Death by Midwest: IWA Mid-South Phenomenal Invasion (9.15.04)

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Danny Daniels vs. Eddie Kingston

Daniels is slowly turning face due to friction with stablemate BJ Whitmer, and is trying to win the TPI once again after winning it the year before. Kingston is inexperienced but showing promise teaming with Blackjack Marciano as the Wild Cards. Kingston taunts Daniels as he tries to shoulder block him down. Kingston goes for a shoulder block but Danny just trips him up. Heh. Comedy. After that, they trade chops. Kingston barely leapfrogs Daniels and instead of doing risking it again, Daniels just chops him. Show em the business, right? Daniels goes for a tope but Kingston forearms him before he dives. Daniels catches him with a dropkick. Pretty simple stuff here. They go for a Tornado DDT but that gets botched. Oh dear. Delayed vertical suplex by Kingston gets 2. Daniels hits a dropkick off the second rope. Clothesline/backbreaker kind of combo from Kingston, but that didn’t look right either. He goes after the eyes and then stretches Daniels out. Daniels trips him up and hits a quick double stomp and senton combo. They trade forearms and Daniels wins that war. Daniels goes up top and hits a pretty sweet looking flying rana on Kingston for 2. That’s more like it. Kingston blocks Daniels and hits a Uranage for 2. They trade standing switches until Daniels distracts the ref, low blows him, and gets a piledriver for the win at 10:34.

Rating: ½*. Basic structure and Kingston was pretty green. Not much to see here.

Mickie Knuckles vs.MsChif vs.Tracy Brooks

IWA was really big on women’s wrestling before Dave Prazak left in mid-05 and formed SHIMMER. Since then it’s been….well, Mickie Knuckles. Since Tracy is here, it makes me wonder if Steve Cook is in this crowd. MsChif and Knuckles were fierce rivals, but Mickie and Tracy act friendly before the bell. They double team MsChif with a double elbow drop, but Tracy rolls up Mickie for 2 and that’s the end of the friendliness. MsChif pulls Tracy to the floor. Mickie goes for a tope and crashes on the apron. Oh my. To her credit she gets right up for MsChif to toss her into the chairs. Lariat by Tracy gets 2 on MsChif. Mickie and Tracy double team MsChif again but fight over who makes the pin. Mickie JACKS Tracy up with forearms until MsChif takes them both down. Mickie whiffs on a Shining Kick on Tracy, but MsChif sneaks up and hits the DESCREATOR (kind of a armhook DDT right on your head) for the win at 4:26.

Rating: DUD. Too short and too many mistakes, though everyone involved is a much better wrestler in 2008 then they were here.

B-Boy vs.Spyder Nate Webb

Nate Webb dances around for the entire duration of “Teenage Dirtbag”. Fantastic stuff.
Nate throws B-Boy into the corner and hugs him. That’s a new one. “Hugs! YAYYY!”-Crowd. They go to the mat early on and that’s some FINE WRESTLING~! Nebraskan Tumbleweed by Nate. He goes for another, B-Boy moves, Nate moonsaults over his charge and dropkicks him down seated in the corner, and hits a running cross body on him. He goes for a Van Terminator but nobody’s home. Swinging neckbreaker by B-Boy. Spine kick follows that. Knee drop to the back of the head, then a reverse Mr. Perfect neck snap by B-Boy. Nate goes for a sunset flip, B-Boy rolls through and lands a dropkick on that now weakened neck and head of Webb. That gets 2. Nate tries to charge B-Boy in the corner but he heaves Nate up and flips him back down into a hard spinebuster. That gets 2. Webb’s down in the corner….FACELIFT DROPKICK. God, that’s just not right. Guillotine Choke by B-Boy. He gets a 2 count off that. Webb gets flipped by B-Boy, ducks the clothesline, ARACHNID KICK. He nailed it there. Spinning faceplant by Nate gets 2. B-Boy catches Nate on his shoulders, Nate reverses into a crucifix, but B-Boy rolls through and gets Nate back on his shoulders for a Death Valley Driver….for 2. Emphasis on the driver part. Bubba Bomb by Nate into the Webb of Death submission, but B-Boy doesn’t tap out. B-Boy goes for the Shining Wizard but Webb moves out of the way, but gets hit with it on the second try and falls out of the ring. Webb avoids a third one and goes for Soylent Green…but B-Boy lands on his feet and hits the KI KRUSHAAA….for 2! Webb ducks another Wizard and gets B-Boy in a La Mihstral for the win at 13:56.

Rating: ***. Good match with some inventive counters, but kind of a lame finish. You think B-Boy would just stop going for that Shining Wizard. Webb gets an important win going into the TPI.

TABLES MATCH

Corporal Robinson and 2 Tuff Tony vs. Madman Pondo and Cash Flo

Rules here are that you must put someone through a table before attempting a pinfall. Something must have happened with these men, because Tony and Pondo are usual tag partners. Pondo and Flo are accompanied by their manager, Pearl Harbor. Corp and Tony give Pondo a backdrop, which he lands wrong. Damn Pondo. I don’t mean to point all these mistakes, but there’s been a few of them so far. Pondo then takes a back elbow from Tony and makes it look like shit. Flo and Tony trade chops. Cash Flo gets draped over the top rope and Tony hits a flipping leg drop off the top onto him. Nice stuff. Cash Flo nearly gets suplexed out of the ring, but then reverses and suplexes BOTH opponents back in. Nice power. Tony gives Pondo the 2 Tuff Driver, but that can’t be counted for a pin here. Pondo saves Cash Flo from a double team and Cash Flo powerbombs Tony through the first table. That gets 3 so Tony is gone. Pondo sets up Corp on a table for Cash, but Corp moves and Cash Flo goes through the table. That gets 3 so he’s out too. Corp UNLOADS on Pondo with punches. Corp gets put on the apron but Tony comes in and nails Corp with a kendo stick. Remember how Tony and Pondo team up in Japan? There ya go. They set up a table over the top and then another on the mat. Pondo and Tony superplex him through the table for the win at 13:45.

Rating: ½*. Sloppy as hell, a lot of that thanks to Pondo. I don’t understand the turn by Tony at all either. Did John Zandig book that?

They continue to attack Corp after the match until Ian Rotten and Nate Webb come out for the save.

J.C. Bailey vs.Steve Stone

Steve Stone’s manager Jim Fannin is angry about this match, with Steve Stone about to face Ian Rotten in a Falls Count Anywhere match on TPI weekend. Flurry of offense by Bailey capped by a missile dropkick for 2. Stone reverses a whip and Bailey topes onto Fannin! Hahaha! I didn’t see that coming. Powerslam by Stone for 2. Rydeen Bomb after that gets 2. Fannin takes a chance to choke Bailey on the outside for revenge. Bailey avoids a clothesline and hits an Ace Crusher. Both men down. Tornado DDT by Bailey gets fucked up. Bailey landed on his knees, so Stone’s head never touched the mat. Northern Lariat by Stone gets 2. Guillotine Leg Drop by Bailey misses. Stone hits a NASTY Flatliner for the win at 5:58.

Rating: *. Kind of like an OVW TV match. Basic stuff with a few messups, but some fun anyway. Gives Stone some momentum going into his big match with Ian.

Roderick Strong vs.Arik Cannon

Here comes some stiffness. Cannon comes out in full on dick heel mode. Counters early on from both men. They trade chops and then Cannon goes low. Butterfly suplex by Roddy followed by a second rope elbow drop for 2. DAMN, these are some hard chops. Delayed vertical suplex by Strong gets 2. Big brainbuster by Cannon, looks for the Glimmering Warlock, but Strong captures him into a BACKBREAKER. That gets 2. They chop each other back and forth then FOREARMS. Jesus, those are hard. RELEASE GERMAN by Strong! Cannon ducks Strong’s charge, Exploder Suplex! Strong locks Cannon’s arm for an Ocean Cyclone Suplex. Both men down. Another Exploder by Cannon followed by the GLIMMERING WARLOCK for the win at 8:18.

Rating: **3/4. I would love to see these guys in a longer match.

Alex Shelley vs. Claudio Castagnoli

These guys are two of the ROH stars that began here in IWA. Chris Hero mentions on commentary that Claudio had gotten a green card and moved to the United States for good. Claudio uses multiple rolls to get out of a wristlock. Shelley goes all European style on Claudio into another wristlock. Shelley avoids a monkey flip, hits a hiptoss but gets kicked away to a standoff. FINE WRESTLING~! Claudio grabs a leg, Shelley try to roll out but Claudio rolls with him into an ankle hold. European uppercuts to the back by Claudio. Inverted cravat by Claudio. Tiny Lister neck snap by Claudio! Claudio distracts the ref and chokes Shelley with the wrist tape. Shelley comes back with a pair of Dragon Screws and the Trailer Hitch! Claudio makes the ropes. Knee-DT by Shelley. Shelley goes up top….Frog Splash on the knee! Shelley goes for another Dragon Screw but Claudio hits an enziguri on that weakened neck. Roaring Euro uppercut by Claudio gets 2. Swinging dragon screw by Shelley, he goes for a Figure Four but Claudio small packages him for 2. Back up, Shelley locks it in. “He’s paying homage to Jeff Jarrett.”-Chris Hero on commentary. Hahaha. Claudio breaks it and cravats Shelley and picks him up with it! He can’t hold it due to his knee though. Shelley gets out and hooks on the BORDER CITY STRETCH with extra stepover toehold to work the knee, but can’t hold it due to his neck. Swinging neckbreaker by Claudio. He puts Shelley up top, but Shelley blocks the uppercut and DOUBLE STOMPS THE KNEE of Claudio! Oh, this is gooood. BORDER CITY STRETCH again with the stepover toehold added! But Claudio blocks the arm and reverses into the SWISS SLEEPERHOLDING. Shelley’s arm falls three times as Claudio picks up the upset win at 12:10.

Rating: ***3/4. Whoa nelly that was some good stuff. Everything was about working the body part and they were clicking on everything. Re-match please!

AJ Styles vs.Matt Sydal

This is a rematch from their first meeting at Simply the Best 5 in April of 04. I’m gonna try to keep up with them here. Intense lockup to start. They run fast counters. Fast enough for me to not be able to call them. Sydal avoids a dropkick but gets caught with the kip-up rana….for 2. Sydal covers AJ, who tries to press him off but Sydal switches it to a headlock. Oh, that is awesome. Sydal keeps that headlock on, which just annoys Styles who suplexes him out of the ring. HUGE PLANCHA by AJ. Bicycle knee drop by AJ gets 2. Fake out enziguri headscissors into a rollup by Sydal….for 2! I guess you could call it that. AJ blocks a kick and dumps Sydal on his head. Styles unloads a few kicks on the outside. Short arm clothesline by Styles gets 2 and that was painful looking. Sydal gets tossed out. Styles is out of the apron, but Sydal grabs his leg and Styles takes a bump to the floor! Sydal goes up top…MOONSAULT TO THE FLOOR. Damn that was pretty. Back in…DOUBLE HELIX by Sydal! But only for 2. He stretches out AJ’s back and then climbs up on AJ and MOONSAULTS OFF HIS BACK ONTO HIM…for 2! Hard whip in the corner by Sydal. Styles catches Sydal up top and pulls him down. Swinging Rock Bottom by Styles, but he’s down clutching his back. FOREARMS by Styles. He goes for a German, Sydal blocks it, so AJ turns it into an Inverted Powerslam…for 2! AJ charges the corner, Sydal moves, AJ goes for the quebrada into the inverted DDT…BLOCKED…Inverted leg drop bulldog by Sydal gets 2! Sydal goes for a rana, Styles stays up and looks for the Styles Clash, but Sydal hangs on for a DRAGONRANA!!!! TWO COUNT! God damn this is awesome. They right for position on the top, Sydal goes for a Super Rana. BLOCKED. Styles comes off with a sunset flip looking for the Styles Clash but it’s blocked AGAIN. Discus lariat by Styles is ducked, Sydal gets a crucifix, but Styles turns him around into the STYLES CLASH! That’s it at 15:12.

Rating: ****1/4. WOW. An absolutely dazzling display of high flying wrestling. Sydal kept trying to avoid the Styles Clash, but AJ has so many ways of getting it that he always hits it eventually. Great, great match, and way better than their ROH match a few years later. Ian comes down to

2 OUT OF 3 FALLS
Bryan Danielson vs. Chris Hero

This is a rematch from their excellent bout at An IWA Fairytale. Danielson refuses to shake hands at the start, maybe signaling this will not be as friendly as their last contest. They trade wristlocks with neither man letting reversals come easy. Dragon pushes Hero into the ropes but doesn’t release the hold, earning a referee warning. Dragon bridges up out of a pin, so Hero tries to lift him into position for a Hero’s Welcome, but Dragon slaps on a CRAVAT. Hero turns Dragon over into an Indian Deathlock. I hear Jim Ross going nuts over it somewhere. Ten bucks if you get that. CRAVAT by Hero but Dragon bridges back and knees Hero in the head. That is flexibility. Cravat into a snapmare into a 1 count by Hero. Headscissors by Dragon but Hero turns him over and dig his knuckles into Dragon’s thighs, spreading his knees apart. This is fantastic. Dragon goes after Hero’s ankle and starts going for the Mexican Surfboard but Hero blocks him from lifting it up. Dragon goes after the ankle by staying on the mat while Hero stands, which is smart because it harder to defend against. Dragon kicks at Hero from there, but Hero catches it and turns it into an STF! Hero turns into a Camel Clutch and wrenches Dragon’s neck around. Dragon rolls and turns it into the Chinese Torture. Hero tries to turn into an Oklahoma Roll but Dragon keeps the hold on. Dragon backs Hero into the ropes and gives him a Euro uppercut. Hero fires back with STIFF forearms. Cravat by Hero but Dragon goes for CATTLE MUTILATION but Hero is in the ropes. He won with that in the last match after picking apart Hero’s arm. Hero knocks Dragon down with an evil forearm strike. Hero charges Dragon in the corner…MAFIA KICK. Hero’s limping a little bit, though. Hero calls for Hero’s Welcome, but Dragon reverses into a bridging pin to go up 1-0 at 15:11. Woo, that was good stuff.

After that pin, Dragon gets angry because of that mafia kick Hero gave him while he was in the ropes. Hero looks ready to strike, but Dragon keeps begging off. Roaring forearm by Hero gets 2. The striking plays into Hero’s “Highland losing streak” where many said he needed to get more aggressive in his offense. Dragon cuts off Hero by dropkicking his forearm in the middle of a strike attempt. Inverted Scorpion Deathlock with an added armbar by Dragon. He then argues with the ref while standing on Hero’s arm. Hero lost his elbow pad on that arm which exposes a bandage. Ahh, it got injured in Philly a week prior says Prazak. Hero blocks a roaring forearm. He fires forearms with his good arm. Alabama Slam by Hero followed by a senton for 2. Arik Cannon comes out, I guess to distract Hero. Hero goes for Cannon’s Saito Suplex but gets hit with a ROARING ELBOW…for 2. Dragon goes for Cattle Mutilation again, but Hero blocks. Dragon goes for a rana, but gets POWERBOMBED into the HANGMAN’S CLUTCH! Dragon makes the ropes but Hero locks it back in and then hits the HERO’S WELCOME to even it up at 1-1 at 21:45.

The third fall begins as Hero goes up top but Dragon cuts him off. Superplex by Dragon! He heads back up for the Flying Wolverine….no one home. Hero the heads up top for a missile dropkick, but Dragon moves and locks in the CATTLE MUTILATION! But Hero rolls out and hooks on the HANGMAN’S CLUTCH, but not with the stepover toehold. Dragon gets out of that and hooks in the MUTA LOCK. Hero breaks his bridge and hooks on a CRAVAT while still in the MUTA LOCK! They struggle back and forth until Bryce calls for the bell at 24:30. Apparently both men tapped out at the same time, making this a draw. That’s a new one.

Post-match, Dragon argues that Hero submitted first. Hero demands a re-match but Dragon says he never signed on for one and starts to leave with Arik Cannon. New alliance? Ian then comes out and asks when Dragon became such a chickenshit. Ian says Dragon and Hero will wrestle again in a 60-minute Iron Man Match, but Dragon still refuses. That is until Ian threatens to tell Shawn Michaels his trainee being a pussy. Dragon then agrees and stomps off to the back. Too bad that, to my knowledge, that match never happened.

Rating: ***3/4. That first fall had all the makings of a five-star match, but they seemed to lose some focus in the second and third falls. Hero’s leg was weakened, so why suddenly switch to working the arm, Dragon? Why not go after the arm to begin with like last match? Then after that, the finish involved Hero using that hurt arm to make Dragon tap. Still an entertaining match, but was shaping up to be a classic.

IWA HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH
Petey Williams © vs. C.M. Punk

Petey won the belt by beating BJ Whitmer in May, and was preparing to defend it in the TPI that week. He was also the current X-Division Champion in TNA. Punk is a 4-time former IWA champion, last holding the belt in October of 2002. They go to the mat to begin. Doesn’t everyone? Monkey flip by Petey into an armdrag then an armbar. Punk goes for a monkey flip but Petey tries for a Sharpshooter but Punk gets away. I’m getting distracted by Nate Webb and AJ Styles arguing on commentary. Petey goes up top but Punk catches him on his shoulders, which Petey reverses into an armdrag. Punk catches Petey in an up-and-over, but Petey reverses it looking for the Canadian Destroyer, but Punk bails out of the ring. “No piledriver for me.”-Punk. Chops back and forth on the outside. Punk tries to do the Ric Flair up and over, but gets stuck and falls. Damn, a rare botch by Punk. Punk heads up top and gets caught with an axehandle to the stomach. He tries to go low on Petey but Petey catches his arm. They botch an armdrag after that. What the hell? Tilt-a-whirl backbreaker by Punk. Punk slaps on a headlock. They’re working very old school here. Punk throws Petey to the outside and slams his back into the post. Small package by Petey for 2 and Punk knees him back down. Back suplex by Punk gets 2. They exchange forearms and Petey looks for the Canadian Destroyer again, but Punk blocks it into the Hammerlock Leg Sweep DDT…for 2. Punk comes off the top and misses, and Petey tries for a Sharpshooter but Punk avoids it again. Springboard crossbody by Petey, followed by a Tornado DDT…for 2. Punk avoids the Canadian Destroyer again, and gets an enziguri for 2. Pepsi Twist by Punk gets 2. Petey reverses a whip into a Swinging Neckbreaker. That was crisp. Punk gets Petey up for a Pepsi Plunge, then goes for a sunset flip powerbomb but Petey gets dropped face first. Petey locks on the Sharpshooter and Punk taps out at 20:04.