The Road to Super Indy X on May 27th, 2011
Opening Match: Bobby Beverly and Nicki Valentino vs. Joe Gacy and Ryan Slater
Valentino snaps off a few armdrags on Slater and Beverly adds a basement dropkick. A distraction from Slater allows Gacy to clothesline Beverly on the apron. The Runaways isolate him until he connects with an enzuigiri on Gacy and makes the tag. Valentino hits a flatliner on Slater and brawls around ringside with Gacy. Beverly connects with a corner dropkick on Slater but walks into a stomp from Gacy. Gacy hits a powerbomb on Valentino and the Runaways follow with a blockbuster-powerbomb combination for a nearfall. Beverly connects with a bicycle kick on Gacy followed by a superkick on Slater. Valentino hits a german suplex on Slater for the win at 8:53. Both teams put in a solid performance and could go a long way towards freshening up the tag team division in IWC. The Runaways can be impressive when used outside of a deathmatch setting and they proved that in this effective opener. **½
Match #2: Cingsley vs. David R. Dimera
Dimera tries to ground Cingsley early on. They trade punches and Cingsley hits a neckbreaker. He takes over until Dimera avoids a charge and fights back with an STO. Cingsley responds with a neckbreaker but gets caught by a jawbreaker. Dimera comes off the top with a double axe handle and hits a fisherman buster for the victory at 7:02. This was simply a showcase for two IWC students. While they failed to fill their seven minutes with interesting action, I think Dimera has some potential if put into the ring with a capable opponent. *¼
Match #3: Bubba the Bulldog vs. Marshall Gambino
Bubba has brought a bodyguard with him in case Jimmy DeMarco decides to make an appearance. He announces that whenever a member of the Founding Fathers is wrestling tonight, the rules are relaxed. Marshall comes to the ring with weapons, taking advantage of the relaxed rules. Marshall connects with a yakuza kick and gains the advantage. Bubba finds an opening with a bulldog as the crowd chants “we want Jimmy.” Bubba connects with a dropkick and hits a chinbreaker. He comes off the middle rope with an elbow drop and goes to get some weapons. Jimmy DeMarco appears out of nowhere and assaults Bubba. The bodyguard takes down DeMarco and security escorts him out of the building. Marshall brawls with Bubba around ringside and hits a swinging uranagi in the ring. Dean Radford appears but Marshall just throws a trash can at him. Marshall brings a chair into the ring but Radford attacks him from behind with a crutch. Bubba attacks Marshall with repeated chair shots. The referee stops the match, giving Bubba the win at 8:42. There’s not much here in the way of wrestling, but this was great storyline advancement for the main program in IWC surrounding the Founding Fathers. DeMarco continues to be a looming threat and I’m curious to see how everything develops in the coming months.
Chuck Roberts and a doctor come out to check on Marshall. More staff enters the ring and Marshall is eventually able to get to his feet.
Adam Cole cuts a promo backstage. He says that a lot of people call him “super” and he plans on advancing to Super Indy X. He feels disrespected that IWC is making him qualify for the tournament. Cole promises that he will become the Super Indy Champion…
Match #4: Justin Idol vs. Adam Cole
The winner will receive a spot in Super Indy X. They trade control of a wristlock and wrestle to a stalemate. Idol snaps off a few armdrags and connects with a dropkick. Cole blocks a dive attempt with an enzuigiri and takes control. Idol comes back with a sit-out gourdbuster and hits a basement flatliner. Cole answers with a fireman’s carry neckbreaker and regains control. They both attempt crossbodies and collide in the center of the ring. Idol escapes the Corona Crash, avoids a flying crossbody, and hits a brainbuster. Cole connects with an enzuigiri and hits a neckbreaker in the ropes. Idol responds with a tombstone out of nowhere for a nearfall. Cole connects with a superkick and hits Coleateral for a two count. He applies a boston crab but Idol reaches the bottom rope. Idol fights off another boston crab and connects with a shining wizard for a nearfall. They trade pin attempts to no avail. Idol tries a springboard maneuver but eats a superkick. Cole hits the Corona Crash for the victory at 12:07. While Cole was the obvious choice for Super Indy X, Idol really benefited from looking strong in defeat. Idol has been in limbo since his feud with Eric Lee Schwab ended and this was by far his best performance since then. They were able to generate some believable nearfalls down the stretch and their offenses meshed well. Cole is on fire right now and should be fun to watch in the tournament. ***¼
Match #5: IWC Tag Team Titles: Jason Gory and Michael Facade © vs. Dennis Gregory and Jimmy Vegas
Flippin’ Ain’t Easy descend from the balcony as usual. However, when Gory reaches the floor, the Founding Fathers attack him. Gregory suplexes Gory onto the entrance ramp. Facade attempts a headscissors but Gregory catches him and swings him into the guardrail. Vegas chokeslams Gory in the ring and the Founding Fathers take control. Facade connects with a springboard spin kick on Gregory. Vegas fallaway slams Gory into Facade. He hits a gutbuster on Gory followed by a german suplex. The Founding Fathers work over Gory until he hits a chinbreaker on Vegas and makes the tag. Facade connects with a springboard spin kick on Vegas. Gory lands a dive to the floor onto the Founding Fathers and Facade follows with a dive of his own. In the ring, Facade hits a guillotine leg drop on Gregory and Gory adds a crossbody. Facade plants Gregory with a springboard bulldog and lands a springboard moonsault. Flippin’ Ain’t Easy attempt the Buddy Moonsault but Vegas counters with a double back suplex. Gregory blocks a hurricanrana from Facade and drapes him across the top rope. Gory comes off the top rope but Gregory spears him. The Founding Fathers hit their superkick-full nelson slam combination on Facade to become the new IWC Tag Team Champions at 12:45. These two teams were the perfect opponents for each other. Flippin’ Ain’t Easy flew around the ring and the Founding Fathers spent most of the match just swatting them away like flies. There was definitely some excitement down the stretch and commentary did an excellent job of putting over the importance of this contest. Flippin’ Ain’t Easy had a tremendous run with the titles and their reign ended with yet another worthwhile match. ***½
Match #6: Chest Flexor vs. Adam Flash vs. Tyler Stone vs. Gregory Iron
The winner will receive a spot in Super Indy X. Flexor and Flash attack before the opening bell. Stone connects with a baseball slide on Flash. Iron lands an innovative plancha to the outside. Adam Cole is hilarious on commentary as he is rooting for Flash. Iron takes Flash down with a hurricanrana as Stone slams Flexor onto the floor. Flash hits a running powerbomb on Iron. Flexor finds success with a gutbuster on Stone. Flash and Flexor form an alliance and take over. They almost come to blows but Iron catches them with a double missile dropkick. Stone and Iron connect with stereo enzuigiris. Stone hits a powerslam on Iron, who responds with a flatliner. Stone belly to belly suplexes Iron off the top rope. Flash breaks up the pin attempt with a top rope leg drop. Flexor low bridges Flash to the floor. Stone hits an exploder on Flexor for the win at 8:43. While disjointed and sloppy at times, this match was a decent enough exhibition. I can’t see Stone going far in the tournament but at the very least he’ll get an opportunity to showcase himself on the biggest show of the year. **
Ricky Reyes cuts a promo backstage. He calls IWC his home and talks about his close relationship with Larry Sweeney. He will advance to Super Indy X and pay tribute to his friend…
Match #7: Ricky Reyes vs. Logan Shulo
The winner will receive a spot in Super Indy X. Shulo is replacing Michael Elgin, who couldn’t make it to this show. They begin with some chain wrestling and Reyes snaps off a few armdrags. Shulo finds an opening with a spinebuster and takes control with a lariat. Reyes comes back with a neckbreaker and connects with a spin kick. He adds a tornado DDT and hits a superplex. They exchange forearms. Shulo lands an uncharacteristic springboard dive to the floor and hits a powerslam back in the ring. Reyes falls victim to a powerbomb for a nearfall. He tries a small package to no avail. Reyes comes off the middle rope but Shulo catches him with another powerbomb. Shulo lays in a series of strikes but Reyes sneaks in a quick rollup for the victory at 11:54. Shulo is starting to come into his own and looked great in this contest. Reyes had to rely on his resourcefulness to pick up the win and established Shulo as a threat in the process. With five more minutes, we could have been looking at something here. **¾
Shulo refuses a handshake after the match and still might be trying to gain entry into the Founding Fathers.
Match #8: IWC World Heavyweight Title: John McChesney © vs. Shiima Xion vs. Super Hentai
Xion snaps off a hurricanrana on McChesney and connects with a missile dropkick. He trades strikes with Hentai. Xion back drops Hentai to the outside but McChesney throws him to the floor as well. Hentai injured his leg when he was back dropped to the outside and has to be taken to the back. McChesney and Xion brawl around ringside. Back in, McChesney avoids a missile dropkick and connects with a dropkick of his own. Xion comes off the top with a tornado DDT and kicks McChesney in the face. McChesney answers with a superkick and both men are down. Xion knees out of a brainbuster but falls victim to a powerslam. McChesney can’t hit a superplex and Xion lands a 450 splash for a nearfall. Xion transitions into a crossface. Bubba the Bulldog distracts the referee while McChesney taps out. Xion breaks the hold but eats a superkick. McChesney hits a rubik’s cube for a nearfall. The rest of the Founding Fathers enter the ring. Hentai makes his return and clears the ring. Bubba gets on the microphone and tells Xion to join the Founding Fathers. Xion refuses but HENTAI HITS HIM WITH A CHAIR?!? Hentai has joined the Founding Fathers! Bubba wasn’t talking to Xion. McChesney covers Xion to retain his title at 11:58. While the finish puts a damper on the match quality, it was nicely executed and had some people in the crowd genuinely surprised (I was at this show live). However, before the shenanigans, Xion and McChesney were on their way to matching their outing from April. They managed to pack a lot of action into ten minutes and I didn’t feel cheated out of a main event. This was a great effort from Xion and McChesney and Hentai played his role well. ***
Hentai puts on a Founding Fathers shirt as Bubba welcomes him into the family. Bubba recognizes that the Founding Fathers now hold all of the gold in IWC. Bubba announces that Tyler Stone is out of Super Indy and Hentai now has a first round bye in the tournament. Chuck Roberts now enters the ring. He apologizes to the crowd and yells at Hentai. Roberts asks Bubba if he wants a chance to own IWC. Bubba accepts the offer but Roberts tells him that there are two conditions: Roberts gets to pick the opponents for the Founding Fathers at Super Indy and Roberts also gets to rehire an IWC talent. Bubba accepts the offer again and he will wrestle Roberts at Super Indy for control of IWC. Additionally, Roberts makes the following matches for Super Indy: Super Hentai vs. Colt Cabana in the Semifinals, Dennis Gregory and Jimmy Vegas vs. Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli for the IWC Tag Team Titles, and John McChesney vs. Ray Rowe for the IWC World Heavyweight Title. McChesney freaks out at the thought of wrestling Rowe. The Founding Fathers celebrate their successful night as Roberts storms to the back. The IWC roster confront Roberts backstage as the Founding Fathers continue their celebration.
Overall: The Road to Super Indy X accomplishes what the title may suggest. This was an effective show as far as providing hype for Super Indy and setting up some of the bigger matchups that will take place. However, that’s not to say that there isn’t quality wrestling on this show. Adam Cole made a successful debut in a solid match against Justin Idol, who seems to be returning to form. Elsewhere, Flippin’ Ain’t Easy’s outstanding title reign came to an end in a great match against the Founding Fathers. Finally, the main event proves to be worthwhile due to some hard work by Shiima Xion and John McChesney. On its own, I’m not sure if I can recommend purchasing this DVD. However, if you’re interested in picking up Super Indy X, buying this show as well wouldn’t be a bad idea.
To read reviews of past IWC shows, check out my blog at iwcwrestling.wordpress.com