MPW 
February 24, 2001
Bloomington Armory
Bloomington, MN

 

High school hockey at nearby Bloomington Ice Gardens turned the parking lot into a logjam. MPW debuted a new (not different, but brand spankin' new) wrestling ring. It was some four feet high from floor to mat, and featured WWF style steel steps.

Sheriff Johnny Emerald came out first and addressed the audience. As reported in last week's UMWN, Emerald has turned heel. He called Bloomington Armory "The Sheriff's House" and said that when you're in The Sheriff's House, you'll do as he says. Emerald then called out Commissioner Ashley and demanded a match against Shifty for the MPW Cruiserweight Title.

1) Doctor Darin Davis (face) pinned Thor (heel). Davis hit an Acid Drop early. Later he tried to lift Thor, only to hurt his back, after which Thor applied a surfboard stretch. After a sunset flip by Thor, the pair went into a two count exchange. Doc gained the win with a Proctoplex.

2) Charlie Norris (face) pinned Robbie Thunder (heel). Norris no-sold early. The two traded slaps and chops. Charlie won after a pair of head butts. Short match.

3) Shawn Daivari (face) pinned "City Slicker" Jake Ricker (heel). Ricker got in a neck breaker early on. Daivari countered with a Twist of Fate and a flying elbow. Morgan PR, not wrestling, was loudly vocal from the seats in this and several other matches. Later, Daivari got in a good pump handle suplex. In the finishing sequence, Ricker tried a monkey flip but Daivari landed on his feet and responded with a face-first slam and got the pin.

4) Mike Stormwolf (face) pinned Big Daddy Hoofer (w/Ian Xavier, heels). Hoofer did his "old school" rope walking bit, only to fall and crotch himself on the ropes. Stormwolf responded with a Hogan legdrop, corner splash, and a clothesline. Hoofer countered with an inverted DDT and a flying tackle. Later, the two did a two count exchange. Stormwolf rolled up Hoofer for the pin.

5) Black Stallion (face) pinned "The Truth" Austin Aries (heel.) This was a flashy match throughout. Stallion held Aries in a gorilla press and dropped him full on his face. This got a "Let's go Stallion!" chant from the crowd. He continued with a clothesline that spun his foe around in the air and a body slam. AA came back with a Tajiri elbow, and some sort of a back flip press. BS then hit a Zumhofe body drop and a pump handle backbreaker. At this point Aries hit a second rope springboard drop-kick that knocked Stallion out of the ring, and dove out of the ring onto his foe. The crowd responded with a chant of "Holy sh*t!" Later Aries hit a Tajiri flip DDT. Stallion won with a running over the shoulder slam. These two continue to impress.

6) Helmut von Strauss (face) defeated Ian Xavier (w/Sheik Adnan al Kaisse, heels) by DQ. Von Strauss connected with an Enziguri early. He continued with a cross body block and a series of kicks. Xavier came back with a big clothesline that Helmut sold like a million dollars. Xavier then performed a shoulder breaker, and pinned Strauss with a finger press. The referee counted three, the bell rang, but the match continued. Von Strauss faltered when trying for a second rope fallaway elbow, but did better with an ax kick, and a third rope springboard drop kick. Xavier came back with a second rope superplex. Later on, the Sheik tripped up Helmut and worked the crowd. Then he gave Ian a steel chair, and Xavier laid von Strauss out cold with a stiff chair shot. He did not use his hands to break the blow. Here the ref called for the DQ. Xavier continued to work over his foe, and Big Daddy Hoofer joined him to perform "Cruel Intentions." Next, Mike Stormwolf came in to clean house, but the heels weren't done yet, combining for a double team pile driver on HvS. Look for a tag match with these four next time out. Props to Helmut for taking the chair like a man. Hope he doesn't do it too often.

7.) Shifty (face) pinned Sheriff Johnny Emerald (heel). Shifty came out with a new haircut, gone are the funny looking braids, and new tights. After a time Shifty bailed out, took the mike, and tried to start a "Barney Fife" chant in the crowd. Then Commissioner Ashley came out and when the ref's back was turned, choked Shifty on the ropes. Later, Shifty came back with a DDT and a Shiftyvault leg drop. Next he went after Ashley, who hit him with her clipboard. Back in the ring, Emerald put on a figure-4 leg lock. Shifty made it to the ropes, but sold the sore leg. After a time, SJE tried a suplex, but Shifty reversed it into a full hanging vertical suplex. The pair next performed a double clothesline, and after a time Shifty connected with a top rope frogsplash. He then moved to the finishing sequence of a powerslam, atomic drop, and his trademark blockbuster finisher. After the pin, Ashley came into the ring with the Cruiserweight belt and was ready to hit Shifty, but was stopped by Lacey who gave her a DDT.

This was the weakest card of the MPW Bloomington series. Who benefits from all these schisms in Minnesota wrestling?

 

–doc d'X