By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Action Wrestling “Sharpsburg Showdown”
Replay available via Independentwrestling.tv
September 29, 2023 in East Coweta High School
The bleachers of the gym were sparsely filled in the background. The crowd is maybe 200-300 or so, but everyone is spread out. (My advice for them next time is don’t set up the ring in the center of the gym; have it closer to the bleachers so the fans aren’t so far away from the action.) Dylan Hale and Justin provided commentary. (This school’s mascot name is “the Indians,” which is just baffling that a school in 2023 still has that name. Welcome to the Deep South, I guess.)
1. Bobby Flaco defeated Kasey Owens at 4:22. Flaco is the short, bald dork who has appeared on most of the GCW shows in the South. I don’t know if I’ve seen Owens before; he is a bit heavyset and makes me think of GCW’s Jimmy Lloyd, and he has a significant size advantage. Owens hit a hard uranage for a nearfall at 3:00. Flaco hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. He immediately hit an Athena-style top-rope flying stunner for the pin. Short and harmless.
2. “Duckman” Rob Killjoy defeated Spectre at 8:37. Spectre wears dark makeup under his eyes and a red-and-black gear; he’s like the lost third member of WWE’s Ascension. Killjoy makes me think of a Duck Dynasty reject, with his uncombed hair and stringy beard, and he’s the babyface. Spectre wrapped Killjoy around the ringpost and damaged his lower back.In the ring, Spectre hit an enzuigiri at 7:30. They locked arms, Killjoy got a backslide move and scored a pin out of nowhere. Acceptable match, and the crowd loved this finish.
3. Devlyn Macabre defeated Kelsey Raegan at 5:16. I recall that Kelsey has had at least one AEW TV match; she wore green and makes me think of DC’s Poison Ivy, but she’s a babyface. Devlyn looks like Isla Dawn, and she wore a black fallen angel outfit, complete with wings and twisted horns. It looks more like a Halloween costume than wrestling gear. (The commentators just estimated the crowd is 250-300, right where I had estimated it.) Kelsey hit a second-rope moonsault to the floor, landing on her feet, at 1:30! There are no mats on the floor, either.
In the ring, Devlyn repeatedly slammed Kelsey’s hand on the mat. Kelsey hit a second-rope crossbody block and she applied a submission hold on the mat, but Devlyn reached the ropes. Devlyn went under the ring; when she stood up, she spewed black mist in Raegan’s face! Kelsey applied a crossface on the mat. Devlyn applied a modified Triangle Choke on the mat, and Kelsey passed out. Devlyn looks demonic, as her mouth and tongue are black, too. The black mist was all over Kelsey’s face and hair.
* Okay, those three matches were fine, but I tuned in because I liked the lineup for the next five!
4. Alex Kane (w/The Wall, Suge D) defeated Damyan Tangra at 11:14. Kane is the current Major League Wrestling champion and he’s a muscular Black man. I don’t think I’ve seen Tangra before; he’s a white man with a crewcut and is of average size. Kane came out first; as Tangra tried to enter the ring, Kane attacked him. In the ring, Kane hit a release German Suplex. Kane hit a clothesline at 4:30 that sent Tangra to the floor; Damyan barely dove back in before being counted out. They fought on the floor, with Tangra hitting a Mafia Kick. In the ring, Tangra applied an anklelock. Tangra hit a Sabin-style Cradle Shock slam for a believable nearfall at 9:30! “The Wall” jumped on the ring apron and struck Tanga! Kane immediately hit a second-rope Angle Slam for the pin. Okay match.
5. Adam Priest defeated Bojack to retain the Action Championship at 11:25. Priest is the short gatekeeper; think QT Marshall-meets-Jaime Noble. Bojack is the 350+ pound Black man and I’m really impressed with him. I just saw these two wrestle a month or two ago and despite the size difference, they make it look believable. An intense lockup to open. Bojack crotched Priest, so Adam went to the floor to regroup. In the ring, Priest tried some shoulder tackles at 2:00 but Bojack didn’t budge. Bojack hit a Stinger Splash, a bodyslam, and a MASSIVE senton. “Things are better for roadkill than what just happened to Priest’s body,” a commentator said. Funny. However, Priest hit a DDT on the ring apron at 4:30. Priest struggled to get Bojack into the ring.
In the ring, Priest hit some chops that had little effect. So, Priest raked the eyes. Bojack nailed a suplex at 7:30. Priest hit a missile dropkick, but Bojack collapsed onto Adam for a nearfall. Funny. Bojack hit a massive clothesline and got a nearfall. Bojack hit a second-rope superplex, but Priest got a fingernail on the ropes at 10:30. Bojack put Priest on his shoulders and climbed the ropes. However, Priest turned it into a sunset flip to the mat! Priest hit a pair of DDTs and scored the pin. Even though he is champion, I assumed Priest needed to cheat to retain.
6. Diego Hill defeated Terry Yaki at 9:00. This match is why I tuned in. Like Flaco, Yaki has appeared on several of the GCW shows in the South; he’s a Black man with some brown highlights in his hair. I always say Diego is Cedric Alexander-meets-Wes Lee and he’s a star, and the commentators talked about his ‘breakout performance’ at Prestige Wrestling in Los Angeles last weekend. Standing switches to open. They picked up with faster reversals, simultaneous dropkick attempts, and a standoff at 1:30. Yaki landed a dropkick, then a slingshot senton move for a nearfall. Hill fired back with a handspring-back-spin kick.
Diego hit an AJ Styles-like springboard flying forearm for a neafall at 3:30. Diego hit his series of kicks, finishing with a spin kick to the head. Yaki hit a DDT out of the ropes. Diego hit a Stundog Millionaire stunner; he went for a handspring-back-move but Yaki hit a German Suplex, then a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Diego nailed a Fosbury Flop to the loor at 6:00. However, Yaki hit a top-rope flip dive to the floor on Diego! We got our first “This is awesome!” chant of the night. In the ring, Diego missed a 450 Splash, but he hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall at 7:00. Diego hit a spin kick to the jaw in the corner.
Diego went for a frogsplash but Yaki caught his head and hit a stunner. They traded punches, and Diego hit a Lethal Injection handspring-back-stunner. He immediately hit his top-rope Phoenix Splash for the pin. “You can’t even do that in a video game!” a commentator said. That was tremendous. Yaki is good, but Diego is spectacular. A commentator noted they got a standing ovation. They shook hands and hugged. Diego got mobbed by kids ages 5-10 on the floor as he headed to the back. Cool.
7. Colby Corino defeated Brogan Finlay to retain the NWA Junior-Heavyweight Title at 14:03. Colby got mobbed by the kids, too. The bell rang but Brogan stalled on the floor, finally getting back in when he was nearly counted out. Colby hit a second-rope flying clothesline, then a flipping senton for a nearfall at 4:30, and Brogan went right back to the floor to regroup. Colby hit a running summersault off the apron onto Brogan on the floor; he walked over and celebrated with the young kids who were gathered in the corner. However, Colby accidentally chopped the ringpost at 6:00, and they kept brawling on the floor. In the ring, Brogan shoved Colby shoulder-first into the corner and he took control.
Brogan hit a snap suplex. Colby fired back with some chops. He hit a swinging slam, dropping Finlay stomach-first. He hit a bulldog for a nearfall at 10:30. He hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Finlay hit a Superman Punch to the back of the head for a nearfall, then a neckbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 12:00. Corino nailed a Styles Clash for a believable nearfall. Colby hit a Frankensteiner, rolled through, and scored the pin. He also celebrated amongst the children who just absolutely mobbed him at ringside. This is fun.
8. “Culture Inc.” Eli Knight and Malik Bosede defeated Kevin Ryan and Suge D (w/Alex Kane, The Wall) via DQ to retain the Action Pro Tag Team Titles at 11:11. Culture Inc. are thin, muscular Black men and they are rising stars in the South, too; Bosede has a short beard while Eli is clean-shaven. The kids swarming the wrestlers these last three matches has brought this show to another level. Kevin Ryan is white with bright pink hair; I don’t think I’ve seen him before. Culture Inc. hit stereo dives to the floor. In the ring, Knight hit a dropkick. Culture Inc. began working over Ryan in their corner. Suge D held Knight in the ropes, allowing Ryan to land a move, and the heels began working over Knight.
Knight hit a missile dropkick at 5:30. Malik was set up for the hot tag, but The Wall pulled him off the apron. Ryan accidentally hit Suge D. Knight hit a DDT on Ryan and they were both down. Bosede made the hot tag at 7:30 and he hit a spinebuster. Bosede slipped on the top rope (possibly intentionally) and Suge D jumped on him. Moments later, Bosede hit a Blockbuster for a nearfall, but Ryan made the save. All four fought in the ring as the ref has lost control. Ryan hit a Swanton Bomb but he barely grazed Bosede, getting a nearfall. Bosede hit a Death Valley Driver. Knight made the hot tag and he his the prettiest top-rope moonsault you’ve seen. He went for the cover, but Wall jumped in the ring, causing the DQ.
* The heels kept beating up the babyfaces. Adam Priest ran to the ring and he attacked the heels! He and Alex Kane brawled around ringside in front of the fans. Meanwhile, Culture Inc. finally got the upper hand in the ring and beat up the heels.
Final Thoughts: This was a fun, family-friendly show. Anyone who has read my reviews knows I dislike the hardcore violence, and there was none of that here. They drew families with young kids, who liked what they saw. That’s a big win in my book. I want to add that I really liked this commentary team. They knew all the wrestlers well and added a lot to the action.
Diego-Yaki was a nine-minute breathtaking sprint and earns best match. Priest-Bojack was really good for second place. When I saw the lineup, I had a feeling heel Adam Priest was retaining against Bojack, simply because it wasn’t headlining the show. If Bojack was winning the title, it likely would have gone on last. While I’m not thrilled the main event also ended in a disqualification, it earns third place, just ahead of Colby-Brogan. If you haven’t seen Eli Knight’s top-rope moonsault… wow… he somehow jumps straight up, flips in mid-air with his feet high off the ground, before coming down. Just great air time on it.
I noted this earlier, but if they run a gym again, and only use one set of bleachers… set up the ring closer to the bleachers, not in the center of the gym. There was a lot to like here. Check it out at IWTV.
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