From Larry Goodman: AJ Styles made his last independent wrestling appearance for the foreseeable future last night in Canton, Geor...
From Larry Goodman:
AJ Styles made his last independent wrestling appearance for the foreseeable future last night in Canton, Georgia. It was a great sendoff.
Styles went out in style in a match versus ROH star Corey Hollis. Both men had their work boots. Hollis was nervous about the match. With performances like this one, he has nothing to worry about.
The show was a huge success for Georgia Premier Wrestling drawing a sellout crowd of 475 to the Old Buffington School Gym. The folks that drove for hours to see Styles got more than they bargained for, as this was an overall excellent family-oriented show with something for everyone.
It was the quintessential atmosphere for a southern independent wrestling show – an old gymnasium packed to the gills with fans acting like they were starved for pro wrestling.
GPW is an offshoot of “Big Wood’ Greg Hullender’s Deep Southern Championship Wrestling with Darryl Morris as Woody’s promotional partner. GPW is edgier than DSCW but still well within the bounds of a family friendly.show.
I questioned how the majority of the crowd, non-DSCW fans coming to see the big stars would react to DSCW’s regular crew. The answer was shockingly well. The crowd was hot from beginning to end. The fans seemed to have no problem getting into DSCW’s cast of characters.
Hype guy Scott Hensley announced that the venue was sold out and gave the reigns to DSCW’s regular ring announcer Miss Brittany.
(1) Ray Ray defeated Torque by submission in 9:25. Fans booed referee Jonathon Chastain. Not sure what that was about. At 150 soaking wet, Ray Ray is billed as the Ultimate Underdog. He plays the role to the hilt. Torque is also short of stature. His thick build belies his aerial skills. The layout had clearly been worked out in detail and they executed well. They opened with a fast-paced exchange to a standoff. Torque took control, countering Ray’s sunset flip with a double stomp for a near fall. Ray got an Octopus hold out of nowhere. Ray soilled to the floor when Torque cut off his ascension to the top. Ray barely beat the 10 count. Torque tried to end it with a 450. Ray escaped and did a 619 to set up another top rope maneuver. Torque met him in midair with a dropkick but Ray kicked out. For the finish, Ray reversed Torque’s powerbomb into a triangle choke. Match was way more solid than I expected. The crowd was on fire. The submission was a neat swerve on a match that appeared to be headed for a flying finish.
Torque refused to shake hands. This proved to be a nice bit of foreshadowing.
(2) Jessica Leigh (with Logan Chase III) defeated Tiffany Roxx in 10:15. Roxx had a brief run with the NWA Women’s World Championship in 2011. Leigh was known as Powerhouse Hill when she trained with Dory Funk. She posed to show off her muscular arms and did squats with Roxx on her back. Leigh missed a top rope elbow due to excessive fanfare. Chase interfered. Leigh got rolled up after slamming on the brakes so as not to run into Chase.They had the timing right so it worked. Leigh got the pin, feet on the ropes with Chase providing extra leverage. Match was passable at best.
(3) Cyrus the Destroyer (with Logan Chase & Jessica Leigh) defeated Johnny Rokk to retain the Southern States Championship in 8:53. This was an impressive display of power by Cyrus – a mix of Kevin Owens’ attitude and King Kong Bundy look. He’s in better shape than the last time I saw him. Everything in his move set looks good. He doesn’t rush his stuff which adds drama and impact. In the midst of the power display, Cyrus busted out a 300+ pound slingshot senton. Cyrus came up empty on a Vader bomb. Rokk missed a swanton and both were down. Cyrus hit an killer avalanche overhead suplex for a close near fall. While Leigh jumped up to complain about the count,,Chase handed Cyrus a chair. Rokk ducked and the chair ricocheted off the ropes into Cyrus' forehead. It's so hard for that spot to not look ridiculous. This was no exception. Cyrus was toast after eating a superkick but Chase put his foot on the ropes. Cyrus then crushed Rokk’s hopes with a Black Hole Slam.
Postmatch – Cyrus and Leigh put the boots to Rokk. Torque hit the ring and held them at bay with Chase’s tennis racket. Chase tried to seduce Torque with the promise of stardom. What to do? Torque tossed the racket to Cyrus. The champ waffled Rokk. Cyrus and Torque wasted GPW security when they tried to intervene. Woody threatened to fire Chase's crew if they touched another one of his guys. Crowd was hot for the match and the angle.
(4) Cody Roberts (with Mr. Showtime) defeated Kyle Matthews in 10:07. Roberts & Showtime are known as Georgia Heat. Crowd was split for this babyface match, shading more towards Roberts since he’s a DSCW regular. They told a compelling story. Matthews, Georgia’s two-time wrestler of the year, got the lion’s share of offense but was unable to put away his larger opponent. Down the stretch, Matthews got near falls with a backcracker and a frogsplash. When Matthews tried to fly again, Roberts caught him with a TKO. A big win for Roberts and very credible. He looked as good as I've seen him look inside a wrestling ring. Matthews has deft skills in the lost art of elevating an opponent. .
Postmatch – display of sportsmanship with the crowd showing their appreciation for the efforts of both men.
(5) Gunner defeated KT Hamill in 16:28. The crowd reacted to Gunner like the star he is. Similar to Matthews' predicament in the previous match, Hamill was no match in size and strength. But Hamill took the low road, willing to do whatever it took. Hamill was getting nowhere fast until he dropped Gunner’s face on the ring frame and ran him into the post. The crowd instantly got behind Gunner, as Hamill tried in vain to press his advantage. Hamill blocked Gunner’s first go at the PTSD. Gunner scored a close near fall with a Harley Race knee that had the crowd going crazy chanting “that was 3”. Hamill got a near fall with a curbstomp. That was as close as Hamill was going to get. Hamill escaped a second PTSD. With Gunner on the outside, Hamill tried for a slingshot huracanrana to the floor. Gunner made the catch and killed Hamill dead with a powerbomb on the apron. That was one sweet variation on Gunner’s finisher. This match was about as good as it could be, given everyone knew Gunner was winning. It was just a matter of when and how. What they came up with was pretty awesome. Hamill is a tough SOB, and he know how to get across a sense of intense desperation.
Big Wood put out a 911 for security to go to the back. Good Ole Boys and The Movement came out brawling...
(6) Good Ole Boys (Cousin Cletus & Cousin Shaggy) defeated The Movement (Chip Hazard & Talon Williams) in a Georgia Streetfight at 13:41. These teams have feuded in DSCW for a long, long time, and they beat the living hell out of each other in this one. The array of weapons included a kendo stick, trash can, chain, fork, ladder, tables and chairs. Among the highlights – Williams murdering Cletus with a trash can to the head, Williams' Van Terminator on Cletus, and Cletus spearing Williams through a 4 X 8 sheet of wood paneling. Multiple “Waffle House” chants for Good Ole Boys. Hazard powerbombed Shaggy through a table. Cletus broke up the pin and powerbombed Williams onto steel chairs for the win. The finish was astonishingly brutal. The chairs were a mangled mess. Williams was in agony as he was helped the back.
The fans gave it their seal of approval with a “Waffle House” chant.
(7) AJ Styles defeated Corey Hollis in 15:48. The response for Styles’ entrance was off the chain. Hollis thought about it before accepting AJ’s handshake offer. The opening minutes set the tone Hollis displaying subtle heel tendencies. Hollis fled the ring to avoid the signature dropkick. Hollis forearmed Styles on the break. Styles took his head off with a dropkick, lit him up with chops and hit a lightning quick snap suplex. AJ’s headscissors from the mat sent Hollis out of the ring. They battled on the outside. Hollis kicked the rope into AJ’s crotch as he reentered and took command. They see-sawed on a suplex attempt until Style devastated Hollis with a suplex into the buckles. Hollis had to grab ropes to avoid being pinned. Clash attempt. Hollis escaped. Styles hit the Clffhanger. Hollis rocked Styles with that vicious back elbow and tried for the diving headbutt Styles got his feet up with perfect timing.. Huge “let’s go AJ” chant with both men down. They traded shots. Styles tore Hollis up and tried for the Clash. Hollis kicked Styles in the knee and superkicked him for a near fall. Hollis set up for the Clash on Styles. Not gonna happen. Pele kick, springboard forearm, Styles Clash, done.
Postmatch – a huge “thank you, AJ” chant. “Nope, nope, thank you,” AJ said.
Styles’ farewell speech was both light-hearted and touching. He said a lot of people didn’t want none, but Hollis did and he respected that. “You keep being smart and I’ll see you soon.” AJ said it was maybe his last indy show ever. He pointed out his three sons in the crowd. He joked about the one that wasn’t paying attention. AJ said he loved the state of Georgia… and forgave Hollis for being from Alabama.