Southern Fried Heavy Is The Crown Review

  From Larry Goodman: The stories are cooking Southern Fried style in Monroe. After pulling off two great angles at the last show, booker To...

 

From Larry Goodman:

The stories are cooking Southern Fried style in Monroe. After pulling off two great angles at the last show, booker Todd Sexton and company came back with three more at Heavy Is The Crown along with a babyface turn.

These are serious, heated angles and the result is a delicious bubbling brew that should fuel this company all the way to Shindig.

The link to the video: SFCW Heavy is the Crown 3/7/26

After losing the Southern Fried Championship to Jacob Ashworth by forfeit at the last show, Keys returned to confront Ashworth. The real title match take place at Champion vs. Champion? this Saturday night in Monroe. Ashworth has a substitute for the physical belt, Keys is still in possession of the recognized championship belt.

Hunter James is thirsting for revenge against the Crusade and their new ringleader Rosario Grillo. Grillo beat up Hunter's father at the last show. The Crusade did a number on James this time out, only to see James get help from a most unexpected source -- former Crusade member Tayo. The upshot is James & Tayo vs. Crusade (minus Grillo) at Champion vs. Champion?

Matt Hankins revealed his true colors and is not the benevolent protector of Classics Champion Dominic Stuckey he pretended to be  Stuckey was put out of action thanks to Hankins and his buddy Brian Blaze. 

Billy Buck and Xander Seabolt's feud was suddenly infused with an abundance of female energy.

Things have gone so sideways for the  Approved that Bobby Moore is wrestling Nick Halen Saturday night. 

Adam Vance and Blake Blackwell were on commentary. I do love how they do not overtalk. Hayden Weakley in the man with a rover camera in his hand. 

Ashworth and JJ to the ring to open. SFCW owner David Manders  not happy. Former Champion CT Keys was not far behind to get in Ashworth's grill. 

Keys said real champion was in front of him and he had many roles. Last show he had to be dad. If Ashworth was the champ, let's go tonight. JJ was sympathetic. But he was a businessman. The match needed promotion. We'll do it in two weeks. JJ and Ashworth departed. Ashworth tried to sneak back in with a belt shot. Keys laid him out with an F5, dropped Ashworth's belt on his carcass and walked out with the real belt on his shoulder.

Keys being absent for his title match at last show added another layer to the story, a Felix Culpa in Catholic theology. Holding the match off is building the anticipation.  Keys' intensity in this segment lit the fuse. Throw in the fact that Ashworth was given a substitute belt to spiced things up. Ashworth is in the midst of an epic, once in a career heel run.  It feels like he's been saving up for this role.  JJ is the perfect fit as his slimy, smart aleck mouthpiece. There's a scary chemistry at work.

(1) The Crusade (Rosario Grillo & Joey Hyder & Christian Taylor & Pat Roach) defeated JT Paradox & Ashton Martin & Hayden Seal & Seth Stevens) in 5:35. Grillo imitated one of Hunter James' signature moves. Hyder submitted Paradox with the Patriot Act (full nelson).  

Crusade got their point across. Stephens took a good ass kicking. 

The beatdown was on. James hit the ring and split Hyder's wig with a steel chair legit. Hyder was bleeding from the knot on the head. Crusade fled. James said Grillo messed with family. Grillo's ass was his.

Just lovely. Hunter's chair shot was no joke.

(2) Alexander Lev defeated Seth Delay in 9:03.  Vance referred to Delay  as the Rubik's cube of pro wrestling. Blackwell called him the last son of the Landmark Arena. Lev broke out and Emerald Frosien. Delay was pulling out all his greatest hits into the finish --  cradle DDT,  a missile dropkick, the Flying Squirrel. Lev was resilient, unable to lock in the Calf Crusher, Lev pinned Delay with Gonorrhea.

Lev honored his key influences enroute to his second straight high caliber victory at Southern Fried. Delay never ceases to amaze me.

(3) Xavier Cross vs. Rob Adonis was as double count out at 1:36. Partners two weeks ago turned opponents tonight. They did not wait for the bell to start winging chairs at each other. The ring could not contain the wildness.

Kind of a weird vibe. They were doing crazy shit to each other but it's not like the fans like either one of them. 

(4) Dominic Stuckey defeated Cain Carter in 10:46. Stuckey countered Carter's  crossface and prevailed with the GTH. In a perfect world, Dom would have pinned Carter with that stellar looking ripcord blackhole slam. 

Hankins pressured Dom for a decision about his offer to help. He was ready to go all the way, what was Dom's answer?

Stuckey said he appreciated Hankins for the debt Georgia Wrestling owed him, but Hankins had not managed a Wrestler of the Year and that's what he was shooting for. Hankins said Dom has his respect and he hoped Dom could respect his decision.

Brian Blaze shot out of the back and destroyed Stuckey with a package piledriver in the ring. He started to leave and came back to give Stuckey another package piledriver on the floor. Dom's body was quivering with Hankins in his face.

A fantastic angle. Hankins has been saying and doing the right things but he's been selling snake oil with all that smooth talking. I loved Blaze stepping of the shadows into a high profile spot. Hated the match. Talented as Carter is, I did not want to see a Classics Champion have to dig down deep against a wrestler that meant nothing in Monroe.  

(5) Consanity (Sal Rinauro & Michael Stevens) defeated Approved (Nick Halen & Bobby Moore) to retain the Southern Fried Tag Team Championship in 12:47. Early on, Approved demonstrated solidarity. Madstreet struggled with a comedy of errors. Sal was on the receiving end of a Shatter Machine but was not the legal man. Stevens spit in Halen's face. Halen started losing his mind on Stevens but Moore pulled him off. Approved collided and Steven pinned Moore.

Approved may or may not have imploded after the match. They got physical but their confrontation did not turn into all out war. Bonus point to Stevens for breaking out a Renee Dupree French Tickler. 

Buck came to the ring with a huge patch covering his right eye and his fiancée Georgeanne Hardin at his side. Buck said he'd been wrestling for 23 years. Father time is against everyone. He had a beautiful fiancee. What more was there left for him to do at Southern Fried? Maybe it was time to hang the hat up.  John Johnson and Xander Seabolt interrupted. Johnson was yukking it up and singing Happy Trails as he guided Seabolt towards the ring.

JJ said Buck playing on the sympathy of the people really burned him up. HE was the victim. Seabolt was just protecting him from the abuse of "Billy Burned". They were not heartless. They had a wedding gift for Buck.  Seabolt presented Georgeanne with his cane to help Billy find his way to the alter.

Hardin threw the cane in Seabolt's face. Seabolt apologized. Said he was sorry for not cooking both of Buck's eyes when he had the chance. Buck and Hardin turned to leave. Seabolt stroked Georgeanne's hair. Hardin slapped Seabolt across the face. Buck tried to retaliate and superkicked Chianne Michaels by mistake.

Manders was waiting for Seabolt as he came through the curtain and suspended him on the spot.

Buck's display of emotion felt genuine. It was a natural for Georgeanne to get injected into  Billy's business. But Chianne getting accidentally superkicked was not on anyone's bingo card. 

(6) Hunter James vs. Rosario Grillo was never officially a match. Grillo powdered out as soon as James got in the ring. Hyder, Taylor and Roach joined Grillo to surround James and beat him to  to a pulp. Grillo introduced the return of a Crusade member he said was gone far too long. Tayo came to the ring, a gleam in his eye, toting a pair of kendo sticks.  James was defenseless. Tayo lined him up...and started wailing on Crusade. Tayo tossed the a kendo stick to James and they sent Crusade packing. 

Tayo's turn got a reaction. After what Grillo did to Hunter's father at the last show and the beating they gave Hunter tonight, the Southern Fried fans were thrilled to see somebody help him. Babyface Tayo is a difficult pill to swallow. Isn't this the same despicable character who stuck a turnbuckle hook in Bobby Moore's eye?

James and Tayo displayed unity and stood tall. James called for a tag match on March 21 -- James & Tayo vs. Grillo & Hyder.