Dog collars, light tubes, ladders, and mat wrestling abound!
6.12.2009 – Sandusky, OH
Commentary is provided by Matt Wadsworth and Denver Colorado
The show opens with Denver Colorado talking about how big a show this is. A bunch of the wrestlers cut promos, with an especially fun one from The Switchblade Conspiracy.
Four Way Tag Team Scramble Elimination Match
The Osirian Portal (Amasis & Ophidian) vs. The Switchblade Conspiracy (Sami Callihan & Jon Moxley) vs. Klondike Kremlin and Frightmare vs. Aeroform (Flip Kendrick & Louis Lyndon)
Callihan started by cutting a promo on Aerofrom. The SBC and The Portal took turns beating on Frightmare. Frightmare finally tagged in Kremlin, and it took Aeroform and The Osirian Portal to eliminate Kremlin. The Portal took out Aeroform, and the Switchblad Conspiracy came in and completely destroyed The Osirian portal. Moxley and Callihan hit a double underhook face buster/diamond cutter combination on Ophidian to eliminate the Portal. The Conspiracy beat the crap out of Aeroform. Aeroform make a quick comeback, with the Conspiracy cutting them off once again. The Conspiracy go for their signature combination on Flip Kendrick, but Kendrick victory rolls Moxley for the pin. This was a fun, action packed opener that would make someone a fan of everyone in the match. It was good booking to have the two teams in the promo at the start end up as the final two teams. This was a good way to start AIW’s biggest show of the year. Aeroform gets a future tag title match for this victory. **3/4
Shiima Xion vs. Jason Gory
Gory grabs a wristlock which Xion reverses. Gory takes Xion to the mat with a headlock. Xion gets a headscissors. Gory flips out of the hold. Xion gets a hammerlock takeover, and Gory grabs Xion’s arm. Gory and Xion trade pin attempts. Xion and Gory go back and forth with Xion getting a deep armdrag into an armbar. Gory wheelbarrows into a sunset flip for two. Gory backslides Xion for two, then takes him over with an armdrag into an armbar. Xion throws Gory by the back of his head to the mat, and Gory takes Xion outside of the ring with a satellite headscissors. Gory and Xion brawl in the crowd. Back in the ring Gory hits a springboard dropkick but misses a clothesline in the corner. Gory hits the floor. Xion slams Gory’s face into the apron. Back in the ring Gory looks for a standing moonsault, but Xion pushes Gory across the ring with his feet. Xion lands double knees to Gory’s neck as he lay on the ropes. Xion hits a German suplex for two. Xion beats on Gory in the tree of woe and then places him on top. Gory comes off with a lung blower. Gory hits an Asai moonsault to Shiima Xion to the floor. Gory hits a crossbody in the ring for two. Xion comes back with a superkick then backdrops Gory into a faceplant across his knee for two. Xion locks on the Romerco Special, and Xion drives him down with a bridge for two. Xion misses a corkscrew senton, and Gory hits a tombstone piledriver variant for the three. Another good match, with two guys working hard and putting on a fun match for the fans. They saved the highspots for the right times, and pulled out some stuff I hadn’t seen before. **3/4
Flag Match
Da Latin Crime Syndicate (K Fernandez, Luis Diamante, & Joey The Snake) vs. The Homeless Handicap Connection (Hobo Joe and Gregory Iron) and Lince Dorado
This isn’t a “capture the flag match”, but rather a match where the winning team gets to hang the flag of their country. The Syndicate attack the Connection and Dorado as they come out. The Connection and Lince dropkick the Syndicate to the floor then tease stereo dives. The Syndicate comes back in and attacks. Diamante and Lince start off, with Lince moonsaulting into an armdrag. Lince Tiger walks Diamante, then springboard crossbodies onto Diamante. Dorado pescado’s into a rana on Diamante on the floor. The Homeless Connection hit a double back elbow on Diamante. The Syndicate isolate Hobo Joe in their corner and beat on him. Iron tags in and takes Diamante out with a lariat and an elbow. Iron panders to the crowd, allowing Diamante to drive Iron face first in the corner. The Syndicate now isolate Iron in their corner. Lince gets tagged in, throwing al sorts of offense at the Syndicate. Lince enzugiri’s Joey and heads up top. Fernandez cuts him off and goes up top with Lince. All the other guys come in for a stacked-up superplex of doom! Joe and Iron hit a manhattan drop/inverted DDT sequence. Fernandez kicks Joe outside and Diamante and Joey the Snake double team Iron. Joey kicks Lince as he comes in to attempt a save. Lince takes Joey to the floor with a headscissors. Diamante brings Lince to his shoulders. Lince rana’s Diamante to the floor as well. Lince, the only man left in the ring, suicide dives through the ropes into the crowd. Back in the ring, Joey rolls up Iron for the pin and the victory. This match got real sloppy at points during the comeback and took a lot away. Lince was far and away the best guy in this match, though Joey and Diamante have promise as well. Iron also seems like he’s too good to be stuck in a Homeless tag team. **
Survivor Series Elimination Match
Alpha Beta Duke (Nick Belushi & The Duke), Marion Fontaine, and Super Oprah vs. Team Jack of Love (Bobby Beverly, Jefferson Saint, Chest Flexor, & Jack Verville)
Bobby Beverly coming out to the old Beverly Brothers music was fantastic. Crossdressing wrestling (Super Oprah, for the record) is also not something I’m excited for. All eight participants brawl in the ring to start with the Alpha Beta Duke team crotching the JoL’s on the corner posts. Duke boots Verville and chokes him in the corner. Duke lays in a clothesline and chokes Verville again. Belushi tags in and takes over, beating on Verville. Beverly tags in begging for mercy. Belushi blocks a low blow and clotheslines Beverly. Belushi slams Beverly and then back body drops him. Flexor comes in and lays in some punches. Belushi is sent over the top and to the floor. Flexor gets dumped into the crowd and Belushi Giant Swings Flexor into some chairs. Oprah comes in and gets a two count on Flexor. Oprah splashes Flexor in the corner and then skull-fucks Flexor. Saint and Fontaine tag in. Fontaine knees Saint over and over in the face, then follows with a butt-butt. Saint lays in chops and takes Fontaine over with a suplex for two. Fontaine knee lifts Saint and lays in a low Thesz Press for two. Fontainie ducks some punches and hits a urinage. He follows with a moonsault and Beverly breaks up the pin. Fontaine is distracted by Beverly and gets rolled up by Saint to eliminate Fontaine. Oprah comes in with Flexor. Oprah shoves Flexor’s hand into her crotch area. Oprah rolls up Flexor for two. Oprah spears Flexor and lays in some punches. Oprah hits an overhand chop on Flexor and sends him to the floor. Oprah follows and sends Flexor into the guardrail. Oprah gets counted out as Flexor gets back in the ring, eliminating her from the match. Beverly brings Duke to his corner, and Duke takes Beverly over with a belly-to-belly suplex. Duke chokes Beverly on the guardrail and throws him into the front row in a wheelbarrow position. Belushi press slams Verville over the top onto Beverly in the crowd. Duke chokes Verville in the crowd. Belushi hits a spinebuster on Saint to eliminate him from the match. Flexor hits Belushi in the back of the head with his flexing gear, and the referee disqualifies him. Beverly capitalizes and pins Belushi for two. Beverly and Verville team up on Belushi. Belushi takes Beverly over with a hurricanrana and tags in Duke. Duke takes out both Verville and Beverly with clotheslines, back elbows, and scoop slams. Duke hits a double chokeslam and a sit-out driver on Beverly to eliminate him. Alpha Beta Duke grab Verville and beat on him. Both men comes off the ropes with a splash and pin Verville. The ending looked awfully sloppy with Duke missing Verville completely. This was a neat elimination match, and I liked Fontaine and Beverly especially. **1/2
Intense Division Championship Elimination Match
Josh Prohibition (Champion) vs. Façade vs. Johnny Gargano
Gargano beats on Façade to start, in revenge for Façade costing Gargano the Intense championship. Prohibition tries to wrestle Gargano, but his attention keeps going back to Façade. Gargano throws Façade into the guardrail. Gargano shoves Façade into the crowd. Prohibition and Gargano wrestle, with Gargano shoving a piece of pizza in Prohibition’s mouth. Façade and Prohibition beat on Gargano in the ring as a make-shift duo. Things begin to go sour when Façade breaks up a pin he has on Gargano. Gargano tries a small package on Prohibition, and Façade and Prohibition go right back to working together. Gargano fires back and fights both men by himself. Prohibition airplane spins Gargano, knocking Façade down. He hits a TKO on Gargano, and Façade breaks it up. Faracde hits a German suplex with a bridge on Prohibition, and Gargano double stomps Façade to break it up. Façade lays in kicks to Prohibition, and Prohibition drops him with a leg-capture suplex. Prohibition and Gargano hit a series of moves on Façade unintentionally. Gargano jackknife pins Prohibition for two. Prohibition reverses a backslide, and Gargano hits a hurricanrana. Gargano rolls up Prohibition for two. Prohibition punches Façade in the corner, and Gargano hits a step-up Enzugiri on Prohibition. Gargano twists Prohibition out of the corner with a faceplant and Façade breaks it up. Gargano side-steps a lionsault and hits a superkick. Gargano hits the Uniquely You, and Prohibition pulls the referee out of the ring. Façade knocks Prohibition off the apron into the guardrail. Façade pins Gargano, and Prohibition holds Gargano’s leg so that Façade gets the pin, eliminating Gargano from the match. Façade jaw-jacks with Gargano on the floor, allowing Prohibition to school boy him for the pin. This was a fun match, and my personal first look at Façade who wasn’t bad. Gargano is real good and a guy that I’ve had so much fun watching. Prohibition is good as well, and it seems like he never breaks out of the pack. Still, I enjoyed this, and they told a good story. ***
”I Quit” Dog Collar Match
“The Passion” John Thorne vs. Hailey Hatred
I am SO not a fan of man versus woman matches, but I’m led to understand that Hatred is a different type of women’s wrestler, so we’ll see. Thorne punches his fist wrapped in chain into Hatred’s head. Hatred crotches Thorne with the chain. She lays in kicks and shots to Thorne’s face. Hatred throws the chain into Thorne’s face, as his face lays against the ring post. Hatred rubs the chain into Thorne’s forehead. Hatred picks up a chair, and Thorne pulls the chain so that Hatred’s face rams into the chair, into the ring post. Thorne beats on Hatred using the chain around ringside, causing Hatred to bleed. Thorne ties up Hatred in the chain, and she refuses to quit. Hatred comes back with a series of kicks. Thorne throws her back first into the guardrail to stop her comeback. Thorne places Hatred’s head under the gurardrail. Thorne pulls up the chain to choke her, and while she screams in pain, she does not quit. Back in the ring, Thorne cuts off Hatred with a boot to the gut. Thorne hangs Hatred off the apron and chokes her with the chain. Hatred locks in a crossface with the chain across Hatred’s face. Hatred rolls forward and applies a headlock. Thorne escapes and comes off the second rope with a double stomp. Thorne hits a second double stomp. Thorne looks in a Dragon suplex and digs scissors into Hatred’s forehead. Hatred boots a chair that Thorne brought in, into his face. Hatred picks up the chain and smacks Thorne, then lays in kicks to Hatred. Hatred hits an exploder on the chair. She picks up the chair and lays in a few shots. Hatred applies an STF, with Hatred pulling the chain all across Thorne’s face. Thorne quits and the fans go nuts. Wow, so these two quite a great job telling a story and getting the fans into it. Thorne kept beating on poor Hatred, till she finally came back and kicked Thorne’s ass and embarrassed him by making him quit to a girl. From a psychology stand point, this was very good, and the fans got into it. ***1/2
AIW Tag Team Championship; TLC Match
The Young Studs (Champions; TJ Dynamite & Eric Ryan) vs. Faith in Nothing (Christian Faith & Vincent Nothing)
An all out brawl ensues as the bell ring. Faith in Nothing get the early lead, tossing Ryan over the top rope through a wooden table! Nothing sets up a ladder and climbs, and Dynamite knocks him down. Dynamite takes on both members of Faith in Nothing, using the ladder as a weapon. Ryan comes in, and he and Dynamite double team Faith in Nothing. Faith comes back, and Nothing comes to grips and helps him beat on Ryan. Dynamite gets whipped onto a ladder that’s squishing Ryan in the corner. Faith in Nothing pick up Dynamite and toss him into the ladder to squish Ryan again. As Nothing climbs the ladder, Ryan brings him off with the side Russian leg sweep. Faith power bombs Ryan off the ladder. Faith climbs up, and Dynamite comes off the ropes and dropkicks the ladder out from underneath Faith. Dynamite climbs up the ladder, and Nothing drops him off with a Death Valley Driver. Dynamite comes off the top with double knees to Faith, who is holding a ladder. The knees crush the ladder on Faith’s chest. Nothing German suplexes Dynamite, and as he falls back, he hits Ryan and Faith with the ladder. Ryan drops Nothing with a fisherman buster on the ladder! Faith gets whipped into a ladder on the floor, and Ryan follows him with a tope con heilo! In the ring, Nothing sets up two chairs seat first next to one another. Nothing drops Dynamite on the chairs with a Northern Lights suplex! Nothing drops Dynamite on the chair once more. Nothing buries both members of The Young Studs with a bunch of chairs, and the fans toss their chairs into the ring onto the Studs. As the Studs are now completely buried in chairs, Faith drops Dynamite with a Death Valley Driver off the top of the ladder onto the chairs! Faith in Nothing stacks up chairs in a very interesting position. They toss Ryan up in the air and he lands on the chairs. Nothing climbs a ladder, and he gets knocked off onto another ladder that is laying against the ropes. Nothing tries to climb again, and Ryan throws a chair at his head. Nothing again falls onto the ladder. Faith looks for a top con heilo onto Ryan who is on a table. He moves, and Nothing crashes through the table. Nothing and Ryan fight on the top of the ladder looking for the belt. Nothing brings Ryan off the top with a super t-bone suplex through a table set up in the corner! Faith climbs back in and grabs the belt to win. This was an insane TLC match, that really lived up to the TLC moniker. These guys did really crazy, and at points I consider stupid shit that the fans absolutely loved. I must give these guys props for working their asses off for such a small audience. Aside from Faith looking incredibly sloppy at the beginning, all the guys looked great and is by far the best match on the show. ***3/4
Absolute Championship; Fans Bring the Weapons
Drake Younger (Champion) vs. Jimmy Demarco
Drake brings out light tubes, and there’s barbed wire boards and other junk around the ring. They trade shots in the middle of the ring. Younger hits Demarco with a light tube in the head as Demarco tries a sunset flip. Younger headbutts a light tube into Demarco’s forehead. Younger snapmares Demarco and digs a broken light tube into his head. Drake uses a staple gun on the inside of Demarco’s leg. Younger staples a dollar bill onto the side of Demarco’s head. Demarco rolls to the floor disoriented. Younger picks up the barbed wire board and places it between the ring apron and the guardrail. Drake picks Demarco’s forehead with the wire and tosses Demarco back in the ring. Drake double stomps on a chair which has a light tube under it, onto Demarco’s back! Younger takes a cheese greater and rubs it against his forehead. Younger pours thumbtacks onto the ring apron. Younger looks for a suplex. Demarco drop toe holds Younger right on the tacks, and follows with a senton! Demarco slams Younger on the tumbtacks and chokes him. Demarco grabs a headlock. Demarco slams four light tubes tied together across Younger’s back. Demarco chokes Younger with a rope and brings Younger to the ring apron. Younger slams a few items onto Demarco, including a plush Goldberg. Younger looks for a piledriver. Demarco counters looking for a DDT. Drake scoops him and slams Demarco through the barbed wire board to the floor! Younger pins Demarco in the ring for two. Younger places another group of light tubes on the mat. Younger drops Demarco with a slam across the light tubes. Demarco kicks out yet again. Younger places more light tubes across Demarco’s chest before heading up top. Demarco cuts Younger off and follows up top. Demarco superplexes Younger off the top through the light tubes, only getting a two count! Demarco sets up two chairs with some space apart, light tubes set up between them. Drake smacks a computer keyboard on Demarco’s head. Younger powerbombs Demarco through the light tubes! Demarco kicks out, and sets up the chairs and light tubes again. He looks for a move off the top, and Younger reverses into a Death Valley Driver! Demarco somehow kicks out once more. Younger looks for a Drake’s Landing, and Façade hops on the apron to distract him. Shiima Xion; runs in and blasts Younger with light tubes across his head! Demarco hits a piledriver onto Drake on the chair. Younger kicks out and looks for the Drake’s Landing again. Demarco schoolboys Demarco for two. Younger tires one of his own. Younger and Demarco hit double clotheslines. Demarco low blows Younger and uses the ropes to pin Younger for the win. Demarco is your new Absolute Champion. Well, that too was incredibly crazy. Even more crazy then the match before it with WAY stupider shit. This isn’t my cup of tea, but these guys have some balls putting themselves through this kind of match. The fans ate up every moment of it, and the ending with Façade and Xion running in was interesting. I felt like the match died a bit from that point to the end, but still, this was nuts. If you don’t like hardcore wrestling, then you’ll hate this. Otherwise, I thought this was a real good hardcore match and a damn fine main event. ****
Overall: A very solid wrestling show that would be a good point for anyone looking to get into AIW. The show built up some stories for the future, and served as an even better one-off show. The final three matches were great if you’re a hardcore wrestling fan, and the opening tag match and the three-way with Gargano were good solid wrestling bouts. For a smaller independent show, I was impressed by what they delivered. All they need is to step-up their production values and they will be even better.
You can purchase AIW Absolution 4 at http://shop.aiwrestling.com
