Two weeks and counting for Unleashed, new tag team champions were crowned as Supreme Metal (Tyrese Murphy & Roma Miller) tasted tag team gold for the first time.
Nawfside Heroes' title reign is history after just 21 days but it ain't over. The rematch takes place on June 24 at Unleashed.
The other stories leading into Unleashed were all effectively advanced.
The Brandon Whatley/Jay Lucas video is a must see. This show made excellent use of video material and the talk segments were stronger than last week.
The in-ring? Dameon Ceretone and Marcus Eriks had chemistry in the main event. There were flashes of good stuff in the tag title match. If you only watch the final minute of other matches, you wouldn't be missing much.
Noah Howell and Shane Noles in the booth. Lewis Santiago and Slim were the referees. James Hardy split the ring announcing duties with Howell.
(1) All Out Champion Aaron Dallas pinned Eric "The World" Walker in a non-title match at 7:56. Walker grabbed the All Out belt and tried to walk out with it and the YouTube belt he stole from Dorian. But Dorian showed up carrying an ax handle to chase Walker back into the ring. Fast forward - Walker picked up the Youtube belt to use it on Dallas. Dorian jumped into the ring to stop him. As they struggled for possession of the belt, Walker pulled Dorian into the path of a Dallas' Steel Toe. Dallas was looking horrified. Walker attacked but Dallas caught him in an inside cradle.
Walker took off with the Youtube belt. Dallas wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings with Dorian, who raised the champion's hand.
JACS Video Part I -- Produced, written and narrated by JACS. Pro wrestling was going to be his road to happiness. He won his first title in 2017 (for ZAW) but the promotion immediately shut down. Some "seasoned vets" bad mouthed him for shutting down their claims of training him but he went on to win another championship and was picking up steam when a bad bump stopped him in his tracks. Doctors told him he had neck damage, trauma to his spine and a head injury. He was suffering from anxiety and depression. He decided he had to quit wrestling.
(2) Super Chicken defeated Tony Midas in 5:24. The announce team noted it was taking Midas longer than the 15 seconds it took his partner Brother Azriel to beat Super Chicken last week. With Chicken perched on the top rope, Midas went for his can of hairspray. Eagle-eyed referee Slim scoped it out and took the can away. Midas then clocked Chicken with a chain instead. Chicken was out cold and fell on top of Midas for the three count.
Midas was in disbelief. Chicken woke up having no idea he had won the match.
Video from WWA4 Earlier Today -- Brandon Whatley attacked Lucas while he training at WWA4 and beat him to death with nunchucks. Knocked his ass out. Knocked his innocent training partner out just because. Whatley sat down on the floor and put his arm around an unconscious Lucas to dispense advice. Whatley said he was suspended from ProSouth but that didn't mean Lucas was safe from him. It was just a matter of time before Commissioner Amy found a new toy and tossed Lucas to the side, so mind your business and stay away from the sucker's game. The video ended with Lucas face down on the floor.
I loved this take off on a classic old school pro wrestling video. Whatley was the embodiment of an evil badass. The visual of Whatley calmly talking to Lucas while he was passed out was sick and memorable.
(3) Cameron Keast (with Harley Haven) defeated Bubba Cagle in 6:33. Mic work before the match. Keast complained about the injustice of it all. Instead of getting a fair rematch, he had to face five men (in the Unchained match). Cagle talked about the up and downs of Keast's mood and career. Cagle asked the people if justice for Cam was needed (a resounding NO!) and egged on the "Die Cam Die" chant from the crowd.
Keast lost his cool and punched Cagle in the face to start the match. Cagle hit a stalling vertical suplex into a gordbuster and Harley grabbed Cagle's leg to break up the pin. Cagle confronted Harley at ringside. Keast tried to ambush Cagle but was cut off at the pass. Harley interfered and tried to slap Cagle's face. Cagle blocked the slap and started twisting Harley's arm.
In the nick of time, Keast schoolboyed Cagle into the barricade and did a number on Cagle's finger joints. Cagle had Keast positioned for the TKO when the presence of Marcus Eriks diverted his attention. Keast came from behind (what else is new?) with a schoolboy. Cagle kicked out and went after Eriks. Eriks jumped into the ring to escape. As Cagle reentered, Keast hit Bloody Tears for the win.
This match worked. Keast ended his losing streak and was as slimy as ever. The stuff between Harley and Cagle was well done. The distraction spot was also well done -- Eriks started to slide into the ring like he was real threat instead of the usual distraction spot that makes the babyface look dumb.
A trios match was up next --- Violent Gentleman (Shane Mako & Scott Morgan & Charles Zanders) vs. Ace Haven & Supreme Metal (Tyrese Murphy & Roma Miller). VG's music played but they didn't show. Noles speculated that VG were playing mind games.
Ace said VG was 3-0 against him and chose not to show up the one time the playing field was leveled. Ace said maybe they were too busy with their Cheap Heat TV Podcast that had only four live viewers and maybe the cheap plug he was providing would get them five. Ace did a Charles Zanders imitation saying it was good to be alive because it was the first he wasn't seeing the four walls of a jail cell in six months (Zanders minor legal troubles have been the butt of jokes on Cheap Heat). Ace said when VG inevitably did come back, he was going to kick their asses and send them back to Mickey Henry in Boaz.
Ace cut one wicked promo with some great work/shoot material. Maybe Cheap Heat TV will actually have more than five live viewers this week.
Ace said he didn't always make matches but he had an in with the booker. Ergo, he was inserting Supreme Metal into Nawfside Heroe's open challenge slot.
(4) Supreme Metal (Tyrese Murphy & Roma Miller) defeated Nawfside Heroes (Jose Manuel & Shoota Gabe) to capture the ProSouth Tag Team Championship in 5:47. Miller's monkey flip was the best thing about his early offense. Nawfside cut the ring in half on Murphy. Tag to Miller for some so-so kicks and I was thanked my lucky stars when Gabe broke up the dreaded step daddy stomps. Manuel with a nifty combo -- rolling DVD to a double stomp to a shining wizard. Murphy wrecked Manuel with a springboard knee strike. Gabe sent Murphy out with a dropkick. Roma did a slingshot sunset flip on Gabe to win the titles. Big pop for the surprise title change.
Postmatch show of respect. Manuel said the better team won but they weren't going out like that. Let's do it again at Unleashed. Murphy accepted on behalf of Supreme Metal.
What a nice surprise -- a title switch on a regular TV before the major show. I liked the energy of this match. The finishing sequence looked fine and took full advantage of ProSouth's lucha tag rules. Manuel was good on the mic setting it up. I want to see Manuel and Murphy in a singles match.
JACS Video Part II -- In the midst of the pain and unhappiness, JACS met someone special and fell in love. Gradually, the pain and depression lessened. He saw Edge and Brian Danielson return to the ring. He began to think wrestling was possible again. He was medically cleared and has been better than ever since he returned to the ring seven months ago. But the injuries he sustained will never fully heal and he doesn't know how long he will be able to wrestle. JACS will address his future next Friday night in Piedmont.
Produced, written and narrated by JACS, the videos were visually interesting ad told a compelling true story. Editing them down a bit would have increased their power.
(5) ProSouth Champion Dameon Certone defeated Marcus Eriks by DQ in 11:53. Ceretone exploded out of the gate (as Howell aptly put it). Eriks hit a belly to belly suplex to take control. Good action and they were working hard but this crowd was dead. Ceretone hit a blockbuster (that was new) for a double down and ProSouth's new Wily Coyote camera captured the shot. Ceretone with a trio of germans on the comeback. Finishers countered by both men, then a death valley driver into the turnbuckles by Ceretone. As Ceretone was looking to end ith with Sleep the Deep, Eriks resorted to a nutshot right in front of the referee for the DQ.
Afterward, Eriks laid Ceretone out with Falling In Reverse and laid him out again with the Gold Rush briefcase. Eriks was about to cash in the briefcase. As promised, Cagle was the thorn in his flesh. Cagle and Eriks got into a fierce brawl outside the ring. Keast hit the ring and started pounding on Ceretone. They spilled to the floor. All four were fighting as the screen went to black.
Hard work and a good match taken down by a disappointing crowd response. The postmatch preview of the Unchained match was solid but the crowd wasn't feeling that either.
