By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
Scenic City Invitational (night two)
July 18, 2026, in Red Bank, Tennessee, at TWE Arena
Streamed live on IndependentWrestling.TV
Scott Hensley, Rob Weathers, and Jaden Newman provided commentary. This is the dark building that looks like an underground military bunker. The ring is pushed up against one wall.
* Friday’s event featured eight first-round matches. Tonight, we have four second-round matches and a four-way finale. I don’t know if the finale is an elimination match. Obviously, we’ll have some non-tournament matches, too. I had not seen anything announced yet.
1. Kenzie Paige vs. Joseph “A-Game” Alexander in a second-round tournament match. Kenzie was the only woman of the three female participants to reach the second round. They locked up, and of course, A-Game has a big height and overall size advantage, and he flipped her to the mat. Kenzie snapped his arm over her shoulder. She clocked him with a forearm to his jaw at 2:00! She hit another one! He picked her up and ran her backwards into the corner, hit some punches, then a hip-toss.
A-Game hit some punches to the ribs. The volume on commentary was going up and down. A-Game hit a spin kick to her ear. Kenzie tied him in a crossface, but he got up and dropped her throat-first on the top rope, and he got a nearfall at 4:00. Kenzie got a Crucifix Driver for a nearfall. A-Game countered with a jumping knee to her chin. She hit a chop, so he hit a superkick. She clotheslined A-Game to the floor, then dropkicked him off the apron, and she dove through the ropes onto A-Game at 6:00!
Back in the ring, she hit a superkick, but he hit a clothesline, and they were both down. They traded chops on the ring apron. He removed his shoulder brace, but she kicked him back into the ring. A-Game hit a top-rope superplex. He hit a fisherman’s buster for a nearfall at 8:00. Kenzie got an inside cradle for a nearfall. A-Game hit a Go To Sleep and his running knee to her sternum for a believable nearfall; I thought that was it!
Kenzie pulled ref Gina into the middle. She hit two consecutive stunners for a believable nearfall at 10:00! They got up and traded strikes. Kenzie hit a Code Red for a nearfall, and they traded rollups. A-Game blocked another stunner, and he hit a Dragon Suplex, then another running knee to her sternum for the pin. That was pretty entertaining.
Joseph “A-Game” Alexander defeated Kenzie Paige at 12:09 to advance to the finals.
2. London Lightning vs. Isaiah Broner in a second-round tournament match. Loud boos for London. Broner has the size advantage. A feeling-out process early on, and Lightning was playing some games on declining to tie up. Broner hit a LOUD chop at 1:30, and that popped the crowd! Broner hit a few more chops. London went to the floor, but Broner followed and hit more chops! London wrapped Broner’s knee around the ring post at 4:00 and twisted it. They got back in the ring, and London hit some forearm strikes.
Lightning hit a chop block and targeted the left leg. Broner hit a Black Hole Slam, then a twisting uranage for a nearfall at 6:30. London shoved Broner into the ref in the corner. London got a chair and struck Broner across the back, but Isaiah basically no-sold it. London tossed Broner the chair and was going for an ‘Eddie spot,’ but the ref didn’t see it. So, London hit another chop block. However, Broner hit a powerbomb, then a decapitating clothesline for the pin.
Isaiah Broner defeated London Lightning at 8:35 to advance to the finals.
3. Big Dave Weaver vs. Effy in a second-round tournament match. I figure Dave is the tournament favorite. An intense lockup, and Dave is perhaps two or three inches taller. Effy hit some punches to the ribs. They traded chops. They fought to the floor, where Dave hit a Cactus Elbow Drop. In the ring, Effy tied him in a Tarantula at 3:30. Dave hit a slingshot shoulder tackle. He stomped on Effy in the corner. Effy hit a Northern Lights Suplex, then his Earthquake butt drop to the chest at 5:00. He hit a second one.
Dave clocked him with a clothesline. They hit stereo Mafia Kicks and were both down. Effy hit a buttbump and a Blockbuster at 7:00. He hit three Helluva Kicks, but Dave hit a powerbomb and a piledriver for a nearfall. Effy hit a spear! He hit a Stomp for a nearfall at 9:00. Dave hit a swinging sideslam for a nearfall. Effy hit his leaping fame-asser. However, Dave nailed another stiff clothesline for the pin. That was really good.
Big Dave Weaver defeated Effy at 10:47 to advance to the finals.
4. Shimbashi vs. “The Wall” Tyler Stevens in a second-round tournament match. Again, Stevens is a lot like Big Cass but not quite as tall. Shimbashi hit a chop. He hit a big senton at 1:30, then a guillotine leg drop. Stevens hit a swinging sideslam for a nearfall. He backed Shimbashi into a corner and hit a chop. He hit a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall at 5:00, and he was in charge. Shimbashi flipped Stevens to the floor, but Stevens tripped him on the apron. Shimbashi hit a rolling cannonball from the apron to the floor. This crowd was hot and split!
In the ring, Shimbashi hit a Lungblower to the back. He hit a discus clothesline, but Stevens dropped him with a headbutt. Shimbashi tied him in a Boston Crab at 7:30! He stomped on Stevens’ back. Stevens caught him and hit a sit-out Choke Bomb for a nearfall. Shimbashi hit a Flatliner, then a top-rope elbow drop at 9:00, but only got a one-count. He hit a second top-rope elbow drop and got a two count. He hit three more and got a nearfall! However, Stevens applied a front guillotine choke, and Shimbashi tapped out! (Stevens won with that hold Friday as well.)
“The Wall” Tyler Stevens defeated Shimbashi at 10:23 to advance.
5. Davina Thorne, Ravenna Thorne, and Kelsey Raegan vs. Anakin Murphy, Dimitri Alexandrov, and Poon-Dawg. Ravenna showed off the medal she won earlier in the day by winning the Action Futures Showcase. “Poon-Dawg” (Tank under a mask!) came out to Katy Perry’s “Hot & Cold” and had the whole crowd dancing. Silliness. Needless to say, Tank weighs twice what some of these women do. Thorne and Murphy opened; the commentators noted that these two are dating. They traded hard chops!
Thorne hit a German Suplex on Murphy. He dropped her with a punch to the jaw. Vein entered at 1:30, so Tank got in. He pulled out two sticks and made a cross and shouted that she’s “an evil bitch.” Vein slapped him. The women took turns hitting back elbows in the corner on Tank. Kelsey hit a tornado DDT on Dimitri at 3:30. Dimitri hit a chokeslam on Kelsey. The guys began working over Raegan in their corner. She went for a low blow, but Dimitri blocked it. She hit a missile dropkick. Murphy and Vein tagged in at 5:30, and Ravenna hit a bulldog.
Thorne made a blind tag and hit a Lungblower on Murphy, then a bodyslam for a nearfall. (She is intentionally shrill, yelling often.) Ravenna hit a Gory Bomb on Murphy. Dimitri hit a fisherman’s buster. Tank gave Ravenna a swat on the butt. Davina hit a stunner on Murphy, but Anakin hit a running knee to the back of her head! Kelsey and Ravenna worked over Murphy. Davina got in their way, so they tossed teammate Thorne to the floor! Vein hit a spear on Murphy! Vein and Raegan covered Murphy for the pin! Fun match.
Davina Thorne, Ravenna Thorne, and Kelsey Raegan defeated Anakin Murphy, Dimitri Alexandrov, and Poon-Dawg at 8:38.
* The women all took turns beating up Tank. Everyone left but Tank. They again played “Hot & Cold,” and he got up and danced. Good humor.
6. Oldman Youngboy vs. Kasey Owens. Like Ravenna Vein, Youngboy wore his medal from winning the Future’s Showcase. A feeling-out process and they tied up on the mat. They agreed to let go of grapevined legs — and they actually separated! The crowd applauded the sportsmanship. Owens kept him tied up on the mat. Youngboy hit a snap suplex at 5:00. Owens locked in a Crossface Chickenwing, and Youngboy tapped out. Solid mat-based action.
Kasey Owens defeated Oldman Youngboy at 5:52.
* The SCI next year will be July 15-16-17, 2027. Jack Solomon joined Rob Weathers in the booth. Weathers said he has no idea who is in this next match!
7. JAC vs. Shean Christopher vs. Clara Carter vs. Tyler Franks vs. The OXP vs. Jamesen Shook (w/Dylan Hales) in a scramble. The winner will be a guaranteed entrant in the 2027 SCI! JAC is really tall and strong; he might be 6’5″. I wrote their names in order of entrance. Shean dove onto Jamesen, and we’re underway! The massive JAC hit a Gorilla Press on Clara, tossing her onto the other four on the floor! JAC hit his Sheamus-style blows to Shook’s chest.
Back in the ring, everyone tried to gang up on JAC, but he kept shrugging them off. Hales jumped in the ring and hit JAC with his loaded backpack. OXP hit a standing corkscrew press. Franks hit a dropkick on OXP at 3:00, then a Saito Suplex. Clara hit a DVD for a nearfall. Shook hit a powerbomb on Clara for a nearfall. JAC hit an Exploder Suplex on Shook.
JAC hit some splashes in the corners on different opponents. Clara hit a low-blow uppercut on JAC! Shean hit a Shingo-style Made In Japan. Shean and Shook brawled on the floor. OXP hit a tornado DDT on Franks. Clara hit a spear on OXP. Clara hit a package piledriver on Franks for the pin! I didn’t expect that!
Clara Carter defeated JAC, Shean Christopher, Tyler Franks, The OXP and Jamesen Shook at 6:48 to earn a spot in the 2027 SCI.
* A short intermission at 8:17 CST as they set up for a hall of fame. It was short! We’re back at 8:26! They had a really classy, well-done remembrance for Jimmy Rave, including a video showing his early career, plus footage from his ROH run, including glimpses of him fighting CM Punk, Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson. They also showed some brief TNA footage, and also, him winning the inaugural SCI tournament. Sal Rinauro eulogized Rave. (Both of them were in the 2004 IWA Mid-South Ted Petty Invitational I attended in northwest Indiana.) Rave died from an MRSA infection, just days after his 39th birthday in 2021; hard to believe that’s almost five years ago.
* Retired wrestler Shaun Tempers was also honored and inducted into their hall of fame. They showed clips of his career, and he certainly had a Kurt Angle look in his career. They honored other people as well. If I had known this was going to go so long, I would have skipped it and watched the tournament finale when it got posted. We got introductions for the main event at 9:09 p.m.!
8. Joseph “A-Game” Alexander vs. “The Wall” Tyler Stevens vs. Big Dave Weaver vs. Isaiah Broner in a four-way elimination match in the tournament finale. The three biggest guys all reached the finals! A-Game isn’t small, but he’s not the size of these other three! Dave came out last with a beer in one hand and a bullrope in the other! Lucha tags in this one, so we only have two in the ring at a time? Stevens and Dave opened with the other two on the apron. A-Game tagged himself in. (Why? It’s an elimination match! Stay on the apron!)
Broner knocked Dave down with a shoulder tackle. A-Game tagged in at 2:30 to fight Broner. A-Game hit some open-hand slaps on Stevens. Dave hit a belly-to-belly slam on A-Game for a nearfall at 4:30. Stevens and Big Dave traded chops, then they hit stereo chops on A-Game! Broner hit a double clothesline. A-Game hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Broner at 6:00. Broner hit a release suplex, tossing A-Game across the ring. Broner hit a powerbomb on A-Game, but he tweaked a leg — not sure if that’s a legit injury.
Dave and Broner traded forearm strikes. Broner hit a spear and pinned Dave at 10:04! That was my predicted winner! A-Game hit some punches to Broner’s ribs, but Isaiah clocked A-Game with a punch! A-Game hit an enzuigiri. Broner hit a Black Hole Slam on A-Game. Stevens jumped in and kicked Broner out of the ring. A-Game hit a Northern Lights Suplex on Stevens for a nearfall at 12:30. He hit a running knee in the corner. A-Game dove over the top rope onto both opponents.
A-Game shoved Wall back into the ring, and he hit a running knee to Stevens’ chest. Wall hit a Blue Thunder Bomb, but A-Game popped up and hit his running knee for a believable nearfall at 14:30! Wall hit a chokeslam for a nearfall. Wall applied a front guillotine choke, and A-Game passed out at 15:14! We’re down to two! They traded forearm strikes. Broner hit a spear! He nailed an F5 slam for a nearfall. Wall applied the front guillotine choke! The ref checked Broner, who powered out! Wall missed a splash in the corner; Broner immediately hit a clothesline for the pin!
Isaiah Broner defeated Joseph “A-Game” Alexander, “The Wall” Tyler Stevens, and Big Dave Weaver in a four-way elimination match to win the 2026 Scenic City Invitational tournament at 18:18.
* Jamesen Shook came to the ring and presented the three-foot-tall trophy to Broner, and they shook hands. Shook left. Broner cut a nice promo, saying this win shows he’s the best in the world.
Final Thoughts: A really fun two-day tournament. One of the little things I look for in a good tournament is how one match plays off of what will happen in the next one. Point being, Wall won his first two matches with that front guillotine choke, then he eliminated A-Game with it. So when he put it on Broner, the crowd POPPED, knowing that the move had been effective all tournament long, so it was an even bigger deal when Broner powered out of it.
I wrote on Twitter/X over the past two days that I expected it to come down to Broner and Big Dave, so this wasn’t exactly an upset victory, either. I’ll go A-Game vs. Kenzie for second — I didn’t think she would win, but when she hit two straight stunners late in the match, I was convinced she was pulling it out. Broner-Lightning takes third. The scramble deserves honorable mention.
The Hall of Fame ceremony was classy and well done. That said, I was only interested in the Jimmy Rave stuff, and I lost interest as the rest went on. The crowd seemed to enjoy all of it, though. I watched this live; it should be posted on IWTV at some point on Sunday.
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