All-Star Wrestling Network Halloween Hell 11 Report from Byron on November 4

From Larry Goodman: All-Star Wrestling Network ran their 11th annual Halloween Hell spectacular featuring a two ring War Games w...

From Larry Goodman:

All-Star Wrestling Network ran their 11th annual Halloween Hell spectacular featuring a two ring War Games with control of the company on the line.

At 14 years and counting, AWN is the longest running independent wrestling company in the state of Georgia.

The show was moved to the Byron Middle School Gym from the friendly confines of the AWN Wrestleplex in Fort Valley to accommodate the War Games. Attendance was 175 with the crowds split fairly evenly between avid AWN followers and generic wrestling fans. The running time was 2:45.

HH 11 was a satisfying night of wrestling. The War Games delivered on all fronts. I was impressed by the talent up and down the card. The AWN roster is a way stronger than it was say five years ago which was frankly one of the reasons I never made it to Fort Valley during the Rampage years. If HH 11 is any indication, the creative team is one of AWN’s strengths. They did a good job with most of the details.

No two ways about it, doing a Halloween-themed show on November 4 felt strange no matter what the reason.

Ring announcer Ben Masters opened the show. He talked about Byron being his old stomping grounds and a teacher getting body slammed during the school assembly earlier in the day (where AWN put on two matches for the students).

Rather than doing the traditional coin flip to determine the man advantage in the War Games, Masters explained that it would be best two out of three matches between wrestlers representing Backbone and Team AWN. The added stakes made the undercard matches more meaningful.

AWN owner Mike Money addressed the crowd concerning the stakes in the War Games. If Backbone defeated Team AWN, Money would be history and the extremely despicable and incredibly annoying Ryan North would be in control.

(1) Chip Day defeated Bobby Moore via submission in 15:55 to put Team AWN up 1-0 for the man advantage in War Games. Day’s music played for Moore came so Day did an about face and came out to something else. Day had the crowd behind him pretty strong. Moore couldn’t decide which ring he wanted to wrestle in. These two guys can have a good match in their sleep, tons of strikes with both men hitting their signature moves. I’ve really come to appreciate the awesomeness of Day’s selling. Day sparked his comeback with a slice leg drop as Moore tried to spear him off the apron. Moore answered with a DVD for a near fall. Moore shrugged off a tornado DDT, ducked a tornado kick then connected with a fist for another near fall. Day escaped a second DVD and hit the tornado kick but Moore kicked out. Moore kicked out of a tornado DDT but Day immediately applied a leglock and Moore tapped. Really nice build to the finish.

(2) Effy Gibbs (with Merica Strong) pinned Damien Silva at 11:14 to tie it up at 1-1 for the War Games advantage. Gibbs isn’t especially athletic or spectacular in the ring, but he’s an effective heel character that knows how to get a story across. Gibbs tried to goad Silva into telling Strong how beautiful she was. The punchline was Silva applying a spinning toehold and ordering Gibbs to tell him how beautiful he was. That drew a “kiss the ref” chant. Gibbs caused Silva to put on the brakes by using Strong as a shield. Gibbs proceeded to give Silva a beating. Gibbs most interesting move of the match was butt bomb into a double arm submission. Silva hit a sweet uranage as Gibbs charged in but Gibbs kicked out of his delayed cover. Strong shook the ropes to distract Silva, resulting in a crash and burn frogsplash. Gibbs got the pin with a rolling reverse using the ropes for leverage. Strong looked none too happy about being close with Gibbs, like he had BO or something.

AWN Heritage Champion Tyson Dean issued an open challenge that was answered by Brian Blaze. Dean said scheduled opponent Tommy Too Much evidently got caught in too much traffic.

(3) Tyson Dean defeated Brian Blaze to retain the AWN Heritage Championship in 10:10. I thought I heard Masters introduce Blaze as “Bobby", but Ben always does his homework so I must have been mistaken. Blaze injured Dean’s knee outside the ring and worked it over bigtime. 

Dean made a one-legged comeback and hit a spinebuster but was not able to follow up. They did the Flair-Steamboat finish with Dean countering Blaze’s figure four leglock with an inside cradle. Match was OK. They lost me with the way they set up the heat – Blaze bailed. Dean followed him out and went on the attack. Referee Daniel Lumm stopped counting to avoid counting them out. I still think a babyface champion should be above such things unless there is a previously established issue with the challenger but that way of looking at things went out the fashion with the hula hoop.

(4) Bill the Butcher (with Oscar Worthy) defeated Odinson in 7:04 to win the War Games advantage for Team Backbone. Butcher attacked Odinson before the bell. They fought in the apron area between the two rings. Butcher stuck Odinson’s head into the gap between the rings. Odinson ran Butcher into both ring posts and heaved him into the ring. Referee Owen Parker waited until they were in the proper ring to call for the bell. Odinson did his deadlift suplexes – really impressive on a guy Butcher’s size. Butcher evaded a charging Odinson and speared him in the corner. Butcher mauled Odinson. He also scared referee Parker out of his wits for trying to intervene.Never underestimate the value of a good referee. Odinson hulked up. Worthy grabbed Odinson’s leg to block his first Pounce attempt and jumped on the apron to distract when Odinson successfully blasted Butcher with the move. Worthy paid dearly as Odinson sent him spinning into the heavens with the F10. Butcher then nailed Odinson with his chain for the 1-2-3. I liked this match a lot. The opening between the rings was different. It felt more organic than Odinson’s match with Cyrus at Fright Night and the F10 on Worthy looked tremendous.

-- 30 minute intermission for Jimmy Oxendine and company to set up the double cages.

Masters and Ryan North went back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth on the mic during the intermission. The crowd chanted “weasel” at North and he does make a most excellent weasel.

(5) Team AWN (Sal Rinauro & Fry Daddy & AJ Steele & Stunt Marshall & Logan Creed) defeated Team Backbone (Michael Stevens & Leon McMichael & AWN Champion Drew Adler & Shane Curtis & Zac Edwards) in the War Games (with elimination rules) at 41:59. Stevens and Rinauro started. Order of entrance as listed in the first sentence. There were intermittent AWE chants throughout. Stevens took the first shot into the cage. Rinauro cut McMichaels off and gamely battled one against two before succumbing to the odds. Fry was a veritable house of fire, hitting the ring wearing a Halloween mask. Rinauro and Fry applied stereo figure four leglocks to Stevens and McMichaels. Backbone took firm control when Adler entered. Adler met Steele outside the cage for a continuation of their personal war. 

 

Steele was getting the better of it until Curtis ran him into the cage from behind. With Steele down on the floor, it was four against two inside the cage. Marshall entered with a dive off the top of the cage for the biggest pop of the match outside the finish. Steele rejoined the fray and Team AWN ruled. Edward swung the momentum back to Backbone. The crowd chanted for Creed to come to the rescue and was rag dolling guys all over the place. Adler made Steele tap out to a cutthroat submission after a Backbone triple team at 22:09. Steele being the first AWN guy eliminated momentarily sucked the life out of the crowd. Along with Creed, Steele was the most over guy on the card. Backbone huddled in one ring. Team AWN in the other. Creed led the charge into battle with a suicide dive into the Backbone ring. Edwards pinned Marshall after another Backbone double team at 26:34. The situation looked mighty grim for Team AWN. Fry pinned Curtis with the Cutline at 28:52 and Creed eliminated McMichael with the full nelson face plant at 31:27 to even up the sides. Rinauro kicked out the Besties finisher. Backbone had him pinned after a fallaway slam into the cage by Adler but Fry made a diving save. Fry pinned Edwards after a Besties screw up at 36:47. Edward laid Fry out before leaving the cage. Meanwhile, Rinauro and Adler were locked in heated battle while standing on the top rope. Rinauro almost dumped Adler over the top of the cage before hitting a swinging neckbreaker off the top rope. Stevens made the save and went for a moonsault from near the top of the cage. It missed and Rianauro pinned him with a short flatliner at 39:52. Adler was left to go it alone against three Team AWN members. He made a mad dash for the top the cage but was pulled down by Fry and Rinauro. Team AWN surrounded Adler as he sat in the middle of ring. He got up and spit at Sal. Creed and Fry then put Adler out of his misery with a cutter/faceplant combo. The place went up for grabs.

The match compared favorably with any of the Peachstate War Games. The storytelling was as clear and compelling as any War Games I’ve seen. It was a great finish made possible by the elimination rules. They didn’t do a ton of crazy spot but they did enough. It didn’t have the violence and extreme elements of the best Cornelia War Games and to me it’s weird to have a bloodless War Games.

Money led the crowd in an AWN chant. He played off the election theme asking for the fans’ vote to make AWN great again. North begged for one more chance. Money called North “Hillary” and put his future to a vote. It was 100% thumbs down. North was tossed into the cage with Team AWN and absorbed a fierce thrashing. They murdered North big moves. Creed ripped his shirt off and chopped his chest beet red. Steele applied the final touch with a Steele City Bomb and the fans could not have been sent home happier.