Southern Honor Wrestling absolutely, unequivocally knocked it out of the park at their 2nd anniversary show, Still Here 2.
This show had first-rate performances up and down the card. My sense was every wrestler turned it up notch, perhaps several.
In the top matches of the night, Joe Black defeated Corey Hollis in a great title match to become the SHW Champion. Gunner Miller and Logan Creed tore it up, unleashing one impact bomb after another from the opening bell.
I had not been in live wrestling environment with this level of intensity since, well, the last time I was at SHW. The official attendance number at the Action Building was 382. The crowd amazed me as much as the quality of the show – hot for every match, bell to bell, all night long. They were popping hard for near falls like crowds no longer tend to do.
The Action Building isn’t exactly the safest place to be COVID wise. The building is set up so that social distancing is possible, but it was not widely practiced. The percentage of mask wearers was around 15.
It’s a given that SHW’s production quality is unrivaled among Georgia promotions and is probably as good as indy anywhere has to offer. The video packages that accompanied each match were tremendous. If you didn’t know the story or characters going in, you got a flavor from the video.
I have never been more impressed by Dylan Frymyer’s booking than I was last night. He laid out a well-paced show where every match offered something different, sprinkling in just enough surprises. Clearly, the SHW crowd has picked up on all the stories coming out of the Rumblejack. Literally every character, heel or face, garnered a strong reaction.
A video and 10 bell salute honoring Drew Game, who passed away Thursday night followed.
Logan Chase berated Lamb and Frymyer for making his life a living hell and leaving the first SHW Champion, Kevin Ryan off the show. Lamb and Frymyer added to Chase’s woes.
The mystery special guest referee for Jordan Kingsley’s match was revealed as Hold My Beer Hanson. What a pop. The guy is insanely over based on a singular appearance in the Rumblejack.
(1) Chip Day defeated Jordan Kingsley (with Logan Chase) in 11:50. Crowd was deep into Day’s technical wrestling and his stiff striking. My first time seeing Kingsley as a heel. He was surprisingly good in the role. He got in his share of fancy, flippy, flying offense but nothing felt out of context with his heel persona. In the end, Day kicked a field goal with Kingsley’s head. Hanson made the three count while paying no mind to Chase putting Kingsley’s foot on the ropes. Fast-paced, technically sound, excellent as an opener.
Postmatch, as Chase confronted Hanson, Kingsley clocked him from behind and they beat Hanson down.
(2) Mikal Judas defeated Ben Buchanan in 7:02. Buchanan is destined for stardom. It’s downright scary how fast he’s improving. Ben has gone cowboy style, which feels totally natural. He’s more animated in his facial expressions and showing a bit of a crazy streak. Fast and furious exchange at the opening bell won by Judas. Buchanan used a teardrop suplex and got a close near fall with a neckbreaker before Judas pinned him with his signature crucifix powerbomb. Helluva hossfight. Buchanan profited from this match on multiple levels. No shame in losing clean to Judas.
(3) Owen Knight defeated David Ali via DQ in 12:35. The breakneck pace of this show wasn’t letting up yet. Ali jumped the bell. That did not end well for him. The way Knight was dominating gave me the feeling that Ali was going to weasel out of a clean loss somehow. I surely didn’t see the somehow that was coming. Ali used Dani Jordyn’s burn book to get the advantage. Ali used an Air Raid Crash for a great false finish. Ali kicked out of Knight’s fireman’s carry facebuster. They were having a really good match when…
Austin Towers came to the ring. He intentions were unclear. After teasing a choke slam on the both of them, Towers leveled Knight with the Kobiya Kick. Ali added more pain, blues and agony with a top rope elbow drop. Fans chanted for Knight as he made way to the back.
(4) Lynch Mob (Joey & Matt Lynch) defeated Rock & Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) to retain the SHW tag titles in 7:40. Perfect placement as the slow pace of this match gave the fans a chance to catch their breath. The legends received the proper respect, but the louder pop was reserved for Lynch Mob. Morton did his Canadian Destroyer on Joey. Matt launched a sunset flip from the top rope to pin Morton.
(5) Ashton Starr defeated Brian Pillman Jr. in 10:55. Whoa, has Starr’s heel turn ever taken. The fan love has turned to hate. Attacking his Party Planner didn’t do it, but laying out the lovely Susie Quinn at the last show sure did. This match worked off a continuation of the soap opera story. Starr capitalized on cameraperson Susie’s presence at ringside to gain the upper hand. Pillman appeared to take a very legit looking slip off the top rope that tweaked his knee. Starr went right at the knee with a sharpshooter and a Boston Crab. When Pillman made the ropes, Starr bitched at referee Jeremie Prater. Pillman superkicked Starr and dropped him on his head for a close near fall. Diversion involving Susie led to Pillman’s demise via Starr’s axe kick. With his look and pedigree, how is Pillman not signed? Match was fine. The story was the thing.
Postmatch, Starr had Susie by the throat when Vary Morales hit the ring and beat the crap out of Starr until he bailed.
(6) Gunner Miller defeated Logan Creed via referee stoppage in 9:50. This was astonish match. See it when it comes to IWTV. A heavyweight fight all the way. They laid out a Lesnar style match with back-and-forth big moves beginning to end. Creed hit a suicide dive as Miller was coming to the ring. Miller answered with one of his own and they never let up. The false finishes were terrific. Creed kicked out of the jackhammer. Miller kicked out of Scorched Earth. Creed used the jackhammer on Miller but he kicked out. The finish saw Miller spear Creed, jackhammer him again and pound him until the ref jumped into to stop it. The finish itself looked weak compared to everything else.
Lamb came to the ring, congratulated Miller and made it crystal clear he had no used for Creed. Logan sold the finish huge. SHW official including Frymyer rushed to ringside. Creed puked into a trash can and struggled up the ramp.
Hollis’ entrance was a major production. Funeral wreathes were set up and a casket was wheeled out. Mikal Judas opened the casket. Hollis walked onstage out with a smile on his face (Hollis popped out a casket to help Judas win a match at Southern Fried).
(7) Joe Black defeated Corey Hollis (with Mikal Judas) via submission to win the SHW Championship in 24:40. I loved the contrast between this match and Creed/Miller. They wrestled. Hollis is in amazing shape these days. Black doesn’t know any other way to be. It had the look and feel of an old school title match. Hollis said he was going to wrestle rings around Black. That wasn’t happening. Judas interfered and was summarily ejected by referee David Weakley for a huge pop and “bye bye” serenade for Judas. Hollis speared Black’s knee and set out to destroy the body part (a play on Joe’s past knee issues). Black’s selling was masterful here. When Hollis missed a top rope splash, the crowd urged Black on with a loud “Joe” chant. Black busted out 10 consecutive german suplexes! Black was moving in for the kill when his knee gave way. Hollis seized on the opening with an ankle lock. Black reversed. Black capped off a fighting spirit sequence with a spear. Hollis didn’t want to break when Hollis was in the ropes and shoved Weakley down in frustration. Black plead his case to avoid a DQ. They battled onto the stage where Hollis gave Black a piledriver. Hollis ran back to the ring and demanded a count out. Black beat the 10 count by a split second. Hollis hit Black with everything he had and applied a crossface. Black reversed it and when he transitioned to a Rings of Saturn, Hollis tapped.
It was the
right time to make the title switch and they had a great match. The crowd
chanted “you deserve it”. They were in no hurry to end the celebration and Black was drinking it in..
NOTES: SHW returns to the Action Building on November 13…Diana Michel was the ring announcer…Among the wrestling luminaries in the building were Jeff G. Bailey, Jeremy Vain, Talon Williams, Nick McDaniel, Tyler Gazaway, Jay 2Strong, Proc “The Croc” Johnston, James Caleb Kitchens and Jonathan Feltner. Country music star Mark Wills attended the show.
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