Proving Ground – July 28th, 2012
White Oak Athletic Association – White Oak, PA
Complete results from Joe Dombrowski
- Gory def. Brandon Thurston
- James Nutter def. Bronco McBride
- David R. DiMera, Mike Rayne, & Brian McDowell def. Super Hentai, Andrew Palace, & Corey Futuristic
- Facade def. Tyler Stone
- Keith Haught def. Tony Johnson
- Jordan Lennox def. Matt Conard and Zac Vincent
- IWC World Heavyweight Champion Logan Shulo def. Chest Flexor
- Matt Cannon def. John McChesney via DQ
PROVING GROUND YIELDS NEXT CROP OF IWC UPSTARTS
IWC’s first ever Proving Ground event this past weekend at the White Oak Athletic Association was a unique hybrid of current IWC talent who have recently cemented themselves among the company’s elite with new faces looking to showcase themselves as IWC’s next generation, along with a few veterans with a point to prove in their own right.
The scheduled main event of IWC Champion “Heavy Metal Jesus” Logan Shulo vs. unlikely #1 contender Chest Flexor had an added monkey-wrench thrown in when John McChesney, the man who beat Shulo via countout a month ago and stole the IWC title belt from Shulo in spite of not winning it, appeared in the front row with a ticket in hand. IWC Owner Chuck Roberts had banned McChesney from the building as a competitor, but as a ticket buying fan, he was fair game. McChesney brought along Shulo’s IWC Title belt as well to rub further salt in the wounds. Shulo wouldn’t let “Big League’s” appearance shake his confidence as he fought off Flexor, in addition to distractions from McChesney, Flexor’s valet Ginger, and his two goons underneath his “pet” Chinese dragon. Shulo overwhelmed Flexor with power, at one point holding Flexor upside-down in a delayed suplex for an astonishing 75 seconds.
After Shulo’s powerbomb finished Flexor, McChesney and Shulo got into it, with both wanting to settle their differences right then and there. Chuck Roberts wouldn’t sign the match for that night, but did promise to put them both inside a steel cage at Caged Fury to truly settle who the rightful holder of the IWC Title should be. As for McChesney, for jumping the guardrail and being a general nuisance, Chuck placed him in a match against the debuting Matt “HD” Cannon (with trainer Justin Idol ringside). Matt was a great test for McChesney, displaying much the same power Shulo possesses. It even seemed Cannon would pin former champion McChesney 1-2-3, but before the fall could be counted, the official opted to disqualify McChesney for striking him earlier in the bout. Everyone involved then ended up on a struggle over possession of the IWC Title belt, and just when it seemed that Idol had helped return the property to Shulo, Chest Flexor slithered in amidst more chaos and escaped with the gold for Team Big League again. In order to reclaim what is rightfully his, Shulo will have to enter the Steel Cage with “Big League” next month.
One other Steel Cage war intensified, that being between former tag partners Gory & Facade. Both were successful in their outings – Gory defeating Buffalo-area competitor Brandon Thurston, and Facade surviving a physical battle with Tyler Stone to rebound from his Super Indy Title loss – but the true story occurred after Facade’s match had concluded. As Facade was leaving ringside following his match, suddenly the lights went pitch black… when the lights came back on Facade was covered head-to-toe with a mysterious and ominous red liquid. The lights dimmed again… a startling crack was heard… and when the lights came back on once more Gory was standing there with a chair in hand. Gory was not content just with costing Facade the Super Indy Tournament & Title win by injuring his knee a month ago, he had to send an even darker message tonight. Chuck Roberts responded by announcing that Gory & Facade’s Caged Fury battle would see weapons hanging inside the cage! Can Facade survive caged in with the animalistic Gory?
Mike Rayne delivered a stand-out performance as part of six-man tag team action, helping lead David Dimera & Brian McDowell to victory over Super Hentai, Corey Futuristic & Andrew Palace. Hentai’s goals of taking two young unproven starts and leading them to glory were unsuccessful, with the Super Indy Innovator abandoning his team in frustration, leaving them 3-on-1. From there, Rayne was able to hit his signature move, The Doppler Effect, to be victorious in his IWC debut! We certainly expect to see much more from this promising athlete in the coming months!
James Nutter, known in some circles as Jimmy Nutts, accepted the Blue Collar Slaughterhouse Open Tag Team Challenge – just in a singles capacity. Nutter stated that if he defeated one member of the team tonight, he’d bring a friend to challenge them both next month at Caged Fury. Bronco McBride opted to be the one to step up to the plate and, to his credit, Nutter held true to his word and won the match. A tag team return has already been signed, but who is Nutter’s partner? James is familiar with many talents outside of IWC within his travels, who will he have with him next time?
In additional action, Keith Haught defeated Tony Johnson with a huge top rope splash called “The Haught Mess”… and “Mr. Wrestling Now” Jordon Lennox defeated “Supernatural” Zac Vincent and “The Reaper” Matt Conard in a three-way battle to qualify Jordan to a special 4-way Proving Ground contest at Caged Fury.
Which of these young talents impressed IWC management enough to return? And what sort of impacts will they make in the months to come?