From Larry Goodman: As good as this show was, top to bottom, something was missing…the Peachstate fans. Attendance barely crac...
From Larry Goodman:
As good as this show was, top to bottom, something was missing…the Peachstate fans.
Attendance barely cracked 100, the lowest crowd Peachstate has ever drawn at the VFW Fairgrounds. My take on the poor attendance two weeks ago was competition from the free 38 Special concert down the road and an undefeated Alabama football team on TV did damage. It appears that something else is going on.
Nothing has changed about the way Peachstate promotes their events. The wrestling is as good or better than ever.
A great main event saw Austin Theory retain the PWA Heritage Championship and former champion Kevin Blue abscond with physical possession of the title. There were two other really strong matches.
Perhaps the roster turnover and shift in story directions since the War Games show in July are the culprits. Peachstate has done a good job of keeping things fresh by moving talent in and out of the lineup. Maybe it’s too much of a good thing and more continuity is needed.
Or perhaps, as one PWA official speculated, the Peachstate fans are developing the mentality that has historically contributed to the attendance pattern in Cornelia -- the stuff that really matters goes down at the major events and the in between shows are skippable.
Whatever the reasons, the attendance has to be a concern with one show to go before Thanksgiving Turmoil on November 25.
Or perhaps, as one PWA official speculated, the Peachstate fans are developing the mentality that has historically contributed to the attendance pattern in Cornelia -- the stuff that really matters goes down at the major events and the in between shows are skippable.
Whatever the reasons, the attendance has to be a concern with one show to go before Thanksgiving Turmoil on November 25.
AJ Steele and Pandora returned last night. They are among West Georgia’s most popular stars and their show closing segment was one of the high points of the night. But If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
Ring announcer Jason Boyd said Triston Michaels was in the building after one month absence but would be working concessions instead of reffing per commissioner Terry Hudgins. This thing between Hudgins and Triston is going to come to head sooner rather than later.
Bill Behrens came to the ring in a rotten mood. Triston was supposed to help celebrate BB’s birthday. He would have brought cake and ice cream. Instead, his adopted child was being forced to do labor that was beneath him. Behrens discouraged the fans from ordering concessions because Triston might cry and there was nothing worse than a crying child.
(1) Adam Priest pinned Romeo in 8:40. Priest dominated the early going with his wresting. Make no mistake, the guy is solid in the wrestling department. riest caught Romeo with a cross armbreaker. Romeo took a powder and the chase was on. Romeo cut Priest off as he reentered the ring and took complete control of the match. Romeo hit a pair of springboard spinning European uppercuts for near falls. Romeo was in cruise control. His cavalier attitude got the best of him as Priest pinned him with a small package. Good match but not much in the way of heat.
Romeo gave Priest a sore loser beatdown. Romeo said Priest got lucky, challenged him to a rematch on November 4, then laid him out for good with the snapmare driver.
The Romeo that waved the French flag and sang the French national anthem was a lot more fun and had way more heat. The 2017 version has done nothing but jobs and can’t do much to elevate Priest no matter how good the rematch is.
(2) Alan Angels defeated David Ali via submission in 6:48. Angels was said to be visiting from a mental institution. Out on a weekend pass evidently. I liked the crazed intensity. A fast-paced exchange led to a European uppercut by Ali for a near fall. Angels worked on Ali’s leg. Ali’s comeback built to guess what? A diving European uppercut off the ropes. The quota of European uppercuts for the night had been exceeded. Ali’s leg gave out as he tried for a back suplex. Angels reversed Ali’s clothesline with a standing Spanish fly and got the submission win with an ankle lock. Match was technically fine but felt a little too choreographed. The Peachstate fans didn’t know these guys, and moves don’t matter in Carrollton unless the wrestlers establish a connection with the crowd. The European uppercuts and selling of the leg were unfortunate choices that duplicated other matches.
(3) Jimmy Rave defeated Ashton Starr via submission in 12:05. Rave took Starr to arm drag city. Starr was not a happy man and his pouty boo boo face got heat. Starr sent Rave’s face into the turnbuckle with a drop toehold. Crowd got behind Rave pronto. Starr’s offense looked good. Starr ducked Rave’s first shining wizard but the second one found the mark. Starr tried to pin Rave with feet on the ropes. Starr hit a JawdonZo for a near fall. Rave back with a superplex. Both were down selling the effects. Starr was able to kick out of Rave’s delayed cover. Starr slipped out of Dusk Until Dawn and hit Summer Crush as his awesome knack for women’s finishers continues. Rave kicked out and hit Dusk Until Dawn (satellite headscissors into the crossface) for the submission victory. The work was good but the big difference from the first two matches was the way they drew the crowd into it. Starr knows how to aggravate the Peachstate fans. Rave’s last two matches here have significantly helped his standing.
(4) AC Mack (with Ashton Starr) defeated Gladiator Jeremiah to retain the PWA No Limits Championship in 10:55. Mack was full of his SWATS of Atlanta self before the match. He was sweating bullets when confronted with Jeremiah’s mat skills once the bell rang. Headlocks and headscissors abound. Mack out to consult with Starr. They avoided Jeremiah’s pescado and punished him on the outside. Now Mack was Mr. Confidence and the fans were getting pissed. A pieface of disrespect fired Jeremiah up. Jeremiah blitzed Mack with strikes from every angle. Jeremiah missed the moonsault. Mack hit a northern lights suplex flowing into a falcon arrow. Mack’s offense is sudden when he turns it on. Jeremiah got a close near fall with the wheelbarrow flatliner. Jeremiah hit a jumping hangman neckbreaker. Sensing the end was near for Mack, Starr gave Jeremiah a low blow. No Limits=No DQ so referee David Weakley was powerless. Mack hit the Mack 10. Good match that in turn led to something good.
Mack and Starr put the boots to Jeremiah. Rave made the save. Fans were chanting for a tag match before Rave had a chance to issue the challenge for November 4. Mack and Starr didn’t accept but I don’t think they have a choice.
(5) Austin Theory defeated Kevin Blue by count out to retain the PWA Heritage Championship in 23:25. Theory had Blue’s number in the early going, wearing him out with side headlocks. Blue threatened to hit Theory with the belt. The diversion gave Blue an opening to clip Theory’s knee. Blue attacked the knee with ruthless aggression. He used a figure four around the ring post. Theory was in a world of hurt. He tried for the rolling thunder dropkick but his knee couldn’t handle it. Blue used a single leg crab. Theory got to the ropes and slid out to walk it off. Blue was on him, jamming Theory’s knee on the ring frame and ramming it into the timekeeper’s table. Back inside, Blue hit a backpack stunner for a near fall. Blue used an STF. Theory made the ropes and pulled off the rolling thunder dropkick. Both down. Theory drove Blue into the corner with strike after strike. Blue escaped the TKO. Theory beat on Blue’s back to set up a buckle bomb and again, his knee wouldn’t hold up. Theory countered Blue’s Air Raid Crash, fought off a figure four and hit the buckle bomb. Theory executed a vertical suplex dropped into neckbreaker across the knee for a near fall. Both were down in state of exhaustion. They traded blows from their knees. Back and forth with high impact moves and both were down again. Theory fought off a second backpack stunner. They battled on the ropes. Blue connected with a palm strike and hit the Air Raid Crash. Blue covered. Referee Mason Pike counted three but Theory’s foot was clearly on the ropes. Mason declared Blue as the winner. Blue grabbed the title and hustled to the dressing room. Commissioner Hudgins ruled that Theory’s foot was indeed on the ropes and restarted the match. Blue never reappeared and got counted out.
This was a terrific main event. It had a slow build with both sold big. I can’t remember seeing a wrestler as young as Theory who was so believable and steadfast with his selling. They gave the key moves time to register. From a purely visual perspective, it was as impressive as any match ever to take place in a PWA ring. Both guys look like main eventers.
Pandora came to the ring and said she heard Brooklyn Creed had been talking about balls. Brooklyn’s music interrupted. Brooklyn slinked into the ring with her air of superiority in full effect. Rumor had it that Pandora wanted to retire and Brooklyn wanted to be the one to retire her at Thanksgiving Turmoil IF there was anything left of Pandora after the mixed tag match on November 4 (Brooklyn & Logan Creed vs. Pandora & Steele).
AJ Steele came out to chat about the tag match. Brooklyn cowered in the corner. Steele said the last time he was Peachstate, he said Brooklyn had Logan’s balls. Steele said he wasn’t above putting his hands on a skank like Brooklyn during the mixed tag. In fact, he was going to beat her ass.
Furthermore, Pandora wasn’t going to retire without whipping her ass. As Steele turned to leave, Brooklyn tried to give him a low blow but Pandora hit her between the legs first. Brooklyn crumbled to the mat. “Maybe she does have Logan’s balls”, said Steele.
Unorthodox to book a talk segment after the main event but it worked. The segment had heat and effectively hyped the match. These people must really hate Brooklyn the way they popped for the prospect of man-on-woman violence.
