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| Photos by Gina Jones |
For a "regular" weekly episode, Triple Header was as stacked a card as I can recall ProSouth putting together.
People who shit on ProSouth for their in-ring wrestling (I know you're out there) might want to watch this episode and reassess.
Joe Black and Trever Aeon had a 20 minute banger for the ProSouth Championship.
Alexander Lev played the role of the old style NWA traveling champion brilliantly in his Southern Honor Wrestling title defense against Brother Azriel. Az was in possession of the Southern Honor Championship for a few hot moments.
At the same time, Memphis Wrestling remains a primary ingredient in ProSouth's special blend of booking spices.
MPR's fearless leader Steven Calozzi was arrested on camera. When the smoke cleared, Alexandra Quinn and Vougan were the new ProSouth Tag Team Champions.
Tragick and Zombie Dragon tripped the light fantastic in a flaming coffin match that was a preposterous one-of-one extravaganza.
Wicked Nemesis held down the fort on commentary with Mathias Darkthorne on color for the first half and Brandon Whatley in the booth for the second half. Darkthorne ring announced and managed in addition to his commentary duties. Joseph Void was the ironman referee. Katie Lindsey was the ringside videographer.
(1) DRP defeated Caeden Ooten (with Harley Haven) via disqualification to retain the All-Out Championship in 5:39. At the opening bell, DRP hit the Waverider and almost ended the match right there. Julian Balderas attacked DRP and Joseph Void called for the bell.
Ooten did not look thrilled with having his title opportunity taken away. He speared DRP. Balderas then speared C to leave him laying.
Solid action. They meshed well. Didn't mind a DQ to advance the story. Ooten is a good seller and bumper.
(2) Justin McKenzie & Oliver Green defeated The Process (Brandon Whatley & Joe Wood) in 7:27. Green to the ring with a mask and his face half-painted. Process tried to jump the babyfaces and got sent out of the ring. McKenzie's speed and all points attack had Wood sucking wind. The Process brutalized poor little Oliver. Green eventually created enough daylight to make the tag. McKenzie cleaned Wood's clock to set the table for Green's diving frog splash. Whatley kicked Green in the face before he could even get a one count. Wood then ragdolled Green with a full nelson until he passed out.
Just what it needed to be. Green took a great beating. Wood and Whatley's offense looked absolutely devastating against a guy of Green's size. Haven't seen Whatley this fierce in a while. He was launching Green with those butterfly suplexes. With less than a year and half in, McKenzie is carrying himself like a veteran.
(3) Christian Pierce defeated Sean Nelson in 6:30. Pierce over with a double stomp to the gut off the top.
This was the sleeper match of the card. No story but a very good match. The striking was something else. I'm late to the party on Sean Nelson. He's a better pro wrestler than I ever gave him credit for being. Pierce is mixing it up with finishers -- Once Bitten, draping DDT and the double stomp.
Out of nowhere, a Piedmont police officer showed up at ringside and arrested Calozzi for tax evasion. Piedmont's finest carried Calozzi out of the building in handcuffs.
Vougan got dropped on their head again by Valentine's brainbuster. Quinn blasted Valentine in the face with a running knee and forced him submit to Cattle Mutilation.
Talk about out of the blue. Having MPR lose the title because Calozzi got arrested was nuts and a stroke of genius. I can't wait to see where the Calozzi story goes next. Quinn had appeared on ProSouth infrequently and had not been on the show in six weeks. Quinn in a singles vs. a high caliber female heel would be money. Katie's camera work on Calozzi's arrest was tremendous.
(5) Brother Azriel pinned SHW Champion Alexander Lev at 16:09 in a title match but Lev retained after the match was restarted with no DQ in 1:05. Az bounced Lev around in the early going. Lev targeted Az's shoulder. He used a divorce court to separate the arm from the shoulder and applied a Fujiwara armbar. Lev was relentless. He cinched in a crossface. Az was unable to sustain any offense until his black hole slam turned the momentum in a heartbeat. Lev used referee Void as a shield. Az inadvertently squashed Void in the corner. Az planted Lev with a uranage. Az revived the ref and pinned Lev clean with the Woodgrain.
Void awarded the SHW title to Az and raised his hand in victory.
Lev kicked a field goal with Az's weiner hit a Pedigree. Az kicked out. Lev threatened to end the life of referee Joseph Void. Az racked Lev but his shoulder gave out. Lev then pinned Az with a DDT onto the title belt.
On social media a few days before the match, Az said he had not a standard pro wrestling match in a while. Lev gave him one OG style. Lev is operating on an entirely different level in the ring than he was a year ago. Going after Az's shoulder was not the usual playbook of attacking the big man's knee. Mission accomplished for Az. He beat the champion fair and square and and having his hand raised holding the SHW belt can only help his cause at ProSouth.
(6) Joe Black (with Amy Haven) defeated Trever Aeon (pronounced A-on) via submission to retain the ProSouth Championship in 19:28. Darkthorne cut a promo on Joe before putting the challenger and the champion over with his intros.
A tour de force performance by Darkthorne in both roles.
After a cautious tit-for-tat to open, Joe took a time out. They wrestled with neither man gaining a significant advantage. Aeon was getting the better of a strike exchange. Joe covered up. Aeon tossed Joe out of the ring and slithered out after him. Aeon sat Joe in a chair and got in Amy's face before booting Joe in the face. On the re-entry to the ring, Joe caught Aeon with a dragon screw leg whip on the middle rope. Joe was all over Aeon's knee. Joe tried for an Indian deathlock but could not get it fully applied. Joe was feeling it. He went for the ropes walk cutter but Aeon countered with a death valley driver and both were down. Aeon hit a diving European uppercut and Bye, Bye Beautiful. Joe kicked out and responded with backstabber and a Ushigiroshi. Aeon kicked out. Joe speared Aeon for a barely a one count before Aeon kicked out. Aeon leapfrogged a second spear. They traded release germans, then battered each other strong style. Joe took a knee but rose up with more forearms and a spinning back first. They continued to exchange blows on their knees.
With both men nearing exhaustion, Joe applied a Tequila Sunrise and Aeon tapped out.
A great match between twin devils that incorporated many different elements. Loved how they started slow, built the tension and then really accelerated the pace and intensity into the finish. Joe pulling a Tequila Sunrise out of his back of tricks was a mind bender.
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(7) Tragick (with Amy Haven) defeated Zombie Dragon (with Mathias Darkthorne) in a flaming coffin match (12:25). At the opening bell, Tragick ducked the green mist from Dragon and threw a fireball that Dragon was able to dodge. They battled their way to the coffin set up at ringside. Dragon threw Tragick into the coffin and tried to shut the lid. Amy raked Dragon's back with her fingernails. Dragon stalked Amy. Tragick threw a fireball in Dragon's face from inside the casket. Tragick beat up the momentarily blinded Dragon. Dragon applied a claw hold to remove Tragick's mask. The collar light went out of control. Tragick's Cameron Keast persona reemerged with Lucha Cam activity but his supernatural powers were gone. Amy put the mask back on Tragick. They fought their way back to the coffin. Both fell inside. Amy shut the lid and sprayed lighter fluid on the coffin. Darkthorne snatched lighter fluid out of Amy's hand.
The Process (Whatley, Wood and Joe) attacked Darkthorne en masse. Process was preparing to hang Darkthorne by his feet when Left Hand Path (Aeon and Eric Silva) hit the ring. They were joined by the returning Alister Crowe. Process appeared to have the fight won when Austin Towers appeared on stage. Towers singlehandedly dismantled the Process, ending with a sky high choke slam on the ProSouth Champion. The Process scampered to the back with their tails tucked between their legs. LHP stood tall in jubilance before exiting.
Dragon and Tragick were still inside the casket. As the fought up, Dragon threw a fireball in Tragick's face. Dragon tried to use a chair but Tragick stunned him with the green mist. Amy waffled Dragon's back with a chair shot. Tragick drove Dragon into the casket with a running knee and Amy shut the lid.
Tragick spread lighter fluid on the lid and tried to light it on fire. The damn thing would not light. On commentary, Wicked kept saying they were out of air time (what?). Amy brought a wad of paper from the back. Tragick lit the paper and used the paper torch to set the casket lid on fire.
The match was everything I hoped for and feared, a masterpiece of ProSouth's grand, zany overbooking. They love their callbacks and this match had them: the mist, the fireballs, the attempted hanging and the return of LHP in its entirety, a great moment for ProSouth aficionados. Considering Tragick/Keast's mixed history with the use of fire, the difficulty with getting the casket lit was both apropos and comical.
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