ICW~! goes LONG! There's a shocker! For $5 less, we saw the SUPER 8! Good matches, Bad finishes! All shoot angles and no wrestling makes JAC a dull promoter! And other stuff we saw rather than the St. Patrick's Day Parade in the Elks Lodge!

RD : Rev Ray Duffy, really really lazy about starting road reports.
PP: Pogo Pete Stein, burned out on two-bit mark promoters.

RD : I head into the city around 4pm to meet up with Pete in Queens. This whole show set up starts out weird as for some reason the both of us originally thought this was a Friday show. Then, we find out that instead of running the St. Patrick's Day Parade on St. Patrick's day, they run it on a Saturday, which is the first time I remember this happening. I get there a little early and meet with Pete at the KFC. The lines are at least somewhat organized this time around, even though all the tickets say "ringside" on them. They break the budget on the show as they have a garbage can on the outside AND put working lights back into the men's room. It's a fair audience, but not close to full. Then again, I would imagine a lot of people were probably out getting loaded at the parade. As we get out seat, Boogalou and Low Ki are in ring doing a bunch mat stuff. The show starts about 10 minutes late.

PP: I spend the afternoon bumping around the Village as far away from the parade route as possible, where I swing by the Onion Bag and pick up a Wolves pin for Marcel. Whether he holds onto it if West Brom pips them for second place is another matter entirely. Lou and Ki’s exhibition was fun to watch, although it couldn’t possibly touch Ki’s performance with Monsta Mack from the September show where Monsta imitated Kawada AND Giant Baba. ;) If Jac learns one thing from this, it should be that Ki and Lou got a huge round of applause upon the conclusion of their exhibition as opposed to what Jac would do later on in the evening. There’s about 300 folks in attendance, which is actually a pretty good crowd considering the parade.

THE SHOW :
MATCH 1: LOWRIDER vs. ABUNAI vs. QUIET STORM :
RD : At some point, the ring mic doesn't work, so Steven DeAngelis has to yell out the introductions. I joke to Pete about getting him an old style carnie bullhorn to do intros for the rest of the show, but they eventually get the mics working. This was an ok match with some neat things by Quiet Storm, including a spot where he had Lowrider in a reverse Indian deathlock. As he's got the hold on, Abunai charges Storm who catches him into a hold similar to the one Chocoball Mukai used. Storm then flipped him over into a suplex while continuing to hold his arms in the double underhook. Storm calls for the Storm Cradle Driver, but Lowrider blocks it, only to get caught into a Gory Special that Storm turns into a rude awakening style neckbreaker.

PP: Storm was a total stud here, plus he was flashing some charisma for the first time that I can remember. The combo move he did to Lowrider and Abunai in particular was just mind-blowing and everyone in the Lodge lost their shit for it. Lowrider did the least of the three as he’s basically Deranged without the offense, but he looked OK here as did Abunai.

MATCH 2: TOURNAMENT MATCH : NOVA vs. DEVON STORM (w/ Serena)
RD : I think the original line up for this show had Nova v. Scoot Andrews in a non-tournament match, but Scoot was either double booked or injured. This really seemed like Nova had spent some time at the post office to mail this one in because this wasn't really good. Nova was being really goofy and doing a lot of playing to the crowd. I think he hit one good looking kick and 2 Novacanes. Other than that, not much else to really talk about. We get a ref bump, Nova hits the Novacane on Storm, but can't get the pin with the ref out. Serena runs in, Nova hits her with the move, Devon rolls him up, probably with a handful of tights as the ref recovers.

PP: The Nova hot streak ends at one match as he was obviously saving himself for the Phoenix show across the river. Of course you had two other guys in the tournament that would be working three matches on the night, and they didn’t feel the need to blatantly save themselves for later. Anyhow, Nova mugs his way through this match and I want to pimp-slap him by the time it ends.

MATCH 3 : TOURNAMENT MATCH : BOOGALOU (w/ Homicide & Lowrider) vs. "THE  PRODIGY" TOM MARQUEZ :
RD : This falls victim to the Prodigy Factor, which can best be described like those things they used in Men in Black that erased your memory. This match happened. Or maybe it was swamp gas reflecting off the moonlight. Anyways, Homicide and Lowrider interfere a few times in the match, there's a ref bump. They run into the ring. Lou hits the exploder '98 to get the pin when the ref recovers. Prodigy rips off his shirt and throws it in the crowd. We don't see anyone rush to go get it. *ZONK* Hey, how'd I get here... and what's that wrestling ring doing here.

PP: There may have been some suplexes thrown here. I forget.

MATCH 4 : STRIKER (STRYKER) w/ BOBCAT vs. DAMIEN DRAGON W/ JAC SABBOTH &
SERENA
RD : Well, apparently the great mystery of what Stryker's name is continues. I'm pretty sure his shirt says Stryker, but I've seen websites list him as Striker. I'm leaning towards Stryker because the wrestling laws of spelling. Anyway, this is a rematch from their match at the previous show which was in the top 2 of the evening. This was pretty good again. I dunno where Stryker got all his freak mat work, but it's fun to watch. Anyway, Stryker brings out Bobcat, who is his manager when he's a heel in USA Pro to counter Jac who counters by bringing out Serena to counter her. These guys both looked good against each other, though Stryker busts out the super overdrive which turned out being pretty ugly looking. There may or may not have been a ref bump during this and Serena gets in the ring. There's some miscommunication between Jac and Serena. Damien threatens her or mists her, I forget, Devon runs in to save his girl, I believe hitting the Mindbender on Dragon. This allows Stryker to get the tap out I believe with a reverse indian deathlock, rolled over with a chin lock which Dragon up in the air. Good match again, Stryker's really growing on me as he's the throwback babyface wrestler like Nana is the throwback heel. And he's been pulling out some neato stuff on the mat. He and Dragon work well together and I think the heel turn will pan out good for Damien. I'm disappointed that in 4 matches, we've had 3 non-clean finishes thus far. I'm surprised at this match's placement on the card as you'd figure they'd run this as a between rounds thing, but maybe they wanted to use it to build to later.

PP: This has been a fun little feud as they’ve had two really good matches now. This wasn’t quite as good as their first match, but OTOH Bobcat’s easier on the eyes than Francine so it all balances out in the end. The overbooking was somewhat more glaring this time, but there’s a logical thought process here as this time Stryker is prepared for the mist shot and ducks it, leading to Damien misting Serena by mistake. I can’t emphasize enough just how fucking great Stryker is at selling along with his old-school babyface shtick.

MATCH 5: TOURNAMENT: KID KRUEL vs. (Chris) DEVINE :
RD : The most memorable thing about this was the fact that Kid Kruel was sort of hissing while doing some stuff early in the match, and the entire crowd picked up and started hissing along anytime Kruel got on offense. This was good, Devine look good in this, at least better than several of the last outings I saw with him in, though there was minor moments of hesitation. This was good, but again, we get a ref bump. Kid Kruel gets the tap out on a cross armbreaker, no ref to call it, he breaks the hold. Devine recovers and I think gets the win with his full nelson DDT. Good match, I'm disappointed Kruel didn't get to advance, but both guys looked good.

PP: The whole hissing thing was just hysterical. Kruel IS Tenzan! All he needs to do is bust out the Mongolian chops and he’ll be top 10 on the next 500. =) As it was he got to showcase his mat stylings for the first time that I can remember in UCW/TPFKAUCW/ICW, whereas in the past he was used like mini Sid. On the other hand this made FOUR straight matches with ref bumps, which I can’t ever remember seeing before.

MATCH 6: TOURNAMENT : HOMICIDE (w/ BOOGALOU & LOWRIDER) vs. PRINCE NANA :
RD : I was kind of happy this match happened and it was pretty fun while it lasted. Both guys looked good and they worked pretty well together. Unfortunately, we got... ta da... another non-clean finish, as some guy walks out and distracts Nana. Homicide uses the chance to clip Nana's knee and hit a dragon screw and gets the tap out from the STF. Post match, the mystery guy accuses Nana's parents of actually being servants. He's revealed to be Tiger Khan and they set up a match on the next show.

PP: Nana no-sells the Ghana flag for a change. Humph. This was fun while it lasted and I’d love to see them work a longer match where they’re not trying to pace themselves for a tournament, although this was the FIFTH straight match with a screwjob finish. This was starting to shape up as the most gutlessly booked show ever. I’m curious about Tiger Khan as Evan Ginzburg (of “Wrestling Then and Now” newsletter fame, who just happened to have a merch table downstairs) has been pimping him for a few years and I’ve yet to see him work a match.

MATCH 7: XAVIER vs. LITTLE GUIDO MARITATO:
RD : This gets set up by Xavier coming about and Steven DeAngelis selling that it's not expect. X cuts a promo calling out anyone to take on him for his North Eastern Title after burying some guy in the crowd who brought his own belt. Guido comes out and accepts the challenge. This was pretty fun. I've noticed in this match that Xavier has started incorporating the knee strikes to his offense like he did against AJ Styles, though he doesn't use the tree of woe knee to the balls. Both guys looked good in this, Guido busts out the Sicilian Slice (Fame-asser style leg drop) out to the floor on Xavier. Xavier the win, I believe clean, though it might have been set up with a lowblow via the Regal Armtrap neckbreaker. Xavier gets the pin and post match, Guido wants to shake his hand post match, Xavier agrees after burying him for being a loser and not being signed by the WWF and Guido hits him with a stunner.

PP: There’s some unintentional comedy at the start as Xavier apparently forgot to bring his NE title to the building (really). This was good from what I remember of it, but I spent most of this match monkeying with a digital camera so my memories are rather sketchy. Of note: the Lodge is a great place to watch wrestling live, but the lighting makes it next to impossible to take good photos.

Intermission:

RD : Pete goes to see if any recovered Marquez' t-shirt or if it's sitting on the floor. I stand around for a bit.

MATCH 8: TOURNAMENT DEVON STORM W/ SERENA vs. DEVINE :
RD : I remember this match being OK, but not really recalling much until the end. Because Storm ran in Dragon's match, he runs out on this one. Initially, I think he tries something but Serena stops her, resulting in the great comedy as Jim Mollineaux is holding back Serena as she's flailing away to get a Dragon. Storm is setting up for something off the top rope on Devine and gets misted. Devine then hits a pretty mean looking swinging DDT and gets the win.
 

MATCH 9: CRAZY IVAN vs. BALLS MAHONEY:
RD : Crazy Ivan, for those that don't know, is also Skinhead Ivan in JAPW. He basically does a nazi gimmick with salutes and does a whole racist spiel to get cheat heel heat. He gets a soda thrown at him at one point. Balls Mahoney gets over as the mega baby face just because who he's facing. It's actually pretty funny at one point as the fans are chanting "We Want Blood" and Balls starts miming and checking to see if he brought his fork with him, which it turns out he didn't. This was a whole lot of Ivan getting his ass kicked aside from getting in one or two of his signature spots. He ended up kicking out of a Nutcracker Suite and a frog splash before eating a chairshot for the pin.

PP: Welcome to Bizarro World as we all become huge Balls Mahoney marks. FWIW I actually interpreted Balls’ reaction to the “We Want Blood” chant as looking for a blade to gig himself with. Ivan oh so slightly redeems himself in the end as he has the sense to put his hands up for the chairshot at the finish.

MATCH 10: TOURNAMENT: HOMICIDE vs. BOOGALOU w/ Lowrider at ringside :
RD : Natural Born Sinnerz EXPLODE! Quite literally as we get both guys
busting out the exploder early in the match on each other and no selling it. I get the feeling that Homicide and the Hit Squad are really big fans of AJPW and stuff, hopefully they'll watch more of the '91 stuff which was all about the selling rather than late '90's Kobashi at his worst. This was a serviceable match, again marred by a weak finish. I believe both guys countered out of their partner's respective finisher and the end came with Lou getting a german suplex on Homicide but Homicide getting his arm up at two and Lou being pinned to the mat. While technically it was a clean finish, it was kind of lame. Hell, I would have taken a flash pin over this.

PP: The finish was a cop-out but at least it was clean. I don’t think Lou losing to one of Homicide’s trademark moves would hurt him in the ICW caste system, but kudos to Homicide anyway for protecting the kid. Lou’s been steadily improving as of late and I can’t wait for him to break out with Homicide’s training.

RD : Up next, Jac Sabboth comes out with Red Young and sets up a big "Shoot" angle with Frank Goodman. Jac takes credit for making USA Pro and ICW good.. blah blah blah... Frank Goodman come on out without your mask... blah blah blah.. Frank points out all the empty seats in the building... blah blah blah... Red Young is a homo who sold tickets and then never showed up with the money... blah blah blah... next show the match no one wants to see Red Young v. Frank Goodman... blah blah blah... so, this goes on from like 10-20 minutes, it feels like it's going on for 8 years. Jimmy Hustler and Rockshah 337 get announced as the real Boogie Knights, the Hit Squad come out and beat the shit out of them and throw them out of the ring.

PP: One ICW ticket: $20
Two “Wrestling: Then and Now” annuals: $16
One interminable shoot promo designed to lead to a match no one in his or her right mind would pay to see: WORTHLESS

Seriously, every indy promoter that deigns to run a masturbatory shoot angle needs to watch a tape of this as the entire crowd DIES ON THE VINE while Jac and Frank pontificate back and forth. Haley and Annabel graduate from high school while this is taking place. Note to Jac: no one pays $20 to watch indy scum wrestling promoters throw a poetry slam, and NYC is just about the last city in the country where you want to insult the intelligence of your audience. Especially when the ICW tickets and promo flyers say “USA Pro Wrestling Presents ICW.”

MATCH 11: ICW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH : 4 WAY TABLES MATCH : DA HIT SQUAD
(MONSTA MACK & MAFIA) vs. THE H8 MACHINE (SLEDGE/HC LOC) vs. THE CHRISTOPHER STREET CONNECTION (MACE MENDOZA & BUFF E) vs. THE SOLUTION (PAPADON & HAVOK)
RD : Needless to say, with such a lead in, the Hit Squad don't look to happy, or at least seem to want to usher this match along as they stand in the ring and wave for their opponents to come out and try to give cues to the sound guy to cut the music and have the other teams come out. HC Loc is the former ECW referee who I guess also refs and wrestles on the indies now. The CSC added confetti pop bottles to their entrance, which was pretty good. This won was sort of tough to keep track of, it started out with DHS and the Solution out on the floor and the CSC in ring with the H8 Machine. The CSC get in their spots including their in ring kiss and then kissing their opponents at another point. The H8 Machine are the first to go as Loc gets put through a table by a Mace Top Rope Elbow and Slege getting speared through a table by Mafia, though Havok might have been in on the spear as well. There was a funny spot where Mace does an extended dance remix of the broncobuster on Mafia. I think he needed a cigarette afterward plus Mafia sold it great. The Christopher Street Connection were eliminated second pretty far apart as Monsta frog splashed Buff E through a table. Later on, the Solution got Mace with their powerbomb/Top Rope Block Buster through a table, which had to suck for Papadon because I'm pretty sure he was hitting the table on that too. This brings it down to the Solution and the Hit Squad. Monsta Mack busts out the world's most chubbed out Shining Wizard onto one of the Solution. The Hit Squad softens up the Solution enough to set them up for the finish, which is double stacking some tables with Havok on it. The problem is that Havok is so big they need Atlas Security's help picking up the table (and Havok inconspicuously holding onto the table so he didn't slip off it). Mafia ends up giving Papadon a Lyger Bomb off the stage onto the tables and Havok for the win. The Solution looked pretty good, but Papadon was doing some kicks that's didn't really look that good and the finish spot was one that was neat looking, but took too long (and took co-operation) to set up.

PP: Ray is the king of understatement as DHS look legit pissed off at having to wake the crowd up after Jac and Frank combined to put everyone into a collective coma. Hustler and Rockshah attack DHS as they enter the ring but DHS don’t even attempt to sell their offense, nor should they have. Eventually they both get tossed to the floor, and there’s a funny bit as the rest of the teams in the match take shots at Hustler and Rockshah as they hit the ring. All four teams have their work cut out for them WRT getting the fans back into the WRESTLING, but somehow they pull it off as this is just non-stop insanity from bell to bell. You probably need to get this on tape just for Mafia’s sell of the broncobuster.

MATCH 12 : ICW TITLE MATCH : 3 WAY DANCE : LOW KI vs. HOMICIDE vs. DEVINE :
RD : I'm not sure if this was a make shift decision because the show was running long or not. Considering it was probably close to 10:45 at this point, it probably wasn't a bad idea. This starts out with both guys in the tournament in the ring, then Low Ki coming out and Jim Mollineux just declaring this a 3 Way Dance. Homicide uses the chance to go right after Low Ki, back him in the corner by grabbing his ears and yelling "I WANT THAT BELT". This was pretty good, though I think the crowd was pretty deadened by this point. There was some neat stuff like Low Ki setting up the hanging dragon clutch by hooking Devine's legs on the top rope and hanging him down, but setting him up by kicking him in the back while he's hanging horizontal to the mat. Ki puts on the hold and Homicide breaks it up by hitting a sliding drop kick. Homicide is the first to go as Devine catches him in the full nelson DDT for the pin. This sort of deflated the crowd, but I'm kind of happy that Devine advanced as it gave them a new match up. They do some back and forth stuff, Devine hits the full nelson DDT on Ki, but Ki kicks out. Devine tries to put him away with a super full nelson DDT, but Ki counters and nails a super Ki Krusher for the win. Post-match, fellow Dynasty member Xavier helps Devine to the back and then tells Ki that he never pinned him for the title and I think sets up a title match down the road. Not a bad match, it was probably smarter to run the 3 way given there's probably a curfew on the building.

PP: This was good. The Homicide puro worship continues as he busts out a TTD (Tenzan Tombstone Driver) on Devine early in the match. Most of the crowd hated the fact that Homicide was eliminated first, but I had no problem with it as they’ve been running Ki vs. Homicide to death recently and Devine is a fine worker. Homicide also jobbed clean as a sheet to Devine’s finisher, which you have to love.

RD : Overall, the wrestling on the show solid, but I think there were some really weak finishes. I mean, it's indy wrestling, I don't think you have to worry about EVERYONE's rep in the tournament to not do a clean pin or tap out. Hell, I've seen various mix and matches of these guys tap or lose to other guys in other promotions all the time. I really hate me some shoot angles. SHUT UP AND WRESTLE!

PP: It’s three weeks since the show as I put the finishing touches on this report, which should give an indication as to how much Jac’s BS soured me on the promotion. It’s a combination of things… the shoot angle of doom, the fact that the tournament was booked as cowardly as possible, and the fact that Homicide and CW Anderson are still being heavily pushed to work the next ICW show on 4/26 even though it’s public knowledge that they’ll both be in Japan by then. As it is, I’ll probably save my money for Chiller Theatre the following day.