By Doctor Bedlam
Twitter

 

Hello dear readers, its that time again where the good doctor takes a look at the latest offerings by ICW and delivers his no holds barred opinion, so, lets get to it shall we?

There wasn’t as many people at this event but considering that, for some reason, they decided to hold it on a Saturday i can see why, people at work/other commitments/etc also ICW’s traditional day is a Sunday so it had a strange feel to the night.

Two people were announced for Fear and Loathing, Sami Callihan and Noam Dar. Now Sami is a good call, while not as big a name, as we have had in the past he is a good fit for ICW. It is a pity two of the wrestlers people would have loved to see wrestle him no longer are in ICW. Can you imagine Chris Renfrew or Mikey Whiplash versus Sami Callihan? I know I could. Noam Dar, now if you dear reader know anything about me, you know that I just don’t rate, or like, Noam Dar so this announcement didn’t get the ol’ Doc’s blood pumping, well not in a good way.

Lets get on with the matches.

Grado and Leyton Buzzard vs Ravie Davie and Kez Evans – A solid start to the night, every wrestler brought something different to the match and made for an enjoyable encounter. Leyton and Kez are especially impressive in my opinion, the crowd seemed into it and let’s be honest it’s the sort of start you want in a wrestling show.

Isla Dawn vs Anastasia – Hold on, what’s going on here? A women’s match with none of the usual suspects? I hope not too many people left because of it, I hope there wasn’t a wave of people demanding refunds at the box office, oh it’s just a title tournament match, don’t worry normal service will resume soon. Anastasia, of course, was a replacement for Viper who couldn’t make the show and while I am a huge fan of Viper it was actually a nice change to see people other than Viper, KLR, Aivil and Kasey in a match. To have none of them even near the ring, to see two different female wrestlers. Isla Dawn won to face Aivil for the right to face Kasey. Of course we know Aivil will win and go on to face Kasey and if she wins Aivil will defend the title against Kasey in her first defense (and second and third and fourth…) and if Kasey wins her next big opponent will be… Aivil. This has the danger of becoming the next Carmel and KLR, two greatly talented wrestler but seemingly constantly just booked to face each other over and over. I love Aivil, she’s one of the best talents around, but c’mon an Aivil versus Isla Dawn feud for the women’s belt, Aivil with her Mama Shango (her words not mine) persona and Isla Dawn the white witch, I know I’d watch it.

Joe Coffey vs Paul Tracey – It’s been a while since Paul Tracey was in an ICW ring but he still has it. This was a thrill to watch, an excellent display of wrestling skill, and of course Joe, as ever, gave it his all to come out with a well deserved win.

Dickie Divers vs Krieger – This, for me, was the surprise hit of the night. Two wrestlers who can be equally serious and fun in the ring and this was a dream match up for some, me included. Both had something to prove. Krieger, that he deserves his place in ICW (we all know he does but he is tireless in his efforts to hammer the point home), and Divers to show that he still has it. Lou King Sharp’s return was a welcome sight too. He’s like the yappy dog your neighbour owns, drives you nuts when it’s there with it’s barking but you miss it when its not there (it’s a strange analogy but works for me).

Kings of Catch vs Kings of the North – Ah when monarchies collide, it’s always a pleasure when you see two established teams go hard at it like these two did. Makes you see why tag team wrestling is an art form of its own within wrestling, that almost telepathic connection, the flow, all of which was evident in this match. They gelled well and I do hope this is not the last time these two teams face off and I will be cheering on the Kings of the North against The Kinky Party at Fear and Loathing.

Alexander Dean vs Aaron Echo – And to think this all started because Ricky Knight Jr couldn’t appear at the last show, this set up a deciding match at Fear an Loathing but if I’m honest, I’m in two minds about it. While yes it will be a good match up, I kinda would love to see Aaron Echo challenge for the Zero G title instead, but that’s just me and Alexander Dean has been a welcome addition to ICW lately, long may he stay with us.

Kieran Kelly vs Stevie James – This was… a good match, not really much else I can really say about it. It was nice to see Stevie James get a chance to shine as a singles wrestler for a change and Kieran is always entertaining, I just stood and enjoyed it for what it was.

Stevie Boy vs Andy Wild – Lets be honest, there was only ever going to be one winner here, Stevie. I just couldn’t see Stevie losing to Andy unless he was injured again or something, it would have been too soon into his reign… again… to lose the belt though I will say, big respect to Andy Wild, it was an awesome match for what it was and I’m sure Andy’s time may come but not yet. Also what’s happening with his feud with Power Forward and Mark Coffey? Or is it like everything else to do with Power Forward, makes no bloody sense to anyone and I get a very very strong feeling Stevie is retaining at Fear and Loathing. I like Joe, he’s a great wrestler, but I can’t see them putting the belt on him, look at his Zero G run earlier, half the time he wasn’t there due to NXT UK commitments.

Liam Thomson vs Wolfgang – Okay where to bloody start? Didn’t Dallas say something about building up new stars? Well surely the Zero G belt is one very good way to do that. I had high hopes for Liam’s reign, that it would be used to build someone new up as a credible Zero G Champion (like Aaron Echo or Leyton Buzzard) but no we get the same old stuff, Good Housekeeping at Fear and Loathing. In my opinion there is little chance the title will change (like Joe, Wolfy has NXT UK commitments to keep), I have no doubt it will be a good match, I just wish it wasn’t for the Zero G title. It’s what I call the Dominik Conundrum (the Eddie vs Rey Summerslam ladder match would have been an instant classic if it wasn’t for custody papers).

Got a few other thoughts:

Carmel’s first full show as commissioner was decent, she let RUDO know who’s boss quickly that’s for sure, and it’s nice to see a non-heel authority figure, I only hope this keeps up.

The wrist kissin’, hands behind the back claspin’, man of a thousand nicknames is back. Noam Dar’s back everyone! and I… couldn’t care less. Yeah I know, local boy done good and all that but I still find him and his matches annoying. From the bloody wrist kissing he does to that weird double punch, slap uppercut thing he does that looks like it would struggle to wound a butterfly. I never liked the guy before he went to WWE and nothing has changed. I do apologise but he is one of the few wrestlers I could never truly take to although his early stuff with Rob Cage was good to watch but now? Just can’t get excited… I’m sorry.

Fear and Loathing this year… where do I begin? We know what the women’s match is going to be and that it’s not gonna be a feud ender, and in general the title matches, bar maybe the tag title match seem too predictable. I’m calling it now, Aivil beats Kasey (or she bloody should, there’s only so many times you can have her lose to Kasey before interest in Aivil wanes), Liam and Stevie retain (I’d like to think RUDO will cash in after the title match but I sometimes get the feeling we won’t, no matter how many people want to see it happen). You heard it here, I think that’s been the issue with ICW and at Fear and Loathings in recent times either too predictable that you know who’s winning before it starts or it’s TOO out there (like Ashton Smith and Rampage Brown winning twice despite not being in ICW since that summer). I just wish ICW would do something just a little different for once like RUDO cashing but I fear after the title match we will all be looking up that ramp in vain, I’d like to be proven wrong though.

Hope you enjoyed my thought and opinions (and bear in mind they are just opinions).