Xtreme Overload Report

The show kicked off with a bang as we saw various IWF staffers setting up the room where Xavier was to be welcomed back into the arms of the IWF bosom. IWF Commissioner Dean Roberts was supervising and things seemed to be going well until two police officers walked in. Apparently they were here to take DNA swabs in an attempt to identify who had ordered the kidnapping of Xavier. They had fibre evidence that proved there was a third man involved who wasn’t Murdoch or Cade. The police stated they had a court order that allowed them to swab every IWF wrestler on the roster in an attempt to find a DNA match. And throughout the evening that’s exactly what they did, with Dean Roberts being their first task. Intriguing…

1) Murdoch & Cade Vs Lewington & Burchill ( * * ½ )
Although we know not who ordered the kidnapping of Xavier, we certainly know, thanks to Sherlock Burchill and Dr Lewington, that it was the dastardly duo of Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch who carried out the attack. As daft as the storyline sounds on paper, in practise it has been very entertaining, and whilst the issue between these two teams may not be the main one (at some point we will surely find out who ordered the kidnapping) the fans did lap it up. Lewington & Burchill have been around the IWF for a while, doing nothing of note, but there is a certain chemistry between them and both are more than competent in the ring; Murdoch & Cade are newcomers, brought it for this story (although yes, Cade has had previous IWF stints), and whilst they do look like the proverbial odd couple, they’ve made a decent impression too. This was, therefore, a decent enough match, which was, if nothing else, great fun. In the end, and didn’t it have to be so really, it was the detectives who beat the kidnappers when Burchill pinned Trevor Murdoch. A fun opener.

The police were swabbing and the likes of Brian Kendrick and Rick Shaw were being done. There was a queue of wrestlers though and the police nearly had a coronary when they came up to Umaga. A translator was on hand, but the police didn’t seem too keen to get too close to Umaga.

2) Randy Orton Vs Lance Hoyt ( * * )
What has happened to Randy Orton? Have the IWF forgotten about him or is it his turn to take a back seat in readiness for further headline action down the line? Probably the latter, we hope anyway. Here he was, presumably, attempting to “season” the promising Lance Hoyt, who had beaten him clean on a recent episode of Warfare. Of course Hoyt wasn’t to pull of that trick a second time, falling prey to the RKO for the spotlessly clean Orton pinfall victory. A decent enough match, but where either man goes from here is questionable.

At this point the police were backstage and they came across Jay Reso. After many protestations that he was being unfairly targeted by the police (in recent weeks he was the main suspect or so it seemed) he relented and allowed the police to get their swab.

3) Rebecca Knox Vs Alexis Laree (Best Of Three Falls, * * ¾ )
Well at least they chose the best two women workers on the roster for this match. And it was a decent match, which was only really hurt by its brevity; whilst a 10 minute, one fall match between the two might have been able to build to something special, cramming three pinfalls into that time simply hurt the flow of the match. Laree got the first pinfall, following a Spinning DDT, whilst Knox squared it up at 1-1 after the Knox-Out. This seemed to knock Laree out cold and Knox thought the match winning pinfall was a mere formality but she took too long to make the second cover, Laree was playing possum and when Knox finally went for it, Laree wrapped her up in a Small Package to get the match winning pinfall AND lift the Women’s Title for the third time.

4) Mohammed Fakjir Vs Barabus Lashley (JP Caged At Ringside, * * ¼ )
Fakjir and Porter have made quite the impression in their short time in the IWF. In fact you could almost say that they’re at a similar level to what Lashley was at this time last year. Mid-card heels they may be, but they have that coolness factor that makes them an entertaining act. Of course the 2007 version of Lashley has been shown up for what he was all along; a guy with potential for sure, but one who’s still very green. Not that Fakjir is a five-star match machine either, but he has a winning character and a winning partnership with Justice Porter. As you might have guessed, the fact that JP was in a cage at ringside made no difference. After a ref-bump Porter managed to get hold of the keys to release himself from the cage, and he helped Fakjir to another pinfall victory (and probably the final one) over Lashley. Another match on the card that wasn’t great but WAS very entertaining.

It was at this moment in the evening that Xavier was wheeled into his “homecoming” party as various wrestlers welcomed him back. Trish Stratus, his personal fitness trainer, was also there although she was accompanied by her husband, Dick Stratus, who didn’t exactly looked thrilled to be meeting Xavier. The police were hovering, but Xav explained that he was “tight” friends with Trish and that her husband wasn’t an IWF employee (and thus couldn’t be swabbed for his DNA).

5) Finlay Vs Tito Ortiz ( * * ¾ )
This has got the IWF a lot of mainstream press (at least until the tragic Benoit incident) and even though some would question as to why the IWF would bring in Ortiz for one match, at great expense no doubt, which he was always going to win which would, in effect, “prove” some kind of superiority of the UFC over professional wrestling. As you might expect with super Dave Finlay in the ring, this was held together pretty well. To Ortiz’s credit he didn’t mind Finlay taking control of the match (in the kayfabe sense – obviously Finlay had to lead the match) to make this more believable and Finlay was able to take some of the stiff punches and kicks that are Ortiz’s trademark. In the end we had to have some form of “get out” for our boy Finlay and it came when he tried to use his shelaghly but Ortiz blocked it, grabbed it and hit him with it, making the pinfall victory a formality. An interesting exercise, but with the chances of Ortiz returning any time soon painfully slim, we don’t see what it achieved.

There was then an hilarious interlude where the police attempted to gain DNA swabs from Mohammed Fakjir. Justice Porter was having none of it, and Fakjir said that without an appointment they had no chance. He then got into his waiting limousine and it sped off.

6) CM Punk Vs Jay Reso ( * * * * )
Both of Punk’s title belts were on the line in this one and for the first time in the evening, the crowd were REALLY alive for this one. The IWF has built Punk up superbly well and Reso has used his time on top to really step up his game and he has become a fantastic all-rounder. The two had a scintillating back and forth encounter which was even more enthralling given the average combat that had preceded it all evening. Simply put this was the evening that marked a real coming of age for Punk; he went toe-to-toe with Reso and had the fans in his pocket throughout. In the end he wrapped it up with a Pepsi-Plunge for the very welcomed 1-2-3. The men then got a standing ovation.

Before the next match, the police officers were attempting to get a swab from Elijah Burke, but he said it was disgraceful that he had been targeted so close to his match. When the police officers would not relent, Burke spat on the floor and said “swab that.”

7) Matthew Mercy Vs Elijah Burke ( * * * ¾ )
Well the fans stayed pumped for this one as well, seeing as it did the first appearance by Mercy in the IWF since MuscleMania. Some may have feared that Mercy was coming back to squash the upwardly mobile Elijah Burke and keep him in his place. Well they need have feared not as Mercy treated Burke as an equal throughout, which did both men the world of good. Indeed the atmosphere was electric as the two assembled their very entertaining match and it was off the charts in the closing stages. It looked as if Mercy was going to wrap up the win, but a ref-bump brought in Mercy’s MuscleMania conqueror Finlay who absolutely smashed Mercy with a Steel Chair. Burke went for the cover but Mercy managed to kick out, much to the delight of the crowd. But, to the shock of almost everyone, Burke rallied, hit the Elijah Experience and got the pinfall victory, 1-2-3. The biggest win of Burke’s career by a long, long distance this was also a wonderfully exciting match. Kudos to all concerned.

8) Matt Morgan Vs Triple H ( * * )
How could this match follow the previous two? Well it couldn’t, but such is the necessary scheme of things from time to time. Morgan’s face turn and title reign has done nothing for him, we have to be honest here, and it was obvious to most onlookers that HHH was regaining the gold tonight so there was little drama to be held. Basically Morgan controlled the early going, Triple H bored everyone half to death in the middle potion before Morgan mounted his big comeback only to be cut short and finished off with the Pedigree, which saw HHH regain the World Title. Most fans seemed pleased, if only because it meant that Morgan was no longer the champion. At least the top-line business can only improve from hereon in hey?