The idea behind Path of Redemption was to showcase the future of the wrestling business as four of the best young wrestlers wrestled for the Heritage championship to conclude what was up to this point an excellently booked tournament. Then it would be time to say good-bye to someone who has exemplified everything that independent wrestling is about. Jerry Lynn may not have been able to say good-bye in a dynamite singles match, but he is someone who absolutely helped put AAW on the map and deserved one final opportunity to say good-bye to the wrestling fans in Chicago.
I can’t gush over the Heritage title tournament anymore than I already have. It’s been the highlight of AAW the last four months and has given so many wrestlers a chance to shine. Although ACH ultimately won the tournament, so many other guys got chances they may not have otherwise received. On this night, the tournament wrapped up with three fantastic matches. By my count there was only one match that didn’t have a clean finish, and that was way back in December. To have 15 tournament matches and have 14 clean victories is exactly what you want in order to build up the credibility of the championship. The semifinals got the show off to a great start as ACH defeated Junthai Miller and Samuray Del Sol defeated Louis Lyndon. We got a “SWEET JEBUS” from Phil Colvin during the Del Sol/Lyndon, a positive sign of things to come. I was having a conversation with someone recently and was asked what it would take to make Louis Lyndon into a bigger star. Matches like this one certainly make a difference. In other semifinal, it was nice Miller got to be portrayed as ACH’s equal even in defeat.
The finals was one of those matches you might not get much of a chance to see anymore given the contractual statuses of Del Sol and ACH. We didn’t get a match of the year contender. We got a really good match to cap off a tournament that not only made the wrestlers look better but also raised the prestige of the Heritage title. When I think about what a title is supposed to mean, I think of someone earning the title and being over. A company should not expect someone who isn’t over to all of a sudden get over now that they have a shiny piece of gold. Very quickly, ACH has become one of the most over babyfaces in AAW and earned the belt. Of course wrestling is predetermined, but the cream should always rise to the top.
Jerry Lynn’s farewell match was the main event and featured Arik Cannon and Rhino as his partners. Makes sense given Cannon’s status within AAW and the ECW connection with Rhino. Irish Airborne and Silas Young, based on their pedigree, certainly deserved to be in this spot as well. I was a bit surprised Lynn went over given what is traditionally deemed acceptable in this wacky wrestling business, but I can’t say I was offended. It was a good, fun main event to send the fans home happy and give everyone positive vibes. It’s always a good sign when Cannon is breaking out Lucha because you know he’s just a little bit more motivated. This wasn’t a crazy indy match with all kinds of moves but was nonetheless a satisfying conclusion to the night.
Another big match featured Shane Hollister wrestling against Sami Callihan. This was a fascinating match because it suggested a dramatic change in the way Shane Hollister is going to be booked moving forward. Essentially, the interference of Marcus Crane and Scarlett proved negligible as Callihan came away with the victory in a strong match for both guys. Crane attacked Callihan with a bottle even before the bell rang, so the action started right away. This felt like a true grudge match, and all the stupidity of Crane Scarlett made sense with the post-match promos. Hollister hit a low blow and still couldn’t win. Then in the end, Scarlett hit Hollister with her purse on accident, and Callihan hit a sitdown powerbomb to win. Then in the back, Hollister bitched Scarlett out and set up another match down the road by talking about being a school bully ready. No more interference. No more succumbing to the whims of a woman. Hollister is in control, and hallelujah, I think we’re about to see this guy become a main event independent wrestler. THIS is what I’ve been waiting for these last six months, and I’m pumped to see where he goes from here.
Not sure what it says about the AAW heavyweight championship when it’s third from the top and feels like an almost irrelevant part of the show, but I would not blame the company behind this show for that decision. At least Elgin turned in another good performance with Mat Fitchett, a wrestler who feels like he can explode at any time. With the exception of one noticeable botch, Fitchett looked good and even broke out the Dragonrana for the hell of it. Elgin won clean and in definitive fashion, but was still able to make his opponent look like a threat. This is exactly what I want out of a match like this.
Funny enough, after the first two Heritage title matches stole the show and had the crowd rocking, AAW smartly took things down a bit with a Colt Cabana versus Dan Lawrence match. This was entertaining for it was. Lawrence is another guy who goes underappreciated, but he can really fit into multiple positions on the card, and his heel turn is a reinvention for his career. Lawrence’s willingness to show ass (in this case literally) allowed Cabana to go through his usual schtick and allow for it to be entertaining and engaging. I enjoyed this well enough.
The never ending feud between We Are Here and the Northstache Express continued with a twist. Keith Walker and Ryan Boz were added to the mix and teased confrontations throughout. However, their partners wouldn’t allow it to happen, mostly Tweek Phoenix and Lamar Titan. Obviously, a singles bout was being teased, but they did a good job managing the hype and building to it. Titan once again got the pinfall victory in one of these matches, which at least serves him well if they ever want to separate Titan from the rest of the group. A decent enough street fight but given this and the cage match, I think a blowoff needs to happen soon.
I hate ending things on a negative note because this show really was very good, but a noticeable black eye was the Mason Beck/MsChif match. Honestly, Jordan Francois McEntyre’s promo which came right before was far better than the following five minutes. Francois is showing his real personality, which can be quite controversial depending on your point of view, but I’d rather he be an authentic douchebag than whatever he was before. Meanwhile, MsChif and Beck was the type of match that gets people fired. Seriously bad. The booking made no sense since Beck literally gave nothing, showed zero intensity throughout the match, and then won out of nowhere. Oh, and Taylor Made walked out to the entranceway. Why you ask? Beats me. MsChif’s momentum is now officially dead. This match was a DUD in every sense of the word.
Other than the post-match debacle, this was the third straight AAW show well worth checking out. A great chance to see the past, present, and future in one night. ACH turned in another outstanding night. Jerry Lynn got to exit on his turns. Shane Hollister’s character development is about to get a whole lot more interesting. Folks, this is as excited for a wrestling company as I can be in 2013.
Grade: B+
**********************************************************************************************************************
Quick Results, times, and star ratings:
Announcers: Phil Colvin and Derek St. Holmes
-Heritage Championship Semifinal: Samuray Del Sol defeats Louis Lyndon by pinfall with the springboard reverse rana/10:51/***1/2
-Heritage Championship Semifinal: ACH defeats Junthai Miller by pinfall double pumphandle cradle orange crush implant DDT /12:23/***1/2
-Colt Cabana defeats Dan Lawrence with the Billy Goat’s Curse/9:45/**3/4
-Sami Callihan defeats Shane Hollister by pinfall after the sitdown powerbomb /14:45/***1/2
-Bourbon Street Fight: Keith Walker, Lamar Titan, and Tweek Phoenix defeat Marion Fontaine, Darin Corbin, and Ryan Boz after Titan hits Fontaine with the uranagi into his knees /16:19/***
-Mason Beck defeats MsChif with a stranglehold drop/5:21/DUD
-AAW Heavyweight Championship: Michael Elgin successfully defends by pinfall over Mat Fitchett after s superbomb and 360 powerbomb/15:16/***1/4
-Heritage Championship Final: ACH wins his first AAW Heritage Championship over Samuray Del Sol double pumphandle cradle orange crush implant DDT /16:13/***3/4
-Jerry Lynn, Rhino, and Arik Cannon defeat Silas Young, and Irish Airborne (Jake and Dave Crist)after Lynn hits the cradle piledriver on Jake Crist/21:45/***1/4
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.
Contact Pro Wrestling Ponderings!
E-mail: prowrestlingponderings@gmail.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pwponderings
Twitter: www.twitter.com/pwponderings
Youtube: www.youtube.com/pwponderings
Contact Me!
E-mail: jcusson07@gmail.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeromepwpeditor