From Larry Goodman: Southern Fried Championship Wrestling ran their first show at their new digs in Monroe, the Boys and Girls C...
Southern Fried Championship Wrestling ran their first show at their new digs in Monroe, the Boys and Girls Club. Any way you slice it, Southern Fried is a promotion on fire.
Everything booker Todd Sexton touches turns golden. The matches got the job done in fine fashion up and down the card, however the brilliance of this show was in the storytelling. Three must see matches were set up for return date of September 1.
This is an old school presentation in synch with a fan base that wants to believe. They love their heroes and hate their villains.
Phase 1 Champion Bobby Moore is positioned for the babyface run of his career, one that would have been unthinkable until a beautifully executed slow turn away from the iron grip of Adrian Hawkins and The Approved.
Ike Cross is the Heavyweight Champion with athleticism and charisma to burn.
Jacob Ashworth is way over as the consummate everyman…and the surprise return of a former SFCW Champion received an epic pop.
The booking keeps intense heat on them at all times with despicable heels like Hawkins, Corey Hollis and JB Enterprises leading the charge.
The roster has improved and expanded that Sexton can move people in an out of the lineup to keep things fresh and still count on having good matches. And the roster continues to grow as new undercard guys are consistently getting over, Marcus Kross being a case in point.
Paid attendance was 258. The size of Southern Fried’s core audience has definitely been raised. Last night’s crowd would have been ridiculously hot in any venue. They never let up all night long. The gym at the Boys and Girls Club is one of the loudest venues I’ve ever been in. The decibel level reached deafening proportions.
Amidst the accolades, there are areas that could stand improvement. The loudness of the space is a blessing and a curse. The extreme echoes make it difficult to understand the promos. The Codebreaker, which was to play an important role in the main event, was used for near falls in multiple undercard matches. While the ringwork is remarkably better than the Southern Fried of yesteryear, match quality rarely reach the level sometimes seen at AWE, Anarchy or ACTION.
(1) Damien Bennett defeated Fry Daddy in 11:15. This was straight out of Tennessee wrestling from 25 years ago. Bennett got instant heat with his swagger and glare coming to the ring. Fry was winning with clean wrestling. Bennett claimed his buzz cut hair and tights were being pulled and went to the ropes when unable to escape Fry’s holds. Bennett’s short cuts were failing until he upended Fry on the ring apron. Bennett used an impressive backbreaker/overhead suplex combo but was lackadaisical about making the cover. Bennett took way too much time on a frogsplash into an empty pool. The crowd was popping for Fry’s comeback. Bennett feigned a knee problem and poked Fry in the eyes. Bennett missed with a Buddy Landell corkscrew elbow drop. Fry went for the Cutline. Bennett tried to reverse with a ripcord lariat. Fry reversed and hit the Cutline but Bennett rolled out of the ring. As Bennett reentered, he kicked the rope into Fry’s crotch and pinned him with feet on the ropes. This match put a smile on my face. It was close to perfect as an opening match for this show. I wish the finish had looked as crisp as the rest of the match. They established a clear heel/face dynamic, didn’t rush a thing and didn’t do too much.
(2) Will Kaution & Rick Michaels defeated GB1C (Wolverton & Tyler Rivera) in 6:28. Michaels’ music hit but no Michaels. Kaution convinced referee David Weakley to let him go it alone. GB1C attacked Kaution, who proceeded to clear the ring and singlehandedly take control of the match. GB1C used a blind tag to get the advantage. Kaution kicked out of every double team GB1C could throw at him, until Kaution pulled out a DDT/neckbreaker combo that left all three men down. Out came Michaels to take the tag. The crowd was on fire as Michaels cleaned house, leading to Kaution’s top rope elbow on Wolverton for the win and the first of huge pop of the night. The scenario was compelling enough to overcome the sloppy, indyriffic aspects of the ringwork. Like so much of this show, it was a case of a simple story well told.
(3) Kenji Brea (with Adrian Hawkins) defeated Alan Angels in 9:57. The entrance of The Approved got bigtime heat. A fan offered to give a feminine hygiene product to Hawkins. Brea and Hawkins threatened to leave because so much verbal crap was being heaped upon them. Hawkins said he wasn’t mad at Brea or Sexton or maybe even Moore and blamed the worthless fans for what happened. The crowd chanted for Moore. Angels’ entrance got a bigger pop than I anticipated. Angels was chomping at the bit, Brea not at all. Brea was eating a barrage of offense until he cut Angels with a slick piece of business. Both men down after Angels’ standing sliced bread. Fiery comeback by Angels here. He didn’t get all of a double jump moonsault. They did a back and forth video game sequence that was just OK. Angels blocked Brea’s finisher. Angels hit a slingshot codebreaker for a near fall. Hawkins got up to divert Angels’ attention (Hawkins had been sitting by the barricade rather than standing at ringside – one of those small details that matter). Brea blindsided Angels with a jumping knee strike and delivered another to the face for the 1-2-3. The match was a lot more good than bad and had tremendous heat. Was there anything on this show that didn’t? The crowd hated the outcome with a passion.
JB Enterprises came out of their tag title defense. Drew Blood was up to his usual hijinks. He had his face painted and said they were going to throw a face-painting party because nobody showed up to face them.
The appearance of Jake Ashworth got a big pop. Flaming Freddy fingers appeared through the curtain and Stryknyn’s music hit for one of the most insane pops in SFCW history. Stryk appeared in the flesh and spewed a fireball for another humungous pop.
(4) Jake Ashworth & Stryknyn defeated SFCW Tag Team Champions JB Enterprises (Drew Blood & Brian Kane with Dr. Joseph Brock III) via DQ in 15:29. Blood talked big about what he was going to do to Stryk, then ran to his corner for a tag. Kane wanted Ashworth. Bad idea. Kane took a horrific beating. Stryk and Ashworth did as they pleased without regard for the rules and the fans loved it. They are an odd pairing on the surface, but the chemistry is there via a bond formed over many years. The crescendo was a 69 spot that saw Jake and Stryk stomp Blood’s face into Kane’s groin. Blood looked like he was going to hurl. JB Enterprises isolated Ashworth. Stryk got the tag and cleaned house with the crowd in a frenzy. He had Kane up for the F5 when Blood kicked his rehabbed knee. Enterprises worked over Stryk’s knee. Stryk leveled Kane with a one-legged clothesline to make the tag. Ashworth hit the elevated full nelson facebuster on Kane and the suspended Corey Hollis hit the ring with a field goal kick to Ashworth’s nuts for the DQ. What a fun match this was. Stryk looked good as new. The crowd was on fire and things were about to get even hotter.
Ashworth and Hollis had a pull apart brawl of epic proportions It took all of security and every babyface Sexton could summon from the locker room to break it up. Security put Hollis in handcuffs and started dragging him out. Ashworth said forget the suspension and demanded a no rules match on September 1. Hollis said only if he could get any title match he wanted. Ashworth said “we” accept despite Sexton’s objections. This segment was pure pandemonium.
(5) Marcus Kross (with Griff Garrison) defeated David Ali in 8:45. The fans had their "Hands Up" for Kross' entrance. The story of the match was mass frustration for Ali and amazing resiliency from Kross. They worked a faster pace than the previous matches. Kross fought off a superplex and hit a running SSP for a near fall. Ali blocked Kross’ first attempt at the standing Spanish Fly. Ali hit every move in his arsenal and got a bazillion near falls. If looks good kill, referee Radar Martin would have been dead. Kross escaped the third of Ali’s suplex trio to start his comeback. Ali again blocked Kross’ finisher. Ali roared back. Kross kicked out of his Death Valley neckbreaker so Ali went up top. Kross cut him off and hit the Spanish Fly for the pin. The story was clear and the work was fine, but the real deal was the postmatch…
Bill Behrens said Garrison’s rehab was going well but he was still on crutches due to the complexities of his ankle surgery. Behrens said once Garrison was healed, Master and the Machine would be the SFCW tag champs.
Out came Brock Enterprises. Brock said Enterprises took the tag titles from Behrens guys (Enterprises defeated Kross and Slim J, injuring Slim in the process) and everyone Kross tags with gets hurt. Blood kicked Garrison’s crutch. Enterprises then confronted Kross with evil intentions and didn’t see Garrison throw his crutches down and start doing jumping jacks. Garrison clotheslined the hell out of the champions. Behrens decked Brock and gave him a leg drop for good measure.
The crowd went absolutely bonkers AGAIN. Southern Fried fans love nothing more than to see Brock get his just dessert. Even better – Sexton ordered a six-man match for September 1 – Blood & Kane & Brock vs. Kross & Garrison & Behrens.
(6) Ike Cross defeated Adrian Hawkins (with Kenji Brea) to retain the SFCW Heavyweight Championship in 15:27. Hawkins came out to the Rocky theme. Cross had new music that the crowd didn’t respond to like his old music. He pie-faced Cross and said, “I’m their champion.” Cross speared his arrogant ass. Brea pulled Hawkins out of the ring, prompting referee Weakley to eject him. Sexton had to chase Brea to the back to get him out of there. Hawkins’ hubris suddenly evaporated. Caution didn’t save him from getting his ass kicked. Time out. Corkscrew springboard cutter by Cross and Hawkins took another TO. Cross pursued. Hawkins reversed a whip sending Cross hard into the rail. Back inside, Hawkins hit the codebreaker but Cross rolled out of the ring. Hawkins threw Cross back in and continued to punish the champion. Cross reacted to the “Ike” chant with a top rope splash from the heavens and went for another spear, but Hawkins caught him with a knee to the face. Cross kicked out of back-to-back pin attempts. Cross surprised Hawkins with a codebreaker of his own and both were down. Cross on the comeback with a draping DDT for a close near fall. Spear coming but Brea was back at ringside to pull Hawkins out of the ring. Brea then entered the ring from the other side and blindsided Cross causing the ref to get knocked down. Cross speared Hawkins but Brea was on him with a superkick. The crowd chanted “Bobby”. Brea and Hawkins double-teamed Cross. The crowd popped huge as Moore came towards the ring walking tall. Brea tried to cut Moore off and got beaten down in the aisle. Moore no sold Hawkins’ blows. Hawkins backed his way back into the ring where he was speared by Cross. Hawkins kicked out for a great false finish. Brea clubbed Moore from behind. Hawkins hit a codebeaker on Cross, who jackknifed Hawkins for the win. They told a great story. The key spots worked. The clarity of the chain of events leading to the finish was fairly amazing given the plethora of moving parts.
Postmatch -- Brea backjumped Cross and ran off holding the title with Cross in hot pursuit. That left Hawkins in the ring with Moore. Hawkins made a hasty departure before Moore could get his hands on him.
Moore challenged Hawkins to a match. Sexton said it would happen on September 1. SFCW owner David Manders brought the new Phase 1 Trophy (The Approved destroyed the old one at the last show) out to Moore. The crowd chanted “Bobby” as Moore raised the trophy over his head.
NOTES: SFCW plans to run the Boys and Girls Club on the first and third Saturday of every month. Manders announced Crossroads for October 6 and the first Charles Anschutz Memorial Tournament for Thanksgiving Night....Cross is headed to the August 23 NXT taping at Full Sail as an extra.