“Hell on Earth” is AIW’s longest running annual event, typically delivering one heck of a show. In fact, last year’s installment is one of my favorite AIW shows ever. They tend to bring the goods during what has become a Black Friday tradition, and with a promising card and a big debut, I was really looking forward to checking out the show.
Ty Colton, making his first appearance in the company, squared off against former Absolute Champion Colin Delaney. Colton had an impressive showing by going toe-to-toe with a man who been a regular in AIW for three plus years. This match was designed for Colton to succeed. By that I mean he got a chance to show off all of his really impressive offense (including a tumbleweed neckbreaker and a Canadian Destroyer) while also being able to persevere through Delaney’s own arsenal. It helps when you mix in things like a tumbleweed senton to the floor to get the crowd on your side. They had some great exchanges, from trading armdrags in the beginning to fun counter wrestling and near falls in the latter part of the match. Colton went for a Phoenix Splash and ended up missing. Delaney capitalized by springing off the bottom rope and into a DDT on the dazed newcomer to pick up the win. Although Delaney won, both guys earned a lengthy applause from the crowd, almost ensuring a return for Colton down the line.
Gregory Iron had an open challenge for the show, but what people did not expect was for him to be flanked by a group of four large bodyguards. Iron does not appreciate that so many of the fans think they’re apart of the business, but on this particular evening he was willing to give any fan the chance to step in the ring by accepting his open challenge. Iron trash talks one fan in the crowd who apparently talked trash about Iron online. Meanwhile, a young female snuck into the ring only to be Gimp Slapped by Iron immediately. She ended up kicking Iron in the balls and slapping him back. Iron dropping her with Handicap Parking, causing ring announcer Pedro Deluca to try and stop Iron from doing further damage. Iron’s goons hold Pedro back while Iron grabs the ring bell hammer. Finally, Aaron Bauer held Iron back while John Thorne, Pedro, and referee Jake Clemons brought the girl to her safety. Iron introduces his four bodyguards as “The Iron Curtain.” Time will tell if this was effective or not, but it definitely positions Iron for potentially big things.
Kung Fu Manchu exploded as Louis Lyndon made his first defense of the Intense Division Championship against Marion Fontaine. Fontaine’s sense of humor led to him getting the advantage early, but Lyndon used referee Jake Clemons as a distraction tactic so he could shove Fontaine to the floor off the top turnbuckle. The fun times were over as Lyndon took over with offense that was more dependent on mat wrestling and strikes. Fontaine was able to throw his own strikes back and had a close nearfall with a Stroke that caused Lyndon to land on his forehead. After a series of roll-ups he almost had Lyndon with a modified wheelbarrow slam, then again with a prawn hold. Lyndon ducked a superkick and threw a few kicks to Fontaine’s face before taking him down in an armbar position and grabbing his legs for the pin. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve seen of these guys as a team in AAW and naturally they were good opponents for one another in this bout. Fontaine mostly had been doing matches in AIW with his Old School crew so I actually forgot how good he can be in the ring in a competitive singles bout. He was more than a fair match for Lyndon and I hope he gets more opportunities to showcase himself.
The Jollyville Fuck-It’s, with momentum on their side after winning the “Double Dare” tag team tournament, captured the AIW Tag Team Championship from The Batiri (Kodama & Kobald). The Batiri made a big mistake by making T-Money angry while they double teamed Myers. All that meant was a much angrier T-Money when Myers tagged him in after taking out Kodama with a rolling Death Valley Driver. Even after dropping Kodama with his awesome spinebuster, Money still ended up on the floor. When Myers dove after Kodama he ended up wiping out Veronica Ticklefeather, manager of the demonic duo. Kobald took her to the back leaving Kodama to be fed to the challengers. He fended off T-Money with a monkey flip into the corner just in time for Kobald to return and even the odds. Obviously Obariyon (who was in Michinoku Pro during this period) and Kodama are the duo that teams most often out of the Batiri, but Kobald and Kodama were hyst as cooperative here. They took Myers off the top rope with a Doomsday Chokeslam. T-Money disposed of Kodama while Kobald hit Myers with the Demon’s Toilet. Instead of going for the pin, he got up and ate T-Money’s Pounce to give us new champions. The ending was a bit contrived, as I see no reason for Kobald to get up after connecting with the Demon’s Toilet aside from specifically doing so to take the Pounce. The action was good and consistent but I am slightly disappointed the win wasn’t as strong considering how well the Fuck-It’s did during the Double Dare tournament. We still have their entire reign ahead of us, so hopefully that progresses well to make up for a somewhat lackluster victory.
Tim Donst and Michael Hutter met in a rematch from “Absolution VIII.” This time around however, the stakes were raised by adding a “Fans Bring the Weapons” stipulation. Donst has been haunted by losing to Hutter ever since and hoped to set things straight. From the get go these two beat each other up. The crowd made the story of the match easy to tell; they loved Donst and loved to jeer Hutter with various anti-TNA chants. So, when Donst persevered through a Death Valley Driver through a table covered with thumbtacks, the Stock Lock submission (which Hutter beat Donst with in their first encounter), and whilst bloody was able to put on a modified Rings of Saturn to make Hutter submit and gain retribution, the crowd was with him every step of the way, which made the win that much sweeter. It was a nice way for Donst to get a big victory and even the score with Hutter who will not likely be back in AIW for a good while. After the match, Tim Donst puts out a challenge to one of his former trainers and someone he has never had the opportunity to wrestle one on one; Chris Hero. I can’t tell you how pumped I am to see that. Hutter then tells Donst that AIW is his house now, which as a long time AIW fan I can attest to.
Kevin Steen made his long awaited AIW debut on this night. I say long awaited because back at “Battle Bowl” in March 2011 he was supposed to take on Tim Donst, but ended up being replaced by his perennial rival and partner El Generico. His opponent was none other than Cleveland’s own Johnny Gargano, who Steen had wrestled and was submitted by in PWG a couple months prior in the Battle of Los Angeles tournament. It’s easy to argue that PWG is Steen’s home, so it’s only appropriate for him to get a chance at vengeance in Gargano’s home town.The match almost ended just as it was getting started with Steen going for the Package Piledriver right away and Gargano transitioning into the Garga-No Escape. Thankfully for the AIW fans Steen escaped and we got ourselves a great match. In fact, it was very competitive, and not unlike a match you would see in PWG. Steen’s offense focused mostly on Gargano’s neck and back, capitalizing on Gargano’s severe back injury he suffered in early 2012 which has plagued him ever since. The AIW crowd has a tendency to not be very vocal at times but they couldn’t help but go nuts when Gargano kicked out of the Package Piledriver after all the work Steen had put in before hand. The action was so hot that even though people wanted Gargano to win, they chanted “Please don’t tap” at Steen when he was in the Garga-No Escape because they wanted to see the match continue. While Steen was able to withstand the submission, he ended up succombing to a huracanrana which Gargano utilized to counter another Package Piledriver. If you liked their PWG encounter, you’re going to really enjoy this too. Steen made a lasting mark in his debut, and it’s no surprise that he’s been a mainstay ever since. This is definitely a match worth seeking out.
All was not well though, as after Steen and Gargano exchanged some kind words, Ethan Page and Louis Lyndon jumped them both. Earlier in the show we saw Page and Lyndon commiserating backstage about how they don’t feel as if they’re treated properly. Lyndon was the only singles champion on the show and felt he should have been in the main event because of it. Ethan Page wasn’t on the card and wanted to know why he doesn’t have a marquee caliber bout against someone like a Gargano or Steen. Lyndon lays out a challenge for Steen next month, putting his title on the line. It’s clear that Lyndon and Page’s relationship has only just began.
Veda Scott and Marti Belle wrestled in the female offering of the evening. The match was fine, but nothing about the match itself was particularly interesting or memorable. Scott’s partner Gregory Iron was absent at the beginning, but his Iron Curtain made their presence known. While one member had referee Jake Clemons distracted, Iron went to slap Belle and accidentally hit Veda! This allowed Belle to schoolgirl Scott for the victory. Scott reminds Iron that it was the last “Hell on Earth” show where they teamed for the first time and won the tag team titles. To celebrate their anniversary, she filed paperwork putting the end to Iron’s four count rule (to pin Iron, his opponent would have to reach a four count instead of the standard three.) That’s something I can get behind. We’ll see where this Scott/Iron feud goes, but I think there’s some mileage in a match between those two.
Last year’s “Hell on Earth” also saw #NIXON engage in a crazy eight man war that resulted in lots of blood and a fight that went all over the building. This year would be more of the same, but with a few different players and much higher stakes. If #NIXON won, The Duke would gain complete control of AIW. If Chest Flexor’s team (including himself and Youthanazia (Matt Cross & Josh Prohibition) won, then he would get complete control. #NIXON was blindsided right off the bat when Bobby Beverly superkicked Duke and joined the opposing team! This had it all; chairs, crutches, light tubes, thumbtacks, barbed wire, fish hooked covered light tubes…it was gruesome at times. They even did an awesome call back to last years match. Last year, Matt Cross used the ropes to kick some light tubes into Rickey Shane Page’s face. This time Page had that move scouted, but then turned to his right and got the light tubes smashed into his face with a chair by Beverly. Eric Ryan took a nasty Awesome Bomb to the floor through three chairs in which the chairs spread on impact. Thankfully he did not die. Page always seem to take the most punishment in these matches and this time was no different. He took so many light tubes to the head that I lost count, including being tossed off of the top rope and through a light tube covered table. Appropriately, the match concluded with Flexor throwing a fireball into Duke’s face and getting the pin. The twist with Beverly was not predictable and the war was a hell of a spectacle to watch. It was weirdly less heated than last year, but this was still pretty damn awesome.
Overall: “Hell On Earth 9” may have fallen short to the expectations of last year’s show, but there’s a lot of good stuff on the show regardless. Steen vs. Gargano and the main event justify the purchase themselves, but Hutter vs. Donst and Fontaine vs. Lyndon also delivered the goods. The best thing about this show is AIW has a clear direction, and one that I very much look forward to watching unfold.
You can pick up this show on DVD from AIW’s store or Smart Mark Video. For a reduced price, you can also download the show as an mp4 from Smart Mark Video or watch it On Demand from SMVOD.
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Quick Results/Match Times/Star Ratings
1. Colin Delaney defeats the debuting Ty Colton with a springboard DDT in 7:46. **¾
2. Gregory Iron’s Open Challenge never materialized into a real match. He bad mouthed a fan in the crowd and attacked a female fan who entered the ring.
3. Louis Lyndon successfully defends the Intense Division Championship against Marion Fontaine with an arm-capture cradle in 11:49. ***
4. The Jollyville Fuck-It’s (“Nasty” Russ Myers & T-Money) won the AIW Tag Team Championship from The Batiri (Kodama & Kobald) w/Veronica Ticklefeather when T-Money hit Kobald with the Pounce at 11:39. **½
5. Fans Bring The Weapons Match: Tim Donst submits Michael Hutter with a modified Rings of Saturn in 13:01. ***¼
6. Johnny Gargano pins the debuting Kevin Steen with a huracanrana in 16:33. ***¾
7. Marti Belle pinned Veda Scott with a schoolgirl in 8:21 after Gregory Iron accidentally slapped Scott. *
8. Team AIW (Chest Flexor, Bobby Beverly & Youthanazia (Matt Cross & Josh Prohibition) defeated #NIXON (Eric Ryan, Rickey Shane Page & The Duke) in 15:56 after Flexor threw a fireball into Duke’s face. Because of this victory, Chest Flexor gained complete control of AIW, taking away Duke’s share of the company. ***½