Saturday evening saw the reinvention of IPW as Genesis wowed a full house at Pt Chevalier School Auditorium. The show contained seven action-packed matches that kept the crowd vocal throughout the show. Lyte Playa fought champion Davey Deluxeo for the IPW title in the main event of the night, which went back and forth for nearly 20 minutes. Everyone in attendance was on their feet as Lyte Playa hit the Swanton Bomb for the three count and became only the third IPW Champion. The event finished with an emotional Playa receiving an enormous and heartfelt standing ovation in a moment that will become part of IPW folklore.
Ring announcer Troy R-F kicked us off with his usual vigour, causing the crowd to roar in anticipation of the first ever IPW “house show” as we went straight into the action…
Ransom w/ ‘Camera Boy’ Garrick Black v. Victor Lucid
Lucid received a great reaction from the audience but it was Ransom who dominated the early minutes of this match with a slow deliberate offense. Lucid was able to take the advantage when Ransom went to the top rope but was brought down with an arm drag. Lucid came extremely close to winning, firstly with a tornado DDT and secondly with a huge splash from the top rope. He signalled for the shining wizard, ran to the ropes and had his leg grabbed by Camera Boy which allowed Ransom to hit the Paycheck for the three count.
Winner: Ransom by pinfall.
Camera Boy then grabbed the mic and proceeded to rant that women don’t belong in professional wrestling and talked about his recent encounters with Samira. He then talked about his arm injury which resulted in a booming “Wanker’s wrist” chant, and eventually led to Black explaining that he has chosen an opponent to replace him. This match would also have some stipulations: if Samira wins then Black leaves IPW, if she loses, then Samira has to cook him some eggs. Black announces the mystery opponent as none other than the returning Jon E. King who immediately let Camera Boy know that he didn’t like him, but would take the opportunity to make his comeback.
Samira v. Jon E. King in a “Cook Me Some Eggs” match
The crowd was split for this match and there was no advantage for either competitor for the majority of this match. King did briefly get the advantage using his quickness and technical ability, only to be countered by the strength of Samira. Things began to look good for King when he hit some solid chops to the chest, however Samira was able to recover and utilise a neck breaker for a 2 count. After hitting some chops of her own, Samira was clearly hurt by a reverse DDT and retreated to the outside after a 2 count for King. The time allowed her to recover and she was able to whip Jon E. into the ring post. It was at this point that Camera Boy stopped Samira from re-entering the ring, which allowed King to win by count out.
Winner: Jon E. King by count out.
Black then began to set up a gas cooker in the ring, suspiciously using his so-called injured arm, and broke an egg on Samira’s head to the crowd’s disgust. Samira responded with a low blow and a series of shots with the frying pan which left Camera Boy prone as Samira broke the remaining eggs over his face to great applause.
Joey Kinkade v. Little T
T started this one off by sneaking in through a side door and attacking Kinkade and getting a quick two count. However once Kinkade took the offensive advantage Little T began to walk out of the auditorium, only to be chased down by his opponent and thrown back into the ring. The action went back and forth until Little T took a clear advantage targeting the spine of Kinkade. This strategy had Joey in trouble as the crowd rallied behind him. Out of nowhere Kinkade was able to apply a half Boston crab on Little T and it looked like that would be the end of the match. Instead T was able to reverse it into a half crab of his own. Unable to get a submission T went for a suplex but Kinkade was able to reverse it which left both men down and out. Neither man could gain a sustained advantage from this point onwards and T recovered from a death valley driver to hit his finisher to end the standout match of the undercard.
Winner: Little T by pinfall.
Little T did nothing to help his fan approval rating by choking Kinkade after the bell.
Luke Joshua w/ Sam, Sam, the Dancing Yam v. The Economist
Both men received strong reactions from the vocal crowd as the entered the ring. The Economist got things started by cheap-shotting his opponent as the ref was checking Joshua. The Economist was able to dominate from this point with a long series of submissions and illegal holds. Eventually Joshua was able to recover and dominate The Economist with some high impact moves culminating with a giant plancha that sent the crowd wild. Luke Joshua gave his opponent a little too much space and he was able to even up the contest with a knee to the midsection. However as they were contesting for an advantage, The Economist’s knee gave out. Joshua didn’t take advantage of the injury and instead went for a top rope legdrop and injured his ankle in the process allowing The Economist to lock in an ankle lock submission for the victory.
Winner: The Economist by submission.
We returned from intermission and it was time for the first main event when Heartless Alfred Valentine came to the ring to the chants of HAV!
‘Heartless’ Alfred Valentine v. Daddy Kool
The match started with a few shoves and slaps, leading to traded punches and the action was underway! Daddy Kool quickly took the advantage and began to focus heavily on the spine on Valentine as the crowd showed their disdain for the X-S member. Out of nowhere HAV went for the spinning back fist which was ducked, and Daddy Kool went right back to the spine with a bear hug. Kool was clearly in control until Valentine hit a huge clothesline, much to the crowd’s delight. Heartless had the advantage but was clearly hurting from the damage inflicted during the match. As a result he kept his offensive deliberate before throwing Kool to the outside. He climbed to the top rope and flew to the outside with a cross-body the lifted the crowd to its feet.
Both men were hurt, but Valentine was up first, allowing him to continue his dominance until an attempted DDT was reversed into a northern lights suplex. Kool continued to work on the spine of HAV before he removed a turnbuckle pad. After a couple of failed attempts to utilise the exposed turnbuckle, Valentine again swung with the spinning back fist which was again ducked and Kool took over again with a clothesline.
All of the matches, other than the title match, had a 15 minute time limit and the fans were reminded that only a few minutes remained as Daddy Kool continued to target the spine of Valentine. He climbed to the top but was crotched by his desperate opponent. Valentine met Kool at the top and nailed a top-rope hurricanrana as the crowd roared their support. He climbed back to the top for a dropkick and again as the crowd rose in anticipation of the 450 splash. It missed his opponent, but Valentine quickly recovered to link a couple of suplexes together. Daddy Kool caught Valentine by surprise with a couple of German suplexes and got a two count with 15 seconds remaining. HAV appeared to be in trouble as the time ticked away until he hit the spinning back fist! However the time expired before the pinfall could be made, much to the crowd’s disapproval.
Result: time limit draw.
A chant of “WE WANT MORE!” could probably be heard from Hamilton, and one got the impression that that’s exactly what they will get in the near future.
Jarvis Solid v. Sam, Sam the Dancing Yam
Unsurprisingly, Solid easily dominated for the first four or five minutes and after a two count he went to hassle the referee. The Yam saw his chance and took it, getting a two count and hitting the surprised Jarvis with a few big moves including a sliding cross body to the outside. Solid recovered with an enziguri and slowed the pace while the crowd chanted Y A M, some with YMCA style actions. Solid went to ringside to get the bell, and as the ref returned it he pulled the Yam testicles first into the ring post.
Solid was clearly enjoying punishing the Yam and once he finally went for the pinfall he was shocked to be unable to keep Sam down. After a few attempts over a few minutes, Jarvis became increasingly frustrated and the Yam took advantage with a dropkick and the battering yam and then missed what could best be described as a running cartwheel backsplat. Jarvis went to the top, but the Yam recovered to crotch him on the top turnbuckle. An airplane spin and two clotheslines later, Jarvis countered with a sleeper hold but refused to let Sam’s arm drop for the third time. Solid climbed to the top and hit a giant elbow for the win.
Winner: Jarvis Solid by pinfall.
Davey Deluxeo (c) w/ Jordan Invincible v. Lyte Playa for the IPW championship
There was certainly no question about who the fans in attendance wanted to see win this championship match. Playa started things off with an extremely popular series of insults that can’t be given justice in print. The match started cautiously when Deluxeo briefly used his strength advantage to dominate until Lyte Playa was able to retaliate with a series of fast paced kicks and punches. Deluxeo retreated to the outside, and returned twice solely to break the count, while the crowd let him know what they thought of that. The break allowed Deluxeo to regain his bearings and he recovered to dominate with chokes in the corner. Lyte Playa was then thrown to the outside where he was stomped and kicked by Invincible. After a big suplex and an arrogant cover, Deluxeo distracted the ref which allowed Jordan Invincible to further beat on Playa, resulting in a 2 count. The same stunt was attempted again, but this time the ref caught Jordan in the process.
With the champion offguard, Playa was able to hit a quick succession of high impact moves. Attempting to get into his natural high flying style backfired as Deluxeo caught him with a right hand as he attempted to slingshot into the ring. Deluxeo then slowed things down with a side headlock. After a T-Bone suplex and a near fall, Double D returned to the headlock, which Playa fought out of and sent Deluxeo to the outside. When Playa went to the top turnbuckle, Invincible pushed him to the floor and he was whipped into the ring post as Invincible was banished from ringside by the official. Deluxeo dominated the match until an enziguri from Playa left both men down. The crowd got behind Lyte Playa as both guys rose but were silenced when Davey immediately knocked Playa down. The high flyer managed to turn the tide and even got a long two count before going to the top again, where he was met by the champion who delivered a huge superplex that left both competitors lying.
Double D was able to drape an arm over for a two count. He signalled for the Hungman’s Neckbreaker but Lyte Playa reversed it into a Texas cloverleaf submission. The hot crowd smelled victory as Playa dragged the champion to the middle of the ring. However Lyte Playa sensed that Deluxeo wasn’t going to tap and went for a quick three count instead. After two near falls, Deluxeo left the ring, grabbed his belt and headed for the entrance. He was met by Victor Lucid so Davey tried another exit, where Luke Joshua and Sam, Sam forced him to try door number three where Joey Kinkade was waiting. As Deluxeo turned around, Playa flew from the top. Back in the ring, Playa attempted a pin fall, and Jordan Invincible returned to interrupt. Lyte Playa knocked him off the apron, climbed to the top rope as the crowd rose to their feet. The young cruiserweight then hit a Swanton Bomb for the 1…2…3 as the crowd exploded!
Winner and New IPW Champion: Lyte Playa by pinfall.
The teary eyed Lyte Playa was congratulated by Lucid, Joshua, Yam and Kinkade as the crowd cheered and applauded the new champion. It was an emotional finale to a show that, like Slaughter in the South and Last Rites before it, set a new benchmark for modern wrestling in New Zealand.
