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MANCE WARNER, DOMINIC GARRINI, SHANE DOUGLAS, JOSH BISHOP & MORE: 4/29 AIW 'HELLO CLEVELAND' ON IWTV.LIVE REPORT

For the first time in about 14 months, Absolute Intense Wrestling returns home to Cleveland with fans in the building. Just over 120 fans fill the Odeon in downtown Cleveland for “Hello Cleveland.” 

No matches or wrestlers were announced beforehand, so everything’s a mystery. Although some wrestlers made it known on their own that they’d be on the card. There is no overlap in story with their IWTV show, Go for Broke, so no Biggins Bucks on the line tonight. 

A video package welcoming us back to Cleveland after over 440 days. Matt Wadsworth and Brian Carson are on commentary. 

The first match is The One Called Manders vs the returning Tim Donst! Donst, a former Absolute and Intense Champion, hasn’t wrestled in AIW since August 2019 after losing Submit or Surrender to Dom Garrini. Donst makes Manders tap to From Dusk til Donst. 

Donst grabs a mic, as the crowd starts a Welcome Back chant. Donst says he’s missed AIW, dedicating the match to recently passed Smart Mark Video employee Shannon Place. 

Swoggle is in the ring when 99 Problems hits! The fans anticipate AIW Owner John Thorne to take the spot of someone who missed his flight again, but no, it’s Wes Barkley trolling the crowd. Barkley takes the mic, and says because Swoggle blocked him on social media, he’s gonna knock Swoggle out, just like he got knocked out last week.  

A frustrated Wes Barkley went under the ring to grab a door. He sets Swoggle up for a powerbomb through the door, but Swoggle bites his way out and hits a powerbomb of his own, pinning Barkley. 

To Infinity and Beyond, Colin Delaney and Cheech, are the most decorated tag team in AIW history, and they are taking on the debuting Mane Event, Ganon Jones and Duke Davis. Mane Event are able to kick out of multiple To Infinity signature moves like the Lincoln Log, and an Flea Flicker on Colin Delaney (Davis throws Delaney into a German suplex from Jones) gives The Mane Event the win in their debut. Delaney and Cheech offer fist bumps post match. Good debut for The Mane Event. 

Derek Dillinger, accompanied by Ziggy Haim, is out next, offering an open challenge earlier in the week, and he gets The Franchise, Shane Douglas. Ziggy is yelling she’s the new queen of extreme. Douglas and Dillinger take it to the floor, with Dillinger driving Douglas’s head in the ring apron. Haim has no problem getting involved when she can. Dillinger props a chair in between the turnbuckle pads and drives Douglas into it. Dillinger is getting cocky, so Douglas gives him the finger. Ziggy gets on the apron, but before Dillinger can do something sketchy, Douglas connects with two mule kicks low. Douglas hits Dillinger with the chair and goes for the Belly to Belly. Ziggy throws the clapboard into the ring. Dillinger hits low and schoolboys Douglas to get the three count. 

Douglas gets the mic, and "cut the [expletive] music." He says it isn’t the first time he lost, and it won’t be the last. 2021 will be his 40th year in wrestling, and he’s ate, drank, and breathed wrestling for so long and he loves wrestling in Cleveland. 

We go to intermission. 

We’re back with the second half of the show with non-title action, as Independent Wrestling Champion Lee Moriarty takes on Dom Garrini. Handshake to start, and we get grappling and mat wrestling as each man tries to gain the advantage. Garrini starts to focus on the ankle, and Moriarty tries to attack the arm. Garrini is able to fight out of an armbar and hit Moriarty with a muscle buster to get the pinfall win.

We hear the whistle blowing, and Bill Alfonso is back in Cleveland with Matthew Justice. We get the announcement that this match is no disqualification. And Kaplan is back on the main show. Kaplan vs Justice in a no disqualification match? The commentators say this will not be for the faint of heart. Wadsworth also mentions an insane hardcore brawl Kaplan had at an ICP show three weeks ago. It takes a little longer than I expected for chairs to get involved. Justice hits the skateboard dropkick and goes coast to coast after Fonzie piles chairs on Kaplan. Kaplan escapes a cannonball to the floor and connects with one of his own. Kaplan pulls an actual table from under the ring, puts Justice on it, and lands a dive through Justice on the table. Kaplan throws Justice back in the ring and goes for the split-legged moonsault. Kaplan doesn’t land square on Justice, but Fonzie makes the save anyway. Fonzie and Justice both hit chair shots, and Justice hits an implant DDT for a two count. They set up a door in the corner in front of Kaplan, and Justice dives through the door onto Kaplan, which somehow only gets a two count. Kaplan hits Justice with a dominator onto an open chair. Kaplan sets up another door on a set of chairs and puts Justice on top. Justice moves before Kaplan hits another moonsault and hits two splashes on all the plunder to get the win. 

Four way match for the Tag Team Championship: First fall gets the titles as we get Bulking Season (Chuck Stone and Arthur McArthur) vs The Bitcoin Boiz (Mikey Montgomery and Eric Taylor) vs 40 Acres (Tre Lamar and Pretty Boy Smooth w/ Joseline Navarro) vs the champions, PME (Philly Collins and Marino Tenaglia).

Marino and Tre Lamar are starting it off until they tag in their bigger partners. Pretty Boy Smooth overpowers Philly Collins, then Chuck Stone, then Arthur McArthur. The Bitcoin Boiz take their advantage, but Montgomery gets caught with a powerbomb backbreaker from Chuck Stone. Multiple dives to the floor, and we have 40 Acres and the Bitcoin Boiz in the ring. 40 Acres almost has Taylor pinned, but Bulking Season makes the save. The Duke interferes hitting Bulking Season with the Golden Boot, and Joseline slides in to take The Duke out. PME are back in the ring with the Boiz, and a Doomsday Crossbody lets the champions retain. 

It’s main event time, and it’s Intense rules for both the Absolute and Intense Championships. Josh Bishop is out with Wes Barkley. Simple Man plays, and it’s Mance Warner! They fight to the floor pretty quickly. Mance hits a vertical suplex, and Bishop starts favoring his quad. Bishop takes them back into the ring, and Wes Barkley is sliding chairs into the ring. Bishop starts setting the chairs up, but Mance hits chops to stop his progress. Bishop hits Mance with a running tombstone onto the chairs, and Mance somehow kicks out. Barkley tosses the plywood door into the ring, and Bishop sets it up on the chairs. Mance kicks low-ish and puts Bishop on the door. Barkley tries to stop him, but gets slammed onto Bishop on the door. Mance finds another door and sets it up in the corner. Mance grabs Barkley, but Bishop catches Mance and hits a death valley driver through that door in the corner. Barkley pulls a table from under the ring and runs to the back. Bishop sets the table up, and Barkley has the Intense Title. Mance ducks the title shot, and Barkley hits Bishop. Mance hits a few more title shots, but only gets a two count. Mance tries for a suplex on the stage. Bishop hits low. Bishop connects with a border toss through the table. Mance kicks up at two. Another powerbomb through the debris in the ring is finally enough to keep Mance down for the three count. 

AIW will be back Friday night, 7:30 PM, at the Odeon on IWTV with another mystery card, “Is This Something You Might Be Interested In?” There are also rumors and rumblings of June 18 for a future event.  

Extras: John Thorne announced on Twitter Levi Everett vs Ethan Wright as the pre-show dark match. Wright, who has been featured on Go For Broke, won. Thanks to @wrestlingcheers for that note on the result. Thorne also announced earlier in the day that one of the booked talents didn’t board his flight in the morning. https://twitter.com/johnthorneaiw/status/1387737386935898114?s=21

 

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