Views from the Hawke’s Nest: IPW Renascense 2012

Early in 2012, IPW lost their building. Why? It was a Salvation Army building that didn’t feel especially comfortable with pro wrestling being taped there, and there were always strict rules for IPW when they taped there. So, when CZW used the building, they broke the rules, and the building no longer wanted any pro wrestling being taped. As always, CZW sucks. Finally, in late September 2012, IPW taped a new show.

Indianapolis, Indiana
September 30, 2012

The League (Tripp Cassidy, Reed Bentley, & “Big” Sue Jackson) vs. Remi Wilkins, Trevor Court, & Dale Patricks
This was a School of Roc showcase match.

Holy shit. The video quality for this show is quite possibly the worst I have ever seen for a show designed for DVD release. Court quickly hit The League with a tope con hello. Patricks followed that up with a tope con hello of his own. Someone familiar with Class Wars was getting over the goofy storyline that was going on at the time to explain Billy Roc’s absence from this match (Tripp Cassidy called the zoning commission or something to alert them of the dangers of Billy Roc’s school). The teams went back and forth for a while. Eventually, Court powerbombed Cassidy on Wilkins’s knees. Court then gave him a Liger Bomb: 1…2…3

This was a solid opener. There wasn’t a lot storytelling going on, which surprised me as Class Wars was all storytelling all the time. Instead, we just got a lot of stuff in this match. It wasn’t all that substantive, but I enjoyed it for what it was.
Match Rating: **1/2

Some IPW brass did an in-ring segment. It didn’t appear to be a storyline deal. It was a segment that only the live fans needed to see.

Heidi Lovelace vs. Thunderkitty
Lovelace is also a student of Billy Roc. She’s awesome.

Thunderkitty cut Heidi off relatively early on. Heidi got worked over for a while after that. Heidi couldn’t get anything going for a while. Eventually, Heidi managed to drive Thunderkitty into a turnbuckle. Heidi followed that up with a corner 619: 1…2…3

This was compact and enjoyable. They didn’t go out of their way to do anything too crazy, but it was a solid undercard match that the crowd was into.
Match Rating: **

Derek Neal & Jason Nesmith vs. Chris Hall & Jesse Emerson (w/Greg Carey)
I know who Emerson is, but I don’t think I’ve seen the other guys before. I may have watched Chris Hall once in Resistance Pro.

Neal and Nesmith managed to run through Emerson at the start. Emerson managed to cut Neal off with a neckbreaker. He was then worked over for a while by Hall and Emerson. Neal finally broke free. Nesmith and Hall went at it. Nesmith won. Nesmith then got explodered into the corner by Hall. Hall and Emerson followed that up with a double spinebuster on Nesmith: 1…2…3

This match was similar to the Lovelace/Thunderkitty outing. It was by the numbers with good heat. It wasn’t especially interesting, but I enjoyed it for an undercard match.
Match Rating: **1/2

Christian Rose vs. Hy-Zaya
I like Rose. I’ve never seen Zaya before.

They went back and forth to start the match. Rose caught him with an assisted doubles stomp in the corner. Rose worked Zaya over after that. Rose got a nearfall with a rolling forearm. Zaya came back with a swinging DDT: 1…2…NO! Rose came back with a falcon arrow: 1…2…NO! Zaya came back with Rough Ryder. Rose then caught Zaya with a backslide, and he got his feet on the ropes: 1…2…3.

This was quick and to the point. I like Rose. He has a great presence. His kicks look weird here though.
Match Rating: **1/4

The Kentucky Buffet (Alex Castle & Matt Cage w/ Angelus Layne) vs. #KOA (Sugar Dunkerton & Aaron Epic) [2/3 Falls Match for the Interm IPW Tag Team Championships]

Angelus Layne was managing Cage and Castle. #KOA had a puffin stuffed animal in their corner. The match is two out of three falls and it’s for the vacant IPW Tag Championships. Sugar used the puffin to hit Castle in the face. #KOA were in control after that. Epic went for a tope suicida on Cage, but Castle blocked it. The Buffet worked over Epic after that. Cage caught Epic with a small package: 1…2…3!
The Kentucky Buffet are winning one fall to zero.

The Buffet worked over Epic to start the second fall. Cage went to use the ropes on a pinfall attempt, but Sugar knocked him off the ropes and Epic got a sunset flip: 1…2…3!
The Kentucky Buffet and #KOA each have one fall.

Cage attacked the puffin, which pissed off Sugar. The Buffet went back to working over Epic. This went on for a good while. Epic eventually fought back and tagged out to Sugar. Sugar made a big comeback. Sugar hit Cage with the Lockout. Sugar went for his lariat, but Cage avoided it and kicked Sugar. Sugar caught Cage with a small package, but Angelus Layne had the referee distracted. Cage hit Sugar with a Zig Zag. Both men were down. The Buffet hit Sugar with two kneeling superkicks, but Epic made the save. Epic hit Cage with a knee to the face and then the Fastball Punch. Caste came back on Epic with a Bakutari Sliding Kick: 1…2…NO! Epic caused Caged to accidentally attack Castle. Sugar then killed Cage with his lariat: 1…2…3!

I really enjoyed this match. I think they used the two out of three falls to their advantage, as everybody (including myself) was truly invested by the end. The majority of the match was the Buffet getting the heat on Epic, but it never felt boring or repetitive. I definitely recommend watching this match.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Dustin Rayz vs. Chris Castle
This feels like a match that does not need to be on the show. Just as I type that, Castle does a sick arm drag where he used his legs to execute. I like the cut of Castle’s jib. Rayz appeared to tweak his knee; it was the leg that he broke at Cage of Death 2011. Castle hit a standing moonsault and a lionsault. Castle followed that up with a silverking dive. Back in the ring, Rayz attacked Castle in the corner. The referee told Rayz to stop. He did not stop. The referee called for the bell. Lame.

Rayz attacked the referee after the match. He then gave Castle a Jay Driller. And a second Jay Driller. And a third Jay Driller.

This was a very lame finish, as I don’t find Rayz interesting enough to care about him doing this. On the bright side, Castle impressed me a lot in this match.
Match Rating: *

Aaron Solo vs. Darren Dean
I believe these two guys are the students of Davey Richards.

Dean hit a slingshot plancha early on. Back in the ring. Solo came back by going after Dean’s left leg. Dean came back with a high kick. The leg injury prevented Dean from making a proper comeback. Dean then started flipping. Lol. Dean got a nearfall with a bridging German. Dean locked in a sloppy-looking Dragon Sleeper. Solo survived. Solo blocked a kick and hit a gourd buster. Solo got a nearfall with a rolling knee strike. Dean came back with a slingshot Thugbait! Dean then hit a running knee strike: 1…2…3.

This was my second favorite match of the night so far. Both guys looked crisp. While Dean’s inconsistent selling of the knee was distracting, I thought they put together a nifty little match here.
Match Rating: **3/4

ACH vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Dave Crist vs. Aaron McCormack [IPW Junior Heavyweight Championship]
There was a lot of gaga going on at the beginning of the match. McCormack was worked over by Crist and O’Reilly for a bit. McCormack came back and took out everyone with a tope con hello. Back in the ring, Kyle was working over McCormack. McCormack finally hit Kyle with a Pele. ACH tagged in and made a big comeback. He hit a split-legged moonsault to the floor on everyone. Dave came back with a middle rope Pele on ACH. Kyle gave McCormack a deadlift German. Kyle then got the guillotine. Dave gave Kyle a double stomp to the face. Dave knocked ACH out with a leaping knee. Dave then gave Kyle a standing Sliced Bread, but McCormack stole the pin: 1…2…3

I’m not really a big fan of multiple man matches ending in pinfalls being stolen; obviously, there are times when it makes sense for a character and/or a story, but it’s just so cliché that I hate seeing it. Other than that, this was a really fun match and a worthy semi-main event.
Match Rating: ***1/4

Jake Crist© vs. Davey Richards [IPW Heavyweight Championship]
I don’t think I’ve seen an extended Jake Crist singles match before. This should be something.

They went back and forth for a while. It was fine action, but it wasn’t anything you haven’t seen before. After some brief crowd brawling, Davey got control of the match. Jake managed to dropkick Davey when he went for the handspring enzuigiri. Jake made a comeback. Jake hit a tope suicida and diving crossbody: 1…2…NO! They went back and forth. Davey got a nearfall with a tombstone. Jake avoided a Ghetto Stomp and then hit a powerslam into a turnbuckle. Jake hit a pair of kicks and a Tiger Suplex: 1…2…NO! Davey came back with a superplex, a Falcon Arrow, and a ghetto stomp: 1…2…NO! Davey got the ankle lock. Jake eventually rolled through: 1…2…3

I’m rather cynical about this type of match, but there’s no denying that the crowd was in love with it. They were right there for every nearfall and submission attempt. While the match was clearly successful, I just didn’t find it especially interesting. For the live crowd, it worked tremendously. For a wrestling fan that has watched too much indie wrestling, it felt like something I’ve seen a million times over. Thus, I give this match a compromise rating…
Match Rating: ***1/2

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The 411: While there was not a lot to "love" about this show, I enjoyed the majority of it. It was a good return for IPW, and it's a shame they have only been able to run one more show since their return. The three title matches at the end were definitely the best stuff on the show (and you should check out the tag title match on Youtube). If you want to support IPW, buy this show as a DVD or as a MP4.

Final Score:  6.8   [ Average ]