WARNING: STRONG VIOLENCE & LANGUAGE AHEAD

Welcome back to ICW NHB and to another double bill of ultraviolence. The company was returning to the TWE Arena in Chattanooga Tennessee and they were bringing the fireworks. There were a whole lot of gleefully violent wonders prepared as the company mixed the regulars with some home state heroes and new faces. On the cards tonight, Kevin Ku returns to kick the shit out of AKIRA, Joe Black debuts against the returning Gary Jay, Brett Ison and Hardway Heeter show the true meaning of KOBK, Jaden Newman crosses the boss and so much more leading to the main event bloodbath that saw John Wayne Murdoch pull double duty as he battled Kasey Kirk. There was a lot to enjoy so let’s waste no more time and get into the carnage.

AKIRA defeated Kevin Ku via Chair Choke STF

AKIRA gets Super Dragon-ed by Ku #PFX11 @ICWNHB @indiewrestling @theakiraway @kevinxku pic.twitter.com/daQlTKwKPI

— ??? ??????? (@ashdabbath) July 23, 2022

How do you open your show with a bang? Well, you bring back Kevin Ku for his first ICW appearance of the year and put him in the pit against one of the most compatible fighters you could possibly have for him. That’s right, we were finally getting Kevin Ku vs AKIRA. Violence is Forever vs KOBK’s Death Samurai. This was going to rock. It’s always a bold move to open with the perfect pit fight but ICW loves a gamble. Ku vs AKIRA was built for the pit as the pair mixed their technicality with their horrifically stiff strikes and kicks and desperation plunder shots. They had the debuting super ref Gina scrambling around the cage as the pair kept locking each other up and nearly knocking each other out. It was one hell of a physical match with the pair taking each other to hell and back, never letting up for a second. This was the good shit and I want more after seeing it once. These two get each other and knew how to make the environment suit their struggles. AKIRA is racking up the wins, I hope it stays that way. Plus, I’m hoping we get to see Ku more often on the ICW scene. He’s the perfect fit for the No Holds Barred style of fighting.

Gary Jay defeated Joe Black via Death by Forearm

Speaking of hard striking. We were about to see the return of the most nightmarish chopping machine on the planet. Gary Jay was back in ICW and he was about to give another newcomer a very warm but very painful welcome to the Pit, Joe Black. Now Black is an absolute monster of a competitor but was he ready for the harsh environment and harsher striking of Jay? We were about to find out. I’d definitely say he was ready. It’s rare to see Gary Jay react to someone’s striking. It’s rarer still to see him actively in pain. Black was getting both as the Stiff Robo Ginger was pummelled about by him. This was pure flinch-inducing physicality from two men out to bludgeon each other into oblivion. It was an engrossing watch of pure violence. Black is another perfect fit for the Pit and when you can push Jay that far, you’ve earned your spot. This match was awesome. An absolute fucking bomb fest from start to finish. These two started stiff and just never took their foot off the gas.

Adam Priest vs Tank (w/Reverend Dan “The Dragon” Wilson) ends in a Krule invasion

The new blood continued to flow as Adam Priest made his ICW debut. He’d drawn the short straw though as he was in there with the Bloodbath Behemoth, Tank. Reverend Dan “The Dragon” Wilson had prophesied another murder and Tank was out to deliver. It was up to Priest to survive. Especially when most of the audience was there to see you perish. He decided to play it smart and not enter the cage but The Reverend wasn’t going to allow that and chased Priest into the cage. From there, it was an all-out war as Tank used Priest as a crash test dummy for various stages of fuckery whilst Priest used whatever was at hand to survive. It wasn’t as one-sided as you’d think but it wasn’t far off. Priest kept trying to fight back but Tank just wanted to unleash all forms of hell on him, never really trying for a pinfall. It looked to be the end of the road for Priest when Krule invaded the arena. The Heathen didn’t want to wait for Tank and was fighting there and now. Tank got rid of both Priest and the Heathen, leaving the TWE Arena as close to victorious as you could be in a no contest. This was both hilarious and violently fun. Priest is the perfect “chickenshit” to step up to Tank and almost die.

Brett Ison defeated Hardway Heeter (w/AKIRA) via Rolling Chair Elbow

The comeback is always stronger than the setback. Hardway Heeter had been out with a broken fucking neck and now, he was back, in fighting shape and ready to make up for the lost time. Whilst his opponent had been a victim of card changes, Danny had found the perfect welcome back gift, an absolute KOBK masterclass. We were going to watch the brothers fight as the Human Shotgun Brett Ison returned to the Pit. KOBK is more than a motto and these two were about to prove it. As expected, this was fucking brutal. It started stiff and just got nastier as the shots got harder, the Suplexes came out and Ison made Heeter bleed the hard way with a gusset to the head. It was an intense, personal fight with the bond of brotherhood pushing the pair to just keep hitting harder. AKIRA played cheerleader for both on the outside, throwing out advice as the pair knocked each other senseless. Both Ison and Heeter haven’t lost a step in their time away and made something special here. Everyone has been rooting for Heeter throughout his time injured and now he’s come back to kick ass again. He may have lost but it took Ison elbowing a chair into his face to knock him out so, comeback success in my opinion. He’s a part of the ICW family now, christened in blood by Brett Ison and acknowledged by the duke. Ison has always prided himself on making people feel, which made him perfect for this. Heeter’s return was always going to be special and Ison just added another layer to it.

John Wayne Murdoch defeated Brandon Kirk via Chair-Trapped Koji Clutch

Psycho Driver (Fuck Your Life)#PFX11 @indiewrestling @ICWNHB @TheDukeJWM @ItsBrandonKirk pic.twitter.com/anvf3lq7B4

— ??? ??????? (@ashdabbath) July 23, 2022

Here comes the pain. Brandon Kirk was the first of the Kirks out to fight tonight and he was going against one of the best in the company. He was mixing it up with the duke, John Wayne Murdoch. They had plenty of fuckery at their disposal but I had a feeling that fists and lariats were going to do most of the talking here. I was wrong to a degree. There was plenty of brawling throughout but these two decided the fuckery quota of the show needed to be upped and unleashed hell on each other with the multitude of bats, chairs, and boards at their disposal. Brandon decided to throw honour aside and jumped Murdoch, hammering him bats until the inevitable ass-kicking came his way. They had fun carving each other up and Brandon got his highlight of the match with another Psycho Driver Fuck Your Life. This was an absolute hardcore hurricane of a fight with both guys taking each other to the limit. Both were cut up and sore by the end but Kirk just couldn’t find an answer to the duke’s Koji Clutch, especially since a chair was adding extra pressure. He passed out and Gina called for the bell. It was another valiant effort from Brandon Kirk, starting sneaky and taking the fight to the top dog of the company before getting KO’ed in a nasty submission.

Jaden Newman defeated Danny Demanto via Hangman Clutch

An exploding shin guard. Bless whoever built this. #PFX11 @indiewrestling @ICWNHB @dannydemanto pic.twitter.com/11YVGWg7k7

— ??? ??????? (@ashdabbath) July 23, 2022

Things were about to get heated. Danny Demanto had been turning the screws on Jaden Newman since this match was announced. Twitter jabs and personal animosity had fanned the flames of this one and now, it was Newman’s chance to not only defend the honour of his family but smack the shit out of the boss whilst he was at it. Demanto is selectively picking his fights now which means he must have seen something in Jaden, now we were going to see what. Even in the cage, Demanto was throwing out barbs at the fans and Newman’s wife. He was going to regret that. Goddamn, this got ugly. Newman tried to start it off like a wrestling match but Demanto didn’t like getting outdone and turned it into a fight. Both got bloody as they unleashed gussets, lemons, exploding kick pads and so much more on each other. This was meant to be a grudge match and it sure as shit felt like one. Everything the pair did had an impact with almost every type of weapon broken over one of these men. Even Newman’s wife got involved, trying to slap her name out of Demanto’s mouth. She may have gotten her shots in but it didn’t end well as Demanto nailed her with a Door-VD. That pushed Newman over the edge and sealed Demanto’s fate as Newman tapped him out with the Hangman’s Clutch. Demanto matches are always fun but this one hit harder because of the build Demanto had given it. He wanted to push Newman over the edge and he’d succeeded. He wanted to make Newman a man and he’d succeeded. Demanto might act like a twat but he usually has the best of intentions. That had been the case here too. He’d made his amends in blood and apologies.

Kasey Kirk defeated John Wayne Murdoch via 187 Tube Chair Drop

Reed Bentley hadn’t made it to ICW. Murdoch had already let people know this earlier in the show and as such, he was taking the main event slot, pulling double duty to try and avenge the loss he’d taken to Kasey Kirk during the last Tennessee tour. This hadn’t gone down well with the fans and that had made Murdoch angry. Few people have beaten Murdoch twice and he was going to do everything in his power to make sure Kasey wasn’t one of them. Kasey wasn’t going to turn down this challenge or this chance to be on that rare list. It wasn’t going to be easy though as Murdoch had promised to hurt Kasey for every cheer the fans gave her. He followed through on that promise too, putting Kasey through agony. It was an uphill battle as her quick start was smothered by stabbings, board breaking, and other horrible things the duke could come up with. She got her licks in too, slugging back and smashing her fair share of fuckery too. They were the only ones that night to break tubes and unloaded on each other with countless bulbs. It was the most frantic fight of the night with Murdoch trying to kill and Kasey trying to survive. Thankfully, she was able to get the better of the duke and nailed the 187 to take the win. She’d taken all the abuse Murdoch could dish out and had gotten the win. It was an amazing feat and another show of endurance from the new queen of ICW. Murdoch took the loss about as well as could be expected and was going to stab her up again when an unlikely saviour made another appearance. Brandon wasn’t going to step up so Krule came out and made Murdoch reconsider. The duke left and Krule scooped up Kasey, carrying her to the back as she and Brandon looked on in confusion. It was an odd end to the show but one I welcome. Krule and the Kirks have had an odd story since the circus and I’m glad it’s being given more depth. This fight rocked and it closed another amazing Pitfighter show in style. Also, if you want to learn more about ICW’s new top star, SteelChair recently published an interview with Kasey Kirk. Read it here.

I love a deathmatch show that ends in a cliffhanger. Especially when that cliffhanger involves somebody getting cucked by a monster. That's good deathmatch right there. #PFX11 @indiewrestling @ICWNHB @ItsBrandonKirk @CatalKasey @AtrocityMKK pic.twitter.com/DUFvZGl0vZ

— ??? ??????? (@ashdabbath) July 23, 2022

All images courtesy of ICW, Ash Dabbath