This Chaos Column is a recap of AWS Promotions “Bart’s Birthday Bash 2013” at American Legion Post #335, South Gate, June 23rd 2013. Details & personal thoughts on this year’s birthday bash show, since Jay gave the results:
It looks like the investment to book Sabu for the show paid off for Bart & the AWS staff, as a capacity crowd filled the legion hall for the show, and the wrestlers that worked the show did all they could to bring the energy to the crowd. The end result was a hot crowd throughout the show.
1 – El Ridiculoso timed the move perfectly, waiting for Chris Kadillak to go for the cover after hitting the “Gory GTS” on Mercurio Jr. to rollup Kadillak for the pin & retain the AWS Lightweight title. The great action from this opener really set the tone for the night.
2 – I felt both Plague & Terex showed incredible strength for their super heavyweight bodies, exchanging clean bodyslams and stiff strikes. A wayward attempt by Cedric The Hitman’s “associate”, where an attempted briefcase shot found Terex’s head instead of Plague’s own head was what allowed Plague to hit his “Full Nelson STO” finisher on Terex for the pin. Plague then took the said associate, put him in the signature Military Press hold, and threw him onto Terex & Cedric.
3 – It just doesn’t seem to be Candice’s month in the ring. For one, she still had some of the bumps & bruises from her QPro match with Cheerleader Melissa last Sunday–she showed me one significant bruise on her right arm during intermission. In the tag team match, she got screwed hardcore again by Sage Sin’s distraction of Referee Rick Knox. Not only did that allow Hudson Envy to hit what appeared to be a Capo Kick on Candice for the pin, but then Buggy–THAT’S RIGHT, BUGGY–hit the ring, and nailed her big time!
As for Crystal White, she definitely has the looks worthy of a “wrestling diva”, and she showed some nice skills in the ring. With her having limited ring time at this show, I would love to see Bart bring her back in a future show, to see her full potential in a singles match.
4 – Great comedy match between Hector Canales & Ricky Mandel. Best part was when Hector went from “Real Man” to “El Chido”, then “Superman”; topping it off w/ a Crossbody from the top rope for the pin.
5 – Details on the four-way elimination tag team match, that featured some great action from all four teams:
* Ray Rosas p. SoCal Crazy with a Roundhouse Kick.
* Both Shane & Shannon Ballard rolled up both Piloto Suicida & Shamu Jr. to eliminate their old rivals, The L.A. F’ers.
* Back-and-forth duel concluded with Peter Avalon beating Shannon Ballard to the final pin to win the title. This could be the first step for PPRay to win titles as a team, as they could be eyeing the Hollywood Heritage tag titles somewhere down the road at CWFH.
6 – Details on the 2-of-3 falls match between B-Boy & Scorpio Sky:
* Scorpio got the first fall, hitting the Ace of Spades for the pin.
* B-Boy got the second fall, using a 3-strike combo, capping it with the Shining Wizard for the pin.
* Final fall went to B-Boy, who used the Tombstone Piledriver for the pin.
Throughout the match, some of the fans went to offer a couple of Candice LeRae’s baked cupcakes to both men. B-Boy took one of them, and shoved it up Scorpio Sky’s mouth.
SM – Lil Cholo & Ryan Taylor had a great battle, but Cholo rolled an Ace Crusher into a Top Rope Double-Stomp to successfully defend the AWS Heavyweight title. The remaining cupcakes were then taken & used as a toast by Cholo & one of the fans.
M – A relatively short but very effective main event by Sabu & T.J. Perkins. A couple of steel chairs were used to give that Original ECW feel to the match, and some of Sabu’s signature ECW moves were in full view by the fans. TJP gave it a great show, although it was hard for him to stay on his feet after eating a Chair-Assisted Top Rope Legdrop from Sabu for the pin.
Shot Of The Night – AWS – 06-23-13
A great card all around, and the crowd kept that high level of energy going throughout the night. I’ll give the nod for “match of the night” to the Sabu/TJP match, followed by the tag team title match.
To view more photos from the show, visit my gallery.