March 21st AWS “Tribute to Cincinnati Red” 13th Anniversary Show at American Legion Post #335, South Gate.It had to be a hard couple of days for both the wrestlers & the support staff to put in everything they had into the show in the wake of the recent passing of Cincinnati Red & Perro Aguayo Jr., but they gave the capacity crowd on hand their money’s worth. Fittingly enough, some of Red’s friends were ringside to give a brief eulogy, and then a 10-bell salute was given.
1 – Tyler Bateman p. Che Cabrera with a Clothesline into a Brainbuster in a strong opening match.
2 – LuFisto made Raze tapout to a Lebell Lock submission.
A good see-saw battle throughout, but LuFi was able to dodge a charging Raze, making her smack her left shoulder onto the steel post, and that led to the submission tapout.
3 – The 13th Anniversary Battle Royal that featured multiple different wrestlers, including some AWS Legends. The last 5 in the ring were: Sexy Chino, Mikey O’Shea, Human Tornado, Supreme, & The Awesome Plague. Plague threw out the remaining four opponents, starting with Tornado, then got some assistance from Supreme to throw Sexy Chino out. He then knocked off Mikey, then had quite the brawl with Supreme, after getting smacked on the side of the head with a big brew of King Cobra beer. Plague threw out Supreme after they got back into the ring, which was now reasonably slippery with the spilled brew.
4 – 2 of 3 Falls Match. Famous B successfully defended the Lightweight title over Mariachi Loco.
Great see-saw battle. Famous B got the first fall with his “I Believe I Can Fly” Swanton Bomb for the pin, then Mariachi Loco got the 2nd fall with the Springboard Elbow for the pin. B had the last laugh, though, winning a battle for finishing moves, by getting the last pin, with his feet on the middle ropes, that was not caught by Referee Justin Borden.
5 – Datura p. Kitana Vera w/ a Schoolgirl Cover in what was a decent match coming off intermission.
6 – Lucha Libre Match. The L.A. F’ers (Piloto Suicida, Shamu Jr., Acero Dorado, & Super Boy) def. Los Luchas (Phoenix Star & Zokre), SoCal Crazy, & El Ridiculoso.
Great lucha match that saw the action go all over the place. Piloto was able to prevent Ridiculoso from adding to the cluster, smacking him with a right boot to the face, then hit the Frog Splash for the pin.
7 – PPRay (Peter Avalon & Ray Rosas) successfully defended the Tag Team titles over Reno Scum (Adam Thornstowe & Lester The Legend)
Great action on both ends, but Peter & Ray were able to take Lester out of the fight just long enough to hit one of their signature moves on Adam, with Ray scoring the pin.
SM – Willie Mack won the Heavyweight title, pinning B-Boy
Probably the best match when it comes to storytelling. Willie was able to weather the early storm from B-Boy, fought back hard, then got the reversal cover on B-Boy to end his 500+-day reign.
Shot of the Night 03/21/15
M – Sabu & Lil Cholo def. Scorpio Sky & Ryan Taylor (who subbed for Sonjay Dutt)
Short but effective match. Ryan Taylor took a trio of table spots from Sabu, who tried to break a reinforced table that was used, to no avail. Otherwise, Ryan seemed fine from all of those spots.
Overall, a great night of wrestling action. Most of the wrestlers wore some sort of red wristband or armband as a show of respect to Cincinnati Red. While I do not know how long Willie Mack’s run with the title will go, you can be sure he’ll defend it with the dignity & sportsmanship that B-Boy had during his long title run.
Reminder: Due to WonderCon Anaheim, I won’t be at Next Friday’s PWG show, so look for me at ringside right back in South Gate on 4/25, for the AWS/QPro show, which will start my “peak wrestling season”.
MOTN: B-Boy v. Willie Mack, then the Lucha Libre match, then PPRay v. Reno Scum
