Super Series Report

The Bang Gang Vs The “Shaw” Things ( * * * ½ )
The show kicked off with a “Traditional” Super Series encounter and what a wild and riotous encounter it was. The Bang Gang, despite the ludicrous nature of their gimmick to a large extent, are an entertaining act and the “Shaw” things had some talent on their side as well. This was a fast paced, exciting match which warmed the crowd up nicely…and what else do you need in a PPV opener?
ORDER OF ELIMINATION;
I) Matt Hardy (pinned by Mantorras Figueiredo)
II) Titi Buengo (pinned by Rick Shaw)
III) Shep Oakwood (pinned by Flavio Love)
IV) Paul London (pinned by Loco Delgado)
V) Loco Delgado (pinned by Brian Kendrick)
VI) Brian Kendrick (pinned by Mario Lama)
VII) Mantorras Figueirdo (pinned by Rick Shaw)
VIII) Flavio Love (pinned by Rick Shaw)
IX) Rick Shaw (pinned by Mario Lama)
WINNER AND SOLE SURVIVOR – Mario Lama

Triple H & Booker T Vs Shawn Michaels & Paul Wardle ( * * ¾ )
This was a good way to kick off the Super Series Invitational proceedings; the fans were psyched that HHH and HBK had been drawn on opposite sides of the ring for this one and the place unglued when they first went one-on-one in the ring. Of course, this all meant that Booker and Wardle were mere window dressing in the scheme of things and they both put in quietly competent performances which helped the match overall. In the end though it was HHH and Booker who prevailed when HHH finished off Wardle with the Pedigree to wrap up an entertaining match.

The Big Gee & Oleg Prudius Vs Chris Benoit & William Regal ( * * )
As if poor Benoit & Regal had any chance after being drawn against what must be one of the biggest tag team combinations in IWF history. Both Gee & Prudius looked pleased to be drawn with each other, their opponents less so given their many clashes recently in the Strong-Style division. And in the end, as if the odds weren’t stacked against them enough already, that led to their downfall as Benoit smashed Regal meaning that the pinfall on the fallen Brit by Prudius was a mere formality.

Eric Young & Ray Gordy Vs Rob Van Dam & Joey Mercury ( * * ¾ )
With three young talents, and a former headliner who surely needs to come up with some inspiration to shine if he ever wants to main event again, in this match we were looking forward to this one and it didn’t disappoint. Sure there wasn’t much in the way of transition in the match but there were a plethora of hot high-flying moves on show and then came fast and furiously. In the end it was Joey Mercury who won the match for his team by pinning Ray Gordy. Good efforts all round.

Matthew Mercy & Chris Harris Vs Finlay & Chris Kanyon ( * * * )
Mercy and Kanyon can’t have a bad match when they’re in the ring together, and this was no exception. They also made sure that Harris and Finlay were a part of the match, if you see what we mean, and as such this was another entertaining encounter. It was back and forth action all the way and in the end it was Mercy who finished it off after hitting Finlay with the Mercy-Bomb.

Colt Cabana & Lance Storm Vs CM Punk & Shelton Benjamin ( * * ½ )
So the former Second City Saints were pitted against each other, but they told the world prior to the bout that they were still good friends, and so it turned out…up to a point. Cabana was accompanied by his girlfriend Maria which Lance Storm wasn’t happy about at all but Shelton Benjamin seemed quite happy to have some eye-candy at ringside. But it didn’t stop Shelts using some nefarious tactics, as he walloped Cabana with a Steel Chair enabling him to get the win for his team whilst Punk looked on seemingly unconcerned. Surely, the commentators reasoned, if the Saints were still friend, Punk wouldn’t have allowed that to happen…would he? Another decent entertaining match.

Peter Turner & Matt Morgan Vs Phil Jackson & James Storm ( * ½ )
Well the Peter Turner push continues, and given the line-up of this match did anyone think he would taste defeat here? Exactly. This was little more than an extended squash, with Phil Jackson bearing the brunt of it. I bet he wishes he hadn’t drunk so much at the post-MuscleMania party now. In the end, he was finished off by a Matt Morgan “Morgasm”.

Samoa Joe & Barabus Lashley Vs Burchill & Charles Haas ( * * )
Bit of a clash of styles in this one, although on the sly Joe & Lashley made quite the imposing team, although all this really meant was that much like the previous encounter the outcome was telegraphed as soon as we found out about the match and lo and behold it was Joe & Lashley who took the win when Joe made Haas tap-out.

Abyss & Carlito Vs Kurt Angle & Johnny Nitro ( * * * ¼ )
Finally we were back to a match with some intrigue and this was a great way to round of the tag-team portion of the Super Series Invitational. The fans were really into this one as well, being firmly behind our Olympic hero. And this seemed to spur him on as he eventually took control of the match and after hitting Abyss with the Angle Slam he slapped the Ankle lock on Carlito to get the win via tap-out.

Six Woman Elimination Match ( * ¾ )
When all else fails in the womens (or Cruiserweight) division, throw the whole roster into some kind of elimination match and be done with it. This wasn’t as awful as some as we’ve seen in the past, but neither was it very good either.
ORDER OF ELIMINATION:
I) Christy Hemme (pinned by Jenny Taylor)
II) Melina (pinned by Alexis Laree)
III) Carina (pinned by Alexis Laree)
IV) Jenny Taylor (pinned by Alexis Laree)
V) Alexis Laree (pinned by Krissy Vaine)
WINNER – KRISSY VAINE

Battle Bowl ( * * * )
PARTICIPANTS – Triple H, Booker T, The Big Gee, Oleg Prudius, Rob Van Dam, Joey Mercury, Matthew Mercy, Chris Harris, CM Punk, Shelton Benjamin, Peter Turner, Matt Morgan, Samoa Joe, Barabus Lashley, Kurt Angle, Johnny Nitro.
So it was time for the Battle Bowl finale of the Super Series Invitational tournament and the crowd were up for this one, but who would win?
ORDER OF ELIMINATION:
I) Rob Van Dam (Barabus Lashley)
II) Booker T (Triple H)
III) Joey Mercury (Shelton Benjamin)
IV) Chris Harris (Kurt Angle)
V) The Big Gee (Peter Turner)
VI) Shelton Benjamin (Matthew Mercy)
VII) Oleg Prudius (Matt Morgan)
VIII) Matt Morgan (Barabus Lashley)
IX) Peter Turner (Matthew Mercy)
X) Samoa Joe (Triple H)
XI) Johnny Nitro (CM Punk)
XII) CM Punk (Barabus Lashley)
XIII) Triple H (Matthew Mercy)
XIV) Matthew Mercy (Kurt Angle)
XV) Kurt Angle (Barabus Lashley)
SUPER SERIES INVITATIONAL WINNER – Barabus Lashley
So Lashley took the victory but with the fact that the Super Series Invitational winner moves up the World Title ranking, what did that mean for the main event?

Randy Orton Vs Jay Reso ( * * * ¾ )
They’ve had a long winding feud, which perhaps hasn’t caught on like some might have hoped, but there was certainly enough heat from the crowd for this match, which was billed as the final encounter between the pair. IWF Commissioner Eric Bischoff had barred any outside interference for this one (and for a “heel” commissioner he does make some fair decisions it has to be said), which meant that this was purely a battle between the two men concerned over the Unified World Title. It was a good battle too, with the match hanging in the balance throughout. Both men had their opportunities to shine, and both had to spend time on the defensive. But in the end it came down to the RKO Vs The Unprettier and both spent considerable time trying to set up their big finishing move; after several false starts and close near-calls though it was Orton who hit the RKO to get the match winning pinfall and retain his belt. A great effort from both men and whilst Orton obviously goes onto bigger things, where Reso goes from here is open to question.

All in all Super Series was an entertaining night of action; yes only the main event, and the opener to some extent, really caught fire in the ring, but there was enough excitement throughout to leave a positive impression of the card in one’s mind.