Pennsylvania’s Peak Samoa Joe vs Necro Butcher 11.06.2005 

Pennsylvania’s Peak Samoa Joe vs Necro Butcher 11.06.2005 

We’ve arrived in Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania or mostly just Philadelphia has a storied history with wrestling being the home to promotions such as ECW, ROH, CZW, CHIKARA, XPW and more. The story of wrestling and especially the story of independent/hardcore wrestling can not be told without the focus being on Philadelphia. However the best match in Pennsylvania history came from none of these promotions instead from a promotion that mostly ran Indiana, IWA Mis-South.

The match in question, Samoa Joe vs Necro Butcher.Said by many to be a greatest match ever contender, or just out and out the best. Its 5th place ranking in the 2025 Greatest Match Ever Project evidence to the fact. Taking place in the famous 2300 arena also known as the viking hall or unofficially the ECW arena. The venue started out as a freight house for train tracks that would eventually be paved over. It was later bought by the South Philly Vikings, a division of mummers who use the place to practice and to store their floats. Now if like me learning that the 2300 arena use to be a place where the south Philly vikings practiced being mummers, you'd ask “what is a mummers”. This question sent me down a deep rabbit hole and what i've learned is mummers come from folk traditions found across the British isles that has died off because people found it annoying but was revived by the annual new year day mummers parade in Philadelphia which from what i gather is an excuse to get drunk in public and wear blackface. I'm sure Ian Rotten would love it.

Joe vs Necro taking a place in a building that's purpose use to be storing cargo before it was loaded on a train or for weird men to practice mumming feels right. Matches like these don't happen in big arenas and they shouldn't. The legacy of this match can not be understated. I can personally attest when I was getting into wrestling this was one of the matches I was repeatedly told you have to watch. Truly ‘THE’ match of the 2000s indie boom and due to that when watching you get the feeling that the match represents something.

It also makes it hard to find something to say about it that hasn’t been said a thousand times before but to restate the obvious. The intensity, the punches thrown, Necros bumps, the pool of blood he leaves and the commentary make for an incredibly engaging and thrilling experience. Truly a taste maker match, you get this then a world of sick matches open up for you.

What else can you stay? It's Joe vs Necro. Is it perfect? No, it's better than perfect. I don't want perfect wrestling, I want this. I can watch this match a thousand times and each time ill lose my mind. A pillar of professional wrestling. Good God

5 green mans out of 5. 

Next stop Delaware