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For a special Thursday night event, AAW returns to the World Famous Berwyn Eagles Club for 2017's Defining Moment. With only two matches announced, featuring the AAW debut of Cody Rhodes and the heated match a year in a making between Fenix & Sami Callihan, the crowd at Berwyn was SOLD OUT and on fire all night long. Phil Colvin & Tyler Volz welcomes everybody to Berwyn and the first match begins...
Match 1: Connor Braxton vs. PACO
A short, yet entertaining match which had Chicago's favorite underdog in PACO roll up Connor Braxton for the win.
Winner: PACO in 1:57
Post match, Jeff Cobb (fresh off last month's match altering interference at United We Stand) comes out and destroys PACO and throws him around like a rag doll.
Match 2: Jeff Cobb vs. "Bad Boy" Joey Janela in 12:01
Cobb is an absolute beast and spent a lot of the match throwing Janela around and showcasing his raw power. Cobb is definitely showing a lot more character in the role of the villain after costing Eddie Kingston his match last month. Janela spent a lot of time trying to take down Cobb, but right when it seemed Cobb was about to have Joey's number, AR Fox came out to distract Cobb. Although Joey had the perfect opportunity, it became a back and forth battle until Cobb destroys Janela with the Tour of the Islands.
Winner: Jeff Cobb in 12:01
We cut to a video package of Vega & Fitchett backstage as the tension continues to escalate, hinting at a break-up of the besties. ACH intervened between the two and asked them to come together later tonight, which leads to...
Match 3: "Besties in the World" (Davey Vega / Mat Fitchett) & ACH def. Team Tremendous (Dan Barry / Bill Carr) & Colt Cabana
With a sense of a breakup looming between the Besties, it was obvious the tensions were high between Vega & Fitchett. ACH intervened multiple times through the match to ensure nothing occured between the two. As the match started, the crowd was easily split between support for Davey Vega & Colt Cabana. This match was just a ton of fun showcasing the entertainment skills between all six men. Later in the match, Davey Vega sacrificed both Fitchett and ACH to Cabana's elbows, only to have it backfire by having Tremendous catching him off guard and whipping Vega into Cabana's elbow. Just as you thought the match was going to end, Fitchett, ACH and Vega come together to overcome Team Tremendous & Cabana.
Winner: Besties in the World & ACH in 11:13
Post match, an exchange of words and shoves began to happen between Vega & Fitchett. ACH once again tries to intervene to have them band together. Reluctantly, Vega joins in and the group celebrate together to the theme of Friends and make their way out of the ring.
Match 4: Shane Strickland vs. Matt Riddle
In my opinion, this was the match of the night. It is hard to type up the summary, but this was an extremely close back and forth match. These two guys had the entire crowd on their feet by the end of the match with it looking as if either man was going to win. Riddle eventually overcomes Strickland via submission.
Winner: Matt Riddle in 15:21
Post match, the audience threw money into the ring.
Match 5: Trevor Lee vs Keith Lee vs AR Fox Trevor starts off the match trying to convince Keith Lee to join him on Impact Wrestling and he can work to get him a deal. He shuts out AR Fox stating he's not worth of the honor of being an Impact Superstar. Keith Lee obviously turned down Trevor as Fox eventually jumped Trevor. This was another match of two guys trying to take down Lee who has been a huge impact in AAW the past few months. Mid-match, Jeff Cobb came out and laid out AR Fox ringside. This gave Trevor Lee the opportunity to put in some offense to Keith, only to become overpowered by Keith Lee via a HUGE looking powerbomb.
Winner: Keith Lee in 10:50
Match 6 for the AAW Heritage Championship: Brian Cage vs Penta El Zero M (c)
In a good match with the always entertaining Cage, Pentagon retains the Heritage championship. Definitely a fun outing between the two guys.
Winner: Penta El Zero M in 8:41
Match 7 for the AAW Tag Team Championship: OI4K vs Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz
This was a great match of the AAW veterans getting bested by the new blood in AAW. Wentz & Xavier are definitely the future of the business and were able to escape with the titles.
Winners: Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz in 8:58
Match 8. DJZ vs Cody Rhodes
Before the match begins, Cody Rhodes gets on the mic and tears down Chicago calling it a second rate wannabe city. He suggested that he wants his hot dogs the proper way, with ketchup. The crowd turned on him immediately, obviously. (Personal Note: Ketchup should never go on a hot dog. Those are fighting words). Cody then instructed DJZ to kiss his ring, which DJZ refused. These two had a competitive match with the crowd split evenly between the two by the end. Cody narrowly defeats DJZ as he captures the win.
Winner: Cody Rhodes in 13:03
Post match, Cody gets on the mic and shows his appreciation to the AAW crowd, admitting that he himself actually doesn't like ketchup. He puts over DJZ who is overcoming an injury and wasn't 100%, and admitted if he was... there is a good chance DJZ definitely would win.
Match 9 for the AAW Heavyweight Championship: Rey Fenix vs Sami Callihan (c) w/ JT Davidson
This rivalry has been built up over the past year and has escalated its way until tonight. Based upon their encounter earlier this month at Jawbreaker, the stipulation was added that if Sami wins, not only does he retain the championship but Rey Fenix must lose his mask. This match was a great payoff to what was an amazing feud through the past year. Near the end of the match, Sami pulls off the mask of Rey Fenix as it looks like Rey is about to be finished. Rey was able to pull an extra mask out of the hands of JT Davidson and comeback against the Death Machine. Rey pins Sami and is your new AAW Heavyweight Champion!
Winner: Rey Fenix in 16:56
Post match, Sami Callihan gives Rey the title and pays respect to the new champion. As he leaves the ring, Pentagon comes out. Before the show, it was stated that Pentagon will face the champioin at the next AAW event, "Seize the Day" in Lasalle, IL on October 7th. The brothers initially stand off against each other, only for it to eventually become a celebration of Fenix's title win.
