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| Photo by Adrenaline Shots Photography |
From Larry Goodman:
Ace Haven beat the Easter deadline and rose from the ashes. Wearing a replica of Majora's Mask from the Legend of Zelda, Ace appeared for the first time since being sent to a fiery grave at Valentine's Day Massacre to rescue ProSouth Tag Team Champions Alexandra Quinn and Vougan.
The surreal closing segment that featured Ace's return was the icing on the carrot cake of my least favorite ProSouth episode of the year. I was glad for the 95 minute run time. ProSouth's short-term momentum peaked at Valentine's Day Massacre. The shows since then have been of varying quality. The size and sound of the crowd at the ProSouth Palace has become a serious negative in recent weeks.
Trio's Cup seasoned kicked off. This year's field of eight teams was determined by a shoot random draw that made this episode a perverse wrestling entertainment classic. Ace may wish he had stayed buried rather than to book this year's Trios which has the most unstar-studded field in tournament history.
Caeden Ooten (sans Harley Haven) became the new number one contender for the ProSouth Championship via the Race Against Time gimmick. Whoever won their match in the shortest amount of time got the pony.
Wicked Nemesis and Mathias Darkthorne manned the commentation station. Darkthorne double as the ring announcer. Joseph Void was the sole referee. Emma was the ringside videographer.
(1) "Clown Prince of Chaos" KJ Valentine defeated Chris Crunk in 9:20. Crunkk's dragon suplex at the 3:30 mark left Valentine in a bad way. Crunk continued to put a hurt on Valentine. He wanted his superkick to be replayed.
Big moves galore into the finish: Valentine with a Canadian Destroyer, a half and half suplex from Crunk, cutter by Valentine, Crunk with a brainbuster on the knee. Crunk caught Valentine midair with a german suplex. Valentine gave Crunk a pair of poisonranas and flattened him with a double stomp off the top for the win.
The finish was nothing if not decisive. Crunk, a former All-Out Champion put Valentine over clean in what was the biggest win of Valentine's ProSouth tenure and likely of his pro wrestling career. Their lack of urgency was strange given the number one contendership was at stake.
Amy Haven Announces Trios Challenge Cup. Amy revealed Brandon Whatley and Joe Wood as the first entrants in the tournaments. She thought it would be interesting to mix Trios Cup with the Draw-To-Brawl this year. The other seven trios teams would be drawn at random.
Darkthorne drew names for first two teams from a tumbler set up near the stage. Team #2: Donovan Thomas & Nick Cicero & Vougan. Team #3: Damon Thomas & Steven Calozzi & Oliver Green
The name drawing made for some exceedlingly awful television. Darkthorne desperately needed an assistant to draw the names. He had to stop to set the mic down each time he drew a name. The teams got zero crowd reaction.
(2) Julian Balderas defeated Damon Thomas in 6:52. Thomas arrogantly disrespected Balderas on the mic. Right of the jump, Thomas leapfrogged Balderas' spear and almost pinned him. Balderas tossed Thomas around a bit. Thomas clipped Balderas' knee and worked over his ankle. Balderas was hobbled to where he could not hit Project Mayhem. Thomas got a near fall with a standing moonsault. Both men spilled to the outside. Thomas slid in just enough to break the count before Balderas pulled him back out. Both men slid in simultaneously and Balderas speared Thomas for the win.
What the hell was going on here? Fresh off an All-Out title match, Balderas gave Thomas an astonishing amount of offense. Thomas has improved his look and ring presence but unless Super Damon is getting a push, this was counterproductive. Bonus point for referee credibility on the count out sequence.
Darkthorne drew names for two more teams. Team #4: Whatley & Sean Nelson & Security guy Jamie Team #5: Wyn Brantley & Bubba Cagle & Chris Crunk
Comically bad. At one point, Darkthorne had to bang the tumbler to get it to open. Whatley's name was not supposed to be in the tumbler. Darkthorne must have felt like he had entered the seventh circle of hell.
(3) Oliver Green defeated the returning Julius Pryor by count out in 7:43. Pryor has a new persona. He spent time in Hollywood, or so the story goes and it went to his head. Wicked said Hollywood really does change people.
Pryor picked Green apart. Green made a comeback. Pryor planted Green with a running powerslam but Green kicked out. Pryor wanted to go up top to finish Green off but was not satisfied with how he had Green positioned and kept changing corners. By the time Pryor got to the fourth corner, he saw that the timer had elapsed. Pryor jumped over the rail and walked out the front door.
I had high hopes for Pryor's return. He is a physical specimen and he can do amazing things in the ring. This heel turn did not work. Pryor's moveset screams babyface. Green sells well for larger opponents but he did not mesh well with Pryor. The match had a labored quality that was not fun to watch.
"I see a bunch of pro wrestlers and I see no killers. I'm going to be honest with you. When I look in the mirror, I no longer see a killer either....No matter who wins, I'm going to stare you in your eyes. You're going to look into the void of my brown eyes. And when you're staring into the abyss, I pray to whatever deity you pray to, you don't blink. No phantom thump thumps, no telltale hearts here. And while you may not trust my words, you should indeed trust The Process."
(4) Caeden Ooten defeated Justin McKenzie in 6:29 to win the Race Against Time and become the new number one contender for the ProSouth Championship. McKenzie was not wearing facepaint. He evidently suffered psychological damage as a result of Amy wiping his facepaint off last week.
McKenzie pulled up short on a tope suicida as if he had lost confidence. Ooten was able to cut him off. Ooten did a buckle bomp into a slingshot suplex. Nice. Ooten choked McKenzie with his wrist tape. He made no effort to hide it and the ref ignored it. Wicked sounded the two minute warning in the time. They furiously went back and forth. McKenzie dodged C's spear and Ooten speared the post. McKenzie went up for the swanton but looked shaky. Ooten then pinned McKenzie with an avalanche Loaded Gun Complex.
Good match. Finish looked rushed. I liked Ooten winning with zero help from Harley. McKenzie performing without the face paint was another interesting development in what has been an eventful sophomore season for him. I can see the face paint both ways. It's a part of his identity that kids like. Without it, He can do a lot more with facial expressions and project more complex emotions. Hated C choking with the wrist tape as a throw away. That spot used to get heat and still can if done with care.
Darkthorne drew the final three teams. He speeded it up by announcing full teams rather than individual names.
Team #6: Jon Averson & Julius Pryor & Alexandra Quinn Team #7: Neji Ichiban & Von LaFlare & Christian Garrett Team #8: Christian Pierce & Ryan Wyndell & Julian Balderas
At face value, team #8 is has the most entertainment potential of the teams in the tournament.
(5) "The Crash Out Cutie" Alexandra Quinn & "The Beauty Standard" Vougan defeated Goon Squad (Brandon Whatley & Joe Wood with Amy Haven & Tragick) in a no DQ match to retain the ProSouth Tag Team Championship in 14:26. Whatley ambushed the champions as they came on stage. Vougan fired back. Quinn took a perilous looking plunge from the top rope onto Goon Squad out on the floor. Back inside, Quinn took over on Wood but collapsed trying to hoist the "vanilla gorilla" onto her shoulders. Goon Squad beat the bejeezus out of Vougan with a steel chair. Vougan showed the defensive capabilities of a traffic cone. Quinn pulled Vougan out of the ring to effect a tag. Goon Squad sadistically double teamed Quinn. Wicked said the champions were taking a shellacking. Wicked was not wrong. Wood knocked Vougan off the apron with the human torpedo. Quinn german suplexed Wood. Green and McKenzie attacked Goon Squad. Wood took a kendo stick to Green while Whatley choked McKenzie out.
Scott Adams came on stage with an Ace Haven shield. A Majora's Mask graphic came on screen. Ace appeared wearing a Majora mask. He bashed Wood with the shield and choke slammed Whatley. Amy confronted Ace and tried to slap him. He caught Amy's hand. Amy tried to kick Ace in the dick but he blocked it. Ace squared off with Tragick and did something to his mask that caused Tragick to collapse. Ace fired a chair at Whatley. While Ace posed with the shield, Quinn pinned Whatley.
McKenzie was being dragged to the back by Ace and Green was being carted out by Adams as the livestream came to a close.
Though subpar as a main event, the segment had the most life of the show. Ace' return got the best reaction this crowd could muster. The Majora mask bestows evil power on the user and send the wearer into a state of destructive madness and that's how it played out with Ace. Adams as a babyface is a tough sell but I'll give the benefit of the doubt The shield and mask were made by the father of Sam Skaggs (Hanson). He's made props for Joe Black in the past. In the long run. the reps and mic time in the live TV environment of ProSouth will benefit her. Short short run, the way Quinn's been booked has done her no favors.
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