Four shows were taped over four hours, 20 matches total. I am still trying to digest it all.
The format was similar to the NWA TV studio tapings -- primarily short matches, many of them squashes, with a competitive main event featured in each episode. One major difference was that most of the interviews were shot backstage so the full form and content of each episode will not discernable until it airs on TV.
Overall, I thought this was a successful first outing for booker Murder One and the AWE LOUD roster. New characters were introduced. Major holdover storyline were advanced. New storylines were developed.
There were a quite a number of interesting debuts and returns. Among those making their AWE debuts were wXw star Alex James, wXw/Impact star Killer Kelly, "Most decorated wrestler in the Southeast" AC Mack and Austin Towers. Priscilla Kelly, Anthony Henry and JD Drake returned after significant periods of absence from the AWE ring. There were a lot of folks backstage. Many wrestlers worked two matches but nobody did more than that.
The risk/reward of their deal with Right Now TV sets up well for AWE. The company will incur minimal additional costs and stands to gain exposure and ad revenue.
Attendance at District Atlanta was around 100 (paying $25-$30) The mask requirement was emphasized by repeat announcements and observed by almost everyone. The enthusiasm and crowd size peaked during episodes two and three and petered out noticeably during episode four. Many fans stood near ringside, as is traditional at AWE, but were not allowed to be right up against the ring. That obviously wouldn't work for TV.
LOUD debuts on Right Now TV in January, date to be determined. It will possible to watch the show live at the Right Now website.
Josh Wheeler opened the show with an emotional tribute and 10 bell honoring Daniel Scarr, who passed away in July. Scarr ran Opera Night Club and The District and was responsible for giving AWE having a home in recent years. Wheeler also sent out a big FU to Georgia shows running without masks.
Wheeler introduced Young Professor as the host of AWE LOUD. Professor won AWE's top manager contest (one of their best ideas of 2019) and he's an outstanding ring announcer
--AC Mack defeated Logan Cruz in 35 seconds with a blow and the Mack 10.
Mack said he it was only right he be first on a show called LOUD. What better way than the Loudest Mouth in the South? Mack schooled Young Professor on the intricacies of his ring intro. It took a minute but Professor got the hang of it. I loved this.
-- Number #1 Contenders Match for the GWC tag titles: Metro Brothers (Chris & JC) defeated Trever Aeon & Talon Oxyn (with Taliaferro) in 8:18. Metro Brothers get heat. Chris may have the best pound-for-pound clothesline in pro wrestling. That was followed by JC's Liontamer to submit Oxyn. The underdogs had their chances. Taliaferro had a bit of lightning in a bottle with the team of Oxyn and Ethan Price. His new team is not that.
Next was the coronation of Aria Blake as the inaugural ROAR Crown Champion. She's no skinny mini anymore. Blake falsely claimed she did it all by herself and warned Shalandra Royal to beware. Announcer Mika Villas had the "honor" of crowning her. Blake got instant heat by calling Villas the ugliest person in the room.
-- Aria Blake submitted Sadie Lynn Moss in 2:53. Moss entered with a tray of cookies. Match left me thinking the LOUD iteration of the ROAR division was going to be abysmal. I could not have been more wrong.
Royal appeared and gave Blake a spinal tap from hell.
-- Griffin McCoy (with AWE Tag Team Champions Charlie Tiger & Ellis Taylor) pinned Christian Robinson in 4:24 after a springboard roundhouse kick. Robinson has springs for legs and tremendous agility. He so impressed Young Dumb N Broke that they offered him a spot in their squad after the match. Robinson was ecstatic.
-- ACH defeated Chip Day to retain the newly named Grand World Championship in a total time of 9:42. Eight minutes in, ACH got a three count with a brainbuster but Day's foot was clearly on the ropes. Day called ACH unchampionlike and asked if he was another thing ACH walked away from. Great exchange of near falls -- Day with a northern lights bomb, ACH with a tiger bomb. Day kicked out of the brainbuster and ACH beat him with the 450. Excellent match. How could it be anything else? This was ACH's sole appearance in front of the live crowd.
Episode 2:
They shot the open with fans right up against the ring pounding the mat, like the good old days.
-- Suge D defeated Trey Shaw via submission at 5:30. Nothing really stood out about this.
-- Alex James submitted Ryan Remington at 4:40. Seeing James in action was one of the highlights my evening. What can I say? I'm a mark for astonishing technique. James used a smooth-as-silk diving headbutt and a Doctor Bomb to set up the choke out.
-- Jaxon Stone defeated Tommy Becker in 3:55. Stone's finisher looked sick - a vertical suplex position dropped into a neckbreaker across the knee.
Losers Remington and Becker had the brilliant idea to form a tag team.
-- Austin Towers pinned Lamar Diggs with the Kobiya Kick in 2:05. The finish looked fabulous from my vantage point and got a big reaction.
Canvas and 3MP came to ringside to vie for Towers' services. Canvas said Towers preferred a strong woman to weak man. That line got a pop and left 3MP grasping at straws by verbally attacking Young Professor.
-- Priscilla Kelly pinned Katalina Perez with a bridging german suplex at 4:49. Priscilla looked super sharp. She paid tribute to Jimmy Rave with one of his signature chain wrestling sequence and an STO. The AWE remember her fondly and were chanting her name.
Priscilla said she was responsible for putting ROAR on the map and it was great to be back, but where was the competition? An ultra bad ass looking Killer Kelly appeared.
Young Professor announced Killer vs. Priscilla for next week.
The Workhorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry) came to the ring. Henry said they got the call from AWE because starpower was needed and said Young Dumb 'N Broke were running around with the tag title the Workhorsemen never lost and come to think of it -- never had physical possession of because AWE said they had been stolen. YDNB came out. Drake got very entertaining on the mic. He denigrated YDMB as fakes and called Charlie Tiger "Fat Jackson". Workhorsemen then beat the living hell out of YNDB and security. Drake challenged the "Young Sucks" to put up the titles. Wheeler said that match would happen in two weeks (Episode 4).
Episode 3:
-- Alex James defeated Suge D in 9:36 with a kick to the face. I was psyched for this. They were having a solid European flavored match when Suge suffered a bruised ribs. He was struggling bad. They had to switch up the finish and take it home.
-- AC Mack defeated "Darling" Daniel Sterling in 50 seconds. Fans got under Mack's skin with a "let's go new guy" chant. Sterling reversed out of the first Mack 10. Mack got him the second time around.
Mack cut a promo demonstrating his improvisational skills. He incorporated the "let's go new guy" chant into his diatribe about how the fans and management were disrespecting him. He wanted real competition, not some guy dressed like cotton candy. Great stuff.
-- Trever Aeon & Talon Oxyn (with Taliaferro) defeated Larger Than Life (Ryan Remington & Tommy Becker) in 6:52. Taliaferro interfered to set up the finish - an Aeon Gothplex followed by Scarmakers in stereo on Remington. Larger Than Life showed potential as a wacky comedy team.
-- Alexander Moss (with 3MP) pinned Weezy G with a sky high powerbomb in 4:03.
3MP wanted Stone in the ring against Moss. He called Stone a nobody and said he fires people, nobody fires him.
ACH vs. Homicide was announced for Show of the Year on December 27.
-- Priscilla Kelly defeated Killer Kelly by submission in 10:25 with an octopus. On pure technical ability alone, this was best woman's match I've seen this year in Georgia, though my sense was it was nowhere close to the match they are capable of having.
Episode 4:
-- Metro Brothers squashed Logan Cruz & Weezy G in 2:30. Same finish as their first match with JC submitting Cruz.
JC Metro called out YDNB and Workhorsemen and said the Metros were the future tag champs.
-- Griffin McCoy (with Tiger & Taylor) defeated Chip Day in 11:40. Good match. McCoy is obviously getting a singles push. He's got the look and ability for the spot. McCoy used a deadlift belly-to-back suplex for a near fall. Day used Jimmy Rave's old finisher, Move That Rocks the World. It took massive interference to beat Day. He decked Tiger & Taylor but Robinson showed up and caught Day by surprise. McCoy with the springboard roundhouse for the win.
-- Jaxon Stone pinned Alexander Moss (with 3MP) with the Stones Clash in 6:30.
3MP said losing was unacceptable and fired Moss.
-- Katalina Perez defeated Sadie Lynn Moss in around 6 minutes. Moss sold a knee injury. Perez's finisher was something like an inverted twist of fate.
-- Young Dumb 'N Broke (Charlie Tiger & Ellis Taylor with Griffin McCoy) defeated The Workhorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry) to retain the GWC tag titles in 13 minutes. This was extremely physical match with Workhorsemen doing the pitching and YDNB doing the catching. It was painfully obvious that YDNB did not belong in the ring with Workhorsemen. I hope that was the plan. It didn't help that Taylor appeared to suffer an ankle or knee injury. Workhorsmen had Tiger beaten after a top rope double stomp/moonsault combo but Griffin pulled referee Max Recon out of the ring, tried to anyway. Robinson interfered against Drake and he was pinned by Tiger.
YDNB gave Workhorsemen a 4 on 2 beatdown after the match. Day made the save and challenged YDNB to a six man match at Show of the Year.
NOTES: The next LOUD taping will be in 2021, date TBA. AWE hopes to get more dates from Killer Kelly and Alex James while they are stateside...Darryl Hall and Recon were the refs...The broadcast team for TV was a dapper looking William Huckaby and Danny Danger...Former AWE President and occasional wrestler Paul Coldhard worked security...Wrestling luminaries in the house included David Ali, Ashton Starr, Eric Silva former GWH podcaster Jonathan Williams and former FOW podcasters Patrick Alvarez and Mike Prime.
