AAW Defining Moment

[Sam Fain]

Tonight I'll be going back to the Berwyn Eagles Club for my first AAW show. It'll be the first appearance of Cody Rhodes for the promotion, too. Main event is a mask vs title match between Fenix and Sami Callihan. Stoked for the show, to say the least. There will be quite a few wrestlers from the game there so I may try to get some cards signed if possible.

I'll post a report later after the show!

[aceldamas]

Sooo... Sami's losing the title then? LOL. Maybe not but in this era of no real kayfabe, where is the attraction of that stipulation? No way Fenix is unmasking and especially not in AAW. So either Sami loses or there will be a cheesy schmaz finish. At least the match itself should be good. Have fun!

[Sam Fain]

Haha, yeah, I think we all knew he'd be losing the title, but there was still enough doubt to make a couple of the near falls matter. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

Quick Results:
PACO over Connor Braxton
Jeff Cobb over Joey Janela
Besties in the World (Mat Fitchett & Davey Vega) & ACH over Colt Cabana & Team Tremendous (Bill Carr & Dan Barry)
Matt Riddle over Shane Strickland
Keith Lee over Trevor Lee & AR Fox
Penta 0 M over Brian Cage to retain the AAW Heritage Championship
Scarlet & Graves (Desmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) over OI4K (Dave & Jake Crist w/ JT Davidson) to retain the AAW Tag Team Championship
Cody Rhodes over Zema Ion
Fenix over Sami Callihan to win the AAW World Heavyweight Championship

Detials:

PACO (who is very over with the AAW crowd) beat Connor Braxton with a roll up. Braxton was drawing quite a bit of "go home heat", but it really wasn't warranted. He's got a pretty good look and his fundamentals are sound enough. Just nothing remarkable about him. PACO is a fun wrestler and got some babyface love, but again, nothing remarkable.

Jeff Cobb over Joey Janela in a decent match. They had a scary moment where Cobb was going for a T-bone on the apron and they wiped out to the floor, but neither guy was too shaken up. I'd be okay with less apron spots if it means guys work safer. Cobb has excellent presence and I heard a couple guys say he's gotten better since the last time they saw him. He's got a hell of a lot of potential, for sure.

The Besties (Matt Fitchett & Davey Vega) & ACH went over Colt Cabana & Team Tremendous. This one was mostly comedy, but it was a more real style of comedy than what we might expect from wrestling these days (no dick suplexes, no invisible grenades, etc.). There was one spot where all the guys got blasted with some stiff move (a superkick, knee, lariat, etc.) and Colt had been laying on the outside after taking a dive, Colt rolled in stood and then saw all 5 guys on the mat and then laid down and screamed in pain. It totally worked when maybe it shouldn't have, haha. Vega & ACH are very over and ACH did a sing along to "I'll Be There For You" (Theme song from Friends) because the Besties are having issues and he doesn't want them to split up.

Matt Riddle over Shane Strickland with the match of the night. These two worked their asses off and Riddle has continued to grow and show he can literally work with anyone and any style while still not losing his own style. Lots of strikes (knees, elbows, kicks). Some great submission and ground stuff from both. Riddle with some suplexes that were brutal and Strickland with some great high flying. Just incredible. One of the best matches I've seen live... Which might not being saying a whole lot, but this was genuinely on another level than most of the stuff from the night. I met both after the show and they were super cool. Got a chance to chat with Riddle a bit and he genuinely seems to be loving life and enjoying every minute of being in the ring. It shows.

Keith Lee went over Trevor Lee and AR Fox in a 3-way. All three guys are over and Trevor knows how to draw the heel heat in an old school sort of way. He did something pretty funny before the bell going to Keith and acting like he was his brother and since they're brothers they should be a tag team. Keith was amused, but then clobbered him and Fox so he could "bask in his glory". All three were great in this match. Fox may have edged the other two out for the standout, but it's a tough call. Trevor Lee works some super smart spots that are different from a lot what's done these days. Some of the moves might not be different per se, but the way he does them is unique. Lee is massive. They did the superplex/power bomb spot and it was literally Keith holding up Trevor holding up Fox for about an 8 count... Incredible. Worth mentioning they're clearly working to a Fox/Cobb match as each interfered in the others match.

Penta 0 M over Brian Cage. This didn't go quite as long as I would've expected, but it was a lot of fun. Cage is a freak of nature. His speed and agility shouldn't come with those muscles. He was also a super nice guy after and we talked about his match with Nakajima from last month a little. Penta was very over and won after two flip piledirvers and then two package piledrivers. Brutal.

Scarlet & Graves retained the Tag Titles over OI4K. Looked like Jake Crist got hurt in this one after a nasty landing on his neck and shoulder. He wasn't out for the post show and Dave said he'd need a few weeks off. Regardless, this was a fun match that went home early, possibly because of the injury. It was a brawl that spent most of the time out of the ring and had some fun spots with chairs and the ring bell coming into play.

Cody Rhodes over DJZ. Cody was making his AAW debut and worked the mic before the match setting us up with sweet talk only to dump on Chicago and say he had to scrape all the garbage off his hot dog and add ketchup. A big no no in Chicago. They worked a really great match and I was amazed that DJZ, who was injured recently in The Crash, could do the stuff he did. Cody didn't shy away from work the style either. He took some dives to the outside and they fought in the crowd. Cody got the win with his second CrossRhodes and then got back on the mic and said he lied... He hates ketchup and Chicago is one of his favorite cities in the world. Super over. Please Come Back chants. Cody looks great. He's clearly picking things up and it's not like he was a slouch before. He was also incredibly nice and we talked tattoos and he said ROH is getting a new belt at Final Battle. The Ring of Honor is also an incredible piece of hardware. Huge.

Fenix over Sami Callihan to win the AAW World title. Great brawl. They worked a very smart match that told a great story and while it didn't quite feel like the blow off it could've been, it's hard to argue that it didn't at least meet expectations and, in some ways, exceed them. Fenix is truly gifted. He pulled off some moves on the ropes and "flippy shit" that can't help but leave one in awe when you see it in person. Sami's manager, JT Davidson, is also great and got some juice early in the match, honestly couldn't tell if it was hardway or not from a dive that Fenix did. Sami tore the mask and used a bunch of chairs and they brawled in the crowd, but eventually it went in and they traded nearfalls. Sami unmasked Fenix and got a nearfall which is the same spot that got him the win a while back, then Fenix took back his stolen mask from Sami's manager and when Sami turned around he couldn't believe he had the mask back on. Sami got the stretch muffler and folks bought that we might see Fenix lose, but he somehow positioned himself so that Sami had to let go or get pinned. Fenix eventually won via submission with what looked like a rings of Saturn combined with a Koji clutch, I'm not sure what it was. No one thought Sami would tap, but the place popped big for Fenix's win. After Dave Crist and Sami teased attacking him, but eventually hugged it out and raised his hand. Fenix ended up giving Sami one of his masksThen Sami came back out and kissed Fenix full on the mouth and left. It was odd (not because of the kiss), but because it felt like they were seconds away from attacking him after the set up and then didn't.

Damn good show. The crowd is great and some sections feel like a family because they've been coming so long. People driving in from Wisconsin, Indiana, Michigan,and Missouri, so the promotion definitely draws in the region. Some consider it on the level of PWG. I wouldn't necessarily put it there, but certainly close.

I'd go out of your way to see Strickland/Riddle for sure. Probably Fenix/Callihan if you've followed the story at all or like the two guys.

Next up is EVOLVE on 9/23, then back to AAW 10/13 & 14 for the Jim Lynman Memorial Tourney, then the Kenny Omega ROH show on 10/15, and then RISE/SHIMMER weekend in November... Yeah, I'm buying tickets like it's my job.

[Gunslinger]

That sounds like an awesome show. The Besties are taking on Penta and Fenix at the next Glory Pro show and I'm really excited about it.

[TTX]

hope we get Fitchett signed at some point then.

[Sam Fain]

Gunslinger Man, that might be one of the many reason to make the drive over for Glory Pro. A match I'd like to see, for sure. My first AAW show and it will definitely not be my last. Might even pick up tickets for the Lasalle show next month.

TTX I would love to see Fitchett in the game. Guy is not only great in the ring, but he has a great look and is definitely committed to his performance/gimmick.

[Tournament Master]

Great review Sam Fain! I would love to check out an AAW show at some point. Still have yet to see Fenix and Penta live.

[Sam Fain]

Thanks Tournament Master ! I had a blast. I hadn't been in a position to see live shows in a long time (original ECW days when I was a teenager) due to my work schedule and finances, but that changed earlier this year and I'm on a mission to see as many as I can in the area. Lucky to be in a great location (Chicago). If there's ever anything I can do to help out the game by way of going to these shows and meeting folks, let me know because I'd love to.

In the meantime, I'll keep posting reports and continue to refine things. Need to be better at getting times and finishers, but it was pretty damn hard to hear the times on occasion because it was so loud and we were having so much fun. That said, I enjoy doing it and would like to get better.