Travis Banks has earned his place in the main event of Nightmare B4 Xmas with a win over Tykade this past Saturday at IPW Last Chance.
Banks pinned Tykade in the night’s featured contest and will now look to do the same when he faces “The One” Vinny Dunn for the IPW Championship in a Fans Bring the Weapons bout on December 7.
Dunn served as the Interim Head of Live Events at Last Chance (Steve Wrigley was unable to attend) and wasted little time in appointing himself special referee for the night’s main event.
It looked as though Banks would be in for an uphill battle as bell-time approached.
Dunn refused to ring the bell and start the match when both men entered the ring, allowing himself to retain a slight sense of impartiality when Tykade attacked Banks and dragged him out of the ring, brawling through the crowd in a scenario that would almost certainly have led to a disqualification or count-out had the match been underway.
Once both men returned to the ring and the bell finally sounded Banks was able to build some momentum against Tykade, using his quickness to his advantage.
Every time it looked like Banks might be able to take the big man off his feet though, Tykade would counter, rattling Banks with an elbow when Banks launched himself off the top rope, for example.
Banks changed his strategy and tried to secure a submission victory with an armbar on Tykade. However, Tykade’s size made it easy for him to reach for a rope break, and Dunn wasted no time in physically dragging Banks off of the “Bigger Figure”.
Banks stayed on the attack regardless, capitalising when Tykade collided with the ring post and drilling his opponent with a forearm in the corner, followed by a facebuster and a flying knee strike.
Banks then took to the air for a cross-body press, but Tykade turned the tables on Banks in a second aerial assault when he flung the former IPW Champion sky-high and caught him for a brutal powerbomb.
The move could only keep Banks down for a two-count though, even with Dunn officiating.
Banks then latched onto Tykade and attempted to bring him to the mat with the Lion Clutch. Tykade struggled but couldn’t shake his tenacious opponent and ultimately succumbed, falling to the mat trapped firmly in Banks’ punishing submission.
The Agents of Change, Aaron Henry and Jakob Cross, rushed to the ring, and Dunn turned a blind eye as the two attacked Banks to free Tykade from the Lion Clutch.
James Shaw, who had been banned from the building earlier in the evening, then hurtled through the crowd to the ring to prevent a four-on-one assault on Banks.
Shaw outwitted Cross, Dunn and Henry, sending each man out over the top rope before wiping them all out with a suicide dive to leave Banks and Tykade alone in the ring.
IPW official Lloyd Morgan made his way to the ring to oversee the rest of the match just as Banks bundled Tykade (fighting to avoid the Lion Clutch again) into a small package for the win, claiming the number one contender’s spot and a main event, Fans Bring the Weapons, IPW Championship match at Nightmare Before Xmas.
IPW Last Chance Results:
- James Shaw def. Pat Schisk
Shaw embarrassed Schisk when he beat him with a fist drop from the top rope followed up with a DVD. Schisk hastily got on the phone to IPW Head of Live Events Steve Wrigley after the match and informed Shaw he had been banned from the building, effective immediately. - Joel Clementson def. Liger via disqualification
In somewhat of a grudge match, Clementson wasted little time taking the fight to Liger. Liger, in turn, soon brought his kilikiti bat into the equation. Pirate Burns left his seat at the commentary desk and tried to stop Liger, but was knocked down before the Strong Style Supervillain hit Clementson to cause a disqualification. Liger continued his assault after the match, and used a pair of scissors to cut off Burns’ trademark moustache. - Britenay def. Khan
Khan issued an open challenge and was shocked to see a woman answer the call. Britenay made her way to the ring and went toe-to-toe with Khan, showing him just what she was capable of. Khan tried to bend the rules and choke Britenay with a flag but the “Perfect Woman” snagged Khan with a roll-up to get the better of him and take home the win. - 3-on-2 Handicap Match:
TnT (Lil T & TK Cooper) def. The Agents of Change (Aaron Henry & Jakob Cross) & Curt Chaos
Alfred Valentine could not be found for what was originally scheduled to be a six-man tag, and when Kingi accused the Agents of Change of taking him out, he too was assaulted before the match. TnT hurried to help the former IPW Champion and agreed to fight against the odds for a chance to get even with the IPW tag team champs. Despite a numbers advantage, Chaos, Cross and Henry would still come up short when miscommunication led to Henry clocking Chaos with a Superman Punch. Lil T then covered Chaos while TK Cooper neutralised Cross with a suicide dive to the outside. - IPW Women’s Championship:
No Contest: Emmy Driver (c) w/ Pat Schisk vs. Evie
Evie picked Emmy up for a TTYL as soon as the match began, and “Classic” Pat Schisk wasted no time in dragging Emmy out of the ring to safety. Emmy ran backstage as the referee declared the match a no contest, preventing Evie from reclaiming the IPW Women’s Championship. Frustrated, Evie drilled Schisk with a Yakuza Kick after the bout. - Curt Chaos def. Tuff
Tuff, channelling late WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero, missed his mark with a frog splash and allowed Chaos to capitalise with the Chaos Theory for the win. - #1 Contender’s Match to the IPW Championship:
Travis Banks def. Tykade [Special Referee: Vinny Dunn]
Interference from the Agents of Change and James Shaw removed Vinny Dunn from the match, allowing Banks to bundle Tykade into a small package while a new, impartial referee counted the pin.
