Getting back into some of the shows provided by the fine people at Powerbomb.TV with another awesome show by IWA Mid-South. This time we go back to the year 2002, some place warm, a place where the beer flows like wine, where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano. Sorry, forgot where I was going for a second. Anyway, let’s go look at some great wrestling action and hope I don’t quote any more 90’s movies for my own amusement.

March 1, 2002

Indianapolis, Indiana

-We start out with a promo from Ian Rotten about the upcoming April Blood Showers show, we also learned that Ian HATED the “What?” chants. On a positive note they have kinda died out in 2017 for the most part (except for wanker crowds trying to get themselves over).

Match 1: Singles

Hy-Zaya vs Cash Flo

Winner: Cash Flo after a big splash from the top rope.

Notes and Opinion: This was a hell of a fun opener even if it seemed a bit on the short side. Hy-Zaya had just came back from injury but hadn’t looked like he lost a step. He and Cash put on a good match with the only issue being Hy almost killing himself on a senton in the middle of the ring. Landed straight on his damn head and it looked sick. Both guys worked hard and the crowd was really into it so this was a very successful opener in my book.

Match 2: Singles

Chuck E. Smooth vs Brad Bradley

Winner: Brad picked up the pin after a powerbomb

Notes and Opinion: Chuck was shaking his ass out there to start and then we had some stalling. Brad had the look and he was fine in the ring, but even though he had stints in WWE and TNA he always seemed like he was missing an intangible to make himself a star. This match was OK but couldn’t live up to the opener unfortunately. Brad left Chuck laying after the match and the ref had to help him out.

Match 3: Singles

Light Heavyweight Champion “Sexy” Ace Steel vs “Ice Pick” Vic Capri with Sherri Martel

Winner: Ace gets the win with a nice springboard DDT from the top rope

Notes and Opinion: I forgot that Vic was short as fuck and barely made it up to Sherri’s (holding up pretty well at that point) tits. This was as good as a match was going to get in 2002, both guys looked great, sold well and made everything look legit. It goes to show how two well trained guys can go out there and control the crowd with a good match and some well timed manager shenanigans. My favorite part is that every third move didn’t have a damn ripcord set up like most indy matches these days.

Match 4: Taped Fist

Chris Hero with Nadia Nice (Yep) vs “Rugby Thug” Trent Baker with Dave Prazak

Winner: Thug knocked out Hero with a chain taped to his fist

Notes and Opinion: I don’t know if I’ve seen a Hero match that I didn’t like. This was no exception as both guys went at it with intensity and had the crowd rocking and rolling. If Hero was built like Brad Bradley he would be on his 5th or 6th Wrestlemania main even right now, brother is that good. My only complaint was the hair on Prazak, shit that looked awful.

Match 5: Singles for the #1 contender to IWA Mid-South World Heavyweight Championship

Ian Rotten vs Colt Cabana

Winner: Roll up by Colt after a missed elbow drop

Notes and Opinion: I love Ian Rotten as a hardcore wrestler, he is amazing, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again THE FUCKER CAN WRESTLE. Anyone who says otherwise I will fist fight. He and Colt put on another hell of a mat classic in there. It told a great story and even when it went out to the floor it never got sloppy or too relying on hardcore to keep going. I love shit like this and it’s the reason I still watch wrestling even though Bray Wyatt exists. I hate to say it but this isn’t even the match of the night, and I loved it.

-After the match  both guys cut promos putting each other over plus some IWA chants.

Match 6: Tag Team Championships, Loser of the Fall leaves for 30 Days

Tag Team Champions Mean and Hard (Mitch Page and Rollin Hard) with Holly Wood vs “Marvelous” Mitch Ryder and Todd Morton

Winner: Ryder got rolled up by Rollin and says goodbye for 30 days

Notes and Opinion: Holly gets nailed before the match and it isn’t mentioned by anyone so I guess I will ignore it too (No I won’t. I don’t know what happened there, she got hit with a bat by BULL FUCKING PAIN and 5 seconds later no sold that shit). The story told in promo form and then in the match is that Mitch was the weak link of the team. Solid tag match from all 4 guys as Mean and Hard were always entertaining as fuck. Good, fun match with an ending that made sense.

Match 7: Falls Count Anywhere in Indianpolis

Axl Rotten vs Bull Pain

Winner: Axl got the pin after a DDT on a chair and a legdrop onto a barbed wire wrapped bat.

Notes and Opinion: For all the people that said IWA is all blood and guts and no wrestling, this was the first match of the night with any blood in it and they hadn’t had a bad match yet. Now after saying that, this match was bloody as hell (mostly Axl, although Bull bled some) and had the crowd going. Both men are amazing wrestlers so this type of fight was dead center in their wheel houses. Hell of a fight and both guys looked tough as shit out there.

-After the match Bull cuts an intense promo on Axl challenging him again. Axl responds by upping the ante to a 4-corners of Pain match. Then Bull and Morton jump Axl until Rollin and Mitch make the save. AFTER THAT, Bull ups the ante again to adding a Log Cabin of Death to the equation. Holy shit y’all.

Match 8: 3-Way Dance for the IWA Mid-South World Heavyweight Championship

World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk with Dave Prazak vs Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero

Winner: Eddie pinned Punk with the Frogsplash NEW CHAMPION!

Notes and Opinion: CM Punk was one of the brightest stars on the Independent scene at this point, putting on incredible matches and earning the respect of fans everywhere. Here? He was just the third best wrestler in an awesome match. All 3 men would eventually win the WWE Championship and headline Wrestlemanias (in one form or another) but in this match, at this time, Eddie Guerrero was the fucking man. Rey is a legend in this business and he was only playing a distant second fiddle to Eddie here. Eddie was on a mission to turn his career and life around and looked amazing out there. This match was awesome, any time Punk is the weak link? You got yourselves a show people.

-Punk leaves to the cheers from the crowd.

Match 9: Tag Team, Barb Wire boards, Fans Bring the Weapons

Necro Butcher and Corporal Robinson vs Mad Man Pondo and “Spyder” Nate Webb

Winner: Necro pinned Pondo after Nate was superplexed off the top rope onto the barb wire board that was laying on Pondo

Notes and Opinion: To tell you how crazy this match was, noted crowd weirdo Mike Miller brought a fucking KITCHEN SINK (no doubt marked down from Home Depot, that sneaky bastard) for these maniacs to use…and they did. This was just a good old fashioned IWA FIGHT man everybody bled, everybody fought hard and everybody earned the respect of the crowd. I only got scared at one point in which Nate did a twisting splash from the top to the floor and was only caught by said floor. Poor bastard could have died, but in what makes him ( and the other 3 guys) great was he got up and kept right on putting his body on the line to give the people a show. Kudos and congrats to everyone involved, great way to end a show.

Overall Thoughts: Another organization may have used the slogan “Then, Now and Forever” but I feel it applies to the quality of the shows IWA had, and continues to put on weekly. They give the fans their money’s worth every single time out and this show was no exception. Come for the violence and stay for the fucking WRESTLING people. Top notch show. Congratulations and thank you to everyone involved, and Rest in Peace to those we’ve lost. 

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