September 30th, 2006
Chris Hero vs. Roderick Strong
IWA Mid-South: Ted Petty Invitational - Night Two
Well well, what’s up yall? It’s been a while. A long time. And an even longer time since I’ve done a singular “miscellaneous match review” post. Life has been crazy with little time to really keep up with the blog or watch wrestling as much as I would like. Despite that, it still remains a part of my life. I just brought a wrestling event to my music festival which was a true dream come true to be a part of and as I’m typing this, I’m preparing for a day trip tomorrow to AEW’s Blood & Guts event in Greensboro, NC.
On top of all that, though, wrestling remains my comfort viewing. When my mental isn’t where it should be and music and work life are pushing to my wits end. I’ll throw on a wrestling match or event to make me feel better.
This afternoon, my choice for viewing while I ate $20 worth of Popeye’s after work was this. Chris Hero versus Roderick Strong in the 2006 IWA Mid South Ted Petty Invitational. Hero, Roddy, and IWA MS are three of my favorite comfort viewings so this was a perfect choice when it popped up as a YouTube recommendation. With these three things and people, I know exactly what I’m in for (for better or worse when it comes to the promotion LMAO).
This is a blind spot in my IWA MS mid-2000’s love story binge. After 2005, my catalog of viewing slowly diminishes. So, to be honest, it was nice to get around to something from the 2006 TPI.
Hero is in full dickhead mode at this point in time in every promotion he works for. One half of the ROH tag team champions. He’s a cocky son of a bitch and has been mowing through this tournament. Commentary does a good job of catching you up on things even though I’m sure they prolly never imagined this would be a single match someone would be watching one day as opposed to the entire event on tape. None the less, they crush it. Plus, Hero is in prime form here and could’ve told the story in the ring on his own even without commentary.
This is the type of the match that makes my heart pulse. A random singles contest from 19 years ago, but damn if it ain’t just as great as anything on modern wrestling TV. It just reminds me of how good we had it in the mid 2000’s and how special this crop of workers were. And ALSO, Roddy motherfucking Strong. 20+ years in the game and still going strong TO THIS DAY. I just watched him have a ****1/4 TV masterclass with Jon Moxley on 11/8/25 and here he is on 9/30/06 having the most sick little snappy tournament match in a gymnasium. This crop of guys have such incredible depth to their catalogs. Going back and watching matches like this reminds me of that.
Idk man, I’m not gonna do play by play on this, you know that’s not my thing if you’ve ever read my reviews. I just yap. And the jist of this one is simple… I love simple, to the point, crisp, gritty wrasslin that tells a story anyone can grasp. You don’t need all the shit that’s wrong with modern WWF, you don’t need monologues, you don’t need spots. You don’t need anything, but two Great Workers. Two Grade A Pro Wrestlers. All you need is Chris Hero. All you need is Roderick Strong.
Hero destroys Roddy’s left arm here. Partially I think to try to combat his chops, but also I think just to be a fuckin dick.
Roddy fights from under with as much as fire as ever. This boy used to MOVE man. I haven’t watched pre 2015 Roddy in so long that this shit blew me away in that regard, truly.
The finish to this match is a testament to everything I said in the earlier paragraph. Roddy catches Hero off guard in a backslide and holds it just long enough for the three count. The cocky villain for three seconds was just a little too cocky. The fiery, hard hitting babyface finds the loophole for the upset. Simple story told. Pro wrestling. Check this out if you want a fun one that isn’t overproduced or overcomplicated. The Good Old Days. Thanks fellas.
Match rating - ***1/2
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