IWA Mid-South Top 18 Matches, #15: Necro Butcher v. Toby Klein 8/1/03

#15 Necro Butcher v. Toby Klein 8/1/03


PAS: This was the first real breakout Necro Butcher match. I remember totally freaking out the first time I saw this. Rewatching it a dozen years later may make it stand out a little less, but that's mainly because Necro had so many awesome matches with a similar structure since. Klein was right there going toe to toe with him, but Necro took the craziest shots, including a VCR and cinderblock to the dome. I am burned out a bit with light tubes but there were some nutso shots with them. Before rewatch, I might have put this in the top 5 IWA-MS matches ever, it will be interesting where it stands after checking out others.

ER: Awesome fight, just a crazy sprint through beating another man down. This is only 7 minutes and clearly in the running for best under-10 minute matches ever. You don't get the pause for effect and wandering that you get in most weapons matches, these two just take off hitting and throwing shit at each other and expect you to keep up. Or, judging by how little regard they give to the (fairly closely seated) fans, they don't care what sinks in with viewers. They just go straight at each other and never let up. They are relentless. Both have nasty chops to start and Necro breaks things open/breaks heads open with a running headbutt. Before long Necro is being bashed with a toaster that has no give (probably not as bad when he later takes a heavy VCR) and both guys get way cut up with glass (with glass exploding with inches of tons of fans). 

Lighttube shots in death matches have drifted back and forth over the years from being Played Out to being Still Cool, but I love their usage here as transitions in between all of the nasty fighting. There is no wandering from spot to spot, they just stick glass into each other's backs instead. The visual of sheets of blood running down each guy was disgusting. Necro caves in Klein's head and ribs with punches after taking some sick baseball bat shots, Klein fires back with some nasty punches to Necro's spleen; as I said, relentless. It's the key to what makes this match so great: there is more substance in the fighting and the "in between" stuff than in the actual weapons shots. They had a fight that happened to involve weapons, not a stunt show where they just voluntarily moved from prop to prop. The finish is one of the great pro wrestling finishes, with Necro locking on a rear naked choke and Klein grabbing for a light tube/barb wire bundle, but passing out before being able to swing it into Necro's head. Perfect.