IWA-MS Incident, video inside

rizzla

The CBS affiliate out Louisville, Kentucky has a report on a beatdown incident on an indy wrestler by the name of Mike Levy several weeks back at an IWA-MS show in Sellersburg, Indiana. The IWA-MS promotion is now being investigated by the police on the heels of upset fans e-mailing the online footage to the local authorities as well as the television station.

On June 21, 2008, Mike Levy, an indy wrestler from North Carolina, was booked into IWA-MS’s female Death Match tournament, which was attended by maybe 75 people. Rather, Levy is apparently an untrained wrestler who through some message board postings, made it known that he wanted to participate in the IWA-MS Death Match tournament. The false hype by a few wrestling message board posters led IWA-MS promoter Ian Rotten to add Levy to the women’s tournament as a joke.

Levy’s opponent in the match was current TNA Knockout Mickie Knuckles, and he took a horrible beating from her. She worked stiff on him, giving him several brutal shots with weapons throughout the match. Levy, who was apparently trying to defend himself, also starts throwing legit punches at one point in the match. This greatly angers Knuckles, so she becomes even more violent towards him. During this, Knuckles gives herself a huge lump on her head from headbutting Levy so much. The beating went on for eight to ten minutes before Knuckles got the win. As bad as the beating was, it was actually the tame part.

Following the match, two apparent wrestlers dressed in street clothes enter the fray. One’s a skinny guy by the name of Devon Moore, and the other is a guy by the name of Tank, who looks to be about 400 pounds and is supposedly a wrestler. The crowd began chanting for Levy’s finisher The Curb Stomp, which WWE star Paul Burchill uses. Tank then grabs Levy and holds his head over a barbed wire ladder. Devon comes the top rope with a double stomp that drove Levy’s head hard into the ladder. As if that wasn’t enough, the 400-pound Tank climbs to the second rope and lets his much larger size come crashing down from the second rope, stomping Levy’s head into the ladder in a sickening fashion. Tank had trouble maintaining his balance through this, and he toppled over after stomping Levy’s head.

Following this, the Moore gets on the mic, insulting him. Levy is sitting up, and Moore gives him a stiff kick in the chest. He then kicks him several more times, and telling him to “learn to sell,” in his expletive-laden tirade. The 400-pounder then gets on the mic and tells him in his thick Southern drawl to go back to North Carolina, and to never come back to their parts again.

Too add insult to injury, even Ian Rotten’s young son, who appears to be 12-years-old, gets involved in the beatdown. The child can even be seen asking “daddy” if its alright to hit him. Levy, who is now outside the ring, gives the grounded Levy with a few stiff shots with a Kendo Stick. Moore follows this up by hitting Levy with a chair. While Levy is down, the child kicks him in the back of the head.

Ian Rotten then gets on the mic and says, “Unlike you, she has a career you dip****. Unlike you, she’s going to ******g national TV on Monday.” He then kicks him in the head and tells him to “stay the **** down.” He also adds, “I told you to stay the **** down. Don’t you ****** move. You move and I’ll rip your ****** nuts off and feed ‘em too yah.” Rotten then gives the okay for apparently a fan to hit Levy over the head with a weapon, which breaks upon impact.

Rotten’s spiel is not over, as he brings Mickie Knuckles over. Holding his arm over Knuckles, Rotten says, “Look at this. Look up at me you dumb mother******. Look at your knot on her head. She’s got to go to national television, cause you don’t know how to f***** work with that on her head. You f***** no-good c***-******* son of a b*****.” It should be noted that Knuckles likely gave the bump on her head to herself. During one sequence in the match, Knuckles gets incensed and gives Levy a repeated number of vicious headbutts.

The beatdown is still not over. Rotten kicks him in the head following his tirade and the child throws something at Levy. An apparent wrestler in plaid shorts (it’s hard to tell, as some of them look like members of the audience) gives Levy a really sloppy suplex on top of some debris. Rotten gets on the mic again, and says, “This is a message to anybody who wants to f*** with us. I told everybody yesterday, you f*** with one of us, you f*** with all of us. You’re a f****** outsider b**** and don’t you ever forget it Internet Sensation.” Rotten then mutters, “It’s over,” and finally leaves.

In the background, you could hear a fan say, “This is one of the greatest moments of my entire life.”

If you’d like, you can see a 16-minute video of the incident in its entirety at http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=38440519. However, the video has been getting pulled whenever possible. VIEW THE VIDEO ASAP!

WLKY has video from the match, although some of the footage claiming to be a part of beatdown directed towards Levy were spots from his match with Knuckles.

Rotten was interviewed by WLKY and claimed that the beating was supposed to look like a “gang-style beating, and it did.” Rotten said that Levy wasn’t seriously injured, and that this was all a part of the show. He said that while Levy took some “brutal strikes,” he also added that it’s “not ballet.” Rotten also said that Levy is scheduled to participate in their Fall Death Match tournament later in the year.

The police officer investigating the incident said, “It was hard for me to know whether everything was a part of the show. I was assured that it was. I’m not so sure.” Charges have yet to filed regarding the matter, due to Levy not pressing charges himself as well as a “lack of evidence.”

In a side note coming out of the investigation, the event was held outside a bowling alley and they didn’t have the proper zoning variances to hold outdoor entertainment. Although, they claimed they weren’t aware they were needed. Should the bowling alley promote future wrestling events, they’ll need to get the proper permits first.

You can see WLKY’s video report at http://www.wlky.com/video/17042576/index.html.

Following the incident, Knuckles was booked at two Impact tapings the next week. This is where she defeated ODB and Roxxi Laveaux in matches involving weapons. On Sunday, July 6, Knuckles broke her femur in her right leg after a botched attempt to dive off a platform onto Sara Del Rey during the main event at the IWA Mid-South Summertime Black & Blues indy show in Joliet, Illinois. The rest of the show was canceled following the injury. Mickie underwent surgery the next day and is expected to miss six months of in-ring action. A job in TNA is expected to be waiting for Knuckles as soon as she is cleared to return to the ring.

That video is sickening. I can understand it's hard to shock fans in pro wrestling but this type of stunt is just awful and harms it more than anything. I think that posting this I'm part of the problem too because I think this Levy fella wants this infamy, he's an Internet message board guy so people talking about him on message boards is what he probably craves. So Levy is just as idiotic as everyone in IWA-MS. Anyway I'm tired, but what's everyone else's opinion?

Fozzy

The way I heard it a rival promoter reported it to the police. A local politician was shocked that something like that could happen when really there's similar stuff on other IWA-MS shows

I've yet to watch it though

Mr.Nice Guy

I just watched it and I must say that is an absolute f*cking disgrace. That is nothing but a glorified assault and the people involved should be arrested and the promotion shut down.

It's bullsh*t backyard crap like that which hurts professional wrestling in the eyes of the public at large. When done properly it's an art form, when done by clowns like that it's effectively criminal assault.

In my opinion TNA ought to disassociate themselves completely from Mickie Knuckles as she doesn't belong on national TV after engaging in that kind of outrageous behaviour.

There were stiff, full-force kicks to that man's head which could have left him braindead. You wouldn't see it in UFC never mind WWE or TNA.

Absolutely disgusting stuff and I hope the law cracks down on every scumbag involved in that. To think there were people outside lapping it up and with kids there too. Unbelievable. What a bunch of animals.

Fozzy

Having now watched it, it's not any worse than what usually goes on on those shows. If it was done to an unwilling participant then it's assault. But the guy in that video never pressed charges or attempted to get away. I'd say that he was a willing participant, and if that's the case then they should be left to do what they want

Mickie's done much worse than that in the past, it would be silly if this incident made TNA rethink anything

Mr.Nice Guy

I'm not a fan of this kind of style of wrestling but if this is the norm then I find that extraordinary. There were some really brutal shots to that guy's head. If he's fine with how he was treated in there, frankly he's out of his mind. I'd sue them for every cent personally.

Fozzy wrote:

I'd say that he was a willing participant, and if that's the case then they should be left to do what they want

You really think they should be entitled to enage in that kind of activity? Seriously? I'm in favour of people having lots of freedom but not the freedom to behave like that.

If that kind of trashy entertainment happened near to where I live I'd be outraged.

Fozzy

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I'm not a fan of this kind of style of wrestling but if this is the norm then I find that extraordinary. There were some really brutal shots to that guy's head. If he's fine with how he was treated in there, frankly he's out of his mind. I'd sue them for every cent personally.

I'm not a fan either but I've seen worse. I wouldn't say that it's the norm, but it's not outside the boundaries of what you'd be likely to see on an IWA-MS or a CZW show

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

You really think they should be entitled to enage in that kind of activity? Seriously? I'm in favour of people having lots of freedom but not the freedom to behave like that.

If people want to do something and they're not harming any innocent people then I say let them. As far as I know the law can do nothing as long as everything is consented to and there are no severe injuries. The guys on those shows always live to perform another day, I don't know of anyone who's come close to death because of something they did on a show

rizzla

The thing that really turned my stomach was that it 'felt' different. I usually watch the CZW King of the Deathmatch event. Some of the bumps are insane and it's just so different from what I usually watch so it's a bit of novelty. But this really felt like it crossed a line somewhere, where it was no longer entertaining in any way and it was just an excuse to beat the crap out of someone.

This is all speculation now, but I'm sure Ian Rotten regrets doing it so afterwards he promised the kid he could come back and apparently he went to the after party and the kid wanting fame from "ultra-violent" fans, agreed.

In the end though I believe it was a work but during parts some people just got carried away. If they did wanna beat the kid up they would have done it with no crowd and definitely not recorded it, but I may be giving IWA-MS more credit than they deserve there, they seem ultra-stupid.

Reganio 2

It is pretty sick but in fairness the chap could have easily walked away or even sold at the start he was getting apparently legit hits with them and stood up and hit back. The smart thing to do would have been to fall to the floor. I think it was his fault and of course the muppets that take the business way to seriously.

Vince135792003

I saw the video last week. I've never watched any of the promotions other stuff before so I can't comment on it.

I thought it was sick. "Wrestling" was used as an excuse to just viciously beat a guy up who was obviously didn't have a whole lot of cop on.

rovert

***1/2

Bubs101

Fozzy wrote: »

If people want to do something and they're not harming any innocent people then I say let them. As far as I know the law can do nothing as long as everything is consented to and there are no severe injuries. The guys on those shows always live to perform another day, I don't know of anyone who's come close to death because of something they did on a show

I would have thought that he would have a case here because most of the beat down happened after the match and there is clear evidence of him, on tape, resisting it. Also, the guy seemed like an utter ****ing idiot, what did he think was going to happen

Fozzy

Bubs101 wrote: »

I would have thought that he would have a case here because most of the beat down happened after the match and there is clear evidence of him, on tape, resisting it.

Well, the police chief said that "it's hard to ascertain where make believe ended and reality began". Especially for someone unfamiliar with that sort of wrestling. I don't think that there's anything clear about it

flahavaj

Levy has since been booked on IWA:MS shows, its a total work. Ian Rotten will be delighted with this, it'll probably be his best selling DVD of all time. The irony of Knuckles getting thick over being stiffed in a deathmatch tournament is funny though.

oneofakind32

rovert wrote: »

***1/2

lol

Reganio 2

I have to say no matter how overboard they took it I can see where they are coming from, even in amatuer football if some guy watched a Liverpool VS United match and thought that's easy and showed up for a match with no experience or anything and thinking he is great, I would give him a fair few kicks during the match so that he wouldn't go home thinking that was easy.

These lads (I think) do this for a living and some guy that watched a WWE Video once thinks he can do it, I can't blame them for going stiff on him.

Furious-Red

Reganio 2 wrote: »

I have to say no matter how overboard they took it I can see where they are coming from, even in amatuer football if some guy watched a Liverpool VS United match and thought that's easy and showed up for a match with no experience or anything and thinking he is great, I would give him a fair few kicks during the match so that he wouldn't go home thinking that was easy.

These lads (I think) do this for a living and some guy that watched a WWE Video once thinks he can do it, I can't blame them for going stiff on him.

agree with you there. By good could that guy not sell any of those moves

kyp_durron

The most painful thing about this was that fat guys jokes just before he booked the match.

Though did you hear someone in the crowd heckling Levy by saying 'you're gonna die fatboy'. That was delicious irony. Those guys need to get on the flora pro-active now, before it's too late.

Vince135792003

Reganio 2 wrote: »

These lads (I think) do this for a living and some guy that watched a WWE Video once thinks he can do it, I can't blame them for going stiff on him.

That's a pretty generous way to describe a guy getting his skull curbed stomped onto a ladder twice.

kyp_durron

Ok serious poast.

I am shocked how he didn't get injured badly by this beatdown. Sure he seems like a complete idiot, but it went ott by a long way. If they keep doing this crap one day someone will die, only a matter of time.

dez_warlock

Vince135792003 wrote: »

That's a pretty generous way to describe a guy getting his skull curbed stomped onto a ladder twice.

Yeah those looked sick! That said, having watched many CZW/IWA events, these moves are becoming pretty standard in any deathmatch.

Unfortunately by wrestling this style the performers are going to have to put on stiffer matches with even crazier spots to entertain the fans and I guess this was a way of shocking fans who otherwise would be somewhat immune to such violence.

mehfesto2

Whoa.
So did not know what to make of that! It was so bizzare. I couldnt see where the line between the match and the real beatings.

Who pays to watch this kind of sh*t anyway?! Its not entertaining, it's so badly run too.

This is what happens when you're stupidly aggressive, but you don't have sky sports... I reckon, anyway.

Fozzy

mehfesto2 wrote: »

Who pays to watch this kind of sh*t anyway?!

IWA-MS usually has non-garbage wrestling on their shows too. Punk had some great matches there, and even greater commentary

flahavaj

Fozzy wrote: »

IWA-MS usually has non-garbage wrestling on their shows too. Punk had some great matches there, and even greater commentary

Hero/Punk 90 minute match and Punk/Delerious 60 minute draw FTW.

pingu_girl

Just watched that video. ouchhhhhhhh! Is it weird that I cringed the most at the bottle on the stick? seriously!*shudder*

Its obviously a work since hes not currently in the process of suing the death out them.

Some people will do anything for money or "moments"
And if they can get away with that then fair play.

Fozzy

From f4wonline.com:

For those who have been following the Mike Levy/IWA Mid-South story, police said today that they would not be filing any charges. It didn't help that Levy told investigators that his gang-beating was all part of the show. Chief of Police Russ Whelan did add, "I don’t know if I agree with that. I’ve got mixed feelings."

rovert

The fully story:

The criminal investigation stemming from the beating Mike Levy took at the IWA Mid-South "Queen of the Death Match" event in Sellersburg, Indiana in late June has concluded. No criminal charges were filed and the Indiana State Police have dropped their investigation regarding the incident.

Levy, an apparent indy wrestler based out of North Carolina, took a huge beating following his match with Mickie Knuckles at the show. The beating appeared to be in retaliation for Knuckles getting a big bump on her head during their match as she was scheduled to get a huge push from TNA at their TV tapings the very next week. Although, Knuckles likely caused the knot on her head herself, as she became incensed at one point during the match and gave Levy a repeated number of violent headbutts. Follwowing his match Knuckles, two IWA-MS wrestlers by the name of Devon Moore & Tank hit the ring and began beating Levy. They also taunted him on how to sell. Levy took some pretty bad shots from them, including two dangerous double stomps off the top ropes onto his head and into a barbed-wire ladder (including one from a none too agile 400-pounder), some unprotected chairshots, and more. Ian Rotten, his young son, and two or three others also got involved, giving Levy some more stiff shots.

Sellersburg Chief of Police Russ Whelan said, "They all say — even the young man who was in the wrestling match — that it’s part of the show. I don't know if I agree with that. I've got mixed feelings."

IWA Mid-South owner Ian Rotten blamed the police investigation on rival competitors trying to stir trouble, calling it "petty, local politics." Rotten believes competitors sent the video to police trying to get his company in trouble. Rotten said he has put on more than 500 wrestling shows and has never had a problem anywhere else.

A few weeks ago, Rotten told the CBS affiliate out of Louisville, Kentucky that the beating was scripted and while it was quite stiff, Levy knew it was coming. Rotten said Levy came back to watch the rest of the show later in the evening. He said Levy is scheduled to wrestle again at a show in Illinois in October.

Following the incident, Ian Rotten posted a message on the IWA Mid-South message board in response to the removal of a thread about the Mike Levy incident. He wrote: "If you got s*** you would like to talk about of the Mike Levy deal, then talk about it here. I don't want a separate thread started for just that stuff that people are saying happened, but did not happen just like was already on the thread. If you want the real story, buy the DVD. The kid got an ass whipping for what I, and many others, feel was all the right reasons. He did not go to the hospital. As a matter of fact, he came back after getting cleaned up to watch the rest of the show. He was told he would be brought back and was grateful for that so I guess he could not be too bad off. I promise, (his) face does not look anywhere near as bad as Mickie's does these morning. The kid was not beat up as people are putting it. If he was beat up by the wrestlers who were out there, he be lying in a hospital bed right now. End of story!"

On another note, the police chief warned the bowling alley against hosting any more wrestling shows because they were not properly zoned for the IWA-MS event. The venue wasn't cleared for the last show, but they are currently attempting to get the proper zoning permits for future shows. Another IWA-MS event is scheduled at the bowling alley on August 30 and 31. Rotten said the bowling alley is working on getting clearance in time for the shows. They held an event there on Saturday, July 26.

EdK

I read aswell they are putting on a benefit show for Mickie Knuckles to try to raise money towards her $27,000 hospital bills following her surgery

chopperbyrne

I realy dislike these kind of wrestling promotions. ECW popularised spot-fest wrestling and idiots like these and CZW have taken it to new, worse levels.

Is anyone on this board entertained by stuff like this?

I saw a CZW Vs ROH (I think?) once and it was absolutely awful. No psychology or story telling at all, just mindless violent spots.

rovert

chopperbyrne wrote: »

I saw a CZW Vs ROH (I think?) once and it was absolutely awful. No psychology or story telling at all, just mindless violent spots.

And it was great. I disagree on the no story telling part as the final match was booked like a mother****er.

mehfesto2

Can't say I'd enjoy it at all.

I mean, if I want brutality, I'll watch boxing.

There's something weird about watching matches as ott as these when you know they're pre-planned (to an extent anyway, I'd imagine). Seems pretty obvious there's not much demand for the stuff anyway - judging by crowd size and that.

Anyway, looks like t'was all a publicity stunt.

Fozzy

rovert wrote: »

And it was great. I disagree on the no story telling part as the final match was booked like a mother****er.

Yeah, CZW vs ROH was real good, the whole feud and the matches. I'm not a fan of most of what CZW puts on though

mehfesto2 wrote: »

Anyway, looks like t'was all a publicity stunt.

Was it? I don't think that they expected to get so much attention. I'm not saying that I believe it 100%, but it could very likely have just been an angle they did that took on a life of its own once someone reported it to the police. Like I've already said, I've seen worse beatings, so I don't think that it was done with the intention of getting the police involved

flahavaj

chopperbyrne wrote: »

I saw a CZW Vs ROH (I think?) once and it was absolutely awful. No psychology or story telling at all, just mindless violent spots.

I love when people with no prior of a storyline of the characters involved in it feel the need to comment on things they know little or nothing about. You could watch any match, no mater how good, out of context and fail to appreciate the many nuances and litle references to the feud therein. If you knew nothing of the Bret Nart/Austin feud then you'd fail to aprerciate fully the greatness of their Wrestlemania match. Likewise the big 10 man Canadian Stampede tag.

That ROH/CZW feud was one the most brilliantly booked pieces of storytelling in years. And the blowoff, Cage of Death was an absolute masterpiece of booking, tying together pretty much every feud and storyline (including some outside the CZW invasion) that year.

But hey, seeming smart on the net and bull****ting on about things you haven't looked into properly is just too easy isn't it.

chopperbyrne

flahavaj wrote: »

I love when people with no prior of a storyline of the characters involved in it feel the need to comment on things they know little or nothing about. You could watch any match, no mater how good, out of context and fail to appreciate the many nuances and litle references to the feud therein. If you knew nothing of the Bret Nart/Austin feud then you'd fail to aprerciate fully the greatness of their Wrestlemania match. Likewise the big 10 man Canadian Stampede tag.

That ROH/CZW feud was one the most brilliantly booked pieces of storytelling in years. And the blowoff, Cage of Death was an absolute masterpiece of booking, tying together pretty much every feud and storyline (including some outside the CZW invasion) that year.

But hey, seeming smart on the net and bull****ting on about things you haven't looked into properly is just too easy isn't it.

I never mentioned the angle at all. The match itself told very little story, except Joe coming in and leaving very quickly.

You shouldn't need to have watched a months worth of shows beforehand to enjoy the story of a match.

Lets take Hogan Vs Andre as an example. You could show that to someone who has never watched wrestling before and they'll know the story they're trying to tell and the psychology involved in the match.

The same cannot be said for that Cage of Death match.

flahavaj

chopperbyrne wrote: »

I never mentioned the angle at all. The match itself told very little story, except Joe coming in and leaving very quickly.

You shouldn't need to have watched a months worth of shows beforehand to enjoy the story of a match.

Lets take Hogan Vs Andre as an example. You could show that to someone who has never watched wrestling before and they'll know the story they're trying to tell and the psychology involved in the match.

The same cannot be said for that Cage of Death match.

You didn't even know the names of the two companies involved in fairness, so your credibility on this matter is pretty much shattered. There were several stories that were intertwined in that one match that all culminated beautifully in a brilliant ending. I'd happily list them but you couldn't be bothered informing yourself, so I sure as hell won't.

chopperbyrne

flahavaj wrote: »

You didn't even know the names of the two companies involved in fairness, so your credibility on this matter is pretty much shattered. There were several stories that were intertwined in that one match that all culminated beautifully in a brilliant ending. I'd happily list them but you couldn't be bothered informing yourself, so I sure as hell won't.

Then you've missed my point completely.

flahavaj

chopperbyrne wrote: »

Then you've missed my point completely.

You don't even have one. You're talking about something you know jack **** about.

chopperbyrne

flahavaj wrote: »

You're talking about something you know jack **** about.

Exactly, I was completely uninformed when I watched that match and it did very little to inform me.

rovert

chopperbyrne wrote: »

I never mentioned the angle at all. The match itself told very little story, except Joe coming in and leaving very quickly.

You shouldn't need to have watched a months worth of shows beforehand to enjoy the story of a match.

Lets take Hogan Vs Andre as an example. You could show that to someone who has never watched wrestling before and they'll know the story they're trying to tell and the psychology involved in the match.

The same cannot be said for that Cage of Death match.

Thats all bollox.

If this is your point:

chopperbyrne wrote: »

I saw a CZW Vs ROH (I think?) once and it was absolutely awful. No psychology or story telling at all, just mindless violent spots.

Youve contradicted it on two counts:

chopperbyrne wrote: »

I never mentioned the angle at all. The match itself told very little story, except Joe coming in and leaving very quickly.

rovert

chopperbyrne wrote: »

Exactly, I was completely uninformed when I watched that match and it did very little to inform me.

There was recaps before the match and during the show. :rolleyes:

Ive no idea how this relates to Mike Levy.

chopperbyrne

So I'm supposed to know exactly what the match is about and the story they're trying to tell from one wrestler out of many in that match only being involved for a short time?

Where is the psychology in that match for someone who just watched the match itself and nothing preceding it?

Edit: At this stage it has very little to do with Levy, but there's not too much more to be said on that and at least this off topic discussion is still about wrestling, particularly a similar style of match.

rovert

chopperbyrne wrote: »

So I'm supposed to know exactly what the match is about and the story they're trying to tell from one wrestler out of many in that match only being involved for a short time??

Come again?

chopperbyrne wrote: »

Where is the psychology in that match for someone who just watched the match itself and nothing preceding it?

Your points are so disjoined. I think you've little understanding of what psychology actually is. This feud was a part of a series of shows called the Milestone Series it was a masterclass (btw Im no ROHbot) in show by show story telling. That said they did enough during the match to convey the main stories, twists and turns. I notice you didnt mention Homicide's entry into the match which was very basic and understandable story to any wrestling fan.

Fozzy

Saying that you watched the match that ended the feud and it did nothing to inform you is like saying that you watched the final episode of Friends and it did nothing to make you understand the relationship between Ross and Rachel. It's the culmination of everything, it's not meant to be a stand-alone match

flahavaj

Fozzy wrote: »

Saying that you watched the match that ended the feud and it did nothing to inform you is like saying that you watched the final episode of Friends and it did nothing to make you understand the relationship between Ross and Rachel. It's the culmination of everything, it's not meant to be a stand-alone match

Exactly. And bitching about it not then understanding whats going on is beyond ridiculous.