As Empire State Wrestling nears the end of its event schedule for the year, it looks to close out 2025 in a major way.
ESW will conclude the year at WrestleBash XV at Buffalo RiverWorks on Friday night with a slew of highly recognizable names to many wrestling fans.
Empire State Wrestling presents WrestleBash XV
World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Famer Teddy Long will be in attendance. A meet and greet will be held for fans to interact with Long.
But the marquee names do not end there. Former Total Nonstop Action Wrestling World Champion Mike Santana will make his ESW debut and will host a meet and greet of his own.
Santana will face the returning “Intense Icon” Joshua Bishop. Bishop last appeared in ESW facing “Big Time” Bill Collier in March 2023.
The 12th Annual Ilio DiPaolo Memorial Cup match will also feature several noteworthy wrestlers. The entrants include TNA star Trey Miguel, the world-traveled “M-Dog 20” Matt Cross, former ESW Interstate Champions Spencer Slade and “The Prize” Alec Price, one-half of the ESW Tag Team Champions Cheech, and the winner of the Last Chance Battle Royal.
Miguel made his ESW debut versus All-Elite Wrestling star Jay Lethal in May 2022. This will be Cross’s first ever match in ESW.
In September, Slade defeated “Hardcore” Channing Decker in singles action, while Cheech squared off against “A Cut Above The Rest” Gavin Glass. Price teamed with Jordan Oliver to defeat Miracle Generation in a highly anticipated match on the same card.
This will be the first DiPaolo Cup match appearance for each competitor besides Cheech. Cheech’s tag partner and fellow champion Colin Delaney will miss an extended amount of time due to a serious knee injury.
Upon receiving the news, Cheech demanded that ESW management place him in the DiPaolo Cup match. That request was granted.
The field for the Last Chance Battle Royal, which will open WrestleBash XV, is yet to be determined. However, Decker already called his shot in this video: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/175Z4NbRDa/
ESW Heavyweight Champion “Invincible” Vince Valor will defend the title in a triple threat match against “Big League” John McChesney and Glass.
McChesney earned the title shot after winning the 2025 Everything To Gaine Rumble in July. However, Glass was not medically cleared to participate in the ETG Rumble due to a brutal attack by Team Big League in May.
These circumstances, and the tense exchange between Valor and Glass at the end September’s event, led to Glass being placed into the match..
ESW Interstate Champion “The Holy Hand Grenade” James Sayga will put the title on the line against “The V Guy” Vaughn Vertigo.
After making his ESW debut in July with an impressive win over Arez, Vertigo went on to win a scramble match in September to become the new No. 1 contender for the Interstate belt. Sayga spoke a lot about his upcoming match with Vertigo in this video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BobH3zsST/
ESW Women’s Champion “Courageous” Christina Marie will continue her “take on all comers” approach at WrestleBash.
After her and Valor successfully defended their belts in a 2 Belts, 1 Fall match against The Production in September, Marie will face a newcomer to ESW. “The Spiteful Brute” Harleen Lopez will be her next challenger. Lopez hails from Philadelphia, Penn. and previously wrestled for Beyond Wrestling and appeared on Ring of Honor programming.
Puf made his surprise return to ESW in the 2025 ETG Rumble and nearly won it. However, Collier cost him the victory and a future title chance.
In September, Puf called out Collier and said he wanted a match against him at WrestleBash. You can catch a recap of it here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1MDFVsSanV/ Collier accepted the challenge since Puf’s issuing of it.
A triple threat tag team match is on tap for WrestleBash. The bout will include two former ESW Tag Team Champions in High Seas and CXR, with the third team being The Criterion (“Wallless” Adam Wacker and “The Shot” Cal Keaton). Considering the uncertainty surrounding the status of the tag belts, this match may lead to serious title implications in the future.
The highly dysfunctional High Seas and CXR both last competed in ESW in May in a four-way tag match. Meanwhile, this will be The Criterion’s first time tagging in ESW. The Criterion spoke about how they see this match in this video: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1Mdd1wPavt/
Doors for WrestleBash XV open at 6 p.m. with the opening bell set for 7 p.m. Front and second row seats are sold out but balcony and general admission are still available at pre-sale prices on ESWTIX.com. Ticket prices rise by $5 at the door.
