Caged Fury on August 20th, 2011
There's a great video package to start the show highlighting previous War Games encounters in IWC history. The Founding Fathers' takeover of IWC is also depicted. Control of the promotion will be on the line in the main event as Team IWC will battle the Founding Fathers in War Games.
Opening Match: Logan Shulo vs. Bobby Shields vs. Pepper Parks
The winner will advance to a four-way ladder match at Winner Takes All in December to crown a new Super Indy Champion. Shields takes out Parks with a dive during his entrance. Everyone tries quick pin attempts to no avail. Shulo inadvertently hits a german suplex on Shields. Parks snaps off an armdrag on Shulo and Shields adds a missile dropkick. Shulo recovers with a beautiful double stomp on Shields. He throws Parks into the ringpost and hits a backbreaker on Shields. Shulo back drops Shields to the floor onto Parks. He follows out with a springboard plancha. In the ring, Shields connects with a flying double stomp on Parks. He boots Shulo but gets caught by a knee strike. Parks hits a neckbreaker on Shulo and adds a superplex. Shields follows with a 450 splash for a nearfall. Parks hits a twisting neckbreaker on Shields for a two count. Parks gets sent to the floor after a clothesline from Shields. Shulo hits a sit-out powerbomb on Shields for the win at 8:37. Everyone put forth a solid effort and I couldn't be happier with Shulo winning. He's been steadily improving for quite some time and I look forward to see what he can do come December. Shields and Parks were able to stand out as well and this was a solid way to kick off the show. **¾
Justin Plummer is in the locker room with Chuck Roberts. He's rallying Team IWC and the rest of the roster. Roberts is pretty confident heading into War Games until he sees Chest Flexor walking by. Flexor claims that he can handle Bubba the Bulldog later but Roberts doesn't believe him.
Match #2: Dalton Castle vs. David R. Dimera
Castle misses a charge and runs into a clothesline. Dimera low bridges him to the floor. Castle snaps off a hurricanrana on the outside and takes control in the ring. Dimera tries to mount a comeback but gets caught by a backbreaker. He finds an opening and lands a crossbody. Dimera hits an STO. He comes off the middle rope but Castle dead-lifts him into an overhead suplex. Castle follows with a dead-lift german suplex for the victory at 9:27. Dimera is not the easiest wrestler to lift and that's by no means a knock on him. However, Castle effortlessly showcased his offense in a match that was designed to make him look strong. Castle is undoubtedly a fun personality and it looks as though he's in IWC to stay. **¼
Match #3: Bronco McBride and Matt Segaris vs. Tyler Stone and Aiden Veil
Veil snaps off a few armdrags on Segaris. McBride takes down Stone with a shoulder tackle. Stone responds with a flurry of strikes and a neckbreaker. McBride hits a butterfly suplex on Veil and the Blue Collar Slaughterhouse isolate him. He fights back with a double DDT and makes the tag. Stone leaps to the middle rope and hits a belly to belly suplex on McBride. Veil follows with a shooting star headbutt for the win at 7:18. Veil was definitely not intending a shooting star headbutt and he possibly injured himself, causing this match to end early. For a tag team contest involving only students, these two teams were working well together until Veil’s unfortunate mishap. *¾
Match #4: Johnny Gargano vs. Justin Idol vs. Matt Cross
The winner will advance to a four-way ladder match at Winner Takes All in December to crown a new Super Indy Champion. Everyone attempts a superkick but they decide to call a truce and lower each other's feet. Gargano connects with a double stomp on Idol and hits a leaping neckbreaker. Cross attempts a springboard maneuver but Gargano kicks him to the floor. Gargano lands a series of dives to the floor, ending with a senton off the apron onto Idol. Cross lands his flagpole press onto Gargano. In the ring, Idol hits a finlay roll on Gargano and adds a senton. Cross connects with a springboard double stomp on Idol. Gargano catches Cross with a slingshot spear and applies an anaconda vice in the ropes on Idol. Idol blocks Gargano's slingshot spear and hits a spinning neckbreaker. They do a tower of doom spot in the corner. Gargano connects with an enzuigiri on Cross and lawn darts him into the turnbuckles. He follows with a superkick for a nearfall. Idol connects with a shining wizard on Gargano but falls victim to a fireman’s carry neckbreaker from Cross. Cross lands a shooting star press onto Gargano for the victory at 10:28. Everyone knows about the great chemistry between Gargano and Cross but Idol was able to hold his own as well. Much like the previous triple threat qualifier, everyone received a chance to stand out and they garnered an excellent reaction from the crowd. Cross was an interesting choice here and it’ll be exciting to see what he can do in a ladder match setting come December. With that said, this was a solid return for Gargano and another strong showing from Idol. ***¼
Bubba the Bulldog is hyping up the Founding Fathers in their locker room. John McChesney rushes into the locker room with limited edition Founding Fathers shirts. Jimmy Vegas is extremely excited and Dennis Gregory just keeps yelling “War Games.” Bubba talks about cage match experience and says that the Founding Fathers have it. Super Hentai promises to wipe Shiima Xion off of the wrestling map. Bubba says that once they gain control of the promotion tonight, they will have a huge celebration on October 22nd at the 10th Anniversary Show.
Match #5: Cage Match: Super Hentai vs. Shiima Xion
The only way to win this match is by escaping the cage. They start brawling before the opening bell. Xion kicks Hentai in the face and connects with corner punches. Hentai answers with a dropkick but gets caught by a corkscrew crossbody. Xion throws him into the cage repeatedly. They battle up top and Hentai hits a powerslam from the middle rope. He catapults Xion into the cage and hits a saito suplex. Hentai follows with a jackhammer from the top rope and maintains control. They both try to escape through the cage door to no avail. Xion escapes a powerbomb and starts climbing up the cage. Hentai gives chase and both men end up falling to the canvas. Hentai misses a charge and crashes into the cage. Xion hits the Hostile Makeover and lands a springboard moonsault. He tries to escape but Dean Radford runs out to ringside to stop him. Xion lands a 450 splash onto Hentai instead. Radford attacks the referee at ringside and prevents Xion from escaping through the door as well. Hentai crawls through the door but there's no referee. Xion connects with a baseball slide on Radford and tosses Hentai back into the cage. Instead of staying out on the floor, Xion goes back into the cage with a chair. He hits Hentai with the chair and follows with a powerbomb from the middle rope. Xion throws the chair at Hentai, causing Hentai to fall through the cage door and onto the floor. The referee sees Hentai and gives him the win at 13:17. They successfully managed to play off their previous matches together and told a good story. Hentai came into this grudge match looking to end Xion's career. Once he saw the fight that Xion was bringing, his strategy quickly turned into winning the match in any way possible. In the end, it was Xion's hatred for Hentai that cost him the victory. While that might sound cliché, these two really made the story work. I would put this match on par with their encounter from last year's Caged Fury, which was highly enjoyable as well. ***¼
Justin Plummer is backstage with Justin Idol. He says that the locker room is tense in anticipation of the main event. Dalton Castle interrupts and informs Idol that he's beaten a few of his trainees. He questions whether or not Idol should be training anyone. Castle attacks Idol and says that he's going to the top of IWC, regardless of who he has to go through on his way there.
Match #6: Cage Match: Bubba the Bulldog vs. Chest Flexor
If Bubba wins, the Founding Fathers will have the man advantage in War Games. If Flexor wins, Team IWC will have the man advantage. Bubba takes control until he walks into a dropkick. He recovers with a clothesline and hits a leg drop. Bubba powerbombs Flexor into the cage. He elects not to escape through the door and tries to inflict more punishment. Flexor avoids a charge and Bubba crashes into the cage. Flexor heads toward the cage door but instead decides to climb over the cage wall. While he's doing that, Bubba escapes through the door for the victory at 5:59. This match wasn't pretty but I don't think anyone expected it to be. If anything, it got the point across that Flexor needs to start taking his role more seriously for the sake of Chuck Roberts. ½*
Bubba attacks Flexor after the match and warns Chuck Roberts that the Founding Fathers will have control of IWC by night’s end.
Match #7: War Games: John McChesney, Dennis Gregory, and Jimmy Vegas vs. Ray Rowe, Jason Gory, and Michael Facade
This match has normal War Games rules except the entire team must be eliminated. If the Founding Fathers win, they will gain control of IWC. If Team IWC wins, Chuck Roberts and Chest Flexor will maintain control. John McChesney and Michael Facade begin the match. Facade sets up a table at ringside before he enters the ring. McChesney attacks him before the opening bell and throws him into the cage. Facade throws a chair at McChesney and connects with a leg lariat. He follows with a springboard dropkick. McChesney rams him into the cage. Facade comes off the top rope with a spin kick but misses a triple-jump moonsault. McChesney hits a back suplex onto a chair and uses the chair to assist him in a dropkick. Jimmy Vegas enters the match. He fallaway slams Facade into the cage and McChesney adds a leg drop from the middle rope. Jason Gory comes out to even the odds. He connects with a double missile dropkick and hits the QAS on Vegas. Gory follows with another QAS on McChesney and lands a 450 splash onto Vegas. Facade hits a wheelbarrow german suplex on McChesney. Gory misses a charge and collides into a propped chair. McChesney hits a rubik's cube on Facade as Dennis Gregory enters the match. The Founding Fathers take control until Ray Rowe reveals himself as the final entrant. Rowe cleans house, unleashing a series of suplexes. Gory connects with a flying double stomp on Gregory. Rowe overhead suplexes McChesney from the top rope. Vegas plants Rowe with a DDT. Bubba the Bulldog comes out and explains that when he won the “man advantage” it meant that the Founding Fathers get another entrant in this match. So Bubba officially enters himself into the match. Chuck Roberts runs into the ring and starts punching Bubba. The Founding Fathers attack Roberts and stand tall in the ring. Bubba arrogantly tells Roberts that Team IWC can have another member in this match. Chuck yells “suck my muscles” and JIMMY DEMARCO MAKES HIS RETURN TO IWC!! DeMarco takes out Dean Radford at ringside with a stunner. Facade dives off the top of the cage onto the Founding Fathers. DeMarco hits the C4 on Vegas to eliminate him. He low blows Bubba and McChesney. Gory lands a frog splash onto Bubba for a nearfall. Flippin’ Ain’t Easy follow with a Buddy Moonsault for another two count. Gregory applies the Hurt Locker on Gory while ramming him into the cage to eliminate him. Everyone does a tower of doom spot in the corner. Rowe overhead suplexes Gregory into the cage and hits Death Rowe on McChesney. Rowe locks in a crossface on McChesney to send him packing. Rowe has made the IWC World Heavyweight Champion tap out! McChesney exits the ring and grabs Samantha Ann, Rowe’s wife, at ringside. Rowe runs out of the ring and gives chase, eliminating himself. Gregory tries to knock Facade to the floor with repeated chair shots. Facade starts climbing the cage wall but Gregory knocks him off and through the table at ringside. That’s enough to eliminate Facade. Gregory and Bubba start working over DeMarco. Bubba accidentally hits Gregory with a title belt. DeMarco plants Bubba with the C4 to eliminate him. We’re down to Gregory and DeMarco, one on one. The entire IWC roster comes out to make sure the Founding Fathers stay away from ringside. They exchange punches and Gregory german suplexes DeMarco into the cage. DeMarco fires back with a C4 for a nearfall. Gregory applies the Hurt Locker but DeMarco counters into a fujiwara armbar. Gregory reverses back into the Hurt Locker and connects with a superkick. They battle on the cage wall and DeMarco hits a C4, giving Team IWC the win at 38:43.
The Founding Fathers storyline has been building since last year and this match effectively incorporated numerous aspects of the feud into the action. DeMarco’s return garnered the biggest reaction that I’ve heard at an IWC show in quite some time. I even thought the order of entry was perfect for the story that they were trying to tell. Along with the strong storytelling came excellent wrestling, as Facade, Gory, McChesney, Gregory, and DeMarco all managed to stand out in the ring. Rowe also received a chance to look strong, as he made McChesney submit and that should give him momentum heading into his upcoming title match. Gregory was the sole survivor in War Games last year and the final minutes of action between him and DeMarco was something to behold. While I thought last year’s War Games was one of the best matches of the year for IWC, I think this year’s edition topped it. The storytelling was clicking on all cylinders and the in-ring action was just as strong. ****
Chuck Roberts enters the ring and hugs DeMarco. The IWC roster start celebrating in the ring as well. DeMarco gets on the microphone and commends Gregory for fighting like a man. Gregory salutes DeMarco and leaves to the applause of the crowd. Roberts reveals that he signed DeMarco back in May and thanks the crowd to end the show.
Overall: The cage matches pitting the Founding Fathers against the younger IWC talent was the focal point of Caged Fury. Super Hentai and Shiima Xion always deliver quality matches and their cage match was no different. The main event brought together countless elements of the Founding Fathers/IWC feud and ended up being the best match that IWC has produced this year. The two triple threat qualifiers were also worthwhile and there’s more than enough in terms of match quality for me to give this show a recommendation. In fact, if you wanted to try out an IWC show for the first time, this would be a great starting point as the you really get a feel for the current storylines moving forward. With some big shows on the horizon, hopefully IWC can build off of this momentum.
To read reviews of past IWC shows, check out my blog at iwcwrestling.wordpress.com