The show drew a hot crowd, albeit a much smaller contingent (200) than the January 18 show. They were up against the Royal Rumble and any Southern Fried fan worth their salt could look at the lineup and see Dues Paid likely would not deliver at the level of the last two shows.
Southern Fried owner David Manders opened stating a key member of the family, head of security Rodney Hix was in Northeast Medical Center and asked the fans to take part in a get well video message to Rodney.
(1) Dominic Stuckey (with Triston Michaels) defeated Christian Taylor in 4:10. Before the bell, Triston lectured Taylor about his decision to turn down the Guiding Light's offer to join the Crusade. Taylor took his anger out on Stuckey with a springboard back elbow off the turnbuckles. Stuckey gave Taylor a shot the Adam's apple and a knee to the jaw and took him over to the rope so Triston could paint brush him with slaps. Stuckey hit his running blockbuster and pinned Taylor with a GTS out of a torture rack.
Postmatch, Triston told Taylor "that's what happens when you say no."
I liked Stuckey's heelish aggressiveness. Triston is a master of the managerial craft. He knows what to do and exactly when to do it. Taylor has the tools for a bright future as a pro wrestler.
Michael Stevens interviewed in-ring by John Johnson. Stevens explained why he cost CT Keys the Southern Fried Championship: Keys embarrassed him by beating him in under two minutes so he decided to embarrass Keys by taking his title. Sal Rinauro becoming champion was a happy accident. JJ pointed out Sal had no clue about what Stevens had done and was unhappy about his title win being tainted. Stevens said Sal was going to beat that "joke of a man" anyway. He just sped up the process.
Keys made his way down the aisle. Stevens bailed and sprinted to the back with Keys in hot pursuit. Stevens reemerged through the curtain with Sunny Daze. Daze dragged Keys back into the ring for a beating. Daze ripped off his Happy Madness t-shirt and left Keys laying with massive splash off the top rope. Manders and Southern Fried security had to help Keys back to the dressing room.
The crowd seemed stunned by Daze's surprise appearance and turn to the dark side. It gives Daze a new lease on life at Southern Fried. He and Sal had done about all there was to do with the Happy Madness gimmick.
(2) Joey Hyder (with Tayo) defeated Matt Sells in 7:32. Hyder noted that Sells being a student of Todd Sexton made the match very interesting, along with the opportunity to get his win back (Hyder lost to Sells at ACTION Wrestling last summer).
They did a wacky comedy spot where Hyder rolled referee David Weakley up and Sell made the three count. Sells threatened to stuff Hyder's bandana down his pants. Tayo protested so Hyder could jump Sells from behind. Hyder showed frustration when Sells kicked out of his powerslam. Sells hit a stunner and called for the dreaded palm strike. Tayo got on the apron to eat the palm strike and Hyder capitalized with a headlock driver to score the pinfall.
Hyder and Tayo beat up Sells until Todd made the save.
This was fine. Crusade using the numbers to their advantage was a through line of the first half.
As Todd headed to the back, Tayo called him a geriatric and said he would retire him again (a reference to Todd's joke at the last show that he'd had more retirements than Tayo had matches).
(3) Todd Sexton defeated Tayo (with Joey Hyder) via DQ in 8 minutes. Todd took Tayo to school with strikes from multiple angles. Tayo cut Todd off with a back elbow and sent him on his way for a Bret Hart chest bump into the buckles. Tayo dropped a pair of elbow. They riffed on a knuckle lock as a lead into Todd's STF. Tayo made it to the ropes. Tayo got a near fall with a suplex variation. Todd blocked Tayo's superman punch and delivered 10 straight 12-6 elbows while seated on the top turnbuckle. Tayo rocked Todd with a flying forearm. Todd answered with a pair of high knees and locked in a crossface. Hyder jumped on Todd for the DQ.
Good match featuring some deft technical work by Todd and Tayo's best performance in a Southern Fried ring.
Tayo and Hyder dumped Todd out of the ring. Todd grabbed a chair. Rosario Grillo and Pat Roach attacked Todd. Billy Buck, Nick Halen and Bobby Moore evened the odds. Crusade took a powder but Sexton Alliance was letting them off the hook.
Nice segue to the tag title match...
(4) The Crusade (Pat Roach & Rosario Grillo with Triston Michaels & Kat Spencer) defeated Bobby Moore & Billy Buck to retain the Southern Fried Tag Team Championship in 10:59. Sexton Alliance totally abused Grillo. Kat struck a Queen pose for the camera and was joined by Moore. A cute move by Bobby that did not end well for him. Grillo was all over Moore as tried to get back in the ring. Instant "Bobby" chant. Crusade isolated Moore while Triston and Kat engaged in classic fan baiting with the ringsiders. A second louder "Bobby" chant broke out. Roach dissected Moore's arm. A third "Bobby" chant preceded Moore's flatliner into the turnbuckles and a hot tag but only after Moore took an agonizing pause to sell the arm. Buck cleaned house. The babyfaces played ping pong with Roach. Moore almost died on a tope. Grillo had brass knucks. Buck knocked the knucks out of Grillo's hand and they went flying into the front row. Buck hit the Buckshot to pin Grillo.
Triston showed the knucks to Byers and claimed Buck used them on Grillo. Byers bought Triston's story and disqualified Buck and Moore. The crowd was pissed.
A hot tag match. The progressively louder "Bobby" chants building to the hot tag was perfection. Kat Spencer looked special at ringside. She's cut weight which accentuates her physique. Her muscle pose towards the hard cam was to die for. And she wasn't taking any crap from certain fans in ringside seats. The knucks flying out the ring wasn't part of the plan and put undue heat on referee Dee Byers. You can't have everything.
(5) Najasism defeated Seth Delay in 10:29. Naja brought his newly won award trophies to the ring with him. Delay out-grappled the the two-time technician of the year. Delay went to his greatest hits list with twisting flying forearm. Naja planted Delay on the ring frame and targeted his back. Naja pulled a stalling slingshot senton out of bag of tricks. Naja was feeling it with a modified Fargo strut. Delay with an enzuigiri counter and a taste of Naja's medicine for the Hoochie Daddy -- shots in the rail and post. Back inside, Naja connected with a spinning heel kick to set up a bridging german suplex for a two count. Delay got his knees up on Naja's double jump springboard elbow drop. Delay fired up a comeback. He did damage to Naja's arm and got a crossface applied. Naja tried for the Sharpest Shooter but couldn't get it. Delay got the crossface again but Naja wouldn't tap. Naja used the ref as a shield. Delay put on the brakes. Naja slung Delay into the post and pinned him with Lights Out.
Some of that good shit. I loved seeing Delay performing at such a high level at this stage of his career. They match up well size-wise and the chemistry was there.
Naja said his awards entitled him to a title shot. He wanted to play with the madness and challenged Rinauro to a title match.
Will Kaution promo Kaution addressed the circumstances of his Georgia Heritage Championship victory over Jacob Ashworth at the last show. Kaution said he was not a monster. He called Ashworth's injury a tragedy and gave him a totally sarcastic moment of silence. Kaution arrogantly pronounced himself as the exceptional new champion. He beat Ashworth and he hurt him.
Ashworth appeared in the aisle with a microphone in his hand. Ashworth agreed Kaution was not a monster but he was ugly, a liar and a cheater. Ashworth said he was well enough to whip Kaution and take his title back. Kaution asked if Ashworth was cleared to wrestle. Ashworth hit the ring. Kaution ran to the back. Manders got in the ring and talked sense to Ashworth about not being medically cleared.
This story is a natural. They were both major players at the Landmark Arena. Ashworth is a perennially top babyface in the Northeast Georgia area. Kaution rose to become a babyface champion in Cornelia but his work as a heel at Southern Fried has been a revelation.
(6) Hunter James (with Triston Michaels & Pat Roach & Kat Spencer) defeated Nick Halen (with Kelly Sexton & Todd Sexton & Billy Buck & Bobby Moore) to retain the Classics Championship in 20:25. Grillo was on commentary. They got off to a cautious start. James appeared to have Halen psyched out in early going. They traded german suplexes X 2. James did a standing moonsault into a german and tossed Halen out of the ring. The crowd was behind Halen but Nick was clearly struggling. Halen summoned a burst of energy. He clotheslined James over the top rope and followed James out with a tope. Roach got a cheap shot in Halen. Moore brawled with Roach. James hit a tope that left both men sprawled out on the floor. Back inside, James slowed things down with a body scissors and got help from his cronies. Halen powered out. Halen made a full-fledged comeback.
Kelly tripped James. Halen faked like one of the Crusade had given him a low blow. Byers ejected the Crusade wrestlers from ringside. During the confusion, Kelly gave James a low blow. Halen hit a Gotch piledriver on James for a 2.9 near fall. Roach came back to interfere. Sexton Alliance grabbed Roach and beat his ass all the way to the back. James gave Halen his own finisher (the Gamebreaker) and was looking to end it with the brainbuster. Halen reversed and gave James the brainbuster for another very close two count. Halen went up top for the elbow drop and hit it. Triston put James' foot on the ropes. Kelly chased Triston to the back. The ringside area was now cleared.
Halen ascended to the top rope again. James leapt from the mat directly to the top rope and threw Halen 2/3 of the way across the ring. Both men were down and decimated. James threw an arm across Halen for a two count. They fought up to their feet. Halen evaded a moonsault by James and stunned him with a Pele kick. Halen had James beaten with a GTS. Grillo left the desk and tried to get in the ring with the title belt. Rob Adonis grabbed the belt out of Grillo's hand. James ran Halen's head into the belt as Adonis was holding it and pinned him.
Great match off the beaten path. It had a slow, dramatic build with the added elements of Halen's internal struggle and the tit for tat shenanigans between Kelly and Triston. It had great near falls down the stretch. James' leap to the top and throw he gave Halen was a breathtaking moment. The return of Adonis was a call back to the sit down Halen and Sexton had. Was Adonis going to be a problem? Time will tell.
Crusade came down to the ring to celebrate and carried James to back on their shoulders. Alliance came to the ring to check on Halen who was almost inconsolable.
NOTES: SFCW returns to the Walton County Boys and Girls Club Gym on February 15 with Rinauro defending the Southern Fried Championship vs. Najasism, Keys and a mystery partner vs. Stevens & Daze and Kat Spencer in action...Adam Vance was solo on commentary with the exception of Grillo joining him for the main event...The referees were Dee Byers, Bryan Waites and David Weakley...Presiding as ring announcer and timekeeper, the honorable John "The Body" Johnson.
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