AEW warms up the wrestling families of Louisville

LOUISVILLE, KY — Here’s the problem with writing histories and biographies. As soon as you publish your book, it’s out of date. Something comes up, or something happens, that you wish you would have included. With biographies it’s usually photos or a story from the past someone shares after the fact. With histories… well, new history happens. 

I released my first book about Louisville, Kentucky’s wrestling history in 2014. I published the second edition in the spring of 2022. Since that time: 

• A new promotion, Derby City Wrestling, showed up in town. 
• A film crew set up shop and filmed a biopic on Mildred Burke. 
• Ohio Valley Wrestling came back to national prominence thanks to the Wrestlers documentary on Netflix. 
• And now, on November 1, 2023, All Elite Wrestling finally made its way to Louisville. 

I’m not one to quibble with Lexington and Corbin getting AEW first. Technically, I’m a Hoosier anyway, so it’s not really my fight. Still, it’s good to see the new kids on the block paying their first visit to a city whose love affair with pro wrestling goes back to 1877. It’s especially fun sharing it with my 15-year old daughter. 

About a year ago, Lydia started attending OVW with me. We aren’t there every week, but two, three times a month, we’ve been at Davis Arena. We’ve seen The Outrunners make their presence known beyond Louisville. We saw Billie Starkz make her Louisville debut after turning 18. And we witnessed first hand how not just Louisville, but the whole country has fallen in love with our favorite promotion. Last week, there were fans from Texas, Oklahoma, Washington state, and Connecticut in a sold-out Davis Arena. 

AEW’s debut at the Yum Center is the biggest show Lydia’s attended so far. I was curious to see what she thought of a wrestling show on such a grand scale, and we were both curious to see how many of our favorites from Davis Arena would be part of the show. 

We didn’t have to wait long to find out. The show began a 7:30 p.m. with the first of three dark matches. AEW/ Netflix/ OVW star Leila Grey made her way to the ring first, followed by Louisville’s favorite girl Billie Starkz. Starkz began her training just ten minutes from the Yum! Center at the Jeffersonville Arena, and this was only her third match ever in her hometown of Louisville. Fans were solidly behind the young AEW star, who got a win over the very talented Leila Grey. 

Justin Roberts made mention of Billie being from Louisville after the match for the one or two in attendance who might not have known. “And Speaking of Louisville,” he went on, “Now entering the ring…” 

I didn’t see her walk in, and she had no music, but there she was: Netflix star Hollyhood Haley J. 

I’ve enjoyed Haley’s work over the years. Even lying on the mat, selling injuries while the spotlight is on her opponent in the ring, Haley is always, always ON. But I’ve often wondered if her persona would translate to a bigger stage. Watching Haley take on the bigger, stronger Taya Valkyrie, I got my answer. She looks like she belongs. 

Haley channeled a little Chris Candido in the scrappy, comical way she took on Taya, who played her role as the baddie to perfection. She came up on the losing end, but again, she showed she belonged. 

Someone else who definitely belonged was Stephon Smith, a former Ohio Valley Wrestling student who refereed all three dark matches. While he didn’t receive the cheers heaped on Leila, Billie, and Haley, the Louisville fans definitely took note. 

After one more dark match that saw Dark Order defeat Brandon Cutler and Colt Cabana, Tony Khan took the stage to fill time and thank everyone for coming. Attendance definitely seemed low compared to the last time Raw was in town as well as AEW’s TV debut in Lexington [which I also recapped], and the crowd was a bit low on energy to start the night. Maybe it was the cold weather. Or maybe the Lexington show had an unfair advantage, being it was also the night they celebrated the life of Jay Briscoe.

“We need Joe,” said Lydia, referencing OVW’s kilted crowd hype man Joe Cooley. “He’d wake everybody up.” 

AEW had its own plan to get fans on their feet. They kicked off the show with an International Championship match between Orange Cassidy and Claudio Castagnoli. You couldn’t pick two men more opposite in their approach to pro wrestling than these two, yet somehow, they made it work. Cassidy didn’t even try to match Claudio strength for strength. Instead, Claudio showcased his raw strength throughout the match. Despite being the heel, he drew a standing ovation when he lifted Cassidy overhead and held him there a long moment before finishing a suplex. 

Cassidy (who once took a nap in the center of the Jeffersonville Arena ring during a six-man tag at a CHIKARA show) took everything Claudio threw at him, including some crushing submission holds. “Now he’s freshly squeezed!” shouted a fan behind us. But just like Louisville’s hometown son, Orange Cassidy’s game is rope-a-dope. He takes a licking, but the moment you make a mistake, he’s ready to capitalize. 

After Cassidy sealed the deal, Jon Moxley’s music hit. It was as if an alarm clock went off inside the Yum! Center. Now everyone was awake, and they quickly went from singing “Wild Thing” to booing Mox for attacking Orange Cassidy. 

Lydia popped harder for the two security men whose job it was to rush the ring and get decked by Mox: OVW’s Luscious Lawrence and Will Austin. Yep, we see you, boys, and we weren’t the only ones who noticed! 

The Young Bucks and Hangman Page were up next, defending their six-man tag titles against Mogul Embassy. Seeing three of AEW’s founding members kept the crowd alive through the match, and Mogul Embassy made some Louisville history as a title change took place. Major title changes are extremely rare in Louisville, with the biggest probably happening in 1942 when Masked Superman II, who turned out to be Wild Bill Longson, defeated Orville Brown. 

The first hour ended with an interview segment and the arrival of Adam Copeland. The newest legend to join AEW received a warm welcome from the city he once mocked in one of Edge and Christian’s greatest five second poses (Judgment Day at the Louisville Gardens in 2000, recapped here), and before delving into the interview, he took a moment to put Tony Schiavone over for all he does backstage as well as on camera at AEW. 

Fans were waiting to hear if Copeland would accept Sting’s invitation to team up against his former partner Christian Cage and his associates Nick Wayne and Luchasaurus. Christian interrupted the conversation before Copeland could answer, cutting a gasp-inducing promo and unleashing his goons on Copeland. Sting and Darby Allin arrived just in time to make the save, and Copeland agreed to join forces with the two against Cage and company. 

AEW kept the action moving into the second hour with Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega taking on Daddy Magic and Cool Hand Ang. It wasn’t the most spectacular match you’ll ever see Jericho and Omega have, but it wasn’t meant to be. Don Callis was waiting in the wings to confront his fellow Winnipeggers and challenge them to a four on four match. 

Omega spoke first, getting a pop from the New Japan fans when he announced that Kota Ibushi would join with him and Jericho. Jericho took his time announcing the fourth member of the team. Someone larger than Powerhouse Hobbs. A Giant, in fact. Paul Wight, another OVW alum, made his way out to the stage in full wrestling gear, delighting the crowd and my star-struck daughter, who missed seeing Wight two weeks ago when he returned to OVW. 

The lone TV match for the ladies was up next. The crowd seemed to take a break during much of Hikaru Shida and Willow Nightingale’s bout, but the ladies worked hard to earn their respect, drawing one of only three “This is awesome!” chants on the night. 

The crowd was alive again as the match came to an end, and when the silver screen goddess Toni Storm, made a brief appearance afterwards, she drew one of the loudest pops of the night. 

A video promo titled Paint the Town Red rolled on the big screen highlighting a women’s division that, by and large, was absent tonight. I have to say I was a bit disappointed by that, given AEW has such a talented roster of women at its disposal. That video was followed by a promo for TBS’s Wipeout co-hosted by John Cena, who got a nice pop from the crowd. Yes, Louisville remembers the OVW star from his days as The Prototype. They always welcomed Cena home warmly here, even at the height of “Cena Sucks!” 

The main event for Dynamite featured Jay White, the Gunns, and Juice Robinson taking on MJF and three wrestlers of his choosing. Backstage segments that aired throughout the night made it clear early on that MJF would tag up with The Acclaimed, who agreed to do it on one condition. After The Acclaimed make their entrance, MJF came out to the ring in black and pink with the words “Scissor Me” written in pink on his black T-Shirt. 

As much as the fans enjoy seeing legends along with AEW’s original mega stars, this company belongs to the new generation. They love MJF, and they adore The Acclaimed. The company has done a great job utilizing the veterans to mentor and put over their homegrown stars. They also do a darn good job telling stories, inside the ring and out, and they know how to give the fans what they want.

They’re also not afraid to pull the trigger and make them disappointed, keeping a story alive and building to the inevitable pay-per-view payoff. Lydia was shocked when Jay White pinned MJF, as was much of the crowd. The story’s not over, but for at least one more night, White would carry the stolen AEW Championship belt on his shoulder. 

Of course, we can’t leave the live fans feeling sad. The Acclaimed brought the mood back up after the show went off the air, finally goading MJF into their scissor celebration whole also giving a shout out to the team’s senior member Billy Gunn, who was celebrating his 60th birthday. 

Seriously, Billy Gunn, I’d kill to look that good at 50 as you do at 60. 

I’m not going to spoil the results for Rampage, which was taped shortly after Dynamite went off the air, but I will share a few notes. One, Skye Blue’s Scooby Doo gear is awesome. And two, if you like Lucha Libre, do not miss the opening contest. 

A few other quick notes on the night: 

• Eliminating the taping of Dark and Elevation from Wednesday nights was a great idea. As fun as it was to see more indie/OVW talent on the show in Lexington, it made for a long night last winter. 
• Max Castor threw shade at former Louisville and Kentucky basketball coach Rick Pitino in his diss rap. He did the same after the show went off the air in Lexington, but in a much vulgar way than he did on television last night. Louisville and Kentucky fans do not see eye to eye on much, but these days, they both enjoy a swipe at the coach they once loved. 
• Having watched a lot of New Japan, it’s still unreal to see Kenny Omega, Jay White, and Juice Robinson in person. It did kill me a bit to learn that Okada was in Philly last week. 

The Acclaimed closed out the night with Tony Khan in the ring, once again paying tribute to birthday boy Billy Gunn. A few kids also celebrating birthdays joined the wrestlers in the ring, and two choruses of “Happy Birthday” — which, incidentally, was written by a pair of sisters from Louisville — were sung.

When we got to the car for the drive home, I asked Lydia what her thoughts were. “AEW is awesome,” she said. “And the talent is unbelievable. But honestly, I enjoy OVW more. I like being closer to the action. I like that we cheer for every single move over there. And it just feels kind of like family.” 

That last comment really sums up the Louisville wrestling community. It’s what makes Louisville unique as a wrestling city. To be honest, this community is sometimes as torn as the wrestling community at large with it’s AEW-only and WWE-only marks. But every promotion I’ve seen — from Destination One to Pro Wrestling Freedom to Paradigm Pro to Girl Fight to IWA Mid-South to Derby City to OVW – has fostered a family of its own, one that includes both fans and wrestlers. 

When AEW, WWE, or even Impact comes to town, all the families together. Walking into the Yum! Center last night was like a huge family reunion. We saw dozens of familiar faces, people we know from OVW, from the Jeffersonville Arena. We shook hands, we gave high fives, we hugged. 

Wrestling is a very subjective thing. It’s also big enough that there’s something for everyone. Fans of Derby City, OVW, and the Southern Indiana promotions may not agree on who has the best local show, but for one night, we all came together and enjoyed wrestling as one big family. 

Shout out to a member of my wrestling family, OVW’s “Voice of the Valley” Eric Cornish, for sharing some of his photos for this story.

TOP PHOTO: Birthday “boy” Billy Gunn had a big night in Louisville. Photo by Eric Cornish.

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