Here's what went down at the go home show for Mad City Mayhem, a show I am now jonesing to see.
As any ProSouth fan comes to know, expect the unexpected. This was about as far from your run-of-the-mill go home show as it gets. Yes, it drove home the key points of the major show but with interesting adjustments and additions. New story directions were unveiled.
Over the last couple of months, the ProSouth product has improved dramatically in just about every respect.
As good a year as 2020 was for this company, the current hot streak is better. The production problems are gone. They have a crowd that makes noise. The storytelling has been fabulous. And the show has more starpower (Ben Buchanan and Joe Black on this episode).
Noah Howell was joined on color commentary by Tony Midas, subbing for Shane Noles. Oddly enough, they never actually ran down the card for Mad City Mayhem. The referees were Justin Patterson and James Dewberry.
(1) Skrilla the Great defeated Brandon Whatley in 10:00 on the nose. They wrestled with Skrilla resorting to shortcuts as needed. First opportunity at Prosouth to really see what Skrilla can do. I really liked the classic arm wringer and that high angle back suplex. His running European uppercut into the corner looked great. Not a fans of a smaller guy doing a sliding lariat on a larger guy. Whatley strikes were FIERCE and Skrilla sold them as such. Skrilla was taking damage from Whatley's high impact offense, so he rolled out and cut Whatley off with a hotshot. Skrilla's suiperkick missed. Whatley's enzuigri was a bullseye. Skrilla reversed Whatley's rockbottom and connected with the superkick, sending Whatley out the ring. It appeared Skrilla could have won by count out but chose to toss Whatley back in. Whatley dodged a superkick and rolled Skrilla up for two. The next superkick by Skrilla found the mark.
Really good match, several cuts above typical ProSouth undercard and constructive, Beating Whatley clean elevated Skrilla's stature and got the superkick over as his finisher. Whatley is so well established, losing a quality match matters not.
The emancipation of Harley Haven. League of Terribles came to the ring with the masked guy as the newest member joining Tyler Cullprett and Cameron Keast. Cullprett said he offended people by saying he was Harley's father. It was a metaphor but the fans were too stupid to get it. Cullprett said Harley never had the proper father figure in her life, that role model to show her the difference between right and wrong, and that's where he stepped in. Ace Haven was a failure of a father, but this was about Harley and new beginnings -- a clean slate.
Cullprett had Harley seated in a chair preparing to cut her hair when Ace (with the Peachstate title around his waist) and Amy Haven appeared. Ace noted Harley's hasty departure said he wasn't stupid enough to get in the ring with all of LOT. He also wasn't going to stand idly by while Cullprett tried to get in his head by shaving hers. Ace admitted he didn't know why Harley was making the decisions she was making.
Ace wanted Cullprett in a one-on-one match right now. Cullprett offered Ace the first shot and his guys would do nothing for 10 seconds. Ace cautiously entered the ring to go face-to-face with Cullprett. Tyler spit in Ace's face. Ace punched Cullprett. Keast and masked guy grabbed Ace and it was three against one when the light went out. Lights on -- Left Hand Path (Austin Towers & Eric Silva) were in the ring. Amy made a trios match for later in the show.
Cullprett is a sick man. The segment acknowledged what had become obvious -the story that matters right now is Cullprett vs. Ace, not Ceretone and the tease of an "emancipation" haircut added another warped layer to the story. It also brought the reforming of Left Hand Path into focus. Nicely done.
(2) James Hardy (with Chris Mason) defeated Hold My Beer Hanson in 4:47. Hardy capitalized on Mason's interference to give Hanson a beating. But Hanson escaped the Evicerator and hit a spinning front slam to turn the match around, then gave Hardy the Beer Nuts treatment. Hardy faked a knee injury. Hanson let his guard down and got rolled up. Hanson kicked out or I would have trashed my TV. Hanson got Hardy in the sleeper hold. Hardy donkey kicked Hanson in the nuts and pinned him.
Hardy and Mason brutalized Hanson's arm after the match. Hardy challenged Southern Strong Style to a match at Mad City Mayhem.
Aside from the dreaded fake injury spot and Dewberry repeatedly being made to look like an idiot, this was fine. Both guys looked better on offense than you might think.
Ben Buchanan took over for Shane Noles on Ringside Chats with YouTube Champion Victor Cortez as guest. In a nutshell -- Buchanan chewed Cortez up and spit him out. The body posture of the two men told the viewers all they needed to know. Buchanan explained in colorful detail why Cortez didn't know anything about sacrifice. The reason he had been gone from ProSouth for so long was because it wasn't worth it. He checked it out on YouTube and saw two guys in lingerie having a pillow fight and that pissed him off. Cortez was the YouTube Champion He represented everything that was wrong with wrestling in Alabama and what Ben hated most -- entertainment and pleasuring the fans.
"You better stack up 225 on that bench press and get as many reps as you can. Boy, I am too much to handle. I am the best thing going on today. I am Ben Buchanan: second generation, southern born, southern bred, if I die I'll be southern dead." Buchanan cleared the furniture out the ring for his open challenge. Cortez said he was sticking around.
(2) Ben Buchanan dismantled Rude Dragon in 3:02. Merciless and utter destruction of a green jabroni by Bam Bam. The lariat for the win would have made Stan Hansen proud.
Postmatch -- Ben was too busy gloating to see Cortez enter the ring. Cortez superkicked him and took his title back. Like a dummy, Cortez turned his back to pander to the crowd. Ben dropped Cortez with his boot, picked up the title and talked trash to the champion before leaving.
I was in awe of Buchanan's performance. At the age of 19, Buchanan carries himself like a star and carried a 17 minute segment on his own. The segment had the loudest crowd response of the show and it was all heat for Buchanan. What major league company wouldn't be salivating to have him in their system?
(3) Roma Miller defeated Marcus Eriks in 6:32. Eriks dominated the body of the match and looked good doing it. On the comeback, Miller's forearm shot actually looked like it could hurt somebody. Eriks slipped out of Child Support and hit a sitout spinebuster. Roma rolled a shoulder at two. Miller rallied with a nice inside cradle counter followed by a superkick for a close near fall. Miller went back to Child Support. Eriks reversed into his MeKO but Miller reversed that with a crappy version of Child Support to get the win.
Miller called Skrilla out after the match. He wanted to know what Skrilla's problem was. Skrilla said the problem was Miller sucked at basketball. Skrilla went straight at him. They brawled before Skrilla again laid Miller out with a superkick and humiliated him with Roma's own stepdaddy stomps.
Based on this week's show, Roma would have to be rated as a severe underdog going into his match with Skrilla at Mad City Mayhem. Skrilla had the better match and go the better of Roma in a straight up fight.
(4) Eric Silva & Austin Towers & Peachstate Heritage Champion Ace Haven (with Amy Haven) defeated League of Terribles (ProSouth Champion Tyler Cullprett & Cameron Keast & Masked Guy with Harley Haven) when Ace pinned Keast at 13:53. Jumpstarted by a schmazz in the ring that boiled down to three babyfaces taking turns on the hapless Keast, who continued to take abuse once the bell rang via massive joint manipulation. Harley hooked the ropes with her umbrella to upend Ace and the heat was on. Taking advantage of ProSouth's loosy goosy lucha tag rules, Ace rolled out the ring and Silva entered as the legal man. He went after the masked guy's mask, which did not end as one would hope. LOT worked over Silva's leg. A Hellplex got to the tag .Towers owned LOT until the match broke down and Ace pinned Keast with a cutter.
Solid trios action.The masked guy was relatively well protected. Ace scoring the pin but not pinning Cullprett I get. I was surprised Keast took the majority of the punishment and as well as the pin going into the Gold Rush briefcase challenge match with Towers. A case of misdirection perhaps?
Postmatch -- the return of Alister Crowe. The masked guy was using the batons to subdue Ace when Crowe came to the scene. Crowe dispatched with Cullprett and Keast and confronted the masked guy. The crowd was chanting for Alister and clearly embraced the change of heart. The masked guy backed off. Crowe threw up his left hand.
Crowe as a babyface was the right move at the right time.
(5) Joe Black defeated Dameon Ceretone by referee stoppage in 11:45. Ceretone was showered with streamers by the fans and got a middle finger from Joe. Ceretone came out guns blazing. Black rolled out of the ring after taking a death valley driver. Ceretone went for a tope suicida and Black used Ceretone's momentum to powerslam him into the barricade. Ceretone reacted as if he was concussed. Ceretone made it back into the ring but clearly was not all there. Black sadistically attacked Ceretone's neck. Ceretone's was almost lifeless, his sporadic comebacks had no zip. Black hit Ceretone with two short arm clotheslines. Ceretone ducked a third, connected with a knee a lariat of his own. Ceretone was struggling but not as out of is before. He mustered a pumphandle driver and Black powered out at two. Ceretone hit the brainbuster. Black kicked out but looked to be on autopilot himself. Black rose up with a vicious lariat. Ceretone kicked out at the count of one. Black put the beads around his neck before clubbing Ceretone in the base of the skull. Referee Patterson checked on Ceretone and allowed the match to continue. Black measured Ceretone for one final forearm to the base of the brain and Patterson called for the bell.
Black was more that a little displeased about the match being stopped. He let Patterson have it with a lariat and pounded Ceretone's skull with blow upon blow Howell crawled into the ring. Black met him with a forearm shot to the face. A security person tried to intervene. Black put him down with a lariat. Black surveyed a ring littered with bodies. Commissioner Amy came out with bunch of babyface to finally put a stop to it. Black rolled out and clubbed referee Dewberry in the back of the head. The fans were outraged.
The show closed with silence except the sound of Black screaming at the crowd - you wanted this.
Wow. Compelling, evocative and an entirely different direction than where this anyone could have imagined this story was heading...and I can't wait to see where it goes. Ceretone's display of vulnerability was awesome. This was Black at his most bad ass. ProSouth has needed top level heels in the worst way and now they have two. Buchanan won't be there for long. Hopefully, the stars line up such that Black can stick around.
