Road to Super Indy XII on May 3rd, 2013
Opening Match: IWC Super Indy Title: Anthony Nese © vs. Colin Delaney
The winner will also be entered into Super Indy XII by virtue of being champion. They trade control of a wristlock. Delaney shrugs off a few shoulder tackles and connects with a dropkick. Nese cuts off a dive attempt with a clothesline. Delaney throws him to the floor and is able to land his dive. He chops Nese around ringside, allowing some fans to get involved as well. Nese shoves the referee into Delaney and connects with a stiff right hand. He rams Delaney into the apron and takes control. Nese finds knees on a lionsault attempt and Delaney connects with a go 2 sleep variant. Nese blocks a slingshot maneuver and hits a german suplex. Delaney comes off the middle rope with a stunner for a nearfall. They tease finishers and Delaney sneaks in a backslide to no avail. Nese hits a one-armed bucklebomb for a two count. He grabs the title belt and brings it into the ring. The referee takes it away and Nese is able to hit a sunset driver to retain his title at 12:54. Delaney was a good challenger for Nese and both champions were made to look competitive. Delaney has been quietly improving and 2013 could be a big year for him across many different promotions. This functioned well as an opener with some impressive spots and points where the crowd really came alive. ***
John McChesney interrupts the show with Bobby Fish and Rex Lawless. He warns Anthony Nese that Fish will be taking the title from him at Super Indy. As usual, Fish gets into a hilarious argument with a fan at ringside. Chuck Roberts comes to ringside. McChesney tells Roberts that Norm Connors is boycotting IWC due to Roberts’ recent actions. McChesney demands that when Team Big League wins in the main event, Connors will be able to pick Logan Shulo’s opponent for Super Indy. Additionally, Connors will be able to hand-pick Team Big League’s opponents as well. Roberts accepts as long as the rest of Team Big League is barred from ringside during the main event. WAR makes their entrance, leading to…
Match #2: Rex Lawless vs. Aiden Veil and Jordan Lennox
Jimmy Nutts and Joseph Brooks attack WAR during their entrance. Staff members run out to back them off. Lawless hurls Veil into the ringpost and works over Lennox in the ring. He connects with a huge corner yakuza kick on Lennox and turns him inside-out with a lariat. Veil saves his partner from a delayed vertical suplex and WAR connect with stereo enzuigiris. Lennox lands a moonsault to the floor and Veil connects with a basement superkick. Lawless hits a double suplex. Lawless seems to have hurt his right leg on an awkward samoan drop. John McChesney hits the referee, drawing a disqualification at 6:31. It’s a shame that Lawless got injured during his in-ring debut as the injury hurt the dominant mystique surrounding him. I’m looking forward to his return, as he showed a lot of potential for a big man. The match was moving along fine until the injury. *½
Match #3: Super Indy XII Qualifier: Gory vs. Mike Rayne
The lights go out and Gory appears behind Rayne. Gory tries to spit mist but Rayne moves out of the way. Rayne lays in a flurry of punches and elevates Gory into a kick. Rayne charges with a knee strike in the corner and follows with an enzuigiri. He hits a shoulderbreaker and clotheslines Gory to the outside. Gory avoids a plancha and takes control in the ring. He stunts one of Rayne’s comeback attempts by snapping off a nice headscissors. Rayne hits a spinebuster out of nowhere and adds a powerbomb. Gory fights out of another powerbomb and applies Pestilence. Gory hits Trepidation to qualify for Super Indy XII at 7:56. Gory making short work of Rayne actually means something considering Rayne’s recent success and undefeated streak. This was a strong return for Gory and a decent back and forth match to boot. This is Gory’s year to win Super Indy and you heard it here first! **½
After the match, Gory reminds Facade that he hasn’t forgotten about him. The lights go out and Gory disappears.
Match #4: Jimmy Nutts and Joseph Brooks vs. Jimmy Vegas and Super Hentai
The winners will become the #1 contenders for the IWC Tag Team Titles. Both teams start brawling before the opening bell. Vegas kicks Nutts down low and hits a belly-to-belly suplex. The Founding Fathers work him over until he scurries to his corner and tags out. Hentai connects with double knees on Brooks and the Founding Fathers take him down with a clothesline. Brooks sends Hentai into the middle turnbuckle and Team Big League isolate him. Hentai takes advantage of some miscommunication and makes the tag. Vegas hits a butterfly suplex on Brooks and back drops Nutts. He charges at Brooks and Hentai lands a flying crossbody. Brooks rolls through the crossbody and pins Hentai for the win at 8:41. The action was fine for the time given, but the finishing stretch didn’t receive a chance to develop the way it could have. I think there’s a lot of mileage left in any interactions between the Founding Fathers and Team Big League, so we’ll see where they go from here. **
Match #5: Super Indy XII Qualifier: “Mr. 450” Hammett vs. Shane Strickland
They start with a feeling-out process. Strickland gets sent into the ropes and the top rope completely comes undone. That doesn’t seem to phase either man. They wrestle to a stalemate and Hammett tries to sneak in a rollup to no avail. He snaps off a hurricanrana and connects with a springboard dropkick from the middle rope. Hammett follows with a dive over the middle rope and to the floor. Strickland dodges a baseball slide and lays in some kicks. Hammett fights back with a slingshot tornado DDT. Strickland blocks a dive attempt by connecting with an enzuigiri and lands a dive of his own. He lands a flying crossbody in the ring. Hammett blocks a springboard attempt with a superkick and connects with a knockout kick for a nearfall. He spikes Strickland with a hurricanrana for a two count. They battle on the middle rope and Strickland hits a super falcon arrow for a nearfall. Strickland connects with a flying double stomp to qualify for Super Indy XII at 11:48. Any time the ropes come undone it adds a completely different element to the match. While the loss of the top rope seemed constricting in some ways, it allowed both men to impress the crowd in new ways. I’m a huge fan of both Hammett and Strickland and I’m excited that they’ll both be involved with Super Indy (Hammett will be in a last chance four-way to compete for the final spot in the tournament). ***
Match #6: Elimination: Mickey and Marshall Gambino vs. Bronco McBride and Matt Segaris vs. Andrew Palace and Brian McDowell
Everyone starts brawling at the opening bell. Palace and McDowell seemed determined to prove themselves to IWC management. Palace snaps off a series of armdrags on McBride. Segaris charges at Palace with a mafia kick and hits a powerslam. The Gambinos pick up the scraps and isolate Palace. Marshall plants him with a nasty spinebuster onto Mickey’s knees. Corey Futuristic tries to interfere on Palace’s behalf but that doesn’t work out so well. McDowell eventually receives the tag and cleans house. The Gambinos appear with baseball bats and attack everyone. The referee disqualifies them. McDowell connects with a backfist on Segaris for the victory at 11:34. The heat segment on Palace was probably a bit too long for what they were going for, but this was a fine way to establish the Gambinos’ new attitude while the other two teams remain in limbo. **
Match #7: Dennis Gregory vs. HD Cannon
Gregory stalls at the opening bell. He ducks a lariat from Cannon and connects with a superkick. Cannon hits a backbreaker but misses a charge and collides with the ringpost. Gregory pulls him shoulder-first into the ringpost and begins working over the body part. Cannon fights off a superplex and comes off the middle rope with a crossbody. He hits a russian leg sweep for a nearfall. Gregory tries a crucifix to no avail but Cannon counters into a rollup of his own for the win at 10:10. Cannon still looks awkward in the ring at times, but Gregory gave him a technically-sound match here. I appreciate the fact that this match and the previous one were given enough time to develop, but neither were really able to keep the action engaging for the entire duration. **¼
Match #8: John McChesney and Bobby Fish vs. Logan Shulo and Facade
This match will have implications regarding whether Chuck Roberts or Norm Connors receive booking privileges at Super Indy XII. Shulo and Fish trade control on the mat. Fish goes to the ropes to escape a spinning toe hold and regroups on the outside. Team Big League stalls for quite awhile at ringside. Fish connects with a lariat on Shulo. Facade tags into the match and hits a suplex on Fish. Facade and McChesney trade armdrags and both try quick pin attempts to no avail. They dodge each other’s kicks and find themselves at a stalemate. Facade connects with corner punches on McChesney. Fish provides a distraction, allowing McChesney to superkick Facade’s leg. Team Big League isolate Facade until he matrixes to avoid a kick from Fish and makes the tag. Shulo hits a fireman’s carry backbreaker on McChesney and adds a senton. He follows with a flying double stomp out of the corner. Facade connects with a spin kick on Fish and lands a springboard moonsault. Everyone connects with a strike, ending with McChesney superkicking Facade. Shulo and McChesney have a long strike exchange. Fish intervenes and hits a samoan drop on Facade for a nearfall. Facade comes back with a huge roundhouse kick on McChesney. Shulo hits his electric chair powerbomb on McChesney for a two count. The lights go out and Gory appears in the ring to stare down Facade. Facade tries to mist Gory with spraypaint but accidentally targets Shulo. Fish hits an exploder on Shulo and McChesney covers for the victory at 24:26. Though some of the early stalling went on for too long, this match broke down enough in the final ten minutes to really put some steam behind the different main feuds in IWC right now. Gory cost Facade the match and Shulo continues to end each show enraged at the shenanigans happening around him. There was a lot of solid exchanges down the stretch and it felt good to see a main event receive this much time on a card full of contests that received a good bit of time to develop. ***½
IWC’s next show, Super Indy XII, is traditionally their biggest show of the year. I will be on the Weekly Newscast this week running down the card, but here are the graphics for the first round matches:
As always, check out the latest edition of IWC Aftershock hosted by Justin Plummer:
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