Xtreme Overload REVIEW

Paul Wardle Vs Carlito Vs Lance Storm Vs Rob Van Dam ( * * * 1/2 )
What a way to kick off the show with this Four Corners Mayhem Ladder Match. The rules were your usual Ladder match rules really; The European title was hung high from the rafters and the first wrestler to climb the ladder to grab it would be the Champion. The added dimension of the two rings meant that this was all over the place, and Rob Van Dam, in particular, seemed willing to risk serious injury to himself in order to grab the gold - efforts which did not go unnoticed by the appreciative crowd. All four men took huge risks though and whilst, as ever with these types of matches, there wasn't much actual "wrestling" on show, this was very enteratining and the only real sad thing about it was that there had to be three losers. And in the end it was Carlito, much to the delight of the crowd, who scaled the ladder and lifted his first European Title.

MNM Vs Second City Saints ( * * * 3/4 )
If this didn't quite have the suicidal moments of the opener, it was actually a superior slice of grapping action and with the added stipulation that the losing team could never again be partners in an IWF ring the tension and crowd support was synched right up. The Saints were on fire in the early going but some timely interference by Melina got the advantage back to here side. The two teams continued to trade the advantage in this fast-paced encounter and it really was one of those matches which really could have gone either way. Indeed it looked like The Saints would wrap it up when Cabana hit the Colt 45 on Mercury, but to the dismay of the fans, Mercury kicked out. The action continued, as Punk looked to have wrapped it up with a Pepsi Plunge on Nitro, but in the ensuing melee, Punk was knocked out of the ring and Mercury hit the Futureshock on Cabana to wrap up the win which not only retained the European Tag Titles for MNM, but meant that the Second City Saints would have to split up with a team. Punk and Cabana shook hands and embraced at the end of the match to a loud ovation.

Samoa Joe Vs Finlay ( * * 3/4 )
Another one of those stiff and brutal bouts that can be hard to classify. Joe and Finlay took to it with, dare we say it, NJPW or Pro Wrestling Noah style intensity. Indeed, by the end of this match, the two were red raw from all the stiff punches, kicks and chops that they'd battled back and forth with. Eric Bischoff announced pre-match that all other IWF superstars were barred from ringside which meant these two could just concentrate at going straight at it, and that they did. In the end it was Samoa Joe who got the neccessary submission, making Finlay tap out to the STF.

Double Trouble Match ( * * 1/2 )
All four men tried hard, but this was just a little too much of a mess for the ratings to be any higher. Although the War Games main event meant that the two matches in the opening period could to some extent be held in sperate rings, the same problem that always occurs during these Double Trouble matches reared its head again...you just can't keep track of everyting that is going on. Triple H/Abyss was the most exciting of the two initial matches, with Gee/Turner not really getting going to any great extent. It was also inevitable that the ending of the two matches would mingle together. Thanks to an errant Chair shot by The Big Gee, Abyss got a huge pinfall victory over Triple H, finishing him off with the Black Hole Slam. Abyss was then willing to let Gee and Turner battle on, knowing that the more they tired themselves out the easier task he had during the final match, but Triple H regained his senses and attacked Gee, enabling Turner to pin him and set us up with the final match of Turner Vs Abyss. The fans didn't know quite what to make of it all, and they were less than pleased when some Turner chicanery enabled him to get the pinfall over Abyss, following the Jazz-Buster, and Turner was declared the winner of Double Trouble.

Oleg Prudius Vs Burchill ( * 3/4 )
The big question on everyone's mind wasn't whether Burchill could drag a good match out of Prudius (lets face it, although Oleg is an impressive physical specimin, he's nowhere near an impressive wrestler) but just how the situation with Oleg's manager Nikita Koloff and Nikita's daughter Teryn would play out. In the end it played out like this; Oleg seemingly had the match in the bag but Nikita insisted on more punishment being metered out to Burchill. Teryn looked to be getting in the ring to help Burchill, who she has been close with over recent weeks, but then the whole world was shocked as Nikita hugged his daughter and handed her a steel chair. It looked to the whole world that Nikita and Teryn had set up this plan all along to torture Burchill, but just as Teryn looked likely to smash Burchill with the chair, she switched direction and lamped the Russian beast Oleg with the chair instead! Nikita was non-plussed, the crowd went wild and Burchill hit a Standing Shooting Star Press to get the immensely popular pinfall victory. Mind you the cheer for the post-match hug...and KISS!!!...between Burchill and Teryn got an even bigger reaction! Nikita was furious, but for once he'd been outwitted.

Matthew Mercy Vs The Undertaker ( * * * 1/4 )
After finishing the career of Dean Roberts at Heat Wave, Mercy now had to face another daunting challenge against long-term rival The Undertaker. This wasn't your classic technical match, but the two brawled with an intense rivalry and the crowd lapped this one up. Undertaker seemed to have a psychological hold over Mercy in the early going, but Mercy soon used his experience to get back in the match and he controlled 'Taker for parts of the encounter. It seemed however that once 'Taker made his big comeback there was no hope for Mercy, but after a ref-bump Mercy managed to grab the 'Taker's urn and smash him over the head with it. Mercy crawled over him and got the pinfall victory which kept his huge momentum since returning to the IWF going.

Alexis Laree Vs Krissy Vaine ( 1/2 * )
Well this was nothing more than cheap T and A card-filler between the evening's two top matches. The two women made a short attempt to actually wrestle, but all the interest was in climbing up the poll to get the spanking paddle. Krissy actually got it first, but was unable to spank Alexis on the bottom and after grabbing the paddle herself she spanked Krissy's ass to win the match. What was perhaps most surprising was that Krissy seemed to enjoy being spanked...and that says it all about this "match".

War Games ( * * * * )
So it was time for the main event and the anticipation around the arena as the huge Steel Cage structure was lowered into place. The rules were as ever for War Games. The match starts with a man from each side battling for five minutes and then from then, and at three minute intervals after that one man enters. When all 8 men are in the ring, the "Match Beyond" can begin and the winner is the first team who can make one of their opponents submit. Team Orton won the coin toss which meant that they would have the advantage of the extra man throughout that portion of the match.

ORDER OF ENTRANCE;
1 & 2 Chris Harris & Shawn Michaels
3 James Storm (5 minutes)
4 Jay Reso (8 minutes)
5 Randy Orton (11 minutes)
6 Kurt Angle (14 minutes)
7 Barabus Lashley(17 minutes)
8 Chris Kanyon (20 minutes)

The action had been hot up to this point, but once all eight men were in the ring the action got even hotter as the teams traded blow for blow and blood gushed out of nearly all of them. In the end, much to the delight of the crowd, Jay Reso made World Champion Randy Orton submit to a Double chickenwing camel clutch to gain the victory for his team!

So another IWF pay-per-view event ended on a supreme high note with a thrilling War Games encounter which delivered everything it promised and more. The rest of the show was a little more hit and miss, but provided us with two sterling title defences (European and European Tag Team) and a very entertaining Matthew Mercy Vs The Undertaker match. It wasn't the best ppv of all time by any stretch of the imagination, but it was another good effore and provided great action and entertainment.