TITLES (AND MAYBE CAREERS) ON THE LINE

After a long wait it’s finally time for GAW Winterfest! Thank you all for being patient, the wait was worth it as we saw here on night 1.

The night began with Bandido putting his Intercontinental Title on the line against the recently-returned Roderick Strong. This was an absolute war as Strong put it all on the line to win his first IC title. Strong landed two End of Heartaches and even locked in the dreaded Stronghold but Bandido fought through it all. The champ drove Strong’s head into the canvas with a Heatseeker to retain the title.

Next up, Santanico and Ulysses Sky meet in a match after weeks of back and forth. Sky seemed to be holding true to his word early on as he countered everything Santanico threw at him, even hitting the undefeated man with a Sky Elbow. But Santanico was not to be denied tonight, finally locking in the Crimson Abyss for the win.

Backstage, Paul Heyman promises the Skymen will not lose the tag titles any time soon and also alludes to “other projects” that’s a part of.

That match is next as the Skymen defend against the former champions Usos. This was a fantastic match, all four men are in their athletic prime and the tag team chemistry on display was jaw-dropping. Three times the Usos had to break up match-ending pins following the Skymen’s brutal hurricanrana/powerbomb combination. But, as they have been since their debut, the Skymen were one step ahead. Ricochet found himself an opening and hit Jey Uso with the 630 Senton. As Jimmy got in to once again break up the pin, Robbie Eagles slid into the ring to play defense, preventing the breakup and retaining the titles for the Skymen.

The main event came with Yun-Son Park, against all better judgement, going one on one against Sam Hunt. Park was not 100% going into the match but the adrenaline was flowing as he tried to take the attack straight to Hunt. After a tope suicida from Park it seemed like the Academy legend might be able to do the impossible. But Hunt snuffed out all hope like he often does, nearly breaking Park’s neck with the Thrill of the Hunt. We have no word from Park yet on how serious his injuries might be but we know that move has been used to send several men to the hospital. Hopefully the same fate is not waiting for Park.

Night 2 goes down on Friday, December 10 and sees the first ever three-way tag team match in Academy history as the Wing Collectors defend their tag titles against the Titans and Island Nation!