Death by Midwest: IWA Mid-South Bad Blood Rising

IWA Mid-South presents
Bad Blood Rising
July 21st, 2007
Hartman Recreation Center in Joliet, IL

CHAMPIONS ROLL CALL
-World Heavyweight: Chuck Taylor (1st reign-defeated Toby Klein on 9/30/06 in Midlothian, IL)
-World Light Heavyweight: Brandon Thomaselli (1st reign-defeated Josh Abercrombie on 4/14/07 in Shelbyville, IN)
-Tag Team: The Iron Saints (3rd reign-defeated Up in Smoke in Candido Cup finals to win vacant titles on 5/26/07 in Midlothian, IL)
-Women’s: Mickie Knuckles (2nd reign-defeated Hailey Hatred on 2/8/06 in Charleston, WV)
-Deathmatch: Corporal Robinson (1st reign-defeated Dysfunction on 6/23/07 in Plainfield, IN)

This is a newer venue for IWA, added just a few months prior. Here, unlike the Midlo-Dome, the venue allows more hardcore wrestling. With that spirit in mind, this show is headlined by three deathmatches between IWA Mid South and IWA Deep South guys.

Prior to the show beginning, Ian talks about the recently deceased John Kronus. He says the Bad Breed would frequently ride with the Eliminators in USWA, and would laugh at Saturn and Kronus arguing. He says his biggest regret over John’s death is the fact that his kids will have to grow up without their dad who loved them very much. He gets a 10 bell salute.

First up is a battle royal to determine who will face Chuck Taylor for the IWA title tonight.

#1: BATTLE ROYAL
If the music sounds soft on this DVD, it’s because IWA got their sound system stolen the night before this show and they’re using a rental. In this one there’s a lot of new faces. CJ Otis, Jack Thriller, Mickie Knuckles, the Iron Saints, Keith Cream, Jason Hades, Chrisjen Hayme, Chris Hamrick, Scotty Vortekz, OMG, Billy Roc, Hype, and Jason Dukes. I’m not gonna call much of this one. Hamrick slaps the crap out of Mickie at one point, and much later on gives Thriller an old school piledriver. It gets down to Hayme, Mickie, CJ, and Thriller. Thriller and Otis eliminate each other. Hayme and Mickie go back and forth with Mickie hitting a BIG German suplex. SHINING KAWADA by Mickie and she dumps Hayme’s corpse out at 7:44. No rating for battle royals but it was fun.

After the royal, CJ comes out and challenges Jack Thriller for a match tonight. At least he kept that short. When you’re trained by Sabu, promos are not going to be your strongpoint.

#2: KEITH CREAM vs. JASON HADES
I’ve never seen either of these guys. Cream comes out and grinds on a few female fans. It’s pretty funny that the new ring announcer is about a foot taller than Keith Cream. Ben Jordan and Vito Thomaselli on commentary right now. Armlockery to start. Cream waits after a Hades dropdown and gives him a pelvic thrust to the face. Cream proclaims himself “every lady’s dream”. Hades retaliates with a pelvic thrust to Cream. They badly screw up an armdrag. Egads, that was bad. And Hades then delivers rapid fire pelvic thrusts to Cream. They slap each other and Hades hits a few Kawada Kicks followed by a running knee lift and a knee dropkick. That gets 2. Cream thrusts himself back up. Faceplant to the knee by Cream followed by a short arm clothesline for 2. Atomic drop into the Wilbur Snyder by Cream. Neckbreaker follows for 2. Running double knees by Cream then he gets a cocky cover for 2. Cream flips out of a back suplex and gets caught with a ENZIGURI. Damn, that looked pretty. Cream begins thrusting as he tries to make it to his feet. Spinning heel kick by Hades. Spinning facebuster by Hades gets 2. Cream hits a suplex into a Rydeen Bomb for 2. Hades ducks some offense and hits the KILLSWITCH for the win at 6:43. *1/4. Short but good effort by the young guys with one just the one bad screwup. I’d rather see Hades back than Cream, but Cream was entertaining and given time could be a good comedy act. The Killswitch by the way is like a flipping lungblower. Good finisher that’s new and can be hit at any time.

#3: BILLY ROC vs. CHRIS HAMRICK
Hamrick hasn’t been in IWA for a while, but held the IWA tag titles for one day back in May of 2004 after winning a one night tournament. He and Tracy Smothers lost them the next day. This is a big test for Roc, who is in this year’s TPI. Can he hang with a veteran? Hamrick flips off Roc. They do the usual wristlockery. Hamrick goes for a lucha reversal of a wristlock but falls over. See, there’s the inexperience of Roc. A veteran would have covered that better but Roc hesitated. With due time, I guess. Big armdrag by Hamrick, followed by a roll up for 2. Hey! I can see myself in the second row. Leapfrog gets messed up somehow. Hamrick’s holding his face. Hamrick goes for a charge in the corner but Roc moves. Armdrag by Roc with the armbar. Hip toss by Roc and another armdrag. BIG chop by Hamrick. Followed by another one. Damn, those are tough. Roc goes for an up and over and Hamrick kicks him in the nuts on the way down. Haha. I think that’s Ian’s son John Calvin on commentary saying he’s gonna drop his little brother on his head once he gets old enough. Stretch on the mat by Hamrick followed by a Pendulum submission. More stretching by Hamrick follows up. Small package by Roc gets 2 as Ben Jordan argues with IWA Deep South’s Smooth on commentary. No, I don’t know who that is either. Quick roll up by Roc gets 2. Roc goes for a move off the 2nd turnbuckle and gets caught with a big boot. Cocky cover gets 2. Strange stretching pinning combo by Hamrick for 2. They run the ropes and knock each other over with dual clotheslines. Spinning heel kick by Roc, followed by a series of dropkicks. Roc slips on the ropes a bit and hits 10 punches in the corner. Leaping clothesline in the corner by Hamrick. Roc gets propelled to the buckles but slips a bit then hits a sloppy Tornado DDT. Oh dear. The ropes are not Roc’s friend tonight. Piggyback stunner gets 2 for Hamrick as Hamrick pulls Roc up before three. Roc blocks a suplex and rolls Hamrick up for 3 at 10:23. *3/4. A number of miscues and an overall clash of styles bring the score down. Most of that was with the ropes and not Roc. The kid can go and it’ll be interesting to see how he does against Mike Quackenbush in the first round of the TPI.

Roc goes to shake Hamrick’s hand but Hamrick just kicks him and gives him a SICK PILEDRIVER. Roc should have known better.

#4: JACK THRILLER vs. CJ OTIS
This is a strange heel vs. heel match. Thriller says “I have a cape and I rule.” Well, you do have a cape. Otis is without Joey Eastman tonight. They trade snapmares and headlocks early on. Cravat by Thriller but Otis gets it into a stranglehold. Thriller rolls through into a pin for 1. Armdrag by Otis and Thriller takes a powder. Hiptoss by Thriller and then Otis takes a moment to recover. Straitjacket pin by Otis gets 2. Another pinning combo by Thriller gets only 1 again. Crucifix by Thriller gets 2. Otis hits a belly-to-belly. That gets 2. Big running clothesline takes Thriller down. CJ goes to the eyes and hits a HUGE BRAINBUSTER. Ouchtown on that one. Thriller is now dead. CJ beats on him a bit but Thriller comes back with Cravatplex into the buckles! That only gets 2. Thriller is still wobbly from that brainbuster. Jabs and chops by Thriller. Thriller gets staggered by CJ and CJ nails his big headbutt. Crowd likes that but it only gets 2. Pair of running forearm strikes by CJ. Thriller comes back by attacking CJ’s leg in the corner with a dropkick. Ben Jordan had mentioned he’s been using the Figure Four lately so this is Thriller’s game plan. Dragon screw by Thriller. Thriller ducks an enziguri attempt and hits another dragon screw. He goes for the Figure Four but CJ rolls him up for 2. Thriller goes after the knee but CJ fires back with a enziguri. Thriller has a cut under his eye. CJ goes off the ropes but he’s moving too slow with the bad knee and Thriller catches him into a half crab. He makes the ropes. Thriller tries to go up top but CJ stops him and gets him in position for the Burning Hammer. He holds his knee after that but still gets the pin at 10:03. **1/2. I’ll go middle of the road on that. Thriller was smarter and kept the spottiness to a minimum since that’s not his strongpoint. His matwork is where it’s at for him. Good showing for Otis as well.

#5: CHRISJEN HAYME vs. “HYPE” JIMMY SHALWIN
Hayme is a regular in IWA Deep South, and he heels on the crowd to show him some respect. Nice to see this feud stretching beyond the deathmatch guys. I’m so happy to get to review a Hype match. This guy is just plain fun. He has his own energy drink! And he comes out to Richard Cheese. His entrance is great. Crowd gets into a big “Hype” chant. For those who don’t know, Hayme is from Huntsville, Alabama, where I went to Space Camp when I was 11. It was a fun week. Jason Dukes, who for whatever reason isn’t wrestling tonight, joins Ben Jordan on commentary. They trade standing switches to start. Hayme tries to roll out of a wristlock but Hype rolls with him and keeps it locked on. Pair of atomic drops by Hype. Jason Dukes is running down Hype, whom he beat last month, and IWA for not giving him a match. Hayme gets thrown outside, Hype goes for a plancha but Hayme moves and Hype crashes on the floor. Hayme tosses him back in and goes for a German but it gets blocked. Hype grabs a GOOZLE~! but Hayme gets the ref to break it. Hayme answers with an enziguri and a Half Nelson Suplex. That gets 2 and Hayme looks very surprised. Butterfly suplex by Hayme gets 2. Hype fires back by Hayme kicks him back down. Elbow drop to the back gets 2. Hayme’s been beating on that back. Roll up gets 2 by Hype followed by a backslide for 2. Frankensteiner by Hayme. He goes for a Tornado DDT but Hype tosses him away and hits a Release Northern Lights. Flurry of punches by Hype followed by a backdrop. GOOZLE~! He hits a sit out chokeslam then goes up top. He shimmies across the second rope for an elbow drop but Hayme moves. DDT by Hayme gets 2. Hayme goes off the top but Hype catches him in a powerslam. Hype signals for the Moonsault…..no water in the pool. That was pretty, though. Hayme goes up top….450 SPLASH and that’s all at 8:13. **3/4. Match of the night so far. Short but action packed with two solid guys. Hype really hung in there with a much more athletic wrestler.

#6: WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Chuck Taylor (c) vs. Mickie Knuckles
Crowd chants “New Champ” for Mickie. Chuck gets a HUGE reaction as he scopes out the crowd for the kid he’s going to make cry. I love all of it. Chuck demands that Mickie put her Women’s Title on the line tonight. Mickie says Chuck is a very ugly girl. Chuck grabs the Women’s title and demands Ian to put it on the line. Ian apparently says OK. Oh my….

#6: TITLE vs. TITLE: World Champion CHUCK TAYLOR vs. Women’s Champion MICKIE KNUCKLES
Well I didn’t expect this. Chuck backs her into the corner and poses, but Mickie palm strikes him away. Crowd is definitely split between these two. Mickie dropkicks him in a knucklelock. Mickie gets Chuck in an arm wringer and Chuck does his girl squeal. “Chuck’s a bitch.”-Joliet. Mickie continues trying to outwrestle Chuck but Chuck won’t let her get any momentum going. It spills outside where Mickie full nelsons Chuck and lets some young kids chop away at him! One teenager really nailed him. That pisses off Chuck as he begins wailing at her in the ring and hooks on a Camel Clutch. Chuck stands on her hair and Mickie kicks him for that. Chuck almost gets the win with a side headlock but Mickie hulks up. Chuck ends that with a beautiful dropkick. After complaining about Mickie hitting him in the nuts he gets a 2 count. Chuck stretches out Mickie on the mat with a legscissors around her arms. Chuck chops Mickie but that just pisses Mickie off who fires back with big chops. Chuck retaliates with a STIFF Mafia Kick. Dammnnnn. That gets 2. Chuck slams her and heads up top but Mickie gets him with a belly-to-belly off the second rope! Nice. That gets 2. Northern Lights with bridge by Mickie gets 2. Falling Foot Gimmick by Chuck gets 2. It’s actually called Sole Food, but I like mine too much to let it go. It gets 2. Chuck rolls Mickie up in a pinning combination for 2. Not only does the man makes kids cry, he can work. Another fast pinning combo gets 2 for Chuck. Well he does have the speed advantage over Mickie. Unfortunately he doesn’t stick with that and Mickie headbutts him and gives a Half Nelson Suplex. Mickie doesn’t fully connect with the Shining Kawada but nails a German Suplex…..for 2! Mickie can’t believe it. Chuck grabs Mickie on the apron…Omega Driver onto the floor! Well, kinda. Still vicious but not as much as it could have been. Chuck rolls her back in and gets 3 at 13:08. Chuck is now the Women’s Champion as well as the World Champion. ***1/4. Very entertaining match that I thought ended just as it was really clicking. Thankfully I’m sure there will be a rematch down the line.

#7: TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Iron Saints © vs. Naptown Dragons-40:00
Naptown Dragons this time out are OMG and Scotty Vortekz. Hey, Vito’s got some new hair. Before the match, the Iron Saints announce that Sal is officially retiring his title of Number 1 seed in the 2005 TPI, and beginning Sal’s campaign for President in 2008. Apparently they’ll be legalizing marijuana. Which I’m sure none of you do, out there, right? Right? Right. Vito and Scotty start and Vito brings Scotty into the Saint corner and gets a 2 off a suplex. Scotty backs Sal into the corner and OMG comes in but Sal takes him to the mat. Lots of quick exchanges and tags early on. Vito pulls Scotty by the hair and kicks him around. Dragon screw and a Japanese armdrag by Scotty. Neckbreaker by Scotty on Vito sends Vito outside and Sal gets tossed as well. Plancha by OMG! That gets 2 on Vito. Nice work as Vito is still the legal man. Vito comes back with a Whippersnapper and tags out to Sal. Suplex gets 2 for Sal. OMG gets 2 off a sunset flip then 2 off of a small package. The Saints take turns chopping OMG and then Vito gets 2 off a belly-to-belly. Senton by Vito gets 2. High knee by Vito. The Saints are isolating OMG. Backslide by OMG for 2 but Vito connects with a BUTTERFLY BRAINBUSTER. Ouch. Scotty has to break up that pin. OMG gets the tag to Scotty who dropkicks both Saints down. Michinoku Driver by Scotty on Vito! BACKDROP DRIVER follows but Sal doesn’t let him make a cover. Scotty goes up top as OMG fights Sal….DOUBLE KNEE STOMP! Sal chops both of the Dragons but Scotty ends that with a big slap and feeds him to OMG….Tornado Pedigree! That gets 2 as Vito breaks it. Scotty and Vito trade stiff forearms until Scotty spills outside. Apparently what happened was Scotty started choking on the gum he was chewing when Vito forearmed him. In any case, the Saints grab OMG and give a double team front lungblower. They hook him up…PENDULUM DOUBLE STOMP! That ends it at 12:04. ***1/4. Another good match between two very good teams. The Saints have really improved over the past 6 months and they continue to steal the show on nearly every card. Maybe this will signal a start to a longer program between the Saints and the various combinations of the Naptown Dragons.

#8: TAPED FIST MATCH: Ian Rotten vs. Freakshow
Freakshow was the man responsible for taking Ian out of action months ago in a match where Freakshow stabbed Ian in the eye. This is Ian’s first match back from injury. Ian runs out and attacks during Freakshow’s entrance and wails away at him. HEADBUTTS! Then Ian grabs a fork and jabs away at the forehead. Ewwww. That’s a big fork, too. HEADBUTTS and Freakshow just collapses. Then Ian KILLS him with a chairshot. Big splatter of blood on that chair. Crowd definitely behind Ian here. They trade STIFF punches after Freakshow makes it to his feet. “IWA!”-Joliet. Freakshow repays the favor with the fork. I mean, you can breathe on Ian’s forehead too hard and he’ll start bleeding, why use a fork, huh? Freakshow throws the chair and throws it at the very busted open Ian, then chokes him with a chain. Ian comes back with crossface punches. These guys are just beating the shit out of each other. “This is my house!”-Ian right before punching Freakshow in the balls. Ian misses a headbutt and posts himself. Owwwww. Freakshow then grinds a soda can into Ian’s forehead. Ian comes alive again with a big flurry of lefts and rights. They finally make it into the ring for the first time and Freakshow pulls out the spike he used to injure Ian’s eye months prior. Ian stops him and hits the Rotten Rush for the win at 9:43. Afterwards Ian grabs the spike and tries to go after Freakshow’s eye until Insane Lane and Tank come and attack him. Drake and Corporal Robinson chase them off. ***. Stiff, short, brutal match, brought down only by Freakshow being way too fat and slow . I’m not a big fan of Freakshow obviously, but I definitely enjoy seeing him get his ass handed to him by Ian.

Ian takes the mic after the match. “I’ve gotten a check from Vince McMahon, Paul Heyman, and Ted Turner. I don’t need this shit….but I want it.” He says he only needs so much room in his trophy case for Freakshow’s right eyeball. He promises that crowds will be chanting IWA, but they’ll be coming not from Alabama, but from Midlothian, Joliet, and Plainfield. “If you ain’t hardcore, you ain’t shit, and you ain’t shit.” Good promo.

#9: BARBED WIRE TABLES, BATS, and BOARDS: Drake Younger vs. Insane Lane
I’m still worried about Drake’s chest after his nipple injury from Tournament of Death. You would think that would warrant time off. For some reason, there’s no commentary here, as Smart Mark has unhooked the hard camera and now has 2 cameras roaming ringside. Drake charges Lane and fires away with forearms, headbutts, and chops. Lane pokes Drake in the eye. Drake dropkicks Lane outside and gets him with a baseball slide. Then he digs Lane’s forehead into one of the barbed wire tables. Then they proceed to headbutt each other around the building. Drake takes Lane to the stage area where the commentary table is at and hits a moonsault off it. Whoa! Drake moves the barbed wire table in the ring then continues to slug it out with Lane. Back inside, Drake puts one of the legs down on the table so it’s tilted. Lane stops Drake and RELEASE POWERBOMBS HIM ON THE BARBED WIRE TABLE! Owwww. Lane digs the barbed wire into Drake’s head. HUGE short arm clothesline by Lane followed by more barbed wire shenanigans. Big Half Nelson Suplex on Drake! That gets 2 for Lane. Lane lays down one of the barbed wire boards but Drake headbutts away at him and then fires STIFF KNEES. Drake goes up top and hits a crossbody onto the barbed wire board! For some reason I don’t think Steamboat would have done that. That gets 2. Lane had to get his shoulder up off the barbed wire and that hurt like hell. His back is pretty cut up now. Drake charges at Lane but gets caught in a CRADLE SUPLEX THROUGH THE BARBED WIRE BOARD! And I mean right through it. “Holy shit!”-Joliet. Lane grabs him again…PUMPHANDLE SLAM ON THE BARBED WIRE BOARD. Drake kicks out at 2. Lane goes up top but Drake stops him and pulls the barbed wire board in place. Lane regains the advantage….SUPER DDT ONTO THE BARBED WIRE BOARD!!!!! Are you serious? Drake gets the ropes at 2. I never really understood the rope breaks in a deathmatch. Back outside Drake fights Lane off and puts him on the barbed wire table. Yeah, he’s not going anywhere. Drake goes up top for a FROG SPLASH and THE TABLE DOESN’T BREAK! Owwwwwww. Lane has all the barbed wire from the table stuck on him. Drake puts Lane back on the now regular table and goes back up top for a splash for the win at 12:07. ***3/4. So, so brutal. These are the kind of deathmatches I love seeing, two guys who have speed and ability and balls of steel. Drake Younger is certifiably insane. So IWA Mid South is 2-0 against the Deep South guys tonight.

#10: IWA DEATHMATCH TITLE MATCH, FANS BRING THE WEAPONS:
Corporal Robinson © vs. Tank-38:45
Lots of sick weapons tonight. Tons of light tubes, a 2×4 with nails in it, a light tube and thumbtack table, and even a huge dildo covered in tacks. Corp is defending the belt for the first time since winning the King of the Deathmatches about a month prior. Look in the archives of 411 for that review. They trade stiff forearms to start. Then headbutts. Corp knocks Tank down with some of his infamous punches. Tank takes a light tube to the back but Corp gets the broken tube dug into his head. They spill outside and continue slugging it out. Corp grabs the cheese grater and you know what happens there. Corp gets a thumbtack bat to the back, but Tank gets it to the face. Owww. Tank digs something sharp into Corp. No idea what that is. Tank grabs a Guitar Hero controller and BASHES Corp’s head in with it. Damnnnnn. “Gee-tar He-ro!”-Joliet. Corp returns the favor to Tank with it. Tank digs in the 2×4 nail board into Corp’s forehead and punches it. YOU SICK BASTARDS. Corp has the thumbtack dildo and smashes it into Tank’s ass. Oh my. Back inside, Tank gets a LIGHT TUBE HEADBUTT. Corp takes off Tank’s shirt and hits him with a huge tube bundle in the back. Then Corp spears Tank through the barbed wire board! “IWA!”-Joliet. And in comes the light tube and thumbtacks table. Corp gets chokeslammed on a toy horse with light tubes. The Hardcore Horse! Tank is bleeding from his back BADLY. They set up the table and Corp and Tank head up top but Freakshow and Insane Lane come out and interfere…SUPER SPINEBUSTER THROUGH THE LIGHT TUBE TABLE! And that’s it at 9:08. Tank is now the IWA Mid-South Deathmatch Champion. **3/4. Good but slow in points even at nine minutes. That’s what tends to happen with these Fans Bring the Weapons matches. I do like how now the IWA Deep South guys, though going 1 for 3 on the night, stand tall by claiming their rival promotion’s Deathmatch title.

After the match, Smooth, the IWA Deep South commentator and Chrisjen Hayme come out and celebrate with Tank. Ian comes out to wrap up one of Corp’s wounds. Ian seems distressed. “They’ve got our fucking belt.”-Ian. Ian asks for Chuck Taylor, but first pep talks Corp. “We need that belt back, Corp.” Ian tells Chuck he needs to defeat Mike Quackenbush for the IWA Deep South Title on Sept. 1st in Alabama and bring it here. He also has 30 days to prove he’s a girl or else he loses the Women’s belt.

The 411: It didn't start off great, but picked up by the end with great consistentcy by the end. I've always compared IWA to ECW from 94 through 96, which on some nights isn't the best thing to be, but tonight I was thoroughly entertained. It continues the Deep South/Mid-South rivalry, adding new dimensions outside of the deathmatch crew. And for the first time in a while, the IWA Women's title is being used in a storyline....because it's held by a guy. Come on, ya know it'll be fun. Thumbs up. You can purchase this at www.smartmarkvideo.com or www.iwamidsouthwrestling.com

Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]