SUPER INDY SHOWDOWN
MARCH 20th, 2004
CCAC SOUTH CAMPUS – WEST MIFFLIN, PA
Complete results from Joe Dombrowski
- Troy Lords def. Glenn Spectre
- Southern Comfort (Tracy Smothers & Chris Hamrick) def. FabuHuss (Fabulous & Jimmy Jacobs)
- Jake Garrett def. Mickey Gambino
- Balls Mahoney & Shirley Doe def. Soldier & Sebastian Dark
- AJ Styles def. CM Punk in the first round of Super Indy Showdown
- New Jack & Chris Candido def. Bubba the Bulldog, Jimmy Vegas & Dennis Gregory
- Colt Cabana def. Super Hentai in the first round of Super Indy Showdown
- IWC Tag Team Champions Matt Cross & Josh Prohibition def. Ring Crew Express (Dunn & Marcos)
- Dean Radford def. IWC Heavyweight Champion Sterling James Keenan to win the title
- AJ Styles def. IWC Super Indy Champion Colt Cabana in the Super Indy Showdown finals to win the title
The Shock and Exhilaration Escalates as Super Indy 3 Draws Nearer
The live crowd at CCAC South Campus exploded throughout the night of March 20, 2004, as IWC’s top athletes continued to up the ante as we drew closer and closer to the night of the most prestigious tournament in independent professional wrestling today, the Super Indy Title Tournament.
From the Super Indy Showdown, to our championship encounters, to our amazing debuts and shocking returns, this night was top-to-bottom nonstop action!
No one was feeling the pressure of this night more than Dean Radford. A man who had two previous chances at the IWC championship, only to be cheated out of victory twice. The first time it was thanks to IWC champion Sterling James Keenan’s newfound ally CM Punk, the second time it was thanks to Sterling himself. Sterling had a similar game plan tonight, as not only Punk but also the lovely Allison Danger were by his side. On the other hand, Dean Radford emerged through the curtain only to hear the loudest ovation of cheers and applause in the history of his career. The sea of Radford T-shirts in the crowd made him the definite favorite in their eyes, but Dean would have a tough hill to climb.
Instantaneously, Danger jumped on the back of Radford, attempting to give Sterling to early advantage. Dean battled back and both men took it to each other in and out of the ring. Unfortunately, Punk and Danger were right there to create an unfair advantage and distract and confuse referee Bruce Gray. It got so out of control, that a chair came into play, and when Gray tried to remove it, poor Bruce ended up getting rammed right into it. Second referee Christopher Kalikapela attempted to restore order but it was only a matter of time before he was knocked down as well. Thankfully, Shirley Doe emerged to cancel out the unfair interference of Punk and Danger, as they both brawled with Doe to the back.
With no one to control the match, Commission representative Chris Wood tried to interject himself and abuse his power even more, but promoter Norm Connors emerged and a heated argument ensued. Connors avenged Wood’s slap from last show by slapping Wood square across the face, as Radford hit a Super-Radicator on Sterling and had him pinned. With no authority figure left to count, Connors jumped in himself and made the three count, making Dean Radford your NEW IWC Heavyweight Champion.
Or does it? Although the promoter of this company, Connors is NOT a licensed referee, and usually promoters follow the policy of ‘the referee’s decision is final no matter what.’ Radford holds the title for now, but there’s no doubt that a ton of controversy and fall-out is already occurring. Was Dean Radford’s championship win official? And what repercussions will Connors face for slapping Wood? We hope to get some word on these situations in the coming weeks.
IWC’s other singles championship, the Super Indy Championship, was at stake in a four-man mini-tournament, with the winner not only getting the Super Indy Championship, but also receiving the #1 seed for Super Indy 3 on Saturday night April 17.
Match #1 of the tournament was “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles squaring off against CM Punk. This was the first time the two had met one-on-one in an IWC ring, and based on both their credentials, it was almost a ‘dream match’ among fans of both men. Both athletes started at a very slow, very deliberate pace, to not only serve as a feeling out process, but also to try to conserve energy, because if either man has any hopes of leaving Super Indy champion, they’d have to wrestle twice. Both men had a tremendous back-and-forth contest that perfectly illustrated the athleticism and talent of both men, not to mention how evenly-matched they were and most every attribute. CM Punk had gone into this match having wrestled AJ Styles in other areas, but never being able to pin him. Luckily for Styles, that streak continued on this night. AJ Styles hit the Styles Clash after 15 minutes of highly-competitive action to advance to the final round.
On the other side of things, “Classic” Colt Cabana battled Super Hentai in a match of both prior Super Indy Tournament winners. Cabana was returning from a shoulder injury that had kept him sidelined for several weeks, but any amount of ring rust or weakness he may have had, he was able to make up for in aggressiveness. Frustrated about having to wrestle twice in one night just to retain his title (coupled with the fact the resting period of the winner of this match would be about as half as long as AJ’s resting period), Cabana showed an inner rage not often seen by this normally fun-loving superstar.
Cabanaramma was in full force, but Super Hentai had more than enough focus as well. Finally able to block out the likes of Alex Shelley and focus on regaining the championship he held longer than anyone in history, Hentai looked more impressive and motivated than he had in quite awhile. However, it was a sit-out double arm suplex into a cradle that enabled Cabana to score the pinfall and advance to finals which meant one thing: Cabana vs. Styles 3.
Cabana had roughly 20-25 minutes rest at this point, while due to match positioning AJ had had a substantially larger break. Colt again took offense to this, getting more and more frustrated as time went on, however he and AJ delivered the kind of competitive, classic contest that propelled them to winning IWC’s Match of the Year in 2003. After yet another highly competitive contest, AJ pulled a trick out of his arsenal no one thought we would see. AJ Styles hit a springboard 450 splash on a prone Cabana to get the pin and become the NEW IWC Super Indy Champion, and the first two-time Super Indy Champion in the history of the championship. AJ tried to be a sportsman and extend his hand to Cabana after the match. In the past it had been Cabana who offered his hand, and AJ who had refused. Then after their second match, both men shook hands as true sportsmen. On this night, Cabana pushed Styles away and left battered, disappointed, and highly frustrated.
Styles wins tonight, but he can’t sit back and enjoy it because he already has to be thinking toward Super Indy 3. With such competition as CM Punk, “Barbaric Berzerker” Jimmy Jacobs, Glenn Spectre, and the debuts of Homicide and Jimmy Rave, Styles’ most strenuous night to date could be on April 17.
Bubba the Bulldog, Jimmy Vega$, and Dennis Gregory were somehow even more arrogant than usual, and it didn’t take long to figure out why. They laid claim to injuring “The Franchise” Shane Douglas, so much so that, in their opinions, Shane would never wrestle again. Furthermore, he said he had videotape evidence to prove it. This left “No Gimmicks Needed” Chris Candido in a very tough situation: having to face all three men in a street fight all by himself. Candido fought off the three in the early going, and actually was doing quite well, but it was only a matter of time before the numbers caught up with him. As Bubba, Vega$, and Gregory were preparing to finish off Candido, the infamous music hit and “The Original Gangsta” New Jack exploded on to the scene hammering away on all three of Candido’s adversaries. xHowever, before he could perform any of his trademark acts of ultra-violence, Commission representative Chris Wood stormed into the ring, stood up to New Jack, and again threatened to shut the show down. The momentary distraction only hurt the cause somewhat. Although fans didn’t get to see New Jack obliterate Bubba, Vega$, and Gregory like they wanted to, they still were able to see Candido recover enough to manage a powerslam on Bubba and gain a pinfall victory in the match. After the match, New Jack called promoter Norm Connors into the ring and the two agreed on a blockbuster match at some point in the near future where New Jack will go one-on-one with Bubba the Bulldog!
Commission rep Chris Wood had other involvement in this night as well. After seeing video footage of Shirley Doe and Sebastian Dark’s recent “Eye of the Hurricane” match from last month, and their Falls-Count-Anywhere match in Turkeytown two weeks ago, Wood had ruled that due to the intense violence involved, Doe and Dark were no longer allowed to wrestle each other in singles matches. However, promoter Norm Connors managed to get word of this ruling days in advance, and took the liberty of instructing Doe and Dark to find tag team partners for a match tonight, much to Wood’s chagrin. Dark recruited the star of Japan’s WMF promotion, Soldier, to be his partner, while Shirley Doe dug deep into his past to find someone that had a lot of mutual respect for him: a clean, sober, 290-pound Balls Mahoney!
Dark and Soldier worked surprisingly well considering the language barrier, with Soldier even knowing to work on Doe’s knee which has been damaged for quite some time. Both men also did a good job of baiting Mahoney in, causing him to distract the official, thus allowing double teams. However, Doe eventually did find his way to Mahoney, and once he entered the ring the advantage quickly turned. After his trademark jabs and right hands, Mahoney hit Dark with the Nutcracker Suite off the top rope to score the three count, much to the dismay of Chris Wood, whose plans of separating Doe and Dark for good did not come to fruition.
Veteran team Southern Comfort, Tracy Smothers and Chris Hamrick, made their IWC debuts to take on the first-time team of “Barbaric Berzerker” Jimmy Jacobs and Fabulous. The mutual respect of Jacobs and Fabulous from their Super Indy Qualifying Match led to them teaming up to battle Smothers and Hamrick, and their total of four decades combined experience. From the moment the bell rang and Hamrick and Fabulous engaged in an exciting back and forth exchange, the action was nonstop and the crowd was in a frenzy.
All four men stole the show with their fast-paced athleticism and competitive drive to become the best. In just one night, these four men rejuvenated the tag team division and the fans’ interest in it by the outstanding effort that almost can’t be given justice here in print form. After several minutes of back and forth excitement, Hamrick caught Jacobs in his sick-looking finisher, The Southern Bell Ringer (a piledriver from the second rope) to score a three count to a standing ovation.
Tag team champions “M-Dogg 20” Matt Cross and Josh Prohibition defended their titles against the returning Dunn and Marcos, The Ring Crew Express. Not many teams can say they’ve had as many shots at the gold as Dunn and Marcos, and some would say their drive and determination remind many of Matt and Josh’s quest for the titles some months ago. Sporting some interesting looking mustaches and aviator sunglasses, it seems Matt and Josh’s transformation from hungry up-and-coming talents to confident, yet quirky, champions was continuing to take place. That coupled with the big news that Matt and Josh will be traveling to the Orient for Big Japan Pro Wrestling at the end of April, meant Matt and Josh had to have a tremendous amount of confidence going into this match.
Dunn and Marcos provided a hell of a test, even almost pinning the champions with the “Unskinny Bop,” but the champions recovered, hit their Drunken Driver/Shooting Star Press combo to retain the championships. However, Southern Comfort emerged after the match. Smothers and Hamrick accused Matt and Josh of having no respect for the business or anyone in it and let it be known that they would be challenging for the tag titles on the same night as Super Indy 3, Saturday night, April 17. That night keeps getting bigger and better.
Glenn Spectre and “Balls Hot” Troy Lords continued their competitive rivalry in another singles match. It seems Spectre has had Lords’ number in recent meetings as far as singles matches are concerned, however tonight it would be the resourcefulness of Lords that would guide him along. Spectre hit a modified powerslam, the same move he defeated Lords with in Turkeytown, and pinned him for 3. However shortly after the 3 count, Lords placed his foot on the rope, leading referee Christopher Kalikapela to assume it had been there all along and he had overlooked it.Therefore, Kalikapela ordered the match restarted. In no time, Lords hit the X-Buster, and covered him for three. Spectre had placed his foot on the rope this time, but Lords was smart enough to push it off before the referee noticed. Thanks to some quick thinking and deceptive moves, Lords scores the victory.
Mickey Gambino never had a chance to enjoy his third-ever professional match. IWC Champion Sterling James Keenan has taken offense to Gambino standing up for himself and not letting Sterling boss him around recently on IWC Ignition TV, and Sterling was clearly fed up with it as he and CM Punk and Allison Danger came out to assault to young Gambino. Sterling and Punk delivered a spike piledriver to Mickey before the match even began, and on top of that he was still expected to wrestle. At this point it was an easy night for Jake. A Devastator and a Nodowa-breaker later, Jake is victorious in about 10 seconds, a new IWC record.
All of this chaos and excitement is leading to one place: right back at CCAC South Campus on Saturday night, April 17. AJ Styles, CM Punk, Jimmy Jacobs, Glenn Spectre, the debuts of Homicide and Jimmy Rave, plus more in the biggest eight-man tournament in wrestling! Plus Southern Comfort is back to challenge Matt Cross and Josh Prohibition. What an unforgettable night this is shaping up to be. You’ve gotta be there for Super Indy 3!