WARNING STRONG LANGUAGE AND VIOLENCE AHEAD

Welcome to something new. This is Deathmatch Downunder, a new Australian Strong and deathmatch company bringing a new brand of violence to IWTV. This is an almost entirely new scene to me with entirely new competitors. So, let’s learn about this new company together by experiencing their first show, And Out Come the Wolves. We’ll see multiple Tag Tournament contenders, Gweedo vs Joel Bateman for the UGWA Total Violence Title, a tag team barbed-wire board match alongside so much more. Let’s waste no more time and get into the violence!

Ritchie Taylor defeated Tommy Knight via Snap Brainbuster

Things weren’t going to start off slow as we got Smash Mouth Ritchie Taylor vs the behemoth that is Tommy Knight. This was going to get rough as both guys had heavy hands and knew how to use them. There was a size discrepancy to work around, would Taylor be up to the challenge? The pair started by backing each other into the opposing corners before tempers flared and Knight showed his first taste of strength by tossing Knight across the ring. Taylor didn’t take this well and gave Knight a knee to the face and booted him out of the ring. Taylor followed him out with a dive into a forearm but Knight was having none of it and knocked him silly with another stiff forearm. He slammed Taylor onto the ring apron and threw Taylor back in for a chop exchange. Knight no-sold Taylor’s chops and floored him with one of his own. He kneed Taylor around the ropes and gave him a big Kitchen Sink knee to the ribs. The onslaught continued with a slam into the mat and a huge running senton but Taylor was able to dodge a corner blow and score a two-count on a roll-up. He wasted no time in giving Knight another boot to the jaw but the big guy tanked it and drove the wind out of Taylor with a spinning Samoan Drop. He threw Taylor to the outside again and waited on a count-out. Taylor made it back in so Knight threw him straight back out, throwing him with enough force to bounce him off the guardrail. A slugfest broke out with Taylor trying to come back but Knight just slammed him down again and climbed to the top. He missed a diving senton and woke to another extreme slug out with Taylor. Both men gave some vicious shots but Knight ultimately won the exchange with the last gasp lariat. They fought to their feet and after more devastating forearms, Knight downed Taylor with another sickening clothesline. Taylor kneed free of a Brainbuster and smashed in Knight’s jaw with a duo of vicious rolling elbows but only got two. He gave Knight a taste of his own medicine and after a knee to the face, dropped Knight on his head with a Brainbuster for the three-count. What a fucking opening match. This hit so hard it and delivered so many brutal blows I lost count. An exceptional opener and total tone-setter for what was to follow.

DMDU Tag Title Tournament: Blacklisted (JXT & FOX) defeated Avary & Kurtis Day via Double Crucifix Bomb

Up next was the first match in DMDU’s Tag Title Tournament. It would be the self-proclaimed greatest team Blacklisted against Avary and Kurtis Day. Blacklisted had dished out strong words in video packages, could they back them up in the ring? I know Blacklisted were meant to be the bad guys but Avary and Day made a bold choice coming out to Nickelback. Oh, and Avary is everyone’s favourite bin chicken (google it.) JXT and Day started things off when JXT was done posing and chose unique ways to attack an arm. JXT disrespected Day so Day punished him with an arm-drag and hip-toss and sent him scrambling for a tag. The momentum carried over though as Day took out FOX with an inverted atomic drop and a clothesline. Day hit a Suplex and tagged in Avary who stomped away and stunned FOX with a sliding elbow. JXT broke up the pin and got back into a scrap with Day when FOX had sucker-punched him in the back. Avary kept making it worse by storming the ring and getting sent back by the ref, giving Blacklisted opportunities to attack Day. The beatdown continued with stiff chops and clotheslines with FOX beating him down on the outside as JXT wound up Avary. Blacklisted continued to find unique and nasty ways to punish Day as Avary could do nothing on the outside. The end nearly came twice of a ripcord superkick and Black Hole Slam but Day found a way to kick out. FOX fired-up Day and the pair downed each other with a double clothesline. Avary came in like a woman possessed and rocked FOX with forearms, then tossed JXT like a ragdoll with a T-Bone Suplex. FOX was booted to the outside and JXT was hit with a diving blockbuster. Day followed up with a Shining Wizard but FOX broke up the pin. JXT blocked another knee and smashed Day into the mat with a cutter and locked on the Crispy Lock but Avary kneed him away. JXT sent the Bin Chicken flying with a low bridge and hit a diving elbow drop on Day for another two. Avary dived onto both with a crossbody but FOX dragged her into the Spinning Tombstone. Day bravely rushed Blacklisted but they caught him into a double Crucifix Bomb for the win. Blacklisted are fucking awesome. They’re hilariously dickish and have all the moves to back it up. This was a great classic-style match from four brilliant competitors.

Gore (w/KrackerJak) defeated Mitchell Wright via Snuff Slam

The show was then interrupted by the most unusual choice of entrance music ever, the bloody Safety Dance. Mitchell Wright was here to spoil the show since he wasn’t a part of it. He decried the ways of the deathmatch only to get interrupted by one of Australia’s most popular ones, KrackerJak. He swerved the audience by agreeing with Wright, only to introduce his own deathmatch ready monster, Gore. To his credit, Wright stepped up and tried to wrestle but couldn’t even move Gore without being slammed down. Gore could have killed Wright with a Military Press Powerslam but he dragged Wright up and took a Snap Suplex off of a ref distraction. Gore turned him inside-out with a clothesline and dragged him up into a Gutwrench inverted Powerslam. I’m just going to call it the Snuff Slam for ease. This was a dominant display of power from Gore and a big fuck you to the DMDU audience courtesy of KrackerJak. Just who in the locker room could go toe to toe with that monster?

DMDU Tag Title Tournament: Misspent Youth (Aysha & Murdoch) defeated Aiden Miller & Tyson Baxter via Octopus Stretch on Baxter

After that slaughter was the other Tag Title tourney match of the night. It would be Aysha and the best wrestler you’ve never heard of Murdoch, taking on the team of Aiden Miller and Tyson Baxter. Could Misspent Youth take the semi-final spot or would they have misspent the effort coming here? Aysha and Miller started things off despite Miller’s protesting. Aysha further showed him up by rallying the crowd against him and ducking his strikes. He tried to fake out one of her forearms and received a flurry of them for doing so. She caught Miller into a series of quick pins and threw him over with a pair of arm-drags into a corner forearm. She flipped Miller into the opposite corner and cracked him with a leg lariat. He tagged out and Baxter stepped up to fight. Baxter called out Murdoch so Aysha brought him in and after a test of strength sucker kick, Murdoch took out Baxter with a trip. Murdoch launched him into the ropes and hit him with a shoulder charge and dropkick. He uppercut Baxter into a neckbreaker but Miller dragged him off the pin by the hair and all four competitors brawled around the ring. Momentum shifted between the teams until Misspent Youth hit corner forearms and Murdoch threw Aysha into a Hurricanrana/Spear combo. They played punch ping pong with Miller as the ball so he regrouped with Baxter on the outside. Miller tagged in and looked to be struggling with Murdoch but a distraction from Baxter allowed him to hit Murdoch with a running elbow. He rained down elbow drops and the pair worked over Murdoch with quick tags and quicker strikes. Murdoch survived a Stalling Suplex and escaped with an Enzuigiri and Jawbreaker to get the hot tag but the ref didn’t see it. The beatdown began again until he flipped out of a double-team and caused an in-ring collision. He finally tagged out and Aysha flew in with a crossbody DDT trap. She clotheslined the pair and used Miller as a launchpad to hit a leg drop/bulldog combo on Baxter. There were counters galore until Aysha hit Baxter with a backstabber into an Octopus but Miller made the save and the pair dropped her with a double Military Press. She kicked out of a Tiger Driver and Murdoch saved her from disaster by hitting a Destroyer on Miller. Baxter cleared him with an inverted DDT and hit Aysha with a Suplex but Aysha caught him off the ropes into the Octopus and he could do nothing but tap. The Wrestling Couple Misspent Youth had claimed the spot and best the rule-breakers in the process all while putting on one hell of a dynamic match.

UGWA Total Violence Title Cut Can and Gusset Boards: Gweedo defeated Joel Bateman via Knife Board Amityville Horror

Now it was time to get bloody. Gweedo and The Smash Hit Joel Bateman were about to tear each other limb from limb for the UGWA Total Violence Title. They’d have cut can and gusset boards at their disposal with other fuckery in arms reach. Who was leaving alive? They started with a lock-up and Gweedo forced Bateman to the outside. A second lock-up was fought and Bateman was elbowed away after forcing Gweedo against the gusset board. A chair vs knife fight broke out and Bateman smashed the chair into Gweedo’s head. He chopped down Gweedo but took too long posing and got Sabu’ed with a chair. Bateman tried to go for a roll-up but Gweedo caught him and stabbed a gusset into his forehead. He followed up with a double-underhook DDT onto a chair and stabbed into his head again with a knife. Bateman played it smart though and baited Gweedo into running into the gusset board. Bateman nailed a neckbreaker and gave Gweedo a gusset to the shoulder, then barred his arm and manipulated his joints. The gusset met Gweedo’s head and Bateman dumped him face-first on a chair with a drop toe hold. He PK’ed the chair into Gweedo’s head and Gweedo made him pay by dumping him into the cut can board with a German. A slugfest broke out and Gweedo set up the gusset board. The pair fought over a Suplex and spilled to the floor. Gweedo crotched Bateman on the guardrail and climbed to the top but took too long and cracked him in the head with a chair, then superplexed Gweedo through the gusset board. Gweedo popped-up so Bateman floored him with a lariat and dumped him onto the cut can board with a Designated Driver for two. Luckily, Bateman had a back-up plan and a knife-board was brought in. He plucked a knife free and stabbed Gweedo in the head. He set up for a second Designated Driver but collapsed from exhaustion. He gave Gweedo a series of Kawada kicks and tried for a lariat but Gweedo caught him into a sit-out Amityville Horror on the knife board for the win. it took something utterly monstrous to best Bateman but Gweedo had succeeded in keeping his title. DMDU just put on one hell of a first deathmatch. It gave you gore, drama, and nightmarish plunder all in a concise little package. What’s not to love? Oh, and Joel Bateman called out Charli Evans to a deathmatch. Yes. Just all the yes.

Barbed-Wire Board Tag match: Mad Dog & Michael Weaver defeated RAW Beef (2Krayzee & RXsP) via Lariat to RXsP

We go straight to a second deathmatch as it’s time for tag teams and barbed-wire boards in one deliciously deadly bout. Australian legend Mad Dog and Michael Weaver were taking on RAW Beef in a deathmatch of epic proportions. Beef didn’t wait for an opening and attacked Mad Dog during the intros. Dog and Weaver quickly made them pay though by launching them with a Northern Lariat Northern Lights but Weaver was sent packing and Dog had a barbed-wire board dropkicked into him. 2Krayzee dived onto the duo and Weaver tried for a dive but 2Krayzee stopped him with a barbed-wire board to the everything. Mad Dog made RAW Beef butt heads and dived onto both with an apron cannonball. Mad Dog singled out 2Krayzee and locked on an abdominal stretch but 2Krayzee broke free and threw Dog into a barbed-wire board with a hip toss. RXsP made it worse by diving onto Dog and the wire-board with a massive splash. They then gave Weaver the barbed-wire board treatment with a Double Suplex. To make things even worse, they rubbed some hand sanitiser into Weaver’s cuts. 2Krayzee attempted a Swanton but Weaver moved and 2Krayzee got nothing but wire. Mad Dog attacked RXsP from behind and drove him face-first into the wire with a bulldog. He took a spike to 2Krayzee’s head and got a receipt from RXsP. Mad Dog tried to fire back in the corner but he got caught in a Samoan sandwich and got crushed alongside RAW Beef by Weaver. A four-way strike fest broke out and 2Krayzee wiped out Mad Dog with a pounce. Weaver took out 2Krayzee with a Black Hole Slam but couldn’t land a lariat as RXsP nailed him with a spinebuster. Mad Dog tried for a piledriver but RXsP reversed and drove him through a barbed-wire board with a Samoan Drop. Mad Dog was stuck so Weaver massacred RAW Beef with a chair. RXsP and Weaver collided, then Weaver took the win with a lethal lariat. This went hard, like really hard. These two teams tried to kill each other and probably knocked years off their lives for our entertainment here. At least they did it in an awesome match and not a dud.

Jake Andrewartha defeated Caveman Ugg via Infinite Death Triangle

We leave the weapons-based violence behind for a but and enter the realm of sheer physical brutality once again. Jake Andrewartha and Caveman Ugg were about to kill each other with their bare hands. Jake Andrewartha had demanded the best heavyweight and he had been given the one and only Caveman Ugg. Would Ugg be able to best the Final Boss? The pair started with a lock-up and reached a stalemate. They did the same with shoulder tackles and reached another stalemate. The pair started throwing bombs but neither man would go down. Caveman Ugg finally scored the first knockdown with a shotgun dropkick and launched the bigger man with a monkey flip. Andrewartha took a breather on the outside and Ugg gave chase, getting knocked down on the way back in. Andrewartha crushed Ugg in the corner and launched him with a hip toss, then locked Ugg up. Ugg bit free and dazed Andrewartha with a stiff headbutt. Ugg launched Andrewartha across the ring but his powerbomb was countered and he was put on the mat with a back body drop. Andrewartha tried to choke out Ugg with an Anaconda Vice but Ugg broke free and hopped on his back for a rear-naked choke. Andrewartha threw him over and demanded the ref make a ten-count. Ugg woke up and the pair traded horrendous chops. This exchange just got meaner and meaner until both men went down with a double clothesline. Ugg gave Andrewartha another bite and hammered him back to the mat. Andrewartha caught a kick into an Achilles lock but Ugg caught him with the Boulder Smash stomp. Andrewartha fought back up and dropped Ugg with a rolling senton and posed only to be hit with a Tour of the Caves (thanks commentary.) Ugg went for a second rope Moonsault but Andrewartha caught it into a Triangle or the Infinite Death as it’s called and made Ugg pass out. Andrewartha had to use all his cunning to win here but he was genuinely able to put Ugg away and did it without cheating. This match was a stiff masterpiece and once again, full of wince-inducing strikes. If you wanted to see two tough bastards batter each other, you got your wish here.

100 Light-Tube Deathmatch: Damian Rivers defeated Callen Butcher via Super Bundle Crossface

Last but not least, the main event. 100 light-tubes, one guy who wants more deathmatches, and one guy who will do anything to defend the art-form he loves. Does that sound like the makings of a great match, because it totally should? Butcher wanted to make a name for himself in the world of deathmatches, Rivers was going to gatekeep that and force him to work for it. Butcher started things technically, barring an arm and locking on a side headlock. A slugfest broke out and the pair traded tube shots. Rivers whipped Butcher into the tubes and Butcher answered back with a pounce, sending River’s back-first into tubes too. Butcher continued to break tubes over Rivers and dropped him with a Uranage into another submission. Rivers bit free and took the tubes to Butcher. He’d smash them over Butcher, then carve the fragments into his skull. The fight broke to the outside and Rivers continued to punish Butcher, stabbing his arm and breaking a bundle over his back. The fight returned to the ring and Rivers cut up Butcher with the blade off a cling-film box. Butcher was able to snatch the box off him and gave Rivers the same treatment. He tried to charge with a tube but Rivers tripped him into the turnbuckle and curb-stomped Butcher through a bunch of tubes. Rivers hit Three Amigos and tried for a Crossface but Butcher escaped and downed Rivers with a shoulder block. He hit a second and hopped over the ropes to smash a large number of tubes onto Rivers’ back. Butcher kept up the pressure and broke a tube over his head and ground the debris into Rivers’ head. He dragged another bundle into the ring and drove Rivers through them with a Brainbuster. Rivers ducked a bundle Executioner elbow and broke the bundle over Butcher’s head. He hit the Cactus Piledriver and after multiple failed pin attempts, tied up Butcher with cling wrap. Butcher’s hands were trapped behind his back and Rivers broke tube after tube over him until he climbed to the top for a Swanton and Butcher rolled away. Butcher scrambled to the top and connected with a Coffin Drop but only got two. He rolled in another bundle and dumped Rivers on it with a Saito Suplex and hit the tube Executioner elbow but adrenaline caused Rivers to kick out at one. A tube duel broke out and Rivers hit a Rainmaker, then tried to suffocate Butcher with cling film and killed off Butcher with a super bundle to the head into a Crossface.

Butcher had come into this match a nobody, I hope he left feeling like a somebody. Both guys went through hell here and took ungodly amounts of punishment. That was a main-event worthy match and one hell of a way to close your first show. The air in the building became 70% spooky dust and glass particles. Both guys put on one hell of a show-closer and ended DMDU’s debut on a very high note. I cannot wait to see what they do next. I had fun being introduced to an almost all-new roster and seeing just how good Australian wrestling can be whilst doing it all the right way. Plus, they had one hell of a commentary team calling the action. You can bet that DMDU will be on SteelChair’s pages as long as they’re putting their product out. This is definitely a company to watch and one that left one hell of a bloody mess in its wake. Until next time, watch this show if you haven’t already. It had everything you could want and more. Callen Butcher said it best, “Tonight we truly proved that deathmatch is back down under.”

All images courtesy of DMDU Twitter, Digital Beard Owen Jones, Jake Hurdle,