SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
PWTorch features unmatched archives of live wrestling reports (not just results, but match details, context, and analysis). The following is a report originally published here 20 years ago this week…
IWA MID-SOUTH RESULTS
SEPTEMBER 30, 2026
MIDLOTHIAN, ILL.
REPORT BY CHRIS VETTER, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
IWA-Mid South returned to Midlothian, Ill., for day 2 of the TPI tournament on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2006. The crowd is about 270; I thought it would be much higher for day 2. The show got under way at 6:07 p.m.
(1) Round 2: El Generico defeats M-Dogg 20 at 13:27. Good match to open the show. This was face vs. face, and they started with some standing switches. M-Dogg hit a kick to the chest, and Generico sold it like he was about to get sick. This was slow early, as they traded arm holds. M-Dogg hit a hurricanrana and a nice dropkick for a nearfall at 6:30. Generico fired back with some hard chops, a leg lariat, and a backbreaker over his knee. They traded hard chops, and M-Dogg hit a snap suplex, then a back suplex, for a nearfall at 9:00.
Generico missed a Mafia Kick in the corner, and he hit his leg when he crashed into the ringpost. M-Dogg hit a missile dropkick, but he screwed up on his handspring dive to the floor, getting caught in the ropes. Generico immediately went to work on M-Dogg’s left leg, and he hit some chops in the ring. M-Dogg hit a moonsault press for a nearfall, and he had a bloody nose. M-Dogg hit a doublestomp on the back for a nearfall, but he missed a Shooting Star Press. Generico hit the brainbuster on the top turnbuckle in the corner for the pin. Good match.
(2) Round 2: Claudio Castagnoli defeats Mike Quackenbush at 9:42. A fantastic, albeit short, match. Claudio came out to Bon Jovi’s “Bad Medicine,” as he wore a doctor’s gown and a mask, but he got rid of the silly outfit before the match began. Claudio hit some kicks and blows to the back, and they traded cool reversals. Quack hit a Giant Swing Headscissors Takedown. Claudio hit some European Uppercuts. Quack hit a nice armdrag and a cool monkeyflip, then a flip dive to the floor at 3:00. Back in the ring, Quack went for a move off the ropes, but Claudio caught him and hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for a nearfall. Quackenbush tied Claudio up with a double-arm lock.
Claudio hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall, and he made an arrogant one-foot cover. Quack hit a Tornado DDT off the turnbuckle to the floor at 7:00. Cool spot. In the ring, Quack hit a beautiful mid-ring hurricanrana for a nearfall. Claudio fired back with his modified Angle Slam for a nearfall. Quack hit a headscissors takedown into a rollup for a believable nearfall, and the crowd popped. Claudio hit a Code Red-style Hurricanrana, flipping Quackenbush suddenly for the pin! WOW!
(3) Round 2: Low Ki defeats Davey Richards at 16:42. Not just my match of the night, but my IWA-MS match of the YEAR thus far. WOW, this was really that good! They shook hands, and avoided each other’s kicks early. Richards grapevined the leg; Ki did a nice move to escape and apply a headlock. Ki hit a hard shoulder tackle at 3:00. Richards applied a Horse Collar, and he somehow turned the hold into an STF! This is some really good mat reversals. Richards hit a series of chops, a spin kick to the chest, and a snap suplex. Ki fired back with three hard spin kicks to the chest at 7:30, drawing a nice pop.
Ki hit a spine kick, and Richards stood up, and they stared at each other, nose-to-nose. Ki hit a second spine kick! Richards came back with a belly-to-belly overhead suplex, a backbreaker over his knee, and three hard kicks to the chest. Ki hit a Crucifix Takdown for a nearfall, then a hard kick to Richards’ chest as Ki was lying on the mat at 10:00. Richards hit a Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall, then his Ultimo Dragon-style right & left kicks. Ki hit his Kobashi-style chops, a running forearm, and some overhead knife-edge chops. Ki applied a Dragon Clutch in the ropes! Ki hit a top-rope flying forearm for a nearfall at 12:00.
Ki hit two Tajiri-style spin kicks, but he missed the third; Richards began to mimic Low Ki by hitting his own Tajiri-style spin kicks! This just infuriated Low Ki, who hit some Kawada Kicks. Richards fired back with his handspring-back-enziguri. Ki hit his rolling-forward Koppo Kick, and they were both down, with the fans loudly chanting for Low Ki. Richards hit a gutbuster over his knee and a sitdown powerbomb for a believable nearfall.
Ki missed a top-rope doublestomp to the chest. Richards tied Ki up in a hammerlock submission hold on the mat, but Ki reached the ropes. Richards went for a top-rope Shooting Star Press, but Ki got his knees up to block it. Ki hit his running double-boot dropkick to the chest, then a top-rope doublestomp, for the pin! Wow, that was fun, stiff, intense, brutal, action-packed. Excellent match.
(4) Round 2: Chris Hero defeats Trik Davis at 16:30. Another fantastic match! Hero, like on night 1, came to the ring with two title belts. Before Hero could get in the ring, Trik attacked him from behind! Trik hit some stiff forearms and a running dropkick on the floor. Trik got in the ring and dove through the ropes onto Hero, but Hero caught him and slammed Trik’s head on the apron. The fans chanted, “F— you Hero!” Hero unloaded some chops on the floor, then a doublestomp in the ring at 3:00, and he choked Trik. Hero was fully in control of the match, as he hit spine kicks and talked trash to Trik.
Hero nailed a basement dropkick to the face. Trik came back with a Front Guillotine Choke on the mat at 5:30, but Hero shrugged it off. Hero ripped the tape off of Trik’s right elbow, and he began to crank the right arm. Hero nailed a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 8:00. Trik rallied, slowly getting to his feet and firing up as Hero continued to pepper him with forearm shots. Trik hit a series of chops, a headbutt, and a Mafia Kick to the side of the head, then a chinbreaker over his knees for a believable nearfall. Hero hit a back suplex, then a release suplex for a nearfall.
Trik hit a top-rope hurricanrana and a flying double knees to the chest, then another chinbreaker for a nearfall. Hero nailed an Alabama Slam, and he applied a Hangman’s Clutch at 12:30, and many in the crowd chanted for Trik to tap out, but Trik reached the ropes. Good, loud “Let’s go Hero,” “Let’s go Trik” chants. They traded kicks to the chest, and Trik applied his own Hangman’s Clutch!! Hero reached the ropes. They traded headbutts in the center of the ring, and they both collapsed, with Hero landing on top, and getting a BELIEVABLE nearfall!
They traded more forearms and chops, and Hero went back to work on the right elbow. He lifted Trik in the air, holding him up entirely by his right arm, and Trik either submitted, or the ref stopped the match; I didn’t see Trik tap out. Tremendous crowd heat for this match, and Trik’s best matches of his career have been with Hero. Great stuff here.
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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(5) Round 2: Arik Cannon defeats Hallowicked at 11:19. A good match, but it had difficulty following the previous three matches. They traded mat holds, and Cannon worked on the left arm, then he hit a headbutt on the hand, hit some armdrags, and got a quick rollup for a nearfall, and they had a standoff. Hallowicked fired back with a Mafia kick for a nearfall. They traded chops, and Hallowicked hit a hard back chop, and he planted his knee in Cannon’s back. Cannon nailed a hard punch to the face and a headbutt. Hallowicked hit some hard knife-edge chops. Cannon hit a running forearm. Hallowicked caught Cannon coming off the ropes, and Hallowicked turned it into an Alabama Slam at 6:30.
Hallowicked hit a running basement dropkick for a nearfall. Cannon fired back with a swinging neckbreaker, then a top-rope assisted swinging neckbreaker. Cannon tied Hallowicked up on the mat and hit a series of chops. Cannon went for the Saito Suplex, but Hallowicked blocked it. Hallowicked then hit a hard kick to the back of the head for a nearfall at 10:00. Hallowicked hit a headscissors takedown and a sitdown powerbomb for a nearfall. Cannon nailed an enziguri, a Saito Suplex, then a Glimmering Warlock/step-up enziguri for the pin. Good match.
(6) Round 2: Roderick Strong defeats Delirious at 14:47. Another very good match. Strong bailed to the floor as Delirious went crazy at the bell. Strong grapevined an arm on the mat. Delirious hit a shoulder tackle, and he avoided a chop. Delirious hit a crossbody block, and he applied a Front Guillotine Choke at 3:30, then he hit a nice back suplex. Strong tossed Delirious across the ring, hit a chop and a Samoan Drop. Strong backed Delirious into a corner and hit several hard chops, then a nice delayed vertical suplex for a nearfall at 6:30, but Strong made an arrogant one-footed cover at 6:30, and the crowd booed.
Strong applied a Camel Clutch, and he was in charge. Strong applied a bear hug, and he turned it into an overhead suplex. Strong hit a sideslam and went back to the bear hug; Delirious hit a headbutt to escape. Delirious fired back with the BAM leaping lariat and 21 short-arm clotheslines in the corner, then a bulldog for a nearfall at 10:00. Strong hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall. Delirious hit a neckbreaker out of the corner, and he applied the Cobra Stretch, but Strong reached the ropes. Strong hit another backbreaker over his knee, and he hit hard clothesline for a believable nearfall. Strong applied a Boston Crab, but Delirious reached the ropes at 12:30.
Delirious again applied a Cobra Stretch, and he rolled Strong over and got a sudden nearfall. Strong hit some more chops. Delirious nailed the Panic Attack/running knee in the corner, then the Shadows Over Hell backsplash for a nearfall. Delirious again applied the Cobra Stretch, but Strong reached the ropes once more! Strong then hit the Gorilla Press Gutbuster over his knees, a half-nelson backbreaker, and he applied the Stronghold/vertical Boston Crab, and Delirious tapped out! Good match; on par with their match in this building in summer 2005.
(7) Vito & Sal Thomasell vs. American Kickboxer & Tarek the Great went to a no-finish at 3:21. Tarek & Kickboxer came to the ring to “The Boys Are Back in Town.” All four fought immediately in the ring. The faces took turns beating up Sal. Tarek picked up Kickboxer and powerbombed AKB onto Sal. Tarek hit a hard kick to the back of the head, and he hit each Thomaselli. Suddenly, Tarek turned and picked up Kickboxer and nailed a Musclebuster move at 3:00! They fought to the floor, with Tarek tossing Kickboxer into the chairs. I believe they fought out the door.
(8) Ricochet & Eddie Kingston & Joker defeat Brandon & Vito & Sal Thomaselli at 8:17. It was initially just four guys all fighting in the ring, but Brandon ran in and hit a Mafia Kick. Ricochet ran in the ring, and it was announced this would be a six-man, anything-goes match. Brandon chopped Ricochet. Kingston punched Vito’s forehead until Vito started bleeding. Brandon hit a Stinger Splash on Ricochet. As the Thomasellis beat up Kingston, Eddie shouted, “You M— f—ers better kill me!” In a cool spot, the three Thomasellis hit simultaneous basement dropkicks on Ricochet in the ring.
Kingston was bleeding heavily from near his eye, and Brandon kept punching away at Eddie’s face. Joker chopped Vito on the floor. In the ring, Kingston and Sal traded hard slaps to the face. Joker dropped Sal onto Kingston’s knee. Ricochet went for a splash off of Kingston’s shoulders, but it missed. Brandon hit a sitdown powerbomb, dropping Kingston across his knees at 6:30! Cool spot. Brandon hit an elevated 450 Splash onto Kingston’s back! OUCH! Joker hit a Rubik’s Cube stuffed piledriver off his shoulders on Brandon. Ricochet immediately followed that up with a double moonsault onto Brandon for the pin! This was fun non-stop action. A bit chaotic, a bit messy, but it never slowed down. (I barely saw any of the brawling between Joker and Vito, as they were out of my view most of the match.)
(9) Ryan Cruz & Darin Corbin (the North Star Express) won a six-team gauntlet at 23:32. The rules don’t really matter, because this is a fun comedy match, and meant as a breather between all the hard-hitting matches. Chris Bosh & Scott Lost opened the match against B-Boy & Ricky Reyes. This looks like a serious match at the beginning, as Reyes hit his hard right & left kicks, and B-Boy and Lost traded some quick reversals. B-Boy nailed a nice dropkick and a spine kick at 2:30. Bosh hit a nice fisherman’s suplex, and B-Boy chopped Bosh, then he hit the Facelift.
Kevin Steen & Colt Cabana entered at 5:00, but it’s obvious that Steen isn’t thrilled about his teammate, or his goofy antics. Colt cleared the ring with Dusty Elbows, but in handing out elbow shots, he also hit his partner, Steen! Funny. Lost & Reyes jumped on Steen and beat him up. Jigsaw & Gran Akuma entered at 9:00. Steen hit a nice swinging backbreaker on Bosh. Akuma hit a missile dropkick on Steen. Steen went for a rollup, forgetting that a pinfall can’t occur yet. Bosh hit a low blow punch on Jigsaw. Every wrestler tried to run in to attack Bosh, but each man somehow got hit in the groin by Bosh, who seemed frozen in one spot. Silliness, but the crowd enjoyed this spot.
Colt piled four guys in the middle of the ring at 12:00; Colt went for a frogsplash, but all four guys rolled out of the way, and Colt crashed to the mat. Scorpio Sky & Erick Stevens were now the fifth team in the match. Colt began grabbing guys and tossing them to the floor, thinking he had just won the battle royal portion of the match. Steen and Bosh traded blows, with the fans loudly chanting “Bosh” after each of his punches, and “Steen” after every one of Kevin’s blows. Stevens hit a running splash on Steen. Steen tried to tag out to Colt, but Colt backed away on the floor. At 16:00, Darin Corbin & Ryan Cruz hit the ring! Now that every team is in, this match becomes a battle royal (but once one team member is gone, the entire team is eliminated.)
Steen hit an STO on Bosh, but Colt grabbed Steen and tossed him to the floor! Steen was eliminated (which meant Colt was eliminated too!) Colt just laughed at himself for not realizing he cost his team the match. Darin hit the People’s Elbow (mimicking the Rock!) on Bosh. In a nice spot, Jigsaw & Akuma hit a high/low kick on Cruz at 20:00. Lost hit a Side Effect (Matt Hardy’s move!) on Cruz (the Hardy lookalike!) Several wrestlers beat up Darin. Jigsaw hit a chokeslam on Lost. B-Boy tossed Scorpio Sky to the floor at 22:00. B-Boy & Reyes quickly tossed Jigsaw. Bosh was suddenly tossed, as well!
This left just B-Boy & Reyes vs. Cruz & Corbin! However, Lost jumped in the ring and attacked B-Boy, which allowed Cruz to hit the Cruz Control/Team Alabama Slam on B-Boy for the pin! Cruz & Corbin hugged in the middle of the ring and celebrated their victory with ridiculous zeal. Cruz shouted, “Dreams come true in Midlothian!” The crowd enjoyed this match, which was funny but still had some good wrestling.
(10) Round 3: Arik Cannon defeats Claudio Castagnoli at 14:39. Claudio now wore three belts, as he had the IWA Swiss title on him. They traded arm holds and standing switches and some good reversals. Claudio hit his move where he swung Cannon around his back and into a faceplant at 6:00. Claudio slammed Cannon’s head into a ringpost, then he hit a hard elbow drop for a nearfall. Claudio hit a nice delayed vertical suplex, he paused to celebrate, then he got a nearfall at 9:00. Claudio mimicked Cannon’s spot where he tied the opponent up on the mat and chopped him. Cannon fired up and they hit simultaneous punches.
Claudio hit a hard European Uppercut. Cannon came back with a swinging neckbreaker, an Exploder Suplex, and a rope-assisted swinging neckbreaker, but he missed the Glimmering Warlock. Claudio hit his modified Angle Slam for a believable nearfall at 12:00, then the Pyramid Bomb/cross-armed powerbomb for another believable nearfall. Cannon hit a headbutt, a brainbuster, and some punches. Claudio came back with several European Uppercuts. Claudio went for the Tornado European Uppercut (the move he used to win on Friday in round 1), but Cannon avoided it! Cannon then hit the Glimmering Warlock for the pin! Sharp match.
(11) Round 3: Roderick Strong defeats Chris Hero at 10:40. Good match. The crowd was alternating chants for both wrestlers. The wrestlers traded chops, and Strong hit a backbreaker across his knee. Hero kicked at Strong’s left elbow, and he went to work on the left arm, twisting it, and he was in control. Hero slammed Strong’s arm into the ring post on the floor at 5:00. Hero peppered Strong with stiff forearms as they fought on the floor. Strong fought back with some hard chops.
In the ring, Strong hit a nice dropkick to the face for a nearfall, then he hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall, and he unloaded some more chops. Hero applied the (Konnan) Tequila Sunrise leglock, but Strong reached the ropes at 9:00. Strong nailed a big boot to the face for a nearfall. Hero hit a facebuster across his knee, then a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall. Strong suddenly got a backslide out of nowhere to pin Hero!!! The crowd was all over Hero, taunting him with a “Loser!” chant. Good match, and the finish out of nowhere was perfect here.
(12) Round 3: Low Ki defeats El Generico at 8:02. A fantastic-but-short match. Generico dropped much of his comedy routine for this one, as he hit a quick armdrag. Low Ki dropped Generico stomach-first across the top rope, then Ki hit some chops and a European Uppercut. Generico got a quick rollup for a nearfall, but Ki hit a hard clothesline, and he applied a bodyscissors lock. Generico went for a sunset flip, but Ki blocked it and nailed a doublestomp on the chest at 3:00! Ki kicked at Generico’s stomach, working over the abdomen.
Generico fired back with a leg lariat, a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall, and a Tornado DDT. Ki hit his rolling Koppo Kick and he nailed a springboard spin kick for a nearfall. Ki unloaded several overhead knife-edge chops, but Generico fought off the pain and got to his feet! Generico hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall, then a Mafia Kick in the corner. Ki applied a Dragon Clutch in the corner. They fought in the corner, as it looked like Generico might (for the third time in this tournament) hit the brainbuster on the top turnbuckle. However, Low Ki pushed Generico back into the Tree of Woe, and Ki NAILED the Ghetto Stomp to the chest for the pin. Non-stop action. Good stuff.
(Quick backstory: Abercrombie and Black have had a series of matches dating back to early 2005. Also, former IWA-Mid South champion Jimmy Jacobs was publicly fired in the middle of the ring in January 2006 immediately after losing his title. Jacobs was in ‘hot water’ when he threw the IWA-MS title in a trash can at an AAW show in November 2005. Jim Fannin, in particular, has spewed hatred toward Jacobs for that incident.
(13) Josh Abercrombie defeats Tyler Black at 12:17 in a loser-leave-IWA-for-six-months match. The crowd was hot and split as these two opened with some mat wrestling. Black hit a shoulder tackle and a nice dropkick. Abercrombie hit a hard dropkick to the back as Tyler was caught in the ropes, and Josh got a nearfall at 3:30. Josh choked Tyler with a chain, and he hit a doublestomp on the back for a nearfall, and he hit some blows on Tyler’s back. Tyler fired back with a double knees shot to the chest, then a nice Pele Kick for a nearfall at 7:00, then a Falcon Arrow slam.
Tyler missed a top-rope Phoenix Splash, and Josh immediately hit a side suplex for a nearfall. Josh went for the Taliban Backpack/top-rope Lungblower, but he missed it. Tyler hit a Mafia Kick and a frogsplash for a believable nearfall, and he hit some hard kicks to the chest. Josh hit a twisting neckbreaker, and this time, he NAILED the Taliban Backpack for a BELIEVABLE nearfall. Josh planted his knees in Tyler’s back, and he stretched Black on the mat. Tyler hit a cradle suplex for a nearfall. Tyler again went for a Phoenix Splash, but he missed it again!
Moments later, Tyler went for a third Phoenix Splash, and this time he connected! Tyler covered Josh for the pin attempt, but suddenly, Jim Fannin was at ringside, and he stopped the ref’s count! Out of nowhere, JIMMY JACOBS ran in the ring and attacked Tyler Black!! The crowd went nuts, chanting, “Holy sh!t” at Jacobs’ appearance! Abercrombie hit a suplex and scored the easy pin on the prone Black for the victory.
Jacobs, Abercrombie, and Jim Fannin stood in the ring. This is surreal! Fannin then revealed he put the “fine print” in Abercrombie’s contract at the “Simply the Best” show that allowed Josh to keep his mustache. “We can make a buttload of money together,” Fannin told Jacobs & Abercrombie. Fannin and Jacobs went to hug, but Fannin applied a bearhug! Fannin started yelling at Jacobs, saying he would never be forgiven! Suddenly, Bull Pain and Mitch Page hit the ring and attacked Jacobs! Bull Pain hit a frogsplash, and Page hit a second-rope Vader Bomb. Out of nowhere, Toby Klein ran to ringside to save Jacobs! However, Bull Pain gave Klein a Pedigree on a chair, and Klein was bleeding, and he apparently couldn’t feel his arm.
(14) Chuck Taylor defeats Toby Klein at 9:41 to win the IWA-MS Heavyweight Title. They immediately fought on the floor, with Klein tossing Taylor into chairs. Klein beat him up in the ring, and he hit some open-hand body blows, but Klein was bleeding from the attack before this match. Taylor hit a nice dropkick, and he kicked at the left shoulder. Taylor hit a belly-to-belly overhead suplex, then a second-rope moonsault for a nearfall at 3:30. Taylor tied him up on the mat, then he hit another nice dropkick to the face.
Toby missed a springboard back elbow, and he crashed HARD to the mat. Moments later, Toby hit a springboard back elbow. Taylor hit a twisting neckbreaker, and Klein clutched at his injured shoulder. Taylor kicked him repeatedly as Klein got to his feet. Klein kicked Taylor in the face. Taylor hit a step-up enziguri at 8:00, then a backflip driver. Toby fired back with a spinning Death Valley Driver for a nearfall, and the crowd was HOT. Taylor hit an awesome running neckbreaker out of the corner for the pin! New champion!
Immediately after the match, Fannin & Bull Pain & Mitch Page hit the ring, and they beat up Klein & Taylor, then Ricochet, who tried to save Taylor. Fannin said they were beating up Klein for getting in their business. Fannin also wasn’t kind in his assessment of Taylor. “He didn’t earn it. We handed him the title on a silver platter,” Fannin said. Out of nowhere, NECRO BUTCHER ran to the ring to save Klein from a beatdown. The crowd went nuts at the return of the madman (and it was strange to see Necro actually wearing shoes!)
(15) Low Ki defeats Roderick Strong and Arik Cannon to win the TPI at 34:09. WOW, another tremendous, hard-hitting match. Cannon had switched to his white one-piece outfit, and there is a substantial number of anti-Cannon chants emanating from the crowd. All three began trading hard chops at the bell! These were loud, LOUD chops! Ki hit a hard kick to Cannon’s head. Strong hit a backbreaker on Ki. Cannon hit some stiff forearms and punches on Strong. Strong hit a leg lariat on Cannon at 3:30. Low Ki hit his Koppo Kick on Strong. Cannon tied up Ki on the mat, but Strong hit Cannon. Strong hit Ki with a backbreaker. Ki hit a spine kick on Cannon.
Cannon hit a Hennig necksnap on Strong. Ki and Strong traded a series of hard kicks. Cannon hit a basement dropkick on Strong’s knee at 9:00. The action spilled to the floor, as all three traded loud devastating chops. Cannon nailed Strong with a headbutt. In the ring, Strong & Cannon did a team backbody drop on Ki, and they both covered him for a nearfall at 11:30. Strong and Cannon began trading hard blows at each other, and Cannon hit a headbutt. Ki slapped Cannon on the side of the head. In a neat spot, Cannon held back Ki’s arms, and Strong hit some chops on Ki’s exposed chest at 14:00. Strong hit a gutwrench suplex on Ki. Ki went on offense, hitting chops on both opponents.
Strong wrapped Ki around the ringpost, and he & Cannon continued to work together on Ki. Ki nailed his springboard spin kick on Strong at 18:30, and they were all down. I didn’t see Cannon injure his foot, but it happened sometime around here. Ki hit some Kobashi-style rapid-fire chops on Cannon, then another rolling Koppo Kick on Strong. In a cool spot, Cannon hit a Spider German Suplex out of the corner on Strong, but this left Cannon in the Tree of Woe, and it appeared Ki was going to hit the Ghetto Stomp! However, Cannon was able to avoid the move!
Strong hit a backbreaker on Ki as Ki tried for a doublestomp on Cannon. Cannon hit a twisting neckbreaker off the top rope on Strong for a nearfall, but Strong reached the ropes. Cannon went for the Glimmering Warlock, but Strong avoided it, and Strong hit the big boot on Cannon. Strong applied the Stronghold/vertical Boston Crab, but Ki nailed Strong with a kick. Ki hit some spin kicks on Cannon, then some Kawada Kicks at 24:30. Cannon fired back with a Saito Suplex on Low Ki. Ki hit a top-rope doublestomp as Cannon was lying in the ropes! Strong pulled Cannon into the ring and got a believable nearfall.
Ki and Strong began trading chops in the center of the ring, and Ki NAILED Strong with a hard kick to the face, made a cover, and scored a pinfall on Strong at 27:36. Strong may have been legitimately knocked out from the kick! The crowd was loud and split between Low Ki and Cannon! Cannon hit a rope-assisted Pedigree faceplant, then a brainbuster for a believable nearfall. Cannon set up for a Glimmering Warlock, but Ki hit a rolling Koppo Kick! Moments later, Cannon hit the Glimmering Warlock for a believable nearfall at 30:00!
Cannon hit a headbutt, and he set up for a second-rope brainbuster, but Ki avoided it. Ki pushed Cannon to the mat, and Ki nailed a Phoenix Splash/corkscrew press for a believable nearfall! Ki applied a Dragon Clutch in the center of the ring, and Cannon passed out, giving the victory to Low Ki! Excellent hard-hitting match.
Ian Rotten once again had the mic, and he put over Cannon, saying how proud he was of him for toughing out the match with an injured ankle. He then talked about Low Ki, and he said some people have an undeserved reputation. “He’s been nothing but a class act each and every time,” Rotten said. Ki and Cannon shook hands, and Cannon left.
Ki started to talk on the mic, when suddenly, Chris Hero came to the ring! “Until you’ve beaten Chris Hero…” and the crowd booed Hero down before he could finish his sentence! That was great! Hero told Low Ki, “You don’t have my respect.” Rotten got on the mic and said that Hero had become a d!ck since joining Ring of Honor, and he couldn’t believe that Hero had the gall to wear an ROH title belt to his show. Ian then set a match between Low Ki and Chris Hero, and it would be a No. 1 contender match for the heavyweight title.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Show ends at 11:50 p.m. WOW. Night 2, by itself, is right up there with the ROH “Better Than Our Best” show, also from Chicago, as the best nights of wrestling this year. First, Low Ki and Davey Richards delivered a stiff, believable match that has moved ahead of Ki-Necro Butcher as my IWA-MS match of the year. Tremendous stuff.
The three-way finale, at second best of the night, is the third-best match I’ve seen in IWA-MS this year, as these three guys brutalized each other with forearms and chops. Considering the fans had already seen five hours of wrestling, these guys really had to go the extra mile to make fans this hot, and these wrestlers did it.
Matches 2-4 is the best three-match stretch of the year for IWA-Mid South. If there was an award for “best match of the year under 10 minutes in length,” Claudio vs. Quackenbush would win it, hands down. The post-match celebration of Quack felt spontaneous and honest, and Quack is a truly humble individual. Then, Trik and Hero drew as much crowd heat as anyone, as they traded hard blows and headbutts.
There were several other matches that deserve recognition, too. Delirious-Strong and Cannon-Castagnoli could have been “best matches of the night” on many other shows, but not on this stacked show.
The unexpected returns: I haven’t followed the Necro Butcher ‘drama,’ so I didn’t realize he’d been gone from IWA-Mid South. The fans were thrilled to have him back. The Jimmy Jacobs return was a stunner, and it was brilliantly done. He returned as a heel (which he clearly should, after how he left the company!), but in a matter of seconds, the other heels turned on him, which should make Jacobs a face again. I consider this a good thing, as a heel Jacobs had run its course in this promotion. I expect Jacobs will face Abercrombie for a few months, then ease back into a babyface run.
What didn’t work for me: Honestly, very little. I don’t mind the title change, per se, but Chuck Taylor is now the sixth different champion this year, and to me, that’s a concern. Too many champs in one year, in my eyes, devalues the belt. I don’t think many people see Taylor as a guy who’s going to carry the belt for months, either. We’ll see.
I’m not a fan of comedy matches, but this one was enjoyable. That said, if you missed night 1, you might not even remember Scorpio Sky, as he was barely visible in that match. I guess I was a bit disappointed more of the PWG guys didn’t advance to the second round, but it allowed them all to work together in this comedy match. Colt & Steen stole the match, though. Some fans seemed to really like Erick Stevens; I thought he was fine, but nothing really memorable either.
Cannon injury update: He visited a doctor and will be out two to four weeks, but nothing is broken.
This DVD, presumably covering both days, will be available soon at www.smartmarkvideo.com. I’m not one for hyperbole, but this is truly a show-of-the-year candidate, for any U.S. promotion, and not just IWA-Mid South. A must-buy DVD set for indy wrestling fans.
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