Tag: Karl Hager

Kraken Pro Wrestling Live Report: April 12

Kraken Pro Wrestling Live Report: April 12

The wife and I found ourselves in Atlanta this past weekend, and Kraken Pro Wrestling just so happened to have a show scheduled for Tifton, on Sunday.

Not only that, this was the go-home show heading into the second anniversary event, the Kraken Classic.

We had to check it out, and we did. So after a three-hour drive from Atlanta that somehow felt longer than the five-hour drive from East Tennessee to Atlanta the night before, we found ourselves at Chino & Letty’s Place, the current home of Kraken.

I’m still way behind the present day on my review series of Kraken and now that I know where things are headed, it will be interesting to watch those episodes from that perspective.

I’ve been to dozens of wrestling shows in my life — some as a fan, some as part of the show. Kraken live is a very different experience from all of them. It’s like the shows happen in their own little self-contained reality. The crowd is not what I would describe as a typical wrestling crowd. They don’t start chants. They don’t heckle wrestlers. They don’t react to big spots or moves, although they sure do enjoy a nasty chop, and they got several of them on this card. It’s also not a dead crowd, by any means. The fan interaction during the entrances, between matches, and at intermission shows that.

Unique.

This was also the go-home show before the Kraken Classic, the second anniversary show for the promotion. Last year’s Kraken Classic was the culmination of most of the main storylines in the first year, and the upcoming anniversary show looks to be the same.

Let’s dive into the results. Thanks to my wife, Sandi Moorehouse, for taking the pictures.

Match 1: Nick Quick vs. CT Entertainment

I got to the show early and stayed late and got to chat with several members of the roster, including Nick. I told him before the show that it was highly entertaining to watch him get annihilated every week, and it’s true. He sells well, and it’s helped him carve out a niche. His entrance is incredibly over with the Kraken fans, and likely benefits from the fact the promotion runs regularly out of the same venue.

The match was a basic but solid opener. CT delivered a nice release German suplex that might have made Nick even shorter. After CT confronted Referee Clark about a slow count on a spinebuster, Nick caught him in a backslide basically out of nowhere. CT pursued Clark to the back still complaining. Nick Quick has one of the eight coins going into the Kraken Classic, by the way. He’s a very effective underdog and the fans enjoy to root for him.

Match 2: Johnny Faith vs. Nathaniel Vanderbilt vs. Brandon Whatley

This is for a Kraken coin, and I’m not sure who had the coin coming in, but it’s also the first match back in Kraken for Whatley, who missed about a year of action with a ruptured Achilles. I’d written before about how Vanderbilt’s rich guy persona lended itself more to him being a heel, and it’s happened. He comes out to opera music, wearing a long coat, an obnoxious hat, and exudes a pompous, obsequious attitude that makes you want to see him get punched. Mission accomplished. This was my first look at Johnny Faith, and he showed some good fire. At one point Whatley had him in a hold and when the referee checked for a submission, Johnny screamed out “I never quit!” Vanderbilt spent most of this match on the floor and got walloped by Whatley every time he tried to get back into the ring. When he did get back in, he had a rough-looking landing on a standing shooting star press on Faith. The finish came when Johnny had Vanderbilt pinned, and Whatley smashed Faith in the head with his nunchucks over the referee’s shoulder. That was fine, but then Whatley hit him again right in front of the referee. I get triple threats are usually no DQ, but this was egregious and buried the poor referee.

Match 3: Jak Myles vs. Julian Balderas vs. Hitta J

Another triple threats for a Kraken coin. Man, the kids in Tifton really dig the Sweeper, and he plays up to them in a way that is almost perfect. Balderas is new to me and has a rugged vibe — and a spear — that all reminded me of Rhino. Hitta J is a singles wrestler now after his brother moved, and his dad is his manager. His presence adds a lot to J’s act, as he’s an imposing dude with presence who carries a big stick (literally). Balderas and Hitta J spent a good bit of time trading endless strikes like Peter Griffin and The Chicken. Hitta J showcased a decent arsenal of power moves. Finally, J got taken down on a combo with Sweeper hitting a Russian legsweep and Balderas a spear. Balderas also busted out what I can describe best as a Vader bomb after jumping from rope to rope in the corner like a Best Moonsault Ever. I dig it, and it’s a nice bit of agility from a big dude. J’s manager, Dr. Kenneth Jones, broke up the pin by pulling his son’s foot into the ropes. Hitta J came back with a chokeslam on Balderas to claim the coin. This finish was fine in a vacuum and should play well enough in a separate episode of TV, but live, it fell flat coming immediately after the nunchuck use in the previous match.

Match 4: All Star Special vs. Noir

Noir are fan favorites now. I repeat, Ehren Black and Mr. Wright, the often reviled duo in Kraken, are fan favorites. No one prepared me for this. They really seemed to be savoring the crowd support, and I like Mr. Wright’s new haircut. Kraken fans don’t chant, except for a “Let’s go Noir” chant that broke out. What is happening?!? Huckaby and Hanson basically worked this one as heels. Hanson caught Wright with the ole knee in the back as he bounces off the ropes to help All Star Special take advantage. Black is even bigger than he looks on TV. Seeing him make a hot tag is a weather event. Things broke down, Huckaby scaled the ropes for a moonsault, and Black cut him off and delivered a choke bomb with a gnarly landing that legit rattled Huck. Noir won the match to advance to the Tides of War finals. The crowd loved it, and I remained thrown by the reaction.

Match 5: Angel del la Muerte vs. Kassius King

The masked luchador got the submission here with a pretty slick hold. I missed most of this one because my Wilford Brimley Spidey sense started tingling, and your favorite wrestling writer with an insulin issue needed to eat. Concession selection for something with protein was sparse. The only real offerings in that vein were boiled peanuts and jerky. Apparently the battle for a food license limits what they can have available, but a little wider selection would be appreciated.

Intermission 

This was an event all in itself, with several members of the roster working the room and hawking their merchandise. A giant group dance broke out with kids and wrestlers and ring announcer Kay Casiano. Sweeper was part of this and selling his hip while he danced, thus making a very fine offering to the wrestling gods.

Match 5: Josh Breezzyy vs. Travis Ray

Most Kraken matches are short by design. Every match on the card except the main event had a 10-minute time limit. Despite the relatively short time limit, nothing really felt rushed… except this match. I’ve already got some thoughts on Breezzyy in The Business coming in my next review on the Kraken archive, but this didn’t work for me.

Match 6: Saturday Night Temptations vs. The Business 

The other Tides of War semifinal. The match was just OK and got overshadowed by the simmering tension in The Business between manager Justin Kayse and Lamar Diggs and Jaz Jones. Diggs and Jones were none too pleased with the way the last event ended, with Kayse turning on Dominic Stuckey and aligning with Brother Azriel, who called his shot as Cash In Hand champion and challenged Stuckey on the spot right after he had won the Kraken Pro Title from Trever Aeon, who looks to be done in Kraken at least for the immediate future. Diggs and Kayse started bickering loudly from the minute they came through the curtain. Add the Temptations to the list of Kraken acts who have a very over ring entrance. CJ Shine and Karl Hager did some good crowd work with Hager’s hat, but The Business jumped them to cut off the shenanigans. Shine spent the majority of this match getting clobbered by The Business. When he did finally tag Hager, Diggs cut off the hot tag with a nice fallaway slam. More dissension between Diggs and Kayse. The ref took a tumble. Breezzyy ran out to interfere, and his superkick clocked Jaz in the face by mistake. The Temptations scored the tandem pin on Diggs, and also ended up with Kayse’s Georgia Wrestling History trophy, a beat that begged for a follow-up but Kayse had it right back for his appearance at the end of the night. I enjoyed the building discord in The Business, which is begging for an eventual climax with Diggs getting his hands on the manager. There’s a Faustian deal that has been made here, but is the devil in this case Kayse, the archvillain of Kraken? Or is Kayse Faust, who made moves and deals for power and influence and championships and now faces potentially brutal consequences for his choices?

Kraken GM Alex Chase is out with the tag titles and a faceoff between Noir and the Temptations. Black was very intense for this, and the crowd loved it.

Match 7: Vice Cream (Don Haylo & Jayy Wells) vs. Red Door (Charlie Kills & Jay 2 Strong)

Match of the night for me. Haylo and Wells have been personal favorites for a while, Jay is arguably the most reliable in-ring wrestler on the roster, and Charlie stands out with his character and tactics like joint manipulation and fish hooking that would warm the cockles of the heart of a World of Sport fan from the 1970s. They started hot with Vice Cream getting jumped. Haylo and Wells turn the tables and engage in an extended double team. I figure Diamond Duke was losing his mind on commentary during this. The crowd loves chops, and they got the nastiest one of the night from Wells, an incredibly nasty-sounding shot that both echoed and thudded, even with Jay wearing a shirt. Red Door end up working over Wells, who fired back but refused to tag out. “I got this!” he said to Haylo, but did he? He did not. A Strong Valley Driver by Jay 2 Strong finished it, and Haylo walked out without his partner.

Match 8: Xander King vs. ERC in Match 4 of their Best of 5

The main event, and the only match that had a longer time limit. ERC came in trailing 2-1 in the Best of 5, which telegraphed the result a good bit. Still a very solid back-and-forth match. King was on the very first few episodes of Kraken and did not impress. He was much better here, and I told him so after the show concluded. ERC stands out in Kraken as a sneaky, crafty wrestler. I’ll have more to say on this one when I’ve watched the rest of the series. ERC delivered a modified gut buster to tie the Best of 5 going into the Kraken Classic.

Kraken Classic ceremony

The final announced thing on the card was a ceremony where the eight wrestlers in the Kraken Classic offered their coins as “admission” to the tournament. Just like weddings and contract signings in pro wrestling, this segment was destined for chaos. The Kraken Classic field includes Haylo, Whatley, Nick Quick, Breezzyy, Hitta J, Charlie Kills, Huck, and Joe Black. As expected, the wrestlers started to brawl. Huckaby and Breezzyy are the final two left standing when Justin Kayse and the rest of The Business came out, and Kayse asked Huckaby to leave. Huck did, which potentially could make him look weak, but much less so after he floored Breezzyy with a punch.

Kayse started ranting and raving about Breezzyy being a weak link, then wiped the paint off of his face using Breezzyy’s own shirt. He introduced his newest client, and the new Kraken Pro champ, Brother Azriel. Once Kayse described him as the new ace of The Business, Stuckey’s music hit to a huge reaction. This double turn from the last event definitely worked. The whole story feels like it’s been lifted from Memphis or Mid-South in their heyday as territories. Kayse ordered Diggs to take out Stuckey, but Diggs and Jaz walked out instead. The crowd loved this.

A quick aside to recognize how valuable Kay Casiano is as a host for Kraken. I consider her one of the five individuals that are the most valuable to the promotion. I’ve done ring announcing, and hosting on wrestling TV, and I’m not very good at either one. Kay has a consistent presence even when chaos is breaking out and brings a credible anchorwoman type presence. During this segment, there was a great beat where, as Kayse started to leave the ring, Kay snatched the microphone he left laying on the apron and handed it to Dom with a big smile.

Stuckey got his turn to talk and made the most of it. Kraken needed a big moment to put butts in seats for the Kraken Classic and Stuckey’s promo really sold it. He challenged Azriel for the title and there’s your the main event at the Kraken Classic.

The stage is set for a strong card to celebrate Kraken’s second anniversary:

Brother Azriel defending the Kraken Pro Title against Dominic Stuckey
Noir vs. Saturday Night Temptations in the Tides of War finals to crown the first Kraken Tag Champions
Xander King vs. ERC in the final match of the Best of 5
Two Kraken Classic four-way semifinals, and the one-on-one Kraken Classic final
The return of the Ultimate Cash in Hand Scramble

Solid.

This was a fun evening of wrestling that moved briskly. Nothing overstayed its welcome and there was only one match that really missed the mark, although I maintain the two back-to-back finishes in the triple threats fell flat because of their sequence, and the unnecessary second shot with the nunchucks. I was also a little disappointed that the one event that worked for our calendar didn’t have Azriel, Stuckey, or Kevin Kantrell in action.

Kraken is very lucky to have this building, which is, hands down, one of the nicest venues for an independent wrestling promotion that I have ever experienced, either as a fan or working as a commentator, announcer, or otherwise behind the scenes. The talent has a very nice backstage dressing room area, and there’s even a catering spread for them.

The venue provides abundant square footage. There’s air conditioning.

And the bathrooms.

I say again, with the full endorsement of my better half … the bathrooms, y’all!

This was probably my wife’s favorite feature of the venue. Independent wrestling leads you to pee in some pretty gross places, at times.

Thanks to Kraken Pro Wrestling for the hospitality.

And look for the next installment of Review the Kraken soon.

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: