Views from the Hawke’s Nest: AAW’s Best of 2011

Path of Redemption
Davey Richards vs. Shane Hollister© [AAW Heritage Title]
Apparently this match was supposed to happen in the fall of 2010 but Davey had NJPW commitments. The commentators explained that Hollister has been called the future of AAW after Tyler Black left for WWE in September 2010.

Davey was mostly in control to start, but Hollister more than held his own. Hollister took Davey down with a leg lariat, and Davey briefly retreated to the floor. Back in the ring, Davey hit a sole butt. Davey tossed Hollister to the floor and hit a soccer punt from the apron. Davey was in definitive control after that. Back in the ring, Davey got a leglock submission, but Hollister managed to make the ropes. Hollister escaped another submission attempt, but he then ran into an alarm kick for a nearfall. Hollister hit an enzugiri from the apron, and he then started to make a comeback. Hollister got a nearfall with a bridging Northern Lights suplex. They traded a lot of strikes. Davey killed him with a spinning heel kick and a saito suplex. Hollister came right back with a running knee. They got to their feet and traded more strikes. Hollister clotheslined Davey to the floor and hit a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Hollister hit a missile dropkick for a nearfall. Hollister went for a buzzsaw kick, but Davey caught him with an ankle lock. Hollister escaped and went for Pele kick, but Davey caught him again with an ankle lock. Hollister just managed to make it to the ropes. Davey started laying in some more kicks. Hollister asked for even more kicks, before he got to his feet and delivered a huge slap to Davey’s face. They traded more strikes. Davey hit a discus lariat for a nearfall. Davey went for a powerbomb, but Hollister reversed it into a Code Red: 1…2…NO! Hollister hit a brainbuster for another nearfall. Hollister then hit a series of kicks to Davey’s head: 1…2…3.

This match was really good, and Hollister looked like a strong champion for surviving Davey Richards who was booked as a main eventer in more prominent promotions. The crowd response/environment didn’t really live up to the action in the ring, but they weren’t dead for the match or anything. I’m very excited to watch their 2012 rematch. Funny side note: Hollister finished Davey with a kick sequence that Davey started using as a finisher a couple months later. And much like Davey, Hollister did not get much reaction for using it.
Match Rating: ***1/2

7th Anniversary Show
Arik Cannon (w/ Dave Prazak) vs. Shiima Xion
Xion is now more famously known as Zema Ion in TNA. The story going into the match was that Prazak threatened to sever their relationship if Cannon didn’t start winning matches.

They traded a lot of holds in an extended feeling out process. Cannon retreated to the floor after a double boot to the face from Xion. Cannon tried to attack Xion from the outside, but Xion hit a nifty headscissors through the ropes and to the floor. Back in the ring, Prazak got involved to give Cannon the advantage. Cannon started to get the heat. Xion came back with a middle rope cross-body for a nearfall. Cannon cut him off with a neckbreaker. Cannon hit a delayed vertical suplex. Xion came back with a DDT and a middle rope moonsault, which he transitioned into a cripper crossface. Phil Colvin: “Shades of Voldemort!” I laughed. Prazak put Cannon’s leg on the ropes. Xion pulled him back into the ring, but Cannon got his legs on the ropes again. Cannon stood out of the hold and managed to pull off Total Anarchy: 1…2…NO! Xion came back with a crucifix bomb: 1…2…NO! Xion avoided a brainbuster attempt, but he ran into a big right hand and a bigger lariat. Cannon hits a brainbuster: 1…2…3!

This was every Arik Cannon mid-card match ever, which I guess is both a compliment and an insult. Xion was over as a mid-carder in AAW, but I guess he became too expensive once he went to TNA. I doubt this was one of the best AAW matches from 2011, but I was definitely glad to see it.
Match Rating: ***

7th Anniversary Show
Silas Young© (w/ Val Malone) vs. Dan Lawrence vs. Jimmy Jacobs [Triple Threat Elimination for the AAW Heavyweight Championship]
Young had been champion since late 2009 at this point. He’s one of the most under appreciated wrestlers going today. Lawrence had been in the company for all seven years.

Lawrence hit a diving facewash on Jacobs early, but Young then pulled him to the outside. Jacobs wiped out both of them with a tope suicida. The three men started brawling around the ring. Jacobs got some fans to hit Young. Nice. The brawling spilled into the crowd. The lighting wasn’t set up to film the crowd-brawling segment well. Luckily, the fight spilled back to the ringside area, where Jacobs got more fans to hit Young. Great stuff. Back in the ring, Young low-blowed Jacobs, as Lawrence finally made it back from the crowd. Lawrence went for a missile dropkick on Young, but he hit Jacobs by mistake. Jacobs got back to his feet though and hit Lawrence with a neckbreaker. Jacobs followed that up with a superplex. Young went for a Superfly Splash on both of them, but he came up completely empty. The three men got to their feet and traded strikes. Young hit Jacobs with a backbreaker and a kneeling lariat for a nearfall. Lawrence hit Young with a diving hurricanrana for a nearfall. Lawrence hit Jacobs with a DVD: 1…2…NO! Jacobs came back with a Contra Code on Lawrence, and he immediately hit Young with a headscissors takedown. Jacobs speared Young: 1…2…NO! Jacobs went for a Togo senton on Young, but the champ got his knees up. Jacobs locked Lawrence into an End Time, but Young pulled him off only for Jacobs to lock in End Time on him. Arik Cannon ran in and hit Jacobs with a step enzugiri and Young immediately pinned him: 1…2…3 (There are no DQs or Countouts in AAW). That didn’t really get the heel reaction one would expect. Young missed wildly with a chairshot, and Lawrence hit the champ with a DVD on the chair: 1…2…NO! Great nearfall. Lawrence grabbed the chair again, but Val Malone pulled at his feet. Lawrence kissed her, but he then immediately walked into an unprotected chairshot to the head from Young: 1…2…NO! Lawrence’s forehead was bleeding after that. Young hit the Finlay Roll and set up for the Pee Jee Waja Plunge, but Lawrence sent him to the floor. Lawrence then hit a diving somersault plancha. Back in the ring, Lawrence hit a discus clothesline and a somewhat flipping cradle piledriver. Lawrence went for the Contra Code, but Young reversed it into the Finlay Roll. Pee Jee Waja Plunge! Lawrence reversed it with a crucifix pin: 1…2…3!!!! NEW CHAMP!

This was a really good main event, with an emotional title change. Young quickly regained the title though, so that retrospectively takes a little something away from this moment, but it was still really well done. I haven’t seen much of Lawrence before, but he looked good here and the title switch was a nice reward for their hardcore fans. Jimmy Jacobs and Arik Cannon would go on to feud for the rest of the year.
Match Rating: ***3/4

Epic
The Irish Airborne (Jake & Dave Crist) vs. Zero Gravity© (Bret Gakiya & CJ Esparza) [AAW Tag Titles/Ladder Match]
The other stipulation was that no matter what the result of the match was, these two teams couldn’t face off for a year after this match. So many other feuds in wrestling could use that stipulation.

All four men start brawling on the outside. Dave Crist is secretly one of the best athletes in wrestling, so I’m expecting some wacky flips in this match. Shane Douglas is a guest commentator, because this show had an ECW theme. Billy Corgan was also at this show as a replacement for Dennis Rodman and Scott Hall, which unintentionally led to Corgan starting up a rival Chicago promotion. Wrestling is weird. More brawling. Irish Airborne were mostly in control. Zero Gravity came back using some double team moves and/or flip based offense. Gakiya started to climb a ladder, but Jake took him down with a diving lariat. The Airborne hit Esparza with a powerbomb/diving backstabber combo. Dave almost got the belts, but Gakiya stopped him. Esparza then knocked the ladder down so Dave crashed onto the turnbuckle. Dave dropkicked Gakiya into a ladder, but Gakiya came back with a springboard dropkick. Jake then slingshotted Gakiya into a ladder. Zero Gravity hit a double kneeling superkick to a ladder on Jake’s shoulders. Esparza bridged a ladder on two chairs. Gakiya wiped out Jake with an Asai Moonsault. The Irish Airborne set up to do a double team tombstone through the elevated ladder on Esparza, but Gakiya saved his life. Dave was on the top rope. He was knocked onto a table on the floor that didn’t break. Looked like a bad landing that could have easily broken his leg. Jake was set up on the elevated ladder, but he was playing possum and crotched Esparza. Gakiya and Jake were at the top of the ladder. Jake was knocked back onto the ladder. Esparza hit him with a shooting star press through the ladder. Gakiya grabbed the tag belts.

These four busted their ass, but the end result probably didn’t match the effort involved. The match was somewhat of a hybrid between a “spotty” ladder match and a “brawling” ladder match, with little in the way of ladder psychology seemingly mixed in. I think that for the time given, they tried to do a little too much which caused some of the bigger moments to not truly sink in. That being said, this was a lot of fun and a worthy edition to this DVD.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Epic
Alex Shelley vs. Michael Elgin
Pretty awesome matchup here. I don’t think there was any real story behind it, other than AAW just wanted an awesome match. As usual, I am OK with that philosophy.

The early stuff they did emphasized the speed vs. power dynamic. Shelley sent Elgin to the floor, and Shelley hit a diving knee off the apron. Back in the ring, Elgin hit a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall. Elgin started to get the heat after that. Shelley came back with a Tidal Wave and a running forearm. Shelley went for a swinging DDT, but Elgin caught him and gave him a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker: 1…2…NO! Shelley went for a diving cross-body, but Elgin caught him. Shelley managed to reverse that into a Roll of the Dice. Shelley continued to use his speed to stay in front of Elgin. Shelley gave Elgin a Mic Check into a turnbuckle. Elgin rolled to the floor to avoid a kneeling superkick. Shelley went for a slingshot plancha, but Elgin caught him. Shelley escaped a slam and sent Elgin into a poll. Back in the ring, Shelley hit a Sliced Bread #2: 1…2…NO! They got to their feet and traded some big strikes. Elgin went for a sit-out powerbomb, but Shelley escaped and hit a double stomp and a buzzsaw kick. Shelley hit the Air Raid Crash: 1…2…NO! Elgin came back with a lariat for a nearfall. Another lariat, followed by a spinning sit-out powerbomb: 1…2…3!

This was an excellent match that put over Elgin perfectly on his way to main event status in AAW. Shelley didn’t put in a Wrestlemania effort, but this would have been a great Smackdown main event. I hope these two have a rematch somewhere again, because they had incredible chemistry. It’s worth noting that Shelley and Elgin both tried to maximize everything they did, whereas the Ladder match and the Davey/Hollister matches probably went overboard only to get a similar overall result. This was my favorite match on the DVD so far.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Scars & Stripes
Colt Cabana & Gregory Iron vs. The Awesome Threesome© (Knight Wagner & Jordan McEntyre with Eryn) (AAW Tag titles)
Colt baited the champs to put the titles on the line. Iron was making his AAW debut here.

Colt and Iron set up the Threesome for some Gimp Slaps early. The Threesome fell to the outside to recover. Iron and Cabana remained in control for a while. The Threesome finally managed to play the numbers game well enough that they were able to cut off Iron. The champs then got the heat on Iron. Wagner and McEntyre tried for an illegal double team, but Cabana stopped it and tagged in. McEntyre somehow got busted open. Cabana gave them both Ass Bumps. Iron tagged back in. Cabana and Iron did some homophobic humor spots with the men, and then proved to be equal opportunity offenders by including Eryn. Cabana got knocked to the floor, and the Threesome hit Iron with an assisted DDT: 1…2…3.

This was a very nice tag title match that introduced Iron into the AAW universe effectively. Nothing too exciting happened, but Iron became a relatively big part of AAW’s 2011, so I think that justifies the inclusion of this match.
Match Rating: **1/2

The Threesome tried to beat down Iron more after the match, but Cabana made the save. It’s not on the DVD, but CM Punk showed up after that (it’s not on the DVD for legal reasons).

Reign of Violence
Louis Lyndon vs. Shane Hollister

This was the opener for the Reign of Violence show. Lyndon is known more for his tag team with Flip Kendrick, but he’s been getting a solid push as a singles wrestler in AAW.

They both tried for some rollups early, but neither got the pinfall. Lyndon dropkicked Hollister to the outside. Lyndon went for a suicide dive, but Hollister blocked it with a forearm. Back in the ring, Hollister trapped Lyndon in the Tree of Joey Lawrence and hit a delayed dropkick. Hollister started to get the heat on Lyndon. Lyndon came back with a series of cool kicks, including a Brogue Kick and a Sick Kick: 1…2…NO! Hollister went for some kicks, but Lyndon got a Dragon Screw Legwhip that caused Hollister to retreat to the floor. Lyndon wiped him out with a tope con hello. Lyndon rolled Hollister back in the ring and went for a moonsault, but Hollister got his knees up. Hollister hit a Busaiku Knee Kick: 1…2…NO! Hollister then killed him with a powerbomb: 1…2…NO! They traded some kicks until Lyndon hit a bridging Dragon Suplex: 1…2…NO! Hollister hit a suplex ace crusher and a Final Cut: 1…2…NO! Lyndon avoided a buzzsaw kick. They traded rollups until Lyndon trapped Hollister’s arms on one: 1…2…3! Hollister did not show any sportsmanship after the match, as he was in the midst of a losing streak/heel turn.

This was quite the good showing from both guys, and it definitely served as a good opener for an AAW show. Hollister is one of AAW’s most well-rounded wrestlers, and Lyndon is one of the more exciting independent guys to not have a larger platform. Check this match out.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Defining Moment
Alex Shelley vs. Shane Hollister
Hollister is still a babyface, but perhaps one more loss could push him over the edge.

They traded some holds and moves early with neither man getting the advantage. Shelley got sent to the outside, and Hollister hit a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Hollister hit a missile dropkick for a nearfall. Shelley sent Hollister to the outside and tried for a diving knee off the apron. Hollister avoided it and sent Shelley into the crowd. Hollister went for a superkick, but Shelley caught Hollister’s leg and slammed it on the guardrail. Shelley tried to dive off the guardrail, but Hollister hit a sole butt. Back in the ring, Hollister hit a sick springboard tornado DDT. Shelley came back with a missile dropkick. He tried for the Contra Code, but Hollister avoided it and hit an enzugiri that sent Shelley to the floor. Shelley retreated into the crowd, which caused the referee to stop Hollister from attempting a tope suicida. Hollister went to the top rope and hit a plancha into the crowd. This match is awesome. Hollister rolled Shelley back into the ring and hit a Ghetto Stomp: 1…2…NO! Shelley got a Border City Stretch, but Hollister made the ropes. Hollister hit a Pele kick, but Shelley came right back with a big lariat. Air Raid Crash from Shelley: 1…2…NO! Hollister hit a superkick and Sliced Bread #2! Hollister then hit a top rope frogsplash: 1…2…NO! Hollister hit another superkick. Shelley came back with a superkick and a Sliced Bread #2: 1…2…NO! Shelley then killed him with a kneeling superkick and a 2K1 Bomb: 1…2…NO! Border City Stretch! Hollister reversed it into one of his own. Shelley escapes and blocks a series of kicks from Hollister. Shelley turns one kick attempt into a dragon screw legwhip. Hollister then rolled up Shelley with a handful of tights: 1…2…3!

After the plancha into the crowd, I really thought we were heading into a “great match” territory, but I think they tried to do a little too much after that, and there were definitely diminishing returns. That being said, this was a very good match, and Hollister’s character driving his cheating actions in the end was awesome. The fact that he didn’t immediately turn heel, but instead felt somewhat conflicted made it even better. Alex Shelley fits into AAW like a glove (though I can’t imagine that there would be too many places where he didn’t fit in).
Match Rating: ***3/4

Defining Moment
Silas Young© [w/Val Malone] vs. Colt Cabana [AAW Heavyweight Title]
Crowd sounds hot for this main event. Colt tried to do some shenanigans at the start, but Silas would have none of that and just punched him in the back of the neck. That got the crowd behind Colt even more. Colt went for more shenanigans, but Young again would have none of it. Young did not want to trade wacky holds. Cabana took him down with the Cabanarana. Young came back with a dropkick. Cabana sent Young to the outside and hit a slingshot plancha. Not something you see every day from Colt. Cabana picked up Val Malone and allowed all the ringside fans to slap Malone on the ass. Well, that was something. Cabana was about to slap her butt himself, but Young saved his gal from being abused by the valiant babyface #GarganoFace. Young beat Cabana down for a while, but Cabana came back with some big strikes. Young cut him off with a running knee. Cabana came back with some elbows and a big lariat, which got a nearfall. Cabana hit another series of elbows: 1…2…NO! Young came back with his backbreaker/lariat combo: 1…2…NO! Cabana avoided a Finlay roll, but Young tackled him into the referee, which possibly ended his night. Young tried to use the heel of Val Malone to attack Cabana, but Cabana avoided it. Young went to grab both heels, but Gregory Iron ran in and hit Paydirt. Cabana wacked Young with a heel, as the referee recovered: 1…2…NO! Val Malone pulled the referee out of the ring. The referee got back in and counted again: 1…2…3! But Young’s arm was underneath the ropes. They kept wrestling Pee Jee Waja Plunge but Cabana got his knees up. Cabana went for a suplex, but Young small packaged him: 1…2…3! The crowd seemed confused, but they knew they didn’t like Young keeping the belt.

I feel like they were on their way to having a really good, possibly great main event, but the ref bump and multiple interferences really held the match back. On top of that, after all the shenanigans, the matches ended on a small package. Don’t get me wrong, the crowd reacted to most of the important moments, but I can’t help but feel like this could have been better. Crap finishes though like this can help long term with the story of Young being the heel champion. In other words, finishes like these could seem less annoying when the story is complete.
Match Rating: ***1/4

War is Coming
Dan Lawrence, Samuray Del Sol & Zero Gravity (Brett Gakiya & CJ Esparaza) vs. The CLASH (Austin Mannox, Jay Miller, Cameron Sky, & Tommy Treznik)

The CLASH are a heel stable who are debuting two new members (Miller & Mannox). This match seems designed to get some regulars on the iPPV who will have a fun opener.

The faces had the advantage early. The CLASH eventually were able to work over Del Sol after Miller cut him off. Del Sol made his own comeback and wiped out two CLASHmen with a Fosbury Flop. Del Sol made a tag and bodies started flying everywhere; I couldn’t keep up with the action. A parade of finishers from everybody followed that. Everyone (but Miller) ended up on the outside, which allowed Esperanza to hit a Shooting Star to the floor. Lawrence ran in the ring and hit a top rope hurricanrana on Miller for the win.

Fast and furious opener that the crowd enjoyed. There was some sloppiness at a couple of points though. Also, the heels never really had a prolonged heat segment, so the fans never really seemed invested in the good guys winning. Still though, the match had a lot of fun stuff. This match got bumped up a half star since I reviewed the War is Coming iPPV. DVD version of the match may have helped.
Match Rating: ***

War is Coming
Keith Walker, Jesse Emerson, & N8 Mattson (w/ Truth Martini) vs. Marion Fontaine, Darin Corbin, & Danny Daniels [Street Fight]
Huge brawl to start the match. Apparently this was Daniels’s first match in AAW in two years. The brawl went all over the arena. Walker hit Daniels in the face with a chain, and Daniels started to bleed. Fontaine took Walker down with a dropkick. Daniels got brought to the back, which left the rudos with a one man advantage. Fontaine wiped out Walker with a tope suicida. Corbin then got overwhelmed by Emerson and Mattson in the ring. Walker was destroying Fontaine on the outside as the other rudos whipped Corbin with a belt in the ring. Corbin came back with some belt shots of his own. Joey Eastman would periodically show up only to run off again. Walker did more damage to Corbin, which gave the advantage back to the rudos. Fontaine was laid out, which left Corbin 1 vs. 3 in the ring. Eastman gave Mattson and Emerson low blows and a double stunner. Truth Martini poked Eastman’s eyes, but Eastman avoided a corner splash from Truth. Corbin wiped out Emerson and Mattson with a somersault plancha. Walker gave Fontaine a Buckle German Suplex. Ouch. Another German from Walker: 1…2…Corbin made the save. Walker gave Corbin a Black Hole Backbreaker. Walker called for a lariat, but Eastman grabbed his foot and gave Corbin a chair. Corbin hit Walker with the chair and that resulted in two unprotected chairshots to the head. Emerson gave Corbin an Alabama Slam: 1…2…NO! Things cooled down for a bit. This brawl started out hot, but it’s gone too long. Danny Daniels returned to the match and saved Corbin from a superplex into some chairs. Daniels then sent Corbin into the chairs. Sigh. It wasn’t clear if Daniels did that on purpose or not. Mattson then hit Corbin with a diving legdrop onto the chair: 1…2…3.

Danny Daniels then shook Truth Martini’s hand. SWERVE~! The rudos beat down the tecnicos some more. The ring was cleared except for Walker and Martini. Walker called out Scott Steiner who was doing an appearance before the show. And here is Scott Steiner! Walker attacked him from behind, but Steiner took him down with a lariat and a big elbow. Steiner gave him an overhead belly-to-belly suplex! And Keith Walker is not a small boy. Steiner then did some homophobic humor. Well, you can’t win them all.

This was a really heated brawl for a while, but then things cooled down only for there to be a big swerve. Out of context, the swerve didn’t make much sense to me, but at least I got to see Scott Steiner be Scott Steiner.
Match Rating: ***

War is Coming
Silas Young© (w/ Val Malone) vs. Rhyno [AAW Title]
Rhyno pinned Young in a non-title match earlier in the year. Young seems to be universally hated by the crowd, which is a good sign for this match and the booking by AAW.

Young tried to avoid Rhyno early, but Rhyno’s strength was always able to do some damage when he connected. Rhyno hit a big shoulder block, and the two brawled on the floor. Rhyno went for a suplex on the floor, but Malone held Young’s back. Rhyno went after Malone, but Young attacked him from behind. Young grabbed the belt, but the ref took it away. Rhyno took him down and set up for the Gore; Malone grabbed his leg though, and Young hit a neckbreaker from behind. Young started to get the heat after that. The fans were rallying behind Rhyno, and Young promptly missed a lionsault. Rhyno made a great comeback with shoulder blocks and a nice belly-to-belly suplex. Lariat from Young: 1…2…NO! DVD from Rhyno: 1…2…NO! Young went for a Tornado DDT, but Rhyno placed him on the top rope and hit a superplex. Young came back with a Finlay Roll; he tried to follow it up with a headstand press moonsault, but Rhyno rolled out of the way. Rhyno went for a GORE, but he shoulder blocked the ref in the corner by mistake. SPINEBUSTER ON YOUNG: 1…2…MASON BECK PULLED OUT THE NEW REF AND PUNCHED HIM OUT! Rhyno took out Beck, and hit another belly-to-belly on Young. Rhyno sets up for the GORE, and he HITS IT!: 1…2…NO-YOUNG KICKED OUT! Beck is back in the ring and gave Rhyno a big boot. Beck set up a table in the corner of the ring. Beck set up to GORE Rhyno through the table; Rhyno avoids it and gives Beck a GORE! Fans chanting for Rhyno, but Val Malone runs into the ring. “GORE THAT WHORE!” RUNNING SPINEBUSTER THROUGH THE TABLE ON MALONE! Belt shot from Young, but Rhyno Hulk’s up only to eat another belt shot: 1…2…3. Fans were deflated after that finish.

They had a good match and worked hard, but I’m not a fan of main event title matches having so much shenanigans. However, the fans hated Young and loved that Rhyno was overcoming all of the interference. So, in the short term, the over-booking works to get the desired reaction. Long term, I question AAW having an iPPV end in this fashion. For the record, I gave this match a half star less than when I reviewed the iPPV. The match may have seemed better after the disappointing iPPV as opposed to the “Best of” DVD.
Match Rating: ***

Windy City Classic VII
BJ Whitmer vs. Michael Elgin© [AAW Heritage Title]
This was Whitmer’s first AAW match in a couple of years. Elgin was in the stages of getting a huge push in AAW. Elgin is not a part of the House of Truth in AAW.

They did a feeling out process to start. Elgin hit a middle roping diving shoulder tackle for an early nearfall. Elgin worked over Whitmer’s back for a bit until Whitmer came back with a dropkick. Whitmer hit a high knee for a nearfall. Elgin sent Whitmer to the floor and hit him with a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Elgin hit a trio of rolling German suplexes. Elgin followed that with a TKO: 1…2…NO! Whitmer avoided a spinning powerbomb, and he then hit a bridging Northern Lights suplex: 1…2…NO! Elgin hit a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall. Whitmer avoided the spinning powerbomb again. Elgin avoided a suplex. Whitmer took him down with a hurricanrana. Elgin avoided a Dragon suplex and hit an enzugiri: 1…2…NO! Elgin hit The Hellevator: 1…2…NO! Elgin hit a discus lariat, but Whitmer came back with a saito suplex. Elgin popped right back up. Whitmer hit a Sick Kick: 1…2…NO! Elgin came back with the spinning powerbomb: 1…2…3!

Hell of a match here. Whitmer has been on a tear since returning to the ring in 2011, and this may have been one of his best matches. Elgin is a star in the making. He should be making a ton of money in this business one day.
Match Rating: ***1/2

Windy City Classic VII
Silas Young© (w/ Val Malone) vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Sami Callihan vs. Dan Lawrence vs. J. Miller {AAW Heavyweight Title]
The four challengers and Gregory Iron won a ten man elimination match earlier in the show where all the surviving team members would get a title show in the main event. However, Gregory Iron got taken out by Shane Hollister before he could enter the main event.

This is an elimination match. They all go after Young early. Gargano hit Sami with the Gotcha Spear. That led to a sequence of them all trading big moves. Young got trapped in the ropes, and Sami locked him in the Stretch Muffler. Lawrence kicked Callihan in the head. Sami tried for a tope suicida, but Young blocked it. Lawrence hit Young with a diving plancha. Miller hit them with a running corkscrew plancha. Callihan wiped them out with a tope suicida. Callihan blocked Gargano from going for a rolling senton off the apron. Back in the ring, Callihan hit Lawrence with a pump face wash. All the wrestling moves were proceeded to be used. I couldn’t record it all. Callihan hit Miller with a DVD and the BOING Splash: 1…2…NO! Gargano got a nearfall on Sami with a nearfall. Lawrence hit Young with a tornado DDT. Lawrence gave Miller a super hurricanrana. Young then gave Lawrence the Finlay Roll/Pee Jee Waja Plunge combo: 1…2…3! Dan Lawrence was eliminated first. Miller went for a missile dropkick with Sami countered with a powerbomb. Sami immediately locked in a leglock and Miller tapped out! J Miller was the second man eliminated. Gargano hit Callihan with a tope suicida. Gargano then hit Young with one. Gargano hit another on Callihan. And another tope suicida for Young. The crowd enjoyed this. Callihan came back with a Silverking lariat on Gargano. Young hit Callihan with the Finlay Roll. Young went for the Pee Jee Waja Plunge, but Gargano hit him with a superkick mid-move. Gargano and Callihan kicked the shit out of each other. Gargano locked Young in the Gargano Escape. Sami put Gargano in the Stretch Muffler to break it up, which the crowd did not appreciate. Gargano and Callihan did another sequence. Gargagno avoided a Stretch Muffler attempt, but Sami managed to get in locked it with a grapevine. Sami started kicking Gargano’s head in and Gargano finally tapped out! Johnny Gargano was the third man eliminated. Sami promptly locked in the Stretch Muffler, but Val Malone jumped up on the apron. Sami locked her in the Stretch Muffler. The referee tried to stop it, but that distracted allowed Young to kick Sami in the balls: 1…2…NO! The crowd was very behind Sami after that kickout. Young tossed Sami to the outside. Sami hit a couple of high kicks, but Young reversed a saito suplex for a nearfall. Young caught Sami on an enzugiri and hit the Finlay Roll! Sami avoided the Pee Jee Waja Plunge though, but he then ran into a HUGE lariat. Finlay Roll! Pee Jee Waja Plunge: 1…2…NO!!! WOW! Young grabbed a chair and wedged it in the middle ropes, but Sami sent him face first into the chair: 1…2…NO! STRETCH MUFFLER! The crowd is going ballistic. Young almost passed out, but he reversed it into a small package: 1…2…3! And the wind was just taken out of the crowd’s sails.

Fantastic match. The match was laid out perfectly to emphasize the strengths of everybody involved. And even though Val Malone interfering initially made me groan, it at least didn’t directly lead to the finish. Callihan really seemed to have overcome all of Young’s usual tricks for finishing matches, but he let his guard up for a second and Young took advantage. I left the match thinking that Callihan could easily be a future AAW champion, and that Young was still a worthy champion. That means everybody involved did their jobs very, very well. The best match of the DVD so far. I may have even underrated it.
Match Rating: ****

Windy City Classic VII
Jimmy Jacobs vs. Arik Cannon [I Quit]
These two feuded throughout most of 2011. The loser is banned for ninety days. Crowd seems a little burned out after that five way AAW Title match.

They brawl into the crowd almost immediately. Jacobs hit a hurricanrana off the bar, and he later hit a diving lariat off the stairs. Cannon cut him off and threw him into the wall. Cannon shaved his mohawk around this time by the way. I think it was an improvement, but I think he has grown it back since this show. They made it back to the ringside area. Jacobs went to the ring. He went for a suicide dive, but Cannon threw a chair at his face. Cannon then hit Total Anarchy from the apron to the floor. Ouch. Jacobs was busted open. Cannon started digging into Jacobs’s forehead with a broken bottle. Jacobs refused to quit and hit a middle rope diving Ace Crusher. Jacobs pulled out the spike. He charged at Cannon, but Cannon avoided it and the spike got stuck in a turnbuckle. Cannon hit an exploder suplex. Cannon pulled out some duct tape, and he taped Jacobs’s hands together. Jacobs had the crimson mask by this point. Cannon grabbed the spike, and he asked for Jimmy to get up. Cannon spiked him on the top of the head repeatedly. Jacobs managed to kick him in the balls, and he fought out of the duct tape. The crowd liked that. Jimmy made a big comeback with lots of shots with the Spike. Cannon was bleeding lots now too. Jacobs went for a running spike shot, but Cannon caught him with a spinebuster. Cannon went to the outside, and he rearranged some of the guardrails. Cannon brought Jacobs to the outside and bridged a piece of the guardrail between the apron and the rest of the guardrails. This is gonna hurt. Cannon tried for a brainbuster or Total Anarchy onto the guardrail (I think), but Jacobs escaped. Back in the ring, Jacobs spiked Cannon again and locked in a sleeper. Cannon fought out of it, but Jimmy just transitioned it into the End Time. Cannon stood up and reversed it into a brainbuster! Cool spot. Cannon hit a kneeling superkick and a twisting brainbuster. Jacobs still did not quit. Cannon went for the middle rope moonsault, but Jacobs avoided it. Spear from Jacobs! The crowd finally rallied behind Jacobs. Jacobs end up on the apron, while Cannon was on the top rope closest to the bridged guardrail. Something painful is about to happen. AHHH! Jacobs gave Cannon a super hurricanrana onto the guardrail!!! Jacobs rolled him into the ring and hit a DIVING CANADIAN DESTROYER! END TIME! The referee asks him, and Cannon says: “I quit.”

This was a pretty epic 25 minute brawl. They took their time, and with a rather insane semi-main event, a more methodical pace worked out just fine. These two had a rather lackluster (for them) Dog Collar match at the War is Coming iPPV, but they completely blew that match out of the water here. If the crowd wasn’t quite as dead after the semi-main event, we could have had a potential MOTYC here. I would still say the five way AAW title match was the best match on the show, but this was a close second. A fantastic 1-2 punch to end the DVD.
Match Rating: ****

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The 411: It would be easy for me to just say to look at the star ratings to see how consistently great this DVD is, but I fear that wouldn’t even do it justice. There are a couple of matches here that probably aren’t the “Best of AAW” from 2011, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying this DVD unconditionally, top to bottom. As someone who doesn’t watch much AAW, this DVD did a lot to increase my interest in the promotion going forward. I give this DVD a very high recommendation, especially if you are not familiar with the product. The one downside of this DVD is that it doesn’t really offer anything to hardcore AAW fans, because they would have already seen all the matches and AAW didn’t add any special features (alternative commentary, videos of wrestlers discussing the matches, etc). You can buy this DVD at the AAW Store or at Smart Mark Video. You can also buy a $9.99 stream of this DVD at SMVOD.com. If you want to sample AAW for free before buying it, head over to the AAW section of FreeProWrestling.com. I recommend that you start with BJ Whitmer vs. Mat Fitchett or Zema Ion vs. Christian Faith vs. Shane Hollister vs. Johnny Wave.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]