SURVIVAL GROUND RESULTS

STING et al Vs ABYSS et al ( * * * ¼ )

This was a hot way to kick things off at this first ever Survival Ground pay-per-view. And wouldn’t you know, Eric Bischoff was right; Dean Roberts did make his presence known, turning up mid-match to smash Edge with a steel chair. Abyss went mental, his attack on CM Punk giving the referee no-other choice than to disqualify him – Edge, ever the opportunist, did manage to pin Punk after this, and also pinned John Cena before Dean ended his night. It came down to Sting and Rob Van Dam against Rhino & Gregory Helms, and in the end it was Sting who prevailed, last eliminating Rhino to become the sole survivor. Rhino was not best pleased and seemed to intimate that this wasn’t the last of their battles.

Order Of Elimination;

I) William Regal pinned Ray Gordy
II) Edge pinned John Cena
III) Abyss disqualified
IV) Edge pinned CM Punk
V) Sting pinned William Regal
VI) Sting pinned Edge after interference from Dean Roberts
VII) Rob Van Dam pinned Gregory Helms
VIII) Rhino pinned Rob Van Dam
IX) Sting pinned Rhino
SOLE SURVIVOR – STING.

PJW et al Vs BANG GANG ( * * )

Ok so no-one was expecting a classic, but this was entertaining and, most importantly, kept brief, even if it did somewhat cut the Bang Gang off at the knees. And hell, even Nash managed a match without an injury!

Order of Elimination;
I) Baron Heap pinned Mantorras Figuierdo
II) Loco Delgado pinned Baron Alker
III) Michael PS Hayes pinned Titi Buengo
IV) Flavio Love pinned Baron Heap
V) Kevin Nash pinned Loco Delgado
VI) Mario Lama pinned Michael PS Hayes
VII) PJW pinned Flavio Love
VIII) Kevin Nash pinned Mario Lama
SURVIVORS - Kevin Nash & PJW

XAVIER et al Vs ELIJAH BURKE et. al (* * * 1/4 )

This was an absolute barnstormer in terms of crowd heat. Xavier's mob started off well with Joe getting rid of the mighty Russian Oleg Prudius but the next few decisions went back and forth until Xavier was cut open by some brutality from his opponents meaning he had to be taken to medical facilities in the locker room area. By the time Elijah Burke pinned Chris Benoit this left Kane alone against not only Burke but Sly Terkay and Umaga as well. The odds looked unsurmountable but Xavier, much to the delight of the crowd, made his way back to the ring, all bandaged and bloodied and the twist distracted Terkay enought to fall prey to the pinfall from Kane. Still the mighty Samoan Umaga dispatched Kane leaving Xavier facing two-to-one odds. Xavier rose to the challenge though, pinning Umaga and it looked as if he would defeat Burke too until a masked man ran out from the crowd and had an altercation with Xavier, which distracted him allowing Burke to get the roll-up and the 1-2-3 to become the sole survivor.

Order Of Elimination;
I) Samoa Joe pinned Oleg Prudius
II) Umaga pinned Steve Lewington
III) Chris Benoit pinned Shinya Makaybe
IV) Sly Terkay pinned Samoa Joe
V) Elijah Burke pinned Chris Benoit
VI) Kane pinned Sly Terkay
VII) Umaga pinned Kane
VIII) Xavier pinned Umaga
IX) Elijah Burke pinned Xavier
SOLE SURVIVOR: Elijah Burke

THE BIG GEE et.al Vs RANDY ORTON et.al. ( * * * ½ )

One of the most hotly anticipated elimination matches, this lived up to all expectations. In the end though it was Triple H and Randy Orton who took most of the glory and ended up as the survivors, with both eliminating two men during the match (Paul London & The Big Gee and Rick Shaw & Barabus Lashley respectively). Barabus Lashley was the only other an to get a pinfall as an almighty fight between Paul Wardle & Phil Jackson led to both men being counted out – not that they cared as they continued their fight into the crowd.

Order of elimination;

I) Barabus Lashley pinned James Storm
II) Triple H pinned Paul London
III) Randy Orton pinned Rick Shaw
IV) Paul Wardle & Phil Jackson counted out
V) The Big Gee pinned Chris Harris
VI) Randy Orton pinned Barabus Lashley
VII) Triple H pinned The Big Gee
SURVIVORS – Randy Orton & Triple H

GAUNTLET FOR WOMEN’S TITLE ( * * )
Well thanks to Krissy Vaine being a naughty girl and getting a suspension we were treated to this 10-woman gauntlet to decide the new women’s champion, a match which George Minister told us was the first ever of its kind in the IWF. Which doesn’t make it a good idea does it? As ever with the gauntlet scenario you don’t really get given much time for each elimination…but for once, with some of the “talent” on display that may not have been a bad thing. Here, for the records are the “matches” as they happened; as an aside, all matches were of course refereed by the IWF’s only female referee, Shantelle Taylor.
Maria Vs Riley Mason – obviously someone’s idea of a joke. “Hey let’s start the match with the two worst “workers” of the lot”. As bad as you might expect although if we’re being fair it was a spirited effort from both, as far as it went, and Mason won with a positively amateurish roll-up.
Riley Mason Vs Trinity – The fans actually went mental for Trinity, officially the “bad-ass” of the woman’s division, seemingly for no other reason than they suspected Mason was about the get snotted. And she was. Trinity won with ease.
Trinity Vs Michelle McCool – McCool looked positively riddled with fear, as well she might. Trinity made quick and easy work of her too.
Trinity Vs Jenny Taylor – At last something resembling a proper match. Having had two matches on the run hadn’t had much effect on Trinity as they’d been so easy but Taylor wasn’t about to let Trinity have it all her own way and actually looked on the verge of an upset, but it wasn’t to be as Trinity pulled out her moonsault for the win.
Trinity Vs Christy Hemme – Christy has shown more aptitude than any newcomer to the women’s division in quite some time. She’s also very charismatic which led to this being a segment that was very well received indeed. It looked as if Trinity’s domination would continue but Christy pulled this one out of the bag to get the 1-2-3.
Christy Hemme Vs Alexis Laree – This was another closely contested fall, and both women looked good out there. It came perhaps as a bit of a surprise to see Laree lose this one, but lose it she did. Hemme was certainly on a roll at this point.
Christy Hemme Vs Carina– Carina really has come one leap and bounds since her debut in the IWF (although quite why she couldn’t have done this learning before her debut is not something they’re telling us) and she showed it in this good, albeit losing, effort. Hemme was just too strong for her.
Christy Hemme Vs Melina – Well Hemme was starting to show signs of tiredness by now and Melina looked as if she was really confident that she would be winning this one. In fact she handed out quite a beating; but she was too confident and didn’t finish Christy off when she had the chance on a couple of occasions. And that error came back to haunt her as Christy took advantage of a lack of concentration to get the pinfall. Melina was not best pleased…
Christy Hemme Vs Rebecca Knox – …a fact that was evidenced by the fact that Melina battered Hemme as Knox was making her way to the ring. As Melina was dragged away by a number of officials, Knox sauntered in, made the cover and became the new Women’s Champion as the fans booed mercilessly and George Minister put over the Herculean effort by Hemme. And as daft as some of it sounds, it would make a brilliant “issue” for MuscleMania wouldn’t it?

JAY RESO et al Vs MATT MORGAN et al
( * * * 1/4 )
Main event time and both sides of the MuscleMania XVI main event led their teams into battle, with Jay Reso getting those vital psychological points leading up to the big show with his victory here – no matter that he had to smack Morgan with the title belt to get it. The match was also memorable for team-mates Matthew Mercy & Finlay getting it on; Mercy refused to tag in during the early going and when Finlay finally tagged him in himself, Mercy immediately turned on the Irish Bruiser before walking off (being counted out in the process) all of which left Finlay easy prey for being pinned by Morgan. Still, Reso’s nefarious tactics ensured that he had the last laugh.

Order of elimination;

I) Matt Morgan pinned Bobby Roode
II) Brian Kendrick pinned Eric Young
III) Finlay pinned Joey Mercury
IV) Jay Reso pinned Brian Kendrick
V) Finlay pinned Shelton Benjamin
VI) Jay Reso pinned Lance Hoyt
VII) Matthew Mercy was counted out
VIII) Matt Morgan pinned Finlay
IX) Jay Reso pinned Matt Morgan
SOLE SURVIVOR – Jay Reso

In some ways this was a strange pay-per-view but there is no doubt that for the most part it was an entertaining one. Yes it lacked the absolutely killer match that sets the great cards apart from the mere good ones, but as a stop on the Road to MuscleMania this did everything you could ask of it.