Atlantic Coast Wrestling & Coastal Atlantic Grappling Entertainment
The Fight For J. McPhatter
Live Report & Recap
December 11, 2022
DougMaynard.com

Earlier tonight in Laurinburg, NC, there was an excellent show presented by Coastal Atlantic Grappling Entertainment (C.A.G.E.) and Atlantic Coast Wrestling (ACW). A standing-room-only crowd of over 500 people gathered together to pay their respects to Scotland County Sheriff Deputy, Lt. J. MPhatter. Well, that and see some great wrestling action and this show did not fail to deliver in the slightest.

After a moment of silence and a prayer for Lt. McPhatter, who passed away on December 1, the Boogie Woogie Man Jimmy Valiant came out. Let the show begin.

We started off with some promos and talk by Valiant, Hangtyme, and Cruze Bittle, who would be wrestling later that evening in the main event. Valiant kissed the ring announcer, former wrestler/manager The Fallen Artist Derk Douglas while Hangtyme talked trash about the local Sheriff’s Department, many of who were in attendance to honor their fallen brother. Hangtyme also had ten boxes of donuts as a “gift” for the many officers. Bittle, who also works at the local Sheriff’s office, took exception to this and informed Hangtyme that their match later in the night would be a law enforcement Lumberjack Match and the officers who Hangtyme had been insulting would be the Lumberjacks. They traded insults for a few more minutes and then cleared the ring as wrestlers started coming out for the first match. Valiant had a quick encounter with Big Tatt and did a few comedy spots before heading to the back. And the Battle Royal begins.

Ten Man Lt. J. McPhatter Memorial Battle Royal.

I didn’t get the names as they weren’t introduced, but hopefully, I’ll have them shortly. A typical Battle Royal. Four men I did recognize were The New Breed and The Quick City Assailants, who quickly eliminated each other and fought their way to the back. The action continued with lots of quick eliminations and then when the dust settled, Big Tatt won.

Winner: Big Tatt

C.A.G.E. Television Championship.
The Renegade Outlaw (c) versus Phil DeCarlo

Renegade Outlaw was definitely the favorite here and chants of “Chop Chop” were coming from the crowd in regular waves. DeCarlo was the classic heel in that he wore an Indian Bonnet to the ring to mock Outlaw and make fun of his native heritage. There was plenty of stalling at first, but then they locked up and put on an old-school wrestling classic of a match. I was having flashbacks of Gene Anderson versus Jay Youngblood from forty years earlier and trust me, that’s a compliment. In the end, Outlaw missed a backflip off the top rope and DeCarlo rolled him up, grabbing a handful of tights to get the pin.

Winner and NEW C.A.G.E. Television Champion: The Mob Boss Phil DeCarlo

One Last Time
Chief Jay Eagle w/ Captain Joe versus Chief Red Thunder

These two men have competed and fought against each other for the past twenty-five-plus years and their matches are as intense and strong as ever. Eagle took the early advantage with some distractions and the use of a foreign object. Every time it seemed that Thunder was on the verge of a comeback, Eagle and his manager would distract the referee and retake control. Finally, Eagle managed to hold down Thunder for the pin, but his foot was on the ropes and an ACW official ordered the match restarted. Thunder rolled up Eagle and with what looked like his own arm on the ropes for leverage, scored the pin.

Winner: Chief Red Thunder

Angel Angels versus The New Age Villain, Nate Cross

A classic battle of speed versus size. Cross was quick with chops and takedowns, but Angels were quick to respond with the power moves, never letting Cross get too far ahead. It was just a lot of quick action and back and forth. This is my first time seeing Angels live and he impressed the hell out of me. So did Cross and I would not be surprised to see either man pop up on NXT’s radar in the next few years. After a referee bump, Cross hit Angels with what looked to be a pair of brass knuckles to score the win.

Winner: Nathan Cross

Then we went to an intermission for a few minutes so everyone could catch their breath. We were definitely needing to at that point. After about fifteen minutes, it was back to the ring.

Atlantic Coast Wrestling Tag Team Championship Match to fill Vacant Title
The Quick City Assailants (Aaron Matthews & James Turner)versus The New Breed.

If Jim Cornette saw this match, he would blow a gasket at the start since it was all flying around and gymnastics, but then the New Breed managed to take control and the entire spectrum of the match changed. It was classic heels working over the babyfaces with quick tags, double-teaming, interference from the outside, and everything that makes tag team wrestling great. All four men were incredible with their fast action and solid teamwork. The New Breed worked over Matthews for a while and Matthews was selling so well, Ricky Morton might have been jealous. Then, after a Frankensteiner, there was the hot tag to partner Turner, as the crowd shouted “QCA”. In the end, Matthews hit an amazing shooting star press from the top to pin one of the New Breed to get the win and the tag team titles.

Winners and NEW ACW Tag Team Champions: The Quick City Assailants (Aaron Matthews & James Turner).

Atlantic Coastal WrestlingChampionship Match
Cham-Pain (c) versus Sammy Love

This was a rematch nine months in the making as Cham-Pain, a former Omega Original who has wrestled all over the world, defended the ACW title against the man he beat for the belt Sammy Love. A good match where Cham-Pain used his experience to tie Sammy up and keep him off balance while Sammy used his size advantage to fight back and keep Cham-Pain on his toes. The end came when the man who was out there as Sammy’s manager, whose name I didn’t get, sorry, pulled the referee to the side, causing a distraction. Sammy with a wicked snap suplex and scored the pin to get the victory, recapture his title, and take that trip to the pay window if you will. I mentioned earlier about Angel Angels and Nate Cross and how I was surprised that they haven’t been snapped up yet by a major company. Sammy is another one that continues to get better with every match. He’s only 19 years old and works like a ten-year veteran. This young man is good. Damn good!

Winner and NEW ACW Champion: Sammy Love

C.A.G.E. Championship Match
Eric Gibson (c) versus The Caribbean Tiger.

Eric had issued an open challenge for his title a few weeks ago and The Caribbean Tiger stepped up to give it a shot. It was a good match and the Tiger surprisingly got in a lot of offense at the beginning, but not for long as the size difference made its presence felt. Eric is a big man with a strong resemblance body-wise to Brock Lesnar. He’s just a big mass of muscle who can also move surprisingly quickly for a man of his size. Tiger took the fight to Tyson, including even hitting a Swanton bomb from the top to get a strong two-count. But in the end, the power was just too much and after scoring with a vicious neckbreaker, Gibson scored the pin to retain his title.

Winner and STILL C.A.G.E. Champion: Eric Gibson

And then, as Mark Henry would say, it’s time for the Main Event!

Law Enforcement Lumberjack Match: Special Referee – Jimmy Valiant
Hangtyme versus Cruze Bittle

As might be expected with the Boogie Woogie Man involved this was as much comedy to start as anything. Hangtyme tried to throw his shirt into the crowd, but they kept throwing it back at him. There was lots of stalling at the start, but when they finally locked up, the action turned hot and heavy pretty quickly. After a test of strength, Hangtyme decided to go to the floor for a bit. Realizing that wasn’t a good idea rather quickly, he climbed back into the ring and was nailed by Bittle and a big clothesline. And then another. And then the torture started with several inverted atomic drops and a headbutt to the groin by Bittle. Watching Hangtyme sell these shots was hilarious. Bittle then left the ring and then came back eating one of the donuts that Hangtyme had brought to the arena earlier. He offered one to Valiant and then stuffed one into Hangtyme’s mouth. A reversal of a whip into the corner caught Valiant and he took a ref bump and was helped to the back and away from the ring. Hangtyme then got a chair and went to work on Bittle. He did this for a while and the local officers at ringside got involved. One cop speared Hangtyme, while two others gave him a double clothesline, allowing Bittle time to recover. Bittle scored with a superplex to get the big win.

Winner: Cruze Bittle

And that was the end of the show. A fantastic night of great pro wrestling by a very talented group of men. The show ran a little long, but I was never bored or lost interest. Everyone gave 500% and it was a fun & exciting experience. Kudos to ACW and C.A.G.E. on a job very well done. They’ll be coming back to Laurinburg in February 2023, and I definitely plan to be there. Tonight was an excellent night of wrestling.

And with that, I’m calling it a night. Thanks for reading. Comments, thoughts, and any questions are welcome and appreciated. My thanks to everyone for a great evening. Take care and be well, my friends. I’ll see you at the matches.

Ubuntu!