Tag: Karl Hager

Review the Kraken: Episodes 31-34

Review the Kraken: Episodes 31-34

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

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

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

Episode 31

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

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

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

Episode 32

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

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

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

Episode 33

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

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

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

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

Episode 34

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

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

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

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

Looking for something more retro? I’m also working on Mat Quest, a chronological viewing guide to the WWE archive on Peacock.

You can watch all four episodes here:

Review the Kraken: Episodes 23-26, aka The Taping of Chaos

Review the Kraken: Episodes 23-26, aka The Taping of Chaos

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.

Episode 23

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.

Episode 24

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.

Episode 25

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.  

Episode 26

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.

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

Looking for something more retro? I’m also working on Mat Quest, a chronological viewing guide to the WWE archive on Peacock.

You can watch all four episodes here:

Review the Kraken: Episodes 15-18

Review the Kraken: Episodes 15-18

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.

You can watch all four episodes here: