IWA-MS Stylin’ In The Summer Time 7/31/2004

Written by: Bob Colling

IWA-MS presents Stylin’ In The Summertime
Date: 7/31/2004
From: Highland, IN

Ian Rotten cuts a promo saying that Zach Gowen ruined his main event last month, but Ian wasn’t here for it and he was pissed about it. Chris Sabin isn’t going to be here because of an emergency, but Alex Shelley has replaced him.

Opening Contest: Nate Webb vs. Jimmy Jacobs vs. Mark Wolf in a number one contenders match for the IWA-MS Light Heavyweight Championship: They all lockup at the same time with Jacobs being shoved down and then Webb is as well. Wolf shoves both opponents to the mat and taunts them in the corner. Webb takes Jacobs down to the mat, but Wolf breaks up the submission. Webb chops Wolf and Jacobs eye pokes Webb before getting a few strikes in on Wolf. Wolf knee lifts Webb and Jacobs puts a Boston Crab on Webb. Wolf puts a camel clutch on Webb until Jacobs delivers a dropkick. Jacobs stops Webb with a jawbreaker and a sloppy rollup attempt. Wolf splashes Jacobs in the corner. Wolf is dropkicked by both opponents, although neither dropkick looked all that great. Jacobs clotheslines Webb over the top to the floor. Jacobs dives off the top to hit a crossbody onto Wolf and Webb on the floor. Wolf double atomic drops Webb and Jacobs before leaping off the apron to clothesline both men out of a chair. Wolf hits a slingshot front suplex on Jacobs for a two count.

Webb misses a somersault splash in the corner and Jacobs hits a dropkick on Webb, who was in the tree of woe. Wolf hits a middle rope atomic drop on Jacobs and Webb hit a back suplex. Webb and Wolf collide on stereo clothesline attempt. Webb nails Wolf with a somersault splash in the corner. Webb face plants Jacobs, but Wolf hits a wheelbarrow slam before putting a Boston Crab on Webb. Jacobs bulldogs Wolf and tries to hit a Slice Bread on Webb, but Wolf comes over to hit a reverse DDT on Webb. Jacobs hits the Slice Bread on Wolf and splashes Webb at the same time. Jacobs manages to pin Wolf for the win. (*1/2. Honestly, this felt like three dudes who didn’t know what to do nor how to put together a three way match. There were a few good spots, but it just felt thrown together and didn’t have much substance behind it. The finish was solid enough.)

Jim Fannin cuts a promo on Trik Davis saying that Davis lost a match to Cash Flo and thus was gone from IWA-MS. Fannin notes that Davis is alive because the referee had a power trip. Fannin suggests that Davis leave the company on his own. Davis confronts Fannin telling Fannin to kick his ass if he wants Davis out of here.

Second Contest: Steve Stone vs. Trik Davis: Stone attacks Davis from behind with right hands. Davis battles back to knock Stone to the floor. Davis comes off the apron to head scissors Stone on the floor. Davis comes off the top, but Stone hits a powerslam in midair. Stone messes up a big boot attempt and Davis covers it with strikes. Stone hits a sit out spinebuster, but doesn’t want a three count yet. Stone powerbombs Davis followed by a lariat. Stone has Davis over his shoulder before hitting a spinning face buster for a two count. The referee disqualifies Stone because Stone continues to pull Davis up on pin attempts. Stone works over Davis with more strikes and chokes Davis on the mat. Ian Rotten runs down and attacks Stone to make the save. Rotten tosses Stone onto some chairs in the crowd. Rotten and Stone brawl in the crowd where Rotten throws Stone over a table. They return to the ring and brawl some more until several wrestlers come out and break them up. (1/2*. Well, I really didn’t care about the Rotten/Stone stuff afterward. Seeing a DQ in IWA-MS is rather bizarre to me. I’m not a fan of Rotten so having him in these kind of situations isn’t enjoyable.)

Ian Rotten cuts a promo saying that if Steve Stone wants his job back to fight Rotten on August 21st. If Stone can make Rotten submit or pin him then Stone will get his job back. Stone leaves the ring but is stopped by a few wrestlers.

Third Contest: Mickie Knuckles vs. MsChif vs. Tracy Brooks vs. Daizee Haze: MsChif gets worked over by all three women as they hit a triple powerbomb with double elbow drops. Haze works over Brooks with strikes until Brooks goes over the top to the floor. Brooks and MsChif trade strikes until they are met with stereo baseball slides. Haze leaps hits a top rope moonsault to take the ladies out on the floor. Knuckles connects with a suicide dive to the floor. Haze nearly pins MsChif with a rollup. MsChif and Haze trade quick rollup attempts. Haze is sent face first into the bottom turnbuckle. MsChif almost pins Knuckles, but Brooks breaks the cover. MsChif and Brooks decide to trade strikes until Knuckles gets decked by MsChif. Brooks scoop slams Knuckles for a two count. Haze gets tagged in but Knuckles backs away from the corner. Haze has a submission on Knuckles, but Mickie is able to get to her feet quickly. Haze focuses her offense on the mat, but Knuckles refuses to give in.

MsChif puts a chin lock on Knuckles while in the ropes, so she’s not able to get a submission. MsChif decks Brooks with a right hand and splashes Knuckles in the corner for a two count. Knuckles continues to kick out of MsChif’s offense. Haze completely screws up a spot where Knuckles didn’t want to tag out and Haze just acted like she was tagged in. That was an awkward moment. MsChif has Knuckles on the middle rope and delivers an incredibly dangerous piledriver. Haze tags in and forearms Brooks and MsChif. Haze nails Brooks with a running big boot. MsChif spikes Haze with an arm trapped DDT, but Knuckles breaks up the cover. Brooks clotheslines Knuckles, but Knuckles nails MsChif with a knee strike after Haze was slammed to the mat. Knuckles, MsChif and Haze exchange strikes in the middle of the ring. Brooks comes off the top and pins Haze with a Thez Press. I think MsChif blinded Haze with some mist leading to the finish. Yes, that’s exactly what happened. (*1/2. This match literally went about fifteen minutes and it didn’t need to go that long at all. The mist gimmick for MsChif has been a major angle for her on the shows I’ve seen.)

Fourth Contest: IWA-MS Light Heavyweight Champion Delirious vs. AJ Styles: Styles starts off by nailing Delirious with several clotheslines causing Delirious to bail to the floor to regroup. They trade a few wrist locks with Delirious getting the momentum until Styles takes Delirious down to the mat. Styles shoulder blocks Delirious, but gets tripped to the mat. Styles rams Delirious into the corner and hammers away on the champion. Styles drives Delirious down with a backbreaker followed by a scoop slam. Styles comes off the ropes with a knee drop followed by a kick to Delirious’ back for a two count. Styles drives Delirious down with a delayed vertical suplex for a two count. Delirious dropkicks Styles to the floor before coming off the apron but is caught and tossed back into the ring. Delirious drops Styles throat first over the middle rope and chokes AJ for a few moments. Delirious kicks AJ over the back and delivers more right hands.

Delirious strikes Styles in the corner a few times followed by an eye rake. Styles tries for the Styles Clash, but Delirious kicks AJ away followed by a back suplex for a two count. Styles chops Delirious in the corner but is caught on a splash attempt. Delirious connects with a sit out sit down spinebuster. Delirious chokes Styles with his gear. Styles plants Delirious with a swinging backbreaker. Styles forearms Delirious followed by a back suplex. Styles hits a springboard reverse DDT for a two count. Delirious fights back with a few running boot strikes for a two count. Styles nearly wins with backslide. Styles press slams Delirious onto the top turnbuckle and Delirious crashes to the floor. Delirious comes off the top to splash Styles over the back for a near fall. Styles connects with a German suplex and a backbreaker for a two count. Styles has Delirious over his shoulder but the referee is knocked down. Kid Kash comes out and prevents Styles from hitting the Styles Clash. Delirious manages to pin Styles to retain the title. (***. I enjoyed the match and thought the action was done rather well. The finish is incredibly cheap and lackluster. I suppose to protects Styles and advances issues that Styles and Kash have in an entirely different company. Easily the best match on the card to this point.)

Fifth Contest: IWA-MS Tag Team Champions Brad Bradley & Ryan Boz vs. Chad Collyer & Nigel McGuiness: Bradley and Collyer start the tag title match with Collyer controlling Bradley on the mat for a few moments. Collyer snapmares Bradley, but Brad comes back with a shoulder block. Boz and McGuiness enter the match with Boz having wrist control for a moment. McGuiness takes Boz down to the mat and delivers a kick to the back before backing away. Collyer and McGuiness work over Boz on the mat before Collyer kept control on the mat with a wrist lock. Boz and Collyer trade a few strikes with Collyer getting the advantage. Bradley tosses Collyer with an overhead suplex. Boz suicide dives onto the challengers outside the ring. McGuiness sends Boz into a few chairs in the crowd. Bradley works over Collyer with a strike to the back, but Collyer fights back with right hands. Bradley elbows Collyer to the mat. Bradley scoop slams Collyer leading to a near fall. Boz keeps control with a headbutt and strikes in the corner. Boz keeps a chin lock Collyer but isn’t able to get a submission.

Collyer isn’t able to tag out to MxGuiness and is worked over by Bradley against the ropes. Boz sends Collyer shoulder first into the ring post. Boz dropkicks a seated Collyer while Bradley had a chin lock on Collyer. Collyer boots Boz in the corner followed by an elbow strike and a missile dropkick off the middle rope. Collyer is stopped by Bradley from tagging in Nigel. Collyer plants Bradley with a DDT and finally tags in McGuiness. McGuiness uppercuts the champs a few times to get momentum in his favor. McGuiness kicks Bradley followed by a hammerlock DDT for a near fall. Collyer works over Boz ion the floor while Bradley clotheslines McGuiness in the corner. Bradley shoulder rams McGuiness a few times in the corner. McGuiness avoids Bradley in the corner before hitting a suplex. Collyer trips Bradley and locks in the Cloverleaf. Bradley is trapped in the middle of the ring, but Boz nails Collyer with a big boot. Collyer dragon screw leg whips Boz and puts the Cloverleaf on. Bradley big boots Collyer again. Bradley nails McGuiness with a lariat allowing Boz to win the match. (**1/4. A formula tag match that wasn’t bad at all. I enjoyed what they put together here and I wouldn’t mind seeing these guys wrestle again.)

Sixth Contest: CM Punk vs. Matt Sydal: Punk backs Sydal into a corner, but backs away cleanly early on. Sydal arm drags Punk and has a standoff. Punk gets wrist control leading to a rollup for a near fall. They have another standoff. Sydal counters a back suplex by keeping a headlock on Punk. Punk keeps a head scissors on Sydal, but Sydal pops up for another standoff. Punk gets taken down to the mat, but quickly reaches the ropes to break Sydal’s control. Punk drags Sydal to the middle of the ring to drive his knee into Sydal’s upper back. Sydal monkey flips Punk across the ring followed by a clothesline and a middle rope spinning heel kick for a two count. Punk counters a hurricanrana but Sydal counters a powerbomb attempt. Punk has a Gory Special locked in on Sydal, but Sydal breaks free with leg kicks. Sydal head scissors Punk but Punk connects with a tilt a whirl backbreaker. Punk delivers forearm strikes to Sydal’s lower back followed by chops in the corner. Punk face washes Sydal in the corner a few times. Sydal avoids a running face wash causing Punk to fall through the bottom rope to the floor. Sydal dropkicks Punk into several chairs in the crowd. Sydal takes Punk out with a moonsault off the top to the outside!

Sydal stops Punk with a forearm strike on the top turnbuckle and tries for a hurricanrana, but Punk moves and Sydal ends up in a tree of woe. Punk delivers a running face wash to Sydal while in the tree of woe. Punk controls Sydal on the mat with a leg lock, but isn’t able to get a submission. Punk focuses his attack on Sydal’s left knee. Punk swings Sydal’s leg to cause Sydal to do a front flip. Sydal tries for a cross arm bar, but Punk breaks free and pummels Sydal. Punk tries for a figure four, but Sydal almost wins with an inside cradle. Punk comes off the ropes to chop block Sydal to the mat for a near fall. Punk hits a rolling slam by focusing on Sydal’s leg and gets a leg lock on Sydal. Sydal quickly reaches the ropes to break the hold. Punk keeps control of the match with a running clothesline and chops. Sydal can’t run the ropes due to his injured knee. Punk clotheslines Sydal in the corner and plays to the crowd.

Sydal lays Punk over the middle rope before hitting a double stomp. Punk and Sydal trade strikes until Punk delivers a kick to the leg. Sydal nails Punk with a leaping kick to stop Punk’s momentum and nearly wins the match. Sydal signals for the top rope. Punk forearms Sydal and is nearly pinned coming out of the corner. Sydal drops Punk with a reverse DDT/leg drop combo for a near fall. Punk stops Sydal on the top rope managing to hit a superplex for a two count. Sydal leaps off the top to hit a hurricanrana, but only gets a two count despite the three clearly counting a three. Sydal isn’t putting much pressure on his left leg. Punk nails Sydal with a shining wizard and gets a submission victory with a half Boston Crab. (***1/2. I thought there was going to be a bad case of styles not meshing well. That didn’t end up being the case at all. They delivered a really good match and told a good story, too. I was surprised how good this turned out to be.)

Seventh Contest: Kid Kash vs. Sabu vs. Danny Daniels: Kash and Daniels attack Sabu to start the match by delivering back elbows and stomps. Sabu clotheslines both men and plays to the crowd. Kash decks Sabu with a right hand and Sabu gets slammed to the mat. Daniels strikes Kash a few times, but an eye poke by Sabu stops that. Daniels puts a head scissors on Kash, who has a leg lock on Sabu. Sabu breaks free and works over Daniels with strikes. Sabu clotheslines Kash coming out of the corner. Daniels tosses Sabu through the ropes to the floor. Kash takes both men out with a slingshot crossbody to the floor. Daniels comes off the top to dive onto both men, as well. Sabu tosses a plastic chair into the ring and hits a double jump dive to the floor. Sabu sends Daniels into several chairs in the crowd. Sabu nails Daniels with a non-folding plastic chair. Sabu misses a splash in the corner as Kash moved out of the way. Kash spikes Sabu with a DDT for a two count. Kash and Daniels trade strikes in the ring until Kash hits a tornado DDT.

Sabu has come back to the ringside area with a table. Daniels forearms Kash sending Kash to the floor. Kash gets rammed face first onto a table. Sabu tries for a slingshot leg drop through the table, but the table doesn’t come remotely close to breaking and Sabu bounces right off. Daniels delivers a gut buster to Kash in the ring for a two count. Kash kicks Sabu to the mat and tries for a leg lock, but Daniels comes over and puts a chin lock on Sabu. Kash drives Daniels face first down to the mat. Kash blocks a chair shot by Sabu and delivers an elbow drop. Sabu hits a springboard moonsault onto Daniels. Kash and Daniels mess up a running bulldog spot. Sabu puts a camel clutch on Daniels, but Kash puts one on Sabu. Daniels drives Kash down with a backbreaker. Sabu and Daniels trade a few strikes until Daniels hits a German suplex. Kash counters a tombstone attempt by Daniels and hits the Money Maker. AJ Styles comes out and attacks Kash leading to a brawl, as expected. Styles and Kash brawl to the floor and backstage.

Daniels has a chair in the ring and Sabu is laid out. Daniels slams Sabu and goes to the top rope missing a splash. Sabu hits a triple jump moonsault and pins Daniels. (*1/2. Well, that went exactly as I envisioned it would. Styles getting involved as the obvious approach to justify Kash being out of the match and allowing Sabu to get his win. The action was mostly sloppy.)

Eighth Contest: Bryan Danielson vs. Arik Cannon: They start off with some basic mat wrestling holds and they counter each other a few times. Danielson locks in an abdominal stretch but doesn’t get a submission. Cannon backs Danielson against the ropes and slaps Danielson. Danielson drops Cannon with an uppercut but Cannon comes back with an eye poke. Cannon keeps Danielson on the mat with a headlock for a moment. Danielson runs over Cannon with a forearm shot followed by a knee drop for a two count. Danielson slaps Cannon a few times followed by an uppercut. Danielson hits a standing dropkick and controls Cannon with an arm lock. Danielson yanks Cannon down by his arm causing Cannon to bail to the floor. They trade a few uppercuts and strikes in the ring. Cannon takes Danielson down to the mat and connects with a rolling neck snap. Danielson pummels Cannon with forearm strikes on the mat followed by an uppercut. Cannon plants Danielson with a neckbreaker for a two count. Cannon knocks Danielson to the floor. Danielson uppercuts Cannon on the floor followed by a chop in the crowd.

Cannon chops Danielson out of a chair before getting a two count in the ring. Cannon controls Danielson on the mat with a neck vice. Cannon isn’t able to get a submission on Danielson. Danielson nails Cannon with a kick to the head and pulls himself up in the corner. Danielson continues with an uppercut and chops to knock Cannon down. Danielson puts a surfboard on Cannon and locks in a dragon sleeper. Danielson counters a sunset flip with a sit down splash. Danielson airplane spins before dropping Cannon to the mat with a rolling fireman’s carry. Danielson heads to the top rope managing to hit a diving headbutt for a two count. Cannon tosses Danielson with an exploder suplex for a two count. Danielson avoids a suplex attempt with a knee strike. Danielson comes off the middle rope to uppercut Cannon. Danielson puts Cannon on the top turnbuckle and hits a superplex for a two count. Cannon stops Danielson with a neckbreaker.

Cannon elevates Danielson over the top rope before connecting with a swinging neckbreaker. Danielson drops Cannon with a roaring elbow and puts the Cattle Mutilation on, but Cannon reaches the ropes. Danielson forearm strikes Cannon but hits the ropes allowing Cannon to deliver a backstabber and a shining wizard for a two count. Cannon nails Danielson with a shining wizard to the back of Danielson’s head for the clean victory. (**1/2. If you appreciate mostly mat wrestling and strong strikes, then you’ll enjoy this more than I did. It’s a fine match and the live crowd apparently loved it judging by their response. I wouldn’t consider it a MOTY like the crowd had chanted for. I was shocked that Cannon won the match, which was something I was not expecting to see happen at all.)

Ian Rotten comes out and says it was well worth the wait to get Danielson into the IWA. Rotten asks Danielson if he’d return. Way to put the guy on the spot, Ian. Danielson promises to be back in the IWA on August 21st. The fans want Danielson to wrestle Chris Hero. Danielson thinks that is the match that needs to happen. Rotten makes the match.

Ninth Contest: IWA-MS Heavyweight Champion Petey Williams vs. Alex Shelley in a best two out of three falls match: Shelley takes Williams down to the mat early on but they have a standoff. Williams keeps Shelley on the mat with arm control. They have a standoff after some more mat wrestling. Shelley gets control on the mat with a wrist lock. Williams gets out of the hold and they have another standoff. Shelley takes Williams down and locks in a modified Cloverleaf, but Williams doesn’t give up. Williams arm drags Shelley followed by a dropkick to the back. Shelley kicks Williams on the arm and head followed by a brainbuster. Shelley locks in the Border City Stretch and Williams taps out to give Shelley the first fall. Shelley: 1 – Williams: 0

Shelley slams Williams left arm on the mat to keep control of the contest. Shelley drives Williams down with an arm breaker. Shelley dropkicks Williams on the arm. Shelley rams Williams arm first into the ring post. Williams comes off the middle rope to hit a crossbody. Shelley misses a kick and Williams locks in the Sharpshooter to force Shelly to submit. Shelley: 1 – Williams: 1

Shelley keeps Williams on the mat and wrenches on the champs left arm. Shelley knee drops Williams a few times on the arm. Shelley keeps Williams on the mat and bridges to put more pressure on Petey’s arm. Shelley stops Williams with a jawbreaker. Shelley takes Williams over with a northern lights suplex. Shelley drives Williams down with a backbreaker and chokes the champion over the bottom rope. Shelley goes to the top and delivers an axe handle for a two count. Shelley knee strikes Williams in the corner followed by a few more strikes. Williams kicks Shelley coming off the ropes and delivers a swinging neckbreaker. Shelley superkicks Williams on the arm, but Petey fights back with a neckbreaker. Williams nearly wins following a side Russian leg sweep. Williams crotches Shelley on the top turnbuckle. Shelley shoves Williams off and delivers a double stomp for a two count. Williams stops Shelley with a Codebreaker but Shelley quickly delivers a kick. Shelley plants Williams with Shell Shock and switches to the Border City Stretch. Williams counters with a rollup and wins the match. (**. I’d consider this to be a disappointing match. Shelley was replacing Sabin on the show and that likely impacted the crowd reaction. I was hoping for a stronger finish, too. The two quick falls to start the match were rather predictable.)

Main Event: Mad Man Pondo vs. Toby Klein in a barbed wire tables match: As you can imagine, this will not be like the other matches on the show. These kinds of matches are rather difficult to review because of the violence. They go to the floor quickly where Pondo works over Klein with a kendo stick. Pondo whacks Klein with a sign and Klein is bleeding within the first minute of the match starting. The barbed wire table is in the ring and Klein rubs Pondo’s forehead on the barbed wire. Klein whacks Pondo with the stop sign. Pondo lays Klein on the barbed wire table, but nothing really happens. They brawl into the crowd where Pondo rams Klein into the bleachers and delivers a shot with a trash can. Klein puts himself and Pondo through a barbed wire table on the floor. Pondo suplexs Klein onto the stop sign. Pondo drives the sign into Klein’s groin. Pondo uses a chair to beat down Klein on the mat. Pondo takes Klein out with a somersault splash onto a chair,. Klein puts Pondo near a table, but Pondo stops Klein on the top turnbuckle.

Pondo puts Klein through the table off the middle rope with a DDT. Pondo drives the barbed wire table into Klein. Klein grabs Pondo’s groin to stop Pondo’s offense. Klein puts Pondo through the barbed wire table with a Death Valley Driver for the win. (1/2*. I don’t think anybody wanted Klein to win the match. I’d say this was a lackluster death match.)

Pondo cuts a promo after the match suggesting there be a leather strap match between himself and Klein. The fans will hold the straps. Pondo notes that he’s not even on the next show but he’s putting Rotten on the spot. Rotten comes out and says they will pick sixteen people to be the lumberjack. The people who are picked will need to sign a waiver for insurance issues.

Final Thoughts:
I’m going to consider this a decent overall show and give it a mild thumbs up. Punk/Sydal was the best match and there may be a few other matches that others will enjoy more than I did. Considering the amount of talent on the show, it was an easy watch.

Thanks for reading.