By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, TNA, GCW, MLW, ROH, and other notable live events and tapings. If you attend a show, you are encouraged to send a report or even basic results to dotnetjason@gmail.com
AAW “War is Coming”
May 17, 2025, in Berwyn, Illinois at Berwyn Eagles Club
Replay available via YouTube.com
This was just released for free on YouTube a couple of days ago. Berwyn is just west of downtown Chicago, and I’ve attended live events in this venue before. It’s small, so a crowd of maybe 300 makes it feel absolutely packed. Lighting is good. I am pretty sure I’ve seen everyone in this lineup before.
* I’ve noted this before, but AAW mutes intro music. I get it, I understand it, but it sure breaks up the flow of the show.
1. Solomon Tupu vs. KC Reynolds vs. Ryan Matthias vs. Victor Iniestra vs. Shain Boucher vs. Jake Something in a scramble match. I wrote their names in order of their introduction. Tupu is the mini-version of Bronson Reed, and I’m a fan. Reynolds and Matthias are a regular tag team, so I presume they’ll work together. Shain is the Lash LeRoux-style Cajun heel. Jake Something has been out of action with an injury, and the crowd popped for his return. He hit some shoulder blocks. Tupu hit a German Suplex on Shain, then two more. He hit a fallaway slam. Matthias and Reynolds worked together, and one tried to cover the other.
Jake hit a running body block on (the much smaller) Iniestra. They all fought on the floor. Shain dove onto a pile of guys. Iniestra hit a top-rope flip dive onto the pile at 3:30. Matthias (think long-haired Peter Avalon) unloaded a series of punches. Tupu and Jake traded forearm strikes in the middle of the ring, and they hit stereo clotheslines and were both down. Iniestra botched a 619 so bad he should change his name to Zelina Vega. (I joke!) Tupu hit a uranage in the corner at 6:30. Tupu hit a frogsplash onto two guys. However, Jake hit the Into the Void (Black Hole Slam) and pinned Iniestra. Good high-energy opener.
Jake Something defeated Solomon Tupu, KC Reynolds, Ryan Matthias, Victor Iniestra, and Shain Boucher in a scramble at 7:13.
* Backstage, Zeeko (formerly Karam) was speaking. Tupu walked by, and he called Tupu an “underachiever.” They began shoving each other.
* Back to the venue, Ace Perry came to the ring. He was joined by Boucher, who was selling a lower back injury from that scramble. Ace has always struck me as a wannabe Hardy Boy with his tight shirts that don’t quite fit. The crowd booed him, but he boasted that he just got back from a Japan tour. He’s livid he’s not scheduled for a match tonight. He called out the AAW champion Ren Jones!
2. Ren Jones vs. Ace Perry (w/Shain Boucher) for the AAW Heavyweight Title. The powerhouse Ren Jones has grown his hair out and is looking more like Chris Bey; he’s had several AEW TV matches now. Ren came to ringside. Ace hit a flip dive to the floor on him. They got in the ring and we had a bell at 00:18 to begin; Perry hit an OsCutter for a nearfall just seconds later! A commentator said Ace got in from Japan earlier in the day and came straight to the Eagles Club. Ren hit an impressive dive over the top rope, going over the guardrail, and crashing onto Perry in the crowd!
Ren hit a flying bulldog for a nearfall at 2:00. He hit a suplex and a sit-out powerbomb. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Ren hit a Gory Bomb for a nearfall at 5:30. Ace hit a superkick and a Lethal Injection, then another OsCutter for a nearfall. These guys have worked at a fast pace. Shain slid the title belt into the ring; Ace got it, swung and missed. Ace hit a low blow mule kick for a nearfall. Ren hit a Mafia Kick and a pumphandle powerbomb for the pin. Good action.
Ren Jones defeated Ace Perry to retain the AAW Heavyweight Title at 6:54/official time of 6:36.
* Backstage, Hartenbower talked about his rehab and therapy to be able to return to the ring, just to face Sean Logan. Tonight, there are no restrictions, “just pure violence.”
3. Robert Anthony vs. Zeeko for the AAW Heritage Title. I hate that they have put together a nice video package for Anthony, but play it without sound. (Again, I get the copyright concerns, but it sure does make this harder to watch.) Both are big men with good physiques, and they opened in an intense lockup. They fought to the floor and traded chops along the guardrails. Zeeko got into the ring and did some push-ups at 4:00 and was booed. Anthony got back in, and they traded more punches.
Zeeko hit a fallaway slam. Anthony hit a back suplex at 7:00. Zeeko hit a uranage for a nearfall. The ref got bumped, and Zeeko immediately hit a low blow punt kick. Tupu ran into the ring and attacked Zeeko and hit a Samoan Drop, then a frogsplash and left. Anthony hit a Death Valley Driver for the tainted pin. Good action; it was obvious from that backstage segment earlier that Tupu would play a part in the finish of this one.
Robert Anthony defeated Zeeko to retain the AAW Heritage Title at 9:56.
* Backstage, Rafael Quintero was excited about his match later against Trevor Lee, saying it’s the biggest match of his career.
4. Koa Laxamana vs. Isaiah Moore. Laxamana attacked from behind, and we’re underway! Moore hit a superkick and a Pele Kick, then a step-up mule kick for the pin! I didn’t expect that to be so quick!
Isaiah Moore defeated Koa Laxamana at 00:56.
* Moore got on the mic and he said he wants a title shot against Robert Anthony. Out of the back came John E. Bravo, Sean Logan, and Bruss Hamilton. The crowd chanted profanities at Bravo before he even spoke. Bravo spoke but I can’t really comprehend it. The heels jumped on Moore and attacked him. That brought out Hartenbower and we’re underway with our next match! But instead of it being a singles match, it’s now a tag!
5. Hartenbower and Isaiaih Moore vs. Sean Logan and Bruss Hamilton in a Fans Bring The Weapons match. Logan has the long, flowing hair of a young HBK. Moore dove onto all of the Bravo family on the floor. Hartenbower grabbed some homemade weapons from the fans. They brawled at ringside while hitting each other with weapons; the cameras weren’t able to catch it all. The crowd was into this as they just grabbed weapon after weapon and hit each other. Several were slid into the ring. Logan had an artificial, prosthetic leg! In the ring, Logan hit a low blow on Hartenbower, then he struck him in the head with the prosthetic leg at 6:00.
Logan got a screwdriver and jabbed it into Hartenbower’s forehead, and he was bleeding. Moore hit a running cannonball off the apron onto Hamilton on the floor at 8:30. Hartenbower clocked Logan in the head with a chair; I hate that. Bruss got back into the ring and punched Hartenbower. Hartenbower slammed teammate Logan onto their opponents, and they got a nearfall at 10:00. Logan accidentally hit Hamilton. Moore hit them with chairshots. Moore hit a coast-to-coast missile dropkick. Moore dove over a corner and landed on Hamilton on the floor. Meanwhile, Hartenbower hit a powerbomb across two open chairs to pin Logan, earning a loud “This is awesome!” chant. A very good brawl.
Isaiah Moore and Hartenbower defeated Sean Logan and Bruss Hamilton at 12:10 in a Fans Bring The Weapons match.
* Backstage, Shazza McKenzie said she’s bringing gold back to the Bravo family tonight. Bravo said they are unified as a team. Hmmmmm….
6. Harley Rock vs. Joe Alonzo. Rock is the slender dork that everyone wants to see get beaten up; I guess he’s the babyface tonight because no one likes Alonzo. Standing switches to open. Rock hit some dropkicks. Joe choked him in the ropes and hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 2:30. Harley hit a superkick and a crossbody block for a nearfall and a running knee for a nearfall. He missed a top-rope move; Joe hit his springboard axe handle for the pin. Blah.
Joe Alonzo defeated Harley Rock at 5:20.
* Chuck Smooth ran into the ring and attacked Alonzo.
* Backstage, Maggie Lee noted that Shazza McKenzie earned a title shot last month. Lee thinks McKenzie should come to the ring alone, and leave John E. Bravo in the back. In another video, Sierra and Joey Avalon talked backstage. Avalon wants to know more about their plan; she told him to “just trust me, and make it work.”
7. Trevor Lee vs. Rafael Quintero. Lee looks despondent after some recent losses here. Lee came out first and attacked Quintero as he got in the ring. Quintero dove through the ropes onto Lee multiple times! In the ring, Lee took charge and hit some chops and European Uppercuts, and he planted his foot in Quintero’s throat. Quintero hit a moonsault press at 6:00 and they were both down. Quintero hit a shotgun dropkick and he was fired up.
Quintero hit a running Meteora for a nearfall. Lee hit a hard clothesline and a sliding forearm for a nearfall at 8:30. Lee hit a spin kick to the head. Quintero hit a 619 and a rolling Death Valley Driver for a nearfall, but Lee put his foot on the ropes at 10:00. Lee dropped him snake-eyes, then hit the Cave-in doublestomp to the chest for the pin. Really good action.
Trevor Lee defeated Rafael Quintero at 11:17.
* Backstage, “Beef” Gnarls Garvin was fired up for his match later.
8. Maggie Lee vs. Shazza McKenzie (w/John E. Bravo, Rae Larson) for the AAW Women’s Title. Lee is a miscast babyface here — she’s about 6’0″ even and it’s just wrong to have her as the babyface against the 5’3″ or so Shazza. Shazza flipped her to the mat and patted the top of her head; Lee wound up doing the same thing to Shazza moments later. Lee hit a running kick on the floor. In the ring, she hit a running Blockbuster for a nearfall at 2:00. Shazza began choking her in the ropes, and the crowd chanted profanities at Bravo.
Shazza planted her foot in Lee’s throat, and she hit a fisherman’s suplex at 3:30. Maggie hit her mid-ring buttbump. Shazza hit a running knee to the jaw for a nearfall. Lee slammed her face-first into the mat, then hit a German Suplex at 6:00, then she hit a spinning axe kick to the back of the head for a nearfall. Shazza hit a Saito Suplex and a running kick to the side of the head. Bravo distracted the ref, allowing Rae to strike Lee… but then John E Bravo pushed Shazza off the top rope!! Lee hit a Tombstone Piledriver for the pin. “What the hell did Bravo just do?” a commentator asked.
Maggie Lee defeated Shazza McKenzie to retain the AAW Women’s Title at 7:58.
* Bravo got on the mic, stood over Shazza, leaned down, and berated her. He pulled her to her feet so he could clothesline her, then he hit a Stomp to her back and was loudly booed.
* Backstage, Stallion Rogers said he hates Beef now, and he used to respect him. Rogers said that Beef cost him the AAW Title. “Tonight, we’re done. This is it; this is the period at the end of the sentence.”
9. Sierra, Joey “Jet” Avalon, and Aaron Roberts vs. Heather Reckless and “The Hellhounds” Russ Jones and Schaff. Avalon & Sierra continued to argue on their way to the ring; they just are not on the same page. Again, WWE ID prospect Roberts is like a 22-year-old One Man Gang. One of the reasons I am not a big fan of intergender matches is that Roberts might be 300 pounds more than Heather Reckless. That’s just an insane disparity. All six brawled immediately with the women in the ring and the guys on the floor. In the ring, the Hellhounds beat down Avalon.
Roberts tagged in and splashed on Schaff at 4:30; a commentator said Aaron is 420 pounds. Avalon and Aaron worked over Schaff in their corner. However, they started arguing! The women tagged in at 7:00, and they brawled. Sierra is the bigger of the two, and she hit a spear for a nearfall. Heather hit a tornado DDT, and they were both down at 9:30. Schaff and Avalon entered. The HellHounds hit an FTR-style Shatter Machine on Roberts, and that popped the crowd! Heather jumped in and hit several blows to Roberts’ back, but he didn’t even feel them.
Roberts hit a chokeslam on Schaff. Heather tried a top-rope crossbody block, but he caught her. Avalon pulled Heather free from his arms. However, Avalon superkicked Heather! The crowd chanted “you sick f—!” at Avalon for that. Sierra barked at her male teammates and ordered them to attack. Roberts hit a massive running splash to the mat to pin Reckless. It looked like Avalon and Roberts were going to argue, but then all three celebrated their win. It looks like Avalon and Sierra are back on the same page!
Sierra, Joey “Jet” Avalon, and Aaron Roberts defeated Schaff, Russ Jones, and Heather Reckless at 13:09.
* Backstage, Jake Something was pumped about being back.
10. “Beef” Gnarls Garvin vs. Stallion Rogers in a dog collar match. This is a pinfall or submission match; none of the dumb “touching four corners” rules. Again, Rogers was Curt Stallion in a very short NXT run. Garvin put the chain on first; Rogers attacked him before he had the collar on. Rogers put it on, and we had the bell at 00:19 to officially begin. Beef hit a powerslam. Rogers choked him over the top rope with the chain, and they fought to the floor. They brawled into the crowd for several minutes. Garvin shoved Rogers head-first into the ring post at 8:00.
They got back into the ring, with Beef in charge. Rogers again choked Beef with the chain as it was over the top rope. Back in the ring, Beef repeatedly punched him. He stood behind Rogers and hit some crossface blows at 12:30. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Rogers hit a German Suplex at 15:30. Beef hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall. Stallion hit a doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall at 17:30. They traded headbutts, and Beef hit a decapitating clotheslines, then a piledriver for a nearfall at 19:30. Beef wrapped the chain around Rogers’ neck and choked him. He pulled back on the chain, and Rogers tapped out.
“Beef” Gnarls Garvin defeated Stallion Rogers at 21:35.
* Jake Something jumped in the ring and attacked Beef!
Final Thoughts: A good show, but no real must-see matches, either. I think this makes 4-5 straight months that AAW has posted their shows for free on YouTube. As you can see, the lineup has several wrestlers who are currently or formerly signed to WWE, NXT, AEW and ROH deals. Trevor Lee-Quintero is my style of match, and that was the best here. The main event was a good brawl for second. Even though it was short, I’ll go with Shazza-Maggie for third.
Be the first to comment