1 - L.A. Stephens vs. Kurt Solo

2 - Malaki vs. Kenny James

3 - The $outh$ide Playas vs. The United Nations Of Devastation

Non-Title Match
4 - Amber Holly vs. Brandi Alexander

FWA Carolinas Cruiserweight Title Match
5- Kamakazi Kid vs. "Slick" Ric Converse (c) w/Special K, GeeStar, & Brad Stutts

Challenge Match
Mikael Yamaha & Sexton Tyler
vs.
"Dangerous E" Corey Edsel & "NiteStic" Eddie Brown
w/Brad Stutts

The CWF/FWA-Carolinas returned to the Graham Recreation Center in Graham, NC on Saturday night, August 31st, with the supershow "High Tension." A very vocal crowd was in attendance for what is being called one of the best independent wrestling shows in recent months. The evening kicked off with a very emotional speech from FWA-Carolinas Commissioner William L. Cross. In the past week, Mrs. Kernodle, the mother of NWA legends and FWA-Carolinas stars Don and Rocky Kernodle, and Martha Holt, grandmother to Grant "Statmark" Sawyer and loyal CWF/FWA-Carolinas fan over the past year, both passed away. A touching moment of silence was held in honor of these lost members of the CWF/FWA-Carolinas family.

The action began with a classic youth vs. experience matchup as Kurt Solo scored what is being considered a mild upset by putting away NWA veteran L.A. Stephens in 6:19 with a inverted DDT. In the evening's second bout, Malaki pinned Kenny James in 9:46 with the Michinoku Driver II.

Sexton Tyler made his way to the ring next and called out "Slick" Ric Converse, the man that defeated him for the FWA-Carolinas Cruiserweight title the previous month at "Payback". However, rather than Converse's theme music, "Jingle Bells" began to blast over the P.A. system! The Hostile Youth Project (HYP) of the Converse, Corey Edsel, GeeStar, Special K, and Brad Stutts then made their way to the ring all decked out Santa Claus hats. Brad Stutts explained that "Christmas came early for HYP" as he pulled out the FWA-Carolinas Cruiserweight championship belt and presented it to "Slick" Ric Converse. Secondly, Stutts pulled out a contract that to everyone's shock, forbid Sexton Tyler, Mikael Yamaha, or the Gemini Kid from receiving any future shots at the Cruiserweight title! Finally, Stutts proclaimed how "there was a void in HYP that was about to be filled" and then pulled one final item out of his Santa bag...a night stick! With that, none other than "Nite Stic" Eddie Brown hit the ring and nailed Tyler from behind. The HYP members began to pound on Tyler until the remainder of the Hirydaz; Mikael Yamaha, Amber Holly, and Gemini Kid hit the ring, saving Sexton from any further damage. A challenge was immediately issued and accepted for the main event though as Corey Edsel would team with HYP's newest member, "Nite Stic" Eddie Brown, to take on the brother duo of Mikael Yamaha and Sexton Tyler.

The United Nations Of Devastation (Drake Tungsten & Hugh B. Johnson), or U.N.O.D. for short, certainly made an impressive debut in Graham by defeating the most honored Independent tag team in the Carolinas, The $outh$ide Playas (L.A. Cash & J-Money). In an action packed bout, Tungsten scored the upset pin on Cash at the 6:31 mark. The action was only just getting started though as U.N.O.D. continued a beatdown on the Playas until from out of nowhere, the Bounty Hunter made a shocking arrival, spearing Hugh B. Johnson out of his boots and sending the crowd into an absolute frenzy. Corey Edsel quickly came to ringside, claiming that he was the true heavyweight and FWA-Carolinas is his turf. Bounty wasted no time in issuing the challenge and it took the combined efforts of U.N.O.D., GeeStar, and Brad Stutts to keep the 350-pound Corey Edsel from going one-on-one with Bounty Hunter. However the challenge was issued and accepted for the September 28th show in Graham as U.N.O.D. will team with Edsel to take on the Playas and Bounty in what will be the quite literally the biggest 6-man tag in the FWA-Carolinas history!

In a shocking moment, the man we all knew as Cham Pain made his way to the ring but this was indeed a changed man. He announced that Cham Pain was indeed dead...that he is no longer "Cham Pain" but has returned to his roots as a former pro beach volleyball player Zack Lee, complete with blonde, short hair. Along side his long time friend, Ben Black, they are now known as the California Swat Team, and tossed out a challenge to any and all teams in the Carolinas.

Up next, FWA World Women's Champion Amber Holly squared off against veteran Brandi Alexander in what Commission William L. Cross deemed a non-title match due to Holly's win over Alexander at "Defiance" back in June. Brandi would be forced to prove herself worthy of another title shot which she indeed did, albeit with a bit of help from GeeStar, as Brad Stutts distracted referee Vern Stephens, thereby allowing GeeStar to save Brandi from Amber's downward spiral and also knocked Amber's foot off the bottom rope during Brandi's pin attempt at the 7:18 mark. Amber Holly will have to defend her title against the challenge of Brandi Alexander in the very near future.

FWA-Carolinas Cruiserweight champion "Slick" Ric Converse (along with HYP members Special K, GeeStar, and Brad Stutts) came to the ring next for what he expected to be an easy night of work with Tyler, Yamaha, and Gemini barred from title matches. Brad Stutts decided to give a relatively unknown an opportunity to face the champ. The "chance of a lifetime" went to the Kamikaze Kid. With low expectations, the members of HYP had some fun laughing at this new masked cruiserweight...but not for long. Kamikaze Kid absolutely exploded out of the gate, showcasing some incredible high flying abilities that truly had the champion on the ropes. The Kid took the crowd's breath away and nearly his own with an awe-inspiring shooting star press that Converse narrowly avoided. Moments later, Converse crushed the Kid with his "Richter Scale" to score the win in 5:03 to retain the title but you could indeed say that it was anything but a night of for the champ.

In the main event, Mikael Yamaha and Sexton Tyler went toe-to-toe with HYP's "Nite Stic" Eddie Brown and "Dangerous E" Corey Edsel despite being outweighed by nearly 200 pounds. Yamaha ended up taking an incredible amount of punishment during the match until Sexton could take no more. This started a wild melee in which Sexton hit "Nite Stic" with his "Sexplex" (vertical suplex into an Ace Crusher finisher). As Sexton went to the top to finish off NiteStic, Yamaha, realizing he was still the legal man and knowing that the capable Brown would not stay down for long, dove atop NiteStic and got the pinfall in the heat of the moment at the 9:52 mark. A confused Sexton Tyler looked on as Yamaha attempted to celebrate with his brother. Edsel and NiteStic quickly regained their composure to attack Yamaha once again. Sexton dove back in with a chair, nailing Edsel and NiteStic. With the HYP out of the way, Yamaha again began his celebration only to have Sexton Tyler, his own brother, blast him in the back with the chair! Apparently snapping, Tyler then began unloading on Yamaha with repeated chairshots. Amber Holly rushed to the ring, screaming at Sexton, only to be taken out herself from behind by Brandi Alexander. Sexton and Brandi then continued the assault, leaving both Yamaha and Amber battered and beaten, lying in the middle of the ring. Gemini Kid, already injured from last month's "Payback" charged the ring with a chair to make the save. Tyler and Alexander made their retreat but with one final challenge for the night: Sexton Tyler vs. Gemini Kid in 7 days time at the Alamance County Fairgrounds at "Fair Warning."

*Photos courtesy of the Independent Insider.