By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Action Wrestling “Wanna Play A Game?”
Replay available via Independentwrestling.tv
October 20, 2023 in Tyron, Georgia at Roger Spencer Community Center
Google Maps says Tyrone is just a bit southwest of Atlanta. The venue is a large pole barn and was well-lit. The crowd is perhaps 150.
In some breaking news I wasn’t aware of, Brogan Finlay indicated after his match here that he has signed an NXT contract. It was widely reported he attended a tryout in September. He doesn’t flat-out say “NXT;” read my synopsis below.
1. Rachel Armstrong defeated Billie Starkz at 9:52. Armstrong is from Indiana; she’s competing a lot in the Midwest indies so this was a big drive for her. Again, I compare her look to pop singer Corinne Bailey Rae. The announcers pointed out this is a rematch from the first-round of a women’s tournament in Wrestling Revolver in Ohio just a month ago (which I reviewed!) They opened in a knucklelock and standing switches. Rachel hit a dropkick that sent Billie to the floor. They brawled on the floor, where Billie whipped her into empty chairs at 4:00. Billie hit a dive through the ropes.
In the ring, Rachel hit a running neckbreaker for a nearfall. Rachel hit a superplex, but Billie hopped up and hit a suplex, and they were both down at 6:30. They traded forearm shots while on their knees. They traded blows on the ring apron and this crowd was hot. In the ring, Rachel hit a Code Red for a nearfall at 8:30. Billie went for the Swanton Bomb but Rachel got her knees up to block it. Armstrong hit a Sliced Bread out of the corner for a believable nearfall. She nailed a top-rope 450 Splash for the clean pin! A very good women’s match and a surprise winner.
2. 1 Called Manders defeated Kasey Owens at 6:14. I just watched Owens for the first time a few days ago; he’s a bit heavyset and looks a bit like NXT’s Joe Gacy, or Joey Janela. Manders hit a suplex while they were tied in a knucklelock. Manders hit some loud chops that dropped Owens in pain. They brawled to the floor, where Manders accidentally chopped the ring post at 2:30. In the ring, Owens focused on the left hand and punched it. Manders went for a gutwrench suplex but his hand was too injured to perform the move. Manders hit a running Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall at 5:30, then a decapitating clothesline for the pin. A fine extended squash.
3. Cody Fluffman defeated Alexander Lev in 3:42. Lev also competed on the TWE show with Kasey Owens from the prior match; Lev has short blond hair. I also just saw the rotund Fluffman at a PWF show in North Carolina and I admittedly wasn’t impressed. With the way he is dancing and jiggling, I can only conclude that Fluffman wants to be the white version of Rikishi. Fluffman rolled around on the mat and flattened Lev like a rolling pin. This is bad. Fluffman hit a Doctor Bomb/gutwrench powerbomb for the pin. At least it was short.
4. “Squatting Dragons” Erron Wade and Kody Manhorn defeated “Out of This World” BK Westbrook and Arik Royal in 10:41. Again, BK has Ada Cole-style heelish charisma, and Arik reminds me of NXT’s Odyssey Jones, and they wore fairly identical purple robes. I’ve seen them a few times. The Squatting Dragons wore bandanas around their forehead and are lame karate guys and they are the babyfaces (who I immediately want to see get beat up). I just saw Erron Wade on that TWE show as well. Wade looks a bit like Cameron Grimes while Manhorn is much, much shorter and blond.
Royal hit a running Mafia Kick, then a double suplex. Royal slammed BK onto Wade for a nearfall and OoTW worked Wade over extensively. Kody finally got the hot tag at 8:30 but he’s so small and scrawny (think a slightly taller Marko Stunt), I found his offense non-believable. Royal hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall. Manhorn got a rollup on Royal out of nowhere for the pin. Not that good. The heels beat them down some more after losing.
5. “The Good Hand” Kevin Ryan and Suge D (w/The Wall) defeated “Culture Inc.” Eli Knight and Malik Bosede to win the Action Tag Team titles at 17:11. I am a huge fan of Culture Inc., which is one of the reasons I watched this show. Both men are Black; Eli is the clean-shaven high-flyer with the prettiest moonsault, while Bosede has a short scruffy beard. I don’t think I’ve seen Kevin Ryan before but with his short, messy reddish-purple hair, he reminds me a bit of Ace Austin. Suge D and Bosede opened. CI hit stereo dives through the ropes at 1:30. In the ring, Knight hit a springboard crossbody block on Ryan for a nearfall. Bosede hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 4:00.
The heels began working over Bosede in their corner. Suge D hit a snap suplex at 6:30. Bosede finally hit an enziguri and tagged in Knight at 10:00. Eli hit a dropkick and was fired up. He hit a leaping clothesline on Suge D, then a top-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall. Knight missed a moonsault but landed on his feet. CI hit stereo lungblowers. Bosede hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 11:30. TGH hit a team back suplex on Bosede, then a team top-rope Spanish Fly on Knight for a nearfall, and suddenly everyone was down.
The Wall, a tall redhead, tried to get involved so the ref booted him. This allowed Suge D to hit a low blow uppercut on Eli. A white guy hit Suge D with a chair. Bosede hit his Death Valley Driver. Knight hit his incredible moonsault for a believable nearfall at 16:00; I thought that was it, but Ryan made the save. Suge D hit Knight with a chair to the back! It allowed Ryan to hit a running knee for the pin. New champs! Good match although the finish got way overbooked.
6. Shazza McKenzie defeated Devlyn Macabre at 6:19. Devlyn is a spooky redhead and she reminds me a bit of Isla Dawn. Aussie native Shazza is booked seemingly everywhere all at once since she moved to St. Louis; she wore her pink outfit and she’s a babyface tonight. Mat reversals to open and Devlyn grounded Shazza, Shazza hit some Yes Kicks to the chest as Devlyn was tied in the ropes at 4:30, then she hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. Devlyn hit a stunner for a nearfall. Shazza hit her Splits Stunner for a believable nearfall; I think that was supposed to be it. So, Shazza tied up Devlyn and cranked back on her head until Macabre tapped out.
7. Rico Gonzalez defeated Brogan Finlay at 10:55. Brogan is steadily improving but still quite slender. I’ve seen Rico a few times; he’s short and wears a purple Mexican baja jacket; think a very young Rocky Romero. He hit a dropkick at the bell. They brawled on the floor in front of the fans and Brogan bodyslammed him onto metal, portable bleachers at 2:30. Ouch! In the ring, Brogan kept Rico grounded. Rico hit a second-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall at 6:30. They traded forearm strikes in the ring. Rico hit a running kick at 9:30. Brogan nailed a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron. In the ring, Brogan hit a top-rope elbow drop for a nearfall. Rico hit a top-rope doublestomp on the collarbone as Brogan was standing for the pin. Good match.
* Brogan got on the mic and talked about wrestling in Action Wrestling for the past 2 1/2 years. He announced that this was his last match at Action Wrestling, and he thanked everyone. “Now is the time for me to flip the page and take the next chapter of my career,” he said. The crowd chanted, “You deserve it!” Finlay hugged Bobby Flaco. He stopped and posed with many fans and high-fived everyone. (He didn’t explicitly say he has signed his NXT contract, but that is the assumption. It wasn’t as clear cut as seeing Jay Malachi announce his deal recently.)
8. Adam Priest defeated Alex Kane (w/Suge D, The Wall) via disqualification to retain the Action Heavyweight title at 14:00. Priest is the short, excellent mat-based wrestler I compare to Jaime Noble; he’s a better heel but he’s a babyface here and the champion. Kane wore a yellow singlet. Priest hit a German Suplex, and Kane rolled to the floor to regroup. In the ring, Kane hit a second-rope superplex at 4:30. Kane hit a T-bone suplex and remained in charge. He applied a sleeper and slowed Priest down. Kane accidentally speared the referee at 10:00! Priest hit a move and covered Kane for a visual pin but the ref wasn’t there. The Wall hopped in the ring and hit a Mafia Kick on Priest.
Priest hit a DDT on the ring apron, a top-rope legdrop, and he again made a cover, but Suge D attacked the referee, causing the DQ. Out of the back came the masked Krule! The crowd popped for the former MLW wrestler. He got in the ring and beat up Wall. He hit a faceplant move on Suge D, then a forearm strike on Kane. He chokeslammed Priest! So, I guess he isn’t helping the babyface after all. He picked up the Action Title, and held it up.
Final Thoughts: Jay Malachi, who is Deadlock Pro Champion and was just starting to get a push on the national scene, recently announced he also has signed an NXT contract. When he made the announcement at a PWF show, he put on a black-and-gold NXT jacket. The scenes were fairly identical, with Malachi, like Finlay here, announced it would be their last match in that promotion, saying it was time for their next step in their careers. I watched this show for a few other matches, and I’m glad I truly stumbled across seeing this.
Priest-Kane was fine, even with the no-finish. I do think Priest makes a better heel, though. I’ll go with the Culture Inc match for best, ahead of the main event, with a strong Billie-Rachel match for third, with Brogan-Rico a strong honorable mention. Those four matches are all worth seeing… and the Manders match was solid… but the rest of the show didn’t do much for me.
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