The Furious Flashbacks – IWA-MS Ted Petty Invitational 2004 Night One

The Furious Flashbacks – IWA-MS Ted Petty Invitational 2004

You might want to get a snack or something before you start reading this…

This is the 5th annual Sweet Science Tournament in IWA-Mid South. The tournament has seen steady improvement with 2002 & 2003 being much better than previous years thanks to better wrestling and in 2003 better editing. There’s still some questionable booking but IWA’s stock has risen significantly by putting on this yearly extravaganza. The 2004 event is highly touted as not only IWA’s best ever show but also one of the top Indy shows of all time. We’ll see about that…

September 17th 2004. We’re in Highland, Indiana. Hosts are Dave Prazak & Daisee Haze.

We have 24 wrestlers invited this year. We get an opening where several wrestlers talk about the honour it is to compete. It’s the most professional IWA tape intro ever. Chris Hero reminds us he’s the only wrestler to compete in every TPI. Danny Daniels reminded us he won it last year and he has issues with 2002 winner BJ Whitmer. Nigel thinks he has a shot with an extra year of seasoning. He’s the last wrestler we hear from.

We follow that with clips of last year’s TPI and some clips of other wrestlers competing. I assume at least some of them are from this years forthcoming tournament matches. Here’s the first round bracket;

Samoa Joe v Roderick Strong
Nigel McGuinness v Claudio Castagnoli
Chris Sabin v Rainman
Danny Daniels v Todd Sexton
AJ Styles v Jimmy Rave
Matt Sydal v Sal Rinauro
Super Dragon v Arik Cannon
Petey Williams v BJ Whitmer
Chris Hero v Mike Quackenbush
Nate Webb v Hallowicked
CM Punk v Austin Aries
Bryan Danielson v Alex Shelley

As you can see from that line-up we’re in for quite the tournament. Almost a who’s who of Indy wrestling. Nate Webb is your underdog story as he’s competed in the TPI before but isn’t expected to do anything. Arik Cannon was here last year but lost in the first round. As did Todd Sexton. There are several matches that are good enough to headline the show.

BACKSTAGE Lacey gets interview time. She’s the women’s champion. She’s just back from a knee injury and facing Mercedes Martinez. If she doesn’t defend the title tonight though she’ll be stripped of it. We also have pre-recorded comments from Mercedes. She really isn’t a good promo.

INTRO – Ian Rotten introduces the show with his arm in a sling. Big crowd this year. Rowdy too. Probably because of that killer line-up. Ian has a “huge” announcement. He rambles somewhat incoherently before saying they’ve got a deal with Big Japan to put on a King of the Deathmatches in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. I’ve been there. It sort of cowers under the Tokyo Dome. Ian says he wants to take a load of fans over to Japan in October 2005. He reckons the deal with be around $1000. That’s cheap. Shockingly Ian wants the money ahead of time. Ian continues talking and reminds us what a great person Ted Petty was. Ian goes on to pay tribute to the fallen wrestlers and they give them a moment’s silence. Crowd chants “Teddy”, which is nice.

IWA Womens title – Lacey (c) v Mercedes Martinez

It took us over 20 minutes to get going but that does give us a big event feel. I also like we get a women’s title match on the show because it makes the belt feel like it means something. And with the emergence of SHIMMER and TNA’s Knockouts it seems IWA was ahead of their time for pushing women’s wrestling. Of course I don’t really think it should open the show seeing as the tournament should be the focus but it’s a minor bit of nitpicking. Lacey is heel and has a bad leg. Mercedes picks it right from the off. Lacey kicks her off and goes to a headlock. The idea being she wants to keep Mercedes off her leg so she’ll control with basics. They do some roll up’s at half speed. Still, women’s wrestling has improved dramatically thanks to luminaries such as Lita and Trish Stratus. Being successful on TV in front of a world audience is usually good enough to provide inspiration to a generation of lady wrestlers. Lacey breaks out the awesome with a cross armbreaker around the ringpost. Prazak points out the IWA joined the NWA a few months ago so now there are DQ’s. Oh, good. The lawless land idea wasn’t working too well for me. Mercedes goes back to the knee in loose fashion. Lacey is working the arm to counter the legwork on her. Give Mercedes something to think about. The strategy behind both approaches is sound. Mercedes just about gets the Maple Leaf. Lacey gets the ropes. Lacey is able to use the injured arm to stop an Irish whip, which is great psychology and she delivers a MEATY forearm. Catapult and Mercedes holds on to get the half crab again. Lacey gets the ropes again. She gets the arm again but the ring positioning just isn’t savvy enough. Lacey seems put off by her own injury and struggles to get set up because of it. Martinez goes for fisherman buster finisher but gets countered into the DDT for 2. Lacey pinned Mercedes with that to win the title. Lacey looks for the fisherman of her own but Mercedes counters it into a roll up for 2. As Lacey kicks out she’s caught in the fisherman buster…for 2. Mercedes hooks up the INDIAN DEATHLOCK! And Lacey has nowhere to go at all because Mercedes gets in between her and the ropes so Lacey has to twist into the hold to get near to them. She’s in so much pain she doesn’t notice her shoulders are down and she gets pinned. Mercedes wins the title! **1/4. This is GREAT example of two inferior workers having a good match despite their limitations through good psychology and selling. Something the WWE Divas could learn from.

We get a spot in the ring where all 24 wrestlers are introduced. We’re 40 minutes into the show by this point. They start out with Austin Aries, Nigel McGuinness and all the smaller wrestlers (Cannon, Webb, Sexton etc). Crowd love Mike Quackenbush and Super Dragon. Chris Sabin also gets a big reaction. Then we’re into the heavy hitters; Danielson, AJ, Joe, Punk, Petey (current IWA champ), Hero (2000 winner), BJ (2002 winner) and Danny Daniels (2003 winner). We get a group photo. Prazak says anyone interfering in another match will be suspended from IWA competition for one year.

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.” – Ambrose Redmoon.

Matt Sydal v Sal Rinauro

Sal makes out with his bicep on the way out here as Eddie Kingston replaces Daisee Haze on commentary. Eddie picks the unlikely candidate of Arik Cannon to win this year even if he is on a streak. These guys are both quite flippy with Sydal being marginally faster. His moves are also higher impact. Rinauro is more old school. He demonstrates this by bailing out of the ring but Sydal decides it’s time for the first dive of the night. LOOK MA, NO HANDS! Fans scurry out of the way. Sal goes old school with a body slam and a stamp to the face. Sal invents the middle rope superplex on the fly. He then pops out a chickenwing clutch, which is also new on me. Innovative! I guess in this kind of company you have to do something to stand out. Sal then invents another move changing a vertical suplex into the urinage on the way down. Since when was Sal just creating moves like this? Every time I’ve seen him wrestle he’s been quite average. They go up top and Sal blocks Sydal’s Flux Capacitor. Why isn’t Frankie Kazarian in this tournament? They both bump off the top into the ropes, which is another cool and innovative spot. Sydal is the heavy hitter of the two and levels Sal with a forearm before adding in the back platform moonsault for 2. I’ve seen that as a senton before the moonsault is NIFTY. Back to the top as Sydal looks for his finish again but Sal counters and stomps him in the neck for 2. Sal goes up top but Sydal PELE KICKS HIM into the FLUX CAPACITOR! It’s over! Sydal advances. ***. Great opener. I really didn’t expect anything like that level from either man but they really cranked it up to 11.

“Reflect upon your blessings, of which every man has plenty, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” – Charles Dickens.

Hallowicked v Nate Webb

Danielson on commentary now. He puts the opening match over. I see they’re getting the smaller names out there first so they’re not overwhelmed having to follow big names. Also it allows them to try and raise the bar so the better known wrestlers have to break out the awesome later to avoid being outshone by the opening match guys. Webb is in the tournament for the 3rd time. He’s currently 0-2 in TPI matches. Hallowicked does the vampire pose to freak Webb out. It doesn’t work. He’s too busy dancing. Danielson talks about the psychology of wearing a mask (which he’d know, he was masked in the UK originally). He doesn’t like masks because it hinders your breathing. Webb starts out trying to keep Hallowicked off balance with his usual kooky approach. Webb in particular throws some heavy forearms, which you don’t really expect from him. Then he chops Hallowicked across the ass. MIND GAMES! Webb then changes the pace up with a headscissors and some armdrags. Danielson is wonderful critiquing the match pointing out how smart Webb’s psychology is. He misses a charge in the corner though and Hallowicked beats him in the tree of woe. Hallowicked is far more straightforward than Webb and basically just uses kicks, punches and suplexes. That way he never opens himself up for a mistake. Webb’s wide range of offensive weapons don’t offer him the same protection. Both guys are wearing shirts so they try and chop through them. Danielson talks about the actual damage of a chop being inside the chest and namedrops he who must not be named. Honestly, Danielson is AWESOME at doing analysis. Webb’s freaky combinations get him back in the match and he kicks Hallowicked in the head for 2. Hallowicked turns it up a notch with a flying headscissors of his own. There has been a steady build here towards the inevitable conclusion. Hallowicked pops off an enormous release German suplex but Webb no sells it and hits a Hurricane Kick. Danielson talks about that being instinct. Or All Japan selling. But the amazing thing is that Danielson has reasoning for everything. Like he admires everyone’s psychology and tries to understand it regardless of how it looks. Webb pulls the win out here with SOYLENT GREEN II, which is kinda out of left field. **. Quick paced match to keep the crowd buzzing. Some interesting psychology and Webb looked a lot cleaner than usual. It’s clear this is a big year for TPI.

“Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” – Napoleon Hill.

Rainman v Chris Sabin

Rainman is the least experienced guy in IWA in this tournament. Danielson continues his excellent analysis talking about the speed of both men and how height can be important. He may only be saying very simple things at times but it all makes sense. Rainman provokes Sabin into a striking war, which isn’t his biggest strength but Sabin is so riled up he’s able to win it anyway. Sabin goes for a bulldog off the buckles but Rainman counters it into a powerbomb. Not only is Danielson analysing everything he’s picking up on stuff like Rainman’s shirt number 28. I’m not sure where Rainman is from so it’s anyone’s guess. Prazak doesn’t know either so I don’t feel bad. Rainman is a little too inexperienced to do Sabin’s quick reversals so they don’t look great. Rainman bails on him so Sabin hits a suicide dive. Danielson even brings up the psychology of having longer hair along with the propensity of the opponent to cut corners. WWE if they hire this guy need to give him a job for life because his analysis will be invaluable in years to come. Rainman starts popping moves off and we’ve not really spent any time building up the match so it seems like they’ve gone right into spots. Sabin is great at those with flying Enzuigiri’s so it’s not a total loss. Springboard dropkick is pretty tidy too. Danielson claims the numbers on the shirt were a target. Tiger suplex gets 2. Sabin is just popping moves off here. They run an ugly leg lariat spot in the corner with Rainman getting a last gasp counter. Rainman goes for the Cobra Clutch but Sabin reverses out and hits the STUMP PILEDRIVER but Rainman’s long leg manages to find a rope. He looked out of it. Rainman however no sells his way out of the Futureshock into the Hillside Stranger, a grounded Cobra Clutch. Sabin shows equal disdain for selling as he powers out of it. Pumphandle bomb gets the surprise win for Rainman out of nowhere. But then every move in this match was out of nowhere. *1/2. If there’s a worse match on the card I’ll be surprised.

“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph” – Thomas Paine.

Austin Aries v CM Punk

Here’s a massive opening round match. Keeping in mind Aries was rising quickly up the ranks in Indy wrestling. He’d be ROH champion by year’s end. Kingston returns and picks Punk to win. He’s in full on classic Punk mode with blonde hair, the tracksuit top and long yellow shorts with Pepsi signs on. Aries made the ECWA Super 8 finals losing to Daniels. They work the headlocks and headscissors escape counter sequence to open. They both counter on dropkicks and then go back to the headlock into headscissors. They know each other very well. Aries tries something different but Punk sweeps his leg so Aries gets pissed off and stamps on him. Now we’ve woken up the beast. They trade in the corner and Aries seems to have marginally better strikes. He also pops off a super rana with speed. In fact Aries is not only fast he’s INTENSE. Punk gets clipped with three basement dropkicks and then another in the corner. He’s so roughed up he bails. He rolls back in as Aries goes to dive and quickly follows with a TOPE! They land in row two. Gutwrench backbreaker from Punk, which needs two attempts. Aries is clearly upset – LARIATOOOOOOO! Punk bails again but this time he’s sufficiently discombobulated that he doesn’t see the corkscrew plancha coming. Aries lays in a few chops before inevitably chopping the ring post. Punk took three chops to set that up. Aries goes for a suplex on the floor but Punk knees him in the head. Aries falls on a set up chair and Punk charges – SHINING WIZAR…RING POST! OUCH! Aries wipes the now injured knee out. Slingshot hilo onto the knee for 2. Weird point – it’s the right knee Aries is working because the right knee is the Wizard knee. Punk tries to keep Aries at distance with chops. He tries for kicks but that hurts himself. Eventually Aries catches one…KNEE DDT! A DD Knee if you will. Or a Knee DT. He tries to lock Punk up for a submission. No dice as Punk catches him in a roll up for 2. This match has been really focused. Aries with the KNEE STUNNER! POWER ELBOW TO THE KNEE! Aries is fucking owning all here. BOSTON CRAB. Punk grabs the mat to drag himself into the ropes. That’s a slack canvas. But Punk would know because of the number of times he’s wrestled on it. Aries gets boosted into the Farewell…SHINING WIZARDOOOOOOOOO! Punk of course destroys himself doing it so Aries ends up getting to his feet first. Punk once again provokes Aries with chops. His selling of the knee is great as he hops on Irish whips but makes it believable. Shinbreaker into a back suplex. Punk forgets the move in mid-flow, which hurts it somewhat. Punk rolls through a crossbody for 2. This is getting really intense because the finish could come at any point. Punk with a GERMAN SUPLEX WITH ONE LEGGED BRIDGE!!! Hardcore bridging. He used head and one leg to bridge. That almost deserved the finish. To the ropes and Aries sets the 450 but Punk moves. PEPSI TWIST…for 2. Standing ovation from the fans now. Awesome. Punk wants the Plunge. Aries gets hauled up there but he nails the knee. He wants the brainbuster – AVALANCHE BRAINBUSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH…FOR 2!! Punk is finished though. Aries goes up top knowing it’ll finish. Punk is back up! He sets the Plunge from the front but Aries counters into his own only for Punk to counter back. He throws more chops. Aries is left open leaning forwards…PEPSI PLUNGE…FOR THE WIN! Punk fucks his knee up with the win but showed enormous fighting spirit. ****1/4. Fucking great match. The selling was terrific but Punk just WANTED to win that much more.

END OF DISC ONE.

“Big shots are only little shots who keep shooting”. – Christopher Morley

Danny Daniels v Todd Sexton

Daniels music goes tits twice before kicking in. The crowd’s comedy reaction of staring at the PA guy is great. Daniels is the defending champion but he’s turned face since the big win last year. Sexton competed last year but seems to have a more heelish vibe to his character this year. Sexton is one of the Shawn Michaels trainees. He sure created a few of those in his short time training. Sexton does a superb block to stop a headlock takeover but then he goes for an Oklahoma Roll and Daniels blocks back into the headlock. That’s a great little piece of work from these guys. Daniels gets an arm ringer and Sexton can’t escape from that either. He eventually rolls so many times he’s able to hit a dropkick. Next up on the list of holds is a waistlock but Sexton has clearly had enough of this and runs Daniels through the ropes ala Bret Hart. They counter in the ropes and Sexton wins out with a neckbreaker but then runs into a flying knee. Daniels is doing more in this match than the entire of the 2003 tournament where he won. That’s the babyface style. Sexton decides to take out Daniels’ leg with an assortment of stuff. But his continued use of the dragon screw allows Daniels to backslide him for 2. Sexton decides the dropkicks to the knee work fine though and hits a load of them including a missile dropkick into the SHARPSHOOTER! Daniels gets the ropes to survive. Double stomp senton combo from Daniels but he hurts his knee in the process. The selling from him here has been like a ‘lite’ version of Punk’s work in the last match. The most obvious example being a German suplex where he doesn’t alter the bridge like Punk did. That’s the major difference between talent at a solid level and a really high level. He can’t do the piledriver though because of the bad wheel and Sexton counters into the Anklelock. He’s doing a WWE submission finishers deal and I dig it but the crowd don’t. Daniels gets all intense “fuck you” in a forearm duel. Sexton gets owned during it, then low blowed and TOMBSTONED for TWO? That was the perfect finish too. Daniels hurts his knee on that but decides to use the ropes, which he pays for as Sexton dragon screws him off the top. SHARPSHOOTER! Daniels slips out into the Liontamer. No work prior to that on the back though so Sexton is able to get out into another Anklelock. This time Daniels nearly pins himself. Sexton tries to flip over in the corner but gets caught in the Rubix Cube Driver for the loss. Daniels advances. **3/4. Good match with some patchy selling. Compare Daniels to Punk and there really is no comparison.

POST MATCH BJ Whitmer runs out here and lays Daniels out WITH AN EXPLODER INTO THE SEATS! It was after the match so BJ should probably not get suspended for that.

IWA Light Heavyweight title – Jimmy Jacobs v Delirious

Not in the tournament. Thus heightening the prestige of the title. After all both men are prepared to not enter the tournament and take a shot at stealing the show instead. Jacobs is at his “wearing trunks with one leg” stage. The title is vacant after an earlier bout finished in a double pin. Delirious calls a spot but no one call what it is. Haha. The ladder gets used first as a weapon as Jacobs just throws it at Delirious’ head. It lands on the apron and Delirious dumps Jacobs on the ladder. Everything has been very basis thus far. Delirious slams Jacobs on the ladder. NEVERENDING STORY!!! Repeated corner lariats from Delirious. That gives him time to get up the ladder for the first time. Jacobs stops that so Jacobs gets trapped between the ladders. LADDERMAN HAS RETURNED! Delirious dropkicks it. Ladderman charges! LADDERBUTT! LADDERING RAM! Jacobs has evil thoughts and sets the ladder on the buckles and pulls out the spike. They both have spikes! Delirious charges and hits the ladder. Jacobs gets both spikes and jabs Delirious in the head from both sides. He tears enough of the mask off to expose flesh and STAB HIM IN THE HEAD. He’ll slash him up a treat. Jacobs gets the chance to go up but Delirious cuts him off. Jacobs falls off. SHADOWS OVER HELL!!!!! That was one of two spots I wanted to see. Win! Delirious bails for a table. Impromptu TLC! Well TL anyway. Delirious gets some evil intentions with the table set up on the floor. There’s blood everywhere from those spike shots. I think Jacobs may well be cut too. The ladder comes back into play and Jacobs gets powerbombed on it. Delirious climbs up the wrong side of the ladder and they both tumble off with an odd reverse Pedigree type deal. No idea what to call that and neither does Prazak so I don’t feel bad. Jacobs charges outside to get Delirious but finds himself backdropped into the seats. I’d question the wisdom of that. It’s really painful looking. Delirious goes under the ring to get some tape. He tapes Jacobs to the ropes so he can’t get the ladder. Jacobs uses the spike the cut himself free. That is brilliant. The familiarity psychology of him having the perfect weapon to cut himself free is good stuff. Jacobs dumps a surprised Delirious on the table. Up he goes but the ladder moves and Jacobs falls into the ropes head first. Oh boy. That’s an error. You don’t push off the ladder because it moves. You just have to fall and hope. Jacobs fights back, dumps Delirious back on the table and sentons him through it off the top rope. See, that fucker won’t move. Prazak is still calling it a back senton. What do you think senton means? Jacobs heads up top but misses Delirious dropkicking the ladder away. Jacobs has his hands on the belt though and comes down with it as the winner. ***1/4. Shame they blew the big spot but they had enough innovation and entertainment for a thumbs up. I was hoping for a Contra Code off the ladder. That’s a spot I’d have worked in personally.

BACKSTAGE Jacobs has quickly gotten into position for an interview. He talks about the spike piercing the mask. He says he’s not afraid of death he’s only afraid of losing.

ELSEWHERE Delirious cuts one of his patented silent staring promos. Those are always awesome.

“Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries”. – John Albert Michener

Chris Hero v Mike Quackenbush

Arik Cannon joins the commentary team to side against Hero. This has a big match atmosphere about it immediately thanks to Quack’s infrequent trips out of Chikara and Hero’s extremely long entrance music. Both men train people for Chikara although Quack is the primary guy over there. Crowd is divided but seems slightly in favour of Hero. Perhaps he just has louder fans. Like when the FR crew backed Chris Cannon so loudly. Hero has never won in Highland. Quack gets a wristlock and Hero does a lot of rolls to get out of it. Quack uses leverage to get out. Hero back rolls out into a waistlock. Quack slips out back into the wristlock. This is all lovely technical stuff. Quack uses the leg leverage escape, which is a thing of beauty and borrowed from the British style. The countering continues and watching two guys who can chain like motherfuckers is always entertaining. The lengthy chaining process is about even. Quack seems more of an opportunist going for pinfalls while Hero just wants to show his superiority. They start doing lucha, which Quack is significantly better at. That allows him an advantage. So far Hero has been playing into Quack’s strengths and not using his own. That ends with Hero counters a tilt-a-whirl into a backbreaker. He used his size. The first time he’s done so in this match. Prazak talks about Hero lacking a killer instinct, which has been evident in this match. Hero starts looking for pinfalls but he’s already 5 minutes behind in that respect. And is he just doing roll up’s to try and ‘one-up’ Quack rather than win? Quack gets a double leg version of the STF. Hero goes for the big missile dropkick but Quack leisurely side steps it and slaps on the STRETCH PLUM! He can’t get it on too good and switches to an abdominal stretch. Hero gets out but can’t get the Hangman’s Clutch. He’s starting to get serious about winning this match now but Quack already has been for some time. Hero hits a great hammerlock suplex after some more lucha countering. Double down. There’s a feeling we’re approaching the end stretch of this one. Hero is focusing on the arm and suplexes Quack by it. He switches to a shinbreaker with the arm trapped in the middle of it. Neato. Quack continues with his lucha-esque rope work into a pendulum DDT into a butterfly clutch. Hero uses his power to get out of that though and gets the cravat with the arm into the CRAVATPLEX WITH THE ARM! Hero is so great at times. He applies the cravat with the arm tied in again. Hero’s approach has now gained more focus but he still lacks that killer instinct. Quack is there for the taking but Hero has been more interested in keeping it pretty. Quack blows a lucha rope flip into the ALLIGATOR CLUTCH into a roll up for the pinfall. ***3/4. Smooth wrestling match that was cruising towards four snowflakes until the slight mistake ahead of the finish. Hero once again loses in Highland.

“Defeat never comes to any man until he admits it”. – Josephus Daniels

Jimmy Rave v AJ Styles

Punk joins the commentary. Rave looks pretty scrawny and gets booed because he’s wrestling AJ. Prazak talks about both wrestlers TPI experience. AJ & Rave have big history with AJ mentoring Rave before they feuded in ROH. They start with an intense lockup before Rave goes after the arm, as he usually does. AJ works the wrist so hardcore that he THROWS Rave through the ropes like a bag of rat crap. Rave gets himself together and goes back on the arm. AJ powers him up and powerbombs him into the buckles. YUS! AJ is fucking owning Rave here. They fuck up a powerbomb, which kills my buzz but AJ gets it right back with a dropsault. AJ has so much stuff that he does that I find entertaining and when he’s a real jerk about it that makes it SO much better. BITCHSLAP! Neckbreaker at speed gets 2. Rave dropkicks AJ in the groin. I guess IWA’s rules are still a little shaky. Rave with a Northern Lights, which he rolls into a cross armbreaker. I appreciate him going to the arm but does he need that much convoluted set up? The roll on a Northern Lights isn’t a good idea generally. Rave does some of his combo work, which seems like he’s doing it in order to look ‘like’ combination wrestlers but hasn’t quite got it right. When he does basic things like armdrags I’ve got no problem with it. But does he need to do a backbreaker into a Russian legsweep? It just seems like two moves thrown together. AJ kicks him in the face. I approve. They do some nice countering until Rave manages to lose his grip on the arm and ruin it. AJ decides he’d be better off wrestling himself and starts hitting spots. Brainbuster gets 2. Punk makes some good points about AJ’s injured arm like it reducing his ability to hook the leg. Rave gets From Dusk til Dawn. AJ gets out into a nice but short near falls and Ghanarea connects. Rave wants the Styles Clash just to be a jerk so AJ spinebusters him into a leglock. He grabs the head too and Rave quits. I’ve never seen AJ use a submission finish. Apart from now. ***. Rave’s messy approach aside this was good fun. I always enjoy watching AJ because he has so many entertaining moves and his delivery is so crisp.

“Your aspirations are your possibilities”. – Samuel Johnson

Roderick Strong v Samoa Joe

Strong can’t get going early as Joe just grabs him and uses his larger body size to control. Joe seems to have a lack of respect for Strong but not so much so that he just unloads his moves. Joe tends to manhandle those he considers beneath him. Here he at least wrestles a bit. Strong is overly ambitious and tries for a few suplexes, which fail utterly. Strong manages to boost Joe up so Joe CHOPS HIM IN THE BACK! Strong wants a chop duel so Joe CHOPS HIM IN THE FACE! Strong bails to see how many teeth he has left. Strong once again shows his stupidity by charging into the S.T.JOE. He seems to have done minimal research and is getting systematically murdered. A huge difference to Strong the next year when he came prepared every time out. SAMOAN FACE WASHING! Joe is really just unloading strikes now as he felt Strong disrespected him a little. A lesson must be taught. Strong tries to get aggressive but Joe legsweeps him off the apron and ELBOW SUICIDAAAAAAA leaves him down. Joe gets fired up when Strong hits him with something. OLE OLE kick is countered into a backbreaker on the chair from Strong and that’s his first genuine opening. Having weakened the back Strong hits his first in ring backbreaker for 2. Now with Joe worn down a little Strong is able to hit a suplex. Strong wants a powerbomb. That’s perhaps a bad idea. He decides to wear Joe down a bit more first and let’s go. Joe responds by LARIATING his face off. Strong charges again (is he mental?) and gets powerslammed for 2. Joe powerbombs into the Samoan Crab into the STF into the Crippler Crossface. Strong has great ring awareness though and is able to back himself into the rope. Strong goes low to block the Full Nelson and back suplexes Joe for 2. Cheating was one of the few things he could do to stop Joe. Another is chopping, which has worked well for him. Another back suplex gets 2. Strong is looking tired from hitting moves because Joe is so heavy. Strong still gets Joe up and dumps him across his knees. YAKUZAAAAAAA KIIIIIICCCCCKKK! ONE-TWO-TH…no! Crowd LOVES this because Strong has convinced them he CAN win, which is a huge contrast to the start of the match. Joe starts slapping Strong around to set up the MUSCLEBUSTAAAAAAAA! It’s over and Joe eventually gets the win. ****. Strong made his name with this crowd by being so competitive. Joe sells the beating as he hobbles across the ring too and gives Strong props post match.

The match was so entertaining we get replays of the highlights.

“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time”. – Thomas Edison

Claudio Castagnoli v Nigel McGuinness

They’re both European so we start out with some European technical counters from standing. It’s all smooth and lovely and different to anything else on the card. And because it’s so well done the crowd get right into it. Nigel does an amazing job of tying himself up to block a pin on the sunset flip frustrating Claudio who then discovers he can’t remove his arm when he gives up on the pin. Great stuff. They do mirror spots where Nigel repeats Claudio’s spots but then adds in a hair pull so it works. Claudio complains of the hair pull so Nigel does it again driving his face into the mat a second time. Nigel really starts irritating Claudio with a cravat. Claudio can’t even get out of it even with a slam. Crowd is very pro-Nigel because of his antics. Artful Dodger confuses Claudio some more only for him to cartwheel dodge. EEYYYY! Claudio goes for the Artful Dodger himself but Nigel boots him on the arse to stop that into a near falls. This is SLICK. I love it. Claudio sneaks a punch behind the ref’s back while Punk complains that’s illegal because he read the entire NWA rulebook. He mentions “lethal judo throws”, which are also illegal. The match loses some of its steam as Claudio works on a chinlock. It feels out of place compared to the rest of the match. They start getting patchy in dodging and striking too, which is even worse news. The forearm uppercut from Claudio looks particularly rough, which is odd for him. Nigel headstands and uses kicks to keep a confused Claudio at bay. He keeps running into kicks like a maroon. He tries a slightly different approach and gets himself DDT’d. The great thing about Claudio is he doesn’t mind looking like an idiot if it helps to tell a story. Claudio gets a neckbreaker for 2 but is so convinced that was 3 he gets the ref to raise his hand. Like that match with Darkness Crabtree in Chikara (“That was 3”, “It was? Ring the bell!) Nigel gets the Thames Barrier but Claudio edges towards the ropes so Nigel finishes him with the Rings of Saturn. ***. I enjoyed the hell out of that match up to a point. Then it fell apart. They got it back a little towards the end but it was 2/3rds of the way to the match it should have been.

END OF DISC TWO. I shit you not. This show goes on forever.

“Courage is being afraid but going on anyhow”. – Dan Rather

Alex Shelley v Bryan Danielson

Shelley nearly won last year but he didn’t face a more complete performer than Danielson in the whole tournament. Danielson beat Shelley in ROH right before this with Cattle Mutilation. Shelley starts out with a headlock and discovers Danielson is prepared for basics with painful looking submission counters. Danielson overpowers Shelley and steps on his chin. Shelley counters Danielson into a Goku Raku stretch. They’ve both been working hard on the mat. It’s like a feeling out process but they’re both so inventive that it’s already complex. Shelley gives Danielson the Snot Rocket ala Benoit. Danielson doesn’t rise to it but instead takes Shelley down with a nasty looking abdominal stretch. Punk suggests the fans try that one at home. Shelley gets a Border City Stretch out of nowhere but Danielson scoots back under the ropes because his ring positioning is so good. Shelley spinal taps Danielson, which irritates Dragon into nailing him a few forearm uppercuts. Big bodyslam and the Snot Rocket receipt arrives. Even the biggest elephant never forgets. Danielson considers a surfboard and gets into it rocking Shelley into the MEXICAN STRETCH! Crowd digs that. Shelley goes to the ears to escape. Shelley breaks out the short piledrivers. AJ arrives to join the commentary team. Hearing him just ‘talk’ is pretty weird and him talking about wrestling is better than his promos. Although he still comes off as a bit stiff. Punk & AJ end up agreeing that Danielson will win because “he doesn’t have two girls names”. Danielson has been inconsistent in his aggression and shows a little more drive than usual with a superplex. Danielson turns up the meanness with forearm uppercuts. Seems he wants to win this now. Shelley counters out of the dragon suplex into the Border City Stretch. He CRANKS THE SHIT out of that. It wouldn’t be unreasonable of Danielson to tap but he remains entirely focused on the rope in front of him to escape. Danielson with the Airplane Spin. TWENTY-EIGHT ROTATIONS! Danielson doesn’t provoke vomiting but gets Shelley looking confused. Danielson brings the comedy with a missed dropkick. Why does he always try for high impact after the Airplane Spin? It seems insane. Shelley goes for wrestling but he’s still out of it so Danielson counters into the Cattle Mutilation countered back into the Border City Stretch countered back into a backslide for the 3. Shelley remained disorientated after that spin. ***1/4. That was fun although Danielson seemed a little off.

POST MATCH Punk explains the rules about kicking in wrestling and embarrasses AJ into name dropping N-Sync. Haha.

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fail.” – Nelson Mandela

Super Dragon v Arik Cannon

I know some people don’t like Super Dragon but I do so you’ll have to put up with my bias. They run some counters to start and Dragon is very deliberate about showing he can technical wrestle. Cannon doesn’t break before 5 in the corner, which is technically a DQ. Cannon slaps him. OOOOOOHHHHHH! VIOLENCE PA…cut off by a spinebuster. Fuck you, Arik! You never interrupt a Violence Party. Especially when CM Punk is SINGING ABOUT IT. Cannon stupidly provokes Dragon into a striking duel. He wins. CURB STOMP MOTHAFUCKAAAAAAAAA! Crowd wants another one! Punk demands another 68. CURB STOMP!!! He stops off to celebrate with the crowd before pinning, which could be considered a technical error. Cannon wrestles his way out on the mat and CURB STOMPS DRAGON! You’ll pay for that my lad! Dragon counters him with a few kicks to the head and the CURB STOMP connects again. Cannon is expecting another when he gets caught in a kneebar. Cannon tries a chop so Dragon TAKES HIS EYES. Cannon takes offence and EXPLOIDAAAAAAAAA INTO THE BUCKLES! That gets 2. Cannon can’t make his mind up what kind of submission attempt he wants to go for. We get another striking duel. Is Cannon insane? Oddly enough he wins this one with a rolling elbow. Dragon takes offence by ELBOWING him to break the pin. Dragon brings the Misawa 1-2 ELBOW COMBO for 2. Dragon has his mind on the Psycho Driver but Cannon counters and bounces Dragon off the ropes for a neckbreaker. Cannon misses off the top (no water in the pool). Dragon murderises him with a lariat. This match has been very strike-heavy. “KILL, KILL, KILL” chant the fans. VIOLENCE PARTY~~~~!!!!! ADDED KNEES! KAWADA KICKS! FUCK YOU ARIK! DOUBLE STOMP TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD…for 2. Dragon wants the Psycho Driver but Cannon counters into a reverse jawbreaker and the Glimmering Warlock sends Dragon to the floor. That being a Shining Wizard to the back of the head. BACKDROP DRIVER! Dragon struggles back up but that just earns him another BACKDROP DRIVER. Dragon gets to his knees and gets caught with the Glimmering Warlock for the pin. ***. Cannon is way too bland for my liking and obviously I wanted Dragon to advance but he was only booked on this show not tomorrow.

POST MATCH the usually technical loving respectful TPI fans chant “fuck you, Cannon”. Yeah, this isn’t a popular decision. Crowd offers more respect to Dragon with a “please come back” chant.

“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat”. – Sir Winston Churchill

IWA title – Petey Williams (c) v BJ Whitmer w/Jim Fannen

BJ won the TPI in 2002 and the IWA title in the process. Fannen challenges a fan to a fight then challenges Danny Daniels to come out here for a fight too. BJ wants the bell rung so Daniels can get banned for a year. HAHAHA. Petey appears from nowhere to roll BJ up for 2. BJ is about a foot taller than Petey. They seem a little uncomfortable with each other. Perhaps it’s the size difference but the opening few sequence seem awkward. Petey gets the crowd into it with a diving rana in the ring then another one on the floor. They run another really awkward spot with the ropes and BJ ends up getting a spinebuster. Petey whiffs on a dropkick so BJ German suplexes him release style. I really hope this is going to improve because so far it’s like they don’t have a clue who each other are. And this IS the final match of the first night. It’d be rough to go out on a low. Double down. They run a horrible headscissors spot borrowed from Rey Jr. BJ fucks up a backbreaker STO. Oh lordy, what’s going on here? The pressure is just too much for these guys I guess. They fuck up something else in the corner and BJ hits a Shining Wizard (a lousy one at that). BJ goes to the Rolling German into something but Petey slips out into a roll up for 2. Up top and Petey counters the back superplex into a crossbody for 2. That was a slight improvement in execution. Petey wants the finish but BJ blocks it and Petey counters back into a DDT for 2. Now we’re cooking. There’s no emotion in it though. Petey runs into an Exploder and at least they’re hitting high spots. BJ gets 2. Petey kicks his leg and hits a shinbreaker into a leg whip into the Sharpshooter. All good stuff but BJ is just too long and gets the ropes easily. Petey wants the Destroyer off the top but BJ backdrops out of it. He wants the Wrist Clutch Exploder but Petey counters into a roll up for 2. BJ pops back up to get CANADIAN DESTROYED for the pinfall. BJ head spiked the finish for my amusement. Kudos to him. **. Took ages to get going but had a fine run in.

POST MATCH Ian Rotten comes out to tell us who faces who tomorrow. Petey v Arik Cannon (for the title), AJ v Matt Sydal, CM Punk v Bryan Danielson (HUGE POP), Mike Quackenbush v Nate Webb, Rainman v Danny Daniels, Samoa Joe v Nigel McGuinness, AJ/Sydal v Petey/Cannon, Danielson/Punk v Quack/Webb, Rainman/Daniels v Joe/Nigel for the next round. The tag titles defended and a 6-way elimination women’s match AND guys eliminated tonight in a Scramble match. Ian Rotten v Steve Stone. That’s another 3 discs then.

END OF DISC THREE. END OF NIGHT ONE.

The 411: Well this is a great show. This is the show that made the TPI mean something. It had been a steadily improving show but this one was just a complete blowaway show. It had all kinds of crazy shit, different styles, different matches and several low end MOTY candidates. Huge thumbs up. Best IWA show, ever.
Final Score:  9.5   [  Amazing ]