Photo by Angela Harvey From Larry Goodman: The eviction notice was swerved at Eviction Notice . Neither Geter or William Huckaby a...
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| Photo by Angela Harvey |
The eviction notice was swerved at Eviction Notice. Neither Geter or William Huckaby are gone from Anarchy per the advertised stipulation of the main event. As a rule, stipulations should be enforced. Anarchy threw that rule out the window, and I’m sure glad they did and found a way to keep this feud going. The issue will be settled in a steel cage on March 14.
135 in attendance at the Landmark Arena. That used to be an outstanding crowd for a regular Anarchy television taping. Now, it’s an off night.
The show ran a fast-paced two hours and 15 minutes that kept the crowd engaged throughout. The storytelling was strong. None of the matches overstayed their welcome. The longest match was 12 minutes. On the whole, the Anarchy roster is still relatively thin and inexperienced. The legendary and powerful booking team is positioning the talent to succeed by judiciously limiting their in-ring exposure.
It’s been my belief that Cornelia fans are yearning for a fresh babyface star. Anarchy may have found one in Spi-Ral.
Bill Behrens admitted it was unfair that management didn’t let Hawkins know the identity of his opponent. Behrens said they couldn’t narrow it down to one challenger so the entire field would get the opportunity in a battle royal of sorts. Elimination occurred when a competitor’s feet touched the floor and did not have be over the top rope. Whoever eliminated Hawkins would earn a title shot at Hardcore Hell. If nobody as able to throw Hawkins out, he would get a free pass to do whatever with the championship.
La Familia (Tommy Penirelli, Gino Argento and “Fat T” Tony Carbone), Shean Christopher, Kevin Ryan, Spi-Ral, Tyler Rivera, Will Kaution and Josh Wolverton came to ringside. Dynamic Dexter got a special introduction to a rousing ovation.
(1) Todd Sexton won a modified battle royal in 5:10 to earn a Heritage title shot at Hardcore Hell. Everyone except La Familia made a beeline for Hawkins. Carbone peeled them off one-by-one and stood tall, then tossed Dexter out. The other guys worked together to put dump Fat T over the top for a big pop. Eliminations ensued at a rapid clip until Mayson and Keys were left with Hawkins. Mayson did what could be loosely defined as a muscle pose and was unaware of Keys posing behind him. Keys laid Mayson out with neckbreaker. Hawkins laid Keys out with a codebreaker.
At that point, Behrens came out and said he was introducing a late comer. Sexton’s music hit. Sexton went nose-to-nose with Hawkins and tossed him over the top to win.
I wasn’t looking forward to the overused and predictable open challenge match. This was so much better. Carbone looked like a monster for the first time. The eliminations all figured into matches coming up later in the show.
Insert joke about Sexton coming out retirement for the umpteenth time here. Nevertheless, a match with Hawkins at Hardcore Hell is a natural given that Sexton is going into the Landmark Hall of Fame that day.
Postmatch, Sexton shook hands with Keys and they did a muscle pose.
(2) Crystal Rose & Ashton Starr defeated Anarchy Women’s Champion Nina Monet & Brooklyn Creed (with Matt Hankins) in 6:38. Starr was an inspired choice as a replacement for Trixie and got a huge pop. The heels isolated Rose. Monet accidentally clotheslined Brooklyn. Rose hit both heels with a high crossbody. Monet rolled out of the ring. Brooklyn headbutted Rose and went for a tag but Monet was still on the floor. Rose gave Brooklyn a TKO and pinned her.
Hankins was pissed. So was Brooklyn. She walked out on Hankins and Monet.
They got the story across. Match was not good except for Monet, who is the most underrated, underutilized women wrestler in the state.
Tommy Penirelli led La Familia to the ring. They look the part and carry the Italian flag. That was good enough to garner a “USA” chant in Cornelia. Penirelli said Wolverton never beat him (liar) and the little shrimp (look who’s talking) would have to go through Argento to get him.
(3) Josh Wolverton defeated Gino Argento (with Tony Carbone & Valentina Ricci) via DQ in 4:13. A mercifully short match with liberal interference by La Familia. Argento (aka Irving West) can barely ran the ropes and almost landed on his head taking a powerslam. Best thing about it was an awesome face bump into the top turnbuckle by Wolverton, who also showed good babyface fire. Penirelli attacked Wolverton after he gave Argento a spinebuster and referee Dee Byers called for the bell.
Penirell choked Wolverton with the Italian flag. Ricci jabbed the flag into Wolverton’s gut. At that instant, I was embarrassed to be a wrestling fan. My 87 year old mother could have done better. Penirelli saved the day by demonstrating the proper technique.
(4) Spi-Ral defeated Kevin Ryan (with Shean Christopher) in 12:30. Ryan drew a “wuss” chant for bailing out early. He also got the biggest laugh of the night with a nice piece of slapstick comedy -- sliding into the ring and sliding out the other side. Spi-Ral was in total control until Christopher interfered. Spi-Ral did all kinds of great stuff in this match – mat wrestling, aerial pyrotechnics, martial arts – you name it. I won’t try to describe it all. Probably does too much but works really hard and for pure technique, he pretty much blows the rest of the Anarchy roster away. He did a corkscrew moonsault block that looked amazing. Ryan held his own and was the right opponent for this type of match. For the finishing sequence, Spi-Ral did a Regal roll into a moonsault followed by a tornado kick. He went back to the top rope, fought off interference by Christopher and pinned Ryan with high altitude splash.
This was Spi-Ral’s third appearance in Cornelia and he’s really gotten over with the Anarchy fans. It’s no accident. He’s got skills to burn. And he connects with the crowd. Spi-Ral recently moved back to Georgia after several years away from wrestling. Sky is the limit for him.
-- Intermission –
(5) Undeniable (Shane Marx & Billy Buck with Brian Blaze & Will Huckaby & Matt Hankins) defeated Master & Machine (Anarchy Heavyweight Champion Griff Garrison & Anarchy TV Champion Marcus Kross) in 6:55.
Hankins, undeniably Anarchy’s MVP, cut a scorcher of a promo before the match. Vowed tonight would start a reckoning. There would be a change in Anarchy. Too long Undenialble had put up with Behrens picking his favorites and shoving it down their throats along with whatever else he might be shoving. We carry this company.
Undeniable attacked M & M before the bell and beat them down four on two. Buck walloped Kross’ knee with a chair. Geter made the save and a carried Kross to the back, leaving Garrison to go it alone. Garrison made a great comeback against the odds. Starr jumped onto the apron to replace Kross. Garrison made the tag but Hankins had referee David Weakley distracted so he didn’t see it. Garrison spinebustered Marx and had another chance to make the tag, but Blaze yanked Starr off the apron. Buck superkicked Garrison and Marx swooped in for the pin.
Fans were dying to see Starr get in there. I loved it that the tag never happened. Starr vs. Undeniable is money when the time is right.
Postmatch, Buck was steamed about Marx stealing the pin and walked out on Undeniable despite Hankins’ Svengali tactics. Buck’s alliance with those miserable pricks lasted three shows.
Super Posedown – CT Keys vs Scott Mayson (officiated by John “The Body” Johnson)
As predictable as this segment was, it worked thanks to Keys, Mayson and Johnson all playing their roles to a hilt. Keys came to the ring with his physique hidden under a suit jacket. That got a “take it off” chant from the women in the crowd. They did three poses. Keys won them all by popular acclaim. They saved the best for last. Mayson pulled his straps down reveal abs drawn onto his flabby midsection with a sharpie. As Keys was showing off his washboard abs, Mayson attacked from behind and choked Keys with his exercise bands. Mayson was willing and able to look ridiculous to get the segment over. Any list of Georgia wrestlers with the most upside has to include Keys. He’s got the in-ring ability to go with the physique.
Ring announcer Jason Boyd said Mayson vs. Keys would take place on March 14.
(6) Tyler Rivera defeated Will Kaution in 7:17. Rivera came to the ring with an attitude. The crowd was excited at the outset chanting “let’s go Will”. A back and forth match with neither man able to gain an advantage for an extended length of time. Most of what they did looked fine. Just one major problem – it felt like a scripted routine of moves and in the process of getting their stuff in, they lost the crowd. Finish saw both guys block the other guy’s finisher and Rivera rolled Kaution up with a fistful of tights.
(7) Loser Leaves Anarchy: Geter vs. Will Huckaby (with Matt Hankins) was ruled a no contest at 1:32. Hot crowd, savage action. Huck met Geter in the aisle and got his ass handed to him. Huck choked Geter with a rope and whacked him with pizza pans. Geter almost put Huckaby through the barricade with a running ass and planted him on the ring frame with a choke slam. Crowd was chanting for Geter as they finally got into the ring. Huck hit an amazing spinebuster on the 400 pounder. Hankins was in ecstasy. Huck missed a moonsault. Geter hit Fall of Man and was attacked by Marx and Blaze. Garrison ran out with a chair to clear the ring.
Behrens said he should have known this would happen and scheduled a redo for March 14…and to keep Undeniable from inserting their fat rears into it, the match would take place inside a steel cage. “I believe somebody’s going to be leaving Anarchy, Mr. Huckaby”.
Garrison offered a handshake. Geter warily accepted it.
NOTES: The announce team for Anarchy HYPE on FITE TV was John Johnson and Curtis Gentry…In the house – David Manders, Jason Blackman and Cody Mcculley… Azrael was backstage where birthday cake was being served for son Leo’s 7th birthday….Former Cornelia wrestler Taco Delgado was running the handheld camera…Darryl Hall got a pop every time he came out to ref.
