Realistically, I’m not Steven Mitchell. I have no clue how the guy does it honestly. That being said, I hope to do anywhere from 2-3 of these a week in order to keep fresh content rolling out for you guys. Hopefully, you’ve enjoyed the return of ‘What I Watched’ with the CZW show that was posted before this. Any and all questions, comments, complaints and criticisms are welcome if you want to reach out to me on either Facebook or Twitter. I’m hebtheeagle on either platform. 

So, what are we up to today? We’re going to take a trip back more than a decade ago, as I head to Austin, Texas in the year 2012. The company is Anarchy Championship Wrestling. It’s owned by Darin Childs and is a hotbed in the area as these shows usually draw pretty well for an Indie. I have seen the shows that proceed this but if you are interested in looking into more information, I recommend visiting the http://www.cagematch.net page for ACW for more backstory. With that said, it’s off to April 15th of 2012, as ‘What I Watched’ goes to Peace, Love and Anarchy from ACW.

What I Watched #12

ACW Peace, Love and Anarchy 2012

4/15/12

Austin, TX

Runtime: 3:19:58 (IWTV, available for $10 a month. Highest recommendation for this service from yours truly)

THE RESULTS

• Match 1: Davey Vega/Pierre Abernathy def. Jojo Bravo/Jordan Jensen, Abernathy taps Jensen with a Crossface @ 8:25
• Match 2: ACW U-30 Title- Chingo del Santos pins JC Bravo ©, Muscle Cruncher @ 9:35
• Ricky Romida vs. Chris Conine is removed from show
• Match 3: ACW Hardcore Title- Matthew Palmer © pins Rachel Summerlynn, Centerfold Splash @ 18:20
• Match 4: Darin Childs/Kris Wolfe/Scot Summers def. Jason Silver/Killah Kash/Sky de Lacrimosa, Childs pins Silver with “Fall From Grace” @ 14:36
• Match 5: ACW Anarchy Televised Title- Davey Vega © pins Jerry Lynn, V-8 @ 11:30
• Match 6: Evan Gelistico wins 6 way elimination match @ 13:32

*JT LaMotta pins Gregory James, toss-up ace crusher @ 6:28

*Mat Fitchett pins LaMotta, SSP @ 8:38

*Awesome Andy pins Bolt Brady, Tiger Driver @ 9:45

*Fitchett pins Andy, poison ‘rana (and a doozy) @ 11:22

*Gelistico taps Fitchett, elevated St. Louis Stretch @ 13:32

• Match 7: Lady Poison pins Serenity, Poison Kiss @ 4:50
• Match 8: ACW American Joshi Title- Angel Blue © pins Barbi Hayden, rollup with tights @ 9:43
• Match 9: ACW Heavyweight Title- ACH wins 4 way elimination match @ 21:18

*Jaykus ‘Biohazard’ Plissken pins Gary Jay, Brainbreaker @ 13:48

*Plissken pins Shawn Vexx, jumping knee @ 14:58

*ACH pins Plissken, 2nd rope 450 splash @ 21:18

THE BREAKDOWN

Davey Vega/Pierre Abernathy vs. Jojo Bravo/Jordan Jensen

*A breezy comedy match to open but I think one that overstays its welcome a little. I like Vega and have for years. You’ll get a better chance of seeing what he’s capable of later in the show. Abernathy has a great mind for the business (owns and operates St. Louis Anarchy these days), but was never the best in the ring. Bravo and Jensen were a young team and still learning but they were clearly in the ring to be fodder for the “St. Louis Superpowers”. (**)

ACW U-30 Title- JC Bravo © vs. Chingo del Santos

*This match goes all the way back to the breakup of the Smurf Nation, which was a fun little group that also included Barry Breeze (who retired and got engaged) and Angel Blue (who we’ll talk about more later). JC is legit like five foot even whereas Chingo is a bigger dude, so the big man/little man dynamic was an easy story to tell but JC did end up in control of most of the match. The best part of the match is the finish, which I’d imagine Chingo has a name for but I do not know. It started like a ‘Muscle Buster’ but then Chingo pushes JC out into a variation of Nikki Roxx’s “Barbie Cruncher” which compresses the spine. Visually impressive and got a reaction from the fans at the Mohawk too. (**)

ACW Hardcore Title- Matthew Palmer © vs Rachel Summerlynn

*I have a very serious issue with a balcony fall being no-sold. I get that Palmer’s character is borderline psychotic but having him get right back up after being thrown off the balcony into the ring (probably a ten foot drop?) just didn’t sit well with me. The rest of the match is slightly above average and Rachel is someone who, if she could have kept her head straight, could have been a star in wrestling. Attractive, strong worker, believable, passionate. Alas, the star burned out. Palmer is still wrestling these days but would probably be better known to most wrestling fans as Mr. Ember Moon/Athena. (***)

Jason Silver/Killah Kash/Sky de Lacrimosa vs. Darin Childs/Kris Wolfe/Scot Summers

*Good news, bad news from this match. The bad news is this match devolves into a clusterfuck relatively quickly. I kind of expected that given the participants and the company, but some semblance of order would have been nice. That said, I did really like the angle that came out of this match with the spike that Killah Kash used on ‘Showtime’ Scot Summers. It gave Kash instant heat by taking out a fan favorite and boosted a dude who has a tremendous look to that next level. Summers is taken out with an eye injury and somehow replaced in the match by Jerry Lynn. They do go to the finish shortly thereafter as Childs catches Silver with the ‘Fall From Grace’, a fireman’s carry into Michinoku Driver (think Whiplash by Lash LeRoux or Shinsuke Nakamura’s Landslide) for the win (**½)

ACW Anarchy Televised Title- Davey Vega © vs. Jerry Lynn

*Two of the best in Texas at the time (Lynn at one point may have been the single most underrated worker in the world) and it’s sadly used as a background to continue the split of the Submission Squad in ACW (Vega/Abernathy/Gelistico/Jay/Athena). The match itself is good but you can’t help but feel a little disappointed. I’m all for storytelling but I usually prefer it not to come at the expense of what would have been a big moment in a relatively young Davey Vega’s career as it is the interference of Jay and Gelistico that directly leads to the finish with Vega getting the win. (***) 

Mat Fitchett vs. Gregory James vs. JT LaMotta vs. Awesome Andy vs. Bolt Brady vs. Evan Gelistico

*Best match on the show up to this point and in a rarity for these type of matches, no notable obvious screwups. There were a couple moments were things got a little sideways but it wasn’t anything major and the action flowed very well while telling a good story in the process. Gelistico’s story is that he’s snapped after losing his opportunity at ACH and the ACW Title. He works a very calculated match here and it ties in well with the new character. My favorite elimination is Fitchett taking out Awesome Andy with a poison ‘rana in one of the few times that move looks devastating. Gelistico does secure a win here and I’d imagine sets himself up for another run at ACH or perhaps a shot at Vega at the TV title based on the finish of that match (***½)

Serenity vs. Lady Poison

*Take two girls, give them about five (ish) minutes and have the finish be a kiss spot. Kinda misogynistic (not the worst thing on the show, sadly) but works for the bar crowd they are marketing too. Lady Poison (Jessica James’ alter ego) is a crowd pleaser and similar in presentation to an early Undertaker in that it is very difficult to hurt her. Serenity came in and did okay, I guess. I’ve not seen her before and the truth is, I wasn’t terribly impressed here. (*½)

ACW American Joshi Title- Angel Blue © vs. Barbi Hayden

*First things first, as a man, Barbi Hayden is an absolutely stunning woman. The thing that you wouldn’t expect is she’s a tough little thing too. The ring gear (it basically amounts to a red leopard print bikini) is clearly sex appeal but there is some go behind the show. Angel Blue is a story of “owner sees, owner likes” and the fans turned on Angel because of it. She would actually develop into a pretty decent little wrestler off of it but fans never really got over the fact that Darin Childs chose Angel over Rachel and they held it against Angel. Justin Bissonette burying the girl on commentary (see you next Tuesday…) drives that point home as well. (**½)

ACW Heavyweight Title- ACH © vs. Shawn Vexx vs. Gary Jay vs. ‘Biohazard’ Jaykus Plissken

*Of the four, ACH is probably the biggest name but sadly for all the wrong reasons with the way his WWE run (as Jordan Myles) ended. Gary Jay is one of the Indie mainstays in 2022 and a super cool dude (the documentary about him on the St. Louis Anarchy Youtube page is fantastic). Plissken was someone I never got invested in but he was a veteran at this point, having trained alongside Bryan Danielson, Brian Kendrick and Paul London at the Texas Wrestling Academy…the school that was owned by Shawn Michaels. Sadly, the fourth member of the match requires a down note to finish the review as we lost Shawn Vexx on May 1st, 2021. RIP, “Infamous”.

As for the match…one of the biggest tropes I hate in wrestling is when a guy (or girl) keeps picking up an opponent they have beaten in order to “extend the beating” or “establish dominance”. I hate it. It’s overused and it does no favors to the person being picked up. Especially when that person is your Heavyweight champion of the company. I get that they want to put over the fact that Plissken is a monster. I have no issues with that. But I think you do a fine enough job of that by having him take out both Jay and Vexx from the match so that you don’t need to go back to the trope mentioned above. Overall, the ring work in this match is excellent and the phrase “Best in Texas” got thrown around a lot at this time but each of these four could have made a case for it. (****)

THE FINAL REACTION

Slightly better than the CZW show I did for #11. The valleys were slightly lower here (the sub five minute women’s match and some questionable choices in terms of editing. To say nothing of the post-show promos which are basically more or less inaudible). But with the six way and four way elimination matches delivering and a chance to see one of the most underrated wrestlers of all time (Lynn), it’s a pretty easy way to spend just over three hours.

One of the things I do think ACW needed to work on is show lengths. Ideally, two to two and a half hours for an Indie show to keep most people’s attention. After that, you start losing the thread to some of your followers. It’s also the reason a lot of promotions cut entrances these days (well, that and bands starting to crack down on unlicensed use of their music at sporting events). Call it a 7/10 with room for improvement. Good start for Anarchy here at ‘What I Watched’.

Best Match/Moment: Main event for sure as all four work hard even if the closing story works against them.

Worst Match/Moment: The sign that was held up during Chingo del Santos’ entrance. IWTV may want to consider scrubbing that. It’s 2022, guys.

Overall Show Score: 7/10

MVP: This is a tough one. I’ll give it to Mat Fitchett with the way he tied everything together in that six way scramble match. Honorable mentions to Davey Vega and Evan Gelistico.

THE SIGNOFF

And thus concludes the second review of the return from hiatus. ACW is a promotion that I got into when I first got into the Indies back around 2008/09, so it was nice to go back and relive some of what made me enjoy the company in the first place. I do hope that Darin Childs will eventually allow more of the ACW back catalog to be put on IWTV because it would be fun to go back and watch the shows that originally got me into the company.

Where does ‘What I Watched’ go next? As I told you guys last time, I honestly am not sure. I do want to cover some mainstream shows and in my Network watchalong, I am approaching WCW Starrcade 1998 which is a pretty notorious show for a number of reasons. Is that where I go next? There will be another Indie show watched now and Starrcade too, so perhaps that will be my next choice. Who knows. But I do hope you’ll tune in to find out. Thanks for reading, everyone and I’ll see you next time for ‘What I Watched’.

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