AEW put on their 2nd house show ever last Friday night in Corbin, Kentucky and looking at the review it doesn't sound like a very good card. The attendance was around 1,500 in a 5,000 seat arena. It should be noted that the WWE was running a Smackdown show the same night in Knoxville which is only about an hour away from Corbin. The results of the AEW show were:
Hook vs. Ethan Page – Hook won with the Redrum. Page controlled most of the match and heeled it up jawing with the crowd. Like everyone on the card, the wrestlers worked hard and put in the effort. Also, Bobby Cruise was ring announcer for the night and Aubrey alternated ref duties with Mike Posey. The merch stand stayed busy all night with everyone seeming to bought a shirt of one kind or another by the time the night was over.
Christopher Daniels & Shawn Spears vs. The Boys – Daniels won with the moonsault. Big pop initially for the Boys as the crowd thought it was going to be Dalton Castle when the music hit but that died down once everybody saw he wasn’t here. Daniels got a nice reaction, Spears not so much. The Boys worked heel.
Toni Storm vs. Billie Starkz – Storm won with Storm Zero. Starkz got a big reaction as she is from Louisville. Big and forth match, with Starkz showing a lot of promise. Some comedy as Storm accidently sprayed herself in the face with the spray paint.
Orange Cassidy & Darby Allin vs. Big Bill & Lee Moriarty – Cassidy pinned Moriarty with a rollup. Allin did a coffin drop to the floor on Big Bill. OC got the biggest reaction for any wrestler on the show. Big Bill looked impressive with his power moves on both Darby and OC. After the match, OC brought a kid dressed as him into the ring and he and Darby spent alot of time interacting with fans at ringside.
Intermission brought the surprise of Tony Khan himself coming out to thank the fans for coming. He said they looked forward to coming back to Corbin, but after the poor turn out, I doubt that’s happening. Tony got the loudest reaction as it was a total shock to see him there.
Powerhouse Hobbs vs. Pat Buck – Hobbs won the extended squash with the spinebuster. Match kind of lost the crowd as it was a bit slow and plodding, as was Buck. I think the fans were expecting a quick squash, as Hobbs was over, but this match just kept going. Buck did hit Hobbs with a dropkick from the top at one point.
Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brian Pillman Jr. – Claudio won with the giant swing. Pillman submitted after 18 revolutions. Pillman is looking and acting more like his dad. Same appearance and ring gear, wrestling style as well. Handshake before the match with Pillman acting more heelish than Claudio.
FTR vs. The Gunns – FTR won with the Shatter Machine. Old school tag match. FTR was way over. Lots of Ass Boy chants. Great main event.
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