Ted Petty Invitational Report from Clarkesville, IN on December 11

From Scott Hensley: Friday afternoon, I made the drive from Chattanooga, TN to Clarksville, IN (4.5 hours) to check out the first ...

From Scott Hensley:

Friday afternoon, I made the drive from Chattanooga, TN to Clarksville, IN (4.5 hours) to check out the first IWA MidSouth Ted Petty Invitational in 7 years.

With first round matches of Kongo Kong vs Masada and Timothy Thatcher vs Chris Hero, I knew it would be worth the time, drive, and ticket.

I didn't take notes on the matches so this will primarily just be opinions and observations. I really enjoyed the event and was impressed with a lot of the guys that I was seeing for the first time, or seeing live for the first time.

Ian Rotten spoke about Ted Petty and what a great guy and professional wrestler he was. He then talked about Hack Meyers, who recently passed away. There was a 10 bell salute for Meyers. Ian then said that he promised 13 entrants and that one would be a female. He said Heidi Lovelace was working for Shimmer(or maybe it was Shine?) and so he wanted to give an opportunity to someone that has impressed him and someone who will be the youngest TPI entrant: Jordynne Grace.

The wrestlers in the tournament came out for a group photo and when they were done, IWA MidSouth Champion Reed Bentley said that the company was on his shoulders and that their recent success and the reemergence of the TPI was due to him being champion. He announced he would defend the title throughout the tournament but not for the fans, for himself.

1) Matt Cage d. Jordynne Grace & Slade Sludge by GTS Palm Strike on Sludge.

Cage is a smaller, athletic guy with a nice physique and very entertaining work. Sludge is a tall beanpole guy that doesn't have a physique or the smoothest of work, but that's sorta the charm to him(trust me on this one). He reminds me of Cousin Shaggy from Georgia's Good Ol Boys or a taller Brandon Collins. He's very unique and fun to root for. The Midsouth Crowd really likes him because he's different and because he does have the “good ol boy” appeal to him. The third entrant surprised me with how well she did. Jordynne Grace bumped with...well, grace.... and she showed great psychology in this match by using her full body weight and momentum on much of her offense. She ate plenty of offense here too. Fantastic opener with Cage picking up the win.

2) Hy Zaya d. Jonathan Gresham by swanton bomb off the top

This match was MUCH slower paced than the first match. Hy Zaya is a longtime veteran of the Indiana area and IWA MS. He's a slim guy who has some impressive offense and athleticism. Gresham is one of the smallest guys you'll find regularly competing in big indies. They had a hard match to follow and this one just didn't do much for me. Not a bad match at all, just not as captivating as the first match due to the pace and maybe the size difference.

Ian got on the mic and put Gresham over after the match.

3) Reed Bentley d. Russ Jones after a a big roaring palmstrike(referred to as the Reed Awakening, I believe) to retain the IWA MidSouth Championship

Whatever the “bejesus” is, these guys beat it out of each other. Jones is a massive, muscular monster and Bentley is the sort of guy who looks very average until you realize how well rounded he is with speed, power, determination, and personality. Bentley isn't afraid to be hated and used every advantage he could find against the bigger Jones. Jones is a POWERHOUSE(Someone REALLY needs to pair up he and Georgia's Odinson!) but Bentley had the stamina and agility advantage here as they threw everything they had at each other and somehow Bentley ended up taking Jones out for just long enough to pick up the pin.

Bentley acted like he was going to shake Jones' hand after the match but gave him a one finger salute instead.

4) Shane Mercer d. Sugar D after a moonsault slam from the second rope

Mercer is a really muscular guy that many of the IWA MidSouth fans love. Sugar dazzled with his charisma. Once again, it was a case of two guys having a hard match to follow. Sugar tried some comedy stuff and it just seemed like the wrong time and place to be dancing. Mercer hit a couple of really impressive suplexes and slams. Overall this was slow paced and had a very basic feel to it compared to the other matches. Not bad but probably my least favorite match of the night.

5) Chris Hero d. Timothy Thatcher by crucifix backslide.

Yes, you read that correctly... a backslide ended this fantastic match. Despite the finish, which I didn't like, this was probably my favorite match of the night. Thatcher is so polished and works in such a way that his opponents are constantly fighting off submissions or feeling the pain as he cinches in a hold and dishes out the pain in every way imaginable. Thatcher's selling is great with his facial expressions and body language. Hero's physique is a bit distracting because he got in great shape over the last few years but isn't there anymore. I hate saying anything bad about the guy because he can flat out wrestle and is rightfully one of the most respected workers on the independents. He may not look as good as he once did but he still has quickness, agility, and stiff looking offense that impresses. I just don't think anyone would complain if he went back to the old T-Shirt and long pants look. They worked a power vs technical style here that was a lot of fun to watch. I think everyone expected Thatcher to be knocked out or Hero to be forced to submit but that wasn't the case so it was a little different and showed that a match can end at any moment, I suppose.

Thatcher grabbed Hero and applied a submission after the match, not wanting to let go – and in disbelief that Hero had just beaten him.

6) Kongo Kong d. Masada after a top rope splash

Kong is one of the most unique guys out there. How many near 400 pounders are out there with the athleticism he has? Masada is a veteran and his work showed him to be skilled, strong, and intelligent here. He went for the lower body of Kong on multiple occassions to apply whatever he could apply or inflict whatever he could inflict to try to keep the big man down. They brawled around and went blow for blow as the big, tough hoss guys they are with Kongo coming out on top in the ring and smashing Masada into the canvas with the top rope splash, which I like to liken to dropping a refrigerator out of a helicopter.

We had our first intermission.

7) Chris Hero d. Hy Zaya

I don't think anyone thought Hy Zaya had a chance here. This crowd wanted Hero in the finals and despite their love for Hy Zaya – the love for Hero(who it was announced, has been in every TPI) was much greater. Hero dished out the quick, stiff offense again and put Hy Zaya away with a piledriver. See, people not named Jerry Lawler can still win matches with a piledriver.

8) Shane Mercer d. Matt Cage after a crucifix driver

I won't be joining a Shane Mercer fan club but I will admit he really impressed me in this match with Matt Cage. They went all out and used a combination of speed, power, and high flying to get the crowd excited. Cage hit this crazy looking head stomp to Mercer in the corner. As Mercer ran in, Cage looked like he was going to go up and over but instead of going over, he came down on the head of Mercer. It was crazy. Mercer battled back though to kill Cage with a crucifix driver. The crowd gave them a standing ovation and a “Please come back” chant for Cage. The local fans were excited for Mercer.

Ian got on the mic and said that all the major companies are missing out if they don't book “Money” Matt Cage. Can't argue there.

9) Kongo Kong d. Reed Bentley to win the IWA MS Championship after a top rope splash

This was probably the craziest match of the night. Bentley came out with a huge knot on his forehead from his match with Russ Jones, that – or he got a pool ball implanted in his skull. Bentley brought just as much fight, if not more, than he had brought against Jones. Kong and Bentley massacred each other with power offense and stiff strikes. They each kicked out of the other's finisher at 1 but Kong survived the assaults and put Bentley away after a second top rope splash.

We got our 2nd intermission.

10) The Bombshelter(Michael Zodiak and Joseph Schwartz) d. The Hooligans in a Falls Count Anywhere match

We got to midnight during this match, I believe but these guys made sure everyone stayed awake by brawling all over the building. Schwartz is amazing at selling. These guys all beat the stuffing out of each other, as well, with the Bombshelter outlasting the Hooligans and picking up the win. The Hooligans attacked them after the match, though – so they're not finished with this wild feud.

11) Kongo Kong d. Chris Hero & Shane Mercer to retain the IWA Midsouth Championship and win the Ted Petty Invitational.

Hero decided to attack both Kong and Mercer to start out the match and that proved to be the wrong strategy, as the “Monsta” and “Iron Demon” formed somewhat of a team and destroyed Hero with both pinning him to eliminate him. It was nice to see good psychology and strategy in a 3 way elimination match. Kong and Mercer battled it out with Mercer powerbombing Kong for a 2 count, Kong giving Mercer a 'rana out of the corner; and finally Kong hitting a big moonsault off the top onto Mercer to pick up the victory.

Overall, this was a fantastic event that I'd recommend picking up on DVD. A special thanks to Devon Hales for riding up with me! I drove home after the show and made it home at 5:30 AM...phew....getting too old to stay up 24 hours in the name of wrestling haha.