Review: New South Pro's Action Clash Episode 4

byThatRoseTattoo •
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New South Pro Wrestling presents Action Clash Episode 4

Event Air Date: October 6, 2020

Event Venue: The Furniture Factory in Huntsville, AL

Available on demand via IWTV.live

by Tiffany R. Merryhill


When you say the words ‘Alabama indie wrestling’, I wonder what comes to people’s minds? There’s a long and often stereotyped history of the southern indie wrestling scene here in the U.S. as redneck rubes and racists, and this frame of mind did have more than enough truth to it three decades ago. However, looking at what 21st century ‘Bama rasslin’ has to offer...I’d say things have shaken up to a point where we just may be able to move into a brand new era.


That’s where promotions like New South come into play. One of the first things that turned me on to New South was the assortment of wrestlers booked on the shows. Gone are the days of the same old cookie-cutter ‘talent’ that you couldn’t tell apart from one match to the other. Variety is key to keeping us all coming back, and New South has steadily kept a finger on the pulse of wrestling to make sure there’s maximum vitality in their own product.


IWTV must realize that where there’s smoke there’s fire, because giving New South its own hot-as-hell weekly show was one of the best things they could do for the southern indie scene. Yesterday evening was the premiere of New South’s Action Clash Episode 4, taking place this time in spacy ol’ Huntsville. I have full faith in what New South has to offer, so you’d damn well better believe I’m there for every live show I can attend. I made a great decision to make the 6-hour drive to catch this one in person, too. If you’re from the Tennessee-Mississippi-Alabama area (or even coming west from Georgia), you should make it a point to attend an Action Clash taping sometime in the near future. Not only will you meet some of the best and most loyal fans, but you’ll have your mind blown by the exceptional level of talent on their roster.


The southern scene is alive again, my friends. :)


On Commentary: Mose and Mr. Brickster


Brickster’s back! If you’ve been following the first three episodes of Action Clash you witnessed the come-up of the commentary version of current New South tag team co-champ 2-Fly Ty. While Ty nailed it for the first three episodes with Mose, I admit I was more than ready to have Brickster return to the commentary table to call the shows. You’ll notice in Episode 4 the energy simply DOES. NOT. LET. UP. from start to finish, and we’ve got two great commentators to thank for keeping things hype.


Match 1: ‘Kung Fu’ Donnie Janela vs. ‘Alpha Wolf’ Steven Michaels


Part of the reason I wanted to be at this particular Action Clash taping was this match. You know me, I’m a Donnie girl. I’ve gotta be there to support the Steel Dragon! Plus, as much as I ride his ass ruthlessly, I do enjoy watching Steven Michaels get down in the ring. I wasn’t really sure how this one would play out, however, as Michaels has aligned himself with current New South champion Derek Neal and Adam Priest. In fact, I found myself pretty surprised that his newfound buddies let the Alpha Wolf stay Alpha and fight this battle against Donnie on his own. Glad they did though, because this opening match went absolutely hard. If you’ve been following Donnie’s career in New South over the past year, you can tell how much he’s improved in the ring just with this match alone. I credit that to Michaels bringing out the best in him. I don’t think, however, that Steven Michaels was actually expecting this upgraded version of Donnie to show up for this match. That’s why, after some seriously impressive action that went back and forth here, Donnie was able to get the decisive victory in the end and shock the hell out of Steven Michaels, who was left in the ring afterward wondering just what the hell took place.


If you think that this story’s over with just a pinfall victory, however...well, just tune in next week to Episode 5...


Match 2: Lady Killerz vs. New South Express vs. Ty-Dy vs. Talladega Knights (4 Corner Tag Team Championship Match)


New South has the tag teams that make these 4-way matches a damn good time. We’ve got a mix of styles going all over the place here - the Lady Killerz have a combination of mat wrestling and tag team maneuvers between Daniel Perez and Bailey Blake that keep them fresh in the ring. The New South Express has the technical expertise of Brandon Williams blended with Dump Sanders’ brawling, take-no-prisoners style. The Talledega Knights take things to the air with Hunter Drake while ‘All Beef’ Tyler Franks can catch you off guard on the ground at any given moment. And then there’s our reigning champs, Ty-Dy (a name I adore) with 2-Fly Ty’s exceptional ring skills given his fairly young age, and my guy Dy-Lan has been surprising us all with how much he’s improved since he and Ty acquired the tag team championship. Everybody went wild in this one; the Lady Killerz were the first team to be defeated (EDITED FOR CLARITY: I was corrected by Bailey Blake because my memory ain't what it used to be; the LKs were actually eliminated second) and then the Knights were unexpectedly eliminated after Hunter Drake appeared to injure his leg mid-match. When it looked as if we’d finally get the match we wanted to see between New South Express vs Ty-Dy in the last half...well, it almost happened...


Kevin Ryan and the spectre of Shean Christopher hit the ring with chairs in tow, on the ready to ambush the New South Express once again. Dammit, the Akuto Death Society just refuses to play fair! After a cowardly attack on Dump and Brandon, Ty-Dy was left in the ring clearly set to retain their tag team championship thanks to the interference. However, just as it seemed as if 2-Fly Ty were ready to embrace their fuckery and join in the attack on New South Express, he (thankfully) did the unexpected and turned the chair attack right on the ADS! Now we’re left to wonder - has Ty actually grown a heart and soul or is he just protecting what’s rightfully his and Dy-Lan’s property?


Main Event: Cabana Man Dan vs. Mance Warner


LET’S GO! I’d have been pissed off if I missed the opportunity to see this one go down live, in person, and right in front of my face. I’m a solid supporter of both Cabana Man Dan and ol’ Mancer, so it was hard for me to rally behind one individual in this match. I did, however, want to see them have a damn good scuffle. Mance definitely wanted the same, taking to the mic shortly after the match started to let everyone in Huntsville know that he came to have a fight (and drink beer, of course). Anyone who’s seen CMD in action knows that Dan’s no stranger to mixing it up in the ring, and this new and improved version of Dan looked to be even more ready for a fight than usual. That lead to one hell of a closer to Episode 4!


The action went both inside and outside of the ring here because Dan and Mance were taking this battle to every corner of the Furniture Factory. Things got progressively crazier, punches flew, chairs and doors were brought out from under the ring, and THESE. MEN. BRAWLED. This is Mancer’s type of match, and by the time I saw the fuckery come from under the ring I had a feeling that Dan might not make it out of this one with a win.


It’s been so long since I’ve seen this edgier side of CMD, though. Think back to Dan teaming up with Marko Stunt last summer at Southern Underground Pro in their match against Violence is Forever, this is that version of Dan we’re getting here. You love to see it - this is the version of Cabana Man Dan that’s focused and hungry to get the New South championship back from Derek Neal. And...this is the version of CMD that sent Mance Warner through a door at the end of the match to get a pinfall victory. This was one badass main event and just the right way to close out the show.


Post-Show Thoughts


I’m loving the fast pace of the hour-long format that Action Clash is given. I would, however, love to see if IWTV would be willing to tack on a second hour to the show. The depth of talent in New South is growing, and the promotion continues to bring in top indie talent from all over the country. In fact, I’d go as far to say that they’re doing for the southern scene what Beyond Wrestling has done for the northeast indie scene. Beyond’s got their flagship juggernaut Uncharted Territory (when it finally returns) and it’s a two-hour format that still flies by. I don’t think it’s too much to ask that New South gets the same treatment once Action Clash has established itself as a long term program. On to Episode 5 next Tuesday night!
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