New South Pro Wrestling presents Anniversary Show ‘5’
Event Date: August 8, 2020
Event Air Date: August 12, 2020
Event Venue: JC Arena in Hanceville, AL
Available on demand via IWTV.live
Hail Hanceville, home of the wi-fi capable JC Arena and host to New South’s fifth anniversary show! You may not know where Hanceville is, but what you need to know is that it was the damn spot last Saturday night. Wrestling shows have returned to the south again and the path has been paved by the south’s best kept secret! I’m really proud to support New South as one of the emerging promotions in my part of the country. It’s been rough in this area since this past spring and I’m glad to see that, step by step (or better yet, brick by brick) we’re having more and more shows announced. New South was the innovator this summer by kicking off a series of shows starting last month that led up to their amazing Anniversary Show 5, which aired this past week on IWTV.
Last Saturday afternoon I rushed all the way from Little Rock through the sleepy northern part of Mississippi and on down into Hanceville ready to party with my Alabama family - shout out to Dawn, Kary, David, Mose, and Haley! I’ve been lucky enough to spend time with these good folks at shows this summer and the vibe they all have is the absolute best. There’s a genuine love for wrestling shared among us, and as we hung out there in the deceptively unglamorous parking lot - well, unglamorous other than the bitchy store mannequin staring judgingly at us from a nearby junk store window display as the Bama boys and I drank our Trulys and passed a joint - we had a chance to chill and just enjoy being a fan. It’s the simple things like this, so distinctly ‘indie’, that make me fall in love every time with wrestling. I’m deeply appreciative to have people in my life who share the sentiment.
On commentary: Mr. Brickster and Mose from SoBros Network
Commentary from the crew down south is such a different energy than what you see in the promotions up north. And when I say energy, I mean ENERGY. Having Mr. Brickster talking at the table gives the New South shows an extra boost because the guy is never a dull moment at all. The commentary for the anniversary show is lively, loud, and just fun as hell. Brick and Mose have paired up pretty well for this summer’s shows and I’ve been enjoying their dynamic as a commentary team.
The show begins with an incredibly well done video package celebrating five years of New South. There’s a recurring theme of overachievement going on this evening; the JC Arena doesn’t look like much from the outside, but inside the building is a spacious, comfortable, and well-kept event center that looks even better when seen on the show’s live stream. New South has only been around for 5 years, but starting with this season of shows I think it’s safe to say a lasting impression has been made thanks to word of mouth and IWTV viewings.
Match 1: Adam Priest vs. Steven Michaels (Last Man Standing match)
In true ‘try and follow this’ tradition, the first match was a damn screen-door banger. This whole series of Priest/Michaels matches have steadily increased in brutality to the point where this one, the third time the charm, couldn’t be anything else but 100% savage. These two dudes are just really, really good at beating the hell out of one another and keeping us all on the edge of our seat while doing so. I’m very glad to see that Priest is getting a lot of recognition in his matches against the Alpha Wolf, but damn I love seeing Steven Michaels at his dirtiest. It was this third match, though, where Priest met Michaels right at that level. This was beast-mode Priest who was flat out ruthless by the end of this match, decisively finishing off Michaels with a flurry attack of steel chairs in dramatic style. This win for Priest put him at 3-0 in his series of matches with the Alpha Wolf. I’d say this last match of the three kicked the most ass both figuratively and literally.
Match 2: Shalonda Royal vs. Trixie
Next up we got to see the women in action, and the momentum from the wild opening match carried right on into Royal vs. Trixie. Honestly, though, I think Trixie brought enough fire to this match to set the surrounding area ablaze. She dominated Royal for a good part of the match despite the crowd being soundly in favor of Shalonda. The crowd stayed hype throughout the match and rallied Royal on to a rebound later in the match and a victory in the end. I had a great time watching Royal come back at the finish here; both she and Trixie need to be on radars and maps as we start seeing more shows announced.
Match 3: Duncan Mitchell vs. Leo
I Am Sam showed up to this match with his crew, but he also showed up sporting a bathrobe and a completely different kind of mask than what everyone else was wearing in the audience. Clearly Sam was not ready to take on any kind of challenge from Leo as originally planned. In fact, he was more interested in his skincare routine. His replacement, however, was more than a suitable ‘test’ for Leo. The Prospect Duncan Mitchell went up against Leo in Sam’s place, and Mitchell was ready to show up in his moment to make his name. It takes guts to go up against a solid and skilled fighter like Leo, but damn if The Prospect didn’t hold his own. This turned out to be fine foreshadowing for the following match, too. Leo came through with the submission victory in the end of this satisfying match. Even more satisfying, however, was Leo making Sam (mask and all) submit in the same manner after a cowardly post-match attack.
Match 4: Tyler Franks vs. Brett Ison
Well you can call my doubter ass a true believer now! When I first heard this match would take place, that All Beef Tyler Franks called out the damn Pitbull Brett Ison...I actually cringed and worried for young Tyler’s sake. Would they really allow that kind of ass kicking to take place? Who advised Tyler to even make this kind of challenge? Damn, everybody. As it turns out, I couldn’t have been more pleased to be wrong about everything. Tyler Franks is ready. This is one of those names you’ll be hearing about on the southern scene for the rest of this year, right along with Hunter Drake as well. Ison, meanwhile, had his huge hands full with this match. This is due not only to Franks being at the very top of his game here but also because of Ison’s uneasy alliance with the Akuto Death Society. In the end Chris Crunk made the worst judgment call at the worst moment by distracting Ison long enough for Franks to use the moment where his opponent’s head was out of the game to get the pin and upset victory. That’s right...Tyler Franks got a win over Brett Ison! And damn if the young man didn’t stand his ground against the Pitbull too, taking everything he had and surprising us all with solid offense of his own. You love to see it, but in the meantime how the hell much longer is ADS going to be allowed to run ruthless and roughshod like this all over New South no matter what it costs anyone, even their own crew?
Match 5: New South Express (Dump Sanders and Brandon Williams) vs. Akuto Death Society (Shean Christopher and Kevin Ryan)
Oh my God, what a rematch this tag match was! Shean and Kevin stuck around after Tyler Franks’ big victory to ruin any kind of celebration with a beatdown, but thankfully Brandon and Dump hit the ring in seconds and were quick to start the next match hot on the heels of the last one. The. Action. Did. Not. Slow. Down. From. There. Seriously, this tag match felt more akin to a classic GCW scramblefuck at some points. I love to give the ADS hell, but both Kevin and Shean, damn. Shean Christopher, who I will now refer to as Shean the Reckless after watching his back break in front of me during that spot. Both he and Kevin Ryan are the absolute sickest thing going today on the southern scene when it comes to wild and memorable spots in matches. Brandon and Dump kept right up with ADS’s pace, but it wasn’t enough for them to end up with the win I thought they’d get. Nope, ADS scored the decisive win but damn I gotta say I wasn’t even mad at that point, that’s how great this tag match was. Definitely one of the best I’ve seen this summer!
Match 6: Kung Fu Donnie Janela vs. Chris Crunk (Buried Alive match)
The tag match must have brought something out of me from someplace, or maybe it was the THC and alcohol hitting my brain all at once...but this match was a monumental experience as a wrestling fan. For one thing, I’d never seen a Buried Alive match live. I wanted to make damn sure I was up close and personal for this one. Then there were the players involved - Donnie, who I adore, and Crunk, who...I just didn’t care to see win here, I’ll say that. The stage was set and these men delivered, by God.
I’ll also say that the initial in-ring action was a great setup for the epic fuckery that occurred when we all ran outside later in the match. Donnie and Crunk were clearly two guys out to kill each other and we were just thrilled to death about it all. By the time the match spilled outside of the ring and out past the side doors of the JC Arena to the huge mound of fresh-dug soil near the building, there was this feeling of ‘oh shit, anything could happen between now and someone going in the hole’...and things absolutely happened. Donnie flew off a ladder on a truck. Crunk went for a dive on Donnie into the grave. Angry-ass ants stung our flesh but we didn’t give one damn, this was the greatest. By the end of the match I was ready to see my guy Donnie win, the balance of the action had gone back and forth so much that my addled brain was starting to see Crunk as some sort of next-level unstoppable boss. So I spent the rest of the match yelling at him, naturally, while both Crunk and Donnie got progressively more and more covered in dirt and the rest of the ADS found their way to the outside as well to help their boy out.
This is where the ending at the show was a blur and I was glad to have watched the finish play out on IWTV. Yes, our hero Donnie got the hard-fought victory in the end by shoveling several loads of dirt on Chris Crunk, and yes my voice had gone raspy from shouting every colorful expletive under the sun at Crunk. It could not have looked more appropriate than it did on the live stream, believe me. Last Saturday when I wandered back inside after the match I realized that, in that moment, on that warm Alabama night, things could not have gone any better for me as a wrestling fan. That shit was cool.
Match 7: Dy-Lan and 2-Fly Ty vs. The Ladykillers (Daniel Perez and Bailey Blake) (New South Tag Team Championship match)
Speaking of cool, I like to think I have a finger on the pulse of what’s good on the independent wrestling scene. I’ve got taste! I know what’s real, and damn it I know that Dy-Lan is the realest. If you take a look at his entrance on this fifth anniversary show you’ll see that this man is LOVED. Yes, of course I’m being biased, but I’m also being right. You see, Dy-Lan holds gold with his partner 2-Fly Ty. That’s the very standard of real, when you are a champion. Ty and Dy-Lan represent the New South Tag Team championship pretty damn well, too. They withstood the challenge of The Ladykillers, and that wasn’t an easy task. You might not think so on first glance, but Hot Tamale Daniel Perez and Bailey Blake make a solid team capable enough to present a credible threat. However, between Ty and Dy-Lan the tag champs made their partnership work well enough to successfully defend their titles. How great is it, though, to see Dy-Lan coming up like this? I’ll keep saying it until everyone hears it, it’s his time to shine!
Match 8: Cabana Man Dan vs. Derek Neal (New South Championship match)
The main event brought the absolute fire to close out this show. To readers who may be viewing New South shows for the first time this summer, this title match is one you’ll want to show your friends and let them see what’s going on here down south. The New South championship title has gone viral many times from wrestling fans everywhere marveling at how gigantic it is, but once people see the battles that are fought over this championship the grand scale of things starts to make a lot of sense. And please, for the love of God, if this is your first time watching a New South main event match, tell your friends about Derek Neal. Spread the word about the King’s Road Slayer, especially now that he’s the new New South champion.
To say the least I was gutted to see Our Man Dan lose the title, but I won’t lie when I say that this worry was in the back of my mind since Neal walked away from the HOSS Tournament back in March as the decisive winner. I wasn’t yet sold on Neal at the beginning of the year but this show had a way of making me a believer in a few ways.
May the rest of 2020 be as good to us as it’s been to Cabana Man Dan’s physique, though. Dan’s got considerably less bulk to carry without the New South title, but he’s in what looks to be the best shape of his career. Plus, CMD’s invoking his rematch clause for this weekend’s follow up New South show in Ardmore. Will the King’s Road Slayer’s reign only last a week once Dan gets the rebound or does the future of New South rest in the destructive hands of Derek Neal?
Post-Show Thoughts
Friends, don’t sleep on the indies while you’re stuck in quarantine! Live shows are on the rise again and now’s the time to find some new promotions to get behind if you’re looking for something different from big box corporate wrestling companies or more mainstream independent promotions with global reach. IWTV is a less costly way to get your foot in the door, too - only $10 a month and you’re in on some of the first live wrestling shows available in months. No need to leave the house at all!
And if you’re a restless wanderer like me, you’re thankful for promotions like New South for providing fresh new content for at-home viewers and social-distance conscious live audiences alike. Getting together with the crew at shows does wonders for my well-being as a social butterfly and general party animal. Every single one of the New South family has gone above and beyond with each show this summer to ensure that each event was not just a show but an all-out experience. I appreciate and fully support their hard damn work!