IWA Mid-South Meeting of the Minds, Highland, IN
A step-up match in IWA for Cannon, who is just starting to emerge as a serious player. Joe is the reigning ROH champion and a big, big fish in the small pond.
Joe using my favorite music that he ever used, Faith No More & Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E.’s “Another Body Murdered.” Joe came out in his early IWA matches, pre-TPI 2004, like he knew he was about to wreck a fool. A serious cockiness to him.
Joe headbutts Cannon’s hand in a wristlock, just to be a dick. Smothers his face in the corner, just to be a dick. Chops Cannon instead of breaking clean, just to be a dick. Cannon trying to trade chops with Joe does not go well, so Cannon goes to the eyes.
This was the match that was sort of the final warm-up for Joe before the reason he came to IWA Mid-South, to face Chris Hero, which he would three weeks later at this venue. And stylistically it makes sense, as Cannon is seen still as sort of “dark Hero.”
Joe drills Cannon with a trio of forearms, just sort of toying with the underdog as he adds a slap and punch combo and then a snapmare and kick to the spine, all of it delivered with supreme arrogance. He’s basically just pummeling the kid.
But Cannon is gritty, and comes back trying to ring Joe’s bell before going back to the arm he keeps trying to get working on, then moves to the leg and back. Any port in a storm, really. Gotta weaken something. But Joe takes Cannon’s legs out, and then a tope with the forearm, just drilling Cannon.
Joe hits one olé kick, then just follows up with a second and kicks Cannon in the chest when the chair doesn’t fall over. He is wrestling this match with zero respect for Cannon, does not perceive him as a viable threat whatsoever. He’s high-fiving fans with a smile on his face.
Joe with a power bomb, and when Cannon kicks at two, the big man just transitions to the STF and tortures Cannon until the ropes are reached. Cannon does manage to hit the Glimmering Warlock halfway out of nowhere, which rocks Joe good, and then he DESTROYS JOE ON A SAITO SUPLEX!
Joe comes back with a half nelson/chicken wing suplay! GOD I miss watching Samoa Joe live. I mean, not now, really. The last time I saw him live was for ROH in 2015, in that brief period between TNA and WWE where he was back in ROH and on the indies, and frankly it was kind of disappointing. He was still good, but already a shell of the guy I remembered. That old magic wasn’t there anymore. Which makes sense as he was much older.
Anyway, Joe finishes Cannon off with a monster combo that ends in an enzuigiri to the skull.
This match stomps. Basically everything Joe did in this time period stomped, which is taking nothing away from Cannon or any other opponent. Joe had this magnificent way at the time on non-ROH shows of being every bit the dominant destroyer you wanted to see, but also giving the “home” guy JUST enough magic and some close calls. He was really something. The aura and energy was so big with him, and he carried it perfectly in every way.
Tape Machines Are Rolling 
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