AIW Hell On Earth X
Cleveland, Ohio 11/28/14
This was a particularly big
show for AIW. Not only is Hell On Earth one of their biggest shows of the year,
but it was also the final AIW event in Turner’s Hall, which had been AIW’s home
for several years. There were questions at the time about whether this would be
AIW’s last show all together, but thankfully, they were able to find a new
venue to run their shows at.
1.) Alex Shelley vs. Josh Prohibition:
***
The show kicked off with a match between
two competitors who actually know each other very well. I thought this was a
pretty solid opener. There wasn’t anything spectacular, but the action was
relatively good from start to finish. I might have gone a tad higher with my
match rating, but the finish took away from it a little bit. As Josh
Prohibition was about to put Alex Shelley away, Raymond Rowe’s music hit, which
distracted Prohibition (this was when Rowe was still out of action following
his motorcycle accident). This allowed Shelley to roll up Prohibition for the
victory. Again, this was a fine match that was hurt slightly by the finish.
After the match, we get a promo from
Josh Prohibition. He admits that he’s got too much pride to hang it up and
retire, but adds that disrespectful punks like Raymond Rowe keep him going. He
says that his challenge to Rowe is still out on the table, and says that when
they do meet, it’ll be one of the most violent matches people have ever seen.
2.) AAW Tag Team Champion Jimmy Jacobs
vs. “Nasty” Russ Myers: N/R
Around this time, The Forgotten (a
stable consisting of Jimmy Jacobs, BJ Whitmer, & Tommy Mercer aka Crimson
from TNA) and The Jollyville Fuck-Its (Russ Myers & T-Money) were feuding
over the AIW Tag Team Titles. On this show, however, only one person from each
team is in the building, so we’re getting a singles match. Jacobs takes his him
taking off his clothes (a jacket, a shirt, and some jewelry) and getting ready
for the match (wrist tape and knee brace). At the start of the match, Jacobs
sets up a chair in the ring and just sits there. He then attacks Russ Myers
with a chair for the immediate DQ. He goes to town on Russ Myers, who wins via
DQ, with this chair. Jacobs goes to leave, but Myers recovers and dives onto
Jacobs. They brawl around ringside and in the crowd for several minutes. Myers
eventually hits a moonsault from the top rope to the floor onto Jacobs,
clearing the guardrail in the process. He then gets his revenge in the ring by
going to town on Jacobs with a chair. Basically, we didn’t get a true “match”,
but more of a brawl that extends this program. It’s weird that the match didn’t
actually happen, but I don’t have an issue with what they did.
3.) The Iron Curtain (Gregory Iron,
Benjamin Boone, Jerry, & Rhino) vs. The League of Justice (Bobby Beverly,
Cheech, Colin Delaney, & Dick Justice): **1/2
This is the continuation of the ongoing
issue between former Iron Curtain member Dick Justice and Gregory Iron. The
League of Justice was all decked out in USA-themed gear. Before the match, Iron
cuts a promo where he randomly mentions that he got to hang out with the Insane
Clown Posse. He then says Joey Vincent Martini (another member of The Iron
Curtain who was scheduled to be in this match) was hurt, before announcing that
he’s found a suitable replacement in the form of Rhino.
The match itself was decent. From a
match quality perspective, this was the worst match on the show (not counting
the immediate DQ in the match that preceded it), but it was by no means
terrible. A basic eight-man tag team match. Towards the end of the match, Iron
tried to give orders to Rhino, and pushed him around a bit. He eventually slaps
Rhino, which sets The Man Beast off. He gives Iron a belly-to-belly suplex
before following up with a Gore. This allows The League of Justice to get the
win.
After the match, Rhino shakes hands with
The League of Justice before leaving.
4.) Dog Collar Match - Eddie Kingston
(with The Duke) vs. “All Ego” Ethan Page: ***1/4
These two have been feuding in the
months leading up to this show, and this was (I think) their first major match.
Page had recently turned babyface, and in the process, started having issues
with The Duke, who hired Eddie Kingston to take Page out. As for this match, it
was…..very weird. Kingston dominated the majority of the match, especially the
first half. Page gets busted open by Kingston during this initial assault, and
starts bleeding heavily. The second half of the match was much better, as Page
was eventually able to mount a comeback, and fought off interference from The
Duke. Despite fighting back with everything he had, the loss of blood proved to
be too much as Kingston got Page in (I believe) a crossface, and the referee called
for the match to be stopped. This awarded the victory to Eddie Kingston. Again,
this was a very strange Dog Collar Match. It only went about twelve or thirteen
minutes, and while it was still a solid match, it really felt like an extended
squash of Ethan Page.
After the match, Eddie Kingston cuts a
promo (sans a microphone) saying that he just crucified Ethan Page, and tells
the crowd in Turner’s Hall to go to hell. The Duke then cuts a profanity-laced
promo, talking about how “Jesus” (Ethan Page) needed to die, and added that he
could have bought Turner’s Hall, but he didn’t because he hates the fans so
much. Matt Wadsworth (who I believe is the President of AIW) announces that
Eddie Kingston vs. Chris Hero will take place at their next show in December,
which is also the first show in their new venue. Ethan Page then recovers and
takes over The Duke with a Rock Bottom.
5.) Johnny Gargano vs. Matt Cross:
***1/4
Gargano was originally scheduled to face
Ethan Carter III, but EC3 came out with his left arm in a cast, and explained
that he got hurt training (if I recall correctly, he had suffered a bicep
injury). He proclaims that he’s biggest wrestling TV star from Cleveland, and adds
that he wrestles for TNA, a “real” wrestling company. He says that he was able
to find a replacement, who is also from Cleveland and a wrestling TV star in
the form of Matt Cross, who had just started with Lucha Underground.
I believe commentary mentioned that this
was the first time Matt Cross had been seen in AIW since he lost to Josh
Prohibition several months earlier at Absolution
IX. The match, for the most part, was pretty solid. This wasn’t a fantastic
match by any means (and I think we all know these two can have a much better
match), but for what it was, I thought the match was pretty solid. Gargano
looked to have Cross beat when he locked him in the GargaNo Escape, but the
injured EC3 runs into the ring and breaks it up, causing the DQ.
EC3 & Matt Cross continue to attack
Gargano, but Josh Prohibition runs out to make the save. He cuts a promo
getting on the case of EC3 & Matt Cross for cheating on the last show in
Turner’s Hall, and puts over Johnny Gargano in a big way. He then makes a
challenge for himself & Gargano vs. Matt Cross and whomever EC3 could find
for show in December. EC3 accepts this challenge, and that marks the second
match announced for their next show.
6.) Eric Ryan vs. Chris Sabin: ***1/4
This really wasn’t a story behind this
match. It was just a showcase match featuring a former AIW Absolute Champion
taking on household name on the independent scene. I thought this was a pretty
solid match. There was some very good back & forth action between these
two. Much like the opener, the finish did detract from the match a little bit,
as Sabin got the win on a rollup with a handful of tights, but still, the match
was good.
7.) AIW Intense Title - Six-Pack
Scramble - Davey Vega vs. Veda Scott vs. Alex Daniels vs. Louis Lyndon vs.
Joshua Singh vs. Flip Kendrick: ***1/2
These Six-Pack Scrambles are a stable of
many AIW events, and on this occasion, Davey Vega’s AIW Intense Championship
was on the line. I thought this was a very good match. It was the best match on
the show, up to this point, and ultimately (for me) ended up being the show’s
second-best match. As you would expect in a match like this, there was a ton of
fast-paced action from start to finish. All six competitors got a chance to
shine, and as a whole, it was pretty entertaining. Davey Vega eventually picked
up the win to retain his AIW Intense Title.
8.) Marion Fontaine vs. Rockstar Spud:
***
So this was pretty much a comedy match.
For what it was, I enjoyed it. This was something completely different on the
card, and proved a good break between the Six-Pack Scramble for AIW Intense
Title and the Four-Way Main Event for the AIW Absolute Title. Marion Fontaine
& Rockstar Spud are both incredibly entertaining, and they had a fun little
match here. Fontaine would get the win in the end. No complaints from me.
After the match, Rockstar Spud cut a
promo, where he urged the fans to support independent wrestling, specifically AIW
and all of the great talent who perform for the company.
9.) AIW Absolute Title - Hell On Earth
Four-Way Match - Tim Donst vs. Rickey Shane Page vs. Josh Alexander vs. Tyson
Dux: ***3/4
Hell
On Earth is a show that’s always headlined by an Anything Goes, Falls
Count Anywhere Match titled the Hell On Earth Match. On this occasion, Tim
Donst is defending his AIW Absolute Title against Rickey Shane Page, Josh
Alexander, and Tyson Dux. I would say that this was the best match on the show.
All four guys worked hard, and the match had a lot of really good action
throughout. However, the match wasn’t without its issues. I don’t feel like
they really took advantage of the stipulation to its fullest extent. There was
some brawling on the outside (which involved the usage of chairs), and towards
the end the match, a table and several light tubes were introduced, but for the
most part, it didn’t feel like a true “hardcore” match. It just felt like a
regular four-way match with some usage of foreign objects. That being said, one
of the biggest spots of the match saw Rickey Shane Page falling off the top
rope, to the floor, through a table with light tubes on it. Again, I thought
the match was really good, and even though it had hardcore moments, I don’t
think it fully lived up to the stipulation. Tim Donst eventually retained his
title in what appeared to be a controversial finish, where he and Josh
Alexander appeared to have a double submission on Tyson Dux, but Donst was
awarded the victory since he had his submission on first.
After the match, we got a promo from Tim
Donst. He says that AIW is about the entire locker room busting their asses for
the fans, adding that it’s their job to make pro-wrestling better. Donst notes
that it’s the last show in Turner’s Hall, and says that the fans are the ones
who made this venue so special to AIW.
Overall:
7.25/10
For the most part, this was a pretty
solid outing from AIW. It wasn’t an amazing show, but there really wasn’t a bad
match to speak of. Aside from an Eight-Man Tag that was pretty average, and a
match that didn’t even really happen, the rest of the card hovered somewhere
between *** and ***3/4. The Six-Pack Scramble for the AIW Intense Title and the
Main Event were the two best matches on the show, in my opinion. Once again,
this was a fine showing from AIW, as they held their last show in Turner’s
Hall.
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