I took a look at the ACTION Futures Showcase Tournament from
October 4 as shown on IWTV.
The tournament too place at the TWE Arena in Chattanooga. I love the vibe
of this building right off. A hard camera facing a side with no fans is not one
of my favorite things. On the other hand, it kind of added to the
claustrophobic intensity of the venue. It’s a crime I’ve only seen a couple of
shows in Chattanooga
proper and the TWE Arena is on my list of places I need to visit.
The running time of this show was only one hour and 45
minutes. In no way did I feel shortchanged due to the caliber and intensity of
the action, beginning to end. I believe, wishful thinking perhaps, that we will
be seeing fewer three hour plus shows and less is more is the direction pro
wrestling is heading.
All of the tournament matches were excellent. The format was
three triple threat first round matches leading to a triple threat finale. The
tournament matches were all under 10 minutes. Longer is not necessarily
better and with indy wrestling, it’s usually worse. With the talent in this tournament, going longer would have been fine. Keeping the matches short gave it more a sports feel. The non-tournament matches added spice and variety to the show, highlighted by Logan Creed vs. O'Shay Edwards.
Scott Hensley opened the show with a 10 bell honoring Drew Game and handed off to ring announcer Daniel Simmons, who did a fine job. The announce team was Dylan Hales and Mose.
(1) Adam Priest defeated Ben Buchanan and Erron Wade, pinning Wade at 5:24. Wade was 100% improved in his confidence and presentation than the one I saw at SVW a few short months ago. Hales recently called Priest the future of southern wrestling. I’ve been high on Priest based on his work at Peachstate. Ther was never a question about his wrestling skills but he hadn’t found himself personality wise. Buchanan decapitated Wade with a lariat and Priest swooped in to steal the pin.
(2) Nolan Edward defeated Alex Kane and Jack Griffin, pinning Griffin at 6:53. Hales said the abuse he suffered at the hands of JD Drake the night before at ACTION Wrestling could be a limiting factor. Rob Brodhecker gave that match a rare A grade. A three way suplex put the spotlight on Kane. Then a sequence that showed Edward didn’t get the “No Flinch” nickname for nothing. The spot where Edward spear chucked Griffin over the top rope onto Kane was insane. Kane dropped Edward on his head with a pumphandle driver. Griffin hit a backspring cutter off the top on Kane. Edward fired Griffin into Kane with a spear and pinned him.
(3) Shawn Dean defeated CT Keys and Joe Keys, pinning Joe at
9:06. The accent here was on explosive power and strength, which was a nice
contrast to the previous match. Dean really pinpoints his dropkick. Joe is a muscular dude out of Maryland and the ROH dojo. Joe hit a diving headbutt on CT and beat the stuffing out of him. A round robin of strikes ended with Joe taking on both opponents and paying the price. Nifty piece
of athleticism from CT as he did handspring to counter Dean’s cutter.
CT might have beaten Dean with a pop up neckbreaker but Joe pulled the ref
out of the ring. Dean ignited on offense, finish Joe with a double underhook
GTS.
(4) Jaden Newman defeated Ken Dixon in 12:47. This was a different Newman battling the
larger and nastier Dixon
on even terms. There was something compelling about the juxtaposition of a
frail looking female referee in the midst of all the male brutality. Heavy
cline both men down. Jaden’s spectacular missile dropkick was worthy of an
instant replay. Dixon
delivered a vicious neckbreaker followed by a sick tombstone piledriver. Newman
somehow kicked out. Referee Kim sent Dixon ass over kea tettle
(stretching suspension of disbelief to the breaking point) and Newman scored
the pinfall after a running forearm to
the brain.
O’Shay Edwards video promo to set the stage for his match
with two-time Georgia
wrestler of the year, Logan Creed. Edwards said he didn’t run away from Georgia, he
left in search of an opportunity he wasn’t getting. He wasn’t willing to settle
for the table scraps of Georgia
wrestling.
(5) O’Shay Edwards defeated Logan Creed in 7:45. Hoss fight
time. There’s a lot to be said in favor of small referees. Creed and Edwards
looked positively gargantuan compared to referee Kody Manhorn. The jumping
coffin drop Creed has added to his repertoire had O’Shay rolling out for a TO. Creed
popped up after Edwards’ first release german suplex. A second german
registered a whole lot more but Creed still answered with a chokebreaker. Creed
was looking for Scorched Earth. Edwards powered out, leading to a third german
suplex. They traded bombs. Edwards caught
Creed coming off the ropes with a thunder driver for a devastating finish.
(6) AC Mack defeated Bailey Blake to retain the ACTION
Wrestling Championship in 11:50. This is a new and improved, slimmed down and
more athletic Blake and he’s hugely over as babyface in the TWE building. Gotta
say I prefer the old Blake personality because it was more distinctive. Interesting body part choice here with Mack
working on Blake’s nose and Blake selling like it was broken. Mack shoved Blake
towards referee Kim. Blake put on the brakes. Mack seized on the moment to hit
the Mack 10 for the win. Mack did what Mack does, find a way to connive his way
to victory. I didn’t buy some of Blake’s offense but his heart was
undeniable.
(7) Nolan Edward defeated Adam Priest and Shawn Dean, pinning Priest at 8:53 to win the tournament. Priest launched a sneak attack on the other guys before the bell. Dean recovered quickly, hitting Priest with the move that won him his first round match, but Edward broke up the pin. Edward and Dean pulverized each other with strikes, which was right in Edward’s wheelhouse. A train of suplexes left all three devastated. Dean and Edward had enough of Priest and combined forces for a bit. More sneaky stuff from Priest to get back on top. Edward back at Priest with a Mondo Bomb, shades of CZW, and Dean had make a save. A floatover DDT by Dean and clothesline over the top from Priest took Edward out of the match. The commentary drove home the damage Edward had taken at the hands of JD Drake the night before at ACTION. Dean stunned Priest with a corner dropkick and came within an eyelash of pinning him with a Tiger Driver. Priest played possum and crossed chopped Dean in the throat. Priest tried to set up an avalanche back suplex on Dean. Edward reentered and caught Priest with a crucifix powerbomb into the middle turnbuckle. If there’s a way to do a move that insane in safe way, this was it. Edward then pinned Priest with a piledriver to win the tournament.
Tremendous action and a compelling story in a compact form -- Edward overcame
a weekend of punishing matches to turn the tables on Priest’s sneaky tactics
with the ultimate surprise move. All three looked sharp with Priest as
the clear standout. Priest's opening round match was too short to get the full flavor of him. His fiery personality dominated the finale.
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