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| Photo by Julie Puckett |
The Father's Day/Juneteenth edition of Southern States Pro proved to be a Sunday night at the matches. They ran straight through without an intermission - nine matches -- and it was a wrap in two and half hours.
Attendance at the El Galaxy Bar and Grill was 85. SSP is playing to an entirely new audience than their previous labor of love, Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment. The longer the show went, the larger and louder the crowd got, clearly a positive sign.
I think Southern States has something to be build on with all the young talent on their roster, particularly on a Sunday night.
The first Southern States event last month was not a traditional wrestling show. It was a scouting combine where the wrestlers did tryout matches in front of a panel of judges.
Almost all of the wrestlers that earned roster spots at the combine were back, plus a few that did not make the team that night.
This show needs women on it -- wrestlers, valets, females in some form, despite what a pain in the ass they can be to book. Murder One knows this.
I'd give match of the night honors to Exotic Youth vs. Jay Lucas and Terry Yaki with Merrik Donovan vs. DMC as a close runner up.
In other news, Southern States Pro absorbed Wrestling United and will run events in the West Georgia area.
This show was extremely well covered by GWH. Jabari McIntyre and Rob Brodhecker will have more detailed reports than the one below.
3MP accompanied Chip Day to the ring and cut a promo on Duncan Mitchell. Mitchell took offense to 3MP mentioning his mom so Day did it again.
(1) Sal Rinauro defeated "The Cruiserweight Classic" Larry Lazard in 13:59. Lazard was way more over as an underdog babyface than I thought possible. Rinauro took offense to Lazard mocking his gimmick. Stretched him and beat him up pretty good. Lazard did a Matrix move into an enzuigiri that was a flash of brilliance and was on a roll from there. The end came when Lazard missed a 450 and hit Jacob Time.
Sal shook Lazard's hand after the match.
(2) Aaron Dallas defeated Ash Bennett in 8:56. Ring announcer Liam Patrick was already off to a "rocky" start when he introduced Dallas instead of Bennett. Patrick ended up doing just fine. The crowd took a dislike to Bennett. What's to like? Dallas was popular with the crowd and looked good in the ring. He changed things up by winning with the AAD.
(3) All Star Special (Hold My Beer Hanson & Huckaby) defeated Trey Shaw & Eric "The World" Walker in 8:12. All Star Special were dancing fools. They put smiles on faces and got this crowd going AND they had a good match with Shaw and Walker. Shaw had Huck in his sights when Walker made an unsolicited tag and said "I got this". You know how that goes. Spnning back suplex from Hanson and moonsault by Huck for the 1-2-3.
(4) Proc Johnston defeated Lamar Diggs in 5:56. Hoss fight alert. The 2nd most physical match of the night. Diggs is a handful. He also did a 330 lb standing dropkick. Proc won with a wicked lariat.
(5) Chip Day (with 3MP) defeated Duncan Mitchell in 7:55. Day said "sorry momma" as he ate her boy alive. With the crowd 100% behind him, Mitchell summoned up that BIG Duncan energy and made one hell of a comeback. Mitchell landed on his feet after Day's german suplex and ducked Day's tornado kick. Day faked an injury to distract the ref so 3MP could interfere. Day's took it home with a tornado kick and his signature finisher. Mitchell looked sharp.
(6) Trever Aeon & Creeps (Irving West & Andey Ripley) defeated Nawfside Heroes (Jose Manuel & Shoota Gabe) & Zamir Zuriel in 10:48. Aeon was the captain of his team and willed them to victory. Aeon pulled Gabe out of the ring and suplexed him on the ring frame to start the heat. After Nawfside hit their finisher, Aeon broke up the pin and dropped Manuel on his head with a pumphandle driver for the win.
Diggs emerged from the locker room and called Johnston back out because he missed the combine and wanted to earn a spot on the roster. The brawled over the near the bar and it looked brutal. Wrestlers came running over to break it up, which was no easy task. Johnston said he would see Diggs next month.
(7) AWOL (with Taliaferro) defeated Keelin Cole in 1:50. AWOL did his diving tomahawk chop and won with a hammerlock variant of the Stroke.
Geter arrived at gimmick tables in street clothes. AWOL stupidly tried to attack him. Geter calmly went to the ring, knocked AWOL out, put his glasses and hat back on and left. Taliaferro poured an elixir down AWOL's throat and AWOL sat up like Frankenstein and walked to the back all robotic and glassy eyed. I loved this.
(8) DMC defeated Sir Merrik Donovan in 10:44. Once again, there was nobody to take DMC's ring robe and once again, DMC didn't trust me to be that guy. This was the most physical match of the night and a great match all the way around. Donovan subbed for Joe Black, out with a training injury. The ref caught DMC using the ropes to leverage Donovan for a pin. DMC faked shaking Donovan's hand and went to town on him. But there would be hell to pay from the beastly Donovan. In the end, DMC kicked out of Donovan's Falcon Arrow and pinned him with a draping DDT. Donovan did right by DMC. A huge win for a little asshole.
DMC smacked Donovan's face after the match.
3MP let it be known he was interested in DMC's services.
(9) Jay Lucas & Terry Yaki defeated Exotic Youth (Zach Mosley & Bryce Cannon) in 14:08. Another outstanding match between these teams. Perhaps a hair below their match at the combine but upon further review, maybe not. Cannon's Polo shirts (purposely) and Mosley's Million Dollar Mullet (unwillingly) were brought into play. Lucas and Yaki unleashed a spectacular aerial attack in this one. Exotic Youth bump and sell as well as any tag team in Georgia. A wild and wooly sequence of tandem moves saw Yaki pin Mosley with a huracanrana.
The two teams did the respect thing after the match. How disappointing if this marriage made in heaven had ended that way. It did not. Exotic Youth gave the babyfaces low blows and beat their young Black asses until Lazard made the save with a steel chair.
I see a trios match in my crystal ball -- EY vs. Yaki, Lucas and Lazard.
NOTES: Southern States Pro will return to El Galaxy on July 24 and will have shows at the Southern Fried Gaming Expo on July 15 and 16...Darryl Hall, Stan Robinson and "Butterbean" Ryan Harmon were the officials...A fan had a beautiful pencil drawing of Grandpa and gave it to him after the show...Billy Knight was in the house as was Cuatro Cabezas...Did my eyes deceive me or was that Cornelius Pepperbottom behind the gimmick tables?...Ring by Jimmie Oxendine...Melissa Matthews Adams was back in her familiar spot handling ticket sales.
