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| Photos by Ross Blair |
By Ross Blair:
Although attendance for “Fury” was down a bit (95 versus last month’s 150+ sellout…likely hampered by the nearby Jaguars game), you couldn’t tell it by the volume at Axes & Eights sports bar. The focal point this night was the championship picture, which is under the protection of the newly formed duo of champ Bryce Cannon & his acolyte Bryce Maddox, who turned heel to join Cannon at the end of the last show. The entire roster is gunning for the title. A promising newcomer kicked off the night with a shot at the gold, while the next challenger was made clear by the end of the evening.
1.) “Frat Daddy” Bryce Cannon successfully defended his United Pro heavyweight championship against the debuting Mikey Spandex in an outstanding opener.
Spandex, who works mainly in Florida & I saw for the first time here, is a phenomenal pro wrestler. Cannon pissed off both Spandex & the crowd by stalling for the first few minutes. Spandex finally got his hands on the champ & hit a series of offensive moves, including a German suplex for a near fall. Spandex followed up with a mule kick & Death Valley Driver for another 2 count. Cannon rebounded with an enziguri & a flying leg lariat & a cover, but Spandex kicked out at 2. Cannon got to 2 again after a Spiked Seltzer. Spandex came back strong with a spinebuster & a splash from the top rope for a near fall. Spandex climbed back to the top rope, but Bryce Maddox appeared & distracted ref Clark. This allowed Cannon to deliver a crotch shot & keg stand for the 1-2-3.
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4.) “That Dude” Jon Davis defeated Dominic Stuckey in the best match of the night…between two of the most underrated grapplers in the state. Dom came on strong with a flurry of offense…until Davis snatched him up & leveled him with an Oklahoma Stampede style powerslam, which garnered a 2 count. Dom recovered & released another flurry of offense, which got a near fall preceding a Russian leg sweep. Dom buckled Davis’s knee to maintain his advantage & got another near fall after a lariat. Dom
followed with an impressive Lethal Combination, but only got to 1 on his pin attempt. Davis hit Dom with an enziguri…then a German suplex, but only got to 2. Dom got to 2 after a V Trigger…& again after a sit out suplex. Davis sent Dom flying upon being released from an airplane spin…an awesome new move Davis calls the “F-150”. He followed through with an F5 for the 1-2-3.
Impressive finish. Impressive match! Both worked really hard here. After Dom left the ring, Bryce Maddox blindsided Davis & hit him with his frogsplash finisher. Maddox was accompanied by Bryce Cannon. They threw the signed “Maddox vs Davis” contract at UP commissioner Kevin Kantrell. The Bryces stood over Davis…then Maddox hit Davis with a second frogsplash to leave him laying.
John Boy Ink & his current rival Randy Reno had an in-ring confrontation. Reno got slugged after insulting Ink. A singles match between the two was announced for the next show.
5.) Main event to decide the number one contender to the UP heavyweight title: Buckshot Brian Brock defeated Aaron Berry in a really good match between two pillars of United Pro Entertainment. It started out a slugfest, with Berry the first to knock his competitor off his feet after a hefty shoulder block coming off the ropes. Berry put Brock’s shoulders down for 2 after an elbow drop & a splash…and again after a spinebuster that would make Arn Anderson proud. Both oversized grapplers were floored after colliding from simultaneous flying crossbody attempts, which was quite a sight. Brock recovered first & got a near fall after a German suplex. Berry regained the upper hand & hit Kenny Omega’s entire You Can’t Escape sequence (rolling fireman’s carry slam followed by a moonsault)…which was astonishing for a man his size! Berry covered but ref Clark only got to 2. Brock hit a stiff lariat, but Berry rolled out of the ring to recover. Berry got a near fall after two spears. Berry moved out of the way of a charging avalanche from Brock…but Brock instead squashed referee Clark, who was positioned behind him.
Berry then charged at Brock. Brock ducked to the side, resulting in Berry also squashing ref Clark against the turnbuckles. Clark collapsed to the floor at ringside. Referee Derrick ran into the ring just in time for Brock to hit his lariat finisher on Berry for the 1-2-3.
Brock offered a handshake, but Berry refused to reciprocate. After Berry departed, the Bryces again appeared to mock & get a good look at Buckshot, who just became the number one contender to Bryce Cannon’s UP title. Commissioner Kantrell announced that Brock gets his title shot at the next show.
Chianne Michaels was the ring announcer for the show. Clark DeBenedetto & Derrick Smith were your referees for the evening. Karson Kase & Jonathan Wells were at the commentary table for United Pro’s weekly Unite2Wrestle YouTube show. Next up for United Pro is “Raising the Stakes” on October 25th at Axes & Eights in Kingsland. Signed thus far is Bryce Cannon vs Buckshot Brock for the heavyweight title, Jon Davis vs Bryce Maddox, and John Boy Ink vs Randy Reno. Also appearing on the event poster are Hunter James, Daniel Starling, & Hadar Horvitz of Better Together.
