International Anarchy Wrestling

27 May 06 at Unit 13 Hamilton Ontario

Tickets: VIP $20. At the Door: $10.

After controversy, speculation, line-up changes and forecasts of doom, promoter David M Parsons and IAW presented the card that many people thought would never happen. It had all the trappings of a freak show run amok but the show went off without a hitch and the very tough crowd in attendance were treated to a little of everything. Crowd estimates ran from 30 to 100 but I’d estimate that the number was closer to 80. The advertised line-up changed so many times that I will forego my usual practice of listing it and just list the matches that did occur…

‘Showtime’ Brett Scholl vs Jimmy Jacobs

6-Way Elimination Match

Mark Shaw vs Kris Law vs Steve Brown vs St. Stephen Elias vs Kwan Chang vs Jay Phoenix

Ladder Match

James Gracey vs Timothy Dalton

Fans Bring The Weapons

LuFisto vs Warhed

Flesh vs Adam Reed

Hamilton Street Fight

Ty Prattis vs Kaos

Prodigy vs Corey Mason vs Egyptian Gimmick Guy

Joe E Legend vs Eddie Osbourne vs Asylum

Pre-Show: Mrs Id and I arrived early and spent some time visiting with the various stars and visitors who had chosen IAW over the other shows running within an hour of Unit 13. As Parsons and his associates hurriedly put things together, a documentary crew filmed the chaos. Led by Michael Noronha, the film is about breaking into the wrestling business and they interviewed stars like LuFisto and Joe E Legend in the ring while IAW staff, VIP ticket holders, the curious and the lost wandered in and out of the venue. The show itself was filmed for DVD release but who knows what it will look like because Unit 13’s resident ghoul, The Freak, was roving camera man. PWA’s Daryl The Doorman and the always beautiful 21^st Century Fox were there to take in the action as was uber-fan Red Sweater Guy. Visiting Quebec Indy star, Mark Jaguar, was there also to film LuFisto’s match against Warhed; a match of some historic merit as it was the first inter-gender hardcore match in Ontario since the fall of the Ontario Athletic Commission and its governing powers over pro wrestling. That change was a direct result of LuFisto fighting tirelessly for 4 years to have the enforcement of the rule banning contact between men and women in the ring struck down. Referees for the evening were Johnny Rotten and Dave Dread. Matt the Announcer entered the ring to welcome fans but was interrupted almost immediately by Steve Brown. Brown had something to say directly to me but audio problems and the fact that I don’t understand ‘whale’ meant that neither I, nor anyone else, knew what the hell he was talking about. Eventually, he left and the show got underway for real.

Brett Scholl vs Jimmy Jacobs – Scholl came out in his usual ‘Elton John on acid’ entrance attire and cut a promo on the fans and his opponent “Jimmy Jabronie.” When Jacobs came out he was warmly received and his comment that he was “wrestling a human turd” – a reference to Scholl’s brown singlet – cemented his favor with the crowd. Scholl’s size advantage worked to his quick advantage in getting Jacobs on the mat but instead of getting down to business he decided to showboat by doing push-ups off the smaller man’s back. Jacobs came up fuming and bit Scholl in the ass before returning the off the back push-ups. When Scholl regained his feet he was nailed with a dropkick that sent him tumbling through the ropes. Since he was outside, Scholl did some stalling before climbing back inside and connecting with a big knee to the gut. Showtime laid in some chops but Jacobs responded with his own before using a jumping headscissor takedown to dump Scholl beak first into the turnbuckles. After getting a quick 2 count Jacobs continued laying in chops. Scholl reversed a whip attempt and caught Jacobs with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. With Jacobs hurting from that move, Scholl started working the arm but a quick spin by Jacobs dumped him to the outside once again. Scholl was up quick and caught Jacobs with a neck stretch over the top rope and climbed inside where he began dragging Jacobs around the ring delivering rope chokes on all three sides. (Three because one side of the ring in Unit 13 sits against the wall – kind of pointless to sell to that.) With Jacobs down in the corner, Scholl decided to lay the verbal smack down instead of a physical beating so of course, Jacobs recovered. He came back with punches, a lariat and a double chop to Scholl’s throat before inviting the fans to count down his corner punches. Scholl managed to catch Jacobs with a clothesline off the ropes for a 2 but was caught with a spear moments later which earned Jacobs a 2 of his own. The match ended when Scholl countered Jacobs’ next assault and slammed him to the mat, covering him for a clean pinfall victory. A standard opening match with enough comedy to rouse the fans and provide some laughs. Jacobs was the obvious favorite and Scholl’s clean win was a surprise.

6-Way Elimination Match: Mark Shaw vs Kris Law vs Steve Brown vs St. Stephen Elias vs Kwan Chang vs Jay Phoenix – At the bell the contestants quickly split into two groups; the heels: Brown, Shaw and Chang and the faces: Elias, Law and Phoenix. Within seconds all six were brawling madly on the outside and paired off into individual battles. Shaw and Elias kept their fight outside the ring and theirs was one of equal parts brutality and comedy. At one point, Elias plunked himself in the lap of an elderly woman and asked for a date. As the other four took the fight back into the ring, Shaw and Elias fought through the seats and right out of the building. Inside the ring, Brown dispatched Phoenix with a shot to the nuts and elected to wait on the apron as Law and Chang scrapped in the ring. Chang tagged Brown into the match and the big man surprised everyone in the building with a running leap to the second turnbuckle and a diving lariat that almost took Law’s head right off. The guy’s a semi truck with the acceleration of a top fuel dragster. The beat on Law party began and even Phoenix forgot about his sore nuts long enough to work Law over. Elias and Shaw re-entered the building from the locker room area and Elias used the timekeeper’s bell to pound Shaw’s head. Meanwhile, Law was still being worked over in the ring and while I was marveling at his ability to take a beating, I missed Shaw eliminating Elias on the outside. Shaw finally got back in the ring only to have Phoenix jump on him and grab the quick pin. Phoenix was rising from that when ‘the Asian Nightmare,’ Chang, delivered a brutal Yakuza kick to his head. Chang used a pumphandle set-up into a sit-out power bomb to eliminate Phoenix. Brown and Chang then went to work on Law with Brown once again getting a huge pop by nailing a spinning heel kick. Law managed a brief rally but was quickly overpowered and held by Brown. Chang retrieved his kendo stick and swung at Law who ducked out of the way leaving Brown to take the blow. As Chang stared in disbelief at his kendo stick (like it was the stick’s mistake) Law dropped on Brown for the pin leaving him and Chang to fight it out. Chang punished Law with kicks before going for his pumphandle set-up again. Law managed to kick off the ropes and roll Chang up for the final pin and the victory. This match was an action filled affair that thankfully, didn’t go on too long. By keeping it short the participants delivered non-stop action in and out of the ring. The bulk of the match was actually a 4-way because Shaw and Elias were outside the ring (and the building) for most of it. The quick series of eliminations and Law’s recovery from what seemed certain doom made for a good finish. Law got an appreciative response for his performance but it was Brown’s amazing bursts of speed and agility that got the biggest cheers.

Ladder Match: James Gracey vs Timothy Dalton – This match was announced as Gracey vs Oruku Ghemma and the masked man did indeed enter the ring. He and Gracey shook hands but when Gracey turned his back Ghemma gave him a low blow and tore off his mask to reveal he was actually Timothy Dalton. He immediately went outside to get the ladder but started jawing at fans which gave Gracey the chance to use a sliding dropkick into the ladder, flattening Dalton at ringside. Gracey then launched himself over the top with a body press onto the pseudo-Ghemma. Back inside they had a good back and forth exchange of armlocks and counters until Gracey hit a suplex for the first of the match’s many 2 counts. Gracey set the ladder up in a corner and began hitting Dalton with chops despite his opponent’s pleas for mercy. (Considering the cheap shot to the nutsack at the start, Dalton had a lot of nerve to expect Gracey to go easy on him.) Dalton was flipped onto the ladder but kicked out of the pin attempt. Both men exchanged slams and 2 counts before Dalton smashed the ladder down on Gracey and laid in some kicks. With his opponent down, lying on the ladder, Dalton scaled the turnbuckles and started shouting out the plot surprises of the latest X-Men movie. Gracey screamed “You son of a bitch, you ruined it” and Dalton splashed him from the top. (Hey, every ladder match has to have something unique these days! Anarchy baby!) Dalton crushed Gracey’s foot in the ladder with stomps and choked him for a while. Gracey reversed a whip into the ladder then nailed a sweet 450 splash for a near fall. Dalton came back with a punch to the balls and a pedigree before trying a lazy standing pin while screaming at me that I “better write this down.” Gracey grabbed Dalton’s foot and cranked on an ankle lock during which Dalton was screaming “Don’t write this down! Don’t write this down!” (Hmm, it was funnier at the time.) Gracey laid Dalton across the top corner buckles and climbed the ladder but Dalton jumped up and pulled him to the mat. Dalton then scaled the ladder and hit a legdrop for a 2. After kicking Gracey repeatedly in the head, Dalton tried for another pin but again, got only a 2. They entered a quick exchange of strikes and nearfalls before another shot to the nuts doubled Gracey over. Dalton quickly grabbed him and delivered a powerbomb onto the ladder for the final pin. This was a good match but lets face it, ladder matches have become so commonplace that they are no longer a novelty. There’s basically two ways to approach them; the wrestlers can try and find new and innovative ways to utilize the ladder – something that’s becoming increasingly more difficult and dangerous to do – or build a standard wrestling match around a few ladder spots. (I hate to phrase it that way but that’s the truth of it.) Gracey and Dalton elected to go the latter route and it worked. By delivering good mat based sequences and interjecting some comic relief, the ladder, when it was used, was an effective tool. It wouldn’t have made sense to totally kill each other with it as there was no real history behind why they were in a ladder match anyway other than it was on a ‘hardcore’ show.

Fans Bring The Weapons Match: LuFisto vs Warhed – This was it, the event that so many people had been waiting so long to see; an inter-gender hardcore match in Ontario. Whatever my issues with David M Parsons, I have to give him credit for being the guy who brought this to the people. LuFisto single handedly dismantled the OAC’s hold over Pro Wrestling and it was only fitting that she be the woman to fight in the first match of its kind in Ontario in over 4 years. Warhed, Ontario’s reining ‘King of Pain’ has long thirsted to test his mettle against the world famous ‘First Lady of Hardcore.’ For me and Mrs Id, fans and friends to both these performers, it was a dream come true. For everyone in attendance it proved to be an exhibition of savagery and skill that is sure to stay emblazoned in their memories for years to come… but not before Joe E legend tried to piss on it first. Warhed, wearing red face paint, sporting a wicked sunburn and brandishing Mr Floppy was first to enter the ring and his usual happy go lucky demeanor was conspicuously absent. (Mr Floppy, for those of you unaware, is a stuffed pink bunny rammed ass-first onto a large, heavy chunk of wood.) LuFisto’s entrance was greeted with cheers and she was obviously very happy to be there. The respect these hardcore icons have for each other was evident from the start as they cautiously sized each other up, neither willing to commit to the first move. Suddenly, Joe E Legend appeared on the entrance ramp, mic in hand, and proceeded to tell the fans that he didn’t come all the way from Hanover Germany to see a bunch of Hamilton losers. He ran down the Fans Bring the Weapons concept and LuFisto made no secret of how she felt about the interruption: “You seem to have a big mouth” she said, holding the ropes open and motioning him to step into the ring “Lets see if you have big balls too!” Joe declined the invitation and returned to the back. LuFisto exploded into motion assaulting Warhed with chops, kicks and armdrags. Trapping him on the mat she worked an arm submission attempt, biting his fingers and slapping his sunburned back. Backing Warhed into the corner, LuFisto unleashed a barrage of elbow strikes to the head and neck. Warhed reversed her whip attempt and LuFisto crashed into the opposite corner but nailed her charging foe with a drop toe that planted him face first on the bottom turnbuckle. With her opponent momentarily stunned, LuFisto headed outside the ring and began tossing weapons and assorted plunder into the ring. Warhed joined her there and they traded chops before a big knee to the gut gave the King of Pain the advantage. He bodyslammed LuFisto to the floor and stuck a chair over her neck before whipping her into the post. Rolling her back inside, Warhed found a cake pan which he used to batter her in the head with. LuFisto grabbed what looked like a butterfly net and snagged Warhead by the head with it before delivering a snap suplex that rocked him. Grabbing a kendo stick, LuFisto started an extended beatdown that was shocking in its intensity. A jumping headscissor takedown into an armbar submission and more hand biting had Warhed looking to escape the ring but a wicked chair shot to the back at the ropes stopped him cold. (Said chair shot injured Warhed’s shoulder.) LuFisto delivered another headscissor takedown, this time to a pile of chairs and then a vicious driver as well. Locking on a camel clutch she added to his torture by pulling and twisted his pierced nipples. After stomping his face to the mat, she tossed him out through the ropes. That proved to be a tactical mistake as Warhed gained the advantage outside by tossing her into the fourth row of chairs. After whipping her into the cinderblock wall of Unit 13 he threw a chair that bounced off her skull. Back inside the ring, Warhed smashed LuFisto in the head with a metal trash can before they traded kicks. A quick scoop and a slam brought Warhed the first near fall of the match. As a groggy LuFisto got to her knees, Warhed rammed the garbage can down over her head and shoulders and reached for Mr Floppy. Swinging Mr Floppy like a baseball bat, Warhed pummeled the garbage can and when LuFisto finally escaped the dented and battered trash container she was bleeding from a head wound. Warhed immediately targeted the cut with punches and gouges then dropped her with a side slam for another 2 count. Warhed pressed the attack with a side suplex onto an upright chair and three big strikes to her back with the Kendo stick. LuFisto came up screaming but Warhed’s next shot hit her square in the head and dropped her back to the mat. Warhed covered her but elected to break the pin himself. He bodyslammed her near the corner and called for a moonsault before scaling the ropes. LuFisto lunged at the rope causing Warhed to drop on the top buckle and she wrenched him backwards, trapping him in the tree of woe. Grabbing a chair, she slammed him in the face and delivered two running dropkicks with the chair to his head. Pressing her attack she laid a chair across the now prone Warhed and landed a senton. Wrapping her legs around his throat she worked his injured shoulder but couldn’t get the submission. After releasing that hold, she smashed the trash can on his head and backed him into the corner where she laid into him with her patented punch/chop combinations. A big running knee to the gut was followed by a whip into the opposite corner and a brutal running face stomp. LuFisto nailed her Emerald Fusion onto a pile of chairs but elected to go for a second instead of the pin. Warhed avoided it and scooping up the cake pan, he punched it square into her face. A stunned LuFisto was hoisted to Warhed’s shoulders and driven neck first onto a chair. An exhausted Warhed slumped across his bloody foe and the ref counted the 3 giving the victory to Ontario’s ‘King of Pain.’ Warhed exited the ring quickly and LuFisto saluted the cheering fans before heading to the locker room. This match certainly lived up to its hype as Warhed and LuFisto delivered an amazing display of brutality and carnage. Although not overly bloody, the match was violent as hell and had fans cheering wildly throughout. Without question, my pick for match of the night and a definite contender for match of the year. As well as his shoulder injury, Warhed suffered a concussion and LuFisto a busted nose. Both combatants had nothing but praise for each other after the match. This contest alone will be worth the purchase price of the DVD release of the show. (Assuming The Freak filmed it and not his navel.)

Intermission: A brief affair that saw many fans take advantage of the offerings of the merch table/concession stand and grab a few autographs from some of the stars of the show. I spent most of it outside talking with an exhausted but elated (if somewhat addled) Warhed. His shoulder was a mess but as it turns out, there was no serious structural damage – just the world’s ugliest welt and a new limited range of motion. (Mr Floppy made it through the match unscathed but as usual, declined to speak to anyone but Warhed.)

Flesh vs Adam Reed – This was scheduled to be Flesh against Phil Latio but as Flesh pointed out in his pre-match rant, Phil Latio couldn’t work because of broken ribs so he’d have to “kick the shit out of someone else.” That ‘someone else’ turned out to be Unit 13 mainstay Adam Reed, who didn’t look particularly happy to be there. Flesh had a definite size and power advantage and took immediate control of the bout. He punished Reed with slams, chops and chokes; both in and out of the ring. Reed was kept on the defensive and avoided numerous pin attempts before Flesh’s grandstanding led to his missing 3 consecutive elbow drops. Reed mounted a comeback and hit his only real offense of the match; a big clothesline followed by a top rope bodypress for a near fall. Flesh absolutely pasted Reed with a lariat and began choking him on the mat and in the ropes. It seemed that the end was near for Reed but Phil Latio appeared on the entrance ramp, distracting the rampaging Flesh. When Flesh approached him, Phil Latio whipped out a giant dildo he had stuffed in the back of his pants and smashed Flesh in the head with it. Reed seized the opportunity and rolled up Flesh for the pin and the upset victory. An irate Flesh stormed from the ring as Unit 13’s resident bell ringer Richard ‘Wheels’ pointed out that he had just been “cock-flopped” much to the amusement of the fans and what could Flesh do? As big and nasty as he is, even he isn’t villain enough to beat up a guy in a wheelchair. Short and loud, thanks to Flesh’s non-stop rant at the fans, this match served to get everybody back into the show after the break. Unfortunately, the same can not be said of the next match and, chances are, the participants are not going to like what I have to say.

Hamilton Street Fight: Kaos vs ‘The Threat’ Ty Prattis – Okay, before I attempt to describe this match let me first say that I have nothing against either of these guys. I’d never seen Kaos before this so have nothing to judge this performance against. He’s a tall rangy fellow who is an accomplished aerialist, as he demonstrated throughout the bout. Prattis I have seen before and he too, is accomplished at providing exciting moments. The two of them delivered many exciting maneuvers and ‘spots’ (there’s that word again) in the match. They just didn’t bring much glue to tie them all together. Nor was there any real reason to call this a street fight except, like the earlier ladder match, it was on a ‘hardcore’ show. In my opinion, a ‘street fight’ is the blow off to a feud, something that is built to, not a random meeting between two people with no prior history. They could have called it a ‘hardcore match’ and that would have better explained the allowed use of weapons and such; a street fight should mean something. It would have been closer to reality to call it a ‘Hamilton Spot Fest’ because that’s what it was. It was a good spot-fest but I was hoping for a wrestling match and many of the fans fell silent during the bout so maybe they weren’t overly impressed either. There were pops for a few of the bigger moves but for the most part, people farted on this overly long display of delayed set-ups and flashy moves. Don’t get me wrong… as flashy moves go, this one had some rippers! It also had an incredibly stupid stunt that I will discuss further in a bit. So, here than is my description of the street fight… Both guys showed up in their wrestling gear (which is common attire on the streets of Hamilton don’t ya know?) and calmly waited for the bell with no insults or hostile stares between them. When the match started they began with a basic collar and elbow lock-up before Prattis delivered a face slap in the corner. Kaos responded with a headlock followed by a shoulder tackle and a spinebuster. Are you beginning to see my problem with this? It’s supposed to be a fight! Where are the punches, kicks and eye gouges? Ah fuck it. Nothing personal to Ty and Kaos but I’m going to skip the usual wizard of id account of this match. The action went outside where Kaos pulled the stupid stunt I mentioned earlier. He had a lightbulb crucifix type thing – 3 incandescent bulbs on a stick - and swung it at Prattis who was up against the wall. He missed and the bulbs shattered on the bricks spraying shards of glass all over the fans and the ringside area. Literally the definition of a ‘cheap pop’ this move ranks as one of the dumbest I’ve seen in a long time. Anyway, the match consisted of each guy setting up and nailing (or missing) various high flying maneuvers of different degrees of difficulty. Had they been landing in a pool instead of on each other and things like chairs and garbage cans, I’m sure the judges would have awarded them high marks. I never did figure out who the ‘bad guy’ was as they forgot to add that little wrinkle into the program. Eventually, Kaos used a Razor’s Edge type set-up into a DDT to pin Prattis and win the match. I have no idea how long the match took; it seemed to last forever. So many big moves just blurred into one big mess for me. I had no emotional attachment or interest in either guy winning and it was excruciating to see a guy who is apparently so exhausted he can barely move while his opponent sets up the next big move, suddenly have the energy after he gets hit to jump to the ropes and perform his own amazing aerial feat. This was like watching a compilation tape of car crashes; eventually you just become numb and most of the crowd fell into a silent stupor watching this unfold. Devoid of story and psychology, it was a demonstration of big moves that went on far too long. Obviously, both of these guys have some talent but needed some direction in how to present it in a logical fashion. Had they done so, they wouldn’t have needed most of the big moves and the match could have been great, or at least good.

Prodigy vs Corey Mason vs Egyptian Gimmick Guy – This match was scheduled to be a one on one encounter between Prodigy and Mason but apparently, when Prodigy was hustling down from the UWA show in Mississauga, he stopped to raid an Egyptian tomb or something and brought King Ramses or Herpes or whatever his name was with him. I didn’t catch the guys name but since he came out to ‘Walk Like an Egyptian’ and was wearing some pharaoh type mask and get-up, he will be called Egyptian Gimmick Guy (EGG) for the purpose of this review. Prodigy and EGG formed an alliance at the bell and Mason attacked both with punches causing them to flee the ring. EGG tossed Prodigy inside and Mason was right on him. A quick exchange saw Prodigy miss his chin kick but Mason nailed his. EGG slid into the ring to cover Prodigy but he easily kicked out. This led to a brief argument between them as Mason circled warily. EGG and Prodigy agreed to continue their two on one assault and quickly overwhelmed Mason, blasting him with a double suplex and tandem backbreaker. The two traded pin attempts and finally started attacking each other and the match became a true 3-way. Mason and EGG worked a double submission attempt on Prodigy before Mason knocked EGG off the apron with a sweet springboard dropkick. Mason jumped on the weakened Prodigy for the pin and although the ref counted the 3 he waved it off saying Prodigy had gotten his shoulder up. Mason shrugged and jumped on Prodigy again and this time the fall counted. A very fast, exciting match that showcased Mason more than the others. It served to rouse the fans from the slumber induced by the previous match and was a welcome warm-up to the barnstormer that was to follow.

Joe E Legend vs ‘Impact’ Eddie Osbourne vs Asylum – Osbourne and Asylum locked up at the bell and Joe attacked both guys using his size and weight advantage to knock them both down. He concentrated his attack on Osbourne, working punches and forearms in the corner while Asylum held back and watched. When Eddie managed to mount a rally, Asylum joined in and the two pounded on Legend. After driving Legend to the mat they began trading strikes themselves and Legend took the opportunity to roll from the ring. Asylum delivered a massive spinebuster to Osbourne but before he could go for the pin, Legend grabbed his leg, dragged him from the ring and drove him headfirst into the post. Climbing back inside, Legend worked Eddie over and dropped a vicious knee to his head before getting a 2 count. Eddie continued to be abused by Legend but the next pin attempt was broken up by Asylum who had made his way back into the ring. Asylum then worked on Osbourne but Legend prevented the pin and tossed him back outside. Legend followed him out and whipped him into the wall. With Asylum down on the floor for the second time in the match, Joe returned to the ring and continued to work on Eddie. Legend missed a clothesline on Osbourne and when he hit the ropes he tumbled over because Asylum pulled the top strand down. Eddie nailed both his opponents with a sliding kick under the ropes and all three brawled at ringside. When the fight re-entered the ring, Eddie scaled the corner ropes but Legend met him up top and slammed him to the mat where Asylum leapt on him for the pin attempt. Legend once again fired Asylum out of the ring and hoisted Osbourne up on the corner. Asylum raced back inside as Legend climbed up the corner and caught him on his shoulders before dumping him with a big fall-away slam. Osbourne followed off the ropes with a diving headbutt to Asylum. Joe was then subjected to simultaneous running clotheslines but managed to avoid the third such assault and punched both guys to the mat where he delivered running kicks to their heads. When Osbourne and Asylum regained their feet Legend put them both back down with chin kicks. Legend elected to try for the pin on Osbourne but Asylum booted him in the head to break it up. Asylum then gave Eddie a delayed vertical suplex for a 2 count of his own. Legend cracked both their skulls together. Finally, Eddie decided to work with Legend against Asylum but the squat powerhouse leveled them both with spears. When he tried a second spear on Legend he missed and the ref took the brunt of the blow which effectively put him and his four closest relatives on strange street. Asylum covered Legend but of course there was no living official to make the count. All three guys traded roll-ups and pin attempts but it only served to further exhaust them. As the ref slowly came to his senses Eddie hit Joe with a devastating lungblower that might have ended the match had Asylum not broken up the pin attempt which was aided by the official reaching 2 when the crowd was passing 8 in their count. Seeing the crowd was in a counting mood Osbourne initiated a corner punch countdown on Legend which Joe broke up by dropping Eddie squarely on his face. Legend then snared both his opponents in a bridge/suplex double pin attempt but couldn’t make it stick. He then delivered a sick looking head stomp to Asylum. Osbourne and Legend brawled as Asylum recovered from the head stomp just in time to take a running knee that was intended for Osbourne who had ducked out of the way. Legend charged Eddie in the corner but squashed the hapless official instead. Eddie slammed the stunned Legend but the official was down on the floor outside so he gave up waiting for the count. As Osbourne worked on Asylum, Joe slid from the ring and grabbed his European title belt. Climbing back inside, Legend leveled Asylum with the belt but Osbourne snatched it away from him and clocked him in the head with it. Osbourne covered Legend as another official entered the ring and counted the 3 awarding Eddie the match. The original ref entered the ring and said that he had seen Osbourne hit Legend with the belt and declared Joe the winner by disqualification at which point, Eddie smashed him with the belt too. Matt the announcer erroneously announced Osbourne as the winner but eventually got it right as Legend grabbed his belt and left the ring. This was an incredible match! Certainly regarded by most of the fans as the match of the night, it was non-stop action and drama from start to finish. The crowd was hot throughout and all 3 guys gave very impressive showings. No one can accuse these guys of calling it in as they busted their asses to deliver a match worthy of main event status. How good was this match? Considering that all three guys entered as heels and left to thunderous applause for their efforts, I’d say that it was a match that all aspiring young wrestlers should watch. They might learn something.

Final Thoughts: This was the show that couldn’t, but did. IAW provided the fans that entered Unit 13 Friday night a show that, although it differed from the advertised line-up, delivered just over 2 hours of jam packed entertainment. A lot of people said Parsons wouldn’t be able to pull this show off and I have no idea if it was a financial success but one thing is for sure… the fans got their money’s worth, and then some.

Photo credit: Mrs Id

Contact the wizard of id at: zapflash@sympatico.ca