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Betrayed! Mike Iles Screws Rick Garrett and the Fans!

Posted: Aug 24th 2007 By: CMBurnham

Two and a half months ago, Oklafan presented a story entitled "Mike Iles Lays Down the Law In a Fair and Equitable Manner." It told how SWCW commissioner Mike Iles dealt with the chaos and confusion that was running through SWCW at the hands of people such as SWCW & ComPro Tag Team Champions Texas, Inc. and Kareem Sadat. At the time, Iles stood as the lone voice of justice, doing everything in his power to prevent the inmates from taking over the asylum.

Apparently we were wrong. Iles not only let the inmates take over, he's now the head crazyman in charge.

The main event for Sunday's show pitted 3rd Rail against SWCW Champion Rick Garrett, a match that Rail had been waiting a long time for. Garrett came to the ring with full festivities, which Rail arrived with his chain and a desire to win his first singles title. The match between the 2 behemoths was as hard hitting as expected and both men took as well as they gave. But with Rob Justice distracted, 3rd Rail used his chain to knock Garrett loopy and gain the pinfall, apparently laying claim to the SWCW gold.

However, Mike Iles came down the ramp as soon as the bell rang and the announcement was made. He said he had been watching from the back on the monitor and clearly saw 3rd Rail hit Garrett with the chain. He overturned the referee's verdict and proclaimed Garrett the winner (and still champion) by reverse decision. Rail was outraged and took his frustration out on Iles, knocking him down with a right hand. He then laid into Garrett until Striker came down to Garrett's rescue. With 3 behemoths in the ring, and one of them too wild to control, Iles threw Rail out of the building, much to the fans' delight.

At this point, Striker began to go back to the dressing area, but Garrett called him back. He said that Striker had assisted him against 3rd Rail and he wanted to reward him for that. He knew that Striker had been named #1 contender to the SWCW title, but had never received his title shot (due in part to an injury Striker suffered). Despite having fought off the monstrous 3rd Rail, Garrett offered to put up the SWCW Title right then against Striker. Striker agreed, Iles told ring announcer Jesse Storm to ring the bell and the match was on.

The match didn't last very long though. A collision in the corner left Rob Justice unconscious. Garrett put Striker down for the pin. Iles, apparently seeing no one else around to make the count, entered the ring and got down on his hands and knees. He counted 1...2...and then stopped. And in a very Paul Heyman-esque manner, Iles stood up as Garrett stared on asking what was going on. Garrett got up to confront Iles, but Striker cradled him from behind and Iles delivered quite possibly the fastest 3-count in professional wrestling history, then ordered Jesse Storm to ring the bell. Striker and Iles celebrated together and Storm had no choice but to announce that the new SWCW Champion was Striker. Garrett protested, demanding 5 more minutes with the new champion, but Striker & Iles only laughed as they retreated back up the ramp, belt safely in hand.

For those who know Mike Iles, all this comes as a complete surprise. Iles has long been known as the most fan-friendly commissioner in the state. He was purposely brought in to NWA-U to serve as the voice of the fans and promised to do what he could to make them happy. He endured repeated torment at the hands of The New Texas Outlaws (and Bobby Burns specifically) during his early days as the SRPW ring announcer all because he knew what was right. And he and Oklafan Editor C. M. Burnham are considered 2 of the most knowledgable and unbiased reporters in the entire state.

So why did Iles decide to throw that entire reputation away with this alliance with Striker? Iles was short and to the point in his reasoning, when asked to comment for this article: "Rick Garrett claims it was all a setup. You're dang right it was a setup. Striker was named #1 contender in March and Garrett had been ducking him ever since. So yeah, it was a plan that was hatched after Striker grew impatient about not getting a shot at what he felt what rightfully his. It may be Garrett's building, but I run the show."

At this point, no official action has been taken against Iles, mostly because there isn't anyone above him in power in SWCW. He remains in control and has not made any further comments about his plans for the company. But some of those plans will surely be revealed at the next SWCW show on September 1.