Cleveland, OH – 11.26.2011

Commentary is provided by a rotating cast consisting of Aaron Bauer (permanent) Pedro Deluca, Rickey Shane Page, Gregory Iron and Matt Wadsworth.

Earlier in the evening, Pedro Deluca catches BJ Whitmer on his way into the building to get some thoughts on his title match with Shiima Xion. Whitmer promises to win the belt. We then see Chest Flexor talking to Mia Yim, who is challenging Mickie Knuckles for the AIW Women’s Championship tonight. It seems as if Flexor has struck a deal with Mia Yim to have her take out Mickie Knuckles for good.

Ring announcer Pedro Deluca announces the new owner of AIW, Matt Wadsworth. Wadsworth was a ring announcer in AIW not too long ago and now he has purchased the company. He said he had been in AIW since Day 1 and knows just how much Chandler Biggins and John Thorne had poured their hearts and souls into the company. Wadsworth said he got a chance to talk to them at the JT Lightning Memorial Show and the state of AIW. Wadsworth was informed about the Flexor Industries situation and that Biggins and Thorne had no idea how to control it. Wadsworth said he has bought Thorne and Biggins out, although they will stay on as consultants. He says Flexor Industries will no longer be running the show like they own the place and plans to send Chest Flexor out the door when all is said and done. Wadsworth puts over the fans, calling them the heart and soul of AIW. He then announces that he’s signed a few people for AIW’s Nightmare Before X-Mas 5 show on 12/23: Chuck Taylor and The Batiri (Obariyon & Kodama). Wadsworth plans to make AIW the best wrestling company possible

Eric Ryan vs. Façade

Rickey Shane Page announces on commentary that the winner of this match will take his place in the four way later tonight since Page’s ankle is hurt. An waistlock exchange starts the contest. Façade kicks out Ryan’s leg to escape a wristlock. Ryan delivers a pair of armdrags. Façade side steps his attack and flips out of the corner. Façade pops off the ropes into an armdrag. Façade esvades a clothesline and O’Conner rolls Ryan for two. Façade boots Ryan through the ropes and to the floor. Façade runs up the ropes but gets crotched on the top by Eric Ryan. Ryan puts him in a tree of woe. He misses a double stomp. Façade comes out of the corner with an Ace crusher. This sends Ryan out by the entrance. He and Façade fight to the back. Like we’ve seen in the past few shows, a third wrestler re-emerges from the back. This time it’s Samuray Del Sol who looks like a total bad ass.

Eric Ryan vs. Façade vs. Samuray Del Sol

He slams Façade’s face into a steel chair and Arabian Presses onto Ryan. Façade hits a springboard 450 onto Sol and Ryan on the floor. Sol ends up back in the ring with Façade. He comes off the top into an armdrag. Ryan attacks Sol from behind. Sol armdrags Ryan to the corner and hits a dropkick. Ryan superkicks Sol as he comes running to the corner. Façade walks the top rope and comes off with a huracanrana to Sol. Ryan boots Façade and cradles him for two. Ryan blocks an enzuigiri and knee strikes Façade’s face. Façade responds with a springboard enzuigiri. He delivers his own running knee strike. Sol breaks the pin. Sol pops him up for a powerbomb. Façade blocks so Sol drops him with a Steenalizer on the mat. Ryan double stomps Sol to break the pin. Ryan hits Sol with a running Liger Bomb for the pin at 8:18. Like I’ve speculated the past few shows, these random three ways are leading to something somewhere down the line. Sol was an awesome last entrant, especially with his bad ass new entrance gear and mask. This wasn’t the best I’ve seen out of these three but still a pretty entertaining and fun opening match. **1/2

The Olsen Twins (Colin & Jimmy Olsen) vs. Da Latin Crime Syndicate (Joey “The Snake” Diamante & K. Fernandez)

The LCS attack the Olsens before the match. Fernandez and Colin end up fighting in the crowd. Colin throws a chair into his face. Jimmy sends Joey into the crowd. Jimmy dives onto him. Fernandez whips Colin into the guardrail and throws him throat first (with a chair) into the ring post. Colin takes control again. Jimmy throws Joey into a barrel. Colin throws a garbage can at Fernandez’s head. DLCS members Luis Diamante and Isaac Montana come out and also attack The Olsens. Fernandez and Jimmy end up back in the ring where the bell officially rings. Fernandez and Joey isolate Jimmy. Colin enters into the ring to interject when the sides seem very uneven. Jimmy is able to huracanrana Joey into the nuts of Fernandez and tag in Colin. Colin takes Joey out with a few kicks. He dropkicks Fernandez to the floor. He goes for a dive but gets caught by Joey. Jimmy gives Joey a neckbreaker/DDT combo. Colin comes off the top with a 12 Large elbow but Fernandez breaks the pin. Isaac and Luis try to interfere but Colin and Jimmy take them out quickly. They stack up DLCS with some ball and bass to trout positioning. Colin suicide dives onto Luis and Montana when they go back to the floor. Jimmy dropkicks Joey and heads up top. Fernandez crotches him. Fernandez back crackers Jimmy into a jackknife powerbomb from Luis for the pin at 7:42. This was pretty hard to follow with just a lot going on at any given time. Granted it was all for a purpose (we’ll get to that shortly) but it was strange seeing DLCS who haven’t been around in months defeating the former tag champions with ease. **1/4

Colin asks for two beers so he and Jimmy can recover from their loss. He’s about to toast Jimmy but then decks him with a hard right hand. He takes Jimmy’s beer and heads to the back.

Gregory Iron vs. Josh Prohibition

This is a rematch from “Absolution VI” where these two had quite the battle. Prohibition attacks Iron while referee Jake Clemons is checking Iron for foreign objects. Iron is able to clothesline Prohibition to the floor and suicide dives onto him. Prohibition rakes Iron’s eyes. Prohibition rakes Iron’s face against the guardrail. Iron slides off of Prohibition’s shoulders and sends him face first into the ring post. Iron brings Prohibition back into the ring. He ducks a clothesline and hits an elbow strike. Prohibition ducks the Gimp Slap but takes a forearm strike. Prohibition crotches Iron on the middle rope. He dropkicks Iron square in the back for two. Prohibition chokes Iron on the middle rope. He hits a rolling neck snap ala Mr. Perfect for a two count. Iron sunset flips him for two. Prohibition knocks Iron to the mat with a back elbow. Prohibition slams Iron and scrapes his boots on Iron’s face. We’re told a man named Jock Samson is looming around the commentary booth. Prohibition gets two with a delayed suplex. Prohibition whips Iron into the corner. Iron blocks an attack and comes out of the corner with a huracanrana. He hits a tornado DDT, leaving both men down on the mat. Iron elbows his way off Prohibition’s shoulders. He delivers a stunner for two. Prohibition catches Iron with a TKO for two. He hooks Iron for the Drunken Driver. Iron kicks out and hits Handicap Parking. Prohibition gets his foot on the rope to break the count. Iron goes for Handicap Parking again. Prohibition escapes. As Jake Clemons is distracted, Prohibition kicks Iron in the groin and pins him at 9:02. The moments Iron had on offense may have been the best I have ever seen from him. He and Prohibition have great chemistry together, whether it be in a straight up wrestling match or a hardcore bout. I thought it was weird to have this rematch seemingly out of nowhere but it’s apparent that we have not seen the conclusion of this feud. I am looking forward to the next chapter. **3/4

The Duke vs. “The Chad” Williams

Chest Flexor is in Williams’ corner. Williams attacks Duke while he’s posing. Duke splashes Williams twice in the corner. He slams Williams and delivers a fist drop. He gets two after a legdrop and senton splash. Duke snapmares Williams and also gives him a rolling neck snap. Duke clotheslines Williams to the floor. Duke gets in some strikes on Williams until Jock Samson jumps the barricade with a cowbell and attacks Duke. Referee Drew Taylor throws the match out at 2:53. That was actually a pretty fun encounter with Duke in control. He looks like he’s trimmed down and was moving a lot better. Hopefully his match with this Samson dude will be good. N/R

Izaeh Bonds comes out to run Samson off. Intense Division champion Bobby Beverly runs out and clobbers Bonds in the back of the head with his title belt. Williams runs back out to attack Duke as well.

Intense Division Championship
Bobby Beverly (Champion) vs. “Mr. RBI” Izaeh Bonds

Sugar Dunkerton was supposed to face Beverly for his title tonight. Dunkerton could not make the show, so he chose another athlete to take his spot. Bonds throws Beverly into the barricade. Beverly superkicks Bonds in response. He chops Bonds around ringside and kicks him in the face. Beverly brings him back in the ring for two. Bonds and Beverly exchange forearm strikes. Bonds nails a clothesline and back elbow. Bonds sends Beverly to the floor. Bonds dives out onto Beverly, Chad Williams and Chest Flexor. In the ring Beverly catches Bonds with a running boot for two. Beverly gets two after a running forearm in the corner. Bonds come back with a wind up double sledge to the chest. He then delivers a spinebuster for two. Beverly Saito suplexes Bonds for two. Bonds falls to the floor as Beverly tries to put him on the top rope. Beverly superkicks Bonds and brings him in with a dangling Ace crusher. Beverly goes for a superkick. Bonds instead sweeps Beverly’s legs and hits a standing moonsault for two. Bonds misses a top rope moonsault. Beverly superkicks him for the pin at 9:02. Bonds has been improving but clearly is not ready enough to be in title matches. I give him kudos for being a late fill in but he and Beverly just didn’t click together. However, I do hope to see Dunkerton vs. Beverly one day. **

AIW Tag Team Championship
Irish Airbone (Jake & Dave Crist) (Champions) vs. Aeroform (Flip Kendrick & Louis Lyndon)

Chest Flexor, Chad Williams and Bobby Beverly are in Aeroform’s corner. Jake and Lyndon vie for control on the mat. Jake catches Lyndon with a leg lariat for two. Dave and Kendrick tag in. They too jockey for control. Dave flips his way to armdrag Kendrick to the apron. Dave enzuigiri’s him to the floor and Jake follows with a suicide dive. Lyndon cuts off Dave’s dive attempt with a leg lariat. Lyndon accidentally moonsaults onto Kendrick. Jake holds Aeroform so that Dave can land on them with a Fozberry flop. Dave brings in Lyndon for a two count. Dave sentons Lyndon to the mat for two. The Airborne level him with some tandem kicks. Kendrick breaks Jake’s pin attempt. Jake suplexes Kendrick for two. Jake kicks Kendrick into a springboard moonsault from Dave. Lyndon knee strikes Dave from the apron, allowing Kendrick to take him over with a huracanrana for two. Aeroform control the match until Dave snaps Lyndon’s neck on the middle rope and kicks him in the face. Dave slingshot clotheslines Kendrick and tags in Jake. Jake takes both men down. Lyndon catches him with a boot. Jake flips to the top rope with a boot, then crossbody’s Lyndon for two. Kendrick headscissors Jake into the corner. He spikes him with a reverse huracanrana. Lyndon German suplexes Jake and Dave breaks the pin. Dave misses a Pele kick. Kendrick sends Dave to the floor. Jake clotheslines Lyndon to the floor. Kendrick trips Jake on the middle rope. Lyndon kicks Jake and Kendrick hits a twisting lionsault for two. Kendrick goes for a pescado on Dave but takes a knee on his way down. The Airborne hit the Irish Air Raid for two. Flexor crotches Dave on the top rope. Williams distracts referee Jake Clemons. Lyndon rolls up Jake and holds his tights for the pin at 14:11. We already know that putting these two teams together is a recipe for a great match, but now we know that even with Aeroform as Rudos that’s still the case. Although they weren’t as crazy as usual, it lended more to their characters and made for a better story even with the cheap finish. ***1/4

The Airborne are pissed at the cheap finish and ask for a tag title rematch right away. Aeroform says they will get it once they work their way back up the ranks. Matt Wadsworth comes to the ring. He admits that the Airborne were screwed and says that Aeroform only signed a deal for one match tonight. Wadsworth says he has no control what happens outside of the ring however, and the Airborne chase Aeroform to the back.

Uhaa Nation vs. AR Fox

This is a rematch from “They Live” where these two had quite the spectacle of a match. This is also just a few days before Nation flies to Dragon Gate in Japan for his first tour. Nation and Fox reach a stalemate after some exchanges on the mat. Fox sole butts Nation after his shoulder block fails. Fox trips Nation, flips over him and dropkicks him to the floor. Fox goes for a flying shooting star pres. Nation moves out of the way and powerbombs Fox onto the ring apron. Nation brings him back in the ring for two. Nation shrugs off an O’Conner Roll. He ducks two of Fox’s kicks and German suplexes Fox across the ring. Nation misses a bicycle kick, getting himself tied up in the ropes. Fox enzuigiri’s Nation to the floor and suicide dives out as a follow up. Fox whips Nation into the guardrail. Fox brings Nation back into the ring. He hits a slingshot legdrop for one. Fox gets two after a knee drop. Fox clotheslines Nation, then skins the cat back into the ring for a dropkick. Fox hits an enzuigiri from the apron. Nation catches Fox coming off the top rope with a dropkick. After a pair of clotheslines from Nation, Fox rolls him up for two. Nation kicks him in the side of the head. Nation gets two with a German suplex. Fox goes to the apron. Fox springs off the ring post and back into the ring with an Ace crusher for two. Fox pokes Nation in the eyes to try and put him on his shoulders. Fox trips him on the middle rope when Nation goes for a Tiger Driver. A superkick and lariat lead to Fox dropping Nation with a Death Valley Driver. Nation puts his knees up to block a frog splash. Nation drops him with a Hero’s Welcome for two. Fox enzuigiri’s Nation to the floor. Fox follows with a springboard 450 splash. Fox takes too much time to showboat, allowing Nation to recover and bicycle kick him. In the ring Fox crotches Nation on the top rope. Nation shrugs off the Lo Mein Pain. He powerbombs Fox into the corner. He hits a tombstone piledriver and a standing shooting star press for the pin at 10:41. Just like at “They Live”, these two managed to steal the show while building on their previous match. This is a lot of sizzle with the steak included. I’m convinced these two can’t have a bad match together. ***1/2

Elimination Match for the #1 Contendership to the Absolute Championship
Tim Donst vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Marion Fontaine vs. Rickey Shane Page

Flexor Industries official Dave Dawson is the referee for the bout. Eric Ryan does come out to take Page’s place, but Page changes his mind and fills in his spot as originally scheduled.

Fontaine and Gargano do some serious back and forth at the beginning. Fontaine throws in some of his usual silliness, but it actually lets him take control. Gargano sole butts Fontaine. He ducks Fontaine’s superkick. Fontaine delivers three kicks in a row. Gargano sends him into the second turnckle before hitting a knee strike and dropping him with a neckbreaker. Gargano tags Donst in. Donst controls Fontaine by his arms. Fontaine positions himself into some dance positions with Donst. Donst clubs him in the chest to end that nonsense. Fontaine tags in Page. They trade control in a test of strength. Donst grabs Page’s ankle and Page immediately grabs the bottom rope. Donst chokes Page with his arm. Page brings Donst to the mat in a cravate. He crucifixes pins Donst for two. Donst rolls Page and goes for his bad ankle again. Page goes for Donst’s ankle instead. Donst escapes and forearms Page in the face multiple times. Page snapmares Donst. Donst elbows Page until Fontaine and Gargano come in to fight as well. Fontaine and Page send Gargano and Donst to the floor. Fontaine gives Page the Rocker Dropper. He headscissors Page into the ropes. Page powerbombs Fontaine. Fontaine rolls to the floor to avoid being pinned. Gargano trips Page and superkicks him. Fontaine senton dives onto Gargano on the floor. Donst throws Fontaine to the floor. Donst hops over the ropes and armdrags Fontaine into the front row. In the ring Page goes for a suplex on Donst. Gargano helps Donst out and sets up for a double suplex. Fontaine crossbody’s all three of his opponents. Donst gutwrench suplexes Fontaine which accidentally clips Gargano. Donst bulldogs Page. Page suplexes Donst and heads up top. Gargano crotches Page on the top rope. Page puts Gargano in a tree of woe. Dons comes up as well. Gargano suplexes Donst who suplexes Page, and then Fontaine gives Gargano a coast-to-coast dropkick. Page rocks Fontaine with a right hand and drives Fontaine to the mat with a boot. Page catches Gargano coming off the middle rope. He slams Gargano and powerbombs Fontaine at the same time. Fontaine and Gargano suplex Page into a German suplex from Donst. A series of kicks knocks all four guys down. Page sets up a bunch of chairs on the floor. Gargano dives out but Page catches him. Donst dives out and sends both men into the chairs. Fontaine flies onto them with a springboard elbow. Page puts all three guys on the re-set up chairs. All three of them move, causing Page to hit a somersault senton onto the chairs. Donst suplexes Fontaine into the ring from the apron. He hits a reverse STO for two. Donst O’Conner rolls Fontaine. Fontaine shoves him off into a slingshot spear from Gargano. Fontaine Angle slams Gargano for two. Fontaine misses a quebrada and eats the IED from Gargano. Gargano lawn darts Fontaine and hits the Hurts Donut for the pin at 18:13.

Flexor Industries make their way ringside to applaud Gargano. Donst questions what’s going on and shoves Gargano, who seems puzzled by Flexor Industries’ applause as well. Page kicks Gargano from the apron and hits a top rope somersault senton. Donst then locks Page in From Dusk Til Donst. Page submits at 19:30. Donst and Gargano exchange words before throwing forearms at each other. They each escape each others’ finishers. Gargano superkicks Donst and hits the Hurts Donut. Dawson stops the count at two purposefully. Gargano gets in Dawson’s face. This allows Donst to roll Gargano up for the pin at 21:01. The match itself was pretty good for the most part, though it took forever to get to the first elimination. From there on out though it was a very good, entertaining match. The ending with Flexor Industries playing mind games with Gargano and Donst is certainly an interesting direction and we’ll just have to see where it leads. ***

Dawson tries to pose with Donst but Donst shoves him away. Donst and Gargano argue until Donst decides to bail.

AIW Women’s Championship
Mickie Knuckles (Champion) vs. Mia Yim

Special Guest Referee: Gail Kim

As teased earlier, Chest Flexor comes out with Mia. He also insinuates that Gail may call the match in Mia’s favor since they’re both of Asian descent. Well that’s just flat-out racist. Yim gives Knuckles the middle finger instead of shaking her hand. Yim kicks the inside of Knuckles’ leg and takes her over with a side headlock. Knuckles escapes into a waistlock. He throws Yim into a front chancery. Yim switches into a waistlock which Knuckles rolls out of. A few kicks and strikes are thrown but none connect. Yim asks for a test of strength, teasing Knuckles by switching her hands. Knuckles thinks it means a dance off is about to happen, but unfortunately to her it just means her jumping around like a goof. Knuckles monkey flips Yim and floats into a straightjacket choke. Knuckles boots Yim in the back. Yim angrily snapmares Knuckles into a dragon kick for two. Knuckles dropkicks Yim in the corner before unloading with strikes. Flexor grabs Knuckles’ leg, allowing Yim to kick Knuckles in the side of the head. She kicks Knuckles in the small of her back for two. Flexor chokes Knuckles on the bottom rope as Yim distracts Kim. Yim tries for a cross armbreaker. Knuckles rolls up Yim for a two count. Yim pitches Knuckles to the floor and distracts Kim while Flexor steps on Knuckles’ face. Yim boots Knuckles from the ring apron. Yim gets two back in the ring. Knuckles rolls up Yim for two. Yim chokes Knuckles’ with her boot. She drives her knees into Knuckles’ face. She brings her back mid-ring and kneels into a frog press for two. Knuckles catches Yim’s crossbody attempt. She spins Yim out into a uranage slam. Yim puts on a guillotine. Knuckles turns I into a Northern Lights suplex for two. A strike exchange ends with Knuckles backfisting Yim and blasting her with multiple knee strikes. Knuckles hits a running senton but Yim rolls to the ropes before a pin attempt can occur. Yim puts Knuckles in a half crab. Knuckles crawls her way to the ropes to break it. Yim German suplexes Knuckles. Knuckles gets right up and delivers a German of her own. She rocks Yim with a kick to the face. Knuckles goes for a pin but Flexor puts Yim’s wrist on the ropes. Knuckles pulls Flexor to the apron. He snaps Knuckles’ neck on the top rope. Yim kicks and knees Knuckles in the temple for two. Yim misses a twisting senton off the top rope. Knuckles ducks her kicks and delivers a pump-handle slam for the pin at 15:10. I am very impressed with Mia Yim, both here in AIW and elsewhere. It’s nice to see her getting some semblance of recognition from the crowd and the companies that book her. Knuckles and her were a great pairing as Yim was able to take and match any and all of Knuckles’ strikes. Kim did a fine job as the special referee and looked like she was genuinely enjoying herself. Her involvement did not detract at all from Yim or Knuckles and the focus was kept entirely on them. Good stuff all around. ***1/4

Yim gets in Kim’s face afterwards. Kim tries to keep cool but eventually takes her down with a running clothesline. Flexor also gets in Kim’s face, so Kim gives him the Eat Defeat. The fans applaud Kim as she makes her way backstage.

Absolute Championship
Shiima Xion (Champion) vs. BJ Whitmer

Of course, Chest Flexor is in Xion’s corner. Whitmer aggressively brings Xion to the mat in a waistlock. Xion gets the ropes to break. Whitmer brings Xion to the mat again. Xion turns it into a hammerlock. Whitmer switches back into a waistlock. Xion pushes on Whitmer’s knee while locking his leg. Whitmer transitions into a front facelock. Xion grabs the ropes when Whitmer goes for a choke. Whitmer and Xion trade chops in the corner. Whitmer wins that exchange and hits a leg lariat for one. Whitmer suplexes Xion for two. Whitmer trips Xion and puts him in a Romero Special. Xion rolls out to the floor to chat with Flexor and Chad Williams. Whitmer grabs Xion and chops him around ringside. Whitmer throws Xion over the guardrail and into the crowd. He brings Xion back into the ring. As he tries to come in, Flexor grabs Whitmer’s foot. Xion takes advantage by giving Whitmer a reverse DDT on the ring apron. Xion sits Whitmer down in a chair. Xion charges but gets met with a boot. He whips Xion into the barricade. Whitmer runs at him but gets back suplexed into a pile of chairs. Back in the ring Xion hits a missile dropkick for two. Whitmer breaks an overhead wristlock. Xion knocks him back to the mat with a back elbow for two. Xion chokes Whitmer on the middle rope. He Russian leg sweeps Whitmer into a crossface. Whitmer puts his foot on the ropes to escape. Xion talks trash while giving Whitmer some forearm strikes. This causes Whitmer to fire up and chop Xion against the ropes. He delivers a big time spinebuster and fires up again. Whitmer knee strikes Xion in the corner. He suplexes Xion and then Northern Lights suplexes him for two. Xion drops him with a neckbreaker and follows up with a springboard moonsault. Whitmer kicks out so Xion immediately puts the crossface on again. Whitmer rolls over for a two count. Xion superkicks Whitmer thrice for a two count. Whitmer drops Xion with an STO. He drives his knee into Xion’s head multiple times before putting on the Peruvian neck tie. Chad Williams pulls out referee Jake Clemons and beats him down with Flexor. Whitmet dropkicks Chad into the guardrail and tosses him into the crowd. Xion blocks a boot with a DDT. Dave Dawson runs out and only counts two, even with a fast count. Whitmer throws Xion off the top with an exploder suplex. Dawson ties his shoe instead of counting the cover. Whitmer powerbombs Dawson into the turnbuckle in response. He then powerbombs Xion into the turnbuckle as referee Drew Taylor comes out. A running big boot gets him two as Xion puts his foot on the ropes. Xion prawn holds Whitmer for two. Whitmer boots him two more times. Flexor grabs Whitmer’s boot. Xion O’Conner rolls Whitmer and holds his tights for the pin at 18:39. The build to Whitmer’s title match could not be better, and if you were to ask me I would tell you that he is the guy who should be the next Absolute champion. However, since this wasn’t the time for him to do so, him losing in a cheap fashion was the best way to go. People on the show put over Whitmer for making such a tremendous comeback and I echo their sentiments. He’s been the MVP of AIW since his return back in May. Xion too has been putting on excellent matches as champion and has been overlooked since winning the title. This was another great defense for him and I hope we see a rematch down the line. ***1/2

Matt Wadsworth comes to the ring after the match. Gargano gives Wadsworth an idea we can’t hear over the microphone. Wadsworth says next month at Nightmare Before X-Mas 5, Gargano will go one on one with Dave Dawson!

”Hell on Earth” Rules
Masada vs. Mad Man Pondo

This is a Fans Brings the Weapons match with much of the plunder already in the ring. Each guy tries to throw the other on a barbed wire bat. They fail initially, but Masada then gets a belly to belly suplex onto it for two. He hits Pondo in the arm with that bat and digs it into Pondo’s head. Pondo gives Masada a Death Valley Driver onto the bat. Pondo DDT’s Masada on some Christmas ornaments. Pondo crotches Masada on the middle rope and kicks a light tube into his groin. Pondo digs a broken light tube into Masada’s arm. He places Masada on the chair with a choke, then headbutts a light tube into his forehead. Pondo sets up for the Silencer and hits it for a two count. Masada enzuigiri’s Pondo on the top rope. He puts a pile of weapons on the mat and heads up top as well. Masada ultra huracanrana’s Pondo on the pile of weapons. Masada smashes some Battleship boards against Pondo’s head. Those pegs probably hurt like hell. Masada puts a light tube and wooden spike into his head. Pondo comes back with a swinging DDT. He smashes some sort of plaque over Masada’s head. Pondo brings a sledgehammer and cement block into the ring. Pondo he puts the block on Masada’s groin and hammers the damn thing. He uses a staple gun to staple a dollar bill to Masada’s head and arm. He even staples Masada’s groin. Pondo sets up a table ringside. Masada avoids being put through the table by suplexing Pondo back in the ring. Masada asks for some fans to throw their chairs in the ring, which some do. Masada places one chair flat onto two propped up chairs. Masada places Pondo on the chairs and moonsaults onto him for two. Masada smashes a light tube across Pondo’s neck and carves it into Pondo’s forehead. Pondo suplexes Masada into some chairs in the crowd. Pondo places Masada on the previously set up table. Masada gets up and looks to throw Pondo off the ring apron. Pondo fights back and comes to the floor with Masada. Masada places Pondo on the table and comes back into the ring. Masada hits a slingshot senton and the table does not budge. So, Masada comes off the middle rope with an elbow drop which does break the table. Masada digs some wooden skewers into Pondo’s forehead. He applies a Camel Clutch while digging another skewer into Pondo’s mouth. Masada hits a chair into the skewers in his skull for the pin at 21:10. This was absolutely barbaric, bloody ultraviolence. Really there’s no two better guys in North America doing this kind of wrestling together. If you’re a deathmatch fan, this a must see match (you will probably enjoy it even more than I did). Otherwise, proceed at your own risk. ***1/2

The show ends with a string of promos. Jock Samson says The Duke will have hell to pay next month. Johnny Gargano tells Dave Dawson that he’s dead. AR Fox and Nation congratulate each other on another great match. They agree they need to settle the score since they have each beaten the other one time in AIW. It seems a third match will happen another time around. Gregory Iron challenges Josh Prohibition to a tag team match. He says they can each pick whichever partners they want. Iron promises to prove to Prohibition that all of his nicknames are true. Aaron Bauer tries to thank Tim Donst who is busy drinking water and can’t say anything back. Before Donst can stay anything, Gargano attacks him. The show fades to black afterwards.

Pre-Show Matches

AERO! vs. Jay Bly vs. Stitch Sypher vs. Matt Atrayou

Atrayou and Bly attack AERO and Sypher, sending them to the floor. Atrayou and Bly exchange forearms and kicks. Bly cannonball sentons Atrayou in the corner. AERO chops and boots Blu before pitching him to the floor. Sypher attacks AERO from behind. AERO and Sypher also exchange strikes. Sypher mule kicks AERO after a fake out. Sypher suplexes him and Atrayou breaks the pin. Atrayou sends Sypher out with an STO. Atrayou side steps and kick from Bly. He gets in a few kicks before sending Bly out with a clothesline. AERO puts Atrayou in a guillotine choke. Atrayou flips forward into a pin attempt for two. Bly kicks Atrayou to the floor. Sypher and Atrayou fight on the floor while AERO keeps control in the ring. Bly gives him a back cracker. He fakes out a dive to Atrayou but Sypher enzuigiri’s him to the floor. AERO suicide dives onto Atrayou and Bly. Sypher dives onto all of them with a twisting tope con hilo. In the ring Bly catches Sypher with a tornado kick. Sypher hops off Bly’s back and hits an enzuigiri from the apron. He comes back in with a modified Canadian Destroyer. Atrayou breaks the pin and spins Sypher from a Cobra Clutch into a tornado DDT. AERO breaks the pin. AERO yakuza kicks Atrayou in the corner. He follows with a DDT only for Bly to break the count. Sypher German suplexes Atrayou onto Bly. He goes for a quesadora, but AERO turns it into a backbreaker. AERO then hits Sypher with a running boot for the pin at 6:55. That was a lot of flippy stuff which while entertaining didn’t let anyone in the match stand out. Aside from Sypher’s impressive springboard Canadian Destroyer nothing was truly memorable. Still, everyone showed potential and could possibly make the most out of an absolute opportunity. **

Beyond Wrestling Showcase Match
Dany Only vs. Nick Talent

Only backs Talent to the corner to break an overhead wristlock. He has himself a violence party in the corner. He nails a clothesline which takes Talent to the ring apron. Talent snaps Only’s neck on the top rope. Talent ducks a big boot and sweeps out Only’s leg. He kicks the inside of the leg and hits a kneeDT. Talent misses a splash in the corner but comes off the middle rope with a knee strike to the back of Only’s neck for two. Only back elbows Talent. He picks Talent up and Talent turns it into a DDT for two. Talent goes for a figure four leg lock. Only turns it into a cradle for two. Only goes for a kick and Talent catches his leg. He rolls up Only and holds his tights for the pin at 4:54. Only never got a chance to really show off, which is a shame considering the crowd was behind him and Talent’s offense would have ended up meaning more if Only had a chance to recover and fight back. The leg work also never lead to much of anything. Essentially, this was half a match. *1/2

Overall: “Hell On Earth 7” turned out to be a good show, but fell just a tad short of “They Live” which proceeded it. Including the pre-show matches, the show looked to be pretty dire until the Iron/Prohibition picked things up. The Intense title match brought the vibe back down, but thankfully the tag match made up for it and continued to build momentum until the show’s conclusion. In terms of storyline advancement, this is a big piece of the puzzle with Wadsworth buying the company, Aeroform winning the tag titles and Donst’s status with the company up in the air. I’ll give Hell on Earth 7 a slight thumbs up, but many of AIW’s other titles from this year offer just a bit more. You can pick up the show at AIW’s store on at Smart Mark Video.

Coming very soon, my review of AIW’s Nightmare Before X-Mas 5!

One thought on “AIW Review: Hell on Earth 7”
  1. Knew a girl who was with Bly for a while. He’s a fucking backyarder; how did he get on a legit show?! I’d like to see Kim vs. Yim.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *