Review the Kraken: Episodes 15-18

I’ve always had a preference for watching full wrestling events, as opposed to a match here and there from different places. I’m of the belief that, while each match tells a story on its own, that match is also part of the greater story of the entire card. And, like any narrative, there needs to be peaks and valleys, all culminating with the final match on the card. A well-booked card should build to the main event.

Kraken Pro Wrestling does a very good job of following this philosophy. In fact, the main event has been the best of the bunch at each of the last two tapings. That trend continued here with “ThunderSlam.” Not only is the main event between Trever Aeon and Dominic Stuckey the standout of this set of episodes, but it’s also the best match yet in the brief history of Kraken.

From the opening bell, matters take a unique path. The two wrestlers lock up in a collar and elbow, and there’s a real sense of intensity and struggle to a hold that often looks routine or mundane. The intensity builds from there. Kraken gave a first glimpse of Stuckey in a promo filmed in the locker room (captured in the featured image above). Stuckey was a smooth talker there and shows similar fluidity inside the ropes. He focuses his offense on the lower back of Aeon in a nice bit of psychology.

The finish comes with a twist when The Business run out ostensibly to interfere. Earlier in this set of episodes, Stuckey and Aeon join forces and run out to stop Lamar Diggs and Jay 2 Strong from continuing a post-match attack on All Star Special. Now, as Diggs and Jay appear again, Stuckey and Aeon again go back to back, only for Stuckey to waylay a distracted Aeon and set up the tainted victory. Stuckey then joins The Business, fortifying the ranks of the top heel stable in Kraken.

The Aeon-Stuckey match certainly is not the only highlight. We’re also treated to a Kevin Kantrell vs. Trey Shaw match on Episode 15. Shaw hasn’t been seen since the Kraken Classic and takes on Kantrell, who’s been established through past matches as a rugged submission expert. These two put on a good, solid, hard-hitting match. The crowd (more on them in a bit) is extremely into Shaw, and what seems like a victory for “The Ripper” turns on a dime when Kantrell ensnares Shaw in a cross face and secures yet another submission victory. The best finishers can be applied to anyone of any size and Kantrell’s cross face hold has been established as a hold that can end any match at any time.

One other act that jumped out from this set of tapings? The Saturday Night Temptations, a new-to-Kraken tag team of CJ Shine and Karl Hager. They headline Episode 17 against Brother Azriel and Travis Ray. Shine and Hager have had previous Kraken matches but this is their first as a team and, full disclosure, a short promo by the duo earlier in the episode left me wanting to see them get obliterated. In front of the live crowd, however, the Temptations flourished. The ensuing tag match is heavy on schtick but ratchets up the athleticism late; there’s a very fine hot tag by Shine and the crowd loves them. Shine and Hager both came off rather anonymous in singles action but blend very well in a tag setting. As for the match itself, we get a little extra spice after the final bell when Azriel and Ray’s newfound team quickly ends in violence.

From top to bottom, this was the most enjoyable set of episodes yet produced by Kraken. A change in venue seemed to help. The live crowd for these four episodes is the largest yet and definitely the most raucous. That atmosphere elevates the entire taping.

Some other observations …

Episode 16 is headlined by a good, solid tag match pitting All Star Special against Diggs and Jay from The Business. I especially liked some of the double-team moves that The Business use.
That episode also includes the Kraken debut of Rose Gold, our first female competitor in the promotion. Gold is quite tall (with a billed height of 6-foot-2!) so she can hold her own physically against the males on the roster and does so with relative ease against Edward Draven.
After losing to Kantrell at the last Kraken taping, Charlie Kills scores a solid bounce back win against ERC, who seems to be positioned as an enhancement talent at this point.
Kody Madden is back on commentary and joined by Donnie Harris, who had the lead role at the prior taping. This pairing improves over the course of the taping — it can be tough not to step on one another when two commentators who are used to play by play have to share the microphone.
There’s a weird bit of booking in Episode 17, when Travis Ray steps up as the mystery opponent to face — and get flattened by — Ehren Black and then Ray teams with Azriel to face the Temptations in the same episode. Credit the management for filming a quick segment with Madden and Harris at the start of Episode 18 to close that potential plot hole.

f you would like to check in other entries in the Review The Kraken series, here is a master index.

Looking for something more retro? I’m also working on Mat Quest, a chronological viewing guide to the WWE archive on Peacock.

One note as this edition wraps up… Unfortunately, life these past few weeks has made it difficult to find time to watch wrestling, much less write about it. I am hoping for calmer times — and more opportunities to indulge in one of my favorite hobbies — going forward.

You can watch all four episodes here:

Review the Kraken: Episodes 12-14

Before diving into this installment, I want to take a moment to praise the camera shot in the featured image. The close-up of Lamar Diggs putting a hold on Will Huckaby is fine, but framing the shot to include the boy and his reactions from ringside takes it to the next level.

With that, let’s take a look at Episodes 12-14 of Kraken TV, which comprise the third taping by Kraken Pro Wrestling, an independent promotion in South Georgia.

Lamar Diggs was absent from the last set of episodes and he returns in a big way here. He shines as the MVP of the taping. He is the very first wrestler you see in Episode 12, laying waste to a couple of poor unfortunate souls who make the mistake of being in his path on the way into the building. In the next episode, he and his cohort Jay 2 Strong enthusiastically clubber all four participants in the Cash In, Cash Out Scramble (much more on this match and this attack later…)

And then Diggs headlines Episode 14, and the taping, going against Will Huckaby in a very good match. It might be the best match yet in all of the Kraken I have watched, and one of the longest as well. The Youtube description for the episode tabs this as a “hoss fight” and it definitely delivers on that end. Diggs and Huckaby brawl all around the ringside area as well, something else that has been otherwise unseen on Kraken. Back in the ring, there are some fine false finishes — a pleasant habit in Kraken main events — before Diggs heads to the top and attempts a swanton. The leap is impressive, although it ends in a nasty-looking landing. Things break down, culminating in interference by manager Justin Kayse and Jay, then Huck’s partner Hold My Beer Hanson to counter, before the H-Town Hittas get involved as well. It all adds up to a tasty dish of pro wrestling.

The positioning of Kayse is unusual. Here we have a manager who also is the Kraken Champion. Kayse has yet to take a punch or a bump, and the tension is building for that to happen. Hanson gets his hands on Kayse during the shenanigans at the end of the main event, only for Jay to make the save. When Kayse finally does get hit, the live crowd is going to love it. And, that moment can be separate for his inevitable comeuppance where he eventually loses the title. It’s a level of effective slow burn that is hard to pull off, but it’s working.

The Cash In, Cash Out Scramble continues to develop as a fun concept. Participating wrestlers put in their pay for the night in a six-minute winner-takes-all match. If there is no winner, that money rolls over to the next scramble. The matches have been better since they whittled down from six wrestlers to four. Production has improved, too. The six-minute countdown clock is easier to read and now includes the dollar total on the line. They’re building a solid story around Jak Myles who has been in every scramble so far and yet to win one. This scramble breaks down when The Business interfere and wipe out all four competitors. It’s a good bit of bad-guy business — no pun intended — but when Diggs and Jay begin their attack, Justin Kayse gets the attention of the referee while the beatdown happens behind the official’s back. Then, the referee turns around, sees what is happening and does nothing to stop it because… scramble rules don’t end matches on a DQ or countout? The extended distraction just makes the referee look clueless — not to mention hearing impaired.

A few other observations from these three episodes:

Myles was the referee for the main event for Episode 14, continuing a trend from the Jay 2 Strong vs. Brother Azriel match on Episode 11. After Myles falls short in the scramble, he picks up a refereeing assignment to replace the lost extra cash. He’s doing the wrestling ancestors proud as he comes out to officiate Diggs vs. Huckaby, still favoring his ribs after the attack at the end of the scramble.
There’s a new commentary team for these episodes. Donnie Harris, Jr., joins Diamond Duke at the table. Harris also handles the ring announcer duties. They work well for the most part but actually detracted, for me, from the Brother Azriel vs. CJ Shine match on Episode 13. Azriel and CJ have a solid if unspectacular match and Azriel gets a win back after nearly defeating Jay 2 Strong. However, the commentators — Diamond Duke in particular — keeps babbling about how great the match is. Having done that work, I understand hype is part of the deal when you’re on commentary, but there’s a difference between building up what’s happening on the ring and going so over the top that it contradicts what you can see with your eyes.
Mr. Wright and his wife — you guessed it, she is Mrs. Wright — is featured in two of the three episodes. He has a forgettable match with Eddie Honcho in Episode 12 but the interview segment with Diamond Duke on Episode 13 is much more effective in establishing him as a heel character.
The H-Town Hittas work fast and win another squash that, if you blink, you might miss it. What’s interesting here is that the opposing team includes ERC, who had a competitive match at the last taping but gets completely obliterated here.

The big takeaway is that Kraken is growing. Each taping has taken place in front of a crowd that is bigger than the last one, and more responsive as well. It’s been a fun ride so far.

If you would like to check in other entries in the Review The Kraken series, here is a master index.

Looking for something more retro? I’m also working on Mat Quest, a chronological viewing guide to the WWE archive on Peacock.

You can watch all three episodes here:

Review the Kraken: Full Index

A full list of entries in the “Review the Kraken” series, which takes a look at the Kraken Pro Wrestling TV show on Youtube.

The Kraken Classic (Episodes 1 – 8)
Episodes 9 – 11
Episodes 12 – 14
Episodes 15 – 18
Episodes 19 – 22
Episodes 23 – 26, featuring comments from booker Will Huckaby
Episodes 27 – 30, and 2024 Review
Episodes 31 – 34
Episodes 35 – 38
Episodes 39 – 43
Episodes 44 – 47
Episodes 48 – 49 (first half of Kraken Classic)
Episodes 50 – 52 (conclusion of Kraken Classic)

Review the Kraken: Episodes 9-11

Welcome back to Review The Kraken. This article will review the second TV taping for Kraken Pro Wrestling, which covers Episodes 9-11 of their show on Youtube.

Still about five months behind the current Kraken product and trying to catch up … Kraken places an emphasis on building long-term stories and these three episodes are more about building that narrative than any major developments. I think the episodes also suffered somewhat from some of my favorite Kraken talents being absent: Trever Aeon, Michael Walker, Lamar Diggs, and Trey Shaw all are nowhere to be seen.

Here are some general observations on these three episodes…

Probably the biggest development for the overall story in Kraken is the reveal of a new general manager, Robert Vien. On-screen authority figures are pretty played out but Vien plays things right down the middle (so far), which is as close as you can come to a fresh take on this trope in the 2020s.

These episodes also include the third edition of the Cash In, Cash Out Scramble. This is a fun concept where wrestlers put money into the pot and the winner takes all. One unique addition is revealed here; the match goes to the time limit, the pot rolls over to the next scramble. This scramble involves Will Huckaby, Jak Myles, and two newcomers to Kraken: Edward Draven and CJ Shine. The previous scrambles had six wrestlers, not four, and the match was much more cohesive with the lesser number. They also timed the finish perfectly with the three count right after time expired.

Kevin Kantrell stood out during the Kraken Classic set of episodes. He returns here to face Charlie Kills, who was called Charlie Anarchy during the initial set of tapings. Kantrell is a top-tier talent on the Kraken roster for me and scores an impressive win, making Charlie — who seems an unstoppable monster at times — tap out in the middle of the ring, clean as a sheet.

With some of the aforementioned names absent from this taping, several new faces make their debuts in Kraken. Two of the newcomers jumped out: the H-Town Hittas, a power tag team consisting of two twin brothers. They win an absolutely one-sided squash match and their opponents, Tyreke Robinson and Luke Stone, deserve credit for making the Hittas look so dominant.

The big highlight from these three episodes is the main event of Episode 11, with Jay 2 Strong facing Brother Azriel for the Kraken Title. Justin Kayse, Jay’s attorney and manager in the The Business stable, technically holds the title and Jay is defending it on his behalf. Azriel steps in after Aeon, the originally scheduled challenger, is mysteriously absent with The Business highly implied as the culprits behind his vanishing act.

Jay has stood out as, arguably, the best wrestler on the Kraken roster at this early stage of the promotion. His Kraken Classic final with Michael Walker remains the best match yet on Kraken TV, but this one comes close to overtaking it. Azriel has a unique look and a fine power game, also displaying much more agility than you would expect from just looking at him. Jay makes Azriel look especially strong in defeat and the home stretch is very good with a bait-and-switch finish that hearkens back to the heyday of territorial wrestling. If the goal is to inspire the fan base to want to see Kayse dethroned as champion, mission accomplished.

You can check out all three episodes here:

Review the Kraken: The Kraken Classic

Pro wrestling is more accessible than ever. Between streaming services, in-house online broadcasts, and good old-fashioned TV deals (a few still exist), fans have more ways to watch more wrestling from around the world than at any point.

Imagine telling the you from two decades ago – even the you from 10 years ago – “some day there will be so much wrestling available to watch that you will never be able to keep up with it all.” And yet, today, WWE puts out six hours of content per week – and that doesn’t count the feeder shows like Main Event and Level Up. AEW cranks out five hours of TV wrestling each week — and that does not include the weekly Ring of Honor episodes. If there is a pay-per-view / premium live event that week, tack on another three hours. Full shows are available from a host of international promotions, especially in Japan, but those are usually three hours or more, requiring a real investment of time if you intend to watch the whole thing.

And so, the approach that Kraken Pro Wrestling has chosen feels fresh in its convenience. This neophyte promotion located in southern Georgia breaks down its live events into snack-sized installments of TV for its YouTube channel. Each episode lasts 30 minutes, at most. A couple of episodes clock in closer to the 10-minute mark.

But, with so many wrestling promotions out there, is Kraken worth watching? I think it is. And hence, welcome to my efforts to Review The Kraken! We kick off this endeavor by looking at the first eight episodes of TV, where the first Kraken champion was crowned in an eight-man tournament called the Kraken Classic.

These shows happened back over the summer and so given that fact, I won’t attempt to bore you with a match-by-match or segment-by-segment breakdown. Instead, I wanted to take a look at some of the standout wrestlers on these early Kraken shows. They all have one commonality – each left me wanting to see more of them, whether it be here or elsewhere.

Big Business – This three-man faction comprises the top heel act in Kraken. The manager, Justin Kayse, actually came out of the tournament holding the title, as Jay 2 Strong won the Kraken Classic only to see Kayse declare himself as the champion. Jay was incredibly solid in his three tournament matches and the final against Michael Walker is the best match of the tournament. Lamar Diggs is the enforcer of the group and has the physical presence and requisite menace to fill that role. You could plug him right into the middle of the Mid-South territory in its heyday and he would fit right in with those sluggers. I like the concept of a heel manager holding the title everyone is chasing but, through these first eight episodes, I found Kayse somewhat lacking both as a talker and during interference spots sometimes self-sabotaged by poor timing. We will see how Kayse rises to the occasion in future installments.

Michael Walker – Probably the purest babyface on the roster through these first eight episodes. He acquitted himself well in all three tournament matches, all against opponents of different styles, including both wrestlers in Big Business. His match with Diggs was a fine example of one of my favorite tropes, pitting a smaller, speedy wrestler against a powerhouse. Even with the loss in the finals, Walker emerged from the Classic portrayed as a fine never-say-die underdog who you wanted to root for.

Trever Aeon – I have seen Aeon in person a couple of times and followed his work online in recent years. He is one of the more underrated wrestlers on the Southeast scene to me and stands out through his look, his versatility, and the explosion he demonstrates in some of his offense.

Trey Shaw – I knew nothing about Shaw before his first-round match in the Classic (found in episode 4 of Kraken), but immediately was impressed. Again, these are short episodes, but in the span of about 15 minutes, he stood out with his combination of look, size, promo ability, and snug offense.

All Star Special – Will Huckaby and Hold My Beer Hanson are one of the more popular teams in Georgia and probably the merch champions of the independent scene in that state. Hanson is also the promoter of Kraken, something that is readily acknowledged on commentary. While this is hard to deny when Hanson is doing local TV spots to promote Kraken using his real name, I emerged from these eight episodes unsure if this was a little too much “behind the curtain” for me. A tip of the cap to Hanson and Huckaby (who is the booker) and not following in the footsteps of so many of their predecessors and making themselves the focal point of the shows.

Kevin Kantrell – Kantrell is not part of the Kraken Classic but he stands out with a rugged, intense style. In his one match in the first eight episodes, he carries a green opponent to a solid effort and then, after the result does not go his way, beats down the referee like the official handed him a light envelope at the end of the night. I came away wanting to see more of him, for sure.

Kody Madden – Having done wrestling commentary in the past, I know how difficult the job is. Kody is the lead broadcaster for Kraken and does a good job with the juggling act of calling the action, telling a greater story, and directing traffic in a three-man booth – although the other two members of that booth are both heels and have similar-sounding voices.

One of the most common, widespread — and often deserved — criticisms of professional wrestling as we sit almost halfway through the 2020s is the sameness of it all. Matches up and down the card, regardless of whether the promotion is located on the globe, see everyone working a similar style. Hanson and Huckaby have done a solid job assembling a roster of different characters with different styles. I will keep watching through their archive of episodes and came away from these first eight shows wanting to see what happens next, and really, isn’t that the first goal for any wrestling promotion?

In Moore House Wrestling

Musings, reviews, and rants about the sublime art of costumed murder gymnastics that is pro wrestling

Category: Wrestling reviews