Death by Midwest: IWA Mid South Revolution Strong Style 2006

IWA Mid South presents Revolution Strong Style Tournament 2006
November 24th, 2006
Don Preston Rec Center (aka the Midlo-Dome) in Midlothian, IL

CHAMPIONS ROLL CALL
-IWA World Heavyweight Champion: Chuck Taylor (1st reign-defeated Toby Klein on 9/30/06 in Midlothian, IL)
-IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Champion: Josh Abercrombie (2nd reign-defeated Tyler Black on 1/21/06 in Midlothian, IL)
-IWA Mid South Tag Team Champions: VACANT (Brain Damage and Deranged were the last champions, vacated titles after Brain Damage retired from wrestling)
-IWA Mid South/NWA Midwest Woman’s Champion: Mickie Knuckles (2nd reign-defeated Hailey Hatred on 2/8/06 in Charleston, WV. Unified title with NWA Midwest Title by defeating Daizee Haze and Vanessa Kraven on 4/1/06 in Midlothian, IL)

This is 4th annual edition of the Strong Style Tournament, and is one of the 4 big tournaments IWA M-S puts on every year. This year’s field features Drake Younger, CJ Otis, 2005 runner-up Necro Butcher, Dysfunction, 12-time IWA Light Heavyweight Champ Tarek the Great, Eddie Kingston, Brandon Thomaselli, and Corporal Robinson. Besides the tournament we have 3 non-tournament title matches.

#1: IWA Mid South Light Heavyweight Title Match: JOSH ABERCROMBIE © vs. JACK THRILLER
Josh has held the belt for 10 months now. Jack Thriller has been good in his few appearances in IWA. Josh’s buddies the Thomaselli brothers are on commentary with Ben Jordan. They go to the mat and Josh looks like he’s been working on that. Thriller gets out of a Cravat and single legs Josh down. Josh tries to crawl away but Thriller catches him in cradle for 2. Nice. Series of nearfalls follow. Josh begs off. They go to more spotty offense and egads that is not pretty. They screw up an Irish whip. Thriller puts Josh in a stranglehold then pins him with his crotch for 2. Josh stops Jack’s charge with a punch. Thriller has trouble getting over the ropes. He’s a house of fire but looks horrible doing so. Jack gets sent to the floor and then whipped into the post. That gets 2 back in the ring. Jack looks for the Cravat Faceplant but Josh blocks it into a surfboard type submission. He gets whipped into the buckles after that. They counter move after move following that with Jack still going for the Cravat Faceplant. O’Connor Roll for 2 by Thriller into an armbar but Josh rolls it into a 2 count. Jack knees Josh in the head repeatedly and finally hits the Cravat Faceplant for 2. He looked for it all match and it basically looked like a botched snapmare. Great. Brainbuster by Jack for 2. Running forearm then a bad looking Cannonball gets 2. Thriller plants Josh on the top and goes for a DVD but Josh blocks it…TALIBAN BACKPACK. That gets 3 at 10:46. *. Bad match there. Thriller was extremely unimpressive after some nice matwork in the first minute. Josh isn’t great, either, but he is good. Just not good enough to carry this guy.

#2: Revolution Strong Style 2006, Round One: CJ OTIS vs. DRAKE YOUNGER
These guys had a good match at the 10th Anniversary weekend. Otis was trained by Sabu. Drake is the breakout star of IWA in 2006. They shake hands before the match as these guys have partnered up before. They go to the mat with Drake getting a hammerlock. They trade shoulder tackles until CJ knocks Drake down. Fast counter sequence ending with CJ getting a sunset flip for 2. Drake ducks a clothesline and gets a cradle for 2. They both start looking for strikes. Drake lands a chop and goes for a Cannonball but CJ moves out of the way. Leg drop gets 2 for CJ. They trade forearms with them getting stiffer with each hit. LARIAT by CJ just kills Drake but he waits to make the cover and only gets 2. Dropkick to the back by CJ and then the Hennig snapmare. Jumping forearms by CJ and he’s in the control. Shoulderbreaker gets 2 for CJ. They trade chops and those are all hard and stiff. Drake rears up and hits a HARRRDDDD chop. Even the ref cringed. CJ gets right up in Drake’s face and gives him THE STIFFEST HEADBUTT I’VE EVER SEEN. Drake just crumbles to the mat as the crowd chants “Holy shit”. To a headbutt, folks. That’s how hard it was. Drake SOMEHOW makes it to his feet and headbutts him back. More CHOPS. “This is awesome”-Midlothian. HEAD DROP GERMAN by CJ…for 2. CJ heads up top but Drake throws him back down to the mat. He slipped a little but still caught CJ. He looks for the Vertebreaker, blocked….Northern Lights by Drake for 2. Spinebuster follows that. Senton splash after that one. Drake heads up top but CJ catches him….DDT off the top. They slipped off the ropes so Drake didn’t land right, though. Basement dropkick gets 2 for CJ. He calls for the Burning Hammer but Drake blocks it. VERTEBREAKER by Drake and that gets 3 at 11:12. ***1/4. I can’t go any higher than that with the two top rope screwups in the final stretch, but they beat the shit out of each other otherwise. That headbutt will give nightmares.

#3: Revolution Strong Style 2006, Round One NECRO BUTCHER vs. DYSFUNCTION
Dysfunction is a former Light Heavyweight Champ. Necro lost in the finals last year to Chris Hero. They go for strikes right away and Necro SLAPS the crap out of Dysfunction. Yeah, probably not the best idea there young one. Necro stops one of the strikes from Dysfunction and throws him over the top rope. Dysfunction again is leaving himself too open for Necro. He does it again and gets knee lifts for his troubles. He does take Necro down and just CLUBS AWAY at Necro’s face and then KICKS the crap out of Necro’s chest. Damn, the youngster is bringing it. Enziguri to the face gets 2 on Necro. More kicks from Dysfunction. Mean ones, too. Necro blocks a suplex and back kicks Dysfunction in the face. Dysfunction blocks a powerslam and drives Necro into the corner. He puts Necro in reverse Shattered Dreams position and gives him a backbreaker. A stomp in the corner gets 2 for Dysfunction. They slug it out on their knees. Dysfunction kicks Necro down low. Necro replies with a NECRO PUNCH. Otherwise known as a big punch to the face. NECRO PUNCH FLURRY. Those must hurt. MORE PUNCHES. Dysfunction can barely stand now. He fights back with a superkick but Necro stays up and hooks on the ASIATIC SPIKE for the tapout win at 6:31. **1/4. Way too short. Necro likes hurting people and I like watching him do it. Dysfunction has really improved over the past 4 years and I want to see more of him in IWA.

#4: Revolution Strong Style 2006, Round One: TAREK THE GREAT vs. EDDIE KINGSTON
Tarek first appeared in IWA back in 1997 starting his big series with American Kickboxer. Kingston comes out wearing the CZW Heavyweight Title. Insert John Zandig insults here, here, and….here. Tarek right away kicks Eddie down by focusing on the leg and then the head. He gets a 2 count off that impressive flurry. Big clothesline from Tarek follows that. Palm strikes from Tarek and another 2 count. Then he just BOOTS Eddie’s face. Spinning heel kick from Tarek sends Eddie outside. Tarek hits a sloppy headscissors off the apron. Back inside Tarek slips up on a senton but still gets 2. Dammit, this started good and went south with two botches. More kicks from Tarek but Eddie fires up and hits some chops. Tarek ducks a back punch but Eddie grabs him… SICK BACKDROP DRIVER. Tarek is just dead weight after that and Eddie covers him for the win at 2:44. ½*. Well it did make Eddie look good. And Tarek, I guess, is now a jobber. Very disappointing. Tarek takes a good 3 or 4 minutes before being able to walk out.

#5: Revolution Strong Style 2006, Round One: BRANDON THOMASELLI vs. CORPORAL ROBINSON
Thomaselli comes to B-Boy’s music as he once again feels his ex-partner and rival B-Boy is avoiding him as he cancelled his appearance for this show. Corp comes out with the PWU Hardcore Championship. Before the match, Brandon grabs the mic and taunts Corp for being “another dumb hardcore wrestler”. They go to the mat to start off as Brandon uses his amateur background for a quick pin. Couple of stiff kicks by Brandon but Corp fires back with STIFF punches and knees! RUNNING KNEE in the corner. They trade hard forearms. Brandon hits a clothesline but Corp stays standing. Neckbreaker from Brandon gets 2. Brandon goes for an arm submission and fires some strikes at a prone Corp. Brandon goes for a back suplex but Corp fights out into a Backdrop Driver! That gets 2. Brandon blocks a superkick and hits a German Suplex but Corp is smart enough to roll over to break the bridge pin. Another German from Brandon gets 2. Corp is in the Tree of Woe and Brandon hits a dropkick to the face. Fisherman’s Buster by Brandon…for 2. Corp fights out of a fireman’s carry and hits a Cradle Piledriver…for 2. Big boot by Corp is ducked into a HALF NELSON SUPLEX by Brandon…for 2. REALITY CHECK by Brandon…for 2. Corp blocks the Powerbomb Lungblower but gets caught with a Mafia Kick. Corp blocks a splash off the top. That gets 2 for Corp. Brandon challenges Corp to punch him, it’s ducked but Corp grabs Brandon for the Boot Camp into a Cobra Sleeper. Brandon tries to fight it but his arm falls three times for the win at 10:00. ***. Good little match. Brandon’s cockiness opened himself up for the attack from Corp. Corp looked good in this non-deathmatch setting.

#6: IWA Deep South Tag Team Title Match: THE IRON SAINTS © vs. MICKIE KNUCKLES and IAN ROTTEN
Note it’s Deep South, not Mid-South. IWA has sister promotions in Alabama and also IWA East Coast in West Virginia. This has some history as The Saints feuded with Ian back in 2005 until Ian ended their IWA Mid-South tag title reign with Madman Pondo in this building back in March. Before the match, Vito runs down Ian for pulling “hardcore stuff” on them last time they wrestled. It was a No Rope Barbed Wire Taipei Death Match, by the way. Ian suggests that Sal loves the cock. The crowd agrees with Ian. Sal makes Joey Eastman announce in the ring intros that he loves vagina. Vito and Mickie start with Mickie taking Vito with a wristlock. He takes a powder right away. Monkey flip by Mickie pisses Vito off more. Vito messes up her hair in the corner and Mickie has to undo her braids. Sal comes in and gives Mickie a free shot. They trade forearms. Hard ones, too. Finally Sal nearly knocks her out with one but Mickie comes back with a flurry of forearms for 2. Ian gets tagged in and locks Sal in a butterfly lock. Taking a cue from the Saints, Mickie switches spots with Ian while the ref’s back is turned. Mickie headbutts the crap out of Sal and Ian comes back in to do the same. Sal goes down in the corner….DOUBLE RUNNING DROPKICK TO THE FACE from Ian to Mickie. Owwwww they nailed him in the face. That gets 2 as Vito breaks up the pin. Running palm strike from Mickie. That gets 2. Ian gets tagged in and hits a senton on Sal and then an elbow drop. A knee drop gets 2 for Ian. Ian goes heelish by choking Sal and biting him. Sal goes to work on Mickie with some forearms but Mickie cuts him off. They’ve focused on Sal for nearly 10 minutes now. Ian misses a corner charge and Sal just runs to make the tag. Vito chokes Ian on the ropes and works over the arm with a Fujiwara Armbar. Sal comes back after taking a breather as they double team the left arm of Ian. They bait Mickie into the ring to distract the ref. Sal smartly then distracts the ref so he doesn’t see the tag to Mickie. More arm work by the Saints. They distract the ref again so he doesn’t the tag. Sal locks on a cross armbreaker but Mickie breaks it up. That gives the Saints the opening to pull Ian back to his corner and his arm gets posted. The Saints miss on a double team arm move, Vito turns to chastise Sal and gets rolled up by Ian for 2. Ian reverses a hammerlock and palm strikes Vito but the Saints end that comeback attempt. Ian forearms Sal but Sal holds him down so he can’t make the tag. Big clothesline from Ian…Hot tag to Mickie! HEAD DROP GERMAN on Vito. And then one for Sal as well for 2. Ian beats Vito on the outside while keeping his left arm limp at his side. Sal and Mickie clothesline each other down as Vito works over Ian’s arm. Spinebuster for Mickie. They go for a Rocket Launcher but Mickie gets her knees up. Rotten Rush to Vito by Ian! That gets 3 at 22:14. **3/4. Pretty good formula match. Slow-paced but it told a good story with heat being drawn on both sides. The finish came too sudden though and I deduct for that. Ian and Mickie are the new IWA Deep South Tag Team Champs. After the match, Ian gets help to pop his shoulder back into the socket.

Ian then cuts a promo saying that local group SHIMMER has all the best women’s wrestlers except for Mickie. I agree with that. He puts Mickie over for her getting work in Wrestling Society X and how she had to re-negotiate her contact because her first one wouldn’t allow her to work for IWA. Ian also puts Joey Eastman over for a benefit show he did the night before.

Onto Disc #2!

#7: Revolution Strong Style 2006, Semifinals: DRAKE YOUNGER vs. NECRO BUTCHER
Drake and Necro are very familiar with each other as they’ve fought a lot this year in CZW over the Ultraviolent Underground Title. They go right after each other. Necro blocks and ducks Drake’s charge. Necro gets a wrenching armbar but Drake makes the ropes. Drake ties Necro down on the mat and they struggle there. Necro elbows him and gets a bodyscissors. Drake tries to power up but Necro blocks it. They’re going all MMA style here. Drake tries to pin Necro down but Necro grabs that armbar again until Drake makes the ropes. Drake takes Necro down. Necro doesn’t give up full advantage by locking on the bodyscissors again. HEADBUTTS by Necro followed by a Half Crab. With some serious crank. He even grinds his elbow into the knee before Drake makes the ropes. Anklelock applied by Necro. Drake struggles to make the ropes but he gets there. Necro kicks at Drake’s lower leg. Then he fish hooks Drake’s entire face. Drake chops Necro but Necro isn’t phased. Off comes Necro’s shirt. It is on, folks. Chop battle! Necro is winning this one and he nearly knocks him out of the ring with one chop. Necro taunts Drake to show him something as he keeps chopping him. So Drake PUNCHES Necro. Oh damn. Necro fires back with his usual fusticuffs and Drake goes down. Drake facelocks Necro and they ram ref PJ Drummond into the corner. Crowd loves that because they hate PJ. Guillotine Choke by Drake! Drake releases and goes for a chair. VERTEBREAKER ON THE CHAIR! PJ Drummond is slow to get in but Drake gets the 3 at 11:54. **1/2. I liked how they built up to the stiffer stuff but it never reached full intensity. The finish is strange, too, because Drake basically cheated to make it to the finals. Good stiff action in there but I’m perplexed by some of it.

#8: Revolution Strong Style 2006 Semifinals: CORPORAL ROBINSON vs. EDDIE KINGSTON
Kingston is limping before the match. Corp, however, looks downright springy by beating Brandon. Kingston doesn’t want to get punched in the face like Necro did to him last year. Corp blocks the Backdrop Driver that Kingston goes for right off the bat. Tornado DDT by Corp. That looked good, too. KNEES! PUNCHES! FOREARMS! A pair of running knees gets 2 for Corp. Kingston works over Corp but Corp comes back with STIFF punches. Headbutt by Kingston followed by a STIFF MAFIA KICK for 2. Brainbuster by Corp gets 2. Kingston blocks the Boot Camp but Corp turns it into a Cobra Sleeper. Kingston makes the ropes. Boot Camp is blocked again into a STIFF Short Arm Clothesline for the win at 4: 45. *1/2. Fun while it lasted but again way too short. Kingston and Drake is the finals matchup for the year.

#9: IWA World Heavyweight Title Match: CHUCK TAYLOR © vs. JAY LETHAL
Jay Lethal is making his IWA debut tonight. They’ve really built up Chuck and his seemingly fluke win for the title by beating Ian Rotten and Colt Cabana on the 10th Anniversary Shows. He also has wins over Delirious and Josh Abercrombie from before his reign. Still no physical IWA belt after Hero destroyed it 10 months prior. To the arm wringers to start. Lethal flips out of one. They fight over a side headlock. Lethal flips out of a headscissors and there’s a standoff. Chuck hits an armdrag off the top and then a beautiful dropkick for 2. Nice stretch by Chuck applied but Lethal makes the ropes. Back suplex by Chuck. Chuck goes for a headscissors but Lethal turns it into a backbreaker for 2. He does another for another nearfall. Hard whip into the corner as Jay works the back a bit. HARD chop by Lethal. Chuck goes for another dropkick but Lethal moves and hits a basement dropkick to the Chuck’s head for 2. Then a big dropkick to the back of the head for 2. Lethal heads up top but Chuck stops him…SUPERPLEX by Chuck. Damn pretty one. Flying forearm by Chuck, then a dropkick, then a La Minstrahl cradle for 2. Lethal kicks out Chuck’s leg and goes for a cradle of his own but Chuck turns it into a pin of his own for 2. FALLING FOOT GIMMICK by Chuck. Only gets 2. Chuck goes for the Omega Driver, blocked, Lethal grabs him and hits a backbreaker into a Flatliner in one fluid motion! That gets 2. Spinebuster by Lethal and he heads up top for a Flying Wolverine…for 2! They both go for superkicks and miss but Chuck pushes Lethal down and double stomps his back for 2. Chuck goes up top for a 450 SPLASH, but Lethal moves and Chuck rolls out, only to have Lethal catch up with a ENZIGURI. SUPERKICK….for 2! Lethal goes for the Dragon Suplex but Chuck rolls it into a pin for 2, Lethal rolls back into a Dragon attempt, but Chuck reverses…OMEGA DRIVER. That gets 3 at 13:50. ***1/2. Good performance from both guys as they flowed really nicely and made their spots count. It’s good to know Lethal can still go even though TNA doesn’t make him work more than 3 minutes. And Chuck is IWA’s big star right now as this youngster puts on another good match with a veteran and holds his own.

Lethal gets a “Please Come Back” chant. Ian comes out and says the fact the crowd is impressed with him is a testament to his ability. Ian tells Chuck they’ll have a new belt for him next month. Ian asks Lethal if he’ll come back sometime soon.

BACKSTAGE Drake Younger cuts a promo saying he killed himself to get to this point. He mentions previous Strong Style Tourney Champs BJ Whitmer, Samoa Joe, and Chris Hero. He says he respects Kingston but he promises victory. Better than his usual mic work but still needs improvement.

BACKSTAGE Eddie Kingston cuts a promo talking about how he has had the shit kicked out of him the past two Strong Style tourneys by Super Dragon and Necro. He says he too respects Drake but tonight is his night. “My night, my opportunity, my dawning. Watch out Drake, because I’m coming full steam ahead.” Good promo.

#10: Revolution Strong Style 2006 Finals: EDDIE KINGSTON vs. DRAKE YOUNGER
This match has a 60 minute time limit but methinks it’ll be over much quicker. Neither goes for strikes right away but instead they keep it on the mat. Kingston fights out of a hammerlock. Kingston focuses on the right arm of Drake. That was the same one Necro tried to go after. Drake struggles but he makes the ropes. Quick belly-to-belly by Kingston followed by a back elbow smash gets 2. Chops by Kingston. Release snap suplex gets 2 on Drake. They trade off on forearms then more chops. Drake blocks a brainbuster into a small package for 2. Kingston takes Drake back down. Spine kicks by Kingston for 2. Mafia kick misses, Samoan Driver by Drake…for 2! Senton splash by Drake follows that. Kingston is trying to catch his breath after that. Crossface punches by Drake. Neck snap follows that. Spinebuster by Drake gets 2. Kingston fires back with chops and goes for that Short Arm Clothesline but Drake hits a HALF NELSON SUPLEX. Right on his head. Only for 2, though. Drake tries to drag Kingston up to his feet. Fisherman’s Buster by Drake only gets 2. Kingston swings for the back fist again but Drake catches him…VERTEBREAKERRRRRRRR!!! Best one of the night. Drake hesitates but he covers…1….2….NO! Kingston kicked out. Drake goes for it again but Kingston grabs Drake….RELEASE BACKDROP DRIVER!!!! But Drake gets back to his feet! SHORT ARM LARIAT by Kingston…for 2!!! “This is awesome.”-Midlothian. KOBASHI CHOPS by Kingston. Mafia Kick on Drake. TIGER SUPLEX by Kingston but he can’t hold the bridge on that neck that took the Vertebreaker. They trade forearms and slaps until Drake goes for the Vertebreaker but Kingston hits another BACKDROP DRIVER. Kingston hauls Drake’s dead body up, LARIAT TO THE BACK TO THE HEAD then the SHORT ARM LARIAT KILLS DRAKE FOR THE WIN. Kingston wins the tournament at 13:13. ****. Absolutely brutal match. These guys killed each other with head dropping moves that I have to give them that much. They built it up as the crowd wanted to see what could put away these two hungry competitors. These guys are two of the best young guys in IWA and they proved it here.

After the match, Ian comes out as the crowd chants for both guys. Kingston says all the guys here tonight put their bodies on the line for the fans. Kingston thanks the fans for supporting this style of wrestling. He says Ian gave him his big break back in 2004, and he owes all his success to him. Kingston and Ian hug. Then he puts over Drake as one tough guy. Both guys are really emotional. Ian says IWA is known for developing young talent and says hardcore wrestling is about emotion and desire, not violence. Ian says he recognized the potential in Hero, Punk, and Cabana, and he sees the same potential in Drake and Eddie. He says the guys you saw tonight are the future of independent wrestling. He congratulates Eddie and says he is always welcome in his home of IWA. Good, emotional way to end the show.

The 411: The last two matches really saved this show from a bad grade. As it stands, the finals, Drake vs. Otis, and the Lethal vs. Taylor matches are all recommended viewing. The tournament wasn't as action-packed as the 2004 edition, and the shortness of Kingston's first two matches was particularly disappointing. But only one match I would label as bad on here, and the shorter matches make sense as part of a tournament. Thumbs in the middle here. You can purchase this at www.smartmarkvideo.net and www.iwamidsouthwrestling.com

Final Score:  6.0   [ Average ]