September 28th, IWL “New Era 9” at the Monrovia Masonic Temple Lodge. A strong card from IWL’s return in several months drew a large crowd.
P – The American Oni made Blake Greyson tapout
Good pre-show match that saw Oni put in a submission finisher that I couldn’t see, but he got him to tap.
1 – Joseph Knox won the Breakout title from Simon Lotto
…and this was after Simon tried to get in Eric Cross’s face, after he interrupted the match, and cut a promo. That led to Eric unloading on Simon, then hit the Cross Out. Still, Joseph had to work for the title, hitting a Modified Muscle Buster for the pin.
2 – The Mixtape Kings (Jacob Diez & Jerome “LTP” Robinson, w/ Lizzy Sunshine) beat The Black Parade (Eli Everfly & Pinky)
Great tag team match that ended with LTP hitting a Top Rope Double-Stomp on Eli, which Jacob rolled into an amplified Overhead Slam for the pin.
3 – Seville The Thrill p. Leo Blaze
The match may’ve been more appealing to some people, if Seville had kept his mouth shut (ref. Mike D.’s recent interview with him). Otherwise, it was pretty even, and Seville had enough smarts to roll out of the ring after eating the Corkscrew Brainbuster, crawled under the ring, and came back out the other side, “blowing salt” into Leo’s face, then rolled him up for the pin.
4 – Justin Ryke p. Eric Watts to become the #1 Contender for the Anarchy title
Good, even match between the two big men, but then Damon Divine interrupted things, distracting both men. Justin was able to roll Eric up for the pin, then called Damon out. Plenty of chaos ensued then, and security had to get Damon out of there.
5 – Che Cabrera p. Steven Andrews
Another good match that Che ended by hitting the Uprising for the pin.
6 – PPA won the Anarchy title from Joey Ryan
The match was as “gentleman-like” as Joey Ryan wanted it. The strong, even match was great from start-to-finish, with the finish being PPA’s Marti-Knees from the top rope for the pin, avoiding the Mustache Ride.
SM – 2-of-3 Falls, Tag Team, Steel Cage Title Match between The Monster Mafia (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) & The Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson).
Fall 1, Traditional Tag Team Rules: It started outside the cage, where Josh got busted open early during the brawl. The Mafia duo were able to keep Nick out of the cage, isolating Matt, and allowing Josh to hit a Tombstone Piledriver for the pin.
Fall 2, Tornado Tag Team Rules: Crazy action ensued with all four men trading moves. The brothers took control late in the “2nd stanza”, cranking up the Superkick Party on both Ethan & Josh for simultaneous pins.
Final Fall, Cage Escape Only: There were plenty of close moments, as both teams tried to climb out of the cage. Best part came when Nick did a leap from the top of the cage for the Cutler Driver on Ethan. Some final shots on Josh, and the brothers were able to climb out, and down onto the floor to regain the titles.
M – Triple Threat, Heavyweight Steel Cage Title Match between Ray Rosas, Eric Cross, & Johnny Saovi, contested under House of Insanity Rules, with No Cage Escape Victory
Neither men didn’t disappoint in the main event. Plenty of brawling inside & outside the cage, with a few steel chairs, a shopping cart, and even a table that was later lit on fire! All three men had a chance to score the win, but Johnny Saovi couldn’t put either of his opponents away, even with Sliced Bread #2 on Rosas. Nor could Eric Cross “Cross Out” either of the other two men, and ended up being the one who got Superplexed….ONTO THE FLAMING TABLE….for the “most insane moment of the night”! In the end, it was Ray who overcame getting his surgically repaired right knee picked apart after smashing it onto the shopping cart early on, hitting a Flying Headbutt from the top of the cage for the pin, then got laid out by a pissed off Saovi.
Shot of the Night – 09-28-2014
Can you blame Saovi for laying out Rosas? After all, it was at “New Era 8” that Rosas busted open Saovi in the ladder match, and tore a muscle. That being said, the card was great, the Sunday crowd was lively enough, and the match outcome left plenty of storylines to follow going into the 11/16 show back in Monrovia. MOTN honors obviously go to both steel cage matches.
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