Review: IWA-MS A Shot of Southern Comfort

[JoeDirt 0]

I just want to mention that I ordered this show Sunday night and got it Wednesday afternoon. Smart Mark Video is AWESOME!

 

Match one: Danny Daniels vs. Eddie Edwards:

 

Edwards is making his IWA-MS debut. Perfectly acceptable wrestling, nothing really memorable. Edwards hits a nice sunset flip powerbomb but Daniels rallies, rakes the eyes, and hits a piledriver to beat Edwards at 6:00. *1/2

 

Match two: Sumie Sukai vs. Rain:

 

Dave Prazak announces the pairings for the women's title tournament that would take place the next night at "Volcano Girls". Sukai is making her IWA-MS debut. Pretty good women's match with Rain dumping Sukai to the floor and tossing her into the chairs at ringside at one point. They trade fisherman's busters for 2 in the ring. Sukai comes back and hits an AWESOME moonsault (Muta style) for the pin at 6:20. **

 

Match three - tag title tournament first round match: Southern Comfort (Tracey Smothers and Chris Hamrick) vs. The Wild Cards (Eddie Kingston and Blackjack Marciano):

 

The Wild Cards have shaved heads from a recent match in Chikara. Fun stuff to start. Hamrick hits a GREAT high missile dropkick. They then hook an indian deathlock/dragon sleeper/camel clutch combo submission. Kingston spits on Smothers and trash talks. Hamrick comes in and hits a sweet superkick that gets a short "HOLY SHIT!" chant. Hamrick has a sweet mullet, I might add. Hamrick takes a hot shot and Yakuza kick, and the Wild Cards take over. They work Hamrick over, but he finally hot tags Smothers. Fantastic spot to end it as Kingston gets crotched up top. Hamrick climbs up and leaps OFF OF KINGSTON'S SHOULDERS ON THE TOP ROPE with a guillotine leg drop to Marciano for the pin at about 9:00. Bland match with some fun stuff in there, and a good final spot. **1/4

 

Match four - first round match: CM Punk and Colt Cabana w/Tracy Brooks vs. Nigel McGuinness and Chad Collyer:

 

Dave Prazak talks about how fans have wanted the return of Punk and Cabana for more than a year, and they get a nice pop from the fans. Collyer and Punk have a nice sequence to start. Cabana gets in with Nigel and does a hilarious "European wrestler" imitation. They have a really nice sequence too. More great comedy from Cabana it would take too long to explain. Punk and McGuinness then go one on one, and that's a match I wouldn't mind seeing someday. The match continues, and Collyer comes back and hot tags in. He floats out of a Colt 45 and hooks the Cloverleaf on Cabana. Punk sneaks in and hits a shining wizard on Collyer, and Cabana gets the pin at about 8:00. Okayish match with some fun comedy and stuff, but obviously Punk and Cabana were saving plenty for later. At least I hope they were! **1/2

 

Match five - first round match: Brad Bradley and Ryan Boz w/Carmine Despirito vs. Havana Pitbulls:

 

Rocky Romero isn't here, so the makeshift Pitbulls for the night are Ricky Reyes and Puma. Reyes knocks Boz down a few times, pissing off the Barry Windham-lookalike. Boz and Bradley finally take over and destroy poor Puma. Puma gets worked over and then comes back and tags Reyes. Tornado DDT and a top rope splash to Boz by Puma gets 2. Boz and Bradley take over again but Reyes rolls up Boz for the surprise win at 9:00. Really bland match. * Boz and Bradley argue with their manager after the match.

 

Match six - first round match: B-Boy and Homicide vs. M-Dogg 20 and Josh Prohibition:

 

Big brawl to start. They trade lots of quick moves to start. Cide hooks the STF on M-Dogg. Homicide and B-Boy hit their powerbomb onto the knee double team move, which the crowd always loves. B-Boy just kicks the hell out of M-Dogg before he and Homicide hit their big series of moves and kicks in the corner, just _DESTROYING_ poor M-Dogg. B-Boy stretches him out with a nice submission. Homicide comes in and double stomps him. B-Boy and Homicide are great heels as a tag team because the heat segment on the face is NEVER boring. Homicide tries a suplex, but M-Dogg shoves him off and hits a flying cross body for 2. J-Pro finally gets the hot tag. M-Dogg takes out Homicide with an Asai moonsault. Missile dropkick into a t-bone for 2 on B-Boy. J-Pro gets taken out with a leaping shining wizard by B-Boy, a top rope ace crusher by Homicide, and another shining wizard by B-Boy. M-Dogg breaks it up at 2! Doomsday bulldog on M-Dogg gets 2. M-Dogg tries a shooting star move, but B-Boy hooks him with a cutter on the way down! Whoa! J-Pro hits a double underhook piledriver, but Homicide hits the Cop Killa on Prohibition for the pin at 13:30. Easily the best of the first round tag matches. ***1/2

 

Match seven: Seven way elimination match, winner gets immediate shot at IWA-MS title: Alex Shelley vs. Petey Williams vs. Roderick Strong vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Delirious vs. Nate Webb vs. Austin Aries:

 

Strong and Shelley come out together, making the "Generation Next" sign with their hands. Aries comes out separately from them for some reason. Delrious and Jacobs start with a comedy sequence. Delrious is weird as usual. Webb and Strong go at it and Webb gets a nice springboard rana. Shelley and Aries go at it next. Nice sequence, and Aries is just explosive as usual. He's so damn good in the ring, everything he does looks like it really hurts. Delirious hits a dive onto Williams, Shelley, and Aries. Strong gorilla presses Jacobs and tosses him over the top onto everyone. Cool spot as Webb tries to kick Strong, who blocks it and flips Webb over the top onto everyone. Delirious gets back in and Shelley eliminates him with the Shellshock at 5:45. Strong blocks the Contra Code and hits a cool backbreaker to pin Jacobs at 7:00. Generation Next then beats the crap out of Petey Williams. They hit a triple slam on him and Strong gets a 2 count. The fans rally behind Petey. More triple team moves on Petey for 2. Cool stuff. Webb gets a hot tag and beats Strong with a chickenwing into a facebuster at 10:15. We're down to four. Shelley beats down Webb for several nearfalls. It becomes like a tag match now for a bit as the heels work over Webb. Williams gets the tag but Shelley and Aries hit a double team Shellshock! Webb gets the tag, though, and eliminates Shelley with Soylent Green at 14:00.Williams hits the CANADIAN DESTROYER~! for the pin at 15:00 on Webb! Williams and Aries now. Aries misses a 450 splash and Williams rolls him up for the pin at 14:15! Fun match. It was obviously rushed, as the show was long enough anyways. Hell, these seven guys could go for an hour easily. But it was still a pretty fun scramble type match. ***1/4

 

Match eight: BJ Whitmer vs. Petey Williams for the IWA-MS title

 

Whitmer immediately cleans Williams' clock. Whitmer hits an exploder as Fannin tries to convince Petey to just give up, saying he'll give him a title shot down the road. Ha! They brawl outside shortly, Whitmer still beating the hell out of Williams. Williams catches Whitmer with a boot on a charge and hits the Canadian Destroyer out of the corner for the pinfall at 3:15! Williams is the new champion! Prazak and Allison Danger do a great job of selling this as a huge shock. Not much of a match, but the story was fun with Petey fighting against all odds to win the title. * for the Canadian Destroyer, though this was really just an extension of the elimination match. Fannin freaks out, saying it was a fluke. Whitmer beats down the new champ and hits an exploder on him. The crowd gives Petey a standing ovation.

 

Match nine: Tag title tournament semifinals: Punk and Cabana vs. Havana Pitbulls: Cabana and Puma start and trade some arm drags and the like. Punk comes in and everyone is dumped to the floor except Cabana, who hits an Asai moonsault. Back in, and Cabana hooks Reyes in a bow and arrow stretch. Cabana hits a Russian leg sweep and rolls into a nice double arm submission hold. Punk hits a delayed suplex on Reyes. Double leglock/bridging neck clutch submissions by Punk and Cabana. Punk works over Reyes' back. Reyes tags out, and Puma suplexes Punk for 2. The Pitbulls isolate Punk and work him over. He tags out to Cabana after a pit, and Colt cleans house. Backbreaker/slingshot leg drop for 2. Reyes gets rolling Germans on Punk for 2. Punk hits a shining wizard on Puma and Cabana hits a cradle DDT for the pinfall at 16:15. This was a really slow match, and I was REALLY not impressed by the Pitbulls (especially Puma) here. Punk and Cabana tried to carry this the best they could, but Puma and Reyes did VERY little interesting on this show, which is disappointing. **

 

Match ten: Semifinal match: Southern Comfort vs. B-Boy and Homicide: Smothers bounces of B-Boy and Homicide's rap entrance, which is funny. Hamrick and Homicide start. Prazak mentions Hamrick having attitude problems in the locker room in the past. What's that all about? They trade chops and eye gouges. Smothers gets tagged in and does some old white guy dancing. Smothers and Homicide actually work really well together and have a nice sequence, even though they're about 180's personality wise.

A slow first seven minutes or so. Hamrick gets locked in Cide's STF but gets the ropes. Homicide and Hamrick do the "trade a bunch of two counts" thing before Hamrick stretches out Cide. B-Boy breaks it up. Homicide ranas Hamrick off the top and B-Boy hits a guillotine leg drop for 2. They continue to work over Hamrick. Hamrick tries to get a hot tag but crawls to the wrong corner and B-Boy DDT's him. Hamrick finally comes back with a neckbreaker/DDT combo and tags in Smothers. Shining Wizard by B-Boy sends Smothers out, and B-Boy takes him out with a pescado. Hamrick hits a dive, and Homicide then hits his tope con hilo! He just _drilled_ Smothers with that. The near falls start coming back in the ring as the match picks up. Hamrick floats out of a Cop Killa and hits a back drop lift into a sitdown tombstone! CRAZY! Homicide is out, and Hamrick and Smothers hit a Doomsday Blockbuster on B-Boy for the pin at 16:15! Pretty damn good tag match, after a slow start. Homicide and B-Boy always bring the awesomeness. ***1/4 The announcers mention how the crowd is in shock about Homicide and B-Boy losing.

 

Match eleven: Samoa Joe vs. Chris Hero:

 

I'm pretty psyched to see this one. The crowd is pretty loud for intros, and mixed in support for each guy. Allison calls some fans "douches". Ha. Pretty normal counter stuff to start, and then the crowd REALLY starts to get into it. They hit some hard forearms to get the fans in it more. They just start beating the hell out of each other. Hero clocks Joe with a forearm shiver. Hero brings the intensity with chops and forearms, but Joe comes back with stiff shots of his own. Joe slaps Hero, who tackles him and goes nuts. The fans are going crazy. They trade slaps and more forearms and Joe hits a _HUGE_ forearm shot! Hero comes back and goes to the cravat~! Cool spot as Hero counters Joe's corner uranage thing into a rolling arm drag, but he comes back and THEN Joe hits a MONSTROUS one. Joe gets just a _massive_ pop from the fans. Hero's fans then chant for him and we're back to dueling chants. Chops and a knee drop get two on Hero. Joe gets a rolling sweep kick for 2. Joe hits knees but Hero hits an enzuigiri. Twisting neckbreaker by Hero and a senton to boot. Lariat by Hero gets 2. Big powerslam by Joe for 2, and he then goes into a cross armbreaker, but Hero gets the ropes. Roaring elbow by Hero, but Joe comes back and hits a DVD for 2. Hero counters a dragon suplex into a CRAVAT SUPLEX~! He hits a double stomp and goes to the hangman's clutch! Joe gets to the ropes. Joe counters the Hero's Welcome into the choke but Hero counters to the Hero's Welcome! He picks up Joe and tries another, but Joe counters to a huge backdrop driver! Joe chokes out Hero for the win at 14:30. This match simply has to be seen. They had to change the style of match they worked based on the crowd reaction at the start, as the fans just wanted a big fight between these two big stars. The crowd made this a spectacle, and the match itself was _SUPER_ hard hitting and a ton of fun. Star wise it probably wasn't _THAT_ great, (this would have been way different in front of a dead crowd) but fuck that, this was _fun_. ****

 

After the match, Ian checks on Hero. Hero says he's ashamed and an embarrassment to IWA-MS. Hero talks about his past losses and how he didn't have enough to beat Joe tonight. Hero says he'll make Joe tap out on 5/30 or he'll leave for good. The crowd chants "JOE WILL TAP!" Great stuff.

 

Match twelve: Jerry Lynn vs. Sabu:

 

They trade headlockery to start and some pretty good matwork, actually. They do the indy applause sequence, which isn't really a surprise. Springboard leg lariat for 2 for Sabu. Lynn floats over on a suplex and hits a reverse DDT for 2. Lynn gets his leg drop in the ropes on Sabu, taking him to the floor. Sabu drills Lynn with a chair. Sabu uses the chair to do a dive to the floor. Usual stuff for Sabu, so you'll either like it or hate it I guess. They brawl into the crowd as the fans scatter. Lynn hits a dive off the bleachers onto Sabu. Back in, and Sabu springboards into the corner using a chair.

He tries again, but Lynn kicks the chair into Sabu's knee! Cool. Lynn goes to a half crab. Tornado DDT blocked by Sabu into a northern lights for 2. So many spots I've seen so many times! Lynn trips Sabu into the chair. Lynn tries his own springboard move, but Sabu catches him with a clothesline. Sabu goes to the camel clutch, but Lynn gets the ropes. Prazak points out that there's no-DQ, so really the rope break shouldn't matter. Lynn DDT's Sabu onto a set up chair, which looked pretty cool. Lynn backdrops Sabu onto the chair. Lynn hits an Air Raid Crash (Kryptonite Krunch) onto the chair for another 2 count. Sabu hits an arabian press onto Lynn and then chair and hooks the camel clutch, and Lynn taps at 10:30. Well, this is something you'll either love or hate, depending on how you like Sabu and Lynn. It was slow and sloppy at times, but some of the spots were nice. I guess I'll go **1/4.

 

Match thirteen: Southern Comfort vs. CM Punk and Colt Cabana (tag team title match)

 

Hamrick and Punk trade stuff to start and Hamrick gets the best of him. Smothers gets in and dances, and Punk forearms him. Smothers with a cross body for 2. Flying forearm for 2. Cabana tags in and Smothers goes to work on him. Smothers dumps Punk and Cabana and does a Misterio-like fake dive thingy. He dropkicks them both. Punk and Cabana finally turn the tides and go to work on Smothers. Cabana hits a leg sweep and rolls into his double arm thing, and this time Punk flips into the ring and across Smothers' chest. Tracy Brooks chokes out Smothers behind the ref's back. Punk takes Smothers down with a sleeper and uses the ropes for leverage. Punk hits a few kicks for 2 as Hamrick breaks it up. Punk heads up top but Smothers launches him crotch first onto the ropes and tags Hamrick in. Floatover neckbreaker on Punk for 2. Cabana hits a gutbuster on Hamrick for 2. Smothers slams Cabana for 2. Punk hits a shining wizard on Smothers for 2. The end comes as Smothers sunset flips Cabana and Hamrick superkicks Punk. Smothers gets the 3 at 15:00. This was a slow paced southern style tag match, so if you like that kind of match you'll probably like this. Not a lot of hot moves or anything though. Punk and Cabana beat down Southern Comfort after the match. **1/4

 

Final thoughts: An up and down show, though I still really enjoyed it. The Homicide and B-Boy tag matches were both terrific, and Joe vs. Hero has to be seen. I was disappointed by the Pitbulls, especially Puma, in their matches though. The first two matches could have been cut, as they were more filler than anything. Sabu/Lynn is something you probably know ahead of time if you'll like or not, as there are no surprises in it. Petey Williams winning the IWA-MS world title was really well done, and the elimination match is very fun, though rushed. Definitely a thumbs up for this, though the tag matches not involving B-Boy and Homicide weren't that great.

 

Check it out! Go to www.smartmarkvideo.com and order your copy.

 

Next up: Well, I got Stylin' in the Summertime in the mail today, though I haven't seen anything from Volcano Girls up to that point. So I'll either do that next or wait until I get Volcano Girls and One More Time so I can continue in order. Also, a ROH World Title Classic review should be up sometime soon too.

[Guest SoCalTF]

I have to agree with the statement on the Pitbulls not impressing in this tourny. When Reyes and Romero are a team, they are much better. I can honestly say Puma and Reyes where a pretty weak team in this and it's hard for me to say that seeing as I'm a huge Pitbulls mark(Reyes and Romero atleast, I really hate Puma). If you're looking for good Pitbulls matches, check out their PWG stuff.

 

I really enjoyed the review. Joe/Hero was really great and hearing Allison Danger talk shit to fans is the most hillarious shit in the world. I really enjoyed M-Dogg/Josh vs. Cide/B-Boy. The last string of moves had to be my favorite this year. And seeing Tracy Smothers dancing to rap music=GOLD!

[DCMaximo 0]

Good review, I'd intended doing one of this show myself, but now my lazy ass doesn't have to bother

 

I'd agree with the Dogg/Prohibition vs B-Boy/Homicide match being pretty good (the SSP into the cutter was insane!) and the greatness of Hero/Joe, but I'd maybe have given the tournament final an extra *, but then I really like Tracy Smothers, so I could be biased. Agreed on the Pitbulls too, first time I'd seen Puma and I really wasn't impressed. I'll have to check out some of the PWG stuff I never get round to buying

[JoeDirt 0]

I have to agree with the statement on the Pitbulls not impressing in this tourny. When Reyes and Romero are a team, they are much better. I can honestly say Puma and Reyes where a pretty weak team in this and it's hard for me to say that seeing as I'm a huge Pitbulls mark(Reyes and Romero atleast, I really hate Puma). If you're looking for good Pitbulls matches, check out their PWG stuff.

 

I really enjoyed the review. Joe/Hero was really great and hearing Allison Danger talk shit to fans is the most hillarious shit in the world. I really enjoyed M-Dogg/Josh vs. Cide/B-Boy. The last string of moves had to be my favorite this year. And seeing Tracy Smothers dancing to rap music=GOLD!

Thanks for reading! And yeah, I agree with everything you said here. Danger was really good on commentary, and I loved her telling kids to sit down and shut up or ripping on other people in the crowd.

 

I still have not seen Reyes/Romero work a match together, though when I catch up on my Ring of Honor completely, then I will.

[JoeDirt 0]

Might as well add here that there's going to be an IWA-MS chat tonight at 10 eastern 9 central at groups.yahoo.com/group/iwamidsouth. They're going to announce the 19th guy in the TPI tournament.

[JoeDirt 0]

I'm a whore, so I'm bumping my own review.