[2001-03-03-IWA-MS-Nightmare on Highway 62] The Sandman vs Madman Pondo

[GSR]

Main event time and time for the man who drew the house.  Another choice musical cut for 2001, Pondo’s ‘Bullet with Butterfly Wings’ by the Smashing Pumpkins.  I get the impression that a certain section of the fans are more interested in seeing the Sandman’s entrance as opposed to seeing him wrestle.  You see some of them trail him around the building clearly hoping that he’ll empty a beer down their throat.  Pondo breaks a light tube over Sandman’s head while he’ still in the crowd and they’re damn lucky glass didn’t end up in a fan’s eye.  Mitch Page is seconding Pondo, Sandman taking a shot at him the first chance he gets.  He grabs his Singapore cane, cracking Pondo over the head with it as the fans chant “one more time!” to him.  Turns out Sandman busted himself open when with one of the beer cans he chugged on his entrance, blood streaming down his face. Russian legsweep with the Singapore cane onto a Stop sign.  Low blow by Pondo who then drags Sandman back to the floor.  Page holds the Sandman, but he moves and Pondo accidentally clobbers him with a frying pan.  Bloody hell, Pondo breaks a light tube over the Sandman.  The old light tube up the butt spot!  Pondo collects a ladder from under the ring, places it in the corner and Sandman takes a flip bump into it.  Page enters the ring and sandwiches the Sandman between the legs of the ladder, Pondo then walloping the ladder with the Stop sign.  Why is the ref just casually standing by and not doing anything to get him out of there?  Pondo with a somersault senton onto the ladder.  He sets up a few chairs but Sandman counters the DDT onto them with a suplex.  The comeback is brief, Pondo burying Sandman under the chairs as well as the Stop sign and then coming off the middle with another senton for the shock win.   Page jumps around celebrating and hands Pondo a tinny to toast the victory.  As they’re about to show the Sandman who “the man” is, they’re run out of there by Spike Dudley who’s carrying a Singapore cane of his own.  A dejected Sandman apologises to the fans for letting them down and guarantees that if he gets another opportunity he’ll kick Pondo’s ass.

I don’t know what’s come over me but I actually enjoyed this.  A lot of regular Sandman spots, but mixed in with some IWA-MS staples like light tubes.  Perfectly serviceable hardcore fare.  The show as a whole I didn’t enjoy anywhere near as much as the Anniversary one back in February.  Ian really needs to look at limiting the length things last as I’d say probably only Spike vs Page and maybe the main event didn’t overstay their welcome.  Even when you have matches that don’t go too long you then have either a ton of pre or post-match fodder.  I had pegged the 2 Tuff Tony vs Blaze as one to also check out as I usually enjoy Tony but nixed it on how the card had been up to that point.