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| Photos by Demariae Roberson-Nettles |
Deep South had a hell of a day. They ran three shows in one day and capped off their Three Headed Monster with one of their biggest shows of the year in the friendly confines of New Realm Brewing on The Beltline.
DSW pretty much nailed it on the head. The standing room only crowd of 300+ maxed out the space where the shows are held. An audience of primarily casual fans loved what they were seeing. They stayed enthusiastic for two and half hours with many of them standing the entire time. A few parties left early but any vacated spots got snapped up immediately.
I enjoyed the DSW shows I attended at Das BBQ. This was better. There's a significant crossover between DSW and PCW that is helping both shows.
The King vs. King match between Lexis King and "King of Controversy" Skrilla the Great had the big fight feel and delivered the goods in the ring. Najasism and August Artois gave King and Skrilla a run for their money for best match honors.
Show started 6:30 -- a half hour late. Perfect for a casual crowd on a spectacular October night in Atlanta. The LED panel lights courtesy of Sunhouse Lighting were terrific -- even lighting and no glare when properly angled.
"Ultimate Interviewer" McKenzie Marshall was introduced. She did Ultimate Warrior imitation and was set up in a backstage area to do interviews with the competitors after their matches.
Ring announcer Michael Longino who was rocking a Wolverine costume for the occasion.
(1) Stunt Marshall defeated Josef Von Schmidt in 10:24. Let's get this out of the way at the top. I'm a mark for Stunt Marshall. Von Schmidt is a serviceable heel. Von Schmidt but an American of German ancestry isn't exactly a heat magnet. Naming his big move the Jager Bomb I liked. Best thing about the match was the finish and you can't beat that. Marshall's top rope diving headbutt was a work of art.
(2) CT Entertainment defeated DJ Smoke in 10:45. CT is a soul music throwback in skintight leather and panache. A lot more energy from the crowd than the first match. Smoke vs. CT worked -- equal in size and speed and nice chemistry. They traded superkicks early. CT did cute stuff like using Smoke's braids to his advantage and stepping on his neck. Smoke decked CT with a flying knee. The white girls seated to my right were into Smoke. They hooked the crowd with the finish -- Terrell was looking for an avalanche back suplex. Smoke reversed midair to land on top. CT reversed using tights to get the three count.
CT offered to shake Smoke's hand after the match. Smoke accepted. The handshake seemed questionable since CT cheated to win but it made all the sense in the world once we got to the Skrilla match.
(3) Professor Pain (with C Dub) defeated Ryan Rembrandt via DQ in 4:15. Rembrandt is a full blown Narcissist complete with the mirror in the ring. He's got the physique to pull it off. He bludgeoned Pain with the turnbuckle wrench. C Dub got involved. Rembrandt clubbed him with the wrench and grabbed his bag. Now why would C Dub have a scissors in his bag? The better for Rembrandt to cut his scraggly beard.
C Dub was in emotional distress. "I have a job interview tomorrow. I ain't ever gonna get a real job!"
The angle got over. Rembrandt got heat.
Carolina Cruz was introduced. Drewski put over her athletic background -- wrestling and ruby at Life College. Gemma Jewel abandoned her announce position to give Cruz lip. Said nobody cared about her story. Cruz threw the first blow. The women got into a pull apart brawl with the refs, Adamz and Drewski trying in vain to break it up and loving every second of it. Adamz made the match for November 17.
(4) Najasism defeated FIP Champion August Artois via submission in 15:20. Artois is a loose cannon. His off color remarks got bigtime heat and being from Cleveland got more heat than anything he said. Artois is better wrestler than he was when he appeared on the ill-fated IWN shows a few years back. The response for Naja's entrance demonstrated the presence of hardcore fans that knew what was what.
Naja took Artois to school. Naja unleashed a heat-seeking missile tope to the outside and a flying body press to the inside. Artois broke Naja's momentum with a buckle bomb followed by an Eric Silva Hellplex for a near fall. Artois was having his way with Naja now. Naja fought off a powerbomb. Naja drilled Artois with a shotgun dropkick. Artois was reeling. Naja thought he had him with a frog splash but no. Artois pulled out a great desperation clothesline. When Naja kicked out of Artois' death valley driver at one, the handwriting was on the wall. Artois fought like hell to stay out of Naja's Sharpest Shooter. Once Naja locked it in at the center of the ring it was curtains for Artois.
Co-promoter Eric Adamz thanked WWE for making the appearance by Lexis King possible.
(5) Lexis King defeated Skrilla the Great (with CT Entertainment) in 12:48. King was cheered coming out and cut a great promo to turn the crowd against him. King said it was a huge honor to wrestle in the city where he was born and where his father Brian Pillman was a star for WCW. At the age of 30, he asked himself why he hadn't been back since he was a baby. Answer: Atlanta was a shithole. He was on TV and making more money than all the gibronis like Skrilla on this show.
Skrilla was led to the ring by rapper Reup Tha Boss. CT Entertainment showed up. Skrilla looked at CT askance but decided to bring him along for the ride.
They wrestled. King offered to shake hands with fingers crossed behind his back...and kicked Skrilla in the gut. Finishing moves foiled by both men. King worked over Skrilla's midsection. King did a sweet rolling kneebar into a single leg crab. Both men down after a collision of high crossbodys. Comeback time for Skrilla with the crowd chanting his name.
King had his work shoes on and Skrilla hung right with him. Skrilla was kept strong with the visual fall and getting beat due to a low blow. Incorporating CT into the match was an unexpected twist. This was the third indy show I've covered where Pillman Jr./King was the featured name star. He's been a total pro every time.
(6) Jacob Johnson defeated Apollo Prince to retain the DSW Championship in 10:55. These guys were in a tough spot after the previous two matches. They worked super hard and had a good match with a story - a student/teacher deal with a reversal of roles. Prince help Johnson cut his teeth but Johnson surpassed him to become champion. A brawl and all Johnson early. Prince took over after giving Johnson a shot into the turnbuckles. Prince got a lot offense but couldn't put Johnson away. Prince wanted to use a chain but referee Daryl Hall stopped him. Prince got a near fall with Johnson's finishing move -- the World's Strongest Slam. In the end, Johnson pinned Prince with a pop up World's Strongest Slam.
Johnson always had the look of a champion and now he has the power game to go with the look.
NOTES: Bell time for the return date at New Realm on November 17 will be moved up to 4pm....DSW will be at Little Cottage Brewery on November 1 with an 8pm start time...Nick Patrick did not address the crowd but was very involved throughout the night...Paul Santa and Darryl Hall were the officials...The announce team for the first half was Drewski and Gemma Jewel. Adamz was on color for matches four and five...Nate Mansions was a one man security force...Jay Alpha Miller and referee Dana Goodman was in the house.
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