Shindig was one incredible night at the Walton County Boys & Girls Club Gym. Attendance was pushing 500. For three full hours, the atmosphere inside the packed out building was electric. This show had a lot of heart. Show of the year? I've not seen one better.
Top to bottom, every match maxed out. The Southern Fried roster was at peak performance level. It was a clean sweep for the babyfaces. Jaden Vain was the only heel to escape relatively unscathed.
Nick Halen completed his arduous climb to the mountain top to reach the pinnacle for the first time and became the new Southern Fried Champion. Halen ended Jacob Ashworth's reign at 120 days. Ashworth's supremacy felt longer than that. John Johnson made it feel like an eternity.
Retribution was the name of the game in the Rough House match. Rosario Grillo and company finally got what was coming to them thanks to Hunter James, his father and the cast of thousands that got involved in this match.
Dominic Stuckey defeated Brian Blaze (and Matt Hankins as it turned out) inside the ChiRaq cage to end a feud in which they never had a regular wrestling match. The reaction to Stuckey left no question that he rivals James for the number one babyface spot in the hearts of the Southern Fried fans. Except for maybe this guy...
Billy Buck's blood was spilled all over the Southern Fried ring. Yet it was Buck (with the help of a certain somebody) who prevailed in the most compelling bullrope match this writer has seen in quite a while.
In an outcome that caught many onlookers by surprise, it was Michael Walker's Southern Fried career that came to an end. In his 26th year as a pro wrestler, Seth Delay will fight on.
The Approved are once again the Southern Fried Tag Team Champions. As a unit, the Approved have held the title a record five times. Bobby Moore and Adrian Hawkins entered their third reign as a duo.
Corey Hollis returned to Southern Fried for the first time in over five years as Judas' mystery partner. Hollis left as a heel but the fans loved seeing him back. Hollis was far from the only surprise returnee.
For openers, Southern Fried owner David Manders challenged John Johnson to find a partner for a tag match against Manders and who knows who on July 18.
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| Photo by Ashley Kaitlyn Knight |
Disturbed double clotheslined the champions. As the ref was getting Disturbed out of there. Moore nailed Marv with one of the title belt and Hawkins covered to capture the championship for Approved.
(2) JT Paradox defeated Lucas DeSilva in 5:30. Their conflict had been based around athletic competition and that was how they finished it. This was a hard-hitting, high impact wrestling match between two rising young stars. DeSilva pulled the straps down and tried for the Spiral Rack. Paradox slipped out of it to win with a spinning power slam.
(3) Bullrope Match: Billy Buck defeated "The Firestarter" Xander Seabolt (with John Johnson) in 8:36. Seabolt blew a fireball on his way to the ring. Buck was over like crazy.
Seabolt bashed Buck with the cowbell and opened up a nasty two inch gash on Buck's dome before they were strapped up. Buck's forehead was quickly covered in blood. Buck was in horrible shape but would not allow Seabolt to get any further than touching two corners. Buck crotched Seabolt with the bullrope to spark his comeback. By this point, Buck's face was a total crimson mask. JJ distracted Buck with a barbecue lighter and held him down to allow Seabolt a free shot at touching all four corners.
Billy's woman, Georgeanne Hardin came down the ring and threw powder in Johnson's face. Buck took Seabolt's head off with a Buckshot. That sent the crowd into a frenzy as Buck touched the turnbuckles. Seabolt tried to stop Buck from getting to the fourth corner. Buck landed a second superkick right on the button. The pop when Buck touched that final corner blew the roof off.
(4) Career vs. Career: Seth Delay defeated Michael Walker in 11:46. Ring announcer Chianne Michaels ran down the title credentials of both competitors. Quite impressive in both cases. Delay took a bump where he blew right past the post and went sprawling on the floor. Walker was mean mugging the crowd at every turn. Delay gave Walker a scary looking top rope superplex. Walker pulled referee Bryan Waites in the line of Delay's fire. Walker went right to the groin shot and hit the J Driller. Referee Matthew Daniel ran down to make the three count. In his zeal, Daniel failed to see Delay's foot on the ropes. Waites called for a restart. Walker hit the Froggy Bow but Delay reversed it with a crucifix pin. Both of these guys are such good workers a bad match was virtually out of the question. Delay winning was not on my bingo card.
(5) ChiRaq Match: Dominic Stuckey defeated Brian Blaze (with Matt Hankins) in 8:30. The match took place in a 12 X 12 cage outside the building with a tarp covering the ground. The majority of the crowd piled outside to watch.
Blaze and Hankins came out first. Hankins never shut up. The crowd exploded when Stuckey appeared. This could only be a fight. Blaze wasted no time giving Stuckey a knee to the nutsack. Hankins started choking Stuckey with a scarf. Blaze did a number on Stuckey's knee with a steel chair and went for the package piledriver. Stuckey reversed it with a DDT onto the chair.
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| Photo by Connie Taylor Derriso |
-- Intermission --
(6) CT Keys defeated Joe Black (with Amy Haven) in 15 minutes. Black answered CT's open challenge to become Keys final opponent before he stepped away from wrestling for awhile. Of course the match was really good. The crowd treated the it as a palate cleanser and was not biting on the idea that Black was going to beat their former two-time Southern Fried Champion.
Business picked up when Kelly Sexton marched down to ringside to pull Amy Haven off the apron. Kelly relished the moment and decked Amy with a forearm shot. The crowd popped huge. Amy suffered the same fate in Piedmont the night before. Keys went on to win with a Pounce and the F5.
The crowd applauded the postmatch display of sporstmanship between Joe and CT. Manders met Keys as he was headed up the aisle and gave him a big ole hug.
(7) Judas & Corey Hollis defeated Jaden Vain & Xavier Cross in 6:54. Judas entered alone and got jumped by Cross and Vain. But how would the people react to Hollis after a five year absence? Answer: Huge pop and a "welcome back" chant. Hollis was on fire as the babyfaces kicked ass before the bell.
They went right to heat on Hollis once the match was officially underway. Hollis took the mother of all Bret Hart chest bumps. Hollis yanked Cross off the ropes onto his head and threw Vain over the top. Judas got his hands on Vain but not for long enough. Vain donned the loaded glove but Judas saw him coming. Vain ran away. Judas was after him. Cross took over on Hollis. Judas came to help and got battered by Cross. The heels celebrated. Judas and Hollis sat up in unison. Judas choke slammed Cross and Hollis hit a monster top rope splash to end this thoroughly entertaining match.
As the celebration was winding down, that rat bastard Jaden Vain sneaked back to ringside and laid Hollis out with the loaded glove.
(8) Rough House match (no DQ/no count out) Hunter James & Jamey Dean & Tayo defeated Rosario Grillo & Joey Hyder & Ashton Martin in 17:49. This match went off the rails in a hurry, brawling everywhere except inside the ring. Three on three went to four-on-three to four-on-four with Christian Taylor and Jess Cruz joining the battle. Taylor gave Martin a giant swing, God only knows what was running through his demented mind. Jamey Dean was bleeding from a wound on his forehead.
Hunter James did the most georgeous Orihara moonsault you're ever going to see. Pat Roach made his return and tried to choke Hunter out. Dominic Stuckey came through the front door to rescue Hunter and received yet another monster pop. Dom cleaned house on Roach and they fought their way to the dressing room. A masked man interfered against James. It was Triston Michaels (making his first Southern Fried a appearance in well over a year). The heels zip tied Dean and Tayo to the ropes. It looked the end for James and company. Grillo stomped James and pulled him up for another......
Who should appear? Xavier Reyes out of retirement for only night only. The crowd ate it up as Reyes and James mended fences and double teamed Grillo, then double punched Triston. Reyes carried Michaels out.
Jamey Dean finally got sweet revenge on Grillo and lit him up like a Christmas tree with a leather belt. Tayo put on the googles for a diving headbutt on Taylor, who was wrapped up in his strait jacket. Dean gave Hyder a taste of his own medicine with the full nelson. For the finish, James stomped Grillo and pulled him for a brainbuster on a chair.
This building has seen a ton of wild matches, none more satisfiying than this one in so far as paying off a long-term story. This was extraordinary. The cameo added layers of excitement. The build to the finish was relentless. Just when you thought they couldn't take it any higher, the match found another peak. Alison Miller would have loved it.
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| Photo by Ashley Kaitlyn Knight |
(9) Nick Halen defeated Jacob Ashworth (with John Johnson) to win the Southern Fried Championship in 25:20. Ashworth is in his best shape in many a year. Clue #1 the title was changing hands: the babyfaces were lined up along the aisle as Halen made his way to the ring.
They started with wrestling. Halen had the crowd and was getting the better of it until JJ got in the way. Ashworth began to methodicaly dismantle the challenger. Halen gave Ashworth a Twist of Fate onto the middle rope to spark a comeback. Ashworth escaped Halen's flatliner off the ropes and connected with a high dropkick. Where did that come from? Halen scored with the flatliner the second time around and had Ashworth's finishers (Ashes to Ashes, Roll of the Dice) scouted. Crowd was feeling it.
Halen hit the Gamebreaker. Johnson put Ashworth's foot on the ropes. Dee Byers caught JJ red-handed and ejected him for Clue #2. Halen kicked out of Ashes to Ashes. The champion was beside himself. Halen kicked out of Roll of the Dice AT ONE. Handwriting on the wall. BUT not so fast. Halen missed with a swanton bomb and got planted with a sidewalk slam. Halen needed to make it happen. He landed a swanton to Ashworth's back. The champion had nothing left. Halen flew with an elbow drop off the top and the building exploded at the count of three.
Halen and Ashworth had their work cut out for them following the Rough House match. They have chemistry. They stuck to their guns and let the drama unfold, kept the crowd engaged and maintained that shred of doubt. Maybe, just maybe this was not Halen's night...and then it was.
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| Photo by Connie Taylor Derriso |
Halen's victory was a moment. The Approved hit the ring to celebrate with him. Nick's wife Sabrina soon followed with a big kiss for the new champion. She makes good desserts, too.
NOTES: Southern Fried returns to the Walton County Boys & Girls Club Gym on July 18...Adam Vance and Blake Blackwell was the commentary team for the video...Chianne Michaels was the ring announcer...Bryan Waites, David Weakley, Dee Byers, Matthew Daniel and "Butterbean" Ryan Harmon were the officials...Ace Haven made the trip from Piedmont with Amy...Billy Knight, Stan Robinson and Jerry Nelms were in the house.
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