 |
| Photos by Gina Jones |
(1) "The Loyalist" Ryan Wyndell upset Hayden Seal in 5:58. Draped in the Union Jack, Wyndell (out of Bullpen Pro trained by Bull Buchanan) introduced himself. He was loyal to the crown and traditional British professsional wrestling and was going to teach a bunch of amateurs how it was done.
Wyndell raked the eyes, pulled hair and used a closed fist. Otherwise it was cleanly wrestled match. After kicking out of Seal's full nelson slam and AA, Wyndell won with a roll up and feet on the ropes.
I was entertained by Wyndell's character. His wrestling left a lot to be desired. Seal must have had a schedule conflict that prevented him from sticking around for night two. He was the better athlete, the better wrestler and had a huge size advantage. What other explanation could there be for Seal losing to to a kid that doesn't know how to properly run the ropes?
"The Wrecking Ball" Julian Balderas defeated "Undeniable" Zander Whoric in 6:32. The Frankie Valentine influence is crystal clear in Whoric. Balderas is out of Rocket City. Wicked described him as a powder keg with legs. He wrestled, played football and did track and field (shot put) in high school. Whatley said Balderas wrestled Super Crazy in Mexico.
Balderas made a statement with a decapitation clothesline. Balderas caught Whoric's dive and gave him a brutal Biel throw on the floor. He ran right though Whoric with a shoulder block. Whoric was in world of hurt but has also has a world of fight in him. He did a tope suicide, a missile dropkick and huracanrana. Balderas planted Whoric with a black hole slam but that was not enough. Whoric caught a charging Balderas with a flatlner. Balderas had to grab the ropes or it would have been over. Balderas hit a phatom driver and finished Whoric with a triple jump Vader bomb. Easily the best match so far.
Valentine clowned LaFlare with a fake handshake. After an early blast of offense from Valentine, LaFlare dropped him with a superkick. LaFlare's lack of urgency is annoying. LaFlare applied a sleeper and a choke hold to foreshadow the finish. Valentine used a springboard cutter to set up a House Call. LaFlare shocked Valentine by kicking out. LaFlare planted Valentine with sitdown powerbomb, then went back to the choke hold. Valentine's arm dropped twice but not the third time and he kicked off the ropes to drop his body weight onto LaFlare's shoulders. I liked how Valentine teased grabbing the ropes and passing out and did neither.
Kwame exuding loathing and arrogance. Andreus using his superior speed to compensate for Kwame's size and strength advantage. Kwame's snap suplex on floor had Andreus screaming in pain. His drive by did not do Andreus any favors either. Andreus reversed Kwame's single leg crab stacked him up for two, and got another near fall with a Codebreaker. Kwame shoved the ref into the ropes to crotch Andreus (an unfortunate repeat of a spot in the previous match). Kwame used a spinkick. Andreus used scissors kick. Whatley said they stealing his moves. Andreus pinned Kwame with frog splash.
Can't say it was Andreus' best work or the ideal match up to showcase his talents. Kwame is not yet adept at the skill of selling for a smaller man. I fully expect a better showing from Andreus tonight.
Vougan dominated the early going. The best of Murdo's moveset was his back suplex and boston crab. Vougan's comeback standing leg lariat were looking weak tonight. Vougan planted Brown on his face. That looked good. Vougan tried for a pedigree and Brown reversed it with a burning hammer.
"The Jackal" Asher Andrews defeated "Da Realest" Lash LaFlair in 5:28. Definitely want ot see more of these two. With three years in, they were more advance than most of the young lions. LaFlair is out of Mobile, a Diamond Championship Wrestling Double Champion trained by Scott Armstrong and former University of Mobile basketball player. Andrews also out of the Gulf Coast area, part of Red Flag Army along with Murdo Brown and Kimber Fox.
Andrews is long on character development and crowd engagement. LaFlair's stuff was sound. He could use more animation with his body language and facial expressons. Show of agility and a springboard crossbody by LaFlair. Andrews heeled and played to the crowd. Whatley was loving Andrews' ruthless aggression. On the comeback, LaFlair did a snap suplex to a standing position and dropped a pair of elbows. LaFlair jazzed up a third elbow drop. Andrews moved out of the way and pump kicked LaFlair to score the pinfall. Take away the too abrupt finish and this was a good match.
"The Panama City Prince" DRP defeated "Ordinary" Oliver Green in 6:57. Green is rebranded ProSouth referee and ProSouth Academy trainee T-Bird, who got off to rough start with a slip slidin' intro. Once the bell rang, he did well for his very limited level of experience. Trained by Brayden Toon, DRP needs no introduction and has nothing to prove in this tournament. He did all the right things to help Green get through his first singles match.
This was the only match with an angle. DRP's Karmegeddon stablemate Christian Garrett came to ringside and pulled the ropes down to spill Green out the ring. Referee Hunter ejected Garrett from ringside. After Green came close to pinning DRP with a twisting springboard crossbody, Garrett returned to ringside cause ruckus. The distraction almost cost DRP the match. In the end, DRP came away with the victory via the Waverider (running DVD).
Post-match, DRP raised Green's hand. Garrett hit the ring and pounded on Green until DRP stopped him. DRP shoved Garrett on his ass and gave him a piece of his mind. DRP left with Green. Did we just see the implosion of Karmegeddon?
.png)
.png)
