-Taped from Berwyn, Illinois
-Commentators: Phil Colvin and Derek St. Holmes
It’s important to start the year off well, especially when AAW had such a fantastic 2013. One could argue that from both an artistic and financial standpoint, the company had one of its best years ever. AAW started the year by putting together an indie dream match in tag team form with Michael Elgin and Uhaa Nation. Amazingly, AAW continued its streak of having a match of the year candidates on shows as the tag team titles were defended in the main event. The Men of the Year (Michael Elgin and Ethan Page) had their first successful title defense over Ricochet and Uhaa Nation in what was a great match with some solid stories. There was the obvious of having these two giant men finally face off. Smartly, this was booked so that the two men didn’t have significant interaction until around 15 minutes into the match. They teased it extremely well and made the match all the better. Ethan Page and Ricochet teamed up in November. After falling to win the Allegiance Tag Team Tournament, Page hit a Rock Bottom on his partner. This time it was the Spinning Dwayne for the win. By the end, announcers and fans alike were marking out.
I can see why some people think Page and Ricochet were sort of disregarded, but these guys are big enough stars and played enough of a factor in the match that I think Nation and Elgin being teased throughout and building up to a major confrontation really worked out. Very easy to see why this ended up being the main event of Chaos Theory. Ricochet did a lot of the heavy lifting in this match, which makes sense to allow Nation to pick his spots and possibly have a future match with Elgin. Might as well save some of the magic for later, right? AAW produced a ton of match of the year candidates in 2013, and this first show produced one match of the year contender.
Shane Hollister and Jimmy Jacobs for the AAW championship was slotted for semi main event because of the magnitude of the tag team titles. I’m not sure about that decision because it again put Hollister in a tough position. I wish I could quantify the specific issues with his title reigns, but the match with Jimmy Jacobs provided some clear issues. At 26 minutes, this went at least 10-12 minutes too long. The pace was too slow for an AAW crowd that’s used to action, particularly from one of the main matches on the card. Also, no one thought for a second Jacobs had a chance in hell of winning the title. These reasons ultimately held the match from being great. It’s still good as Hollister got a clean win by taking advantage of a bloody Jacobs to get the win. Both of Jimmy Jacobs’s promos (before and after the match) were a better watch than the match. Particularly the one before was the sort of epic babyface promo that very few can deliver.
Matt Cage and ACH had a return match for the Heritage title and turned the volume up a bit. There was a lot less awkwardness, and the crowd seemed heavily invested in both guys. The crowd is always into ACH, and despite how charismatic Cage is during promos and in the ring, the crowd still reacts to him negatively. Cage trying to steal ACH’s catchphrases, finish, and then nailing him with the belt after the match helps. ACH started out hot and called down after diving right into the medal barricade. Cage slowed the pace down and got some heat on the challenger. ACH made his comeback. ACH tried one dive too many and got caught with knees. Cage won with a roll-up while holding onto the ropes. My only nitpick is the match before intermission (which I’ll discuss next) also had a roll-up finish. This isn’t Ring of Honor or PWG. Let’s try to keep it to one roll-up per show. It’s worth noting Junthai Miller saved ACH and a match between he and Cage was teased for the next show. Smart play there.
It’s hard to miss Davey Richards when he won’t go away. After essentially giving a farewell speech, he was back this month teaming with Kyle O’Reilly to take on the now former champions Kung Fu Manchu (Louis Lyndon and Marion Fontane). This was one of three matches to get over 20 mnutes on the show. The idea was that Richards got a little cocky after television exposure. Given it’s TNA, I have a hard time buying that. The match was going along okay until Marion Fontaine nearly killed himself on a dive. The crowd died, and it took a lot to bring them back. I still enjoyed the match despite the contrasting styles and thought this was a good way of allowing Lyndon and Fontaine a chance to rebound from their loss. Afterward, Richards thanked the crowd. Kyle O’Rellly kicked him in the head and talked about no longer respecting. O’Reilly mentioned wanting to wrestle. With how TNA works, I fully expect Richards to be back on the indies by this time next year, and they can have their match.
Another fun match on the card was the opener. It was one of those multi-mans where a lot of moves were done and there was minimal psychology. Marek Brave, Knight Wagner, DC Dynamite, and Tyler Colten is the type of match I would consider putting on the Roku channel to draw people’s attention. Marek Brave pinned DC Dynamite. You might know DC Dynamite as Danny Cannon in other places. His name is different in AAW. Let’s just accept that and move on. A very energetic opener that re-introduced Brave quite well and also teased a future feud witk Wagner. Despite my feelings on the feud between Brave and Rose, I’m fine with Brave being in AAW. He was pretty darn close to making it into Ring of Honor a few years ago, so he has the talent. Maybe now he can provide some wisdom as a veteran. I know Danny Cannon is the hotness right now, and while I agree he’s very talented, he’s got to calm down a little bit. I’m not saying to “grab a hold” kid but let’s not go crazy either. He’s got a ton of potential and with time, I’m sure he’ll get better.
Zero Gravity (Bret Gakiya and CJ Esparza) defeated Dan Lawrence and Marcus Crane. It was fine and felt like a way for the former to get a win back after losing against Men of the Year. Lawrence and Crane are the heel jobbers of AAW, but they’re entertaining enough to hang around. Colt Cabana and Junthai Miller had a similar quality match with We Are Here. Tweek Phoenix and Keith Walker. There’s been some tension among that group, and their losing streak continued in this match. Funny enough, Cabana and Miller are the challengers for the singles titles for February, so giving them a win together was a wise move. Cabana pinned Phoenix after Chicago Skyline.
Jonathan Gresham made his long awaited AAW debut against Eddie Kingston. The match itself was good, at least better than Kingston versus Hieracon would be, am I right? Kingston introduced a new second, Jordynne. Based on what I’ve heard and seen, I’m not impressed with what she can possibly bring to the table. She seemed very uncomfortable and nervous. She almost pulled Gresham out of the ring and killed him on the apron when trying to interfere. Take away her interference, and I’m probably giving this match a quarter star more. My thinking is Silas Young is going to kill Jordynne at some point to get a certain amount of revenge and continue their feud. Hopefully, Gresham comes back to AAW soon.
This was a very good show. The main event was a perfect way to cap off this event. This was just as long as a lot of the 2013 shows even though there were eight matches. I feel like the match before intermission and Hollister/Jacobs could have shaved off a few minutes and still been good.
Grade: B+
Funny Promo Notes:
Dan Lawrence called Zero Gravity Zero personality before their match. I laughed.
Knight Wagner and Marek Brave had a confrontation in the back. Given Wagner was a joke for years, I think a slow build is smart than trying to shove him down people’s throats.
Kevin Harvey gave a pep talk to We Are Here. They set Tony Rican’s face on fire and we appear to be entering either the next or final phase of this angle.
********************************************************************************************************************
-Marek Brave defeats Knight Wagner (w/Truth Martini)DC Dynamite, Ty Colton. Brave pins Dynamite after a superkick/7:26/***1/4
-Zero Gravity (Bret Gakiya and CJ Esparza) defeat The Dan Lawrence Project and The Marcus Crane Experience. Gakiya pins Crane after Flippy Cup 2.0/8:51/**1/2
-Colt Cabana and Junthai Miller defeat We Are Here (Keith Walker and Tweek Phoenix w/Nikki and Kevin Harvey). Cabana pins Phoenix after Chicago Skyline/10:42/**1/2
–Eddie Kingston (w/Jordynne Grace) defeats Jonathan Gresham by pinfall after back-to-back backfists/10:01/***
-Kung Fu Manchu (Louis Lyndon and Marion Fontaine) defeat Team Ambition (Davey Richards and Kyle O’Reilly). Lyndon pins O’Reilly after a roll-up/20:32/***1/2
-AAW Heritage Championship: Matt Cage retains over ACH by pinfall after a roll-up while holding onto the middle rope/13:04/***1/2
-AAW Heavyweight Championship: Shane Hollister (w/Scarlett) retains over Jimmy Jacobs by pinfall after Suge’slast Gift/26:30/***1/4
-AAW Tag Team Championship: Men of the Year (Michael Elgin and Ethan Page)(champion) retain over Uhaa Nation and Ricochet. Page pinned Ricochet after a Spinning Dwayne/22:52/****1/4
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