Death by Midwest: IWA Mid-South Showdown of the Saints

IWA MID SOUTH-Showdown of the Saints
November 20th, 2004 at the Lincoln Center in Highland, IN

This is during IWA’s run of awesomeness at the Highland venue. Methinks we’re in for some good stuff.

CHAMPIONS ROLL CALL
-IWA World Heavyweight Champion: CM Punk (5th reign-defeated AJ Styles on October 23rd, 2004 in Highland, IN)
-IWA Mid South Light Heavyweight Champion: Jimmy Jacobs (1st reign-won vacant title against Delirious on September 17th, 2004 in Highland, IN)
-IWA Mid South Tag Team Champions: The Wildcards (1st reign-defeated Brad Bradley and Ryan Boz on September 18th, 2004 in Highland, IN)
-IWA MS/NWA Midwest Women’s Title: Mercedes Martinez (1st reign-defeated Lacey on September 17th, 2004 in Highland, IN)

INTRODUCTION-Punk in the ring. Punk addresses the rumor that he wouldn’t show up that night because Ian ran into some money troubles and sold some tapes to “a certain man” (aka Rob Feinstein). Punk said he talked with Ian and Ian agreed not to sell tapes to him again. Punk tells everyone not to buy tapes from this individual. I think that should be law for wrestling fans. Punk says there are 3 places to get IWA tapes: direct from Ian, Smart Mark, and this guy. “The difference is Smart Mark and IWA never tried to solict sex from a 14-year-old boy.” OHHHH BURRRRRRRRRNNNN. The audio on this tape is awful, because I think it’s a copy made by Vince Jones or Jim Fannin. I bought it at this year’s TPI. Also, Punk is wearing a Perverted-Justice.com shirt. Nice.

Ian also announces that Punk’s scheduled opponent, Nigel McGuinness, couldn’t come, so a battle royal will determine who will get a title shot. Ian announces Terry Funk will appear at the next show on December 12th. Hey, I’ve got that DVD! Ian admits the company does have some financial troubles but it isn’t anything they haven’t overcome before. Ian actually gets a phone call in the ring. Haha, I love that candid stuff. Ian says IWA will begin to run more shows in the Chicago area and Northwest Indiana. Ian plugs the co-promoted NWA No Limits shows. Balls Mahoney calls Ian during this. Again, funny stuff.

#1: NO. 1 CONTENDER BATTLE ROYAL
“Seven Nation Army” is IWA’s battle royal music. Everyone is in this: B-Boy, Jimmy Jacobs, Chandler McClure, Brandon Thomaselli, Nate Webb, a GOLDEN VAMPIRE!, Josh Abercrombie, Steve Stone, Delirious, Alex Shelley, the ROH students, BJ Whitmer, Matt Sydal, Brad Bradley, Ryan Boz. I don’t call battle royals much. Final 4 guys are B-Boy, Davey Andrews, Brandon Thomaselli, and Nate Webb. Crowd isn’t happy to see B-Boy get eliminated. Brandon eliminates Webb and Andrews at once for the win. No rating on that.

#2: TRIK DAVIS vs. CHANDLER McCLURE (w/ Jim Fannin)
Both of these guys are newcomers to IWA. McClure uses an evil ref gimmick and comes out to the Fox NFL Sunday music. Fannin cuts a promo saying he wants McClure to prove he’s worthy of being in the Fannin Family by taking Trik Davis out of IWA. Trik gets some quick offense in. Chandler takes a quick powder. Trik goes for a plancha, but gets caught by Cash Flo, who then starts beating Trik down. This draws the DQ at 1:41. I won’t bother rating that. The beating continues until Corporal Robinson comes out for the save. That leads to:

#3: CORPORAL ROBINSON and TRIK DAVIS vs. CASH FLO and CHANDLER McCLURE
McClure and Flo work over Trik with some chops. I don’t remember Flo being that chubby. The heels tag in and out quickly. They mess something up. Remember, McClure is very, very green. Neckbreaker by Trik. Hot tag to Corp. Corp hits a PLANCHA?! Wow. Swinging DDT by Trik on McClure gets the 3 at 2:15. ¼* Well it’s only a 2 minute match, and there was a botch in there. It does advance the storyline. McClure was greener than Kermit at this point. McClure has obviously blown his shot to become a Fannin Family member.

#4: DAVEY ANDREWS vs. MATT TURNER vs. JOSH ABERCROMBIE
Andrews and Turner are Punk’s students from the ROH school. Abercrombie isn’t as seasoned as he is in 2006, so I doubt he’ll be able to hold this one together. Andrews is on a winning streak since debuting a few months ago. This is under first fall wins rules. The students team up for a moment, then Andrews tosses Turner out and goes for a pin. They mess up some spot on the apron. Josh hits a cross body to the outside. Arabian Press by Josh on Turner. Josh tosses Andrews out. Backdrop Driver by Turner! Tuner then hits a Vertical Suplex into a Dragon Sleeper, but Andrews dropkicks him. Messy backbreaker by Andrews. Turner grabs a sleeper on Andrews. Josh goes for a Taliban Backpack on both guys but that gets messed up. Forearm battle between Josh and Davey. Andrews is obviously way better than Turner. Phoenix Splash on the legs by Josh on Turner. Davey breaks up the pin. Davey hits a German on Turner but Josh breaks up the pin. BLUE THUNDER DRIVER by Davey on Josh. Andrews locks on a Dragon Sleeper on Turner and he taps at 5:25. Andrews wins again. *. Turner sucks and Josh isn’t good enough to carry these two. Andrews has promise but needs work.

INTERVIEW TIME-Alex Shelley. He says Petey Williams, his tag partner, is injured, so he has a new partner-the returning Arik Cannon! And then out comes Petey Willams wearing a garbage bag. HAHAHAHA. For the record, Cannon is an awesome worker but his gear looks terrible. This bit is pure comedy. “Cannon” gets blown up from rolling in the ring. Awesome. Shelley calls Cannon a quitter for vacating the IWA title over a broken collarbone. Shelley says he won’t let Cannon in IWA once he’s healthy.

#5: BRAD BRADLEY and RYAN BOZ vs. PETEY WILLIAMS and ALEX SHELLEY
This is for the No.1 contendership for the tag team titles. It’s also heel vs. heel, and the champions are heel, too. Explain that booking. Petey is the X Division Champ at this time. Bradley and Boz are big guys. Bradley grabs headlocks on both guys. Boz plows them into next week. Polish Hammer by Bradley! Followed by a Heart Punch! That gets a huge pop. Boz press slams Shelley and kicks him on the way down. Williams in. He tries to punch Boz to no avail. Punk is on commentary right now and he always make me laugh. IRON CLAW by Bradley. Then they go to the stuff offense. Petey stops the facewash from Bradley and Shelley dropkicks the knee. I like that. More double team moves on the knee of Bradley. Shelley kicks Bradley’s knee. “That must really hurt Shelley when he slaps his leg like that.”-Punk. Hahahaha. Bradley tries to fight over to Boz but falls over due to the bad knee. More knee work by the Canuck team. Figure Four applied by Shelley. Bradley gets up…Fallaway Slam by Bradley. Hot tag to Boz! Bodyslams all around. Facewash to Williams. LARIAT by Bradley gets the pin at 8:46. Where did that come from? **1/2. Good formula tag match for the time given. I wish it had been longer. Bradley and Boz are much better as a face team, and they acted as de facto good guys here.

#6: RAIN vs. MICKIE KNUCKLES
This should be good. And not just because of my slight crush on Mickie Knuckles. I’ll admit it. More importantly, these are two great women’s wrestlers. IWA used to be the big haven for women’s wrestling before Prazak left the promotion and formed Shimmer. Rain kicks away Mickie’s handshake. They trade wristlocks. Mickie escapes one by going down and grabbing a headscissors. Rain counters out into a nearfall. More mat stuff. Mickie bridges out of the headscissors and gets a 2 count, then Rain grabs it again. Mickie escapes it the opposite way this time. I love that continuity. More good counter stuff. Mickie gets kicked in the boobs and Punk laughs. Japanese armdrag by Mickie. Mickie misses on a running corner dropkick and Rain kicks her in the spine. A dropkick gets 2 for Rain. To the floor now and Mickie goes into the chairs. Rain gets whipped into the wall and the bleachers as well. Rain runs back to the ring to break the count. Then Mickie whips her into the chairs. Back inside Rain gets a 2 count. They knock each other down with forearms. Clothesline from Mickie gets 2. Kawada Kicks and a Palm Strike gets 2 for Mickie. Rain hits an Electric Chair for 2. Reverse DDT by Rain gets 3 at 10:47 with her feet on the bottom rope. **1/4. Started out great but lost focus and flow after going outside.

#7: FINISHERS MATCH: BJ WHITMER w/Jim Fannin vs. DANNY DANIELS
These guys were tag partners until Daniels got sick of Fannin’s tactics and left the group. The rules of this are you must hit your finisher before going for a pinfall. That would any variation of the Exploder by Whitmer or any piledriver variation by Daniels. Whitmer waits at the entrance to attack Daniels but Daniels came from the opposite way and attacks Whitmer. Top rope rana by Daniels. Uranage followed by a doublestomp/senton combo on Whitmer. Back to the floor as Danny takes out both Fannin and Whitmer with a dive to the outside. Big boot by Whitmer as Fannin helped him gain an advantage. Into the chair goes Danny. Northern Lights by BJ. Walls of Jericho applied after that. Whitmer is working the back, which will make hitting a piledriver harder for him. Fannin chokes Daniels with his tie. Whitmer gets cut off on the top. Superplex by Daniels. They trade really stiff forearms. Exploder by Daniels! But he can’t cover because that’s Whitmer’s finisher. Whitmer hits a piledriver but the same thing happens. Double stomp off the top by Daniels. Not like Low-Ki’s, though so no all caps. Whitmer hits an EXPLODER….for 2. Whitmer grabs a chair and I discover this is no DQ. Piledriver by Daniels!….for 2! DOUBLE UNDERHOOK PILEDRIVER…for 2 as Fannin pulls the ref out. TOMBSTONE PILEDRIVER…for 2 again as Fannin gets in the ring. PILEDRIVER ON FANNIN! THREE STRAIGHT EXPLODERS BY WHITMER….for 2! Crowd is now really into this. WRIST CLUTCH EXPLODAAAAA by Whitmer and Daniels lands on his head! That gets 3 at 12:36. ***1/4. Woo boy that was some action. Which, considering the rules, it had to be. With the Whitmer win, you can bet this feud is not over.

#8: DAIZEE HAZE vs. TRACI BROOKS
More women’s action. And both of these women are gorgeous looking. Test of strength to start off. Step up monkey flip by Daizee into some nearfalls for both women. Awesome stuff. Daizee comes for an anklelock but Traci makes the ropes. Daizee grapevines Traci’s left leg and works it over. Traci rolls onto the apron and Daizee BASEBALL SLIDES THE LEG. Oh, I like that. DOUBLE STOMP on the LEG. Followed by another. That gets 2 on Traci. More stretching on that injured leg. The only offense Traci can muster is roll ups and pinning combinations as she can’t stand on the leg and Haze is constantly working it over. More awesome leg stuff by Haze, especially the rolling knee bar move. Brooks chops at Haze. She breaks free for a moment but Haze chop blocks her back down. Brooks gets back up and powerslams Haze, but the leg prevents her from pinning Haze right away. Lariat from Haze gets 2. Crucifix from Daizee gets 2. Another lariat from Traci gets 2. Stunner from Daizee. Texas Cloverleaf applied by Daizee and Brooks taps out at 8:02. **3/4. That REALLY needed to go longer because the leg work was gold. All of the offense Daizee gave focused on that and the finish went along with that.

#9: TABLES MATCH: STEVE STONE w/ Jim Fannin vs. IAN ROTTEN
Rotten and Stone were partners until he turned on Ian and joined the Fannin Family. Rules are here that a wrestler must be put through a table before they can be pinned. Before the match, Fannin alludes to some secret information in an envelope. Jim partially owns IWA, and apparently Ian owes him about $14,000. Fannin wants in exchange 31 precent of the company, which would give him majority control. Ian admits he’s made some business mistakes, but refuses Jim’s offer.

Stone is getting some good heat here. Stone hits a cheapshot as the ref tries to break them up. Hard forearms from Ian. To the outside, Ian gets hit with some fan’s drink. Stone charges at Ian, who backdrops Stone on top of a table, which does not break. What a tough little table. Headbutts from Ian. Ian bites Stone’s ear and then rakes the ear on the ringpost. Ian chokes Stone with his shirt but Fannin breaks it up. Jumping double knees from Ian. Back into the ring now with a table. Stone and Ian try to stand on the table and it gives way. Who didn’t see that coming? Stone gets a 2 count as Ian clutches his shoulder. He broke his collarbone in that fall off the table. Stone hooks an armbar on that injured shoulder. I don’t think Ian knows that it’s broken. Stone definitely doesn’t as he works it over. Stone brings in another table as Ian crawls over to the camera and says “I think I broke my fucking shoulder.” Stone works over Ian in the corner and lays him on the table. MOONSAULT off the top by Stone through the table. Ouch for Ian’s shoulder. At least that table broke. “Holy shit!”-Highland. But it only gets 2 on Ian. Stone chokes Ian in the corner. Another table comes in the ring. Ian can’t fight back much due to his shoulder. Stone tries to give him a Divorce Court but Ian screams in pain and falls to the outside. Is Stone that stupid to try that when his opponent has a broken collarbone. Another table comes in. Ian stops Stone on the top rope. Ian heads up top and SUPERPLEXES Stone through the table. That gets 2. That man has a broken collarbone. Owww. Stone throws Ian into the ref. BJ Whitmer comes in and suplexes Ian through a table and Stone gets the 3 when the ref comes to at 14:09. *3/4. I can’t in my right mind give that a good grade, but note that the match just couldn’t get going after Ian broke his collarbone. Frankly most of the rating is his guts in working half the match with the injury. I still don’t understand why Stone was working that shoulder so hard when it was legitimately injured, though.

#10: NWA Midwest X-Division Title Match: MATT SYDAL (c) vs. SPYDER NATE WEBB vs. B-BOY
I should remind everyone that IWA is a member of the NWA, and will sometimes have title defenses of various NWA promotions in the Midwest like NWA Midwest, MAW, No Limits, and others. Big pops for all 3 guys here. To start, Nate imitates a raptor and everyone runs away. Nate then wrestles an invisible man for a moment. Oh, that goofy Nate Webb. Triple headlock. Some triple spots and Webb gets sent outside. B-Boy goes for a tope and gets caught with a kick from Webb. Sydal goes up top…TWISTING MOONSAULT to the outside off the top! That was so damn pretty. Sydal and Webb in the ring, Sydal goes for a Tornado DDT, Webb blocks but B-Boy hits a neckbreaker on Sydal which in turn DDTs Webb! Nice. Flurry of chops and strikes by B-Boy on Sydal. Sydal tries to suplex B-Boy back in but B-Boy pulls him on the apron. Webb dropkicks them both into the first row. Back inside, rana by Webb on B-Boy and he hits a Japanese armdrag. They begin headbutting but Sydal nails them both with a HUGE springboard dropkick. Beautiful headscissors takedown by Sydal. Webb hoists him up for the Soylent Green, and B-Boy comes off the top with a DOUBLE STOMP, then Webb hits the SOYLENT GREEN. Webb tries to cover Sydal….SHINING WIZARD by B-Boy on Webb! Rana by Sydal on B-Boy on the floor. Webb MOONSAULTS OVER THE ROPES to the floor on both men! As in he just sprung himself over the ropes from the mat. Damn. Webb goes for a superplex but B-Boy blocks. Sydal springs off Webb’s back and hits a SUPER RANA on B-Boy then hits a GERMAN SUPLEX on Webb….for 2! Awesome. Sydal and Webb fight in the corner and both men go down there, here comes B-Boy…DOUBLE FACELIFT!!! I love the sickness of that move. B-Boy grabs Sydal…BLUE THUNDER BACKBREAKER! OWWWWWW. He sends Sydal off the top onto Webb, and those two trade nearfalls until B-Boy comes off the top with a double stomp. BRUTAL chops by B-Boy on Sydal. Webb knocks B-Boy off the top and grabs Sydal….NORTHERN LIGHTS SUPERPLEX by Webb and Sydal lands on B-Boy. Webb gets 2 on both guys. Hammerlock Faceplant by Webb gets 2 on B-Boy. HERE IT IS DRIVER by SYDAL…..for 2! Northern Lights by B-Boy on Sydal rolled into a BRAINNNNNBUSTTAAAA…for 2! B-Boy goes for a Super Exploder but gets knocked down. Sydal heads up top with Nate as B-Boy tries to stop them…MOONSAULT BELLY-TO-BELLY by Sydal on Nate and B-Boy very nearly got caught under them. Nate ducks Sydal…ARACHNID KICK by Webb for 2! I’ve never seen that hit better. Webb gets nailed with a Michinoku Driver by B-Boy for 2! Sydal goes for a SHOOTING STAR but Webb moves and B-BOY CATCHES HIM IN THE ACE CRUSHER ON THE WAY DOWN! That was insane. Webb gets backdropped out and B-Boy goes for the Shining Wizard but Sydal ducks and cradles him for the win at 15:18. ***3/4. Really good spotfest. Just balls to the wall action the whole damn match. I wish the finish could have been better, though, but oh well. Crowd gives everyone a standing ovation after the match.

#11: IWA MID SOUTH LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE FIRST BLOOD MATCH: Jimmy Jacobs (c) vs. Delirious
These guys have been feuding for months now, including a draw back in August and a Ladder Match at the 2004 TPI. This, however, I’m not that crazy about because First Blood Matches are really limiting. Delirious attacks Jacobs during the introductions. He right away pulls out a spike and they struggle over it. Spear by Jacobs takes the Lizard Man down. They chase each other around the ring. Delirious tries to hit Jacobs with some tool from under the ring. Apparently a socket wrench. Jacobs goes after the mask. Prazak notes that Delirious has a tremendous advantage due to the mask. Jacobs lands a headbutt. Wheelbarrow facebuster by Delirious and then he grinds away at the forehead of Jimmy. He bites him after that. Delirious heads outside to get a chair and Jacobs tries to surprise him off the top but Delirious stops him. Jacobs pushes Delirious off and hits a cross body to the outside. Then he gets a face full of ring post. Jacobs heads in the back and grabs a gymnastics-style springboard. That’s new. He puts Delirious against the wall and uses the springboard to propel himself but Delirious moves. Jacobs gets nothing but wall. DDT on the springboard by Delirious! But Jacobs still isn’t bleeding. Delirious gets whipped into the wall. Jacobs grabs a POWERDRILL but Delirious wisely runs away. Oh you tease! Back in the ring, Delirious avoids the Contra Code. STIFF running forearm from Delirious. Superplex attempt by Delirious but Jacobs headbutts him off and hits an flying axehandle and then a neckbreaker. Jacobs wraps a chain around his fist and wails away on Delirious. Jacobs tries to use the title belt but Delirious kicks him off and then dropkicks him HARD into the buckles headfirst. Damn, that was hard. Delirious does the Panic Attack but the camera angle clearly shows that it was a phantom hit. Jacobs sells it anyway. Delirious tries to piledrive Jacobs on the belt but Jacobs blocks it. Jacobs charges at Delirious with the belt and Delirious stops it with his hand. Of course, that hurts his hand. Delirious slams down Jacobs and punches away at him. Blood appears on Jacobs’s head and the ref ends the match at 12:33. But wait! Jacobs points out it isn’t his head that’s bleeding, it’s Delirious’s hand. The decision is reversed and Jacobs retains the title. **1/4. Not much doing. Lots of plodding brawling and it died a bit towards the end. First Blood matches suck. I like the creative finish, though. Interesting to note that ROH had Delirious bleed badly from his hand 2 years later in his mini-feud with Danielson.

Jacobs challenges Delirious to one last match, this time with his mask on the line.

#12: IWA World Title Match: CM PUNK © vs. BRANDON THOMASELLI
Brandon is making his Highland debut, and the youngster’s in the main event. Good reaction for both guys. Punk is in his 5th reign as IWA Champion. These guys start off with a feeling out process as they aren’t familiar with each other. Surprisingly big “Thomaselli” chant in the early going. Punk goes for a leg takedown but Brandon flips it over into a headlock. Punk hits two shoulder tackles, Brandon hits an armdrag but misses a dropkick and grabs a side headlock. Brandon grabs a headscissors but Punk works out of it. Crowd applauds the standoff. They do a few side headlock into headscissors reversals until Punk blocks it. Brandon tries to shoulder tackle Punk and Punk just slaps him. Brandon avoids a suplex and smacks Punk in the back and then the face. He shoves Punk down and yells at Punk that he will not back down. Oh, it is on. Crowd seems very split surprisingly. They trade wristlocks. Punk grabs a headlock but Brandon twists it into a quick pin for 2. Brandon tries to work out of a front facelock but Punk blocks it. Brandon cradles Punk for a 2 count. Punk answers with a series of crossface punches. Oh dear, I believe Brandon’s face is dirty. Punk tries to wash it but Brandon blocks and hits a big forearm and a back heel kick for 2. Dropkick sends Punk outside. Asai Moonsault from Brandon! Brandon takes too long getting back in the ring and Punk cuts him off. Big stomps from Punk, who is the experienced but cocky veteran here. He beats him on the apron with an elbow. He drapes Brandon over the apron and comes off the second rope with a knee drop. That gets 2 back in the ring. Spine kick by Punk also gets 2. Punk places Brandon between the second and third ropes in the corner and stands on his throat. Oh, you dastardly man. Rude Awakening-style neckbreaker gets 2 for Punk. Punk ducks a quebrada, Brandon goes for a handspring back elbow and Punk kicks him in the middle of it for 2. Welcome to Chicago backbreaker gets 2 after that. Punk is talking trash to Brandon as he peppers him with forearms and kicks. Sleeper by Punk and rather than shit on it, the crowd starts clapping for a Thomaselli comeback. Storytelling, people. Not even spots can make up for that. Punk locks it on as a nearly rear naked choke. Thomaselli’s arm falls twice but he come backs with a chinbreaker. They trade forearms but Brandon stands his ground with the veteran. STIFF Discus Forearm by Punk gets him 2. Step up enziguri and a running kick by Brandon knocks Punk down and Brandon falls over as well. Back up Brandon hits some chops. Punk reverses a clothesline into a Hammerlock DDT but Brandon reverses that right into a Northern Lights…for 2. Great chaining there. Punk goes for an ab stretch and Brandon ducks and rolls him up for 2. Backslide gets 2 after that. Brandon blocks a piledriver and hits a rana for 2 and 3 quarters. Really close there. Brandon puts Punk up top and hits a Super Rana but Punk reverses it into a sunset flip for 2. Series of nearfalls follow. Big clothesline from Punk gets 2. Punk takes control with some chops. Punk calls for a Super Brainbuster but Brandon knocks him off and calls for the 450. Punk sees it and knocks him over. There’s the experience again. Punk goes back up top….SUPER BRAINBUSTER….for 2! Crowd is behind the kid. Punk takes him to the other corner and tries for a Back Superplex but Brandon turns it in mid-air….for 2. Brandon up top…450 SPLASH…for 2! Brandon goes for the Air Raid Crash, Punk blocks, Oklahoma Roll but Punk hangs on…SHINING WIZARD by Punk….ANACONDA VICE clinched in by Punk and Brandon taps out at 22:20. Punk retains the title. ***3/4. Great storytelling match there. The underdog vs. veteran champion was played beautifully throughout the match, and Brandon was believable as a threat to the title. Punk definitely carried it, but Brandon had only been wrestling for 10 months or so, and he showed lots of promise here. In a nice touch, the crowd chants for both men after the match.

The 411: Good show but nothing spectactular on it. Match of the night goes to the 3-way spotfest with the main event in close second. A few bad matches but they are outweighed by the good ones on here, and the storylines involving the Jim Fannin vs. Ian Rotten for control of IWA, along with Whitmer-Daniels and Jacobs-Delirious, all continue developing. Thumbs up. You can purchase this at www.smartmarkvideo.com.

Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]