Tag: All Star Special

Kraken Pro Wrestling Live Report: April 12

Kraken Pro Wrestling Live Report: April 12

The wife and I found ourselves in Atlanta this past weekend, and Kraken Pro Wrestling just so happened to have a show scheduled for Tifton, on Sunday.

Not only that, this was the go-home show heading into the second anniversary event, the Kraken Classic.

We had to check it out, and we did. So after a three-hour drive from Atlanta that somehow felt longer than the five-hour drive from East Tennessee to Atlanta the night before, we found ourselves at Chino & Letty’s Place, the current home of Kraken.

I’m still way behind the present day on my review series of Kraken and now that I know where things are headed, it will be interesting to watch those episodes from that perspective.

I’ve been to dozens of wrestling shows in my life — some as a fan, some as part of the show. Kraken live is a very different experience from all of them. It’s like the shows happen in their own little self-contained reality. The crowd is not what I would describe as a typical wrestling crowd. They don’t start chants. They don’t heckle wrestlers. They don’t react to big spots or moves, although they sure do enjoy a nasty chop, and they got several of them on this card. It’s also not a dead crowd, by any means. The fan interaction during the entrances, between matches, and at intermission shows that.

Unique.

This was also the go-home show before the Kraken Classic, the second anniversary show for the promotion. Last year’s Kraken Classic was the culmination of most of the main storylines in the first year, and the upcoming anniversary show looks to be the same.

Let’s dive into the results. Thanks to my wife, Sandi Moorehouse, for taking the pictures.

Match 1: Nick Quick vs. CT Entertainment

I got to the show early and stayed late and got to chat with several members of the roster, including Nick. I told him before the show that it was highly entertaining to watch him get annihilated every week, and it’s true. He sells well, and it’s helped him carve out a niche. His entrance is incredibly over with the Kraken fans, and likely benefits from the fact the promotion runs regularly out of the same venue.

The match was a basic but solid opener. CT delivered a nice release German suplex that might have made Nick even shorter. After CT confronted Referee Clark about a slow count on a spinebuster, Nick caught him in a backslide basically out of nowhere. CT pursued Clark to the back still complaining. Nick Quick has one of the eight coins going into the Kraken Classic, by the way. He’s a very effective underdog and the fans enjoy to root for him.

Match 2: Johnny Faith vs. Nathaniel Vanderbilt vs. Brandon Whatley

This is for a Kraken coin, and I’m not sure who had the coin coming in, but it’s also the first match back in Kraken for Whatley, who missed about a year of action with a ruptured Achilles. I’d written before about how Vanderbilt’s rich guy persona lended itself more to him being a heel, and it’s happened. He comes out to opera music, wearing a long coat, an obnoxious hat, and exudes a pompous, obsequious attitude that makes you want to see him get punched. Mission accomplished. This was my first look at Johnny Faith, and he showed some good fire. At one point Whatley had him in a hold and when the referee checked for a submission, Johnny screamed out “I never quit!” Vanderbilt spent most of this match on the floor and got walloped by Whatley every time he tried to get back into the ring. When he did get back in, he had a rough-looking landing on a standing shooting star press on Faith. The finish came when Johnny had Vanderbilt pinned, and Whatley smashed Faith in the head with his nunchucks over the referee’s shoulder. That was fine, but then Whatley hit him again right in front of the referee. I get triple threats are usually no DQ, but this was egregious and buried the poor referee.

Match 3: Jak Myles vs. Julian Balderas vs. Hitta J

Another triple threats for a Kraken coin. Man, the kids in Tifton really dig the Sweeper, and he plays up to them in a way that is almost perfect. Balderas is new to me and has a rugged vibe — and a spear — that all reminded me of Rhino. Hitta J is a singles wrestler now after his brother moved, and his dad is his manager. His presence adds a lot to J’s act, as he’s an imposing dude with presence who carries a big stick (literally). Balderas and Hitta J spent a good bit of time trading endless strikes like Peter Griffin and The Chicken. Hitta J showcased a decent arsenal of power moves. Finally, J got taken down on a combo with Sweeper hitting a Russian legsweep and Balderas a spear. Balderas also busted out what I can describe best as a Vader bomb after jumping from rope to rope in the corner like a Best Moonsault Ever. I dig it, and it’s a nice bit of agility from a big dude. J’s manager, Dr. Kenneth Jones, broke up the pin by pulling his son’s foot into the ropes. Hitta J came back with a chokeslam on Balderas to claim the coin. This finish was fine in a vacuum and should play well enough in a separate episode of TV, but live, it fell flat coming immediately after the nunchuck use in the previous match.

Match 4: All Star Special vs. Noir

Noir are fan favorites now. I repeat, Ehren Black and Mr. Wright, the often reviled duo in Kraken, are fan favorites. No one prepared me for this. They really seemed to be savoring the crowd support, and I like Mr. Wright’s new haircut. Kraken fans don’t chant, except for a “Let’s go Noir” chant that broke out. What is happening?!? Huckaby and Hanson basically worked this one as heels. Hanson caught Wright with the ole knee in the back as he bounces off the ropes to help All Star Special take advantage. Black is even bigger than he looks on TV. Seeing him make a hot tag is a weather event. Things broke down, Huckaby scaled the ropes for a moonsault, and Black cut him off and delivered a choke bomb with a gnarly landing that legit rattled Huck. Noir won the match to advance to the Tides of War finals. The crowd loved it, and I remained thrown by the reaction.

Match 5: Angel del la Muerte vs. Kassius King

The masked luchador got the submission here with a pretty slick hold. I missed most of this one because my Wilford Brimley Spidey sense started tingling, and your favorite wrestling writer with an insulin issue needed to eat. Concession selection for something with protein was sparse. The only real offerings in that vein were boiled peanuts and jerky. Apparently the battle for a food license limits what they can have available, but a little wider selection would be appreciated.

Intermission 

This was an event all in itself, with several members of the roster working the room and hawking their merchandise. A giant group dance broke out with kids and wrestlers and ring announcer Kay Casiano. Sweeper was part of this and selling his hip while he danced, thus making a very fine offering to the wrestling gods.

Match 5: Josh Breezzyy vs. Travis Ray

Most Kraken matches are short by design. Every match on the card except the main event had a 10-minute time limit. Despite the relatively short time limit, nothing really felt rushed… except this match. I’ve already got some thoughts on Breezzyy in The Business coming in my next review on the Kraken archive, but this didn’t work for me.

Match 6: Saturday Night Temptations vs. The Business 

The other Tides of War semifinal. The match was just OK and got overshadowed by the simmering tension in The Business between manager Justin Kayse and Lamar Diggs and Jaz Jones. Diggs and Jones were none too pleased with the way the last event ended, with Kayse turning on Dominic Stuckey and aligning with Brother Azriel, who called his shot as Cash In Hand champion and challenged Stuckey on the spot right after he had won the Kraken Pro Title from Trever Aeon, who looks to be done in Kraken at least for the immediate future. Diggs and Kayse started bickering loudly from the minute they came through the curtain. Add the Temptations to the list of Kraken acts who have a very over ring entrance. CJ Shine and Karl Hager did some good crowd work with Hager’s hat, but The Business jumped them to cut off the shenanigans. Shine spent the majority of this match getting clobbered by The Business. When he did finally tag Hager, Diggs cut off the hot tag with a nice fallaway slam. More dissension between Diggs and Kayse. The ref took a tumble. Breezzyy ran out to interfere, and his superkick clocked Jaz in the face by mistake. The Temptations scored the tandem pin on Diggs, and also ended up with Kayse’s Georgia Wrestling History trophy, a beat that begged for a follow-up but Kayse had it right back for his appearance at the end of the night. I enjoyed the building discord in The Business, which is begging for an eventual climax with Diggs getting his hands on the manager. There’s a Faustian deal that has been made here, but is the devil in this case Kayse, the archvillain of Kraken? Or is Kayse Faust, who made moves and deals for power and influence and championships and now faces potentially brutal consequences for his choices?

Kraken GM Alex Chase is out with the tag titles and a faceoff between Noir and the Temptations. Black was very intense for this, and the crowd loved it.

Match 7: Vice Cream (Don Haylo & Jayy Wells) vs. Red Door (Charlie Kills & Jay 2 Strong)

Match of the night for me. Haylo and Wells have been personal favorites for a while, Jay is arguably the most reliable in-ring wrestler on the roster, and Charlie stands out with his character and tactics like joint manipulation and fish hooking that would warm the cockles of the heart of a World of Sport fan from the 1970s. They started hot with Vice Cream getting jumped. Haylo and Wells turn the tables and engage in an extended double team. I figure Diamond Duke was losing his mind on commentary during this. The crowd loves chops, and they got the nastiest one of the night from Wells, an incredibly nasty-sounding shot that both echoed and thudded, even with Jay wearing a shirt. Red Door end up working over Wells, who fired back but refused to tag out. “I got this!” he said to Haylo, but did he? He did not. A Strong Valley Driver by Jay 2 Strong finished it, and Haylo walked out without his partner.

Match 8: Xander King vs. ERC in Match 4 of their Best of 5

The main event, and the only match that had a longer time limit. ERC came in trailing 2-1 in the Best of 5, which telegraphed the result a good bit. Still a very solid back-and-forth match. King was on the very first few episodes of Kraken and did not impress. He was much better here, and I told him so after the show concluded. ERC stands out in Kraken as a sneaky, crafty wrestler. I’ll have more to say on this one when I’ve watched the rest of the series. ERC delivered a modified gut buster to tie the Best of 5 going into the Kraken Classic.

Kraken Classic ceremony

The final announced thing on the card was a ceremony where the eight wrestlers in the Kraken Classic offered their coins as “admission” to the tournament. Just like weddings and contract signings in pro wrestling, this segment was destined for chaos. The Kraken Classic field includes Haylo, Whatley, Nick Quick, Breezzyy, Hitta J, Charlie Kills, Huck, and Joe Black. As expected, the wrestlers started to brawl. Huckaby and Breezzyy are the final two left standing when Justin Kayse and the rest of The Business came out, and Kayse asked Huckaby to leave. Huck did, which potentially could make him look weak, but much less so after he floored Breezzyy with a punch.

Kayse started ranting and raving about Breezzyy being a weak link, then wiped the paint off of his face using Breezzyy’s own shirt. He introduced his newest client, and the new Kraken Pro champ, Brother Azriel. Once Kayse described him as the new ace of The Business, Stuckey’s music hit to a huge reaction. This double turn from the last event definitely worked. The whole story feels like it’s been lifted from Memphis or Mid-South in their heyday as territories. Kayse ordered Diggs to take out Stuckey, but Diggs and Jaz walked out instead. The crowd loved this.

A quick aside to recognize how valuable Kay Casiano is as a host for Kraken. I consider her one of the five individuals that are the most valuable to the promotion. I’ve done ring announcing, and hosting on wrestling TV, and I’m not very good at either one. Kay has a consistent presence even when chaos is breaking out and brings a credible anchorwoman type presence. During this segment, there was a great beat where, as Kayse started to leave the ring, Kay snatched the microphone he left laying on the apron and handed it to Dom with a big smile.

Stuckey got his turn to talk and made the most of it. Kraken needed a big moment to put butts in seats for the Kraken Classic and Stuckey’s promo really sold it. He challenged Azriel for the title and there’s your the main event at the Kraken Classic.

The stage is set for a strong card to celebrate Kraken’s second anniversary:

Brother Azriel defending the Kraken Pro Title against Dominic Stuckey
Noir vs. Saturday Night Temptations in the Tides of War finals to crown the first Kraken Tag Champions
Xander King vs. ERC in the final match of the Best of 5
Two Kraken Classic four-way semifinals, and the one-on-one Kraken Classic final
The return of the Ultimate Cash in Hand Scramble

Solid.

This was a fun evening of wrestling that moved briskly. Nothing overstayed its welcome and there was only one match that really missed the mark, although I maintain the two back-to-back finishes in the triple threats fell flat because of their sequence, and the unnecessary second shot with the nunchucks. I was also a little disappointed that the one event that worked for our calendar didn’t have Azriel, Stuckey, or Kevin Kantrell in action.

Kraken is very lucky to have this building, which is, hands down, one of the nicest venues for an independent wrestling promotion that I have ever experienced, either as a fan or working as a commentator, announcer, or otherwise behind the scenes. The talent has a very nice backstage dressing room area, and there’s even a catering spread for them.

The venue provides abundant square footage. There’s air conditioning.

And the bathrooms.

I say again, with the full endorsement of my better half … the bathrooms, y’all!

This was probably my wife’s favorite feature of the venue. Independent wrestling leads you to pee in some pretty gross places, at times.

Thanks to Kraken Pro Wrestling for the hospitality.

And look for the next installment of Review the Kraken soon.

Review the Kraken: Setting up the Season

Review the Kraken: Setting up the Season

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).

Justin Kayse lies unconscious on the mat at the Kraken Classic,
Just running back this picture to make Justin Kayse mad … but look how peaceful he was sleeping at the Kraken Classic!

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.

Want to catch up? Check out the full index of “Review the Kraken” content.

Review the Kraken: Episodes 31-34

Review the Kraken: Episodes 31-34

I started doing these Kraken Pro Wrestling reviews last fall, a few months after this promotion first debuted in South Georgia. Work and life and family responsibilities have made it difficult to keep pace or post reviews regularly, but we’re finally into 2025 with this taping.

These four episodes remain consistently watchable, thanks to a new overarching plot device, the Pieces of 8. As explained in one of the final episodes of 2024, the Pieces of 8 are eight coins, each of which guarantee the holder a spot in the Kraken Classic tournament to take place in May. The coins are awarded randomly to match winners; however, the coin holders become targets from there. If someone with one of the Pieces of 8 is pinned or submitted in any type of match, that wrestler gains possession of the coin — and then has to defend it.

The question of “who gets a coin” is the dominant story of this taping and it makes matches that are otherwise skippable at least worth catching the finish. Six of the eight coins get doled out in these four episodes, and I’m interested to see where this goes.

Episode 31

Hey, we’ve got a new opening video! Meanwhile, Donnie Harris, Jr., remains the lead commentator but is now the official general manager (no more “acting” tag after he assumed that role after the predecessor just vanished from Kraken).

We get right to the action, and assigning the coins, with Ehren Black capturing the first Piece of 8 by scoring the pin in a short tag match pitting Noir against Gabe Norton and Jayy Wells. Once tagged in by Mr. Wright, Black makes quick work of Jayy and Gabe. They’re hitting the ground running with the unpredictable, and quite creative, concept of allocating these coins.

Will Huckaby takes on ERC in the episode main event, which fell in the “fun while it lasted” category for me. I’ve been enjoying ERC’s antics as a crafty, undersized heel. Huckaby has been foul tempered ever since he was submitted by Kevin Kantrell at the last taping and then refused Kantrell’s following the match. That saltiness leads to Huck ultimately getting himself disqualified here.

Episode 32

The highlight of this episode is the singles match between Sam Hanson and Travis Ray. I like what I’ve seen out of Ray, who with the right moves could make his way to the top of the card in Kraken down the road. Ray gets a good showing here in defeat. I particularly liked him yanking on Hanson’s beard to pull him into grasp for a uranage and a pair of avalanches in the corner provoke a full-fledged “daggum” from Donnie on commentary. Hanson gets the win, and a coin, with a backslide pin out of nowhere.

The main event of the taping sees Trever Aeon and Jak Myles join forces against The Business duo of Jay 2 Strong and Diggs, This match was just OK — though it did feature a nice hot tag by Aeon — and had another sudden conclusion, this time with Jay, who’s been portrayed as more of the “weak link” in The Business recently, pinning Aeon on a rope-assisted schoolboy and earning himself a coin.

This episode also includes a Diamond Den segment featuring Jayy Wells, the introduction of Joey Hyder, and another chapter — albeit a very rough one — of the Rose Gold-Tsu Nami feud.

Episode 33

Liked the different opening to this one, as the camera follows Chad Skywalker to retrieve an envelope that contains his “assignment” to defeat Brandon Whatley. I just hope someone remembers to check that oven before they try to use it!

Skywalker and Whatley headline the episode. It’s a good, solid match, but one that struggles from the absence of a clear fan favorite. Who’s the crowd supposed to root for: the hired gun in Skywalker, or Whatley, who jumps Chad from behind to start the match? There’s a cool visual down the stretch where Skywalker kicks Whatley’s glove off his hand. Skywalker scores the win and, fitting the theme of this taping, a coin.

The Cash In, Cash Out Scramble returns and Edward Draven gets the somewhat surprising result in a taping with several surprising winners. Draven also gets a coin and, at this point, has to be considered the most vulnerable of the coin holders. Joey Hyder is also in the field, making his Kraken debut, and he’s easily the standout of the match.

A segment outside the building sets up a future tag match between All Star Special and Wells and Norton fueled in large part by Huckaby’s hatred of … ketchup? Since tapping out to Kantrell, Huckaby has become the bitter, salty veteran who gets mad over nothing and I’m here for it. It’s the type of thing you probably have encountered in the workplace and definitely have encountered if you spent any time in wrestling. I realize I am several months behind but maybe a future segment will have Huck getting mad at someone for not shaking his hand while purposely avoiding that person so they can’t ever shake his hand. Not that I am speaking from experience…

Episode 34

Apparently there can be only one as Kassius King (not to be confused with Cassius King) is now the lone wrestler with that homonym name now on the Kraken roster. King teams with Don Haylo against the H-Town Hittas, who win in less time than it took me to write and format this paragraph. The twin that scores the pin gets a coin. How will his brother react? The idea of both Hittas getting coins is intriguing.

We get another Diamond Den segment (now with theme music!) and it might be the best of the bunch overall. Karl Hager is the guest and has the schtick turned all the way to 11. I laughed out loud several times, not just at his answers to some of Diamond Duke’s questions but his mannerisms and fidgets.

Once again, the main event of the taping is the best match of this set of episodes. Dominic Stuckey takes on Charlie Kills and, if Charlie wins, he gets a three-minute match against Justin Kayse for the Kraken Title. Stuckey is a very good wrestler who has a knack for doing different things in each of his matches. That trend continues against Charlie in an old-school match with some wrinkles I did not expect: stomps to the foot and hand, and at one point manipulating the ankle joint to reverse a hold. The finish is hot. Kayse yanks young referee Clark out of the ring to break up a three count, and Clark decks Kayse with a punch! This is the first time that anyone in Kraken has struck Kayse and it’s a very interesting choice to give that spot to a referee. Stuckey ends up scoring another tainted win, but this was a nice addition to the ongoing story.

For 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 four episodes here:

Review the Kraken: The Kraken Classic

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?