AAW 2010 Year in Review

Opening Thoughts
AAW in 2010 was better than 2009. That has to be made clear right from the start. It’s the first thing that comes to mind when it comes to AAW. In a year where so many companies found a way to frustrate or piss me off, AAW was in general a joy and pleasure to sit through.
Things I Liked About AAW in 2010
*Tag Team Division- Some incredible tag team matches occurred throughout the year. Teams like House of Truth and Age of the Fall controlled the division most of the year as the Phoenix Twins were forced to leave after the anniversary show. Faith in Nothing, a team I was almost sure would take the belt some time in 2010, quit both AAW and appeared to have left the business. Zero Gravity and Aeroform came on strong late in the year and will definitely be two of the top teams in 2011. With the various departures that have occurred, I’m hopeful some new teams make their way into AAW to freshen things up and give Zero Gravity strong title defenses.
*Booking of Tyler Black- AAW was put in a very tough spot once Tyler Black (finally) won the Ring of Honor championship. They couldn’t really have him jobbing out to people, so they compensated by reuniting Age of the Fall and having them carry the tag team titles most of the year. Jacobs and Black got to have a very good seven month title reign as babyface champions. The improvements these two have made since 2007 showed themselves in many title defenses. Jacobs made superman comebacks while Black conducted himself like an AAW icon. It’s only fitting that the company who put him on the map as a wrestler had the opportunity to book his last independent wrestling match ever in a match that was one of the best of the year no matter the company.
*Shane Hollister’s Comeback- Shane Hollister suffered a serious leg injury at the beginning of 2010, which took him out of action just as he had made his first appearance in Ring of Honor was readying for a debut in Evolve. While Hollister could have easily been taken out of AAW for the rest of 2010, he made a surprise comeback at Defining Moment: Fade to Black. The only person more surprised than me at Hollister’s return had to be Arik Cannon, who lost the AAW Heritage champion in only 27 seconds. AAW then booked Hollister in a really unique and innovative way. They brought in really good wrestlers and had Hollister beat them. Wacky concept in 2010. Look for Hollister to be a long term champion and receive opportunities in bigger independent companies.
*Christian Able- Even before Josh Raymond made his decision to retire, it was obvious to any AAW fan Christian Able was starting to find his own niche. Reign of Violence served as his own personal showcase with multiple interviews and a dominating performance in a four way match to earn a shot at the tag team titles. I’m stoked to see what Able will do on his own in AAW. He won’t be shackled by a lame partner any in this company. I fully expect him to be a top singles competitor by this time next year.
*Silas Young- The booking of Silas Young, as I’ll probably say a million times in this column, was just about impeccable. He came across as a heel champion who knew how to outsmart and outwrestle people. Young didn’t try to be a cool heel who did a lot of flashy moves. He ripped and sneered the fans every time he got on the microphone. He had great wrestling matches but wasn’t above shady tactics in order to save his title. As incredibly long as a 14 month title reign might be, I could see his title reign going 14 more months and not getting tired of it. Young has been that good this year, and AAW has provided him with a great forum for success. If only other companies could see that.
Things I Didn’t Like About AAW in 2010
*Iowa Shows- I understand what AAW was trying to do by running in Iowa. Expanding into new markets is important for survival. Unfortunately, it never felt like AAW was comfortable with those Iowa shows. They were the very definition of B shows and came across like real time wasters on DVD instead of something to get the product over in an unfamiliar environment.
*Clash Wrestling’s First Match- Clash Wrestling could be a top heel group for AAW, and with recent departures, AAW needs fresh bodies. Cameron Skyy cuts great promos, and their introduction was solid. Then Mr. Miller (representing Clash Wrestling) wrestled Krotch and nearly ruined the entire angle. Instead of being a five minute squash designed to make Clash Wrestling look like a dominate threat, Krotch fought them off for what nearly seemed like eight hours (in reality about 15 minutes) before finally getting his shoulder pinned to the mat. If that wasn’t enough, Mr. Miller injured himself and ended up in the hospital.
*DVD Production- I think AAW has one of the real advantages in all of indy wrestling with a big screen in the Berwyn Eagles Club for video promos. However, I think they need to clean up some of their other production issues. I’d like to see the hard camera shot improve to the point where I can clearly see the wrestlers’ and fans’ faces. I understand AAW’s want to have a gritty underground feel, but I think in an era of HD and improving video among a number of other wrestling companies, AAW must improve the way they do things. I think the audio needs to improve when it comes to the announcers. There are some inconsistencies that can be changed for the better as far as how the announcers sound.
*Promotion/Marketing of Merchandise- Being at AAW in Berwyn on a monthly basis is a great experience. Unfortunately, not everyone has the opportunity to attend these shows. I feel like there are all these great matches and shows being put out, but not a whole lot of people are seeing them. Twitter and Facebook are not a be all/end all for marketing merchandise, but they are free tools to use to promote new releases or showcase their vast DVD collection. Also, I may not be a fan of messageboard, but for a company like AAW, it can also be an invaluable resource to promote all aspects of the company. Unlike a lot of independent wrestling companies, AAW has the benefit of being partnered with Smart Mark Video to put forth their DVDs on a monthly basis. Releasing shows two or three months after the fact is not an issue for them. It is to AAW’s advantage to put more focus on selling DVDs and merchandise. I don’t think they’re trying to take over the world, but based other wrestling companies I’ve seen across the Chicagoland area, it’d be nice if they took this metropolis over.
*Homegrown Talent- Take a look at the AAW roster page. You might be amazed at how few wrestlers come from Chicago or the suburbs. Because of a lack of talent in this area, AAW has to bring in wrestlers from the neighboring Midwest states just to maintain a decent roster. I don’t have a reason for why Da Soul Touchaz aren’t being booked, but AAW has to find a way to create their own stars who don’t need to drive out-of-state in order to be on a quality wrestling. I’d like to see AAW open up some sort of school and be able to have a situation like CHIKARA or CZW does where they can fill out a card with their own workers instead of bringing mediocre talent from elsewhere or filling out shows with out-of-state guys who won’t be around AAW for longer than one show.
Overall, I’d like to think AAW has done a lot of really good things in 2010. The booking was consistent. The in ring action was solid. I think a lot of the negatives are easily correctable and mostly nitpicks. The biggest issue is likely always going to be replenishing the roster. AAW is not a destination independent wrestling company right now, but I think this company has a lot of potential moving forward. They run angles that make sense and don’t keep things too complicated. Plus, they have dollar beers.
Awards
Wrestler/MVP/Promo of the Year- Silas Young: A fairly easy decision based on the fact he was the AAW champion from January 1 2010 until January 10, 2010. He had some fantastic matches throughout the year and defeated a who’s who in independent wrestling. Colt Cabana. Jimmy Jacobs. Tyler Black. Ricochet. Incredible to think in an era of bastardized championships and guys who don’t deserve to hold belts holding belts that Young has been the champion for a whopping 14 months. Even better than his matches are his promos. He is so good at what he does. Young gets legit heel heat from the Eagles club. His promo work is also tremendous. This has significantly improved too. A key part of Young’s work is now his promo work. They’re focused, cerebral, and always on point. Go to youtube and watch some of the post-show interview sessions. If you’re not noticing how good Young is on promos, I have no idea what you’re watching. Major props to him for carrying the company the entire year amidst all the changes and transitions.
Tag Team of the Year/Most Improved/Breakout of the Year- Zero Gravity: Bret Gakiya and CJ Esparza went from individuals who just did some nice spotty high flying type stuff to a more complete tag team. They still have to work on their timing and becoming more crisp as individuals, but they became stars in AAW. Unfortunately, AAW’s tag team division became significantly worse with the departures of Josh Raymond, Ryan Cruz and Tyler Black. ZG basically became the default team who got the belts. Hopefully, a new slew of challengers rise to make Zero Gravity one of the top tag teams in not only AAW but in all of indy wrestling.
Match of the Year- Tyler Black and Jimmy Jacobs vs. House of Truth (Josh Raymond and Christian Able) (Defining Moment- Fade to Black): An incredible wild ride of a match. I had the barbed wire match from the anniversary show as my match of the year until my rewatch product began. A very good match that every indy fan needs to see. Even if you’re not an AAW fan, this is one of my favorite matches of 2010 for so many reasons. A lot of great moments and the ending was perfect with Raymond rolling Black up. A perfect ending to what was the last indy match of both men’s careers.
Tenacious Thoughts about AAW in 2010 (By: Phil Colvin)
This year was a real roller coaster ride for AAW. We lost many of our top guys on the roster for various reasons but I still believe we were able to have a really solid year thanks to some guys who really stepped up. It was tough coming up with a favorite match this year as there were three or four that really stood out to me but I have to go with Tyler Black’s last match where he teamed with Jimmy Jacobs to defend the Tag Team Titles against The House of Truth (Josh Raymond and Christian Able).
We really needed this match to be a home run with it being a Dragon Gate USA weekend and Bryan Danielson having to cancel our booking. I believe it delivered in every possible way. Of course the fans wanted to see Tyler one last time in a small venue like the Eagles Club but everyone in that match worked their butts off. Jimmy was just coming back from a short time off and looked to be in the best shape of his career. Christian Able has come a long way in the past twelve months and played his part as the brutish strong man perfectly here. Truth Martini displayed his usual presence and perfect timing at ringside and Josh Raymond laid it all on the line. I think looking back at this match there were probably very few people that knew this was going to be Josh’s last match as well. I think it was kind of poetic that he and Tyler both finished out their careers on the indies together as they pushed each other so hard for years in various organizations. I really enjoyed the finish with Silas Young coming out and breaking his truce with Jimmy Jacobs to take him out of the match and leave Tyler on his own. The false finishes at the end had all the fans believing he was going to overcome the odds and then BAM! Josh rolls up Tyler and gets the win. It was a perfectly worked and memorable match and it’s bouts like this that make me feel privileged that I get the chance to call the action.
Predictions for 2011
*Silas Young will remain AAW champion until the anniversary show when he loses the belt to Dan Lawrence in Berwyn. Lawrence will immediately turn around and lose the belt to Arik Cannon in April. Cannon will end 2011 with the AAW heavyweight title. No, this is not an excuse to try and get Cannon on of our podcasts. Although I’d really like to.
*Zero Gravity retains the tag team title for the first six months and take on all challengers. The Phoenix Twins return to AAW and lose to Esparza and Gakiya. Aeroform puts forth a great effort but loses. Roderick Strong comes to AAW to team with Christian Able and cannot bring the belts back to House of Truth. Who finally takes the titles? Some combination of the Clash Wrestling talent. That group will get a major push. If not them, I’ll say Irish Airborne takes the belts in July or August.
*Christian Able breaks away from the tag team scene and wins the Heritage title from Shane Hollister in the fall. Hollister will then become a main eventer while Able begins his road to singles glory (and hopefully a WWE contract in 2012).
*AAW has already announced a new venue for February. The next step? Leaving Illinois once more and heading to a new state that isn’t Iowa. I am most confident about this prediction.
.*Jimmy Jacobs will turn heel and turn some lower card babyface into a borderline main eventer just because he can.
Links
The Jeff Peterson Cup 2009 (Originally posted February 2, 2010)
Night of Vengeance (Originally posted April 28, 2010)
War is Coming (Originally posted May 5, 2010)
Twisted Christmas (Originally posted February 2, 2010)
Redemption (Originally posted May 12, 2010)
Auditions (Originally posted May 13, 2010)
The Chaos Theory (Originally posted January 22, 2010)
My Bloody Valentine (Originally posted March 23, 2010)
The Independent Tour De Force (Originally posted March 30, 2010)
6th Anniversary Show (Originally posted April 21, 2010)
Point of No Return (Originally posted June 23, 2010)
Appetite for Destruction (Originally posted June 29, 2010)
Scott County Showdown and Epic (Originally posted September 15, 2010)
Bound by Hate (Originally posted September 16, 2010)
Scars and Stripes (Originally posted September 23, 2010)
Reign of Violence (Originally posted October 21, 2010)
Defining Moment: Fade to Black (Originally posted November 3, 2010)
Massacre on 26th Street (Originally posted December 1, 2010
For more information on AAW and their upcoming shows, check out AAW’s Website. To buy this and many otherAAW DVDs, check out Smart Mark Video. To read past AAW reviews, check out my AAW blog. Below is a list of contact information for both the website and me.
Contact Pro Wrestling Ponderings!
E-mail: mailbag@prowrestlingponderings.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/pwponderings
Twitter: www.twitter.com/pwponderings
Youtube: www.youtube.com/pwponderings
Read my blogs!
Pro Wrestling Guerilla: www.guerillaeffect.wordpress.com
AAW: www.aawdefined.wordpress.com
Contact ME!
E-mail: jcusson07@gmail.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeromesellsout