Preview: ICW – Fight Club Tapings (1/19/20)

With an emotionally-charged 2019 now behind them, Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) are kicking off the new year/decade as they mean to go on – with a little bit of the insanity. That doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, but we’ll roll with it anyway. As the road to the 9th Annual Square Go! heats up with three huge championship matches already confirmed, it’s looking to be anyone’s match to win this year. Before we get to February 2nd though, we’ve got some Fight Club episodes to tape, with the ICW debut of ‘The Headbutt Messiah’.

Kieran Kelly vs Michael May

ICW’s GONZO brand has allowed rising talent like Michael May to be showcased on one of the biggest stages the UK has to offer, with ‘The Technician’ having appeared at both events thus far in losses to Kez Evans and Joe Coffey. Despite that dismal win/loss record, ICW management have clearly been impressed by the tenacity of the Irish standout as they’re giving him his main roster debut at the first show of the year. He finds himself coming up against Kieran Kelly, a man who went through quite a few trials and tribulations during 2019. The current Megaslam Wrestling Champion, ‘Shotgun’ came oh so close to winning the inaugural King of Hawners tournament alongside Andy Wild and Aaron Echo as part of The Wild Boys, while more recently he lost to Leyton Buzzard to determine who would challenge Liam Thomson for the Zero-G Championship at the Square Go! (Leyton would of course waste no time, answering Liam’s open challenge that same night). It’s a huge match for both Kelly and May, one that neither of them should be taking lightly. Leyton (or whoever the champion may be at the time) still needs a challenger for the Square Go! – perhaps this could determine who challenges for the gold.

Prediction: Michael May

Kasey vs Angel Hayze

From one booming division to another, the women’s division in ICW is on fire right now, and it’s thanks to the likes of Kasey and Angel Hayze putting on banger after banger. For Kasey, it’s been quite the journey over the past few months, as she lost the ICW Women’s World Championship to long-standing rival Aivil at Fear & Loathing XII before then firing The Wee Man as her manager. ‘The Mother of Chaos’ is now going out on her own once against, with the young upstart Angel Hayze standing across the ring from her. ‘The Young Lioness’ has become beloved by the ICW faithful since her Fight Club debut at the end of August, and for good reason. Hayze made 2019 her year up and down Scotland, resulting in her finding herself on the Fear & Loathing card in tag team action alongside three NXT UK performers while also losing a Women’s World Championship #1 contenders match to Isla Dawn. Even in defeat, Angel showed she was capable of hanging with the top-tier talent. Her match with Kasey will be no different.

Prediction: Angel Hayze

The Nine9 (Dickie Divers & Jack Morris) vs The Kings of Catch (Aspen Faith & Lewis Girvan)

Last year, The Kings of Catch and The Nine9 waged war throughout the tag team division in ICW, facing off several times with varying results. The two teams had a sensational encounter at So’s Yer Maw 2 in April that saw Jack Morris bust out an unbelievable shooting star press onto the others at ringside, whereas a three-time Tables, Ladders & Chairs Match at Shug’s Hoose Party 6 (Jody Fleisch and Jonny Storm were the third team in the equation) was equally as brilliant, with Morris again doing a shooting star press off a ladder and through a table covered with a wild Aspen Faith. With the ICW Tag Team Championships now in the hands of The Purge though, former champs Faith and Lewis Girvan are looking to get back in the title hunt, with ‘The Lost Boy’ promising to cash in the Square Go! briefcase for the Tag Team Championships should he win it. Someone who knows a thing or two about winning the Square Go! is Dickie Divers, who won the match in 2015, even if he did go on to lose the briefcase to former New Age Kliq partner Chris Renfrew. After the Square Go! is all said and done with, it could very well be one of these teams challenging either The Purge or The Fite Network.

Prediction: The Nine9

Jason Reed vs Liam Thomson

In the few appearances he’s made in ICW so far, Jason Reed has left a huge impression on the audience. Aligning himself with Polo Promotions‘ former manager Coach Trip at the first GONZO event, ‘The One For The Future’ has been on a tear, picking up wins over the likes of Scott McManus and the ever-popular Sam Barbour Experience. Since he’s been training under Andy Wild at the Fife Pro Wrestling Asylum (FPWA), Reed has made huge improvements to his already incredible arsenal, utilising a sitout powerbomb to win his matches. Nothing flashy about it, but impactful nonetheless. His opponent for the first ICW show of the year is a man who will hope to get back in the title hunt, as former Zero-G Champion Liam Thomson comes into 2020 with no hardware other than that particular sink following his recent loss on Fight Club. If you recall back to the 2019 Square Go! Match, Liam started the bout, and made it down to the final three. Perhaps ‘The King of Sink Style’ will go all the way this year but before then, he’s got a fiery up and coming talent standing across the ring from him.

Prediction: Jason Reed

Stevie Boy vs Ravie Davie

At the first GONZO event, the ICW World Heavyweight Champion Stevie Boy faced Ravie Davie in singles action, a match that was prematurely stopped by Joe Coffey as ‘The Iron God’ wanted to send a message to his Fear & Loathing XII opponent. With the former Zero-G Champion not scheduled to appear at this event, it’s a safe move for ICW management to reschedule the match between Stevie and Davie, again without the championship on the line though. ‘The Pharoah of Filth’ has Noam Dar waiting for him at the Square Go!, with ‘The Scottish Supernova’ defeating former rival Andy Wild at the last set of Fight Club tapings to earn the title opportunity. Even though his next title defence is already set in stone, Stevie Boy still needs to wrestle as if the title is on the line. Ravie Davie is no easy man to get through, and if this match is anything like we’ve seen recently, there’s a good chance his team of Glasgow neds will be lurking around the crowd. ‘The Ned Nightmare’ always seems to have a trick up his sleeve – who knows, he may even send in his cousin Zander McGuire to take the match as he tried to do last month against Davey Blaze. After typing that, your writer would love to see The Bucky Boys reunite to face The Govan Team, but that’s a different story for a different day.

Prediction: Ravie Davie

Death Match: Lou King Sharp vs Krobar

At the Square Go!, The Purge will defend their Tag Team Championships against Lou King Sharp and Krieger of The Fite Network. Before we get to that though, Krobar will battle Sharp in a Death Match, a stipulation that more than suits the style of wrestling both men have become renowned for. While LKS did start off as a bit of a comedy wrestler, he has since become a much more violent performer, stemming from his tour of China this past summer with Oriental Wrestling Entertainment (OWE). Since then, he’s now known as ‘The Blood Tourist’, preferring to dive off balconies as opposed to sexy dancing. Sharp is more suited to this style of wrestling than he previously was, but can you ever truly be ready for a Death Match with Krobar? We saw what he and Stevie James were capable of in their Kings of Insanity Match against The Kings of Catch, with thumbtacks, guard rails, and cut open tins of Monster being used as weapons (that last one was more lethal than it sounds). Last March, Krieger was a guest on Scottish-based podcast Tuck of the Draw (hosted by Stephen Louch), where he firmly stated that if Krobar and Lou were to square off in singles action, at least one of them would die. Let’s hope that theory doesn’t come to fruition…

Prediction: Krobar

Six Man Scrap: Kez Evans vs Kid Fite vs Luca de Pazzi vs Andy Wild vs BT Gunn vs Alexander Dean

The Square Go! Match is the biggest match on the annual ICW calendar. Whoever wins is most likely going to then win the ICW World Heavyweight Championship, bar one or two winners, so it’s always an exciting one to keep your eyes on. This year, to get us in Square Go! spirits, Kez Evans, Kid Fite, Luca de Pazzi, Andy Wild, BT Gunn, and Alexander Dean will compete in a Six Man Scrap. The rules are fairly simple – it’s a standard Elimination Match, but eliminations will determine who enters the Square Go! at what number. Depending who goes out in what order, they will enter the 30-person over the tap event at numbers 1, 5, 10, 15, and 20, with the winner going into the match at number 30. Obviously the main goal for all six men involved is to win the match to have the biggest advantage possible come February 2nd, but realistically speaking, their main goal should be to ensure they make it past the first elimination. No-one wants to start the match, although it has worked out to their advantage in previous years – RUDO Lightning won the 2019 briefcase from number two. That fact aside though, all six need to keep on top of the game here, otherwise they could be in for the match of their life in two weeks time.

Prediction: Kez Evans

ICW Zero-G Championship: Leyton Buzzard (c) vs TK Cooper

Leyton Buzzard shocked the world on December 15th. After opening the show with yet another incredible performance between himself and Kieran Kelly, ‘The Captain’ would win that bout to earn the right to challenge for the Zero-G Championship at the Square Go! However, Leyton didn’t want to waste any more time, as he answered Liam Thomson’s open challenge later that same night to shockingly win the title from ‘The Bad Boy’, albeit in controversial fashion with a full-blown kick to the groin. Remember, there are no disqualifications in all of ICW’s matches. As a result of that win, the Glasgow Pro Wrestling Asylum (GPWA) graduate now finds himself with one of the biggest matches of his career, as he gets set to defend his newly-won title against the debuting TK Cooper. ‘The Headbutt Messiah’ has been making waves across the UK for some time now, being the inaugural champion in Breed Pro Wrestling. This will be his first time stepping on Scottish soil to compete however, and what an opportunity he has for his first match under the ICW banner. Technically speaking though, if TK were to win the title, Leyton still has his #1 contendership to use at the Square Go! should he need to.

Prediction: Leyton Buzzard