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We are back in Cleveland on IWTV for the second half of AIW’s doubleheader from the Odeon. Another surprise card coming at us for “Is This Something You Might be Interested In?”
The commentary team is AIW President Matt Wadsworth and Brian Carson.
Our first match is Kaplan vs. Levi Everett. Everett, the Amish crowd favorite, tried to show Kaplan how to churn butter, but Kaplan kinda broke the churn. Kaplan attacks at the bell and tries for the moonsault, but Everett is able to shove Kaplan off the top rope. Kaplan and Everett fight on the floor with Kaplan crashing into the barricade. Back in the ring, Everett connects with a running headbutt after ducking two big lariats. Everett heads to the top rope, but Kaplan evades the dive and hits a lariat for the three count.
An alarm clock is going off, and we have two guys in generic masks, shirts, and ties. We’re told they are 9 to 5, the Aggravated Accountant and the Bitter Banker. Their opponents are Bulking Season, Chuck Stone and Arthur McArthur. Bulking Season gains the quick advantage over the seemingly inexperienced tag team, until one of 9 to 5 uses his tie to choke McArthur. 9 to 5 focus on McArthur, keeping the bigger Chuck Stone on the apron. McArthur finally gets the tag, and Stone hits a Black Hole Slam on Accountant. Stone and McArthur double team the Banker. Iron Claw Backbreaker on Accountant, but Banker pulls the ref out of the ring. Stone goes after Banker on the floor while McArthur works on Accountant. Accountant turns the tide and tries for the Dragon Sleeper. A double gourd buster on McArthur gives 9 to 5 the surprise win.
9 to 5 gives the hard cam the finger and takes their masks off to reveal Jack Verville and Louis Lyndon, the former Young Lions! Verville hasn’t wrestled in AIW since 2013, according to Cagematch, and Lyndon was the Captain of the Ship, the doorkeeper and ace of AIW for years. Lyndon says the crowd stopped caring about the greatest Intense Champ of all time. The ship has sunk, and the captain is dead. Verville says he and Louis have been kicked around for a decade and had to get real jobs to provide for their families. For every wrestler that thrives, 500 more fail. Verville wants to tell the wrestlers in the back, they don’t need the fans, they need jobs. He warns the rest of the roster, it’s Monday morning and the alarm is about to ring.
Joseline Navarro is out next, representing 40 Acres. Gangsta’s Paradise hits, and it’s former AIW Women’s Champion, Allysin Kay! Kay, who held the AIW Women's Title for almost two years, gets a welcome back chant. Kay uses her veteran knowledge and takes the fight to the floor. Back in the ring, Kay keeps striking as Joseline tries to cover up. Kay uses Joseline’s own arm in a choke and pulls Joseline’s fake eyelashes off. Joseline fights back, hitting a missile dropkick. Joseline hits a Vegemite Sandwich in the corner. Kay has enough to hit a spinning kick, but Joseline fights back with a low angle DDT. Kay hits a discus elbow and stacks up Joseline for the pin. Kay helps Joseline to her feet, but gives Joseline the finger.
Simple Man plays, and we have Mance Warner. Is that the FBI’s music? Could it be? No, it’s not Little Guido, it’s the Don, Wildfire Tommy Rich! Mance looks a little confused, maybe starstruck, and the crowd gives a holy sh*t chant. Warner and Rich circle each other, and Mance says this is a moment in time. Warner and Rich trade punches and kicks until the Bitcoin Boiz (Eric Taylor and Mikey Montgomery) and Ethan Wright attack. The Duke has a mic and tells Mance he’s gonna bury him. The Duke actually breaks the mic on Mance’s head. The Duke focuses on Tommy Rich, saying he had the gall to beat Ethan Wright’s mentor for the title. Duke says it’s not Atlanta, it’s not the 80s, Tommy Rich has no friends.
PME (Philly Collins and Marino Tenaglia) comes out and takes out The Duke and his crew. Mance makes the challenge for an eight man tag match, and referee Tom Dunn calls for the bell. And we have a brawl all over the place. Mance and Ethan Wright head back in the ring, as the Bitcoin Boiz set up doors on the floor. The Bitcoin Boiz take over in the ring, using a chair to neutralize Mance. PME takes the chair away and hit Mikey Montgomery with a double stomp DDT on the chair. The Duke calls out Tommy Rich, and Rich drops him with a right hand. Rich locks in a sleeper, but Wright makes the save. Wright cinches in the figure four on Tommy Rich. PME tries to break it up, but get stopped. Mance finally breaks it up. With two doors set up on the floor, Mikey Montgomery slides another door in the ring as all eight men are fighting in the ring. The Duke sets Marino Tenaglia up on the top rope, but Mance and Philly Collins put the Bitcoin Boiz through the doors on the floor. They put Duke through the door in the ring, and Tommy Rich makes the pin.
Mance has the mic, and Tommy Rich thanks the fans in Cleveland and leads an AIW chant. But Mance wants a Tommy chant, as we go to intermission.
Marcus Mann replaces Brian Carson on commentary.
We’re back with a six man scramble with TKD vs. Derek Dillinger (with Ziggy Haim) vs. Brayden Lee vs. Twan Tucker vs Riley Rose vs Casey Carrington IV. Carrington starts the match by taking out Ziggy Haim and Derek Dillinger. Normal scramble craziness until everyone fights to the floor until Dillinger border tosses Ziggy onto the other five. Back in the ring, Twan tries to spear Dillinger, but hits Ziggy instead. Brayden Lee stops the pin with a springboard 450. Carrington hits a bouncing blockbuster on Lee. Rose hits a gutbuster over the knee on Carrington, but TKD breaks up the pin. TKD and Rose trade strikes and kicks in the ring. On the floor, Carrington sets Lee up for something, but gets pounced into the crowd. Dillinger sneaks into the ring, powerbombs TKD, and hits the double knees in the corner. Dillinger pins TKD for the win.
The Mane Event (Ganon Jones and Duke Davis) are back after their win against To Infinity and Beyond, and their challenge tonight is 40 Acres (Pretty Boy Smooth and Tre Lamar with Joseline). Mane Event control the early portion of the match, focusing a lot on the bigger Smooth, somewhat surprisingly. Smooth gets the tag to Lamar. Lamar tries for an up and over German suplex, rolls through, and hits the Pele kick instead. Mane Event get a double flapjack. Smooth locks in the Rings of Saturn on Davis, and Lamar has Jones in the Liontamer. Jones is able to kick Lamar off and send Lamar crashing into Smooth breaking the hold. The Mane Event set up for the Flea Flicker, but Smooth saves his partner. Smooth connects with the reverse DVD on Jones, as Lamar dives onto Davis. Smooth gets the three count for 40 Acres.
Brian Carson is back on commentary.
Dom Garrini is out next, and unknown music plays. Wadsworth teased this person on his twitter during the intermission. It’s Eddie Kingston to the biggest pop 120 people can give. Kingston gets a Welcome Home chant. Garrini and Kingston start off trading holds, strikes, and knees, using their Brazilian jujitsu training to avoid and escape holds. They go to the floor, and Dom gets kicks to Eddie until Eddie is pissed and chases Dom with chops. Dom ducks a chop, and Eddie hits the guardrail. Back in the ring, Dom keeps up with the kicks, firing Eddie up, who responds with more chops. Neither man gets a prolonged advantage, but Dom is bleeding from the mouth. Dom tries for snap piledriver, but can’t get Eddie up. A few kicks later, and Dom gets Eddie up for a powerbomb. Garrini sets Eddie up for the muscle buster, but Eddie headbutts out and connects with a Saito suplex for a two count. Eddie hits a half and half suplex, and three Backfists to get the win in his return.
Eddie takes the mic and says 2020 sucked, but it’s 2021 and he’s back in an AIW ring. Eddie says he loves AEW, and he busts his ass, because he represents himself, New York, the outlaws, and the independent scene whenever he steps in the ring.
Eddie Kingston told us this was coming. Main event time with Matthew Justice (with Bill Alfonso) taking on Joshua Bishop (with Wes Barkley) in a rematch of their feud that lasted all through 2019 and 2020. The only two men who ever held the Absolute and Intense titles at the same time. They jumped out of the balcony in a clip that went viral. So this is the next chapter. Justice dives onto Bishop and Barkley on the stage. Bishop comes back with a chair to the back of Justice. Wadsworth confirms this is for both titles. Bishop is already bleeding (gross), and Justice throws Bishop into the crowd. They brawl back to the ring, and Justice sets up for the coast to coast. Barkley pulls Bishop out of the ring, and Justice connects with the pile of chairs. Bishop goes to the top and hits a coast to coast of his own, after Barkley throws Fonzie into the crowd and steals his whistle. Barkley slides a door into the ring, and Bishop hits the DVD through the door. Justice kicks out at two and smiles like a freak. Bishop starts beating Justice with the rest of the door as Barkley puts a table in the ring. Justice is also bleeding (gross), as Bishop hits the awesome bomb from the stage to the ring. Barkley and Bishop stack two tables on the floor and slide another into the ring. Bishop tries for an awesome bomb again, but Justice slips out and hits a DVD in the corner. Barkley sets a door up in the corner. Fonzie is back in the ring and tries to spear Barkley through the door. The door doesn’t break. Three times. Fonzie throws the door on the floor and a chair in Barkley’s face. Bishop and Justice meet on the ring apron and trade punches. Bishop gets laid out on the stack of tables, and Justice hits a splash on Bishop to the floor. Back in the ring, Bishop hits Justice with a chair to the head (yikes). Bishop stands with Justice on a table, hits a piledriver on the table. Doesn’t break. A powerbomb on the table. Doesn’t break. A DVD on the table. Doesn’t break. Looks like someone bought a formica table, and not a pressboard table… Bishop makes the cover and gets the win, retaining both titles.
Extras: AIW will return to Cleveland on June 18 with “Major Announcement” with Matt Cardona, Brian Myers, Smart Mark Sterling, and Swoggle already announced. Running conveniently the night before a toy convention called Toyhio makes a lot of sense.
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