Cleveland, OH – 11.23.2012
Commentary is provided by Denver Colorado, “Juicy” Pat Lucey, Aaron Bauer, Paul Arrand Rodgers, and Matt Wadsworth.
Pre-Show Match – Beyond Wrestling Showcase
Biff Busick vs. Jaka
Busick keeps a hold of Jaka on the mat. Jaka claws at his eye, but then gets taken down by a pair of armdrags. Busick O’Conner rolls him into a half nelson. Busick runs the ropes and delivers a dropkick for two. Jaka feels no pain from Busick’s DDT. He delivers a crescent kick, causing Busick to roll to the floor. Jaka follows with a pescado. Back in the ring Busick throws some chops. He tries for a quesadora but Jaka drops him across the top rope. Busick chops him up in the corner. Jaka goes for a clothesline. Busick catches him with a back elbow and a kick to the crown of his head. Busick gets two with a senton splash. He gives Jaka a half-nelson suplex. Jaka pops right back up but takes a huge elbow strike right after. Jaka attacks Busick in the ropes. He gets two with a high crossbody, even though his nose is now busted open. Busick hits him with a running Blockbuster for two. Jaka puts on the Jaguar Jaws. Busick kicks his way free. Jaka drops him with the Jumanji Bomb for two. He goes for Jaguar Jaws again. Busick kicks him in the face. Jaka throws some strikes to his stomach and legs before getting the Jaguar Jaws re-applied. Busick verbally submits at 10:15. It’s easy to argue that these are two of the best wrestlers in both Beyond Wrestling and the Wrestling Is family. Busick is a tremendous wrestler and might be the next big “undiscovered talent” if he plays his cards right. Jaka has not had a bad match yet and continues to thrive wherever he competes. ***
Team Old School (Jock Samson & Marion Fontaine) vs. The Submission Squad (Pierre Abernathy & Evan Gelestico)
Gary Jay is in The Squad’s corner, although Fontaine cold cocks him with a right hand before the bell. Abernathy becomes frightened when Fontaine puts his fists up. Gelestico puts up his dukes. Fontaine moves his hands and clasps his arms around Gelestico’s ears. He then takes him over with an armdrag. Just as it looks like the Squad are about to double backdrop Fontaine, a bell rings calling for a break. He uses a spittoon in the corner while Samson gives him advice. The Squad runs into Samson who rams their heads together. Fontaine side Russian leg sweeps both of them and gets a two count on Gelestico. Old School utilizes some tandem offense on Gelestico but can’t seem to get the pin. Abernathy trips Fontaine, allowing the Squad to take control of the match. Fontaine is able to get in some strikes on Abernathy. A confused and still dazed Gary Jay gets tagged in. Samson gives him some more punches for good measure. He airplane spins Jay’s feet into Gelestico and Abernathy’s heads. Fontaine dives onto them after they hit the floor. Samson backdrops Jay onto his teammates. Samson nails Gelestico with a lariat for two. Fontaine and Abernathy have fought to the back. Gelestico side steps a splash in the corner. He rolls up Samson and puts his feet on the ropes to get the pin at 8:46. This was a big step above their match from last month. Indeed, Fontaine is a step up from a cowbell. Everyone in this feud knows their role and is doing a good job keeping it light and fun. **1/4
Davey Vega vs. Josh Alexander vs. Louis Lyndon
Lyndon begins to throw forearms at Vega’s back. Alexander carries Lyndon to the corner. Lyndon side steps his spear, sending Alexander to the floor. Vega puts on a waistlock, and hangs on when Lyndon tries to flip out. He snaps off a huracanrana. Lyndon blocks his bicycle kick and dropkicks him in the corner. Lyndon throws a flurry of strikes at Alexander. Alexander mows him down with a shoulder block. He avoids Lyndon’s flip and nails a rolling forearm. Vega rolls him up for two. Alexander hits him with a rolling forearm as well. A series of submissions is formed on the ropes. Alexander throws Lyndon to the mat. Vega tries a super Frankensteiner but gets powerbombed onto Lyndon instead! Alexander gets a two count on both of them. Lyndon sends him to the floor. He knee strikes Vega out then moonsaults onto Alexander. In the ring, Lyndon elbows Vega in the stomach and kicks him in the side of the head for two. Vega avoids a corner attack. He gamengiri’s Lyndon into a release German suplex from Alexander. Vega drops down the top rope to send Alexander out. He dropkicks Alexander into the front row. He goes for a suicide dive, but Alexander catches him and shoves him back first into the guardrails. Lyndon gives Alexander a reverse huracanrana back in the ring for two. Alexander avoids a moonsault. Lyndon lands on his feet, but Alexander picks him up for a spinning tombstone piledriver. That gets Alexander the win at 8:06. That makes two shows in a row where Alexander was a stand-out competitor. This was an awesome exhibition for all three guys and makes me really want to see more of them. **3/4
Colin Delaney vs. Ethan Page
Seleziya Sparx is in Page’s corner. She grabs Delaney’s foot at the start, allowing Page to get the jump on him. Delaney comes back with a few different types of armdrags. He tries a suicide dive. Page catches him, but Delaney shoves him into a ring post. Sparx distracts him so that Page can throw his arm into the post and the guardrails. Back in the ring though, Delaney side steps Page’s attack and hits a leg lariat. He misses a standing shooting star press. Page gives him a release suplex for two. Sparx holds a bottle of booze in Delaney’s face as Page chokes him on the middle rope. This is to tease Delaney, a former alcoholic, who has recently sobered up and gotten in better shape. Page sends him into the ring post from the apron and gets a two count. He hits an enzuigiri and slingshots Delaney into a backbreaker. He gets two with BOOM! Head Shot. Delaney dropkicks Page to the floor. He suicide dives out into an armdrag. He monkey flips Page into the guardrails! He calls for the 12 Large Elbow. Sparx grabs his leg. Page dropkicks Delaney and brings him down with an Iconoclasm for two. After a knee strike, Delaney spikes Page with a DDT. Sparx tries distracting him. Delaney ignores her and hits the 12 Large Elbow. She pours a cup of the booze she previously was showing him. He ignores that too. Page small packages him for two. Delaney rolls out of a uranage. Sparx throws the booze into Delaney’s face! Page gives him a uranage slam for the pin at 11:54. As the shows go by, Delaney gets better and better. He’s really done a great job re-building himself and becoming a formidable singles competitor. Ethan Page has the goods to be a top heel in AIW and has developed into a bonafide star for the company. Sparx does a great job in her role, though I’m worried her interference might one day turn into a negative if it’s not kept in check. For now though, it’s still a positive. ***1/4
Veda Scott makes her way out with Southside St. Clair who previously in a backstage segment asked Scott for a picture. She declares that tonight will be Gregory Iron’s last match in AIW. Iron comes out to “Miseria Cantare” by AFI, which was CM Punk’s music when he was in Ring of Honor. He says he was diagnosed with throat cancer and that he will compete in an AIW Championship match tonight. He calls out Absolute Champion Tim Donst. Instead, Matt Wadsworth appears. Instead of an Absolute title match, he and Scott will be receiving an AIW Tag Team title match.
AIW Tag Team Championship
The Batiri (Obariyon & Kodama) vs. Hope & Change (Gregory Iron & Veda Scott)
Veronica Ticklefeather is in The Batiri’s corner. Scott looks terrified of the demon duo. Obariyon licks the side of her face. She tags in Iron after that. Kodama catches him with a boot and a back elbow from the second rope. Iron tags Scott back in. Kodama sniffs her hair as he puts on a waistlock. Iron is tagged in. He tries tagging back out but Scott is on the floor. He turns into the Skull Bronzing and Scott breaks the pin. The Batiri continue to beat Iron down in their corner. Scott tags in and gets caught by Obariyon with a wheelbarrow suplex. Iron gives Kodama a neck breaker and a senton for two. He misses a corner splash. Iron picks him up for a GTS. Kodama blocks with a Death Valley spinebuster for a three count, but Veda Scott reminds us of the four count rule that Iron has that was established on the previous show. She tags in, but ends up taking multiple dropkicks in the corner. She gives Kodama a jawbreaker. Iron gives Obariyon a Code Breaker. Scott crossbody’s onto him for two. Iron hits Handicap Parking but it has no effect. The Gimp Slap also does nothing to Obariyon. Neither do Scott’s kicks. Kodama sneaks in and tosses her into Obariyon’s Seventh Circle! Iron breaks the pin. He gets sent to the floor. St. Clair and Veronica get in a fight over Veronica’s baton. St. Clair hands it to Iron. As the referee checks on Veronica, Iron clobbers Kodama with the baton. Scott gives him a suplex. St. Clair clues in the referee who slides back in the ring and counts the pin, making Hope & Change the new tag team champions at 8:48. It’s very odd that the Batiri would lose the titles here when the next show is called “The End of the World” and has them as the poster children for the event. Nevertheless, Scott and Iron looked better here than in their recent matches and have the opportunity to be interesting champions. I hope this does not mean the end of the Batiri in AIW. **1/2
AIW Women’s Championship
Allysin Kay vs. KC Warfield
Kay brings Warfield down in a waistlock. Warfield escapes and hits a dropkick. She snapmares Kay and runs the ropes. Kay knocks her down with a forearm strike. When Warfield kicks out at one, Kay delivers another one. She teases a chop in the corner but just snapmares Warfield into a fish hook choke instead. She twists on Warfield’s right fingers as well. Kay gets two with a couple of chest kicks. She does a little trash talking, allowing Warfield to sneak in a school girl for two. She gives Kay a backbreaker, a slap to the face, and drops her off of her shoulders for two. Kay locks on a triangle choke. Warfield taps at 5:27. This was really too short to be much of anything, but it got over Kay’s submission finisher so that’s pretty sweet. *
#1 Contenders for the AIW Tag Team Championship
Irish Airborne (Jake & Dave Crist) vs. Youthanazia (Matt Cross & Josh Prohibition)
After exchanging wristlocks, Prohibition and Dave go for some quick pinfalls. Dave does some damage to the arm. Prohibition goes for the Drunken Driver early but Dave huracanrana’s out if it. Cross tags in and Dave catches him with a boot. Jake blocks Cross’ monkey flip. Cross however dumps him on his head with a back suplex and gets two with a senton. Prohibition gives Jake a Perfect neck snap for two. He ducks Jake’s attack in the corner and dropkicks him while he’s crotches on the second turnbuckle. Cross delivers a Manhattan Drop before putting Jake in seated abdominal stretch. The Airborne catch him in the corner with an enzuigiri/forearm smash combo. The Airborne wear Cross down until he ducks Jake’s clothesline and tags in Prohibition. He gives Jake a few neckbreakers. Dave snaps his neck across the second rope and boots him in the head from the floor. He comes back in with a flying elbow drop. Cross kicks him from the apron and double stomps him in the back. Jake throws a few kicks at Cross and releases him in a German suplex. Jake and Prohibition fight for position. The Airborne get Prohibition set up for Irish Coffee but Cross makes the save. He double stomps Jake into Prohibition’s Death Valley Driver for two. Jake forearms Cross to the floor and kicks Cross to the floor. Dave dives after Cross. Cross moves and sends Dave into the crowd. Jake poises for a dive but gets caught by a TKO from Prohibition. The Drunken Driver puts him away at 12:56. These two teams are both very good and had a fun match. It seems like Josh Prohibition is always a great asset to these shows but doesn’t get enough love. I also feel like he and Cross bring out the best in one another. ***
Johnny Gargano vs. Michael Elgin
Elgin shoves Gargano to the mat. Gargano applies a waistlock, but Elgin escapes and forearms him in the face. Gargano throws punches until Elgin is brought to the mat. Elgin backs him to the corner and shoulder blocks him down. Gargano remains steadfast from another shoulder block. Elgin powerslams him for two. Gargano blocks an oncoming attack with a sole butt. He double stomps Elgin’s back. He goes for a tornado DDT but Elgin turns it into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for two. Elgin delivers a legdrop on the ring apron. He suplexes Gargano for two. Elgin tries a powerbomb and gets backdropped to the floor. Gargano hits a slingshot spear when Elgin re-enters the ring. He suicide dives onto Elgin twice. When he goes for it a third time, Elgin catches him with a forearm. Gargano enzuigiri’s him off the apron and successfully pulls off another suicide dive. Back in the ring he goes for his knee strike/neck breaker combo. Elgin shrugs him off and hits the Boss Man Slam for two. Gargano ducks a clothesline, rolling Elgin into a kick to the head. Gargano drops him with a Complete Shot and boots him in the face for two. Elgin applies a Crossface. Gargano rolls up Elgin to escape. Elgin gives him a Saito suplex. He throws some strikes in the corner before giving him a Death Valley Driver into the corner. He sets up for a Buckle Bomb. Gargano resists so Elgin shoves him to the corner. Gargano avoids being attacked. Elgin goes for the Crossface again and gets it. Gargano transitions into the Garga-No Escape. Elgin gets the ropes. He picks up Gargano and gives him a Buckle Bomb. Elgin tries a powerbomb but Gargano turns it into a Jackknife pin for two. He gets two with a superkick right after that. Elgin blocks Gargano in the corner with an O’Conner Roll. He deadlifts him into a German suplex for two. Elgin wins a forearm exchange. Gargano enzuigiri’s Elgin as he comes off the ropes. Elgin responds with a boot. Gargano superkicks him. Elgin nails him with a lariat, grounding both men. The fight spills out to the apron. Elgin shoves Gargano into the corner and kicks him from inside the ring. He pulls up Gargano from the apron for a superplex. Gargano blocks looking for a Sunset Bomb. Gargano kicks his legs out and brings Elgin out of the corner with a Shellshock. He hits the Hurts Donut, but Elgin kicks out! He locks on the Garga-No Escape. Elgin cradles Gargano for two. He forearms Gargano in the back of the head. He delivers a backfist and Buckle Bombs him. Gargano escapes the spinning powerbomb and reapplies the Garga-No Escape. Elgin finally taps out at 22:02. That was as awesome, if not better than I anticipated. Elgin looked amazing in his AIW debut and gave Gargano, the guy who epitomizes AIW a run for his money. Both guys looked great, had a terrific back and forth encounter, and got the crowd into it. If Elgin isn’t a regular after this I’d be surprised. ****
NIXON (Eric Ryan, Rickey Shane Page & Bobby Beverly) make their way to the ring with The Duke. They have a four on four match tonight. The Duke says Nixon’s fourth partner comes from “The List”, which is a list of everyone who has been banned from competing in AIW. That man is The Necro Butcher. Their three known opponents, BJ Whitmer, Tim Donst, and Eddie Kingston make their way out. Kingston and Donst have to be kept apart by Whitmer, as they do not get along in CHIKARA. In AIW however, they are on the same team and Whitmer has to remind him of that. Matt Wadsworth comes out to announce their partner. He announces that their partner is also on “The List.” Their partner is a puzzling choice: Chris Dickinson! This is puzzling because Dickinson invaded with Nixon at “Absolution VII.” Team AIW is not pleased with this. We have ourselves a war.
Eddie Kingston, Tim Donst, BJ Whitmer & Chris Dickinson vs. NIXON (Eric Ryan, Rickey Shane Page & Bobby Beverly) & The Necro Butcher
All eight guys fight on the floor. Butcher rams the guardrail into Kingston’s head a few times. Page rakes Whitmer’s eyes as they fight on the crowd. Donst drops Beverly with an STO in the ring before spilling back to the floor. Kingston hits the ring bell into his opponents heads. Butcher throws whitmer into the announcer’s table. Donst suplexes Beverly on the floor. Butcher throws a garbage can at Whitmer and sends Kingston into the guardrails. Dickinson gives Ryan a delayed vertical suplex. Ryan and Page get busted open by Kingston and Dickinson. Donst sends Beverly into a trash barrel. Ryan continues to bleed as he trades strikes with Whitmer. Duke holds Donst for Beverly to chop. Meanwhile Butcher suplexes Kingston on the apron. Dickinson throws a bunch of kicks to Page, ending with a boot to the head and a brainbuster. Butcher slams Kingston onto a chair. He headbutts Dickinson who tries to the throw some kicks. Dickinson clotheslines the back of Necro’s head into a door. Whitmer throws a barrel at Page. Donst throws Beverly into Page. Butcher rams Dickinson spine first into the ring post. Kingston tosses Beverly into the wall over the announcer’s table. Butcher gives Dickinson a hard right hand. Page beats down Kingston in the corner. Ryan beats down Donst with Beverly outside while Whitmer recovers in the ring. Kingston brings a guardrail into the ring. Butcher ends up suplexing him onto it in the corner. Ryan gets booted to the floor. Dickinson kicks Butcher to stop him from giving Whitmer a Tiger Driver. Dickinson offers a handshake to Whitmer. When Whitmer refuses, Dickinson gives him a side piledriver! He walks out on his team. Page gives the referee a Death Valley Driver. Butcher claws at Kingston’s face. Johnny Gargano runs in to once again even the odds and fight for Team AIW. He lawn darts Ryan onto Beverly, superkicks Butcher and drops Page with the Hurts Donut. He goes for the pin. A referee runs in with a NIXON mask on. He doesn’t count, but instead calls for the bell. He calls for a disqualification at 20:02, rewarding the match for NIXON. The referee reveals himself to be Tom Dunn, who refereed for the first two years of AIW and left due to political differences.
What a war this was. It was bloody, violent, nothing seemed contrived, and it all came off REAL. The only real complaint was that it was uneven in its flow. There were hot periods and cold periods but it struggled to remain consistent. Still, this was a spectacle and worth watching. The DQ finish and return of Tom Dunn were actually clever in keeping the feud going between both teams. ***3/4
30 Minute Iron Man Match
ACH vs. AR Fox
This is a rematch from “Straight Outta Compton” where ACH won the match 2 falls to 1. In the beginning it’s both guys blocking one another’s big moves. ACH gets control early on. He ends up getting the first fall with a huracanrana at 2:33, after side stepping a top rope double stomp from Fox. Fox clotheslines ACH in the corner. Although ACH blocks his skin the cat dropkick, Fox pulls off a crossbody to the floor. The kickflip moonsault follows. He gets two with a guillotine legdrop. Same goes for a cannonball moonsault. ACH forearms him to the floor and tope con hilo’s after him. In the ring he headstands into a corner dropkick for two. Fox tries coming back with a facebuster. ACH catches his legs and swings him around in a Texas Cloverleaf. Although he almost made it to the ropes, Fox is forced to tap out at 12:22. ACH is now up by two falls. He keeps control right after the fall. Fox fights back and is able to hit the Lo Mein Pain for the pin at 14:29. Fox gets a nearfall with a Swanton bomb and we are now half way through the match. A rolling Death Valley Driver leads to a springboard 450 splash. ACH right after cradles Fox for a two count. ACH kicks Fox as he ascends the top rope and brings him down with a superplex. He rolls through for a cradle DDT. Fox fights out. He gives ACH the Air Raid Crash and a 450 splash. After that, he hits the Meteora (shades of his partner CIMA) for a pin, tying up the match 2 falls to 2, at 19:09. ACH kicks Fox away. He jumps up and hits a Complete Shot. He follows that with a frog splash for two. ACH shoves Fox in the ring to stop the Lo Mein Rain. Fox hits a springboard dropkick that sends ACH back to the floor. This time, Lo Mein Rain is successful. He misses a kickflip moonsault. ACH powerslams Fox into the guardrails! Fox manages it to make it back into the ring to prevent a count out. ACH and Fox throw forearms. ACH hits a leg capture brainbuster for two. Fox rolls to the floor. ACH tries a suicide dive and ends up beefing it into the guardrails. Fox hits him with a tope con hilo. Both men fight on the apron. Fox busts out a kick flip Shiranui, causing Fox’s head to the hit the mat as well. Both men are laying on the arena floor when the one minute mark is called. ACH is counted out at 29:59, giving Fox a third fall and making him the victor 3 falls to 2 at 30:00. These two are incapable of having nothing short of a great match with one another. They had a match that was slightly above their initial encounter, mostly because both guys have improved in just a short seven months. These guys know when and how to utilize their exciting offense while also captivating the crowd and telling a story. Now that each guy has won one of these matches, we best get a rubber match. The crowd wants it too. ****
Overall: This is a show that falls into the “must buy” category. The last three matches are stellar and every undercard bout is worth watching for either quality wrestling, storyline progression, and in most cases both. This is one of my favorite AIW shows of the year, if not ever, and is worth your money. Go out of your way to check this show out. You can pick up the show on DVD from either AIW’s Store or Smart Mark Video. At Smart Mark Video, you can also purchase the show as a digital download or stream it for a reduced price.
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