Fundraising show delivers in the ring
Will Kroos hits a senton on “Hotstepper” Macrae Martin and Evil Uno in a match ultimately won by Martin, the Undisputed ISW King of Crazy champion. Olivier Cadotte The Eastern Door
An almost four hour-long wrestling show sounds like a daunting task to put together, and perhaps a lot to ask of fans to sit through uninterrupted, in-person or online.
And yet, even with slight technical difficulties to start and last-minute changes to the card, Inter Species Wrestling (ISW)’s Cannonbrawl show succeeded in treating fans at the Knights of Columbus and those watching on Twitch.tv to an action-packed show to remember.
And all to benefit wrestler Jeff Cannonball and his family after his ALS diagnosis.
“It couldn’t have gone better,” said Michael Woods, ISW’s promoter and lead commentator for the show.
“It seemed to be a hit.”
Bear Bronson looks up as “Big Boy” Junior Benito goes for a frog splash en route to a successful C*4 World Championship title defense. Olivier Cadotte The Eastern Door
It certainly was a hit with the crowd at the Knights, who were loud all night despite the length of the show and the relatively small size of the crowd.
“Could it have been bigger, absolutely, but it was bigger than I thought it was going to be, and we definitely sold more tickets than there were people here tonight. I pre-sold a number of tickets to family members and friends in the US who weren’t able to make it. If they were here tonight, it would have been a packed house,” said Woods.
For those that were there, they were treated to matches that ran the gamut from serious sporting competitions to outrageous gimmick matches, from chaotic fun to bloody violence, and everything in between.
“When it comes to wrestling, you can compare it to pizza. There are several different toppings you could put on pizza. Not everybody likes every topping. Some people like combining the topping, for example, you have hardcore wrestling, you have high flying, you combine it to get hardcore high flying. I feel like the mix of styles is what made this show what it was and makes it special,” said Woods.
Some of the standout matches included a very well wrestled match between C*4 World Champion “Big Boy” Junior Benito and Bear Bronson that included a surprising amount of kissing; a six-way match with a Jones Soda review on the line that showcased six talented indie wrestlers but, in particular, Gabby Forza and Cecil Nyx; an outrageously sophomoric tag team match between ISW champions The League (Sexxxy Eddy and Giant Tiger) and the team of Two Girls, One Cup (Beef Wellington and Greg Excellent), who were coming out of retirement for the occasion; and the main event of Marcus Mathers defending his IWTV championship against longtime friend Austin Luke that would not have looked out of place on a major company’s pay-per-view event.
Addy Starr gets doused in Lego during her match against Kennedi Hardcastle. Olivier Cadotte The Eastern Door
And that’s without mentioning the Lego deathmatch, the two matches where wrestlers were put through solid wood doors, and the hot sauce match.
Kahnawake’s Kyle Zachary was also on the card, in a chaotic, anything goes five-on-five match that saw his team get the victory after Zachary hit a flipping leg drop over the top rope to get the pin.
“I think it was a great show. Every match, there was something for everyone,” said Zachary.
“Raising money for Jeff makes you feel good.”
While the local fans got to enjoy the win for Zachary, some fans came from outside the territory to watch the show, including Eric LaChappa, a longtime follower of ISW and indie wrestling that came all the way from California.
“I’ve watched Inter Species for a long time, and they always put on a good show,” said LaChappa.
He said that his favourite wrestler of the night was Giant Tiger and his antics.
“It was absolutely worth the trip.”
Woods was thankful for all the wrestlers who were a part of the show, whether they be ISW regulars or special guests, like All Elite Wrestling (AEW) performer and ISW alumnus Evil Uno, as well as the wrestlers who came out of retirement to participate - Wellington and Excellent, but also Lego Deathmatch wrestler Addy Starr.
“That was special. Beef Wellington, he’s special to me. I’ve known him pretty much as long as I’ve known Uno and Addy Starr,” said Woods.
Gnome hats mixed with power moves made the six-person match one of many entertaining matches on the card for Cannonbrawl. Olivier Cadotte The Eastern Door
He had a lot of praise for Starr and her history in particular.
“Addy Starr is one of one. There is no other Addy Starr in this world. She’s a two-time former ISW champion, and there’s a reason for that. She’s one of the best in the world,” said Woods.
“And honestly, as much as she says, ‘this is the last time,’ I really don’t feel like it is. I never feel like it is.”
On top of the money from ticket sales, from Twitch.tv subscriptions and donations, and from money made by ISW on the wrestling streaming platform IWTV, ISW is also auctioning off items donated by wrestlers or by the company itself, including titles belts, ring-worn gear, and a card that will get you into any show put on by 41 different promotions for an entire year. Auctions will end on October 24.
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The fundraising total is expected November 1.
It means a lot to Woods to have been able to have wrestlers come together to put on this show and raise money for Jeff Cannonball and his family.
“I got a little bit emotional. I had to stop myself from crying a few times during the new main event,” said Woods.
“He would have done it for me.”
And while Cannonball couldn’t make it to the show due to his condition, he was still there, with a cardboard cutout of him sitting in for the action, with many wrestlers coming to give respect to the cardboard manifestation of the wrestler.
ISW will be back in Kahnawake very soon, as the promotion will once again be collaborating with the K-Town Collectibles Expo on November 16 for the “Die Hard is a Christmas Movie” show.
