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Stryknyn has advanced from his position as one half of the hated Hate Junkie tag team to become the most unlikely top babyface in APW history. Henry leaves APW as one of the top home grown star in the history of the company.
Such a memorable main event was more than worth the price of admission. It's a good thing, because the rest of the show was subpar by the standards set by previous APW major events. The undercard exposed the weak state of the APW roster, consisting of too many guys that are too green and/or never see the inside of a gym and/or aren't putting the time to master their craft.
Attendance at the Pops Horton Gym in Royston was 150. It was a relatively hot crowd but not APW heat at peak level.
Ring announcer Jonathan Feltner, who may very well be the second best ring announcer in Georgia, opened the show by running down the major matches on the card.
(1) Kameron Kade (with Laura) defeated Wade Adams to retain the North Georgia Championship in 9:30. Booker Jeremy Vain was heating up an issue between Kade and Shadow Jackson (still a huge babyface here as opposed to his current role at Anarchy Wrestling), but that was scrapped because Jackson is taking time off. Kade wore a pink polo shirt, which he carefully on a hangar after the opening bell. Adams has a goat face beard in the making. He's so green you could almost see the footwork painted on the mat. Kade used Laura's presence to get the upper hand. Much like Miss Allie at RPW, Laura has the looks for the role, but is clueless about what to do at ringside. After Adams scored a series of five painfully mechanical looking near falls, Kade used an enzuigiri to set up a Blue Thunder Bomb. Adams ducked a second enzuigiri and appeared to be going for a Corporal Robinson Boot Camp. Kade reversed it with a backslide using the ropes for extra leverage.
(2) Kevin Blue defeated Scott Mayson in 6:10. Big pop for Blue, who sports a traditional long-haired southern babyface look. The scowling Mayson attacked before the bell. Mayson desperately needs to commission Rick Michaels to make him more flattering gear. Mayson has size. It's a shame he doesn't get himself in better shape. There was plenty of action in this match. Very little of it was smooth or crisp. Mayson ate the rail on a dive off the apron. Back inside, Mayson cut Blue off with a high boot. Blue came back with a missile dropkick that connected waist high. Mayson hit a sloppy uranage backbreaker. Blue won it with an Air Raid Crash.
Yasir Akbar said he was filing a grievance with APW management because minorities were left off the NOCS flier. Akbar said Jacoby Boykins wasn't a minority, any more than Oprah, Michelle or Barrack. His people were the true minority and he was demanding an opportunity to become a highlight of the show. The Harlem Globetrotters theme music hit and that could only mean one thing...the return of APW favorite, Sugar Dunkerton. Dunkerton accused Akbar of stealing his mom's carpet and slapped his face. Leading to...
(3) Sugar Dunkerton defeated Yasir Akbar in 10:50. Dunkerton was entertaining as always. A slapfest and massive humiliation ensued for Akbar. Dunkerton dribbled Akbar's head off the mat. Akbar kicked the ropes to crotch Sugar, then got a fairly long run of offense without much response from Dunkerton. Sugar's comeback was thick with Afro butts and punches. Akbar hit a sloppy variation of the flatliner for two. That was such a pretty move the way Kanyon did it. Dunkerton fought off the camel clutch and he pin with an X Factor off the ropes. Fun match, blah finish.
(4) Just Two Dudes (Jamie Cruz & Chris Spectra) defeated Heavy Metal (Calli Cannon & Shane Hexxon with Ballenger) to retain the APW Tag Team Titles in 9:05. 2 Dudes are very popular with the fans in Royston. Some things defy explanation. Cannon and Ballenger lost the titles a few weeks back when Hexxon wasn't in Royston. Cannon said Hexxon was welcome to stay, but he and Ballenger would defend. Hexxon said no way. "We'll do things your way but I want things to go the right way," said Cannon. Dissension in the ranks of Heavy Metal early. Cruz hit a pretty decent tope to take out all three of them. It was a very average match. Hexxon was by far the most talented wrestler in the ring. In the end, Ballenger distracted Hexxon and the Dudes capitalized with a double team for the win.
Postmatch, Heavy Metal played the blame game. Hexxon decked Ballenger, and invited Cannon to come get some. Cannon and Ballenger backed off, while Hexxon lost his mind in the ring. The fans had no sympathy for the poor guy.
(5) Jacoby Boykins defeated Brandon Parker 7:25. These two had a grudge going over which of them was true number one contender. Both have been heels in the past. Parker is a babyface now and got a so-so response. The quality of the work (Hexxon being the exception) was several levels above anything on the first half of the show. It was a see saw battle. Parker appeared to have the match well in hand after hitting his backpack stunner. However, Boykins hit a spinning powerslam out nowhere to score the clean pinfall. By default, this was the second best match on the show.
(6) James Boulevard defeated Seth Delay via DQ due to interference by the returning Skirra Corvus in 9:35. Earlier this year, Boulevard won the contract of Corvus, humiliated him and ultimately fired him. Delay then beat Boulevard for the North Georgia title. To get the title back, Boulevard was willing to put his own contract on the line. Delay won that match and Boulevard was forced to swallow a huge dose of his own medicine. They were having a decent match, until Boulevard got knocked for a loop and was couldn't execute the finish. Boulevard brought a chair into the ring. Referee Dee Byers took it away, so Boulevard pulled out a foreign object. At that point, Corvus ran down and gave Boulevard the Graveyard Shift (curbstomp) right in front of Byers for the DQ. Suffice to say Boulevard was supposed to lose and it made for a very flat finish. The crowd popped for the return of Corvus, but fans didn't know what to make of Corvus and Delay standing in the ring while Boulevard walked out as the winner. What a shame to blow the payoff of a well-told long-term story.
In a no DQ loser leaves APW match, Stryknyn defeated Anthony Henry to retain the Southern States Championship in 34:34. In a pure shoot moment, special referee/booker Vain said they were two of the best the company had, and thanked them for their contributions. A perennial heel at APW, Vain is now a babyface. His presence added a wildcard element. It turned out to be a swerve, as he played no role in the outcome. When these two lock up, the stiffer the blows, the better they like it, so it goes without saying that the beating the living hell out each other. The first key spot came at 6 minutes in, when Henry backdropped Stryk on the apron, then whipped him into the ringsteps. Henry took firm control of the match, whipping Stryk with his own belt. All Vain could do was wince and watch. Henry sent Stryk's head over the turnbuckle into the ringpost. Stryk bled. Henry wrapped the belt around Stryk's neck and threatened to hang him, but settled for a sick, thudding spinal tap and a baseball slide that laid Stryk out on the floor. Henry rammed Stryk's head into the timekeeper's table. Back inside, Henry leveled Stryk with a brutal clothesline for a near fall. Stryk was wearing the crimson mask. Stryk broke a choke hold and slowed Henry's momenturm with a spinebuster. Henry waffled Stryk's back with chair shots. Stryk kicked out of three pin attempts. The crowd popped for all of them. Stryk turned the tide with a stellar version of the F5. Stryk nailed Henry with a chairshot that would have been concussion city if Henry hadn't gotten his hands up. Stryk put the chair over Henry's face and legdropped him for a two count. Henry was busted open. Stryk did a dive off the apron that was fairly tame compared to the rest of the match. Henry countered Stryk's first spear attempt with a roll up for two. Henry cut off Stryk's second spear attempt and hit him with own move for a near fall. When Henry tried for a missile dropkick, Stryk countered by putting Henry in his own submission, the Texas Cloverleaf. The crowd chanted for the tap out, but Henry was able to reverse out of it. Henry got the cloverleaf on but couldn't seal the deal. Stryk finally connected with the spear, but Henry kicked out for the first of several great near falls. Henry escaped from Stryk's submission (an Anaconda Vise known as the Tourniquet). Stryk hit a uranage and locked it in. Henry was on the verge of tapping but refused to quit. Henry kicked out of a second spear, then kicked Stryk in the groin. Henry brought Stryk off the top with a german suplex, with Stryk taking an ass over teakettle bump. Henry set a table up in the corner. Stryk tried to give Henry an Alabama Slam into the table, but Henry escaped and locked in the cloverleaf. Stryk appeared to be going out, but found another life and made the ropes. Henry refused to break the hold, so Stryk grabbed the nearby chair and winged it at Henry's head. Henry was slow to rise. He knew what was coming but couldn't escape his fate. Stryk speared Henry through the table for the three count. The finish got the big pop it deserved.
All three of their big matches (the other two were at Freedom Fight 2011 and Freedom Fight 2012) were great in different ways. This match was the longest and felt like the shortest --- 35 minutes and it never dragged and had the fans into it the entire way. The mayhem was intense, but at the same time, the match flowed and made sense, plus it had the added drama that somebody was leaving when it was over. Credit goes to Vain for laying out the show so that none of the other matches could detract from the big blow off. Stryknyn vs. Henry was the only match that went more than 10 minutes, and the only one with false finishes.
Vain led the crowd in a round of farewell applause for Henry. Henry had a long run as a babyface at APW, but he had been a despicable character for the last year, and the fans didn't exactly give him a rousing send off, which was a shame under the circumstances.
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