Tape Review
IWA Mid-South/NWA No Limits
01/08/05 - Muscatine, IA
by Scott Christ

The first IWA Mid-South show of 2005, co-promoted with NWA No Limits in Muscatine, IA. This is actually a semi-bootleg copy of the tape that I bought for $10 at the 01/15 Highland show. This has no commentary or anything but the tape quality is really pretty decent and I was somewhat surprised by that. I can dig it.

I really like seeing Joey Eastman have to do the big crowd hype. "Chris Candido is IN THE HOUSE!" I never see that usually. This building is suitably Armory in Iowa-ish and it's a small room so the crowd looks big. It's also weird to hear Ed Chuman's name not get booed.

CHANDLER MCCLURE (with Jim Fannin) v. MR. ELITE

I have never seen Mr. Elite before but that's a terrible name. This is an Action Match and by-the-numbers opener and while not bad, there's nothing to really get into. I'm still totally undecided on McClure except I know I think he doesn't suck, which is a nice start. Basically Elite's entire offensive mindset is structured around formula hot tag stuff. McClure wins with the touchdown after Fannin trips Elite. This was entertaining if only for Elite's spastic fist-pumping after everything.

SINNISTER v. ERIC PRIEST v. TRIK DAVIS

Sinnister is a fat guy in a t-shirt with black eye paint and he's got a super tuff goatee. So this is fat guy v. fitness guy v. skinny guy. Priest does his ropeflip moonsault botch which was really fun in Highland but is less so the second time around, although really this is the first time. I've reversed time. Sinnister sucks but he's trying. Priest is Priest. Trik is dead somewhere. This is going nowhere and I don't care about it. Priest does the 619 botch too but it's not as good as it was in Highland when he flew out of the ring. Priest wins by pinning Trik. The best part of this match was Priest stumbling around on the floor and hitting some dork wearing a Darth Vader helmet with his light sabre and getting a big pop for it.

2/3 FALLS
MICKIE KNUCKLES v. DAIZEE HAZE

Well I've watched two 2/3 falls matches in the last few days, Danielson/Hero and Thomaselli/Jacobs. I'm pretty sure this one won't be as good. Daizee wins the first fall pretty quick with a rollup and nothing remarkable is happening, they don't get to hating one another or anything. Well, there they go trading shots in the corner. Mickie avoids Daizee's Yakuza kick twice and hits the shining kick to the face, which sends Daizee to the floor to die. Mickie's suicide dive works this time around and holy shit look at that pervert that Daizee Haze landed on patting her on the ass. Actually that might be a woman. I'm not much for ragging on certain places' people or women, but these Iowa fans are something else. Both of them are counted out, which gives Daizee the win. Lame.

Eastman tries to hype TNA's PPV but Fannin and McClure interrupt. Chandler needs a Head Cheerleader. Where's Bryce Benjamin? Chandler whistles and flags the crowd for an excessive ugliness personal foul. This gets a "you like cock" chant. I'd rather just move on than watch any more of this and thankfully they leave.

FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE
JOSH ABERCROMBIE v. IAN ROTTEN

Fans in Iowa voted for this to be FCA after their November match. Or was it December? Whatever. Abercrombie is wearing those awful little tights again and he's a heel here. Pre-match has an argument between Ian and Josh over whether Josh is stuffing his tights. This of course ends up being revealed during the first few minutes of the match with Ian pulling the sock out, which is predictable, but then Ian uses it for a mandible claw, which is funny. Basically a comedy match until they trade strikes and it spills to the floor, where it turns serious and Ian hits this wicked lariat that Abercrombie dies on. Rotten is great here as he lends 100% of the credibility and Abercrombie is on point getting killed but fighting like a man while doing it. Abercrombie's selling of the figure four is a little suspect though. He does shake his legs a couple times but other than that nothing. Abercrombie ends up winning clean a little over 20 minutes in with a frog splash. This match was all Ian for the most part, and pretty good. Definitely Abercrombie's best match that I've seen, and I like him a hell of a lot more as a brawler than I do as a high-flyer or whatever he's supposed to be usually.

After the match Josh says something like "Yakima is fucking good" or something, and Ian offers Josh an IWA title shot if he can beat him again on February 5 - in a barbed wire match. Abercrombie does the one-word response: "Done." I guess, man. Barbed wire should be something to end something serious, not dudes hugging after their matches.

NWA MIDWEST X TITLE MATCH
BRANDON THOMASELLI v. MATT SYDAL (champion)

The first ten minutes contains lots of doing moves and not much else at all, so that's a sore disappointment as these are two guys that I'm really digging right now. There's one cute part where Sydal tries to swing on this rope or whatever it is that's hanging from the ceiling for no apparent reason, but it backfires. Right after the ten-minute mark, Sydal starts working the leg, but it doesn't really continue. Athletically this is a really smooth and impressive match and there's really nothing wrong with what's going on other than I'm finding no reason to invest my interest here because they aren't doing anything besides athletically athleticizing, you know? There's just nothing else. Luckily there's a ref bump to brighten things up. Thomaselli hits the air raid crash but durr Tommy Thompson is dead. Nice looking spot where Thomaselli tries a standing shooting star but Sydal gets his knees up and Thomaselli literally eats them with his mouth. They do a Thomaselli missed moonsault press -> Sydal missed reverse leapfrog -> Thomaselli handspring leg lariat spot that goes awry when Sydal's leg clips Thomaselli on the leapfrog and Thomaselli's momentum is ruined and the handspring dies on the vine, but Sydal is really quick on it and hits a dropkick, which I thought really covered well. At the 18-minute announcement the crowd seems certain this is going the full 20 and their interest has died. This is the shits as they both stand up top slowly brawling to kill time. Thomaselli hits a shit air raid crash from the top and the time shockingly expires right when Thompson's hand is about to hit the mat for the third time. They agree to go five more minutes and suddenly they're no longer tired. Dueling chants and maybe if I was there I'd be feeling this but I'm not and I'm not. And this time it's Sydal's belly-to-belly from the top that gets the shocking two count as the time expires. Tommy clearly stopped a hair early but what can you do? This was really over with the live crowd so fuck my opinion and all, but I was really disappointed with this match. They have a better match in them.

NWA MIDWEST TITLE MATCH
DELIRIOUS v. CHRIS CANDIDO (champion, with Jim Fannin)

Apparently Delirious is babyface in Muscatine. These two get at it right away with Delirious freaking out as soon as the bell rings, frightening Candido enough to where he runs out of the ring, gets that dork's Darth Vader helmet, and puts it on to hide in the crowd. They chant something and Delirious shouts with the claps: BA BA BABABA. After that it settles down into an actual match and it's good stuff. Oop, there's Candido's ass again. He manages to pull his tights up before the match is over this time and hit a beautiful superplex followed by a diving headbutt. Another attempt meets knees. Oh boy another ref bump. Delirious has it won on a rollup. Chandler McClure runs in to hit Delirious with a foreign object, which allows Candido to pin and retain. Could've lived without the finish, I enjoyed the match. I'm somewhat disappointed afterward that Delirious doesn't do a staredown with the Darth Vader geek.

NWA IOWA TITLE CAGE MATCH
JIMMY JACOBS v. RYAN BOZ (champion)

These two have been feuding here for a while now. Ugh, Jacobs is still doing the Barbaric Berzerker gimmick in No Limits. Boz slams the door on Jacobs' head right away, then drags him outside. Boz tries to walk out on the match, and Brandon Thomaselli, chair in hand, chases him back to the cage. What the fuck? My storylines that span certain towns are criss-crossing like nobody's business right now. I mean I just got done watching the 12/18 show where Jacobs, a non-Berzerker, hates and resents Thomaselli, which was a whole one show before this, and here's Berzerker Jacobs' title shot being saved by Thomaselli against Boz, who's a heel, but was a face on the last show, and the match before had heel Delirious as a face and aiuij[p93oujh0[-3qauah3[9ojq3=0ubjqopjqan

Jacobs breaks out the spike early and Boz blades. Moments later Boz double spikes Jacobs repeatedly and Jacobs bleeds too. Boz dominates the match, hits a nice big boot. I'm digging this match in a back to basics sort of way with Boz being the big brawling heel and Jacobs the valiant little babyface. Candido is out to put a table in the ring for Boz. Augh my head Candido is a Fannin wrestler and Boz hates Fannin. Thomaselli and Candido brawl out. There's this fucking annoying guy in the crowd that keeps yelling out these lame one-liners all night that I finally just can't take any more of. You know, one of those insanely unfunny people that have stupid friends that laugh at their jokes so they keep making jokes all the time, and no one else finds them funny? That guy. HAHA, BETTER TAKE IT EASY IF YOU DON'T WANT THAT TABLE TO BREAK 'FORE IT'S S'POSED TO! HAHA! I could kill that guy with my bare hands right now.

OK, anyway, whatever, they tease the table spot forever and Jacobs finally lays him out and scales the cage, and crashes down with an ungodly senton to win the match. This was fun stuff if you can ignore how totally out of this world it is being on an IWA show where none of it makes sense. I know it's a co-promoted show with NWA No Limits but that doesn't keep my brain from bleeding trying to keep track of it all.

Pretty solid show with three matches (Boz/Jacobs, Ian/Abercrombie and Delirious/Candido) that are pretty strong and not cliche dream matchups, but Thomaselli/Sydal really let me down and I'm hoping that their first round tournament match on 2/4 in Valpo will really click for them like Punk/Aries and Punk/Danielson did in second tries last year.

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