ProSouth Wrestling Trust Issues - October 6

Photos by Aubrey Gilbert From Larry Goodman: A short-handed ProSouth crew got the most out of the talent on hand Friday night in Piedmont. I...

Photos by Aubrey Gilbert

From Larry Goodman:

A short-handed ProSouth crew got the most out of the talent on hand Friday night in Piedmont. It was indespensible viewing for hardcore fans of the product like the writer of this report. 

ProSouth prioritizes the art form of pro wrestling over the business side of the business. I will always love them for that.

Check out more of Aubrey Gilbert's amazing photos below.

Eric Silva earned a title match with ProSouth Champion Brandon Whatley. Silva  and Whatley defeated Ayden Andrews and Aaron Dallas in a tag match with zero cooperation between them. 

Saul Wright and Ravenna Vein advanced to the finals of the YouTube title tournament necessitated by the disappearance of champion Shean Christopher. Shean's arch nemesis Dameon Ceretone engineered Vein's victory as an enticement to abandon Shean in favor of joining Atonement.

At the 11th hour, folks turned up to have Cameron Keast's back and help him win the lumberjack match against House of Harley's Ozzy Owens. 

Chris Kamikaze posted a video delaying his scheduled match with Ace Haven until next week. His absence along with those of Caeden Ooten and Wicked Nemesis resulted in late changes to the card and the announcing duties. 

ProSouth Tag Team Champions Nawfside Heroes made an unadvertised return to defend their title. 

Mathias Darkthorne took over the lead announcer duties. Dameon Ceretone wason color commentary for the first half. Keast sat in during the second.half. Both did splendid work on the fly. Kevin Tubbs, Adam Hunter and Gavin Pell were the referees. James Hardy was the ring announcer.                                                                                                                                  

(1) Lumberjack Match: Cameron Keast defeated "Double aught" Ozzy Owens (with Harley Haven) via submission in 7:40. Owens replaced Ooten as Keast's opponent. Harley introduced Saul Wright as her bolted on lumberjack Keast pandered and got a pop but came to the ring alone. Owens and the lumberjacks beating up Keast at will. Ceretone said they only were doing what father Keast taught them. Keast crawled towards the ramp extending his arm for help. Jake Franklin appeared first and was followed by Nawfside Heroes and Brother Azriel. 

Keast's newfound friends brawled with House of Harley.  Inside the ring, Owens tried for choke slam. Keast escaped and hit Keast Infection, then applied a Koji Clutch and Owens  tapped out. 

I loved that they didn't do a standard lumberjack match and I'm digging Keast as a babyface Having Franklin come out alone as Keast's first lumberjack was a nice touch. Franklin's use of "Bad To The Bone" as his entrance music is sacrilege and supremely humorous. Crowd sounded more excited for this match than anything else on the card. 

Pandemonium continued among the lumberjacks. Bobcat entered the fray with an Orihara moonsault onto the entire mess (the thumbnail photo). 

Segue to...

(2) Saul Wright defeated Bobcat to advance to the finals of the YouTube Title Tournament (5:49). Wright took the wind out of Bobcat's sails with a snake eyes into the post. Back inside, Wright planted Bobcat with the Gunslinger (Catatonic) for a near fall. Wright squashed Bobcat with a Vader Bomb. Bobcat got his knees up as Wright went back to the well. Bobcat got a near fall with a moonsault. Wright knocked Bobcat for a loop with a lariat from his knees. Nice work. Bobcat answered with Ghanarea but tried for one moonsault too many. Wright evaded and leveled everybody's favorite cat with a lariat to advance in the tournament. 

A good match for their level of experience, great in spots and horrible in others. I liked how they were going for broke with big moves. Wrestling would have been out of context. Wright is making smart choices with his moveset and showing he's more than a comedy character.

Hardy announced Nawfside wanted top put the tag title up against House of Harley later in the evening.

Fighting babyface champions, never a bad thing.

(3) "The Vampire Baddy" Ravenna Vein defeated Christian Pierce (with Dameon Ceretone) to advance to the finals of the YouTube Title Tournament (1:03). Referee Pell laid down the law about Roxanne and made Pierce stow his baseball bat in the corner. Ceretone immediately distracted Pell so Pierce could gut Ravenna with the bat. Pierce hit the bullhammer elbow. Vein was toast. Ceretone ordered Pierce to stick to the plan. Pierce laid down and draped Vein's arm across him for the 1-2-3. 

Pierce wanted to give Ravenna beating. Ceretone told Pierce that opportunity

comes with patience and this was not his. Ceretone told Ravenna she was one step closer to being YouTube Champion. Maybe she had what it took. Maybe Shean didn't love her and wasn't coming back.  Perhaps her manipulative, vindictive qualities were what Atonement needed. The offer to be at one with Atonement was hers.

Yet another unexpected twist in what has been a tremendous story. Could Ravenna possibly be tempted into turning her back on the love of her life and making a deal with the devil?

(4) Nawfside Heroes (Jose Manuel & Shoota Gabe) defeated House of Harley (Christian Garrett & Ozzy Owens with Harley Haven) to retain the ProSouth Tag Team Championship in 9:15. Nawfside out in new Zubazz-inspired gear. Owens and Manuel started. Owens fled the ring after a blitz of Nawfside double teams. Owens and Garrett interfered on each other's behalf and they worked as an effective unit to get heat on Gabe. Manuel was able to make a blind tag. Keast pointed out that was due to Owens' inexperience. Manuel hit the Atlanta Butter Cutter on Garrett. Gabe clotheslined Owens clean over the top rope and speared Garrett. Manuel followed with the frog splash to pin Garrett.

Thumbs up to Nawfside's new gear. I liked Garrett in the role of ring general and House's teamwork. As pointed out on commentary, Gabe is a strong SOB for his size. Owens is proving to be a fast learner. House's selling for the smaller Nawfside left something to be desired and didn't cast the champions in the best light. 

(5) Eric Silva & ProSouth Champion Brandon Whatley) defeated Ayden Andrews & All-Out Champion Aaron Dallas) with Ace Haven as the special referee (20:54). Silva earned a ProSouth Championship match with Whatley at Wicked Havoc. Commissioner Amy Haven said it was the Queen's turn to take the throne at ringside. Amy said she had great idea earlier in the week, how about a special guest referee? Enter Ace Haven wearing a ref shirt.

I got a kick out of Queen Amy turning the tables on Lord Whatley. she looked every bit the part. 

Silva hit Collateral Damage on Whatley before the bell and started the match with  Andrews  Darkthorne, ProSouth historian in residence, said this was the first time Silva and Andrews had shared a ProSouth ring since 2017 at Anniversary 9. They went tit for tat, exchanging stiff elbows and submissions. Whatley pulled Silva out of the ring and pounded him. Dallas and Andrews had their moments but the champion controlled the midportion of the match by limiting their access to oxygen. Whatley got physical with Ace, who retaliated with a superkick. Andrews had Whatley pinned after a flying knee. Saul Wright pulled Ace out of the ring and posted him. Saul hauled Ace to the back with Amy right behind them. A loud chairshot was heard but not seen.  Dallas got two visual three counts with no referee in sight. Referee Hunter slid in to take over. Dallas had Whatley pinned again but Andrews broke it up and unhappiness ensued. Silva laid them both out with double Collateral Damage. Silva covered Dallas but Whatley clobbered Silva with nunchucks and gave Dallas a scissors kick for the three count. 

A solid main event that played out about as well as it could have for a match where only one winner made sense. If a title change is in the offing, odds are it happens December 19 at Anniversary. Whatley needed a challenger for Wicked Havoc and if Silva won, he was that guy. The champion was between a rock and a hard place. Losing his title to Andrews or Dallas in a tag match was unthinkable. That meant he'd been defending against Silva in a few weeks, so if he could do damage to the challenger, so much the better. A delicate balance was struck. There was something good for all four Some would call the middle of the match slow. Me? I'd say sound psychology on the part of the champion. 

The show closed with Wright dragging Ace back to ringside. 

I liked Ace vs. Kamikaze for this week. I like it even more for next week.