A standing-room-only crowd saw a title change, a War Games, and a de-pantsed Vander Pyle as AWS celebrated their 4th Anniversary at Frank and Son Arena. Click below for more. There are certain words a hardcore wrestling fan cannot resist, and those words are: “STEPHANIE MCMAHON UPSKIRT NUDES! CLICK HERE!” However, “WAR GAMES” and “ANNIVERSARY SHOW” are similarly appealing, and AWS’ March 18th show featured both. So, I took the Doringmobile (my Toyota Corolla) and made the 45-minute excursion to Frank and Son with my intrepid reviewing partner Paul Newberry (who sadly could not contribute to this report due to sustained carsickness from my driving.)
Unfortunately, I missed the dark match between Biggie Biggz and Carlos del Naranja, due to my setting Judeo-Asian relations back several decades in a parking dispute. Advice to anyone who wishes to attend an AWS event: get there EXTREMELY early, because finding a place to park otherwise becomes a different kind of Guerrilla Warfare.
The ring announcer opened the show stating that Human Tornado would not be able to compete in the climactic War Games. However, Tornado did in fact show up, sporting a heavy cast and crutches, and promised to compete in the main event. Tornado’s Willis Reed-like performance the whole day, between his heroics in the War Games and his incredible performance against Scorpio Sky at PWG, gained him a ton of respect in my eyes and further cemented the fact that he will be a huge wrestling star in the near future.
Lionheart defeated Markus Riot
Lionheart is definitely one of the most promising wrestlers in AWS, as all of his wrestling looks really crisp and he definitely conveys a presence in the ring (as well as being an incredibly snappy dresser.) I also enjoyed seeing Markus Riot at this show, as he always works extremely hard and shows definite signs of improvement with each match. This was a briskly paced but effective match, with Markus missing the 450 and Lionheart taking it home with a flying neckbreaker.
Shamu Jr. defeated Massive Fabuloso
AWS has in the past boasted top-shelf lucha libre superstars like Dos Caras, Blue Panther, La Parka and Halloween, who have all put on some of the best matches in the promotion’s history. Before this match, the ring announcer made an elaborate speech about how this match would be a tribute to AWS’ rich lucha history. Here were the problems with that speech though: a) Massive Fabuloso is NOT a luchador and b) Shamu Jr. is one of the farthest things from a casual fan’s impression of a traditional lucha star. Massive generally puts on a solid performance at the Inoki Dojo, and Shamu held up his end in the tag match I saw at Lucha Va Voom, but these two simply did not click and worked a slow-paced, uninteresting brawl, which Shamu won with a top-rope splash. I totally understand that Acero Dorado, Durango Kid and Chilango were all nowhere to be found and AWS had to make the best of what they had, but the ring announcer really should have cut out the “tribute to lucha” speech before bringing out that match, as I imagine it made it look even worse to some of the fans.
Karl “Machine Gun” Anderson and “Brawlin'” Bo Cooper fought to a double countout in a NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Title Match
Karl Anderson is another regular at the Sunday dojo shows, who recently defeated the ultra-talented (and future NJPW star) Fergal Devitt for his British Commonwealth title. Bo had a really good match with Markus Riot at the last AWS show I attended, so I was really looking forward to this match. While it did start off a bit slow, it gradually got more high-impact, including a sick Bronco Buster by Bo in the corner. However, just as the match was really starting to heat up, it ended abruptly in a double countout. I’d really love to see a rematch between these two guys, if only because Anderson’s “Machine Gun” taunt with the belt is awesome.
Lil’ Cholo defeated Lil’ Nate in a no-DQ match to win the AWS-LA Light Heavyweight title
This was the match I was most looking forward to on this show (besides the War Games, of course) and it did not disappoint. Cholo and Nate have excellent chemistry in the ring together, and they really went all out here, trading some hard bumps and big prop shots on the floor. Cholo couldn’t put him away with his finisher, so he brought out the giant moving staircase inside F and S, and DOVE off of it to put Nate through a table with a double stomp, and hit his finish again to take the title. However, despite the emphatic ending, this feud may not be over, as Nate destroyed Cholo after the match with an ultra-smooth Afro-desiac (Yoshi Tonic/Code Red) and ANOTHER one on the floor, before AWS’ army of referees (there was seriously I think a different referee for each match) were able to separate them. Great match that made me feel like I got my money’s worth, and there was still a CAGE to come.
Intermission I stopped by the AWS shop (which every wrestling fan in California should visit at least once) and ran into none other than “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, who was discussing the ROH Joe vs. Kobashi match with some AWS staff. AJ really is a super-nice guy, and it was nice to know someone else was disappointed Samoa Joe’s new action figure doesn’t have that endearing Samoan flab.
Midnight Dynamite (Charles Mercury and Johnny Paradise) defeated Los Chivos and Junior/Chippy Sanchez to retain the AWS Tag Team titles
Charles Mercury is one of my favorite wrestlers in SoCal. I don’t know why, but there’s something about the Chuckster I dig…oh and everyone should see his PWG “Smells Like Steen Spirit” promo. This was fun, but again fairly short, although the Chivos really stepped up their effort here, busting out some fairly athletic spots. Midnight Dynamite put away Chippy with their Spike Tombstone, and somewhere, Super Dragon and Davey Richards are cringing in fear.
Alex Koslov defeated Scorpio Sky
I simply can’t put over the talent of Alex Koslov enough. I’ve seen him more than any other wrestler since I’ve moved to Southern California, and he’s put on great matches with everyone from Shannon Ballard to Colt Cabana to TopGun Talwar. However, one of my favorite matches of his was against Scorpio Sky at the “Super Bart Shuffle,” an engaging, evenly contested technical display. While this match wasn’t quite as good as the previous encounter I saw (there were a couple minor blown spots) they wrestled a bit more high-impact and the crowd really dug it. My only major gripe with the match was the finish. Scorpio had applied the Red Scare while the referee was down, and Koslov tapped. When the referee awoke, Sky applied the hold AGAIN, and this time Koslov lasted in it long enough to reverse for a rope-assisted pinfall. Shouldn’t theoretically, Koslov have been even WEAKER the second time he was in the hold? That’s a minor wrestling-nerd gripe, however. I will say however: Alex Koslov IS going to be one of the biggest impact players in SoCal in 2006. Next show will feature a submission match between Koslov and Sky, and it’s sure to be their best encounter yet.
Human Tornado, Sexy Chino, Aaron Aguilera and Babi Slymm defeated Al Katrazz, The Plague, Crayz and Adam Pearce in WAR GAMES: THE MATCH BEYOND
The one shining point of AWS is their main events are always beautifully booked, and the War Games was no exception. Aguilera and Pearce started off and had a nice sequence of moves, before Al Katrazz joined the fray and doubleteamed HKK. Pearce took a SICK bump through the door to the floor, just as Human Tornado appeared. Pearce took advantage and Pillmanized Tornado, meaning for a long time the good guys were massively overmatched, 3-on-1. Pearce was bleeding a sick gusher, further confirming my opinion he is one of the best bleeders in independent wrestling. Slymm came in and hit a brief flurry, but was eventually (and impressively) press-slammed into the cage by The Plague. It was looking bleak for Tornado’s crew, until everyone’s hero SEXY CHINO appeared and hit a crossbody dive off the cage! Then, HUMAN TORNADO, broken foot and all, hit the ring and did a Tornado Alley dive OFF THE CAGE TO THE FLOOR, and my jaw seriously dropped in shock. Tornado’s team routed Pearce’s from there, culminating in Aguilera hitting a side uranage on Pearce for the 3-count. However, the bad guys wouldn’t leave well enough alone, and tried to attack after the match, and got destroyed. Vanderpyle got the worst of it though, getting his clothes torn off before getting beaten up by everyone (with Chino especially rubbing it in.) This match more than delivered on all expectations, as it was one of the top 10 matches I’ve ever seen live, and kept me literally hanging from the rafters (tm Gorilla Monsoon) for its entirety.
Overall, I think the previous AWS show I attended (“Super Bart Shuffle”) had the better wrestling top-to-bottom, but this show featured an incredible main event, a great light heavyweight title match, and two of my SoCal favorites continuing a heated feud, so it gets a definite thumbs up. I’ll definitely be back in attendance at Frank and Son on April 22nd for Best of the West 2006, to see SoCal’s premier light heavyweights in what should be a quality tournament.
Anyway, I’m going to close with a small but on-topic plug. A feature article on NWA Pro- AWS and Inoki Dojo will be in Issue #6 of transcontinental fanzine The Suplex Monthly, along with an interview with CHRIS JERICHO and other articles covering ROH, TNA, WWE and action in the UK. The magazine is available at both PWG and AWS shows, and for more information head over to TheSuplex.com
Oh, and of course for more info on AWS, NWA Pro and Inoki Dojo visit AWS’s website and NJPW.com
