By Sean Radican, Torch columnist

Right now is the best time of year to sink your teeth into the best that content that wrestling has to offer with various companies and website’s offering their best deals of the year for Black Friday. Without further ado, I present my picks for the best ROH, DGUSA/EVOLVE, and independent wrestling shows you can buy during the various Black Friday sales. I’ll also provide information on the various sales from each company as well as they become available. This guide will be expanded upon after Black Friday as well as there are usually some good sales during the holiday season in December.

DGUSA/EVOLVE

(DGUSA/EVOLVE’s Black Friday sale includes All DGUSA/EVOLVE/Shine, and PWG DVDs on sale for $10.00 at DGUSA.tv. All T-Shirts are also on sale for $10.00 at DGUSA.tv. EVOLVE, DGUSA, FIP, and Shine VODs are on sale for $10.00 at WWNLive.com.)

-EVOLVE “EVOLVE 35,” Sept. 14 2014 (9.5): This was an amazing show that brought technical wrestling back in a big way to the independent scene with the likes of Drew Gulak, Timothy Thatcher and Zack Sabre Jr. on the card. The highlight of the undercard was EVOLVE Champion Drew Galloway taking on Roderick Strong in a hard-hitting back and forth non-title match that saw the crowd get hotter and hotter as the match went on and they built towards some great near falls. It was followed by Biff Busick-Zack Sabre Jr. in a fantastic technical wrestling match that was enthralling to watch as both guys played a game of chess on the mat and sold their intensity very well with their facial expressions. The show rounds out with an excellent Three-Way Tag Elimination Tag Team match with The Bravados putting up their titles against Nese & Konley and Fox & Swann and a fantastic main event with Ricochet defending the Open the Freedom Gate Title against Uhaa Nation.

[ FYI: You can purchase EVOLVE’s “EVOLVE 35” on VOD by clicking HERE or by visiting WWNLive.com. For more information on EVOLVE, visit DGUSA.tv. ]

-DGUSA “Open The Ultimate Gate 2014,” April 4, 2014 (9.0): This was an excellent show from DGUSA during WrestleMania weekend, despite the lack of Dragon Gate talent on the card. The show really picked up after the first couple of matches and never lost steam. The real to seek out on this card are the excellent Hero-Tanaka match that featured a ton of hard-hitting action and good near falls down the stretch. The main event features Ricochet ending Johnny Gargano’s two and a half year run with the Open the Freedom Gate Title in a five star match that is among the top five matches I have seen in 2014. The story of the match brilliantly plays into Gargano’s history of escaping with title and Lenny Leonard’s call of the match is nothing short of incredible filling in all of the storyline elements featured in the match.

[ FYI: You can purchase DGUSA’s “Open the Ultimate Gate” on VOD by clicking HERE or by visiting WWNLive.com. For more information on DGUSA, visit DGUSA.tv. ]

-EVOLVE ”EVOLVE 25,” Jan. 10 2014 (9.0): This was the show that served as a template for EVOLVE’s reboot in August. The formula for this show was a limited number of matches compared to other EVOLVE cards with each match being given time to stand out and no filler. Hero-Ricochet was the highlight of the undercard, as they had an outstanding back and forth contest that saw Hero showcase his technical ability in a match that told a good story and got better and better as it went on. The show ended with two killer matches, as The Young Bucks & Rich Swann vs. The Bravados Brothers & Johnny Gargano tore it down with a killer Six Man Tag match before A.R. Fox defended the EVOLVE Championship in a killer main event against Davey Richards.

[ FYI: You can purchase EVOLVE’s “EVOLVE 25” on VOD by clicking HERE or by visiting WWNLive.com. For more information on EVOLVE, visit DGUSA.tv. ]


Ring of Honor

(ROH’s Black Friday sale runs from midnight on Nov. 27 through Nov. 30 at 11:59 EST. Regular members of ROH’s website get 20% off apparel and 35% off ROH show and compilation DVD releases. Ringside members get 35% off apparel and 50% off ROH show and compilation DVD releases.)

Shows

-ROH “All Star Extravaganza VI,” Sept. 6, 2014 (7.5): This was a really good card from Ring of Honor. It was also a newsworthy show, as Michael Elgin unexpectedly dropped the ROH World Title to Jay Briscoe in the semi-main event. The undercard has a number of solid matches as well, including Jay Lethal defending the ROH TV Title against Cedric Alexander, who subbed for ACH and a very good match between A.J. Styles and Adam Cole. The main event between ROH World Tag Team Champions ReDRagon and The Young Bucks was a brilliant 2/3 Falls match. I usually don’t like 2/3 Falls matches, but this one was executed well and had some red hot action between two of the best tag teams in the world.

[ FYI: You can purchase ROH’s “All Star Extravaganza VI” on DVD by clicking HERE or by visiting ROHWrestling.com. You can also purchase this show on VOD at ROHWrestling.com as well. For more information on ROH, visit ROHWrestling.com. ]

-ROH “War of the Worlds,” May 17, 2014 (8.0): “War of the Worlds” is my favorite ROH show that I’ve seen in 2014 so far. It was a landmark show for ROH, as several of NJPW’s top stars came to NYC to face off against top ROH talent, which eventually led to several ROH wrestlers making their way to Japan to wrestle for NJPW. Kevin Steen vs. Nakamura was a fantastic match. Nakamura has arguably been NJPW’s hottest wrestler at times in 2014 and he had a great match with Steen before he signed with WWE. The second leg of the Young Bucks-ReDRagon trilogy took place on this show as well and it was an incredible match. The main event with A.J. Styles defending the IWGP Hvt. Championship against Michael Elgin and was really good as well.

[ FYI: You can purchase ROH’s “War of the Worlds” on DVD by clicking HERE or by visiting ROHWrestling.com. You can also purchase this show on VOD at ROHWrestling.com as well. For more information on ROH, visit ROHWrestling.com. ]

-ROH “12th Anniversary,” Feb. 21, 2014 (7.5): There isn’t a must-see match on this card, but the overall card features a number of really good matches from top to bottom. The Decade vs. Page & Alexander & Mark Briscoe, ReDRagon-Adrenaline Rush, and the Hero-Cole ROH World Title match were the highlights of the show, as they came close to hitting the four-star mark. There are a number of other good matches on the undercard as well including a heck of a war between Hanson and Ciampa and Lethal-Styles was a good match as well. When you watch Cole defending the ROH World Title against Chris Hero, keep an eye on the little things he does so well as a heel. Cole does the little things right when it comes to getting under the skin of the fans, as he got a lot of heat in this match just by glaring at the crowd and stalling.

[ FYI: You can purchase ROH’s “12th Anniversary” on DVD by clicking HERE or by visiting ROHWrestling.com. You can also purchase this show on VOD at ROHWrestling.com as well. For more information on ROH, visit ROHWrestling.com. ]

Compilations

--ROH Enter the ReDRagon, released in 2014 – (9.0): ReDRagon (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) have had a great 2014 and this compilation chronicling their career from their start in ROH up until their ROH World Tag Team Championship win over The Young Bucks couldn’t have come at a better time. This release does a great job telling the story of their entire run as a team in ROH using footage and segments from TV to go along with some of their best matches. The second DVD of this two disc set also features a number of bonus interviews with O’Reilly & Fish as well as several of their best Fish Tank segments. With Fish & O’Reilly’s success in ROH and their recent rise in NJPW, this compilation makes a great addition to your wrestling library, despite the lack of a sit down interview with Fish & O’Reilly.

[ FYI: You can purchase ROH’s “Enter the ReDRagon” on DVD by clicking HERE or by visiting ROHWrestling.com. For more information on ROH, visit ROHWrestling.com. ]

-ROH “ROH Year 4,” released in 2014 – (10.0): If you just started following ROH or don’t have all of these matches in your collection from 2005, this is a fantastic three DVD set. This collection gets it right when it comes to including the very best of what ROH had to offer from 2005, which is memorable for The Summer of Punk angle, Joe vs. Kobashi, Generation Next vs. The Embassy, and the stars of NOAH coming into the promotion. ROH had a number of red hot shows in 2005 and this set features some great matches including Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi, The Embassy vs. Generation Next in a Steel Cage Warfare match, and Low Ki vs. KENTA (Hideo Atami in WWE) in a hard-hitting war from “Final Battle.” The strength of this set is that it includes some matches that might have been overlooked from 2005 like Bryan Danielson defending the ROH World Title against Roderick Strong in an incredibly stiff contest from “This Means War” and the blow off to the C.M. Punk vs. Jimmy Rave feud in a Steel Cage from Nowhere To Run. This was one of if not the greatest year in ROH history and this set certainly does ROH in 2005 justice.

[ FYI: You can purchase ROH’s “ROH Year 4” on DVD by clicking HERE or by visiting ROHWrestling.com. For more information on ROH, visit ROHWrestling.com. ]

-ROH “Michael Elgin: Unbreakable Obsession,” released in 2014 – (8.5): This is a two DVD set that chronicles Michael Elgin’s path from his entry in ROH and his quest for the ROH World Title. The set begins with an excellent hour long documentary on Elgin with names like Jimmy Jacobs, Kevin Kelly, Truth Martini, and others talking about Elgin’s work ethic and desire, which led up to him beating Adam Cole for the ROH World Title at “Best in the World 2014.” Kevin Kelly and Jimmy Jacobs were particularly good talking up Elgin and he came off like a star by the time the documentary was over. The documentary aired on TV, but it makes a nice addition to this set, which also includes a number of really good to great Elgin matches.

[ FYI: You can purchase ROH’s “Michael Elgin: Unbreakable Obsession” on DVD by clicking HERE or by visiting ROHWrestling.com. For more information on ROH, visit ROHWrestling.com. ]

INDEPENDENT WRESTLING DVDs

(SmartMarkVideo.com is having a Black Friday deal, which starts today and lasts until 10:00am Eastern on Nov. 27. If you spend $50.00 on MP4s and DVDs, you will get 25% off your purchase. Smart Mark is also running the same sale on Cyber Monday.)

(Highspots.com is currenrly running a Black Friday sale with 35% off Dvds and 25% off almost everything else. Excluded from the sale is the following: ROH & Kayfabe Commentaries DVDs, Freight Train Documentary DVD, Title Belts,Wrestling Rings & Accessories, Fan Pack Specials, Clearance Items, and Gift Certificates.)

--AIW “Absolution IX,” June 29 2014 – (8.5): Absolution is traditionally AIW’s biggest show of the year and this show was fantastic. The crowd was red hot for most of the action, despite the length of the show. The highlights of this show are an incredible MOTYC between Johnny Gargano and Ethan Page, which saw Page turn face in the middle of the match. The match built to an epic conclusion and was easily one of the best AIW matches I’ve seen in the last couple of years. The second half of the show is strong as well with some very good matches including Cross-Prohibition and Elgin defending the AIW Absolute Championship in the main event.

[ FYI: You can purchase AIW’s “Absolution IX” on DVD and MP4 by clicking HERE or by visiting SmartMarkVideo.com. For a VOD version of this show visit SMVod.com. For more information on AIW, visit AIWrestling.com. ]

-Beyond Wrestling: “Battle of New England,” Aug. 31, 2014 – (8.5): This show is only available on raw footage from Beyond Wrestling and still hasn’t been put out on DVD. The remarkable thing about this show is that Beyond Wrestling ran head-to-head with PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles and with their options limited in terms of bringing in name talent; they managed to put on a fantastic show. Once again Kimber Lee shined here in her match again Michael Bennett. Lee has been very good in Beyond Wrestling in 2014 and this was a match that told a really good story with the fans solidly behind Lee. Another highlight of the show was a very good technical wrestling match between Jonathan Gresham and Timothy Thatcher. The highlight of the show was Da Hoodz (Davey Cash & Kris Pyro) vs. Milk Chocolate (Brandon Watts & Randy Summers) vs. The Minute Men (Devin Blaze & Tommy Trainwreck) vs. EYFBO (Angel Ortiz & Mike Draztik) in an Ultimate Endurance match. The home grown talent stole the show with some incredible action as the match played out with a different stipulation for each fall. The match featured a ton of fantastic high-flying action that set the fans on fire. There was a great spot where EFBYO hit a double biel off the stage to the floor onto everyone that set the crowd on fire. This match is worth going out of your way to see.

[ FYI: You can purchase Beyond Wrestling’s “Battle of New England” raw footage by clicking HERE or by visiting LookMaNoFans.com. For more information on Beyond Wrestling, visit LookMaNoFans.com. ]

-Beyond Wrestling: “Unbreakable,” May 18, 2014 – (9.0): This was a fantastic show from top to bottom. There wasn’t a bad match on the show and the crowd was red hot for almost all of the action throughout the night. The undercard featured a standout match between Kimber Lee and Drew Gulak, but the second half of the show tore it up with two great matches between Bennett and Elgin and The Young Bucks & Steen vs. Team Tremendous & Busick. If you haven’t given Beyond Wrestling a chance yet, this is a great place to start. The Lee-Gulak match tells a really good story. Bennett’s heel act comes off so well in Beyond Wrestling and he had one of the best matches of his career against Elgin on this show. The show is capped off by a killer main event with Biff Busick & Team Tremendous taking on The Young Bucks & Kevin Steen in an insane 6 Man Tag. Having seen the DVD edit of this show, I can safely say this is Beyond Wrestling’s best show to date.

[ FYI: You can purchase Beyond Wrestling’s “Unbreakable” on DVD by clicking HERE or by visiting SmartMarkVideo.com. For a VOD version of this show visit SMVod.com. For more information on Beyond Wrestling, visit LookMaNoFans.com. ]

-CHIKARA “2014 King of Trios: Nights 1, 2, and 3,” Sept.19-Sept.21, 2014 – (8.0): It was fantastic to see one of my favorite annual tournaments return after CHIKARA went dark for the second half of 2013. CHIKARA’s return in 2014 meant that King of Trios would return and this was a fun tournament. Although the mid-card was a bit thin during the course of the three shows, the ongoing storyline between the heel faction The Flood and The CHIKARA roster was a blast to watch unfold over the course of the three nights. The storyline was nicely put together, as there were ups and downs for the CHIKARA babyfaces during the course of the tournament. Each night ended with a very good to great main event and the conclusion of the tournament was nicely executed to set up CHIKARA’s upcoming Season Finale iPPV in December.

[ FYI: You can purchase CHIKARA’s “2014: King of Trios: Night 1” by clicking HERE. You can also purchase “2014 King of Trios: Night 2” HERE and “2014 King of Trios: Night 3 by clicking HERE or by visiting SmartMarkvideo.com. All three nights of King of Trios are available in DVD, Blu-ray, and MP4 via SMV. For VOD versions of these shows, visit SMVOD.com. For more information on CHIKARA, visit ChikaraPro.com.]

-Pro Wrestling Guerrilla “Battle of Los Angeles 2014,” Aug.29-Aug.31, 2014 – (9.0): PWG’s annual BOLA tournament is always a highlight of the year for independent wrestling fans and this year was the most loaded tournament to date with Kenny Omega, A.J. Styles, Matt Sydal, and Zack Sabre Jr. brought in for the tournament. The crowd was red hot for most of the weekend, but the highlight of the weekend was Zack Sabre Jr., who is a UK wrestler that regularly wrestles in the NOAH promotion out of Japan. Sabre showcased his incredible technical wrestling on these shows and greatly enhanced the cards he was involved in. Ricochet’s run through the tournament was great as well and these show collectively are a must-watch for independent wrestling fans.

[ FYI: You can purchase PWG’s “BOLA 2014: Night 1” by clicking HERE. You can also purchase “BOLA 2014: Night 2” HERE and “BOLA 2014: Night 3 by clicking HERE or by visiting Highspots.com. All three nights of BOLA 2014 are available also available on MP4 at highspots.com. For VOD versions of these shows, visit diywrestling.com. For more information on PWG, visit ProWrestlingGuerrilla.com.]

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