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AWA RUSH was based out of Mankato, Minn., south of the Twin Cities. I use the past tense, because this promotion has already shut down, as promoter Cowboy Gator Magraw has left the business due to other, positive things going on in his live. Magraw did a good job of developing storylines, going from one show to the next, for his shows.

This is a review of "The Saga: Part 2" from June 15, 2007. This is a one-camera ringside shoot, with NO commentary. That will undoubtedly turn off a lot of customers. This show was held at a bar in Mankato, and the crowd is about 80. It's a bit dark in here, and that didn't help, either.

The DVD opened with some promos filmed outside:

* Cody & Cory O'Neill were upset that they weren't invited to be in a recent tag tournament.

* Arya Daivari (younger brother of Shawn "Khosrow" Daivari) said he lost to Devin Carter recently in a four-way, but he won't lose in a singles match.

* Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz (the North Star Express) cut a promo. Corbin said that time is running out, and they are on the "road to a RUSH-a-mania." Fun, silly promo.

To the ring!

(1) Ben Sailer defeats Matty Star at 8:19. Solid, standard match. The commissioner fined Star $100 for previously touching a referee. Star looks like a shorter Lenny Lane, but with a gut, and he really needs to improve his physique! Sailer has had a really STRONG year in Minnesota, and he's become one of the best mat technicians in the region. Sailer attacked at the bell and hit a headbutt. Star grabbed the ropes and cowered. Star hit a shoulder tackle. Sailer hit a monkeyflip and a dropkick, and Matty bailed. Sailer hit a clothesline in the corner and a bulldog for a nearfall at 3:00. Star hit some chops and chomps, but Sailer fired back with his own, harder chops!

Sailer hit a nice Northern Lights suplex for a nearfall. Matty Star hit a headscissors takedown that sent Sailer into the turnbuckle. Star hit a rolling tumbleweed into the corner, and the crowd rallied for Sailer. Star hit a running clothesline for a nearfall. Sailer hit a spine kick, and he stretched both of Star's arms. Star hit some punches to the face. Sailer dove through the ropes onto Star on the floor, but he clutched his left knee. Sailer missed a missile dropkick in the ring. Star missed a sloppy Lionsault. UGH. Sailer hit a Chaos Theory/rolling German Suplex for the pin.

* After the match, Star shoved referee Tad Taylor, so Taylor slapped Star, and that got a big pop.

(2) Rob James defeats Zac James via DQ at 8:51. These two wrestlers, while both having the last name James, are not related, either for real or as part of any storyline. I've seen a lot of Rob James, he does a "Simon Dean"/Richard Simmons workout routine gimmick, as he is "Six percent bodyfat." This is my first time seeing Zac James; he has a basic, non-descriptive look. They traded armholds, and this was basic. Zac hit some armdrags and a Japanese armdrag, and Rob bailed. Rob hit a buttbump in the ropes for a nearfall at 3:00. Rob hit a nice dropkick for a nearfall, and he choked Zac while doing some pushups. Rob also did some lewd squats over Zac's face. Rob hit a LOUD chop, and he choked Zac with his foot across the throat.

Rob 'accidentally' fell down, and the crowd laughed at him. Zac got a sunset flip for a nearfall at 6:00. Rob hit a clothesline for a nearfall, and he was in charge, as he hit some forearms. Rob missed his Rumpshaker in the corner. Zac hit a dropkick in the corner for a nearfall. Rob hit a neckbreaker over his knee & a swinging faceplant combo for a nearfall, and he jawed at the referee. Zac hit a Gordbuster, but he missed a second-rope swinging senton. Rob grabbed his powder can from the corner, but the referee confiscated it. Zac hit Rob with a weapon, the ref saw it, and he disqualified Zac. Basic.

* "Spiderbaby" Tommy Saturday interviewed Arik Cannon in the ring. Apparently, Cannon turned on his partner, Aaron Corbin, a night earlier. Cannon got on the mic and called the Mankato fans a bunch of "hicks." Cannon then turned his focus to his opponent tonight, Jaysin Strife, and he called Strife out!

(3) Arik Cannon defeats Jaysin Strife at 11:59. Good match. Strife is from Iowa, and he looks like an 18-year-old A.J. Styles. Seriously, he could be Styles' younger brother. Strife hit a headscissors takedown and an armdrag, and Cannon bailed, and the crowd was fired up! Cannon hit a hard punch and some chops. Strife hit a leg lariat and a guillotine legdrop. Cannon hit a hard clothesline, and he jawed at the crowd and at the referee. Cannon hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 3:30, and he hit some more punches. Strife hit a nice crossbody block for a nearfall. Cannon tied Strife's legs up in a knot, and he was in charge, then he hit a hard kick.

Strife hit a Pele Kick, and they were both down at 9:30, and the crowd was hot. Cannon hit a European Uppercut and some hard punches; Strife fired back with his own punches. Strife hit a clothesline and a NICE enziguri for a nearfall. Cannon went for his brainbuster, but Strife blocked it and hit a powerslam for a nearfall. Cannon nailed his Total Anarchy/swinging uranage for a believable nearfall, and he was shocked the move didn't get him the win. Cannon nailed a brainbuster for the pin. These two have very good chemistry.

(4) Pete Huge & Kleck Michaels & Jake Taylor defeat Shimdog & Venom & Donnie Peppercricket at 13:31. Basic, standard six-man tag. Huge is the 'ladies man' cruiserweight, and he's routinely in my "top 10" list of MN wrestlers each year. Kleck is a rising star, and he looks like an 80s' hair band rock star. Shimdog, in his mid 30s, is usually a cocky heel, but he's on the face squad here. Venom is heavy and thick and strong. My first time seeing Peppercricket, who also is quite hefty, and he has an ugly orange & green singlet. (Before this match got going, I knew that Shimdog was going to do the bulk of the selling for the face team, as the other guys were too hefty, and not good enough workers, to pull that part off.).

Venom started against Kleck and he shoved Michaels to the mat. Kleck hit a shoulder tackle, but it had no effect. Venom hit a clothesline and a bodyslam. Taylor tagged in to face Peppercricket, who has tassels on his outfit, causing Huge to shout, "Look what happened to the Ultimate Warrior." FUNNY! Shimdog entered at 3:00, and he grounded Huge with a headlock, and he worked over the let arm. The faces took turns on Huge, working over Huge's arm. Peppercricket hit a headbutt on the wrist, and so far, this had been pretty dull. Huge hit a spinebuster on Shimdog, and Kleck Michaels tagged in at 6:00.

The heels were now in charge. Jake Taylor hit some punches to the face, and the crowd rallied for Shimdog. Huge hit a spine kick. Kleck hit a running basement dropkick to the face. Shimdog got in a full-nelson swinging faceplant for a nearfall. Kleck hit a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall. The heels cheated, choked Shimdog, and kept him in their corner. Jake hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 9:00. Kleck hit a bodyslam & guillotine legdrop combo for a nearfall. Huge hit some jabs and kicks to the gut. Shimdog hit a flying clothesline on Kleck, and they were both down, and the crowd rallied for Shimdog. Peppercricket made the hot tag at 12:00, and he hit some clotheslines and bodyslams. All six men were now fighting in the ring. Venom hit a uranage on Kleck. However, Kleck Michaels hit a low blow on Peppercricket, then an enziguri. Huge nailed the G-Spot/X-Factor faceplant to pin Peppercricket. Solid tag.

(5) Ryan Cruz & Darin Corbin (the North Star Express) defeat Cody & Cory O'Neill at 16:26. Good match. The NSE are hot heels in AAW, but they are faces here. Cody and Cory are identical twins, but Cody has been wrestling much longer, and he's the superior wrestler of the two. (I can tell them apart easiest by looking at their tattoos). Ryan started against Cory and they traded armholds, and Ryan hit some deep armdrags. Cody entered and tied up with Darin at 3:00 and they exchanged some mat wrestling. Darin hit an (Undertaker-style) Old School armdrag, and Cody ran to his brother. Cody hit some loud chops. Darin hit a headscissors takedown. Ryan hit a dive onto both O'Neills at 6:30.

In the ring, the NSE hit double gutbusters and double basement dropkicks to the head on Cody. Ryan hit a guillotine legdrop on Cody for a nearfall. Cory grabbed Ryan, which allowed Cody to take control of the match. Cory choked Ryan at ringside, and the twins were in charge. Cody hit a back suplex at 9:00. Ryan hit some chops and he was fired up. Cody raked the back, and the heels dominated. Cody hit a nice handspring-back-elbow. Cory hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall at 12:00, and he jawed at the referee. Ryan hit a nice moonsault press on Cory, but Cody cut Ryan off from behind able to make the hot tag!

Cody missed a Shining Wizard. Ryan hit a side effect, and they were both down, and the crowd was hot! Darin made the hot tag, and he hit some left-arm clotheslines and a nice swinging neckbreaker. Cody hit a lungblower on Dar. Ryan hit a spin heel kick on Cody. Cory hit a Shining Wizards for a believable nearfall on Ryan. Darin hit a spear on Cory, and all four were down at 15:00. They got up and traded forearms. Cody hit a Dragon Suplex on Ryan! The twins hit a team Iconoclasm on Ryan for a nearfall. Ryan launched Darin into the corner on one of the twins. Ryan then hit the Cruz Control/team Alabama Slam, for the pin. Good action.

(6) Arya Daivari vs. Devin Carter went to a time-limit draw at 15:09. So-so match. Carter is the RUSH "Youtube" champion, with his title matches being posted on Youtube, and he's a wimpy heel. Devin jawed at the crowd, and he 'accidentally' tumbled over the top rope. He tripped getting back into the ring (too much; once was fine.) Arya tied up the arm, and Devin squealed in pain and wanted a timeout. Daivari hit a shoulder tackle, an armdrag and a dropkick, and Devin bailed at 3:30. Arya stayed in charge with some chops on the floor. In the ring, Arya hit a Thesz Press and a swinging neckbreaker. He went for his Magic Carpet Ride frogsplash, but Devin cut him off.

Devin choked Arya and hit some jabs. Arya got a sunset flip for a nearfall. Devin hit a flying shoulder tackle for a nearfall at 7:00. Devin some more punches and a spinebuster for a nearfall, and he was in charge. UNFORTUNATELY, the ring announcer told the crowd that there was "five minutes" left in the time limit, and I immediately GROANED. This was not during ANY of the other matches all night; this IMMEDIATELY told me that we were going to have a time-limit draw. Judging by the reaction from the crowd, I was not alone in my assessment. UGH. Devin hit a powerslam for a nearfall at 10:30, and he applied a sleeper, and the crowd rallied for Daivari.

They traded punches, and Daivari hit a clothesline and a dropkick, as the announcer gave us a three-minute alert. Daivari hit a running neckbreaker, but he missed his Magic Carpet Ride at 13:00. Devin hit a sideslam for a nearfall. Arya hit a nice DDT, and they were both down. Daivari finally hit the Magic Carpet Ride with seconds left, but he was too exhausted to make the cover, and the bell rang, with this ending in the (obvious) draw. Ugh; I can't believe they gave away the finish like this.

(7) Joey Envy (w/Allison Wonderland) defeats Aaron Corbin at 10:31 to retain his RUSH title. Envy came to the ring with his Singapore cane, and his demeanor is really reminding me of heel Justin Credible now. This is a NO DQ match. Aaron got a hold of the cane, so Envy bailed. Aaron, the goofy redhead, tuned down the comedy factor tonight. Aaron followed Envy to the floor, and Corbin hit an Ole Kick, then a chop that sent Envy onto a pool table (hey, this is in a bar!) Corbin nailed a low blow with a pool stick, and they fought all over the crowd. In the ring, Envy hit a basement dropkick at 2:30.

Envy hit his overhead flipping neckbreaker. Corbin hit a Mafia Kick to the side of the head & a running clothesline combo for a nearfall. Envy nailed a running forearm in the corner, then his Catapult Basement Dropkick. Envy shoved Aaron to the floor, and Wonderland stomped on Corbin on the floor. In the ring, Envy hit a low blow uppercut at 5:30. Corbin hit a nice chinbreaker over his knee. Corbin hit a bodyslam onto some folded chairs. Wonderland crotched Corbin in the corner.

Envy hit some chops and a Flair Toss out of the corner onto the folded chairs, and he got a nearfall. Corbin came back with a DDT, and he slammed Envy's head onto a chair that was wedged in the corner at 8:30. Corbin hit a Mafia Kick for a nearfall, but Wonderland made the save. Corbin grabbed Wonderland, and he picked her up to give her a Tombstone piledriver, but Envy hit Corbin with a caneshot. Corbin hit his sitdown Bubba Bomb for a nearfall, but again, Wonderland made the save. Arik Cannon hopped in the ring, but he accidentally hit Wonderland in the back with a caneshot! Corbin hit a swinging neckbreaker on Cannon! However, this allowed Envy to hit his Superkick for the pin. Good match; I hoped this would go longer.

* Promoter Gator Magraw hit the ring and said next month, the main event would be Cannon & Envy vs. Aaron Corbin & a partner of his choosing. Corbin said that Horace the Psychopath would be his partner. The match, would be a double dog collar match!

Several backstage promos to finish the show:

* Devin Carter boasted about still having his title. "You had 15 minutes, and you couldn't do it." He declared that Arya would not get a rematch.

* Aaron Corbin talked about leaving his comedy behind. "You wanted a serious guy? I'll bring it."

* Venom rambled about his love for Kelly Clarkson and drinking beer, and that he and his partner, Bret O'Brian, were going for the tag titles.

* Arik Cannon said that next month, he is ready for the big tag match.

* Envy & Wonderland appeared together. Wonderland was sore from the caneshot to her back. Envy was confident. "A win's a win, he said. "I'm on a role, baby." Envy said he has scored victories over Corbin, Horace, and even his partner, Arik Cannon.

Final thoughts:

Even without commentary, this was a fun show; I undoubtedly liked this more than others because I'm familiar with all these wrestlers (except Zac James and Peppercricket). Envy, Cody O'Neill, Arik Cannon, Pete Huge and Ryan Cruz all made my "top 10" list in 2006, and Rob James made the list in 2005, so there are a lot of my favorites here.

Best match goes to the Cannon-Strife match. Cannon's mat wrestling style meshes really well with a solid high-flyer like Strife. These two have already had rematches since then, because they do click.

The North Star Express vs. the O'Neill twins earned second best. Now, these two teams have met MANY times before, and they've certainly had better matches than this one. But, they also mesh really well, and this was an above-average tag match. The main event earned third-best. When Aaron Corbin chooses to be a serious wrestler, he can be quite good. But, he seems to get stuck in early show spots where his comedy timing is better suited for that spot in the show.

The bad: Peppercricket looks terrible, physically, although the few seconds (literally!) he was in the ring, he was fine. Zac looked green. Matty Star just looks lost and completely out of the league of others here. Arya is green but improving. Devin understands his wimpy heel character well and plays it right.

This was a fun show. Unfortunately, I bought it at the final RUSH show, when the DVDs were virtually being given away. Thus, as far as I know... buying a copy of this show will be impossible, unless Gator someday chooses to make more.

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