Tag: Mr. Wright

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 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 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 12-14

Review the Kraken: Episodes 12-14

Before diving into this installment, I want to take a moment to praise the camera shot in the featured image. The close-up of Lamar Diggs putting a hold on Will Huckaby is fine, but framing the shot to include the boy and his reactions from ringside takes it to the next level.

With that, let’s take a look at Episodes 12-14 of Kraken TV, which comprise the third taping by Kraken Pro Wrestling, an independent promotion in South Georgia.

Lamar Diggs was absent from the last set of episodes and he returns in a big way here. He shines as the MVP of the taping. He is the very first wrestler you see in Episode 12, laying waste to a couple of poor unfortunate souls who make the mistake of being in his path on the way into the building. In the next episode, he and his cohort Jay 2 Strong enthusiastically clubber all four participants in the Cash In, Cash Out Scramble (much more on this match and this attack later…)

And then Diggs headlines Episode 14, and the taping, going against Will Huckaby in a very good match. It might be the best match yet in all of the Kraken I have watched, and one of the longest as well. The Youtube description for the episode tabs this as a “hoss fight” and it definitely delivers on that end. Diggs and Huckaby brawl all around the ringside area as well, something else that has been otherwise unseen on Kraken. Back in the ring, there are some fine false finishes — a pleasant habit in Kraken main events — before Diggs heads to the top and attempts a swanton. The leap is impressive, although it ends in a nasty-looking landing. Things break down, culminating in interference by manager Justin Kayse and Jay, then Huck’s partner Hold My Beer Hanson to counter, before the H-Town Hittas get involved as well. It all adds up to a tasty dish of pro wrestling.

The positioning of Kayse is unusual. Here we have a manager who also is the Kraken Champion. Kayse has yet to take a punch or a bump, and the tension is building for that to happen. Hanson gets his hands on Kayse during the shenanigans at the end of the main event, only for Jay to make the save. When Kayse finally does get hit, the live crowd is going to love it. And, that moment can be separate for his inevitable comeuppance where he eventually loses the title. It’s a level of effective slow burn that is hard to pull off, but it’s working.

The Cash In, Cash Out Scramble continues to develop as a fun concept. Participating wrestlers put in their pay for the night in a six-minute winner-takes-all match. If there is no winner, that money rolls over to the next scramble. The matches have been better since they whittled down from six wrestlers to four. Production has improved, too. The six-minute countdown clock is easier to read and now includes the dollar total on the line. They’re building a solid story around Jak Myles who has been in every scramble so far and yet to win one. This scramble breaks down when The Business interfere and wipe out all four competitors. It’s a good bit of bad-guy business — no pun intended — but when Diggs and Jay begin their attack, Justin Kayse gets the attention of the referee while the beatdown happens behind the official’s back. Then, the referee turns around, sees what is happening and does nothing to stop it because… scramble rules don’t end matches on a DQ or countout? The extended distraction just makes the referee look clueless — not to mention hearing impaired.

A few other observations from these three episodes:

  • Myles was the referee for the main event for Episode 14, continuing a trend from the Jay 2 Strong vs. Brother Azriel match on Episode 11. After Myles falls short in the scramble, he picks up a refereeing assignment to replace the lost extra cash. He’s doing the wrestling ancestors proud as he comes out to officiate Diggs vs. Huckaby, still favoring his ribs after the attack at the end of the scramble.
  • There’s a new commentary team for these episodes. Donnie Harris, Jr., joins Diamond Duke at the table. Harris also handles the ring announcer duties. They work well for the most part but actually detracted, for me, from the Brother Azriel vs. CJ Shine match on Episode 13. Azriel and CJ have a solid if unspectacular match and Azriel gets a win back after nearly defeating Jay 2 Strong. However, the commentators — Diamond Duke in particular — keeps babbling about how great the match is. Having done that work, I understand hype is part of the deal when you’re on commentary, but there’s a difference between building up what’s happening on the ring and going so over the top that it contradicts what you can see with your eyes.
  • Mr. Wright and his wife — you guessed it, she is Mrs. Wright — is featured in two of the three episodes. He has a forgettable match with Eddie Honcho in Episode 12 but the interview segment with Diamond Duke on Episode 13 is much more effective in establishing him as a heel character.
  • The H-Town Hittas work fast and win another squash that, if you blink, you might miss it. What’s interesting here is that the opposing team includes ERC, who had a competitive match at the last taping but gets completely obliterated here.

The big takeaway is that Kraken is growing. Each taping has taken place in front of a crowd that is bigger than the last one, and more responsive as well. It’s been a fun ride so far.

If 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 three episodes here: