-Nice video package relates this event to Chicago. Sure, they’re in a suburb, but I’ll forgive them since the package is quite well done and got me hyped to watch the show all over again.
-Taped from Marionette Park, Illinois
-Your hosts are Phil Colvin and Derek St. Holmes, Silas Young for the three way
-Tony Rican is out to talk about Ken Shamrock no-showing the event, but here comes Kevin Harvey and the rest of his little group. Harvey takes a cheap shot at talent not showing up. In addition to Shamrock not being in the house, Joey Eastman is also not there. Here comes the Northstache Express, so I guess our opener is…
-Street Fight: Tweek Phoenix and Lamar Titan (w/Nikki and Kevin Harvey) vs. Northstache Express (Darin Corbin and Marion Fontaine)
Match in Five Words or Less: Not Much Street Fighting
Match Summary: Corbin and Fontaine clear the ring right away. Double team hip toss on Phoenix. Double fist drops. Titan comes in but gets clotheslined out. Corbin with left hand punches on Phoenix. Back drop. Phoenix has a hammer. Corbin kicks the middle rope into the groin of Phoenix. Fontaine and Titan are brawling in the crowd. Phoenix sent into the pole. Nikki grabs Fontaine’s hair and the heel team gets the advantage. Fontaine sends Titan into the apron. Phoenix and Corbin go into the bar area. Fontaine sends Titan back in the ring. Leg lariat. Here come Corbin and Phoenix. Shot by Titan on Fontaine. Sunset flip blocked. Standing splash by Titan gets two. Headbutt on Corbin. Titan whiffs on a dive. Corbin clotheslines Phoenix back in the ring eventually. Punches from Fontaine on Titan. Phoenix taken over to the floor. Nikki engages with Fontaine yet again. She gets placed in the first row. Corbin pulls Titan on the apron. Guillotine by Titan. Elbow. Series of jabs by Titan. Phoenix gets backdropped on the stage. Titan chops the post. Corbin sends Titan’s hand into the apron. Again into the apron. Tea Bag off the barricade. Headbutt to the midsection by Titan. Corbin with elbows. Springboard caught into an acecrusher. Corbin holds Titan and Fontaine splashes. Nikki breaks up the count by assaulting PJ Drummond. Phoenix hits both opponents with his boot. Uranagi into his knees. Double cover but only two. Backbreaker by Phoenix. Fontaine superkicks him. Corbin covers. Titan elbows his own partner on accident. Double dropkick by the faces on Titan. Corbin hits a tope con helo. Crowd wants the moustache to fly. Keith Walker trips Fontaine. Corbin and Fontaine try fending him off. Walker with a huge lariat on Fontaine. Walker has a pair of handcuffs. Corbin dropkicks Walker in the back. Punches. Low blow on Walker. Walker with a right hand. Fontaine is being handcuffed to the post as Walker chokebombs Corbin. Phoenix covers and gets the victory.
Match Analysis: Going 5-on-2 and barely squeaking out a victory over an undercard tag team does not exactly allow me to see this group as a threat. I’d like to see Phoenix and Titan should be winning matches like this by themselves in relatively clean fashion. If they need Walker and Nikki’s help every single time, people are just going to sit on their hands, waiting for interference. The match itself was passable with some excitement and a quick energy right from the start. Nothing too great and not really a street fight but a decent way to start the show.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Tweek Phoenix and Lamar Titan/9:08/**3/4
-Beatdown continues. Walker makes liberal use of the chain as he whips his back and punches him in the face . Harvey lights Corbin’s face on fire and mocks Eastman by wearing one of his hats.
-Colt Cabana is stuck in California. He’s nursing a vagina finger and will not be able to compete here on Black Saturday. Hollister and Scarlett make fun of the injury and vow to put him in the hospital when he returns.
-Danny Daniels vs. Isaias Velazquez
Match in Five Words or Less: Nada
Match Summary: Big tope con helo in the ring. Headscissors. Daniels brings him up and over. Enziguri by Velazquez. Dropkick nearly ends it early. Headscissors blocked this time as Daniels tosses him into the bottom rope. Chop. Martini with a palm strike on Velazquez. Daniels chops Velazquez twice. Forearms into the corner. He blows snot on Velazquez. Forearm sends him back in the corner. Blind charge misses. Enziguri hits. Daniels meets a charging Velazquez with a forearm. Springboard forearm by Velazquez. Running splash. Daniels misses a clothesline. Rana by Velazquez. To the top rope. Leaping flatliner and Velazquez gets two. Daniels hits a DVD into the corner. Ow. Daniels to the top rope. Velazquez with a running kick. Flipping piledriver and Daniels wins.
Match Analysis: Using guys like Velazquez and Davey Vega as fodder would be okay if not for the fact that they have a lot of potential and could be used in bigger roles soon. Not sure what the purpose of this was since Daniels does not need the victories and it’s tiring to see guys get booked and continue to lose. When I talk about giving purpose to undercards, this is exactly one of the matches I’m talking about as an example of something AAW needs to get away from.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Danny Daniels/4:05/*
-Truth Martini gets on the microphone and proclaims it “Danny Daniels Day” once again. He talks about stepping back in the ring against MsChif. Here she comes making the brief run to the stage. Martini tells Daniels to watch his back and puts his accessories on Daniels. Good God. More threats to MsChif. Do we really need the C word that rhymes with “runt” to be used on wrestling shows?
-Truth Martini vs. MsChif
Match in Five Words or Less: Move It Along
Match Summary: MsChif screams at Martini. Martini gets back on the microphone and talks about being friends. MsChif catches Martini’s boot. Atomic drop. Into the turnbuckle goes Martini’s head into all three turnbuckles. Flair flop by Martini. Thrust to the throat. Bronco buster but MsChif gets out of the way. Daniels hits a quick piledriver as the referee is distracted. Again to the microphone. He says it’s over in no uncertain words. Cover for two only. MsChif sent to the outside. Daniels in an Argentinian backbreaker. Martini with a shot to the skull. MsChif with right hands to the midsection. Martini goes to the eyes. Off comes the tape onto his thumb. MsChif ducks a shot from the thumb. Sunset flip. Martini misses a thumb shot again. Strikes from MsChif. Knee into the abdominal stretch. Thumb in the bum. Steve Corino is somewhere smiling at these events. MsChif grabs the thumb and puts it into Martini’s mouth. Mist into the face of Daniels. Submission hold and Martini taps.
Match Analysis: Martini doesn’t have a whole lot of business being in the ring with anyone considering his injuries. He’s an entertaining performer and a great cutter of promos. MsChif winning means we’re close to this feud being blown off once and for all, but that doesn’t mean we’re exactly getting the best possible matches from this whole situation.
MsChif won’t let go of the hold. Daniels hits her with the “Book of Truth.” Now MsChif gets on the microphone and says Daniels makes green look terrible. He calls Daniels out for not being able to win by himself. She has an idea to blow this whole feud off. Next month, it’s “Fans Bring the Weapons.”
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: MsChif/7:26/*1/2
–Dave Crist says they’re about to be AAW tag team champions. I certainly hope so. The Crist brothers are in hoodies tonight, They call Cannon and Jacobs disrespectful champions. How does that make them heels exactly? Jake says he’ll stab them to get the belts. Well, that’s a bit strong.
-AAW Tag Team Championship: Arik Cannon and Jimmy Jacobs (champions) vs. Irish Airborne (Jake and Dave Crist)
Match in Five Words or Less: Finally
Match Summary: Airborne attack before the bell rings. This turns into even more of a streetfight than the opener. Double sledge by Jacobs on Dave. Cannon sends Jake into the post. Dave tossed about five rows deep. Cannon kicks Jake. Brawl goes through the crowd for all four men. They meet at the bar of course. Jacobs with right hands on Jake as Cannon tosses a chair at Dave. Atomic drop across the top of the chair. Jake sends Jacobs into the actual physical bar. Headbutt. Jacobs with a chop on Dave. Cannon whipped into the post by Jake. Jacobs hits a dive on Dave that goes into the fans. Cannon tosses a mixed drink. Jacobs has some fun with Dave and a fan in the crowd. Dave sends Jacobs head first into one of the chairs. Broken bottle almost into the head. Jacobs sends him head first into the post. Crist brothers sent into each other. Jacobs takes Dave up the stairs and into the balcony area. They tease tossing each other over. Cannon and Jake battle in the crowd and then back in the ring. Jake hits an elbow strike off the ropes. Forearm. Dave whips Jacobs into the wall. Cannon hits a jawbreaker on Jake. Clothesline hits. Dave stacks up some chairs on top of Jacobs. Cannon has a hold on Jake. Golden mist for Dave. Right hand. Jake misses a clothesline. Golden mist for him. Can to the head. Dave breaks the count up. Boots to the head. Cannon tossed out of the ring. Rake of the face. Cannon shoved into the crowd…literally. Cannon sent back in the ring. Dave with a kick. Dave brings the bell in the ring. Hammer to the bell, which is oddly placed on Cannon’s butt. Weird. Dave with a boot. Double boots and knees from the challengers. Cannon comeback. Shots to Jake’s groin. Dave tossed to the stage. Jesus. Jake and Cannon work their way there as well. Cannon places Jake on the top rope. Cannon goes to the eyes. Dave blocks a superplex. Cannon tossed into the chairs. Jacobs dives from the balcony to the stage. Jake tossed in the ring. Clotheslines from Jacobs. Neckbreaker hits. Jake up and over. Springboard acecrusher by Jacobs. Dave breaks the count. Right hand. Running kick. Jacobs no sells and hits a clothesline. Right hand. Dave reverses a whip. Jacobs out of the way. Cannon hits Total Anarchy on the stage. Dave tossed back in the ring. Champions can’t agree on who should get the cover. Verbal argument ensues. Crowd wants them to kiss it out. Jacobs even puckers up. Good lord. Cannon nails Drummond in the face with a punch. Brawl ensues. Airborne nails the champs with the belts. Andy Long comes in but only counts two. Double spike piledriver attempt on Jacobs. Spear on Dave. Jake breaks the count. Cannon goes up. Jake with a shot to the back. Big right hand and superkick. Brainbuster. Two count. Back drop driver. Jacobs applies End Time. Jake takes them out of the ring. Jacobs still has the hold. Dave with a low blow and roll-up for three even as he holds the tights.
Match Analysis: Similar to the previous title defenses of these two, this was pure insanity. At least this was a better match and more controlled insanity. Jacobs and Cannon certainly wrestled a better match, almost motivated you could say, but I’m relieved they’re no longer champions. Fun brawl and the first match of the show that really felt like it meant something and had time to deliver.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: NEW AAW Tag Team Champions-Irish Airborne/17:38/***1/4
-Silas Young vs. BJ Whitmer vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. ACH
Match in Five Words or Less: Fun But Short
Match Summary: Shoving ensues amongst all four men. Whitmer and Young toss ACH and O’Reilly to the floor. Duel battle on the floor once again. They don’t go to the crowd at least. Young with a boot in the corner on ACH. Chop. Whip across. Drop toe hold. Running clothesline and he lands on the outside. To the top rope for a beautiful cross body. Whitmer comes in with right hand. ACH sent into the top turnbuckle. O’Reilly enters but wants to team up against ACH. ACH holds. O’Reilly sent outside. Whitmer clotheslines out of the ring. Dropkick on O’Reilly. Strike on Whitmer. Tope suicida on O’Reilly. Young rolls through on a cross body. Gutbuster out of the firemen’s carry position. Young exchanges pleasantries with the crowd. Stomp to the chest. Snapmare. Blind tag by O’Reilly. Knee to the head. European uppercut. Series of kicks. Young blind tags and hits an elbow drop to the back. ACH driven into the corner. Vertical suplex. Whitmer comes in with a stomp. Taunting boots to the head. Flying headbutt by ACH. Young takes him down. O’Reilly butterfly suplex and into the cross armbreaker. Whitmer breaks the hold with a kick. ACH kicks his way out of the corner and hits a running flatliner. Kicks and clotheslines as Whitmer enters. Running knee in the corner. Snap suplex into a northern lights suplex and a bridge for two. O’Reilly manages a boot. Exploder by Whitmer. Young with a save. O’Reilly tossed out. Firemen’s carry. Backbreaker into the clothesline. 1-2-NO! ACH breaks the count. Ducks and right hands. Young battles out of a headlock. ACH places Whitmer in the tree of woe. Springboard kick right in the face. O’Reilly breaks the count. Slap by ACH. Exchange. Jesus H. O’Reilly with a flying knee. Roll-up by ACH goes nowhere. Incredible kick exchange. Regalplex by O’Reilly gets two. Whitmer with a running boot. Young hits a clothesline. Enziguri by ACH. Axe kick by O’Reilly. Forearm and back suplex. Wow. ACH low bridges him over. Asai moonsault misses. O’Reilly kick. Whitmer dropkick. He gets caught diving with a forearm. Young rolls Whitmer up, holds the tights, and gets the victory.
Match Analysis: Having the former champion not care about the dives and go for the win is always a pleasure to watch, especially when it’s a guy using his intelligence and guile to get the victory. Just another reason AAW understands how to use Silas Young better than any company in North America. This was a fine exhibition of sorts between these four and I could have easily watched another 5-8 minutes of this. O’Reilly and ACH in particular had some awesome sequences toward the finish. Very fun.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Silas Young/11:14/***1/4
-Whitmer and O’Reilly have a staredown after the match.
-Junthai Miller vs. Dan Lawrence
Match in Five Words or Less: Please Stop Losing
Match Summary: Lock-up in the corner. Knee and kick instead of a clean break. Whip across. Miller leap out of the corner and hits a spin kick. He catches Lawrence’s boot. Miller kicked to the outside. Lawrence sent into the top turnbuckle. Diving elbow by Miller. Boot to the head. Lawrence drives him into the corner. Series of stomps and a choke from Lawrence. Face wash. Miller catches Lawrence with a boot. Running kick caught. Clothesline hit by Lawrence. He repeats and gets the same result. Chinlock. Russian legsweep. Chop from Miller. Exchange of forearms. Kick to the side of the head by Miller. Spin kick. Lawrence tosses him out. Miller rolls on the stage and hits another boot. Diving bulldog and a stomp of the head. Running kick misses. Lawrence with a shot to the back and diving dropkick. Crowd is not responding to Lawrence. Miller sends Lawrence into the middle turnbuckle with his knees. Running kick. Double stomp misses. Go behind. Full nelson. Lawrence rolls Miller up, grabs the middle rope, and gets the victory.
Match Analysis: Having the same finish essentially twice in a row is fairly annoying. Jobbing Miller out once again is even moreso. Phil Colvin said the guy had a great 2012, but it’s hard to buy that when he continues losing. It’s tough to buy him as a contender for anything when he keeps being jobbed out. It’s just odd to see someone who’s shown a lot of promise lose so much.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Dan Lawrence/4:25/*
-Michael Elgin doesn’t have a strategy for later tonight and says it’s not about the belts but who’s the best.
-Shane Hollister talks about Colt Cabana not showing up but lays down an open challenge for anyone who wants to wrestle him. Sami Callihan, the other person in the locker room whose opponent didn’t show up, answers in the affirmative. Callihan even hugs…and then kisses…a fan. Callihan accepts. Lights go out. Sabu is in the ring. Chair to the face of Crane.
-Sami Callihan vs. Shane Hollister vs. Sabu
Match in Five Words or Less: Why Sabu?
Match Summary: Callihan with a bicycle kick to Hollister. Callihan and Sabu reunite from their two star matches in DG USA earlier in the year. Sabu with a boot to the midsection. Front first whip into the lariat and springboard elbow. Sliding dropkick hits Crane. Sabu tossed into the fans. Hollister tossed into the side of the ring. Callihan chokes Hollister with a bell hammer. Boot by Sabu on Hollister. Clothesline. Boot. Callihan hits Sabu and Hollister with a beer can. Whip reversed. Hollister taken up and over. Enziguri by Hollister. Snapmare and dropkick leads to the two count. Callihan tosses him out of the ring and boots Sabu in the midsection. Chair tossed to the floor. Crane takes a shot. Sabu nails him from behind. He tosses the chair at Callihan’s head. Hollister tossed in the ring. Sabu misses a clothesline. Leg lariat by Hollister. Callihan tosses the chair at Hollister’s head. Boot from Sabu followed by a right hand. Whip in the corner. Clothesline misses. Bicycle kick. Hollister with a kick to the midsection. Neckbreaker. Sabu breaks the count. Neither can cover Callihan. Sabu steps on the chair. Chair tossed to the knees. Camel clutch. Chair to the back. Callihan nails Hollister in the shin. Chair tossed to Sabu’s head. Right hand on Hollister. Hollister responds. Slap exchange. Headbutt. Sabu sends his opponents in head-to-head. Series of stomps in the corner. Callihan tosses a second chair in the ring. Sabu with an assisted chair splash. Arabian facecuster. Callihan breaks that up. Chair to chair as Sabu’s knee is all wrapped up in it. Drop toe hold into the chair by Hollister. Callihan with a right hand. Headbutts. O’Connor roll. Hollister kicks him off into the chair. Sabu covers but Hollister breaks the count. DDT by Sabu. Leg drop sends Hollister into the seat of the chair. Callihan rolls over the official. Low blow on Sabu. Callihan shoves Sabu out of the ring before moving one of the chairs. He spits in Hollister’s face. Series of strikes and a dropkick. Brainbuster. 1-2-NO! Sabu covers for two. Chair to Hollister’s head. Callihan lifts Crane and Scarlet on his back. Hollister with a superkick. Sabu tosses a chair into Hollister’s head. Arabian facebuster. Callihan tosses Sabu out once again. Bicycle kick blocked. Clothesline does hit. Sitdown powerbomb drops Hollister on his head. Three count obviously.
Match Analysis: The parts involving Callihan and Hollister were generally okay. Honestly, the Sabu parts were less annoyed than I remembered live. Not sure why he had to be incorporated into this match considering Callihan and Hollister have the potential to deliver a really excellent contest all on their own. Here’s to hoping AAW can deliver a one-on-one match on the near future. Decent for what it was but could have been even better.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Sami Callihan/9:10/**1/2
-AAW Heavyweight Championship: Michael Elgin (champion, AAW Heritage Champion) vs. Davey Richards
Match in Five Words or Less: The Quadrilogy Concludes
Match Summary: Code of honor followed. Elgin doesn’t let go, so Richards actually goes to the ropes. Go behind from Richards. Forearm by Elgin. Lock-up. No one gets the advantage. Elbow to the arm by Richards. Elgin flips out and gets a dropkick. That was different. Shoulder blocks go nowhere for Richards. Slap. Elgin off the ropes. Powerslam as he catches Richards. Kick to the back. Off the ropes. Richards with a kick. Leapfrog and a dropkick. Kicks from Richards. Takedown. Step over toe hold into the trailer hitch. Elgin grabs the bottom rope. Richards leaps over. Punt misses. DDT caught. Elgin powerslams him. Exchange of strikes. Big kick from Elgin. Back first goes Richards into the side of the ring. Elgin with a seated senton into the back. Leaping boot. Stalling vertical suplex. A whole minute later, Richards gets dropped. Elgin does a curtsey for the crowd. Richards out of another suplex. Slaps and an enzguri. German suplex. Richards rolls through and applies an ankle lock. Elgin out of the hold. Richards continues working Elgin’s ankle. Richards teases a surfboard but then just drops his feet across the knees. Richards maintains a leg submission and bridges over. Boot out of the corner. Elgin hits a pele kick. Elgin with back elbows. Richards with a kick to the knee. Chaos Theory countered. Blind charge misses. Kick from Richards. Bossman slam by Elgin. Powerbomb but Elgin’s leg is injured. Left hands by Richards. Elgin with an elbow to the back. Kick to the side of the head. Richards with left hands and a double stomp. Richards with a series of kicks. Elgin follows him into the ropes. Chaos Theory. 1-2-NO! Elgin climbs to the top and slaps his leg. Richards tries for the electric chair. Boot caught. Richards with a round kick. Running punt IN THE FACE. Elgin back in the ring. Richards to the top. Dropkick glances Elgin. Charging forearm. Richards hits a tombstone piledriver. 1-2-NO! Double stomp misses. Elgin brings him up and over. Strike to the side of the head. Suplex over the apron but Richards hits a series of knee strikes. Step over toe hold across the middle rope. Both men on the apron. Kicks from Richards. Strikes from Elgin. Exploder on the apron. Back in the ring quickly. Richards hits a double stomp. 1-2-NO! Running kick off the ropes. Kick to the head. Another one. 1-2-NO! Ankle lock. Elgin almost makes the ropes but has to kick away instead. Spin kick. Elgin with a backfist. Pele but Richards catches the leg and applies the ankle lock. Elgin makes it to the rope. Kick from Elgin. Kick to the head. Elgin into the firemen’s carry. Off the top rope and an AIR RAID CRASH! 1-2-NO! CROSSFACE! Richards roll through for two. Kick to the head. Elgin with a ridiculous knee. Forearm. Backfist. Bucklebomb. Spinning powerbomb. Elgin retains.
Match Analysis: Elgin and Richards are one of the few duos who could have a four star match and have it be the third best in a series. I’m glad these two got to complete their series of matches in the Midwest. Just incredible must see action. Richards has done a great deal to get Elgin over this year in three different companies and no matter what we think of him as a person, the man deserves credit for going far enough in making Elgin a top tier performer in 2012.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL AAW Heavyweight Champion-Michael Elgin/21:44/****
The Verdict: The main event is worth just enough to make this show worth recommending. There was a lot, particularly in the first half of the show, that didn’t exactly wow me. Regardless, I did appreciate much of what I saw from the folks in the tag team title and heavyweight title match. The four way was on the short side but still featured good action. I also liked the pacing of this show significantly more as the undercard filler didn’t get time while the matches that needed time got it.
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