AIW Is This Something You Might Be Interested in? 4/30/21

Kaplan vs. Levi Everett

ER: This was fine, a little wandering for a 6 minute opener, but not bad. Neither guy has a ton of finesse or accuracy behind their strikes, but they throw them with intent and that is more important. I'm always partial to a hairline struggle brawl, makes things hit a little better. Everett has a great "Buffalo Bill on a bad day" faded glory, and Kaplan sports a "Me in a few years", and I dig Kaplan grabbing Everett by the hair to smack him around a bit. Commentary does a cool job of putting Kaplan over as a blue collar brawler, a guy who had a war with Matthew Justice the night before, woke up at 5 AM for his contractor gig, then came to this show to brawl with a butter churner. Kaplan takes an awesome bump off the top to the floor, hitting the wooden stage stairs on the way down, and later misses a huge cannonball into the guardrail. I like a match structured around a fat guy missing his offense, although Everett comes off a bit too big to be working as much like Spike Dudley as he was. Still, I liked Everett's flying back elbow, and him dodging Kaplan offense was cool. Kaplan was really swinging on clotheslines, and you knew if one of them hit that it was going to hit hard. And what do you know? Everett does a kind of pointless arm break spot (can we start shifting away from breaking arms and fingers in matches? It kind of makes any long term storytelling a bit tough), but Kaplan saves it by jamming his shoulder back into the socket before laying Everett the hell out with a standing lariat. 

Louis Lyndon/Jack Verville vs. Chuck Stone/Arthur McArthur

ER: This felt more like Chikara than AIW, and the moments wasted on horseshit weren't that interesting, but once they built to the finishing stretch things picked up nicely. Lyndon and Verville are working as "9 to 5", like the old Mr. Zero gimmick but really half-assed, just wearing generic lucha masks and button downs and only occasionally integrating the gimmick. If you're going to make rolled up dress shirts and neckties your gimmick, I'm going to need something more interesting than necktie chokes. The sentiment of "This business has kicked us around for over a decade and we haven't made it anywhere in it, so we are just getting normal jobs" is a good one, but the ring work never really matched up to the sentiment. If they snipped out the early match comedy and picked things up on McArthur hitting a wild dive, we would have had something. That was the real turning point, and once Chuck Stone tagged in we kept up a nice pace to the finish. Stone is a beefy guy who comes in with some nice avalanches, big black hole slam, takes a cool double dropkick from 9 to 5, and we build to a nutso iron claw powerbomb where McArthur palms one of 9 to 5 from the top rope into a powerbomb over Stone's knee. Still, overall not a great use of time and a debuting gimmick should have more oomph. 

Allysin Kay vs. Joseline Navarro

ER: This match really surprised me with how physical it was. A lot of modern women's wrestling is really heavily structured around rehearsed sequences, and this had much more of a fight feel with minimal rehearsed bits, no shocked face kickouts, and a lot of good thuds. I think Allysin Kay is the actual wrestler that people say Kris Statlander is. Kay is super confident in the ring and comes off very comfortable pacing a match, and it wouldn't be shocking to see her become a kind of Chris Hero type ring general in the next 5-10 years. Kay has been wrestling a long time and Hero has nearly 5x the matches as she does, so it's not like becoming a Chris Hero type is a quick journey. But she has that confidence and ring presence, and Joseline (first time seeing her) was a good opponent for her style. Kay works over her shoulder and chokes Joseline with her own arms, and Joseline takes a couple of hard bumps into the guardrail and got dragged and smacked around ringside. I loved her dragging Kay to the floor by the legs, but Kay pump kicking her backwards into the rail. Joseline took the bump really fast, the way the best lucha bases can also expertly fling themselves into the barricade after a nice catch. Kay's bullying was really great, go so far as to rip off one of Joseline's fake eyelashes, which is an fantastic spot. Joseline hits a sick low crossbody while Kay is slumped in the corner, but I think it would have been a bit better had Kay kind of punched through a win instead of wearing her down a bit. It felt a little long down the very home stretch even though it was under 10 minutes, but I still think it built to a good finish. Impressed with both here, love it when a match sneaks up and kicks my ass. 

Tommy Rich/Mance Warner/Philly Marino Experience vs. Bitcoin Boyz/The Duke/Ethan Wright

ER: This starts as a fun Wildfire vs. Mance singles before the Bitcoin Boyz and Ethan Wright run in and beat them both down, with The Duke working some fun "explaining the beatdown" mic work, stretching reallllll far to start a fight by reasoning that Wright was trained by Harley Race, and Rich beat Race for the title, so Wright is working a "Getting Revenge for My Sensei" angle which is a hilarious and great way to get us into an 8 man brawl. Tommy Rich is 64 years old and it is insane that he is one of the ECW guys who are still occasionally working. He works this the way Satanico would have been working matches had he gained 80 pounds. The match absolutely nails the best vibe for the first 2/3 of this but then falls apart once they get to the prop portion of the match, but the highs are awesome. The first 6 minutes are the kind of thing AIW does best, 8 guys brawling around with all of them doing compelling stuff, fighting for your own attention, and somehow not getting in each other's way. Every time I see PME I'm immediately reminded why I love PME so much. Marino and Philly rescue Tommy and Mancer and both hit planchas onto the heels, and both throw blows that really land. Mancer kicked a whole lotta ass in the early portions of this, just nukes Ethan Wright with a running knee, and the Bitcoin Boyz always impress me with their willingness to lean into hard strikes and JAPW student bumps. Things begin to drag a bit when my boy Duke takes a bit long setting up a couple spots before taking his big bump through a table. He's at his best when he comes in, hits a great big boot, then takes an unexpectedly hard bump. But I liked his "high school coach doing a Vader bomb on the charity show" and the Bitcoin Boyz also took gnarly bumps through tables. Overall this kicked ass, but the best stuff came in the first two acts. 

Big Twan Tucker vs. Derek Dillinger vs. Brayden Lee vs. Casey Carrington vs. Riley Rose vs. TKD

ER: AIW multi-mans are always good at filling 6-7 minutes because they seem to have a bottomless roster filled with guys who can go in a match like this. Derek Dillinger (formerly Director but still carrying his clapboard) and Big Twan were the best guys in the match, but Dillinger's second Ziggy Haim was the real standout star. She's the second gal on this show I hadn't see before, and then wanted to see more. She exists in this match to get kicked, get absolutely lawn darted into a sea of people by Dillinger, and then get human shielded into a huge Twan spear. Dillinger is good at hitting hard and setting up cool spots, and he makes things like bodyslamming someone onto someone else look really violent. Brayden Lee took too long to make his entrance (indy wrestling is all about choosing entrance songs with way too long intros and then bursting through the curtain when the beat changes) and so I wanted to see him pummeled, but he had some real nice flying offense like a big Fosbury Flop to the floor and a crazy springboard 360 kneedrop to break up a pin. Twan knocks Carrington into the crowd with a running ringside Pounce and I liked Dillinger getting the win. 

40 Acres (PB Smooth/Tre Lamar) vs. The Mane Event (Duke Davis/Ganon Jones Jr.)

ER: A match with a lot of potential that didn't quite click. Mane Event are working a college football athlete gimmick, which I love. Both had a couple cool things but didn't seem like they really gelled as a team, didn't have a ton of flow to their runs of offense. But they had a cool, cocky vibe and Duke threw a Lamar-folding Saito suplex. Plus, their names are fantastic. What a great set of names. Duke Davis and Ganon Jones Jr.? Sounds like a best buddies who happen to be a star tight end and a quick pivot running back, respectively. Smooth hits a great big lariat to build to a Lamar hot tag, and they consistently did things I liked, but parts dragged. It felt like a tag that would be a lot better next year, after Mane Event syncs more up with AIW tag style. 

Eddie Kingston vs. Dominic Garrini

PAS: Eddie Kingston is a fucking psycho, he was doing an unadvertised drop in on an old indy promotion of his, on a day off of his contracted wrestling job. He could have come in, did a little shtick, worked the mic a bit, took a couple of easy bumps, give a post-match speech and everyone would have been happy. Instead, this may be the stiffest match of his entire career. He and Garrini brutalized each other, hard shot after hard shot, it reminded me of the Ki vs. Samoa Joe Fight Without Honor which help make both of those guys.  It all started with some pretty slick grappling. Kingston is a guy who trains BJJ and he clearly wanted to spar a bit with Garrini on the mat to open up, but soon it goes to the floor where it really unloads. 

Garrini does this great thing where he underhooks an arm before throwing Kingston ribs first into the guardrail so he couldn't block the impact, and cracks Eddie with some big forearms, chops, and a face wash into the guardrail. Kingston does this great sell a couple of times in the match, where a hard shot will almost energize him. He gets hit with a shot to the ear on the floor and he bums rushes Garrini and wails on him, like he didn't sign up for how hard he got hit.  He repeats it at the end of the match when Garrini hits a thunderclap of a slap to the side of his head and Eddie rushes him a second time to get him out of there with a half and half and three backfists. In between those two moments we had brutal violent shots by both guys, full of great fatigue and stunned selling by both guys. Meat and Potatoes wrestling (pun intended) and they couldn't have delivered more. 

ER: I, too, am stunned at how stiff Kingston decided to work this, as Phil explained on his off day from his main wrestling gig. Jerry Lawler wasn't typically taking time off from WWE to get punched and chopped in the eye. This is stiffer than any of Kingston's AEW matches, and you'd think if you're willing to get beaten up like this you'd want the most people possible to see it. Kingston has that same kind of vibe as Cactus Jack taking ugly bumps on every high school gym floor in the country. The crowd reaction is great for Kingston's return and it's like it inspires him to really amp things up. I loved the progression of it all, and the early matwork was really cool. Kingston is a fun guy to watch unfold a match, not really a guy with a well worn style. He's capable of taking so many different directions in a match that I just as easily could have seen this staying mat based the entire time. Kingston had cool ways of keeping distance while getting into knucklelocks, throws a kick to the inside of Dom's leg, scrambles out of an ankle pick and armbar, it all felt like they easily could have stretched it into a match. 

But things go to the floor and with no warning whatsoever the go to the floor and start wasting each other. This match was filled with brutal chops and they all started in this close up display, where it's like they were showing all the fans up close how stiff this was going to be. Dom hits some running kicks to Kingston's face and body, Kingston gets furious at the gall Dom has by hitting him so hard and just laces in with mean chops. And that's how all of this goes. I do think some parts went on a bit long, didn't need a long extended kneel and chop section and some of the stand and trade lingers, but they hit each other so hard through it that even those sections take on a sicko charm. Kingston also really makes sure to check off 3 of the 4 pillars too, as he and Dom trade brutal Kawada short kicks and knees to the face (Kingston's whole face looked like it was being rearranged on these Dom kicks), both throwing tons of fast Kobashi chops, and Kingston dropping Dom with a classic Misawa combo in the corner. Kingston makes long standing exchanges more interesting than anybody else in wrestling, and he finishes this with more of that attitude that he is just fed up with how hard he's being hit. He gets nailed and then just angrily throws Dom with a half nelson suplex, then just starts hitting backfists until it's over. Brutal, can't believe they went nearly 20 at this kind of pace. 

Matthew Justice vs. Joshua Bishop

ER: This feels like it's been the primary feud the entire time I've been watching AIW, but it's a feud I enjoy. I've really enjoyed Bishop's evolution into the heavyweight champ, and I am always entertained by Justice's specific title challenger main event charisma. And this was definitely a Matthew Justice/Joshua Bishop match. They do the best job of anyone on the Indies at working ECW/XPW dream matches, with the exact same nostalgia scratch, but with a real death wish thrill. These two are crazy, and they bring out the craziest parts in each other. Justice starts by jumping off the top onto Bishop and Barkley on the ramp, and Bishop comes back and brains Justice with a chair, and that's how this whole things goes. Bishop bleeds a ton, an excellent mask that runs into his hair, and there are some insanely reckless spills into unkillable furniture. Fonzie gets very involved, and they get just as crazy as the men they're protecting. Barkley throws Fonzie into the second row, and Fonzie comes back and Shane McMahon's Barkley over and over into a table that refuses to break, even dropping Barkley onto his head with a Death Valley driver. Bishop wrecks a door over Justice's body, Justice flings himself over the guardrail into Bishop, and we build to a huge Justice splash off the top rope through Bishop and two tables. Bishop's splash mountain looks like it should wreck Justice, and I have no idea how Justice works as often as he does. The finish is some great violent improv over that same fucking unkillable table, with Justice taking a tombstone on it, then a splash mountain, then Bishop sets it up in the corner and runs Justice into it as hard as possible, then just beats Justice with it. The table stays standing, but Justice finally goes down. Some of the prop and table set up took far too long, but the hits paid off big for me, and these two are two of the only guys that make me think they genuinely want to injure the other whenever they fight. It's like the nuttiest backyard feud ever and I love it. 

2021 MOTY MASTER LIST

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Monday AIW: Hell on Earth 15 11/29/19

40 Acres vs. Aeroform/Wheeler YUTA

PAS: 40 Acres are a really fun stable, three guys who wrestle pretty differently and meld it well together. Aeroform and YUTA are perfectly fine dance partners, but this was an Acres match. I really liked his Kingston match but Tre Lamar is perfect in this kind of match, he had some really good looking spots and great cocky taunts, and he can sprinkle them in amongst PB Smooth's power stuff and AJ Gray's potatoes. I also am really enjoying slightly past his prime Flip Kendrick, he still has great athleticism, but he always has a bit of a grimace on his face, like he is pissed he is still here after all these years.

Allie Cat vs. Veda Scott

PAS: This had a bunch of dipshitty "I'm a cat" comedy spots at the beginning, but that was better then their epic indy wrestling run at the end. Veda Scott has a lot of ideas, a very 2006 IWA-MS moveset, but all of it is executed at half speed and half impact. There was some timing issues with Allie Cat's offense, but at least it was really violent when it landed. I watched this so you don't have to.

Erick Stevens vs. Alex Shelley

PAS: This is exactly what it looks like on paper. These two guys doing a 2005 Indy nostalgia match. There is even a pre-match promo from both guys where they nostalgically look back and compliment each other, including Shelley talking about Stevens working town while being married with kids, Stevens responding "Well you know" and Shelley wistful saying "I'm divorced" (Shelley's current workrate run has a a very divorced energy).  This is a nostalgia match for a time I am not particularly nostalgic for, but I will admit this was better then I expected to be. Stevens has good intensity and there are moments where he is throwing really reckless violent moves, which is welcome in a match style that is often overly smooth. I especially loved him just throwing Shelley over his head into a powerbomb into the corner, it really looked like Stevens had no idea where Shelley was going to land, and didn't really give a fuck where he landed. Felt like Stevens should have won and the finish run by Shelley was a bit mechanical, but I enjoyed this and wasn't expecting to.

Big Twan Tucker vs. Dominic Garrini vs. VSK vs. CPA

PAS: Much like one would guess, the Twan and Dom parts of this match were great, and CPA and VSK were TFS (Total Fucking Shit). CPA actually looked like he might have been concussed as he didn't seem able to pull off any of his spots and seems confused. VSK isn't doing his lotion stuff anymore which I am happy about, but is a super boring workrate guy without it. He threw one of the daintiest topes I can remember seeing. Twan and Dom are great though, and there sections against each other ruled, Twan threw two incredible looking spears including smashing CPA into the guardrail. I would love to see a Dom vs. Twan singles match, they have really good chemistry (although maybe what we need is Dom/Twan vs. Fuck Its, a Twan Spear vs. T Money Pounce battle would be incredible)

To Infinity and Beyond vs. The Production (Derek Director/Eddy Only)

PAS: Sometimes when I am reviewing AIW tag I fell like one of those insane New Japan fanboys who rate Okada matches seven stars. I mean it seems insane to call TIAB the 21st century MX or Philly Marino the R+Rs, but it really feels true. Both Production guys are still really new to the business, but TIAB made them look amazing. Colin Delaney especially is just a master at heel tag wrestling. I loved the opening sections with Infinity being a little ahead of the game in the chain wrestling only to get their taunts cut off with big chops. Delaney doing assholish kip ups only to get ripped up and do a little pain dance was just perfect wrestling. We have some great clever and violent heat on Only, a big hot tag and a super fun finish run. This was great and it so cool they have so many fun teams to work different tag match variations.

ER: AIW tags just do it for me, and To Infinity is my favorite tag team in wrestling (Jollyville has a shot at regaining that crown once they come back and wreck things again). They are so good at setting up improbable moments and spots and double teams that should come off convoluted and rehearsed, but instead come off like they have a bottomless back of tricks at their wrestling disposal. They set up long chains of offense without getting crossed off, and seem to work in spots that play to their opponents' strengths, mixing the routine up from tag to tag without forcing guys through all of their regular moments. My favorite spots are their little moments of meanness, like Delaney kicking Only in the head and stomach after tagging out, or Cheech stomping on Only's head while turning him in a crab. Derek Director has added some pounds and lost none of the things that make him fun, throwing cool director's clapboard hand thrusts to the throat, and trying wild things like a guillotine legdrop off the apron, and I loved the dance that sets up him eventually sending the back of Delaney's head into the turnbuckle with a sunset flip. Only hits a great blindside tope through the bottom rope and takes some good punishment, and I thought he was really going to be crazy enough to go for a coast to coast dropkick ACROSS the ring (he later hit one down the length of the ring). To Infinity and Beyond are about as sure thing as it gets on AIW cards, I can't imagine there being a match I wouldn't want to see them in.

Eddie Kingston vs. KTB

PAS: This was slugfest Eddie, it doesn't really have the sort of layered selling and drama of his best matches, just two guys throwing bombs. KTB is a fine opponent for bomb throwing Eddie as he can both dish out and take a big beating. I love how Eddie winces his way through a fight, even when he is dishing out stuff it takes a toll on him too, a chop is going to hurt your hand, applying a suplex is still a concussive impact on your body. I do hate to criticize a US Indy match for not having a big ending, but Kingston winning on a side suplex did feel a little abrupt. I figure these two have a great match against each other in them, this was more of a tease then anything else.

ER: I liked this more than Phil, but he has a pretty high standard for Kingston matches, and that's a fair standard. If you don't hold the very best to a standard, then who will you hold? I liked the bomb throwing sprint approach, a tight 9 minute blast that had Kingston throwing some of the hardest shots I saw him throw last year. His chops where hitting with his full weight behind them, and no matter where it comes in a match I'll always be fine with two nasty backfists setting up a suplex finishing things. The announcers make me laugh talking about how this isn't shirt and shorts Kingston, this is *gear* Kingston. We get some little things, like the way Kingston kind of desperately gets some of his hands up during a KTB flurry, hoping to take the damage from 100 down to maybe 85. And we get big things, like KTB hitting a tope after smashing Kingston in the face on his attempt, and a top rope damn superplex from King. Top rope superplexes are special flowers. That's when you see guys out beyond, legs shaking in microburst. Kingston hits a top rope superplex and, as Phil mentioned, shows off how important it is to have a guy who can sell moves that he gives. I think Lawler and Finlay have the best understanding of how to sell specific moves, how to take specific moves, and Kingston isn't a far shout behind. Kingston's sell of performing and delivering the superplex is as satisfying as the classic move itself, another example of the kind of thorough performance he gives even in sprints.

Nick Gage vs. Mance Warner

PAS: I enjoyed the early part of this match with both guys brawling through the crowd and winging beer cans off each others heads. When it gets back into the ring we get a bunch of construction projects with chairs and tables, and I really start to lose interest. The Gage/Bishop/Warner sections of these AIW shows are tough hangs for me, all of those guys are better then Tommy Dreamer, but I am pretty tired of Tommy Dreamer style matches in 2020. This is a style that appeals to some people, and this was fine version of it, it wasn't my thing.

80. Zach Thomas vs. Matthew Justice

PAS: This was a similar style to the match right before it (they really need to spreads these weapon shot matches out a bit), but I enjoyed it a bunch more. Had a lot of energy, and Thomas is a really dynamic offensive wrestler. I thought the spirit bomb on the stood up garbage can was a nasty a bump as you are going to see in this kind of match. Fonzie really adds to Justice's shtick, it really helps having someone at ringside to do the prop set up, so the match can keep moving. The finish was pretty fun with Fonzie putting on a Myles Garrett jersey and breaking out a Steelers helmet for Justice to brain Thomas with. A babyface Myles Garrett spot really works in a garbage wrestling match in Cleveland.

ER: I thought this was great, and have a feeling that Phil may have been too numbed by Gage/Mancer  (I skipped that one and went straight here after the Kingston match). On a show and in a fed filled with guys who hit hard, I thought these two beat the shit out of each other. I don't know what the Intense Title is supposed to be, but I thought this stood out as a big asskicking from a fed where I already expect asskicking to be taking place. Thomas has really great meathead energy and Justice really projects as a champ to me. Justice always comes off with the relatability and confidence that Seth Rollins should have. I love the way he connects to the crowd, and the punishment he puts himself and opponent through really does make him feel like the highest ceiling Tommy Dreamer, as a good thing. His right elbows hit hard enough that it looked like they moved Thomas's whole body, and Justice threw a shoulderblock while Thomas leaned into that shoulderblock like neither wanted to have shoulders any longer. Everything they threw at each other lead to hard landings and tough meetings. I love how hard their stomach kicks or dropkicks land, or moments like Justice sitting on the top turnbuckle throwing a hard punch to the charging Thomas's head with the side of his fist. There were parts where I thought I accidentally had it on 1.5 speed, and something about hitting hard at high speeds can really put a match over the top for me.

Fonzie is a real nice story, a guy still putting in actual great manager work in his early 60s. So many ECW guys are gone, and who would have predicted Fonzie being one of the few still finding ways to contribute quality to matches this much later? The energy he brings to a match like this is big, and we get little moments like when he casually grabbed at Thomas's trunks on an Irish whip. I thought the weapon stuff was set up and pulled off impressively quick, Thomas wasting no time at grabbing doors to set up; and the props stuff came off violent and painful, not gimmicky. Justice flew off the top and just landed his weight through Thomas to put him through a door. No silly moment of Thomas getting into position and waiting, only Justice knowing that his weight would send him through. The powerbomb that Thomas gives Justice, on the bottom edge of a stood on end trash can, is one of the most brutal spots I saw in 2019. Justice's body goes through so much, and his selling gives you the sense he's going to be feeling that in his left hip and back of ribs for the next two weeks. I loved the human moment we got, and part of that connection I can feel between Justice and his crowd, when he couldn't put Thomas away and the fans all start pointing up to the very high second story of the venue, while Justice shakes them off with his hands. "No no, fans, no life shortening balcony spill from me tonight. I'm just going to brain him with a football helmet."

86. Bitcoin Boyz vs. PME

PAS: We have seen so many great PME vs. To Infinity and Beyond tags, I was looking forward to see how they matched up against a different tag team, and this was really impressive. Bitcoin Boyz are basically six months into their careers at this point, and this was a hell of a tag match. BB are a really fun cheapshot shtick heel tag team, kind of like a 2020s PG-13.  They built a couple of fun heat sections, one on Marino and one on Philly, and when it came time for the comebacks they bumped like maniacs. There is a point where Marino powerbombs Taylor right on the top of his head, it really felt like he wasn't going to make it to the one year mark of his career. Duke is fun as usual and eats a tope with the back of his head banging against the guardrail. PME has such a great total act, I just love watching them from Susudio to their great finish, just makes me smile.

ER: Also place me firmly into the PME fan club. They're a really great babyface act, a really fun regional act to root for. They feel like the kind of 80s territory team that had a specific connection to their town. Bitcoin Boyz are still really new but already showing a polished goofball banana heel act. There are a lot of slapstick moments here, but both teams have the confidence to do slapstick and not feel the need to wink into the camera. There are a lot of "Aren't I funny?" teams on the indies, and I hate the majority of them. But Bitcoin Boyz sometimes tap into that John Tatum level of flounce, and it slays me. Mikey Montgomery and Eric Taylor have good timing with cutoff spots (there was a superkick that was used to effectively as a mood changer to show an overused move can still be a highlight), and are good at things you wouldn't necessarily expect them to be good at, like stomps to the chest. PME are a nicely complementary team: Marino is small but comes off tough and unafraid, the small mouthy guy who can back it up, and Philly has charisma for days and knows how to use his size well. Taylor eats a crazy beating, and one match after Justice takes the craziest powerbomb of the year onto the edge of a trashcan, here's Eric Taylor taking the craziest powerbomb of the year getting dumped on his ear by a Philly Doctor Bomb. Mikey Montgomery has some good physical comedy instincts and I get the feeling that once he starts hitting harder he's going to get really good. He's already good enough to be one of the few guys who can actually do a funny and seamless version of the "bounce chair off ropes and back into my own face" spot. The Duke is the best, a total loud mouth pee wee league coach, and he always takes at least one Too Big bump in any match he's managing. Here he takes a cool dad spill off the apron and then eats an awesome dive from Marino. Great pairing, can't wait to see it more.

Joshua Bishop vs. Tom Lawlor

PAS: I really liked the first 3/4 of this match, great hard hitting heavyweight wrestling. I love Lawlor's jab and low kick combo, and Bishop throws good looking winding Windham like right hands. There was a couple of great big move near falls, including Lawlor dumping Bishop on his head with a Michinoku Driver type tombstone, and Bishop having to roll to the floor. If this match ended when Bishop reversed the knee strike into an awesome spinning sidewalk slam, this would have been really high on our MOTY list. They add a bunch of superfluous stuff after that with chairs and handcuffs and ref bumps and we just didn't need any of it. I also hate the Money in the Bank stip, and if they were going to run Bishop vs. Justice as the main event title match of the Mania show anyway, there was no reason to have a cheap title switch here.

ER: This one really didn't connect with me as a war in the same way that other matches on this show did, and I actually resented them going too far with gimmicks when they should know to just rely on their own violence by now. Both guys were showing wear and still slugging it out, still landing hard shots, that all the handcuff and distraction BS really took away from things for me. And the post match title match cash in from Justice is not how I view the Justice character, and seemed like a huge waste of what should have been a way bigger moment. I liked a lot of the Bishop/Lawlor exchanges, like the way these two fight, and it felt like we were really about to get to the good parts of that when we got waylaid by an entirely different match. Lawlor was throwing some really great clinch knees, and the throws from both were landing hard. A sensible ending with a 12 minute runtime would have been justified, as both men were working hard and sweating from go. Throwing in the extra gimmicks just undersold how hard hitting the first part of the match was.


2019 MOTY MASTER LIST

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE EDDIE KINGSTON

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Monday AIW: 200th Show 11/2/19

CPA vs. Wes Barkley

PAS: Not sure what the point of CPA is. He doesn't seem to be doing the clip-on tie gimmick anymore, and now his gimmick seems to be middler at a local comedy club. There was some OK stuff with a knee injury, and I like Wes, but undercard singles match isn't what he does well. CPA goes over with a facebreaker on his bad knee, and I am perplexed.

Danhausen vs. VSK

PAS: What is it with crappy three initial wrestlers going over cool AIW regulars on this show. Danhausen is a great tag guy, but as a singles wrestler he is a little too concerned with trying to get over his memes. Still his actual work was pretty good, while VSK seemed to over enunciate every action, and his offense seemed to be all complicated ways to drop a guy on his own knee. They do some thing at the end where Danhausen drinks a White Claw, and spits at Derek Director, and yadda yadda. Tik Tok wrestling stinks.

Zach Thomas vs. Wheeler YUTA

PAS: Thomas is pretty fun to watch, he is a big kid who bangs away. YUTA is pretty dancy and the dancy YUTA parts of this match aren't great, although Thomas looks pretty good throwing fast armdrags. When the match settles down to Thomas throwing bombs and YUTA avoiding him and using his speed it gets fun. I really liked the couple of times Thomas just hurls his body into Yuta like a fullback trying to open up a hole.

Lee Moriarty vs. Alex Shelley

PAS: I was absolutely dreading this when I saw it on the match list. Moriarty is a guy with a tendency towards swing dancery and Shelley is the all time maestro of that style. While this match certainly had more than it's fair share of somersaults and dipsy dos, it had some other stuff which made it watchable. Shelley actually worked pretty stiff, and did a nice job as a pissed off veteran against a young guy, and Moriarty did some nice arm work leading to some big Fujiwara near falls after some pretty La Mistica's. I still don't think I would recommend this match, but I liked it way more then I thought I would, and it is Shelley's best match since coming back to AIW.

65. Bitcoin Boyz vs. Bear Country vs. To Infinity and Beyond vs. 40 Acres

PAS: This is what I came here for. The AIW four way tag match is pretty much a guaranteed blast every time. This is almost all new teams for this format, so it cements my belief that To Infinity and Beyond are the glue of this match structure. Fun structure here with two teams of beasts (Bear Country and 40 Acres) and two bumping heel teams (TIAB and Bitcoin). There is a fun spot early where Colin Delaney stumbles in between a face off between Bear Country and 40 Acres and ends up getting smashed by all four dudes. AJ Gray has really leaned into fucking people up and I am here for it, when I first watched him he was more of a thick highflyer and now he wrestles more like shorter Stan Hansen. Bear Country are a fun indy version of the War Raiders, perfect for this kind of match as they can hit their big dude spots and not have to put a full match together. Bitcoin Boys are neat, two tiny opportunistic little jerks who absolutely get obliterated.

ER: Love this. At this point I'm going to be shocked whenever AIW runs a 4 way tag match that doesn't wind up on our MOTY list. And this one has Eddie Kingston on commentary, which is such a beautiful combination of the very best things that it would be like In N Out also becoming a dispensary. Kingston talks about how he thinks Cheech is an ugly dude, compares him to Giant Baba, drops gems like "What is Delaney gonna get powerbombed for the fifth time?" or "He probably learned that from Quackenbush. So did I. Doesn't mean I use it though." Kingston loves this kind of chaos and the glee in his voice while the chaos is happening just makes me enjoy my favorite match structure even more. We get some great sequences and set ups all throughout, too many to mention. Bitcoin Boyz are super new, and they fit in nicely by bumping big (Taylor takes maybe the bump of the match when he gets tossed over the top, tries to hang on, and basically falls down the ring steps and winds up 15 feet away from the ring; at the same time Mikey was taking a cutter from Delaney into a Cheech German suplex that landed him on his neck and shoulders), Delaney and Cheech continue to run everything - my favorite team in 2019 - and here's Delaney getting crushed by everyone bigger than him, then coming back and working nutty spots on Cheech's shoulders (ducking  a Smooth clothesline that sends Smooth to the floor on a low bridge), then flipping over (baaaaarely) when Mikey hits a crossbody off the top while he is still on Cheech's shoulders. AJ Gray was out here murdering folks with lariats, PB punched Boulder right in the face, Boulder hits his cool powerslam/powerbomb combo on TIAB, the dive train lands big, it all rules. And The Duke is out there, you know he's gotta take a shot that allows him to sell better than anyone else in the match. He eats a punch on the floor and then sprawls perfectly into the guardrail to hold himself up. After the match he even gets into it with Ted Dibiase, and AARP Dibiase throws a great punch and then a shockingly gorgeous Russian legsweep while holding Duke in the million dollar dream. Another AIW show, another great 4 way tag.

49. Manders vs. Big Twan Tucker

PAS: This was the rubber match of my favorite indy series of the year. The first match is still the best, as it was totally out of nowhere, but this ruled too and these guys have some real chemistry. Tucker has an awesome intensity which is hard to teach, when he comes out it feels like some shit is about to pop the fuck off, and Manders is a perfect foil for that as he is unwilling to do anything but charge into the abyss.  Both guys only have one speed. There is a hilarious moment on commentary when Eddie Kingston mentions that Twan was trained by Johnny Gargano and Manders was trained by Tyler Black and I just imagine how horrible that battle of the trainers would be. Loved Manders breaking out Twan's elbow combos early, only for Twan to fire back and smash him right back. There is another great moment where Tucker has Manders in the corner and he unloads with a 10 punch combo to the body, working his kidneys like a heavy bag. Twan also has some awesome strength spots,  including snatching Manders mid air during a three point stance clothesline spot attempt. I did think Twan's rana out of the corner may have been a bit too cute for this match, but it was a big pop.  I think this may have gone a couple minutes long, as it is hard not to get a bit gassed working their pace. Still what an awesome collision, I love both of these guys unconditionally.

ER: Yeah these are two guys I seek out at this point, but I've yet to see them look quite as good against others as they do against each other. They have real chemistry and really bring out that something from beyond. Manders throws the Twan elbows and that is a mistake as Twan lays them right back in, then tenderized his torso with a punch of great corner punches all fired at the body. The chops land hard, shoulderblocks look like they would put most cars up on two wheels at least for a bit, Twan hits a boss Thesz press, there are a few huge slams and suplexes, and I actually like the Twan rana. These two were both just eating every nasty slam and strike and then getting up for more, and I liked how the rana shifted things from just another big slam into something that distracted and sort of threw off Manders. The Twan spear is iconic, and these two really can't do wrong against each other.

PME vs. Dr. Dan/Parker Pierce

PAS: PME has really mastered the art of the old school southern tag, and while Dr. Dan and Parker Pierce aren't close to the top heel team in AIW (no diss as AIW has an amazing tag division), but this is great stuff. Really reminds me of a Rock and Rolls tag against a fun random heel team like Jake Roberts and the Barbarian. You can just plug and play. Pierce is a blast in this, some real hard shots, a great spinebuster and even a hook kick. Dr. Dan has some fun stooging and takes his one horrific bump per match (dropping off the top rope through a table). PME had some fun wrinkles in their formula including some nifty stuff with the legal man and how that effected their near falls. I hope PME keeps these titles for a long time because there is a seemingly endless batch of fun teams to match them up with.

Erick Stevens vs. Matthew Justice

PAS: Meathead ECW brawl which is something Justice is adept at. Goes way into overkill as you would expect, but we do have some big stunts, including a spear through a door, an avalanche death valley driver through a table, tons of head drop suplexes and a spot where Fonzie lays a half a dozen chairs and pieces of doors in front of Stevens face for a coast to coast dropkick. There were 10+ times this match probably should have ended, and it eventually lost me a bit. Still a fun spectacle, and Stevens gets to cross this kind of match off his bucket list.

58. Eddie Kingston vs. Tre Lamar

PAS: This is Eddie as old man Tenryu which is a really great Eddie look. He works over Lamar and makes the kid earn his stripes. He does all of the parts of the Tenryu shtick well, the contempt, the grudging respect, the panic when things aren't working out, and finally the determination to finish the kid off. I liked Lamar in this a bunch too, he hit and run well, and really timed the big moves well. I especially loved the double stomp near falls, with Kingston rolling around the ring in pain and Lamar shocked in disbelief.

ER: This feels like the kind of tough match that Kingston can have in his sleep at this point. I love domineering Kingston, because few guys are better at being domineering in a ring in 2019, and I don't know if anyone is as good as Kingston at being the domineering guy who starts to lose control. I love him stalking the ring, knowing Lamar's moves before Lamar is throwing them, always there waiting with a big chop. And I love once Lamar starts getting a couple over on him that Kingston's big mouth keeps getting him in trouble, like when Lamar comes up a little light on a running knee and Kingston calls him out on it, only to then eat a much harder running knee. Kingston sells that kind of stuff like a god, going loopy and grabbing a muscle memory double leg from the ground, even selling a nerve twitch in his neck from yelling. I did think Lamar came up a little tentative in spots, unnecessarily physically moving a standing Kingston into a spot to take something from the apron, and he was a beat behind hitting the enziguiri after a Kingston backfist (I was already not going to like him hitting immediate offense after taking a backfist, so it really should have looked devastating). But Kingston must have sensed my dismay as he decided to just throw backfists until Lamar stays down, and I am fine with that.

Nick Gage vs. Joshua Bishop

PAS: I thought this was a fun performance by everyone in this match although the match itself was a little disappointing. I don't think Gage is a great wrestler, but he really has a presence and means something in way few wrestlers in the the world mean something. Bishop getting the win over Gage feels like big moment in his career. It is tough to work a big stunt show like this after Stevens and Justice pushed it to 11; no chair shot or table bump is going to mean much after that explosion. Wes Barkley was great on the outside, he took the two biggest bumps in the match, and was Jimmy Hart level annoying.


2019 MOTY MASTER LIST

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