WARNING: STRONG VIOLENCE AND LANGUAGE AHEAD

Welcome back to ICW NHB and the first instance of the chains in Texas. We have Nightmares returning from a long time ago, more Texas deathmatch action, AKIRA getting a dream match with MASADA, ICW deciding its next number one contender with a triple-threat between Orin Veidt, Dale Patricks, and Eric Ryan but who will they face when it’s over? Well, we’ll see who’s left standing after the main event when Sadika gets a rematch against John Wayne Murdoch. Carnage is coming so strap in as we get into the violence.

Fights, Camera, Action

Heavy Metal Wrestling Showcase: Aaron Mercer defeated Great Scott via Gotch Style Piledriver

Up first was some surprise Texas deathmatch as Great Scott and Aaron Mercer took to the chains for a proper ICW welcome. They’d both come up short in their Pit efforts and now they were going to kill each other for that all-important debut win. They opened with hard strikes as the pair chopped the shit out of each other around the ring. Scott went to the eyes and broke the first tube of the show across Mercer’s midsection. A cookie sheet DDT followed and Scott broke a monster bundle on Mercer’s back with a springboard double stomp. He went to the gussets and took the time to set up a door. Mercer kicked back and hit a Package Shoulder Breaker into a Fujiwara Armbar but Scott escaped with another tube. Mercer got in another sneak submission with a chain Triangle but Scott swatted him with a tack bat. Scott charged and Mercer dumped him through the door with a back body drop. It was Mercer’s turn to carve as he cut up Scott with a broken tube and took a razor to Scott’s chest. He threw Mercer back in the ring for that and the pair slugged it out. Scott thought he had Mercer rocked with an Enzuigiri but Mercer came running back with a high knee. Mercer taught Scott how to hammer in a gusset and Scott put Mercer through a barbed-wire door with a Monkey Flip. He dragged Mercer out of the wreckage and whipped him with the wire stuck to his hair and body. Scott tried for the win with a Saito but Mercer fought through and hit a compact Gotch-Style Piledriver for the win. He had fought through all of Scott’s fuckery and technicality to score his first ICW win. Both guys knocked it out of the park here with Scott being the calculated villain and Mercer the tough-as-nails landing the win with barbed-wire in his hair.

Justin Kyle defeated Brandon Kirk (w/Kasey Kirk) via Kirk Sandwich

.@KillJustinKyle hits the Kirks over their heads with light tube bundles while they're distracted by Scott Norton!#NHB17 @ICWNHB @indiewrestling
▶️https://t.co/d3DddxfYzx pic.twitter.com/DmCjgGqZLm

— Rob (@HeyyImRob) August 15, 2021

Next up was the ICW Super Beast taking on the most-hated duo in ICW not called 44OH! The “fuck the Kirks” chants were louder than ever as Kyle planned to fuck up the Kirks with all the fuckery left around. Especially since we now had Cowboy Brandon Kirk. That wasn’t the only thing new as Kirk struck first with “Kit Osbourne Approved” Pocket Sand. He went for more but Kyle trapped his arm and made him pour it into his own eyes. They chopped it out with Kyle giving Kirk free shots as he felt nothing. When Kirk didn’t satisfy, he threw him through a door. They squared up again with Kyle promising another round of fists but a psyche out later saw Kyle beating the shit out of Kirk again. This mocking beatdown continued as Kyle just kept slugging and kicking as Kirk tried to defend himself. Kasey came to the rescue and actually landed a series of hits into a DDT. Brandon brained him with a chair and cut into Kyle with a saw. He threw that aside and went to work on the head again with a cheese grater. Kyle woke up, blocked, and gave Kyle another beating. He got distracted though and Kirk dropped him with a short piledriver then abused him with lariats. Kyle refused to die so Kasey brought out the tubes and helped him set up a door. Kirk was ready to kill but the crowd got to him and he started shit-talking instead until a familiar tune hit. Scott Norton came out and kept the Kirks’ attention so Kyle could blast both with tubes. He slammed Kasey onto Brandon and the door to take the win. Scott Norton had saved the day and helped another fighter take out the Kirks. The cameo was fun as was the match.

Neil Diamond Cutter & Satu Jinn defeated Nightmare Freddy & Danny Demanto via Double Bundle Splash to Demanto

1,2 Freddy’s coming for you. 3,4 better lock your door. 5,6 grab your crucifix. Okay, Satu Jinn and Neil Diamond Cutter ignored that step in favour of BOB and a cane knife. They were in for one hell of an odd fight as Nightmare Freddy returned from the dreams of W*NG to terrorise ICW alongside the boss Danny Demanto. This was going to get wild. The Nightmare team instantly charged and attacked Cutter and Jinn with a chair and tube crutch. All the combatants broke to the outside as Demanto broke more tubes on Jinn and Freddy went after Cutter. Jinn and Demanto kept breaking tubes and cutting with the cane knife as Freddy dragged Cutter into the abyss of the crowd. Fuckery broke everywhere as Freddy went for chairs and Jinn traded constantly with Demanto. Cutter was bombed through a door and Freddy felt tacks as Jinn introduced him to a tack bat. Freddy didn’t shy away from the violence as he broke a bundle on Jinn’s back and Demanto tried to one-up that with a firecracker bat to Cutter’s back. The action kept coming thick and fast as no one stayed down for a second. It was plunder hit after plunder hit with no reprieve. Jinn nearly got deafened as Demanto broke a firecracker board on him and hit Cutter in the kidney with a firecracker nunchuck. Freddy tried to choke out Jinn and Cutter fought Demanto back to the ring. They fought around a door and Cutter took control with a Violence party into a Cutter. He tried to climb up for a splash but Demanto drove him through the door with a Gonzo Bomb. Jinn threw Freddy away and the pair tried to double-team Demanto. They set a super bundle onto Demanto and ended things with a double splash. They had fought the Nightmare and taken a big win over the boss here. What a crazy little war of a match.

MASADA defeated AKIRA via Chair-Trapped Head Kick

Time to get serious. AKIRA was about to get another dream opponent as he took on the Ultraviolent Beast MASADA. This was going to be another test for the hybrid deathmatch Samurai as MASADA has all his own brand of technical violence to throw at him. They opened with chain wrestling as MASADA made AKIRA play his mat game. The grappling kept going as both guys kept trading holds and pin attempts. MASADA broke the streak with multiple chair shots and choked out AKIRA against the chains. AKIRA came back with a tube to the back and a stabbing Crossface with a shard. The fight fell outside and MASADA came back with a slam through chairs then smashed it over AKIRA until it was nothing but mangled wreckage. AKIRA remained as resourceful as ever though as he tripped MASADA onto a chair and cut him up with a broken can. He levelled MASADA with a dropkick and MASADA kicked more chairs into him. MASADA dragged AKIRA back to the ring and powerbombed him onto a chair but couldn’t get the win as AKIRA locked on a Triangle and DDT’ed onto an open chair. AKIRA retrieved his bullets that bite and jabbed them into MASADA’s head before sending them flying back out with a running forearm. MASADA got pissed and knocked AKIRA around with more knees and kicks to give him the skewers. AKIRA tried to kick back again so MASADA stabbed him in the leg and gave him another round to the forehead. He dropped AKIRA on his head with a Brainbuster for a two-count and locked on a face-raking Camel Clutch. With there being no submissions, MASADA dropped the hold and ended things with the chair-trapped head kick for the win. AKIRA had given MASADA hell but as per, when it comes to battling the Beast, very few make it out alive.

SHLAK defeated Scot Summers via Fuckery Pile Brainbuster

The unexpected surprises keep on coming as SHLAK was about to go to war with forgotten fighter Scot Summers. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Summers in action so this was going to be an interesting one for sure. He certainly seemed game to enter the Human Meat Grinder. They started with arm-drags and quickly escalated to throwing each other through doors. The fuckery kept breaking on the outside as SHLAK nailed Summers with tubes and chairs. Summers hammered back and Suplexed SHLAK onto the concrete. SHLAK went after Summers’ leg and took a beer to the head for his troubles. They duelled with chairs and SHLAK tried to break an arm. They kept rolling around the floor with Summers trying for a Crossface and SHLAK exploiting the damaged leg. It was an oddly technical, blood and beer-soaked brawl as Summers and SHLAK mixed submissions with fists and chairs. SHLAK went back to the tubes with a mega bundle to the back and Summers cut him up with a broken tube. They returned to the ring and SHLAK murdered Summers with a broken door. Summer nailed SHLAK low and stabbed back again for a chair DDT. SHLAK threw more tubes at Summers and broke another bundle into Summers’ head with a Polish Hammer. He shit-canned Summers for a two-count and despite not being able to stand, Summers came at SHLAK with a plastic bag. The bag broke and SHLAK pelted Summers with even more tubes. He kept smashing things off Summers and ended things with a Fuckery Pile Brainbuster. This was awesome even if Summers was limited to fighting on the ground for most of it. I’m not sure what went wrong but he had difficulty standing forcing them to improvise this oddly technical mess of a match.

#1 Contender’s Match: Dale Patricks defeated Eric Ryan & Orin Veidt via Roll-up on Ryan

.@OrinVeidt assault drivers Patricks onto Ryan and through a door!#NHB17 @ICWNHB @indiewrestling
▶️https://t.co/d3DddxfYzx pic.twitter.com/hdBCKDe1Rf

— Rob (@HeyyImRob) August 15, 2021

Let’s raise the stakes a bit. Next up was the #1 Contender’s triple-threat as three of ICW’s best battled it out for a shot at the ICW American Deathmatch Title. The Deathmatch Jackass, Dale Patricks looked to take his win-streak even higher whilst The Wizard King, Orin Veidt and the 2021 King of the Deathmatch, Eric Ryan looked to keep that from happening. It was all to play for in this one with any player a genuine winner. Patricks and Veidt formed a temporary alliance to get rid of Ryan, dumping him through a door with a double-arm drag. With Ryan temporarily out of the picture they went into a technical exchange and smashed bundles of each other. Veidt flipped out of a Chokeslam to deliver a head kick and Ryan returned to shotgun dropkick a bundle into Veidt, sending him flying into Patricks. Ryan brutalised Patricks with tubes and kept Veidt at bay with a tube boot. Ryan stopped playing with Patricks and took the tubes to Veidt too. Patricks didn’t enjoy being ignored and took out Ryan with a powerslam. He smashed some bundles on Ryan but Ryan blocked another and kneed a bundle into Patricks’ guts. Veidt avoided more attacks and dropped Ryan onto Patricks with Total Anarchy.  He targeted Ryan further with a tube Falcon Arrow and sent Patricks crashing into him and a door with an Assault Driver. Patricks somehow got his shoulder up so he and Veidt had a tube duel. Ryan got sick of spectating and attacked both. Patricks chokeslammed him and Suplexed Veidt before setting up a door for a Tiger Driver. Ryan broke up the pin with more tubes and swung Veidt into Patricks for a tube-breaking Senton. Patricks saved Veidt from the Snuff Stomps and took the win with a roll-up on Ryan. The Deathmatch Jackass just pulled off a smart win and has now booked himself the next title shot over two of the best. Though which champion will he be fighting…?

ICW American Deathmatch Title: John Wayne Murdoch defeated Sadika via Chair Brainbuster

This didn't work out too well for Sadika, but @TheDukeJWM's tailbone has gotta hurt!#NHB17 @ICWNHB @indiewrestling
▶️https://t.co/d3DddxfYzx pic.twitter.com/TIVpoovGfP

— Rob (@HeyyImRob) August 15, 2021

Oh boy, here comes a hurricane of violent bullshit. The last time John Wayne Murdoch met Sadika, things got chaotic and messy as the pair brawled around the Atlantic City. This time, they were confined to a smaller venue with just as much fuckery. This was going to be a mess as we saw what it took to keep the Queen of Extreme down last time. Sadika blindsided Murdoch with a bundle during his introduction and dropkicked a second into his back. She kept breaking bundles on Murdoch and ran into a super tube. He started swinging back and broke a whole load of super tubes on her. They took shots from a tack guitar and kept throwing bombs at each other, breaking yet more bundles in a pissed-off frenzy. A bundle platform was set up and Murdoch smashed Sadika repeatedly with a chair. They fought on the stage and ended up crashing through the bundle platform, Sadika getting the worst of it. She hit Murdoch in the balls and set up more violent fuckery. She threw Murdoch up the stage and battled around a door. Murdoch pounced Sadika off the stage and dumped another bucketload of tubes on her. Even that didn’t stop Sadika’s fire as she broke more tubes on him and dragged him around the venue. They finally made it back to the ring and Sadika broke more giant tubes with a corner Somato. Murdoch refused to die and tanked a roundhouse kick to deliver a lethal boot then ended things with one final insult and a chair Brainbuster. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Murdoch that pissed off. There was a very off vibe with this whole match as the two seemed to want to legitimately kill each other. I’m all for realism but that gets very out-of-hand quickly in deathmatches. When the bloodlust settled, Sadika acted like an honourable loser and stood sentinel to Murdoch and his next challenger, Dale Patricks. They ended the show with a banger but damn, it seemed a tough time to be in the front row.

Best of the Bloodletting

• So, the Texas deathmatch scene came to play and showed the fuck out this weekend. Aaron Mercer and Great Scott showcased themselves and Heavy Metal Wrestling with their exceptional matches and hopefully get to make the trip to more ICW shows.
• It wasn’t the cleanest match ever but holy shit was it cool to see Nightmare Freddy in action. I loved W*NG back in the day and seeing him in action again was pretty damn cool. ICW has a habit of putting on weird matches that are messy fun to watch.
• AKIRA and MASADA put on a short if sweet battle of new and old-school hybrid deathmatch fighting. It wasn’t the bloodiest bout but it hit hard and showcased the best of both fighters. MASADA seems to respect AKIRA as this fight was more even than recent battles he’s had. Give me more of these two as there’s clearly chemistry and a whole lot of possibilities.
• Despite the circumstances of the match, Scot Summers vs SHLAK turned into a technically sound brawl. It was entertaining to watch and it was nice to see Scot Summers get another ovation despite being gone for years.
• Fuck yeah Dale Patricks! The Jackass has just become the number one contender in a match that was very heavily against him. Ryan and Veidt brought the fight but he managed to pick his moment and come away the winner.

What Comes Next?

• I hope to see a return of the Texas talent as Aaron Mercer and Great Scott proved to be amazing additions to the roster and killed it in their matches. Part of me is curious to see who’d be hated more between Great Scott and the Kirks.
• Nightmare Freddy was such an out of left field fighter to bring into the ICW fold. I can’t help but be left wondering if there’s going to be more blasts from the past coming back for another fight.
• AKIRA lost again this weekend. Despite top-tier efforts in both matches, he can’t seem to pick up wins. He’s finding new ways to punish and torture, it’s only a matter of time before everything lines up and the Catch x Death Samurai gets the win streak we know he’s capable of.
• John Wayne Murdoch managed to keep his title and vanquish Sadika but it definitely took a toll. Now he has to focus on his next contender, Dale Patricks who will provide his own unique brand of challenge when the time comes.

.@TheDukeJWM sends Sadika off the stage and through a door!#NHB17 @ICWNHB @indiewrestling
▶️https://t.co/d3DddxfYzx pic.twitter.com/stDzIsmhUF

— Rob (@HeyyImRob) August 15, 2021

All images courtesy of ICW, FREEBIRDS_Shop, HeyyImRob