Combat in Clearfield 5 on November 9th, 2013
Opening Match: IWC Super Indy Title: Shiima Xion © vs. Facade
Facade gets the better of an opening exchange. Xion has a bad history with Clearfield crowds, so he’s always a heel in this building. He becomes very angry after Facade pulls his hair and steals his hairspray. Facade connects with a spin kick and enzuigiris Xion off the apron. Facade misses a dive from the apron and collides with the guardrail. Xion takes control in the ring with a flying lariat. Facade comes back by walking the ropes and connecting with a dropkick. He hits a TKO and roundhouse kicks Xion off the apron again. Back in, Facade connects with a springboard kick and hits a german suplex. Xion tries to retreat to the back but Facade doesn’t let him leave. Xion sprays Facade in the eyes with his hairspray behind the referee’s back to retain his title at 13:37. They focused much more on playing to the crowd than in their last match. Xion being a heel this time certainly slowed things down and although that’s not necessarily a bad thing, the finish was less than ideal. **½
Match #2: Bobby Fish vs. Andrew Palace
Fish leads the entire crowd in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance before the opening bell because he can. They trade control of a wristlock. Fish connects with a dropkick and hits a slingshot senton. Palace retreats to the floor and takes advantage of an opportunity to snap Fish’s shoulder across the top rope. Palace begins to work over the left shoulder. Fish fights back with a series of strikes and hits a samoan drop. He tries to elevate himself in the corner but hurts his shoulder. Palace hits a divorce court and follows with rolling german suplexes. He puts on his goggles and goes up top. This never works. Fish avoids a top-rope splash and hits an exploder for a nearfall. They exchange forearms and Fish connects with a knockout kick for the victory at 9:24. When given the chance to wrestle (not shackled to the STDs), Palace has shown that he’s quite capable in the ring. Fish’s status with Team Big League is unknown, but he was able to get the crowd behind him and give Palace a chance to show how far he’s come. This was a solid back and forth match that only needed more time. **¾
Match #3: Jimmy Vegas vs. HD Cannon
Vegas lays in a few clubbering blows and throws Cannon to the outside. Cannon returns the favor in the ring. Cannon hits a spinebuster but Vegas quickly responds with a clothesline. Vegas hits a DDT. Cannon low blows him behind the referee’s back. The camera didn’t fully capture that shot. An enraged Vegas spears Cannon and reigns down punches. The referee argues with Vegas, allowing Cannon to sneak in a rollup for the win at 3:20. I would assume they’re headed towards some sort of stipulation match. We haven’t been given much reason to care about this feud, as the central issue should be between Cannon and his mentor Justin Idol. *¼
Justin Plummer comes out for a live edition of Aftershock. He introduces Logan Shulo, his guest for the evening. Shulo says that Shane Taylor robbed him of winning the IWC World Heavyweight Title. He challenges Taylor to a match next month at Winner Takes All. Finally, Shulo has to make a big announcement. Before he can speak, Justin LaBar and Shane Taylor interrupt. Shulo starts brawling with Taylor. Plummer gets trapped in the corner and Taylor takes him out with a charge. Multiple staff members come out to check on Plummer. Chuck Roberts makes the Shulo/Taylor match official for Winner Takes All. Dalton Castle makes his entrance, leading to…
Match #4: Dalton Castle vs. Shane Taylor
They start brawling before the opening bell. Castle comes off the middle rope with a double axe handle and connects with a dropkick. A distraction by LaBar allows Taylor to blindside Castle on the floor. He takes control in the ring. Taylor slams Castle from the ring to the floor at one point. Castle finds life with a few quick rollups but walks into a huge lariat. Taylor hits a belly-to-belly suplex for a nearfall. Castle is able to avoid a middle-rope splash. He hits a bulldog as the crowd comes alive. Castle is able to lift Taylor up for a slam. Taylor blocks a splash with knees and connects with a forearm smash. He follows with a huge leg drop for a two count. Castle counters a powerbomb with a sunset flip for the victory at 11:29. This was the perfect match for Castle heading into his title match next month. Taylor has not been defeated many times in IWC and this match was given enough time for Castle to genuinely fight from behind. While the action wasn’t overly complex, the crowd was at its loudest thus far tonight. These two are certainly underrated talents right now. ***
John McChesney attacks Castle after the match. Taylor lays out Castle with a lariat. McChesney stands over Castle and informs him that he has no chance at Winner Takes All.
Match #5: Dennis Gregory vs. Joseph Brooks
Brooks slaps Gregory before the opening bell. Gregory repeatedly irish whips him into the turnbuckles and back drops him across the ring. Brooks finds an opening to lay in a cheap shot. Gregory blocks a double axe handle but gets sent face-first into the middle turnbuckle. Brooks takes control until Gregory powers out of a sleeper hold. Brooks escapes a powerbomb and tries a rollup to no avail. Gregory airplane spins Brooks and connects with a superkick for a two count. Gregory hits a spinebuster and o’connor rolls Brooks for the win at 6:16. They had a decent back and forth match that should setup the Founding Fathers as the number one contenders for the tag team titles. Brooks seems to be coming into his own as a character in IWC. **¼
Match #6: Chest Flexor, Brian McDowell, Corey Futuristic, and Remy Lavey vs. Marshall Gambino, Bronco McBride, Keith Haught, and Sam Cassidy
Flexor announces that Lavey has joined the STDs. The match starts with a dance-off between Haught and Futuristic. The faces work together to toss Futuristic around the ring. McDowell hits a belly-to-belly suplex on Haught. Lavey follows with a side slam. The STDs isolate Haught until he connects with an enzuigiri on Flexor and makes the tag. Cassidy comes off the middle rope with a back elbow on Lavey. McDowell interjects himself and the STDs now work over Cassidy. He drops Futuristic dangerously onto his head and tags out. McBride enters the ring and proceeds to drop Futuristic onto his head again with a nasty back suplex. Cassidy lands a springboard plancha to the floor. In the ring, they do a tower of doom spot in the corner. Haught connects with a knockout kick on Lavey and lands a top-rope splash for the victory at 8:57. There were stretches of solid action mixed with flashes of trainwreck moments. However, at the end of the day, the crowd was vocal, commentary was light-hearted, and everyone received a chance to standout regardless of whether or not they took advantage of that chance. **
Match #7: Michael Elgin vs. Logan Shulo
They battle over a lockup and give each other clean breaks. Elgin eventually shoves Shulo and stares him down. Shulo snaps off an armdrag and hangs onto a wristlock. Elgin knocks him off the apron and into the guardrail. Elgin chokes Shulo on the ringpost and takes control. Shulo blocks a charge and connects with a mafia kick. He hits a senton but misses a discus lariat. Elgin hits a swinging side slam and a uranagi. Shulo moves out of the way of a top-rope senton. Both men are down. Shulo ducks a backfist and connects with a knee strike to the face for a nearfall. Elgin kicks away a discus lariat and shoves Shulo to the floor. He tries to superplex Shulo from the apron into the ring but Shulo fights if off. They battle up top and Elgin hits an air raid crash from the middle rope for a two count. Shulo escapes a powerbomb, connects with a mafia kick, and follows with a discus lariat for the win at 12:12. I certainly wish they would’ve received more time, but what we got was an entertaining battle between two power athletes. I always enjoy watching Elgin wrestle someone who can match him in the power game and their strike exchanges down the stretch were on point. Shulo has a lot of momentum right now, but he will soon be leaving IWC for a WWE developmental deal. ***¼
Match #8: IWC World Heavyweight Title: John McChensey © vs. Justin Idol
Dennis Gregory and Jimmy Vegas accompany Idol to the ring and promises no interference from Team Big League. Idol out-wrestles McChesney in an early mat exchange. They exchange control of a side headlock. Idol snaps off a few armdrags and connects with a dropkick. McChesney lays in a well-timed enzuigiri and baseball slides Idol off the apron. McChesney takes over, working over the left leg. Idol fights back with a go 2 sleep variant and hits a dragon suplex. He blocks a corner charge and plants McChesney with a basement ace crusher. McChesney back drops out of the Spirit Crusher and locks in a sharpshooter. Idol is able to reach the bottom rope. Idol avoids a superkick and hits a dragon suplex into the turnbuckles. Joseph Brooks appears at ringside but the Founding Fathers make sure he doesn’t interfere. Vegas attacks a referee and throws him into the barricade. McChesney connects with a superkick on Idol but there’s no referee. Shane Taylor comes into the ring but accidentally lays out McChesney with a lariat. Idol low-bridges Taylor to the floor. Idol blocks another superkick and hits the Spirit Crusher to become the new IWC…WAIT! The referee that Vegas attacked disqualifies Idol at 12:28. So Idol gets disqualified because someone who accompanied him to the ring attacked the referee? I don’t think that makes any sense and once again, you cannot condition fans to expect these finishes out of title matches and main events. This wasn’t even the case of McChesney or Team Big League being cunning – Vegas ruthlessly attacked a referee. I don’t know how this finish helped anyone involved. Dalton Castle absolutely needs to win the title at the next show and we need a lengthy title reign with clean finishes. I should also mention that Idol and McChesney were having a great match before the usual antics. **½
The Founding Fathers and Team Big League start brawling after the match. Dalton Castle prevents McChesney from escaping. Justin Idol stands tall to end the show.
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