Forever Pro Underground Kings - Calhoun on May 17

Photos by Amy Hawkins From Larry Goodman: Underground Kings had a lot to live up to after Forever's Pro blockbuster debut in March. Ther...

Photos by Amy Hawkins

From Larry Goodman:

Underground Kings had a lot to live up to after Forever's Pro blockbuster debut in March. There was no sophomore jinx here, far from it.  

Headlined by a pair of stellar main events in Joe Black vs. O'Shay Edwards and Alan Angels vs. Chris Crunk for the Prestige Wrestling World Championship, it was banger upon banger, every bit as good if not better in the ring than Forever Pro's debut show in March.

Kevin Ryan and Adam Priest had the most heated match in Forever Pro's ever-so-brief history. 

"The Wall" Tyler Stevens racked up one of the biggest wins of his career by defeating Richard Holliday. 

They cooked up an angle between area favorite Chris Crunk and newly turned heel Rico Gonzalez that will hopefully bear fruit at Forever Pro's next show (date and venue TBA). 

Promoter/booker Ryan and Crunk, long-time friends and partners in Akuto Death Society, are super over here. Crunk's promo after the main was one of the highlights of the show.

I love the enthusiasm of the Forever Pro fans. It's a strong babyface vs. heel and never the twain shall meet kind of crowd.

That's not to say this show didn't have issues. As fantastic as the matchmaking was (a lineup loaded with interesting first-time evers), ten matches was a few too many.

Attendance (125) was down. Calhoun is a challenging location to draw a crowd with a product geared for indy wrestling aficionados. Underground King didn't have the sustained electric atmosphere of that first event. The intensity level peaked right before intermission for Ryan vs. Priest. 

 The show was taped for later release in IWTV with Dylan Hales and Mose on commentary. 

(1) Brayden Toon defeated Brandon Williams and James Hardy and Space Cowboy and Keelin Cole and Grayson Pierce and Travis 3000  in  a scramble match (5:20).  What you'd expect. Breakneck speed, a dive sequence and a train of big moves leading to the finish. Toon was over from the last show. The veteran Hardy was rocking Converse high tops. Toon pinned Cole with a spinning, twisting butterfly suplex.

(2) Jamesen Shook defeated Rico Gonzalez in 11:45. Babyface/babyface.

Rico's blows were stiff. Shook was sporting a purplish bruise on his face after the match. Gonzalez dominated the mid-portion of the match and continues to add new wrinkle to his offense. In this  case, grinding away on Shook on the with a figure four headscissors and bridging chinlock. They did a series of three double down building to the finish and huge exchange of knife edge chops. Shook blocked Rico's poison rana, then reversed Rico's hammerlock cradle to score the pinfall. A really good match if a little on the choregraphed side. Shook has agility to go with his size and with only 18 months under his belt as a pro wrestler, he's a talent to keep an eye on.

Post match - Gonzalez sprinted back into the ring and attacked Shook from behind. Crowd was giving Rico heat big time. Crunk came to Shook's aid. Rico backed off. 

(3)  Suge D defeated Zach Mosley in 9:54. A touch of Suge D love early. Suge was such an arrogant bastard he had no problem turning the crowd against him. Mosley skinned the cat to headscissor Suge to the outside. Suge took Zach's legs out and beat his ass using an assortment of gutter tactics and along with some boxing skills. Mosley got the crowd behind him with his comeback. He had Suge pinned with a curbstomb but Suge got a foot on the ropes. Suge mule kicked Mosley in the groin such that the ref couldn't see it and hit a spinning neckbreaker for the three count. Good match. 

Post match- Suge took a bow. "It's all about me". Applause for Mosley. 

(4) Jay Lucas defeated Kasey Owens in 5:22. Lucas is a natural babyface and this crowd loved him. Nothing likeable about Owens. Lucas on fire out of the gate. Owens cooled his jets with European uppercut as he came off the top. Lucas with a barrage of chops. Referee Rivera admonished Owens for use of closed fist. Owens obeyed with open hand chops. Lucas hit a nifty powerbomb northern lariat combo for a near fall. Could have sworn Owens used the the old Matt Hardy Side Effect.Lucas picked up the win with a double underhook piledriver (aka the J-Driller). I hadn't seen Lucas in a while. He's definitely added some oomph to his offense. 

Commissioner Rocky Shaw was rudely interrupted by Shane Oakley toting a steel chair. Crowd had a healthy hate for Oakley from the first Forever Pro show. Oakley said the one thing Shaw was good at was kissing Ryan's ass. He threatened to handle business the heartless way with Shaw via steel chair. Cody Fluffman chased Oakley out of the ring and the commish made a match...

(5) Cody Fluffman defeated "Heartless" Shane Oakley via count out in 4:53. Fluff did his thing much to the crowd's delight but Oakley got a surprising amount of offense. Fluff had Oakley mounted on his shoulder to finish him off. Oakley slithered out of it and ran away. 

(6) Kevin Ryan defeated Adam Priest (with Matt Griffin) in 10:34. This was great. Ryan could walk on water in Calhoun. Crowd hated on Griffin as soon as he came through the curtain. Priest tried to cut a promo and the crowd completely drowned him out to the point he walked to the back and came back out to try it again. The crowd whated him and shouted "we can't hear you". Ryan finally just slapped  Priest to start the match. 

Griffin interfered almost immediately to give Priest the advantage. Ryan rallied and had Priest pinned but Griffin put Priest's hands on the ropes. The crowd wanted Griffin ejected but referee Patrick O'Malley did not oblige. Priest got his knees up on Ryan's moonsault. Ryan made Priest miss a top rope diving headbutt. They went back and forth teasing a tombstone piledriver. Ryan superkicked Griffin. That got a huge pop. Ryan gave Priest a corkscrew neckbreaker on the ring apron for a "holy shit" chant and did an Asai moonsault onto Griffin. That got an even huger pop. Nobody saw it coming, least of all Griffin until the last split second. Priest gave Ryan a piledriver for a killer false finish. Ryan hit a Spanish fly followed by a basement dropkick to the back of Priest's head pinning the former ACTION World Champion clean. The crowd went wild. 

Ryan's had a hot match with Jay Lethal at the first show but this was different. The crowd liked Lethal whereas they hated Priest's guts. Griffin is fast becoming Georgia Wrestling's equivalent of Don Callis.

-- Intermission--

(7) Chip Day defeated Darian Bengston in 10:45. They had a really good match
in the worst spot on the card. Fan favorite Bengsten was outwrestling Day but got over his skis. Day went to work with his technical wizardry. He used an STF invoking the name of John Cena and switched to a crossface. On the comeback, Bengsten did his signature double jump Phoenix  leg drop for a near fall. Day stunned Bengsten with a roundhouse kick and went Jimmy Rave on him with Ghanarea into a heel hook. They got into an exchange of strikes. Day threw the ref in Bengston's path. Bengston put on the brakes. Day capitalized with a tornado kick for the win. 

(8) "The Wall" Tyler Stevens defeated Richard Holliday in 10:56. Holliday was a total pro in the way he put Stevens over. Stevens showed he could hang with an upper echelon talent. Upon encountering the power of Stevens, Holliday admitted this this was a tough wall. Holliday chopped Stevens chest until it was beet red. Holliday had the crowd behind him. Who could like Stevens with that sneering scowl? Cool spot where they goozled each other leading to Holliday choke slamming Stevens. That was impressive. Holliday got Stevens in a torture rack position. Stevens raked the eyes to escape. Holliday kicked out of Stevens big boot. Stevens mule kicked Holliday in the nutsack (exactly what Suge did to Mosley in match #3) and pinned him with the 803 Driver.

(9) Joe Black defeated O'Shay Edwards in 12:12. I wonder how many time I have written Joe Black was in the best match on the show? This match was largely called in the ring which gave it a different feel.  They opened with no budge shoulder blocks. Joe scored the first knockdown.Edwards answered with a spinebuster slam. Edwards tried for a stalling vertical suplex. Black escaped and speared him. At one point they were both sitting down and staring at each other. A chop contest ensued. Edwards ended it by bonking Joe on the top of his head and pointing at his brain. O'Shay whipped Black into the corner. Black took crazy bump through the ropes to the floor. Back inside, Edwards dumped Black on his head with a backdrop driver. Black double stomped O'Shay from the top rope. They battled on the apron and Black gave Edwards the Rave STO. Edwards evaded a double stomp and wasted Joe with a release german and a Saito suplex. Edwards planted Black with a slingshot something I can't describe. Edwards broke out a burning hammer for a great close near fall. Black reversed him with a crucifix pin attempt and speared him to win the match.

The post match was beautiful. Black place both sets of beads around O'Shay's neck and left the ring to Edwards.  

(10) Alan Angels defeated Chris Crunk to retain the Prestige Wrestling World Championship in 19:37.  They wrestled. Crowd somewhat split but clearly stronger for Crunk. First five minutes was pure wrestling -- Crunk with a bridging O'Connor roll by Crunk,  a trio of crucifix pin attempts by Angels, rapid fire standing switches...Crunk pumphandled Angels' arm across the top rope. Crunk targeted the arm, the psychology being to weaken Angels' ability to hit his finishing move. Angels powerbombed Crunk to break free from a triangle choke. They did a flash tease of Angels finisher, which is s a spinning butterfly face plant. Crunk gave Angels three running bell claps and a clothesline to set up up One Last Breath. Angels had it scouted. Angels did a sitout powerbomb and a half and half suplex but that left arm was giving him trouble. 

Crunk hit One Last Breath. At the count of two, Rico Gonzalez slid in and pulled the referee O'Malley out of the ring. Rico decked O'Malley.  Crunk and Angels teamed up for double superkicks on Rico and a 3D. Rico was toast. Angels shouted "Get the tables!" It was head fake as Angels tried to roll Crunk up. Fast and furious. One Last Breath. No. Spinning heel kick by Angels. Yes and Angels hit the a spinning butterfly face plant to win the match.

This match flowed, smooth without being too smooth and they picked up the intensity in the final minutes.I've seen Crunk wrestle on back-to-back weekends and IMO, he's doing the best work of his career. He wasn't in with wrestlers of Angels' caliber last week and had the match of the night. 

Angels gave Crunk props for booking him in Chattanooga very early in career and expressed his appreciation for wrestling in the state of Georgia. 

Crunk had a lot to get of his chest. He called Angels a road warrior who got a contract by doing it the right way. He said Angels had already been in AEW and TNA and was on his way to being a worldwide star.

Crunk put over a slew of people. I'll miss some for sure but he mentioned Day, O'Shay, Shook, Erron Wade (who continually proved him wrong) and the kid who got on his nerves but had so much passion for pro wrestling, Kevin Ryan. Crunk said he didn't have a blood relative family. The people in this room were the closest thing he had to a family. 

Crunk said he wanted Rico Gonzalez's scrawny ass in the ring and closed with "This is not today Pro and not tomorrow Pro, this is Forever Pro."

NOTES: In pre-show action, Damon Stryker defeated Matthew Mercer and Michael Solar and Erron Wade defeated JDR...Anthony Rivera, Patrick O'Malley and Josh Cox were the referees...Carmen Michaels and Chianne Miichaels were the ring announcers...Rob Weathers was helping with production...Ben Thrasher commandeered admissions...Among the wrestling luminaries in the house and backstage: AC Mack, Murder One, Jason Hampton, and Dante Darko...O'Shay is an inspiring presence to be around. He was dropping knowledge on anybody willing to listen.