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Vargas and Crowbar battle in a Poughkeepsie Street Fight at ACW Reckoning.

The thought of going to an independent pro wrestling show usually brings up images of empty bingo halls and wrestlers who are hoping to make it to the big time.

Awesome Championship Wrestling (ACW) on Saturday night in Poughkeepsie, New York, couldn’t have been further from those preconceived notions. ACW Reckoning took place in front of a packed MJN Center and aired on Triller. There were several matches that featured fireworks, TV quality productions, multiple champions and even a steel cage match to cap the night.

The event came to a controversial and chaotic end.

Awesome Championship Wrestling stars Hale Collins and Danny Maff were in action at Reckoning on Saturday, May 16, 2026. (Fox News Digital)

Vik Dalishus and Hale Collins, the tag team duo known as The Now, defended the ACW Tag Team Championship against Sent 2 Slaughter – Shawn Donovan and Danny Maff. It was supposed to be the end of a long feud that included Donovan and Maff crashing Dalishus’ wedding and Collins’ wrestling school ceremony. The four men were locked in a cage.

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Collins and Maff were each on the brink of winning the belts with the cage door open. Whoever escaped first would be declared the winner. However, both Collins and Maff reached the floor simultaneously. The referees argued over which wrestler hit first but the match was seemingly declared a tie. It caused Sent 2 Slaughter to erupt in anger.

The duo took their frustrations out on ACW officials and the referees. Sent 2 Slaughter’s manager then entered the ring with Maff and locked the cage. Collins was beaten down on the