By Josh Nason
After months of vitriol, sneak attacks and strong words, former teammates Aaron Rourke and Ricky Smokes will finally clash in a grudge match as part of Guilty Pleasures — the next must-see event from Limitless Wrestling.
The show is set for Saturday, April 13th at 7:30 PM EST at the AmVets in Yarmouth, Maine. Tickets are on sale now, but if recent history tells us anything, it will sell out so don’t get shut out.
If you’ve been following Limitless over the past few years, you know that Smokes, Rourke and Ava Everett were part of ARTE — a faction that officially started their run in November 2021. After several wins as a trios unit, Smokes and Rourke took up the mantle when Everett went overseas to compete in Germany’s wXw.
The two had some big wins, defeating MSP and Waves & Curls in early-2022. But in 2023, things started to take a dip with consecutive losses to Above The Rest and Fresh Air. As they have done before, however, ARTE rebounded and were victorious at May 2023’s Winds of Change with Everett successfully retaining her then-wXw Women’s title against Killer Kelly while Rourke & Smokes defeated Tabarnak de Team. Things were looking up for everyone.
Then, July’s Crunch Time happened. Despite Rourke and Smokes’ best efforts, Everett was unsuccessful in defeating rival B3CCA in a Vacationland Cup qualifying match while later on that night, Rourke and Smokes went head-to-head when offered an impromptu VLC qualifier that Rourke won.
Things continued to disintegrate at subsequent events, made worse with Everett back overseas leaving Smokes and Rourke to smolder stateside. Smokes boiled over at last September’s Anniversary Show, attacking Rourke after his victory over Kevin Blackwood.
Rourke began to experience some success as a singles wrestler while Smokes struggled. Everett then returned at December 2023’s Force of Nature with new beau LSG, blowing off Smokes and having no interest in the past with ARTE.
Enter Gabby Forza, Rourke’s longtime friend who made her Limitless debut and instantly got on the bad side of Everett. At January’s End of Beginning, Forza and Rourke defeated the impromptu team of Smokes and Everett but afterward, Smokes snuck in from behind and nailed Rourke with a chair, putting him out of action.
Then at February’s Bitter Taste, Smokes called out Rourke for a fight that night, all while knowing “The Evil Gay” wasn’t in the house. Smokes picked up a win over Forza by putting his feet on the ropes and later called out Rourke again.
Challenge accepted.
Here’s what we know about the current card:
Limitless World Champion Channing Thomas defends against Alec Price
TJ Crawford vs. Aiden Aggro
Aaron Rourke vs. Ricky Smokes
The return of Paul London
The return of Megan Bayne
The return of Gabby Forza
The return of Hazard
The debut of Alisha Edwards