Positives:
Absolution VII- Despite the iPPV, this was a landmark event for the little promotion out of Cleveland. There were a number of feuds blown off. Ethan Page had a memorable match with Johnny Gargano and then won the AIW title in a way that set him up for the rest of the year. Josh Alexander and Michael Elgin had a match of the year contender. Michael Hutter and Tim Donst had an incredible atmosphere to wrestle in front of, and Cleveland showed the same level of passion as places like Chicago and Reseda. Just weeks after the death of Chikara, AIW made a huge stand with this show.
Absolute Opportunties- I don’t think any company is more willing to give wrestlers chances more than AIW. Ethan Page and Josh Alexander received their first American exposure in 2012, and it only increased in 2013 with a date at National Pro Wrestling Day and then a huge brawl at a subsequent AIW show. The Jollyville Fuck-Its went from not being on the roster to winning a tag team tournament and ending the year with the belts. AIW is also a company willing to give a second chance to someone like Colin Delaney and emphasize the highly underrated Tim Donst.
Michael Elgin- Both AAW and AIW can make a slam dunk claim of using Michael Elgin better than the company which contracts him. In AIW, Elgin had some tremendous matches with ACH and Josh Alexander. The matches at Absolution and Double Dare respectively were real show stealers and elevated Alexander. Elgin certainly deserved to be the AIW champion to end the year as he had another very good match with Ethan Page. AIW simply isn’t nearly as good a company without Elgin’s presence. And to think he wasn’t even brought in until late in 2012.
Negatives:
Title Booking– BJ Whitmer didn’t defend the Intense title for the first half of the year and didn’t lose it in the ring, albelt unfortunate circumstances prevented this, but to not have a title be defended for six months is a waste. Gregory Iron and Veda Scott dragged an entire division with an annoying title reign that tested everyone’s patience and made a parade of babyface teams look incompetent. Then there’s the AIW title. Colin Delaney gets a few months worth of build-up toward a title match, wins it, then immediately loses before being shifted down the card. Ethan Page loses the title to Ultramantis Black in Black’s first match. Black loses his first title defense. Page loses the title to Elgin a half hour later. Way too much hot potato with the heavyweight championship. I’m hoping Louis Lyndon, the Fuck-its, and Elgin provide stability. This is really is like three negatives in one, hence only listing one more.
Pacing- I know a lot of people did Tracy Smothers as he’s a huge part of the legacy of Cleveland wrestling and the crazy drunk uncle you wish you had. Bringing him in once a year for a big show makes sense to me. Having multiple shows with Tracy Smothers talking for 20-25 minutes disrupts the flow of shows (which does matter) and comes off as very self-aggrandizing. At Dead Presidents, the crowd was noticeably down for the second half of the show after seeing Smothers and Cabana wrestle. I think shows like Double Dare and Hell on Earth were perfectly paced and felt cohesive. A number of other AIW shows felt like they needed that level of touch in order to make for a efficient presentation.
A Look Back at 2012 Predictions:
ACH will either win Gauntlet for the Gold or JLIT to earn a title shot at Absolution and go onto win the Absolute title from Eric Ryan.
ACH won neither and was barely used in the second half of the year
Ethan Page will win the Intense Title from BJ Whitmer early in the year.
Page won the Absolute championship twice, so I least didn’t completely blow this one.
The Sex Bo-Bombs make a huge return to AIW and win the titles sometime in the second half of 2013.
The Sex Bo-Bombs returned, but Mat Fitchett was also barely used in the second half. In a way, the Jollyville Fuck-Its took this role.
2013 Predictions:
Ethan Page will get a proper AIW title reign by defeating Michael Elgin for the title early in the year.
A tag team not even on the current roster will end next year with the championships.
Davey Vega will win the Intense title over Louis Lyndon at Absolution.
Positives:
Heritage title-A number of companies with secondary singles titles didn’t seem to take them all that seriously. AAW had the guts to do a 16 man tournament which turned ACH into a star and provided future chances for a number of other wrestlers. This tournament was spectacular in helping make the title mean something. ACH put together a solid title reign before losing to Matt Cage. Now Cage as a heel is taking the belt in a new direction with his challenges to younger wrestlers. Cage as the Heritage champion is a huge chance to build up a new star, and one of AAW’s most underrated booking successes has been this secondary title.
Resuscitating the Tag Team Division- At the beginning of the year, there were barely any regular teams and Irish Airborne did not exactly have a lot of challengers. The decision to put Louis Lyndon and Marion Fontaine was a tremendous choice, and the division really kicked into high gear. The Monster Mafia and Zero Gravity made for a fantastic three team weave. Fontaine and Lyndon had solid five month title reign before losing to Michael Elgin and Ethan Page. Some will say their dynamic is similar to Cannon and Jacobs, but they weren’t in a blood feud, and it seems more comedic in nature. Elgin keeping Page straight will be fun to watch for a few months.
Shane Hollister versus Sami Callihan- Despite being conducted in the first half of the year, this feud positioned Hollister for a future title reign. Their match of the year candidate at Day of Defiance was a great way to send Callihan off to NXT and an even better way of getting Hollister over.
Negatives:
Long Feuds- Tony Rican and Knight Wagner feuded over a year. Marek Brave and Christian Rose have been feuding since March with no signs of stopping. I’m all for extended storytelling in the case of Eddie Kingston and Silas Young because it’s a main event feud that involves two great promo cutters who can help draw money in the company. Wagner is someone who has improved so much this year and should have been doing a great deal more instead of wrestling in a dog collar match with Rican. The four way at War is Coming and getting Martini as a manager speaks to how much Wagner has gotten better. Here’s to a better 2014 for him. And while I understand the desire to give Brave and Rose something to do, much of Rose’s momentum got squelched. Rose is someone who can talk and based on matches with ACH and Silas Young. Even the idea of him losing a “Loser Leaves Berwyn” match strikes me as insulting given the match had zero build and went less than eight minutes. AAW desperately needs strong heels. Wagner and Rose have the potential to be that if they could just be allowed to move on.
Shane Hollister’s AAW title reign- I like Hollister a lot but his first title reign didn’t get off to a sterling start. The matches with Callihan and Elgin really positioned him well. Even a clean win against Prince Mustafa Ali on a charity show seemed like a logical follow-up. Then it was Junthai Miller in the fourth match of a show, back-to-back matches against Arik Cannon, and a no-contest against Eddie Kingston. Bringing back the Cannon feud was a logical move, but the two matches didn’t feel as purposeful and had little build. Giving Kevin Steen the title wasn’t the worst decision because of the shock value and drawing two large crowds instead of one. If I’m booking, Hollister is getting involved with Jimmy Jacobs and Silas Young as part of a second title reign to give him momentum and get him over as a big time heel.
A Look Back at 2012 Predictions:
MsChif will win the Heritage championship in the summer of fall of 2013. I can honestly say I have no idea what AAW is planning, so these are all shots in the dark. Given that Veda Scott has won the AIW tag team titles and Rachel Summerlyn has won the ACW heavyweight title, I hope this encourages other feds to give women titles that would traditionally be given to men. Having an AAW women’s title is pointless given the relationship with Shimmer, but MsChif as Heritage champion would further cement her own status and would not be unprecedented given how many men she’s already defeated and competed against.
MsChif wrestled Markus Crane twice, got forearmed in the face by Christian Rose, disappeared for a few months, came back for a couple months, and is now out due to pregnancy. My worst prediction of any I made for any company. Okay, the next one likely is the worst.
Shane Hollister will NOT win the heavyweight title. It’s almost a given that he’s going to be one of the top players for AAW next year, but there’s something about his character and the individuals escorting him to the ring that scream midcard instead of main eventer. Hollister has the make-up and attitude. He needs to have a big main event performance, similar to the ones Silas Young had against Bryan Danielson at Defining Moment 2009, to show he truly deserves to be heavyweight champion. Going to be tough. This is definitely one I want to be proven wrong given the respect I have for Hollister’s abilities.
Hollister won the title twice, so I was wrong big time. He did have two huge main event performances back-to-back at the very least, but his encourage doesn’t exactly give him a main event feel as much as it should.
A tag team who didn’t even compete in AAW will hold the belts at the end of 2013. Jacobs and Cannon are done. Zero Gravity have already held the belts and don’t have the confidence of management. I have to believe new teams are going to be brought in. At the very least Tweek Phoenix and Lamar Titan will form a team and challenge for the belts. I really want to see Team Overkill, The Kentucky Buffet, and/or Minor Threat have a big-time presence in the promotion next year. Bringing in the Super Smash Brothers, the Briscoes or Young Bucks is unrealistic. Build the division organically with some fresh teams, and AAW will be better off for it.
Actually got one right even though I didn’t see Monster Mafia coming. Christian Rose and Matt Cage did come to AAW as singles wrestlers. SSB, Briscoes, and Young Bucks ultimately weren’t a part of AAW’s plans, but the tag team division as much improved from the end of 2012.
2013 Predictions:
1. Christian Rose will be a babyface singles champion by the end of 2014. I’ll say the Heritage title since a rivalry with Matt Cage would be most interesting given their history.
2. Zero Gravity will get a second tag team title reign. Based on their performances this year, they certainly deserve one. Much of the crowd was already behind ZG during the match with Elgin and Page, and with the improvements they’ve made, it makes sense for them to receive those belts again.
3. Ethan Page will wrestle in a main event singles match. I’m not sure if he’ll get a singles title, but I think teaming with Elgin sky rockets Page into the upper echelon.