5/5 IWA Deep South: Quackenbush/Rinauro, Rave/Kingston, Pinata Death Match



IWA Deep South returned to the Pell City Civic Center with a Cinco De Mayo spectacular titled “South of the Border.”

This show was tilted more towards the typical IWA Mid-South style than their last foray into Pell City. So make no mistake, there was quality wrestling and excess violence aplenty. But three and a half hours is too long unless it’s really special, and two sick hardcore matches is one too many for me. But that’s just me. IWA Deep South’s niche audience has no problem with either issue. What they lack in numbers (105), their fans make up for with passion for the product. There’s something about the mix of locals and IWA freaks that give these shows a fun vibe.

(1) Ricochet beat Hallowicked in 8:07. I liked this match a lot. Match had a nice big man/little man dynamic. Hallowicked was remarkably adept in the role of the mean power guy, and the crowd was behind Ricochet bigtime right from the get go. Hallowicked made a heads up adjustment to break Ricochet’s fall on an insane corkscrew dive that was a little off the mark. It got the first “IWA” chant of the night. Ricochet did a pair of 619 style sit spins. Two was one too many, as Hallowicked met him with a dropkick to take over. Ricochet came back with a hot sunset flip hope spot. Ricochet scored with a 619 to the back of Hallowicked’s head and followed up with a missile dropkick. They went back and forth with big near falls: Hallowicked with a Spinesplitta, Ricochet with a backslide bomb to set up a tornado DDT, Hallowicked with a big boot to the head, Ricochet with a small package to counter a fisherman suplex. The finish was a knuckle lock luchaesque version of a flip piledriver. An excellent opener.

(2) Insane Lane beat Cabana Man Dan in 12:34. This was a chance for Lane to show that he’s got more to his game than hardcore balls of steel. He made the most of it. Both men were greeted with sizable babyface pops. “The mental messiah” came out wearing a towel on his head and a crown of barbed wire. Lane opened with chain wrestling. Dan tattooed Lane’s head with forearm shots and a big knee. Dan got a near fall with a classic version of what Tony Schiavone always called a spinwheel kick on WCW and used a cool cradle for another. Lane turned the tide with a crushing middle rope DDT. Lane unleashed an arsenal of high impact moves for near falls. Both guys were showing signs of exhaustion. Dan blocked a half nelson suplex and hit an STO for a near fall. It was time to bust out THE FLIP FLOP CHOPS~! Dan donned the flip flops to deliver a basement dropkick. The action spilled to the outside. Dan kicked off the apron and implanted Lane in the linoleum with a Sliced Bread #2. A killer spot. Lane managed to kick out of the cover. Lane dropped Dan on his head with the half nelson suplex and countered Dan’s flying headscissors with a DVD for the pin. Fans gave it the “that was awesome” chant. It was a very good match for what they were wanting to accomplish with Lane, but I wouldn’t go quite that far.

Dan refused to shake Lane’s hand. Now that was awesome. It caught the crowd by surprise and caused bigtime heat on Dan.

The self-proclaimed toughest man in Pell City, Alabama entered the ring with a pregunta for Cinco de Mayo. “Is Larry Sweeney looking good tonight?” Sweeney bragged about beating both Brad and Bob Armstong and issued a challenge to anyone from the back. That lead to…

(3) Larry Sweeney beat Mickie Knuckles in 11:06. The lowlife, narcissistic grunt’s string of screwjob wins stayed intact. Knuckles was billed as “a walking episode of COPS.” Sweeney had to work Mickie stiffer than the legends, or she would have eaten him up. Funny spot early where Sweeney wanted to cheap shot Knuckles, but she was ready for it. Sweeney claimed that Mickie flinched. Sweeney turned around to find Mickie in his face and bailed out. Sweeney cheated on a test of strength. Sweeney speared Knuckles and for a moment, it looked like a catfight. They brawled at ringside. Mickie put Sweeney in a full nelson and invited some of the fans to chop away. In the ring, Sweeney poked Knuckles in the eyes and taunted her as she swung blindly. Sweeney did the Garvin Stomp and made a one foot cover. Sweeney hit a butterfly suplex for a two count. Knuckles stunned Sweeney with a jawbreaker. She went on the attack with stiff strikes and a jumping lariat for a near fall. Sweeney hit a gordbuster but Knuckles got a foot over the ropes. Sweeney brought a chair in. The ref (don’t know his name but he looks like the Amish Roadkill of referees) got bumped as he pulled the chair away from Sweeney. Knuckles got a rolling reverse cradle but no ref to count. The ref took another bump on Knuckles inside cradle. With the ref down, Sweeney gave Knuckles a piledriver on the chair for the 1-2-3.

(4) Tank & Iceberg beat Drake Younger & Eddie Kingston to retain the IWA Deep South tag titles in 12:08 Younger worked most of the way for reasons that would become obvious. The champs weren’t overly anxious to mix it up at the outset. Kingston and Younger used high impact double teams to clear the ring. At the 4 minute mark, Iceberg interfered with a knee to Younger’s back and Tank leveled him with a lariat. The behemoths unleashed a devastating series of moves including a Umaga style charging butt smash by Iceberg and a pair of cannonball corner splashes. They destroyed Younger for the rest of the match with Iceberg doing the majority of the damage. Kingston finally got a tag. He traded spinning back fists with Tank, which was probably not such a good idea. Tank smoked Kingston with a chokebreaker. The finish was Iceberg hitting a slice ‘n dice legdrop from the middle rope to the back of Younger’s neck. Ouch.

(5) Danny Havoc beat Diehard (Dustin Lee) in a Light Tubes and Ladders Match chock full of senseless violence and bloodshed (16 minutes). Ring announcer Chris Castle did a PSA informing the crowd that there would be flying glass. No s***. If this match had been a part of the TOD in Cullman, it would have ranked in the top half. They chain wrestled and it was better than Lane’s stuff. The lucha spot not so much. Diehard busted a light tube over Havoc’s head at the 2 minute mark. Havoc came back with a flatliner and drew blood by gouging the jagged edge of the tube into Diehard’s arm. Diehard bridged a third ladder between two ladders and gave Havoc a ghastly wheelbarrow facebuster onto the bridged ladder. That spot got an “IWA” chant. Diehard stuffed Havoc’s t-shirt with tubes and did a top rope double stomp, while Havoc was still laid out across the bridged ladder. The crowd erupted with “holy s***.” Diehard paused to tape up his arm before giving Havoc a legdrop, exploding the light tubes underneath. Havoc carved up Diehard’s back with the edge of a light tube and stomped more light tubes into his back. Diehard’s back was bleeding like crazy. Havoc dropped Diehard on his head with a Northern lights bomb. Diehard was convulsing. But this was no time for long-term selling. Diehard nailed Havoc with a running knee to the face. Havoc flew backward, exploding a set of light tubes on the landing. With Havoc perched on the top rope and holding a light tube, Diehard gave him an uppercut through the tube, busting Havoc’s mouth open. Havoc came back with a light-tube loaded dragon suplex, but Diehard kicked out. The finish was beyond sick. Havoc set up two ladders at ringside and laid Diehard out on a bridged ladder. Havoc started climbing to the top to for a suicidal something. The good news was that Diehard got off the ladder. The bad news was he ended up taking a DVD from the apron through the ladder onto three light tubes. The impact busted the ladder I half. Havoc got the pin with a rolling cradle. Unfortunately, Diehard’s shoulders were clearly not on the mat. Damn, I hate that sh***. Both guys were left devastated by the over-the-top level of carnage.

(6) Freakshow beat Ian Rotten in a Piñata Death Match by driving a spike into Rotten’s head to get the submission at 10:15. A variety of piñatas were strung on barbed wire above the ring, and a variety of weapons were available in the ring. Freakshow got a pop. So did Rotten, who was chomping his gum to beat the band. Rotten was wrestling with both of his rotator cuffs badly messed up. Rotten wasted no time busting Freakshow up with tack bat shots to the head. Rotten broke the first piñata, showering the crowd with candy. Freakshow took a barbed wire bat to Rotten’s arm, and blood was flowing freely from the both of them. Rotten used a nail studded kendo crutch on Freakshow’s gut. Rotten gave Freakshow some palm strikes and his palm was covered in blood. Rotten broke open one of the piñatas, found a boxcutter inside, and used it on Freakshow’s forehead. Freakshow had the crimson mask in full effect. Freakshow ripped at Rotten’s arm with the boxcutter. Freakshow broke a piñata that was filled with salt and light bulbs. He rubbed salt into Rotten’s open wound. Rotten crushed a light bulb into Freakshow’s back and the crowd chanted “Ian.” Rotten bashed Freakshow over the head with a piñata filled with tacks. They traded sick headbutts until Freakshow went down face first. Rotten busted open the last piñata and got pissed when it was empty. Freakshow made the big comeback with a pair of corner splashes and then threw salt into Rotten’s eyes. Rotten held out for a long time before tapping. Knuckles hit the ring to protect Rotten. Freakshow gave Knuckles a full nelson slam and said he wasn’t finished with Rotten. Freakshow took a staple gun to Rotten’s mangled forehead. Younger made the save. Younger started yelling at Freakshow for taking it too far. Freakshow said, “You just call 911 is all I got to say.”

IWA Deep South personnel hustled Rotten out to his SUV with a towel over his forehead. Knuckles and Younger frantically packed up their stuff and took off with Rotten, presumably headed to the ER.

(7) Chuck Taylor beat Chrisjen Hayme in with a tilt-a-whirl piledriver at 10:52. They did a lot of stuff in this match. Some of it was good and some of it reeked of indietastic. Taylor’s wacky personality made more of an impression than the wrestling. Taylor came out with a basketball and missed a layup for immediate heat. Taylor was horrified at the condition of the ring, so he took a push broom to it. Taylor threw a tantrum when he couldn’t cope with Hayme’s snappy reversal. Hayme was all over Taylor with crisp pinning combinations that earned a well-deserved pop. Taylor rallied with a back suplex and a “grenade” elbow drop. Taylor strapped Hayme to the tree of woe and bounced the basketball off his gut. Taylor was on a roll, until Hayme rolled out from under his quebrada. Comeback time. Hayme’s split-legged moonsault to the outside looked messed up. Hayme flew from the top. Taylor tried to counter with a powerbomb but never really got a grip. Hayme hit a top rope huracanrana and followed with tornado DDT for a near fall. Hayme used a german suplex with a bridge. Taylor kicked out and caught Hayme with his finisher. Taylor missed a 15 footer on his way out.

Jimmy Rave entered the ring sporting a hideous black eye from his adventures in ROH. Rave said he expected to be in main event title matches, not wrestling a student (Jigsaw). Rave said there wasn’t one CHIKARA guy that could carry his jockstrap. This was a fine heat seeking promo. Sweeney, who was helping out on commentary, got upset. Enter Eddie Kingston. Kingston said Jigsaw couldn’t make it because he had a concussion. Rave whined about his eye.

(8) Jimmy Rave beat Eddie Kingston via submission in 13:50. Fans were chanting for Kingston to hit Rave in the eye. It’s old news, but I’m always struck by what a great heel Rave has become. He stalled to build heat. Then he spit in Kingston’s face. Kingston blasted Rave with a forearm and Rave ran away selling his eye. Rave pulled Kingston out of the ring and opened up on him. Rave posted Kingston. Rave choked with his boot and intimidated the hell out of ref Bryce Remsburg. Rave took a bump over the top when Kingston ducked his flying knee. They built toward the finish with a series of close near falls. Rave speared Kingston and hit his running knee, but Kingston kicked out. Kingston hit a uranage suplex, a spinning back fist and the Blackout Boot. Just when Rave looked done for, he dropkicked Kingston in the knee and applied the heel hook. Kingston tapped. Rave wouldn’t quit. Sweeney got a pop for making the save.

(9) Mike Quackenbush beat Salvatore Rinauro via submission to retain the IWA Deep South Title in the match of the night (20:55). Quackenbush’s facial expressions added a lot to this match. Fans are solidly behind him as the babyface champion. The early portion of the match was devoted to Rinauro’s comedy routine. Two matches in a row with long stalling segments was a bit much, but the crowd couldn’t resist Rinauro’s chicken imitation. The highlight was Quackenbush putting Rinauro in a double hammerlock and forcing him to flap his wings. Rinauro spit in Quack’s face. Rinauro flew over the ropes after taking an atomic drop. Rinauro offered a handshake that Quackenbush magically turned into a single leg crab. The rest of the match saw Quackenbush repeatedly zero in on the leg, with Rinauro pulling every low down trick in the book to fend him off. Quackenbush tried for the Lightning Lock Beta. The crowd chanted “chicken boy sucks” at Sal. Rinauro crotch-dropped Quack on the top rope and rubbed him the wrong way. Rinauro bit him in the forehead. Rinauro hit a swivel hips Rude Awakening for a near fall. Rinauro dominated here. Rinauro went to the top, and Quackenbush cut him off with a jumping headbutt to the gut. Quackenbush hit a top rope superplex. Remsberg’s count reached six. Quackenbush launched a furious flurry of offense. He hit a flying double knee and applied a figure four leglock, but Rinauro made the ropes. Rinauro countered with a stunner out of nowhere for a close near fall. Quackenbush regained the advantage and called for the Sharpshooter. Rinauro fought it off. Rinauro busted out Pass the Courvoisier (corkscrew springboard 180 kick) for a near fall. After a pretzel like pinning combination by Quackenbush, he got a Texas Cloverleaf in center ring that forced Rinauro to tap.

NOTES: Last night’s show was taped for DVD release by Smart Mark Video…Full Throttle Wrestling in Elkmont, Alabama is bringing in Samoa Joe for their weekly show on 6/12…IWA Mid-South is bringing in A J. Styles for 5/11 in Plainfield, IN and 5/12 in Joliet, IL. The Joliet show has Styles vs. Tiger Mask IV, Kingston vs. Hotstuff Hernandez, and Human Tornado vs. Ricochet…The Candido Cup is set for Memorial Day weekend (5/25 and 5/26) in Midlothian, IL with a 16 team tournament to crown the new IWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions…The 2007 King of the Death Match Tournament will be held in Plainfield on 6/22 and 6/23…Tickets are moving well for the 2007 Ted Petty Invitational on 9/28 and 9/29 in Midlothian with Joe vs. Low Ki in the opening round…Former GCW and Deep South ring announcer Dan Masters has some interesting clips up on You Tube.
Gerweck