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.
Let’s dig into these four episodes.
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.
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.
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