Once again emanating from the Ballston Area Community Center, In Your Face Wrestling Presented CAULDRON OF HATE, their big anniversary show. And an eventful, fun show it was! I arrived as the doors opened, picked up my pre-ordered ticket and snagged my seat in the Front Row of (what i have affectionately christened as) the Heel Section. I have to admit... The crowd at this event didn't seem as plentiful or as rowdy as past events (certainly not as vocal as at August's SUMMERTIME BRUISE EVENT) and was lacking a handful of familiar faces that I'd come to see and expect in the crowd at these shows. That being said, there were a handful of Heel Section faithful that "kept the dream alive" and certainly added to the generally fun ambiance of the show.
Spent a little bit of time before bell time schmoozing with some of the IYFW event staff, which is always fun. As usual, the crew and performers are so approachable and fun to interact with and that absolutely adds to the overall IYFW experience and this show was no different.
Notable by his absence, for the second event in a row, was respected ring announcer, Walter Ball. Not sure what that's about... but at least we weren't subjected to another performance by Justin Foxx, who laid an announcers egg at Summertime Bruise (we love you, Justin... Just DIE, already.) In Walters place was a young lady who did a solid job, I just wish I caught her name.
Also notable by their presence before the show began were two IYFW staff dudes wearing wolf masks, hanging around the crowd. There are usually more than a few staff guys on hand... And the IYFW October shows usually have a Halloween type theme, so their being there didn't really raise any red flags. However their presence would be notable a bit later in the show, which is why I bring it up now...
Our first contest was a tag match featuring the Celtic Crew - Liam McFerrin and Michael McKinger - taking on the Money Machine (my moniker) of "Millennium Millionaire" Scott Scarsdale and his bodyguard, WAR. This match was a fair enough opener, yet the crowd didn't give it much credence. A very quiet bunch of fans; so quiet in fact that, in the early goings, I was one of the only ones who seemed "into" it. I even called out: "Hey... people. You're at a wrestling show, let's go!" I tried to do what *I* could, as a goon in the crowd, by getting that rhythmic clapping going and, as the show wore on, a quality chant here and there. This match seemed to showcase the power of Liam McFerrin and the underhanded tactics of Scott Scarsdale. Liam would eventually catch Scarsdale in some sort of Hurricane Fireman's Carry that would ALSO take out WAR before McFerrin blasted Scarsdale with a vicious running lariat and a pin.
The critic in me wonders why Scarsdale didn't tag out to his partner and confidant, WAR, who honestly didn't get much match time. WAR has proven himself to be a submission expert who, in the past, has been more than effective when utilized by Scarsdale (and had a good match teaming with Vile at Summertime Bruise). All in all, a fun match that tried hard to get this sluggish crowd into things.
The next bout had me pumped. Guillaume de Sade stepped through the curtain to a solid rain of boo's (except from me, naturally. I love this guys stuff). Ever since being stripped of the IYFW Championship by former Management Representative, Harold Touch'ole, back at April's DEFY THE ODDS, I have been eagerly awaiting this man's return. When it was announced on the IYFW INTERFACE that the former Champion would be appearing at this show, I had high hopes. Maybe they'd put him back in the title race... Maybe he'd feud with Burton... Maybe he'd come back as a baby face seeking retribution against Touch'ole/Good Lord Willing or even Scarsdale?
No.
He comes back to face The Northern Studd.
Don't get me wrong. The Studd is a good performer and busts his ass out there... But, as I was sure to remind him at every given opportunity, he is NO FRONZ RODDY.
Really, though... This may have been one of the most athletic matches of the night with de Sade showing just what made him Championship material and the Studd leaving everything out there on the mat. I am just such a fan of de Sade's work (and Fronz Roddy's) that I can't bring myself to compliment The Northern Studd other than to say that... Somehow he won. The Northern Studd defeated the man who never really LOST the IYFW Championship. What gives?!?
In the photo above, The Studd posed... Thinking I'd tell him how great he was. I told him: "Fronz's muscles are bigger." The fans in the Heel Section applauded. His response: "They may be bigger, but I'm better."
WEAK.
Next up was a Four Way Free for All! Rocco Perrelli was the first out; sporting tacky pinstripe style attire. The Heel Section, at times, wasn't sure which guy in the ring was the referee. Next out Foxx Vinyer, who seemed pumped to be there. Close behind him was the next competitor, his (former, it seems?) Tag Team partner, The REAL Rob Coleman - who has some of the stiffest kicks I have seen this side of Roman Dominguez. Finally, the final competitor was The King of Old School, Ian Daniels; who was rocking some Reckless Youth attire in honor of the Halloween Theme. He was clearly the match favorite.
This was a fun match that had a lot going on and all of it great. Perrelli was a grade A dick to the fans. Coleman and Vinyer mesh so well together in the ring that they MIGHT be better off as opponents than team mates, dare I say? And Daniels was just classic, to put it simply. When he wasn't being near flawless in the ring, he was getting under the skin of Perrelli; alternately starting chants of "SNOOKI SUCKS!" and "RETARD PENGUIN!". The action in between all of that was so much fun, starting with a great out of the ring, off the top rope plancha by Daniels on all FOUR men, some quality back and forth between the members of Capital Punishment, and this...
A Two Star Frog Splash from the Anarchist himself! So great. Daniels would soon after eat a brutal Finlay-Style roll via Coleman before having Coleman's victory stolen by Rocco Perrelli.
Goon.
I'd love to see a Perrelli/Daniels program. That, much like THIS match and despite the presence of Rocco Perrelli (who attempted, in vain, to slap the hat off of my head when I was mercilessly mocking is voice), would be AWESOME.
Post match, the crowd serenaded Ian Daniels with applause for his valiant efforts... And the two IYFW staff dudes wearing wolf masks got in the ring to help him to his feet. And I smelled a rat. They started beating Daniels down before removing their masks to reveal their identities as The Savage Wolves, CJ Scott and Damon Ravage. They laid a horrific beating on Daniels before IYFW Minister of Wrestling Operations, Maxx Burton, ran down to ringside to chase Scott and Ravage out of the building.
Apparently, as I have learned by viewing the Summertime Bruise DVD (available on the merchandise section of IYFWrestling.com), CJ Scott is no longer under contract with IYF wrestling, nor is Damon Ravage. Clearly... They aren't pleased by this. I received the following from The Savage Wolves shortly after the CAULDRON OF HATE event:
For Immediate Release
Dear In Your Face Faithful,
Tonight at "Season 5: Cauldron of Hate" you were all visited by the Ghosts of Halloweens Past. Ian Daniels especially felt their presence. These ghosts I refer to are of course "The Wolf" C.J. Scott and "The Savage" Damon Ravage. For far too long Damon and I have been treated as outsiders and second class talent in IYFW. Well, tonight we fired the first shot in our war on In Your face Wrestling and it's Minister of Wrestling Operations, Maxx Burton. You have until November 12th at IYFW Presents: The Brass Ring to reinstate us to the roster or you can expect another attack like tonight. You'll be hearing from us in the very near future. Do the right thing; fix this now before someone gets hurt.
-The Savage Wolves
Oh, snap. Well. This should be fun. Burton was fuming at their appearance, so... Yeah. Good stuff.
That picture says it all. Well... Not really. Up next was Drake Evans taking on SuperBeast. When IYFW released that Maxx Burton promo a few weeks back, where the Minister snidely promised to have something in mind for the embattled heart of IYFW (that'd be Evans, btw), I wanted to predict he'd throw him in the ring with the 400+ lb monster... In retrospect, I should have.
This was a fun match, with SuperBeast splitting time between barking at the fans and crushing Evans beneath his prodigious weight. At one point, the man-mountain threatened the referee, causing him to cower, which allowed Drake Evans to finally take SuperBeast off is feet, dropkicking him, toppling him over the cowering, cowardly referee. This allowed Drake to take to the skies...
That right there was a quality Flying Elbow Drop from the top rope that kept SuperBeast on the mat long enough to record the win. This is a big win for Evans, who had been on quite the downswing as of late; losing an IYFW Championship opportunity against de Sade in April, being handcuffed and basically removed from the Coronation Cup Tournament in June by WAR, and then gagging into sweet oblivion on Pierre Vachon's sausage fingers in August. Things have looked bleak for Evans and this win has to improve his standing and his placement in the hierarchy of IYFW. He certainly wants that IYFW Championship belt back and I don't think even his foe, (and company head) Maxx Burton, can ignore his efforts on this night.
Of course, I have been wrong before.
Next up was intermission. And a fairly eventful intermission for yours truly at that! First off, I was able to shake hands with the Minister, himself, Maxx Burton. If he hadn't already appeared to be in a hurry, and if I had been able to muster up the courage to do so, I might have shared with him my dream to call an event in the booth with Joey LaRoque -- I like to think that I have the gift of gab and the ability to play the snarky heel-loving color commentator role off of Joey's straight-man, knowledgable play by play. Big fan of Joey's work both on the INTERFACE and the promotions excellent DVD's.
Maybe next time.
Also during intermission, I had my picture snapped with the champ...
Before getting back to the action I also stole a moment with IYFW's resident Submission Slayer, WAR, who is also a frequent reader of these pages - which is cool to know. He is as imposing as you might expect and surprisingly more approachable than you might assume!
But that's not all! There was also the obligatory 50/50 raffle that I can't help but throw some dollars into. Once again, I did not come away empty handed and once again I walked away with two tickets to their next event!
...too bad I already pre-ordered my tickets...
But someone suggested that maybe I give them away as a prize to a reader of Wrestlefudge? Not a bad idea! I've got a little less than 6 weeks to come up with something and I'm sure I will. Was REALLY hoping to win the signed ring bell, the promotions FIRST ring bell. That might have been kind of cool to have. No clue what I'd have done with it had I won it... But still.
Back to the action we go!
Holy shit. The IYFW New Breed Title was on the line - and so much more. If Dominguez retained he would be the winningest champion in IYFW history... If Fronz Roddy won, he would be the first and only man to have held every title in the promotion, ever.
Wow.
I predicted this would be an awesome match, due to the athleticism of the men involved, everything that was on the line, and do to the heel alignment of both competitors. I was right on all counts (just not about who would win... But I'll get to that.)
This was, without a doubt, the funniest and most creative wrestling match I have ever seen. Unique just isn't the word. It's not often, as a wrestling fan, that you can HONESTLY say you witnessed something new and original. Yet those in attendance at the BACC on this night KNOW they did. I'm not going to even try to attempt to describe what went down here other than to say; it was a see-saw, psychological battle that pushed both men (and the referee) to their very limits. If you don't grab the DVD of this event when it becomes available JUST to see this match... Then you're a fool.
Fronz Roddy won.
I was lucky enough to have BOTH wrestlers jaw with me back and forth as the match began. So hysterical. They weren't having the "LET'S GO, BOTH OF YOU!" chant that I started... Yet by the end of this match, the fans WERE behind them both (and feeling much sympathy for the referee, hehe). So, so great. Kudos, gents.
Should be interesting to see where things go from here for these two men. Roman Dominguez has teased on his Facebook page that there are bigger and better things on the horizon for him and Fronz Roddy promises to take the New Breed Championship to new heights. Well... He's off to quite a start. Such a memorable bout.
The next contest featured the IYFW Tag Team Champions, the young team of "The Spectacle" Adam Badger and "Megastar" Michael Monroe defending against The Uprising; Shiloh Robinson and "Loverboy" Ricky...
ROCKETT?!?!
I guess Ricky Williams couldn't make it, but his loss is The Rockett's (and the fans) gain! Accompanying them to ringside was Jamar "Magic" Justice, original Uprising member and first graduate of the IYF Academy! This was a fun match that was really all about Badger over powering the much smaller Ricky Rockett; at ne point manhandling him with a Pumphandle Backbreaker that I HAVE to assume Rockett is still feeling. Monroe looked as fluid as ever and Shiloh Robinson shined once they hit that hot tag! However, Monroe did what he does - took Rockett down and out on the outside of the ring, allowing Badger to catch Robinson slipping and gain the pin, allowing The Enemy to retain their coveted tag straps. Good, fun match! Badger clearly has a blast with his censored gimmick and - at one point - got in the face of the father and son that, way back at April's "DEFY THE ODDS", he had originally dropped the F bomb heard round the northeast. Wonder if he knew that...
Maxx Burton would come out and thank the fans for 4 years of support in a heartfelt, quality promo... that had me wondering if maybe there was some nonsense afoot on his part (I just can't bring myself to fully trust The Axx's intentions, I'm sorry!)
The combatants would come to the ring; Vachon all bluster and venom, Vigo full of intensity and focus. The IYFW Championship is on the line - neither man has been pinned or submitted in an IYFW ring, as Maxx reminded us - and after giving them a strong, big-time-feel introduction, Maxx made it clear that if ANYONE came through the curtain to interfere in this match he would fire them on the spot.
(this had me wondering if we'd see The Savage Wolves run-in, since they're not contracted anyway... or wondering if Maxx HIMSELF might insert himself into things... Hmm. Intrigue!)
This bout was pretty much what one might expect. A lot of brawling on both parts, a lot of barking at the crowd on Pierre's part, and a lot of hulking-up on the part of Vigo. The fight spilled out of the ring momentarily and the violent bastard in me was really hoping we'd see MORE of that outside the ring melee style combat. Once they got back in the ring, Vigo mounted a strong come back before getting slowed down again by Pierre Vachon's relentless assault.
Like I said... A lot of what you'd expect.
Before too long the ref would go down (uh-oh!) and Vigo would regain the upper hand, clamping on a brutal submission... And, you guessed it...
Vigo would go to revive the referee... And Vachon would go to the corner to pull out something nefarious... Oh snap. He THREW a fireball in the Champions face!
Vigo went down to the mat, clutching his grill like you'd expect... And was soon feasting on Pierre Vachons Mandible Claw!
Sans sock.
Much like Drake Evans before him back in August, Big Vigo couldn't withstand the pressure on those tender mouth nerves and passed out! Ironically, the referee revived himself, dropped the champs arm 3 times... And awarded the match, and the title, to the NEW IYFW CHAMPION...
In the aftermath, Vachon taunted Vigo as IYFW Medics and Officials hit the ring to check on him. The look of concern on the face of Referee Adam Brunton told the story. Vigo was in a bad way.
Notable by his absence in the IYFW Championship aftermath?
Minister of Wrestling Operations, Maxx Burton. Follow my logic... Burton and Vigo have a (bad) history. One might say that Burton is DIRECTLY responsible for Vachon GETTING this title shot. Burton barred ANYONE from interferring for any reason. A wrestler is seriously hurt, burnt in the face and choked unconscious, and he isn't interested? Doesn't want to check on the former champ? At ALL?
I might respect you... But I STILL DON'T TRUST YOU, MAXX BURTON!
Heh.
All in all, another very fun event. A little something for everyone. Great tag action, some excellent performances, a fun comedy match, and a brutally chaotic main event that saw the top title change hands. What more could you ask for?
A return to the BACC on November 12th, you say?
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COMING SOON TO THE 'FUDGE:
- the Official Unofficial IYFW Top Ten Rankings for October '11
- IYFW Superstar Spotlight: ADAM BADGER
- the Wrestlefudge Interview: IAN DANIELS
...and more!
As always, thanks for reading! Be sure to add your email address in my mailing list at the top of the page so you'll ALWAYS know when I update the blog!
