Lakewood, OH – 9.17.2010
Commentary is provided by Matt Wadsworth and Aaron Bauer.
The show opens with Blackballed of Lamont Williams, “Kano” Josh Emanuel, and Shawn Blaze coming out. Williams issues an open challenge to anyone. Mr. RBI and The Kombat Kid answer the challenge, looking for revenge from last month’s show.
Mr. RBI & The Kombat Kid vs. Blackballed (Lamont Williams & “Kano” Josh Emanuel)
Blackballed stomp on Kid and RBI as they slide into the ring. Blackballed toss them to the floor. Kid and RBI both block baseball slides from their opponents. RBI and Kid each hit a pescado. They throw Williams and Kano’s heads together on the floor. Kid stomps on Kano back in the ring. Kid goes out to brawl with Williams while Kano kicks RBI right in the back. RBI sends Kano the apron and punches him into the guardrails. Williams brings Kid back into the ring. Kid takes Williams down with a leg whip and a dropkick. RBI pounds on Kano on the floor. Kid takes Williams over with a leaping hurricanrana for two. Shawn Blaze trips Kid on the top rope, and Williams kicks him in the mid-section. Blackballed isolate Kid in their corner. Kid comes back with a wheelbarrow bulldog on Williams. Kano cuts him off quickly and continues to work him over. Williams tags in to assist, and Kidd drops him with a DDT. RBI stops Kano from knocking him off the apron. They come into the ring and RBI hits a lariat. Williams breaks the count. RBI goes up and over Williams and knocks him down with a clothesline. He tries a pin, but is not the legal man. Kano brings RBI to the floor and DDT’s him onto the apron. Williams rolls through Kid’s crossbody and picks him up in a fireman’s carry. Williams distracts the referee to allow Blaze to hit Kid with a superkick. Williams picks up the pin at 10:47. This was just as good as their match from last month, if not better. The crowd was much more vocal and they kept the match brief. Blackballed are a great team of ass kickers and are easily the most underrated guys in the company. RBI and Kid have a lot of skill too, but really should get matching gimmicks/gear if they decide to remain a team.
Tim Donst vs. Marion Fontaine
Fontaine does a hip swivel to infuriate Donst. They trade headlocks. Donst grabs Fontaine by his mustache. Donst gets him in a hammerlock, which Fontaine reverses. Donst puts on a full nelson, which Fontaine reverses with a hip swivel. Fontaine blocks a back elbow and applies an abdominal stretch. Donst reverses. Fontaine steps out while placing the referee into the abdominal position. Donst shoves the referee off and Fontaine gives him a crossbody. Fontaine snapmares Donst into a springboard corssbody. Fontaine goes for a splash, but Donst gets his knees up to counter. Donst gives Fontaine a knee to the gut for two. Donst shoulder blocks Fontaine in the corner. Donst whips Fontaine chest first into the corner for two. Fontaine schoolboys Donst for two. He superkicks Donst twice. Donst hits a bulldog. Fontaine blocks a belly-to-belly suplex. Donst rolls to the floor. Fontaine tries a crossbody, but Donst catches him and military press slams Fontaine on the ring apron. Donst drops Fontaine off the apron onto his knee on the floor. Donst brings Fontaine in from the apron with a belly-to-belly suplex for two. Donst drops Fontaine with the Gator Roll for two. Fontaine blocks a bulldog and superkicks Donst to the floor. Fontaine springboards onto Donst with a senton. Fontaine brings Donst back into the ring. He hits a frog splash for the pin at 8:56. Fontaine really has gotten over, and I’m surprised he isn’t higher up the cards. Donst has been a good addition to the roster over the past few shows and I am glad he seems to be sticking around. **1/2
Six Pack Elimination Scramble; Intense Division Championship #1 Contendership
Corey Winter vs. AERO vs. The Duke vs. Matt Cross vs. Colt Cabana vs. Dalton Castle
Cabana and Castle start. Castle shoves Cabana out of a lock up. Cabana stops Castle from running the ropes and slaps him in the face. Everyone but Winters (including the referee) slaps Castle. Castle tags in Winter. Cabana rolls on the mat to reverse a wristlock. Winters hits a sole butt and a hard clothesline for one. Cabana elbows him in the face. AERO blind tags in. He takes Cabana over with a hurricanrana. Cross tags in. He and AERO go back and forth, reaching a stalemate. AERO kicks Cross and punches him in the face. Duke blind tags in and knocks AERO down with a clothesline. He throws AERO overhead with a fallaway slam. Duke takes him over with a butterfly suplex for two. Duke delivers an overhand chop and tags in Winters. Winters and Duke hit a side slam/legdrop combo for two. Winters hits a senton for two. AERO nails Winters with a step-up enzuigiri in the corner. Cabana tags in and knocks him down with an elbow from the top rope. Cabana drops him with a spinning air raid crash across his knee for the elimination at 7:26. Castle attacks Cabana from behind and digs his knees into Cabana’s back. Castle knees Cabana in the face and nails him with a hard forearm. Castle tries a deadlift German, but Cabana breaks free. Cabana tags in Duke who knocks down Castle with a few clotheslines. Duke drops him with a sit-down reverse piledriver for the pin at 10:34. AERO runs in and schoolboys Duke for the elimination at 10:47. Cabana comes in. AERO drops him with a wheelbarrow bulldog. Cross tags in with a crossbody to Cabana for two. He hits a standing moonsault for two. Cross kicks Cabana in the shoulders. Cabana hits him with a flying hip attack for two. Cabana hits him with a bionic elbow. Cross comes back with a tilt-a-whirl DDT. Cabana crotches Cross on the top rope. AERO blind tags in and crossbody’s Cabana for two. Cabana drops AERO with a spinning Air Raid Crash across the back of his knee for the pin at 13:56. Cross immediately hits Cabana with a shooting star press for the elimination and the victory at 14:03. This was a fun match-up that gave each guy enough time to shine. Cross definitely looked the best out of everyone and was the best choice to win. Good stuff from everyone involved. **3/4
Chest Flexor comes to the ring to make an announcement. Essentially, Flexor is going to use his money to lead a group of the best wrestlers he can gather. Flexor decides to sit ringside to take a better look at the talent here tonight.
AIW Women’s Championship
Angeldust (Champion) vs. Super Oprah
Oprah grabs Angeldust by her head but releases quickly. Oprah breaks a waistlock. She places Angeldust on the top rope and brushes her face. Angeldust kicks Oprah in the face and hits an enzuigiri after a solebutt. Angeldust hits a few forearms. Oprah traps Angeldust’s arms and kisses her. Oprah turns a headscissors from Angeldust into a hard side slam for two. Oprah hits a scoop slam and a legdrop for two. Oprah blocks Angeldust’s attack with a big chokeslam. Angeldust evades a cannonball senton in the corner. Angeldust drops her with a crucifix bomb for the pin at 4:47. This packed a big punch for such a short match. Oprah is vicious considering the nature of his/her character. Angeldust is pretty great too, and is a great flag berarer for the women’s division. **
Gregory Iron vs. “Aftermath” Justin Lee
Iron attacks Lee ringside before Lee’s introduction is over. Iron slides in the ring with a chair, but Lee stomps him as he comes in. Iron hits a back elbow and a Thesz Press. Iron hits a senton. He chokes Lee with the Slipknot shirt he was wearing. Iron goes up top. Lee throws a steel chair at Iron’s head, causing Iron to fall to the floor. Lee puts the chair onto Iron’s back and throws him back first into the guardrail. Lee continues to pummel Iron in the ring, but Iron refuses to stay down. Iron fights Lee off the top rope. He misses an elbow drop. Lee drops Iron with a butterfly facebuster across his knee for two. Lee sits Iron in the chair. Iron ducks a boot and drops Lee face first on the chair with a reverse STO. Hobo Joe runs in the ring and lays in punches to his former partner Gregory Iron. Lee and Joe look for a conchairto. Iron ducks and they hit each other instead. Iron drops Joe with a reverse STO and DDT’s Lee onto the chair for the pin at 10:05. I really enjoyed this match. It was an excellent play off of their encounter at “Youth Gone Wild” and didn’t feel contrived at all. Lee really has come out of nowhere, and Iron is one of the most improved wrestlers on the roster. ***
The Olsen Twins (Colin & Jimmy Olsen) vs. The Young Studs (Eric Ryan & Bobby Beverly)
Bauer takes the side of the Young Studs for this match, so Colt Cabana takes over his spot on the commentary booth shaped like a table for this match. Jimmy does some dancing but gets kicked by Beverly. Jimmy and Beverly exchange wristlocks. Jimmy stomps on Beverly to make him dance. Beverly knocks Jimmy down. Ryan and Colin tag in. They trade wristlocks. Colin and Ryan play “Can you top this?” with somersaults, cartwheels, etc. The Olsens double team Beverly. Ryan is brought back in by Jimmy. The Olsens double team him as well, but only get a two count. Ryan whips Jimmy into a knee strike from Beverly. The Studs take turns wearing down Jimmy in their corner while Chest Flexor looks on. Jimmy and Ryan knock each other down with stereo clotheslines, which allows Jimmy to tag in Colin. Colin knocks both Beverly and Ryan down. Beverly gives Colin a uranage backbreaker for two. Colin dropkicks Beverly in the corner. Ryan whips Colin to the corner and follows in with a forearm. Beverly accidentally superkicks Ryan instead of Colin. Colin hip tosses Beverly into a knee strike. Jimmy rolls up Ryan for two. Ryan gives Jimmy a dropsault. Jimmy wheelbarrows Ryan into a powerbomb from Colin. Beverly comes in, but doesn’t save Ryan from getting pinned at 12:19. Pretty good tag match, but not the best I’ve seen from either team. Obviously the match was a backdrop between the story of Ryan and Beverly. **
Beverly slaps Ryan after the match. Ryan drops him with a Death Valley Driver. The Young Studs are no more!
Tommy Mercer vs. Facade
Façade backs Mercer to the corner and breaks cleanly. Mercer reverses a headlock and takes Façade over. Mercer knocks Façade down with a shoulder block and a clothesline. Mercer gives Façade multiple punches in the corner. Façade lands on Mercer with a springboard moonsault press for two. Mercer backs Façade into the corner. Façade kicks away at Mercer’s ribs and head. Façade trips Mercer into a Muta Lock. Façade releases the hold and hits a basement dropkick for two. Façade ducks a clothesline from Mercer and kicks him in the face for a two count. Mercer takes down Façade with a spear. Façade and Mercer throw stereo clotheslines. Mercer knocks Façade down and hits a scoop slam. Mercer grabs a cravate and knees Mercer in the face. He drops him with a neckbreaker for two. Mercer hits a Michinoku Driver for two. Mercer puts Façade on the apron. Façade slingshots into a tornado DDT. Façade hits a top rope quebrada for two. Façade walks the top rope and dropkicks a chair into Mercer’s face. On the floor, Façade throws Mercer into the guardrail. Façade throws a beer on Mercer and places him on the ringside table. Mercer gets off the table. Façade springboard dives onto him. Façade rolls Mercer back into the ring for a two count. Façade blocks a spin-out slam. He drops down the top rope to send Mercer to the apron. Mercer crotches Façade on the top rope and drops him through the ringside table with a Death Valley Driver! Mercer only gets a two count back in the ring. Sterling James Keenan’s theme music hits the PA system which distracts Mercer. This allows Façade to roll up Mercer for the pin at 15:11. What a great brawl this one. The Death Valley Driver was a sick spot, as were all the chair spots. It took a bit of time in the beginning for this to really pick up, but once it did the rest of the match was executed very well. The crowd ate this up and made both guys’ stock in the company rise. ***1/2
Mercer challenges Keenan to a match on November 26th.
AIW Tag Team Championship
Aeroform (Flip Kendrick & Louis Lyndon) (Champions) vs. Da Latin Crime Syndicate (Luis Diamante & K. Fernandez)
The Duke does special commentary on this match. Joey The Snake and Isaac Montana are in the corner of DLCS. Diamante powers Kendrick to the mat. Kendrick comes back with a pair of armdrag variations and a dropkick. Lyndon tags in and hits a tandem sole but with Kendrick for two. Diamante gives Lyndon a backbreaker for two. Fernandez tags I and chokes Lyndon in the corner. Lyndon comes off Fernandez’s shoulders with an armdrag. Lyndon misses a slingshot senton, but knocks down Fernandez with double palm strikes. Lyndon prevents a DLCS double team and dropkicks their legs out. Lyndon applies two simultaneous Muta Locks. Kendrick dropkicks them in the face. Diamante beats up Kendrick on the floor. Fernandez distracts the referee so the other two DLCS members can stomp on Lyndon. Everyone from DLCS get their hands on Lyndon in the ring, without any penalty from the referee. Lyndon escapes their grasp and tags in Kendrick. He hits a top rope dropkick on Fernandez. He hits a standing tornado splash for two. Diamante drops him with a pump handle driver and Lyndon breaks the pin. Lyndon sends Diamante into Fernandez. Kendrick takes both Diamante and Fernandez down with a hurricanrana at the same time. Lyndon backdrops Fernandez onto Joey and Montana. Lyndon hits a moonsault onto DLCS. Lyndon wheelbarrows into a modified X-Factor. Kendrick hits a springboard tornado splash on Diamante to score the pin at 11:28. Good tag match, but not great. DLCS pulling a Freebirds with no penalty was really annoying. DLCS also looked off their game tonight, which is a shame. Aeroform certainly looked better and make good champs. **1/2
Intense Division Championship
Shiima Xion (Champion) vs. Matt Cross
Cross backflips into a headscissors that sends Xion to the floor. Xion pulls Cross down face first on the mat. Xion hot shots Cross on the steel guardrail. Cross sends Xion into the crowd and follows up with a springboard double stomp. In the ring, Cross attacks Xion in the corner. Xion comes back with a running knee strike. Xion flips Cross into a facebuster for two. Xion grapevines Cross’ legs and torques on his neck. Xion hits double knees on Cross’ neck to choke him on the middle rope. Xion mule kicks Cross for two. Xion stomps on Cross’ face. He turns Cross over into a grapevine surfboard. Xion springboards into a dropkick from Cross. Xion hits a moonsault for two. Cross misses a bicycle kick but nails a chinbreaker. He hits a rolling forearm that sends Xion to the floor. Xion cuts off Cross’ dive attempt. Cross hits another rolling forearm for two. Xion evades a double stomp. Cross hits the bicycle kick for two. Cross knocks Xion off the top rope with a headbutt. Cross cartwheels off the top rope, but Xion catches him with a neckbreaker. Xion drops him with a crucifix bomb for two. He transitions into a crossface. Cross drops Xion with a Death Valley Driver across his knee. Xion drops Cross with a back suplex into a facebuster. Xion hits a superkick, and Cross hits another bicycle kick. He follows up with a standing shooting star press for two. Xion catches Cross coming off the top with a shooting star press and applies the crossface. Cross taps out at 12:10. Another fun match, with lots of cool counters and acrobatic. These two played off each other really well and put together a solid bout. ***
Absolute Championship
Johnny Gargano (Champion) vs. Dave Crist
Crist spends a lot of time jaw-jacking with fans. Crist takes Gargano down into a front chancery. Gargano transitions into a wristlock, and Crist jumps up to armdrag Gargano over. Gargano and Crist circle each other, throwing kicks at each other’s legs. They fight for control on the mat. Gargano applies a headlock. Crist shoots Gargano off and dropkicks him to the floor. Gargano runs in and sends Crist to the floor with a hurricanrana. Crist springboards back in and hits a sole butt. Crist schoolboys Gargano. Gargano hops up, leading to a stalemate. Gargano hits the Code Breaker. Gargano places Crist on the middle rope in the corner and dropkicks him in the shoulder. Gargano throws Crist down on his stomach. He tries a La Magistral but only gets two. Crist gives Gargano a barrage of elbows and then snapmares Gargano into a second rope dropkick. Crist hits a standing moonsault for two. Crist gives him a headbutt. Gargano gets a knee up to block Crist’s top rope moonsault. Gargano hits a few clotheslines, knees, and a sole butt. Gargano hits the slingshot spear for two. Gargano O’Conner rolls Crist. He turns Crist around and stomps on his neck. Gargano hits a superkick and Crist grabs the bottom rope to break the pin. Crist blocks the lawn dart and hits a shiranui for two. Gargano and Crist exchange fists. Gargano hits a superkick. Crist lands an enzuigiri. Crist and Gargano knock each other down with stereo clotheslines. Gargano looks for a cross-legged cloverleaf, but Crist prawnholds Gargano for two. Gargano blocks an enzuigiri and locks in the cross-legged cloverleaf. Crist taps out at 18:18. I’m actually surprised at how well Crist did in a singles match. He and Gargano meshed very well and told a great story with each guy countering whatever the other threw out. Gargano is three for three in good title matches and has gotten that cross-legged cloverleaf over like a mother. ***
Overall: “Ascension” features a number of breakout performances from the guys on the AIW roster. The one thing I really like is the mixing of “names” on the independent scene (Cabana, Donst, Cross, Olsens) mixed with the undiscovered talent AIW features (Iron, Facade, etc.) to create a really unique show. This show features a lot of hard working wrestlers who come together to put on a good show. Mercer vs. Facade is a great brawl, and all of the title matches deliver in one way or another. This gets a recommendation from me. You can pick up the show at AIW’s Store or Smart Mark Video.
AIW – Ascension (Teaser) from DK Productions Now on Vimeo.