Death by Midwest: IWA Mid-South No Blood, No Guts, No Glory 2005

IWA Mid South presents No Blood, No Guts, No Glory 2005
July 2, 2005
Valparaiso, IN

This show will bring an end to a year-long rivalry. In a War Games Match, IWA Mid South fights against Team NWA Midwest(who joined forces with IWA in early 2004, and in storylines, owner Ed Chuman loaned Ian money to run shows) and The Fannin Family(led by Jim Fannin, friend-turned-foe of Ian, and 2nd in charge of IWA). It’s 5 on 5 on 5, under the usual War Games rules.

IWA Mid South Champions
IWA World Heavyweight Champ: Jimmy Jacobs (1st reign, defeated Danny Daniels on 4/1/05)
IWA Light Heavyweight Champ: Josh Abercrombie (1st reign, defeated Delirious on 6/11/05)
IWA Mid South Tag Team Champs: The Iron Saints (1st reign, defeated Ryan Boz and Trik Davis on 6/11/05)
IWA Mid South Women’s Champ: Mickie Knuckles (1st reign, defeated Mischif on 6/11/05)

We start off with a hype video that clearly states that Team NWA and Team Fannin are evil. There are some clips of the long running feud. Some really sick shots too covering almost the entire history of IWA Mid South. I think Ian does a dropkick where he gets off his feet. Another really awesome clip video from Smart Mark here.

Pre-Show-They show Fannin Family driving to the venue in the limo as Fannin talks strategy to his team. He thanks his guest, Jimmy Jacobs, for injuring Ian the night before. Fannin tells his team they need to make a member of each team submit to win, and warns everyone to stay away from Tank. He says to focus on Chandler McClure, but says to go after Tank’s injured leg if put one-on-one with him. He also says IWA is full of ego, so let them go after Tank. Fannin is a rarity as a manager these days. Rather than the flashy, overanimated Cornette type, he’s a throwback to Gary Hart, a sinister, calculating general. And he does it quite well. Jacobs tells them all he is supporting them. Fannin then says no matter what the outcome, this is his last night as a manager. He thanks his team-BJ Whitmer, Steve Stone, Eddie Kingston, and Mark Wolf-for helping him to take over the IWA tonight. This was good, but dragged on a little long with the thanks at the end.

To the Armory-Brandon Thomaselli is outside the venue getting fans hyped for the event. He talks to the signature IWA superfan “Sox the Black Lung guy” when a girl asks him to sign her breast. Before Brandon obliges, the Fannin Family and Jimmy Jacobs attack him. Kingston asks the fallen Brandon how he likes his new Nikes. Jimmy hits him in the head with the IWA title. That’s one member of Team IWA down. The rest of Fannin’s team gets their shots in. IWA fans are extremely smarky so this didn’t have a ton of heat on it. Kingston challenges some fans. Brandon gets carried inside the armory.

Ian’s Pre Show-All right, this must be why this show is 3 discs. This must also be why IWA doesn’t do much of this at all on recent DVDs. Ian announces Brandon will not be in War Games. They broke Ian’s wrist the night before. He announces IWA veteran Corporal Robinson will be taking Brandon’s place tonight. Also tonight Jacobs defends against Matt Sydal and CM Punk wrestles his last match in IWA against Delirious. Ian calls one fan a “fucking idiot”. Ha. He warns everyone about where the matches may end up.

#1: Claudio Castagnoli vs. TJ Dalton
Prazak and Trik Davis on commentary currently. TJ Dalton is a “rising star” from the Missouri indy scene. Missouri has an indy scene? He uses “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as his music. Wow. 2 rings are set up and they choose the one with looser ropes. Dammit. Some lock up shenanigans, and TJ works into an hammerlock. TJ works Claudio over with some chops. In a comedy spot, Dalton shifts his head around to around a side headlock. He then flips Claudio over and gets a bridging pin combo for 2. Claudio catches him and hits a Shoulderbreaker. Hammerlock hip toss thing on Dalton. Claudio is gonna work the shoulder me thinks. He stomps away at it. The ropes in this ring are VERY loose. Davis blames it on Joey Eastman. Claudio hits an elbow drop on the shoulder and locks in an armbar. They’re going slower to avoid hitting the ropes. Dalton hits a rana. Then he heads up top-not the safest place to be in this ring-and hits a nice Cross Body on Claudio for 2. Claudio rams Dalton into the turnbuckles. Tries to slam Dalton on his shoulder but Dalton gets a sunset flip for 2. Dalton misses a superkick and Claudio gets him into an elevated shoulder hammerlock submission thing. Dalton taps at 5:01. *1/2. More or less what I expected. Not much offense from Dalton but he looked decent and the finish was set up by the rest of the match.

#2: IWA Women’s Title Match 3-Way: Mickie Knuckles © vs. Rain vs. Daizee Haze
Rain gets a $1 from a fan. I’d pay $4 at least. Mickie and Rain had a No DQ match the night before where they fought in the ladies’ room. Well that’s one way to bypass the line. ZING! Rain makes fun of the Bryce Remsberg’s hair. Daizee Haze is a former IWA champ. And she carries a sunflower to the ring. The IWA and NWA Midwest Women’s Titles have split by this point. They’re using the good ring this time. Decent reaction for Mickie. No belt for Mickie because Ed Chuman took the old one away. What a meanie. Rain sends a fan to wrestle for her. Hahaha. What a heel. Must tag in and out on this one. Haze and Mickie start with a Kuncklelock…no, they start PADDYCAKING! HAHAHAHA. Then they start the knucklelocking. Haze turns it into a hammerlock then a headlock. 1 count with the headlock takeover. Mickie gets a head scissors. Haze bridges out and rolls over for a 2 count. This should be good because these 3 are familiar and can work well. Mickie tries for the sitting position head scissors leaping escape, but Haze blocks. So Mickie does it backwards and gets a 2 count. That’s new. Near fall for Haze on a forward roll. Standoff we have now. Haze grabs a Bow and Arrow hold into a pin for 2. Mickie gets out and hooks on the MUTA LOCK. She is damn flexible for her size. Nice girl, too. She makes hot dogs at every IWA show. Rain comes in, DOUBLE KNEE DROP TO THE CHEST WHILE MICKIE WAS IN THE BRIDGE. Owwwwwwwww. Forearms from Rain and she tosses Mickie outside. She chokes Haze on the ropes and then grabs a headlock-type hold. If I could name it, it would be the Dragon Headlock. Into a crucifix pin for a 2 count on Haze. CHOPS from both girls. Haze misses a running palm strike and gets hit with hard forearms from Rain. Haze gets sent into the buckles chest first, and Rain hits running double knees on her back. Cool stuff. She kicks Mickie off the apron and gets a 2 count on Haze. She goes for her finish, the Acid Rain, but Haze gets a victory roll for 2. They screw up a Sunset Flip for 2. Sloppy near falls sequence follows. They were going strong until then. Clothesline from Rain. Haze fights back and hits an inverted DDT, one of Rain’s finishers, on Rain. Prazak was just mentioning both women’s finishers. Mickie climbs back in. Haze gets power from her flower in the corner. Oddness. Haze and Mickie team up on Rain until Rain ducks and Haze hits Mickie with a clothesline. Rain goes for a Fisherman’s Buster, but Haze reverses into a pin for 2. Forearms from both girls. RAIN DROP on Mickie, Haze breaks up the pin. Heart Punch from Haze. She goes for the Yakuza kick to follow but misses Rain and NAILS Mickie with it. That was just a straight up kick to the face. Haze goes on to check on Mickie (they’re friends, see?) and the evil Rain rolls Haze up for 2. Haze takes a tumble to the floor. Mickie back up and dropkicks the knee of Rain. SHINING KAWADA KICK! She gets 3 even though Rain’s hand was beneath the rope. Mickie retains at 8:46. **. Solid for a women’s bout. 3-ways can get very messy and this one did at times. Scored was saved by Mickie’s ability to take more punishment than I’ve ever seen a female wrestler take.

#3: CONRAD KENNEDY III w/Alexander Caine vs. DANNY DANIELS
CK3 is making his first IWA appearance in many months, and is now managed by Alexander Caine. This must be one of Danny Daniels’ last matches in IWA. He now runs the upstart AAW promotion in Chicago and has been in a sort of a war with IWA since Jimmy Jacobs came on an AAW show and threw the IWA belt in the trash. CK3 does his usual nickname bit, which isn’t anything riveting. Eric Priest does it better in IWA anyway. Daniels gets a good pop. Back in the looser ring, hopefully they fixed the ropes.
Daniels gets chants right away. Quick roll up by CK3. “I was that close.” Daniels fires back with a few pin combos of his own, all for 2. CK3 begs off. CK3 was trained by Scott D’Amore and trained with Petey Williams, Chris Sabin, and Alex Shelley. Daniels with some chops and a neckbreaker and then a forearm, followed by Yakuza Kick for 2. Daniels sends CK3 into the other ring. Daniels then leaps into the ring with a high cross body. Back into the other ring with a knee to the back of the head for 2. CK3 fights back with some clotheslines. Knee drop on Daniels. Slingshot Suplex by CK3 gets 2. A reversed Japanese stranglehold, as the announcers say, locked in by CK3. Spinebuster by CK3. Prazak tells an anecdote where Tracy Smothers used to call CK3 Tully Blanchard because he couldn’t remember his name. Daniels hits a sloppy knee to the face. These two are not clicking well. Daniels up top with some sort of reverse bulldog for 2. CK3 picks him up for a CUTTHROAT BACKBREAKER from the Burning Hammer position. Neato. That gets 2. He goes for the Overdrive, but Daniels reverses into a jawbreaker then a piledriver for 3 at 7:23. *1/2. I think I’m being generous there. Maybe it was the ring being too loose, but this was a sloppy, sloppy match with no psychology in it. Daniels has a tendency to do that at times.

#4: WINNER’S TEAM GETS ADVANTAGE IN WAR GAMES
Chris Hero (IWA) vs. Eddie Kingston (Fannin Family) vs. Tank (NWA)-1:07:27
So I get two Hero matches on one card? Cool by me. Tank is one big fucker. Ed Chuman has pledged to drop the IWA name altogether if his team wins War Games. Kingston out next. This guy is one entertaining heel and is a good worker. Hero does his trademark long entrance. Trik Davis believes he’ll be fired if Fannin or Chuman’s teams win War Games. Kingston refuses to get in the correct ring and Hero chases him around. Kingston tries to make a truce with both guys. Hero and Kingston go after Tank in the corner, and Kingston quickly backs off. They chop him and elbow him repeatedly. Tank hits the ropes and you just hear a big SNAP. And that was the good ring, too. Back Suplex by Kingston on Hero for 2. Hero stops the Yakuza Kick and hits a dropkick. Tank sneaks behind Hero as Hero prepares for a tope. He turns around and gets NAILED with a LARIAT. SMACK. IWA fans love stiffness. CROSSFACE PUNCHES by Tank. Snapmare followed by a stiff spine kick by Tank. This guy likes beating people. Kick to the head for good measure, too. Kingston back in and congratulates him on a job well done. Tank forearms him in the face. Haha. He puts Kingston in the corner and runs in….CANNONBALL! A cannonball by a 500 pounder. Let’s see Big Slow do that. Hero back in but he gets thrown over the ropes and hits the floor hard. Right on his ass too. CHOKEBREAKER on Kingston….for 2. Hero back in, hits a forearm and locks in the most dreaded move ever devised….the CRAVAT! He then leg sweeps him and Tank is down. Kingston back up. Forearm battle! Kingston misses a discus forearm, and Hero nails him with a Power Bomb. Hero goes up top….DOUBLE STOMP! Fannin pulls Bryce’s leg before he counts 3. Kingston back up as Hero is distracted….SAMBO SUPLEX. That gets 2. Tank still out on the apron. Hero rolls out of the Backdrop Driver…HERO’S WELCOME! Fannin on the apron and Hero chases him around ringside instead of pinning. Tank up…..RUNNING BACK SENTON on Kingston and that ends it at 7: 16. **3/4. Loads of action here in a small package. I wish it could have been longer, but they do have to wrestle later tonight in War Games. NWA Midwest wins the advantage. It also does a good job of building Tank as the dominant force in the match.

#5: IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Title Match-Josh Abercrombie © vs. Marek Brave vs. Tyler Black
Ropes look like they’ve been tightened during intermission. Thank god, but here comes the FLLLLLLLIIIIIPPPPPPPEEEE! Tyler Black does his typical Hardcore Dancing entrance. It’s amazing to see how no one in the IWA crowd understands this is a fairly popular thing with youth. Are they that out of touch with music trends? Anyway, all three guys are babyfaces here. Marek’s tights are far too small. On commentary, it’s Prazak, Trik Davis, and Danny Daniels, who trained Black and Brave. Daniels makes fun of their tights. Josh and Tyler both grab arm wringers on Marek and he tries flipping out of the holds. Then Tyler grabs a headlock on Marek, then Josh grabs a headlock on Tyler. ARMDRAGS!!!! Daniels orders Trik to clap for him. Near falls sequence by all three guys. All are very young but have loads of potential and look very crisp. Marek and Josh to the outside, to the end of the far ring. Tyler rolls through the ropes into the 2nd ring, then hits a Plancha on both guys. Crowd approves. Suplex by Tyler on Josh for 2. They’ve gone to the better ring now. Good choice. Tyler forearms Marek on the apron. Josh clotheslines Tyler to the outside. Number 1 rule in IWA: GRAB YOUR SHIT AND MOVE. Corkscrew Body Press to the outside by Josh. Damn, those ropes are loose, too. “I’m OK!”-Josh. Running knee strike by Josh on Marek. Dropkick to the face by Josh gets 2. Josh goes to spear Marek but he moves so he topes onto Tyler. These guys love the outside of the ring. Well, if it’s the ring broke…get the hell out of it! Marek up top….Moonsault! That was nice and the ropes are bending terribly. “Highspot fest!”-Daniels. Marek forearms Josh into the other ring. Marek whipped into the corner, but he goes up and over Josh….REVERSE RANA. You rarely see anyone hit that clean and they nailed it. Marek goes for a bridge pin but Tyler breaks it up with a RUNNING SHOOTING STAR! Tyler and Marek jockey for position…REVERSE DDT DRIVER! Trik calls it a “Peroxide Driver”. Josh breaks up the pin. Josh sets Tyler and goes to the top…TALIBAN BACKPACK! Marek breaks up the pin. Crowd has come alive now thanks to the big spots. Marek blocks a clothesline…FLIPPING HALF NELSON FACEBUSTER…for 2. Tyler breaks it up. This is a spotfest for sure but they’re hitting everything clean…and in a broken ring no less. Tyler hits Marek with a Belly-to-Back Flapjack, but Tyler is up top…PHOENIX SPLASH ON BOTH GUYS…he kneed Tyler right in the face! That gets 3 at 7:17. ***1/4. Solid match that could have been better if the ring was working right. But they made the most of their 10 minutes. Spotfests are fine by me if you hit things clean, and these guys did. Josh retains the title. “IWA” chants at the end from appreciative fans. Marek is bleeding heavily from the mouth.

End of Disc One-Decent enough so far. The rings are completely falling apart in there.

#6: 60-MINUTE TIME LIMIT: CM Punk vs. Delirious III
This is CM Punk’s last match in IWA before leaving for WWE. He made his name in IWA back in 2001 and 2002 through his series with Chris Hero and Colt Cabana. These two have had a pair of the most ridiculous matches you’ve ever seen, and now there’s a 60 minute time limit. “CM Punk” chants before he even comes out. He comes to an awesome 90s ska song whose name I forget at the moment. The crowd erupts when he enters the Armory. He hugs many members of the crowd and then stands on top rope as the crowd chants for him. He then hugs Dave Prazak, who was his manager for years in IWA. This is the rubber match for these two. Delirious goes nuts at the bell. They talk trash nose to nose in the center of the ring. “My house.”-CM Punk. Delirious then goes on a GIBBERISH TIRADE! Punk looks freaked out. He seriously goes on for over a minute straight on this and I’m already dying with laughter. “Match of the year!”-Fans. “And people said Punk did good promos!”-Prazak. HAHA! After 2 minutes, Delirious FLEXES to a huge ovation from the crowd. Punk takes a powder and looks completely distraught. Delirious continues to flex and taunt Punk. Punk does pushups and flexes back. “He’s on ICOPRO!”-Prazak. HAHAHAHA. Punk eventually boots Delirious in the midsection. Delirious stats lubing up his fingers for the facewash. The LITERAL FACEWASH. Punk tries to beat him down and Delirious wont take his hand out of his mouth. I won’t even attempt to call all of this. Delirious runs the ropes, hand still in mouth, then Punk grabs an armbar and WIPES DELIRIOUS’ HAND CLEAN!!!! HAHAHAHAHA! Delirious steals a fan’s hat and puts it on Bryce. They actually wrestle a little, rolling with a facelock…until they roll over BRYCE! Oh god this is insane. Delirious is confused and thinks he’s wrestling Bryce now. Oh he knows Bryce is ref, he complains of a hair pull. This is too good. Delirious grabs a young fan at ringside as his witness. Punk threatens to beat up the kid. BRYCE HOLDS HIM BACK! HAHA! Now Punk is lubing up his hand, and Delirious won’t go in the ring. Then Delirious grabs an armbar and cleans Punk’s hand on his tights. Back to some actual wrestling. Punk then accuses Delirious of pulling his hair, which Delirious proudly admits to. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. This is too much man. They trade arm wringers and do actual wrestling until Delirious bites Punk’s hand. Prazak talks about Punk’s many long matches, especially with Hero and Samoa Joe. Punk and Delirious are going to some nice mat wrestling. Punk puts him in a head scissors but Delirious BITES HIM. Punk gets the ropes to break the biting. Delirious works over Punk’s arm. The best part is when he cranks it, he actually says “crank”. This is unbelievable. Delirious grabs an armbar, and Punk grabs the ropes. He won’t let go, show they take the armbar into the other ring. Bryce is obviously befuddled by all of this. Punk then grabs the ropes in the other ring, but Delirious won’t let go. Now they go outside the ring but the armbar is still on! They work around both rings on the outside. “Ayegotdissonofabif”-Delirious. I could kinda make that out. Punk is annoyed that he can’t break the hold. They are on the other side of the building now. Punk goes to the timekeeper’s table and rings the bell, and Delirious runs away scared. HAHAHAHAHA. Delirious loses it when he hears the bell. Delirious is confused because he thinks he won. Chinbreaker by Punk and he takes control. His arm is hurting from the huge armbar. Pace has slowed down considerably. He tosses Delirious into the other ring. A fan tells Punk she’ll give him a million dollars for kicking Delirious. Punk does so and the announcers demand he be paid. Delirious gets dropkicked to the floor. TOPE by Punk. Into the 3rd row! They go into the other ring and Delirious gets thrown out the other way….TOPE again! Only 2nd row this time. Delirious fights back….and backdrops Punk on the floor. Hard concrete. Ow.

Back inside and Punk gets dropkicked in between the two rings. Delirious follows and proceeds to bounce on him. Hahahaha. Delirious lubes up the hand but Punk blocks it. Punk gets hanged in the tree of woe but Delirious goes to the opposite corner in the OTHER ring. Delirious decides it’s too far and comes down. Punk sets up Delirious in the corner….SHORT ARM CLOTHESLINES! 32 of them, with the “BAH!” Punk gets tied up in the ropes. Delirious takes the chance to lube his hand up. Punk is screaming for some help. But it’s too late….FACEWASH! Punk gets up all pissed off and scares Delirious-“Oh, what the fuck?” And they running around the rings. Delirious dives under the ring and we’re now at 30 minutes. Things are just starting to get crazy.

Punk finds a Delirious mask poking out from under the ring and puts it on Bryce. Then he takes a seat in the crowd. Delirious comes back up and gets freaked out by Bryce in the mask. Punk from behind with a roll up for 2, but Delirious is still mesmerized by Bryce in the mask. Another roll up for 2, then another one for 2, and another one. Bryce finally gets the mask off and Delirious is now very confused. He throws the mask down and now Punk puts the mask on. Delirious runs underneath the ring. Punk goes under the ring after him. Bryce is looking around for both guys. Punk is back up first, without the mask. As they look for him, Delirious rolls into the ring….but wait, it’s not him! It’s a she! It’s SHE-LIRIOUS. They start wrestling. Punk tries to bodyslam her but she reverses. But then he punches her in the face. Delirious back in and hits a flying clothesline from the top on Punk. THEY BOTH LUBE UP THEIR HANDS! FACEWASH! “Deliriouses” run around the ring as Punk goes back underneath now. They start tickling Bryce in the ring.

Punk back up, and he distracts Delirious while something comes out the other side of the ring: THE GOLDEN VAMPIRE!!!!!! Oh god, this has reached acid trip proportions here. DOUBLE CLOTHESLINE on the Delirious team. Then a BATTERING RAM!!!! It’s now a tag team match. Delirious and Shelirious vs. CM Punk and The Golden Vampire. Danny Daniels replaces Trik Davis on commentary. HOT TAG to CM Punk. “House of fire!”-Punk. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I’m losing my mind. Arm work by Punk and Golden Vampire. Golden Vampire accidentally does arm breakers to Punk. But he’s a robot guy, he doesn’t know! Punk gets pissed and goes back under the ring. As GV goes to take on the Delirious team, Punk comes back up with the mask on and stands with the Delirious team. It’s 3-on-1! This is a match on crack officially. “IWA” chants. Beatdown on Golden Vampire! All 3 of them pin Golden Vampire. Roll up on Shelirious for 3 by Punk. Punk and Delirious are back 1-on-1. Punk is unmasked and we’re back to actual wrestling. Flurry of offense on Punk. Welcome to Chicago backbreaker for 2. Delirious goes for Invitro but Punk gets free. Delirious goes for a sunset flip….but pulls Punk’s tights down! CANDIDO MOONSET FLIP….for 2. Punk’s ass is hanging out. FLAIR BUMP! 45 minutes gone now.

Punk to the outside, his tights still down. SUICIDE FLIP off the top by Delirious. High cross body gets rolled over by Punk for 2. Punk heads up top and gets caught Flair-style and slammed off. All the while his ass is still hanging out. That gets 2. Delirious pulls Punk’s tights back up and hits a German….for 2. He goes for Shadows Over Hell, but Punk changes position into a gutbuster. Clothesline by Punk. That gets 2 after a vicious bump. Almost 50 minutes gone now. Panic Attack Running Knee by Punk gets 2. Brainbuster by Punk. He heads up top and hits a Guillotine Leg Drop. That gets 2. DOUBLE ENZIGURIS! Both men down now. Delirious gets hit with a Shining Wizard….for 2. ANACONDA VICE by Punk. The arm falls twice…but not three! Delirious gets the ropes with his legs. Delirious ranas Punk over…SHINING WIZARD by Delirious….for 2! CROSSFACE by Delirious, but Punk makes the ropes. SHADOWS OVER HELL by Delirious….for 2. 54 minutes into this now. Punk up top up with Delirious. He goes for the Pepsi Plunge so Punk hits a superplex. 5 minutes remain. 2 count by Punk. In the corner to Punk…CLOTHESLINE FLURRY! 24 to be exact. I’m blown up just counting them. They trade strikes now. CHOP BATTLE! Headbutts by Punk. Michinoku Driver by Punk gets 2. 1 minute left as they trade near falls. Punk going for the Pepsi Plunge….no, the Top Rope Bodyslam that he beat Sydal with the night before! But Delirious falls on top of him as the time limit expires. 60 minute draw. The crowd gives both men a standing ovation. ****. The craziest comedy match I’ve ever seen, and probably the only 60 minute draw of its kind. Thanks Punk.

POST-MATCH: Ian Rotten comes out as Punk and Delirious shake hands after the match. Ian says Candido is laughing his ass off in heaven at that match. Ian thanks Punk for changing IWA’s style 5 years ago and says he is a star of the future. “CM Punk” chants. Ian says Punk should get a big Pepsi endorsement. Punk and Ian hug as the crowd chants “CM Punk”. Chris Hero comes out now and he takes the mic. He wishes the best of luck to Punk and they hug. Punk doesn’t look very enthused at that, but I’ve heard he hates Hero. Punk takes the mic and calls his best friend into the ring and thanks her for putting up with him through his time in wrestling. He says he sacrificed everything and everyone for wrestling. He thanks the fans, Ian, Delirious, and Candido and says he’ll always remember IWA. Prazak holds the ropes open as Punk kisses the ring. “Thank you Punk.”-IWA fans. Thank you Punk indeed. He goes out to his original music, “Ole!” by Bouncing Souls.

The next match is supposed to be the Wildside team of Pomp and Circumstance vs. Ryan Boz and Trik Davis, but my DVD skips over it to the next match after the ring intros. As far as I know this match was pretty bad so I won’t bother tracking it down.

#8: IWA WORLD TITLE MATCH: Jimmy Jacobs © vs. Matt Sydal
I love “Clavicle” as an entrance theme. Awesome stuff. Jacobs is in ultra-jackass champion mode here. He’s also still dressed in his suit. He grabs the mic and says he doesn’t cheat at all. He has two belts, the other being the NWA Indiana State Title. To be honest, the mic is pretty hard to understand. Jimmy says he’d rather just party in the limo and get some girls than wrestle tonight. He offers Sydal $100 not to wrestle. Sydal takes the money, then hits a flurry of armdrags on Jacobs, then going into an armbar. Jacobs has cheated to win in every title defense. Baseball slide dropkick to Jacobs on the outside. “He looks like a demented lawyer”- Mickie Knuckles on Jimmy. Haha. Jimmy begs off from Sydal. Sydal kicks him in the face then gets a headlock on him. Nice-looking German Suplex from Sydal….for 2. Sydal goes up top but Jimmy pulls the ref in front of him to prevent any move. No ref bump on that, by the way. Jimmy then lariats Sydal in the back of the head while he’s distracted. He then chokes Sydal with his jacket. Prazak and Mickie discuss Jim Fannin’s obsession with her. Nice suplex by Jacobs. Jimmy takes off his dress shirt and chokes Sydal with that. Victory roll by Sydal for 2. Jimmy is down to his underwear for some reason with his pants around his ankles. STANDING MOONSAULT by Sydal. I mark out for that because he gets such air on it. Only a 2 count. Jimmy begs off again. Plancha by Sydal to the outside. Prazak wishes he could Daizee Haze’s ass instead of Punk’s or Jimmy’s. You and me both. Jimmy chokes Sydal again. Back in the ring now. Jimmy goes for a Top Rope Cross Body but gets NAILED with a dropkick coming down. Oh that was spot on. I love Matt Sydal’s precision. Jacobs goes for the Contra Code but gets crotched. They fight on the top rope in between the two rings. Jimmy gets headbutted into the opposite ring. Sydal up top…..MOONSAULTS INTO THE OTHER RING, then hits a standing leg drop on Jacobs……for 2. Crowd gets on their feet after that one. He flew across on that moonsault. Sydal is very frustrated after not putting Jimmy away. Jimmy crotches Sydal on the top rope. Fighting again between the two rings on the top rope. Jimmy up top…..SUPER RANA FROM ONE RING TO THE OTHER! It only gets 2. Crowd is really into this now. Jacobs takes off his shoe to hit Sydal but Bryce blocks him from using it. Roll-up on Jacobs for 2. Bryce ducks the shoe again and Sydal gets nailed with it. CONTRA CODE gets the 3 at 10:05.
***1/2. Not a great finish but it makes sense with Jimmy’s reign. Another short match that was filled with action from bell to bell. And Matt Sydal rules.

END OF DISC TWO. Onto our main event.

TEAM IWA: Ian Rotten, Axl Rotten, Bull Pain, Corporal Robinson, and Chris Hero.
All the guys promise to fight to save IWA. Ian tells NWA’s tradition to kiss his ass, because IWA’s 9-year history is a tradition of violence. Hero talks about the Highland Curse he had in the past year and a half. He says he won’t let IWA down.

TEAM NWA: Eric Priest, Chandler McClure, Tank, Vito and Sal Thomaselli, led by Ed Chuman. Interesting backstory with McClure being shunned by Jim Fannin, and reuniting with his trainer Eric Priest to help NWA Midwest take over IWA. Priest says Fannin made a big mistake by bringing him into this mess. He says they will follow Chuman to the end of the Earth. Vito and Sal are the IWA Tag Champs. They say they brought Tank up from Georgia because of the strength he gave to their team. Tank is a scary looking guy.

WAR GAMES-Team IWA vs. Team NWA Midwest vs. Team Fannin
NWA Midwest out first. Here’s the rules: 3 men from each team start for 5 minutes. After that, a member of each team will enter every minute after that until all 15 men are in. A team can be eliminated by submission only. The order for entrance is NWA Midwest, IWA, then Fannin, since Kingston got pinned by Tank earlier in the 3-way. The teams square off around the cage. The cage, by the way, looks very loose. Fannin reminds Kingston not to go after Tank. This really does have a big match feel to it. BJ Whitmer, Chris Hero, and Sal Thomaselli to start off. Man it’s hard to see through the cage. Hero quickly gets double teamed. Hero fights back and snap suplexes Sal onto BJ. Hero is put over as the best choice for the first man because of his experience with very long matches. Hero getting double teamed again as he attempts to fight them both off. They elbow drop the back of Hero which he sells as hurt. He regains the advantage but is holding his back the whole time. Full nelson by Sal but Hero moves out of the way for Whitmer to forearm Sal in the face. Hero goes for a senton but Whitmer gets knees up. More harm to the back, then.

5 minutes gone and Tank heads in for NWA. Sal proposes they all focus on Hero for the time being. Big, big bodyslam on Hero by Tank. Fannin warns Whitmer not to trust the NWA guys, and Tank and Sal quickly give Whitmer a good beatdown. 6 minutes gone now, and Ian Rotten comes in. He’s a house of fire on both Tank and Whitmer. He still has a broken wrist thanks to Mark Wolf the night before. Ian and Hero go to work on Sal in one ring while Whitmer gets pummeled by Tank in the other. This is a crazy brawl at this point. 7 minutes and Eddie Kingston enters the fray. Tank and Sal are squaring off against Hero and Ian now, so Whitmer and Kingston decide to stand back and let them fight. Dastardly heels! Hero soon calls Ian’s attention to this and they try to rectify the situation. With brawling! Vito Thomaselli in for NWA. Hero throws Vito hard into the cage, then Kingston does the same and nearly knocks the cage over. Chop battle in the corner involving all 3 teams as Sal comes over to save Vito. So many people to hit, so little time. Robinson in for IWA. I predict blood in a minute or less. He goes over to double team Tank with Ian. Then he beats up Sal and Vito for good measure. Whitmer into the cage! Fannin complains of them picking on his team.

10 minute mark and Steve Stone comes in for Fannin. Tank has been busted open. I told you so. He goes to work on the Thomasellis. Tank seems very angry that he is bleeding and plants Whitmer into the cage. Whitmer is VERY busted open. Vito dropkicks Ian into the cage. Eric Priest into the cage from team NWA. He goes after Kingston and Stone. Tank and Corp fighting in the other ring. Hero scraping Vito against the cage and he’s cut open, too. Ian is bleeding as well, and I’d be lying if I said I was surprised by ANYONE bleeding in this match. Whitmer is by far the worst. Bull Pain enters for IWA. Now someone is definitely going to get hurt. Stone thrown HARD into the cage by Priest. Bull bites Whitmer on his bleeding head. Stone gets hip tossed into the cage by Priest. That was the most extreme hip toss I’ve seen. Did I just say extreme hip toss? Corp is bleeding now, too. J.C. Bailey in for the Fannin Family now. He isn’t a member of Fannin’s normal stable, but Fannin paid him to wrestle because he knew he would never quit. He goes to work on Bull right away. Hero throws Sal into the corner of the cage. Owwwww. Priest is choking out Bull Pain. Corp nails Bailey with a clothesline. Chandler McClure in for NWA, and all 5 men are in for Chuman’s team. Chandler goes straight to Steve Stone and hits the TOUCHDOWN into a Guillotine Choke. Sal is bleeding as Ian scrapes his forehead across the cage. I hope that thing is sterilized. Ian then KNEES Sal’s face into the cage. Nice close-up on that. Bailey is bleeding now as well. Ian is bleeding a LOT now. Axl Rotten in for IWA. Double stomp by Hero on Kingston. Tank picks Bailey up and throws him into the cage then POWERBOMBS him like he’s a rag doll. Which he is. Axl bleeding already. That might beat one of HHH’s records. Mark Wolf enters for Fannin, and thus begins…..

THE MATCH BEYOND!

Had to say that. Wolf goes right after Hero. Priest into the cage. Bailey and Ian brawling as well. This is a ruckus, ladies and gents. Axl beats up Kingston. There’s no use in saying it. Everyone is fighting. So there. Vader Bomb by Ian on Bailey but he might have hurt his wrist. Stone whips Chandler with a belt. Priest responds by beating Stone with it. Hero and Ian go to work on Tank as Priest and Chandler double team guys in the other ring. Ian has Tank in a Spinning Toe Hold as Hero holds his arms down. Bailey breaks it up but Hero tosses the rascal aside to beat up Tank some more. Double Spinning Toe Hold by Hero and Ian on Tank, as Chandler gets whipped some more by Whitmer in the other ring. NWA Midwest is unable to help Tank. Hero and Ian roll over into a Double STF now on Tank. Bailey tries to break it up again. TANK TAPS OUT and Team NWA is eliminated.

Both Fannin’s team and IWA guys help toss the NWA guys out of the ring. Axl and Bailey are brawling and both bleeding. Chuman is irate that Tank has tapped out. Whitmer and Corp with a vicious forearm and a headbutt standoff. Mark Wolf has brought a chain in the ring. Whitmer and Stone introduce Hero to the cage. The crowd comes alive and chants “IWA” as the babyfaces are in peril right now. You know it’s bad when Chris Hero is bleeding. Bailey has a chair and looks to nail Axl Rotten. But he nails Eddie Kingston instead. SWERVE! So much for being Fannin’s secret weapon. Ian locks in a crossface on Whitmer and Bull nails BJ with the chair while in the hold. Hero goes crazy on Kingston’s face. HERO’S WELCOME on Kingston. ANOTHER ONE! HANGMAN’S CLUTCH on Kingston. The crowd is really intense now. KINGSTON TAPS! It’s over at 24:52. Ian Rotten maintains control of IWA Mid South. ***1/4. A old school bloody brawl with little weapon use and about zero high spots, but lots of storytelling. A very fitting way to end the 2-year feud between Ian and Fannin over the company’s ownership and the addition of Chuman after IWA MS joined the NWA in mid 2004. After the match, Ian thanks Bailey for turning on Fannin The IWA roster pours into the cage to celebrate with the winning team. Ian is bleeding very sick dark red blood. Ian tells Fannin despite all they’ve been through, he can still work for Ian and run the business side of IWA. His promo lasts about 15 to 20 minutes but it’s worth to watch at least once to hear some good stories.

But wait! There’s bonus stuff on here, too!

CM PUNK RETROSPECTIVE IN IWA MID SOUTH
A bunch of clips of CM Punk in IWA.
-Punk cutting a promo in the old House of Hardcore on the ICP fans in the crowd. They are all over him for that. Punk goads on the Juggalos and he is getting serious heat. Man, I love Punk for this because if there’s one thing I hate, it’s ICP.
-Punk, Mitch Ryder, and I think Madman Pondo beating down on ICP and Ian Rotten. Punk powerbombs one of the clowns into thumbtacks. HAHA.
-Punk heeling on the crowd again: “I just put your hero in a pile of thumbtacks.”
-Punk vs. Hero for Dec. 2001 in Indianapolis. He hits the Pepsi Plunge to win his first IWA title.
-Punk heeling it up again at the House of Hardcore, Dec. 2001. I notice he’s not actually using a microphone, just pretending. He demands silence but does not get it. He picks on a very obnoxious female fan, and then gives her a chance to speak by putting his hand up to her. “You dumb bitch, I’m not holding a microphone!” HAHAHAHA.
-Hero vs. Punk vs. Cabana. Man, this is old school. Hero and Cabana tie Punk in the ropes and then give him a DROPKICK CONCHAIR-TO. OWWWWW.
-More action from that 3-way with Hero hitting a German Suplex on both Punk and Cabana.
-Punk powerbombs Nadia Nice, Hero’s valet. Then he hits a Pepsi Plunge on Hero ONTO Cabana for the pin.
-Hero vs. Punk from Jan. 2002 in Indianapolis, 2/3 falls. Hero gets the first fall with the Hero’s Welcome, Punk hits the Pepsi Plunge for the 2nd, and Punk uses the belt to win the 3rd fall.
-Cabana vs. Punk from Feb. 02: Punk hits a reverse rana on Cabana to win.
-Punk pinning Ace Steel with a Tombstone.
-Punk getting the Hero’s Welcome from Hero as the time limit expires.
-Footage from the awesome 56-minute TLC match between Hero and Punk. I’ll be reviewing that once I’m done with TPI.
-The CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Eddie Guerrero 3-way from March 2002. That’s on the same Best of 2002 tape as the TLC match, so that’ll be coming shortly as well.
-Eddie vs. Punk one-on-one 2 days later in Morris, IL
-Cabana vs. Punk vs. Eddie from Dayton in April 2002
-Punk defending the IWA Title in the 2002 TPI, defeating Christopher Daniels and Chris Hero before losing to BJ Whitmer in the finals.
-The legendary 93 minute match between Hero and Punk. I’ll review that soon too, as it is an incredible match.
-Punk in the 2003 Strong Style Tournament, losing in the finals to BJ Whitmer.
-The 2004 Tag Title Tourney. Punk and Cabana beat Collyer and McGuinness, then Ricky Reyes and Puma before losing to Tracy Smothers and Chris Hamrick in the finals.
– Hero and Punk again in June 2004
-AJ Styles vs. CM Punk for the IWA Title at the 8th Anniversary Show
-The 59:04 match between Hero and Punk, their last 1-on-1 match
-The first match between Punk and Delirious in Highland
-The second one in Midlothian, IL

BONUS MATCH: CM Punk vs. Suicide Kid-43:17
This is from the Bloodfeast 2000 event, the annual IWA Thanksgiving show. Punk looks TINY here. Suicide Kid I’ve never seen before, but Punk put him over in his ROH shoot with Cabana. The ref gets girly pops. That’s weird. Suicide Kid also gets a much bigger reaction than Punk. To the mat with head scissors and facelocks and such. Prazak is telling awesome stories on commentary here. Punk wraps Kid in a tendon hold. Hero apparently wrestled Sabu on this show. That’s a style clash. They jockey for position, but they mess up a roll-up slightly. Japanese armdrag, they both dropkick, standoff. Back to some mat stuff, then Kid hits a forward headscissors on Punk. Punk to the outside, Asai Moonsault by Suicide Kid. I’m liking this guy. Triple legdrop combo by Kid gets 2. Muta Lock by Kid as 5 minutes are gone. Kid works over the leg until Punk reaches the ropes. Punk reverses a whip into a PUMPHANDLE PILEDRIVER. Hero notes how Kid’s legs bent backwards on that. Punk covers and gets 2. Delay Vertical Suplex by Punk, then hits a leg drop, knee drop, and running stomp in rapid succession. Neckbreaker by Punk as Prazak goes over Punk’s history in MAW and St. Paul as well as IWA. German Suplex by Suicide Kid gets 2. I’m getting the feeling this ring was one of the ones used in the show I just reviewed. Here it’s in, you know, good condition. Sidewalk Slam by Punk, he covers but gets rolled into a crucifix for 2. Split-legged splash in the corner by Suicide Kid followed by a dropkick which drops Punk down. Suicide Kid hits a dropkick/ head to the groin combo. None of this offense is that spectacular by today’s standards but it has been very crisp. Sleeper applied by Punk. Prazak quickly notes Punk had a much more basic move set in those days. Suicide Kid works up with a jawbreaker. Suicide Kid hits SLICED BREAD #2 (called the Suicide Solution, and I’d bet he used it before Spanky did) but doesn’t cover as he is concerned that Punk has hurt his neck. But it was a ruse as Punk rolls him up, with a handful of tights for 3 at 10:37. **1/2. Points for effort mostly. Nothing wrong with the match but nothing really special about it. Both guys were good workers even back then, but seemed to be missed a certain extra something that they would gain by experience. Afterwards Colt Cabana, Chuck E. Smooth and Dave Prazak come in to beat down Suicide Kid. Punk clears the ring of these men, and Corporal Robinson slides in with a light tube to protect Suicide Kid. Corp leaves once Punk assures him everything is okay, then clothesline Suicide Kid and beats down Kid with the stable known as Gold Bond Mafia.

The 411: A good show from IWA. Some undercard matches seemed to do nothing more than take time away from other matches (like the CK3 vs. Daniels match), but the C.M. Punk match needs to be seen to be believed, while Sydal/Jacobs, the Light Heavyweight 3-way, and War Games are all worth checking out. This gets a thumb up recommendation.You can purchase this along with other IWA Mid-South DVDs at www.smartmarkvideo.com. Info on upcoming IWA shows are at www.iwamidsouthwrestling.com.

Final Score:  7.8   [ Good ]