IYFW EndGame: Quick Results/Quick Reactions

Crazy show back at the Ballston Area Community Center last Saturday night for In Your Face Wrestling. Having just moved to downtown Ballston Spa I have to admit it was kind of nice to walk back to my apartment and grab a cold brew during intermission! Lets take a quick look at the show!

- Sgt.Fury signs a contract!
Show kicked off with Senior Referee Dan Roberts appearing in street clothes to address his injury and the expiration of his referees contract with In Your Face Wrestling. Guess what? Maxx Burton has offered Dan, er... Sgt.Fury a contract... And he SIGNS it. I actually missed this segment, as Will and I were sequestered in a distant corner of the BACC filming mini-interviews. I am a fan of what Sgt. Dan brings to In Your Face and am glad to see he is bringing his boots to Ballston Spa for every show. 2013 could be a fun year for Sgt.Fury AND for In Your Face Wrestling fans.

- Chip Stetson def. Good Lord Willing
Say what you want about the Good Lord, but the fans in Ballston Spa always respond to him! Tonight was no different. I think everyone in the building was surprised when GLW extended a handshake to Stetson post-match. Is this the beginning of a long-awaited babyface run for Good Lord Willing?

- Scott Scarsdale def. Viper the Ninja after hitting The Jackpot
Viper is one of those guys that you always want to see more from but something about his pairing almost always detracts from what he can do. Scarsdale never seemed to get out of first gear here until awkwardly finding his finisher against the Ninja. I dunno... Not a "match of the night" contender.

- "Loverboy" Ricky Williams def. "Big Irish" Liam McFerrin for the IYFW New Breed Championship
This was a fun, decent match between two solid competitors until Scarsdale returned to ringside. I wouldn't have minded it so much if I hadn't JUST come to terms to having seen him in action in the previous match. Scott would distract Liam long enough for Ricky to steal the win and be announced as Blood Money's newest member. Ricky turns heel and the crowd turns on him. I suppose it was effective. Liam had a nice, strong title reign and I'm kind of surprised it came to an end this abruptly. Not that I expect him to move away from that belt immediately, of course.

- "The Wolf" CJ Scott def. "Savage" Damon Ravage in a 3 Stages of Hell Match
I don't know about Will, but this is my pick for match of the night. From the first bell to the last, this was a hard hitting, dramatic, fun and varied contest that kept you guessing. These guys delivered on all fronts. Damon stole the first win with a somewhat early roll-up and pin. CJ Scott forced Damon to submit in the second, leaving things to be decided in a last man standing match. Crazy back and forth action led to Ravage being driven through a handful of set up chairs... No way he could answer such a devastating finish. Post-match, the two actually hugged and raised eachothers arms. Wow. I know this was meant to be the end of this story but I didn't expect it to end with an emotional hug in the ring. But, hey, it worked so what the hell am I bitching about?

- No Contest between IYFW Tag Team Champions, Pure Dynamite, and Team RPG when Blood Money interfere
This was a fun, mostly fast paced tag match between two completely different tag teams with two completely different styles and approaches... Until Scott Scarsdale reappeared along with Ricky Williams (who is now overtly Canadian, because clearly we should hate all Canadians) and Guillaume de Sade to end the match with a miserable non finish. I know that getting heat is important and that there are some heels out there that feel that ANY heat is good heat... that was not "good" heat. Ugh. An unfortunate finish to a match that seemed to be just finding its proverbial groove.

- Fronz Roddy wins the Right to Fight Contract
Fun gauntlet match featuring Jamar "Magic" Justice, Guillaume de Sade, the Northern Studd, Shiloh Robinson and Vince Beach. This was a nice way to get a lot of great performers on the show and just let them loose. Roddy came through the curtain sporting a "Wrestlefudge" t-shirt, which naturally prompted a pop from The Heel Section. De Sade and Beach were fun to watch and Shiloh had a lot of fire, but this match was all about returning Fronz Roddy to the main title scene. A welcome addition to the top of the card! I'm certainly looking forward to seeing the next step here.

- Pierre "The Beast" Vachon def. Drake Evans, Roman Dominguez, and Vigo in a bloody Final 4-Way, retaining the IYFW Heavyweight Championship

Absolutely the most brutal match I have seen at an In Your Face show. Someone called it "twenty minutes of weapons" and I suppose they weren't wrong. I was struck by just how badly Roman Dominguez seemed to be bludgeoned by the plunder at ringside... Seeing as how this was his first "hardcore" style match, it seemed evident to us at ringside that the boys were giving him a friendly welcome to hardcore wrestling. Chaos, blood, kendo sticks, and insanity ensued. Everyone bled, but Vachon was the gusher for sure... And he would be the victor as well. Definitely a war! JP Black's run as a referee in this match and eventual heel (?) turn was interesting... Mainly because the crowd LOVED it! I'm almost thinking they should put Drake in the heel role and let Black run as the babyface! But I digress... A fun match to cap off the show. We all left the building SHOCKED that Vachon was still the IYFW Champion.

Other Notes:
- no Maxx Burton? At all? Interesting.
- GLW starting a face turn? Ricky Williams turns heel? Fronz is now a full fledged face? And JP is now a bad guy? A lot going on... Not that I'm complaining! As long as its followed up smartly, I think pretty much everything worked. The show was called "EndGame" but it was just as clearly a new beginning as well...
- IYFW returns January 26th to the BACC... And also announced a Wrestling Convention and Show on March 16th also at the BACC. More on that soon!

Tune in to WrestlefudgeTV LIVE right here at wrestlefudge.com this Friday at 7PM to hear in depth recap, analysis and -- as always -- our picks for MATCH, WRESTLER, MOMENT, and FLOP of the Night!