IWA-MS S.T.I.F.F 11/22/2003

Written by: Bob Colling

IWA-MS presents S.T.I.F.F
Date: 11/22/2003
From: Lafayette, IN

Ian Rotten starts the show and is talking about stuff, but the microphone isn’t very good. So, I don’t know exactly what he was discussing. Dave Prazak’s mother had a heart attack and he’s not at the show. Rotten is making some jokes, apparently. The only person laughing is the camera guy. Jim Fannin is going to be the ring announcer for the show.

Opening Contest: El Viejo vs. Gator Magraw: They have a basic start to the match with neither man getting a clear advantage until Viejo dropkicks Magraw on the knee followed by a big boot. Viejo nearly wins following a dropkick to a kneeling Magraw. Magraw battles back with a splash in the corner followed by a running boot scrape a few times in the corner. Magraw hits a vertical suplex for a two count. Magraw spikes Viejo with a hammerlock leg sweep DDT for a two count. Viejo plants Magraw with a side Russian leg sweep and a half nelson face buster for a near fall. Magraw drops Viejo over his knee leading to a near fall. Viejo nearly wins following a reverse DDT. Viejo forearms Magraw followed by a big boot for a near fall. Viejo gets a rollup out of the corner and wins the match. After the match, Magraw decks Viejo with a lariat and taunts the crowd. (*1/2. It was an okay match as they didn’t do much other than the basics. I’m not sure why, but I found myself intrigued by Magraw. He has a good look and his offense was solid throughout the contest.)

Second Contest: Arik Cannon vs. Nate Webb: Cannon runs away from Webb early on and stays on the floor for a few moments. Webb goes over to Balls Mahoney and Axl Rotten. It’s good to see Mahoney is healthy from the neck injury angle the previous night. Cannon keeps Webb on the mat working over his left arm in the early moments. Cannon ends up bailing to the floor again. Webb gets control of Cannon on the mat locking in a cross arm bar. Webb takes Cannon over with a snap suplex. Webb hits a cannonball splash on Cannon in the corner. Cannon avoids a second splash, but Webb connects with a spinning kick for a two count. Webb head scissors Cannon followed by a few arm drags. Cannon counters a head scissors by dropping Webb chest first to the mat. Cannon hits an elevated swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Webb clotheslines Cannon to regain control of the match. Cannon hits an overhead suplex on Webb for a near fall. Arik has a modified abdominal stretch on the mat, but Webb isn’t giving up. Webb counters being sent into the ropes and forearms Cannon to the mat causing them to both be down.

Webb hammers away on Cannon followed by a flying back elbow and a wheelbarrow face buster. Webb nearly wins the match with a running forearm. Cannon kicks Webb and comes off the ropes to knock Webb down with a shining wizard. Webb rolls to the ropes and prevents being pinned. Webb has Cannon over his shoulder and hits a DDT for a two count. Webb grabs a steel chair on the floor and misses a chair shot. Cannon dropkicks Webb face first onto a chair. Cannon hits the shining wizard sending the chair into Webb’s face, but Webb kicks out at two. Cannon grabs the chair and goes to the top, but Webb crotches him. Webb puts the chair in front of Arik’s face and goes to the opposite corner. Webb hits a backflip kick into the chair and wins the match. (**. I enjoy watching Nate Webb. Cannon hitting his finishing move twice and losing probably doesn’t help his finisher, at least it doesn’t for me.)

Third Contest: Casanova vs. Trik Davis: Davis works over Casanova early on with strikes and a few forearms against the ropes. Casanova drives Davis down to the mat with a vertical suplex. Casanova stops Davis with a clothesline and a scoop slam. Casanova comes off the ropes with a senton splash for a two count. Davis comes off the ropes and collides with Casanova as they both attempted clotheslines. Davis heel kicks Casanova and tries for a monkey flip, but Casanova doesn’t help him there. Davis delivers a double knee strike in the corner and wins the match following a tornado DDT. (1/2*. It was noted on commentary that Casanova was looking for a job. I wasn’t impressed by Casanova and I don’t recall ever seeing him on a show again for the company.) After the match, Ian Rotten hugs Davis and says he did well. The fans actually chant for Casanova to return.

Fourth Contest: Brad Bradley & Ryan Boz vs. Bad Breed (Axl & Ian Rotten) vs. The Lancaster Twins (Jared & Jason) in an elimination match: The Lancaster Twins weren’t originally involved in the match, but they came out shortly after the ring introductions. Judging just by their appearance, I have a feeling they are going to get destroyed. Axl starts the match and mocks Jared by going to his knees. Jared tries to slam Axl, but isn’t able to do so. Axl allows Jared to tag in Jason. This match has been mostly comedy focusing on the Lancaster Twins because they are small dudes who think they are the biggest tag team in the match. Ian controls Jason and makes him slap himself. Ian drops Jason on his head with a suplex. Ian delivers a few headbutts and drops Jason to the mat but delivers several stiff forearm shots. Ian tosses Jason by his nipples. Brad Bradley gets involved on the beating of the Lancaster Twins. Boz gets tagged in and controls the match with several strikes. Axl destroys Jason with a clothesline. Ian delivers another half nelson suplex. Bradley delivers a clothesline of his own. Bradley and Boz swing Jason a few times before dropping him to the mat face first. Ian pins Jason for the first elimination.

All four men brawl in the crowd as we finally get the original tag match. Boz and Axl send each other into the wall while Ian is hitting Bradley with several headbutts. Ian smashes Bradley with a ladder on the floor. Bradley gets a few headbutts in on Ian as well. Axl is sent face first into the door. Boz and Ian return to the ring. Bradley drives Ian down to the mat with a running powerslam. Boz big boots Ian while Axl tries to get back to the ring with a chair. Axl slides in but Bradley cuts him off with strikes. Boz clotheslines Ian in the corner followed by a leg drop for the win. (*1/4. Uh, what? They finished the match with a leg drop? Ian Rotten… the same guy who does an insane amount of death match spots and whatnot loses to a leg drop? That is a bizarre decision. The match isn’t very good and I felt bad for the Lancaster Twins getting destroyed for seemingly no reason.) After the match, Ian low blows Bradley to avoid a slam. I think Ian announces that the Sandman will be coming to IWA-MS.

Fifth Contest: Chris Hero vs. Steve Stone: Hero starts off by taking Stone down to the mat a few times causing Stone to go to the ropes to regroup. Stone counters Hero and they counter some holds on the mat. Stone gets control with forearms in the corner until Hero drops Stone with strikes. Stone tries for a sunset flip pin, but Hero avoids it. Hero counters a Flatliner and drops Stone to the mat causing Stone to roll to the floor. Stone sits in the front row to regroup. Hero keeps control of the match on the mat hitting a DDT to Stone’s left knee. Stone dumps Hero to the floor, but Hero lands on his feet and brings Stone to the floor with him. They trade a few strikes outside the ring. Stone sends Hero chest first into the ring post. Stone maintains control with a snap suplex and a vertical suplex in the ring. Stone hits a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Stone chokes Hero over the apron and catapults Hero throat first over the bottom rope. Hero tries to get a submission on Stone, but Stone reaches the ropes. Stone drops Hero with a rolling neck snap for a two count. Hero decks Stone with a forearm shot in the corner. Stone stops Hero with a backbreaker for a two count. Hero drops Stone with a kick to the back of his head and they are both down on the mat for a few moments.

Hero forearms Stone followed by a dropkick and hip toss for a two count. Hero takes Stone down with a side Russian leg sweep. Hero hits a swinging neckbreaker from the middle rope, but Stone kicks out at two. Stone decks Hero with a clothesline for a near fall. Hero plants Stone with a double leg slam. Hero locks in a standing neck vice submission, but Stone gets out of the hold. They begin to trade forearm strikes in the middle of the ring. Stone plants Hero with a Flatliner. Hero recovers to hit a German suplex. Stone clotheslines Hero, but Hero fights back with a clothesline of his own. Stone nearly wins following another Flatliner. Hero takes Stone down to the mat and gets a modified crossface locked in and wins the match by submission. (*1/2. Well, that was just a basic match and not all that great. I find myself not enjoying Steve Stone matches.)

Sixth Contest: IWA-MS Light Heavyweight Champion JC Bailey vs. Sonjay Dutt in a best two out of three falls match: Dutt gets the early advantage with several strikes to stagger Bailey. Bailey gets a rollup on Dutt and gets a quick three count. Bailey: 1 – Dutt: 0

Dutt quickly keeps control with strikes and a scoop slam followed by an elbow drop. Dutt connects with the sprinkler elbow drop for a two count. Bailey plants Dutt with a neckbreaker but Dutt kicks out at two. Bailey backdrops Dutt followed by an elbow strike. Bailey runs over Dutt with a forearm strike. Bailey comes off the top to send Dutt to the floor with a missile dropkick. Bailey drops Dutt with a swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Bailey pummels Dutt in the corner a few times but gets shoved away by Dutt. Dutt sits Bailey on the top turnbuckle and hit a muscle buster for a three count. The referee seems to have messed that up.

Ian Rotten comes out and ejects the referee from the match! Rotten has taken the fall away from Dutt and Nate Webb will be refereeing the match. Dutt hip tosses Bailey coming off the ropes but Bailey reaches the ropes to avoid a arm lock. Dutt can’t keep Bailey on the mat with a few rollups. Dutt is pissed that Nate Webb is the referee. Dutt low blows Bailey and drives Bailey down with a slam before going to the top rope. Dutt hits a 450 splash and gets a three count on Bailey. Bailey 1: – Dutt: 1

Dutt keeps Bailey on the mat and delivers an uppercut followed by a leg drop. Dutt hits a springboard leg drop for a two count. Bailey fights back with a few hip tosses. Bailey gets to the ropes to break a crossface hold. Dutt nails Bailey with a leg lariat for a two count. Dutt takes Bailey over with a snap suplex for a two count. Dutt superkicks Bailey followed by a standing shooting star press for a two count. Bailey hits a fisherman buster but Dutt kicks out at two. Dutt delivers a few boots and a neckbreaker for a two count. Bailey comes off the middle rope with a double stomp. Dutt counters a slam with a rollup for a two count. Bailey drops Dutt with a Snow Plow for the win. (*1/2. This was a complete and utter train wreck. I had some hope for this match, but the original referee for the match prevented this from getting anything good. The guys on commentary didn’t seem to care about the action and the workers didn’t seem to get past first gear for the match. I was quite disappointed by this.) After the match, Sonjay Dutt gets on the microphone and says that he respects JC Bailey.

Seventh Contest: Balls Mahoney vs. Corporal Robinson: Mahoney was part of a major angle last night where they played it off as if Mahoney had broken his neck. As per usual, two hardcore wrestlers decide to start the match with wrestling holds. Mahoney misses a splash in the corner and Robinson hits a forearm smash. Mahoney jabs Robinson several times. They trade several strikes and headbutts. Robinson sends Balls to the floor and they continue to brawl. Robinson is busted open at this point. Mahoney sends Robinson into the ring post followed by a kick to the face. Mahoney has Robinson head on a chair and misses a chair shot. Mahoney nails Robinson with a superkick for a two count. Robinson drops Mahoney with a superkick of his own for a two count. Mahoney plants Robinson with the Nut Cracker Suite. Mahoney destroys Robinson with a chair shot over the head. Robinson still kicks out at two. BJ Whitmer comes out and shoves Mahoney off the middle rope. Danny Daniels comes out and they hit a spike piledriver on the concrete floor. They’ve done the same angle two nights in a row?

Robinson is acting like he doesn’t know what happened. Mahoney is not moving on the floor. Well, he’s moving his arms, at least. The referee calls for the bell. They’ve literally done the same angle in two different towns. They do the same carry out spot and everything. Actually, this time around Mahoney is helped to his feet and helped backstage. So, it’s not as drastic as the previous show.

Holy shit, the referee from the 2/3 falls match is the referee for the main event and begs Ian Rotten for another shot because he knows he messed up. Rotten allows him to have another chance.

Main Event: IWA-MS Heavyweight Champion Danny Daniels vs. Nigel McGuiness: Daniels gets a near fall on McGuiness within the first minute of the match. McGuiness gets a few rollups of his own, but Daniels kicks out each time. They do a test of strength once Daniels gets to the middle rope. Nigel side swipes Daniels off the ropes to the mat. McGuiness dumps Daniels to the floor. Daniels goes to the announcers table and says that McGuiness is a wanker. Daniels gets control in the ring choking Nigel over the middle rope. Nigel arm drags Daniels after leaping off the top rope and Daniels goes to the floor. McGuiness knocks Daniels down with a running knee strike. Nigel rams Daniels head first onto a steel chair in the crowd. Daniels strikes Nigel in the corner a few times, but McGuiness decks Daniels for a two count. Daniels catapults Nigel into the corner and follows up with a backbreaker. Daniels focuses his attack on Nigel’s lower back. Daniels locks in a Boston Crab on McGuiness but isn’t able to get a submission. Daniels ducks a clothesline to take Nigel over with a German suplex for a two count.

Nigel stops Daniels with a kick to the head and goes to the middle rope. Daniels gets his boot up and blocks Nigel offense. Daniels hits a standing senton splash for a two count. They collide heads as Daniels came off the ropes and they are both down. McGuiness gets a few rollups on Daniels but can’t get a three count. Daniels hits an overhead suplex followed by an exploder suplex for a near fall. McGuiness stops Daniels with a spinebuster. Nigel misses a top rope crossbody and crashes to the mat. They collide on a double clothesline. They get up at the same time and trade more strikes. Nigel gets a few more near falls with rollups. Nigel counters a piledriver for another two count. Daniels gets out of a backslide to spike McGuiness with a piledriver for the win. (*1/4. It didn’t feel like a lot of action was happening here. They went with a lot of rollup reversals and get the action to short spurts, if you wanna call it that. I didn’t think this was a good main event and if I didn’t know any better, I wouldn’t think Nigel would be having tremendous matches just a few years later.)

Final Thoughts:
Probably the worse IWA-MS show I’ve reviewed as of November 2018. The only aspect of the show that was entertaining was the train wreck of a night that the male referee had for a couple of matches. Aside from that, there’s just nothing here to enjoy.

Thanks for reading.