The Anarchy Wrestling League

[YI]

July 13th 2004 – 32 year old, local, Illinois entrepreneur, Ricky Butcher looks to be planning on opening a new independent promotion. Although no official announcement has been made, we have been given information that Butcher has been in talks with some of the major Midwest independents, such as IWAMS, RCW, LWF and MSPW about the possibilities of using there names and trademarks for a double shot weekend sometime in August. We’ll bring you more concrete information as we get it. For additional information on Ricky Butcher, please click here…

www.chicagowrestling.com

July 20th 2004 – One week ago we reported of rumours of entrepreneur Ricky Butcher opening a wrestling promotion under the banner of his R/B plc. This was partly true and partly not. Butcher or more specifically, R/B will be the financial backing of the company and will be no more than sleeping partners. The idea was pitched to R/B by Mike Galloway. Galloway was the promoter for the now defunct, Michigan Marquee Wrestling Association. We are currently unsure whether or not the deal will mean a new wrestling promotion, or the re-launch of MMWA. But more than likely it will be the former, due to R/B wanting the promotion’s home to be in Illinois so they can keep close tabs on them. So despite them being the money backers, they have a lot of stroke within the company, mostly because, without their backing there wouldn’t be a company.

www.chicagowrestling.com

ANARCHY WILL BE BORN!!!

Anarchy will rise again all over Illinois, and the rest of the Midwestern states as THE ANARCHY WRESTLING LEAGUE will be born, in a double shot weekend in association with IWA:Midsouth, NWA Midwest, Revolution Championship Wrestling, “Dan Severn’s” Midwest Wrestling Alliance, Lunatic Wrestling Federation and Midwestern States Pro Wrestling. The Weekend will be made up, primarily of a 16 man tournament, featuring 16 of the best talents who wrestle regularly in the Midwest area, to find who is “The Best in the Midwest!”. The weekend, which kicks off on Saturday the 21st of August, when round one of the tournament gets underway at the “Centralia Recreation Complex in Centralia, Illinois”. The tournament will then reach a climax on Sunday the 22nd of August, as the quarterfinals, semi-finals and then the grand final will all be contested. Once again, night 2 of this prestigious tournament will be at the “Centralia Recreation Complex in Centralia, Illinois”. Tickets for both nights are on sail separately, $20 per night for a reserved seats in the front row(s) or $15 at the door, for a seat further back or in the bleachers. Look for the first 4 contestants in the tournament to be announced in the coming days!

July 24th 2004

www.tawl-online.co.uk

FIRST 4 COMPETITORS!!!

The AWL are proud to announce the following names for our, Best in the Midwest tournament, which takes place on the 21st and 22nd of August. The first four competitors are……

Roderick Strong : Strong is a young up and comer. He has a few years under his belt but it’s only been the past year or so when he has truly broken out. He’s made a name for himself in the Midwest, in the Tri-state area as well as in Florida. Strong who was recently promoted to the head trainer of the NWA:Florida training camp, sees this tournament as his chance to finally make it huge.  If there were an even more perfect entrant for the tournament, we’re yet to find him.

Austin Aries : Aries has pretty much been the breakout star of 2004. Making himself known amongst the indy scene after some impressive performances in IWA:MS he has really broken into the mainstream after some impressive performances in Ring of Honor. But he still sees the Midwest as his adopted home, and he’s looking to prove that he really is the brightest star of 2004.

Shawn Daivari : Daivari has come to The AWL with a grudge, a grudge on Austin Aries. The two met in the ECCW Super J tournament and Aries came out on top. Daivari thought he had chance of winning the tournament, so this defeat highly frustrated him. It also gave him a new sense of ambition and he walked out as this years I-8 Champion, actually defeating Austin Aries on the way. Daivari is a natural heel and the crowd can’t help but hate him. Daivari will come to his tournament on his magic carpet, will he leave with the trophy?

Vic Capri : Three years ago Vic picked up an injury which ultimately forced him into premature retirement during an I-8 match with CM Punk. But wrestling was in his blood so he couldn’t just leave. So since then he’s been making appearances for some small independents in Chicago. And recently he’s stepped back into the squared circle, of course not full time, one wrong move and he could be crippled. And he literally jumped at the chance to enter this tournament. Capri who is like a god in the Midwest, is relatively unknown elsewhere, and he sees this tournament as a way to make himself nationally recognised, plus to prove to himself that he can still do it.

Once again, look for more contenders to be announced in the coming days.

July 26th 2004

www.tawl-online.co.uk

Edited June 7, 2005 by Funk Odyssey

[YI]

TOTAL OF ENTRANTS NOW 11!!!/ADDITIONAL NON-TOURNAMENT MATCHES!!!

A huge, 7 more competitors have been announced for the Best in the Midwest tournament, they are...

Chandler McClure : The young McClure is an accomplished tag team and singles wrestler. In The AWL he will be working singles as he looks to win the tournament. The Human Rulebook will definately be a dark horse due to his immense knowledge of rules (In general) and how to break, I mean bend them to his advantage.

Acid : This is sure to be a popular pick amongst the fans. Acid has gotten over huge this past year or so, with some phenomenal performances in RCW he has soon become one of the biggest fan faces all across the Midwest. Now he's attempting to make a name for himself across the whole of the USA, and this is the opportunity.

Ken Anderson : Ken Anderson is pretty much an all round package. He's got a menacing look, he's got great aerial ability, stunning technical skill, and can give a beating in as many different ways that you can think of. Also, he recently competed in a Barbed Wire Cage Deathmatch, showing that he will not back down from any challenge. So 4 men to beat? That's nothing.

Justin Kage : A very promising, young talent. Trained alongside Chandler McClure and others at MSPW's training camp under the tutorage of Jayson Reign and then Eric Priest. Kage prefers high paced matches, but can also work at a slower paced technical match. The only downfall he may have is his size, at only 5'7 he's the smallest man in the tournament.

Matt Sydal : Matt Sydal has pretty much become a household name across the independent scene. He reguarly makes appearences fo NWA:Wildside and IWA:Midsouth, where until recently was long reigning Light Heavyweight Champion. Sydal is a young, outstanding talent, whos gaining popularity all over the USA, but he is still yet to win the big one.

Delirious : To call this young kid Deranged would be wrong. He's more than Deranged. What happened to him is unknown, but Deranged is simply messed in the head. He formed a close friendship and tag team with Matt Sydal in IWAMS, but after a miss-understanding Delirious went insane. And eventually defeated Sydal for his Light Heavyweight Title. Since then, Delirious has been particuarly unstable, what will he be like in The AWL?

Johnny Dynamo : Johnny Dynamo is a pupil of Dan Severn. He works a very mat based style, and would be a very competent wrestler if he didn't get distracted, by celebrating excessively, and continuously trying to hit a move, despite it being reversed many times before. Will Dynamo be able to keep focussed and win the Tournament?

We are also proud to announce that reigning "IWAMS Heavyweight Champion" Petey Williams will be in the house for our double shot weekend, and he has confirmed that he will be defending the title on the second night of the show. Who against you ask? Well the winner of a ferocious Ironman match between Jimmy Jacobs and Alex Shelley! These two have been at each others throats for as long as either can remember. And despite think that the Best of 7 Series in IWAMS finished it, this kind of feud never ends. So not only self satisfaction on the line, so's a shot at the IWAMS Heavyweight Championship.

We'd also like to confirm the following people for Non-Tournament matches or appearences on the 8/21... Daizee Haze, Dan Severn, Eric Priest, Jimmy Rave, Mickie Knuckles and Ms Chif.  More to be announced soon.

Also the Non-Tournament line up for 8/22 include the additions of... Aero, Ray Gordy and Salvatore Rinaurro.

July 30th 2004

www.tawl-online.co.uk

FINALISED ROSTER FOR 8/11-8/12 DOUBLE SHOT WEEKEND!!!

Brad Bradley : Brad Bradley is the first of two men in this tournament who have conquered the Southwest, and more specifically So-Cal. Bradley who's siz may fool you that he's a stiff brawler is anything but. Of course, he could pretty much outbrawl most of the tournament, he can also fly with the best of them. He brings 110% to the table everytime, it's going to take something special to beat him.

Mike Strider : Another man relatively unknown outside the Midwest area. Strider is pretty much an ass kicking badass who'll stop at nothing in order to get the win, and the crowd love it. One of the more experienced people in the field, with 8 years under his belt (Only 1 worked longer) he has the knowledge and possibly even an advantage. Can he do it though? He'll give it his best shot, and then some more.

Adam Evans : Despite being the tender age of 18 has 4 years of experience in proffessional wrestling. Trained by the first I-8 winner Brandon Bishop, he has quickly become a marvel of the Midwest. Evans also has a very impressive physique. This is due to him being an avid body builder. He's got the body, but also the talent to back in up.

Danny Daniels : First came to the publics attention as the corrupt referee in ECW. Since then he's lost a bit of hair and has proven his worth as a very solid technical wrester. Who's not afraid to bust out some high risk moves every so often. Despite being a former IWAMS Heavyweight Champion, Daniels is often overlooked. Now it's his chance to make an impact.

Vito Thomaselli : Started life in the Midwest indy scene. But then emigrated to California, where he spent most of the past year. But still made some appearences in the Midwest. He even forced Acid out of RCW in a Loser Leaves RCW match. So he better watch his back, because Acid wants revenge. Will he be able to concentrate on winning the tournament, knowing he's a marked man?

We'd also like to announce four other talents that will be appearing at our debut weekend. On both the nights, the outside of the area talents Sabian (CZW) and female UK wrestler, Nikita (FWA) will be on the card. Plus on the 8/22 show Matt Maverick, who was the first ever MMWA Heavyweight Champion, will make his debut. Plus sometime over the weekend, Ian Rotten will be making a special guest appearence!

The weekend looks huge and the matches are still to be announced yet!

August 2nd 2004

www.tawl-online.co.uk

(OOC : The reason no preview has been posted yet is that I want to put up mini-bios for the competitors, but i'm not quite finished them yet)

[YI]

COMPETITOR BIOS

NAME : Acid

AGE : 23

HEIGHT : 6'0

WEIGHT : 210lbs

LOCATION : Hollywood, California

STYLE : US Style Methodical Cruiserweight

FINISHER(S) : Springboard 450 Splash, Styles Clash

THEME MUSIC : "Feel good hit of the Summer" by QOTSA

BIO : Despite being born in Hollywood, he hasn't really tried to make it big in California. Instead he's moved up north and wrestles for many of the Midwest independents. Not necessarily a house hold indy name, but has been making a massive name for himself in RCW, based in Chicago. He is a good talent, and has quite a bit of charisma, which allows for the fans to rally behind him easily. Was voted the best face wrestler of 2003, by Chicagowrestling.com. But he's coming to The AWL serious with one thing on his mind, winning The Best in the Midwest Tournament.

NAME : Adam Evans

AGE : 18

HEIGHT : 6'1

WEIGHT : 235lbs

LOCATION : Los Angeles, California

STYLE : Old school style brawler and stretcher

FINISHER(S) : Falcon Arrow

THEME MUSIC : "So Cold" by Breaking Benjamin

BIO : Despite his young age Adam Evans possesses the characteristics of someone much supposed his age. Evans, has a good 4 years of training experience despite his young age, as he started training under the tutorage of the first I-8 Tournament winner, Brandon Bishop. Evans is another Californian who's preferred to test the waters of the Midwest as opposed to the Southwest. Evans is also an avid body builder, which is the reason for his monster like structure (for an indy guy). Evans though, unlike most big men is no slouch in the ring and can go with the best of them, but he does often come off as slightly generic. But the big man, with a bigger heart is looking to reinvent himself in AWL, and make his way to the top of the ladder. Starting with The Best in the Midwest tournament.

NAME : Austin Aries

AGE : 20

HEIGHT : 5'9

WEIGHT : 196lbs

LOCATION : Milwaukee, Wisconsin

STYLE : Hard hitting cruiserweight

FINISHER(S) : 450 Splash

THEME MUSIC : "Broken Man #6" by Rage Against the Machine

BIO : Austin Aries, without a doubt will be the breakout star of the independent scene in 2004, and we are privileged to have him with us in The AWL. Aries has been making a name for himself in IWAMS, where like most good Midwestern talent, they get spotted by other independents. Recently Aries has been taking ROH by storm as part of Generation Next, along with Jack Evans and two big Midwest stars (Who are scheduled for the AWL show) Roderick Strong and Alex Shelley. Aries, who has a unique style of stiff strikes, high impact moves and he can also take the air if needs be, which his elegantly executed 450 Splash is a prime example of. Aries who was a finalist at this years ECCW Super J tournament as well as a semi finalist at this years I-8 tournament, is said to be psyched for The Best in the Midwest tournament, as he sees it as an opportunity to eventually make a mark in the industry.

NAME : Brad Bradley

AGE : 26

HEIGHT : 6'4

WEIGHT : 248lbs

LOCATION : Chicago, Illinois

STYLE : Stiff brawler with all round elements

FINISHER(S) : Brainbuster, Lariat

THEME MUSIC : "At the end of August" by 36 Crazyfists

BIO : Don't be surprised by his size, if needs be Brad Bradley can take it to the air along with some of the best cruiserweight on the independent circuit today. He can also match stiff strikes with the likes of B-Boy, Homicide and possibly even Low Ki. But he can also hang up with the straight style brawling of Chris Hero, CM Punk and Ian Rotten. At the end of the day, this bad ass mother fucker has it all. Not only has he become a big name in the Midwest, in the Southwest he's gained a following during his spell in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. He can go toe to toe with the best, but he does have some weaknesses, but they are few and far between. Will the biggest man be the victorious man in The Best in the Midwest tournament?

NAME : Chandler McClure

AGE : 21

HEIGHT : 6'2

WEIGHT : 210lbs

LOCATION : Lake Forest, Illinois

STYLE : Cruiserweight Technician, strongly character based

FINISHER(S) : Vertical Diamond Cutter

THEME MUSIC : "Way Away" by Yellowcard

BIO : Chandler McClure certainly does live up to his nickname of "The Human Rulebook". McClure prides himself in his knowledge of the rules of not only wrestling, but football, soccer, baseball and ping-pong! With his vast knowledge also comes cockyness. McClure often tries to put the referee right about decisions, and uses his knowledge to twist things into his favour. Despite his manipulations, Chandler McClure is a very good wrestler. He has certainly came a long way after graduating from the MSPW training camp and being a sideline official for Cru Jones. So will Chandler outsmart his opponents and take the Best in the Midwest trophy?

NAME : Danny Daniels

AGE : 28

HEIGHT : 5'11

WEIGHT : 195lbs

LOCATION : Chicago, Illinois

STYLE : Technician

FINISHER(S) : Piledriver

THEME MUSIC : "Turn me on Mr Deadman" by Union Underground

BIO : Danny Daniels is often overlooked when regarding high class talent. Daniels really came to the attention of the mainstream public as a corrupt referee in ECW. And before the closure of the company, he started to compete in more and more matches. After ECW closed he's spent 3 great years in the Midwest. He's climbed up to the top of the ladder by showing off his amazing technical skill, as well as garnering some serious heel heat on the way. Last year he reached the tip of his success to date as he had a run with the IWA:Mid South Heavyweight Championship. Since then he's faded slightly but is still there and there about, making odd appearances for various Midwest independents as well as some for ROH, all whilst remaining a regular for IWAMS, and here at AWL we hope he'll remain a regular here.

NAME : Delirious

AGE : 22

HEIGHT : 5'11

WEIGHT : 185

LOCATION : Dante's Inferno~!

STYLE : Cruiserweight but can work a mat based match.

FINISHER(S) : Chemical Imbalance I/II

THEME MUSIC : "I'm Deranged" by David Bowie

BIO : Delirious is one confused individual. And now especially, he's on the breach of insanity. Delirious, believes that he was rejected and turned on by his friend Matt Sydal, after Sydal accidentally struck Delirious during a tag team match. Since then Delirious has been out of control, but it's not his fault, this anger was pent up inside of him for some long, and after the recent turn of events it's all just came flooding out. Will Delirious ever become stable? Or at least, more stable? And will he be able to concentrate on winning the tournament?

NAME : Johnny Dynamo

AGE : 22

HEIGHT : 6'1

WEIGHT : 212lbs

LOCATION : Detroit, Michigan

STYLE : US style Cruiserweight

FINISHER(S) : n/a (Constantly Changing)

THEME MUSIC : "Victim of Reality" by Pennywise

BIO : Johnny Dynamo was trained by the legendary Dan Severn. Dynamo is often looked on as his star pupil. But this tag has seemed to do more bad than good to Johnny Dynamo. Just like every child said to be like one of their parents, they change, in order to make an identity of their own. And Johnny Dynamo has tried to do this. Tried, as he still hasn't found something to suit him yet. So from show to show, he constantly changes gimmick, trying to find something that is him. Will Dan Severn be able to convince him, that he actually is a wrestler? And if he actually concentrated on that, he'd be a very good one. We'll have to see.

NAME : Justin Kage

AGE : 21

HEIGHT : 5'7

WEIGHT : 175lbs

LOCATION : Chicago, Illinois

STYLE : Cruiserweight

FINISHER(S) : Belly to Back Tombstone, Corkscrew Tornado DDT

THEME MUSIC : "Living Legend" by American Accent

BIO : Justin Kage is often said to be the next big thing in some of the smaller independents in the Midwest. Trained in the MSPW training facility, by Jayson Reign and then Eric Priest, Kage certainly has had some of the best trainers. And that can be seen from his in ring performance. Last year became a breakout star, somewhat after some feuds with Chandler McClure and his trainer, Eric Priest. And already this year it looks as if he'll continue in the run of good form as he has captured numerous titles, and he is looking to add the Best in the Midwest trophy to his list.

NAME : Ken Anderson

AGE : 26

HEIGHT : 6'2

WEIGHT : 225lbs

LOCATION : Minneapolis, Minnesota

STYLE : All rounder

FINISHER(S) : Kenton Bomb

THEME MUSIC : "The Only" by Static X

BIO : Ken Anderson has really changed in the past year or so, and it's easily for the better. Anderson hit the gym, modified his look and put in some intensive training, which was turned him from an 180lbs high flyer, to an amazing all round specimen. His modified look makes him look like a champion, and his amazing ability has in the past and will continue to make him a champion. If you were looking for somebody to back in this tournament, Ken Anderson could well be your man. He can work almost any style, he also recently competed in a barbed wire cage deathmatch. Whoever he faces, Ken Anderson will be ready.

NAME : Matt Sydal

AGE : 20

HEIGHT : 5'7

WEIGHT : 168lbs

LOCATION : St Louis, Minnesota

STYLE : High paced cruiserweight, can work a technical match if needs be.

FINISHER(S) : Belly to Belly Moonsault, Shooting Star Press

THEME MUSIC : "Clavicle" by Alkaline Trio

BIO : Matt Sydal is pretty much the new bread of cruiserweight competitor. Despite sharing certain elements, Sydal is not a spot monkey. Sure he works an insanely fast style, and he does pull off some equally insane spots, he's actually a very solid worker. He bumps his ass off, night after night, opponent after opponent and this tournament is not going to be any different. What helped Matt Sydal was that he was often overlooked making him the underdog, but in this tournament he is one of the bigger names, so he's a marked man. Will he be able to pull out the win?

NAME : Michael Strider

AGE : 28

HEIGHT : 6'2

WEIGHT : 220lbs

LOCATION : Kansas City, Missouri

STYLE : Old school, stiff brawler

FINISHER(S) : Old School Neckbreaker

THEME MUSIC : "Rio Bravo" by CKY

BIO : One of the most experienced men in the field with 7 years experience under his belt. But he's also one of the lesser known talents in the tournament. But this wont be anything different than a normal night for Strider. He's promised his usual mix of high impact moves and good old fashioned ass kicking. If there were one man in the field who could surprise the world with a victory, then it could well be Strider. He's sat back long enough, not it's time for him to make his stand, and to walk out as the Best in the Midwest.

NAME : Roderick Strong

AGE : 21

HEIGHT : 5'10

WEIGHT : 210lbs

LOCATION : New Orleans, Louisiana

STYLE : Stiff technician

FINISHER(S) : CX 02, CX 03

THEME MUSIC : "Did My Time" by Korn

BIO : Roderick Strong has been one of the major breakout stars of 2004. He mixes some solid technical holds and counters with some devilish back breakers and rib breakers. Christened as the master of the back breaker, for that reason, Strong physically destroys his opponent before finally finishing them off with one of his stunning yet effective finishing manoeuvres. Strong certainly has the confidence coming into the tournament to pull off the victory, he'll just have to pull out some top draw performances in order to do so.

NAME : Shawn Daivari

AGE : 23

HEIGHT : 5'10

WEIGHT : 187lbs

LOCATION : Tehran, Iran

STYLE : Cruiserweight

FINISHER(S) : Magic Carpet Ride

THEME MUSIC : "Prophecy" by Soulfly

BIO : Currently residing from Minneapolis, Minnesota, Shawn Daivari was the winner of this years I-8 competition. So with a taste of tournament success already this year, he's got to be one of the favourites to walk out as the Best in the Midwest. Daivari is a very good talent, and oozes natural heel heat. He also plays up his heritage and has one of the best finishers in wrestling today, The Magic Carpet ride. Which is a frogsplash but with a magic carpet! Will Daivari pull off the victory and help establish himself even more in the wrestling world?

NAME : Vic Capri

AGE : 28

HEIGHT : 5'8

WEIGHT : 212lbs

LOCATION : Chicago, Illinois

STYLE : Technical cruiserweight. Restricted to mat based wrestling due to injury.

FINISHER(S) : The Icepick

THEME MUSIC : "God Hates us All" by Slayer

BIO : The word legend is thrown around an awful lot in wrestling these days. But if one person in this field could be called a Midwest legend, then it's this man. You might think, how come I haven't heard of him? Well Capri never achieved success outside the Midwest, but here he's regarded very highly by fans. So why did he retire? Well an injury he picked up in the first ever I-8 tournament, in a match with CM Punk eventually forced Vic Capri into premature retirement. But recently he's made a small time comeback to the ring, with minor appearances. And he wants to enter this tournament and win, just to prove, he still can.

NAME : Vito Thomaselli

AGE : 21

HEIGHT : 5'9

WEIGHT : 185lbs

LOCATION : Chicago, Illinois

STYLE : Cruiserweight

FINISHER(S) : Sicilian Driver

THEME MUSIC : "Superstar Pt. 2" by Saliva

BIO : Vito Thomaselli is one of the hottest acts currently on the independent scene. He's an amazing tag team worker as well as a singles worker and has conquered the Midwest and the Southwest. But he's still yet to make a massive impact as a singles wrestler. He's been top of some Midwest promotions, such as RCW, but he never has made a massive impact. But this tournament could change this, as this will provide an opportunity for Thomaselli to make a massive impact, now all he has to do is win it.

Edited August 11, 2004 by YI

[YI]

8/21 - PREVIEW

Additional Best in the Midwest Trophy news

If the tournament wasn't anticipated already amongst wrestlers and fans alike, it will certainly be now. Because the winner will not only be able to call themselves the Best in the Midwest, they will also be crowned the first ever AWL Heavyweight Champion! The belt and the trophy will be awarded following the final, to the victor by Dan Severn and Ian Rotten! But the hard work and determination of the runner up does not go unrecognised here in AWL. As the runner up will receive the first shot at The AWL Heavyweight Title, on our newly signed 9/18 show at "Skate West in Crest Hill, Illinois". So with even more to fight for, expect all the performers to come out with their A-games.

Best in the Midwest Trophy rules

- A random made draw selects the brackets for the tournament. Over the two days the wrestlers will fight through these brackets in knockout competition until 2 men are left to compete in the final of the tournament.

- The 4 stages/rounds of the tournament all have allotted time limits. First Round = 20 minutes, Quarterfinals = 30 minutes, Semi-Finals = 45 minutes and the Final = 60 minutes (1 Hour).

- Victories can be picked up one of 6 ways, Pinfall, Submission, Knockout, Countout (20 count), Disqualification and forfeit.

- If the matches go over the time limit then the match will be declared a draw. With no clear winner, both men are eliminated from the tournament, giving their next round opponent a bye into the following round.

- However I some cases of a draw, the referee may use his authority to sanction an extra 5 minutes onto the match. But this will only be used in extreme circumstances.

The Draw!

As previously stated the draw is completely random. For ease we have given all first round matches a specific name of code. These are A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2, D1, D2. This is just for user ease if fans wish to plan out how the tournament works. For example the quarterfinal matches will be the winners 1 and 2 fighting each other (eg. A1 vs A2). And from then on the rest of the tournament is easy to work out.

8/21 - BEST IN THE MIDWEST - NIGHT 1

Tournament Matches…

Match A1 - Roderick Strong vs Vic Capri

Match A2 - Danny Daniels vs Ken Anderson

Match B1 - Adam Evans vs Austin Aries

Match B2 - Michael Strider vs Shawn Daivari

Match C1 - Brad Bradley vs Johnny Dynamo

Match C2 - Delirious vs Matt Sydal

Match D1 - Acid vs Justin Kage

Match D2 - Chandler McClure vs Vito Thomaselli

Non-Tournament Matches

Non-Title Match - Jimmy Rave vs "The IWAMS Heavyweight Champion" Petey Williams (15 Minute Time Limit)

30 Minute Ironman Match - Alex Shelley vs Jimmy Jacobs

And also…

Daizee Haze and Mickie Knuckles vs Mc Chif and Nikita

And…

"The Underwear Model" Eric Priest vs Sabian

(OOC : Cheers for pointing that out Magell, Rave/Jacobs they're similar names )

Edited August 12, 2004 by YI

[Greg The Smooth]

This looks really good YI. I hope to see a Roderick vs. Aries match.

[magell]

This is looking pretty good. I can't wait to see the shows from this and I like the wrestlers you have signed as some are pretty big names but you get some area talent that isn't very well known.

The bios for each wrestler were very good.

Shouldn't it be Alex Shelley vs. Jimmy Jacobs in the ironman match not Jimmy Rave.

I hope Brad Bradley does very poorly in the tournament.

I liked seeing you mention the MMWA.

[Hellfire]

Match A1 - Roderick Strong vs Vic Capri

Match A2 - Danny Daniels vs Ken Anderson

Match B1 - Adam Evans vs Austin Aries

Match B2 - Michael Strider vs Shawn Daivari

Match C1 - Brad Bradley vs Johnny Dynamo

Match C2 - Delirious vs Matt Sydal

Match D1 - Acid vs Justin Kage

Match D2 - Chandler McClure vs Vito Thomaselli

Non-Tournament Matches

Non-Title Match - Jimmy Rave vs "The IWAMS Heavyweight Champion" Petey Williams (15 Minute Time Limit)

30 Minute Ironman Match - Alex Shelley vs Jimmy Rave

And also…

Daizee Haze and Mickie Knuckles vs Mc Chif and Nikita

And…

"The Underwear Model" Eric Priest vs Sabian

This looks to be an awesome show. I hope that you give Capri or Ares the win in the tournament or have someone like Justin Kage upset them for the victory. I like the profiles you did for each guy too, it made it seem like everyone in the tournament has an equal chance of winning, and gives people an idea of some of the lesser known guys gimmicks. I cant wait till the shows up, good luck with this, but i dont think you'll need it. :thumbsup:

[YI]

THE BEST IN THE MIDWEST TOURNAMENT : NIGHT 1

The house is packed full. Nearly 300 people are scattered around the arena (291 to be exact). Some sitting ringside, others on the bleachers, and a few even standing, against the walls of the gymnasium and atop of the bleachers. To say that the crowd is hot is an understatement, it's like being caught in Rio De Janeiro during a heat wave. It's Saturday, August the 21st 2004. And more importantly, Night 1, of the "Best of the Midwest" tournament! In association with various Midwestern independents, but the honour of hosting such a prestigious tournament and event, goes to The AWL, The Anarchy Wrestling League. A men, dressed in a dinner suit, stands in the middle of the ring. He holds a microphone in his right hand as he adjusts his red bow tie with his left. He nervously taps the top of the microphone with his index finger. He looks around at the fans, who are just spouting miscellaneous cheers and chants. The young, black man, is obviously no stranger to the ring, but obviously not in this role. He's very hesitant as he begins to speak.

Ring Announcer : "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. This is the, "Best of the Midwest!"

**For home video viewers, a low budget music video is played, highlighting all 16 competitors in the tournament. The video shows clips from some of there matches from various Midwestern independent promotions, and also their training rituals for the tournament., It is set to "Sic Transit Gloria" by Brand New.**

Ring Announcer : "Hello, I'm B Squared, and I'm your ring announcer for the evening. And what an evening it's going to be. We've got 8 first round matches for the Best in the Midwest Tournament, as well as four non-tournament matches. Featuring some of the best local talent, in "The Underwear Model" Eric Priest, "IWA Mid South Heavyweight Champion" Petey Williams, as well as long time rivals, "The Next" Alex Shelley taking on "The Barbaric Bezerker" Jimmy Jacobs, facing off in a thirty minute, Ironman Match!"

A massive "HUSS" chant breaks out around the crowd.

B Squared : "Not only that, we also have some of the best out of town talent, you can ever wish to see. First there's Georgia's own, "The Original XTC" Jimmy Rave! As well as probably, the greatest women wrestler ever to step out of the United Kingdom, Nikita will team up with Ms Chif, to take on Daizee Haze and Mickie Knuckles."

30 Minute Ironman Match

"The Next" Alex Shelley vs "The Barbaric Bezerker" Jimmy Jacobs (w/ Becky Bayless)

"It Came from Japan" by The Von Bondies hits and the eager crowd erupt into simultaneous boos. The camera keeps on looking over to the two doors (The gymnasium entrance) awaiting the appearance of Alex Shelley. The boos slowly start to die down, but Shelley appears at the optimum moment to keep them echoing on. Shelley who has a bottle of water in his hand, pours the water down over his head. He pulls up his dark blue PVC shorts before walking up to some of the ringside seated fans, as there's no barriers he can go face to face with them. He mockingly slaps the hands of a couple of reluctant fans. Then he reaches one fan, who looks genuinely pleased to slap the hands of Shelley. Shelley says he'd do better and offers out his right hand for a handshake. The fan smiles and goes to shake his hand, but Shelley quickly pulls his arm away and laughs hysterically as the fan fell for the oldest school boy trick in the book. Shelley leans next to him and mockingly pats him on the shoulder. He then slides into the ring and sits down next to the turnbuckle, awaiting his opponent.

"You've got the Touch" from Transformers the Movie, by Van Halen hits and the crowd go absolutely crazy as they break out into a "HUSS" chant. Jacobs wildly pushes the doors open and steps out into the gymnasium. The crowd go wild, as Jacobs stares around with his eyes almost popping out of his sockets. He marches to the ring followed by Becky Bayless who has to run in order to keep up with Jacobs. Jacobs, who is wearing purple trunks with "HUSS" written on the back in white, as well as his trademark furry boots steps up onto the apron. He pulls his boots backwards on the apron before stepping over the top rope. And as usual, the small 5'7 competitor gets stuck on the top rope. Becky pushes down on it trying to help Jacobs over. Shelley has seen enough, his laughing face turns to one of embarrassment, before he takes a run up and knocks Jacobs right down to the arena floor with a big time forearm.

Shelley drops out of the ring and tells Beck Bayless to get the hell out of his way. He stomps away on the floored Jimmy Jacobs who slowly moves towards the front row of the crowd. Shelley orders the fans off of their seats. He then reaches down and grabs Jacobs by the hair, he drags him along the floor before slamming his face, right into one of the steel chairs in the front row. Jacob's face rests on top of the chair allowing for Shelley to leap up and stomp double footed onto the back of his head, driving it right into the steel. Shelley, is obviously not happy yet, as he rests Jacob's face on the chair once more. Shelley steps up onto the apron, he dives off looking for a flying stomp but Jacob's swings his foot up behind him and catches Shelley right in the crotch! Shelley drops to the ground and rolls around in a great amount of pain. The crowd clap as Jacob's gets up from the seated area. The fans go to sit back down but Jacobs wags his finger at them, he now wants to use a chair as an aid. Jacobs pulls up Shelley and drags him over to the chairs in the front row. He hits Shelley with some shots to the gut. He then locks him up from behind, before falling face first down and hitting a front falling Russian legsweep, driving Shelley face first onto the steel chairs.

These two long time rivals are holding nothing back in tonight's match. An IWA Mid South Heavyweight Title match is the prize for the victor. Jacobs pulls up Shelley and rolls him into the ring. Jacobs climbs up onto the top rope before coming down with a big double-footed stomp to the stomach of Shelley, knocking all of the air out of him. Shelley struggles up to his feet, coughing and spluttering, trying to catch his breath. Jimmy Jacobs hits a couple of right hands before whipping Shelley off the ropes. Shelley leaps up for a double footed dropkick but Jacobs holds onto the ropes, Shelley lands flat on his back but sits up straight away. Jacobs takes the opportunity and hits a stiff, double footed basement dropkick to Shelley's face, 1...2... Shelley kicks out. Jacobs pulls up Shelley and gives him some exaggerated overhead chops that knock Shelley back against the turnbuckle. Jacobs starts to drive his small shoulders into the midsection of Alex Shelley, obviously thinking that they'll do a lot more damage than they do in reality. Jacobs makes his way back to the opposite side of the ring and takes a massive run up. He is looking for a massive shoulder to the midsection of Shelley, but Shelley comes running out from the corner and meets Jacobs halfway with a ferocious knee to the face.

Jacobs falls flat in a heap on the floor. Becky looks worried from outside the ring and props herself up onto the apron and screams at Jimmy to get up. Shelley chuckles to himself as he pulls the motionless Jimmy Jacobs up to his feet, he quickly hooks up Jacobs and takes him back down to the mat with a vertical suplex. Shelley though, holds onto the clothing of Jacobs and pulls him back up to his feet. Still in the suplex set up, Shelley hoists Jacob's into the air, he then drops him onto the ropes before snapping him down to the mat with a vicious, ricochet suplex. Shelley rolls through into a lateral press, he cockily counts along with his fingers in time to the pin 1...2... Jacobs kicks out! Shelley doesn't look best pleased, he walks away from Jacobs and slyly drops a knee to his back on the way. Jacobs slowly starts to fight up to his feet, using the ropes to aid him. Shelley sneaks up on Jacobs from behind and clubs him across the back.

Shelley grabs Jacobs by his shoulder length black hair and drags him backwards to the centre of the ring. Shelley locks his arms around the beck of Jacobs and drives him down with a reverse DDT, backbreaker modification. Shelley holds onto his victim and pulls down the top and toe opposites of his body, bending Jacobs' back over his knee, in a bow and arrow back breaker, like move. Jacobs screams and waves his arms in the air, like most people do when they're in pain. Seriously what is waving your arms going to do? But unlike most people, Jacobs can use this to HUSS up. With help from Becky and the crowd chanting "HUSS", Jacobs' screams of pain soon become screams of determination, as he starts to swing his arms backwards hoping to catch Shelley in the face. Shelley though is unfazed by this and pulls back harder on Jacobs. But after constant swinging, Jacobs eventually connects with an elbow that forces Shelley to release the submission. Jacobs reaches behind him and gives Shelley a snapmare, but Shelley reverses and gives Jacobs a side jawbreaker variation.

Jimmy Jacobs stumbles around the ring, Shelley kicks him in the gut and scoops up Jacobs in a straight jacket style, Northern Lights Driver. Here it comes, Shelley leaps into the air before driving Jacobs skull first down with the, It Came From Japan! Shelley hooks Jacobs' legs extravagantly, 1...2... Jacobs amazingly kicks out! Becky Bayless shrieks in excitement as her man survives the count. Shelley though, is the complete opposite of excited. He gets in the face of the referee. The referee raises up his two fingers in the sign of a 2 count. To reply, Shelley shows the referee two fingers of his own. Shelley drops down and starts to work on the upper body of Jimmy Jacobs. He works on him for a good minute or two, pulling and stretching every muscle of his shorter opponent. Shelley focuses mostly on the neck and arms of Jacobs but occasionally pushes a knee into the back of Jacobs, to inflict more damage. He's obviously looking to set up Jacobs for his Crossface variation, The Border City Stretch.

Shelley drags Jacobs up from the mat and tosses him quickly into one of the turnbuckles. Shelley walks over to Jacobs and starts unloading with some weak looking chops. But the more chops he connects the more violent, and hard hitting they become. Jacobs' chest starts to turn red raw, as Shelley continues to chop away on him. Shelley takes time out to taunt the crowd, and to mockingly blow a kiss to Becky Bayless. This allows for Jacobs to catch him with a big hook to the face. Jacobs spins the predicament around and pushes Shelley back against the turnbuckle. He hits two overhead chops, before stepping up onto the middle rope and starting with a 10-punch combo. Jacobs this some quick punches to the face of Shelley, he gets to around 6 or 7 before Shelley manages to push him away, down to the floor. Jacobs though rolls through backwards, onto his feet. He quickly charges and dives headfirst into the gut of Shelley, who's still standing against the turnbuckle. Shelley stumbles around the ring, doubled over clutching his stomach. Jacobs steps in front of Shelley, he reaches his arms behind him and hooks the arms of Shelley before dropping onto his knees, driving Shelley down with an inverted pedigree. Jacobs with the pin, 1...2... Shelley kicks out.

The crowd start a "HUSS" chant as Jacobs gets more and more offence in. He hits some big punches to Shelley before kicking him in the gut. Jacobs lifts up Shelley for a suplex, he uses all his strength to sit Shelley on the top rope. Due to Shelley having a good quantity of height and weight advantage. Jacobs steps up onto the middle ropes, he wraps his legs around the head of Shelley and looks to give him a rana, but Shelley pushes Jacobs down to the mat. Jacobs though lands on his feet. This means he can leap straight back up and deliver a massive rana. Both men crash down to the mat, and lie completely motionless. Jacobs slowly begins to stir, he crawls over to the turnbuckle that they've just come crashing down from. He pulls himself up to his feet using the ropes either side of him. Jacobs starts to stamp his furry boots, and the crowd clap along in time to the stamps. Shelley struggles up to his feet, Jacobs charges towards him and hits a huge, running big boot, Jacobs with the hook of the leg, 1...2... Shelley kicks out. Jacobs pulls his hair in frustration, before slamming two clenched fists on the canvas.

Jacobs turns around and starts to hit a frenzy of right hands to his opponent, Alex Shelley. Shelley though reaches up and shoves his index finger, into the eyes of Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs clasps his face as he stumbles around the ring, Shelley gets up and hooks up Jacobs with a northern lights suplex, he holds onto the bridge for the 1...2... Jacobs kicks out once more. We are still waiting for our first fall, and we've passed the 20 minute mark. Both men quickly scurry up to their feet, Jacobs charges at Shelley but Shelley drags him down to the mat. Jacobs though fights it and stalls on his knees, Shelley clubs away at his face before eventually sending him bundling to the mat. Shelley tries to lock him up in the Border City Stretch. Jacobs though moves around too much and Shelley can't quite get it in. But after a monumental struggle Shelley eventually manages to lock in the modified Crossface. Jacobs screams in pain as Becky Bayless shouts out "HUSS" to try and inspire him on. But there's no way, Jacobs can get out of this, and is soon forced to tap out. Alex Shelley takes a 1-0 lead on 22:36.

Alex Shelley quickly rolls Jimmy Jacobs over and looks for a pin, 1...2... Jacobs kicks out. Jacobs slowly starts to get up, he's obviously is feeling the effects of the submission as he's clutching his neck. Shelley catches Jacobs with an uppercut, he follows it quickly with another uppercut, which sends Jacobs back into the turnbuckle. Shelley once again goes back to chopping away on his opponent. Once Shelley is satisfied with the chops he walks backwards to the centre of the ring. He runs at Jacobs, but Jacobs sees it coming and sticks his furry boots in the air, into the face of the incoming Alex Shelley. Jacobs quickly takes the opportunity and grabs the dazed Alex Shelley and runs up the turnbuckle and hitting The Contra Code! Jacobs just tosses his body on top of Shelley's for the cover, he's exhausted, 1...2... No! Shelley kicks out! Jacobs sits up and clenches his fists together, he doesn't believe it. He pulls up Shelley hitting him with some right hands on the way. Jacobs runs off the ropes, he comes back but before he has a chance to hit an attack on Shelley, Shelley busts out a move of his own, and drives Jacobs to the mat with a hiptoss to sitout slam, Shelley holds the bridge, 1...2... Jacobs kicks out.

Whenever Jacobs gets any kind of advantage, Shelley destroys it, just as quickly as it begun. Shelley pulls Jacobs up to his feet and gives him a swift elbow to the face. With Jacobs stumbling around the ring, Shelley takes the opportunity and hits his spinning front legsweep variation, The Shellshock. Jacobs rolls all the way to the other side of the ring after impact. Shelley cockily walks over and drops into a pin, 1...2... Jacobs' foot's on the ropes! Shelley screams at the cheering crowd, before slowly rolling Jacobs into the centre of the ring, he violently covers his opponent, 1...2... Jacobs kicks out again! Shelley doesn't look very happy as he storms off the ropes. But the red mist before his eyes has obviously clouded his vision as he runs straight into a calf kick from the rising Jimmy Jacobs. Jacobs quickly goes for the pin, he gets the 1...2... Shelley kicks out. Jacobs pushes the sweat from his forehead into his long hair, which is already soaking wet. He walks over to one of the turnbuckles and starts to stamp his feet on the ground whilst shrieking at the top of his voice.

Shelley slowly gets back to his feet, he turns around just in time to see Jacobs charging at him. Jacobs swings his foot up for the running big boot, Shelley tries to dodge it but the boot catches him in the side of the face. Shelley stumbles around allowing for Jacobs to grab him from behind. Jacobs charges up the turnbuckle, Contra Code! 1...2...3! Jimmy Jacobs has levelled it at 1 fall a piece, on 28:05. Surely this must be the end of the match. Shelley and Jacobs both quickly rise back to their feet, they know what's at stake, not just the title, but the chance to get one up on their long time rival. The two men start to exchange some right hands, Jacobs comes out on top by biting Shelley, to mass cheers from the crowd. Shelley pushes Jacobs away before collapsing in the corner. Jacobs runs and drives a knee to Shelley's face. Jacobs waits for Shelley to hit his feet. He runs towards him and looks for another running big boot, but this time Shelley manages to duck it. He quickly scoops up Jacobs in a fall away slam. He walks backwards towards the ropes before throwing Jacobs backwards. Jacobs looks to be flying over the top rope but he grabs onto the top rope on his way over and manages to stay on the apron.

Shelley though is none the wiser, so turns around straight into a springboard front dropkick right to the face. The crowd break out into a "HUSS" chant as Jacobs grabs Shelley and looks for a third Contra Code. Shelley though tosses Jacobs back over his head. Jacobs though lands on his feet and runs back at Shelley, he goes for a cross body, but Shelley catches him in midair and slams him into the turnbuckle, folding Jacobs up into two. Shelley drags Jacobs up to his feet, with not long left on the clock. He scoops him up for the, It Came from Japan, but Jacobs manages to free an arm and wrap it around Shelley's head. Shelley drops Jacobs down with the, It Came from Japan but with his free arm Jacobs drives Shelley's head straight into the mat. Both men lie flat out next to each other, the crowd continue their count down, 6...5...4...3...2...1... the bell sounds and the 30 minutes are up! Alex Shelley and Jimmy Jacobs have tied at 1 fall each. Who's the number 1 contender for the IWAMS Heavyweight Title?

RESULT : ALEX SHELLEY and JIMMY JACOBS tie, 1-1 in falls

TIME : 30:00

RATING : ***1/2 - They work together very well, but this feud is getting a little stale. A very good Ironman Match though, with lots of action throughout. Not as good as some of their previous matches in other promotions though

Alex Shelley rolls to one side of the ring, Becky Bayless rolls into the ring and checks on her man, Jimmy Jacobs. Shelley uses the ropes to get to his feet, he's obviously frustrated about not winning the Ironman match. He spots Becky checking on Jacobs and his frown soon turns to a smile as he walks over towards her. Becky feels Shelley's presence behind her, she jumps up from her squatting position but Shelley grabs her by the hair, She slaps Shelley in the face but he just laughs it off before taking her down to the mat and locks Becky into the Border City Stretch. The crowd boo like crazy and Becky's hand strikes the mat frantically, tapping out. But Shelley refuses to let go. The referee tries to pull Shelley off Becky Bayless, but he doesn't have the strength. The crowd suddenly go wild as Petey Williams comes running out to the ring, he slides in under the bottom rope before catching Shelley in the face with a basement dropkick, forcing him to break the submission. Shelley gets to his feet where he's met with some right hands from Petey that knock him against the turnbuckle. Petey takes a short run up, he leaps up and brings Shelley back to the mat with a monkey flip. Shelley bails out of the ring. Shelley takes a microphone from one of the ring crew as he walks backwards towards the backstage area, he taps the top of the microphone to get Petey's attention.

"Mr Williams. You have a dilemma before you. Who qualifies as the number one contender for your IWA Mid South, Heavyweight Championship. Of course, the match was declared a draw, but look at us, who appears to be the winner. Me, or him?"

Williams looks at Jacobs who is still flat out on his back and then Shelley who's smiling cockily next to the entrance doors. Williams is handed another microphone.

"A man who fails trying, is a more worthy man, than a man who cheats to succeed. Alex Shelley, you stop at nothing to get what you want, you cheat those who deserve them more than you. So, I'm going to choose the worthy man as the number one contender for the Heavyweight Championship, and the worthy man is...... Jimmy Jacobs!"

The crowd go crazy, but Shelley isn't quite as pleased.

"Hang on, I pinned him fair and square tonight. How the hell is he more worthy than me!?!? The match ended one fall a piece, if he gets a title shot, then so should I!"

"How do I get the feeling, that if my decision had been reversed there would have been no complaints? So you want a title shot? Well, Alex Shelley, you need to be taught a lesson, a lesson that there are people who are a lot better than you, and tomorrow night, you'll be taught that lesson, first hand. You want a title shot, then you've got one. As much as I may later regret this, tomorrow night, it will be me, Petey Williams vs Jimmy Jacobs vs Alex Shelley!"

Shelley smiles and walks to the back. Williams turns around to see Jimmy Jacobs standing behind him. The crowd cheer, as Jacobs and Williams stare each other down. Williams drops out of the ring allowing for Jacobs to check on Becky Bayless.

"The Underwear Model" Eric Priest vs "The New Sensation" Sabian

"Sex on Wheels" by My Time with the Thrill Kill Cult, hits and Eric Priest is the first man out to the ring. He walks to the ring in lilac coloured trunks, in a rather camp fashion, posing for people on the way down to the ring. Priest, who's a Midwest regular, has the crowd on his back from the start due to his pure vanity. Even with the crowd against him Priest is still the favourite for this match, mostly due to his experience in the area, which Sabian, who's now dubbed The New Sensation, hasn't got. "It's Going Down" by The X-Ecutioners hits and Sabian comes charging out to the ring, he just darts out from the doors. He slides into the ring under the bottom rope and quickly raises his arms in the air to some cheers from the crowd. He tells the referee to ring the bell, he wants to get this one started quickly. The bell sounds and tonight's second match gets underway. Once again, this is a non-tournament bout. Sabian and Priest before slowly stagger towards the middle of the ring. Sabian holds his hands out looking for a tie-up. It looks like Priest accepts but he reaches through and feels Sabian's red and black split, tights. Sabian quickly jumps away and Priest laughs, saying he was paying him a compliment.

Sabian though continues to be freaked out, as after numerous tie-up attempts, Priest only seems to be interested in his opponents pants. Eventually Sabian has enough and rips his red and black pants off, Chippendale style (Of course he coincidentally has a pair of black shorts on underneath) and throws them in the face of Priest. With Priest blinded he gives him a stiff roundhouse kick to the face knocking him flat on his ass. The crowd cheer as Sabian starts to hit some strong right hands to Eric Priest as he pulls him back up to his feet. Sabian whips Priest off the ropes, he goes for a cyclone spin kick but Priest manages to duck. Priest then catches Sabian with a massive slap to the face, putting the rookie back in his place. Priest pulls Sabian down with a headlock takedown and the two start to exchange some quick submission holds. But eventually Priest comes out on top and starts to wear away Sabian with a side headlock variation. Sabian rolls over onto Priest and has him in a bridging pin, 1...2... Priest easily kicks out.

Both men quickly get up but Priest decks Sabian with a quick clothesline. He follows it up with a body slam and some stomps, he then drops an elbow to Sabian. Priest holds Sabian down in a cocky lateral press, 1...2... Sabian easily kicks out. Priest pulls Sabian up and hits him with some strong chops to the gut. Priest looks to finish off the match early as he scoops up Sabian from behind before driving him right down on his neck with a sickly side suplex. Priest quickly hooks the leg of Sabian right back over himself, 1...2... Sabian kicks out. Priest pulls Sabian and kicks him in the gut. He whips Sabian off the ropes, Sabian comes back and Priest goes down for a back body drop but Sabian kicks him in the face. Sabian hits a tornado forearm, which knocks Priest backwards out of the ring. Sabian quickly steps out onto the apron. He jumps up onto the middle rope before jumping backwards with a corkscrew twist attack taking out his opponent on the gym floor. Sabian gets up to mass cheers from the crowd. He rolls Priest back into the ring before stepping up to the top rope. Priest though quickly gets up and throws Sabian from the top rope right down to the canvas. With Sabian feeling the effects of coming down the hard way, Priest stalks the rookie as he returns back to his feet. Priest locks in a sleeper hold once the groggy Sabian eventually reaches his vertical base. Sabian tries to fight it but can't, Priest pulls backwards hard and actually makes a sleeper look legitimate.

Sabian's body goes limper and limper and Priest drags him down to the mat. The referee checks on Sabian, he lifts his left arm into the air, it drops once... the arm drops twice... and a thir... No! Sabian fights through it. He gets a second wind and is soon straight up to his feet. He drives some elbows to the gut of Priest before pushing him off the ropes. Sabian leapfrogs over Priest, he then drops onto his back looking for an inverted monkey flip, but Priest has other ideas and quickly drops a snap elbow to his opponent, a quick pin attempt, 1...2... Sabian kicks out. Priest hoists up Sabian for a stalling vertical suplex, but Sabian reverses and drives Priest down with an amazing whiplash DDT, 1...2... Priest kicks out! Priest struggles up to his feet and walks into a high impact rana, 1...2... Priest kicks out again! Sabian charges off the ropes as Priest comes back up to his feet again. Sabian flings himself around the side of Priest and rolls through with a school boy, 1...2...3! Sabian quickly rolls out of the ring and raises his arms high in the air to applause from the crowd. The rookie, outsider put up a great performance to out smarten the veteran of the match. I doubt this is the last we'll see of him in The AWL.

RESULT : SABIAN defeats ERIC PRIEST

TIME : 7:48

RATING : *1/2 - Was an entertaining little match. But at the end of the day, nothing more than a filler. Both men though looked impressive and could/should be back in The AWL

Daizee Haze and Mickie Knuckles vs Ms Chif and Nikita

Daizee Haze and Mickie Knuckles are the first out to the ring. The two women, who have teamed previously still look quite out of place together. Mainly due to Daizee being a hot anorexic hippy and Mickie Knuckles, well not, is possibly the nicest thing that can be said, but she has bucket loads of wrestling skill. The two women slap the hands of their adoring fans before stepping into the ring. The crowd are firmly behind Knuckles and Haze in this match. Nikita and Ms Chif then make their way out to the ring. Nikita, who is for the most part unknown to the Midwestern crowds, seems rather hesitant coming to the ring with the dark and mysterious, Ms Chif. But before they step into the ring Ms Chif stops and tells Nikita to shake her hand. Nikita doesn't know whether to accept, but she does and the two women sadistically smile at each other, whilst the crowd boo the handshake.

Ms Chif and Daizee Haze kick off the third match of the evening. Chif and Haze lock up in the centre of the ring. Ms Chif forces Haze back against the ropes and gives her some chops, which are so high they almost connect to the throat of Haze. Ms Chif whips Daizee Haze off the ropes, Haze comes back and Chif takes her down with a weak looking clothesline. Ms Chif goes crazy and starts to stomp away on the grounded Haze. She drops down and looks for a very early pin, 1...2... Daizee Haze easily kicks out. Mc Chif pulls Haze back over into her corner. Ms Chif and Nikita keep Haze away from here partner and double team her after consecutive quick tags. Nikita rakes Daizee Haze to the eyes and she falls back into the turnbuckle. Nikita then shoves the thick heel of her white boots right into the throat of Daizee choking her out. Daizee tries to shriek in pain, but the air can't escape. The referee eventually pulls Nikita away from Daizee who collapses down to the floor, and her eyes start to water through the pain.

Nikita drags Daizee up to her feet before giving her a solid right hand to the face. Daizee once again collapses down to the floor. Nikita just laughs as she drags Daizee up by the hair. Haze comes bundling back from the ropes. Nikita looks to give her a hiptoss but Daizee reverses and takes Nikita down to the mat with a headlock takedown. Both women leap straight up, Daizee decks Nikita straight back down with a leaping dropkick to the face. Both women struggle to regain their vertical base and pull themselves along the floor to tag out to their partners. Nikita reaches her arm out to tag in Ms Chif but Ms Chif refuses to tag in. She's blowing hot and cold to Nikita. Nikita continues to reach out her arm to tag out to Ms Chif but Ms Chif is still not accepting it. This allows for Mickie Knuckles to drop a quick elbow to the back of Nikita before dragging her back into the centre of the ring. Knuckles leg drops Nikita for the 1...2... Ms Chif breaks up the pin.

Ms Chif slaps Knuckles, Knuckles retaliates by pulling Ms Chif into a massive clothesline. Knuckles drags up Nikita and Ms Chif by the hair and slams their heads together. Nikita stumbles backwards and falls out of the ring, whereas Ms Chif stumbles around but just turns into a head scissor takedown from Daizee Haze. Knuckles goes for the pin on Ms Chif, 1...2... Ms Chif kicks out comfortably before the 3. Knuckles tags out to Daizee Haze. They use their legal five seconds (Who counts anyways?) to send Ms Chif into the ropes, Ms Chif comes back towards the duo, but unknown to them Nikita blind tagged herself in off Ms Chif. Mickie Knuckles hoists up Ms Chif in a sidewalk slam, Daizee grabs Chif's head and they drive her down to the canvas with a reverse DDT, sidewalk slam combination. Daizee looks for the pinfall but the referee refuses to count, due to Ms Chif not being the legal women. Daizee gets up and turns around into a stationary yakuza kick from a waiting Nikita. Daizee collapses in a heap on the canvas, Nikita hooks the near leg, 1...2... Daizee thrusts her shoulder in the air.

Nikita doesn't believe it, she drags Daizee up to her feet and whips her off the ropes but Daizee manages to reverse the whip and sends Nikita off the ropes. Daizee drops to the floor and Nikita bounces back off the opposite ropes, this time Daizee leapfrogs over Nikita but the Brit catches her in midair and viciously powerbombs her flat onto her back, it must be over, 1...2... Mickie Knuckles breaks up the pin at last minute. Mickie clubs Nikita across the head knocking her to the floor. Ms Chif hits the ring and it's now all out chaos, the referee seems to have had a short term memory lapse and has forgotten who the legal women are. Daizee Haze leaps up and snaps Nikita down with the Daizee Cutter, to vast cheers from the crowd. But the cheers are short lived as Daizee turns straight into a kick from Ms Chif. Ms Chif then steps over the arm of Daizee before dropping her head first on the mat with a vicious DDT variation. Ms Chif celebrates over Daizee but receives a big clothesline to the back by Mickie Knuckles. Knuckles reaches down to pull Ms Chif back up, but gets a face full of green mist for her trouble. A blinded Knuckles turns straight around into a stationary yakuza kick from a quickly recovered Nikita, 1...2...3! Nikita stands celebrating her victory. She tries to get Ms Chif involved in the celebrations but she suffers the same fate as Daizee Haze as Ms Chif kicks her in the gut and follows it up with her DDT variation. Ms Chif stands in the ring as the lone survivor and releases an almighty shriek, which turns into an evil cackle.

RESULT : MS CHIF & NIKITA defeat DAIZEE HAZE & MICKIE KNUCKLES

TIME : 8:56

RATING : ** - Average to good women's match. Nikita looked very promising and I expect we'll see more of her in AWL, and possibly elsewhere in the Midwest. Just what you'd normally expect from these talents

Jimmy Rave vs Petey Williams

Petey Williams is the first man to hit the ring for this non-title confrontation. Williams hits the ring wearing his usual plain blue shorts and pads combo, and has the IWAMS Heavyweight Title wrapped around his waist. The title, which he will defend against both Jimmy Jacobs and Alex Shelley tomorrow night. He raises the belt in the air as he leaps up onto the top rope before dropping into the ring. Williams rests against the turnbuckle as Jimmy Rave steps out through the gym doors. Rave, who's no stranger to the Midwest area, and competed in the TPI 2003 Tournament gets a good reception from the crowd. He bounces up and down outside the ring trying to psyche himself up, this would be a huge victory for him. Rave pulls up his baggy silver PVC pants before sliding into the ring. The referee checks both men before calling for the bell. The crowd cheer as Rave and Williams circle each other around the centre of the ring. Williams stops and holds his hand out to the centre, Rave though just slaps Williams' knuckles and tells him to wait till after the match. Jimmy wants no distractions, he's in the zone.

Both men lock up, Williams grabs Rave in a side headlock, Williams tries to drag Rave to the mat with a headlock takedown but Rave pulls Williams backwards and trips him to the canvas. Rave drops down to the mat and locks Williams into a front chancery. Williams spins out of the chancery, but Rave quickly locks him in a grounded sleeper hold. Williams once again rolls through out of the sleeper and pulls up Rave's arm behind him in a hammerlock. Williams quickly lets go of the hammerlock but before Rave has a chance to escape he starts to work on his legs. Williams holds out Rave's right leg and hits some quick stomps. Rave though has other ideas and he uses his feet to push Williams into the ropes. Rave jumps up to his feet, just in time to hit a clothesline to the oncoming Petey Williams. Rave darts off the ropes as Williams gets back to his feet, Rave though grabs him from behind and slams Williams face first down onto the mat with a double handed face plant. Williams gets straight back up but is dazed, Rave takes the opportunity and kicks Williams in the gut before driving him to the canvas with a DDT.

Williams rolls around on the mat until he reaches the ropes. Williams pushes himself up quickly using the ropes, Rave walks over to him and hits a couple of right hand jabs to the IWA Mid South Heavyweight Champion. Rave goes to whip Williams off the ropes but the whip attempt is reversed as Williams kicks Rave in the gut, and follows it up quickly with a snap suplex. Williams grabs Rave from behind and drops him to the mat with a Canadian legsweep, 1...2... Rave kicks out easily. Williams jumps straight back up to his feet and unloads with some high energy jabs, which force his opponent back into the turnbuckle. Williams leaps up onto the middle rope and starts to punch away at the head of Jimmy Rave, he gets to around 7 punches in the 10 punch combo when Rave walks forward and drops Williams onto his knee with an inverted atomic drop. Williams stumbles backwards before Rave knocks him to the floor with a quick clothesline. Rave pulls Williams up to his feet before whipping him across to the other side of the ring. He runs frantically across the ring towards Petey Williams but Petey dodges and Rave collides straight on with the turnbuckle. Williams grabs Rave from behind and snaps him down to the mat with a second Canadian legsweep.

Williams quickly grabs the legs of the grounded Rave. He puts his right leg between the legs of Rave and turns him over into the Sharpshooter, a move that has became synonymous with Canadian wrestlers for the passed ten or so years. Rave reels in pain as Williams manages to sit down low, applying a great deal of pressure to Rave's legs. The crowd go wild as the referee drops down to check on Rave who's been slowly pushing himself towards the ropes but has since stopped. Sweat drops down the face of Rave who is still refusing to give up. He uses every ounce of energy that he has left to scrape himself one last time across the floor and he latches onto the bottom rope with both his arms. The crowd applaud Rave's determination as Petey Williams releases the submission. Williams awaits Rave to reach his feet, he quickly kicks him in the gut and looks for the breathtaking Canadian Destroyer but Rave fights the manoeuvre and manages to bundle Petey Williams over the top rope with a weak looking back body drop.

Williams lies flat on his back down on the gymnasium floor. He slaps the varnished wooden floor as he slowly begins to fight up to his feet. In the ring, Rave darts off the far ropes before baseball sliding under the bottom rope catching Williams right in the face with his feet. Rave rolls out down to the floor and pulls Williams up to his feet. He scoops up his shorter opponent before body slamming him hard onto the uncovered flooring. Rave drags Williams up by his trunks and rolls him back into the ring, Rave follows and goes for a quick pin, 1...2... Williams kicks out. Rave drags Williams up to his feet and gives him a swift knee to the stomach. Rave hoists Williams up and drives him back down to the mat with a smooth looking powerbomb to facebuster. Rave drags Williams over near the turnbuckle. He steps up the front of the turnbuckle and raises his arms to some applause from the crowd. Rave jumps backwards and looks for a moonsault but Williams rolls out of the way and Rave crashes right down to the canvas. His stalling has proven costly there. Petey quickly drags Jimmy back up to his feet, he lifts him up as if he were going to give him a suplex but instead rests him over the top rope.

Williams then drives Rave down, neck first to the canvas with a super spin neckbreaker, Williams quickly dives onto Rave, 1...2... Rave gets his foot on the ropes. Rave pushes his blonde dark blonde hair back as he struggles to his feet, Williams unloads with a couple of kicks to the gut that send Rave against the turnbuckle. Williams then steps up and kicks Rave right between the eyes and he collapses to the floor. Williams jumps up onto the top rope and dives down onto Rave with a high impact cross body, 1...2... Rave kicks out! Both men quickly leap up to their feet. Rave tries to catch Petey with a clothesline but it is easily dodged, Rave turns back around and Petey catches him with a spin kick to the face. Rave drops to all fours and starts to slowly push himself back up to is vertical base, but Petey stops him halfway and hits the Canadian Destroyer! 1...2...3! Petey Williams jumps up to his feet straight after victory and celebrates along with his fans. Jimmy Rave slowly begins to stir back to his feet. Williams offers his hand out for a handshake, Rave looks around to see what the fans think. The fans go absolutely wild. Rave reaches his arm out to accept but pulls it away at last minute and yells "You just got lucky" to Petey Williams as he drops out of the ring. The crowd boo Rave who makes his way to the back laughing.

RESULT : PETEY WILLIAMS defeats JIMMY RAVE

TIME : 12:17

RATING : **1/2 - Solid match. Both men looked impressive, not really long enough to make that much of an impression though. Rave got some serious heat for not shaking Williams' hand after the match

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Round 1 Match

Roderick Strong vs Vic Capri

The crowd go crazy as "Did My Time" by Korn hits and Roderick Strong makes his way out to the ring. Strong is wearing his ordinary red and black pants, with "Roderick" and "Strong" written down opposite legs. Strong slaps the hands of his fans on the way down to the ring. Strong slides in under the bottom rope, he runs off the ropes before grinding to a halt in the centre of the ring, he does some shadow boxing for a few seconds before walking back to his corner. "God Hates us All" by Slayer hits and the crowd erupt in mass cheers. Roderick Strong lifts his arms above his head and leads the whole arena in clapping to the beat of the music. The home video camera keeps on focussing on the door and eventually Vic Capri, who's wearing a white t-shirt and plain black trunks walks out. The crowd go absolutely wild and a massive "Capri" chant breaks out around the arena. Capri pulls a Nate Webb style entrance walking all the around the arena. He takes off his t-shirt, which has "The Icepick" written on it (A nickname Capri used to often go by) and tosses it up into the bleachers. His music ends as Capri walks around, squashed amongst the fans in the bleachers. He quickly makes his way down to the ring where he sizes up against Roderick Strong. Strong has a couple of inches of height on Capri and they are both around a similar weight.

The two men lock up and the crowd fall silent in anticipation. They both try to get the better of each other but neither man can get in the first actual attack. Strong though twists the arm of Capri and judo tosses him over his shoulder to the mat. Strong drops down onto his knees and locks Capri's arm in a side lock. Capri though easily fights out of it and takes Strong down with an armdrag, before putting him into a side arm lock of his own. Strong rolls backwards and breaks free of the hold by tripping Capri to the floor. Strong goes down and looks for a quick, grounded sleeper, but Capri is too fast for him and escapes around the back and grabs him in a side headlock. Capri grips the headlock in but Strong falls back against the ropes and uses the momentum he gets to push Capri into the opposite ropes. Strong leaps up and catches the oncoming Capri with a vicious calf kick to the jaw. Capri half flips backwards and crashes onto his head. Capri quickly bails out of the ring to catch a breather on the outside. Capri looks the crowd and applauds Strong before slowly getting back up onto the apron and into the ring.

Both men lock up in the centre of the ring once more. They both push backwards and forth looking for an opportunity to gain the advantage. Strong spots it first and tucks his head under the outstretched arms of his opponent and takes him to the mat with a takedown modelled somewhat on a suplex. He quickly grabs Capri's head and locks him into a headlock variation. Capri twists his body up and starts to fight back to his feet and he charges Strong straight into the turnbuckle Capri grabs Strong in a waistlock from behind and looks for a German suplex but Strong holds onto the ropes to block it. Capri clubs Strong across the back twice, which allows for him to eventually drive him to the mat with the German suplex. Capri doesn't hold on for the bridge but instead grabs the rising Strong from behind and latches on a sleeper hold. Strong's arms flap about for a bit, but this is an easy hold for him to escape, he digs his elbow into Capri stomach before whipping him off the ropes. Strong scoops Capri up to the side before dropping him onto his knee with a back breaker, then in one swift movement he flips Capri over into a rib breaker. He looks to finish the combo off with the t-bone into the corner, but Capri collapses and once again bails from the ring.

Capri takes turns in clutching his ribs then his back. The crowd applaud Strong as Capri slowly makes his way back into the ring. Both men go to lock up but Capri slides underneath the legs of his opponent. He grabs Strong from behind looking for another German suplex, but Strong swings his elbow back and it connects to the face of Vic Capri. Capri stumbles about the ring, which allows for Strong to lift him up for a suplex. Strong holds Capri in the air, in a vertical position, but instead of falling back, he flips Capri down to the side and drops him onto his knee in a sort of backbreaker, he goes for the pin, 1...2... Capri kicks out. Capri struggles back up to his feet, Strong lifts him up into a fireman's carry. Strong leaps into the air and falls onto his back, he pushes his knees into the air and he drives Capri's ribs right down onto these knees. Capri screams in pain as Strong looks for the pin, 1...2... Capri once again kicks out. Roderick Strong pulls Capri up to his feet from behind, he hooks up one of his arms and one of his legs and tosses Capri behind him with a stiff looking pump handle suplex. Capri rolls onto his stomach, so Strong grabs his arms and locks in a straightjacket submission. Capri who's gasping for breath slowly starts to fight back up, eventually he manages to release his arms and takes Strong down to the mat with a snapmare.

Capri pushes his knee into the back of Strong whilst pulling Strong's arms back. Strong screams in pain but refuses to give up. He starts to fight up to his feet, he manages to get behind Capri, he goes to whip Capri into the ropes but it is reversed and Strong is sent instead. As Strong comes back, Capri scoops him to the side and hits a backbreaker, in shades of Strong earlier he follows it up straight away with a rib breaker and then gives Strong a massive t-bone suplex into the turnbuckle. Strong folds up in two as Capri rolls him over into a pin, 1...2... Strong gets his shoulder up! Capri doesn't believe it and slaps his hands down onto the mat to signal that it was a three count. He pulls Strong up and holds him in an abstretch, looking to wear away at the young Strong even more. Strong starts to fight out of it so Capri snaps Strong down onto his knee. Strong rolls around the mat in pain as Capri raises his arms in the air. Now he actually gets a couple of boos, this is because of him using Strong's triple move combo.

Capri grabs onto the legs of Strong and tries to lock him into a Texas Cloverleaf but Strong manages to free and leg and gives Capri a vicious kicks to the face. Strong gets to his feet as quick as possible and kicks Capri in the gut. He lifts him up as if he were to give him a crucifix powerbomb but he hooks onto Capri's neck and is looking to drop him with the CX03. But Capri manages to drop out of the back and he hits his own, standard neckbreaker on Strong taking him to the mat. Capri steps up to his feet and stares down on his opponent who's out cold. He grabs the legs of Roderick Strong and drags him into the centre of the ring and this time locks him into the Texas Cloverleaf. The pain reawakens Roderick Strong and shrieks in pain and starts to flap his arms around trying to fight the hold. Strong shouts at himself to hold on, but Capri shouts back telling him it's no use, and that he should just tap out. Strong tries to launch one last survival attempt and tries to push himself along the mat towards the ropes, but he's physically drained and he can't shift himself with the weight of Capri on top of him. So he gives into Capri's demands and slams his right hand down onto the mat. Capri releases the hold and quickly leaves the ring leaving Roderick Strong the first victim of the tournament.

RESULT : VIC CAPRI defeats RODERICK STRONG

TIME : 12:46

RATING : *** - A good match. Some decent psychology, the crowd absolutely loved it and the response that Vic Capri got was phenomenal. Both men have very similar styles so gelled together well, and it really did seem the old against the new, and this time Capri just took it

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Round 1 Match

Acid vs Justin Kage

"Feel Good hit of the Summer" by Queens of the Stone Age, starts up and the crowd sit confused to who it might be. But when Acid steps out from the gym doors, they erupt into spontaneous cheers. Acid is wearing his usual leather trench coat. He raises his arms up above his shaven head and the crowd cheers increase. Acid, seems a lot more serious tonight, just by the way that he's acting. He slaps the hands of his fans on the way to the ring. He steps up into the squared circle for this, the second tournament match. He takes off his trench coat and lays it down in his corner. He's even wearing more serious trunks, gone are his psychedelic bright patterns, and they are replaced by plain red, plastic style baggy pants. "Living Legend" by American Accent blares around the arena and the shortest man in the tournament, Justin Kage steps out into the ringside area and gets an adequate reaction. He hoists his arms high up into the air and most of the crowd give off a half-hearted cheer. Kage is wearing plain black trunks that cut off above the knee, which have his name across the back in white signature style writing. He rolls into the ring under the bottom rope and both he and Acid walk into the centre of the ring. They tap their knuckles together in a sign of respect as the referee calls for the bell to start the match.

Both men tie up in the centre of the ring. They try to gain the early advantage by attempting quick hiptosses and armdrags, but all are unsuccessful. They tie up once more, Acid slowly pulls Kage's arms into the air before taking out his foot and tripping Justin Kage to the mat. Kage quickly leaps back to his feet and ties up for a third time with Acid. This time Kage surprises Acid by quickly clutching him into a side arm wrench. Acid though uses his weight advantage to lock his left arm around the neck of Kage and take him to the mat with a headlock takedown. Kage quickly wraps his legs around the throat of Acid. Acid quickly slides out of the hold and pushes Kage's legs over the back of his head, so Kage rolls backwards back to his feet. Both men run at each other, Kage leaps up and starts with a head scissor but Acid manages to toss his spinning opponent away, Kage though manages to land on his feet. Acid pulls the staggering Kage towards him and hoists him up onto his shoulders in a fireman's carry. Acid spins around and looks to toss Kage down but Kage manages to drop onto his feet. A frustrated Acid quickly punches Kage in the face and whips him towards the turnbuckle. Kage leaps up onto the top rope and quickly flips backwards behind Acid.

Acid turns around and Kage leaps up and attempts a rana. Acid though flips Kage back down to his feet and goes for a quick clothesline, a clothesline that his opponent easily ducks. Both men turn around breathing heavily and the crowd break into applause. Maintaining eye contact at all times, the two competitors smile before slapping hands once again in the middle of the ring. They lock up for yet another time. This time Kage manages to pull Acid down to the mat with a quick armdrag, but Acid rolls through and pulls Kage to his feet and straight into a vicious knee. Acid twists the arm of Kage before attempting a snapmare but Kage corkscrews over the shoulder of Acid and lands on his feet. Acid, refusing to be beaten quickly grabs onto Kage and viciously trips him backwards onto the mat. Acid charges off the ropes like a mad man, he forward rolls onto Kage in a senton variation. Acid drags Justin Kage quickly up to his feet, a kick to gut and a vertical suplex later and Kage is back down to the mat. Acid leaps straight back up to his feet, the crowd aren't quite sure what to make of this new attitude of his, but once he raises his arms high into the air the cheers come flooding back.

Kage returns back to his feet. The waiting Acid kicks him in the gut and hoists him up for a powerbomb. Kage tries his best to fight it, but he doesn't stand a chance. Acid drops Kage out of the back mangling him up across the top rope. Kage falls down from the ropes allowing for Acid to grab his legs and roll over into a pinning bridge, 1...2... Kage kicks Acid over into a sitout bridge, 1...2... Acid comes back quickly by pushing Kage's legs back over his shoulders, 1...2... Kage pushes his legs forward taking down Acid into another pinning predicament, 1...2... Acid uses his weight advantage to lift Kage up in a waistlock, he twists around and looks for a backslide, 1...2... Kage rolls out. Acid looks up just in time to catch a ferocious basement dropkick right to the face. Acid's eyes glaze over as his face slowly falls closer and closer to the canvas. Kage steps out onto the apron and makes his way up to the top rope, but he never gets to pull off a high risk move as leaps up in the nick of time and piles all his body weight on the top rope, crotching Justin Kage on the top rope. Acid climbs up the front of the turnbuckle, nailing a couple of weak right hands to the face of Kage on the way. He hooks the arm of Kage over his shoulder and grips onto his trunks before taking him all the way to the mat with a superplex.

Acid quickly drags Kage to his feet, looking to finish him off quickly after a high impact attack like that. He scoops up Kage for a body slam but whilst in midair he twists his body and drives Kage to the canvas with a reverse DDT, 1...2... Kage kicks out. A shocked Acid pulls his opponent straight up once again and whips him into the turnbuckle. Acid charges head down and drives his shoulder straight into the ribs of the dazed Justin Kage. Kage stumbles forward before collapsing face down on the mat. Acid hooks up Kage's legs from behind. He hoists him up for a split second before dropping to his knees and slamming Kage face first back down with a reverse powerbomb. Kage remains face down as Acid begins to make his way to the top. He pumps his fist in the air to cheers from the crowd, he then leaps looking for Flying legdrop but Kage pushes himself out of the way and Acid lands flat on his ass, sending a shock pain up his spine. Kage leaps up, with a new lease of life and he quickly snaps Acid's head down with a flipping neckwhip. Kage scoops up the rising Acid and slams him back down to the mat with a Michinoku Driver, which despite the height difference, still looks incredibly fierce, if not more so than usual. Kage quickly turns Acid around on the mat and locks him into a Boston Crab. But he reaches behind him and grabs the hands of Acid, allowing for him to lift him off the mat and into an inverted pendulum.

After a few seconds of intense pain to Acid, Kage can't keep the strength to hold onto the move so plants Acid unprotected, straight down onto his face. Kage rolls Acid over into a pin, 1...2... Acid kicks out. Kage shakes his head, he thought his second wind would be enough. He runs off the ropes, but comes back straight into a spinning wheel kick that almost takes his head straight from his shoulders, Acid pounces into a pin, 1...2... Kage just kicks out! The crowd sigh, whether it's good sigh or a bad sigh, it's hard to tell, it's probably one of awe. If Acid had enough hair, he'd be pulling it out. He drags Kage up to his feet and hooks him up looking for a Styles Clash. Kage though manages to fight it and he lifts Styles onto his back looking for a Belly to Back Tombstone. But Acid pushes his weight down onto Kage taking the position back to the original state. He lifts him for a Styles Clash again but this time Kage rolls up looking for a rana. He looks to bring Acid down to the mat but Acid flips Kage down onto his feet. Kage charges at Acid but gets driven down onto the back of his neck with a devastating STO. Kage rolls right through onto his front, Acid wraps his arms around the near leg of Kage, 1...2...3. Despite Kage fighting the Styles Clash twice, he still is defeated in the end. The crowd applaud both men for their performance. Acid rolls over and pats Kage on the chest and the cameras pick up him saying "Well done" to the young wrestling. Acid rolls out of the ring leaving Kage clutching his neck. Kage struggles up to his feet and a "Please come back" chant breaks out for the young Chicago native.

RESULT : ACID defeats JUSTIN KAGE

TIME : 13:10

RATING : ***1/4 - Not an outstanding match, but both men did very well for the time allotted. Not going to be up there with match of the year, but both men who are relatively unknown outside of the Midwest did themselves some favours tonight. If the crowd get there way, expect both men tomorrow night

(OOC : Aries vs Evans was cut off before the end, it'll be put in with the rest of the show)

Edited August 25, 2004 by YI

[YI]

THE BEST IN THE MIDWEST TOURNAMENT : NIGHT 1 (PART 2)

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Round 1 Match

Adam Evans vs Austin Aries

"So Cold" by Breaking Benjamin begins the play around the arena. Once it kicks in, Adam Evans makes his way out through the gym doors. He raises his tree trunk like arms high into the air to a small pop from the crowd. A bit like Justin Kage in the last match, he's known in the area, but not enough for the crowd to rally behind him. Hopefully like Kage, he'll win the crowd over with his skill. Evans looks very generic despite his big size. His plain white shorts don't really help matters either. He slaps the hands of a couple of fans on the way to the ring. He leans back into his corner as "Broken Man #6" by Rage Against the Machine hits an Austin Aries comes confidently walking out through the gymnasium doors. The crowd go crazy for Aries, who wearing navy shorts, matches off with black pads and boots. Aries walks all the way around the ring, making sure that he slaps the hands of all his fans on the way. He steps up onto the apron, he hangs there for a bit before entering the ring. The referee brings both wrestlers into the middle of the ring, he explains the rules before calling for the bell.

Both men go back to there corners to psyche themselves up a little more before the match. They greet each other in the centre of the ring. They lock up and Aries manages to hold Evans with a side headlock. Evans though quickly hits some elbows to the sternum of Aries, breaking free from the headlock. Evans unloads with some strong right hands to the face of Aries knocking him back against the turnbuckle. Evans takes a short run up and looks for a knee to Aries but Aries raises his foot up and catches the oncoming Adam Evans in the face. Aries turns the predicament around and pushes Evans back into the turnbuckle. He begins to chop away on Evans. Evans tries to block but Aries is moving to quickly for him. Aries takes Adam Evans to the mat and holds him into a side headlock. Aries strikes Evans with a couple of punches helping to restrain him. He quickly releases the side headlock but latches onto Evans' arm. He steps over the arm before dropping down onto his knees, crushing Evans' arm between his knees. Aries steps up, still with the arm locked. He twists it one more time before dropping down once more with a legdrop. Evans screams in pain as Aries steps back up to his feet whilst holding Evans in a wrist clutch.

Aries knows, due to the size and weight disadvantage, he must try and ware down the most important part of Evans' arsenal, his arms, or at least one of them. Evans starts to fight back to his feet whilst still being held in the wristlock. Aries looks to twist it into some kind of arm wrench, but Evans blocks it by grabbing Aries hair, before driving him to the canvas with a desperation, single armed neckbreaker. Evans slowly begins to reach his feet, whilst still nursing his arm. Aries though, recovers slightly more quicker allowing him to charge at Evans. He leaps up and turns around in midair, wrapping his legs around Evans in a wheelbarrow position, Aries reaches up and takes Evans back down to the mat with a smooth armdrag. Aries leaps up to his feet, only to come straight back down to Evans with a Powerdrive Elbow to the upper chest, 1...2... Evans kicks out. Aries just smiles, he himself didn't think that was enough, so he wasn't surprised by the kick out. He drags Evans the last few steps back to his feet and hooks him up for a suplex, but Aries doesn't even get a chance to attempt to execute the move as Evans rapidly begins to knee away on Aries. Aries is forced to release the suplex. Evans then changes his way of attack to some solid clubs to the back, these knock Aries, face up against the ropes. Evans hooks the two arms of Aries behind him and delivers a precision tiger suplex. Evans doesn't have the strength to bridge Aries, so just leaves him to for a crumpled heap on the mat.

Both men slowly return to their vertical base. But once again, it is still Aries who is better off, even after receiving a big move. He runs towards Evans but is knocked back to the floor with a big clothesline from Evans. Evans drags Aries up and pushes him against the ropes. He hits a couple of right hands before sending him off into the opposite ropes. Aries rebounds back off the ropes and comes right back into a big powerslam from Evans, Evans with the cover, 1...2... Aries kicks out. Both men struggle up to his feet, Evans slightly moving his hurt arm, trying to get mobility back in it. He grabs Aries by the hair and delivers a couple of solid punches, he follows them up with a kick to the gut, he shoves Aries' head between his legs before pulling him up. Evans looks for a piledriver but Aries fights it, he refuses to stay still and Evans eventually has to drop him back down, Aries takes the opportunity and uses his down coming leverage to toss Evans over to the mat with a back body drop. Aries awaits Evans to hit his feet, Aries quickly catches him with a kick to the gut, and then a single arm DDT.

Aries holds onto the arm on the mat and locks Evans into a front chickenwing type move. Aries twists Evans arm more and more, before sitting on Evans back putting him in a hammerlock chickenwing move. Evans screams out in pain as Aries looks for him to tap out. But Evans refuses and uses his immense strength to fight back up to his feet. He slowly reaches his feet with Aries up on his back. Evans collapses back into the turnbuckle, squashing Aries. Adam Evans stumbles to the opposite side of the ring as Aries slowly starts to come out from the corner. Evans charges over, he looks for a clothesline but Aries looks ready to block it but Adams notices so cuts across with his left arm with an axe bomber, which nearly takes Aries head right off. But it doesn't seem to be a good move on Evans part as he looks to have done further damage to his already, weakened left arm. Evans collapses down against the middle ropes, clutching his left arm in pain. This allows for Aries to makes his way back to his feet, both men walk into the centre of the ring, Evans hits Aries with a couple of right hands but Aries replies with two of his own. Aries then catches Evans in the face with a spinning forearm. Evans collapses back against the ropes, he then stumbles back out towards Aries. Aries with a kick to the gut, he hooks up Evans and takes him to the mat with a corkscrew snap suplex. Aries quickly makes his way to the top rope, he comes flying down with the 450 Splash! 1...2...3! Aries progresses to the quarterfinals tomorrow night. Evans slowly makes it to his feet, Aries walks up to him and shakes his hand. The crowd applaud both men, as Aries leaves the ring.

RESULT : AUSTIN ARIES defeats ADAM EVANS

TIME : 10:27

RATING : **1/2 - Good match. Evans showed what he can do, and Austin Aries was just Austin Aries. It was fairly simple, some psychology thrown in, with Aries wearing down the bigger man to weaken his offence. Would have possibly been more effective with a submission victory, but that's not that important

INTERMISSION

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Round 1 Match

Brad Bradley vs Johnny Dynamo

We return from the intermission with "At the end of August" by 36 Crazyfists, blaring around the arena. Brad Bradley makes his way out through the doors to a mixed reaction from the crowd. He yells out, "Fuck you too then" and the little cheers he was receiving turn to boos as well. Bradley is wearing his black singlet, not his NJPW (Inoki Dojo) tights like he has been recently. Bradley slowly climbs into the ring, he then pulls on the ropes and screams, trying to make himself look menacing. "Victim of Reality" by Pennywise hits and Johnny Dynamo comes screaming down to the ring in bright yellow trunks. He slides into the ring, and runs for Bradley. Bradley runs towards him too and catches Dynamo with a strong knee right to his face, knocking him flat on his back. The referee rings the bell as Dynamo returns to his feet. He challenges Bradley to a test of strength, obviously under the delusion he can beat the 6'4, 240lbs man. They lock up, Bradley easily overpowers Dynamo and just tosses him halfway across the ring. Bradley runs towards Dynamo and looks for a clothesline but Dynamo ducks and Bradley continues straight into the turnbuckle. Dynamo quickly takes Bradley down with a snapmare, he then dropkicks Bradley in the small of the back.

Bradley fights up to his feet holding his back in pain, Dynamo runs off the ropes and takes Bradley back to the mat with a quick spinning neckbreaker. Dynamo then charges off the opposite ropes, he comes back and catches Bradley across the back of the neck with a scissor kick, Dynamo looking for the pin, 1...2... Bradley kicks out. Dynamo has exploded into action, he looks psyched up for this match. Dynamo walks over to Bradley and starts to drag him to his feet. But Bradley gives him a cheap headbutt, levelling the playing field. Bradley hits a couple of right hands to his opponent, he then hoists Dynamo right up above his head. Bradley holds him there for a few seconds to show off his strength, he then drops Dynamo across the top rope hanging him out to dry. Dynamo sits across the ropes in pain, Bradley comes charging off the opposite ropes and catches Dynamo across the side of the face with a yakuza kick. Dynamo rolls down off the ropes down to the arena floor. Bradley drops out of the ring and scoops up Dynamo, he drops him quickly with a body slam onto the floor. Bradley yells for the ring crew to clear an area of the crowd. He lifts up Dynamo for another slam, but this time charges him into the turnbuckle post, he then turns quickly and slams Dynamo down hard onto the steel chairs. Dynamo pushes the chairs to one side as he slithers across the floor back towards the ring.

Bradley drags Dynamo back into the ring, he looks for the pin, 1...2... Dynamo kicks out. Bradley pulls his opponent back to his feet, he nails Dynamo with a underhand forearm shot that knocks him back into the turnbuckle. Bradley drives two knees to the gut of Dynamo before unleashing a massive uppercut, Dynamo staggers along to the next turnbuckle. Bradley follows him over and comes out again with two knees and an uppercut. Dynamo staggers on to the next turnbuckle, Bradley follows one more and again hits double knees then an uppercut to Dynamo. And once more Dynamo stumbles across to the fourth corner, but he collapses against the ropes halfway. Bradley grabs Dynamo by the hair and pushes him back against the fourth turnbuckle. Bradley breathes onto his hands before rubbing them together, he then catches Dynamo with a huge uppercut that takes him off his feet. Dynamo lies propped up against the turnbuckle. Bradley walks right to the opposite side of the ring, he comes charging straight back and he drives his knee right into the face of Dynamo. Dynamo rolls out to the centre of the ring where he remains, Bradley runs off the ropes and drops a knee across the head of Dynamo. Bradley runs off the ropes again, this time he leaps high into the air before crashing down with a double knee drop, 1...2... Dynamo gets his shoulder up. Bradley drags Dynamo to his feet, Dynamo though punches away at Bradley's gut, this allows for him to charge off the ropes, but his plan backfires as Bradley lifts Dynamo up onto his back, holding onto Dynamo's legs. Bradley slams him to the mat with an incredible Whiplash Bomb. Dynamo lies motionless on the mat, Bradley's done it. But Bradley doesn't want to finish yet, he pulls Dynamo to his feet, Dynamo can barely stand up, Bradley lifts him up before dropping onto his head with a Brainbuster, 1...2...3.

RESULT : BRAD BRADLEY defeats JOHNNY DYNAMO

TIME : 6:32

RATING : * - A glorified squash match, some nice little moves and spots in there, but the major purpose of it was just to put over Brad Bradley. Did it's job in that sense though

Brad Bradley drops out of the ring, he grabs a steel chair from where the time keeper sits. The crowd boo as Bradley gets back into the ring with the chair. He lifts it behind his head, Dynamo looks up and pleads with Bradley not to use the chair on him. Bradley stamps on the head of Dynamo. Dynamo pushes himself straight back up onto his knees to beg Bradley to reconsider using the chair but he just gets the steel right to the top of the head. Bradley pushes the chair down into the throat of Dynamo and laughs as Dynamo struggles. Bradley walks over to the turnbuckle and puts the steel chair between the middle and top rope. He drags Dynamo to his feet before whipping him headfirst into the steel chair set up in the corner. Dynamo collapses to the canvas. Bradley grabs Dynamo by the hair and pulls him into the middle of the ring. Bradley lies the chair over the face of Dynamo. Bradley runs off the ropes, he comes back and jumps slightly into the air and drops a stomp across the face of Dynamo. The crowd boo Bradley insanely, but the boos don't faze Bradley. He sits the steel chair up, open in the centre of the ring. He begins to lift up Johnny Dynamo, but as he looks up he sees Dan Severn bundling towards the ring. Severn who's wearing street clothes, jeans and a grey t-shirt steps up onto the apron. Bradley swings a right hand at him but Severn blocks and nails Bradley with a headbutt that sends him stumbling backwards. Severn steps into the ring, Bradley makes his way back towards him but Severn grabs him, spins him around and locks him into the Beast Choker. Severn though doesn't go through with the submission and throws Bradley into the corner. Severn goes wild with massive lefts and rights to the stomach of Bradley. Bradley collapses to the floor, he's never been dominated like this ever. Bradley returns to his feet, Severn runs at him and sends him over the top rope down to the arena floor with a clothesline. Bradley crawls along the floor before getting to his feet and escaping to the back with his tail between his legs. Severn helps Johnny Dynamo to his feet, but Dynamo just shrugs off his mentor and trainer. Dynamo wants to prove that he can survive without Severn. He pushes Severn to one side and leaves the ring. Severn stands in the ring staring at Dynamo, with not so much a look of anger, but a look of confusion.

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Round 1 Match

Danny Daniels (w/ Jim Fannin) vs "Kamikaze" Ken Anderson

"The Only" by Static X blares out on the speaker system. Ken Anderson steps out from the doors. He has immense support from the crowd tonight, and he makes sure that he makes contact with all his fans on the way to the ring (Excluding those in the bleachers, that's just too much). Anderson adjusts his dark blue, PVC trunks before leaping up onto the apron and then rolling into the ring. He jumps up to the middle rope and hoists his arms in the air, garnering more applause from the crowd. "Turn me on Mr Deadman" by Union Underground hits and Jim Fannin opens up the doors allowing for Danny Daniels to walk on through. Daniels over exaggerates his taunts on the way to the ring, mocking some of the faces from earlier in the night and Ken Anderson on his way to the ring. Daniels is wearing dark green all in one attire. He steps onto the apron and loosens the straps, showing he's all business tonight. Fannin yells at the crowd as Daniels enters the ring. The referee calls for the bell and the match gets underway. Both men lock up in the centre of the ring, they could be looking for a test of strength, but Daniels cheaply kicks Anderson in the gut, Anderson caught off guard, drops to his knees. Daniels walks around the ring taunting and laughing, all this does though is infuriate his opponent.

Anderson leaps up and decks Daniels with a massive right hand. He drags Daniels up and unloads with more right hands. After numerous punches Daniels collapses back into the turnbuckle. But Anderson isn't stopping, he continues to work away on Danny Daniels with a barrage of lefts and rights. Daniels collapses to the floor as the referee pulls Anderson away. Fannin leans through the ropes and gives Daniels some words of encouragement as he gets back to his feet. Daniels stumbles over to Anderson, Anderson goes to grapple him up but Daniels scouts it and after a quick go behind, he trips Anderson to the canvas before locking him into a grounded headlock. Both men rotate around the mat, this is partly due to Anderson trying to escape and Daniels being cocking, trying to show he's in control. Anderson fights up but Daniels holds onto the headlock and brings Anderson straight back to the mat with a headlock takedown. Daniels again holds onto the headlock on the ground, wearing away at his opponent. Anderson once again fights to his feet, this time he manages to break the hold by pushing Daniels into the turnbuckle. Anderson bundles across the ring towards Daniels but just gets a face full of boot. Daniels quickly capitalises by body slamming Ken Anderson. Anderson quickly returns to his feet, Daniels grabs him from behind and runs him head first into the turnbuckle.

Anderson collapses to the floor, Daniels has to drag him back up to his feet in order to hook him up and hit a snap suplex. Daniels turns quickly and puts Anderson into a sleeper hold. Daniels is the dominant force in this match, despite not getting as much high offence moves in, he's just wearing away at Anderson slowly, for now. Daniels grips the sleeper in, he's looking to weaken his opponent, so that his high impact moves do even more damage. Anderson begins to fight from the sleeper, he nails some strong elbows to the gut of Daniels before driving him down onto his head with a side suplex. Daniels rolls over to Jim Fannin in the corner as Anderson collapses into the opposite corner to catch a breath. Both men make their way back to the centre of the ring, Daniels catches Anderson off guard with a quick kick to the gut, he quickly takes Anderson to the mat with a butterfly suplex. Daniels rolls through and holds onto a vicious butterfly lock. Anderson screams in pain as Daniels continues to pull up underneath his arms, clinching his upper body. Anderson stamps his feet on the floor to try and psyche himself up and fight through the pain. Anderson manages to headbutt Daniels right between the eyes forcing him to break the submission.

Both men fight to their feet, Daniels latches on Anderson from behind and locks him up in an abstretch. Daniels again is looking to wear away on his opponent. Anderson grits his teeth and throws a couple of elbows back but he can't seem to get them to connect with Daniels. Daniels wraps his left leg around the head of Anderson and turns the abstretch into an octopus stretch. Anderson screams in pain as Fannin jumps around outside the ring, he thinks that this will finish off Anderson. Anderson though has other ideas, he starts to throw wild elbows towards Daniels. A couple connect to the heart of Daniels, catching him off guard. This allows for Anderson to throw Daniels to the mat with a weak hiptoss. Daniels sits straight up but Anderson gives him a stiff soccer kick right to the back of the head. Daniels stumbles to his feet, he's up but he's still groggy. Anderson takes the opportunity and throws his opponent straight over the top rope down to the arena floor. Anderson taunts to applause from the crowd as he waits for Danny Daniels to get back into the ring. Daniels steps onto the apron but turns around for a pep talk with Jim Fannin, which allows Anderson to punch him in the face and then grab the ropes and fling Daniels back into the ring, the hard way. Daniels gets up holding his back in his left hand, Ken Anderson quickly whips his opponent into the ropes, Daniels comes back and Anderson throws him over his shoulders with a big belly to belly suplex.

Daniels lands badly on his neck, but still finds the strength to get straight back to his feet, albeit heavily dazed. Anderson takes Daniels out with a strong discus clothesline, he looks for the pin, 1...2... Daniels kicks out. Anderson pulls Daniels straight back to his feet, obviously looking to keep this string of moves going. He whips Daniels once again to the ropes, but Daniels reverses and Anderson himself is sent in. Anderson comes back and looks to catch Daniels with an attack of some kind, what he attempts we will never know as Daniels rolls through and trips Anderson locking him into a Boston crab. Daniels doesn't get an opportunity to lock it in properly and Anderson makes a dash towards the ropes, but Daniels drags him into the centre of the ring and sits back on the submission. Anderson tries to grip the mat, but he's got nothing to latch onto. Daniels lucks smugly confident that this is going to be enough to win him the match. Thinking this he loses concentration for a second or two, allowing Anderson to use his upper body strength to push himself up and roll Daniels through into a sitout bridge, 1...2... Daniels kicks out. Anderson drops back against the ropes, Danny Daniels comes bundling towards him but Anderson greats him with a shoulder dip and Daniels falls down onto the apron. Unaware that Daniels is still on the apron, Anderson tries to catch a breath but Daniels spins him around and catches him in the face with a swinging elbow. Daniels quickly makes his way up to the top rope where he comes flying down catching Anderson with a missile dropkick to the chest, 1...2... Anderson kicks out.

Daniels grabs the leg of the rising Ken Anderson, he rapidly spins around taking Anderson down viciously to the mat in what looks sort of like an inverted dragon screw. Daniels holds onto the leg of Anderson, he looks for a figure 4 leglock but as he turns, Anderson pushes him face first into the turnbuckle using his free leg. Anderson quickly pushes himself up and catches Daniels under the chin with a sickening uppercut. Daniels drops to his knee before falling against the ropes. Anderson whips Daniels into the opposite ropes, Daniels comes back and Anderson throws him in the air before dropping him flat on his face with a flapjack, Anderson looking to end it, 1...2... Daniels kicks out. Anderson drags Daniels up by his balding hair, he looks for a reverse suplex but Daniels escapes his clutches and drops out of the back. Daniels makes a quick dash for Anderson but Anderson just helps him on into the turnbuckle. Anderson follows straight up with a turnbuckle clothesline that knocks Daniels to the floor. Danny Daniels comes crawling out from the turnbuckle, Anderson grabs him and shoves his head between his legs. One high impact powerbomb later and Daniels is flat out on the canvas. Anderson slices his hand across the throat, it looks like he thinks it's over. He makes his way to the top rope, here it comes, Kenton Bomb! Fannin buries his head in his hands as Anderson rests an arm over the motionless body of Danny Daniels, 1...2... Daniels gets his shoulder up! The crowd don't believe it, Anderson doesn't believe, the absolutely ecstatic Jim Fannin doesn't even seem to believe it.

Fannin starts rubbing it in the face of the fans, who thought and hoped that would have put Danny Daniels from the tournament. Anderson walks over to Daniels and starts to pull him to his feet, Daniels though pokes Anderson in the eyes. The referee warns Danny Daniels but the damage is done, he kicks Anderson in the gut before driving his head into the canvas with a Piledriver, 1...2... Anderson kicks out! Daniels screams out, No, No, No, at the top of his voice, he's highly frustrated. He pulls Anderson quickly back to his feet, he scoops him up, here comes the Tombstone Piledriver. No. Anderson who's kicking his legs wildly manages to roll out sideways and now was Daniels in the Tombstone. Sensing that it's all up for Daniels, Fannin steps up onto the apron and catches Anderson in the face with an unprotected jab. The referee goes and tries to get Fannin to leave, this leads to an argument between Fannin and the referee. Meanwhile, Daniels shifts his bodyweight backwards and falls onto his feet, he now has Anderson in a Tombstone and he drops him to the canvas. It's surely over now. Daniels hooks the leg of Anderson, but the referees too involved with Fannin to realise. Daniels yells at Fannin to get off the apron, he then gets the attention of the referee. He walks back over the Anderson but is caught off guard, small package, 1...2...3! Ken Anderson progresses, Anderson progresses! Anderson rolls out of the ring and is congratulated by his fans, Fannin gets into the ring and Daniels screams at him for costing him the match, Fannin apologises and follows an angry Danny Daniels to the back.

RESULT : KEN ANDERSON defeats DANNY DANIELS

TIME : 15:21

RATING : *** - Good match, both men gelled really well together and brought their best. They also both looked that they could have went on longer, which is always a good thing. Daniels especially was in great form, I hope this loss doesn't mean that the tournament was a one time deal, he would be a great addition to The AWL roster

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Round 1 Match

"The Human Rulebook" Chandler McClure vs Vito Thomaselli

"Way Away" by Yellowcard hits and Chandler McClure makes his way out from the doors. He blows his whistle, which is around his neck, attached to a bright, aluminous yellow chord. McClure show is wearing a sleeveless, black and white stripped, referee style t-shirt and black shorts. He walks blowing his whistle every step of the way, which infuriates all the fans in the arena. He blows it right in the face of a couple of the fans who are complaining, one of the ring staff go over and pull him away, so McClure blows the whistle right in the face of this guy who must be at least 6'4, 270lbs. Granted most of the weight's fat, but he's still big. The staff member just shoves him in the face, in reply McClure once again blows the whistle, but he points to the entrance and call a penalty and tells the staff member to go to the sin bin. The staff member and the crowd just laugh off McClure, McClure shakes his head before sliding into the ring. He takes off his whistle and puts it around the neck of the referee. The crowd start cheering the fact that he's stopped whistling. "Superstar Pt.2" by Saliva begins to play and Vito Thomaselli comes out form the back. He looks full of life as he flings his arms into the air and jumps up and down. He's wearing orange trunks, with a black male symbol on the front. Thomaselli holds his hands out to a fan, the fan goes to low five Thomaselli but he pulls his hands out of the way and laughs in the fans face saying, school boy error. Thomaselli rolls into the ring, this is going to be a weird match, as both men are heels.

Both men lock up in the centre of the ring, McClure trips Vito down to the mat. Vito leaps straight back up and McClure tosses him over his shoulder with a judo hip throw. He holds him in a wristlock, until Vito quickly spins up to his feet and takes Chandler down with an armdrag. He then holds McClure in a wristlock of his own, McClure now spins up to his feet and he rakes Vito right between the eyes. This gets some heat from the relatively silent crowd, who now seem to be backing Vito after McClure's underhand tactics. The referee warns McClure who just laughs it off. He pushes Vito against the turnbuckle, where he steps up onto the middle rope and starts with a 10-punch combo. After around 4 or 5 punches, Vito pushes McClure off him, whilst swinging his leg up catching McClure with a low blow in midair. The crowd still seem behind Thomaselli, due to them finding McClure so damn annoying. McClure collapses down to the floor, propped up against the turnbuckle. The referee warns Vito Thomaselli who is walking to the opposite corner. Vito charges towards McClure and catches him full on right between the eyes with a face wash dropkick. Vito leaps up and does a cocky taunt, a taunt that would normally get him boos, but tonight it gets cheered the hell out of. McClure comes stumbling up, out from the corner. Vito tries to catch him with a clothesline but he quickly ducks, before grabbing him by the hair and dropping to his knees, taking Vito down with a faceplant.

Chandler holds his hand across his face, he pulls it away and there's blood on it, his nose has been bust by that face wash dropkick. He tells the referee to give him a time out but the referee refuses, saying it's not in the rules of the match. McClure rambles on about certain procedures and rules, and that he can and should be granted a 20 second respite. The referee eventually grants it, probably just to shut up McClure. McClure gets one of the ring staff to pass him a towel, he quickly wipes the blood from his face. He throws the towel down and charges at Vito Thomaselli. Thomaselli caught off guard, having a break is crushed in the corner with a turnbuckle clothesline, McClure grabs his head and runs out hitting a bulldog. The crowd boo McClure as the referee goes and have a word with him, McClure says that the break can be ended once the injured party feels well enough to continue. McClure drags Vito to his feet, Vito swings some right hands to McClure but they are weak and have no effect, McClure hoists him over one shoulder into a Canadian backbreaker. McClure looks to drive Thomaselli down with a face first sitout slam but Thomaselli drops out to the back. McClure turns around only to get a step up enziguri right to the face, 1...2... McClure kicks out. Vito quickly hooks up McClure and takes him to the mat with a snap suplex.

With McClure on the floor Thomaselli makes his way to the top rope, but the risk doesn't pay off as McClure gets up and pushes down the top rope, crotching Vito. Chandler steps backwards onto the middle rope, he grabs the arm of Vito and gives him a judo hip throw, right down to the canvas. Thomaselli lies, flat out cold as McClure steps up the little way to the top rope, before coming flying down with an elbow drop, shades of Macho Man, 1...2... Thomaselli gets his shoulder up. McClure grabs the rising Thomaselli and looks to drop him on the top of his head with the Vertical Cutter but Thomaselli pushes him into the turnbuckle. Thomaselli quickly kicks McClure in the gut, he hooks his arms and takes him to the mat with a sitout tiger driver, 1...2... McClure gets his shoulder up. That was so close. Thomaselli quickly makes his way to the top rope before McClure makes his feet. This time, the risk pays off as Vito hits a missile dropkick, that connects right to the face Chandler, as Thomaselli makes the cover, McClure's nose starts to bleed again, 1...2... McClure kicks out. McClure struggles to his feet, he starts to wipe the blood away with the back of his hand. Thomaselli grabs him from behind and lifts him onto his shoulder, he wraps his arms around his neck before driving him straight down into the Sicilian Driver, he holds onto the bridge, 1...2...3! Thomaselli slaps McClure in the face and he doesn't move. So Vito takes McClure's whistle from the referee, and blows it right in his face, McClure sits up and almost craps himself. Vito, the crowd and even the referee laugh at McClure he clutches his whistle from Thomaselli, who then leaves. He better make the most of the applause, as come tomorrow in his match with Acid, he wont be getting any.

RESULT : VITO THOMASELLI defeats CHANDLER MCCLURE

TIME : 9:08

RATING : *3/4 - An entertaining little match, seemed very weird at first due to both men being heels, but the more it went on the better it got. Probably the most entertaining match on the card so far, from a non-skill point of view as the crowd were hot throughout, once they'd decided who they were going to cheer and who they're going to boo. That said, both men could be huge in The AWL

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Round 1 Match

Michael Strider vs Shawn Daivari

"Rio Bravo" by CKY plays around the arena and Mike Strider walks out, kendo stick in hand. He's wearing baggy, blue jeans and his black sleeveless top with Michael Strider written across it. He steps into the ring, he smacks the kendo stick across each of the four corners before raising it high in the air in the centre of the ring. This is where he remains as "Prophecy" by Soufly, begins to play and Shawn Daivari, who's trunks, the front's black but the back is the Iranian flag, comes out from the doors, waving his multi-coloured magic carpet around. The crowd boos as he slides into the ring on top of his carpet. He gets into the ring and folds up the carpet neatly, he goes to hand it to the referee, but Strider just knocks it from his hands. The carpet goes over the head of the referee, Strider takes the opportunity and smacks Daivari over the head with the kendo stick. Knocking him to the mat. Daivari stumbles back against the turnbuckle as Strider tells the referee to ring the bell. Strider runs at Daivari and steamrolls in with a knee to the gut, Daivari collapses in the corner, Strider runs at him again, this time he drives a knee right to his face. Strider though isn't finished as he runs off the ropes and catches Daivari in the side of the head with a face wash. The crowd go crazy as Daivari is having his ass kicked early on.

Strider drags him to his feet and looks for a short arm clothesline, but Daivari ducks, he quickly rolls up Strider with a school boy, this can't be, 1...2... no, Strider kicks out. Strider swings a right hand, but Daivari uses his speed to duck it, he then catches Strider with some quick right hands of his own before sending him into the turnbuckle. Strider comes stumbling out, Daivari runs and springboards off the middle rope, catching Strider with a turning cross body, 1...2... Strider kicks out. Daivari runs at Strider who just catches him with a standing big boot. Daivari stumbles around, Strider gives him a kick to the gut before lifting him up for a suplex, but instead of taking him down he drops him across the top rope. Daivari's upper body is hanging into the ring. Strider runs off the ropes, coming towards Daivari from the side, he swings his right foot up and catches Daivari right in the face. Daivari collapses down to the apron. Strider lifts his arms in the air to cheers from the crowd. He walks back over to Daivari and reaches out to the apron and starts to pull him to his feet. Daivari has other ideas and he drives his shoulder into the gut of Strider. He looks for a sunset flip but Strider pushes his shoulders up, flinging Daivari back in a sort of back body drop, Daivari flies through the air and crashes into the referee, who cushions Daivari, taking the brunt of the bump. Strider walks over to Daivari who's rolled away from the knocked out referee, Daivari spots Strider coming and at last minute leaps high into the air and catches him with a side head scissor rana, type move.

Daivari leaps to his feet and walks over to Strider, he catches Strider with a dropkick to the back Strider falls to the outside of the ring. Daivari walks to the ropes, he leaps up, springboards off the top rope before diving down onto Strider with a plancha. Daivari pulls himself to his feet using the apron, he pushes himself up onto the apron. He mocks the crowd and Strider, and receives some boos. He jumps off the apron with a double-footed stomp to the upper chest of Strider. His entire body weight came crashing down onto the ribs of Strider! Daivari spins around cockily, before laughing at the floored Strider. As he does this, his eye catches onto Strider's cane. The crowd boo as Daivari reaches down and picks it up, he pushes the end, hard into the throat of Strider. He then starts to poke him all over the body with it, before stopping and laughing. He drags Strider to his feet and goes to slide him into the ring but Strider catches him with a back elbow, Daivari though quickly regains the momentum by slamming Strider's face off the apron before rolling him into the ring. Daivari picks up the cane and follows. Daivari catches Strider to a couple of cane shots to the back of the head as he makes his feet. Strider turns around and gets swinging cane shot to the side of the face. Strider stumbles around before Daivari decks him with an overhead cane shot. But Strider isn't completely out, and starts to fight to his feet. Daivari steps up onto the middle rope, he leaps down literally smashing the cane in two over the head of Strider. Daivari disposes of the evidence as the referee recovers at the optimum time to make the count, 1...2... Strider gets his shoulder up!

Daivari doesn't believe it, he takes Strider straight to the mat once again, dropping onto his face with a double arm DDT. Daivari steps out onto the apron, he grabs his multi-coloured carpet before making his way to the top rope. He comes flying from the top and hits The Magic Carpet Ride. But no! Michael Strider manages to roll out of the way. Daivari pushes the carpet to once side as he struggles to his feet, holding his stomach, after the missed Frog Splash winded him. Strider grabs Daivari's head before driving him to the canvas with an Old School Neckbreaker, 1...2... Daivari kicks out! Strider though doesn't let off with his attacks, he goes charging off the ropes before catching Daivari in the temple with a mafia kick. Strider thinks this will be enough, 1...2... Daivari kicks out again! Strider knees Daivari in the gut, he shoves his head between his legs before hoisting him up for a powerbomb. But Daivari wont go down without a fight, he starts to punch away at the face of Strider, he tries to bring him down with a rana but Strider blocks, he hoists Daivari back up and goes for the powerbomb. He starts to toss him down but Daivari uses the speed he's travelling down to snap down Strider and reverse it into a rana, he holds on with a bridge, 1...2... Strider kicks out. Strider steps up dazed and falls into the turnbuckle. Daivari taunts, before running towards him. But Strider comes charging out and meets him halfway with a spear, almost snapping Daivari in half. Daivari stumbles up, Strider grabs him from behind before driving him onto his neck with a Back Drop Driver, Strider holds onto the bridge, 1...2...3.

RESULT : MICHAEL STRIDER defeats SHAWN DAIVARI

TIME : 8:43

RATING : *1/4 - Not exactly the greatest match in the tournament. There was a major contrast of styles, but the crowd seemed to be into it, really getting on the back of Daivari

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Round 1 Match

Delirious vs Matt Sydal

"Clavicle" by Alkaline Trio begins to play around the arena, the main event of the evening is about to get underway. Matt Sydal makes his way out through the gymnasium doors, wearing his trademark blue pants, with occasional green hoops, matched off with green kneepads and long white wrist tape. Sydal walks around the ring slapping the hands of all the fans in the front row. He rolls under the bottom rope into the ring, he jumps up and spins around receiving applause from the crowd. He squats down in the ring, waiting his opponent. "I'm Deranged" by David Bowie chillingly plays around the arena. Delirious steps out through the doors, slightly hunchbacked, whenever he stalls he twitches slightly and constantly moves his fingers. Delirious turns slowly and looks at the fans, he gets mixed reactions. Delirious slides into the ring before taking off his black t-shirt, before adjusting his black pants. The referee goes to both men and checks them for foreign objects. The referee walks back to the centre of the ring and calls for the bell, the final first round match gets underway.

Delirious and Sydal walk up to each other in the middle of the ring, they've been having problems recently but as they stare each other down, you can still see some compassion between the two. They slowly reach out their hands and lock up in the centre of the ring. Sydal outsmarts Delirious and twists him into an arm wrench, Delirious rolls forwards and looks to escape, but Sydal twists his arm around again and holds him still with the arm wrench. Delirious though has other ideas, and kicks away the legs of Sydal tripping him onto his back, Delirious pounces into a pin, 1... Sydal easily kicks out. Sydal leaps up to his feet, Delirious takes him straight back down onto his ass with a snapmare, and follows it up quickly with a dropkick to the back of Sydal. Sydal crawls over to the corner, where he pushes himself to his feet. Delirious charges towards him, but Sydal swings his foot up and catches Delirious in the face with a boot. Sydal spins Delirious around pushing him back against the turnbuckle. Sydal starts to chop away at the chest of Delirious. Delirious' chest starts to turn more and more red after every chop, eventually Sydal has mercy on Delirious and stops chopping. Instead he catches him in the face with a spin kick that knocks Delirious to the floor. Delirious pushes himself along the canvas, towards the centre of the ring. Sydal runs off the ropes, he comes back but Delirious springs straight up catching him in the face with a huge dropkick, Sydal backflips over before falling onto his chest, Delirious looks for the pin, 1...2... Sydal kicks out.

Delirious quickly leaps to his feet, and pulls Sydal up the rest of the way. Delirious hoists Sydal up onto his shoulders before throwing him back to the canvas with a fireman's toss. Delirious jumps onto the middle rope before jumping backwards hitting the floored Sydal with a moonsault. The referee drops down to make the count but Delirious leaps straight back up. Once again he springs off the middle rope, this time he jumps to the top before coming crashing down with a corkscrew attack onto Sydal, now he goes for the pin, 1...2... Sydal kicks out. Delirious looks to continue with the offence as he darts off the ropes. But Sydal reverses by lifting Delirious up in a flapjack and falling back, sending Delirious throat first across the top rope. Delirious stumbles around but stays on his feet, Sydal though soon knocks him down with a superkick right to the face. Delirious doesn't stay down long as he pushes himself up using the ropes, but he's still a little worse for wear, as Sydal walks over he cowers down to the canvas and falls out of the ring. Delirious stands dazed on the arena floor, Matt Sydal walks up to the ropes and points down to his opponent below. The crowd let off a cheer as Sydal slingshots over the top rope down to the floor taking Delirious out with a rana.

The crowd go crazy as both men lie knocked out, on the outside of the ring. Sydal is the first to reach his feet, he clambers up onto the apron and waits for Delirious to get back to his feet. Sydal springboards off the middle rope and dives down onto Delirious with an asai moonsault. Delirious falls to the floor once again, and Sydal manages to land on his feet. Sydal rolls into the ring, only to roll straight back out, in order to return the count to zero. Sydal drags Delirious to his feet, he catches him in the face with a couple of left hand jabs, before hooking him up for a suplex. Sydal hoists Delirious high into the air but Delirious hits off the ropes, this gives him some momentum allowing for him to roll down and drive Sydal's skull on the gymnasium floor with a DDT. Sydal looks to be out completely cold, Delirious slaps him a couple of times but still he doesn't move. Delirious drags him a little, and only then does Sydal show any signs of life. Delirious slides into the ring and makes his way up to the top rope. He waits up on the top rope for Sydal to eventually reach his feet. Delirious leaps high into the air, he comes crashing down with a shooting star attack onto the groggy Matt Sydal. Once again both men lie flat out on the floor. The referee starts to make his count. If it reaches 20 both men are eliminated from the tournament and Brad Bradley gets a bye to the semi finals. The referee's count reaches 14 before Delirious manages to get back into the ring. But instead of leaving Sydal to be counted out, he slides back out of the ring, it looks like this fight outside the ring is going to continue.

Delirious pulls Sydal to his feet and nails him in the face with a couple of right hands. The ring crew move the first few rows of the crowd to one side as Delirious decks Sydal with a front forearm uppercut. Delirious turns and faces the crowd (Which is now mostly empty seats as they've been moved) and raises his arms into the air, and begins to shake, he receives a mixture of cheers and boos as he lowers his arms back down. He steps up onto one of the front row chairs, he looks like he's going to hit a moonsault on Matt Sydal, but he gets distracted with taunting the fans, which allows for Sydal to return to his feet and dropkick Delirious in the back, knocking him into the next row of seats! Sydal pushes a couple of chairs to one side and makes his way towards Delirious. Delirious struggles to his feet, clutching his back, Sydal unloads with a few left hand shots to the face, Delirious though manages to fight back and elbows Sydal in the face. Delirious takes a short run up and heads off towards Sydal, Matt though has it scouted and lunges forwards knocking Delirious to the floor with a clothesline. Sydal stretches his left arm to loosen it up a bit after the clothesline. He then turns his attentions back to his opponent as in the ring the referee tries his best to find ways to distract himself from making the count. Sydal grabs onto the mask of Delirious, he looks to smash his face into a chair but Delirious fights free, he then grabs Sydal by the hair and looks to slam his head into the chair but Sydal blocks it by putting his leg on the chair, he then grabs Delirious' mask once more and this time slams his face into the steel chair.

Delirious stumbles around completely dazed, he falls up against a fan wearing a Metallica t-shirt, he pats the fan on the head and starts to rub his belly, which gets a laugh from the crowd. He turns around and starts to play air guitar before turning back to pat the fan on the head once more, whilst this is happening Sydal just stands waiting. Sydal catches Delirious across the side of the face with a big left hand, he then follows it up quickly with a right handed jab. He grabs Delirious and looks to Irish whip him towards the gymnasium wall, but Delirious reverses and sends Sydal flying face first into the wall. The crowd grimace as the slap of Sydal's body colliding with the wall echoes right around the arena. Sydal falls flat on his back. The home video camera zooms in on Sydal as blood starts to treacle out of two cuts, one at the top of the forehead and another just above the right eye. Delirious rolls back into the ring, relieving the referee from making reasons not to finish the 20 count. Delirious though slides back out of the ring. He grabs an empty chair from the crowd and places just to the outside of the ring. As Delirious is positioning the chair, Matt Sydal starts to crawl back towards the ring. Sydal wipes the blood from his brow as he gets up to his feet. Delirious runs towards him, he steps up onto the chair before jumping towards Sydal taking him out with his thigh. Sydal collapses back to the floor. Delirious pushes the chair to one side and pulls Sydal back to his feet and rolls him into the ring. Delirious steps up onto the apron, he then slingshots over the top rope into a flipping leg drop, Delirious holds Sydal down in a lateral press and gets the 1...2... Sydal gets his shoulder up.

Delirious grabs Sydal from behind as he get back to his feet, Delirious twists Sydal to the side and looks to take him down with a neckbreaker but Sydal fights free and pushes Delirious into the ropes. Delirious comes darting back, Sydal catches him full on in the face with a superkick, he pounces onto Delirious and violently hooks his leg, he is looking to end it, 1...2... Delirious kicks out. Sydal quickly gets to his feet, he seems to have a new lease of life. He pushes himself up onto the middle rope as Delirious comes stumbling over. Sydal grabs Delirious and holds him still, Sydal looks for a tornado DDT but Delirious manages to push him away. Sydal though manages to roll through backwards and get straight back onto his feet. Delirious bundles towards Sydal, Sydal though has it scouted and throws Delirious to the canvas with a hiptoss. Delirious gets up to his feet, Sydal gives him a right hand hook to the face before whipping him into the corner. Sydal charges at Delirious in the corner, but Delirious sees it coming and pushes both his legs high into the air, whilst gripping on the top rope to hold him up. He wraps both his legs around the throat of the oncoming Matt Sydal and holds him in a choke. The referee gives Delirious a 5 count in order to release the submission, with the threat of being disqualified. Delirious releases the hold on 3 by letting go of the ropes and giving Sydal a rana like move, slamming him face first into the top turnbuckle pad, causing Sydal to collapse the floor. Also reopening the wound at the top of his forehead.

Delirious looks to end the match as he grabs Sydal from behind, he looks to drop Sydal with the Chemical Imbalance II but Sydal flips over the shoulder of Delirious, landing on his feet behind him. But before Matt can take the advantage, Delirious catches him in the face with a turning uppercut, which knocks Matt Sydal onto his ass. Delirious hooks up Sydal and drops him to his feet, he sets Matt up for a suplex, and hooks up the leg. He lifts Matt Sydal high into the air, before dropping him right on the top of his head with a twisting fisherman's buster. Delirious hooks up the near leg of Sydal, this could be it, 1...2... Sydal gets his shoulder up! Delirious gets to his feet, he's followed slowly by Matt Sydal. He hits Sydal with a couple of weak right hands before pushing him backwards against the turnbuckle. He hits a few stronger right hands to Sydal in the corner. He then repays Sydal a spin kick to the face that knocks him down to the floor. Delirious walks across to the opposite corner as Sydal positions himself, leaning up against the turnbuckle. Delirious lifts his arms into the air and begins to shake, he then darts forward and drives his knee into Sydal, with the panic attack.

Delirious runs out from the corner, shaking vigorously. He composes himself and walks back over to the corner. He has to pull Sydal back to his feet. Sydal can barely stand, Delirious whips him into the opposite corner. Sydal rolls up the turnbuckle and gets trapped in a tree of woe. Delirious points to Sydal hanging down in the corner. The crowd now seem to be very much behind Delirious, they are basically just cheering whoever has the advantage. Delirious runs towards Sydal, he jumps into the air before crashing down with a dropkick to the face of Sydal. Sydal collapses in a heap next to the corner, Delirious drags him to the centre of the ring, 1...2... Sydal kicks out! Delirious doesn't believe it, two blows to the face of Sydal, but it's still not over. Delirious runs off the ropes and towards the rising Matt Sydal. Sydal though uses every bit of strength he has left to hit a tilt-a-whirl suplex like move, dropping Delirious flat on his face. Both men lie on the canvas, trying to catch their breath. Delirious is the first one to stir, but Sydal makes his way to the corner and manages to get himself up onto the middle rope. Delirious gets up and slowly stumbles over to Sydal, Sydal flips forward off the middle rope and takes out Delirious with a dragon-o-rana, he hooks up the legs of Delirious behind him, 1...2... Delirious kicks out! Despite the momentum from the last ditch kick out, Delirious is still out on the mat. Sydal takes the opportunity and slowly starts to make his way to the top rope. Sydal pauses on the top rope, unsure whether Delirious is playing possum, but he decides to jump and he connects with the Shooting Star Press, he manages to push himself on top of Delirious, 1...2... Delirious gets his shoulder up!!!

It's hard to tell who's most surprised, Matt Sydal or Delirious himself. Delirious is still flat on the canvas as Sydal sits kneeling by his side, aggravated, pulling his hair out. Sydal stalks the rising Delirious, Delirious turns around just in time to duck an oncoming clothesline, despite not always being the quick thinker, Delirious acts quickly reaching behind and taking Sydal to the canvas with a neckbreaker. Both men crawl over to opposite sides of the ring where they use ropes to aid them to their feet. Sydal and Delirious both stumble towards the centre of the ring, Delirious reacts fastest by delivering a boot to the gut of Sydal. He scoops Sydal up, he spins around before driving Sydal down with the Chemical Imbalance. The crowd go absolutely wild as Delirious looks for the pin, 1...2... Sydal kicks out!!! Delirious screams and slaps his hands on the mat, now he's getting desperate. He steps out onto the apron and makes his way up to the top rope. Sydal struggles to his feet, he leans over holding his back. Delirious takes the opportunity and flies from the top rope. He looks for the Back Splash, but Sydal looks up and manages to dodge at last minute, causing Delirious to smack face first onto the canvas. Sydal realises that the clock is now below 30 seconds, so he looks to put Delirious away quickly. He tries to lift Delirious up for a powerbomb but doesn't have the strength. He lifts and lifts and lifts but can't quite do it. So he pushes Delirious down against the ropes and uses the momentum to spins Delirious around before dropping him between his legs with a helicopter bomb. Both reach a halt on the canvas, as the referee and the crowd count down the match, 4...3...2...1... the bell sounds, it's a draw!

RESULT : DELIRIOUS and MATT SYDAL draw

TIME : 20:00

The crowd don't sound best pleased with a draw to finish the match, as they boo the decision. The referee is given a microphone, and the boos disappear but are replaced with a deathly silence.

"To be perfectly honest, I don't want to see one hell of a match end this way. I know you, the fans don't want it to end this way, and I'm damn right sure these two guys haven't busted their asses off for 20 minutes to see this match end in a draw. This is the Best in the Midwest tournament, there's no fucking byes, well not on my watch. So 5 more minutes, that's it, only 5. 5 minutes to find a winner!"

The crowd erupt as the referee tosses the microphone out of the ring. He calls for the bell once again, Delirious and Sydal reach their feet, and the match continues. Delirious charges as Sydal, Sydal takes him down with a drop toehold, he keeps Delirious' legs trapped and locks him up into an STF. Delirious though refuses to stay still. Sydal can't get it locked in correctly and Delirious manages to free his legs. Sydal turns the submission into a side headlock. Delirious quickly fights to his feet but Sydal brings him back down with a headlock takedown. This time Delirious is on his back in a side headlock, but he still refuses to give up fight, he reaches his legs up and traps them under the arms of Sydal before pulling him down onto the mat, Delirious with a pinning combination, 1...2... Sydal rolls forward and has Delirious in a pin, 1...2... Delirious kicks out. Both men jump to their feet, Sydal reacts first and knees Delirious in the gut. He hooks him up in a pump handle, he lifts him up before driving him headfirst to the ground with a sort of storm cradle driver variation, with a move that very much resembles Delirious' own, Chemical Imbalance II. Sydal holds on for the pin, 1...2... Delirious kicks out!!! Sydal doesn't believe it, he runs off the ropes, he comes back and plants Delirious to the canvas with a 3/4 face lock bulldog. Sydal then springs off the middle rope with a lionsault but he turns into a twisting senton, he quickly goes for the pin, 1...2... Delirious kicks out!

Sydal sits up, he's becoming excessively frustrated at not being able to put Delirious away. As we're about 22/23 minutes into the match, he must finish it soon. Sydal drags Delirious to his feet and whips him into the turnbuckle. Sydal runs towards Delirious but Delirious pushes himself into the air and rolls up Sydal with a sunset flip, 1...2... Sydal kicks out. Both men get up quickly, Sydal quickly grabs Delirious and spins him around, he looks to take him down with a backslide but Delirious blocks it and tosses Sydal over his shoulder onto his feet. Both men quickly swing a punch and catch each other in the face at the same time. Both competitors stumble around the ring, they both make their way back to each other, they leap up simultaneously and manage to catch each other in he face at the same time with dropkicks. Both men lie flat out on the mat, the referee starts to make a double count, 1...2...3...4...5...6...7... both men begin to move, ever so slightly. Delirious hits his feet first, he charges at Sydal, he goes for a head scissor takedown but keeps on spinning, he does a good few rotation before taking Sydal down to the canvas. The crowd go wild for the cyclone head scissors. Delirious gets straight to his feet but is incredibly dazed. He falls back against the turnbuckle, so decides to climb it. He is looking to end it. Delirious reaches the top rope, he manages to maintain balance, but as he looks up Sydal is back to his feet. Delirious is too late to react, Sydal jumps up and grabs Delirious before flying straight back down to the mat with the Moonsault Belly to Belly!!! Sydal rolls on top of Delirious, 1...2...3! Sydal's done it, Sydal's done it! He takes the final quarterfinal spot!

RESULT : MATT SYDAL dfts DELIRIOUS

TIME : 24:19

RATING : ****1/4 - Amazing match, just simply amazing. Could have been even better if excessive time had not been spent on the outside, it made the referee look stupid, trying to think of reasons not to count both men out. It wasn't a technical masterpiece, but it wasn't an all out spotfest either

The crowd break into mass applause for both men. Sydal is helped to his feet by the referee who raises his arm in victory. Sydal and the referee walk around the ring as a "Match of the Year" chant breaks out (It was good, not that good though). Sydal leans over in agony as Delirious lies on his back with his head in his hands in disappointment. Sydal points down at Delirious and applauds with the crowd. Delirious sits up, Sydal looks down on him, and slowly offers his arm down. Delirious looks at his hands and then up at Sydal. Delirious places his hands in Sydal's and Sydal pulls him up to his feet. Both men stare each other down, there's still animosity between the two. After moments of pausing they hug in the middle of the ring, to an amazing pop from the crowd. Sydal pulls away, and points at Delirious, he mouths "All's not forgotten" before sliding out of the ring, leaving Delirious alone in the ring. Delirious is handed a microphone, the crowd cheer as he breathes heavily into it...

"............This is Spinal Tap............"

Delirious leaves the ring, slightly hunchbacked, he stops halfway, he points to the fan in the Metallica t-shirt and plays air guitar to him before leaving.

Tomorrow night you can expect to see......

Ken Anderson vs Vic Capri

Austin Aries vs Michael Strider

Brad Bradley vs Matt Sydal

Acid vs Vito Thomaselli

...Plus the semi-finals and final of The Best in the Midwest tournament.

...A triple threat match for the IWAMS Heavyweight Title, as Petey Williams defends against Alex Shelley and Jimmy Jacobs.

...And more with the likes of, Roderick Strong, Danny Daniels (w/Jim Fannin), Ray Gordy, Delirious, Aero, Matt Maverick, Mickie Knuckles, Nikita, Jimmy Rave, Salvatore Rinaurro, Mc Chif and Shawn Daivari, plus special guest appearances from Ian Rotten and Dan Severn!

(OOC : Sorry for the poor Delirious "Quote of the day", I was struggling to think of something insanely random. And the first thing that came into my head was what I was watching at the time, which happened to be THis is Spinal Tap. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the show. ¬_¬)

[darrdor]

Awesome show man, matches were some of the most detailed I've ever seen. I only know about half the guys on there but I learned lots about the ones I don't know. I especially wanna see some footage of this Chandler McClure guy now. Keep up the great work YI.

[Greg The Smooth]

I'll admit that I didnt read through the entire thing due to the length, but what I read (Sabian vs. Priest, Jacobs vs. Shelley) I really liked. I liked Priest's character, you played it through well.

The length was the one thing that scared me off. I can see how you get burned out quickly YI.

[punky]

I'll be in the boat with greg about this one. It's good to be detailed but I don't think you can expect people to read through that whole thing. I've only ready Part 1, which while exceptionally well written was a task. I can understand how someone could get burned out after one show, I've done it many time with very detailed results.

I'd suggest that you scale it down abit on Night 2 before you burn yourself out, as well as most of the people that read diaries. But if you feel like you can continue doing this without getting burnt out, by all means continue it.

I just skimmed through Part 2 and it seems just as good as Part 1. I like your booking decisions, as well, as you're not putting over too many 'big indy names' and such. I thought the Delirious thing was AWESOME.

Edited August 26, 2004 by CM Punk

[YI]

8/22 - PREVIEW

Last night saw the beginning of an era for The ANARCHY WRESTLING LEAGUE, and tonight we will once again return to the "Centralia Recreation Complex" in Centralia, Illinois, for the climax of The BEST IN THE MIDWEST TOURNAMENT. Tonight one man will be able to leave the arena with a trophy in hand, the title of being the Best in the Midwest and also the honour of being crowned the first ever AWL Heavyweight Champion! There are 8 competitors left in the tournament going into the second night, and they're all evenly matched. We've got a mix of flair, experience, raw brawling, high risk and pinpoint technicians on offer, and to be honest, it's anybodies tournament. So who will be able to step it up a gear, who will be resilient through the agony, who will push their pain threshold to the absolute limit? Who will be the Best in the Midwest?

Tonight's card is looking stacked tonight, with 11 matches already confirmed. Of course there's the 7 tournament matches, but on top of that there's of course the amazing spectacle that will be Petey Williams vs Jimmy Jacobs vs Alex Shelley, for the IWA:Midsouth Heavyweight Championship. This match was made last night after Shelley and Jacobs were tied at 1 fall a piece at the end of a 30 minute Ironman Match. This match could well be a Match of the Year Candidate, with all three men having problems in the past. Shelley and Petey have been having problems recently, which led to a 2/3 Falls Match (In IWAMS) that Petey won. Shelley is looking for revenge. And in similar fashion, Jacobs is looking to prove himself after losing to Petey in the run up of him winning the Heavyweight Title. Jacobs has sat back long enough, it's time for him to make his stand!

As before mentioned, there are other matches on the card. After making a big impression last night, earning the pinfall over Mickie Knuckles, the beautiful but deadly brunette from Germany, Nikita (Who's been applying her trade in England in the FWA) will return tonight to take on Ms Chif and Mickie Knuckles in a triple-threat, elimination match. Knuckles is looking to get revenge on both Ms Chif and Nikita, who's team work led to the victory in the tag match last night. But Ms Chif, the lone wolf as she is, refuses to keep any allies, so after her attack on Nikita at the end of the tag match, she's a marked women.

After putting on one hell of a match last night, that drew "Match of the Year" chants from the crowd, Delirious will be back, this time to take on the young, Aero. Aero is a pupil of Chris Hero, and has already proved that he can go with the best of them. So what can he and Delirious produce tonight? Whatever it is, it's sure to be high paced and full of frantic action.

And finally, 6 men will enter, 1 will be left standing. AWL are happy to announce that tonight a "Total Mayhem Match" will take place. What's a Total Mayhem Match, you ask? Well it's simple, 6 men are in the match. And people are eliminated until 1 man is left standing, who's declared the winner. 2 men compete in the ring at one time, but the match is under lucha rules, so that means once one of the active competitors feet touch the floor, another man can enter into the fray. This leads to high paced, insane action. Coupled with the no count out and no DQ, this is going to be up there with some of the most exciting matches (match gimmicks) ever. The only way to eliminate an opponent is by pinfall or submission, and the falls must happen in the ring. Other than that, anything goes! So who'll be willing to participate in the first ever match of this kind. Well I'll tell you, 6 men who've got points to prove. More specifically; Adam Evans, Danny Daniels, Eric Priest, Matt Maverick, Ray Gordy and Sabian.

8/22 - BEST IN THE MIDWEST - NIGHT 2

Tournament Matches

QF 1 - Ken Anderson vs Vic Capri (30 Minute Time Limit)

QF 2 - Austin Aries vs Michael Strider

QF 3 - Brad Bradley vs Matt Sydal

QF 4 - Acid vs Vito Thomaselli

SF 1 - Winner of QF 1 vs Winner of QF 2 (45 Minute Time Limit)

SF 2 - Winner of QF 3 vs Winner of QF 4

FINAL - Winner of SF 1 vs Winner of SF 2 (60 Minute Time Limit)

Non-Tournament Matches

IWAMS Heavyweight Title Match - (Champion) Petey Williams vs Alex Shelley vs Jimmy Jacobs

Mickie Knuckles vs Ms Chif vs Nikita

Aero vs Delirious

Plus the first ever...

Total Mayhem Match - Adam Evans vs Danny Daniels vs Eric Priest vs Matt Maverick vs Ray Gordy vs Sabian

Also scheduled for the show are the likes of; Roderick Strong, Jimmy Rave, Salvatore Rinaurro, Shawn Daivari, plus special guest appearances from Ian Rotten and Dan Severn!

Tickets are on sale at the door, $20 for front row, $15 for ringside seats, $10 for seats in the bleachers.

The AWL would like to thank; IWA:Midsouth, NWA Midwest, Revolution Championship Wrestling, "Dan Severn's" Midwest Pro Wrestling, Lunatic Wrestling Federation and Midwestern States Pro Wrestling for their support and cooperation in making this tournament become more than a pipe dream. We would also like to thank the fans, because without you, the event wouldn't be successful.

We'd also like to remind our fans that The AWL will be tearing up "Skate West in Crest Hill, Illinois" on 9/18. One match already signed for the show will be the first defence of the AWL Heavyweight Championship as The Best in the Midwest and AWL Heavyweight Champion will defend the belt again the man he defeated in the final of the tournament. No definitive line up have been signed for the show, but we've already acquired the services of Chandler McClure, Danny Daniels, Justin Kage and Johnny Dynamo. Plus debuts from Trik Davis, Conrad Kennedy III and Mikey Quackenbush!

(OOC : Yeah, I was thinking of shortening the results anyway. In fact these turned out longer than I expected. I thought about 60-69 lines would be right for a 7 minute match, but it turned out a little long. The funny thing is, I had to cut down the Sydal/Delirious match report from what it was going to be as it was going to be much bigger proportionally to the rest of the show. I'm very accurate with match lengths, I can't havea match that's 15 minutes be shorter than a match that's 12 minutes )

[YI]

The shows coming on alright. It wont be up as early as I had hoped it would. I'm not just bumping this for the sake of it, I do have a minor little bit of news.

Matt Maverick out?!

Matt Maverick called The AWL offices today to tell us he's unable to compete tonight  due to an ankle injury he picked up yesterday working a local independent show. A replacement in Johnny Dynamo has been drafted to take his place in the Total Mayhem Match. Dynamo has a point to prove after having his ass handed to him last night at the hands of Brad Bradley. Dynamo a pupil of Dan Severn's wants to break out from his mentors shadow and become a star of his own, with a victory in the first Total Mayhem match, he might quite do that.

Matt Maverick told The AWL offices that his injury is not particuarly serious, but if he were to wrestle on it then there's the possibility that he could possibly injure his ankle more. It is now expected that Matt Maverick (The first ever MMWA Heavyweight Champion) will make his bebut at the 9/18 show at "Skate West in Cresthill, Illinois". Other talent debuting on 9/18 include Conrad Kennedy III, "Lightning" Mike Quackenbush and Trik Davis.

[Hellfire]

/22 - BEST IN THE MIDWEST - NIGHT 2

Tournament Matches

QF 1 - Vic Capri

QF 2 - Austin Aries

QF 3 - Brad Bradley

QF 4 - Acid

SF 1 - Austin Aries

SF 2 - Brad Bradley

FINAL - Austin Aries

Non-Tournament Matches

IWAMS Heavyweight Title Match - (Champion) Petey Williams

Mickie Knuckles

Delirious

Plus the first ever...

Total Mayhem Match - Sabian

Also scheduled for the show are the likes of; Roderick Strong, Jimmy Rave, Salvatore Rinaurro, Shawn Daivari, plus special guest appearances from Ian Rotten and Dan Severn!

[YI]

BEST IN THE MIDWEST - NIGHT 2

The arena is heavily packed tonight, with about 100 more people than last night, squeezing into the arena to watch the climax of the tournament. Extra seats are having to be brought out to deal with the abundance of extra fans (408 in total, over a 100 person increase from night 1). All fire exits are left open as long as possible to help air circulation in the arena, as well as to help cool down both the competitors and the audience. The doors will be opened again in the 20 minute interval. In the foyer of the arena smart mark video have a stall set up, selling the latest tapes from CZW, IWAMS, 3PW, PWG, NWA:NL amongst other god forsaken smaller independents. They also are stocking a whole range of t-shirts, some of which are new for the night, including an AWL logo t-shirt (Even though I can't be assed to make a logo) as well as a new Vic Capri t-shirt with the URL of chacagowrestling on the back (A site he helped set up) and also a new Roderick Strong t-shirt, with the cleverest ever slogan! "Stronger than Strong" tattooed across the front.

The doors are closed and it's time for the night to get underway, B-Squared (aka Bryce Benjamin, he tags with Chandler McClure as The AllStars) is once again in the ring announcers position. But he takes a backseat tonight and doesn't welcome the fans, he just gets about introducing our first match.

B-Squared : "Tonight's opening match will be a quar......"

B-Squared is cut off as "Prophecy" by Soulfly blares around the arena. The crowd break into boos as Shawn Daivari walks out through the doors. He has his trademark carpet wrapped around his neck like a cape. He pulls it down and starts to wave it around and shouting in Arabic. He climbs into the ring and lies his mat down in the corner and takes the microphone out of the hands of B-Squared. He puts on an over-dramatised Arabic, English speaking voice.

Daivari (To B-Squared) : "As you, American fool, fail to do your job. I'll do for you."

Daivari : "Welcome everybody, to the night that Iran could have conquered over all. But once again, western oppression has denied and raped us of what his rightfully ours. And what is rightfully mine. So until, I am given an apology, and a place back in the tournament, like I deserve. I will sit here, and refuse the night to go on. You will not silence my peaceful protest, you will not destroy me like you have others beforehand. I will stand ground. No wrestling, till I say otherwise!"

Daivari takes a chair and sits it in the centre of the ring, before parking his ass down on it. He lifts the microphone back up to speak.

Daivari : "This could have been the greatest night in Iranian, sporting history......"

Fan : "That doesn't take much!"

(How the hell does a fan get a microphone, unless......)

Daivari : "Who dare, speak out against my home nation. Show yourself, if you have the guts."

A fan steps up from the seated area, he's wearing an AWL t-shirt, hang on, it's JUSTIN KAGE! The crowd go crazy as Kage, who's dressed in street gear, well black tracksuit bottoms, trainers and a sleeveless AWL t-shirt, steps out through the crowd and gets into the ring. Daivari still remains sitting.

Daivari : "You think that you're a big man. Then prove it. You earn nothing impressing fans. Do something for yourself. Join my protest, why should you sit in the crowd, when you know you're better than some in this tournament."

Kage : "It was my choice to sit in the crowd. I'm not here to work, I'm here to watch. I'm here to watch 8 phenomenal wrestlers battle it out in this ring. I'm not here to watch some worthless, whiney piece of shit mope about losing his match. Despite being beaten fair and square. I came here with the rest of these fans to enjoy a good night of wrestling, but it looks like you wont be letting that happen. So for every fan out there, for every man in the back preparing to come out here and wrestle, Shawn Daivari, either get the hell out of this ring or I'll send you the hell out of this ring and back to Iran, or wherever the hell you came from."

Daivari : "Typical American, using force to get what you want. I will not answer to your challenge, I will not throw the first stone."

Kage : "Well allow me!"

Before Daivari has a chance to react, an oncoming Justin Kage blasts him in the face with a running kick. The force of which knocks Daivari off the chair. Kage folds up the chair and slides it to the outside. He points at the referee in the corner before shouting "Ring the fucking bell!". The crowd go wild, we have an impromptu match to start off the evening.

Justin Kage vs Shawn Daivari

Daivari wipes his hand across his face, he looks up and stares at Justin Kage in disgrace. Kage gives Daivari a cheeky smile, Daivari leaps up and runs towards Kage, Kage though sees it coming and takes Daivari down with an overhead snap armdrag. Kage then runs at the rising Daivari, but Daivari comes back with an armdrag of his own. Daivari pulls Kage to his feet, only for Kage to take him down with a snapmare. Kage follows the snapmare up quickly with a flipping neckwhip that nearly breaks Shawn Daivari's neck into two. Daivari struggles to his feet, Kage gives him a helping push that sends him into the corner. Kage charges towards the corner, he jumps up and sends Daivari back to the centre of the ring with a monkey flip, but Daivari manages to lands on his feet. Kage runs back towards Daivari, Daivari though has it scouted and throws Kage to the mat with a hiptoss. Daivari quickly hooks up the rising Justin Kage and snaps him to the mat with a suplex. Daivari turns and locks Kage into a grounded sleeper. Kage manoeuvres himself out of the hold and grabs onto Daivari in a waistlock as both men get to their feet. Kage runs forward pushing Daivari into the ropes, he tries to bring him down in a rolling prawn hold but Daivari holds onto the ropes. Kage rolls backwards onto his feet, only to be taken out with a clothesline from an oncoming Shawn Daivari.

The crowd applaud the early exchange between the two as they go into opposite corners, well they cheers until Daivari shouts "See, he's my bitch" and gets a barrage of boos and insults. Both men lock up once again in the middle of the ring. Daivari twists the arm of Kage and holds him in a side armlock, he hoists Kage up into a fireman's carry. After a few moments of stalling he plants Kage onto his face with a flapjack, Daivari hooks the near leg, 1...2... Kage kicks out. Daivari hits Kage with some quick right hands before whipping him into the turnbuckle. Daivari walks over to Kage and drives his shoulder into his chest. Daivari lifts Kage to the top rope, Kage sits dazed as Daivari makes his way to the top. He hooks up Kage, he's looking to take him to the canvas with a superplex, Kage though has other ideas and desperately jabs away to the chest of Daivari and pushes him down to the mat. Kage flies off the top rope and hits a legdrop across the throat of Daivari, 1...2... Daivari kicks out.

Kage makes a charge for Daivari, who's just making it back to his feet. He wraps his legs around the head of Daivari and takes him to the mat with a head scissor takedown. Daivari comes stumbling back, Kage hooks his arms up from behind, he twists Daivari around and looks to plant him with an Unprettier but Daivari blocks it, he hoists Kage up onto his back and locks him into the Gory Special. The referee checks on Kage who's hanging off the back of Daivari. Daivari unhooks the legs of Kage, he is looking to plant him with a kudo driver. Daivari takes a short run up, but Kage manages to drop out of the back, making Daivari continue forward straight into the turnbuckle, Kage with a schoolboy roll up, 1...2... Daivari just kicks out. Kage leaps up and looks for a rana, but Daivari holds onto Kage's pants and pulls him back up. Daivari looks to toss Kage to the mat with a powerbomb but Kage is having nothing of it, he unleashes a couple of right hands before flipping out the back of the powerbomb and landing on his feet. Daivari turns and gets blasted in the face with an enziguri kick. Kage runs at Daivari, he looks to hit a Corkscrew Tornado DDT but Daivari reverses, Daivari looks for a northern lights suplex but Kage fights it. But eventually Daivari manages to take him out with a Northern Lights Suplex, dropping Kage right on his head. Daivari wraps his legs around the ropes for extra leverage, the referee doesn't realise, 1...2...3!

RESULT : SHAWN DAIVARI defeats JUSTIN KAGE

TIME : 7:54

RATING : ** - A basic little match, nothing too flash. It was a good match to open with as the crowd seem to be taken with Justin Kage and seem to get behind him well, and they absolutely hate Shawn Daivari, so the crowd were hot for all of this short match

As Daivari taunts the crowd in the ring, "Did My Time" by Korn blasts around the arena as Roderick Strong makes his way out through the doors. Daivari stares at the oncoming Roderick Strong, it's hard to tell what's going through his head but he's a bit anxious. Strong walks to the ring, he points at Daivari and then points to the door. Daivari stands his ground until Strong slides into the ring under the bottom rope. Daivari quickly tries to escape, Strong runs at him and kicks him across the back giving him a helping hand out through the middle rope. Daivari clutches his carpet and makes a quick getaway towards the door but a figure standing at the gymnasium door is blocking him. The man knocks Daivari onto his ass and the crowd go crazy. Daivari starts to desperately crawl back towards the ring but when he looks up he sees Roderick Strong standing over him. He changes direction and hightails back towards the back but as he looks up, he's staring at...... SEDRICK STRONG! Sedrick Strong grabs Daivari and pulls him to his feet, whilst taking sly digs at him. Both of the Strong Brothers drive knees to the gut of Daivari, they point to the ring and the crowd go crazy. The Strong's roll Daivari back into the ring before following him in themselves. Daivari desperately tries to crawl away but gets a basement dropkick to the face from Justin Kage who's been waiting in the ring. Roderick Strong grabs onto Daivari's legs and holds him in a wheelbarrow position. He lifts him up as Sedrick comes back off the ropes and plants face down as Sedrick drops a vicious knee right across the back of his neck. Roderick though holds onto the legs of Daivari and lifts him up again, this time Kage comes back off the ropes and he does what can only be described as a flip over into a cutter as they plant Daivari once again face first on the canvas. Daivari slowly rolls out of the ring completely knocked out as The Strong's celebrate in the ring with Justin Kage. Kage leaves the ring as Sedrick Strong requests a microphone from one of the ring crew. By the time he gets it working, Shawn Daivari is also well gone from the scene.

Sedrick Strong : "The Brothers Strong, are back together in AWL, and we're here to kick some serious ass. And we're going to start tonight. Anybody back there, have you got the guts, have you got the balls to step up to the plate and take us on."

Roderick Strong : "We'll break your back, we'll snap your spine, we'll break your body into two. The Strong Brothers are back together, and we're taking on challengers, so if you think you're good enough, bring it fucking on!"

The crowd go crazy as both men seem even more focussed and determined as usual, if that is even possible. There's moments break, it seems nobody wants to answer their challenge. The brothers shrug, it looks like nobody has the guts to take them on, or have they? "Eye of the Tiger" hits and Salvatore Rinaurro steps out through the doors followed by Jimmy Rave. Both men are regulars for NWA:Wildside, in Georgia, and it looks as if they've striked up some kind of alliance. They don't look the part of a team, Sal's wearing a sky blue all in one attire, a double-strapped tanktop into shorts. Whereas Jimmy is wearing his usual grey PVC pants. The duo receive boos as soon as they walk out through the doors, this is mostly due to Rave refusing to shake Petey Williams' hand last night, after their match. Sal Rinaurro requests a microphone.

Sal Rinaurro : "Isn't it great to be back in the Midwest!? Here tonight in Centralia, Illinois! And I'm sure all of you are happy to have Salvatore Rinaurro back. Well to be honest, it's not good to be back! (mockingly) Oh , it's great to be back in Centralia, Illinois, What the fuck. I mean who the fuck wants to be in Centralia Illinois. You, you, you in the front row (Talking to a fan) do you want to be in Centralia, Illinois! (Fan goes to answer Sal cuts him off) Of course you don't. Even the citizens don't want to be in this fucking town. But then again are you surprised? All of you are so fucking ugly, and out of shape, I could go on but it's just as easy to call you all Losers. The inhabitants of Loserville, Illinois! The bastard son of the United States of America, it's like a fucking concentration camp where they send all the ugly fucks. They would have tried a gas chamber to eliminate the problem, but half you bastards are so big you wouldn't even fit! And speaking of losers. What's wrong Roderick Strong? You got your ass kicked last night, so you go crying home like the little pussy you are and get your brother to come and help you? (Rave and Sal step up onto the apron, The Strong's start to walk over) Woah, woah, woah. Back off. Just cool it. We're not out here to fight. We were told to come out here and entertain the crowd, and that's what we've done. You've been a beautiful audience, who the fuck am I kidding. Fuck you all, fuck you Roderick Strong, fuck you Sedrick Strong and fuck every single one of you motherfuckers. Come on Jimmy, we're internationally renowned superstars, we don't need to be in this dump. We've earned our money, lets go back to Georgia."

The Strong's though have other ideas, Roderick Strong clubs Jimmy Rave across the back and knocks him to the arena floor. Sedrick Strong grabs Sal Rinaurro, the only place he's going is into the ring, the hard way as Sedrick throws him over the top rope slamming him onto the canvas.

Jimmy Rave and Sal Rinaurro vs The Strong Brothers

Both Strong brothers destroy Rinaurro early with right hands. They knock him to the mat and continue their attack with numerous stomps. Sedrick Strong drags Rinaurro to his feet and whips him violently into the turnbuckle. Rinaurro hits the buckle and collapses to the canvas with the force of the impact. The crowd go absolutely crazy as Sedrick Strong points at Rinaurro in the turnbuckle who's desperately trying to pull himself to his feet. Sedrick charges towards him, he jumps into the air, Rinaurro tries to move but it's too late as Sedrick Strong comes crashing down onto his head with a double knee charge. Sedrick rolls Rinaurro out from the corner, he hooks the leg, 1...2... Rave breaks the pin with a last ditch dive under the bottom rope from the outside. Sedrick Strong pulls Rinaurro to his feet, he can barely stand, he's half unconscious after Strong jumped on his head. Sedrick runs off the ropes, Rinaurro is still completely out on his feet, Sedrick Strong catches him right between the eyes with a forearm, Rinaurro collapses to the mat, but right next to his partner, which allows for Jimmy Rave to tag in. Rave comes running into the ring, Sedrick Strong looks to take him out with another forearm but Rave blocks and takes Sedrick to the mat with an armdrag.

Rave holds Strong in a side arm bar, he tries to lock him up into a juji-gatame but Sedrick Strong senses the danger and quickly makes a dive for the ropes. Rave pushes Sedrick Strong back against the ropes and begins to chop away at his unprotected chest. Sedrick Strong though counters with some vicious chops of his own, they're not quite as vicious as his brother's but they are still very stiff. Sedrick Strong whips Rave into the ropes, the whip is reversed and Rave pulls Strong straight into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Rave pounces on top of Sedrick Strong, 1...2... Strong kicks out. As Sedrick struggles to his feet, Jimmy Rave locks him up from behind, hooking him into an abstretch. Sedrick struggles to escape the hold but after some open hand slaps to the chest Rave has him locked up. Sedrick continues to fight the submission but Rave still manages to hold on. As the referee squats to check on Sedrick, Jimmy Rave taunts Roderick Strong causing him to come charging into the ring. The referee blocks Roderick Strong from making any impact, this allows for Jimmy Rave to reach for the arm of his partner on the apron, gaining additional leverage, meaning more pressure is applied to Sedrick Strong in the hold. As the referee turns round, Rave and Rinaurro unlock hands.

Rave hoists Strong up for a pump handle manoeuvre but Sedrick Strong drops out of the back. Strong drops to his knees as Rave quickly heads for the ropes. As he comes back, Sedrick Strong lunges forward, using vast amounts of energy and decks Jimmy with a diving forearm shot right to the face. Both men collapse to the mat. Sedrick Strong pushes himself over to his corner, his brother reaches out his arm at full stretch, the tag is made! Roderick Strong comes darting into the ring, he scoops up Jimmy Rave before dropping to the mat with a body slam. He runs off the ropes but gets a sly knee to the back from Sal Rinaurro, but with the adrenaline still rushing, it doesn't faze Roderick Strong, who catches Rinaurro in the face with a right hand, knocking him to the arena floor. He turns his attentions back towards Jimmy Rave and plants him with an elbow drop to the chest. Rave struggles to his feet, Roderick Strong hooks him up for a suplex. Strong hoists Rave up into the air before dropping him down across his knee in a backbreaker variation, Roderick Strong with the pin, 1...2... Rinaurro breaks the count with a slingshot double-footed stomp! Rinaurro quickly gets back out onto the apron as Rave pushes Roderick Strong's head out of the ring, resting his body on the middle rope. Jimmy Rave gives him some open hand slaps across the back before distracting the referee, this allows Rinaurro to run along the apron before catching Roderick Strong right in the temple with a basement dropkick. Roderick rolls over so he's looking up at the ceiling, but he is still lying across the middle rope. Rave tags out to Rinaurro, Rave leaps over the top rope onto the apron landing a legdrop on the throat of Strong on the way. Roderick Strong rolls out from the ropes, allowing for Rinaurro to hit a slingshot senton, 1...2... Roderick Strong gets his shoulder up!

Rinaurro comes charging off the ropes, he latches onto the rising Roderick Strong and drives him back to the canvas with a tornado DDT, 1...2... Roderick Strong again kicks out! Sedrick Strong who came in to make the save starts to club away at the back of Sal Rinaurro. He hooks Rinaurro up in a waistlock before flinging him over with a release German suplex. Rinaurro crashes chest down on the canvas. Sedrick Strong turns around once reaching his feet, only to be taken back down by Jimmy Rave who pulls him down into the Dusk Till Dawn! The referee's lost all control over who the legal men are. Rave uses this as an opportunity to get the win as he pulls back more and more on the crossface he has locked in. Things don't look good for Sedrick Strong, but help is at hand. Roderick grabs one of Rave's legs and pulls him off Sedrick Strong or at least that was his intention, but Rave just keeps his lock on Sedrick Strong. Roderick changes his plan and puts a spinning toehold on Jimmy Rave. Rave though, still has Sedrick in the Dusk Till Dawn! As Roderick Strong spins around the leg of Rave he causes more and more pain on his opponent. But this also has a chain reaction, as the more pain Rave's under the more pressure he instinctively puts on Sedrick Strong. Both Rave and Sedrick Strong scream at the top of their lungs, someone or something has got to give. Roderick Strong looks for one last twist in the toe hold, which would ultimately force Rave to submit or break his leg. But Strong gets a superkick right between the eyes from Rinaurro. Roderick releases the submission as he falls out of the ring through the middle rope. Rave wraps his legs back around the arm of Sedrick Strong. Three hand slaps to the canvas later the match is over, with Sedrick Strong eventually giving it up. Sal Rinaurro and Jimmy Rave pick up the submission victory!

RESULT : SAL RINAURRO & JIMMY RAVE defeat THE STRONG BROTHERS

TIME : 12:17

RATING : **1/2 - A solid match. Could have done with more tag team interaction, for example more double team moves etc. The ending was cool but a bit illogical, during the dual submission bit a fan screamed "Just kick him in the fucking face" which is what average Joe would have done, and really, pretty stupid to think of a reason Roderick didn't, but then again, however the match is choreographed to go, that's how it goes

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Quarterfinal Match

Austin Aries vs Michael Strider

"Broken Man #6" by Rage Against The Machine hits and Austin Aries quickly comes walking out through the doors. The hottest new name in the independent scene proved that with a fairly easy win last night against Adam Evans. Aries who's wearing dark red biker shorts steps into the ring. He pushes back his messy black hair as he waits for his opponent to grace the ringside area. The crowd seem to be very much behind Aries and are showing so by chanting his name. "Rio Bravo" by CKY hits and Michael Strider makes his way to the ring. He walks out, once again with his cane, which tonight he has slid through the belt section of his black cargo pants. Strider pulls the cane out and raises it high in the air, this pulls a cheer from the crowd, but they don't seem to be that interested in him, or not as much as they were last night. Strider leaves the cane on the apron, which was almost the kiss of death for him last night, before climbing into the ring. The referee calls for the bell and the match gets underway. Both men walk forward into the centre of the ring, they tap knuckles in a sign of respect before locking up wrists in the middle of the ring. Strider wins the test of strength and forces Aries arms above his head with a high wristlock. Aries manages a go behind and puts Strider in hammerlock. Strider swings back and catches Aries in the face with an elbow. Aries retaliates with a big forearm that sends Strider stumbling backwards.

The niceties are over, the two are now going to brawl. This will play more into the hands of Strider, who prefers to wrestle this style apposed to Aries who prefers a technical based mat. Aries though continues to hit Strider in the face with big forearms, Strider manages to block it and pulls Aries into a shoulder block, which knocks Aries to the mat. Strider pushes Aries down across the middle rope. Strider comes running off the ropes, he jumps and drives his leg down across the back or Aries pushing his throat down across the middle rope. Aries crawls along the mat before falling back into the turnbuckle. Strider drives his shoulders into the stomach of Aries. He then walks backwards to the middle of the ring before coming charging back with a shoulder into the gut of Aries. Strider quickly whips Aries into the ropes, Strider sends him to the mat with a back body drop upon his return. Strider pulls Aries to his feet and starts up with some right hands, Aries though retaliates with some stiff kicks to the knees of Strider. Aries comes out on top of the exchange and hits a higher kick to the gut of Strider before planting him on the mat with a gutwrench suplex. Aries rolls over looking for a pin, 1... Strider easily kicks out.

Aries whips Strider into the corner. He comes charging towards him, Aries leaps high into the air and catches Strider full on in the face with a dropkick. Aries rolls down and lands on his feet as Strider falls face first, Aries with the pin, 1...2... Strider kicks out. Aries stalks the rising Strider and hooks both his arms up from behind, dragon suplex coming up. Strider breaks free after swinging some big elbows back to Aries. Aries stumbles around the ring, Strider grabs him from behind, Back Drop Driver! Aries lands right on his head! He's out cold, Strider is going to pick up the upset! 1...2... Aries gets his shoulder up! It beat Shawn Daivari, it just isn't enough for Austin Aries. Aries uses the ropes to aid him reaching his feet, Strider comes running at him and lifts his knee right to the side of his head. Aries falls out of the ring but manages to stay on the apron. Strider doesn't realise and as he turns around gets a shoulder to the midsection from Aries. Aries is looking to flip over the top rope with a sunset flip, but Strider gets back up and catches him in midair with a shoulder barge hanging him up over the top rope. Strider comes back off the ropes and swings his foot up catching Aries with a stiff face kick knocking him out to the apron. Strider pulls Aries along the apron and lifts him up to the top rope. Strider clambers up looking for a suplex, Aries though breaks free and steps down onto the middle rope before taking Strider to the mat with a neckbreaker, Aries lies an arm on top of Strider, 1...2... Strider kicks out.

Aries doesn't believe it, he quickly charges off the ropes and he takes out to knees of Strider with a basement dropkick knocking him face first to the mat. Aries quickly pushes himself onto the middle rope and as Strider fights onto all fours, he jumps down with a double stomp right to the head of Strider. Aries hooks the leg of Strider, surely this must be it, 1...2... Strider kicks out! Aries pushes the sweat from his hair, despite this match not being long he's had to work hard. The crowd clap in time as Aries stamps his feet, Strider gets up, Aries kicks him in the gut, DDT, no Strider with some right hands to the gut, Old School Neckbreaker coming up, Aries turns into a suplex position, he hits a couple of knees to Strider, Brainbuster, 1...2...3! The crowd break into spontaneous applause as Austin Aries snaps up to his feet and celebrates his victory. Aries climbs to the middle rope and raises his arms high into the air. Strider reaches out and grabs his cane as he struggles to his feet. Aries jumps down from the middle rope turning in midair, he spots Strider with the cane in hand and backs off a bit. Strider tucks the cane under his arm and applauds Austin Aries. The two shake hands before Aries drops out of the ring, leaving Strider to get some applause whilst celebrating with his cane.

RESULT : AUSTIN ARIES defeats MICHAEL STRIDER

TIME : 11:23

RATING : **1/4 - A good match, not overly long, but not short. Strider looked a lot more impressive than last night, as Aries could keep up with his brawling and striking game, plus he had a little bit longer to show himself off. Aries seems to be a firm favourite with the fans, due to being a heel nearly everywhere else, he's getting one hell of a face reaction this weekend

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Quarterfinal Match

Brad Bradley vs Matt Sydal

"At the End of August" by 36 Crazyfists blares around the arena and Brad Bradley, in his regular black singlet makes his way to the ring. Bradley completely destroyed Johnny Dynamo to progress to this stage, so he is considerably fresher than Matt Sydal coming into this match. Also Sydal is both smaller and lighter than Johnny Dynamo, so Bradley has a huge advantage in this match, the only thing going for Matt Sydal is that he's incredibly agile, and could dodge the big man's attack, Bradley will be looking to slow down the pace of this match, to allow him to combat Sydal in the best and easiest way. Bradley leans back against the corner stroking his beard (He's evil, he has a beard!) as "Clavicle" by Alkaline Trio hits and Sydal comes out to the ring as lively and exuberant as ever, despite going nearly 25 minutes with Delirious last night. Sydal is also wearing his regular blue and green tights, someone really needs to by this man a new attire, actually, he'd look weird in anything else, everyone's so used to him in blue and green. Both men stare each other known in the ring, Bradley is about 2/3 of a foot taller than Sydal, and nearly 100lbs bigger. Bradley mockingly asks for a tie up, Sydal surprisingly goes to accept, but Bradley puts his arm into the air, higher than Sydal can reach. Bradley laughs in the face of Sydal, who replies with a slap drawing a huge cheer from the crowd!

This doesn't please the big man, he stares straight through Sydal, who still doesn't back down. Bradley blocks a couple of punches thrown by Sydal before forcing Sydal down with a test of strength. He nearly crushes the hands of Sydal. Sydal though uses his speed and lightness to his advantage and runs up Bradley giving him some swift kicks on the way. Sydal flips over and lands back onto his feet, he uses his gained momentum to flip the mammoth, Brad Bradley over with a cross between a monkey flip and a judo throw. The crowd applaud Sydal as he jumps back to his feet, the celebrations don't stay for long as a pissed off Brad Bradley decks Sydal from behind catching him with a clothesline to the back of the neck. Bradley destroys Sydal with a barrage of stomps on the mat. The referee tries to pull Brad Bradley away from Sydal, Bradley though stares at the referee who then cowardly backs away. Bradley noticing that Sydal is completely doubled up in pain, now takes a more cool and calculated approach to punishing him. This includes stepping on the head of his opponent, forcing all of his body weight onto the face of Matt Sydal. Sydal kicks his legs to show the agony he's under, Bradley gives an evil smirk into the camera before jumping up slightly, coming back down with a double footed-stomp on the face of Matt Sydal. Sydal rolls around on the mat holding his head in his hands as Brad Bradley just stands tall in the middle of the ring. In this David and Goliath battle, it looks like Goliath is looking the better.

Bradley drops slowly onto his knees and hooks the leg of Matt Sydal, 1...2... Sydal kicks out. Before Matt can even think about getting to his feet Brad Bradley shoves and elbow in his face. A typical old school move applied from Bradley here, working away at Matt Sydal. Bradley drags Sydal back to his feet, he nails Sydal with a few big right hands, Sydal though is resilient and jumps up catching Bradley in the side of the head with an enziguri kick. Bradley is still standing but stumbles groggily into the middle of the ring. Sydal takes the opportunity and runs off the ropes, upon his return he blasts Bradley right in the face with a spinning cyclone kick, 1...2... Bradley kicks out. Sydal skips over to one of the corners and waits for Bradley to get back to his feet. Sydal charges at the rising Bradley, he wraps his legs around him before sending Bradley out of the ring with a head scissor takedown. Brad Bradley manages to land on his feet, he composes himself and turns back towards the ring but is taken off his feet with a corkscrew cross body plancha from Matt Sydal. The referee begins to count both men out, as they both lie motionless outside the ring. Both men get to their feet at about the same time, Sydal reacts the quickest and pushes himself onto the apron, he's looking for an asai moonsault. Jut as he's going to jump Bradley grabs onto his foot, Sydal breaks free by kicking backwards, luckily catching Bradley in the face. Sydal with a springboard, and comes crashing down with an asai moonsault. No! Bradley catches Sydal in midair. Sydal struggles but can't escape Bradley's clutches, Bradley runs forward driving Sydal's head into the steel ring post.

Sydal collapses to the floor, as the referee's count reaches double figures. If it gets to 20, whoever's outside the ring will be counted out. Bradley pulls Sydal to his feet and hoists him above his head using his excessive strength. Bradley throws Sydal forward back into the ring with a press slam through the middle rope. Bradley slowly climbs back into the ring. He gives Sydal some big strikes as he struggles back to his feet. Bradley whips Sydal violently towards the turnbuckle, Sydal ends up crashing in headfirst before collapsing to the canvas. Bradley pulls Sydal to his feet and looks to capitalise, he shoves Sydal's head between his legs, he easily lifts him up for a piledriver, but instead of dropping into a sitout, Bradley drops down onto his knees, allowing for him to drive Sydal's head into the mat with even more vigour. Bradley looks for the pin, 1...2... Sydal kicks out. Bradley unloads with some big right hands to Sydal, he follows it up by hooking him up for a suplex. Bradley lifts Sydal up, he's looking for the Brainbuster, Sydal reverses and plants Bradley with a spinning DDT. Sydal doesn't have the strength to go for a cover. Instead he stalks Brad Bradley as he gets back to his feet. Sydal grabs Bradley from behind, and drives him to the mat with a reverse DDT variation where he snaps his leg across Bradley, Sydal with a lateral press, 1...2... Bradley just powers his way out of the pin. Sydal stands facing away from Brad Bradley as the big man reaches his feet. Sydal jumps over looking for a moonsault kick, Bradley though reacts fast and grabs the legs of Sydal dangling him above the mat. Bradley lets go of Sydal, dropping him right on his head. Sydal is out cold, the camera zooms in on him, his eyes are glazed over, Bradley drops down for the pin, 1...2... he pulls Sydal's arm up! (Sydal though did look as if he would have kicked out)

The referee has words with Bradley. Bradley pushes the referee and then dares him to push him back. The referee doesn't have to as Sydal rolls up Bradley with a schoolboy with a handful of tights, but he doesn't have the strength to pull Bradley down. Bradley stands unmoved before stamping right on the head of Matt Sydal. Bradley quickly pulls Sydal to his feet, he holds down the head of Sydal and starts to rapidly drive knees up to his face. Bradley is relentless in his assault and despite the intervention of the referee he refuses to stop kneeing Matt Sydal. This is until he notices Dan Severn, in jeans and a grey t-shirt walking out through the gymnasium door and pulling up a seat and watching the match. Bradley tosses Sydal down and starts screaming at Dan Severn, telling him to get the hell away. Severn just shrugs his shoulders, he's just here to watch the match. Bradley turns his attentions back to Matt Sydal who is slowly but surely getting back to his feet. Bradley hoists him up looking for the whiplash bomb, but gets distracted trash talking Dan Severn, this allows for Sydal to drop down in a sunset flip, but once again his doesn't have the strength to take the big man down as Bradley just falls on him with a double knee drop. Sydal slowly pushes himself to his feet, he turns around straight into an oncoming Yakuza kick from Brad Bradley, Bradley hooks the near leg, 1...2... Sydal's foot's on the bottom rope! Bradley is shocked, he though that would be enough. He turns back to Dan Severn who's tapping the side of his head, saying Bradley doesn't use his brain. This annoys Bradley who tells Severn to watch this. Sydal finally reaches his feet, Bradley charges at him, here comes the Lariat, hang on, crucifix pin, 1...2...3! Matt Sydal, out of nowhere. What the hell! Matt Sydal progresses to the semi-finals!

RESULT : MATT SYDAL defeats BRAD BRADLEY

TIME : 14:49

RATING : *** - A lot better than Brad Bradley's match last night. Again it seemed to be quite a bit one sided but Sydal sold like a god, nothing different there then. The crowd seemed to be into it, not as much as Sydal/Delirious but this match had the most heat of the night so far

Matt Sydal barely has time to reach his feet before he is driven right onto his head with a ferocious Brainbuster from Brad Bradley. Sydal lies in a crumpled up mess. Bradley leans over him and shouts abuse in his face. Bradley turns around and notices Dan Severn sliding into the ring, Bradley quickly bails out and makes his way to the back. Dan Severn checks on Matt Sydal and helps him up to his feet. Severn raises Sydal's arm in victory, little do either men know that brad Bradley is back, and he's now got a chair. Bradley smacks the chair across the back of Dan Severn. Severn collapses as does Sydal now he doesn't have a support. Severn shimmies along the mat on his knees, he looks up to see Brad Bradley standing over him, steel chair in hand. Bradley yells, who's using their brain now! Before kicking Severn in the face, he orders Severn to get to his feet. Severn does so, Bradley swings the chair down towards him, Severn ducks and dodges, Beast Choker! Bradley tries desperately to get out of the move, he has to resort to swinging the chair backwards catching Severn in the face. Dan Severn stumbles around the ring, Bradley drops the chair before charging at Severn. Yakuza kick! Severn ducks. Beast Choker! Bradley once again refuses to stay still and tries to fight out of the Beast Choker, but Severn has it synched in. After holding the submission in for a few seconds Severn tosses Bradley out through the middle rope to the floor. Bradley makes his way to the back as Severn helps a half conscious Matt Sydal to his feet.

Once Sydal and Severn are gone from the ringside area, "God Hates us all" by Slayer hits and Vic Capri makes his way out to the ring, greeted with cheers from the crowd, albeit not as much as he received last night, due to his somewhat cocky nature in his match with Roderick Strong, even pulling out Strong's own moves. But despite not being as many cheers, there's still absolutely no boos. Capri is wearing black and white shorts, one side leg is black and the other side is white. And they have Vic Capri written across the back in white writing (It has a black border so it is visible on the white side). Capri is wearing his new t-shirt, available through smart mark video. As he steps into the ring he takes his shirt off and throws it into the crowd. He requests a microphone from one of the ring crew.

Vic Capri : "Austin Aries, Matt Sydal. The new breed, the cream of the crop of Midwest talent. In fact, some of the best new talent in America. They have been labelled this by some, but certainly not by me! Both these men are one trick ponies. Gone are the days you need to be a polished all round athlete to be a star. Now if you can flip around the ring, you're considered good. If you focus on a particular body part for the entire match, and then finish focusing on something completely different, you are a great technical wrestler. If you can kick somebody and it makes a nice slapping sound, you're a wonderful, strong style brawler. I mean these two, are anything but "the best". Isn't this what this tournament is about, showcasing who "the best" are, well if these are the best you have, then I would hate to see the worst. (Crowd boo) Oh what's wrong, have I upset you, do you not like what I've got to see about your favourite, Matt Sydal, about your favourite Austin Aries? Well you know what? You're not supposed to like it. Why the hell should you suddenly care about me. I've been gone for a few years, did anybody care, did anybody even notice. Then I come out here and you cheer me, you didn't even cheer me when I was around in the first place. What, now you see me as some kind of hapless case, some kind of cripple? Yes I may not be 100%, but I am still 100% better than anybody who's in this tournament. So, I don't want your pity, I don't want your cheers. I'm just here to prove to you, that I was and still am, the Best in the Midwest! You see, the best man always wins, and in this case, and in any case, it will be me! So Ken Anderson, Austin Aries, Matt Sydal, Acid, Vito Thomaselli, whoever you are, just bring it on, 'cos you're nothing compared to me! Just remember, the best man always wins!"

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Quarterfinal Match

"Kamikaze" Ken Anderson vs Vic Capri

Vic Capri stretches in the ring to boos from the crowd. "The Only" by Static-X hits and Ken Anderson comes out through the doors wearing dark green trunks. Anderson looks super psyched for tonight's match, fresh off a victory over Danny Daniels. Anderson slaps the hands of his fans all around the ring. He looks up and sees Vic Capri mocking him, Anderson shakes his head and points at Capri, saying that he's going down. Anderson rolls into the ring, the match gets underway. Both men lock up in the middle of the ring, a "Fuck him up Anderson" chant breaks out. Capri yells fuck you to the fans. The referee calls for the bell and both competitors circle each other in the centre of the ring. They lock up with a collar and elbow hold. Anderson is the most powerful and he backs Capri up against the turnbuckle. Anderson pushes Capri back into the turnbuckle, the referee starts counting as Anderson pushes Capri up against the buckle. On the 3 count Anderson backs away leaving Capri to walk back to the centre of the ring. Both men this time agree on a wristlock tie up, Capri though outsmarts Anderson with one of the oldest tricks in the book by giving him a swift kick to the gut. Capri grabs onto the arm of Anderson and locks him up in a chickenwing from the side. Anderson tries to fight the hold but Capri throws him shoulder first into the turnbuckle with his arm trapped.

Ken Anderson falls out of the turnbuckle slowly, this gives Capri a chance to garner more heat from the crowd by excessive taunting. Capri walks over and grabs the arm of Anderson and drags him into the centre of the ring. Capri steps over Anderson and locks him up in a step over arm lock. Capri keeps on spinning around, applying more and more pressure to the arm of Anderson. Ken Anderson swings his leg up kicking away at the back of Capri, eventually forcing him to break the submission. Anderson tries to loosen up his left arm as Capri comes running towards him. Anderson decks Capri with a clothesline, he waits for Capri to get back up and he follows the clothesline up with a big forearm. Anderson drags Capri up, and takes him to the mat with a suplex. Before Capri has a chance for a breather on the mat Anderson has him straight back up to his feet. Here comes a powerbomb, no Capri reverses and takes down Anderson with a back body drop. Anderson is quick back to his feet, Capri locks up the arm of Anderson behind him as he lifts him to the side before dropping him onto his feet with an arm tucked backbreaker, Capri with a lateral press, 1...2... Anderson kicks out. Both men take a bit of a breather now after some solid action.

Capri just stands in wait as Anderson makes his way to his feet, there's no rush at the moment. Both men once again lock up, Capri with a quick go behind looks for a German suplex, Anderson swings an elbow back, Capri sees it coming and ducks before taking Anderson to the canvas with a judo style headlock takedown. Capri pulls Anderson's arm behind his back and holds him in an arm lock. Anderson screams as he claws his way over to the ropes, Capri is forced to break the submission. But cleverly and in true heel fashion he holds on right until he is forced to break it or be disqualified. Capri whips Anderson off the ropes, he swings a clothesline at him but Anderson ducks, he stops behind Capri who turns around straight into a snap powerslam, Anderson with a pin, 1...2... Capri kicks out. Anderson lifts up Capri onto his shoulders before throwing him to the mat with a fireman's carry toss. Ken Anderson pushes himself onto the middle rope and comes flying down with an elbow, but Capri lifts his leg into the air and Anderson comes crashing face first down onto the boot.

Capri comes running off the ropes, Anderson looks up just in time to see him, belly to belly suplex, Anderson quickly leaps into a pin, 1...2... Capri kicks out. Ken Anderson signals for the end, he kicks Capri in the gut, Anderson with a powerbomb, no Capri drops out of the back and quickly takes out Anderson with a neckbreaker, Vic Capri might have it, 1...2... Anderson kicks out. Capri gets in the face of the referee telling him it was a 3. This allows Anderson to sneak up on him from behind and club him across the back, Anderson looks for a pump handle slam but Capri takes him to the mat with a fujiwara arm lock buster, Capri pulls back on the arm of Anderson in a fujiwara armbar. Anderson makes way over to the ropes, he is one last reach away but Capri rolls over locking Anderson into a crossface chickenwing, falling backwards back into the centre of the ring with Anderson lying on top of him. The referee goes down to check on Anderson. He lifts up his arm, it slaps the mat once. It slaps the mat twice. It hits the mat th... Anderson fights the pain. He slowly starts to fight to his feet, he elbows Capri in the face, Anderson breaks free, but not for long as Capri clubs him across the back. He grabs the head of Anderson before running up the turnbuckle and hitting the Icebreaker (Contra Code) for the 1...2...3! Vic Capri walks to the back to boos from the crowd, he'll face Austin Aries in the semi-finals of the tournament.

RESULT : VIC CAPRI defeats KEN ANDERSON

TIME : 10:36

RATING : **1/2 - A solid match, nothing too extravagant. Capri didn't take any over the top bumps with his injury but it didn't slow him down at all in the ring. There wasn't much interaction with the crowd from Ken Anderson but they still seemed to be firmly behind him for the entire match, much like last night against Danny Daniels. Out first semi-final is now revealed as Vic Capri vs Austin Aries

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Quarterfinal Match

Acid vs "Airborne" Vito Thomaselli

This is the quarterfinal match that everybody has been waiting for. These two have had past meetings and Thomaselli even beat fan favourite Acid in a loser leaves RCW match. Tonight Acid gets his retribution, or at least he hopes he does. "Fell good hit of the Summer" by Queens of the Stone Age hits and Acid comes walking out through the doors. Once again he seems a lot more focussed than usual, in his eyes this is a match that he must win. Acid again, without his psychedelic pants, but instead has some sickly lime green, plastic/PVC style baggy pants. Acid goes all around the ring and slaps the hands of all his fans before sliding under the bottom rope. He sits on the ground against his corner, trying to psyche himself up for this match. "Superstar Part 2" by Saliva hits and Vito Thomaselli cockily comes walking out through the doors. The cheers he had last night are now pretty much all gone. He walks out through the door, hang on, he's wearing Acid's tights? Thomaselli is wearing Acid's regular, psychedelic patterned pants, there's yellows, there's red, there's greens, there's pinks, okay there's a hell of a lot of bright colours. Thomaselli mocks Acid on his way to the ring. As Thomaselli slides into the ring Acid charges forward stamping on his head and Thomaselli falls back to the outside. The referee restrains Acid, allowing Thomaselli to cautiously get into the ring. The referee calls for the bell and the last quarterfinal gets underway.

Both men tie up with a collar and elbow lock, Acid grabs the arm of Vito and twists it around, holding him in an arm wrench. Thomaselli grabs onto the ropes with his free hand and uses the flip backwards, Acid though kicks his arm off the ropes causing Thomaselli to crash to the canvas. Acid twists his arm around once again before starting with some rapid-fire soccer kicks to his back. Thomaselli screams louder and louder as each kick connects to the small of his back. Thomaselli pulls himself to his feet, Acid still has his arm locked, Thomaselli though pokes Acid in the air forcing him to release his arm. Thomaselli connects with some quick jabs to Acid before whipping him into the turnbuckle, Acid though reverses and sends Thomaselli to the corner. Acid comes running flinging his arm right across the upper body of Thomaselli with a clothesline, and as Thomaselli stumbles out of the corner, Acid looks for a hiptoss, Thomaselli twists in midair and snaps Acid down with a jawbreaker. Acid stumbles around the ring, Thomaselli quickly grabs him and snaps him to the mat with a suplex, he rolls over into a lateral press, 1...2... Acid kicks out. Thomaselli again goes back to some snap jabs on Acid before sending him into the ropes, Acid comes back, tilt-a-whirl into a... Stunner! Thomaselli could have killed Acid! 1...2... Acid kicks out. Almost an early victory for Thomaselli.

Acid slowly struggles to his feet, he's dazed on his feet. Thomaselli catches him in the side of the head with a step up enziguri. Acid remains on his feet but just, Thomaselli prods him with his finger and he collapses face first to the mat. Thomaselli with the cover, 1...2... Acid kicks out. Thomaselli whips Acid off the ropes, Thomaselli stalls too long before making his attack allowing Acid to deck him with a flying right hand. Acid drags Thomaselli to his feet before taking him straight back down with a butterfly powerbomb. Acid then starts to work away on the legs of Thomaselli with stomps and elbows. Acid steps onto the knee joint of Thomaselli and pulls his ankle up. Thomaselli screams he uses his free legs to kick away at Acid, eventually forcing him to break the hold. Acid though doesn't give Thomaselli time to recover by grabbing his leg and flipping over snapping it down. Acid grabs the leg again, he's looking for a half Boston crab, Thomaselli with a small package, he latches a handful of tights, 1...2... Acid kicks out. Acid jumps up only to be caught in the face with a spin kick. Acid stumbles around allowing Thomaselli to jump up and give him a rana. Acid rolls straight up to his feet but falls back against the turnbuckle. Thomaselli charges towards the corner, he jumps up and takes Acid down with a monkey flip. Thomaselli drags Acid on the canvas, positioning him next to the ropes. Thomaselli leaps up to the top rope facing out of the ring, he jumps backwards looking for a blind splash but Acid lifts his knees up meaning Thomaselli comes crashing down onto them.

Acid and Vito both start to exchange right hands, Acid comes out on top allowing him to scoop up Thomaselli before planting him with a body slam. Acid comes charging off the ropes, diving onto the chest of Thomaselli with a rolling senton, 1...2... Vito kicks out. Acid unloads with some right hands to the face of Vito Thomaselli, forcing him back into the turnbuckle. Acid hoists Thomaselli up to the top rope. Acid climbs up and hooks up Thomaselli for a superplex, Thomaselli fights free and pushes Acid to the mat. Thomaselli positions himself up on the top rope as Acid begins to fight up in the ring. Thomaselli jumps down and missile dropkicks Acid in the upper chest, Thomaselli with the pin, 1...2... Acid kicks out. Acid pushes himself to his feet using the ropes, Thomaselli stands waiting behind him, taunting him, drawing some serious boos from the crowd. Thomaselli grabs Acid and drops him down with an atomic drop, Vito holds on and slams Acid to the mat with a back suplex. Thomaselli again holds onto Acid and slowly pulls him up to his feet. Thomaselli lifts Acid up for a another back suplex, this time he pushes him forward for a sitout reverse powerbomb buster, Acid though rolls through in a victory roll, the crowd go wild, 1...2... Thomaselli just kicks out! Acid is first to his feet, he's still a bit wobbly on his feet, he swings a right hand at Thomaselli who easily ducks it, Thomaselli locks up Acid from behind and this time nails the back suplex to a sitout reverse powerbomb buster, Thomaselli rolls Acid over, 1...2... Acid gets his shoulder up!

Thomaselli pulls Acid to his feet and slowly whips him towards the ropes. Acid reverses and pulls Thomaselli towards him, STO! Acid viciously snaps Thomaselli to the canvas, where both men lie knocked out. Acid rolls across the mat out onto the apron where he begins to push himself to his feet. Acid looks back into the ring, Vito Thomaselli is still down. Acid's face fills with a grin as he points to Thomaselli in the ring signalling for the end. The crowd go wild as Acid leaps up, Springboard 450 Splash! Thomaselli moves! Acid though tucks and rolls and follows through onto his feet, only a little groggy. Thomaselli makes his way towards Acid, but gets caught in the face with a spinning wheel kick, Acid might have him, 1...2... Thomaselli gets his shoulder up! Acid shakes his head, he's getting fatigued now, there's not much more he can throw at Thomaselli to keep him down. Once again Acid signals for the end, he pulls the head of Thomaselli and shoves it between his legs, we could be seeing a Styles Clash here. Acid steps over Thomaselli's left arm, he steps over Thomaselli's righ... low blow! Acid collapses to the mat and Thomaselli slowly hooks the leg, 1...2... Acid kicks out! Neither man harnesses the strength to be consistently in control of this match. It's now basically, slug for slug, and the man with the most look, or the first man who drops his opponent right on his head, will win. Thomaselli and Acid both reach their feet at the same time, they begin an exchange of weak right hand clubs. Thomaselli pulls Acid up onto his shoulders, he's looking for the Death Valley Driver. Acid though kicks and fights and manages to drop out of the back. Acid hooks up the left arm of Thomaselli behind him and grips onto a hammerlock.

Acid pulls the arm of Thomaselli right up and wraps it around the back of his head before charging forward planting Thomaselli face down with a bulldog variation. Acid makes his way out onto the apron as Thomaselli comes to a halt on the mat, parallel to the ropes. Springboard 450! Acid connects with the splash, 1...2... Thomaselli kicks out!!! Acid rolls off Thomaselli and lies exhausted on the mat. Both men remain motionless, the referee starts the count, 1...2...3...4... after a short break both men start the motions, back to their feet. Both men get to their feet at opposite sides of the ring. Slowly they make their way for a head on collision. Thomaselli looks to grapple up Acid but after a slick go behind Acid trips Thomaselli face down and quickly locks on a side headlock. Thomaselli wriggles free and pulls Acid over backwards into a pinning cradle, 1...2... Acid kicks out. Acid is quickly to his feet, he jumps straight away into an Oklahoma roll on Thomaselli, but doing this from this from a motionless position gives him little momentum allowing for Thomaselli to block the combination with a pin of his own, 1...2... Acid kicks out again. Acid rolls Thomaselli to the side into a schoolboy style pin, 1...2... Vito kicks out.

Thomaselli grips onto the arm of Vito between his legs and locks him into a modified arm bar. Thomaselli gets to his feet pulling Acid up with him by the arm. Thomaselli with an arm ringer, and up goes Acid once again onto the shoulders of Thomaselli. Death Valley Driver! Both men are out! The crowd go wild, they start chanting "Come on Acid" trying to rally him on. Thomaselli reaches over and rests his hand on the chest of Acid, 1...2... shoulder up!!! The crowd erupt into mass applause, Acid is fighting. But as is Vito Thomaselli, who seems to have a new lease of life. Thomaselli jumps to his feet and waits eagerly for Acid. Thomaselli meets him with a Superkick! He drops quickly into the pin, 1...2... Acid's foot's on the bottom rope!!! Thomaselli screams as he angrily starts to slam his tightly clenched hands onto the mat. He's had enough, he leaps onto Acid and starts to pound away at his face with bare knuckle rights and lefts. The referee desperately tries to pull Thomaselli off of Acid. Eventually Thomaselli is restrained by the referee, just as Acid begins to bleed. Acid wipes the cut on his forehead, and right cheek pulling a small red mark down on his face. He begins to return to his vertical base, completely un-noticed by Vito Thomaselli who is busy giving the referee a mouthful. Thomaselli turns around and gives a completely surprised look before getting kicked in the gut. Acid tries to manouevere Thomaselli into position but doesn't have the strength left, so just plants him with a sloppy (Unsure whether it was deliberate or not) looking Styles Clash. Acid is unable to roll him straight into the bridge, so rolls Thomaselli over, he hooks the leg, 1...2...3! Acid progresses to the semi-finals, where he'll meet Matt Sydal.

RESULT : ACID defeats VITO THOMASELLI

TIME : 20:05

RATING : ***3/4 - A good match, very solid. Despite not being solely mat based, in fact very little time was spent in feeling each other out, they didn't pull out many over-exaggerated spots. The crowd were hot for this match, mostly due to the story behind it, obviously some RCW fans in the house. So Acid has his retribution, now can he win the tournament?

Edited September 11, 2004 by YI

[YI]

Total Mayhem Match

Adam Evans vs Danny Daniels vs Eric Priest vs Johnny Dynamo vs Ray Gordy vs Sabian

"Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind and Fire hits. Who the hell is this? Out comes Johnny Dynamo, wearing bright silver pants, and a silver top hat, both covered in glitter, and looking like they've been made out of tinfoil. He comes dancing out to the ring, to a small pop from the crowd. He dances his way to the ring and slides in under the middle rope. And just as his music begins to fade he starts with the Saturday Night Fever dance. "So Cold" by Breaking Benjamin hits and Adam Evans steps out through the doors and into the arena. Once again looking very generic in his plain white shorts. The jacked Adam Evans steps into the ring as "Orpheus" by Ash hits and Ray Gordy comes out through the doors. He quickly zips down his blue Adidas tracksuit top. And leaves it behind as he runs towards the ring sliding in under the bottom rope. Gordy steps to the middle rope and taunt, getting a mixed reaction from the crowd. Dynamo, Evans and Gordy stare each other down as they await the other three competitors.. "Sex on Wheels" by My Time with the Thrill Kill Cult starts up and Eric Priest comes walking out to the ring in plain white trunks. He cockily strokes his highlighted hair before climbing into the ring. He walks between the three men and poses before making his way to the free corner. "It's Going Down" by The X-Ecutioners blasts out around the arena and Sabian comes jumping out through the doors. Sabian slaps the hands of his fans before jumping onto the apron, where he gets into a war of words with Eric Priest, his opponent from last night. As the referee separates both men "Turn Me on Mr Deadman" by Union Underground starts and Jim Fannin leads Danny Daniels out to the ring. Daniels is the man who many see as the favourite for this match. But the fans in the arena don't seem to agree, as they hurl abuse at Daniels and Fannin, who in turn are giving as good as they get. Daniels pulls on the straps of his red and blue singlet to psyche himself up before climbing into the ring. Sabian and Johnny Dynamo are the two men drawn to start off the match. The other wrestlers step out onto the apron as the referee calls for the bell.

Dynamo puts his hat on the head of Sabian who freaks out, kicking Dynamo in the gut before restraining him on the mat with a headlock takedown. But the extra weight and strength Dynamo possesses allows him to quickly get to his feet and push Sabian into the ropes. Dynamo decks the oncoming Sabian with a clothesline. Dynamo runs off the ropes and snaps down across the back of the neck of the rising Sabian with a scissor kick. Dynamo drags Sabian quickly back to his feet before taking him back down with a Russian legsweep. Dynamo tags out to Ray Gordy who enters the ring and starts to stalk Sabian. Sabian struggles up and is decked with a three point charge, Gordy quickly hooks the leg of Sabian, 1...2... Sabian easily kicks out. Gordy clubs Sabian across the back as he pulls him to his feet by his baggy grey shorts. Gordy looks for a back suplex but Sabian flips out of the back, jumping enziguri kick to the face of Gordy. Sabian charges off the ropes and hits a Tornado DDT variation on Gordy! Gordy collapses in a heap in the corner, where Danny Daniels reaches and tags himself in. Daniels takes Sabian down with an armdrag and grips him on the mat in a side armlock. Sabian slowly but surely makes his way to his feet, he backflips over the arm of Daniels escaping the hold. Daniels though reacts quickly giving Sabian a sly knee to the gut and following it quickly with a vertical suplex. Sabian hits the mat hard on his back so is trying to take his time getting to his feet, Daniels though wants to apply more pressure to his back, and quickly. Daniels starts with some stiff knees to the grounded Sabian, before pulling him to his feet for further punishment.

Daniels sends Sabian off the ropes, Adam Evans blind tags himself in. Sabian comes back off the ropes, Daniels looks for a backbreaker but it is reverses into a head scissor takedown. Daniels falls down to the mat and quickly tags out to Johnny Dynamo. Sabian rolls out of the ring as Dynamo and Evans charge towards each other for a head on collision. Evans sticks out his arm and decks Dynamo with a clothesline. He follows it up quickly with a powerslam, 1...2... Dynamo kicks out. Dynamo gets to his feet but falls back against the ropes, Evans runs at him and clotheslines him straight over the top rope to the arena floor. Eric Priest enters the ring for the first time since the match begun and sneaks up on Evans, dropkicking him from behind sending him out of the ring through the middle rope. Priest walks up to the ropes grabs onto the top rope. And pushes himself over, vaulting down with a cross body like move to Dynamo and Evans. The three men all get to their feet at around the same time, just to the side of them Danny Daniels and Jim Fannin are talking tactics. Sabian comes running off the ropes and hits a corkscrew plancha all the way down onto Evans, Dynamo and Priest, his stray leg also catches Jim Fannin in the face knocking him down causing the crowd to go absolutely wild, as well as sending Daniels insane. Daniels quickly slides into the ring and charges off the opposite ropes, Sabian turns around from celebrating just in time to have Danny Daniels fly right into his face with a flipping tope through the middle rope. Daniels is still furious about Sabian taking out his manager and quickly grabs a steel chair from the ringside area, (No DQ this is legal) and viciously slams it down across the head of Sabian. Sabian's out like a light. Daniels rolls him back into the ring, 1...2... Sabian gets his shoulder up! Daniels quickly pulls Sabian dead into the centre of the ring before dragging him to his feet. Piledriver! 1...2...3! Danny Daniels has eliminated Sabian on 10:38.

Johnny Dynamo enters the ring, unknown to Danny Daniels. Dynamo starts dancing, which garners a pop from the crowd. This makes Daniels turn around, Dynamo swings a right hand but it is ducked. Daniels tries to grip Dynamo in a side headlock but he easily breaks free. Dynamo takes Daniels down with a snapmare and follows it with a dropkick to the small of his back. Daniels quickly tags out to Ray Gordy before more damage can be done. Gordy comes charging into the ring, Dynamo though sees him coming and hits a flapjack drop, letting Gordy free fall down onto his face. This is where Dynamo should go for a cover but instead dances around. He points at Gordy who's getting back to his feet and then to the ropes. The crowd cheer as Dynamo runs off the ropes, he looks for a scissor kick but Gordy dodges, Gordy knees Dynamo in the gut and lifts him up in a slam parallel from the ground. He swings his legs out, swinging Dynamo around to one side of his body where he drives him to the mat with a crooked sitout uranage (That was hard to explain, think a Catatonic/Hero's Sandwich but with a sitout uranage to finish it). Gordy holds onto the bridge, 1...2...3! Ray Gordy has eliminated Johnny Dynamo on 12:17. Adam Evans enters the ring. He exchanges some blows with Gordy before manages to lock him up from behind, driving him to the mat with a tiger suplex, 1...2... Gordy gets his shoulder up! Gordy falls back into a turnbuckle and Eric Priest quickly tags himself in. Priest runs at Evans and uses his speed and versatility to take down Evans with a head scissor to arm drag. Priest leaps to his feet and catches Evans in the face with a dropkick, 1...2... Evans kicks out. As Evans returns to his feet, Priest gives him a sly kick to the shin, following it with a reverse DDT and another pin, 1...2... Evans kicks out again. Priest whips the bigger Evans into the corner, and tells Danny Daniels to tag himself in.

Daniels obliges and both men lock up, Daniels knees Priest in the gut before whipping him into the turnbuckle. Daniels makes his way over to the corner and steps up onto the middle rope and starts with a 10-punch combo. Daniels gets to around 7 but Priest is starting to show some resilience so he rolls down and snaps Priest to the mat with a monkey flip. Daniels pulls Priest back up against the turnbuckle leaning him in the corner. He then starts to choke out Priest using his boot. The referee starts the count, Daniels being a true heel refuses to break the choke, and when the referee goes to DQ him he reminds the referee that the match is no DQ! The crowd boo Daniels who stops the choke and then starts to torment the referee. He slaps him in the face and then says, "You can't DQ me". This is very unlike Daniels, he's being distracted instead of wrestling. He continues to slap the referee, the ref retaliates by pushing Daniels into a schoolboy from Priest, 1...2... Daniels kicks out. Priest quickly hooks up Daniels and drives him to the mat face first with a double arm DDT. Priest rolls over Daniels, 1...2... Daniels kicks out again. Priest, Irish whips Daniels to the corner, where Gordy blind tags in.

Priest comes dashing across the ring, Gordy jumps up and springboards off the middle rope almost decapitating Eric Priest with a springboard clothesline. Gordy with the pin, 1...2... Priest gets his shoulder up! Priest remains on the mat, Gordy grabs Daniels and throws him over the top rope, sending him crashing to the floor. Gordy then darts towards Adam Evans and decks him with a running elbow on the apron. Gordy turns his attention back to Eric Priest. He hooks him up in a pump handle from behind. He lifts up Priest before driving him between his legs onto his head with the Asiatic Driver! 1...2... Evans kicks Gordy in the face! Evans pulls Gordy to his feet in a suplex position, Evans hoists Gordy high into the air before dropping him to the side, driving him down into a sitout slam, with the Falcon Arrow! Evans holds his palms on the chest of Gordy, 1...2... Danny Daniels breaks the pin! Daniels pins Gordy, 1...2... Evans breaks the pin! Daniels rakes Evans in the eyes, and he falls back against the ropes. Daniels comes charging onward and cross body blocks Evans over the top rope. Daniels manages to land on the apron but Evans hits the floor hard. Meanwhile in the ring, both Gordy and Priest are struggling to find their feet. Once they do, Priest is the one to react quickest and sets up Gordy for a neckbreaker. Kiss of Death! Lateral press from Priest, 1...2...3! Eric Priest has eliminated Ray Gordy on 19:32.

Priest doesn't have much time to rest as Danny Daniels is back in the ring and raring to go. Daniels runs at him but Priest sees him coming and takes him to the canvas face down with a drop toehold and then turns it into an Achilles lock, with Daniels' leg trapped between the two feet of Eric Priest. Daniels struggles as Priest pushes on his leg, more and more. Daniels manages to use his arms and push his upper body high into the air, allowing for him to have enough momentum to roll forward and escape from the clutches of Eric Priest. Daniels slaps Adam Evans tagging him into the match. Evans enters the ring with Eric Priest darting towards him, Evans reacts quickly and tosses Priest over with an overhead belly to belly suplex. Priest uses to ropes to gets to his feet. Evans grabs Priest from behind and looks for a half nelson suplex, Priest though wraps his legs around the top rope, and Evans as strong as he is, can't pull Priest away. So instead he brings his arm down across Priest's throat dropping him right on the top of his head with a final cut like move. Evans with the pin, 1...2... Priest gets his shoulder up! Evans waits Priest to reach his feet, Evans unleashes a couple of big right hands before kicking Priest in the gut. And in shades of what Priest did to Daniels earlier, Evans hooks up the arms of his opponent before driving him headfirst to the canvas with a jumping double arm DDT, 1...2... Priest kicks out! Eric Priest can barely stand, Evans is looking for the Falcon Arrow! Priest drops out of the back, double superkick! Danny Daniels and Eric Priest deck Adam Evans with a jaw shattering double superkick! Priest though is still very groggy, Daniels makes the most of this and scoops up Priest before walking into the middle of the ring. Tombstone Piledriver! Daniels hooks the near leg under his arm, 1...2...3! Danny Daniels has eliminated Eric Priest on 23:29. Daniels quickly jumps on the back of the rising Adam Evans and locks him into a scissored sleeper. Evans though manages to fight off the legs of Daniels, meaning he's just hanging from the big man. Evans walks to the corner and flips Daniels over his shoulder sending him back first into the turnbuckle. Evans wraps Daniels' legs around the top rope, putting him in a tree of woe position. The big man then slowly makes his way to the top rope, what's he looking for up here? Evans pulls Daniels up by his attire and screams for a Falcon Arrow! The crowd go absolutely crazy, but Daniels has other ideas and sucker punches Evans right between the eyes. Daniels pushes himself up onto the top rope and looks for a rana. He hits it and takes Evans right down to the ring, but Evans rolls through, sunset flip bridge, 1...2...3! The big man wins! 18 years of age and a high profile win tonight, in the first ever Total Mayhem Match!

RESULT : ADAM EVANS defeats DANNY DANIELS (Last Fall)

TIME : 24:10

RATING : ** - An okay match, was pretty much a clusterfuck lots of the time though. The crowd were really behind Adam Evans at the end when it was him left with Daniels and Priest, and went absolutely wild when he won. If you were wondering what happened with Jim Fannin he disappeared once he recovered from his downed state and came back out towards the end with some ice on his face. But made no real impact, just sat down in a free seat at the end of the front row. So all six men looked good, but their styles aren't one and the same, and that hurt the overall quality

INTERMISSION

Mickie Knuckles vs Ms Chif vs Nikita

As the fans return from the intermission the three women are already in the ring for this triple threat elimination match. Ms Chif stands in one corner, wearing dark green and black all in one attire, as well as having green highlights in her hair. As B-Squared announces her, Ms Chif shrieks over him and received boos from the crowd. The announcer then introduces German, Nikita who's wearing a red top and black shorts. Nikita taunts Mickie Knuckles and Ms Chif as the crowd boo her. The crowd then break into cheers as Mickie Knuckles walks into the middle of the ring, in a black t-shirt and cut-short jeans. The bell rings and straight off Nikita and Ms Chif attack Mickie Knuckles. They force Mickie back into a corner and start to pound away at her. As Mickie collapses down in the corner, Ms Chif drops down and starts to choke out Mickie Knuckles, whilst screaming in her face. Nikita open hand slaps Ms Chif across the back, and pulls her to her feet, before slamming Ms Chif's face right into the top turnbuckle pad. Ms Chif stumbles back against the ropes. Nikita sends her into the opposite ropes, she comes back to be caught with a hiptoss from Mickie Knuckles. Nikita charges for Mickie Knuckles but gets a knee to the gut, followed by a delayed vertical suplex from Knuckles. Mickie Knuckles gets up in time to scoop up Ms Chif and drop her with a body slam. Knuckles makes her way off the ropes, upon her return she drops a big legdrop across the throat of Ms Chif, 1...2... Nikita breaks the pin.

Nikita hits a few open hand slaps to the back of Knuckles as she drags her to her feet. Nikita sends Mickie into the corner. Nikita runs at Mickie in the corner and hits a big elbow smash right to Knuckles' jaw. Ms Chif catches the turning Nikita with some strong chops to the gut and chest. Nikita though grasps Ms Chif by the hair and pulls her into a side headlock. Ms Chif fights the headlock and manages to turn around pulling Nikita down in a backslide, 1...2... Nikita kicks out. Ms Chif hits a standing basement dropkick to the temple of Nikita leaving her out cold on the mat. Ms Chif turns her attention to Mickie Knuckles who slowly makes her way towards her, ready to fight. Both women lock up in the centre of the ring, Knuckles uses her extra power and weight to sending Ms Chif backwards and to the mat. Ms Chif is not pleased about being made a fool of and quickly makes a go for Mickie Knuckles, but Knuckles side steps before lifting up and planting Ms Chif to the canvas with a sidewalk slam, 1...2... Ms Chif kicks out. Mickie Knuckles quickly drags Ms Chif to her feet and swings to big right hands at her face. Ms Chif manages to duck the first two punches but is caught right in the face with the third knocking her out on the mat. Mickie Knuckles again looks for the pin, but no she's rolled up from behind in a school boy from Nikita, 1...2... Mickie kicks out! Mickie Knuckles is quick up to her feet. Yakuza Kick! Nikita has taken Mickie Knuckles out cold!

But before Nikita has a chance to make the cover, Ms Chif is back to her feet. Nikita again takes a short run up and lunges her foot at Ms Chif. Yakuza Kick! Ms Chif ducks. A swift kick to the gut, Arm Step Over DDT! 1...2... Nikita gets her foot on the ropes! Nikita can barely stand as Ms Chif stalks her. Kick to the gut. Arm Step Over DDT! Nikita reverses and fights free, before pushing Ms Chif towards a rising Mickie Knuckles. Samoan Drop from Knuckles, 1...2... Ms Chif kicks out! Mickie Knuckles takes down the running Nikita with a back body drop. She follows it quickly by scooping up Nikita. Nikita though drops out of the back and takes Mickie down with a bionic elbow across the back of the neck. Nikita pushes herself up onto the middle rope, she leaps down and grabs the heads of both the dazed, Mickie Knuckles and Ms Chif and drives them headfirst to the canvas with a double DDT, Nikita with the pin on Mickie Knuckles, 1...2... Knuckles kicks out! She quickly turns over into a pin on Ms Chif, 1...2... Ms Chif kicks out! Nikita stalks the rising Ms Chif and tries to deck her with the Yakuza Kick, but Ms Chif ducks, Nikita's momentum forces her on straight into a spinning powerslam from Mickie, 1...2...3! Nikita was surprised with a pin, she is now eliminated from the match on 8:33. Nikita is escorted from the ring but jumps back up on the apron distracting Mickie Knuckles. This allows Ms Chif to regain a vertical base and stand in wait of the distracted Mickie Knuckles. As the referee is distracted trying to get Nikita down from the apron, Ms Chif fires green mist from her mouth at Mickie Knuckles. Knuckles dodges! The mist goes into the face of Nikita! Knuckles decks Ms Chif with a clothesline. Sitout Powerbomb! Knuckles holds onto the bridge, 1...2...3! Mickie Knuckles exits the ring as Nikita slides back in, wiping the green mist away from her eyes. Nikita for some reason helps Ms Chif to her feet, but knees her in the gut before running off the ropes and unleashing a massive Yakuza Kick to her face! Nikita has gained some retribution from last night.

RESULT : MICKIE KNUCKLES defeats MS CHIF and NIKITA

TIME : 9:45 (With Aftermath)

RATING : ** - A solid match. Nothing out of the ordinary, all three women put on a solid display. They have lots of storyline possibilities from here, you've got Nikita and Ms Chif all going after Mickie Knuckles, plus they also want a piece of each other. So if they do decide with a triangle feud, the face is still out numbered, but the heels are also distracted from their goal (Of defeating Mickie Knuckles, proving themselves as the most dominant female) by each other. This situation could be interesting in the coming months

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Semi-final Match

Acid vs Matt Sydal

"Clavicle" by Alkaline Trio hits and Matt Sydal slowly makes his way out to the ring. He doesn't look to good as he cautiously rolls into the ring. He looks legitimately shook up from his head drops in his match with Brad Bradley earlier, as his eyes are half glazed over. He has a rest back against the turnbuckle as "Feel good hit of the Summer" by Queens of the Stone Age, starts up and Acid comes running out to the ring, showing no fatigue from his earlier, 20 minute match with Vito Thomaselli, he's super psyched. Both men walk to the middle of the ring, the referee calls for the bell and the match gets underway. Acid and Sydal tie up in the centre of the ring, Acid pushes Sydal back towards the turnbuckle, but Sydal pulls off a quick go behind and snaps Acid down to the canvas with what can only be described as a reverse headlock takedown. Sydal grips a side headlock in on the floored Acid. Sydal seriously does look a little worse for wear, either that or in the last hour he's developed a lazy eye. Acid uses his strength and pushes himself back to his feet, he easily breaks out of the headlock and starts to wrench away at the arm of Sydal. Acid twists the arm of Sydal and holds him in a side arm lock. Sydal using his free arm grabs onto the top rope and uses it to flip backwards, before using the momentum to take down Acid with a Japanese armdrag. Sydal is first to his feet, but falls back against the turnbuckle. Acid returns to his feet and charges for Sydal, Sydal swings his foot up kicking Acid right between the eyes. Sydal whips Acid off the ropes, he swings his left arm looking for a clothesline but Acid ducks and continues off the opposite ropes. Acid with a ferocious spinning wheel kick! Matt Sydal isn't moving! The referee and Acid both check on him, and shout to the back for paramedics to come out. Paramedics and ring crew, followed by Ian Rotten and Delirious make their way to the ring. All of them crowd around Matt Sydal seeing if he's okay, Delirious starts to shake him and shouts "Baaaa" continuously. Sydal slowly starts to get to his feet, and indicates he wants to match to go on. Rotten and Delirious stand at ringside as Sydal and Acid square off again. Sydal is very groggy on his feet. They tie up, Sydal with a quick go behind locking Acid in a hammerlock. He releases the hold and catches Acid in the face with a left hand, he follows it with a weak standing clothesline, Acid is now groggy. Sydal goes for a spinning backhand punch. Backslide out of nowhere from Acid! 1...2...3!

RESULT : ACID defeats MATT SYDAL

TIME : 4:06

RATING : 1/2* - Well, there wasn't really a match, but the crowd were hot and you can't ignore that. Hopefully there's nothing seriously wrong with Matt Sydal and he can make a return for AWL's next show as well as the TPI in September. I guess we're never going to know what the original result of this match was going to be before they had to call the audible

After the match, Acid, Delirious and Ian Rotten all help Matt Sydal to his feet. Acid takes a microphone.

Acid : "I respect the fact, that Matt Sydal, you weren't 100 percent for this match. So tonight, after I win the title, on the 11/6 show at the Shrine Temple in Sioux City, Iowa. You'll receive a title shot!"

The crowd applaud as Sydal and Acid shake hands. Acid makes his way to the back as Ian Rotten and Delirious help out Matt Sydal who receives a standing ovation from the crowd.

Best in the Midwest 2004 : Semi-final Match

Austin Aries vs Vic Capri

Austin Aries is the first man out to the ring, as his theme, Rage Against the Machine's "Broken Man #6" blasts out through the speakers. Aries has his dark, somewhat scraggy hair soaked with water, holding it into place, he runs his hand back through it before slapping hands with some of his fans in the first few rows. Aries looks intense tonight, he's saying very little, he's just focussed on the goal ahead of him. Defeat Vic Capri and then defeat Acid and he's officially crowned the Best in the Midwest, and the first ever AWL Heavyweight Champion. Aries rolls into the ring and patiently waits for Vic Capri. "God Hates us All" by Slayer starts up and Vic Capri comes strutting down to the ring. Capri, despite not being a full time wrestler anymore, he has managed to reach the semis after impressive victories over Ken Anderson and Roderick Strong. Capri, still wearing the black and white split shorts enters the ring and points and laughs at Austin Aries. All the cheers that Capri received last night and earlier tonight are now all gone, to be replaced by boos and jeers. The referee checks both men for foreign objects before calling for the bell, our second semi-final match is now underway.

Capri and Aries lock up in the middle of the ring, Capri though releases his grip and says he's not ready yet, which draws a boo out from the crowd. Eventually Aries and Capri lock up and start the match. Aries proves to be the stronger of the two men and he pushes Capri right back against the turnbuckle, and continues pushing forcing Capri up the turnbuckle. The referee drags Aries away from Capri. Aries is showing he can play mind games too. Both men slowly regain composure and lock up again in the middle of the ring. Aries again starts to push Capri back towards the corner, Capri though grabs the arm of Aries and twists it behind his back holding Aries in a hammerlock. Aries reaches behind and takes Capri to the mat with a headlock takedown. Aries grips to the side of the head of Capri, Capri though easily fights free and jumps to his feet. Capri grabs the wrist of Aries and twists each of his fingers. Capri twists Aries arm before bringing him to the mat with a snapmare, following it quickly before synching in a sleeper hold. Capri manages to restrain Aries on the mat for a short while but Aries soon powers up to his feet. Austin Aries breaks free with some elbows to Capri before pushing him towards the ropes. Aries looks for an armdrag, but Capri reverses and drags Aries to the mat with a headlock takedown, where he holds onto a modified side headlock, again keeping Aries on the mat in this feeling out stage. The crowd try to get behind Aries in this early stage but Capri just keeps him on the floor, where he can't do much damage.

Aries slowly manages to return to his feet and fight free from the headlock. As he makes a dash for the ropes Capri snaps him down right onto his face with a modified drop toehold from behind. Capri quickly jumps onto Aries and starts to spin around. Again playing mind games, showing Aries that he's got him down and can keep him their. Aries shrugs Capri off him, Capri stands to the side taunting Aries as he returns to his feet. Aries charges at Capri but is taken down with an armdrag, before being held with a side armlock. Aries lies back before snapping up onto his feet, where he twists Capri' arm using the momentum he's gained, before taking down Capri with a snap Japanese armdrag. Aries works away on the right hand of Capri with a knuckle and wristlock. Capri rolls around on the mat, trying to find a way to his feet. After a backwards roll he manages to stand up, but Aries swipes his legs out from under him and Capri drops back to the mat, leaving the crowd to laugh at his expense. Aries pulls away at the hand of Capri, who once again launches an attempt to reach his feet. Aries this time allows Capri to get up and pushes him sending him into the turnbuckle. Aries hits some open hand chops to Capri before switching to regular chops. The crowd shout out "Wooo" after the vicious chops. Aries starts to play along, which works to Capri's advantage, as it allows him to rake Aries in the eyes, putting him back in charge of the match.

Capri with some chops of his own, which leave Aries dazed up against the turnbuckle. After a short run up Capri knocks Aries to the mat with a turnbuckle clothesline. Capri drops down onto his knees and starts to choke out Austin Aries. The crowd begin to boo Capri, as the referee starts his count to 5. Capri releases the choke and gives Aries a sly kick to the side of the face as he gets up. Capri pulls up Aries and gives him a quick vertical suplex. Capri quickly follows it by gripping the rising Aries into a cobra clutch. As Aries tries to fight free, Capri takes him to the mat with a modified legsweep. Capri rolls through backwards onto his feet and grips Aries into a Dragon Sleeper! Capri pulls Aries up in the Dragon Sleeper and drops him down onto his knee in a sort of backbreaker. Aries sits on the mat, Capri wrenching away at his neck. Could this be enough to get Vic Capri into the Best in the Midwest final? The referee drops down to check on Austin Aries, but he fights on, Capri has got to do more. Once again Capri pulls Aries up and snaps him back down across his knee with a backbreaker variation, whilst still gripping in the Dragon Sleeper. Aries tries to fight free but Capri pushes his knee hard into his back, applying insane amounts of pressure to the submission. Aries starts to scream out loud, he can't take much more of this, but for the time being he continues to fight on. Aries slowly swings back an elbow, which catches Capri right in the face. He swings a second elbow, which again catches Capri right between the eyes. Aries goes for another elbow that also connects. With Capri's grip loosening Aries slowly wriggles his body closer to the side of the ring where he lies his foot across the bottom rope. Capri is forced to break the submission move, he thought he had the match won.

Capri not one to stand about, goes straight back to work on Austin Aries clutching him from behind in a waistlock. Aries runs forwards towards the ropes and drops down to the mat, sending Capri forward out threw the middle rope to the arena floor where he crashes down right onto his head. The crowd applaud Austin Aries who has now collapsed backwards into the centre of the ring. With Capri being out of the ring the referee starts a count out, 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8... Capri makes his way up onto the apron with over 10 seconds left to spare. Aries runs towards Capri, jumping into the air catching him in the face with his knee. Capri falls hard to the arena floor, once again. Aries steps out onto the apron and starts to stalk Vic Capri. Aries charges along the apron, from one buckle towards the other. He dives from the apron taking down the rising Vic Capri with a flying forearm. Both men are slow to their feet on the outside, they're obviously feeling the effects of the previous two rounds. Aries grabs Capri's armpad and drags him to his feet, before viciously whipping him into the ring apron. Capri leans against the apron clutching at his ribs. Aries pushes him back and starts to chop away at Capri. The crowd go wild as each chop connects to the chest of Vic Capri, and as the chops get harder and harder the cheers and screams of "Woooo" get louder and louder. Eventually Aries has enough of playing with Vic Capri and knees him in the ribs and Capri collapses to the floor. Aries rolls Capri back into the ring. Quickly Aries looks for a pin after a smooth northern lights suplex, 1...2... Capri flicks his feet high in the air. Before Capri has the opportunity to move off his back, Aries twists his arm back. Capri though swipes Aries legs away from under him before pouncing into a schoolboy bridge, 1...2... Aries easily kicks out.

Both men are quick to their feet, Aries wastes little time in charging back towards Capri, Capri though takes Aries to the mat with a drop toe hold and locks in a foot vice, Achilles tendon lock. Capri leans forward and clutches Aries ankle in his hands. Capri is looking to work away at Aries leg, he could be building up for the Texas Cloverleaf, a move he used to win his first round match in this tournament. Aries manages to wriggle free and makes his way back to his feet, Capri though takes him right back to the floor following a dragon screw. Capri starts to work away at the legs and back of Austin Aries. With stomps and quick submission locks, trying to soften the leg as much as possible. After Capri is happy he rolls Aries over onto his stomach and drops a couple of big knees into the back of his opponent. Capri drags Aries to his feet from behind, Capri quickly snaps his hands down Aries giving him a backrake. As Aries stands nursing his back in the middle of the ring, Capri makes his way off the ropes. Capri attacks Aries from behind, taking out his leg with a chop block. Capri turns Aries around with ease, locking in a half crab. Aries resists the submission and starts to push himself over towards the ropes, but Capri just stands up and walks back to the middle of the ring, pulling Aries with him, where again he sits back down into the submission. Once again Aries starts to struggle over to the ropes. Capri tries to counter this by reaching back and turning the half crab into an STF but Aries strikes him in the face, putting an end to that ideas. Capri though has another trick up his book and wraps the leg of Aries around his neck. Capri steps up to his feet and grasps the leg of Aries, holding him in a stretch muffler. Aries is dangling down, supporting himself on his hands on the mat. Capri gives him some sly digs to the top of the back before swiping away his arms meaning Aries drops right on top of his head. Capri still has the stretch muffler locked in, and is looking to go down and apply more pressure to the back of Aries, but Aries places his hands on the mat and pushes himself up to counteract Capri. Aries slowly manoeuvres his free foot round the neck of Capri and takes him to the mat with a modified rana, escaping the submission!

Both men are slower than expected to their feet. Capri is the first to react and comes towards Aries at great pace, Aries though leaps up and catches him with a single foot dropkick right between the eyes. Aries is the first to his feet surprisingly, as he's been on the receiving end of most of the punishment in the match, maybe this can be his big break. Aries follows a kick to the gut with a DDT, 1...2... Capri gets his shoulder up. As Capri gets to his knees, Aries swings a kick that connects right in his face. Despite it being a weak kick, Capri falls down across the middle rope, facing out of the ring. Aries slingshots over the top rope and brings his leg down across the back of Capri's neck. Or at least that was the plan, but Capri rolls away from the ropes meaning Aries will crash down onto the apron, leading with his already hurting leg. Aries rolls around on the outside screaming in pain, which causes a psychotic smile to pass over the lips of Vic Capri. Capri drops out of the ring and pulls Aries to his feet. Capri drags Aries towards the apron, facing towards the crowd. Capri gives the audience the middle finger as he viciously snaps backwards, driving Aries's back into the apron with a Russian legsweep. Aries rolls around on the floor, before coming to a stop face down, allowing Capri to grab Aries foot and lift it high into the air before slamming it down right onto the solid wooden floor with a knee smash. Before Aries has a chance to recover from his wounds inflicted Capri has him back in the ring. Capri legdrops down onto the leg of Aries before locking him in a figure four leglock. Aries shoulders brush down onto the mat, but he refuses to keep them there as it would mean a potential pinfall. Capri rests his boy weight on his arms and pushes himself up as high as possible to try and apply as much pressure as possible to Aries, and it makes it more difficult for Aries to reverse.

Capri though can't support his weight on his hands for long and is forced to sit back down on the mat, but that extra leverage could make a whole lot of difference in this match. Capri yells at Aries just to give it up, but Aries still has the determination to fight on. And starts to rock side to side trying to turn the pressure on the submission. Eventually he manages to get Capri halfway over, Capri lets out a mock scream before just turning it back in his favour. Aries again tries to turn it, this time he gets a bit further but still the now grimacing Vic Capri isn't really feeling it too much and can easily turn back into the figure four, and he does. Aries though rolls straight through reversing the figure four. Now Capri screams, as does Aries whose legs are trapped under Capri's body weight, but is willing to hold on knowing that Capri will be feeling it more than him. Capri dives onto the ropes and both men oblige in untangling their feet. Aries pushes himself along the mat towards the opposite ropes, before pushing himself to his feet. Both men are up around the same time, Aries hobbles forward and unleashes a stiff chop to the chest of Capri. Capri replies with a nowhere near as vicious chop, Aries strikes back, again showing Capri how it should be gone. Capri gets frustrated and swings a right hand at Aries, Aries blocks and blasts Capri with an elbow shot to the head that puts his opponent off balance. Aries looks for a running attack on Capri, Capri though recovers from his state of daze and leaps up for a dropkick, Aries tries to block it, but it was just a dummy as Capri shifts his weight down and takes out Aries' knee with a basement dropkick. Capri quickly crosses over the legs of the grounded Austin Aries. Texas Cloverleaf!

Capri holds Aries up at a high angle, just teasing and toying with him, showing Aries of his imminent demise. As Capri takes a step forwards before sitting down into the hold, Aries pushes himself back with Capri, walking on his hands. Capri is caught completely by surprise and Aries pushes himself up from the mat and latches around the head of Capri before rolling backwards, tossing Capri away with a judo roll/monkey flip style move. The crowd erupt for Austin Aries who has a sudden burst of energy. A running forearm shot takes down Capri, Aries follows it with some stiff chops. Capri though manages to fight back, catching Aries in the face with a forearm of his own. This catches Aries off balance allowing Capri to take him to the mat with a suplex. Capri holds onto the trunks of Aries and pulls him slowly to his feet. Capri again has Aries in a suplex position, he tries to bring Aries over but Aries fights it, Capri though eventually brings Aries over and quickly drops him onto his head with a Brainbuster. Capri with a lateral press, 1...2... Aries flicks his feet up in the air! As Aries struggles to his feet Capri scoops him up to the side and drops him across his knee with a backbreaker. Capri is now frustrated as to not getting the victory yet, you can tell this as he's not thinking logically anymore and is working over every part of Aries body, instead of going back to his legs. Capri digs both his knees into the back of Aries, before rolling backwards, stretching Aries across his knees with an Indian deathlock. Nearly every part of Aries body is being stretched here, his back, his legs and his neck. Eventually Capri has mercy on the screaming Austin Aries and releases the submission, but the damage seems to have been done. As Aries fights to his feet Capri grabs him from behind and takes him out with a neckbreaker. Hook of the leg, 1...2... Aries gets his shoulder up! Capri does believe it, he latches on Aries with a 3/4 facelock. Here it comes, The Icebreaker! Capri charges up the turnbuckle only for Aries to toss him over backwards, and Capri lands face down on the mat. Capri is quick to his feet, Aries hoists him on his shoulders and charges towards the turnbuckle, fireman's roll. Aries times it perfectly so he can quickly dart up the turnbuckle. 450 Splash! 1...2... Capri gets his shoulder up!!!

Aries rolls to the side where he remains stationary, was that all he had left? Both men are slow to their feet, taking as much time as possible to recuperate before going for the finish. Aries locks Capri into a standing crossface, like move. Aries has trouble getting the move in tight but eventually succeeds. He tries to pull Capri to his knees when he can add more pressure, but Capri fights Aries. Aries eventually gives Capri no choice as he drops him with a modified jawbreaker, taking him to his knees. Aries slowly lowers Capri further and further down until he's lying flat on the mat, Aries tucks Capri's free arm between his leg, crossface? No, Rings of Saturn! Capri starts to thrash about, stopping Aries from securing his arm and synching in the submission. Capri manages to wrap his arms around the head of Aries and drags him over into a side headlock. The crowd boo Capri who holds Aries down in the rest hold, whilst taunting the booing fans. Capri rolls around and grabs onto Aries and locks him into a crossface chickenwing. Capri pulls Aries up before falling onto his back, clutching Aries in the crossface chickenwing on top of him. The referee drops down to check on Austin Aries, he lifts Aries arm up and it falls to the mat. Again Aries hand falls to the mat, one more and Vic Capri is in the final. Aries hoists his arm high, he's fighting on! Aries swings his head backwards and the back of his head smacks into the face of Vic Capri. He's bust Capri's nose! Blood flows down from Capri's nose as Aries again is looking for another energy burst. Aries swings a big right hand that catches Capri in the nose again, this forces the blood flow to continue, staining the ring canvas. Aries hooks up the arms of Capri from behind, Dragon Suplex. 1...2... Capri kicks out! Both men are quite quick to their feet, they both want to finish this soon, as one of them has a final after this. Aries whips Capri hard into the corner. The crowd start to really get behind Aries and are chanting his name. Aries feeds on the energy and makes a charge for Capri in the corner. But Capri, again regains dominance of the match by swinging a boot up into the face of the oncoming Austin Aries.

Capri latches onto the dazed Austin Aries with a cobra clutch from behind. Aries uses his ring presence and pushes his legs off the turnbuckle and in shades of Bret Hart (against Roddy Piper and Steve Austin) he rolls over into a bridge on Capri, 1...2... Capri kicks out! Aries kicks Capri in the gut and follows it quickly with a corkscrew snap suplex. Capri is out, perfectly positioned from the turnbuckle. Aries signals for the 450 Splash! The crowd go crazy as Aries makes his way to the top rope. No, Capri's back up and he gives Aries a strong punch to the chest, forcing Aries to remain motionless on the top rope. Capri climbs up the front of the turnbuckle. He jumps up and hits a super rana, causing both men fall hard to the canvas below! Both men are down and out, this could be it if Capri can make the cover on Aries. 1...2... Aries has his foot on the bottom rope! Capri thinks that he's won the match. He stands celebrating as Aries slowly begins to make his way back to his feet. The referee tries to get Capri's attention, he yells at Capri saying Aries' foot was on the rope, but it doesn't sink in. The referee grabs the bottom rope and points at Aries who's now on his feet. Capri looks shocked that Aries is up, kick to the gut. Brainbuster! Aries with the pin, 1...2... Capri kicks out!!! Aries sits up, mouth open and buries his head in his hands. He can't believe it. Aries and Capri both reach their feet and start to exchange chops. Capri's chops are more vicious than before, and Austin Aries is just Austin Aries, so strong chops come naturally. Aries comes out on top of the chopping exchange and sends Capri into the ropes. Capri though reverses and pulls Aries forward before driving Aries' face right down onto his knee. Capri swings his arm looking to clothesline the groggy Austin Aries. Aries though manages to duck, just before it connect. Capri quickly swings his leg back and catches Aries right in the stomach with the back of his heel. With Aries leaning over Capri charges off the ropes, Aries drops down to the mat and Capri continues off the opposite ropes. Aries springs straight to his feet and decks the oncoming Capri with a lariat! Capri snaps right down onto his back. Aries with the pin, 1...2...3!! Austin Aries is in the final of The Best in the Midwest Tournament, where he'll meet with Acid!

RESULT : AUSTIN ARIES defeats VIC CAPRI

TIME : 36:47

RATING : ****1/4 - A very good match. Told a good story. The crowd really got behind Aries and were urging him to fight back. Not quite as exciting as the Delirious/Matt Sydal match from last night, but in many ways was probably better. But still, nothing much stands out from it as unforgettable moments. Also, there's the question of how much Aries has left for the final match

Austin Aries reaches his feet and lifts his arms high above his head, which the crowd respond to with a loud cheer. Capri slowly follows Aries to his feet, holding the back of his head where it snapped to the floor following the Lariat. Austin Aries extends his hand to Vic Capri. Capri yells "Fuck You" before rolling out of the ring. As Capri walks up the ramp Aries shouts after him "But the best man always wins!" coining a phrase used by Vic Capri earlier. Capri stops in his tracks and walks back to the ring. The two engage in a stare down, before Capri puts his hand out to Aries. Aries goes to accept it but Capri pulls his arm away. Capri leaves laughing at Austin Aries, whilst being heckled by the crowd.

Aero vs Delirious

Some loud and clashing, orchestral chords blare out over the speakers and Delirious comes out through the entrance door on his knees. He walks along on his knees before leaning down on all fours with his head high, calling out "Baaaaaaaaa" over and over again. Soon the crowd join in with Delirious. As his music kicks in with rock rhythms Delirious leaps to his feet and darts into the ring, sliding in under the bottom rope. Delirious sits back against the turnbuckle, pulling frantically at his mask whilst shaking and shivering. Delirious pulls off his sleeveless black t-shirt before reaching up and tugging on the top rope as "Counting to Infinity" by The Killing Tree blares out and Aero jumps out through the doors. He looks super psyched up for this match. Despite getting little crowd reaction (what do you expect from following out Delirious) Aero still goes round slapping the hands of those in the front two rows, which gets his more support. Aero is also a masked wrestler. He has a red mask that full covers his face, and it has a shiny gold area around the face, with cut outs for his eyes and mouth. Aero's attire is matched off with red 3/4 length pants and white boots. Aero glides up onto the apron, he walks over next to the turnbuckle and then in the style of Chris Hero he flips over into the ring. The referee calls for the bell and the match gets underway.

Aero and Delirious lock up, after a quick exchange of arm twists and rolls, Aero manages to twist the arm of Delirious before flipping him over onto the mat. Aero pulls at the wrist of Delirious, Delirious though rolls over onto his chest and tries to take out the legs of Aero but Aero jumps over the swinging arm of Delirious before coming down with a double footed stomp across his back. Before Aero can continue with an attack Delirious curls up into a ball and the crowd laugh and clap. Aero looks down confused at Delirious, Delirious slowly moves his hand away from his eyes and looks up and notices Aero looking at him so quickly covers back up. Aero, now is increasingly confused (Which you can tell just by his revealed eyes). Aero leans over and pats Delirious on the back, seeing if he's okay. "BAAAAAAAA" is the response he receives from Delirious. Aero falls onto his back and starts panting franticly in shock, the crowd break into laughter at the antics early in this match. Delirious starts to uncurl from his ball and makes his way cautiously to his feet. As he is in a crouched position Aero leaps to his feet, Delirious quickly falls back down and goes into a ball. Aero walks over and quietly says "Baaaa". "BAAAAAAA" is the reply he gets from Delirious and again Aero stumbles backwards in shock. Delirious looks up and pulls his hands away from his eyes, "Baaaa?" he looks around confused. He points at Aero, and against exclaims "Baaa?". Aero looks at Delirious, Aero looks around at the crowd, they have no idea what the hell is happening. "Baaaaaa" replies Aero. "BAAAAA!" yells out Delirious, but not an angry yell, but a scream of happiness. He runs over to Aero and hugs him. What the hell? The two then start to say "Baaa" to each other over and over the hell, hang on. Are they communicating with each other? Have two test tube brothers been reunited? (Don't worry, this isn't some kind of wacky WCW dying days storyline). Delirious and Aero leave the ring and wait for a double countout. The referee obliges and counts the 20 before declaring the match a draw.

RESULT : AERO and DELIRIOUS in double countout draw

TIME : 5:21

RATING : No Match of Such - In fact there was no match at all, just an early exchange of arm locks and some comedy. This looks like it could lead to a new friendship between Aero and Delirious, possibly allowing for Matt Sydal to go the singles route, but still possibly remain allies with Delirious

Aero and Delirious roll back into the ring, Delirious is handed a microphone. He stalls and simply breathes into the microphone...

"............I have organ donor............"

Aero and Delirious celebrate to applause when suddenly Jimmy Rave and Sal Rinaurro roll into the ring (Unseen before, even by most of the crowd). Rave and Rinaurro pounce Aero and Delirious from behind taking them to the mat. They then start to stomp away viciously on the backs of the masked wrestlers. Rinaurro drags Delirious to his feet and sends him into the ropes. Delirious returns off the ropes and catches a dropkick right to the face. Delirious flips over before falling flat on his face, what impact from Rinaurro! Rave continues to stomp away on Aero who manages to push himself towards the corner, but this turns out to be a bad move as he's now trapped. Rave continues to stamp down on Aero before dragging up to his feet. Rave turns around facing away from Aero. He swings an elbow back catching him in the face, leaving Aero stationed in the corner. Rinaurro makes a run towards Rave, Rave leans over and Rinaurro leapfrogs over him before blasting Aero with a massive front dropkick! Again Rinaurro's feet make contact with the face of his opponent, with an echo going all around the gymnasium. The crowd erupt into boos as Rave and Rinaurro taunt in the middle of the ring. They turn to see Delirious fighting up but they take him to the mat with a quick double clothesline. Rave hoists Delirious up onto his shoulders for an electric chair drop as Rinaurro steps out onto the apron. Rinaurro jumps up and springboards off the top rope, he flies through the air and grabs Delirious. Electric Chair Drop and Springboard Bulldog! What a devilish double team move! Delirious remains completely still on the canvas, they've destroyed him. Aero looks to gain retribution and runs at the celebrating Rave and Rinaurro but they see him dashing across the ring. Double Superkick! Rave and Rinaurro have left Delirious and Aero out cold. They stand tall celebrating the beating they've just given out, when Matt Sydal who's still a lot worse for ware slowly walks down to the ring. Rave and Rinaurro mock him and as he rolls into the ring they pounce on him but Sydal manages to wriggle free and uses to ropes to get up. Rave darts towards Sydal, drop toe hold from Sydal, planting Jimmy Rave on his face. Sydal gets up in time to blast the oncoming Sal Rinaurro with a smooth cyclone kick. This though takes a lot out of Sydal, and he slowly struggles to his feet. Sydal sits up. High Impact Knee to Face!! Jimmy Rave takes out Matt Sydal with his Shining Wizard variation. Sydal is out cold, he could be completely unconscious now! Rave and Rinaurro shake off the Sydal attack and return to their feet. Rinaurro is handed a microphone and the crowd start up booing after the verbal tirade he gave the fans earlier in the night.

Sal Rinaurro : "I was gonna come out here and apologise for my words earlier tonight. But then I saw you cheering these two sideshow freaks. These two men should be in a circus, next to the two fucking Siamese twins. I say two, when really they're one, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. Me and Jimmy came here, not looking for your respect, quite frankly I'd rather not be respected by people like you. We came here to prove a point. Some people might call us boring, but to be perfectly honest it's completely different, we're the coolest guys in the whole world!"

Jimmy Rave : "Yeah!"

Sal Rinaurro : "But only you so called fans fail to see it. Maybe you're dumb or maybe you're jealous that you'll never be cool like me and Jimmy!"

Jimmy Rave : "Yeah!"

Sal Rinaurro : "Or maybe it's both?"

Jimmy Rave : "Yeah!"

Sal Rinaurro : "We both have beautiful boyish looks. And we both sweat charisma, isn't that right Jimmy?"

Jimmy Rave : "Yeah!"

Sal Rinaurro : "And all these fans are jealous of you. So next time these fans boo you Jimmy, just remember it's not because watching paint dry would be more entertaining. It's because they wish they were half as cool, half as talented and half as charismatic as you are."

Jimmy Rave : "Yeah"

Sal Rinaurro : "Next month, we'll be back and we want these two sideshow freaks in a tag team match. So Matt Sydal, Delirious, Aero, whoever is crowned Heavyweight Champion tonight, and anyone else in the AWF locker room. Watch your back, as Sal Rinaurro and Jimmy Rave are here to make a point. And next month we'll make our point, whether we get the match or not. And we'll have others fighting our cause, who feel the way we do about the Midwest fans, the Midwest wrestlers and they also want to prove a point to everyone around the world. Tonight is just the start, the start of the wrestling revolution. Anarchy will reign over the Midwest, over Illinois. Anarchy will reign in the AWF. More precisely, Project Anarchy will reign!"

Jimmy Rave : "Yeah!"

Rave and Rinaurro leave the ring and walk to the back. The crowd boo them, but Rave and Rinaurro just laugh it off. As they exit through the curtain we are left thinking, who or what is "Project Anarchy"?

===================================================

Part 3 coming, whenever.

Edited March 27, 2005 by YI

[PanchoVilla]

Damn you YI for actually doing a midwest diary that deals with midwest workers. Back to the drawing board for me then.

But moreso...jobbing Priest, Delirious, and the master of the SHA repeatedly...what are you thinking man?!?

SHAAAAAA!

Edited September 11, 2004 by PanchoVilla

[Ash J. Williams]

Damn you YI for actually doing a midwest diary that deals with midwest workers.  Back to the drawing board for me then.

But moreso...jobbing Priest, Delirious, and the master of the SHA repeatedly...what are you thinking man?!?

SHAAAAAA!

←

[Hellfire]

This is an awesome diary. The matches are great and must've been a bitch to write. They are extremely detailed and I can't wait to see whats up next.

I'm really liking the diary so far, I'm just wondering where the man in my sig is.