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| Photos by Rockstar Sports Photography |
Once in a blue moon, the stars align, the talent, the booking and the crowd are in perfect synch and absolute magic happens at a pro wrestling show.
That's what happened at the 40 Watt Club Saturday night. This show was an exhilarating experience, the best show I've seen live this year.
Every match was on the mark. Sean Legacy and Najasism had an amazing match, a match of the year candidate if there every was one. Justin Burnham's booking is in the zone. Crowd a blazing fire for three hours with not an iota of lost momentum. There's a level of intensity endemic to the space. The time flew by.
CCW marked their sixth straight sell out crowd (capped at 300) at this historic Athens music venue.
Pre-show, Spectre spoke on the about the death of wrestler Reggie Rage. A 10 bell was done in his honor.
A more mobile Cole Taylor opened the show saying how great it was to be back at in at the 40 Watt Club, standing on two feet and raising hell.
(1) Dave Stage & Irving West (with Andey Ripley) defeated Midnight Premiere (Marcus Menos & Nate Mansions) when Irving pinned Menos at 6:40. Stage and CREEPS in matching flowery shirts, the muscleman and the miniature as partners was a tremendous visual. MP unleashed the double teams on West. West precipitated a meeting of their minds. Stage press tossed West onto MP for a near fall and double speared them.
Afterward, Stage kissed West on his bald head and they gave gthe 40 Watt faithful gave twirling mustaches in stereo.
What genius cooked this match up? Whimsical fun, beginning to end.
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(2) Cabezas Dynasty (Damyan Tangra & King Garuda with Cuatro Cabezas) defeated (Nawfside Heroes (Jose Manuel & Shoota Gabe with Chayn Male) in 17:10. A four-way brawl segued to Dynasty isolating Gabe before getting the real heat on Manuel. Cabezas distracted referee Paul Santa to prevent him from seeing a legal tag. But Dynasty fucked up and Manuel hit a double stunner to make the tag. Dynasty foiled Nawfside's Doomsday Device and hit a Magic Killer on Manuel. Gabe broke up the pin. Jose double stomped Tangra. He was toast but Cabezas pulled Santa out the ring. The crowd wanted Cabezas' head on a platter. Santa argued with Cabezas and Chayn Male, Tangra clocked the Nawfsides with Garuda's chain and pinned Manuel.
The conventional wisdom -- don't book tag matches back-to-back. But this tag match was entirely different than the first, they tore the house town in a match with super intensity and heat that built and built. Tangra was a giant compared to Nawfside. He was a revelation as a heel with facial expressions that more than made up for Garuda's masked opaqueness. Nawfside has their timing down on everything they do.
Skrilla the Great introduced himself as Georgia's of the Year and the only Georgia wrestler to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated. He did not ingratiate himself to the crowd by heeling on Athens. Skrilla spied Rico Gonzalez in the crowd and started dishing insults about Rico's stature. Rico introduced himself as a CCW staple since day one. "I have one thing to tell you." Rico slapped him, Place went up for grabs. CCW Champion Owen Knight appeared on stage. Knight said Rico was his boy and since they both wanted to lay hands on Skrilla, how title match a triple threat? That was fine with Skrilla. "I ain't got to pin you to beat you. I can pin Rico's bitch ass."
A really nice piece of business. Rico's involvement came across like a spur of the moment happening.
(3) Matt Sells defeated Duncan Mitchell Avecilla (with Dominic Stuckey & Dezmond Chastain) in a bullrope match (12:21). Sells came out with his newly shaved head and poured two Miller Lites down his gullet for fortification. DMA to the ring with a look of grim determination.
They went nose-to-nose bumping foreheads. Sells handed DMA a Miller Lite. They popped them open and punched each other in the mouth as the drank, then smashed each other with the cans, beer flying everywhere. DMA choked sells with the bullrope. Sells gave DMA the Rat Trap onto the cowbell. DMA gave Sells a low blow and a shot to the head with the bell. Outside the ring, DMA yanked the ropes to post Sells multiple times. DMA used the rope to burn Sells' eyes. Sells shot DMA the bird and DMA snapped the extended finger. Sells was in a bad way. He collapsed to the mat but rose up a with cowbell shot to DMA's groin. Sells with a bullrope lariat for a two count. DMA whipped Sells with the rope and tried to choke him out with the rope. Sells hit a stunner and landed a cowbell shot to the head for the pin.
Post match, Stuckey and Chastain pulled the beaten and battered DMA out of the ring while Sells swigged on a PBR tall boy from a fan in the front row and downed a couple more ala Stone Cold.
The match had the grittyness and violence of a classic bullrope match, a little carving with the cowbell to draw blood would have been a nice touch. plus an element the beer-soaked comedy reminiscent of Sells' match with Scotty Beach for DSW (9/17/22).
(4) Aaron Dallas defeated Sean Sims and Samuel Frye in 5:47. Cast in the role of a 300 pound powerhouse, Sims made one hell of an impression throwing his weight around. He ended up on the ropes. Dallas and Frye powerbombed him off of there. Huge pop. Sims was done. Dallas and Fry went at it until Dallas hit the Steel Toe right on the button.
The perfect five minute match from the the unlikeliest of sources. Sims gave the performance of his wrestling life -- facial expressions, energy level, execution- he was tremendous. Dallas was right place, right time when he was brought in to fill an open spot on the CCW show at Terminal West. He nailed that finisher and was over like rover when the match was over. Frye is stepping away from the ring due to having a child on the way. He finished up on a high note.
(5) Austin Towers defeated Dominic Stuckey (with Dezmond Chastain) via DQ in 11:17. Stuckey berated and belittled Towers from inside the ring as the giant paced around outside the ring like a caged lion. Towers challenged Stuckey to stand on his own to feet and send his bitch boy to the back. Stuckey did send Chastain to the dressing room before the bell.
Towers destroyed Stuckey for the first half of the match, blistering his chest with chops. Stuckey lost one of his braids. Towers ripped it apart with his teeth. Stuckey dodged the Kobiya kick. Stuckey zeroed on Towers knee. Stucke taunted Towers as he dissected the knee. Towers made a one-legged comeback. He got Stuckey up for the reverse F5. Stuckey reversed it with a DDT and went up top for an elbow drop. Towers trapped Stuckey in a Gogoplata on the landing, then goozled him for a choke slam from the heavens. Stuckey kicked out at 2 and 7/8. Chastain entered the ring with a chair and waffled Towers' back for the DQ.
There was no need to overly complicate things. Match told a clear story with clean execution and great heat.
DMA clipped Towers' knee. DMA and Chastain double teamed Towers (see photo above) and No Good Bastards Pillmanized Towers knee. The crowd was incensed. Towers was in agony. Stuckey said he was paying for keeps and told Towers to have fun being a seven footer on crutches. Towers was unable to get to the back under his own power.
The post match was everything the confrontation between NGB and Left Hand Path at the January show was not. Towers sold his ass to where the crowd was feeling the giant's pain as his knee was unmercifully shredded by three men. Stuckey's mic work was some of his best ever. This was Stuckey as a venemous hate generating heel.
(6) Sean Legacy defeated Najasism in 14:50. I will not attempt to describe the match in detail. No way to do it justice. See it when you can. Naja tried to use his speed and attack Legacy from a safe distance with leg kicks. Naja hit a trio of topes but on #3, Legacy made the catch and chucked Naja into the post. They pulled of an amazing sequence of escapes and counters riffing on a powerbomb. Naja converted Legacy's powerbomb into a Code Red. They got into a mind boggling striking exchange straight out of a video game. Legacy did a jaw-dropping avalanche fallaway slam. Naja hit a Spanish Fly and immediately went back up for a frog splash. Legacy kicked out and reversed into a crucifix pin.
The crowd gave them a standing ovation.
Do yourself a favor and watch this match when it uploads to independentwrestling.tv. The crowd at the 40 Watt was losing their minds. They're not the type to do "this is awesome" chants. Legacy and Naja got one. Legacy is a world class talent.
Najasism declined Legacy's offer to do a show of mutual respect and sportsmanship.
Very interesting. Naja played his cards right. It was ambiguous whether he was just disappointed about losing or going to the dark side.
How could anyone follow that? Follow it they did.
Gonzalez had Skrilla dead to rights for the three count but Najasism ran in to break up the pin. Naja smoked Rico with a piledriver on the apron and signaled for Skrilla pin him. Gonzalez kicke out at the last split second. Naja threw a fit. Gonzalez nailed Skrilla and Knight pounced on the opening with the Clock Out to pin Skrila.
Crushed as he was in defeat, Gonzalez hugged Knight after the match.
I'm not a big fan of three way title matches. This was excellent. Everyone brought their A game. Naja and Gonzalez both moved into the main event mix in one fell swoop. How sweet that is.
NOTES: CCW returns to the Capitol Theater in June 1 and will be back at the 40 Watt Club on July 20...Paul Santa and Anthony Rivera were the referees...AC Mack, Zach Mosley and IWE's Tim and Paige Blackmon were in the house...Spectre and Josh Deal on commentary for the IWTV release...Chayn Male was out at ringside on the rover camera after his match. Book this guy...Tangra said being heel was easy after having to deal with US immigration.
