By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, Impact Wrestling, MLW, ROH, GCW, and other notable live events. If you attend a show, you are encouraged to send a report or even basic results to dotnetjason@gmail.com
Action Wrestling “Bangers Only 4”
Replay available via Independentwrestling.tv
December 8, 2023 in Tyrone, Georgia at Roger Spencer Community Center
Tyrone is located just southwest of Atlanta. This appears to be a very good crowd of 400-500. The commentators said “this is as good of a card as we’ve ever had.”
* Four wrestlers who regularly compete in the Northeast (New Jersey to Maine) — Landon Hale, Austin Luke, TJ Crawford and Channing Thomas — made the trek to suburban Atlanta for this show. TJ has appeared on MLW TV. The other three are quite good, and clearly committed to pro wrestling, as this was presumably a long drive for them. These four guys all wrestled on an NFW show on Dec. 1 in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. So, let’s pretend they met there to make a drive… well, Google Maps says it is about 900 miles even, roughly 13 1/2 hours, to Tyrone, Ga. That is quite a commitment!
1. Diego Hill defeated Landon Hale at 9:14. I am a huge fan of Diego, who I always describe as a cross between Cedric Alexander and Wes Lee. Hale reminds me of a young Matt Taven. They immediately traded armdrags and had a standoff. Diego hit a grazing dropkick. Landon hit a huracanrana and his own dropkick, then a springboard crossbody block for a nearfall at 2:00. Diego hit a Flatliner into the middle turnbuckle, then a top-rope flying clothesline for a nearfall. Hale hit a dive to the floor at 3:30. Diego hit his own dive to the floor. In the ring, Diego hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall.
Hale hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee, then he tossed Hill face-first into the middle turnbuckle, then he hit a stunner move for a nearfall at 6:00. Hill hit a jumping knee. They hit stereo Lethal Injections and were both down. They traded forearm strikes. Diego nailed a Poison Rana at 8:30. Hale trapped his head in the corner and kicked him in the face. Diego hit a huracanrana. Diego hit a spin kick in the corner, then a double-jump corkscrew senton for the pin. A great opener.
2. Rachel Armstrong defeated Deity at 4:17. My first time seeing Deity, who is a last-minute replacement. She is Black with long, blondish hair. Rachel is short and I always compare her to pop singer Corrine Bailey Rae. Deity hit a hard clothesline on the much smaller Rachel and punched her repeatedly. Rachel hit a Code Red for a nearfall at 3:30, but she couldn’t hit a Sliced Bread. She was successful on a second Sliced Bread attempt for the pin. Short but that’s okay.
3. Bojack defeated Austin Luke at 9:06. Austin is similar to Cameron Grimes, while the 350+ pound Bojack is just a beast. Bojack hit Luke and sent him to the floor. They traded chops in front of the fans. Luke tried a dive to the floor, but Bojack caught him. In the ring, Luke tried a variety of kicks. Bojack hit an impressive delayed vertical suplex for a nearfall at 4:00. Luke hit a running penalty kick for a nearfall. Bojack nailed a brainbuster for a nearfall. Luke hit a dropkick into the corner, then a Buzzsaw kick to the head for a believable nearfall at 7:00.
Bojack nailed a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Luke hit a flip dive to the floor on Bojack. Back in the ring, Luke hit a top-rope frogsplash going more than half-way across the ring, for a believable nearfall at 8:30. Boack hit a pop-up forearm and a hard clothesline, then the Bojack Bomb/sit-out powerbomb for the pin. “What a match!” a commentator shouted.
* Matt Sells came to the ring. He started to speak but Suge D (AEW’s Pineapple Pete!) interrupted him. Right on cue, Matt called him “Pineapple Pete,” and the fans taunted Suge D by chanting it. Sells said he tore the tricep off his arm earlier this year, but he’s now back. He punched Suge D. Jaden Newman hit the ring to save Sells from a beatdown.
4. “The Squatting Dragons” Erron Wade and Kody Manhorn defeated BK Westbrook and Ella Envy at 9:30. Ella (who frequently competes in the NWA) is a last-minute replacement for Arik Royal. I’ve seen Erron a few times; I’m not sure if I’ve seen Kody. Ella got on the mic and belittled their opponents. The scrawny Manhorn started against Ella and he’s barely bigger than she is. Wade and BK entered and traded some good offense. BK and Ella hit a team move then they kissed at 5:00, and the commentators said “no one wants to see that.” BK and Ella worked over the scrawny Kody.
Wade (who also reminds me of Cameron Grimes) made the hot tag at 7:30 and hit a series of kicks on BK. She hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. She hit a Black Hole Slam on Kody. Wade hit a spin kick on BK. Erron and Kody hit a high-low combo on Ella and they both climbed on her for the pin. Okay action.
5. Billie Starkz defeated Daniel Makabe in an intergender match at 14:00 even. I’ve seen Makabe wrestle on some shows in Seattle, so it’s surprising to see him here; he is a heavier version of Alex Shelley. He is MUCH bigger and heavier than her. Standing switches to open, with her working his left arm. He dropped her knee-first on the ring apron at 5:00, and he tied her legs up as they fought on the floor. In the ring she hit some Yes Kicks to his chest. He went back to an anklelock on the mat.
Billie hit a German Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall at 9:30. He hit a Mafia Kick. She hit a neckbreaker over her knee for a nearfall, then a Gory Bomb. She hit a Swanton Bomb, but he grabbed her and applied a rear-naked choke at 11:30. He turned it into a Cattle Mutilation, but she reached the ropes. They traded rollups. He punched at her knee and she collapsed in pain. He shoved the ref! He went for a Frankensteiner, but she blocked it and shoved him to the mat. She immediately hit a Swanton Bomb for the pin. Okay match… but I would have just had Billie fight Ella Envy. The size difference here was hard to ignore.
6. Rico Gonzalez defeated TJ Crawford at 10:02. I’ve seen a bit of Rico lately on the indies in Indiana/Illinois, so he’s putting in the miles, too. Crawford wore his “Big Business” T-shirt, which is his heel faction in Massachusetts, and he jawed at the fans. Rico wore his purple-and-blue pancho and he got a nice pop. TJ attacked from behind before Rico even removed his pancho. He hit some stiff kicks to the spine at 3:00, and he kept Rico grounded. Rico hit a spin kick to the head at 6:00. They traded kicks. Rico hit a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for the pin. Good mat-based match.
7. Channing Thomas defeated Bobby Flaco at 4:47. Again, Flaco is the short, bald dork who is inexplicably popular. Thomas is the slimy heel who is Joey Ryan-meets-Rick Rude, and he wore his Hugh Hefner smoker’s jacket to the ring. Flaco drove his mini-bike to the ring. He leapt onto Channing to start the match. Channing quickly took control and worked over the tiny Flaco on the mat. Flaco is listed online at 5’9″ and 160 pounds, but both those numbers seem high with what I’m seeing on TV. Flaco hit a top-rope cannonball to the floor on Channing at 4:30. In the ring, Flaco hit a top-rope frogsplash, but Channing rolled through it, grabbed a handful of tights, and scored the cheap pin out of nowhere!
8. Alex Kane defeated Adam Priest and Krule in a three-way to win the Action Championship at 18:49. Kane competed on MLW TV a day ago. Priest is the short, talented gatekeeper who I always compare to Jaime Noble, and he’s the champion entering this match. Krule (known as Mads Krugger in MLW) beat up Kane’s henchmen before he got in the ring. Priest and Kane tried to work together on the bigger Krule. Priest and Kane grabbed folding chairs and hit Krule with them. Krule hit a legdrop across Kane’s throat at 3:30. Krule hit a chokeslam on Priest onto the ring apron. Kane dove through the ropes onto Krule. In the ring, Krule chokeslammed Priest onto Kane.
Krule hit a chokeslam on Kane for a believable nearfall at 6:30. Krule got tables from under the ring and tossed them into the ring. He tossed each opponent through a table in the corner. Priest repeatedly hit Krule over the head with shards from the door. Kane hit a T-Bone suplex on Priest, then a release suplex. He hit a German Suplex on Krule at 11:30, then an Angle Slam. Kane hit a chokeslam! However, Krule popped to his feet. Priest hit a top-rope frogsplash onto Krule.
Krule hit a double suplex. Kane and Priest traded short-arm clotheslines at 16:00. Priest nailed a second-rope DDT on Kane. Priest hit a low blow, then a DDT on Krule for a nearfall. Kane jumped back into the ring and applied a rear-naked choke on Priest on the mat, right next to a knocked-out Krule. Krule hit a clothesline on Priest. Kane hit a spear on Krule, sending him to the floor. Kane immediately jumped on Priest for the cover! New champion!
Final Thoughts: A thoroughly entertaining show. There was nothing ‘must-see’ but I enjoyed it. The main event was a very good brawl and there definitely was some mystery over who would emerge as winner. It was very good. I’ve seen some fan reaction who are calling it Action’s “Match of the Year.” Again, I thought it was very good, but I wouldn’t call it “great” either, but that speaks to personal preferences, and I’m not a big fan of hardcore stuff. I’ll go with Diego-Hale for second place, ahead of Bojack-Luke for third place.
Again, I generally don’t like intergender matches, especially when the man is so much bigger than the woman. It’s not believable when she is able to stand toe-to-toe with him, nor do I get pleasure from watching a man beat up a woman, even if it is a worked assault. Starkz is obviously a phenomenal talent, so why not put her in the ring against Ella Envy? That would have been far better than seeing her taken down by the lumbering bigger Makabe (regardless of the fact that she won.)
As for the four guys from the Northeast, yes they finished just 1-3 here … they headed to Tennessee for a show on Saturday, so at least they are getting at least two shows out of this lengthy road trip. Again, I have no idea if they did the drive together, but that would be the obvious scenario. Regardless… they went 900 miles and more than 13 hours each way to entertain fans and become better wrestlers, and I think that’s pretty cool.
Be the first to comment