IWA Unlimited: All or Nothing Review

Posted by Ryan Rozanski on Feb 3, 2012 in DVD Review, Featured

All or Nothing on January 14th, 2012

The show begins with a video package highlighting some of the matches on the card. Serenity vs. Angelus Layne, Christian Rose vs. Alex Castle, and the IWAU Heavyweight Title ladder match between Matt Cage and Joey O’Riley receive special attention.

Opening Match: AT Brooks, The Intimidator, and Tony G vs. Blake Reed, Matt Maverick, and Travis Weir
Generation Kill (Reed and Maverick) and Weir come together because they are all upset that they weren’t booked on the show tonight. Tony G interrupts and says that he found some tag team partners in the back that would be willing to challenge them. I can see how Intimidator gets his name. Everyone starts brawling before the opening bell. Brooks lands a plancha onto Generation Kill. Weir asserts his power advantage over Brooks and Tony G. Intimidator enters the ring and stares down Weir, who quickly tags out. Tony G monkey flips Maverick out of the corner and snaps off a headscissors. Weir elevates Brooks into an atomic drop and Maverick adds a yakuza kick. The heels isolate Brooks until he avoids a charge from Weir and makes the tag. Intimidator cleans house with a series of clotheslines. Tony G hits sliced bread on Reed. Intimidator catches Weir with a stunner and Brooks follows with a leg lariat for the win at 8:37. This was a fairly inconsequential opener but the crowd gave the faces a great reaction. It appears as though Brooks and Intimidator are planting the seeds to form a regular tag team and I think that they would complement each other very well. **

Brooks lays out Weir with another leg lariat after the match for good measure.

Match #2: Serenity vs. Angelus Layne
Layne attacks Serenity during her entrance. She throws Serenity into the ringpost and hits a running hip attack in the ring. Serenity takes advantage of Layne’s aggression and is able to gain the advantage. Serenity connects with a hesitation dropkick but misses a flying crossbody. They trade stiff chops in the corner. Serenity lays in a basement dropkick and applies a bow and arrow. Layne powers out of the hold but runs into a side slam. The action goes to the apron where Serenity gets tripped up. Layne lands a crossbody off the apron in a really cool spot. Both women barely beat the ten count. They exchange punches and Layne connects with double knees. She follows with a senton for a nearfall and hits a northern lights suplex. Layne catches Serenity with a knockout kick and hits a basement DDT for the victory at 9:22. These two worked extremely hard and undoubtedly made the most out of their nine minutes. While I’m unfamiliar with IWA Unlimited, it was apparent that Serenity and Layne did not like each other and they successfully showcased that hatred here. Serenity was on a mission to destroy Layne, and despite her best efforts, Layne’s aggression was too much for Serenity to overcome in the end. I hope there is a rematch in the works, as this was one of the best women’s matches that I’ve seen in awhile. ***

Match #3: Towel Match: Christian Rose vs. Alex Castle
The only way to win this match is to have your opponent’s representative throw their towel into the ring. Reed Bentley is in Rose’s corner while Cole James is in Castle’s corner. Castle lays out James with an ace crusher before the match, presumably so he’s incapable of throwing in his towel. Castle throws Rose into the barricade and brawls with him around ringside. In the ring, Castle connects with a series of running forearms followed by a corner yakuza kick. The action goes back to the outside where Castle lays in more kicks. Rose rips off part of the guardrail and hits him with it. Castle quickly returns the favor. Rose connects with a spinning backfist in the ring and hits a gutbuster. He lands a dive to the floor but Castle slams his head into a chair. Rose rams Castle into the apron and regains control back in the ring. Castle fights back with an implant DDT and both men are down. Rose hits a falcon arrow and tells Bentley to throw in Castle’s towel. The referee isn’t buying that. They battle on the apron where Castle connects with a superkick. He spears Rose on the apron and they fall to the floor. Castle half nelson slams Rose onto the apron. Bentley tries to interfere but gets punched for his troubles. Rose falls victim to two backbreakers and finds himself in a boston crab. Bentley enters the ring and attacks Castle to break the hold. Castle takes out Bentley with a superkick and delivers one to Rose as well. He plants Rose with a saito suplex and follows with another superkick. Castle reapplies the boston crab. Rose taps out but the match can’t end that way. Rose stomps Castle to the canvas and connects with a series of flash kicks. Castle’s girlfriend comes out and tells the referee to stop the match but he refuses. Rose brings two chairs into the ring and looks to hit a conchairto. Intimidator runs to ringside and throws in the towel for Castle, giving Rose the win at 19:55. The stipulation was interesting and they managed to incorporate it into the match in creative ways. Castle attacking his representative before the match so he couldn’t lose was smart, although I’m not sure why Intimidator could throw in the towel for him while his girlfriend couldn’t. Regardless, these two filled the match with engaging action that picked up as the contest progressed. The crowd gave both men a great reaction, whether that involved cheering Castle or chanting demotivational phrases at Rose. With an I Quit match on the way, this was a smart brawl that should lead in nicely to their blowoff match. ***¼

Referees rush the ring to check on Castle. He slowly makes it to his feet and looks at Intimidator with disgust as he walks away.

Match #4: Reed Bentley vs. Dale Patricks
Patricks is replacing Danny Cannon, who couldn’t make it to the show. Bentley makes it clear that he still wants a match with Cannon in the near future. Bentley locks in a boston crab and transitions into an STF. Patricks connects with a knee strike but gets caught by a roaring elbow. Bentley hits a senton and follows with a mafia kick. He adds an enzuigiri and lays in repeated elbows. Bentley curb stomps Patricks into the canvas and tries to knock him out with knee strikes. Patricks hits a german suplex and lands a flying crossbody. Bentley rolls through and hits rolling butterfly suplexes for the victory at 5:58. Bentley displayed a unique offensive strategy that involved a nice mix of strikes and submissions. Patricks looked good when he was on offense but this match was more about Bentley sending a message to Cannon. **¼

Match #5: Jason V vs. Cash Bordin
They trade control on the mat and Jason frustrates Bordin with his flamboyance. Bordin clotheslines Jason to the floor and follows out with a dive. Jason rams him into the apron and throws him into the barricade. Jason connects with a tiger feint kick and takes control in the ring. Bordin wins a chop battle and connects with a running knee strike. He monkey flips Jason out of the corner and hits a bulldog. Bordin gets crotched on the middle rope and Jason hits a gory special slam for the win at 8:20. Jason’s gimmick turned out to be a bit deceiving upon first glance as he didn’t rely too much on comedy and wrestled a solid match. Bordin hung with him and they had a decent exhibition for the time given. **½

Match #6: IWAU Heavyweight Title: Ladder Match: Matt Cage © vs. Joey O’Riley
If Cage is able to retain his title in this match, O’Riley will not receive another title shot as long as he is champion. They prevent each other from going towards the ladders. O’Riley eventually grabs one but Cage throws him into it. O’Riley leaps off the apron and plants Cage with a tornado DDT on the floor. Cage sends him into the barricade and tries to climb a ladder in the ring to no avail. O’Riley clotheslines him on the apron and connects with a hesitation dropkick. Cage gets thrown into a ladder but responds by flatlining O’Riley into the ladder. Cage connects with double knees and follows with a gamengiri. O’Riley bulldogs him into a ladder and lands a standing moonsault. O’Riley drop toe holds Cage into a propped chair. He tries to climb but Cage hits him with the chair. Cage hits a shoulderbreaker along with a divorce court. He puts O’Riley’s left arm in between the rungs of a ladder and hits it with a chair. O’Riley lawn darts Cage into the ladder. He tries to climb but falls victim to an electric chair slam. Cage goes back to work on the left shoulder. He suplexes O’Riley to the floor and follows out with a dive. On the outside, O’Riley catapults Cage into a propped ladder. O’Riley uses his good arm to climb the ladder in the ring but Cage easily stops him. Cage applies a keylock and hits a gourdbuster onto a ladder. They both climb ladders with no success and take each other out with clotheslines. Both men are down. O’Riley enzuigiris Cage off the apron and lands a corkscrew plancha to the floor. Back in, Cage connects with a knockout kick followed by a shining wizard. O’Riley back drops him into a ladder but he’s still able to stop O’Riley from climbing by repeatedly ramming his left arm into the side of the ladder. Cage gets sent off the ladder but he manages to stop yet another climb attempt by O’Riley. O’Riley hurricanranas out of a tiger driver and connects with a nice mafia kick. He rams Cage’s shoulder into a ladder and kicks away at it. O’Riley puts Cage’s arm in between the rungs of a ladder and applies a crossface. Cage recovers with a leaping tombstone. Both men are down but eventually start climbing up opposite sides of a ladder. They battle on top of the ladder and fall to the canvas. Cage connects with a superkick but O’Riley quickly returns the favor. O’Riley kicks Cage in the face. O’Riley climbs the ladder and grabs the title to become the new IWAU Heavyweight Champion at 27:51.

Considering what the concept of the ladder match has devolved into, this main event was a breath of fresh air. They didn’t rely on contrived spots to invoke a reaction from the crowd. Instead, there was no wasted motion from either man and both were dead set on winning this match from the opening bell. I also thought Cage did an excellent job of working over O’Riley’s shoulder. The limb work came into play at multiple points throughout the contest and it really added depth to the match. O’Riley should be commended too, as his selling of the shoulder made the crowd care about this match for all of the right reasons. Finally, O’Riley’s comeback towards the end of the match where he started attacking Cage’s shoulder was a great spot and paid off all of the action that came before it. I honestly cannot say enough good things about this main event. If ladder matches in 2012 could follow more along the lines of what Cage and O’Riley did here, I would be an extremely happy man. ****

Cage hands over the title to O’Riley as a sign of respect. O’Riley talks about how surreal this moment is and thanks the crowd to end the show.

Bonus Match: IWAU Heavyweight Title: 2 out of 3 Falls: Joey O’Riley © vs. Matt Cage
This match took place on January 25th, 2012 at IWA Unlimited’s weekly show. Cage is cashing in his rematch clause here, after losing the title at All or Nothing. They shake hands and stare each other down. They trade control of a side headlock and Cage connects with a leg lariat. O’Riley answers with a dropkick and a corner lariat. He follows with a hesitation dropkick. Cage blocks a charge and hits a flatliner into the middle turnbuckle. O’Riley lands a moonsault and connects with an enzuigiri. Cage reverses a second moonsault attempt into a blue thunder bomb. He hits a fireman’s carry neckbreaker and a delayed vertical suplex. O’Riley tries to sneak in a victory roll to no avail and gets caught by a dropkick. Cage hits a side slam and regains control. O’Riley comes back with a series of strikes and lawn darts Cage into the turnbuckles. He follows with a backbreaker-ace crusher combination. Cage responds with a stunner and connects with a lariat for a nearfall. O’Riley hits a nice slingshot tornado DDT and connects with a yakuza kick for a two count. O’Riley applies a crossface to win the first fall at 14:08. Cage retreats to the apron but gets kicked to the floor. O’Riley follows out with a corkscrew plancha. Cage blocks a tornado DDT and hits a tombstone on the floor! O’Riley gets counted out and Cage wins the second fall at 15:30. We’re tied at 1-1. Cage tells the referee to count O’Riley out again but he’s able to make it back into the ring. Cage hits a bucklebomb and connects with a yakuza kick for a nearfall. He transitions into a crossface chickenwing but O’Riley is able to power out. O’Riley hits a uranagi and both men are down. They exchange chops and kicks. Cage hits a shoulder-capture suplex to become the new…wait a minute! The referee declares that both men’s shoulders were down and the match is ruled a draw at 18:56. This was an effective follow-up to their ladder match in that it furthered the issues between them and showed a different side of Cage. They hinted at their familiarity with each other by utilizing some new counters and they managed to generate some believable nearfalls down the stretch. While the finish didn’t do much for the match itself, it setup an interesting triple threat match down the line between O’Riley, Cage, and Bordin. ***¼

Cage attacks the referee in frustration. Cash Bordin comes out and starts brawling with Cage as O’Riley looks on. Cage shoves O’Riley, who responds with a spin kick. O’Riley angrily heads to the back as Bordin leaves a disgruntled Cage in the ring.

Overall: All or Nothing ended up being a great introduction to IWA Unlimited. Serenity and Angelus Layne had a solid match, Christian Rose and Alex Castle effectively furthered their feud in a unique contest, and the main event was just an incredibly smart and entertaining ladder match. I also thought the bonus match was a nice inclusion, as Joey O’Riley and Matt Cage delivered a worthwhile follow-up to the previously mentioned ladder match. There was a lot of talent on this show that I’m interested in seeing more of and I think IWA Unlimited is a promotion that definitely has their act together. I can safely give this show a recommendation. Check out the links below for more information.

For more information on IWA Unlimited, check them out on:
Facebook and Twitter
Smart Mark Video, where you can purchase this show when it’s released
Their official website
Youtube, where you can watch full-length matches, including the Bonus match from this DVD.