[IWF] Bellingham, MA 3/22
Michael D Crockett
It was once again standing-room-only in the Bellingham High School for
the IWF, for this reason this show has been considered the WrestleMania
of the IWF for a number of years. All floor seats and bleachers spots
were occupied, leaving the late arrivals holding up the walls of the
gym.
At around 7:00, Mr. Bob Backlund made his presence known. He had
tremendous heat. A lack of security allowed the fans to surround him as
he approached the ring. Many times he could be heard saying something
like this...
"If you wish to procure my signature, you must be able to recite the
Presidents of the United States, verbatim, from Washington to Clinton.
Can you do that?"
Another asked Mr. Backlund if he'd shake his hand, and he said something
like, "I don't shake hands. I don't want to <something> you." I had no
idea what the word was, just that I had no idea what it meant. :) It took
15 minutes for Bob to actually utter a word on the mic. He would tilt his
head back, put his hand on his hip, and open his mouth, then look over at
a paticular fan about three rows back on the floor. He'd then hop out of
the ring and get into this guy's face. This happened a few times, and the
crowd never shut up. He finally got on the mic, and ring announcer Mel
Simons entered the ring to start the show at 7:30, and Backlund ordered him
to step aside because the people wanted to hear him speak. He announced
that if the fans continued to bo, he just may leave, and the fans did exactly
what Backlund *didn't* want them to do. :) Honestly, the most heat
I've ever seen on an indy show. Finally, Mr. Bob left, and the show
began.
Triangle Match: Mike Hollow vs. Russian Mauler (w/ the Bug) vs. Tim McNeany
Hollow and Mauler were the heels. A lot of double teaming by the heels
on McNeany. At one point McNeany went to tag the Mauler and the Mauler
turned and checked out the big crowd on hand, snubbing the Fighting
Irishman. Later, Mauler held McNeany for Hollow to hit, and McNeany
ducked, but Hollow still connected with him. It looks as though it may
have been flubbed because Mauler kinda sold it too. They did the spot
again, and Mauler was hit by Hollow, leading to animosity between the
heels. Mauler allowed a McNeany tag late in the bout to hook up with
Hollow. McNeany ended up winning the match, how I don't remember.
Sorry. :-/
Bull Dozer (w/ the Bug) vs. "Gentleman" James Cody (AKA Kid Delicious)
Cody was face this time. For the most part a squash, with a slight
babyface comeback late. He was cut off, however, and it ended with the
same move Vader did off the middle rope onto Gorilla Monsoon. Dozer wins.
"Gorgeous" Chris Duffy (w/The Fire Extinguisher) vs. Brian Walsh
Fire Extinguisher comes out in fireman pants and suspenders. He sometimes
works as a referee. Duffy has lost a huge amount of weight, which kind
of makes the "Fluffy" gimmick pointless. :) Nonetheless, the fans caught
on to it quickly. Two attempted "DuffyDrivers" were thwarted by a back
body drop and a Nothern Lights Suplex, the latter late in the match.
Brian hit a splash off the top rope for a victory. Extinguisher bumped
off the apron. Both manager and wrestler fall out of the ring
simultaneously as the exit. Great match.
Now, Jamie West was a no-show, so this match was a last minute deal...
Snooky Fink vs. Professor Eugene Bickell Guest ref: Freight Train
Fink is a very regular looking guy, and when he was announced (and it
took two announcements for him to get to the ring), no one knew he was
the wrestler until he hopped in the ring in his regular clothes and
glasses. Then Bickell was announced, and the crowd roared in laughter as
he bounced to the ring in full geek garb, complete with a pocket
protector and coke bottle glasses. They lock up when the bell rings,
and Freight Train yells out "HEY!" and they break up. FT says they
can't wrestle with glasses on and Bickell says he can't see a thing
without them, and Snooky concurs. But, alas, they remove them, and it
turns into the blindfold match from a WrestleMania long ago. Remember
that one with Jake Roberts and Rick Martel? Time and time again Train
was bumped when they thought he was the opponent. A few minutes into
the match, the heat died and someone began chanting "boooo-ring". It
really *did* drag on for two long, although I was entertained. But I
laugh at *midget matches*. ;) A funny point (but funny for the wrong
reason) was Bickell whipping Fink into the corner in front of him, then
completely turning and splashing into the wrong corner. A roll-up and pin
out of nowhere by Snooky put the fans out of their misery. It would have
been a better comedy bit if only kept short.
INTERMISSION
IWF title: The Smooth Operator vs. Champ Antoine Roy (w/GQ John Rodeo)
Smoothie did the rapping bit as usual, and damn the fans were into him.
Rodeo was minus the street sign for this one. Usual spots in this one,
and I was personaly hoping for a least a new finish. Babyface comes
back, heels shuts him down quickly. This happens a few times.
Eventually Smooth hits his "Prime Time", a butt-butt, and Roy bumps near
the ropes. Smooth pins Antoine clean!!!! The rugrats (the ankle
biters were out in full force on this night :) ) charge the ringside area,
surrounding the ring. as the Operator celebrates, title in hand. But
wait!!! Rodeo puts Roy's foot on the rope!!! The fans were so close, that
they knocked Roy's foot off the rope not once, but twice!!! Apparently,
the kiddies don't hear when Mel announces that the match will continue!!!
I make a lap around the ring, camcorder running, and reiterate the fact
that the match is still on. Finally they get back to their seats.
Antoine goes to lariat Smooth, but he ducks and Antoine nails the
referee!!! Then, Roy and Smoothie butt heads and both drop to the mat.
GQ John grabs a chair from the ringside table and raises it high for all
the fans to see. Resounding boos. He slides it into the ring between
the two. Antoine is first up to his feet and when he bends over to pick up
the chair, he's slammed head-first into it by the Smooth Operator!!!
Smooth covers Roy, but the ref is still out. Suddenly, like a bat outta
hell, another wrestler comes from the locker room running towards the
ring!!! He looks remarkably like Antoine and has the same beard and
outfit as him. He goes to the top rope and drops a double axehandle on
Smoothie's back. He then rolls Anotine out of the ring, saying something
in French, and covers Smooth with both hands hiding his head. The ref
shakes off the cobwebs and we get a THREE COUNT! When the ref presents
the belt, this apparent brother of Antoine turns his back to him and
grabs the belt. As the ref holds up his arm, he hides his head with his
free hand. Smooth then grabs him and shows him to the ref, who is quite
confused. On this note, Antoine reenters the ring and attacks Smooth from
behind. A double clothesline is ducked, and Smooth clotheslines them
both!!! Both Roy brothers then run towards Smooth and he gives them a
simultaneous doubel japanese armdrag, which looks perfect. He then slams
their heads together and they both fall. Each Roy is then given a Prime
Time, and they each roll out of the ring and escape. Rodeo then
struggles with Smooth, who is trying to get him in the ring, but Rodeo
manages to slither away. Smooth is announced victorious by DQ to a very
loud pop, but the fans are upset to realize that while Smoothie is in
possession of the title belt, Antoine remains the champ. Well, I got my
wish...a new finish. And a great one it was. Considering the heat and
workrate, the best match of the night.
Main Event: Bob Backlund vs. Doink the Brawler :) Ref: Killer Kowalski
Yes, announcer Simons forgot to call Backlund "Mister". Tisk, tisk. :)
Again, the heat Backlund got from the crowd was unbelieveable. Long time
before a lockup, as Backlund and Doink would exchange getting reactions
from the crowd. Backlund would raise his hands, the crowd would boo.
Doink raised his, and cheers rang out. It was so pinpoint that Doink
actually simply started pointing to Bob, and they would boo, then point to
himself and they'd cheer, and he did it faster and faster until it
started sounding like "Boo-Yeah, Boo-Yeah, Boo-Yeah". :) Now, I've seen
this match with no heat, and it wasn't pretty. This time, the fans were
very much into it, and were not bothered by the slow, slow pace.
BAcklund hits one move, he gloats. Doink does, he makes fun of the way
Backlund gloats. And so on. :) Of course, the babyface goes over in
this situation, or it's riot time. :) They don't have the security to do
anything about it, so Doink wins. :) Again, fans swarm to the ring, and
Backlund remains in the ring for quite some time after the defeat.
I said this was the WrestleMania of the IWF going in, and no one was
disappointed coming out. The fans were great. They're like Mexican
jumping beans when they get excited, but they're still pretty good. :)
If you want to see the IWF at its best, come around next year to
Bellingham. For those that want to wet their appetite just a little bit
earlier :), they head to Blackstone, MA on next Saturday, March 30th.
The main eventer is Doink, and that's it. After that, a new couple of
superstars who go by the names ISAAC YANKEM, DDS and FATU. More in
regard to the dates for these shows in the near future. Thanks for
reading...
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Mike Crockett "crock" on IRC
University of Massachusetts croc...@student.umass.edu
"Broken promises don't upset me. I just think, why did they believe me?"
- Jack Handey
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