Supporting Midwest talent

Blood, sweat, tears and fears were left out on the mat at AAW (All American Wrestling) in the Berwyn Eagles Club in Berwyn, IL on Friday, January 26^th. Fans could be seen jumping from their chairs and screaming their lungs out whenever their favorite wrestler would pull out their signature move. Far from the jaded performers seen on national TV every week, just 20 minutes out of Chicago is some of the most intense, interactive and heart-pounding action that $18 can buy.

The announcer climbed into the 18 foot ring and began to serve the hungry audience what they had all come there for, raw and aspiring talent from all over the region. Wrestlers traveling from Wisconsin, Iowa and of course one of the wrestling capitols of the nation, Chicago, gathered to put their bodies on the line for a chance at the AAW Heritage Title. Two pre-show matches started out the “Chaos Theory” event. Pre-show matches were used to fire up the crowd, and will not be featured on the DVD release. The spots in these matches are usually filled by wrestlers who are trying to earn a spot on the roster.

After a lukewarm pre-show, the event finally started to heat up with the matches of the tournament. Mat Fitchett faced off against Christian Able, but as the match started to sway from one side to the other, Fitchett landed a perfectly formed 450 splash, a double front-flip body slam from the top rope, and ended the match, advancing to the next round. Davey Vega faced some stiff competition from the muscular Vic Capri, but was able to pull out the win. O’Reilly, hailing from British Columbia and TD Thomas from Detroit, Michigan, had the audience giving a standing ovation at the end. In a very physical 13 minute match that saw both of them kick each other senseless, O’Reilly was able to squeak out a victory.

Current heavyweight champion Michael Elgin (in black and silver) performing a stalling vertical suplex, for 60 seconds, to former AAW Heritage champion Shane Hollister (in black and green).

AAW had its slower moments, populated by video packages and in-ring segments meant to push the storylines, but pretty much everyone was just there for the wrestling. The wrestlers definitely played off the energy of the crowd, whether it was back-talking belligerent fans or calling for them to cheer on a hurt comrade during a tag-team match. This is what allows AAW and its independent brethren to survive; the connection between the fans and the wrestlers. But AAW also happens to have some pretty amazing and extremely dedicated wrestlers.

These wrestlers are treated like a second family when it comes to the fans. During intermission some will walk around and talk to the fans. Some can even be spotted walking the streets before the doors open and would be more than happy to spark up a conversation. That extreme egotistical side that most higher-up professional wrestlers have is mostly gone with these wrestlers. They work outside of this once-a-month weekend job, and can understand where the fans are coming from because they are still just like them. They remember the fans and treat them well, outside of their ring character of course.

The final fight of the night was an insane match-up between two AAW veterans, Shane Hollister and Silas Young teaming up against Davey Richards and current AAW Heavyweight Champion Michael Elgin. The fight lasted a whopping 18 minutes, but every second of it, from slaps to kicks, kept the audience screaming for more. Wrestlers could be seen flying into barricades, the crowd, over the top rope and into each other. They would just keep jumping back up over and over again giving out chops and tight submission holds to each other. One kick-out after another caused everyone in the house to be at the edge of their seat until a sudden betrayal from Richards on his teammate, Elgin, left the audience shocked.

These athletes put their bodies on the line every night, without the endorsement deals and million dollar contracts of other professional athletes. Their passion comes out when the audience cheers for them or boos them and feeds their characters. They are in it for the love of their profession. Some may think it is not real, but these fans are anything but shy about expressing their love of wrestling.

AAW’s next event “Durty Deeds” is on Sunday, February 10th at 5pm at Durty Nellie's in Palatine, Illinois.