Written by: Bob Colling
Impact Championship Wrestling presents Last Stand At The Elks
Date: 6/30/2001
From: Queens, NY
The show starts off with Jack Sabboth saying that the ICW Heavyweight Championship has been held up and that was because there wasn’t any clean finishes for the championship. However, tonight there will be a ladder match between Xavier and Low Ki to crown the undisputed champion. Mike Tobin and Danny Drake cut a promo about running the company, but they are told that if they don’t beat Danny Doring and Roadkill then they will be servants.
Opening Contest: ICW North Eastern Title #1 Contendership Battle Royal: As per usual with battle royals there are a lot of brawling moments. Nana wins the match last eliminating Pit Dawg, I think. The eliminations went by quickly. Nana appears to be over fairly well with the crowd, which is surprising since he’s mostly worked a heel that I’ve seen.
Second Contest: Quiet Storm vs. Brian XL: Storm keeps XL on the mat and they counter each other with a few submission holds. They both hit wheelbarrow arm drags leading to a standoff. Storm shoves XL off the top turnbuckle and XL hits the guard railing chest first. Storm continues with a clothesline for a two count. XL spin kicks Storm a couple of times to gain momentum. Storm takes XL to the mat and locks in a Rings of Saturn, but doesn’t get a submission. Storm misses a splash in the corner and XL misses a spin kick. XL leaps off the top to nail Storm with a kick to the face. XL springboards off the top to take Storm over with a head scissors. Storm nearly wins following a German suplex. Storm slams XL and goes to the top rope. Storm misses a diving headbutt. XL plants Storm with a tornado DDT to send Storm to the floor. XL takes Storm out with a springboard twisting moonsault. Storm hits a northern lights suplex, but XL counters a second one with a piledriver for a two count. Storm counters a hurricanrana and hits a sloppy looking Storm Cradle Driver for a two count. Storm slams XL and misses a corkscrew splash. XL hits a 450 splash turned into a hurricanrana for the win. (**. It was still a rather sloppy match, but that finishing move by XL was honestly an incredible move and he hit it pretty well.)
Third Contest: El Gringo vs. Danny Demanto: Well, Demanto wins the match in under twenty-seconds after hitting a top rope frog splash. After the match, Demanto cuts a promo on Sabboth saying he wants his shot and he’s not his guinea pig anymore. Demanto gets speared through a table in the corner. Tom Marquez comes out to make the save by hitting a few suplexs. Demanto has gotten up rather quickly from going through the table.
Fourth Contest: Damian Dragon vs. Judas Young: Early on, they counter each other on the mat with arm drags. Dragon dropkicks and arm drags Young. Dragon hits a swinging neckbreaker for a two count. Dragon nearly wins with a German suplex. Young comes off the middle rope to hit a bulldog for a near fall. Young gets crotched on the top by Dragon. Dragon hits a superplex and both men are down. Well, some guy enters and hits a TKO on Dragon allowing Young to win the match. (1/2*. That really amounted to nothing and appears to be an angle.) After the match, Dragon avoids a chair shot and Striker comes out to make the save for Dragon. Dragon hits a top rope frog splash. Dragon will team with Striker to take on Pit Dawg and Tim Arson in August.
Fifth Contest: Homicide vs. Sledge: Homicide attacks Sledge from behind and tosses Sledge to the floor. Homicide double stomps a chair onto Sledge’s midsection for the quick win.
Sixth Contest: Kid Kruel vs. Julio Dinero: Dinero starts off with jabs and a right hand to drop Kruel followed by a dropkick. Dinero dives over the top to hit Kruel with a crossbody. Kruel sends Dinero into the guard railing but gets a boot. Dinero sends Kruel into the guard railing. Dinero is dropped face first over the apron and Kruel hits an exploder suplex in the ring for a two count. Kruel beats on Dinero with right hands in the corner. Dinero head scissors Kruel into the corner and hits a suplex for a two count. Kruel superkicks Dinero for a near fall. Dinero plants Kruel with a full nelson slam. Kruel drives Dinero down to the mat with a neckbreaker. Kruel gets crotched on the top rope but Dinero gets met with a head scissors by Kruel’s manager. Dinero’s female manager hits a top rope hurricanrana on Kruel. Dinero prevents the girls from fighting and Kruel wins the match with a sloppy inside cradle. (*1/2. The ending was way too sloppy and to seemingly protect Dinero here was completely unnecessary.)
Seventh Contest: Prince Nana vs. Bobby G: Nana works over Bobby early on with a German suplex. Nana misses a splash in the corner and Bobby gets a few strikes in. Bobby gets a two count following a clothesline. Bobby takes Nana down with a side Russian leg sweep and completely misses a standing dropkick. Bobby continues his offense with a backdrop. Nana drops Bobby on his head with an overhead suplex. They completely mess a simple rollup and Nana’s shoulders aren’t even down, but Bobby gets the three count anyway. (1/4*. Nana probably shouldn’t have lost this match.)
Eighth Contest: Danny Doring & Roadkill vs. Boogie Knights (Danny Drake & Mike Tobin): Roadkill slingshots both men into the ring and Doring clotheslines Drake while Roadkill clotheslines Tobin. The Knights are sent into the guard railing and Roadkill delivers a chair shot to Drake’s back. Roadkill also whacks Tobin over the head with the chair. Roadkill delivers a powerslam on Drake and Doring comes off the top to hit a leg drop. Doring and Roadkill hit the Hart Attack on Tobin. Roadkill gets dumped to the floor and Drake hits a spinebuster on Doring. Tobin hits an elbow drop while Drake hit a middle rope leg drop. Doring spears Drake and pummels Drake with right hands. Doring gets sent into Tobin on the apron allowing Drake to deliver a reverse DDT and the Knights hit a wheelbarrow splash on Doring. Doring beats on Tobin with strikes in the corner. Tobin plants Doring with a DDT after a low blow. Drake clotheslines Doring followed by Doring hitting a double under hook face buster. Doring hits a jawbreaker and Roadkill gets the crowd behind them.
Roadkill tags in and cleans house with clotheslines. Roadkill plants Drake with a TKO and Tobin gets powerbombed. Roadkill comes off the top rope to deliver a double clothesline. Roadkill splashes both men in the corner and Doring superkicks Drake to the floor. Tobin is met with a double DDT before Doring and Roadkill hit a top rope leg drop/wheelbarrow slam for the win. (**. An average match between these two teams. Doring was easily in the best shape of his life at this point. I enjoyed what Doring and Roadkill did here.)
Ninth Contest: Crowbar vs. Balls Mahoney: Early on, Mahoney takes Crowbar down to the mat and they focus on some mat wrestling for a few moments. Mahoney focuses his offense on the left arm of Crowbar. Crowbar drops Mahoney face first to the mat and delivers a few shoulder blocks. Mahoney misses a crossbody and they both try for dropkicks but that leads to a standoff. Mahoney jabs Crowbar followed by a right hand. Mahoney nails Crowbar with a spinning heel kick taking both men over the top. Mahoney rams Crowbwar chest first into the guard railing and they go into the crowd. Crowbar hammers away on Mahoney followed by chops. They go back to ringside where Crowbar chokes Mahoney with a chair. Mahoney hits Crowbar with a drink at ringside. Mahoney sends Crowbar into the railing and continues to deliver chops. Crowbar stops Mahoney with a jawbreaker in the ring followed by stomps. Crowbar barely hits a dropkick to send Mahoney to the floor. Crowbar hits a slingshot crossbody to take Mahoney out on the floor.
Crowbar sits Mahoney on a chair and pulls on Mahoney’s hair on a chin lock. Crowbar goes to the apron and clotheslines Mahoney out of the chair. Crowbar hits a slingshot splash and a springboard moonsault for a two count. Crowbar kicks Mahoney over the back before putting a chin lock on Mahoney. Crowbar yanks Mahoney down by his hair to maintain control of the contest. Crowbar takes his belt off and punches Mahoney with it a few times. Crowbar chokes Mahoney with the belt. Crowbar puts a camel clutch in Mahoney, but isn’t going to get a submission. Crowbar splashes down onto Mahoney’s back to keep the hold on. Mahoney catches Crowbar in the corner to hit the Nutcracker Suite for a near fall. Crowbar ducks a chair shot and dropkicks the chair into Mahoney’s face for a two count. Crowbar hits a slingshot leg drop on Mahoney onto a chair for a near fall. Crowbar goes to the top rope, but Mahoney stops him. Crowbar gets a sunset flip off the middle rope and wins the match. (*1/2. The brawling wasn’t very good and Mahoney didn’t seem to be at the same level as he normally would be at. Crowbar was really good and is still incredibly underrated. I was surprised that Crowbar went over but it was the right decision.) After the match, Mahoney wants to fight a fan and is telling security to let the fan into the ring. I think Mahoney was announcing a retirement due to injury but he obviously didn’t retire.
Missy Hyatt and Sunny promote their porn website. They promote seeing Sunny nude for the first time ever. This is all sorts of awkward.
Tenth Contest: Simon Diamond & Swinger vs. Da Hit Squad (Maff & Mack) vs. FBI (Guido & Mamaluke): Swinger is press slammed by the Squad and splashed by Mack in the corner. Maff sends Swinger to the floor. Swinger is met with a flapjack by the Squad. Diamond is backdropped by the Squad, too. Mack dropkicks the FBI off the apron and Diamond/Swinger are flung into the ring from the apron. Diamond takes a group out with a slingshot crossbody. Mamaluke dangerously tries for a head scissors on Mack, but doesn’t execute it well on the floor. Diamond takes Mack over with a snap suplex for a two count. Guido tags in and works over Mack with stomps in the corner followed by a dropkick to a seated Mack. Guido puts an arm Abr on Mack, but fails to get a submission. Swinger knee lifts Mack followed by a side Russian leg sweep for a two count. Mamaluke tags in and works over Mack with a chop.
Mamaluke takes Mack down to the mat with an arm bar. Mack slowly splashes Mamaluke in the corner and catches Mamaluke on a crossbody with a sloppy slam. Mack takes Mamaluke over with a snap powerslam. Mike Tobin and Danny Draker come out to attack Mack on the floor with a steel chair. Maff gets his knee smashed with a chair against the ring post. Mack gets pinned in the ring leading to the first elimination.
Diamond superkicks Guido followed by a series of snap suplexs and a front slam. Swinger stomps on Guido in the corner followed by a back suplex for a two count. Guido gets met with a side slam/reverse DDT combo for a two count. Guido hits a middle rope leg drop on Diamond. Mamaluke and Swinger get tagged in with Mamaluke hitting a missile dropkick and a head scissors to clean house. Mamaluke misses a splash in the corner and is met with the Problem Solver, but the pin is broken up and there’s almost a catfight. Guido takes advantage of a low blow to hit the Un-Prettier on Swinger to win the match. (*1/2. ICW is really not good at finishing matches, at all. Hit Squad being taken out of the match was fine as it advanced their issue with the Boogie Knights. However, the finish here was disappointing. It’s clear that any star on this show has a tough time taking a pin loss.) After the match, Diamond wants Dawn Marie to be booked in a singles match that match is agreed upon.
Eleventh Contest: Backseat Boys (Acid & Kashmere) vs. The Dynasty (Abunai & Divine) vs. The SAT (Joel & Jose): Jose and Kashmere start off the match with Joel shoulder blocking Kashmere a few times. Kashmere hits a bulldog and a big boot. Acid hits a missile dropkick to send Jose to the floor. Abunai and Divine enter to trade strikes with Backseat Boys. Backseat hits a powetbomb/neckbreker combo on Abunai. Divine and Abunai hit suicide dives to take everyone out. Kashmere drops Joel over his knee for a two count as Abunai breaks the cover, but is met with a big boot by Acid. T-Gimmick drives Divine to the mat. Jose missile dropkicks the Backseat. Abunai hits a crossbody on Kashmere to get a fast three count. Backseat Boys have been eliminated.
Divine hits a tilt a whirl side Russian leg sweep on Joel followed by a suicide dive. Abunai gets stopped on the top by Jose. Abunai hits a dangerous top rope DDT on Joel! Divine works over Joel against the ropes. Joel head scissors Divine followed by a standing hurricanrana and a dropkick. Joel nearly wins with a German suplex on Divine. SAT lock in a standing Boston Crab, but Divine breaks it up with a springboard dropkick from behind. Divine tries for a springboard, but is met with a spear in midair. Abunai drops Jose with an overhead suplex for a two count. Abunai whacks Jose over the head with a steel chair but can’t get a three count. Joel spikes Abunai with a brainbuster onto the chair. Divine gets trapped in a swing and met with a leg drop and a middle rope dropkick. Divine is still able to kick out on the pin attempt. Divine is dropkicked while laying on the mat. SAT lock in a surfboard/dragon sleeper, but Red comes out and hit a few top rope double stomps. Apparently, that is completely legal. Divine submits. (**. I’m kinda baffled by the Backseat Boys elimination. I suppose that was done so that the SAT would be the clear fan favorites. There were a few good spots in this quick match, but the involvement of Red was not necessary and felt out of place to me.)
Twelfth Contest: Chris Chetti vs. Tom Marquez: This is a battle between the first House of Hardcore graduate against the last graduate. Chetti hammers away on Marquez in the corner followed by stomps. Chetti boots Marquez, but Marquez fights back with right hands. Marquez knocks Chetti to the floor and follows to keep the advantage. Marquez sends Chetti into the guard railing. Marquez sends Chetti upside down into the railing. Marquez beats on Chetti with right hands in the corner several times. Chetti blocks a German suplex attempt and hangs onto the ropes. Missy Hyatt distracts Marquez allowing Chetti to deliver a heel kick for a two count. Chetti hits a slam and a leg drop for a two count. Chetti gets in the referees face, but that doesn’t change the pin attempt outcome. Chetti low blows Marquez but Marquez nearly wins with an inside cradle. Chetti counters a neckbreaker attempt by hitting a DDT for a two count.
Hyatt has gotten onto the apron and seduces Chetti with kisses. Marquez nearly wins with a rollup and Chetti clotheslines Marquez. Chetti begins to chop the referee in the corner several times. The referee ends up countering and chops Chetti a few times. Marquez takes Chetti over with a snap suplex for a two count, but misses a leg drop. Marquez whips Chetti down by his hair on the apron and delivers a few strikes in the corner. Chetti clotheslines Marquez in the corner. Chetti sits on the top turnbuckle and slams Marquez gut first to the mat. Chetti hits a top rope leg drop for a near fall. Marquez tries for a tornado DDT, but Chetti counters. Marquez tosses Chetti with an exploder suplex. Marquez clotheslines Chetti several times followed by a suplex for a near fall. Marquez pummels Chetti with right hands in the corner. Chetti sends Marquez into the referee, but Marquez gets a rollup. However, the referee is down. Chetti takes Marquez down with a snap suplex and gets a steel chair. Marquez avoids the chair shot, but Chetti just tosses the chair into his face. Chetti misses a somersault leg drop and Marquez wins the match. (*1/2. Jesus, this was all over the place. They tried to make this feel like an important match, but that just was never going to happen. They did a bunch of ridiculous sequences and I was just waiting for the finish to arrive. I wasn’t expecting Marquez to actually win, which he never really did in ECW, anyway.)
Thirteenth Contest: Minoru Fujita vs. Red: They have a standoff early on after Fujita arm dragged Red. They kip up after several takedowns leading to another standoff. Fujita cheap shots Red on a handshake to get the cheap advantage. Fujita works over Red with a chop in the corner and an eye rake. Fujita scoop slams Red and taunts the crowd. Fujita drives Red down with a backbreaker followed by a quick elbow drop and a knee drop. Fujita dropkicks a seated Red for a two count. Red takes Fujita over with a snap hurricanrana for a two count. Red nails Fujita with a spinning kick to send Fujita to the floor. Red hits a somersault dive over the top to the floor! Red takes Fujita down to the mat and works over the left arm before choking Fujita with his own arms on the mat. Fujita drops Red throat first over the top rope. Fujita has Red on his shoulders managing to drop to the mat hitting a backbreaker for a near fall. Fujita works over Red with chops in the corner. Red nails Fujita with a spinning kick to the head. Fujita delivers three knee breakers and nearly wins the match with a rollup. Fujita attempts a springboard splash, but Red got his knees up. Red hits a Slice Bread and hits a corkscrew splash off the top followed by a standing shooting star press for the win. (***. I honestly feel like these two could have done a lot more and made this even more memorable. I thought it was a fun match and probably the best match to this point and it’s not even remotely close in that regard. I might have to check Fujita out some more.) After the match, Tom Marquez ends up turning heel by attacking Red and joining the Dynasty. Marquez hit a vertical suplex turned into a stunner. SAT come running out to make the save, but they get beaten down. Which, leads us to our next match….
Fourteenth Contest: FBI (Guido & Mamaluke) vs. The SAT (Joel & Jose) in the finals for the ICW Tag Team Championships: FBI go to work on the SAT in the corner with stomps to keep advantage. Guido avoids a crossbody and locks in an arm bar for a moment. Mamaluke hits a wheelbarrow bulldog and dives off the top to take out Jose on the floor. Guido drop toe holds Joel and keeps control on the mat with an arm bar. Mamaluke enters and kicks Joel in the ribs and taunts Joel before hitting a snap suplex. Mamaluke hits a northern lights suplex for a two count. Joel takes Mamaluke over with a German suplex. Joel hits an over the shoulder sit down slam before the SAT go to opposite corners and miss diving headbutts. Guido gets tagged in and hits a double middle rope leg drop for a two count. Guido hits a middle rope dropkick to a seated Jose for a near fall. Mikey Whipwreck comes out and hits Mamaluke with a potted plant. Whipwreck nails Guido with a Whippersnapper allowing the SAT to hit the Spanish Fly on Mamaluke for the win. (*1/2. Yet another lame finish. I’m not sure why interference is allowed. SAT winning is the right decision, but how they got there was not good.)
Main Event: Low Ki vs. Xavier in a ladder match for the vacant ICW Heavyweight Championship: They slap each other to start the match and trade right hands. Ki kicks Xavier after being knocked down to the mat and chops Xavier against the ropes. Xavier clotheslines Ki and continues to stomp Ki. Xavier misses a splash in the corner and Ki chops Xavier. Ki hits a middle rope spin kick and looks up at the belt hanging. Xavier scoop slams Ki and rolls to the floor to grab the ladder. Ki stops Xavier with right hands, but Xavier grabs the ladder anyway. Xavier lays the ladder over the railing and apron. Ki kicks Xavier and they stand on the ladder. Ki shoves Xavier off and the Xavier lands chest first over the railing. Xavier punches Ki but gets the ladder dropkicked into him. Xavier tries for a neckbreaker, but Ki avoids it. Xavier overhead tosses Ki onto the ladder. Xavier jabs Ki in the midsection with the ladder and drops the ladder over Ki’s back. Xavier climbs the ladder, but Ki stops Xavier and exposes his ass. Xavier is hanging upside down on the ladder and Ki delivers a few kicks to Xavier’s chest.
Ki tosses the ladder over Xavier’s back a few times while Xavier was over the middle rope. Ki drives the ladder into Xavier’s midsection the corner followed by several kicks to the head. Ki lays the ladder over the middle rope and stands on it with Xavier. Xavier low blows Ki and hits a powerbomb onto the ladder! Xavier whacks Ki over the back with a ladder. Xavier lays the ladder over the apron and railing again. Xavier tries for a powerbomb off the apron, but Ki counters and suplexs Xavier from the ring onto the ladder! Ki slides the ladder back into the ring as the locker room is watching the match from the stage. Ki begins to climb the ladder, but Xavier stops Ki several times. Xavier counters a dragon sleeper, but gets kicked by Ki. Xavier takes Ki off the ladder with a back suplex. Xavier kicks Ki on the chest a few times, but Ki takes Xavier down and locks in a dragon sleeper. Xavier backdrops Ki over the top to the floor.
Xavier hits a split legged moonsault to the floor to takeout Ki! Xavier sends Ki into the railing and back into the ring. Xavier drives Ki back first into the corner followed by an uppercut. Xavier sits Ki on the top rope but gets shoved off. Ki tries for a tornado DDT and plants Xavier onto the ladder. Ki works over Xavier with kicks in the corner. Xavier plants Ki with a sit out slam driving Ki down to the mat gut first. Xavier climbs the ladder, but Ki stops Xavier with a kick. Xavier nearly has the title, but Ki tips the ladder over and Xavier hits the turnbuckle. Ki whacks Xavier with the ladder in the corner. Ki nails Xavier with a kick to the face. Ki climbs the ladder but Xavier tips the ladder over and Ki drops over the ropes chest first. Ki meets Xavier at the top of the ladder trading right hands. Xavier connects with a sunset flip powerbomb. Xavier plants Ki with a neckbreaker Xavier climbs the ladder, but doesn’t go fo the belt. Instead, Xavier misses a 450 splash off the ladder. Xavier busted himself open on his forehead after missing the move. Ki puts a dragon sleeper on Xavier but the referee is knocked down somehow while they were on top of the ladder? Ki grabs the belt and falls down. Xavier falls down as well and lands on the belt. The referee gets up and thinks that Xavier won the match.
Well, a second referee comes out and tells the referee that Ki had gotten the belt. I mean, the entire locker room is on the stage. The match is going to continue. The referee puts the belt back on wire. Xavier tips the ladder over and both referees collide in the corner. Ki nails Xavier with a somersault kick. Xavier stops Ki on the top of the ladder, but Ki hits an incredible Ki Krusher! Ki sets the ladder up and is able to retrieve the title for a second time to officially win the match. (****. That was a really good ladder match as these two did some great spots and the crowd was loving every minute of it. I think it’s safe to say this was the best Xavier match I’ve ever seen. The only negative is the rather poor finish. Why would you do dusty finish with the entire locker room on the stage witnessing it? I fail to see the logic. Regardless of that, these guys delivered a great main event.)
Final Thoughts:
Aside from the ladder match and the Fujita/Red singles match, this show was a disappointing overall experience. If the ladder match is available on its own, I’d check that out. Aside from that, this is really a skippable show.
Thanks for reading.