Written by: Bob Colling
International Wrestling Cartel presents A Call To Arms IV: Controlled Chaos
Date: 12/8/2007
From: Elizabeth, PA
This is the 100th show for the IWC.
Opening Contest: Ricky Reyes vs. Davey Richards: Early on, neither man is able to get a clear advantage and they have a standoff after a flurry of exchanges. Reyes knees Richards in the midsection and they brawl on the floor briefly. Reyes gets a two count following a gut wrench suplex. Richards battles back with head strikes to the midsection and attempts a dropkick but Reyes holds onto the ropes. Reyes controls Richards on the canvas with a head scissors. Richards nails Reyes with a running big boot. Richards tosses Reyes to the floor following an overhead belly to belly suplex. Richards proceeds to take Reyes out with a somersault suicide dive to the floor! Richards leaps off the top to hit a missile dropkick but Reyes avoids Davey in the corner. Davey takes Reyes down with a rollup for a two count and hits a STO. Reyes stops Richards with a kick to the head and another running kick. Reyes slams Richards and puts a cross arm breaker on but isn’t able to get a submission. Reyes gets a two count with a back suplex and locks the cross arm breaker in again. Richards gets out and get a Texas Cloverleaf locked in but Reyes survives. Richards kicks Reyes several times but Ricky fights back with forearm shots. Richards connects with a handspring kick but Reyes knocks Davey down with a running clothesline. Richards delivers a flurry of chops and nearly wins with a German suplex. Reyes manages to quickly counter with the Key Lock and is able to make Davey submit in the middle of the ring. (***. A fine opener that had a mixture of brawling and Davey providing some high flying excitement. Surprised that Reyes went over, but considering Davey went over the night prior, that likely sets up a third match.)
Backstage, Sexual Harassment is interviewed and they make fun of an overweight female interviewer. They have been beating all the tag teams and they will be doing the same against Souther Comfort. The fans enjoyed that interview.
Second Contest: Sexual Harassment (Eric Xtasy & Justin Idol) vs. Southern Comfort (Tracy Smothers & Chris Hamrick): It was kind of humorous that the referee asked for the bell three times before anyone bothered to ring it. Hamrick and Idol kick off the tag bout with both men getting arm locks on the other before a standoff. They trade arm drags and pin attempts but they just have another standoff. Smothers and Xtasy enter the match with Eric trying to get a rollup pin but Tracy kicks out. Tracy challenges Xtasy to a dance off. Xtasy kisses Smothers during the dancing segment and Smothers decks Eric with a short arm clothesline. They trade chops in the corner until Tracy delivers another clothesline. Xtasy counters a clothesline with an exploder suplex and plants Eric with a DDT. Xtasy goes for a choke slam but here comes Chris Hamrick to kick Xtasy from behind. Xtasy fights off Comfort with Idol hitting a double clothesline from the top. Idol leaps off the back of Xtasy to hit a dive over the top to the floor. Idol is sent into the ring post shoulder first. Xtasy is sent back first into the post, as well. Hamrick drops Xtasy with a standing dropkick for a two count. Xtasy suffers a double side Russian leg sweep and Smothers gets a two count. Idol misses Smothers in the corner and Hamrick misses Xtasy in the corner.
Idol and Hamrick eye poke each other and low blow each other at the same time. Smothers and Xtasy clothesline each other and everyone is down in the ring. Harassment have some offense until Comfort take them down with a Dixie Cutter and a STO for a two count. Hamrick is sent over the top to the floor. Smothers is left alone and is decked with a few shots but kicks out on a cover attempt. Tracy fights back with more strikes and a double Flatliner. Hamrick leaps off the top to hit a double leg drop but only manages a near fall on the cover. Hamrick accidentally super kicks Smothers. Idol avoids a splash by Hamrick, and Hamrick crashes to the floor. Xtasy plants Smothers with a choke slam for the win. (*. It felt slow and the comedy stuff wasn’t all that entertaining to me. Southern Comfort had some memorable moments in IWC, but this just isn’t one of them. Sexual Harassment is an entertaining team in terms of entrance and promos, but action wise they lack much of anything in terms of excitement.) After the match, Tracy Smothers says he was screwed over by the referee and says he is going back to Tennessee. They wont’ be coming back to IWC… until next year.
IWC Heavyweight Champion Dennis Gregory comes out and cuts a promo in the ring. He is going to prove why he is the greatest champion in the history of IWC. He is ready for battle and says he will beat Raymond Rowe inside a steel cage. 2 Cold Scorpio makes his way out to the ring for some reason. Scorpio says he is going to be around town for a few more months now. Scorpio says he has a goal in mind and that is to win the IWC Heavyweight Championship and heads to the backstage area. Gregory doesn’t seem to appreciate that news.
Third Contest:Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brent Albright: Albright takes Castagnoli over with a hip toss and they both play to the fans with the fans clearly behind Claudio. Albright scoop slams Claudio causing Claudio to roll to the floor to regroup. Claudio gets control with a few arm drags and a slam. Claudio knocks Albright to the floor with an uppercut. Albright tries to go backstage but Claudio stops him with strikes on the aisle way. Back in the ring, Brent has control with a few strikes. Claudio ducks a clothesline and uppercuts Albright a few times followed by a backdrop and an uppercut to the back for a two count. Albright shoves Claudio off the middle rope to the floor. Albright rams Claudio back first into the ring apron and they return to the ring where Albright gets a two count following a suplex. Claudio chops Albright a few times but Brent is able to knock Claudio back to the floor. Albright clubs and kicks Claudio on the floor. Albright chokes Claudio but isn’t able to keep him down on the cover. Claudio ducks a clothesline to hit a cross body but Brent stops Claudio with a clothesline for a two count. Claudio nails Albright with a kick and has a second wind hammering away on Brent. Claudio sets up and hits the giant swing! Claudio walks the middle rope and hits an elbow drop for a near fall. Claudio attempts a power bomb but Brent counters with two back breakers and a dragon suplex, but only gets a two count. Claudio uppercuts Albright but is met with a snap power slam. Claudio hits a swinging face buster and a reverse fireman’s carry for another two count. Albright chop blocks Claudio’s knee and delivers a knee to Claudio’s face. Albright exposes his knee and nails Claudio with several knee strikes and wins the match by TKO. (***1/4. I enjoyed this one as well. Albright is a believable badass, despite his forgettable WWE run. The action was solid and Albright showcased some good offense. The finish fit well with what Albright should be all about, and it’s a big victory for him, I’d say.)
Backstage, Eric Young is interviewed by the female backstage interviewer from earlier in the night. Young doesn’t know who he is wrestling and says he is going to Sidney Crosby’s house to play with his train set after the show.
Glen Spectre is the special referee for the next match and he is met with a good reception from the IWC crowd. Spectre grabs the microphone and thanks the fans for helping his career and for accepting him and all that. Spectre thanks a family in the crowd who reached out to him during a time when he was out for a year with injury.
Fourth Contest: Delirious vs. Eric Young: Young quickly rolls to the floor to avoid the creepy Delirious. Delirious chases Young on the floor but Eric rolls into the ring and rolls back to the floor. So, it’s a comedy start to the match. After several minutes of comedy and stalling, they trade shoulder blocks with neither man dropping. Delirious gets the first substantial amount of offense until Young nailed Delirious with a clothesline. Young goes to hit Delirious but holds back and is sent into the corner hard but flips to the apron and rolls to the floor. Young grabs Daizee Haze and dances with her briefly. Delirious consoles Haze on the apron. Delirious atomic drops Young and avoids a moonsault attempt. Delirious hammers away on Young with strikes on the canvas. Delirious rubs his elbow into the ribs of Young, but that doesn’t last too long. Young runs into a high knee lift into the midsection. Delirious takes Young down with a back suplex and heads to the top rope. Delirious misses a leaping leg drop. Young fights back with a few strikes and a Death Valley Driver for a two count. Young hits a middle rope cross boy for a two count. Delirious hits a few clotheslines but Young kicks out at two on the cover. Young gets a sunset flip for a two count and they trade pin attempts. Delirious and a confrontation with Spectre, which leads to Spectre kicking out of a cover by Delirious, and Delirious is able to pin Young with a rollup. (*. The stalling and comedy didn’t work here and the action was rather underwhelming. I expected the comedy, but I was hoping they’d put forth a better effort.)
Fifth Contest: Samoa Joe vs. 2 Cold Scorpio: Joe takes Scorpio down to the canvas with a headlock. Joe works over the arm of Scorpio with elbow strikes. Scorpio counters and gets a hammerlock on Joe for a moment. Scorpio takes Joe down with a rollup but Joe easily kicks out but Scorpio maintains control with a cross face. Scorpio sends Joe face first into the corner to get out of an ankle lock and rolls to the floor. Joe comes off the ropes and is met with a dropkick and head scissors. Scorpio knocks Joe to the floor with a super kick sending Joe to the floor. Scorpio fakes a dive to the floor and poses for the fans. Joe hits a German suplex but Scorpio kicks out at two. Joe nails Scorpio with a kick in the corner and gets a two count. Joe has a sleeper on Scorpio but lets go to deliver a leg lariat for a near fall. Scorpio stops Joe with a kick to the head. Scorpio hits a top rope cross body but Joe powers out at two on the cover. Scorpio connects with a scissors kick, as well. Scorpio gets another near fall after a standing somersault leg drop. They trade a series of strikes with Joe winning that exchange dropping Scorpio with a kick to the head. Scorpio drops Joe with a standing somersault kick over the head. Joe stops Scorpio with a snap power slam for a two count. Joe atomic drops Scorpio and delivers a running big boot followed by a senton splash for a two count. Joe nails Scorpio with a high knee strike and hits a diving head from the middle rope for a near fall. Joe signals for the end but Scorpio isn’t about to let that happen as he kicks Joe. Scorpio goes to the top rope but here is Dennis Gregory to shake the ropes and allows Joe to recover and hits the Muscle Buster for the win. (**. Nothing all that great here, for the most part. Scorpio had been a feature player in PA for PWU during this time, as well, so he probably had some star power locally still going for himself here. The involvement with Gregory makes sense considering they are going to be entering into a program with each other, apparently. Still, I’d think that Scorpio should have been showcased in a winning effort against someone else on the show.)
Sixth Contest: Ten Man Tag Team Match:
CJ Sensation, Jimmy DeMarco, Jimmy Vegas, Sebastian Dark & Teddy Fine
vs.
Dean Radford, Michael Facade, Shirley Doe, Super Hentai & Troy Lords
All the men involved in this match are local PA guys and IWC mainstays. So, I’m kind of inclined to go with a short result with this match. Radford fell on the ramp during his entrance. About midway into the match, Hentai hit a suplex off the middle rope to the floor onto everyone on the outside. All the men in the match try to pin Vegas, but he powers out of it. So, naturally Hentai comes from behind and pins Vegas with a simple rollup to win the match. The match went on for over 20-minutes, and yes I gave it a quick result because I’m not normally into multi-man local matches.
Shane Douglas makes his way down to the ring for some appreciation from the fans and company. He puts over the fans in Pittsburgh as the best fans in the world. Douglas puts down the product on mainstream television, something he has been doing for ten years now. Douglas notes that when he turned 40 he promised to not compete and beg for one more reaction, which Ric Flair has done. It’s awkward when someone puts themselves over, which is exactly what Douglas is doing. Douglas talks about hearing someone say they are the best wrestler in Pittsburgh, which was Bubba The Bulldog. Bubba makes his way out and says he has one thing to tell him. Bubba has one thing to say and it is to say “thank you.” Well, the guy was talking trash and now he is swerving everyone and proceeds to thank Douglas for everything he has done. Bubba brings out the entire locker room and they show their respect for Douglas. Douglas gets kind of emotional thanking everyone for the response. Douglas says he will never compete in wrestling again. That didn’t last as he still competes as of October 2016.
Backstage, Larry Sweeney cuts a promo saying that it has been a long time coming tonight for himself and John McChesney. Sweeney says that there isn’t anywhere for McChesney to hide in the cage tonight.
Seventh Contest: IWC Super Indy Champion John McChesney vs. Larry Sweeney in a steel cage match: Sweeney chases McChesney on the outside and catches John before he can enter the ring. Sweeney works over McChesney with strikes on the floor. McChesney battles back with a few strikes of his own. Sweeney overwhelms McChesney with more elbow strikes and plays to the crowd, which allows McChesney to climb into the cage to officially start the match. Sweeney hammers away on McChesney with strikes in the corner. Sweeney drops McChesney with an elbow strike after McChesney comes out of the corner. McChesney attempts to leave the cage but is stopped by Sweeney. McChesney is able to send Sweeney face first into the cage a few times. McChesney grinds Sweeney’s face into the cage and it appears that Sweeney has been busted wide open. McChesney continues to send Sweeney into the cage to maintain control of the bout. McChesney drops Sweeney with a standing dropkick. McChesney wraps Sweeney’s belt around his first and hammers away on Sweeney a few times. McChesney wraps the belt around the neck of Sweeney tying him to the cage to get a few more shots in. John hits a northern lights suplex for a near fall. McChesney attempts a spear against the cage but Sweeney moves and McChesney hits the cage shoulder first.
Sweeney tosses McChesney face first into the cage a few times to maintain control of the bout. Sweeney has his belt and begins to whip the champion over the back. Sweeney plants McChesney with a front suplex but doesn’t go for the cover. Sweeney heads to the top of the cage but is stopped by McChesney. They trade a few shots until McChesney gets crotched on the top rope and that causes Sweeney to crash to the canvas. Sweeney attempts a piledriver but McChesney counters with a TKO and delvers a super kick. McChesney makes his way up the cage trying to retain the title, but Sweeney is able to stop him. Sweeney is able to take McChesney off the top rope to the canvas with a back suplex. Sweeney spikes McChesney with a piledriver and goes to the top rope. Sweeney leaps off and hits an elbow drop for a two count. McChesney rams Sweeney face first into the cage and ties Sweeney’s boot to the bottom rope using the belt to do so. McChesney climbs the cage and drops to the floor as Sweeney tried to escape through the door, but isn’t able to do so in time. (***1/4. It’s a solid cage match and the blood usage made for a good visual for Sweeney. The ending was alright as it didn’t include a major high spot but certainly leaves the door open for a rematch later on.)
Eighth Contest: IWC Heavyweight Champion Dennis Gregory vs. Raymond Rowe in a steel cage match: Gregory hammers away on Rowe, but each shot is met with a no sell. Gregory gets out of a test of strength by sending Rowe into the cage face first. Rowe puts a bear hug on Gregory, but that doesn’t amount to anything. Rowe attempts another exploder suplex but Gregory gets out of it and tosses Rowe into the cage. Gregory gets out of a belly to belly suplex by biting Rowe’s forehead. Gregory tosses Rowe into the cage head first and hits a dropkick into the corner. Gregory sends Rowe into the cage shoulder first and delivers a quick dropkick against the cage. Gregory sends Rowe into the cage a few more times and used his shirt to choke Rowe. Dennis splashes Rowe in the corner but on a second splash attempt Rowe catches the champ to hit a suplex. Rowe continues with clotheslines and attempts a power bomb but Gregory nearly breaks free to escape the cage. Rowe stops Gregory with a power bomb off the top and nearly wins the match. Rowe punches Gregory on the top rope but is met with a low blow. Gregory takes Rowe down with a twisting slam off the top! Rowe prevents Gregory from leaving with a German suplex. Rowe kicks out of a rollup and Gregory is nearly catapulted out of the cage door. Rowe rams Gregory shoulder first into the cage door to bring the champ back in. Rowe takes Gregory over with an exploder suplex and a running dropkick into the corner. Rowe tosses Gregory into the cage and climbs the cage looking to escape but here comes Brent Albright and Sebastian Dark. They catch Rowe climbing down and Albright rams Rowe into the cage several times.
Rowe’s partner J-Rocc leaves the commentary table as Rowe is covered by Gregory but kicks out at two. They run the ropes but collide as they both attempted cross body blocks. John McChesney has thrown his flag into the ring but Rowe tosses that away. Rowe proceeds to take Gregory over with a series of German suplexs. Rowe hits a rolling German suplex! Rowe is close to escaping through the door, but J-Rocc turns on Rowe whipping the door into Rowe’s head! Gregory drapes his arm over Rowe and wins the match. (***1/2. I liked the match a little more than the previous one largely because of the angle advancement attached to it. I mean, it was kind of obvious that Rocc was going to turn on Rowe just by his behavior, but it was still nicely done. The cage door literally breaking on the spot as well added to the finish. Rowe is protected by the loss, and Gregory remains the cocky heel champion.) After the match. Gregory shouts out to Norm Conners that he is unstoppable. That brings out Conners who has a microphone and says that Gregory had an open contract for tonight and he filled it! That cues up the Sandman’s theme music…
Ninth Contest: IWC Heavyweight Champion Dennis Gregory vs. The Sandman in a steel cage match: Sandman goes to use his kendo stick but Gregory backs off saying, “no, no, no!” They go to the canvas with a tie-up which leads to a rope break… in a cage match that has no rules. Sandman whacks Gregory over the back with the kendo stick. Gregory gets up and works over Sandman until Sandman gets his kendo stick and chokes the champ with the kendo stick. Sandman puts a sleeper hold on Gregory choking him out on the canvas until an eye rake allows Gregory to break free. Sandman puts an STF on Gregory but isn’t about to get a submission. Gregory reaches the ropes to break the cross face hold. Gregory works over Sandman with several strikes to keep Sandman on the canvas. Gregory has the kendo stick bt misses a shot and Sandman hits a White Russian leg sweep to pin Gregory and wins the title. (*. Well, that was basic. Looks like IWC wanted to take advantage of Sandman having just been released by WWE a few months prior. Kind of makes the interaction between Gregory and Scorpio make little sense now. The match wasn’t anything exciting but the fans popped for Sandman actually winning the title.) After the match, the lights go out and Daivari appears in the ring! Gregory attacks from behind and helps Gregory beat down Sandman. That is until 2 Cold Scorpio enters the ring and makes the save for his buddy, the Sandman.
Main Event: IWC Tag Team Champions The Gambino Brothers vs. Babyface Fire (Jason Gory & Shima Xion) in a steel cage match: Gory and Xion quickly start the match hitting dropkicks and kicks the champs as well. A double spine buster and dropkick on Marshall. Xion springboards off the top to hit a moonsault on the champs. Gory climbs the cage and is knocked to the floor leaving Xion in the ring by himself. This allows the Gambino Brothers to work over Xion. Gory tries to get back into the ring but knocked off the cage. Marshall misses a spear and hits the cage shoulder first. Mickey hammers away on Xion to keep control of the cage match. Gory tries to enter back into the ring through the door but the door is slammed into his head. Xion knocks Mickey off the middle rope and hits a missile dropkick sending Mickey into the cage. Marshall nails Xion with a big clothesline and knocks Gory off the cage again. Marshall drives Xion down with a brain buster and slams Xion onto Mickey. Gory is climbing the cage and manages to reach the top of the cage. Xion plants Mickey with a DDT and a tornado DDT by Xion on Marshal. Gory is just waiting on the top of the cage as the Gambino’s get up. Gory takes everyone out with a somersault dive back into the ring! Mickey is clotheslined as is Marshall. Mickey is clotheslined by the challengers and they hit the QAS on Marshall.
Xion and Gory attempt to leave the cage but are stopped. Marshall lunges into Gory sending him back first into the cage. Xion is picked up and slammed face first into the cage. Marshall splashes Gory against the cage. Gory and Xion hit the champs with steel chairs. Gory nails Mickey with a 630 splash from the top! The challengers dump some thumbtacks on the canvas and have Marshall on the top hitting a superplex onto the tacks! Mickey nails Xion with a chair shot as Xion was climbing out and Xion hits the floor. Marshall grabs Gory and power bombs Gory into the cage. Gory makes a mad dash to escape over the top of the cage but the champs stop Gory. Gory knocks the champs off the top rope. Gory drops down to the floor and they win the tag titles. (***1/4. Some good action here and this felt different than the other cage matches, which is nice. It lasted just about ten minutes and it could have been a little more violent and the story could have been told a little longer, but Xion and Gory are good in their roles and hit some impressive moves.)
Final Thoughts:
As you can see there is plenty of top names on the card, and some of their matches delivered. Two of the three cage matches produced some good results, while the cage match between Sandman/Gregory had a purpose to pop the crowd and use Sandman since he was fresh out of the WWE. I enjoyed the show overall though. I’ll give it a slight thumbs up as there was quality wrestling with nothing standing out as great.
Thanks for reading.