2/4 AAW LEGACY REPORT: Fitchett vs. Laredo Kid, Young vs. Manders, Russ Jones vs. Jake Something, more

AAW: LEGACY
FEBRUARY 4, 2022
AIRED ON FITE TV
REPORT BY CHRISTOPHER MAITLAND

-Before the first match, it was revealed that Ace Austin was not in the building.

(1) DAVEY VEGA vs. STORM GRAYSON vs. SHANE HOLLISTER vs. STEVEN WOLF

Fast action all throughout with some high-flying moves from each guy. Vega was the strong heel throughout the match and generated the most heat. In the end, Hollister and Wolf battled to the outside of the ring. In the ring, Vega downed Grayson with an inverted DDT and made the cover for the win.

WINNER: Vega via pinfall

(Heydorn’s Analysis: A fun opening match. Short, but good action. Hollister and Wolf primed for a feud given the angle at the end.)

-After the match Wolf destroyed Hollister and spit on him before leaving the ringside area.

(2) CAMARO JACKSON & MIKE OUTLAW vs. ACH & JAH-C

The match had two chapters. The first saw Jackson and Outlaw dominate with offense on ACH. ACH sold like a million bucks and they slowly built to the hot tag. ACH milked the tag to the point where he almost reached Jah-C’s finger tips before being pulled away. Eventually, the tag was made and Jah-C and he cleared the ring. From there, the action was split evenly culminating with a near fall on ACH after a death valley driver. ACH was able to pull his team together for the win after a vertical brainbuster.

WINNER: ACH & JAH-C via pinfall

(Heydorn’s Analysis: Really good tag match. Smart psychology, but very physical as well. Jackson and Outlaw were impressive.)

(3) REN JONES & CHRISTI JAYNES vs. VICTOR BENJAMIN & LADY FROST

Slow action to start, but things picked up after the brawl around the arena. All four participants battled into the bar area with Frost connecting with a moonsault off the bar and onto everyone else in the match. In the end, Jaynes hit Benjamin with a low blow and Jones connected with a massive top rope elbow drop for the victory.

WINNER: Jones & Jaynes via pinfall

(Heydorn’s Analysis: Messy in parts — especially the intergender stuff. The bar brawl was a smart pivot in tone, but just couldn’t get things out of second gear.)

-A pre-taped promo aired from Mike Bennett

(4) RUSS JONES vs. JAKE SOMETHING

A big man style match all the way through. Jones and Something worked snug and laid in power moves on each other for seven straight minutes. Something hit Jones with massive powerbomb in the middle of the ring and covered, but only got a two count out of it. Jones quickly took back control of the momentum and connected with a knee strike to the back of Something’s head for the win.

WINNER: Jones via pinfall

(Heydorn’s Analysis: Match of the night so far. Jones and Something hit each other was incredible physicality and excellently conveyed a fight. Big man on big man and didn’t try to be more than that.)

-A pre-taped promo aired from Josh Alexander.

(5) JOSH ALEXANDER vs. MIKE BENNETT

Alexander and Bennett went back and forth for nearly 20 minutes in this. They exchanged vicious chops throughout, with the action staying in the ring for over 95% of the time. The spot of the match for Alexander was a series of 7 German suplexes. For Bennett, it was a top rope avalanche driver that netted him in a near fall. Alexander was able to lock in his ankle lock submission two times during the match, but Bennett escaped. The third time, Bennett tapped out to give Alexander the victory.

WINNER: Alexander via submission.

(Heydorn’s Analysis: Really good stuff. Alexander is such a smooth worker, but with violence at the core. His striking and wrestling were crisp in the match and Bennett sold well for him. Alexander was playing gatekeeper role in this match and Bennett couldn’t overcome. Sidebar on Bennett. He looked excellent and kept pace with Alexander all throughout.)

(6) SCHAFF vs. FRED YEHI – Unsanctioned Match

A bloody battle, but what it needed to be to settle what was a personal grudge feud. This had tables, ladders, chairs, bricks, forks, railroad spikes, and more. Yehi controlled most of the match causing Schaff to bleed. With Schaff down, Yehi walked to the back and brought two bricks out to the ring. Schaff was able to snag one of those and crushed Yehi in the head before covering for the win.

WINNER: Schaff via pinfall

(Heydorn’s Analysis: This went as expected as both men have been in a blood feud. The violence level was high, but not irresponsible, which made it more fun to watch. Schaff securing the win lines up a world title match sometime soon.)

(7) MAT FITCHETT vs. LAREDO KID – AAW World Championship Match

A brisk pace from both started things off. Laredo Kid and Fitchett countered moves left and right in an effort to get momentum in the match. Laredo Kid got it first and beat down Fitchett with high flying moves. Fitchett battled back and it was a top rope splash onto the back of Laredo Kid that turned the tide fully in his favor. Fitchett hit his brainbuster finish soon after for the win.

WINNER: Fitchett via pinfall

(Heydorn’s Analysis: The work wasn’t bad, but the length just didn’t give it time to ever truly get going. The pace was outstanding and Fitchett’s selling was good as usual. This needed 10 more minutes and as the first title defense for Fitchett, deserved it.)

(8) MANDERS vs. SILAS YOUNG – Bull Rope Match

Young walked out in street clothes and said he couldn’t wrestle the match due to having an injured neck. Instead, he brought out who he called a suitable replacement. That replacement was a no name jobber who Manders destroyed in seconds. Right out of that pin, Young attacked Manders from behind and the rope match was on. Manders and Young broke out the doors and chairs to settle their feud. They battled all around the venue with both bleeding. Manders created a structure of tables early in the match. Late, Val Malone walked to the ring, presumably to help Manders. Instead, she pushed Manders through his own table contraption and sided with Silas Young. Young dragged Manders back into the ring and made the cover for the win.

WINNER: Young via pinfall

(Heydorn’s Analysis: A fine match with a fitting story for the end, but similar to the Yehi and Schaff match so spots didn’t stand out. If it’s me, I flip this with the title match and give that more time, but this was a key story for the promotion.)

CATCH-UP: 11/26 AAW WINDY CITY CLASSIC XVI REPORT: Fred Yehi vs. Mat Fitchett for the AAW World Championship, Allysin Kay vs. Skye Blue for the AAW Women’s Championship, more