-AAW decided to put together a “best of” DVD. In lieu of providing fresh content this week, enjoy my look back at AAW in 2011. There's a lot of really good stuff to dig through, and I'm interested to see what they pulled out.
-AAW Heritage Championship: Shane Hollister (champion) vs. Davey Richards (Path of Redemption)
Match in Five Words or Less: Biggest Match Of Hollister’s Career
Match Summary/Analysis: Hollister gets a disappointing crowd reaction before the match. While it’s an enormous crowd, it’s not exactly a great wrestling crowd. But really I’m just glad Davey Richards graced AAW with his presence considering how many times he’s no-showed. Richards cleans Hollister’s clock with mat wrestling early. Exchange of kicks. Richards powders. Richards continues muscling his way through Hollister. Running round kick. More mat work from the challenger. They block each other’s kicks, but Hollister finally gets some offense in. Brutal exchange of kicks. Richard with a backdrop driver. No sold. Hollister with a flying knee. Wow. Then they start strike each other hard. Hollister clothesline him over the top. Suicide dive. Dropkick off the top rope. Richards anklelock but Hollister quickly out of it. Hollister goes for a pele, but Richards catches him and latches the anklelock on. Vicious kicks but Hollister isn’t phased. Slap to the face. More striking. Richards with kawada kicks. Lariat for two. Powerbomb but Hollister sunset flips into a two count. Richards roll-up. Kick by Hollister. Enziguri. Brainbuster. 1-2-NO! Superkick leads a second. Buzzsaw kick ends Richards’ night. A clean decisive win for the champion. This is the type of match that could help make Hollister’s career in wrestling. Whatever happens on the rest of the show, this is no doubt the most important match because of who was involved and the finish. This is also the type of great match this show needed.
Winner/Time/Rating: Still AAW Heritage Champion-Shane Hollister/17:19/****
-Arik Cannon (w/Dave Prazak) vs. Shima Xion (7th Anniversary Show)
Match in Five Words or Less: Losing Streak Over
Match Summary/Analysis: Feeling out process to start. Cannon tries pulling at the hair but is hit with a rana. Xion into a quick cover for two. Kick by Cannon. Armdrag attempt fails. Xion tosses Cannon in the air and hits double boots. Headscissors on the outside. Good start. Prazak becomes involved leading to Cannon taking control. Pace slows down significantly, and Prazak of course becomes involved. Crossbody by Xion for two. Cannon does a neckbreaker while yelling at some chick sitting at ringside. His interactions with the Berwyn faithful have to be seen to be fully appreciated. Stalling vertical suplex. He misses a moonsault. Xion with a comeback. DDT into a second rope moonsault. Crossface. Prazak helps Cannon into the ropes. Xion moves more to the center of the ring. Cannon gets his foot on the rope. Xion moves once again. Twisting neckbreaker for two. Cannon spins around. Xion gets a crucifix bomb. Punch to the throat. LARIAT! BRAINBUSTAH! Done. Very good little match from two of the more underrated competitors along the independent scene.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Arik Cannon/11:49/***
-AAW Heavyweight Championship: Silas Young (w/Val Malone)(champion) vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Dan Lawrence (7th Anniversary Show)
Match in Five Words or Less: Party Like A Danimal
Match Summary/Analysis: This is the last title shot for both Jacobs and Lawrence. Jacobs sent outside right away. Lawrence works over the champion. Jacobs and Lawrence are next. Jacobs hard into the corner. Face wash by Lawrence. Malone runs interference. Dive by Lawrence onto both men. Brawl on the outside. Jacobs invites some fans to chop the champion. Into the crowd they go. Jacobs uses garbage cans for the hell of it. Jacobs and Young make their back to the ring first. More strikes for young by the fans. This match is like a love letter to Young’s title reigns. Young goes for the Nagasaki roll. Jacobs out of it. All three men back in the ring. Superplex by Jacobs. Young tries to splash both men and misses. Young strikes bothe men. Clotheslines and fists from Lawrence before being sent outside. Backbreaker/clothesline combo from Young. Lawrence hits a DVD for two. Contra code by Jacobs on Lawrence. Headscissors and a spear on Young. 1-2-NO! Senton is met with knees. End time on Lawrence. Young breaks it up for whatever reason. Jacobs applies the hold on him instead. Cannon comes in, enziguris Jacobs, and allows Silas Young to get the victory. Normally, I’m not a fan of intereference, particularly inmain event title matches, but if this leads to a feud between Cannon and Jacobs, then it makes a lot of sense. Plus, it adds to Jacobs struggle since this was his last chance. Now it’s down to Suds and Buds. DVD on the chair gets a long two count. Val Malone interjects. Lawrence kisses her. Chair shot to the head. 1-2-NO! Young goes to work on the now open wound of Dan Lawrence. Young maintains a long chinlock. Nagasaki roll but Lawrence pushes Young to the floor while being upside down. Dive to the outside. Strike exchange back in the ring. Lawrence hits a clothesline. Cradle piledriver attempt. Flip over and Lawrence ends up on top for two. Contra code. Nagasaki roll. Springboard moonsault. Lawrence reverses into a cover AND GETS THREE! NEW CHAMPION! Dan Lawrence wins the heavyweight title and ends the 16 month title reign of Young. Amazing match that just flew by despite being 21 minutes long. The babyfaces come out to celebrate with Lawrence, a really nice touch that isn’t done enough in wrestling.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: NEW AAW Heavyweight Champion- Dan Lawrence/21:01/***3/4
-Ladder Match-AAW Tag Team Championship: Zero Gravity (Bret Gakiya and CJ Esparza)(champions) vs. Irish Airborne (Jake and Dave Crist) (Epic)
Match in Five Words or Less: Lights Out
Match Summary/Analysis: The stipulation surrounding this match is that no matter what happens, these two teams cannot wrestle for a year. Man, this stipulation needs to happen more often. We’ve seen so many of these ladder matches over the years that unless these four men literally die in the ring (which I’m not advocating by the way) this match is going to be a tough sell. These four work really hard to make this ladder match as epic (pun intended) as they can. Lots of brawling but a minimal use of ladder bumps save for a couple. Gakiya tries climbing the ladder on the wrong side, which is weird cause I thought a short guy like that would need to use a ladder often. Airborne go for the spike piledriver on a ladder, but Esparza saves his partner. Jake Crist hits a table at a bad angle. Sucker doesn’t break. Ouch. Gakiya nails Dave Crist with a light from above while on top of the ladder. Esparza hits a shooting star press. Gakiya grabs the belts as they retain in an intense battle. Really good work from these four guys.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL AAW Tag Team Champions- Zero Gravity/19:33/***1/2
-Michael Elgin vs. Alex Shelley (Epic)
Match in Five Words or Less: Elgin’s Big Win
Match Summary/Analysis: This is a match that was not aired on the pay-per-view but saved exclusively for the DVD. A wise move for companies moving forward so people have reason to consider buying both. No one can maintain the advantage early. Elgin uses his strength and ability to slow the match down. Shelley uses speed but is careful not to bump too much. Elgin works over Shelley’s back as Douglas mentions Shelley not being on his game tonight. That makes sense. Roll of the dice is the first bit of offense from Shelley in a good five minutes. Superkick misses and Elgin heads outside. Elgin teases sending Shelley into the crowd, but Shelley sends Elgin into the wood post standing in the middle of the bar. Superkick and sliced bread. 1-2-NO! Elgin slaps Shelley across the left cheek. Exchange of strikes. Pair of boots but Shelley sits down on a powerbomb attempt. Double stomp by Shelley. Sitting enziguri. Air Raid Crash. 1-2-NO! Elgin knocks the referee into the ropes. Shelley crotched off the ropes. Elgin hits a left arm lariat for two. Short clothesline. Powerbomb. 1-2-3! Elgin with a nice victory. This match was far better than I remembered live. Elgin looked really good here in the victory. I got the sense Shelley was holding a bit back, but he put forth a good effort and put Elgin over nicely.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Michael Elgin/14:51/***1/4
-AAW Tag Team Championship: Awesome Threesome (Knight Wagner and Jordan McEntyre/Eryn) (champions) vs. Colt Cabana and Gregory Iron (Scars and Stripes)
Match in Five Words or Less: Iron Man… Not Tin Man
Match Summary/Analysis: Jabs from the faces send the champions outside. Iron delivers some pimp slaps and gets one more with the help of Cabana. Double clothesline. McEntyre and Wagner are sent into each other. Back in the ring for a wheelbarrow shoulder tackle. Now to some double teaming on Wagner. Cabana goes to town with open hand chops. Is he warming up for his Pro Wrestling NOAH tour? McEntyre fares no better. Wagner guillotines Iron’s bad arm into the top rope. The shenanigans have ended. Cabana gets a hot tag after causing some miscommunication. Strikes for everyone! McEntyre is bleeding badly. It appeared to be hard way. Flying ass sends Wagner down. We get the token gay spot. Why? Because it’s AAW. McEntyre sends iron into Cabana, who was on the top rope. Double Penetration gets the victory for Awesome Threesome. Perfectly acceptable action and a fine way for Iron to make his official AAW debut.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Awesome Threesome/8:51/**1/2
-Awesome Threesome try to continue their beatdown of Iron, but Cabana makes the save.
– Thanks to WWE, the rest of this segment could not be included on the DVD. However, you can check out everything that happened here.
-Louis Lyndon vs. Shane Hollister (Reign of Violence)
Match in Five Words or Less: Upset City
Match Summary/Analysis: Back and forth to start as we see a great deal of quickness from both men. Very clean work since it’s a battle of babyfaces. Lyndon takes Hollister down with his legs and hits a flying kick. Hollister meets Lyndon’s dive with a forearm. Octopus into a roll-up for two. Hollister crotches Lyndon and puts him in the tree of woe. Hesitation dropkick. Hollister comes back with a hard elbow. Announcers continue to mention Hollister picking up his intensity. As I type this, he hits a hard right hand. Pair of huge kicks by Lyndon. Leg kicks by Hollister. Lyndon hits a dragon screw legship. Hollister powders but not far enough to avoid a dive. Lyndon kicks Hollister down. Moonsault met with knees. Running knee. 1-2-NO! Powerbomb right into the pinfall. 1-2-NO! Knees by Lyndon. Hollister hits a shot to the back of Lyndon’s head. Lyndon grabs Hollister’s leg and nails him in the head. Dragon suplex. 1-2-NO! Chinbreaker by Hollister. Brainbuster into an acecrusher for two. They sure aren’t leaving anything in the back. Kick misses. Palm strikes by Lyndon. Strikes by Hollister. Roll-up exchange ends with Lyndon on top for a three count. That was a hell of an opener from these two. I liked the twist ending too as Lyndon gets a big victory, and Hollister is on a losing streak. Be interesting to see how this angle devlelops. Hollister has been around a long time in AAW, and it seems like he’s either got to win the heavyweight title or get stuck in a rut.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Louis Lyndon/10:40/***1/4
-Shane Hollister vs. Alex Shelley (Defining Moment)
Match in Five Words or Less: Very Impressive
Match Summary/Analysis: Lots of agility from both guys early in the match. Quick transition into mat work. Leg lariat and tope suicida. Dropkick off the top rope. Shelley dropkicks Hollister. The ladder’s face hits the apron. Diving knee misses. Running knee sends Hollister over the rail Superkick blocked. Shelley rams Hollister’s knee into the steel. Strike exchange back in the ring. DDT by Hollister. Shelley placed on the top rope. Leaping kick off the top from Shelley. Running kick. Hollister sends him in the corner. Kick blocked but Hollister hits one of his own. Referee blocks Hollister since Shelley headed into the audience. Hollister hits a dive into the crowd. The fans scurried like ants being seen. Double stomp off the top. Shelley applies a modified crossface. Hollister grabs the ropes. Some back and forth before going into an exchange of nearfalls. Clothesline followed by the air raid crash. 1-2-NO! Roll-up for two. Superkick and sliced bread. Frog splash. 1-2-NO! Duck of one superkick attempt. Hollister hits a secone one. Shelley gets one of his own. Sliced bread. 1-2-NO! Superkick into a 2K1 bomb. 1-2-NOOO! Crossface. Hollister reverses it. Kick blocked. Ducks a second. Roll over and Shelley blocks the kicks. Slap and dragon screw leg whip. Quick roll-up and Hollister grabs the tights to get the victory. A bit shocking to see this behavior from a fan favorite. Considering the losing streak Hollister has been on recently, we’ll have to see if this is a one-time deal or moving toward a heel turn. This was a brilliant match between two excellent in-ring workers. Lots of quickness and fun counters. This came across far better on DVD.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Shane Hollister/15:09/***1/2
-AAW Heavyweight Championship: Silas Young (w/Val Malone (champion) vs. Colt Cabana (Defining Moment)
Match in Five Words or Less: The Art Of Wrestling
Match Summary/Analysis: Val Malone wears a Packers jersey to garner heat. I’ll be honest folks. We in Chicago are really just jealous the Packers keep getting good quarterbacks, and the Bears can’t. I love the idea that Val Malone is called a whore DESPITE BEING AT RINGSIDE FOR HER HUSBAND! Silas Young promises no SHENANIGANS in this contest. I’ve already done a write-up of this match, but now that I’m getting a chance to see the DVD, I have a feeling I’ll notice a few more things. What makes the match so brilliant, especially the early portion, is Cabana trying to psyche Young out with hijinks. Cabana executes his hijinks and the champion gets even more flustered. After hitting a Cabanarana, he hits six punches in the corner. Young sends him off. Cabana punches him back in the corner and finishes the set of 10. Dropkick. Val grabs Cabana’s leg. Young sent outside. Cabana breaks out a dive? What the hell? Brawling on the outside. Cabana grabs Malone, spanks her, then allows other fans (and the referee) to spank her already. Shenanigans end when Young prevents one final spanking in the ring. Chop in the corner by Cabana. Charge misses. Young hits a knee lift. Big right hand by Cabana sends both men into opposite corners. Series of chops. Elbow by the champ. Jabs and the big elbow. Flying asshole and clothesline leads to a two count. Sunset flip for two. Elbow strikes from various parts of the ring. Cabana shifts to using forearms. Backbreaker into the lariat. 1-2-NO! Ref gets smushed in the corner. Cabana sent outside. Young controls. Cabana takes Val’s boot away, She uses the other one on the challenger. Young holds the boots up. Gregory Iron hits a flatliner out of nowhere. Cabana hits Young with a boot. 1-2-referee pulled out. Another cover but Malone pulls Young’s arm out of the ring. Young roll-up for two. Pee Gee Waja Plunge. Moonsault met with knees. Loved the match until the ending. Does every main event need a ref bump? I like Young as the champion, but I’d wish they cool it with the screwjob finishes.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL AAW Heavyweight Champion-Silas Young/18:46/***1/2
-Dan Lawrence, Samuray Del Sol, and Zero Gravity (Bret Gakiya and CJ Esparza) vs. The Clash (Cameron Skyy, Tommy Treznik, Austin Mannix, and Mr. Miller) (War is Coming)
Match in Five Words or Less: An Exciting Start
Match Highlights: A returning Mr. Miller starts against Del Sol. Lucha sequence. Dropkick sends Miller out. Fake dive. Esparza and Skyy enter. Skyy talks some garbage. Shot to the arm and forearm by Skyy. Chop in the corner. Whip but a charge misses. Zero Gravity double teams. Treznik doesn’t fare any better. Lawrence and Mannix become legal. Monkey flip and dropkick by Lawrence. Knee to the back and Treznik gets knocked off the apron. Double boot by Miller. Guillotine by Treznik. Heat segment on Lawrence. Lawrence hits a twisting clothesline. Del Sol with an armdrag off the top. Lucha roll-up gets two. Treznik with a pumphandle slam. Into the corner where they work Del Sol over. Tremendous boot from Mr. Miller. Mannix knocked down by his own partner. Skyy and Treznik get sent outside. Huge dive from Del Sol. Boot from Skyy. Back in the ring and here comes Gakiya. Double team suplex on Treznik. Tackle by Skyy. Assisted dropkick. Lawrence and Gakiya each hit dives. Miller stops Esparza from hitting one of his own. Short clothesline. Mannix hits an acecrusher. Kick by Del Sol and standing sliced bread. The Cleansing hit on Del Sol. Lawrence prevents a cover. Chops take Skyy in the corner. Back elbow out of the corner. Gakiya with kicks on Treznik. Turns a lawn dart into a DDT. Esparza and Miller come in. Forearm sends Miller into the corner. Knee drive into the middle buckle. Esparza placed on top. Headbutt sends Miller to the mat. Esparza shooting star presses to the floor. Dan Lawrence with a face wash on Miller. Rana over and a three count.
Match Analysis: The biggest criticism I’ve had about the Bourbon Street shows is not opening them up with an entertaining match to get the crowd into things immediately. They mostly rectified that problem here with a great eight man showcase featuring a lot of solid AAW roster members. It may not have been the most technically sound contest, but it got the job done. And hey, at least this iPPV didn’t start with a Billy Corgan promo.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating: Dan Lawrence, Samuray Del Sol, and Zero Gravity (Bret Gakiya and CJ Esparza)/10:05/***
-Chicago Street Fight: House of Truth (Keith Walker, Jesse Emerson, N8 Matteson w/Truth Martini) vs. Marion Fontaine, Darin Corbin, and Danny Daniels (w/Joey Eastman) (War is Coming)
Match in Five Words or Less: Big Old Brawl
Match Highlights: You know it’s a street fight because everyone is in jeans and a t-shirt. Absolute chaos as all six men brawl in and around the ring. Walker asserts his dominance in the ring and introduces a chain. Daniels is busted open and needs to be carried out. Corbin and Fontaine are now essentially in a handicap match. Dive into the front row. Uranagi by Emerson. Fontaine and Walker battle to the bar as Emerson whips Corbin hard with a belt. Corbin breaks a double clothesline and sends Emerson into Matteson. Corbin takes his turn with the belt. They crotch Corbin against the post. Walker goes after Eastman. Emerson hits a ring my bell on Corbin. All three House of Truth members work over Corbin. Walker misses a charge. Eastman low blows Emerson and Matteson. Double stunner. Martini pokes Eastman’s eyes. Bronco buster misses. Eastman right hand. Martini takes a spectacular bomb. Corbin and Fontaine double up on Walker. Walker elbows Fontaine and German suplex him into the corner. Jesus H. Release German for two as Corbin breaks the count. Backbreaker on Corbin. Eastman grabs Walker’s leg. Corbin with a chair shot to the back. Uh oh. Again. This time to the head. That worked. Dropkick sends Walker to the floor. Emerson with an Alabama slam. 1-2-NO! Matteson chokes Corbin. Chair brought into the ring. Pile of chairs set up. Corbin battles Emerson and Matteson on the top rope. Emerson crotched on the top rope. Danny Daniels comes back. Matteson pushed off. Corbin looks ready to dive. Daniels takes Corbin and drives him into the chairs. Matteson hits a leg drop on Corbin into a chair to get the pin and victory for his team.
Match Analysis: Not quite sure how to rate this sucker, but there was some good violence mixed in with storyline and comedy. Daniels joining the group has paid off this months long storyline, and now we’ll have to see where it goes. This was decent.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating: House of Truth/11:25/**1/2
-AAW Heavyweight Championship: Silas Young (champion) vs. Rhino
Match in Five Words or Less: Interference Reigns Supreme
Match Highlights: Young shows off some agility in getting out of a wristlock. Rhino dumps the champion down. Knee to the gut and strikes in the corner. Whip reversed. Young flips. Rhino hits an elbow and shoulder tackle. Young rammed into the buckle. Series of right hands. Young on the outside. Rhino follows him. Choking. Val Malone blocks suplex. Double sledge from Young. Young grabs the title belt. Referee prevents its use. Right hands from Rhino. Belly-to-belly suplex. Set-up for the gore. Val Malone grabs his leg. He drags her into the ring. Young hits a neckbreaker. Choke on the middle rope. Val Malone chokes Rhino. Young kicks Rhino in the gut and drives his boot into the midsection. Choke in the corner. Rhino with right hands. Whip to the corner. Young gets his boots up. Big stomp. Punch exchange. Champion mounts and punches away. Young grabs a rear chinlock. Both men down on the mat. Referee begins counting. Both men get up at eight. Rhino punches away. Off the ropes with a clothesline. Back elbow and a whip in the corner. Shoulder tackle and belly-to-belly suplex. Young rakes the eyes and gets out of a firemen’s carry. Backbreaker into the clothesline. After a two count, Rhino hits a forearm. Rhino hits an acecrusher. Young with a kick to the midsection. Rhino brings him out. Rhino flips out. Tornado DDT blocked. Rhino crotches him on the top rope. Superplex. 1-2-NO! Chinbreaker from the champion. Nagasaki roll. Pee Gee Waja Plunge misses. Rhino misses a charge. Knee by Young. Blow to the back. Rhino gores the referee. Young meets Rhino with an elbow. Quick spinebuster by Rhino. Mason Beck decks out a second official. Rhino and Beck brawl now. Beck sent outside. Third belly-to-belly suplex. Rhino sets up for the gore. GORE HITS! 1-2-NO! Mason Beck comes back in. Boot sends Rhino down. Beck departs for a table. He sets it up in the ring. Beck decides he wants to gore Rhino through the table. Rhino moves out of the way and hits Beck. Rhino lifts the champion up. Malone gets in the ring. Well, you know what happens next. Rhino gores Malone through the table. Young hits the challenger with the belt. No sold. Boot and another belt shot. Cover for three. Silas Young retains once again.
Match Analysis: Rhino is decent enough to have a good match with Silas Young. Not anything to go out of your way to see but they worked a solid contest. All of the interference coming in these title defenses is starting to get monotonous and predictable however.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating: STILL AAW Heavyweight Champion-Silas Young/19:52/***
-AAW Heritage Championship: Michael Elgin (champion) vs. BJ Whitmer
Match in Five Words or Less: Another Mean Guy Match
Match Highlights: Code of Honor followed. Feeling out process as they keep things friendly and provide some surprisingly well done chain wrestling. Shoulder blocks go nowhere. Attempted powerslam. Whitmer sent into the corner. Splash and Elgin sends Whitmer into the other buckle. Flying shoulder tackle gets two. Knees to the back. Backbreaker for two. Blows from Whitmer don’t do much. Forearm to the back. Whitmer hits a one-footed dropkick to get on the offense. Clubbing blow to the back. Chop exchange. Snapmare and stiff kick from Whitmer. Elgin sent into the turnbuckle. Hard strikes in the corner. Back elbow. Chinlock. High knee gets two for Whitmer. Back to the resthold. Elgin works out of it. Whitmer tosses over to the floor. Elgin hits a tope suicida! Running charge met with a boot. Rolling German suplexes. Running splash and a running back elbow. Acecrusher out of the firemen’s carry gets two. Powerbomb turned into a back drop. Whitmer hits a running knee. Snap suplex and right into a northern lights suplex. Elgin sends Whitmer into the corner. Strike exchange. Elgin hits a uranagi slam for two. Spinning powerbomb blocked again. O’Connor roll fails Hurancanrana! Into a cover for two. Series of counters. Exploder blocked. Elgin hits a pele kick! Deadlift side slam for 1-2-NO! This is remarkable. Clothesline blocked. Elgin hits a spinning lariat. Back drop driver from Whitmer. No sold. Whitmer charges with boots. Forearms from Elgin. Sick kick from Whitmer gets two. Whitmer places Elgin on the top rope. Elgin battles off. Elgin goes for a powerbomb. He eventually hits it and finally gets the victory. Elgin retains in a battle.
Match Analysis: What you had here was the comeback wrestler of the year battling the breakout wrestler of the year in one of the best big man battles of the year. I loved this match. The moves they were able to pull off were nothing short of incredible. Great moves and nearfalls throughout. THIS is the match that should have clinched Whitmer’s spot back in Ring of Honor when considering he was wrestling a current roster member and put in a great performance.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating: STILL Heritage Champion-Mike Elgin/16:13/***3/4
-Gregory Iron comes out for the six way elimination title match, but Shane Hollister comes from behind and viciously attacks Iron. Into the stairs goes Iron. Brainbuster on the floor. And there’s your much needed heel turn. Hollister is immediately freshened up and gets a great feud to begin his heel run too. Officials carry Iron out.
-Shane Hollister celebrates with what I presume will be his valet. Hollister has been toiling for years, and he’s now ready to be strong. Also, the weak should apparently be eaten. Well, we’re not cannibals Shane. Geez.
-AAW Heavyweight Championship Eliminator: Silas Young (w/Val Malone) (champion) vs. Dan Lawrence vs. Sami Callihan vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Mr. Miller (WIndy City Classic VII)
Match in Five Words or Less: One For The Ages
Match Highlights: You’ve got the current Open the Freedom Gate champion, a former triple crown AAW title holder, the CZW Junior Heavyweight Champion and 2011 16 Carat winner, the current and two time AAW heavyweight champion, and Mr. Miller. We get some trash talk to start. Unlike many multi-man matches, tags are not necessary, and it’s utter chaos. The four challengers work over the champion. Callihan appears to clear the ring, but Gargano hits an immediate spear back in. Knee lift and neckbreaker. Lawrence drops Gargano on his knee. Big knee. Miller goes up and over and drives Lawrence face down. Young sends Miller and Lawrence to the floor. Callihan chops him. Stretch muffler on the outside. Lawrence with a running boot. Callihan crotches Lawrence on the top rope. Young forearms a charging Callihan. Lawrence hits a dive. Miller dodges Callihan and hits a corkscrew dive. Gargano taken up and over. Gargano dodges and Callihan dives. Gargano goes for a dive but Callihan rips him off. Gargano and Callihan back in the ring. Kick to the back. Lawrence comes in and gets kicked. Face wash. Callihan stacks Lawrence on top of Gargano in the corner. Gargano sits up and German suplexes the men. Miller hits a dropkick. Young tosses Miller to the outside. His leg once again hits the post. Champion goes in for a series of covers. Backbreaker/clothesline combo on Lawrence. Running boot from Miller. Callihan meets him with another kick. DVD and springboard splash. He catches Gargano in the spear. Gargano takes Callihan in the spear. Flatliner into the middle buckle. Gargano sits down on a powerbomb for two. Lawrence hits a flying rana. Cross body. Young rolls through. Lawrence hits a tornado DDT. Callihan misses a charge. Lawrence hits a face wash. Miller rolls through and hits a round house kick. Lawrence ranas Miller. Nagasaki roll and Pee Gee Waja Plunge by the champion eliminates Dan Lawrence.
All that and he match is eight minutes old. Low kick from Callihan. He goes for the stretch muffler, but the champion escapes. Lariat to the corner by Miller. Miller drives Callihan into the corner with his knees. Callihan catches Miller in a powerbomb. Right into a sort of anklelock. Miller quickly taps and is the second man eliminated.
Callihan low bridged. Gargano takes turns diving on his opponents. Low kicks from Callihan on the champion. Series of chops. Nagasaki roll. Gargano knocks Young out with a kick. Kick exchange from Callihan and Gargano. Swinging lariat by Gargano. Callihan hits a deadlift backdrop driver. Both men down. Young again goes to cover both of his opponents. Young exchanges words with the crowd and eggs them on. Callihan is dead weight… until he hits a backdrop driver. Young kicks out of the stretch muffler. Gargano Escape on the champion, Callihan applies the ankelock. Gargano sends him to the turnbuckle. Over into the Escape. Callihan rolls him up. Dropkick in the corner from Gargano. Lawn dart. Superkick. Hertz Doughnut. 1-2-NO! Again to the Gargano Escape! Callihan refuses to tap. Gargano kicks out of the stretch muffler. Pair of kicks. Stretch muffler. Gargano taps and is the third man eliminated. I'm just glad Gargano got reaction after doing his moves and didn't have to kill himself in front of a bunch of bloodthirsty Philadelphians to no reaction. The only thing he needs to apologize for in this match is having an awesome performance when he could have easily phoned it in.
Callihan goes to the stretch muffler and locks it on the champion. Val Malone comes on the apron. Callihan drags her in. Stretch muffler! Referee shoved down. Young low blow. Cover. 1-2-NO! Crowd is way behind Callihan. Young chokes away. Callihan fires back with a series of strikes. Young tosses Callihan to the floor. Young tosses Callihan in the ring. Callihan fights out of a powerbomb and boots him. Young counters a backdrop driver into a cross body for two. Young misses a charge. Callihan goes for the kick. Nagasaki roll. Pee Gee Waja Plunge misses. Running boot from the challenger. Clothesline from Young. Nagasaki roll. Pee Gee Waja Plunge. 1-2-NO! Young goes under the ring for a chair. Callihan blocks being rammed into the buckle. O’Connor roll. Young sent into the chair. Roll-up for two. Again into the stretch muffler. Crowd going nuts. Young small packages out of nowhere and gets the victory.
Match Analysis: This match felt like one long spot… but with a purpose. Unlike so many Sami Callihan matches, this one had a story. The stretch muffler was built as a dangerous finisher and then built up extremely well once it was down to Young and Callihan. This was just an phenomenal contest with all five guys playing their role to perfection. This was an easy watch, even a second time. Gargano showed why he’s one of the best in the world. Callihan really stepped up his game. Young showed again why he’s super underrated. Mr. Miller is going to be a future star as well. Even Dan Lawrence wrestled a very solid match. A must see contest that everyone should go out of their way to see.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating: STILL AAW Heavyweight Champion-Silas Young/21:59/****1/4
-Silas Young does some gloating after the match. He talks about not giving the fans the time of day and not caring what they think. He says he’s the best in the world and no one on the roster can beat him. Ryan Boz walks out, not to fight Young, but to announce he’s going to face Silas Young in a “Fans Bring the Weapons” match for the championship on December 17 at Twisted Christmas.
– I Quit Match (Loser leaves for 90 days) Jimmy Jacobs vs. Arik Cannon (Windy City Classic VII)
Match in Five Words or Less: THAT’S How to End It
Match Highlights: From an intense world title match to now this. The biggest news of this show might be that Arik Cannon has ditched the Mohawk. Immediate ground and pound. You were expecting a feeling out process? Nope. To the outside and the brawl through the crowd is on. Pretty much back and forth through three sides of the building and of course the bathroom. Back to ringside. Jacobs goes for a dive to the floor, but Cannon tosses a chair in his face. Total Anarchy on the hardwood. Cannon attempts to take the rails apart but settles for punching a busted up Jacobs. Cannon breaks a beer bottle and uses it on the open wound of Jacobs. Whip across. Jacobs with an elbow. Acecrusher as the announcers let the action speak for itself at this point. Seems appropriate. Jacobs goes into his boot for the spike. Spike shot misses. Exploder out of the corner. Into the mount with right hands. Cannon brings out duct tape and wraps Jacobs’s hands behind his back. Cannon wants Jacobs to quit. If not, it’s curtains. Spike shots from Cannon. Jacobs refuses to quit. Low blow sends Cannon Down. Jacobs takes the spike and undoes the wrapping. What is he? McGuyver. Running spike shot. Cannon is now bleeding. Jacobs drives the spike into Cannon’s head. Jacobs uses the spike across Cannon’s mouth! Cannon appears to be bleeding from his head and right arm. He manages a spinebuster. Cannon goes for the spare guard rail this time. Short right hand and Cannon staggers. To the outside and another right hand. He sets the guard rail up between the ring and the front row. Cannon goes for a suplex on the rail. Jacobs fires punches. Off the ropes for a spear. Cannon meets him with a knee. Jacobs uses the spike and applies a sleeper hold. Cannon slowly climbs back up and rams Jacobs into the corner until he is out. Jacobs transitions into End Time. Cannon lifts him up and drops him in a northern lights bomb. Cannon misses a second rope moonsault. Spear by Jacobs. Cannon placed on the top rope. Cannon slaps him down. Jacobs recovers and nails a rana. Canadian Destroyer. End Time. Cannon quits. Feud over.
Match Analysis: Everything the match in October wasn’t this was. There was violence (not over the top), an epic feel, and an incredibly eerie atmosphere with the lack of announcing. Considering everything that had already happened on this night, the decision to ditch the announcing turned out to be a sound one. This was a real spectacle. Both guys wrestled like they had something to prove. I almost wish the dog collar never happened because this was the proper way to end this rivalry.
Winner (s)/Time/Match Rating: Jimmy Jacobs/25:09/****1/4
The Verdict: If you're not into AAW, then this is the perfect DVD for you. There are so many great matches up and down this DVD. It's not just main event level matches either. You get to see some strong mid-card rivalries develop. An excellent DVD for a potential AAW fan or someone looking to get into the product.
For more information on AAW and their upcoming shows, check out AAW’s Website. To buy this and many other AAW DVDs, check out Smart Mark Video. Below is a list of contact information for both the website and me.
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