Wrestling Review // IWA Mid-South Battle Of The Sexes (IWTV)

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Buy the DVD here ::: https://smartmarkvideo.com/dvd/iwa-mid-south-blu-ray-dvd-april-1-2021-battle-broads-battle

IWTV calls this one "Battlebroads" and also does not air the Joseline Navarro vs. Kevin Giza match that CageMatch says took place but oh well to both.   This was an interesting show because it put a man up against a woman in most matches and people who feel like those aren't realistic enough or whatever would have a heart attack if they ever saw this show.   I've never understood that mentality of fans not "buying into" a man vs a woman.   UFC taught us that anyone can beat anyone based on size, so why should whether you're a man or woman play a role in that?  Plus, there are some badass women out there who can clearly beat up a large number of men.  But I won't name names.

This show started with Larry D (who I think is on Impact) against Thunderkitty.   Thunderkitty showed us what women can do that men can't as she repeatedly hit Larry D in the crotch area to cause a DQ.   It's funny though because there was a strong point being made that these matches were under old school IWA-MS rules which meant there shouldn't have been a DQ.   Larry D should have just had to tap or it should have been ref stoppage but that would both reflect upon Thunderkitty being the winner here so I'm just going to remember this match as if Thunderkitty got the W.

While I am a fan of Thunderkitty and knew Larry D from Impact, I didn't know anyone in the next few matches.   Hollywood Haley J, Kyle Hawk, Arie Alexander, Corey Storm and even some of the tag team participants are names I might have seen somewhere before but I don't recall any specific matches with any of them to the point where I think "Oh yeah, I know her".   Hollywood Haley J is one to watch.   The tag team championship match was a little bit weird but from what I can gather there was supposed to be a match but someone got hurt so Zodiak wanted the shot and had to find a partner.   It's just weird to me that the tag team scene in independent wrestling is so strong right now and you see not a tag team challenging for titles.

My match of the night (and really one we should talk about all year) is Queen Aminata vs. Aaron Williams.  If you've never seen either of these competitors before, please do yourself the favor of starting with this match.  Queen Aminata is someone I will go out of my way to watch wrestle and Aaron Williams is quickly becoming one of the best on the planet today (see what I did there?)   And this match delivered all that you could hope for and more.   It's definitely going into my year end list and it's just sitting there for IWTV subscribers to watch so why not do it now before someone cooler than me tells you to in like five years.

John Wayne Murdoch taking on Alice Crowley was also a match I wanted to see- it was literally the two matches back to back I watched this show for- and it did not disappoint either.  If you've ever doubted the toughness of Alice Crowley, you need to watch this match because she can hang.   And this was also a match which I hope puts more eyes on Alice Crowley.  She's someone we'll hopefully be talking a lot more about this year.

The main event saw Jake Crist retain the title over Kongo Kong in a wild fight.   The first thing I want to say about this match is how much fun it is to see someone like Kongo Kong on Impact and then also see him here, in IWA-MS.  I'm not saying that Impact treats him like a joke, but there is just this unpredictable monster side to Kongo Kong that you fear in IWA-MS and maybe not so much in Impact.  I also want to say that this show was taped before Wrestlemania week so it was before the IWTV showcase had Jake Crist defend the title against John Wayne Murdoch.  

As you may or may not know, JWM defeated Jake Crist to become IWA-MS Champion during Wrestlemania week on IWTV.   We all saw it.  But there is a move that JWM is banned from using and he used it to win the match so, as they told me on Twitter, IWA-MS reversed the decision.   Look, I get that there are rules and whatever, but if your shoulders are down and the ref counts to three, that's all that should matter.   If Jake Crist somehow, for example, had his foot on the ropes and a three count was made would IWA-MS go back and reverse the decision a few days later?  I hope not because shit happens.

Back in the early '00's I was all about IWA-MS.   I watched classic matches with CM Punk, Chris Hero, Cesaro, etc.   It was just like a who's who of wrestling at the time.  And Dave Prazak did a lot of the commentary with the wrestlers, which was great.    Somewhere along the way I stopped watching as much wrestling and that lead to me not buying DVDs off of eBay as much.  But being able to watch all of these different promotions- including IWA-MS- on IWTV for one low price... if I had this in 2005 I'd be a much bigger mark than I am today.  But yes, it's nice to feel a sense of familiarity in watching IWA-MS again and I'm going to watch and hope that John Wayne Murdoch gets that title back.