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| Photos by Dezirae Lawrence |
Show number three at The Spot marked a change in accent for Forever Pro. The wrestling was top drawer but Feels No Ways was a more story-driven show with somewhat shorter matches.
Forever Pro is shifting to a monthly show in Calhoun and announced a Rome date for October (see notes).
The surprise highlight of the night was an unadvertised appearance by AEW/ROH star Carlie Bravo to kick off the Infantry Invitational against Alex Kane. Bravo wrestled twice, once as a babyface and once as a heel and killed it both times.
Bravo and Kane, Suge D and Joe Black, Chris Crunkk and Terry Yaki all delivered outstanding matches. The show could stood more technical wrestling for contrast but that's just me. It was one of those shows where the images are still vivid a few days later.
Crowd was 80. Sounded like a lot more. It was an irreverent smart-alecky group but not in a way that detracted from the show. They love their favorites. The crowd and the wrestlers could clearly hear each other which led to entertaining interactions.
Matt Griffin came to the ring with his trusty steel chair and the crowd giving him hell. Griffin said the last thing the fans saw at the July show was their hero Kevin Ryan left laying, crying and whimpering. Griffin said hitting him in the face was the most fun he'd had in pro wrestling. Ryan slid into the ring with a chair of his own. Griffin got the limber tail. The crowd chanted "pussy" at Griffin. Nawfside Heroes jumped Ryan. Crunkk made the save to chants of "ADS".
Great segment. The heat was tremendous. Griffin's spiel picked things up right where they should have left off at the end of the last show in Calhoun. Any fans that missed it were brought up to speed and set up the surprise main event featuring top babyfaces Ryan and Crunkk.
(1) Jamesen Shook defeated The Kenway in 11:27. Kenway tried to bully Shook but he wasn't having it. They traded shots on the outside. Shook got cute with a handstand on the apron and Kenway pasted him with right hand. Kenway targeted Shook's back. Shook broke out a picture-perfect death valley driver. Kenway answered with capture back suplex and continued to work the body part of choice. A bigtime struggle on the ropes led to a Liger bomb by Shook. Kenway rocked Shook's world with a running knee. Shook looked out of it but caught Kenway with an inside cradle and beat him with a pumphandle head drop.
I liked this as an opener because it had the feel of a legitimate contest vs. a choreographed routine, totally solid with sound psychology but they didn't 100% gel. I hope they meet again somewhere down the road because they've got a better match in them.
(2) Neji Ichiban won a nine-person scramble match over Jason Hampton and Donovan Thomas and Dallas Kage and JDR and Travis 3000 and AWOL and Chayn Male and Zach Dye (8:42). Hampton beat Kage's ass and choked him out all the way to the back, and they were never to be seen again. AWOL ate a six way superkick. Dye did a balls-to-the-wall tope. Ichiban pinned Dye with Scarlet Overdrive, a hammerlock Michinoku Driver.
Non-stop action as to be expected from what was essentially an A4 scramble. A lot of it was sloppy as hell but the crowd was eating it up. Dye was over. Ichiban's finisher was one of the best things about it.
Alex Kane said a high profile talent in the back calling himself the King of Atlanta and invited said individual to go through him. Bravo appeared referencing the Infantry Invitational...
Postmatch, Bravo claimed the low blow was an accident because he couldn't breathe and laid the blame on the ref. He put Kane over as a former MLW World Champion. All was forgiven.
Quite the unexpected treat. Kane was shockingly over as a babyface. Crowd was showering him with love. Bravo went with it and heeled it up. Bravo's facial expressions are amazing and they had a really good match.
(4) Joe Black defeated Pan-afrikan Diaspora Champion Suge D via count out in a title match (15:14). Suge introduced as the journeyman grappler by way of the Milky Way ghetto". He was taken aback by Joe's aggressive stance and called for good clean wrestling. Suge tried an abdominal stretch. Black powered out of it. The mind games flourished. Suge took a ringside seat. Black sat down in the ring. Suge called for a test of strength. That put a smile on Joe's face. Suge got tossed. He chopped Black drawing a "You F'ed up" chant. Suge wanted to talk about it. Black blistered Suge with brutal chops. Snap suplex transitioned to a senton for two, another chop and a clothesline for another two count. Suge went to the eyes and tried to disable Black's hand to keep from being chopped to death. Suge hit a fisherman suplex and ate more chops. A strike battle ensued. Black broke out the Kobashi chops. A flurry of offense built to the Falcon Arrow for a close near fall. Suge retaliated with a death valley driver. Black kicked out at 2 and 9/10. Black speared Suge, clotheslined him and took his head off with the lariat to end all lariats. Suge spilled to the floor and was unable to answer the 10 count.
Postmatch, the crowd chanted "one more chop". Black told Suge to stand up. Called him a possum pussy and said he was ashamed of him. Black tried to deliver the one final chop the fans wanted. Suge ducked and clocked Black in the head with his belt.
Great storytelling from two of the best storytellers we have. It was their first singles match (hard to believe). The chops were something else. There wasn't much point in throwing them once this match happened. The count out finish worked. Suge retained but was a beaten man. The postmatch suggested a rematch. Here's hoping.
(5) "Heartless" Shane Oakley defeated Cabana Man Dan in 9:25. After the BS Oakley pulled at the last show, CMD had fire in his eyes. Oakley was on his bicycle with CMD in hot pursuit. A young man in the front row gave Oakley the most professional fan chop I've ever seen. Oakley went to his gutter offense. CMD reversed Oakley's teardrop suplex. Oakley sent CMD's shoulder in the post and worked the shoulder over. CMD hit his signature slingshot tornado DDT for a near fall. CMD got a fan's fish head flip flop. CMD chopped Oakley with a flip flop and the impact was LOUD. As the ref was disposed of the flip flop, Oakley whacked CMD with a rubber mallet he pulled from the under the ring and pinned him.
Postmatch, crowd was pissed. Oakley told them to go fuck themselves.
The air came out of the crowd's balloon after Black vs. Suge. But they got into this match as it progressed and the flip flop chop really woke them up. This CMD/Oakley thing has turned into a good story. The crowd was heaping hate on Oakley for using the weapon to win. They won't be happy until CMD kicks Oakley's ass but good.
(6) Chris Crunkk defeated Terry Yaki via DQ in 12:04. Yaki blew off Crunkk's handshake and showed disrespect. Crunkk made Yaki pay big time with a lap around the ring pump kick that drove Yaki out of a chair and into the wall. Yaki gave Crunkk a draping DDT from the apron to the floor. Crunkk made it back into the ring just before the 10 count. Yaki got nothing but air on his springboard dropkick. That landing had to suck. Crunkk faked Yaki out bad and hit a sitout powerbomb for a near fall. Crunkk tried for Once Last Breath. Yaki stuffed it and hit a wild and crazy pancake move to set up the Yaki Driver but Crunkk had it scouted. O'Connor roll with a bridge by Crunkk for a two count. Yaki Driver countered with a Canadian Destroyer. Crunkk hit One Last Breath. Enter Nawfside Heroes and Griffin with that infernal steel chair.
They delivered the pyrotechnics. Crunkk's work at Forever Pro has been stellar. As great as Yaki is as a babyface champion at RIPW, he was equally great as a heel here.
Griffin gutted Crunkk with the chair. Nawfside and Yaki were beating Crunkk down with Griffin directing traffic. Ryan hit the ring only to take a chair shot from Griffin. Ryan and Crunkk were down and out when Bravo rode to the rescue.
Griffin is the worst person in the world. It looked like the show was going to end with heels triumphant and then it didn't. That was great. Would have never known Bravo was a heel an hour earlier.
Bravo had an idea but the crowd beat him to it. Commissioner Ben Thrasher made it official...
(7) Chris Crunkk & Kevin Ryan & Carlie Bravo defeated Top Team (Terry Yaki & Jose Manuel & Shoota Gabe with Matt Griffin) in 8:30. Six way action ensued with Top Team getting annhilated. Crunkk took heat with the crowd chanting his name and "Yaki sucks". Bravo cleaned house but Top Team swarmed all over him. Ryan took the hot tag and ran wild. He dove onto Nawfside. Yaki followed with a flip dive followed by Ryan's Asai moonsault. Crowd was losing their minds. A train of big moves built to a crescendo of Ryan's spanish fly and Bravo's scissors kick to pin Yaki. Streamer flew.
Epic pandemonium. They sent the fans home on a high.
Crunk said Bravo didn't deserve it, he earned it. Bravo expressed his appreciation and love for the Georgia fans and said there would be no Carlie Bravo without the Georgia indys.
NOTES: Commissioner Thrasher announced upcoming dates for September 29 at the American Legion in Chattanooga, October 4 in Rome at the Coosa Valley Fairgrounds and back in Calhoun on October 18...The show was taped for video release on IWTV with Mose on solo commentary...Anthony Rivera and Josh Cox were the referees...Cheyenne Michaels was the ring announcer...WWA4 commentator Dong Miguel manned one of the rover cameras...Jazzy Yang, Clint Stephens (the former Mr. Sports Entertainment), former Forever Pro Commissioner Rocky Shaw and Andrew Alexander were in the house.
