WWE’s Drew McIntyre made a surprise appearance at ICW’s After Hours event in Scotland.
McIntyre was an unannounced surprise guest for an in-ring segment at the After Hours show on early Saturday in Scotland, returning to the promotion where he was the inaugural World Heavyweight Champion.
As ICW Champion Jack Jester stood in the ring, McIntyre’s WWE music and entrance video played. McIntyre came to the ring and teased fighting Jester, but then embraced him before cutting a short promo.
Video clips from McIntyre’s appearance have been posted on social media, including by McIntyre himself:
McIntyre was crowned the first-ever ICW World Champion in 2006, holding the title for 280 days in his first reign. After his WWE release, McIntyre returned to ICW for a run from 2014 to 2017 where he again captured the World title.
WWE’s Clash at the Castle event in Glasgow, Scotland streams live on Saturday at 2 p.m. Eastern time on Peacock/WWE Network, with a two-hour pre-show kicking things off at noon Eastern time. McIntyre will challenge Damian Priest for the World Heavyweight Championship on the show.
Two popular independent promotions will soon no longer be featured on the WWE Network.
Scotland’s Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) and British promotion PROGRESS released statements on Wednesday that their contracts with the WWE Network have come to an end. It is not clear when the tape libraries will be removed from the streaming service.
The statement from PROGRESS reads:
PROGRESS Wrestlingâs first show of 2023 was named START SPREADING THE NEWS for a very clear reason, and they can now confirm that its very positive and long-standing partnership with WWE Network is coming to a harmonious end.
After six years and nearly 50 shows, both promotions are pursuing different digital media strategies, and fans of both WWE and PROGRESS are going to be the beneficiaries.
As one chapter closes, so they say, another one opens, and PROGRESS management can confirm that they are in discussions with a number of high profile global digital media and streaming options.
PROGRESS own an unrivalled video library containing more than a decadeâs worth of the best of independent wrestling, showcasing many household names that have wrestled at PROGRESS over the course of the past 11 years.
Wrestlers such as Pete Dunne, Toni Storm, Walter (current WWE Intercontinental champion, now known as Gunther), Adam Cole, AEW World Champion MJF, Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland, Will Ospreay and Matt Riddle, to name just a few, have competed and enhanced their careers at PROGRESS Wrestling during this period.
This extensive content library has more than 650 hours, featuring 170 shows, which resulted in PROGRESS Wrestling being the biggest independent wrestling company to feature on the WWE Network.
PROGRESS would also announce plans to return to the United States for the first time in six years with a show during WrestleMania Week.
Further news announced at the eponymous chapter is that PROGRESS will be returning to the US in March at Los Angeles and linking up with WWEâs showcase WrestleMania 39.
ICW content had been available on the Network since 2020. The promotion posted a thread on Twitter today updating fans on the future of its library.
ICWâs contract with WWE has come to an end.
Weâll be revealing the new homes of ICW programming in due course.
In the meantime, all unaired programming will air on YouTube and ICW On Demand.
A new episode will air on YouTube every day at 5pm GMT from now till Thursday 26 January. ICW On Demand subscribers already have access to 5 new episodes, with 4 more due to air by Tuesday 24 January.
Our ICW Fight Club event on Sunday 29 January will air live on Facebook and YouTube.
WWE announced on August 13, 2020 that tape libraries from ICW, PROGRESS, WXW, and EVOLVE had been added to the network. Much of the content aquired contained matches involving WWE talent then on the roster including Drew McIntyre, Matt Riddle, Keith Lee, Gunther (then WALTER), and NXT UK wrestlers Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate, and The Grizzled Young Veterans.
However, according to a report from Sean Ross Sapp, WWE is discontinuing having independent promotions on the streaming service.
New content from Scotland’s Insane Championship Wrestling is coming to the WWE Network.
ICW announced today that their ICW Fight Club series is returning with new episodes premiering on the WWE Network starting this weekend. Episodes will be uploaded on Saturdays.
Several past Fight Club episodes from 2018 have been uploaded to the WWE Network over the past few months, but this will be the first time new ICW content has premiered on the WWE Network.
Until now, ICW had been on hiatus from producing new content since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Past independent wrestling content from WWE-partner promotions ICW, PROGRESS Wrestling, wXw, and EVOLVE began being uploaded to the WWE Network this August. EVOLVE was purchased by WWE this July.
ICW Fight Club originally made its debut as Friday Night Fight Club in 2015.
NXT UK’s Noam Dar is the current ICW World Heavyweight Champion. He won the title this February.
ICW’s announcement video for the new Fight Club episodes coming to the WWE Network is available to watch below:
Content from WWE-affiliated independent wrestling promotions is finally coming to the WWE Network.
It was announced via Sports Illustrated today that “WWE officials have confirmed that shows from EVOLVE, wXw, PROGRESS, and Insane Championship Wrestling will begin airing on the WWE Network beginning this Saturday.” Here’s what will be uploaded to the WWE Network on Saturday:
Best of Drew McIntyre in EVOLVE
Best of Keith Lee in EVOLVE
ICW’s Shugâs Hoose Party 5: Night two
wXw Femme Fatales 2019
wXw AMBITION 11
PROGRESS Wrestling Chapter 92
The McIntyre compilation will include matches against Ricochet, Johnny Gargano, Roderick Strong, Tommy End (Aleister Black), and Matt Riddle, while the Lee compilation will include matches against Timothy Thatcher, WALTER, Riddle, and Donovan Dijak (Dominik Dijakovic).
WWE wrote that more content from these promotions will be made available on the WWE Network in the weeks and months to come: “EVOLVE, PROGRESS Wrestling from England, Germanyâs wXw and Scotlandâs ICW will debut for subscribers to the award-winning streaming service, giving the WWE Universe the chance to see some of their favorite Superstars like never before. And this is just the beginning! Youâll continue to see footage from their libraries, as well as new and exciting content from all of these promotions on WWE Network in the weeks and months to come.”
From Sunday’s TV tapings in Glasgow, Scotland at The Garage
Kez Evans defeated Leyton Buzzard
This was an excellent opener. There’s a lot of buzz around Buzzard (pardon the pun) given his recent wins at Shug’s Hoose Party (SHP), but it was a well-deserved win for Evans after his SHP loss to BT Gunn. Both are to be watched in the coming months.
Aivil defeated Angel Hayze
Hayze was very impressive in her ICW debut but was overcome by Aivil in a very good outing for the ICW women’s division.
ICW Zero G Champion Liam Thomson defeated Gabriel Kid
This was a great technical match. The title wasn’t originally on the line, but after some jaw jacking before the bell, it was on.
Iestyn Rees defeated Kieran Kelly
Kelly did his best against the much larger Welshman. Rees overpowered him too many times and picked up the win. Rees loves waving at the crowd but Kelly has what it takes. There were lots of âunderdogâ chants during the match.
Carmel Jacobs was announced as the new ICW commissioner, much to the chagrin of Christopher Toal, the Wee Man and Coach Trip.
Ravie Davie defeated Grado
Grado used a more serious entrance, not letting the usual Madonna sing along anthem belt out. Davie had a bit of time on the mic before the bell and ended up with the win after interference from Kez Evans. Stephen Purdon got involved on behalf of Grado and cleared house to the adulation of the crowd.
Sha Samuels & Jack Jester defeated The Nine9 (Dickie Divers & Jack Morris)
The crowd went home happy when the âKinky Partyâ picking up a win after a spike pildriver. We got double crowd surfing celebrations for those willing to hold Jester and Samuel up.
Andy Wild defeated Power Forward in a gauntlet match
After the bell, Wild challenged NXT UK’s Mark Coffey to a 2-out-of-3 falls match at Fear & Loathing XI.
Aaron Echo defeated Alexander Dean
Echo answered the challenge once it was announced Ricky Knight Jr. couldn’t make it due to injury. The match was in a bit of a bad position given the time and placing, but both did well in a great match.
Wolfgang, Stevie James & Krobar defeated Stevie Boy, Aspen Faith & Lewis Girvan
This was a great main event, reminiscent of the Von Erichs and Contra Unit from MLW. The action was everywhere and Rudo Lightning got involved towards the end. Written words can’t do it justice but this was an amazing six man brawl live, capped off with a sequence of near falls that could match any live competition today. Wolfgang ended up with the decisive pinfall but top marks go to all involved as it was great to cap off a top night of action with.
Toni Storm retained her NXT UK Women’s Championship against Viper (Piper Niven).
Stevie Boy was the mystery opponent for the main event, where he defeated NXT UK’s Wolfgang to win the ICW World Heavyweight Championship.
Full Recap —
Billy Kirkwood, James R. Kennedy, and Jen Louise welcomed us to the second night of consecutive ICW action featuring three title matches: the ICW Tag titles being defended in a TLC match, the NXT UK Women’s title on the line, and the crowning of a new ICW World Heavyweight Champion in the main event.
Alexander Dean defeated Ricky Knight Jr. (9:05)
A highly athletic opener here with Knight pulling out some great high-flying action.
Knight missed a Phoenix Splash early on as Dean had control of the start of the match with powerful strikes and kicks. Knight came back with fire and hit a springboard crossbody, a pair of dropkicks in the corner, a flying European uppercut, and then a running senton launching himself over the corner of the ring to the floor.
The finish came when Knight rolled through a missed 450 splash and Dean rolled him up and grabbed the tights for leverage.
Ravie Davie defeated The Sam Barbour Experience (10:26)
Davie came out dressed as Jason Voorhees (complete with mask and chainsaw), while Barbour was in the guise of Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Barbour was filling in for Rudo Lightening who had to pull out due to injury.
Barbour hit a plancha to the outside and ripped off Davie’s overalls. Barbour did the Hulk Hogan routine, but Davie kicked out of the big leg drop. Davie flipped off the ropes and landed groin-first onto a kick from Barbour.
Davie repaid the favor by kicking the ropes as Barbour was re-entering the ring, and he then finished Barbour off with a curb stomp from the middle rope to pick up the win.
Grado vs. James Storm ended in a no contest
Grado’s usual Madonna â Like a Prayerâ entrance was replaced with a more serious James Storm style song, which brought out Storm — who was in a bitter mood.
Storm beat down Grado with a chair and injured his leg. Storm called Glasgow a “sh*thole” and spat on the ICW logo. This brought out ICW owner Mark Dallas. He introduced Storm’s new opponent — Leyton Buzzard.
Leyton Buzzard defeated James Storm (12:45)
Buzzard continued on from Saturday night’s win against Joe Hendry to complete the weekend of his life with a victory against a former TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
Buzzard hit a tope con hilo as Storm was taking a breather after Buzzard’s early fire. They brawled through the crowd and Buzzard hit a moonsault off the bar. Back in the ring, Storm took control and hit a hard hanging DDT for a two count before setting up a chair in the corner of the ring.
Storm ended up going through the chair head-first and Buzzard got a close two count after a standing Shooting Star Press. Storm kept regaining control, but Buzzard showed guts by kicking out of an Alabama slam and a released spinning Razor’s Edge.
Storm hit two Last Call superkicks but was then distracted by Grado heroically making his return on one leg. Grado hit his rolling cannonball in the corner, giving Buzzard the chance to hit his 450 splash and pick up the win.
Storm and Grado continued bad mouthing each other after the bell as Grado and Buzzard celebrated with the crowd. Storm had to have security escort him from ringside as he wanted a piece of Grado.
TLC match: ICW Tag Team Champions The Kings of Catch (Aspen Faith & Lewis Girvan) defeated Jonny Storm & Jody Fleisch and The Nine9 (Dickie Divers & Jack Morris) to retain their titles (12:50)
Crazy and wild action as you would expect from an ICW TLC match. The tag champs retained but took one hell of a beating in the process.
The UK legends Fleisch and Storm shined early, but Divers and Morris got the early advantage with the help from some chairs. They got what they deserved moments later as their four opponents all dived on top of them on the outside.
Divers was tipped off a ladder and landed through a table. Storm hit a Spanish fly off a ladder on Girvan. Storm then German suplexed his partner Fleisch off the top rope, and Fleisch used it to moonsault Girvan through a table.
Morris hit a Shooting Star Press off a ladder through Aspen Faith and a table. Girvan dumped Divers off his own shoulders — out of the ring and through a table.
Storm then had his hands on the belts but was pushed off the ladder at the last moment.
Girvan and Morris were then at the top of the ladder and trading blows. Divers — Morris’ partner — tried to pull Girvan off, but he held on by holding onto Morris’ arms, rendering him helpless and unable to grab the belts.
Aspen Faith — Girvan’s partner — then crawled into the ring and climbed the ladder and onto Morris’ back. Faith reached up, grabbed the belts, unhooked the straps, and won the match.
After the match, KOC shook hands with Storm and Fleisch. The Nine9 wanted no part of it.
Last man standing match: BT Gunn defeated Kez Evans (15:36)
Gunn had his Oddity mask on during his entrance, striking fear into Evans. It didn’t take long for the action to spill to the outside. Gunn threw a chair at Evans’ face and they brawled out into the crowd. Evans slammed Gunn off a barrier and through a table.
Back in the ring, Evans tied Gunn in the ropes and threatened him with a screwdriver, but Gunn fought free by biting Evans’ hand and kicking him low. Evans used a wrench to knock Gunn down for the first official count, but Gunn got up.
Gunn ended up going through two steel folding chairs from Evans reversing a superplex. Evans followed up with two cradle piledrivers and a third on a chair.
Gunn fired back with a low blow, a Go to Sleep, and a corkscrew DDT. He then wrapped a chain around his fist and punched a steel chair back into Evans’ face, then hit him in the back of the head with the chain to keep him down for the 10 count.
NXT UK Women’s Champion Toni Storm defeated Viper to retain her title (10:03)
Viper — Piper Niven from NXT UK — didn’t shake Storm’s hand at the start of the match, so Storm had to lock Viper in a leg lock to force a handshake out of the challenger. Storm then slapped the shake away and continued to act heelish by cockily kicking away at Viper while she was down.
Viper used her size and strength to strike when she could, hitting her running crossbody and corner cannonball, but the NXT UK Women’s Champion showed why she holds the belt as she dodged another cannonball attempt and planted a piledriver.
Storm hit another piledriver on the ring apron. It looked over for the challenger in her home country, but Viper valiantly got a shoulder up at two. Viper hit her Viper Driver out of nowhere for a near fall of her own.
But it was Storm who switched the momentum again and hit a third Storm Zero piledriver and picked up the victory. Storm raised Viper’s hand after the bell.
The Kinky Party (Sha Samuels & Jack Jester) defeated The Anti-Fun Police (Chief Deputy Dunne & Los Federales Santos Jr.) (10:44)
The Kinky Party, who had their ability to continue teaming on the line in this match, looked to have this wrapped up early, but the humongous Santos Jr. toppled Samuels off the top rope to the outside. Santos then squashed Jester with a splash on the outside for good measure.
Samuels ran riot for a moment inside, but Santos cut him off with a rolling heel kick. Dunne came off the ropes with a driving knee to Samuels’ chest as they kept Jester on the outside.
Jester made the comeback and ran wild, but the huge Santos reversed and powerslammed him with ease. He then squashed Jester again with a splash for a close near fall.
Samuels and Santos then faced off, which also ended with Santos splashing him. Dunne again came off the top and came very close to picking up the win.
Steel chairs then came out as the AFP took turns hitting the KP across the back. The chair shots continued as the commentators lost count of how many had been delivered. Jester begged off and asked them to stop.
Writhing in agony, Jester slowly pulled Samuels to his feet. They embraced realizing they were done for before the AFP hit one final pair of chair shots to the back as the Kinky Party crumbled to the mat. The AFP made the cover for the one, two…kick out!
Samuels and Jester hulked up. They got rid of the bigger Santos with a chair shot of their own and finished off Dunne with a spike tombstone piledriver. They partied after the bell and crowd-surfed out of the arena.
Stevie Boy defeated Wolfgang to win the vacant ICW World Heavyweight Championship (19:30)
The Filthy Generation’s music hit, which brought out Kay Lee Ray, Aspen Faith, and Lewis Girvan, but they stood firm and waited for Stevie Boy to make his triumphant return to an incredible ovation.
Wolfgang slowed the pace early on and focused on the knee of Stevie Boy when he saw him land awkwardly after a leap frog. He reversed a Canadian Destroyer attempt and used the momentum to grapevine the leg and slam the returning former champ to the mat. He then tossed Stevie through the ropes and into the ring post.
Stevie fought back momentarily with a penalty kick from the apron, but Wolfgang swept the leg and took back control. Wolfgang took his eye off the ball when he came off the top rope and Stevie caught him and hit a uranage for a close two count out of nowhere.
Wolfgang then hit a powerslam on the ring apron but missed a moonsault back in the ring. Stevie couldn’t fully capitalize until Wolfgang began hammering him with forearms and uppercuts that seemed to fire him up.
Stevie crumbled on an Irish whip, but was playing possum as he kicked Wolfgang in the head as he went to pick him up. Stevie then came off the middle rope and Wolfgang caught him, but Stevie turned it into a spiked reverse hurricanrana. He quickly popped up and hit his Glaswegian (Canadian) Destroyer, but Wolfgang somehow kicked out.
Wolfgang got the knees up on a moonsault and hit his big spear, but somehow Stevie also kicked out.
A basement elbow drop and a senton bomb followed, but Stevie kept kicking out.
The finish came when Stevie dodged Wolfgang charging and hit a side kick from the apron, a springboard satellite DDT, a release spinning suplex, and a shining wizard to the back of the head to pick up the win and win the ICW World Heavyweight title.
Wolfgang raised Stevie’s hand and the rest of the Filthy Generation came out to help Stevie to the back.
Both Wolfgang and Stevie paid tribute to Adrian “Lionheart” McCallum and left the title in the ring with a Lionheart armband on top.
Kushida defeated Just Justice Jackie Polo in the main event.
Liam Thompson defeated NXT UK’s Joe Coffey to win the ICW Zero G title.
Full Recap —
Billy Kirkwood, James R. Kennedy, and Jen Louise welcomed us to the O2 Academy in Glasgow, Scotland and hyped up the show, focusing on the main event between NXT’s Kushida and Just Justice Jackie Polo.
Kenny Williams & Iestyn Rees defeated More Than Hype (LJ Cleary, Nathan Martin & Darren Kearney) in a two-on-three handicap match (9:19)
NXT UK’s Williams got on the mic before the match and cut a heel promo saying he challenged MTH because he wanted to prove that the only thing worse than the trainees in Scotland are the trainees from Ireland. MTH appeared at ICW’s King of Hawners 2019 six-man tag tournament.
Williams and Martin started off with some nice chain wrestling before the energetic Cleary was tagged in. Williams was frustrated in the opening exchanges as MTH matched him at every step. Martin and Kearney took out Rees with dives to the outside, but Rees was quickly back in to knock down his smaller Irish opponents.
Williams and Rees beat down Cleary, but Martin soon got the hot tag, knocked Rees off the apron, and hit an enzuigiri on Williams. The threesome nearly came close to winning after a frog splash from Cleary, but Williams kicked out at two. Rees quickly re-entered the ring and speared all three of MTH and dragged Williams over Cleary to pick up the win.
ICW Women’s Champion Kasey (w/ The Wee Man) defeated Aivil to retain the title (3:34)
A quick weapon-filled brawl. Kasey is the current three-time ICW Women’s Champion and has won the title at this event previously (two years ago against NXT UK’s Kay Lee Ray in 42 seconds). Wee Man got on the mic before the match and said that Kasey could beat up any man in the building.
Aivil went after Kasey with a kendo stick and chased her around ringside until she was halted by a chair to the face. Kasey hit a few more chair shots inside the ring, but Aivil fought back — dropkicking the chair into the champion’s face.
Aivil was going for a submission when two of the Wee Man’s clients — the POD (Ashton Smith and Rampage Brown) — came to ringside and distracted Aivil, allowing Kasey to hit another chair shot and a chair-assisted kick to the face to pick up the win.
Rampage Brown was going for a shoulder breaker on Aivil after the bell when the POD’s opponents The Purge (Krobar and Stevie James) came to make the save.
The Purge (Krobar & Stevie James) defeated The POD (Ashton Smith & Rampage Brown) (8:04)
There was a big brawl in the opening moments with Krobar fighting around ringside and even into the crowd. Brown hit a big powerslam on James for a two count early on and the POD kept on top of James to cut him off from his corner.
Krobar got the hot tag and hit a big flying clothesline and locked Brown in a triangle, but the big man powered out. Smith and James had a good exchange inside the ring as Brown took out Krobar with a chair shot on the outside. The POD came close with a superkick/uranage combination on James, who kicked out at the last moment.
Krobar fought back in and knocked Brown to the outside. The Purge then hit the Murder Death Kill spike piledriver onto Smith and picked up the win.
Mark Coffey defeated Andy Wild (8:05)
Two masked assailants of Coffey unsuccessfully interfered early on, but the distraction was good enough for Coffey to take the advantage.
Coffey focused his attack on Wild’s ribs throughout. Wild fought back, but the masked men at ringside distracted him again during his comeback and Coffey rolled him up in a sunset flip to pick up the flash pinfall victory. Wild needed help to the back with his injured ribs.
Liam Thompson defeated Joe Coffey to win the ICW Zero G Championship (21:30)
This match was contested under official professional wrestling rules as opposed to ICW’s usual more lenient approach. They played up Thompson’s comeback from a career-threatening neck injury, re-debuting at this event last year and his chase to this title shot at this point in his career.
They didn’t outright say it, but they inferred that this could be Thompson’s last chance at gold in ICW if he didn’t get the job done here.
Thompson hit a missile dropkick through the ropes to Coffey on the outside but got caught coming off the top as Coffey hit a big swing and a slingshot to the outside. A middle rope suplex and a German suplex followed for Coffey, but the referee was distracted by a missing turnbuckle pad and couldn’t make the count.
Both then blocked attempts at being thrown into the exposed turnbuckle, but Coffey kept on top of his challenger. Thompson fought back and went up top again and hit his missile dropkick this time. He went to the well once too often and missed a diving headbutt from the top. Coffey retaliated with splashes in the corner, a big double-jump crossbody off the top rope, and a running diving headbutt but only got a two count.
They had a forearm exchange as the crowd got more and more into this intense fight. Thompson hit two running dropkicks in the corner and a Northern Lights suplex for a close two count.
Thompson went for another running dropkick but hit the ref as Coffey moved. Thompson took advantage of the official being down and kicked Coffey below the belt. He then brought out his sink from under the ring, with Kennedy on commentary saying he is sinking to new levels in order to win the title.
Coffey hit a low blow of his own when Thompson was going for a sink shot. Coffey then hit a pedigree in a nod to âhis uncle Paulâ — as Kirkwood said on commentary. He then completed his Triple H routine by taking a sledgehammer out from under the ring and spitting water from the apron.
Coffey handcuffed Thompson to the ropes as he took the sledgehammer to Thompson’s beloved sink. The handcuffs broke and Thompson was let loose. He hit a sit-out powerbomb and the referee just made it back to make the cover, but Coffey kicked out at the last moment.
Coffey rolled to the outside, but Thompson took him out with a suicide dive. Back inside, Coffey caught Thompson coming off the top rope and hit a spinning sidewalk slam for another close two count. Coffey hit All the Best for the Bells (his discus lariat), but Thompson kicked out.
Thompson dodged as Coffey launched himself at him and Coffey collided head-first with the exposed turnbuckle. A backstabber by Thompson followed, then another off the top rope that finished off the Iron King and crowned Thompson the new Zero G Champion. They shook hands after the bell.
Paul Robinson defeated Krieger (8:51)
Robinson got into a shoving match with a fan at ringside as he made his entrance.
Krieger came flying out with a running dropkick and a European uppercut off the middle rope, but Robinson soon came back with intense right hands. Krieger threw Robinson from corner to corner, but Robinson went after Krieger’s knee to ground the bigger man.
They went up top and Robinson hit a moonsault into a DDT for a close two count. Krieger hit a Death Valley Driver for a near fall and followed up with mounted right hands.
Krieger then brought out a bag of thumbtacks and spread them across the canvas. Robinson went into them via a pop-up powerbomb but hulked up, seemingly unfazed, and threw a handful of tacks in Krieger’s eyes and put him head-first into the tacks with a jumping foot stomp and picked up the win.
He attacked Krieger with a chair after the bell. Robinson got on the mic and said he was the hardest man in Glasgow. This brought out Kid Fite, who shut Robinson up with a right hand to the jaw. The security and officials held them apart and Fite shouted to the crowd that he was going to go get Robinson.
Leyton Buzzard defeated Joe Hendry with Hendry’s ICW career on the line (12:25)
The stipulations for this one were if Hendry lost, he had to leave ICW. If Buzzard lost, he had to wear a mask and not say a word until after Fear and Loathing in November. This was a battle between student and teacher.
Buzzard hit a missile dropkick off the top rope, but Hendry soon fought back and hit a big codebreaker out of the corner. Buzzard kicked out strong at one.
Buzzard then hit Hendry’s own fallaway slam and a 450 splash, but Hendry kicked out at the last moment. Hendry fought back and hit a butterfly suplex into a knee to the face, followed up by a steamroller running clothesline that knocked the lighter Buzzard halfway across the ring. A dominator followed, with Buzzard kicking out.
Hendry locked in an ankle lock and grapevined the leg, but Buzzard did not tap out — he reversed it! Buzzard then kicked out of a low blow, fallaway slam, and Death Valley Driver slam too as it seemed nothing would put him away. Moments later, Buzzard slipped out of another fallaway slam, hit a uranage of his own, and a second 450 splash and picked up the win.
Hendry got on the mic after the match and put over Leyton Buzzard. He said tonight didn’t make Buzzard a star — he was already a star.
The Kings of the North (Bonesaw & Corvin) defeated Aaron Echo & Kieran Kelly (11:17)
There was a flying start as Echo hit a diving clothesline over the top rope and Kelly came off the top with a double crossbody during their entrance. Kelly hit a powerbomb-assisted meteora from the top rope but soon fell to his stronger opponents.
KOTN hit a backstabber/rolling senton combination as Kelly stretched and crawled for a tag. Kelly kicked out of a big Death Valley Driver and eventually made the hot tag to Echo.
Echo ran wild on KOTN and was joined by Kelly, who came close with a back suplex-assisted moonsault. Kelly hit a double dropkick and hulked up but ran right into a double teamed cutter, which gave the Kings of the North the win.
Kushida defeated Just Justice Jackie Polo (w/ The Warden) (22:21)
This was billed as Just Justice’s farewell match in ICW. Ring announcer Simon Cassidy rang off all of Kushida’s NJPW title reigns and tournament wins, as well as Polo’s ICW title reigns to give it the big match feel.
There was around a 40 lb size difference here and it didn’t take long for Polo to show his superior size and strength in the opening chain wrestling exchanges. Kushida showed his skills though and easily transitioned into various crossfaces while on the mat.
Kushida hit a springboard back elbow, then went back to the ground game and arm attack and locked Polo in a modified hammerlock. Polo came back with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and a vertical suplex.
Polo had the crowd in the palm of his hands as he beat down Kushida with a bear hug, a Northern Lights suplex, and a driving elbow from the middle rope. Kushida tried to fight back, but Polo floored him with a clothesline.
Kushida fought back with a tilt-a-whirl DDT, a combination of kicks, and a rolling cartwheel into a dropkick. He went for a big pump kick, but Polo dodged it and floored him again with a clothesline.
Polo hit the 10 punches in the corner, but Kushida somehow handspring kicked Polo to the outside and hit a diving senton to the floor. Polo’s strength advantage showed again on the outside as he crotched Kushida on the ring post, then dropped him back-first on the guardrail.
Back inside, Polo went for another driving elbow but Kushida caught him in a cross armbreaker. Polo powered out of it. Kushida hit another handspring, but Polo caught him in the electric chair position and slammed him face-first to the mat.
Kushida fought back with a step-up kick, but Polo again powered him into a shoulder breaker and locked him in a crossface.
They were then on the top rope. Kushida blocked a superplex and took Polo down with a flying armbar. He hit a springboard cutter, then transitioned into the Hoverboard Lock. Polo could do nothing but tap out.
After the match, Kenny Williams came out and demanded an apology from Kushida. Williams said he has been called a second-rate Kushida all his career and that two years ago he didn’t even know who Kushida was. He wanted Kushida to apologize and say he was a second-rate Kenny Williams.
Polo came in and distracted Williams to let Kushida hit his big punch and knock Williams down and out. Kushida shook hands with Polo and left the ring to him to receive his last ICW ovation.
Polo took the mic and thanked Kushida for stepping in. He said he didn’t ask for Kushida or to be in the main event, he only asked to be able to address the crowd. He talked about his Just Justice character and said that tonight was a farewell to it.
Polo said he didn’t know when he is going to return or what he will look like, but when (or if) he comes back it will be to give the best wrestling performance he can.
With Jeff Jarrett unable to wrestle at the show, a member of the NXT roster will be filling in for him at Insane Championship Wrestling’s Shug’s Hoose Party 6 night one this weekend.
Kushida will face Jackie Polo at the show, which is taking place at the O2 Academy in Glasgow, Scotland on Saturday (July 27). Jarrett had been set to face Polo at the event.
Before Kushida was revealed as Jarrett’s replacement, ICW announced that — due to unforeseen circumstances — Jarrett wouldn’t be facing Polo: “Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, Jeff Jarrett will not be able to compete against Just Justice Jackie Polo, this Saturday at Shugâs Hoose Party 6 – Night 1. However, ICW management have secured a replacement who will face Just Justice in the main event.”
Kushida departed NJPW after his contract with them expired at the end of January. In April, it was officially announced that he had signed with WWE.
Night two of Shug’s Hoose Party 6 will be held at the O2 Academy Glasgow on Sunday (July 28).
More than two months removed from the first women’s WrestleMania main event, the WWE women’s division is struggling to regain the momentum it had earlier this year.
In a rematch from Money in the Bank, Becky Lynch will defend her Raw Women’s Championship against Lacey Evans at Stomping Grounds. Bayley and Alexa Bliss will look to improve upon their underwhelming feud from 2017 as they face off for the SmackDown Women’s Championship at the pay-per-view.
A look at what we can learn from the ticket sales to AEW’s All Out show, the ticket demand, how it compares with WrestleMania’s and major UFC events, details on the number, why the secondary market tickets are so limited, why ticket demand was so strong out of the block, reaction of the ticket industry, details on the process used for selling the ticket and what the number mean, and rate of sales for the biggest WrestleMania.
Also have a look at WWE Stomping Grounds, including ticket demand, lineup, thoughts on the matches, interest in Super Showdown and more.
Read a preview of the G-1 Climax tournament, with the lineups, who are the favorites, different storyline directions, what matches will air on television, live broadcast times of every show on the tour and more.
Take a look at Adrian “Lionheart” McCallum and his recovery from a broken neck to become a U.K. star, and the sad ending of his life.
Also look at cities being considered for WrestleMania, what city is a favorite for the next two years, value of WWE to FOX and FOX Friday numbers, WWE gets an Espy, full card for next Takeover, update on XFL, death of AAF and how they are related, more Ric Flair legal issues, funny stories on WWE names, new movie with WWE stars, new TV deal, WWE salaries and revenue, and a WWE star honored.
This issue has a complete rundown of Bellator in Madison Square Garden, the plight of Aaron Pico, notes on the new fighters, pushed fighters who lost and match-by-match coverage.
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THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bobby Eaton, 60, has been hospitalized since Friday with heart issues. Jim Cornette reported that congestive heart failure led to fluid buildup in Eaton’s chest, legs and other parts of his body, forcing his heart to have to pump harder. He’s being treated with medication and diuretics and his heart rate is now down and his pacemaker is working well.
Shawn Michaels spoke to Challenge Mania about his new movie, 90 Feet from Home, how taxing the role was, transitioning to acting and his decision to snip off the hair.
NXT this weekend has shows tonight in San Antonio, tomorrow night in Houston, Saturday night in Dallas and Sunday in Oklahoma City.
Paul Heyman has gotten into a Twitter battle with Ranveer Singh, an actor from India, who used the phrase, “Eat. Sleep. Dominate. Repeat.” Heyman wrote he’s litigious and then Eat. Sleep. Deposition. Repeat.
UFC
UFC is working on a stadium show in Australia for the Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya middleweight title match.
UFC also runs an 8/3 show at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
Alexey Kunchenko vs. Laureano Staropoli has been added to the 8/10 show in Montevideo, Uruguay.
MISCELLANEOUS
Bret Hart and Corey Feldman will be starring in a horror movie “Tales From The Dead Zone” about a medical examiner conducting autopsies on the victims or a horrible car crash, who imagines how they may have lived their lives. (thanks to Joe Puccio)
Colt Cabana is out of action with a hematoma on his thigh which has left his with weakening of the leg so he had to pull himself off his bookings this week.
Jim Ross has announced live shows on 7/12 in Jacksonville, the night before Fight for the Fallen, and 7/14 in Philadelphia, before the Extreme Rules show.
The Von Erichs & Tom Lawlor vs. Jacob Fatu & Simon Gotch & Josef Samael will headline Saturday night’s MLW TV show, plus Richard Holiday vs. Teddy Hart and Jordan Oliver vs. Isais Velasquez.
Barbi Hayden is claiming she has signed somewhere. She pulled out of a show in the U.K. because of her signing. She has also worked as Abilene Maverick with WOW. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
Kevin Eck reported a former ROH tag team champion will be returning next weekend at the Baltimore PPV or Philadelphia TV tapings and that a former ROH star from outside the U.S. will be returning full-time in the near future.
AAW on 6/28 in Merrionette Park, IL at 115 Bourbon Street has LAX vs. Besties in the World vs. Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz, Jake Something vs. Trey Miguel for the AAW Heritage title, Jimmy Jacobs vs. Mance Warner loser leaves town, Kris Statlander vs. Priscilla Kelly, Eddie Kingston & Curt Stallion vs AR Fox & Myron Reed plus Sami Callihan,Fatu, Ace Austin and Clayton Gainz. They also run 7/12 in Milwaukee at the Turner Hall Ballroom.
Silas Young vs. Josh Woods and Angelina Love vs. Jenny Rose vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Stella Grey for a shot at Kelly Klein’s WOH title have been added to the 6/29 ROH TV tapings in Philadelphia.
Dean Malenko will be doing a seminar on 7/21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the CZW Wrestling Academy in Voorhees, NJ. The seminar cost is $75. It’s open to pro wrestlers of any experience level. Check here for more info.
J.D. Drake defends the WWN title against Babatunde of WWE on the 6/30 Evolve show in Brooklyn. Bobby Fish won’t be wrestling on that show but will be doing a meet and greet, along with Roderick Strong and Kyle O’Reilly.
O’Reilly vs. Josh Briggs takes place on the 6/30 show as well.
Newcomers headed to Evolve are John Silver, Brandon Watts, Randy Summers, Milk Chocolate and Steven Pena.
Roderick Strong will be doing a seminar as part of the 6/30 Evolve tryout in Brooklyn. This is open to wrestlers, referees and managers.
Evolve on 6/29 in Queens, NY:
Austin Theory vs. Leon Ruff for Evolve title
Roderick Strong & Kyle O’Reilly vs. JD Drake & Anthony Henry
Josh Briggs vs. Arturo Ruas
Brandi Lauren vs. Shotzi Blackheart
AR Fox vs. Stephen Wolf
Plus Eddie Kingston, Joe Gacy and Babatunde
Gouge on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Fuquay Varna, NC at the Fainting Goat Brewery.
CWE on 6/29 in Morden, Manitoba at the Access Event Centre with Lanny Poffo & Sam Davidson vs. Jay Walker & Gabriel Lestat.
Tickets are on sale for the Fighters Only Awards on 7/3 at the Pearl at the Palms in LasVgas at Ticketmaster.
IPWA on 8/26 in Lehavot Haviva, Israel features Rabbi Swiss vs. Joey Ryan and promises to convert Ryan in the match. (thanks to Kevin Chiat)
MWE on 7/12 in St. Louis Park, MN at the Rec Center’s ROC featuring an appearance of Nikita Koloff.
Action Wrestling on 6/21 in Tyrone, GA with Marko & Logan Stunt.
Shine announced they have canceled their 7/12 show in Philadelphia. They announced it was due to conditions beyond our control. Shine is still running an 8/24 show in Livonia, MI at 4 p.m. before an Evolve show in the same building. Shine is also running 6/29 at La Boom in Queens, NY at 3 p.m.
Adrian McCallum, best known as Lionheart on the UK independent scene, has passed away at the age of 36.
There are no current details on his death at this time.
âWe are heartbroken to learn of the tragic death of ICW World Heavyweight Champion, Adrian âLionheartâ McCallum,â ICW wrote on their Twitter page. âAdrian was a mainstay of ICW and British professional wrestling. Most importantly, he was our friend. His passing leaves a huge hole in the lives of those who knew him. Please respect his familyâs privacy at this time.â
McCallum started wrestling in 2002, and by 2007 had made his debut for ICW, wrestling there regularly for the rest of his career. He defeated Alexander Dean for ICW last weekend.
At a Preston City Wrestling show in 2014, Lionheart broke his neck in two places after landing badly following a Styles Clash by AJ Styles. He returned to wrestling a year later.
Insane Championship Wrestling presented this year’s Fear & Loathing event at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday.
– P.O.D. (Ashton Smith & Rampage Brown) defeated Fite Network (Krieger & Lou King Sharp), Mark Haskins & Jimmy Havoc, Kings of Catch (Aspen Faith & Lewis Girvan), The Purge (Stevie James & Krobar), and The Briscoes in a TLC match to become number one contenders to the ICW Tag Team titles
The Briscoes were one of the big imports for the night. They were not at all popular with the ICW crowd, getting loud “F*ck The Briscoes” chants at times during the match. I saw a lot of complaints from fans regarding their booking leading up to the show, so not a surprise really.
– Aaron Echo defeated Kenny Williams
They had a short but fast-paced match.
– A video segment aired featuring the ongoing saga of Kid Fite refusing to give Liam Thompson his kitchen sink back. A bizarre storyline for sure, but it got a huge response from the ICW faithful.
– Joe Hendry defeated Mikey Whiplash
Hendry won in a great match. ICW owner Mark Dallas attacked Whiplash after. Andy Wild made the save, only to be beaten down by a heel turn from Ravie Davie.
– Joe Coffey defeated Mark Coffey to win the ICW Zero-G Championship
The brothers left together after. This was a superb hard-hitting match, with both men going full speed the whole time.
– Wolfgang, BT Gunn & Noam Dar defeated British Strong Style (Tyler Bate, Trent Seven & Pete Dunne)
BT Gunn got the pinfall on Seven. Incredible match. British Strong Style came in as heels, portraying the English “saviors of Scottish wrestling.” The crowd played their part in booing them in the right places, but there was an air of respect given to the three men.
Dunne had the WWE United Kingdom Championship belt with him, and Noam Dar used his WWE music rather than the Fair City Riots song he used in ICW previously. Dar was treated as the homecoming hero by the fans.
– Kay Lee Ray defeated Viper in a Queen of Insanity match to win the ICW Women’s Championship
Great match. There were some high-risk spots and plenty of plunder used, including tables, chairs, barbed wire, and thumbtacks. Kay Lee Ray forced Viper to submit to win the title.
– Liam Thompson defeated Kid Fite
Thompson finally claimed back his kitchen sink. This match was short but got a huge pop from the crowd for the finish. This storyline is a great example of ICW doing something outside the box and making it work.
– ICW Tag Team Champions The Kinky Party (Jack Jester & Sha Samuels) defeated Alpha/Evil (Iestyn Rees & Bram) to retain their titles
The Wee Man led P.O.D. to the ring following the bell. They cashed in their title shot on the spot.
– P.O.D (Ashton Smith & Rampage Brown) defeated The Kinky Party (Jack Jester & Sha Samuels) to win the ICW Tag Team titles
Smith & Brown won the titles in a short match.
– James Storm defeated Grado
Storm won after special guest referee Jeff Jarrett turned heel and hit a trademark guitar shot on Grado. Really good and entertaining match.
– Lionheart defeated Jackie Polo in a career vs. title match to win the ICW World Heavyweight Championship
Lionheart beat his long-time rival Jackie Polo to save his career and finally become ICW World Heavyweight Champion — the one belt he’s never held in his ICW career.
There was an epic big-match feel to this one. The crowd was really into it and bought a lot of the false finishes. Lionheart ended the show celebrating with the title held high.
A new report indicates that WWE is looking to substantially restrict the number of promotions that their United Kingdom talent will be allowed to wrestle in.
A WrestleTalk report out today said that following this weekendâs tapings in Liverpool, a number of talent were given new contracts. These new contracts come with a pay raise, but also with new caveats: for one, they can only wrestle under WWE and WWEâs partner groups, which include PROGRESS, ICW, Fight Club Pro, Attack! Pro Wrestling, Futureshock, Over the Top Wrestling and wXw. They will be allowed to take the rest of their advertised booking through the end of the year.
Additionally, PWInsider reported that these promotions won’t be able to film WWE contracted talent, leaving them in dark matches.
NXT UK talent under these new deals reportedly wonât be able to wrestle against talent contracted to promotions such as Ring of Honor, New Japan Pro Wrestling, World of Sport or any other promotion that WWE considers major. They also wonât be able to perform for a promotion if there isnât a paramedic there.
More local, lesser known promotions in the UK will likely be hit hardest. Pro Wrestling Chaos announced this morning that Flash Morgan Webster, El Ligero and James Drake, all under WWE contract, would no longer be able to perform at their events. Tidal Wrestling also announced that El Ligero would no longer appear after their final show of 2018.
Before the new contracts, UK talent were only banned from promotions that had a significant streaming or television presence, like RevPro or Defiant. The report stresses that these new restrictions don’t apply to everyone on the UK roster, but does apply to the majority.
This news comes as WWE is looking to ramp up their presence in the UK. With the establishment of the NXT UK brand, they look to regularly tape television there going forward. NXT UK will hold their first TakeOver event in Blackpool on January 12.
A member of the WWE main roster wrestled at Sunday’s Insane Championship Wrestling show in Glasgow, Scotland.
Killian Dain appeared at ICW’s Fight Club event on Sunday night and defeated Mikey Whiplash. Heading into the show, ICW had announced that Whiplash would be facing a wrestler from WWE.
As Big Damo, Dain was a World Champion for ICW prior to joining WWE. Dain also took part in SmackDown’s house show in Glasgow earlier on Sunday, which was the final stop on this month’s WWE European tour.
ICW announced on Sunday that WWE’s Noam Dar will be in action at Fear & Loathing XI at the SSE Hydro on December 2. He’ll team with Wolfgang & BT Gunn in a six-man tag match against British Strong Style (Pete Dunne, Tyler Bate & Trent Seven).
Dar also returned to ICW at Shug’s Hoose Party 4 night one in 2017, teaming with Sha Samuels to defeat Bram & Joe Coffey.
Insane Championship Wrestling’s biggest show of the year took place last night as the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland hosted Fear & Loathing X.
– ICW owner Mark Dallas came out to open the show and introduced Kevin Nash as the guest general manager for the night.
– Bram defeated Ravie Davie, Joe Henry, Jody Fleisch, DCT, Aaron Echo, and Kid Fite in a ladder match for a future ICW World Championship shot
Davie was on top of the ladder when Session Moth Martina ran in and turned on him, helping Bram tip him off the ladder and through a table outside.
– Polo Promotions (Mark Coffey & Jackie Polo) defeated The Marauders (Wild Boar & Mike Bird) to win the ICW Tag Team titles
Iestyn Rees jumped Polo and Coffey after the match, with Nash making the save and chasing off the heels.
– Kenny Williams defeated Rey Mysterio Jr.
This was a good match. Williams rolled Mysterio up after Mysterio had hit a 619 and a frog splash.
– Stevie Boy defeated Mikey Whiplash, Jimmy Havoc, and Chris Renfrew in a four-way King of Insanity match
They had a wild match with lots of crazy spots and weapons used. Stevie Boy got the pin on Whiplash, and this was the best thing on the show so far.
– Kasey defeated Kay Lee Ray and Viper in a steel cage match to win the ICW Women’s Championship
The Kings of Catch interfered to help Kay Lee Ray, but Kasey was able to overcome the odds. Fun match.
– Lionheart defeated Rob Van Dam and Zack Gibson in a three-way elimination match
Lionheart eliminated Gibson first, then pinned RVD with a frog splash after some good back-and-forth action.
– The Kinky Party (Sha Samuels & Jack Jester) defeated The Kings of Catch (Aspen Faith & Lewis Girvin)
– ICW Zero G Champion BT Gunn defeated Joe Coffey (w/ Red Lightning) to win the ICW World Heavyweight Championship
This was a really good match. Nash got involved and helped Gunn after a couple of referee bumps. Later in the match, Coffey and Red Lightning bumped the referee again when the lights went out.
Everyone thought Grado was returning when that happened, but two masked guys were in the ring and helped Gunn by superkicking Coffey. Gunn eventually won by submission with a crossface. Coffey handed Gunn the belt after the match, then Dallas came back and brought all of the babyfaces out to celebrate.
While the Raw brand is in the United Kingdom for the first several stops on their side of the European tour, Triple H paid a visit to one of the country’s promotions that WWE is friendly with.
He made a surprise appearance at Insane Championship Wrestling’s “Road to Fear & Loathing X” show in Cardiff, Wales today. ICW owner Mark Dallas and WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne were in the ring before Dallas called out Triple H to join them. Triple H got a big reaction from the crowd and cut a brief promo, thanking them for supporting the promotion and pro wrestling.
During the promo, Triple H called ICW one of the places where the wrestling business starts. He said the European scene is going to continue to grow, with guys like Dunne and Tyler Bate setting the world on fire, and closed by saying the industry is going to be taken to new heights.
Along with PROGRESS Wrestling, ICW is one of the promotions in the UK that WWE has a working relationship with. Noam Dar and Kassius Ohno have also appeared at ICW shows over the last few months.
The Raw roster is in Cardiff for a house show today as well, with both Triple H and Dunne wrestling on the event. Video of Triple H’s appearance in ICW is available to watch below:
