ACTION Wrestling finished off a tough 2020 with a strong doubleheader event that should provide the company with some momentum as they head into the new year.
Last night's show was an improvement on the November doubleheader. The only thing that kept the latter half, Friday Night Fights from being a tremendous show was the lack of the real ACTION crowd, which would have been going bonkers (ACTION has been forced to cap attendance at the Roger Spencer Community Spencer to 35 fans during the pandemic vs. the usual 200). Every match offered something uniquely compelling with match quality that ranged from good to great, and a main event rich in storytelling.
Bangers Only was a fine show in its own right. AC Mack retained the ACTION title in controversial fashion and some much needed story intrigue was added to the championship narrative. The show featured a bunch of promising talent and the results of the experiment had to be to liking of the power that be. The new blood clearly got over with the crowd.
2020 was largely a lost cause for ACTION creatively. The pandemic was part of it but not all of it. ACTION blew off two major feuds last year (Royal vs.Fred Yehi and ACTION CEO Matt Griffin vs. Team TAG). Nothing this year came remotely close to replacing them. Last night's show gave a glimpse of better things to come. There were a number of promising green shoots in the storyline department.
In contrast to the national recognition ACTION has received through its IWTV premiers and a number of buzzworthy matches (B-Boy vs. Ben Carter - 2/7, Angelus Layne vs. Nolan Edwards - 9/4 and Edwards vs. JD Drake - 10/2 are all must see), ACTION has received little love inside the state this year. It will be interesting to see how or if that fhat changes in 2021 when more normal operations hopefully resume.
For Bangers Only makes its IWTV premier on December 16 at 10 pm.
For Bangers Only:
(1) Rob Killjoy pinned Shean Christopher in 8:35. This was OK as an opener. It felt like they were running through the match they had mapped out rather than a real contest. Christopher went to the back to the well with a second springboard cutter and Killjoy countered with a classic O'Connor roll.
(2) Alex Kane pinned Erron Wade in 4:45. Kane welcomed Wade to Suplex Island and pinned him with the Mark of Kane. It was a roughing outing for Wade. He used too many kicks with too many of them looked weak. The ACTION fans definitely warmed up to Kane in his second appearance.
IWTV Tag Team of the Year Violence Is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku) came to the ring. Garrini said his scheduled opponent Lutha X wasn't there so he wanted Kane in the nightcap.
(3) Kevin Ku defeated Kevin Ryan via referee stoppage in 11:15. Ryan absorbed a ferocious beating from Ku and showed he made of stern stuff. I wouldn't say he gave as good as he got but he was firing back with everything he had and never quit. Ryan came flying out of the gate. Ku clipped his wings with a vicious dragon screw legwhip . Ryan's mobility was hampered for the rest of the match. Ku's chops and kicks were safe but super stiff. He kicked a field goal with Ryan's sternum. Ku offered Ryan a frees shot. Ryan took him up on it. Ryan capped a flurry of offense with a Spanish fly, but was slow ascending to the top rope due to the knee and missed his moonsault. Ku used a leg trap dragon suplex. Both down after an avalanche back suplex by Ku. Ryan's got near falls with a draping cutter and a piledriver. Ku hit his double knee lungblower and locked in a wickedly angled Walls of Jericho. ACTION sees something different in Ryan than either Southern Honor or Anarchy do and he rose to occasion in this match...with a wee bit of help from Ku.
The crowd applauded Ryan after the match.
(4) Graham Bell defeated Bailey Blake in 9:55. Blake was psyched for a fight. Bell introduced Blake's to the wall of the building and gave him a tour of the concession stand, then bell the hell out of him. Threw in a Southern Honor joke for good measure. Blake kicked out of an F5. Blake made Bell missed a reverse top rope elbow drop and seized on the opening with a Stroke and an Unprettier for near falls. Blake went springboard. Bell speared him midair and hit the double knee gutbuster for the pin. Like Ryan, Blake took a licking and kept on ticking and got over in the process. I wouldn't say to the same degree. The theme was similar enough to Ryan/Ku that having them back-to-back wasn't the best idea.
Bell received a priority mail envelope in the ring after the match. The sender was really taking their chances using the US Post office instead of Fed Ex. Bell was excited by what he found in the envelope but kept the contents a secret.
(5) Cabana Man Dan pinned Damian Tangra in 8:34. Tangra's entrance got more of reaction than I would have expected based on his past appearances. Match gave both men the opportunity to display their technical skills, which played to Tangra's strengths and CMD helped get him over that much more. Tangra got plenty offense. CMD came close to submitting Tangra with an STF and pinned him after sliced bread. This match was a pleasant surprise. Dan shook Tangra's hand and gave him thumbs up afterward.
(6) Bobby Flaco defeated Adrian Alanis (with Liam Gray) in 12:14. Crowd was as on fire as 35 people can be, as the WWA4 guys put on quite a show. Flaco is super over at ACTION. The crowd was hugely entertained by Gray's antics at ringside. Alanis has a great look and can go. They worked a fast pace and incorporated a plethora of big moves. Flaco took out Alanis and Gray with a plancha off the top turnbuckle. Alanis hit a Tiger Driver and a Blue Thunder Bomb. When Flaco kicked out of both, the crowd broke out the "Bobby" chant. Flaco wore Alanis down and fought off his finisher to finally get the job done with a Poison Rana. The ACTION faithful were on their feet after the match. I enjoyed this match but not as much as the crowd.
(7) Arik Royal defeated ACTION Champion AC Mack by DQ in 15:27. Mack cut a great promo as usual. Said he was feeling disrespected by messages informing him that his time had come after holding the title for two years. Mack said he had made good on every promise and "Alice" wasn't going anywhere until he said so.
This was a totally solid title match that got an entirely different crowd reaction than the previous one - quiet but extremely attentive. Mack focused on Royal's arm. Royal went after Mack's oxygen supply with a punishing bodyscissors. Mack appeared willing to take a count out. Royal made sure that didn't happen. Mack's shotgun dropkick sent Royal out of the ring. Mack followed up with a tope. Mack's flying knee from the apron looked phenomenal, his best move of the match. Royal blocked the Mack 10 and planted Mack with a sitout powerbomb for a close near fall. With both men spent as they fought outside the ring, Bell tried to interfere but Mack cut him off. The battle returned to the ring. Bell jumped onto the apron. Mack went for him and hit referee Hall by mistake resulting in the DQ.
Royal said he had respected Mack as champion but he was calling bogus and demanded a rematch at the February show.
Mack said OK and it would be no DQ. Bell hit the ring and tried to destroy Mack's knee. Royal wanted no part in it. A posse of babyfaces ran Bell off. Mack's knee appeared to be in bad shape.
Friday Night Fights:
(1) Adam Priest defeated Shawn Dean in 8:04. An excellent match. Priest said he was wrestling under protest because Fred Yehi didn't actually beat him last month, so all his matches would be exhibitions until he got Yehi again. Priest is one pissed off individual. The crowd was riding him mercilessly about his height. The wrestling here was first rate. Priest was always strong technically. It was the personality that was lacking and he's found himself in that department. Dean is incredibly smooth in the ring and he engages the crowd. His selling is major league. Clearly, Dean has profited from his AEW experience. Priest did a lucha style missile tope. It looked awesome but there were too many topes on this show. Pretty much a 50/50 match. Priest pinned Dean with an Oklahoma roll using the ropes, which was a play off the questionable pin in his loss to Yehi.
(2) Dominic Garrini defeated Alex Kane via referee stoppage in 9:38. This was a pure grappling match the likes of which is rarely if ever seen in Georgia wrestling. Lots of cool reversals. Kane went to his suplex game with the crowd counting them up. Garrini was working for submissions. Garrini cinched in a rear naked choke. Kane regained his feet before succumbing and passing out on the mat. Garrini shook Kane's hand after the match.
(3) Logan Creed defeated Octavius Black in 9:13. Creed looks more badass than ever with the beard. Black was impressive. He's massive and almost as tall as Creed. His running crossbody got the crowd' attention. Black went on to dominate the lion's share of the match, as he was able to slip out of Creed's attempts for Scorched Earth. Creed did a 6-9 tope suicida. Back inside, Creed gave Black a chokeslam and was finally able to catch Black with Scorched Earth.
ACTION fans love a good hoss fight. Match got a standing ovation, the second straight standing O for Creed at ACTION.
CEO Matt Griffin announced that he was throwing himself a surprise 29th birthday party on January 8 with a mystery ACTION show. White Claw will be the official drink.
(5) In a grudge match, Anthony Henry defeated Suge D by submission in 18:02. Suge D entered through the front door with a chip on his shoulder the size of Stone Mountain. In Suge's warped mind, he's better than Henry who walked away from wrestling when the going got tough, while he toiled endlessly despite adversity. Suge's gripe of the moment was ACTION didn't have a livestream to see him send the indy darling packing AND they played the wrong music.
Dylan Hales described it as a visceral match on commentary. He was not wrong. Henry went for an abdominal stretch. This was instant agony for Suge. He pulled up his shirt in a panic revealing kinesio tape on his ribs. Henry kicked the crap out of Suge's ribs but kicked the post when Suge moved. Suge dissected Henry's ankle, then tried to choke him out. Henry turned the match around with a snap powerslam and went after Suge's arm with subs. Suge wanted mercy. Henry repeatedly kicked him the ribs. As Henry set up for the kill, his ankle gave out. Suge softened Henry up and applied the choke. Henry was fading fast but made a last gasp grab of the ropes. Suge brought a chair into the ring. Referee Darryl Hall made it crystal clear he would DQ Suge if he used it. Cabana Man Dan came to ringside (Suge choked CMD out last month and lost because he refused to break the hold). CMD pleaded with Suge not to use the chair. Suge threw the chair at CMD. Henry applied a torturous double arm submission and Suge tapped.
Suge got in Griffin's face and shoved him on his way out the front door.
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