This is Draven UnScripted with a full recap on Insane Wrestling League’s “Too Insane For TV” which was held on Friday, June 28th in Bell Garden, ca.
IWL always kicks off their shows with a pre-match before the actual start of the show to get the crowd hyped up & the match is a 5 man scramble match for the #1 contendership to the IWL Breakout Championship.
Steven Andrews defeated Joseph Knox, Tyler Durken, Fresh 2 Death’s Leo Blaze & Santino Bro’s own Bruno Santana when Andrews kicked Durken in the head after he had Knox in a dragon sleeper & Andrews pinned Knox. Andrews is now the #1 contender for the Breakout Championship.
Anarchy Champion Ray Rosas & Eric Cross makes their way to the ring to address the crowd. Rosas was scheduled to face his PPRAY tag team partner “Pretty” Peter Avalon for the championship but unfortunately Avalon wasn’t able to make it. He then talked about his historic 498 days as Anarchy Champion & how he is “The Real World Champion” and not IWL Champion Johnny Saovi. Rosas then issued an open challenge to anyone on the roster & “The Riot” Jacob Diez answered the challenge.
Anarchy Championship
Ray Rosas defeated “The Riot” Jacob Diez with a Death Valley Driver to continue is reign as Anarchy Champion.
Afterwards, Rosas & Cross leaves the ring & shouts into the camera proclaiming that Rosas is the “Real” World Champion & has his eyes set on Johnny Saovi as the fans were chanting “499” to his title reign.
Breakout Championship
Simon Lotto defeated Che Cabrera with a Double Foot stomp from the top rope onto a upside down Cabrera to retain the breakout championship. After the match, both men showed respect & sportsmanship to each other.
Coming up next is the $1000.00 challenge match between Justin Ryke & Damon Divine. Ryke comes out with the money in hand & enters the ring, grabs the mic & calls out Divine but Divine nevered showed up. A frustrated Ryke talks about the issues with Divine stemming from a few months ago but wanting to compete for his home, Insane wrestling league & demands to compete against the best. And out of the blue, Pinky arrives & grabs the mic saying that Ryke is in “His Home” the Dojo & if its competition he wants, he’ll get it. But just as the bell was about to ring, Pinky made his exit & Ryke chased him, brawling on the outside until referee’s, security & IWL promoter Vic Luna seperated the two men. Vic said that this match won’t take place tonight but announced that Pinky will face Justin Ryke at the 1st ROKU taping on July 12th.
Bodyslam Match
Next is the bodyslam match with Terex & Eric Watts. Terex was making his way to the ring until Watts got the drop on him & attacked him before Terex got into the ring. Both men brawled on the floor & even outside of the facility, using weapons to weaken each other until they made their way back to the ring & the match officially started.
Terex defeated “Big Nasty” Eric Watts
Afterwards, Terex continued to beat down & deliver Terex’s devastating moonsault on a tired Eric Watts.
Eric Cross (w/Ray Rosas) defeated “The New Age Punisher” B-Boy when Rosas was able to distract B-Boy & Cross pinned him with a School Boy & a handful of tights to get the win.
IWL Tag Team Championship
The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) defeated Willie Mack & Famous B with the ref being taken out earlier, Nick Jackson hit a low blow on Mack & rolled up Mack with both Bucks covering him for the 3 count to retain the Tag Team championship.
IWL Championship
Johnny Saovi defeated Drake Younger when Rosas & Cross made their way to ringside, Rosas distracted the ref & Cross hit Younger with a loaded fanny pack which allowed Savoi to hit a Corkscrew Driver on Younger to retain the championship. After the match, Cross & Rosas attacked both men but Saovi was able to send Cross to the back & Rosas received a chair shot from Younger. Cross returned and issued a challenge to Saovi for a IWL Championship match on July 12th & Cross said once he defeated Saovi, he’ll go on to New Era 8 & face his buddy Ray Rosas in a Champion vs Champion match. After Rosas being carried back by Cross, both Younger & Saovi showed sportsmanship & left the ring.
A few weeks ago, Vic Luna made the announcement that IWL will no longer be having shows at the American Legion Hall in chino due to some issues that were beyond his control but still has a great bond with them in hopes that IWL will return someday to their home in chino. But with the last minute change in venue for “Too Insane For TV” going from the American Legion to Santino Bros, the attendance was a lot smaller which once again is something beyond both IWL & Santino’s control. But those faithful IWL fans did come out to show their love & respect to IWL regardless of the circumstances & were treated to a fantastic show. This show had a “Invasion” feel to it since IWL is wresting at Santino Bros & Santino students were on the card & made there presence known. And now with the partnership of Santino Bros & IWL, it will give both promotions more exposure on another level. We may see more Santino wrestlers compete on IWL Bi-weekly & possible Bi-monthly shows & we may see IWL’s roster possible compete on Championship Wrestling from Bell Gardens weekly show, so it looks like its a Win/Win senario.
I personally feel that this show gave everyone a little bit of everything. We had high flying, technical & some hardcore match up on this show with little to no botches in the matches, rivalries continued and respect was shown. Its difficult for me to choose a Match of the Night because every match brought something & I was entertained by all the matches. So for the 2nd time since I started reviewing a show, I say the whole card was excellent & I can’t pick just one match. So I’m going talk about each match:
5 man scramble
Knox, Durken, Blaze, Andrews & Santana put on a good match. We saw some technical wrestling as well as some high flying including from the biggest man in the match Joseph Knox. With Andrews getting the win, this sets up a continuing rivalry between the two former tag partners & we don’t know what to expect in Lotto vs Andrews 2. But overall, all 5 men showcased their talents, high flying, technical & brute strength to give the IWL fans a good way to start off the show.
Rosas vs Diez
Ray Rosas is one the hardest working talents in So cal competing on multiple promotions but in IWL he is king with a record 499 day reign as Anarchy champion. I feel what Ray Rosas is to IWL as Anarchy Champion is like Rob Van Dam as ECW TV Champ back in the 90’s. Rosas has faced some very tough competition as champion & Jacob Diez gave Rosas a run for his money. Diez had the heart, determination & he didn’t quit taking everything Rosas threw at him. Diez received a warm reception from the fans after his match & with this showing from Diez, I believe Diez will be someone to keep your eye on in the future.
Lotto vs Cabrera
Che Cabrera has had an amazing year since his debut to the wrestling scene over a year ago. At “Won’t Back Down”, Cabrera defeated 3 great talents to become the #1 contender & making him someone to watch. Simon Lotto since breaking off from his partner Steven Andrews has soared to great heights in becoming the 1st breakout champion & he proved that with hard work & determination, he’ll takedown all challengers that face him. This was a good match & was enjoyed by all which I hope to see this match again down the road.
Terex vs Watts
If I had to summarize this match in one word…BRUTAL & by brutal I mean in a positive way because both Terex & Watts beat the living tar out of each other. Both men fought outside of the Dojo facility on broke concrete, using the environment to their use. But once they made their way back it became a very hard & stiff match. Watts gave everything he had but unfortunately he wasn’t able to lift The Monster Terex for a bodyslam but Terex didn’t have that problem as he was able to easily lift Watts & slam him down. I don’t see this rivalry ending anytime soon in IWL which makes me wonder what type of match will these two men have next.
Cross vs B-Boy
For the last few months, Eric Cross & Ray Rosas have been causing trouble for B-Boy & Drake Younger in the IWL. B-Boy was looking to get some revenge against Cross in the single match but Cross showed B-Boy & the fans that he’s as tough as B-Boy. These two waged a war against each other & gave the fans an unbelievable match. We saw B-Boy introduce Cross to a wall & gave Santino Bros some new holes in wall to add to the decor. But Cross & Rosas was able to out think B-Boy to get the win. This match was a hard hitting, stiff match and we saw the fans being split down the middle in cheering for both men. This was a very good match, the best I’ve seen from Cross in some time & as for B-Boy, he’s the veteran & he deliver another great match that will be talked about for some time.
Young Bucks vs Willie Mack & Famous B
No question that Famous B & Willie Mack came into the match as the fan favs while The Young Bucks were booed. This matchup saw the quick & cagey Bucks use every trick in the book to stop Mack & B. This match had a lot of double team maneuvers, high flying & technical wrestling. Both team showed great chemistry & good storytelling but in the end, dirty tactics were used & The Bucks got the win. Both teams gave the fans a memorable match & hope to see these two teams face each other again some day.
Saovi vs Younger
Since debuting in IWL, Drake Younger has had outstanding matches that have been talked about to this day. His matches at the last two shows has left an impression in the minds of the fans to this day. With Younger getting the opportunity at a shot at the IWL Championships, fans wonder what will Drake pull out of his bag of tricks. For the champion Johnny Saovi, this match was a true test for him against “The Psycho Shooter”. Saovi wanting to leave his mark in IWL, accepted this match knowing what Younger is capable of proved that he can go toe to toe against him. Younger was very technical in this match, wearing down the champion but Saovi never gave up, getting out of many pin attempts from Younger. But not wanting to stay away from the action, Eric Cross & Ray Rosas got involved in the match providing an unneeded assist to Saovi. But as we see, this is a small part of Rosas/Cross master plan in getting shot at the IWL Championship. I believe Johnny Saovi does have a heart of champion even though he still faces criticism from others but overall this match was good. As for Drake Younger, we know he’s a hardcore type wrestler but its been a long time since I’ve seen him in a classic technical match without using weapons & it definitely opened a lot of eyes & I do see Drake Younger as a future champion in IWL.
Remember that IWL starting on Friday, July 12th will be having Bi-weekly tapings at the Santino Bros Dojo for IWL’s ROKU channel & at this show it’s been announced that IWL’s Justin Ryke will face Santino Bros Pinky in single competition. Also will IWL Champion Johnny Saovi accept the challenge from Eric Cross for a Championship match?
IWL will also continue to have Bi-Monthly shows as NEW ERA 8 will be taking place at the Monrovia Civic Center as of now its dated for Sunday, September 1st but like any show in Southern California..date, location & talent subject to change.
If you would like to see more photos of this show visit:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.521170971283408.1073741847.187945887939253&type=3&uploaded=63
So until next time, this is Mike Draven..signing off.