever. You’d think a hyperlocal gimmick like this wouldn’t translate but the crowd were behind them because hillbillies = funny, I guess. I don’t know a lot about Team BAC but they are fine hands in the ring. They won with the Mountain Crusher II, not much more to say.

Ryder Colt def. Lord Sabaoth (Trans-Allegheny Pro Wrestling, Pittsburgh, PA, July 2nd) If you’re following the indies in the Eastern US at large, you know the name Ryder Colt as one of those up-and-comers who is meant to be a megastar one day, and I would agree with that assessment. You also probably know Lord Sabaoth as a tremendous worker with a unique otherworldly gimmick whose raison d’etre seems to be losing in banger opening matches. I don’t know if this means that Colt is destined for a longer run with Trans-Allegheny but I am told that people are calling this one - which only exists in fancam form until the official release - a match of the year candidate. That may be motivation enough for infamously workrate-obsessed promoter Sebastian Roka to poach Colt for his own promotion. Remains to be seen!

Oakley Birchmore def. Sara Satanica (Sacred Oath Women’s Wrestling, Bayonne, NJ, July 9th) The character Sara Satanica poses a conundrum: Can the crowd truly hate a heel if they have a collective boner for her? Of course, the noble, earthly babyface Oakley Birchmore can be quite appealing herself, assuming you like the “death by snu snu” thing. You’d think Oakley would have been a poor fit for the gothic-tinged vibe over there at Sacred Oath, but this wasn’t her first trip there, and the fans like her enough for her to be semi-regular. No accounting for what they do there in Dirty Jerz. Anyway, Satanica bumped like a crazy woman for Birchmore’s Wildfire finish and the Axe Breaker got the present of an ovation for her birthday.