By Chris Vetter, Torch Contributor

IWA-Mid South is hosting its big “Ted Petty Invitational” this weekend in Hammond, Ind., to honor the late wrestler, who was known for all styles of wrestling. The TPI is undoubtedly the biggest event of the year for this promotion, and that should be no different this weekend, with A.J. Styles, James Gibson, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, American Dragon, Chris Hero, Matt Sydal, Delirious and Arik Cannon participating in the two-day tournament.

If you live in the Chicago area or northern Indiana, and you have not seen IWA-Mid South before, this weekend will be a good place to start! Read more about the tournament at www.iwamidsouthwrestling.com.

This is a look back at last year’s TPI, which was held Friday, Sept. 17, and Saturday, Sept. 18, 2004. The tape of this show is available at www.smartmarkvideo.com for $40; that’s a steep price, but it is well worth the money, with 31 matches over two days.

The crowd on Friday, Sept. 17, 2004, is about 275-300.

(1) Mercedes Martinez defeats Lacey at 11:07 to win the women’s title. Lacey wrapped Mercedes’ arm around the ring pole, and she choked her on the ropes. Mercedes applied a single-leg crab and the crowd chanted for Lacey to tap out! Mercedes grapevined the leg, in a move similar to a figure four, and Lacey screamed in pain. Lacey was unable to keep her shoulders off the mat and she was pinned for the upset.

(2) Matt Sydal defeats Sal Rinauro at 9:35. Good match. Sydal hit a spin heel kick and the crowd popped. He hit an impressive dive over the top rope. Rinauro hit a second-rope superplex and some neckbreakers. Sydal won it with a belly-to-belly suplex from the top rope. Awesome finish.

(3) Nate Webb defeats Hallowicked at 8:42. Ok match. Lots of good reversals, then they traded some stiff forearms. Webb hit a dropkick then a HARD clothesline. Hallowicked came back with a hurricanrana and a sitdown powerbomb for a nearfall. Webb won it with his Soilent Green is People, where he takes his opponent from off his shoulder and spins him down into a faceplant on the mat.

(4) Rainman defeats Chris Sabin at 10:16. Undoubtedly the upset of the first round. Sabin nailed a headscissors takedown for a nearfall. Rainman hit an awesome butterfly underhook suplex. Sabin dove onto Rainman on the floor and landed hard. Rainman hit a spinebuster. Sabin nailed him with a springboard missile dropkick. Sabin hit a devastating double underhook piledriver, which Rainman (unfortunately) doesn’t sell. Rainman applies a Camel Clutch, then he won it with a sitdown powerbomb. Good stuff, but Rainman really should have sold that awesome piledriver.

(5) CM Punk defeats Austin Aries at 16:44. Best match of both nights, with plenty of believable nearfalls. They opened with some quick reversals, then Aries landed a boot to Punk’s mouth. Aries hit a basement dropkick. Punk dove through the ropes onto Aries. They brawled on the floor, and Punk tried for a Shining Wizard, but he hit the ring pole! Back in the ring, Aries worked over Punk’s knee. Aries hit his awesome pendulum elbow drop. Punk absolutely nailed Aries with a Shining Wizard. Aries came back with a crossbody block. Punk hit a hard German Suplex for a believable nearfall, then a spinning uranage for a nearfall. Aries hit a superplex for another believable nearfall. Punk then won it with a Pepsi Plunge/Pedigree from the top rope. Unbelievably good.

(6) Danny Daniels defeats Todd Sexton at 10:54. Ok match; it had difficulty following Punk-Aries. They traded forearms. Sexton hit a dropkick to Daniels’ knee. Daniels hits a doublestomp then dropped down for a senton. Daniels hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. Sexton applied an anklelock, then later a sharpshooter. Daniels won it with his awesome Rubic’s Cube piledriver, where he places his opponent on his shoulders, and spins him down into a pin. Last three minutes were really good.

(7) Jimmy Jacobs defeats Delirious at 16:56 in a ladder match to win the vacant light-heavyweight title. (This match was not part of the TPI tournament). They took turns throwing each other into the ladder. Delirious hit a running clothesline in the corner. Jacobs’ body was inside the ladder, and he used it as a battering ram into Delirious’ stomach. Jacobs pulled out a spike and he jabbed Delirious in the head, who bleeds a lot. Delirious hit his Shadows over Hell/frogsplash to the back on Jacobs. At 9:00, Delirious got a table. They brawled into the crowd, and Delirious tried to ducttape Jacobs to the ring ropes. Jacobs tried to jump off the ladder onto Delirious, but the ladder wobbled, and Jacobs landed pretty ugly on the ropes. Jacobs recovered and he climbed the ladder. Delirious kicked the ladder out from underneath, but Jacobs had grabbed the title and pulled it down.

(8) Mike Quackenbush defeats Chris Hero at 16:34. The Chikara students watched from ringside. Very, very good match. They opened with lots of mat reversals and armbars. Quackenbush applied a Rings of Saturn/double-armhook, then he flipped Hero over into a nearfall. Quack tied up Hero’s leg and applied a headlock, and he kept working over Hero’s neck. Hero came back with an overhead suplex, then pancaked him with an Alabama Slam. Quackenbush won it with a rollup.

(9) A.J. Styles defeats Jimmy Rave at 12:41. Styles worked over the left wrist. Rave has a cocky look after nailing a chop. Styles hit a hard standing dropkick for a nearfall, then a jumping knee. Rave connected on a Northern Lights suplex, and he turned the move into an armscissorslock. A.J. nailed a brainbuster suplex for a nearfall. Rave applied a Crippler Crossface. Styles locked Rave’s legs, and he pulled back viciously on Rave’s head until Rave submitted.

(10) Samoa Joe defeats Roderick Strong at 14:18 This was an incredibly stiff match and the second-best of the night. Really hard-hitting match. Joe started with some quick takedowns and hard chops. Joe hit a uranage/Rock Bottom, and the crowd chanted, “he is dead.” This certainly looked like it could end early. Joe hit his running facewash, his chop/punch combo, then he dove onto Strong on the floor. However, Strong fought back with a sidewalk slam on the floor and a backbreaker over his knee in the ring. Joe was bleeding at 10:00. Joe applied an STF variation, but Strong reached the ropes. Strong hit a pumphandle into a powerslam move, for a believable nearfall, then a Mafia Kick for another nearfall. But Joe won it with his musclebuster headplant from the second rope.

(11) Nigel McGuiness defeats “Double C” Claudio Castognoli at 13:30. This was my first time seeing Double C, and I was impressed. Nigel tied up CC’s legs and he applied a Cravat. They have a standoff after a series or reversals. Double C worked over the neck. Nigel does a headstand in the corner and Double C ran in, only to have Nigel get a DDT out of it. CC hit a swinging neckbreaker. Nigel applied a Rings of Saturn/double-arm hook, and Castognoli submitted. Good stuff.

(12) American Dragon defeats Alex Shelley at 14:42. Very good technical matchup. Dragon hit a dropkick and Shelley stalled on the floor. Shelley tied Dragon’s arms around his throat. Shelley blew his nose on Dragon, and he hit a backbreaker over his knee. Dragon tied up Shelley’s legs and applied a bow & arrow submission hold. Shelley drove Dragon’s head repeatedly into the mat. Dragon fired back with some stiff European uppercuts. Dragon hit a superplex from the top rope, then winds up Shelley for an airplane spin that just kept going and going. Cool. Dragon won it with a rollup from behind. Fun match.

(13) Arik Cannon defeats Super Dragon at 13:43. Hard-hitting match, third best of night 1. They hit some quick reversals and they exchanged chops and forearms. They traded some Curbstomps. Cannon suplexed him into the turnbuckle. OUCH. Cannon hit a twisting neckbreaker, but Dragon got his feet on the ropes. Cannon missed a Cannonball/top-rope senton. Dragon hit some stiff spine kicks and Kawada kicks to the face. Cannon hit a Glimmering Warlock, and Dragon bailed to the floor. Cannon then hit a side slam, dropping Dragon on his head. Cannon hit a second Glimmering Warlock/step-up enziguri for the pin. Very good match.

(14) Petey Williams defeats B.J. Whitmer at 12:48 to retain the IWA-MS title (and advance in the tournament). Good match, but the crowd had lost a bit of energy by this one. Whitmer was nailing some hard boots. Petey punched Whitmer in the face and hit a couple hurricanranas. Whitmer flipped Williams straight over his head, and Williams landed on his head. OUCH. Petey hit a crucifix for a nearfall. Whitmer connects with a uranage, a running knee, and he blocked two Canadian Destroyer attempts. Petey applied a Sharpshooter, but Whitmer reached the ropes. Petey won it with a Canadian Destroyer/flip piledriver, to end an awesome night one.

Great show, ended at 12:45 p.m.


The two-day tournament continued on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2004, with 6 second-round matches, 3 third-round matches and a three-way dance final. The show started at 7:36 p.m.

(1) McManus defeats Thunderbolt & McNeil in a three-way dance at 4:39. Terrible match, and shouldn’t have been part of this prestigious weekend. McManus & McNeil are much smaller, and they tried to work together to beat up Thunderbolt. Highlight of this match was T-Bolt giving simultaneous suplexes to both guys. But, this may be the worst match I’ve seen in a dozen IWA-MS events, either live or on tape. None of these guys have wrestled in IWA-Mid South in the past year, either.

(2) Jimmy Jacobs defeats Sal Rinauro at 8:28 to retain the light-heavyweight title. Sal immediately hit a backbreaker and a back body drop. Jacobs nailed some hard chops. Sal dropped Jacobs on his head, hit a top-rope elbow, and he suplexed Jacobs back into the ring. Jacobs connected on two straight senton splashes for the win. Jacobs appeared to still be hobbling from last night’s nasty bump.

(3) Steve Stone vs. Ian Rotten ends around 9:20 when Chris Candido debuted and helped beat down Rotten. This is quite a scene as Patti (Rotten’s wife) came to ringside and screamed at NWA promoter Ed Chuman to stop the match, but he wouldn’t. Candido & Stone just beat on Ian repeatedly. Crowd popped for Candido at first, but then chanted “f--- you Skip” at him. I don’t like that a no-DQ, falls count anywhere match ended without a pinfall. It just... ended.

(4) Rainman pins Danny Daniels at 9:57 to advance to round 3. Rainman hit some hard punches. Daniels nailed a forward roll senton, somewhat similar to an RVD Rolling Thunder. Rainman connected on a couple of Mafia Kicks, then he applied a Camel Clutch, but Daniels reached the ropes. Daniels hit a missile dropkick then a devastating German Suplex. Rainman hit his sitdown powerbomb (which he won his first tourney match with) for a believable nearfall. Daniels hit a top-rope superplex, but Rainman rolled him up on the mat to win it! Another surprising win for Rainman.

(5) Samoa Joe defeats Nigel McGuiness at 13:25 to advance to round 3. We get a nice “Let’s go Joe,” “Let’s go Nigel,” chant going. Nigel tried to ground Joe with headlocks and leg holds. Awesome spot where Nigel does his headstand in the corner, and Joe just comes in with a running Mafia Kick to the head. Awesome. Nigel fired back with a stiff clubbing forearm that had Joe stumbling briefly. Joe came back with his hard knees into the side of Nigel’s head, and applies the triangle choke for the win. Good stuff.

(6) Hallowicked & Jigsaw & Larry Sweeney defeat Icarus & Gran Akuma & Trik Davis at 9:58. These are all Chikara students, except Trik Davis. I really like Gran Akuma and Jigsaw, but the crowd here loved Larry Sweeney. The first few minutes were really slow, but it finished hot with lots of false finishes. Icarus & Gran Akuma hit a pair of nice dives through the ropes. Davis does a hurricanrana onto the floor. Icarus landed a DDT on Jigsaw for a 2-count. Hallowicked gave Icarus a superplex for the win.

(7) A.J. Styles defeats Matt Sydal at 12:36 to advance to round 3. Unbelievably good, among top four matches of the weekend. They started with some good matwork, but Styles started hitting some stiff forearms, and Sydal winds up on the floor. Styles hit a plancha over the top rope onto Sydal. Styles was getting in a lot of offense, with his standing dropkick, kicks to Sydal’s back, and his Kip-Up Hurricanrana. Sydal came back with a moonsault corkscrew plancha to the floor, a bow & arrow and a spin heel kick. Sydal went for a Shooting Star Press, but Styles blocked it by getting his legs up. In the coolest spot in the match, Sydal somehow countered a Styles Clash with an infrared-type move (like Amazing Red does). Styles won this breathtaking match with a second-rope Styles Clash. WOW.

(8) MsChif defeats Mickie Knucles and Mercedes Martinez and Daizee Haze and Lacey and Rain in a six-woman elimination match at 12:41. Lacey and Rain opened against each other, but then tag out after some safe “friendly” offense. Mickie Knuckles and Mercedes Martinez hit each other hard. Rain got a sitdown powerbomb on Daizee Haze for a nearfall. Mercedes pinned Rain at 9:46. Mercedes then pinned Knuckles at 10:22. Lacey hit a DDT on Haze and pinned her at 11:00. Mercedes pinned Lacey with a German Suplex at 11:21. MsChif then pinned Mercedes at 12:41 with a headplant. Good match, but I hate rapid-fire pins – it just feels phony.

(9) Arik Cannon pins Petey Williams at 12:18 to win the IWA-MS Heavyweight title. Very good match. Cannon also advanced in the tournament. Petey hit a standing hurricanrana. Cannon hitshis spinning neckbreaker, while Williams’ feet are on the top rope. Cannon laid in the chops and forearms. “This is for you, fatboy,” Cannon shouts at someone in the crowd, then gave Williams a suplex. Petey came back with a spinning DDT and a Sharpshooter. Cannon hit a brainbuster, then is able to block Williams’ attempted flip piledriver. Cannon hits Petey with a Glimmering Warlock/kick to the back of the head to win the match and the title.

(10) Mike Quackenbush defeats Nate Webb at 7:26 to advance. They shook hands to start, then we have a fast-paced opening minute of running the ropes and pinfall attempts. Quack put Webb in a hanging pendulum. Webb connected on a moonsault to the floor. Quack applied an anklelock and an inverted brainbuster that looked like it could have killed Webb. Quack then wrapped Webb’s body around Quackenbush’s back, so Webb’s arms and legs are toward Quack’s stomach. Quack clasped his hands together, pulling Webb around Quack’s back. Webb quickly tapped out to this cool and painful-looking hold. While this was shorter than most matches, it was really good.

(11) American Dragon defeated CM Punk via tapout at 16:04 to advance. Punk got annoyed at a fan in crowd and Punk told him, “I hope your parents die.” Dragon dropkicked Punk in the face and hit him with his knee to the head. Punk came back with a spike piledriver, a standing neckbreaker for a nearfall, and a dropkick to the back of the head. Dragon hit a top-rope flying headbutt for a nearfall. At 13:00, both got back into the ring at a 19-count. Punk hit a shining wizard for a nearfall. Dragon blocks Punk’s Pepsi Plunge attempt. Punk tapped to the Cattle Mutilation/double armbar hold. Good match.

(12) The WildCards (Eddie Kingston & Blackjack Marciano) defeat Tank & Iceberg and Ryan Boz & Brad Bradley to win the tag titles at 16:40. Tank overpowered Kingston. In an unbelievable spot, Tank snapmared his partner, the 500-pound Iceberg, onto a prone Kingston. OUCH. Bradley entered the ring and hit some big kicks to Marciano’s face. Kingston hit a moonsault to the floor on Tank & Iceberg, but he landed funny. Boz dove through the ropes onto the big guys. Bradley tops that, by diving over the top rope onto everybody. Back in the ring, Tank gave Marciano a doublestomp on the chest. Boz & Bradley hit Marciano a Washing Machine, where Marciano is planted facefirst in the mat, while his hands are tied behind him, so nothing breaks the fall. Somehow, some powder is thrown in the ring, and Boz accidentally hit Bradley, and both fall to the floor. BlackJack Marciano pinned Tank, so Boz & Bradley lost the titles without getting pinned. Very good match; it exceeded my wildest expectations.

(13) Samoa Joe defeats Rainman at 0:57 to advance to the TPI finals. Rainman jumped Joe before the bell and he fired a lot of quick punches at him. Joe hit a hard clothesline that took his head off, and scored the quick pin. I had no problem with this short match, as it established the idea that Joe is an unstoppable force heading into the three-way final.

(14) A.J. Styles defeats Arik Cannon at 6:04 to advance to the finals. Very good for how short this was. Plenty of stiff punches and forearms. Cannon hit a snap brainbuster. AJ hits a big clothesline and a springboard elbow drop. Styles won it out of nowhere with a roaring clothesline. Initially, it appeared that Styles had won the IWA-Mid South title. However, after the match, Cannon said the title was NOT on the line. “I’m leaving as the IWA champ,” he said.

(Cheap plug: Styles and Cannon had a great 27-minute match in Minnesota in May 2004. That match can be seen on “Best of Arik Cannon, Volume 3.” Purchase that DVD at www.arikcannon.com. He also will have copies available at the shows this weekend.)

(15) American Dragon defeats Mike Quackenbush at 11:28 to advance to the finals. Really good mat matchup that was great to watch develop. Dragon wrestled more as a heel in this one, and at one point grinds Quack’s head into his groin. Dragon threw his European uppercuts but he missed with a flying headbutt. Quackenbush connected on a bulldog and basement dropkick, and he tried to apply his own Cattle Mutilation. Dragon connected on a cool airplane spin. Dragon applied the Cattle Mutilation/double armbar. Quack refused to tap, so Dragon rolled him over and scored a pin out of it. Good stuff.

After the match, Quackenbush told the crowd it was an honor to perform in front of them. He got a standing ovation and a “please come back” chant. Classy speech. (And he will be in the tournament again this year!)

(16) B.J. Whitmer won a seven-man elimination match at 10:22. This is a consolation match for wrestlers who were pinned in night one of the tournament. Everyone jumped Chris Sabin immediately, as it appeared he is the only face in the ring. They hit several spots where everyone is taking turns diving onto the floor. At 2:25, Sabin gave Todd Sexton a Copkillah and pinned him. OUCH. Austin Aries gave Sabin a vertical suplex, then a 450 splash and pinned him at 3:30. Alex Shelley rolled up Aries and pinned him at 4:03. Castognoli got Shelley to tap to a choke at 4:58. Castognoli and B.J. Whitmer began trading stiff forearms. At 5:59, Whitmer pinned Claudio after a Shining Wizard. Whitmer was bleeding from the forehead. Jimmy Rave hit him with some chops, then applied a Crippler Crossface. Whitmer won it with an Exploder Suplex on Rave for the pin. Quick action… but as I wrote above, I just don’t like all these quick pinfalls; it feels too phony.

(17) A.J. Styles defeats Samoa Joe and American Dragon at 14:32 to win the Ted Petty Invitational. Awesome match. The entire crowd got on its feet for this one and they are red-hot, despite already watching five hours of wrestling. The energized crowd has, in turn, energized the three wrestlers.

Joe put Styles in a one-legged crab. Joe flew through the middle ropes onto both guys. Joe hit his Ole kick. Dragon hit a running dropkick on Joe. Styles took down Joe with a hurricanrana. Joe hit a clothesline on Styles for a believable nearfall. Joe gave Dragon an enziguri. A.J. connected with a tornado clothesline on Dragon. Dragon hit Joe with a superplex. This is just insane, hot action. Joe got Dragon to tapout to his triangle choke at 10:40, leaving just Styles vs. Joe.

A.J. hits a spin heel kick to Joe’s face. They traded forearms. Styles tried to pick up Joe for a Styles Clash, but he couldn’t do it. Joe connected on his paintbrushes/slaps. Styles was then able to get Joe up for the Styles Clash and pin him to win this entertaining match, and conclude a spectacular wrestling weekend.

After the match, all the wrestlers came to the ring and applauded Styles. Suddenly, Petey Williams attacked Styles and hits him with the Canadian Destroyer/flip piledriver.

Final thoughts: Show ended at 1:10 a.m. The crowd stayed hot for more than five hours of wrestling action, and stood for the final match. This is a must-own tape/DVD, as this show is PACKED with great wrestling. The crowd roared “please come back” at Quackenbush, Iceberg & Tank, Rainman and many others.

This weekend, collectively, is the 2004 show of the year. I have watched every Ring of Honor show from 2004, but nothing comes close to topping this action.

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