Tonight, there will be violence, there will be ladders, and there will be girls.
Absolute Intense Wrestling presents its first internet pay-per-view tonight from Turners Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, featuring an eight-woman tournament to determine a new number one contender for the AIW Womens’ Championship.
The action is set to get underway on SmartMarkVideo at 7 P.M. EST.
Can’t wait? Check out Jennifer Lynn’s comprehensive preview here, where she breaks down the action match by match.
The show comes on the air promptly at 7:30. I got the time wrong.
Addy Starr beat Sassy Steph in a “Climb the Ranks” qualifying match. The announcers played up that Steph was 0-3 in GNO competition, so winning here and advancing to the ladder match would be quite the coup for her. But for Addy Starr, who has never competed in AIW before, her first night with the company could potentially end with her as the number one contender to the women’s title. Steph spent a lot of the match aggressively trying to end her GNO losing streak, bullying the GNO newcomer in Addy Starr. Aaron Bauer says Steph is a “Good-natured” woman who “likes to bake.” Starr blocked the “Kiss My Sass” and hit a StraitJacket neckbreaker and an elbow for the win. The drought for Steph continues.
Athena defeated Kimber Lee in another qualifyer. Both girls have an exciting start, trading quick counters to start. Athena hit a sick shoulder block to Athena, but Kimber Lee avoided the second one. Lee came back and hit a kick to the side of Athena’s head for a nearfall. Lee caught Athena in a submission hold, but Athena fought out and took control back. Athena hit an ax kick for a nearfall, but Athena hit a handspring forearm to keep the assault hot and heavy. Later Lee hit a missile dropkick for a nearfall and went into an armbar. Bauer explained that Athena had injured that arm earlier in the week while working out. Lee hit a German suplex for another close two-count. “She’s not even from Germany!” Bauer exclaimed. Athena somehow came back, hit another kick, and nailed the Oh-Face for the win, capping off an exciting second match. Kimber Lee advances to the ladder match to meet Addy Starr and two other women later tonight.
Veda Scott came out with Greg Iron next. Greg said he hated AIW management, but he does have some sympathy for women’s wrestling fans. At one point Veda said she didn’t have an Amazon wish list because “She’s not a prostitute.” Three guesses for what fans started chanting next? I’ll be honest. I have no idea what Greg Iron’s talking about here. He started saying something about lotion and petroleum jelly. Eventually Leva Bates came out and called Veda a nerd. I take issue with this. Leva is dressed as Daredevil, a hero with a special place in my heart.
Veda Scott defeated Leva Bates in the third qualifier. Bauer talked about how Veda Scott was this generation’s Goldberg, and Hailey Hatred ran away to Japan because she was afraid she would have to face Veda Scott in the future. Seriously. You can’t write this stuff. He then went on a tirade, listing all of the tag teams Veda scott is better than. Later in the match Greg Iron tripped up Leva so Veda could get the upper hand. Leva caught Scott coming off the second rope with a kick to the midsection. Eventually Veda came back and hit a Saito suplex for the win. I love the girls involved, but this match wasn’t nearly as fun as the previous match. Aaron Bauer made this match for me.
“Crazy” Mary Dobson beat Annie Social in the final qualifier. Dobson missed a split-legged moonsault at one point, allowing Social to gain the upper hand. Annie Social is beating down Dobson with the assist from her fellow Social Network partners on the outside. Are they called Social Networkers? Networkees? Dobson hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Social hit a big clothesline in the corner and starting choking Dobson. They exchanged strikes in the middle of the ring, but Dobson got the better of an exchange and hit a quick rollup for the pin out of nowhere. The rest of the Social Networkees attacked poor Crazy Mary after the match. So it looks like Dobson will be going into the ladder match later at a disadvantage.
It’s intermission time in Cleveland, so to recap: The four participants in the “Climb the Ranks” ladder match are: Addy Starr, Athena, Veda Scott, and “Crazy” Mary Dobson. During the intermission they aired an old match between Hailey Hatred and Jenny Rose.
The show has been pretty fun up to this point, with the Kimber Lee-Athena match clocking in as my favorite so far. I can’t expect anything but the most intense action from the ladder match, pun intended.
We’re back. Time for a match to showcase two new AIW talents. It’s an “Absolute Opportunity” match.
Angelus Layne defeated Jodi D’Milo in an “Absolute Opportunity” match. D’Milo had Layne in trouble for a while, but Layne fought back out of it. At one point D’Milo took a wicked ax kick to the back of the head. Layne later hit a senton for a nearfall. Layne got hung up in the Tree of Woe position and D’Milo kicked away at the gut. D’Milo hit an Alabama Jam move for a nearfall. Layne came back, elevated D’Milo and hit a cutter from a Fireman’s carry position for the win. Fun match, and I really want to see a lot more from Angelus layne.
Nikki St. John & Heidi Lovelace beat KC Warfield and Angeldust. Angeldust immediately hits a crossbody to start. The story is that lovelace turned on Angeldust back at GNO 7, and now St. John wants her some revenge. Later St. John hits an x-Factor for a nearfall. Warfield took a mule kick to the face from St. John at one point. Sammy Geodollno is one of my favorites, by the way. Love how she doesn’t spill any iced tea through any of this. Lovelace went for an enziguri but Angeldust ducked it. Angeldust went for a cover but Geodollno pulled her out of the ring. Lovelace took advantage and pinned Warfield. Nice, long tag match. I enjoyed this.
Allysin Kay came to the ring to await her super special mystery opponent. And the mystery opponent is ……. Mickie Knuckles!
Allysin Kay defeated Mickie Knuckles to retain the AIW Women’s Championship. They start out scrapping, with Kay holding her own with Knuckles. Kay hit a huge boot to Knuckles to the outside. Kay went for the machete, but Knuckles hit a German suplex onto the stage. Wow. Knuckles hit a Samoan drop for a nearfall. Allysin Kay is such a badass. She came back and got her choke that she used to be Mia Yim for the win. It’s a passing of the guard of sorts, since Knuckles vacated the title last year, so Kay never beat her for it. This was that moment. I’m still convinced they’re building for a Hailey Hatred-Allysin Kay match.
Main event time: Veda Scott defeated Athena, Addy Starr, and “Crazy” Mary Dobson to earn a title shot against Allysin Kay for the AIW Women’s Championship.
This thing broke down immediately, with Dobson and Athena fighting on a ladder. Athena got a ladder dropkicked into her face immediately. Athena attacked Greg Iron on the outside. They carried Iron to the back while fans sang to him, and Veda scott hit a bulldog to Athena on the ladder. Addy Starr tried climbing the ladder, but Veda Scott cut her off. Veda tried to climb the ladder, but Addy returned the favor, and Veda took knees while she was down on the ladder. Later, Veda Scott came back from the dead and climbed through the ladder and choked Addy Starr through the ladder. This match is insane. Mary Dobson introduced a table into the equation. Oh yes, be afraid. Athena ran after Veda Scott at one point, and Mary Dobson and Athena started exchanging strikes in the middle of the ring. Dobson got put through a table, and Athena hit the O-Face off the ladder! Did I mention this match is insane? It is. The finish saw Veda Scott powerbomb Athena off the ladder and through the table. Veda grabbed the contract for the win. I can’t tell you how fun this was.
Allysin Kay comes out and tells Veda she’s going to destroy her, regardless of what company Veda represents or what championship she has.
This was an absolutely fantastic main event. All four girls worked so hard, took crazy bumps, and just put on a brilliant show. Couple that with an absolutely wild match between Allysin Kay and a returning Mickie Knuckles, and the top two matches are worth this IPPV alone. But this whole show was a great IPPV debut from AIW, showcasing the prime women’s wrestlers they have. The show, admittedly, had its low points, but the high points were so high, the low points can be forgiven. I certainly hope AIW’s IPPV investment paid off, because more live shows from them would be quite the blessing.
Thanks to everyone who joined me for this review. I hope you enjoyed the show as much as I did. Hopefully, if you weren’t a proponent of women’s wrestling before, you’ve had a revelation after watching this show. Let me know on Twitter what you thought of the show, @DesDelgadillo
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