Photos by Ross Blair By Ross Blair: I travelled an hour or so down the coast from my home in Savannah to the Axes & Eights venue in Ki...
 |
| Photos by Ross Blair |
By Ross Blair:
I travelled an hour or so down the coast from my home in Savannah to the Axes & Eights venue in Kingsland, Georgia to check out United Pro on their biggest show to date. The event was entitled "Championship Rumble", as the main event was a 20-man rumble to crown the company's heavyweight champion.
The unique venue operates most days as a bar that features axe throwing & was located deep into an industrial park. This gave it kind of an underground fight club vibe. Co-promoter Kevin Kantrell told me they're trying to create an atmosphere similar to CEW's Savannah VFW. That's exactly the impression I got, as the crowd (which has built up since the promotion re-opened in January after a nearly decade hiatus) was boisterous & enthusiastic for all the matches & talent on this night. The place was standing room only, so they’ve already established a solid fan base. Chianne Michaels was the ring announcer, while Jesse B. & Clark DeBenedetto were the referees for the evening.
1.) Jon Davis pinned Lance Alonte after a stiff, Stan Hansen-style lariat. Despite a little bit of offense from Alonte, the story of this match was a brutal beatdown by the monster Davis. Co-promoter Clark DeBenedetto told me in our recent interview that the promotion is aiming to be sports-oriented, like early ROH or shoot style. Mission accomplished here! My granddaughter, who attended the show with me, had to look away at one point due to the brutality from Davis & the superb selling from Alonte. After this encounter, I see Davis as a viable title contender. Post match, Alonte was helped to the back & even Davis favored his knee. Kantrell came to the ring to assess Davis's knee injury, and it was announced that Davis was unable to compete in the Rumble.
2.) Sal Rinauro pinned Tyler Uriah after a handspring stunner. Uriah's heel work was impressive & the crowd loved Rinauro's comedic insanity. Sal protested Uriah's refusal to shake his hand by consistently sitting down in the middle of the ring while initiating a clap-along with the crowd. At one point, Sal left the ring to kiss a baby goat that a woman at ringside brought to the show. Yes, you read that correctly. Welcome to the South, folks.
3.) Buckshot Buck pinned Hayden Seal after a lariat in a really good match. Both are huge yet agile, and I see big things in the future for both these guys. The crowd, especially a large group of kids at ringside, loved Buck.
4.) Bryce Maddox pinned "Jacked" Josh Wise (one half of the tag team Exodus) after a frog splash off the top rope in another top notch match. Being an Exodus fan, I was already aware of Josh's talent. This was my first time seeing Maddox, who is another top prospect.
5.) "Frat Daddy" Bryce Cannon outlasted 19 other men in the Championship Rumble to be crowned the new United Pro Heavyweight Champion. Here are the participants, in the order that they drew in the Rumble: 1. "Hollywood" Hunter James, 2. Bryce Maddox, 3. "The Jujitsu Kid" Denny Glassford, 4. Tyler Uriah, 5. Sal Rinauro, 6. Christian Taylor (sporting a lumberjack look instead of Saran Wrap), 7. Draco Nyx, 8. "Jacked" Josh Wise, 9. Young Mighty Joe, 10. "The Wall" Tyler Stevens, 11. Buckshot Buck, 12. Randy Reno, 13. Johnboy Ink, 14. Karson Kase, 15. Lance Alonte, 16. Jayden Seal, 17. "Flying Fro" Michael Walker, 18. Dominic Stuckey, 19. Jon Davis, 20. Bryce Cannon.
Cannon won the rights to enter last by defeating Hollywood in the main event of the previous United Pro show. With only a minute or so between entrants, the Rumble was non-stop action. Glassford was the first to be eliminated. Just after entering the ring, Maddox Irish whipped Glassford into the ropes and gave him the highest back body drop I've ever seen (he neared the ceiling!) before tossing him over the top rope. The Wall cleaned house upon entering the ring, eliminating Uriah, Mighty Joe, Jacked Josh, & Nyx. Rinauro hit the ropes for his springboard stunner on The Wall, but got thrown over the top instead of a stunner. Christian then attacked The Wall but also got tossed over the top rope. The crowd popped for a big man clash between Wall & Buckshot. Johnboy Ink impressed throughout his time in the ring & eliminated Reno before being eliminated himself by, of course: The Wall, who was the most dominant in this match. Heel commentator Karson Kase was a surprise entrant but didn't last long. After purveying the bigger men around him, Kase approached Hollywood & asked him to throw him over the top rope. Hollywood was happy to oblige. Being a Southern Fried fan, I was excited to see Stuckey in person, who eliminated Seal & then Walker. Trainee/security guard Brandon Bennett started his walk down the entranceway to replace the injured Jon Davis, but Davis appeared & shoved him out of the way. Kantrell stopped Davis in his tracks, which initiated a "Let him fight!" chant. Kantrell gave into the will of the fans & Davis's insistence to compete. Davis hit the ring & continued his earlier beatdown on Alonte, eventually throwing him over the top. Buckshot eliminated Maddox after a brief back & forth. Cannon & Hollywood double teamed & eliminated Buckshot. Cannon & Hollywood teamed up again to eliminate both Wall & Stuckey, leaving just them & Davis as the final three. Much to the chagrin of the crowd, Davis eliminated Hollywood. Heel Cannon saw an opening to then blindside & eliminate Davis to be the sole survivor & new champ. Kantrell then entered the ring to present a gloating Cannon his new title belt.
Overall, this was a super fun evening & an easy night with only 5 matches. Kudos to United Pro for all the great talent that I was introduced to on this night. I hope to see some or all of these guys in CEW soon. United Pro’s next show, entitled Battle Tested, takes place on Sunday, July 26th at the same venue. If you’re planning a trip to Savannah for CEW’s big Legends of the Low Country 3 event, I’d recommend staying the night to check out United Pro on the following day. It’s gonna be one helluva weekend for Georgia indy wrestling!
...
.png)
.JPG)
