International Wrestling Cartel presents Threat Level Midnight
Date: 7/22/2017
From: Elizabeth, PA
Opening Contest: Kevin Blackwood & Upper Echelon (Colby Redd & PB Smooth) vs. Ian Maxwell, James Drake & Mr. Grim: Drake and Redd kickoff the six man tag. Drake shoves Redd, who responds with a shove. They trade chops in the middle of the ring until Smooth enters the match and strikes Drake several times. Drake knee lifts Smooth, but is met with a big boot. Drake rolls to the corner and tags in Maxwell. Smooth plants Maxwell with a tilt a whirl slam for a near fall. Blackwood enters and kicks Maxwell several times. Blackwood arm drags Maxwell a few times and runs the ropes to hit a running head scissors. Drake knee strikes Blackwood from the apron and Maxwell nails Blackwood with a kick to the head. Grim nails Blackwood with a running boot off the ropes and continues with a big splash for a two count. Grim clubs Blackwood over the back with a strike. Blackwood backs Grim into a corner and Drake delivers a few strikes to control Blackwood. Blackwood strikes Drake several times, but Drake stops Blackwood with a headbutt. Drake chops Blackwood in the corner and tags in Maxwell.
Maxwell dropkicks Blackwood in the corner as Grim held Blackwood. Maxwell covers Blackwood for a two count. Blackwood strikes Maxwell a few times, but is yanked down to the mat. Maxwell covers for a two count. Maxwell is backed into a corner and Grim enters to deliver a strike to the midsection. Blackwood strikes Grim several times over the back and delivers several kick to the chest. Blackwood runs the ropes, but Grim hits a springboard slingblade for a near fall. Drake tags into the match as Grim scoop slams Blackwood. Drake heads to the top rope missing a moonsault attempt. Blackwood crawls to his corner and tags in Redd. Redd cleans house on Maxwell with strikes and a heel kick. Grim runs in and is met with a forearm strike. Smooth chokeslams Drake. Blackwood hits a suicide dive on Drake. Redd nails Maxwell with a running knee strike and manages to get the three count. (**1/2. An enjoyable match put on by these six guys. Blackwood hasn’t ever been in IWC before, but looked okay in there. For a bonus match, I thought it was an enjoyable bout.)
Footage of two masked guys attacking the Mega Plowers in the gym is shown. The fans in the crowd know that it was Team Storm. Magnum CK was taken out with a tire iron to the knee. Samson reveals that Magnum CK has a torn ACL and is out of action.
Second Contest: Jock Samson & Shane InYaFace vs. Team Storm (Jaxon Argos & RC Dupree) in a flag match: Team Storm try to run and grab the flag, but they are quickly stopped. Shane works over Dupree in the corner with strikes as Samson chokes Argos. Samson grabs a child in the first row to get a pop from the crowd. Samson grabs a different, older child and they hit a double clothesline on Team Storm on the floor. Samson chops Dupree on the floor. Argos grabs Shane in the ring, but misses several strike attempts. Shane jabs Argos and delivers a strike to knock Argos to the mat. Shane heads to the corner trying to grab the flag, but is stopped by Dupree. Shane strikes Dupree on the floor several times. Dupree nails Shane with a clothesline on the floor after putting Lady Liberty in front of him. Argos is all alone in the ring looking to retrieve the flag, but Samson gets on the apron to stop Argos. They trade strikes on the middle rope several times. Samson decks Argos to the mat and almost gets the flag, but Dupree low blows Samson. Dupree grabs the Canadian flag to win the match. (*. A quick match and mostly harmless. I was surprised the heels managed to win, but I’m all for the heels getting steam. Samson seems to be a lovable character for IWC and I’m sure he’ll rebound from this.) After the match, Samson walks off without shaking Shane’s hand showing frustration from the loss.
A video of the The Fraternity cutting a promo about being the longest reigning IWC Tag Team Champions in the history of IWC. They are issuing an open challenge.
Third Contest: Gringo Loco vs. Andrew Palace: Loco arm drags Palace to start the match and they have a standoff. Palace takes Loco down to the mat with a top wrist lock. Loco pops up and gets control with a wrist lock. Palace kips up and counters with a wrist lock of his own. Palace takes Loco down, but avoids a moonsault. Loco sidesteps a knee strike and they trade arm drags. Palace kips up and plays to the crowd. Loco sends Palace into the corner and trips Palace followed by a superkick and a springboard dropkick for a two count. Loco nails Palace with an overhand chop and knocks Palace to the mat a few times. Palace strikes Loco a few times and runs the ropes. Loco hits a handspring back elbow for a near fall. Palace almost wins with a quick rollup. Loco kicks Palace on the mat a few times to taunt Palace. Loco chops Palace in the corner several times. Loco strikes Palace, but is met with a boot in the corner. Loco yanks Palace to the mat by his hair leading to a near fall. Loco keeps Palace on the mat with a half Boston Crab, but doesn’t get a submission. Loco slaps Palace on the mat several times to taunt him. Palace avoids a handspring and hits a German suplex. Palace ducks a clothesline to hit a hurricanrana and send Loco to the floor. Palace hits a suicide dive on Loco on the floor. Palace heads to the top rope, but is stopped by Loco and crotched on the top turnbuckle. Loco hits a top rope Falcon Arrow! Loco tries for a cover, but Palace kicks out at two. Loco climbs to the top rope missing a moonsault. Palace waits in the corner to deliver a knee strike and dropkicks Loco into the corner. Palace hits a sit out driver to win the match. (**1/2. A short match, but a decent match between these two. The top rope Falcon Arrow was a bit nuts, but I honestly rolled my eyes at the near fall of the move. I’d like to see more of Palace and there’s plenty out there since he’s a staple of IWC.)
Fourth Contest: IWC World Champion Wardlow vs. Jack Pollock: Pollock controls Wardlow with a headlock, but is sent into the ropes quickly and Wardlow flexes. Pollock tries to take Wardlow down by the leg, but Wardlow reaches the ropes. They begin to trade strikes in the middle of the ring. Wardlow misses a clothesline, but decks Pollock with another clothesline. Wardlow spears Pollock in the corner and delivers a few shoulder rams. Wardlow slams Pollock to the mat for a near fall. Wardlow hits a German suplex and the crowd chants for another suplex. Wardlow proceeds to hit another German suplex. Wardlow tosses Pollock with another German suplex. Wardlow tries for a cocky cover, but Pollock kicks out at two. Wardlow shoulder blocks Pollock coming off the ropes. Wardlow goes for another cover, but Pollock kicks out again. Wardlow charges towards the ropes, but is dumped to the floor. Pollock baseball slides Wardlow on the floor. Wardlow tries for a German suplex on the floor, but Pollock breaks free and punches Wardlow. Wardlow sends Pollock into the railing back first to maintain control of the match. Wardlow plants Pollock with a back suplex on the apron. Wardlow waits in the ring as RC Dupree is on the apron, but doesn’t do anything. Pollock elbows Wardlow in the corner and avoids a splash. Pollock leaps off the middle rope and acts as if he blew out his knee. The referee checks on Pollock in the corner.
Dupree drops Wardlow throat first over the top rope. Pollock stomps on Wardlow revealing it was a ruse. Wardlow tries for the Wardlow Driver, but Pollock breaks free and chop blocks Wardlow. Pollock knee drops Wardlow on the knee several times. Pollock tries for a cover, but Wardlow kicks out at two. Pollock delivers a DDT to Wardlow’s leg for a two count. Pollock splashes down onto Wardlow’s knee a few times. Wardlow manage to kick Pollock over the ropes to the floor. Pollock locks in a half Boston Crab, but Wardlow doesn’t submit. Pollock pulls Wardlow away from the ropes, but Wardlow rolls over to break free. Wardlow kicks Pollock away several times. Wardlow drives Pollock down to the mat with a spinebuster and both men are down. They begin to trade strikes in the middle of the ring. Pollock plants Wardlow with a DDT for a near fall. Wardlow comes off the ropes and is met with a boot. Pollock tries for a spear, but hits the referee on accident. Dupree grabs a chair and stands on the apron as Pollock pummels Wardlow with strikes. Wardlow delivers a buckle bomb and the Wardlow Driver, but there’s no referee for the cover. Wardlow takes care of Team Storm. Wardlow heads to the top rope and hits a Swanton Bomb on Argos. Pollock nails Wardlow with a running mafia kick. Andrew Palace’s music hits and distracts Pollock. Pollock nails Dupree with a chair shot on accident. Palace gets in the ring and dropkicks Pollock into the corner. Palace watches on the aisle as Wardlow hits the Wardlow Driver and pins Pollock for the win. (**. I wasn’t expecting this to be a long match. It came across as more of a smoke and mirrors kind of match instead of the competitive world title matches that you may expect to see. Even in 2017 it’s obvious that Wardlow has a ton of potential.)
After the match, Justin Plummer comes out and reveals that in August there will be a WAR GAMES match. Andrew Palace will lead a team and Pollock will lead the other team. They will pick two other men to join their respective teams.
Fifth Contest: Chris LeRusso vs. DJ Z vs. Jonathan Gresham vs. Anthony Henry in a number one contenders match for the IWC Super Indy Championship: This is an elimination match. All four men start in the ring. They all get side headlock takedowns, but there’s s standoff. Gresham sends LeRusso to the apron and dropkicks LeRusso to the floor. The other three trade rollups in the ring. Z elbows Gresham and they trade rollups leading to a standoff. Z sends Gresham into Henry and is sent into the corner. LeRusso leaps off the middle rope and is met with three dropkicks in midair and rolls to the floor. Henry powerslams Z coming off the ropes. Henry nails Gresham with a kick to the head. Henry delivers kicks to Z and Gresham. Henry plants Z with a tornado DDT after kicking Gresham. LeRusso pulls Henry to the floor and rams Henry into the railing. Z baseball slides LeRusso, but is stopped by Gresham. Gresham arm drags Z and hits a nice hurricanrana to send Z into the corner. Z delivers a jawbreaker and hits a springboard back elbow. Z drops Henry over the top rope followed by a neckbreaker. LeRusso sends Henry to the floor. Z uppercuts LeRusso, but is met with a kick. Z sends LeRusso to the floor and takes everyone out with a somersault dive to the outside! Z tries for a DDT, but LeRusso avoids it and gets an inside cradle to pin Z for the first elimination.
LeRusso begs off against the ropes and is double teamed by Henry and Gresham. Henry plants Gresham with a roll through hitting a cradle brainbuster for a two count. Gresham kicks both men in the corner and hits a middle rope double dropkick. LeRusso elbows Gresham, but is met with a moonsualt by Gresham. Gresham nails Henry with a suicide dive to the floor. Gresham hits a top rope crossbody for a two count on LeRusso. Gresham stomps on LeRusso’s arm and nearly wins with a rollup. Gresham kicks LeRusso and drops LeRusso face first to the mat. Gresham heads to the top rope, but LeRusso rolls away. Jaxson Argos hits Gresham with the Canadian flag. LeRusso superkicks a kneeling Gresham to get a three count. Gresham has been eliminated.
Henry and LeRusso trade forearm strikes in the middle of the ring. LeRusso uppercuts Henry, but Henry responds with several kicks. Henry chops LeRusso in the corner several times. Henry chops LeRusso in the corner followed by a knee drop for a near fall. LeRusso hits a back suplex and a kneeling DDT for a near fall. LeRusso elbows Henry several times, but is stopped by a kick to the head. Henry strikes LeRusso several times followed by knee strikes in the corner. Henry hits an elevated swinging neckbreaker for a near fall. Henry heads to the top rope missing a double stomp. LeRusso superkicks Henry for a two count. Henry hits a high angle back suplex and delivers a running kick to LeRusso’s chest. Henry hits the Kudos Driver and pins LeRusso for the win. (***. I enjoyed the match and I thought the booking was done well. LeRusso getting the majority of the heat as a heel getting the eliminations worked great for Henry to prevail in the end. Henry looked good here and the performance makes me want to see more of Henry.)
Before the next match, Chest Flexor reveals he has a concussion and can’t compete. Thus, Corey Futuristic replaces him.
Sixth Contest: Jami Jameson & Marshall Gambino vs. The Sexy Talented Dudes (Billy Ruxpin & Corey Futuristic): Jameson and Ruxpin start the match with Jameson keeping control with a wrist lock. Ruxpin shoves Jameson to the mat and Gambino tags into the match. Ruxpin hip tosses Gambino followed by a couple of shoulder blocks. Futuristic tags into the match and forearms Jameson a few times. Futuristic hits a leg lariat off the ropes for a two count. Jameson boots Futuristic in the corner and delivers a spinebuster. Jameson tosses Futuristic with a release German suplex. Flexor tries to get involved with the count, but he’s not the referee. Ruxpin decks Jameson with a strike. Flexor tags into the match and rips up the doctor’s note. Flexor removes his helmet and runs into a fist by Gambino. Flexor is acting odd due to the concussion. Ruxpin clotheslines Jameson to the floor. Ruxpin recovers to stop Gambino on the top rope and hits a superplex. Officer Dan decks a couple of guys at ringside and hits Ruxpin. Dan shoves the referee, but is attacked by Futuristic with right hands, but Dan isn’t bothered. Dan press slams Corey over the top to the floor onto his partners. (NR. This whole segment was likely just comedy filler.) After the match, Dan knocks out the STD group. Dan spikes Flexor with a DDT. Dan arrests Flexor.
Seventh Contest: IWC Women’s Champion Britt Baker vs. LuFisto: LuFisto uppercuts Baker before the bell to get the cheap advantage. LuFisto continues to work over Baker in the corner with several strikes. LuFisto chops Baker in the corner and delivers a back rake. Baker fires back with forearm shots against the ropes. Baker hits a slingblade off the ropes and rams LuFisto into the corner a few times. Baker splashes LuFisto in the corner and delivers a kneeling superkick for a near fall. LuFisto rams Baker into the corner face first and hits a running knee strike in the corner. LuFisto works over Baker on the apron and delivers a running boot strike leading to a near fall. LuFisto locks in a camel clutch, but Baker doesn’t give in. LuFisto kicks Baker over the ropes and briefly works over Baker’s neck. LuFisto headbutts Baker in the corner followed by a dropkick for a two count. LuFisto chops Baker against the ropes, but Baker responds with a kick and a swinging neckbreaker. Baker forearms LuFisto several times and manages a two count. Baker delivers a running knee strike for a two count. Baker plants LuFisto with a kneeling DDT for a two count. Baker delivers a discus forearm strike for a near fall. Baker misses a spear in the corner. LuFisto hits a running cannonball in the corner. LuFisto continues with a running boot in the corner for a near fall. LuFisto tries for a slam, but Baker counters with a superkick for a two count. Baker locks in a modified Rings of Saturn, but LuFisto rolls over and breaks free. LuFisto locks in a modified inverted figure four in the middle of the ring. Baker manages to reach the ropes to break the hold. Baker chops LuFisto followed by a big boot and locks in another modified Rings of Saturn. LuFisto manages to reach the ropes to break the hold. Baker misses a knee strike, but is caught on a crossbody attempt and slammed to the mat. LuFisto hits a double under hook Tiger Bomb, but Baker kicks out at two. Baker avoids a Burning Hammer and delivers a superkick. LuFisto nails Baker with a back fist and hits an Angle Slam for the clean win to win the title! (***. Honestly, not too bad of a match. The Tiger Bomb by LuFisto was executed really well. They put forth a competitive match and it didn’t drag along at any point.) After the match, they shake hands.
Katie Arquette comes out to confront LuFisto. Arquette introduces herself to LuFisto and tells the crowd to shut up. Arquette wanted to congratulate LuFisto on her title win. Arquette says that beating Britt Baker doesn’t matter. Arquette says that she’s ready for the challenge. Arquette promises that the IWC Women’s Championship is going to be hers. Arquette and Calvin Couture attack LuFisto. They stand tall to end the segment. LuFisto accepts the challenge for next month and promises Arquette will learn why they called her the first lady of hardcore.
Eighth Contest: Bulk Nasty vs. Daniel Hooven in a $10,000 challenge match: Nasty gets the cheap advantage before the bell and delivers an atomic drop. Nasty decks Hooven with a clothesline, as well. Nasty forearms Hooven and keeps control with a side headlock. Hooven fights back with a few kicks. Nasty splashes Hooven in the corner and delivers a double chop in the corner. Nasty delivers a backbreaker and reverse DDT/elbow drop combo. Nasty signals for a powerbomb, but Hooven takes Nasty down to the mat and DDT’s Nasty’s leg. Nasty recovers and shoulder rams Hooven into the corner several times. Nasty twists Hooven’s nipples on the mat. Nasty forearms Hooven several times in the corner. Nasty tosses Hooven with a release German suplex. Hooven rolls to the floor to regroup. Hooven kicks Nasty a few times, but runs into a shoulder block. Hooven takes Nasty down with a Thez Press and delivers several strikes. Nasty gets on top, but Hooven puts a choke on Nasty. Hooven spikes Nasty with a DDT. Hooven clotheslines Nasty in the corner and continues with several strikes. Nasty splashes Hooven in the corner a couple of times. Hooven elbows Nasty several times to break free and hits a bulldog out of the corner for a two count. Nasty drives Hooven to the mat with a powerbomb. Hooven rolls to the floor, but Santana grabs the bag worth of $10,000. Santana steals the money. Hooven blinds Nasty with a camera and gets a rollup for the win. (*. Safe to say this is a cool down match for the main event, I’d guess.)
Andrew Palace is in the ring, but Team Storm come out to the ringside area to confront Palace regarding War Games next month. Pollock reveals that his Team Storm stablemates are his partners for War Games. Pollock doesn’t think anyone wants to help Palace for War Games. Jonathan Gresham comes out to be next to Palace for War Games. A brawls ends up happening with Palace and Gresham getting beaten down, as expected. The lights go out and when they come back on it is… Darin Dinero. Dinero hasn’t been seen in over a year and he cleans house on Team Storm. Palace has his team for War Games.
Main Event: IWC Super Indy Champion Adam Cole vs. John McChesney: They lockup and Cole backs McChesney into a corner before backing off and taunts the crowd. McChesney backs Cole into a corner and fakes a chop and instead points at Cole. Cole gains control with a headlock, but is sent into the ropes. They both miss dropkicks and they have a standoff. Cole bails to the apron to regroup. McChesney backs Cole into a corner and misses a chop. Cole forearms McChesney and dumps McChesney to the apron where McChesney chops Cole and yanks Cole down to the mat by his hair. McChesney keeps control with a back suplex for a two count. McChesney keeps Cole on the mat with a sleeper. McChesney hits a northern lights suplex for a two count. McChesney chops Cole in the corner several times to keep control of the match. McChesney chops Cole in the corner, but Cole kicks McChesney off the middle rope to the floor. Cole sends McChesney into the guard railing and rolls into the ring to stop the count. Cole sends McChesney into the railing again and taunts the crowd some more. Cole rolls McChesney into the ring and rams McChesney into the corner followed by several strikes. Cole sends McChesney into the corner chest first and taunts the crowd. Cole runs the ropes and puts a sleeper on McChesney. Cole strikes McChesney over the back and kicks McChesney followed by forearms as McChesney tries to fight back from his knees.
Cole blocks a superkick attempt and they collide on forearm strike attempts leading to a double clothesline. They trade forearms from their knees until they get to their feet. McChesney chops Cole into the corner several times. McChesney plants Cole with a TKO out of the corner for a two count! McChesney knee strikes Cole over the middle rope and delivers a leg drop over the middle rope. McChesney is selling his left shoulder. Cole avoids an over the shoulder DDT and delivers a running boot for a two count. McChesney gets off of Cole’s shoulders, but is sent into the corner. Cole nails McChesney with a knee strike for a near fall. McChesney nails Cole with a superkick and pins Cole for the win. (**1/2. McChesney seriously injured his shoulder as this is his last match until November 2018. I’m not sure where it happened, but it was obvious that it wasn’t a work judging by his natural reaction to it. The injury is unfortunate, obviously. The match was going well and I wonder how much of the match had to get cut due to the injury.)
Final Thoughts:
I checked this out because of the show name being The Office related, but it also helped that there was some star power on the show with Wardlow, Baker, and Cole. IWC has some very good local talent, as well. There’s not one major standout match, but there’s plenty of quality action throughout. I’ll give this a mild thumbs up.
Thanks for reading.