WARNING: STRONG VIOLENCE AND LANGUAGE AHEAD

Welcome back to ICW NHB and to the violent world within the chains. One of the sleeper hits of Mania weekend, ICW decided they weren’t going to Dallas, they were going to bring the big fight feel home. Despite some minor setbacks, they’d put together a super show and were going to make the ultimate Mania deathmatch experience. The heavy hitters were out in force and some long-awaited returns were finally happening. Plus, John Wayne Murdoch was creating one hell of an ambitious crossover by bringing the GCW Ultraviolent Title into ICW territory. Plus, we had the return of Atticus Cogar, Jeff Cannonball, the Carnage Crew, and the SAT alongside the main event that saw Dale Patricks finally get the Title Shot he wanted. Plus, there was so much more. Let’s get into the carnage.

Fights, Camera, Action

Neil Diamond Cutter defeated Tank (w/Reverend Dan “The Dragon” Wilson) via Carpet-Strip Roll-up

Tonight’s buffet of gore opened with a long-desired rematch. Tank’s first appearance in the chains was Mania week last year. He came back and faced Neil Diamond Cutter in a losing effort. Now, he wanted to avenge that, one year later. The rematch was set and we were about to see if the Honey Badger could play giant killer two years in a row. They set the tone instantly with a water jug duel and Cutter started dual-wielding jugs as Tank went for headbutts. Cutter kept on top of Tank with jug shots and crushed him with an exploding board senton, hitting Tank with it twice for good measure. Tank got his revenge with a snap bat and slammed Cutter onto the remnants of the board. He was pissed and started going after Cutter’s balls with the jug and his sickle, slicing at Cutter’s sack. He took the sickle to Cutter’s head and gave the fans a carving show but failed to see Cutter had grabbed BOB and got stapled for it. They both got hit with more exploding implements and Tank downed Cutter with another sickle shot to the head. More bludgeoning and cutting occurred and Cutter managed to even the score with barbed-wire nunchucks. He assaulted Tank with records and cut into him with the broken shards. Tank wasn’t having it though and slammed Cutter right onto a mousetrap board. He pelted the board then pelted Cutter through a door and stomped hard into the wreckage. Cutter’s shoulder was fucked but the Honey Badger ploughed on and flipped out of the Strong Style Saito. He pushed Tank into a strip lattice and took the win with a roll-up. This rocked. It was a physical brawl from start to finish with the pair cutting and bruising each other with everything at hand. The end was abrupt but I think Cutter actually fucked up his shoulder. It was a smart way to end it quickly and keep this story going that Tank just can’t beat Cutter. Goliath just keeps falling to David.

The SAT (Joel & Jose Maximo) defeated The Carnage Crew (HC Loc & Tony DeVito) via Tower of Doom DDT on DeVito

Well shit, this was a shocker. What do you do when you have a pair of legendary teams on-call? You sick them on each other and watch the madness unfold. That’s what Danny was doing here as he booked the SAT against the Carnage Crew. These were two old-school hellraiser teams that were going to pick up like nothing had changed. Hell, they didn’t even need to fight, DeVito had the crowd going by just talking at them. Once they got going, it started off as a traditional tag with regular wrestling amongst the chains, occasionally taking breaks so DeVito could shout more abuse at a rabid fan. Things got so hot for the fan, he bailed and ran square into a lighting fixture. As expected, the wrestling got them so far before both teams exploded and brawled to the outside. They kept trading hands and chair shots as they took a ringside tour then Jose went for broke with a tope through the chains. Both Maximos met doors and narrowly avoided death by Magic Killer as the Carnage Crew lived up to their name. The hits kept coming with Loc getting DVD’ed through a chair and stabbed up with a fork. The Maximos could get hardcore too. They singled out DeVito and took the win with a Tower of Doom DDT. That put an end to this frantic mosh pit of a match and gave the Maximos their first win in the chains. It was fun for what it was and I couldn’t stop laughing at DeVito’s jaw-jacking with the fans. Plus, it’s always cool as hell to see the Maximos still going strong and a match like this ending in both teams celebrating.

Tommy Vendetta defeated Isaiah Broner via Piledriver Massacre

One thing I always love to see is people stepping up to do their first deathmatch. To see someone who hasn’t tasted glass, carpet strips or barbed wire take those first steps into this violent world always makes for compelling viewing. That’s what we were about to see from Isaiah Broner as he stepped into the chains to battle his Death Threat Army brother Tommy Vendetta in a ring of fuckery. Broner is a beast but was he going to adapt to the plunder? The mad bastard was also just wrestling in trunks and kneepads. Broner made the first move by spearing Vendetta through a door and the pair started laying into each other with heavy strikes. Vendetta tried to use a gusset but Broner overpowered him and hammered it into his head before throwing him across the ring with a German. He tried to flee but Broner just kept pursuing and throwing haymakers and breaking the first tube of the match. Vendetta slugged back and gave Broner his first taste of glass, breaking any remaining tube on himself in a game of one for you, one for me. Even then, Broner was right back up and throwing Vendetta into the sea of seats. They returned to the ring and Broner just kept the beating going, pummelling Vendetta in the chains. Vendetta struck back with more glass and chairs, levelling the playing field. They both collapsed to their knees and started bitchslapping each other, going back and forth with nightmarish hits. Vendetta scored big with a knee and another tube but his onslaught was cut off as Broner flattened him with a tube lariat. The ring was covered in blocks and Broner dumped Vendetta into it with a Go-Home Driver but still only got two. He went for the kill but Vendetta wiggled free, blasted him with more tubes, and just kept hitting piledrivers until Broner stayed down. Jesus fucking Christ these two went hard. Brothers always fight hardest and this was no exception. This rocked and Broner’s tube lariat was fucking mental. If he chooses to do more, I feel he’s going to be welcomed with open arms.

Kasey Kirk defeated Danny Demanto via 187 Bundle Splash

Prepare for trouble as the longest-going feud in ICW was preparing to kick off again as Danny Demanto went after the Kirks again. After her big win over the duke, John Wayne Murdoch, Kasey Katal had seen her stock rise massively. Now, she was taking on Demanto one on one. It’s always “fuck the Kirks” in Demanto’s head but the wider audience doesn’t agree with that anymore. It was time to see what Kasey would do to the boss this time. She didn’t fuck around, instantly blasting Demanto with a bundle and diving on him from the top. She seemed to land hard but was able to shake it off and kept the pressure on. Demanto caught her out of a crossbody and drove her into the mat with a Flatliner. He spent too much time fucking around and got tripped up and stabbed with a gusset. She gave him a taste of his own medicine and dumped lemon juice on his cuts, then did the same with salt. He stopped her in her tracks with a backbreaker and took the fight to the floor to gusset her head. Things went from bad to worse as he buried her in salt and twatted Mittens with a snap bat missing a double-team. Back in the ring, Demanto got back to business with more tubes, carving Kirk up and creating an excessively crimson mask. He made the mistake of putting her on the top and she made him pay with a diving codebreaker. He kicked out so she scrambled to make a chair pile but gave Demanto too much time to recover and nail the Demanto Driver. She wouldn’t stay down and the counters kept coming as she hit Demanto with an STO. She tried to end things with a door splash but Demanto followed up and hit a second Demanto Driver through the door. She was invincible as she kicked out again and started duelling tubes. She won the duel, placed a final bundle on Demanto, and blasted him with a 187 Splash. it had been another hard-fought victory for Kirk and another example of how fucking tough she is. This got nasty and both were bloody messes by the end. It was intense as hell because we know just how much these two hate each other. Thankfully, after this, it seems the beef is squashed as we saw the inklings of some respect between the two. It would be hard not to after a fight like that, you damn near killed each other.

Kirk left but Demanto lingered, trying to shake off the war wounds. Unfortunately for him, one of the original contenders for this show who hadn’t been able to make it made a surprise appearance. Azrael burst onto the scene and started killing Demanto. The Good Guy wasn’t being very good so someone came to shut him down. Enter Sandman played and the Sandman himself appeared, beer and cane in hand to dish out some punishment. He dispatched Azrael and the pair celebrated alongside Mittens. As it was his birthday, it was revealed that Demanto had another surprise for his illegitimate son. Kimona Wanalaya, the ECW valet and manager, came out to make Mittens a man, and a lot of people in the audience were awkwardly aroused. She escorted him away and Demanto slammed some more beers. What a fucking fever dream of a segment.

Satu Jinn defeated Jeff Cannonball via Knifeboard Uranage

It was back to the violence with a sumo deathmatch. The ring had been salted and fuckery had been put in for a battle of the powerhouses. King Ugly was back in ICW and Because the Night played out through the speaker system. He was going to war with Satu Jinn, so things would get nasty. They got down with the sumo and started shunting and shoving within the circle. They reached a stalemate so Jinn started throwing shots and breaking tubes. He started carving and dug up a handful of salt but couldn’t throw it as Cannonball had done the same but faster. He got salt in the eyes and Cannonball piled on the pain with a gusset board. That was amplified with a gusset bat and seasoned with more salt. The shots just kept coming as Cannonball dumped him through a door and dropped him again with a tube STO. Jinn kicked out so another gusset met his head as well as the jagged edge of a broken tube. Jinn was a bloody, salted mess but that didn’t stop him from charging Cannonball and throwing him with a belly-to-belly suplex. He got some revenge with tubes then took out his signature Kataba Blade for some slicing. He stuck the blade in Cannonball’s mouth and made it sting even more with a good dose of salt. It was all getting pretty vicious. Jinn broke another door with a cannonball and took the fight outside for more fuckery-based fun. Everyone got front-row seats to the horror show as they traded hands, plunder and record shots around ringside. The pair returned to the ring and danced around a trashcan, Cannonball reversing the Uranage to hit a Back Suplex through the can. He followed up with a Tiger Driver through a bundle but Jinn still wouldn’t quit. A knifeboard came into play and Cannonball took one out to test its sharpness on Jinn’s head. He tried to go for the kill but Jinn had one last gasp and put him through it with the Uranage. That got the three-count and Jinn continues to be a hot commodity in the company. I had high hopes for this one and the pair exceeded them. This was awesome. A back-and-forth big man bloodbath full of power and big hits. Cannonball felt like a star coming back and delivered big. I just hope it becomes a more regular thing.

SHLAK defeated Bobby Beverly via Deathmatch Elbow Drop

Fucking hell. Each ICW show, someone new enters the meat grinder. This time it was Bobby Beverly’s turn to take on Public Animal Number One, SHLAK. This was going to be a harsh one as these two love nothing more than a good fight. Beverly is tough but was he going to have the means to put a stop to a SHLAK rampage? All I knew was that there were a whole lot of tubes around the ring and someone was going to break them. This was a mess pure and simple. It was a continuous spree of tube breaking, heavy hits, and glass eating. They went right for the bundles and just kept breaking tubes over each other in and around the ring. The fans were showered with spooky dust and stray glass as the action came right at them. When he ran out of glass, SHLAK just bit into Beverly, that’s how unhinged it was getting. Bev got just as nasty and matched the ferocity at which he threw tubes. It was pure anarchy. They both brought out Suplexes and headbutts with SHLAK almost winning with a schoolboy. We had SHLAK Sabre Jr in the building. They both attempted traditional pins as a breather then right back to the fuckery. SHLAK took a Saito through a door and Beverly ate a chokeslam through a chair bridge but neither would quit. SHLAK had had enough and just buried Bev under tubes and smashed them all with an elbow drop. That got the win and put an end to this absolute car crash of a match. This was ludicrous. A sprint through tube smash city with two heavy-hitters just mixing bombs with some wrestling and a lot of glass. it wasn’t pretty but it was fun as fuck to watch.

No 1 Contender match: Atticus Cogar defeated John Wayne Murdoch via 44OH! Finisher Parade

Motive. Every action usually has a motive. That is what Cogar had brought up in the build to this one. Just what was Murdoch’s motive anymore? The former king of the castle has been flip-flopping between companies and now as the GCW Ultraviolent Champion, his point couldn’t be truer. Murdoch had come out with his new gold and a speech to make but Cogar cut him off and stomped the GCW belt. The bundles kept coming and the Silver Teeth Satan got to work on Murdoch. The fight spilled outside and Murdoch got his own back, cutting up Cogar with a knife as SHLAK joined commentary. Once again, the fans got front-row seats to the snuff show as Murdoch and his knife kept making new avenues in Cogar’s head. A barbed-wire light-tube crutch did damage to his back and more bundles did extra damage to his head. Murdoch was not fucking around here. Cogar kept meeting glass and there was very little he could do about it. The crowd were loving it. Just as Cogar thought he was getting a break; Murdoch was stabbing with the knife again. His ambush had gone very wrong. The chains became Murdoch’s worst enemy and after a bundle to the back, he was hung out for Cogar’s Lionsault. The skewers came out and Murdoch became a pin cushion for them and broken glass. Murdoch tanked a lot of stabbing and jabbed his way back into the match, winding Cogar with an exploding bat to the guts and braining him with a piledriver. They kept coming back with counters and both met more tubes and the glassy canvas. Nothing was capable of killing either fighter. Neither the Brain Haemorrhage nor Deep South Destroyer was enough, even through a tube door. Bobby Beverly made the save and the rest of 44OH! swarmed until Murdoch was out cold. Cogar hit a final Brain Haemorrhage and that was that. Murdoch had been screwed by 44OH! The faction had saved their man and killed off a dangerous challenger in one go. It had been an excellent match derailed by factional interference. 44OH! are back in force, so much for fair play. Though this result leaves a fun little conundrum for 44OH!…

ICW American Deathmatch Title: Eric Ryan defeated Dale Patricks via Snuff Stomps

Last but not least, the main event. It was title fight time and it was one that was long overdue. Dale Patricks once had a title shot in his grasp. As he prepared for a fight in the chains, he was blindsided by a pit fight and lost the opportunity. Now he was getting the proper match he wanted against a new champion, with a new attitude. Deathmatch Gambit was more dangerous than ever but he was contending with the Undisputed King of the Deathmatch, Eric Ryan. He was going to have to fight like hell here. Ryan instantly blasted Patricks with tubes and tried to whip him into chain-hung tubes but Patricks countered and threw him face-first into them. Patricks bounced him off a second lot and nailed an early driver for two. Ryan kept eating tubes, trying to flee, and being met with more bulbs. He finally got his bearings and stop Patricks with a bundle knee to the ribs. He flung Patricks at the chained tubes and methodically broke as many tubes across Patricks as he could. He clawed and ripped and bit at Patricks, making him suffer for taking the match. More tubes met Patricks as Ryan kept plucking them up and kicking them into Patricks or straight-up pelting them. He went for a super bundle and threw it but Patricks caught it and charged. Again, this was a bad move and Ryan’s shotgun dropkicked it into his chest. They got into a punch-out and when that failed to yield a result, kept bashing bundles on the other’s skull. Patricks hit his Powerbomb and Chokeslam but Ryan still kicked out. Ryan made him pay with a bundle Dragon and broke the second mass of glass with a Suplex. Ryan started throwing out Snuff Stomps and despite an initial fight, Patricks was KO’ed and the ref stopped the fight. Ryan had been successful in his first title defence. Despite winning it in a deceptive manner, he proved why he’d won and just how horrific it was going to get for anyone who tried to take it. Patricks put up a good fight but Ryan wasn’t going to let him take his title so soon into his reign. One day though, I hope to see Patricks with that title one day though. He’s consistent and fun as hell to watch.

Best of the Bloodletting

• I can’t pick a favourite match from this show. it was another ICW show that was exceptional from start to finish. Each match offered something fun and different. We had David vs Goliath, brother’s fighting, sumo, fighting the boss, bloodbaths, faction warfare and so much more. This show was stacked. ICW knows its market and has found the niche that fits it best. I love the revolving door roster alongside the regulars with people like Broner and Vendetta getting more opportunities and the fact that returns are a big deal. Cogar came back after a long break and looked to make up for lost time, which he succeeded in doing. Cards like this remind me why I enjoy ICW so much. They keep improving, they keep trying to get better and they continue making batshit match-ups.
• I am going to make a little aside here to highlight two MVPs of the show. Isaiah Broner is the first as he went into the first deathmatch of his career and kicked ass. He seemed at ease amongst the tubes and blood and even found new ways to surprise deathmatch fans. That tube lariat was fucking epic and to go in there and bleed buckets alongside his DTA brother made for a special match. The other is Kasey Kirk. The win over the duke was a massive shock. The win over Demanto is proof that she is heating up in the company as is being given more than a fluke win. She deserves this recognition because she’s been kicking ass for years and now, is getting the accolades once again. She fights her heart out and I’m hoping we see her in the title scene sooner rather than later, just to see how crazy things would get against Ryan.
• Lastly, props to the Struggles on commentary. Indie commentary is hit and miss at the best of times and to run a revolving booth without Ron Niemi and not missing a step deserves commendation. The Struggles is one of the top commentators on the scene and he managed to find a great rapport with each partner he had. That deserves recognition.

What Comes Next?

• Next stop on the ICW tour of chaos is in Boston, Massachusetts, and we have two matches confirmed. Firstly, Brandon Kirk vs Kasey Kirk. That’s going to be a wild fight but predicting a winner is tough. With the trajectory she’s one, I’m taking Kasey. The other is John Wayne Murdoch vs SHLAK. This fight is a long time coming and it’s again hard to pick a winner. It’s going to be a war between two veterans.
• When is Satu Jinn going to get another shot at the title? He has been a continuous tour de force lately with a very high win streak and a capacity for violence that I’d love to see Eric Ryan try to deal with.
• Lastly, we now have a 44OH! vs 44OH! title match. Atticus Cogar is the number one contender and Eric Ryan. The pair belong to the same group so how the hell are they going to react when they have to fight each other? Will it be fair or are we going to see favouritism? Only time will tell.

The tiny, hot, crimson-faced, athlete. pic.twitter.com/sYyEDVhhhK

— RJ Adams, Manufacturer of Aura (@RedShoesMedia) April 4, 2022

All images courtesy of ICW NHB, Chris Grasso, Red Shoes Media