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KEVIN KU VS. FRED YEHI, ARIK ROYAL VS. AC MACK & MORE 2/12 ACTION WRESTLING EYES ON THE THRONE IN TYRONE, GA REPORT

ACTION Wrestling “Eyes on the Throne”

2/12/21 - Tyrone, GA

ACTION’s first IWTV livestream continues with the second half of their February doubleheader, a series of big fights culminating with Arik Royal’s best chance of ending the over 2-year championship reign of AC Mack. 

Match 1: Angelus Layne vs “The Death Samurai” AKIRA (w/ Nolan Edward)

STARTING OUT HOT AGAIN. Angelus Layne has had bangers with O’Shay Edwards and Nolan Edward. She put a glass picture frame through Action owner Matt Griffin’s chest last show and this is her punishment, a fight against the Death Samurai. AKIRA with a capo kick, running knee, boot wash and corner dropkick. Layne catches him but AKIRA rolls into full mount, floats over to an arm triangle and she’s forced to the ropes. AKIRA wants to suplex her to the floor but Angelus gets him tumbling down, and trades slaps and elbows before suplex it him to the concrete. AKIRA back with chops and kicks. He comes running and Layne hip tossses him into the corner of the apron, dropping him on his head. AKIRA catches her at the rope with a figure-four across the bottom rope. AKIRA headfirst into the second buckle and a running double knees from Layne for two. AKIRA gladly eating shot after shot from Angelus before turning  it back on her. Layne to the eyes to make space and staggers him with a headbutt. AKIRA has several headbutts and a head kick in return. Layne with a northern lights suplex for two. Layne goes for a running knee but AKIRA catches it into a plex, flips it into a double wrist lock. She has no where to go but refuses to give up. Suge D and Kevin Ryan hit the ring to break it up. Ring the bell!

Winner: AKIRA (by DQ)

Suge, Ryan and Angelus go to work on AKIRA and Nolan Edward, who tries to make the save. Sure looks like The Good Hand has their third member. Suge gets the mic (“AGAIN?” says Dylan Hales). Suge says it’s time for phase 2 of The Good Hand’s coup of Action. They deserve the spots over the these indie darlings who just float in on the wings of their accolades, taking their spots. But Suge and Angelus head for the hills as BRETT ISON hits the ring. The Pitbull is back and he clubs Kevin Ryan right down with a larait. Suge pulls him to safety before Ison just destroys him. Match was a good throw down until the interference and if this is the preview for the next few months of Action storytelling, I am very excited for the future. 

Match 2: Adam Priest vs “The Poisoned Youth” Robert Martyr

Is this another “exhibition match” for Adam Priest, who is refusing to compete officially until he gets a rematch Fred Yehi? Martyr is making his Action debut tonight and immediately goes to work, out-working Priest on the mat. Priest constantly frustrated, countered and one-upped through the opening minutes. A bit of ref distraction gives Priest the edge to hit a big boot and snap suplex for a two count. Priest with a running chop and grabs him into a cravat....but Martyr tries to reverse into a cross face chicken wing. Priest with an enziguri to the back of the head. Martyr with a tiger driver for a close two. Priest with a superplex and hits the big frog splash to the back for the pin. 

Winner: Adam Priest

Martyr looked good here, staying ahead of Priest through most of the contest. Priest gutted it out and, despite his bad attitude, got the definitive victory here. Fun to watch. Maybe we’ll see him again later? Priest maintains he is undefeated in ACTION. That’s uh....not true, sir. 

Match 3: Alex Kane vs Chase Holliday

Power on power, working each other to the ropes and showing a little disrespect. Kane throwing suplex and corner splashes but Holliday takes him down with a single chop. Big uranage from Holliday. Kane sends Holliday into the steel post and he barely makes the count at 9. Kane coming at him but it’s a trap! Big suplex from Chase for two. Kane with his own suplexes as the crowd continues to count along. Holliday is up! Lariat to the back of the head! Big running lariat! Kane out at two! Chase wants one more but Kane catches a ripcord Olympic Slam for three!

Winner: Alex Kane

Alex Kane had a fight on his hands tonight. Holliday brought the heavy offense but Kane weathered that storm and got the impressive win. Crowd is super into Kane. Who’s next? On the other side, I kind of want to see Chase Holliday take on Orion Bishop. That could be a fun watch. 

Match 4: Kevin Ku (w/ Dominic Garrini) vs “The Savageweight” Fred Yehi

How is this a first time match??? Quick strike battle, scramble and disengage. Trading chops until Ku gets cut down. Ku with a front choke but Yehi rolls through and out. Fred throwing bombs while Ku tries to work the shoulder and return fire. Ku with a gut shot and a PK so hard he sends himself flying from the ring. Fast-paced strike battle in the ring, culminating with Yehi trying to break Ku’s leg with a stomp. Ku tries to trap a rear nake choke but Yehi escapes. Pop up into an enziguri and both guys are down. Ku with a body shots and axe kick, Yehi with a small package for two. Ku with a brain buster for two! Running knee! Kick out! Ku with chest kicks but Yehi with the chop block to cut him off. Yehi locks in a figure four but gets rolled to the ropes. Head scissors and punching him out. Yehi transitions a Koji clutch and hammer fists to the face until Ku has to give up.

Winner:  Fred Yehi

You know that gif of Jon Steward gorging on popcorn while staring unblinking into the camera, unable to look away? That was me watching this match. Adam Priest hits the ring and ambushes Yehi. Garrini runs him off and Yehi gives chase. Priest bit off a lot of trouble with this run-in. Anyways, THIS MATCH WAS VERY GOOD. Crazy up and down pace. All energy from these two. Loved it. 

Match 5: “Ichiban Number One” Jaden Newman vs Matt “Sex” Sells

To recap: Jaden Newman’s face was humped into the mat by Matt Sells to the point of unconsciousness. Then Jaden was counted out in their rematch. Newman doesn’t believe those matches happened. So tonight in this, the FIRST MATCH THEY’VE EVER HAD, the rules are simple. This is Jaden Newman’s One and Done Challenge. Matt Sells only needs to beat Newman with a one-count. This will certainly not backfire. XD This crowd LOOOOOOOVES Matt Sells, the King of Tyrone. Matt Sells goes over the rules. He gets the ONE part. But what’s the DONE part? Sells says that the only way he’ll take this match is when Sells wins, Jaden is DONE in ACTION. Will Jaden have to leave town? Newman is confident and says he’ll take that deal. 

Sells works him right down, Newman very careful to keep his shoulders up. Sells goes to hump Sells face into the mat but Newman escapes, reminding everyone that the match requires a 1 count....so count outs aren’t a thing. I bet DQ’s aren’t either. Newman pumps up with pushups and jumping jacks while Sells impatiently waits for him to return. Sells holds the rope for him to get in, enticed Jaden with the respect he so desperately craves....but pops it up to crotch Jaden. Newman recovers, comes running and gets rolled up for the ONE COUNT. IT’S ALLLLLLL OVER! 

Winner: Matt Sells

Jaden’s in shock and goes full freak out in the center of the ring. Folks from the back come to physically drag Newman from the ring and carry him out while Sells leads the crowd in the old standard, “NAHNAHNAHNAHHEYHEYGOODBYE”. This was a silly and fun wind down between the last match and the main. Good cap to this storyline. I can’t expect Newman is TRULY done but he definitely will be leaving town for a spell anyways. Or maybe this match didn’t happen either?

Main Event: “The Mack of All Trades” AC Mack(c) vs “The ACEGAWD” Arik Royal (NO DQ for the ACTION Championship)

HEREEEEEEEEE WE GOOOOOOO. Royal’s chances at the belt were spoiled two months ago when Graham Bell interfered in his title match. Now it’s no DQ in the 2nd Show Main Event. AC Mack’s on the cusp of an 800 day title reign. Will he retain or will ACTION crown their second-ever champion. AC Mack gives himself the intro of all AC Mack intros, promising to take his reign to 1000 days and beyond. Mack like fire out of the gate, going for the Mack-10 super early. Royal out and takes out the legs. Royal choking out Mack with his own cloth but only a two count. Sit down splash on the knee and Royal torques it. Mack throwing up kicks to make space but Royal locks into a figure-four with a WOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Mack flips it and Royal has to let it go. Commentary talking about Mack’s knee being not 100% walking into the night. Royal knows this, dropping Mack on his knee, singing those Cena trumpets and locking in a STF. Royal gets stunned but he tosses Mack to the outside so he can recover. Royal grabs a pair of pliers from the commentary booth and exposes the turnbuckle. Mack escapes getting stabbed with the pliers and works gut shots in the corner. Royal picks up Mack, slams his knee into the exposes buckle and stretches him over the top rope. Mack avoids a slingshot into the buckle but hurts himself coming back down. Royal wants to post him but Mack pulls him into the steel. Trading shots on the floor. Mack. guts him with a chair and throws him into the wall. Up to commentary. Royal checks shoulder checks off commentary, off the ropes and down to the floor. OW. Mack off the booth with a flying knee to the concrete. Royal rolled back in but he catches Mack coming back in with his Kobe, a flying facepalm slam. Mack to his feet, Royal goes for a lariat, Mack backslides into a Mack-10. Arik Royal kicks out! Mack trying to close this out. Royal catches a meteora into a powerbomb. Two count, transitioning into a single leg crab. Mack’s in trouble but he spins out. Royal comes running for a Kobe but Mack with a flatliner out of the air. Royal grabs the rope at two! Mack hyped up to save Alice, his title. He goes fo the Mack-10 again but Royal with a pair of slams and a clubbing lariat. Kick out! Royal grabs a chair. Mack gets a low blow! Mack-10 on the chair! Mack’s knee hit the chair and he’s down too as Royal slowly rolls to the outside. Graham Bell hits the ring and has the chair! Alan Angels is here to cut him off and take the chair....BUT NO! Angels gets the chair and blasts Mack’s knee instead! Crowd is stunned! Alan Angels pays Graham Bell the bounty he’s owed while the shocked crowd boos him. Royal coming back to life as Angels hits a wing clipper on Mack into Royal’s spear. Royal gets the cover and the pin!

Winner (and new champ): Arik Royal

Royal demands Action announcer Scott Hensley hold his belt up, AC Mack-style, as he gets the mic to let the crowd know the era of the Ace Gawd has begun. This was some awesome drama, emotion and work right through the match leading to some good Attitude era shenanigans in the finish. We have a new champ and Mack immediately finds himself in a program with Angels. Love it. Epic main event to close the night out. This was precisely the level of match that these two (and Mack in his final defense) deserved. 

And that’s it for “Eyes on the Throne”. Great show in its own right and a great cap to the double-header. 6 matches at a little over 90min, this is another easy recommend from me. Layne/AKIRA was a great fight and third act to the Good Hand story. Ku and Yehi damn near killed each other and that main was <chef kiss>. So yeah, watch it. It’s also worth noting that the livestream was pretty much identical to the product we normally get from Action VOD (in that, it is quite good) so thumbs up there on production quality. Next up for Action Wrestling (THAT I KNOW ABOUT. FEEL FREE TO GIVE ME MORE, MATT GRIFFIN), they’re running a joint show with (sometimes rival) Southern Underground Pro as part of the IWTV Showcase of the Independents block during Wrestlemania weekend in Tampa. Already announced is O’Shay Edwards vs Jon Davis. Oooooooweeee! A hell of a platform for Action’s exposure, especially as they’ve been putting on quality content through the quarantimes. Until then!

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