[2000-07-26-IWA-MS-Cabana Surprise] Chris Hero vs Colt Cabana

[soup23]

I have liked these two working together and this was no exception. Cabana can’t get his name announced correctly by a drunk Rico. He is out with his “friend” Paul E Smooth and he tells Paul to head to the hotel where Paul confirms the room number. The opening matwork was good with some reversals and it led to a predictable but well done heat segment by Cabana when he catches Hero rolling into the ring. Hero is good fighting from underneath and is quickly establishing himself as a big IWA mainstay. The finish comes when Paul E returns although he is ran away by Suicide Kid. Hero has a great powerbomb on Paul and it seems like he has the match in hand but Cabana sneaks in a low blow and rollup to get the cheap win. This was a good way to keep the storyline moving. Ian sets up a tag match afterwards but wants Cabana and Paul to take an AIDs test beforehand. Always classy on the mic. ***1/4 (6.4)

[AstroBoy]

Cabana looked really polished here in a lot of ways and fed for Hero's offense nicely early on in the match. Hero's strikes still seem really tentative and don't carry much oomph to them. Cabana hits his hand on the post when he misses a chop and gives a cringeworthy sell job as he stumbles around the ring. Hero definitely has a following and plays plucky babyface better than you would suspect at this point. Big chaos at the finish for a Cabana small package victory.

 

***

[Migs]

When people stereotype indy wrestling as guys killing themselves for 40 people in a gym, IWA-MS is what they're talking about.

 

I like Cabana not just complaining about the hair pull but saying he doesn't want Hero to pull his hair out because he gets it highlighted every week.

 

Very solid work here. Cabana looks very polished and Hero's no slouch either.

[Tim Evans]

I didn't know Cabana did a gay gimmick. That was unexpected. Ok match with a lot of mistimed moves but some good stuff too. The tree of woe attempt with the chair was a little long. Cabana does look better than Punk has so far.

[GSR]

Colt tells Paul E. Smooth that he can handle this, to go to the back and they’ll meet up in the hotel later.  Smooth gives him a kiss on the cheek before he does so, eliciting the expected, and sadly predictable, “faggot, faggot” chants at the pair.  No Jim Fannin tonight and whoever it is replacing him on announcing duties is struggling to pronounce Colt’s surname.  The cat calling gets worse as the match goes on, someone shouting “how do you like that you queer?” when Hero backs Cabana into the corner to free himself from a sleeper.  After a bevy of right hands Colt rolls to the outside and calls for a time out.  I don’t know if it’s due to Cabana’s gimmick and the crowd like cheering against him, but they are into this more than most IWA matches so I doubt we’ll be seeing Ian out at the end to rag on them like last time.  Hero makes the cardinal error of chasing after his opponent and when Colt ducks back in it allows him to get the jump on him.  He comes off the middle with a double axe handle, but Hero snatches him and hits a ‘flatliner’ only to miss his intended target on the moonsault.  Flying back elbow by Colt who then gyrates his hips to the fans.  That’s not going to get them to change their opinion of him.  Slingshot senton followed by a baseball slide dropkick that sends Hero to the floor.  Crossbody off the middle and over the top out, however Hero catches Cabana and rams him backwards into the ring post.  Neckbreaker for a two.  Colt blocks the piledriver and counters with a Russian leg sweep.  He hangs Hero in the ‘tree of woe’, places a chair in front of his face but takes far too long in doing so as Hero is able to free himself before Colt does any damage.  DDT by Hero, frog splash elbow drop and Cabana kicks out in the nick of time.  Hero telegraphs the backdrop and Colt grabs him by the hair, slamming him backwards to the mat.  Double jump springboard leg drop.  ‘Hero’s Welcome’ when Smooth runs back out and breaks up the pin.  Suicide Kid makes the save and evens things up, although for some reason despite this interference the ref is letting the match continue.  Kid nails Hero with a flip dive to the floor while Hero plants Smooth with a great looking powerbomb.  He’s about to give Colt a second ‘Hero’s Welcome’ when Paul E. low blows him and Cabana with a small package for the win.  Fed up of the two of them constantly interfering Kid thinks that next Saturday he and Hero should “kick the fuck out of those two fags”.  I spoke too soon, here’s Ian!  He says how Chris Hero is becoming a draw in IWA-MS (really? Is anyone a draw in IWA-MS?  A fan favourite sure, but not a draw) and is happy to make the match, although insists on Cabana and Smooth taking and AIDS test first in case either of them get busted open.  Fucking hell, that’s low even for the standards I expect from this company.

These finishes in IWA-MS are killing me as every match seems to end on an unsatisfying note at the moment.  I genuinely thought Hero was going to pin Smooth after the powerbomb to win this, so at least the right man took the fall and it does build to a future tag match.  The work was generally pretty good throughout although the gay slurs, jibes, insults and the like are a real turn off when watching this stuff.