What a year 2016 was for IWC! To cap off one of the biggest years in IWC history, we returned to the Court Time Sports Center to present Winner Takes All on December 10th in front of a standing-room only crowd! The main event of the evening was set to feature IWC Word Heavyweight Champion, DJZ, defending his title against Justin LaBar’s hand-picked challenger, RJ City.

In a strange turn of events, LaBar took to the microphone after the opening match where another one of his clients, Wardlow, was able to slide past IWC mainstay Jimmy Vegas thanks to LaBar’s predictable shenanigans at ringside. Disappointment filled the Court Time Sports Center as LaBar announced that DJZ was injured and unable to defend the IWC World Heavyweight Title, demanding that he come out and hand over the title to LaBar’s camp right then and there!

Surprisingly, he was right… DJZ appeared in the entrance way in street clothes and a brace on his wrist. DJZ regrettably announced that he would indeed have to vacate the IWC World Heavyweight Championship! RJ City made his way to the ring next, prepared to claim his prize. With the World Title now in the clutches of Team LaBar, they would have more power than ever. LaBar took the belt from DJZ and proclaimed that now someone worthy would finally be called champion!

Just then, in perhaps the biggest shock of the night, Wardlow nearly took RJ City’s head off with a clubbing clothesline and began pummeling him while City wailed on the mat in pain! LaBar never wanted RJ as his champion, that was never the plan at all... LaBar then proceeded to officially fire RJ City from Team LaBar and announced that if he wanted to be World Heavyweight Champion, he’d have to take the title from The Man with War in his Name!

IWC Owner Justin Plummer’s hands were tied. He was forced to make the match: Wardlow vs. RJ City for the Vacant IWC World Heavyweight Championship in the main event! It didn’t take long for fans to establish RJ City as the solid fan favorite and they were firmly behind him throughout the match. The veteran experience of City was able to take away some of the size differential between the two, but Wardlow was just too much for “The Entertaining One,” and not even RJ’s patented Knee Arthur maneuver could keep the big man from Cleveland down.

One clubbing blow after another, culminating with a huge Swanton from the top rope led to the end for RJ City and Wardlow was able to pin him for the three count, ending his 2016 undefeated and as the NEW IWC World Heavyweight Champion! 2017 may in fact be the year of Team LaBar. Who, if anybody, will be able to take the title away from The Man with War in his Name?

 Since Bryan Bowers left IWC in November, Jaxon Argos an RC Dupree have been without a leader to guide them on their path in IWC. That didn’t stop them from continuing their pursuit of Andrew Palace, the man Bowers had been targeting before his surprising exit from IWC. A familiar situation for Palace, again he found himself dealing with two loud mouths who planned to make a name for themselves at the expense of one of IWC’s top stars.

 The Strom Wrestling Academy graduates laid out a challenge for Palace that nobody expected him to accept: a 2 on 1 Handicap Ladder Match at Winner Takes All where full-time IWC contracts would be hung in a briefcase above the ring. If Argos and Dupree were victorious, they’d become full-fledged members of the IWC roster.

It was a no-brainer. No. Why would Palace accept such a brutal match against two men? Then there was the upside… If Palace could beat Argos and Dupree 2 on 1, they would leave IWC forever! Palace accepted and the match was signed for December 10th. Team Storm continued to taunt Palace with numerous videos on Social Media mocking him in the weeks leading up to the Ladder Match, and Palace promised to shut the two loud-mouth rookies up for good at Winner Takes All!

Palace wanted to teach these two a lesson, and dished out punishment the likes of which we haven’t seen from him in IWC. It was clear that Palace, win or lose, had set out to beat respect into the two rookies! Palace used the ladder to his advantage, brutalizing the young upstarts, and at one point planted the face of Jaxon Argos into a steel chair set up in the middle of the ring! Enough was enough. They had learned their lesson. It was time for Palace to climb the ladder and end the match. Before he could grab the briefcase however, the lights went out! When they came back on, the debuting Jack Pollock stood in the ring, and proceeded to attack Andrew Palace! Why was Pollock here? Why was he attacking Palace? The answer became clear pretty quickly as Pollock took off his button-down shirt and revealed a Storm Wrestling Academy t-shirt underneath!

With the help of Pollock, Argos and Dupree were able to pull out the upset, grabbing the briefcase and cementing their spots on the IWC roster! Christmas came early for the Storm Wrestling graduates, and with Jack Pollock leading them into 2017, it seems silly to believe the war with Andrew Palace is over…

At Clearfield Carnage in November, Justin Plummer unveiled the brand new IWC Women’s Championship belt and promised to crown the first ever champion at Winner Takes All! Weeks later it was announced that the Champion would be crowned in a Fatal 4-way elimination match and the participants would be Britt Baker, Marti Belle, Sonya Strong, and April Sera, four women more than worthy of leading our Women’s Division into the future.

 With four participants involved, and such high stakes on the line, the match quickly spilled to the outside and almost caused the referee to lose control of the match. The women surprised many of the Court Time fans as weapons were introduced into the match and at one point a table was even set up on the outside. April Sera would be the unlucky one to crash through the table after being pushed off the top rope by Marti Belle, who quickly showed she wasn’t interested in making any alliances during the course of the match.

 That wasn’t the end for April Sera, however. Marti Belle was able to eliminate Sonya Strong, but was then eliminated by Baker before Sera made her way back into the ring, refusing to quit. It was down to the final two. Britt Baker and April Sera traded shots back and forth until Sera was able to connect with a huge Super Kick that echoed throughout the building! To the surprise of many, Baker was able to kick out and change the momentum of the match, getting the upper hand and ultimately pinning April Sera to become the first ever IWC Women’s Champion! A historic moment for sure, Baker was then presented with the brand new Women’s Championship belt and now The Mayor of Brittsburgh looks forward to 2017 where a whole new crop of challengers will emerge with the intent of taking that brand new title from around her waist!

Chris LeRusso escaped another IWC Super Indy Title defense thanks to manager BC Steele’s antics at ringside, this time at the expense of CMLL star Sam Adonis, who was returning to IWC for the first time in several years. In what would turn out to be the shocker of the evening, before the match started, WWE Superstar Chris Jericho made a surprise appearance and was the guest ring announcer for the title match!

Adonis had the champion beat on more than one occasion, but thanks to BC Steele being in the right place at the right time, the referee was never in good position to make a count. Due to this, Adonis wasn’t ever able to truly gain the upper hand and was eventually pinned by LeRusso after a hard shot to the head with the Super Indy Championship belt! LeRusso spent most of 2016 working his way to the Super Indy Title, and he plans on spending as much of 2017 as possible defending it!

Remy Lavey and Keith Haught had a breakout year in 2016 as a Tag Team. They were able to upset The Fraternity for the IWC Tag Team Titles in April at Night of The Superstars, and even gained the respect of locker room veteran Marshall Gambino after a rivalry that lasted throughout the entire summer. This was their final opportunity to once again dethrone the obnoxious Tag Team Champions and prove that they not only belong, but are the top team in all of IWC!

The Fraternity gained control quickly, attacking Lavey and Haught from behind before the in-ring introductions. Momentum eventually shifted to the side of the challengers and The Frat was closer than ever to being dethroned until Trent Gibson threw water in the face of Lavey, allowing Channing Decker to roll him up from behind and get the pinfall victory, retaining the Tag Team Titles and securing one final victory for The Fraternity before the end of the year.

The Frat dominated most of 2016, holding the Tag Team Titles the entire year with the exception of two weeks where they were upset by Lavey and Haught in April. Will this next year be as successful for the cocky frat boys? With many teams on the outside looking in, and the debut of the Mega Plowers looming, Decker and Gibson surely look like they’ll have their hands full in 2017!

In other action, Shane InYaFace was able to outlast 19 other Superstars and win the annual Proving Ground Battle Royal. The eclectic group of participants included The STD’s, Bulk Nasty, Santana Diamonds, some recent graduates of the Iron City Wrestling Academy, and women’s sensation Shotzi Blackheart, just to name a few…

Bulk Nasty dominated the entire match, eliminating 10 Superstars in the process, all while manager BC Steele kept score at ringside! Known for his heart, Shane InYaFace wouldn’t surrender to the 300 pound “Human Crime Scene” when the two were the last remaining entrants, and was able to send the big man over the top rope to gain the all-important victory. Shane now looks ahead to February where he will challenge any champion of his choosing at Proving Ground!

What a year 2016 was! Familiar faces returned, new names emerged, and IWC continued to prove why we are the single best Independent Wrestling Promotion in all of Pennsylvania! Log on to our Facebook page or Tweet @IWCwrestling to let us know what you want to see next year! Thank you for your support and we’ll see you all in 2017!