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AAW Pro Wrestling Redefined closed out their 2013 campaign with their largest crowd at the Berwyn Eagles Club of the year. It was a standing room only affair to witness the stacked card, with the main event featuring the title rematch between AAW Heavyweight Champion Kevin Steen against the former titleholder Shane Hollister.
1.) The show’s initial match was supposed to feature Moondog Bernard (with manager Jon Presley) taking on a newcomer to AAW, Marcus Edwards. However, before there was a minute’s worth of action, out came Kevin Harvey and Nikki Mayday with their behemoth, Keith Walker. Walker cleared the ring, dispatching of Bernard and Edwards, allowing Harvey to wield the microphone and air his grievances about AAW.
Harvey demanded retribution after what he felt was shoddy officiating in Walker’s match for the AAW Heavyweight title against then-champion Michael Elgin. Harvey felt that Walker would dole out punishment to Elgin, and the challenge was made. Elgin made his way to the ring, and the fight was on.
The two men quickly began their brawl and took it outside the ring, dishing out punishment using the barricades. Back inside the confines of the ring itself, Elgin managed to stun his opponent when he delivered 10 corner-to-corner running splashes onto Walker.
As the two men executed moves of strength like no others on the roster, Walker showed some ingenuity in one move in particular. Walker had set Elgin up for a chokeslam, but as Elgin tried to get out of the move, Walker modified it to a fall-away German suplex. Elgin himself got into the game of hitting suplexes, hitting a devastating one of his own.
In the middle of the match, a returning Tweek Phoenix made his surprise return from injury, looking to help his fellow “We Are Here” partner, but Walker managed just a two-count pin attempt on Elgin. Elgin was able to withstand the onslaught of Walker and the group, picking Walker up to hit a practical deadlift powerbomb, and following it up with a couple of high kicks to the face, a discus punch, and then a sit-down powerbomb to pin the big man for the victory.
It had brawling, it had agile, and it had some punishment. But, two of the biggest men in the AAW locker room showed that they could open up a big show and deliver.
2.) Prior to the next match, we saw a video from earlier in the day in which AAW Heritage Champion “Money” Matt Cage discussed how he planned to defend his title. He said he would make it a point to allow the more younger members of the AAW roster to have a shot at the title. Tonight, he would give an opportunity to one such wrestler.
The man to take up Cage’s offer was Mallaki Matthews, a youngster that has wrestled in both singles and tag team competition, but has not often seen much action on the main card. Nevertheless, it was a way for Cage to defend his title in the way he sought fit to do. Before the match began, Matthews wanted to thank the champion with a handshake, but Cage declined and chose to give Matthews a headbutt instead.
While Matthews tried to muster a good fight against the champion, it was apparent that he was not yet at the level of Cage. Cage hit the Codebreaker against the youngster to retain his title within a matter of five minutes.
We then hear from the AAW Heavyweight Champion Kevin Steen as he looks forward to his rematch against Shane Hollister. Steen remarked about the oddity of wearing a Rocky Balboa shirt, and that even though Rocky didn’t win the title in his first match, Steen did just that.
3.) Prior to the next match, AAW play-by-play announcer Phil Colvin was in the ring and he introduced MsChif to the ring. MsChif was initially supposed to be a part of the “Fans Bring the Weapons” tag team match, but had to drop out suddenly. MsChif came out to clarify her abrupt departure from the match, telling Colvin and the crowd in Berwyn that she would have to miss the next year of wrestling due to the fact that she was pregnant.
That brought out Truth Martini and his “House of Truth” members Knight Wagner and “Miss Natural” Heather Patera. Martini expressed his disgust with the news of MsChif’s pregnancy, eventually having Wagner and Patera grab hold of MsChif so that he could attack her. Truth was unable to do so, as Tony Rican and Heidi Lovelace raced to the ring to prevent the attack.
The four combatants were all present, so the refs brought the garbage cans full of weapons to the ring, as the “Fans Bring the Weapons” match kicked off. The fans brought a variety of weapons to Berwyn, ranging from golf clubs to toys, as well as guitars (both real and toy versions) and even a Miley Cyrus CD. There was even a tack-filled Mr. Socko included in the mix.
All four participants used anything and everything in the garbage cans to maim their opponents. Eventually, it led to a showdown between Patera and Rican. Patera demanded the two fight, but Rican did not want to hit a female. Patera insisted that he fight back, as she delivered an attack to Rican. Finally, Rican mustered enough motivation to hit back, taking control of the match.
The fans weren’t the only ones to bring weapons to Berwyn, as Rican revealed he brought a weapon of his own: a bag full of thumbtacks. Rican laid them out in the ring, as he looked to use them against Knight Wagner. He had Wagner perched on the top turnbuckle, apparently to hit a superplex onto the tacks. However, thanks to Truth Martini hitting Rican with his book, Wagner was able to get the upper hand, hitting a Michinoku Driver on Rican off the top rope and onto the tacks below. Wagner got the pin, as he and Patera celebrated with Martini.
As the ring crew cleared the debris and weaponry from ringside, we saw a video of one half of the “Monster Mafia”, Ethan Page visiting Michael Elgin after his match. Page had an entry into the tag team title match for later in the show, but was without a partner. He explained that he was without his regular partner, the “Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander, which led to a surprise medical briefing from fellow Canadian Kevin Steen. Page decided that Elgin was the best man for the job, considering how many times both the Monster Mafia and Elgin had “Match of the Year” matches in AAW. Page wondered why they couldn’t team up together and be the “Men of the Year.” Elgin appeared to have accepted Page’s offer, so it looks like Page has found a new partner.
4.) The “We Are Here” crew came back to the ring, but this time Harvey and Mayday brought Tweek Phoenix to the ring. Harvey quickly blasted the promo that had just been shown to the crowd involving Page and Elgin. He didn’t know how easy it was to get a tag team title shot, saying that all it took was a couple of wrestlers to come together and they magically get a shot. Either way, Harvey wasn’t there for a tag team match, he was there to lead Phoenix to victory in his first match in several months. Phoenix’s opponent was none other than Chicago’s very own Colt Cabana.
It was also the first match for Cabana in AAW in a few months, but it soon felt like he had never been away. He brought the same comedy to the ring, while delivering attacks to Phoenix. He even found time to fondle Nikki Mayday during the match. Phoenix was able to gain a bit of an edge as Harvey and Mayday distracted Cabana, but Cabana turned the tables as he sent Harvey head-first into Mayday’s chest. The distraction allowed for Phoenix to remove his right boot and hit Cabana with it, but it didn’t provide enough damage to Cabana. Colt was able to recover, eventually forcing Phoenix to tap out to the Billy Goat’s Curse submission.
Prior to the next match, we heard from Shane Hollister and his crew, as Hollister looks to reclaim the AAW Heavyweight title he lost to Kevin Steen a month ago. As he was finished, Markus Crane and Dan Lawrence said that even though Christmas just ended, there was one gift still left to be given. Crane said that he was going to present a present to Lawrence.
5.) The next match pit two of the best that independent wrestling has to offer as Jimmy Jacobs faced Davey Richards. Those two men put together a match that was worth the price of admission by itself. They battled each other inside and outside of the ring. Richards even wrenched his way out of a predicament on the ring apron. Jacobs had Richards locked into the End Time submission on the apron, but Davey used his strength to get out of the submission and reversed out of it to hit a gutwrench suplex on Jacobs, landing right on the apron.
The end of the match saw Jacobs hitting the Contra Code on Richards, but only managing a two-count on the pin. Jacobs then put Richards in the End Time submission one last time, forcing Davey to tap out. Jimmy Jacobs was victorious by submission in a classic match.
Following the match, Jimmy Jacobs spoke to the crowd about Davey, explaining that the crowd really doesn’t know how good a wrestler Richards is. Jimmy wanted to give Davey a proper send off, leaving the ring and the microphone to him. The crowd gave Davey a standing ovation, as he remarked about his time spent on the independent scene. He said that the fans were there in the good times and in the bad times, and that wherever he may be in the future, the hunt will still be on.
The entire speech was posted on AAW’s YouTube page.
6.) Returning from intermission, we have the presentation of the present from Markus Crane to Dan Lawrence. Crane brought with him a brown paper bag, which looks to have a bottle in it. Crane reveals the present to be a bottle of Malort liquor, which is Lawrence’s favorite. Lawrence wanted the party to start, but the party wasn’t able to start as Arik Cannon, who enjoys partaking in PBR himself, hit the ring. Cannon took a can of PBR and hit Lawrence in the head with it. That started a little brouhaha of its own as Cannon tried to fend off the attack of Crane and Lawrence. Cannon eventually got some backup, as Ryan Boz hit the ring to even the score.
It was now a tag match pitting Cannon and Boz against Lawrence and Crane. It was a definitive mismatch, at least in the size discrepancy. Cannon and Boz are much bigger in stature than Lawrence and Crane. And, that size advantage came into play. Boz was able to stand tall at the end of it, as he hit a Boz Driver on Crane to get the pinfall victory. Boz and Cannon celebrated with some PBR, as Lawrence and Crane would have to take the bottle of Malort and drown their sorrows.
7.) It was time for the grudge match between Silas Young and Eddie Kingston, but before the match began, we heard the thoughts of Kingston from earlier in the day. Kingston remarked about how Val Malone was involved in the finals of the Allegiance Tag Team Tournament, and that if Silas needed her help in the ring last month, then Kingston would involve her in their match tonight.
Young got this match by virtue of he and Jimmy Jacobs winning the Allegiance tournament. This was the match that Silas chose immediately after the tournament ended.
Kingston made his way out first, not before trotting around the ring to muck it up with the fans in Berwyn. Silas Young didn’t take as long as Kingston did to get in the ring, as he raced into it to start the match. The two men went back and forth with punches. Silas had Kingston cornered, and delivered about 70 punches of his own to Kingston.
Eddie was able to regain the upper hand as the fight went to the outside of the ring. While on the outside, Kingston looked under the ring and found a large ladder. He brought the ladder into the ring. It appeared to be way too tall for any action from the top rung. While Kingston was trying to use the ladder against Young, Silas was able to turn the tables and use the ladder himself against Eddie. Silas was able to knock Eddie out of the ring. Silas then took the ladder and threw it at Kingston on the outside. Young brought the ladder and Kingston back into the ring, placing the ladder up against a corner of the ring, and then hitting a rolling fireman’s carry on Kingston on the ladder.
The use of weapons on the outside continued, as Kingston brought the ring steps into the ring. Kingston used the ring steps to his advantage, unlike with the ladder. Kingston bodyslammed Young on the top of the steel ring steps. However, Young was able to recompose himself, and he landed a surprise attack on Kingston, leading to a crucifix pin attempt. The referee hit the three-count and Silas was the winner of the match.
As Silas and Val Malone celebrated the victory in the ring, Kingston was down on the outside. He was looking for something underneath the ring. He found a steel chair and a roll of duct tape. He slyly moved them into the ring, and then delivered a sneak attack to Young. He used the duct tape to adhere Young’s arms to the ropes. Kingston was going to take one of the steel chairs and hit the defenseless Young with it. However, Val Malone prevented the attack, stripping the chair from Kingston’s grasp and tried hitting him three times with it to no avail. As Malone interference failed, Kingston sought the opportunity to attack “Silas’s woman” as Young was taped to the ropes. Kingston lifted Malone up and hit a brainbuster onto the steel chair, knocking her out cold.
As Kingston departed from ringside, AAW personnel and ring crew quickly made their way to the ring to tend to Malone and free Silas from the ropes. They all check on Malone’s status, but they couldn’t lift her up. So, they used the steel chair as a makeshift gurney to remove her from the ring.
8.) The next match was a triple threat elimination tag match for the AAW Tag Team Championship. It was the champions, Kung Fu Manchu, taking on Zero Gravity and the newly-formed “Men of the Year” duo of Ethan Page and Michael Elgin.
CJ Esparza of Zero Gravity and Louis Lyndon of Kung Fu Manchu started out the match. As the two were about to engage in the match, Ethan Page wanted in and tried to attack both men. However, he was the one taken out of the ring by Esparza and Lyndon.
All six men showcased their various styles in the opening frame of the match, as they took the fight into and out of the ring. Zero Gravity lived up to their name as they went airborne to the outside.
Michael Elgin showed his brute strength, as he stood up Brett Gakiya for nearly a minute before suplexing him. In that time, Elgin’s tag partner Ethan Page took the time to use the ring skirt as a blanket, as a means of showing how long the move took to execute. Elgin even took it a step further later on in the match, as he took control over Marion Fontaine. Elgin hit discus punches and a powerbomb into the corner, and followed it up with a sit-down powerbomb for the first three-count of the match. Elgin eliminated Fontaine and the Kung Fu Manchu team, meaning that there would be new AAW Tag Team Champions.
It was down to Zero Gravity and the Men of the Year to determine the new titleholders. Page wanted to cheat to win, as he took the ring bell and wanted to use it against the opponents. Michael Elgin prevented Page from doing so, convincing his partner not to cheat to win and to win the match cleanly. Page reluctantly accepted his partner’s wishes and returned the bell to its rightful place.
Elgin and Page were just too much for Zero Gravity, as the diminutive duo couldn’t best the strength of the Men of the Year. Elgin discus punched Gakiya and powerbombed him into the corner, before Page stole the glory from his partner by hitting a spinning Rock Bottom to gain the pinfall victory. The Men of the Year are the new AAW Tag Team Champions.
It marks a special occasion for Elgin, as he now joins elite company in AAW as a triple crown titleholder (winner of the AAW Heavyweight, Heritage, and Tag Team titles). Elgin is the 4th wrestler to reach that status, joining Jimmy Jacobs, Dan Lawrence, and Shane Hollister as the only others to do so.
9.) “One Twisted Christmas” concludes with the AAW Heavyweight Championship rematch. The champion Kevin Steen faces the former champ Shane Hollister, who is joined by Scarlett Bordeaux and Markus Crane.
Steen showcased his versatility early in the match as he dove off the apron to the outside, landing on top of both Hollister and Crane. Steen then went to the top of the ring steps and took a bow for his effort.
The two men battled back and forth in their match. Hollister showed his desire to reclaim the title that he lost a month ago. Steen managed to do his best to hold his own against Hollister, Bordeaux, and Crane. Steen had had enough of Crane’s interference, eventually hitting a package piledriver after he broke up one of Steen’s pin attempts. Dan Lawrence came from the back to aid his partner from the attack.
Even with one less person to worry about, Steen was not able to gain the upper hand on Hollister. Hollister was able to bring a steel chair into play, but couldn’t exact a toll on the champ. Instead, Steen slammed Hollister using the chair, but again didn’t get the three-count. Hollister was reinvigorated and came right back up, surprising Steen and hitting Shug’s Last Gift on the remnants of the chair and got the three-count. Hollister regained the AAW Heavyweight Championship from the man who took it from him a month ago.
AAW announced their return date to the Berwyn Eagles Club for Friday, January 24th. Announced for “The Chaos Theory” event in January is the return of Ricochet to AAW, after competing at November’s “War Is Coming” event, as well as the AAW debut of Uhaa Nation. Also announced for the show is AAW Heavyweight Champion Shane Hollister, AAW Heritage Champion “Money” Matt Cage, AAW Tag Team Champions Michael Elgin & Ethan Page “The Men of the Year”, Jimmy Jacobs, Eddie Kingston, Silas Young, ACH, and the “We Are Here” group of Keith Walker, Kevin Harvey, and Nikki Mayday.
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