WARNING: STRONG VIOLENCE AND LANGUAGE AHEAD

Welcome back to ICW NHB and the final part of the Boardwalk Budz wrestling bonanza. We were back in the Pitfighter cage for another round of new faces, new matchups, and pure unadulterated violence. In this mega card, we’d see, Masha Slamovich make her Pitfighter debut against Kimber Lee, Grim Reefer vs Nolan Edward, Big Beef debuting against Tony Deppen, Max the Impaler coming out of the wasteland to lay waste to Brandon Kirk and so much more leading to the main event where AKIRA goes one-on-one with the Duke once again. Let’s get into the carnage.

Fights, Camera, Action

Nolan Edward defeated Grim Reefer via Door Pile Drill Bit

GRIM REEFER STAYS SMOKING #PFX8 pic.twitter.com/YcOi2AZ9tL

— Tripping Balls (@IsThisWrestling) June 28, 2021

The show started by putting the high in highlight as the master of blunt-based aerial action the Grim Reefer made his appearance. He was against Nolan Edward, who was looking to rebound after the Bentley beating, he took yesterday. Would Reefer also seal his doom or would Edward rise to the occasion? They opened technically with both guys trading mat momentum. Reefer tried to win with a knuckle-lock pin but Edward’s bridge was too strong. Reefer took the fight outside and battered Edward off the cage and around the fans. He climbed up the cage and lit up before diving onto Edward with a diving senton. Edward threw Reefer across the floor and sent him flying with a chop. The pair traded chops and Reefer sent Edward flying with a running dropkick. Mittens was once again taken out as Edward used him as a human shield during more back-and-forth brawling around the venue. Reefer chopped Nolan back towards the cage and all but threw him through the door. Once they both were back inside, Reefer grabbed Edward by the throat and just hammered him off the cage. Edward tried to fire back but ate metal again as Reefer suplexed him into the cage. He hit Edward with a chair but gave him a breather setting up a door and got a taste of the mat as Edward dropped him with a Suplex. Edward was bounced off the cage again and Reefer added another door to the mix. He locked on a choke but Edward used the cage to escape and the pair fought up to a ladder platform. They hit some back-and-forth with Edward pulling out the win with a Drill-Bit into the doors. This had been a fun if clunky opener with a whole lot of brawling. Reefer got to fly high still and Edward finishes his weekend with a win over another indie legend.

Tony Deppen defeated “Big Beef” Gnarls Garvin via Door Shard Stabbing

BIG BEEF KILLED THE TELEVISION STAR #PFX8 pic.twitter.com/psKPLkreIk

— Tripping Balls (@IsThisWrestling) June 28, 2021

BEEF is here! Big Beef is a brawling, trash-talking, shit-tossing monster perfect for the Pit and he was finally getting his shot. This monumental moment was somewhat overshadowed by the fact his first fight would be against the Gatekeeper, Tony Deppen. A win would be massive here but against Deppen nothing is certain. Deppen started cocky and ran Beef around the cage. Things threatened to get technical, then Beef just shit-tossed Deppen into the cage. Beef started kneeing and hammering away but Deppen dodged a charge and Beef ate steel. Deppen started throwing bombs but Beef just walked at him like a trailer park Terminator and powerbombed him into the cage. The pair kept trading but every time Deppen tried to tee off, Beef ate it and unloaded more punishment. He stunned them both with rabid headbutts and Deppen forearmed Beef into an attempted Cross Armbreaker. Beef muscled Deppen up and just murdered him against the cage again. He gave Deppen more crushing knee strikes and tried for the Beefy Bomb but splatted against the cage. Deppen kneed the life out of Beef and the fight was called off by the ref. Both guys hated the decision so the fight reset. The pair resumed throwing hands and Deppen winded Beef with a double stomp. He lit Beef up with elbows but took his eye off the ball and got dumped through a door with an Exploder. Beef piled Deppen against the cage and nailed him with the Beefy Bomb. That got two and Deppen dodged a chair to land a Superman Punch. Beef went Terminator mode through door shots but Deppen reversed his Chokeslam. Beef kept control with a back-fist and set up a ladder. He walked the cage and tried for a splash but Deppen moved and Beef ate shit. Deppen assaulted Beef with KO Knees until finally a chair knee, Deppen lost his patience and stabbed Beef with a door shard until he stayed down. This was fucking incredible. Beef owned the cage and the fight, making Deppen work from below like never before. He might not have won but he bled for this fight and gave it his best. A masterful display from both fighters.

Max the Impaler defeated Brandon Kirk (w/Kasey Kirk) via Barbed- Wire Wasteland Slam

.@_theyaremax_ spears Brandon Kirk through a door!#PFX8 @ICWNHB @indiewrestling
▶️https://t.co/d3DddxfYzx pic.twitter.com/h5dRhzZeyj

— Rob (@HeyyImRob) June 28, 2021

The Pitfighter cage was about to become the Thunderdome as Max the Impaler had steeped out of the wasteland to impose their will on ICW. Their first victim had been one who loves to run his mouth, Brandon Kirk. How was he going to do here against someone so thorough in lawless combat? Kirk tried to start with a staredown but Max grabbed him by the head and threw him through a door. Kasey tried to interfere but Max stunned her with a headbutt and choked her out across their shoulders. Brandon tried to hit Max with a chair, realised he’d fucked up, and screamed as they bit into his hand, stuck a forearm in his back, and speared him through another door. Max trapped Kirk in a trashcan and just hammered down on it, crushing the can and Kirk. They terrified everyone at home by staring into the camera and got knocked loopy as Kirk whacked them with a tack bat, pelted them with a chair, and broke a door over their head. He fed Max a cockroach and set up a barbed-wire board. Max threw the door part right back at Kirk and had their face raked as Kirk begged for mercy. He tried for a DVD but Max wiggled free, locked on a Sleeper, and clubbed Kirk into a Wasteland Slam onto the wired door. That snuffed out Kirk and gave Max a victory on their debut. They had come, seen, and conquered the first offering. May it be the first of many more. Max belongs here and withstood Kirk’s cheap tricks to murder him.

Dan Maff defeated Satu Jinn via Backdrop Driver

Satu Jinn with a Uranage to Dan Maff through the door #PFX8 pic.twitter.com/EeA7EQLPYT

— Tripping Balls (@IsThisWrestling) June 28, 2021

Who’s up for a battle of the big boys? The Uncivil Satu Jinn was back for round three of the weekend and was about to risk life and limb against the King of the North Dan Maff. I’m not even sure the cage could hold these two. They opened with heavy hands as the pair went shot for shot, Jinn managing to stun Maff with palm strikes and a throat thrust. Maff chopped back and crushed Jinn with a cannonball. They played catch with a chair and Jinn choked Maff out so he could bite him. Maff threw Jinn into the cage again and Jinn took Maff out with a seated crossbody. Jinn staggered Maff again and threw him through a door with a Samoan Drop. He beat Maff with the door and made the terrible mistake of waking Maff up with shots to the head. Maff swung back and smashed the remainder of the door in Jinn’s face. Jinn headbutted back and put Maff through another door with a Uranage. The Death Majin set up a guardrail and kept Maff stunned with a Kokeshi. He set up a chair platform and the ref temporarily called off the fight as the cops had been called. When things were settled the pair resumed with a chair shot duel. Jinn got the better of it and broke the guardrail and Maff with a DVD. Jinn looked to introduce the cane knife to Maff but Maff had other ideas, hitting him in the balls and tried for the burning hammer. Jinn was too much for that so Maff folded him up with a Backdrop Driver and took the win. Despite the mid-match disturbance, this turned out to be a pretty good match. It’s nice to see someone square up to Maff and knock him down a peg on the way Jinn could. It would have been nice to have one fluid match but shit happens and the pair managed to deal with it.

Kimber Lee defeated Masha Slamovich via Door Powerbomb

It was time for the second women’s fight of the weekend as Kimber Lee was back for her second pit fight. Her opponent was someone she was familiar with and a bit more stable than Sadika though she couldn’t for a second think she was any less dangerous. It was time for round three with the Russian Dynamite Masha Slamovich. This time there were no rules to stop them from tearing each other apart. They opened with a slugfest and took a seat for a good old barfight. Slamovich brought the kicks out so Lee booted her through her seat. Lee choked her out with a chair and smashed her face into the floor. Slamovich came back with a chair to the back and tried to pull Lee’s face apart, biting into her forehead. Lee tried to go for a whip but Slamovich put the block on and sent Lee on a tour of the cage walls, grinding Lee’s face into the steel. The pair traded shots from a snap bat and Lee kicked a trashcan lid into Slamovich’s head. Slamovich had her face ground against the steel and got pissed off when Lee licked her blood. She gave Lee more shots to the head and trapped her in a trashcan for a spinning heel kick. Slamovich tried for a straight-up choke and took Lee on another tour of the cage walls before driving her through a door with an Assault Driver. Lee refused to stay down and dodged the White Night Driver and a running knee to powerbomb Slamovich through another door. The Alligator Pin followed and Slamovich was out for the count. Kimber Lee had celebrated her birthday by taking the final win in their best of three and had left Slamovich a bloody mess. It had been a ferocious fight with both competitors making the other suffer.

Dale Patricks defeated Kevin Giza via Stage Chokeslam

Time for Dale Patricks to end his weekend on a high note. He’d already had three fights this weekend and now he was going to round it off with a pit fight against All Balls Kevin Giza. Could the deathmatch Jackass end the weekend by beating the weed hater? Patricks started strong and bounced Giza off the cage. He blasted Giza in the head with a sign and Giza bounced him off the cage after hitting his injured foot. They nailed each other with fuckery and Giza moved the cage with a DVD. Giza kept causing trouble and went to the foot whenever he needed a way out. Patricks tried to come back with tray shots but Giza downed him again with a dropkick. He followed up with a hesitation dropkick against the cage and woke Patricks up, earing a pummelling with chops and a crutch for his troubles. Patricks crushed Giza’s windpipe and tried to set up a seated strike but Giza used the chair for a double stomp. Giza put on an ankle lock and regretted the decision when Patricks hit him with a tack jug. The pair had a gusset barfight and Giza smashed Patricks with a sign again. He laid out Patricks on a door and jumped off the stage to put him through it. That wasn’t enough so Giza went for the flipping Lungblower but Patricks crushed him in the cage. The Tiger Driver followed but only got a two-count. Patricks exposed the concrete floor of the venue and pelted Giza with a bloodied chair. He set up a barbed-wire door and the pair brawled to the stage. Patricks hit Giza in the “all balls” and threw him off the stage and through the door with a Chokeslam. Giza was knocked out and the match was called off. Dale Patricks had ended the weekend with another win and done it with a broken foot. He’d run the four-show stretch and now I think he’ll be back a lot more often. What a match.

Neil Diamond Cutter defeated Reed Bentley via Honey Badger Splash

Regal-plex onto a door covered in carpet strips from @TheReedBentley!#PFX8 @ICWNHB @indiewrestling
▶️https://t.co/d3DddxfYzx pic.twitter.com/B5j26RGwkS

— Rob (@HeyyImRob) June 28, 2021

Here comes the Honey Badger. Let Sweet Caroline play one final time this weekend and let the blood fly again as Neil Diamond Cutter was ending the weekend against Reed Bentley. This was going to be a wild fight as both guys are completely wild as they were surrounded by carpet strips. They opened with punches and Bentley threw a skateboard at Cutter before pulling off some sick tricks. Cutter nailed them both with the board and Bentley broke him across a chair. He dropped Cutter on more chairs and brought out the strips. Cutter created some separation with a snap bat and headbutted a gusset into him. Bentley pulled it out and chopped it into Cutter’s chest. He broke a strip bundle on Cutter and dumped him on another pile of them with a DVD. Cutter couldn’t catch a break as Bentley threw him through a strip door and assaulted Cutter with every type of fuckery. Cutter tried to mount a comeback but Bentley just knocked him right back down with a strip sword. He tried for a senton but Cutter dodged and Bentley got a back full of strips. He pushed the strips into Bentley’s gut with a step-up senton and a hockey fight broke out. Cutter got the best of it with a Violence party into a Saito and brought out a chair for the senton combo and moonsault. They danced around a strip door and Bentley dumped Cutter on it with a Regal-Plex. Cutter fought out of the Tiger Driller and broke the door with a Hurricanrana. He nailed a Cutter and leaned the strip door on Bentley before climbing to the top. He hit the Honey Badger Splash and took the win. Cutter had just gotten another massive win in the Pit. He’d taken all the abuse Bentley could dish out and bested him in carpet-strip hell. This was awesome and if he wasn’t already, Cutter is definitely a made man with a win like that.

ICW American Deathmatch Championship: John Wayne Murdoch via Glass Pane Brainbuster

Last but not least, the main event. This was originally going to be non-title action but as always, things can change and Danny Demanto made this an official title match. Murdoch was now going to have to defend his title against his Reject blood brother, the dangerous Death Samurai AKIRA. Was there about to be an upset in the Pit? The tubes instantly smashed as AKIRA broke a bundle on Murdoch and carved himself up to show his inner strength. AKIRA kept cutting Murdoch with the glass and broke more tubes over him. Things went from bad to worse as AKIRA took knives to Murdoch and charged. Murdoch blinded him with a bundle to the face, then threw him through a board. AKIRA snapped Murdoch’s arm to the mat and christened a glass pane with his blood and Murdoch’s back with more tubes. AKIRA was juggling fuckery so Murdoch took advantage with a backbreaker and threw AKIRA through a glass pane. He broke a bundle over AKIRA’s head and gave him a couple of jabs before throwing him ribs first into a knife board. More tubes broke and Murdoch hammered AKIRA with a caution sign on a stick. AKIRA walked through the blows and knocked Murdoch across the cage with a rolling elbow. Murdoch got pummelled by a sign on a stick and went back after AKIRA with a super bundle. AKIRA broke free of the Brainbuster and smashed Murdoch with a water jug before driving him through a tube chair with the Snow Plough. AKIRA kept swinging with the jug outside and Murdoch did the same. The pair kept trading shots as they fought among the fans, AKIRA accidentally waking Murdoch up with chest kicks. After a nasty headbutt, AKIRA kept Murdoch seated long enough for the Helluva Kick. They returned to the cage for a tube duel and switched to punches when the tubes ran out. AKIRA chopped the shit out of Murdoch and ate the Brainbuster but managed to get back up at two. He spat red mist at Murdoch and nailed Sudden Death but Murdoch too kicked out at two. He broke more tubes in Murdoch’s face and hit him with the world’s toughest glass pane. The biting bullets came out and AKIRA stabbed them into Murdoch’s head. He tried for the Gotch but Murdoch fought out and ended things with the Brainbuster through the glass. It had been a long and bloody battle but the Duke had retained.

Best of the Bloodletting

.@TheDukeJWM busts a giant light tube bundle over AKIRA's head!#PFX8 @ICWNHB @indiewrestling
▶️https://t.co/d3DddxfYzx pic.twitter.com/EI9qSbJrJc

— Rob (@HeyyImRob) June 28, 2021

• Big Beef and Tony Deppen had a first-class fight. Beef looked right at home in the cage and brought every bit of fury he is known for. It was a messy, violent, fuck you fest of hard shots and harder landings. Definitely one of the best Pit-fights of the weekend.
• I am beyond happy to see Max the Impaler not only kill it in the Pit but to see the crowd thoroughly love them for it. It was an excellent fight, against the perfect opponent and made the right statement. Max is here and they don’t fuck about it. You’ve let the Wasteland into your home and now it will consume you all.
• The women keep killing it this weekend as Kimber Lee and Masha Slamovich had one hell of a fight. They kept up the intensity of the event and tried to maim each other throughout the fight. Both are natural fits for ICW and should signal the need to start bringing more women into the company.
• Giza vs Patricks was an insanely fun fight to watch and I’m glad to see Dale Patricks getting the big four-show stretch to show what he can do. He should be back for good now and I hope to hell they bring Giza back too as he has a unique personality and a whole lot of skill.
• Once again, the Rejects put on another belter of a fight against each other. It was an excellent battle of new vs old school as AKIRA spent a lot of the fight running rings around Murdoch. It was a drawn-out bloody war with AKIRA showing he’s deadlier than ever, one year on from his roof jump. It terrifies me to think what he’ll be like after another. This ended the weekend on a high note and makes me excited for AKIRA and Murdoch’s next battles.

What Happens Next?

CHOKESLAM OFF THE STAGE, OVER THE CAGE, THROUGH THE BARBED-WIRE DOOR TO THE FLOOR #PFX8 pic.twitter.com/JkgOlENx8l

— Tripping Balls (@IsThisWrestling) June 28, 2021

• Nolan Edward is done with deathmatches. He didn’t start in the company doing them so I hope he keeps going with ICW easing back to hardcore bouts and giving himself the wrestling showcases he wants to put on. The carnival is still wanted in ICW.
• Bring Beef back. Never has a guy looked quite so ready for Pitfighter or No Hold Barred combat quite like Gnarls Garvin. I hope ICW management brings him back for more fights in the future. This also needs to be said for Max the Impaler who went above and beyond in their match to murder Brandon Kirk. If they are brought back, I’d love to see the other Wastelanders, Leon Scott and Heidi Howitzer appear too.
• ICW really needs to keep the women’s fights going. They have shown success through this weekend and there are countless women who could thrive in the pit or amongst the chains. It just seems like good business to keep bringing them back. The Pit welcomes all comers after all.
• John Wayne Murdoch is really compiling a list of challengers. He just narrowly kept the title against Sadika, narrowly kept the title against AKIRA, and now has Justin Kyle and Neil Diamond Cutter calling him out for title shots. That title has a whole lot of interest.

All images courtesy of ICW, RIKA_FREEBIRDS/FREEBIRDS Shop, IsThisWrestling, HeyyImRob