By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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TWE Chattanooga “Nightmare on Dayton Boulevard 2023”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
October 28, 2023 in Red Bank, Tennessee at TWE Arena
Red Bank is a suburb of Chattanooga, which is right on the Georgia border. I’ve seen matches from this awkward-shaped building before; the ring is right next to one wall, and we only have seating on two sides of the room. The crowd is maybe 100.
I watched this show because it features three of my favorites: Diego Hill, Bojack and 1 Called Manders. It was quite clear that we had a lot of students on this event. Also, Darian Bengsten had a (very short!) match on AEW Collision a week ago against FTR (it was interrupted by the House of Black.)
1. Sigrid Daughter of Tyr defeated Tommy Davis at 3:28. Davis is short, almost bald with a beard. Tyr wore a horn-shaped mask and looks demonic. Tyr hit a Mafia Kick for the pin. Fairly basic.
2. Anakin Murphy defeated Diego Hill, Shawn Kemp, and Count Noctis in a four-way at 7:23. I always describe Diego as Cedric Alexander-meets-Wes Lee and he’s an absolute star. I don’t think I’ve seen Count Noctis, who has his vampire look down with a long red robe and a black outfit and he’s announced as “the blood thief.” (He’s billed as from Idaho? Can’t they give him a kayfabe exotic hometown?) Kemp is short, white and quite rotund; I’ve seen him several times. (Why would you pick a ring name of a famous, former NBA player?) Scrawny Anakin Murphy came out last; I’ve seen him in St. Louis-based Glory Pro, and he wore a green-and-red Freddy Krueger shirt that I assume is only because it’s Halloween season. Anakin is the white version of ROH’s Cheeseburger, in that it’s hard to believe an adult man has arms that thin with zero muscle mass.
Everyone traded rollups at the bell. Anakin tried some clotheslines that had no effect on the massive Kemp. Noctis bit Anakin, then Diego, then Kemp! So, everyone beat up on Noctis. Diego hit his series of impressive kicks at 4:00. Noctis hit a piledriver on Anakin for a nearfall. Diego hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly on Kemp. Diego hit a flip dive to the floor on everyone. In the ring, Diego nailed a step-up kneestrike in the corner. The massive Kemp hit a double powerbomb on Noctis and Hill out of the corner, but the scrawny Anakin hit a doublestomp on Kemp’s back to pin him.
3. “The Lost Brothers” Crowgan Shoals and Alexander Lev defeated “The Path” Aaron Cox and Calibus Kingston at 3:12. I haven’t seen any of these four before. The Path are both Black men, while Calibus is thicker and bald while the smaller Cox has short black hair. The Lost Brothers are weird Texas Chainsaw Massacre-style white guys; they would fit in Bray Wyatt’s family. The commentators said they give off cult leader vibes. Crowgan is tall, quite heavyset in bib overalls, and a serial killer’s mask. The big Kingston attacked at the bell. The massive, masked Crowgan finally got tagged in at 3:00, and Lev immediately scored the pin. That was just… bizarre in how it ended. Not good but the crowd liked the weird gimmick.
4. Kasey Owens defeated Chase Holliday at 7:57. Chase is a heavyset Black man; I’ve seen him team with Shawn Kemp in the past. Kasey is short with curly hair down to his shoulders. Kasey charged, but Chase caught him with a kneestrike and Kasey was knocked out! The ref began counting to 10, so Kasey’s manager yanked Kasey from the ring and revived him. They fought on the floor. Kasey threw two wood chairs into the ring; they sat across from each other and traded punches at 4:00. They got up and traded chops. Chase hit a release suplex. Kacey hit a diving forearm. Kasey hit a running knee, then a head-capture suplex for the pin. Okay match.
* The “Phantom of the Opera” music played and Josh Locke passed out pamphlets to the crowd.
5. 1 Called Manders defeated Josh Locke at 7:22. Josh is now the “southeast artist” and looks emo; he’s apparently a student at their wrestling school. Mander is competing all over the country every weekend; he recently told me he is closing in on 100 matches this year and he just towers over Locke. Manders immediately hit a hard chop. Locke rolled to the floor and stalled. In the ring, Manders hit a shotgun dropkick and a hard clothesline at 5:30. Locke hit a superkick, but Manders hit a decapitating clothesline for the pin. The winner was never in doubt.
6. “Totally Shook” Pha’Nesse and Jamesen Shook” defeated KOBK” Shawn Campbell and Hardway Heeter and “Deadwood Boys” Erron Wade in a three-way to win the TWE Tag Team Titles at 4:09. KOBK were tag champs entering the match. Wade got on the mic and said his partner, Billy Tipton, isn’t here, so he’s going it alone. Totally Shook wore pink, including pink cowboy hats. Pha’Nesse is Black and he’s rocking a Sonny Kiss look. Wade rolled to the floor before the bell, so the other two teams brawled. The four babyfaces wound up beating on Erron Wade. Totally Shook hit a stunner to pin Wade for the pin out of nowhere. KOBK lose the titles without getting pinned. This was … not good.
* Crowgan Shoals and Alexander Lev hit the ring and beat up Totally Shook, making it clear they want the tag titles.
* A video package aired showing Tank beating up people. He’s a thick bald man and he must be at least 20 years into his career, as I saw him wrestle a handful of times in IWA-Mid South in the early 2000s. This video went on and on and on and on… it may have been longer than some of the matches on this show. Pretty ridiculous, actually.
7. Derek Neal defeated Bojack at 11:21. If you haven’t seen Bojack, he is like Calvin Tankman, but at age 23, he is five years younger. Bojack is a Black man with long dreadlocks and online he’s listed at 354 pounds; he’s a beast in the ring. Derek Neal has long black curly hair; think TNA’s Chris Harris circa 2003. An intense lockup and this feels like a big match. Bojack hit a Stinger Splash, then a massive senton at 3:30. OUCH that is a big man coming down. “If that was a smaller man, that would be a murder,” a commentator said. Bojack nailed a spinebuster for a nearfall. They brawled to the floor where Bojack hit a hard chop at 6:30. Neal whipped Bojack into a post in the building.
They got back in the ring with Neal now in charge. Bojack hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Neal hit a back suplex at 9:00. Bojack fired back with a hard clothesline for a nearfall. Neal hit a hard clothesline for the pin. Solid match. Neal clutched at his lower back as he limped from the ring. Bojack talked into the camera but it was completely inaudible.
8. Brett Ison defeated Tank at 6:34. Ison is tall and bald. Thiis is going to be a brawl. Tank is now age 53 and he looks his age. Tank hit a rolling cannonball in the corner for a nearfall at 2:30. They both peeled down their tops at 6:00 and traded chops. Ison hit a Hidden Blade to the back of the head and knocked out Tank. Ison jumped on him for the pin.
9. Suge D vs. CJ never started. Suge attacked CJ as CJ walked to the ring. In the ring, he ‘Pillmanized’ the ankle in a folded chair. The lights went out! When they came back on, Jaden Newman was standing in the ring, and he beat up Suge D. Kasey Owens went to interfere, so Tank attacked Kasey.
10. Darian Bengsten defeated Owen Knight to retain the TWE Championship at 10:38. Owen Knight is a balding Black man; he looks like Jonathan Gresham but taller. Darian also is Black with curly blondish hair; I’ve seen him a handful of times now. He shook hands with all the kids. Darian dove onto Owen early in the match. Back in the ring, Owen hit a standing powerbomb at 1:00. Darian hit a top-rope moonsault onto a standing Owen Knight, and they were both down at 6:00. Owen hit a faceplant slam for a nearfall at 8:00. Owen set up for a Sharpshooter but turned it into an anklelock move and Darian teased tapping out, but he turned it into a rollup for a nearfall on Owen at 9:30. Darian hit a German Suplex, then a piledriver for a believable nearfall. Darian bent Owen backward over his knee in a submission hold, and Owen tapped out. Good match.
Final Thoughts: A merely okay show, but the announcers definitely made it sound good. Main event was strong; Darian showed why he got that AEW appearance. You know what would have been good, though? Bojack vs. Manders. I like Bojack, but I’ve often seen him against guys like Diego Hill or Jay Malachi who are creating the movement and bumping like crazy for his power moves. So… I’ll just say this wasn’t among my favorite Bojack matches I’ve seen. And I’m still waiting for the whole Carolina/Georgia/Tennessee wrestling scene to treat Diego like the big star he should be. The guys I tuned in for, they delivered… the rest of the roster I didn’t know…. I’ll be blunt, no one really grabbed me and made me take notice of them. This show can be viewed at IWTV but I am giving it a thumbs in the middle.
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