You can watch the first episode here on AAW Pro’s Youtube Channel. Hosted by Phil Colvin and Derek St. Holmes, featuring matches from One Twisted Christmas 2013. You can check out Jerome’s review of the entire event here.
They start the show the We Are Here (Kevin Harvey, Nikki, and Keith Walker). Harvey says that Keith Walker’s only loss to Elgin came in a controversial fashion, and he calls out Elgin for a rematch. This promo does not feel like it is for the uninitiated, but those who already follow AAW. The promo and match happen in the middle of a story, so we never see the unbeatable machine Walker is supposed to be. The match itself was the type of match they should show- short, action packed, with lots of high impact moves. The two big men attempted to one up one another, including having mirroring turnbuckle spots and trading suplexes. Tweek Phoenix and the rest of We Are Here attempt to interfere, but Elgin manages to neutralize them easily and eventually overpower Walker.
Matt Cage’s promo played next. Cage promised an up and comer a shot at the Heritage title. This was actually the kind of promo I want to see from these shows, a fine introduction to Cage that any viewer can pick up on; I just wish this wasn’t stuff I’ve already seen. Malakai Matthews accepted the challenge. Cage dominates Matthews for most of the match. Commentary is even making fun of Matthews. Matthews provides some life, but the story here was that Matthews was too new to know how to make the most of any string of offense that he made. Nothing too exciting. This was a showcase for Cage, and he looked solid.
The last match is Tweek Phoenix (with We Are Here) vs. Colt Cabana. The idea of Cabana being on the main event of the show makes sense to me. The match being this one doesn’t. Cabana goofs off, snapping his towel and doing other things one might expect from Cabana. In combination with the serious nature of the We Are Here faction, it creates a clear clash of styles, but the match just wasn’t very interesting. Nikki running away from Cabana screaming “I was just kidding,” however, may have been the highlight of the show. Harvey and Nikki’s involvement was much more interesting than the match itself. Cabana taps Phoenix out.
The first episode was parts of the beginning of One Twisted Christmas, packaged as a one hour show. If you own One Twisted Christmas, this isn’t for you: this should be an appetizer of sorts for people who don’t already follow AAW. The match quality is mixed — if nothing else, Elgin/Walker was enjoyable — and this is a shaky start. I would like to see more original content going forward: it would help create reasons for fans to watch, and solve some of my problems with the show. If you’ve never seen AAW, this might help you get a feel of what the shows are like, both the fun and the mediocre.
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