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7/18 AAW SCARS AND STRIPES 10 LIVE REPORT FROM MERRIONETTE PARK, IL

By Qumar Zaman on 2014-07-23 08:25:00
AAW Scars and Stripes 10
7/18/2014 – 115 Bourbon Street
By Qumar Zaman

AAW Pro Wrestling Redefined made its return to 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park, Illinois for the tenth edition of its annual “Scars and Stripes” event held each July.

1.) The opening contest was a tag team match pitting the duo of Dan Lawrence and Markus Crane against relative newcomers to AAW, Shane Sabre and Brent Banks. Lawrence and Crane have been quite successful over the last few events as a tag team, and they looked to carry their momentum into “Scars and Stripes”.

Lawrence and Crane use a combination of their in-ring experience and a bit of psychological warfare to get an edge over their opponents. Lawrence’s success as a singles wrestler and Crane’s recklessness to do anything to his opponents, for instance spitting in their face, is the root of their success. It worked well in their match against Sabre and Banks, as Lawrence and Crane overcame their opponents’ attempts to use their physicality in the match.

The teamwork of Lawrence and Crane worked well in their favor, especially as both men climbed to the top rope and attempted simultaneous moves onto a prone Banks to get the victory.

After the match, a video was shown of a bearded duo known as The Hooligans. The brothers, Devin and Mason Cutter, explained that they would be making their AAW debut tonight.

2.) It was time for a 6-man elimination tag team matchup pitting Knight Wagner’s “House of Wagner” group consisting of he, Alex Bernadino, and Justice Jones against the team of Marek Brave and Zero Gravity, Brett Gakiya and CJ Esparza.

Wagner sent out his young lackey Bernadino to start the match against Marek Brave. As the two men engaged in a battle of dishing out chops, it was the veteran Brave that took over. Brave continued his attack, eventually getting Bernadino’s partners out of their game. The opening allowed for Brave to tag in his partners, as Zero Gravity hit their Flippy Cup combination move onto Bernadino and made him the first man eliminated from the match.

An irate Knight Wagner showed his displeasure by berating his team’s muscle, Justice Jones, on the outside. He wanted Jones to fix the problem created by Bernadino’s elimination. Jones went in the ring and put out an assault on Brave and Zero Gravity. Jones then grabbed a steel chair and brought it in to enhance his attack. However, Jones got carried away and later pushed referee Coyne Jones. The referee used his discretion and eliminated Justice Jones, leaving Knight Wagner in the unenviable position of being in a 1-on-3 situation.

The steel chair would come into play as Marek Brave would use it to deliver the final blow. Brave tossed the chair to Wagner, and then superkicked him with it absorbing the hit. Brave covered Wagner and got the pinfall, securing a clean sweep victory for he and Zero Gravity. However, as they were celebrating, The Hooligans raced to the ring and destroyed all three men. Younger wrestlers Mallaki Matthews and Moondog Bernard tried to stop the attack, but they too were taken care of by the newest team in AAW. The message was sent loud and clear to the AAW locker room: The Hooligans are a team to be reckoned with.

After the ring was cleared, a video was shown of “All Ego” Ethan Page addressing the crowd, as he was not in the building. Page went through an extended diatribe of why he attacked his fellow AAW Tag Team Champion partner, Michael Elgin. Page reunited the Monster Mafia by attacking Elgin at “Bound by Hate” in his match against the “Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander.

3.) With Page out, it was his old but new tag partner, the “Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander in singles action. Alexander faced another former AAW Tag Team Champion, Louis Lyndon. These two men have held tag team gold in the company before, but it was their singles work in this match that wowed the crowd and stole the show before the crowd could breathe.

Both Alexander and Lyndon showcased the best of their abilities inside and outside the ring. Lyndon used his guile and athletic ability to try to best Alexander. Alexander, meanwhile, showcased his strength and size in the match to weaken Lyndon. Lyndon did his very best to put down Alexander, but all he could manage was several near falls and 2-count pin attempts. He would not be able to down Alexander, despite those repeated tries, and the Walking Weapon picked an opportunity to hit a damaging corkscrew tombstone piledriver on Lyndon to get the victory.

For the third match on the card, both men walked away with their heads held high. There was nothing for Lyndon to be ashamed of, as he proved he could go toe to toe with one of the strongest men in AAW. And, as for Alexander, he was tested to his limits unlike any of his previous singles matches in the past.

After the match, we see a video of Eddie Kingston from earlier in the evening outside 115 Bourbon Street drinking some celebratory shots. Kingston said he would be having an open challenge tonight.

4.) Initially, this match was supposed to be a one-on-one contest between Gregory Iron and Rhyno. However, Iron wasn’t necessarily prepared for the disadvantage that that match presented him. Cloaked by his Iron Curtain, the “Handicapped Hero” bartered with the man-beast to change the format of their match. Iron, while insulting his opponent, managed to change the match to a 3-on-1 handicap match, adding Iron Curtain members Joey Martini and Benjamin Boone to the match.

The handicap match turned out to be chaotic, with the action going to the outside and even into the crowd. Iron Curtain addition Dick Justice, who was making his first appearance in AAW as part of the group, was making matters worse. He eventually received a gore from Rhyno, but that distraction allowed the Iron Curtain to introduce a table into the match. However, before the table could be put to damaging use, Arik Cannon raced to the ring to help even the odds. The help allowed Rhyno to gore Benjamin Boone through the table and pinned him to get the victory.

5.) Cannon’s appearance forced the Iron Curtain to retreat to the back. And, while Cannon was seeing to it that they left, out came another member of the Iron Curtain, Christian Faith. Cannon was scheduled to take on Faith, and they got their battle on prematurely. Faith and Cannon began their match on the stage then took it to the floor outside the ring. Eventually, the two men found the ring. But because of the wreckage from the handicap match before it, the pieces of the broken table were in the ring. Christian Faith was able to pick up one of those pieces and hit Cannon with it followed by a discus punch, leading to Faith getting the pinfall victory and exacting revenge for his group.

After the match, a video is shown of Dan Lawrence and Markus Crane celebrating their victory from earlier in the night. Lawrence said that their stretch of victories should put them in line for an AAW Tag Team title match. Meanwhile, Crane remembered about the next match, since it was the Unsanctioned Bourbon Street Fight, and wanted to take part.

6.) AAW Owner Jim Lynam made the decree last month that AAW would not sanction this match, but matchmaker Tony Rican was able to convince him to allow the match to take place. Rican said it would be his final match. It was Rican and Ryan Boz against the team of Keith Walker and Tweek Phoenix, who were joined by Nikki Mayday.

All four men took a tour of the grounds at 115 Bourbon Street during this match, fighting not just in the ring, but on the stage, outside the ring, into the crowd, by the bar area and back into the ring. While on the stage, Walker appeared to have knocked Rican completely out. Rican had to be helped to the back, leaving Boz to fend for himself.

Surprisingly, the 2-on-1 advantage did not last long. Rican shockingly stood atop one of the seating sections atop the stage, and then dove onto Walker and Phoenix on the stage. But, the numbers game switched back once more, as Markus Crane hit the ring. Boz took care of him, but Crane’s distraction allowed Walker to pounce. Meanwhile, on the stage, Nikki Mayday took some baby powder and was ready to throw it in Rican’s face, but it missed and got Tweek Phoenix instead.

While Rican and Boz were double-teaming Walker, Phoenix went searching for weapons under the ring, and he found a barbed wire-wrapped 2x4. Phoenix brought it into the ring, but Rican intercepted the attack, took the 2x4 and hit a bulldog with it on Phoenix. Boz picked up Phoenix and hit a Boz Driver to end the match and get the victory in an outstanding brawl.

7.) Before returning from intermission, we heard from Chris Sabin who would be challenging AAW Heavyweight Champion Shane Hollister in the main event later in the evening.

The next match had Eddie Kingston see his open challenge answered by Marion Fontaine. Fontaine tried his best, but he could not match up against the size and strength of Kingston. Kingston delivered his patented backfist to Fontaine, knocking him out for the three-count pinfall victory.

Following the match, AAW Heavyweight Champion Shane Hollister expressed how much being the champ meant to him because of what he’s been able to accomplish. He said that in spite of one mistake, losing the title to Kevin Steen, he has answered every challenge with success and Chris Sabin would be no different.

8.) AAW Heritage Champion “Money” Matt Cage came to the ring and issued another open challenge for his title, considering the success he had in doing so last month. Flip Kendrick was the first person to accept the offer, but Cage wasn’t satisfied. Davey Vega was next to come calling, but again Cage wanted more. So, out came Heidi Lovelace to make it a 4-way match for the title!

Cage successfully defended the title against Lovelace last month in an open challenge, but with two new competitors vying for the crown, the champion would be put to the test. It had been some time since both Kendrick and Vega were competing in AAW, and it showed as Kendrick displayed a bit of rust.

Lovelace showed off that her opportunity last month was not a fluke, as she took advantage of this situation. With Vega and Cage on the outside, Lovelace took the top rope and hit a frog splash onto a downed Kendrick. As she readied for the pin attempt, Cage ran into the ring, delivered a kick to her head, and made the cover to retain his title.

9.) In the main event of the evening, Chris Sabin challenged AAW Heavyweight Champion Shane Hollister. Sabin was somewhat surprisingly booed by the crowd after being introduced to the crowd as being from Detroit, Michigan. It was not a shock to see the fiercely proud Chicagoland residents voice their displeasure of someone from Detroit, but if anyone could get a pass, Sabin would have been the person.

As for Hollister, he rarely travels to the ring alone, but on this occasion he was riding solo. Such a move displayed the determination from the champ that he could defeat Sabin by himself. It’s always understood never to underestimate the heart of a champion, and Hollister proved that point near the conclusion of the match.

Hollister was cornered by Sabin and was trying to get out of a sticky situation. As he flailed his arms in the air, he managed to poke referee PJ Drummond in the eyes. That distracted Sabin, leaving an opening for Hollister to deliver a low blow to Sabin. Hollister followed it up with a powerbomb into the turnbuckles and ended it with a devastating curb stomp for the pinfall victory.

After Hollister celebrated another successful championship defense, Eddie Kingston showed up in the ring! It appeared that Kingston wanted his chance at the champion, but Hollister wanted none of it. Hollister slapped the man from Yonkers, New York and raced to the back with the title in hand, leaving Kingston alone in the ring to ponder what just happened.

AAW Pro Wrestling Redefined returns to the Berwyn Eagles Club in Berwyn, Illinois on August 15th. Already announced for the event is an AAW Heritage Championship match between the champion “Money” Matt Cage and Heidi Lovelace. More information about the event and how to purchase tickets to attend it can be found at aawrestling.com.

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