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Deathmatch ICW NY Reviews US

The Christmas Cage-Rager – ICW NHB’s “Pitfighter X5” Review

ByJohn Dinsdale

Dec 16, 2020 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

WARNING STRONG LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE AHEAD

Welcome back to ICW No Holds Barred. It’s time for their last show of the year as we close out 2020 with another dose of cage fighting fury. On this final stacked card, we’ll see AKIRA take on Aidan Blackhart, Shane Mercer makes his ICW debut, a Christmas tree deathmatch, Alex Ocean vs Casanova Valentine, Nolan Edward vs John Wayne Murdoch, and much much more. Let’s get into the violence one time for the final time this year!

Fights, Camera, Action

AKIRA defeated Aidan Blackhart via Sudden Death to a chair

The first match of the show was the Death Samurai taking on one of deathmatch wrestling’s quiet heroes, Aidan Blackhart. It was finally his time to shine and he was getting his ICW debut against a guy he helped build, AKIRA. The pair started by throwing hands and traded sickeningly loud headbutts. He trapped Blackhart in a cross-armbreaker and transitioned into a triangle and hammered a gusset into Blackhart’s head. That again transitioned to the Hentai Stretch and a gusset to the shoulder. Blackhart powered through, stuck a headbutted the gusset into AKIRA, and rammed him into a carpet strip contraption with a shoulder tackle. He pounded on AKIRA with a gusset bat and a duo of trashcan lids, then scooped him up into a crucifix powerbomb through the guardrail. He continued to punish AKIRA with a snap Suplex onto a trashcan and tried for a pin but AKIRA trapped him in a Koji Clutch. Blackhart once again broke free with a gusset to the head and hit AKIRA with a fireman’s carry spinebuster into a single-leg crab. AKIRA used the cage wall to escape and slammed Blackhart’s head off the wall. They slugged it out again and AKIRA stunned Blackhart with a back-fist, then pelted him with chairs to the head. He continued with an implant DDT to the chair and gave a shout-out to Colt 45 with cravat knee strikes and a cravat toss through the guardrail. He kicked Blackhart’s legs out and hit him with Sudden Death onto a chair for the win. AKIRA picks up the big win to end the year but Blackhart finally got a chance to shine. He’s more than earned it so bring him back ICW.

Shane Mercer defeated Daniel Garcia via Cage Door stoppage

Next up was the ICW debut for the deathmatch Iron Demon, Shane Mercer. He was originally taking on Dan Maff but circumstances change and now he would have to contend with Red Death, Daniel Garcia. Could raw power take out technical excellence? The pair started with a cagey stand-off and Garcia systematically picking at the legs and midsection of Mercer with quick jabs and kicks. He continued to pummel Mercer with strikes but Mercer caught him out of a charge and tossed him overhead across the cage. The pair lashed out at each other again but Mercer stopped Garcia in his tracks with another overhead toss through the door. Garcia went to the legs and locked in an ankle lock into a heel hook and tanked Mercer’s kneebar to lock in a cross-armbreaker. Mercer fought through and hoisted Garcia up, then threw him out of the cage with a Military Press Slam. Mercer followed him out and ran into a running kick from Garcia and got hit in the back with a rubber dinosaur. He tried to lock on a guillotine but Mercer rammed him into the Blood Shed wall. Garcia blasted him with knees and took a run-up for a superpowered bicycle knee. He re-applied the guillotine but Mercer once again powered through and drove him into the wall with a duo of wall slams into a powerslam. Garcia threw dirt in Mercer’s face and hopped on his back for a rear-naked choke but Mercer hoisted him into the electric chair for Asmodeus Wrath into the cage wall. Garcia legged it and crushed Mercer with the cage door. He stomped a chair into Mercer’s ankle and re-applied the heel hook. He transitioned to a crossface and accidentally fired up Mercer with kendo shots. A shot to the leg put Mercer back down and Garcia locked in a kendo-assisted crossface. Mercer scooped him up again and dumped him through the broken door. He ripped the cage door off and charged at Garcia then hit the Iron Crush against it. He then won the match by repeatedly ramming the cage door into Garcia, forcing a ref stoppage. Mercer got his debut win but Garcia took a lot out of him. I don’t think we’ve ever seen anyone rip off the cage door before though.

Dominic Garrini defeated Gary Jay via Guillotine Choke

This one was going to be a stiff one. Gary Jay finalises the trio of new debuts as the replacement for Justin Kyle in this prizefight. Dominic Garrini is the god of the cage and he was about to meet the Stiff Robo Ginger. The pair started with stiff chops and forearms, then a hockey fight broke out. The strike exchange quickly resumed until Garrini scooped up Jay and slammed him into the cage wall. Garrini grounded Jay and levelled him with knee strikes and tried for a triangle but Jay transitioned to a mount and hammered down on Garrini with more chops. Garrini had to kick out of the triangle and the striking resumed again. Garrini took Jay down with a single-leg takedown and tried for more ground and pound but Jay bitch-slapped him. He couldn’t capitalise though as Garrini kicked him in the gut and picked the leg for an ankle lock. Jay broke free and caught Garrini into a pop-up knee and forearm but Garrini downed them both with a headbutt. The pair went down again as Garrini powerbombed Jay into the cage and Jay rushed him with a clothesline. They traded more chops and kicks as both men went chop for chop and chop for kick until both men were exhausted. Jay rocked Garrini with a double stomp but only got two. Jay set up a chair and the pair traded even more nasty chops. Garrini fired-up and took Jay’s head off with Kawada kicks, then fought out of a guillotine to Suplex Jay through the chair, crippling the chair and Jay. He locked Jay in a Guillotine and Jay collapsed. Garrini won but Jay brought the fight in a big way, matching the raw striking and submission powers of Garrini. This was exceptionally violent and exceptionally fun. Feel free to bring back Gary Jay any time.

Brandon Kirk (with Kasey Kirk) defeated Danny Demanto via Armbar

Now for the first match that drove the gif makers mad. The boss of the company was going to smack the shit out of the deathmatch rogue Brandon Kirk. He’d have his work cut out for him though against the die-hard Kirk and his wife, Kasey Kirk. He instantly downed Kirk with a slap and hammered him against the cage. Kirk tried to fight back but Demanto had rattled him and hit him with a chair. He stabbed Kirk with gussets and hit him again with the chair. The fight went outside as Demanto beat down Kirk around the crowd and used Mittens as a weapon, DVD’ing him onto Kirk and a barbed-wire board. He dragged Kirk back into the cage and attacked his cuts with lemon juice and salt. He looked to hit Kirk with a tack bat but Kasey kicked him in the dick. Kirk whacked him in the head and arm with the tack bat and hammered a gusset plate into his forehead. He pelted Demanto with a chair and set up a barbed-wire board. He tried for a powerbomb but Demanto counted and sent Kirk ass-first into it with a backdrop. Kasey tried to attack Demanto with a barbed-wire bat but Mittens the fucking hero, snatched it off her. She slapped him so he speared her into a vinyl board and Demanto dumped her on top of her husband with a piledriver. More fuckery was set up on the outside and Demanto laid out Kirk on a door, then climbed to the top. Kirk gave chase and the door was set alight as the pair fought up top. Demanto threw Kirk into the fire below and watched as Kirk scrambled about ablaze. Demanto ran for the pin but Kirk kicked out at one. Demanto pelted him with another chair and set up more fuckery. The pair climbed onto a chair platform and Kirk nailed Demanto with a low blow, then hit him with a piledriver through the chairs into an armbar to win the match. Kirk took the beating of a lifetime and survived being burned to pick up a massive win over the boss. Fuck yeah Brandon Kirk, fuck yeah.

Neil Diamond Cutter defeated Jeff Cannonball via Fuckery Sandwich Splash

Time for some festive cheer. Neil Diamond Cutter and Jeff Cannonball were about to bring in the festive spirit with a Christmas tree deathmatch. Just what fuckery would we see here and who would walk out with a win and who would walk out with a lump of coal? The pair started with a dual soda review and argued over which was better. They took their argument outside and broke candy cane tubes over each other. Cutter called for fisticuffs and got socked in the mouth by Cannonball. They continued to slug it out, then Cannonball opened some presents and beat Cutter down with the contents. These included records, gussets, and a mousetrap all battered in by wrapping paper. Cutter tripped Cannonball into his step-up senton but Cannonball was unphased. He kicked Cannonball in the gut and hit the senton again with a chair. He hit a second senton and beat in Cannonball’s guts with a water bottle. He struggled with a present so he stalled by kicking Cannonball in the balls and attacked him with a cheese grater. Cannonball fired back with his own grater and threw Cutter into a barbed-wire Christmas tree. He got revenge for the dick kick by throwing a bowling ball at a cinderblock placed in Cutter’s crotch and threw a second cinderblock at his dick. He stepped on Cutter and gave the audience a live soda review, then threw the bottle at Cutter’s head. He ran himself through a bauble board and Cutter beat him down with a second bauble board. He placed the board in front of Cannonball and jumped off a chair for another cannonball. He set up another board and hit a moonsault off a chair. That couldn’t keep Cannonball down so Cutter broke the cinderblocks off his back and got DVD’ed through a bauble door. He dumped the barbed-wire tree on Cutter but Cutter dodged a lariat into a cutter and dumped Cannonball on a guardrail. He trapped him under a fuckery tree and barbed-wire board, then climbed to the top of the cage and won with a fuckery sandwich splash. After a ton of abuse, Cutter got the win in the most frantic way. What a fun, comedic deathmatch.

Reed Bentley defeated Satu Jinn via Sliding Forearm

Time for a battle of the brawlers. Satu Jinn, wrestling’s Majin Buu was going to take on the understated bruiser of the Rejects, Reed Bentley in what was sure to be a hard-hitting classic. They started with a hockey fight and Bentley nearly took Jinn’s head off with forearms. He ran Jinn through a gusset board and the pair attacked each other with a trash can lid. Jinn mauled Bentley against the cage and caved in his chest with a diving headbutt. They continued to trade against the cage and Jinn dumped Bentley through a barbed-wire board. He pelted Bentley with a chair and crushed him under the board, then cut him up with a carpet strip and threw him into a shopping trolley. Bentley tried to fight back but Jinn stuck gussets in his arms and hit him with a running hip attack. Bentley struck back with a carpet strip but Jinn gave him another chair to the head and beat him in with a carpet strip bumper sword. Bentley finally got his second wind with more gussets and broke the remaining carpet strips over Jinn, then tried for the Regal-Plex but Jinn kneed free into a belly to belly against the cage. They had a chair flinging fight, then went into a blunt smoking bar fight after a series of chop exchanges. Bentley put the blunt out on Jinn’s forehead and floored him with a running crossbody. John Wayne Murdoch stole the blunt and Bentley dumped Jinn with a backdrop onto a can board. Jinn hit a uranage onto the shopping trolley and set up a vinyl board, then put Bentley through it with a Falcon Arrow. Bentley took out all his frustration with a series of violent elbows, then won the match with a massive sliding forearm. This one got vicious and surprise, surprise, I fucking loved it. Jinn is amazing in this environment and I love seeing Bentley do his thing.

Alex Ocean (w/Riley Madison) defeated Casanova Valentine via Chair Shot stoppage

Well, this one was going to get ugly. Riley Madison used to ride with the Brooklyn Black Death but she’s since hitched a ride with Alex Ocean and now, the pair were going to have a fight over it. Valentine is the king of the no-ring shit so Ocean was out of his element. Valentine didn’t waste any time and tackled Ocean during introductions and threw him through a gusset board. He punished Ocean with clubs, then beat him in the head with the Stinger. He put Ocean through a carpet strip Hayabusa sigil with the Text Message Break-up and caught a cocky Ocean with a step-up enzuigiri. He continued to throw Ocean like a ragdoll, dumping him through a barbed wire Xmas door and stabbed him through the cheek with a syringe, then nailed the gusset stunner. He went to give Ocean a second syringing but Madison interfered and got save by Ocean stabbing a syringe into Valentine’s cheek. He gave Valentine a superkick and set up a fork board which he then put Valentine through with a cutter. The suffering didn’t end as he took a gusset to the head and chair to the back, then took a chair hammer to the dick. Ocean was in the zone now and DDT’ed Valentine onto the chair, then set up a door on the outside. He laid out Valentine on the door and climbed to the rafters for an elbow drop. Only he decided not to as the crowd was being mean. He climbed down and broke the door with a regular elbow and set up another door in the cage. Valentine fired up and downed Ocean with elbows, then hit a frog splash Air Cas off the top of the cage. He landed badly and fought off Madison again. Ocean took advantage and pushed him through a barbed-wire door and hammered Valentine with a gusset 2×4. Ocean started swinging with a chair and the ref stopped the match. Ocean had won but it was only because Madison was there to save his arse. Another great match but the finish left everyone with a sour taste in their mouth.

John Wayne Murdoch defeated Nolan Edward via Flaming Door Brainbuster

Okay, main event time. This one was actually quite scary as it featured two guys who don’t know how to quit. Nolan Edward is the ultimate crash test dummy and seems to love scaring crowds with the ungodly amount of violence he can withstand. He was in there with someone who’d gladly dish that violence back out. It started as you’d expect, Edward taking a door to the head, then popping up and dropkicking Murdoch against a gusset lattice. Murdoch no-sold it, downed him with a lariat and started a tube duel. The glass flew as Murdoch upped the ante each time. After a slew of U tubes, the pair fought around a barbed-wire board and posed. Edward baited Murdoch in and gave him a gusset to the arm, then bashed him against the cage and carved him with a tube. Murdoch egged him on as he stuck a gusset in Murdoch’s head and the pair traded punches. Murdoch fired up and launched Edward into the lattices of knives and gussets, then took more tubes to Edward. He came at him with a knife but Edward countered with a U tube and took the knife to Murdoch. He continued to work the arm with a knife bat and hammered Murdoch with more tubes. Murdoch kicked him in the dick and hit him in the head with a tack bat. He carved up Edward’s chest with another broken tube and took a tube dick kick from Edward. He took more tubes to Murdoch’s arm and cheered as Murdoch launched a one-armed assault against him. Murdoch threw an entire box of U tubes at Edward and it still wasn’t enough to stop him. He put Murdoch through a barbed-wire board with a DVD and set up another door platform. He climbed to the top and came crashing back down as Murdoch hit him with more tubes. Murdoch dragged him onto the platform, had the door set alight, and ended Edward with the brainbuster. Fuck me, even the Duke struggled to take down No Flinch Nolan. What a violent masterpiece to end a show of hard-hitting action and OTT fuckery.

Best of the Bloodletting

  • As opening matches go, AKIRA vs Aidan Blackhart was absolutely incredible. A rapid-fire fest of brutality and bludgeoning violence. It was nice to see Blackhart get a shot at ICW and I hope they bring him back.
  • Gary Jay vs Dominic Garrini was every bit as physical and violent as you could have hoped for. The pair beat the absolute shit out of each other with nary a spot of plunder. It was horrifically violent and that chair Suplex was nightmarish.
  • Danny Demanto vs Brandon Kirk was every bit the fuckery fest you’d expect. It was violent, full of plunder, and saw Brandon Kirk get set on fire, how is that not cool as fuck?
  • Gimmick matches often suck but Jeff Cannonball vs Neil Diamond Cutter was a fun little festive gore-fest. It had fun weaponry and a whole bunch of violence alongside some laughs and soda reviews.
  • Satu Jinn continues to be one of the most fun guys to watch on the new recruits list and I love seeing him mix it up with guys he knows. He is an excellent brawler and has great comedic moments too.
  • Valentine broke his elbow during his match. That’s how much he fucking put in. if that isn’t a sign of dedication, I don’t know what is. It’s been a while since I’ve seen the crowd get behind him like that.
  • What can I say about the main event? Fucking hell that was a slaughter. The Duke was taken by surprise, just like the rest of us at the propensity for sheer violence Nolan Edward showed her. This might just be his most intense deathmatch yet and he killed it. What a way to end ICW’s 2020. An excellent end to an excellent show.

What Comes Next?

  • The motherfucking Death Samurai aims to go worldwide in 2021 so we should see the 2020 breakout in Japan, Mexico, Australia, and more in the coming year.
  • We saw a bit of what Mercer can do tonight. He gets John Wayne Murdoch at the next show. Just what madness are we going to see when Deathmatch Mercer goes after the Duke of Hardcore.
  • Can anyone beat Dominic Garrini in the cage? He took on one of the best in Gary Jay and still came out on top. Just who can beat him?
  • Reed Bentley continues to remain undefeated, just who can stop him in ICW and when will he get his shot at the king, John Wayne Murdoch?
  • 2020 has come to an end for ICW and with the Duke standing tall for most of the year, he ends 2020 with one hell of a winning streak. He’s seen off all comers and shed a scary amount of blood each show. New challengers are waiting in the new year as we’re left to wonder who’ll topple the Ace? You can bet I’ll be here to cover it all.

All images courtesy of IWTV Twitter, MrsScaper, HeyyImRob, IsThisWrestling

By John Dinsdale

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