(Promotion: Absolute Intense Wrestling – Location: Ohio Nets Sports Complex, Parma, OH – December 28, 2018)

Announcer Steve Guy enters the ring at 7:41 to start the show. He is wearing a sweet blue suit with an Abdominal Snowman print on it. The house sound is a little “tinny” at first but that is eventually corrected.

Main Card

Wheeler Yuta v. Louis Lyndon

Yuta wins after a cradle sideslam. Serviceable opener. Yuta flips off the fans as he leaves the ring.

Lucha Rules 8-Man Tag Team Match

#DukeMoney (Jock Samson/Mance Warner/Ethan Page/Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham) w/ The Duke v. Colt Cabana/Kikutaro/Swoggle/Pretty Boy Smooth

It’s hard not to smile at the randomness that composes both teams as they enter the ring. A huge brawl erupts before the bell.

MJF’s music hits seconds into the match. He attacks Cabana. Space Monkey’s music cues shortly thereafter and he joins the fracas.

Smooth and Warner slug it out mid-ring.

There is a giant chain head scissors involving most the match roster. Smooth and Swoggle turn it into a giant Boston Crab.

Swoggle German suplexes Page.

Cabana and MJF are back-to-back doling out elbows.

Eventually, DCR taps out to the Billy Goat’s Curse. MJF tried to make the save but Cabana ordered him from the ring before he could do so.

This was a fun match with lots of wacky personalities and weird pairings. There was a great interaction between Samson and Kikutaro early in the match.

Swoggle calls out Scott Steiner (!?!?) for April 4 in Jersey City during WrestleMania weekend. That should certainly draw some attention on the Internet in the next couple of months.

Winners: Colt Cabana/Kikutaro/Swoggle/Pretty Boy Smooth/Space Monkey

Tag Team 4-Way Dance

PME (Philly Collins & Marino Tenaglia) v. The Production (Derek Director & Eddie Only) w/ Frankie Flynn v. Young Studs (Eric Ryan & Bobby Beverly) v. Ninja Flip (Facade & Flip Kendrick)

Tenaglia and Kendrick each take a crazy dive to the floor. Collins hits a moonsault to the floor. Facade walks the ropes and flips to the floor. There is a theme here.

Only hits a coast-to-coast dive onto Kendrick.

Kendrick connects with a handspring flip off of Only onto Direction.

Ryan scores the pinfall after a double underhook powerbomb.

This was a great match filled with tons of innovative spots. PME, Only and Director looked exceptionally strong.

Ninja Flip is not a good name.

PME are over. The crowd is so responsive to everything they do. Can they take it to the next level? I can picture them doing well in Chikara or MLW.

Winners: Young Studs

Intense Championship

Matthew Justice (c) v. KTB

Justice comes out with the belt tucked in his gunbelt. It looks odd.

KTB chops the shit out of Justice. He drops the champion throat-first on the steel barrier.

The two brawl out into the audience.

KTB suplexes Justice on the bleachers, breaking them.

Justice flips off the ramp.

Audience: “Please don’t die!”

The two wrestlers make their way back into the ring.

Justice hits a spear through the ropes. He rocks the challenger with a Jackhammer for a two-count.

KTB misses a Lionsault.

Justice retains by pinfall.

Winner: Matthew Justice

***Intermission***

Dominic Garrini v. Josh Bishop v. Eddie Kingston v. Zach Thomas

Kingston comes out to a huge pop and the audience chanting his name. He, err, “ball taps” Guy during intros.

Bishop and Garrini brawl outside the ring as the bell rings.

Within the first 30 seconds, Thomas does a moonsault to the floor.

Garrini and Bishop are engaging in a chopfest.

Thomas and Kingston trade blows.

Thomas hits a frog splash for a 2-count.

Kingston hits the Backfist to the Future to secure the pinfall on Thomas. After, Kingston fistbumps him, putting him over. Thomas feels hungry. That’s a good thing.

I noticed Bishop struggling with executing power moves smoothing. I’m not sure if that is a matter of conditioning or he just had a bad night.

Winner: Eddie Kingston

Tag Team Championship

Weird World (Adam Evans & Alex Kellar) (c) v. To Infinity & Beyond (Cheech and Colin Delaney)

Newly crowned titleholders Weird World come out to “We are the Champions” by Queen. Fans are holding up lighters.

Worldwide throws some janky punches. He powerbombs Evans onto Colins for two. He does the Terry Funk ladder spot using Evans instead of a ladder.

Cheech and Delaney hit a double Cop Killer on Evans to win the championship.

Man, the show was going good until this. Weird World are fun characters but sorely lacking in the ring. To make matters worse, I’ve never got the vibe that they care about getting any better. Maybe they bust their butts in training and have just hit the ceiling when it comes to their physical prowess, I don’t know. Regardless, they need some other role in the company. Maybe as hosts of an interview segment or something? Maybe add a third member to the act who is more of a workhorse? They fun and likable performers. There is some value there. I’m just not sure what it is at this time.

TI&B are far better in the ring…but, man, their act is tired. Fans have seen them in AIW time after time after time after time. Repackage them. Break them up. Anything to freshen them up.

Winners and NEW AIW Tag Team Champions: To Infinity & Beyond

Tim Donst v. “Maserati” Wes Barkley

Audience chants for Barkley during Donst’s entrance. Donst tears up a sign for his opponent as he makes his way to the ring.

The rookie Barkley gets a monster ovation from the crowd.

There are dueling “Wes Barkley/Tim Fuckin’ Donst” chants.

Donst jumps the young wrestler before the bell.

Barkley plays to the crowd as he pounds on Donst.

Donst destroys his opponent with a powerbomb on the apron. He swarms Barkley with blows.

Barkley: Falcon Arrow. He then chugs a beer while performing Old School on the barrier. He spits it in Donst’s face. He hits a Frog Splash

Donst executes a double underhook piledriver for the win.

Barkley has a ton of charisma and feels like a burgeoning star, however, he is still very green. That can only be remedied by time spent in the ring. A large contingent of fans were there clearly just to see Barkley. It will be interesting to see how he reacts when that baseline either stops attending or he travels more and is met with the colder reception of an unfamiliar audience. Wes Barkey will be a fun performer to watch develop.

Winner: Tim Donst

AIW Absolute Championship

“Hot Sauce” Tracy Williams (c) v. Matt Cross

Williams with a kneedrop for two.

Cross connects with a beautiful handspring elbow.

Williams gains the pinfall after a sitout piledriver.

This was a smart, well-executed bout between two seasoned professionals. Both men always deliver.

At one point, Grandma Cross had a verbal exchange with Williams from the audience. Her involvement is always funny and endearing.

Winner: Tracy Williams

***Main Event**

No DQ, Anything Goes Match

Masato Tanaka v. Nick Gage

Tanaka connects early with a rolling elbow.

The fight quickly spills outside the ring.

Tanaka blast Gage with a trashcan.

They go into the audience.

Gage gets color. He suplexes Tanaka on the walkway to the ring. Back in the ring, he suplexes Tanaka on a chair for a two-count. He lays a Kendo stick across his opponent’s back and hits a Falcon Arrow for two. He clips Tanaka with a facewash.

Tanaka “hulks up” and frog splashes Gage.

The hardcore legends battle with chairs.

Tanaka takes an unprotected chairshot.

Gage: piledriver, powerbomb on a chair for a nearfall.

Audience: “This is Awe-some!”

Gage sets up a table in the ring. and goes for a move off the top rope, which Tanaka blocks. Instead, he suplexes Gage on the table (which does not break) for a two-count.

Eventually, Tanaka gets the pin.

Wow. Fuck. That was stiff.

Gage raises Tanaka’s hand in a sign of respect.

Audience: “Please come back!”

Other than the unprotected chair shots which were extremely uncomfortable to watch, this was a helluva fight. Tanaka is in terrific shape and looks and moves better than he did 20 years ago. And love Gage or hate him, he is one of the premier deathmatch workers of the modern era.

This match was memorable and thrilling and worth tracking down to see.

Winner: Masato Tanaka

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