-Taped from Berwyn, Illinois
-Your hosts are Phil Colvin and Derek St. Holmes
-Heritage Championship Tournament First Round: Lamar Titan (w/Kevin Harvey and Nikki) vs. Marion Fontaine
Match in Five Words or Less: And So It Begins
Match Summary: With Michael Elgin as the heavyweight champion while still holding onto AAW’s secondary title, we need a new Heritage champion. This is the first match of a 16 man tournament. Titan offers a handshake. Fontaine responds. Springboard back elbow. Off the ropes with an armdrag. Series of left hands. Titan tossed to the floor. Baseball dropkick. Titan catches him. Headscissors by Fontaine. Nikki tries slapping him. Fontaine dips her and drops her. Clubbering blow across the shoulder by Titan. Fontaine guillotines him across the top rope. Series of jabs. Titan hits a hot shot. Spinning kick only gets two. Back elbow off the ropes. Elbow drop. Chop by Titan. Fontaine ducks and dodges. Titan finally gets the spin kick. Whip across and a forearm. Sliding forearm as Fontaine is prone. More forearms. Fontaine with a leg lariat out of the corner. Clubbering blows from Fontaine. Off the ropes and a clothesline by Titan. Elbow across the top of the head. Whip across. Punch to the face. Fontaine with a left. Strike exchange. Off the ropes and a huge clothesline by Fontaine. Atomic drop. Tea bag. Whip across. Fontaine with a kick. Double boots. Leg drop and a two. He landed ass first on his head it appeared. Superkick blocked. Elbows from Fontaine. Superkick. Cover. Nikki puts Titan’s foot on the bottom rope. Titan to the floor. Kevin Harvey has a chain but doesn’t use it. He’s the manager who doesn’t cheat. Fontaine goes for a dive but gets hit with a second chain. Uranagi into the knees and Titan advances.
Match Analysis: Was enjoying the action until the needlessly goofy ending. I like Harvey as the manager who doesn’t interfere, but Fontaine just hasn’t been doing it for me lately AAW. I really hope we can give Harvey’s group better things to do sooner rather than later. I am a huge fan of Titan moving forward and feel this tournament could get people to notice him a lot more. Decent start to the tournament.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Lamar Titan/7:49/**1/2
-Tony Rican talks about the Heritage title. Knight Wagner comes in and isn’t happy about not being in the Heritage title tournament and being relegated to the preshow. Rican calls him a Wal-Mart X-Pac. Ouch. Wagner will be back next month.
– Heritage Championship Tournament First Round: Dan Lawrence vs. Junthai Miller
Match in Five Words or Less: The Right Result
Match Summary: This is a rematch from the Windy City Classic where Lawrence held the trunks and got the win. Chop on Miller. Miller teases a kick but takes him down. On the apron. Miller springboards in with a bulldog. Lawrence clothesline does nothing. Boot right in the face by Miller. Series of boots, knees, and strikes. Whip by Lawrence. Miller misses a running kick. Face wash by Lawrence. Boots. Choking along the bottom turnbuckle. Snapmare and elbow drop. Modifed sleeper. Russian legsweep. Taunting boot. Snapmare into the nerve hold. Fans chant “boring.” Lawrence don’t care. Headscissors as Lawrence sits back and relaxes. Chops in the corner. Whip across. Miller with a back elbow. Springboarding as Lawrence is sent into the middle turnbuckle by his knees. Miller with a knee. Lawrence comes back with chops. Series of strikes by Miller. Lucha roll and a two count. Crucifx by Lawrence gets two. Kick by Miller. Big knee in the face followed by the stomp of Lawrence’s head. 1-2-NO! Full nelson. Roll-up. Lawrence goes for the middle rope and almost steals another one. Boot by Miller. Dragon suplex into an ever so close nearfall. Lawrence shoves him off the apron. Miller climbs. Shot by Lawrence. Top rope rana. 1-2-NO! Miller gets his foot on the bottom rope. Lawrence thinks he’s got it. Sick kick to the corner. Double knees and Miller becomes the second man to advance.
Match Analysis: This felt a million times better with a better ending to boot. Lawrence’s heel character comes across so much better in Berwyn. He embraced it more fully than ever, and we got a much better match. Miller looked pretty good, and similar to Titan, this is his chance to break out and prove why he deserves more opportunities across the northeast and Midwest.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Junthai Miller/7:22/**3/4
-Scarlett and Marcus Crane interrupt Jimmy D. Scarlett talks. She says the match isn’t happening and shrieks for whatever reason. Joke is on Colt Cabana because she’s terrible at office work. There are a million jokes to be made there, but I’d like to think I’m above that sort of thing. Speaking of being terrible at office work, it’s Colt Cabana. I honestly don’t know if that’s true. Cabana makes fun of Crane and says he could win with nine fingers. He threatens Crane. Crane sells because he’s awesome at his job. Hollister attacks from behind.
-Shane Hollister (w/Scarlett and Marcus Crane) vs. Colt Cabana
Match in Five Words or Less: Interesting
Match Summary: Hollister maintains the advantage as Derek St. Holmes talks about Cabana’s injury. Whip across. Back elbow by Cabana. Chop to the top of the head. Slap to the butt of Hollister. Cabana threatens the entourage. Hollister with right hands. Clothesline misses. Cross body by Cabana gets two. Double chops in the corner. Snapmare and Cabana gets a nearfall by wrapping Hollister’s head across his upper legs. Spinning bodyslam. Crane trips Cabana. Boot to Cabana’s injured finger. He focuses on the hand and injured finger. Dropkick to the face. Elbow to the top of the head. Right hand to the back of the head. Sunset flip by Cabana. Back elbow by Hollister. Elbow drop. To the finger. Series of right hands. Cabana punches Hollister. Hollister rips Cabana’s across the top rope. Kick below the belt. Suge step. Knee drop. Cabana grabs Hollister’s balls and brings him over. That’ll learn him. Cabana wipes his hand on the official’s shirt. Boot out of the corner. Wasteland. Running splash misses. Double stomp but Cabana lifts his boots up. Right hands from Cabana. To the jabs after he ducks the clothesline. Hollister with a kick to the midsection. Cabana with a flying butt splash. 1-2-NO! Welcome to Chicago countered. Battle for a backslide. Cabana with a kneelift. Clothesline to the back hits for Cabana. Flying charge misses. Kick to the back of the head by Hollister. He kicks the stairs into Cabana’s finger. Double stomp. 1-2-NO! Kick misses. Crane gets involved and gets elbowed. Hollister gets elbowed. Scarlett slaps Cabana. Elbow. Cabana goes for the tombstone. Superkick by Hollister. Scarlett on top. Hollister covers and gets two. Crane and Scarlett set Cabana up. Cabana kisses Scarlett. Hollister almost gets a superkick. Go 2 Sleep. Another kiss. 1-2-NO! Crane pulls the referee out. Cabana chases Crane out Callihan throws crane in. Cabana throws a punch but Hollister holds a chair up. Roll-up and three.
Match Analysis: I understand the need to have Hollister win since it’s time for him to be a main event player. However, we’re missing out on some wonderful YouTube videos by not having the stipulation be lived up to. The finish was about what you’d expect given the circumstances. This was definitely a very good match as Cabana seemed fairly motivated. Good story told as Hollister worked over the injured finger for most of the match, and it least played a role in the finish.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Shane Hollister/12:52/***1/4
-Cabana asks if everyone is tired of the 3-on-1 crap. Cabana says he’s going to even the odds and points to some fans for help.
–MsChif interview. She’s got the advantage tonight going into his match with Danny Daniels. She’s got friends in the crowd with weapons. Both Daniels and Truth Martini are going under. Well then.
-AAW Tag Team Championship: Irish Airborne (Jake and Dave Crist) vs. Davey Richards and Kyle O’Reilly
Match in Five Words or Less: They Worked Us All
Match Summary: O’Reilly and Richards were not advertised. Pay no attention to the other promotion where they’re feuding. Jake and Richards start things off. They stay basic to start. Dave and O’Reilly take their turn. Richards then applies a figure four leglock on Jake. Jake grabs the rope almost immediately. Richards woos. O’Reilly and Jake lock knuckles. Single leg takedown. Kick from O’Reilly. Another tag to Dave. Richards in as well. Forearm. Dave with a kick. He grabs the leg. Right hand sends Richards down. Jake with kick to the back. Richards chops. Shoulder block from Jake. Roll-up by Richards. Jake with a punch of his own. Champions continue working Richards over. Series of kicks from Richards. Clothesline. Jake knocked down. Into the boot of O’Reilly. Stiff kick to the back and then a running kick to the chest by O’Reilly. Richards with a kick to Dave. Snapmare into the arm stretch. He bridges over and then applies the cloverleaf. Jake breaks the hold with a kick. Dave tossed out. Front facelock. Elbow. Leapfrog by Richards. Dropkick on Jake. To the apron. Punt blocked. Dave with a kicking legsweep. Chop by Jake. Jake with a senton across the back. Another splash to the back gets two. Out of the corner and Dave drops him. Jake with a knee in the lower back. Richards with right hands. Backbreaker by Jake. Elbow on O’Reilly. Dave with a kick. Knee to the midsection from Dave. Standing moonsault. Bodyscissors. Richards into the rocking chair. Jake kicks him. Jake hits a back suplex. Grinding of the knees into Richards’s back. Stomp by Dave off the top rope. Sunset flip. Richards double stomp. Back elbow on Jake. Forearm and chop from Jake. Richards staggers across the ring. Another chop. Forearm sends Richards down. Forearm sends O’Reilly down. Forearm exchange. Handspring kick by Richards. O’Reilly hot tag. Dave immediately booted off. Boot to Jake. Leg kicks and a jumping knee. Legsweep. Jake with a kick. Chop. Double team whip. O’Reilly with a double dragon screw legwhip. Dropkick off the top rope on both men. Axe kick on Jake. Greco Roman body throw on Jake. Alarm clock by Richards on Dave. Clothesline. O’Reilly with a tornado DDT. Brainbuster/kick combination. Double covers but only two. O’Reilly with a guillotine. Dave knocks Richards off the top rope. Jake lifts O’Reilly up. Double stomp from Dave. Richards has to break the count now. All four men are down. Richards takes turns kicking the champions. Acecrusher across the middle rope and a kick to the head by Dave. Elbow drop. O’Reilly immediately kicks him. Jake powerslams O’Reilly in the corner. Everyone is down again. All four men trade strikes. Double superkicks from IA. Again. Wheel kick and tiger suplex by Jake on O’Reilly. Dave moves a chair and sits down in it. Jake forearms O’Reilly in the ring. Exchange. O’Reilly clotheslines him over. Dave shoves him into the barricade. Punt by Richards. Jake obliterates Richards with a kick on a dive attempt. O’Reilly dropkicks Jake and nearly takes out poor Jimmy D. Running forearm by O’Reilly. He collapses out of the corner. Everyone in the ring is concerned about O’Reilly to the point where everyone, and I mean everyone, thinks this is a real injury. IA sells it about as well as two men could. It is noticeable the bell never rings. Dave kicks the middle rope on Richards. O’Reilly is alone. IA go to work on the knee, and boy are they getting heat from the crowd. Big-time heat segment on O’Reilly. Dave works over Richards on the outside. Single leg crab by Jake. O’Reilly has trouble even staying competitive. O’Reilly and Dave get into an exchange. Enziguri. Dave collapses. Jake knocks Richards off the apron. O’Reilly sends Jake into Dave. Inadvertent DDT. Hot tag to Richards. Jake rammed into the corner. Dave sent in there as well. Richards with kicks. Whip and forearm on Dave. Dropkick on Jake in the other corner. Kick to Dave’s head. German suplex. 1-2-NO! Kicks by Richards and into the trailer hitch. Jake cannot break the hold with kicks. Richards spits on him. Off the ropes. Richards applies an ankle lock. Double stomp misses. Double stomp and the DVD into knees by the champions. IA covers and gets two. Spike tandem piledriver broken up. Richards hits one on Jake. Rear naked choke by Richards. Bell rings. Draw.
Richards wants to continue. The brawl begins once again. IA get the challengers down and then leave with the belts.
Match Analysis: Unbelievable match between these two teams. They brought out the best in each other. Everyone shined here. This may have been the best match I’ve ever seen involving IA as a team. What a spectacular contest and another epic tag team for this company. The spot with O’Reilly’s knee was brilliant and major props to whoever came up with that. It fooled everyone from the fans to me to everyone in the back. It not only helped the match psychology wise but also gave the fans a reason to loathe IA. IA were absolutely elevated as cretins to the nth degree. Can’t say enough good things about this match.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Draw/30:00/****
-Davey Richards wants to be on every AAW show in 2013 and says the hunt for IA is on.
–Time for the monthly Sami Callihan basement interview. No Silas Young tonight as he’s got the flu. Callihan is wrestling in the main event against Michael Elgin. Callihan tells a story about a grizzly bear. Apparently, Callihan got into a fight with one. Life is short. Callihan turns this into a conversation about wrestling Elgin. The result is going to be different. Hey, Callihan stopped screaming at least.
-Truth Martini comes out limping with a crutch and neck brace. Martini claims injury and calls MsChif a dangerous wrestler. No weapons will be allowed in the match according to Martini. He grabs the glove. Daniels attacks MsChif and it’s on.
–Fans Bring the Weapons: MsChif vs. Danny Daniels (w/Truth Martini)
Match in Five Words or Less: Finally
Match Summary: MsChif comes back with a kick. She goes for a table leg. Daniels chokes her and sends it away. Martini confiscates the weapon. MsChif goes for another one. Daniels sends her into the barricade. Daniels maintains the advantage but refuses to use any weapons. He chops the post. MsChif tossed into the rail. Martini hands an ironing board to Daniels since that’s what women use. Daniels misses. Boot from MsChif. Daniels with a knee. Bodyslam. MsChif uses a present to wail Daniels in the head. Punch to the face. Forearm on Daniels. MsChif hits Daniels with a lawn sign. Daniels’s selling can best be described as goofy. MsChif nails Daniels with something. She chokes Daniels with a fan’s chain. Daniels with a chop to the back. Electric chair. MsChif hits Daniels with a cone. MsChif whips Daniels next. Wow. Choking. MsChif uses a stick with a boxing glove at the head of it. Pizza pan. I think this match is elevated by Phil Colvin and Derek St. Holmes’s commentary. Daniels rams MsChif back first into the post. Daniels teases using a panel but pokes her in the eye instead. Chop. Daniels walks around with a boom box. MsChif uses a bathroom sink. Oh no, there’s a Christmas tree in the ring. And a bowling pin. And a laptop. Christimas tree to the back of Daniels. Rubber chicken to Daniels’s head. MsChif uses a toy Millenium Falcon. Pizza pan shot from Daniels as MsChif is prone on the top rope. Daniels is bleeding. Another pizza pan shot. Superplex. Martini tries getting involved. The referee stops him. Poke to the eyes from Martini. Chop in the corner. The referee no sells and turns the situation around. Then he struts. Martini dives out of the ring. Daniels goes for a piledriver. MsChif sends Daniels down. Submission hold. MsChif goes after Martini. Daniels with a blow to the back. Martini mists his own man. Desecrator. Martini breaks the count. Low blow and off comes the neck brace. To the top rope. MsChif crotches him. Low blows. 10 of them to be specific. Daniels head is multi colored. Martini sent into Daniels. Piledriver on his own manager. MsChif has the Freddy Kruger glove. Daniels realizes what happens. MsChif grabs Daniels by his lower nether regions. Into the corner. MsChif rolls the bowling ball into Daniels. Submission hold. Daniels quits.
Match Analysis: Tough to rate a match like this. Honestly, it’s not about the work but more about the weapons. Great way for the fans to get involved and they always come out in big numbers to see these shows. I’m glad MsChif won so she can move onto bigger and better things most importantly since this feud was at times tough to swallow. Daniels did a fine job putting MsChif over in this final encounter. I enjoyed this for it was with the understanding it wasn’t meant to be high art.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: MsChif/16:27/***
– Heritage Championship Tournament First Round: CJ Esparza vs. Samuray Del Sol
Match in Five Words or Less: No BJ
Match Summary: BJ Whitmer is out of the tournament due to an injury suffered at Ring of Honor’s Final Battle, so Esparza replaces him. One of the rare times you’ll see Esparza on his own. Both men work the arm to begin. Each man goes for a dropkick but to no avail. They lock hands. Both men end up down but a double bridge. They roll over in the knuckle lock. Armdrag from Del Sol. Running forearm and knee to the midsection. Shot to the back. Armdrag and dropkick. Esparza rolls to the corner. He comes back and puts him in the corner. Del Sol with a strike. Esparza with a rana and leg lariat. Running back elbow. He rolls Del Sol over. Standing moonsault doesn’t hit. Boots out of the corner. Snap rana off the middle turnbuckle. Shoulder block by Del Sol. Forearm. Big chop. Del Sol sends Esparza down face first. 619 to the back. Armdrag sends Esparza into the barricade. Esparza shoves Del Sol. Enziguri. Dropkick sends Del Sol to the floor. Springboard tope to the floor. Kick from Esparza. In the ring. Springboard clothesline. Corkscrew elbow. Del Sol into the crucifx for two. Spin kick to the jaw of Esparza. Running shoulder block. Rolling DVD and a running kick. Standing moonsault. 1-2-NO! Kicks in the corner. Esparza with an elbow. Del Sol rolls away. Cross body by Esparza. Clothesline. Forearms. Del Sol chops. Spin kick. Hip toss blocked. Esparza with a spinning lariat. Shooting star press meets Del Sol’s knees. Roll-up. 1-2-NO! Gutbuster. 1-2-NO! Cloverleaf with a knee placed in Esparza’s back. Shot to the ribs. Esparza small package. 1-2-NO! Sliding kick by Del Sol. Springboard 450 misses. Esparza with a low dropkick. Esparza to the middle rope. Del Sol double boots. Headbutts from Esparza. Kick from Del Sol. Rising Sun and Del Sol wins.
Match Analysis: Esparza looked pretty good on his own. Del Sol is a different wrestler than the guy who used to put on two star matches on these shows. Great fast-paced action and a solid entry into the tournament.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Samuray Del Sol/10:19/***
-Jordan McEntyre has been working all month long and is taking a couple minutes to send this video. We’ll see how this goes.
-Keith Walker (Kevin Harvey and Nikki) vs. Dale Patricks and Tripp Cassidy
Match in Five Words or Less: R.I.P Class Wars
Match Summary: I can think of no match that better represents what happened to Class Wars than this match. Patricks and Cassidy are scared for their lives against the bigger Walker. Cassidy comes off the top rope and gets speared for his trouble. Shoulder block on Patricks. Overhead choke bomb. Hard shot to the face of Cassidy. Chokeslam on the apron. Patricks hits a superkick but gets slapped down. Powerbomb and then immediately into a lariat. Walker wins.
Match Analysis: Walker redebuts and just kills dudes. Makes sense to me as a way of bringing him back if you ask me.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Keith Walker/1:37/N/R
-Tweek Phoenix enters the ring after Walker lariats Cassidy. I guess they showed a lot of… heart. Right? Kevin Harvey gets on the microphone and complains about Walker not being invited into the Heritage title tournament. Harvey declares Tweek Phoenix the winner via forfeit. Then some music hits.
– Heritage Championship Tournament First Round: Tweek Phoenix vs. Louis Lyndon
Match in Five Words or Less: The First Loss
Match Summary: Phoenix shoves him in the corner. Lyndon takes him over. Jumping knee. Phoenix out of the way. Lyndon hits a springboard moonsault onto the floor. Shot to the back. Phoenix sent back in the ring. Phoenix with right hands. Boot by Lyndon. Into the ring and he works his way into the cross armbreaker. Shot to the back again by Phoenix. Lyndon sits and blocks a kick. Palm strikes. Lyndon with a rana. He gets distracted by Harvey. Side slam. Bodyslam and a fist drop. Lyndon dumped to the floor. Elbow to the back of the head. Lyndon sent into the barricade. Lyndon catches him with an elbow. Triangle choke as they’re on the barricade. Phoenix puts Nikki in front. Boot. Chinlock. Powerslam as Lyndon works out of the hold. Headbutt. Lyndon with a kick. Series of them to the side. Phoenix with a kick of his own. Lyndon with a spinning elbow. Flying forearm. Double chops. Back elbows by Phoenix. Dragon suplex by Lyndon. Cross armbreaker. Step-up kick by Lyndon. Harvey threatens Lyndon with the chain. Moonsault misses. Palm thrust doesn’t. Clothesline by Phoenix. Tiger driver. Phoenix takes his boot off. Referee grabs it away. Another boot in the ring. Lyndon rolls Phoenix up and gets three and immediately exits the ring.
Match Analysis: This was okay for a seven minute match. Lyndon looked fairly good, but I still think Tweek Phoenix is better in a team as opposed to being on his own.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Louis Lyndon/6:51/**
-Titan attacks Lyndon from behind. Into the ring and Walker rejoins the party. Powerbomb and clothesline. The preshow guys come out and don’t fare well at all. Then Ryan Boz’s music hits. After his back and forth with Harvey, this makes sense. He ducks Titan and tosses him in the stairs. Phoenix sent into the post. Now, it’s time for a staredown with Walker. Walker and Boz each decimate someone with their respective finishers.
-Jimmy Jacobs interview. He complains about babysitting Arik Cannon and is glad to be rid of him. Jacobs wants to go for the tag team titles with a different partner. Cannon comes out… drinking. I know I’m shocked. He wants to whoop someone’s butt tonight. Jacobs knocks Cannon’s beer away. Brawl ensues. They shove the referee down and then toss him out completely. Time to use some of the remaining the fans brought. Preshow guys back out. Cannon and Jacobs beat them up for fun. Jacobs hits Cannon with the Cornette face racket. Plunder goes in the ring. Now who’s going to clean this up? The locker room has been killed multiple times. Jacobs stabs Cannon in the forehead. Both men are bleeding, so Nigel McGuiness’s documentary did not affect them. Cannon hits Jacobs with a STOP sign. Jacobs uses a rubber chicken on Cannon. He no sells and hits Jacobs with the sign again. Brainbuster. Irish Airborne has finally seen enough of this tomfoolery and work over Cannon. Jacobs chooses not to help. Tandem spike piledriver on the sign.
-Callihan gets on the microphone and tries to talk. Air horn goes off, so Callihan says he hates air horns. WHY ARE CZW FANS IN BERWYN? Callihan wants the horn and yells at the fans. I’d sure as hell be scared. Callihan declares himself ready to win the title.
-AAW Heavyweight Championship: Michael Elgin (champion) vs. Sami Callihan vs. Shane Hollister (w/Scarlett and Marcus Crane)
Match in Five Words or Less: AAW Loves Callihan
Match Summary: Hollister comes out before the bell rings and says he wants in on the title match since he beat Cabana earlier. No one mentions to the live crowd that it’s an elimination match. That becomes important later. Crowd support would appear to be split amongst Elgin and Callihan. Hollister charges and gets booted in the face by Callihan. Shoving between Elgin and Callihan. Forearm by Elgin. Callihan comes back with one of his own. Headbutt by Callihan. Exchange of clubbering blows. Elgin forearms. Callihan with a chop. Elgin with one of his own. Callihan wheelbarrows and gets two. Exchange of nearfalls between all three men. Elgin waistlocks both Hollister and Callihan. Into the bridge for two. Crane grabs Callihan’s leg. Kick by Hollister. Elgin into the electric chair. Hollister has a rana blocked. Back kick. Scarlett on the apron. Enziguri by Hollister. Tornado DDT. To the top rope. Double stomp misses. Forearms on Callihan. Spitting. Crane low bridges Callihan. Elgin kicks Hollister. Forearm by Hollister. Elgin sends Hollister into Callihan. Drop toe hold by Hollister. Leg drop across the middle rope. Callihan clotheslines him. Big dive also takes Crane out. Elgin drops Callihan back first into the side of the ring. Backbreaker inside the ring. Chops from Elgin on Callihan. Elgin back suplexes Hollister into the apron. Strikes by Callihan. Elgin power slams Callihan. Crossface. Hollister kicked away. Vertical suplex blocked. Elgin with a backfist. Callihan drives Elgin into the corner. Enziguri by Elgin. Rolling forearm. Callihan rolls through for two. Stretch muffler. Hollister breaks it up with a double stomp. I hate that in eliminators when guys break up holds and pins. Elgin picks Hollister up and sends him down. Snapmare and a forearm. Hollister DDT turned into an Elgin backbreaker. Crossface. Callihan applies an STF on Elgin. Hollister kicks Callihan in the head. Elgin lifts Hollister up. Callihan also held by Elgin. Elgin tosses both men over. Cover on each men only gets two. Elgin with a running clothesline. Callihan enziguri. Elgin put on the top rope. Hollister charges. Callihan ducks and kicks. Hollister put on the top rope. Elgin battles. Callihan kicks him. Superplex attempt. Elgin sits up and German suplexes both men. All three men take some to recover. Forearm exchange. Hollister and Callihan with duel kicks. Series of them. Back drop driver by Callihan on the champion. Back and forth with the forearms. Callihan with a bicycle kick. Exchange of kicks. Elgin finally clotheslines them over. Superkick on Hollister. Uranagi out of the suplex position. Callihan with a bicycle kick on Elgin. Death valley driver. Slingshot splash. Hollister sneaks in and almost gets three on Callihan. Suge step. He calls for Suge’s Last Gift. Callihan small package for two. Kick to the back of the head by Hollister. Elgin with the Chaos Theory. 1-2-NO! Hollister out of the bucklebomb. Here’s Scarlett again. Elgin Bossman slams her down. Hollister takes Elgin out. Running sitdown powerbomb and Callihan gets three. Crowd and announcers think the title just changed hands. It did not. Crowd NOT happy.
Callihan pounds the mat readying for Elgin. Battle on the apron. Elgin back in the ring. Superman suplex back into the ring. MICHAEL ELGIN IS A FU… he’s unbreakable. 1-2-NO! Callihan with a bicycle kick. Spinning backfist by Elgin. Two more and a bucklebomb. Callihan grabs the stretch muffler. Callihan with a boot out of the corner. Elgin with a leaping enziguri. Battle in the corner. Callihan sunset bomb blocked. Punches from Elgin. Superkick to the leg and Elgin collapses. Crane runs in the ring. Elgin with a knee. Hollister takes Callihan out as Elgin powerbombs Crane. Backfist. Bucklebomb. Spinning powerbomb. Elgin retains.
Match Analysis: Give Hollister a lot of credit for showing he belongs in an AAW ring with two main eventers. I hope Hollister and Callihan can have their proper one-on-one match. My issue is in no way with him but with his entourage. Hollister can and should be AAW heavyweight champion at some point, but I don’t buy it until he shows he can get over without the extracurricular BS. I don’t like the idea of people leeching heat off him. Young didn’t need Val Malone. Hollister doesn’t need certain individuals because he’s quite talented on his own.
Callihan and Elgin are great professional wrestlers. I still don’t feel like we’ve gotten the best out of their matches, but at least they ended the year on a high note. Callihan’s promos and in-ring work get better with every show. He’s also showing incredible poise and appears ready to jump literally any day. The elimination stipulation should have been mentioned to prevent confusion. Regardless, this crowd wanted a Callihan title switch badly. Too bad they couldn’t deliver.
Winner (s)/Time/Rating: STILL AAW Heavyweight Champion-Michael Elgin/21:20/***1/2
-Callihan says he has Elgin’s number and blames Hollister for the loss. Elgin puts over Callihan.
–Kevin Harvey acknowledges the loss but he’s upset about the return of Ryan Boz. Harvey puts “KILL BOZ” in the window. “And away we go.”
The Verdict: This show snuck in and was nearly the best of 2012. All the tournament matches gave the midcard a purpose and if nothing else, there was a reason for everything to happen. I loved the tag team title match and feel it’s the cornerstone of tonight’s show. Outstanding work from the brothers Crist. The MsChif/Daniels match was at least fun, and the main event was also a fine way to end the year. Big thumbs up for One Twisted Christmas.
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