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| Photos: Bob McAteer |
"Great players don't often make great coaches. Great coaches make great players. ...Yo' daddy can't save you in the fourth quarter. One day you might be phenomenal, but that day won't be Friday night. You will go back to being a tattoo on your daddy's rib cage..."
- Matt Hankins
From Larry Goodman:
Freedom Fling was billed as biggest night in the history of Royston wrestling and they weren't just whistling Dixie.
It was a special night. AJ Styles' son Avery had his first match as a professional wrestler. It was the match of an indy wrestling fan's dreams. Hankins words did not prove to be prophetic. In fact, the opposited was true.
In his first match, Avery Styles and Ashton Martin went out and they killed it. The atmosphere inside the sold out (500+) Royston Dome was like nothing I have ever experienced in all my years of covering indy wrestling in this state.
Freedom Fling would have been a big night for SCA without the main event. They're telling stories in Royston and card was full of matches that had compelling stories to back them up.
Had Avery's debut not been on the card, people would be talking about the SCA title match between champion Nick Halen and Mother Frost. They had a great fantastic first blood match that ended with Frost winning the title and immediately losing it to Xander Seabolt. More on that later.
But it was Avery Styles that these people came to see. His first match was everything they could have hope for and more. Avery exceeded all reasonable expectations, as did his opponent Ashton Martin. The closing moments with AJ coming to the aid of his son was pure magic.
It was full circle moment for this writer. I documented AJ's exploits when he was s a rookie wrestling at the building later to be known as the Landmark Arena. AJ was clearly an extraordinary talent and a complete unknown on the national level, so it was an honor to be present and report on Avery's first match.
Squared Circle Action has brought this venue back from near death over the last few years thanks to Jonathan Feltner (see notes), James Boulevard, John Johnson and the dedication of the entire crew at SCA. The production values have been improved exponentially. The promotion is averaging close to 100 for a weekly basis in a town of 2500 and has TV on the local station in Hartwell. If I didn't hate making the 90 minute drive to Royston on Friday night, I would come to more of their shows.
Johnson opened the show by announcing that the Friday Night Championship (SCA's secondary title) would be defended along with the Georgia Heritage Championship (essentially the Landmark Arena title).
(1) Georgia Heritage and Friday Night Champion RC Daniels (with Matt Hankins) vs. Billy Buck ended as a draw (6:50). Daniels retained. Buck got a monster pop. Buck, Halen and Hunter James are the major stars appearing at SCA on a regular basis and regarded as such by the crowd. Daniels has to be included in the rookie of the year conversation. Buck got Daniels in the figure four. The shoulders of both competitors remained in contact with the mat for a three count and senior official Dee Byers ruled the match a double pin.
A video package for the tag team title match was shown on the big screen.
(2) Big & Bad (Big Andy & Big Bad Brando with Triston Michaels) defeated The Program (Scott Mayson & Jacob Ashworth to win the SCA Tag Team Championship in 4:10. Wild, non-stop action outside the ring. Referee Chuck had his hands full because this was not a no DQ/no count out match. He finally gave up and stopped counting. When the action eventually returned the ring, Ashworth saved Mayson from being sandwiched by the two charging behemoths. Mayson took the bullet, then got mowed down by Andy and pinned on his birthday.
Big & Bad got over and I loved how they made a big deal of the post-match celebration.
(3) Tournament Final: James Boulevard defeated Lucas DeSilva to become in the inaugural HTC TV Champion in 5:33. , DeSilva had Boulevard in position for the Spiral Rack when Don Matthews appeared on the big screen. DeSilva got distracted and rolled up by Boulevard. For better or worse, SCA now has three secondary titles.
The powers that be were wise to move through the undercard matches post haste. The Royston Dome is notorious for oppressive temperatures during the summer.
Consultant Christine Hilton announced that the winner of the next match would be the final entrant in Freedom Fling Rumble last and the loser would have to enter first. The winner of The Rumble earned possession of the Power Square contract (SCA's version of Money in the Bank).
This was the family implosion match between cousins Hunter James and Jesse Cruz with Chianne Michaels caught betwixt and between.
The match was also preceded by a video package. One of the beauties of the show was the used of videos to make the key matches meaningful to fans that were unfamiliar with the storylines.
(4) Jesse Cruz defeated Hunter James (with Chianne Michaels) in 11:56. Cruz has quite the repetoire of heelish moves. They did back-to-back sleeper holds. James capped off a huge rally with the Viperplex and tried for the brainbuster but Cruz hooked the ropes to block it. There was great moment when Chianne checked on Cruz out on the floor and Hunter shot her an icy stare. James hit the Hollywood Twist and appeared to have the match in hand but Cruz surprised him with a roll up and a handful of tights for extra leverage. Hunter was pissed.
They've got a good story going here. Chianne left with Hunter but she gave the impression her allegiance could still go either way.
(5) Xander Seabolt won the 25 man Freedom Fling Rumble (around 28 minutes). Competitors in order of entrance: James, Brower, Alexander Lev, Zack King, Caleb Crocker, Tayo, Luka Daniels, Boulevard, Curtis Coleman, Argo, DeSilva, Jay Shaw, Jak Salem, Buck, Mayson, Austin Thorne, Eddie Morphy, Dynamic Dexter, Daddy C, Tower, Seabolt, Savage, Ashworth, Ballenger and Cruz.
Cruz sabotaged Hunter by throwing something in eyes as he was coming down the ramp. I caught only glimpses of this match on the backstage monitor due a conversation with certain VIPs. The standout performer was the returning Curtis Coleman. The guy is shredded and can really go. It came down to Lev and Seabolt.
Seabolt clotheslined Lev over the top rope. Lev landed on the apron and Seabolt sent him to the floor with a baseball slide.
Another great video package preceded the First Blood match.
(6) First Blood: Mother Frost defeated Nick Halen to win the SCA Championship in 11:56. Frost's entrance was other wordly. He's got something with this character. The entrance pop Halen got was only rivaled by the one Buck got in the opener.
Frost immediately tried to split Halen's wig with his antlers. The spilled out of the ring and started throwing fierce chops landing with such that the impacts were audible in a packed building. Frost sent Halen over the barricade and followed him into the crowd. They went up on the bleachers. Fans were scattering to stay out of harm's way. Halen got creative by attempting to grind Frost's face into a king-sized pedestal fan. Halen hit a picture perfect top rope superplex. The crowd started chanting his name. They were pounding and biting each other in the forehead trying to draw blood. Frost tried to hang Nick with one of the tag ropes. Halen bashed him with the title belt to break free. They tried to stab each other with a fork. Halen gave Frost a piledriver on the ring steps. That looked dangerous as hell but both men were able to make it back into the ring. Halen's Pele kick knocked Frost back out of the ring. Halen picked up Frost's antlers. Frost pulled a barbed bat out from the under the ring. That did the trick. Halen bled like crazy.
I loved this match. It everything a first blood match should be. Frost and Halen have a storied history at SCA and this match further enriched it. Neither one needs a belt and Frost didn't hold for but a few seconds...
Seabolt cashed in the Power Square contract he won in the Rumble.
(7) Xander Seabolt defeated Frost to win the SCA Championship in 5 seconds. Seabolt dropkicked the briefcase into Frost and pinned him.
The pre-match video showed Avery causing Ashton Martin problems as a referee and the Matt Hankins promo quoted at the top of this report.
If you have not seen it, Hankins promo is worth going out of your way to watch. This is an undeniably great promo, and the kind of money promo that made Hankins a two-time GWH manager of the year.
(8) Avery Styles defeated Ashton Martin (with Matt Hankins) in 15:55. Incredible atmosphere, crowd amped, chanting "Avery Styles" at the bell. They locked up. Martin owned Avery in the opening exchange and did a lap around the ring heeling it up. Avery gave Martin a taste of his own. Martin powdered out. Avery got a count with a backbreaker and a near fall with snap suplex. Martin took a time out. Avery lowered his guard just enough for Martin to take advantage of him. The crowd picked up the chant for Avery again. Avery fired up. Hankins tripped him and Martin hit the Corey Hollis one-armed spinning neckbreaker. They did a high speed collision of crossbodys. Avery had his only glitch of the match on a roughrider because he got such ups that he cleared the top of Martin's head. The action spilled outside Avery slid under the barricade and launched a Phenomenal Forearm off the barricade. The crowd exploded. Back inside, Martin raked the eyes and broke out a killer blue thunder bomb and was in disbelief when Avery kicked out. No water in the pool for Martin's top rope splash.
Avery planted Martin with a death valley driver. At the count of two, Hankins pulled referee Dee Byers out of the ring. Avery chased Hankins and was cut down by a Scott Mayson lariat. Hankins got in the ring with a steel chair.
Cue up AJ's music. The reaction when AJ appeared was...phenomenal. Gave this old writer goose bumps. A cleaned house on Hankins and his entire stable (Mayson, Ashworth and Daniels). Martin gutted AJ with the chair and whacked him across the back with it. Martin set up for the Styles Clash on AJ. Avery cut Martin off with a classic AJ reverse DDT. AJ was ready to administer the Clash but turned Martin over to Avery for the Styles Clash and the 1..2..3.
The love affair continued after the match. AJ left the stage to Avery. The people did not want to let him go.
NOTES: Feltner retired from wrestling two weeks ago. He took over management of the venue after an incident under previous management put it on life supports. The six time Georgia Announcer of the Year left the venue in good hands and in far better shape than it was in when he took the project on...Seth Delay, Azrael and Crystal Rose were among the wrestling luminaries backstage...Myron Fancher from Tapped Out was in the house...Ashton Martin's father was in the crowd, video camera in hand...Blackwell and JC Smith are the broadcast team for SCA YouTube channel and the show on HTC TV 3 in Hartwell.
