Tag: Kraken Classic

Review the Kraken: Counting Down to the Kraken Classic

Review the Kraken: Counting Down to the Kraken Classic

My journey through the Kraken Pro Wrestling TV timeline has reached the second Kraken Classic, which also marked the one-year anniversary of Kraken opening. If you’ve been following along throughout this run, you’ve joined me in seeing what I would consider a rare degree of long-term storytelling for an independent wrestling company. You’ve also seen this narrative grow, coalesce, and adapt to the always unpredictable twists and turns that happen with trying to maintain a roster.

This review covers the “go-home” taping for Kraken before the Kraken Classic and finalizes the eight-man field for the tournament. The central story of the taping, however, involves Will Huckaby and Kevin Kantrell as GM Donnie Harris does his best to deus ex machina Kantrell’s predicament. There’s no single match in these four episodes that rises above the level of “good” but some solid build throughout just the same.

I tend to focus in on the commentary on these reviews, since I’ve been in that role previously for other promotions. I try nitpick too much, really I do, but the commentary was pretty rough on this taping at times, between Donnie misidentifying some moves and trying to make several awkward verbal segues. Meanwhile, Diamond Duke’s heel commentator schtick has devolved to either complaining about the referee’s count being too fast or slow, or babyface tag teams double teaming illegally. I’m not sure how either of these is supposed to generate heat, unless being annoying through repetition counts as heat.

Enough blabbin’! On with the review!

Episode 44

One of Kraken’s biggest positives is that the promotion has a very diverse roster without being overt about it or pausing to praise themselves for how diverse they are. Edward Draven, who wrestles Joey Hyder in the main event of this episode, is an excellent example. It’s pretty obvious that Draven exists somewhere on the LGBT spectrum but that’s not his entire identity within the Kraken realm. He can be who he is, without it being made a major issue in and of itself.

Draven had a Kraken coin, then lost it to Jak Myles, who lost it to Hyder, and now tries to win back said coin. Draven’s early antics against Hyder are an homage to Adrian Street and Goldust matches: kissing Hyder’s hand and spanking him among, er, other things. Hyder gets frustrated but refrains from really pummeling Draven, eventually winning clean with his “Razzle Dazzler” finisher — a Finlay roll into a standing moonsault. This is pretty good, and easily the best match in Kraken for Draven, whose selling after the fact with an aggrieved series of “Ow” exclamations got me. I like Hyder quite a bit but he needs some sort of hook to really reach the next level.

This episode also includes a forgettable Tsu Nami vs. Alicia Love match that sets up an in-ring talking segment with Donnie to schedule a strap match showdown with Rose Gold at the Kraken Classic, which didn’t even end up happening on that card. To get the match with Tsu, Rose had to relinquish her Kraken coin. Moving on…

Episode 45

Donnie’s back in the ring and brings out Huckaby, who beat up a referee at the last taping after a bad call by the official cost Huck and Hanson in a tag match against the H-Town Hittas. Again, Donnie makes Huck go stand in the corner, after he did this with Tsu Nami on the previous episode. I realize I’m seven months behind real time on my Kraken viewing, but I really hope this doesn’t become a recurring bit for in-ring talking segments involving Donnie … unless the goal is to make Donnie look like a petty and childish authority figure, in which case, mission accomplished. Anyhow Donnie then brings out Kantrell, who was fired and had to receive 10 lashes from The Business at the last taping in an excellent piece of work. Donnie, who was absent at that taping, makes a tag gauntlet and forces Huckaby and Kantrell to team together. Win the gauntlet and they keep their jobs. This is a nice callback to the singles match between these two where Huckaby’s current grumpy grizzled character shift first manifested after Kantrell tapped. I like the long-term storytelling and the continuity, but not so much the segment that gets us here.

Jayy Wells was the standout of the episode for me. His slow progression in Kraken reminds me of the way New Japan brings along its young lion trainees. Throughout his time as a Kraken regular, Wells gets stronger and hits harder with every outing. Seeing Wells get his first win in this scramble, and earn a Kraken coin in the process, was clearly by design and nicely done from a booking perspective. The scramble also includes Don Haylo, an economy-sized hoss who I’d like to see more of in Kraken.

Speaking of hosses, I had high hopes for this episode’s main event between Lamar Diggs and Brother Azriel both ranked among my top candidates for Kraken MVP from 2024 but they didn’t get to turn loose as I would have liked. I did appreciate how the match was structured, with neither man leaving their feet much, until Diggs uncorks a standing dropkick (!) to take control. Azriel busts out a fallaway slam later in a nice feat of strength. Business manager Justin Kayse pulls Diggs’ foot into the ropes to break up a pin, gets caught by the referee, and ejected. Diggs proceeds to win the match cleanly anyway, strongly suggesting that Diggs doesn’t even need Kayse in his corner in the first place. They’ve been teasing dissension with Jay 2 Strong being on the outs in The Business but I’ll go on record now that Kayse eventually getting wrecked by Diggs needs to happen.

Episode 46

Three matches on this episode, which is a rarity when most have one or two bouts.

The Hittas win again and this week’s victims are Josh Breezzyy and Kassius King. It’s more of an even match than I expected, but the Hittas prevail. One of them has a Kraken coin, but no one knows which because identical twins. Donnie relishes the way he hits the inflection on “Hittas” throughout.

Aeon wrestles Jay 2 Strong in the episode main event. Kraken could use a continuity editor because the commentators call this a rematch, although this is the first time they’ve wrestled here in singles. Jay is also solo for the match, after a backstage segment in The Business locker room straight out of an old Three Stooges short in which Diggs gives Jay a chop (for good luck?) and Jay drops Justin Kayse’s briefcase on Diggs’ foot. Aeon and Jay are two of the top hands on the Kraken roster, and combine for just a good, solid match that feels effortless. Jay busts out the big-match offense (a Spanish Fly!) but Aeon won’t be denied and comes back for the victory. Afterward, Donnie awards Aeon a match against Dominic Stuckey, the “ace” of The Business who is absent from this taping, at the Kraken Classic. If Aeon wins, he gets a three-minute match with Kayse for the Kraken Title.

Next, Charlie Kills returns to face Nathaniel Vanderbilt for the final Kraken coin. This is a good solid match and easily the best Kraken work yet from Vanderbilt, who appears to be a wrestling footage nerd like me. He nearly wins the match with his version of the cross-legged Michinoku Driver — or, as he calls it, the Tax Exemption. Because he’s a rich guy, get it? Vanderbilt kicks out of a piledriver along the way before an avalanche choke bomb finishes it for Kills to the crowd’s delight. It still amuses me greatly that there’s a small independent wrestling promotion running in the buckle of the Bible Belt in southern Georgia and arguably its two most popular wrestlers are a serial killer gimmick (Kills) and pretty much Satan himself (Aeon). Speaking of gimmicks, Vanderbilt’s rich-kid persona seems better suited for the heel side of things.

Episode 47

The main focus of this episode is the tag gauntlet, with Huckaby and Kantrell’s jobs on the line. As such, they’re the first team in and have to run the entire gamut. There’s a lot of “can they coexist?” talk surrounding this, which would mean more if three of the four teams Huck and Kantrell face weren’t also teaming together for the first time. Travis Ray and Nick Quick are up first, and this doesn’t last long. I know every wrestler aspires to be a headliner these days, but Quick does some good work as an enhancement guy in Kraken and that continues here. Brandon Whatley and ERC are next and last a little bit longer before Huck smashes ERC with a spinebuster. This segment of the gauntlet did make me hanker for a Kantrell-Whatley singles match, though.

Noir is the third team up in what represents the bulk of the match and the best part of this gauntlet. I found Noir pretty bland in their first several matches in Kraken, but they’ve really found their groove as vicious rule breakers. Noir goes right for the heat with Mrs. Wright spraying Huck in the eyes upon Noir’s entrance. Referee Clark struggles to take control of things as Kantrell gets put through a door propped up in the corner. Donnie points out, relentlessly, that the bell never rang so all this is legal. Fair point, but it makes me wonder why everyone in Kraken doesn’t just bushwhack their opponent with every weapon they can? After several minutes of beat down on Kantrell, a half-blinded, punch-drunk Huck staggers to his feet in the corner with fists clenched. He didn’t hear no bell! Mr. Wright dips deep into the heel playbook of dastardly tactics, and I’m here for all of it. Huck does his part, selling like he’s being tortured in an Inquisition dungeon. When Ehren Black tags in and eventually goes for a cover, Huck screams as he kicks out — in pain? Frustration? Maybe both? Noir get a little too confident, and a flash pin by Huck sends them packing, and provokes another beat down after the bell.

Sam Hanson and Jak Myles are out as the final foes. Hanson and Huck of course team together in All-Star Special. In character, Donnie is kind of a jerk by forcing these two partners to face off. Then again, that never happens, as Kantrell scores a pin on The Sweeper in seconds. That’s… it? Huck and Kantrell win the gauntlet and keep their jobs, but the muted response from the crowd tells me they don’t know how to take the sudden result. Join the club.

After a smiley happy good guy interview from Jayy Wells about making the Kraken Classic, Donnie gets in the ring for yet another talking segment — his fourth of the taping if you’re keeping score. Donnie brings out the entire field for the Kraken Classic: Hyder, Wells, Diggs, Charlie, Hanson, Ehren Black, Whatley, and one of the Hittas although both comes out. Once everyone is in the ring, a brawl breaks out within seconds and that ends up pretty enjoyable and culminates with Hanson the last man standing.

I’ll be driving into the Kraken Classic next week, and already knowing some of what happens there, I think multiple reviews will be in order to give everything due diligence.

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

Check out all four of these episodes, in the below playlist:

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?