Preview: ICW – GONZO #2 (12/1/19)

At the end of August, Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) introduced their brand new brand known as GONZO. As opposed to the usual shows ICW presents nowadays, these GONZO events tend to stick to the old ICW vibe, that meaning standing room only and bring your own drink. The first instalment in October, which can be viewed in full for free on YouTube, left a lasting impression on fans of the brand, featuring Liam Thomson defending the Zero-G Championship in the main event against Leyton Buzzard, as well as the ICW debuts of Scotty Davis, Michael May, and Luca de Pazzi (the former Paxxo), amongst others. Now, it’s time for the second show to take place, featuring another Zero-G Championship defence in the main event.

The Purge (Krobar & Stevie James) vs Pure Gangster (Prince Asad & Saqib Ali)

After not being seen in ICW since 2017, Prince Asad and Saqib Ali, known collectively as Pure Gangster, will make their return to the Insane Fight Club at GONZO #2 as they face off with the new ICW Tag Team Champions, The Purge. The last time we saw Krobar and Stevie James in an ICW ring was on the second night of Fear & Loathing XII, where they defeated The Kings of Catch (Aspen Faith and Lewis Girvan) in a brutal Kings of Insanity Match to dethrone Faith and Girvan of their Tag Team Championships. That bout saw all four men involved use anything and everything they could set their eyes on to inflict pain upon one another, from barbed wire to cinderblocks to boards covered in cut-up cans of Monster. Quite a different bout on paper when compared to the one they’re scheduled for on Sunday evening, but that won’t exactly stop The Hardest Part of the Ring and The Outlaw from giving Asad and Ali the fight of their lives. The gangster duo stormed the ICW office, demanding the main event spot on the card, which had already been filled. However, Scott Reid, one of Mark Dallas‘ main men, did provide the Premier British Wrestling (PBW) Academy graduates an opportunity to prove themselves. After seeing the match they’ve been given, it’s entirely possible they’ll live to regret this decision.

Prediction: The Purge

ICW Women’s World Championship #1 Contendership: Angel Hayze vs Isla Dawn

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Irish standouts The Woke Queens (Debbie Keitel and Valkyrie) will be unable to debut for ICW at GONZO, which seemingly left the team of Angel Hayze and Isla Dawn without opponents. However, ICW management have instead decided that those two will now face off in singles competition, with the winner going on to challenge Aivil for her ICW Women’s World Championship at a later date. Hayze has certainly left a lasting impression on both the ICW fans and the management team since making her debut at the end of August, which has included her picking up a huge victory over the inaugural ICW Women’s World Champion, Viper. That victory earned her a spot on the Fear & Loathing XII card, and despite she and Xia Brookside losing that bout to Viper and the current NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray, The Young Lioness still provided the showing of her life. Someone who wasn’t too pleased though was Isla Dawn, who was watching the match from the crowd. The White Witch claimed that Angel simply wasn’t ready for these big shows, which is undoubtedly a false statement – not only did she have a great showing at ICW’s biggest show of the year, but Angel also had a pretty decent performance when she entered Pro Wrestling: EVE‘s SHE1 tournament. Nevertheless, Dawn insisted on being Hayze’s partner for GONZO to take on The Woke Queens, but things have now been turned up a level. It looked as if the NXT UK star was wanting to help Angel elevate her ICW career, however, she now has the opportunity to snatch away an opportunity at the ICW Women’s World Championship. Both women have recent losses to Aivil on their record books, so a win here would be ideal for either of them right now.

Prediction: Isla Dawn

Andy Wild vs Scotty Davis

In what will no doubt be a match of the night contender, Andy Wild heads to GONZO to battle Irish sensation Scotty Davis. The Dad Bod God has had quite the year in 2019, not just in ICW, but everywhere he’s gone. Alongside his epic matches against the likes of Joe Coffey and Stevie Boy, Wild has also captured the Union of European Wrestling Alliances (UEWA) European Heavyweight Championship, a title he won by defeating BT Gunn and Alexander Dean for the vacant strap back in July. He’s no doubt going to be a favourite to win the 2020 Square Go! Match in February, but until then, he has to find his way past The Supreme Suplex Machine. The current NLW Champion in Over The Top Wrestling (OTT), Davis has had quite the year so far, winning the PROGRESS Wrestling Tag Team Championships alongside Jordan Devlin. On Saturday evening, he’s set to face New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) young lion Ren Narita at OTT’s Outer Space Odyssey 4 event in Dublin. Two huge matches for Scotty this weekend – will it all be too much for him?

Prediction: Andy Wild

Davey Blaze vs Jason Reed

After making a surprise return to ICW at Fear & Loathing XII as he saved Grado from a beatdown at the hands of Ravie Davie and his gang of neds, Davey Blaze will make his ICW in-ring return as he takes on Jason Reed. Prior to his disappearance from the company in 2017, The Scottish Savage had been one of the major faces of ICW, being a former Zero-G Champion and multi-time Tag Team Champion alongside both Stevie Boy (in The Bucky Boys) and Joe Hendry (in The Local Fire), while also opening up the first ICW show at the Hydro opposite The Prestigious One. While Blaze is a familiar face to ICW fans, someone who only debuted for the promotion this year is Jason Reed. Aligning himself with Coach Trip at the first GONZO event, The One For The Future has quickly proven himself to be one to watch for 2020, continuing on his campaign to make wrestling great again. As the current Tri-Counties Champion in WrestleZone (WZ), Reed clearly has big ideas in mind for the next decade, while Blaze will be hoping to make an impact upon his first match back in an ICW ring.

Prediction: Davey Blaze

Joe Coffey vs Michael May

At the first GONZO event, Joe Coffey invaded the event during Stevie Boy’s bout with Ravie Davie, taking out his frustrations on The Pharoah of Filth, ICW’s security team, and Mark Dallas. The actions of The Iron God that evening led to him being removed from all of ICW’s events going forward, although he would eventually be reinstated at the request of Stevie Boy to ensure their World Heavyweight Championship at Fear & Loathing XII went ahead. After losing that bout, Coffey now finds himself back down at the bottom of the food chain, while his opponent here will be looking to pick up his first victory in an ICW ring. Ireland’s Michael May has been making waves in his home country for a good while now, thanks in part to his association with Scotty Davis and Curtis Murray as part of Legit 100 in OTT. The Technician made his ICW debut at the inaugural GONZO show, losing to Kez Evans in an excellent encounter between the pair. With a second opportunity now arising for May though, he’ll need to do everything in his power to make sure everyone in Scotland, Joe Coffey included, remembers the name of Michael May.

Prediction: Joe Coffey

Triple Threat Match: Leyton Buzzard vs Kieran Kelly vs Luca de Pazzi

Since 2018, Kieran Kelly and Leyton Buzzard have gone on to have an incredible series of matches with each other in both singles and multi-man action, competing in not only ICW, but also across the Scottish wrestling scene as a whole. Their match this past May for the Scottish Wrestling Alliance (SWA) saw Leyton crowned the brand new Scottish X Champion, a title he would hold until the middle of November as he was defeated by Jack Morris. They may not be on warring sides as much as they used to be, but they certainly haven’t missed a step against one another as they had a sensational match with Noam Dar at Fear & Loathing XII. Now that you’ve got Luca de Pazzi added to the mix, it looks like we’re set for yet another incredible Triple Threat Match. The Italian recently ditched the hat and face paint in favour of a three-piece suit, becoming a far more sophisticated performer when compared to his alter ego of Paxxo. It’s clearly a transition that’s proven to work for him, seeing as he outlasted nine other men on the Fear & Loathing XII pre-show to become the first entrant confirmed for the 9th Annual Square Go! Match on February 2nd. It’ll be a grand start to the new decade for the former Italian Nightmare, but can he continue his recent string of momentum as 2019 winds down?

Prediction: Luca de Pazzi

ICW Zero-G Championship: Liam Thomson (c) vs Kez Evans

One of the main things about GONZO shows is that the Zero-G Championship is a prime focus on these events. We saw it at the first event as Liam Thomson defended his strap against Leyton Buzzard, and now we’ll see it again as The Bad Boy finds himself with a new challenger in the form of Kez Evans. Both men are reeling off the back of huge victories at Fear & Loathing XII weekend, with Liam retaining the Zero-G Championship against rival Wolfgang in the pair’s third Good Housekeeping Match together, while Kez picked up a surprise pinfall over the Russian star Ilja Dragunov. A win over someone the calibre of Dragunov can only do great things for your career, especially when you’re a rising star such as this particular Glasgow Pro Wrestling Asylum (GPWA) graduate. This will mark just the third ever championship opportunity for Kez Evans, following on from him challenging for Jack Jester‘s Rock N Wrestle (RNW) Highland Championship in March 2018, and The Purge’s Pro Wrestling Elite (PWE) Tag Team Championships in July 2019, where he funnily enough teamed with Liam Thomson. As the old saying goes, third time lucky for Kez Evans will result in a brand new Zero-G Champion being crowned as we approach 2020.

Prediction: Kez Evans