IWA Mid-South Ted Petty Invitational, Hammond, IN
They keep saying Brad Bradley is “making his return to IWA Mid-South” but he’d last wrestled for the company less than two months before this so, like, I don’t remember if he had an issue and announced he was leaving and then was talked back in within a week or what, but by the end of the year he ends up with a WWE developmental deal and hits Deep South Wrestling to start 2006.
Tank is the only guy in the TPI bigger than Bradley, and became an IWA favorite. One of those big lads who was good in the death matches and also good in tags, good in straight up singles brawls, just a good wrestler, and the couple of times I talked to him briefly, an extremely nice guy. Type of big motherfucker who has nothing to prove to anyone so he’s just nice. Bradley had done some really good tag team work with Ryan Boz in 2004, which I think is when he started to really find a groove. He never became a great star or a great singles wrestler, but he wound up having a solid career in pro wrestling all the same. He had a singles match earlier in ’05 with Samoa Joe in, I think, Valparaiso, and I remember that one fondly. Just big lads goin’ at it.
Chris Hero on commentary notes that Tank joins a short list of wrestlers who have now competed in the TPI and IWA’s King of the Death Matches tournaments, along with Hero himself, Nate Webb, JC Bailey, Nick Mondo, and Ian Rotten.
Tank tries to start fast, charging Bradley, but it doesn’t work out, as Bradley side steps and starts taking the fight to Tank. But a suplex doesn’t go over and Tank starts throwing big ol’ knees and lands an STO. This is mostly just kick-punch brawling, exactly what you’d expect if you know both wrestlers, particularly Tank. But Bradley does hit his big dive out to the floor, which takes out a few rows of chairs.
Bradley throws his big lariat, Tank doesn’t go down. Repeat, same result. But the third one puts Tank down and finishes him off in about five minutes. They get the time they get and use it well, throwing shots from the get-go and not wasting anything. You get a big dive, you get some headbutts, you get some lariats, can’t ask for more out of this matchup.
Tape Machines Are Rolling 
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