AAW Path Of Redemption 3/31/2018

AAW Heritage Champion Trevor Lee defends against Moose and Shane Strickland. AAW Tag Team Champions Besties In The World defend against Curt Stallion & Jake Something. In the main event, AAW Heavyweight Champion ACH defends against Keith Lee.

AAW Path Of Redemption 2018
Date: 3/31/2018
From: LaSalle, IL

Opening Contest: Juntai Miller vs. Andy Dalton: No, it’s not the Bengals Quarterback competing in singles action. He’s making his debut for AAW. This is also Miller’s return to AAW after taking some time off. Dalton spits water at Miller and gets control with chops. Miller avoids Dalton in the corner and hits a spinning heel kick for a one count. Miller comes off the ropes with a spinning elbow drop for a near fall. Dalton continues to spit at Miller and kicks the middle rope to low blow Miller. Dalton hits a somersault suicide dive to the floor and gets a two count in the ring. Dalton continues with a neckbreaker for a two count. Dalton delivers a standing senton splash for a two count. Dalton licks his hand and rubs it in Miller’s face. Miller fights back with a few kicks and strikes but runs into a palm strike. Dalton nearly wins following a lifting DDT. Dalton gets another two count with a leg lariat. Dalton clotheslines Miller in the corner and catches his own spit. Miller knee strikes Dalton in the corner. Miller trips Dalton to the mat and Andy hits the mat face first. Miller hits a slingshot bulldog from the apron into the ring. Miller tosses Dalton with an overhead dragon suplex. Miller delivers a modified curb stomp for the win. (**1/4. A solid opening match to the show for two guys that aren’t known names. Dalton came across like a miniature Sami Callihan and tried to be dirty similar to what Sami often does in his matches. Regardless of that, I enjoyed the short match.)

Backstage, AAW Tag Team Champions Besties In The World are interviewed regarding their title match tonight. Scarlett is with them and she is wrestling against Kylie Rae. Vega says tonight is huge for everyone. Vega was about to say he was in the rumble, but Fitchett says he better not be. Vega promises that he’s not in the Rumble. Fitchett says they need to make Jake Something and Curt Stallion realize they are the best. Fitchett says that just like Scarlett, they are coming out on top. Vega doesn’t like that comment, but it’s funny.

Second Contest: Scarlett Bordeaux vs. Kylie Rae: Scarlett declines a handshake at the start. They go down to the mat with Kylie rolling through a hammerlock and nearly winning with a rollup. Kylie is excited about the offense and now Scarlett wants to shake hands. She instead cheap shots Kylie for the advantage and puts a headlock on. Kylie hip tosses Scarlett followed by a dropkick for a two count. Vega trips Kylie from the floor and Scarlett delivers a double knee strike for a two count. Kylie fires back with forearms shots in the corner. Scarlett rams Kylie’s face into her butt in the corner and delivers an elbow drop in the corner. Kylie takes Scarlett down to the mat with a headlock. Scarlett hits a reverse tombstone for a near fall. Kylie forearms Scarlett followed by a clothesline. Kylie superkicks a seated Scarlett but isn’t able to keep her down for a three count. Davey Vega gets on the apron and gets superkicked by Kylie. Scarlett rolls Kylie up from behind and wins the match. (*. Okay, this is a prime example of someone who isn’t ready to be wrestling and then goes over the more skilled wrestler for no reason other than she’s involved in an angle. Scarlett is an awkward wrestler and didn’t have great timing.)

Backstage, Jimmy Jacobs cuts a promo saying he thought was a hero, but a few loses have changed his mindset. He needs to adapt and evolve in order to survive. Jacobs thinks it is great that David Starr wants the old Eddie Kingston, because he wants him too. He wants the Kingston that wouldn’t get bossed around by someone. Jacobs wants to prove that he is new and improved. He’s a princess and always gets what he wants.

Third Contest; The Air Buds (Stephen Wolf & Trey Miguel) vs. AR Fox & Myron Reed: Reed kicks Miguel to start Reed dropkicks Miguel after coming in from the apron. Wold enters and avoids a kick on the mat. Wolf hits a discus clothesline after doing a 619 to nobody. Fox tags in and gets a rollup for a one count. Fox and Wolf counter cutter attempts and that leads to a standoff that the fans liked. Fox kicks Wolf and Miguel comes back in delivering a shoulder ram on the apron. Miguel drops Fox on his head with a hurricanrana. Fox avoids a clothesline on the apron but can’t avoid a kick knocking Fox to the floor. Fox kicks Miguel followed by a cutter. Fox kicks Wolf on the floor sending him into the guard railing. Fox tags in Reed but Miguel fights back with kicks. Fox and Miguel hit a modified Magic Killer for a two count. Reed dropkicks a seated Miguel for a two count. Fox dropkicks Wolf off the apron and dropkicks Miguel again for a near fall. Reed gets tagged in and Miguel continues to be worked over. Miguel fights back with boots and counters two back suplex attempts leading to Wolf being tagged in.

Wolf dropkicks Reed after being lifted into the air by Fox. Wolf knocks Wolf off the top and delivers a knee strike on Reed for a near fall. Wolf tries to kick Fox off the apron, but Fox moves before that can happen. Reed stops Wolf with a jaw breaker and hits a springboard cutter. Fox hits a double crossbody off the top but they recover quickly. Fox sends Miguel to the floor and slides off Wolf’s back to dropkick Miguel on the floor. Reed and Fox hit stereo suicide dives a couple of times and then both men dive over the top to the outside. Fox gets a two count following a senton splash off the top on Wolf. Fox attempts a wrist clutch but Wolf blocks it and is sat on the top turnbuckle. Fox tries for a suplex off the middle rope but Wolf is able to fight Fox off with a headbutt. Wolf hits a missile dropkick off the top. Miguel and Reed get tags and Miguel delivers a few strikes in the corner. Miguel backdrops Fox to the floor but Reed stops Miguel with right hands. Reed gets his head caught on the top turnbuckle and is met with a 619. Trey hits a top rope double knee for a near fall. Miguel hits a neckbreaker on Reed, who then DDTs his own partner Fox on accident.

Miguel and Wolf hit stereo suicide dives to the outside. Wolf hits a twisting dive landing on his feet. Miguel takes Reed and Fox out with a springboard somersault dive. Miguel kicks Fox on the top followed by a hurricanrana. Wolf hits a top rope frog splash but he’s not the legal man. Reed is met with a Slingblade by Miguel for a two count. Wolf has Reed and tries for a double team move but Fox crotches Miguel on the top. Wolf and Fox trade strikes. They all superkick each other, which is fairly played out. Wolf superkicks Reed on a springboard attempt. Fox and Reed delivers boots and both go to the top. They hit stereo 450 splashes but they both kick out at one. Fox and Reed deliver yet another superkick for a two count. Wolf kicks Reed but Fox hits a Spanish Fly. Miguel hits a reverse hurricanrana on Fox. Reed plants Miguel with a stunner and a Destroyer for the three count. (***. I decided on the basic rating of three stars because I’m not going to drastically under or overrate this match. It’s a style that I find to like on a hit or miss occasion. Personally, they overdid several spots in the match. The constant superkicks usually only work for the Young Bucks. It’s an enjoyable match just for the spots if for nothing else.)

Fourth Contest: Eddie Kingston vs. Jimmy Jacobs: Early on, Jacobs decks Kingston with a right hand and then backs off wanting Kingston to fight him. Jacobs wants Kingston to hit him and Kingston goes to a wrist lock. Jacobs wants Kingston to hit him but Kingston has to wrestle that style. Jacobs gets frustrated going to the floor to toss some chairs into the ring. Jacobs gives Kingston a chair and wants to have dueling chairs. Jacobs gets a microphone and says that the Kingston he knows isn’t a quitter and wants Kingston to fight him with the chair. Kingston isn’t interested in doing anything with the chair. Jacobs says that Kingston did quit and says he should be wearing the “Eddie Quit” shirt that he’s wearing. Eddie puts the chair down and Jacobs whacks Kingston over the back with his chair. Jacobs hits Kingston with the chair a few times. Jacobs drives Kingston face first onto the chair. Jacobs wedges a chair in the corner and sends Kingston face first into the chair. Jacobs jabs Kingston several times with the chair. Jacobs hits the Contra Code on the steel chair for a two count. Jacobs tells Kingston to adapt or die. Jacobs has the chair and puts it down to rip off Kingston’s shirt and spits on him. Kingston gets up and is fired up trading right hands. Kingston uses the chair on Jacobs hitting him over the back. Kingston wedges the chair in the corner and sends Jacobs face first into the chair.

Kingston asks Jacobs if that is what he wanted. Jacobs is happy that Kingston is being violent Jacobs avoids a spinning back fist and has a choke hold locked in. Kingston tosses Jacobs with an overhead suplex and a clothesline follows for a two count. Jacobs hits a springboard cutter for a two count. Jacobs lays a chair on Kingston before going to the top rope. Kingston smashes Jacobs with the chair and hits a superplex. Kingston goes for the cover but Jacobs kicks out at two. They both get steel chairs and have dueling chairs. Kingston misses a shot and gets whacked over the back. Kingston avoids a spear with a knee strike and wins with a spinning back fist. (**1/4. I can appreciate the storytelling by Kingston to get the angle with David Starr some more. The action was okay, but may have dragged on a little bit. I wonder how long they plan to keep this angle going.)

Backstage, a couple of wrestlers are looking to see what numbers they got for the Heritage Rumble. MJF enters the scene and tells them to not talk over him. MJF says he’s a big deal in AAW. He feels bad for ugly people similar to the other guys. MJF wants to trade numbers but they aren’t interested. Another guy enters the scene and isn’t happy with his number. MJF wants to switch numbers. His big cousin is also picking and MJF is not going to continue the conversation.

Fifth Contest: AAW Women’s Champion Jessicka Havok vs. Ivelisse: Havok wants to shake hands and after a brief thought, Ivelisse does it. However, Ivelisse delivers several kicks to the legs only to be slammed down. Havok misses a stomp and Ivelisse begs off in the corner. Havok whips Ivelisse around by her hair before tossing her across the ring. Havok hits a splash in the corner and plays to the crowd. Ivelisse avoids a running boot managing to go to the apron and drops Havok’s leg over the middle rope. Ivelisse plants Havok with a tornado DDT for a two count. Havok lifts Ivelisse up with a full nelson but can’t get a submission. Havok decides to deliver a backbreaker for a two count. Havok attempts a leg drop but misses. Ivelisse delivers a kick and works over the left leg. Ivelisse has a leg lock on the champion but isn’t able to get a submission. Ivelisse counters a chokeslam with an arm drag and locks in an arm bar. Havok picks Ivelisse up with one arm and drops her down to the mat with a powerbomb. Havok boots Ivelisse to the mat and delivers a running boot strike in the corner.

Havok puts Ivelisse on the top turnbuckle and asks who wants to see the tombstone. Ivelisse fights off the middle rope and attempts a sunset flip powerbomb but Havok uses her butt to drop Ivelisse down to the mat. Havok tries for the tombstone but Ivelisse counters with an octopus stretch. Havok doesn’t give in but rather counters with the tombstone for the win. (*1/2. The finish was rather predictable. There wasn’t much going on here.)

Backstage, Eddie Kingston is on the phone with David Starr. Kingston says Starr wanted to him to say all his nicknames but he doesn’t know them. He’ll be wrestling Juice Robinson and Joey Janela. He remembers Robinson being in the crowd as a fan and now is a star for NJPW. Kingston doesn’t know if he is looking forward to his match with Robinson. Kingston isn’t trying to be controversial anymore. Eddie says that Janela is a nut job and doesn’t care about his body. He doesn’t want to do the promo and asks if the camera guy likes seeing him depressed. Kingston has to deal with this when he goes home while the fans live in their parents basement.

Trevor Lee cuts a promo about how the last time he was at the arena he was complaining about how he wasn’t in the running for the AAW Heritage Championship, but look at him now. Lee notes that Strickland was on the other side of an ass kicking. Trevor knows that himself and Moose are buddies since they both work for Impact Wrestling. Lee says they can afford a night out because they are TV stars. Lee wants the referee to make sure Strickland knows the rules and didn’t bring a gun this time. Lee tries to get the fans to do the Moose taunt. Lee hugs Moose but gets met with a kick sending Trevor to the floor.

Sixth Contest: AAW Heritage Champion Trevor Lee vs. Moose vs. Shane Strickland: Moose shoulder blocks Strickland and avoids a clothesline. Strickland head scissors Moose, but Moose kips up to his feet. Lee attacks Moose from behind but that doesn’t work very well. Strickland delivers a kick to Lee. Strickland elbow strikes Moose and gets tripped up by Lee. Lee sends Strickland into the guard railing back first. Moose bicycle kicks Lee on the floor and sends him chest first into the guard railing. Moose nails Strickland with a kick, too. Moose runs around ringside to kick Lee again. Moose uppercuts Strickland and sends him into Lee. Moose runs around ringside but gets backdropped over the railing into the crowd. Strickland gets into the ring and shoulder rams Lee. Lee blocks a few suplex attempts to the floor. Strickland attempts a Flatliner but Lee avoids it. Strickland knee strikes Lee to get control followed by a running uppercut. Strickland goes over the top and is caught by Moose, who then powerbombs Strickland on the apron. Lee nails Moose with a penalty kick. Lee drives Strickland’s head against the post and sends Moose into the guard railing. Lee gets a two count on Strickland.

Lee takes Strickland down to the mat controlling him with a choke for a brief moment. Lee shoulder blocks Strickland in the corner a few times and taunts the crowd. Strickland is sent shoulder first into the corner and penalty kicks Moose again on the floor. Lee continues to beat on Strickland with stomps. Lee eye rakes Strickland and tosses him across the ring. Lee tries for another kick on Moose but Moose blocks it driving the champ face first on the apron. Lee is working over Moose with strikes in the ring. Moose does his taunt after every punch to get the crowd behind him. Lee eye rakes Moose and is met with a headbutt. Strickland plants Moose with a cutter after he had kicked Lee. Moose and Strickland kip up and all three men begin to trade strikes. Moose takes his glove off and chops Strickland. Lee sends Strickland into Moose and holds Shane from the apron. Shane kicks Lee on the apron and Moose attempts a powerbomb only for Strickland to avoid it and kicks Moose. Strickland kicks Lee from the apron and hits a Flatliner on Moose for a two count.

Moose dropkicks Strickland in the corner and Lee tries to pull himself up. Lee boots Moose but is met with a sit out double hand chokeslam for a two count. Strickland stops Moose with a boot on the top rope. Strickland attempts a superplex and takes Moose over. Moose no sells it and dropkicks Strickland to the floor. Lee hits a nice fallaway slam for a two count on Moose. Lee low blows Moose with the referee out of position. Lee nearly wins with a powerbomb, but Strickland breaks up the cover. Lee headbutts Strickland on the apron followed by a superkick. Lee attempts a suplex on the apron but Strickland holds the ropes and drives Lee down with a Death Valley Driver on the apron. Strickland comes off the apron to double stomp Lee, who was over the railing. Strickland goes to the top rope but misses a double stomp and is met with a dropkick from Moose. Strickland takes Moose over with a hurricanrana and a 619 in the corner. Strickland delivers a double knee strike. Lee runs in and rolls Strickland up with a handful of tights for the win. (***. A fine triple threat match as they had constant action. The finish is rather dull, but it fits the Lee character and puts more heat on him.)

Backstage, AAW Women’s Champion Jessica Havok cuts a promo and is here to talk about next weekend. She promotes a singles match she was supposed to happen at Pro Wresting Revolver. Kimber Lee has been added to the match and Havok says she isn’t going to be welcoming her back. She is pissed that her opportunity has been taken away from her. Havok wonders who Kimber thinks she is. She messes up and comes back to the independents. Havok says we’ll see how much of a survivor she really is. I was hoping there wasn’t going to be a Havok promo, but I wasn’t so lucky.

Seventh Contest: AAW Tag Team Champions The Besties In The World (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) vs. Curt Stallion & Jake Something: Stallion and Something attack before the bell as the champions were playing to the crowd on the middle rope. Vega gets sent into Something for a body block. The same happens to Fitchett. Nobody has left the ring as Stallion delivers a few running strikes on Fitchett. Something tosses Stallion into Fitchett for another dropkick. Vega backdrops Stallion to the apron for a forearm and Something gets kicked by Fitchett. Vega takes Stallion out with a suicide dive. Fitchett runs the ropes but is met with a clothesline from Something. Something press slams Fitchett over the top onto Vega and Stallion. Something dives over the top and takes everyone out with a dive. Stallion drops Fitchett with the Buck Off for a two count. Stallion drops Fitchett with a forearm strike. They begin to trade strikes until Fitchett hits a Pele kick. Vega gets tagged in and he cleans house with clotheslines. Stallion chops Vega but misses Davey in the corner. Vega hits a top rope crossbody for a near fall.

Something drops Vega with a boot but Fitchett takes him down with a reverse hurricanrana. Stallion stops Fitchett with a headbutt strike and all four men are laid out. The champs deliver strikes in the corner but Something powerbombs Fitchett into the corner followed by a Black Hole Slam for a two count as Vega made the save. Something dumps Vega to the floor to leave Fitchett by himself. Fitchett fires back with a series of chops in the middle of the ring. Fitchett gets caught and Something tries for a vertical suplex. Vega tosses Fitchett for a double Pele kick. Besties hit a combination splash on the challengers for a two count. Stallion takes Fitchett over with a suplex into Vega. Fitchett spikes Stallion with a piledriver and a cradle piledriver for the win! (**1/2. There was literally no rules to this match and it was ideal for the match. It’s a fine match, but it seemed like Something and Stallion were going to be the next tag champions. There’s probably a lot more to do with the Besties, so retaining here is okay, too.)

Backstage, AAW Heavyweight Champion ACH is interviewed regarding his match with Keith Lee. ACH talks about being the first ever African American champion in AAW history. He plans on walking out as the champion. ACH puts over how big Lee is and he just so happens show up. Lee apologizes for cutting into the interview. Lee heard that ACH was talking about him. Lee says that ACH is one of the few people that he considers to be family. Lee says that ACH knows him better than almost anyone else. Lee is proud of ACH and his accomplishments in AAW. Lee believes that history will be made again when the second African American wrestler wins the title. Lee says he is the realest thing in AAW and he’ll show that when he wins the championship.

Eighth Contest: Heritage Rumble Match: I’m not going to follow this in-depth as it goes apparently nearly 40-minutes and battle royals are usually repetitive. Zero Gravity were the first two people involved and then one of the most hated heels in AAW, MJF, was third. There’s a confrontation between MJF and Ace Romero. They’ve been feuding all over the place in 2018. Davey Vega was in the match despite promising he wasn’t. He was eliminated by Kylie, who wasn’t an entrant. The final two wrestlers were Paco and MJF. Paco had the fans support as they trade forearm strikes. MJF spits on Paco and delivers an eye poke. Paco stops MJF with a superkick and hits a Code Red. MJF knee lifts Paco on the apron. Paco counters a piledriver and then kicks MJF on a skin the cat attempt to win the battle royal. Needless to say, Paco winning the battle royal was the right call.

Backstage, AAW Tag Team Champion Davey Vega is pissed about Kylie Rae screwing him over. Mat Fitchett walks up into the scene and tells Vega a story from high school where his buddy asked if he could go on a date with someone that Mat liked. He didn’t do. Guess what, Vega lied to him. Vega claims that Kylie snuck up on him and wonders why Fitchett can’t support him more. Fitchett says that Vega frustrates him a lot. Fitchett mentions a ladder match at Pro Wrestling Revolver. They need to focus. Fitchett needs Vega to be faithful. If they don’t walk out with the belts then Vega has embarrassed them again. Vega thinks that was the kick in the ass that he needed. Vega says he appreciates Fitchett and says lets keep our belts.

Main Event: AAW Heavyweight Champion ACH vs. Keith Lee: ACH decides to go to the floor and stall for a bit. ACH tries a rollup out of the corner but Lee doesn’t budge causing the champion to go to the floor again. ACH works over Lee with a side headlock as the match has been incredibly slow. Lee blocks being taken down to the mat but ACH keeps control with a headlock. Lee drops ACH with a shoulder block. Lee runs through a clothesline attempt and has a standoff. ACH tries to work over Lee with kicks but that doesn’t do much for him. Lee dropkicks ACH into the corner. ACH dumps Lee to the apron and delivers a springboard dropkick. ACH comes off the apron to deliver a penalty kick but Lee doesn’t fall down. ACH attempts a suicide dive but is caught and sent into the guard railing back first. Lee continues to work over ACH with overhand chops against the railing. Lee counters being sent into the railing and tosses the champ over the railing into the crowd. Lee continues to work over ACH with a forearm strike. Lee rolls ACH into the ring to continue his strikes. They begin to trade chops until Lee drops ACH to the mat. Lee continues to strike ACH in the corner with forearms.

Lee tosses ACH across the ring and plays to the crowd by taunting ACH. Lee splashes ACH in the corner. ACH jabs Lee in the groin and delivers a double stomp. Lee stops ACH driving him down to the mat by his throat. Lee comes off the ropes and is met with a leg sweep, double stomp and a dropkick by ACH. ACH shoulder rams Lee from the apron and hits a slingshot cutter for a near fall. ACH delivers a discus clothesline in the corner to stagger Lee. ACH tries for a Samoan Drop but Lee weighs too much. They run the ropes until Lee stops ACH with the Pounce for a two count. Lee goes to the top rope but is met with a moonsault kick from ACH. Lee drops to the canvas and ACH looks to go to the top rope. ACH leaps off hitting a frog splash for a two count. Lee kicks out and rolls through with ACH attempting a Samoan Drop, but ACH counters with a dead lift German suplex! ACH forearms Lee in the corner and takes his elbow pad off for a clothesline but Lee staggers. Lee misses a lariat and ACH delivers another one. Lee staggers ACH with a headbutt followed by a discus forearm. ACH tries to clothesline Lee again and this time they both drop to their knees.

Lee plants ACH with the Spirit Bomb managing only a two count. Lee goes to the middle rope and connects with a moonsault for a two count. Lee counters a sunset flip attempt and chops ACH to the mat. Lee runs into a superkick but hits a Pounce. ACH recovers for a lariat and the brainbuster to win the match. (**3/4. The match was mostly slow and plodding, but there was some good action in there. The finish was explosive since ACH was able to finally hit a lariat to drop Lee and spiked Lee with the brainbuster. There was some story to it, but it’s not a match that I’d go out of my way to see if it were a selling point for anyone to maybe check out.) After the match, as per usual they remain in the ring and this leads to them putting each other over. Lee thanks the fans since he is WWE bound.

Backstage, MJF is pissed about getting eliminated by Paco. He says he’s the best in AAW but doesn’t believe anyone can touch him on the microphone or in the ring. He brings up Ace Romero and thinks that Romero is starting to realize that he’s not man enough. MJF is now pissed and says that Romero’s ton of fun isn’t going to help him. MJF calls Romero turkey tits and he’ll take a loss to him.

Backstage, Trevor Lee is exhausted following his triple threat match and asks if they saw what he did out there. Lee notes he made it to arena and he’s still the champion. He talks about being the only star on the show next weekend for WrestleMania. Lee wants to start getting everything that belongs to him. He’s going after the AAW Heavyweight Championship. He credits Paco for winning the rumble. Lee asks who Myron Reed thinks he is. Reed just does Ricochet and AR Fox moves. Lee says that whoever wants some they can fight him. He is AAW.

Backstage, Ace Romero says he was close to winning the Heritage Rumble. Romero says he has been friends with MJF for a long time. He is sick of MJF and his problem. He calls MJF a leech and says he has gone too far. Romero will finally wrestle MJF on April 13th. Romero is going to kick his ass.

Backstage, AAW Heavyweight Champion ACH says you can’t say he doesn’t work hard or discredit his success. ACH says that people don’t like he acts like a child and think he can’t be successful because of his child-like antics. He notes that he just beat Keith Lee and now he has to defend against Trevor Lee next weekend. ACH says that Trevor Lee will not walk out as the champion and admits that he might not win because of David Starr and Jeff Cobb. ACH wrestles Rey Fenix on April 13th. He will not respect people until they start respecting him. ACH wants to know anyone else that has defended a title as much over the course of three weeks.

Final Thoughts:
There is some quality wrestling on the show, but not really enough to warrant a recommendation this time around. The show runs over three hours, including the interviews. I like the presentation that AAW has and this isn’t a show that would prevent me from watching more. It’s just a skippable show in the grand scheme of things.

Thanks for reading.