Tag: Joe Black

Review the Kraken: Multiple Multi-Man Matches, Man

Review the Kraken: Multiple Multi-Man Matches, Man

Kraken Pro Wrestling celebrated its one-year anniversary with the Kraken Classic. The event also represents the climax of stories that have been cultivated since Kraken first started running. Whereas usual installments of this series focus on an entire set of episodes from a single taping, while watching these matches, I decided that breaking up the Kraken Classic into two parts made more sense.

Episode 48

The original Kraken Classic was an eight-man tournament that played out over the first several episodes of Kraken’s show on YouTube. The format’s been changed; the first round now consists of a pair of four-way matches, with the two winners advancing to a one-on-one match for the finals and a guaranteed shot at the Kraken Title.

The first four-way involves Lamar Diggs of The Business, Ehren Black, Joey Hyder, and Jayy Wells. Black is the biggest man in Kraken and Diggs is not far behind him. To no surprise, the story revolves around the two monsters. Hyder and Wells try to join forces against them, then get pummeled by them, only to see the inevitable breakdown and battle between the two behemoths. This is a fun match that is sloppy in places but it’s one of those where the flaws in execution go to serve the inherent chaos of a four-way match that is one fall to the finish.

This is a good match and it is laid out well, giving everyone a chance to shine. Hyder shows his toughness, taking some chops early that leave his chest a gruesome shade of purple. He hits his “Razzle Dazzle” combo (a Finlay roll into a standing moonsault) on Diggs in an impressive athletic display. Later, he throws a knee trembler that I’d like to see become part of his usual arsenal.

I wrote about Wells and his steady progression in Kraken as part of the last review. He’s a hometown guy with a ton of crowd support at these shows in Tifton and he strings together some big offensive moves down the stretch that made me buy that he was going to win even though I already knew the outcome of this match. It’s always a slick feat when a match draws you in to that extent. Wells hits Hyder with a cutter and I adored what comes next: Wells, feeling the effects of the beating he’s taken thus far, uses his head to slowly roll Hyder onto his back for the pin because he’s too fatigued to use his strength and put Hyder’s shoulders on the mat.

This is a real battle that felt like it had stakes and some surprises. Donnie Harris on commentary at one point proclaims the match “is lasting longer than some marriages” (a weird remark when we were about 10 minutes in), but I thought this one breezed by, especially compared to another match on this card. Diggs and Black have a few scraps, and their interactions just provide a tantalizing tease of what a singles match between them would look like. Diggs ultimately scores the win over Hyder, with manager Justin Kayse (who also happens to be Kraken Champion) helping out his charge by taking his briefcase and blasting Black in the head with it outside the ring. Credit to Diamond Duke for pointing out this bit of interference after the fall, noting the “smart move” by Kayse. I actually missed it watching live and caught it on a rewind. It happened fast, and in the background, so calling it out like that was welcome. That’s good commentary.

The second Kraken Classic first-round match involves Sam Hanson, Charlie Kills, Hitta K of the H-Town Hittas, and Brandon Whatley. These four had a tough act to follow after a hot, action-packed opener and this match definitely felt a step or two below the first one as a result. I tend to run cold on multi-man matches because I feel like they fall into the trap of a couple guys in the ring doing something while everyone else is selling or just waiting outside the ring. This match delved into that dicey territory at times. My single top highlight was when Hanson ensnares Hitta K in a bulldog choke, and the amazing expression on Hanson’s face as he exhorts his opponent to tap. Kudos to the camera operator for being in the perfect spot to capture this, too. Charlie gets the duke and Hitta K takes the fall, which pleasantly surprised me given the Hittas entered this match undefeated as a team in Kraken.

In between the two four-ways, we get a short interview segment involving the debuting Joe Black, who is set to face Kevin Kantrell later on the card. I first met Joe more than a decade ago and I’ve been a fan of his work ever since, so I’ve enjoyed getting to see him receive the plaudits he deserves as of late on the Southeastern scene. Joe is smooth and succinct on his comments, which serve as a perfect introduction for him in Kraken. Kantrell steps in, words get exchanged, and Joe departs without shaking Kantrell’s hand, which is a nice callback to the Kantrell-Will Huckaby match that ultimately caused so many problems at the end of 2024.

Episode 49

This episode revolves entirely around the latest Kraken Championship, the Cash In Hand Title. If you’ve been reading these reviews, you know about the Cash In, Cash Out Scramble concept. This is the extrapolation of that: an actual title that the winner then will defend in future scrambles. Defend successfully three times and you get a shot at the Kraken Title. This is billed as the “ultimate” Cash In, Cash Out Scramble. It’s more of a mix between a scramble and a rumble. Five wrestlers start out, and as participants get pinned or submit, a new competitor joins the fray.

There are 13 (!) wrestlers in this match at some point or another, so I feel it would be counterproductive — and a slog to read, for that matter — to do a straight recap. Instead, I wanted to share my major takeaways from this scramble.

  • Nick Quick is one of the first participants and also the first elimination. He continues to win me over as a small underdog and he takes a beating well, which elevates whomever is going against him.
  • Kraken’s core fan favorites are all very over. The Saturday Night Temptations get good reactions for each of their entrances and, when Jak Myles joins as the final entrant, he quickly gets the crowd chanting, “Sweep!” In a time when many crowds sit on their hands just waiting to react to the next big move, it’s endearing to see several Kraken wrestlers connecting with their audiences to such a degree.
  • If you haven’t seen this yet, or you already have, go back and watch and pay attention to what C.J. Shine does. Shine comes in early in the order and is there for most of the match, doing a fine job directing traffic and keeping the match flowing. Shine gets pinned late in the match by ERC, which is probably the best moment yet for ERC in Kraken.
  • Each wrestling promotion has to build its own narrative or, if you’ll indulge my nerdy Dungeons & Dragons side, lore. Establishing certain moves as all-but-unbeatable adds to that lore, and the Woodgrain jumping piledriver by Brother Azriel certainly qualifies. Azriel uses the Woodgrain to defeat Hitta J, who gets pinned for the first time in Kraken. A tough night for the identical twin Hittas …
  • Jay 2 Strong puts on a tour de force performance in this match. One of the first five entrants, Jay goes the duration. Not only that, he bumps and sells for just about every other participant when they join the fray. I was really impressed with his work here.
  • Once everyone has entered, the match switches to a “one fall to a finish” format. The participants at that time are Sweeper, Jay, Huck, and Don Haylo. Myles, appropriately, gets the win after hitting each of the other three with his Russian legsweep finisher. It’s a great story moment as well as the first real signature win for Myles, who was a lovable hard-luck loser on the early Kraken shows, had one of his Cash In Cash out Scramble payouts stolen by The Business, and gets some revenge here by pinning Jay from The Business — even though Jay is somewhat on the outs from the rest of the group heading into the scramble.

I think there’s enough in this scramble to appeal to most wrestling fans but for maximum enjoyment, you’d need to be pretty familiar with Kraken’s product. Fortunately, getting familiar is made easier with my full set of Kraken reviews.

Here are both episodes:

365 Wrestling, Day 10: Joe Black vs. Will Huckaby, Dog Collar Match (Southern Honor Wrestling, 1/10/20)

365 Wrestling, Day 10: Joe Black vs. Will Huckaby, Dog Collar Match (Southern Honor Wrestling, 1/10/20)

365 match reviews, one for each date on the yearly calendar? Challenge accepted. Welcome to 365 Wrestling.

With the free agent market in wrestling flooded in 2022, many promising talents run the risk of remaining relatively unknown or never getting the opportunities on a bigger stage. One goal of this project is, when possible, to spotlight wrestlers who I feel don’t get enough credit for their work. This match involves two of said wrestlers, Joe Black and Will Huckaby. I’ve worked as a commentator or “authority figure” at shows involving both, who put together a memorable feud that culminated in January of 2020 in Southern Honor Wrestling in a Dog Collar Match.

You can watch this match on IWTV.

The Match

An excellent video detailing their six-month rivalry runs right before the match. At one point in the build, Black blasted Huckaby in the head with a glass bottle, leading to a storyline eye injury that had Huckaby wearing an eyepatch, even on shows for other promotions or in different states. That type of storyline continuity is rare on the independent level, where two guys could be embroiled in a hated rivalry one night and then teaming together the next and it all ends up on YouTube by the following Wednesday.

SHW held a special contract signing at a prior event, where Huckaby slices his arm and signs with his own blood. Gruesome, but compelling. Both men are underrated talkers and Black especially shines through. This line stands out: “Your blood that you signed the contract with is gonna be the same blood I coat my hands with and wipe on my chest as war paint.” Yes. Sold.

A big-fight feel adds a lot to a match (as we’ve seen in offerings from New Japan and NOAH), and it’s in full effect here despite the more intimate atmosphere. The entrances add extra sizzle, with Huckaby and Black both dressed as homages to famous Marvel characters (the Incredible Hulk and Wolverine, respectively).

What ensues is nearly 30 minutes of one of the most physically intense matches I have seen. Black and Huckaby start out at a slower pace than I expected given the “blood feud” build, but this allows more time for the violence to escalate.

Huckaby is in full heel mode. He delivers a knockout punch to one of the two assigned referees at the opening bell. After Huckaby powerbombs Black twice through a table at ringside (watch the table explode on the second, and half land on Joe in what could have been nasty), he threatens the referee still standing to get unlocked from the chain linking them. Huckaby goes wild, dismantling the ring to expose the boards underneath the canvas. Then, when a package piledriver fails to produce the three count, Huck starts removing boards, flinging them across the ringside rail in a melee reminiscent of watching Bruiser Brody run amok.

Meanwhile, Black does great work as the gutsy, undersized, fan favorite. He’s got the crowd support and summons the spirit of the character who inspired his gear for the match, taking a serious beating but “regenerating” each time. His offense is just as physically punishing, if not moreso, than Huck’s. Once the boards are removed to reveal the metal substructure of the ring, Black dumps Huckaby on not one but two front suplexes into the abyss.

Both men end up getting released from the chain, which takes away from the hype surrounding the stipulation, but they compensate for any disappointment with–you guessed it–more violence. We see blood. We see weapons. We even see green mist. Things spill out of the ring and into the parking lot, where hostilities are capped by a protracted brawl around and on a car in the parking lot before Black finishes it with a Falcon Arrow onto the front windshield.

Final Rating: 7.5

I’ve always enjoyed the dog collar match as the way to settle a feud for good. This one delivers. The escalation of violence throughout keeps the fans invested. Although the stipulation gets cast aside, it allows for a spectacular final spot in the parking lot.

Here’s the complete, ongoing list of matches in this project.

What’s Next

Things get Dangerous in 1992 for a six-man tag from a WCW B-show.

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