November 10th, 2018
I haven’t reviewed anything in some time, but I do like to periodically check in on IWC. Winner Takes All is one of the promotion’s biggest shows of the year, so let’s see what happens.
Opening Match: Andrew Palace vs. Mambo Italiano
Palace desperately wanted to fight Jock Samson, who he’s currently feuding with, but must settle for Mambo Italiano here. This was just a squash, but a good squash as Palace brought the right amount of intensity. He was clearly making Italiano pay for Jock Samson’s sins. Samson cleverly attacked Palace after the match, setting up a blowoff for next month. Palace won in 1:33 with the Hernia Driver. *½
Match #2: IWC High Stakes Title: Chest Flexor © vs. Johnny Patch vs. Brian Johnson vs. PB Smooth
The premise behind the High Stakes Title is that the champion gets to pick the stipulation for each defense. Here, Flexor chose a taped fist match. Commentary spent the first moments of this match debating if it was one fall or elimination. That should tell you how much of a mess this was. There was a point where Smooth almost spiked Flexor on his neck onto the apron. Flexor’s punches were extremely effective and he revealed after the match that he had a chain under the tape. I don’t know what was accomplished here. Flexor won in 4:17 after a knockout punch. ½*
Match #3: Wardlow vs. Chris LeRusso
Wardlow came into this match furious at his old stablemate (LeRusso) and at the fact that he is no longer IWC Heavyweight Champion. This meant that LeRusso wasn’t going to defeat Wardlow in a fight. Smartly, LeRusso tried plenty of rollups and looked for edges when Wardlow got too ambitious with his offense. What resulted was a fun back and forth match that made LeRusso look more credible as the action progressed. Interference down the stretch from Justin LaBar (Wardlow’s former manager) likely wasn’t needed but it didn’t kill the crowd or anything. This was a good example of how to keep a babyface looking dominant while not sacrificing the heel’s credibility. The action was also genuinely fun. Wardlow won in 11:31 with the Wardlow Driver. ***
Match #4: IWC Super Indy Title: Jonathan Gresham © vs. Gory vs. Dylan Bostic
I enjoyed this match because (1) they didn’t retreat into the usual triple threat tropes and (2) Bostic looked more motivated than I’ve ever seen him. First, there was a plethora of three-way spots and more breaking up of pins than kickouts down the stretch. In that way, all three men took advantage of the fact that this was a three-way rather than ignoring that fact. Secondly, Bostic fully embraced his role as the lone heel in this contest and did a good job anchoring the action. They showed great chemistry together and I wouldn’t be opposed to the Super Indy division being built around these three for the next few months. I’m actually excited to see what Bostic can do now that he’s relying less on being a smug jerk and more on delivering in the ring. Gresham retained his title in 10:57 with a double submission. ***¼
Match #5: IWC Tag Team Titles: Team Storm (Jaxon Argos and RC Dupree) © vs. RJ City and Colt Cabana (w/ David Arquette)
The idea here was that City did not want to team with Cabana and the action revolved around their miscommunications. That might sound fine on paper but it wasn’t particularly interesting in execution. Everyone was content to rely on their eccentric personality rather than try to elevate the match by virtue of the in-ring work. My perception of Team Storm is that Argos is intent on doing whatever it takes to add to the viewer’s experience whereas Dupree is satisfied doing the bare minimum to get by in his role. The difference between the two is really night and day. This was pretty average despite some likeable personalities involved. Team Storm retained their titles in 12:34 when Argos rolled up Cabana. **
Match #6: Jami Jamison vs. Stevie LeBell
These are two larger athletes but this was far from a fun hoss battle. LeBell was hell-bent on doing cool moves and it did not end well. Jamison may have some potential, but these four minutes were not enough time to showcase much of anything. This match could have easily have been cut from the card. Jamison won in 4:18 with a death valley driver. ¾*
Match #7: Bulk Nasty vs. Jimmy Vegas
This was a much cleaner hoss battle than the previous match yet nearly as unexciting. Nasty spent 90% of the match in control, beating down Vegas with no rhyme or reason. Vegas then made his comeback and won after a minute. The idea that anyone would watch this outing between these two and be hankering for a rematch is a bit absurd. Vegas won in 6:40 with an olympic slam. *½
Match #8: IWC Women’s Title: Britt Baker © vs. Katie Arquette
Baker had not defended her title since May and Arquette has spent that time calling the champion out. The action devolved into a brawl rather quickly, which played to Baker’s strengths as the best part of her offense by far is her striking game. They opted for a nearfall-heavy finishing stretch, which made sense because (1) a title change was very believable and (2) it had not been done elsewhere on the card. The finish came when the referee went down and David Arquette (Katie’s cousin) came out to count Katie’s title win. They certainly reached into the bag of tricks here, but it all felt warranted. Katie is a good wrestler who has improved quickly and she should have a quality reign if IWC can add some depth to the division. Arquette became the new IWC Women’s Champion at 15:04 with a crossface. ***
Match #9: IWC Heavyweight Title: Extreme Rules: Jack Pollock © vs. Tommy Dreamer
Dreamer is a former IWC Heavyweight Champion so him being a challenger makes more sense than one would think. Pollock is an interesting and enjoyable wrestler but he had to reduce himself to wrestling Dreamer’s style of match here. This was likely indistinguishable from any of Dreamer’s other matches in the past few years. It took them about eight minutes to introduce any weapons into the match, which felt entirely too long. The interference from Team Storm felt overdone. They could have easily put together a fun ten-minute plunder brawl, but that just wasn’t in the cards. Pollock retained his title at 14:34 with a mafia kick. *½
Overall: Winner Takes All had its moments, but wasn’t consistent enough for a nine-match card. IWC certainly has the talent to put together such a card, but it seemed like some talent was wasted here (Palace in a throwaway opener and Patch stuck in a four-minute four-way). Although this is usually the last show of the year, it felt like this show was primarily used to build to next month’s event. Arquette winning the Women’s Title was memorable, but that’s the only reason to seek this show out. C