Death by Midwest-IWA Mid South A Matter of Pride 2005

IWA Mid-South Matter of Pride 2005-September 9, 2005 in Midlothian, IL

Quick thoughts. Thanks to the few people who e-mailed me these past few weeks. For those interested, I can be reached at [email protected]. The 2006 TPI is next on my agenda, as I consider it show of the year. More shows will be forthcoming after Christmas, when I am showered with gifts. For the time being, I’m a poor college kid. Stupid Taco Bell made me broke. I might even review some of the Death Match tournaments from this year, since no one else on 411 staff seems to have done one.

Champions Roll Call
IWA World Heavyweight Champion: Jimmy Jacobs (1st reign-defeated Danny Daniels on 4/1/05 in Herrin, IL)
IWA Mid South Light Heavyweight Champion: Josh Abercrombie (1st reign-defeated Delirious on 6/11/05 in Philadelphia, PA)
IWA Mid South Tag Team Champions: VACANT. Champions The Bad Breed vacated when Ian Rotten suffered a severe concussion.
IWA Mid South Women’s Champion: Mickie Knuckles (1st reign-defeated MsChif on 6/11/05 in Philadelphia, PA)

We’re in the Don Preston Rec Center in Midlothian, or as it is called by IWA fans, “The Midlo-Dome”. Crowd of 140 or so on hand to see the main event between Arik Cannon and Chris Hero in an I Quit Respect Match.

OPENING ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM IAN ROTTEN
Ian hypes the main event, noting you must say “I quit”, not just tap out. Ian comments on his injury, saying he has a hairline skull fracture. He says “I’m pretty much done.” That wouldn’t last long, as I believe the fracture healed well enough for him to continue wrestling. Crowd gives him a standing ovation as Ian begins to tear up. Ian then says the company will NOT be shutting down as he previously alluded to, as his wealthy grandmother decided to pitch in money to keep it afloat, along with good ticket sales for the upcoming TPI and King of the Deathmatch events. Ian plugs upcoming events. Hey, I see Ricky Thomas in the crowd! Sorry, random thought. He announces Brandon Thomaselli will face KUDO tonight. Ring announcer Joey Eastman says next month Midlo show will be a double shot, with IWA at night and Totally Tool Wrestling 2 during the day. I’ll be reviewing a Tool show in the coming months. It’s about 3rd or 4th on my to-do list.

#1: JAYSON REIGN vs. CLAUDIO CASTAGNOLI
Claudio I’m sure most of you know. Reign is a former Super 8 competitor from 2001, I believe, who quit wrestling soon after that. He hasn’t retained the buzz that used to circle around him since he returned to the ring. Ben Jordan on commentary now, as Dave Prazak left IWA at the beginning of August. I love Claudio’s music. And that SUIT. He’s also wearing the IWA Switzerland title, which is lined with red and white fabric. Chris Hero informs us he beat Joe E. Legend in Switzerland for the belt. Kind of tweener vs. heel here. Wristlockery to start the match with. And yes, I just made up a word, and no, you can’t have it. Reign does a drop toehold and hangs on to the leg. Nice. Claudio flips out of a headlock takeover. Reign hits some forearms but Claudio kills him with a European Uppercut. Claudio goes for a vertical leap over Reign and Reign just grabs his leg and plants him into the mat into a leglock. That was pretty innovative stuff. Reign hooks on the Figure Four. Claudio gets up and Reign kicks his knee. Claudio is limping. Dragon Screw on Claudio. STIFF kick to the knee by Reign. Claudio reverses a Single Crab attempt into a pin for a 2 count. Another stiff kick to the knee by Reign. Reign gets sent to the outside, Claudio limps through….TOPE CON UPPERCUT! He sells the knee on the outside. More uppercuts from Claudio. Backdrop on Reign. Strange spinning facebuster move on Reign gets 2. Claudio goes for the Ricola Bomb, but Reign blocks into a Northern Lights for 2. Reign picks Claudio up…2K1 BOMB! Wow, nice move there. Another big uppercut from Claudio. Claudio hobbles up to the top but Reign catches him…BUTTERFLY SUPERPLEX! Kinda, but it was cool anyway. That gets 2. Reign goes for his finisher, but Claudio counters into a BURNING HAMMER. He hauls Reign’s lifeless carcass back up for the RICOLA BOMB for 3 at 7:39. **3/4. About as good as you can do with the time given. The knee work on Claudio was great, but they had little time to develop it. There was makings of a really good match if it was given 12 or 13 minutes. Reign really impressed here by hitting everything he was going for and putting in some original offense with it. Good opener.

#2: “SPYDER” NATE WEBB vs. MAREK BRAVE
The veteran high flyer versus the new blood high flyer. “Teenage Dirtbag” is such an awesome song. Marek Brave’s tights are still way, way too small. Webb’s entrance brings joy to my heart as he dances with children and lets the song go it’s full length. He steals Claudio’s jacket and dances around some more. Winner of this match is No. 1 contender to Light Heavyweight Title. They trade forearms in the opening minutes. Hiptoss, armdrag, dropkick from Marek sends Webb to the floor. Marek goes for a baseball slide, but Nate stops him and turns him around….HANGMAN’S DDT ON THE FLOOR! OWWWWWWW. That gets 2 back in the ring. Webb fakes the Nebraskan Tumbleweed and just punches Marek in the mouth. Haha. Snap suplex gets 2. Webb does a sort of lungblower to Marek’s face followed by a clothesline. Another 2 count. Nerve hold applied by Webb. “I’m not gonna lie, that hurts like a bitch.”-Hero on commentary. He’s awesome at it by the way. They go to a wheelbarrow which Webb turns into a Dragon Sleeper then a reverse DDT. Apparently he calls that the “Bill Behrens Special”. That gets another 2 on Marek. Webb goes for Soylent Green, but Marek escapes and hits a flipping facebuster for 2. Nice stuff. Webb lands forearms and a stiff punch and runs at Marek in the corner, FLIPPING SPEAR from Marek! Webb doesn’t land directly into the pin, so Webb gets a split second to recover and it only gets 2. Back up, BLUE THUNDER BOMB from Marek….for 2. Marek charges but Webb applies the Webb of Death submission. Eek, that wasn’t a pretty transition. Cool submission though. Webb misses a Arachnid Kick and something gets mis-timed and Webb lands on his face. Back up, SUPERKICK from Marek, he covers but Webb rolls him over for the 3 at 8:03. **3/4. They lost points from the two bad screw-ups towards the end. Otherwise good high-flying spotty contest that got the crowd going.

#3: KUDO vs. BRANDON THOMASELLI
This is a rematch from the previous month. Thomaselli is still a face here. Kudo whips nunchucks around before the match. Brandon comes out looking like Ultimate Warrior with tassles and facepaint (to which Hero loudly exclaims “WHAT?!”). Kudo is announced as the King of the DDT promotion. The first lockup is pretty damn intense, as Kudo wants to avenge the upset from last month. Kudo does a flipping reversal into a crossface. Brandon grabs a facelock into a pin combo for 2. Kudo grabs an arm wringer and Brandon flips out of it. We have a game of one-upmanship. Just as I type it, Hero mentions it. I win. Kudo applies a Guillotine choke into a pin for 2. Close call there and the crowd bought it. Side headlock by Kudo. Wrenched in nicely. Kudo tries to do the headstand reversal but Brandon butterflies the arms. Kudo flips through but Brandon bridges to prevent the cover. That was really cool. Lots of good matwork tonight so far. He still has the arms locked and turns it into a pin for 2 on Kudo. Big dropkick by Kudo, and that was a that was a thing of beauty. Chops in the corner piss both guys up, and Kudo kicks the crap out of Brandon’s spine. Hero plugs the standoff between KUDO and KENTA at NOAH’s Differ Cup. I’ll have to check that out. Someone get the puro guys on it, it’s out of my jurisdiction. Big forearm from Brandon sends Kudo down. SPINAL KICK from Brandon…NO SOLD! SPINAL KICK from Kudo…NO SOLD by BRANDON!!! They trade these back and forth until Brandon takes control. Crowd loves that until Brandon signals for a Gorilla Press. Uhhh…what? He slams him then hits a Running Shooting Star Press for 2. Chinlock from Brandon. Why did he just ruin the momentum? He even does the Warrior splash for 2. Brandon on the apron, Kudo ducks a forearm and kicks Brandon in the head. Nice extension. Brandon knocks Kudo down with a forearm before falling off the apron to the floor. Back in, Kudo with BRUTAL kicks to the chest. I love this guy. STIFFNESS rules! 10 minutes gone now. In the corner, Kudo hits running double knees to Brandon. Fisherman’s Suplex gets 2. BRUTAL strike and kick combo gets 2 on Brandon. Kudo runs at Brandon, but Brandon flips him up on his shoulders…DEATH VALLEY DRIVER…for 2! Great timing there. He goes for the Air Raid Crash, but Kudo fights out, only to get hit with a Shooting Star Kick (that’s right, KICK) from Brandon for 2. Kudo blocks a clothesline, flips over the extended arm of Brandon, into a backslide….for 2. Three STIFF head kicks gets only 2. Kudo signals for the end. He suplexes Brandon and heads up top….DOUBLE KNEE STOMP!!!! That gets 3 as the crowd goes nuts for the finish. Time is 12:35. ***3/4. Great match. Brandon is a star in the making and held his own against Kudo, who reminded me a lot of Tajiri in ECW. I deducted for that Warrior crap from Brandon, but that still couldn’t deter me from all the awesome stuff in this match. Standing ovation for Kudo and the crowd chant “Please come back!” Ian comes to the ring and says “When you have a match like that in America, we hug it out, bitch.” Entourage rules. Kudo says he’ll be back and thanks the crowd.

After the match, there’s alternate angles and replays of some of the matches big moves. Cool to see. That double knee stomp was absolute brutality.

INTERVIEW TIME
Kevin Harvey, a fixture on the Midwest scene, is in the ring. Apparently a tournament for the vacant tag titles will be held the next night in Plymouth, IN. He brings out former champs The Iron Saints. They say Ian Rotten is hiding from them and promise to win the tournament and regain their titles. They say since they put Ian on the shelf for good, they’re the kings of IWA. Suddenly, Mickie Knuckles, Ian’s student and close friend, comes out looking pissed and grabs a chair. Mickie says Ian may not be able to shut them up, but she can, so she goes to the back to get a tag team partner. Vito jokes about Sabu coming out, but instead we get Sabu trainee C.J. Otis. CJ is about 240, big guy, and yes, he looks like Curt Henning. Well, we have a tag match.

#4: THE IRON SAINTS vs. MICKIE KNUCKLES and CJ OTIS
CJ takes Vito right down to the mat but Vito escapes to the floor. Vito tries to wrestle him down but CJ is way more powerful and he gets the advantage. The Iron Saints lost their titles to the Bad Breed in July, but the Rotten brothers had to vacate after Ian suffered the head injury. The injury was caused when the Saints did a Conchairto double stomp onto the floor on Ian. Owww, I need to see that. I don’t whether that’s the legit cause or not, because Ian did have to take time off in late 2004 for a head injury. Sal wants Mickie in the match. Sal gives her a free shot and Mickie hits a big forearm. Sal returns the favor. Ben Jordan notes Mickie can hold her own with men in the ring, as she won a No. 1 Contenders battle royal and will receive a shot at the World Title next month. More forearms back and forth between Mickie and Sal. Mickie eats a boot in the corner followed by a STIFF lariat from Sal. Looking back in slow motion, he legitimately nailed her in the face at full force. You can see Jim Fannin in the yellow shirt pacing back and forth and looking worried. Vito tags in and kicks Mickie in the chest. He follows that up with a pin for 2 and a heel kick. Vito tosses her around by the hair and tags Sal back in. CJ breaks up an illegal hold from Sal and in come the Iron Saints for the dastardly double teaming. Elbow drop from Vito gets 2. The Iron Saints back Mickie up and double team her in the corner. CJ takes exception to this. Nobody puts Mickie in the corner! Couldn’t resist. The Saints take turns chopping Mickie’s back and chest. CJ breaks up the pin. Mickie gets a sunset flip for 2 followed by another big clothesline from Sal. Vito comes in and grabs the hair again. Mickie gets out and grabs Vito’s hair. She tosses him around three times then gets the hot tag to CJ. House of fire from CJ. He gives a belly-to-belly to Sal. He then sort of a pumphandle throw on Vito for 2. Mickie in now…KAWADA KICKS to Sal. Vito hits a bulldog on Mickie. They go for a double team suplex/crossbody on Mickie and barely hit it. Vito won’t pit Mickie. They set Mickie up on the outside for the same move that put Ian out of commission. CJ breaks it up before they the chance to do it. They take control and set up Vito in the ring for the same chair double stomp. But when Mickie goes up top, Jimmy Jacobs runs out and attacks Mickie, drawing the DQ at 10:24. **1/2 Storyline over match. I’ve always thought that works in certain situations, and it did here. But there’s more mayhem a-comin’

The Iron Saints and Jacobs attack CJ and duct tape him to the ropes. Jacobs takes out his belt (of the non-championship variety) and digs it into Mickie’s forehead. Jim Fannin, co-owner of IWA, runs in to try and help Mickie but quickly gets beaten down by the heels. They tape him to the ropes too as Jimmy chokes Mickie with the belt. Mickie is bleeding, too. Ian comes out of the back and tries to help but his wife Patti holds him back. Jim Fannin breaks free but gets beaten right back down. But Ian goes and gets help in the form of Chris Hero! As Hero is checking on the three fallen competitors, Arik Cannon sneaks out and attacks Hero from behind. BACKDROP DRIVER! Before the wolves can gather again, the locker room empties to break up the fight. Good angle that continues the Saints vs. Rotten feud, sets the stage for Mickie vs. Jacobs, and builds hype for the main event all at the same time.

#5: ANYTHING GOES TAG MATCH: ERIC PRIEST & CHANDLER McCLURE vs. RYAN BOZ & TRIK DAVIS
The losers of this match can never team in IWA Mid South again. Priest is out of the Steel Domain school, and runs his own school called The Underground, which has produced McClure and Brandon Thomaselli. Priest cuts his normal pre-match promo, but I still enjoy it every time. McClure and Priest attack Boz and Trik right at the entrance way. Trik gets thrown into the chairs by McClure and Priest gets nailed with something by Boz. Trik avoids a header into the wall and headscissors McClure into it instead. Boz throws a garbage can onto Priest, who is now beaten behind the merch table. Boz and Trik double team McClure in the ring. Priest is back up and grabs Boz out of the ring. Trik hits a plancha onto Priest. He landed right on Priest’s head. Trik then gets flapjacked right into the wall by Priest. Priest saves McClure from Boz’s knees in the ring. They double team Boz for a bit. Trik breaks up a pin and gets a Guillotine Choke on McClure. Priest back in and he boots Trik in the head. That gets 2. Boz and McClure brawl on the outside while Priest and Trik go at it in the ring. Priest sees Boz beating up his student and TOPE DROPKICKS him through the ropes. Nice stuff there. Trik back in the ring…TOPE on McClure. The action is everywhere. Boz boots Priest in the face and then McClure breaks it up. Trik gets posted hard by McClure. Boz sends McClure into the chairs. Priest goes a piledriver on Boz but gets backdropped into the chairs. Priest gets back up and nails Boz in the back with a chair. McClure throws Boz in the ring, and Boz hits a Michinoku Driver on McClure. Trik gets on the apron and ranas Priest to the floor. Trik goes in the ring but is limping heavily. They go for their finisher but Priest comes back in and nails Boz in the head with a chair. They set up Trik and hit him with a spike piledriver. Trik kicks out at 2. They call for it again but Boz catches McClure and throws him into Priest. Suddenly, a giant man comes out of the crowd and attacks Boz from behind. This guy is huge. Priest and McClure hit the spike piledriver on Boz for the win at 11:09. *** Good brawl despite some mistimed moves in certain spots. It certainly seemed like a fitting end to the feud. After the match, Priest introduces the big man as Mike Walker, another student of his. He wrestles in NOAH regularly as Keith Walker now. The guy is extremely ripped. Boz and Trik shake hands after the match, as they are now done as a team.

END OF DISC ONE. Good undercard so far.

#6: JAMES GIBSON vs. MATT SYDAL
I’ve been looking forward to seeing this one. He wears the ROH World Title to the ring, which I must admit is surprising to me. Gabe doesn’t exactly think kindly on Ian and IWA. Matt Sydal comes out to “Clavicle” by Alkaline Trio, whose early stuff rules your face. They trade armlocks to start off. This is a sort of dream match for IWA fans, since Sydal is one of IWA’s best homegrown stars. A series of nearfalls brings us to a standoff. Sydal rolls a side headlock into a pin for a 1 count. Sydal keeps the advantage with an armdrag into an armbar. Gibson avoids another one but Sydal hits a beautiful headscissors takedown instead. Gibson gets dropkicked to the floor but moves away from the ring to avoid any dives from Sydal. Back in the ring they both go. Sydal eats boot from Gibson, but he recovers with a big spinning heel kick on Gibson. That gets 2. Sydal goes for the Here It Is Driver, but Gibson fights out. Gibson gets sent to the floor. Baseball slide knocks Gibson down. Back inside, Sydal eats a knee going for a shoulder tackle. Gibson suplexes Sydal onto the ropes. Gibson stands on Sydal’s chest followed by a knee to the gut and then a gutbuster. I believe the stomach is now the focus of Gibson’s attack. A leg drop gets 2 for Gibson. Flying crossbody from Sydal gets rolled over into a pin by Gibson for 2. Gibson goes after the abs again with the Wilbur Synder stretch, yelling “Quit, boy!” at Sydal. Sydal works out with a hiptoss and gets a sunset flip for 2. Fireman’s carry gutbuster by Gibson followed by a spine kick gets 2. Gibson’s work on the ribs and abs will make it difficult to hit Sydal signatures like the Shooting Star Press. Bodyscissors applied by Gibson on the midsection again. Sydal gets out into a Boston Crab but Gibson is too close to the ropes. Gibson goes for a Release German, but Sydal lands on his feet and hits a Tornado DDT on Gibson. Sydal gains control with a flurry of offense. Gibson goes to the top rope and Sydal hits a STANDING SUPER RANA on him. In other words, Sydal grabbed Gibson’s head by just jumping up from the mat. Awesome. That gets 2. Gibson goes for a roll up with a handful of tights, but the ref sees it and refuses to count. La Mistrohol cradle by Sydal gets 2. Another pinning combination gets 2. Big swinging neckbreaker from Gibson ends Sydal’s momentum. They trade forearms before Gibson hits a spinebuster for 2. We’re about 15 minutes in now. He goes for Tiger Bomb…blocked. He hits three knees to Sydal’s face, Sydal ducks the Yakuza Kick and hits a step up enziguri. Pumphandle Sitout Power Bomb by Sydal…for 2. SHOOTING STAR PRESS by Sydal….Gibson moves. TIGER BOMB from Gibson and that gets the 3 at 16:28. **** Great match between these two. Sydal is not a spotty wrestler, he’s learning to make those moves count more, as evidenced here. Gibson was great as he always was during his indy run. It was strange to see him working heel in this match.

#7: IWA MID SOUTH LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: TLC RULES:
Josh Abercrombie © vs. Tyler Black

These guys are always good against each other. Tyler Black is really young but already has made a great impression in the Chicago area wrestling scene. He was trained by Danny Daniels. Josh has been slowly turning heel over the course of the feud. This is a just a regular street fight with tables, ladders, and chairs around the ring. The belt is not hanging from the ceiling. Crowd chants “New Champ” at Tyler. Josh cheapshots Tyler during a handshake but gets heel kick as revenge. Tyler avoids getting backdropped through a table and clotheslines Josh to the outside. Josh grabs a chair and hits a dropkick with the chair on a seated Tyler. That gets 2. Tyler gets thrown into a ladder in the corner. Josh sets him up in the corner and dropkicks the ladder into him. Tyler gets set up on a table to the outside but he stops Josh from going to the top rope. Josh goes for the Taliban Backpack off the apron but Tyler hangs on to the ropes, and then hits a REVERSE DDT FROM THE APRON through the table! That gets 2. Tyler charges and hits Josh in the head with the top of the ladder. Owww. Tyler goes to throw Josh into the ladder but the ladder moved when Josh bounced off the ropes and basically he gets thrown to the floor. Oh dear, that had to hurt. Josh is busted open badly. Back in the ring that gets 2. STANDING MOONSAULT WITH CHAIR by Black. RUNNING SHOOTING STAR PRESS WITH THE CHAIR by Black follows that. That gets 2. Josh gets a chairshot to the face. Tyler hits him twice in the head with the chair while standing on top of the ladder. Ouchtown, population you. That gets 2. Josh looks like he’s bleeding from the mouth now, too. Series of forearms from Tyler but Josh flapjacks him into the ladder. Tyler misses a Phoenix Splash and Josh throws a chair at Tyler’s head, followed by a Swinging Neckbreaker on a chair. That gets 2. Tyler gets DDTed on a open chair. That looked messy. That gets 2, even though Tyler’s legs are stuck in the ladder. Josh goes for a Phoenix Splash through a table, but Tyler stops him. BACK SUPERPLEX by Tyler! Tyler climbs the ladder but Josh follows him up. Tyler prevents the Taliban Backpack again…NECKBREAKER OFF THE LADDER! Only gets 2. Tyler goes on the ladder again, but Josh heads to the top rope…TALIBAN BACKPACK OFF THE LADDER! 1, 2…NO! Tyler kicks out and the crowd can’t believe it! Josh sets up four open chairs in the center of the ring. Tyler fights him off…FISHERMAN’S BUSTER ON THE OPEN CHAIRS by Tyler! Josh still kicks out of that. Crowd is on their feet now. Tyler grabs another table. They fight on top of it until the table’s legs give way. Josh sets the broken table up on two chairs, and heads up top….PHOENIX SPLASH THROUGH THE TABLE!!!! That gets 3 for Josh as he retains at 18:44. ***1/2. The insane last few minutes made up for a few early mess ups. These guys get better every time they face each other.

Ian announces Black will get one more shot at Josh’s title in a Scaffold Match. Ian mentioned the Night of the Skywalkers. That makes me chuckle. Josh looks none too happy about that.

Replays of the match’s big spots follow. I like that.

#8: IWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH-Jimmy Jacobs © vs. Delirious
These guys have fought many times, but never for the top title in IWA. Jimmy is in full-on dick heel mode. As illustrated by the new superhero music. Jimmy’s got the mic: “Everyday you marks piss me off more and more.” He insults the last match for being garbage wrestling. “Retards cheer for retards.” Don’t see what the point of that was. Delirious starts off with a flurry of offense and clotheslines Jimmy out. Delirious skipped his normal pre match craziness and is beating up Jimmy everywhere. Kevin Harvey talks of their Ladder Match at last year’s TPI and the Cage Match they had in February. Flair bump from Jimmy. Jimmy gets headbutted on the top rope. Wheelbarrow suplex on Jimmy. Delirious goes up top but Jimmy knocks him off. Delirious goes FLYING down to the floor. Ouch. Love the effort though. Jimmy beats on him on the floor. Kick to the face by Jimmy. Jacobs has to defend against Colt Cabana and Mickie Knuckles on the two nights of the 2005 TPI. Pin attempts from Jimmy are unsuccessful and Jimmy gets angry. Tazmission-like hold from Jimmy. Jimmy has slowed the match down since the fall from Delirious. Arrogant cover gets 1. Delirious fights back….Flying clothesline! Chop! Top rope Clothesline! That gets a close 2. Jimmy moves out of the way of Shadows Over Hell and hits a neckbreaker for 2. Reverse Pedigree gets 2 as well and Jimmy is pissed. Jimmy gets drop toe hold-ed into the first turnbuckle and Delirious goes for the Panic Attack, but Jimmy gets up….and promptly thrown into the other corner for the PANIC ATTACK! That gets 2 when Jimmy puts his foot on the rope. Jimmy blocks a Fisherman’s attempt into a Reverse DDT. Double down! Sunset flip gets 2 from Delirious, as does another one. CONTRA CODE…blocked. Delirious goes for a back superplex, but Jacobs pulls out the spike where the ref can’t see and hits Delirious. He sets up….SENTON FROM THE TOP! That gets 3 for Jimmy at 13:34 and he retains through heeldom again. **3/4. Disappointing. The heat section really dragged and these guys have done miles better. After the match James Gibson attacks Jacobs and promises to beat him for the belt the next night.

#9: MAIN EVENT-I QUIT, I RESPECT YOU MATCH: Chris Hero vs. Arik Cannon
These two have loads of history. Cannon went on a huge winning streak last year while Hero was in the midst of the Highland Curse, and bad blood has been boiling since then. The loser must not only say I quit but afterwards must say “I respect you”. Hero doesn’t do his trademark long entrance and rushes the ring to stare down Cannon. Mixed reaction for Hero. Big chops and forearms from both men. Cannon gets dropkicked out. Thumb to the eye by Cannon. STIFF headbutts! Obviously no countouts in this match as the fighting continues on the floor. Absolutely brutal headbutts from Cannon that gets a huge reaction from the crowd. After a flurry of offense from Hero, Bryce asks Cannon what he says, but Cannon pushes him away. This is just a brawl right now, which isn’t typical of either guy, but as in a testament to their abilities, they are doing good. More headbutts from Cannon. IWA really loves their stiff headbutts. Hero fires back with a HUGE headbutt that just knocks out Cannon. Hero picks him up but he stumbles down again. Hero knocked Cannon out with a stiff punch last month but it does him no good here. Cannon hooks into a submission hold on the outside. I like. They finally head back into the ring at around the 9 minute mark. Earthquake style splash from Hero. Diving forearm in the corner by Hero. Crowd is definitely semi-against Hero, which sows the seed for his heel turn. Hero gets sent to the floor and met with a big dropkick from Cannon through the rope. Kawada kicks on the floor by Cannon….MAFIA KICK sends Hero down. Damn. Hero capo kicks Cannon while Arik sits in a chair. Hero nails Cannon’s knee into the post and Cannon clutches at it. Kevin Harvey notes how sound this strategy is, because it eliminates the Glimmering Warlock. Half crab with NASTY STANK ASS CRANK from Hero. Seriously, ouch-fest. A leglock has Cannon screaming in pain but he refuses to give up. Hero with some super awesome rolling modified figure four after that, but Cannon rakes the eyes. Oh, how dastardly. Cannon’s knee is in bad shape. Hero sets up four chairs on top of each other on the floor. Hero goes for an Alabama Slam but Cannon blocks it. Hero is set up on the apron by Cannon….HANGMAN’S NECKBREAKER ONTO THE CHAIRS! “Holy Shit!”-Midlo crowd. I concur. Back in the ring now. Cannon hooks on a double armbar with headscissors but Hero won’t give up. Cannon is focusing on the neck. A variation on the Hangman’s Clutch is applied by Cannon, which is Hero’s finisher. Hero flips out of a suplex….RELEASE GERMAN by Hero. Powerslam by Hero, and Cannon rolls to the floor. Hero goes nuts in the ring so….HUGE TOPE by Hero. Hero is fired up. Possibly by awesomeness. Hero puts on a Boston Crab on Cannon, then grabs a chair and literally sits on it while it’s on Cannon! Oh, I love this guy. Cannon is screaming for mercy but refuses to quit. Hero releases the hold then throws chairs at Cannon’s injured knee. He puts a chair under and on top of Cannon’s knee, then goes to the apron….DOUBLE STOMP ON THE CHAIRS TO THE KNEE!!!! He hooks on another half crab but Cannon still won’t give up. Cannon is nearly crying. Back in the ring again as Hero works on the knee more. Double stomp on the knee. MOONSAULT by Hero…no one home. GLIMMERING WARLOCK by Cannon misses, and Hero fires back with a step up enziguri. Cannon answers back with another. That took a lot out of his injured knee, allowing Hero to hit another enziguri. Hero goes for the Glimmering Warlock, but Cannon ducks and grabs the leg…HANGMAN’S CLUTCH BY CANNON! Hero refuses to quit. Cannon goes for a Hero’s Welcome, but Hero turns it around, only for Cannon to hold onto the ropes to escape. TWO GLIMMERING WARLOCKS by Cannon, who goes for a cover, but the ref tells him there are no pins. Back to the outside now. Hero regains his composure with a headbutt. Hero sends Cannon into the wall but Cannon still refuses to give up. Hero slaps Cannon and says “Respect me!” Nice touch. Cannon knocks Hero down and dropkicks Hero’s face into the wall. Cannon grabs tape and tapes his mouth shut. Again, nice touch. They had back in the ring again. Hero blocks Cannon….HERO’S WELCOME! Dragging him to the center…TEXAS CLOVERLEAF by Hero. Cannon taps but he doesn’t say I quit. Thanks to the tape. Cannon grabs Hero…SAITO SUPLEX ON HERO! Hero’s head has been punished tonight. Cannon takes the tape off to get more breath. Cannon drags Hero up, but Hero reverses…ALABAMA SLAM by Hero! HANGMAN’S CLUTCH BY HERO!!!! CANNON QUITS! Hero wins it at 37: 30. ****1/4. Awesome match. Good psychology with Cannon’s knee and very appropriate brawl for this feud. Hero waits for Cannon, who finally says “I respect you, Chris Hero”, and shakes his hand. Then spits in his face and limps off. Hero looks upset. He grabs the mic and says he has nothing left to prove. He promises to win the TPI in 2 weeks. Ian also banned some fan from IWA. Which is always funny.

The 411: An awesome show from IWA. From a good opener with Reign and Claudio, a stiff battle between Brandon and KUDO, an awesome match between Gibson and Sydal to the awesomeness of the main event, this show was stacked. No match here was below average. Big thumbs up to this bad boy. IWA Mid South videos can be purchased at www.smartmarkvideo.com.
Final Score:  8.3   [ Very Good ]