The Wrestling Revolver is teaming up with AAW Pro and the UK’s Fight Club: Pro over the WrestleMania weekend to present Pancakes & Piledrivers II: The Indy Summit. The show, being held on Saturday April 7th at 11am at The Sugar Mill in New Orleans, boasts an impressive lineup which could potentially include some weekend-stealing matches – which would be no mean feat with the amazing array of action on offer. With a mixture of some amazing high-flying, a lot of heavy-duty striking and a healthy dose of hardcore weaponry, this card looks to be jam-packed with amazing action for all types of fans. AAW will host two championship matches on the show, while stars from Lucha Underground, Impact Wrestling and some of the best independent wrestling companies throughout the world will all be aiming to showcase their best on the most high-profile weekend of the wrestling year.
AAW Heavyweight Championship Match: ACH (c) vs Trevor Lee
While neither man tasted success at last years Pancakes & Piledrivers event, both ACH and Trevor Lee have continued to rise through the independent ranks and turn heads over the last twelve months. Their match here is the culmination of ACH’s rise to the top of AAW and will be another opportunity for each to establish himself as a major player throughout the independent scene. After ACH teamed with Jushin Thunder Liger to defeat Lee and David Starr at last month’s 14th Anniversary Show, plus coming off recent wins over Jimmy Jacobs and Rey Fenix, it would seem likely that ACH will be holding on to the title and enjoying a long, successful reign. That being said, aside from the tag match last month, Lee hasn’t lost a match for AAW since October last year and is the current AAW Heritage Champion, so his star is on the rise for the company as well. Either way, this should be an outstanding match between two well-suited opponents and will likely be a solid, well-rounded and exciting bout which will keep the audience on the edge of their seats.
Prediction: ACH to retain
The Lucha Brothers (Penta El 0M & Rey Fenix) vs. Teddy Hart & Jack Evans
The Lucha Brothers and Jack Evans all had successful weekends this time last year at the first Pancakes and Piledrivers event, with Penta & Fenix defeating the team of Brian Cage & Sami Callihan, while Evans teamed with Angelico to defeat Dave & Jake Crist. This will be a pure high-flying fest, with jaw-dropping aerials and rapidfire action which will leave everyone breathless. Potentially one of the matches that will steal the show, this may even prove to be one of the most high-octane matches of the entire weekend, with all four competitors being amongst the world’s greatest high-flyers. I expect this to be a very close match, with a lot of drama and some creative near falls in amongst the explosive action.
Prediction: Lucha Brothers
OvE (Sami Callihan & Dave & Jake Crist) vs. AR Fox, Joey Janela & Brian Cage
Neither Callihan nor the Crists had any success this time last year at this event, with all of them being on the losing sides of tag matches (see above). Meanwhile, their opponents didn’t really fare much better either, with Cage being Callihan’s partner at last year’s show and Fox and Janela being amongst the ten names defeated by Jason Cade to win the PWR Scramble Title. That being said, Callihan and his OVE teammates seem to be the natural favourites in this one, having formed a solid alliance to go against their makeshift team of opponents. With Callihan particularly over right now following the controversy of his Impact feud with Eddie Edwards, you should expect some overtly heelish tactics and utter brutality to result in a win for Callihan and his cronies.
Prediction: OVE
Jessicka Havok vs. Kimber Lee vs. Meiko Satomura
This is likely to be the hardest hitting women’s match you will see over the WrestleMania weekend. With Meiko Satomura having only recently competed in her first matches for FCP in the UK (and won the FCP Championship) and having previously dominated in her appearances for CHIKARA and her regular haunt, Sendai Girls (a promotion she owns), the former regular opponent of Asuka is a natural fit for this year’s WrestleMania weekend. She will be intending to introduce her own brand of power and superior technical wrestling to fans in the States and she could not ask for two better opponents to work against. Jessicka Havok is on a major roll after winning the AAW women’s championship last December and Kimber Lee is looking to re-establish her dominance now that she is back on the indy scene. All three are renowned for their power and their speed, so this will likely be a fast-paced match with some impressive strength displays and some sickeningly heavy hitting.
Prediction: Jessicka Havok wins
Jeff Cobb vs. Shane Strickland
It is surprising that these two have never been booked to face each other before, but thankfully, we will get to see it now. Two of the world’s top Indy stars, both undoubtedly on all the major radars for potential spots on bigger stages, these two will almost certainly bring out the best in each other and provide a mixed showcase of their eclectic skills. While Cobb scored a win over David Starr at the inaugural Pancakes & Piledrivers show last year, Strickland suffered a loss at the hands of recent NXT signee, Ricochet. Cobb has also been undefeated in AAW since December while Strickland has only won two out of his last six matches for the company. Even so, the match will definitely be one to watch, with both having the skills to pull out a fantastic performance. This will be another potential candidate to steal the show, so you should expect big things from this bout.
Prediction: Jeff Cobb
Colt Cabana & Marty Derosa vs Joey Ryan & Session Moth Martina
While Joey Ryan and the UK’s Session Moth Martina seem like a tag team made in heaven with their natural, sleazy chemistry, it will inevitably be the much-loved Colt Cabana and his comedian-turned-podcaster-turned-commentator friend Marty DeRosa as the strong fan favourites in this one. The comic abilities of all involved will come into play early and factor greatly into the unfolding of this match, with plenty of innuendo and ridiculousness to keep everyone entertained. Unfortunately for fans of $5 Wrestling and the “Creative Has Nothing For You” podcast, I can see the sleazy, underhanded tactics of the heels paying dividends and resulting in a victory.
Prediction: Joey Ryan & Session Moth Martina
Eddie Kingston vs. Juice Robinson
After defeating Krugar (aka WWE’s Adam Rose) at last year’s event, Eddie Kingston is a favourite going into this match with Robinson. Seemingly making it his annual mission to defeat products of the WWE development system, he will be looking to add Robinson’s name to the list. Having had a mixed record in matches for AAW, Kingston’s wins and losses seem to have alternated with each appearance since late last year, with this upcoming match being one where he is due a victory after last month’s loss to Sami Callihan. Meanwhile, Robinson has been enjoying a lot of success in New Japan, where he recently got through to the Semi-Finals in the New Japan Cup and, alongside partner David Finlay has racked up some recent wins over CHAOS and Bullet Club. His one appearance earlier this year for AAW was a fairly brief loss to Maxwell Jacob Friedman back in January, so his recent success in Japan does not yet seem to have followed him back to the USA.
Prediction: Eddie Kingston
AAW & REVOLVER TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP LADDER MATCH: Besties In The World (Davey Vega & Mat Fitchett) (c) vs. Scarlet And Graves (Zachary Wentz & Dezmond Xavier) vs. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis)
There’s no doubt that this match will offer wall-to-wall excitement and will have people talking long after the final bell. Two out of three of these teams were in a three-way ladder match together at AAW’s Rise Of The Dragon event in November last year, with The Air Buds taking the place of Aussie Open on that occasion and the Besties In The World picking up the win. With a string of solid wins after defeating Scarlet & Graves for the tag titles last December, The Besties seem to be unstoppable in their championship reign (whenever they are not teaming with Colt Cabana as a third man, that is). Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis will add an interesting dynamic to the match, adding an unseen element to foil their otherwise familiar opponents. With Aussie Open being new to a lot of this audience, I expect them to make a big impression (just as they have in FCP and throughout the UK scene over the last year) but fall short of actually stealing the titles away.
Prediction: The Besties In The World
