-Highlights of what happened at the Windy City Classic are shown. Shane Hollister lost to Gregory Iron. Hollister brainbusters Iron on the floor and feels vindicated. If you look up how to do a heel turn, that’s a fine way to start.
-Taped from Berwyn, IL
-Your hosts are Phil Colvin and special guest commentator for the night Eric Priest
-Kevin Harvey has a lot of issues to deal with and declares outside interference banned. I give three matches before that rule is broken.
-Zero Gravity (CJ Esparza and Bret Gakiya) vs. Samuray Del Sol and T.D. Thomas
Match in Five Words or Less: Quick As Lightning
Match Highlights: This was a match that showcased the quickness of both teams. Too many high spots to even call. Lots of double teams by both sides. Double team assisted hurancanrana on Del Sol. Double tope suicidas. Then they switch sides and dive. Not even much of a traditional tag team match as ZG hits a flippy cup to pick up the victory.
Match Analysis: A perfectly fine way to begin a show as ZG continues to build toward a tag team title rematch. Thomas and Del Sol desperately need something to do, and a team would seem to serve a duel purpose. Let them showcase themselves and allow them to receive increased chances in AAW.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Zero Gravity/5:40/*1/2
-Truth Martini makes metaphors and says Danny Daniels is ready to unleash himself. He talks about the moments he loves concerning his boys. He turns his attention to poor Nate Matteson. Matteson has a ruptured testicle courtesy of one Darrin Corbin. Hey, at least he has the night off. As they leave, Corbin comes from behind and kicks Matteson in the balls again. Poor guy.
-Mason Beck vs. Matt Knicks
Match in Five Words or Less: Back to Squashville
Match Highlights: Beck was supposed to wrestle Mike Elgin in an AAW Heritage championship rematch. Since Elgin isn’t here, Beck kills Knicks for fun. He toys with Knicks, slaps, and tosses him about. Minimal offense from Knicks but he does get a nice rana off the ropes. Beck no sells and hits Beck Mountain for three. Man, Matt was like the New York Knicks in a playoff series here.
Match Analysis: Not much you can do when someone doesn’t show up, but on a show with absolutely no depth, they really needed something to deliver.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Mason Beck/3:27/*
-Awesome Threesome interview. They’ve been on a losing streak even as they’ve gotten better in the ring the last few months. McEntyre complains about management and their mistreatment. Wagner turns his attention to his trainer, Danny Daniels. He illustrates his goals. Ryland Foxx wants Wagner to be fired up. Wagner screams in his face and heads to the ring.
-Danny Daniels (w/Keith Walker) vs. Knight Wagner (w/Eryn)
Match in Five Words or Less: Teacher Versus Student
Match Highlights: Wagner calls out Daniels before the match. Ryland Foxx takes off before the bell rings. Wagner charges right away bit gets distracted by Walker. Solid back and forth contest between these two. Clear roles are established. Wagner actually acts like the underdog babyface. Daniels is a dastardly heel. There is a clear familiarity between Daniels and Wagner which helps. Daniels tosses Wagner out of the ring, rams his back against the rail, and suplexes him on the wood. Walker also becomes involved. Russian legsweep and leg drop by Wagner. Sweet axe kick gets two. Walker grabs the leg. Daniels piledrives Wagner on the stairs. Back in the ring. You can count to 30. Done.
Match Analysis: Nothing spectacular but nothing great either. An acceptable wrestling match to get Daniels started back on the comeback trail.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Danny Daniels/6:11/**
-Walker continues the beatdown on Wagner. Eryn tries making the save. Uh oh. Daniels piledrives her on the stairs because he’s a jerk. Jordan McEntyre walks out too late to make a save. Why are the referees holding him back so vociferously? Keith Walker has the mic. Announcers make fun of him for being a muscle head. Walker calls out Joey Eastman. Eastman brings Foxx back out to get the microphone. “Jacked up monkey” chant ensues. Eastman has rekindled a friendship with Tweek Phoenix. He promises Walker will get his butt kicked. Tweek from behind with powder. He sends Daniels out. Get a ref out.
-Tweek Phoenix (w/Joey Eastman) vs. Keith Walker (w/Danny Daniels)
Match in Five Words or Less: Walker Smash
Match Highlights: Phoenix maintains the advantage as the bell rings. Shoulder tackle by Walker. Press slam on the outside. Senton on the floor. Walker brawls but misses a charge to the post. Tweek goes for a sleeper. To the choke with a shirt. Chop exchange which Walker wins after a single strike. Vertical suplex and arrogant cover. Clawhold into a chokeslam for two. Series of shots leads to an elbow that knocks Walker down. Walker turns Tweek inside/out on a chokeslam for two. Powerbomb blocked. Ref calls for the bell. Eastman takes Daniels out with the weapon. He has to go low on Walker. Tweek hits a dropkick.
Match Analysis: Good to see Tweek Phoenix back in the ring. Once he gets the ring rust out of his system, I assume he’ll be good to go and be able to deliver quality in-ring action as he did before in this promotion.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Keith Walker/6:47/*3/4
-Joey Eastman has had enough of this rivalry with Truth Martini. He lays down a challenge for a cage match at Bourbon Street in February. Eastman wants an answer in January. Well, I guess we’ve got a reason to come back.
-Colt Cabana asked to face Shane Hollister. Chicago and the surrounding area are his home, so he keeps up with everything that’s going on. Well, we all follow him on his paadcast which he does from the studio… AAAApartment. Cabana talks about taking Gregory Iron under his wing and treating him as a younger brother. Cabana says a wake-up call for Hollister is forthcoming. There are a lot of jokes to be made here.
-Sami Calihan vs. Mr. Miller
Match in Five Words or Less: Explosive
Match Highlights: Miller starts off things hot and heavy. No feeling out process here. Calihan kicks Miller in the ear. Miller wants to save Calihan. Not happening. Calihan with reckless strikes, kick, and dive. Calihan controls on the outside as well. Chop misses. Miller drops Calihan on the side of the ring. Kicks from Miller back inside the ring. Miller lays in the beating, but Calihan doesn’t seem fazed. Spitting from Miller. Uh oh. PUNCH IN THE FACE! Running face washes.Pair of running bithycle kicks from Calihan. Calihan spits at Miller. Dragon suplex and running kick from Miller get a long two count. Miller wants to save Calihan. He gets dropped on his head in a back drop driver. Running forearm. 1-2-NO! Stretch Muffler. Miller kicks away. Enziguri from the lied down position. Series of counters. Facecrusher and kick to the head. Calihan hits a lariat out of the corner. Stretch muffler locked in. Miller has no choice but to tap.
Match Analysis: Compared to everything else on this show thus far, this was easily the most explosive and stiff contest of the night. Miller is a rising young star and could easily be as highly regarded as Calihan sooner than people might think.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Sami Calihan/10:36/***
-The Clash (Cameron Skyy and Tommy Treznik) vs. Jordan McEntyre and Dan Lawrence
Match in Five Words or Less: Poor Jordan
Match Highlights: Cameron Skyy runs various members of the locker room down. Mr. McEntyre doesn’t have a partner until Dan Lawrence comes out to volunteer. He and Clash have issues, so this at least makes some semblance of sense. Lawrence controls on Treznik. McEntyre comes with fire on Skyy, ending with a springboard cross body. Double team from Clash. Babyfaces each hit double dives. Lawrence with right hands. Miscommunication leads to a roll-up by Lawrence. Clash have him in their corner. Heat segment. Double decapitation leads to a discussion of Demolition versus Road Warriors. Lawrence drops Treznik across his knee. He does the same to Skyy and makes the tag. McEntyre takes on both members of the Clash. Diving elbow on Skyy gets two. Elbow drop from Treznik on his own partner. McEntyre hits a cross body. Bulldog. Big splash. Treznik tosses him to the apron. McEntyre hits a second big splash. He rolls outside. Lawrence works on Skyy. Boot wash. Skyy hits a running boot. Cleanser but McEntyre hits a superkick. Backbreaker by Lawrence. Double cover but only two. Miscommunication. School boys for the face get two. Double back drop. McEntyre’s boot is sent into Lawrence. Cleanser ends this one.
Match Analysis: There was some general sloppiness, but this served as a good opportunity for Clash to get an important victory moving forward. I’d say this was a slightly below average match that merely forwarded a the feud with Lawrence and the Clash.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Clash/9:49/**1/4
-Lawrence and McEntyre argue afterward. Lawrence sends McEntyre down with a neckbreaker.
–Markus Crane and Devin Bliss are out to make their main show debut. Shane Hollister is out to make sure that doesn’t happen. Hollister says he will choose who to wrestle and when. He chooses Mr. Crane. The match goes about as well as one might expect for Markus Crane. After getting some token offense, Holliser dispatches him with a lungblower and brainbuster. And here comes Colt Cabana. He makes a herpes reference before turning his attention to Hollister. Cabana calls Hollister a pussy. Hollister leaves. Cabana offers to wrestle P.J. Drummond. From behind, here’s Hollister. Well, someone must like that.
-Colt Cabana vs. Shane Hollister
Match in Five Words or Less: Hooooooooooooooooooly Crap, What An Ending
Match Highlights: Cabana ducks a Hollister dive. Quick nearfall and double chops. Hollister ducks out of the ring. Cabana becomes distracted so Hollister can try to attack from behind. That fails. Cabana stays ahead of the curve. He takes a walk around ringside. High knee from Hollister. Into the apron. Cabana shoulder tackles the post. Hollister controls with punches and takes Cabana to the outside with a simple takedown. Very deliberate style and less flashiness. Very impressive from Hollister. Cabana manages a palm strike. Headbutt off. He eats double boots coming off the top rope. Airplane spin. Clearly, Colt has been watching some 2005 Bryan Danielson. Jabs and the big elbow strike. Cabana goes again. Hollister crawls away from ringside. They go through the curtain. Zero Gravity put Hollister back in. Superkick from Hollister gets two. Kick misses. Roll through. Pele by Hollister. Leaping enziguri to the neck. Double stomp misses. Flying apple in the corner. Billy Goat’s Curse. Hollister crawls out yet again. Through the crowd they go. And… well… I guess Cabana wins by forfeit. Should we go to the Revolution Rules handbook for this one? Hollister attacks Colt from the entrance way and commences a beatdown. Just as he’s about to go for the brainbuster, the referees of all people make the save. Finally, they serve a purpose.
Match Analysis: If there is a worse ending for an AAW match in the three years I’ve been attending these shows, I can’t think of it. I understand the need to have a big match like this on a card with a lack of star power, but if you can’t think of a better finish than this, go back to the drawing board. Hollister just turned heel and really could have used a statement win against Cabana to get him on the right heel path. I have all the respect in the world for Cabana, but if he’s not going to be a month-to-month guy, he doesn’t need to be beating a potential main event heel. Match itself was okay, and I love how well the Hollister heel turn has come off, but this ending… oy vey.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Colt Cabana?/11:12/**3/4
-Sami Calihan says AAW is becoming a second home for him, but now he’s going on an international tour. Then he’s coming for Silas Young and the AAW heavyweight championship. I’m just happy he refrained from hitting someone in the head with a bottle and having that bottle hit a fan in the face.
-AAW Heavyweight Championship-Fans Bring the Weapons: Silas Young (w/Val Malone) vs. Ryan Boz
Match in Five Words or Less: Best WRESTLER In AAW
Match Highlights: Young wants to wrestle and doesn’t want to have to resort to using all these random weapons. Boz of course wants a fight. Boz has a toy guitar with him. Boz goes for an immediate guitar shot. Young grabs a HEADLOCK! Boz gets a bit of an advantage. Young departs. Around the ring they go. Boz has a plunger, which he threatens to use on Val Malone. Young charges. Val grabs Boz’s legs. They spend the next few minutes brawling around ringside and through the crowd. Boz shoves a pie into a fan’s face while near the front door. Awesome. Boz uses a stick with tennis shoes taped to it. Young rams him in the guardrail. Back in the ring. Lariat from Boz. Slugfest. Young low blows Boz and gets two. Young works Boz over with a pan. Boz blocks a kick and gets a series of clotheslines. Boz requests the pan. Young delivers a kick. Death valley driver into the pan. 1-2-NO! Boz driver. Val Malone gets on the apron to break the count. Boz chases her around ringside. He threatens her with a cream pie. And I thought the jokes in the previous match were bad. Weapon shot from Young. Series of right hands and another two count. Young sets Boz up for a pie shot. Boz reverses. Cream pie jokes abound. Boz Driver again. 1-2-foot on the ropes. Boz picks up the guitar. He bops the official before nailing Young. Mason Beck counts. Beck mountain. Young put on top. Referee counts three.
Match Analysis: Young is an excellent and smart wrestler who did a great job with Boz here. Boz played to his strengths, and he really doesn’t get enough credit for being a smart veteran. This match also didn’t have the best ending, but it’s par for the course in these Silas Young matches. I’d say this was a slightly above average affair. If you’re into crazy brawls, you probably enjoyed this even more.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL AAW Heavyweight Champion-Silas Young/21:23/**3/4
Fave 5
5. Since the fave five choices are not plentiful, let’s mention the AAW fans. They’ve come out every month to both venues and really been great. Even on a show like this, with the lack of star power, they showed up 200 strong nonetheless. I’ll go so far as to say they’re my favorite wrestling audience now.
4. Eric Priest did a great job filling in for Derek St. Holmes on commentary. As the night wore on, he seemed to get more and more comfortable. By the end he was making some awesome jokes and really digging in with the one-liners. Not saying Priest should take over but I enjoyed what I saw.
3. Shane Hollister is an awesome heel. He’s got someone at his side who no one likes, and people are far more inclined to boo him because of that. He’s also modifying his offense to become more subtle and less flashy.
2. Mr. Miller impressed me yet again in a losing effort. Although he lost to Calihan, he showed a lot of fire and spark. I really hope he gets pushed in AAW and can also get more chances in bigger indy companies.
1. Silas Young is pretty much the default winner. He’s easily the best wrestler in 2011 for this promotion, and although this wasn’t his best match, he did a fine job carrying Boz and wrestling a smart contest. Excellent work all year from this man and consider this fave five award one last chance to mention his hard work for them
The Verdict: I really wish Windy City Classic had ended 2011 because this show didn’t nearly deliver as so many other 2011 AAW shows. There wasn’t anything actively bad, but there definitely wasn’t anything worth checking out right away either. If not for the main event, I’d even go so far as to say nothing all that noteworthy even happened on the show. Save your money for other AAW shows folks.
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. 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
Contact Me!
E-mail: jcusson07@gmail.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeromepwpeditor