PILEDRIVER MAGAZINE ARTICLE - THE GAME

PLAYING THE GAME
 
Out of all the former PWF stars that have recently inked deals with the IWF, the biggest name to ink that contract so far has been Triple H.  But can the Game survive in the choppy top-line waters of the IWF, or will the loss of his massive influence on a company, which he enjoyed with the PWF, lead to a loss of form?  Join Bob Rutcher as he investigates just what lies on the horizon for the man with the big nose. 
 
Two years ago, Jean-Paul Leveqsue was getting over the fact that the International Wrestling Federation didn’t want him.  Sure, he had a nice two year PWF deal to comfort him, but the IWF’s position on him was pretty clear, especially considering the fact that they gave him an early release to join their perennial rivals.  The verdict was in; IWF management considered Triple H to be a top-line failure.  He’d had his shot and hadn’t proved himself.  Sure this verdict may seem a tad bit unfair, considering that fellow “failures” at World Title level The Big Gee and Chris Jericho (who’s buy rates and matches were no better than the Game’s) were still in the thick of things, but the feeling was that HHH had done all he could in the IWF.
In a sense, they were probably right, but this didn’t make Tripper feel any more comfortable about the situation.  Armed with a creative control contract with the PWF and a desire to prove the doubters wrong, HHH made himself a promise.  He would prove them all wrong in the ring and he would never let himself be manoeuvred into a “job-boy to the serious stars” position again. 
Hunter scanned the anaemic PWF roster at the time of his signing and immediately came to the conclusion that only he could save the main event side of things.  Save for Goldberg, who HHH never rated, there were no big names on the scene who had their glory in front of them.  The likes of Kevin Nash, The Undertaker, Sting and Bret Hart were all towards the end of their careers in terms of genuine usefulness and success and HHH was going to become the biggest star of them all. 
Immediately however there were problems.  Having creative control over his own storylines gave him a lot of backstage heat, and whilst many contend that HHH didn’t unfairly use his control it was clear that if anything regarding Tripper and the bookers went against what another top star wished, it was all going to be Helmsley’s fault.
Take the formation of the clique for instance.  The on-screen alliance of HHH, Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, Justin Credible and Sean Waltman was actually one of the PWF’s better ideas in a period of poor and uninspiring TV.  As the lead heel stable it actually was responsible for some entertaining segments and did have a positive effect on ratings and arena attendances.  Which should have been good news for everyone right?  Well no. Unlike in the IWF (where the downside guarantee system is in place) the PWF paid everyone on the roster a guaranteed salary.  So a successful storyline had negligible effect on anyone’s money and so rather than applauding a decent storyline, the backstage area was awash with wrestlers bemoaning that HHH was using his influence to book the top storylines around him and his four mates. 
Granted, at times the Clique did veer too much towards being a vanity project for the five involved, but for the majority of the time the group lost when they had to (although admittedly Triple H’s shoulders rarely went down for the three count) and did their best to elevate their opponents.  Deadwood talent such as Konan never looked as hot as they did then when they were against the clique.  Critics will argue that none of the mid-card talents that rubbed shoulders with the clique made much of an impression at the very top of the card, but I would argue that that was more symptomatic of the PWF’s failures as an organisation than of the Clique’s mischievous work.
When push came to shove, Triple H showed himself to be quite a team player, in small doses anyway.  When the time came to put Goldberg over, HHH did a wow of a job.  Sure, he regained the World Title a few months later, but that shouldn’t take away his credit.  And it has to be said that in the early months of 2004, he was wrestling all kinds of people, from all different levels in an attempt to help create some new stars. 
Was this the work of a “changed man” or was Tripper playing the political game to great effect?  The writing was on the wall for the PWF at this point but HHH was, once again, in an unenviable position.  His PWF contract was up in June 2004 and that was the absolute worst time.  Guys like the Undertaker, MMK and Sting had long term deals which meant that even if the worst was to happen, they could sit on their asses and collect their guaranteed deals from Tiny Weiner.  Hunter was staring bleak times in the face.  Indeed even if the proposed buy-out from the IWF became reality, would he be welcome back and even if he was, would it be on the top-line level that he so desired?
In the end the IWF buy-out did go through, but only at a reduced level.  The IWF snapped up the intellectual rights to the PWF, which meant the name, video library and the trademarks, but none of the wrestlers contracts.
At this point the rumour mill went into overdrive.  The entire roster of if’s and but’s were debated in minute detail, and Triple H’s future was at the top of everyone’s list. 
HHH himself discussed his future on Off The Record in late March, just weeks after the buy-out.  At that stage he had yet to meet IWF officials, and hadn’t even set any date for such a meeting.  “At the moment I’m taking my time.  It’s a difficult situation to say the least, but I’m not going to rush any decisions.”  Many didn’t see this as an admission of wanting “time out” at all, most saw it as confirmation that HHH was not at the top of the IWF’s wish list and would have to play the waiting game to see if there was going to be anything available to him. 
The situation seemed to worsen when comments attributed to Matthew Mercy started to do the rounds.  Mercy had been in America tying up the loose ends for his film deal when he did a quick interview.  “I don’t know whether we would want someone like [Triple H] in our locker room.  He caused problems when he was here before and from what I’ve heard, he’s been even worse elsewhere.”  For a top-liner to come out and say something like this, the omens aren’t good for the person involved.  Seeing the likes of John Cena, Jeff Jarrett and Bill DeMott grab deals couldn’t have been nice either.   But hope soon became apparent.  IWF officials announced through their web-site, that talks were planned with Triple H (and Goldberg and MMK for that matter) and so it seemed like the invitation was there.  Dean Roberts then extended an olive branch on a prowrestlingimpact.com interview.  Asked if he would like to see Triple H in the IWF Dean replied “for sure.  He’s an immense talent and I’m sure he could work within our structured environment very well.  He would possibly have to check in some ego at the door first though.”  Whilst Mercy may often speak the first opinion that comes into head, the fact that Dean was saying such things had to be good news for HHH.  For Dean to say this, then there must have been some serious intent as regards bringing HHH in, and the soft warning revealed that management were banking on HHH leaving his creative control problems behind for the sake of good business. 
On the morning of the Into The Darkness pay-per-view the two parties shook hands on a two-year deal, stipulations, and the following day the papers were signed and Triple H officially became a member of the IWF roster.  Two days later he made his first IWF appearance for two years and immediately challenged Xavier to a match at Heat Wave.  HHH was all over IWF TV and in many respects his match was being pushed as the main selling point of the show.  Indeed when it came to it, his match went on last at the big show and it ended with his hand being raised in the air by special guest referee Shawn Michaels.  That HHH and HBK have formed an alliance should be viewed as a positive.  Whilst some continue to labour a Clique related point, there is no doubt that this was a sound business move.  It clarified HHH’s position as a heel and has set up some potentially intriguing storylines. 
Rumours abound that a third member will be added to the alliance, with the latest name being associated with the position being that of Dean Roberts.  Whilst this seems unlikely given Dean’s current status, it is clear that management have huge faith in the abilities of HHH.  In fact everything seems plain sailing at this point in time.  HHH is “behaving” backstage and seems to be getting on well with most workers. 
The hot story at the moment is that Tripper’s proposed World Title clash with Chris Kanyon, tentatively scheduled for Xtreme Overload, will now not occur until further down the line.  Perhaps it was never a serious suggestion, or perhaps IWF management are testing the patience and attitude of HHH in order to ensure that he really is a changed man.  So far he seems to be impressing the people that matter both in the ring and out of it. 
Everyone, however, is eagerly awaiting the return of Matthew Mercy once his film run is over.  It’s clear that there is little love lost between the two and whilst Mercy hasn’t got an official creative control clause in his contract, it’s clear that if one man in the IWF is in position to refuse to “do the right thing” with Tripper, then it’s Mercy. 
Who knows, perhaps HHH’s good behaviour will continue and by the time Mercy returns he will see that perhaps the rumours about HHH in the PWF weren’t all true.  Maybe however, Mercy’s mind is already made up and there is no way that we will ever see what could be an exceptional Mercy/Tripper feud.  What is clear is that Triple H has settled in nicely and is making all the right noises.  Now as long as that continues, the arrangement between HHH and the IWF could turn out to be a long and prosperous one indeed.

HEAT WAVE 2004 REVIEW

 
JEFF JARRETT Vs CHRIS JERICHO ( * * ½ )
            So it was time for the opener.  This hasn’t really been built up all that encompassingly over the past month; indeed the issue doesn’t really stretch much further than an IWF superstar taking offence about a former PWF superstar’s big mouth backstage.  All things considered this was a decent enough bout, but one that in no way would have convinced the uninitiated that it pitted two former World Champions against each other. 
            Jericho took control of the early going but Double J soon got back into the thick of things by using some underhand tactics to stun his opponent.  There then followed a fairly lengthy, and dare we say it boring, period where Jeff wore his opponent down with the kind of technical holds and moves that would have gone down a storm in the 1980’s. 
            Numerous times the referee asked Jericho if he wanted to give it up, but numerous times Jericho had just enough fortitude to stay in the running to win the bout.  Eventually Jericho managed to finally overpower his opponent and then he went through his move-set before finally setting up for the Lion-Sault.  He never hit it though as when he made his run-up a quick thinking Jarrett bumped the referee into Jericho’s path (which begged the question of if he was so alert to proceedings why didn’t he just move out of the way when Jericho attempted to hit the move) and the ref took a sleep whilst a disorientated Jericho tried to regain his bearings. 
            Jarrett went for a figure four but Jericho blocked it and reversed it into a Lion-Tamer which quickly had Double J tapping.  Unfortunately there was no referee to witness it, and as Jericho went to revive the ref, Jarrett hopped out, grabbed his balsa wood guitar and then well and truly smashed Jericho over the head with it.  Jarrett cleared the ring of debris, the ref woke up to see Jarrett covering Jericho and he subsequently counted the three and we had a hugely unpopular winner.  Decent, but far from great.
            It was at this point that we were transported backstage to see some more new PWF signings making their first tour of the IWF backstage area.  Our backstage reporter Jenni B caught up with Cruiserweight superstars Bryan Danielson, Elix Skipper and Kaz Hayashi and asked them their thoughts.  At this point, Simon Starshot came into view and shook hands with the three men and said that he welcomed the competition.
ACID Vs RAVEN ( * * )
            This feud has been whipping up a storm in the mid-card ranks and shows little sign of coming to a conclusion anytime soon.  Acid’s strength in numbers (being part of Zoltar’s collection of stars) have given him the distinct edge, but any time Raven has been able to single out Acid and get him one-on-one he’s looked the more likely winner of the two.
            So it stands to reason that in the early going, Raven took control and it was fairly fast paced stuff which kept the fans entertained.  Still once Zoltar saw that his man was in trouble, he quickly called for Yzeabek who ran out and smashed Raven with a big boot to the face.  Only problem was that Yzeabek nearly fell over whilst attempting such a high-risk move as this…heaven help us! 
            The referee called for the disqualification as all three men took it upon themselves to batter the crap out of poor Raven.  It seemed a hopeless case as the onslaught continued, but help was at hand, and it came from some debuting superstars, although for once in the recent deluge of them, they weren’t former PWF guys, but were independent standouts CM Punk and Colt Cabana, collectively none as the Second City Saints.  (Who incidentally spent their last few months in the Indies feuding, but who cares about that – as Matthew Mercy says “if it don’t happen on TV, it don’t happen).  They came to the rescue and helped their “buddy” Raven and sent Zoltar and his merry men packing.  As the two of them helped Raven to his feet, Zoltar looked on and told anyone who would listen that “It’s time for the Rancour.”  Whatever that means.  Fair match in itself, but as a mere step along the way of a feud, it did what it set out to do I suppose. 
RANDY ORTON Vs JOHN CENA ( * * * )
            John Cena was perhaps the one, non-main event, PWF superstar that absolutely everyone agreed would be one of the first to get the call up to the IWF once the buy-out was confirmed, so perhaps it should come as no surprise to see him getting such an early shot at the esteemed European Champion.  This has been an entertaining feud on TV, with the two putting in some stellar verbal work and really working off their contrasting characters well.
            Orton looked supremely confident as the two circled each other in the ring, but Cena soon slapped the cockiness straight out of his mouth as he flew towards the Blue Chipper with a barrage of offence which sent Orton flapping out of the ring.  Orton looked shell-shocked and seemed unsure of whether he even wanted to get back in the ring, but his delaying tactics worked and when he did sneak back into the ring he surprised Cena and started to lay into his rapping opponent with some stiff punches and kicks. 
            Still Cena kept in there and there was some neat back and forth action, which worked as long as Cena didn’t have to do too much, and the crowd were quite getting into it, being almost totally behind Cena’s efforts to dethrone the European Champion.  It was noticeable though that there were still a small, but vocal, number of fans who were reluctant to cheer “PWF” guy Cena, and Orton cockily acknowledged them at certain points, which actually helped to make the match seem all that more vital to those watching on p-p-v. 
            The closing sequence was very hot indeed, with the two really cranking it up, and the actual finish was a pleasant surprise too.  Cena signalled for the F-U, but as he got Orton half way up, the European champion slipped out of it and threw Cena into the ropes.  Cena ducked a clothesline attempt, but then when he attempted his own, Orton ducked that and as Cena came back off the ropes again, Orton stomped him and then hit his own finishing manoeuvre the RKO and got the spotlessly clean pinfall victory, much to the chagrin of Cena’s supporters, but much to the delight of Orton’s small band of followers.  Good little match and a refreshing clean finish.  Looks like Cena is going to have to be patient in his quest to become a main event superstar.
            Brian Kendrick was shown backstage and he was walking about when he bumped into the PWF cruiserweights Danielson, Hayashi & Skipper.  He laughed and generally dissed them and said that he had nothing to fear if these three were the best that the PWF had ever had and that he would be sure to give them a painful “welcome” to in-ring IWF action.  The three just laughed and let Kendrick go on his way.  But from nowhere, they turned around and pounced on him and generally kicked the crap out of him until the commotion brought IWF cruiserweights Rick Shaw and Tajiri from out of the locker room and they made the save.  The “PWF” trio ran straight to their rental car and zoomed away from the building. 
KURT ANGLE Vs EDDY GUERRERO ( * * * * ½ )
            Thoughts have been divided on this mini-feud; does it represent a step-up for Guerrero, or a step down for Angle?  On balance you would have to say a bit of both but when the end result of a match was as good as this then in the end you can safely say that it did both men more good than harm.
            The two were slow to get going as there was a long feeling out period at the onset of the match but slowly and surely the two picked up the pace, and unveiled the tasty moves in their arsenals.  Angle hit some of his super-stiff suplexes, but Eddy shook off the effects of them and hit back with some of his trademark high impact moves.
            In a nice and refreshing twist the two exchanged some pretty nifty mat moves, which at least some people in the crowd seemed to get into, before Angle slowly took control.  Thing was though, the just couldn’t put the plucky Guerrero away and as Eddy kept kicking out on two counts, Kurt was getting more and more upset and annoyed and was beginning to lose focus. 
            He became intent on hurting Eddy, rather than trying to win the match, and by this stage his interest in a pinfall had seemingly gone by the wayside.  The fans ere really behind Latino Heat by this time and this did seem to spur him on and he surprised Angle with a quick roll up, which, whilst only getting Eddy a two count, did appear to bring him back to life and gave him a new burst of energy.  He was still groggy but he took the fight to Angle, knocking him down with some swift punches and a sweet dropkick.  A second dropkick took Angle down again and Eddy sensed it was time to climb the ropes and hit the Frog Splash.  So up he climbed and he hit it sweetly, but in his fatigued state it seemed to take as much out of him as it did Angle and by the time he could crawl over and make the pinfall, Angle had recovered enough to kick out at two and a half.
            Undeterred Eddy signalled that he was going for another Frog Splash, but this time he took too long in getting up there.  As he reached the top turnbuckle, Angle scooted up and hit a ring-shaking super-plex on Eddy, which again took a lot out of both men.  Angle went for the pinfall but this time it was Guerrero who kicked out on two and a half.  But Angle sensed blood and he circled Eddy until Eddy got to his feet.  An Angle Slam later and Kurt got the pinfall victory, and slowly left, celebrating his victory.  Then, as Eddy slowly got to his feet, the crowd spontaneously gave the vanquished Eddy a standing ovation.  A classy ending to an absolutely storming match.  Thumbs up all around. 
EDGE & ROB VAN DAM Vs ASHTEN DRAKE & MATHURAS ( * ¼ )
            So how do you follow a bona fide classic?  Well not with this that’s for sure.  Don’t lay any blame at the feet of Edge, Rob Van Dam or Ashten Drake.  Oh no, lay the blame squarely at the hairy feet of Mathuras, a man who stunk during his days as the PWF’s A-Train, and a man who stinks just as much now.  Never less than passable when Drake was carrying the burden for his team, as soon as Mathuras made his presence known this just sunk.  At one point the crowd even cheered when Mathuras tagged his own partner back in. 
            There really isn’t an awful lot to say about this one.  Edge & RVD were as underwhelming tonight as they have been throughout their cobbled together World Tag Team reign which has existed purely because no-one had any better ideas for them.  Mind you as much as a waste of time it has been for both men, surely no-one wanted to see the ending we got here. 
            Thanks to some adept referee distraction by Mathuras (in the only spot of note he did well in all night!) and some almighty steel-chair swinging by Zoltar himself, Ashten Drake got the pinfall victory over Edge and lovers of tag team wrestling everywhere choked on their drinks.  The new champs ran off celebrating, whilst Edge & Rob Van Dam had some stiff words with each other.  Apologies to the three good workers, but the presence of Mathuras made this almost unbearable. 
CHRIS KANYON Vs THE BIG GEE ( * * ½ )
            Anything was welcome after that last debacle…yes, even the sight of The Big Gee as one half of a Triple Crown title match.  This one just about lived up to expectations, but don’t get too excited as the expectations were pretty low to begin with.
            Gee kicked this off by attacking Kanyon after his epic Iron Man match at Into The Darkness and has singled Kanyon out ever since, albeit in situations much like the first where all the odds were against the champion.  And he started this match off in the same vein, attacking Kanyon when he had his back turned.  He dominated most of the early going, but it wasn’t too long before Kanyon fought back and took almost total control.  Sadly this is where it got “creative”. 
            Desperate to stay in the match Gee tried every trick in the book to avoid rapid defeat, and when all those seemed to be failing, Gee took the only option which gave him chance to not lose…KO the referee!  So the ref took a big bump and this became a weapons filled brawl that toured all the ringside area.  The two traded shots with steel chairs and ring bells, we winced as Gee took an almighty slam into the ring steps and Kanyon took the full force of a stunning Gee-Bomb through the foreign announcers table which left his face all bloodied after he accidentally collided with a TV monitor; all this was whilst the referee was in la-la land of course.
            Finally the action got back in the ring and the referee slowly stirred.  A steel chair got introduced into proceedings again by Gee and he was about to clonk Kanyon when he saw that the referee was about to turn around.  He tossed the chair towards Kanyon who hit Gee with a stiff boot to the stomach and then picked up the chair himself to smash Gee.  The referee saw it but seemed willing to let it slide.  However Kanyon was in no mood for clemency now and as the blood poured from his mouth he started to repeatedly smash Gee over the head with the steel chair, juicing him up real good too.  The ref gave Kanyon one last warning, as George Minister told us how this was Kanyon’s revenge for a months worth of sneak attacks, but Kanyon came down with the chair again and the ref had no option to call for the bell and award the match to the Big Gee by disqualification. 
            Kanyon continued his attack until a bunch of officials ran out and dragged him away.  Gee had to leave on a stretcher, and the fans wondered what the hell they had just seen.  Make no bones about it, this turned into a pretty brutal brawl, the only problem was that it seemed to leave the crowd a little non-plussed.  Mind you it may have done the impossible and made the almost inevitable re-match (given the DQ decision) a must-see affair.  Let’s hope we get the decision next time. 
MATT MORGAN Vs KEVIN NASH ( ½ * )
            Erm, the build up to this one would have been quite exciting one supposes, if the whole point behind this match hadn’t been eerily transparent from the very moment that it was booked.  You see, this was clearly a match made for one reason, and one reason only…to put Matt Morgan over.  Nash, after having cleared his “top-line” obligations (and shown that he is clearly over his head if he expects to swim in the upper echelons of the IWF in his sorry state) by putting Xavier over at Into The Darkness, is now no use for anything, except belatedly doing his bit for the business (about five years too late) and putting over young and fresh talent.  Mind you on the basis of this match, he’s not even any good for this task these days.
            Make no bones about it, Morgan looked impressive and at least the bookers has the sense to make this an almost complete squash match (as any prolonged offence by Nash against the huge Morgan would have made the Blueprint look crap) and, credit where credit is due, Nash did take all the big bumps necessary to make Morgan look like a star.  Still all this doesn’t escape us from the fact that the “action” was crap and predictable.
            But at least, crap as this undoubtedly was, it was the right result and no doubt when Morgan gets his first feature DVD release in the IWF (and believe me, management are hoping to go all the way with this guy) clips will be shown of him battering and brutalising “Big Sexy” in what may very well turn out to be (if the rumours are to be believed) Nash’s very last IWF match. 
TRIPLE H Vs XAVIER ( * * * * )
            So time for the main event of the evening, and Triple H’s in-ring return to the International Wrestling Federation.  The buzz around the crowd was electric as special guest referee Shawn Michaels (the “only man in wrestling capable of refereeing this match” according to IWF commissioner Harley Race, due to his “equal hatred” for both men) made his way to the ring, and it picked up even more with the entrances of Xavier and Tripper.  It was clear from the onset that the IWF’s gamble had worked; Xavier was a clear fan favourite and HHH was a clear heel here. 
            Both men listened intently as HBK gave his instructions and this was the last we noticed of Shawn for quite some time (which as far as a guest ref gig goes is a good thing) with him only really getting involved again in the finish (which is perhaps to be expected). 
            Xav started off like the proverbial house on fire and really took the action to Tripper which seemed to shock the former IWF and PWF world champion.  HHH soon got back into things though and he wore Xav down with his methodically paced offence, as the crowd chanted for Xav to get back into things. 
            Xav did more than enough to keep his end up and the two actually took turns dominating the match, which made for an exciting spectacle.  The crowd went wild when Xav hit a brutal DDT on his opponent, but when HHH hit back with a figure four leglock, the crowd exploded and were absolutely willing Xavier on in his attempts to break out of it.  Xav did break out of it, by reversing it into a sharpshooter nonetheless (anyone get a feeling that Ric Flair and Bret Hart may show up soon?) and HHH was quick to grab for the ropes.
            The near falls kicked in and we could sense that we were coming to a conclusion.  And this is where we finally saw Shawn Michaels back in the thick of things.  The action intensified and the two participants really were going at it.  Triple H hit a backbreaker and went for the cover but Shawn wasn’t quite with it and by the time he got down for the pin, Xavier managed to kick out at 2.  HHH was furious and remonstrated with HBK, to no avail.  Xav then nipped in with a roll-up but despite what Tripper called a fast count, the match continued.  Then the damndest thing happened.  HHH & HBK had an almighty face off and the two of them argued, which led to Shawn ripping off his ref’s jersey.  He pushed HHH and looked ready to unload some Sweet Chin Music…which he did, but smack in the face of Xavier.  HHH laughed, hit the pedigree and Shawn counted the pinfall.  The two of them shook hands and celebrated as the crowd showered them in boos.  A great match with a very memorable ending. 
 
Well when all was said and done, Heat Wave probably wasn’t a great night of action but it did end with a cracking main event and featured a match of the year candidate on the under-card.  Angle/Guerrero was absolutely amazing and was the technical match of the night by quite some way.  The main event, on the other hand, may not have been quite as good a match as that one, but the heat was off the scale and the ending was memorable too.  No doubt all the smarts will give Xavier the credit for the main event quality, but HHH proved that he still has it, and in the more rewarding environment of the IWF let’s hope he continues this good form.
The rest of the card was a mixed bunch, and although nothing really stood out, Orton/Cena was more than respectable and there was a lot of happening and angles that made the time pass by.  We don’t know quite what to make of the Triple Crown match.  Never likely to be a classic, it was nevertheless a very brutal match which did create anticipation for a possible re-match (and who would have thought the booking squad could have managed that?)  Add to that some run-in and backstage debuts and you have a decent card, which whilst not containing the best ever action you’re likely to see on IWF ppv, did provide some good entertainment all round. 

SAMUEL ADAMS TROPHY QUARTER FINALS

Sunday 13th June, Guildhall – Southampton
 
Xavier Vs John Cena ( * * * ¼ ) – This was definitely Cena’s best IWF bout to date, and credit for that must go to Xavier, who is certainly back in a groove at the moment. This was entertaining stuff which really went down well with the fans even though, in the end, Xavier handed Cena his first loss on IWF soil, although he only won when he grabbed the ropes for extra leverage during his pinfall attempt.  After the match Cena hit the F-U on Xavi, but it was too late to change the result of the match. 
Matt Morgan Vs Chris Kanyon ( * * ½ ) - There was a certain amount of intrigue leading up to this, especially considering this was a non-title match.  Could Morgan really defeat the Triple Crown Champion? Not quite, as it turned out, but he came mighty close, knocking the champion all over the shop before Chris pulled a Kanyon Kutter out of the bag for the 1-2-3.  Afterwards though Kanyon seemed to acknowledge that he’d been in a toughie. 
Chris Jericho Vs Kurt Angle ( * * * * ) – These two have met many times before but when the result is a match this good who can complain?  This was a superb encounter and one which built and built to a white-hot crescendo.  Jericho went for the Lion-Tamer, but Angle quickly reversed it into the Ankle-Lock.  Jericho managed to fight his way out of it, but looked doomed when Angle went for the Olympic Slam. However, Jericho managed to wriggle free of it, hit Angle with a bulldog and then his the Lion-sault for the pinfall victory and the spot in Finals night. 
Eddy Guerrero Vs Jeff Jarrett ( * * * ¼ ) – This was a slow and deliberately paced match but was actually quite the slow burn entertainer.  The crowd were firmly behind Eddy, so they were a little bit peeved when Jarrett took the pinfall victory, although they finally gave him a little bit of respect afterwards when the two shook hands. 

JUNE SLAMMIN

SLAMMIN – Maladroit
Saturday 5th June 2004
The Dome, Morecambe
 
Kurt Angle Vs Rhino
 
WORLD CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE:
Brian Kendrick Vs Billy Kidman
 
TAG TEAM BATTLE ROYALE:
Last Surviving Team gets World Title shot at Heat Wave!
Participants – Alias Storm & Haas, Matt Hardy & Jay Reso, The APA,
Jeff Jarrett & Bill DeMott, Tajiri & Funaki, Positive Role Models,
Ashten Drake & Mathuras, Ultimo Dragon & Koji Kanemento
 
Sean O’Haire Vs Mark Jindrak
 
(The Debut Of) “The Phenomenon” Paul Wardle Vs Jamie Knoble
 
review;
1)      O’Haire Vs Jindrak ( * * ¾ ) – Oh how the mighty fall; once upon a time these two were on the fast-track to potential glory but these days they are just another pair of decent mid-card prospects waiting for that glorious opportunity.  This was decent enough fare, but lacked a bit of the intensity that might have made it stand out.  Still, O’Haire’s match winning Shawn-ton bomb was as impressive as ever and both showed glimpses that they may one day climb to the top of the ladder.
2)       Wardle Vs Knoble ( * * ½ ) – Another Slammin, and another debut for an HWA alumni.  “The Phenomenon” promo’s over the last month or so have been entertaining stuff, and Wardle’s pre-match promo was funny too.  The match itself was a reasonable effort, with Knoble being allowed just enough offence to test Wardle without ever having him in serious danger.  Wardle took the win with the “Awe-dacious” and for a first match in the big time he will have left the fans with a reasonable impression of his talents. 
3)       Tag Team Battle Royale ( * ¼ ) -  As if the tag team situation isn’t uninspiring enough (nothing against the tag champs Edge & RVD but their transparent reign as a team to lead to their inevitable feud is doing no-one any favours) the best way that the IWF can come up with to crown number one contenders is this Battle Royale with half the participants about as over Vinnie Deal.  The men tried their best but be clear, this sucked.  The sheer apathy when Ashten Drake & Mathuras ended up the winners said it all.  ORDER OF ELIMINATION; i) Ron Simmons (Matt Hardy); ii) Koji Kanemento (Ashten Drake); iii) Funaki (Steve Corino); iv) Jay Reso (Charles Haas); v) Lance Storm (Dash Riprock); vi) Bill DeMott (Corino); vii) Riprock (Mathuras).
4)       Kendrick Vs Kidman ( * * * ) – Time to get the card back on track?  Well to a certain extent yes, but time constraints really held this one back.  For all the hoo-hah about getting serious with the Cruiserweight division, it’s still treated as a mid-card distraction rather than a genuine attraction.  But the two did their best (especially Kendrick, who seems to be on a single handed mission to sustain any heel heat in the Cruiserweight division) and tossed together some exciting stuff, which finally came to a conclusion when Kendrick hit Kidman with the Sliced Bread to get the pinfall victory, which retained him his title.
5)       Angle Vs Rhino ( * * * * ) – Well at least the main event ended the show on a high note.  These two have always seemed well matched in the ring, and this proved to be no exception as the two went at it with a fury for nigh on 15 minutes of top quality action.  This was back and forth all the way (with Angle being his usual selfless self) and the “anybody’s match” scenario really did boost the atmosphere.  And the atmosphere turned up another notch when Eddy Guerrero made his way to the ring, and true to his Latino Heat form his distraction cost Angle the match (and the referee never saw a thing) and Rhino got the surprising victory.   After the match Angle had a temper tantrum whilst Eddy just laughed.

 A decent Slammin overall, albeit one which will only ever be remembered for the main event.  Angle and Rhino put on a great display and one that was truly worthy of its status.  The rest of the card was entertaining enough without ever being particularly great and only the tag team battle royale was a complete waste of time, but that was more the fault of the bookers than the actual workers involved.  If you didn’t catch it live then borrow the video off your mate, but don’t be tempted to buy the event when they release it on DVD .

SAMUEL ADAMS TROPHY ROUND 2

Round 2
Sunday 30th May, The Dome – Morecambe
 
Rob Van Dam Vs Xavier ( * * * ½ ) – This was almost a cracker, but in the end had to settle for merely being very good when it almost abruptly came to a halt, just as it looked ready to explode.  The two were having their usual great match when, from nowhere, Xav took out some Brass Knux, clonked RVD, and got the pinfall victory.  Great match, pity it didn’t go on that little bit longer.
John Cena Vs Charles Haas ( * * ¾ ) – Cena continued his winning streak in this tidy little match with Haas (who is looking more comfortable out there every day).  The crowd were really into this one too, and they were pleased as punch when Cena hit the F-U to get the pinfall victory. 
Kevin Nash Vs Matt Morgan ( ¾ * ) – This was bad, no doubt, but at least it was kept short.  Morgan is still a little green, and it was proved here with Nash in no fit state to carry his share of the load never mind his opponents.  It also seems as Nash’s push is already over as he fell by pinfall to Morgan in fairly rapid order. 
Edge Vs Chris Kanyon ( * * * * ) – The action got back into the swing of things with this high-octane match.  The two went at it with a fury and really held nothing back.  This was see-saw action and it really did look like Edge could wrap up a surprise win but in the end Kanyon prevailed, finishing Edge off with a top-rope DDT.  Impressive encounter. 
Chris Jericho Vs Jay Reso ( * * * ) – With Jericho now officially a baby-face he got a great reaction from the crowd here, and Reso played his heelish part to great effect too which made for a great atmosphere throughout this match.  And it seemed to spur Jericho on as he wrapped the match up following a Lion-Sault.  Good stuff. 
Kurt Angle Vs Phil Jackson ( * * * ½ ) – Jackson is nowhere near the level of Kurt Angle but if this cracker is anything to go by then he is on his way to turning his potential into actual achievement.  Angle dominated the majority of the match, but Jackson held his own and did manage to get the crowd behind him for his efforts.  But in the end, Angle’s superior experience and class shone through as he made Jackson tap to the Ankle Lock. 
Eddy Guerrero Vs Rhino ( * * * ) – This was a decent enough match but was another that wasn’t really allotted the time it deserved to bloom into a cracker.  Still what the two was good and it did keep the crowd awake.  In the end, Eddy sidestepped the Gore and hit back with his Frog Splash for the ever-so-popular pinfall victory. 
Jeff Jarrett Vs Randy Orton ( * * ¾ ) – Jarrett is certainly getting good treatment in the IWF and it continued here as he defeated our resident European Champion, clean.  This was decent enough, without ever being excellent, and Jarrett pinned Orton following a DDT, although Orton had previously fought his way out of a Figure Four attempt. 

INTO THE DARKNESS 2004 REPORT

 
Randy Orton Vs Phil Jackson (Non-Title, * * * )
                The card kicked off with this “battle of the champions” which pitted European Champion against United Kingdom Champion.  The crowd were quite into this, with the Graduate getting a good reception and Orton showed that his all-round act is improving with each passing month. 
                The two had some great back and forth exchanges and they really were matching each other move for move, with neither man seeming able to keep the advantage for very long.  Orton did slowly appear to get the upper-hand in the match though and it seemed like he was set for the victory that his title’s superior status would have suggested, but he was just a little bit too cocky.  As he sized up Jackson for the RKO, he left Phil plenty of time to regain his thoughts and when he finally went to hit it, Jackson blocked it and then wrapped up the “Blue Chipper” in a small package to get the very popular 1-2-3 and the surprise pinfall victory.  After the match however, Orton did manage to hit Jackson with an RKO and he left to a chorus of boos.
Raven Vs Acid ( * * ½ )
                These two men have sworn all out war on each other ever since the build up to MuscleMania, and tonight they were finally getting the chance to go one-on-one without any distractions…what’s that…ok, so there were plenty of distractions but for once they seemed to add to the match. 
                This was, if you like, ICW style brawling all the way, with the two taking a tour of the ringside and battering each other with all kinds of implements as the referee struggled to maintain control (although why he didn’t just disqualify both men we don’t know).  Eventually the ref took a bump and this was the cue for Zoltar and his merry men to waltz in.  Mathuras and Rancour went straight for the kill on Raven, and even when Jamie Knoble and Rick Shaw ran out to even up the odds, it did Raven little help. As the extra curricular activity went on, Acid hit Raven with a killer chair shot and then Zoltar woke up the referee and the pinfall was a mere formality.  Not that the fun stopped there.  Acid continued his attack, alongside Zoltar’s cronies, but finally Knoble and Shaw managed to fight them off, as a hoard of IWF officials swarmed the ring to keep them all apart.
John Cena Vs Rhino ( * * * )
                So it was time for the first slice of “PWF” influenced action of the evening, and the very popular John Cena certainly did go down a storm.  Rhino has had a recent upturn in fortune too, and so this was a highly charged match that had plenty of heat to go with it. 
                This was very entertaining stuff indeed, and Cena’s pre-match rap about Rhino was a real hoot, though Cena wasn’t laughing as Rhino immediately launched into him with some serious offence.  Rhino dominated the match for the most part, but Cena stuck in there and with the help of the crowd (who were cheering like mad for him to make his comeback) he finally gained the upper hand.  Even then Rhino fought back into it, but when he went for the Gore, Cena sidestepped it, and nipped in and hit Rhino with the F-U for the pinfall victory.  Decent enough stuff and promising signs for both men. 
Matt Morgan Vs Sean O’Haire ( * * ¼ )
                Two men who faced huge disappointment at MuscleMania got a quick chance to redeem themselves in a high profile match here.   Sadly whilst this was decent, it wasn’t great and the crowd did seem to be disinterested, at least until the final moments of the match. 
                O’Haire surprisingly dominated the early going with some slick moves, but it wasn’t long before Morgan used his sheer strength and presence to overpower O’Haire and dish out some punishment.        
                Indeed, Morgan’s ever impressive array of power moves brought the crowd back to life somewhat and some of them even cheered for Morgan as he pummelled poor Sean.  They were positively wowed however when Morgan climbed the ropes and hit a Big Splash onto O’Haire.  Ok, so we’ve seen flashier moves, but when done by a man this size it was an impressive sight, and he did look graceful as he flew.  It came as little surprise after this when the ref slapped the mat three times, and we had ourselves a winner. 
Kevin Nash Vs Xavier ( * ½  )
                Go on, be honest, did you ever expect to see “Bi-Sexy” Kevin Nash back in an IWF ring?  Exactly, but back he is, and here he was tangling with Xavier, who seemingly is finally being treated as a genuine top-liner (after his sojourn with X-Rated) once again.  But could even the super-worker that is Xavi, pull a half way decent match out of the ageing Nash?  Well no, but he made a decent fist of it. 
                Xav bumped like a beast in an attempt to make Nash look good whilst Nash mainly just stood there flicking his hair.  Xav also seemed to get visibly annoyed when Nash messed up a couple of spots and, with shades in the memory of that infamous Xav/Mercy UKWF match from many years ago, Xavi potatoed him with some wicked chops. 
                The end came when Nash went for his Jack-Knife power-bomb, but Xav hit a low blow and then finished Nash off with the Xav Attack for the 1-2-3.  Nash’s monster run was seemingly brought to a halt right here.  This was bad, but thanks to Xavier it probably wasn’t as bad as it had every right to be. 
Edge & RVD Vs Hardy & Reso Vs Jarrett & Morrus Vs APA ( * * )
                Time for the first title match of the evening, in the penultimate match nevertheless, which actually made this match seem more important (considering that we hadn’t sat through numerous other title bouts already) and the crowd did seem fairly up for it . Well at least for three of the teams…the APA were booed out of the building, and not in the good “heat” way either. 
                Fought under elimination rules this was a swift bout, which whilst never being excellent was decent enough, and did show flashes of entertainment.  Not least of all within the first three minutes.  John Layfield and Ron Simmons tried their usual hard-men routine but on this particular occasion it got them nowhere as all three of their opposing teams almost broke character and took great delight in knocking seven bells of crap out of them.  Once Simmons had been dealt with we saw the amusing sight of Layfield taking SIX finishing manoeuvres; Morrus hit him with the “No Laughing Matter”, he then got up only to be hit by a Reso “Unprettier”; Edge then hit him with a spear, just before Hardy got him with a Twist of Fate.  Jarrett then locked him in the figure four whilst RVD climbed the ropes and hit the Five Star Frog Splash to get the pin. 
                With the dead weight out of the way the match continued, with former champions Hardy & Reso surprisingly next to go when Morrus hit the “No Laughing Matter” again, this time on Reso for the pinfall.  The final two teams then meandered somewhat to a conclusion before Edge finished off Morrus with a Spear.  The champions thus retained. 
Chris Kanyon Vs Kurt Angle ( Iron Man, * * * * * )
                If ever a main event came to a rescue of a decidedly average pay-per-view under card, then this may very well be the one.  Not only was this a distinct early front runner for the match of the year, this has to be considered one of the greatest bouts in the IWF’s distinguished history.  The two managed to keep things fresh for an hour and kept the fans on the edge of their seats throughout.  The order of decisions were as follows;
i)                     Kanyon pinned Angle following a Reverse Neck-breaker in 17.21
ii)                   Angle pinned Kanyon following an Angle Slam in 28.12
iii)                  Angle made Kanyon tap-out to the Ankle Lock in 37.48
iv)                  Angle pinned Kanyon, who was still out of it following the ankle lock, in 38.21
v)                   Kanyon pinned Angle following a roll-up in 44.55
vi)                  Angle pinned Kanyon following a Fisherman’s suplex in 49.04
vii)                Kanyon pinned Angle following a top-rope face buster in 54.11
viii)               Kanyon pinned Angle after Angle missed a moonsault in 58.12
ix)                  Kanyon pinned Angle after the Kanyon Kutter in 6.03 of overtime.
KANYON WINS BY 5 falls to 4 in over-time.
                This was a superb effort and both men were out on their feet before Angle slowly left and Kanyon acknowledged the cheers of the crowd.  There was a twist yet to come though because as Kanyon was celebrating, he was well and truly blindsided by the Big Gee who absolutely kicked the crap out of him and he was soaking in a chorus of boo’s as the show faded to black. 
 
So Into the Darkness has passed for another year.  This is often a difficult ppv to get into, coming as it does just four weeks after the biggest show of the year, but there were no such problems here.  Toss in some choice (and, admittedly, some not so choice) “PWF” names and season it with an absolutely superb Iron Man Match main event and you had a card which held some promise indeed.  The under card was perhaps a little underdone and poor  but names such as John Cena, Phil Jackson and Acid all took steps to improve their profile and put on good performances.  However, the under card could have been the worst ever and it wouldn’t have mattered, such was the absolutely superb main event, which featured phenomenal performances from both Chris Kanyon and Kurt Angle . The two went at it for over an hour and kept the fans captivated every step of the way.  It’s hard to imagine there being a better match this year, and for something to top that in the Year end polls it would have to be very special indeed.  All in all the card easily drifts into thumbs up territory; the under card was decent enough, with enough good moments to make it fly by, and the main event was off the scale.  The very end of the show was intriguing too, with the Big Gee’s appearance and it really does look like the IWF are able to brush off the recent retirements, firings and movie-role hiatus’ and still put on one hell of a show. 

SAMUEL ADAMS TROPHY ROUND 1

Round 1
Saturday 8th May, Walthamstow Assembly Halls
 
Rob Van Dam Vs Simon Starshot ( * * * ¼ ) – An exciting match that featured plenty of high risk and high flying moves from both competitors, with the fans being quite partial to both men.  In the end though RVD’s more spectacular move-set won him the day and he polished off Double S with a picture perfect Five Star Frog Splash.  
Bradshaw Vs Xavier ( ½ * ) – If we did not know quite what to expect from this match, it still didn’t come as that much of a surprise to see that the end result was bloody awful.  Xav tried, he really did, but he was pissing in the wind here.  The only plus point, and it wasn’t really much of a plus point considering that Xavier was supposed to be the heel , was that there was serious rejoicing from the fans as Xavier well and truly kicked John Layfield’s sorry ass.  Xav took the win following a Xav-Attack.
John Cena Vs Ashten Drake ( * * ) – In complete contrast to Bradshaw, John Cena was a PWF guy who everyone knew would bag an IWF contract, and the IWF fans have also been quick to acknowledge him as a serious player.  This was a tidy little match up, without ever threatening to explode, but it was entertaining enough.  Cena took the win with an F-U. 
Charles Haas Vs Billy Kidman ( * * ½ ) – Haas showed considerable presence here in this one, presence that Billy Kidman seems unable to replicate these days which is quite a shame for a once prominent member of the IWF mid-card roster.  This was decent stuff, although it was Haas all the way.  It came as no surprise when Charles finished off Billy with the Haas Attack. 
Kevin Nash Vs Lance Storm ( Sq ) – Oh dear.  With Nash having a ppv date with Xavier upcoming at Into The Darkness, the bookers elected to keep him strong and poor Lance Storm drew the short straw.  Nash made his way into the ring, laughed off Storm’s initial flurry of offence, kicked him in the gut and then finished him off with the Jack-Knife for an easy pinfall victory inside an insulting twenty seconds.  Still as an exercise in keeping Nash strong for ITD it did it’s trick, especially considering that the crowd seemed to love it. 
Matt Morgan Vs Jamie Knoble ( Sq ) – Another squash match here, and whilst there was nothing much to it, it was an exciting blast of power wrestling from Morgan, who won easily with his Moriginator finisher.  Another one the fans loved. 
Edge Vs Matt Hardy ( * * * ½ ) – Finally there was more solid technical action, as these two put on quite a show.  As this was the only match on this night to have any real kind of storyline background to it (the two being on opposing sides in a tag match at MuscleMania XIII) there was also a great deal of heat during this one too.  The two had a back and forth battle and they matched each other every step of the way, but in the end it was Edge who prevailed as he avoided a Twist Of Fate attempt to hit back with an Edgecution of his own for the pinfall victory.
Chris Kanyon Vs Mark Jindrak ( * * ¾ ) – This was a very entertaining match indeed, with the crowd really into it throughout.  Granted it wasn’t a great technical match in most respects but this was great stuff from an entertainment point of view, and at times it was very funny too.  Kanyon did just enough to get Jindrak over as a threat without ever truly looking like he was going to get beaten, and in the end he won the match with the Kanyon Kutter and sent the fans home happy. 
 
Sunday 9th May, JJB Arena - Wigan
 
Chris Jericho Vs Brian Kendrick ( * * * ½ ) – This was  a very good match indeed. Although it featured the Cruiserweight champion Kendrick, Jericho treated him pretty much as an equal which made the match.  Kendrick was superb as the heel and Jericho looked like his inevitable “official” baby-face push will work.  In the end Jericho won a close run call when he made the valiant Kendrick submit to the Lion-Tamer. 
Jay Reso Vs Acid ( * * * ) – With two heels in there (and unlike the previous match, no inclination to really cheer anyone) the crowd were a bit dead for this match.  Which was a great shame, as this was very decent stuff indeed.  In the end, interference from Ashten Drake was nullified by retaliation by Matt Hardy and Jay hit the Unprettier for the pinfall victory.  
Ron Simmons Vs Kurt Angle ( * ) – Why oh why.  That’s the question every time we see one of the APA in an IWF ring.  Still, they’re here now so what use is complaining?  Angle made a decent effort, but Simmons was washed up four years ago, and there was really no saving this one.  Angle won via the angle slam, a match result which left the fans deliriously happy. 
The Big Gee Vs Phil “The Graduate” Jackson ( * * ½ ) – This clash of two stars who call Wigan their hometown certainly got the hometown fans on their feet. It’s doubtful that Jackson has ever been so well received in an IWF ring, and although the old-school IWA fans in attendance helped swell the reaction, its clear that his big win at MuscleMania XIII has given him some credibility with the IWF faithful.  And his credibility soared in this one too as he got a huge pinfall victory over the Big Gee, following a roll-up when the Gee was distracted by arguing with the referee.  Gee was livid afterwards but Jackson was smart enough to get out of the way and so it was the ref who felt the force of a devastating Gee-Bomb. 
Rick Shaw Vs Eddy Guerrero ( * * * * ) – Another home town boy got a great reception here, with Shaw being very over with the crowd.  Eddy, subtly playing the heel role to perfection here, helped matters too with a wonderful display which really did get Shaw over as a super-star.  Alas in the end Shaw couldn’t pick up the victory, falling prey to the Frog Splash, but the two shook hands at the conclusion of the bout, to a rousing ovation from the fans.
Rhino Vs Raven ( * * * ¼ ) – This was old ICW style hardcore wrestling at its most reckless.  The two battered each other with all manner of objects (which the referee let pass for some reason or another) as the crowd bayed for blood.  In the end Rhino got the win following the Gore, in a match which will no doubt be highly edited when Channel 5 show the highlights!
Jeff Jarrett Vs Sean O’Haire ( * * ½ ) – Of all the recent PWF signings by the IWF, Jeff Jarrett was the one with the biggest IWF history behind him, having been World Champion back in 1996 and been given a main event chance again in 2000, and whilst no one seriously expects him to scale those heights again in this tenure he has settled in nicely and he showed here why he can be considered a dependable act.  O’Haire on the other hand seems to be stuck in a rut so it was no surprise when Jarrett made him tap out to the Figure-Four leglock.  Decent enough match too.

Bill De Mott Vs Randy Orton ( * * ¾ ) – This was a decent enough affair, with the former Hugh Morrus putting in one of his usual inconsistent displays, noticeably missing a couple of spots.  But Orton looked his usual cool self and picked up the pinfall victory after De Mott had missed a moonsault attempt (this being an intentional miss if you get my drift).

Slammin – Bank Holiday Slamboree
Monday 3rd May 2004
Isle Of Cally, Scotland
 
Chris Kanyon & Phil Jackson Vs Kurt Angle & Randy Orton
 
Rhino Vs Eddy Guerrero
 
CRUISERWEIGHT TITLE;
Brian Kendrick Vs Rick Shaw
 
(The Debut of) Sean Schizz Vs “Bootylicious” Chris Chetti
 
Hugh Morrus & Jeff Jarrett Vs The Positive Role Models
 
Review;
1) Eddy Vs Rhino ( * * ¾ ) – This was an action packed way to open up this Bank Holiday special, and the fans really did lap this one up.  The only reasons for the relatively low rating were that it was a criminally short match, and that it featured a run-in ending, of sorts anyway.  Former PWF superstar John Cena decided to come to ringside and add his own brand of commentary on the match, a move which infuriated Rhino who kept trying to antagonise the Doctor of Thuganomics, which turned out to be a bad move.  He slapped Cena at ringside, but this only made JC mad and, whilst the referee’s back was turned, he hopped onto the ring apron and slugged Rhino with a Word Life-brass knux assisted punch.  Eddy, who had missed all of this, turned around to see a prone Rhino and so he climbed up the ropes, hit the Frog Splash and got the mildly surprising pinfall victory.
2) Jarrett & Morrus Vs PRM ( * * ¼ ) – Considering they have lost their European Tag titles and their commissionership of the IWF, is it any wonder that Riprock and Corino haven’t taken too kindly to the new influx of PWF guys?  They were in an uncharacteristically serious mood, not that in led to an upswing in their fortunes.  The former PWF duo of Jarrett & Morrus were solid, if unspectacular, and that was enough for them to take the bout, which ended when Jarrett pinned Corino.
3) Schizz Vs Chetti ( * *  ) – So onto the much heralded debut of (former HWA development talent) Sean Schizz.  Ok, so maybe “much heralded” is a bit of an exaggeration, but his fun (and women) filled promo’s over the past month or so have been funny.  Of course pitting him against Chetti only emphasised that “funny” doesn’t necessarily translate all that well into long-term prospects, but for not Sean is looking good.  He put in a competent display and showed a decent sprinkling of character and charisma, and he finished off Chetti with the wonderfully monikered “Schizz Hot”.  A promising debut indeed all things considered.
4) Kendrick Vs Shaw ( * * * * ) – Finally we got some stellar wrestling action and these two proved well worth the wait.  This was top class Cruiserweight action all the way and it was back and forth throughout.  The battle of the former SLAM members was not only entertaining from a technical point of view, but from a psychology point of view too. In the end Kendrick took the win following his BK Flamer, but once Shaw had recovered, the fans showed their appreciation by giving him a standing ovation.
5) Kanyon & Jackson Vs Angle & Orton ( * * * ¼ ) – Main event time and what a decent main event it was too.  Whilst never quite throttling into top gear, this was nevertheless a very entertaining bout, featuring good performances from all four men.  From the opening moments (as Angle sulked because he was the only one of the four without a championship belt) to the final moments this was a blast.  And in the end, Kanyon took the victory for his team by finishing the European champion Orton with the Kanyon Kutter.  Great main event.

 Whilst not the best Slammin that the IWF have ever put on, this was still a very decent event indeed.  The opening three matches weren’t great but they all zipped by and at least seemed enjoyable enough, even if upon a second viewing they probably weren’t all that hot.  It was the final two matches that made the night; the main event was one of those technically sparse, but wonderfully enteratning matches that we all know and love.  And the Cruiserweight match was a superb slice of 21st Century grappling that went down a storm with the crowd and proved that the company is still serious about promoting the division. 

MUSCLEMANIA XIII REPORT

The show started off with a beautiful rendition of God Save The Queen by the very talented Joss Stone.  (Incidentally rumour has it that some of the IWF top brass were keen on hot star of the moment Katie Melua doing the honours until someone pointed out that she wasn’t actually British!!!).  We then kicked straight into a brilliant video package; as well as building up the matches on the card (well the big ones anyway) it also pulled off the (now) usual trick of hyping MuscleMania as the biggest wrestling card on Earth.  This was classy stuff indeed.
Randy Orton Vs Sean O’Haire ( * * * ¼ )
                And so onto the opener, and this was a hotly anticipated match, with issues stretching back to last year’s Man Of Steel tournament (where these two had three hotly contested matches) which were all wonderfully encapsulated by a neat little video package.
                This was a high powered opener with good performances from both men.  O’Haire looked like wrapping it up with the Seanton Bomb, but Orton moved out of the way and then hit the RKO for the victory. 
                As we went backstage, roving reporter Jenni B had Dash Riprock and Steve Corino with her and she asked them the usual generic questions about their upcoming title defence.  It got altogether a lot more interesting however when the Commissioners stopped and realised that a bunch of people had stopped to watch.  What made it interesting was that the people in question were PWF performers Jeff Jarrett, Hugh Morrus and The APA (Bradshaw & Ron Simmons).  Dash asked them what the hell they were doing here and Jarrett replied that the four of them had taken severance deals on their PWF contracts and had all inked IWF deals.  Morrus added that they weren’t here to cause trouble but were just taking a look around their new work place.  And with that, the PWF guys walked off.  
The Positive Role Models Vs Alias Storm & Haas ( * * ½ )
                Match two, and title match number two.  Our intrepid commissioners have never been the greatest of in-ring talent, but they can certainly entertain a crowd.  Storm & Haas too seem to have found a nice little niche and this was a well received match, even if from a “wrestling” point of view it wasn’t all that great. 
                At the onset of the match Steve Corino & Dash Riprock seemed more interested in Gillian, the delectable manager of their opponents, and what she wasn’t wearing rather than the actual match but as they got attacked by their heelish opponents they soon had to get into the thick of things.
                This was an old style tag team encounter as the challengers cut the ring in half and stomped the crap out of Corino (who was selling for England) all whilst Dash looked on helplessly.  Dash got the crowd clapping but every time it looked like Corino would manage to make the tag, Haas & Storm recovered and stopped him from doing so. 
                Eventually however, Corino finally managed to make the hot tag to Riprock and good old Dash proceeded to clean house, battering both of the challengers.  But it was to be all to no avail.  Gillian hopped into the ring and distracted Riprock by doing a provocative dance in front of him.  And Dash was loving it so much  that he failed to see Charles Haas sneaking up behind him with a steel chair (as the referee was attending to a ringside scuffle between Corino & Storm), and the subsequent three count was little more than a formality and we had new European Tag Team Champions.
Mark Jindrak Vs Chris Benoit Vs Phil Jackson Vs Billy Kidman ( * * )
                So this match made it three for three in the title stakes, although it had little of the anticipation of the two matches that preceded it.  Which isn’t all that surprising considering that this had a “thrown together” feel about it and that Benoit looked to have all the motivation of Rick Waller on a diet.  The opening exchanges were swift but then, even though we were fighting under elimination rules, we got the usual pinfall attempt/break up scenario that quickly becomes all too repetitive and boring.
                Kidman was the first to go, to precious little fanfare, when Jindrak polished him off with the Hot Shot.  Still it wasn’t to be the champion’s night as he was sent packing shortly after by Benoit, which guaranteed us a new UK Champion.  Benoit took control of the match and really did a number on The Graduate, but try as he might he could not lay his shoulders down to the mat for the three count.  The fans really got behind Jackson at this point and they were really willing him on.  Which made for a sweet moment when he escaped from Benoit’s Crippler Crossface and reversed it into one of his own to which, after a brief struggle, Benoit tapped out and the crowd went wild for their new United Kingdom champion Phil “The Graduate” Jackson.
Chris Jericho Vs Eddy Guerrero ( * * * ¾ )
                One of the more hastily put together matches on the card (thanks to Dean Roberts getting shot at Madison Square Gardens six weeks ago) there was still a sense of excitement as these two made their way to the ring.  Indeed the fans seemed to expect something quite special and these two almost delivered; in the end we merely (?) had to settle for a very good bout, fought at an absolutely break neck speed. 
                What made this bout stand out was the sheer good time that both men seemed to be having.  Although they tossed in some brutal and hard hitting stuff they also gave themselves plenty of time to work the crowd, and wind up each other, and this went down a treat with the fans. 
                Guerrero controlled the early going, but Jericho soon got to work and slowly wore down his opponent.  Guerrero was never out of it though and he kept trading blows and eventually got right back into the thick of things and once he had knocked Jericho down with a wicked kick, the fans went wild as he climbed to the top rope and looked set to hit the Five Star Frog Splash.  However, quick as a flash, Jericho nipped up and quickly clambered the ropes and hit Latino Heat with a bruising super-plex.  He then hit the Lion-Sault to get the surprisingly popular 1-2-3.  After the match Jericho helped up his vanquished opponent and the two shook hands to a rousing reception.  Great stuff. 
Scott Hall Vs Xavier ( * * * )
                Say what you like about Scott Hall, but there is no doubt that the IWF booking squad came up with a masterful storyline arch to set up this encounter between the X-Rated leader Xavier and his former underling. 
                Despite an early flurry of offence, Hall took an absolute battering here from the unapologetic and uncompromising Xavier, who was certainly living up to his pre-match assertion that the fun-loving “work rate sucks” days were behind him for good. 
                Periodic flurries by Hall kept the fans in the match and had them willing him to pull out one last almighty effort but it didn’t seem as if Xavier was about to let this one go.  However, from out of nowhere Hall summoned up one last burst of breath, to take Xavier off his feet with a brutal clothesline and then signal for the Razor’s Edge.  To the surprise of everyone, he hit it sweetly and it seemed as if Xavier had been defeated.  However at the last milli-second, Xav kicked out of the subsequent pinfall attempt and the crowd were devastated.  Undeterred, Hall went for a second Razor’s Edge but this one was blocked by Xavier, who then hit a Xav-Attack of his own for the spotless pinfall victory.  As Hall lay flat out on the floor, Xav took a can of beer and poured it down the loser’s throat before walking out.  When Hall recovered he got a nice reaction from the crowd as he walked off, and out of the IWF forever by the looks of it.  A better send-off, if that’s the case, than he perhaps had any right to expect.
Brian Kendrick Vs Simon Starshot (Ladder, * * * * * )
                Six months after Simon Starshot “walked out” on the IWF, after a loss to Brian Kendrick during the qualifying stages of the Man Of Steel tournament, he finally was getting the chance to get his own back in this “unification” match for the Undisputed Cruiserweight championship.  It was quite a sight to see the two title belts hanging high above the ring and there was a real sense that these two were going to put on one hell of a show, and that they did. 
                There was a slow paced opening segment, with a lot of aborted challenges as the two sniffed around, looking for an opening, but some quick witted thinking by Starshot took Kendrick off balance and allowed him to really start to take control of the match.  What made this match all the more thrilling was that the two steered well clear of the ladder for a good eight or nine minutes of this near 20 minute bruiser, which meant that the non-ladder portion of the match was allowed enough time to sufficiently whet the appetite of the fans for the carnage to come.
                It was the champion Kendrick who finally brought the ladder into play, and from that moment on both of the participants but their bodies on the line with some insane stunt wrestling that had to be seen to be believed.  The picks were Starshot’s dropkick from one ladder to knock Kendrick off the other, and Kendrick managing to leap off a ladder set in the corner of the ring to hit a flying slam on Starshot who was just about to grab the belts. 
                The final segment was one of the hottest of the entire card as the two battered each other with the ladders in final attempts to grasp control of the battle.  It seemed over as Starshot clambered up the now rickety ladder and he was only inches away from grabbing the belts, but Kendrick was climbing another ladder that he had set up and he was only inches away himself.  Kendrick then hit Starshot with a super kick, knocking Starshot to the ground and then he steadied himself and grabbed the belts for the victory.  The fans gave both men a well deserved standing ovation as they lay on the mat, absolutely shattered.  Superb stuff. 
DDP, Raven & Knoble Vs Acid, Drake & Mathuras ( * ¾ )
                Perhaps sensing that the fans would need to catch their breath after that last match, the bookers threw on this six man next.  It was never going to be a classic, and it certainly wasn’t, but this was enjoyable enough given it’s six minute duration.  None of the men had a serious chance to shine given the circumstances (and the abysmal Mathuras couldn’t shine if he lived on the sun) although there were some pleasing segments between Acid & Knoble that livened things up.  As you might expect, a pier six brawl kicked in, and within the melee, Acid accidentally hit his own partner Mathuras, and this gave Diamond Dallas Page the opportunity to nip in with a Diamond Drive for the 1-2-3. 
                It was at this point that we got a special added bonus!  Yes folks that’s right, we were going to be treated to a special “MuscleMania” rap; and who would be bringing us this treat?  None other than one of the most obnoxious and talentless tossers the IWF could find, Richard Blackwood.  Still you have to give the man credit for going out there and doing it because it was absolutely abysmal.  But it turned out that that was precisely the point because round about 30 seconds in, a very familiar piece of music kicked in and the crowd went absolutely “banana” for the IWF debut of PWF star John Cena!!!   Cena milked the applause and then hit straight into a rap of his own, dissing Blackwood (who must have needed the money bad to accept this gig) and insulting a few IWF stars as well, all of which went down a treat with the fans.  Blackwood went to retaliate but Cena cut him off again and then kicked him in the gut and hit him with an F-U and the poor guy was stretchered out.  Cena celebrated once more and then walked off backstage.  When he got backstage however, Rhino was waiting to make his entrance for his match and the two had a verbal argument, which would have become physical if a swarm of officials hadn’t hurried around and broke it up. 
Shawn Michaels Vs Rhino ( * * * ¾ )
                Up next was this intriguing battle of contrasting styles.  This was yet another of the bouts that had been set up superbly and there was a real sense that the fans were baying for Rhino’s blood.  Michaels seemed his usual cocky self and the opening moments of the match seemed to suggest that he was well-placed to be so as he took the fight to the Man-Beast and sent his opponent sprawling; however Rhino bounced straight back and unleashed a flurry of his own brutal punches.  He then signalled for the Gore, but when he went to hit it, Michaels scarpered out of the way.  Still HBK was alert and he immediately looked to hit back with his super-kick, but Rhino saw it coming and hopped out of the ring.
                From there the battle hardly stopped between the two, and credit must go to the Show-stopper, who showed every wrestler watching how to go about timing a match to perfection.  Every bump the two took, every punch they threw, and even every rest hold they put on all seemed relevant and the crowd were well into the quick exchanges of near-falls that peppered the last third of the match.
                It really did look like anyone’s game as the two battled with every last breath they had in them.  Some stiff offence from Rhino looked like it had gained him the advantage, but the next minute, Shawn fought back using his superior quickness and ring smarts to turn the tide his way.  The final moments of the bout were superb as the two teetered on the precipice of victory and defeat.  Shawn took Rhino down with a side-suplex and called for some “Sweet Chin Music”  and it looked to all the world as if he would hit it.  As Rhino slowly stumbled to his feet, the crowd thought he was done for but it turned out that Rhino was playing possum.  As Shawn went for the kick, Rhino ducked it and then from out of nowhere turned around and hit a heavy-duty Gore.  The crowd went wild as Michaels kicked out of the subsequent pinfall attempt but it only prolonged the inevitable as Rhino hit another Gore and this time got the (mildly surprising) pinfall victory.   A great bout and, dare we say it, the right result.  Rhino impressed the crowd and Michaels received a nice round of applause for his efforts also. 
Lisa Marie Veron Vs Annalise Anderson ( * * * * )
                So six years after Matthew Mercy and Dean Roberts tore the house down at MuscleMania VII we had a match that pitted Mercy’s on-screen girlfriend against Dean’s on-screen wife.  It may not have been the most innovative concept that the booking squad had ever come up with, but the reactions from the fans as the two made their way out proved that this feud has re-ignited interest in the women’s division. 
                The two flew out of the starting blocks, throwing everything at each other, before Lisa Marie slowly took control of the bout.  Annalise really took a kicking here as Veron unveiled all the tasty and brutal moves within her arsenal.  The crowd were well into the bout as they willed their favourite Annalise on but try as she might to get back into the match, every time she looked like gaining an advantage, Veron was quick to regain control of the match.
                However, Veron got too cocky and when she went to the top rope for a big elbow drop, Annalise managed to move out of the way and Veron hit nothing but mat.  Annalise then started attacking her opponent and was really on a role. 
                The ending segment of the match was the highlight of the bout.  From out of nowhere Veron attempted to finish it off with the Widow's Peak, but Annalise powered out of it and attempted to finish the bout off with her finishing move the AA.  However Veron blocked that too.  Veron then hit a Mercy Bomb, but Annalise kicked out of the subsequent pinfall attempt and subsequently hit back with her version of the Scholarship, which Veron kicked out of too.  However Veron couldn't kick out of a second Scholarship, and the referee counted the pinfall that made Annalise Roberts the new Women's Champion. 
Stone Cold Steve Austin Vs Matt Morgan ( * * * )
                There’s been no doubt that Matt Morgan had been on quite a roll since his debut in January, but there was also no doubt that tonight was going to be his biggest challenge yet.  The crowd booed him to buggery as he made his way to the ring, and conversely they popped huge when Austin stormed out and immediately took the fight straight to his mammoth opponent. 
                This was never more than your usual Stone Cold brawl, but it was down with such energy and vigour that the pace of the match never dragged and there was always something exciting going on and the crowd really seemed to enjoy it all too.  The two traded heavy duty blows around the ring, and then the referee took a tumble thanks to a mis-timed shot from the Blueprint, which meant that the two competitors carried on their brawl at ringside, and into the crowd.
                There was a nice spot when Morgan once again went to powerbomb Austin through one of the ringside announcing tables, but Austin blocked it and then reversed it into a flip which sent Morgan crashing through the other table at ringside. 
                As the referee finally awoke, the two got back into the ring and Morgan recovered sufficiently to attempt another powerbomb in the ring, but even though he hit it, Austin kicked out of the pinfall attempt.  He then did the old kick to the gut/Stone Cold Stunner combination to wrap up the entertaining match, and quite possibly his full-time wrestling career, 1-2-3.  Very entertaining stuff.
Matt Hardy & Jay Reso Vs Edge & Rob Van Dam ( * * ¾ )
                Time for World Tag Team title action next in what was, on paper, a very enticing prospect indeed.  However in practise it didn’t quite work out, mainly due to the anaemic time it was allocated on the card.  All this got was a paltry eight minutes that meant that whilst it was good whilst it lasted, once it was over you were left unfulfilled. 
                They tried they really did, and what they did wasn’t at all bad, but you just got the feeling that on a night of big matches, this wasn’t really going to cut the mustard, which must cause concern for the four men concerned.  Still this was reasonable enough when considered on its own merits.  Reso looked impressive and he had some exciting face off’s with his former partner Edge (for those with long memories anyway). 
                And we did get another clean finish as Edge hit the Edgecution on Matt Hardy which was then following up by Rob Van Dam’s Rolling Thunder for the match winning, and title grabbing, pinfall victory.  The new champs celebrated, the defeated champions swore revenge. 
Matthew Mercy Vs The Big Gee ( * * * ¼ )
                Who would have thought that the IWF could make Mercy Vs Gee in 2004 a must see match?  Well kudos to the boys again because some wonderful angles leading up to this encounter meant that once again the crowd were bursting with anticipation for this one. 
                This was nothing we haven’t already seen from either guy in terms of action, but there did seem to be an air of genuine menace between the two that turned the heat up a notch and made for a cracking “big man” spectacle.  There was no time for fancy holds here, this was violence cranked up to 11 all the way.  Mercy controlled the early going, but Gee hung on in there and slowly forced his way back into the match with some high-impact offence of his own. 
                This match got even more violent once the referee took a bump, although this one was no accident as Gee, tired of his decision making process, punched him out of the ring.  The fists were flying and the two really were going at it, and Gee introduced a Steel Chair into the proceedings although Mercy quickly retaliated with one of his own.  At the ref slowly stirred the two continued to batter each other in frenzied attacks, but as the referee awoke, Gee tossed his chair to the mat and the ref saw Mercy and went to take his chair off him.  As the ref took it, and turned his back on the competitors to hand it to the time-keeper at ringside, Gee picked up the chair he’d dropped and smashed Mercy straight in the noggin with it.  He then made the cover and the referee got back into the ring and counted the three count that absolutely no-one saw coming.  The crowd were furious, but it changed nothing…The Big Gee had just won perhaps the biggest victory of his career.  This was brutal stuff, but it sure was enjoyable.  Thumbs up to both men. 
Kurt Angle Vs Chris Kanyon ( * * * * ½ )
                No matter what had gone on in the previous twelve matches, the reactions of the crowd as these two combatants made their way to the ring proved one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt…this was the match that everyone had come to see!
                Kurt Angle came out to the loudest chorus of boo’s this writer has ever heard at a wrestling event, but the crowd managed to turn it up a notch again for Kanyon’s entrance.  Seriously, this was almost at Dean/Mercy levels from MM VII.  The two milked the appreciation at the start of the bout, before slowly locking up.  Kanyon won the test of strength but Angle soon hit back with some punches of his own and the battle was on.
                Angle seemed determined to out wrestle his opponent, but much to his surprise, Kanyon seemed willing, and more than able, to attempt to match him hold for hold.  By the second time Kanyon had reversed one of Angle’s holds, Kurt was furious and immediately dropped his technical facade to turn to simply trying to kick Kanyon’s ass.  This did him little better as Kanyon unveiled some of his tasty manoeuvres to fully take control of the match, at least until Angle hit a low blow to take the wind out of Kanyon and gain prolonged control of the match for the first time. 
                Angle revelled in taunting the fans as he pummelled Kanyon and slowly wore him down, but the fans just took this as a cue to cheer Kanyon harder than ever and attempt to will him back into the match.  And their trick seemed to work as Kanyon slowly managed to make his way to his feet (at one point looking almost like Hulk Hogan!) and finally break free of Angle’s hold.  However a brief flurry of offence was all he could manage before Angle, quick as a flash, locked on his feared Ankle-Lock.  Kanyon struggled and struggled but it seemed like he was done for but somehow he reached the ropes, and refused to let Angle drag him back into the middle of the ring.  Angle broke the hold and then sized up his opponent for the Angle-Slam. 
                Angle hit it and it looked for all the world to see like Kanyon was done for, but much to Kurt’s anger he kicked out at 2 and ¾, which really got the crowd going good and proper.  Angle laid in some stiff boots and then went for the Angle-Slam again, but this time, Kanyon wriggled out of it and hit a swinging DDT of his own for a near fall.  He then built up his momentum and finally hit his opponent with the Kanyon Kutter and registered the 1-2-3 which won him the match, the Triple Crown title and was the cue for the crowd to nearly blow the roof off.  He celebrated in the ring, with the fans showering their adulation as the show faded to black.  An absolutely superb main event. 
 
So the biggest card of the year has been and gone for another year, but what a superb night of action it was.  Going into the card there was a sense of great anticipation as to what might occur, and this card lived up to the billing in almost every sense.  Sure, not everything was classic, but enough of the card was to ensure that this might very well be the best IWF pay-per-view of all time. 
Highlights of the under-card were the hugely entertaining Jericho/Guerrero affair, the cracking women’s title match (which may well be the greatest one-on-one match ever seen by the IWF ladies) and the genuine 5 star ladder match for the Cruiserweight title. 
The big matches also delivered in spades.  Austin/Morgan may have been the “typical” Stone Cold style match but it was executed brilliantly, Michaels and Rhino proved those doomsayers who said they were incompatible completely wrong and Mercy/Gee was an unbelievably brutal encounter, with perhaps the most shocking ending of the night.
Still when all was said and done, it was the main event that everyone had come to see and Chris Kanyon and Kurt Angle delivered everything you could ask for in a MuscleMania main event.  It was truly a superb ending to a superb card, and the fact that it wasn’t overshadowed by the sheer multitude of stellar combat underneath tells you just how good it was.  This truly was one of, if not THE, best nights in IWF history.   Thumbs up all round!!!!!!

NEW YORK CITY INVASION REVIEW

                As the show came to the arena, with the requisite fireworks and the white hot NYC crowd, and once the commentary team of George Minister and Mike Sanders had made their introductions, and confirmed the news that had leaked out earlier in the day that the IWF had struck a deal with the owners of the PWF to purchase the “intellectual rights” of that promotion (which basically means the name, video rights and the likes and also means that at this stage none of the PWF talent), the camera’s took us to the “Hooters In Manhattan” branch of the famous eatery, located on 211 West 56th Street for all those with an interest in this kind of thing, where a special NYC Invasion party was going on, hosted by none other than the IWF’s very own Big Gee!  Gee told the masses that it was a genuine thrill to be here, but that had more to do with the delightful waitresses rather than the stinking and dirty New Yorkers (who had all won tickets for the party in a local IWF radio competition).  Gee said he was looking forward to seeing Matthew Mercy get his ass kicked in the up-coming match, a sentiment that the fans in attendance certainly didn’t agree with.  Gee was flanked by two large chested waitresses throughout this segment and he was loving it. 
1) Matthew Mercy Vs Xavier ( * * * * ¼ )
                The crowd were stoked for this opener, which may have been the biggest name opener in IWF pay-per-view history!  The fans in Madison Square Gardens were going crazy throughout this bout, and for good reason…it was a cracker!
                Mercy started off like the proverbial house on fire, using his high impact and powerful moves to full effect and it wasn’t too long before Xavi took the opportunity to slide out of the ring and take a breather. 
                Xav slowly made his way back in, but was again subjected to a barrage of attack by Mercy.  However, in the midst of all the melee, the referee Nick Patrick took a bump and all hell broke loose.  To get back into things, Xav enlisted the help of a Steel Chair and he smashed Mercy out of the ring.  The two continued to brawl at ringside, and were soon going all over MSG, as Patrick continued to snooze in the ring. 
                The two brawled into the crowd, through the arena walkway’s and back into the restricted areas backstage.  From there, the two slowly made their way back towards the ring, and just as they were coming down the rampway, the referee awoke and started a 10 count, oblivious to the fact that he’d missed around 7 minutes of the action!
                When the two finally got back into the ring, they switched into “proper” wrestling mode, and this was a great David Vs Goliath style section.  Try as he might, Xavier couldn’t outmuscle Mercy, but he used his superior speed to keep out of harm’s way as best as he could.  However, it couldn’t last forever, and Mercy caught him with a positively brutal big boot, which seemingly nearly decapitated Xavier.
                Moving in for the kill, Mercy picked his opponent up, hit him with the Mercy-Bomb and got that all important pinfall victory.  This was high octane stuff all the way and was riotously entertaining.  Thumbs up for both men.
                It was back to Hooters now and Gee was calling Mercy lucky for his win, as well as tossing in some other choice insults in there as well.  As we got back to MSG we saw that Matthew Mercy had been watching this diatribe on a screen backstage, and he was far from pleased. 
2) Four Way Match For Women’s Title ( * * ¾ )
                So onto the Women’s title match, and you had to feel sorry for the girls having to follow such a stonking opener as the previous match.  Still, even if the crowd wasn’t as vocal as they were for the opener, the action within the match was more than respectable and was actually put together quite well. 
                The main story here was the subtly escalating heat between Lisa Marie Veron and Annalise Roberts, who, lest we should forget hey George?, are the girlfriend of Matthew Mercy and wife of Dean Roberts respectively. 
                The opening segment was a testament to great booking as Veron & Annalise were kept away from each other, only teasing a battle.  However, things soon came to a head when, almost simultaneously, Veron tossed Taylor Matheny over the top rope and Annalise sent Trish sprawling to the arena floor.  The excitement as the women turned to face each other and realised that they were finally about to get a chance to go one-on-one was irresistible.
                The two started by trading some pretty standard punches and the like, but slowly the brutality was notched up, until the other two women finally returned to the ring and attempted to lay a beating on  the two. 
                The four women all brawled with each other, which was fairly humdrum, until the big finishing sequence kicked in.  Lisa Marie tossed Trish out of the ring and the two had a battle outside, whilst in the ring Taylor and Annalise battled.  Annalise smashed Taylor with a stiff kick to the head, and then hit her finishing move, the AA.  However before she could get the pinfall, Veron sneaked up behind her, tossed her brutally out of the way, and hooked the leg of Taylor to get the three count and her title retaining victory. 
                As Lisa Marie celebrated, Annalise looked on, with an expression that told the world that their particular battle was far from over.  A decent little match, which, in terms of heightening the anticipation for the inevitable Lisa Marie/Annalise match, did what it set out to do. 
3) Acid Vs AJ Styles ( * * * ¾ )
                This match all came about as a result of Zoltar and his merry men kidnapping poor Trent Acid at the Robo Rumble in January.  Of course when AJ went to the aid of his best buddy he found out that Acid had been brainwashed and fully indoctrinated into Zoltar’s strange ways.
                As one would expect, Acid was accompanied to the ring by Zoltar himself, and two of Zoltar’s henchmen, Mathuras and Yzeabek.  The odds looked bad to AJ, but help was at hand; our intrepid Commissioners Dash Riprock and Steve Corino came out onto the rampway with a ton of security men and ordered Zoltar’s crew from ringside.  Reluctantly, they complied with the request, leaving just Acid and Styles to go right at it. 
                If this was seen by both men as their big night to make serious impressions on the IWF fans as worthy singles stars, then both can be said to have achieved just that.  This was breath-taking stuff at times, and perhaps the only criticism that one could throw at this particular encounter was that there were perhaps a few too many big moves tossed into proceedings. 
                There were too many big moves to note in this review, but some of the highlight’s were Styles’ suicidal top-rope moonsault onto Acid, who just happened to be on the arena floor!!! and Acid’s top-rope missile dropkick onto AJ. 
                In the end, Acid won when he blocked the Styles Clash and turned it into a tombstone jumping piledriver, for the 1-2-3.  After the decision, Zoltar, Mathuras and Yzeabek made their way back out and laid a 4-on-1 attack on the defeated Styles, but Styles was saved by those Positive Role Models.  As the heels dispersed, Riprock and Corino helped up Styles, who got a standing ovation for his bravery.  A fantastic encounter, which should do a lot of good for both men. 
                After this match we were again transported to Hooters, where the Gee was seemingly getting more and more drunk and he was getting rather fruity with some of the waitresses.  He tossed more derogatory comments at Matthew Mercy, but that turned out to be an unwise move, as we heard a whole load of commotion off camera and then saw the sight of Matthew Mercy himself in the restaurant.  The look on Gee’s face as he slowly realised that Mercy was behind him was priceless and then Mercy absolutely battered Gee all around the restaurant.  He hit him with chairs, tables, pictures off the wall and even patron’s food and drink!!!  To see Gee covered in bits of burgers and stuff was hilarious.  After Mercy had finished kicking the crap out of Gee he stood on a table, ordered a pitcher of beer and then downed the whole lot, much to the delight of everyone in the restaurant.  A waitress came across and asked him if he wanted any more beer, to which he replied, “I always want more” before leading the busty girl off in search of another pint!  As daft as it sounds, this was a very entertaining segment indeed. 
4) Matt Hardy & Jay Reso Vs DDP & The Graduate ( * * * )
                The tag team title match was up next, and whilst it was far from the greatest bout ever from the point of view of the in-ring action, there is no doubting that this was a hugely entertaining slice of wrestling, and the crowd lapped up nearly every second of it.     This was a real throwback to the “good old days” as Hardy & Reso did an almighty number on Jackson and metaphorically cut the ring in half to stop any chance of him making the tag to the on-looking Dallas Page. 
                The X-Rated boys used every nefarious tactic in the book to maintain their advantage, with double teaming galore, all the while winding up Page and winding up the sell out MSG crowd too. 
                Finally Jackson managed to make some headway as he shocked Hardy with a DDT.  The battle was on to see who could make the tag first, and although it was Hardy who reached Reso first, Jackson was not that far behind tagging DDP and Page hit the ring with a fury, cleaning the clocks of both of the champions. 
                DDP hit Hardy with The Page Turner, but the referee didn’t make the count on the subsequent pinfall as Hardy was not the legal man.  Tossing Matt aside, DDP turned his attentions to Reso and pummelled him.  He then signalled and set up the Diamond Drop on Reso, but Matt Hardy came back into the ring and clipped Page’s knee. Reso then made the cover, as Hardy held DDP’s leg down at ringside (and out of view of the referee too) for the champs to get the pinfall and retain their belts.  A very entertaining match indeed. 
                After this match, and after the ubiquitous MuscleMania XIII promo, it was time for Chris Jericho and his highlight reel.  As Jericho made his way to the ring he was mercilessly booed by the New York crowd.  He took the microphone and told the world that he was so excited that his guest tonight had agreed to appear on the first ever PPV version of the Highlight Reel, and then he introduced Dean Roberts, who got a spine-tingling reception from the fans. 
                After the applause had died down, Jericho started off the interview with some extremely complimentary comments, calling Dean one of the greatest wrestlers to have ever stepped into an IWF ring.  He said that Dean truly was the Icon of Professional Wrestling and that he was a true legend.  Dean seemed touched by the compliments and when Jericho offered to shake his hand, Dean had no hesitation in accepting the offer and the two shook hands to a wild reaction from the fans.
                But, and didn’t there just have to be a but, Jericho had more to say.  He told Dean that whilst all that may be true in the past sense, it certainly wasn’t true now.  He told Dean that he WAS one of the best, and he was a legend of the past, but now, in 2004, his standing in the game was shot.  He said that Dean was yesterday’s news and that no-one cared about the sad old loser anymore.  
                Dean, for his part, was just an interested onlooker at this point, wondering just what else Jericho was going to come out with.  In fact, next us was a Jericho video package of the Dean, showing all the Dean’s losses to Jericho in glorious Technicolor, culminating in Jericho’s Triple Crown victory at Xtreme Overload 2003.  Jericho said that he had completely destroyed Dean that night, so much so that Dean hadn’t returned to the IWF for six months, and then only for one night.  Jericho said that Dean should do the whole world a favour and pack it in completely. 
                It was now that Jericho finally allowed time for Dean to speak.  Dean said that Jericho’s points had all been interesting, and that it was true that Jericho had done a number on him in his last match.  He also congratulated Y2J on having the balls to say this to his face, unlike all the others in the back who thought the same thing but wouldn’t challenge him with their words.  He said that the last nine months had been a thought provoking time and that he had wondered if his career was over.  Still, he had begun to realise that there was some unfinished business to attend to.  He’d been watching Jericho shoot his mouth off about ending the Dean’s career, and being the better man, and he’d been pretty convincing.  He’d thought about it and he was man enough to admit that maybe Jericho was right; maybe Dean was past it.  But there was one little nagging doubt in the back of his mind, one train of thought that told him that he wasn’t finished.  Even though his wife Annalise had tried to make him realise that by getting back in the ring he could be risking his whole quality of life, he wanted to reach down that one more time to prove that it had been all worth it. 
                He said that he didn’t want his career to end like it did at Xtreme Overload, battered and bruised and helpless and even if it turned out that he only had one match left in him, he had to do it one last time. 
                Jericho interrupted him and said that he was feeling very emotional and that he was almost on the verge of tears, such had been the feeling in that.  But he said in the end, it was all bulls**t.  It was Dean’s ego that was telling to come back, Dean’s ego that was convincing his mind to try things his body could no longer accomplish.  Jericho said that if Dean really wanted to make his return, he had an idea…he could get in the ring with the Highlight of The Night and get his ass kicked once again.  Dean thought this over and said he wasn’t ready tonight, and with a smile on his face said it would probably take him about six weeks to be ready.  It slowly dawned on Jericho, and the crowd, that Dean was referring to MuscleMania XIII and then Jericho smirked, saying that it would be a pleasure to, once again, finish Dean’s career on the biggest stage of them all; and this time, he would do the job properly.  The two then shook hands, very cagily, and then walked off almost simultaneously, not wanting to turn their back on the other for fear of a sneak attack.  This may not have been the grand-stand return for the Dean some may have expected, but this was an outstanding segment which sets up a massive and intriguing match for the upcoming MuscleMania XIII event. 
5) Team Kanyon Vs Team Angle ( * * * * ½ )
                And so it was time for the main event, and what a buzz of excitement was going around the arena as, first, Team Angle made their way out (individually), followed by the individuals of Team Kanyon.  Of course the biggest reaction was for Chris Kanyon…it felt as if the roof was about to blow off when he came out. 
                Matt Morgan was chosen to start the match for his team and the members of Kanyon’s team all seemed a little reluctant to kick off the proceedings against this behemoth.  Eventually, Eddy Guerrero took up the mantle, but he soon wished he hadn’t as he got absolutely smashed by a barrage of big punches and kicks.  Simon Starshot made the tag in and put up a little bit more of a fight, but he soon quickly got kicked to the kerb too.  It took the introduction of Shawn Michaels into the proceedings to get his team an advantage, and he sent Morgan reeling with a well timed combination of punches and a perfectly struck dropkick. 
                From here the action was swift and fast paced as both teams exchanged quick tags, which kept things fresh and meant that all 10 men were looking to make a good impression when they came in.  There were particularly exciting altercations between Michaels and his former student Brian Kendrick, Sean O’Haire and his perennial rival Randy Orton, and between Kurt Angle and Eddy Guerrero.  Noticeable however was that Angle was trying to desperately avoid Chris Kanyon, but when Kanyon took a bit of beating from The Blueprint, Angle was quick to tag in whilst Kanyon was down and he continued to lay the boots into his MuscleMania opponent.  The crowd really got into this segment, and they were willing Kanyon to either get his own attack in on Angle, or for him to tag someone in to do it for him.  Eventually Kanyon managed to stun Angle with a neck-breaker and then he made the hot tag to Shawn Michaels who started to clean house.
                Unfortunately in the ensuing melee the referee took a hit and was sent sprawling and all hell broke loose.  There were hot moves galore as all ten men fought and brawled both in the ring and at ringside.  There was literally too much action to follow at this point, but highlights included Simon Starshot’s thrilling plancha dive onto Kendrick at ringside, Morgan power-bombing Eddy Guerrero through the German Announcer’s ringside table, and Kanyon hitting the Kanyon Cutter on Rhino at ringside.  Eventually the referee awoke and he called for backup from the other officials to sort out the melee  that had kicked off.  As this all went on at ringside, Chris Kanyon and Kurt Angle ended up as the sole wrestlers in the ring and they had a crisp exchange of moves, which culminated in Kanyon hitting Angle with the Kanyon Cutter.  However the referee was still at ringside trying to sort out the other eight wrestlers, and so there was no-one to count the pinfall.  At this point Kanyon got up but he hadn’t noticed that Matt Morgan had nipped into the ring, with a Steel Chair, and he got clonked good and proper right in the face, knocking him out cold.  Morgan then rolled Angle onto Kanyon, went outside and got the referee’s attention, who slipped back into the ring and slapped the mat three times and Team Angle had sneaked a victory.  Angle and his cronies hopped off backstage celebrating, as Team Kanyon tended to the battered and bruised Kanyon, and Eddy Guerrero for that matter who was still suffering from that ringside Powerbomb, and as the show went off the air, Kanyon was finally coming around, and he couldn’t believe what had happened to him. 
 
Sceptics wondered what the IWF could do with a five match show, but this provided the definitive answer…give us a damn fine wrestling show!!!  Three of the matches were superb, and the other two title matches gave us plenty of excitement too.  Styles and Acid made the most of their opportunity to shine, Mercy & Xavier put on a mini-classic which wowed the crowd right from the start and despite the eclectic mix of styles on display in the 10 man main event, all the superstars concerned pulled together and ended this great show on a high note.  Throw in the fun with the Gee, and a gripping Highlight Reel with Dean Roberts and all in all you’re left with a cracking show, both as a path on the way to MuscleMania XIII and in it’s own right.  Great stuff indeed.