Three new champions & 2 emotional departures bring a memorable end to the IWC calendar year
Complete results from IWC Color Commentator and Media Correspondent Joe Dombrowski
It was a tumultuous night in Wilmerding, PA as a jam-packed building witnessed one of the most historically significant IWC live events of all time. The events surrounding “A Call to Arms 2” will have a longlasting effect on IWC for years to come.
The most important
prize at stake, as always, was the IWC Heavyweight Championship, as
champion Balls Mahoney met the man he betrayed & defeated for that
championship, Shirley Doe, only this time it was in a streetfight. The
match was downright ugly, both men traded flashiness and innovation for
straight out brutality and fisticuffs. Chairs played a major hand into
the battle as well. Doe took everything Balls Mahoney could dish out
with the chair, and then managed to return the favor. Even a leg drop
through a wooden table and a Nutcracker Suite couldn’t keep
Doe down. With the fear of having the power of
possession of the IWC Title fall from his hands, Chris Wood involved
himself in the match as well, however almost every attempt Wood made at
helping Mahoney ended up backfiring. Balls Mahoney may have needed to
sell his soul to Wood to win the championship, but Wood also became the
reason why Mahoney lost it. After being blinded by an errant throw of
powder from Wood, Shirley Doe hit a tornado DDT on a metal portion of a
previously broken table to become only the third man in IWC history to
be a 2 time IWC Heavyweight Champion. As Doe celebrated, an enraged
Wood actually slapped Mahoney in the face, only to run for his life
just as it looked like Mahoney would turn on him. After a brief
setback, Shirley Doe is back on top as the best in the International
Wrestling Cartel.
It was Southern
style tag team wrestling at it’s finest as “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton and
“Loverboy” Dennis Condrey returned to the Pittsburgh area as a tag team
for the first time since 1986, as they took on IWC Tag Team Champions
Tracy Smothers & Chris Hamrick. Eaton & Condrey didn’t seem to
have lost any more than a half a step or so since their unforgettable
wars with The Rock & Roll Express some two decades ago. It took
every bit of intelligence and strategy that Southern Comfort could come
up with to keep up with the Midnights, including Hamrick feigning a
sickening looking knee injury, only to pop back up and super kick Bobby
Eaton. That gave Smothers & Hamrick the
psychological advantage, which is what they were
clearly looking. Moments later, Southern Comfort attempted a rocket
launcher, a move adopted by Southern Comfort, but first perfected by
The Midnight Express, however on this night there was clearly no
substitute for the originals. It was another Midnight Express trademark
move, the flapjack, that led to the Midnight Express scoring a pinfall
and, 18 years after their run as NWA World Tag champs, have won one
last major title: the IWC Tag Team Titles! Promoter Norm Connors was
quick to mention that not only would The Midnight Express be returning
to defend the IWC Tag Team Titles, but their first challengers would be
the men they just defeated, former champions Southern Comfort!
The
Super Indy title picture was in utter turmoil thanks to IWC Super Indy
Champion Chris Sabin’s unfortunate back injury suffered at the NWA TNA
Turning Point PPV this past Sunday. Sadly, IWC officials had no choice
but to strip Sabin of the championship due to his inability to compete.
An interesting thing to mention, is that while Sabin is now a former
Super Indy champion, as well as a former 2 time NWA TNA X-Division
champion, he was never actually pinned or made to submit to lose any of
those 3 championships. Unfortunately for Sabin, he would have to watch
from the back as 4 of the most deserving men in the country battle it
out for Super Indy gold.
Originally
scheduled to be a 3-Way Dance between current TNA X champion Petey
Williams, current #1 contender to the Super Indy Title “Fabulous” John
McChesney, and the man who won the online polling to wrestle Petey
Williams, the returning Josh Prohibition, the dynamic to this match
quickly changed when the “Super Indy Killer” Sterling James Keenan
announced he had “pulled a few strings in the back” and was now
inserting himself into this title match, making it a 4-Way Dance for
the gold. The majority of this match belonged to Petey Williams, who is
still riding a wave of momentum now that his X Division title reign has
surpassed the 4-month mark, and he had a perfect chance to become a 
dual champion. Josh Prohibition was the first man to be
eliminated, thanks to Petey’s “Canadian Destroyer” flip-piledriver.
McChesney, who had taken more punishment in this match than perhaps
anybody, received a Canadian Destroyer as well to eliminated him. And
you have to feel sympathy for McChesney, a man who for one month now
thought he would be receiving a one-on-one shot at Super Indy gold,
only to have to enter a match against 3 men he hadn’t prepared for.
With the match now down to Petey & Sterling, Petey tried a third
Canadian Destroyer, but Sterling was able to counter and hit a quick
jackknife pin and steal the Super Indy Title with his hand grasping the
rope for added leverage. The Super Indy Killer now possesses the Super
Indy Title, and no longer does he have to hunt down Super Indies,
because now they’ll all be coming after him.Two emotional departures also made this a night to remember as lead play-by-play analyst Jeff Gorman
decided to step
away from the microphone in order to devote more attention to his wife
& young daughter back in Akron, Ohio. Jeff has been gainfully
employed by Norm Connors, both in Steel City Wrestling and the
International Wrestling Cartel, for over a decade, longer than perhaps
anyone else ever has. Jeff has been the definitive voice for
independent wrestling in Western Pennsylvania ever since his television
debut in mid-1997. In addition to his duties in the IWC, Jeff has also
provided commentary for numerous CHIKARA shows in the state, as well as
in Ring of Honor, most notably as a color commentator in late 2002. All
of us here in IWC thank Jeff Gorman for his hard work and for all the
contributions he brought to IWC and wish him the very best of luck in
the future.
In addition, Dennis
Gregory made his final IWC appearance for the foreseeable future before
leaving for Iraq next month. Fittingly, Gregory’s last match was
against arguably his toughest rival throughout his IWC career, Jimmy
Vega$. From there wars over the IWC Title to their days as the
Self-Proclaimed Triple Threat with Bubba the Bulldog, not many people
know Denny Gregory better than Jimmy Vega$. And despite all of their
intense battles of the past, perhaps none of them was as competitive
and emotional as this was. Gregory tried to counter-act Vega$’
power-edge with both speed and a solid ground attack. Not only did
Gregory fittingly use a Cobra Clutch to wear down the larger Vega$
, Gregory even pulled off a suicide dive over the top
rope onto Vega$ on the outside. Gregory’s willingness to put it all on
the line on this night was as evident as his refusal to give up.
Despite a One-Armed Bandit and a Cha-Ching Slam, Gregory was still
kicking out and fighting back. It took a second One-Arm Bandit and a
second Cha-Ching Slam to put Gregory away in arguably the toughest
singles match of Vega$’ career since his encounters with The Sandman
& Tommy Dreamer. Post-match, Vega$ & Gregory put aside their
professional differences as Vega$ made it known how respected Gregory
is by all of us, and Gregory addressed the crowd on his reasons for
heading to Iraq, not 
because he has to,
but because he ought to. Gregory was even joined by his long-time
former manager “Hot $hot” Drew Lazario (right here) who made a special
appearance to say goodbye to Dennis Gregory as well.Both Jeff Gorman & Dennis Gregory were able to leave IWC that night with their heads held high, knowing they made the right decision for them personally. All of us here in IWC thank Jeff Gorman & Dennis Gregory for their hard work and for all the contributions they brought to IWC throughout the years and wish them the very best of luck in the future.
With the Super Indy division already in turmoil, the competitiveness of the AJ Styles vs. CM Punk match
only added to the
clustered bunch of very deserving contenders near the top of the Super
Indy mountain. It was AJ’s first appearance since August, Punk’s first
since October, and both were arguably in the best shape of their lives.
It seemed that not a minute would go by without a switch in momentum
from one side to the other. However, it was AJ’s ability to think on
the fly that led to the victory, as a series of counters led to a
pinfall. A Punk shining wizard into an AJ catch into an attempted Punk
hurancanrana into a Styles rollup for a 3 count, AJ was able to roll
through with Punk’s momentum until he ended up on top to get the
3-count in arguably the most exciting encounter of the night.
The heated feelings
between Eric Xtasy & The Velvet Mafia and Dean Radford & Glenn
Spectre actually boiled over during intermission. While Radford &
Spectre took the time to meet fans & sign autographs during the
break, Xtasy, “Balls Hot” Troy Lords, and “The Big Daddy of
Destruction” J-Rocc attacked both men from behind. A referee was
quickly rushed out to the ring as promoter Norm Connors ordered the
match started immediately. However, the match was 3-on-2 from the
beginning, allowing Xtasy even more chance to avoid facing Radford
face-to-face for the first time since screwing him out
of the IWC Title. However, the confrontation was inevitable. Lords had
his hands full with Spectre, as their rivalry was re-ignited. And one
man, even if that man is J-Rocc, is not enough to stop a man as
determined and focused as Dean Radford. Radford finally got the
retribution he was after, as he was able to spine buster & Radicate
Eric Xtasy to score the pinfall win. After the match, tension in the
Velvet Mafia seemed to only increase, as Lords & J-Rocc left the
ringside area as Glenn Spectre delivered his own version of revenge, in
the form of 10 spankings and a sickening kiss.
The series between
two of the most impressive newcomers in recent memory continued as
Chris Maverick led his charge, The First Filipino Male Supermodel in
Professional Wrestling, Shiima Xion, against wrestling’s new face Jason
Gory. It was another example of a match a lot better than it should’ve
been when you factor in both men’s age and experience level. It was
another example of the bright future that lies
ahead for IWC if both athletes stay on this pace. It
was another example of two young stars giving absolutely everything
they have to impress IWC fans & officials. And it was another
example of the never-ending arrogance of Shiima Xion. Oftentimes,
seeming more focused on a good photo opportunity than finishing off
Gory. It was also an example of interference backfiring, as Gory was
able to sidestep a Chris Maverick super kick, leaving Maverick’s foot
colliding directly into Xion’s jaw. Shortly thereafter, it was Gory
Masochistic Healing for the 1-2-3, as Jason Gory pulls slightly ahead
in a competitive impressive series that is likely far from over.
However, Gory’s
moment of accomplishment was ruined by “The Son of 1,000 Bastard
Corpses” himself, Sebastian Dark. Dark emerged from out of nowhere and
not only hit Gory with the DNR: Do Not Recuscitate, but Xion &
Maverick received a DNR as well. Dark grabbed a microphone and vented
his frustrations over not receiving any title matches, and even
distasteful carried out that Super Hentai mask that he stole months
ago. Sebastian Dark contines to gloat about the heinous tragedy that
occurred last month, and as long as that goes on he’ll always be in hot
water with not only IWC management but with everyone backstage as well.
Our
opening contest was set to be Brad Thomas, a San Andreas native now
living on the East Coast whose perhaps most famous for a feud with
Bobby Eaton, taking on “DeeeeLicious” (all right) Jimmy DeMarco, the
cousin of Mickey & Marshall Gambino. Unfortunately the match never
got started as an increasingly frustrated “Mastermind” Jake Garrett
came out of nowhere to attack DeMarco and lay him out with a 
Nodawa-breaker. Mickey & Marshall came out with
chairs to protect their cousin, but Jake Garrett refused to run and a
stand-off ensued. It was two Italians with questionable business
practices against a former pit fighter and one of the most legitimately
dangerous men in wrestling. Eventually both sides dispersed, but
Sterling James Keenan made it known very early in the show that this
would be a banner night for him, as he took it upon himself to wrestle
Brad Thomas himself. Thomas showed a lot of heart, and even attempted
his trademark moonsault, but Sterling James Keenan was just too
focused. He pinned Thomas in what was only a small sign of things to
come, as by the end of the night Sterling had fulfilled a nine-month
long mission to become an IWC titleholder once again. Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Send feedback to
iwcmc_dombrowski@yahoo.com