Gabe decides he doesn’t want a handshake tonight, slight lack of respect on his part I think, especially as Jones specifically offered his hand. Bell rings, and here we go. They lock-up and trade arm wringers, and Gambino just slaps Jones. They go to an intense Greco-Roman Knucklelock and Jones powers Gambino to the corner, but Gabe ducks a punch and slaps Alex again. Gabe gets a single leg and drives his knee into Jones’. Alex pulls the hair, and Gabe goes to a side headlock. Jones powers Gambino to the corner and misses a slap, but he blocks another slap from Gabe and grabs a headlock of his own. Gambino throws him off but Alex hits a shoulder-block. He follows up with an arm-drag into an armbar. Gabe gets to his feet and hits his own arm-drag, and then contorts Jones’ arm in unnatural ways. Jones gets his foot on the rope, and reverses an Irish Whip before hitting a dropkick for two. Alex takes a few shots at Gambino and hits a few kicks in the turnbuckle, but Gabe throws him in the corner and lays into him with chops. Jones finally snaps and takes Gambino to the mat with a double-leg takedown.
Gambino gets out of the guard position and turns it into a crossface, but Alex gets the ropes with a foot. Gambino reminds us that he is the best in the world and backs off. They lock up again and Gabe goes back to the arm with a hammerlock. Jones counters to his own but eats a back elbow. He hits an armdrag though, and keeps an armbar. Gambino gets to his feet but AJ snap mares him down. He looks to go for a face stomp but decides to slap Gambino instead, but Gabe catches the slap and applies a cross armbreaker. Alex gets to the ropes again, but his arm is hurt. They talk some trash and shove each other, Gabe puts a stop to that with an elbow smash, but he runs into a scoop slam and Jones hits a springboard dropkick for a two count.
Alex kicks Gabe’s head and slams it into the top buckle. He hits a back elbow, but Gambino escapes and slaps at Jones again, but this time he adds some kicks to the chest and a European Uppercut. Gambino hits a headbutt and gouges the eyes before kicking Alex in the face. He works a cravat and drops an elbow across the back of the neck. Gabe follows with another headbutt. He kicks away at Jones and hits another headbutt, but Jones fires up with a series of punches. Gambino catches him in a sleeper hold and brings him down to the mat, and he switches it to a neck vice. Gabe drops an elbow to the neck and puts Jones in a Dragon Sleeper.
Alex gets the ropes once more, but Gambino hits him with a pair of knee drops for two. Gambino applies a reverse chinlock, but Jones escapes with a series of gut punches. He tries a suplex but Gabe lands on his feet and puts him back in the sleeper, but Alex throws him off and applies his own sleeper. Gambino throws Alex off and goes back to the sleeper. Great quick reversals from both men. Jones hits a back suplex, but Gambino keeps the hold on! Jones breaks the hold with a jawbreaker, but Gambino puts it right back on! Alex fights back with gut punches and goes for a back suplex that sends Gabe to the floor. Jones struggles to his feet and goes for a suicide dive, but eats Gambino’s elbow. Gabe looks to go for a missile dropkick, but Jones hits his own dropkick to the gut and both men are down!
They eventually get back to their feet and AJ hits a pair of clotheslines, Gambino whips him to the corner but runs into a boot, and Jones hits a flying clothesline. Gabe goes to the corner, Alex charges but Gambino throws him to the apron. Jones blocks a punch and clocks Gabe with the AJ-guri, and hits a springboard clothesline for two. Jones whips Gambino to the corner, fires himself up and hits a corner forearm. Jones follows with some stiff martial arts kicks. He goes for a superkick but Gabe catches his foot and applies the ankle lock! Jones rolls forward and escapes, with Gambino being thrown forwards through the ropes as he goes to the floor. Alex takes him out with a somersault plancha much to the appreciation of the Coventry crowd!
Jones throws Gambino back in at eight as the crowd chants “This is awesome!” Jones wants a springboard clothesline again, but Gabe catches him, goes for a German Suplex but Alex lands on his feet. Gambino ducks under a pair of clotheslines and hits a brutal flying elbow. Gambino hits a German Suplex bridging into a pin, 1…2….NO! That was close. Gambino takes issue with the count but rebounds to put Jones up top for a backdrop superplex. Alex fights it off with elbows, but Gabe rakes the back. Gambino hits a Frankensteiner but Jones rolls through, 1…2… EYE OF MEDUSA (Koji clutch) BY GAMBINO! Jones quickly gets to the ropes again, keeping himself alive in this match.
After catching Gambino off-guard with a Spear, Jones decides it’s time for the Spiral Tap, but Gabe is back up and he shoves Alex off the top turnbuckle and into the crowd. SPRINGBOARD HILO INTO THE CROWD BY GAMBINO! I don’t think I’ve ever seen Gabriel Gambino try that before! Gambino gets back up on the apron; Jones grabs him but gets kicked away. Gambino waits for the count-out, but Alex gets in just before the ten-count. “This is awesome!” picks up again and Gabe lights up Jones’ chest with kicks. Alex gets to his feet and ducks a roaring elbow, goes for a schoolboy but Gambino escapes, and Jones kicks him in the back of the head! Jones hits the ropes, SLEEPER BY GABE! Alex goes towards the ropes, but Gabe hits a reverse headlock takeover and applies the crossface! Jones gets the ropes and Gambino is frustrated. He grabs Alex, THE FONGUL (Angel’s Wings)! Pin attempt, 1…2… NO!!! Jones kicks out! Gambino is even more frustrated now and goes for the Fongul again, AJ slips out of Gabe’s grasp. TIME TO BURN (Shellshock)!!! A cover, 1..2..3!
Your winner, Alex Jones!
Wow, another absolute classic here tonight. The SkyDome is being treated to a fine display of wrestling, that’s for sure. A tough back and forth match with Alex Jones once again besting Gabriel Gambino, although Gambino came close to evening the score on a couple of occasions.