From Larry Goodman: Peachstate Wrestling Alliance got back on track in a big way with their go home show for Thanksgiving Turmoil....
From Larry Goodman:
Peachstate Wrestling Alliance got back on track in a big way with their go home show for Thanksgiving Turmoil.
It had all the elements I have to come to expect from a great Peachstate show complete with wacky fans taking things way too far. The stories unfolded in clear, compelling fashion with unexpected twists and turns. The lineup was bolstered by the returns of of familiar stars the Peachstate fans had grown to love and hate. More than ever, Peachstate can rely on a strong in-ring product to back up the narrative.
If the company doesn’t draw a big house for Thanksgiving Turmoil, it won’t be for lack of trying as last night's show set up five matches.
The scene that closed the show was some powerfully violent imagery. AJ Steele will be seeking revenge on Logan Creed in a streetfight with the ambiguous presence of special referee Tommy Too Much as the wild card. The PWA Heritage title match has morphed into a four way including a two-time former champion and the man who has come close on several occasions but never quite gotten it done. Triston Michaels’ hair will be on the line vs. Terry Hudgins commissionership plus Pandora will close out her PWA career and more.
Attendance at the VFW Fairgrounds was 175 and the crowd was hot like a Peachstate crowd should be. That’s a healthier attendance number than the October events but still not good by PWA standards.
PWA Women’s Champion Brooklyn Creed came to ringside. Pandora could show up on November 25 if she was able to after tonight, but she wasn’t leaving with Brooklyn’s championship. Pandora invited Brooklyn into the ring. Brooklyn said that wasn’t happening because she was smarter than Pandora.
(1) Tyson Dean defeated Kevin Blue in 10:53. Blue had the title he stole from Austin Theory and forced Jason Boyd to announce him as the PWA Heritage Champion. The returning Dean got a big pop. Sal Rinauro came to ringside, to the delight of the crowd and to Blue’s dismay. Dean controlled the early going with solid fundamentals. Blue wasn’t enjoying this in the least and got nasty. Blue confronted Rinauro on the outside. Dean kicked the ropes to crotch Blue as he got back in the ring. They traded near falls, Dean with a spinebuster and Blue with a uranage. Blue tried to pin Dean with his feet on the ropes. Rinauro foiled that maneuver and Dean got the pin. Good match. Clear story and more heat than anything on the card two weeks ago except the main.
Blue took the title and bailed with chants of “you got beat” and “you scared” ringing in his ears. Rinauro said they had a date with destiny at Thanksgiving Turmoil as Theory was set to defend the title against both of them. But a lightbulb went off -- why not add two-time Heritage Champion Dean to the shebang? And why would Rinauro want to add someone else to the match? Answer: He was going to silence the naysayers that said he couldn’t win the big one and prove he was better than the best.
Rinauro told Dean he owed him one. Dean decked Rinauro with one punch and walked out. Sal’s reaction was interesting. It was like OK, this is the challenge I wanted.
(2) Adam Priest defeated Romeo in 7:53. Romeo came out waving the French flag and starting speaking French. You know he was getting grief from the crowd in Carrollton. He was about to launch into the French anthem when Priest pounced on him. Romeo bailed. Priest was all over him. Romeo used Priest’s aggressiveness against him, sending his head into the turnbuckle with a drop toehold. Romeo was all full of himself once he had the advantage. Highlight was a fireman’s carry neckbreaker ala Styles. Priest did a great job of selling the neck while gamely fighting on. Romeo’s flying crotch bump into the turnbuckles got a reaction. Priest showed fire on his comeback. Nicely done near falls both ways down the stretch. Priest hit a german suplex and went up top for the diving headbutt. It missed and Romeo put Priest away with the snapmare driver. Much better than their match two weeks ago. It had heat and passion and interesting choices in the way it was put together.
Postmatch - Romeo said no one takes a knee during the anthem in his country and did a horribly off key rendition of La Marseillaise.
Triston Michaels entered the ring with his sour disposition in full effect. Triston berated ring announcer Jason Boyd for failing to introduce him as the two-time Georgia referee of the year (a slight exaggeration). He said Commissioner Terry Hudgins had been humiliating him for months having him wipe down the ring ropes, clean toilets and work in concessions.
Hudgins came out and said he thought Triston quit. Triston said he wouldn’t give “crypt keeper” Hudgins or the moron fans the satisfaction. Triston said Hudgins was the worst commissioner ever and even Jeff Morton was a better referee. Triston proposed a match for Thanksgiving Turmoil with Hudgins’ job on the line. Triston was bringing in a wrestler from Los Angeles if Hudgins could find somebody to rep him.
Hudgins went to the back and returned with a big smile on his face…and Shane Noles. Noles told Triston he had tried to stay out of it, but the commissionership was something he knew about having held that job for over 7 years. He understood Triston wanted a match and was flying in the biggest turkey California had ever seen. “You’ve got all the sense God gave a second coat of paint.” What was in it for Hudgins? Triston offered to leave PWA. Noles had a better idea: Triston’s hair. Instant “YES!” chant from the crowd. Noles said he would bring the equipment including some extra dull clippers. Triston said his wrestler was a badass. The match was on. The segment was a winner. Triston has gotten so much better on the mic and Noles is always a good promo.
(3) Ace Haven (with Amy Haven) defeated Kyle Matthews (without Bill Behrens) in 10:07. Behrens made a hasty departure before the match stating he was having some trouble and gave Matthews the ominous message that he better do a good job. Haven had the crowd behind him as he worked on Matthews’ ankle. Matthews used a cheap shot on the break. Matthews made a menacing advance towards Amy and proceeded to choke Ace with his wrist tape. Matthews applied a Liontamer but Ace powered out. Ace made the comeback with a top rope clothesline and a slingshot X factor for near falls. Matthews pulled a foreign object out of the turnbuckle pad. The object, however, ended up on Amy’s hand and Ace pinned Matthews after a springboard roundhouse kick. Matthews was so woozy he didn’t realize he had lost. Match was OK. Not one of Ace’s better outings. His stuff didn’t look that crisp. Interesting to see a more blatantly heelish and comedic side to Matthews character.
(4) Jimmy Rave & Gladiator Jeremiah defeated PWA No Limits Champion AC Mack & Ashton Starr in 16:49 when Mack submitted to Rave. Lots of Hierarchy salutes for Rave’s entrance but he’s pure babyface here. Jeremiah and Rave ruled the first half of the match with Mack’s facial expressions and body language adding to the fun. Rave cut off Starr’s interference but it was enough to give Mack the opening he needed. Gotta love that Spinaroonie into a climbing enzuirgiri. Mack and Starr isolated Jeremiah and went into their bag of tricks. Starr pulled Rave off the apron to prevent a tag. Mack distracted referee David Weakley from seeing a legit tag. Rave cleaned house with big league clotheslines. He hit the shining wizard on Mack but Starr broke up the pin. The match broke down from there and it was big moves on parade all the way to the finish. Rave gave Mack the apron STO. Starr did a corkscrew plancha onto both of them. Jeremiah did a corkscrew dive off the top turnbuckle onto all three. In the end, Mack tapped to Rave’s satellite headscissors crossface. This was an excellent tag match. Plenty of action and they had chemistry.
Just signed for Thanksgiving Turmoil – Mack defending the PWA No Limits Championship vs. Rave.
(5) Logan & Brooklyn Creed (with Bill Behrens) defeated AJ Steele & Pandora in mixed gender tag match in 6:17. Behrens and Brooklyn came to the ring without Logan. Behrens was distraught. Brooklyn was verging on hysteria. Brooklyn has developed into a tremendous performer. Her facial expressions and body language were off the charts great.
Out came Tommy Too Much, making his first PWA appearance since June. The crowd was split about 50/50 on him. T2M said his goal had not changed but he had to take some time off to figure things out. Too Much said he was done with Behrens. His unfinished business was with Steele. Tommy reminded Steele that he beat him at Thanksgiving Turmoil 2015 and he wasn’t about to let Turmoil 2017 go by without being involved. He didn’t have a spot in the match but he could provide some decent officiating and revealed that he had been named as the special referee. He was going to make sure Steele didn’t get away with anything. Steele told T2M he was the same bitch he was before he left. With that, Tommy headed to the dressing room.
Behrens suggested they just wait until Turmoil since Logan wasn’t there. Steele said he had already promised to whip Brooklyn’s ass just like he would whip Logan’s. Behrens said that’s not what he was hoping for. Brooklyn threw a tantrum but there was no way out.
Pandora started kicking and chopping the living hell out of Brooklyn. She’s not a great wrestler but she takes a great beating. They tumbled to the floor in catfight position. Brooklyn posted Pandora, who received a hardway cut near the hairline. Behrens handed Brooklyn a chair. Steele got in Brooklyn’s face. Behrens shoved Steele. He must have a death wish. Behrens ran toward the back of the building with Steele close behind. The roll up steel door rose to reveal Matthews. Steele went after Matthews but he was just a decoy. Logan came running from the dressing room to attack Steele. Logan slammed Steele against the wall and dragged him into the dressing room. Meanwhile, Pandora was letting Brooklyn have it in the ring. The sight of Logan carrying Steele’s lifeless body back out of the dressing room distracted Pandora. Brooklyn put Pandora in the camel clutch. Behrens was ecstatic. Pandora passed out leaving referee Mason Pike no choice but to call for the bell.
Logan said Steele made threats. He made promises. Logan hit his finisher on an unconscious Pandora. Logan and Brooklyn celebrated by licking each other’s tongues. Steele crawled towards the ring and tried to save Pandora. Logan choke slammed Steele. Behrens said they were done. Logan had other ideas.
Steele was covering Pandora to protect her from further damage. Logan picked up a chair and waffled Steele’s back with 10 consecutive chairshots. This was a merciless monster at the peak of his powers. It was as savage a beating as I’ve seen in a long time. Just when it looked like it was over, Logan returned to the ring for one final, vicious chair shot.
Conceived and executed for maximum impact.
Conceived and executed for maximum impact.
At this point, some fans were going ballistic. Brooklyn spit her gum out on the stage near this old lady. Her son lost his shit and started challenging Logan and accusing Brooklyn of spitting on his mother. Security had their hands full. It was nuts. I was told the old lady started having symptoms of heart problems and had to get an aspirin from someone in the crowd.
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