Tag: Nathaniel Vanderbilt

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: 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: