Hawke’s Top 15 AAW Matches from 2016

In 2016, AIW and AAW finally stopped being confusingly similar. One of them now has 1-3 good matches per show. One of them does a bunch of random shit. I’m not sure which one is which, but they are finally, definitively different promotions.

 

15. AR Fox vs. Matt Cage – 2/19/2016

This was for AR’s AAW Heritage Championship.

AR Fox doing stupid fucking bumps for no earthly reason other than a perverse desire to die very young. Mixed in with that was some solid action between Cage and Fox. The Mr. Hughes disciples clearly have in-ring chemistry, and it would probably be wise of AAW to pair them up again down the line. They produce the very easy-to-watch wrestling that makes for solid midcard outings to round out a card. Cage seemed on the verge of victory, but Fox caught him with a fruit roll-up to pull out the victory. (***)

 

14. Drew Gulak vs. Louis Lyndon – 1/15/2016

13. Low Ki, Homicide, & Eddie Kingston vs. Brian Cage, Drago, & Pentagon Jr. – 11/26/2016

12. Moose vs. Kongo Kong – 3/18/2016

11. Chris Hero vs. Fenix – 9/16/2016

10. Trent? vs. Zack Sabre Jr. – 11/26/2016

This match predictably just worked. The key was that they never felt like they were wasting time despite going a long time. The match progressively got more and more intense and never fell into the trap of working the “epic” style contest. The match was just Trent? constantly being a prick, but Zack playing it straight and constantly trying to pick apart Trent?. Trent? was forced to get more and more physical and aggressive in order to give himself a chance. This won’t be one of the most memorable matches of the year, but it was basically entertaining from beginning until the end. That’s a quality that a fair number of Zack matches have been missing in 2016. (***1/4)

 

9. Pentagon Jr. vs. Fenix – 5/6/2016

This was a really fun sprint! They did a bunch of movez within the broad story of Pentagon controlling the smaller/flippier Fenix. The crowd was hot for everything they did, they did not overstay their welcome, and I enjoyed the whole thing. Nothing mindblowing, but this was a GOOD. (***1/2)

 

8. Jack Evans vs. Tommaso Ciampa – 3/18/2016

“I wonder if Ciampa regrets leaving Ring of Honor. I’m sure he stays awake all night.” Phil Colvin’s fantastically sarcastic comment really shines some more light on the ridiculous and very real idea that wrestlers in ROH might be better off if they left the company (unless it leads to a regular NJPW role). Ciampa is so over almost everywhere he goes, and his career truly took after he got away from one of the least interestingly booked promotions in recent memory. It’s nuts.

Speaking of nuts…these two really went all-out to deliver a fun spectacle of a match. Ciampa was running all over the place like maniac, taking selfies with Mick Foley, doing some gaga, and connecting on some movez. Evans was playing his chickenshit heel character, claiming to have invented lucha libra, and connecting on some movez. They even had the very loose story of Evans escaping Project Ciampa multiple times before Ciampa finally connected on it. Ciampa still needed an armbar variation to put Evans away though for the victory. (***1/2)

 

7. Brian Cage vs. ACH 10/7/2016

This was a Jim Lynam Memorial Tournament First Round Match.

Cage was originally going to face Gregory Iron, but Iron made fun of Cage for doing steroids so Cage murdered him. ACH showed up as a surprise replacement and got a huge reaction.

ACH was not supposed to do this date, as ROH explicitly told him not to take the date. Tomato Camper set the precedent though that underpushed ROH wrestlers can do better if they leave. So, ACH apparently decided it was worth risking legal or disciplinary action to send this message.

The match itself was quite fun. Cage dominated a large portion of the match. ACH fought back with some flippy and wacky stuff. He did not dance. He did not do “comedy.” We love motivated ACH. ACH eventually made it competitive enough that he could win via fruit roll-up. (***1/2)

 

6. Eddie Kingston vs. Trevor Lee – 1/15/2016

This was for Kingston’s AAW Heavyweight Championship.

This was a pretty solid match with some very cool ideas. Trevor the Irish wrestling fan jumped the champ to start the match and specifically targeted Eddie’s left arm. Eddie eventually fought back and started to target Trevor’s neck. There was not an overwhelming focus on those two stories throughout the rest of the match, but they were both executed well enough.

Down the stretch, it seemed like Trevor had a strong chance of winning by going for an armbar on the arm he worked over. Eddie endured that though and dropped him on his neck (callback!). That left Trevor prone for the Backfist, and that allowed Eddie to successfully retain the title. Good stuff. (***1/2)

 

5. Chris Hero vs. Prince Ali – 10/8/2016

This was a Jim Lynam Memorial Tournament Semi Final Match.

This was exactly what the match needed to be even if it was exactly what you expect it to be. The twist was that Ali, knowing he was the underdog, jumped Hero before the match and took it to him. This put Hero briefly on the defense which was a nice change of page. Hero of course took over. Ali made a spirited comeback. Hero finished him cleanly via elbow. This was really quite good. (***1/2)

 

4. Drew Gulak vs. Mat Fitchett – 3/18/2016

This was my kind of undercard match. Drew beat and stretched the shit out of a flippy guy. The flippy guy tried to get flippy, but it was not helping. The flippy guy hung in there though, fought back, hit a ridiculous flipping piledriver, and then won the match. Plus some guy with terrible facial hair marked out on camera afterwards. A big thumbs up. (This is also continues to prove my theory that the grapplefuck guys are more fun in styles clash situations, but oh well.) (***1/2)

 

3. Chris Hero vs. Drago – 6/17/2016

Wow, Chris Hero having a great match with small guy who does flips?!? Who would have guessed?!?!?

You know exactly what to expect from this match before it even happens. Hero is on another level right now when he gets to bully around his opponents. Drago fit the bill to be bullied.

Hero initially played along with Drago’s flippy antics because he could. Then he hit him in the face, and it was beautiful.

From there, the match became Hero being Hero, and Drago just desperately trying to find an opening to be quick and flippy in order to have a chance. It of course was not enough though, and Hero eventually finished him with the tombstone.

This was so much fun. AAW needs to book Hero vs. flippy luchadors forever. (***3/4)

 

 

2. Chris Hero vs. Mat Fitchett – 10/8/2016

This was a Jim Lynam Memorial Tournament Quarter Final Match.

In case you have not noticed, Chris Hero beating up little people is fucking awesome. Hero is cocky, hard-hitting, ruthless, arrogant, and is the best in the world at beating people up. It’s so beautiful to watch every time. Fitchett takes a great beating. It’s a match made in wrestling heaven quite frankly.

When you combine that natural dynamic with an energetic crowd and really well-timed and believable comebacks, you end up with one of the most compelling matches of the year. This was one of the best matches in AIW history. Hero won obviously. (****1/4)

 

1. Chris Hero vs. Trevor Lee – 4/9/2016

Hero calling himself the greatest of all time until he accidentally became the greatest of all time is the most positive example of someone working themselves into a shoot.

What else needs to be said about Chris Hero’s work right now? He is a master of the ring at the moment. He makes everyone he faces look like they’re far greater than they actually are.  He has every crowd in the palm of his hand. He has managed to legitimately present himself as someone bigger (joke not intended) than independent wrestling. That kind of presentation allows him to come off like a special guest in companies that he regularly works for. His in-ring run is something special, and it needs to be appreciated.

The structure of the match should not be surprising. Hero was being a dick. Lee was the underdog. Hero dominated him. Lee kept fighting back and fighting back until it seemed like there was a legit chance he could win. The crowd was into it from the beginning and only got hotter as the match went on. The fact that they even went a bit overkill with the nearfalls kind of worked, and it led to a great overkill finishing sequence from Hero to make sure that Lee stayed down for the three finally. I loved this match. Seek it out. (****1/4)

 

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