HITS
Josh Alexander: newcomer to AIW against a veteran in Louis Lyndon who is more a tag team specialist with his partner Flip Kendrick. Both men got in adequate offense. Alexander is in the middle of a push yet Lyndon got in enough offense that it made both men look good and Alexander's win seem meaningful.
Allysin Kay: She had another solid performance defeating Kobald. It was a fun match and she used a finishing move (T-bone suplex type maneuver) that I hadn't seen before. Kay has been established as a strong Womens Champion. This match showed she can wrestle men.
Davey Vega vs. Chuck Taylor: I'm giving this a marginal hit. I wasn't a fan of the action and Taylor hasn't been around in quite a while so I was unfamiliar with his character. His appearance seemed too random. Having said that, Vega going over was the correct outcome and having the Swampmonster character at ringside was fun. I hope see Vega and tag team partner Mat Fitchett work together again and feud with some of the establish AIW tag teams.
Old School Express vs. Submission Squad: This match featured six of the funniest guys on the roster and is the culmination of the Jock Samson / Submission Squad feud. I love the Marion Fontaine old school gimmick with the suspenders, the chair in the corner and even ring announcer Pedro DeLuca announcing him like a 1930's boxer. Fun bout to send the crowd to intermission.
Chris Dickinson vs. Colin Delaney: This match gets a marginal hit. The in-ring action was intense. Both guys were working stiff and it reminded me of an ROH match. The performance of these guys give the match a hit.
I'm not into either character at the moment. Delaney just turned heel at the end of 2011 and it appears he is now back to being a babyface with him trying to beat an alcohol addiction. I just haven't warmed up to it yet. At least his ring music begins with Johnny Cash's "Sunday Morning Coming Down"
Dickinson's character is also somewhat of a mystery. He appeared to be the leader of the Nixon group at Absolution 7; by the end of the next show it was the Duke who was the leader; then at Hell on Earth 8, Dickinson was on Team AIW competing against Nixon in a street fight. During that match, Dickinson turned on BJ Whitmer and set in motion an injury angle, yet for this show Dickinson wrestles Delaney. I'm willing to be patient with Dickinson's character as he showed in the Delaney match that he is a legitimate tough guy.
Nixon attacks The Batiri: This entire wrestling card was centered around the End of the World. The Batiri was featured in promotional images. Leading up to the event, we heard promos and tweets from Veronica Ticklefeather that the world is going to end and everyone is going to die.
After the Batiri defeated Irish Airborne, Veronica and the Batiri were set to announce their plans for the end of the world when Nixon (Eric Ryan, Rickey Shane Page with Duke Schork) emerged from the locker room and delivered a beat-down of The Batiri.
I'm giving this a hit for two reasons: (1) clearly establishes Nixon has a dominant heel group which they sorely needed and (2) obviously a catastrophe was not going to happen so there needed to be a logical reason why the Batiri was not going to deliver on their promises.
Ethan Page vs. AR Fox: This was the match of the evening. Ironically, the advertised matches for the night were AR Fox against Davey Richards and Page against Kyle O'Reilly. Due to travel difficulties, Richards and O'Reilly couldn't make the event and their opponents faced each other instead. What a match.
AR Fox delivers five-star matches every appearance. The man is absolutely fearless. His amazing moves are just awesome to see. This match alone is worth buying the video.
Ethan Page arrived in AIW in 2012 and has won several matches in a row. Page winning was the correct outcome. I can see him and Seleyza Sparx moving up on the AIW card in 2013. Page has it all (1) good ring ability (2) executes some awesome moves (3) cuts good promos (4) having Sparx by his side adds a layer to his character. I hope the two of them stay together for a while.
MISSES
Jarek 1:20 vs. Jacka: The match was an absolute clunker. Jacka has an 80's Kamala type gimmick while Jarek is a magician. The crowd was dead. Looks like the finish was botched when the referee counted to three even though Jacka clearly kicked out - even the official wanted this one over with.
The Batiri predicting the end of the world: I know this is pro wrestling and there has to be some suspension of belief when watching shows. However, wrestlers who claim the world will end and everyone is going to die is just too absurd. My first thought is why would the promoter book The Batiri to wrestle if they had plans to kill everyone - might be bad for business.
I can understand when wrestlers in promos say they're going to hurt their opponent. A wrestler saying they are going to kill their opponent is taking it too far. After their match when the opponent is still breathing, win or lose that wrestler's credibility is hurt. Wrestlers claiming physical harm on others is the oldest promo in the world. I just don't like when it talks about life and death.
Kingston/Gargano vs. Page/Jacobs: I really expected more from these four guys in the ring. The action was just O.K. It was so long ago that Jacobs was in AIW, I didn't really understand why he was part of the Nixon group. I'm also having a hard time accepting that Chest Flexor is now a baby face especially when he throws a fireball (an obvious heel tactic) into the face of Rickey Shane Page. I don't think the match made Kingston or Gargano look good when it was a 2-on-1 advantage at the end. At a time when the Nixon group needs momentum, they introduce new members and then lose. Seems everything involving Nixon is over-booked.
Iron/Scott vs. Cross/Prohibition: I like the Hope and Change paring of Greg Iron and Veda Scott. They receive some unbelievable heat. Youthanazia are great wrestlers as well. Matt Cross' shooting star press is the best finisher in wrestling. I wasn't a fan of this match.
The problem is where the match was on the card having followed AR Fox vs. Ethan Page. Those two guys hit some spectacular moves and were tons of near-falls. The pinfall in the tag team title match was Iron hitting Cross with a low blow and then a roll-up. It just wasn't believable. I would've been more satisfied if Iron pulled the tights while the referee counted the pin. I could've believed that a little bit more.
Prior to the finish Cross landed the shooting star press on Scott and Southside St. Clair broke up the pin attempt by pulling the referee out of the ring prompting Josh Prohibition to chase St. Clair to the locker room. Prohibition is a veteran wrestler. Him and Cross have been a tag team for many years. Why would Prohibition chase a guy wearing a diaper to the back and leave his partner alone by himself. He should be too smart for that.
I understand they want the tag champions to retain their titles in underhanded ways. The booked finish in this match made both tag teams look very bad.
Eric Ryan defeats Tim Donst to become new champ: Another ridiculously overbooked Nixon match. Donst and Eddie Kingston had their differences in the past and the two men are on a collision course. However, I don't understand why he would feel the need to assist Donst in his matches. Kingston hits both Donst and Ryan with his backfist finisher (more on that below) and walks away with Ryan laying on top of Donst. If Kingston wants a future title shot, wouldn't he want Donst as the Champion? The interference in this match just didn't make sense.
Don't get me started how bad this title win makes Eric Ryan and #Nixon look.
Eddie Kingston's finisher: A backfist? Really? This may be the weakest finisher I've ever seen a wrestler use. Maybe if Kingston wrestled matches in AIW and established this maneuver as a finisher, I'd be more accepting of it. AIW is trying to incorporate Kingston's CHIKARA character into AIW storylines. For people like me who don't watch CHIKARA, Kingston is just another wrestler getting an inexplicable push.
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