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This show had 10, count 'em 10 matches and a little something for just about everyone.
RIPW Champion Jay Lucas was pinned in the middle of the ring by PCW Champion Trey Shaw thanks to Blak Jak Mak.
The trajectory of the Nawfside Heroes individually and as an entity remained in focus.
RIPW Southeastern Openweight Champion Terry Yaki and Trever Aeon crushed it in the main event. Yaki wants a showdown with Lucas for the RIPW Championship.
Multiple compelling debut performances took place.
65 in attendance at Kagez Sports, an intimate gathering of friends, something of a cannibalization effect on this particular Sunday night with RIPW and AWE running just a couple of hours and a few miles apart.
Watch Shot of Glory here. There's something wonderful about the way this show is produced. The tight shots with the roaming camera, the audio mix always make this a fun video to watch.
Lots of folks rotating in on color commentary alongside Don Miguel -- Referee Mike, Austin Towers, ZZ, Keelin Cole, Jazzy Yang, JDR, Nikki Heat, Spectre, Travis 3000 -- and invalualbe experience for Miguel adjusting to a variety of color commentators.
RIPW returns to Kagez Sports, 3788 Campbellton Road SW ATL on January 19, 2025, the eve of Martin Luther King Day.
(1)Fade Area Militia (Jay Tyler & Travis 3000 & DJ Bruner) defeated The Pumpline (Antonio Rivers & Boa Silva & Robyn Shaw) in 10:25. Pumpline debuted for Spartan Wrestling in Gadsden on November 14. Any comparison between Shaw and Bam Bam Bigelow is strictly coincidental. Kudos to T3K. He's come a very long way as a pro wrestler in a short amount of time.
(2) Damyan Tangra defeated Don Cameron to retain the Bulgarian Heavyweight Championship in 8:45. My guilty pleasure of the week. Tangra kicked out of Cameron's 2 and 9/10. Tangra planted Cameron on his face with a supercool one arm flatliner, using Cameron's momentum against him. Steal it if you can.
(3) Shawn Montana defeated Ikki (replacing Chic Donovan) via submission in 11:58. I was crushed by Chic not being there and could not find it in me to give two shits about this match.
(4) The debuting Matt Sells defeated Mr. Danger in 10:34. Crowd didn't like Sells to begin with and he leaned way into it, threatening to leave the building, getting into it with AR Fox seated in the front row and much more. A fun match with tremendous crowd engagement ensued. There were two great near falls --one when Danger went for a long-distance springboard move and Sells picked him out of midair with a cutter and another on Danger's sky hight swanton. Tyreke tried to interfere. Danger bowled over Left Hand Path (all LHP not named Austin Towers) with a dive. Towers planted Danger on the ring apron. As Danger struggled to his feet, Sells got him with the dreaded palm strike.
(5) Jose Manuel defeated Shimbasi in 6:47. Manuel called Gabe out for a match. Gabe showed but kept his distance. Gabe said Jose had the opportunity to put him down during their grudge match and didn't take it. When Gabe got his chance, he struck. Gabe said he was done taking orders from Jose and Nawfside was done as a tag team at RIPW. Jose made a move for Gabe but a posse of wrestlers restrained him. Gabe said since Jose obviously wanted to fight, he had somebody for him.
Manuel came off as the hothead while little brother played it cool.
Short match but very good. Both men wrestled aggressively and with a sense of urgency. Gabe came to ringside. Manuel got distracted and almost got pinned after a Shimbasa superkick but recovered to win with a double stomp off the middle rope.
I really appreciate Renegade for providing a forum for this story and Nawfside getting a chance to add dimension and depth to their characters.
(6) Rose Gold pinned Saraya Saber with a Gori Bomb in 8:26. I had not seen a Saber match in a while. She's been mostly working out of state. The improvement in her game is unmistakable. She's developed her presence and is wrestling with confidence.
(7) The Wealth (Nathaniel Vanderbilt & Randy Reno with Chayn Male) defeated Saturday Night Temptations (Karl Hager & CJ Shine) to retain the RIPW Tag Team Championship in around 8 minutes. Grandpa never actually called for the bell. Chayn Male said the only sensation SNT would feel was when they peed. Tangra was watching from the front row, trying to be discrete. Chayn Male distracted Hager. Reno then pinned Hager with feet on the ropes.
The first and only RIPW Tag Team Champions retained in a match filled with Southern style schmaltz, wouldn't have had it any other way. Loved the interplay between Chayn Male and Ayla Fox. The feeling of the room came through on the audio. There's a certain rhythm that makes a tag team match compelling. This match had it. Whoever that was on color commentary, keep up doing what you're doing.
(8) Lamar Diggs defeated the debuting Brother Azriel via submission to retain the RIPW Social Media Shout Out Championship in 14:36. Tangra, Jay Tyler and Dante Darko were all checking this match out. Diggs' surfboard into a splash to the back was dope. Diggs hit a big boy release german suplex. Az kicked out of Lamar's top rope splash at the last split second. Az tried for the Wood Grain piledriver but couldn't pull it off due to the damage Diggs' had earlier inflicted on his knee. Diggs went on to win a rockbottom flipped into a bridging submission. Good match, a little on the crude side like a good hoss fight should be. Azriel is too good a worker not to be getting more bookings outside of South Georgia and Piedmont AL.
(9) PCW Champion Trey Shaw defeated RIPW Heavyweight Champion Jay Lucas in a non-title match (11:45). I was really digging Towers on color commentary. Lucas was set to deliver the Jay Driller when Blak Jak Mak jumped onto the apron. Lucas took a swipe at Mak. Shaw decapitated Lucas with a lariat and pinned him with a regrettable what-a-maneuver.
As Shaw exited, there was Mak, standing at ringside contemplating Jay's title belt. Mak slid in with designs on braining Lucas with the belt. Lucas ducked the belt shot and tried for Jay Driller but Mak slipped away.
What is the hell is going on in Mak's head? Previous show, he was cheered for having Renegade's back and now this?
Lucas said he was tired of people getting in his business and jumping him from behind. A lot of people wanted his title, but they couldn't do what it took to get it, and didn't understand what it took to keep it. He was going on the offensive and challenging Blak Jak Mak to a no DQ title match at the January show.
(10) Terry Yaki defeated Trever Aeon (with Tyreke) to retain the Southeastern Openweight Championship in 13:16. Execution meets creativity. Yaki was on fire and brought out the best in Aeon. Lots of great combinations and counter moves. Yaki got distracted by Tyreke early in the match and paid the price. This set up the finish. Aeon kept trying for Kiss Kiss Bang Bang but Yaki was able to block it. Yaki took a pair of knockdown whips into the buckles absorbing the impact with his shoulder. On a third attempt, Yaki rebounded off the turnbuckle with a dropkick. Never seen that done before. Tyreke tried to distract Yaki again but was inadvertently knocked to the floor by Aeon. Aeon kicked out of Yaki's O'Connor roll and Yaki used the momentum for a suicide dive on Tyreke and pinned Aeon with his springboard Canadian destroyer.
After the match, Yaki said he had what it took. He was undeniable and deserved a shot at the RIPW Champion.
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