Roderick Strong debuts, the Gambinos return, and someone leaves forever…
Winner Takes All on November 20th, 2010
Opening Match: Logan Shulo vs. Matt Justice
Justice connects with a springboard back elbow and dropkicks Shulo off the apron. He follows with a dive to the outside. Back in, Shulo blocks another springboard maneuver and takes control. He hits a gourdbuster along with a spear in the corner. Justice comes back with a boot and goes up top. Shulo leaps to the top rope and hits a superplex. Justice wins a strike exchange and snaps off a powerslam. Shulo catches him off a springboard with a german suplex and hits a gutbuster. Justice connects with a flying knee strike followed by a springboard clothesline for the win at 9:16. Both men worked hard and have improved greatly throughout 2010. This was an energetic opener that allowed them to improve upon their match at the last show. Justice has a shot at the Super Indy Title and should be someone to watch out for in 2011. **½
Match #2: Dean Radford vs. Dennis Gregory
The winner will become the #1 contender for the IWC World Heavyweight Title. Gregory unleashes a flurry of offense early on but gets caught by an uppercut. Gregory recovers with sole food and lands a dive to the floor. He puts Radford on a propped chair. Gregory misses a dive from the apron and crashes into the chair. They begin talking on the outside and the match is ruled a double countout at 3:55. Purely used for storyline advancement. The finish would normally irritate me, but I know that it will be clearly explained by the end of the show. ½*
Match #3: David R. Dimera vs. Tyler Stone
They wrestle to a stalemate. Stone snaps off a few armdrags but Dimera throws him into the ringpost and hits an STO. Dimera rolls through a sunset flip and connects with a dropkick. Stone responds with a dragon screw leg whip and a spinning leg drop. He misses a knockout kick and Dimera hits a modified gutbuster. Stone comes back with a german suplex. Dimera avoids another knockout kick and hits a fisherman buster. He misses a top rope senton and Stone hits a butterfly piledriver for the victory at 6:07. This was the best performance that I’ve seen out of Stone and he definitely had the crowd’s support. Dimera held his own and I wouldn’t mind seeing either of these two back in IWC next year. **½
Jimmy Vegas comes out after the match and hits a double underhook suplex on Stone followed by a belly to belly suplex on Dimera. Vegas runs down his credentials and wonders why he wasn’t booked tonight. He respects Dean Radford for taking a stand against the new regime. Vegas claims that everyone who holds a title in IWC is friends with Chuck Roberts. Change is coming tonight and if you aren’t running with him, you better be running from him. Vegas leaves as Bubba the Bulldog comes to the ring with John McChesney and Irish Airborne. Bubba says that tonight is Jimmy DeMarco’s last night in IWC. He also claims that Los Dagos are fired. Therefore, Irish Airborne are the #1 contenders for the IWC Tag Team Titles. Jon Bolen interrupts and tells Bubba that he is the new #1 contender for the IWC World Heavyweight Title. Chuck Roberts now interrupts with a contract in his hand. Chuck proposes a #1 contender’s match later between Bubba and Bolen. Bubba checks with McChesney and then accepts the offer. He signs Chuck’s contract. However, the contract was actually legislation to reinstate the Gambinos. They make their way to the ring, leading to…
Match #4: Mickey and Marshall Gambino vs. Dave and Jake Crist
The winners will become the #1 contenders for the IWC Tag Team Titles. The Gambinos dominate to start with some double team offense. A distraction from Dave allows Jake to catch Mickey with a mafia kick. Dave lands a top rope senton across Mickey’s back and Irish Airborne isolate him. He dodges a springboard moonsault from Jake and makes the tag. Marshall connects with a double clothesline and cleans house. The Gambinos lay out Dave with a flapjack. Jake superkicks Mickey while Marshall hits a TKO on Dave. The Gambinos roll up Irish Airborne for the win at 9:10. These two teams have great chemistry together and delivered their usual solid match. With a little more time, this could have turned into something more worthwhile. However, I’m glad that the Gambinos have finally dumped the “Los Dagos” persona. **½
Match #5: Shiima Xion vs. Roderick Strong
The referee bans Shane Taylor from ringside before the match. They begin with some chain wrestling and find themselves at a stalemate. Xion connects with a dropkick and starts to work over the left arm. Strong answers with a few chops but gets caught by a slingshot stomp. He retreats to the floor where Xion catches him with a baseball slide to the left arm. Strong dumps Xion back-first across the apron and connects with more chops. In the ring, Strong takes control and targets Xion’s back. Xion fights off a superplex and connects with a missile dropkick. He snaps off a hurricanrana and hits a DDT. Strong walks into a samoan drop and Xion lands a springboard moonsault. Strong hits a falcon arrow but finds himself in a crossface. He’s able to reach the bottom rope. Xion misses a charge and gets nailed by a gamenguiri. He recovers by superkicking Strong for a nearfall. They battle up top and Strong hits a backbreaker across the top turnbuckle. He applies the Stronghold but Xion reaches the bottom rope. They trade forearms and Xion connects with a superkick. Xion goes back to the crossface but Strong reverses it into the Stronghold. Xion turns it into a pin attempt for a two count. They exchange strikes, ending with Xion connecting with two more superkicks. Strong hits a saito suplex and connects with a superkick of his own. Strong follows with a gutbuster and the Gibson Driver for the victory at 19:51. Xion looked incredible, even in defeat. He brought the fight to Strong and they ended up meshing really well. They worked a smart match early on, with Xion attempting to neutralize Strong’s chops. The action down the stretch flowed nicely and kept the crowd guessing due to some unique counters. Xion continues to be the most consistent wrestler in IWC and I don’t expect that trend to stop in 2011. ***¾
Strong puts over Xion after the match and recommends a change in attitude.
Match #6: Bubba the Bulldog vs. Jon Bolen
The winner will become the #1 contender for the IWC World Heavyweight Title. Bubba ducks a clothesline and takes time to regroup on the floor. Back in, Bolen hits a scoop slam and connects with a corner clothesline. Bubba uses the referee as a distraction to gain the advantage. He hits a double underhook DDT and a chinbreaker. Bolen reverses a bulldog into the Meltdown for the win at 5:28. Bolen was clearly not at 100%. Still, this was a pretty harmless match to set him up as the #1 contender. *
Match #7: IWC Tag Team Titles: Jason Gory and Michael Facade © vs. Ashley Sixx and Michael Elgin
Hit And Run is replacing Aeroform. Elgin violently throws Facade across the ring. Flippin’ Ain’t Easy fight back with stereo dropkicks. Gory snaps off a hurricanrana on Sixx along with a satellite headscissors. Facade catches Sixx with a springboard enzuigiri but runs into a slingshot shoulder block from Elgin. Elgin hits a delayed vertical suplex on Facade and suplexes him across Sixx’s knee. Hit And Run isolate him until he avoids a corkscrew senton from Elgin and makes the tag. Gory cleans house. Facade walks the top rope and dropkicks Elgin. Gory plants Sixx with a tornado DDT and Facade adds a guillotine leg drop. Elgin hits a fallaway slam-samoan drop combination on Flippin’ Ain’t Easy. Elgin powerbombs Facade onto Sixx’s knees. Facade sends Sixx to the floor but misses a plancha. Sixx catches him with a dive to the outside. Gory follows out with an asai moonsault. Elgin adds a dive of his own and takes Facade out with a lariat in the ring. Gory hits the QAS on Elgin. Flippin’ Ain’t Easy connect with stereo enzuigiris on Sixx and follow with the Buddy Moonsault to retain their titles at 12:03. Hit And Run surpassed my expectations and were a more than suitable replacement for Aeroform. They complemented the champions well and delivered some innovative double teams. Flippin’ Ain’t Easy have been having consistently solid title defenses and the crowd is always vocal for their matches. Hopefully Hit And Run return to IWC sooner rather than later. ***¼
Match #8: Strap Match: Eric Lee Schwab vs. Justin Idol
Idol connects with a flurry of strikes and hits a basement flatliner. Schwab tries to run away but forgets about the strap. Idol connects with a baseball slide and a knockout kick. He touches two turnbuckles but gets interrupted. Schwab pulls him off the top rope and takes control with an inverted DDT. Schwab shrugs off a tornado DDT and hits an overhead suplex into the turnbuckles. Idol comes back with a slingshot senton and whips Schwab with the strap. The action goes to the outside where Schwab hits a chokeslam onto the entrance ramp. In the ring, Schwab touches three turnbuckles but Idol barely stops him from reaching the fourth. Chest Flexor gets on the apron and accidentally punches Schwab with a steel chain. Idol touches three turnbuckles. Schwab tries to stop him but gets caught by a low blow. Idol connects with a shining wizard and touches the fourth turnbuckle for the victory at 9:46. I know the stipulation played into their feud, but it was an odd choice for the blowoff. Aside from a few annoyances such as Idol going for the win too soon and the short duration, they delivered a solid match considering the circumstances. Hopefully Idol is given a more important role in 2011. I don’t think that a run with the Super Indy Title would be out of the question. **¾
Flexor yells at Schwab after the match and then slaps him. Schwab responds by spearing him and hitting a rope-assisted DDT.
Super Hentai makes his way to the ring for Shiima Xion’s final test. If he is victorious tonight, he will receive a shot at the Super Indy Title. Shiima Xion comes out and announces Hentai’s opponent: Sera Feeny. Hentai quickly rolls her up for the win. Xion now brings out Corey Futuristic. Hentai headbutts him repeatedly and lands double knees from the top rope to defeat him. Xion finally calls upon Nicki Valentino. A few more students come out and attack Hentai. Valentino gets disqualified and Hentai wins again. Jimmy Vegas and Dean Radford interrupt and throw the students out of the ring. Radford starts attacking Hentai until Xion calls him off. Xion tells Hentai to prepare for their match in January. Apparently, Hentai is now the #1 contender. This segment was worthwhile just for the comedy that Xion brought to it.
Match #9: IWC World Heavyweight Title: Last Man Standing: Jimmy DeMarco © vs. John McChesney
The loser must retire from professional wrestling. The ring announcer rattles off every nickname that DeMarco has ever had. Fans throw condoms in the ring for DeMarco. Someone even throws in a dildo. They trade punches and DeMarco hits a powerslam. He grabs a whiteboard from a fan and kills McChesney with it. DeMarco also lays in a chair shot. McChesney finds life with a well-timed dropkick and hits a back suplex onto the chair. The action goes to the floor where DeMarco connects with a few chops. McChesney puts DeMarco onto a chair in the front row and then lands a dive over the guardrail. DeMarco looks to have hurt his left knee on the dive. DeMarco hits the C4 on the floor. In the ring, McChesney connects with repeated chair shots. They exchange chops and McChesney goes low. McChesney punches out the referee as Bubba the Bulldog, Jimmy Vegas, and Dean Radford come to the ring. They handcuff DeMarco to the ropes. Super Hentai and Jon Bolen make the save and chase off Radford and Vegas. McChesney hits DeMarco with a baseball bat. A new referee comes out and Bubba tells him to count. DeMarco gets to his feet at the nine count and escapes the handcuffs. He delivers a low blow and does something really profane with the baseball bat. DeMarco sends McChesney into a propped chair. McChesney blocks another chair shot, goes low, and blasts DeMarco with the chair. DeMarco beats the ten count so McChesney superkicks the referee. DeMarco punches a chair into McChesney’s face. Bubba grabs the chair but Chuck Roberts stops him from using it. Dennis Gregory comes out with a chair and HITS DEMARCO! McChesney adds one last violent chair shot. Bubba makes Chuck count to ten. McChesney becomes the new IWC World Heavyweight Champion at 13:00 and DeMarco must retire from professional wrestling. First of all, this match obviously had to be cut short due to DeMarco’s injury off the dive into the crowd. However, the injury didn’t prohibit the storyline elements from working effectively. IWC usually likes to end the year with a major shock and they succeeded for the most part here. The promotion definitely has a lot of options heading into 2011. This is the kind of match where you need to be familiar with the story behind it in order to fully appreciate the action. However, even with DeMarco’s injury, they were able to put over the story and provide a decent main event. ***¼
Chuck cannot believe what just happened. McChesney, Bubba, Gregory, Vegas, and Radford celebrate in the ring. Fans throw trash into the ring. Bubba gives DeMarco a chance to say goodbye to the fans. DeMarco asks McChesney how he can be happy with his title win. DeMarco thanks the crowd and the IWC staff. Bubba offers him another chance to wrestle if he drops to his knees and begs. DeMarco drops to his knees but instead decides to low blow Bubba. Bubba’s henchmen rush the ring as DeMarco leaves through the crowd.
Overall: Winner Takes All ends the year on a high note for IWC. Roderick Strong made his debut in the promotion with a great match against Shiima Xion, Flippin’ Ain’t Easy continue to have worthwhile title defenses, and the main event delivered despite being somewhat hampered by a mid-match injury. The undercard has also seen improvement with some students beginning to stand out. Finally, this show carries a lot of historical importance as it may feature DeMarco’s last match and it sets up a new direction for IWC heading into 2011. While the match quality isn’t ridiculously high, I can safely give this show a recommendation.
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