March 16th, 2019
Opening Match: IWC Tag Team Titles: The Mane Event (Duke Davis and Ganon Jones Jr.) © vs. The Culmination (Atticus Cogar and Remy Lavey) vs. Sadie Gang (Colby Redd and Darin Dinero) vs. Team Storm (Jaxon Argos and RC Dupree)
They treated this match as a sprint, which made sense for the opening match of one of the bigger shows of the year. The Mane Event looked incredible and functioned as the glue that held the action together. Four distinct personalities among the teams also helped. There is going to be a certain ceiling when it comes to an eight-minute sprint, but this was a fine showcase of the tag team division and the content of the match was tuned accordingly for its spot on the card. The Mane Event retained their titles at 7:58. **¾
Match #2: Jami Jamison vs. Johnny Patch
I had been impressed with Patch’s performances from what I’d seen thus far, but this was not good. These two wrestled an entirely too choreographed match for the time given. Whereas the opener felt chaotic, this just felt as though both men were trying to out-do each other with cool moves. Still, I understand the idea of wanting to make a statement when you only have four minutes to work with and I’m not quite sure why this contest was kept so short. Patch won in 4:05 with a rollup. *
Match #3: Super Indy 18 Qualifier: Andrew Palace vs. Dylan Bostic
These two have history together in IWC and this match generally reflected that fact. The action was at its best when they were anticipating each other’s offense in creative ways. Still, I’m not sure if the action was interesting enough to capture my attention for fourteen minutes. These two have certainly gotten better in the ring over the years, but this match was missing a level of intensity that their feud had a few years ago. The finish also didn’t help matters, with Bostic using a chair to win. This match accomplished a few things storyline-wise but it’s not something I would go back and watch again. Bostic won in 14:02 with a chair shot behind the referee’s back. **½
Match #4: Super Indy 18 Qualifier: Britt Baker vs. Chris LeRusso
They delivered the best match thus far in terms of telling a story in the ring. LeRusso had numerous counters for Baker’s crossface and Baker decided to just wear him down to the point where those counters were ineffective. The problem that they ran into was that not all of the offense landed cleanly, especially some of the striking. As a result, the crowd reaction ebbed and flowed throughout the match. Baker being the first female entrant in Super Indy history is long overdue. The question becomes whether IWC will be able to resist the temptation of booking the patently obvious tournament match of Britt Baker vs. Joey Ryan and book something actually interesting. Baker won in 8:14 with a crossface. **½
Match #5: The Founding Fathers (Dennis Gregory, Jimmy Vegas, Super Hentai, and Bubba the Bulldog) vs. Bulk Nasty, Elijah Dean, Chest Flexor, and Mambo Italiano
This match was not good, but I have a soft spot for the Founding Fathers, a collection of Pittsburgh independent wrestling legends. Dennis Gregory in particular might be the most charming professional wrestler I’ve ever watched. In light of all that, this contest will only mean anything to you if you’ve followed IWC through the years. A harmless post-intermission squash match to generate some nostalgia. The Founding Fathers won in 5:15. ½*
Match #6: IWC Women’s Title: Madison Rayne © vs. Katie Arquette
If I told you that the managers of both competitors were handcuffed together at ringside and that the heel manager broke free after a referee bump, would you believe me? The antics held back a potentially good match on a card that needed one. The title change came off as lame after only seven minutes of action which was dominated by interference. I thought Rayne would inject some new life into the division, but it’s unclear where we’re headed from here. Arquette became the new IWC Women’s Champion at 7:31. *½
Match #7: IWC World Heavyweight Title and IWC Super Indy Title: No Holds Barred: Wardlow © vs. John McChesney ©
This was a title vs. title match where we were seemingly guaranteed a double champion given the no holds barred stipulation. McChesney took the fight to Wardlow early on and failed miserably, getting completely overwhelmed by Wardlow’s power advantage. McChesney finally found an opening after introducing weapons into the match. Throughout his sixteen years in IWC, McChesney has often been outmatched (dating back to his battles against Low Ki) but he’s found a way to win. To me, this match was a tremendous celebration of McChesney’s IWC career and it very fittingly happened on an anniversary show.
Interestingly enough, I think more time would have only benefitted them. They delivered a very solid thirteen-minute brawl, but I honestly believe the potential was here for something greater. Still, this was an engaging weapons-based brawl that produced a rare definitive result in a title vs. title match. It’s still a mystery to me why Wardlow is not being booked everywhere. Wardlow became the new Super Indy Champion at 13:36. ***½
Match #8: DJZ and Jimmy DeMarco vs. Flippin’ Ain’t Easy (Gory and Facade)
This was DJZ’s final match in IWC before heading to WWE. It may be arrogant for someone in my position to judge how much enthusiasm a professional wrestler has on any given night. However, I attended my first IWC show eleven years ago and every time DJZ wrestled, it was abundantly clear that he cared deeply about the fans’ experience. That was true in 2008 and it’s still true in 2019. As a viewer, it remains my favorite quality in a professional wrestler.
DJZ wrestled his last match in IWC with three wrestlers he was most closely associated with during his time in the promotion. Most notably, DJZ started out wrestling against and alongside Gory. Fittingly, their exchanges in this match were the highlight. I’m unsure how much a star rating is even appropriate given the context and nostalgia of this match. DeMarco hasn’t wrestled regularly in years and hurt his knee down the stretch. Facade was, well, Facade.
Pittsburgh isn’t known for its independent professional wrestling. Yet IWC has been around for nearly two decades and this match was a piece of Pittsburgh independent wrestling history. I remember sitting in class during my senior year of high school not paying attention because I knew that in a few days, Shiima Xion and Jimmy DeMarco were going to wrestle for the IWC World Heavyweight Title on Norm Connors’ last show as a promoter. Again, it may be arrogant of me to evaluate what professional wrestlers deserve, but I cannot think of anyone more deserving of reaching the greatest heights in professional wrestling than Shiima Xion. DJZ and Jimmy DeMarco won in 15:52. ***