Segunda Caida

Phil Schneider, Eric Ritz, Matt D, Sebastian, and other friends write about pro wrestling. Follow us @segundacaida

Monday, February 17, 2020

Monday AIW: Matches from AIW Bobblehead Night 9/20/19

ER: Phil wrote this show up several months ago, so I figured I would swoop in and watch the matches I wanted to watch from it, and add any worthy matches to our 2019 MOTY List!


Bitcoin Boys (Mikey Montgomery/Eric Taylor) vs. Aeroform (Louis Lyndon/Flip Kendrick) vs. The Production (Danhausen/Derek Director) vs. 40 Acres (AJ Gray/Tre Lamar)

PAS: AIW four team scrambles are maybe my favorite thing in current wrestling. This match was missing some of the regular standouts (WHERE ARE THE FUCK-ITS?!?!), but was still a blast. This match was really high flyer heavy and we got some really nifty dives by the Bitcoin Boys, Aeroform and Tre Lamar. There was also some nasty double teams, including a spot where Derek Director takes Tre Lamar on his back and smushes a Bitcoin Boy with a cannonball in the corner. The Bitcoin Boys had some moments of questionable offense, but took huge uncalled for beatings in this match, and that is always fun to watch. I didn't love the finish, and this wasn't at the level of the best AIW 4 way tags, but that is a super high bar to clear.

ER: This one didn't hit me the same as the best AIW multi man tags, but as Phil mentioned they have established a high bar for these types of matches. I think the only real dips in action centered around Danhausen working as Danhausen, and everyone kind of needing to hit pause while he Danhausens. I've really been digging the Bitcoin Boyz on these shows, they're real brats who have no problem leaning into enziguiris and getting tossed around, and I love how they'll also cheapshot and jump Aeroform and continually write checks they can't cash. The dives were fun, with Aeroform hitting stereo Asai moonsaults to the floor and Eric Taylor hitting a tope con giro through Mikey's legs. AJ Gray was wrecking people left and right, loved his big lariat. Derek Director was a big standout for me, and the backpack cannonball is a fantastic move. The saves kept things moving nicely, and I was left wanting more (in good ways and bad ways!) after a surprise Bitcoin roll up. I liked this and these AIW matches always scratch an itch, sometimes the scratch is more satisfying and lasting.


41. Philly Marino Experience (Philly Collins/Marino Tenaglia) vs. To Infinity and Beyond (Cheech/Colin Delaney)

PAS: Another absolute banger from these two teams, I can't remember the last time a tag rivalry has been this consistently excellent (maybe Usos vs. New Day although that got worn out after a while.) The storytelling of this match was a bit different, your previous matches have been all about PME trying to climb the mountain and unseat the champs, here they have knocked TIAB off that mountain and are trying to keep them down. Cheech and Colin are a bit less sure of themselves, a little more desperate and PME are on a roll. Philly takes a huge backdrop onto the ramp and sells a bad back for the finishing run really well, that little bit of tentativeness costs him a couple of times. We get good heat sections on both PMErs and a cool hot run, with Infinity trying all of their dirty tricks. I loved the couple of big near falls after the hot tag, and the super Sunset Dreams is a great escalation finish.  I also appreciate how both team work towards real heel and face reactions, there is no "Fight Forever" or "Both These Guys" chants in their matches, just beloved babyfaces fighting against dastardly heels.

ER: This was great, and I too appreciate the different structures that their tag matches have taken on. I never feel like I'm watching the same things done somewhat differently, as they really feel like they try to bring a different approach to each match. I like how they've matched up (at least) half a dozen times and don't necessarily do callbacks to prior matches, but their motivations change match to match. That's a fun, sustainable way to have a bunch of matches with the same guys and have it still feel fresh. It also helps when both teams are really great, which is what this is. These teams know each other and that history is implied throughout. Marino had a great undersized babyface performance here, loved that moment where Cheech is blocking him from breaking up a pin, so Marino just flies in with a springboard blockbuster, sacrificing his body to send everyone into a dogpile; later he punts Cheech from the apron, get his second attempt caught by Delaney, handsprings off the apron and superkicks Cheech past Delaney's ear, and then gets lit by a Delaney roaring elbow. There are always so many moving parts to these matches, and they're always new, never revealing where they're going until we get there. I really liked Philly's back selling, from taking a gnarly hip toss from the ring to the entrance ramp. Phil was right, he's not out here hamming it up, but it did slow him down and did cost him; rubbing out his hip while getting Irish whipped felt like he took something great out of Eddie Kingston's notebook. I love the efficiency of these tags, as we don't ever get bogged down in shock faced kickouts and chant milking. Here, when PME unexpectedly kicked out of a potential finish, Delaney just sat on the mat shaking his head laughing, like "These guys are gonna make me hurt them" before getting right back to just that. Marino and Delaney both take great bumps off DDTs, and I loved the early fun of "cutting Marino off, then cutting off Philly's cut off, oh and now Delaney is gonna hit a quick tope on Marino to cut him off again." These teams are just great at telling a new story in several interesting ways.


103. Tom Lawlor vs. KTB

PAS: This was good stuff, one of the better Lawlor title defense for sure. KTB brings this fun sprint intensity to all of his matches, and these guys go right at each other reckless from the start. They wing punches and chops and don't pause to stare and make faces at each other. KTB has really fun power spots, including just powering Lawlor over the top rope when Lawlor was stomping on his chest, and Lawlor does some cool MMA counters, like catching KTB mid spear in a guillotine choke, and snatching him out of the air into triangle chokes. Never lets up and ends cool and clean. Really a house show title match, and the post match Bishop angle sets up the next big title defense perfectly.

ER: This went a little long for me, but it's the first time they've met up in a singles and it's a big main event title match, and I dug how they had a straight match without weapons. Now a straight match for these two still means some bodies were going to crash hard, but an AIW main event without weapons or plunder feels novel. AIW guys are really good at working and appealing to the crowd in ways that don't detract from the match, as Phil points out you don't need to make silly faces and jackoff hand gestures to get people excited about two guys exchanging strikes. Just hit each other and people will cheer! That's how it starts, and it keeps up a damn impressive pace for the duration. I expected this to be more power vs. striking, but Lawlor is crazy so he throws in just as much power game as KTB. There's a great spot where KTB leaps in with an avalanche, Lawlor sidesteps and catches him off the ground, and Lawlor walks him toward the center of the ring in a go behind before dumping him with a suplex. KTB hit a nice spear early which set up a great moment down the home stretch where Lawlor grabs a guillotine off the spear. KTB is a fearless flyer for a guy his size, and his dives land well without putting his opponent in a dangerous position. I've never seen him just barrel through a guy, he just manages to wrestle heavy while landing light (sometimes I can do with a little more heavy, but safety first kids). The finish is inventive and mostly works, with KTB flying off the top for a diving headbutt but getting caught in a triangle (I think Lawlor was good at waiting to the last minute to shift his hips into it) and we get great moments of KTB powering Lawlor up but falling back to his knees, before powering him up again to finish off the powerbomb and break the triangle. The initial struggle before collapsing back to his knees was a strong visual, really put over just how difficult that would be this deep in a match. KTB immediately goes for a Beast-sault and immediately  lands right back in the triangle. They started at a quick pace that made it feel like this was going under 10, and the fact they kept it up well past that mark felt big.


2019 MOTY MASTER LIST


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Thursday, September 26, 2019

Thursday AIW: Bad Boy For Life Live Blog!!

PAS: AIW is my favorite promotion in the world, and while I really don't care about Janela vs. Alex Shelly, the idea of an AIW show with a surprise card intrigues me, so I figured I would check it out live.

Tre Lamar vs. Lee Moriarty

PAS: Fun start with both guys throwing bombs from the start. Moriarty didn't really do any of his goofy WOS I don't care for, and hit coolest spot of the match wasting Lamar with a tope into the guardrail that looked like it broke his back. Lamar is really good at using his leaping and flipping into stuff that looks really painful, his Pele kick is really high and fast and he rolls into nasty suplexes. Not a ton of selling, and Lamar just goes back on offense after getting smashed with nasty kicks for near falls. Still cool opener and this show is 1 for 1.

Zach Thomas vs. KTB

PAS: This is another bit of good match making, the local corn fed powerhouse, against the imported monster. Really fun slugfest, both guys have really fun powerhouse offense. I love Thomas's spinebuster, and he lands some big chops and forearms and a great jumping kick. KTB even breaks out the Mr. Fuji diving headbutt which is a great spot to steal. There is a one count spot which is a little played out, otherwise this was exactly what you want it to be. Old school UWF style slugfest heavyweight wrestling.

Weird World vs. Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham/Parker Pierce

PAS: Weird World matches have a super high floor, you know at a minimum you are going to get some cool Baba chops, and some sick Weird Body bumps, I have never seen a Weird World match I haven't at least enjoyed. This was on the higher end of Weird World stuff, Weird Body really takes a beating from Pierce who is a fun crowbar,  I like how the announcers put over his baseball background as an advantage for his chops and clotheslines. Dr. Dan stretches out Weird Body with a cool torture rack variation too. Then we get a huge Dr. Dan bump, as Weird Body climbs everyone in the match to give Dr. Dan a sunset flip powerbomb right on the stage, totally uncalled for and totally gross.

Joey Janela vs. Alex Shelley

PAS I really didn't like Alex Shelley versus Dom from last week, as it felt like Shelley just ran through his stuff without too much concern for what his opponent was doing. Here Shelley wasn't in exhibition mode, he was in super indy "Fight Forever" mode, which is a little better, but still basically tiring. Janela hung with Shelley's mat stuff early, and I enjoyed Shelley's heel stuff including just grinding his boot into Janela's balls. This had some big stuff, but eventually just turned into a 2019 2.9 near fall match, which I am pretty much done with. I think this is what Janela was hoping to do, and he showed he can hang in this type of PWG match, not my thing though

Danhausen vs. PB Smooth

PAS: I really liked this match with the face and heel orientations reversed, and it was even better with Danhausen as a plucky creeper underdog. Loved how Danhausen used his speed to stick and move and let PB Smooth beat himself, including Smooth chopping the top of the guardrail. When Smooth catches him, he just chucks him around the ring like he was throwing bags of wheat. With Danhausen getting in shots here and there. The spot where Danhausen puts spare teeth in someone's mouth is pretty creepy but for a signature comedy spot (horror spot?) it is pretty rad. Love every version of the 40 Acres vs. Production feud and want it to go on forever

The Duke/Bitcoin Boys vs. PME/Allie Cat

PAS: Starts out with some comedy wrestling varying from pretty funny (Marino stealing Mikey Montgomery's phone) to pretty stupid (Eric Taylor being allergic to cats). It breaks down into a pretty fun tag team, not a big Allie Cat fan,  but she will stiff a Bitcoin Boy, and PME are pretty unassailable at this point. Duke is in a weird position, as he is way bigger and more violent then either of the guys he is managing, pretty weird to do a six man tag match where the manager is the heater. Dug the finish run and the double Sunset Dreams is a cool finish

Manders vs. Big Twan Tucker

PAS: Their first match was one of my favorite matches of the year, just an insane intense fist fight from two giant psychos. This wasn't at that level, but it was still great and had moments which rivaled the best of that match. I think this went a bit longer and they stretched out and did some things that weren't just distilled face punching. The distilled face punching was there though and there was some moments where they were just flinging stiff slaps and forearms right into each others jaws that it jumped up a level, this may have had the only good looking hockey fight spot I can remember seeing in wrestling. I loved how they were slapping the teeth out of each others mouths all match, but they even ramped it up another level for the final exchange. They are 1 and 1 now, so we have to get a rubber match, and I am amped.

Dominic Garrini vs. Joshua Bishop

PAS: We get back to back rematches of my two favorite AIW matches of the year. These guys had a truly harrowing brawl WrestleMania weekend, and they get right back after it. Dom opens up with a tope and they just rip after each other. There are some real old school brain damaging chair shots in this match, some big moves through doors and Bishop getting skewers jammed into his heart. At one point Dom gives Bishop an F5 chest first on a barbed wire law chair. Wes Barkley comes in with a neck brace and I hope he isn't really hurt, because he gets mangled in this match, jerked about by his neck and F5ed on the Necro tops of the chairs. It didn't have the insane ending of the I Quit match, but man this had almost the level of violence, these two boys are crazy.

Eric Ryan vs. Matthew Justice

PAS Man they don't give you a break. AIW follows the crazy violence of the Dom vs. Bishop match, with these two nuts. They open the match with a barfight, with Ryan having his fist wrapped in a chain of forks, and Justice wrapping his fist in bullets. They must have dumped five coffee cups full of thumbtacks on the mat and took some gross bumps into the tack (at one point Ryan just throws a handful of tacks into Fonzie's face and Fonzie seems to be pulling one out of his eye, gross) We get guys tossed through fork doors, and finally Justice giving Ryan a Vertebreaker through a huge light tube bundle. Totally extra, in every way, two of the nuttier death matches guys around doing a nutty deathmatch

PAS: Killer show, this is a roster I love to see mix and matched like this and I enjoyed every match, with a couple of rematches which totally banged.


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Monday, September 23, 2019

Monday AIW - Bobblehead Night 9/20/19

Bitcoin Boys (Mikey Montgomery/Eric Taylor) vs. Aeroform (Louis Lyndon/Flip Kendrick) vs. The Production (Danhausen/Derek Director) vs. 40 Acres (AJ Gray/Tre Lamar)

PAS: AIW four team scrambles are maybe my favorite thing in current wrestling. This match was missing some of the regular standouts (WHERE ARE THE FUCK-ITS?!?!), but was still a blast. This match was really high flyer heavy and we got some really nifty dives by the Bitcoin Boys, Aeroform and Tre Lamar. There was also some nasty double teams, including a spot where Derek Director takes Tre Lamar on his back and smushes a Bitcoin Boy with a cannonball in the corner. The Bitcoin Boys had some moments of questionable offense, but took huge uncalled for beatings in this match, and that is always fun to watch. I didn't love the finish, and this wasn't at the level of the best AIW 4 way tags, but that is a super high bar to clear.

Dominic Garrini vs. Alex Shelley

PAS: There were moments in this I liked, but overall came away disappointed. Dom looked great, and the opening sections where you had Shelley doing his flashy matwork, only to be countered by cool Ju-Jitsu flourishes was a lot of fun. Outside of that though, I thought this was way too much of Garrini being a dance partner to Shelley's do-si-doing. It looked like a dance routine, and Garrini went down way too easily for such a top guy in this promotion. I can't remember the last time I saw Shelley, and I want to forget this time.

D'Lo Brown/Twan Tucker vs. Parker Pierce/Dr. Dan Montgomery

PAS: AIW does a nice job of delivering on their nostalgia acts. D'Lo hit all of his big spots, albeit quite a bit slower then in the 90s (no Low Down, but he did miss a second rope moonsault). Dr. Dan is a nice foil for whoever they bring in, and took an insane Powerbomb neck first on the guardrail from Twan which was uncalled for. Twan brought the intensity to what was otherwise basically a comedy match, and the Parker Pierce feud is fun, if not a bit of a side drain to a guy who was building big momentum. I am ready for Twan to move on to bigger and better things, or at a minimum getting a Manders rematch.

Erick Stevens vs. Wheeler Yuta vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Zach 



PAS: This had some moments I liked, and some moments I didn't care for. I enjoyed watching Thomas and Stevens hit each other, and didn't love watching Yuta and Moriarty find athletic ways to miss each other. Thomas is a big boy and wrestles like it. He had some fun power spots and he and Stevens would lace into each other whenever possible. Moriarty is seemingly on every AIW show in a four way and I still don't get it, he and Yuta really feel like they are counting dance steps in their head. I gripe about the guys AIW isn't booking, but there is no reason for Young Studs, Fuck It's and Weird World to be on the sidelines and have a match with these guys spinning each other around like they are on America's Next Great Dance Crew.

Mercedes Martinez vs. Dr. Britt Baker

PAS: This is Baker's swan song in AIW before going to AEW, and it really makes you wonder why she is the one of these two ladies who is signed. Martinez had one of the best matches of last year with Meiko Satomura, and looks like a killer in this match. Baker looks tentative and her stuff looks weak. She does slingblades and slowly rolls Mercedes into submissions, and I just don't see it. I give Baker credit for taking the beating she took, but come on, someone pay Mercedes.

Nick Gage vs. Wes Barkley

PAS: This opens with Josh Bishop clanking Gage with a Kendo stick from the audience, and Barkley and Bishop double team Gage for a bit, busting him open and Wes slams him on thumbtacks and Legos. After that bit of offense, its the violent squash you would expect with Barkley getting tossed around the ring into things and bleeding badly (he tries the mid air Michaels blade job, but does it really obviously, someone needs to do an AIW school seminar on blading secretly). Finish has Gage spearing Bishop through a table, and giving Barkley a chokebreaker on the top of a chair. Props to Wes for taking a pounding, this was basically the worlds most violent Ultimate Warrior vs. Bobby Heenan.

Philly Marino Experience (Philly C/Marino T) vs. To Infinity and Beyond (Cheech/Colin Delaney)

PAS: Another absolute banger from these two teams, I can't remember the last time a tag rivalry has been this consistently excellent (maybe Usos vs. New Day although that got worn out after a while.) The storytelling of this match was a bit different, your previous matches have been all about PME trying to climb the mountain and unseat the champs, here they have knocked TIAB off that mountain and are trying to keep them down. Cheech and Colin are a bit less sure of themselves, a little more desperate and PME are on a roll. Philly takes a huge backdrop onto the ramp and sells a bad back for the finishing run really well, that little bit of tentativeness costs him a couple of times. We get good heat sections on both PMErs and a cool hot run, with Infinity trying all of their dirty tricks. I loved the couple of big near falls after the hot tag, and the super Sunset Dreams is a great escalation finish.  I also appreciate how both team work towards real heel and face reactions, there is no "Fight Forever" or "Both These Guys" chants in their matches, just beloved babyfaces fighting against dastardly heels.

Matthew Justice vs. Mance Warner

PAS: This was a fun ECW nostalgia brawl, lots of unprotected chairs right to the top of the head, and long construction projects leading to hard painful falls. I really like Mancer's facial expression when he gets hit hard in the head, he is one of the better looking bloody faces in wrestling. If Wrestling Eye was still a thing he would make a great cover model. I enjoyed this, even though it was pretty dumb. Justice kicks out of a top rope piledriver through two tables for fucks sake. Sort of a stepson of Sabu versus third cousin of Terry Funk and it is hard not to at least be glad you watched it.

Tom Lawlor vs. KTB

PAS: This was good stuff, one of the better Lawlor title defense for sure. KTB brings this fun sprint intensity to all of his matches, and these guys go right at each other reckless from the start. They wing punches and chops and don't pause to stare and make faces at each other. KTB has really fun power spots, including just powering Lawlor over the top rope when Lawlor was stomping on his chest, and Lawlor does some cool MMA counters, like catching KTB mid spear in a guillotine choke, and snatching him out of the air into triangle chokes. Never lets up and ends cool and clean. Really a house show title match, and the post match Bishop angle sets up the next big title defense perfectly.


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Monday, September 09, 2019

Monday AIW (Sort Of) - UXWA 25/8 1/12/19

UXWA is another Cleveland fed which uses a bunch of our AIW favorites and puts up matches on Youtube. Their January show is online and has a bunch of fun matches, so this is sort of AIW Monday digression.

PME vs. Weird World vs. Razor City Shooters

PAS: Oddball set up for this match, with Weird World apparently being heels in this fed, and Bishop and Barkley coming in as babyfaces. It is just odd to watch Wes Barkley doing babyface mirror sections with Mario T. Weird World are fun heels, good at taunting the crowd and turning their babyface spots into asshole heel spots, but this was overall a little disappointing. The timing seemed off in spots, and it is hard to work two babyfaces versus one heel team psychology. There were a couple of spots which were flat out missed, and these are guys who usually having their steps down pat. Shooters turn heel post match setting up a more sensible heel Shooters vs. face PME match at the next show.

Culmination vs. Production

PAS: This was a battle of Industrial kids verses Theatre Goths. Culmination didn't do much for me, very superkicky. This Production line up was Danhausen and Frankie Flynn, and they had some fun combos, and I liked Danhausen's reckless topes. Still, sort of a forgettable tag.

Zach Thomas vs. Brian Carson

PAS: I have enjoyed Carson as sort of a lower card crowbar in the past, but this was more weak sister New Japan then crowbar. Lots of not great elbow exchanges. Also, Carson wrestled the entire match with plumber's butt. I do like Thomas's cannonball in the corner, and he put some steam on his stuff later in the match. Thomas had a great match with Eddie Kingston in AIW later in the year and has a lot of promise. This wasn't much though.

PB Smooth vs. Big Twan Tucker

PAS: The parts of this that were big dudes pounding on each other was pretty good. I especially liked all of the early shoulder blocks and shit talking. They lose a little momentum when they set up a spot which involved running all around the arena to shoulder block each other. At one point Twan gets stuck behind a guardrail and has to extricate himself to keep running. For a match built on intensity it really gets hurt by killing intensity like that. They pick it up some at the end and Big Twan is able to hit his huge spear to win. Overall fun stuff, and I imagine this match-up will be great with a bit more seasoning from both.

ER: I am...kinda surprised at how little I cared for this. This match on paper was the first to really jump out at me when I scanned the card, but a lot of this just landed flat for me. The running was silly, and they really didn't do a ton with it. I assume they were trying to add some flavor to "tired" shoulderblock exchanges, but I hate when guys try to fix something that worked perfectly fine. Back in the ring things felt real sluggish. Obviously, I'm not talking about the speed the guys move - they're big boys - the whole thing just had a tired 75% feel to it. Even PB's big boots were missing past Twan the whole time. There were elements I liked, the energy at the very beginning, the spear finish, but this one really let me down.


Tre Lamar vs. Chase Winters vs. TKD vs. Paul Pierce vs. Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham

PAS: This was really not good, lots of do-si-do arm whips and complex attempts that didn't land. TKD had some amusing martial arts spots, and I liked Lamar's dives, but most of this match was a real mess. I think these kinds of matches need a veteran to work out the kinks and direct traffic. Louis Lyndon might have been able to salvage it, but he wasn't there.

Ryder Reid vs. Derek Director

PAS: This was an entertaining indy wrestling match. Director is a bunch of fun in this, adding a bunch of seasoning to the indy move exchanges. I really liked how he manipulated Reid's fingers so he would flip off a little kid in the crowd. He really came off hateable in this. Move of the match was probably Director fireman's carry flipping Reid over the top rope. Director also missed a leg drop and landed right on his tailbone. Nothing I'll remember at the end of the year, but the best match on the show so far.

Chase Oliver vs. Dominic Garrini 

PAS: This was the best match on the show, and a really fun bully Garrini performance. I liked him using big takedowns early to control Oliver, and he wasn't afraid to lay in some big shots, including some nice knees to the midsection. Oliver is a hell of an athlete (his kip up is one of the most explosive this side of Ricochet) , and while he is certainly built for crazy AIW multiman matches, I thought he was fun here. Liked his pair of topes, and the running death valley bomb in the corner was nasty. I thought the shooting star press which Garrini catches in a triangle was a really cool spot and probably should have been the finish, although the piledriver Dom hits is pretty nasty too.

ER: Oliver is a guy I have loved in AIW multimans, but if this match was my first shot of him I don't think I would ever go out of my way for more. He's always looked like a generic kickpads indy guy, but in unhinged AIW tags he would always stand out as a guy with expert timing and cool offense, here he looks exactly as uninteresting as every other generic indy kickpads guy. He had a match long run checking many of my "least favorite things in indy wrestling" boxes. We had an overshot moonsault, a half speed legsweep that looked like it wouldn't knock anyone off their feet, a Spanish Fly variation where you couldn't tell who took the move or why it caused them to bump, a crucifix bomb that saw Dom land on him full weight so it looked like he was pinning Dom after getting crushed by him (amusingly Dom did a senton not long after this - a good one - and didn't appear to land as hard on Oliver as he did on this move Oliver was supposedly doing), timed offense that felt out of time (including three straight awkward armdrags), lazy looking kick from the apron, just a real treasure trove of things that make me skip matches. His two topes looked nice, and the shooting star press into a triangle looked incredible and really should have been the finish. The landing was hard and his face looked like he had KO'd himself, was genuinely surprised when he got up out of it so quickly. And then that annoyed me, because the best part of the match was immediately moved on from. I did like Dom here, thought he was overly generous and a real pro, and if that triangle wasn't going to finish then that short piledriver is a suitable replacement. This might be my first Chase singles match, and he was like a night and day guy from his AIW multiman work I've seen. Watching one of those No Consequences matches right before this one would be like running a Coppola double feature of The Conversation and Jack.


PAS: I was hoping to discover some under the radar gems from AIW dudes on this show. It didn't deliver that, but I dug the main event, and everything was kept at around 10 minutes. Makes it a pretty easy watch, and at some point I will check out the other 2019 show they have on youtube (also they ran Manders vs Big Twan 2, and they need to let me watch it)


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Monday, August 12, 2019

Eric Reviews Great Matches from AIW Absolution 2019, One Week After Phil Reviewed Them

46. The Production (Derek Director/Danhausen/Eddy Only) vs. 40 Acres (PB Smooth/Tre Lamar/AJ Gray)

ER: I was bummed by the non-match we got last time, and this gave me just what I wanted. It's no surprise that giving these guys time to do their thing was going to be fun as hell, and this was probably even better than I thought it would be. This was the first time I've seen The Production as babyfaces, and it kind of works because they have so many fun spots. 40 Acres work as a great heel stable, real showoffs with talent worth showing off. This was predictably all action, and the action was cool. Danhausen had this slick slingshot German, Derek was hitting cannonballs and sunset flip bombs, Only was throwing hard elbows and punches (and then getting hiptossed from the apron to the floor because my god), and we built up to a dynamite moment where PB hits the slam dunk onto Danhausen on the top rope while Lamar is hitting a huge tope con giro over him and into the obstructed view Director. I loved Danhausen scrambling onto PB, dug PB's big punch, and dug the plausible way they gave The Production the win.

PAS: These guys teased a match at JLIT, and I was amped we got to see a whole match. This was unsurprisingly great, I talked before about how the face/heel dynamic of this feud seemed off, but I take that back, the Production are great babyfaces and 40 Acres have a real nice heel charisma. Lamar especially comes off like a great super athletic dick, the wide receiver who does a six part dance routine after a six yard catch. He really rips off some awesome highspots in this match, including a crazy flip tope. Smooth threw a good looking KO punch, and threw around Only and Danhausen, and Gray was throwing heat. There was some superfluous stuff with Danhausen making guys eat beads and kicking them in the mouth, but man was this energetic, innovative, stiff, violent tag wrestling done well. All of these guys outside of Gray are AIW students I think, and the fact that they can deliver this is pretty impressive.

50. Philly Marino Experience vs. To Infinity and Beyond (Cheech/Colin Delaney)

ER: This is a big blow off tag match, which earns them some of its end run excess, but not all of it. This was rather different from their excellent May showdown, and I dug how this was a lot of TIAB cutting off the ring and preventing tags. Cheech and Delaney were stalking the ring with big confidence, always trying to slow things down and punishing mistakes. TIAB weren't necessarily breaking rules, but they worked like guys who had the answer key to the test and weren't being showy about it. Philly had some big offense (his tope must be like getting hit with a Yugo in a crosswalk) and I like how they kept him cornered and occupied. I love how the tope turned immediately into Delaney hitting the sliding German while Marino was still on the middle rope, one of several cool ways TIAB kept shutting down momentum. Delaney does some complicated things that don't read as complicated, they come off easy, like when he casually climbed up and over the ropes to hit an effortless springboard cutter on Philly. It looks like it should be more difficult, but again, Delaney looks like he has all the answers.

I didn't really love the home stretch, starting with Marino kicking out of an absolutely devastating Delaney tombstone off the middle buckle. I don't think there was much chance of anything else down the homestretch looking any more dangerous than that, and some wind got taken out of my sails on that kickout. From there the match didn't seem as organic to me. It felt like a series of resets and restarts, hitting a big move, taking a breather and then all getting up to try another move. Some of them were pretty nasty (the tag team vertebreaker on Marino looked neck snapping and lead to a nice use of breaking up the ref's sure to be 3), other stuff looked pretty stupid (Philly setting up a tandem "I grab him and you flip my leg and then I hit him" kind of move but really requiring Cheech and Delaney to move to specific spots to do it). PME deserved the big win, and they went out and have a big match, and a bunch of this match was primo. But I think that home stretch seemed too set-up heavy for wrestling with no props.

PAS: This was the climax of this feud with PME being the super over babyfaces getting one last shot at the heel champions.  It is a classic wrestling story and these are a pair of teams who can execute it to a tee. I have talked before about what a great classic heel team To Infinity and Beyond are, and this was a hell of a heel team performance, Colin Delaney is a such a smarmy prick, he had this great smirk on his face on the outside and gets such joy out of cheap shots and cheating.

There is this great spot early when Marino stands on the second ring rope to hold the ropes open for a Philly tope on Cheech, Colin slides into the ring on one side, and slides all the way to the other rope grabbing Philly's legs on the way out and just dumping him on his head. Just awesome stuff. During the heat section on Marino that follows, Marino is able to get loose and hit a springboard blockbuster, and Delaney just grabs his wrist after the impact to slow down the tag. You just don't see that kind of attention to detail much anymore.

I did think this got a bit kickout heavy at the end, and there were a couple of complex things that PME tried which didn't come off cleanly. It drops it a bit below their awesome May match in my mind. Still I loved this, and the big PME victory felt like a huge moment in the fed.

64. Matthew Justice vs. Joshua Bishop

ER: This is one of those matches where my opinion may shift depending on my mood while watching it, but I watched this with the bleary eyes that come after taking a 20 minute after work nap, and I gotta say the 1999 throwback worked for me. These two are crazy and I don't know how someone like Justice functions at a day job. I can only speak through my own body's experience, but there are days where work is a pain because I slept wrong, or I had my neck tilted while watching TV on the couch or something. I can't imagine taking some of the spills these two take and then a couple days later go "Well, time to put in a couple cosmetic body hours at the gym!" The idea of "letting your body heal" makes no sense to me after seeing them take these falls, because while they are doing a tribute to 1999, my body is still recovering from stupid sports things I did in 1999. How are these men able to do THIS!?

This was a series of crazy spots leading into more crazy spots, but if you're going to do a series of crazy spots well, these were absolutely crazy. There really is something taboo about unprotected chairshots, performed well after a time where "we all know". In 1999, we had a little plausible deniability. We don't have that now, so it really adds a big hit of crazy to a match modern match when they have multiple unprotected shots. Bishop looks really good even when he's not strewn bleeding on pavement (look how undeniable his lariat is that sends Justice over the top to the floor!), but he's also really impressive at handling weapons, getting good reads on doors, guardrails, chairs, a guy who makes nasty shots look nasty. Justice gets his body put through the ringer, like an early lawn dart into the crowd that just sees him land awfully on a bunch of set up chairs; later in the match he gets powerbombed from the ring onto a propped up guardrail at ringside, and that railing doesn't give a ton as Justice just sticks to it like a spider's web. I thought Barkley and Alfonso were great seconds who added to the match. Barkley was great at teasing a fall from the balcony (I wasn't actually expecting him to do it!), got brained by a thrown chair from Alfonso, and that chairshot set up a big spear through a door from Justice. Alfonso was a good presence, amusing tree of woe'd himself to set up a chair assisted dropkick for Justice, took a big bump getting thrown out of the ring, really was much more active than I expected. Bishop has great heel champ charisma, and Justice is a real diehard babyface, and that powerbomb into barbed wire was a suitable finish for their brand of crazy.

PAS: Justice comes out with Bill Alfonso to even the odds, and Alfonso is still pretty great as a garbage wrestling second. Bishop is clearly a ECW Superfan and was visibly thrilled. It is tough to run another match after flying off a balcony in the match before. You really can't do it again and it would be insane to try to top it. The presence of Alfonso really made this almost a tag match, with a lot of the big spots going to Alfonso and Wes Barkley, including Barkley getting thrown off the balcony and being speared through a door. We also got a lot more construction in this match than in the May match, which outside of the finish kept it pretty propulsive. Here they spent a lot of time setting up the big bumps and spots. They were really big bumps and big spots, but the intensity waned a bit. Still these are two crazy dudes, who are going to do crazy shit on a big show, and the elbow off the entrance ramp by Bishop and the Awesome bomb on the rail by Bishop stand up to any crazy shit you are going to see all year.

17. Eddie Kingston vs. Tom Lawlor

ER: This was a match I probably only could have enjoyed if it involved Eddie Kingston. He has a way of twisting moments that I've long tired of seeing into something at minimum interesting, and at best high drama. This is a great match-long collapse of Kingston, a match about twice as long as I'm used to seeing him in, and it plays out like Bad Lieutenant: King starts out in bad shape, and things only get worse the longer it goes. I like the desperation attacks King goes for at various points, throwing strikes at whatever part of Lawlor is closest to him, and lashing out at whatever part of Lawlor will buy him an extra second of recovery. Lawlor wears him down from go, and we build to our big centerpiece of the match, which is the epically long chop battle. If you told me you had just seen a match with an "epically long chop battle" and I needed to see it, I'd politely tell you to fornicate yourself and then go watch something that wouldn't curse my eyeballs. And this was a long chop battle. Probably too long. But Kingston is that old comedy note of a joke running so long it goes from funny to unfunny and back again. Kingston takes this spot through a real rollercoaster, he and Lawlor milking every minute of it, and the announce crew was great at talking about how neither man wants to punch because that would be admitting they needed an easy way out. Kingston is not ever going to be the guy taking the easy way out, and everyone knows that, and so this becomes a game of outlasting a man who will never do what is best for himself, just a guy who can't quit because of pride. I loved the twists and turns of the chop battle.

I was there live for the Bryan Danielson headlock match (it was both good and bad), and Kingston did more interesting things here with a chop than Danielson did with a headlock. I loved when he dropped down to a knee before throwing one, loved how his arm kept getting more chopped out the longer it went, and I loved Lawlor calling him a pussy which leads to the strap down moment. I cannot think of another person in wrestling who would have made this sequence anywhere near as engaging. The backfists were maybe the meanest I've ever seen Kingston throw, loved how Lawlor timberrrred from them, and love how Kingston's match-long pride kept him from actually capitalizing on his sure wins. Lawlor eating a backfist but managing to fall on the arm, leading to a big sub attempt followed by trapped knees to Kingston's chest until he can't take any more and gives up the arm, was a fantastic finish. Kingston absorbed punishment and hard kicks and knees and called Lawlor a motherfucker like only he could. The nearfalls in this were great as I was standing on my feet thinking Kingston was actually going to get the belt after that first backfist. These two crafted a match that borrowed from other styles and other genres, but was clearly their own thing. And I don't know who else would be able to do this thing as well as they did.

PAS: This is big match, main event Eddie Kingston which is about the best thing in wrestling in 2019. These guys were clearly trying to work a King's Road All Japan match and pulled it off, although it was a bit more '99 AJPW than '94 AJPW which I would have preferred.  The long chop section in the middle achieved its goal for sure, and it was performed about as well as that spot can be. Kingston is amazing at selling a chop, gritting through pain to fire back, and refusing to back down, and Lawlor was right with him. It is a spot I don't like, but it did deliver. Opening feeling out section was really great, I love the little shootstyle beats that Kingston added to his game the last couple of years. Finish run was epic stuff, Kingston obliterating Lawlor with backfist, but being too beat up to jump on the pin, and I loved Lawlor hanging on to the arm after eating a suplex and leading in to those sick knees to the head and the armbar stoppage. It felt like AIW was building to an Eddie win, although losing in a match like this really doesn't damage you. I wonder where they go from here with him, if he is indeed retiring in a couple of months. Kingston and Lawlor as a Walking Tall tag team against Bishop and Barkley will be a lot of fun, but it feels like he needs another big story act to finish up his run.


ER: All of these matches are on our 2019 Ongoing MOTY List. This should not be much of a surprise.


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Monday, August 05, 2019

Monday AIW - Absolution XIV 8/2/19

Big Twan Tucker vs. MJF

PAS: This was pretty much fait accompli when MJF made it an impromptu Loser Leaves Town match to start. Twan brings a lot of energy to his matches which is really his big strength. MJF isn't a guy I am going to miss, he is so OTT with everything he does that he comes off hacky. His pantomiming surprise when Twan fires back is a bit much for the last row of a sold out arena, much less a small show like this. His execution looked fine, and he did put Twan over huge for his big moment. Twan is on quite a roll, and I will be interested to see where he goes from here.

The Production (Derek Director/Danhausen/Eddy Only) vs. 40 Acres (PB Smooth/Tre Lamar/AJ Gray)

PAS: These guys teased a match at JLIT, and I was amped we got to see a whole match. This was unsurprisingly great, I talked before about how the face/heel dynamic of this feud seemed off, but I take that back, the Production are great babyfaces and 40 Acres have a real nice heel charisma. Lamar especially comes off like a great super athletic dick, the wide receiver who does a six part dance routine after a six yard catch. He really rips off some awesome highspots in this match, including a crazy flip tope. Smooth threw a good looking KO punch, and threw around Only and Danhausen, and Gray was throwing heat. There was some superfluous stuff with Danhausen making guys eat beads and kicking them in the mouth, but man was this energetic, innovative, stiff, violent tag wrestling done well. All of these guys outside of Gray are AIW students I think, and the fact that they can deliver this is pretty impressive.

Mance Warner vs. Jock Samson

PAS: This was Bunkhouse match, which was basically worked as a two on one plunder match. I don't get how Warner's Ryan Gosling Drive Satin Bomber jackets work with his hillbilly gimmick. Some fun spots, including Warner throwing students, the referee and a fan into Samson and the Duke. Duke isn't afraid to take sick chair shots, and he took a couple of doozies here. I was amused at them stapling a $100 bill to Warners head, that was probably more then either guys payout for this. Finish was suitably crazy with Warner throwing Samson through two door with the Duke getting smushed in between.

Swoggle vs. John Thorne

PAS: Joey Janela had transpo problems so Thorne put on his old gear and has a pretty violent comedy match with Swoggle. It had a yarder feel but as kind of a compliment. Guys landed awkwardly into things, chairs bounced off heads weird, Thorne top rope double stomps Swoggle which looked like it might shoot his liver out of his asshole. Thorne took a couple of really bad shots in this, he is pretty nuts for working this kind of match last minute. Not sure why you run a weapons brawl between a midget and the retired promoter, in between a bunkhouse match and an I Quit match, but it was weirdly entertaining.

Dominic Garini vs. Tim Donst

PAS: These guys had a great brawl last month, but this veered a little too much into geek show territory for me. This lacked some of the intensity of the Garini vs. Bishop match from Mania weekend, this had a lot of wandering around and setting up gross out spots like Donst trying to rip off one of Dom's toes with pliers, or Dom putting a baseball cap full of thumbtacks on Donst's head. Garrini took a couple of nasty headdrops on a board which wouldn't break, and I kind of liked the callback to the lighter fluid spot from Slumber Party. Donst submitting before he got skewered worked as part of his heel character, but fell a bit flat as a finish. Definitely a spectacle, but the least of the Dom garbage matches I have seen.

KTB vs. Louis Lyndon vs. Wheeler Yuta vs. Lee Moriarty

PAS: Solid four way, with KTB being the highlight. He is a guy with several big spots who works stiff so he is perfect for these kind of matches. He breaks out his Samoan Drop two guys while tossing the third spots which is nutso, and he breaks up a dragon sleeper with an Asai moonsault. Moriarity takes some big bumps, but his stuff with Lyndon and Yuta got a little dancey. There are multi-man matches on almost every AIW show and this was pretty in the middle.

PAS: The Duke comes out and intros his new team the Bitcoin Boys, only to be interrupted by Bunkhouse Buck who cleans house with great punches and a swinging belt. Fun surprise, I can imagine how hard I would have marked out if I was in Cleveland.

Zach Thomas vs. Nick Gage

PAS: Thomas is one of the students that they are really pushing, he has a barrel chested build and has some nice power offense. He clearly was amped to work a Nick Gage death match and really sells out. The match opens with Thomas recklessly topeing right into a swung chair. This is a spot we see a lot but rarely this nastily. Much of the match has Gage working over Thomas, with Thomas firing back with big throws and slams, often into contraptions. There was a bit of construction which is always a problem in these matches, and Gage matches aren't really my thing. Still this was a good version of that Gage match, and I am on board to watch more of Thomas

Philly Marino Experience vs. To Infinity and Beyond (Cheech/Colin Delaney)

PAS: This was the climax of this feud with PME being the super over babyfaces getting one last shot at the heel champions.  It is a classic wrestling story and these are a pair of teams who can execute it to a tee. I have talked before about what a great classic heel team To Infinity and Beyond are, and this was a hell of a heel team performance, Colin Delany is a such a smarmy prick, he this great smirk on his face on the outside and gets such joy out of cheap shots and cheating.

There is this great spot early when Marino stands on the second ring rope to hold the ropes open for a Philly tope on Cheech, Colin slides into the ring on one side, and slides all the way to the other rope grabbing Philly's legs on the way out and just dumping him on his head. Just awesome stuff. During the heat section on Marino that follows, Marino is able to get loose and hit a springboard blockbuster, and Delany just grabs his wrist after the impact to slow down the tag. You just don't see that kind of attention to detail much anymore.

I didn't think this got a bit kick out heavy at the end, and there were a couple of complex things that PME tried which didn't come off cleanly. It drops it a bit below their awesome May match in my mind. Still I loved this, and the big PME victory felt like a huge moment in the fed.

Matthew Justice vs. Joshua Bishop

PAS: Justice comes out with Bill Alphonso to even the odds, and Alphonso is still pretty great as a garbage wrestling second. Bishop is clearly a ECW Superfan and was visibly thrilled. It is tough to run another match after flying off a balcony in the match before. You really can't do it again and it would be insane to try to top it. The presence of Alphonso really made this almost a tag match, with a lot of the big spots going to Alphonso and Wes Barkley, including Barkley getting thrown off the balcony and being speared through a door. We also got a lot more construction in this match, then in the May match which outside of the finish kept it pretty propulsive. Here they spent a lot of time setting up the big bumps and spots. They were really big bumps and big spots, but the intensity wained a bit. Still these are two crazy dudes, who are going to do crazy shit on a big show, and the elbow off the entrance ramp by Bishop, and the Awesome bomb on the rain by Bishop stand up to any crazy shit you are going to see all year.

Eddie Kingston vs. Tom Lawlor

PAS: This is big match, main event Eddie Kingston which is about the best thing in wrestling in 2019. These guys were clearly trying to work a King's Road All Japan match and pulled it off, although it was a bit more '99 AJPW than '94 AJPW which I would have preferred.  The long chop section in the middle achieved its goal for sure, and it was performed about as well as that spot can be. Kingston is amazing at selling a chop, gritting through pain to fire back, and refusing to back down, and Lawlor was right with him. It is a spot I don't like, but it did deliver. Opening feeling out section was really great, I love the little shootstyle beats that Kingston added to his game the last couple of years. Finish run was epic stuff, Kingston obliterating Lawlor with backfist, but being too beat up to jump on the pin, and I loved Lawlor hanging on to the arm after eating a suplex and leading in to those sick knees to the head and the armbar stoppage. It felt like AIW was building to an Eddie win, although losing in a match like this really doesn't damage you. I wonder where they go from here with him, if he is indeed retiring in a couple of months. Kingston and Lawlor as a Walking Tall tag team against Bishop and Barkley will be a lot of fun, but it feels like he needs another big story act to finish up his run.


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Monday, July 29, 2019

AIW Monday - Absolution 7/27/18

Louis Lyndon vs. Derek Director vs. KTB vs. Space Monkey vs. Wheeler Yuta vs. Rex Brody

PAS: One of the better "get everyone on the card" scrambles they have done. Even with Space Monkey and Brody we didn't have anyone grinding the match to a halt with their comedy spots, the action really kept moving. Derek Director had some cool moments, including a nasty running knee to the face and a spot where he monkey flipped Yuta into Brody's crotch. KTB had a couple of amazing moments including a spot where he had two guys fireman carried and caught a third in his arms. Yuta looks like he blew out his knee, but they worked around it OK. Fun all action match,

Mance Warner/Jock Samson/Twan Tucker/Parker Pierce vs. Weird World/Philly Marino Experience

PAS: This started in a very Crockett way, with multiple heels bumping for super over babyfaces. We get a good heel beatdown section on Marino, and a really fun Worldwide hot tag. Finish run is car crash wrestling done well. I really love Philly's fat boy Orihara, and Marino's assisted plancha, just an awesome pair of signature dives. Our boy Weird Body takes sick bumps on a tower of doom superplex, and a Steiner Square Driver from the Duke. Our heroes get screwed out of victory by the dastardly heels, and this was a wholly satisfying bit of business.

48. Young Studs vs. The Production (Danhausen/Eddy Only)

PAS: This was excellent, just awesome stiff 2019 tag wrestling. These are four guys who throw heat and will take huge nasty bumps, and they run a pretty great all action tag with those as a base. Eric Ryan is truly certifiable, he takes 90s Foley bumps in almost every match, here he gets backdropped off the ramp and lands spine first on concrete. These guys were wasting each other in the ring too, Bobby Beverly obliterates Danhausen by intercepting an in-ring plancha with a savate kick, Only threw really nasty elbows and punches, there were some big slams and throws, really a bomb fest. We are Production stans here at Segunda Caida, but this was the best they have looked. Loved this.

ER: Yeah this really delivered. I was excited for it anyway - always gonna be excited for The Production - but The Production jumped the Studs on the entrance ramp and asses got kicked for the next 15 minutes. These guys were all ringing bells, hard elbows all around, nasty throws, nasty bumps, no nonsense just asskicking. AIW always brings asskicking, The Studs always bring asskicking, and it was cool seeing Only and Danhausen ALSO as kickers, not just ass kickees. Everybody in this comes off nuts to a degree, but Ryan is probably the most nuts. He throws such violence behind all of his strikes, and then he's crushing Only and Danhausen into the guardrails over and over with topes through the bottom ropes, and then he's splatting off the entrance ramp with a lunatic backdrop bump. My god man. I think they did a really good job using saves and building the action, as tough strikes eventually turn into amped up risk and fun double teams. I loved all of the quick suplexes from the Studs, they would really snap them over and when they'd be hitting snap verticals and stacking The Production like cordwood. There were a couple hitches when they tried getting a little cute (a DDT your partner spot is much clunkier than it should have been, and an Only cutter to the floor looks like both guys realized what a bad idea it was halfway through), but the answer always came right after those spots when everyone would go back to hitting each other hard. Bless this tag division.

Matthew Justice/Scott Steiner vs. Ethan Page/Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham

PAS: Justice brings out Steiner to even the odds, and it is pretty much just the heels bumping for Steiner and Justice, which is exactly what you want from this match up. Dr. Dan takes a couple of big bumps, and Page eats a big overhead throw from Steiner. Not much to say about this match, it does what it set out to do.

96. No Consequences (Tre Lamar/Garrison King/Chase Oliver/Joshua Bishop/AJ Gray) vs. Josh Prohibition/Jollyville Fuck Its (T-Money/Nasty Russ)/To Infinity and Beyond (Cheech/Colin Delaney)

PAS: 2017 Absolution No Consequences 10 man tag was one of my favorite matches of the year, this didn't live up to that level but was still a bunch of fun and had some big highlight moments. Both Tre Lamar and Chase Oliver are nutty fliers, Oliver hit an incredible springboard moonsault at the same time Lamar hit a great ringpost Santo style tope. The structure of the previous years match had the Consequences take an extended beating before making a comeback, here the match was worked more even, it makes narrative sense, NC are all a year more experienced, but evenish is a less cool structure. We do get some solid asskicking though, especially by the Fuck-Its including an awesome Pounce by T-Money where he ran all the way down the ramp before sending Lamar into the stratosphere. The story of the match was Joshua Bishop trying to earn the respect of Josh Prohibition, which isn't a matchup I cared a ton about. Still I will pretty much enjoy any combos of these guys.

ER: So no, this is not quite as good as the 2017 10 man, but this ruled pretty hard on its own. Everybody got their moments and there were some good by god moments to get. Jollyville are my faves and lived up to that here. Russ comes off like a total badass WCW undercarder that I always hope is going to come out those fake air-powered doors through the Mothership's fog machine, throwing hard punches and elbowdrops with his own body, and an absolutely crunching cannonball off the top. T-Money pounces Tre Lamar from the entrance ramp into the ring, in a spot that was only slightly less impressive than some of Lamar's by-choice flying. Chase Oliver was a real standout here. He and Lamar work a hyped up indy style that I hate when it's worn by most guys, but they really pull it off. Oliver can land played out indy offense like standing shooting star presses and make them actually land, he and Lamar hit a bonkers tandem dive that looked like two prop planes that missed a fatal collision by mere feet, and then there's crazy stuff like his rope walk rana. I loved it all. There were a couple hinky moments (Lamar does land full weight on Oliver with a mistimed missile dropkick that they pretend didn't land like that, and the Bishop/Prohibition stuff wasn't my favorite), but TIAB were pro as hell throughout, AJ Gray had some nice flying into and out of the ring, the double Drunken Drivers by Prohibition were a definitive finish, and I'm just going to need them to keep running this back every year.

Tim Donst vs. Joey Janela

PAS: These are two guys I am normally a low voter on, but man it is hard to deny their willingness to absolutely crash and burn in hideous ways. This is a ladder match, and has some slow climbing and grasping which is endemic in all ladder matches, but it also has some truly holy fuck moments. They mention Donst recovering from kidney cancer and how his doctor told him to not wrestle in ladder matches, and then later have him fall directly off a ladder onto a pile of chairs with the legs sticking up. Janela gets chucked through a ladder on top of a table and the ladder just explodes with the impact. Totally gross stuff, but hard not to appreciate the hell these guys put their body through.

Dominic Garrini vs. Tom Lawlor

PAS: This was a dog collar match, and definitely very different from the other matches between these two. There was a lot I really loved about this: the stuff with the chain and collar was pretty awesome, Lawlor hit a superman punch with the chain, Garrini used the chain to headbutt Lawlor, there was a bunch of cool uses of the chain to make submissions look nastier. And this included an awesome ending where Garrini used a chain assisted Gargano escape to choke Lawlor out, with Lawlor refusing to tap and flipping off Garrini as we watched his finger fall down into unconsciousness.  I think if this had just been a dog collar match it would have ended up really high on the MOTY list, however, they used a bunch more props, like thumbtack bats and a board with bottle caps and a board with poppers. All of that stuff didn't add to the match. A dog collar is a great gimmick, you don't need more stuff. My wife's best friend will never just make chocolate chip cookies, she has to throw in gummy bears, and Twix pieces and candied almonds, until you are overwhelmed. This was a match with too many ingredients. I still liked it, but it kept me from loving it.

Franky Flynn/Magnum CK vs. Swoggle/PB Smooth

PAS: Swoggle isn't an act I really rate. Having him in a tag title match is bound to turn it into a yuks fest. Magnum CK is awesome at comedic matches, he has great facial expressions and if someone has to sell for Swoggle it might as well be him. He was also pretty great at the actual wrestling stuff, there was a spot where he goes for a blind leapfrog and gets caught in PB's arm, and he had an awesome look of terror before he was thrown. Some fun stuff, but I am glad the tag titles have moved back into actual great wrestling matches.

Tracey Williams vs. Nick Gage

PAS: This was Gage working a stiff title match, without any shortcuts. It was pretty entertaining, Gage works stiff and has some big over moves. He really dominated the match, and did it with wrestling. There was some pop ups which I didn't love, but I also really liked some of the big exchanges. The finish was pretty shocking, can't believe Gage would tap out, seems like something he wouldn't let his character do. Williams had some great matches during his title run, the start wasn't a great match, but it was nice example of what was to come.

ER: Another AIW show, another couple matches added to the ongoing MOTY List. The Young Studs/Production tag and the 10 man were the kind of things that keep these AIW loving hearts beating.


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Monday, July 08, 2019

Monday AIW - JT Lightning Invitational Tournament Night 2 6/15/19

Dominic Garrini vs. Nick Gage vs. Zach Thomas vs. Joshua Bishop

PAS: This was a four way with some really cool moments and some issues inherent in four ways. We get a renewal of the Bishop vs. Garrini feud, including a crazy spot where Bishop breaks a rear naked choke by throwing himself and Dom off the ring apron through a table. I also really liked the final offensive run that Gage used to put away Thomas. Still I think I would have been more interested in any version of these four guys in a singles match, and there was some goofy stuff like everyone going around in a circle elbowing each other. I liked this, but it isn't anything I am going to remember for long.

Mance Warner vs. Pat Buck vs. Savio Vega vs. Lee Moriarty

PAS: I enjoyed Warner vs. Savio throwing hands, and Warner getting the Duke's belt and cosplaying Austin vs. Savio. Moriarty pretty much just took bumps and shoehorned in his Johnny Saint stuff, and Buck didn't make much of an impression either way. I did like Moriarty's bump on the finishing lariat by Warner, it was almost Pat Tanaka-ish.

ER: This match was kind of enough for me. I really liked this return of Savio, he's a guy who in his current state really appeals to me. He's a bigger, slower guy now, but he hits as hard as ever and I kind of need a modern Abby who wanders around and throws violent throat thrusts, hard overhand chops, and even hard kicks to the stomach. I don't need much more out of a guy. I dug Warner poking Savio in the eye while Savio was shaking his hand out after a hard chop, dug the strap getting brought in, could have watched Mancer waste Moriarty with lariats a half dozen more times. I need more 2019 Savio, but this scratched a good itch.

Marko Stunt vs. Matthew Justice vs. Kid Kash vs. KTB

PAS: This was the best of the three semi-final matches, as they just went out there and did 8 minutes of crazy spots. Kash was running around cracking people with chops and punches, and did a dive into the crowd. Stunt was taking nutso bump after nutso bump, including taking a second rope sunset driver from Justice. There are a lot of tiny guys in wrestling, but Stunt legitimately looks like a small child, not a tiny adult, so Justice brutalizing him has extra spice.

ER: This was good fun but criminally short, not quite getting 5 minutes. These are guys with more than 4 minutes of material, and at least we got to see some good material jammed into the short runtime. Agree with Phil about Stunt, he kind of trips me out as nothing about him reads "adult" so it just feels like somebody's kid getting tossed around. Imagine what kind of push he would have gotten if Feinstein or Pena were still allowed to run shows/alive. Kash throws Marko to the floor with an awesome press slam, KTB and Justice take nice bumps into the crowd, Stunt hits a nice flip dive off the top into them, Kash crashes into them, and we get some fun in ring car crash stuff. I liked KTB throwing Kash around with Irish whips and planting a diving headbutt on Justice, enjoy the gusto that Matt Justice has for setting up big spots, fully agreed with the commentator who says Kash reminded him of Marty Jannetty, and loved the exclamation point ending with Justice sticking Stunt with the money in the bank. I wanted at least 5 more minutes of this.

Eddie Kingston vs. Tim Donst

PAS: This was pretty by the numbers Eddie Kingston, which is still going to be pretty enjoyable. He and Donst have a bunch of history, including Eddie mauling him when he was a rookie, so this match was full of stiffness and shit talking (although this is more of a good natured shit talking King then we have gotten recently). There is a nasty bump into the guardrail by Kingston where he just torches his knees, and we get a great backfist for the pin. Post match there ends up being a heated pull apart between Kingston and Lawlor, and that definitely got me amped for that match.

ER: This felt pretty one-sided for a King match. Donst never felt out of it until the final backfist, but he felt like a guy struggling to pull ahead. It wasn't a long match (10 minutes) but felt a little all over the place, though I'm not going to be one to complain about King breaking out offense. Brawl through the crowd was good, as a big thing Donst has going for him is he's a guy who reads "pain" when he takes a tumble. He always looks like a guy in over his head at a pick up basketball game, so every landing feels like something that will end with him wearing a protective boot for several months. He hits a great dive here on King, and both take nasty spills over the guardrail, into the guardrail, King gets his knee tied up in a chair, all good stuff. I dug the commentary putting over King's attention to detail, speculating on him breaking a knuckle after he shakes his fist out punching Donst in the hard part of the forehead. Donst really risks his body at points, in addition to that dive he also leaps off the apron into Kingston, not trying for anything fancy, literally just leaping off with an avalanche. I would have like to see a couple comebacks from Donst before King put him down, but overall I really liked how they worked with each other.


To Infinity and Beyond vs. Aeroform

PAS: I really enjoyed this, it took a bit to get going, with 2IAB jawing with the crowd, but really picked up when they isolated Louis Lyndon. Cheech and Colin are a really great 2019 heel offense team, and I love all the cutoffs and hope spots which they gave Lyndon. Flip is a great hot tag, landing an insane capoeira kick, and a combo sunset flip bomb into the corner with a Lyndon high kick. Nice run of crazy nearfalls, which ends with a brutal looking double team with a double knees to the stomach of Lyndon while Kendrick is powerbombed on his brothers back. Nasty duo of cheapshotting heels against a pair of highflying sympathetic babyfaces, tag team wrestling at its base done really well.

ER: ER: I love Cheech and Delaney! They're easily one of the best teams at doing these kind of breathless 10 minute tags with several intricately set up double team spots, and not make them look hokey or overly prepared. They keep some of those sharp edges on sequences, and the important thing is their complicated stuff actually looks like it would hurt. I never see them with that vacant look in their eyes as they miss clothesline by 2 feet, too busy thinking about the next dance step. Their stuff is fun, and they can make some improbable stuff look probable. I love all of Delaney's inside out and outside in dropkicks, and I somehow never see it coming when he slides out of the ring to dropkick someone through the turnbuckles. They're good at setting up moments for their opponents, both really good at being guys who get momentarily distracted only to turn around and run into a boot. They're also really good at simple cut off spots, and it's crazy more teams don't do stuff as simple as running across the ring to elbow your opponent on the apron. The finish was nasty as hell, a powerbomb onto your partner that looked this painful for both opponents should be the finish.

Allie Kat vs. CPA vs. Dr Daniel C Rockingham vs. Manders vs. Erik Taylor vs. Mike Montgomery

PAS: This was a rest of the locker room six way, it had it's moments. I enjoyed some of the reckless bumping and highflying of the two students Taylor and Montgomery, and Manders was fun chucking everyone around. There was the section where everyone tried to get their comedy spots over, and there was too much Allie Kat, but this was mostly enjoyable.

40 Acres (PB Smooth/AJ Gray/Tre Lamar) vs. The Production (Danhausen/Derek Director/Eddy Only)

ER: This was a well done angle that I didn't really want to see. Eddy Only hurt his ankle on the earlier show, so this is a handicap match, putting the Production as the underdogs with only Derek Director and Danhausen going against the 3 man 40 Acres. I really like The Production as heel indy scum Kaientai, attacking in numbers that is sometimes effective, sometimes leads to them being crash test dummies. They were good here at being sympathetic underdogs - Only even runs out on crutches and momentarily comes out ahead before getting killed in short order - but it's a role I don't really want to see them in. This goes less than 4 minutes and is mostly 40 Acres dominating, until PB Smooth accidentally takes AJ Gray out with a pump kick. This fleetingly evens the odds and gives us a nice brief run of heroic Derek and Dan. But I like these guys as big bumping schemers, not heroes! Everyone did a real good job here, Derek and Danhausen are big bumpers so obviously they're going to get crushed by 3 dudes with nice offense (Derek gets killed on a clothesline, Only eats a huge slam for the finish), but this could have been a killer 10 minute trios match - and on paper when I saw "40 Acres vs. The Production" on the card I thought it could be the low key match of the night. This angle was well done, but I got greedy.

PAS: Yeah this wasn't much of a match, but a fun segment. I agree with Eric about the Production as faces, they are much more fun as sleazy heels, but they did do a nice job. Derek's bump on AJ Gray's clothesline was especially nasty, Gray was great as a bruiser heel, a role I haven't seen him in before, his clip of Only's bad ankle was especially nasty. I think this could be a fun feud, but I imagine it would be more fun with a role reversal.

Tom Lawlor vs. Erick Stevens

PAS: There was a lot of cool stuff in this match, but for some reason the Fite TV replay has a pretty significant clip in the middle which makes it hard to fully rate. I really liked the opening with Stevens hitting a low top right into Lawlor's back when he was walking to ring side, and the have a fun brawl into the crowd including Steven's taking a big bump into chairs and Lawlor hitting a long airplane spin through the crowd. Stevens catches Lawlor with a powerslam on a guardrail, and we jump to both guys in the ring and Lawlor in control, no idea how we got there. Finish run had some cool stuff, including Lawlor kicking the shit out Stevens should with upkicks and some cool chokes. They do go into a pop up suplex exchange which I hate, and I though there was one too many kickouts. Still this was some stiff, violent stuff, and I could see it making a list if we can find a copy with the missing chunk.

Mance Warner vs. Matthew Justice vs. Nick Gage

PAS: This was pretty fun, but flawed. They started just throwing bombs out of the block, with Warner trying quick KO's on both guys, with a running knee and big pop up headbutt. Pretty much the whole match was big finishers, spots on chairs and spears through tables. When you start a match at 10, you really can't push it higher. Middle of the match Jock Samson comes down and jumps Warner and the Duke turns on Warner to eliminate him. Justice and Gage kill each other, but there is a big no sell section in the middle which I hate (last two matches both have it, and they need to retire it). I am amused at Justice winning a match with nothing but finishers by using a small package, but I was basically indifferent towards this.


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Monday, June 24, 2019

Monday AIW - JT Lightning Invitational Tournament Night 1 6/14/19

Lee Moriarty vs. Colin Delaney

PAS: Fun opener with Delaney being pretty great in the role of the nasty veteran against a flashy young guy. I really liked all of the arm drag stuff at the beginning, Moriarty had a bunch of fun armdrag variations which Delaney took great, and I liked the idea of Delaney trying to hang early, getting frustrated and just bashing the side of Moriarty's head against the ringpost. I did think some of the Johnny Saint stuff by Moriarty felt unnecessarily cutesy, but this was mostly good stuff and I was really impressed by heel Colin.

ER: I really liked this, thought they had some really inventive exchanges, and I liked that they wouldn't end those flowery exchanges with a stand-off or another dumb exchange, it would usually end in a hard elbow show. It's so awesome that Colin Delaney went from being one of the weirder WWE signings, to a guy who is clearly a much better worker than most of the NXT roster. If it's what he wants, I really hope he gets back there, as he's become one of my favorite guys on the indy scene. Delaney can work super quick exchanges with anyone, but it's rooted in a veteran bully persona that always makes the sequences more satisfying than "athletic guys having an athletic match". All of the armdrags from both looked really good, and we had some quick sequences that took some unexpected turns, but the match was made by little cocky Delaney gestures. I loved when he dropped Moriarty with a hard suplex, and Moriarty's body kind of recoiled back up into a seated position, so Delaney just threw a chop to knock him back down flat. The Johnny Saint stuff did feel a little out of place (even Kingston on commentary tossed out a "uhhh guess we're doing Johnny Saint now") but again, I love when a flipper gets cute and gets elbowed for his troubles. Delaney's Diamond Dust-style cutter out of a suplex always looks cool, he really gets the physics of his move, and I actually liked him climbing up to the top rope to hit another cutter while Moriarty was frozen in a silly Mortal Kombat "FINISH HIM!" pose. Would have loved to see Delaney in later rounds, but this opener delivered.

Pat Buck vs. Swoggle

PAS: It's a Swoggle match, so we are going to get some comedy spots, a improbable suplex or two, and some weird stiff shots from a tiny guy. Buck has been around forever, he was an ex-OVW guy, but a Swoggle match isn't where you are going to show your stuff. I liked some of the AJ Styles comedy spots, Swoggle setting up for a springboard elbow is amusing, and I liked him trying for leapfrogs, but this isn't really for me.

Joshua Bishop vs. Tre Lamar

PAS: No Consequences explodes!! Bishop is really getting good, he is starting to work really stiff, and has great impact on his throws. Lamar is a fun pinball for Bishops big spots, including bumping huge on chokeslam and spinning sidewalk slam. I also liked the story of Bishop getting advantages when he used his speed and hit and run, but getting goaded into throwing hands and getting smashed. I did think the Wes Barkley interference was unnecessary and took some of the steam out of the finish which got a little overbaked. Still this was an impressive performance by two guys pretty new to wrestling.

ER: Phil is right about Bishop and Lamar being maybe the youngest guns experience-wise on this show (other than probably Zach Thomas), and I was super impressed with both here. Lamar is a real risk taker and he isn't just a guy with nice flips, he really makes his kicks count. Bishop really reminds me of Scotty Flamingo in style and confidence, and that's a fun thing to be in 2019 indy wrestling. Lamar takes a couple cool bumps into the crowd, and he could really make some big Bishop moves shine. Towards the end of the match Bishop hits this zillion spin sideslam that landed in such an aesthetically pleasing way, like how a baseball bat can feel almost spring loaded when you make absolute perfect contact on the sweet spot. I liked all of Lamar's kicks, think Bishop is like a cool Baron Corbin, so I dug this. Now, I also think the finish went completely off the rails at one point, and the interference and set up for it was the derailer. The match didn't need that, they were doing really good things on their own. Kept this from being really highly recommended.

Savio Vega vs. MJF

PAS: They seem to have MJF work the nostalgia acts they bring in, and he is a good choice as he can bump around and work shtick around their limitations. This was similar to the Shane Douglas match, although Savio may be a bit less mobile at this point. He still works pretty stiff, so when unloads it looks good. I am a Savio fan, but I didn't get the sense he has a big Dustin or PCO style run in him.

ER: Man I loved this. It's perfectly timed at 7 minutes, it's up there with my favorite MJF performances, and I thought Savio looked really cool on offense and totally nailed his spinning heel kick as well as he nailed it in 1996, only with 50 lb. of additional bulk. This whole match is Savio throwing hard chops, a big headbutt, nice punches, and these great open hand thrusts to MJF's throat. MJF throws a bunch of great downward angle left hands and hard kicks to the stomach as if he was actually working a show in Puerto Rico. I didn't need anything more than kick and punch, because both guys worked some compelling kick and punch. The spinkick was so much better than I expected, and I really liked both guys here. I've enjoyed a ton of Abdullah the Butcher matches where he did less than Savio did here, Savio needs to just embrace being the new Abby and his career has a second life.

Mance Warner vs. Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham

PAS: This was a relaxed rules match with DCR trying to prove how tough he is by jumping Mance. He gets in some big shots, but most of the match is Mance pummeling Dr. Dan, including running him into chairs held by audience members and stapling self help pamphlets to Dr. Dan's forehead. I find staple gun stuff kind of gross, and the match was kind of a waste.

KTB vs. Flip Kendrick

PAS: Fun big guy vs. little guy match with KTB having a bunch of great ways to toss around Kendrick, and Kendrick having a bunch of ways to squirm his way out of trouble. Really good KTB performance, he has good wild energy and keeps on the attack. I loved the powerbomb where he steps on the bottom rope to add torque, and the top rope TKO where he stepped on the middle rope before hurling Kendrick was spot of the show so far. I would have liked a little more flash from Flip, he can be one of the most spectacular wrestlers in the world, and he felt a subdued on offense. Still very nifty match.

Marko Stunt vs. Tim Donst

PAS: Match had some real moments of excitement. Stunt is the size of a third grader, but is an electric bumper and really gets tossed to the celling by Donst on some of these moves. I also really dug some of Stunts dives into the audience. Unfortunately there was also some real stinkers: they do a Malenko/Guerrero roll up sequence which was as bad looking as anything I can remember seeing, some moments where both guys were bumping early for spots, and the finishing roll up looked slow and awkward. In this case, I think the bad outweighed the good and I can't recommend the match.

Kid Kash vs. Louis Lyndon

PAS: Lots of this I liked, although I don’t think it came together as a great match. Kash is really good at eating someone up, it has a very Benoit or Dynamite feel to it, he really works over Lyndon with simple violent offense. Lyndon is a guy I normally like, but he felt a little out of his depth here. There was another awful looking Malenko/Guerrero roll up section here, which should be banned from wrestling for life. Kash’s finishing brainbuster was super violent, and I would love to see him back against Kingston or Lawlor, someone who can give it back to him.

Matthew Justice vs. Danhausen

PAS: This was a no DQ match, and basically was Justice vs. all three members of the Production (RIP Frankie Flynn and Magnum CK). Like you might expect it was a bunch of really crazy bumps by everyone involved. Justice takes a superplex onto the ring apron (which was truly nuts, this was a first round match for fucks sake), Danhausen gets suplexed over the top onto Derek Director and Eddy Only. There was one pretty egregious Justice no-sell of a german suplex, otherwise this was fun garbage stuff. I really love the Production as an act, and they are all really fun crash dummies.

ER: I thought this was great, but I also fully admit that I'm over the moon for The Production at this point. I think they're the best Special K since Special K, and I loved Special K. They attack the same way, like dangerous and mildly ineffective ninjas, but they all have unique repertoires that all complement what the others are doing, and it makes the matches into fun car crash spectacles. This was the biggest Danhausen showcase I've seen, and he has a lot of cool stuff, but really everybody involved breaks out some crazy moments. Justice is really fearless, and I could not believe they went through with that top rope suplex to the apron. Both guys' legs looked wobbly and so much could have gone wrong, but you know this is going to be a production, baby! I loved Justice throwing the Pros into each other, at one point stacking them rudely, wedged into the corner of the guardrail, tossing them all on the pile; later he tossed Danhausen to the floor onto Eddy and Derek (and now I want a Danny & Derek & Eddy shirt). I think they're really good at causing constant problems for opponents, while seeming completely beatable, while not looking like pushovers. It's a real tough balance that I think they nail, and it's part of what makes them so damn appealing. Crazy bumps and neat spots throughout, their match seems like it's regularly the most fun 10 minutes on a card.

36. Eddie Kingston vs. Zach Thomas

PAS: Eddie Kingston continues to be unassailable. Thomas is basically a rookie (he doesn’t even have a Cagematch profile), and Kingston brings him along to a really great match. Kingston beats on the kid early, and Thomas comes off really tough taking Eddie’s chops and punches. Thomas is a thick kid and is able to take over with some big power moves, including a nasty spinebuster. There was maybe a kick out or two too many at the end, but Eddie is so great at portraying frustration that I minded it less then I normally do. I also really liked Thomas’s glassy eyed selling, and his runs of offense were pretty great. I like the idea of Eddie making young guys on his final run, he did it with Thomas Shire, and this match should vault Thomas into someone to watch.

ER: This was really good, a really impressive performance for Thomas and another notch in Kingston's arguable best ever year. Thomas has a nice moveset; he's a big kid, and does a lot of throws that look really heavy, no obvious leaping into any of them, just big throws that lift heavy and land hard. Unfortunately for him, Kingston has that same skillset, and makes sure to try and top him and knock him back into place any chance he gets. Kingston works him into a nice belly to belly, later hits a crazy one off the top that could have gone badly for both (and really, set up with a savage chop to Thomas's neck, the belly to belly was definitely worse for Thomas), and I loved the moment where Thomas tried to set up his unnecessarily complicated powerbomb (can we put an end to moves that need a large man seated on someone's shoulders to complete? Unless someone can actually find a way to make it plausible?) but can't get King on his shoulders, so King turns it to his advantage and folds him in half with a tiger suplex. King threw tons of big chops and hard punches, and the backfist was always a danger; he generously leaned chin first into all of Thomas's pump kicks, and I really dug Thomas's big offense explosion down the stretch, running in with all kinds of kicks and a big cannonball to cap it off. Kingston had so many great reactions throughout, surprise at being hit harder than expected, anger at being hit harder than expected, trash talk before hitting back harder than Thomas expects, there's always so much going on with his body language and facials. At one point he sells a rydeen bomb like it immediately caused a pinched nerve near his shoulder blade to act up, and sells a spinebuster with equal parts annoyance and pain; he sells one punch like it split his finger nail, and I absolutely love that stuff. I think this should have ended on that backfist to follow up the tiger suplex, but I also think that Thomas earned it to wind up standing at the end of this, really hard fight from both guys.

Nick Gage vs. AJ Gray

PAS: Gray is clearly excited to work a Nick Gage match, and brings some real zest to the normal proceedings. He jumps Gage at the bell and works him over with the chain, until he misses a senton off the ring apron and smooshes a chair. Gray takes most of the biggest bumps in this match, including two nasty unprotected chair shots and a piledriver on a cinder block, although Gage eats a brain buster on a chair. Cool Gray performance, and Gage did his thing.

40. Dominic Garrini vs. Erick Stevens

PAS: Hell of a nasty fight. Stevens is coming back after a 10 year retirement, and had a list of guys he wanted to work, which seems tailored to hard hitting quasi shoot guys, and they really lace into each other. A year or so ago, Garrini’s big issue was that his strikes were hit and miss, he has fixed that completely, and now he throws cool different stuff with real pop to it. I loved how he mixed in his Ju-Jitsu in this match, trying for a calf slicer, sinking in a triangle choke, and jumping a rear naked choke. I especially loved the spot with the triangle: Dom locks it on, Stevens tries to slam him out of it, only for Dom to sink it in more, and finally Stevens breaks in by spiking Garrini’s neck on the bottom turnbuckle. Stevens has some stuff which looks slightly dated, but he unloads with cracking chops and thick knees, and a couple of his slams and backbreakers looked great. Great main event, and I am excited to see what Stevens does on his comeback tour.

ER: I dug this, tons of good ideas, though I did think it went on a bit long after Stevens took some pretty major damage. I really liked late 2000s FIP Stevens, until he went nuts and ate nothing but nuts and got down to 0% body fat. I'm glad he's back and seemingly wanting to fight a ton of guys who will hit him really hard. Garrini is a guy I still have some issues with, I think he still needs to get better about not just waiting around to get hit (he does it more obviously than most, but honestly he's still fairly new at this and it will improve), but he's certainly great at hitting hard and that's a much bigger point in his favor. I thought he was almost too effective here, as he laid such a good beating on Stevens that I thought it was fairly unbelievable when Stevens was up doing his own big moves after. It felt like Garrini burned some really awesome stuff like a short piledriver and a sick brainbuster. Those deserved better treatment from Stevens. I loved Garrini's knucklelock turned into a tight triangle, loved all his submission stuff really, but the stuff around the triangle was really cool, and ended with a painful as hell buckle bomb by Stevens. Stevens is lean but he always feels believable slamming Garrini, and Garrini being bigger made it look like he landed harder. There was some fat I wanted trimmed, a fighting from knees exchange and Stevens getting a run of stuff right after Garrini had him convincingly beat, but this was overall a really cool match up that I had no idea I wanted.


2019 MOTY MASTER LIST

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