IWF Summer Sizzler Night One
Date: 7/26/2008
From: West Paterson, NJ
NOTE: I have never heard of IWF until recently in 2026. I stumbled upon their YouTube page where they are uploading their archive of shows, which is something I appreciate. I’m always looking to find new wrestling, especially indie wrestling. On this show, I’ve heard of five guys. Biggie Biggs, Damian Adams, Tony Torres, Justin Corino, and Franciz (Fallah Bah). I’m intrigued to see how this comes across.
MATCH #1: EVAN SCHWARTZ VS. KAREEM WEST VS. IWF TAG TEAM CHAMPION MIKE JENKINS
FINISH: Schwartz kicks Jenkins in midair coming off the ropes and taunts the crowd, but is met with a spinning kick by West. West proceeds to pin Schwartz to win the match.
Bob’s Take: Schwartz and Jenkins are a bit goofy, with Schwartz coming across as a comedy character. Jenkins and West tried to work together in the match, but their attempts just led to them hitting each other, and yes, they are babyfaces. I’m sure that will lead to a singles match between them or something. Jenkins is the most seasoned of the three and is probably why he’s a tag team champion. Jenkins has charisma to keep the audience engaged, and his offense was good throughout the match. West winning the match seemed to be a bit of an upset especially since a tag champion was in the match. There wasn’t a major spot or anything in the match, but the action was okay.
Match Rating: **
MATCH #2: JASON ROBERTS VS. DAN MARQUES
FINISH: Roberts was getting beat on for the majority of the match, but countered Marques with a rollup to win the match.
Bob’s Take: Never heard of either of these guys. Roberts is a babyface and the crowd is a bit mixed on him. He’s got the look of a guy who is an accountant and wrestles on the weekend. Actually, it sounds like three people are chanting for Jason and then there’s other people chanting that he sucks. There wasn’t much to this and it was short.
Match Rating: 1/2*
MATCH #3: BIGGIE BIGGS VS. DAMIAN ADAMS
FINISH: Biggs gets distracted by Adams manager, Rich Ross, and Adams whacks Biggs with a weapon tossed in by Ross to win the match.
Bob’s Take: I watched quite a bit of Adams in 3PW a handful of years before this show. Biggs had a few matches with PWF, as well. So, I’m familiar with both men. Biggs got a big pop when his music started playing and he’s looking like a frat guy now. Adams focuses most of his offense on the left knee to control the bigger Biggs. In-ring this wasn’t all good or interesting.
Match Rating: *
MATCH #4: IWF AMERICAN CHAMPION CHRIS STEELER VS. VIK VOORHEES
FINISH: Steeler blocks a chokebomb attempt by delivering a low blow, and is promptly disqualified.
Bob’s Take: Voorhees is a bigger guy, but he’s got a ton of charisma and the crowd seems to like him. Now, I could be wrong because two women in the crowd are very loud and they be drowning out other fans. Steeler hit a good running dropkick on Voorhees in the corner and Steeler slid to the floor. It looked rather devastating. I’m not sure why, but Voorhees did only strikes for his offense. The finish is rather cheap, but Steeler does have talent and he had some good offensive moves. Voorhees needs to develop moves other than strikes.
Match Rating: *1/2
MATCH #5: ANTONIO RIVERA & TONY TORRES VS. PRETTY SMART (FRANK SCOLERI & JUSTIN CORINO)
FINISH: Scoleri hits a spinebuster on Torres and goes to the floor with Rivera. Corino, who had been knocked to the floor, rolls back into the ring and pins Torres for the win.
Bob’s Take: Out of everyone on the show thus far, Corino looks like a star just from his gear and overall presentation. Most of the wrestlers have had basic attire and it’s clear that Corino is putting in effort. There’s a noticeable different level of energy in this tag match. The action is a bit faster and more crisp than the match beforehand. This also felt like the first truly competitive match, and it had good crowd energy. Torres was explosive on his hot tag and the crowd erupted for his offense. For the most part, Corino did most of the heavy lifting for his team. Rivera and Torres are a fun team. I enjoyed this match and it’s the MOTN thus far.
Match Rating: ***
MATCH #6: IWF JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION JANA VS. JENNIFER
FINISH: Jana retains the title following a powerbomb out of the corner.
Bob’s Take: The crowd is heavily behind Jennifer, but I’ve never heard of either woman. I found myself not having any interest or focus in this. They came across of two female students for the IWF. I’m also not sure why there’s not a women’s championship as this is promoted as the Junior Heavyweight Championship. At least there was a strong finish.
Match Rating: *
MAIN EVENT: IWF HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION KEVIN KNIGHT VS. FRANCIZ
NOTE: Damian Adams is the referee for the match, who is associated with Franciz. The odds are stacked against Knight.
FINISH: Late in the match, Knight decks Adams and is disqualified for doing so. After the match, Knight pummels Franciz and grabs a steel chair, but Franciz escaped the ring.
Bob’s Take: As noted, Franciz is a young Fallah Bah, who worked for TNA from 2017-2021. Knight owns the company and similar to Corino, looks like a star compared to everyone else on the show. I’ve never been a gear snob, but I guess it makes a major difference on the indies, at least. From a physical standpoint, Knight looks a bit like JBL at this point. Moments after I typed that, Knight hit a running clothesline and I’m even more confident on my JBL comparison. Obviously, Adams makes the match more difficult for Knight, but the match is actually a lot better than i thought it would be. These two work pretty well with each other and they both have compelling offense. It’s a good battle between two of IWF’s top guys. The finish is a bit weak, but I’m interested in seeing another match between Knight and Franciz. I’m sure there’s going to be a match with Adams, too. So, they at least set some things up for future shows.
Match Rating: ***
Final Thoughts:
The runtime for the show is just over an hour, and I feel like it’s the ideal amount of time for an indie at this level. The matches featuring lesser known talent, or perhaps people not seasoned were kept to a length that it didn’t drag down the show too much or make me feel like this as a bad viewing. The tag match and the main event were good matches, and are the kinds of matches that make watching lesser known indies fun to watch. For context of the scale of IWF, I’d consider this an average show, but certainly not a must-see show. Knight, Franciz, Corino, Rivera, Torres, Steeler and Jenkins are guys that clearly have a skillset and worthwhile in IWF. The crowd seemed to have fun, which also helps the viewing experience, too.
Thanks for reading.