Black Friday 2020 Was Synergy’s Wildest Show
Synergy’s season finale was profane, violent and cathartic.
Synergy Pro Wrestling is no longer family friendly, and that’s a good thing.
Black Friday 2020 was a wild ending to the New Jersey-based promotion’s season. Even though the more than 70 attendees were masked and socially distant, it felt like a rave inside the Monster Factory thanks to Raze Lighting’s colorful, elaborate designs. Each wrestler’s entrance felt unique, and the crowd welcomed them with either adulation or disdain. The chants were much more vulgar than we’ve come to expect from Synergy crowds, starting with the traditional “holy shit” after Charles Mason crashed through a door (in the opener, no less) and growing more profane throughout the night.
It’s easy to understand why. After the worst year that many of us have ever lived through, with all the COVID-19 restrictions and mandates and uncertainty, we needed to let loose. Black Friday served as catharsis. In that dark room, fans could get lost in the action, forgetting their worries and living vicariously through the performers. There was a sense of lawlessness – we could scream obscenities and roar at every chairshot.
As per tradition with the company’s season finale, Black Friday 2020 was extremely violent. Mason tried to paralyze Ellis Taylor with a tombstone off the second rope onto two chairs. Brandon Kirk retained the Synergy Championship due to ref stoppage after beating Eric Corvis into unconsciousness. And then there’s the main event: Kasey Catal and TJ Crawford tearing each other apart in a street fight, one of the best matches in Synergy history.
☠️ #SPWBlackFriday pic.twitter.com/0Rf27GkPI8
— TJ Crawford (@TJCWrestling) November 29, 2020
Don’t get me wrong, families can still come to Synergy for their pro wrestling fix. There were plenty of acts geared toward children at Black Friday 2020. The Nerd World Order served as comic relief, tossing candy into the crowd. Anthony Gangone embraced the Christmas spirit by transforming into Krampus. Fallah Bahh, who was slayed by KTB in a battle of behemoths, is naturally a favorite of the kiddos with his fun, interactive performances. There was also the return of another children’s act, the Selfie Superstar “2 Hott” Steve Scott.
Even Catal, affectionately referred to as Kendo Kasey, is a badass heroine for girls to look up to.
However, Synergy can no longer in good conscience consider itself family friendly. That may have been the goal of founders Dan and Heather Funkenstein, owners of Englishtown, NJ-based Funkenstein Wrestling Superstore, but current owner Colin West has gradually steered the company away from P.G. sensibilities and into a more mature environment. It’s worked – Synergy has never been hotter. Thanks to its new, exclusive partnership with IWTV, the promotion is drawing more eyeballs than ever before. If it wasn’t for government-mandated restrictions on event capacity, the crowds would be bigger than ever. There’s plenty of buzz surrounding events with the wrestling media (us included) gushing over every move. Plus, there’s enough independent promotions catering to families. Synergy can feed the hunger for a PG-13 and even R-Rated product.
West has gone on record to credit Jersey All Pro Wrestling with paving the way for Synergy (resurrecting the Best of the Light Heavyweights), but there’s another defunct promotion that has certainly inspired the indies’ fastest-growing sensation: ECW. It’s cliché to compare any company that does hardcore wrestling to ECW, but the similarities are there. A cult-like fanbase, active fan participation, rooted in the Northeast, unpredictability, a beloved captain at the helm (“Colin West” chants broke out after Black Friday 2020) and a talented roster on the cusp of stardom.
If there was ever a time for a throwback to the anarchy days of ECW, it’s now. Let’s break the rules. Let’s unleash our frustration. Let’s relish the mayhem. After all, pro wrestling has been there for us during the pandemic, and Synergy does pro wrestling very well.
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Full results
Street Fight: Kasey Catal def. TJ Crawford to win the Cruiserweight Crown
Loser Leaves Synergy: Matt Macintosh def. Nicholas Kaye
Brandon Kirk def. Eric Corvis to retain the Synergy Championship
Chris Benne def. Jason Sinclair
No. 1 Contender’s Match: Jordan Oliver def. Ace Austin
Best of the Light Heavyweights: KC Navarro def. Desean Pratt, Anthony Gaines, Cheeseburger, Matt Vertigo and Steve Scott
KTB def. Fallah Bahh
The Whisper def. Logan Black
Kit Osbourne and Anthony Gangone def. Nerd World Order (Kip Stevens and Joey Silver)
Ellis Taylor def. Charles Mason
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