HITS
Michael Hutter vs. Tim Donst I have never seen a crowd some amped up for a match as I witnessed in this one (see Youtube video below). If these two guys wrestled an hour, no one would have minded and the crowd would have been just as hot. Hutter made his first AIW appearance in six years after spending time with WWE. Donst is a crowd favorite. Hutter had the beach balls, Donst had the masks. The action inside the ring delivered as well.
Josh Alexander / Michael Elgin Another match that could have gone longer and no one would have minded. Coming on after the intermission was the perfect spot for their 30-minute time limit draw. They each hit their finishers and got only two-counts. They each hit their opponent's finishers and only got two-counts. The match even told the story of Alexander's right ear injury. Both men have established themselves as future main eventers in AIW. I would expect whoever emerges from this series of matches will get a title shot.
Mat Fitchett returns One half of the Sex Babombs made his return after mising over a year with an injury. At the start of the match, he hit some amazing moves. His leap over the top rope onto T-Money was a great visual and almost flew over his head. Fitchett suffered a dislocated shoulder when a top rope backstabber/bulldog move was botched. Hopefully he is OK and we see more of Fitchett and Vega team up.
Johnny Gargano / Ethan Page After last month's #JLIT tournament when Page defeated Gargano in the final match, the King of Cleveland was looking for revenge and the match was booked accordingly. Page tried the same underhanded tactic he used last month, Gargano was ready for it and it led to the finish of the match. The guys worked well together. The multiple ring entrances at the beginning was funny and with Ethan Page winning the Absolute Championship, I have a feeling these two will main event a future show.
Batiri/Hope and Change Although Hope and Change held onto their titles by every fluke imaginable, they were the most credible Champions on the roster because they defended their titles every show. Sadly, they have run out of tag team opponents so it was time for the belts to change. Let's hope Greg Iron stays interesting as a mid-card heel with Veda Scott by his side.
Ethan Page and Selezia Sparks back together This is a hit for the overall direction of the storyline (more later on). For several months, the Page/Sparks dynamic was the best thing going on AIW shows. It conjured up old memories of Randy Savage and Elizabeth. I thought they were split up too quickly but now that they are in cahoots again and how they pulled off the grand scheme, it just makes them the top heels in the promotion and a true power couple.
Up next With Ethan Page winning Absolute Championship, there are several different directions the main event can evolve. Challengers include Colin Delaney, Johnny Gargano, Eric Ryan and even Michael Elgin and Josh Alexander. Since most of the top guys are babyfaces, it makes sense to have a heel champion.
MISSES
Hot shot title change I've never been a fan of the WWE Money in the Bank concept. I like the idea of elevating a mid-carder into main event status by winning one match or a tournament. AIW executed this beautifully a couple of months ago when Davey Vega won a match and challenged Eric Ryan for the Absolute Championship.
However, these days the Money in the Bank briefcase, or in this instance, the #JLIT tournament winner waits until after the current champion wrestles a grueling match and is in a weaken state when the next challenger demands a title match. It has just been played out too many times on WWE TV that it has become too predictable. AIW did the same thing at Absolution 6 when Shiima Xion became champion.
Another reason I don't like this booking is AIW did a nice job building up the original title match with Eric Ryan and #Nixon as the dastardly villans and Colin Delaney as the underdog challenger. Ethan Page walking out as champion basically made the 3-month buildup to the Ryan/Delaney match meaningless. I felt they should have saved the Delaney (with Selezia Spaks) vs. Page showdown for the next show. It would have made the Sparks heel turn more effective.
Sadly, AIW invested a lot of time building up Delaney's character over the last year and it appears he might be headed back to mid-card status.
Nixon It was not a good night for the Duke and company. I liked in-ring promo and singing Happy Birthday to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Nixon. However, Bobby Beverly and Rickey Shane Page couldn't defeat BJ Whitmer for the Intense Championship and Eric Ryan lost the Absolute Championship to Colin Delaney. To make matters worse, with Ethan Page winning the title from Delaney, it appears Ryan is on the outside looking in when it comes to a re-match and Ethan Page and Selezia Sparks have emerged as the top heels in the promotion. It would be a shame to see #Nixon dissolved after just one year so I'm interested to see what the group does next.
Another miss in my opinion is the Duke/Chest Flexor dynamic. Once again Flexor came out during the Delaney/Ryan match and threw a fireball at the Duke. This has been going on for months with no end in sight. Eventually, this has to come to a close or the fans aren't going to care anymore.
Flip Kendrick / Louis Lyndon This match was thrown together after Lyndon's original opponent ACH suffered a concussion recently. Although Kendrick was very rusty and missed some spots, I enjoyed the match. The miss (a very minor one albeit) here is the booking. Both guys were members of the successful tag team AEROFORM in AIW and I just felt this match should be saved for an event with the proper build up. Bottom line, I appreciate AIW's desire to find a suitable replacement. Lyndon has quite a streak going the last several months.
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