As we were sadly unable to attend night one of this year’s AAW Jim Lynam Memorial Tournament, the following is a detailed review from Michael Blanton, by way of AAW producer Dr. Keith Lipinski.
AAW Jim Lynam Memorial Tournament Night One Review
115 Bourbon Street
Merrionette Park, IL
By Michael Blanton
I want to start by saying what a great show this was. Everyone knew this was a tribute and they all worked their asses off. Many of the wrestlers that previously worked for AAW tweeted their personal tributes and well-wishes throughout the day. So the pressure was there for everyone to work hard and they definitely didn’t disappoint. This night would live up to the hype.
- Heidi Lovelace vs. Melanie Cruise
This was the AAW debut of Melanie Cruise. Cruise was subbing in for Jessicka Havok. Jessika was stuck in Florida due to the hurricane. Heidi really showed here how fluid she can be and that she can work well with anyone. Cruise used her size advantage for most of the match, but Heidi was able to get the win in the end!
WINNER: Heidi Lovelace
- OPENING ROUND of JLMT: Chuck Taylor vs. Davey Vega
This match was very fun to watch. I was impressed with the singles skills of Vega. They spent the opening few minutes on the outside in this comedy heavy contest. AAW Tag Champion Vega preceded to bite Chuck on his penis. Yup, you read that correctly. The packed crowd chanted “You sick fuck” at young Davey. Chuck eventually fought through his bread basket injury and won this tournament opener!
WINNER AND ADVANCING TO THE QUARTER FINALS: Chuck Taylor
- OPENING ROUND of JLMT: Silas Young vs. Mat Fitchett
Really fun contrast of styles here! Silas used a lot of his submission skills to try grounding the other half of the AAW Tag Champions. Mat couldn’t be grounded and showed a lot of what he can do. The finish came out of nowhere with a shocking roll-up win by Fitchett!
WINNER AND ADVANCING TO THE QUARTER FINALS: Mat Fitchett
- OPENING ROUND OF THE JLMT: Brian Cage vs. ACH
Cage’s original opponent was to be “Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander, but he couldn’t make it due to travel issues. So what does AAW do? THEY MADE IT UP WITH AN AAW RETURN OF ACH! No one saw this coming and everyone reacted in a positive way. Before ACH came out, Gregory Irons came out to badmouth Brian Cage and was dominated quickly for his efforts.
The actual match between ACH and Brian Cage was pretty freaking great! They pulled out all the stops! Brian showed so much of his power in this match. He press slammed ACH both to the outside stage and then back in. ACH flies around so well. These guys really jelled together. ACH was able to use his high flying to stop the monster.
WINNER AND ADVANCING TO THE QUARTER FINALS: ACH
- OPENING ROUND OF THE JLMT: Colt Cabana vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
If you are a fan of technical wrestling, then you will LOVE this match. I was very, very impressed. Colt hung in there with Zack at every stop. He was able to use his size to his advantage. They went back and forth showing their European styles. But at the end, Zack Sabre is Zack Sabre and he got an impressive submission!
WINNER AND ADVANCING TO THE QUARTER FINALS: Zack Sabre Jr
- OPENING ROUND OF THE JLMT: Prince Ali vs Ethan Page
Ethan Page is back in AAW! The former champion took the place of KAMAITACHI, who had an ankle injury last week that wasn’t healed yet. Ethan Page was a very welcome surprise return! Prince Ali is one of my favorite guys to watch. He’s just so entertaining. And throwing in Ethan Page to work with him makes me a happy guy. Ali suffered an injury at the last event doing a dive. So in this match, the very caring crowd was screaming for him not to. But he did, and with such perfection that all we were very thankful. Ali used his aerial offence to advance! I was very surprised and happy with this.
WINNER AND ADVANCING TO THE QUARTER FINALS: Prince Ali
- OPENING ROUND OF THE JLMT: Drew Gulak vs. Jeff Cobb
I loved this. Drew using his technical skills and Jeff using his insane power. Drew grounded him a lot in this match, and Cobb kept powering out. Both of these guys are so great. Cobb finally got the win with his slam. I love Jeff Cobb and think he’s so great.
WINNER AND ADVANCING TO THE QUARTER FINALS: Jeff Cobb
- OPENING ROUND OF THE JLMT: AR Fox vs. Rey Fenix
This was high flying MADNESS! These two dudes went out there and were doing dives in the first minute. It was awesome. There was about a ten-minute span of them matching each other move for move. Fucking incredible. The crowd was eating this up. Fenix is just amazing. And we are lucky enough to get him every month now. And AR Fox? He hung in there move for move. He’s such a star. Fenix was able to pick up the win, but us in attendance were the real winners.
WINNER AND ADVANCING TO THE QUARTER FINALS: Rey Fenix
- OPENING ROUND OF THE JLMT: Kongo Kong vs. Chris Hero
Chris Hero is the most loved dude in AAW. The fans adore the guy. His entrance is so great to be a part of. Everyone sings along to his music and it’s just a great atmosphere. These two bulls took no time going after each other. So hard hitting. It took everything Hero had to get Kong down. He even attempted a top rope moonsault and missed. Kong went and did the SAME and also missed. Hero finally elbowed the shit out of Kong and actually got him up and piledrove him to the mat for the win.
WINNER AND ADVANCING TO THE QUARTER FINALS: Chris Hero
- AAW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MEXICAN DEATH MATCH: Sami Callahan vs. Pentagon Jr.
This match was absolutely crazy. There were boards and chairs sitting out there to begin with. We all knew going in that this would be crazy. Pentagon wanted revenge for Sami disrespecting the mask and Lucha tradition. Sami sneak attacked Pentagon with a chair and off they went. Sami spiked Pentagon right in his forehead and he was gushing blood. The war painted Callahan had this insane look on his face this entire match. At one point they had giant nails and were stabbing each other. It was fucking insane. Sami dumped out legos and the crowd booed him. What kind of jerk does something like that? It ended up biting him in the ass in the end when Pentagon hit his finish on top of them and got the well-deserved victory!
WINNER AND STILL AAW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: Pentagon Jr.
That was just night one. Tonight at the Berwyn Eagles Club in Berwyn, Illinois is night two. The Quarter, Semi, and Finals will all happen. Pentagon will somehow come out and defend his championship again. On top of that, they announced that on November 4th, They were bringing in “Broken” Matt Hardy to Merrionette Park, Illinois at 115 Bourbon Street.
This was another great show. Very glad I attended.
