Arik Cannon vs Super Dragon (IWA MS, 9-17-2004)

IWA Mid-South Ted Petty Invitational, Highland, IN

The second-to-last first round match of the tournament. Arik Cannon is one of IWA’s hottest wrestlers at this time, on a great run, while Super Dragon was a late replacement addition to the tournament. He’d done the 2002 TPI and lost in the first round, and this was his first match in IWA MS since then. Everyone was excited for his return.

AJ Styles is on commentary for a moment at the start of the match and says that if he hadn’t seen Dragon’s neck or hands he’d maybe think he was “BLAAAACK,” and then adds that he’s not prejudiced or anything, he’s “just saying.” This is because Super Dragon comes out to a Dr. Octagon song.

CM Punk is the main color commentator still alongside Dave Prazak and he gives Dragon’s pajama gear the nod over Cannon’s Hefty sack. As far as Dragon goes, never undestimate the value of a kickass mask in creating a visual aura for a wrestler, even if they also wear pajamas.

Cannon pushes Dragon into the corner in a lockup, breaks clean, but then slaps Dragon across the mask and face. And that is where everyone got an exhausted late night erection because we knew Arik Cannon was now in for a sincere ass whooping. Dragon takes Cannon to the corner next lockup and unleashes a minor Violence Party on him, but not what we came to see.

They get into a snug forearm and slap exchange at center ring, then Dragon gets him down and delivers the curbstomp (the real kind), which is all anyone really needed to see to be happy with his performance on the night, in all honesty. Then he hits another one immediately, but he takes too much time soaking in the cheers and doesn’t get a pin, and they go to the mat to kill a few moments. Then Cannon hits his own curbstomp, which pisses Dragon off so Dragon delivers a third. This is like a Goldberg-Lesnar match except they’re wearing pajamas and garbage bags and wrestling in a carpeted basketball gymnasium.

And then back to the mat for a moment, and then more striking, and then Cannon chucks Dragon into the turnbuckles with an exploder. But Dragon comes back with, guess what? Strikes. Loads of ’em. Then a flying double stomp crushing Cannon’s skull but doesn’t get the pin. Cannon gets the Glimmering Warlock and Dragon rolls out to the floor to kill more time and avoid being pinned. Cannon follows up with a pair of backdrop drivers and another Glimmering Warlock, and that gets him the win.

This match is fine in spurts but probably only needed to be 6 or 7 minutes long, in all reality. But as much as I like the idea of Super Dragon, and I think he looks cool and had some cool shit he did, this has always been my reaction to Super Dragon. He had fuck all between the Greatest Hits most of the time, and Cannon, who I genuinely liked then and still do now, wasn’t good enough to get more out of Dragon than Dragon normally did. This is a match that has plenty of good GIF material but when you actually watch the whole thing, it’s a lot of sizzle, very little steak.

Rating: 2/5