MuscleMania XV PREVIEW

MuscleMania...it's like the Superbowl of professional wrestling. It's the biggest event on the calendar, and this year it's emanating from Wembley Arena. Tickets are sold out completely but you can catch it on April 30th, live on PPV. Here is the line up, and a preview of the action.

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TRIPLE CROWN:

Matt Morgan Vs Kurt Angle Vs Randy Orton

Vs Vs

Ever since winning the Triple Crown title at Neon Blue 2005, "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan has steamrollered through some of the toughest competition the IWF has to offer. The likes of Chris Kanyon, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and The Big Gee have all left title matches with Morgan as losers. But the one man he's tried to avoid since winning the title has been the very man he beat for the belt, Kurt Angle. Angle was refused a rematch by IWF Commissioner Eric Bischoff, but was allowed to enter the Robo Rumble, with its traditional prize of a main event MuscleMania spot. However, on that night in January Angle came close, but not close enough as he was eliminated last by the winner Randy Orton. It seemed like the dream was over, but Commissioner Bischoff had different ideas. He set up a 20 man battle royale on Warfare with the stipulation that the winner would be added to the MuscleMania main event. Despite tough competition, Angle won, and thus set up this intriguing three way match. Morgan and Orton agreed to an uneasy truce to attempt to eliminate Angle on the road to MuscleMania, but Orton soon turned the situation to his advantage, attacking Morgan and laying him out with an RKO in a memorable Warfare moment. It's firmly every man for himself, as the biggest prize in professional wrestling goes on the line. Angle has the MM experience and the fans on his side...Orton has memories of his classic victory on the big stage against Dean Roberts at MM XIV...Morgan is on a roll that shows no signs of stopping any time soon. This one really could be too close to call.

Xavier Vs Hulk Hogan

Vs

We don't know what lit a fire under former World Champion Xavier, but something led to him calling out the legendary "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan...and when Hogan didn't answer Xavier got more and more determined to goad him into it. He criticised Hogan Knows Best....he attacked Hogan's best friend Ed "1001 gimmicks" Leslie...he beat a Hogan impersonator to a bloody pulp...but it seemed like nothing would work. Until Xavier started "stalking" Hulk's daughter Brooke. The video that Xav aired on Warfare of Brooke stirred a hatred inside Hogan's soul and he finally came face-to-face with his tormentor and agreed to the match. Xavier's mind games have given him the advantage, but Hogan is a player for the big stage. For the first and only time, two worlds collide as Xavier and Hogan meet one-on-one.

Dean Roberts Vs Triple H

Vs

Despite all his accomplishments in the PFW and the IWF, one thing has constantly eaten away at the psyche of Triple H...his lack of respect from the IWF fans. And Dean Roberts, the most decorated superstar in IWF history and the only man to have held the World Title on five separate occasions is the man who has felt the brunt of this anger. The start came when the two were on opposite sides of a tag match at Breaking Point and continued with a thrilling altercation during the Robo Rumble. The mind games escalated at February's Shoot Out pay-per-view, where Dean cost HHH his world title shot against Matt Morgan. Since then the two have traded both physical and mental blows. HHH claims Dean's career amounts to being lucky and being in the right place at the right time; Dean looks back to MuscleMania XII and says he's beaten Triple H before and that he can do it again. This is a match between two men who have just as much to prove to each other as they have to the wrestling world in general.

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES:
Alias Storm & Haas Vs America's Most Wanted

Vs

Chris Harris and James Storm shocked the world when they traded in contracts with MMK's fledgling Total Wrestling Action Today promotion to sign with the IWF. But they made quite a splash in the IWF by winning the tag team titles at Breaking Point, in their first IWF ppv appearance. However their early success came to an abrupt end at Corporal Punishment when Alias Storm & Haas regained the belts, albeit by beating The Second City Saints in a three way match. IWF Commissioner Eric Bischoff decreed that AMW would have to earn their title rematch, and earn it they did. They beat the best that Pro Wrestling Noah had to offer at Shoot Out and survived the Tag Team Gauntlet at One Night Stand to get the opportunity to take the tag team titles on the grandest scale of them all. But Eric Bischoff had one last sting in the tail...the losers of this match must spilt up from being a tag team. So it really is now or never for both teams.

Chris Kanyon Vs Jay Reso

Vs
One man is a multi-time World Champion, with nothing left to prove in this business, other than the fact that he is still one of the best in the world. The other man is a former European champion out to prove that he can shine against the world's top superstars and really make 2006 the year he makes a real name for himself. Kanyon has headlined MuscleMania in the past and has ambitions to do so again. Jay Reso believes his time has finally come to stand out in the spotlight. The two have matched each other blow-for-blow in the build up to this one, and it's no exaggeration to say that this could be one of the matches of the night.

Matthew Mercy & PJ Love Vs MNM

Vs
Take one of the hottest new tag teams in the IWF, add in an IWF Hall Of Famer then complete the mix with a Hollywood superstar and you get one of the most intriguing matches on this year's MuscleMania card. The hottest new tag team are European Tag Team Champions Johnny Nitro and Joey Mercury, aka MNM. The Hall Of Famer is the ever entertaining PJ Love and, for one night only, he is rekindling the classic tag team title winning combination with "Walk The Line" star Matthew Mercy. PJ returned to the IWF to announce this years entrants for the IWF Hall Of Fame, and was immediately taunted by the cocky MNM. He then thought he had charmed the lovely Melina in to bed, but it was all an MNM ruse and they ambushed him and left him in a bloody mess. MNM challenged PJ to a MuscleMania match but Melina then added something she may now regret..."and you can pick any partner you want!" Rumours abounded around the wrestling world as to who that man would be, but no-one expected that Hollywood superstar, and three-time former World Champion, Matthew Mercy would answer PJ's call. So for one-night only, and without the Spice Girls, the classic tag team combination of Matthew Mercy and PJ Love reform. Will the old magic carry them through to victory, or will the young upstarts pull off one of the upsets of the decade?

Shawn Michaels Vs Carlito

Vs

Carlito has called Michaels a "has-been whose time in the spotlight is over". HBK has retaliated by suggesting Carlito "is a young kid who isn't nearly as good as he think he is". Carlito showed the ultimate disrespect by spitting his apple into Shawn's face, but Carlito soon felt the force of Sweet Chin Music. Will the Show-Stopper take the glory, or will the night be "cool" for Carlito?

WORLD WOMEN'S TITLE:
Melina Vs Alexis Laree Vs Annalise Roberts

Vs Vs

The three preminient women's wrestlers in the world today collide with the World Women's Championship on the line. Melina has been the champion since July 2005, when she defeated Annalise Roberts for the belt at Xtreme Overload but now she faces her toughest challenge yet as both Annalise and Alexis Laree stand in her way. Only one woman can survive and only one woman can leave MuscleMania as champion.

Raven & Paul Wardle Vs Mick Foley & Phil Jackson

Vs
The rivalry between "The Phenomenon" Paul Wardle and Phil "The Graduate" Jackson has been one of the most intense ever seen in the IWF. The two have clashed over the UK and European Titles and have wowed IWF fans with numerous classic battles. The rivalry took on a darker edge in 2006 though as Wardle enlisted the help of former IWF World Champion Raven and this relationship has given Wardle a new demonic edge. Jackson battled on but the 2-on-1 disadvantage was too much. Wardle and Raven challenged Jackson to find himself a tag team partner, but they couldn't have expected Jackson to enlist the help of the Hardcore Legend Mick Foley (himself a former IWF World Champion himself in his Cactus Jack days). And so the scene is set for this No Holds Barred battle which given the history of the participants could be one of the most "Insane "MuscleMania matches in history.

Brock Lesnar Vs The Big Gee

Vs
Two big men collide in the ultimate test of power and strength. Lesnar made his triumphant return to the IWF at Corporal Punishment and has been steamrollering through opponents left right and centre ever since. He may, however, have hit a brick wall in the form of former World Champion The Big Gee. Gee has done it all in the IWF and doesn't fear his opponent. It's the F-5 versus the Gee-Spot...only one man can walk out a winner.

Twenty Man Battle Royale





20 men, with one goal in mind. The winner of this battle royale will get a World Title shot, at whomever may be champion, on the Warfare directly following MuscleMania, (Wednesday 3rd May). Former IWF World Champions Kane, Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit battle former PWF World Champions Booker T and former ICW Champion Rhyno amongst others, including current IWF UK Champion Shelton Benjamin and current Cruiserweight Champion Rick Shaw. New IWF signing Finlay makes his IWF debut in this match as well.

ONE NIGHT STAND Report

Carlito Vs Shelton Benjamin ( * * ¾ ) – UK Title action kicked off this PPV from Lubbock, Texas, and although it was a bit brief (clocking in a just over 7 minutes in duration) there were more than enough big moves on show to get the crowd going, so in that sense it did what every opening match should do. Benjamin was the clear crowd favourite, and who knows that might have spurred him on. Because he continued his recent upswing and cleanly pinned Carlito to claim the UK title.

Melina Vs Nikita ( * ½ ) – Your average, run of the mill, no-storyline womens match. It was competent but the two of them were fighing a losing battle against crowd apathy. In the end, Melina retained and that’s about all you really need to know.

Brock Lesnar Vs Sean O’Haire ( * * ) – A big man battle, and a fairly decent one to boot. Ok, so it wasn’t exactly Flair/Steamboat but it was a decent, well put together bout which at least kept the fans entertained. As you might expect, O’Haire’s descent into hell continued with yet another high profile loss and Lesnar took the win following the F-5.

Tag Team Gauntlet ( * * * ) – Eric Bischoff’s attempts to make AMW “earn” their title shot led to this 7 team gauntlet, which we were assured would be drawn “fairly”. And it seemed as if it was when AMW weren’t one of the teams to start the match. This was a decent enough affair and at least had a storyline point behind it, and, towards the end especially, the heat was intense from the crowd. The order of results was as follows;
JBL & Edge defeated James Gibson & Bryan Danielson
Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho defeated JBL & Edge
Benoit & Jericho defeated Brian Kendrick & Paul London
America’s Most Wanted defeated Benoit & Jericho
AMW defeated Second City Saints
AMW defeated MNM to win the gauntlet match.
So all in all this was a good gimmick match which did what it set out to do. Although guest colour commentators Lance Storm and Charles Haas were less than pleased that AMW won and would be facing them at MuscleMania.

Raven Vs “The Graduate” Phil Jackson ( * * * ) - Paul Wardle stepped aside for this one and let his “mentor” Raven take on his erstwhile nemesis Jackson. It was a tidy little encounter too, albeit one slightly marred by the constant interfering by Wardle. Fans seemed to be expecting someone to make the save on Jackson’s behalf, but that help never came and Raven won following the Evenflow DDT. Wardle was particularily happy and taunted Jackson for having “no friends” (although we do believe he’ll find a “friend” in time for MM).

Xavier Vs Ed Leslie (DUD) - Ed Leslie…yes THE Ed Leslie who’s entire RWA/IWF career amounts to one match, and one which he lost at that. So really, if Xavier HAD to humilate one of Hulk Hogan’s friends in a match on the run-up to MuscleMania (the match hasn’t been officially announced yet, but it IS happening) why couldn’t they have made someone up? Who would really have cared? But no, Leslie it was and I suppose the only thing to be thankful about is that he got absolutely ZERO offence in. Xav was superb in his heelish way, and we did get to see the delightul Vicky hit Leslie with a Hurrancanara, but really this was a nothing match, reminiscent of the days when the PWF filmed three months of TV at a time in Alton Towers. Still the images of a bloodied Leslie will make for great scenes when the IWF put together their Xav/Hogan video package.

Morgan/Orton/HHH/Reso Vs Angle/Kanyon/Dean Roberts/HBK ( * * * * ¼ ) – Well if ever a show needed a killer main event, this might have been it. And boy did the headliners deliver. There was little more to this than MM opponents facing each other (hint, hint) but such was the star power that the Texan fans lapped this up from start to finish. Throw in the mutual distrust of MM headliners Morgan and Orton (who alongside Kurt Angle will be in the main event itself of MM) and the fact that Dean and HBK can never get along for very long and you had some intriguing side issues as well. In the end, Kurt Angle pinned Matt Morgan, but only after Randy Orton had hit his own partner with the RKO. A fantastic main event, and one which kept the MM pot bubbling very nicely indeed.

ONE NIGHT STAND Card

IWF One Night Stand
Sunday 19th March 2006
United Spirit Arena, Lubbock TX

Matt Morgan, Randy Orton, Triple H & Jay Reso
Vs
Kurt Angle, Chris Kanyon, Dean Roberts & Shawn Michaels

WORLD WOMENS TITLE:
Melina Vs Nikita

TAG TEAM GAUNTLET MATCH:
Winning Team gets World Tag Title Shot at MuscleMania
PARTICIPANTS:
America’s Most Wanted, Second City Saints, MNM,
Brian Kendrick & Paul London, JBL & Edge,
James Gibson & Bryan Danielson, Chris Benoit & Chris Jericho

UNITED KINGDOM TITLE:
Carito Vs Shelton Benjamin

Raven Vs “The Graduate” Phil Jackson

Brock Lesnar Vs Sean O’Haire

Xavier Vs Ed Leslie

SHOOT OUT 2006 Report

Shelton Benjamin Vs Chris Jericho ( * * * ) – Given the reception that these two got at the start of the Robo Rumble, they met here in singles action…and once again the crowd loved it. It was everything you would want from an opener too; fast-paced and with big moves galore. And in the end it was the “underdog” Benjamin who got the win, pinning Jericho after a super-stiff T-Bone Suplex. The two shook hands afterwards to a warm reception.

Rick Shaw Vs Simon Starshot ( * * ¾ ) – Well Simon Starshot wanted to reclaim his throne as the “King Of Cruiserweights” and after a spirited showing in the Rumble match he got his chance here. But Shaw wasn’t in the mood to bow to sentimentality and he was not in the mood to relinquish his title. This was an enjoyable back and forth encounter, fought in a mat-based style which was appreciated by the fans without ever quite really catching on. In the end, Shaw took the win with the Shaw-thing and for the SECOND match in a row the two competitors shook hands.

America’s Most Wanted Vs Mohammed Yone & Takeshi Morishima (Steel Cage, * * * ¼ ) – IWF Commissioner Eric Bischoff has stated that AMW will have to “earn” their right to a rematch with Alias Storm & Haas, and the next step on this road was a steel cage match against Pro Wrestling Noah’s premier tag team. The steel cage was lowered and we were then given 12 minutes of absolute brutality. The Japanese are not know for pulling their punches, and this was no exception. The bloodthirsty fans in Belfast loved this and there were some super-stiff suplexes on display. In the end though, as most knew they would, AMW took the win when Harris pinned Yone.

Brock Lesnar Vs Rhino ( * * ) – Lesnar is back! Oh yeah. Just forget all about that time he was a homosexual. He’s a super-tough guy for real now. Anyways, Rhino tried his best but it wasn’t good enough and Lesnar simply overpowered him. Lesnar won with the F-5.

Chris Benoit Vs Booker T ( * * ¾ ) – Well I’m sure everyone was on the edge of their seats at the prospect of YET ANOTHER Booker/Benoit match. Yes this was another decent effort…but no, no-one really cared about the match. Booker took the win after the Book-End.

Jay Reso Vs Paul Wardle Vs Phil Jackson ( * * * ) – Ok, so Wardle and Jackson are hardly new to each other either, but at least they’ve had a proper feud going, and one that is still garnering much attention. Indeed, some are even calling them the 21st Century Dean & Mercy. Time will tell, but throw in super-over Jay Reso to the mix and you have a hot crowd for a good match. It would have been even better if not for the “screwy” ending as Wardle’s new mentor Raven did a run-in and smashed Jackson which enabled Wardle to pin Jackson to claim the European Title. Yes that’s right…for the second IWF PPV in a row, a champion lost his belt without being pinned.

Shawn Michaels & Kurt Angle Vs MNM & Carlito ( * * * ½ ) – It says a lot for the talent in this match that although the eventual outcome of the match was never in any real doubt, there were plenty of times when you thought that MNM and Carlito might just have been able to pull it off. This was the match of the night in all respects and the crowd really dug it too. Michaels and Angle played it straight, putting over their opponents as serious threats, and MNM and Carlito raised their game to match their illustrious opponents. Still in the end, some sweet chin music from HBK knocked Joey Mercury into the angle slam for Kurt to get the 1-2-3.

Matt Morgan Vs Triple H ( * * * ) – Was this to be the night that Triple H was to worm his way back into the MuscleMania main event spot light….well it almost was, but not quite, although special guest referee Randy Orton did indeed call the match down the middle. The two put together a decent match, albeit one which played far too much into Triple H’s strengths rather than the champions, and it looked as if HHH was going to win. But he didn’t count on the fact that over the past couple of weeks he’s been pissing off the wrong man, and Dean Roberts did a run-in, clonked HHH whilst the special guest referee Randy Orton was down, and Morgan could hit the Morgasm to get the 1-2-3 and retain his title. HHH was furious, Orton said he saw nothing, and Dean was laughing as the show went off the air.

SHOOT OUT Card

SHOOT OUT
Sunday 26th February 2006
Odyssey Arena, Belfast

WORLD TITLE:
Matt Morgan Vs Triple H
With RANDY ORTON as special guest referee

3-on-2 HANDICAP MATCH:
Shawn Michaels & Kurt Angle Vs MNM & Carlito

EUROPEAN TITLE:
Jay Reso Vs Paul Wardle Vs Phil Jackson

STEEL CAGE MATCH:
America’s Most Wanted Vs Mohammed Yone & Takeshi Morishima]

Shelton Benjamin Vs Chris Jericho

Brock Lesnar Vs Rhyno

Chris Benoit Vs Booker T

WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE:
Rick Shaw Vs Simon Starshot

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT RESULTS

America’s Most Wanted Vs Alias Storm & Haas Vs Second City Saints ( * * * ) – This was a fast paced and exciting opener, which could have been even better if the bookers had given it a bit longer to breathe AND hadn’t saddled it with an ending that left the fans cheesed off. Yes, Alias Storm & Haas won, and won the tag team titles back just ONE month after relinquishing them to AMW…but they did it when Charles Haas pinned the Second City Saints’ Colt Cabana. Deflated isn’t the word…

Chris Kanyon Vs Abyss ( * * * * ) So it was finally to be the end of this wonderful feud, and in the end I suppose it was of little surprise that Kanyon was to be the one with his hand raised in ultimate victory. Still, this was a fantastic match and performance from both men, and the whole thing has been nothing but good from start to finish,

Melina Vs Lisa Marie Veron ( * ¾ ) – Short, not entirely sweet, and Melina retained. That’s about all you need to know.

Matt Morgan Vs The Big Gee ( * * ½ ) – Ok so it was plodding in places, but the fans seemed to enjoy it and both men put forward supreme efforts and had a credible big man match. And one which Morgan won with the Moragsam. Title retained, but who would be getting the opportunity to face him, or whomever the champion might be by then at MuscleMania?


ROBO Rumble Match ( * * * * ) - So the 2006 Rumble kicked off with…SHELTON BENJAMIN making his way to the ring. Shelts hasn’t done all that much recently in the IWF but he’s a guy who is more over than he really has any right to be, and the crowd were interested to see him up first. They were even more interested however when they saw that joining him as the second entrant was none other than CHRIS JERICHO. Jericho ran into the ring, the bell rang and we kicked off the match proper. The two went at it with a great intensity and within 90 seconds, Benjamin had wormed his way out of a Walls Of Jericho attempt and Jericho only just survived a crunching T-Bone suplex.

Entrant three was PAUL WARDLE who looked his usual cocky self. He was content to let Jericho and Benjamin carry on fighting each other but the two soon realised what was happening and they both went after Wardle. They even managed to throw him over the top rope…but he managed to sneak back in under the bottom rope as Benjamin and Jericho continued to batter each other. Wardle realised what was going on and he played possum in the corner as the other two continued to knock seven bells out of each other. That cocky smile even returned to his face, but that disappeared when the countdown ran out and the 4th entrant was revealed as…PHIL JACKSON!!!
The crowd went wild as Jackson stormed the ring and took the fight straight to Wardle as Jericho and Benjamin continued their battle. The two separate battles continued until the 5th entrant, CHRIS BENOIT, made his way to the ting and immediately made his intentions clear by battering anything that moved. In fact the whole match became a five-man free for all, the highlight of which was Benjamin hitting an insane springboard drop-kick on Benoit. As the five battled on, the countdown began for the next entrant…

And the crowd went wild as TRIPLE H made his way in, pausing to spew out his water as usual. And immediately he made an impact by first of all tossing Chris Jericho out and then Shelton Benjamin. Funnily enough, the crowd loved it. He almost did the same to Chris Benoit, but the Rabid Wolverine managed to stave off the onslaught as JOHN CENA, yes he’s still alive, made a “welcome” return to PPV. The fans weren’t exactly ecstatic, and even less so when he made an immediate bee-line for Benoit.

This left Triple H observing the on-going battle between Jackson and Wardle, although he wasn’t observing it for long as he soon decided to try and teach the youngsters a lesson. This continued as MATT HARDY made his way into the ring, who wisely tangled with Cena and Benoit. However, at this point both Jackson and Wardle started to fight back and take the battle to HHH, much to the crowd’s delight.

ACID became the 9th man to enter the Rumble, but he was almost immediately turfed out by John Cena, who was in turn turfed out by Chris Benoit, much to the fan’s delight. BOOKER T was next up and after siding up to Benoit and telling him they should work together, as soon as Benoit’s back was turned he attacked him and gave the crowd a devilish grin as they booed.

By now Triple H was down on the floor, content to take a breather as Wardle and Jackson continued their punishing rivalry. PAUL LONDON made his way down to the ring, to little attention, and two minutes later he was joined by RAY GORDY, the reaction to whom made London’s look like Hulk Hogan had just shown up. It has to be said though that Gordy and London had some pretty swift exchanges, alongside Matt Hardy, and given that Wardle/Jackson and Booker/Benoit were still at war, Triple H really was taking a rest, pretending to be too hurt to fight.

That all looked like it might change when EDGE became the 13th entrant, but instead of targeting Tripper, he immediately went straight for Paul London and tossed him out before also eliminating Ray Gordy. Edge then saw that Booker T and Benoit were perilously close to the ropes and he sneaked up and eliminated both of them.

With Jackson & Wardle still fighting their almighty battle, Edge turned his attention to Matt Hardy. But Triple H saw this as his opportunity, first eliminating Wardle & Jackson as they brawled, and then hitting the same trick with Edge & Hardy! Triple H had a beaming smile as he surveyed the empty ring.
He was smiling even more when GREGORY HELMS became the 14th man to enter. Give Helms credit, he took the fight to HHH, but he was quickly dispatched giving Tripper more time to recuperate. He didn’t look all that worried when BATISTA was unveiled as the next entrant. He looked an awful lot more worried when Batista used his power to knock him over however, but Batista’s moment of glory was short-lived. A low-blow from HHH got Batista off-balance and one clothesline later Trips was once again surveying an empty ring.

But the next entrant wasn’t to HHH’s liking at all, and the reaction from the crowd as DEAN ROBERTS made his way out was electric. The two circled each other as the crowd went off the scale and the two only just locked up for the first time as the countdown for the next entrant began…but when that proved to be SHAWN MICHAELS the crowd became un-glued. The three went at it hammer and tongues, with none of the men seemingly gaining any great advantage. When CARLITO became the 18th entrant he was content to take nearly all of his two minutes to get to the ring and he’d only just stepped in the ring when BURCHILL made his way out, to a polite reception. The three way continued as Burchill and Carlito went at it. And as JOEY MERCURY took us to the half way point for entrants, he joined Burchill and Carlito in having as little as possible to do with the three main event superstars.

KANE became the next man in and he immediately went into the thick of things, breaking up the HHH/HBK/Dean trio and all hell broke loose. In the melee, Dean got rid of Burchill. RICK SHAW was next in and we immediately saw a bit of Champion Vs Champion action between him and Carlito. SEAN O HAIRE then added to the bulk in the ring, becoming the 23rd entrant. The ring was a sea of bodies, but no one was eliminated before RANDY ORTON made his entrance.

Orton made an immediate impact by eliminating old rival O’Haire and as just as the countdown began for the next entrant, Carlito won his mini-battle by tossing Cruiserweight Champion Rick Shaw over the top rope. JOHNNY NITRO was unveiled as the next man in and he immediately went to help his MNM partner Joey Mercury in tangling with Dean Roberts. That was broken up by Kane, and Dean then found himself helping Randy Orton to double team HBK. But no sooner had the two put HBK on the floor, Orton took advantage of a momentary lapse by Dean to toss him over the top rope.

JAMES GIBSON was next to enter the Rumble but as he did so, MNM pulled off a huge shocker by managing to eliminate The Big Red Machine Kane. Gibson didn’t last long either, being sent packing by a bit of HBK’s Sweet Chin Music! BRYAN DANIELSON became the number 27th entrant and the ring filled up again with Danielson joining Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Carlito and MNM in the ring. But then we got another HUGE name entering at number 28…former World Champion Kurt Angle, who got an absolutely booming reception. As soon as he got in the ring Carlito and MNM made a beeline for him and started a three-on-one. They nearly got him out but Angle managed to hold on. ROB VAN DAM then made his way into the ring to join the melee and once again no-one was eliminated by the time entrant number 30, JAY RESO, made his way in.

However things changed quickly as Angle finally managed to overpower Carlito and MNM, with a little help from Shawn Michaels, and Angle eliminated Johnny Nitro, followed shortly by HBK eliminated Joey Mercury. MONTY BROWN was next to come in, getting a small reaction from the crowd and the body count continued to mount as SIMON STARSHOT became entrant 32. He immediately tossed aside Bryan Danielson before joining Reso and RVD in a three-way fist fight. HHH, proving he was still very much in this match despite having been in the ring for over 50 minutes by this point, then eliminated Monty Brown. JOHN BRADSHAW LAYFIELD then became the next entrant, but he picked a fight with the wrong man as Shawn Michaels quickly tossed him back from whence he came.

BRIAN KENDRICK became entrant 34 just as a thrilling exchange between Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle was reaching a climax…and it was HBK who was sent over the top rope by the Olympic Gold medallist. CHAVO GUERRERO joined the fray and the next two minutes saw no-one eliminated as ASHTEN DRAKE made his way in. This meant that with only four entrants to come we had HHH, Orton, Angle, RVD, Reso, Starshot, Kendrick, Guerrero and Drake still in with a chance of winning the Rumble.

Business picked up once more though as entrant 37 made his way to the ring…yes XAVIER was in the house and he got a booming reaction from the crowd as well. Chavo Guerrero went flying out courtesy of Randy Orton and he was soon followed by Ashten Drake, courtesy of Kurt Angle. CHUCK PALUMBO was next in before RHYNO became the 39th and penultimate entrant. Palumbo was sent packing by Randy Orton and Carlito’s valiant effort (he’d been in the match for 40 minutes himself by this point) was finally ended by Triple H.
This left HHH, Orton, Angle, RVD, Reso, Starshot, Kendrick, Xavier and Rhyno in the match, with only one man left to enter….and the atmosphere went mental when number 40 turned out to be the returning BROCK LESNAR!!! He stormed the ring and immediately tossed Rob Van Dam over the top rope. And Rhyno fared no better when he attempted to attack Lesnar and he too was quickly dispatched. Lesnar then turned his attention to the brawling Triple H and Kurt Angle, but this was one act of bravado too far as HHH and Kurt teamed up to double-clothesline Lesnar out of the match.

However this took the last ounce of Triple H’s stamina (he’d passed the hour mark by now) and he was left easy prey for the elimination by Xavier. Brian Kendrick was next to go, courtesy of Randy Orton, and he was quickly followed by the gallant Simon Starshot, who was tossed out by Jay Reso. Xavier then went courtesy of Kurt Angle, leaving Randy Orton, Kurt Angle and Jay Reso as the final three men in.
The crowd were intrigued by the final three and they really were at fever pitch. The three really took it to the limit in the final stretch and when Reso was eliminated by Angle it was all down to Orton and Angle for the right to headline MuscleMania. The crowd were at fever pitch and they thought that Angle had won it when he tossed Orton over the top rope…in fact Angle himself thought he’d won it, but Orton managed to avoid touching the floor, sneaked back into the ring and eliminated Angle from behind to win the 2006 Robo Rumble.

ORDER OF ENTRANTS

1) Shelton Benjamin
2) Chris Jericho
3) Paul “The Phenomenon” Wardle
4) “The Graduate” Phil Jackson
5) Chris Benoit
6) Triple H
7) Ray Gordy
8) Matt Hardy
9) Acid
10) Booker T
11) Paul London
12) Ray Gordy
13) Edge
14) Gregory Helms
15) Batista
16) Dean Roberts
17) Shawn Michaels
18) Carlito
19) Paul Burchill
20) Joey Mercury
21) Kane
22) Rick Shaw
23) Sean O’ Haire
24) Randy Orton
25) Johnny Nitro
26) James Gibson
27) Bryan Danielson
28) Kurt Angle
29) Rob Van Dam
30) Jay Reso
31) Monty Brown
32) Simon Starshot
33) Mathuras
34) Brian Kendrick
35) Ashten Drake
36) Bill De Mott
37) Xavier
38) Chuck Palumbo
39) Rhyno
40) Brock Lesnar

ORDER OF ELIMINATION

1) Chris Jericho (Triple H)
2) Shelton Benjamin (Triple H)
3) Acid (John Cena)
4) John Cena (Chris Benoit)
5) Paul London (Edge)
6) Ray Gordy (Edge)
7 & 8) Booker T & Chris Benoit (Edge)
9 &10) Paul Wardle & Phil Jackson (Triple H)
11 & 12) Edge & Matt Hardy (Triple H)
13) Gregory Helms (Triple H)
14) Batista (Triple H)
15) Paul Burchill (Dean Roberts)
16) Sean O Haire (Randy Orton)
17) Rick Shaw (Carlito)
18) Dean Roberts (Randy Orton)
19) Kane (MNM)
20) James Gibson (Shawn Michaels)
21) Johnny Nitro (Kurt Angle)
22) Joey Mercury (Shawn Michaels)
23) Bryan Danielson (Simon Starshot)
24) Monty Brown (Triple H)
25) JBL (Shawn Michaels)
26) Shawn Michaels (Kurt Angle)
27) Chavo Guerrero ( Randy Orton)
28) Ashten Drake (Kurt Angle)
29) Chuck Palumbo (Randy Orton)
30) Carlito (Triple H)
31) Rob Van Dam (Brock Lesnar)
32) Rhyno (Brock Lesnar)
33) Brock Lesnar (Triple H & Kurt Angle)
34) Triple H (Xavier)
35) Brian Kendrick (Randy Orton)
36) Simon Starshot (Jay Reso)
37) Xavier (Kurt Angle)
38) Jay Reso (Kurt Angle)
39) Kurt Angle (Randy Orton)
WINNER = RANDY ORTON!

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT CARD

Card to follow.

Breaking Point Review

Alias Storm & Haas Vs America’s Most Wanted ( * * * ½ )
America’s Most Wanted snubbed the big-money offer from MMK’s new Total Wrestling Action Today promotion, to sign their deal with the IWF, and this is what it got them. This was a superb opener and proved that the IWF’s decision to push AMW to the top of the tag division right from the bat was warranted and the crowd went wild when Harris & Storm won the belts when Harris pinned Lance Storm. Job done.

Monty Brown Vs Chris Jericho ( * ¾ )
The crowd heat disappeared for this one. Brown is quite simply not in Jericho’s league and the fans knew it. Jericho took the win failry comfortably with the Walls Of Jericho. Until Brown gets a personality, he’ll remain at the bottom of the IWF ladder.

The Big Gee Vs “The Graduate” Phil Jackson ( * * )
This was a fairly entertaining David Vs Goliath match, but simply wasn’t given enough time to breathe. The fans dug it, but with a few extra minutes to play with this could have been special. As it was, Gee finished Jackson off with the Geesus Christ (yes, they are calling it that again).

Matt Hardy Vs Randy Orton ( * * ¾ )
Oh Hardy, where did it all go wrong? Ok, so he’s still got a high profile, but recently he’s been racking up more losses than wins and as you might have suspected it was another one in the loss column for Hardy here. Orton needed a win after a couple of high-profile losses, and he finished off Hardy with the RKO. 2006 could be a vital year for both men indeed.

Chris Kanyon & Dean Roberts Vs Abyss & Triple H ( * * * ¼)
Ok so basically this tag team match was set up to prolong the Kanyon/Abyss feud AND to tease a one-on-one meeting between Dean and HHH (which will come at some point during 2006 for sure). And on both counts this enteraining tag match fitted the bill. The crowd came unglued when Dean and Tripper first locked horns, which bodes well for that match (a rematch which has been a long-time coming), and the crowd were still hot for the Kanyon/Abyss rivalry too, which escalated a bit more when interference from Father James Mitchell enabled Abyss to get the pin over Kanyon with the Black Hole Slam

Jay Reso Vs “The Phenomenon” Paul Wardle ( * * * )
This is a feud which has quietly caught fire over the past few weeks and it was a very entertaining blow off to the mini-feud. It will come as little surprise to learn that Reso took the win, but Wardle held his own and was allowed to look competitive before falling to the Unprettier. Nice little match.

Xavier Vs Kurt Angle ( * * * * ¾ )
Wow. That’s all you really need to say about this one, as it was just a superb slice of 21st Century pro-grappling. The crowd were on the edge of their seats throughout this titanic battle and this was one of those that really could have gone either way. In the end it was Angle who won (after a third Angle Slam) but this was a match where no-one lost. Both were superb and it was a very late entry into the running for the best match of 2005. Simply outstanding.

Melina Vs Annalise Roberts Vs Christy Hemme Vs Nikita ( * * )
They couldn’t follow the previous match of course, but they tried their best. Mind you, they weren’t helped by the “first pinfall wins” rules, but there was a hot closing sequence which ended when Melina finished off Christy for the 1-2-3 and the retention of her Women’s Title.

Matt Morgan Vs Shawn Michaels ( * * * * )
Main event time, and if it couldn’t quite grab match of the night honours from Angle/Xav it came close and ended the night on a high note. HBK was superb here as he did everything within his power to put Morgan across in a positive light and Morgan continued to show his growing suitabilty for the top spot. HBK was valliant but in the end he couldn’t quite put Morgan away, although it did take a chair shot from Morgan’s “agent” Paul Heyman for Morgan to be able to hit the Morgasm for the 1-2-3. A very good main event indeed.

A good end to 2005, although some critics have bemoaned the fact that for the most part it was the old superstars who got the big wins. But this night may well be one to remember for the likes of Randy Orton, America’s Most Wanted, Abyss and Matt Morgan who all got victories which gave their careers a good boost. But really when all is said and done, Breaking Point will be remembered for the scincillating Angle/Xavier match which, quite frankly, worth the ppv money alone.

Breaking Point 2005 CARD

Breaking Point 2005
Saturday 24th December

UNIFIED WORLD TITLE:
Matt Morgan Vs Shawn Michaels

Chris Kanyon & Dean Roberts Vs Abyss & Triple H

Xavier Vs Kurt Angle

Matt Hardy Vs Randy Orton

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES:
Alias Storm & Haas Vs America’s Most Wanted

WORLD WOMEN’S TITLE:
Melina Vs Annalise Roberts Vs Christy Hemme Vs Nikita

EUROPEAN TITLE:
Jay Reso Vs “The Phenomenon” Paul Wardle

The Big Gee Vs “The Graduate” Phil Jackson

Monty Brown Vs Chris Jericho

Nightmare Report…

Alias Storm & Haas Vs JBL & Edge ( * * )
Oh, Edge & JBL were such a dynamic team when the Man Of Steel invitational threw them together that they’ve rode a wave of positive excitement towards their big chance at the World Tag Team Titles. Ok, so they haven’t. They’ve actually been as dull as you might expect in the ring (no matter how entertaining JBL can be as a character), and as such, they were only ever here to take the fall for the champions, which came when Haas pinned Edge.
Sean O’Haire Vs Batista ( * )
Man you’ve been on the edge of your seat during the bitter and episodic break up between this former World Tag Team championship team haven’t you?…what’s that?…you haven’t? Ah well. This was as plodding as you might expect; both men are more than capable of having good matches with good wrestlers, but neither can have good matches with bad wrestlers, and so this was power-based “wrestling” all the way, with little in the way of interest until O’Haire unveiled his ever impressive Seanton Bomb to get the 1-2-3.
Carlito Vs Paul Birchill ( * * ¾ )
As this was held in Puerto Rico, Carlito was one of the most over wrestlers on the card. Thankfully the IWF booking squad went with the flow and reversed roles for these two, enabling Birchill to play quite the intense heel. (Mark our words, he’ll turn heel for real before too long). But Carlito used some of his cheating tactics to get the win, much to the delight of his home crowd.
MNM, Wardle & Gibson Vs Saints, Jackson & Reso ( * * ½ )
A bit of a mess, as 8 man tags are wont to be, but this was decent enough and threw in enough hot moves to get the crowd interested. Wardle again looked like he was on a mission to steal the show, but it wasn’t enough to get his team the win, as it was Reso who finished Joey Mercury off with the Unprettier for the 1-2-3.
Shawn Michaels Vs The Big Gee ( * * * ½ )
What a pleasant surprise this was. Michaels kept up his sterling form as of late and Gee looked more focussed and interested than he has in a while. The result was a classic old school “David Vs Goliath” battle that really worked well. In the end, Michaels wrapped it up with a small package in what was a very competitive and entertaining affair.
Randy Orton Vs Xavier ( * * * ¼ )
Well it certainly looks like after his stellar 2005, Orton is being tested as the year draws towards a close. Hot on the heels of his loss to Triple H at Neon Blue, he went down here in an entertaining battle with Xavier, which Xav wrapped up with the Xav-attack. Still, Orton’s time will come, and this result should hopefully help to put Xav back on track too.
Matt Hardy Vs Triple H ( * * * )
A decent enough battle, albeit one that really didn’t do Matt Hardy’s quest to be a genuine top-liner any good. He just didn’t show the fire one would have expected him to do, and it came as little surprise in the end to see HHH go over via the Pedigree. Still, Hardy will get more chances, and a loss to HHH is nothing to be ashamed of.
Matt Morgan Vs Chris Kanyon ( * * * ¼ )
Can Morgan cut it as a champion? Well on this showing the suggestion is that he could. Whilst Kanyon carried the match (much like Angle did at Neon Blue), Morgan again more than held his own, and his psychotic heel personae is very effective indeed. Kanyon controlled the early going but Morgan gradually wore his opponent down. A flurry though by Kanyon looked like it might swing things his way, but the untimely re-appearance of Abyss tore the match away from Kanyon, as his return to IWF TV was enough to distract Kanyon for long enough for Morgan to hit the Morgasm for the 1-2-3, and his first PPV title defence was wrapped up successfully.

An average under-card was propped up by an entertaining final quartet of matches which, if not outstanding, where more than enough to keep the viewer entertained. As the stop-over between Neon Blue and Breaking Point, it did its job adequately enough.

NIGHTMARE 2005 - CARD

Nightmare 2005
Sunday 20th November 2005

Unified Triple Crown:
Matt Morgan Vs Chris Kanyon

Randy Orton Vs Xavier

Matt Hardy Vs Triple H

Shawn Michaels Vs The Big Gee

World Tag Team Titles;
Alias Storm & Haas Vs JBL & Edge

Sean O’Haire Vs Batista

United Kingdom Title;
Carlito Vs Paul Birchill

MNM, Paul Wardle & James Gibson
Vs
Second City Saints, Phil Jackson & Jay Reso

NEON BLUE REVIEW

Second City Saints Vs MNM ( * * * )
What a refreshing way to kick off Neon Blue. This was 7 minutes of heaven (and as good a 7 minute tag match as you are likely to see) and all four men (and Annalise and Melina at ringside) put their best feet forward to contibute. In the end though, it was bound to come down to some female extra-curricular activities in terms of settling the match, and despite Annalise’s best efforts to stop Melina, Melina managed to throw a steel chair into the ring, which enabled Joey Mercury to waffle Colt Cabana and Johnny Nitro got the 1-2-3 which gained his team the European Tag Titles.

James Gibson Vs Rick Shaw ( * * * ¼ )
A slight disappointment, although like the opener this was kept a relatively brief affair. Shaw lost his title at Man Of Steel without being pinned and this was his big chance to regain the title, but in the end Gibson prevailed in a hot closing sequence to get the pinfall and retain his title.

6 Man Ladder Match ( * * * * ¼ )
Car-wreck wrestling this may have been, but there is no doubt that the stunts on display here were breath-taking in the extreme. All six men put their body on the line in this one, but particularily impressive where Paul Wardle (who flung himself about like he was determined to steal the show in this one) and Phil Jackson, who stepped upto the plate with an awesome display. In the end though, it was Jay Reso who managed to sneak up the ladder and claim the gold, much to the delight of the audience and grab the European title for the second time.

Dean Roberts Vs Shawn Michaels (Iron Man, * * * * )
Both men looked very serious at the onset of this one, and both delivered cracking psychologically heavy performances in this cracker of a match.
ORDER OF DECISIONS:
1) Shawn Micheals pins Dean Roberts following a Top-Rope cross-body (14:32, HBK 1 – 0 Dean)
2) Dean pins Shawn following A Scholarship (22:10, HBK 1 – 1 Dean)
3) Dean pins Shawn who is still KO’ed from the Scholarship (23:10, HBK 1 – 2 Dean)
4) Shawn pins Dean following a roll-up (28:14, HBK 2 – 2 Dean)
OVER-TIME
5) Shawn pins Dean after Sweet Chin Music (35:11, HBK 3 – 2 Dean)
Both men got a standing ovation after the effort and shook hands to an even louder reaction. This was seriously good story-telling from both men

Chris Kanyon Vs Abyss (Road To Hell, * * * *)
More car-wreck wrestling, but again, what a spectacle. These two men fought all over the arena in what was basically a Falls Count Anywhere Anything Goes Match but eventually they got back in the ring and Kanyon managed to pin Abyss after a THIRD Kanyon-Kutter, which suggests that whilst Kanyon may have won this battle, the war might yet be far from over.

Triple H Vs Randy Orton ( * * * ½ )
Ok, so this was two heels fighting each other, but the IWF had done a good job of buildilng a storyline out of it and as such this was a well-received match. It was also the night that Orton’s “luck” ran out as he was finished off after a brutal battle by a HHH Pedigree. That said, Tripper did his part to keep Orton strong so this was a good match for all concerned.

Kurt Angle Vs Matt Morgan ( * * * ¾ )
So it was main event time, and this has had some wicked build up ever since the closing moments of Man Of Steel, This was a blood bath and initial fears that Morgan wasn’t a main-event wrestler were calmed by the fact that this was a corking match. Sure, Angle carried him, but Morgan played his part well and the lashings of claret added to the atmosphere. In the end Angle was spouting what looked like a ton of blood and was struggling to even see, which left him prey to the Morgasm, and much to the shock of the crowd, Morgan got the pinfall victory to earn himself his first ever Unified Triple Crown. As Morgan celebrated his way back to the locker-room area, a bloodied and battered Angle got up to a HUGE reaction from the crowd but Morgan just ran in once again and smashed him with another Morgasm. He mockingly stood over Angle’s bloody carcass as the show went off the air..

Wow, what else is there to say? This was one of the finest nights of IWF action ever, and had a truly stunning climax. Believe it folks, the IWF is back to its best.

Neon Blue 2005 Card

Neon Blue
Sunday 23rd October

UNIFIED TRIPLE CROWN:
Kurt Angle Vs Matt Morgan

30 MINUTE IRON MAN MATCH;
Dean Roberts Vs Shawn Michaels

ROAD TO HELL MATCH;
Chris Kanyon Vs Abyss

Triple H Vs Randy Orton

WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE:
James Gibson Vs Rick Shaw

EUROPEAN TITLE: SIX WAY LADDER MATCH
Matt Hardy
Vs
Jay Reso
VS
Eddy Guerrero
Vs
Phil Jackson
Vs
Carlito
Vs
Paul “The Phenomenon” Wardle

UNITED KINGDOM TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH:
Second City Saints Vs MNM

With Annalise Roberts & Melina at ringside.

Man Of Steel Report

Rob Van Dam & Paul Wardle Vs Chris Jericho & Randy Orton ( * * ¾ )
Ok, so last year it was the “Super Series” invitational, but don’t quibble over semantics. This was just what you would want from an opener; energetic, fast paced and smooth flowing. It’s a testament to Wardle that he didn’t look out of place in the experienced company he was sharing the ring with. Still, he couldn’t fashion a win for his team as in the end Randy Orton finished RVD off with the RKO for him and Jericho to advance.

Lance Storm & Johnny Nitro Vs Sean O Haire & Jay Reso ( * ¾ )
This was decent stuff, highlighted by mutual distrust between partners, which was eventually overcome, for the winners anyway, when O’Haire finished Lance Storm off with a Seanton Bomb.

JBL & Edge Vs Chris Kanyon & Charles Haas ( * * )
Edge looked positively ecstatic at having JBL as his partner, but he was less pleased to see one of his opponents was to be Kanyon. And his dread was fully warranted, as in the end it was Kanyon who finished Edge off with the Kanyon-Kutter to make his team advance.

Batista & Paul Birchill Vs Carlito & Matt Morgan ( * ½ )
Well Carlito wasn’t happy at all with being lumped with these three giants, but he was happy in the end as he turned out to be teamed with the best of the three giants. Carlito did very little at all but watch his partner Morgan destroy Batista and, the debuting Birchill, eventually finishing off Batista with the Morgasm.

Matt Hardy & CM Punk Vs Kane & Phil Jackson ( * * * )
This was a cracking little encounter, which saw all four men put their best foot forward and the crowd were royally entertained. In the end, Punk finished off Jackson with the Pepsi Plunge for his team to advance.

Abyss & Xavier Vs The Big Gee & Shelton Benjamin ( * ¾ )
This was a decent, albeit brief, encounter, which was only really memorable for The Big Gee leaving his partner to the wolves, so to speak, and walking off, which left Shelton easy prey for Abyss’ Black Hole Slam.

Monty Brown & Ray Gordy Vs Joey Mercury & Dean Roberts ( * * ¼ )
Quite what Dean was doing in this company is anyone’s guess, but this was actually a competent match. Mercury seemed over-awed at teaming with the Icon, Gordy looked his usual sturdy, but uncharismatic self, and Brown, in his IWF debut, looked sharp and like a potential star. In the end though, Dean won out, as you would expect him to do, and he finished off Gordy with a Scholarship. Incensed, Brown hit Gordy with what we assume will become his finishing move The Pounce.

Simon Starshot & Triple H Vs Colt Cabana & Shawn Michaels ( * ¾ )
The final Qualifying match started with Dean Roberts, returning to the dressing room after his match, kicking the crap out of Shawn Michaels, leaving Colt Cabana on his own. Which obviously did no favours for Colt at all, and he was quickly finished off with a Pedigree.

Rick Shaw Vs Bryan Danielson Vs James Gibson Vs Brian Kendrick ( * * ¾ )
This could have been a classic if it hadn’t been so rushed (and if it hadn’t been fought under first pinfall wins). And as you might have feared, the fact that Shaw could lose the Cruiserweight title without being pinned became of the utmost importance as Gibson finished Danielson off to take the pinfall and to lift the Cruiserweight title.

Man Of Steel Battle Bowl Final ( * * * )
PARTICIPANTS: Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Sean O Haire, Jay Reso, Chris Kanyon, Charles Haas, Carlito, Matt Morgan, Matt Hardy, CM Punk, Abyss, Xavier, Joey Mercury, Dean Roberts, Simon Starshot, Triple H
ORDER OF ELIMINATION:
I) Dean Roberts (attacked by Shawn Michaels, who ran out at the onset of the match and tossed Dean over the top-rope).
II) Simon Starshot (Jay Reso),
III) Sean O Haire (Abyss),
IV) Charles Haas (Matt Hardy),
V) Joey Mercury (Xavier),
VI) Chris Jericho (Triple H),
VII) CM Punk (Triple H),
VIII) Jay Reso (Matt Morgan),
IX) Xavier (Matt Morgan),
X) Abyss (Chris Kanyon),
XI) Chris Kanyon (Triple H & Abyss – Abyss reached back in the ring to grab Kanyon enabling HHH to throw him out),
XII) Carlito (Matt Morgan),
XIII) Matt Hardy (Randy Orton)
XIV) Randy Orton (Triple H),
XV) Triple H (Matt Morgan).WINNER = MATT MORGAN.
Morgan celebrated as Triple H looked on stunned. Rumour before hand was that the winner of the match would get the Unified Title shot at Neon Blue…if so, who would it be against?

Kurt Angle Vs The Undertaker ( * * * ¼ )
A decent main event to end a decent card. There has been some good build up to this one, and the fans were looking forward to it. They were positively willing Angle to win, and although at times it looked as if he was on the verge of losing the Unified Triple Crown, he rallied and in the end finished off the Undertaker with the Angle slam. As Angle celebrated however, Matt Morgan ran out and absolutely kicked the crap out of Angle, bloodying him in the process. Which means two things…Morgan is now officially heel…and it’s going to be Morgan/Angle at Neon Blue!!!

Man Of Steel 2005 Card

Man Of Steel 2005
Sunday 11th September

UNIFIED WORLD TITLE:
Kurt Angle Vs The Undertaker

MAN OF STEEL INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
Participants;
Chris Kanyon, Dean Roberts, Shawn Michaels, The Big Gee, Kane, Xavier, Randy Orton, Matt Hardy, Phil Jackson, Carlito, Abyss, JBL, Triple H, Sean O Haire, Batista, Lance Storm, Charles Haas, Matt Morgan, Joey Mercury, Johnny Nitro, CM Punk, Colt Cabana, Jay Reso , Shelton Benjamin, Paul Wardle, Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho, Edge, Simon Starshot, Paul Birchill, Monty Brown, Ray Gordy

WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE:
Rick Shaw Vs Bryan Danielson Vs James Gibson Vs Brian Kendrick

SUPER SERIES REPORT

Matt Morgan Vs Edge ( * * ¼ )
The show kicked off with this intriguing battle. Despite the fact we’ve been saying this for a long time now, Morgan is bubbling under nicely and seemingly has a future in the IWF. Edge, on the other hand, may have had all the chances at glory he is going to get. Which all meant that whilst this was a respectable opener, it had zero drama as not one fan really expected Edge to walk away with the victory, and indeed it proved so. Morgan took the pinfall.

Batista & Sean O Haire Vs Alias Storm & Haas ( * ¾ )
It seemed as if the fans were also expecting a rather predictable outcome to this one; after all O’Haire and Batista have crushed everyone in their path since winning the titles at MM, but Storm and Haas have obviously spent their time wisely since then as they took advantage of Batista’s dodgy knees to not only get themselves into the match, but to win it as well! Sadly the clash of styles once again did little for the match, but it wasn’t too bad.

Jay Reso Vs Chuck Palumbo ( * * )
Why? Why was this match on PPV? Who knows, but Reso took an easy win, which he was always going to get, and Palumbo ensured he got a few more pounds on this month’s pay cheque.

Annalise Roberts & Second City Saints Vs MNM ( * * ¾ )
This feud has been bubbling nicely since Melina defeated Annalise for the Womens title last month, courtesy of MNM’s interference. This was an entertaining match, which could have been even better if it had been allotted a bit more time. In the end MNM won when Joey Matthews pinned Colt Cabana after Johnny Nitro had smashed CC with the Womens Title belt.

Kurt Angle Vs The Undertaker Vs The Big Gee Vs Kane ( * * * )
The thought of this match didn’t exactly inspire thoughts of something wonderful before hand, but it was a stellar, hard-hitting bout which the crowd got well into. Fought under first pinfall wins rules, this did become a bit of a mess at times, but on the whole was a well constructed, tight and exciting battle. And it was a battle that Angle won when he pinned Kane, although it is worth pointing out that Kane was knocked down an Undertaker tombstone.

Rick Shaw Vs Acid ( * * ¼ )
The calm between the two “main events” this was nothing more than card-filler, which was a shame really because the match was progressing quite nicely until from out of nowhere Rick hit the Shaw-thing to get the pinfall and retain his World Cruiserweight title.

Team Dean Vs Team HBK (Super Series Elimination, * * * * ½ )
The story behind this was that the team Captains Dean & Shawn were allowed to hand-pick their four partners for this match, which led to some entertaining segments and promos on Warfare and Impact recently. It is also worth noting that Dean’s recent stint in hospital meant he didn’t do an awful lot in this match, which in some ways helped to add to the drama and atmosphere. Order of elimination was as follows; I) Matt Hardy (pinned by Randy Orton), II) JBL (pinned by HHH), III)Carlito (pinned by Xavier), IV & V) Chris Kanyon and Abyss were subject to a Double Disqualification, VI) Xavier (pinned by Randy Orton), VII) Triple H (pinned by Randy Orton); VIII) Randy Orton (pinned by Shawn Michaels). IX) Shawn Michaels (pinned by Dean Roberts, but only after Randy Orton returned to the ring and smacked HBK with the ring bell). WINNER, AND SOLE SURVIVOR – Dean Roberts.

The under card was a bit hit and miss on this occasion but the two main events saved the day. The triple crown title match was a lot smoother than some critics feared it would be, but the Super Series match was off the scale and was beautifully booked and was certainly one to remember.

Super Series 2005 Card

Super Series 2005
Sunday 14th August

WORLD TRIPLE CROWN TITLE:
Kurt Angle Vs Kane Vs The Undertaker Vs The Big Gee

- - -

TRADITIONAL SUPER SERIES ENCOUNTER:

TEAM DEAN
Dean Roberts, Chris Kanyon, Randy Orton, Carlito & JBL

Vs

TEAM HBK
Shawn Michaels, Abyss, Xavier, Matt Hardy & Triple H

- - -

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES;
Sean O'Haire & Batista Vs Alias Storm & Haas

Matt Morgan Vs Edge

WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE:
Rick Shaw Vs Acid

Annalise Roberts & The Second City Saints
Vs
Melina & MNM

Jay Reso Vs "The Famous" Chuck Palumbo

Xtreme Overload Card

“The Graduate” Phil Jackson Vs Carlito Caribbean Cool ( * * * )
Xtreme Overload kicked off with this battle for the UK title, which certainly had the crowd interested from the start. Jackson may well be the most popular “mid-carder” on the roster, and Carlito has been catching on fire recently. This was a quality opener which had just the right amount of big moves to get the crowd going, even if it didn’t quite have the ending that the fans wanted. Carlito grabbed a handful of tights, got the pinfall and lifted the UK title. Jackson was furious, but there was nothing he could do.
Randy Orton Vs Rob Van Dam ( * * ½ )
So this month it was RVD who was chosen to be Orton’s victim. You only have to hope that Orton’s victory here continues his upwards climb because it is clear that the IWF is in dire need of fresh blood at main event standard (Orton may have been in Heat Wave’s main event but he’s not quite a full-time headline act just yet). As you might have guessed Orton wrapped this up with an RKO.
Sean O’Haire & Batista Vs Eddy Guerrero & Chavo Guerrero ( * * )
One day they might find opponents the same size as the mammoth tag team champions, but for now, The Guerrero’s had to do. As you might expect a bit of their old Lie, Cheat and Steal ethos kept them in the hunt for the belts in this one, but it was never going to be quite enough. Eddy went for a Frog Splash but was hurled off the turnbuckle by Batista and then O’Haire hit his stunning Seanton-Bomb to get the 1-2-3 and retain the belts for his team.
Chris Kanyon Vs Abyss ( * * * ¼ )
Management obviously see big things in Abyss’ future, evidenced by him targeting Chris Kanyon on his very first night on Warfare. He certainly looked the part here; he’s not the lumbering big guy you might thing…Abyss can certainly move around in there. This was a very entertaining high-impact collision which certainly did suggest that management may be onto something with Abyss. And in a complete shocker he got the win here, although he did get help from his manager James Mitchell who threw him a chain which Abyss wrapped around his arm and then knocked Kanyon cold out with a beautiful punch. This feud is certainly far from over, but what a promising start it was for Abyss.
Annalise Roberts Vs Melina ( * * ¾ )
New girl in town Melina hasn’t made many friends in her short time here in the IWF, but she certainly looked the part in the ring as she took apart Annalise in the early going. However Annalise used all her experience to get back into contention and it looked as if it could go either way…at least until two men hopped over the guard rail. Whilst one of them distracted the referee, the other nipped into the ring and smashed Annalise with a DDT, allowing Melina to get the pinfall victory and lift the World Women’s title. In a post match interview, the men introduced themselves as Joey Mercury and Johnny Nitro and said that along with Melina, they were to be known as MNM!
Kane & The Big Gee Vs The Undertaker & Xavier ( * * * )
The partner lottery match saw all four men’s names go into a draw to decide what teams would meet, which was all due to the massive four man brawl these men had on Impact recently. Or you could just say it was a novel way of getting a meaningful match out of it. Whatever, the results was actually pretty damn good. No-one was really getting along with anyone, but Kane & Gee seemed more willing to work together for the greater good, and in the end that’s what helped them to get the job done. Xavier had enough of teaming with ‘Taker and attempted to attack his own partner. Sadly ‘Taker didn’t go down and Xav felt the Tombstone from his own partner before Gee hit the Geesus Christ on Xavier to seal the win for his team.
Dean Roberts Vs Shawn Michaels ( * * * ½ )
These two have tore at each other verbally on TV leading up to this match, in some of the best promo segments in some while, and the two delivered in the ring as well. A masterclass in psychology, although Dean’s timing was out on a few moves, the two had the fans on the edge of their seats before they’d even really done any big moves, and once those big moves came out, the fans went wild. It was real back and forth stuff which looked like either man would grab it, but in the end it was HBK who took the spoils when he wrapped Dean in a small package for the 1-2-3. Dean was far from pleased with the result and seemed to suggest that this wasn’t over yet as he left the ring.
Kurt Angle Vs Triple H ( * * * * )
A MuscleMania rematch, although thankfully for once it didn’t headline Into The Darkness! A three month gap since their last meeting had heightened the tension for this one and many thought going in that this was to be the night when HHH reclaimed the World Title. But alas it was not to be. Although HHH hit a pedigree he was already wiped out himself and by the time he went for the pin, Angle just about had the wherewithal to kick out. As HHH looked on in disbelief he went to grab Angle but Angle reversed this into an Angle Lock and HHH tapped out in the centre of the ring, AGAIN! The crowd went wild as Angle celebrated.

A great show with a lot to recommend about it. It seems like the IWF are finally getting serious about getting new acts over, and couple this with some fantastic displays from the old guard and you had one of the best PPV’s of the year so far.

Xtreme Overload 2005 Card

Xtreme Overload 2005 Card
Sunday 17th July 2005

WORLD UNIFIED TRIPLE CROWN:
Kurt Angle Vs Triple H

THE ICON Vs THE SHOWSTOPPER
Dean Roberts Vs Shawn Michaels

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES:
Sean O’Haire & Batista Vs Eddy Guerrero & Chavo Guerrero

WORLD WOMENS TITLE:
Annalise Roberts Vs Melina

Chris Kanyon Vs Abyss

PARTNER LOTTERY MATCH;
Kane & The Big Gee Vs The Undertaker & Xavier

Randy Orton Vs Rob Van Dam

UNITED KINGDOM TITLE:
“The Graduate” Phil Jackson Vs Carlito Caribbean Cool

Heat Wave Review

Carlito Caribbean Cool Vs Booker T ( * ¾ )
Carlito has become quite an entertaining character in the couple of months since his debut and he’s now made it onto PPV. This wasn’t a great match but it did what it set out to do. It gave Carlito’s career a boost and gave him a decent win over a credible performer. One day he may look back on this match as the start of something very exciting indeed.
Xavier Vs Shawn Michaels ( * * * ½ )
So semi-final time in the Double Trouble tournament, a handy way of boosting star power on PPV after last months ITD debacle, and it actually threw up a couple of intriguing battles. This was super smooth stuff and the crowd really got into it and the performers responded with some wonderful back and forth exchanges. The end segment of the match may well have been the highlight of the night as the two exchanged some high-impact moves before HBK caught Xav in a roll-up for the 1-2-3.
Chris Kanyon Vs Triple H ( * * * ¼ )
The second match was an intriguing one too, again pitting former World Champions against each other. There is a certain chemistry between these two in the ring and it was evidenced here again. There was no wasted motion in this match whatsoever and it really did look like it could go either way, but in the end HHH wrapped it up with a pedigree for the 1-2-3.
Acid Vs Matt Morgan ( Sq ) – Acid’s latest character, as the Cruiserweight determined to punch above his weight, has been quite funny over the past month or so. He’s sneaked past the likes of Rancour, Bill DeMott and, good god, Kamala, but seemed strangely reluctant on the Impact prior to the PPV to take on the returning Matt Morgan. Still he had no choice but to face him here and he got what was coming to him. That is a bloody and brutal squash beating, albeit one where Acid actually came out with some momentum as he quite simply refused to be beaten and sustained quite a few of Morgan’s brutal high impact moves before finally succumbing to the pinfall.
Jay Reso Vs Matt Hardy (No Holds Barred, * * * * )
These two have really cranked it up over the past month and it seemed like the only sensible thing to do was to let them hang it all out in a No Holds Barred match. There was of course lashings of brutality but this match was about much more than that. It was two wrestlers who were so evenly matched that they had to go to the depths of hell to pull out something to get the win. And in the end it was Hardy who had that little bit extras as he hit a stunning leg-drop from the top turnbuckle into the crowd where Reso was lain out. He dragged him back in the ring and got the 1-2-3 that reunited him with his European title. Afterwards the crowd showed their appreciation for both men.
Rick Shaw Vs “Heart-Throb” Gregory Helms ( * * )
These two couldn’t follow what preceded them and whilst this was nevertheless a tidy match, it was one that blatantly screamed CARD FILLER. Shaw took the win following the “Shaw-Thing”.
Rob Van Dam Vs Edge ( * * )
See, RVD IS still alive and is still under contract to the IWF. And when all other options are exhausted for these two guys, just pit them against each other in a match nobody cares about. Look, it was perfectly acceptable, but totally forgettable. For the record, RVD won, which is better than losing.
Triple H Vs Shawn Michaels ( * * * ¾ )
Time for the Double Trouble final now, and a match with a long history behind it in terms of the two participants which certainly heightened the excitement and what a great match it was too. The two really turned it on and it was only the screw job finish that dragged the mark down slightly…but WHAT a screw-job finish it was. After two long months away, Dean Roberts made his return to the IWF and for some reason, soon to be revealed on Warfare no doubt, targeted Michaels whilst the ref and HHH were down and hit him with a Scholarship onto a Steel Chair. The pin was a formality for HHH (who was seemingly unaware of Dean’s interference) and he won the Double Trouble tournament to become the number 1 contender to the Triple Crown and to secure himself a title shot at Xtreme Overload…but who would he face?
Kurt Angle Vs Randy Orton ( * * * ¼ )
Well, Randy certainly has come up in the world, and here he was, challenging for the world title in the main event of a PPV. Some were even saying he could win it!!! Which of course he didn’t. But he did put up a valiant effort and certainly showed he could swim with the sharks at this level. Angle finished him off with the Angle Slam, but certainly seemed to appreciate just what a hard fought battle it had been.
Now this was more like it. For the most part this was a hotly anticipated show with more than it’s share of good matches. Some nice surprises and some career advancement for some of the players was good news too. Hopefully this signals an IWF back on track.

Heat Wave 2005 Card

HEAT WAVE
SUNDAY 19th JUNE 2005

UNIFIED WORLD TRIPLE CROWN;
Kurt Angle Vs Randy Orton

DOUBLE TROUBLE TOURNAMENT TO DECIDE NUMBER ONE CONTENDER TO TRIPLE CROWN TITLE;
Xavier Vs Shawn Michaels
Chris Kanyon Vs Triple H

Winners of the match to meet in the final! ON THE SAME NIGHT!

EUROPEAN TITLE: No Holds Barred Match
Jay Reso Vs Matt Hardy

WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE:
Rick Shaw Vs “Heart-Throb” Gregory Helms

Rob Van Dam Vs Edge

Carlito Caribbean Cool Vs Booker T
Acid Vs Matt Morgan

Into The Darkness Review

John Cena Vs Eddy Guerrero ( * * ¾)
So Into The Darkness, which incidentally has got to have one of the worst line up’s in IWF ppv history, kicked off with another futile attempt to get John Cena over. The fans love Eddy…they hate Cena. But sadly, they hate Cena in a bad way, rather than in the “heel” sense. So every time he was on the offensive in this match he got roundly booed and conversely every time Guerrero so much as laid a finger on his opponent, the crowd loved it. Eddy won, and Cena better hope that MMK gets that new promotion he keeps being linked with up and running because he may well soon be in need of the work.
Sean O’Haire & Batista Vs Phil Jackson & Rick Shaw ( * * ½ )
On paper this looked a bit of an idiotic mis-match, but in reality it was a relatively entertaining David Vs Goliath style match, albeit one where the outcome was fairly predictable. Yes, that’s right, Batista and O’Haire retained the titles when O’Haire pinned Shaw.
Phil Jackson Vs Shelton Benjamin ( * * ¾ )
Shelton has been quietly making a name for himself over the past few months, which led to this UK title shot against The Graduate. This was a decent enough battle, but although Shelton acquitted himself well, few people ever thought he really was going to win, and so it proved as Jackson finished him off with the Graduation. Shelt’s is definitely one to watch though.
Matt Hardy Vs Jay Reso ( * * * ¾ )
Finally, after being one of the most popular “mid-card” attractions on the roster, Jay Reso got his chance to shine once again on the big PPV stage. And he made the most of it by not only participating in a great match, but by actually winning it to lift the European Title. He had to hit Hardy with a Steel Chair whilst the ref was down to get the job done, but get the job done he did. And he seemed genuinely pleased about his moment of glory.
Randy Orton Vs Chris Jericho ( * * * ½ )
Orton has really hit his stride recently, and this continued in this match. Whilst he still has some way to go to achieve genuine main-event superstar status, he is making all the right moves and, perhaps more importantly, keeps racking up the wins. And this was no exception as Jericho became the latest IWF superstar to fall to the RKO.
The Big Gee Vs Xavier ( * * * )
Mercy has toddled off to Hollywood again (maybe for good this time) and Dean Roberts is taking a well-earned rest, so it was up to Xav and Gee to battle it out in the aftermath of the demise of The Show. Well I suppose they could have added Luke Todd-Wood to this, but surely his 15 minutes is up right about now. This wasn’t really the grudge match that some people might have expected, but it was sturdy stuff and did keep the crowds royally entertained. It was also one of the few matches that kept the crowd guessing in terms of a winner, although in the end it was Xavier who took it . The two looked like shaking hands afterwards, but Gee walked off before that could happen.
Chris Kanyon Vs John Bradshaw Layfield ( * ¾ )
Ok, so JBL has transformed into a hugely entertaining character over the last few months, but there is no way on earth that he is qualified to be fighting Chris Kanyon in the penultimate match of a ppv. He’s just not up to the task in the ring. And the fans knew it. He was out of his depth here, and Kanyon had little trouble finishing him off with the Kanyon Kutter.
Kurt Angle Vs Kane (* * * *)
If ever a show needed to end on a high point, this might have been it, and thankfully these two delivered a cracking effort. Angle dragged Kane to his best singles match in aeons, and both men did a superb job of telling the story of the match. Could Angle derail the monster Kane…? Well of course he could, and he finished him off with an Angle Slam to retain his world title.
Ok so Mercy’s gone, Goldberg wouldn’t come back and the likes of Undertaker, Dean Roberts, Triple H and Shawn Michaels all have minor injury problems keeping them out of the ring in the build up to this match, but this was still one of the least inspiring PPV line-up’s that the IWF has put out. When it was all said and done, the action was actually quite good overall, but lets hope they have something a bit special up their sleeves for Heat Wave…

Into The Darkness Card

Into The Darkness 2005
Sunday 22nd May

WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT UNIIFIED TRIPLE CROWN;
Kurt Angle Vs Kane

The Big Gee Vs Xavier

Chris Kanyon Vs John Bradshaw Layfield

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES:
Sean O’Haire & Batista Vs Phil Jackson & Rick Shaw

EUROPEAN TITLE:
Matt Hardy Vs Jay Reso

Randy Orton Vs Chris Jericho

John Cena Vs Eddy Guerrero

UNITED KINGDOM TITLE: Phil Jackson Vs Shelton Benjamin

MuscleMania XIV Review

Edge Vs Matt Hardy (Cage, * * * ¾)
What a way to kick of the 14th instalment of MuscleMania with this hard-hitting and EXTREMELY heated Steel Cage match over the European title. The crowd were well into this (and credit where credit is due, the build up has been cracking) and they were urging their boy Hardy on all the way. In the end Hardy took the win after a leg-drop from the top of the cage and the crowd popped like a hyperactive bowl of Rice Krispies as Hardy raised the European title high above his head.
The Second City Saints Vs Chris Benoit & Booker T ( * * ¾)
How on earth could the final of the UK Tag Team Title tournament possibly follow that? Obviously the answer is that they couldn’t. But whilst the crowd were a bit subdued, this was a decent enough match which eventually drew the crowd in towards the finish. The Saints had beaten the teams of Jeff Jarrett & Bill DeMott and Paul London & Brian Kendrick to get to the final, whilst B&B had beaten Hayashi & Tajiri and Eddy Guerrero & Chris Jericho to get here. There were false finishes galore at the climax but in the end it was CM Punk who pinned Booker T, with the Pepsi Plunge, to take the victory and the titles for his team.
The Big Gee Vs The Undertaker (Falls Count Anywhere, * * * ¼)
On early, yes, but on such a stacked show someone had to be. This was a brutal and bloody war, which did indeed travel the whole of the arena and whilst at times it was a little difficult to follow it certainly was an unforgettable encounter. Both men bled profusely and took some huge bumps. In the end though, as hard as Gee fought, he couldn’t overcome the man in black, and ‘Taker wrapped it up with a stunning Last Ride through a table for the 1-2-3.
Alias Storm & Haas Vs Sean O Haire & Batista ( * * )
Again, how where these four to follow that? The slow early going didn’t help either, as the Alias crew cut O’Haire off from his partner and went to work on crippling him. Of course that couldn’t last forever and the crowd were itching for the hot tag, and when it came Batista didn’t disappoint as he knocked seven bells out of Storm & Haas, before hitting Haas with the Batista-Bomb before then allowing O’Haire to hit the Seanton-Bomb for the 1-2-3 that crowned new World Tag Team Champions.
Kane Vs Xavier ( * * * )
This “feud ender” has been brewing for ages…perhaps too long. But whilst we’ve waited perhaps a bit too long for the pay-off, there was still a sense of anticipation as to what would happen in this one, and both men rose to the challenge pretty well. It looked as if Xavier would wrap up the victory, but in the end Kane hit back with Three tombstones to end the match and the feud with a pinfall victory to his name.
Phil Jackson & Rick Shaw Vs KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji ( * * * ½ )
The sliming down of this year’s MM (usually there are 14 matches at the “Biggest Card Of The Year”) may have denied Jackson & Shaw the chance to defend their titles, but it gave them the chance to pit their wits against two of Pro Wrestling Noah’s brightest stars (in a deal which may, or may not, lead to the likes of Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa one day appearing in the IWF). This was crisp, fast paced action with the only drawback being its relative brevity (clocking in at less than 8 minutes). But the fans loved it, and they loved it when Jackson pinned KENTA to finish it off. The fans gave all four a huge ovation at the end.
Dean Roberts Vs Randy Orton (* * * ¼)
If you believe the rumours, Orton was picked as Dean’s opponent simply because everyone higher up the card was otherwise engaged. But credit where credit is due. These two have taken a pretty lousy set up and turned it into a worthwhile feud. Orton in particular has been a revelation and the fact that the two have been content to let the fans choose who they want to cheer or boo has added to the feud. Dean fans seemed to be in the majority here, but the sizeable Orton support made for a wicked atmosphere. And it was Orton who took it, following an RKO. A great match which might just yet put Orton back on the road to becoming a genuine star.
Alexis Laree Vs Annalise Roberts ( * * * )
We’d had the husband and now it was the wife’s turn. This was a cracking little match given the time constraint placed on it (again, this match only got about six and a half minutes) and every big move hit its mark (which isn’t always the case in Women’s matches). In the end Annalise finally got back what many feel was/is rightfully hers and pinned Alexis following a spot-on superkick.
Matthew Mercy Vs Bill Goldberg (* * * ¼)
Goldberg, in for one night, against Mercy, the man who, for many, epitomises the ethos of the IWF. Was it any surprise that Mercy was the clear fan favourite? In fact Goldberg was booed out of the building so vociferously that its already being rumoured that he’s no intention of ever re-appearing in the IWF! So it will come as absolutely no-shock to hear that Mercy won the match with his Mercy-Bomb, but it has to be said this was a sterling effort from the two “part-timers”.
Chris Kanyon Vs Shawn Michaels ( * * * ¾)
It may have been on in the semi-final position, but don’t be fooled, this was a nothing of a match from a promotional point of view. But fear not, it was still an absolute cracker that saw both men at peak form. There was also a slightly surprising ending as HBK went over clean via some Sweet Chin Music, but both men shook hands at the end to a rousing ovation.
Triple H Vs Kurt Angle ( * * * * ) So it was time for the main event and it was clear that the fans were very much hoping that this would be the night that Triple H’s long title reign would come to an end. And come to an end it did, and in fantastically exciting style too. This was a real lengthy and psychologically heavy battle which Angle eventually won by, get this, making HHH tap out to the Ankle Lock. You don’t get many of them to the pound do you? A wonderful end to another great night of IWF action.

MuscleMania XIV Card

MUSCLEMANIA XIV
Sunday 24th April

UNIFIED WORLD TITLE:
Triple H Vs Kurt Angle

---

Matthew Mercy Vs Bill Goldberg

Chris Kanyon Vs Shawn Michaels

FALLS COUNT ANYWHERE:
The Big Gee Vs The Undertaker

Kane Vs Xavier

Dean Roberts Vs Randy Orton

---

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES:
Alias Storm & Haas Vs Sean O Haire & Batista

EUROPEAN TITLE: STEEL CAGE
Edge Vs Matt Hardy

WORLD WOMENS TITLE:
Alexis Laree Vs Annalise Roberts

Phil Jackson & Rick Shaw Vs KENTA & Naomichi Marufuji

UNITED KINGDOM TAG TITLES: TOURNAMENT FINALThe Second City Saints Vs Chris Benoit & Booker T

LA TAKEDOWN REPORT

Raven Vs Rhino ( * * ¼)
Well if this doesn’t prove how little IWF Management regards these two performers then nothing will. After the pro-longed break-up of their team, you would have expected a long and winding feud, possibly culminating in a high-profile MuscleMania match. Well how wrong you would have been. Opening match of a PPV, and ONE high profile match later, the feud is over. Mind you, at least Rhino should be glad he won…who knows where Raven goes from here.
Jeff Jarrett Vs Chris Jericho (* * *)
Well, well, well. Another perfectly decent, but utterly pointless match involving Jeff Jarrett. Jericho carried him to an entertaining, albeit slightly brief, match, but Jarrett once again got zero reaction from an IWF crowd. As you might expect, Jericho got the win, via submission when Jarrett tapped out to the Walls Of Jericho.
Sean O Haire & Batista Vs Yzaebek & Mathuras (Sq)
A total squash match, but WHAT a squash match. O’Haire and Batista may well be limited in the ring, but this made them look awesome! Seriously, Zoltar’s men didn’t stand a chance here, and Batista’s match winning power-bomb on Mathuras looked positively evil.
Rick Shaw Vs Paul London (* * * ¾)
Another superb battle over the Cruiserweight title. Shaw is really stepping up to the plate now the pressure is on and London was his usual smooth, and under appreciated, self. Shaw took another impressive win following the Shaw-Stopper.
The Big Gee Vs The Undertaker (* * ½)
Well at least their star power meant that Gee and Taker could follow that last match. This was your basic big man match but was infused with great energy from both men, who seemingly thought like they had something to prove. Or maybe they wanted to ensure that there would be enough interest in the re-match as this one ended in a DDQ, which certainly suggests one match for MuscleMania.
Edge Vs John Cena (* *)
Quite how John Cena deserved a European title shot here is unclear, and it seemed like the fans agreed on that score. But then again, the fans hate Edge too, so there was a strange atmosphere around this one, which only picked up when Matt Hardy (who recently lost the Euro title to Edge on Warfare) made his inevitable appearance and kicked the crap out of both men. However Edge had the presence of mind to crawl across to Cena and make the pinfall cover…which probably inked an Edge/Hardy feud ender in for MuscleMania.
Triple H, Dean Roberts & Xavier Vs Kurt Angle, Kane & Randy Orton (* * * ½)A great ending to a decent show. All six men here put forward good efforts, with Orton seemingly on a mission to prove that he deserved his main even spot. With these six men splitting into three singles matches at MuscleMania this was always likely to be high on emotion and it was a cracking effort which really heightened the expectation for MuscleMania. In the end it was Triple H who got a pinfall on Kurt Angle (once again after a sledgehammer shot) and as the PPV went off the air, we were reminded that it’s only a month to MuscleMania!

LA Takedown Card

International Wrestling Federation Presents…
In association with SUBWAY

LA TAKEDOWN
Sunday 20th March 2005
Staples Centres, Los Angeles California

TWO OUT OF THREE FALLS:
Triple H, Dean Roberts & Xavier
Vs
Kurt Angle, Kane & Randy Orton

The Big Gee Vs The Undertaker

Jeff Jarrett Vs Chris Jericho

World Cruiserweight Title;
Rick Shaw Vs Paul London

European Title;
Edge Vs John Cena

Raven Vs Rhino
Sean O’Haire & Batista Vs Yzaebek & Mathuras

Shoot Out Report 2005

Rick Shaw Vs Bryan Danielson (Submission Match, * * * *)
What a way to kick off Shoot Out, with this well-hyped, much anticipated Submission match. Those who doubted Shaw’s ability to excel as a Champion are surely eating their words now. He matched the more experienced Danielson move-for-move and had the crowd firmly behind him in his quest to retain the title. And the pop he got he forced Danielson to submit to a Sharp-shooter was special indeed. Cracking match, lets just hope Shaw can keep it up.
Sean O Haire Vs Ashten Drake ( * ½ )
From the sublime to…well, the not very good. This wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but it still wasn’t very good, with the two struggling to overcome a clash of sizes. It came as no surprise when O’Haire finished Drake off in fairly rapid order.
Dean Roberts & Xavier Vs Chris Jericho & Eddy Guerrero ( * * * ¼ )
Back on track with this classic “old school” style tag-team match. Roberts and Xavier especially were a hoot as the old-time heels and the crowd were really baying for their blood. And they got it too, when an errant chair shot from Xavier knocked Dean out and Eddy G climbed the top rope to hit the Frog Splash and get the mildly shocking pinfall victory.
Chris Kanyon Vs Chris Benoit ( * * * )
This was a god match, but had little point to it. Everyone knew Kanyon would win, and win he did. If only the IWF had given this more of a push, we could have had something more memorable.
John Cena Vs Randy Orton ( * * )
On the other hand, this feud has been given a push and a half over the past few months, although at least all hope of dragging this out to MuscleMania has been quashed as this was billed as THE encounter which would settle the matter once and for all. And for once, the advertisement was right. Orton got the win after an RKO and it does indeed seem like this feud is now over. Thank god.
Kurt Angle Vs Shawn Michaels ( * * * * ½ )
Now this was more like it. What an absolute classic this was. Both men were on supreme form and HBK, in particular, showed better form than he has done for some time. This was truly world class and although it was Angle who took the pinfall victory (as he really had to on the road to MuscleMania) there was no loser here really. This was just fantastic.
Raven & Rhino Vs Alias Storm & Haas ( * * )
Champions Vs Champions, but with only the World Tag Titles on the line. Well if you thought that advertised the result in advance, you’d be wrong. But it did take the almighty break up of Raven and Rhino to give Storm & Haas the victory, and both sets of belts, as Rhino finally gave into the temptation to GORE! GORE! GORE! Raven into oblivion enabling Storm to get the pin.
Triple H Vs The Undertaker ( * * ¾ )
Look, this feud failed to ignite the PWF 12 months ago and, surprise, surprise, it’s failed to ignite the IWF this time round. Still this was a competent enough match and at least delivered a (semi) clean win for Triple H as he whacked the Undertaker with his trusty sledgehammer and the delivered a Pedigree to get the win and to retain his Unified Triple Crown.

Shoot Out Card

International Wrestling Federation presents
In association with HMV

SHOOT OUT

Sunday 27th February 2005
Whitley Bay Ice Rink

UNIFIED TRIPLE CROWN TITLE:
Triple H Vs The Undertaker

Kurt Angle Vs Shawn Michaels

Chris Kanyon Vs Chris Benoit

Dean Roberts & Xavier Vs Chris Jericho & Eddy Guerrero

WORLD TAG TEAM TITLES:
Raven & Rhino Vs Alias Storm & Haas

WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE: Submission Match
Rick Shaw Vs Bryan Danielson

John Cena Vs Randy Orton

Sean O Haire Vs Ashten Drake