By B.P. Burke
In many cases, the matches that go down in history are the ones that carry a degree of outside the ring tension to them. Those personal issues that flare up between two wrestlers, teams, or factions that stretch beyond the realm of athletic competition and make the hatred between the competitors involved palpable.
That will NOT be the case when Action Andretti and Breaux Keller face off this Saturday, May 20th, at the Slatington Expo Center. Andretti and Keller are two of the most revered stars in the history of PPW not just for their incredible in-ring talents and accomplishments, but also for the way they handle themselves outside of it.
The two covered a lot of the same ground, not just in PPW, but farther South and East in promotions in Maryland and New Jersey, and have even competed as a tag team on one prior occasion. The mutual respect between the two has always been evident. But equally evident is the desire within both to be the best professional wrestler in the world, and that drive will be what gives their showdown at PPW Crusade the potential to be among the best in our nearly 10 year history.
It will be the first time Andretti and Keller have faced off one-on-one in a PPW ring, but not the first time they’ve competed against one another. Keller retained his PPW Heavyweight Title in a match that included not just Andretti, but also VSK and Richard Holliday at New Beginnings in early 2022. The two would face off in an incredible six-way match later that year, which was won by then-PPW Champion “The Neon Ninja” Facade.
Through their history in PPW, Keller generally ran slightly ahead of his counterpart, having a nearly yearlong stranglehold on the heavyweight title that eluded Andretti in his time as a regular PPW competitor. As 2022 drew to a close, Keller succumbed to the underhanded machinations of The Mecca, and Andretti seemed primed to ascend to the top, winning a Golden Ticket qualifier against Encore on December 10th at Home for The Holidays.
Four days later, Action Andretti would turn the wrestling world upside down by defeating Chris Jericho on an edition of AEW Dynamite that PPW Nation will never forget. Naturally, AEW would become Andretti’s primary focus after his career-defining victory, which prevented him from continuing his pursuit of the Golden Ticket, eventually won by Clutch Adams.
The news of Andretti’s PPW return was welcome, to say the least. Learning that Breaux Keller would be his opponent made it even better. Finally, two of the most beloved wrestlers in recent PPW history are going to go one-on one, and under a new set of circumstances. Andretti’s AEW and Ring of Honor superstardom has vaulted him ahead of Keller in the eyes of many. For Keller, fresh off a defeat to former Impact Wrestling Champion Moose in a grueling, hard-fought battle at Locked and Loaded, a win over his longtime ally could be a career booster similar to the one Andretti received in his win over Jericho.
Regardless of how it turns out, one thing is sure: PPW Nation will see a battle that won’t soon be forgotten.