The official attendance count at American Legion Post 163 was 242. IWE is drawing a healthy cross section of fans, lots of young adults and families with kids. The number of hits for the livestream on IWE's TikTok topped 5000 during the Duckhouse Brawl.
Legion Post 163 is similar to the Southern Honor building in the way it sucks up sound due to the acoustic tile ceiling. The similarities between the two companies don't end there. Both promotions boast deep rosters featuring the top talent in the area. Both companies deliver a stream of memorable moments above all else. IWE doesn't have the production values of SHW but they are getting there.
Running once every two months is a different animal. I'd have thought three gimmicks matches would be overkill, no pun intended. That was not the case. Newly crowned IWE Champion Krule did not receive a mention. IWE has so much else going it didn't matter.
(1) AC Mack pinned Suge to retain the IWE Mayhem Championship in a falls count anywhere match (11:27). Mack said a stipulation was needed if the Mayhem title was on the line and deemed the match falls count anywhere. Crowd seemed to be split as they were for many of the matches. Suge jumped the bell. The action spilled outside with both men scoring several near falls on the floor. Mack gave Suge a tour of barricades. Back inside, they set up chairs and traded punches seated and then standing until Mack backhanded Suge and booted him out of the chair. Suge fought off the Mack 10 and got near fall with a powerbomb. Suge missed big in the corner. Mack capitalized. He rammed Suge's groin into the post and double stomped him from the top for the pin. Solid match with wall-to-wall action.
(2) All Star Special (Huckaby & Hold My Beer Hanson) defeated Southern Strong Style in 13:00. All Star appropriately came out to Stayin' Alive. These teams know each other all too well. They beat the hell out each other with stiff chops and forearms. The kids in the crowd backed All Star Special. SSS got heat on Hanson. Huck's house cleaning sequence looked great. A chain of big moves built to Jay ready to superkick Hanson's head off with Hanson on his knees telling Jay to "do it". Jay hesitated. Proc leveled Hanson with a lariat. But Huck had made a blind tag and the black lariat mattered. A visceral match that told a story.
Postmatch -- All Star Special offered to shake hands. Proc slapped their hands away. Jay accepted. Proc was pissed but Southern Strong Style still left together.
(3) Lindsay Snow (with Ayla) defeated Shaloncé Royal and Vicki Dreamboat to retain the IWE Women's Championship in 6:40. Before the bell, Snow introduced Ayla, who said she was there to ensure fairness. Snow was the most over. However this was another match with split allegiances in the crowd. Dreamboat has a lot of polish for her experience level. They did a long, crisply-executed three way sequence which was no easy feat. The appearance of Dani Jordyn distracted Snow. Royal had Snow pinned but Ayla pulled Snow out of the ring. Royal and Dreamboat did a double down spot. Snow shitcanned Royal then submitted Dreamboat with a cross armbreaker. Too many moving parts in a short space of time muddled the impact of the finish.
Jordyn hugged Snow after the match. Snow wasn't feeling it. Ayla raised the hands of both women. Dani raised Snow's hand but clearly all was not copacetic between them.
(4) Owen Knight defeated Skrilla the Great in a tables match (17:40). Match had to be won by pinfall rather than putting your opponent through a table. Some Skrilla supporters in the house but Knight was clearly the babyface here. The "Owen" chants were the first of the night. Two rickety eight foot pressed board tables were propped up in opposite corners Two more got hauled out from under the ring. After jockeying for position of the top rope, the competitors crashed through table #1 together. Knight tried to put Skrilla through table #2 with the Clock Out. The table didn't break so Knight speared Skrilla through the table. Skrilla gave Knight a low blow to set up him up for Clock Out through the third table. The table didn't break and still refused to break for Skrilla's death valley. Third time was charm as Skrilla got the job done with a spear. The crowd chanted "one more table". Ask and you shall receive -- With the crowd chanting his name, Owen put Skrilla through table #4 clean as a whistle with a flying body press and pinned him with the Clock Out. Best crowd reactions of the first half. A good match hampered by uncooperative tables.
(5) Exotic Youth (Zach Mosley & Bryce Cannon with Cornelius Pepperbottom) defeated Buff & Fluff Connection (Sean Legacy & Cody Fluffman) to retain the IWE tag titles in 14:24. EY had heat coming to the ring. Mosley had heat with ring announcer Diana Michel. Before the match, Pepperbottom addressed Jordyn, who was in the merch area, calling her "honey" and "toots". Pep had a proposition he wanted Jordyn to think on -- Overkill was yesterday's news. Take a ride on the exotic side with Exotic Youth.
Did this match ever bring the crowd energy up and it stayed up for the entire second half of the show. The babyface/heel dynamic was crystal clear. Fluffman has a knack for comedy and the body to go with it. He and Legacy are obviously having fun doing the Buff & Fluff gimmick. Fluffman did a steam roller spot that left all of EY in a highly suggestive position. EY took over on a Fluffman with a super duper explosion of double team moves. The crowd chanted "let's go Fluff". Mosley superkicked Cannon by mistake and they collided. Legacy entered with a double missile dropkick and ran wild with the crowd going nuts. He hit a springboard cutter on Cannon for a false finish the crowd bit on hard. EY screwed up with Cannon's paddle so Pep pulled the ref out to save the pin and got ejected. Legacy hit a springboard clothesline on Mosley for another great falsey. Pep ran back to ringside and pulled Legacy out of the ring behind the ref's back. During the ensuing confusion, Fluffman got nailed with the paddle and pinned by Mosley.
The IWE fans showed their love for Buff & Fluff by chanting for them after the match.
(6) Carlie Bravo vs. David Ali was ruled a no contest at 17:34. No fun and games here. I'll skip the match description. They fought into the crowd where a kid told Bravo to suck it. That got a huge reaction and Bravo fed right into it. Jordyn came to ring. Bravo told Ali that Jordyn betrayed them (in Overkill). EY hit the ring and attacked Bravo and Ali. At that point, Referee Santiago threw the match out. They worked a fast pace with great intensity. The quality of the work was there. They just went too long for where the story was going, which took the edge off the crowd.
The post-match was tremendous. Ali and Bravo worked together to clear EY out of the ring. Promoter Tim Blackmon came to the ring and said it was time to take out the trash. He gave Pepperbottom a stunner. The crowd popped huge. Bravo and Ali buried the hatchet and celebrated the reunion of Overkill with Jordyn and Blackmon as the crowd applauded and chanted "Overkill" -- a great moment.
(7) Joe Black defeated Billy Brash with the help of Shaloncé Royal (9:41). Joe Black's matches are always atmospheric. The tone and pace of was in stark contrast to the rowdiness of the tag title match. Crowd was watching intently but not making a lot of noise except booing Black for taking time outs. Black's chops sounded brutal as usual. Brash's offense looked strong. Brash kicke out Black's lariat. Black was in disbelief. The crowd got behind Brash, who set up for the kill. Royal jumped onto the apron to distract the ref. Black gave Brash a low blow and rolled him up. The timing on the finish was not good.
Royal left with Black after the match so I guess they are aligned now.
A video package was shown with the key elements of the back story that led to the main event. Killjoy was the Ugly Duckling trying to mend fences. Mike was not a funny guy anymore and was out to destroy the Ducks.
(8) White Mike (with Coach Mikey) defeated Rob Killjoy in a Duckhouse Brawl (26:38) and keeps Coach Mikey. Mike got on the mic and was a complete asshole. He was going to dastardly stuff and kill Rob's joy.
Mike was bumping like a maniac in the opening minutes. Quack chants abounded. Coach Mikey was in a conflicted state. Killjoy brought out the duck plunder -- plastic bats with plastic ducks attached, a giant blow up up duck and a chair. Killjoy used the plastic bats on Mike. The crowd chanted for him to use the chair. They did a ridiculous spot with the giant blow up duck. The plastic bats might sound innocuous but Killjoy and Mike were wailing on each other with full swings to the head. They brawled into the crowd where Papa Joe (Coach Mikey's dad) was seated. Papa Joe slugged Mike and the crowd ate it up. Killjoy did a crazy dive over the rail on the upper level. Back inside, Mike spread a bag of tack on the mat. Killjoy ripped Mike's shirt off and gave him a super back suplex into the bed of tacks. Mike was bleeding and had a shitload of tacks sticking out of his back. Killjoy had tacks stuck through his tights and into his ass. Mike suplexed Killjoy into the tacks for a near fall. Mike kicked out of a duck valley driver and a top rope double stomp. Killjoy kicked out of Mike's piledriver. Mike piled up tacks on the chair for something dastardly but Killjoy turned the tables and hit Ghostbuster onto the chair covered in tacks. That had to be it but Mike kicked out. Killjoy brought a bottle into the ring. Mike was begging Killjoy not to use the bottle. The crowd chanted "do it". Killjoy did it. After smashing the bottle over Mike's head. Killjoy pulled him up at the count of two. Killjoy turned the chair upside down and was looking to Pedigree Mike onto it. Out of nowhere, Mike jackknifed Killjoy for the 1-2-3.
The crowd was absolutely stunned. No way was Killjoy going to lose this match. Killjoy snapped. He threw the ref down. Mikey tried to intervene. Killjoy knocked Mikey down and put Mike's head on the chair, then did a double stomp off the top rope right onto Mike's head. Mike was motionless. The crowd was hushed by the horror. Before leaving, Killjoy told Mike "you did this".
IWE personnel rushed into the ring to check on Mike. The crowd wasn't going anywhere. Mike was finally able to leave the ring under his own power. The fans implored Mikey not to go with him. With great reluctance, Mikey did.
NOTES: in the pre-show six man match, Charlie Anarchy & JC Walker & Ash Bennett defeated Matt Odam & Karl Hager & Josh Magnum when Anarchy pinned Hager...IWE returns to American Legion Post 163 on January 14...Anthony Agogo was scheduled to be the match with Black and Brash. Blackmon said Agogo called him from London and offered to fly in but the plane ticket would have cost 25K...Mike Fullilove, Yolanda Wright and Lewis Santiago were the referees...Justin Hancock, Danny Meade and Roger Gleaton handled the production...Videography by Brad Wilson...Marcellous was also do his magic with the mobile camera...Paige Blackmon sang the national anthem...Eric Walker was backstage...The raffle for fan Lauren Klaus' cancer treatment raised $400.
