By Steve Juon
Opening match - Age of the Fall defeated the SoulTouchaz. The members of ST are Marshe Rocket, Trauma, Acid Jazz but I'm not sure which two of the three wrestled as the contest took place before we arrived. (Yes, I'm kicking myself for not realizing Age of the Fall would go on FIRST.)
R2: Egotistico Fantastico defeated Josh Jaymond to advance to the semi-finals bracket of the Invitational. The finish occured just before we walked in the door so I'm unsure what Ego did to win - my apologies.
R2: Drake Younger defeats 'Canadian Crazy Horse' Michael Elgin in a reversal of fortunes from night one, where Younger took down Elgin and grounded 'n pounded him until Elgin begged off and the ref called for the bell. This was a SUPER OVER finish and a good set-up for events later.
R2: Claudio Castagnoli defeats Dave Taylor in one of the best matches of the night, with a surprise finish where Taylor fell victim to a simple backslide pinfall. Taylor played this up for all it was worth, making it seem as though Castagnoli had just barely gotten by, but this was not one of those "even Steven" matches where neither person looked good. Instead both men came out shining from having hit each other with the best in their arsenal, and Taylor got a rousing ovation from the crowd afterwards along with chants of PLEASE COME BACK.
R2: Sara Del Ray defeats Cassandro in a very fun match which included an insane suicide dive by Cassandro into the front row of chairs, but it didn't stop Ray from getting the tapout submission in the end. Cassandro also got the PLEASE COME BACK chant.
R2: 2 Cold Scorpio defeats Ace Steel to advance to the next bracket of the TPI. Steel played up a lack of respect for Scorpio early, repeatedly shoving and mocking him, but by the end of the match Scorpio tied him up in knots he couldn't get out of for the pinfall and Steel begrudgingly showed Scorpio respect for the victory. Steel was far more over with the crowd on this night than he was during night one. Steel asked for five more minutes and Scorpio said too bad son, WAIT 'TIL NEXT YEAR!
R2: Sami Callihan defeats Eddie Kingston to advance to the semi-final bracket of the tournament in the last match before intermission. During intermission they set up the steel cage for the Hades v. Quick match (loser gives up the name Jason, as well as Hades title on the line).
Intermission gave us the chance to go outside and do interviews with Dr. Keith Lipinski, Joey Eastman, Jaysin Strife and more - check out the audio posted above or subscribe on iTunes (keyword: angrymarks) to hear it all! Two notes from the interview: 1.) Keith was jealous that we took Jimmy Jacobs, Michael Z and Brian Skyline to Cracker Barrel for dinner, but I had to remind him that Jacobs had never gotten his "fat check" from appearing for Wrestling Society X on MTV. 2.) Joey Eastman made a promise that we would be seeing his ass during the second half of the show... and the results below will reveal if he made good on that promise.
Post-intermission steel cage match - Jason Hades defeats Jayson Quick, retaining both the IWA-MS Light Heavyweight title and the name Jason in the victory. Quick's girlfriend was working hard to get heat, and riled up the crowd to the poin they broke out the old school ECW SHE'S A CRACK WHORE chant. She unsuccessfully tried to get both a chair and a ladder into the ring (the chair was eventually passed through a narrow hole in the entrance) but did manage to sneak in a screwdriver that backfired in a major way when Hades pressed it into his face and forced him to submit. The cage sections could be described as "plywood and fencing with a bungee cord holding it together" but props to IWA for something that was relatively quick to assemble and disassemble.
R3: 'The Psycho Shooter' Drake Younger defeats Egotistico Fantastico with a brainbuster for the three count, managing to survive Ego's finishing move from round one in the process before pulling it out. Very excellent match to move Younger on to the finals, who was getting more and more beloved by the crowd with each match during this tournament.
R3: Claudio Castagnoli defeats Sara Del Ray with the Ricola Bomb to advance to the finals of the tournmanet. These two did not go easy on each other, as Castagnoli hit her with every uppercut and big swing, while Del Ray tried multiple times to armbar him into a tapout submission. On a personal note it's refreshing that nobody in IWA had to come out and explain that men are allowed to wrestle women or vice versa - THEY JUST DO IT. It's funny how the indies can be more progressive than the supposed big leagues in 2008 but that's just how it is.
R3: In a surprising upset, Sami Callihan defeats 2 Cold Scorpio to advance to the finals of the tournament. The crowd seemed as confused by this finish as I was.
Mustafa Ali (with Joey Eastman), 2 Tuff Tony and Ares had a six-man tag match against Bobby Fish, Ricochet and the IWA-MS Heavyweight Champion himself Dingo. DINGO'S TITLE WAS ON THE LINE IF HE GOT PINNED. This was a comedy match that also provided extra time for all three men in the finals to recover, as well as give a necessary pause before the serious brawl to come between Chris Hero and Trik Davis. Eastman made good on his promise to show his ass by repeatedly trying to interfere, and each time he did Bobby Fish stole an article of his clothing, starting with his hat. When he put on the jacket the crowd redubbed him BOBBY EASTMAN and chanted it again when he put on the pants - YES, pants. Eastman took off his shirt afterwards and was stripped down to underwear and a tie for the rest of the brawl. Everyone tried like hell to pin Dingo, particularly Ares, but in the end Dingo pinned Ali to retain his title and pick up the win for the faces. Eddie Kingston came out afterwards to give Dingo props and tell him to defend the title like a man.
Afterwards Ian Rotten announces Sal vs. Vito Thomaselli next week in a Chicago Street Fight, as well as Drake Younger challenging Dingo for the IWA-MS World Heavyweight Title.
Trik Davis defeats Chris Hero in a falls count anywhere match. Easily the biggest upset of the night, in a crazy brawl that went around the entire length of the Hartman Rec Center several times and almost spilled out the back exit. Hero laid a monster beating on Trik during this match and injured his elbow in the process. Hero was incredibly over with this crowd, as the crowd chanted everything from KNOCKOUT KID to FUCK HIM UP HE-RO, FUCK HIM UP during the brawl. Trik and Hero went into or off of everything - using a ladder, the ticket concessions stand and even the announcing platform during the match. This was the pied piper match of the weekend, with the entire building following Hero around encouraging him to beat up Davis, and giving him nothing but respect and support afterwards despite the loss with a loud THANK YOU HERO chant.
R4: In the finals of the Ted Petty Invitational, the first elimination out of Claudio Castagnoli, Sami Callihan and Drake Younger was Mr. Callihan. He had a rough go of it as he got the big swing from Double C not once but twice... and not in the ring... THROUGH THE CHAIRS THE FANS WERE SITTING IN. It feels a little cheap that Callihan eliminated Scorpio from the tournament only to be pinned in the first ten minutes of the finals, but nonetheless Younger and Castagnoli made the most of it with brawling and back and forth near falls all the way to the bitter end. In the end Younger got the pin so DRAKE YOUNGER IS YOUR 2008 TED PETTY INVITATIONAL CHAMPION. All of the babyfaces come out to congratulate Younger on his win. Even Chuck Taylor comes out to show his appreciation. Younger is handed a huge trophy. Fantastic promo from Ian Rotten and Drake Younger afterwards dedicating the tournament to the fans, to Ted Petty, to everyone everywhere. Very good weekend of indie pro wrestling at its finest!
{plug}
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