Southern Honor Wrestling and their fans got just about everything they could have wanted from SH40.
The card overall didn't appear to be a particularly strong on paper. The reality of the night that unfolded told a different story.
The absolute spectacles that bookended the show delivered the goods.
Krule worked magic in the opener. His match with Zach the Gear Guy was entertaining and at no point was it uncomfortable to watch. Read below for the nitty gritty.
Gunner Miller came into pro wrestling after being a Division 1 football player. Miller wasn't a natural wrestler but became into a very good one (check out his matches with Matt Riddle).He lacked experience on the mic but has developed into a great promo guy over time. Deathmatch wrestling wasn't in his repertoire until last night and I'm here to tell you he's pretty damn good at that right out of the box, not that he plans on doing it again.
Miller could not have had a better opponent than "The Bloodbath Behemoth" Tank, who is in the midst of a career renaissance at the age of 51.
A whole lot of compelling storytelling happened in between the madness. I"d say new booker Brooklyn Creed (cough) had a stellar first night on the job.
SH40 struck a fine balance -- plenty of action to satisfy the SHW faithful that need their moments and expect nothing less -- story continuation and development as the company builds momentum for their major events -- the Rumblejack in August and the anniversary show in October.
SHW is having an incredibly strong year at the box office. Attendance at the Action Building was 386, which is one hell of a number the summer season.
Looks like SHW will be sticking around for a while, despite owner Gary Lamb's talk of possibly shutting it down.
Folks, all that took place in the story below was over and done in two hours and five minutes.
(1) Mads "Krule" Krugger defeated Zach the Gear Guy in a no holds barred match to retain the SHW Championship in 4:10. Krule came to the ring with Joe Black (carrying the Contra flag and Brooklyn Creed, smoking hot in her black summer dress. Brooklyn introduced Krule and threw in the NHB stipulation. The crowd was amped to the max. The pop for Zach was huge and the fans were pulling like crazy for him. Dylan James showed to check Black and they brawled their way out of the building. Zach tapped Krule with a chair, then ran away and hid under the timekeeper's table. When Krule picked up the table, Zach sprayed him in the face with fire extinguisher for a giant pop. The crowd starting chanting for Owen Knight. Krule set a table up in the ring intent on putting poor Zach through it. Knight came to ringside flailing at Krule with a chair as he stood on the ropes. Zach gave Krule a low blow and Krule fell through the table. Krule recovered as monsters do. He chokeslammed Knight and ever so gently choked Zach out.
Brooklyn said Knight wasn't booked and he was now FIRED. .
Doing a match with a special needs guy was an iffy proposition but they (Krugger and referee David Weakley) took good care him and Krule made a preposterous match work beyond any reasonable expectations. The pops for the big spots were off the charts. Owen Knight is so over with these people.
Lamb confronts Brooklyn. Lamb admitted it had been a tough month and he had thought about shutting SHW down. He always said he would walk away if it wasn't fun anymore and calling it quits when you're on top is a glorious thing. He still signed the checks and had his name on the building. Lamb hinted at selling out to Murder One (who was in the audience). Gary asked the crowd if it was still his promotion. You know what their answer was. Brooklyn continually interrupted with smart remarks and told Lamb to watch her burn his company to the ground. It was all leading to his golden boy and then SHW would wither and die. Brooklyn walked out with a look of smug satisfaction. Lamb? Not so much, not his usual overly confident self.
I have no idea where they're going or how far they're going with Brooklyn as the booker, but this a role she was born to play. Lamb has a history of getting the better of the heel in these situations but not this time.
(2) Rumblejack Qualifier: Najasism defeated Rob Killjoy in 8:52. Back and forth with lucha stylings and aerial pyrotechnics. Crowd was split. Some of the highlights -- Naja did a bullet tope suicida. Killjoy broke out one of his patented sequences starting with a qeubradora and ended with a double stomp. Naja hit a great frogsplash for a near fall. They jockeyed for position on the top rope leading to a Killjoy huracanrana. Killjoy got a near fall with the duck valley driver -- After an exchange of strikes, Killjoy tried for the Ducklebomb. Naja countered with a poisonrana and hit the double jump springboard elbow drop for the win.
An outstanding babyface match that got a better reaction than expected. They won the crowd over with their skills.
(3) Cyrus the Destroyer vs. Mikal Judas -- the bell never rang. Ring announcer Diana Michel made the point this feud had been brewing for six months. Judas met Cyrus head as he tried to enter the ring. They brawled onto the stage and all over the ringside area, at one point threatening to put each other through the announcer's table, which had Brandon Benefield and Gerard Bonner pretty freaked out. Judas drove a metal rod into Cyrus' eye, then chokeslammed referee Jeremy Prater. Panic ensued. Todd Sexton hit the ring to get Judas out of there. A medic rushed to the scene to tend to Cyrus, who was storming around the ring holding a wad o gauze over his eye. Some warped fans made light of Cyrus' plight by chanting "you've got one eye" and cracking pirate jokes. Prater was carried out.
Well played. The brawl was staged so that sightlines for the crowd did not get obscured. They fans got to taste a hoss fight of epic proportions in the service of story build. Crowd was split.
(4) Carlie Bravo defeated Jordan Kingsley in 9:55. Crowd was chanting "Jordan" for Kingsley and "you suck" at Bravo. Kingsley went to the air. Bravo hit a slingshot cutter and did a classic Flair kneedrop. Kingsley put on the brakes to avoid a shot into the barricade. Don't see that often enough. Kingsley did a Tito Santana flying burrito for the double down. Bravo escaped Kingsley's finisher and hit Velveteen Dream's swinging reverse STO but Kingsley kicked out at one. Back and forth counters led to Bravo pinning Kingsley with feet on the ropes.
Good match with heel-babyface dynamic to burn. Carlie Bravo has gotten really good, really fast. His choices of what to do and when to do it have improved greatly, but it was the way he used facial expressions and kept the crowd engaged that stood out most.
(5) All Star Special (Huckaby & Hold My Beer Hanson) defeated Technical Excellence (Chip Day & Kyle Matthews) to retain the SHW tag titles in 7:48. A rematch from two months ago when ASS won the titles. Day left that match due to injury andMatthews lost going it alone. ASS was reluctant to win that way but Matthews insisted.
All-Star Special's entrance to "I Want It That Way" was an unmitigated smash hit. Fans were waving their flashlights and finished singing the song a cappella after the music cut off. Kind of a mixed reaction to the champions once the bell rang. Huck did a wobbly ropes walk lucha arm drag. Hanson took a backdrop over the top to the floor that looked perilous as hell. Day hinted at a problem with the ankle injury from their previous match. ASS isolated Matthews who declined to tag Day in when he clearly could have. Day interfered but got shitcanned by Huck. Matthews was pinned by Huck after an ASS double team.
The teams shook hands after the match. Day and Matthews were not happy with other. They half-heartedly hugged at ringside but when they got onto the stage, Day laid Matthews out with a brainbuster. The crowd popped huge as Matthews laid motionless.
They're making the best of a tag team situation mucked up by Lynch Bros no show two months ago with strong storytelling. All-Star's entrance was one of the highlights of the night. Great storytelling here. Postmatch was awesome -- Just enough foreshadowing of the break up. Day's brainbuster on the stage looked devastating and the crowd loved him for it. Or maybe they just loved the moment. Was Kyle wrong to give up the titles after losing or being a prick by not tagging Chip in or was he doing the right things?
(6) Dylan James vs. Joe Black morphed into a tag match (per Brooklyn Creed) -- James & Owen Knight defeated Black & Krule in 11:13. Brooklyn out do commentary with a change of wardrobe. A matter of preference as to which was the hotter look. Dylan jumped the bell. Crowd was for Dylan but still not wanting to root against Black. Not much heat UNTIL Krule came to ringside and Knight came out of nowhere to dive onto him. Building was in an uproar. Brooklyn was furious. She ordered a tag match and said Knight's firing was rescinded if his team won. Huge heat now. The heels were beating on Knight as the fans loudly chanted "Owen". Tag to Dylan. DDT on Krule but he just popped up. Tag to Knight. Tried for the Clock Out but couldn't get it. As Krule was near the corner, James hit him with a chain. Knight got the monster up for the Clock Out and pinned him for a monster pop.
Postmatch - Brooklyn blew off the loss. Said Knight had his job back but was never part of the plan and merely had something she wanted (the SHW title). Brooklyn made two matches for next month - Knight vs. Krule and Dylan vs. his Happy Madness partner Sal Rinauro. Krule got into with some ringsiders. Crowd chanted "you still suck" as Brooklyn and her men departed.
A match that wasn't gangbusters turned into a ridiculously hot segment. Owen love abounds. Some justice served up for Krule. Dylan vs. Sal should be interesting.
(7) Gunner Miller defeated Tank (with Reverend Dan Wilson) in a deathmatch (11:15). The Rev delivered one of his signature chilling intros. Miller was guzzling Michelob Ultras Stone Cold style. They got right down to business. Tank was bleeding after Miller put a trash can over his head and bashed it with a barbed wire bat. Tank jabbed the skewers into Millier's head until blood was streaming down his face. Miller pulled the skewers out, glared at Tank and Irish-whipped him through a door. Tank gouged Miller's forehead with a king-sized grilling fork. Spot of the match saw Miller blast Tank's back with a firecracker bat causing a huge explosion. Tank used a barbed wire Mountain Dew bottle. Miller stuck a gusset plate into Tank's arm to draw more blood. Miller went through a door. Tank spread a bag of tacks on the mat and brought light tubes into play. Tank gave Miller a Saito suplex onto a bundle of light tubes into the tacks. Miller's back was a mass of cuts and glass shards. This thing was looking grim for Miller when that maniac Nathan Mowery (who had the balls to take Tank on in SHW's first ever deathmatch) got onto the apron and exploded a bundle of light tubes on Tank's head. Miller bashed Tank with more light tubes and it was over.
Afterward, Black attacked Miller from behind. Krule came into the ring to do more damage to Miller but Tank stepped in. Tank and Miller stood toe-to-toe with Krule and Black. Brooklyn said this was not part of their agenda and her guys backedoff.
Miller made the belt around the waist motion and did a beer toast with Tank to end the show.
The fans were totally into the horror.Tank and Gunner gave them a first rate death match they won't soon forget, if ever. The Mowery spot was a deft touch. The match also scored points for creative death match weaponry. Could one more title shot be in the cards for Miller?
NOTES: SHW returns to the Action Building on July 8...Murder One, Jeff G. Bailey, Nick McDaniels and Corey Tatum were in the house...Congratulation to referee David Weakley. He got the call to work the NWA show in Knoxville tonight.
