by Brett Schwan
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Disclaimer:
The following opinions are those of Brett Schwan and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of anyone else who may write for or contribute to The Wrestling Clothesline (except possibly Frank Andreotolla who never writes for us but shares many of the same opinions).
The following comments are written by Brett Schwan, a FAN of indy wrestling. In no way, shape or form do I claim to be a "wrestling journalist" or a "reporter". I strictly tell about what I see, what I liked, and what I disliked. All comments should be taken for what they are worth. In no way are my comments meant to sway anyone away from or into purchasing tickets to any upcoming events.
If you are a promoter, wrestler, manager, valet, ring announcer or anyone who works for any promotion I write about here, I am more than happy to listen to your comments and if you wish them to be posted, I would be more than happy to. You can contact me at WresClothesline@aol.com. I do not want anyone to think I would "cut them up" on my site without reason. With that in mind, enjoy....
The IHPW returned to action on Saturday night, April 19th in Lyndhurst, NJ. A crowd of approximately 150 filled the hall (many of which were independent workers).
Your ring announcer for the evening, getting more work in the Tri State area than any other, Gerry Strauss (check out his 7 Deadly Questions on this site).
The show opened with the marriage of Noel to IHPW Promoter, Peter Van Orton. Anyone who has read any of my indy show reviews knows I am not a fan of any promoter or booker involving themselves in any angles. (Unfortunately, with the exception of a handful, they all seem to do it now). Luckily, the wedding was brief. Noel was accompanied to the ring by Michelle. After the wedding vows and the "I do's", Inferno entered the ring. Peter announced how he has been stripped of the title (yet he carried it into the ring). Inferno made fun of the K Mart belt and it was announced that the first match of the evening would be a Soul Survivor match for the title.
The Soul Survivor Match saw Metal Maniac, Shawn Sheridan, Vic Divine and Tiger Mulligan take on Johnny Thundar w/Francine (and that was the ONLY time she was used on the entire show AND she did not appear at the "autograph session" prior to the show. Sadly, a complete waste) Sure Thing Ryan Wing, Scotty Charisma, and no one. Four against Three. The match started with Metal Maniac and Johnny Thundar in the ring. If you are not familiar with either of these men, consider yourself lucky. Thundar looks like Shawn Michaels dad but his superkick barely hits his opponents stomach. Metal Maniac, well, as Jimmy Snuka. As the two "battled", another NJ promoter in attendance stated, "This should have been a loser commits suicide match."
Thundar eventually hit the superkick and pinned Metal Maniac (who immediately left to work Gino Caruso's show, I guess since everyone else eventually went there).
Vic Divine def Thundar after which the same promoter quoted above said,
"I can't wait to leave".
Shawn Sheridan, who got one of the bigger pops of the night (and who came to the ring to A Ha's "Take on Me") finally got the tag and the crowd went wild. He was not only over with the fans but with all the wrestlers in attendance. Shawn pinned Charisma. (be sure to check out 10 Questions with Shawn elsewhere on the site)
Shawn tagged in Tiger Mulligan. Sheridan then went to the concession stand for a water. Tiger pinned Ryan Wing.
This left Sheridan, Mulligan and Divine. All three stood in the ring looking as if they weren't sure who won the title.
Suddenly, Wenzel entered the ring. He speared and pinned Sheridan, then pinned Mulligan, then speared and pinned Divine.
Your winner, and new IHPW champion, who wrestled approximately 5 minutes of the match, WENZEL!
It was now 7:55. The opening wedding and first match alone took 50 minutes. Uh oh!
Mike Xylas defeated Red Hot Russ by submission in a match that was neither horrifying nor great.
Side note: Foxxy Dreams had an awesome purse with Jenna Jameson and Brianna Banks on it!! You gotta love a girls who loves "Jenna Loves Brianna".
Next match was a three woman gauntlet match to determine the #1 contender for the woman's title. The match stated with Macaela Mercedes facing Syren. Both girls put on a good match. Mercedes won even though the ref only counted 2 and Syren's shoulder was way off the mat. Next to enter was Simply Luscious. She immediately speared Mercedes and threw some punches to the face. Both girls had the offense a few times but Mercedes got the 3 count to become the #1 contender.
For the Tag Team Titles, The Nelsons defeated Christopher Idol w/ Alura and Gavin Quest. This was actually a decent match. The Nelsons hit a lot of nice moves and ended the match with a version of the LOD's Doomsday Device using a dropkick, instead of a clothesline. Your new champs, The Nelsons. Two masked men then hit the ring and attacked the Nelsons. The attack continued, and continued, and continued till all heat was dead. They left the ring. Idol and Quest then got back into the ring where Idol turned on Quest. Good match. Run in started off good but was soon overkill.
In the match of the night, Jay Lethal defeated Josh Daniels. At one point both men hit a series of suplexes on each other. Daniels hit a nice double arm underhook on Lethal. Lethal with a Northern Lights. Both his some nice belly to back suplexes. The finish saw Lethal hit a nice powerbomb on Daniels for the pin. Rob Eckos then came out on his crutches and challenged the two to a three way dance "Whenever this promotions runs their next show". Both men agreed.
Intermission. Strangely, by this time, all the luminaries that were in attendance had left.
Joey Image got on the mic to announce that he was no longer on the active roster. He was soon interrupted by Diablo Santiago. Image, who just announced that he was no longer on the active roster went to ringside where he did commentary.
Diablo Santiago defeated Damian Adams. I've never seen Damian have a bad match. Unfortunately, not a lot of offense for him tonight.
Ring announcer Gerry Strauss then mentioned the brave men and women who are fighting overseas and asked for a moment of silence. Nice touch. HOWEVER, it was turned into an angle where Devin Sturgis, Dirty Money, and The French Heavyweight Champion, who were sitting in the crowd walked to the ring yelling and got on the mic. Sturgis put over Money and The French dude while beating up some guy in a USA shirt. He went on to discuss his new contingent, the Untouchable Nation. This was completely unnecessary and a ridiculous way of trying to drum up some heel heat. If you can't get over without having to use such topics as a war, maybe you shouldn't be in the ring at all. (I am in NO way dissing those who had to get in the ring and do the angle UNLESS they were the ones who came up with the idea in the first place.) This was nothing more than a TWOT (Total Waste of Time).
Wrestling Clothesline contributor Lawrence Kleber stated, "At least they're consistent." My response, "Yes, consistently bad."
Next up was the Queen of the Catfight Match featuring Noel, Michelle and Becky Bayless. Noel, who was just married earlier in the show had no problems accepting dollar bills form the Clothesline contingent in the crowd. Short but sweet catfight which saw Noel hit Becky with a cookie sheet for the win. Noel was presented with a tiara for the win.
Dan The Man then faced Rob Vegas. For some reason, during the match, the girl in Vegas' corner was chanting "This match sucks". She also spent the whole match cheering on Vegas who knocked her down before the match started. The match went on forever. During the match, Michelled and Becky both made their way from the locker room to the back of the room. Why are the 2 girls who were just in a catfight walking around and mingling in the crowd?? Hello?? At least hold your head or act a little hurt from the cookie sheet shot! By the way, Dan the Man won.
Tiger Mulligan with Inferno in his corner defeated Danny Carney from Tough Enough. During the match, Noel came out of the dressing room to watch. She spent a while talking to her new husband who was on the stage doing commentary with the guy who was taken off the roster earlier.. (No one really noticed). She then made her way to ringside and as Danny was distracted by her, Tiger got her tiara. Danny turned around only to be hit with the tiara and be pinned. Inferno got in the ring and announced on the mic that Noel was with them. Then why did she just marry PVO? Why wasn't the wedding stopped? Who booked this story? Wenzel then entered the ring and speared Mulligan. He grabbed Noel but, upon listening to Inferno, she hit him with the tiara and she and Inferno made their way from the ring. Wenzel left with PVO. Inferno, Mulligan and Noel left with Noel saying "Bye! I'm going on my honeymoon." With who? The guy you married or the guys you didn't?
In the main event, Dusty Rhodes fought Steve Corino. Corino took early control using a foreign object. About 5 minutes into the match, the two men brawled to the outside of the ring. It was THEN announced that this would be a NO DQ match. Dusty and Steve fought to the stage where dusty tried to choke out Corino. Dusty got a chair and hit Corino with that. Back in the ring, Corino kept working on Dusty until Dusty began to "Hulk Up". Dusty hit Corino with a series of elbows then the bionic elbow and an elbow drop for the pin. Not a bad match considering the last match I saw Dusty in made everyone in attendance cry at how sad it was (and I mean sad in the fact that he sat the entire match and after the match). Both men were over with the crowd with Dusty getting a huge pop.
Match of the night, without a doubt, goes to Jay Lethal and Josh Daniels who had a phenomenal bout. Both men continue to prove that they are two of the best on the indy scene.
The opening match went WAY too long and why does the "surprise" entry always come in last, clear house, and win? The wrestling on the card, for the most part (MOST PART), was decent with a few exceptions.
The storylines, continuity and some angles were less than stellar. Why is PVO just married but standing on the stage watching the whole show? Go do something for crying out loud! You just got married and have nothing better to do? Angles that may play out well on tape or tv but do not play out live only confuse the crowd (see my notes on Joey Image). Trying to use the war as a storyline shows a complete lack of creativity on the part of whomever came up with it. I know some guys need to have their girlfriends in their corner but someone should teach them not to shout "This match sucks" during a match they are directly involved in. Why not have some kind of security at the back door so the 30-40 people that we watched walk in and take a seat can actually pay? Why do people always think that a paying fan isn't allowed to cheer or boo and shouldn't have the right to comment until they run their own show? Why are people who were just involved in a match walking around in the audience as if nothing ever happened? Why does a run in, which is meant to put over two giant guys in masks, have to last more than 5 minutes? Is Noel now married to PVO but on her honeymoon with Inferno? Will the marriage be annulled? Will the fans pay to find out at the next show? Why do people always think that a paying fan isn't allowed to cheer or boo and shouldn't have comments until the run their own show? Why are promoters insistent on being involved in angles? Exactly where does IHPW TV air?
At least it's related to wrestling now. The lovely, and just married,
Noel accepting a dollar bill from some lowly fans.
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Contact Brett Schwan at WresClothesline@aol.com
