From Larry Goodman: They don’t call it Sacred Ground for nothing. PCW always saves their best stuff for this show. Chapter 7 wa...
They don’t call it Sacred Ground for nothing. PCW always saves their best stuff for this show. Chapter 7 was no different.
I’ve attended all seven and enjoyed every one of them, some more than others. Chapter 3 was voted Show of the Year and will probably always be my favorite. While he remained heavily involved in the promotion on all fronts, Chapter 3 marked the end of PCW founder Stephen Platinum’s tenure as booker by virtue of his move to Orlando.
It was quite the eventful night of epic storytelling. A new PCW champion was crowned. The Tag Team Season winner was decided. A former PCW Champion was pinned for the first time. The first time meeting of two of Georgia’s best produced a technical masterpiece. And Platinum made his final PCW appearance to definitively pass the torch.
A highly motivated PCW crew busted ass all night long. No news there. More than ever, the success or failure rode on the shoulder of the core roster. Kudos to booker Matt Hankins on the construction of this show. After an inauspicious start, it gradually picked up steam, steadily building all the way to the finish. Chapter 7 was pared down to six matches with each of them presenting something distinctly different.
Sacred Ground has been held at five different venues. This year’ show was held on sacred ground indeed. It was the first wrestling show to take place in over 30 years on the site of the Porterdale Gym, which was a regular stop of for Georgia Championship Wrestling in the 70s and early 80s. The gym burned down and the city of Porterdale has converted the site into an outdoor event center. The ruins of of the old gym were left in place. It’s an absolutely awesome venue for wrestling. I would like to think that Sacred Ground has found a permanent home.
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| Pre-show |
Attendance at Porter Memorial Gymnasium was 225. The old walls help to contain the sound so this show had better heat than most outdoor events. Crowd reactions increased as the show progressed building to a crescendo in the main event.
Chapter 7 was running on lucha libre time, starting 45 minutes late and ending some 3 and ½ hours later. Nobody seemed to mind.
Hankins came out to a special Prince-themed intro to hype the show. Every Sacred Ground has its own theme. The Prince theme was decided on prior to his death.
s(1)”Go Time” Eric Jones won phase one of the Platinum Royal over Dementia D’Rose, Nina Monet, Alex Rudolph Garrett Shanks, Brandon Kage, “PCW Juggernaut” Cameron Jackson, Sean Sims and The Contras (Tempest & Battle Zone) in 7:12. They changed up the usual Platinum Royal rules. Damien Bennett was awarded the spot against the winner that usually goes to competitor scoring the most eliminations. All you need to know about the match is this -- The Contras pre-match comedy schtick with Games of Thrones references was the highlight. They wore full body suits and masks to disguise their identities but looked suspiciously like Carpenter and Stephen Platinum.
Contras were eliminated when the bell ring for because they were still on the floor. D’Rose speared Monet eliminating both and they battled to the back so maybe they’re building something there. Jones pulled the ropes down to spill Jackson to the apron then sent him to the floor with a baseball slide.
Contras were eliminated when the bell ring for because they were still on the floor. D’Rose speared Monet eliminating both and they battled to the back so maybe they’re building something there. Jones pulled the ropes down to spill Jackson to the apron then sent him to the floor with a baseball slide.
Damien Bennett defeated Eric Jones in 4:12 to win the Platinum Royal. Bennett was impressive on offense except for the Erik Watts dropkick.
When Bennett missed a frogsplash, Jones came roaring back. He did his weird little dance before missing a frogsplash of his own. Bennett picked up the win with a Rainmaker clothesline.
Jones shot Bennett the double bird after the match so I guess he’s turning.
Bennett offered to be The Danger City Demons’ partner for their match against Cornerstone.
Reverend Dan Wilson came onstage with the Cornerstone to cut a promo. Rev said they would have disembodied the Demons’ souls with Tank but decided to go a different route and introduced “The Undead Luchador” Supernatural as the newest member of the Cornerstone.
Berg eliminated Valek with the Ground Zero at 19:29. That left Danger against Berg and Carpenter. It turned into a bloodbath. Berg stabbed Danger with his veggie peeler. Danger blasted Berg with a chain. Both were bleeding profusely. Berg was blinded by the blood and Danger managed to pin him after kicking a garbage can lid into his face at 23:09. Carpenter ordered Butcher to give him chain. Butcher walked out with Reverend chasing after him. Danger kicked out Carpenter’ headlock driver and beat him with the Danger kick to become the first person to pin Carpenter in PCW. The match was strong on dramatic story. They didn’t need to go that long and the work was barely passable in spots, but they made up for it with the weapons and all that blood. It never ceases to amaze me how over Danger is with PCW fans. He connects with this crowd like no other.
Afterward, Danger’s wife and child joined him in the ring. Danger was a mess. They had to change out the canvas before the next match.
Platinum made a weird tour of the ringside handing out beads to the audience.
(3) Brian Blaze defeated Logan Creed (with Brooklyn Page) and Trevor Aeon in a triple threat match at 13:20. The bad guys doubled up on Blaze, crushing him with back-to-back sentons. The alliance was short lived in the face of great resiliency from Blaze. Creed did a Taker dive that was totally insane for a guy his size. He overshot the target and was lucky not to crack his skull like an egg on that stone floor. Creed went on a tear and came close to pinning both of his opponents. Blaze and Aeon teamed up for a Doomsday Device on Creed, who survived another nutso bump. He must be off his meds. Creed got close near falls on both opponents before Aeon took him out with a short flatliner. Blaze then pinned Aeon with a pumphandle sitout piledriver. Really good stuff from all three. Workwise, the match was on entirely different another level from anything that had preceded it. Creed is unquestionably in the top tier of Georgia talent.
(4) Tag Team Season Finale: Kevin Park & Brian Kane defeated Washington Bullets (Jon & Trey Williams) defeated Bill the Butcher & Dementia D’Rose and Hooligans (Devn & Mason Cutter) to win the Tag Team Season Championship in 17:32. Before the bell, D’Rose waffled Butcher with a chairshot and walked out on him for his sin against the Cornerstone. Hooligans and Kane/Park got healthy pops for their entrances. Bullets took a powder and let the babyface teams do all the work. Hooligans hit a flying legdrop/standing moonsault combo with perfect timing. Bullets picked their spot to get the advantage on Kane. They did a chain reaction spot where Park dropkicked Jon causing him to DDT Trey. Butcher finally recovered and ran wild until the Bullets got him under control. Jam came in from the front entrance and announced his presence with a double missile dropkick on the Bullets. An indescribably terrific chain of big moves ensued eliciting a “this is awesome” chant from the crowd. Butcher and Jam innovated with a tilt-a-whirl/spear combo. Everyone looked like gold. In the end, Jon was pinned after a running kick/DVD combo. Match had potential to be a real cluster but the chemistry was there and it flowed nicely. The lucha tag (no tag) rules helped. At the risk of being a nitpicker, the finisher wasn’t as impressive as some of amazing moves used for near falls. PCW may have something in the odd couple team of Jam and Butcher.
The Demons presented Kane and Park with the Tag Team Season trophy.
(5) Slim J vs. Shane Marx was ruled a draw on a double pin at 20:13. The back story was that Marx had been at all of the previous Sacred Grounds so Slim challenged him to be part of 7. They abided by the Code of Honor. Crisp, technical wrestling was the order of the day with neither man being able to gain a significant advantage during the opening minutes. Marx tried to use his weight and power advantage to keep Slim grounded. Slim got a burst of energy and unleashed a relentless stream of big moves. Slim went for Screwdriver on the Rocks but Marx turned him inside out with a clothesline. It was Marx’s turn to haul out the heavy artillery. Slim fought off the Natural Selection and a wheelbarrow flatliner for a near fall. Nobody home for Slim’s moonsault. Marx with a brainbuster. Marx kicked out of Screwdriver on the Rocks. Slim kicked out of Marx’s avalanche back suplex… Back and forth pin attempts…Slim yelled at Marx to stay down after he kicked out of his flying reverse DDT. Marx appeared to have the match won with a bridging german suplex but referee Williams Dobbs ruled both men’s shoulders were down. These guys really clicked. It looked like their 100th match not their first. I can’t wait for the rematch.
Matt Hankins honored ring guy extraordinaire, Jimmy Oxendine for his contributions to PCW. Oxendine said he did what he did for love not for money and had a lot of respect for the people at PCW.
(6) Geter (with Brian Blaze) defeated Gunner Miller (with Jeff G. Bailey) to retain the PCW Championship in 25:51. Miller was wearing the Ultimate Warrior facepaint. Miller told the story of his relationship with Warrior on Tipping Point. Geter hit the stage dressed as Prince (a 400 pound Prince) and launched into a song and dance number that was surreal.
The crowd was eating it up. I’m not sure if Geter won the psychological battle but it was a wild scene for sure. Crowd was split with more support for Geter. They started with caution and worked at a deliberate pace that gave the match a big fight feel. The crowd was into it all the way. Miller was selling big early. He fired back with a barrage and Geter took a TO. First big spot saw Geter give Miller a uranage on the ring frame. Geter imposed his will, crushing Miller with corner splashes and a belly to belly suplex. Geter continued to wear Miller down using a grounded bearhug. Miller was selling huge like his tank was on E. Miller shook the ropes Warrior style and launched a ferocious comeback. Miller finally got Geter off his feet with a flying shoulder block. Geter answered with a sidewalk slam and three corner splashes. Bailey was sweating bullets. Miller exploded out of the corner with a killer spear. Geter kicked out of Miller’s crawling one arm cover. Miller with a second spear and an amazing overhead belly to belly suplex. Now Geter was selling huge. Bailey was all over the ref when Geter barely kicked out after Miller’s running forearm shot. Miller ran right into Geter’s fist and it was lights out. Geter then splashed Miller off the middle rope to score a clean pin. The match lived up to the hype. As good as any match I’ve seen from either one of them. They hit hard, let the moves register and sold like it was the real deal.
The crowd was eating it up. I’m not sure if Geter won the psychological battle but it was a wild scene for sure. Crowd was split with more support for Geter. They started with caution and worked at a deliberate pace that gave the match a big fight feel. The crowd was into it all the way. Miller was selling big early. He fired back with a barrage and Geter took a TO. First big spot saw Geter give Miller a uranage on the ring frame. Geter imposed his will, crushing Miller with corner splashes and a belly to belly suplex. Geter continued to wear Miller down using a grounded bearhug. Miller was selling huge like his tank was on E. Miller shook the ropes Warrior style and launched a ferocious comeback. Miller finally got Geter off his feet with a flying shoulder block. Geter answered with a sidewalk slam and three corner splashes. Bailey was sweating bullets. Miller exploded out of the corner with a killer spear. Geter kicked out of Miller’s crawling one arm cover. Miller with a second spear and an amazing overhead belly to belly suplex. Now Geter was selling huge. Bailey was all over the ref when Geter barely kicked out after Miller’s running forearm shot. Miller ran right into Geter’s fist and it was lights out. Geter then splashed Miller off the middle rope to score a clean pin. The match lived up to the hype. As good as any match I’ve seen from either one of them. They hit hard, let the moves register and sold like it was the real deal.
Geter gave Miller props. Said he earned his respect and could have a rematch any time. Miller said he wanted his rematch right now. Blaze tried to stop Geter from following through but to no avail…
(6b) Miller defeated Geter in 1:56 to win the PCW Championship. Referee Darryl Hall got squashed in the corner. Platinum, Wilson, Carpenter and Bailey all hit the ring with ether rags. Geter fought them off and laid out Carpenter, Platinum and Reverend Dan with avalanche corner splashes. Bailey jumped on Geter’s back and tried to smother him. It wasn’t happening. Miller hit Geter with the CTE using Carpenter’s baseball bat for extra oomph. Bailey revived the ref to make the 1-2-3.
Bailey threw streamers and hugged Miller. The Cornerstone was jubilant.
An enraged Hankins wanted to know what he had to do be rid of Platinum forever. Platinum said if Hankins wanted him gone he would have to kick his ass in a fight. “You’re on Ching Chong.”
Hankins and Platinum hit the ring. Carpenter immediately got involved. Hankins made a fiery non-wrestler comeback and they both kicked him in the nuts. Platinum assured Carpenter he needed no help. With the fans chanting “NO!” Platinum went for his Jake Roberts DDT. Hankins blocked it and went for Occam’s Razor (signature submission of former PCW Champion Mason) but Carpenter nailed Hankins with his baseball bat. Being the championship fan-baiter that he is, Platinum got a darling ringside couple all riled up and they got into a tussle with security. Butcher ran down and chased Bailey, Rev and Carpenter to the back. Meanwhile, Platinum set a table in the corner, drenched it with lighter fluid and lit that sucker up. He tried to whip Hankins into the flaming table. Hankins reversed and Platinum went into the “flames”, such as they were as the table didn’t stay lit for long. It was good enough for a “PCW” chant. This segment called for willing suspension of disbelief and lots of it. That it worked as well as it did was a testament to the emotional investment of the PCW fans and you can teach that.
Platinum took off the green jacket he ALWAYS wears, handed it to Hankins and walked out the front entrance of the venue.
