"LA is the loneliest and most brutal of American cities; NY gets god-awful cold in the winter but there's a feeling of wacky comradeship somewhere in some streets. LA is a jungle."- Jack Kerouac
Unreal Showdown: Ronda Rousey's Tag Team Extravaganza
If there is a city that perfectly illuminates the human experience, the fight between dreams and reality that intersects between hope and hardship, it is Los Angeles. If there is a promotion that perfectly encapsulates the future of professional wrestling and the grit of combat, it is Wrestling Revolver.
So what happens when the perfect location and the perfect promotion crash head-long into the Most Dangerous Woman on the Planet? What happens when the truly unthinkable happens? What happens when UFC Hall of Famer and former WWE Wrestlemania main eventer steps inside the ring of Revolver with no holds barred and nothing to hold her back?
That is the mind-blowing insane scenario that will play out live for FITE+ subscribers this Thursday when Wrestling Revolver goes live with Unreal from Los Angeles' Homenetmen Glendale Ararat as Rousey aligns with her long-time MMA Four Horsewomen running mate The Problem Solver Marina Shafir to enter tag team main event competition.
Hollywood Meets the Mat: Paul Walter Hauser's Wrestling Debut
Since exiting WWE, Rousey has focused on working on her soon to be released memoir and raising her family, but with the recent wildfires in Hawaii, she looked to help raise money and awareness for The Lahaina Wildlife Relief. By stepping into the ring this Thursday on FITE+, she accomplishes that goal and reminds the combat sports world at large that one of the most accomplished, dangerous fighters in the history of MMA and professional wrestling remains one of the most lethal competitors who has ever been seen.
Rousey and Shafir's opponents this Thursday are anything but pushovers. Athena, the reigning and defending Ring of Honor Women's World Champion has risen like a Phoenix from the ashes her of her own WWE run since making her way to AEW and Ring of Honor, demeaning and decimating opponents across the globe with her hard-hitting, ferocious in-ring assaults. Athena vs. Rousey itself is a dream match, but when you add in the beloved rising star that is Billie Starkz and the MMA-infused brutality of Shafir, FITE+ subscribers find themselves with an incredible tag team bout with countless dimensions and potential scenarios that can play out in the multiverse of their minds.
Live, this Thursday, can Ronda Rousey force another tapout to add to her accolades or will the reality of combat against a force as fierce as Athena and Starkz paint a new harsh reality for the Most Dangerous Woman on the Planet and The Problem Solver?
"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
Paul Walter Hauser has emerged as one of the true thespians of their generation. Whether it be serious roles, such as the title character in Clint Eastwood's film on Richard Jewel, dark takes such as his portrayal of serial killer Larry Hall in the acclaimed television series Black Bird or the silly comic relief of Stingray in Karate Kid sequel series Cobra Kai, Hauser has emerged as an award-winning performer who brings incredible characters to life and has made audiences laugh, love and hate him.
It doesn't sound all that different from a great professional wrestler, but Hollywood is known as "the dream factory" for a reason - there are incredible illusions, production techniques and stunt doubles who obscure reality from fantasy. None of that exists in professional wrestling, where every physical action and combat sequence takes place before a live audience surrounding the competitors from all four sides of the squared circle.
Yet this Thursday, Hauser looks to make his professional wrestling debut live on FITE+, taking to the ring against Matthew Palmer. While Hauser may have trained inside and beyond professional wrestling, he's never crossed paths before with someone who has lived the life of Palmer, who has reigned supreme for years in Texas and beyond. Palmer has long proclaimed himself to be the Monster Hunter and the "Son of Anarchy" and looks to decimate Hauser for the world to see, looking to bring one of the biggest names in Hollywood and break his spirit and back in the same battle.
Los Angeles may be the city of angels, but unless Hauser is about to stun and shock the entire combat sports world, it will be angels that he will need sitting on his shoulders this Thursday evening. While Hauser may be a dedicated, loving fan of professional wrestling for his entire life of the NWA and WCW and Ric Flair, one would think someone who performs for a living would realize all too well that when illusions careen head-long into reality, reality always wins. Will Matthew Palmer prove to be Walter Paul Hauser's reality? Or will Hauser create one of the most unthinkable moments in professional wrestling history live for FITE+ subscribers?
High-Flying Showdown: Speedball Mike Bailey vs. The Bounty Hunter Bryan Keith
Beyond these incredible spectacle main events, two incredible in-ring encounters have also been advertised for Unreal this Thursday for The Golden State's most celebrated city. Speedball Mike Bailey has been in the middle of one of the most incredible in-ring series of performances in pro wrestling history over the last several years, blowing the minds of fans and scoring massive victories in Impact Wrestling, GCW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, among other promotions across the globe.
This Thursday, Bailey steps back the unforgiving Wrestling Revolver environment, his karate-infused style set to battle the unrelenting, ground and pound ferocity of The Bounty Hunter Bryan Keith. Keith, who was recently celebrated by no less an authority than The American Dragon Bryan Danielson as a rising star to be reckoned with, is seeking to snatch Bailey out of the stratosphere and throttle him through the ring. Bailey has been the celebrated star by die-hard fans but followers of Keith know he is the real deal, a viper waiting for his moment to strike before raising his arm in victory. That moment will be this Thursday before FITE+ subscribers across the globe.
This will be a classic professional wrestling chess battle with the meticulous pugilism of Bryan Keith's brawling prowess matched against Mike Bailey's sensational aerial assault hybrid style. Two classic pro wrestlers who have excelled with their own unique fighting stances and strategies, unleashed against each other with the same goal - all out victory with eyes on them from across the world, live as it plays out in the ultimate combat battle.
Lucha Libre Showdown: Gringo Loco vs. Rey Horus
Los Angeles' professional wrestling history is forever intertwined with the history of lucha libre with names like Mil Mascaras and Chavo Guerrero infamous forever for their battles across The Golden State. The next generation of the brilliant, explosive professional wrestling style known as lucha will see two of its most explosive fighters take each other on, shattering gravity and expectations at the same time as Gringo Loco and Rey Horus face off in Los Angeles.
Horus, inspired to enter the squared circle by Rey Misterio Sr, burst out of the Tijuana wrestling scene, making his name in Ring of Honor, MLW and Lucha Underground as he has taken to the skies to shock the world and countless opponents alike. If there is a competitor who can match Horus' accomplishments, it is truly "The Base God'' of Gringo Loco. One of the most talked about American lucha sensations over the last several years, Loco has battled throughout Lucha Libre AAA, GCW, AEW, Ring of Honor and more, carving his own path in professional wrestling.
This Thursday on FITE+, two of the most celebrated lucha fighters today, competitors who will surely influence the next iteration of that style of the sport, will collide center-ring at Wrestling Revolver Unreal in Los Angeles!
Professional wrestling is many things. Hard-hitting. Inspiring. Mind-blowing. But, of all things, it is perhaps the most Unreal form of entertainment one can imagine, because it intersects all things - beautiful and unforgiving, combat and comedy, real and unreal. Professional wrestling is all of these things - and Wrestling Revolver may be the most unflinching, true representation of all of those elements and more. This Thursday, FITE+ is proud to present the latest live presentation from Wrestling Revolver!
Mike Johnson is the lead reporter for PWInsider.com and has been writing about professional wrestling since 1996. He can be found on Twitter @MikePWInsider and MikeJohnsonWrites.com.
