Friday 19 September 2014

ICW: Spacebaws preview

Disclaimer: Not really had a lot of time to do this preview. Not because I think it's a B-show by any means (I'm not Sean fucking David!), but it's just been a hell of a busy few months. But the time is now, Spacebaws is on Sunday, here's a preview.




Insane Championship Wrestling
Spacebaws Episode 4: A New Hope
Sunday 21st September, 2014 - 7pm
The Garage, 490 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3LW
Tickets: Priced at only £10, there are still some available. Your best bet is to head to the Tickets Scotland shop in Glasgow and pick one up there. You can also arrange Box Office collection and pick your tickets up at The Garage after the doors open.
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So what is Spacebaws? Billed as a night to highlight the younger talent in ICW, that means we might as well get this out of the way for the newer fans who have maybe only came onboard since watching the Insane Fight Club re-run or the Drew Galloway videos on Youtube - there will be no Grado, no Drew Galloway, no Jack Jester. There will however still be a ton of great wrestling and at a reduced price, so read on and get yourself a ticket!






Zero-G Championship Match
Mark Coffey (c) vs Kenny Williams

My oh my. This is an amazing bout being billed as the Main Event of the evening, and honestly it could main event any card. Mark Coffey, since winning the Zero-G title back in September last year, has dominated almost every opponent he has faced. But there have been the odd blip.

Some tag matches with Jackie Polo didn't go quite right, nor did a brief return to tag action with his brother Joe. Mark's singles record also isn't perfect. A defeat to Fergal Devitt saw Mark briefly lose the Zero-G title, but he did manage to regain it in convincing fashion by dispatching both Devitt and Noam Dar in a triple threat.

As Coffey had original won the title by defeating Mikey Whiplash while the latter man was also ICW Heavyweight Champion, Mark had been calling himself the real ICW Champion all year. That came to an end however at last month's 1.21 Gigawatts Great Scott! event, where current ICW Heavyweight Champion defeated Mark to put an end to the question mark over who is the true ICW Champion once and for all.

Despite these few blemishes, Mark Coffey has been a convincing champion with an incredibly year-long reign, give or take, under his belt. But he is human.

A man who gives off a superhuman aura right now is Kenny Williams. On the same show where Mark won the Zero-G title (There's Something About Maryhill), Kenny Williams won something as well - the hearts of the fans. Initially derided for his fashion and association with the duo of James R Kennedy and Christopher, the heart on display from the team of Christopher and Kenny as they took on the ICW Tag Team Champions, The NAK, won them a lot of fans that night.

Since then, Christopher has disappeared and been somewhat replaced by The Global Hero / Local Hero / Freak Of Nature / Man Of Many Nicknames Joe Hendry. While Joe has taken up the role of James R Kennedy's favourite prodigy, Kenny has grown uncomfortable serving under the Kennedy Administration regime. With the fans pushing behind him more and more with each appearance, Kenny has began to openly undermine Kennedy's efforts at building a dominant stable, be it enticing the crowd to boo Joe Hendry, or by getting physically involved by handing Joe's opponents a steel chair.

But fans can only get you so far. Kenny's record this year reads as thus; three tag team matches with Joe Hendry have resulted in three defeats. Four singles matches, including two against Mark Coffey for the Zero-G title, have resulted in four defeats. Despite both Kenny and the fans putting their all into every match, Kenny had yet to score a win.

Until last month.

Coming out to a red hot reaction, with his own theme music, seemingly free of Kennedy's mandate that he not take part in the match, Kenny Williams managed to see off Joe Hendry, Damo and Kid Fite in a four-way battle to become number one contender and get another shot at the Zero-G title.

After the match, James R Kennedy seemed to finally endorse Kenny, but Joe Hendry and "The Consequence" Tim Wylie had different ideas and made that physically known by attacking Kenny before departing.

With his connection to the Kennedy Administration in tatters, with the crowd 100% behind him, with a victory finally under his belt in 2014 and with Mark Coffey's claims to being the real ICW Champion rocked, could this be the night that Kenny finally tastes ICW gold?



Lewis Girvan vs Solar

Who is Solar, you may ask. Well if you've only joined ICW in the last year you can be forgiven for not knowing. The high-flying Solar is an incredible talent, fast, energetic and enthralling. In 2013 he seemed constantly in contention for the Zero-G title, having some great matchups with Wolfgang along the way.

Ranked 2013's Best Newcomer, everything seemed to indicate that Solar had a bright future ahead of him. But then disaster struck in the form of an injury, and the masked man has been sidelined ever since. A brief comeback in April and then again in July saw Solar lose to Polo Promotions members Jackie Polo and Mark Coffey respectively, but the hope among many is that Sunday night will see a stable return and swift rise back through the ranks for Solar.

Lewis Girvan is another relative unknown to ICW purists. Having made only a handful of appearances in the ring for ICW, he is nevertheless well known to Scottish wrestling fans as a member of the SWA promotion for the past four years, having won two championships during that time.

But in terms of Insane Championship Wrestling, Lewis Girvan is still seeking that elusive first win to put himself on the map and be firmly established in front of the ICW fans.

Both men have strong reasons to seek victory in this bout, with whoever comes out on top immediately building a strong foundation to build upon in 2015.



The Owens Twins (Leah & Kasey) vs Bete Noire & Viper

Outwith Fierce Females, all four of these women are relatively well known to ICW fans for their appearances on ICW cards alone in the past few years.

Bete Noire is perhaps most famously remembered for her brutal bout as Viper's opponent back in February last year, although she also appeared as Viper's partner at last year's Fear & Loathing event in a battle against Kay Lee Ray and Carmel. It's fair to say that match left an impression.

Outwith the aforementioned appearances, Viper has also recently taken part in an excellent match with Nikki Storm. While both women remain relatively fresh to ICW fans, their individual matches elsewhere and their work as a tag team is well known amongst general wrestling fans. They gel together and have excellent charisma, when not trying to batter lumps out of each other.

One team that does not have to worry about friction is the twins Owens. While having only made a couple of appearances as a tag team, The Owens have been seen running in to save fallen comrades and partying with Grado on occasion. On top of that, Leah Owens also had a fantastic bra and panties match (I know, 2014, bra and panties match... it was a good match though!) against Nikki Storm last summer.

All four women have a lot to prove here Sunday night. Although they have excellent reputations and will have been seen several times by many of the fans in attendance, not only will this match be a chance for each team to further their careers in ICW, it will also be an opportunity to showcase that women's wrestling deserves a stronger division within ICW on a monthly basis beyond the sporadic booking it currently received.

Although Kay Lee Ray has been going from strength to strength, recently headlining an ICW event in Edinburgh, and although Carmel continues to get a strong reaction whenever she appear with partner Liam Thomson, I feel that this tag match could be an opportunity to build upon the always excellent matches that each woman puts on and elevate a women's division equal to the tag, zero-g and heavyweights.



The Jackie Polo Invitational Battle Royal

"Best On The Mic 2013", The King Of Chat, Scotland's Beeeeeeeest Wrestler, whatever moniker you put on the guy can't mask the fact that Jackie Polo splits the crowd worse than spoiled milk splits a fine cup of tea.

Nevertheless, the Polo Promotions brand will be seen as an opportunity by many to join the ranks and rub shoulders with great wrestlers like Mark Coffey and maybe propel your career forward a bit. That is what tonight is about after all, and with a Battle Royal to earn an internship, many will be seeking to claim that goal.

Whether you personally think Jackie Polo is never up to any good, that this may be another sneaky way to take jibes at Lionheart, or whether you think this is a genuine opportunity for a young wrestler to make a name for themselves, it doesn't really matter. What matters is who is going to be invited and what their opinion is of this "opportunity".

No more details have been released at this time. We shall just have to wait until Sunday, or constantly refresh Polo's twitter account hoping for more answers.



and wait, there's more!

Although only the above four matches have been announced, many more names will be making an appearance. Here is a quick rundown:

Joe Hendry who has really been making an impact, be it his always entertaining songs, his feats of strength, annoying men much larger than him, or trying to become a Champion. Joe Hendry is pissed that Kenny Williams is getting another shot at the Zero-G title, I wouldn't be surprised if something happens between Kenny and Hendry.

Lou King Sharp has had his name thrown around a lot lately, but Sunday night will be the first time a lot of people will be seeing LKS live. I only saw him for the first time last Saturday at a different promotion, but he has "it", he has something. His small stature only makes his loud personality even larger. I am pretty much most excited to see what he brings to the table, and hope it is much more than just being an entry in the Polo Battle Royal.

Switch N Flik is a complete unknown to me. Sometimes I like that. Judging by the reaction on Facebook and that scary-ass picture, he seems perfect for ICW. Excited to see who he is and what he is about.

Miss Lucy Cole is another female who will hopefully make a great impact and usher in a new era of wrestling on ICW. She is a recent graduate of the PBW Academy who I have only seen live once before, very excited to see what she brings on Sunday.

Courtney is another fresh face on the female scene, currently causing a storm in Fierce Females with her great series against Fiona Fraser. I wouldn't be surprised if she and Lucy Cole were somehow involved, either against each other or as a team, given their similar styles, personalities and recent graduate status.

"International Sex Hero" DCT was starting to make a great name for himself, before foolishly getting on the wrong side of Jack Jester. Since that attack, which can only be described as attempted murder, we haven't seen DCT. One can only hope he appears on Sunday in one piece and has not let such a vicious beating destroy his fun-loving personality.

David The Beloved has been on a crusade for about a year now, looking to clean up ICW, be it through converting sexualised females to his mantra or recently getting on the wrong side of Christopher Saynt. Saynt is recognised as being open about his sexuality and stunts such as a "God Hates Fags" demo (which David claimed was against cigarette smoking) has riled up Saynt. Christoher Saynt is a fantastic wrestler, while David, outwith the odd attack or two, hasn't really shown that he has the strength to back up his talk. I am surprised that both have been announced as appearing yet a match hasn't been made to settle this grudge. But mark my words, something will happen between these two before the night is over.

Bobby Roberts is another talent that has made sporadic appearances over the years, but has recently been making a huge name for himself after several vicious chair shots caused him to turn into a Stone Cold Steve Austin esque personality for several weeks. Is that episode behind him, or has the damage been done to his psyche? I for one am very interested to see what version of Bobby makes an appearance between the ropes.

Emily Hayden another graduate of the PBW Academy, I have unfortunately never seen Emily wrestle live before. My friends at Breaking Baws recently conducted an interview Emily, which I recommend you reading here. What with her ties to Lucy Cole and her similar looking style, I can see a triple threat between Emily, Cole and Courtney taking place. Very excited to see this, if that is what transpires.

Saqib Ali has made two previous appearances in ICW, in a Square Go battle royal and in a match that was meant to exhibit young talent but ended in a No Contest at last year's There's Something About Maryhill. I can't pinpoint why exactly, but I instantly gravitated towards Saqib and would be very interested in seeing a straight-up, one on one match on Sunday between Saqib and someone else.

Tommy Marx, the man who was Saqib's opponent at Maryhill, is one who has appeared even less than Ali, having only the Maryhill "match" on his ICW resume and a handful of appearances elsewhere. I get the sinking feeling he may only be appearing on the Battle Royal, but once again I hold out hope for a singles match, maybe even letting him and Saqib finish what they started?

And finally, "The Very Good" Mr Euan G Mackie has informed ICW management that he will be appearing whether he is invited to or not. Mackie is another one of those wrestlers who has only had a couple of matches for ICW but is very prolific outwith the company. For my part, I saw him at the Maryhill show in a six-man tag encounter and his entire persona, from ring entrance to wrestling to exit, is captivating. I can't fathom why he hasn't appeared more during my time as he practically screams Insane to me.


So there we have it. A wee bit about everyone who is due to appear on Sunday. Tickets are still available, get yourself along to experience some of the best up-and-coming talent before they are away headlining shows miles away.

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