IWA-MS King of the Deathmatches 2021

This show is a bit of a swan song – the last 'real' King of the Deathmatches tournament held by IWA-MS. Later in 2021, there was KOTDM vs. Southern Sickness Cup (which is on my review list), but IWA-MS folded in May 2022, before a KOTDM would have taken place that year.

Day 1 has a runtime of about 3 hours, and Day 2 comes in just under 2.5 hours. With that, it's a more managable endevaor to review this than the previous, 8 hours long KOTDM 2020 was. There are no less than 12 first round matches, but the second round will be more condensed with all semi-finals being threeway elimination.

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DAY 1 - ROUND 1

Match 1 – Texas Bullrope – Bobby Beverly vs. Mance Warner

Match 2 – Everything Including The Kitchen Sink - Rickey Shane Page vs. Bam Sullivan

Match 3 - World Series of Glass - Insane Lane vs. SHLAK

Match 4 – Home Run Derby - Rebecca Payne vs. Logan James

Match 5 – Panes of Glass - Shane Mercer vs. Eric Ryan

Match 6 - Taipei Double Hell - Jake Crist vs. Neil Diamond Cutter

Match 7 – Lighttube Bundles Call of the Wild - Dan O'Hare vs. Atticus Cogar

Match 8 – Pins, Needles & Nails – Otis Cogar vs. Jeff Cannonball

Match 9 – Death From Above - Aeroboy vs. Dale Patricks

Match 10 – Fans Bring The Weapons - John Wayne Murdoch vs. Ian Rotten

Match 11 – In Through The Out Door - Casanova Valentine vs. Orin Veidt

Match 12 – Sexy Lamp – Kevin Giza vs. Masada

DAY 2

Non-Tournament Matches

QUARTER FINALS

SEMI FINALS

Non-Tournament Match Loser's Bracket

FINAL

Final Thoughts

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ROUND 1

Match 1 – Texas Bullrope – Bobby Beverly vs. Mance Warner

Without any ado, the show begins with the entrance of Bobby Beverly, a man who – for his own sake - should never be in the same building as his opponent Mance Warner. Warner's charisma hungers for lesser, blander people - not unlike a giant kraken lies in wait to drag ships beneath the waves in old sea stories. Swim, Bobby Beverly! Swim for your life! He does not, presumably because there's no water. He makes no attempt to escape and lets Warner approach the ring unhindered. And so we, the viewers, become helpless beholders of an otherworldly spectacle. Warner's aura reaches out, devours, consumes, and when the feeding frenzy is over, there's only a tattered 44OH shirt where Bobby Beverly once stood.

Oh. Sorry. I got carried away a bit there. Bobby Beverly did not get dragged beneath the canvas by Eldritch Mance Warner, but sometimes you just gotta make your own kind of music to keep yourself entertained.

So, it's a Texas Bullrope match, but it also has two barbed wire boards, and barbed wire on the turnbuckles. It is a brawl, mainly centered around the barbed wire and chairs, not so much the bullrope. It's fairly slow at times, too, although not so slow that it becomes boring. A bit long for an opener in my opinion, especially considering that the first round has another 11 matches. There are some good moments with cut offs and counters in particular, but it's not a match I'll remember for years to come. Mance Warner wins with a DDT onto barbed wire and chairs.

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Match 2 – Everything Including The Kitchen Sink - Rickey Shane Page vs. Bam Sullivan

Am I the fashion police today? Of course. When duty calls, I must answer. RSP – all in white - sure has an outfit advantage over Bam Sullivan who is wearing all black, but both wear proper wrestling gear, so I'm not complaining too much.

Despite the match's name, the available weapon selection is... sparse. 'Two kitchen sinks and three carpet strips' doesn't sound very impressive, but that's the reality of it. Commentary explains that there are also cookie sheets and a spatula. Be still, my heart.

It's an ok-ish match, but it's also obvious that they struggle to make it a deathmatch with a handful of items that wouldn't be out of place in a WWE 'hardcore' match. They eventually add a door and find a pizza cutter, but overall it's a bit awkward – if IWA-MS's financial troubles were a stipulation.

The finish is also a little strange: When RSP, presumably desperate for any weapons, pulls out skewers, Masada shows up because that's his shtick and how dare RSP. Masada doesn't do anything, but RSP is so distracted by his presence that Bam can put him through the one door they have and pin him. Taken out of context, this finish would be fine, but that's the second first round elimination of a 44OH member. That makes me fear the worst: yet another 44OH-centric tournament with an assembly line of interferences instead of clean finishes. (It also makes me hope a teenie tiny bit for the best – Kevin Giza getting an interference-enabled upset victory over Masada later on, but it's too unlikely to sway my opinion.)

Only successful summon of the night

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Match 3 - World Series of Glass - Insane Lane vs. SHLAK

Insane Lane wears a glitter jacket that could put game show hosts from the 70s to shame, paired with a half-mask and dark red pants. In other words, he made all the right choices. Considering the meager weapon buffet from before, there might also be some foresight at play with pants that already look blood-soaked. Dare I say, the rocket scientist in him really shows his brains here. SHLAK looks the way he always looks, which almost always puts him in the top 3 of 'most pro wrestler-looking' by default. No complaints here; it's a tie.

It's technically World Series of Lighttubes since the opponent must be put through 4 out of 7 lighttube log cabins, and no panes of glass are present. The match is fast-paced and chaotic; commentary has trouble keeping score, tubes are breaking left and right. I also want to note that SHLAK uses skewers against Lane without summoning Masada. This is easily the best match so far. The advantage goes back and forth almost constantly, and that makes the whole thing look like a true battle. Lots of satisfying sounds and shattering of weapons; there was no skimping on lighttubes in this. SHLAK wins with a close 4:3 after a top rope suplex through the final log cabin. Good-looking finish to a spectacular, unhinged match.

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Match 4 – Home Run Derby - Rebecca Payne vs. Logan James

After so much excitement, it's time to cut back a bit. Here's Rebecca Payne, all in black, and with the charisma of a broomstick. She takes on Logan James, an equal in that regard, but certainly not when it comes to deathmatch experience. Payne is a former QOTDM (although it's been a hot minute – she won the 2008 tournament, if I recall correctly) and she also wears actual wrestling gear. James is just there for some reason and wears plain black jeans and sneakers. I'm already half checked out. At least they have a decent amount of bats. Commentary claims there were several fan requests to see James in KOTDM. I'm pressing X to doubt. There's not much to summarize here. Logan James bumbles around, does some moves, Payne does most of the bleeding, adds some sense of deathmatch credibility, but ultimately has to do the job for James. It's rather sad, really.

Look at those fucking sneakers.

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Match 5 – Panes of Glass - Shane Mercer vs. Eric Ryan

After so much Logan James, I needed this: my favorite ginger and his morning star. He wears jeans and a tank top, but I know this isn't him giving a fuck about looking like a wrestler. With his physique, that would actually take more effort than a bad outfit. No, this is him not ruining good gear with sharp shit, simple as that. Outside of deathmatches, Mercer stands out as someone with a fantastic in-ring fashion sense, so I'm not going to complain about (wrestling) jeans and a non-black shirt.

Eric Ryan's outfit doesn't look half bad either. The one downside is that the main color is black, but the yellow accessories match nicely, down to his wrist wraps, fork chain, and even the belt. Credit where credit is due; this looks good. Probably one of the best 44OH looks I have ever seen. Yeah, I have to say it. The fashion victory goes to a 44OH member for once.

Apparently, this is also a Four Corners of Pain match; Nick Maniwa informs me there's also lemon juice, salt, and sriracha sauce in addition to the panes of glass. I'm beginning to suspect that whoever is in charge of weapon distribution just doesn't like RSP or Bam Sullivan. Anyway. This match starts out as a constant back and forth between 'holy shit' (whenever Mercer has the upper hand and gets creative with weapons and displays of strength) and 'forehead carving with forks'. It takes Ryan a while to step up his game and match Mercer's level, to put it bluntly.

In good old IWA-MS fashion, there's a moment of panic – 'No, not the rental chairs!' - and Amazing Maria, who is not on the card for some unforgivable reason, makes the save by bringing non-rental chairs. (Why was Maria not in the previous match instead of Logan James?) While the match quality does pick up – I even marked it as an early MOTN contender - it's still unfortunate that Ryan advances after piledriving Mercer through a pane of glass. In the long run, Mercer simply has a lot more to offer than Ryan, so I'd have preferred him in the next round.

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Match 6 - Taipei Double Hell - Jake Crist vs. Neil Diamond Cutter

Crist wears all black, but he's allowed to do that because it's part of his gimmick. It's just not ideal for deathmatches, and I'm not really sure why he's in this tournament anyway. Wasn't he feuding over the World title? He brings his kendo stick though, so I guess he's prepared. His opponent makes this more of a competition for looking least like a wrestler because Neil Diamond Cutter always looks like he wandered in from a nearby crust punk festival. Tough one. Overall, Crist carries himself more like a wrestler, but I'm judging the deathmatch suitability here. He's more covered than most – and that includes Tommy Vendetta – with only one arm bare and the rest all in black. Cutter takes off his shirt and I think for that very clear advantage in exposure, I have to give him the victory here.

This is a weird match. Too much forehead carving, too much outside brawling, and at times it seems like Crist is just bored and opts to entertain himself by other means. He oversells to an almost comical degree, and also spends much time arguing with the crowd – which suits the cocky character, but doesn't do anything for the match. Both also seem to prefer the 'double hell' part of the stipulation (two pools with carpet strips) to the taipei gloves. Which would generally be fine; I'm no fan of taipei because it usually means a lot of forehead carving, a slugfest, and little else. And that's the problem – they use the carpet strips to do the carving. They use the slightly more exciting weapon to mimic the boring one. I don't get it.

My favorite line from my original longer review: "[...] then Crist hits a Crist Cutter against Cutter into a pool." Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. Tehe. The finish is a Destroyer against Crist into a pool with carpet strips, and Neil Diamond Cutter advances.

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Match 7 – Lighttube Bundles Call of the Wild - Dan O'Hare vs. Atticus Cogar

Dan O'Hare enters with his cop attire, complete with hat and handcuffs. He doesn't really have a ton of charisma like Warner or a good natural look like SHLAK, but the gimmicky attire makes up for a lot here. Enough to be declared 'better dressed' in this match: Atticus Cogar looks like he just escaped a biker daycare center; all in black, leather jacket, gloves. Not a fan, but at least he has actual wrestling attire. Maybe he could get some color advice from his 44OH buddies though. Eric Ryan is onto something.

Not sure what makes this a 'call of the wild' match, but there are some lighttube bundles in the ring. It's not my favorite match of the night for sure, but I think that's more owed to me not being invested in either of these guys. There's nothing wrong with them, but also nothing exciting or interesting. I appreciate O'Hare's attempt to pull off something gimmicky, and it does make him stand out a bit, but that's where it ends. It's like IWA-DS's Freakshow. I know he's just a big bald dude who doesn't do anything especially exciting, but somehow I always expect him to be more interesting when he's announced. Atticus Cogar gets a lot of praise, especially for his promos, so I'm probably the odd man out when I say I don't really understand why. Angry young man with a chip on his shoulder and a dose of 'wrong side of the tracks' isn't all that special to me.

The match was alright, just nothing I'll remember for long. It also featured skewer use from Cogar without a wild Masada appearing, so there's that. The finish was an Air Raid Crash from Cogar, followed by a Headlock Driver onto tubes. Atticus Cogar advances.

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Match 8 – Pins, Needles & Nails – Otis Cogar vs. Jeff Cannonball

Why. Just why, Other Mr. Cogar? The human face mask makes such a strong case for 'best dressed' tonight. Why did you have to pair it with all black street clothes? I'd give the fashion victory to Cannonball on principle just for that, but it's not necessary because King Ugly wins on merit. Great mask, actual wrestling gear – that's what I want to see.

The weaponry includes several thumbtack bats, a skewer board, chairs (they are in the ring, so I'm counting that whether they have pins, needles, and nails or not), and Cogar shoves a kiddie pool into the ring before the match starts. If that pool contains goddamn rubbing alcohol, I'll scream. I'm still traumatized from the year-long intermissions the rubbing alcohol pool caused during the last KOTDM I reviewed. (It's thumbtacks this time. Thank god, it's thumbtacks.)

This is a well-paced and throughout enjoyable match with some pretty brutal weapon shots. Good buildup toward the finish, too. I do still question why the chairs were there, but that's just me being petty. They made good use of the on-theme weapons, so I'm not complaining. The more handsome Cogar brother even kept his straight razor escapades fairly short. Good match, really. There's clearly chemistry between these two big bald guys with a proclivity for getting shit stuck in their skulls. The finish is Cogar giving Cannonball a Reverse DDT into the thumbtacks, and scoring a clean three count.

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Match 9 – Death From Above - Aeroboy vs. Dale Patricks

A re-match from the previous year's KOTDM, and two things are clear even before Patricks has entered. One: Aeroboy is in the running for 'best dressed' in red-black pleather and a silver mask. Two: IWA-MS learned from last year's idiotic stipulation (flashback to the pointless 'G5 Tower'). There are 3 ladders in the ring, and one of them even looks fairly sturdy.

Patricks leaves the fashion victory to Aeroboy without a fight, wearing all black. He does bring tag team partner and co-champion Kevin Giza out for his entrance, but as pretty as Giza is, I just can't count him as an accessory.

The match starts off with a lot of back and forth about the stipulation, namely the correct placement of a cardboard box with gusset plates. Since the ref doesn't get it right– first, the box is empty and the gusset plates are on the apron, then he balances the box on the wobbliest ladder available – Aeroboy ends up doing it himself. The best/worst part is that neither he nor Patricks needs to climb the ladder to get the box. What is it with IWA-MS, Aeroboy, and stupid setups?

It's a good match, unsurprisingly. Plenty of ladder use, actual wrestling, and the gusset plates get involved a lot as well. These two get more leeway from me in regards to constant two counts than others, but here it was a little excessive at times. The match isn't bad by any means, but I think I liked the one from KOTDM 2020 better overall – despite the brainbreakingly dumb stipulation. The finish is Aeroboy piling all ladders over Patricks and hitting a Swanton Bomb on him. Nothing against Patricks, but I'm happy to see Aeroboy advance. He's one of those guys you know will give you an above average match no matter what, but IWA-MS never rewarded him with bigger victories, so this feels very earned.

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Match 10 – Fans Bring The Weapons - John Wayne Murdoch vs. Ian Rotten

JC Rotten in a referee shirt enters a ring that looks like a flea market. Lighttube contraptions are the dominant theme, but there's a bit of everything. Except a kitchen sink.

JWM wears an olive-green flannel shirt – this is definitely not his color, it plays too much into yellow – and black shorts. Most people wouldn't score too high with that combo, and on paper, neither does he. However, in practice I'm still too heartbroken about him shaving his head to score this at all. While I get lost in wistful memories of peak ginger Murdoch (KOTDM '16 – man, his second round entrance was really something else...), his opponent enters.

Ian Rotten is wearing a black shirt – unusual; when I think Ian Rotten, I picture him in a white shirt by default – and dark-blue pants, but not much in the way of teeth. Tough call, but JWM has white arm wraps, so I'll say he wins. White-anything is slightly better than no white at all, and that's probably a fairer deciding factor than 'he's still a ginger regardless of hair length'.

Not entirely unexpected, this match is mayhem right out of the gate. Lots of weapon smashing, outside brawling, and unfortunately, Ian is the one who takes off his shirt. In the most sensible scene that has ever played out in (well, near) an IWA-MS ring, JWM staples Ian's mouth shut with a dollar bill. He also brings a walker with lighttubes out, and I remember that commentary said something about this being Ian's retirement match. (But really, who can keep track of those in this world of revolving doors to/from retirement?) The action slows down significantly toward the end. Ultimately, my ginger prince advances after suplexing Ian into an entire box of lighttubes.

Frankly, this was a lot more fun than I expected. I had mentally written it off as '7 mins tops, then Ian talks for 20 minutes', but- Ah, damn. Speak of the devil. He's gesturing for a mic. I'll just casually mention that the fact that Ian's son was the special referee did not come into play at any point, and skip ahead.

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Match 11 – In Through The Out Door - Casanova Valentine vs. Orin Veidt

Well, well, well, somebody made some great fashion choices today. Casanova Valentine, usually in black, wears all white and a man-bun today, both of which looks good on him. My only complaint are his black sneakers, but that's minor. He sure has Orin Veidt, who I'm used to seeing in white, in the bag since he's the one wearing all black today. Better shoes with proper kickpads tho. Commentary mentions that Valentine vowed to wear all white in deathmatch tournaments until he wins one. Sounds good to me. Just never let him win and we're set here!

The not exactly self-explanatory stipulation features three doors – one with gusset plates, one with carpet strips, one with lighttubes – and a door-less lighttube log cabin that looks a bit out of place. During the match, another barbed wire door on the outside is discovered. Yeah, by now I'm pretty sure RSP and/or Bam Sullivan just pissed someone off and got the crappiest weapons out of all matches in return. The most original weapon use/move is probably Casanova Valentine's modified Muta Lock. It's modified with a dildo that has nails in it – for once a weaponized dildo that looks like it could do any damage. The most spectacular, however, is Veidt's Assault Driver against Valentine through the carpet strip door, which is also the beginning of the end for Casanova. He eats a Total Anarchy shortly after, and Veidt advances.

The match had some lengths, particularly a fairly long carving session from Veidt, but made up for it as it went on. Not a match of the night contender for me, but quite enjoyable.

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Match 12 – Sexy Lamp – Kevin Giza vs. Masada

Kevin Giza wears (wrestling) jeans and a black crop top, but he has the same excuse as Shane Mercer. It's just his deathmatch gear, and he still looks like a wrestler. Masada wears what he always wears, including the grey beanie. I'm a bit faceblind and one time I watched a Masada promo for several minutes, wondering wtf he was even doing on that show, until I realized it was actually Joe Gacy with a grey beanie. Anyway. This is a rare fashion tie because there's just nothing that would tip the scales in either direction. Man-buns? Check. Black shirts? Check. Non-black pants? Check. One wears kickpads, the other short boots; both is proper wrestling gear. Oh wait. Giza takes the black shirt off. It's only a crop top, but no shirt beats black shirt any day. Here's your extremely close last minute fashion victory; congratulations.

On to the match. I'm only half joking with the stipulation. It's an electrified deathmatch with electrified lighttubes and a fly buzzer, but I took my liberty with the header for a reason. In fiction writing, a 'Sexy Lamp' is a (usually) female character whose only purpose is to be sexy. She has no agency, no personality, no relevance. You can replace her with a sexy lamp without changing anything about the plot. Masada isn't sexy, but in this match he could as well be replaced with an Intimidating Coat Rack. His purpose is to be intimidating, otherwise he's only there for Kevin Giza to clamber about. As so often, Giza does most of the work: he goes into most of the lighttubes, does most of the flashy spots, and most if not all of the selling. Then he loses and looks like a million bucks in defeat, and everyone agrees that Masada is truly an absolute beast.

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END OF DAY 1 – RECAP

A mixed first day, but more positives than negatives overall. I have three contenders for the match of the night, and two more matches that just barely missed the top 3. Cannonball vs. Cogar – I wasn't quite sold on the finish and there was still the stupid straight razor, and Aeroboy vs. Dale Patricks – very close call here; I was put off a little by the very long time they took to get started, and like I said, the near falls were a little excessive.

So my selection is narrowed down to SHLAK vs. Insane Lane, Eric Ryan vs. Shane Mercer, and Kevin Giza vs. Masada. Based on what they offer in terms weapon use and big spots, they are fairly equal. Mercer and Giza especially stood out with great performances – and that's why I'll hand my imaginary MOTN trophy to SHLAK and Lane. Their match not only had excellent balance and a great-looking finish, it also had the right winner in my eyes. Mercer and Giza, perhaps due their versatility and success outside of deathmatches, rarely got victories in KOTDM. It always feels like a waste. With SHLAK and Insane Lane, there wasn't really a wrong pick. The pairing didn't register as a very likely case of 'here we go again, first round cannon fodder' like the two other nominations did. This match could have gone either way – they truly looked like equals – and that kept it exciting.

Initially, I thought it would be a difficult choice who'd claim the 'best dressed' trophy. There were not many fails and some really solid looks. But when I went over my list, it quickly became clear that there was one frontrunner by miles: Aeroboy. Man, what a shiny mask. Iridescent. Mesmerizing. And the rest of his attire didn't need to hide either - 100 % proper wrestling gear, no color faux pax. So yeah, this was a really easy pick in the end. Runner-up: Eric Ryan. Great overall look, fell short due to too much black.

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DAY 2

Non-Tournament Match - IWA World Title Match – RSP vs. Tyler Matrix (C)

Tyler Matrix still wears mustard-colored trunks, and I'm still bewildered by that. RSP wears black – which is perfectly fine outside of deathmatches - so he should win. He does not. Since this is neither a tournament match nor a deathmatch, I'll leave it at that due to the overall length of the show.

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QUARTER FINALS

Match 1 – Chains, Panes & Canes - Mance Warner vs. SHLAK vs. Masada

In regards to fashion choices, this is a difficult one. Mancer has a theme and a singlet, but also jeans and cowboy boots. Masada, as always, has the look of the guy who blocks your way to the bar at a nu metal festival. SHLAK is SHLAK. This is really nitpicky, but the discerning eye distinguishes between 'jeans' and 'wrestling jeans'. Mancer seems to be wearing the former (unlike Mercer and Giza), which decreases his 'sports attire' ratio. But his belt matches his shoes. Many a man has fallen victim to the fashion faux pax of not doing that – I recall a Tournament of Survival where only a single entrant got this right. I respect attention to detail, so I award the fashion victory to Mance Warner.

Barely related aside: I'm fascinated by Brian Vinson's trouble to pronounce 'SHLAK' – not for the first time. Why does he keep dropping the H and says 'Slak'? It's the same sound as in 'Shane' – which he said without issue in RSP's and Shane Mercer's matches. Puzzling.

The stipulation also appears to include salt and lighttubes, but is seriously low on canes and chains. There is one puny chain, and what I thought might be kendo sticks are actually lighttubes. Halfway through, it turns out there's a carpet strip kendo stick in the pile though. Lots of outside brawling, lots of trouble to break the glass panes. There are several attempts to suplex someone through it, even throwing of panes, but more often than not, they stays intact. The eliminations are: Mancer gets pinned by Masada, then SHLAK gets choked out with the one puny chain shortly after, and Masada advances. Wild guess: This won't be my MOTN.

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Match 2 – Wire Nets, Tubes & Panes – Aeroboy vs. Bam Sullivan vs. Logan James

Aeroboy's fashion game is really strong. He wears a different mask now – red and matching his pants. I wouldn't be surprised if he takes the Best Dressed trophy home in the end. Bam Sullivan, all in black, sure doesn't give him any competition. Oh man. Logan James is in this, too. I forgot he advanced. Not an impressive feat, I know. Black jeans and sneakers. Billy The P doesn't even wear his glitter jacket to accompany James to the ring.

The stipulation has a whole bunch of stuff. It has to be RSP's fault that he and Bam Sullivan got the leftovers in round 1. There are two barbed wire board contraptions on the outside, tubes in the ring, and panes of glass. Hopefully, these are less sturdy because the weight class certainly dropped since Masada failed to break a pane by throwing SHLAK against it.

Early on, Aeroboy and Bam do me the favor to throw out Logan James and go it alone. Bam also takes his shirt off which demands a comparison. Now he and James both wear black from the waist down, and that emphasizes how much Logan's black-orange sneakers without kickpads bother me. It's the footwear of a man who, deep down, gives a shit about being here.

I have far fewer complaints about the match though. The glass breaks without issue, the match is well-paced and balanced, with plenty of good spots. A little too balanced for my taste, if anything, because the first elimination is Bam Sullivan at the hands of Logan James. As you may have guessed, I'd rather have seen it the other way around, but whatever. Aeroboy also removes his (black) shirt after the elimiation, reveals a matching black belt to black shoes and kickpads, and thereby becomes utterly untouchable. Just give the man a trophy right now. This is as good as it will ever get. For the finish, Aeroboy eliminates James after a sitout powerbomb through a pane of glass. A step in the right direction!

Aeroboy explains how I feel about Logan James' footwear.

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Match 3 – Keepin' It Cool – Otis Cogar vs. Orin Veidt vs. John Wayne Murdoch

Other than his splendid human-face-mask, Otis looks like he's on the way to pick Atticus up from the biker daycare center again. It's such a shame. Let's pause for a moment and imagine some ratty once-white slaughterhouse attire, maybe paired with a worn-out brown leather apron for the entrance. That's a whole different vibe – one that would not only introduce favorable white to Otis' look, but also go well with his theme of pig sty vignettes and pig head masks. He could be the Robert Pickton to Carver's Leatherface. Yet here we are: black shirt, black leather jacket, black pants, dime a dozen.

Orin Veidt's fashion game isn't really strong today either. Black shirt, grey-black shorts with some white and blue. Sure, everything is firmly in 'things a wrestler would normally wear' territory, but it looks a bit cobbled together from 'things several different wrestlers would normally wear'. A more coherent color theme would do wonders here.

Murdoch's flannel is dark-blue and yellow, at best two shades off the dreaded mustard, otherwise all black. Ginger bonus or not, he's not winning any trophies with that. Since I'm already handing out unsolicited fashion advice: Murdoch is one of the rare gingers who looks good in green; forest-green especially. Blue also does him many favors. Goddamn mustard doesn't suit anyone. He was so close, but alas. Mustard. I guess the victory goes to Veidt here, just for the highest amount of actual wrestling/sports gear.

The stipulation involves lighttubes, open fans and pits of dried ice. I'm sitting here, suffering through a heatwave, so the mention of ice makes me a bit cranky. The match itself remedies that quickly. It's a fast and furious brawl with brutal weapon shots from everyone against everyone. There's a lot to love here. The first elimination is Otis Cogar after a brutal suplex onto a chair by Murdoch. He and Veidt crank it up to another gear after that. It's a lighttube battle for the ages, followed by a beautiful finisher duel that ends with Veidt's victory. Long story short: I'll call it the MOTN right here; this is great bell to bell.

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Match 4 – Glass Galore – Atticus Cogar vs. Neil Diamond Cutter vs. Eric Ryan

Since Otis picked his little bro up from the biker daycare earlier, I don't need to say more about Atticus' look. Neil Diamond Cutter wears his usual outfit as well, and Eric Ryan ditched his top 3 outfit from the day before for green 44OH attire on the top, blue jeans on the bottom. In other words: I can't even hand out partcipation trophies here. Once Ryan's shirt comes off, I suppose he does look 'most like a wrestler', so that's something.

The stipulation has lighttubes, panes of glass – someone bought in bulk; has there been a match without them? - and mirrors. The previous match is a really, really tough act to follow, and I try to put that aside, but this match is slower than I would like. Cutter seems to be the only one who understands the concept of 'action', and unfortunately gets elimiated by Atticus Cogar after a skewered headlock driver a few minutes in. (Once again, Masada doesn't get summoned.) Now Ryan has to step it up. He does, as much as one can within the short time he has before the inevitable happens: a wild Bobby Beverly and a wild RSP appear at ringside. The little remaining interest I had evaporates. Surprisingly, Cogar and Ryan continue the match without anyone else joining them in the ring. Instead, RSP throws a towel on Atticus' behalf when Ryan repeatedly stomps on his head. I'm a big fan of Ryan's Snuff Stomp, and don't really mind the quick finish. So yeah, as far as 44OH shenanigans go, this is acceptable.

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SEMI FINALS

Match 1 – Glass Absolutely Shredded – Aeroboy vs. Orin Veidt

Reigning Best Dressed champion Aeroboy takes on Orin Veidt who has ditched the shirt and now looks more put together. I think it was the shirt's print that clashed with the grey-blue-white-black shorts. Anyway, this is better, but too little, too late.

The stipulation includes lighttubes, some kind of bat, and two kiddie pools of yet unknown content. It better not be goddamn rubbing alcohol. (It's broken glass and cut up beer cans.) As expected, this match makes a claim for MOTN early on. Not only on in-ring quality – the stakes are interesting as well. Veidt had to be taken out of last year's KOTDM due to injury after technically advancing in round 1. Aeroboy, rarely booked as strongly as he deserves in IWA-MS, hasn't even made it to the semi-finals in the past. Whatever the outcome of the match, I have no hesitation at all to declare these two the MVPs of the whole show. Orin Veidt advances to the final after a Total Anarchy into the glass pool.

I'd have preferred Aeroboy to move on and finally reap the rewards for his standout performances in the past, but it would be wrong to say Veidt's victory wasn't deserved here. This match had the highest quality of wrestling, but since it's a deathmatch tournament, I also consider gore in the end. Based on that, the quarter final Otis Cogar vs. JWM vs. Veidt remains the preliminary MOTN.

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Match 2 – Built To Destroy – Eric Ryan vs. Masada

No outfit changes and it wouldn't matter anymore anyway. The stipulation appears to be construction-themed. There's a big board with carpet strips, 2 cinder blocks, loose carpet strips. and a big wobbly barbed wire 'board' contraption on the outside. Masada also finds a screwdriver in a tool box and the fast opening quickly turns into forehead carving and skewers. Fork stabbing or skewers, which would be the lesser evil in the finals? Skewers, I guess, so I have a very mild preference for Masada, but this pairing is the opposite of the previous match. Between Aeroboy and Orin Veidt, I would have been in favor of letting both advance. Here, I wouldn't mind a double elimination. The very slight preference for Masada dissipates when he adds a drill to the weaponry – I fucking hate power tools; they are the anti-thesis of good weapons. (I'll save up the full rant/reasoning for a weapon tier list.) Seconds later, Ryan rolls Masada up, gets a surprise 3 count and advances. This is fine. Very short match, too. That is also fine.

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NON TOURNAMENT MATCH

Loser's Bracket Fans Bring the Weapons Elimination

Team Giza (Kevin Giza, Casanova Valentine, Dan O'Hare, Insane Lane & Jeff Cannoball vs. Team Patricks (Dale Patricks, Rebecca Payne, Shane Mercer, Bobby Beverly & Jake Crist)

Tallying the individual scores per team, I think Team Giza is overall better dressed. Lots of black, but Cannonball (masked) and Lane (zebra pattern) do some heavy lifting in their team's favor. In Team Patricks, I can only give Shane Mercer (now in regular attire, orange) a good score.

It appears the fans haven't brought any weapons because there are none in the ring. Much of the early match consists of Jake Crist vs. the crowd, then arguing with his own team. He does put his money where his mouth is though. The match centers around the team captains – co-holders of the IWA tag team titles – not wanting to fight each other, and Crist mocking that. The highlights of this pretty chaotic match tend to happen whenever Giza, Crist, or both are the focus. (Technically, 'tagged in', but the concept of tagging doesn't last long.)

The weapons only come into play after 3 eliminations as commentary informs me just before that happens. Naturally, things don't get less chaotic after that. The holy shit moment of the match belongs to Rebecca Payne who takes a kendo stick from Crist full force to the face. Surprisingly, the match comes down to Dan O'Hare vs. Jake Crist after a series of very quick eliminations from Crist. Even more surprisingly, O'Hare scores the final elimination after putting Crist – freshly decrowned IWA World champion – through a door. Ultimately, I think it is fair to say that Giza and Crist carried the match.

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FINAL

No Ropes Barbed Wire House of Horrors – Orin Veidt vs. Eric Ryan

Veidt's outfit hasn't changed much, but significantly for the better. I think blue just isn't his color because the only difference to the previous match is that the blue-white stripes on his shorts are golden now.

The pairing makes me fear the worst. A 44OH member in the final of a deathmatch tournament rarely bodes well. It often heralds some kind of interference and I'm just so tired of that. Lots of tube smashing; the hanging tubes quickly go out of stock. Lots of big spots, too, then the inevitable happens. Beverly, RSP, and Atticus Cogar show up at ringside. While Beverly distracts the ref, RSP throws the towel for Ryan to trick Veidt into thinking he won, and Atticus gives Ryan some water (?). When the ref turns back around, Ryan sneak attacks Veidt, stomps his head, and wins. Which leaves me with a match that didn't even reach the 9 minutes mark and Eric Ryan defending his already unearned KODTM crown.

Way to go, IWA-MS. Was there a particular reason to devalue the KOTDM victory two years in a row? Guess we'll never find out. Ryan gets a microphone for a victory speech. I'm not listening, but I think in the end, he challenged Takeda. Okay, whatever, but did you really need to ruin an otherwise perfectly fine tournament for that? Couldn't you just give him a call or something?

He knows what he did.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

I don't think much has to be said about the second stupid final in a row – and that's only counting KOTDM finals. Other than that, it was a pretty good tournament. There were some outliers in round 1 – not surprising. With a total of 12 matches, not all can be the stuff of legends. With 3 MOTN candidates, and a good amount of solid to really good matches, the meh ones didn't drag my overall enjoyment down.

The threeways in round 2 were pretty strong, one being the clear MOTN. Only the 4th match stood out as notably weaker (which I didn't really mind because it was also short). The semi-finals were on opposite ends of the scale – the MOTN runner-up between Orin Veidt and Aeroboy, and whatever Masada and Eric Ryan put on. Classic case of 'no light without shadow' here. The first duo definitely shares the title of MVP of KOTDM 2021. The latter just makes me wonder once again whose dick 44OH were sucking.

I should add that I explicitly exclude Otis Cogar from my 44OH-related rants. He was not involved in the stable schenanigans (generally rarely is) and both his matches were considerably better than those of the other members, except perhaps Ryan vs. Mercer. But Mercer can also get a decent match out of a sandbag, so that's no real measure. If anything, I begin to think I misjugded Otis Cogar in the past due to my general annoyance with 44OH. It more and more seems he's really just held back by his association with the stable. I'd be quite interested in seeing him in an environment completely removed from them, just doing his own thing, and being booked as a standalone act rather than 'Atticus' brother' or '44OH-adjacent'.

That said, this tournament is worth watching. There are some real highlights on the card; enough to make up for the meh matches. However, it's probably a lot more enjoyable if you quit after Aeroboy vs. Orin Veidt and pretend that was the finale.

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