By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Scenic City Invitational (night two)
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
July 15, 2023 in Red Bank, Tennessee at TWE Arena
This is a review of night two, featuring the second round and finals (I did not cover night one). Dylan Hales and John Mosely provided commentary. This venue is the TWE training center and it’s small; there is no seating against one wall. However, the building does seem packed with perhaps 200-300 people; I really don’t think they can get more in here.
1. Darian Bengston defeated Bojack, Diego Hill, Rachel Armstrong, MERC, and Rico Gonzalez in a six-way at 12:03. The winner of this scramble will enter the tournament. Armstrong is talented; I just saw her in Pro Wrestling Revolver. I am a huge fan of Diego Hill, who I describe as Cedric Alexander-meets-Wes Lee, and he’s making his Prestige Wrestling debut in Los Angeles soon. Bojack is the 350-pound Black man who just dominates in the ring. MERC got a huge pop; he’s white with long blond hair. MERC and Bojack squared off immediately with everyone else on the floor, and Bojack hit a massive senton.
Diego launched off Bojack to hit a moonsault onto Darian. Diego hit a nice dropkick at 3:30, sending Bojack to the floor. MERC re-entered and hit some dropkicks, then he squared off with Rachel, and she hit a huracanrana, then she dove through the ropes onto him. Rico hit a couple Lionsaults on Darian for a nearfall at 5:30. Bojack hit a Pounce that sent Darian over the top rope and onto everyone on the floor! Cool spot. In the ring, Bojack hit a release suplex. Each opponent took a turn one-on-one with Bojack, with Bojack beating them down. Diego hit a spin kick to Bojack’s face in the corner at 7:30.
Everyone worked together to hit a powerbomb on Bojack out of the corner, and we got a “this is awesome!” chant. Diego hit a spin kick to Rachel’s head; eh didn’t mean to hit her. Rachel hit a Canadian Destroyer on Diego. Rico hit a top-rope doublestomp on Diego’s chest. MERC hit a German release suplex on Rachel at 10:00. MERC and Darian traded punches, then chops. MERC applied a crossface. Bengston hit a flying punch to the back of MERC’s head and scored the pin. A nice showcase for some rising talent.
2. 1 Called Manders defeated Sawyer Wreck in a second-round match at 6:32. Sawyer is taller but quite thin; Manders has the overall weight advantage over her. I gotta believe I’ve seen them fight before in GCW. She slapped him in the face and hit some forearms in the first minute. “You aren’t going to intimidate her; she’s as tough as they come,” one commentator said. They went to the floor, where Manders charged and accidentally hit the ringpost, shoulder-first. In the ring, she hit a sideslam at 3:00. He fired back with a German Suplex; she hit a German Suplex. He nailed a hard clothesline.
They traded mid-ring chops, forearms and slaps to the face. Sawyer hit a chokeslam for a nearfall at 5:00. Manders nailed a second-rope Bulldog Powerslam for a believable nearfall; I thought that was it. He hit a short-arm clothesline for another nearfall but she popped up. He hit one more hard clothesline to score the pin. Good match with some decent hope spots for her.
3. Landon Hale defeated BK Westbrook in a second-round match at 11:27. I’ve compared Westbrook to heel Adam Cole. I don’t know if I’ve seen Hale; he has short black hair but his head is wrapped in a bandage; and he wore Matt Taven-inspired purple pants. BK got on the mic and said he’s sending Hale back to the Northeast. Standing swtiches but Hale kept clutching at the back of his head; the commentators said he needed staples in the back of his head after bleeding in the ring in the first-round win on Friday. Hale hit a dropkick. They went to the floor and traded chops in front of the fans.
In the ring, BK was in charge, hitting a springboard elbow to the back of Hale’s head at 5:00. BK applied a mid-ring Octopus, and he switched to a Boston Crab, and he stomped on the back of the head, and was loudly booed. Hale hit a backbreaker over his knee, and he snake-eyes BK on the top corner. Hale hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall at 8:00. BK hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall, then a running stunner for a believable nearfall at 10:00. BK peeled the bandage off Hale’s head and hit repeated blows to the back of the skull. Hale hit a jumping knee, then a modified Death Valley Driver for the pin. Good match, and compelling with Hale’s very real injury.
4. Adam Priest defeated Timothy Thatcher in a second-round match at 11:07. Priest is the short, excellent mat-based gatekeeper I compare to QT Marshall; I’m a fan. Thatcher is coming off the concussion he suffered at the MLW show one week earlier, and he is significantly taller. Standing switches early with Priest being cautious. Thatcher dropped him with a European Uppercut and he took control, tying up Priest on the mat. Thatcher bent Priest backward around the ring post at 5:30. Priest began working over Thatcher’s left hand. Thatcher hit a belly-to-belly suplex but kept selling the hand injury. Priest nailed a DDT for the pin.
5. Mike Jackson, Tank, and Jaden Newman defeated Suge D, Noah Hossman, and Eeron Wade at 9:08. Jackson is the 73-year-old who has recently appeared in GCW and in Impact Wrestling. Most of these guys lost first-round matches on Friday, so this is a consolation match. Tank has to be around 50 as well; he’s thick. Jackson and Eeron Wade started; Wade reminds me of NJPW’s Chase Owens. Suge D is a Black man with dreadlocks, and he battled Tank. Mike dove through the ropes onto everyone at 4:00; again, he’s 73! Tank teased a dive, but he instead climbed through the ropes and hit some eye pokes. Funny. The heels began working over Jaden Newman, who is short with black hair and a beard.
Jackson made the hot tag and beat up the heels. He did the Old School top-rope walk. Hossman charged at Tank but wound up flipping to the floor. Jackson got a schoolboy rollup for the pin. Decent comedy; I am not convinced that it is safe for Jackson to be in the ring and whoever books him is taking a risk… how would you explain it to the general public if he got seriously injured or died on your watch?
6. Darian Bengston defeated Bobby Flaco in a second-round match at 6:53. Again, Bengston earned this shot by winning the show-opening scramble. Flaco is the short, bald, dorky kid; he’s appeared in GCW when they’ve been down in this region. They hugged to establish they are both babyfaces. Bengston dove through the ropes onto Flaco. Flaco hit a second-rope crossbody block for a nearfall at 2:30. In the ring, Bengston hit a twisting neckbreaker and a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall, and they were both down at 6:00. Flaco hit a Poison Rana. Bengston hit a forearm to the back of the head for the pin. Solid match.
7. “The Skulk” Liam Gray & Adrian Alanis defeated Wheezy T & Devlyn Macabre and Ichiban & Ryan Clancy and Kris Brady & Jay Malachi in a four-way tag match at 7:43. The Skulk were in Evolve at the end of its run and they’ve appeared often on AEW Dark. Ichiban and Clancy are top-notch Northeast talents, so this was a long drive for them. Malachi is the tall, thin Black man who reminds me of Velveteen Dream, and he’s a tremendous high-flyer. Brady also is Black and shorter in a red singlet. My first time seeing Wheezy and Devlyn; Wheezy is a thin Black man, while Devlyn is a reheaded woman, similar to Isla Dawn but she looks a bit scarier. Alanis and Malachi started, but everyone flowed in and out of the ring quickly.
Ichiban got a crucifix takedown for a nearfall at 2:30. Devlyn hit a Shining Wizard. Gray hit a Falcon Arrow on Devlyn. Malachi hit a spin kick that dropped Clancy. Ichiban hit a Canadian Destroyer on Malachi. Wheezy hit a flip dive to the floor on everyone. Devlyn hit a top-rope twisting dive onto all the men at 5:30 and she was fired up. Malachi hit a dive over the turnbuckle onto everyone, far from the ring. A really impressive dive. In the ring, Clancy and Ichiban hit some quick offense on Brady. Devlyn hit a German Suplex. Alanis hit a backbreaker over his knee on Devlyn. Gray then hit a top-rope crossbody block on Wheezy (who was being held upside down by Alanis) for the pin. I really liked this; lots of high-energy moves and non-stop action.
8) John Wayne Murdoch defeated Shazza McKenzie in a No DQ match at 7:14. Shazza wore bluejean shorts and a black T-shirt, showing she’s here for a street fight. I really like that touch. Of course, Murdoch is significantly taller and stronger than her. She attacked him on the floor to start the match. She got a crutch and hit him on the back, then chest, repeatedly. In the ring, Murdoch hit a piledriver through a door for a nearfall at 3:30. He got a chair and struck her in the back, then he jammed it in her throat. This is uncomfortable to watch. She fired up and hit some forearm shots and she made a door bridge, and she powerbombed him through the door bridge for a nearfall at 6:30. However, Murdoch slammed her onto an open chair for the pin. Ugly and uncomfortable.
9. 1 Called Manders defeated Landon Hale, Darian Bengston, and Adam Priest in an elimination match to win the Scenic City Invitational at 14:10. Two in at a time. Priest was going to start, but he tagged out to Manders. Manders tied up Hale on the mat. Priest got in but Manders beat him up. Bengston hit a top-rope corkscrew press on Manders. Priest snuck up behind Darian and hit a low blow with a weapon, then a DDT to pin Bengston at 6:01.
Priest used a weapon and jabbed it repeatedl in Manders’ forehead at 9:00. Manders hit a bulldog powerslam and a decapitating clothesline on Priest. Hale hit a slam to pin Priest at 10:19, drawing a huge pop. Manders and Hale traded openhand slaps to the face, and Manders hit another decapitating clothesline for a nearfall at 12:00. Hale hit a Sasake Special to the floor on Manders. In the ring, Manders nailed a decapitating clothesline to pin Hale and win the match. Manders was presented with a trophy and several wrestlers hit the ring to celebrate and congratulate him. A nice end to the show.
Final Thoughts: A fun show and I’m glad I checked it out. Manders is a standout talent and in retrospect, he was the right choice to win. I knew several of the Carolina guys from Deadlock Pro and some of the Northeast talents, and this was a nice mix of rising indy talent.
You will never be able to convince me that it’s okay to have a bigger, stronger man beat the crap out of a smaller woman and call it entertainment. Shazza McKenzie is a great wrestler and I’m a big fan. So why not just have her face Devlyn Macabre, and put Murdoch in the four-team tag match? There is a reason you don’t see matches like this on WWE or AEW TV. I get it; indy wrestling is looking for its own niche and how they can be different than the big promotions, but this just isn’t the right direction.
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