NEON BLUE REVIEW

Second City Saints Vs MNM ( * * * )
What a refreshing way to kick off Neon Blue. This was 7 minutes of heaven (and as good a 7 minute tag match as you are likely to see) and all four men (and Annalise and Melina at ringside) put their best feet forward to contibute. In the end though, it was bound to come down to some female extra-curricular activities in terms of settling the match, and despite Annalise’s best efforts to stop Melina, Melina managed to throw a steel chair into the ring, which enabled Joey Mercury to waffle Colt Cabana and Johnny Nitro got the 1-2-3 which gained his team the European Tag Titles.

James Gibson Vs Rick Shaw ( * * * ¼ )
A slight disappointment, although like the opener this was kept a relatively brief affair. Shaw lost his title at Man Of Steel without being pinned and this was his big chance to regain the title, but in the end Gibson prevailed in a hot closing sequence to get the pinfall and retain his title.

6 Man Ladder Match ( * * * * ¼ )
Car-wreck wrestling this may have been, but there is no doubt that the stunts on display here were breath-taking in the extreme. All six men put their body on the line in this one, but particularily impressive where Paul Wardle (who flung himself about like he was determined to steal the show in this one) and Phil Jackson, who stepped upto the plate with an awesome display. In the end though, it was Jay Reso who managed to sneak up the ladder and claim the gold, much to the delight of the audience and grab the European title for the second time.

Dean Roberts Vs Shawn Michaels (Iron Man, * * * * )
Both men looked very serious at the onset of this one, and both delivered cracking psychologically heavy performances in this cracker of a match.
ORDER OF DECISIONS:
1) Shawn Micheals pins Dean Roberts following a Top-Rope cross-body (14:32, HBK 1 – 0 Dean)
2) Dean pins Shawn following A Scholarship (22:10, HBK 1 – 1 Dean)
3) Dean pins Shawn who is still KO’ed from the Scholarship (23:10, HBK 1 – 2 Dean)
4) Shawn pins Dean following a roll-up (28:14, HBK 2 – 2 Dean)
OVER-TIME
5) Shawn pins Dean after Sweet Chin Music (35:11, HBK 3 – 2 Dean)
Both men got a standing ovation after the effort and shook hands to an even louder reaction. This was seriously good story-telling from both men

Chris Kanyon Vs Abyss (Road To Hell, * * * *)
More car-wreck wrestling, but again, what a spectacle. These two men fought all over the arena in what was basically a Falls Count Anywhere Anything Goes Match but eventually they got back in the ring and Kanyon managed to pin Abyss after a THIRD Kanyon-Kutter, which suggests that whilst Kanyon may have won this battle, the war might yet be far from over.

Triple H Vs Randy Orton ( * * * ½ )
Ok, so this was two heels fighting each other, but the IWF had done a good job of buildilng a storyline out of it and as such this was a well-received match. It was also the night that Orton’s “luck” ran out as he was finished off after a brutal battle by a HHH Pedigree. That said, Tripper did his part to keep Orton strong so this was a good match for all concerned.

Kurt Angle Vs Matt Morgan ( * * * ¾ )
So it was main event time, and this has had some wicked build up ever since the closing moments of Man Of Steel, This was a blood bath and initial fears that Morgan wasn’t a main-event wrestler were calmed by the fact that this was a corking match. Sure, Angle carried him, but Morgan played his part well and the lashings of claret added to the atmosphere. In the end Angle was spouting what looked like a ton of blood and was struggling to even see, which left him prey to the Morgasm, and much to the shock of the crowd, Morgan got the pinfall victory to earn himself his first ever Unified Triple Crown. As Morgan celebrated his way back to the locker-room area, a bloodied and battered Angle got up to a HUGE reaction from the crowd but Morgan just ran in once again and smashed him with another Morgasm. He mockingly stood over Angle’s bloody carcass as the show went off the air..

Wow, what else is there to say? This was one of the finest nights of IWF action ever, and had a truly stunning climax. Believe it folks, the IWF is back to its best.

Neon Blue 2005 Card

Neon Blue
Sunday 23rd October

UNIFIED TRIPLE CROWN:
Kurt Angle Vs Matt Morgan

30 MINUTE IRON MAN MATCH;
Dean Roberts Vs Shawn Michaels

ROAD TO HELL MATCH;
Chris Kanyon Vs Abyss

Triple H Vs Randy Orton

WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE:
James Gibson Vs Rick Shaw

EUROPEAN TITLE: SIX WAY LADDER MATCH
Matt Hardy
Vs
Jay Reso
VS
Eddy Guerrero
Vs
Phil Jackson
Vs
Carlito
Vs
Paul “The Phenomenon” Wardle

UNITED KINGDOM TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH:
Second City Saints Vs MNM

With Annalise Roberts & Melina at ringside.