For a small independent wrestling company that runs all its events in the same town in South Georgia, Kraken Pro Wrestling does some ambitious long-term storytelling. Frankly, it’s a shame this promotion doesn’t have more of a following than it does, especially at a time where building a narrative over time is becoming somewhat of a lost art, especially at the independent level.
We pick up here in June of 2025. Kraken just closed out its first “season” at the Kraken Classic, also the one-year anniversary show. Trever Aeon unseated Justin Kayse to become Kraken Pro Champion. The fact it’s a new season gets mentioned several times during this set of episodes and, like a good season premiere should, there’s a good bet of set-up for the twists and turns to come.
Here’s all the episodes included in this review:
Episode 53
Women’s action kicks things off as Jaz Jones takes on Alexandra Quinn. First thing that jumps out is the crowd size; it’s another big house, coming off the Kraken Classic, where it also was packed. The latter is making her Kraken debut and she’s an AR Fox trainee. Quinn is green but there’s something there; that ripcord spine buster of hers looks especially good. This match gets a little wonky down the stretch — again, green — but Jasmine wins clean. More heels should.
The major plot point from this episode is Donnie Harris, the lead broadcaster, stepping down as general manager. He’s replaced by Alex Chase, who used to be involved with something called Georgia Independent Professional Wrestling, which is an incredibly generic name and I say that as someone who used to help out with the Pro Wrestling Federation in East Tenessee. Of course, Justin Kayse and The Business have to come out and immediately confront the new guy in charge, just as they have done with the two previous GMs in Kraken. Kayse is sporting a neck brace after taking his first major bumps, and lumps, at Trever Aeon’s hands at the Kraken Classic (see the photographic evidence below).
Kayse gets great heat here; he is a much better talker than he was when Kraken first began. Chase also is comfortable on the mic. But if you’ve been watching American televised wrestling at all in the past 30 years, you’ve seen this story before. Seriously, this has been a plot device for three decades now. Surely we can figure out something new.
Kayse is getting ready to position Dominic Stuckey to challenge Aeon for the title when Jay 2 Strong grabs the microphone and puts himself in the match. Apparently Kayse’s legal acumen is no match for the overarching social doctrine of dibs. With that apparently settled, The Business starts to leave, but wait! Stuckey has a match Right Now against…
Brother Azriel. These are two of my favorites on the roster and the match is as good as I expected. Azriel brings a rugged hoss energy that is really unique in this promotion. Stuckey, meanwhile, stands out not just with his technical ability or the moves he does; it’s those beats in between, like when he trash talks his opponent or the fans or says something to Kayse. After Dom and Kayse get crossed up and the attorney takes a spill, Azriel plants Stuckey with the Woodgrain which finishes the match — and should in every match where he hits it barring some serious shenanigans. This felt like a big win for Azriel to propel him to a greater role in Kraken. Works for me!
Episode 54
Kay Casiano, who serves as ring announcer and backstage interviewer, stays pretty busy on this set of episodes and that’s a good thing. She is very smooth and polished in the hosting type role. She gets some words with the new GM Chase, and Noir interrupts. They have history in Georgia Independe… let’s just call it GIPW.
It’s scramble time! Jak Myles puts the freshly minted Cash In Hand Title on the line, and $225 also is at stake! That’s almost half of a PS5 at current prices! The Cash In Hand Title is a fusion of CHIKARA’s Campeonato de Los Parejas contender rules and Money In The Bank. Defend three times, and the champion gets a title match with the Kraken Pro Champion he or she can “cash in” at any time. Like on screen authority figures, this cash-in gimmick has been around wrestling a long time, so I hope the Kraken brain trust has some unique twist cooked up for it.
Joey Hyder, Nathaniel Vamderbilt, and Dante Dripp are the opponents in the scramble. Vanderbilt leans into the dark side of the force, mocking Sweeper with the broom. Let’s see more of that; nobody wants to root for the spoiled rich kid. Dripp has a very punchable face, which makes him an ideal wrestler to put over others. Hyder wins the match, which I didn’t expect after Myles’ win in the big scramble at the Kraken Classic, which felt like a big deal.
Will Huckaby, who’s still the perpetual grump of Kraken, is the guest on the Diamond Den and shuts down the segment without answering a question. He’s probably tired of Duke complaining about referees’ counts being too fast or slow, or me complaining to him about Duke’s complaining, or a combination of the two.
All Star Special face Quick Drip in the episode headliner. The latter team is made up of Nick Quick and Travis Ray, who apparently join Dante Dripp to make this a three-man faction. They don’t explain this until the next taping, but I felt compelled to do so here for some reason. I like Travis a lot; he hits hard and has an explosive energy, but I think that gets lost with some of the silliness he does. The match is window dressing for a pretty strong angle involving Noir, who jump All Star Special. Huck gets put through a door that gets propped up in one corner. Why is a door under a wrestling ring, anyway? Duke points this out and for once I agree with him. The heels tie up Sam Hanson in the ropes and Mrs. Wright hits the ring with scissors and electric clippers. The crowd reacts right away before a single lock of Hanson’s hair is cut, and they give him a quick and dirty reverse mohawk. Donnie squalling, “she’s not a licensed cosmetologist!” was a line that was so ridiculous and also delivered with such conviction that I horse laughed in an empty room. This was the best thing Noir has done in Kraken, by a wide margin.
Episode 55
My favorite of these four episodes, and the entire story here centers on elevating talent in defeat.
It starts in the tag match, with Don Haylo and Jayy Wells teaming for the first time and taking on the H-Town Hittas. I’ve been a Don Haylo guy really since he first started showing up in Kraken, and I’ve always been a sucker for a “strong guy / fast guy” tag team dynamic. Jayy has leveled up gear-wise with the custom basketball jersey. I’ve written before about how the ascent of Wells in Kraken reminds me of the growth and development of young lions in New Japan Pro Wrestling and that progression continues here. Wells is delivering strikes to the Hittas with a delightful mix of intent and impact. The Hittas give much more here than they usually do but eventually assert themselves and win. Still, the team of Haylo and Wells was established here in defeat.
Kevin Kantrell faces ERC in the main event and Kantrell elevates his opponent here. ERC stands out in Kraken thanks to a sneaky opportunist style. He doesn’t try to look cool or do flashy moves; he takes shortcuts and the openings available to him. At one point, ERC suckers Kantrell with a straight punch, and Kantrell’s reeling sell into the ropes makes it seem like he got zapped with a stun gun. ERC kicks out of the Styles Clash (which the commentators weirdly dance around but never fully identify) before Kantrell finishes him with the crossface.
Come for the matches; stay for a rather entertaining segment filmed outside the building where Noir celebrate with Hanson’s newly shorn hair.
The Diamond Den on this episode with Alex Chase is a total mess. Alex spends half the time talking covering his mouth as he plays with his beard, and I say that as a habitual whisker fiddler. Alex is here to explain the Tides of War, the ongoing round robin tournament that is going to eventually crown the first Kraken tag champs (belts pictured above) and play out over the next eight months (!), which also seems an insane length for an independent promotion. Problem is, his verbal spiel contradicts the graphic that plays during the segment. No one comes away from this looking prepared or knowledgeable. Swing and a miss here but at least the new belts look snazzy.
Episode 56
This episode opens with a Strap Match between Rose Gold and Tsu Nami, which was scheduled for the Kraken Classic but had to get moved. The strap snaps in the first few seconds of the match and they have to improve everything that ensues. This is not a good match but I give them credit for trying to make it work on the fly. Rose wins by making Tsu Nami pass out to a choke just before the time limit expires. Duke thinks their issue is not settled. Of all the dastardly things he has said as the heel broadcaster, this is the most unforgivable yet.
After Donnie summons his best Don West to hawk some Kraken merch, we proceed directly without passing Go to the main event.
As for the main event, which headlines both this episode and the taping … There’s a lovely beat in the introductions when Kayse starts trying to go at Kay Casiano for referring to him as the “former” champion. It’s lost somewhat by bad audio that makes it sound as if Kay is announcing the participants while stuck at the bottom of a well. Donnie referring to “the Harris administration” made me laugh.
Trever and Jay have had multiple matches in Kraken by this point — some singles and some in tags. This is probably their best. I didn’t care for the commentators trying to say Jay has owned Trever in past matches, when Aeon beat Jay clean in their last meeting and in fact that’s how he earned the match with Stuckey at the Kraken Classic. Jay has established himself as one of the best wrestlers in Kraken. He’s so good at the little things. Case in point, he uses the tiniest bit of heel sleight of hand to take control, which leads to Kayse trying to slide his briefcase in the match and Referee Clark ejecting Kayse from ringside.
This is the first title defense for Trever and the first legitimate title match in Kraken history, and both wrestlers raise the stakes appropriately. Jay counters the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with a modified ushigaroshi. Later there’s a gnarly vertical suplex into the corner. Jay shows a ton of fight now that he’s on his own, which of course is the entire point of what’s building. Eventually, Clark gets bumped in the midst of an F5 that is lamely referred to as a a “finishing maneuver” on commentary. Jaz Jones shows up with Kayse’s briefcase and delivers one of the most gentle foreign object shots ever. I suppose she’s joined The Business now. Trever ultimately hits Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and wins it clean in center ring to a big reaction from the crowd.
I didn’t care for the shoehorning of Alex Chase into this match. He holds up the belt during introductions. He presents it to and straps it around Trever after the final bell. That’s all referee duty. We get it; he’s the new authority figure.
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