WARNING: STRONG VIOLENCE AND LANGUAGE AHEAD

Welcome back to the wonderfully macabre world of ICW NHB. It’s been a while since we last saw the chains come to town and now, they’re in Michigan ready to get bloody. This first show was boasting a monster card full of returns, first-times, and one of the biggest main events to date. We’d see, Jimmy Jacobs vs Atticus Cogar, Mad Man Pondo vs Neil Diamond Cutter, The Rejects vs 44OH! war continue, the return of Jeff King, and much much more leading to the main event clash of the deathmatch titans between Sadika and Mickie Knuckles. It was time to make some gory history so let’s get into the carnage.

Fights, Camera, Action

AKIRA defeated Brandon Kirk (w/Kasey Kirk) via Gotch-Style Piledriver

The first match opened to the tones of Mariah Carey which could only mean one thing, the Kirks were in town. They got their usual reception from the ICW crowd as Brandon Kirk prepared for an impromptu fight with the Death Samurai AKIRA. He came to the ring ready to repeat history with the monkey clap but Kasey was too aware of it this time. Instead, he just waited until the introductions were over and threw a TV at her. Brandon wasn’t thrilled at this and went on the attack but AKIRA caught him with a matrix Pele and went right into a pummelling. He rolled Kirk into a Cross Armbreaker and tried to choke him out with a sleeper. AKIRA looked to run the chains but Kasey dragged him under and gave him the monkey clap, then kept smashing him with the trashcan lid. Brandon did the same and lobbed the TV at AKIRA too, karma was being a bitch. It was Kirk’s turn to show some technicality and after a face-rake dumped AKIRA on a record contraption with an X-Plex. He did the same again through a door and set up more record boards. The pair danced around the vinyl and AKIRA planted Kirk with a Michinoku Driver. A record duel broke out with even Kasey getting a record to the head for trying to interfere. He put Kirk through two more record boards with Exploders and blasted him with a Sleeper Suplex into a PK. Kasey made the save again and Brandon tried to finish things with the lariat and piledriver. Another door was set up but AKIRA dropkicked it into Kasey and ended Brandon with a Tornado DDT into the Gotch-Style Piledriver. The Death Samurai had managed to pick up another big win here in a proper strong-style bout.

Justin Kyle defeated Tank (w/Reverend Dan the Dragon Wilson) via Door Crash Choke

The big guys were up next as the Super-Fight Beast took on the Bloodbath Behemoth. Justin Kyle is borderline unstoppable in ICW but now he was meeting someone his size and just as brutal, Tank. Which giant was going to fall here? This very quickly became a bout of fists, kicks, and chain chokes. Both guys seemed content to beat the shit out of each other and ran with it for about nine minutes. Kyle sent Tank flying with a Spin Kick and door toss but wasn’t content with that and started a door hammer fight. They broke the doors across the other’s heads until there was nothing but splinters left. Tank found the equaliser with door shots to the groin and the straps, tape, and shirts came off for a chop exchange. Tank wore down Kyle with headbutts and nailed him in the groin again when he tried to take him down. Exhaustion took its toll as Tank ran out of gas and Kyle found new life as he could sense the tide turning. Just as Kyle looked to have Tank reeling, he speared him through a door. Kyle locked on a choke as he crashed through the door and put Tank to sleep amongst the wreckage. These two had pushed the other to the limit and in the battle of generational badasses, the new school took the day after a messy as hell fight.

Atticus Cogar defeated Jimmy Jacobs via Skewered Brain Haemorrhage

This next one was going to be something special. Atticus Cogar has been gunning for Jimmy Jacobs since this match was announced. He’s toyed with him however he can and now, there were no constraints to their fighting. This was going to be bloody. Jacobs was going old-school for this hometown fight but he seemed just as ready as ever once the bell rang. Cogar instantly tried for the skewers but Jacobs slapped him away and went for his spike. Cogar disarmed him with a forearm and tried for a quick win with a Suplex. He hung Jacobs out on the chains but Jacobs reached through and choked him out, taking them both to the floor. They brawled around ringside with their fist and whatever they could find until Cogar stunned Jacobs with a chair to the throat and ring post. Jacobs woke up angry and started smashing Cogar with every chair he could find. The fight returned to the ring and Cogar cut Jacobs off with his own spike. He cut Jacobs open and pulled out more skewers but Jacobs cut him off with the spike to the head. Jacobs kept stabbing Cogar’s head and threatened Cogar with his own skewers. Cogar tried for the Air Raid Crash but Jacobs rolled through into a Schoolboy Spear. He laid out Cogar on a door and climbed to the top to break both with a Senton Bomb. Jacobs tried to use the skewers again but Cogar hoisted him into the Air Raid Crash onto a chair. The pair traded more strikes with their weapons of choice until Cogar superkicked Jacobs into the Skewered Brain Haemorrhage for the win. What a fight. This was another excellent mix of new and old-school with Cogar reclaiming a loss from Jacobs.

Neil Diamond Cutter defeated Mad Man Pondo via Honey Badger Splash

It was time for another first time ever as Neil Diamond Cutter and Mad Man Pondo locked horns in a deathmatch. Despite their lengthy careers, neither man has had the pleasure of fighting each other yet. That was about to change. They started things with a gusset barfight, punching gussets into the other’s head until Pondo looked like a Cenobite. That turned into headbutts and Cutter breaker a cinderblock across Pondo’s knee with a bowling ball. Cutter went high but Pondo trapped him a tree of woe and hurled the bowling ball and stop sign at his trapped body. Things got worse with a Gourdbuster onto a tubed-up Hogan figure and a long streak of slashes across the forehead from scissors. That forehead got even more cuts as Pondo brought out the Sawblade Bat and gave the fans a show. Cutter fell so Pondo ran the bat up from crack to neck. Cutter was able to grab BOB and took the match back by stapling Pondo. He collected dollars but Pondo chokeslammed him and stapled the dollars to him instead. Pondo just kept finding new ways to hurt Cutter, be it a gusset to the back or a tube to the cock. Cutter came back with tube headbutts but it wasn’t to last as Pondo launched him into a ladder. He took more stop sign shots to the head and dropped him on a bundle with Catatonic. They punched it out and Cutter went fuckery crazy on Pondo. Again though, it didn’t last as Pondo threw Cutter through a spoon board. Cutter nailed the cutter and stunned Pondo with the Badger Bomb and Lionsault. He buried Pondo under more fuckery and won with the Honey Badger Splash. These two went to fucking war. It’s like they’d seen the violence quota hadn’t been met and made each other bleed buckets. This was pure violent fun from two veterans.

Dale Patricks defeated Jeff King via Bundle Chokeslam

"Nice to see ya Jeff, here's the fuckin door" – @DalePatricks #NHB18 pic.twitter.com/AY2neR0nzm

— Tripping Balls (@IsThisWrestling) October 2, 2021

Time for another classic as the Old Timer, Jeff King was back to play. He’d been gone a long time and now, he was going to put Dale Patricks through his paces before Patricks’ big title match on Day 2. The Old Timer is just as dangerous as anyone else on the card so Patricks was in for a tough match. Plus, it looked like Patricks was finally over that broken foot trouble that had been plaguing him. Things started fast with a Door-VD from Patricks and a load of door shots. He mutilated King with tack and snap bats, then got launched across the fan’s seats as King reversed a whip. They brawled through the crowd and Patricks brought the fight back to the ring to set up more doors. King tried to fly back into the action but he missed and splatted against the chains. They slugged it out and did the same with bundles. King gave Patricks a gusset to the head and weakened him with a bearhug before shunting him through a door. King set up a glass pane but it did him no good as Patricks put him through it with the White River Plunge. The Chokeslam onto a bundle came next and the match was won. Dale Patricks had made another statement before his impending match with the Duke. King had left a mark but the Deathmatch Jackass had definitely come out on the more dominant side of this one.

44OH! (Eric Ryan & Bobby Beverly) defeated The Rejects (John Wayne Murdoch & Satu Jinn) via La Magistral Headbutts on Murdoch

Some wars are just doomed to go on forever. That seems to be the case with 44OH! and the Rejects as both groups have continually battled to be the head group in ICW. That was going to happen again now as the King of the Company John Wayne Murdoch teamed up with Satu Jinn against 44OH!’s Young Studs, Eric Ryan and Bobby Beverly. Ryan was already throwing forks before the bell had even rung. This was just pure chaos from the get-go, both teams were continuously brawling and throwing fuckery at each other. We got more barbarity between Murdoch and Ryan as Murdoch drove Ryan into tubes and hit an early Brainbuster. That got a three but neither team was happy with that result. Ryan took a quick win with a Dragon Suplex but the match was once again restarted. The third time proved to be the charm as neither got a quick win and the violence was allowed to flow. Ryan and Murdoch were thrown into barbed-wire doors, allowing the Bev and Jinn to take centre stage. They nailed each other with blows and carpet strips, then everyone fell outside for more wild brawling. There was a lot to keep track of as both groups kept cutting, smashing into, and dropping the other with various fists and fuckery. We saw forks, the cane knife, and more come into play as the two teams continuously tried to one-up each other. It was just murder, murder, murder from bell to bell. The Bev blew minds with a Saito through the glass on Jinn and we saw Eric Ryan get another big win over Murdoch with La Magistral Headbutts. It was an absolute hurricane of violence with 44OH! getting another win over the Rejects. Murdoch and Ryan are doomed to be Batman and the Joker of ICW.

Sadika defeated Mickie Knuckles via Blood Loss Pass Out

Last but not least, the main event and potentially one of the scariest main events ICW has had. It was time for the women to take the spotlight as Mickie Knuckles, the innovator of deathmatch violence took on La Reyna Extrema, Sadika. This was going to get brutal as there would be blood and plunder everywhere. They started by throwing hands and Knuckles broke the first bundle of the match with a headbutt. She punched another into Sadika’s chest and took one of her battle axes to her head. A bundle Suplex followed but Sadika kicked out at two. They fell outside and started beating the fuck out of each other around the fans. Sadika fired up from a chair to the head and smashed bundles into her with her hands and double-knees. She tried to drop Knuckles on more tubes but Knuckles dragged her down and took the fight into the crowd again. Both felt the pain off a chair Suplex and Sadika dropped Knuckles on more tubes with an elevated Suplex. Sadika kept building more plunder contraptions and Knuckles kept throwing her around the crowd. Knuckles dropped to her knees to hammer Sadika with gut blows and crushed another bundle into her with a Senton. Sadika was right back up again and rearranged the furniture again, leaving Knuckles winded by commentary. Knuckles slowly followed Sadika and ambushed her against the chains, trying her best to choke her out. They both climbed back into the ring and kept beating each other down, Sadika stabbing a gusset into Knuckles’ chest after taking one to her own. Knuckles kept hammering in gussets and broke a glass pane with a Northern Lights. Both shrugged this off and Knuckles got thrown into a Carpet Strip door. Sadika tripped Knuckles into the glass pile and placed a super bundle on her chest before climbing to the top. She came crashing down with the twisting press but somehow Knuckles kicked out. Sadika went wild with more tubes and cut into Knuckles until she passed out. Sadika had won her war with Knuckles and done so in brutal fashion. She shot on the ref for spoiling her fun and kept trying to kill Knuckles. Even Danny Demanto couldn’t get her to stop. It took Justin Kyle intervening to get her dragged away. This seemed far from over. Maybe we’ll see a rematch down the line.

Best of the Bloodletting

• AKIRA and the Kirks had the opener for the show and managed to tell a fun continuation of their previous match with a whole load of new stronger moves and wrestling technique. The Hybrid guys got to open the show to one hell of a reception.
• Jacobs and Cogar knew exactly what type of match they needed to have. It was a methodical, personality-driven bout of anything you can do. They both pulled out all the stops to make this the match the hype had brought it too and I think they succeeded.
• Pondo vs Cutter was the type of violent fun I want from a billing like that. Both are veterans of the craft, know how to make the other bleed, and had the perfect spot on the card to kick the violence up a notch after a moderately calm opening.
• Goddamn Sadika and Knuckles really tried to kill each other. It was damn fun to watch and gave the bloodthirsty crowd more up-close action than they probably wanted. The ending screams rematch so hopefully, that means we’ll see more from the duo in the future.

What Happens Next?

PONDO CHUCKS THE BOWLING BALL AT CUTTER'S FACE #NHB18 pic.twitter.com/XCKhNT0QcY

— Tripping Balls (@IsThisWrestling) October 2, 2021

• AKIRA vs Kasey Kirk when? The number of times they sniped at each other during the match, I feel it would be incredibly fun to see within the pit or the chains.
• This is just a selfish request but I’d love to see Jimmy Jacobs wrestling more. If ICW can hook him for more shows, that would be awesome.
• A lot of the fighters on this show have another round of matches to go through tonight in the Pit or tomorrow as part of day 2 of the Circus. How would they fare after the nightmarish night of action they’d gone through here?
• Eric Ryan and John Wayne Murdoch are on the warpath again as it seems Ryan has a new way to beat Murdoch. The two factions are always at war and now, they may be on a collision course again if Murdoch can survive these next two title defences. Well, and if Ryan can survive Sadika…

i love the way you bleed, Jimmy #NHB18 pic.twitter.com/xT8exQVmOZ

— Tripping Balls (@IsThisWrestling) October 2, 2021

All images courtesy of ICW, FREEBIRDS_Shop, IsThisWrestling,