The Road to Super Indy XI on March 10th, 2012
Your hosts are Joe Dombrowski and J. Worthington Farnsworth.
The show begins with Justin Plummer interviewing Marshall Gambino. His brother, Mickey, is not in the building tonight and they are supposed to challenge for the IWC Tag Team Titles. Marshall blames the Founding Fathers and Jimmy Vegas interrupts. They exchange words. The One Nighters taunt them and claim victory by forfeit. Chuck Roberts interjects and announces that the One Nighters will defend their titles tonight against Marshall and Vegas. If Marshall gets the win for his team, the Gambinos become the new champions. Likewise, if Vegas picks up the victory, the Founding Fathers become the new champions.
Opening Match: Joe Rosa and Tyler Stone vs. Bronco McBride and Matt Segaris
The winners will become the #1 contenders for the IWC Tag Team Titles. David R. Dimera accompanies the Blue Collar Slaughterhouse to the ring. Segaris hits an atomic drop on Stone and connects with a corner lariat. McBride snaps off a few armdrags on Rosa and Segaris catches him with a corner cannonball. Stone distracts Segaris from the apron and Rosa lays him out with a bicycle kick. They isolate him until he fights off an ace crusher from Rosa and makes the tag. McBride hits a samoan drop on Rosa. Stone gets into an argument with Dimera at ringside. Meanwhile, the Blue Collar Slaughterhouse hit a double team neckbreaker on Rosa for the win at 7:03. Both teams worked well together and provided some decent action. The finish came rather abruptly but it served a purpose by furthering Stone’s frustrations in IWC. I think the One Nighters and the Blue Collar Slaughterhouse could have a worthwhile match if given enough time. **¼
Match #2: Chest Flexor vs. Matt Justice
The winner will receive a spot in Super Indy XI. Flexor brings back the dragon from Combat in Clearfield 3. He rides it around ringside as Joe Dombrowski is in disbelief on commentary. Justice connects with a springboard back elbow and Flexor retreats to the floor. Flexor’s valet interjects, allowing Flexor to catch Justice with a knee strike. He maintains control until Justice comes back with a facebuster. A man from the dragon costume jumps onto the apron and distracts the referee. Justice punches him out and connects with a yakuza kick on Flexor. Justice follows with a death valley driver for the victory at 6:02. Flexor’s ridiculousness overshadowed the actual match, but Justice looked dominant and his victory here was never in doubt. *
Jimmy DeMarco comes out after the match. He tells the crowd that they haven’t seen the last of Flexor tonight. DeMarco runs down the crowd and tells everyone that Norm Connors no-showed tonight. The lights suddenly go out and Connors makes his return to IWC. DeMarco pinches him, shocked that he bothered to show up tonight. Connors says that it’s great to be back in IWC. At Pure Talent, DeMarco claimed that Connors left IWC because of the fans. Connors denies that claim and says that every action he takes from now on will be to ruin DeMarco. Connors realizes that he doesn’t own the promotion anymore – he can do whatever he wants and he can bring whoever he wants to help him. He tells DeMarco that his plan begins later tonight.
Match #3: Eric Ryan vs. Aiden Veil
Veil snaps off a few armdrags and connects with a dropkick. He lands a plancha to the floor. In the ring, Ryan blocks a charge and hits a blockbuster. Veil responds with a standing moonsault but falls victim to a fisherman buster. They trade kicks and Ryan hits a german suplex. Veil answers with an air raid crash for the win at 5:05. While I’m glad that Veil is starting to pick up wins (he’s gotten significantly better in the ring), Ryan is severely underutilized in IWC. Honestly, Ryan is even someone I’d like to see in Super Indy. These two had solid chemistry and this could have been something if given more time. **
Match #4: IWC Tag Team Titles: Bobby Beverly and Nicki Valentino © vs. Jimmy Vegas and Marshall Gambino
If Marshall gets the win for his team, the Gambinos will become the new champions. Likewise, if Vegas picks up the victory, the Founding Fathers will become the new champions. Vegas and Marshall attack before the opening bell. Marshall hits a suplex on Valentino. Vegas follows with a suplex of his own, trying to one-up his partner. They actually work together and hit a double team suplex. Valentino chop blocks Marshall to save Beverly from a slam. The One Nighters isolate him until he connects with a double clothesline and tags out. Vegas hits a fallaway slam on Valentino and a side slam on Beverly. Marshall makes a blind tag and plants Beverly with a spinebuster. He follows with a top rope splash. Vegas interrupts his pin attempt and they start punching each other. The One Nighters connect with stereo superkicks on Marshall as Vegas watches on to retain their titles at 8:11. The blowup between Marshall and Vegas was inevitable but the match was fun up to that point. They hesitantly used teamwork while the One Nighters just picked their spot to gain control. The One Nighters are having standout performances but aren’t being put in positions to have great title defenses, so hopefully that changes as 2012 progresses. **½
Justin Plummer interviews Facade backstage. He says that tonight is about the title and revenge. Gory somehow drops from the rafters, leading to…
Match #5: IWC Super Indy Title: Facade © vs. Gory
They trade forearms and brawl towards ringside. Facade lays in a few kicks but gets draped across the apron. Gory misses a punch and connects with the ringpost. Facade punts him in the chest and rips up a picture of Flippin’ Ain’t Easy. Gory hits a scoop slam onto the floor and throws chairs at Facade. Facade fights back with a series of kicks and connects with a missile dropkick in the ring. Gory retreats to the outside. Facade follows out with a double-jump dive. Back in, Facade spikes Gory with a springboard bulldog. He adds a split-legged moonsault and reigns down punches. Gory comes off the top rope with a lungblower and connects with a corner lariat. He adds a sick flying double stomp. Facade comes back with a springboard enzuigiri. Gory suddenly spits red mist into his face, causing a disqualification at 8:16. It should come as no surprise that these two work well together, as they teamed for over a year. The match got off to a hot start with Gory attacking Facade during his interview and they did a nice job of putting over their hatred for each other with the subsequent brawling. I didn’t necessarily expect a clean finish here, as there is undoubtedly more to come from this feud. However. these two were rolling until the finish. **¾
Gory repeatedly punches Facade after the match. Chuck Roberts yells at Gory to leave the ring. A doctor checks on Facade as he’s announced as the winner.
Match #6: John McChesney vs. Dalton Castle
The winner will receive a spot in Super Indy XI. They trade control of a wristlock. McChesney avoids an early dead-lift german suplex attempt and takes some time to regroup. McChesney spots a stinkbug on the turnbuckle and refuses to enter the ring until it’s removed. He slaps Castle and snaps off a few armdrags. Castle returns the favor with some armdrags of his own. McChesney enzuigiris him off the apron and lands a dive to the floor. In the ring, McChesney connects with a missile dropkick and takes control. Castle comes back with a slingshot DDT on the apron. McChesney throws him into the ringpost but misses a frog splash back in the ring. They exchange punches and Castle snaps off a hurricanrana. He follows with a beautiful dead-lift german suplex for a nearfall. McChesney dodges a vader bomb and hits a TKO. He goes into the crowd and grabs a chair. A masked man attacks Castle with a pipe behind the referee’s back. McChesney lands a frog splash for the victory at 12:36. This was an energetic back and forth encounter with two engaging personalities. McChesney continued to revert back to an offense based more on high-flying and it worked well for him. Castle seems to be garnering some crowd support and a face turn may very well be in his future. His dead-lift german suplex down the stretch was perhaps the highlight of the match. McChesney is a good choice for Super Indy, although I’m sure Castle will make his presence felt on the show as well. ***¼
Match #7: Rickey Shane Page and Josh Prohibition vs. Zema Ion and Matt Cross
Even IWC is embracing Shiima Xion’s name change now. Page distracts Ion, allowing Prohibition to attack from behind. Cross connects with a yakuza kick on Page followed by a handspring back elbow on Prohibition. Ion snaps off a hurricanrana on Prohibition. Cross falls victim to snake eyes and the heels work him over. He catches Prohibition with an octopus hold in the ropes but Page cuts him off. Cross ducks under a clothesline and makes the tag. Ion hits a neckbreaker on Prohibition and connects with the Crystal Pistol on Page. Page responds by back dropping him into a kick to the back. Prohibition hits an inverted DDT on Ion along with a TKO. Cross connects with a flying double stomp on Page but botches a reverse hurricanrana on Prohibition. Ion lands a 450 splash onto Page for the win at 11:54. I can’t help but think this match could have been a lot better given the participants. Nothing was technically wrong with the contest, but I feel like the finish came too early as these four could have delivered a worthwhile finishing stretch. The next logical step is a singles encounter between Ion and Page, but I hope Cross can make appearances on a more consistent basis. As it stands, this “dream partner” tag team match failed to meet expectations. **¾
Justin Plummer is backstage with Jimmy DeMarco and Chest Flexor. Chuck Roberts interrupts and does not look happy. He tells DeMarco that he’ll be arrested if DeMarco attacks him again and bans Flexor from ringside during the main event. Roberts accuses DeMarco of being the masked man behind the recent attacks. DeMarco says that Roberts is right. Out of nowhere, John McChesney superkicks Roberts. DeMarco informs everyone that he’s not the masked man, but he has formed an alliance with McChesney.
Match #8: IWC World Heavyweight Title: Jimmy DeMarco © vs. Logan Shulo
McChesney accompanies DeMarco to the ring. DeMarco tells everyone that by the end of the night, they’ll know where Norm Connors’ allegiance lies. Shulo asserts his power advantage to start. McChesney pulls him out of the ring behind the referee’s back and attacks him. Dalton Castle runs out and chases McChesney to the back. Shulo connects with a mafia kick and hits a delayed vertical suplex. DeMarco “inadvertently” low blows him and hits a backbreaker. He takes control until Shulo comes back with a crossbody. DeMarco misses a charge and collides with the ringpost. Shulo hurricanranas him off the middle rope and connects with a lariat. He elevates DeMarco into a backbreaker. The men in the dragon costume run to ringside but Shulo back drops DeMarco onto them. Shulo lands a springboard plancha onto everyone. In the ring, Shulo hits a spear and lays in a flying double stomp. McChesney comes back to ringside and distracts Shulo. DeMarco hits the C4 for a nearfall. He hits Shulo with the title while McChesney distracts the referee. That only gets a two count. DeMarco hits the referee with the title. Norm Connors enters the ring and shakes DeMarco’s hand. Connors reveals a referee shirt under his jacket. Connors shows his true allegiance by slapping DeMarco. Shulo hits a sit-out powerbomb and Connors counts the pin. Chuck Roberts confirms the decision and Shulo becomes the new IWC World Heavyweight Champion at 13:44. I couldn’t be happier with the result, as Shulo has come such a long way in the past few years. He also provides a fresh face as champion after DeMarco and McChesney had long reigns with the title. This contest sacrificed match quality and reached down into the bag of tricks to make Shulo’s victory come off as a big deal. Admittedly, his win did feel monumental and the crowd’s positive reaction helped as well. This was definitely a shocking title change but one that made total sense. ***
Overall: The Road to Super Indy XI featured a lot of significant moments. Norm Connors returned to the promotion, DeMarco and McChesney formed their alliance, and Shulo shocked everyone by winning the IWC World Heavyweight Title. However, things were lacking a bit on the match quality side of the equation. The undercard didn’t receive enough time for anything to standout and some finishes were used to advance storylines to the detriment of the in-ring action. With that said, McChesney and Castle delivered a very good match and the main event had its moments. The Road to Super Indy XI is certainly an enjoyable show, but I don’t think a purchase is necessary here.
To read reviews of past IWC shows, check out my blog at iwcwrestling.wordpress.com