IWA - Nonstop To Nowhere - Wonderland Ballroom - Revere, MA (Card #1019)● IWA Commissioner David Marquez welcomed the fans to a big night of action featuring the highly anticipated debut of On The Mat, the official television broadcast of the IWA. Marquez said that the IWA has been heating up with the big show during WrestleCade X weekend followed by King of Trios and now On The Mat. With all of the talent currently appearing in the promotion he was looking for two men to try and step up to the next level and with that he announced that Rich Swann would square off against Joey Ryan on the card. He added extra incentive and said that the winner of that match would face none other than Kevin Steen on the next card in Hamden, CT (Card #1020) with the opportunity to really impress IWA officials. Marquez then joked that he had said enough and wanted the fans to enjoy the card beginning with On The Mat.
IWA On The Mat:
● The official IWA television debut opened with a great video highlight package capped off by what took place during King of Trios weekend. Play by play announcer Gavin Loudspeaker, who also handles ring announcing duties for the IWA, then headed to ringside to big cheers from the crowd. He welcomed the fans and the home viewers to the inaugural broadcast of On The Mat and then introduced his broadcast partner and color commentator – Randy “Macho Man” Savage! The crowd erupted in cheers as the “Macho Man” Headed to ringside trading high fives with ringsiders. Savage then let out an “Oh Yeaaaaah!” and said that he welcomed this chance to be a part of the hottest promotion in LOW, the IWA, and that one day he would be returning to the ring with the IWA. The crowd cheered that and then Loudspeaker said that he had a big announcement to make and that was that the Pringle Dynasty (Brian Cage, Lance Hoyt, Brodie Lee, Big Duke and manager Percy Pringle III) have been cleared to return from suspension on the IWA event taking place in Chicago Ridge, IL (Card #1029). The crowd jeered that but then Loudspeaker informed them that their return will be in the main event on the second On The Mat broadcast and that they will have to face the man that they injured, Diamond Dallas Page, and three mystery partners in eight-man tag team action. Savage said that was “awesome news” and that now it was time to kick off the action saying that there was no better way than to ring it in than with the King of Trios winning team – The Shield (Jon Moxley, Tyler Black & Drew Galloway).
1)
Jon Moxley, Tyler Black & Drew Galloway defeated Wild Bill White, Big Sue Jackson & George Gatton:
The crowd erupted in cheers as The Shield headed to the ring to take on Wild Bill White, Big Sue Jackson and George Gatton. A fired up Moxley started things off but White seized control and scored a one count with a shoulder breaker. The 366-pound Jackson, who formerly competed in Olde Wrestling Extravaganza, then caught Moxley with the Close Shave but he kicked out at two. The tide turned when they went to the outside where Moxley roughed up Jackson including running him into a row of chairs. Back inside he locked a Fujiwara armbar on Jackson going for the submission but Gatton made the save. The Shield then took turns assaulting Jackson before Black impressively caught him with an F5 to score the pin. The crowd cheered the victory by The Shield as Savage went over to ringside for an interview to try and find out how the team came together and it was Black that answered that question and delivered a big statement.
TB: “The Shield was formed out of necessity with injustice taking place all over LOW. I was teaming with Moxley over in Europe for the Global Wrestling Association and it was there that we got together with Drew who was on injury leave from the IWA. He told us about what was going on in the IWA, namely him being put out of action by Ultramantis Black who has since been driven out of the company by the “Chosen One”, and that gave us an idea. We decided to get together once we got out our GWA contracts we joined Drew here in the IWA to form The Shield. From day one we sent a message that no one will stand in our way and we proved that when we won King of Trios in Philadelphia. We are the hounds of justice and we will seek it out against anyone we feel that is doing wrong in our eyes. There are five guys on our hit list right now and they are being put on notice. Are you listening to me Pringle Dynasty? You boys did a real number on Diamond Dallas Page and put him out of action but guess what he is coming back and we will have his back. That’s right, Pringle Dynasty, The Shield will be joining DDP to face you in that eight-man tag team match in Chicago and I promise you that justice will indeed be served.”
2)
Adam Pearce defeated Chavo Pequeno:
The masked Chavo Pequeno, a luchadore out of Mexico City, Mexico, took on “Scrap Iron’ Adam Pearce in singles action. The crowd was still buzzing over the big announcement by The Shield and both Loudspeaker and Savage discussed it as this match got underway. Pearce was dominant in the bout and put Pequeno away pretty quickly as he laid him out with a powerslam and applied the Figure Four Leglock for a submission victory. Pearce afterward pulled the camera towards him and said that what he did to Pequeno is what he will do to anyone who gets in his way of an IWA Heavyweight title shot.
3)
Adrian Armour defeated Bobby Fish by Count Out:
Bobby Fish, one-half of reDRagon along with Kyle O’Reilly, was in singles action taking on Atlanta, GA, native Adrian Armour who formerly competed for Atlanta Wrestling Entertainment on the independent circuit. During the match both Loudspeaker and Savage addressed the next IWA card in Hamden, CT, which will feature two big championship matches – Michael Elgin defending the IWA Heavyweight title against former champion Delirious of the House of Truth and O’Reilly getting his highly anticipated rematch with Chuck Taylor for the IWA J-Crown title. Fish held control early until Armour caught him with the Code Black, a flying knee off of the second turnbuckle. He then hit the Dungeon Queen, a Cradle Swinging Facebuster, prompting Fish to bail out of the ring. As Armour argued with the referee, Taylor suddenly ran down to ringside and nailed Fish with the Awful Waffle on the floor! Fish was knocked out and as Taylor scurried to the back the referee turned around and issued a ten count giving Armour a huge win. Fish had to be helped to the back afterward but was said to not be seriously injured.
4)
Mark & Jay Briscoe defeated 3.0 by DQ:
The television main event saw the free agent team of 3.0 (Scott Jagged” Parker & “Big Magic” Shane Matthews) take on Mark & Jay Briscoe. This match was ordered by IWA Commissioner David Marquez based on an incident at King of Trios where the Briscoes and their tag partner Mikey O’Shea assaulted Parker after losing to 3.Ole. That forced Parker to miss the semi-final round due to injury and so Marquez issued a heavy fine to the Briscoes and O’Shea and set up this match despite 3.0 not being under contract to the IWA. 3.0 were looking to make the most of this one night opportunity and gain a measure of revenge against Dem Boys. Marquez added a little incentive as well by stating that if 3.0 won they would be considered for IWA contracts. The early action was dominated by the Briscoes as they got the heat on a fired up Parker. His thirst for revenge may have cost him as he seemed to lose focus. After Jay laid him out with a piledriver it was Parker managing to roll over and make the tag. Matthews burst into the ring and quickly nailed Jay with the Big Magic Spear for a two count. He then tossed him out of the ring where all four men got involved in the action. The referee tried to break it up but Matthews let his temper get the best of him and decked the official in an attempt to continue his attack on Jay. That led to the referee calling for the bell and awarding Mark & Jay Briscoe the win via disqualification. The crowd jeered the decision and post-match it was officials having to separate both teams before escorting 3.0 back to the locker room.
Mark & Jay Briscoe remained at ringside with Jay grabbing the mic saying that he had something to say. Savage remarked that the censors better be ready now that Jay has control of the mic. He quickly tore down 3.0 and boasted about costing them IWA contracts and sarcastically wished them well in their “future endeavors”. He then talked about the IWA tag team titles and said that Dem Boys had been “disrespected” and have never been given a “fair shot” to win the belts. He said that once they take the tag gold that he will go after the IWA Heavyweight title and Mark will go after the LOW-Tex Arkana Television title. With all of those belts in their possession he added that Mark might drop a few pounds and take the IWA J-Crown title so that he could hold three titles at the same time. Mark expressed joy at the thought of being a triple champion but Jay told him to cool down so that “those fools in the crowd would stop cheering for us.” The crowd jeered that and Jay laughed it off but the laughter ended quickly as two men wearing hoodies raced into the ring and dropkicked both men from behind. The Briscoes were sent out of the ring and the two men followed with big dives over the ropes taking Dem Boys out. The two then raced back into the ring and yanked off their hoods revealing
Paul London & Brian Kendrick to a big pop from the crowd. The Briscoes recovered and threatened to get back into the ring but were sent to the back by IWA officials. It was later learned that London and Kendrick, reuniting after several years competing apart, will make their IWA tag team debut facing Mark & Jay Briscoe in Chicago Ridge, IL (Card #1029). Loudspeaker and Savage then signed off ending an eventful first edition of On The Mat.
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5)
Joey Ryan defeated Rich Swann:
The non-televised portion of the card kicked off the aforementioned match between Rich Swann and Joey Ryan. The prize for the winner was a match with Kevin Steen in Hamden, CT, and while not a prize most would want it gave both men a chance to defeat one of the top ranked contenders in the IWA. The early action switched back and forth before Ryan took control locking on ‘Nuff Said, a crossface chicken wing hold. That set up a nice offensive from Ryan who twice hit the Walk-Off, his version of the superkick, but Swann kicked out both times. The crowd rallied behind Swann who mounted a big comeback hitting the Leap From Swann Pond and the standing 450 Splash. He then hit the Tornado Spin Kick covering Ryan for a two count. Ryan looked out of it but managed to counter Swann by picking him off of the top rope with a bodyslam. Ryan then caught a stunned Swann with a Powerslam and grabbed the tights for extra leverage to score the pin. Ryan relished in his big win until the crowd started chanting “Kill Steen Kill” reminding Ryan what he had actually won – a match with “Wrestling’s Worst Nightmare” Kevin Steen!
6)
Davey Richards & Matt Taven defeated Bryan Danielson & Eddie Edwards:
“The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson joined forces with “Die Hard” Eddie Edwards to take on House of Truth members Davey Richards & Matt Taven who were accompanied by their manager Truth Martini. The rivalry between former American Wolves partners Edwards and Richards has been pretty intense and that was no different in this tag team match. Richards and Taven worked pretty well together keeping Danielson and Edwards on the defensive for a good stretch. Edwards took a real beating and Taven nearly pinned him with the Climax, a headlock driver. Richards also took great delight in assaulting Edwards nailing him with both the Alarm Clock and kicked to death. Edwards bounced back trapping Taven in the Achilles Lock and made the hot tag. Danielson exploded on offense hitting the back superplex on Taven followed by a Dragon suplex for a big near fall. Danielson and Richards had a terrific exchange after that finishing with Richards hitting a suicide dive and rolling the “American Dragon” back in and cradling him for a near fall. Edwards showed fire late but was nearly pinned by Taven with a roll-up after a missed charge in the corner. Richards then hit the Alarm Clock on Edwards for another near fall before trapping him in the Cloverleaf. Danielson tried to break it up but was cut off by Taven and the end result saw Edwards unable to escape and he tapped out. Richards and Taven won it via submission and Danielson pulled Edwards out to safety afterward to prevent a post-match attack.
7)
Matt Cross, Sami Callihan & Willie Mack defeated Eddie Kingston, Mikey O’Shea & Moose:
Trios action saw Matt Cross, Sami Callihan & Willie Mack team up to take on the “War King” Eddie Kingston, Mikey O’Shea & Moose. Kingston, a former holder of the IWA Heavyweight title, set the pace early nailing Cross with the Yakuza Kick followed by a Thesz Press and punches. The “War King” looked to be in rare form as he pummeled Cross. O’Shea tagged in and followed suit leveling Cross with the Spine Destroyer. Cross finally escaped and tagged Callihan who helped turn the match around for his team. Callihan unleashed his suplex attack and hit the suicide dive shaking up both him and O’Shea. The crowd popped when Da Mack got into the ring with Moose setting off an intense confrontation. Mack got the better of it and set up a near win for his team leveling Moose with a corner clothesline setting up a tag to Callihan who applied the Stretch Muffler for a submission chance. The finish of a hard fought battle saw Cross nail Moose with the Space Flying Tiger Drop and then fire him back into the ring where he rolled him up for the pin as Callihan and Mack prevented a save from being made. Kingston and O’Shea were pissed off over the loss and actually began putting the boots to Moose post-match until he recovered and let out a primal scream chasing the two out of the ring. Moose then grabbed the mic and said that no one does that to him and he vowed to get revenge on Kingston and O’Shea.
8)
LOW Tex-Arkana Television title: Roderick Strong© defeated Nigel McGuinness to retain the title:
The very capable Nigel McGuinness out of London, England, became the latest man to attempt to win the LOW Tex-Arkana Television title from Roderick Strong, the defending champion who was accompanied by his manager Truth Martini. Strong has held onto the title for almost one and a half years having upset the One Man Gang for it in Manhattan, NY (Card #880) and going into this match had survived an LOW record of twenty-six title defenses. The early advantaged switched often as the two men looked for an opening. McGuinness got it and he executed the devastating Tower of London, a Diamond Cutter variation out of the corner, and then scored a two count with a swinging kick and downward lariat. Martini paced frantically at ringside clutching on to his Book of Truth as Strong began battling back. Strong twice locked on the Stronghold, his punishing elevated Boston Crab hold, but somehow McGuinness was able to fight to the ropes for a break. A short-arm lariat by Nigel led to a two count before both men went down from a double clothesline out of the corner. Strong recovered first and hit the Sick Kick for a big near fall. That set up a third execution of the Stronghold and this time it proved to be the charm as McGuinness was forced to tap out. Strong won it by submission and a jubilant Martini grabbed the title belt and joined him in the ring as he made a successful version twenty-seven defense of the title.
9)
Jay Lethal defeated Austin Aries:
Two men that were on the same team at King of Trios were now on opposite sides of the ring as “A Double” Austin Aries took on Jay Lethal who was accompanied by his manager SoCal Val. A failed attempt by Val to sign Aries and Moose, the third member of Project Val in the tournament, led to her demanding this match as she wanted Lethal to put Aries in his place. Lethal nearly won it early when he ducked a clothesline by Aries and executed a dragon suplex for a near fall. Lethal followed up hitting Hail to the King and then applied the Koji Clutch but Aries was able to fight out of the hold. Aries bounced back and set up Lethal for the 450 Splash but he missed the move in spectacular fashion. Lethal took over again and hit Diving Dynamite for a two count. Val encouraged him from ringside as IWA photographer Dr. Mike Lano snapped photos of the action. Lethal then went for the figure four leglock but Aries countered out and hit a Death Valley Driver for a two count. Aries then went for a deathjump but Lethal avoided it and the referee went down instead. During the down time it was Lethal hitting Lethal Injection but no count could be made. Aries fought back as the referee recovered and hit a frog splash for another near fall. Lethal then fired him out of the ring and controversy occurred as Val nailed Aries with a low blow. Aries struggled back into the ring and right into a Lethal Injection resulting in the three count. Lethal and Val were proud of their actions and Val made a gesture that Aries was a “loser” drawing jeers from the crowd.
10)
IWA tag team titles: Kings of Wrestling© defeated The Colony to retain the titles:
The Colony (Fire Ant & Soldier Ant), who were accompanied by Green Ant, made a bid to win the IWA tag team titles from the Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli) in the main event. Former holders of the CHIKARA Campeonatos de Parejas, The Colony hoped to add to their well established legacy by winning the IWA tag team titles. Green Ant went over pre-match strategy with hid Colony teammates but was then ordered to leave the ringside area by the referee. The Kings of Wrestling, now in their impressive third reign as the IWA tag team champions, looked focus from the opening bell. They kept The Colony on the defensive for a good stretch and it was a Royal Bomb that set up Hero hitting a running elbow strike on Fire Ant for a two count. The Colony battled back briefly before The Kings went on another lengthy offensive keeping the Ants on the defensive once again. The finish saw the Kings strike with KRS Two, an elevated double release power bomb, with Hero covering Fire Ant to score the pin. It was a successful version one defense of the titles for the Kings of Wrestling who no doubt impressed everyone with this win over The Colony.
