IWTV Worth Watching: Tank! Drew Dillinger! Lincoln Moseley! Brad Cash!

Drew Dillinger vs. Lincoln Moseley IWA-MS 1/4/20

ER: This was raw around the edges and could have used a little editing, but I liked a lot of their ideas and I liked the raw but effective execution. Things especially caught my eye when Moseley started working over Dillinger's leg with real mean stomps to the ball of the ankle and the inner meat of the thigh and knee. Dillinger sold it effectively and was good about making callbacks to his knee, stumbling in a realistic way once and spotted multiple times rubbing some goodwill back into it. Moseley's legwork was mean enough and Dillinger's selling committed enough that I got into the story, and I loved the progression of Dillinger getting so pissed having his leg worked over, that at first opportunity he starts grinding Moseley's knee into the mat. I got a lot of satisfaction seeing Dillinger drop elbows onto Moseley's leg, then work a cool Indian deathlock cravate, and it all builds to Dillinger powering up to hit a great fat guy dropkick. I didn't love all of the strike exchanges, but a lot of the strikes in this were inventive and hit hard (I especially dug Dillinger's back elbows), and I liked the direction they took most of this.


Tank vs. Brad Cash Pro Wrestling Georgia 2/1/20

ER: This was the finals of a small scale Georgia death match tournament, and as a self-described "half in the bag" Jeff G. Bailey says "These carpet strips have tons of little nails sticking out of them, so you're gonna have a good time". This was my favorite of all the death matches on the show, as it had built in wear and tear (both guys had already worked twice that night) and had far and away the most actual striking of all the matches. I like death matches that are based around the striking rather than the weapons, with strikes used to soften up guys to make them susceptible to the weapons. And this was filled with big chops, headbutts, and shots to the dome from both. The carpet strips come into play in fun ways, like Tank getting the front of his body pressed into them or Tank grabbing one to jam into Cash's head, pressing in with his thumbs. Tank cannonballs Cash through a board left there from a prior match, and hits a running crossbody to a seated Cash, completely crushing the chair Cash was seated in. Tank mentions in his post-match promo how he's already Terry Funk'd his retirement, and now he hopes Cash's fiancé isn't mad at him for messing up Cash's face two weeks before his wedding. Brad Cash worked a death match tournament two weeks before his wedding day. You can't end a wrestling show with a more amusing note than that.

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Wednesday War Games: Anarchy Wrestling Hostile Enviornment 7/28/18

Anarchy Wrestling has moved off of Powerbomb and on to Fite.tv which makes it harder to watch, but for their annual WarGames show I had to find a way.

Team TAG vs. Seth Delay/Marcus Cross

PAS: Team TAG are the Anarchy tag champions and a pretty solid heel team, Kevin Blue especially has really nice snap on his stuff. Delay goes all the way back to the Wildside days, and is a really solid veteran, he had some fun takedowns early and was in the right place for everything. Cross is pretty new and was the weak link in the match, the crowd was into the story of the kid going for his first title, but he seemed tentative and didn't hit a lot of his stuff cleanly. Still this is a basic tag match done well with a crowd pleasing finish. Not memorable in the long run, but eminently served its purpose.

AC Mack vs. Xander Ramon

PAS: Ramon is big burly guy, who is green but promising. Mack is a guy we have seen a bunch in ACTION and is really good, charismatic and a solid heel wrestler. This is a pretty basic match structure, much like the previous match. Ramon is throwing big bombs, while Mack attacks a bum knee. Really solid way to work a smaller heel against a bigger face and they do a nice job here. Mack has some nice chop blocks, and Ramon's selling was solid if a bit broad. Ramon maybe sometime away, but Mack is their now.

Billy Buck vs. Ike Cross

PAS: This was a 2/3 falls match which was squeezed into about 10 minutes, and suffered a bit for that compression. However there was a lot to like, Billy Buck is a old school territorial heel, nice punches, good superkick, slick spinebuster, kind of B+ CW Anderson. Cross is an athletic marvel, and seems like he is going to be a big star sooner then later. He has a great looking tope, a couple of nice spears and a leap onto the top rope into a superplex, all from a guy who is 6'4. Both early falls ended quick, and they go right into a near fall run, with some good ones including some great sneak superkicks by Buck. I liked the idea of Cross winning with Kyle Matthews octopus (Matthews was seconding him after blowing out a knee and retiring), but Cross didn't really pull off the move. Good stuff and I would like to see a longer match between the two.

Geter vs. Mikal Judas

PAS This was a battle of the giants with Judas returning to Anarchy. This was a quick punch out into a double countout to set up a future match. Geter is a legit 400 pound dude and hits pretty hard. Judas has a cool entrance, but didn't show me a ton post entrance. Still I wouldn't mind seeing some big guys hit each other in the future.

38. Slim J vs. Corey Hollis

PAS: This is coming off their awesome dog collar match earlier in the year. This was a Yard Call match, which is a fight in a storage room in a separate building. It had concrete walls, chicken wire door and a ceramic toilet in the side like a holding cell. Slim J comes in with hands cuffed behind his back and gets uncuffed before the fight. This was a total blast, just a grimy fight. Slim J swings a toilet tank lid at Hollis's head and it shatters on the wall, Hollis then uses ceramic shards to cut up J. Both guys get choked with a chain, and J even pulls out a shank. Slim J is a guy best known as a highflyer, but he is a hell of brawler, the best parts of this feel like a Demus lucha brawl or something Tarzan Goto might do in Shin FMW. Both guys are taking bumps on concrete, bleeding in dirt, wailing on each other with fist and chairs. Finish had J winning with a standing choke which was cool looking, but I was expecting something more horrific. Still a great unique match which totally lived up to its cool on paper promise.

ER: This is one of the better combinations of "unique setting" & "willing to be violent enough to make it work" for a street fight that we've seen, up there with the Finlay/Regal parking lot brawl. It's a weird room with chicken wire and chains and a toilet and a freaking shank and a stripped gurney and it looks like a snuff location in Manhunt. Slim J is definitely a fantastic flyer, but the man hits harder like a sack of doorknobs and you don't usually get his level of violent work with agility. The missed weapon shots are as cool as the hits, with J swinging a heavy ass toilet lid at Hollis' head and shattering it on the wall, and Hollis one-upping him by throwing the whole damn toilet at his head. There's a dog collar/chain hanging from the wall and that collar gets slipped around J's neck, and Hollis holds J by both arms and yanks him forward halfway across the room, chain pulling taut while choking him, J barely escaping by kicking off Hollis. We get some nasty spills, J getting pulled painfully onto the tipped over gurney, both men getting tossed into hard walls and rubbed into wire, Hollis comes thisclose to jumping on a chair wrapped around J's neck, J's bloody face gets smooshed into chicken wire a foot away from a bunch of kids, all of it looked great. I did want a bit more from the finish, as it looked like J was setting up this standing grapevine choke near the shattered porcelain throne, I thought he was going to smash Hollis' face down into the shards, but I like what they did anyway. Cool, super unique brawl, Slim J should be a megastar.

Cult of Cash (Brad Cash/Cyrus the Destroyer/Se7en/Chop Top) vs. Jacob Ashworth/Logan Creed/Bobby Moore/Stryknyn

PAS: This was annual Landmark Arena Wargames, and was slotted in the middle of the ones I have seen. Landmark based feds have always been able to find legit heavyweights, and there was some big dudes in this match. We get a Logan Creed versus Se7en face off and both guys are 6'7 legit (listed 6'9), Chop Top looked kind of methy and skinny, but everyone else was a legit heavy, so there was a lot of force in all of the moves. Cyrus is 400 pounds and there was a couple of spots where he looked like he was going to bring down the cage. The Ashworth and Cash first section was good, with Cash cutting upon Ashworth with a sickle, and pretty intense brawling. The middle section had its moments, including a crazy top rope rana by Creed, but it was a little meandering. Stryknyn was the surprise partner, and had some big spots, including his fireball. They had a kind of dumb spot with Creed faking being mesmerized by Cash, until he sneaks in a gogoplata. It never got to that upper level of violence you see in the best WarGames, and was kind of overshadowed by the Yard Call right before it.


2018 MOTY MASTER LIST

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2017 Ongoing MOTY List: Rejects v. Rejects

Devil's Rejects (Tank/Iceberg) v. Devil's Rejects (Seven/Brad Cash) Anarchy 5/27

PAS: Really fun big boy brawl for the rights to the name Devil's Rejects. Seven really throws ham hocks and I especially liked him and Iceberg exchanging. We get a double count out, and Dan Wilson (who is no longer Rev. Dan, but is now the match maker) restarts the match with Rejects Rules. There are some nasty chair shots, and Seven takes a huge bump getting back suplexed through two chairs. Finish had Tank pounding Cash on the ground until the ref stopped the match. Some of the shots looked really good, and some didn't, it is a hard finish to pull off, I think they mostly did, but I was expecting something big, and this finish was clearly setting up Tank v. Cash, and the huge violence is clearly being saved for that.

ER: Pretty impossible to dislike a bunch of big dudes (a couple bigger than the others) tossing soup bones at jaw bones. Honestly I could have just watched everybody punch the whole time, didn't even need the chairs to get over the violence of it all. One minute in and you have Iceberg backing Se7en into the corner with sick shots and I was 100% sold from there. Everybody just clubs each other in the face, we don't even need tons of big bumps, so the bumps we do get really resonate: Se7en gets tossed through a couple chairs, Iceberg bumps to the floor, Tank does a painful and accurate cannonball, all awesome moments. I really liked the finish and agree with Phil that it's a hard finish to pull off, but I thought it looked really good. I especially liked Tank mixing up shots and tossing in nasty headbutts. Fun stuff, and Tank/Iceberg remain eminently watchable.


2017 MOTY MASTER LIST

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Anarchy Wrestling Hostile Environment 6/24/17

Chase Jordan v. Jeremy Foster

Really energetic opener. I liked Jordan as a goofy looking guy who would get vicious when taunted by the crowd. At one point he hit a diving punch to the back of Foster's head which was as violent as anything on this show. Foster is a hyper competent babyface who had some nice moments, including a great looking heel hook. Finish felt a little off, but this was a fine use of 8 minutes.

Ryan Vega v. AJ Gray

This was the climax of a feud which saw Vega stab Gray in the eye with a pen and piss on a referee. Vega has a nice scumbag look, although it is more Reddit troll then dangerous gutter punk. Match was a Gray showcase, as he was getting his revenge by hitting huge spots, he had a crazy Orihara moonsault and finished with a Phoenix splash where he kneed Vega in the ribs. Gray was fun (I remember liking him in CWF too) and this was another good match. 

Nightmare Kyle Matthews v. Anthony Henry

Another in a run of really entertaining Kyle Matthews matches, he has turned into one of my favorite guys in the world to watch. Henry is a guy I have seen a lot in EVOLVE and he was always a bit too go-go-go for my tastes, there was some of that here, but Matthews slowed him down some but still danced with him when it was time to dance. Really enjoyed Henry's arm work, after a Valet distraction he whipped him off the apron with the arm, and worked it for the rest of the match, including a cool bridged Fujiwara and a elbow lock with back control. I love how they have turned Matthews octopus into a killer hold, and both Henry's escape from the first attempt and the final finish were really well done. Looking forward to Matthews having a long fun run with this belt.

Lynch Mob (Joey Lynch/Matt Lynch) v. The Approved (Adrian Hawkins/ Bobby Moore)

This was a taped fist street fight for the tag team titles. I really dug this when The Approved and the Lynch Mob were punching each other in face, the Approved both have some really nice looking right hands, and the early part of this had a ton of energy. I liked how the Lynch Mob used dives, they were almost Sabuish in their recklesness. This fell apart a bit at the end, as both teams were setting up elaborate set pieces with chairs and it lost a lot of the energy it had earlier.

Tank v. Brad Cash

Here we had a Tapai death match along with lots of additional pokey weapons. This had some nice moments, Tank is a good brawler and the parts that resembled a brawl were good, still lots of this was geek show Mr. Pogo stuff. Lots of slow cutting by each guy, it was gross and bloody but not that compelling. I always prefer death matches to be built around stiffness and and bumps, the final bump by Cash was nasty as Tank choke slammed him on gusset plates, but this was mostly stabbing. Gory spectacle, but I am over gore for gore's sake

Rock C v. Jessica Leigh

I liked Rock C's reverse grapevine leg lock finisher, and she had one nice side suplex, but otherwise this was more a match for the live crowd, then anything you want to watch on tape.

Jacob Ashworth v. Stryknyn

Really fun heavyweight title slugfest. They start out early with some basic tight takedown and lock up wrestling, but like most face v. face matches, it really kicks in when they start throwing hands. Stryknyn hits a great looking barfight headbut and throws some really great straight rights, he also has some nice looking stomps. Ashworth doesn't have as crisp punches, but has great babyface fire, and some of the exchanges looked down right Lawlerian. I didn't love the moves section as much, lots of full nelson slams and B- spears, but I have to love any match based on great punches.

Team Elite (Gunner Miller/Kevin Blue/Billy Buck/Chris Spectra) v. Jeremiah’s Battalion (Gladiator Jeremiah/Cyrus the Destroyer/Se7en/Azreal)

The first recent vintage Wargames match I have reviewed since I started my C+A Wargames and it lives up to the name. This has been building for a while since Billy Buck turned on Slim J, turning him into Gladiator Jeremiah. Buck then joined Team TAG and Jeff G. Bailey. Jeremiah then began recruiting monsters to take with him into war. Before the match they announced that Iceberg was in the hospital meaning the Battalion was one man short. Buck and Jeremiah start out and Jeremiah mauls him, bloodying him up and chucking from cage side to cage side. Heels get the advantage and Jeremiah takes some big bumps into the cage. At one point Cyrus, who is 350 if he is an ounce, gets hurled into the cage and breaks the whole thing, For the rest of the match the cage looks like it is going to collapse, which doesn't stop nutso Jeremiah from doing a dive off the top. Really enjoyed Spectra who came in with nunchucks and actually had some fun offense with them as weapons. Se7en also really hurled people around when he came in, he has such force in everything he does. The final Battalion member to come in was the returning Azreal who comes in lowered from the ceiling with druids holding torches. It was a pretty dope entrance, especially for an indy show. My only real complaint in the match is Azreal being the one to submit, a hacksaw in the mouth is a fine way to end a match, but having a guy have this big entrance only to be the loser seems like weird booking. Still great violent performances by everyone in this match, and one of the better Cornelia Wargames I have seen.

COMPLETE AND ACCURATE WARGAMES

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