Soleil will team with Dante Casanova at Awesome Championship Wrestling’s Indypendence Day on Saturday at the MJN Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, in a scheduled tag team match against Vincent and Dutch, the duo known as The Righteous, according to reporting by Fox News Digital.
“This is the first time I get to tangle with The Righteous and I’m excited,” Soleil told reporters, adding that teaming with Casanova came together unexpectedly but carries clear purpose: “…it’s about making a statement and making an impact in the tag team division,” Fox News Digital reported.
Who is Soleil and why it matters
Soleil is the masked ring persona of Sidney Akeem, the performer who previously appeared in WWE under ring names including Scrypts and Reggie, according to Fox News Digital. Akeem told reporters he developed the Soleil character over nearly six years before unveiling a full presentation — complete with entrance music and jumbotron visuals — on ACW.
In interviews cited by Fox News Digital, Akeem described Soleil not as a temporary gimmick but as a personal reinvention designed to give him a fresh in-ring identity and connect differently with fans. He framed the mask as a symbol of confidence and possibility for younger viewers and as a way to explore a new creative direction in the independent scene.
Those background details are central to why the match at Indypendence Day matters: it is one of the first high-profile tests of whether the Soleil character can translate into consistent results and audience engagement when placed against established tag teams in ACW’s roster.
Match preview: Soleil and Casanova vs The Righteous
The scheduled tag team match pairs Soleil and Dante Casanova against Vincent and Dutch of The Righteous. Casanova’s recent singles success includes a victory over both Akeem and AJZ in a triple-threat match at ACW’s 2025 Mischief Night, a result Fox News Digital noted as context for why Casanova and Soleil are being booked together.
The Righteous are billed as an aggressive, methodical pairing, and Fox News Digital’s reporting highlights an incident at ACW’s Reckoning event in May when members of The Righteous were involved in an angle that saw Hale Collins handcuffed to the cage, escalating tensions on the roster. That Reckoning incident remains part of the narrative surrounding this tag bout and raises the stakes for all participants.
From a stylistic perspective, the match tests two narratives at once: whether a newly aligned team can create chemistry quickly, and whether a character-driven performer like Soleil can adapt his masked identity to tag-team psychology and in-ring timing. Both teams will need to manage crowd response, referee scrutiny and potential outside interference — patterns ACW has emphasized in recent angles, per Fox News Digital.
ACW storylines to watch
Indypendence Day is stacked with several ongoing storylines that could interact with the tag match’s outcome. Mischief Night 2025 established several rivalries that continue to feed main-card matches, and promoters appear to be using interconnected angles to keep fans invested across shows, according to Fox News Digital.
Tommy Dreamer and Josh Shernoff are slated for a lumberjack match that night. The lumberjacks are expected to include members of The Now and Sent 2 Slaughter, which keeps a volatile feud visible at ringside and can affect crowd dynamics and match pacing.
Sent 2 Slaughter’s Danny Maff and Shawn Donovan were named in coverage of the Reckoning-related brawls that left Hale Collins handcuffed, and those skirmishes have carried forward as talking points on ACW programming. Any further run-ins or referee distractions involving members of those factions could directly influence the Soleil–Casanova vs The Righteous match.
For fans and angle-watchers, the night functions as both an independent-card attraction and a litmus test for which performers are primed for longer-term pushes within ACW.
What comes next
For Soleil and Casanova, Indypendence Day is an early opportunity to make a statement in ACW’s tag team division. A decisive win over The Righteous would give the newly formed pairing immediate credibility and could lead to follow-up matches that cement the team as a recurring threat, according to the coverage by Fox News Digital.
Conversely, a competitive loss could be used by ACW bookers to advance storyline beats — for example, using post-match heat or interference to justify rematches, stipulations or a longer program. Either outcome would shape booking choices around the tag ranks and influence whether Akeem’s Soleil persona returns frequently to ACW cards.
Akeem himself framed the immediate aim as present-focused: making a statement at Indypendence Day rather than outlining long-term plans. That posture keeps options open for promoters and allows ACW to pivot depending on crowd reaction and television or streaming reception.
Key takeaways
- Soleil is the masked persona of Sidney Akeem, developed over several years and debuted on ACW, per Fox News Digital.
- Soleil will team with Dante Casanova against The Righteous (Vincent and Dutch) at Indypendence Day in Poughkeepsie.
- Recent ACW incidents, including the Reckoning handcuff angle and Mischief Night outcomes, provide storyline context that raises the match’s stakes.
Source attribution
This report is based on reporting by Fox News Digital. Original coverage: Fox News Digital. Quotations and details about the Soleil character and the Reckoning incident are drawn from that article.
FAQ
Who is Soleil?
Soleil is the masked ring character of Sidney Akeem, who previously performed under names including Scrypts and Reggie in WWE. Akeem says he developed the Soleil persona over nearly six years and debuted it fully on ACW, according to Fox News Digital.
When and where is Indypendence Day at ACW?
Indypendence Day takes place Saturday at the MJN Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, per event listings cited by Fox News Digital.
Who will Soleil team with and who are the opponents?
Soleil will team with Dante Casanova. Their opponents are Vincent and Dutch, the tag team known as The Righteous.
