Zenith 012: Recap

Bryan Harris: That's right, Dutch. And let me tell you, it's good to be back where intelligent wrestling minds can actually analyze what happened instead of pandering to these mouth-breathing fans.

Scott Kamura: ...And we're off to a great start. Anyway, folks, Zenith 012 was absolute chaos from start to finish. I don't even know where to begin.

Dutch Harris: Let's start with the war that's been brewing for weeks now. The Grappler's Guild versus The Empire continues to escalate, and we saw it play out in two massive ways tonight.

Scott Kamura: Jamie Johnson teamed with Avalanche Anderson to take on Mike de los Huesos and Golden Burkhalter. The Empire got the win in what was a hard-fought tag team match, but that was just the beginning of the night for these factions.

Bryan Harris: As they should have. The Empire is what star power looks like, gentlemen. Mike de los Huesos and Burkhalter just proved that all of Jamie Johnson's little "infrastructure" means nothing when you step in the ring with real talent. The Grappler's Guild? More like the Grappler's Joke.

Dutch Harris: And backstage, we saw Jamie and Avalanche run into Mike and Burkhalter. The verbal exchange was intense. Jamie making it clear that his "guns" are better than The Empire's, Mike with his usual wit calling them "Wrestling Buddies" and "Tussle Tykes." But what stood out to me was Burkhalter's comment at the end - he told Mike that Jamie is hungrier than he is.

Scott Kamura: That's a major observation from Burkhalter. Mike got the win tonight, but is he taking Jamie seriously enough? Because Jamie Johnson has been methodical, calculating, and relentless in building the Grappler's Guild. He's not just talking - he's executing a plan.

Bryan Harris: Oh please. Jamie Johnson is a child playing dress-up in his daddy's clothes. Mike de los Huesos doesn't need to be hungrier - he's already proven he's better. You know what hunger gets you? Desperation. And desperate men make mistakes. Mike is cool, calm, collected, and most importantly? A winner.

Dutch Harris: Then we had Spinebuster Island facing The Moonshiners for number one contendership to the Pantheon Championships. Spinebuster Island won clean, earning their shot at The Empire. But they couldn't leave well enough alone.

Scott Kamura: Post-match beatdown. Methodical, brutal, machine-like precision. Joe Quinn and Dan Richards went to work on Aaron Dearinger and Josh Kaine with spinebusters, knee stomps, and steel chairs. Jamie Johnson had to run down and stop his own team.

Dutch Harris: And that's when Eddie E. came out and dropped the hammer. Because Spinebuster Island couldn't walk away from the extracurricular activities, the Pantheon Championship match at Reckoning Day is now a triple threat. The Moonshiners are back in, so it's Spinebuster Island versus The Moonshiners versus The Empire.

Bryan Harris: Good! You know what this is? This is Eddie E. handing The Empire an easy defense. You think those two hack teams are going to be able to work together to take the titles? No! They're going to beat the hell out of each other while The Empire sits back, picks their spots, and retains. Eddie E. just gave The Empire the win at Reckoning Day. Brilliant management if you ask me.

Scott Kamura: Or... Spinebuster Island just made a massive strategic error that Jamie Johnson is going to have to answer for. Actions have consequences. Eddie E. made that crystal clear.

Dutch Harris: Before the main event, we got an absolute bombshell from Johnny Napalm. The former Empire State Champion appeared on the screen in full red - the SHOOT faithful know what that means - and he delivered a message to both The Darkspade and Vito Valentino.

Scott Kamura: "Pay Your Penance, In Blood." Johnny Napalm is not happy that Vito waited until after he lost the title to jump into the championship picture. He's calling out both men, and he showed footage of some of the most violent moments of his career. The God of Violence has awakened.

Bryan Harris: You mean the God of Losing has awakened. Johnny Napalm lost his title. He doesn't get to come out here and make demands. Vito Valentino is a smart businessman who waited for the right opportunity. That's called strategy, not cowardice. Maybe if Napalm was smarter, he'd still be champion instead of crying about it on video.

Dutch Harris: And speaking of Vito, we saw footage from February 11th where his PinnacleBets account was hacked. Someone - and we all know who - placed a million dollar bet on Johnny Napalm at Zenith 011. Vito's calling Real Deal on the phone trying to explain he didn't place the bet, and you can see The Darkspade's logo floating across his screen with evil laughter.

Scott Kamura: Psychological warfare. The Darkspade is in Vito's head, hacking into his home systems, his betting accounts, everything. And then they had to face each other in the main event for the Empire State Championship. The mind games are at an all-time high.

Bryan Harris: The Darkspade is a genius. This is what champions do - they get in their opponent's head, they break them down mentally before the match even starts. That's championship mentality. That's what separates the greats from the pretenders.

Dutch Harris: We had a surreal moment early in the show when cameras caught Michael Draven sitting in the front row. Former EWA Warrior, former EWA World Heavyweight Champion, watching a SHOOT Project show for the first time in his life. The crowd loved it.

Scott Kamura: And then SHOOT Security surrounded him and kicked him out of the building. No explanation. No warning. Just removed him from the Pinnacle. It made absolutely no sense.

Bryan Harris: Made perfect sense to me. You can't just have some washed-up has-been from a dead promotion sitting in the front row trying to get attention. This is SHOOT Project, not the EWA retirement home. Security did exactly what they should've done.

Dutch Harris: Backstage, we found out why it didn't make sense. Security didn't even know who gave the order to remove him. They just said he "looked suspicious." And that's when X-Calibur showed up and absolutely lost it on the security team. Beat them all down except for one who wisely walked away.

Scott Kamura: X has been frustrated after falling short of the World Heavyweight Championship again, and he saw an opportunity to let that frustration out while defending a legend who was being wrongly removed. But then the conversation turned interesting - X wants to team with Michael Draven.

Dutch Harris: Two former rivals from NYSWF, from EWA, from that legendary Arby's brawl, potentially teaming up in SHOOT Project. Michael's been retired for eight years, he's got a bad leg from what Indrid Calder did to him, doctors told him not to come back. But X sees the fire still there. And after a lot of back and forth, Michael Draven extended his hand. They're doing this.

Bryan Harris: Oh this is rich. X-Calibur, the perennial loser who can't win the big one anymore, teams up with a 46-year-old man with a bad knee who hasn't wrestled in eight years and thinks they're going to compete for the Pantheon Championships? This is desperation. This is pathetic. I hope The Empire, Spinebuster Island, and The Moonshiners line up to embarrass these two old fools.

Scott Kamura: Or maybe it's two legends with more combined experience and knowledge than most of the roster who are going to remind everyone what real wrestling looks like. Old lions teaching the young hyenas a lesson.

Bryan Harris: Old lions? More like old housecats. They're going to get mauled.

Dutch Harris: And finally, the contract signing for the World Heavyweight Championship match at Reckoning Day. Corey Lazarus defending against Dustin "Thunderwolf" Kelser, best friends for 25 years, partners in the Last Vanguard, but absolutely tearing into each other verbally.

Scott Kamura: Thunderwolf called out Corey's ego, said he's been chasing Dustin's coattails since day one, that everything ugly in his life revolves around Corey Lazarus. Corey fired back about Dustin always taking the spotlight, always pulling the rug out from under him, asking who brought Fiona to the show where she got hurt. It got personal. It got heated. Thunderwolf slapped Corey's sunglasses off his face.

Bryan Harris: And you know what? Corey Lazarus is right. Thunderwolf has always been the problem. He's jealous, he's bitter, and he can't stand that Corey is the World Heavyweight Champion while Dustin is just another old guy taking up roster space. Corey is going to destroy him at Reckoning Day and finally put this "legend" out to pasture where he belongs.

Dutch Harris: And then Arthur Pleasant showed up. Mocking them, calling them boring, bringing up Fiona's injuries. Both men wanted to tear him apart, but Corey talked Thunderwolf down - they don't need to prove anything to Arthur, they'll settle their differences at Reckoning Day the right way, and then they'll come for Pleasant.

Scott Kamura: But Arthur had a trick up his sleeve. He'd gotten to the security team. They turned on Corey and Thunderwolf, swarming the ring, holding them down while Arthur pulled out scissors. Real Deal had no control over his own security.

Bryan Harris: Now this is what I'm talking about! Arthur Pleasant is the smartest man in SHOOT Project. He owns the security team, he owns the mind games, he owns everyone in this company. This is dominance.

Dutch Harris: And that's when the lights went out. When they came back on, there was a figure on the top turnbuckle behind Arthur Pleasant. Ricky Tenet. Three months after the Narcolepsy through a chair and the World Championship, Ricky Tenet is back.

Scott Kamura: Avalanche spinning heel kick off the top rope on Arthur. Ricky cleared house, fought off all the fake security guards. His father and future father-in-law were able to recover. And then Ricky issued the challenge - Arthur Pleasant, one on one, Iron Fist rules at Reckoning Day.

Bryan Harris: Hah! This kid just signed his own death warrant. Arthur Pleasant is a former Iron Fist Champion. He thrives in that environment. Ricky Tenet is going to get his head kicked in, his arms broken again, and then Arthur is going to laugh while doing it. This isn't bravery - it's stupidity.

Dutch Harris: Old school Iron Fist match. Knockout only, 10-count to stay down. Arthur Pleasant is a former Iron Fist champion. Corey Lazarus is also a former Iron Fist champion and you have to believe he's taught his son everything he knows. But Arthur accepted. The match is on.

Scott Kamura: We also saw Fear and Loathing - Curtis Rose and Alex Vaka - with another interview courtesy of Chunk Suckley. Curtis claiming they're number one contenders, that they fired Joshua Breedlove from the Empire, that they're undefeated since 2014. Alex just shaking his head the entire time. And at the end, the camera caught Chunk asking for payment in cash because Curtis's checks keep bouncing.

Bryan Harris: Curtis Rose is a visionary who understands the business better than anyone else on this roster. You people just don't appreciate genius when you see it.

Dutch Harris: His checks bounce, Bryan.

Bryan Harris: Creative accounting!

Dutch Harris: Alright gentlemen, Hot Take Corner time. What's your big takeaway from Zenith 012?

Scott Kamura: Ricky Tenet just made a massive mistake. I know the crowd loves the return, I know it's emotional, I know he wants revenge for what Arthur did to him and Fiona. But challenging Arthur Pleasant to an Iron Fist match? Arthur is a master of that environment. He thrives in chaos and violence. Ricky is brave, he's got heart, but he might've just signed up for more than he can handle. I hope Corey has taught him enough to survive what's coming.

Bryan Harris: My hot take? The Grappler's Guild is already finished. Jamie Johnson can't control his own soldiers. Spinebuster Island cost them a clean title shot. The Empire beat them in tag action. And now they're walking into a triple threat where they're going to get exposed as the frauds they are. Jamie Johnson is a failure as a leader and everyone's about to find out.

Dutch Harris: Well, my hot take is actually similar to what Bryan just said, surprisingly. Spinebuster Island costing themselves the one-on-one title shot is going to be the beginning of cracks in the Grappler's Guild. Jamie had to physically stop his own team from continuing the beatdown. Eddie E. had to punish them for not following the rules. Jamie talks about infrastructure and doing things the right way, but his soldiers aren't listening. At some point, that's going to blow up in his face. You can't build infrastructure if your foundation won't follow the blueprint.

Scott Kamura: Great point, Dutch. Jamie's got a lot of pieces on the board, but can he control them all? Time will tell.

Bryan Harris: He can't. And that's why The Empire is going to retain at Reckoning Day. Book it.