Indy INC: Ledbetter Steps Up For LSC, IWE Benefit Snag, House Of Hardcore, More
Hometown hero Sgt. Ledbetter was on a roll Saturday night as he played an integral role in some big moments at Middletown, Ohio's Legends of the Squared Circle fan appreciation night. In the show's opening bout, Ledbetter was booked into something of an uneven matchup with wheelchair-bound partner "Hot Wheels" as the duo squared off against the team of Timothy Lutz and "The Natural" Arcell Martin. Lutz and Martin, who recently adopted the team moniker "High Impact" dominated the match early, even beating up on Hot Wheels who struggled to mount an offense, at times battling both of his opponents on his knees. "It was Ledbetter's enemy Ice who set that match up," Wheels told WrestlingINC.com after the match. "He wants to cripple Sarge and I think that bringing me into it was Ice's way of saying Ledbetter is going to end up in a wheelchair like me." Ledbetter ultimately leveled the field, though, putting both members of High Impact on their backs as L.A. Black ran interference with the ref. when the dust settled, the referee found Hot Wheels placed strategically atop of Lutz and wasted no time counting three. There was little time for Sarge to celebrate, though, as Ice entered the ring and ambushed Ledbetter, vowing to take him out of action permanently when the time is right.
Later in the show, Ledbetter emerged from the locker room to assist associates Big T and LA Black following Black's post-match beat down at the hands of Stone and Ice. Although this intervention was unscheduled, Ledbetter's third appearance at the LSC event?a spot in the main event?was a well-planned coup de grace by the Brothers West who drafted Sarge into action against "Un-Americans" Richie O'Ryan and Corvis and their partner for the night, monster grappler Tanu. Declaring the six-man tag a "Middletown Street Fight," Ledbetter and the Wests brought out chairs, trash can lids and tables for a full-on, falls count anywhere brawl. The Un-Americans and Tanu, coached by "Golden Idol" Mark Koval, matched their opponents with ferocity and brutality but in the end, it was a well-timed maneuver by Zac West outside the ring?a double pin in which both Un-Americans went down for the three-count?that effectively ended the melee. The Brothers West and Ledbetter stood tall at the end of the night and Ledbetter made it clear that he's ready to meet Ice head-on and end their feud one way or another at the LSC anniversary show in two weeks.
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Imperial Wrestling Entertainment's July 6 benefit show for young Ethan Wudyka, discussed in the May 31 installment of Indy INC., hit a major roadblock this week when the owner of the show's scheduled venue pulled out of the event. IWE's John Campbell summarized the situation in a statement to WrestlingINC.com: "On June 4th we received word that Finch Fieldhouse would no longer be able to host our Rock & Rumble fundraiser event. We are saddened and distraught by their decision to go ahead and pull out of hosting this event for us. As we scramble to find another venue, we just want to say thank you to everyone for your continued support for this cause. We will keep everyone updated as the situation develops. If you have purchased a ticket at one of our various outlets, you can obtain a refund there if you so choose, or you can hold on to your ticket and use it if and when we find another venue to host the event. All of the proceeds from the sales are still going to Ethan Wudyka's family, and if you wish to donate to young Ethan you can do so via PayPal at dennisedwardsiwe@hotmail.com. We thank you for your continued support during this delicate situation, and as we forge ahead in trying to do something great for Ethan, we remind you that this is NOT entirely CMU's fault, as there were many there who wanted to work with us on this event. It went directly above the heads of those at Finch Fieldhouse."
We'll keep readers up to date on developments with regard to the show as well as any changes in Ethan's status.
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NWA Smoky Mountain TV's latest episode features a huge main event, pitting Jason Kincaid and Vince Brent against Illuminati cronies Tony Givens and Chris Richards. Also on the show, NWA officially announced that Chase Owens will defend the junior heavyweight title on June 21 against Cedric Alexander and Adam Page.
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The House of Hardcore show on June 7 featured a big win for A.J. Styles as he defeated Kevin Steen with the Styles Clash. Earlier in the eveing, Abyss defeated Tommy Dreamer in a Monster's Ball match and Chris Hero beat Adam Pearce. (source: pwponderings.com)
Earlier in the week, Tommy Dreamer appeared on SiriusXM's Busted Open radio show and discussed the current state of the wrestling business and the fans' reaction to House of Harcore thus far. "I'm happy because I'm seeing my hard work pay off," he said. "In ECW it changed us and we came so close. I think that's what kind of what motivated me just cause, you know, I want more options. I want there to be more wrestling promotions. I want wrestling fans to have a choice to choose what they want to see?I want to see everything. It's what I grew up on and that's what I want to continue to do."
Mike Bessler is a Contributing Writer for Pro Wrestling Illustrated.
Thomas Rude contributed to this article.