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AAW Killers Among Us
6/17/2017 – 115 Bourbon Street
Qumar Zaman
662 fans
After several months away from the confines of 115 Bourbon Street in Merrionette Park, Illinois, AAW Pro Wrestling Redefined made its return. With “Killers Among Us”, the fans packed inside, weathering not only a standing room only crowd, but also the humidity of a warm, summer evening.
1.) The opening match of “Killers Among Us” brought the AAW debut of Garza, Jr., as he took on ACH in singles competition. Garza Jr. used his lengthy jacket to play the role of a matador, swaying it away from a charging ACH. Giving it one more try, Garza Jr. successfully superkicked ACH. However, ACH would respond in kind, sending Garza Jr. out of the ring. Later, ACH would show off his athleticism by hitting back-to-back dives through the ropes to a dazed Garza Jr. on the outside.
Garza Jr., the nephew of former CMLL World Heavyweight Champion the late Hector Garza, seemed to find moderate success with his kicks to the face of ACH, so much so that it wouldn’t have been too surprising to know if ACH had Garza Jr.’s boot print on his face. However, for ACH, it was hissteadfast ability to match Garza Jr. with strong maneuvers, both inside and outside the ring. A frustrated Garza Jr. eventually sought outside assistance in the form of a steel chair. He planted ACH to sit on the chair and proceeded to go up to the top rope and hit a missile dropkick. Unfortunately for Garza Jr., his best laid plans failed, as ACH was able to recover and hit a brainbuster to pick up the victory at 8:20.
Following the match, a video was shown of Marty DeRosa trying to interview Mat Fitchett. However, the interview was interrupted by Fitchett’s tag team partner, Davey Vega. Vega appeared to be bitter that Fitchett was in singles action against Zack Sabre, Jr., going so far as to say that Fitchett would not have a shot at winning without him there.
2.) Next up was a battle of two of the bigger men competing inside an AAW ring, as Eddie Kingston went head to head with Jeff Cobb. Before the bell could ring, Kingston brought a spike inside the ring, but had it taken away from him by the referee. Cobb dominated the match at the outset, frustrating the former AAW Heavyweight Champion. It wasn’t too long after that Kingston brought the fight outside of the ring.
While on the outside, the two men traded assaults back and forth. Back inside the ring, they would go back and forth with a chop war. Kingston went for a discus elbow to conclude it, but managed only a count of two. Cobb showed off his impressive athletic ability, as he deadlifted Kingston a few times for suplexes. But, it was the smarts of the man from Yonkers, New York that delivered the key result. Kingston needed a total of three spinning backfists to take down Cobb and gain the pinfall at 8:42.
3.) Detouring from singles action, the next match was a 4-way match, with no tags needed and first fall to the victor. The competitors were Paco Gonzalez, Davey Vega, Jake Crist (joined by OI4K manager JT Davidson), and Chuck Taylor. The four men split into pairs as soon as the bell rang, leading to a short clearing of the house. Crist and Taylor sparred for a little bit, until Vega snuck back into the ring to take down Chuckie T. Paco was able to recover and exact an attack on Vega.
With it being a 4-way match without tags needed, there was little the referee could do to control the wrestlers. They battled inside and outside the ring at a dizzying pace, and it seemed as if Paco was getting the worse for wear, considering he was the smallest of the four. And, it was Paco who suffered at the end. Jake Crist executed an awesome double underhook version of the Canadian Destroyer on Paco, earning the pinfall victory at 6:52.
4.) Back to singles action as Mat Fitchett went head-to-head with one of the best technical wrestlers in the world, Zack Sabre, Jr. Fitchett’s strategy for this match was apparent: attack ZSJ early and often. It sort of worked for Fitchett in theory, but as the match progressed, it only angered Sabre Jr. ZSJ channeled his rage for Fitchett’s early attacks into a furious attack, filled with submission maneuvers.
Later on, Sabre Jr. also displayed confidence in absorbing attacks from Fitchett, even baiting him into delivering open chops. Sabre Jr. displayed an impressive arsenal of submission moves over the course of the match, but it still didn’t deter Fitchett from trying to pin down his opponent. Fitchett tried to earn a pinfall, but it was one submission move from ZSJ that forced Fitchett to tap out. While locked in to the guillotine choke, ZSJ elbowed Fitchett in the head before wrenching in the move even more, eliciting the tapout at 14:04.
Following the match, a video was shown of Marty DeRosa interviewing Trevor Lee. Lee was excited that he was able to earn another shot at the AAW Heritage Championship, as he sought to take the title from Penta El Zero M.
5.) Vengeance was being sought in this match, as Abyss hit the ring alongside JT Davidson. But, as Abyss waited for his opponent to arrive at ringside, the lights went out. As the lights turned back on, it was Low-Ki waiting behind him to attack. However, the distraction of having Davidson at ringside paid dividends for the monster Abyss. Davidson was able to turn the tide in the match, taking away Low-Ki’s focus and allowing Abyss to have his way.
With the match in his control, Abyss found his bag of thumbtacks under the ring, emptying them out onto the canvas. Low-Ki was able to avoid a chokeslam onto the tacks, and successfully took out Davidson. Low-Ki seemed to be ready to hit Abyss with a move off the top rope, but Davidson recovered in time to knock him off the perch. Low-Ki avoided falling onto the pile of thumbtacks, but was in the grasp of Abyss.
Just as Abyss was about to hit a chokeslam, Low-Ki threw a handful of those thumbtacks into the face of the monster, temporarily blinding him. Davidson entered the ring to calm the monster, but felt the wrath of Abyss as he chokeslammed his manager onto the thumbtacks, blinded by the fact that it was not Low-Ki who was in his grasp. The stealth move by Low-Ki paid off as he was able to roll up the monster Abyss and pin him for the victory at 6:54.
6.) No longer was Trevor Lee “shaking it off” on his way to the ring. Armed with new music and a continued, angry attitude, the Carolina Caveman sought to earn some gold in his title match against the AAW Heritage Champion Penta El Zero M. However, the fans in attendance were solidly behind the champion, frustrating Lee to the point where he used cheap shots to gain an advantage over Penta. It continued to pay off as Lee coaxed Penta to the outside, where he delivered a running kick to the face of the champ.
Nevertheless, the Heritage champ fought fire with fire, using the ring to his advantage against Lee. Penta hit a variety of devastating moves, such as a rope-aided back cracker and a pump handle brainbuster, albeit to unsuccessful results. But, in the end, the persistent fight by Lee was not enough to take down the champ. Penta hit his Fear Factor package piledriver to earn the pinfall victory at 8:56 to retain his title.
After intermission, a video was shown of AAW Heavyweight Champion Sami Callihan discussing his title defense in the main event of the evening. Callihan admitted he wants to beat Michael Elgin by himself, telling his manager JT Davidson and any other members of OI4K to not appear at ringside during his match.
7.) To kickstart the second half of the evening, there was a 6-man tag match featuring some of the best young talent that has appeared in an AAW ring, including the return of Zema Ion. Zema suffered a devastating injury two months ago while wrestling in Mexico, where he ruptured his colon and bled internally, requiring surgery. On one side was Trey Miguel, Stephen Wolf, and Myron Reed, while Zema teamed up with Zachary Wentz and Dezmond Xavier.
The six men sought this opportunity to show off what they all could do inside the ring. The fans inside 115 Bourbon Street loved every moment, as they saw these young athletes throw caution to the wind. These young men wowed the crowd with high-risk moves and dives to the outside. Even though Wentz picked up the pinfall over Wolf at 8:47, the fans felt like the true winners, baring witness to the bright future these young men showcased this evening.
8.) In the next match, AAW fans were treated to a side of the “Underground”, as Brian Cage took on John Morrison. Morrison was not shown much love from the fans at 115 Bourbon Street, as fans threw back the same t-shirt he tossed to them. It went on three times before the match began, until Cage put a swift end to the charade. Cage took the t-shirt and used it to wipe off the sweat inside his trunks.
Needless to say, both men tried a variety of moves to put down the other. Cage used his massive strength and size to take down Morrison, while the self-proclaimed “Shaman of Sexy” used more athletic traits and guile to try to best Cage. In the end, it took a distraction by Morrison to gain the upper hand. Morrison pulled the shirt over the head of the referee before knocking down Cage and setting up the Starship Pain moonsault for a second time. On this effort, he was able to pin Cage and earn the victory at 14:14.
9.) In the penultimate match, AAW fans were bestowed the honor of witnessing an amazing tag team match. The team of reDRagon, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish, took on War Machine, Hanson and Raymond Rowe. O’Reilly and Hanson kicked off the match, as O’Reilly was the only competitor who had most recently competed inside an AAW ring. The two men went back and forth with neither gaining a true advantage, so both men tagged out. Rowe and Fish fared no differently, although Rowe used his size advantage over Fish in a condescending manner. After a back and forth tussle which Rowe won, he sat Fish on the top turnbuckle and patted him on the head.
Later in the match, War Machine isolated an attack on O’Reilly, crippling reDRagon’s chances of winning. Fish tried on a couple of occasions to break up the unfair advantage, but O’Reilly was still dealing with the onslaught. O’Reilly eventually broke free, tagging Fish into the match. Fish ignited an attack against Rowe and Hanson, showing a resilient attitude that he would not let his teammate down.
Rowe and Fish went at it during one sequence of the match that expended the energy of both men. Soon after, Hanson showed off incredible agility and stamina when he went corner to corner with running splashes at O’Reilly and Fish. O’Reilly took more punishment by the big, bearded duo, but continued to stay in the match. This was the takeaway from the match, as all four men doled out punishment and lived to both take in and dish out more.
To conclude the match, War Machine went at Bobby Fish. As Rowe was about to finish the job, Hanson ensured that there would be no breaking up a pin attempt. Hanson dove through the ropes onto O’Reilly, who was on the outside. Rowe then proceeded to end the match, pinning Fish at 20:42.
At the end of the match, all four men gathered in the ring and showed good sportsmanship. They all thanked one another for their efforts, and reDRagon congratulated the victorious War Machine.
10.) It was time for the main event of “Killers Among Us.” Before the combatants hit the ring, they hype video was shown to the fans at 115 Bourbon Street. The challenger, Michael Elgin, was introduced first, as he sought to reclaim the title he once previously held years ago. The AAW Heavyweight Champion Sami Callihan was introduced by his manager, JT Davidson. Sami proceeded to unearth a couple of steel chairs from under the ring. However, Callihan restated to Davidson his desire to not need him at ringside during the match.
Callihan charged at Elgin, but fell at the feet of the man known as Big Mike. Callihan charged at him again, this time with chair in hand, but was subdued by a backfist from Elgin. Seeking a reboot of things, Callihan exited the ring and the two men battled out on the floor. Elgin continued to use his size advantage over the champion, hitting devastating moves in the process.
Back inside the ring, Elgin continued showing off against Callihan. Elgin lifted Callihan up for a 30-second long delayed suplex. It took reuniting with one of the steel chairs for Callihan to find an opening. Callihan went after the left leg of Elgin with the steel chair in an attempt to weaken the challenger. Elgin fought through the pain, even dishing it out to Callihan in the form of a death valley driver onto the two chairs laid down flat on the canvas. Callihan withstood numerous attacks by Elgin to put away the champion, all of them unsuccessfully.
The two men traded punches, elbows, kicks, chops, and everything else, all in the hopes of holding the AAW Heavyweight Championship at the end of the night. Callihan seemed to break through when he locked on the Stretch Muffler on Elgin, even wrenching it in with the full torque of his body. Elgin crawled to reach the bottom rope to break the hold.
Elgin went off on Callihan with two running kicks to the face, capped off with another death valley driver, this one landing on the ring apron. Elgin tried with a superplex off the top rope, but couldn’t put away the champ. A lariat followed by a high-launched powerbomb wasn’t the formula for success for Big Mike. Elgin then hit the bucklebomb, but before he could go for the pin, out came JT Davidson and Jake Crist onto the stage. Callihan saw them both and shooed them away from interfering in the match. But, shortly after their arrival, Callihan was able to roll-up Elgin and pick up the 3-count to retain his “Big F’N Belt” at the 25:47 mark, shocking the fans in attendance.
AAW Pro Wrestling Redefined returns to 115 Bourbon Street on Saturday, July 15th for “United We Stand”. Already announced for this event is an AAW Heavyweight Championship match, as Keith Lee challenges Sami Callihan for the title. Also scheduled to appear are Colt Cabana, David Starr, Shane Strickland, the AAW Tag Team Champions Rey Fenix and AR Fox, and more. Tickets and more information about this event can be found at AAWrestling.com.
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