Alan Angels and AC Mack headline in a Last Man Standing match, as ACTION Wrestling celebrated their third anniversary.
Quick Results
Cabana Man Dan pinned BK Westbrook in 9:37 (***)
Alex Kane pinned Brandon Williams in 9:18 (***¼)
Orion Bishop pinned Kavron Kanyon in 4:13 (**)
Bobby Flaco pinned Brogan Finlay in 8:33 (**¾)
Logan Creed pinned Ben Buchanan in 11:31 (***¼)
Takuri & King Garuda pinned Liam Gray & Adrian Alanis in 16:07 (***)
Ashton Starr pinned CT Keys in 8:27 (***)
AC Mack defeats Alan Angels in a Last Man Standing match at 21:13 (***¾)
We’re back at the Roger Spencer Community Center in Tyrone, Georgia for this one… If you have IWTV, this show’s up as part of your subscription – otherwise, you can sign-up at iwtv.live using promo code ACTION to send them a little kickback.
Coming out of WrestleMania weekend, there was a fair amount of buzz around ACTION (and SUP) as they put on one of the more talked about indie shows of the weekend… yet strangely, looking at the card tonight, neither their champion Arik Royal, nor the Good Hand of Kevin Ryan & Suge D were invited to the party. Meanies.
BK Westbrook vs. Cabana Man Dan
Cabana Man Dan came out of ‘Mania weekend having opened a lot of eyes to his “new” look… and with that catchy as hell theme.
Dan was the early aggressor, taking Westbrook into the corner before BK celebrated hitting a forearm to the back. On the mat, Dan nicks a cradle for a two-count, before a faked-out armdrag led to a backslide for a two-count. A Cobra Twist from Dan’s resisted as Westbrook had a little too much height, before Westbrook charged Dan into the ropes, throat-first.
Knees to the back catch Dan in the ropes for a two-count, before he caught Dan in the corner with an Electric Chair… but it’s countered into a Victory roll for a near-fall. Westbrook chops back before dropping Dan across the buckles. An ankle lock variant looks to get a submission on Dan, before a springboard and a roll through gets Westbrook in for a TKO… then a Dragon sleeper.
Westbrook loses grip though and is quickly on the defensive as Dan paintbrushes him with a slap. A leaping mule kick drops BK, with a Code Red nearly getting the win… only for Westbrook to run in with a twisting Sliced Bread for a near-fall. Westbrook misses a springboard moonsault from the outside in, and quickly ends up getting rolled through as Dan finds a way in with a seatbelt pin for the win. A lovely opener, with Westbrook trying to find an opening with some big moves, but ultimately came up short to the veteran. ***
Ring announcer Scott Hensley introduces Matt Sells – who’s currently on the shelf with a knee injury.
Brandon Williams vs. Alex Kane
It’s an ACTION debut for Williams, but the Tyrone crowd are all here to count the suplexes…
Williams looks to try and out-wrestle Kane, taking him to the mat as they neutralise each other early on. Kane manages to find a way through with gator rolls, but Williams escapes and comes back in with an overhead armbar… but going to the arm just leads to our first suplex, as Kane hits a back suplex to free himself.
Kane takes it back to ground as he cradled Williams on the mat for a pinning attempt… before Williams cradled his way out of an X-Plex for a two-count. A forearm from Williams just leads to Kane waffling him ahead of a suplex, before Williams’ attempt at a Fujiwara armbar ended in the ropes.
Williams’ rebound armdrag out of the corner gets him ahead, but an attempt to suplex Kane just earned him an X-Plex. A gutwrench suplex follows, then another, before Kane uncorked German suplexes to take us up to eight for the day. Williams mouths off, and countered another suplex with an ankle lock, but Kane quickly got to the ropes. He’s pulled away, but manages to roll Williams into the corner to break free.
Forearms and chops from Williams keep him ahead, but he runs into a corner death valley driver as Kane just killed him. From there, the Mark of Kane cradle cravat suplex lands for suplex number nine… and that’s the win. Alex Kane grabs your attention with the suplexes, but he’s starting to show here there’s more to him than that – and why he should be a name you ought to be following in 2021! ***¼
Jaden Newman came out for a promo next – he’s supposedly banned from ACTION, but was out as a representative of one of the show’s sponsors. Newman rags on Matt Sells – who was on commentary – for his loss to Arik Royal last time out, and that raised Sells’ ire… even more so when Newman brought up Sells’ past forays in ROH and AEW. That led to Sells demanding that Newman be reinstated… so that after Sells’ injury was healed, he could beat Newman again.
Kavron Kanyon vs. Orion Bishop
Kanyon pokes fun at Bishop’s size, and gets charged into the corner to start.
Kanyon tries to leap off the top, but Bishop caught the crossbody before he had to block bodyslam attempts. Bishop continues to frustrate Kanyon before hitting an Exploder suplex, as Kanyon threw some right hands to keep him in the game. A misdirection POUNCE drops Kanyon, as Bishop then misses a Vader bomb… that allows Kanyon to finally hit a slam, before a double-jump springboard elbow almost ended things. Bishop blocks a package piledriver attempt, then quickly dumps Kanyon with a Fire Thunder driver for the win. This wasn’t long, but it didn’t need to be as they continue to establish Bishop as a monster with this almost-squash. **
After the match, Bishop called out Alex Kane for ACTION’s May show.
Brogan Finlay vs. Bobby Flaco
Yep. THAT Finlay. Son of Fit and brother of David, we’ve a debut for the hotly-tipped Brogan Finlay…
Flaco cradles Finlay early on for a two-count, before he ran into some strikes before a step-up springboard armdrag took Finlay to the floor. Back inside, Finlay eats a crossbody for a two-count, before he uppercut’d away Flaco’s springboard attempt. A suplex keeps Finlay ahead, as did a back senton and another suplex, with Finlay gradually chipping away on Flaco.
Of course, Brogan busts out a Finlay roll for a two-count, but he misses on another back senton as Flaco looked to force his way back in with chops and forearms. A facebuster out of the corner and a roll-through Flatliner gets Flaco a two-count before he misses a dropkick through the ropes… and gets planted on the apron with a back suplex.
Finlay picks up back inside with a Blue Thunder bomb for a near-fall, before Flaco knocked Finlay back outside for the through-the-ropes dropkick, as a crossbody back inside gets Flaco the win. A pretty good match for the newcomer Finlay – it’s very early days for him, but there’s a whole lot of promise here, as there is with Flaco, who looked good back as a singles here. **¾
Ben Buchanan vs. Logan Creed
Buchanan – who came out to Nickelback’s Rockstar – is the son of Bull Buchanan, so I guess that’ll make him B-cubed?
Buchanan fakes out a handshake to start, but is on the defensive as Creed works a wristlock… but Buchanan manages to clothesline him out of the ring as the youngster opted to show off with some push-ups. Eventually Creed chops back as he got fed up of Buchanan’s attitude, taking him to the corner for some right hands before Buchanan charged his way free.
Creed returns the favour, only to get booted down as Buchanan pulled his way up top for a flying legdrop… but it’s only enough for a one-count. A flying bulldog facebuster has Creed back in it, before his attempt to take out the leg earned him a modified STO. Buchanan comes in with a short arm scissors on Creed to try and force a stoppage, switching into a cross armbar that Creed manages to elbow his way out of.
A powerslam puts Buchanan right back in it, before he tried to choke out Creed with his bootlaces. Creed responds with a chokebreaker, before he kicked out of a spinebuster and pulled Buchanan into a triangle armbar choke. The ropes save Buchanan, who’s then tossed with a fallaway slam, before a superplex took us to a strike battle. Buchanan ends it with a dropkick, which sets up for some elbow drops… but Buchanan milks it too much as a third one’s caught, with Creed taking out the knee ahead of a push-down stomp.
Creed tries to boot Buchanan out of the ring, but he’s hung up in the ropes as a flying clothesline has Creed in trouble… allowing Buchanan to set up for a clothesline, only for Creed to duck it and counter with the Scorched Earth for the win. This was a nice change of pace – Buchanan played to the crowd a lot, which is something that may well divide folks, but there’s something in Buchanan, even if it is early days for him. ***¼
The Skulk (Adrian Alanis & Liam Gray) vs. King Garuda & Takuri
We’ve an all-WWA4 match here as the shiny Takuri and King Garuda look to get their first win as a team in ACTION.
Takuri and Gray start off with wristlocks early as the Skulk were on the defensive to start, before Gray tried to come back with headscissors… but Takuri cartwheels away before Gray returned the favour. Gray’s wheelbarrow attempt gets countered into a modified Giant Swing that ended with a facebuster, before tags led to Garuda’s headscissors on Alanis getting blocked.
Alanis continues to block the flippy stuff, but when he did get caught he’s quickly back, throwing strikes before Takuri came in to help with a double dropkick. The Skulk sidestep a dive attempt, so we get a quick brawl in the crowd, ending with Takuri getting booted in the head. A senton bomb back inside gets Gray a two-count, before the Skulk started to interfere behind the ref’s back.
Takuri walks through some chops, but Alanis just rakes the eyes instead ahead of a suplex before Takuri tried to fight back with elbows… but Liam Gray nicks in to stop a tag and land a pumphandle’d suplex for a two-count. A nice double-team flying neckbreaker over Alanis’ knee gets another two-count for the Skulk, before Takuri hit a double DDT.
That bought him enough time to make the tag out, with Garuda hitting a nice armdrag/headscissor combo before clocking Alanis with Gray’s redirected kick. An O’Connor roll nearly gets the win, as did a German suplex, but Gray rolls outside and gets caught with a Tornillo as Garuda took to the skies. Back inside, Gray kicks out at two, then again after a double-team wheelbarrow cutter, before Alanis came in to clear house… building to a suplex/splash combo from Gray… but Garuda isn’t legal. Takuri is, and he breaks up that pin with a frog splash, only for Alanis to attack to prevent any follow-up. Alanis is quickly sent outside, where he gets dived on and got into it with a kid in the crowd… and that distraction costs them as Liam Gray returned and instantly got rolled up by Takuri for the win. It’s the same kid who’s mocked the Skulk by way of posters in the past – and it’s a bit of crowd participation that kinda worked well as this match got over its early jitters and became quite the outing for both teams. ***
Ashton Starr vs. CT Keys
Starr’s back after losing last time out in Georgia to Cabana Man Dan – and he’s facing a CT Keys who’s in similar form in ACTION.
Starr backs off of Keys’ early lock-up attempt, as things head to the mat early on before a side headlock from Starr looked to subdue Keys. A quick roll-up gets Starr a one-count, before Keys returned with a big shoulder tackle. Keys aborts a dive to the outside as Starr hid… and gets caught with a diving knee off the apron.
Keys gets posted as Starr hits a lap of honour for a big boot that we don’t see, before Starr returned to the ring to trade strikes. Keys hoists up Starr for a neckbreaker that gets a two-count, only to get caught with a big boot for a near-fall, before a Boston crab ends up being powered out of. Keys hits back, elbowing Starr in the corner before a flying lariat and a Michinoku driver almost ended things, only for Starr to return with a Northern Lights for a near-fall. A split-legged moonsault comes up short for Starr, as Keys dumps him with a pump-handled Last Shot, then a sliding lariat… but it’s not enough to get CT the three.
Starr ducks as Keys went for a leaping cannonball… then finished him off with a scissors kick for the win. This was a brief, but decent match, with Starr getting back in the winning column as he managed to outlast Keys’ hard-hitting offence. ***
Last Man Standing: AC Mack vs. Alan Angels
We’ve got this match after Angels was proven to be instrumental in costing Mack the ACTION title earlier in the year – paying off Graham Bell to do the dirty work…
This one starts off hot with Angels running in to hit a standing Spanish Fly as I thought his music was going to play all the way through the match a la New Jack. Sadly, it did not. Mack’s taken outside and onto the stage as Angels pulls a table out from under the ring, but Mack hits a flying knee off the stage before Angels could do anything.
Mack, who has his gear on under his ripped streetfight jeans, slingshots Angels into the ring post, before throwing him into the wall at the back of the room. A drop toe hold takes Angels into the ring steps, before he placed Angels across them ahead of a running boot after a lap of honour around the ring.
Grabbing a chair, Mack jabs Angels in the ribs before Robin Renegade hit the ring to help double-team Mack with a Hart Attack Slingblade. Robin’s handed a belt that she punched out Mack with, before it’s used to aid a camel clutch… with a clothesline out of the corner from Renegade dropping Mack to start another count.
Angels continues to call the shots, but gets involved as Renegade placed a chair on Mack’s back for a double stomp. A crutch gets worn out over Mack’s back, but he sidesteps some more knees from Renegade before a leg lariat began a flurry that dispatches Robin. Mack spinaroonies up and superplexes Angels off of his perch on the top rope… rolling through for a DDT that gets us a standing eight count out of Angels. Now the chair’s back in as Mack gets revenge, dropping Angels in the corner with a RVD-like chair-assisted hesitation dropkick.
Angels counters out of a Mack 10 and hits a superkick, before he swiped at Mack’s left knee with a chair shot. A fireman’s carry slam is next ahead of a single-leg Billy Goat’s Curse, before he rolled into a half crab, using the crutch for extra torque. Mack gets up to beat the ten count, but Angels chop blocks the leg away and unloads with some more kicks to the leg as Mack gets tossed outside.
The pair head back up onto the stage as Angels responded to commentary’s criticisms of him… before Angels got planted with a piledriver on the stage. Mack rolls off the stage to technically beat the ten-count, with Angels joining him to keep the match alive. Back inside, another boot from Mack keeps Angels down, then another, before Angels targeted the leg with a Dragon screw… he flips out of a German suplex attempt, before a Quebrada from Angels was cut-off in mid-air with a superkick.
Both men narrowly beat the ten-count, but collapse to the mat almost as soon as the ref stops. They trade right hands as they fought on their knees, back to their feet as Angels teases a Wing Snapper… before Mack countered out and into a Mack 10. Both men roll to the floor to beat the count – but Angels needs Robin Renegade’s help to stand… and she’s quickly left laying as a spear from Mack charged her through the table that Angels had set up earlier.
They again beat the count as Mack returned to the ring… but he walks into a low blow from Angels. A powerbomb attempt from Angels is countered out with a back body drop, before Mack hits a Mack 10… then pulled Angels up to hit a second one onto a chair, and with Angels falling as he tries to prop himself up on a chair, that’s all she wrote as AC Mack took home the win. They didn’t go overboard on the “move – ten-count attempt” formula that we’ve seen in other promotions, as this felt like a suitable blow-off match to close out the show… but where does Mack go next? A title rematch? ***¾
My own personal buffering issues with IWTV aside, this was an enjoyable show with ACTION again delivering in every match up and down the card. While lacking the import names that grabbed attention over ‘Mania weekend, ACTION’s regular roster – along with the newcomers and promising names for the future – put on a show that is more than worth your time – especially if you’ve still got that IWTV subscription active from ‘Mania weekend!