The Independent Mid-Card 03.18.08: Abercrombie vs. Black vs. Brave
Posted by Samuel Berman on 03.18.2008
"I'm ok!"
Hey there people, where ya' been? Oh, that's right, I took last week off to attend the Wrestlemania Rewind RAW seeing as it was live in Milwaukee and all. But this week I'm back and kicking with a brand new edition of The Independent Mid-Card, complete with a look at the breakout star of Ring of Honor's tripleshot weekend. It takes careful booking and more than a teaspoon of luck to make sure that a new talent still gets over after a losing effort, but ROH seems to have pulled off that very maneuver this past weekend, as a brand new player seems to have arrived in the company's main event scene. In the spirit of March Madness, we say ‘welcome to the dance' in this week's IMC.
But, before I dive into this week's column, I want to take a moment to make a very special announcement. The Cool Kids' Table has finally made a big move, as we have finally debuted our own domain, the newly christened The Cool Kids' Table Dot Net. This site will now be the exclusive home of The Cool Kids' Table podcast, as well as the new base of operations for Brad Garoon & Jake Ziegler's tandem ROH Reviews. I'm going to be regularly contributing original content as well, and hope to be starting up a sports podcast soon. Please make The Cool Kids' Table Dot Net a part of your regular internet rotation!
The Wrestlers:
Josh Abercrombie – Debuting for IWA Mid-South in late-2003, Josh Abercrombie is a talented hybrid wrestler with an extensive amateur background. In 2005 IWA competition, Abercrombie had really begun to establish himself as a force amongst the company's many light heavyweight competitors, first winning the prestigious Simply the Best Tournament in April and then going on to defeat Delirious for the IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Title in June. This match would be Abercrombie's fourth title defense, as he had previously defeated Brandon Thomaselli, Matt Sydal, and Delirious to retain the strap.
Tyler Black – A student of 2003 Ted Petty Invitational winner and former IWA Mid-South World Heavyweight Champion Danny Daniels, Tyler Black debuted for IWA Mid-South in early-2005. Having previously wrestled for promotions like NWA No Limits, Black had developed a solid reputation around the Midwest in advance of arriving in IWA. With tall stature and an impressive combination of athleticism and power, Black was quickly separating himself from other young talents on the Independent scene. In recent IWA Mid-South competition, Black had earned a victory over crowd favorite Delirious, but had been unsuccessful in his bid to win the IWA Mid-South Tag Team Titles from the Iron Saints alongside Brandon Thomaselli.
Marek Brave – Like Tyler Black, "The Product" Marek Brave is a student of former IWA Mid-South star and current All American Wrestling promoter Danny Daniels. Though less polished than Black, Brave came into IWA Mid-South with his own level of fanfare, noted for his high flying ability and troublingly small tights. Leading into this match, Brave had traded wins with IWA stalwart "Spyder" Nate Webb.
The Match:
As a result of a War Games match being the main event, there are actually two side-by-side rings tonight. Also, the ropes look suspiciously loose. Marek Brave's music hits first and he makes his way to ringside. I have to say that Brave's tights appear remarkably small to me, and given his long black hair and skinny physique it makes for something of a strange visual. The End of Heartache by Killswitch Engage hits and Tyler Black heads through the curtain. Black seems rather subdued until he walks away from the crowd and begins his customary pre-match dance routine. Sorry, but I guess I'm just too suburban to get the point of dancing around to hype yourself up, no matter how ‘hardcore' it may look. Also, Black's ‘dance' appears to be more like a cross between a seizure and second-degree assault to me, but that's probably just because I'm into a different music scene than he is. IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Champion Josh Abercrombie enters last, and is not yet the throwback-to-the-90's Josh we'd come to know in more recent years, as he is accompanied by generic rock music I don't recognize and still has a more traditional appearance.
The match is announced as being for one fall with a 30-minute time limit. "The Product" Marek Brave is announced as hailing from Davenport, Iowa and is the first of Josh's two challengers. Tyler Black, whom I am accustomed to seeing billed from somewhere in Iowa, is instead announced as fighting out of somewhere in Massachusetts. Finally, the champion Josh Abercrombie makes this defense while residing in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It should be noted that the announce team for this match is Dave Prazak, Trik Davis and Black & Brave's trainer Danny Daniels. The referee calls for the bell and the match begins.
All three men look to lock things up to start. Black somersaults away from the other men as all three circle. We get a three-way knucklelock until Black and Josh lock Brave in stereo wristlocks. Brave flips out of it, but gets dropped to the mat. He nips back to his feet, so Black grabs a headlock and then Josh grabs a headlock on Black. Black sends Abercrombie off the ropes, but in turn gets sent off the ropes by Marek. Josh is able to stop short, but Tyler comes off the ropes right into an armdrag from Brave. Josh then armdrags Brave, only to be armdragged by Black. All three men back off and we've got a stalemate.
Brave prompts the crowd to clap as all three men move in for another lockup. Brave and Josh lock up and Marek rolls him up for two when Tyler comes in with a sunset flip on Brave for two when Josh takes Black over with a Gedo Clutch (camel clutch rolled forward into a cradle) for another two count. Marek and Josh then trade pinfall attempts by shifting their weight on an inside cradle, only to have Black eventually break things up by dropkicking both men, sending them rolling out to ringside.
Brave and Abercrombie brawl around ringside, all the way to the other side of the second ring. Black then comes running, dives over the top rope into the second ring, and then finally hits a tope con hilo onto both men at ringside. Black rolls Abercrombie back into the ring and hits a suplex before rolling over right into the cover for two. Tyler continues the assault by grabbing a front facelock and smashing Josh in the head with knee strikes, but then releases to switch over to clubbing forearms instead. Josh gets chopped against the ropes, but reverses and Irish whip and Black forearms Marek off the apron to the floor. Tyler turns around right into a clothesline from Abercrombie that sends him out to ringside as well. Josh then hops out to the apron and hits both men with a springboard corkscrew body press. To be fair, Josh did head-fake on the dive first in a weird moment, but he totally redeems himself by popping up from the dive and shouting "I'm ok!" at the top of his lungs.
Josh rolls Marek into the ring and hits him with a clubbing forearm and then a forearm to the face. Josh whips Brave off the ropes and takes him down with a drop toehold before coming off the ropes himself and knocking Marek loopy with a knee strike to the side of the head. A running basement dropkick then earns Josh a two count before Brave kicks out. Josh strikes Marek against the ropes and then gets an Irish whip, but Brave is able to stop short. Brave baits Josh into running at him and then low bridges the rope, sending Josh crashing out onto Tyler at ringside with a suicide dive. Marek then climbs to the top and hits both men with a no-look moonsault press to the floor.
Brave is the first one back to his feet and hits Josh with a clubbing forearm before rolling him back in for more of the same. Josh begins to make the comeback with a shot to the midsection, but Brave comes back with a pair of forearms to the face, the second of which sends Josh rolling backwards into the first ring. Marek follows him through the ropes and strikes him into the corner for a couple of stiff chops to the chest. Brave goes for a cross-corner whip, but Josh reverses it and catches him on a floatover attempt. Unfortunately for him, Brave is able to reverse that right into a reverse rana that plants Josh right on his head.
Black has climbed back into the ring and is able to break up Brave's jackknife cradle at two with a standing shooting star press. Black sets up for the Peroxide Driver (twisting inverted brainbuster), but Brave flips out of it and goes for a reverse hiptoss. Black lands on his feet and then ducks a clothesline before landing the Peroxide Driver for two when Josh breaks things up with a dropkick.
Josh moves in on Black, but Tyler starts striking away at the champion. Black whips Josh into the corner, but runs into a boot on the blind charge and Josh hops up to the second rope before hitting the Taliban Backpack (jumping lungblower). Josh frantically pulls Black away from the ropes, but Brave makes the save at the very last second. All three men are down as the fans begin to clap loudly.
Brave pulls Josh to his feet, but Abercrombie begins to strike away at him. Josh comes running, only to get caught with a reverse hiptoss into a facebuster that gets two when Black breaks things up. Black goes to work on Brave and the two exchange strikes, but are able to duck Josh's double clothesline attempt, sending the champ crashing into the corner. Black then hits an atomic drop into a reverse STO, but Josh has bounded up to the top and comes flying in with a Phoenix Splash (corkscrew 450 splash) onto both men and then covers both of them for the win at 7:20 to retain his title. Josh actually kneed Brave in the face on the splash. The fans give all three men a mostly standing ovation and a loud "IWA!" chant. Josh pulls both men to their feet and raises their hands to put them over for their efforts. When Brave rolls to ringside, you can see him bleeding pretty excessively from the mouth, no doubt a result of Josh's knees hitting him right in the mush. After Daniels' protégés are on the outside, the crowd gives Josh some respect with a chant of his own. We cut out with all three men heading to the back.
The Analysis:
These three sure packed a lot of action into seven-and-a-half minutes. Though there was little in the way of psychology or selling, this match was a nice showcase of each man's high-flying abilities. Admittedly, there were a couple of awkward spots along the way, most notably Josh's hesitation on the springboard corkscrew press, but given the relative youth of the three men, this was an incredibly solid outing.
Abercrombie, Black, and Brave all had impressive looking offensive arsenals that were on display here, but with the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to see how Brave would end up being the odd man out of this trio for the future. While he was solid here, Black just had a better look than the incredibly slight Brave while Abercrombie was by far the superior overall wrestler in this matchup.
That said, it's worth noting that Abercrombie's miscalculation on the finish could have been far more devastating than it ended up being. Brave seemed to be bleeding rather profusely from his mouth after the match, a visual that underscores the inherent dangers of wrestling in general and high flying moves specifically. Interestingly, this very issue was a topic of discussion when Josh Abercrombie visited The Cool Kids' Table for an interview a couple of months ago. In that interview, he made a point of noting that the most dangerous moves in wrestling tend to be the ones where you are moving quickly without complete control of your body. I would say that the finish of this match is very much case in point.
The Aftermath:
Josh Abercrombie and Tyler Black would go on to have an epic rivalry that would, in one form or another, last for the better part of a year-and-a-half. Along the way taking part in a variety of gimmick matches, including a highly-regarded Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match, the pair would push each other to the limit on so many occasions that they were actually barred from wrestling each other for six months in an attempt to curb their penchant for taking extreme chances in the ring with each other. After that ban had expired, the two waged war in a final contest over the IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Title at the 2006 Ted Petty Invitational. A returning Jimmy Jacobs helped Abercrombie win that match, and as a result Black was banished from IWA competition for half a year.
Along the way, Abercrombie would undergo something of a transformation, developing from a plucky fan favorite into a more wacky character, obsessed with his mustache and bedecked in wacky early-90's attire. In the 2007 Ted Petty Invitational Tournament, Abercrombie would make it all the way to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion "Lighting" Mike Quackenbush. Though he has developed into one of the top all-around talents on the Independent scene, he has yet to break through into Ring of Honor.
During their time in IWA, Tyler Black & Marek Brave also joined forces to form a successful tag team. While competing around the Midwest, they even picked up their share of gold, as The Black & the Brave won both the NWA Midwest Tag Team Titles and the AAW Tag Team Titles. The duo would eventually make their way to Full Impact Pro, losing their bid to win the FIP Tag Team Titles from Jay & Mark Briscoe.
Tyler Black would also spend time in both Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and the ill-fated Wrestling Society X, teaming with Jimmy Jacobs to form D.I.F.H (Do It For Her), a team themed on the two men's emo personalities. That partnership would be a foreshadow of things to come, as when Jacobs returned to Ring of Honor competition in mid-2007 after a lengthy injury layoff, his debuting Age of the Fall faction would feature Black and The Necro Butcher as charter members. Since then, The Age of the Fall has been arguably the most successful group in the company's expansive Faction Warfare angle, with Jacobs & Black ending the Briscoes' extended ROH World Tag Team Title reign right before the new year. Though the duo would drop the belts to the No Remorse Corps' Davey Richards & Rocky Romero within a month of winning them, the message was clear that The Age of the Fall was in ROH to make an impact.
Then, this past weekend with Jacobs overseas, Black represented his group proudly, winning a mini-tournament and in-so-doing earning himself a shot at ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness in the main event of the company's sixth Pay-Per-View. Though Tyler would fall short of winning ROH's top belt, he took the veteran McGuinness to the limit before eventually falling to the champion's London Dungeon submission. It seems clear that a new face has arrived in the ROH main event scene.
The Final Word:
Though I'm a big fan of Tyler Black and I'm glad to see him getting a shot at moving up the ladder in ROH, I'm actually personally more excited about the fact that this weekend marked the return of "The King of Diamonds" Eddie Kingston to Ring of Honor as well as the continued singles push for "Mr. Wrestling" Kevin Steen. After an extended period where ROH has made a number of booking decisions that have been off-putting to me as a fan, I'm finally excited to see where the company is heading, especially with the huge Wrestlemania Weekend events coming up in Orlando.
To see this week's contest, No Blood, No Guts, No Glory 2005 is available from either smartmarkvideo.com or directly from IWA Mid-South. The show features one of my personal favorite wrestling matches, CM Punk's final IWA Mid-South appearance which sees him take on Delirious in a final bout to settle their series, which at that point was knotted up at one win apiece. Their final meeting is amongst the funniest spectacles ever produced in a wrestling ring and I would consider it a must-see for any Independent wrestling fan. The card also features Jimmy Jacobs defending the IWA Mid-South World Heavyweight Title against Matt Sydal and a War Games main event. A very solid pick-up, especially given that the final disc contains a forty-five minute video highlighting Punk's career in IWA.
This week's Buy or Sell will feature Magnus and a debuting Alex Mattis talking ROH fallout. No ROH shows, thus no ROH Roundtable. You get the drill by now.
iTunes update:
1. "Thugz Mansion [acoustic]" by Tupac Shakur & Nas – from Better Dayz
2. "I Belong to You" by Marc Broussard – from Live in Baton Rouge, LA, 10.26.05
3. "Days" by Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers – from Live at the Eagles Ballroom, 10.22.06
4. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones – from Let It Bleed
5. "Mellow My Man / Jusufckwithis" by The Roots – from The Roots Come Alive
A brand new edition of The Lunch Break should be up now at The Cool Kids' Table Dot Net, as Brad & I preview Dragon Gate's upcoming Pay-Per-View as well as PWG's show on Friday. As I said in the opening, there will be new content going up all the time, so you should be sure to check back regularly for reviews, columns and insight that won't be available anywhere else. The Cool Kids' Table Dot Net. Viva la rebel website!
Oh, and I almost forgot. I was recently hired to do a sports blog for the local independent newspaper, the Shepherd Express. Their website Express Milwaukee is the home of the brand spankin' new Talking Balls blog, where I will regularly be posting my thoughts on anything that catches my eye in the world of sports. There's a comment function there, too, so if the Wrestler of the Week haters are really motivated, they can actually take their irrational dislike of me to a whole other website!
And with that, I'm taking my leave for another week. This pretty quickly became The Independent ‘Let Me Plug Everything I'm Doing" Mid-Card, so I'll try to get back to actual wrestling and stuff next week.
Official Final Four picks: Tennessee, Wisconsin, UCLA, Texas.
