IWA Mid South

[Loss]

As someone who missed the entire period when this group was awesome, what are the best matches? I know 2002 is talked about as the best year. I'm not sure how long before or after that they were putting on good shows pretty consistently.

[Jingus]

Depends on what kind of stuff you like, because few promotions matched IWA for sheer variety of incredibly different stuff over the years. Samoa Joe/Necro Butcher is one easy place to start, it unites the puro-wannabe crowd and stiffness marks and deathmatch vampires and lovers of snarky commentary into one big "holy shit, I can't believe I just SAW that" collected hegemony.

[Bix]

This could take a while and require copious examination of matchlists since they often ran weekly during the best period (late '01-fall '03, though there's plenty of great stuff later like Necro vs Joe).

[Wahoos Leg]

For historical value, the 04 TPI is great cause it's a who's who of that era of indy-tastic guys.

[Mad Dog]

The TPI shows from the high points of the company are probably a good place to start.

[Log]

Will needs to do a big 'ol best of IWAMS comp. Forget ROH, PWG, whoever. I'll take IWA eight days of the week. Never has there been a more fascinating indy promotion. Hell, are they actually dead? Are they running shows?

 

Really, Will. Do it. Send Ian twenty bucks for the rights, and get on it!

[soup23]

Oh Loss, You have spoken to my wheelhouse on this one. IWA-MS is my absolute favorite indy and at its best was a perfect fusion of the indy scene of the 2000's and the old territorial system. I also think IWA-MS gets kind of shafted by the fact that the time they had the most noteriatity (2004-2006) while full of great stuff also is the most indy dream match as the promotion got. I have seen limited stuff from 1997-2001 and then nearly all the shows from 2002-2004. I will C&P below what I wrote in the 2002 match recommendations thread for the yearbook:

 

IWA-MS: I would include Tarek/Ian from 10/4/02 and Hero/Ian from a show in May. I would also include the Tracy Smothers riot from No Blood No guts No Glory. After that it gets more selective. The Eddy IWA-MS matches are good but nothing extraordinary. The 4 way match from night 2 of the TPI would be a good comparison to the Scramble Madness match in ROH from around the same time. Hero/Punk had 3 matches that all have merits (the 55 minute tables, the TPI match, and the 60 min draw). Of those three I actually like the TPI match the best but would probably include the T,L,C match first for historical purposes.

 

Other fun stuff you might want to include:

Tracy/Bull 6th anniversary

Mdogg/Hero 6th anniversary

Drunken Death Match

Ian/Mark Wolf vs. Ryder/Corp Robinson Bloodfeast

Riot from Bloodfeast

Ian/Bull I quit from Christmas Carnage

 

2002 IWA-MS was an interesting year where they still was a lot of shit, a lot of death matches, and more "workrate" style matches that really set the stage for the "peak" of IWA-MS that most people remember from 2003-2006 of great wrestling, bizarre match ups, new talent uprising, a token death match, and a true territory promotion feel.

 

2003 is my personal favorite year and they were running weekly in Clarksville.

 

show 300: Ian vs. Bull Pain cage match, Mark Wolf vs. Adam Gooch, Cm PUNK vs. Ace Steel vs. Vic Capri

301 Show: Mark Wolf & KO vs Michael Todd Stratton & Adam Gooch, Chris Hero vs J.C. Bailey

Punk vs. Hero 93 minute match ( I actually watched this a few months ago and thought it held up surprisingly well)

There are a couple of Ian vs. Bull tags with various partners from around the first few months of 2003 but none of them ring a bell

Michael Todd Stratton vs. Chris Hero 2/8/03

Styles Clash Weekend:

Bull Pain vs. Corporal Robinson

CM Punk vs. Jimmy Rave

AJ Styles vs. Ace Steel

Ian Rotten vs. Michael Todd Stratton

Jc Bailey vs. Corporal Robinson ( Circus Death Match, not a good match but clips for a compilation would be appropriate due to the insanity of the bumps)

Mark Wolf vs. Mitch Ryder Simply the Best 4

Mark Wolf vs. Mitch Ryder I quit 3/14

Ian Rotten & Mark Wolf vs. Michael Todd Stratton & Mitch Ryder and CM Punk & Ace Steel vs. Chris Hero & BJ Whitmer 3/21

Michael Stratton vs. Ian Rotten I quit, Jimmy Jacobs vs. Alex Shelley 2/3 falls, mark Wolf vs. Mitch Ryder throw in the towel 3/28 Quote the Raven

Jimmy jacobs vs. Alex Shelley hair vs. boot hair, Michael Todd Stratton vs. Ian taped fist April bloodshowers 2003

Ian Rotten vs. Jimmy Jacobs An IWA Freak A Thon 2003

Chris Hero vs. Danny Daniels IWA- Wanted Dead or Alive 5/17

Michael Todd Stratton vs. JC Bailey, BJ whitmer vs. Stan Dupp, Chris Hero vs. Ace Steel, CM Punk vs. Chris Hamrick 5/24 Spirit of 76

Chris Hero vs. Mark Wolf When Good Friends go bad

Mark Wolf vs. Jimmy jacobs 6/14

Chris Hero vs. Mark Wolf 6/21

Chris Hero vs. Tracy Smothers, CM Punk vs. BJ Whitmer 6/27 Strong Style Tournament

Chris Hero & Alex Shelley b Danny Daniels & Jimmy Jacobs, Double C & Ares b Chris Hero & Mark Wolf, Chris Hero vs. Alex Shelley 7/4 We are Family

Chris Hero vs. Danny Daniels 7/12

Chris Hero vs. Mean Mitch Page 7/19

Necro Butcher vs. Toby Klein, Chris hero vs. Homicide, Jc Bailey vs. Necro Butcher, Ian Rotten vs. Balls Mahoney, Jc Bailey vs. Ian Rotten, Chris Hero vs. Danny Daniels KOTD 8/1-8/2

Danny Daniels vs. Jimmy Jacobs 10/2

Ian Rotten vs. JC Bailey 10/24

Alex Shelley vs. Ian Rotten, Chris Hero vs. BBoy Ted Petty 11/1-2

Chris Hero vs. Alex Shelley, Ian vs. JC Bailey Cage Match Anniversary shows

Chris Hero vs. Steve Stone 11/22

Danny Daniels vs. Chris Hero 11/27

Chris Hero vs. B Boy 12-20

 

This is a real exhaustive list and I would rate every match I listed as at least good a couple of years ago when I watched it. This is also leaving out stuff that was important to the promotion like some Nate Webb and Colt Cabana matches. There is also some pretty good early Aries and Nigel in 2003. This list definitely could be narrowed down to essential stuff for a yearbook, but 2003 IWA-MS is really great.

[Jingus]

Punk vs. Hero 93 minute match ( I actually watched this a few months ago and thought it held up surprisingly well)

As a cardiovascular stunt, it's pretty amazing. As a match, it's monotonous. They'll sit around in a hold for a few minutes, get up and do a spot or two, then the other guy will get a hold and they'll sit around for a few minutes. I've just described the entire first half of the match. They do some more interesting stuff towards the finishing stretch, but it's still a long haul to get there. Maybe we should call this a Self Conscious Epic, since "holy shit, look at how long we're staying in the ring!" was the overwhelming primary gimmick that completely overran every other consideration.

 

Jc Bailey vs. Corporal Robinson ( Circus Death Match, not a good match but clips for a compilation would be appropriate due to the insanity of the bumps)

Is that the one where they both took three different falls from a scaffold into a net of barbed wire? If so, I thought that was the epitome of everything that's wrong with modern American deathmatches. It started out with them both climbing up and jumping off intentionally for apparently no reason whatsoever other than to prove They're Hardcore. And then it didn't even have a finish, the match just suddenly stopped and Pondo gave a speech about how awesome and tough they were. Wait... Pondo? I might be thinking of a different match.

[goodhelmet]

Will needs to do a big 'ol best of IWAMS comp. Forget ROH, PWG, whoever. I'll take IWA eight days of the week. Never has there been a more fascinating indy promotion. Hell, are they actually dead? Are they running shows?

 

Really, Will. Do it. Send Ian twenty bucks for the rights, and get on it!

Sounds like fun. If someone has the knowledge to guide it, I'll put it together.

[soup23]

Punk vs. Hero 93 minute match ( I actually watched this a few months ago and thought it held up surprisingly well)

As a cardiovascular stunt, it's pretty amazing. As a match, it's monotonous. They'll sit around in a hold for a few minutes, get up and do a spot or two, then the other guy will get a hold and they'll sit around for a few minutes. I've just described the entire first half of the match. They do some more interesting stuff towards the finishing stretch, but it's still a long haul to get there. Maybe we should call this a Self Conscious Epic, since "holy shit, look at how long we're staying in the ring!" was the overwhelming primary gimmick that completely overran every other consideration.

 

I think you are short changing the beginning portion of the match. Is it completely action packed, no but they did keep the mat work interesting throughout and added little touches that were revisited in the ending stretch run.

 

Jc Bailey vs. Corporal Robinson ( Circus Death Match, not a good match but clips for a compilation would be appropriate due to the insanity of the bumps)

Is that the one where they both took three different falls from a scaffold into a net of barbed wire? If so, I thought that was the epitome of everything that's wrong with modern American deathmatches. It started out with them both climbing up and jumping off intentionally for apparently no reason whatsoever other than to prove They're Hardcore. And then it didn't even have a finish, the match just suddenly stopped and Pondo gave a speech about how awesome and tough they were. Wait... Pondo? I might be thinking of a different match.

 

That is the match, I don't think anyone would call it good but I included it because it showed how shit crazy IWA-MS could be sometimes with the hardcore aspect. In a yearbook setting, I think at least the bumps is essential because Ian and many fans thought of this stuff as the lifeblood of the promotion even with some great wrestling going on.

[Mad Dog]

Will needs to do a big 'ol best of IWAMS comp. Forget ROH, PWG, whoever. I'll take IWA eight days of the week. Never has there been a more fascinating indy promotion. Hell, are they actually dead? Are they running shows?

 

Really, Will. Do it. Send Ian twenty bucks for the rights, and get on it!

Still running shows here and there I think.

[rzombie1988]

Will needs to do a big 'ol best of IWAMS comp. Forget ROH, PWG, whoever. I'll take IWA eight days of the week. Never has there been a more fascinating indy promotion. Hell, are they actually dead? Are they running shows?

 

Really, Will. Do it. Send Ian twenty bucks for the rights, and get on it!

Still running shows here and there I think.

 

But what about the popcorn machine?

[Tim Evans]

Will needs to do a big 'ol best of IWAMS comp. Forget ROH, PWG, whoever. I'll take IWA eight days of the week. Never has there been a more fascinating indy promotion. Hell, are they actually dead? Are they running shows?

 

Really, Will. Do it. Send Ian twenty bucks for the rights, and get on it!

Still running shows here and there I think.

 

Ian sold the company to some other guys but apparently is still booking.

[FLIK]

Jc Bailey vs. Corporal Robinson ( Circus Death Match, not a good match but clips for a compilation would be appropriate due to the insanity of the bumps)

Is that the one where they both took three different falls from a scaffold into a net of barbed wire? If so, I thought that was the epitome of everything that's wrong with modern American deathmatches. It started out with them both climbing up and jumping off intentionally for apparently no reason whatsoever other than to prove They're Hardcore. And then it didn't even have a finish, the match just suddenly stopped and Pondo gave a speech about how awesome and tough they were. Wait... Pondo? I might be thinking of a different match.

That is the match, I don't think anyone would call it good but I included it because it showed how shit crazy IWA-MS could be sometimes with the hardcore aspect. In a yearbook setting, I think at least the bumps is essential because Ian and many fans thought of this stuff as the lifeblood of the promotion even with some great wrestling going on.

 

Yeah the match is Bailey vs Mad Man Pondo. Pondo's a big BJW & W*ING fan so it came about because he thought it would be fun to do and Bailey was the only one crazy enough to do the gimmick with him.

 

If you want just the highlights, here ya go

[Bix]

IIRC, I believe that what happened was that there was some issue with getting the proper scaffold match parts they were expecting, but they had already advertised the match and had some scaffolding off to the side of the ring. Since there was no way they could have anything resembling a match without the traditional scaffold match scaffold, Pondo and Bailey essentially did an exhibition of big bumps into the wire instead.

[smitlick]

One of there more recent matches thats worth a look is BJ Whitmer vs Jimmy Jacobs from April Bloodshowers 2008. Also recommend TPI 2004, 2005 & 2006.

 

Also if theres going to be a Best of IWA-MS Set, A worst of or at least a Bonus Disc with the worst of IWA-MS would be similarly good because while they put out some really good stuff. They've done some hilariously bad stuff like for example a show i was recently watching called Wrestling with a Hart featured a match where a guy just randomly projectile vomits in mid match. Not to different to the Balls vomit at the recent PWS show.

[anarchistxx]

I'd pay good money for an IWA comp. One of those promotions I never took enough notice of when it was churning out great stuff, most of us were to caught up in ROH and then PWG and even Chikara around that period to see more than the really pimped stuff (e.g. Joe/Necro). Seems like the epitome of awesome hardcore wrestling fandom, sleazy, dirty, half full gym halls, blood, gore, ridiculous bumps, distorted sound, crazy feel.

 

The amount of good stuff in US indy wrestling period from 2000 to 2006 is pretty spectacular actually.

[Jingus]

Seems like the epitome of awesome hardcore wrestling fandom, sleazy, dirty, half full gym halls, blood, gore, ridiculous bumps, distorted sound, crazy feel.

And how! I remember Chuck Taylor telling me that he stopped doing 90% of his old high-flying offense, because Ian's ring was such a piece of garbage and the ropes were so shitty that he couldn't get the proper spring.

[Ryan Faulconer]

Highspots has a bunch of IWA-MS compilations currently available. They are more like anthologies of the "bigger names" that would go on to bigger crowds and better and/or safer non-staph infectious rings.

 

I'm pretty sure there are sets for Punk and Sydal out now. A more eclectic set would be far more satisfying to sit through though. Those shows were so much fun to watch because they were so random at times. Random names, epic "dream matches", Ian hogging the spotlight and then doing some great matches from time to time to make me forget the former and appreciate the latter. Something along the lines of Will's WCW set would be a great way to keep the viewer on their toes. Guys like Jacobs, Delirious, Sydal were balanced out with the Michael Todd Strattons, Bull Pains and the sort to make a wide variety of matches.

[Exposer]

I've never seen really any IWA Mid South at all. However, I did see a Claudio-Tracy Smothers (at least that's what my memory tells me) match from maybe 2002 on one of GoodHelmet's comps. Punk was on commentary and just spewing out obscenities and shit. That was fairly amusing. Besides that, I've essentially seen nothing from there.

[Jingus]

The commentary for IWA might be my favorite part. Very profane, totally irreverent, blatantly pissing on kayfabe's corpse.

[anarchistxx]

The best commentary job for IWA I heard was in the first Necro/Joe match, with Dave Prazak, Eddie Kingston and Punk calling things. Besides the numerous (and hilarious) Rob Naylor name drops, they sell everything like crazy, but not in a contrived way, sounding disbelieving at just marking the fuck out for everything. Instead of them trying to be all epic and talking about 'what a gut check' or some ROH call where they put all the selling and stuff other in cliches and analysis, you just have Kingston screaming "He just kicked him right in the fucking head!!!". Really adds to the craziness and spontaneity of the match.

[Jingus]

That one was indeed epic. It's hard to pick out just one favorite line, but I'll always remember this one from Punk talking about Necro's toughness: "I'm gonna bring my car around front and run the sonofabitch over. If he kicks out at two, I'm driving straight into the ocean."

[MikeCampbell]

I've asked a few people this, but nobody seems to know anything about it. A story from JC Ice in his shoot about him purposely doing a lot of headlocks in his match because he was pissed off. When the fans started shitting on it, he gets on the mic and tells them that their promoter is a goof because he fined Jamie and Bobby Eaton. Anyone know if this actually happened?

[smitlick]

I've asked a few people this, but nobody seems to know anything about it. A story from JC Ice in his shoot about him purposely doing a lot of headlocks in his match because he was pissed off. When the fans started shitting on it, he gets on the mic and tells them that their promoter is a goof because he fined Jamie and Bobby Eaton. Anyone know if this actually happened?

Sounds like a different IWA?