Photo courtesy of Eventbrite.

By Nicholas Jason Lopez

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 2/8/16)

Red-Chested Physicality And Trophy Justice 

– Like the previous episode, we saw more action from the “AML Wrestling LIVE!” taping at the WrestleCade FanFest in Salem-Winston, North Carolina during Thanksgiving Weekend 2015. Even though turkey and stuffing was all the rage then, it’s still entertaining during the brink of winter’s passing. The opening contest featured “The Ring Wrecker” Vordell Walker (think “angry bald badass”) going against Alex Reigns, who was personable, hearty and tattooed. The action began before the bell dinged, both men trading knuckles in the ringside area getting down to business. This was more about the physical than the technical, as both men practically sold their hearts out. Reigns’ tomato-red chest was an awesome visual, no words necessary to tell us how vicious Walker’s stiff chops were. Reigns put in an impressive showing in his AML debut, but a victory wasn’t in the cards, since Walker delivered a hind leg-esque low-blow out of the Referee’s vision. Given the storyline that Walker was in the midst of an attitude change wanting to get back into the Title picture, him winning this way made sense and wins will say more than anything. His post-match promo exuded confidence and a wee bit of jealousy towards the crowd not recognizing him as real talent compared to others like Caprice Coleman. Good stuff.

– The heel work of “One Man Riot” Zane Dawson truly stood out on this show, his style almost that of WWE’s Kevin Owens – an all-around bully to everybody, whether you’re a commentator or a child in the front row. We love it. Given that his face said “Hanson” from Ring Of Honor and his attire said “Balls Mahoney,” the gimmick matched the look. Dawson had his work cut out for him since he was battling Damien Wayne, regarded as the “Mid-Atlantic Badass,” a namesake he lived up to here. There was a great dynamic, with Dawson dominating at points and Wayne winning us over with his selling, making us root for his inevitable comeback. It came, but not before Dawson’s brother, Dave, worked himself into the equation by distracting Wayne enough for his brother to wallop him with the trophy. The idea was that with brother Dave on the scene now, there’d be no stopping Zane. Dave also resembles his brother with a beardy demeanor, though he has short hair. Entertaining show as usual, but our only gripe is that a majority of the bouts seen so far end with dirty finishes, which makes the Referees begin to appear blindly naive.

Quick Results

• “The Ring Wrecker” Vordell Walker def. Alex Reigns via pinfall
• Zane Dawson def. Damien Wayne via pinfall