CZW Heavyweight Champion MJF defends against Chris Brookes. IPW UK Champion Mark Haskins defends against Joe Gacy. Matt Tremont goes to war against Jimmy Havoc in a death match main event.
IPW & Combat Zone Wrestling presents Extreme Measures
Date: 5/13/2018
From: London, England
Prior to the first match, CZW World Champion MJF cuts his usual promo ripping into the fans and saying he’s better than them and they all know it.
Opening Contest: CZW Heavyweight Champion MJF vs. Chris Brookes: Brookes knocks MJF off his feet with a boot to the face. Brookes continues to beat on the champ with a chop in the corner and MJF bails to the floor to regroup. Brookes follows up with chops on the floor before returning to the ring. Brookes takes MJF down to the mat and works over the left arm. Brookes connects with a back splash for a two count. Brookes comes off the ropes but MJF puts the referee in front of him. MJF tries for a cheap shot but Brookes blocks it and flips MJF. MJF lands on his feet and eye pokes Brookes. MJF yanks Brookes down to the mat by his arm and works over the left arm for a few moments leading to a near fall. MJF keeps control of Brookes on the mat but isn’t able to get a submission. Brookes gets to the apron but MJF keeps control of the left arm. Brookes is on the floor holding his arm and rolls into the ring to allow MJF to stomp the arm. Brookes fights back with a few chops. Brooks comes off the middle rope with a dropkick to send MJF into the corner. Brookes gets the crowd behind him.
Brookes kicks MJF from the apron and hits a slingshot cutter. Brookes nearly wins following a brainbuster. Brookes puts MJF onto the apron but MJF drops his arm over the top rope. Brookes comes back with a swinging neckbreaker over the top rope for a near fall. MJF kicks Brookes and drops Brookes with a Package Piledriver over his knee for a two count. MJF isn’t thrilled with the near fall and focuses his attack on the left arm. Brookes reaches the bottom rope to break the hold. MJF taunts Brookes saying the fans don’t care about him. Brookes and MJF begin to trade chops in the middle of the ring. Brookes gets some momentum but is spat on by MJF. Brookes avoids an eye poke and wrenches on MJF’s fingers. Brookes puts MJF’s finger in his ear. MJF comes back with a discus clothesline and goes back to a submission hold on the left arm. Brookes refuses to give in to the pain and reaches the ropes to break the hold. Brookes is met with a knee strike on the apron and MJ plants him with a piledriver for a two count. MJF gets a top wrist lock on the mat and Brookes is forced to submit. (**1/4. I certainly wasn’t expecting a clean submission win for MJF. The match was okay but wasn’t a thrilling opener that I usually prefer. I do think the victory is good for MJF for his reign as champion, though.)
Second Contest: Ethan Page vs. Rob Lynch: They lockup and have a test of strength with Lynch backing Page into a corner before backing away. Page wants to do it again and Lynch agrees. It leads to the same thing and Page gets frustrated. Page backs Lynch into a corner and thinks that Lynch let him win that exchange. Lynch says he didn’t and shoves Page. This appears to be a comedy match at this point. They shoulder block each other a few times as they continue to bounce off the ropes after each attempt. Lynch knocks Page down following a shoulder block. Page rolls to the floor to regroup. Page says they’ve already down two of Ultimate Warrior’s moves and wants to do a test of strength. Lynch acts surprised at the thought of it but they are going to do it. Page takes Lynch down to the mat and tries to surf on him, but Lynch counters with a rollup for a two count. Page nails Lynch with a boot to the face and that might lead to some actual wrestling. Page does the Warrior splash but Lynch kicks out and shakes the ropes. Page stops him with an eye poke. Page beats on Lynch in the corner with right hands. Page comes off the ropes with a boot to the face for a near fall. They trade blows with Page dropping Lynch with a big boot and taunts the fans.
Page splashes down onto Rob’s back and locks in a chin lock to maintain control of the match. Lynch is fading in the hold but keeps his arm from dropping three times. Lynch shoulder rams Page several times in the corner but is sent hard back first into the opposite corner. Page poses for the crowd. They begin to trade forearm strikes and clotheslines with neither man budging. They both come off the ropes and collide with clotheslines causing both men to drop to the mat. Lynch delivers a few running forearms in the corner but Page sidesteps him only to be met with a boot. Lynch comes off the ropes with a shoulder block for a two count. Page boots a charging Lynch and hits a slingshot cutter for a two count. Page and Lynch trade forearm strikes and chops in the middle of the ring. Lynch avoids a kick but not a second attempt. Lynch takes Page out with a spear for the win. (*1/2. I was mostly bored by this. The comedy didn’t connect with me and the action that wasn’t comedy wasn’t very good. Page has proven to be a good wrestler and I don’t know why he continues to work comedy.) After the match, Page bailed from the ring to seemingly not sell the finish very long. Lynch cuts a promo about how tough his life has been and the crowd voices their love for him.
Prior to the next match, Jonny Storm tells DJ Hyde to go fuck himself because he made CZW and he made British wrestling. He wonders where the fans were when the scene sucked. He also puts over his partner, Ashley Dunn. This leads to Jay Garner coming out and Storm saying he’s dumb for not having a partner. Sure enough, here comes Sid Scala.
Third Contest: Ashley Dunn & Jonny Storm vs. Jay Garner & Sid Scala: Storm and Dunn runaway from their opponents at the start of the match until Dunn gets trapped in the ring with Garner. Garner slams Dunn and Scala enters to hit an assisted splash for a two count. Scala strikes Dunn several times to drop him to a knee. Scala ties Dunn up with his arms between his legs and makes him into a pretzel. Scala licks his thumb but then licks his palm. Scala settles for kicking Dunn’s ass. Garner tags back in and forearms Dunn before taking him over with a snap suplex for a two count. Dunn goes to the ropes to break the momentum. Storm misses a kick on Garner and Dunn drops Garner with a kick. Dunn delivers a kick to Garner’s back. Scala comes off the top with a forearm strike and jabs Dunn several times. Dunn blocks a forearm but gets stomped by Scala on his toes. Storm tags in and pokes Scala in the eyes after coming off the top. Storm beats on Scala with stomps in the corner. Storm continues to beat on Scala with strikes in the corner. Dunn tags in and holds Scala but gets decked by Storm on accident.
Garner comes off the top to take out Storm and a head scissors on Dunn. Garner heads to the top rope and gets shoved off by Storm. Dunn nails Warner with a clothesline from behind for a two count. Dunn tries for a Death Valley Driver but Garner avoids it and hits a Destroyer for a near fall. Dunn heads to the top rope and misses a swanton bomb. Storm decks Scala off the apron and Dunn low blows Warner. Storm quickly tags in and steals the match. (*1/2. Well, that didn’t really ever get out of first gear and felt like something to setup a bigger match. Scala stood out to me to be a talent worth seeing out of everyone involved. I was happy when this match ended.)
Fourth Contest: Chief Deputy Dunne vs. David Starr: Dunne tries to chop Starr and it hurts him more than Starr. Starr comes off the ropes with a Thez Press for a two count. Starr trips Dunne running the ropes and gets a two count with a rollup. Dunne goes to the floor to regroup but returns to get in Starr’s face. Starr grabs his hand soon drops Dunne with an elbow strike. Starr casually delivers a knee strike a few times. Starr continues to chop Dunne but gets dropped over the top rope throat first and met with a kick. Dunne beats on Starr with stomps and strikes. Dunne pummels Starr with strikes to the midsection in the corner. Dunne knee strikes Starr and gets a near fall. Dunne continues with a knee drop to keep control of Starr. Dunne gets another two count following a backbreaker. Dunne focuses his offense on Starr’s left knee to keep him on the mat for a few moments. Starr fights back with a lariat. Starr cartwheels to avoid Dunne and delivers a flatliner for a near fall. Starr tries for a suicide dive but Dunne stops him. Dunne drops Starr to the mat and hits a slingshot backstabber for a two count. Dunne waits in the corner for Starr to get to his feet. Starr counters a spear with an inside cradle for a two count.
Starr avoids a kick and rolls Dunne up for a near fall. Starr knee strikes Dunne but is met with a front suplex slam. Starr hits a tilt a whirl slam. Dunne tries for a springboard, but Starr catches him in midair and drops Dunne over his knee. Starr misses a clothesline and Dunne gets a rollup with a handful of tights for the win. (**. The final couple of minutes were enjoyable but that finish was kind of lackluster.) After the match, Starr cuts a promo about being really good at professional wrestling. Which, is kind of funny since he lost the match. Wouldn’t that mean he’s not very good if he lost?
At this point they take an intermission and show a match that happened at a different show. The match appears to be nearly a half hour so they took a long intermission that would have driven me nuts if I was in the live crowd.
Fifth Contest: IPW UK World Champion Mark Haskins vs. Joe Gacy: They shove each other and pie face each other early on in the match. Gacy comes off the ropes to shoulder block Haskins but misses a dropkick. They shake hands but they switches to them trading chops in the middle of the ring and forearm strikes. Haskins drops Gacy with a quick forearm. Gacy fights back with a clothesline and dumps Haskins to the floor. Gacy takes Haskins out with a suicide dive. Haskins tries for a suicide dive, but Gacy avoids it. Haskins does deliver a kick from the apron and tries for another dive, but Gacy catches him. Gacy drops Haskins with a forearm strike after placing Haskins on the apron. Gacy rolls Haskins into the ring and gets knocked off the apron. Haskins fakes out a dive to the floor and proceeds to finally hit a suicide dive. Haskins sits Gacy down on a chair and connects with a running boot. Gacy staggers around ringside before returning to the ring and is met with a seated dropkick. Gacy fights back with forearm strikes and kicks Haskins on the back. Haskins dropkicks Gacy’s knee to get control of the match. Haskins focuses his offense on the knees of Gacy. Haskins leg sweeps Gacy and tries for a submission working the left knee. Gacy doesn’t give in.
Haskins splashes down onto Gacy’s left knee several times to keep control of the match. Haskins connects with a slingshot dropkick in the corner. Haskins kicks Gacy to the mat for a two count. Haskins puts an STF on Gacy looking for a submission but doesn’t get Gacy to submit as he reaches the bottom rope to break the hold. Gacy tries to fight back with chops and strikes out of the corner but Haskins kicks his legs out from under him. They begin to trade more forearm strikes and Gacy drops Haskins with a superkick for a two count. Gacy beats on Haskins with several kicks to the chest. Gacy drops Haskins to the mat and is met with a forearm strike. Haskins takes Gacy down to the mat and gets an arm bar locked in. Gacy fights out and delivers a running knee strike. Haskins delivers a knee strike as Gacy is over the middle rope. Haskins heads to the top rope and misses a double stomp. Gacy headbutts Haskins followed by a superkick and a sit out powerbomb for a two count. Gacy nails Haskins with a big boot for another two count. Gacy is getting frustrated as the fans are getting behind him.
Gacy tries for a powerbomb but Haskins gets out of it and almost wins with a rollup. Gacy rolls through a rollup with a Rings of Terror, but Haskins reaches the ropes quickly. Haskins cuts Gacy off on a suicide dive attempt with a forearm. Haskins has Gacy on the apron and chops Gacy before hitting a Death Valley Driver on the apron. Haskins rolls Gacy into the ring and goes to the top rope hitting a double stomp. Haskins hits a modified Cradle Shock but Gacy kicks out at two. Haskins struggles to his feet and delivers several more kicks to Gacy’s chest. Gacy blocks a kick and kicks Haskins away eventually delivering a knee strike. Haskins hits a running boot, but Gacy plants him with a handspring cutter for a two count as Haskins was able to get his boot on the bottom rope. Gacy grabs the championship thinking he won the match but that’s not the case. Haskins low blows Gacy while the referee is distracted and Haskins gets the submission win with the Sharpshooter. (***1/4. I suppose the cheap finish works well with Haskins character, which I’m admittedly unfamiliar with in IPW. However, the action was solid and the best thing on the show to this point.)
Sixth Contest: Filthy Club (Jack Sexsmith & Robert Sharpe) vs. CZW Tag Team Champions The REP (Dave McCall & Nate Carter): They shove each other with the Rep getting the cheap advantage with strikes. Sexsmith tries to fight them off but Carter plants him with a spinebuster for a two count. Carter works over Sexsmith with chops in the corner. Carter holds Sexsmith to allow a running knee strike from McCall. Sexsmith takes McCall over with a slice bread and tags in Sharpe. Sharpe cleans house with forearm strikes and takes McCall over with an exploder suplex. Sharpe holds McCall with a wheelbarrow, but they get distracted by someone on the balcony. The referee gets pulled out of the ring and calls for the bell. What the hell was the purpose of this? He says it is his personal mission to take the tag titles from the Filthy Club. There’s five guys circling the four guys competing and it leads to a brawl. The Rep tosses two of them with two powerbombs into each other. A wheelbarrow German and codebreaker takes another guy out. The guy in the balcony isn’t happy with what is going on. An elevated flatliner takes another guy out. The match is ruled a no contest and they show mutual respect for each other. That was honestly stupid to just setup an angle for Filthy Club.
Main Event: Matt Tremont vs. Jimmy Havoc in a death match: They decide to start the match off with an old fashion bar fight. There are two chairs setup in the ring and they both have glasses of beer. They begin to exchange right hands and sip beer in between. Havoc spits beer in Tremon’ts face and tips the chair over. Havoc messes up swinging a chair and seemingly hits himself in the face. That didn’t come across like ti was supposed to happen. Tremont whacks Havoc over the head with the chair. Havoc nails Tremont with an ironing board to avoid a suicide dive. Havoc uses a staple gun on Tremont and he’s busted wide open. Havoc misses a shot with wooden stick but is able to dig the wood into Tremont’s forehead. Tremont sends Havoc into the guard railing chest first and breaks the wood over his back. Matt is bleeding quite a bit as he pummeling Havoc with right hands and now Havoc is bleeding. Tremont grabs the staple gun and uses it on Havoc. Tremont grabs a table from under the ring and sets it up on the floor. Tremont drives Havoc’s face on the table and heads to the middle rope but Havoc gets off the table and stops Tremont with a right hand. Tremont drops Havoc to the mat but gets dropped over the top rope.
Havoc has Tremont on the middle rope and hits Tremont with a chair seat a few times. Havoc forearms Tremont and he crashes through the table on the floor. Havoc grabs a lemon and of course that’s going to sting a bit. Tremont is screaming in pain but refuses to give up. Havoc grabs the metal ironing board and sets it up in the ring. Havoc rubs Tremont’s face on the ironing board. Tremont catches Havoc coming off the middle rope and powerbombs him onto the ironing board. Tremont dumps a bunch of tacks out of a bag. Tremont takes off Havoc’s boot and tries to drop Havoc feet first onto the tacks. Havoc counters with a sunset flip and puts his toe into Tremont’s eyes. Tremont punches Havoc onto a chair and he sits on a few tacks. Tremont does drop Havoc onto the tacks feet first. Tremont hits a backbreaker onto the chair for a near fall. Havoc grabs the staple gun and uses it to get out of a Death Valley Driver. Havoc rips into Tremont’s flesh. Havoc goes to the top rope but settles for a boot. Havoc plants Tremont with a DDT onto the tacks. Havoc goes to the top rope but Mark Haskins comes in and holds Tremont for a double stomp. Tremont is met with a Rainmaker from Havoc and a boot from Haskins at the same time. Tremont is put on the top turnbuckle and the ironing board is setup so Havoc can powerbomb Tremont through the ironing board for the three count. (*1/2. I mean, I don’t know what to say. It’s just some brutal death match wrestling. It was entertaining largely because these guys are insane.)
Final Thoughts:
The only match that I really enjoyed was Haskins/Gacy and that’s not really must-see or anything. I only checked this out because there was a large influence of CZW guys and since I’ve been reviewing the company I suppose I was being a completist. I can’t recommend this show.
Thanks for reading.