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Welcome to another Random Indie Wrestling Review as I take a look at random indie shows from my giant list that is forever growing. This time around I wanted to challenge myself by trying to watch the longest show I can find that isn't from Japan or a deathmatch tournament. After a lot of research, I found this show which 5 and a half hours long. I already have the feeling this will be a slog so I decided to watch this show over on my Twitch channel (something I do every Tuesday except today as I'm currently 13 days into raising money for Gamer's Outreach) with a group of friends mainly so I had company. With that in mind, let’s take a look at IWA Mid-South’s 300th show… or 336th show according to Cagematch

It’s Friday January 24 2003 and we’re at the IWA Arena (which is just a warehouse) in Clarksville, Indiana with 350 people in attendance. Dave Prazak and Joel Gertner are our commentators for this show. On this day, The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation. In the world of music, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 on this day was “Lose Yourself” by Eminem while over in the UK, topping the charts here “Stop Living the Lie” by 2002 BBC Fame Academy winner David Sneddon

The first 48 MINUTES of this show is just Ian Rotten talking… and talking… and talking… and ta… OK I’ll take this seriously. We open with Ian Rotten, wearing a Dallas Cowboys cap backwards, a blue tracksuit and a David Allen Coe Biketoberfest 2002 shirt, starts by welcoming everyone to IWA’s 300th show and says not many indie promotions can say that they’ve done 300 shows. Off the top of my head I think CZW has done 300 shows now. I wanna say Beyond have done it as well. Anyone know any others?
It’s clear that Ian is making this up as he goes as he’s leaving many long pauses but basically, Ian is out here to give thanks to everyone who has helped IWA grow and invites those he thanks to the ring, one by one. Out first is Suicide Kid as we can see fans are still entering the building as Ian thanks him for everything he’s done for IWA. Kid then takes the mic to say that he gave everything for IWA even if his body was falling apart as Ian admits that Kid “looks cute”
Outcomes Mad Man Pondo who thanks Ian for trusting him since the first IWA show and admits that he paid Ian $150 to be on shows. Pondo leaves as Ian talks about the time he and Pondo wrestled in the snow in Indianapolis and says Pondo has his own beer in Japan which is true with Pondo showing off a unopened bottle on his personal Facebook in 2022
Outcomes American Kickboxer, visibly struggling to walk, which Ian brings up meaning Kickboxer vs Tarek The Great tonight won’t happen tonight and reveals Kickboxer’s real name is Frankie. Kickboxer then takes the mic to admit that he needs knee surgery but can’t afford it then says that one of his students that he’s been training lately, Scotty Vortekz, will replace him against Tarek tonight
Outcomes CM Punk as Ian admits that Punk refused medicine when he fractured his skull and even refused Tylenol when he wrestled with 104 degree fever just to maintain his straight edge lifestyle. Punk then takes a mic to admit that he is an asshole to those he doesn’t like and says some of his matches against the likes of Chris Hero, Colt Cabana, Ace Steel & Eddie Guerrero helped him grow as a wrestler
Outcomes Rollin’ Hard who refuses to talk after Ian gave him thanks. Outcomes Ace Steel, looking like a rejected member of a 90’s boy band, who Ian says is “independent wrestling’s version of Chris Benoit” and says Ace is an unsung hero in indie wrestling. Ace then grabs a mic and lists some of the people he’s faced while completely ignoring Punk the whole time and says he will keep wrestling until he can’t no more
Outcomes Tracy Smothers who Ian calls a locker room leader then says “Smothers, cockroaches and Gene Simmons can all survive a nuclear war” as you can hear the cameraman laughing. Smothers now has the mic to say that no one would be here without Harley Race as it turns out Harley is here tucked in the corner of this warehouse selling merch. Smothers also admits that he has had 24 concussions in his 20 year career. Ian then shows off IWA’s newest shirt which he gives to Smothers while saying “If them dumb sons of bitches up in Connecticut would realise that the marquee says ‘wrestling’, this man [points at Smothers] would have a job”. Outcomes Jim Fannin solely to give Smothers a plaque thanking him for everything he’s done for wrestling as the fans give Smothers a standing ovation. This was actually a nice moment so I'm not knocking this
Ian then brings up that Ed Farhat aka The Sheik recently passed away 5 days prior to this show at the age of 76 as Harley Race appears from the merch tables to talk about The Sheik and asks everyone join in a 10 bell salute. Harley leaves as Ian talks about a story about how he first met Harley at a WCW show in 1992, the show where Ron Simmons became World Heavyweight Champion. Turns out Harley asked Ian who his favourite wrestler was and when Ian said it was Dusty Rhodes, Harley pulled out a stun gun and yelled “WRONG ANSWER!”

With all the thank you’ing done and paying respects to The Sheik, Ian talks about tonight’s show and says that Jerry Lynn’s mystery opponent for tonight isn’t here due to USPS not sending that person their plane tickets until 6-7 hours prior to tonight’s show. He then says that the mystery opponent for Lynn was meant to be Shane Douglas as Ian confirms that IWA Mid-South now has a working agreement with XPW. Can you imagine the meetings Ian & Rob Black had? Also I can’t find anything online to see if this agreement was true or not. He also promises to bring Douglas to IWA Mid-South soon. Douglas would eventually appear in IWA Mid-South… but not until January 2017 losing to Kongo Kong
Outcomes Jerry Lynn, looking like a school teacher, as Ian says he will find someone to face him tonight. Lynn then says being fired from WWF was a blessing and says he’ll happily face anyone. Hearing this, on the spot, Ian books Lynn against Chris Hero for tonight. Ian then gives thanks to some of the diehard IWA Mid-South fans then thanks all the members of IWA’s crew and his family then, finally, he ends things by saying “We’ve probably talked too much”. And that’s the first 48 minutes of this show! We still got about 4 hours 40 minutes left

Match 1 – Mitch Ryder vs Shark Boy
We open with stalling by Ryder until things become basic as Blackmoonrose13 in Twitch chat has instantly become Shark Boy's number one fan despite never knowing who they were until now. Ass biting by Shark Boy allows him to take control. Time for more stalling from Ryder until he takes control. Powerslam by Ryder gets a two so he locks in a Chinlock so silence. Suplex by Ryder gets a two as we get a second Chinlock. Eventually Shark Boy fights back then hits his Deep Sea Drop finisher to win at 6:58. This was not a good opener and after that long speech at the start, we needed something that would keep everyone interested. This was not it

Match 2 – Simon Sezz vs Trevor Murdoch
ZERO reaction for Murdoch, who was going by Stan Dupp around this time, for his entrance but he does gets homophobic slurs chanted at him after his entrance. Meanwhile, Blackmoonrose13 in Twitch chat says that Murdoch here looks like 90’s-era Dustin Rhodes facially. We open with a lot of nothing of note as everyone watching this with me on Twitch is grossed out by the blood and vomit stained canvas. Blue Thunder Bomb by Murdoch gets a two. Springboard Moonsault to the outside by Simon followed by a Hurricanrana gets a two. Sky High by Murdoch followed by a Diving Bulldog gets the win at 5:04 in a match that was alright but one you'll forget happened after an hour

Match 3 – Chris Sabin vs Danny Daniels
No this isn’t the actor who appeared in Naked Gun 33 1/3 or Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, nor is it the adult film actress who has a similar name (change Danny to Dani), but the former ECW referee. During Daniels’ entrance, you can see a fan headbanging to Daniels’ entrance music. It’s “Turn Me On Mr Deadman” by The Union Underground for those curious. We open with lots of mat wrestling between both men until Sabin takes control. Daniels then fights back after hitting a top rope Swanton to the floor. Missile Dropkick by Daniels gets a two. Back Suplex by Daniels drops Sabin on the back of his head for a two. Things then get very back and forthy until Sabin hits a Cradle Shock off the middle rope for a two. Tiger Bomb by Sabin gets a two. Three Swinging Neckbreakers in a row by Daniels gets a two. Dragon Suplex by Sabin gets a two. Destroyer by Daniels to counter Sabin’s Alabama Slam gets a two which makes Volio213 in Twitch chat mad that this wasn’t the finish. Both men then soam pin attempts as everyone watching this feels like this has gone on too long. Middle Rope Scoop Slam by Daniels gets the win at 14:57. This was a good match but it did go on a tad too long. It should’ve ended at the Destroyer. Honestly, this should’ve been the opener

Match 4 – Scotty Vortekz vs Tarek the Great
WHAT IS THAT HAIRCUT TAREK?! He’s fully bald but has left a tiny patch of long hair at the back. Before the match, Tarek grabs a mic to thank everyone for attending and gives respect to American Kickboxer and hopes they get to have one more match together soon. We open with mat wrestling complete with lots of head scissors. Reverse STF by Vortekz but Tarek breaks free. Billy Goat’s Curse by Tarek as the two go back to trading holds for a long… long time. It's clear that Vortekz doesn't know what to do given his lack of experience. Tope Suicida by Vortekz but a second one fails as Tarek hits a Fallaway Slam into the front row of chairs. A messed up looking Island Driver by Tarek gets a two. Tiger Driver by Tarek gets a two. TKO by Vortekz followed by a 450 Splash gets a two. Middle Rope Michinoku Driver by Tarek who then sets up Vortekz for a Muscle Buster. Cue Kickboxer to trip Tarek up in the corner and holds his foot down allowing Vortekz to win at 7:38. This was very mat wrestling and submission heavy which this crowd did not want to see. Also, this crowd has been very quiet all show so far and will continue to be like this

Match 5 – KO vs Michael Todd Stratton
During Michael Todd Stratton’s entrance, or MTS as I will refer to him here, I see that he has a Mighty Mouse tattoo. Before the match, MTS grabs a mic to say that if KO wins, he gets a collection of Scottish Highland medals he stole from KO then babbles on about nothing of note. We open with a lot of stalling from MTS until KO takes control of the match after some very basic looking chain wrestling. We’re five minutes in now and it’s been all chain wrestling and stalling and this crowd, myself and everyone in Twitch chat is bored. Meanwhile, Volio213 in Twitch chat is annoyed that KO's gimmick is "man from Scotland" after finding out that KO is actually from Louisville, Kentucky. Gutwrench Suplex by KO gets a two. Press Slam by KO but MTS dodges a follow-up charge in the corner. MTS then spends an eternity working on KO’s arm to boredom. Belly to Belly Suplex by KO gets a two as he begins to fight back. We then get a ref bump which allows MTS’ Bad Motherfuckers’ stablemate, Adam Gooch, to run out and deck KO with a chain giving MTS the win at 12:33. Post match, KO brags about having his medals back since MTS left them behind. This was a very boring match and no one cared. There was no need for this to go on this long even if it was 12 and a half minutes

Match 6 – Steel Cage – Bull Pain vs Ian Rotten
Harley Race is our special guest “Keeper of the Key” for this match as it’s pinfall or escape to win. Outcomes Bull Pain wearing leather chaps and accompanied by a woman whose name we don’t know until the introductions. Turns out her name is Anita Dick as Dave Prazak on commentary says that her real name is Mickie Knuckles
We’re underway as Bull Pain makes referee Brent Blades check Ian for hidden objects as commentary hint that Bull & Blades are in cahoots. And we start this heated blood feud with… a ONE MINUTE LONG LOCK UP! You’ve lost me and this crowd. Into the cage wall goes Ian as you can see a gap between the cage and Ian’s head when Bull has Ian against the ropes. Into the cage wall again goes Ian to make him bleed shy of 4 minutes in as everyone watching in Twitch chat was predicting how long it would take for him to bleed. Most of us said 2-3 minutes. One person said one minute. Into the cage wall goes Bull to make him blade in front of everyone as this match is very boring and is just nothing but kicks and punches. Leg Drop by Bull gets a two which makes Bull yell “FUCK!” Worlds Worst Spinning Heel Kick by Ian as he takes control to apathy. Ear biting by Bull after a lot of nothing happening that isn’t a punch or kick as even the commentary duo of Prazak & Gertner are getting bored of this match. They’re so bored that Joel Gertner, who I completely forgot was on commentary as he isn’t his usual self (aka full of innuendoes), is openly refusing to commentate out of boredom. Top Rope Splash by Bull misses and allows Ian to fight back. Top rope elbow by Ian, our first actual move of the match gets a two as outruns Michael Todd Stratton & Adam Gooch to try and steal the key from Harley Race but Harley beats them both up. In the process of kicking their asses, he drops the cage key so Anita Knuckles grabs it and unlocks the door to allow Corporal Robinson to enter. Corporal does, grabs Bull’s bat, teases hitting Ian with it but hits Bull with it to the biggest pop of the night, and to finally wake up this crowd for the first time all show, and what would end up being the biggest pop of the show. Double Underhook DDT by Ian right after gets the win at 18:52. For a match to end a blood feud, this was very boring and a slog to get through until the finish. This was just 19 minutes of punches and kicks and a complete waste of Harley Race's time
No time to celebrate as Adam Gooch & Michael Todd Stratton attack Corporal after throwing Ian out of the cage and locking the door behind them so no one can get in. Outcomes 2 Tuff Tony to climb the cage and attack Corporal and leave him bloody as it looks like The Bad Motherfuckers have already replaced Corporal with Tony. Outruns Nate Webb who gets his ass kicked as MTS & Gooch hit an elbow drop and a swanton off the top of the cage onto Corporal to no reaction. Outcomes the entire IWA locker room to scare everyone out of the cage. Eventually they leave as Ian grabs a mic to call referee Brent Blades “a female”

Match 7 – Superstar Steve vs Tracy Smothers
As Steve makes his entrance, Dave Prazak on commentary tells us that Steve is one of Harley Race’s students and has recently spent some time in NOAH. After watching this match, I’d love to know how. I’m assuming Harley has something to do with this. We open with stalling from Steve… LOTS of stalling. Nothing of note is happening as Steve is constantly complains of tights and hair pulling which lasts 5 full minutes. Eventually we get some wrestling moves courtesy of Smothers as he spams Japanese Armdrags leading to more stalling from Steve. Again, how did this guy get booked in NOAH? DDT by Smothers gets a two as Steve is quick to fight back. Standing Armbar by Steve but Smothers fights free as this crowd is really bored now and are just murmuring to themselves. Chinlock by Steve as somehow we’re 10 minutes in as Smothers is somehow bleeding from the elbow. Smothers fights back as everyone is bored and everyone in Twitch chat is talking about anything but this match/show. Top rope Splash by Steve gets a two as Steve pulls Smothers up. A Diving Headbutt by Steve misses and allows Smothers to win at 15:30. No one cared and all the stalling by Steve at the start really hurt this one. Also, who decided this needed to go this long? We already have 14 matches on the card, we don’t need super duper long matches that have no heat or story to them

Match 8 – Adam Gooch vs Mark Wolf
Gooch is accompanied by Michael Todd Stratton to ZERO reaction despite what we saw following the cage match earlier. As Gooch makes his entrance, Arcaleon2019 in Twitch chat says “That hair line is not receding, it is in full retreat” about Gooch’s hair. Outcomes Mark Wolf who waits until the chorus to Papa Roach’s “Last Resort” to appear. Before the match starts, Gooch demands silence so he can pose and show off his non-existent muscles as Gooch shows everyone his abs and pecs that he has drawn on himself. We’re underway as MTS still has the mic and says Gooch needs to warm up first with jumping jacks and push ups. A Leg Drop by Wolf while Gooch was doing push ups gets the win in 40 seconds. No time to celebrate as Gooch & MTS attack Wolf until Suicide Kid & KO scare them away with chairs. MTS then proposes he and Gooch take on Mark Wolf & KO tomorrow which KO accepts while also exposing to everyone that he isn’t actually Scottish

Match 9 – Chip Fairway vs M-Dogg 20
This is Chip’s first match in IWA since August 2001 as I quickly spot that his gimmick is just golfer. Clearly a fan of Mr Hole-In-One. Before the match, Chip grabs a mic to say that we have a special guest referee for this match. That referee is Dean Baldwin aka Shark Boy without his mask on. Slow start to get things going as it’s clear that there’s an alliance between Chip and Baldwin. Springboard Moonsault to the floor by M-Dogg followed by a Flagpole Elbow off the ring post to a smattering of claps as this crowd just want this show to end but we still have 5 more matches to go after this. Drop Toe Hold by Chip makes Baldwin pretend he lost his balance as he hits an elbow drop on M-Dogg. Chinlock by Chip as everyone is bored and some in Twitch chat have started talking about gaming news (we watched this show the same day the Xbox Studio shakeup happened). Standing Moonsault by M-Dogg gets a very slow two. Somehow Chip has a trickle of blood on his head as we get a ref bump. Yoshigorishi by M-Dogg but Chip takes control after Baldwin oversells falling into the ropes. Sitout Powerbomb by Chip followed by The Sand Trap Texas Cloverleaf makes M-Dogg submit at 11:01. Another match no one cared about and it was more about Baldwin as referee which really took away from the match

Match 10 – IWA Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship Falls Count Anywhere Tables, Ladders & Chairs – Nate Webb (c) vs Nick Mondo
Outcomes Nate Webb donning a Spider-Man mask during his entrance as Dave Prazak on commentary says that Webb recently worked a World Wrestling Allstars tour in Europe. We open with amateur mat wrestling between both men as Dave Prazak brings up that there’s a light tube table below where he and Joel Gertner are sat. This does lead to Joel Gertner saying “If you can’t wrestle, you’re hardcore”. German Suplex by Mondo gets a two. Springboard by Mondo but Webb throws a chair at Mondo’s ankle mid-dive. Dancing Leg Drop with a chair by Webb gets a two which Arcaleon2019 in Twitch chat rips into for looking goofy. Ladder across the back by Webb followed by a DDT and a Top Rope Moonsault with the ladder by Mondo. Springboard Leg Drop with a chair by Mondo gets a two. Both men are now atop a ladder as Mondo hits an Assault Driver off the ladder through the table for a two. Springboard by Mondo but Webb again throws a chair at him which makes Mondo fall onto a ladder propped against the ropes for a two. Both men then brawl near the commentary balcony as Mondo is sent through a table as the camera shows that Mondo has a massive bruise on his bicep. Mondo is now place atop two tables as Webb climbs the commentary balcony, does a dance then hits a Leg Drop off it through the tables to win at 14:01 to retain. The match itself was OK (the best we've had since Sabin vs Daniels back in Match 3) but I expected more from this. I came out of this feeling a little disappointed

Match 11 – Colt Cabana vs Josh Prohibition
ZERO reaction for Colt Cabana during his entrance as it turns out that he’s a heel in IWA but he’s not doing a convincing job at being one. Before the match, Cabana grabs a mic to admit that his mum buys his singlets while his dad paid for his wrestling training and demands this crowd not swear during his match. Cue someone in the crowd to yell “Colt’s got a camel toe” as both men start things of by trading basic wrestling moves until Cabana locks in a chinlock. Tope Suicida by Prohibition who bounces off Cabana at ringside. Lots of submission holds now by Cabana as this crowd is beyond bored and commentary sound tired as it’s past midnight now and there’s children in attendance. Reverse Billy Goats Curse by Cabana as this crowd is dead now with Cabana in full control. Top Rope Corkscrew Moonsault by Cabana misses and allows Prohibition to fight back. Reverse DDT by Prohibition gets a two. Air Raid Crash across the knee by Cabana gets a two. Double Underhook Piledriver by Prohibition gets the win at 10:34 as our ring announcer, Rico, says that M-Dogg 20 won this match as we quickly get told that Rico is drunk. During the introductions, he said that Prohibition was from “Uhah” instead of Utah. Post match, out comes Ian Rotten to confirm that our ring announcer is indeed too drunk to continue so Jim Fannin is taking over. Another match to add to the "No one cared" pile and it’s clear this show is going on too long as everyone is tired. Did we need this many matches? A lot of matches on this show have a real case of "pull two names from a hat and see what they can do in the ring"

Match 12 – Chris Hero vs Jerry Lynn
We open with chain wrestling between the two with Lynn in control. Lots of reversal spamming now ends in a stand off which this crowd approves of as we actually have a watchable match for the first time since Daniels vs Sabin back in Match 3. Leg Drop on the apron by Lynn followed by a Top Rope Crossbody gets a two. Top Rope Hurricanrana by Lynn gets a two so he locks in a Chinlock. Big Boot to the chin by Hero gets a two. Cravat by Hero followed by a Boss Man Slam gets a two as my eBay app has gone off but that can wait as we actually have a match that I’m enjoying. Hangman’s Clutch STF by Hero but Lynn makes the ropes. Swinging Backbreaker by Hero gets a two. Cravat by Hero but Lynn fights back with a Sunset Flip as both men trade pin attempts. Nice Snap Powerslam by Hero gets a two. Tornado DDT by Lynn gets a two. Diving DDT by Lynn gets a two. Hero then hits his Hero’s Welcome finisher but only gets a two. Sunset Flip Powerbomb by Lynn gets a two. Cravat Suplex by Hero gets a two. Lynn then gets the win at 14:37 after hitting a Cradle Piledriver in a very good back and forth match. We finally have a good match on this show after what felt like an eternity. Easily our match of the night

Match 13 – IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship – CM Punk (c) vs Ace Steel vs Vic Capri
Earlier on in the show, we were told by Dave Prazak on commentary that Vic Capri is planning to retire soon due to problems with his neck but he wants to have one last good showing in IWA Mid-South before he does retire. We open with all three trading strikes until Capri takes control after Ace & Punk collide heads when they went to pin Capri at the same time. German Suplex by Capri sends Punk into Ace who fails to catch him so Punk locks Ace in a Dragon Sleeper while Capri puts Punk in a Neck Crank. 3-way Knuckle Lock sees Capri in control again after standing on Punk & Ace’s knees. This ends up backfiring on him as he takes a double team delayed suplex giving both Punk & Ace repeated one counts. Springboard Crossbody by Punk gets a two. Old School by Punk to Capri followed by a Tilt-a-Whirl Backbreaker to Ace. Springboard Clothesline by Capri to Punk mid-rope walk. Two Northern Lights Suplexes into a Michinoku Driver by Capri gets a two. Ice Crusher by Capri gets blocked by Punk as this crowd is beyond tired and just want to go home but don’t knowing the main event is next. Dropkicks in the corner by Ace but Capri fights back only to walk into a Half Crab by Ace. Overhead Belly to Belly by Punk sends Ace into the turnbuckles. Hangman’s Neckbreaker by Capri to Ace but Ace fights back with a Tope Suicida to Capri diving over Punk who was tied in the ropes. Split Legged Moonsault by Punk to both men on the outside sees Punk’s head bounce off the apron as Punk afterwards says “I’m alright”. Fisherman’s Buster by Capri gets a two. Welcome to Chicago Motherfucker Backbreaker followed by a Shining Wizard by Punk gets a two. Half and Half Suplex by Capri drops Punk right on the top of his head for a two. The way Punk landed made me and everyone in Twitch chat wince. Dropkick to both men by Ace gets a two. Powerbomb / Ice Crusher combo by Punk & Capri to Ace but when Capri goes for an Ice Crusher on Punk, he hits it but lands on Ace’s knees. Widows Peak by Ace to Capri gets a two. Springboard Dropkick by Punk to Ace allows Capri to go for an Ice Crusher but Punk blocks it. Sunset Flip by Ace to Capri make Capri send Punk off the top rope. Tombstone Piledriver by Punk gets a two. Punk then hits Capri with a Pepsi Plunge onto Ace to win at 22:35 to retain. It’s clear that this crowd is tired but these three put on a good match. Lots of 3-way spots in this one

Post match, Ian Rotten comes out to thank all three men for the match and thanks Capri for putting on a great performance close to retirement. Ian then confirms that it’s 1am now and also says that tonight is the largest attendance in this venue/warehouse. He also says that Ace Steel will take on Vic Capri tomorrow… or later today I guess since it’s Saturday now. Despite it being past 1am, we still have children awake in the crowd. How? We pondered this on stream and assumed that these kids went to school that day then came to this show so they’ve probably been up since 7am and they ain’t getting home until 2-2:30am. Since it’s also 1am, that makes Punk ask everyone sing Happy Birthday to Ace Steel as he is officially 30 years old

MAIN EVENT – Hardcore Rumble
We start with two men then new entrants every few minutes but no one has actually told us if it’s elimination rules or one fall wins after everyone has entered. Entrant #1 is Cash Flo who grabs a mic to say “fuck you” to those who do or don’t know him. Entrant #2 is JC Bailey carrying a light tube star as Cash jumps him during his entrance to get us started. Chops to the nipple rings by Cash who is in full control. Entrant #3 is a returning Terry Bull who has to wait forever for Cash to set up JC so he can hit a a Coast to Coast Dropkick with a chair to make JC bleed. Entrant #4 is Corporal Robinson as Cash Flo uses a barbed wire basketball to JC’s back. Entrant #5 is 2 Tuff Tony as JC breaks a light tube across Cash’s head as Corporal is bleeding again. This is now impossible to follow as outcomes Entrant #6, Rollin’ Hard, as no one has explained how you win this match still. Entrant #7 is Mad Man Pondo as Corporal wallops Tony in the head with a thumbtack bat. Top Rope Leg Drop by Pondo crushes Cash who was inside a plastic bin. Our final entrant is Axl Rotten who we’re told by Dave Prazak on commentary that Axl is this show’s big unadvertised surprise
Unprotected chair to the head by Axl eliminates Terry Bull. Axl then breaks the light tube star with a chair across JC’s back with Rollin’s aid. Tope Suicida with a light tube by JC to Pondo as we see a 5 year old child waving a thumbtack milk jug on a stick. Oh Shit Leg Drop by Cash off the bleachers puts Pondo through a table as Axl arrives to wallop both men across the chest with a light tube bat which allows Pondo to eliminate Cash. 2 Tuff Driver onto tubes in the ring by Tony eliminates JC. Cut to Axl & Corporal brawling at concessions until Axl throws a toaster at Corporal’s head. Meanwhile Tony has money stapled to his head but we didn’t see how this happened. Joys of only having one ringside cameraman and a hard camera. Middle Rope Piledriver onto a stop sign by Pondo eliminates Corporal as Corporal kicked out at 3.1. Stop Sign to the head by Pondo eliminates Axl in the crowd. Face first into the light tube table goes Pondo as this crowd is beyond tired now. Suplex through the light tube table by Tony eliminates Rollin’. We’re down to Tony & Pondo, aka Baka Gaijin, as everyone has stopped what they are doing as Corporal Robinson needs to be stretchered out of the ring. In case you’re wondering, he would work IWA’s show the next day… or same day I guess since it’s nearly 2am. Tony then gets into a scrap with Rollin' for no reason since he was still at ringside much to everyone’s confusion. Eventually Tony attacks Pondo and struggles to hit an Island Driver onto tubes to quickly win at 17:18. This was chaos to follow but this crowd enjoyed it for the most part. Me and everyone in Twitch chat just wanted this show over with as we're tired

Post match, Tony immediately grabs a mic to say that he’s beaten everyone including children and women saying that he’ll happily beat up any woman or child again. Tony then dares anyone to face him right now while calling Corporal Robinson a bitch for getting hurt in this match. Outcomes Bull Pain, Adam Gooch & Michael Todd Stratton, aka The Bad Motherfuckers, as Bull brags about Corporal being hurt. Also, for a team called Bad Motherfuckers, you can’t be intimidating when you have someone like Adam Gooch who is dressed like a stereotypical frat boy. Outcomes Ian & Axl Rotten as Ian books themselves against Bull & Tony tomorrow as Tony brings up an old stipulation from ECW that The Rottens can’t team up any more but Ian says that doesn’t matter since that company is dead and we aren’t in Philadelphia. Axl then takes the mic and says that he will have sex Bull’s mother tonight and threatens to do very bad things sexually to Adam Gooch tomorrow while saying homophobic slurs. Michael Todd Stratton then grabs the mic to call out Axl for using homophobic language then claims Ian only made IWA Mid-South because no one would book him when he left ECW. Ian then asks for KO, Chris Hero, Nate Webb & Mark Wolf to come back them up for a fight. Ian then turns everything into a shoot by saying everyone in The Bad Motherfuckers failed WWE tryouts because they didn’t give Pat Patterson & Jim Cornette blowjobs while using a broomstick to point at everyone. Everyone then leaves as Axl thanks everyone for coming to the show. This whole segment was a terrible way to close the show. Save the promos for tomorrow! These people have been here for 6 hours now! Let them go home!

FINAL THOUGHTS
For a celebratory show, this was a slog to get through. A lot of matches were very boring to sit through, especially the steel cage match and Smothers vs Steve, while some matches felt like a case of “well we have them booked on the show and we don’t know what to do so… you [points at someone], you [points at someone else], go have a match! You got 10 minutes”. The TLC match was a letdown for me because I felt like it could’ve been better than what we got. The only matches that stood out were Hero vs Lynn and the Heavyweight title 3-way with Hero vs Lynn being my clear Match of the Night for me. Overall, not a show I’d recommend unless you want a show on in the background while you do house chores. This show is available on IWTV for anyone interested. It has a runtime of 5 hours 29 minutes and a combined match length of 2 hours 52 minutes 18 seconds with Ian Rotten’s opening monologue taking up the first 48 minutes. Thanks for reading. Any feedback is appreciated

As WWE prepares for another controversial visit to Saudi Arabia, former company executive George Barrios reflected on an incident that happened during his time with the promotion.

Barrios was co-president of WWE when the roster was delayed in Saudi Arabia after Crown Jewel 2019. The incident (where some questioned whether they were being held hostage) played a part in a shareholder lawsuit that WWE settled for $39 million in 2020.

Appearing on My World with Jeff Jarrett & Conrad Thompson, Barrios said he believes the incident has been “exaggerated to some degree.” He said issues like this aren’t actually as uncommon as fans would think, recalling the time a different country other than Saudi Arabia instituted an airport fee and forced WWE to pay it if they wanted to leave.

“I don’t know what the right phrase — I think it was exaggerated to some degree,” Barrios said about the 2019 situation. “And again, look, back to doing business in other countries, there were other runways around the world where our plane was delayed. I remember somebody calling like, ‘Hey, to get [out], there’s a new fee.’ It was not in Riyadh, it was in a different country, I won’t name it. But we’re getting called, our plane had been delayed and somehow it had gotten serious enough that it reached my desk. Usually this stuff is just getting handled, but it reached my desk because a new fee had been instituted in this country — airport fee — that was a lot of money to get out. And somebody said, someone could look at this and say, ‘You’re being extorted to be let out of the country.’ I guess it depends on how you want to look at it.

“But in that moment, there was a fee. And so what did I say? I said, ‘Pay the f***ing fee. We’re coming home, right? So I don’t even know why you’re calling me. Yes, it’s a lot of money. But yeah, we’re paying the airport fee.’ If anybody’s listening and is going to charge me with a violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, I say bullsh*t, it was then law in that country and we obeyed it.”

Barrios then clarified that he wasn’t trying to say the 2019 Saudi incident was the exact same thing as what went on with this other undisclosed country.

“So when you ask about what happened in Saudi Arabia, I think for the most part, I don’t know exactly, and I’m not trying to say there was an analog there — I’m just saying there was a delay and then we got out, and I’ll leave it at that,” he said.

The 2019 Crown Jewel event was held on a Thursday. Because of the plane incident, talent missed that Friday’s SmackDown episode before making it home by Saturday.

Barrios departed WWE in early 2020 and recently released a book about his time with the company.

Not trying to start a flame war, I just don't get why this always happens. You have Swerve and The New Level, and The Hurt Syndicate in AEW, and 916 in WWE. Black wrestlers can be fun solo acts, just look at Kevin Knight and Oba Femi, they're great. It's something I've noticed and I'm curious as to why. I'm also not saying they're bad acts either, just curiosity has me gripped.

Welcome to CMLL Martes Populares, LIVE from Arena Mexico in Mexico City, Mexico!

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Romeo Moreno & Noam Dar DEFEAT The Vanity Project and advance to the finals.

Match was really great as well!