 |
| Photos by Peter Sigmund |
From Larry Goodman:
SummerStage was amazing. Congratulations to 1FW not only for the what they achieved with the crowning achievement of this show but for the painstaking groundwork QT Marshall, Scott Barnett and the entire crew laid, week in and week out to make last night possible. Dividends paid.
1FW company had run shows in numerous surrounding towns but never inside the perimeter of Atlanta and yet drew 550 (paying $23 and up) to the heart of city at Centerstage.
The special appearance by MJF on the day of the Happy Gilmore 2 release was coup. That and having AEW stars featured on the card was no doubt a big piece of attraction. But most of the attendees were hardcore 1FW fans, and if they weren't when they arrived, they were by the time they left.
This was a major league level production all the way. The lighting and sound were exquisite. There was no comparison with the production values of Championship Wrestling from Atlanta's short-lived foray into this venue and totally blew away the GCW events at Centerstage.
Add in unadvertised appearances by Darby Allin and Brody King and the fact that every match kicked ass. If you weren't there, you missed something special. 1FW has incredible resources to draw on but this was show of year quality, close to perfect in the way it was constructed.
AEW is clearly heating up as the number two company in pro wrestling. AWE talent received superstar reactions across the board.
(1) Jay Lethal (with Sonjay Dutt) defeated Adam Priest in 13:05. Lethal broke out on top. He and Dutt did Flair struts in sterero. A ref avoidance spot led to Lethal eating a Priest dropkick. Priest brought a chair in but referee Lewis Santiago removed it. They did a deal of foiling each other's 10 punches of doom. Lethal popped the crowd with a picture perfect superplex. Priest countered the Lethal lnjection with his vaunted DDT. Dutt interfered to block Priest from cheating. Priest locked in a single leg crab but Lethal made the ropes. Priest went for the chair again. Dutt stopped him so Priest broke his pencil. Priest reversed the pin on Lethal's Randy Savage elbow drop, reversed the figure four and Lethal pinned him with the Lethal Injection.
They did all the signature spots the crowd paid their money to see and put on the best technical match of the show. Everything on point.
MJF Promo. Massive pop for MJF (rivaled only by the one Allin's surprise appearance got later on). He ripped Atlanta and Atlantans and the crowd was eating up the insults. He threw out dumb ass interviewer "Fat Tony" Miller and called out the real Tony. Schiavone put over MJF's appearance in new released Happy Gilmore 2. MJF said he couldn't wait to leave pro wrestling because pro wrestling sucks. Out came Glacier and Ernest "The Cat" Miller. MJF said they were prime reasons WCW went out business. Blood Runs Cold because Glacier will be dead soon and Miller was the cat that should have been skinned years ago. MJF ate a superkick from Miller and skedaddled.
(2) Aaron Solo defeated Carlie Bravo and Michael Allen Richard Clark to retain the BTW Heavyweight Championship in 11:57. Bravo's entrance was starpower and got a monster pop. Crowd hated on the other guys. Solo and MARC ganged up on Bravo. The heels did push ups on Bravo's fallen body which lead to a push up contest and the inevitable trouble in paradise. Bravo sparked his comeback with a rolling thunder double flatliner. Bravo hit the scissors kick on MARC. Solo double stomped Bravo off the top and stole the pin.
All about Atlanta's love for Carlie Bravo and his ability to captivate a crowd. Bravo stole their hearts. In their heads they had to know Solo was leaving with his title.
(3) QT Marshall & Billy Gunn & Austin Gunn & Brody King defeated Frat House (Giff Garrison & Cole Karter & Preston Vance & Jacked Jameson) in 12:16. Billy noted his team was one Gunn short but he had replacement. Crowd went nuts with "Brody" chants when King came out as their fourth. Frat House threw Jameson to the wolves. King ate him alive. Billy did the "scissor me" spot with QT. Jameson was on the receiving end of cannonballs from everybody except Austin who switched it up with a bronco buster. Vance sneaked into the ring with a clothesline for Austin and play time was over. Austin took heat. Billy cleaned house. Jameson was temporarily granted a reprieve from Billy's Famouser. They went around the horn with finishing moves and cycled back to Billy and a Famouser on Jameson for the win.
Billy said he yes, he was tired, old and should have retired years ago. He admitted that was the first cannonball of his career but he would try anything once. Billy said the kids under 7 should cover their ears and did the two words for ya in unison with the crowd for a huge pop.
This match closed out the fan service portion of the show. They got everything they could have asked for here and more. Brody King was totally unexpected and did not disappoint.
(4) Casket Match: Sid Ellington defeated Kiran Grey in 20:30. The show took a dark, theatrical and violent turn, the culmination of a year long feud between minds that had sickened. The casket was place in the ring and it was a big heavy sucker. Both competitors had excellent videos to introduce them but it was clear the crowd already knew them well.
Grey powerslammed Ellington on the casket with a sick thud for the first big spot of the match. That got an immediate "Sid" chant. Crowd was 80/20 Ellington. Grey tried to put Ellington in the casket and Sid slammed the lid on his fingers. Grey piled chairs into the ring. The crowd chanted for tables. Ellington did a swanton off the turnbuckle onto Grey on the floor. Grey took Sid's head off with a high boot. Back inside, Grey gave ripped Sid's shirt off and gave him a package powerbomb. Grey blasted Elliington's back with a half dozen chair shots. Ellington's back was a mess, beet red and covered with welts. Grey said Sid was about to die. He laid Sid out on the steel coffin of chairs he set up next to the real coffin. Grey dove off the top rope and crash landed on the steel coffin. Sid tried to choke Grey out and took a low blow. Grey brought a tool box into the ring. He duct taped Sid's hands together and pounded the base of his skull. Grey threatened to use a hammer on Ellington. Sid spit on his face. Santiago tried to stop Grey.
The lights went out. Darby Allin hit the ring. He bashed Grey with his skateboard and gave him the Coffin Drop. With his hands taped behind his back, Ellington shotgun dropkicked Grey into the coffin and shut the lid.
The culmination of a year long feud, a sick match on the other end of spectrum for everything that preceded it. A lot of thought went into the layout. They worked a methodical pace, letting the violent impacts register and the crowd was reacting to all of them. Ellington was awesome as the undersized, underdog babyface, like a junior Darby. Grey was embodiment of evil. The lighting effects added to the drama. Allin got an ear-splitting star reaction pop.
(5) Casino Gauntlet Match: Vary Morales defeated (in order of entrance) Parker Li and Jimmy Wild and Tyler Shoop and Rosario Grillo and Mark Davidson and Satnam Singh and Trevor Blackwell and JD Ink and Warden to become the inaugural 1FW Breakout Champion in 17:02. Grillo made a deal with Li but double crossed him with a low blow and nutshotted everyone. Payback was hell as Grillo took one nut shot after another. Singh entered. It was six against one. Singh cleared the ring with choke slams. Blackwell entered and did get Singh to one knee. Warden confronted Singh and was plainly going to be no pushover. The other eight attacked. Warden and Singh sent bodies flying everywhere. They played catch with Morales. Singh and Warden had a monster crossbody collision and Morales pinned Li with a Tiger Driver '98 (J Driller).
The finish looked great. Morales has toiled long and hard for this promotion. I loved Warden authentically holding his own against the giant. Playing catch spot with Vary was a great visual as was Singh surrounded by six normal sized wrestlers. The ease with which Singh was choke slamming dudes was a sight to behold. It was my first time seeing Shoop live. He was every bit as impressive live as he's been on the CEW tapes and crowd knew his gimmick.
(6) "The Problem Child'' Isis Reade defeated Robyn Renegade (with Charlette Renegade) and Angelica Risk and Hyera Herra to win the 1FW Women's Championship in 15:50. Risk did a crossbody dive from the top rope to the floor on the other women. Herra and Risk have issues. Risk went for a rana off the apron. Herra caught Risk and powerbombed her on the ringsteps. The impact looked brutal and had to suck for Risk. Herra got into it with a photographer at ringside. Robyn gave Herra a shotgun dropkick on the floor. They did a tower of doom spot and all four fought up for their knees. Robyn superplexed Risk. Reade Gori bombed Herra on the turnbuckle. Risk came off the ropes with a flatliner and all four were down and destroyed again. Risk gave Robyn a sunset powerbomb. Charlette's save was late and Santiago had to stop his count.
Harley Cameron ran in to attack Robyn. She also got a star reaction. Cameron carted Robyn away. Risk got a near fall on Reade with a Roll of the Dice but Reade came away with the win.
These women put their bodies in peril. They took chances and went all out. The action was ragged at time but their effort level was incredible. This was the cream of the crop of Georgia's women's wrestlers. Robyn is bad ass. Herra is a spitfire. Risk is feisty and fearless. At only 17, Reade has been training for three years. Her body has not matured. She has stature and will be a force to be reckoned with if she stays the course, as I suspect she will.
(7) Steel Cage Match: Brady Booker defeated Elijah Drago to become the new the 1FW Champion in 13:04. Drago was getting heat with his presence. Booker had the crowd in his corner. This was a fight. Drago gave Booker a seriously high angle back suplex. He used Booker's momentum to send him into the fence to bust him open. Booker was wearing the crimson mask as he tried to scale the cage. Drago planted Booker with a powerbomb. A fallaway slam had Booker in a state of agony. But Booker came back with a spear for a killer false finsher.
Jameson ran in and threw a chair inside the cage. Austin Gunn chased Jameson away. Dragon They kicked out of each other's finishers for big near falls. Dragon wailed on Booker's back with the steel chair. Dragon went for his modified F5. Booker escaped and pinned Drago with an End of Days onto the chair.
A throwback steel cage brawl, two true heavyweights trapped inside four walls to settle their issue. Booker had the size and power to go toe-to-toe with the monstrous Drago. The blood worked. I could have lived without the run in and especially the chair shots after the casket match. The title change was treated as major deal as well it should have been. Overall, a great way to end the show on a high note.
NOTES: I missed the pre-show battle royal that included Bryce Cannon, Tommy Mars, Hayden Seal, Chris Delray, Lamar Diggs, Alex Kytel, Jamie Holmes, Christian Taylor, and KJ Impala were among the 20 competitors won by Nasty Leroy. Not surprisingly, Cannon was over big time...1FW has a deep roster of announcers. Brandon Benefield and Diana Michel were on hand along with special ring announcer Dasha Kuret and backstage interviewer Tony Miller...Paul Santa, Lewis Santiago and Slim were the referees...Demariae Roberson-Nettles was the ringside photographer...Dylan Frymyer edited the videos and was on production...MJF and the AEW talent did meet and greets before the show as add-on purchases.
.jpg)
