DPW’s Carolina Classic event took place on September 17th, 2023 from the Durham Armory in Durham, NC. As is the tradition, the winner of the tournament gets a future World Title shot.

The announcers are Rich Bocchini, Caprice Coleman and Veda Scott

Opening Contest: Carolina Classic Round 1 – Jay Malachi vs. Ichiban

Fast paced beginning with a series of counters and reversals. Ichiban blocks a cutter with a backslide for two and they stand off. Ichiban gets punches in the corner and a flying overhand chop from the top rope for just one. Standing legdrop gets two. Malachi gets tossed over the top but slides back in and trips up Ichiban before a dive. On the floor Ichiban hops the rail so Malachi dives over the guardrail with a splash. Back in, Ichiban gets a springboard kick and a somersault plancha. To the top, Malachi counters with a Spanish Fly for two. Jay gets a kind of twisting Olympic Slam for two. Ichiban comes back with a Destroyer and Michinoku Driver for two. They exchange kicks and Ichiban gets a Stunner and goes for a top-rope dive but jumps right into a Cutter, and then Malachi gets a springboard cutter for the win. Nonstop action here that I’m sure could have gone longer but clocked in at just under 8 minutes likely due to the tournament format. ***

Match Two: Carolina Classic Round 1 – Jake Something vs. Myron Reed

Jake runs through Reed with shoulderblocks. Reed ducks a clothesline and gets a scissors kick. Superkick connects followed by a dive to the outside. Back in that gets only a one count. Jake steps on Reed’s foot and clobbers him with a forearm for two. Something can’t get a powerslam so just runs through Reed again for two. A pair of short-arm clotheslines are next for another two count. Chinlock applied which Reed busts out of with a jawbreaker. He charges the corner and gets a Codebreaker and a flatliner for two. Pescado out to the floor is caught by Something, who slams Reed onto the apron. Myron tries a rana but gets caught with a sitout powerbomb for two. Into The Void is countered with a cutter and springboard 450 for Reed that gets two. Diving cutter out to the floor this time but another cutter attempt back inside is countered with Into The Void for the win. Started a bit slow but turned into a great last few minutes. ***

Match Three: Carolina Classic Round 1 – Tom Lawlor vs. LaBron Kozone

They shake hands and do some mat wrestling. Lawlor puts on a leglock which Kozone reverses and they do a rope break. Tom goes right back to the leg and puts on a figure-four. They roll out to the floor while still in the hold which breaks it on impact. Chops are exchanged out there and then Lawlor gets a rear chinlock up the aisleway. Tom does a full lap around the arena which culminates in a running kick to the chest. Back inside, Lawlor stands on the chest of Kozone, then lands a kick to the face for two. Outside once again Lawlor does another running lap but this time gets Pounced into the barricade by LaBron. Kozone gets a diving back elbow in the ring and bodyslams Filthy down. Diving headbutt connects for two. Tom ducks some clotheslines and gets some bodyshots but runs right into a kneestrike. Package piledriver (!) gets two for Kozone. He charges but right into an Exploder suplex in the corner from Lawlor. Diving headbutt and side slam by Tom gets two. Lawlor climbs the buckle with Kozone meeting him there for a superplex. They duke it out in the middle and Tom lands an enzuigiri and a series of forearms. Release German suplex is no sold by Kozone and he delivers Ballgame for a two count. Jumping kneestrike by Lawlor and straight kick to the head. Penalty kick gets two. Straightjacket knee gets only a one count for Lawlor, so he puts on a form of the Stretch Muffler and Kozone is forced to tap out. I am admittedly biased towards Lawlor’s in-ring style as it felt like a real battle to walk away the winner in this one. ***¼

Match Four: Carolina Classic Round – Speedball Mike Bailey vs. Andrew Everett

Even exchange to start with both doing a kip up and standing off. Everett looks for a chokeslam but can’t get it, so does a drop toehold and standing moonsault instead. On the outside Bailey catches him with the rapid fire kicks, then hits a double kneestrike back inside. A springboard kneedrop this time gets two. Running shooting star press for another two count. Roundhouse kick is blocked, leading to Everett landing a springboard spinning heel kick. They exchange strikes and Everett gets a springboard moonsault for two. Andrew the Giant tries the chokeslam again but Bailey rolls him up for two, then his the moonsault knee strike. They exchange tope suicidas to the floor, then Everett gets an Asai moonsault out there. Bailey avoids a baseball slide and then gets his own Asai moonsault very quickly. They both beat the ten count and Bailey hits a superkick, and Everett responds with an enzuigiri then a chokeslam into a powerbomb for two. The Giant goes up for a shooting star press which hits knees. Back to back superkicks from Speedball and a roundhouse kick. Bailey then gets the Ultima Weapon for the win. These guys are both very good at wrestling. ***½

Chris Danger is out next. Last month he came out and challenged Adam Cole to a match. He informs us he has not heard back on his challenge…and then the lights go out with Adam Cole appearing on the big screen. Cole accepts the challenge for a match on November 12th at World’s Strongest, which would be Danger’s first. (Spoiler: Shawn Spears wound up working that match in Adam Cole’s place).

Match Five: DPW National Championship – Bryan Keith (c) vs. Shun Skywalker

Some hiptosses and covers to start, leading to a stalemate. Skywalker rakes at the face of Keith but gets booted down as a result. Keith lays in some big chops and then Skywalker uses a piece of the turnbuckle to block and dropkicks Keith out to the floor. Shun chokes him out there and they head back in. He keeps the pace slow with a stretch hold, then cradles the champion for two. Clothesline is shaken off and Keith delivers an exploder suplex. Saito suplex comes next for the champ and he eventually gets a brainbuster. Keith goes for a double underhook suplex but can’t get it, and Skywalker gets one of his own. Shun tries a choke and then rakes the eyes and gets a dropkick. The champ comes back with a tornado DDT and exploder suplex in the corner. Diamond Dust out of the corner and a lariat by Keith gets two. Another attempt at a Tiger Driver is reversed into a pinfall attempt for two. Skywalker hits a Claymore Kick which only gets a one count. Uranage and standing moonsault get two. Top rope moonsault is avoided and Keith gets a running kneestrike followed by the Tiger Driver for the win to retain. This was another one that started out pretty slow but picked up over the last several minutes. **¾

Match Six: DPW Women’s Championship – Emi Sakura (c) vs. Nicole Matthews

They charge at each other as the bell rings and duke it out. Crowd is super into the start here. Matthews knocks the champ down and applies a single-leg crab. Sakura bites the finger to break that and then puts on a surfboard stretch. Matthews is now annoyed and ties up Sakura in the ropes and kicks her in the chest. Missile dropkick from the second rope gets two. Sakura fights back with a Smash Mouth and fires up the fans. Corner crossbody by the champion and she heads up, but Matthews cuts her off and hits a neckbreaker. Northern Lights transitioned into a Fujiwara Armbar by the challenger. Sakura makes the ropes so Matthews tries a suplex that she can’t get, and the champ gets a double underhook backbreaker. It’s a chop-off in the center where Nicole knocks the champion down, only for Sakura to stomp the foot and clothesline Matthews down. Double underhook stacked powerbomb gets a two count for Sakura. Shining Wizard is countered into an STF by the challenger. Sakura bites her way out of that but takes a kick to the head. Swinging neckbreaker by Matthews gets two. Moonsault misses and Sakura quickly rolls up Matthews in a La Majestral cradle to win and retain. Fun match with a good crowd. ***¼

Main Event: Carolina Classic Finals – Jay Malachi vs. Jake Something vs. Mike Bailey, vs Tom Lawlor

Elimination style match to crown a number one contender for the World Title. Lots of shoving between the competitors. Something tosses Malachi into a release German suplex from Lawlor. Filthy attacks Jake but can’t get anywhere and gets knocked down quickly. Speedball and Malachi come in with a pair of dropkicks and stereo dives out to the floor. Some brawling on the floor follows as Malachi does a big dive to take out the other three. All four guys head back into the ring and Malachi gets caught by Something and slammed onto Bailey. Filthy gets a low dropkick on Jake for two. Tom with some penalty kicks that only get one. Something fires back with a bodyblock but then gets missile dropkicked by Bailey. A series of kicks and a standing shooting star press gets two for Speedball. Malachi reappears with a Blue Thunder Bomb on Bailey for two. Filthy Tom takes out Malachi and Speedball with spinebusters, and then does it to Something as well. Lawlor climbs but gets kicked by Bailey, and then they do the tower of doom spot in the corner with Something powerbombing everyone. Jake them powerbombs Malachi onto Bailey and Lawlor out on the floor and follows with a plancha. Something chokeslams Bailey onto Malachi but then gets caught with a Sick Kick from Filthy. He goes for a kneestrike but gets countered with Into The Void that gets two. Kicks land on Something and Lawlor gets him in the anklelock with a grapevine and Jake has to tap for the first elimination.

Speedball and Malachi doubleteam Filthy Tom who fights back with corner attacks. DVD to Malachi gets two. Anklelock is applied to both Jay and Speedball but they eventually make the ropes. Lawlor and Speedball kick it out with Tom getting the better of things for a two count. Malachi tries a cutter but gets caught in an armbar because Filthy Tom rules. Speedball breaks things up by hitting the Ultimo Weapon and pins Lawlor.

That leaves Malachi vs. Speedball. They duke it out as the crowd fires up and trade spinning kicks. Speedball superkicks him in the corner and looks for the Flamingo Driver but gets rolled up for two. Bailey quickly comes back with the moonsault double knees and a Navarro Special but Jay makes the ropes. Tornado kick and the Flamingo Driver hits this time but only gets two. Ultimo Weapon but nobody is home and Malachi gets a La Majestral cradle for two. Springboard moonsault to the floor by Bailey. He misses a kick and hits the guardrail allowing Malachi to get his own springboard moonsault, nearly breaking his leg on the guardrail in the process. On the apron Speedball gets run into the ringpost, then Malachi gets his utter on the apron. He jumps for the springboard cutter but the ankle gives out. Bailey his the moonsault doubleknees again, but the Ultimo Weapon lands him right in a cutter, and the springboard cutter connects to give Malachi the win. Great performance by all four guys and especially Malachi. ****¼

Jay gives his post-match victory speech but is attacked from behind by DPW World Champion Lucky Ali. So Malachi nuts up and challenges Ali for his title match right now, and baits Lucky into it so now we have a title match. Is Paul Heyman booking this?

REAL Main Event: DPW World Championship – Lucki Ali (c) vs. Jay Malachi

This is a Carolina Warfare match, which essentially means no holds barred. Malachi starts on fire with a backdrop and clotheslines the champion to the floor. Jay tosses Ali around and onto the stage, but Lucky recovers and hits a legbreaker. Malachi comes right back with a jawbreakers and nasty looking hurricanrana then dives off the stage onto Ali. Ali misses with a chair toss and Jay cracks him over the back with it instead. Jay tries to set up a table but Ali cuts him off with a chair shot and sets up the table himself across the guardrail to the ring apron. Malachi dives over the guardrail and takes out Lucky with a rana and tries to suplex the champ through that table but can’t, so just suplexes him on the concrete as a nice alternative. Springboard clothesline in the ring gets two for the challenger.

BK Westbrook arrives at ringside grabbing Malachi’s leg as Ali follows with a basement dropkick to the floor. Ali puts on loaded kneepads apparently as we see that Malachi is cut open. Side suplex onto the apron and vertical suplexes Jay back into the ring. BK runs to the back and returns with a ladder. Malachi gets a sunset flip but Ali rolls through and slingshots him into the ladder and that gets a two count. Lucky puts on a choke with Malachi fading, as Westbrook loosens the top rope and removes a turnbuckle. Turnbuckle shot to the head of Malachi gets a two count. Jay avoids being tossed through a table with an enzuigiri and then dropkicks Ali sending him crashing through the table as a result. Standing shooting star and a moonsault get two for the challenger. He asks the fans for chairs (maybe Heyman IS booking this) which bury Ali underneath. With the chairs discarded Ali begs off which Malachi is having none of and goes for the springboard cutter, but Ali low blows him and hits the Grime Line, only getting two. Westbrook grabs the title to hand to the champion, but Colby Corino and Andrew Everett run out to prevent that. And then of course, Malachi does a huge dive over the corner post and takes everyone out. Jay grabs a ladder and hits a Five Star Frog Splash for a very close two count. Malachi calls for another table and looks for a powerbomb, but Corino stops him…so he can light the table on fire. Ali avoids a powerbomb through the table, puts out the fire, and then Malachi hits the springboard cutter through the table for the win and the title! Screw it, this match is 2.5 years old at the time I’m writing this and they still had me buying in and cheering at the end. *****

Final Thoughts: The last hour of this show is must watch, with Malachi being elevated to World Champion after putting in almost 60 minutes of ring time in back-to-back great matches.