By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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AAW “Uno Mas”
May 6, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois Irving Hall
Replay available via YouTube.com
This show was just released, for free, on YouTube. Unfortunately, it meant mid-match commercial breaks. The hard camera is on the second level, giving us a different view down into the ring. The crowd is in 300-400 range. Joe Dombrowski provided commentary. Like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, AAW mutes entrance music out of concern of copyrights; it was distracting when the sound suddenly vanished, but I understand the reasoning.
It has been perhaps a year since I last saw an AAW show; so, I know most of the wrestlers but not the current storylines.
* We opened with a backstage interview, where Jake Something promised he would not lose his AAW title.
1. Shane Hollister defeated Jah-C at 5:09. Jah-C is a Black man; Hollister is white and wears black, and reminds me of Sami Callihan. Jah-C charged into the ring and they immediately brawled. Hollister got a rollup with a handful of tights for the pin out of nowhere! Solid while it lasted.
2. Sierra defeated Shazza McKenzie at 9:01. Shazza is the Australian who recently moved to the U.S.; she wears Natalya-style pink-and-black, and she berated the crowd. Sierra is the babyface with white-ish blonde hair. They brawled to the floor, where Shazza leaned her back against the guardrail and chopped her. Shazza remained in charge in the ring. Sierra fired up and hit some forearms and a running elbow in the corner at 7:00, then a Meteora running double knees and a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Shazza hit a Saito Suplex and a running knee in the corner for a nearfall. Sierra nailed a backpack stunner for the pin. Solid match. A really nice applause for the win.
3. Robert Anthony defeated Isaiah Moore at 12:34. Anthony is now a 20-year indy vet and he’s currently competing in NWA as the masked Cyon. He wore a Robert Roode-style robe to the ring and he jawed at fans. Moore is a Black man I’ve seen a lot lately in Midwest indies; he’s of average size with a full beard, and he’s smaller than Anthony. Moore walked the top rope and hit an armdrag. Anthony hit a swinging faceplant at 4:30, and he tied Moore in a surfboard, and Anthony was in charge.
Moore fired back with some chops, and they traded blows. Moore hit a doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall at 10:00, then a frogsplash for a nearfall. Anthony hit a standing powerbomb, and he applied a half-crab. Moore hit a satellite DDT for a believable nearfall. Anthony hit a rolling Death Valley Driver for the pin. Good match. The crowd loudly booed Anthony.
* Anthony got on the mic and said he would never face Mance Warner in a brawl. He challenged Warner to a “Pure Rules” match.
4. “Thrillbilly” Silas Mason defeated Anthony Catena, Brayden Lee, Dante Leon, Hartenbower and Solomon Tupu in a six-way at 9:00. Silas has been competing in NWA and he’s much larger than his opponents here. Catena wore a red vest and red glasses; he has the cockiness and look of the late Brian Christopher. Brayden is a white man with a generic look and short hair with the sides of his head shaved. Leon wears his tye-dye, and he has green hair with purple streaks; he has competed recently in NOAH. Hartenbower looks a lot like Josh Alexander. My first time seeing Tupu; think Bronson Reed’s facial features but 50-100 pounds lighter.
Silas and Hartenbower beat up the smaller competitors while glaring at each other. Catena and Tupu crotched Silas around the ring post at 3:30. Dante hit a moonsault senton move. Brayden hit a Lungblower move to the chin. Mason hit a top-rope flying shoulder tackle on Tupu, then a standing powerbomb on Leon. Brayden hit a shotgun dropkick. Silas and Hartenbower again squared off at 8:00 and traded punches. Silas nailed a twisting Boss Man Slam on Catena for the pin. Good scramble.
* Backstage, Fred Yehi was determined he was going to beat Jake Something tonight.
5. Joe Alonzo (w/Chuck Smooth) defeated Heather Reckless in an intergender match at 12:39. Again, Heather is only about 4’9″, so Alonzo is taller. He came to ringside first and seemed pensive. Chuck Smooth told Alonzo he needs to do what needs to be done, and he needs “to beat this little bitch,” drawing loud boos. Alonzo got on the mic and said, “I can’t. I’m sorry Chuck, I can’t do this.” Only in the topsy-turvy world of pro wrestling, the crowd booed Alonzo for not wanting to beat up a woman. Alonzo confessed that he can’t stop thinking about Heather, and he has feelings for her, and he accidentally called her “baby.”
However, he said he has fallen in love “with the idea of ending her professional wrestling career tonight.” He then ripped into her looks, fully being a jerk now. He said she may be a 10 in Iowa, but she’s a 4 or 3 in Chicago. “You simply aren’t good enough,” he said. She slapped him at 5:30 (yes the bell rang before he started speaking.) She hit a huracanrana for a nearfall. She dropped him throat-first over the top rope, and she hit a top-rope huracanrana. He dragged her out of the ring and chopped her in front of the crowd. In the ring, he punched her in the gut. He hit a Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall at 9:00.
Alonzo repeatedly rammed her head into the second turnbuckle. Alonzo hit a delayed vertical suplex and he applied a crossface. She hit a low blow uppercut and a Stomp for a believable nearfall. She hit several kicks to the face and a Shining Wizard. She went to the top rope, but Chuck Smooth grabbed her ankle. It allowed Alonzo to grab her and hit a Jay White-style Blade Runner spinning faceplant for the pin. Alonzo kept hitting her after the bell until Conan Lycan made the save.
6. Jake Something defeated Fred Yehi to retain the AAW Heavyweight Title at 25:35. Yehi had a nice run in New Japan Strong. They traded intense reversals and this has a big-match feel to it. (I have to believe if they didn’t have Fenix-Loco, this would have been the main event.) Jake hit his running crossbody. Yehi hit a German Suplex. They brawled to the floor, and Jake slammed Fred into the guardrail at 4:30. Back in the ring, Jake was in control. Yehi applied a leglock around the neck.
They traded stiff forearm shots. Jake stomped on him. Yehi locked in a Koji Clutch at 11:00. He dove through the ropes onto Jake, and they brawled some more on the floor. Jake hit a spear. They brawled on the apron. Yehi got a railroad spike at 19:00 and he jabbed it into Fred’s forehead! (How is that not a DQ???) In the ring, Yehi was now in complete control, hitting repeated kneestrikes. Jake nailed a sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall. Yehi hit a Dragon Suplex, and he went back to a Koji Clutch; Jake was tapping out but was in the ropes at the same time, so the ref ordered the match to continue.
Yehi slammed a chairshot across the back. Jake hit a Black Hole Slam out of nowhere for a believable nearfall at 24:00. Jake hit a Death Valley Driver, then another powerbomb. Howver, Fred applied a Triangle Choke, but Jake hit a third powerbomb to escape. He hit a fourth powerbomb, then a second Black Hole Slam for the pin. That was incredibly good. AAW put this show out for free, and it’s probably because they felt they had a good match (like this) to showcase.
* Intermission was edited out.
7. Ren Jones (w/Xavier Walker) defeated Sean Logan at 4:06. Ren is a short Black man who reminds me of Rich Swann; he lost to LA Knight on WWE Smackdown in January. Logan is white and has a passing resemblance to Pete Dunne. Ren was laughing, not taking this seriously. Logan got in some early offense. Ren hit a chinbreaker over his knee and a Samoan Drop with a cocky cover for a nearfall at 3:00. Logan hit a Lungblower for a nearfall. Ren hit a Mafia Kick, then a pumphandle powerbomb for the pin. Solid squash.
* Ren got on the mic and jawed some more, which brought out another opponent, the white, bald, tattoo-covered Russ Jones! He is short and muscular.
8. Russ Jones defeated Ren Jones (w/Xavier Walker) via DQ at 5:26. Russ hit a snap suplex, sending Russ to the floor. In the ring, Ren hit some chops. Russ hit a running boot to the chest, then a brainbuster for a nearfall at 3:30. Ren hit a powerbomb but Russ kicked out at one. Xavier Walker attacked Russ, causing the disqualification.
9. Big Beef defeated Conan Lycan at 12:49. Lycan has long black hair and darker features; he’s a mix of Rhino and Roman Reigns. Beef is heavier; he’s a mix of Sami Callihan and MLW’s Ricky Shane Page. Beef hit a Thesz Press and some punches. Lycan hit a top-rope twisting Blockbuster for a nearfall at 5:00. Beef hit a bulldog and they were both down. Beef hit a big bodyslam at 8:30; he has a bloody nose. Beef hit a Saito Suplex for a nearfall.
Lycan hit a spinebuster for a nearfall at 10:30. Lycan hit a sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall. Beef hit a discus clothesline, then a crossbody block as Lycan was in the ropes. Beef nailed a top-rope frogsplash for the pin. That was hard-hitting and exactly what you’d want from two big men.
* In a pre-show segment, Gringo Loco was interviewed outside, and he’s excited for his match later against Rey Fenix. Everett came out first, but was attacked from behind! In the ring, a heel John E. Bravo spoke on the mic, and he’s managing the Heritage Champion, Davey Vega.
10. Davey Vega (w/John E. Bravo) defeated Levi Everett to retain the AAW Heritage Championship at 9:48. Everett is the butter-churning Mormon. The match began as soon as Everett was able to crawl in the ring. Vega (think Cameron Grimes) stomped on Everett and dominated early. Everett hit a diving forearm for a nearfall at 5:00. Vega grabbed the butter churn and swung it, but Everett ducked it. Everett got the butter churn and hit Vega with it, then he tossed the churn to a heel and he collapsed (Eddie spot.) The referee turned around, saw the heel holding it, and tossed him out.
Everett went for a top-rope diving headbutt, but Vega hit him with the butter churn and he got a believable nearfall at 8:30. Vega threatened to hit the ref, but the ref didn’t back down. Vega hit a spear for a believable nearfall. Everett pushed Vega into Hartenbower, and Everett began to punch Hartenbower. However, Vega got a rollup with a handful of tights for the cheap pin. Solid match. The crowd chanted “bullshit!” at the tainted win.
11. Rey Fenix defeated Gringo Loco at 15:29. Gringo got on the mic and said Fenix is the best luchador in the world, but Fenix is in the ring with the fastest rising star in the world. “If you think you’re going to come into my house and run all over me, you’ve got another thing coming, buddy,” Loco said. They opened by trading chops. Fenix hit a dive to the floor. In the ring, Loco raked at the face and tore at the mask. Loco hit his modified Angle Slam, dropping Fenix stomach-first, for a nearfall at 5:00. Fenix hit a pair of superkicks and a spin kick in the corner, then a running punt kick off the ropes.
Fenix nailed a top-rope frogsplash for a nearfall. Loco hit an enzuigiri at 8:00. Fenix hit a spin kick out of the ropes. Loco hit a top-rope diving stunner. Fenix hopped up, hit another superkick, and they were both down. They got up and traded stiff forearm shots. Fenix snapped off a mid-ring huracanrana for a believable nearfall. Fenix hit a huracanrana out of the corner for a nearfall at 11:30, and they were both down again. Loco hit a top-rope Spanish Fly for a nearfall.
They fought on the ropes in the corner, and Loco hit a twisting, top-rope Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall at 14:30. A cool move I am under-selling. Fenix hit a Poison Rana, then a stunner for the pin! What a match. Fenix got on the mic and thanked everyone. Fans pelted them with crumpled-up dollar bills. They hugged. Loco got on the mic and said it was an honor and privilege to share the ring with Fenix. “You are literally my idol, my inspiration, and the greatest luchador living on the planet today,” Loco said.
Final Thoughts: Yes, I’ll go with the main event for best match, but Jake Something-Fred Yehi is a close second place, as those two really busted their butts. Beef-Lycan topped all expectations and earned third place.
I am not a fan of intergender matches, because quite frankly, this is how they would play out in real life. Alfonzo belittled her then beat the heck out of her. Sure, it was compelling, in a way that staring at a car crash scene is compelling.
I get it. I understand not playing the entrance music because of copyright issues. But it sure was distracting to have the sound completely cut out. It is worth checking out this show, if for nothing else, the top matches I’ve mentioned above.
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