Review: New South Pro's Action Clash Episode 8

byThatRoseTattoo •
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New South Pro Wrestling presents Action Clash Episode 8

Event Air Date: November 3, 2020

Event Venue: JC Arena in Hanceville, AL

Available on demand via IWTV.live

by Tiffany R. Merryhill


Damn, man, I needed some wrestling on Tuesday night this week. I didn’t want to face the stress of Election Night, so thank God for IWTV and New South there to rescue me at least for an hour. There’s nothing like wrestling to assist in sanity maintenance (ironically) and provide mental stimulation in times of need. Episode 8 of Action Clash came in clutch, indeed. I’d been looking forward to this main event with new champ Donnie Janela taking on his younger brother Shean Christopher, and damn if it wasn’t one of the absolute best we’ve seen in the past eight weeks!


On commentary: Dump Sanders and Brandon Williams


Dump and Brandon are back on commentary for a second round! You can easily get used to these two calling the matches on a weekly basis. I’ve previously stated how much I love Mose & Brickster, but there’s a definite contrast here with Dump and Brandon at the table. Where Brick delivers an entertaining fireworks show with Mose often sparking the fuse, Dump is the calm and cool voice on commentary calling the action with Brandon like it’s a captivating conversation between two friends that viewers get to sit in on. It’s a different style and I’m enjoying it.


Match 1: Talladega Knights (Hunter Drake and Tyler Franks) vs. Adam Priest and ‘Alpha Wolf’ Steven Michaels


Prior to our opening contest we see a backstage segment where the Talledega Knights are extolling the virtues of their favorite drink, Mountain Dew. Their caffeinated good time is interrupted by Steven Michaels, noted lover of alcohol. Steven’s buddy and AEW ‘superstar’ Adam Priest is backstage as well to harass the Knights just because he can. This probably wasn’t a good idea for Priest and the Alpha Wolf to rile up a couple of young men on the verge of a major sugar buzz just before taking them on in a match.


We should all Do the Dew if it gives us as much energy as it does Hunter Drake and Tyler Franks, because they started this match on fire against Michaels and Priest. Watching the Knights in action is a treat every time, because you’re going to see flippy shit and you’re going to see some innovative tag team spots. Priest and Michaels, however, would serve their own brand of domination as the match progressed and they used their own strategies to divide and conquer the Knights. The name of the game here was to keep the Knights separate and then take them apart.


I have to say, Priest and Michaels make a hell of a tag team even though they take the most pleasure in any kind of deviousness they can get away with inside the ring. They’re just as good as tag partners as they are when they’re beating the hell out of each other, and this opening match established that they’re a formidable force in New South’s tag scene. They may not have had enough on this occasion to overcome the Knights in a lengthy battle, though. Once fatigue started setting in, the Alpha Wolf put an abrupt end to the match by bringing a steel chair into the ring and attacking Hunter Drake with it, causing a disqualification in favor of the Knights. Michaels went completely savage after this and Priest joined in on the post-match onslaught, leveling both Tyler Franks and Hunter with chair shots and a brutal beatdown. The message was sent: the Knights won by DQ, but Priest and Michaels were clearly the ones left standing...for now!


Match 2: White Widow vs. Kenzie Page


Dillon McQueen and Kenzie Page were on top of their game riding into this week’s episode of Action Clash. Why not, though? Kenzie’s a hot commodity right now and it didn’t seem like there could be much in the way of Petty in Pink that could stop them. However, there’s always someone new ready to come up and snatch that spot at any moment, right? Enter the White Widow!


I’ve never seen Kenzie take this much punishment from a newcomer. This had to have been her greatest challenge yet on the show. Even Dillon McQueen looked astonished to see the White Widow’s continued aggression despite his attempts to intervene. He did his best on behalf of his girl Kenzie, though - trying so hard with the interference that it got his ass sent backstage and leaving Kenzie with no backup! Thankfully for Kenzie she was able to use McQueen’s removal from ringside as enough of a distraction to get the advantage on the White Widow while her back was turned, ending the match with a quick cutter and a pinfall victory.


Main Event: ‘Kung Fu’ Donnie Janela vs. Shean Christopher (New South Championship Match)


Hell yeah, here we go! Ever since Donnie Janela won the New South Championship from Derek Neal I’ve been excited to see who’d be challenging him for the right to hold the Humongold. This main event was something big, because the contender for the championship literally hit close to home for the champion. Donnie would be going one on one with his younger brother Shean Christopher, a name that’s been on the rise in New South throughout 2020 along with his fellow Wasted Generation and Akuto Death Society partner Kevin Ryan. Granted, few have had the breakthrough year that Donnie’s enjoyed, but I’m genuinely curious to see what 2021 has to offer these standouts on the New South roster.


Shean Christopher is ready for the main event. He’s capable of going it on his own, and with each episode of Action Clash he’s bound to do something wild, crazy, and absolutely memorable. This is why he’s Mr. Tuesday Night, and this is why on this occasion he stood across the ring from his older brother ready to go to battle over the New South championship. This match was destined to bang, folks, and it damn sure did!


Both Donnie and Shean showed us all in this main event that they’re those dudes. There was no holding back from either of them, and I was amazed at this singles version of Shean Christopher that gave the Steel Dragon every bit of his own fire and needed zero backup from anyone. That’s the Shean Christopher we’re going to see more of in 2021. I said last week in my post-show write up that I couldn’t see Shean taking the title from Donnie after having seen the latter bust his ass so hard for this glory. Now I know that there were definitely moments in this main event match where we sure the hell could have seen that happen...and I’m awestruck at the possibility. By the end of the match I was elated to see Donnie retain the championship after an absolute war with his younger brother and I was proud to know that Shean Christopher has made it to this point in his in-ring experience. The future is in excellent hands with this level of talent ushering in a new era.


Post-Show Thoughts


This was the most personally satisfying episode of Action Clash I’ve seen yet. As someone who’s been ‘back on the scene’ in independent wrestling for over a year now, I’ve been fortunate to see guys like Donnie Janela and Shean Christopher take those steps into what leads to a great come-up several months later. When I first started following New South shows at the beginning of the year, I saw what the promotion had to offer, liked it, and then I looked at the potential...and I loved it. Here I’d been thinking there was a drought in the southern independent scene and all I had to do was go a little farther out from home to find where everybody was drinking. :)


So when I’m riding high knowing that my guy Dy-Lan (oh, and 2 Fly Ty) are tag team champions, when I’m celebrating Kung Fu Donnie Janela’s championship that I KNEW he’d win, and when I see Shean Christopher holding it down on his own in the main event...I get a thrill. Yes, it’s a vicarious thrill because I’m not the one in the ring doing the thing. However, I’ve come to love these people and support them as a family would. It’s gratifying to see them do well, and it’s the best knowing that they have Tuesday nights to show the whole world - not just the south - what they’re doing for the scene.
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