It has been a couple months since I watched Insane Championship Wrestling live on Triller+, with ‘We Run This Town’ being the last event I was able to catch in full, Sunday evenings are a busy night but for the biggest show on their calendar then exceptions are to be made. It was a packed line up on hand at The Garage in Glasgow.

Billy Kirkwood opened the show with Ryan Fitzsimons, Veronica Salt, and Katt Wolfe to run down the card and turn the hype up to eleven.

Joe Coffey defeated Craig Anthony by pinfall.

Joe Coffey immediately went about slowing down Craig Anthony, who tried to pick up the speed from the offset. Coffey stood firm against strikes but a jolting pull of the right arm from Anthony had Joe wounded which Craig had no hesitation in making the shoulder his prime target.

The plan looked to be paying dividends, Joe tried to roll through a sunset flip to lock in a Boston Crab but he couldn’t get the strength to turn Anthony over because of the damage done. Coffey switched to his left arm to stop an Irish Whip as the momentum took Craig through for for a sit out slam.

The strategies went out the window with the hard strikes and a trade of snap German Suplexes to get more physical. Anthony took to the skies for a diving forearm, with Joe meeting him on the second rope to stop any further aerial attacks. Anthony slipped through for a powerbomb for a two count.

Joe fought through the pain, catching Craig Anthony in an electric chair position, popping him up to be caught smoothly with another German Suplex for a near fall of his own.

The battle went back up the turnbuckles where Craig once again got the better of The Iron Man. The action never let up with Joe swinging Anthony around one handed. Craig continued to use the weakened shoulder to create space but he couldn’t avoid an Aw Ra Best Fur Tha Bells lariat to finish the match with Joe Coffey walking out with the victory.

A great opening match, the story of Joe’s shoulder was a nice equaliser that showed the intelligence of both competitors with Craig Anthony kicking at it when grounded and Coffey having to adapt his favoured move set to accommodate. There was no prolonged downtime and both went hard at the other to create a solid back and forth display. The match was originally announced as an exhibition but the additional layers added on the run up via social media really punched up a whole other level of desperation from both to snatch the win.

Colton Davis, & KoE (Adam King & Marcus King) defeated Mark Coffey, Ben Rodgers, & Landon Riley by pinfall.

It was on sight for Mark Coffey and his team with the brawl starting as all six men entered the ring. KoE and Colton Davis were rattled in trying to fend off the swinging of fists as Riley, Rodgers, and Coffey settled into an early rhythm.

The quick tags continued with Landon Riley and Ben Rodgers doing an effective job of keeping Marcus King in their corner and bringing in Mark Coffey for some heavy artillery. Adam King finally stretched out his arm for a blind tag but even he got overwhelmed by the raw power of Ben Rodgers.

A distraction from Colton Davis finally gave his crew the upper hand as they took to taking it out on Rodgers who was going down fighting while being bombarded by right hands and boots of his adversaries. Marcus kept the pressure on Ben Rodgers, flinging him hard into the corner and bringing in his brother to continue the assault.

Some panther-like reflexes Rodgers made his way to tag in Landon Riley who ramped the tempo up to discombobulate KOE with his array of high flying athleticism and landing a running shooting star press to Adam King. A distraction from Marcus gave Adam enough time to recover and dodge a 450 splash as Coffey and Davis got tagged in to throw bombs at each other.

The bodies amassed on the outside to continue the scrap only to look up to see a flying Ben Rodgers coming down on them. Just as it looked like Colton Davis was in a three on one situation, Landon Riley and Ben Rodgers started having an argument and when Mark Coffey tried to refocus the pair he was struck by a superkick from Riley. A confused Rodgers didn’t see the kick between his legs coming as Landon slapped Ben to the canvas, leaving to a chorus of boos to put the numbers firmly into the side of KOE and Colton Davis.

No time was wasted, KOE took out Rodgers with a Shatter Machine, and Colton Davis put the finishing touches onto the bout with a chokeslam to Mark Coffey to pin the Power Forward in the middle of The Garage.

A shocking turn which had been lingering recently. It looked to be triggered when Ben Rodgers tried to call the shots for a tag team move which is such a curious thread to have with Riley perhaps thinking Ben Rodgers was trying to pull some sort of rank even though Landon is the former ICW Zero G Champion, he is the guy named on the PWI500, and has forged a name for himself in Insane Championship Wrestling. I’m looking forward to the carnage that will come of this. Another hot match that showcased KOE as a well oiled machine once they got going, and the brief exchanges between Colton and Mark leading to Davis putting Coffey down for the count at the end was great.

ICW Zero G Championship – All Star Scramble – Wolfgang defeated Daz Black, Dylan Thorn, Theo Doros, BT Gunn, Kez Evans, and Jason Reed by pinfall to retain the ICW Zero G Championship.

In an unannounced inclusion, Jason Reed made way out but had an angry Dylan Thorn battering him before he could even place a foot on the steps to make his way to between the ropes. The other competitors paired off as the ring emptied save for a couple bodies taking centre stage at any one time.

BT Gunn gave Theo Doros a bit of trouble with an Indian Deathlock that went magna when Gunn suplexed Daz Black in the midst of the hold. A human centipede of submissions was created with Kez trapping Doros into a crossface while Gunn had his abdominal stretched by Dylan Thorn. Wolfgang admired the construction before causing destruction by way of throwing Daz Black into the pile to break it up.

Dylan turned his attention back to Jason Reed with a brawl into the crowd. BT joined the party. Once again Wolfgang played spoiler by picking up a running Black and throwing him over the ropes and into the crowd to knock down all the pins on the outside for a bit of vintage Wolfgang. Theo Doros tried to take advantage but his top rope endeavour was interrupted by Kez Evans grabbing the godly gonads of Theo Doros.

Wolfgang continued to control the ring, crashing his way through a springboarding Theo Doros with a spear. Jason Reed finally made his way between the ropes, clearing everyone to the edges to finally bask under the lights of The Garage. Only to back into BT Gunn who welcomed Jason Reed back with a chop across his staunch chest. Gunn and Wolfgang had a quick stare down but it was stopped as the entrants slowly gathered into the ring. Gunn and Evans showed some of their tag team dynamic by ping ponging Theo Doros around and planting him with a tag team elevated DDT. A malfunction at the junction led to Kez hammering Gunn with a Polish Hammer behind his back.

Thorn and Black had a tremendous exchange of fast paced moves with Dylan connecting with the Crown of Thorns pump kick. Jason Reed slithered back in to deliver a low blow in an attempt to take it all away from Thorn. Reed pinned Daz Black but felt his spine disintegrate thanks to a Wolfgang Swanton Bomb to break the count for The Regulator to drag Reed’s limp body over for the three count to retain.

A breakneck match to keep track of. The scramble element was forgotten about as there was no time limit on screen, or the staggered entrants that was part of the match at ‘We Run This Town’ and it didn’t seem to be communicated to commentary with vague references to the time. It didn’t spoil the match it just adjusted the expectations. Wolfgang was fantastic as the regulator of the match funnily enough, stopping shenanigans with brute strength before retaining in climatic fashion.

There were some nice story developments with Kez and BT once again getting in each others way, and Jason Reed being the thorn in the side of Dylan Thorn one more time. The final back and forth with Daz and Dylan was really good and gave them a moment to shine because most of the match was unpredictable multi-man chaos.

ICW Women’s World Championship – Triple Threat Ladder Match – Angel Hayze w/The Wee Man defeated Lana Austin w/Austin Brookes, and Daisy Jenkins to win the ICW Women’s World Championship.

A bloodshot eyed Daisy Jenkins made a beeline for Angel Hayze from the bell which gave Lana Austin and Austin Brookes the time to get one of the ladders at ringside. Daisy and Angel interrupted their fight to dropkick the ladder to knock down the champion on the outside before proceeding to duke it out again.

Lana Austin returned to the fold, countering a snap suplex for one of her own to send Hayze into the corner for her legs to collide with the turnbuckles. Lana was the first to scale the ladder but was stopped by Daisy Jenkins who took the champion down. Daisy went for her own climb but thanks to Austin Brookes and a spray bottle, a blinded Jenkins proceeded to be powerbombed by Lana onto a folded ladder leaning on the bottom rope.

Brookes continued to be an asset for Lana, who willingly provided additional support until Angel Hayze pulled his leg from the ladder to send him face first to the canvas from a height. The numbers were still against Hayze, but she managed to dropkick a ladder held by Brookes and Lana to knock down the pair for moment of rest before once again it was two on one.

A couple low blows finally neutralised the advantage for Angel to once again climb the rungs leading to an appearance from Hollie Barlow who rushed into the ring to provide another hurdle to overcome. Barlow pushed the ladder over to send Hayze to the floor that finally brought The Wee Man into play to help his client. Unfortunately he got jumped by Lana Austin before he could do any damage to Barlow.

Angel came back swinging with a steel chair to smash Lana and Hollie, but once again Austin Brookes stopped the momentum. Brookes decided to climb the ladder to get the belt for Lana himself, only for The Wee Man to march in and tip the ladder to send Austin Brookes backwards and cracking the back of his head off a ladder in the corner. Lana blasted Angel with a Discus Lariat to leave both on the mat.

Daisy Jenkins burst through from the back to re-enter the match but was met at the top by Lana Austin. Angel Hayze pushed the ladder over, and with one final neck breaker to Hollie Barlow, Angel graduated from The Young Lioness to The Queen of the Jungle.

It was always going to be a tough task to live up to the ladder match from last year because that was pure barbarity. Daisy being taken out so early and becoming a non-factor was a shame as she had done so much to carry the story and get to this point when Lana Austin wasn’t on shows. Her coming out with those bloodshot eyes added to the insanity of her quest to become the ICW Women’s World Champion. Daisy has been public with her recent struggles so I have to commend her for pushing herself through to the match, her time as champion in ICW will still come I’m sure.

Essentially it became Angel Hayze versus Lana Austin (and friends) for 95% of the match, the appearance of Hollie Barlow didn’t get the reaction possibly expected with LALLIE being quite the thing across the border but it didn’t translate to The Garage, at least not on the stream audio.

It was a match that offered a lot of promise but didn’t quite hit the heights expected.

During the interval a Brent-like day in the life documentary for Sean McLaughlin was aired. It was effective in showing that Sean may be a bit out of his depth as Insane Championship Wrestling General Manager. It also included a full rendition of Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas.

It was a thing that happened.

ICW World Tag Team Championships – Fatal Four Way – Arcade Violence (Brody Turnbull & Jake Lawless) defeated SAnitY (Big Damo & Axel Tischer), Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson & James Drake), and Ruff Riders (Jack Ripley & Gene Munny) by pinfall to retain the ICW World Tag Team Championships.

Opening the second half of the show was the ICW World Tag Team Championship match featuring quite the array of teams of varying experience and character. Jake Lawless started for the champions, tussling with Axel Tischer. The Axe Man got the better of Lawless, as he stumbled back into the Ruff Riders corner with Jack Ripley gladly tagging in to get his hands on SAnitY.

Ripley stared a hole through Tischer who retreated to tag in Brody Turnbull. The tension between Ripley and Tischer was palpable with all four teams entering to cause some separation. Cooler heads prevailed with Turnbull and Ripley restarting the bout. Brody sent Ripley hurtling across the ring with a pounce-esque shoulder barge to bring in Jake Lawless.

In the battle of the tasches, Jack Ripley got the upper hand to tag in Gene Munny who got a near fall from an Earthquake style sit down splash to Lawless. James Drake wanted a piece of the ICW World Tag Team Champion, blind tagging Munny so that the Grizzled Young Veterans could get their first taste of the action.

The former REAL 5 Star Wrestling Champion, Zack Gibson, tried to bully around Lawless but Jake wriggled out of a potential powerslam to tag in big Brody Turnbull who was amped up and was running through Gibson who was sooooon to require a new ribcage with Arcade Violence quickly tagging in and out to cause some punishment. The GYV turned the tide with Drake launching himself off the back of Gibson to drive his foot into the face of Turnbull to knock the power of the AV Club off the apron. An exhausted Lawless wisely escaped a suplex from James Drake to tag in Jack Ripley to take a respite, crumpling into a heap on the apron.

“The Milkshake Man” Jack Ripley had Drake all discucumbobulated as he started tossing around his secret weapon to knock down the Grizzled Young Veterans and Axel Tischer, but Big Damo got a grip on it and bore down with his teeth and spat the remains into the pained face of Jack Ripley. Damo had seen enough, tagging himself in and throwing his weight around, crashing into Gene Munny and turning his attention back to Ripley. The Grizzled Young Veterans were happy to join in which SAnitY seemed to take personally that allowed for Jack to get That Damn Dirty Dawg in to run rampant.

Bodies starting flying across the ring, suplexes and strikes, including an impressive body slam by Brody Turnbull to Big Damo. Jack Ripley almost sealed it with a 450 Splash but Damo was quick to senton onto the pile and break the fall. SAnitY looked to have the match wrapped up until Natasha Swann ran out to deliver a couple low blows, saving her boys who took advantage to brawl with the beefy duo into the crowd.

It left Grizzled Young Veterans and Arcade Violence to duke it out in the ring. The heads turned towards the balcony to witness Jack Ripley dive from the top onto the crowd below in a mad moment. GYV took out Brody Turnbull at ringside with a springloaded tombstone, Jake Lawless was outnumbered but a quick counter to roll through a lungblower to jacknife pin Zack Gibson while Turnbull grabbed the leg of James Drake for the three count to be made.

A big win for Arcade Violence but the night belonged to Jack Ripley proving he belonged in Insane Championship Wrestling, from the emotion of seeing him squaring up to Axel Tischer, to his cucumber shenanigans, all the way to the balcony dive that will be replayed for years to come. It’s baffling that it took so long for Gene Munny to come into this new generation ICW fold because he has fitted in seamlessly. The return of Natasha Swann was perfectly timed. The Ruff Riders made the most of their inclusion in the match.

The tenacity of Arcade Violence to not rest on their laurels and to start the match, to their interactions with all three teams, it really showed why they have risen so fast in the tag team ranks, not only in ICW but around the country and beyond after their recent tour to defend the titles in Asia and North America to confirm an earned world status to the ICW World Tag Team Championships.

Judas Grey & Lost Boy Aspen defeated The Girvans (Lewis Girvan & Fraser Girvan) by pinfall.

It’s time for the match that most will be waiting for me to write about. It was the worst kept secret, but Billy Kirkwood revealing it right before the match by mistake just further cemented it “Aspen Faith, the poster boy of Scottish wrestling”. A very rare slip up from Mr Kirkwood.

Sean McLaughlin entered for one final little swerve to delay the inevitable. Sean talked about practicing telling stories due to his impending fatherhood. Talking about the present of insanity, The Girvans, the future of insanity Judas Grey, and finally the past. As the music hit, the camera focused on the light dying behind the eyes of Lewis Girvan when Lost Boy Aspen’s name appeared on the tron then the blood drained from his face when Aspen walked through the curtain. Brilliant camera work to capture it.

Lewis bailed out the ring but was followed by a diving Judas to kick off the match in style with Aspen and Fraser fighting it out in the ring, leading to The Lost Boy taking control, busting out the team work with his new tag team partner. Judas was victim to Lewis dropping the top rope to stop any further momentum as The Girvans isolated Grey from his corner.

Judas found his way back to Aspen, who went back to bullying about Fraser while Lewis avoided anything to do with his former Kings Road brother. Aspen and Judas hit a flapjack/springboard cutter to Fraser but a double foot stomp from the rope turnbuckle by Lewis broke the count.

Stereo superkicks by Aspen and Lewis took out Fraser and Judas respectively as the former Kings of Catch backed into each other for a Filthy Generation reunion. An incensed Lewis Girvan was apoplectic with rage as he stared eye to eye with Aspen, but it was Aspen that hit first with forearms exchanged back and forth. Before either could land a killer blow, Judas returned the favour from earlier to drop the top rope to send Lewis spilling to the outside and giving him no time to breathe as Grey soared out to the crowd with a swanton.

Fraser tried to wrap up the match but was distracted by a returning Judas Grey and turned around to feel The Darkest Lariat. A Jay Driller to Fraser Girvan finished the match with Lewis clawing to try and break the count but was too late, having to watch up close as his brother was pinned by his former partner. A successful first night outing for the new team of Lost Boy Aspen and Judas Grey.

I’ll be straight with you, this is the match that sold the show to me. As mentioned right up the top there, Sundays aren’t usually the most convenient time due to real life stuff and things but once this match went out and the mere notion of seeing Aspen and Lewis standing across from each other entered my squishy brain, the schedule was cleared.

This was a great opening chapter for what I hope is a multi match experience that gets gnarlier and more insane as it progresses. There is a lot of history and some harsh truths that could layer it all further.

The Judas/Aspen tandem is a very exciting prospect in an already heavy tag team division, I can’t wait to see where that can go.

I did love that it was the double arm piledriver that fell Fraser for the second year in a row (I know it was a powerbomb through a CD covered board that was his last moment at the previous year’s event but the piledriver was thee moment), at least this time it wasn’t on a ladder scaffold and his skull has remained in one piece (as far as I’m aware).

ICW World Heavyweight Championship – King of Insanity – Rhio defeated Kenny Williams by submission to retain the ICW World Heavyweight Championship and become the new King of Insanity.

After two and a half hours of live streamed insanity, it was time for the main event for the evening. One of the biggest highlights recently has been seeing the organic rise of Rhio in Insane Championship Wrestling from ICW Women’s World Champion, to Square Go! winner, and to ICW World Heavyweight Champion, nothing has felt forced in the slightest. Rhio has provided the in-ring ability against all comers that has earned her spot at the top of the ICW pile.

Kenny Williams has been an incredible catalyst for this main event rise, capturing this maniac that wants to control and mould everything around him but is becoming more erratic and desperate as his house of cards falls down.

Williams didn’t want to do any fancy lock ups to kick off, swinging a Singapore Cane wildly to put Rhio on the back foot, using the weapon to choke the champion. A defiant Rhio ducked a swipe to slam Kenny onto the canvas but couldn’t take advantage, finding herself being knocked off the apron with a springboard back elbow. Kenny dived through the ropes but missed his intended target, landing ribs first onto the metal barricade at ringside.

Rhio grabbed a steel chair to bludgeon Kenny Williams around the ring. Kenny ducked for the chair to see it ricochet off the steel ring post. Williams kicked Rhio hard against the barrier, feigning an ankle injury to sucker Rhio to crawl her way to the stage before kicked her in the head. Williams went to the bin his minions took out during his entrance to revealed a thumbtack covered kickpad that he used to great effect across the spine of The Scum of the Earth.

The champion bided her time, grabbing the leg of Kenny Williams to whip him down with a Dragon Screw and ripping the kickpad from his leg to lash it off the back of Williams, the blood seeped through his white shirt. Rhio took a moment to recover from the assault which was all Kenny Williams needed to dropkick Rhio through the ropes and go back onto the attack. Delivering a basement dropkick while the metal bin contained the head and torso of a seated Rhio in the corner. The bin was removed as the crimson mask covered the face of the ICW World Heavyweight Champion.

A manic challenger continued the battering, tying Rhio up with a cable tie to the bottom rope and slowly pushed thumbtacks into her arms while the screams filled The Garage. Kenny taunted Rhio with the ICW World Heavyweight Championship only to get a swift kick and as Williams stumbled back, Rhio broke the tier to smash the title off the dome of Kenny Williams that split him open to even the score.

It became a war of survival, Kenny kept Rhio down long enough to set up a barbed wire board across the apron and barricade. Rhio fought off a suplex but received a top rope back elbow for her troubles. The thumbtacks came back into play as Williams tried to force Rhio’s face into the pile of sharp pins. The champion avoided it bit couldn’t fight off a rolling fireman’s carry to turn her into a badass pin cushion.

Ever the artist, Kenny tried to finish the match with a package piledriver onto the bin but Rhio hoisted Williams up for a White Noise into the metal. Williams went to use the ICW World Heavyweight Championship again but collided with referee Carson Black. A headlock driver should have ended it but there was no referee and no replacement was sent out to lean into the list of enemies that Kenny Williams has amassed during his reign.

The adrenaline kicked in for Rhio who fought off a second headlock driver to fire him over the top rope through the barbed wire board and to the floor. A package piledriver connected with Thomas Kearins arriving to make the count but it was only two.

Kenny begged off Rhio, however it was another ruse with a handful of tacks being thrown into the face of Rhio. Rhio stopped the headlock driver to slam Kenny to the ground, locking in a rear naked choke with the thumbtack kickpad pressing into his face for the quick tap out.

A beaten Kenny Williams raised the arm of the champion post-match.

What a main event. It was pointed out by Ryan Fitzsimons on commentary but everything that Kenny brought in to the match ultimately brought him the most pain and lead to him leaving The Garage empty handed. No title, and also no back up with hawners from Colton Davis, KOE, or Red Lightning being non-existent, he was all alone.

The aura that Rhio possesses is incredible in both showing that exhaustion as the minutes past and the blood flowed, but her power to keep a hand in the match to find that opening was some masterful story telling. It was a match that delivered immensely in the main event.

A great show from Insane Championship Wrestling. It was packed to the rafters with so many multi wrestler matches, value for money in seeing such an array of wrestlers in an incredibly atmospheric and famous professional wrestling venue. The pacing of the show was well done and even if I had to watch it in multiple parts nothing was laboured with matches getting a chance to breathe but not overstaying their welcome.

Replay of the event is available on Triller+, you can get a 7 day free trial for new subscribers.