Kris Zellner Rewatches the Indies

[KrisZ]

IWA Mid-South King of the Death Matches Tournament - Night One - June 1, 2001

Dave Prazak & Axl Rotten are on commentary and Prazak's hair was so classic 2001 it's hilarious.

Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Death Match: Suicide Kid vs. Richard X

Richard X rocking a Darth Vader t-shirt was great while Suicide Kid looked like Mike Quackenbush had a child with Johnny Kashmere at a Sevendust concert. The bat lays in the middle of the ring but Suicide Kid picks it up and lays it in the corner because they want to WRESTLE....what a novel concept. It doesn't take long before Kid grabs a chair and Richard gets the bat where he drops Suicide on it with an X-Factor. The bat is firmly in play now with Axl Rotten explaning that Richard using the bat on Suicide's back was great psychology to weaken the lower back then Richard fucking uses the bat on a Fujiwara armbar for some reason. Suicide would fight back and he dropped Richard with a drop toehold on the bat before proceeding to bring a ladder into play. Suicide hitting a split legged moonsault on the bat on Richard's chest was dumb but popped the crowd into an "IWA" chant then dropped the ladder on Richard's face for good measure. Both men at this point are bleeding but not excessively but are also blown up so everything is a tick slower than normal although the fans are still into everything. Richard using a modified Rocker Dropper was a cool move and should be someone's finisher even now in 2016 then they battled up the ladder where Suicide hit a big Michinoku Driver off the top of the ladder that made everyone lose their shit including the announcers. Suicide then used the bat on a Crippler Crossface to make Richard tap out to advance. This was overall a fun match as it had a mix of wrestling and hardcore style and these two were severely underrated over the years. Suicide cuts a promo after the match saying that he had heart and he would win the thing.

Barbed Wire Board Death Match: Mark Wolf vs. Uncle Honkey

Uncle Honkey coming out to a remix version of Ice Ice Baby was something and he did a Cabbage Patch naturally. Honkey looks like Ted Arcidi if he said fuck it and moved to Kentucky and started making moonshine. Mark Wolf looking so young here and coming out to Last Resort by Papa Roach makes me remember this was 15 years ago...wow...Honkey weighs as much as two Mark Wolf's. These two also start out by trying some normal wrestling but Wolf throws Honkey right into the board which destroys it completely because he is such a fatass. Wolf proceeds to use the barbed wire on Honkey's head as blood flows in the ring as you would want here but Honkey wakes up from that and just kills Wolf with a running splash in the corner. We get some hard hitting brawling with Honkey using his fist to get the blood from Wolf's head. Wolf drops Honkey with a bulldog on the barbed wire then grabs another board and sets it up with two chairs with Axl saying that Wolf is beating on Honkey like a spousal abuser. Wolf then hit a reverse spinning DDT on Honkey to win the match as Honkey was trying to slam him off the top rope. This wasn't that good but fun watching Wolf struggle with Honkey and Wolf cut a promo after the match talking about getting Suicide Kid next.

Barbed Wire Board Death Match: Rollin' Hard vs. Deranged

This isn't the JAPW version of Deranged but a a bald guy wearing a prison jumpsuit looking like King Kong Bundy's bastard son. The Food Stamp Champ came out to a remix of "Rollin" by Limp Bizkit and I miss this bastard especially his fake afro. The IWA rats dancing to his theme was especially touching. Rollin is the defending KOTDM champ so he is the definite favorite here. This is what a 2001 hoss fight looked like early on as both men were knocking each other around but Deranged was the first to throw Hard into the board and grinded it into his head. The battle went to the floor where Rollin used the wire on Deranged's head this time and grabbed some weapons from fans to use. Deranged's blood had a nice dark color on his milky white head and Rollin beat this fucker up dropping him with a side slam on the board for a nearfall as the announcers talk about how this isn't some Bob Holly vs. Steve Blackman hardcore shit. Deranged to his credit is a tough bastard and comes fighting back with barbed wire attached to his ass and hits a big splash on Rollin in the corner then goes up top with the barbed wire his ass then misses a fucking Banzai Drop which was great as the wire went up his ass. Deranged then started FUCKING VOMITING as he sees the sight of his own blood and this is AMAZING as he is just losing his stomach SWEET JESUS the camera focused on the floor with blood and vomit as the fans chanted "YOU THREW UP!!!" Axl Rotten loses his mind talking about how hardcore Deranged was for vomiting as Rollin set up the board in the ring on chairs then a fan uses fucking wire cutters to break Deranged free from the ropes so Rollin drop him on the back of the board. Rollin then picks him up again and drops him with a Death Valley Driver to win. What a fucking spectacle this was then Deranged got into it with a female fan afterwards. The best part was the slow motion replay after the match of him vomiting. Both men cut promos after the match which was funny.

Thumbtacks Death Match: "Rugby Thug" Trent Baker vs. Tower of Doom

Axl marking out for Trent using "God Save The Queen" by The Sex Pistols was great and young Jim Fannin as his manager was hilarious. I fucking miss Trent Baker man. We see that they mopped up the vomit on the floor which was sanitary at least. Tower of Doom wearing a big chain around his neck and a shirt that said "JESUS LOVES YOU BUT I WILL STOMP A MUDHOLE IN YOUR ASS" is a nice touch. The tacks are laying all over the ring and the story of this match is that Baker isn't used to this style but he is the IWAMS Champion and TOD was the first ever IWAMS Champion. Both men take turns going into the tacks with Trent hitting a DDT right into the tacks but still we don't have any blood yet. TOD hits a big reverse body slam on Trent on some tacks but still no blood yet although there are tacks all in their shoes and on their clothes. TOD then put tacks on Baker's chest and stood on top of him which was a cool spot. TOD finally gets sick of this shit and starts pressing tacks into Trent's head which looked great as the camera was right there on it and now we got some blood. TOD then uses a chair to jump off of to hit a big legdrop but he can't capitalize as he hurt himself. TOD then dropped all his weight on Trent before Fannin runs in the ring and hits TOD with a strap. Prazak begs for TOD to hit Fannin but Baker hits him with a steel chair and Fannin chokes TOD Baker grabs tacks and puts them in TOD's hat which he hit him right in the head with the chair in a cool spot to win. Baker cuts a fun promo after the match saying he will be the king in the end. TOD cut a promo and the best part was he had no blood on his head from the finish.

Thumbtacks Death Match: Corporal Robinson vs. Chris Hero

Chris Hero coming out to Holding Out For A Hero by Bonnie Tyler never isn't great and yes he is a heel here managed by Fannin as a member of The Super Heroes. Hero is covered in pads as well to try to keep the tacks from getting on him as he hates death matches and wants no part of them. This is his 1st death match as Prazak noted on commentary and Hero cuts a whining promo before the match to get the fans even more pissed at him. Hero then said that he is going to work without his shirt on but there is another shirt on up under it as Prazk talks about how fat Hero is. American Kickboxer then shows up as Hero supposedly ran him off in April and Kickboxer said that he wanted to retire because of all of his injuries and this is a great promo as he is saying that he is coming back to work in this tournament and he is going to beat Hero's fucking ass when the time comes. Fannin blocks Kickboxer's way out and Hero jumps him giving him a piledriver on the floor. Hero as the sadistic heel in this promotion was something as he was such a huge babyface not too much longer after this. Corp then comes out and demands Hero get in the ring as the fans go nuts and Kickboxer is taken out on a stretcher. Corp sticking his chin out talking mad shit demanding Hero hit him harder was awesome and then Corp started throwing bombs sending Hero to the floor. This was another hard hitting affair and Hero trying his best to not bump onto the tacks was good psychology. Corp would finally slam Hero on the tacks which he sold by almost crying in pain but Fannin would grab Corp's leg allowing Hero to suplex him on the tacks as revenge. Hero then started pounding on Corp including using a shitty Tombstone Piledriver where Hero hit all knees on the chair breaking out the juice from Corp who takes some punishment here. Corp broke out a desperation Tornado DDT on a chair though but Hero didn't stop using a spinning slam on Corp on the tacks. Hero is now bleeding which was a rarity and he took Corp's shirt off powerbombing him on the tacks but Corp gets a shoulder up. Hero then hit a FUCKING STYLES CLASH on the tacks then goes for the Hero's Welcome but Corp hit the Boot Camp to win out of nowhere. Corp & Hero then cut promos afterwards with Hero wanting him in a regular match. This was the best match of the show so far especially with the Kickboxer angle mixed in with it.

Barbed Wire Baseball Bat Death Match: BADBOY Hido vs. Bull Pain

Hido coming out to "Sharp Dressed Man" is never not awesome. These guys aren't fucking around as they swing chairs and the bat right as the bell rings and Pain drops Hido with a DDT on the bat. Pain takes it to Hido early but Hido gets the bat and he starts using it as it's becoming a slugfest with weapons. Hido opened up a chair on Pain's head then hit him with another chair which made the fans go nuts and busted Pain open. Hido then uses the bat on Pain's leg and his head as the blood is now flowing like wine on Pain's head. I loved Pain throwing the bat at Hido who was on the top rope and the bat stuck on his shirt then hit a superplex with the bat still stuck in Hido's back. The battle went to the floor where Pain suplexed Hido on the floor then they brawled around the building where the chairshots were numerous. Hido makes a comeback though and he bashes Pain with the bat then climbs up top hitting a big splash on the bat. Both men though are tough as shit and keep firing back until Hido just nails Pain with a chair on the side of the head to get the win. Axl & Ian Rotten come out after the match to check on Hido who gets up and celebrates his victory. Hido's elbow is fucking swelling like a motherfucker after the match is over and we see where the injury happened as when he hit the splash off the top rope, he torched his elbow on the fall which was fucking nasty. Pain then cuts a promo after the match bleeding like hell laughing about what happened and Hido cuts a fiery promo in Japanese.

Barbed Wire Salt Death Match: Axl Rotten vs. Shank Dorsey

Dorsey is another guy wearing a prison suit and he actually looks like someone who would have murdered someone in a field in Indiana then tried to bury their body in a shallow grave. The gimmick for this is that the ring is covered in salt and the ropes covered in barbed wire. Axl grabs a barbed wire tennis racquet from a fan then a phone receiver where he pretends to talk on the phone which is something. Axl then tells Dorsey that he must be the girlfriend of Deranged earlier and he takes all the dick calling him a cocksucker which the fans chant heartily. Axl then tries to grind on Dorsey in the ropes which pisses Dorsey off. Axl though is the one that juices first but he would get some scissors and he stabs Dorsey in the head with it a couple of times which was nasty. Axl though takes some of his own medicine and gets the scissors in his head but Axl gets pissed and drops Shank right on the back of his head into the salt to win in a short match. Shank then cuts a promo afterwards saying that he proved he belonged in the IWA and Axl said that her has no time for bullshit.

Barbed Wire Salt Death Match: Mean Mitch Page vs. Paul E. Smooth

God I loved me some Paul and future Chuck E. Smooth doing his male stripper gimmick on the male fans who are either fucking disturbed or enjoy it. He also had the great silver pants that would've fit him just right into The Backstreet Boyz. Jim Fannin wondered openly if he was Bert Prentice's boyfriend which was hilarious. Mitch is wearing his Juggalo jersey which was so 2001. Smooth doing his Bronco Buster in the corner putting his balls in Page's face while trying not to get caught in the barbed wire was great. Smooth was able to put Page in the wire first but Page made him pay for that by just brutalizing him busting him open and just grinding his face in the salt which had to suck like a motherfucker. Smooth comes back though firing away with a steel chair to the head and hits a big jumping double stomp off the top rope on the chair for a nearfall. Smooth went for a rana off the top rope and he got jackknifed for his trouble right on the salt then Page hit his Vader Bomb to win. Fun match and Smooth was such a fun character and we get promos after the match with Page saying it was his destiny to win the tournament and Smooth talks about how he is Britney Spears' boyfriend and he talks about sucking dick for money.

4 Corners of Pain Death Match: 2 Tuff Tony vs. "Mr. Insanity" Toby Klein

This starts on the floor as Tony attacks Klein but he gets thrown into some mouse traps for his trouble. Tony also eats the first light tube of the night right in the fucking face but he uses a steel chair as an equalizer then throws Klein into tacks. Tony though tried to put Klein in light tubes but ate a backdrop into the box of tubes for a nearfall. We proceed to see all kinds of weapons uses including a thumbtacked bedazzled wiffle bat as both men are bleeding like crazy. Klein then powerbombed Tony right in the pit of tacks which looked like it hurt like hell for another nearfall. Tony then hit a fucking Beach Break on Klein onto a barbed wire board for a nearfall before going really nuts with a springboard somersault senton on Klein who had light tubes in his pants but again another nearfall. Both men then started hitting dives from the top rope but couldn't put the other one away. Klein missed a big fucking dive from one side of the ring to the other one hitting all chair but he kept fighting back as both men just started laying in the shots until Tony hit a sitting Tombstone Piledriver then went back to the floor where he got some light tubes where he told Brent Blades to tape them around his body so he could climb up top where he hit a corkscrew plancha but the tubes didn't break which was hilarious. Tony then went up top again and broke them good this time to win the match. I really dug this match as both men incorporated high spots into the match with the weapons and right now this match is the best match of the show. Both men cut bloody promos afterwards talking about how tough they are.

4 Corners of Pain Death Match: Necro Butcher vs. American Kickboxer

Necro with the black eyepaint looking like a member of The Ascension was a fucking hoot. Kickboxer got piledriven on the floor earlier but here he comes looking like he was concussed while slapping hands with the fans. Kickboxer throws some fast kicks early trying to keep Necro down but Necro just launched himself with a lariat sending Kickboxer to the floor. Kickboxer hit a sloppy sunset powerbomb on Necro on the tubes on the floor then Kickboxer followed with a insane corkscrew Asai Moonsault on the floor sending both men flying into chairs. Necro fired back though lauching AmKick on a barbed wire board face first so we got juice from both men. Necro then suplexes AmKick right on some thumbtacks causing AmKick to yell "OH FUCK" but he countered a Necro powerbomb into a facebuster on light tubes fucking him up. This now turns into a weapons spotfest with AmKick launching a chair to Necro's head as he was on the top rope then smashing his head with a kendo stick. Both men have ridiculous cuts on their hands and their hands are red as shit. Necro hit a fucking Blue Thunder Driver on broken glass for a nearfall then went for a barbed wire board and some chairs where he laid the board on the chairs before Chris Hero showed up to distract AmKick. Hero threw powder in AmKick's face as he tried a huracarana off the top rope and Necro wasted him with a powerbomb through the board to win. This was a damn good death match and I dug the finish but Necro was pissed Hero got involved and he helped AmKick out which he grabbed a mic and cut a promo about how he can barely walk saying that's a shoot saying that IWAMS was the only place he would ever wrestle because of the fans. AmKick then promised that he would get Hero. His back was fucking covered in blood and was a total mess in general making this a dramatic scene.

Fans Bring The Weapons Death Match: Ian Rotten vs. Peter B. Beautiful

OH MY GOD....Peter is the "Hardcore Homosexual" and Axl calls him every gay slur in the book. Dave Prazak buries him extremely hard on commentary saying this man is about to die. Peter tried to jump Ian at the bell and that was a bad move as Ian just destroyed this guy with everything he could get his hands on while Prazak & Ian are just totally burying him at every turn. The fans are losing their minds for this beating as Ian just kills him with chairshots. Brent Blades counts to 10 and this mercy killing is over. This was a controversial match at the time and Ian cuts a big time promo on Peter for being a backyarder saying that he was on the level of the IWA guys. One word to describe this was WOW....as Ian was getting payback on a guy who talked shit on a message board.

Fans Bring The Weapons Death Match: Sick Nick Mondo vs. Ca$h Flo

Ca$h Flo is another guy who never gets talked about from this era and he was awesome. Mitch Page used Last Resort so Mondo came out to Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode which was great. The fans not really reacting to Mondo was something because he was a big deal in CZW (no pun intended.) Both men cut promos before the match with Mondo telling Flo that he will find out what Ultraviolence is tonight. Flo chops very hard and talks shit as hard which was great. There is so much shit left in the ring from previous matches and Mondo jumped on his back right on the glass with Axl bitching about Mondo exposing the business saying that he was taking unnecessary bumps to get himself over...amazing....Mondo then starts throwing kicks on Flo then hits big tope con hilo and these guys are now hitting each other with whatever they could find. Flo raking a thumbtack back across Mondo's back while talking mad shit to him was great. This was some good fucking shit here as both men are stiffing each other with strikes and weapons with the blood flowing and fans running escaping the carnage. Flo's arm is fucking sickening with blood and Mondo hit a brutal springboard legdrop for a nearfall which that's Flo's finisher too. A staple gun makes it's debut as Mondo uses it like crazy but Flo comes back firing hard fucking shots on Mondo and this is insane. Flo going for a handstand into a DDT was crazy then just assaulting Mondo with a light tube but he keeps fighting back to his credit. Mondo then grabs a board filled with tubes and barbed wire throwing into the ring but he ate a sitout facebuster from the top rope by Flo but Mondo came back taping light tubes to Flo's back and he hit a spinning legdrop which didn't break the tubes so he had to do it again to get the win. Perfect main event to end the show as these guys went fucking nuts on each other trying to maim the other one for our pleasure. Mondo said more was coming the next day afterwards.

Overall this was quite the spectacle with the matches getting better as the show went on. Night Two review coming soon.

[soup23]

Watched that show fairly recently and it is a sight to see. Nothing really blow away great but the Tony vs. Klein, Bull vs. Hido and Hero vs. Corp matches were all good. Beyond that, there is the spectacle aspect of this show from the vomiting to the beatdown of Peter B. It is quite the encapsulation of 2001 IWA-MS.

[KrisZ]

IWA Mid-South King of Death Matches Tournament - Night Two - June 2, 2001

GOD DAMN RICO BEATTY IS HERE to ring announce and he is our fucking lord and saviour of ring announcing...GET YOUR SHIT AND GET OUT THE WAY GOD DAMMIT.

Barbed Wire Tables Death Match: Mark Wolf vs. Suicide Kid

Suicide coming out to Bawidaba by Kid Rock was so great. This is two babyfaces to the crowd and they shake hands but these fuckers know the deal and the scientific shit don't last long. Wolf brings the table into the ring and it's business time as Wolf slingshots him right into the wire. Suicide though would launch Wolf head first into the wire very hard but the blood isn't quite flowing yet. We do get a little blood but both men are still not going extremely hard at each other. I loved Suidide hitting a Blockbuster and getting caught in the barbed wire by mistake. The table finally breaks when Wolf hit a bulldog on it but still this is pretty tame stuff compared to what was seen in other matches the night before. Suicide hitting the Suicide Solution (Sliced Bread #2) was great and then he set up another barbed wire table in the ring where he laid Wolf on the table then he left the ring as he climbed up to the rafters of the building some 30 feet in the air. HOLY FUCKING SHIT WHAT A SUICIDE LEGDROP to win. That finish was insane and made up for the slow parts of the match. Suicide then grabbed the mic and was like FOLLOW THAT SHIT...hilarious...then he helped up Wolf getting the fans to chant for him. Suicide cut a promo afterwards saying that everyone thought he was too small but he will beat anyone in his way. Wolf then said that he would be back.

Staple Gun Death Match: Rollin' Hard vs. "Rugby Thug" Trent Baker

I love Baker making the rounds ringside so he could talk shit to the fans. The rats again love them some Rollin Hard and dancing to Limp Bizkit. Chris Hero does commentary for this as a heel which was funny. Rollin tells Fannin to hold his hands behind his back and tells Baker to use the staple gun on his head as a free shot. Baker does but there was one problem....there were no staples in there as Rollin had them in his pocket. The gun got loaded and Rollin was shooting staples at referee Brent Blades. Baker would get the gun and used it early to bust Rollin open but it isn't long before the favors are returned and Rollin staples money to Baker's head. Rollin eventually puts Baker out with the Death Valley Driver to advance in a mild upset and both men cut promos afterwards about what happened. This was fun for what it was.

Taipei Death Match: Mean Mitch Page vs. Axl Rotten

Rico dancing to Mitch's theme music which was a remix of Posse on Broadway was awesome. American Kickboxer was on commentary for the match. Axl brings out a barbed wire shovel which looked crazy and this was the death match that made the Rotten's famous as both men had taped fists with glass taped on the tape. So this means lots of punching is coming up and we get some great ones but Axl also brings out some scissors and uses them to jab Page. Mitch though comes firing back and this is the first match on the show that feels like a death match as the blood is flowing and they brawl all into the crowd using different weapons. Page would also use the shovel first and at this point both men are just throwing bombs on each other. Axl used a thumbtack baseball bat on Page but Mitch fired away with that shovel then hit a Vader Bomb on the shovel to win. Short but a fun bloody battle and both men shake hands then hug afterwards.

Next we get a promo from Corporal Robinson talking about how he was pissed off he got a bye because Hido fucked up his elbow.

Then we get promos from Axl & Mitch with Axl hyping him up about winning the tournament.

Staple Gun Death Match: Necro Butcher vs. 2 Tuff Tony

Tony bringing out a log cabin of light tubes from a fan at ringside told me that shit is about to go fucking down here. These guys start firing chops to each other right as the bell rings and this is stiff already. Tony bodyslams Necro off the apron through that cabin of tubes then stapled him on the cheek and damn this was great. Tony then just crushed Necro with light tubes over his head and Necro returned the favor as the crowd goes running. This action made the other staple gun match look like a Dory Funk Jr. match. The amount of weapons used here were plentiful and both men were grabbing whatever was available to punish the other one with no reservations. Necro stapled Tony's balls together just about at one point then gave him a Tiger Driver on a piece of metal for a nearfall. Tony came firing back though with the metal and dropkicked it right in Necro's face my god. Tony then fucking drilled Necro with the Beach Break right on some light tubes but Necro fucking kicked out which caused American Kickboxer to mark out on commentary. Tony's head covered in thumbtacks was crazy and these guys were doing whatever it took to try and maim the other man. Tony then put light tubes in Necro's pants where hit the somersault legdrop on the tubes in a wild spot but Necro was under the bottom rope. Tony ties Necro in the ropes and just bashes him with light tubes including breaking one inside his mouth which was wild. The best part about this was that Tony was barely bleeding on his face as Necro was a fucking crimson mask. Necro tried to suplex Tony on a barbed wire light tube contraption but he hit all floor which may have sucked even more and Necro got the pinfall. Tremendous death match there and Necro was already a master at his craft. Tony then cuts a promo afterwards in pain and said he would be back next year and we get clips of them removing the tacks from his head which was brutal as the guy doing it had no gloves on naturally.

Fans Bring The Weapons Light Tube Log Cabin Death Match: Ian Rotten vs. Sick Nick Mondo

This is a fucking dream match right here and Axl has joined Prazak for commentary. Funny how we get some actual WRESTLING to start the match as they trade holds while laying in broken glass. The match changes when it goes to the floor where Mondo hits a big tope con hilo then starts grabbing weapons to get the blood from Ian's head which he does as the crashing sound of glass becomes plentiful into both men's bodies. So many weapons were used here you lose count and some of the hardest shots came from Ian's hands. The tacks and glass stuck in Mondo's back was quite the visual and then Ian threw a fucking 1982 style television right at Mondo's head which was wild. Mondo comes back though and starts bringing out the ladders as he wants to put Ian through a table covered in light tubes. Nick climbs up the balcony and demands that Ian follow him up there which he does and they brawl near the announce table before Ian throws Mondo off the balcony on the table of tubes which he takes an insane somersault bump nuking his back in a fucking wild ass spot. Ian then gets down there and pins Mondo to win this insanity. I loved this shit so much as this was a fucking death match right here. Ian picks up Mondo and helps him into the ring so the fans could give him their praise with Ian telling him that Mondo is welcomed back in IWAMS any time. Ian then tells him that he could be the king of hardcore if he can keep going. Mondo then talks about how he watched Ian in ECW and that he appreciated being there. Mondo then cut a promo talking about driving for 13 hours and it was fucking worth it to wrestle in IWAMS. Ian then cuts a promo with Mondo saying that he is a future legend.

Barbed Wire Salt Taipei Death Match: Rollin' Hard vs. Suicide Kid

Rollin means business here as he isn't wearing his afro coming to the ring. Some fan gives Rollin a fucking Freddy Krueger hand and that was fucking scary as Rollin put it on his hand but he lays it down when the match starts. We are in the semifinals of the tournament so the stipulations are getting wilder and old wounds are being reopened which with the salt in the ring must have sucked hard. The match went to the floor where Suicide hit a big somersault senton on Rollin then stated using salt and glass to make Rollin feel some pain. Rollin trying to catch Suicide into a Death Valley Driver was something as he totally lost him and almost dropped him on his head. The fans are a little quiet for this as they had just seen that amazing match with Mondo & Ian and then these guys while doing some violent thing took time really heating it up. Rollin eventually countered the Suicide Solution into a Death Valley Driver to advance to the finals. This was good but couldn't follow the last match and both men cut promos thanking each other.

Balcony Death Match: Mean Mitch Page vs. Corporal Robinson

Prazak tells us that you can't win until you throw someone off the balcony then pin him for a 3 count. Mitch went up to the balcony immediately demanding Corp come join him but Corp wanted him in the ring first. Corp decides to climb up the ladder but Page uses a baseball bat full of nails on him and then just batters Corp sending him off the ladder to the floor. Page then goes with him and they start brawling down there using all kinds of weapons as well as setting up tables so they could fall of the balcony onto them. Corp then climbs up and demands Page join him and he kicks him off the ladder like Mitch did to him earlier then he jumped off the balcony himself for a nearfall. We now have 5 tables being set up where both men climb up the ladder to the balcony with a slugfest ensuing and Page then powerbombs Corp from the balcony breaking all the tables and he gets the pinfall. This match was leading up to that spot and it fucking delivered....sweet jesus.....Page then cuts a promo laying on the floor talking about how tough Corp is and he will do what he has to do to win the tournament. Corp is completely fucked up and the Rotten's know he is fucked up they are trying to wake him up calling him out by his shoot name. Mitch then picked him up and they hugged it out.

Flaming Tables Death Match: Ian Rotten vs. Necro Butcher

Both Ian & Necro coming out with the dried up blood all over their faces was quite the visual. Richard X was on commentary with Prazak as he had to be hospitalized after a flaming tables match the year before. This is a fucking brawl at the bell as both men start throwing bombs before going to the weapons where thumbtacks are flying everywhere off of Necro's head and body then he returned the favor to Ian. Necro with a head full of tacks headbutting a light tube on Ian was crazy. Ian though started swinging chairs on Necro's head along with trash cans and the fact that Necro was still coming forward was a testament to how tough this motherfucker was. Necro then wrapped Ian's whole body in barbed wire before dropkicking some light tubes on Ian's head. Ian though comes back and he gets the tables ready to light on fire which he tried to powerbomb Necro on the table but he short shot him and he hit the edge of the table although he did catch the fire and the put him out with water. The bump looked legit scary as shit but Necro got up with the fans chanting his name and he hugged Ian after the match. That was fucking wild and we still have one more fucking match left. Ian cutting a promo about how great IWAMS was and you weren't shit if you didn't prove yourself here.

Axl then interviews Mitch in the locker room about being in the finals of the KOTDM and Mitch said that it means the world to him to win this especially since the Rotten's trained him. Axl then interviews Ian who is covered in blood and said that he's been doing this forever and that he is coming for the younger boys not the other way around. Axl then interviews Rollin who has his afro on and he talks about repeating as the KOTDM champion.

House of Pain Death Match: Ian Rotten vs. Mean Mitch Page vs. Rollin' Hard

This match has 200 light tubes covering the ropes and 3 log cabins of glass outside the ring. What can you say about this as it's all about using light tubes on every part of the other man's body and all three men are fucking swinging light tubes like baseball bats with the blood flowing like wine. Ian gets his shirt ripped off so they could bash his bare chest with light tubes and Ian was a very white man. Rollin sit his hand on fire and hit a flaming chop on Ian which was a crazy spot then tries to do it again on Mitch but hits all light tube breaking it. The future Mean & Hard then pick up Ian and they slam him on on of the log cabins on a pyramid of chairs then Rollin threw Mitch off the apron onto one of them and this is just pure insane violence. Mitch then hit a fucking Vader Bomb on a log cabin on Ian's chest but even that couldn't keep Ian down. Fans running as glass is flying is so funny to watch as these guys are fucking going to war swinging tubes on each other. Ian would eventually hit his double arm DDT on loads of glass to win the tournament ending this spectacle of violence and the other tournament competitors came in the ring to celebrate the tournament and Ian's victory. Hido and his broken elbow was in there and the fans chanted or him. Axl then puts over everyone on the mic before handing it off to Ian who talks about how he thought he couldn't do it anymore but Patti always keeps him going and she came in the ring to hug him. Ian then thanked his family and his wrestling family for being there for him at every moment including Old Man Charlie and FUCKING RICO BEATTY....God bless that man. Ian then closes out talking about wanting to whip Jim Cornette's fat ass. This was a tremendous way to close this show.

[Peppercorn Bing Bong]

Awesome project Kris. After listening to the indies episodes of Exile I've started collecting indy footage from 2002 onward to start my own watching project. A lot of it will be first time viewing except for ROH mainly. I'm going to shoot for a timeline of 2002-maybe 07. The groups I'm focusing on are PWG, ROH, IWA MS, CZW, JAPW and maybe Chikara. I'll also look for Wildside/Anarchy if its attainable. Am I missing any promotions that are must follows?

 

Not sure if you are continuing with this but IWS/International Wrestling Syndicate from Montreal was another fun mid 2000's indy promotion.