IWL 09/24/14

[Deleted]

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN

Troy Knight vs. Victor Scott

Both men made their debut in Chiba during the opening round of the tag team tournament, but tonight they were thrown into a singles contest and it was clear there was only one dominant force here. The Virginian, Victor Scott, would take it to the flamboyant British export with his smash mouth, unforgiving style, and ended the match with a violent Sleeper Hold, obviously enjoying feeling the life fall from Troy's body as the referee called the contest in his favor. His team may have lost, but "The Unforgiven" will still be a factor in the IWL if they can keep rebounding like Scott did here tonight.

Hunter Hendricks vs. Chris Powers

"The Master of War" Hunder Hendricks may have left the Heavyweight title tournament early, but he's still here in Japan and looked to make the most of his second outing here in the IWL. The fans here in Yokohama weren't given a lot here from Powers, who tried to get something going early with a lot of energy and wanted to look good going into the next round of the tag team tournament, but just couldn't keep the momentum going. Powers would manage to catch what seemed like a break when he caught "H Double" charging into the corner with a boot to the face, but after going up top, got caught coming down by Hunter, who rolled through a Crossbody attempt and lifted him up, nailing a swinging version of his H Bomb to pick up the three. "The Master of War" showed some real form in this rebound, and it's clear he looks to gun for whomever ends up with the IWL Heavyweight title around their waist.

Roderick Brookes vs. Kendal Carter

Brookes was perhaps the break out star of the opening round of tournament, even in defeat, showcasing a very unique brand of smash mouth and technical wrestling that gave Kenzo Katana every bit he could handle, but just barely lost it. Carter is fighting out of Staten Island, and got here on his tag team merits in what was essentially a makeshift team with good friend Quincy James that happened to win their qualifier in New York promotion Ring Warriors, but looked jacked about making his singles debut here in the IWL, and wanted to have a good showing. Carter would come out of the box quick with some fast fists and a flying lariat, followed by a Slingshot Dive to the outside, getting the crowd behind him, but it was on the outside that tides changed. "The Derry Disease" would manage to pull Carter by the trunks and send him head first into the ring post, and from there just picked him apart. Brookes seemed to get stronger the more Carter seemed to be in pain, and in the end would show Japan and, essentially, the world his devastating, seemingly inescapable finisher, No Cure for Cancer, a straight jacket variation of a Regal Stretch. Carter had to verbally submit because every limb he had was tied up, and Brookes comes out looking scary good and appears to be a real threat to whomever walks away with gold in the Heavyweight title tournament.

Andor Farago & Alex Berlot vs. AJ Cross & Damon Black

"The Scourge" and "Mr. Canada" are coming out of the competitive Western Canadian scene, and both men have tremendously deadly skills in the ring, which their opponents know all too well. "The King of Quality" AJ Cross and "The New Icon" Damon Black both had to deal with Berlot and Farago respectively in the opening round of the Heavyweight title tournament, with Cross taking a loss to Berlot and Black barely escaping his match with "The Scourge" with his life, let alone a win. Cross and Black come from a similar area of the U.S., with Cross fighting out of the Carolina region and Black hailing from and competing in Florida, so they were familiar with each other in passing and would have some chemistry, playing off each others energy and getting the crowd behind them as the babyfaces. In a match like this, the fans had to be supportive and sympathetic for the U.S. competitors, as Farago and Berlot were relentless, cold, calculated, had the game plan set and looked to just destroy, and with their tools, were able to enact that game plan very soundly. Cross would take a lot of punishment in this match, spending a lot of time on the mat and taking blows from Farago and Berlot, who tagged out frequently, lead by Berlot, who is actually known for tagging with another competitor who will be competing tonight, Devon Ryder, in a tandem known as "The 'Eh' Team", and it was clear he chose Cross as a weaker link and wanted to exploit it. Black would manage to catch a hot tag and turn the tides a bit, hitting a series of quick dropkicks and armdrags on Farago and Berlot, who seemed to lose their comfort a bit and started making some mistakes. Berlot would manage to catch Black in a roll-through Canadian Mapleleaf that looked like it might end things as Cross dealt with "The Scourge" on the outside, but Cross would manage to duck a big haymaker and slid into the ring, breaking up the submission right as Black looked like he might crack. Berlot was dazed after this, and even though his leg was hurting, "Big Daddy Cocoa" managed to hobble up and propel himself into the air on one leg, getting a big applause from the crowd as he hit his Relapse on Berlot, sending him out of the ring.

Farago would head back in and send Black out of the ring with a running boot, knocking him completely loopy and out under the ropes. Cross would attempt to hit Farago, but Farago would capture his arm and blast him with multiple knees, attempting to lift him up but Cross would actually use a knee to block and reverse whatever "The Scourge" was going for and turn it into his Disgracer, planting Farago and managing to squeak out the three count, getting the first win the good guys have been able to muster in this show so far!

Alex Berlot was clearly not pleased with this outcome, seeing a man he beat before come out on top of this, and it lead him to come into the ring and attack Cross and Black from behind while they were vulnerable, getting massive heat from the Yokohama fans here tonight. The referees would come out, but it was actually a man from the crowd who would change the tides, and it's a man we haven't seen compete in this promotion. The man was wearing normal street clothes and looked like a pedestrian, but was a white guy, not Japanese, as most fans were in attendance, making it even more odd.

Berlot would look up the ramp as the man was escorted out and his eyes would widen, causing him to grab a microphone.

"REINER! YOU SON OF A BITCH! YOU WANT A FIGHT, WE CAN DO THIS RIGHT NOW! YOU SHOULD HAVE NEVER CAME HERE!"

Berlot would try to storm down, but the officials would get things under control, keeping everyone pulled apart and eventually would get things cleared out so the show could continue in relative peace.

Tristan Novak, Matt Beck, and Hito Fujita vs. El Ovino Negro, Devon Ryder, and Adam Pugh

These six men will all be competing on the next show in the opening round of the Jr. Heavyweight title tournament, based on triple threat matches, but these teams weren't necessarily based on those match ups. Instead, we got to see some character to get some hype behind the tournament, and it was clear these six are all very different, but all have very exciting qualities. Novak is an export of Ireland, but with his blue and gold attire and red frock of hair, he stood out here due to his amazing flying ability, having perhaps the best vertical of all six men here, only rivaled by the "Durango Daredevil" El Ovino Negro, a luchadore who seemed to have some striking ability, but stuck to keeping the pace fast and attempted many near falls. Matt Beck is considered the ace of his home promotion, Ohio based EPIC Pro-Wrestling, and it was clear as to why. He seemed to be able to hang with each of his opponents in each facet of their strengths, but pushed them further with his intensity and speed. His intensity would lead to some lost focus, however, as he seemed to get a little too overzealous and a guy as smart as Devon Ryder was able to pick up on those moments and capitalize on them. Ryder is the tag team partner of Alex Berlot, but he seemed to have a bit more agility than his tag team partner, and seemed to rely more on his speed and striking as opposed to his technical prowess, which also seemed pretty sound. Speaking of striking, Hito Fujita may be the hardest striker pound for pound to have competed for IWL thus far, and once in the ring, it was clear whoever was across from him was going to get punished. His technical ability was also spot on, and he had good foot and hand speed, but he seemed to have zero interest in flying or going along with anything lucha influenced, and this caused some awkwardness as he tried to work with someone like Ovino Negro. That leaves Adam Pugh here, the Midwestern based star who calls himself "The Tragic Artist", meaning he orchestrates tragic defeat on his canvas of choice, the wrestling canvas. With his colorful tights and shocked, dyed hair, he stood out visually and he seemed to have all the tools in the bag to get things done, which he did. Pugh would hit a high Shin Kick to the back of Beck's head as he looked to fly to the outside onto Pugh's and his own partners, grabbing him up from behind and hitting a move he calls the Existential Crisis (Swinging Lifting Inverted DDT) to put down Beck for the three count and win for his team! Pugh comes out of this looking like a front runner to win the tournament, but it's still anybody's to win.

Sierra Rose & Isadora Cruz vs. Erin Terror & Yasuko Takeda

The Canadian, Rose, and the Luchadora, Cruz, were set to take on the British roughneck, Terror, and Japan star, Takeda. These four women would be competing in a sort of mini-tournament to determine the first IWL Women's champion, and it was noted that the team mates would not be competing against each other in the first round of the tournament. The match would end with Rose, with her blonde hair streaked with red and her lean muscles, rolling up the bulkier, more punk and doom looking Terror with a quick Sunset Flip reversal in the corner to get a shocking three count after taking a lot of punishment. Rose shows resilience, but it is still unclear who the favorite is to come out on top in the impending tournament.

Shawn Walsh, Malice, and Sakichi Sato vs. Daniel Shine, Jack Colville, and Rohan Malhotra

A six man tag took place here between six of the competitors who have taken a loss in the Heavyweight title tournament, and while the teams were a real mish mash of different styles, characters, and nationalities, it was still a pretty decent contest. The team of Walsh, Malice, and Sato were clearly out to bend any rules they could, and break any bones while they were at it, taking things to the outside early and using whatever was around to inflict pain on their opponents. Shine would actually get his team back into things after being busted open, snapping off Belly-to-Belly Suplexes at first, and then a couple of German Suplexes to punish his opponents and get the crowd all riled up! It looked like he might finish the match, trying to take Malice down into La Manceurda, but Walsh would come off the top with a 450 Splash out of seemingly nowhere to break things up and wow the crowd even more! There was a wild brawl to follow, but "The Ripper" Jack Colville would end up snatching up Walsh up on his shoulders and once again drilling the "Godfather of Gruesome" with his Impaler to knock him out for the three!

Walsh was clearly upset at taking yet another pinfall loss to the British star, and we may see these two cross paths again.

Drake Vinaldi vs. Alex Michaels vs. Michael Magnum vs. Naoki Konaka

Four of the wrestlers with the highest work rates on their teams in the Tag Team title tournament took to the ring here for an entertaining four way match. With Vinaldi's foul mouth and hard strikes, he stuck out a lot here, but "Perfection" Alex Michaels also has a huge ego and some flashy moves to get the crowd going, seemingly making it a contest between the two to steal the match. Magnum has his own well rounded flair and seemed to be in position a lot of times to pick a near fall, but just couldn't quite pull out anything substantial enough to take the contest in the end. Michaels would end up hitting his finisher, Total Perfection (Elevated Pedigree), on Magnum, plowing his head to the mat, but Vinaldi would come off the top and break up the pin with his Lunatic High (Diving Double Stomp). Konaka would end up flying in with a Springboard Wheel Kick to take down Vinaldi, and then hit a Running Shooting Star Press on the injured Michaels to keep him down for the three, picking up a huge win here in singles competition!

Ryu Malik & Kenzo Katana vs. Sean Walker & Komodo

The four men representing the semi-finals of the Heavyweight title tournament were set to do battle in tag team action, but one had to wonder, looking at these teams, how this match would turn out. There was one big sore thumb sticking out here, as the wild, unpredictable, and dangerous Ryu Malik made for a very big wild card amongst this otherwise pretty noble bunch. The German by way of Singapore who is actually half-German and half-Japanese by bloodline is a wrestler similar to a Great Muta in that he has a lot of talent and skills, but chooses to just be malicious, disrespectful, and attack his opponents in obscene and overly violent ways. By the middle of this match, after doing considerable damage to Sean Walker on the outside, Malik just simply walked out, eliciting major heat from the audience but his middle fingers seemed to express his level of care for what they thought of him. Komodo and Katana didn't seem to notice the absence of either of their partners as they engaged each other in some entertaining back and forth striking and mat based action, sporting some similarities in style, with the bigger Komodo trying to over power and overwhelm the smaller Katana, but finding his speed and striking power was a great counter point to his attack plan. Katana would manage to low bridge Komodo, who was charging him after a series of kicks and a back elbow, sending the Toronto native flying to the outside. Sean Walker, in his pain and bleeding, slid into the ring and he looked pretty worse for wear.

Walker would get to his feet and Katana would rush him, hitting a series of inside elbows and then running off the ropes, but Walker would waste not time, charging and taking down the unsuspecting Katana with a massive Spear! Walker hooks the leg, thinking he might have it, but Katana kicks out at two! Walker gets up and calls for the end, grabbing Katana and trying to lift him into a Suplex position, but Katana catches Walker with a knee to his bleeding forehead and switches his stance once let back down, latching on with his Katana Clutch (Katahajime)! Komodo slides back into the ring now after shaking off the cobwebs, and Walker actually manages to escape by overpowering Katana and tossing him forward with a Judo type throw. Walker holds his throat, rolling on the mat, as Komodo sizes up Katana and rushes him as he staggers up, BLASTING him with the Dragon Punch (Superman Punch) that gets the crowd somewhat going! It would be more appealing if this were still a two on toe, but Malik has tainted that.

Komodo calls for the end now, and looks to lock on a Dragon Clutch, but Katana escapes it somehow, some way, showing that heart that has won him match after match and the affections of the crowd, sliding under Komodo's legs and he grabs the Canadian from behind, pulling him over with a German Suplex! Katana gets up and sees Walker charging in with a Lariat and ducks it, catching "Thunder" as he spins around with a Gamenjiri that sends the California native tumbling out of the ring! Komodo staggers up as Katana pulls himself up in the corner, keeping an eye on his opponent. Komodo turns, holding the back of his head, and Katana charges and jumps, connecting with the Single Leg High Knee!

The crowd goes crazy as Katana hooks the leg, and it's all over! Against all odds, Katana pulls out the victory!

[Sean]

Big win for Katana! I'm still cheering for Walker though.

The violent sleeper hold from the first match really created a visually impressive image.

Greta great show as usual Joe.