Tag: Justin Kayse

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:

Review the Kraken: Whipping Post

Review the Kraken: Whipping Post

Welcome back to my continuing series of reviews of Kraken Pro Wrestling’s TV show on YouTube.

This piece technically covers the entire taping that generated Episodes 39-43. However, I’m deviating from the usual format for these reviews to focus entirely on the story that plays out in the final two episodes between The Business and Kevin Kantrell here, because the tag match and ensuing post-match stand out as the best thing Kraken has done yet. And I’ve seen it all to this point.

A simmering story with Kantrell and his son, Referee Clark, going against Justin Kayse and his faction reaches a boiling point here. Clark had established himself as a quality referee in Kraken even before getting involved in this angle, which all started with the young official flooring Kayse with a punch when he tried to interfere in a match. This was also the first time anyone on Kraken had inflicted any sort of violence on Kayse, who remains Kraken champion but never defends the title.

A couple of noteworthy firsts for Kraken emerge as part of this story. Episode 42 is “headlined” by an extended interview segment with all parties involved, something that is rare for Kraken and also the first time a promo has taken such a prominent spot on one of the relatively short, fast-paced YouTube episodes. Kayse has threatened all sorts of litigious consequences on Kraken after what Kantrell did at the last taping. And with GM Donnie Harris absent from these episodes, Kayse is running amok and makes a match where Kantrell and a partner of his choice face The Business’ Dominic Stuckey and Lamar Diggs. If The Business win, Kantrell is fired and Clark must take 10 lashes. Oh, and the match is happening right away.

Trever Aeon comes out to team with Kantrell — a solid but pretty obvious choice, considering Aeon’s ongoing issues with The Business and the fact he had yet to wrestle on this taping. There’s a weird cut where Episode 42 ends in the middle of the match introductions, but that’s a minor quibble. With all the pieces in place, Episode 43 tells a compelling self-contained narrative, while also priming the pump for several future matches and setting up a fine cliff-hangar. The whole thing came off to me as a love letter to the days of territory wrestling in TV studios.

Let’s start with the match itself, which flips the traditional American tag team structure with very little heat on the fan favorites and an extended opening period where Stuckey gets knocked around by Aeon and Kantrell. Stuckey takes a fantastic beating here and solidifies his status as one of the best bell-to-bell wrestlers on the roster. He sells like he’s being bludgeoned, murdered, and tortured all at once. Kantrell and Aeon appear to take special relish in their chance to really bring the thunder in their beat down of Stuckey, and it’s one of the few occasions yet where The Business truly seems to be on their heels. The pummeling continues until Stuckey blatantly rakes Aeon’s eyes to change the momentum of the match.

With the eye rake, Diggs takes center stage. There are several big men who wrestle in Kraken but none of them come off more intimidating or hard-hitting than Diggs. Everything Diggs does in the ring has an intentional malevolent brutality to it. This isn’t just mindless smashing by a monster heel, either; Diggs shows fine ring awareness when he counters Aeon’s attempt at his finisher with a gnarly looking Samoan Drop. Even when Aeon counters Diggs with a DDT, Diggs sells mostly to his knees, since it’s the only significant offense he’s taken the entire match. As an aside to this portion, Kody Madden, who’s back on commentary for this set of episodes, refers to Diggs as “The Big Decision” while he’s walloping Aeon. That’s a new one to me, but I like it.

As happens often in Business matches, the numbers game proves overwhelming. Jay 2 Strong, who’s been ringside with Kayse, smashes Aeon with Kayse’s briefcase while the lawyer/manager/leader has Referee Clark distracted. Aeon shows his mettle by not succumbing right away, countering Diggs’ first attempt at his sit-out powerbomb with a back drop. Diggs holds on, rolls through, and drops the boom on Aeon to win the match and Trever’s “Pieces of 8” coin. The coin changing hands gets lost in the shuffle, and rightfully so, during a brutal — in a complimentary way! — post match.

With a four-on-two advantage, The Business grab hold of Clark and Kantrell to set up for the lashes. There’s a fantastic moment where Kantrell, restrained in the corner, screams out “Let me take them!” repeatedly until Kayse and his cronies agree. Once more, the father steps up to protect his son, but with direct consequences on Kantrell. This is an incredibly relatable event, with Clark pleading with his father as Kantrell grabs hold of the top rope and turns his back to his enemies as the lashes begin.

Everyone plays their part perfectly in this. You have Kantrell, stoic and defiant throughout. He completely shrugs off the initial lashes by Kayse (more on him later), and fights through the ensuing whipping by Diggs, defiantly screaming his “Kantrell Rules!” catch phrase even when Diggs starts laying in some much nastier shots with the belt. As the last few lashes drive Kantrell to his knees, he stands each time and resists crying out. Only when it’s over, and Aeon places a hand of comfort on the shoulder of his partner, does Kantrell scream in pain.

Then you’ve got Clark, forced to stand by and watch his father make this sacrifice for him. Once the lashing is complete, seeing Clark tearfully repeat “I’m sorry” to his dad provides a palpable emotional twist of the knife that punctuates the entire affair. Aeon also sells the unfairness of the beating well. At times, he’s physically restraining — or maybe shielding? — Clark in the corner. Trever also goes nose to nose with Diggs (a singles match that Kraken has yet to do at this point, but would be high on my list) and Stuckey as the emotions of all come to a boil and even threatens to put hands on Kayse, a brief moment but one that delights the Tifton crowd.

Then you’ve got the various members of The Business. Seeing Diggs flog Kantrell with the leather strap only adds to his aura as the dominant heavy hitter of The Business. Jay is on the periphery of all this, but his heckling of Kantrell during the lashes (captured in the image that accompanies this piece) underscores the dastardly deed happening in the ring. It’s also worth noting that Jay, who’s increasingly coming off as the “weak link” of this group and loses his own “Pieces of 8” coin earlier in the taping, is the individual responsible for Diggs and Stuckey winning the match and setting all of this into motion. Stuckey alternates between physically restraining Clark and verbally sparring with Aeon.

And then there’s Justin Kayse, who is relishing being the ringleader of all this chaos and misery. Kayse has improved by leaps and bounds since first appearing as a manager in the very first few episodes of Kraken TV. He’s more confident on the microphone and just with his general presence in front of the crowd. He’s also found ways to compound his status as the undeserving champion; the lashes he delivers to Kantrell have no effect, once again underscoring how poorly Kayse will fare if someone on the roster is able to get him in a straight-up match for the title.

The final image (which, in hindsight, should have been allowed to stand on its own with the commentators laying out) is of a fired, beaten but unbowed Kantrell getting helped out of the ring by Aeon and Clark. His fate, and awaiting the long-overdue comeuppance for The Business, provide fuel leading into whatever comes next in Kraken.

I feel like this piece is already too long, but when looking at this entire set of episodes, I did want to point out one more thing. I’ve been writing these reviews for more than a year now. Maybe you’ve been following along this whole time (which, if so, you’re a very patient person), or you’re reading one of these Kraken articles for the first time. If you fall into the latter category, I strongly recommend that you check out the five episodes covered in this review, because they represent a perfect “jumping on” point to follow this small but growing promotion in South Georgia.

You can check out all of these episodes below:

For other entries in the Review The Kraken series, here is a master index.

Review the Kraken: Episodes 35-38

Review the Kraken: Episodes 35-38

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 …

Some other notes from this set of episodes ensue.

Episode 35

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.

Trever: I’m the Devil …

Kraken fans: Yaaaay!

Episode 36

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.

In the main event, Brandon Whatley beats Nathaniel Vanderbilt to capture a Kraken coin in a match that failed to connect for me.

Episode 37

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.

Episode 38

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.

That’s all for now, folks!

For other entries in the Review The Kraken series, here is a master index.

You can watch all four episodes here:

Review the Kraken: Episodes 19-22

Review the Kraken: Episodes 19-22

As WWE heads into WrestleMania weekend, the question is, is it possible for a casual fan to remain engaged? The biggest wrestling event of the year has swollen to become a two-night show with 14 to 15 matches, spanning seven to eight hours for the matches (and entrances) themselves, and several more hours for the pre-show gab-fest and post-show press conferences. The two-night concept is growing; SummerSlam will be split over two days this year as well and the Royal Rumble might be next in 2027.

My point is this. Casual fans can carve out one night every few months to get together and watch a three- or four-hour wrestling show. Two nights in the same weekend is a much bigger ask.

Meanwhile, I can fire up an episode of Kraken Pro Wrestling with my morning coffee and protein bar and be done by the time it’s time to walk my incredibly needy Shepherd mix.

Just saying.

I’m shaking up the format this time and looking at each episode individually. Kraken definitely appeared to turn a corner with the previous set of episodes — this set of matches is filmed in a former venue but with a significantly larger and more engaged crowd. Good growth but with higher quality come higher expectations.

Episode 19

Kody Madden and Donnie Harris return on commentary and they jell much better in this set of episodes. Harris is also now the interim general manager, as Robert Vien apparently returned to his home planet. There’s a short segment backstage where Harris establishes that aspiring challengers for the Kraken Title now have to beat Dominic Stuckey, the newest member of The Business, to earn a three-minute match with Business manager and current champion Justin Kayse. Stuckey appears to have jumped right to the top of the pecking order in The Business.

With Harris now the on-screen authority figure but still on commentary, I immediately wondered how this would work with rule breaking right in front of the boss, having been in a similar storyline conundrum myself many years ago for a promotion here in East Tennessee. Harris covers this beautifully after the very first match when ERC scores a crooked victory over Josh Breezyy by explaining that, while he is the general manager, the assigned referee has total and final authority inside the ropes during any match. Meanwhile, I liked the throwback structure that focused ERC’s attack on the knee of Breezyy, who also deserves an atta boy for some very fine selling. An extra tip of the cap to Donnie for using the word “fulcrum” on commentary.

Brother Azriel and Kevin Kantrell headline this episode and produce one of my favorite Kraken matches to this point. Kantrell actually isn’t undefeated — he lost in the second episode of Kraken TV in a forgettable match — but he is on a solid winning streak that continues against the super heavyweight Azriel, who has yet to score that breakthrough victory in a Kraken ring. Kantrell’s offense works well against opponents of any size — especially the leaping double stomp to the shoulder of a seated opponent — and he finishes yet another foe with his cross face hold.

Moving on!

Episode 20

The Cash In Cash Out Scramble returns and no winner in the past few scrambles means the pot continues to grow. The participants include Jak Myles, who has been a fixture in these matches since the concept was first introduced and has yet to win the pot; and Lamar Diggs and Jay 2 Strong from The Business. The match itself is pretty skippable but the finish and post-match are a fine piece of wrestling storytelling. Jak finally scores a win in the scramble, but The Business attacks him after the bell and steals the envelope of cash. The bait and switch reminded me, in a good way, of an angle they did in the Memphis territory way back in 1980 when a very young Koko Ware, a bottom-of-the-card wrestler at the time, won a battle royal to win a TV set and Jimmy Valiant smashed it.

After losing to Stuckey in the last taping in what stands as the best match I’ve seen yet in Kraken, Trever Aeon picks up a win against the debuting (on TV, at least) Brandon Whatley. I’ve seen Whatley before a few times and I like his martial-arts based style and how he uses it in a unique way in his matches. This is a good back-and-forth contest until Whatley, for some reason, grabs his nunchuks out of the corner right in front of the referee and eats Aeon’s finisher.

Episode 21

Rose Gold gets a second straight win. Her opponent this time is CT Entertainment and I especiallyed enjoy him yanking on her long hair as the turning point to take control. Rose is an interesting case because she’s equal to or even bigger than some of the male wrestlers on the roster. I definitely see her becoming a potential draw as time passes.

The main event is a tag match pitting All Star Special against Noir in their second head-to-head match in Kraken. The match goes to a time-limit draw, which is fine in concept but really telegraphed here. Time limits have barely been discussed previously in the entire Kraken history.; then the commentary team keeps talking about the time limit throughout the match.

Episode 22

Let me call your attention to the best episode yet of Kraken’s YouTube TV program.

The H-Town Hittas are back and win yet another squash match but this one has some extra spice courtesy of one of the opponents, Travis Ray, who shows some significant fight and knocks one of the Hittas down — something thus far unprecedented in Kraken. The Hittas proceed to win the match fairly quickly after that but I liked this twist to their usual match formula.

The main events of Kraken tapings have been consistent highlights and this bout between Dominic Stuckey and Trey Shaw continues the trend. This is just Stuckey’s second match in Kraken but he impresses me greatly and might be my favorite guy to watch on the entire roster. He’s definitely in the running for that. I especially like how much of what he does has a feeling of authenticity to it. We’ve all seen matches with early chain wrestling that feels more like cooperation than competition, with wrestlers standing there and waiting to have their opponent make a reversal and grab a hold. Stuckey’s first two Kraken matches have none of that. Little moments like when he scrubs his elbow across Shaw’s ear to escape then reverse a hold just enhance what’s happening inside the ropes. Stuckey knows how to work as a heel as well, stalling early and at one point ordering his manager Kayse to silence the crowd. It helps that the Kraken audience appears fully bought in and minimally jaded. The fans go dead silent when Stuckey counters Shaw and hits an Ushigaroshi and there’s a fantastic near-finish at the end when Stuckey’s hand grabs the bottom rope at the very last millisecond, and only after a distraction by Kayse — who is evolving as a troublesome mouthpiece — delayed the pin count by Shaw.

Let’s not diminish the contributions of Shaw in this match either. He’s probably one of the more popular wrestlers in Kraken at this juncture and brings his own convincing, authentic style to matches. His finisher is established as one of the most definitive in Kraken — status helped along greatly by the commentators on this match — and he has a couple of fantastic transitions in this match: catching Stuckey coming off the corner ropes and flattening him with a power slam, then getting his knees up on an attempted top-rope elbow by Stuckey that looked altogether gruesome for both competitors.

The match itself breaks down when Aeon, seeking revenge for what happened in his match with Stuckey, storms the ring and attacks. The locker room eventually empties for a brawl involving the entire roster of wrestlers on the taping, a trope that is always good for some entertaining chaos as long as it isn’t overdone, and this is the first time it happens in Kraken. We also get our first clffhangar finish, as Harris suspends both Aeon (for ruining the end of the match) and Myles (for attacking The Business with his janitor broom) for their actions during the brawl.

You’ll get more out of it with the context from prior episodes, but this 22nd installment of Kraken TV is 30-minute chunk of wrestling TV that is well worth your time. It’s also a fine introduction to the Kraken promotion if you’ve not been watching along with me so far.

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.

You can watch all four episodes here:

Review the Kraken: Episodes 9-11

Review the Kraken: Episodes 9-11

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

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

Here are some general observations on these three episodes…

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

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

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

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

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

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

You can check out all three episodes here:

Review the Kraken: The Kraken Classic

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?