Long Live The Chief

A Love Letter by Dust E. Finnish: 1050 days it’s not just a lifetime but a millennia in wrestling. For over 1000 days Austin Towers reigned ...

A Love Letter by Dust E. Finnish:

1050 days it’s not just a lifetime but a millennia in wrestling. For over 1000 days Austin Towers reigned as Southern Violence and Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. He has been at the epicenter of all good that has come from SVW for the last 3 years. I believe it’s an understatement to say that he has been a model champion. Towers has already established himself as the most integral champion in the history of SVW, the 2022 SVW MVP, a bonafide SVW hall of famer, and unquestionably one of the best big men in the south east. 

I have said it before and I’ll say it again
Georgia has the single greatest division of super heavyweights in independent wrestling but I’ll take it a step forward we also have the greatest lineage of big men in wrestling. Hulk Hogan, Kamala, Big Bossman are a trio of giant Georgians. In the 90s, Ice Train and Glacier were size able enforcers in WCW, a company whose tagline was where the big boys play and was headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Georgia in the early aughts was home to Iceberg. In the latter half of the decade he was joined by beings of incomparable size and skill such as Geter, Logan Creed/Krule, Judas, and more. I’m not saying Towers has reached the pantheon of the all time greats yet but considering he is currently in the best condition of his life and barely over 30 years old. 

Towers during the course of his 1000+ day reign put on some if not the best performances in the history of SVW. His success was the penultimate catalyst for my very first Love Letter. The beauty of Towers reign is it wasn’t him beating the best of Georgia wrestling but elevating obscure or overlooked talent in the state of Georgia. 

One of my favorite Austin Towers title defenses was against Terry Yaki. Obviously we all see Terry doing amazing things in Japan however this defense happened way before any excursions to the far east. Towers has amazing footwork that keeps him from looking clunky when facing off against smaller speedier opponents. He’s a reliable believable base in the ring that high flyers such as Terry Yaki and Najasism have to navigate. The battle between David and Goliath is one of the most time tested match ups simply stand and wait for their spot Towers is capable of chasing and even coming off his own feet. Not only is this balance foreign to some big men but his grace at times is even better than wrestlers half his size. Some guys are limited in the ring and can only work opponents of a particular stature or frame. Towers also boast an emotional defense against Andes Ripley. Ripley isn’t a performer renowned for their Herculean strength or New Japan level of athleticism. However they were still able to craft an entertaining and effective story with Towers. If you would like to see his defenses against smaller wrestlers and Towers athletic versatility during his run he wrestled the aforementioned Yaki and Ripley while also defending against criminally underrated Vary Morales. 

Towers however is not limited to only looking good against individuals where he had a considerable size advantage. Possibly his most emotionally challenging match up was long time tag partner Ehren Black. Ehren is another talented wrestler of considerable size that often goes overlooked. He is among a rare few that can match Tower’s size. Ehren is also no slouch in the ring. This is another example of a simple story bearing the greatest fruits. Towers and Black had held tag gold around Georgia together and if any of his opponents knew all of Towers' strengths and weaknesses it would be Ehren Black. He has had tough matchups with Judas at Southern Honor and Geter at Platinum Championship Wrestling but the tension has never been as palpable as the match up with Black. Ehren was the rare opponent that could believably overcome Eric Silva and Trevor Aeon on his way to dethroning Towers. A large part of the magic that kept the reign going was that Towers simultaneously played the part of a mountain that couldn’t be overcome and a heel that was still conniving, insecure, and vulnerable. All these factors of Towers came to the forefront in his battle with Black. Towers excelled at mid match cinema where his offense and selling is at its absolute peak once his opponent has weathered the storm and he's on the back foot. Anyone can portray dominance a lot of the Flair that goes into being a good champion is the ability to give fans hope that they can be overthrown and then snatching it away. 

Towers until the very end was forcing SVW into Georgia relevancy. I initially wrote about the battle of Athens and since that initial article Wrestling at Southern has entered the fray and Classic City Wrestling has established itself as one of the preeminent promotions in Georgia. Towers has spearheaded SVW’s fight for establishing a foothold in this crosstown rivalry. His reign of fame is over but this is arguably just the beginning for the big man. He has a matchup with Krule at Classic City of all places that could be his opening act in the theater of the upper echelon of south east talent. It’s kinda crazy to think that someone of his stature has been under the radar but out of sight definitely is not out of mind as it pertains to Towers. SVW has amassed a quiet but scrappy roster around the Chief that allows for perverse matchups that aren’t seen around Georgia. However the crowd just eats it up. The tribe of fans has stuck around through different venues and cities and this consistent loyalty from the fans is a testament to Towers' hard work as a champion to not only elevate himself but his company and fellow competitors. Without your reign there is no Dusty Finnish thank you for your growth long live the Chief. 

“Towers is only limited by his imagination. He is blessed with size so his ceiling is as high as he sets it.” Anonymous 

“I think when you talk great champions great locker room guys often get overlooked and honestly he’s been a guy that just elevates his brother. You have to love him.” Anonymous