By Chris Vetter, Torch Contributor

IWA-MS report
Sept. 9, 2005
Midlothian, Ill.


IWA-Mid South returned to Midlothian, Ill., on Friday, Sept. 9, 2005. The park district building in Midlothian – a Chicago suburb – has become the top-drawing building for IWA-Mid South. Last month’s show was perhaps the best of the year. This event is certainly among the top five of the year as well, and some people would argue it topped last month’s show.

Attendance is 130 paid, and the show gets underway at 7:36 p.m. Promoter Ian Rotten welcomes the crowd to the show, and announces that his head injury – a hairline crack in his skull -- will likely lead to a full retirement. “I’m pretty much done,” Rotten said. The crowd gave him a standing ovation of thanks, and Rotten teared up.

However, Rotten announced good news – IWA-Mid South will stay open beyond the end of this year. “It looks like this dream is going to continue,” Rotten said.

Rotten announced several participants for the King of Death Match tournament next month, which now includes Tank, Supreme, Lonestar, Iceberg, Mad Man Pondo, 2 Tuff Tony, Corporal Robinson and Rude Boy. IWA-Mid South will return to Midlothian on Oct. 15.

CM Punk was in the building again, and he watched most of the show from the merchandise table.

(1) Claudio Castognoli defeats Jayson Reign at 7:39. Good match, and a nice way to open the show. Claudio came out wearing his trademark sportscoat and tie, and the crowd treated him like a face tonight. Reign, bald, shorter and stocky, is the heel. They opened with some arbars, and Reign hit some stiff forearms. Claudio came back with some hard European Uppercuts.

Reign applied a Figure Four Leglock, and he focused on Claudio’s left leg. Claudio came back with more European Uppercts and a backbody drop. Reign hit a Northern Lights Suplex and a Bronco Driver/body slam for a nearfall. Reign hit a nice butterfly suplex off the ropes. Claudio came back with an overhead RKO cutter. Claudio then hit the Pyramid Bomb/cross-arm powerbomb for the pin. Good opener.

(2) “Spyder” Nate Webb defeats Marek Brave at 8:03. These two have met a couple times before, and each won once. This match is for the #1 contender spot to the light-heavyweight title. Brave hit some armdrags and a dropkick. Webb pulled Marek halfway out of the ring, so Marek’s feet were hanging on the ring apron, and Webb gave Marek a DDT onto the floor! Ouch!

Webb turned a wheelbarrow into a nice abdominal stretch, pulling Marek’s head backward toward his feet. Brave came back with a uranage, then a spear-into-a-floatover Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall at 6:30. Brave hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Nate tied Brave up on the mat. Marek flipped Webb, and Webb landed awkwardly on his head. Brave hit a Standing Side Kick/Sweet Chin Music for a believable nearfall. However, Nate reversed the cover and rolled up Marek for the win. There were some mis-timed moves early, but this was good high-flying action.

(3) KUDO defeats Brandon Thomaselli at 12:32. KUDO, the Japanese wrestler, came out in his shiny black pants with yellow trim; his offense is similar to Tajiri. Brandon has changed his look so he looks like the Ultimate Warrior, with plenty of tassels on his outfit, a big green jacket, and facepaint. The crowd didn’t seem to like the gimmick, though.

They opened with some standing switches, armholds and headlocks. Thomaselli applied a headscissorslock. KUDO hit a nice dropkick and chops, and the crowd is into this action. At 6:30, they began trading hard, HARD spine kicks, back and forth, with each sounding more vicious! Thomselli hit a Gorilla Press and a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. KUDO hit an enziguri. Thomaselli shook the ropes (the crowd did not pop for this Warrior stuff). KUDO hit some hard spin kicks to the stomach at 10:00.

KUDO hit a Tajiri-style spin kick to the head for a nearfall. Brandon came back with a spinning modified Death Valley Driver, then a Pele Kick. KUDO came back with three more Tajiri-style spin kicks to the head! KUDO then hit a top-rope double knees drop to Brandon’s chest for the pin. The crowd gave these two a standing ovation for this match, chanting “KUDO!” and “Please come back.” Very good, buzzworthy match.

SIDE NOTE: Mickie Knuckles, a woman, recently won a battle royal to become No. 1 contender for the IWA-Mid South Heavyweight Title. She will get her title shot on Sept. 24.

The Iron Saints (Sal & Vito Thomaselli) came to the ring. They proclaimed they would win the vacant tag titles on Saturday in Plymouth, Ind. (NOTE: They did, too!) Both men cut heel promos on Ian Rotten, saying it was easy to take him out of action, and they proclaimed themselves as the kings of IWA-Mid South. Mickie Knuckles came out, and she challenged the Iron Saints to a tag match.

(4) Mickie Knuckles & CJ Otis defeat Sal & Vito Thomaselli via DQ at 10:24. Wow, this topped all my expectations. Sal is bald, and Vito has long black hair; they both have similar tattoos. CJ Otis, with his floppy blonde hair and yellowish-green singlet, looked like Curt Hennig here. Otis has put on a lot of muscle mass in the last few months, too.

Vito and Otis open with some chain wrestling, and Mickie tagged in at 2:00, and the crowd pops for her. Sal offered his face to Mickie, telling her to give it her best shot. Pretty soon, these two are NAILING each other with some stiff clubbing forearms. Sal then nailed her with a hard clothesline. Vito came in, kicked her in the chest, and he tossed her around the ring by her hair.

The heels are in firm control, with plenty of illegal switches. Knuckles fired back, and she twisted Vito’s long hair, and tossed him around the ring by it at 7:30. Otis made the hot tag and he hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Sal, then a German Suplex on Vito. Vito hit Mickie with a bulldog. The action briefly spilled to the floor. Just when it appeared the faces were setting up the Saints for a pinning combination, IWA-Mid South champion Jimmy Jacobs attacked Knuckles, causing the DQ.

Jacobs used a belt and gouged Mickie’s forehead with it; Mickie is bleeding. Jim Fannin – a co-promoter – ran into the ring to save Mickie, but Jacobs & the Saints beat him down too. Ian Rotten wants to run in the ring! However, his wife (who works at every show) stopped him from getting in the ring. Good drama. Chris Hero ran in the ring to save Mickie. Almost immediately, Arik Cannon ran in behind Hero, and he hit him with a back suplex! Suddenly, the whole locker room has emptied into the ring to stop this chaos. Fun, wild segment.

(5) Eric Priest & Chandler McClure defeat Ryan Boz & Trik Davis in an anything-goes match at 11:09. The stipulation of this match is the losing team must break up, and can no longer be a tag team in IWA-Mid South. Priest is the male model, McClure is the heelish referee, Trik is the under-sized babyface, and Boz is the biggest, most muscular of these four.

They brawled to the floor immediately. Trik and McClure fought each other, and McClure sent Davis flying into rows of chairs. Trik came back with a headscissors takedown, sending McClure into the wall. The faces worked over McClure in the ring. Trik hit a forward roll dive to the floor on Priest. Priest grabbed Trik and flipped him into the wall. Priest slammed Boz’ head on a chair.

Trik dove through the ropes onto McClure, and both landed in rows of chairs at 6:00. McClure ran Trik’s head hard into the ring post. Boz punched Priest, and he back body dropped him onto the open chairs. Priest slammed a chair across Boz’ back. Trik hit a running headscissors takedown from the ring apron to the floor on Priest at 9:00, and the crowd chanted “Trik!” The heels came back and hit Trik with a spike piledriver for a nearfall. Suddenly, a muscular “fan” sitting in the front row jumped up and attacked Boz! This allowed the heels to hit Boz with a spike piledriver, with Priest pinning Boz. After the match, Priest introduced the muscular man as Mike Walker, one of his trainees. Good brawl.

(6) James Gibson defeats Matt Sydal at 16:28. Good match. Gibson wore his ROH World Heavyweight Title to the ring. They traded armlocks, and Sydal hit some quick armdrags, a snap headscissors takedown, and a dropkick. Gibson came back with some hard chops. Sydal hit a spin heel kick for a nearfall at 5:00. They brawled to the floor and traded chops.

Back in the ring, Gibson hit a gutbuster over his knee and a spine kick. Sydal applied a Boston Crab. Gibson went for a German release suplex, but Sydal landed on his feed, and he caught Gibson with a Tornado DDT, and both were down at 12:00. Sydal hit a jump-up hurricanrana as Gibson sat on the top rope. Gibson tried a rollup, but he grabbed Sydal’s tights, and the ref refused to count, as he admonished Gibson.

They traded stiff forearms, and Gibson hit a spinebuster for a nearfall at 15:00. Gibson planted several knee shots to the side of Sydal’s head. Sydal came back with his pumphandle sitdown piledriver, but he missed a Shooting Star Press. Gibson hit a Tiger Powerbomb for the pin. Very good action.

(7) Josh Abercrombie defeats Tyler Black at 18:44 to retain the Light-Heavyweight title in a TLC match. Wow, this was a hard-hitting spotfest, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. While this was billed as a TLC match, it was basically a hardcore match with tables, ladders and chairs set up at ringside – the title was NOT hanging from the ceiling.

Black opened with a clothesline and a spin kick. Abercrombie hit a dropkick to the knee, but he missed an Arabian facebuster. Abercrombie dropkicked the ladder onto Black. Black picked up Abercrombie and dropped him facefirst from the ring apron through a table at ringside. Black placed a folded chair on Abercrombie, and he hit a Shooting Star Press on him at 6:00. Abercrombie was bleeding.

Black stood on top of the ladder, and he reached down and smacked Abercrombie in the face with a chairshot. He then hit a legdrop off the ladder onto Josh’s shoulder. The crowd is really hot. Abercrombie slingshots Black onto the ladder, and both were down at 8:30. Abercrombie threw a chair at Black’s head. Black was tied up, with his feet caught in the ladder, and Abercrombie gave him a DDT onto an open chair!

Black hit a back suplex through a table at 12:00, drawing a “Holy sh—” chant. In a cool spot, Black was on the ladder, and Josh jumped off the top rope and caught him for a Taliban Backpack/lungblower for a believable nearfall at 15:00. Four chairs were set up in the ring. Tyler hit a cradle DDT onto the chairs! The crowd was on its feet!

A table was set up in the ring, and they fought on top of it. Abercrombie placed Black on the table, and he hit a Phoenix Splash/corkscrew press from the top rope through the table for the pin. The crowd chanted “IWA” at this action. Wow; I give this match of the night.

Ian Rotten came out and said that Black would get one more final chance at the light heavyweight title, this time in a scaffold match!

(8) Jimmy Jacobs defeats Delirious at 14:13 to retain the IWA-Mid South Heavyweight Title. Good match, but not at the level of their hot series of matches from late last year & earlier this year. Jacobs, who is a full-fledged heel, came out to his Superman music. Delirious took the early advantage with a series of clotheslines and chops, and Jacobs did a Flair Flop.

Delirious hit a headbutt and he applied a Camel Clutch, raking at Jacobs’ face. Jacobs knocked Delirious off the top turnbuckle to the floor, and Delirious crashed hard. Jacobs was in charge from there, with several pinfall attempts, and he became frustrated that he couldn’t put Delirious away. Delirious hit a back body drop and a flying clothesline off the top-rope for a nearfall at 10:30.

Jacobs hit his inverted Pedigree for a nearfall. Delirious nailed his Panic Attack/running knee in the corner for a nearfall. Delirious blocked Jacobs’ Contra Code/spinning overhead bulldog, and Delirious crotched Jacobs in the corner. However, Jacobs hit Delirious with a spike and he won it with a top-rope senton splash for the win.

After the match, James Gibson attacked Jacobs, and he called him “a low-life cheat.” Gibson promised he would win the title from Jacobs on Saturday. (Note: He didn’t!)

(9) Chris Hero defeats Arik Cannon in an I Quit match at 37:31. Another great match between these two. Not only must the loser say “I quit,” he also must say “I respect you” after the match to the winner. Like the match last month, these two stayed away from the usual mat wrestling, as this is a brawl.

They immediately traded hard chops and stiff forearms, and the action spilled to the floor, as they traded punches and thud-sounding headbutts. Hero nailed some European Uppercuts. The chops and forearms continued, back and forth, until Hero hit a hard headbutt at 7:00 that finally sent Cannon to the ground. Cannon came back with a modified Figure Four Leglock on the floor. They finally climbed back into the ring at 9:30. Hero hit a senton. The action spilled to the floor again, as Cannon hit a Mafia Kick to the face. Hero worked over Cannon’s leg, with a single-leg crab and a Figure Four. Cannon placed Hero’s feet on the ring apron, and he gave Hero a spinning neckbreaker to the floor at 19:00.

They re-entered the ring, and Hero hit a German Release suplex and a powerslam. Hero dove through the ropes onto Cannon, and they both landed in rows of chairs. Hero applied a Boston Crab, which placing a chair over the back of Cannon’s neck, trying to get him to submit, at 25:00. Cannon was screaming at the moves, but he refused to give up.

In the ring, Hero hit a Glimmering Warlock/step-up enziguri (Cannon’s move!) for a nearfall. He missed a second attempt, and Cannon applied a Hangman’s Clutch/modified Crippler Crossface (Hero’s move!) at 29:00. Cannon hit two Glimmering Warlocks and went for a cover, but the ref reminded him there are no pinfalls in this match.

The action spilled to the floor again. Hero shouted “respect me” as he slapped Cannon in the face. Cannon grabbed a roll of tape, and he taped over his mouth! Back in the ring, Hero applied a Sharpshooter, and Cannon tapped out at 35:30, but he couldn’t say “I quit.” Cannon hit a back suplex. Hero hit an Alabama Slam, removed the tape, and applied a Hangman’s Clutch, and Cannon said “I quit” to end the match.

After a staredown, Cannon grabbed the mic and said, “Chris Hero, I respect you,” and the crowd applauded. They shook hands, but Cannon spit on Hero and ran from the ring. Hero was upset, but he said that he doesn’t have to prove himself any more. He promised he would win the Ted Petty Invitational in two weeks, as the show ended.

Final thoughts: The show ended at 11:50 p.m., so another four-hour show from IWA-Mid South; Ian makes sure fans get plenty of action for their money. The TLC match edged out Cannon-Hero for my favorite match; both were very good. KUDO-Thomaselli and Gibson-Sydal also were really strong matches. Nothing below average again for the second straight Midlothian show. This show will be available for purchase soon at www.smartmarkvideo.com, and it is highly recommended.

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