-Taped from Berwyn, Illinois
-Your hosts are Phil Colvin and Derek St. Holmes
-Silas Young just got back from his vacation with Val Malone while all of us suckers in Chicago stayed in the cold. That’s the truth. Young says he’s going to be in the main event for a long time. Shane Hollister runs in. He’s healthy. He’s a champion himself. He gets Silas Young in the main event.
-Juice Robinson vs. Samuray Del Sol
Match in Five Words or Less: Del Sol Is Sloppy
Match Summary and Analysis: Robinson points out the lack of music but says he’s awesome. Del Sol shows his reckless side. Del Sol is wearing more of an Ultimo Dragon mask this month. Robinson looks good in a loss. He should turn down his own goofiness (and possibly hit puberty) because he’s looked good more than 50% of the time. Fairly harmless opener except for a couple screw-ups as Del Sol lots of diving and Robinson tosses him around.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Samuray Del Sol/4:51/*
-Knight Wagner, Jordan McEntyre, and Miss Eryn got rid of some dead weight and are now focused on the tag team titles. Wagner says they’re an Awesome Threesome. But just friends.
-Joey Eastman promo. He Says Mr. Eastman was one of his wive’s names. Oh my. Eastman seems to want a piece of Truth Martini but for now he calls down one of his former tag teams to the ring. Here come the Northstar Express. I guess Ryan Cruz not being in AAW was just a vicious rumor. Eastman runs over NSE’s wacky 2010 while the fans chant “Chick with a dick.” There were clearly some fans who were overserved on this night. Eastman ends his promo by offering to manage NSE once again. Corbin turns him down. The new Awesome Threesome comes out. Derek St. Holmes has an awkward moment with his nephew and makes reference to Wagner blowing his load early again. Eastman makes a joke in a similar vain. What a happy company this is.
-The Awesome Threesome (Knight Wagner and Jordan McEntyre w/Miss Eryn) vs. The Northstar Express (Darrin Corbin and Ryan Cruz/Joey Eastman)
Match in Five Words or Less: Huge win for Awesome Threesome
Match Summary and Analysis: Bit of a chaotic start. NSE break out their usual double team tactics. Eryn and Eastman each take turns tripping people. Heat segment on Corbin. It is noticeable that the NSE are more serious and not their usual goofy selves. Hot tag and the crowd sort of cheers for him. He goes to town. Double DDT that takes a little longer usual to set up. Cruz Control attempt. Eryn becomes involved and is pulled into the ring. Eastman in next. He takes his hat, jacket, and shoes off. CAT FIGHT! BEADS EVERYWHERE! St. Holmes gets a pearl joke. Corbin tosses his former manager. Wagner and McEntyre take advantage. Stacked DDT and Wagner gets the cover for three.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Awesome Threesome/8:10/**1/4
–This is a tipping point match for McEntyre and Wagner. No longer are they just a couple goofy lower card guys. With this victory, they can start to be taken more seriously. Plus, they could also be considered contenders for the AAW tag team titles.
-Krotch talks about his match with The CLASH. MsChif screams lot. Krotch introduces his cousin, Marion Fontaine. “The Stache” hits on Scarlet. MsChif screams again.
-Johnny Gargano vs. Marion Fontaine vs. Arik Cannon(w/Dave Prazak) vs. Matt Cross
Match in Five Words or Less: Cross Is Not Tough Enough
Match Summary and Analysis: Although it wasn’t stated on the show itself, I have it on good authority that the loser of the fall will be sent to compete on the upcoming season of Tough Enough. Why the loser? Would you wanna be stuck on that show getting trained by Hugh Morrus and yelled at by Steve Austin? It’s a battle of three Ohio guys and one Michigan guy. Fontaine makes his AAW debut against Johnny Gargano. I assume they’ve met in an Ohio federation somewhere. It’s a bit of a goofy sequence, but Fonataine endears himself to the Berwyn faithful. Cannon, a man on a losing streak, tries taking his frustrations out on Fontaine. Pace picks up as Cross comes in. This isn’t as bad as the Bore Corner Survivals Ring of Honor puts on, but it’s not as great as the DG USA Freestyles either. Phil Colvin gets an Ian Rotten reference. Not nice to bring up the dead like that. Fontaine impresses throughout the match and bumps for everyone else during most of the match. Definitely hopes he becomes a full-time roster member. Big flurry toward the end with Cross appearing to come out on top after hitting Cannon with a standing shooting star press. Then Gargano picks up his second straight victory over Matt Cross with a simple roll-up.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Johnny Gargano/15:31/***1/2
-Makes sense that two guys who’ve competed in a number of the freestyles would help make this into such a fun, easy to watch contest. Fontaine actually came out looking the best, even if he didn’t figure in the decision.
-N8 Mattison vs. Mason Beck
Match in Five Words or Less: A Competitive Match… Sort of.
Match Summary and Analysis: Mattison cuts a promo before the match reminding everyone who he is. A former AAW tag team champion with Truth Martini. The crowd makes it clear that Detroit sucks. Now that’s truth right there. Maybe this will be a more competitive bout for Beck than the last billion. Crowd wants him to shut up. I’m in agreement. Mattison sort of looks like Disco Machine, but he’s nowhere near the quality of dancer. As far as I know. Mattison tries working Beck’s leg but pretty much fails. At least the match isn’t a complete squash. Splash Mountain ends Mattison’s night.
-Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Mason Beck/4:56/*1/2
-This Mason Beck storyline really needs to start going somewhere and fast.
-Jimmy Jacobs vs. Jake Crist
Match in Five Words or Less: Short, To The Point
Match Summary and Analysis: Announcer Jimmy Dee said this was being filmed for a “documentary.” Wonder if WWE Studios is producing it? Anyway, Jacobs wins a short match showcasing all of his offense for a very special audience. Flying acecrusher followed by the senton gets Jacobs a singles victory.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Jimmy Jacobs/3:13/*
-Dave Crist and his Road Warrior gear come out to continue the fight with Jacobs. Lawrence makes the save even though they’re not exactly the best of friends. Jacobs takes his brace off. My thinking is the brace was on too tight. Jacobs asks Lawrence to team up with him to take on those two clowns. I guess it’s on.
-Jimmy Jacobs and Dan Lawrence vs. Irish Airborne (Dave and Jake Crist w/Val Malone)
Match in Five Words or Less: Set-up For Future Events
Match Summary and Analysis: Lawrence goes for an immediate dive and is caught. Jacobs dropkicks all three men. Brawl is on all over ringside. Lawrence takes a beating as Jacobs nurses his injured knee. If you want a textbook, straightforward, or southern style tag team match, I’d urge you to search elsewhere. Once the bell rings, Airborne works over Dan Lawrence. The drunken fans in that one corner are doing the Atlanta Braves cheer. DRUNK! Wait, did Justin Houston make his way to Berwyn and I missed it? Lawrence sloppily makes his way to the corner for a tag. Jacobs gingerly makes a babyface comeback. I have no idea what happened with Jacobs because he wasn’t out for a long period of time, and he looked fine at the next week’s DG USA shows. Lawrence blind tags in. Jacobs didn’t seem happy with that. Very awkward as Airborne get the advantage once again. Double stomp misses. Lawrence sunset flips for two. Jacobs hooks End time on Dave. Lawrence gets a sleeper on Jake. Jacobs rolls to the outside. Val Malone breaks the sleeper up. Lawrence sends her in the corner. He goes for a sliding face wash but nails his own partner. Airborne hits a spike piledriver for the victory.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Irish Airborne/8:56/**
-This match kind of fell of a cliff in the end. Jacobs was clearly hurt, and the match seemed to be hurt a lot. Good to see Airborne actually win a match, and I’d expect them to hold the tag team titles before 2011 is over.
-Dan Lawrence isn’t happy at all. He wants to settle the score IN A STEEL CAGE MATCH. That would be at the February 11 show at 115 Bourbon Street. Hard to have cage matches in the rather small Berwyn Eagles.
-Mason Beck wants Silas Young to notice him. You and about a million other people. Probably not wife though.
-AAW Tag Team Championship: Zero Gravity (Bret Gakiya and CJ Esparza)(champions) vs. Jesse Emerson and Nick Brubaker
Match in Five Words or Less: BOOBAKER
Match Summary and Analysis: Emerson and Brubaker have tagged up frequently in other promotions. Ironically, Brubaker used to be associated with Gakiya and Esparza. Amazing how Brubaker is the one who’s been in AAW before, but Emerson is the more impressive. Good double teams from the champs early. ZG has become so smooth and get better each month. Heat segment on Gakiya as the poor little fella takes a real beating. Esparza with a nice double dropkick in both men. Dropsault on Brubaker. Dive on Emerson. Clothesline back in the ring for two. Brubaker with a nice exploder on Esparza. Lariat on Gakiya. This match is a million times better than I expected. Back to work on Esparza, but he hits a DDT. To the top, but the challengers make use of the referee by shoving him into the ropes. Double superplex attempt but Gakiya disturbs that. Assisted moonsault on Brubaker. SHOOTING STAR ELBOW! 1-2-3!
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL AAW Tag Team Champions- Zero Gravity/8:56/***
-A surprisingly good little match here. Gravity showed their championship mettle by having a great match with a team that essentially had no credibility with the AAW audience. Brubaker showed improvement from the last time he was in AAW, and Emerson showed a little something toward the beginning of the match.
Chris Hall vs. Keith Walker
Match in Five Words or Less: These Guys Are Big
Match Summary and Analysis: I’ll be nice and just quote J.R. “This match had bowling shoe tendencies.” The nicest thing I can say about these two guys is they at least didn’t try to have a wrestling match. Lots of strikes and power moves. Walker breaks out a German suplex. Amazingly, the ring doesn’t break. Wasn’t there an angle where Walker said he wouldn’t wrestle in Berwyn? Am I supposed to put on TNA sunglasses and ignore it? I’ve ignored worse and dumber at least. The match wears out its welcome. This should have just been a two or three minute match. Walker kills Hall with a lariat.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Keith Walker/4:43/*
The CLASH (Cameron Skyy and Tommy Treznik) vs. Krotch and MsChif
Match in Five Words or Less: Can’t the Clash Win Clean?
Match Summary and Analysis: MsChif starts out quickly on Treznik. Krotch gets the better of Skyy by humping him. Lovely. More domination from the faces. Treznik nails Krotch from behind. He powders. Mena Libra of all people gets her men the advantage. Heat segment on Krotch. Libra prevents a hot tag by going after MsChif. She comes in and goes crazy on CLASH! Skyy hits a nice running bulldog. Springboard to the face and a drop toehold of Treznik into the buckle. Series of moves I don’t even know what to call. MsChif in with a DDT. Referee counts two before Libra pulls the him. So CLASH were beaten until their female manager bailed them out. Scarlett in but she fails. Samoan drop attempt. MsChif accidentally mists her before going after Libra. Skyy nails MsChif with a forearm. Krotch taken off the apron. Double death valley driver on MsChif.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The CLASH/10:51/**
-Keith Walker doesn’t do interviews. Then why was he standing there? Joey Eastman buried Walker for being a jacked up guy who does a couple cool moves. He’s past trying to manage NSE. Eastman decides to man up and challenge Truth Martini to a professional wrestling match. He’s going to FIGHT HIS FACE OFF!
Before we get to the review of the AAW championship match, you guys can all watch an extended clip of the match HERE!
-AAW Heavyweight Championship: Silas Young (Val Malone) (champion) vs. Shane Hollister (AAW Heritage Champion)
Match in Five Words or Less: Silas Young Rules
Match Summary and Analysis: Val Malone looks particularly slutty tonight. I’m sure that’s be design. Amazingly, this is the first time both singles champions have met in a one-on-one match. That’s pretty hard to believe, but it’s a testament to AAW that they’ve never blown their load on a match like that. It also raises the prestige of the Heritage championship when it can make you a default number one contender. Feeling out process until Young whiplashes Hollister off the top rope hard into the barrier. Hollister manages a comeback and gets a northern lights suplex for two. He misses a charge in the corner. Val Malone pushes Hollister into the ring steps. Young takes his time controlling the tempo of the match on Hollister. He works over Hollister’s back, kind of an odd move considering it was Hollister’s leg that kept him out of 2010 action. A couple of goals were achieved in this match. These two had a great wrestling main event. Hollister got to play his underdog babyface roll. Young continued playing the dominant heel champion who wrestles at his pace. Great work as Young makes a chinlock more than a resthold. Backbreaker held as he disregards his usual formula. Hollister breaks the hold with a couple knee strikes. Hollister hits a sweet swinging DDT. Black of a knee strike. Hollister counters out of the Finlay roll into a crucifix bomb. Battle on the top rope leads to a sunset bomb by the challenger. Plash is met with knees. Powerslam by Young for two. Young hits his backbreaker/lariat combo at last. Finlay roll. Springboard moonsault. 1-2-NO! Sleeperhold by the champion. Clubbering blow to the back. Hollister no sells the Finlay roll. Superkick while Young is upside down. Final cut. 1-2-NO! Irish Airborne hit the ring. Dan Lawrence makes the save. Mason Beck “accidentally” boots Hollister in the face. Forshadowing for next month. Finlay roll one more time. Springboard moonsault. 1-2-Well, that kickout was a bit excessive. Comeback by Hollister leads to an enziguri. Stomps Young’s head into the mat. Val Malone comes in the ring. Buzzsaw kick to the head. Young rolls Hollister up… and gets three? Hollister was shimmying all over, and it did not look like his shoulders were down. First 20 minutes of this match were about four star worthy. The intereference and messed up ending took the match down a quarter of a star or so.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL AAW Heavyweight Champion- Silas Young/26:47/***3/4
–Ryland Foxx is a new manager in AAW. He’s looking for someone with charisma and wrestling ability to show him every opportunity.
-Dave Prazak yells at Arik Cannon for not winning.
-The CLASH are not the enemies. They’re saviors. Starting actually beating people. Then we’ll talk. Mena Libra says MsChif will be her mission.
-Silas Young consoles his wife. He’s not excited about wrestling Raven and in fact calls him a junkie.
-Marion Fontaine is banging women in the women’s bathroom? He’s got a moustache.
-Juice Robinson can’t do anything right. He can’t even destroy his own locker room.
-Nate Mattison feels disrespected and is going to make a call.
-Zero Gravity are ready to take on Tony Kozina and Kyle O’Reilly.
-MsChif screams.
-Johnny Gargano is finally climbing the ladder of success in AAW. It’s only the beginning.
-Mason Beck’s boot wasn’t meant for Hollister.
-Walker doesn’t like cameras and kind of barks like a dog.
Finish of the Night: The Zero Gravity finish wasn’t particularly memorable, but it was clean and looked smooth.
Line of the Night: Joey Eastman’s line about premature ejaculation. He’s the only one who could make a line like that sound charming.
MVP: it’s about time I gave this award to someone who won the main event. Silas Young has been a stellar performer for AAW the last 18 months. The main event felt overbooked at times, but he excelled in parts of the match where fans lose interest. He’s been criminally underrated for a long time, and I’ll keep saying that until he starts receiving respect from promoters and fans.
The Verdict: The very definition of a set-up show. A lot of the events that took place at 115 Bourbon Street were set up by The Chaos Theory. I give the show a thumbs in the middle based on some solid wrestling in the title matches and the four way. I can’t say to run out of my way to see the show, but if you do purchase the show, nothing will straight up offend you at least.
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.
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