Arik Royal’s got a big challenge on his hands as he defends the ACTION title against Logan Creed.
Quick Results
Takuri & King Garuda pinned Eric Taylor & Mikey Montgomery in 8:30 (**¼)
Robert Martyr submitted Brogan Finlay in 9:28 (**¾)
Brett Ison pinned Noah Hossman in 3:40 (**)
Alex Kane pinned Graham Bell in 15:08 (***¼)
Orion Bishop pinned Arthur McArthur in 6:27 (**¾)
Cabana Man Dan pinned Jaden Newman in 6:53 (***)
Eli Knight & Malik Bosede pinned Rob Killjoy & Bobby Flavo in 10:37 (***)
Kevin Ryan pinned Damyan Tangra in 9:08 (***)
Adam Priest pinned AC Mack in 7:41 (***)
Arik Royal and Logan Creed went to a no contest in 15:04 – Royal retains the ACTION Championship (***)
We’re live on tape from the Roger Spencer Community Center in Tyrone… which is looking a little fuller than last time, with a new ring apron and canvas.
No Mas (King Garuda & Takuri) vs. The Bitcoin Boyz (Eric Taylor & Mikey Montgomery)
Garuda and Takuri have a tag team name now, which helps as they’ve tagged together here regularly.
Takuri and Montgomery start, with an early ‘rana and a chop having Montgomery diving into his corner for a tag out. Garuda’s in too, but he’s held in the ropes and kicked by Montgomery into a German suplex ahead of some mudhole stomping and some double-teaming behind the ref’s back.
The Bitcoin Boyz work well together, with a standing moonsault from Montgomery landing for a tow-count as they kept Garuda away from a tag. Eventually Garuda fought free, floating out of a german suplex before tagging in Takuri, who blitzed through the Bitcoin Boyz ahead of a Falcon arrow for a near-fall.
Garuda’s back as the Boyz powdered outside… they take a pair of topes, before an overhead kick from Garuda took Montgomery down. Taylor’s in to take a release Fisherman suplex, before Montgomery got F5’d onto his own man for a near-fall. More double-teaming from the Bitcoin Boyz lead to a stunner from Montgomery, then a Gory Bomb/facebuster for a two-count on Garuda, before an elevated flying DDT on Takuri looked to give the lads the upper hand.
Montgomery and Taylor looked to combine for a back body drop-assisted flip stunner, but Taylor couldn’t quite grab Garuda, who ended up spiking Montgomery with a headlock driver, before Angel’s Wings and a frog splash gets the win. This was a perfectly fine opener – while some things didn’t quite go to plan, this was a good, pacey match to get the crowd going. **¼
Matt Griffin’s introduced next to make an announcement… or rather, a reveal, with a pair of velvet bags. Those usually mean one thing outside of a wrestling match, and I don’t think it’s thumb tacks. They reveal the new ACTION tag team titles, which’ll be contested in a tournament that’ll start on their August show. For once, Matt’s not attacked!
Futures Showcase Tournament 2021 Qualifier: Robert Martyr vs. Brogan Finlay
The winner of this got the last spot in next month’s Scenic City Invitational Futures tournament. Finlay’s brought out a copy of today’s show poster with his picture all over it.
We’ve a measured start with some grappling early on that didn’t draw any clear advantage. Martyr grabs a chinbar, and a handful of hair on Finlay as he looked for a chicken wing… but Finlay breaks out with a side headlock. Martyr gets one of his own as he rolled Finlay to the mat, before both men came back up swinging.
Finlay grabs a nerve hold before he raked at Martyr, taking things to the outside as they scrapped into the crowd. Martyr gets charged into the ring post, before he got shoved to the floor as Finlay just wouldn’t let him in the ring. Some crossface punches in the ropes just anger Martyr, who gets his eyes raked before he turned things around.
A suplex onto the apron allowed Martyr to take Finlay into the ring post, wrapping his leg around it. Finlay sneaks out, but Martyr stays on the leg… until he missed a double knee drop. Martyr manages to throw a knee strike before tripping Finlay into a STF. The ropes save Finlay, who eventually returned fire with a diving uppercut before taking Martyr down in the corner… but Finlay took too long in the ropes and gets pulled down into a half crab. Martyr loses grip, but reapplies the hold as Finlay’s forced to tap out. This was a fine little scrap, with both men really making this feel like a fight at time. There’s still polishing to be done, but both Martyr and Finlay have a lot of potential in them. **¾
Brett Ison vs. Noah Hossman
What a fantastic wrestling name that is, eh?
Hossman’s rocking the collegiate wrestler music and gimmick. He charges Ison at the bell, but got taken outside for a chop by the ring post. Ison misses a third one, hitting the ring post, as Hossman charged him into the apron, and was able to maintain the advantage back in the ring.
Ison’s trapped in the corner with some boots, then got taken down with a gutwrench suplex for a two-count… but Hossman stops to mug to the camera, and that’s enough time for Ison to get back to his feet. They trade strikes, until a discus forearm from Ison dropped Noah. A back suplex followed for a near-fall, before Ison rolled through a sunset flip to score the pin. This was a lot more keenly-thought that I expected, with Hossman more than holding his own despite the brief loss. **
Graham Bell vs. Alex Kane
Before the match, Bell guaranteed that Kane wouldn’t be able to suplex him. We’ll see about that…
The pair butted heads before the bell, with Bell avoiding a suplex early on as he swung and missed at Kane. A forearm from Kane knocked him on his rear, before a German suplex attempt ended in the ropes, then with an elbow to the jaw as Kane looked to wear down the mercenary. Bell and Kane trade chops and kicks, but Kane just kicks Bell’s leg out of his leg before a back suplex was floated out of.
Bell misses a dropkick, so Kane looks for an ankle lock… he’s pushed to the outside, and kept there with a low dropkick. They make it back inside as Bell threw a kick for a one-count, before Bell’s splash was caught as Kane again looked for a suplex. A guillotine choke sees Bell roll Kane to the mat for a one-count, before Kane caught a kick and rolled Bell back into the ankle lock.
The ropes save Bell there, as he then slipped out of another suplex and returned with an enziguiri to take Kane down. A tope from Bell’s caught as Kane teases a suplex into the crowd… then into the ring post… they’re both escaped as Bell ends up taking a belly-to-belly into the ring post.
Kane returns to the ring to hit a second suplex – this time in the form of a German suplex – then a capture Exploder. A stalling suplex followed from Kane, then another, before Bell kicked cane into the corner for a cannonball. It’s caught, as Kane manages to come back with an Angle Slam for a near-fall before an ankle lock was eventually rolled away from.
Bell manages to pick up Kane for a F5 as he staggered out of the corner, before Bell went up for a flying back elbow off the top, but Kane kicks out just in time. Kawada-ish kicks follow from Bell, who’s then lifted into a death valley driver in the corner ahead of an inverted T-bone suplex. A German suplex followed for a two-count, before Bell countered the Mark of Kane into a crossface.
Kane holds on as Bell tried to roll the crossface back into the middle of the ring, but eventually he’s sent back with Bell… then powered his way into the corner to break the hold. Punches and chops from Bell follow in the corner as he followed with a hip attack and a cannonball, then a kick for a two-count, before it’s back to the Kawada kicks.
An X-Plex from Kane stops all that, as he then took Bell up top… Kane’s shoved down, but gets back up to throw Bell down with an avalanche Mark of Kane for the win. This told a good story, with Bell desperate to avoid suplexes, but much like that can of Pringles, once Kane popped one, he just couldn’t stop. ***¼
Arthur McArthur vs. Orion Bishop
Bishop’s looking to get back on track after losing to Alex Kane last time out…
McArthur looks for a posedown to start, ducking Bishop before offering a Test of Strength. It’s faked out as McArthur kicks Bishop in the gut, before an attempt at a head claw ended with Bishop powering free. A knee strike from Bishop misses, allowing McArthur to grab that head claw… which Bishop broke free of with an Exploder suplex.
Bishop followed McArthur outside, but got posted as McArthur looked to stay on the veteran with some stomps to the hand. Bishop slips out of a slam and manages to return with a Doctor bomb for a two-count. From there, Bishop heads up for a Vader Bomb, but McArthur rolled away and returned with a European uppercut.
McArthur picks up Bishop for a backpack stunner, which nearly gets the job done, only to get caught in a tiltawhirl Fire Thunder Driver as Bishop snuffed him out. Brief, but it worked as McArthur’s old-timey strong man gimmick nearly did the trick. **¾
Jaden Newman vs. Cabana Man Dan
While he’s healing up, Matt Sells is back as a ring announcer – and to make life hell for Jaden Newman again.
Newman distracts himself at the bell, and nearly lost in seconds to a backslide as Dan came out strong, taking down Newman with some hiptosses and armdrags ahead of shoulder charges in the corner. A floatover from Dan sees Newman lift him onto the apron, then boot him to the floor before Newman grabbed a mic.
Newman does the commentate-while-he-wrestles shtick, cracking Dan with another head kick before he choked Dan by the ropes. A back suplex gets Newman a two-count, as did a clothesline, before Dan hit a jawbreaker and a crossbody out of the corner. Finally, Newman ditched the mic as he pushed away a Shiranui… then came in with a knee strike for a two-count.
Heading up top, Newman leaps over Dan… but got caught with uppercuts and some baseball slide headscissors on the outside. Back inside, Newman surprises Dan with the Kitchen Sink slam, almost getting the win right there, before he distracted himself with Sells one more time… allowing Dan to finish him off with a nice pop-up Code Red for the win. The picture-in-picture commentary in the corner was a bit of a distraction, but I guess the story was Newman/Sells – with Dan’s win seemingly incidental out of all of this. ***
Culture Inc. (Eli Knight & Malik Bosede) vs. Bobby Flaco & Rob Killjoy
It’s an ACTION debut for Culture Inc, as we start with Knight and Killjoy working wristlocks to start.
A side headlock from Knight has Killjoy down, before another wristlock was countered out of as the pair raced towards the double dropkick/kip-up stand-off. Killjoy tries a cheapshot, but it’s shrugged off as Bosede came in to hit a stomp for a near-fall after some double-teaming.
Bosede misses a springboard moonsault as Killjoy tagged in Flaco for a double-team legdrop. Mudhole stomping from Killjoy and Flaco keep Bosede in the corner, ahead of a low dropkick from Flaco for a tow-count. A gutwrench suplex from Bosede takes down Flaco as Knight returned… and thwarted some rope-walking from Flaco.
Despite crashing and burning, Flaco’s able to recover with a crossbody out of the corner, before Knight managed to hit a moonsault off the top rope for a near-fall. A chinlock keeps Flaco on the deck, as Bosede then tagged back in to try a double-team… but Flaco slips free and brings Killjoy back in for a missile dropkick.
Culture Inc crash into each other in the corner as Killjoy pushed ahead, hitting a Quebrade and a tope con giro within seconds of each other as I was glad for the instant replay. A springboard stomp to Bosede back inside leads to a Ligerbomb from Killjoy for a near-fall, before Knight and Bosede combined again for a stomp/death valley driver on Killjoy to turn the tables.
From there, Bosede pulls up Killjoy… but Killjoy tagged out to Flaco, who nailed an X-Factor out of the corner, then a swinging DDT for a near-fall. Killjoy blind-tags in and throws Flaco in for a Flatliner on Bosede… but Knight’s the legal one, and eats an over-the-knee brainbuster for a near-fall.
On the outside, Flaco dives into Knight and Bosede, before rolling Knight back in… Killjoy tries to capitalise with a splash off the top, but Knight avoids it and quickly got a roll-up for the win. An upset for the debutants, who had some good flashes but in the end it was Bobby Flaco who seemed to take the loss harder, ditching his partner afterwards. ***
Kevin Ryan vs. Damyan Tangra
There’s no Suge D this month, but Kevin Ryan still comes in through the front door.
Tangra and Ryan go to the mat to start as the Bulgarian Tangra looked to end this one early with a variety of pinning attempts, eventually forcing Ryan to scurry to the outside. Ryan spends too long stalling though and ends up taking a tope before an uppercut back inside had the Good Hand member on the back foot.
Back outside, Ryan finds form with an Orihara moonsault to the floor, before he threw Tangra elbow-first into the ring post as he looked to neutralise that STF later in the match. In the ring, Ryan rakes the eyes as he proceeded to wear down Tangra’s arm, trapping it in the turnbuckle pad before throwing a big boot to it.
Out of nowhere, Tangra rolls Ryan to the mat, but he can’t quite get the STF locked in as Ryan fought free. A springboard dropkick has Tangra down on the apron, before the pair fought in the corner, with Ryan teasing a superplex to the floor. Instead, he just hands up Tangra’s arm in the ropes, before a Tower of London onto the apron put Ryan further ahead for a two-count.
Tangra manages to get back in though, but his STF is again blocked as Ryan instead gets caught with a swinging gutbuster before catching Ryan’s leap out of the corner. A moonsault out of the corner from Ryan’s swatted away with an uppercut from Tangra, getting him a near-fall, before the pair traded head kicks.
Ryan eventually throws in a standing Spanish Fly, but a follow-up’s caught as Tangra rolled him into a STF, this time locking it in before Suge D’s music played. Ryan capitalised on the distraction and rolled up Tangra for the win. The cheap-ish finish aside, this was a good match with Tangra’s deadly STF again being played up – while Ryan finally got a win on his own (sort of, I mean, someone had to play that music, right?) ***
After the match, Ryan challenged Tangra to a tag match – the Good Hand against Tangra and whomever he wanted.
Adam Priest vs. AC Mack
This was apparently Priest’s first match back after breaking his arm over ‘Mania weekend… and he’s ready to mock AC Mack’s usual intro spiel.
Mack hit the ring without an introduction, and jumped Priest with an uppercut before Priest bailed to the outside. Inside, Priest trips up Mack, but gets met with a right hand as they brawled outside some more, with Mack targeting that injured arm. Priest trips Mack into the buckles ahead of a stalling dropkick as Priest seemed hell-bent on mimicking Mack.
Chops and mudhole stomping follow in the corner, with a back elbow off the ropes next for a lackadaisical pin attempt. A kitchen sink knee to the gut spins Mack down, as did a suplex as the Tyrone crowd didn’t seem to know what to make of Priest’s dominance. Another snap suplex lands, before Priest lifted Mack up top for a superplex…
Mack fought back, knocking Priest down to the mat… but Priest does a Spinaroonie before getting caught with a flying hooking clothesline. I bet Booker T didn’t do that. Mack does the Spinaroonie on his way up as he fought back, culminating in a low dropkick for a near-fall. A Sharpshooter from Priest caught Mack off guard, but Mack strikes the injured arm to get free before he pulled Priest into the corner.
A diving dropkick crashes into Priest in the corner, but as Mack looked to go for the Mack 10, he charges Mack into the corner, squashing the referee in the process. A low blow, then a shot with the cast followed… with the referee turning around in time to make the count. This was an odd match, with the crowd not really sure how to react – but if Adam Priest is going to be a Heel 1993 Lex Luger kinda act, using his cast for wins, then sign me up! ***
ACTION Championship: Logan Creed vs. Arik Royal (c)
Creed’s undefeated in Tyrone – and only has two losses on ACTION shows to date (one on a Futures Showcase card, and the other technical loss was on the SUP co-pro show over WrestleMania weekend).
We get going with a staredown that broke as Creed pulled Royal into an arm triangle… but Royal stacked up Creed for a two-count before he was caught with Scorched Earth for a near-fall. Creed’s throwing the bombs early, but got clotheslines over the top to the outside… where he pulled the champion to the outside as we had some brawling on the floor.
Creed rolls Royal back inside, then followed in with some body blows in the corner leading to a big boot from the challenger. Royal’s kept on the back foot with some palm strikes, before a kick earned him a chokeslam as a push-down stomp looked to have Royal closer to defeat… but Creed takes a little too long measuring up and misses a boot as Royal hung him up in the ropes.
Royal capitalises as Creed’s leg is tied up in the rope a la Andre,. The referee struggled to get Creed’s foot free… and when he did, Royal just threw the leg into the side of the ring as he homed on in the leg for the time being. A back suplex from Royal’s next out of the corner for a two-count, before Royal ripped off the tape on Creed’s knee ahead of a Figure Four.
Royal drags himself to the rope so he could pull for extra leverage… but Creed manages to roll the hold over… only for Royal to roll back and break the hold. Creed snapped back in with a Chokebreaker… but it’s using his bad knee, so Creed couldn’t capitalise. Back to their feet, the pair trade overhand chops, but a second Chokebreaker gets countered as Royal went back to the Figure Four.
Creed pushed Royal away, which leads to our second ref bump of the night… we get a second ref, who’s instantly wiped out with a Kobe from Royal… and I think we’re out of officials. Creed and Royal crash into each other with crossbody blocks at the same time as everyone’s down… just in time for Matt Sells to wander out with a ref’s shirt in his pocket.
Hitting the ring, Sells starts a standing ten count, but both men beat it as a spear from Royal lands… only for Sells to act up a shoulder injury to hold up his count. Royal chews out Sells for that, before Sells pushed Royal into Creed’s clutches for another Scorched Earth, only for Jaden Newman ran out to pull out Sells to stop the count. Sells swings for Newman, who slid into the ring, only to get caught with a chokeslam from Creed. Out of nowhere, the ring bell sounds as the original referee’s come to and waves off the match as a no contest. I mean, the screwy finish gives them a chance to redo this match down the line, but I’m very much a proponent of “why do the match if you can’t do a clean finish?” ***
After the match, Sells grabbed the mic and announced he’d be tagging with Creed in his return match against Royal and Newman in August.
A slightly longer show than we’re used to from ACTION, who look to have dropped the two-show format now they’re able to run full crowds. As for the card, at least on VOD it never really got out of second gear, with a lot of matches being there to establish new faces or soon-to-return ones in the case of the Newman/Dan match.