SHOOT OUT REVIEW

1)Matt & Jeff Hardy Vs Mohammed Fakjir & Justice Porter (* * *)
The rise of Porter and Fakjir continues, and credit must go both to them and to their opponents. The Hardy's were surprise returnees to the IWF at the back end of 2007, but they've shown they are here to wrestle and make an impact. Fakjir's all-round act continues to improve and Porter, back from his suspension, is showing poise that we never thought he had in him. It was the "youngsters" that won the match as well as Fakjir pinned Matt Hardy to wrap up a heated and exciting opener.

2)Crunch Vs Bobby Roode (* 1/2)
The two men in this match had a tough act to follow after the opener; indeed the crowd were flat for this one and try as they might the two couldn't quite manage to snap the fans out of it. This match was all about Crunch (as much potential as Roode has he's certainly not a priority at the moment) and as such it was much like his match at Corporal Punishment. A decent enough chance to show what he's got but nothing earth-shattering. Crunch won; end of story.

3)Abyss Vs Charles Anderson (* 3/4)
The crowd were certainly up for Abyss, he's a real favourite with the live crowds, but they were as cool as ever towards Anderson. I think we can safely say that the Anderson Family experiment has been a failure. This was little more than an extended squash match, such was the level of offence that Anderson got in, but at least the fans were happy with Abyss' victory with his match winning Black Hole Slam.

4)Paul Wardle Vs Finlay (* * *)
The Wardle, ahem, Phenomenon, continues apace. He was super-over here and Finlay was, as you would expect, a superb heel; all of which made for a thrilling atmosphere. The two couldn't quite match up to that but they had a stellar tussle which was exciting whilst it lasted. Indeed if this ten minute match had gone another five minutes or so it might have been a minor-classic. As it was, Wardle pinned Finlay, much to the delight of the crowd.

5)America's Most Wanted Vs Sherlock Burchill & Dr Lewington (* *)
This truly highlighted the dearth of talent in terms of tag-teams that can challenge AMW. Burchill & Lewington aren't terrible, but their gimmick is NOT conduicive to challenging for the World Tag Team Titles. As you would expect, AMW walked this one and won when Chris Harris pinned Lewington.

6)Elijah Burke Vs Phil Jackson Vs Randy Orton Vs Jay Reso (Final Four Match, * * * *)
The crowd were really up for this one, and the trick of only having the one babyface (Reso) in the match meant that there were a lot of excited fans right behind him every step of the way. Eliminations were by pinfall, submission or over-the-top-rope elimination. Order of said elimination was as follows;
i) Phil Jackson (thrown over the top-rope by Jay Reso)
ii) Randy Orton (pinned by Jay Reso)
iii) Jay Reso (pinned by Elijah Burke)
So it was clear, Elijah Burke is headed for MuscleMania; a surprising choice in some eyes but he looked great here.

7)CM Punk Vs Shelton Benjamin (* * * 1/2)
Umaga's problems meant a whole lot of problems for the IWF in terms of CM Punk's challenger at the event and given the fact that the Final Four match and Three Stages of Hell match had arguably taken away the top six contenders, this was a decent back up plan. Punk continued his supreme recent form and Benjamin really took the opportunity to show what he could do. Of course no-one really expected Benjamin to win the title, but they still managed to pack in the drama. Punk won with the Pepsi Plunge in an impressive match...even more impressive when one considers the last minute nature of the match being put together.

8) Matthew Mercy Vs Triple H (Three Stages Of Hell, * * * * 1/2)
So a feud which started back in late August finally came to its final act. It's a credit to all concerned that they've kept the fire bubbling all the way along.
The first fall was a First Blood encounter, which Mercy took. HHH was bleeding buckets as well. The second fall was a Falls Count Anywhere, which really did go all over the building, and Triple H evened up the score. The final fall was a Steel Cage match which was the best portion of the match, and the best portion of the entire night. The crowd was at fever pitch as the two went back and forth but finally Mercy finished off Triple H with a Mercy-Bomb to take the match and the feud. The fans were ecstatic.

So that was Shoot Out for another year. The 2007 event is fondly remembered and the 2008 event certainly held up the excitement and entertainment levels. The Road To MuscleMania is proving to be an eventful one indeed.