By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Action Wrestling “Dead or Alive”
Replay available via Independentwrestling.tv
February 9, 2024 in Tyrone, Georgia at Roger Spencer Community Center
This is a suburb of Atlanta and Action Wrestling has held shows here before. The crowd is in the 200-250 range.
1. Matt Sells defeated Suge D at 5:16. Suge D is best known as “Pineapple Pete,” who irked Chris Jericho so much during pandemic-era tapings in Jacksonville. They immediately brawled to the floor. Sells is white in a black singlet; I have seen him a handful of times. Sells hit a palm thrust and scored the pin. Okay brawl.
2. Bobby Flaco defeated Dex Royal at 6:16. I just saw the slender, Black, Dex in Ohio last week and I’m a fan; he came out with his lip curled in a sneer so he’s going to be a heel tonight. Flaco is the short dork and I’m admittedly not a fan; he hit a missile dropkick to start the match. Dex hit a top-rope doublestomp on Flaco on the ring apron at 1:30. Flaco hit a top-rope dive to the floor on Dex. In the ring, Flaco came off the ropes but Dex caught him with a kneestrike. Flaco hit a top-rope stunner for the pin. Decent.
3. Adam Priest defeated TJ Crawford at 9:26. This should be really good. Crawford wrestled the night before in Massachusetts, so he either flew down or drove all night. Priest is the short gatekeeper I always compare to Jaime Noble. Standing switches and a feeling out process, and Priest snapped the left leg at 2:30. He hit a snap suplex and was in charge. Crawford hit a Mafia Kick but sold the pain in his leg. Priest hit a missile dropkick at 5:00, and he tied Crawford in a Figure Four. Crawford snapped Priest’s arm across the middle rope, and he began targeting it. He hit a roundhouse kick to Priest’s chest. Crawford missed a spin kick. Priest hit the damaged knee and nailed a piledriver for a believable nearfall at 8:30. Crawford hit a Dragon Suplex, but Priest popped up, hit a DDT, and scored the pin. Good match, but shorter than I would have expected.
* They announced Mustafa Ali will debut here on April 26.
4. Ella Envy (w/BK Westbrook) defeated Rachel Armstrong at 7:34. I always compare Rachel to pop singer Corrine Bailey Rae and she has competed all over the eastern half of the country in the past six months. The crowd loudly booed Ella, and she kissed BK, which got more boos. Ella dropped Rachel throat-first across the top-rope at 1:00, and Rachel collapsed to the floor. In the ring, Ella was in charge, and she hit a stiff kick to the spine and tied Rachel up on the mat. Ella hit a Helluva Kick at 6:00, then a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. Rachel got on offense, so BK hopped on the ring apron to distract her, and Rachel swung at him. It allowed Ella to get a rollup with her feet on the ropes (and BK held onto her foot for her) for the cheap pin.
5. Krule defeated Channing Thomas to retain the IWTV Title at 10:52. Krule, who just returned to MLW TV, had two title belts with him. Channing is the smarmy Robert Roode-meets-Joey Ryan heel from the Northeast. The bell rang and Channing immediately bailed to the floor and stalled. Channing got in and hit some punches but Krule no-sold them. Channing hit an enzuigiri with little effect. Krule hit some chops and a big hip-toss at 4:00. Channing hit a running kneestrike on Krule’s head against the ring post and he celebrated.
Channing hit some flying clotheslines in the ring but couldn’t knock Krule down. He hit a jumping knee for a nearfall at 8:00. Krule hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall. Channing hit a suplex for a nearfall and he jawed at the ref. Krule hit an Air Raid Crash, but Channing immediately rolled to the ropes. Out of nowhere, Adam Priest suddenly hit Krule with a chairshot. Channing pulled a weapon out of his trunks and hit Krule and got a nearfall at 10:30. Channing got a chair but Krule punched it onto Channing’s face, and he scored the pin. Priest jumped in the ring and kept beating up Krule.
6) “Out of This World” Arik Royal & BK Westbrook (w/Ella Envy) defeated “The Squatting Dragons” Erron Wade & Kody Manhorn at 9:41. I’m a big fan of OoTW. I always compare BK to a heel Adam Cole while Arik reminds me of NXT wrestler Odyssey Jones. Manhorn is really short and scrawny, while Wade is quite similar to Cameron Grimes. BK and Wade opened with standing switches. Wade hit a standing moonsault at 1:30. Royal entered and hit a bodyslam on Wade, then tossed BK onto Wade, and they worked Wade over in their corner. Wade was tossed to the floor at 6:30, where Ella stomped on him, too.
Manhorn made the hot tag and he hit some chops on BK; he’s barely bigger than Marko Stunt and I just don’t buy his offense. He hit some headbutts on Royal and got a nearfall at 8:30. Wade went to the top rope but BK distracted him. Royal hit a leaping clothesline to pin Wade. Standard tag match. I already liked OoTW and Ella joining them at ringside is such an obvious good choice. They kept beating up Manhorn and Wade after the match. Rachel Armstrong ran in for the save and she hit a Sliced Bread on BK Westbrook.
7. Landon Hale defeated Terry Yaki at 10:19. Yaki is Black with a streak of light brown hair and he’s competed recently in Japan. Hale is a regular in Massachusetts-based Wrestling Open. They shook hands (babyface matchup!) and started with some standing switches. They sped it up and had a standoff and got a nice pop from the crowd. Hale hit a dropkick for a nearfall at 2:00. He hit a suplex and Terry sold pain in his lower back. Hale hit a 619 and a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall at 5:30. Hale hit a top-rope Spanish Fly for a nearfall.
Yaki got a crucifix for a nearfall, then a top-rope flying kick that sent Hale to the floor. Yaki hit a flip dive to the floor at 8:00. This has been really good. In the ring, Yaki hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. They traded rollups. Hale hit a jumping knee to the sternum; Yaki fired back with an enzuigiri at 10:00. However, Hale got an inside cradle for the clean pin. Easily best of the night, and the crowd chanted “Both these guys!” One commentator said he wants a “best of seven” series. They shook hands.
8. Alex Kane defeated 1 Called Manders to retain the Action Championship at 10:08. This should be hard-hitting. Kane had a small entourage of 4-5 people. Manders immediately clubbed and dropped Kane at the bell, and he hit some loud chops in the corner. They fought to the floor and Suge D pulled Kane off of Manders’ shoulders. In the ring, Kane hit a Pounce on Manders at 1:00. Kane began kicking and stomping Manders, and he shoved him shoulder-first into the corner. Manders hit a spear to the kidneys, then a Doctor Bomb for a nearfall at 4:30.
Kane hit a back suplex and a running splash for a nearfall. Manders hit a brainbuster and they were both down at 6:30; Kane rolled to the floor. Manders hit a dive through the ropes onto Kane! In the ring, Kane hit a twisting suplex and they were both down. Manders accidentally bumped the ref! Kane immediately hit a German Suplex, but Manders popped up and hit a hard clothesline for a visual pin at 9:00 but we had no referee. Suge D hopped in the ring but Manders nailed a clothesline to drop him. Kane hit Manders with his title belt; the ref woke up, and made the pin. The crowd groaned at the outcome.
Final Thoughts: Hale-Yaki earns best match of the night, ahead of Priest-Crawford, and the main event takes third. A solid show; certainly nothing must see but those top three matches are all solid. Ella Envy is a great heat magnet and she carried her match and the men’s tag match, too. My first time seeing Dex Royal as a heel and he was like a completely different man.
I want to reiterate that Hale, Channing Thomas and TJ Crawford are regulars in the Northeast wrestling scene. I believe Manders now lives in the Northeast as well. So as I noted, they either flew down, or in all likelihood, drove all night to make this show. Google Maps says Worcester, Mass., to Tyrone, Ga., is roughly 17-and-a-half hour drive. I admire their dedication.
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