F rom Scott Hensley: I did a couple of 15 to watch in 2015's and it's been fun to see what those guys are doing now. The m...
From Scott Hensley:
I did a couple of 15 to watch in 2015's and it's been fun to see what those guys are doing now. The majority had great matches, improved their skills and/or exposure, and have continued on the path to greater opportunities inside and outside of Georgia. There were a couple of "misses" of guys that ended up not doing much or even some that left wrestling altogether.
For 2016, I've put off this list because the landscape is constantly changing and I wanted to get a good picture of how things were headed in the primary area that I follow before I wrote about it. This year isn't as much about the individual as it is the events, the attractions, and the promotions. I'm sure I'm leaving out a lot of very talented people but this is just what comes to my mind as some of the top things to look out for in Southeastern Wrestling:
1. The Women!
I took some heat for my Top 100 wrestlers list which only included men so let's start this list with ladies first. Not only is the WWE in great shape as far as its Women's division but the Southeast appears to be readying itself for a Women's Wrestling revolution. Pandora has been a staple of Georgia wrestling for several years now, proving herself to be tough as nails and as committed as any woman out there. I'd also like to point out that Priscilla Kelly & Kiera Hogan continue to improve and embody what the WWE has conditioned fans to expect in women with youth, beauty, and athleticism. Former NWA Women's champion Tiffany Roxx has traveled to a variety of promotions, while Jessica Leigh at DSCW/GPW continues to improve within that promotion. Miss Rachael (Freeman) moved to Florida but has recently been training with and maybe competing against Santana Garrett in the Orlando area so that's pretty exciting. Austyn Madison is a very likable up and comer. Dementia D'Rose has gained the respect of almost everyone as she's willing to go to battle with men or women alike. The most under the radar woman is probably WWA4's Angel Blackwell, who has serious skills but will probably have a challenge with her masculine look. Merica Strong is maybe the most unique female and is seemingly on every show in Georgia and is making lots of appearances for ROH. She's appeared primarily in a bodyguard role but is slowly starting to do some matches. I used to dread women's wrestling on area shows but I think it's something that's really developing and something to check out this year.
2. There's Money in Music City!
Nashville is no longer a place where weekly wrestling is a big deal. Bert Prentice's USA Championship Wrestling runs on the outskirts pretty regularly and has been running quite a bit in West TN but the new influx of Nashville shows are big spot shows running the fairgrounds or large venues with several big names and some talented area guys(many who have done a lot of work outside the area) like Crimson, Chase Stevens, Chris Michaels, Josephus, Seven, Thorn, and up and comer Daniel Eads. Crimson's TNT wrestling in Clarksville has an amazing venue and got strong support in its first few outings. I attended their first event and it really had a big show feel to it. Chase Stevens and Grumpy's Bailbonds owner Leah Hulan have partnered together for the Arcadian Wrestling Association, which has some giant events this weekend with Road Warrior Animal, Billy Gunn, and more. Money Mark Promotions and Freedom Pro Wrestling are also doing/have done Fairgrounds shows. Crossfire Wrestling and Marcus Pastorius seemed to set the bar on these big events but only time will tell if these promotions will meet the same fate as Crossfire did by extending themselves too much, too fast and running out of money.
3. Allllllllabama!
Is there even still wrestling in Alabama? There sure is. Alabama enacted a money-grabbing state commission a couple of years ago to tell people they had to pay to play but Maddog Dan Sawyer's GCW has continued to present a professional product with guys like Spi-Ral and Clyde Braddock showcasing their skills on a regular basis. ProSouth Wrestling in Piedmont continues to provide consistent feud building and attractions such as Jimmy Rave on a seemingly regular basis along with Chikara's own Batiri coming in for a Trios Tournament on April 22. New South Wrestling is also reaching out to talented independent wrestlers and featuring a mix of names, indie stars, and talented locals like veteran Chrisjen Hayme. I invite everyone to check out these three Alabama promotions if you are in those areas. Check their Facebook pages out for dates and locations.
4. A Dispersed Empire...
As most of you know, Empire Pro Wrestling in Rossville, GA was the independent promotion that I frequented most often. They've left their home building in Rossville and now appear to be planning on just doing some spot shows this summer with a future that is very up in the air. They went out with a bang though with a standing room only crowd that braved 4 hours of hot wrestling action. The talent that graced the Empire ring is now filtering out into other promotions such as Platinum Championship Wrestling, Deep Southern Championship Wrestling/Georgia Premiere Wrestling, Wrestlemerica, Atlanta Wrestling Entertaintment, UIW, and Why We Wrestle. Empire talent like Gunner Miller, The Lynch Brothers, Ryan Vega, Chase Jordan, KT Hamill, The Wyld Stallyns, and more will now hit the road and build upon their foundations. Established talent like Ace Rockwell, Tank, Kyle Matthews, Chip Day, Drew Delight & Rush will also be seen more in other areas. It's sad for me to lose the opportunity to watch these guys so often close to home but it's exciting to see what they all do out on the road.
5. The open door at PCW
Platinum Championship Wrestling has been home to some of the best talent in the state for several years now. Their storytelling and presentation of their product are both top notch. Many of their wrestlers have moved on to other opportunities or frequent other promotions more often now but this has allowed the door to swing open and new talent and new opportunities to come about. They've still got the dastardly Stephen Platinum involved from time to time along with The Carpenter, Quasi Mandisco, Jeff G Bailey, The Danger City Demons, Geter, Brian Blaze, Shane Marx, and the Washington Bullets but they're also seeing guys like Logan Creed, Cyrus, Gunner Miller, KT Hamill, The Movement and Kevin Park step up into greater roles or important appearance spots. There's lots to be learned from the great minds at PCW and a new class of "students" seems to be in session.
6. WHO ELSE TRAINED THERE!?
If you're not familiar with WWA4, it's the school of former WWF wrestler Mr Hughes. Through the years, he's provided a training ground for guys like Davey Richards, Heath Slater, Apollo Crews, Moose, and independent star/trainer AR Fox. I mentioned Angel Blackwell and I'll mention Black Baron, Odinson, Stitch Osiris, Owen Knight, Kiera Hogan, and even Fred Yehi as guys and girls that can be seen there. They have free shows on Thursdays that have an amount of talent that most promoters would love to be able to feature. The future is bright for this school/promotion so look out for these guys!
7. Consistency & Star Power at DSCW/GPW
Greg Hullender and his partners are the kings of middle Georgia spot shows. They recently promoted a sold out show featuring AJ Styles' last independent appearance vs Corey Hollis and he may have the most devoted and respectable crew of regular guys in the state. If you believe in family friendly entertainment then these are promotions to check out. There's usually a little bit of everything with guys that have made national and international names for themselves like former Impact Wrestling star Gunner to his consistent crew of The Good Ol Boys, The Movement, Ray Ray, Torque, Cody Roberts, Logan Chase, Cyrus, Crash Test Dummy, and The Mad Hatter, to some of the most well known and talented guys in the state like Shane Marx, Jimmy Rave, Kyle Matthews, Drew Adler, and the Beautiful Bald Besties. If you can't have fun at one of these shows then you're trying not to have fun. They've always got events coming up and GPW has a huge Supershow coming up on September 17th.
8. The Survival of AWE
Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment features some of the top stars in all of independent wrestling, usually matching up with the top talent in the Southeast. It's an adult oriented product that sometimes claims it isn't and often times has very public disappointment voiced by promoter Josh Wheeler. Love for professional wrestling is usually expensive and there's no doubt these guys love professional wrestling. I root for them from afar and appreciate the matches and talent that they bring to this area including tag teams like The Sound and Fury and Team IOU. They have around 50 loyal fans that refer to themselves as Kool Aid Drinkers - and are very passionate and outspoken wrestling fans that demand the caliber of fast-paced, high-flying, hard-hitting matches that AWE puts out. I don't think many outsiders expected them to make it through 2015 but they're still going and have an upcoming show featuring Tommaso Ciampa vs Martin Stone, Jimmy Rave vs AR Fox and Sami Callihan vs Chip Day on April 17th.
Part 2 coming soon!
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