Magnus Books The Midwest 11.30.07: Week 3 Results and Matches For The Final Four

Hello, and welcome to Week 4 of Magnus Books The Midwest. Last week, show two was covered, and again there were some major happenings. B-Boy revealed himself to be in alliance with Arik Cannon, as they attacked Marek Brave while Tyler Black sat at home powerless to help. Ricochet was demolished by Sterling James Keenan’s monster for the second week running, despite Chuck Taylor’s best efforts to redeem the interference in his Open Stipulation Tournament match. Takeshi Morishima ploughed through Jigsaw although Jigsaw showed the heart of a champion in defeat. Low-Ki again triumphed over Azrieal, this time in an eight man preview tag match where Larry Sweeney ended up running for the hills. And four men, Takeshi Morishima, Matt Sydal, Delirious and Eddie Kingston advanced in the Open Stipulation Title Tournament.

Once again, zero feedback. I’m disappointed but it look like I’ll have no choice but to accept that people just don’t feel capable of giving feedback unless you a) make a mistake, or b)write about a mainstream promotion. So I’ll just put up with writing to nobody from now on.

Anyway, mini-rant over. It’s time to get on with the column so let’s take a brief look at this week’s card-

Mike Quackenbush vs El Generico
Low-Ki vs Larry Sweeney
Claudio Castagnoli vs Gran Akuma
Kevin Steen vs Azrieal
Marek Brave vs Arik Cannon, B-Boy barred from ringside
Sterling James Keenan’s ‘Monster’ vs Chuck Taylor
Chris Hero and Josh Abercrombie vs Eddie Kingston and Jigsaw
Tyler Black will make an appearance
Plus B-Boy and Matt Sydal in action

Now some pre-show news-

A Rumour Circulating the Locker Room
A major rumour has been circulating around the locker room during the past week in regards to Sterling James Keenan and his ‘monster’ attacking Chuck Taylor in his match against Matt Sydal. The rumour has related to why exactly Sterling James Keenan ordered this attack, as Chuck Taylor, despite being friends with Ricochet, had not provoked him before the promo, and seeing as the promo had only been shown before the match, and there was no way of Sterling James Keenan seeing it.

It has therefore lead to a rumour that Matt Sydal, Chuck Taylor’s opponent in the match, had paid off Sterling James Keenan to take Chuck Taylor out of the tournament. If this were the case, then it would explain why Chuck Taylor was attacked logically. While further investigations need to be carried out, Matt Sydal will have to answer some big question this week on Pro Wrestling Midwest TV.

Updated Title Tournament Semi-Final Brackets
Today we have our updated title tournament brackets. They are as follows

Kevin Steen/Azrieal vs Matt Sydal
Delirious vs Gran Akuma/Claudio Castagnoli
El Generico/Mike Quackenbush vs Takeshi Morishima
Low-Ki/Larry Sweeney vs Eddie Kingston

The title tournament is hotting up, and this means that the Final Four is sure to be an entertaining and exciting event.

Matches for The Final Four
Make sure you read after the end of this week’s show in order to view the announcement regarding three new matches for The Final Four. These matches will not disappoint.

And now that the main news headlines for this have been covered, it’s time for my third show. I hope you all enjoy it-

Dave Prazak is backstage with Matt Sydal-

Prazak- Hello fans and welcome to the latest Pro Wrestling Midwest event. I have with me here Matt Sydal who last week advanced in the Open Stipulation Title Tournament. However that win was not clear cut as there was interference by Sterling James Keenan and his monster in that bout, costing Chuck Taylor the win.

Sydal- I’m going to stop you there Dave, because anyone who saw that match will realise that I would have won even if there had been no interference at all.

Prazak- But at the time of the interference Chuck Taylor was heading to the top rope for some kind of aerial move that could have gotten him the three count.

Sydal- I was clearly playing possum, my plan was to move out of the way when he went for the move, then I’d pin him with my Picture Perfect Standing Moonsault.

Prazak- That’s not what it looked like from the point of view of anyone watching. In fact, some people are beginning to suspect that you paid off Sterling James Keenan in order to cost Chuck Taylor the match last week.

Sydal- What? That’s ridiculous, why would I want to pay him off when I would have won anyway. The truth is, I’m too good of a wrestler to have to pay anyone to do my bidding, and tonight I’m going to prove that I can win on my own merit with no help from anyone else. And why not get some proof before you start throwing your acquisitions around.

Sydal storms off to the ring

Prazak- Well it looks like further information is needed before we can determine why Chuck Taylor was attacked last week, but for now lets head down to the ring for our opening contest.

Matt Sydal vs Hallowicked
This was a nice, short match which Sydal looked very impressive in, and Hallowicked also got in some good, crisp offense at the same time to cement some future opportunities. These two have great chemistry together, and a future rematch would do no harm at all in my opinion. But Sydal was able to come out on top in this one despite a couple of near falls for Hallowicked, getting the pinfall with his Picture Perfect Standing Moonsault- **

After the match, Sydal attacked Hallowicked and hat him with the Here It Is Driver. Some would say that was un-necessary, others would say that he was trying to prove a point, but Sydal is clearly not the same wrestler that the Midwest faithful knew and loved in the past. Did he pay off Sterling James Keenan or not?

Open Stipulation Title Tournament First Round Match- ‘The Good Guy’ Azrieal vs ‘Mr Wrestling’ Kevin Steen
Good, back and forth wrestling action here, with Steen quite dominant over his opponent. The crowd seemingly didn’t know who to cheer for due to both of these not being especially liked, but they got behind Steen after Azrieal basically did everything humanly possible to get the crowd to boo him. In an impressive display, Steen overpowered Azrieal, using some high impact power moves, and eventually got the pinfall with a sick Steenalizer into the turnbuckle- **3/4

After the match, Steen picks up Azrieal and puts him into position for the Package Piledriver, but just throws him out of the ring where he hits the ringpost on his way out, and he looks hurt. Steen celebrates and the crowd seems to be a bit more behind him now. It’s hard to tell whether he is a face or a heel, but maybe we will learn where he stands in the future.

B-Boy is backstage for a promo, with Julius Smokes in the background looking menacing.

“A lot of people are wondering why last week I sided with Arik Cannon, after all the things he’s done to Tyler Black and other members of the roster. Well, the truth is, me and Arik Cannon, had this planned from the very beginning. We planned to make our names at the expense of Tyler Black and Marek Brave, and so far it’s all going to plan. And when Tyler Black comes back, what I do tonight to Billy Roc will look like nothing compared to what I do to you.”

B-Boy w/Julius Smokes vs Billy Roc
Another good, short bout with B-Boy fairly dominant and looking good against Billy Roc. Roc, a lot like his match with Arik Cannon last week got in his shots, but most of the match was B-Boy getting in his signature spots and hitting hard. B-Boy reversed a pinning combination into the SoCal-Driver for the three count- **

Marek Brave runs in after the match and attacks B-Boy from behind, slamming him to the mat before hitting the Shooting Star Press. Arik Cannon runs out but Marek Brave runs off before he can come in, and celebrates one-upping B-Boy and Arik Cannon before the grudge match later on tonight.

Open Stipulation Title Tournament First Round Match- ‘Double C’ Claudio Castagnoli vs Gran Akuma
Another nice little tournament match here, which while looking like it would be a grudge match ended up being a hard hitting and competitive wrestling match: in other words what we expected of the match before the actions of The Kings Of Wrestling last week. Castagnoli used some hard European Uppercut variations while Akuma kicked Castagnoli as hard as he could on many occasions as well as using some nice submission holds. Akuma looked like he was going to get the pinfall when he went for his Knockout Kick combo, but Chris Hero ran in to cause the DQ, leading to Gran Akuma advancing by DQ- **3/4

Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli beatdown Gran Akuma after the match, and go for the KRS-1, but Jigsaw makes the save and runs off the Kings. Akuma seems very displeased after the match, acting like he didn’t need the help of Jigsaw before storming off to the back without him. Why is Akuma being so aggressive towards Jigsaw when all he’s done is try to help him?

Chuck Taylor is backstage for a promo

“Last week Sterling James Keenan, you cost me a shot at championship gold. I had Matt Sydal beaten, before you stuck your nose in. Now I don’t care whether someone paid you off or you did this because you wanted to, but either way it’s you and your monster that attacked me, and tonight I’m going to get the revenge that I need for you costing me the championship belt, by putting your monster down for a three count. Tonight, victory will be mine.”

Grudge Match- ‘Sexy’ Chuck Taylor vs ‘The Monster’ w/Sterling James Keenan
A little less one sided than last week’s demolition of Ricochet, but The Monster once again looked very dominant and Taylor didn’t seem to have a lot of answers. He tried his Dropkicks, but they were shrugged of, he tried forearms and chops but they had no effect, he couldn’t lift the big man and his aerial moves ended up being the only thing that could in any way hurt the big man. The monster just threw Taylor around the ring effortlessly, like he wasn’t a challenge at all. Eventually despite Taylor efforts, the monster pinned him when he caught him running off the ropes, and used a variation of the F5 to get three. Basically a squash, but a very fun one- **

After the match, Sterling James Keenan instructs the monster to finish Taylor off, but Ricochet runs out to make the save. However, Ricochet is little match for the monster, getting dominated just like Taylor did.
However, with Ricochet distracting the monster, Taylor has enough time to recover and sneak up behind them. LOW BLOW TO BOTH, Keenan is down and the monster is to one knee. DROPKICK TO KEENAN, he rolls out of the ring. Taylor goes down on his hands and knees, and Ricochet leaps off his back with a HURRACARANA TO THE MONSTER, HE’S FINALLY DOWN. The crowd are loving it, and Keenan looks irate. He has to hold his monster back from going into the ring again, and it seems they plan to regroup before trying to finish the job. Taylor and Ricochet celebrate, and I’m sure this one isn’t over.

Eddie Kingston is backstage for a promo

“Last week, Chris Hero, you once again showed your true colours. You ran in and beat me down when I was on my way to victory over your boy, Josh Abercrombie, along with Claudio. I don’t know why they hang around with you Hero, your nothing but scum and you know that, yet they follow you around doing whatever they tell you to. And when I was back and ready to fight, you ran away like a little girl to the locker room. Well tonight Hero, there will be no running, there will be no three on one beatdowns and there will be no favouritism, because tonight me and Jigsaw are coming to take you out of this sport once and for all. And then Hero, I want you in a singles match, so I can beat you to a pulp in front of your boys like the coward that you are. I’m coming for you Hero, and tonight is just the start.”

Tag Team Grudge Match- Chris Hero and Josh Abercrombie w/Claudio Castagnoli vs Eddie Kingston and Jigsaw w/Mike Quackenbush
A very heated, competitive tag team match. Chris Hero did everything to stay out of the same ring as Eddie Kingston, yet Josh Abercrombie didn’t seem too keen on stepping in there with him either. Kingston was clearly in a bad mood, and was punching and chopping and beating the hell out of Abercrombie and Hero whenever he got the chance. Jigsaw also looked angry at them and brought the fire in there as well, and the results were a great and highly enjoyable tag team match. Of course Claudio tried to ruin it by interfering at every opportunity, but eventually Quackenbush had enough and attacked him, and they fought to the locker room. Eventually Kingston would get the win for his team by pinning Josh Abercrombie with the Blackout DDT- ***1/4

Chris Hero and Josh Abercrombie ran from the ring and signalled to Kingston that this wasn’t over, and Kingston signalled for them to bring it right now, but they went to the back. Kingston and Jigsaw celebrated before heading to the back.

Before the ring announcer can announce the next scheduled match, which was set to be Low-Ki vs Larry Sweeney, out from the curtain come Arik Cannon and Marek Brave brawling, and it looks like their match is to begin now.

Marek Brave vs ‘The Anarchist’ Arik Cannon
As you can tell, the wrestling was not the priority in this one, with Brave trying to avenge last week’s beatdown in quick fashion with a brawl around the arena. Cannon didn’t seem the least bit intimidated, matching Brave move for move and hitting very hard. This didn’t last too long, as it seems like they’ve been brawling for a while, and before Brave can pick up the win B-Boy runs in and attacks Brave to cause the DQ, meaning that despite the warning he is suspended. A nice, short brawl- **1/4

B-Boy and Cannon continue the beating, until some familiar music hits, and TYLER BLACK RETURNS. The crowd are going nuts for his return. He runs down and attacks B-Boy. HURRACARANA, takes out B-Boy. Cannon sneaks up from behind on Tyler though. BACKDROP DRIVER, BUT TYLER IS ON HIS FEET. SMALL PACKAGE DRIVER FOR CANNON. Cannon and B-Boy are out and Tyler signals to the fans as they cheer for him. Cannon and B-Boy escape to the back as Tyler and Marek celebrate in the ring.

We head backstage to Larry Sweeney.

“Tonight see’s me, Sweet and Sour Larry Sweeney step into the ring with that bum from New York, Low-Ki. Low-Ki, just because you hit hard doesn’t mean your any match for the Sweet and Sour One, I’ve eaten punks like you for breakfast. Yes, you may have wrestled all over the world, but you’ve never held the ICW-ICWA Tex Arkana Television Title have you. And you never will as long as I’m the champ, because you nothing but a pipsqueak and a bum that I can beat anytime I want to. And tonight, Sweet and Sour Larry Sweeney has an easy path to the next round and to the gold baby, I’m going to be the first double champion in this promotion’s history when I win that belt. The gold is coming home to the Sweet and Sour One.”

Open Stipulation Title Tournament First Round Match- ‘The Strong Style Thug’ Low-Ki vs ‘Sweet and Sour’ Larry Sweeney
Well, this was an interesting match to say the least. You had Larry Sweeney, the old school to the bone wrestler and you had Low-Ki the strong style thug who kicks the hell out of people and Double Stomps them to oblivion. Sweeney’s confidence vanished when he took a chop from Low-Ki in the opening minute, and he was stalling a lot from there and running when Low-Ki tried to grab him. Eventually Larry Sweeney took advantage of Low-Ki with a poke to the eyes, and cheated constantly to keep Low-Ki down, drawing the hatred of the fans which he enjoyed. But Low-Ki soon came back, hitting hard and Sweeney, despite begging off, couldn’t stop Low-Ki’s tirade of destruction. Despite Sweeney’s best efforts, Low-Ki would pin him with the Top Rope Double Stomp. Very good match in the end- ***1/4

Low-Ki takes Sweeney’s ICW-ICWA Tex Arkana Television Title, but Sweeney then takes it from him saying it was a non-title match to boos of the fans. Low-Ki doesn’t seem to care and celebrates his win, he clearly has his eyes set on a bigger prize.

Main Event, Open Stipulation Title Tournament First Round Match- ‘Lightning’ Mike Quackenbush vs ‘The Generic Luchador’ El Generico
A big time independent wrestling dream match here between two of the best independent wrestlers on the planet, and they delivered an excellent match. There wasn’t a dull moment in this one, with both men bringing some slick high flying offense, and there were some very unique and innovative high flying moves used by both wrestlers. I’m not even going to try and call this one, but I will say that this is one you shouldn’t miss at any cost. The finish was incredible in itself. Generico had Quackenbush on the top rope, and hat the Top Rope Brainbuster, but on the way down Quackenbush rolled up Generico, and Generico countered Quackenbush’s rollup in order to get the three count, and what some may call a surprise win- ****

El Generico and Mike Quackenbush shook hands after the match, showing their respect for each other as the fans gave them a well deserved standing ovation.

So that’s the show for this week. As always, there are lots of unanswered questions. Will Tyler Black and Arik Cannon be facing off in a Pro Wrestling Midwest ring again soon? What is with Gran Akuma’s attitude towards Jigsaw? Did Matt Sydal pay off Sterling James Keenan? And where does Chuck Taylor stand in regards to Matt Sydal? When will Eddie Kingston get his hands on Chris Hero? All of these questions and more will be answered in the coming weeks.

Now before we look at all of our matches for the final week of Pro Wrestling Midwest TV, we have three new matches to announce for The Final Four-

Tag Team Grudge Match- The Anarchistic Punishers (‘The Anarchist’ Arik Cannon and ‘The New Age Punisher’ B-Boy) vs The Black and The Brave (Tyler Black and Marek Brave)
Now this match has been signed at the request of Tyler Black. Originally, B-Boy was suspended, but because Tyler and Marek want revenge so badly, then Ian Rotten has re-instated him to allow this tag team match to take place. Will The Black and The Brave get their much sought after revenge? Will Tyler Black get his hands on Arik Cannon? Or will Cannon and B-Boy continue their path of destruction? You will have to be there live to find out.

Sterling James Keenan and ‘The Monster’ vs Chuck Taylor and Ricochet
With the recent actions of Sterling James Keenan and his ‘monster’, trying to put Chuck Taylor and Ricochet out of the sport, Taylor and Ricochet want to avenge the losses they have had so far. Tonight they angered Sterling James Keenan to the point where he demanded this match, wanting to extract some revenge himself on the duo, as well as letting his monster run wild again. Will Ricochet and Taylor do the unthinkable, or will it be another beatdown for the Midwest duo?

Six Man Tag- The Kings Of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli) and Josh Abercrombie vs Eddie Kingston, Jigsaw and Mike Quackenbush
This one has been signed after the recent problems between The Kings Of Wrestling and Eddie Kingston. Kingston has big issues with Chris Hero to the point where he is willing to pull double, and possibly triple. Likewise, Jigsaw and Mike Quackenbush also have their problems with the two. The question is, will these six men be able to keep their hatred for one another within a six man tag or will we soon see this feud rise to another level? We will find out soon.

But before we go to next week’s scheduled matches, Larry Sweeney is outraged-

Larry Sweeney is outraged
It seems that after his defeat to Low-Ki tonight, Larry Sweeney is extremely outraged about it.

“That bum Low-Ki did nothing but cheat, he pulled the trunks, he used the ropes, he pulled my hair and cheated his way through that match. I should be in the second round right now, not some loser from New York who cheats to win.”

But it seems that Larry Sweeney has another person he wants to try and deal with: Azrieal. It seems that Larry Sweeney is disappointed in his loss in the eight man tag.

“Two weeks ago, Azrieal dropped the ball. And there’s no place in this promotion for bums who can’t win matches. There’s only room for one ‘bad guy’ in this promotion, and that’s me, Sweet and Sour Larry Sweeney.”

But it seems that Sweeney is willing to give Azrieal another chance, as they will team up in a big tag team match next week. It will see Azrieal and Larry Sweeney face off with Ricochet and Chuck Taylor. Azrieal gave us his thoughts.

“Now people ask me why I’ve lost so many times the past few weeks. Well, it because you fans boo me, the good guy. You don’t boo the good guy, you cheer him. And it’s a little hard to fire up to get that win when these idiots who are supposed to cheer me don’t do their job. Well, next week, you’d better cheer me or I’m going to go out and murder all of you.”

Strong words indeed. Can these two men co-exist, or will Ricochet and Chuck Taylor cause them to split.

Now finally onto next week’s scheduled matches, in what will be a tag focused night. Here is the preview

Main Event, Eight Man, Open Stipulation Title Tournament Preview- Canadian Violence (Kevin Steen and El Generico), Delirious and Eddie Kingston vs Low-Ki, Takeshi Morishima, Gran Akuma and Matt Sydal
This match see’s all eight of our Open Stipulation Title Tournament semi-finalists in the same ring at the same time in a preview of what you will expect at The Final Four. Not only will we see the eight semi finalists in the ring with each of their opponents in the tournament, but we could see a preview of some potential matchups in the four way final. This bout I’m sure will put all eight men to the test.

Arik Cannon, B-Boy, The Kings Of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli) and Josh Abercrombie vs Mike Quackenbush, Jigsaw, Tyler Black, Marek Brave and Hallowicked
A huge match here, showcasing five of the six participants in the big six man tag team match between The Kings Of Wrestling and Mike Quackenbush’s team, plus the Black and The Brave vs Arik Cannon and B-Boy match. Hallowicked after last week’s impressive showing is given a chance by Mike Quackenbush to impress on his team. Overall this looks like it can be a wild and crazy preview to two heated matches at The Final Four.

‘The Good Guy’ Azrieal and ‘Sweet and Sour’ Larry Sweeney vs Chuck Taylor and Ricochet

Plus more with Shiima Xion and Sterling James Keenan’s ‘monster’ in action

Well, that about wraps it up for this week. Next week make sure to read for all of the final announcements for The Final Four, the final week of Pro Wrestling Midwest TV before the show, and much, much more.