By Ross Blair: The road to Legends of the Low Country 3 was set ablaze this night, with multiple huge twists & turns. The stage is now ...
By Ross Blair:
The road to Legends of the Low Country 3 was set ablaze this night, with multiple huge twists & turns. The stage is now set for what is being billed as the biggest show in the company's history on July 25th at the Savannah Nine Line headquarters.
Two angles completely shocked the nearly sold out VFW crowd. Exotic Youth imploded when Bryce Cannon's frustration with another loss to The Redacted hit a fever pitch & he attacked his partner Cornelius Pepperbottom with a steel chair. Later in the evening, the Flying Fro announced his impending retirement & introduced his father David Raines as his final opponent for July. Raines then attacked his son & whipped him with his belt to raise the stakes for July's retirement match.
The night began with what was scheduled to be Christian Taylor versus DJ Smoke. Earlier that day, CEW posted a video on their socials of Taylor blindsiding & abducting Smoke after the last show. Taylor, donning a straight jacket & Saran Wrap mask, screamed for the referee to count out the absent Smoke. Commentator Brandon Benefield entered the ring to confront Taylor about the video & protest the process of a count out. Taylor backed Benefield into the corner while grabbing the lapels of his jacket & screaming "Where's the evidence?!". Benefield scurried as Taylor threatened the referee, who proceeded with the count out & reluctantly raised Taylor's hand for the faux victory. The unhinged Taylor demanded a match with Smoke in July before spazzing out & leaving the ring.
1.) Audrey Allen pinned CC Young. Both women made their CEW debut this night for the company's budding women's division. They both worked hard, and the crowd loved Allen. CC repeatedly tried to smack Allen with her personalized drink thermos. After multiple attempts for a chokeslam throughout the match, the muscular Allen finally nailed it for the 1-2-3.
2.) The Redacted (Hakeem Young & Jay Alpha Miller) defeated Exotic Youth (Bryce Cannon & Cornelius Pepperbottom) in a Texas Tornado match. Amazing match with brawling all over the VFW & weapons that included chairs, doors, a crowbar, and Bryce's patented barbed wire paddle. The Redacted avoided a charging Peps, causing a friendly fire of Peps spearing Bryce through a door in the corner of the ring. With Bryce down, Miller & Young snatched Peps up & hit their Trail of Tears tandem finisher (similar to FTR's Smash Machine) for a pinfall victory. A recovered Bryce grabbed a chair, stared down at The Redacted (who were outside the ring), and screamed "Next month...".
3.) Young Mighty Joe defeated "Marvelous" Michael Stevens. This started out as an interview segment entitled "A Moment with Marv", which was essentially a monologue of Stevens challenging Dax Anthony to a hair versus hair match in July. Young Mighty Joe interrupted Marv, grabbed the mic, and proceeded to repeat the only 3 words he apparently knows in English: "One more match!".
Ring announcer Diana Michel introduced "The Flying Fro" Michael Walker to loud cheers & a "Fro" chant from the crowd. Walker said his scheduled match with Simon Sermon was cancelled due to a no-show from Sermon. He apologized to the crowd for his heel actions & words over the past 10 months aka the "Main Event" Mike Walker era. He said that his match in July will be his last wrestling match ever, explaining that he's no longer able to compete due to the wear & tear of wrestling despite his spinal fusion surgery at age 17 which included 2 metal rods & 24 screws down the length of his spine. He said, "The last 5 years it was something that I could push through, but now it's taken so much of a toll on my body that I can't keep up." He thanked the crowd and said he wants his last match to be against his father David Raines, who not only raised him but trained him to be a wrestler. Raines, who is a former CEW tag champion during a brief time with the company, came to the ring at Fro's invitation & accepted the match. Raines hugged Fro before blindsiding him with a punch to the face & 2 tombstone piledrivers.
Raines grabbed the mic and admonished Fro for not getting him a regular spot on the CEW roster. He mocked the fans for cheering Fro after jeering the same guy for the past 10 months. Raines proceeded to take off his belt, rip Fro's shirt off, & brutally whip his son before leaving the ring. A dejected Fro needed assistance to return to the dressing room as the fans chanted "Thank you Fro!".
4.) The Saturday Night Temptations (Karl Hager & CJ Shine) retained their CEW tag titles when their match against Better Together (Ori Gold & Hadar Horwitz) was declared a no contest. This was Better Together's second CEW appearance & second shot at the tag titles, formerly against the Allen Brothers. The Israeli duo once again impressed with their skills, tandem maneuvers, & heel crowd work. Excellent match, which was cut short when The Redacted stormed the ring & laid waste to all four competitors. The Tempts had just administered their Forbidden Fruit finisher, but the ring was raided before an attempted pinfall. Miller & Young snatched & raised up the tag belts, setting the stage for yet another superb match in July.
5.) "Hollywood" Hunter James defeated "Handsome Devil" Drew Hood in a great main event matchup of the Viral Pro champ Drew versus the defending CEW heavyweight champ. Both men proved why they're the faces of their respective companies with great back & forth action here. Quote of the night goes to Hunter James who said, while he had the upper hand, "The devil went down to Georgia & met the REAL champ!". In the end, it was Hunter's infamous brainbuster that secured the pinfall. I would say this match & the tornado tag match tied for best match of the night. Hunter's celebration was cut short when the lights went out and, when they came back on, a man in an all black druid outfit appeared.
He was holding Krule's mask, which he presented to Hunter in the center of the ring before departing. Hunter declared, "No atrocity can take down Hollywood Boulevard! The real man around here doesn't wear a mask to cover his face...Krule, you better kiss that CEW heavyweight championship dream goodbye because Hollywood...HAS ARRIVED!".
Here is the lineup thus far for the big show, Legends of the Low Country 3 on July 25th: Hunter James vs Krule for the CEW heavyweight title, Bryce Cannon vs Cornelius Pepperbottom for the Coastal Chaos title, Saturday Night Temptations vs Redacted for the CEW tag titles, Michael Walker vs David Raines (Retirement Match), Simon Sermon vs Action Mike Jackson, Young Mighty Joe vs Suge D (I Quit Match), Dax Anthony vs Michael Stevens (Hair versus Humiliation Match), and Christian Taylor vs DJ Smoke. If you've ever considered traveling to Savannah for a CEW show, this would certainly be the one to hit! You could even make a weekend out of it, as United Pro has a big show scheduled the following day an hour down the coast in Kingland.
