Combat in Clearfield 6 on March 1st, 2014
Opening Match: Andrew Palace vs. Sebastian
Palace lets Sebastian know that he’s the first qualifier for Super Indy. Sebastian lays in a few punches and connects with a dropkick. Palace retreats to the apron, where he misses a seated senton. Sebastian takes him to the floor with a tiger feint kick. Palace knocks Sebastian off the apron and into the guardrail. Palace takes control in the ring with a butterfly suplex. Sebastian comes back with a spin kick and a fisherman suplex. Palace cuts him off with a neckbreaker and hits a leg drop. Palace spends too much time on the top rope with his goggles and falls victim to a superplex. Both men are down. Palace sneaks in a low blow and hits another neckbreaker for a nearfall. Sebastian avoids an implant DDT and applies a sharpshooter for the win at 8:03. The Clearfield crowd loves Sebastian, making this an effective opener. Still, I question the follow-up booking with Palace. After defeating Matt Striker cleanly in December, he’s lost his first two matches this year. This wasn’t even the case of Palace being too preoccupied with Super Indy. Some decent back and forth action here. **½
Match #2: Rex Lawless vs. Bronco McBride
Lawless asserts his power advantage early on. McBride finds an opening to connect with some corner punches but walks into a boot. Lawless lays in some crossfaces and takes over with a fallaway slam. McBride avoids a leg drop and lands a flying crossbody. Lawless hits a full nelson slam but pulls McBride’s shoulders off the mat during a pin attempt. McBride of course gets the quick rollup for a nearfall. Lawless connects with a lariat and hits a TKO for the victory at 4:29. This is what Lawless’ first match needed to be. McBride received enough offense to not make the contest dull but Lawless still came away looking like a monster. Most importantly, Lawless did not need to cheat to win. *¾
Match #3: IWC Tag Team Titles: Chest Flexor and Brian McDowell © vs. Remy Lavey and Sam Cassidy
Chuck Roberts appoints Marshall Gambino as the special referee to ensure no cheating from the STDs. The Knight Riders suplex Flexor from the apron into the ring. Lavey lands a standing moonsault. They connect with stereo dropkicks on McDowell and hit an atomic drop-lariat combination on Flexor. Flexor shoves Marshall out of frustration, so Marshall chops him. Cassidy connects with a missile dropkick on McDowell, who responds with a belly-to-belly suplex. The STDs isolate Cassidy until he hits a spinebuster on McDowell and makes the tag. Lavey hits a double lungblower. Corey Futuristic enters the ring but Marshall spears him. Flexor accidentally hits Marshall with a title belt. The Knight Riders hit a double team flatliner on Flexor but there’s no referee. McDowell hits the Knight Riders with his bowling ball. Lavey connects with a knockout kick and rolls the bowling ball into McDowell’s groin. Flexor hits an abdominal stretch driver on Lavey and the STDs retain their titles at 10:18. This match was much better than their outing at the last show. Lavey looked more confident in the ring and the Knight Riders could have some potential if this contest is any indication. The convoluted finish for the second show in a row wasn’t desirable, but I guess we just have to accept these outcomes with the STDs as champions. **½
Justin Plummer makes his way to the ring for a live Aftershock. Jimmy Nutts is the guest. At the next show, Nutts will receive a singles match against John McChesney. Justin LaBar quickly interrupts with Team Big League. Before the situation comes to blows, Dalton Castle comes out to join Nutts and Plummer. Team Big League eventually retreats.
Match #4: Facade vs. Anthony Nese
The winner will face AJ Styles at Night of the Superstars 3 in April. They trade control of a side headlock. Facade cartwheels to avoid a leg sweep and lays in some kicks. He snaps off a headscissors and walks the ropes before connecting with a dropkick. Nese yanks him off the middle rope and takes control. Nese has a laceration across his forehead and I have no idea how that happened. Facade avoids a lionsault and connects with a spin kick. He pays tribute to Sabu with a triple jump dive. Facade is on point tonight. He connects with a springboard spin kick. Nese fights back with a pumphandle powerbomb. Nese connects with a charging knee strike but gets caught by a backbreaker. They exchange strikes and Facade gets the last word with a springboard gamengiri. Nese escapes the Arashikage Driver and sneaks in a low blow behind the referee’s back. Nese hits a jig ‘n tonic for the win at 14:37. As I mentioned, Facade looked very good in this match. He tried some pretty intricate offense but it all looked believable. With that said, I’m still extremely happy that Nese won, as Styles/Nese should be something special come April. This was exactly the type of match that this show needed and a great outing for both men. ***
Match #5: Jimmy Nutts vs. Joseph Brooks
Brooks attacks Nutts during intermission and the match is on. They brawl around ringside and into the crowd. Nutts catapults Brooks into the wall of the venue. He then throws a garbage can at Brooks and back drops him onto the floor. Nutts attacks with two garbage can lids and certainly has the upperhand. In the ring, Brooks delivers a blatant low blow before the referee officially starts the match. Nutts tries to mount a comeback but falls victim to a double underhook DDT. He fights off an implant DDT from Brooks and hits a rydeen bomb. Justin LaBar jumps onto the apron to distract Nutts. Brooks throws his confetti gun into Nutts’ hands and falls down. The referee thinks Nutts used a weapon and disqualifies him at 7:11. The finish was especially unfortunate here as this match was on its way to being one of my favorite contests of the past couple of shows. They were having a spirited brawl with an energetic crowd and really putting over their hatred for each other. While Nutts got some revenge after the match, hopefully these two are able to properly blow off their feud. **¾
Match #6: Corey Futuristic vs. Keith Haught
Haught comes out of the gate with a flurry of offense. Futuristic snaps his neck across the top rope and connects with a dropkick. He hits a russian leg sweep and maintains the advantage with a backcracker. Haught comes back with a seated senton. Futuristic tries a quick rollup to no avail. Haught lands a top-rope splash for the victory at 5:10. This match paid off Futuristic’s constant requests for a match and was a way to put over Haught. *½
Match #7: IWC World Heavyweight Title: Dalton Castle © vs. Bobby Fish
Fish spends some time stalling but fortunately it’s hilarious. Castle gets fed up and connects with a dropkick through the ropes. He follows with a double axe handle and a gutwrench suplex. Fish sneaks in a cheap shot but gets taken down by a series of clotheslines. Fish is adamant about a test of strength but instead sneaks in another cheap shot. Castle fights him off with a suplex and Fish retreats to the floor. Lawless low bridges Castle to the floor. Chuck Roberts comes out and bans Team Big League from ringside. In the ring, Fish takes control until Castle fights back with a spinning sit-out slam. Fish hits a divorce court. He comes off the middle rope but Castle catches him with an overhead suplex. They exchange strikes and Fish connects with a knockout kick. He follows with a diving headbutt for a nearfall. Castle blocks a second knockout kick and hits a gourdbuster. Castle adds a dead-lift german suplex to retain his title at 16:09. Fish provides such a unique challenge and proved to be an excellent challenger for Castle early in his reign. Castle withstood many of Fish’s strikes and was eventually able to catch him sleeping with a flurry of offense to retain his title. It’s also a great sign that we’re getting clean finishes in these world title matches after a long line of screwy finishes from John McChesney’s reign. This match didn’t save the show or anything, but it’s a great example of the type of matches that IWC could be capable of delivering on a regular basis. ***½
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