From Larry Goodman Ides of March was an unqualified success. The show was filled with outstanding matches. Push come to shove...
Ides of March was an unqualified success.
The show was filled with outstanding matches. Push come to shove, My top pick would be Fred Yehi vs. Darby Allin. Gunner Miller vs. Curt Stallion and Slim J vs. Myron Reed were also really great. The beauty of it was the variety.
Matchmaker Todd Sexton accomplished a number of good things for future SFCW events in the process. Loganville in April, Cornelia in May and Shindig V in June all shared in the love. Southern Fried moves forward with momentum.
Attendance was over 150, pretty damn good for a Thursday night, and crowd reactions were uniformly stronger than expected given the non-Southern Fried nature of the match ups.
Owner Charles Anschutz was there taking it all in from his easy chair. He wasn’t going to let thing like serious health issues keep him from enjoying the fruits of his labors.
(1) Kenji Brea defeated Effy in 6:33. It had been 18 monthsa year since I had seen Effy wrestle. This was a leaner Effy with a lot more ring presence and better ringwork. Nice reversal into a double stomp by Brea on Effy’s powerbomb. Effy with nice Samoan drop counter. Brea capitalized on intervention by referee Triston Michaels with a pair of superkicks to set up a top rope double stomp. Good opener.
Brea said the fans could cheer him all they wanted but at the end of the day, they were not Approved.
Justin Legend cut a strong promo on Jagged Edge to juice up their match on April 7. Said he bought a ticket in hopes no-show Jagged would be there. Jagged had a date with destiny at Meridian Gym in Loganville because Legend was coming for piece of his ass.
(2) “Peruvian Pit Bull” Zander Ramon defeated Matt Gilbert and Twisted and Sebastian Envy in an elimination match at 9:02. Ramon is over like crazy and dominated the match. Ramon cleaned house on everybody right off the bat such that all three guys had to team up against him, then it was every man for himself amongst the other guys with only Gilbert looking good. Ramon eliminated Envy with a Jackhammer, Gilbert with a TKO and Twisted with a pair of uranages after his first attempt fell to pieces. This match paled in comparison to the rest of the card but it made the case for Ramon as a title contender.
Ramon said he had the opportunity of a lifetime with a shot at the SFCW Championship in his hometown of Loganville. He was the underdog against more experienced opponents (Tetchi Makuji and SFCW Champion Adrian Hawkins) but you can’t measure heart and determination. Ramon said he had not been pinned or submitted in SFCW and predicted he would be the champion on April 7.
(3) Slim J defeated Myron Reed in 8:35. Big pop for Slim’s intro. These guys gelled really well. The chain wrestling was smooth. When they picked up the pace and starting hitting big moves, everything looked good. Reed escaped Anger Management and hit a springboard stunner. Slim did a superplex floated into a guillotine choke. Reed used Mark Andrews’ Stundog Millionaire. Finish saw Reed fly from the top only to get caught with a powerbomb and hit with Anger Management. Both men delivered the goods. Slim drew on his signature stuff but also changed things up a bit.
Slim said SFCW was coming to my home in Cornelia in May. He had beaten everyone that had been put on front on him in SFCW and wanted a title shot. Fans chanted “Yes!” Charles said you got it.
(4) Gunner Miller defeated Curt Stallion in 11:40. Miller was the fan favorite here with the crowd chanting “Gunner’s gonna kill you” at Stallion. It was the power of Miller until Stallion pulled out one of his killer headbutts from nowhere. Cool sequence was a jackknife pin attempt by Stallion with Miller rolling through to hit a powerbomb. Stallion took a seat at ringside. Miller took a seat on the opposite side. Action resumed with a pair of overhead belly-to-belly suplexes by Miller. Fans chanted for one more but Stallion blocked it. Stallion used an Octopus. Miller made the ropes. Miller applied a rear naked choke and Stallion got a ropes break. They slapped the crap out of each other. Stallion with a burst of offense building to an Air Raid Crash neckbreaker. Stallion was slow to rise after a beastly clothesline and Miller was waiting with a uranage for a near fall. Stallion’s last gasp barrage fell short. Miller speared him and went for the Jackhammer. Stallion countered with an inside cradle. Miller kicked out, speared Stallion again and finished him with the Jackhammer.
This was another outstanding performance by Miller and Stalllion made a great opponent for him. Miller has ring presence and confidence to burn. His strikes and power moves look super solid. His transitions are way better and he’s got a feel for how to lay out a match.
Miller was setting up for a second Jackhammer when he was confronted by Logan Creed. Miller backed down.
James Drake ran down the crowd prior to his match.
(5) Odinson defeated James Drake in 11:10. All Odinson early with Drake bumping big. Drake turned the tide by dumping Odinson over the top on and up and over attempt. They worked a series of nifty comeback and cutoffs. Drake focused on Odinson’s back at one point using a Steiner Recliner. Drake threw the most vicious chop of the night. Both down after a suplex reversal with the crowd chanting for a comeback and they got it. Odinson popped up after Drake’s german suplex. Odinson broke out a pumphandle inverted fallaway slam that looked tremendous. Drake missed the moonsault and Odinson Pounced him for the three count. The finish looked weird, like something else was supposed to happen. Odinson looked great. Match had a stronger heel-face dynamic than most of the card thanks to Drake.
(6) Fred Yehi defeated Darby Allin via referee stoppage in 12:35. The grappling opening established the bout as legit competition. Allin turned a handshake into a La Magistral Cradle. Allin used his quickness to evade Yehi. Sweet springboard armdrage by Allin. Yehi whiplashed Allin’s face into the ropes to take over. That had to suck. Yehi scowled at the crowd. Yehi took a wicked bump on a hard whip into the middle buckle that did not look like a typical pro wrestling bump. Allin did a springboard corkscrew elbow drop for a near fall. Yehi used a half nelson suplex for a near fall. Yehi did the deal where he hung upside down and nailed Allin with rapid fire kicks. Allin hit the Coffin Drop to Yehi’s back but Fred kicked out. Yehi had the Koji clutch locked in but Allin got a foot on the ropes. Allin hit a Yoshi Tonic for a close near fall. Yehi got the Koji Clutch in the middle of the ring and hammered Allin with elbows until he passed out.
Match felt more like a real athletic contest than anything else on the show. They did an awesome job of changing speeds to let the key spots sink in. It didn’t have much heat because try as he might, Yehi wasn’t going to viewed as a heel given his history in SFCW.
(7) Logan Creed defeated O’Shay Edwards by submission in around 10 minutes. Edwards attacked Creed in the aisle and they brawled all over the building. Fans chanted for Logan as they traded bombs on the apron. Advantage Edwards via uranage on the ring frame. They went back and forth with freight train corner splashes. Edwards fought off Creed’s full nelson face plant. Edwards countered Creed’s choke slam with a bridging german suplex for a near fall. Edwards pulled the straps down and hit a spinebuster slam, but Creed caught him with a variation of the triangle choke and Edwards tapped. It was a sound decision to put the monsters brawl in the main event slot. Match was different from anything else on the card with a top babyface the fans were behind. Edwards has come a long way in a short time.
Miller confronted Creed. Miler faked leaving and wheeled around with a spear. Creed popped up and was ready to choke slam Miller but he escaped.
Sexton acknowledged the issues Creed and Miller were having at Anarchy and said it was fine with him if they brought them to Southern Fried. Sexton announced Miller vs. Creed for Shindig V to close the show with a huge pop of approval.
