How do I sum up Fright Night? It would be easy to say it was a blast and go through the absolute killer matches. That just doesn’t seem to be enough though. This was a very personal show that felt more like a family reunion than part wrestling show, part concert. It really was special.
Mouse, the entirety of IFHY, Kickass Becky (love that handle too much not to use it) The Lost Boys, the Paradigm crew…I mean, everyone up there has taken us in and I can’t tell y’all how much it means to me. Once the venue started to fill in, it just felt like a bunch of friends hanging out. Hugs and fist bumps were at a premium, y’all. It was so refreshing to be around. There are times that we all take life…wrestling…etc. way too seriously, so to be around all that positive energy was enough to get you drunk. Well, that and the beers that famous artist Steven Fain brought.
I always find myself standing in the back watching the matches, but also just watching how the crowd reacts to things. What was noticeable right away was that most of the wrestling fans were on one side of the ring while those that were there for the tunes were on the other. The music crowd had some moments where they may not have been sure what was going on but it took no time for them to get into it.
The chants, the exciting matches, the Danhausen – it all got the people going. I think it goes back to that energy of the building. Every single person in The Arena that night was there to have a good time and for fellowship. A real highlight was getting to see Mouse, JRose, and Jesse share a big hug towards the middle of the show. These three dudes are tearing it up all over the scene, so to see them just get to enjoy it all for one night together made me so goddamn happy. To be a small part of this family may be the best thing that has come from wrestling. Let’s talk about these matches now.
Fright Night Recap
Logan Stunt vs Cole Radrick: Surprise matchup that had the crowd going from the jump. Logan continues to grow at exponential rates. Dude is super confident and ready to die. Cole is on a real run right now with big performance after big performance. Radrick gets the win in a fun match. Feels like we could see these two fight each other a few times in 2020.
The SoBros present The Tom Hanks Memorial Scramble: This was supposed to feature a bunch of dudes buuuuut I don’t think any of us were ready. The standouts were Levi Everett, Danhausen, Lord Crewe and Wilson from Cast Away. One of the best moments of the entire night was Danhausen telling the other competitors to gang up on Crewe who had tossed countless bodies out of the ring. Without thinking about it the gang did just that with Danhausen watching on with joy. We also saw a legit water boarding! Wilson was getting ready for a big comeback when Levi went full Amish Massacre via flying head butt to Wilson. Levi wins the inaugural Tom Hanks Memorial Battle Scramble which was totally awesome if you enjoy funhausen.
Shawn Kemp vs. Lee Moriarty: This match has had some buzz post show and rightfully so. Kemp was pushing hard to appear as The Puppertaker but in the end our favorite mutt appeared as we normally see him. Back and forth all the way through with some awesome moments for both guys. Kemp was unable to hit that disgusting Psycho Pedigree we’ve been seeing him bust out. Moriarty had done his homework leading to Lee getting a hard fought win in the matchup.
Brett Ison vs. Calvin Tankman vs. Dominic Garrini: This was some real underground fight shit. Loads of forearms and chops from bell to bell. Dom used his technical advantage when he could but this scrap was destined to be waged on the feet more than on the ground. At one point Ison was setting up for his aptly named Gohan to Sleep before Dom was able to fight out of it. Instead, Ison hit a mother fucking Styles Clash on The Bone Collector. I never thought I’d say that but damn was it cool. The finish comes when Ison and Tankman blast each other with the biggest of big boy shots knocking both out. Brett ends up falling on Tankman as they both hit the canvas leading to the 1-2-3. This had some real moments peeps.
Baka Gaijin (Mad Man Pondo and 2 Tuff Tony) vs. Naturally Gifted (Bradley Prescott IV and Chase Holliday): Thankfully this wasn’t a blood bath as it felt like it could have been thanks to the insanity of Baka Gaijin. What we did get was BP4 getting his hair set on fire while Chase nearly got his young simbas smashed. Directly after Pondo smashes a cinder block with a sledgehammer on Chase’s junk, Bradley eats a FLAMING FIST from Tony. There was plenty more that happened in this match – I just don’t know how you top that finish. Baka Gaijin wins. Bradley needs a haircut. Chase needs all the ice packs.
Billie Starkz vs. Hawlee: This was super hard hitting. Both ladies came out knowing they were following some crazy boo shit, so they brought it all. Can’t say enough about Billie as she’s far beyond her years inside and out of the ring. Space Jesus picks up another win in 2019. She still has some huge matches to end the year out, but I’m very fired up to see what Billie achieves in 2020. Sky’s the limit.
The Carnies (Kerry Awful, Nick Iggy and Tripp Cassidy) vs. The Night Ryderz (Alex Colon, Aaron Williams and Dustin Rayz) : Yep – this was just as bonkers as you think it was. There was really no order as all six of our competitors just beat on one another for the entirety of the match. That said, I pity the fool that tries to tell any of these dudes what to do. I love what the Night Ryderz bring from an in-ring standpoint, as well as their group dynamic. I’m so used to seeing Colon in death match attire that I was a bit bamboozled when he was out here in trunks. This was the first time seeing him in person for Haley who was in awe of the battle scars. Tuff.
It was also super badass dope awesome to see all three of The Carnies together. I’m a bit spoiled in seeing Kerry and Iggy, so getting a full Carnie squad brought a big smile to my face. This was a long winded way of saying I enjoy both teams and watching them beat the hell out of each other was a gas.
Freddie Hudson vs. Tyler Matrix vs. Matt Kenway: The Freddie Hudson open challenge ended up with two guys answering the call. Freddie could have said “Nah only one of you.” Instead, he was even more fired up. The three tore it down too. I’ve seen Tyler more and more live here lately, which has been way awesome. He’s super talented with more than a little yeet in him. Kenway is a guy I haven’t seen a ton of, but that’s gonna change. He was the perfect foil to the other two competitors. When it comes to Freddie, this was a damn fine performance. He brought the fight and did some real clean shit along the way. Hudson wins, but big shout out to all three as this was very worthy of main eventing the crazy, loco show that was Fright Night.
John Mosley is “The General” of the SoBros Network – covering independent wrestling, college football, sports, and a myriad of topics. He graduated from ETSU with a degree in Radio, TV and Film along with a minor in Film Studies. Since graduating he’s done pretty much nothing but watch, film, edit or commentate for local wrestling promotions and is the current color commentator for Resolute Wrestling. #Preds #Titans #DefendOrVacateConor Follow on Twitter: @SoBroMose.
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