By Doctor Bedlam
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Hello readers, hard to believe this time last year I started writing these reports so much has happened, good and bad, and we have shared a lot of experiences. Some of you agree with me, others don’t, but anyway once again let us look at ICW’s big summer showcase, Shug’s Hoose Party.

But first some of you may be wondering why I did not review ICW’s Lionheart tribute. Well the simple answer is, I didn’t feel right doing so, it was a fitting tribute to the great man and I felt it was the one show that should stand on its own without my brand of critique, I just appreciated the night for what it was.

Anyway, once again we are at the O2 Academy and outside on night one it was lovely Scottish summer weather and like a great many of you I got drenched, but that did not dampen our spirits, hell no. The queue for night two were treated to much nicer weather, still rained, but the sun came out too. Of course, the main talking point was who was the number one contender. This varied from the possible like Stevie Boy, Joe Hendry and Jackie Polo, the outside chances like Noam Dar, Mikey Whiplash and Grado, to the complete bonkers like Finn Balor, Drew Galloway and Viper (I love Viper but even if I was all for inter-gender matches this would have not have been the time to do this sorta move). Once inside I did notice it was rather hot, not anything ICW or the venue could do about that unfortunately but anyway… on with the show.

Night 1

Iestyn Rees & Kenny Williams vs More than Hype – This was… well what it was, a good way to start the show and once again showcase More Than Hype, who always seem to ooze a unique love for the sport of wrestling I have rarely seen before. Iestyn and Kenny were ideal opponents for them as it allowed them to show what they can do against different types of wrestlers, they lost but they were so damn entertaining it didn’t matter did it?

Kasey vs Aivil – Okay ICW what gives? It’s rare a talent like Aivil comes along, not just talking among women’s wrestling I mean wrestling period, while Kasey is no slouch Aivil is another level and I feel they are dragging their heels with regards of putting the belt on her. After the match The P.O.D. came out to help attack Aivil only for The Purge to come and get their match started. I know people will think I’m being daft and stuff but I never like seeing beat downs on women wrestlers by male wrestlers, it does make me a little uncomfortable, I’m sorry it just does.

The Purge vs The P.O.D. – This match was pretty solid, The Purge have a defined role in ICW now and are revealing in it and The P.O.D. are actually being used as something other than transitional tag champs. The Purge won which was the right decision all things considered and continues the momentum The Purge have from the King of the Hawners.

Mark Coffey vs Andy Wild – Okay, they really need to explain WTF Power Forward are and why Mark Coffey leads/needs/has them? I mean apart from their shenanigans this was a very even paced technical match up. It was two solid workers just doing their thing, though for Gods sake guys please explain Power Forward to us? Why are they with Mark and why are they doing his bidding? I mean we have known their connection with him since the Square Go, yet here we are after Shug’s still none the wiser, I get the feeing by the time they bother to tell us we won’t care anymore.

Liam Thomson vs Joe Coffey – Joe Coffey is one of the wrestlers I most enjoy watching but I admit putting the Zero G belt on Liam Thomson makes more sense. It allows ICW to do more storylines and the likes and, to be honest, the guy deserves a run with an ICW belt. The guy got a bloody sink over… a sink. The match was great, had lots of drama, especially when Joe smashed the sink with a sledgehammer, I’d like to see where they go with Thomson as champion.

Paul Robinson vs Krieger – I thought security were going to get stricter with fans, I mean shoving a wrestler is not on and the person should of been removed. The match itself, okay I’m still not sold on Robinson, I know a lot of people think he is amazing but I just don’t see it. I like Krieger’s singles run though he’s proving to be a solid hand to have on the roster.

Leyton Buzzard vs Joe Hendry – While I am sad Joe is gone, I am thankful we don’t have to see Leyton be a silent mask wearing lackey for months on end. I feel this was one of those matches that was awesome to watch.. but I have to be honest, I never like loser leaves stipulation matches.. I know why we have them but just not a fan. However I am growing into a huge fan of Leyton Buzzard, his performance here was amazing and hopefully the start of something special for him.

Kings of the North vs Aaron Echo & Kieran Kelly – Now we are very familiar with Aaron and Kieran but I do admit the Kings of the North are growing on me. Though I do admit when I did first see them at the King of the Hawners I was wondering why one of them had an orangey red glove but, it’s supposed to be a red hand (which of course is the symbol of not just Northern Ireland but of the Irish province of Ulster as a whole and has been for centuries) and also it’s also on the correct hand (it should be the right, the left hand has slightly different meaning and I appreciate the effort put into the gimmick). As a match itself it was solid, not the most remarkable of matches, considering where it was placed on the card it’s no surprise with the crowd being emotionally drained but yes I can see the Kings of the North more in the future.

Kushida vs Just Justice Jackie Polo – Okay this was a genuinely amazing match and Kushida is a bonafide star. However, and I know a lot of you won’t agree, this was (in my opinion) not the best way to showcase him. He was last minute shoehorned into a match more than a year in the making, ever since Polo debuted Just Justice people have wanted to see a Polo ss Jarrett and especially as it looks like that match would be the retirement of the Just Justice gimmick. Instead we get a match up, while a better technical match up, didn’t have the same dramatic element to it. Though some people speculated Polo was giving up Just Justice to then appear the next nights main event as plain old Jackie Polo, and I admit if Stevie Boy’s fitness was in question I could have seen that happen. The promo Polo delivered at the end was beautiful and heartfelt, I hope he isn’t gone too long. We also had a possible set up for Kenny Williams vs Kushida down the line, probably Fear and Loathing.

Night 2

Alexander Dean vs Ricky Knight Jr – It’s not often you get two guest performers face off against each other and, if I am honest, this was an amazing match to kick off the night. No one man getting the true upper hand, it could have went either way, even the pinfall that won it gave you the impression Alexander Dean JUST pinned him and no more. I liked this match for that, it flowed beautifully and I was just happy to see a damn fine display of wrestling.

Ravie Davie vs The Sam Barbour Experience – While, yes this was originally Davie vs Red, Sam Barbour came in and excelled in his opportunity to shine. I love his nWo Hollywood Hogan look, while (obviously) not unique, it’s striking and makes you take note. I remember his match versus Lewis Girvan last year being quite slow paced and methodical, this was a more pacey encounter that had the crowd hooked from the get go. Yes he lost, but we can all agree that Sam Barbour is someone we all want to see more often in ICW. It is also good to see Davie mature as a wrestler too, he has come along way and there’s promise of more to come.

Leyton Buzzard (replacing Grado) vs James Storm – Leyton against James Storm actually turned out to be one of the matches of the weekend. I know in night one I said Leyton was something special, this match put an exclamation point on it. Sure he got an assist from Grado at the end but he never once look out of his depth and James Storm was as great as he always has been. I’d love to see Leyton get a Zero-G title run soon.

TLC Title Match for the Tag Team Titles – Now this was a great match Kings of Catch won, I wanted The Nine9 to win but wasn’t too upset they didn’t. That’s the sign of a good match. Don’t get me wrong, Jonny and Jody both performed amazingly as well, as always, but they were the one team I kinda knew weren’t gonna win. That’s to be expected, the other two teams were in a storyline and are regulars it was solid and yes my team didn’t win, it happens, but as I said before that is a sign of a good match. It had everything you could want from a TLC match, The Kings were in their element and worked well with both sets of challengers but the man I feel this benefited the most was Dickie Divers. A lot of newer fans only ever knew him as the NAK fall guy or that feud he has with the head referee, what you got in this match was classic STI Divers, lets hope we see more of it and of The Nine9.

BT Gunn vs Kez Evans – I like Kez Evans’ “Wolverine the teenage angst years” look he has with the mutton chops, makes him stand out more. This was supposed to be a dog collar match but was changed to a last man standing, but unlike a lot of last man standings where half of the bloody match is watching someone pretend to barely take less than ten seconds to get up after every big move this was a story of brutality. There was very few close counts and dare I say the punch to the back of the neck with the chain wrapped around BT’s fist was more effective than any big fancy move ever could, this was a man making damn sure if Kez was going down he wasn’t getting up for a while. It had the intensity that I find over the years in multiple companies this match can lack at times, sure it’s a great idea but you can overdo the near finishes to the point it takes away from the match, not here though, BT was a deserved winner.

Toni Storm vs Viper – Okay I don’t care what people say, I just couldn’t get into the match at all, even though it featured Viper whom I am a huge fan of. I’m sorry I don’t find Toni Storm that interesting at all, when a match featuring Viper doesn’t hold my attention then that shows you how, not bad as the actual wrestling was solid but, how unimpressive it was, Sorry Viper, I truly am.

The Kinky Party vs The Anti-Fun Police – Oh for the love of God why? You wanna know something? I had a feeling they would stay together when Sha came out wearing attire that matched up with Jesters, this was the perfect opportunity to break them up.. and believe me it needs to happen. I love them both as performers, just not as a team. The match was a good solid match and looked like it was going to end with the Kinky’s losing but fo rwhatever bloody reason they won. I question the decision to keep them together due to the dwindling amount of regular main event level guys on the roster, they need Jester and Sha separate more than together in my humble opinion and would have cemented The Anti-Fun Police as a force to be reckoned with but who knows what goes on backstage.

Stevie Boy vs Wolfgang – All things considered ICW made the right call here in not just keeping the World title (belt and general title) going but to put it on Stevie Boy. He never truly got to show us what a champ he could be last year due to injury and now he has been given another chance to shine. I can see him taking it with both hands, I also like the new look of the long tights (though they might be partly to hide any knee supports and the likes but still a good look). Remember when Dallas came out to the ring and announced there would be a number one contender I remember standing there thinking I wonder if Stevie is fit. In fact I get the feeling, apart from to build suspense, was the lack of announcement also to be able to judge in Stevie was ready and if not replace him without having to make another announcement? Who knows for sure, Wolfgang was great as well working on Stevie’s knee with ruthlessness and passion to once again capture the gold and Stevie showing dogged determination to win at the very venue he lost the belt. The after match tribute to Lionheart was subtle and beautiful, no speeches, no nothing, just the belt that Lionheart never lost in the middle of the ring with a memorial band on it, it spoke louder than any words ever could.

In general the event was a huge success it had less promo segments than previous years which made the nights flow smoother I feel. Most matches were solid and entertaining, all in all a good weekend for ICW and the fans.

The biggest disappointments for me were Aivil not winning the women’s title and the continuation of The Kinky Party. While I have explained several times why I feel Aivil should have the title and why I think The Kinky Party should split I am more surprised about The Kinky’s not splitting as they need them more as singles guys at this moment in time. Think on it, with Lionheart’s tragic death, Joe Hendry and Jackie Polo leaving, Chris Renfrew’s banishment, Red Lightning’s injury, Mikey Whiplash concentrating on Fierce Females, Grado focusing on other projects, Wolfgang, Joe and Mark Coffey, Kenny Williams all having NXT UK contracts (granted they can still appear at shows but as we seen with the Coffey’s recent Zero G reigns and the Kenny vs Echo feud availability can be an issue and cause issues with storylines), there are not many readily available main event level regulars right now. For now it looks like Stevie may be reigniting his feud with BT Gunn (though it may even be a larger Filthy Generation vs Bad Company feud which might make things interesting) but once that’s over where next? Bringing in “guest” wrestlers may work short term but ICW could have a problem soon if they don’t seriously push some of their regulars a little more. I know some will disagree but with the right push Aaron Echo may be one to watch in that respect, he has the look and charisma. Andy Wild is another who is a possibility and has some momentum and a loyal fan base. The problem is, in the past ICW have shown a reluctance (and at times damn bloody minded stubbornness) about putting new guys on the centre stage. Look how long it took them to give Joe Coffey the belt and as for Joe Hendry, even when he aligned himself with Dallas (the bloody owner of the company), not even a sniff of a main event, if there ever was a time to make new stars it’s now.

I feel ICW are heading into what is a critical time for the company as who knows what will happen? Short term, as I said, above they should be fine but changes need to happen. Focus more on building up regular stars for example, the fact is with NXT UK and with AEW coming on UK tv among other things, ICW could find itself in a sink or swim situation and I for one do not want it to sink.

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