From Larry Goodman: Long gone are the days when Thanksgiving was a special time for pro wrestling in the South. In a nod to that l...
From Larry Goodman:
Long gone are the days when Thanksgiving was a special time for pro wrestling in the South.
In a nod to that lost tradition, Peachstate Wrestling Alliance presented their 5th annual Holiday Hell event at the VFW Fairgrounds in Carrollton, GA Saturday night, drawing a crowd of 285, as rabid and rowdy as ever.
Rick Michaels regained the PWA Heritage Championship by defeating Simon Sermon in a cage match main event that had been months in the making. Their partners-turned-enemies-turned partners-turned-enemies saga has been at the top of the card in one form or another since Michaels' surprise return in June 2012. And it's not over yet.
Top to bottom, this was the best PWA show I've seen. The concerted effort to upgrade the talent roster has paid off. The quality of the wrestling is way, way better than it was six months ago. For far too long, PWA had the always compelling Exotic Ones story on top and nothing much of interest underneath. They've got three hot stories going now, giving their fans plenty to look forward to on December 28.
Mike Jackson opened the show with a prayer. Among the things Jackson was thankful for still having the ability to wrestle at the age of 64.
Jackson's opening remarks were interrupted by the arrival of Ace and Amy Haven at ringside. Jackson went ballistic. He was scheduled against Ace later in the evening, but Jackson wanted the Ace and Lassie in a handicap match the way it was supposed to happen the last time, and he wanted them now. Ace said no way because Amy was pregnant. PWA Chairman Shane Noles came onto the stage to make a ruling. Noles said that per the Georgia Athletic Commission, Amy shouldn't be able to choke Jackson and rake his eyes unless she was an active part of the match. Therefore, the handicap match was a go. Ace said they needed more time to prepare. Jackson said Amy's new outfit from Dollar General would do just fine.
(1) Ace & Amy Haven defeated Mike Jackson in a handicap match at 11:28 when Amy pinned Jackson with one foot. Jackson had no problem handling Ace and had Amy on the run. Ace teased a tag to Amy. She backed off clutching her belly. Jackson's obsession with Amy got the better of him, as he fell victim to Ace's spear. Ace tossed Jackson out. Amy kicked Jackson when he was down, prompting a "she's just fat" chant. Once Ace had Jackson sufficiently softened up, Amy was happy to tag in to throttle Jackson and rake his back. A missed springboard kick by Ace set Jackson's comeback in motion. Jackson grabbed Amy by the hair. Ace intervened and in the ensuing commotion, referee Jeremy Black got clocked in the jaw. Ace KOed Jackson with brass knucks when Black's back was turned. Amy tagged in and put her foot on Jackson's chest for the 1-2-3. The crowd was buzzing from bell to bell. This match could not have worked much better.
Jackson threw a tantrum of epic proportions. He upended the table and ring steps, tore the guard rails apart and demanded a loser leaves town match with Haven on December 28. Jackson said after 5 stinking years Noles was about to see a side of him he ain't never seen. Noles wanted to be sure Jackson was willing to put his career on the line. Jackson said, "What career? I couldn't beat a 120 pound sissy and his 400 pound woman. I've done everything you've asked me to do and I've got nothing left." Noles said he trusted Jackson's judgement so the match is on. Jackson's behavior came as a shock. The desperation of a bitter old man wasn't a pretty sight. Jackson's performance was nothing short of awesome.
(2) Adam Jacobs defeated Kevin Blue and Ethan Case in three way elimination match at 14:02. The PWA fans took to Blue right away. Jacobs they already disliked. Case was dressed in pink and threw a single pink streamer to honor his entrance. They did a sweet slingshot sunset flip/german suplex three way deal. Blue hit a tope on both bad guys. The heels doubled up on Blue and eventually took him out of the match. Blue fired up and stomped the crap of them, Case especially. They teased the usual tower of doom spot, and refresingly didn't pull the trigger on it. With all three down, the crowd started chanting for Blue. Jacobs hit a reverse DDT on Blue. Case took Jacobs out with a knee strike/suplex combo. Blue and Case traded strikes until Blue hit the snapmare driver to eliminate Case. Jacobs pounced on the unsuspecting Blue with a flying flatliner for the win. Good match all the way around. Jacobs can get a decent match out just about anybody. Blue got over really well for a newcomer. Case was a revelation. He's improved dramatically over the last year. His look, work and ring presence are all significantly better.
Ring announcer JB Lementary (an upgrade from Tony Calhoun IMO) said the victory earned Jacobs a shot a the Junior Title on December 28. A pissed off female fan tried to get at Jacobs on his way out. Jacobs had fun with her.
(3) Aja Perera defeated Grundy in 4:03. Grundy was introduced as every man's nightmare.She does a masked monster gimmick llike a female Mankind. Perrera may be the only pro wrestler from Sri Lanka. She wore a tutu over her tights. They tried hard but this was bad. They're both painfully green. The crowd was pretty quiet with a smattering of cheers for Perera. Perera did the worst leglock submission in wrestling history. Perrera's finish was a wheelbarrow stunner followed by a flying crossbody.
Sermon addressed the crowd and got tremendous heat. Sermon said he had been reading their comments on the internet saying he was losing tonight. Sermon said no. The crowd did the Daniel Bryan "YES!" chant. Sermon gave up and stormed to the back. Interesting choice by Sermon to give the fans the last word.
(4) In a match for the Georgia Junior Title, Champion Zach Daniels and Fred Yehi wrestled to a 15 minute draw. This was a competitive grappling match with neither man being able to establish a clear advantage for any length of time. They opened up their attacks as the match progressed, giving it a nice build of intensity. They're both popular babyfaces in PWA, but the fans were pulling for Yehi in the closing minutes. I took that as a sign of a successful educaiton process, as the PWA fans have come to appreciate a superior technical wrestler when they see one. They traded near falls with big combo moves. Yehi used Crimson's Muay Thai knees/cravate plex combo. They went back and forth trying for their respective finisher as the final seconds ticked off. Good match.
The fans wanted 5 more minutes. Noles was about to order just that when Jacobs cut in. Jacobs said he was the number one contender. "Right now this belt bag is empty but on December 28, it's going to have my belt in it and it's going in my bag." Noles said since Jacobs was so adept at triple threat matches, he would have to beat both Yehi and Daniels on December 28. Jacobs whined about the unfairness of it all. His pouty crybaby act was one of the highlights of the night.
(5) EMPIRE (Shane Marx & Casey Kincaid with Dewitt Dawson) defeated The Washington Bullets (Trey & Jon Williams) to retain the PWA Tag Team Championship in 18:07. Lementary said PWA fans regarded the August 20 match between these teams as the best tag match in company history. Dawson handled the introduction of his EMPIRE. The Bullets were in full control early on. At the 5 minute mark, Trey fell for Dawson's distraction and got kneed out of the ring by Marx, instantly changing the complexion of the match. EMPIRE focused their attack on Trey's knee with Kincaid using a stretch muffler. The hot tag led to a fabulous furry of big moves and close calls. It ended with all four down and the crowd on fire. Jon pulled the ropes down on Marx. Kincaid miraculously kicked out of their signature finisher (The Marion Barry). Jon went after Dawson. Marx saved Dawson by shoving Jon into the post and brought a chair into the ring. As the ref removed the chair, Dawson threw powder into Trey's face and Kincaid rolled him up. Not the best match these teams are capable of pulling off, but several cuts above what PWA fans have been accustomed to seeing.
There was an altercation involving a fan after the match. Heh, it wouldn't be PWA with this stupid stuff. Evidently, a fan shoved a security guy into referee Tristan Michaels.
(6) Rick Michaels defeated Simon Sermon in a steel cage match to become the PWA Heritage Championship in 19:04. Special referee Dusty MacWilliams was introduced as one of the most popular wrestlers in PWA history (true). Noles served as the special ring announcer and explained the match could be won by pinfall, submission, escape over the top or through the door. Michaels got a close near fall in the first 30 seconds. Sermon tried to climb out. Michaels would have none of that. Michaels went for the door. Sermon used the ropes to crotch him. Multiple shots into the cage ensued. Sermon made a second attempt to climb out. Michaels cut that off with a low blow. They both went out the door and jumped off the ringsteps hitting the floor simultaneously. Ref Tristan Michaels raised Sermon's hand. Ref Jeremy Black raised Michaels' hand. MacWilliams said he didn't see who landed first and restarted the match. They brawled on the outside with MacWilliams trying in vain to get them back inside the cage. Michaels threw two chairs into the ring. Sermon slammed the cage door on Michaels' head. Michael bled. Sermon used the fence like a cheese grater on Michaels' forehead. The blood was flowing. Sermon gave Michaels a spinebuster slam onto the chairs. Michaels laid a chair across Sermon's groin and whacked it with the other chair for a sick version of the conchairto. Sermon was in agony and MacWilliams was feeling his pain. Sermon got a foot over the ropes to stave off a three count. Sermon whipped Michaels into a wedged chair and hit the Manchester Driver. Michaels kicked out at the last split second. Sermon got into a shoving match with MacWilliams. That gave Michaels time to recover. His superkick inadvertently nailed MacWilliams. Sermon waffled Michaels' back with a chairshot and climbed to the top of the cage. Sermon had the match won but decided to give Michaels another Manchester Driver. Michaels countered and hit the Double Shot but Sermon kicked out. Sermon went for his finisher again. Michaels escaped and connected with a superkick. The
momentum sent Sermon into the cage face first. Michaels waited for the rebound to put Sermon away for good with the Double Shot. The crowd popped huge for the title change. Sermon was busted open on the finish. As cage matches go, the action was nothing special, but they did a stellar job of telling a story and getting across the grueling nature of the bout. They teased all possible way to win except by submission. The addition of MacWilliams was a good call. He was spot on as the special ref.
Sermon came to and demanded a no DQ rematch next month. Noles confirmed that Sermon had a rematch in his contract. Michaels said he used to be like Sermon, a lowlife piece of garbage that ran scared. Michaels said he wasn't like that anymore. He was the Original Chosen One, not some pretty fairy wearing glitter. Michaels told Sermon this was his one shot so he better make it count. Sermon said he would have all the other Exotics with him. Michaels said Sermon could bring every lowlife fairy from every gay club in Atlanta because he would have all the fans in Carrollton in his corner. Michaels has gone well beyond turning over a new leaf.
I have to hand it these guys. This feud has incredible legs. They booked a match that appeared to be the blow off with the babyface going over clean. Yet they're able to come back with a rematch at the very next show that their fans were clamoring to see.
