AAW WINDY CITY CLASSIC IX Results - Kevin Steen, The Money Matt Cage Win Gold
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AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined
Kevin Steen comments on his AAW Heavyweight Championship victory.
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AAW Windy City Classic IX – Results
11/30/2013 – Berwyn Eagles Club
by Qumar Zaman
AAW Pro Wrestling Redefined held their annual post-Thanksgiving holiday event, Windy City Classic, headlined by the AAW debut of “Mr. Wrestling” Kevin Steen and the conclusion of the company’s Allegiance tag team tournament.
Before the show could even begin, the show had to be delayed to allow for the incoming stream of fans entering the Berwyn Eagles Club. The show was supposed to start at 7:30pm, but did not start until about 7:45pm. In my estimation, there had to have been more than 250 people in the crowd, if not more. It was by far the largest crowd I have seen attend an AAW event at the Berwyn Eagles Club in the handful of years that I have been at them.
1.) “Windy City Classic IX” began with the first of the two semifinal matches in the Allegiance tag team tournament. Due to an injury suffered weeks ago by Josh Alexander, one half of the Monster Mafia, his partner Ethan Page had to find another partner. Page quickly found a replacement in the form of Ricochet, the high-flying, athletic star widely known for his work in Dragon Gate USA and Evolve. The newly formed team of Page and Ricochet were to face the team of Zero Gravity, Brett Gakiya and CJ Esparza.
Page and Ricochet worked well together, showing great chemistry in the ring and actively participating with the audience. Page even went as far as brandishing he and Ricochet as the “New Age Nation of Domination.” That moniker stuck with the crowd as they chanted various N.O.D. member phrases and sayings at Page and Ricochet. Ricochet himself even went as far as going with a full-blown imitation of The Rock. Ricochet set up to deliver a “People’s Elbow”, removing his elbow pad (throwing it at the side of his tag partner) and running the ropes, but gave it a twist of his own by hitting a standing moonsault onto his opponent.
The high-flying, high-action work of Esparza and Gakiya worked extremely well with Ricochet and Page. All four men showcased the style and substance that one would come to expect from AAW wrestlers, using the ropes and the outside to their advantage.
At one point, it looked like the former AAW Tag Team Champions Esparza and Gakiya could actually knock off this modified tag team they battled. Gakiya seemed ready to deliver the ending blow, jumping from the apron to go for a sunset flip roll-up pin attempt on Page. However, as Gakiya landed in the ring, Page held onto the ropes. And, with referee PJ Drummond unable to see this from his vantage point, Page continued to hold onto the ropes to gain the 3-count and win.
2.) The next match was the other semifinal match in the Allegiance tournament. It featured another former AAW Tag Team Champion, Jake and Dave Crist, the team of Irish Airborne, against another makeshift duo of Silas Young and Jimmy Jacobs. The winner of this match would face Ethan Page and Ricochet later in the show in the final of the tournament.
Young and Jacobs settled their differences to come together, seeking the ultimate prize that comes with winning the Allegiance tournament: the individual winners get to choose their own match in AAW. Young wants retribution from Eddie Kingston, while Jacobs wants to become the AAW Heavyweight Champion once again.
Silas Young was re-joined by his manager/valet, Val Malone. Malone had not been seen in an AAW ring since being assaulted at the hands of Kingston months ago. Luckily for her, Kingston was not booked for the show at the Eagles Club, so she didn’t have to worry about him.
It seemed at one point during the match that the duo of Young and Jacobs was going to hit a breaking point. Jacobs wanted to tag in Young, but Dave Crist got into a war of words with Silas to the point where Silas departed his corner and moved along the apron to continue jawing with him. Jacobs had been getting punished by both members of Irish Airborne, but found a quick opening to tag in the fresh man Young. However, Silas was distracted by arguing with some members of the crowd. It still didn’t deter Jacobs, as he jumped and tagged in Young without him realizing it.
In spite of the surprise tag, Young came in at full force, knocking down both Jake and Dave Crist. It seemed as if the tide had turned in the match, as Young and Jacobs had the offensive advantage over Irish Airborne, but Silas was knocked out of the ring. It left the Crists to take a 2-on-1 advantage over Jacobs. They even hit the Irish Coffee tombstone combo move on Jacobs, but the Zombie Princess kicked out at 2! Silas got back in the ring and cleared house. He hit his fireman’s carry slam/springboard moonsault combo on Dave Crist, which allowed the opening for Jacobs to hit a senton splash from the top rope and get the pinfall victory.
The finish to the match was a huge payoff, and a sigh of relief to be honest, for both men. They reached the final stage of their goal. They now made it to the final of the Allegiance tournament, where they would face Ethan Page and Ricochet later in the show. However, Jimmy Jacobs was injured and down on the floor, appearing to have vomited following the match. He remained there for a while, even after a video promo was shown to the crowd, delaying the next match from beginning. Jacobs had to be helped to the back, putting his availability for the final in jeopardy.
3.) The video promo shown in between matches revealed that Truth Martini had a new member to the House of Truth, “Miss Natural” Heather Patera. Martini joined Patera for her match against Heidi Lovelace. The two have battled often in an AAW ring, but Patera now had some backup in the form of Martini.
It didn’t matter for Lovelace, who took control in the onset of the match. It frustrated Martini to the point that he stepped foot into the ring wanting a piece of Lovelace. However, Martini irked referee Coyne Jones to the point where Jones was ready to fight Martini, as he paraded at Martini with his arms flailing in the air. Jones chased Martini out of the ring in one of the more comical moments in the match.
The two ladies took their fight to the outside, but Martini’s presence helped Patera. Lovelace was on the apron, readying to hit a diving maneuver onto Patera, but Martini tripped Lovelace, forcing her to fall back on the apron. The opening allowed Patera to hit a delayed suplex on Lovelace right onto the metal ring steps.
Lovelace managed to regain the offense, and also knocked Martini off the apron as he attempted to interfere once more, hitting a frog splash onto Patera to get the victory. Following the match, Lovelace sought out Martini, in hopes of finishing off the dastardly manager. But, one of Martini’s other disciples, Knight Wagner, raced into the ring to prevent the assault. Noticing a clear disadvantage, both MsChif and Tony Rican hit the ring to even the odds and send Patera, Wagner, and Martini back to the locker room.
4.) Next up was a singles battle between two men that are a part of great tag teams. Louis Lyndon, one half of the current AAW Tag Team Champions, Kung Fu Manchu, took on Kyle O’Reilly, who has tagged in the past with Davey Richards in AAW.
Both men delivered in singles competition, offering the same intense action that they show off inside an AAW ring. O’Reilly’s fast-paced delivery was countered with the high-flying action of Lyndon. O’Reilly runs the ropes and delivers kicks like a madman, but it was his awareness that shone in this match. As Lyndon readied to hit a running dropkick to a sitting O’Reilly in the middle of the ring, the mouthguard-wearing Canadian grabbed the legs of Lyndon, reversing the move into a sharpshooter in a single turn.
Later in the match, as Lyndon had the advantage, he hit a pair of high-risk moves on O’Reilly. First, Lyndon attacked O’Reilly on the outside, jumping off the top rope onto his opponent. He then brought him back into the ring and hit another move off the top rope, but could only get a 2-count.
The two men went back and forth, and an enraged O’Reilly came back to life. He hit a tornado DDT from the top rope on Lyndon and quickly delivered a brainbuster. After Lyndon kicked out after a 2-count, O’Reilly pounced on Lyndon’s left arm and put him in a cross armbreaker. Lyndon was forced to tap out, giving O’Reilly the victory.
It was a nice showcase for both men that have performed in tag team duty as of late in AAW to show off what they can do in a one-on-one match. Needless to say, they performed very well and delivered in this opportunity.
5.) Earlier in the night, a video promo relayed the news that pre-show favorites, The Sea-Man and Moondog Bernard, would get their first chance at a match on the main card. They were excited at the opportunity, but they didn’t know who their opponents would be. The good news turned out that it was a single opponent, but the really bad news was that it was Keith Walker. Walker was led to the ring by the evil mastermind Kevin Harvey, who sculpted his beard in the likeness of the late Mad Dog Vachon, and screaming banshee Nikki Mayday.
Walker overpowered both men in this match. He cornered both men, delivering chops like candy on Halloween. At one point in the match, he delivered fast, open-handed chops to the chest of Moondog Bernard. He had to have chopped him a good 50 times, maybe more, leaving his unflattering torso with a new shade of red.
There was one opportunity for the duo known as the L.O.S.E.R.S. after Walker left Moondog Bernard for dead. Walker went on the attack to Sea-Man with punches from the middle rope, but Bernard managed to hit a low-blow to Walker. Both men went for the pin on Walker, but the big man kicked out at two, sending the duo flying on the kick out.
The furious Walker hit lariats on both men and pinned both of them to get the victory in the 2-on-1 handicap match. After the match, the evil trio grabbed hold of Jon Presley, the manager of the L.O.S.E.R.S., to exact further damage. Harvey bit the face of Presley and Walker slammed him down to the mat to finish off a dominating evening for the trio of Walker, Harvey, and Mayday.
6.) The following match had been one that fans in AAW had been anticipating for a few months, since “Money” Matt Cage was signed to the company. Cage made it known when he arrived in AAW that he had his eyes set on the AAW Heritage Champion ACH, and had challenged him to a match for the title. He got his opportunity at “Windy City Classic IX”.
ACH began the one-upsmanship between the two men before the bell rang, as he stormed past Cage in the corner where he was standing, so that the champ could climb the turnbuckles to pose for his fans. It continued during the match, as both men went back and forth trying to do one better than the other with various moves. A frustrated Cage even took the Heritage title from the timekeeper’s table and brought it near the ringside steps, which later proved crucial to the outcome of the match.
Later in the match, as the battle took the outside, ACH decided to unleash his arsenal of chops on Cage. ACH would chop Cage along the guardrails, eventually taking Cage around the ring and getting fans to hold Cage to complete the attack. It was a fun moment of fan interaction for ACH while he inflicted damage to his opponent.
Cage did get an opportunity to flush out an attack on ACH, delivering a flurry of his high-powered offense to the champ. But, the resilient ACH kicked out at two. The champ was able to get his opponent downed on the outside. And, just as ACH was ready to fly to the outside, referee PJ Drummond forcibly kept him from doing so. This prevention allowed for Cage to rise up and find the Heritage title that he moved to the ring steps, picked it up and hit the peering ACH with it. Cage rushed back in the ring and hit the Codebreaker on the woozy ACH and pinned him for the victory.
Cage delivered on his promise when he arrived in AAW that he would target ACH and win the Heritage title. Cage becomes the 13th different person to hold the Heritage title in its 9 ½ year history. It put an end to the reign for ACH, which lasted nearly 9 months since winning the Heritage title tournament earlier in 2013. Needless to say, this won’t be the last time these two men meet. The action and the outcome of the match dictate that a rematch will have to happen down the line.
7.) Returning from intermission, we had a tag match. Knight Wagner was joined with Markus Crane and Dan Lawrence to form the first team. The other team only had two people, Marion Fontaine and Tony Rican. Rican was in a t-shirt and jeans, after it was shown in a video promo earlier in the night showing that Wagner found Rican’s gear in the locker room and threw it out in the garbage outside the Eagles Club. Being outnumbered at the onset, Fontaine evened the odds by announcing the third person to form his team would be MsChif.
This was an interesting mix among the six people involved. Rican and Wagner have had their history over the last year. In the past, Lawrence and MsChif had their differences, as the Party Danimal always found himself trying to best Chif when the two were in a rivalry last year. Markus Crane is one wacky individual and he always seems to find himself involved in the most inopportune situations, and his recent pairing with Lawrence has made for some humorous moments in AAW. Fontaine, one half of the current AAW Tag Team Champions, seemed to be the one person that didn’t fit among the group, but he made it work.
The match provided those individual rivalries to rekindle. Lawrence and MsChif went head-to-head once more. Rican and Wagner quickly came to blows and even took the attack to the outside. Wagner has shown a greater ferocity since aligning himself with Truth Martini a few months back. He took out his anger at Rican once more, even throwing his enemy head-first into the guardrail.
MsChif eventually found herself in control and looking to get the victory, but that left her vulnerable. Heather Patera raced to the ring with a loaded handbag and hit MsChif in the back of the head with it, helping her fellow House of Truth member, Knight Wagner. Wagner was able to pin MsChif to get the victory for his team.
It was an interesting moment, as it sets up for MsChif to exact revenge against Patera for costing her the match. Meanwhile, Wagner celebrated with Patera as they got out of dodge following the victory. Lawrence and Crane celebrated together, with Crane proclaiming that they are an unstoppable duo. Unfortunately, that irked Ryan Boz, as the big man hit the ring and he hit a Boz Driver on Dan Lawrence.
8.) Next was an in-ring interview with announcer Deryck St. Holmes and women’s wrestler Angelus Layne. Layne had been forced out of action after suffering a concussion. Layne is set to return to action in 2014 after she fully recovers from her post-concussion symptoms. The interview segment was hijacked by a bitter Christian Rose. Rose was angry that he put his ring gear on, only to find that he wasn’t needed for the show so that Layne could have her interview segment. Rose was mad that Layne had the opportunity to wrestle twice each year in the same building for the SHIMMER Women Athletes tapings, going as far as disparaging the company and its fans. Layne had enough and slapped Rose. Rose retorted by saying he wouldn’t respond how everyone thought he might. However, he did punch Layne and brought out a steel chair, as he readied to hit a move on Layne onto the chair. That brought Marek Brave out to the ring, where he wanted to put an end to his feud with Rose. Brave issued a “Loser Leaves Berwyn” challenge to Rose, which he eventually accepted.
As the match began, Rose found he wanted nothing to do with it, wanting to go back to the locker room. Brave chased after him and brought back not only Rose, but a kendo stick with him. The kendo stick played a crucial part in the battle between Rose and Brave, as Brave accidentally hit referee Coyne Jones with it when the two had a tussle at ringside last month. Brave almost hit Jones, who was the referee for this match, with the kendo stick again. The pause allowed Rose to wrest the kendo stick away from Brave and fight without using it.
However, the steel chair that Rose had planned to use against Layne made its way in the match with Brave. Rose used the chair to hit a couple of moves on Brave, but the AAW veteran kicked out after a two-count. Rose then took the chair, ready to swing it at Brave, but Brave grabbed Rose’s man region. The painful grasp forced Rose to let go of the chair, allowing Brave to take possession of it. Brave then smashed Rose with the chair with an unprotected shot to the head, and pinned him for the victory. Rose’s loss means he must leave Berwyn.
The two men have had some brutal and bloody matches in AAW in 2013. They capped it off with an unprotected chair shot to the head. It signified the end of this rivalry, but for as much as the story that these two men told in the ring, the brutality was just too much for me to take in this current day and age in professional wrestling. We know all too well the damage that unprotected chair shots to the head can cause, and unnecessary blood loss in matches is something that needs to be controlled.
9.) It was time for the final match of the Allegiance tag team tournament. Prior to the announcement of both teams, ring announcer Jimmy Desmond told the crowd that Jimmy Jacobs sustained a concussion following the semifinal match. So, Silas Young would have to choose a replacement for the final against the team of Ethan Page and Ricochet.
All three men were in the ring as Young was about to make his decision on a replacement partner. Young said he could barely trust Jacobs, but couldn’t trust anyone in the back but himself. So, he had his manager Val Malone step up to the apron as his tag partner, with the intention of not tagging her in and to go it alone. It was a veritable handicap match, by choice obviously.
Young obviously had trouble dealing with the duo of Page and Ricochet. Ricochet had Young down, and was ready to hit his “People’s Moonsault”, but Young was able to lift his knees up to block the moonsault. Then, when it seemed like Young was not going to withstand the attack from the opposition, there was a commotion at the entrance way. Jimmy Jacobs was being held back by AAW officials, as he wanted back in the match. Jacobs broke away from the pack and raced into the ring. He hit the ring with a fury, delivering attacks to both Page and Ricochet. All four men just went all out, flying in and out of the ring and knocking each other to pieces. They each tried to get pinfalls on their opponent, but no one could get a three-count.
Eventually, Jacobs was able to hit a top rope version of the Contra Code on Ricochet and got the pin to win the tournament. The duo accomplished their goal of winning the tournament and receiving the rewards that went with it. Silas and Jimmy raised the oversized trophy, while Val Malone applauded along with the crowd in a great moment for the duo.
Silas immediately announced what everyone knew: he wanted his match against Eddie Kingston. He even said that Jimmy could keep the trophy, because all Silas wanted was to kick Eddie Kingston’s ass.
After the winners departed, the makeshift duo of Page and Ricochet received their cheers from the crowd. This new age “Nation of Domination” was requested to do the signature fist raise, even though both men wanted to attack one another. They do the fist raise, but Page turned the tables, hitting a Rock Bottom on Ricochet, and leaving the ring.
It was a great effort by Page and Ricochet, but it’s easy to wonder what would have happened had the Monster Mafia stayed intact. Could Page and the injured Josh Alexander have won the Allegiance tournament? It’s a question we’ll never get an answer to, but I think the Monster Mafia will make an ever bigger presence in AAW in 2014. They had a magnificent 2013, but they are a team on the rise.
10.) It was time for the main event of “Windy City Classic IX” as the AAW Heavyweight Champion Shane Hollister would face Kevin Steen. Hollister was accompanied to the ring by Scarlett Bordeaux and Markus Crane, but Steen wanted no distractions. Steen immediately went to the outside after Crane and knocked him down with a punch. But, that allowed Hollister to dive out to attack Steen.
The distractions of Hollister’s cronies continued as Scarlett tried to interfere as Steen had the upper hand. Steen delivered a boot to the face of the valet, but it allowed for Hollister to regain the advantage. Hollister later had Steen placed sitting on the top turnbuckle, but Steen recomposed and delivered a kiss to Hollister before throwing him down to the mat. Steen hit a senton splash on the downed champion, but could only get a two-count. A couple minutes later, Scarlett went back in to interfere, but knowing better Steen remained focused against his opponent. Hollister tried fighting back against Steen, but Steen was able to regain the advantage. Steen delivered a kick to the midsection of Hollister and set him up for the package piledriver. Steen hit it and went for the pin, and as time stood still for that moment, the Berwyn Eagles Club erupted when the referee hit the mat for the third time. Kevin Steen won the AAW Heavyweight Championship!
It was such a surprise to see Steen, in his AAW debut no less, defeat Hollister and become the champion. There was genuine joy among the standing room only crowd as Steen celebrated in the ring to close the ninth edition of the Windy City Classic.
AAW announced their return to the Berwyn Eagles Club would be on Saturday, December 28th for “One Twisted Christmas”. Announced on the card for that show are the new AAW Heavyweight Champion Kevin Steen, the return of Colt Cabana, Michael Elgin, and Davey Richards.
AAW Heavyweight Champion - Kevin Steen
AAW Heritage Champion - The Money Matt Cage
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Upcoming Shows
Saturday, December 28th
Berwyn Eagles Club (6309 W. 26th St. Berwyn, IL)
Doors open: 6:45pm
Belltime 7:30pm
Front Row: $18.00
General Admission: $13.00
$1.25 Beers at the bar
One Twisted Christmas
Already signed:
AAW Heavyweight Champion: Kevin Steen
Shane Hollister with Scarlett
Davey Richards
Michael Elgin
Colt Cabana
Jimmy Jacobs
Silas Young
Eddie Kingston
Friday January 24
Berwyn Eagles Club (6309 W. 26th St. Berwyn, IL)
Belltime 7:45pm
The Chaos Theory
Friday February 28
Berwyn Eagles Club (6309 W. 26th St. Berwyn, IL)
Belltime 7:45pm
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AAW T-Shirts NOW AVAILABLE!
Four Designs including the Phil Colvin #SweetJeebus T!
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Our last two events featurinig rounds one and two of the Allegiance Tag Team Tourment are availale on MP4, VOD, DVD from our good friends at www.smartmarkvideo.com
AAW October 25, 2013 "War is Coming" - Merrionette Park, IL
1. Allegiance Tag Team Tournament: Keith Walker & Lamar Titan vs. Zero Gravity (Brett Gakiya & CJ Esparza)
2. Allegiance Tag Team Tournament: Caprice Coleman & Cedric Alexander vs. Chuck Taylor & Johnny Gargano
3. Allegiance Tag Team Tournament: Dan Lawrence & Markus Crane vs. Juntai Miller & Prince Ali
4. Christian Rose vs. Silas Young
5. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Knight Wagner vs. Louis Lyndon vs. Matt Cage
6. Allegiance Tag Team Tournament: Drew Gulak & Gran Akuma vs. Irish Airborne
7. Allegiance Tag Team Tournament Quarter Final
8. Allegiance Tag Team Tournament Quarter Final
9. AAW Heavyweight Championship: Eddie Kingston vs. Shane Hollister
AAW October 18, 2013 "Hostile Intentions" - Berwyn, IL
1. Allegiance Tag Team Tournament: AAW Tag Team Champions Kung Fu Manchu (Louis Lyndon & Marion Fontaine) vs. Team Defend UK (Mark Andrews & Pete Dunne)
2. Allegiance Tag Team Tournament: Alex Colon & Eddie Kingston vs. Heidi Lovelace & Ryan Boz
3. Allegiance Tag Team Tournament: AAW Heritage Champion ACH & Matt Cage vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Silas Young
4. Falls Count Anywhere: Christian Rose vs. Marek Brave
5. Truth Martini Invitational Battle Royal
6. Christina Von Eerie, Heidi Lovelace & MsChif vs. Heather Patera, Jessicka Havok & Saraya Knight
7. Allegiance Tag Team Tournament: Kung Fu Manchu (Louis Lyndon & Marion Fontaine) vs. Monster Mafia (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander)
8. Allegiance Tag Team Tournament: Alex Colon & Eddie Kingston vs. Jimmy Jacobs & Silas Young
9. AAW Heavyweight Championship: Arik Cannon vs. Shane Hollister
