December 13th, IWL “The Mad Reaction” at American Legion Post #241, Baldwin Park The crowd may’ve trickled in, but they eventually filled the hall to capacity for this 9-match card.
P – Biagio Crescenszo p. Ali Hussein
Strong enough opener that saw some new moves from Ali, but he couldn’t get out of Biagio’s Sleeper Hold, which he rolled into what looked like a STO or a Modified Rock Bottom for a pin.
1 – Eric Watts p. B-Boy
Strong opener to the main part of the card that saw “Big Nasty” win the finisher battle, by nailing 3 straight Pump Kicks for the pin.
2 – Joseph Knox successfully defended the Breakout title over American Oni (w/ Priss)
A clean match that saw no intervention from Priss. Joseph Knox nailed his Muscle Buster finisher for the pin.
3 – Intergender Match — Steven Andrews p. Kahmora
Maybe it was a combination of Steven underestimating Kahmora, and employing typical heel tactics; but he had put her in a Schoolboy Rollup, putting weight on a picked apart left shoulder, and put his feet on the bottom ropes–that wasn’t caught by Referee Brian Flynn–for the underhanded pin.
4 – First of 2 No-DQ Matches — Justin Ryke p. Damon Divine
Good combination of a hardcore match, and Damon pulling off a good “Ebola outbreak prevention” gimmick. Ryke had to overcome getting his right ankle picked apart, finding an opening while Damon tried to “keep his hands clean” to nail a Spear, then 5 straight chair shots to the back, for the pin.
5 – Che Cabrera p. Chris Evans
The Revolution member foiled Chris Evans’s return to the promotion in a strong mid-card match, hitting the Uprising for the pin.
6 – Black Parade (Eli Everfly & Pinky) beat The Mixtape Kings (Jacob “The Riot” Diez & Jerome “LTP” Robinson)
Great tag team match that went back-and-forth. Pinky & Eli were able to fend off a team finisher attempt by Jacob & LTP, then hit their own team finisher on Jacob–a Double-Knee stomp from Eli on the top ropes, and the Pinky Bomb–for a team pin.
SM – 2nd No-DQ Match — Eric Cross p. Simon Lotto
Good back-and-forth action that saw a couple of chairs, as well as a trash can & lid used. While Eric couldn’t hit the “Cross Out”, he did manage to “squirt charcoal lighter fluid” on Simon’s face, then pinned him. Security & the referees had to stop him from “igniting the charcoal fluid to set Simon on fire”.
M – Submission Match — Ray Rosas successfully defended the Heavyweight title over Johnny Saovi
Great back-and-forth match that saw both men trade submission hold. Saovi went for an Indian Deathlock submission, but Ray managed to roll out of it, hit the Code Red or Mexican Destroyer, then roll it it into a submission hold of his own–kinda looked like an Anaconda Vise from my view–for the tapout.
Overall, a strong card to follow the PWG show the previous night. There is plenty of intrigue to come out of this card, especially with Johnny Saovi trying to prove something to the IWL fans, and the growing feud between Eric Cross & Simon Lotto. As for the tag team division, it remains to be seen, at least to me, as far as which tag team deserves a shot at The Young Bucks & the tag team titles, but The Black Parade seem to have a small edge. Kahmora showed some good moves not seen at the AWS show, and that should be something to look for going into this Saturday’s AWS/PWB show.
MOTN: Rosas/Saovi submission match, then the tag team match, then the Ryke/Divine match
For more photos of the show please visit my gallery here
