WARNING STRONG VIOLENCE AND STRONG VIOLENCE
Welcome back to the ICW No Holds Barred weekend event. We’ve tackled The Pit, now it’s time to tackle Volume 4. This would be a seven-match card of chaos as we’d see old grudges and new feuds brew as some of deathmatch wrestling’s best and brightest clashed in a ring covered in chains, with no rules. It’s kill or be killed in ICW and we’d see the likes of Mance Warner, Tony Deppen, Casanova Valentine, SHLAK, AKIRA, Alex Colon and so many more clash across 2 hours and change of pure violence. Let’s get into it.
Mance Warner defeated Tony Deppen via DDT
Only one man could fight in daisy dukes and make it intimidating. That man is none other than Tony Deppen and he’d start the action off against the Light Beer Brawler, Mance Warner. Things started rough as Deppen charged Mance and got chokeslammed onto a door that didn’t break. Warner hit a second and the door still didn’t break. After one final chokeslam, the door finally broke, as did Deppen who bailed to the outside. They brawled on the outside and Warner dropped Deppen’s balls first onto a horse trainer. They traded nutcrackers, then Deppen cracked Warner in the head with an iron bar. Warner retorted by throwing Deppen into the barn wall and chopped him in the chest. Warner grabbed a chair and dropped Deppen tailbone first onto it. Warner hit another nutcracker and made Deppen take a seat. Mance went for the eye poke but it was blocked and he was tripped head-first into the chair. He then delivered a double stomp to Mance and the chair and tried for a pin. Warner kicked out so Deppen threw the chair at him, dropped an elbow and hit a splash. Mance kicked out again, so Deppen grabbed a chunk of the broken door and beat Warner with it. He tricked the fans and locked in a Cravat. Deppen tried to charge again but Warner caught him with a boot and threw some jabs into the bionic elbow. Warner looked to hit a DDT on the chair but Deppen reversed and hit a DVD that buckled the chair. Warner kicked out again so Deppen double stomped the door into him and the pair chopped it out with Deppen trying to trash-talk Mance for being with MLW. Mance fired back with a series of headbutts and a vicious running knee. Deppen kicked back and tried to decapitate Warner with a skateboard double stomp to the back of the neck. Deppen took to the mic and attacked the crowd and Mance. He then cracked Mance in the head with the mic and imitated a dick-slap with it too. They chopped it out again and Deppen went for the killing blow, only to be caught into a pop-up dick kick. Mance hit a lariat, pummelled Deppen with the door, and won with a DDT. This was flinch-inducingly stiff and benefitted greatly from Deppen being an absolute dick to everyone. An excellent way to open the show.
Reed Bentley defeated Dale Patricks via Saw Board Torture Rack Drop
This makes me extremely uncomfortable. @TheReedBentley @DalePatricks #ICWNHB #NHB4 @ICWNHB
▶️https://t.co/YiYYo4WAl2 pic.twitter.com/HwhExzj6k9— Rob (@HeyyImRob) August 8, 2020
Next up was the battle of the underrated and the jackass. Both men had been in the pit and now, Patricks would have his chance to make an impression against one of the Rejects. We had a ring of fuckery and two guys willing to use it. Patricks started fast and drilled Bentley with a Piledriver. Bentley answered back with a Butterfly Piledriver and started a slugfest. Bentley hit a bell clap with two tube bundles and choked him out in the chains. He carved Patricks up with a tube and took the fight outside. He set up a cut-can door and dropped Patricks’ gut first across it with a Butterfly gutbuster. He then broke the board by hitting a big boy senton through Patricks and the board. He carved up Patricks with a broken can and attacked Patricks with a bat. He hit Patricks with the door and ran him into the ring post. Bentley set up another door, this time covered in carpet strips and but Patricks was ready and dumped him through the door and hit a senton on a trapped Bentley for good measure. He hit Bentley with the broken door and set up the can board on some chairs. Bentley was dumped on it and Patricks put him through the board with a Senton Bomb. Patricks made a fuckery pile from a tube cabin and set Reed up in the corner. He tried to hit some corner punches but Reed got him into a powerbomb position, yanked down his trunks, and dropped him ass-first into the fuckery pile with a powerbomb. He then hit a Regal-Plex into the pile and got a spanking from the broken door. Patricks got another piledriver off but still only got two. He then hit Bentley with two bare ass hip attacks but missed a third and ended up with an ass covered in glass. Bentley made it worse by breaking a tube bundle against it and dropped Patricks on his head with a Burning Hammer. Patricks kicked out so Bentley hit a rolling elbow and threw Patricks through a saw board with a running torture rack drop. This was amazing. Patricks can take an inhuman amount of punishment and added a nice level of comedy to the violence. He received a ton of respect and was given a place on the ICW roster.
Jimmy Lloyd defeated Brandon Kirk via Assault Driver
That was followed by another fuckery fest as Jimmy Lloyd took on Brandon Kirk, ICW’s resident pain magnet. In his last appearance, I ran him down but he’s a super-talented deathmatch guy and he got a match with the Different Boy, Jimmy Lloyd. Shame he has to get all his matches by being a ring-invading bitch. They started with a hockey fight and then after a little standoff, Lloyd sent Kirk through a tube door with a shotgun dropkick. Lloyd grabbed a mousetrap board but Kirk caught him and hit him with a backdrop onto it. He broke a tube over Lloyd’s head with a headbutt and attacked him with a gusset board. He tried to attack Lloyd with another but Lloyd countered and hammered it into Kirk’s shoulder then hammered one into his head. Kirk did the same and caused Lloyd to bleed. They had a light tube duel and the pair traded Dragon Suplexes. Lloyd tried for the Assault Driver but Kirk caught him with a ripcord lariat and put him through a can door with a DVD. Kirk tossed more plunder into the ring and set a bundle up on some chairs. He then blocked a fireball with a chair which set the chair on fire (yes, seriously) and tossed it at Lloyd’s head. Lloyd tanked it, hit Kirk with a superkick, and planted him through the bundle with the Assault Driver for the win. Kirk invaded the ring and got a match. It got him murdered again but hey exposure? This was another nice win for Jimmy leading into his match with AKIRA tomorrow. If the Different Boy can take fire, what will it take to put him down? This was another chapter in a long feud and Lloyd made it clear he didn’t care for AKIRA.
44OH! Taipei Deathmatch: Eric Ryan defeated Eddy Only via Punching Rain
Sometimes brothers fight. That is a common truth and basically the entire reason this Taipei deathmatch was happening. 44OH! friends Eric Ryan and Eddy Only had argued at a meetup and now they were going to mess at each other up in their favourite place, the ring. Eric is the 2020 King of the Deathmatch, so you just knew that had to be eating at Only. The glass was applied to their fists and the action began. The rest of the glass was dumped in the ring and Only lit a cigarette. Ryan slapped it out of his mouth so Only lit another. Ryan threw the first punch and knocked another cigarette out of Only’s mouth. Only lit a third and the pair fought for real, throwing punches. Only locked in a headlock and dug glass into Ryan’s head then dumped him in the glass pile. Only tried to burn Ryan with the cigarette but Ryan bucked him off and hit him with a headbutt. Ryan dug more glass into Only’s head and started throwing punches at his back. He carved a line across his forehead and continued stabbing away at Only, throwing in punches and headbutts along the way. He put Only in an abdominal stretch and threw him into the corner. Ryan looked to stab Only with a fork but Only blocked and slammed Ryan into the glass pile. He stabbed at Ryan’s head and set up a chair over Ryan’s head. He sat down and started stabbing Ryan with a fork. He lit another cigarette and waterboarded Ryan with a beer. An enraged Ryan leapt up and started jabbing away at Only. Only answered back with the same and the white hand coverings quickly turned red. Ryan took Only to the floor and rained down some ground and pound punches. He kept hammering away on Only until the ref stopped the match for Only’s own safety. Ryan bested his unruly brother and potentially beat some respect into the dirtbag of 44OH! Ryan dragged Only away and the pair left without much fanfare. Both men killed it here as Only once again played up his scumbag side even against his brother.
Alex Ocean defeated Alex Colon via Ref Stoppage
Next up was the future of deathmatch against the very real present of deathmatch. I’ll never stop saying Alex Colon is America’s best so Alex Ocean had one hell of a stepping-up contest here. Colon had no respect for Ocean so there was going to be no mercy shown. The ring was full of tubes so shit was going to get real. Colon came out with a Havoc Bundle and started by smashing it over the back of Ocean. He stabbed Ocean with a broken tube then kicked him outside and cut him up some more. He sat Ocean down and ate a tube charging at Ocean. He kicked Ocean back down and ground more glass into his head. He continued to carve the back and face of Ocean, continuously trash talking as he did so. Ocean took more tubes then caught one, broke it with a flex, and started a hockey fight. He put down Colon with a rolling elbow and tripped him into a bundle. He hit a seated tube bomb and kicked another bundle into Colon’s head. Colon got taped up as Ocean wrapped barbed wire around his forearm and elbow. When he could get it to stick, he just wrapped it everywhere and went top rope. He hit a barbed wire wrapped elbow drop that was dangerously close to Colon’s eyes and went top rope again. Colon woke up and threw a tube covered chair at Ocean’s head, causing him to fall off and go through more tubes. Colon put more tubes through Ocean’s chest with double knees and hit a bridging Northern Lights into the glass. Ocean then managed to dodge Colon and hit the 2K1 Bomb into a tube cross. Colon got cut up and threw up the X. The match was called off and Ocean accepted an unwanted win. Safety must come first and Colon clearly needed to stop. It was excellent up to that point and Ocean did everything to help Colon to the back. I hope you rest up and come back stronger Alex Colon.
SHLAK defeated Casanova Valentine via Plastic Bag Suffocation
Backdrop through a tube cabin from @SHLAK187! #NHB4 @ICWNHB @indiewrestling
▶️https://t.co/orkuzhZE27 pic.twitter.com/5ewPBrAoGi— Kayden?/Deathmatch Callux (@KVR216) August 8, 2020
This was a rematch from King of the Deathmatch and another chapter in the heated rivalry between Casanova Valentine and SHLAK. It was originally meant to be Jeff King vs SHLAK but King couldn’t make it. Valentine was drafted in and things got intense. These two are monsters in-ring and were 100% going to put on a great match. The ring was once again full of fuckery and shit was going to get violent. There were no introductions as SHLAK rushed the ring and started throwing slugs. SHLAK put Valentine through a gusset plate board with an overhead throw and stabbed Valentine in the head with a shank. He broke tubes across the back of Valentine’s head then broke more with a headbutt and a chop. He continued with a tube elbow drop and stomped Valentine head-first into the mat. The headshots continued with more tubes and a double axe handle. Madison distracted SHLAK and gave Valentine the opportunity to get his breath back. SHLAK turned around and had a bundle of tubes charged through him. Valentine slammed a broken door on SHLAK’s head then broke a tube on his head with a hammer-fist and cut it up with a broken tube. He fish-hooked SHLAK and attacked him with the Garden Weasel. He placed tubes at SHLAK’s crotch and broke them with the weasel. Valentine set up a fuckery door outside and put both of them through it with a Russian Leg Sweep. Both guys were cut free and SHLAK clawed at Valentine’s face with a broken door. He gouged at Valentine’s eyes and initiated another tube duel. Everyone got covered in glass and spooky dust as the duo continued to pelt each other with tubes. A hockey fight broke out and SHLAK caught Valentine into a Michinoku Driver. Valentine recovered and launched SHLAK with an overhead belly to belly. SHLAK then hit a vertical Suplex and Valentine hit another belly to belly. SHLAK bust more tubes through Valentine with a Polish Hammer and put Valentine through a tube cabin with a Backdrop Suplex. SHLAK then filled a plastic bag with glass and wrapped it over Valentine’s head, choking him out. The ref called SHLAK the winner to avoid any more attempted murder. This again was an excellent, brutal, plunder fest with some excellent amateur work thrown in for good measure. As always guns don’t kill people, SHLAK kills people.
John Wayne Murdoch defeated AKIRA via Chair Brainbuster
Last but not least, we got the main event. Reject would fight Reject as AKIRA met the current king of ICW, John Wayne Murdoch. Could the breakout star beat the Duke of Hardcore or would he just become another statistic on Murdoch’s win list? The ring was filled with more fuckery and the rubber chicken from the pit made a return. AKIRA started the action off with a quick flurry and dodged Murdoch’s follow-up. He tried for a half and half but Murdoch rained down elbows. AKIRA tanked this and hit a Backdrop Driver. He continued to pummel Murdoch across the chains and moved the ref to hit some running elbows. Murdoch halted his momentum with a low tackle and threw AKIRA over the chains onto a tube covered guardrail. He then smashed the rubber chicken over AKIRA’s head and ground a broken tube into his head. Murdoch broke another over his head and tried to disembowel AKIRA with the broken tube. AKIRA fought this off and was dumped to the floor. Murdoch threw the guardrail at him and crushed him under it. He broke more tubes on AKIRA and cut his head up with a knife. Murdoch threw him into the ring and headbutted him down to the floor. He stabbed a gusset plate into AKIRA’s forehead and battered him with broken door shots to the head. Murdoch went for more knife work but AKIRA brought him down with a drop toe hold and drove a gusset plate into Murdoch’s head with Kawada kicks then flattened him with an Axe Kick and senton. He did the same again with the gusset plate and hammered it in with a headbutt. AKIRA hit a running knee and tried an arm-wringer. Instead, he got a tube to the head and a stab to the chest from Murdoch. He hit AKIRA with another bundle to the head and tried to hammer him down onto a razor board but AKIRA woke up and threw Murdoch onto the razors with a Northern Lights.
AKIRA locked in a Dragon Sleeper, but Murdoch broke free and both men took headshots, AKIRA from a tube and Murdoch from a head kick. The pair slugged it out and descended into headbutts. Murdoch set up a chair and put a bundle onto it. Murdoch tried for the Brainbuster, but AKIRA reversed it and put Murdoch through the chair with a scoop slam. That only got two so AKIRA locked in a Muta Lock with a fucking saw. Yes, a fucking saw. Murdoch escaped by biting AKIRA’s hand but couldn’t do much else. AKIRA grabbed a bundle and went for the top but Murdoch pulled him down, breaking the bundle into his chest. He then hung AKIRA over the ropes, kicked him in the head, and smashed the razor board into him. He hit a draping DDT for two and smashed AKIRA with the door. AKIRA fired up and pummelled Murdoch with a flurry of strikes then launched Murdoch with a German. That was followed by a Butterfly Suplex into a Kimura lock. AKIRA set up a chair and looked to drop Murdoch onto it but Murdoch showed surprising agility and snapped AKIRA with the brainbuster onto the chair and got the three-count. AKIRA gave it his all but Murdoch continues to reign supreme. Murdoch got the crowd to cheer for AKIRA and helped him to his feet. 44OH! invaded the ring and Atticus Cogar attacked both guys. The Rejects were stomped down and Cogar challenged Murdoch to a match at Volume 5. A massive end to an exceptional match. AKIRA and Murdoch continue to kill it in their matches.
.@theakiraway slams Murdoch through a light tube chair! #NHB4 @ICWNHB @indiewrestling
▶️https://t.co/orkuzhZE27 pic.twitter.com/ExOTyfYKsF— Kayden?/Deathmatch Callux (@KVR216) August 8, 2020
So, there you have it, ICW No Holds Barred Volume 4 reviewed for your reading pleasure. This was exceptional. Every match was great to watch and despite the sad end to Colon/Ocean, it still showed the skill both guys have. In a show plagued by changes and bad luck, it’s nice to see an excellent card give us excellent matches. Join SteelChair tomorrow for more ICW goodness as I review the Deathmatch Circus tomorrow. See you then! It looks to be even more mental than this show was.
AHHHHHHH! @TheReedBentley #NHB4 @ICWNHB @indiewrestling
▶️https://t.co/orkuzhZE27 pic.twitter.com/JuwHTYF65Q— Kayden?/Deathmatch Callux (@KVR216) August 8, 2020
All images courtesy of ICW NHB Twitter, Chris Grasso, Kayden (KVR216), HeyyImRob,