By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Scenic City Invitational (night two)
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
July 13, 2024 in Red Bank, Tennessee at TWE Arena
This show features four second-round tournament matches and the four-way finale. Sound is MUCH better than a day ago. The building is again packed with maybe 250 fans.
1. Cody Manhorn won a scramble at 8:15. No on-screen graphics for the participants here, and the commentary team showed little interest in saying their names, but I’ve seen a few of them before. Jameson Shook hit a Fosbury Flop to the floor. Brayden Toon hit an Asai Moonsault onto everyone. The scrawny Hunter Drake hit his Code Red on Brayden for a nearfall. Brayden hit a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. The undersized Cody Manhorn hit a Death Valley Driver on Drake for the pin, and will automatically get a spot in next year’s tournament. Merely okay. The other two men in this match were Big Dave and Nick Iggy; I didn’t know them.
2. Rico Gonzalez defeated Paul London in a second-round match at 8:36. London sang himself to the ring again, then he attacked Rico. They brawled on the floor. London got a bag of garbage and hit Rico with it as they continued to fight on the floor. London stayed in charge as they re-entered the ring. London got crotched in the corner at 6:30. Rico hit a basement dropkick in the corner. Paul got a rollup and grabbed the ropes for leverage (which is how he won his first-round match!) However, Rico got his own rollup for the pin! Okay match.
3. Adam Priest defeated 1 Called Manders in a second-round match at 10:09. Manders has a significant height and overall size advantage. Priest’s match was shockingly short a day ago. Manders set up for a punch but Priest rolled to the floor at 1:30. Priest hit a dropkick. Manders suplexed him from the apron into the ring for a nearfall at 5:30. Priest hit a piledriver for a nearfall. He suplexed them both over the ropes and to the floor. Manders hit a clothesline but he also struck a metal pole at 7:00, and they were both down on the floor.
In the ring, Manders hit a Bulldog Powerslam, then a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 8:30. Priest hit a second-round swinging DDT for a believable nearfall; I thought that was it. Manders hit a hard clothesline. Priest got a Crucifix Driver for the clean pin! The reigning SCI champion has been eliminated. A very good match, easily best of the tournament so far.
4. Matt Makowski defeated Darian Bengston in a second-round match at 8:36. Makowski returned from his ACL injury and has really excelled this year. Standing switches and a feeling-out process; I’m doubtful that they have wrestled before. Matt tied up the left arm and he applied a crossface on the mat at 4:00. He switched to a Cattle Mutilation. Darian hit a German Suplex. Matt hit a spear and they were both down at 6:00. Matt put Darian on his shoulders, and as he flipped him to the mat, he locked in a crossarm breaker. Bengston put Matt on the top rope and hit a swinging faceplant to the mat at 7:30. They fought on the top rope, and Matt applied a cross-armbreaker as they landed on the mat, and Bengston immediately tapped out. A sharp, sharp match.
5. Tank defeated Channing Thomas (w/Sidney Bakabella) in a second-round match at 7:27. Again, Tank is in his mid-50s and perhaps 350 pounds; I first saw him wrestle live in 2004. Channing stalled in the rope and whispered to Sidney. Tank clotheslined him to the floor at 3:30. Sidney distracted Tank, allowing Channing to attack from behind, and he stomped on the big man. He hit an enzuigiri for a nearfall at 6:00. Tank hit a back suplex. Tank got a backslide out of nowhere for the pin!
* Channing charged at Tank after the bell, but Tank hit a chokeslam over his knee. Tank hit Sidney, too, and Bascabella stayed down on the mat for minutes. Rachel Armstrong came to the ring and hit a 450 Splash on the prone Bascabella. (This is revenge for Sidney’s interference in Rachel’s first-round match.) In a funny moment, the in-ring announcer listed all the upcoming events while Sidney was still knocked out on the mat near his feet.
* I have no idea what other matches are to come, other than the four-way finale. It turns out that seven of the eight first-round losers are in action. Only Jaden Newman didn’t have a day-two match among the first-round losers.
6. Suge D, Kasey Owens, and “The Wall” Tyler Stevens defeated Rachel Armstrong, Landon Hale, and Rob Killjoy at 11:53. As the name implies Stevens is perhaps 6’5″ or so; he really stands out. Hale and Suge D opened. Killjoy (again, think ‘Duck Dynasty’) battled the rotund Kasey. Rachel sat on Landon’s shoulders so she could do a test of strength with The Wall at 4:30 and this was a bit of comedy. The heels began working over Landon. Suge D and Killjoy hit simultaneous crossbody blocks at 7:30. Hale hit a Lethal Injection, and he tossed Kasey onto Suge D.
Rachel got a hot tag and stood toe-toe-toe with Wall; he of course completely no-sold her blows, but she low-bridged him over the top rope to the floor. Hale hit a stunner on Suge D. Wall chokeslammed Killjoy at 11:00. We once again had Wall vs. Rachel, and he set up for a powerbomb, but she again was able to flip him to the floor. Suge D hit a running headbutt on Hale for the pin. Fun match.
7. TJ Crawford defeated Anakin Murphy at 6:46. Murphy is the emo kid with the skinniest arms I’ve ever seen on a pro wrestler; I’ve seen him a few times before. They brawled to the floor in the first minute; Anakin let a fan hold TJ’s arms so Anakin could kick TJ in the face. In the ring, TJ stomped on Anakin and took control. Anakin hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 5:30. TJ got a rollup and grabbed the ropes for leverage, but the ref saw it. TJ popped up Anakin and hit a punt kick to his back and scored the pin. Decent; the right man won.
8. Erron Wade defeated Mad Dog Connelly via countout at 6:12. Wade wore his karate outfit. Connelly is similar in looks but a bit thicker, and he shoved Wade to the mat. He hit a gutwrench suplex at 1:00. Wade hit a spin kick to the jaw. Wade hit a backbody drop on the ring apron, and Connelly collapsed to the floor at 6:00. The ref counted him out! “Are you kidding me?” a commentator said. So underwhelming I can’t wrap my head around it. They kept brawling afterward and Connelly challenged him to a dog collar match in September. Connelly’s inability to get back into the ring before being counted out made him look really weak here.
9. Adam Priest defeated Tank, Matt Makowski, and Rico Gonzalez in an elimination match to win the Scenic City Invitational at 17:25. Tank came out third; Priest was last and he attacked Tank with a chairshot to the back, and I started my stopwatch on first contact. Makowski and Rico opened with Matt on the ring apron. (I hate tag rules in an elimination match. What is the incentive to tag in? Tank can rest the whole match on the floor until only one person is left!) Matt got in and put Rico in a cross-armbreaker at 2:30. Rico hit a Lionsault on Matt for a nearfall. Priest hit a brainbuster on Rico for a nearfall at 4:30. Makowski hit back suplexes on Priest.
This feels like a three-way; it is absurd that Tank is still out of this match from one chairshot to the back. This feels like Vince winning a Royal Rumble when he was barely in the match! Rico hit a Pedigree on Priest at 7:30, but Adam wisely rolled to the floor to avoid being pinned. Matt hit a German Suplex on Rico for a nearfall. Matt hit a second-rope superplex on Rico, then a powerbomb, for a believable nearfall at 9:30, and he tried to lock in a cross-armbreaker, but Rico fought free. Matt locked in a Cattle Mutilation, and Rico tapped out at 10:34. Priest immediately hit a frogsplash onto Matt for a nearfall.
Priest hit a DDT on Makowski to pin him at 11:53. Tank FINALLY emerged from the back with a chair in hand and he cracked Priest over the head with the chair. He hit some punches on Adam and stood on his throat. Tank hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Priest hit a DDT for a nearfall. Tank hit a DDT for a nearfall. On the floor, Tank hit a back suplex through a board that was leaning against the ring at 16:00. Priest hit Tank over the head with door shards. In the ring, Priest hit a DDT onto a folded chair for the pin.
* Priest briefly celebrated with the trophy, but then he attacked others in the ring with it and hit another DDT and was loudly booed. Needless to say, the trophy shattered.
Final Thoughts: In my day-one report, I wondered why Tank reached the second round, as I truly feel that a tournament like this is for the young, rising stars, not the aging veterans. From a kayfabe standpoint, it makes no sense for Tank to not participate in the first 12 minutes of an 18-minute match. But in the end, the hot in-ring technician won. If you had told me before the tournament began that Priest, Makowski and Gonzalez were among the finalists, I would not have been surprised, as they are all having good years and getting booked in lots of places.
Priest-Manders was match of the tournament, for either night. Makowski-Bengston was really good for second. Despite my objections to Tank barely being in the match, the finale takes third, as the other three guys put in a top-notch performance while Tank sat in the back. I want to repeat that the sound/overall production was far superior than Friday, when there were weird echos that made it so bad I eventually just turned the sound off.
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