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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Pandemic Era IWTV Cherry Picking

I have really been slacking on watching new wrestling since COVID, but there has been some cool looking matchups on IWTV so I figured I would cherry pick a couple

Matthew Justice/Manders/Mance Warner vs. Chris Dickinson/Nick Gage/Tony Deppen Beyond Wrestling 7/27/20

PAS: Really great looking on paper match, which got really derailed by Gage blowing out his knee or ankle. There were some fun Dickinson vs. Manders exchanges (I need to track down their singles match), but Gage gets hurt, and there is an awkward heat segment on him where he clearly can't stand. The finish run had a ton of steam taken out of it because of that. Bummer that it didn't live up to its potential, but perfectly understandable.

Violence is Forever (Dominic Garrini/Kevin Ku) vs. Rip City Shooters (Joshua Bishop/Wes Barkley) BLP 8/24/20

PAS: These are a pair of teams I have a fair amount of time for, but this felt pretty minor. Weirdly they barely match up Bishop and Dom at all, which you would figure they would focus on. They had one of the greatest indy grudge matches of the decade a year ago, and their isn't any sense that they even know each other. When Piper and Valentine matched up at the Royal Rumble they tried to kill each other even though their feud was in a fed that the WWF didn't acknowledge. I did really like Bishop in this. He has some huge power moves, and has gotten really good at wrestling big. I especially loved him just chucking Ku into the air with a side suplex throw. Ku and Dom have some fun double teams that are always really violent looking, but the presentation of this show is really bad. The ring announcer is wearing basketball shorts, the woman doing commentary spends the entire match trying out her wacky podcast comedy, I mean...if you want me to think your show is important, treat it like it is important. Treat it like a joke, I am not going care.

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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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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 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 AIW - Sekimoto Takes Cleveland 7/25/19

Parker Pierce vs. CPA

PAS: CPA is one of the AIW acts that just doesn't connect with me. I appreciate his semitic chest hair, but I am not sure what his gimmick is, or what the point of his whole act is. He keeps throwing dropkicks, but he barely gets above Pierce's waist. I don't think the dropkicks are supposed to comedy spots but that is what they end up being. Pierce is a crowbar, so I enjoyed watching him potato CPA. He chops the hair off of his chest, mule kicks him in the mouth and nearly beheads him with a back lariat. I enjoy Pierce, would have rather seen him beat on a Bitcoin boy or someone else who can bump bigger.

Allie Kat vs. Super Oprah 

PAS: Super Oprah has some pretty questionable comedy spots, lots of forcing people to touch their tits and jamming faces into their crotch, but this was pretty stiff. Oprah was cracking Allie Kat with stiff butt shots and clotheslines, and Kat fought back. If you are going to have a creepy comedy match, it might as well have potatoes. I do kind of want to check out Super Oprah's Nigerian Nightmare style gimmick Papa Dingo.

40 Acres (PB Smooth/Tre Lamar) vs. Weird World 

PAS: These are a pair of super enjoyable wrestlers to watch, and they had a super enjoyable match. I loved Weird Body's offensive rush at the beginning, hitting Lamar with his bony fists and elbows, confusing him with fake dives and the Weird Ball, just being a puzzle that is hard to solve. Weird Body also took a huge thumping in this match, his odd frame makes ever bump he takes look especially violent, and I loved 40 Acres figuring out a counter for the "Terry Funk Ladder spot" by just superkicking Weird Body in the head. Worldwide came in with an injury, so he didn't do much, although I am a fan of the Baba Chop heavy hot tag.

Big Twan Tucker vs. Ethan Page

PAS: Twan Tucker continues to be one of the more entertaining guys on a roster full of super entertaining guys. He is really great at building to big moments, him getting hyped up when Page is punching him only to grab Page's fist and blitz on him was pretty great stuff. He also hit an awesome twisting side slam, and his somersault into a spear was a holy fuck finish. With the indies full of guys wanting to be Chuck Taylor or Davey Richards, I appreciate a guy trying to be Mark Henry. The meat of the match was a little weaker. There was a whole section where Page was trying to place Twan for a superplex and they couldn't really get it together, and Page was slapping his thigh like an especially enthusiastic square dancer. Still this was fun shit, and between the Manders match, MJF match and this one, Twan is on a roll. 

Mikey Montgomery vs. Eric Ryan vs. Eric Taylor vs. Lee Moriarty 

PAS: This was a four way which they have on every card pretty much, and was about in the middle. Your proto-Bitcoin Boys tried a bunch of stuff, some of which hit cool, and some which missed a bit. There were lots of spots where one Bitcoin Boy got thrown on the other which was cool. Moriarity is a guy they clearly are high on, who isn't really my cup of tea. Lots of really intricate "kick one guy so he suplexes a second guy" spots, and I feel like I can still see him working through the dance moves in his head. This is the first Ryan match I can remember seeing where he doesn't take some career shortening bump, he still hits hard and has fun intensity, so I was glad to see him give his body the night off.

Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham vs. Kikutaro 

PAS: I am well into my third decade of being unamused by Kikutaro matches. Comedy in wrestling is fine when it obeys the narrative rules of wrestling. Kikutaro and Dr. Dan exchanging soft chops as some sort of improv game showing how wrestling is stupid, sucks. I don't want to wade into Twitter wrestling drama, but when you take away emotional investment from wrestling it basically doesn't work. Wrestling as a wry wink is doomed.

Youthanazia vs. PME 

PAS: This was face vs face which is always going to be a bit wonkier then a traditional tag, especially because PME's traditional babyface tag team wrestling is their strength, you aren't really going to have a Ricky Morton section in a match with four Ricky Mortons. Still PME are just monumentally entertaining, and I am going to enjoy almost anything they do. Josh Prohibition is a fun pissed off old guy and I dug him getting flustered. A couple of the finishing spots didn't hit cleanly, but I liked the tricky almost heelish finish PME used, not sure if they work as a heel team if the eventually turn, but I am intrigued.

53. KTB vs. Daisuke Sekimoto

PAS: This is a match which totally delivered on what it promised. It is touring Godzilla vs. Backwoods Mothra (Methra?). I haven't always loved Sekimoto, but he has toned down his goofy no-selling and just leaned into being a ball of muscle who clocks people. I haven't seen a load of KTB singles, but he holds his own fine, trying to throw heat as hot as what is flying at him. There was one big German suplex no-sell which we didn't need, but otherwise it was pretty perfect for this kind of match. I loved the absolute violence which Sekimoto unloaded in the final run, nasty headbutt and a  back fist which was no spin all impact and I wouldn't have been shocked if KTB lost a couple of his less solid teeth

ER: I was into this, and then some time around the 8 minute mark it jumped up a level of intensity and never looked back. Once Sekimoto started really swinging for the fences and cutting low on every damn lariat, I was hooked. Every big thing looked big and landed hard. Sekimoto hits a backbreaker that looked like it should have broken either KTB or Sekimoto's own femur. We get big suplexes from both guys, a cool sequence ending in a nice KTB powerbomb, a killer nearfall off a KTB Asai moonsault, awesome KTB crossbody, all of it was great. The home stretch just kept getting hotter and I thought peaked all the way to the finish, even the German that KTB popped up from got paid off shortly after with Sekimoto hitting a delayed German that KTB was not going to get up from.  Sekimoto was a real bruiser here, all those chops and right hands to the forehead and of course those full damn force lariats, my god. This delivered on the on paper promise, and then some.

Rip City Shooters/Tim Donst vs. Matthew Justice/Dominic Garrini/Nick Gage

PAS: I really like this kind of six man tag where you bring a bunch of feuds together and let them battle it out. We get some really stiff in ring work to start this match before they spill to the outside and let loose with the chairs and doors. Loved Masarati Wes in this, total sneaky prick, who when he gets his comeuppance, really gets blasted. Reminds me of AWA Heenan. Lots of really sick chair shots and throws through doors, Garrini's short piledriver through the door to the floor was especially grody. Loved the Justice/Dom/Gage team breaking out Kaientai DX combos. Didn't think we needed a run in finish, although it heated up Gage vs. Zach Thomas and let Barkley steal a win. Good stuff, like a fun ECW main event.

ER: I liked this, felt like a hybrid ECW/NWA Wildside brawl, and it had several moments flirting with greatness while settling in as a fun brawl. Maserati Wes especially feels like a guy who would be a cult legend with a serious pain pill problem had he been an ECW original. I love the vibe he brings to these matches as (Phil said) a scuzzy Heenan, either working great from the floor as a second or throwing in tons of glue moments as an actual match participant. We kept getting background glimpses of Wes vs. Garrini - particularly one shot where Garrini just pops him in the mouth with a right - and the teases were good enough that I just wanted to see that singles match. We got some big dives to the floor and into the crowd, some of them from unexpected sources: You know Justice is going to do a big dive, but Garrini flies in with his "held onto the ropes too long" heavy flip dive that I dig, and Gage hits an awesome Necro style cannonball off the top into the crowd. We get a lot of chairshots (an absurd amount really, for a thing that people had basically been guilted into getting over well on a decade ago, it's an odd thing to nostalgically bring back), and Garrini takes a couple of harsh bumps because that's what he does. Bishop goes for a uranage slam through a chair but misses the chair entirely, which is fine because the slam itself looks painful enough on the mat...but then he picks Garrini right back up and sends him through that set up chair on attempt #2. I dug the Wes/Gage showdown, although with so many other guys in the match I wish they would have had someone standing by so Wes didn't kick out of a nasty snap dragon suplex and spine shortening DDT. I don't love the "we're sitting in chairs punching each other" stuff, and it didn't help that the strikes while sitting in chairs were the weakest strikes of the match. Some of the chair spots also got a little repetitive. I'd much rather have these guys beating each other with fists than a bunch of chairs. Still, I love the personalities involved here, and the night vision on the dives and some of the roving handheld camera really made this come off like a quality Fancam main event.


2019 MOTY MASTER LIST

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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 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 AIW - Keep Their Heads Ringing 5/17/19

Jollyville Fuck-Its vs. Youthanazia (Josh Prohibition/Matt Cross)

ER: This was a lot shorter than I wanted, and much more of a Youthanazia match than I wanted. Jollyville is probably my favorite team on the indies, and every single second this was a Jollyville match the match was really good; most of the time when it was a Youthanazia match, it wasn't. Jollyville jump them to start and Russ is absolutely a must watch guy for me, he can make an opening match punch exchange feel like a good fight and really spill to the floor fast, and both he and T-Money make somewhat soft looking dives look better than they actually are. There's a lot of Jollyville forced to stand around and wait for Youthanazia to hit their complicated offense, and I'd rather just see them kicking asses than painfully waiting around for things. There was one moment where T-Money had to stay still bent at the waist, and Russ had to stay still up on Cross's shoulders, while Prohibition took ages to get to the top and steady himself to hit a double mushroom stomp. I felt for those dudes forced into a time stand still moment. But I also got to see Russ throwing his hard punches and great knee to the stomach, got to see the airplane spin/punch combo (and I always like how Russ takes incidental damage during that spot), and finish is genuinely good: Russ reverses a powerbomb with a really nice rana, send Prohibition flying into the ropes to knock Cross to the floor, and T-Money hits the Pounce. Simple, effective, and really well executed finish.

PAS: This show was supposed to be headlined by Lucha Brothers vs. Fuck-Its, which would have been a really cool opportunity for the Jollyville Boys to get a showcase. Running the first time battle between Ohio Backyard legends Fuck-Its and Youthanazia was a good booking compromise, but I wish it was longer and better. I agree that it was too much elaborate MDogg and Prohibition offense and not enough ass kicking. That pounce finish was killer though, Josh bumps neck first right into the ropes.

Dominic Garrini vs. Tim Donst

PAS: This was really good, my favorite Donst match since that first Kingston match years ago. Garrini is pretty much a must watch at this point, he has had a hell of a 2019. The whole thing was a super stiff brawl, with Garrini doing some really awesome Ju-Jitsu attacks early, including a jumping triangle, he also just wrecks Donst with a stiff lariat on the outside. The turning point of the match comes when Donst catches Garrini coming into the ring with a nasty forearm which catches his knee in the ropes. Then its Donst wrecking the leg with Garrini selling the damage. There is a great spot where he goes for his big jumping knee and just collapses in pain. I really liked the finish too, with Donst snapping and demolishing Dom's knee and leg with chair shots, finishing with one to the head and then just obnoxiously putting an unconscious Garrini in a rear naked choke. Sets up the big Submit and Surrender match at Absolution really well, and sold me on a match I was agnostic on.

ER: Dang what a fight this was. I didn't think these two would be a good match for each other, honestly. Donst is a guy with cult popularity who usually does a couple things I like in a match, but also can come off sluggish. Nobody really had time to be sluggish here and the sadistic side of Donst really took this to the next level. I would have been pretty happy if the match never even progressed to knee stuff, as the shots into the guardrail were tough and Garrini looked like he was going to attack Donst like a pitbull the whole match. That would have been cool. But Donst elbows Garrini, Garrini gets his leg tied in the ropes as a bonus, and Donst zeroes in. Donst was a real jerk with the leg work, and Garrini sold it great and really worked at 60%. Donst's outright attacks were good (one of the more convincing ankle locks I've seen, usually it just looks like someone standing there holding a foot like a dingus), and his dickish attacks were even better (at one point he comes up and grabs Garrini by the face...and kicks him in the side of his knee). Garrini's selling was choice, not doing any exaggerated limping or back row drama, but getting up slow and doing little things, like trying to hop into throwing a German suplex and having to bail on it almost midway through, not throwing with the same intensity as he typically will. Donst is so ruthless on this finish, the chairshots were all sick, and the choke to an already downed opponent feels like a Kurisu move. This was a killer fight.

CPA vs. Danhausen vs. KTB vs. Louis Lyndon

PAS: This was a fun multiman match, with our boys the Production running a lot of interference for Danhausen. This is the annual no-rules show, so this was basically a six way with Eddy Only and Derek Director. KTB has some fun strength spots and got a chance to toss a bunch of people around. I am not sure what CPA's deal was, he seemed to be workshopping four or five comedy gimmicks at the same time, he is an accountant who loudly yells out early 2000s WWF finishers, while being clumsy, while being a secret Taylor Swift fan? Pick a lane. Production is always worth watching.

AJ Gray/PB Smooth/Tre Lamar vs. Weird World/Kaplan vs. Young Studs/Swoggle

ER: This was a pretty big waste of 9 guys, and felt like we only got 5 minutes of a potentially worthwhile 15 minute tag. Nearly everyone in this was underutilized. Weird Body is probably my favorite cult indy guy (Brickster? Mecha Mercenary?), and I barely saw him in this one (the match was also in the dark a lot, due to entrances, so his dark singlet could have just been shrouded in darkness), didn't see Worldwide, Eric Ryan disappeared after a minute, just what was the point of this? The Young Studs armdrag into the turnbuckles is really great, and the match gets a couple hot little moments (Kaplan belly bumping the bricks off of Swoggle and then taking a Beverly chairshot to the side of the head was nasty), but this was a rushed non-use of some talented guys.

PAS: This is clearly Eric watching this match on his phone on the toilet at work, as Weird World was in the coolest spot of the match where he gets used as Terry Funk's ladder only to take a sick bump when Worldwide was clotheslined. The match starts with Gray, Lamar and PB Smooth forming 40 Acres and a Mule and doing some pretty solid heel mike work about being overlooked and abused. Swoggle and the Young Studs answer the open challenge, and I don't think the best thing for your new heel stable is having them sell big for Swoggle, but I guess I get it. Kaplan and Weird World come out later to Natural Born Killaz doing a Gangstas gimmick, which is a running gag on the no rules shows. It amused me last year and I thought it was fun here. I did think PB Smooth destroying Bobby Beverly with the chokeslam through the carpet tacks was a nice way of getting their heat back after selling for Kaplan and Swoggle, and thought overall this was a decent way to introduce 40 Acres and get in the yearly Weird World Gangstas tribute.

Philly Marino Experience vs. To Infinity and Beyond

PAS: This was really good stuff. TIAB are a really great heel tag team, they honestly remind me of the Midnight Express, they get a little wacky double team heavy, but shit 2019 MX would totally get wacky double team heavy too. PME are a hell of babyface team, great connection with the crowd, big bumps, fired up offense, they really check all the boxes. This was no DQ like the rest of the show and I loved how they still worked a southern tag formula by having Marino eat the guardrail on a missed assisted plancha. So he was down on the outside while Philly gets double teamed. Marino's eventually comeback is worked just like a hot tag. They have some big near falls including Delany pulling the ref out right before the three. The dickishness of the heels landing multiple low blows while staring at the ref was pretty great. Liked this a lot and I imagine their Absolution match is going to be awesome.

ER: I thought this was tremendous, and don't think the modern Midnight Express label is hyperbolic despite clearly seeming hyperbolic. This tag is just the right amount, has bonkers action, a couple of excellently timed saves (love Cheech rolling over the top of everyone at just the right time and yanking the ref out of the ring was just as well done and unexpected), just a scorching tag match. For the first minute I actually thought I was accidentally playing this in 1.5 speed because that opening fist exchange looked like things were landing way to well to be playing in normal speed, and that vibe kept up through much of the match. Seriously watch Delaney and Philly going at it and tell me those madmen are working at normal speed. Everything here is done with some great force, like Philly's avalanches and the way Marino dives face first right into the guardrail. When Infinity has Philly laid out in the corner, they even do all their chain combos real deliberately, leaping in with hard facewash dropkicks, swinging in with a thud on the 619, and Philly is a great FIP for the boys. I love how he took a back suplex, and loved how Infinity kept sinking in the pinfall attempts deep to really force a kickout. The whole match was hot and really one of my favorite tags of the year. It was put together so tight - on a show that practically begged for overkill - and here they were just making the most out of Marino coming back, snug shots, and nearfalls that all worked. This whole thing ruled.

Joshua Bishop vs. Matt Justice

PAS: This was a hell of a brawl before the crazy spot which went viral. Matt Justice is always worth watching, but this was the best actual match I have seen him in (outside of the awesome 10 man a couple years ago, but he was one of ten). A lot of times his matches kind of fall apart as he sets up stunts, and while the stunt at the end of this match did take a bit to set up, the brawling before the stunt was brutal and solid. Bishop is a guy I would buy stock in. He is getting better every time I see him and has real size and portrays that size well. He is a great looking bleeder with his platinum Barry Windham hair, and isn't afraid to both dish out and take a big beating. There was some really nasty looking stuff with guardrails and chairs, and also some great looking straight punches. The finish of course is the craziest spot of the year with Justice hitting a Death Valley Driver off a balcony through four tables, totally bonkers and certainly a moment to remember. Bishop has been in two of the brawls of the year so far, hell of future if he doesn't cripple himself.

ER: I know we always make the point throughout some of these shows that it has to be hard to stand out on shows like this. AIW cards are absolutely stacked and shows like this with no rules are filled even more so with guys dying on bumps or eating awful weapon shots. So hats off to these two for crafting a match that stood out as its own thing. Bishop won the Intense title from Justice on the prior show and here he's hanging by a thread the whole time. He seemingly comes out already bleeding, and forehead blood soaking through a big white bandage is one of our Great Wrestling Visuals. And once the shots start coming, they really start coming. Both guys eat hard chairshots, and they tear up the ringside area moving guardrails around with their bodies. Justice eats a brutal low angle lawn dart into a guardrail and later takes a nasty hotshot on the rail, looked like he was angry with his teeth and wanted to teach the bottom row of them a lesson. Bishop comes off like peak Raven to me, as he throws himself hard into his opponent's brawling, torches himself on rail bumps, even has similar movements. Justice throws himself into attacks, hits a pretty unhinged dive to the floor and a plancha far over the railing into the crowd, and both guys kept landing in ways that hurt my joints, my knees, my face, everything. Also, I had not seen THEE finish. I am inside of a tiny niche pro wrestling bubble, and yet even within that small bubble I seem to remain somehow aloof to things. Going into this match I had no idea there was a notable finish, and my god what a finish. The set up was indeed lengthy (he needs a guy setting up props for him, bring in a rookie who just sets up destruction derby sets) but my god did it payoff. The camera angle and the hang time made it look like Bishop was taking a death valley driver off a 3rd story balcony. What a freaking crash, one of the all time crazy spots/bumps. Some backyarder needs to recreate this off their stepdad's roof NOW. I love Bishop retaining by being having his lifeless corpse placed on top of Justice's similarly lifeless corpse. No clue how they're going to top this, but brothers, elevate this feud!

Eddie Kingston vs. Nick Gage

PAS: This is minor key Eddie Kingston. It is really tough to do a brawl right after the insanity of Justice vs. Bishop, so both guys lean on their charisma. There was some nice looking brawling and I enjoyed how they did a catch as catch can opening as almost a comedy spot. This really didn't need tacks - especially considering how the main event was going to end - but otherwise this was solid, and Kingston's Saito suplex on the chair was super nasty.

MJF vs. Penta el Cero Miedo

PAS: These are two shtick heavy guys, whose shtick I am super tired of. There was a fair amount of Twan Tucker on the outside and he has a really great intensity, him going nose to nose with Penta felt like a bigger deal then any Penta vs. MJF showdown. Basically Pentagon cashing a check and MJF doing his OTT heel stuff.

Mance Warner vs. Tom Lawlor

PAS: The brawling stuff is pretty cool, but this was mostly a weapons brawl. Lawlor uses a staple guy on Warner's tongue, they go through a mousetrap table, there is a tack bat, etc. Very IWA-MS main event. It was fine outside of the carny freakshow parts. Got to give credit to my man The Duke who always takes a huge bump or two, here he gets accidentally brained with a super violent chair shot. It is tough to main event these no rules shows. By the time they get to your match the crowd is a bit burned out and even an upped ante can't bring them back.


ER: So AIW could have pretty much put whatever they wanted on this card and it would still be the easiest recommendation because THREE matches made top 30 on our 2019 Ongoing MOTY List, with Infinity & Beyond vs. PME landing in our top 20! That's excellent pro wrestling baby, this is why we've been reviewing all this AIW!

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