Kraken Pro Wrestling keeps rolling on and so do we, looking at the second Kraken taping of 2025. Once more, the Pieces of 8 take center stage, as the final open coins are won and a previously allocated coin changes hands.
The anchor of these four episodes, however, is an angle involving Kevin Kantrell and The Business. The last taping concluded with Justin Kayse, the manager of The Business and reigning Kraken Champion, taking a punch, and a bump, for the first time at the hands (literally) of an unlikely source… Referee Clark. Episode 35 kicks off with The Business demanding retribution on the young official, only to have Kantrell enter the discussion and reveal that Clark is his son. Kayse proposes a match between Kantrell and Business “ace” Dominic Stuckey. If Kantrell wins, he gets five minutes — not the standard three — against Kayse with the title on the line. If Stuckey wins, Referee Clark has to take two punches to the face. I know that old Memphis wrestling is a major influence on Will Huckaby, who books Kraken, and this entire stipulation would fit in great in the heyday of that territory. All that was missing was Lance Russell and Dave Brown.
The Kantrell-Stuckey match headlines the final episode from the taping, and it’s a good one. With most episodes of Kraken TV lasting 20 to 30 minutes, matches range to be on the short side. These two set a methodical pace that fits the mat-based skills of both. The grappling exhibitions are good but the real flavor comes from little moments where Stuckey begs off or shows cowardice. These enhance the match greatly, not to mention his own heel persona.
And then the finish comes. Kantrell has Stuckey ensnared in the cross face, and Kayse climbs through the ropes and grabs Stuckey’s hand, right in front of the ref, to prevent his ace from tapping. I included a screenshot of this in the featured image of this review.
I have a few pet peeves when it comes to wrestling, and cheating right in front of the referee is one of them. How in the world was this not a DQ? The actual finish occurs when Jay 2 Strong drags Clark through the curtain, leaving a distracted Kantrell ripe to get pinned by Stuckey. It feels like there’s lots of meat left on the bone between Kantrell and Stuckey, and I have to assume there was some kind of cross-up on the interference by Kayse.
The post-match, to be fair, is pretty strong. Kantrell apologizes repeatedly to his son, who steps through the ropes ready to take the punches. Kayse’s first blow, hilariously, doesn’t even faze Clark. We get an extra layer here to the story of Kayse being an unjust and unworthy champion, as he can’t even do damage to a non-wrestler. Kayse then opts for Stuckey to deliver the second punch, and Kantrell pulls his son out of the ring instead. I’ve already been watching the next set of episodes, and this story is just getting started …
Jay 2 Strong, who won one of the Pieces of 8 at the last taping, puts the coin on the line against ERC. Jay is a consistent, steady hand for Kraken. ERC has shown some flashes as a sneaky heel, but he’s positioned as a fan favorite here and shows plenty of fight. He kicks out of Jay’s Strong Valley Driver, and The Business member needs a distraction and the help of the ropes to get the pin. There’s a spectacular sell by ERC earlier, when he appears to enter the astral plane after taking a superkick.
The episode is headlined by a tag match pitting All Star Special against Jayy Wells and Gabe Norton and sees Huckaby progress from recently being a grumpy veteran wrestler to a nasty, grumpy vet. The crowd doesn’t really buy into the two youngsters here, even during a solid offensive display early in the match, but they become more engaged when Huck starts wrecking the both of them. There’s a good story to be told here, with Huckaby wanting to push the aggression at all points and his partner, Sam Hanson, frequently trying to be the brakes. The finish comes with Huck applying a deep submission hold, while Hanson is outside the ring telling their young foe, “It’s OK to tap.” Good stuff.
Kay Casiano, who’s been a nice addition to the product as a ring announcer and backstage interviewer, gets a few pre-recorded words from Trever Aeon in advance of him facing Joey Hyder later on this set of episodes. Kraken has done a good job positioning Aeon as its top hero, which I also find endlessly amusing given Kraken runs shows in south Georgia, smack-dab in the Bible Belt.
One of the weaker episodes of Kraken TV, especially compared to recent installments.
Jak Myles pins Edward Draven in the latest edition of the Cash In, Cash Out Scramble to claim Draven’s Kraken coin. The scramble itself advances a story or two but is mighty disjointed. Tsu Nami makes a tepid run-in to take Rose Gold out of the match, the latest miss in a rivalry between the two that got off to a promising start but since has floundered. Participants include Chad Skywalker, who receives another “special assignment” to win Draven’s coin and keep Myles from seizing it. Skywalker fails on both fronts and doesn’t interact enough with Myles to drive home that plot point.
Aeon vs. Hyder opens the episode? Hot damn! These two are among the top talents in Kraken and put on a good TV match, making the most of their time. Aeon gives Hyder, a relative newcomer, plenty of time to shine before executing a believable flash pin to get the win and the final unclaimed Kraken coin. During this match, Kraken lead broadcaster and general manager Donnie Harris says he wants to promote good, clean, sportsmanlike wrestling. Sounds boring.
Noir faces the Saturday Night Temptations in the main event, a rematch of a bout from a previous taping. I’ve been pretty cool on Noir as a team so far but this is their best Kraken match yet. Mr. Wright in particular shows more fire and intensity. The other half of Noir, Ehren Black, is a force of nature in Kraken. He’s huge, and knows it, and wrestles accordingly as it usually takes something extra to knock him off his feet. The Temptations score the win, so I guess we need a rubber match now.
The Kantrell-Stuckey match takes center stage on this episode. Elsewhere, the H-Town Hittas record another very one-sided victory,. Meanwhile “The Diamond Den” brings in Aeon as his guest. The tone is weird as Diamond Duke engages in a friendly chat with Trever, which doesn’t really ring true after Duke spent the past months slagging Aeon on commentary at almost every opportunity.
Kraken Pro Wrestling made its debut in the summer of 2024. I learned about the promotion not long after that and, back in the fall, I started watching and reviewing episodes of Kraken TV on YouTube, writing up my thoughts and posting them here. Life got in the way several times since, but I reached the end of 2024 with the episodes contained in this taping.
By this point, Kraken has established a core roster and is building some long-term storylines. The most significant plot point is the introduction of the Pieces of 8, a novel concept to determine participants in the Kraken Classic. The Pieces of 8 are coins, each of which gain the holder entry in the tournament. Whomever receives the coins then have to maintain possession until the Kraken Classic. If any coin holder gets pinned or submitted, in a singles or a tag match, whomever gets the duke claims that coin.
Kraken booker Will Huckaby shared with me that Donnie Harris, the lead commentator and on-screen authority figure, first came up with the idea as the premise for a secondary title. Using the coins to secure spots in the Kraken Classic evolved from that. Donnie mentions the new concept at the start of Episode 27, then explains it in greater detail to start Episode 29.
Wrestling tends to be all about recycling ideas — whether that means capitalizing on a hot trend or digging into something from a past era that has fallen out of favor and can seem like an innovation today. However, this is a very creative concept I do not recall seeing yet. It’s an idea I could see a major company stealing and using, and I mean that as a compliment to the creative team at Kraken.
This is also the first Kraken event at a venue the promotion still uses, a senior center in Tifton, Georgia. The entire vibe reminded me of some of those early CHIKARA shows from small public spaces in Pennsylvania. I’m not saying it means Kraken should put on a Cibernetico match, but I’m not not saying that, either.
A full menu of tag wrestling on this episode. After heavily teasing dissension between themselves at the last taping, Lamar Diggs and Jay 2 Strong of The Business face Jayy Wells and Gabe Norton in a fun little sprint. I don’t think Wells or Norton have won a match yet in Kraken but they bust out some nifty combo offense and I certainly didn’t have “Norton hitting an ushigaroshi” on my bingo card. Diggs and Jay throw in some small beats to keep their disagreement simmering; I especially liked Diggs chopping Jay across the chest to tag into the match.
The main event on this episode pits Noir against the Saturday Night Temptations. Thus far, I prefer Ehren Black as a singles act. This match rated as skippable for me but give Black, the other half of Noir Mr. Wright, and one of the Temptations, CJ Shine, props for thinking on their feet to keep the match moving and everyone safe when Karl Hager has a medical issue that basically takes him out of the contest.
This taping includes multiple installments of the Diamond Den interview series, hosted by Kraken commentator Diamond Duke. However, the one here featuring “The Sweeper” Jak Myles should have been left on the metaphorical cutting room floor. Duke just tosses out a bunch of bad jokes about trash, garbage, and janitors, and Jak doesn’t really seem to know how to respond. Jak has been getting built as a “man of the people” type of fan favorite but this segment did nothing to help him.
The Cash In, Cash Out Scramble returns. Myles gets his second straight win in the match but, this time, The Business doesn’t show up to attack him for the envelope of money. Myles wins with an STO, which I actually think looks better than his Russian legsweep. Kassius King, Don Haylo, Travis Ray, and ERC round out the field and everyone gets at least one moment to shine even in a short match. King not to be confused with Cassius King, who has a similar look to Kassius. Did I mention they also both wear white gear? Forget what I said about not being confused…
The main event on this episode is one of the better matches yet in Kraken, a rematch between Hold My Beer Hanson (now being billed as “Sam Hanson”) and Brother Azriel from the previous taping. Both wrestlers do a good job building off of what they did in the first match, and doing so without repeating many moves and spots from that initial meeting. The context of the first match adds to the quality of the second, and this incredibly hard-hitting rematch actually stands out as one of my favorite Kraken matches yet — as you’ll see in the lower section. Little touches helped elevate this one. I loved the facial reaction from Azriel when Hanson’s arm failed to drop the third time on a submission hold, and Hanson’s struggle to roll over Azriel for a pin attempt later in the match. I also caught for the first time that Azriel’s jumping piledriver — one of the more established finishers in Kraken — is called The Woodgrain. I can dig it.
Before Hanson’s match, he and Huck are backstage and bump into Kevin Kantrell. Words are exchanged and Huck and Kantrell agree to a match. This is the third or fourth time Huckaby has ended up in a match after bumping into someone in the back. I would suggest Kraken wrestlers just avoid hallways and doorways with Huck altogether at this point.
The centerpiece of this episode is the Kraken return (in some snazzy gold gear, no less) of Trever Aeon, who was suspended from the prior taping by Harris. Aeon faces the debuting Chad Skywalker. At first I found it distracting that Skywalker wrestled in a vest but after seeing some of those leaping stomps to the face, I think he can wear whatever he wants. Skywalker’s use of misdirection and hitting seemingly standard moves from unique angles helped him stand out here. The match goes to the time limit, but Donnie gives them a few more minutes. Diamond Duke is really lobbying Donnie to make that move; as mentioned in an earlier review, I like moments where, even with face/heel commentators, something happens to provoke a genuine human reaction. Once Donnie restarts the match, things heat up quickly. Skywalker looks like he went to the astral plane after eating a nasty-looking snap back suplex. He responds with a nice combo punctuated by an elbow drop out of a springboard moonsault from the second rope. Aeon wins with a second or two remaining in a finish that is executed very well. The only thing I didn’t like about this match was Skywalker using the cross face during the overtime; at this point that hold should be the sole property of Kantrell.
Elsewhere in this one… Donnie Harris explains the Pieces of 8 in greater detail to open this episode. It’s a segment of considerable length and he nails it in one continuous take and is pretty smooth in the process.
There’s another Diamond Den on this episode, this time with Kantrell as the guest. This continues to establish Kantrell, his credibility, and his undefeated streak, while creating the question of what he still has to do to get a shot at the Kraken title. It makes for an effective piece of storytelling, and shows the capability of segments like this.
Charlie Kills scores another win in the opening match, besting Josh Breezzyy. I can summarize Charlie best as Kraken’s lovable murder clown. It can be tough to convey emotion during a match with your entire face covered, but Charlie does a good job of this, especially when he sells. The work here is solid but the match did not connect for me.
The beginning of this episode is different from anything Kraken has done to date. Things open with a seemingly silly backstage segment with Rose Gold and the Temptations, until the debuting Tsu Nami attacks Rose, a brawl that goes all the way into and around the ring. One of the Temptations screaming out “Mama no!” as the brawl leads away from them got a genuine chortle out of me. A scheduled match between them gets called off because of the attack. I liked this as something fresh for Kraken but it ran on a bit too long for me.
Sandwiched between this and the taping main is a brief segment between Diggs and 2 Strong where they agree to, well, stop disagreeing. Jay makes the segment when, after the two have a rather intense handshake, he quietly asks Diggs to please let go.
After their aforementioned hallway escalation, Kantrell takes on Huckaby in a contrast of styles and sizes that mostly sees them beat, as I wrote when making notes in the moment, the everloving piss out of one another. Kantrell is rugged and ruthless attacking the arm and hand of Huckaby. Kantrell wins by submission, but not with the Crossface. Instead, he takes a spinebuster, rolls through a pin attempt by Huckaby and hooks him in a Muta Lock. After Huck refuses an offered handshake, Kantrell speaks on the house mic in a promo that sounds like it was recorded from the bottom of a well. Poor sound quality notwithstanding, the message is there: he’s coming for the title, which really should be the goal of every wrestler on a given roster, right?
2024 Review
With this the end of Kraken’s offerings for 2024, and fully realizing we are nearly halfway through 2025, I thought it’d be worthwhile to try and identify the best matches and top performers for this still-new promotion.
Best Matches of 2024
#1, Kevin Kantrell vs. Jay 2 Strong, Episode 26
Kantrell works as a full-fledged fan favorite for the first time in Kraken in a highly entertaining, back-and-forth contest. Read my thoughts on this match here.
#2, Trever Aeon vs. Dominic Stuckey, Episode 18
Stuckey makes his Kraken debut in a very good match against the top babyface in Kraken. Read my thoughts on this match here.
#3, For 3 Minutes vs. Justin Kayse: Trey Shaw vs. Dominic Stuckey, Episode 22
Now part of The Business, Stuckey faces Shaw in another top-notch match. Unfortunately, this marked Shaw’s final Kraken appearance to date. Read my thoughts on the match here.
#4, Hold My Beer Hanson vs. Brother Azriel rematch, Episode 28
This match got covered in this installment and really jumped out as something unique and compelling.
#5, Will Huckaby vs. Lamar Diggs, Episode 14
A hoss fight that saw both men push the boundaries with some high-risk moves down the stretch. At the time it aired, it was the best match in Kraken at the time and also the longest — two hurdles that have been surpassed several times by the end of 2024. Read my thoughts on the match here.
2024 MVP:This isn’t necessarily about the best wrestler on the roster or the top draw, but about who brings the most consistent value as compared to their time on screen.
Honorable Mention:Jay 2 Strong is one of the more consistent wrestlers on the roster and one of the best if he’s slated for a big match. CJ Shine maximizes his time on camera whether that’s a main event tag match or a 20-second cameo in a backstage segment.
Fifth place: Lamar Diggs — The heavy hitter of The Business, Diggs speaks softly or hardly at all but hits like a truck. He projects an imposing figure of menace any time he is on camera, whether in a match or just looming at ringside or in the background of a segment.
Fourth place: Dominic Stuckey — I sang Stuckey’s praises when he showed up in the fall of 2024 and had he compiled a longer run in Kraken, he likely would have finished higher. He did produce two of the top Kraken matches in 2024.
Third place: Kevin Kantrell — Kraken has some intriguing long-term stories simmering and the build of Kantrell has been one of the more consistent and well-done elements of their TV show. No matter the opponent or how big the size discrepancy, Kantrell has tapped them all out. That has also allowed Kantrell to showcase his talents against a variety of different wrestlers and styles.
Runner-up: Brother Azriel — I did not expect to see Azriel finish this highly when I started looking back at Kraken in 2024 and, to be honest, I did not think much of Azriel when I first saw him in Kraken. The big man is actually an incredibly consistent presence — the wrestling equivalent of the guy in a baseball lineup who rarely strikes out and often gets on base. He’s surprisingly nimble for his frame, hits hard when he wants to, projects a generally formidable aura, and has shown great versatility along the way: a pair of hoss fights against Hanson, a very good clash of styles with Kantrell, a classic Southern style main event with 2 Strong, and playing along with the shenanigans of the Saturday Night Temptations in their debut tag. I understand Azriel finished 2024 with some health problems but does make his Kraken return at some point in 2025, so I’ll be interested to see if he can keep it up after the time away.
MVP: Trever Aeon — If Stuckey is the ace of the heels and Kantrell is the workhorse on the roster, then Aeon is the top guy among the fan favorites. Since getting robbed in the Semifinals of the Kraken Classic, Aeon has been on a mission to bring down The Business and champion Justin Kayse and the fans appear to be fully bought into the chase. His only bad match in Kraken was on the debut episode and was more an indictment of his opponent than anything. Since then, Aeon has had an assortment of good to great matches under the Kraken banner, with the match against Stuckey as the high point. His bout with Skywalker on this taping nearly cracked my top five for 2024. As booker, Huckaby closed the year by using Aeon to introduce new talent like Brandon Whatley and Skywalker — two unique and talented wrestlers. Meanwhile, Aeon keeps meeting and beating every challenge in front of him like a heroic figure should in any fictional or dramatic work. Factor in the crowd reactions and Aeon is clearly the man whose won the hearts and minds of Kraken fans.
As a writer, I’ve always been fascinated by the booking process in wrestling. So, when Kraken Pro Wrestling booker Will Huckaby told me he had heavily revised the card for one Kraken event just a few hours before bell time, I wanted to get more details once I got there in this review project.
Cancellations and card changes are part of it but Huckaby found himself dealing with a slew of them on the day of the event. Moreover, previously known absences included Trever Aeon, Jak Myles, and Justin Kayse.
“On the way to the show, people were calling out. I didn’t know what I was gonna do,” Huckaby recalled.
He made significant rewrites while en route to the venue, which entailed changing almost the entire first half of the scheduled taping.
“It turned out way better than I thought it would be originally, to be honest with you,” Huckaby told me.
With that, let’s dive into this latest set of reviews of Kraken TV, which covers Episodes 23-26.
The major storyline that plays out over the course of these four episodes is a simmering dissension within The Business with manager (and champion) Kayse not present. Not to worry, though, Dominic Stuckey tells Lamar Diggs and Jay 2 Strong that he’s talked to the base barrister of Kraken and knows the plan. The problem is that, after Stuckey’s open challenge to kick off this episode against Jayy Wells, he’s otherwise absent. Also worth noting that, in a similar impromptu match with Wells, Jay 2 Strong wins clean while Stuckey needs a distraction from his Business teammates to set up the finish.
One of the hastily changed matches on this taping is also the only tag, pitting the Saturday Night Temptations against the H-Town Hittas. This is the most competitive match yet for the Hittas, who otherwise have wrestled a series of very one-sided squashes. The identical twin monster heels bust out some new offense in this one — there’s a nice combination spear and short-arm clothesline while CJ Shine is taking the heat. I also liked the slow burn after the hot tag to Karl Hager. The Hittas don’t bump for Hager right away but some extra effort helps him knock down both.
You know you’re in for something when the episode opens with a disclaimer and it has to do with the main event of the episode. Rose Gold, who is 2-0 thus far in Kraken, says she will take on anyone on the roster. Enter Diggs — and speaking of entrances, I loved the camera angle as he came through the curtain, shooting him from below to make him look as massive as possible. Diggs totally controls the ensuing match until Diggs splatters the referee by accident on a corner splash. Rose Gold turns the tide with a low blow, then dodges a superkick by an interfering Jay 2 Strong, who hits Diggs by mistake. Rose Gold low-blows Jay as well, then pins Diggs and the crowd loves every bit of this. I wouldn’t call it a good match by technical standards but the whole affair is highly entertaining.
Meanwhile, I thought there was a real disconnect on commentary during this one. Kody Madden and Diamond Duke are at the table for this and Episode 26, and while we’ve established that Dave is the heel announcer, his laughter and altogether delight at seeing Rose Gold get obliterated rubbed me the wrong way. The face-heel dynamic on commentary is tricky, but I think it works best, like any gimmick, when it is rooted in reality. And, in reality, in 2025, most people would express at least a little discomfort. That said, if the goal is to portray Diamond Duke as a totally loathsome individual, then mission accomplished.
The less said about the other match on this episode, Huckaby vs. Cassius King, the better, although Huckaby does bust out his moonsault. There’s also a short segment with Jak Myles waiting outside the office of Kayse, promising payback when The Sweeper returns from his 30-day suspension.
All the card changes on the day of the event reduce the latest Cash In, Cash Out Scramble to three participants: Ehren Black and the debuting Nathan Vanderbilt and D’Angelo Leysath. Black dominates this match, as he should, and I think I prefer him as a menacing monster in the singles division than I do in his Noir tag team.
I enjoyed the main event between Hold My Beer Hanson (now being billed as Sam “Hold My Beer” Hanson) and Brother Azriel. Hanson brings more of a hard-hitting approach to this than his tag work with Huckaby in All Star Special, and I’m here for it. The two super heavyweights engage in what I would describe as a clumsy hoss fight, and I mean that as a compliment. Clumsy, in that the execution might be off from time to time, but those imperfections emphasize the physical punishment both wrestlers endure. Hanson, who is also the Kraken promoter, seems bound and determined to shake off the cliche of the guy in charge always putting himself over and Azriel takes the win here — in impressive fashion as he hoists Hanson for a jumping pile-driver that’s been established as one of the most authoritative finishing moves in Kraken.
Once again, the fourth episode in the taping is the best. It also includes a superb main event between 2 Strong and Kevin Kantrell, which eclipses the Stuckey vs. Trever Aeon match from Episode 18 as the best match in Kraken history. There’s so much to like in this match: from the sharp, crisp mat wrestling between the two in the early going to some high-impact moves and well-done false finishes. It’s not the spots or the moves but the little things that elevates what happens here. Watch how Kantrell sells a snap suplex he takes into the turnbuckles — not just on the initial impact but in the disorientation he shows for the next several minutes. In the home stretch, Jay busts out a Strong Valley Driver from the second rope that leaves him screaming in pain himself upon impact and that still doesn’t finish the match because Jay is slow to cover after the punishment he’s received. Kantrell meanwhile finds himself thrust into the firm fan favorite role for the first time in Kraken, overcoming more botched Business interference — this time with Diggs hitting Jay by mistake (we think?) to secure another submission win with his version of the cross face. Kantrell continues an impressive win streak against opponents of all sizes and styles, while Jay shows he can be arguably the best wrestler on the roster when he wants to raise his game.
In the other match on this episode, ERC continues to grow on me as a sneaky heel and has a good match with the debuting Don Haylo. His rule breaking tactics get diluted somewhat in this one by four very vocal ERC fans in the front row, but I like where he’s going as a character.
Kraken is on a roll, but I honestly don’t think it can be appreciated without watching week to week. It’s not the type of wrestling show where you can parachute in for a particular episode or the blow off — although this has been more a steady week-to-week product so far than building to a major event.
This isn’t the type of wrestling promotion that churns out five-star matches or produces a bunch of GIF-worthy highlights or angles that can go viral. Instead, there is a quiet continuity to the product that, with it, brings great value. We know that Azriel’s piledriver and Kantrell’s cross face are almost unstoppable finishing moves because they’ve been built that way week after week. We know there are cracks in The Business since Stuckey was added. We know it’s a big deal when the H-Town Hittas get knocked off their feet because it rarely happens.
It remains a product well worth your time, especially if you’re a fan of the old-school stuff.
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.
In Moore House Wrestling 