By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Absolute Intense Wrestling “Against The World”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
August 1, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio at Temple Live
This is a venue AIW regularly uses, and TNA is slated to use it, too. Lighting over the ring is good; the fans are in the dark but they draw really well here and I’m guessing 600-700 fans in the stands. Because this is a theater, the ring is pushed up next to a stage. Matt Wadsworth and Dustin Alberty provided commentary. With Kenta and the Motor City Machine Guns in action, this looked like a show I needed to check out.
NOTE: Wrestletix on Twitter/X notes that the setup for this building is 1,150 capacity, so I’m confident that 700 fans for this show is about right. Also worth pointing out that GCW is using this building on Friday, ahead of Summer Slam here in Cleveland.
* The cameras showed several of the top stars pulling up to the building.
1. Joseline Navarro defeated Rachel Armstrong at 7:31. They accidentally ran Armstrong’s graphic as Navarro came out first. Joseline has a significant size advantage; Rachel is the babyface and high-fived fans on her way to the ring. Joseline slapped her in the face and celebrated. Rachel hit a huracanrana. Rachel dropkicked her to the floor, then she hit a flip dive onto Navarro at 2:30. Joseline took over as they got back into the ring. Rachel hit a standing neckbreaker. Rachel hit some flying forearms. She hit a dive through the ropes to the floor at 5:30. Rachel hit a top-rope Meteora onto Joseline on the ring apron! She got a nearfall in the ring. Joseline hit a Mark Henry Slam for a nearfall. Joseline hit a DDT for the pin. Solid match.
2. Dominic Garrini defeated 1 Called Manders at 7:11. These are two big, hard-hitters! Manders charged and they immediately traded forearm strikes. Garrini hit a dive to the floor; he went for a second one but Manders caught him and hit a Bulldog Powerslam onto the wood floor at 1:00! In the ring, Manders hit some hard chops. They hit simultaneous clotheslines. They traded chops while on their knees, then while standing. Garrini hit a back suplex, then a brainbuster for a nearfall at 4:30. Manders hit another Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall. Garrini hit a hard clothesline; Manders nailed an even more stiff clothesline for a nearfall at 6:30. Garrini hit some kneelifts to the gut, then a piledriver for the pin. Really good for the time given.
3. Sam Holloway defeated Tyler Jordan, Dr. Daniel Rockingham, Tre Lemar, Dex Royal, and Mikey Montgomery in a scramble at 8:23. Dex is a babyface here and he high-fived fans. Rockingham wears a glittery jacket and I always think of him as a manager, not a wrestler. Holloway is the tall athlete I compare to Julius Creed, and he towers over everyone. A lot of AIW’s best young rising stars are in this. Dex hit a basement dropkick on Holloway. Mikey leapt off the ropes, but Sam caught him, and Sam swung Mikey around and used him as a weapon! Montgomery hit a back suplex on Rockingham at 2:00.
Jordan (I’ve compared him to Jason Jordan) hit some punches on Rockingham and a snap Dragon Suplex. Sam hit a suplex on Jordan into the corner, then a stiff shotgun dropkick on Jordan. Tre dove through the ropes to the floor, then a top-rope crossbody block on Dex in the ring at 4:00, then a flip dive to the floor. Montgomery (think a young Brian “Spanky” Kendrick) hit a top-rope moonsault to the floor on everyone. The big Holloway dove over the top rope onto everyone!
This is really good action. Jordan hit a top-rope superplex. Tre hit a top-rope swinging neckbreaker move on Jordan. Mikey hit a top-rope flying double knees, then a Sliced Bread on Tre at 6:30. Dex hit a Spanish Fly on Mikey, then a stunner! Holloway hit a splash on Rockingham. Rockingham tossed Dex onto the middle turnbuckle. Sam nailed a top-rope frogsplash to pin Rockingham. A lot of great young talent in this match. I admittedly don’t care much for Rockingham, but the other five are the clear future of AIW.
4. “PME” Philly Collins and Marino Tenaglia (w/Bill Alfonso) defeated “Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin at 13:49. The commentators said this is a first-time-ever meeting. Shelley and Collins opened and I’ll reiterate how much Collins has slimmed down in the past year. Tenaglia and Sabin locked up at 1:30, and a commentator said Marino grew up watching these guys and it’s why he became a wrestler. Friendly reversals early on. The Guns started working over Tenaglia, and Shelley started to strut and got booed.
Alex began targeting the left elbow. Collins hit a splash in the corner on Shelley. Tenaglia hit a bulldog on Shelley for a nearfall at 4:30. Shelley hit a Flatliner, sending Collins into the middle turnbuckle. The Guns hit their quick team offense on Marino. They hit front-and-back clotheslines on Collins at 6:00, and they began working Marino over in their corner. Shelley applied a straitjacket sleeper at 8:30. Collins finally got the hot tag. Sabin hit a missile dropkick on Philly.
The Guns hit a Magic Killer team swinging slam for a nearfall at 10:00. Sabin hit a missile dropkick to the back as Shelley hit a Flatliner! Nice team move. Alfonso pulled the ref from the ring so he couldn’t make the pin count! Sabin accidentally kicked Shelley! Philly slammed Marino onto Sabin, then Philly hit a senton for a nearfall. Marino hit a doublestomp on Sabin for a believable nearfall at 12:30. Sabin hit a tornado DDT on Tenaglia, then a stunner. More quick team offense from the Guns on Philly. However, Marino mouse-trapped Sabin’s arms, rolled him up with a seatbelt cover, and scored the flash pin out of nowhere! The crowd loved the finish.
5. Kaplan defeated John Wayne Murdoch at 9:36. Murdoch wore a GCW shirt, so does that make him a heel here? (GCW IS running here in 24 hours!) He got on the mic — it isn’t the best sound — but he promised it was time to get hardcore. The rotund Kaplan came to the ring, holding a chair. They immediately brawled and the action spilled to the floor. Kaplan hit him across the back with the barbed-wire chair. Murdoch hit a hard chairshot to the head at 2:30 and I HATE that. Murdoch tossed Kaplan off the apron and through a table set up on the floor at 5:00, but he only got a one-count. In the ring, Kaplan hit a crossbody block.
Murdoch hit another UNPROTECTED chairshot to the top of the head and that is disgusting. (Kaplan, this doesn’t make you ‘tough,’ this makes you stupid for willingly taking that blow.) Kaplan hit a fallaway slam onto an open chair at 7:00. Murdoch hit a THIRD, a FOURTH and a FIFTH UNPROTECTED CHAIRSHOT to the head. Kaplan somehow no-sold it and hit a clothesline for a nearfall. Kaplan charged but he crashed through a door set up in the corner. Murdoch spread a bag full of thumbtacks onto the mat. However, Kaplan hit him with a door shard, then a piledriver onto the tacks for the pin. I just can’t condone those unprotected chairshots to the head, and I just couldn’t enjoy this because of it.
6. “To Infinity and Beyond” Cheech & Colin Delaney defeated Davey Bang & August Matthews and “Latinos Most Wanted” Koda Hernandez & Sabin Gauge and “Los Desperados” Gringo Loco & Arez in a four-way tag at 16:15. Arez and Delaney opened; the other six were on the ring apron. Arez hit a Pele Kick and a Falcon Arrow. Matthews entered and hit a standing moonsault on Arez at 2:00. Koda hit an Exploder Suplex. Bang hit a handspring-back-elbow. Loco and Gauge traded offense, with Sabin hitting a huracanrana. Arez entered and hit some HARD chops on Sabin, and Gringo hit a standing moonsault on Sabin. Bang hit a top-rope crossbody block on Gringo Loco at 5:00.
Bang hit an axe kick to the back of someone’s head. Delaney hit a stunner on Bang. Cheech hit a German Suplex for a nearfall on Matthews. Bang hit his moonsault to the floor while Matthews hit a dive to the floor at 7:30. Koda and Loco brawled, and Loco hit a moonsault on him, then a flip dive to the floor on everyone. Arez hit a Triangle Moonsault onto everyone and that popped the crowd. In the ring, Arez hit a leaping DDT. Loco hit a leap off a back and hit a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall at 10:30.
Gauge hit a double Pele Kick. Koda hit a flying crossbody block. Gauge hit his own Swanton Bomb. Koda hit an Angel’s Wings on Loco for a believable nearfall. B&M hit their team doublestomps to Sabin’s back. Bang nailed the Spears Tower for a believable nearfall at 13:00. Delaney and Cheech hit a team Flatliner move for a nearfall. They hit a team faceplant on August for a nearfall. Bang hit a Poison Rana out of the corner! Matthews hit a tornado DDT. Koda hit an enzuigiri on Delaney. Cheech and Delaney hit a team piledriver move to pin Koda. A surprising winner; a fun, messy match in the best way possible.
7. Eric Taylor (w/The Duke) defeated Heath (Slater) at 10:05. I’ve compared the slim, dark-haired Taylor to VSK. It’s been a bit since I’ve seen Heath in action. Under Heath’s name in the intro it read “he’s got kids” so this gimmick is never going to end. The bell rang but Taylor jawed at the crowd, and he rolled to the floor and stalled. They finally locked up with standing switches, and Heath is definitely bigger and thicker. Eric went back to the floor and stalled some more. In the ring, Heath hit a clothesline at 4:30, and Taylor went right to the floor to confer with Duke. Heath followed to the floor and they brawled on the stage, then back at ringside.
Taylor whipped Heath head-first into the ring post at 6:00. In the ring, Taylor hit a standing neckbreaker and took control, hitting a dropkick at 7:30. Heath fired up and hit a series of punches and a jumping knee, then a powerslam for a nearfall at 9:30. While the Duke distracted the ref, Taylor hit a low blow punt kick, then he rolled up Heath for the cheap pin. Pretty basic; about what you’d expect. Heath hit the Zig/Zag leaping inverted DDT on Taylor after the match to get his heat back.
* Johnny Gargano walked onto the stage and got a MASSIVE pop! This was not announced in advance. He high-fived fans at ringside, as the commentators talked about his past championships in AIW. Gargano wore his WWE Tag Team Title belt. He got on the mic and referenced himself as “the king of Cleveland” and he got more cheers. “We’re in the midst of the biggest pro wrestling weekend in Cleveland history,” he said. “So of course I had to come back home to AIW. And I had to come home, as one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions.” (He held the belt above his head. “Speaking of one-half of the tag team champions, I didn’t come alone.”
* Out of the back came Tomasso Ciampa, who also had his belt around his waist! (I was not aware any of this happened when I started watching this show.) The crowd chanted “D.I.Y.!!” Gargano said he “got some hardcore goosebumps when I came out.” Ciampa got on the mic and said he is going to give the crowd some “DX.” He stood on the ring apron, covered himself in water and sprayed water (a la HHH.) Gargano was grossed out, telling Ciampa that he just spit on all these fans in the front row. “Guys, how freakin’ cool is this,” Gargano said. “The fact we are able to make this happen…” He said he and Ciampa will be down the street on Friday as the tag team champions, and they will be in the main event of Smackdown.
Ciampa got on the mic and acknowledged he wasn’t in AIW often, but he loves being at indy shows, saying it’s what made him fall in love with wrestling. Ciampa ended by saying “We got two words for you! (He paused then added) “Thank you.” Classy. Gargano got back on the mic and put over the AIW locker room. He also thanked the fans. So glad I didn’t know this was coming!
8. Anthony Greene defeated Wes Barkley to win the Intense Title at 5:54. Greene has been so good in his post-NXT run, often competing in NOAH. Standing switches to open. Barkley hit a series of punches in the corner. Greene hit a butterfly suplex at 2:30. Greene mounted Barkley and hit a series of punches. They brawled to the floor, and Greene accidentally chopped the ring post. In the ring, Barkley missed a moonsault. Greene got an Unprettier faceplant and scored the pin! However, Barkley’s foot was on the ropes; Greene kicked the foot off the rope so the ref didn’t see it.
* Someone came to ringside and explained the situation to the referee. (I hate this; what happened to ‘the official’s decision is final?’) The match must continue!
8b. Wes Barkley defeated Anthony Greene to regain/retain the Intense Title at 3:19. They traded reversals and Barkley hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall. Greene hit a dive through the ropes onto Barkley for a nearfall, then a superkick. He again hit the Unprettier, but this time he only got a nearfall at 2:30. Greene got irate and he shoved the ref, then he chopped the ref! The ref got mad and hit a chop on Greene! Barkley hit a Michinoku Driver for the pin. Okay stuff, even though I hate the cherry picking of when a match is restarted after interference/cheating.
9. Kenta defeated Isaiah Broner at 15:13. I thought this would be the main event. An intense lockup to open and Broner (think Ahmed Johnson; he’s even wearing red trunks today) easily shoved him to the mat, and Kenta rolled to the floor to regroup. Kenta got back in the ring and hit a series of kicks, then a stiff kick to the spine at 2:30. Broner hit a hard clothesline, and Kenta again went to the floor. Broner followed and hit some hard chops. He was in charge as they fought back into the ring. He easily hip-tossed Kenta across the ring and got a nearfall at 6:30, then a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall.
Kenta hit a top-rope flying clothesline at 8:30. He tried an Irish Whip but he couldn’t move Broner. Kenta hit a powerslam for a nearfall. Kenta hit his flying dropkicks into the corner, but he missed a top-rope doublestomp. Broner hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. Kenta hit a powerbomb for a nearfall, then he hit the top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall at 11:30. Broner hit a tombstone piledriver for a nearfall. Kenta locked in a crossface, and he switched to a modified Triangle Choke, but Broner hit a powerbomb to escape at 14:00, and they were both down. Kenta nailed the Go To Sleep pop-up kneestrike and scored the pin. A good match and very watchable.
10. Chuck Stone defeated Alec Price, Derek Dillinger (w/Katie Arquette) and Joshua Bishop in a four-way to retain the Absolute Title at 14:18. Stone and Dillinger, like Kaplan earlier, are rotund brawlers. The bell rang and Stone (think Ivar) rolled to the floor rather than lock up with anyone. Price hit a huracanrana on Dillinger, then a springboard crossbody block. Price tried one on Bishop, but Josh caught him, and Josh hit a fallaway slam at 2:30. Dillinger and Bishop traded chops, and Derek hit a forward Finlay Roll. Stone hit a sideslam on Price, then he powerbombed Bishop onto Price for a nearfall.
Stone hit rolling cannonballs on each of the opponents. Price hit his running kneestrikes in each corner. Bishop shoved Price over the top rope to the floor. In a great spot, Price hit a springboard dive over the guardrail and onto all the opponents on the floor at 7:00. Bishop hit a chairshot to Stone’s back as they brawled on the floor. Bishop slammed Stone onto the guardrail. Price dove off the top corner onto Bishop on the floor. Price hit a top-rope flying back elbow, and suddenly all four were down. Price hit a superkick on Stone, then his springboard Blockbuster.
Price and Bishop squared off and traded forearm strikes. Dillinger hit a German Suplex, dropping Bishop through a board in the corner at 11:00. Arquette pulled the ref to the floor and they argued. Price dove to the floor on Arquette! In the ring, Bishop hit a Black Hole Slam on Price for a believable nearfall. Bishop set up a board bridge. Price hit a tornado DDT on Dillinger. Bishop hit a headbutt on Dillinger, then a chairshot to the back. Bishop hit a Razor’s Edge, tossing Dillinger through the board bridge. However, Stone immediately shoved Bishop to the floor and ‘stole’ the pin on Dillinger. Stone grabbed his belt and raced onto the stage, where he celebrated with his heel faction. Okay match.
Final Thoughts: AIW brought out the big guns for this huge show to kick off SummerSlam weekend early. I’ll go with Guns vs. PME for best match, that great rising stars scramble for second, and Kenta-Broner for third. The Gargano and Ciampa appearances were fun. The four-team tag match was good. Heath is solid, but in retrospect, I would have booked Taylor-Greene and Heath-Barkley, as I think Taylor-Greene would have been really good.
My complaints would be that the corners of the ring were still too dark, and often, the wrestlers were too bathed in white from the ringside cameras. The only thing I disliked about the action is those unnecessary FIVE unprotected chairshots to the head. I’d rather have a bloody forehead, or even glass and light tubes, than those unprotected blows. It soured me on that particular match. This was a long show, clocking in at nearly four hours.
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