Ohio’s Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW) is prepping for their big WrestleMania showcase in two weeks, but first, they have one last local show before heading to New Jersey. WrestleRave goes down this coming Thursday in Lakewood, Ohio, with a huge championship match, a look at some emerging young stars from the Midwest and beyond, plus a special appearance from Ireland’s “Session Moth” Martina!
Parker Pierce vs. Rex Brody
Parker Pierce is best known for working in the tag team The Party Never Stops alongside Big Twan Tucker, but on Thursday night the young star is facing a 16-year veteran of the Midwest indie scene in Rex Brody. Brody made his AIW debut back in 2005 and is a 2x AIW Tag Team Champion with Rufio Rapier in the Cut Throat Crew.
Brian Carson vs. Lee Moriarty vs. Tre Lamar vs. TKD
A fatal four way featuring four of the Midwest’s rising stars. Brian Carson debuted in 2015, a student of NXT Superstars Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae. Pittsburgh’s Lee Moriarty also debuted in 2015, with local indie Pro Wrestling eXpress (PWX, now Fight Society), where he’s a former Fight Society Heavyweight Champion and 3x Fight Society Three Rivers Champion. He made his AIW debut this past February. Tre Lamar is a member of the No Consequences faction that has been ripping it up through AIW since 2017. Meanwhile, TKD is just beginning his journey in his wrestling career, debuting with AIW last year in the Chandler Biggs Tournament.
Zach Thomas vs. Wardlow
“The Man at War” Zach Thomas is one of AIW’s solid homegrown prospects who has been impressing of late, but on Thursday he faces 6-year veteran Wardlow. Despite being from Cleveland, Ohio, this is his AIW debut, as he’s been primarily a regular with Pennsylvania’s International Wrestling Cartel (IWC), where he’s the reigning 3x IWC World Heavyweight Champion and former IWC Super Indy Champion.
Dominic Garrini vs. Wes Barkley
Wes Barkley is another young star he’s just finding his way into his career, debuting with AIW back in 2018. He’s facing one of the top up-and-comers in North Canton, Ohio’s Dominic Garrini. Apart from working with AIW since his debut in 2016, he’s also been a part of Catch Point in EVOLVE Wrestling, and is a regular in the Southern indies, especially with his tag team Sadkampf with Kevin Ku.
Ryder Reid vs. Victor Benjamin (w/ Lady Frost)
Another of AIW’s young studs, Ryder Reid also debuted in 2018 with AIW. Pittsburgh’s Victor Benjamin is also fairly new to the game, also debuting in 2018, but he’s made huge strides in the past year, alongside his valet Lady Frost (who recently had a tryout with the WWE), with IWA Mid South and Blackcraft Wrestling.
“All Ego” Ethan Page & Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham vs. The Philly Marino Experience (Marino Tenaglia & Philly Collins)
“All Ego” Ethan Page makes his first appearance for AIW in 2019, as he returns to team up with Dr. Daniel C. Rockingham once again. They haven’t been too successful yet in their past pairings, but they hope to turn that around when they face The Philly Marino Experience on Thursday. The PME made their debut with Ohio’s Mega Championship Wrestling (MEGA) in 2016, where they’re the reigning and 2x MEGA Tag Team Champions, and debuted in AIW in 2017. Both teams will be looking for a big win to get closer to a shot at the AIW Tag Team titles.
Allie Kat vs. Kylie Rae
All Elite Wrestling (AEW)‘s Kylie Rae has been a hot commodity of late, after breaking out in 2018 as one of the next great stars on the US indie scene. The Chicago native is the current reigning Freelance Wrestling Champion, 2x Zelo Pro Women’s Champion, Brew City Wrestling Ladies Champion and Capitol Wrestling Alliance (CWA) Champion in Delaware, as well as a former All American Wrestling (AAW) Women’s Champion and 3x Diamonds Champion with Booker T‘s Reality of Wrestling (ROW). She’s facing off against another emerging star who began in the Texas indies in Allie Kat. A star with Inspire Pro and Anarchy Championship Wrestling, she broke out of the Texas indies in 2017, and has since worked with AAW, Glory Pro, CHIKARA, AIW, SHIMMER and many more.
The Production (Derek Director, Eddy Only & Danhausen) vs. “Session Moth” Martina & Weird World (Alex Kellar & Evan Adams)
The Production and Weird World have been feuding for over a year now in AIW and this time, the battle gets a little more bants. The Production trio of Derek Director, Eddy Only and Danhausen team up to face Weird World, but Alex Kellar and Evan Adams have a special partner on Thursday night in Ireland’s own “Session Moth” Martina. One of Europe’s top indie stars, Martina is over in the US for WrestleMania week, and she’s starting a bit early with AIW on Thursday.
AIW Intense Championship: Matthew Justice (c) vs. G-Raver
The hard hitting Matthew Justice has been AIW Intense Champion since last November, when he defeated AIW legend Tim Donst for the belt. Since then, he’s fended off challenges from KTB, Tre Lamar, Wheeler YUTA and Dominic Garrini. On Thursday, he faces a rejuvenated G-Raver, an 11-year pro who has seen a career resurgence in the past couple of years, primarily in more hardcore promotions like Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), Hardcore Hustle Organization (H2O) and Mexico’s Desastre Total Ultraviolento (DTU). This one won’t be pretty, but it will be a fight to the finish as these two look to destroy one another for the gold.
