By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, Impact Wrestling, MLW, ROH, GCW, and other notable live events. If you attend a show, you are encouraged to send a report or even basic results to dotnetjason@gmail.com
Absolute Intense Wrestling “JT Lightning Invitational, Night 2”
Streamed on FITE+
September 16, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio at Temple Live Asylum Room
This is JUST a review of night 2; I am skipping night 1, which occurred on Friday. It was announced earlier in the week that Eddie Kingston was off the show and was being replaced by Lance Archer. The format of this tournament was 12 first-round matches on Friday, then three 4-way second-round matches to open this show, with a three-way elimination-style finale in the main event.
This is a good-sized auditorium, so most of the seating is opposite the hard camera; the wrestlers came out from the stage. The lights are a bit too low and it’s hard to see the crowd but it appears to be 500 or more, with some seated in the risers. (Ringside cameras are fine but the hard camera is really dark.) Matt Wadsworth and Dustin Alberty provided commentary; I don’t know them.
1. Alec Price defeated Colin Delaney, Tre Lemar and Mikey Montgomery in a four-way, second-round tournament match at 10:02. Each of these four won a first-round match on Friday. Price fought at Wrestling Open on Thursday before heading to Cleveland for these shows. Delaney had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it run in WWE a decade ago, and he’s apparently the only wrestler to be in all 10 of the JT Lightning tournaments. Lemar is a Black man with a splash of brown in his hair and he’s appeared on AEW Dark several times. I don’t know Montgomery; he’s clearly quite young with blond hair.
Price hit a half-nelson suplex on Mikey at 4:30. Price hit a top-rope superplex. Tre Lemar hit a coast-to-coast missile dropkick. Tre dove through the ropes onto Delaney at 7:30. Mikey Montgomery leapt off a balcony perhaps 15 feet up and hit a moonsault onto all three below at 9:00. That’s an insane spot. In the ring, Mikey hit a rolling Death Valley Driver on Price. Tre hit a swinging faceplant on Mikey, then a top-rope elbow drop. Price nailed the Surprise Kick/step-up mule kick to pin Delaney. A spectacular final three minutes.
2. Eric Taylor (w/Duke) defeated Mance Warner, Magnum CK, and Chavo Guerrero Jr., in a four-way, second-round tournament match at 11:56. I haven’t seen Magnum CK before; he enters to the “Phantom of the Opera” theme and he wears an elaborate yellow robe. Chavo got a nice pop; he’s bald again but is in great shape. My first time also seeing Taylor, and he has Miz-style heelish charisma, but he’s really, really short, and Magnum towered over him and beat him down early. Chavo hit a tornado DDT on Magnum at 2:30. Mance hit a running knee on Chavo.
Mance hit the heel manager Duke, but it allowed Taylor to hit a running boot on Mance at 5:30. Chavo hit a back suplex on Taylor for a nearfall. Taylor hit a suplex and did the ‘Eddie hip swivel’ at 7:30, drawing massive boos. Chavo hit a Northern Lights suplex on Taylor. All four fought in the ring. Magnum and Mance finally squared off, and Magnum is a bit taller and definitely more muscular. Taylor went for a top-rope crossbody block but missed both of them, and that drew laughter. Chavo hit a top-rope crossbody block on both Mance and Magnum at 10:00. Chavo began hitting suplexes on everyone; “seven total Amigos,” a commentator said. Taylor hit Magnum with the brass knuckles and scored the cheap pin! This was a good mix of two guys I know well and two I don’t.
* NOTE: I always say I hate watching Mance Warner wrestle because of his willingness to take and receive unprotected blows to the head. I’m pleased to say there was none here.
* Chavo got on the mic and thanked the crowd and he thanked AIW. He got a nice “please come back!” chant. He ended by shouting “Viva La Raza!” A commercial aired for the AIW wrestling school.
3. Sam Halloway defeated Derek Dillinger (w/Ziggy Haim), Tom Lawlor, and Masato Tanaka in a four-way, second-round match at 9:31. Dillinger is a heavyset brawler. Halloway is a tall mat-based wrestler; think Julius Creed, and I’ve been impressed by him. He looks like a college wrestler in his singlet. They did a four-way collar-and-elbow tie-up to open. Tanaka hit a plancha to the floor on everyone at 2:30. Everyone took turns chopping the tall Halloway on the floor. In the ring, Dillinger and Lawlor beat up Tanaka. Dillinger and Tanaka traded unprotected chairshots to the head at 5:00; I hate that. Halloway hit a massive shoulder tackle that sent Lawlor flying.
All four traded punches while on their knees. They got up and traded forearm shots. Halloway hit a shotgun dropkick and a pumphandle fallaway slam at 8:30. Dillinger hit a German Suplex. Halloway hit a chokeslam to pin Dillinger. A fun brawl. The commentators said Halloway just debuted a year ago. After the match, Dillinger shoved Ziggy to the mat and she looked shocked he did that. Derek helped her to the feet, looking contrite, but then he hit a back suplex on her! Katie Arquette walked to the ring, and Dillinger left with Katie Arquette. The crowd was shocked by this development.
4. Austin James defeated Dex Royal at 6:28. My first time seeing Royal; he’s a thin Black man (think AR Fox); he lost in a first-round match to Colin Delaney. James (think NWA’s Jay Bradley), dressed in a baseball uniform and carrying a bat, lost in the first round to Lawlor. James has a size advantage. Royal hit a springboard crossbody block for a nearfall at 2:00. James hit a baseball slide German Suplex out of the ropes. James hit a pop-up powerbomb for a nearfall at 4:00. Dex hit a top-rope Spanish Fly for a nearfall. He missed a Shooting Star Press but landed on his feet. Royal came off the ropes but James caught him with a European Uppercut. James put Royal across his shoulders and swung him into a powerbomb for the pin. At times this felt like it was going at three-quarters speed but I see a lot of potential for both.
5. Dominic Garrini defeated Paul London at 9:58. Garrini and London are perhaps the best-known wrestlers to lose in the first-round on Friday. Garrini lost to Chavo while London lost to Alec Price. London is still wearing a white full-body outfit to hide his massive gut; this is not 2006-era London. He sang along to Lionel Richie’s “Hello” in some really bad kareoke. (Does he know how bad he is? Really?) The announcers said Garrini “was 10-0 this year until losing to Chavo;” I like that they keep track of wins and losses. London tried a shoulder tackle but he fell down after colliding with the bigger Dominic.
London hit an ugly huracanrana at 3:00. They traded chops on the floor. London grabbed a bag of trash and he whipped Dominic with it. Garrini hit a running kick on London. The announcers played up how disgusting it was that he was hitting Dominick with the trash bag, as it ripped open and made a mess. In the ring, Garrini nailed a back suplex for a nearfall at 9:00. Garrini nailed a Samoa Joe-style Musclebuster for the pin.
* I fast-forwarded over the intermission.
6. “Money Shot” Zach Nystrom & Elijah Dean defeated Tyson Riggs & Cisco Silver and “Members Only” Malcolm Cambrige and Calvin G. Lewis & Duke Davis and Gannon Jones in a four-way tag match to retain the AIW Tag Titles at 7:51. I don’t know any of these guys but I’ve probably seen one or two before; it’s been months since I’ve checked out an AIW show. Riggs or Silver are heels and are karate fighters. Cambridge and Lewis are Black men and wore LA Lakers jerseys. Duke and Gannon are tall Black men with long braids. Money Shot hit a double fallaway slam on the Members Only guys. Gannon Jones hit a Black Hole Slam for a nearfall at 6:00. Davis hit a chokeslam powerbomb. Riggs and Silver hit a team slam. Jones and Gannon hit an impressive team slam; however, Nystrom threw one of them to the floor and stole the pin. A bit messy but acceptable. Davis and Jones were definitely the most talented team in that match and were screwed out of the win.
7. Lance Archer defeated Joshua Bishop at 10:11. This is Archer’s AIW debut, and again, he’s a last-minute replacement for Eddie Kingston. Bishop is the Sid Vicious clone, so this is quite a big-man matchup and they just fought each other in August at a C*4 wrestling show I reviewed. Archer opened with some punches. Bishop hit a powerbomb for a nearfall at 1:30. They brawled into the crowd. Archer hit a chairshot across Bishop’s back. Back in the ring, Archer hit some chops and he was in charge.
Bishop nailed a Black Hole Slam at 6:30 and they were both down. Bishop hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. They grabbed each other’s throats; Archer hit a low blow then a chokeslam for a nearfall. Archer set up for Blackout, but Bishop wiggled free. Bishop nailed a Razor’s Edge overhead powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 9:30; I thought that was it. Archer nailed the Blackout flipping slam for the clean pin. A really good big-man matchup.
8. Isaiah Broner defeated Matthew Justice to retain the AIW Title at 10:45. Broner is a thick Black man, similar to Ahmed Johnson or Ezekial Jackson. They pounded fists to show they are both babyfaces, then they had an intense lockup. Justice hit a top-rope flying shoulder tackle. They fought on the floor. They fought onto the stage, near the commentary table. “Let’s not break things! This is a nice venue!” one commentator said. Broner suplexed Justice on the entrance ramp at 4:30. Broner picked him up and rammed Justice face-first into the ring post.
Justice hit a running summersault off a speaker onto Broner on the floor at 6:30. In the ring, Broner hit a fallaway slam, tossing Justice onto a chair! Ouch. Justice charged at Broner, but Broner speared him mid-air and got a nearfall, and they were both down at 9:00. Justice hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Broner hit a hard clothesline, then a Lesnar-style F5 Slam for the pin. A really good brawl.
9. “The Philly Marino Experience” Philly Collins and Marino Tenaglia defeated Matt Cardona and Steph De Lander at 12:46. Cardona jawed at a kid in the front row. SDL explained how she is one-half of one-half of one-half of the WWE’s women’s tag team titles, showing a bit of Steiner Math. Cardona got on the mic and ripped AIW and the fans. With his short curly hair, Tenaglia has a passing resemblance to Kenny Omega, Collins is similar to Joe Gacy, and they are party frat boys. Cardona and Collins started, but Matt bailed before tying up. Steph tagged in; a shoulder tackle didn’t budge Collins. Steph hit a Mafia Kick, then a German suplex, on the smaller Marino at 2:30.
Collins hit a double clothesline. They did some raunchy adult humor on Cardona and SDL. Marino hit a dive to the floor on the heels. Marino charged at Cardona, but SDL nailed a POUNCE that sent Marino over the guardrail and into the crowd at 6:00. In the ring, Cardona hit some punches on Tenaglia and he choked Marino. Cardona nailed the running boot for a nearfall at 8:00. Steph hit a snap suplex for a nearfall as they kept Tenaglia in their corner. Collins finally made the hot tag and he hit a spin heel kick on Cardona for a nearfall, then a Samoan Drop on Steph, then a senton on SDL for a nearfall. Collins accidentally clotheslined the ref at 10:30.
PME hit a doubelstomp-and-DDT combo on Cardona for a visual pin, but the ref was down. Out came Bill Alfonso to a nice pop and he made a two-count before being pulled from the ring. Cardona hit a a double low blow. Cardona hit a Rough Ryder and he demanded Alfonso make the count. Alfonso stopped at the two count. SDL and Cardona charged but collided into each other. PME hit a team Flatliner spot to pin Cardona. A fun match.
* The trophy, about three feet tall, was placed in the center of the ring. The winner “gets to call their title shot, any time, any place,” so essentially a money in the bank.
10. Eric Taylor (w/Duke) defeated Sam Halloway and Alec Price in a three-way elimination match to win the JT Lightning Invitational at 17:26. Halloway should win this but we’ll see. Taylor told Price they should team up on the bigger Halloway. Price hit a springboard crossbody block on Taylor. Halloway tossed Price all the way across the ring at 2:00. Duke distracted Halloway, and Taylor hit a chop block, and he began kicking at Sam’s knee. Halloway hit a German Suplex. Halloway might be 6’5″; he is just towering over both opponents. Taylor hit a flip dive to the floor on Halloway at 5:30. Price dove onto both of them.
Price hit a tornado DDT on the floor on Taylor. Price charged at Taylor, but Halloway hit a POUNCE that sent Price over the guardrail. (Same spot SDL did the prior match but this was so much more impressive!) In the ring, Price hit a top-rope doublestomp to the chest, and everyone was down at 10:00. Price hit a springboard kick and he was fired up. Taylor hit a powerbomb to pin Price at 11:41, and the match continued. Sam struggled to get to his feet, and Taylor kicked at the damaged left knee. Halloway hit a bodyslam for a nearfall at 14:00.
The Duke got in the ring with a chair but Halloway hit a chokeslam and shoved Duke to the floor. However, Taylor grabbed the chair and hit Halloway on the knee. He hit a running kick. Money Shots hit the ring and helped beat up Halloway’s knee. Taylor punched at Halloway’s knee. He slammed the chair across the knee at 17:00. Taylor hit a swinging faceplant onto a folded chair to pin Halloway. Wow… even with that beatdown, I thought Halloway was winning this.
Final Thoughts: The wrestling was fine, the commentary was good, but the biggest drawback was the lighting. It would have just been better to have the lights on than have this relatively dark ring, especially from the hard camera. Even though he didn’t win the tournament, Halloway is a rising star, with his size and what I presume is some legit amateur wrestling background, and I think they shouul have pulled the trigger and have him win. I’ll go with Price’s show-opening four-way for best match, Archer-Bishop for second and Broner-Justice for third place.
Paul London is no longer the thin high-flyer who impressed so much in ROH and WWE. We see so many wrestlers in their mid-40s in great shape today… and London just isn’t in that type of physical shape. I truly don’t write that to be cruel, but acknowledging that the guy who awed and impressed me 20 years ago… this isn’t him now.
All that said, this tournament was a fun mix of newcomers, top indy stars (Price, Lawlor, Bishop) and aging veterans (Chavo, London, Tanaka). This show can be viewed at Fite+.
Be the first to comment