The Best Of The Rest 8.01.07: Volume 7

The Plug Zone:
Who: IWA-MS
What: “We’re No Joke”
When: April 1, 2006
Where: Midlothian, IL
Why You Want To Own This DVD: One of the most stacked shows in the 10+ year history of IWA-MS. This showed had almost everything any kind of wrestling fan would want. Strong style, hardcore, spot fests, technical wrestling, women’s wrestling, comedy matches. It’s all here. Most notably the Low Ki Vs. Necro Butcher and Milano Collection AT Vs. Chris Hero matches are alone worth the price of the DVD. But elsewhere on the card Kevin Steen faces Ian Rotten in a solid match, Delirious and El Generico put on a comedy match like only they can, an entertaining 6-man tag, and a fun 9-way ladder match. The name of the show may have been a play off of the fact that the show happened on April’s Fools day, but it sure fits with the show. This was one of the best shows IWA-MS ever did and was a stamp on the promotion and a way of saying “We’re No Joke.” HA! Let’s see you out cliché that!

Indy Sighting:
Myself and fellow Triple Theater David made the long trip from Dallas to San Antonio, Texas this past weekend to see Chris Hero’s Texas debut as he wrestled for Anarchy Championship Wrestling. My thoughts on the rest of the show isn’t really valid here because I went to just see Hero. I will however put over two Texas workers, Gregory Symonds and “Showtime” Scott Summers, they co-headlined the show and put on about as good of a match as any and put a hell of effort into a match that only about 150 people were there to witness. It was a sleeper hit and both men earned some serious props with this match. But back to business. Chris Hero’s opponent wasn’t announced for this showed and was promised to surprise. Well I didn’t figure it would surprise me this much. While Hero awaited in the ring, a death metal scream was let out and the one and only Masada made his way to the ring. Now I’m a Masada mark to begin with, add on the fact that I was unaware that he had returned from his latest tour of Big Japan… it’s safe to say that I marked out like a 7-year-old John Cena fan. Every more surprising was the quality of the match. Both men have to be exhausted with their current tour schedules, but still gave 100%. They spent the first 15 minutes on the mat just technical wrestling at its finest, the last 5 was a series of false finishes leading to a double pin. When the match was ruled a draw they demanded five more minutes, which was granted and from their the brawl began. These two fought all over the building, the parking lot, and back into the ring. The five minutes expired and the match was finally ruled a draw. The booking made sense, both looked great with the finish. The match, my snazzy new Chris Hero T-shirt, and meeting Hero himself were well worth the 6 hours of driving. Hero returns to Texas on August 19th to challenge Chuck Taylor for the IWA Heavyweight Title, and I will once again make the long drive to see my hero and savior.

And in this corner… from Aberdeen, Washington. Weighing in at 190 pounds… And soon to be champion of the universe:
“American Dragon” Bryan Danielson defeated El Generico last Sunday to become the PWG champion. It seems that this may be phase one on the trail of Danielson taking over the wrestling world. Bryan has made it into the semi-finals of the NWA World Title tournament and is on a collision course with Takeshi Morishima, trying to reclaim what he feels is still his ROH World Title. Danielson will battle “Scrap Daddy” Adam Pearce in the semi-finals of the NWA Title tournament. From there, assuming he wins, will go onto the finals to wrestle either Claudio Castagnoli or Brent Albright. Fast forward to August 25th Danielson will try to get back his Ring Of Honor World Title. He will face the current champ Morishima, unless Takeshi loses the title to Claudio or Albright ironically enough. The Morishima-Danielson title match may turn out to be one of the most anticipated matches in the history of ROH. If Danielson were to walk out victorious, he would not only be the first man to win the ROH title twice, he would also be the holder of the ROH, PWG, and potentially be the next NWA champion. Before this year is all said and done, the “American Dragon” may hold three world titles. One of the most prestigious titles in the history of professional wrestling, one of the most important titles in North America, and the title of one of the top US independents. This will only help solidify his claim to be “The Best Wrestler In The World.”

The Stoppage:
-Rumors are flying around this week in regards to Fedor coming to the UFC. I eagerly await seeing him inside the octagon, but if he wants to hold out for something more then that’s what he needs to do. If he were to step into the octagon, I’m not sure if anyone in UFC’s heavyweight division could defeat him. But I, as every fan, would demand a match between Fedor and “The Natural.”

-I have also read about some speculation that Mark Coleman is looking to get back inside the octagon… Wow… “The Hammer” had some glory days a decade ago and hit the highest point of his professional career when he won the PRIDE Grand Prix. But that was back in 2000. Mark Coleman isn’t like Randy Couture, he hasn’t gotten better with age. I’m not saying he isn’t a tough son of a bitch, but I just don’t think he can hang with today’s top heavyweights. Just look at what happened BOTH times he faced Fedor. On a personal note I don’t care for Coleman, I always disliked his attitude and found him to be disrespectful so I wouldn’t mind seeing Randy or Gonzaga or even Sylvia putting a few knots on his head.

-Enough rumors, onto facts. This week the UFC confirmed that Chuck Liddell Vs. Keith Jardine will headline UFC 76. On the undercard of this show Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will make his UFC debut against the one and only Forrest Griffin. Hear that world? That’s the sound of pheromones being released by MMA fans worldwide. This fight is so interesting for many, many reasons. Expect these two to go to war with the bout more than likely ending with a KO or TKO

*This Week’s YouTube Sendoff*

Well that’s it for me this week. If you haven’t seen the Simpsons movie yet go do so. Thanks for reading and have a good week.

Feedback is always welcome at [email protected]