AIW I Choo-Choo Choose You

Results from last night's @aiwrestling #ChooChoo event at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School in Cleveland Ohio - all AIW wrestling blog posts.

1. Marti Belle (substituting for Allysin Kay), Taeler Hendrix and Mary Elizabeth Monroe (substituting for Angelus Layne) defeated Veda Scott and Team Barely Legal (Alexia Nicole & Jasmin) when Hendrix pinned Nicole after a kick to the head.
   
   Afterward, Jasmin and Alexia had a pull apart brawl.
   
   
2. Brian Myers (fka Curt Hawkins) beat Cliff Compton after hitting the "I'm sorry, I love you" Sweet Chin Music superkick.
   
   68-year Dennis Stamp came to the ring after being introduced by ring announcer Pedro DeLuca. Stamp thanked the fans and read a poem. The Iron Curtain (Gregory Iron, Benjamin Boone and Jerry) interrupted and ran down Stamp. This led to Dick Justice coming to the ring and then Grado made his AIW debut. After much discussion, Grado convinced Stamp to step back in the ring for first time since 1993 even taking off his own wrestling singlet to give to Stamp to wear for the match which led to ....
   
   
3. Dennis Stamp, Dick Justice and Grado defeated the Iron Curtain (Greg Iron, Benjamin Boone and Jerry) when Stamp pinned Iron after hitting a clothesline.
   
   
4. Chris Sabin pinned Colt Cabana while holding onto a rope in the corner for leverage.
   
   
5. AIW Tag Team Champions The Forgotten (Jimmy Jacobs & BJ Whitmer) successfully defended their titles against To Infinity and Beyond (Colin Delaney & Cheech), The Batiri (Obariyon and Kodama) and The Beaver Boys (Johnny Silver & Alex Reynolds) when Whitmer pinned Silver. Afterward, the Forgotten and To Infinity And Beyond had a staredown.
   
   Ring announcer Pedro DeLuca introduced AIW Absolute Champion Tim Donst who said he can no longer defend the championship due to health reasons. Donst thanked the fans, shared a long hug with DeLuca and left the championship belt in the ring.
   
   INTERMISSION
   
   AIW President Matt Wadsworth picked up the championship belt from the ring and discussed how the vacancy will be filled. The main event of the evening will be Rickey Shane Page, Ethan Page, Eddie Kingston and Josh Alexander.
   
   
6. AIW Intense Champion Davey Vega pinned Eric Ryan after hitting a top rope hurricanrana in a fatal four-way match including Tyson Dux and "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams (AIW Debut substituting for Jonathan Gresham).
   
   
7. Candice LeRae pinned Tyler Thomas (AIW Debut) after hitting a reverse spike hurricanrana to win a six-pack scramble match also including Flip Kendrick, Joshua Singh, Abe "Action" Jackson and Alessandro Del Bruno (AIW Debut)
   
   
8. Dudes on TV (Shiima Zion aka Zema Ion, Ethan Carter III & Raymond Rowe) defeated Johnny Gargano, Josh Prohibition and Alex Daniels when Rowe hit Gargano with the bell setting up the pin for Carter III.
   
   
9. Josh Alexander pinned Rickey Shane Page to win the vacant AIW Absolute Championship in a fatal four-way match including Ethan Page and Eddie Kingston. The finish came when Veda Scott threw powder in RSP's face allowing Alexander to hit a spinning tombstone piledriver.
   
   

HITS
Ladies Match Despite so-so action and a bad spot on the card, this match gets a marginal hit due to the interaction between the six performers. If the ladies are going to be interesting, they need programs, angles and feuds for them to work. I didn't know much about Team Barely Legal but at least now the two girls are headed for a grudge match. I'm even interested to see more of Mary Elizabeth Monroe - appears her and Taeler Hendrix are on a collision course.

Myers vs. Compton These two guys crossed paths in WWE when Myers was known as Curt Hawkins and one of the Edgeheads and Compton was part of the Deuce 'n Domino tag team. They may have even feuded over the Smackdown Tag Team Titles.

Before things got underway, Myers returned to the locker room to get a Smackdown Tag Team championship belt. Then referee Jake Clemons returned to the locker room and picked up a blue polo style shirt.

The finish was very entertaining: first Compton hit the People's Elbow, Myers hit the Stone Cold Stunner, Compton landed the Batista Bomb and finally Myers said to Compton "I'm sorry, I love you," before nailing Sweet Chin Music that mimicked the Ric Flair/Shawn Michaels match at WrestleMania XXIV. Just good all-around fun.

Dennis Stamp/Grado vs. Iron Curtain I saw the movie Beyond the Mat. I don't remember Dennis Stamp. The crowd seemed to enjoy his appearance. The crowd also popped big for Grado's AIW debut. However, this segment belonged to Greg Iron and the Iron Curtain. They played the perfect villains against three guys who were obviously limited and bumped like champions. I enjoy the Greg Iron comedy in recent months but it's time for the Iron Curtain to start picking up victories again.

AIW Tag Team Title Match Great action from all four teams. I'm not a fan of defending championships against more than one opponent but this still gets a hit. The action was great. Whitmer and Jacobs looked very strong unlike recent shows. The stage was set for a future Whitmer/Jacobs vs. Delaney/Cheech match.

Tim Donst We could be looking back at this night as Donst's last appearance in AIW. He had a terrific promo including a long embrace with ring announcer Pedro DeLuca. Matt Wadsworth struggling with his promo later on seemed legitimate. Donst's promos in recent months after matches were always straight from the heart and genuine. Let's hope he defeats this health issue just like he defeated his many opponents in AIW.

Main event This match gets a hit for it's execution and swerve. When the entire roster surrounded the ring, this felt like a big deal. Once Ethan Page and Eddie Kingston brawled to the back, the feeling was the AIW torch was going to be passed to Rickey Shane Page. Instead it was a Veda Scott heel turn and Josh Alexander winning the title. It was a creative finish, gives Veda something to do now, gives Josh Alexander a mouthpiece and now several fresh main event match-ups over the next few months.


MISSES
Warm up MC For the first time, AIW had a Master of Ceremonies to warm up the crowd before the show. I didn't catch his name. I'm not sure he knows much about AIW. The major problem is he ran down the card for the evening including matches that hadn't been announced yet. This fop-aw led to several surprises being spoiled: (a) Donst not wrestling (b) the Iron Curtain was in action after Greg Iron said publicly he was not getting booked (c) Grado in action (d) the main event was a fatal four-way. It's a shame because overall this show was very good despite all of the last minute changes.