VADER TIME Comes to Cleveland

IT'S TIME Photo Credit: WWE.com

Absolute Intense Wrestling got the train rolling towards Absolution X on July 10 by announcing Tim Donst vs. Nick F'n Gage. It announced Samoa Joe in what will probably be his final AIW appearance before heading to WWE on a full-time basis (if those reports are true). The Young Bucks are going to be there, as will be Ethan Carter III. That lineup alone, along with the strong cadre of regular talent, would be enough to sell a show. But the Ohio City Masonic Arts Center will have one more gigantic name added on top of the show, and that man is the one they call VADER.

The Mastodon had his salad days in the late '80s through the '90s in All-Japan Pro Wrestling, WWE, and WCW, but then he petered out for awhile. He's made an independent resurgence lately, even appearing on RAW during Heath Slater's run where he'd get whipped by legends on a weekly basis. Even more recently, he's gotten himself into the best shape he's been in since the early '90s, and he's been looking for bookings. AIW has been picking up the older names of varying providence like Buff Bagwell, Tracey Smothers, Little Guido, and 2 Cold Scorpio. Vader, however, arguably packs the most punch.

AIW hasn't announced his opponent yet. If I were a betting man, I'd place him against one of the native dudes, probably Ethan Page. But one match would get me to buy this show in a heartbeat, and that would be Vader vs. Joe. It's a matchup that feels highly unlikely to me for gut reasons, but it is one of those old vs. new school HOSS matches that just gets the hairs on the back of the neck standing up. Either way, whether against Joe or against even Jock Samson, the presence of Vader makes Absolution X one of the premiere shows of the summer.