By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Action Wrestling “Masquerade Mashup”
Replay available via Independentwrestling.tv
March 21, 2025 in Newnan, Georgia at Arnall Middle School
* The show opened with footage of Action champion Tim Bosby invading New South Wrestling in Alabama! (I reviewed this show already.) As far as invasion angles go, this was pretty good. It ended with the commentator shouting, “Go back to Georgia!” towards Bosby and the crowd chanting “New South!” We then saw a backstage vignette, where heel manager Dylan Hales said “we invaded your house and embarrassed you!”
* To the venue! We’re back in a middle school gym and WOW it is packed! This might be 600 fans here. The lighting from the hard camera is a bit darker than it should be. John Mosely and Dylan Hales provided commentary.
1. Jamesen Shook vs. Rob Killjoy vs. Danny Orion vs. Erron Wade vs. Joey Hyder in a scramble. Orion came here from the Texas indy scene and he’s a top-tier talent. I don’t know Hyder; he’s the only new face to me on this entire lineup. He is white with a good physique and with Ludvig Kaiser’s haircut and wore generic black trunks. Shook is the young redhead who makes me think of a young Sami Zayn and he’s a babyface here. Quick action at the bell. Wade hit a spin kick on Orion’s chest. Rob came off the ropes but Jamesen caught him with a kick to the chest at 2:00. Killjoy hit a German Suplex, then a flip dive to the floor. Orion hit a flip dive onto several guys on the floor, and Jamesen hit a Fosbury Flop to the floor onto everyone at 3:30.
In the ring, Jamesen and Killjoy traded slops. (Dylan noted that “every time I look up, another 20 people have walked in.” It is a big crowd!) Hyder hit a double German Suplex. Hyder hit a Chaos Theory at 6:00. Wade hit a shotgun dropkick on Shook. Jamesen hit a swinging faceplant on Orion for a nearfall. Killjoy hit a somersault splash onto two guys. Jamesen hit a dive to the floor. Orion nailed a Poison Rana on Killjoy. Killjoy hit a slingshot powerbomb move for a nearfall at 8:30. Rob hit a Jay Driller! However, Wade snuck up behind Rob, got a Crucifix Rollup, and pinned Killjoy. Really good action.
Erron Wade defeated Jamesen Shook, Rob Killjoy, Danny Orion, and Joey Hyder in a scramble at 8:43.
2. Kaia McKenna vs. Big Booty Judy. I saw Judy for the first time in a Rumble match they had here last month. I’ve compared the tall Kai to Stacy Keibler’s build. They locked up; Judy still had her jacket on, and she is looking a lot like Jordynne Grace looks today. Kaia unloaded a series of chops at 1:30, and she hit a sideslam for a nearfall. BBJ hit a flying clothesline for a nearfall, and she finally peeled off the jacket and screamed at the crowd; yeah she’s muscular and that Grace comparison is pretty good. Kaia’s head hit the top of Judy’s head and that didn’t look good.
Judy hit a delayed vertical suplex for a nearfall at 4:30. Kaia hit a high back suplex for a nearfall; she checked her nose to make sure she wasn’t bleeding. Judy hit a headbutt and a powerslam for a nearfall. “Who’s the strongest?” Judy shouted at the crowd as she flexed. She put Kaia on her shoulders but Kaia escaped, and Kaia slammed her to the mat, got a jackknife cover, and the pin. I’ll try to be polite here and say my guess is that’s the first time they’ve worked together, and I guarantee a rematch will look much better than this one. Not sure how many matches BBJ has had — she has the right look but yeah, that was more clunky than I’m used to.
Kaia McKenna defeated Big Booty Judy at 7:13.
3. Matt Sells vs. Shimbashi. Shimbashi is another Texas standout, so he presumably drove here with Orion. The bald babyface Sells comes out to Motley Crue’s “Wild Side” and he went into the bleachers to high-five the fans; the commentators joked about how Matt can’t drink a beer because they are in a school. A lockup and a feeling-out process early on. Sells hit a Thesz Press and some punches at 1:30, and he repeatedly slammed Shimbashi’s face into the mat. They went to the floor, where Matt let a fan chop Shimbashi. Shimbashi crotched Sells around the ring post at 4:00 and took control. In the ring, Shimbashi stomped on him and kept Matt grounded. Sells tossed Shimbashi from the top turnbuckle to the mat at 6:30, and he hit a running neckbreaker. Sells hit a running Shotei palm strike and scored the pin. Solid.
Matt Sells defeated Shimbashi at 8:13.
4. Colby Corino vs. Paul Walter Hauser. I admittedly am not a fan of Hauser; he’s a bit too Sweaty Shane-O-Mac to me, as he’s willing to take big bumps but he also no-sells too many moves and spots that would put away anyone else. Hauser wore a black singlet and looked like a bowling ball. Corino got on the mic and told the fans to be quiet so he could speak. “I’ve had more years in this business than you’ve had matches,” Corino said to Hauser. Corino hit some armdrags, then a dropkick, and he locked in a sleeper on the mat. Hauser hit a bodyslam, then a Russian Leg Sweep and a Kokeshi for a nearfall at 2:00. They brawled to the floor, but Hauser accidentally chopped the ring post, and Corino immediately slammed the damaged hand onto the ring apron.
They brawled into the crowd. Back in the ring, Corino hit a bodyslam and a top-rope kneedrop to the forehead for a nearfall at 4:00 and he took control. Corino missed an inverted senton. Hauser hit his own senton at 6:00 and he hit a gutbuster over his knee. Corino put Hauser on his shoulders and slammed him to the mat for a nearfall. Hauser hit a second-rope butterfly suplex at 8:30, then a hammerlock DDT for the pin! Decent match; Corino made him look good. (This one didn’t offend me like some of Hauser’s MLW matches, where he has kicked out after some huge moves that would pin just about anyone else.)
Paul Walter Hauser defeated Colby Corino at 8:44.
5. Sean Legacy vs. Jackson Drake. Two WWE ID prospects collide! Legacy has been on Evolve a few times now; Drake has yet to debut. Good reversals early on and Sean hit a dropkick at 1:30. Jackson nailed a powerslam for a nearfall, and he hit a stiff kick to the spine. Sean hit a swinging powerbomb move for a nearfall at 5:30. He hit his twisting suplex for the pin. Good for the time given. WWE really seems to want these ID matches to fit into a short timeframe and stay on-point.
Sean Legacy defeated Jackson Drake at 6:27.
6. “Top Team” Jay Lucas and Terry Yaki vs. Darian Bengston and Adam Priest. I recall Bengston was injured the last time I checked in on a show he was slated to be on, so glad he’s back. (Bengston had a standout ROH match against Australian star Robbie Eagles a few months ago.) Weird to see Priest as a babyface; he’s such a good heel wherever he goes. The commentators just said this is Bengston’s first match since Dec. 7 due to that injury. Priest opened against Yaki (I’ve said this several times recently, but Terry cut off his hair and he’s barely recognizable now) and they fought on the mat with Yaki locking in a headlock.
Bengston and Lucas got in at 3:00 and traded more reversals on the mat. Yaki and Lucas hit a team suplex on Priest for a nearfall, and they kept Adam in their corner. (They aren’t heels either, even though they are working over Priest.) Lucas accidentally kicked Yaki, and Bengston got a hot tag at 6:30. Darian hit a top-rope corkscrew slam onto a standing Lucas, and they were both down. Yaki hit a cool Canadian Destroyer out of the ropes on Priest at 9:00. Cool spot.
Top Team hit a Doomsday Device on Priest for a believable nearfall. Priest hit a DDT on Lucas for a nearfall, but Yaki made the save. Lucas hit a Shellshock on Bengston. Priest and Darian had rollups for nearfalls. Priest hit an assisted DDT on Lucas for the pin. That was really good; they didn’t quite land one exchange late in the match, but that was easily best of the show so far.
Darian Bengston and Adam Priest defeated Jay Lucas and Terry Yaki at 12:03.
* Okay, since the show opened with footage of Tim Bosby invading New South last week… we got to have a New South invasion in our main event, right? Heel manager Dylan Hales (again, he’s been on commentary almost the whole show) stood up and introduced his man!
7. Tim Bosby (w/Dylan Hales) vs. Bobby Flaco for the Action Wrestling Title. Flaco is quite popular, but to me, he’s a short, under-sized bald dork, so I’m hoping Bosby mauls him. Again, Bosby makes me think of Jason Jordan; he clearly has some level of amateur wrestling background. The scrawny Flaco hit several dropkicks to open, and Bosby rolled to the floor to regroup, so Flaco hit a baseball slide dropkick to the floor. In the ring, Bosby hit a backbreaker over his knee and took control. He whipped Flaco into a corner at 1:30, and Flaco fell to the floor. In the ring, Dylan choked Flaco in the ropes. Bosby stretched Flaco in a Gory Special at 4:00. Bosby hit a top-rope doublestomp. Hales jumped in the ring and attacked Flaco, causing the DQ. Lame finish. Ugh.
Bobby Flaco defeated Timothy Bosby via DQ at 5:21; Bosby retained the Action Title.
* They continued to beat on Flaco. Dylan accidentally hit Bosby, knocking him to the floor. Flaco then hit Dylan.
Final Thoughts: A good show until the main event. Okay, opening the show with Hales boasting about the attack in New South Wrestling… yeah I would have bet money we saw someone from New South show up here. It didn’t happen. Instead, you had the scrawny Flaco in a subpar main event that didn’t give Bosby the chance to show off why I’ve raved about him lately.
Luckily, Bengston and Priest vs. Lucas and Yaki was really, really good. Again, they had a slightly awkward exchange near the end, but overall it was really good — it was light years better than anything else on this show. That was a fun show-opening scramble with some really good talent there, and that takes second. I had high hopes for the ID match; it was good but didn’t meet my expectations, either. It still takes third. This was a good crowd, and this was much better than the last show, which had a Rumble with too many barely-trained wrestlers. In comparison, this one only had one guy I didn’t know. Check out the top three year; it’s okay to skip the rest. But I will add that Corino got a good match out of Hauser, much better than his PWH’s recent MLW matches.
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