Will the Real Atl Please Stand Up

From Dust E. Finnish: First and foremost I don’t want people to think I’m on hiatus or retired or disappeared. I’m simply a writer not a rep...

From Dust E. Finnish:

First and foremost I don’t want people to think I’m on hiatus or retired or disappeared. I’m simply a writer not a reporter. I don’t cover live shows well and it became a headache trying to meet deadlines. As a writer when something catches my interest I spring into action! 

 As everyone should know by now AWE is back and it’s garnered a mixed reaction but a reaction is a reaction isn’t that what they say in the wrestling business? Instead of listing to any grievances or gripes about how it may affect certain individuals I would rather look at how the reintroduction of AWE changes the Georgia and south eastern wrestling landscape. 

How to divide the pie? 

 First and foremost I have never believed in a big 3 of wrestling promotions or really anything. I have said it before but don’t mind repeating myself there’s 3 kinds of shows here in Georgia. There’s old fashion/traditional/ wrasslin, entertainment, and wrestling. I believe Southern Fried is the best “wrasslin” show in the state, Classic City is the best entertainment show, and Action is the best well action you’re likely to get. There’s other favorites such as Southern Honor and IWE that if you want to coin it would make up the Power 5. For the most part each has different individuals at the top of the card and a unique identity to their show. 

So how does AWE fit in? Well it’s definitely going to be a competitor. The Athens bar scene and the Atlanta bar scene are completely different with to put it politely Atlanta having a much more passionate base. 

I’m not sure if they will be guaranteed sell outs the way CCW has become but they will definitely be a beer passing and ring pounding rowdy bunch. The top of AWE will feature in some fashion the members of the Hierarchy (See past love letter for more info). This will be an opportunity for the best of Georgia to come to the homes of Chip Day and Joe Black to test their skills and also an opportunity for the best and brightest of the younger generation to learn from Murder 1. With access to stars like Danny Burch and TJP backed up with up and comers like AAron Dallas, Kenway, Duncan Mitchell Avecilla and Dylan Lesynd (the last one is a joke, don't kill me) they will have a competitive roster right out of the gate. The only downside is the pie stays the same size no matter how many people take a slice. I assume from the rip there will be a lot of overlap with the Southern Honor and IWE rosters. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing because the best go where the best go but it does figure to hurt AWE’s closest allies in the short term. 

Is Atlanta back? 

With rare considerations such as Charlotte and Memphis. Atlanta has almost always been the wrestling capital of the deep south. Speaking of Deep South, it's one of the promotions that could call Atlanta home. With their solid roster and easily accessible shows they drew good numbers over the past few years in the state’s capital. 

Other promotions have also dipped their toes in the water in recent times. Classic City has been apart of a number of events in the city and even Action has gotten in on the well action. Atlanta is seeing a resurgence and is there really a better place in the south to make yourself a star? Atlanta has a growing entertainment industry and there’s no reason it can’t once again become the centerpiece of the southern sports entertainment landscape. 

 So what happens now? 

I do really believe in the more the merrier but I also believe in survival of the fittest. I want to go ahead and dismiss the idea that Southern States Pro was a failure or anything close to it. The objective of the game was to introduce new faces and try to create new top stars not to foolishly become AWE 2.0. 

I’ll remind everyone that the match of the year for 2023 happened at SSP. Bryce Cannon benefited the most from SSP but there were a lot of individuals that also benefited from either their beginning combine shows or the brewery shows that followed. Trey Havoc might not be up to much now but his build was so solid he won my initial SSP mvp in 2022. At worst it can be an opportunity for more wrestling and as fans that’s what we’re all excited for right? Will it be SSP no will it be what it once was unlikely but I know I will be there.

For those interested my piece about the Hierarchy was Love Letter #4. 

Thank you for reading and live in infamy.