Over ten years ago and now I’m finally getting around to watching this match. Back in 2006, I had stumbled upon the Heartland Wrestling Association online and they had an internet show name Adrenaline. I’m not sure how or why I tuned into it but there I was watching it. On this show, I saw a feud between Jon Moxley (aka Dean Ambrose) and Cody Hawk. It was heated and was promoted as the top feud in the company. I remember the company promoting an internet pay per view. Yeah, there was an internet pay per view back in 2006.
That show was CyberClash and it would feature a steel cage between Jon Moxley and his trainer/mentor, Cody Hawk to settle their feud once and for all.
March 19th, 2006 from Cincinnati, Ohio…
The ring announcer announces the match as being one fall, and the only way to win the match is by climbing over the top of the cage… Whoops.
Hawk spears Moxley down to the mat and they trade strikes on the canvas. Hawk backs Moxley into a corner with more rights and clotheslines Jon in the corner across the ring. Hawk tries to send Moxley into the cage but fails. Hawk settles for a clothesline and continues to work over Moxley with strikes. Moxley avoids being sent into the cage and tries to send Hawk into the cage but can’t do it either. Hawk kicks Moxley in the ribs and chest before controlling Jon on the canvas. Moxley is the first person to achieve sending someone into the cage by driving Hawk face first into the steel cage. Moxley does it again to get a clear cut advantage and Hawk has a small cut on his forehead. Moxley drives Hawk down with a neck breaker and follows up with a leg drop. Moxley mocks Hawk by treading Hawk like he is a surfboard.
Moxley catapults Hawk into the steel cage and we get a closer look at the cut on Cody’s forehead. Moxley avoids a running cross body and Hawk crashes into the steel cage. Moxley baseball slides Hawk into the cage a few times. Moxley dropkicks Hawk into the cage. Moxley starts to the climb out of the cage but Hawk stops Moxley managing to hit a back suplex off the top rope crashing down to the canvas!
Hawk tosses Jon into the cage face first a couple of times to get momentum on his side. Hawk straight kicks Moxley in the face and works over Moxley in the corner with shoulder rams. Hawk backdrops Moxley into the cage. Hawk climbs the cage and is near the top but is stopped by Moxley. Jon has Hawk on the top rope but Hawk counters a power bomb with a hurricanrana!
Dick Rick has made his way down to ringside, who is a buddy of Jon Moxley. Hawk rakes Moxley’s face against the cage and now both men are busted wide open. Moxley returns the favor by raking Hawk’s face into the cage. Moxley chokes his mentor on the canvas and gets a belt from Dick Rick who passed it in through the cage. Moxley ties Hawk to the cage and Rick is hanging onto the belt to keep Hawk down on the mat. Moxley begins to climb the cage, but Hawk knocked Rick into the cage and used the belt to whip Jon several times before sending Moxley into the cage. Hawk continues to whip Moxley until Moxley takes Hawk down to the canvas and whips Hawk several times. Hawk fights back with a snap suplex and struggles to his feet. Hawk climbs the cage getting to the top but is stopped by Moxley. This time, Moxley hits a sit out power bomb off the middle rope.
Moxley tries to climb the cage but Hawk stops him and rams his shoulder into Moxley’s midsection. Hawk hammers away on Moxley with forearm shots but gets knocked off to the canvas. Moxley goes for a missile dropkick but takes the referee out instead of Hawk. Another referee wastes no time climbing into the cage, but gets speared into the cage by Moxley. Hawk runs over Moxley with a clothesline. Helena Heavenly knocks someone out on the floor and Jon plants Hawk with a neck breaker. Moxley is given a wrench and he loosens the bottom turnbuckle. Hawk gets up but is met with a piledriver right in the middle of the ring.
Jon has the turnbuckle unhinged and wraps the ropes around the neck of Hawk. Moxley tosses Hawk into the cage face first. Moxley pulls on the top and is trying to strangle Hawk. Moxley jabs the wrench into Hawk’s forehead. Moxley decks Hawk with a clothesline and goes back to using the wrench on Hawk’s forehead. Moxley climbs the cage but Hawk stops Jon and drops Moxley gut first down to the canvas off his shoulders. Hawk nails Moxley with forearm shots and catapults Moxley face first into the cage.
Hawk hits a running dropkick to the side of Moxley’s head and grabs the turnbuckle. Hawk whacks Moxley over the back with the steel hook of the turnbuckle a few times. Hawk tangles Moxley up in the turnbuckle and yanks on it. However, Moxley gets up and stomps on Hawk to get the control. Moxley climbs the cage but Hawk stops Moxley at the top of the cage. Hawk hooks Moxley and hits a superplex off the top rope to the canvas.
Cody struggles to his feet and begins to climb the cage getting to the top of it. Hawk drops down to the floor and is the winner, but all the officials are knocked out. Helena Heavenly unlocked the door. Hawk is trying to wake up an official after re-entering the cage. This has allowed Moxley to crawl through the door, though you’re supposed to win by going over the top. However, Moxley fakes it by jumping off the bottom of the cage and wins the match before Hawk could drop to the floor a second time. What a damn heel…
The finish is certainly not a feud ending conclusion, but the match was still pretty entertaining and non-stop violence. It felt like an 80s NWA cage match and I liked that feel. Of course, waiting ten years to watch it, you’d think it would be an amazing match, it’s not a top level cage match, but I still enjoyed it. I’ve read some people complain about the finish, but after thinking about it, I don’t mind it. I know that Moxley had done some awful thinks to Hawk and you’d think the hero would overcome this, but it’s a huge win for Moxley to do all that he did and still beat Hawk. The crowd enjoyed the action and they kept me into it as the match was around 25-minutes and I thought it went along nicely. The complete match is embedded below. ***1/4