Hamilton’s ACTION & SUP Have Fun Be Sad 04.09.2021 Review

Quick Results
AJ Gray pinned JD Drake to retain the SUP Bonestorm Championship in 7:54 (***½)
Kevin Ryan & Suge D pinned Cabana Man Dan & Brett Ison in 11:14 (***)
Damyan Tangra pinned Liam Gray, Adrian Alanis, Jaden Newman, Rob Killjoy & Bobby Flaco in 12:32 (**½)
AC Mack pinned Myron Reed in 10:11 (***¼)
Alex Kane pinned Manders, Logan Creed & Derek Neal in 6:35 (***)
Arik Royal pinned Daniel Makabe in 16:30 (***¾)
Adam Priest pinned Matt Makowski in 9:30 (***½)
O’Shay Edwards pinned Jon Davis in 10:07 (***¼)
Nolan Edward pinned Angelus Layne in 11:31 (**¾)
David Finlay & Juice Robinson pinned Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku in 17:44 (***¾)

— If you’re on Twitter, give me a follow over on @IanWrestling – and check out the GoFundMe that’s still open for Larry’s family.

We’re back at the 81Bay in Tampa for this SUP and ACTION co-pro… with David Finlay and Juice Robinson taking photos with their Impact tag titles in the background as we get going.

SUP Bonestorm Championship: JD Drake vs. AJ Gray (c)
THIS IS THE OPENER?

We open with chops as Drake offered to take the first shot. You know how this goes. Blistering chops to go with the blistering heat. Drake cuts it off with a side headlock, then charged down Gray… who replied by going for the knee as he took Drake into the corner.

A scoop slam off the ropes drops Drake for a two-count, before they spilled outside for chops and kicks… leading to Drake popping Gray off the apron for a forearm smash. Back inside, Drake slams Gray then hits a falling headbutt for a two-count, before a right hand knocked Gray back down. Up come the straps on Drake’s singlet as he charges Gray into the corner… then hit a belly-to-belly suplex and a Vader bomb out of the corner for a near-fall.

Snapmares and kicks to the back are traded with Gray then stringing some kicks together before Drake fought back. A headbutt has Gray down again, before the pair trade right hands to wear the other down. Drake’s dropkick has Gray down, with chops following in the corner before Gray’s palm strikes and enziguiri offered a way out.

A bridging German suplex hauls up Drake for a two-count, before a second enziguiri pinned Drake to the corner ahead of a back suplex. The uranage followed from Gray for a two-count, as we then go back to the forearms and chops, with Drake pulling ahead with a head kick to take Gray into the corner for a cannonball. Drake misses a moonsault… then gets caught with a clothesline and that’s the delayed three count as something went awry with the finish. That aside, this was a fantastic sprint of a match – hard hitting stuff that set the tone well. ***½

The Good Hand (Suge D & Kevin Ryan) vs. SUP OGs (Brett Ison & Cabana Man Dan)
On the last ACTION show, Suge and Ryan were absolute rotters in taping up Brett Ison to the ropes for a rather unsettling beatdown on Akira. Ison’s got back-up in the form of Cabana Man Dan here…

Ison charges out and gets mugged to start before Cabana Man Dan rushed out to even things up… and this is wild. Things spill outside, as Ryan charges Dan into the ring post before Suge booted Ison… Brett’s back with an Exploder, but Ryan and Dan return to the ring with Dan avoiding a springboard enziguiri to come back with a springboard Code Red for a near-fall.

Ryan’s isolated as Ison tagged in to chop through him… a kick to the back’s next, as Dan returned to headbutt Ryan’s ribs. A clothesline keeps Ryan down, before Dan got lifted onto the apron, where he ends up getting hung up as Suge pulled him into the ropes to avoid a springboard swinging DDT.

Suge mugs Dan on the outside… so Ison comes in to headbutt Ryan. It’s shrugged off as Ryan gets a two-count on Dan back inside, before a backslide struggle led to Ryan catching Dan with a Gory special. Quick tags keep Dan isolated, with a brainbuster from Ryan almost ending things, before Suge’s knees and a snap suplex keep the Castaway down.

Ison tries to intervene, but he gets restrained by the ref as Dan’s kept down, leading to Suge Finlay rolling Ryan onto Dan ahead of a Vader Bomb Elbow… then a Ryan senton bomb as the rapid-fire stuff almost puts Dan away. Dan fought back, but his Sliced Bread’s pushed away as Ryan crotches him… then looked for a superplex.

Dan blocks it and hits a spin-out superplex of his own before tags brought in Suge and Ison. Brett clears house, tripping Suge for a face-washing boot before he suplexed Ryan into his own man. A Muscle Buster dumps Ryan next for a two-count, with Suge breaking up the pin, before an assisted Surfs’ Up (Shiranui) from Dan nearly led to the win.

Ison gets tossed outside as Dan had to fight back against the numbers game… it backfires as Suge tagged in Ryan for a stomp-assisted neckbreaker, but Ryan accidentally rolls Dan to the outside. Ison comes in to try his luck, but he’s peppered with elbows and kicks before Ison cleared house.

Dan’s blind tag finally comes to something… but he gets caught with an errant backfist from Ison before Suge slipped on a springboard as he went to take himself and Ison to the outside. That left Ryan free to hit a diving knee to the back of Dan… and that’s the match. Dan still being associated with Suge in some form kinda tells me that they’re building to something down the line, with “mistakes” like this from Ison forming a part. ***

Post-match, Dan chases Ryan to the back…

Adrian Alanis vs. Liam Gray vs. Damyan Tangra vs. Jaden Newman vs. Rob Killjoy vs. Bobby Flaco vs. Graham Bell
There’s a whole lotta WWA4 talent on show here…

Newman, who’s banned from ACTION, tried to take centre stage here… he’s ganged up on straight away, and knocked outside as things break down into your usual scrambo. Killjoy and Tangra hang in the ring, trading holds before Tangra’s bodyscissor roll-up gets him a two-count.

Another roll-through keeps Tangra in the near-falls, before Killjoy got in on the game himself… before an uppercut knocked him outside. In comes Alanis to swing at Tangra, following up with an uppercut in the corner and a dropkick to the knee. Flaco’s in, but gets thrown into a cornered Tangra as Bell tries his luck with kicks.

Liam Gray tries to help Alanis, but gets chopped outside as Alanis got thrown into his own partner. A running mid-kick punts Alanis as Gray sentons into Bell… who popped up and took a wrist-clutch Fisherman suplex to take him outside. Newman’s back with a front kick and a hammerlock’d back suplex as we continue the Parade of Moves.

Killjoy’s in to hit a pop-up Codebreaker to Newman, but he’s then lifted to the apron ahead of a springboard dropkick. Alanis returns but gets kicked away as Newman’s spiked with a facebuster from Flaco… who then went flying with a froggy elbow to Alanis on the outside.

Tangra charges into Flaco on the floor, as Gray sets up for a tope into the front row as we’re into the dives section… which leads to Newman coming in. Bell runs in with his bazooka to stop Newman in his tracks, but there’s no more rounds… so Bell just chucks Newman into the pile before using the ref for a ropewalk moonsault into the crowd.

Back inside, Tangra looks to put away Bell and Alanis with a two-man STF, but Newman’s attempt to break it up earns him an ankle lock. Liam Gray flies off the top onto the pile to squash it all, before Killjoy tried to keep Gray at bay with chops. Newman manages to Alley Oop Gray into the corner, but couldn’t avoid Killjoy’s German suplexes as my feed paused.

It’s back as Alanis climbs the ropes, but gets caught with a dropkick as they set up for a Tower of Doom… Bell and Newman try to trigger it, but instead it breaks down as Killjoy ‘ranas Alanis into the pile. Tangra’s back up, but gets caught with a right hand and a buckle bomb by Killjoy, before Flaco’s thrown in to DDT Tangra… a Last Shot drops Tangra next for a near-fall as Flaco breaks up the cover… then dropped Killjoy with an AR Driver.

Bell blocks a second one and hauls up Flaco into a nasty back cracker for a near-fall, before a rolling cravat from Newman and a Meteora to Bell gets a near-fall. A Slingblade backbreaker from Alanis keeps it going, as did a Bossman backbreaker and a neckbreaker/neckbreaker combo from the former Skulk pair… with Tangra being ragdolled. He returns with a head kick to Alanis, then an uppercut as Gray was in mid senton bomb, before a Flatliner gets Tangra the win. Way too much of was scary-wild, with bodies flying all over the place. Tangra got a fair amount of spotlight, as he’s been build up in ACTION in previous shows… **½

AC Mack vs. Myron Reed
Mack does his own introductions before the match…

We open with a lock-up as Mack takes down Reed… but he responds with a front facelock as they switcharound. Mack returns with a toe hold, but Reed gets to the ropes before Reed’s legdrop caught Mack in the ropes ahead of a slingshot axe kick. Reed keeps going with a rebound cutter from the outside in, but Mack’s up at one, and trips Reed into the corner ahead of some body blows.

A running double knees keeps Reed down ahead of a low dropkick to the back of the head that gets a two-count. Reed’s back with a boot to take Mack outside, with a tope knocking Mack onto the stage. They return to the ring as Reed Snake Eyes Mack on the ropes ahead of a neckbreaker for a two-count, before a chinlock keeps Mack down.

Mack fights back with a hooking lariat, then a leaping Meteora that crashes into Reed… he doesn’t go for a cover though, and instead lands a spinning DDT that nearly wins the match. The pair trade right hands from there, before Reed ducked a knee strike… only to run into a leg lariat. Reed almost runs into the Mack 10, but back body drops free before he took down Mack… who Spinaroonie’s up and clocks Reed on the top rope ahead of a powerbomb out of the corner for a near-fall.

Reed drops to a knee to block the Mack 10, then hit a Stundog Millionaire to counter out ahead of almost a F5 off the ropes. Mack rolls to the apron, but gets dived on by Reed’s flying cutter, who rolls him back inside for a springboard 450 for a near-fall. Mack’s firmly on the defensive, but blocks a rebound monkey flip before ducking a leap… then flipped out of a powerbomb to counter into the Mack 10 for the win. Reed got a LOT in here, but in the end it’s the former champion who eked out the win. ***¼

Alex Kane vs. Logan Creed vs. Derek Neal vs. Manders
Time for a four way with some big lads!

Neal and Manders have been from the recent SUP show… but it’s Creed and Neal who face off to start, trading shots while Manders and Kane chop each other on the outside. Creed takes Neal outside… before he ran into a suplex as Kane tosses him over the ropes to the floor. Kane goes for a dive, landing a tope, before returning to hit a belly-to-belly on Manders.

A running frog splash lands on Manders’ knee as Kane telegraphed things, with Manders coming back with a powerslam off the ropes. Out goes Kane, in comes Neal and Creed… and it’s Creed whose double chokeslam is fought out of. He then drops Neal for a push-down stomp before chokeslamming Manders onto him.

In comes Kane, who’s cornered by Creed for some chops, but everyone gangs up on Creed ahead of a Complete Shot from Kane and a lariat from Manders. Kane ducks as Manders and Neal looked to attack, but the beatdown comes off anyway as Kane’s thrown to the floor so Neal and Manders could go after each other.

Neal heads up top, but gets caught by a Manders gamengiri as Creed returned to stack them both up for a Samoan drop… but Kane helps out with a German suplex to leave everyone laying. Kane builds with a ripcord into an Angle Slam, but Neal’s up at two before Creed decided to head outside for a dive to Manders and Neal.

Back inside, Creed measures up Manders, but Kane slips in for a German suplex… only for Manders to POUNCE him ahead of a Doctor Bomb for a near-fall. From there, Manders goes for a lariat, but Neal stops him as Kane ends up getting a one-count from an X-Plex… a rolling elbow and the Mark of Kane capture cravat suplex follows, and that’s a big ol’ win for Alex Kane. A brief, but fun multi-man, with Kane getting another win under his belt as he continues to build his name. ***

Arik Royal vs. Daniel Makabe
Third time WAS the charm here – originally booked by NOVA Pro two years ago before they folded just ahead of WrestleMania weekend… Prime Time Pro Wrestling then tried to do the match for last year’s Mania weekend, but then… pandemic.

It’s a non-title outing, so we’re not telegraphing any results! Royal powders to the outside at the start, eventually locking up with Makabe as that goes nowhere. Makabe looks to trip Royal, but Arik spins out… then again from a headlock as he bridges Makabe to the mat. Makabe gets back up and in for a side headlock, before a snapmare takedown has Royal grounded.

Makabe looks for the Makabe Lock early, but Royal scoots to the ropes to force a break. Another headlock takedown has Royal on the mat, but Arik powers out and finds a wristlock that Makabe has to bridge out of before he worked his way back up into the side headlock. Royal can’t push his way free this time, but manages to hit a back suplex before POUNCING Makabe into the corner for a two-count.

Royal keeps it on the ground with an overhead wristlock, scissoring the arm to boot, before taking him to the corner. A dropkick aims squarely at Makabe’s head for a two-count, before Royal looked to ape Makabe’s own hold. The double chicken wing has Makabe seated, but Makabe fights free before a waistlock was shrugged off.

Royal dives on Makabe for another two-count, but the Canadian fought back from the bottom, before he was met with a running knee for another near-fall for Royal. Makabe has to defend a surfboard armbar stretch before an inside cradle led to the pair rolling around with barely a pin being counted.

Makabe tries for a Big Unit punch, but Royal ducks and throws him down once more as Royal then called out for a Batista bomb… Makabe drops down to block it, then grabbed the ropes to save himself as Royal couldn’t get going. From there, Makabe floats over Royal and nails the Big Unit punch… only to take Royal into the ropes for the Kobe as both men were left laying.

They beat the standing ten count, just about, as Makabe comes back with a snapmare before a corner dropkick caught Royal ahead of a Saito suplex. Royal’s up at two from that, but finds a way back in with a standing uranage before a powerbomb plants Makabe… leading to a delayed cover that gets a near-fall for the ACTION champion.

Makabe stretches Royal by the arm as he’s pulled back up… and nails an elbow to the back of the head. A German suplex gets a near-fall, before the Makabe Lock looked to get a decision… but Royal makes it to the ropes to force a break. Makabe has trouble rolling Royal into a pin, eventually doing so for a two-count, before Makabe headed up the turnbuckles.

Makabe lowers the knee pad, but misses his distant Uncle Togi’s King Kong Knee Drop, before a Kobe pounces Makabe to the outside. Makabe beats the count-out, and counters another Kobe into an armbar… stopping to roll Royal up for some Danielson elbows before Arik punched Makabe in the knee. A springboard Kobe then followed… and that’s the win for Royal. Makabe had issues with Royal’s size throughout, and almost figured it out… but in the end the one missed knee drop ends up undoing all that work as Royal escapes with the win. A lovely struggle throughout. ***¾

Adam Priest vs. Matt Makowski
Two IWTV tournament winners lock up next…

Makowski takes down Priest early, then goes back to a side headlock as the former MMA fighter looked to assert some dominance early. Priest manages to come back with a snapmare for a two-count, before an armbar from Makowski ended in the ropes. Priest responds by going after Makowski’s arm, taking him to the corner for a cross-chop… but a Judo throw from Makowski earns him a two-count before a head-and-arm choke on the mat looked to force a stoppage.

Priest rolls Makowski up for a two-count, but Makowski hauls him up into a rack… only for Priest to slip out and land a backbreaker. Chops keep Makowski in the ropes, before he flipped onto the apron… a forearm drops Priest ahead of a roll-through into a rear naked choke that Priest desperately tries to defend… eventually doing so by backing into the corner.

Makowski’s pulled into a clothesline as Priest then heads up top for a splash to the back, which earns a near-fall. Priest stays on Makowski with an elbow drop, then with a drop toe hold as Priest then pulled Makowski into a Scorpion deathlock… which he let go of as he turned the hold into a Tequila Sunrise.

Priest tries to stretch Makowski, but he’s elbowed away before a Saito suplex took Makowski into the corner. Eventually Makowski rolls away and hits a springboard enziguiri out of the corner… then followed up with a series of suplexes before he looked for another torture rack. Priest slips out and hits a German suplex, only for a double clothesline to leave both men laying.

An exchange of strikes sees Makowski inch ahead, before he manages to haul up Priest into the torture rack… that’s dropped out into the cross armbar. Priest rolls him up, but from the kick-out Makowski goes for a crossface, only for Priest to cradle him for what some might consider an upset. A fantastic match with both men doing a lot of the little things between moves that you simply don’t see much of these days. Get this one watched! ***½

Jon Davis vs. O’Shay Edwards
They sure love their big lad matches here, eh?

We have a flash pin early for a near-fall as Davis’ Busaiku knee and Jackhammer almost ends this inside a minute. Chops take Edwards to the corner, but he calls for more as Davis lands an uppercut before O’Shay fought back with lefts and rights… only to get slammed.

Wash, rinse, repeat, as Davis completes the hattrick, then kicked Edwards for a two-count as more body blows trap O’Shay in the corner. A floatover’s caught as Edwards slammed Davis out of the corner, with some right hands taking Davis down for a two-count.

A charge from Edwards take Davis in the corner, following up with an old school eye rake on the ropes. Back-and-forth elbow shots in the ropes look to have Davis ahead, before a spinebuster from O’Shay nearly nicks it. Davis tries another slap, but Edwards slips out and boots Davis into the corner, before a pop-up powerbomb from Davis was returned with an Air Raid Crash.

Edwards almost snatches the win from there, before Davis slips out of a Burning Hammer and lands Three Seconds Around The World for a near-fall. Davis keeps going with elbows as O’Shay flipped him off… so Davis bites the bird and continued with kicks, only for O’Shay to sucker him with a right hand. A second one’s blocked, with Davis hitting a variety of strikes until he’s caught with a Fire Thunder Driver that proved to be the ultimate killshot. The pace here was on the deliberate side, but this was a lovely big lads match that ticked a lot of boxes. ***¼

After the match, Davis shook Edwards’ hand and called for a rematch down the line. Yes please!

Unsanctioned: Angelus Layne vs. Nolan Edward
Layne’s had beef with ACTION over bookings (in storyline), and Edward’s seemingly been put up as a roadblock for her.

It’s unsanctioned, so Nolan’s got some help in the form of Hardway Heeter and Ron Bass Jr. who’s out with plunder, including a barbed wire door. Edward spills some thumb tacks on the canvas before the bell… and they open with a lock-up as Edward took Layne into the corner. A second lock-up sees Edward roll Layne into the tacks for a one-count, before she returned the favour.

An elbow rocks Nolan, who replies in kind before a back suplex dropped Layne in the tacks. She returns with a German suplex that made Nolan’s back shiny from the pins. He returns with a side Russian legsweep as the human pin cushion-y-ness continued here…

They roll outside to trade chops, with Layne being thrown into a supporting column… but she shrugs it off as the pair scrap around ringside. “Security” try to stop it, but they get decked as the pair fight in the front row, before Nolan got posted. Layne chucks a chair at him as they fight on the bar, with Layne pouring drinks over Nolan as she tried to drown him.

Layne climbs up onto the bar, but her dive sees her stopped with a chairshot. Nolan heads onto the bar next, but instead comes down to throw more stuff in the ring as Layne came up bloody. Back inside, we’re back among the tacks, only for Layne to get tripped into the ropes before he dragged her through the tacks for a near-fall.

Nolan keeps going, bridging a door across the ropes… but Layne stops him with a low blow and a step-up stomp into the tacks. She suplexes him through the door in the corner before she set up a barbed wire door bridge with two chairs… but Nolan stops her and hits a swinging neckbreaker into the pins. Her hands get stomped into more pins, but Layne hits back with a Saito suplex into the pins before she waffled him with the remnants of a door.

That gets a near-fall, so Layne wraps barbed wire around her knee for a Shining Wizard… which lands for a two-count by the ropes. Layne removes the barbed wire from there, then picked up Edward and took him into the corner as she looked for a superplex… but Edward pushes her down after a bell clapper… sending her through the barbed wire door for the pin. Your mileage will vary on this one, depending on your affinity for plunder matches… **¾

FinJuice (David Finlay & Juice Robinson) vs. Violence Is Forever (Dominic Garrini & Kevin Ku)
Well, if you told me FinJuice would be appearing on a show like this even six months ago, I’d have laughed at your face. It’s a big get for ACTION and SUP… and at least the Impact tag champions don’t have to go too far for their happy beers afterwards, as Juice and Finlay give a signed 8×10” to a fan during their entrance.

Finlay and Garrini start us off, looking for holds as Finlay takes down Garrini… who responded with an attempt at a Kimura, before Finlay rolled out. Garrini grabs an armbar, then a side headlock, before a triangle attempt ends with Garrini tagging out to Ku. Juice comes in too, and grabs a side headlock on Ku… my feed stalls, and returns with Juice landing a back suplex, before Ku went up top, landing a crossbody then a side headlock takedown as he looked to restrain Juice.

Garrini’s back for his half of a PK sandwich on Juice that gets a two-count, before Finlay came in and got hiptossed into a cross armbar by Garrini. Finlay cradles his way out for a two-count, before Juice came in to slam Garrini… then slam Finlay onto Garrini. The double-teams continue for a near-fall, with FinJuice looking to target Garrini’s left arm ahead of a double-team facebuster for a near-fall.

Ku comes in but gets stomped out of the ring, as the focus stayed on Garrini’s left arm with a series of double sledges. A drop toe hold has Garrini down as Finlay returned, and sunk in a chinlock before a double-team back suplex left Garrini down for a two-count. It’s all one-way traffic for the current Impact tag champions, leading to a backbreaker/elbow drop combo that wrecked Garrini for another near-fall.

Finlay’s nonchalance almost costs him as Garrini caught a heel hook… but a quick tag brings in Juice for some Dusty punches, only for Garrini to stop him with an enziguiri. Ku finally tags in and clears house, taking Juice to the corner for some body blows, then a snap Dragon suplex as Garrini took care of Finlay on the floor.

An Alphamare Waterslide from Ku almost pins Juice, before Garrini’s pop-up forearm looked to lead to Chasing the Dragon… but Finlay makes the save as the former New Japan tag champs almost win with a Magic Killer. A side-Russian legsweep/diving knee combo keeps FinJuice ahead, but Garrini escapes, hiptossing Juice into Finlay before bringing Ku in to sandwich Juice with elbows.

Finlay’s legal, but his Acid Drop’s countered into a powerbomb/uppercut from Garrini and Ku, before a high/low dumps Finlay for a near-fall. A comeback from Finlay sees him corner Ku and Garrini as Juice capitalises with a cannonball into the pair, before a second one to Garrini led to a superplex/frog splash combo on Ku for a near-fall.

From there, Juice hauls up Ku in search of a Doomsday Device, but Garrini cuts it off as a flying knee to Juice then Chasing the Dragon leads to another two-count, with Finlay barely making the save in time. We reset with Finlay and Garrini trading strikes, which fires up Garrini, who nails a diving knee to Finlay… only for Juice to intervene with a spinebuster. Ku tries to make the save, but eats a Left Hand of God, before Garrini’s chops culminated in him taking another Left Hand of God, before an Acid Drop out of the corner gets Finlay the win. A cracker of a tag team main event with Ku and Garrini taking the more-decorated team to the absolute limit as they squeaked out a victory. ***¾

7.5

The final score: review Good

The 411

A solid show, with some absolute stand-out matches scattered across the card, but for me the pace of things was a little too erratic. The storyline-based matches more than delivered, but the remainder of the card seemed to slow things down. It didn’t drag the show down too much, but a slight tweak to the running order could have buoyed things along nicely.