ICW No Holds Barred (Vol. 1) 04/01/2020
Tony Deppen vs. Killer Kross
Loved the way this was worked. Tony Deppen is perfectly scrappy to overcome the size difference. He would grab Kross from any position he could and when the opportunity presents itself, he'd hit a big move. Killer Kross was great here. His mannerisms were great. His menacing walk. The way he molding his powermoves to match his opponent. Kross had awesome Saito suplexes for the finish as well. ***1/2
Masashi Takeda vs Low Ki
This actually happened, folks. Can you believe that? Low Ki has a history of not being reliable for these matches but it seems that rep deserves to be washed away a bit because none of that has happened for a while. Lucky me. For Takeda to get bookings outside of Japan is nuts, for it to be against Low Ki is a borderline dream match. Now it's one that I didn't know I wanted until I saw it advertised so it stays borderline. Masashi Takeda is a deathmatch legend and easily the best of that style today and has been for a while. BUT he was also a trainee of Kiyoshi Tamura. Yes, that Tamura. From UWF-I and RINGS. Maybe the best shoot style wrestlers of all time. So Takeda is more than capable at a strike heavy style, as well as catch style mat work. The early mat work is decent with the two doing counter spots as well as milking in the occasion. Low Ki kicking the hamstring leading Takeda to drop and do the spider walk as a defence was cool. The strikes they throw are pretty cool. Takeda throws a mean knee. Low Ki throws some nice kicks. There was some good exchanges with the two with them making great use of the No Holds Barred stipulation. Takeda tried to use the scissors as a weapon which lead to an incredible counter by Low Ki using the Kappo Kick while Takeda was prone to attack. Low Ki uses some wraps to tie Takeda up which transitioned into a BRUTAL Double footstomp from the corner onto Takeda's back where he couldn't protect himself. The ref stoppage finish was fine. Given the stomp, I can buy the ref calling it. A good main event. ***1/2
SUP Stay Cold 05/01/2020
Daniel Makabe vs Kevin Ku
Two of the best wrestlers on the indies today. Ku is one of the best tag wrestlers in Violence Is Forever and Makabe in singles. And them together was predictably magic. This got tons of hype live and I was just itching to see it but the VOD took ages to come out. And now I've seen it - it was totally worth the wait. The matwork was great from both guys in the match. It was scrappy which perfectly fit both guys injuries throughout the match. Makabe couldn’t put the full extension of certain holds such as the STF, Ku couldn’t move as well because of the knee. Yet it was really engaging and fun to match. Loved Ku’s sell of the leg after he hit a powerbomb onto the knee. Collapsing of the pressure of his entire body afterwards looked great and you can feel the frustration he had because it couldn’t capitalize on what was a big move for him. Makabe’s selling was equally as good. The sells were subtly on point the way he incorporated it into the match was great -- like the aforementioned matwork. The crafty counters sprinkled around the match were cool as well. The striking on the indies can really be hit and miss, but I thought it was excellent in this match. They made great use of each strike in how effective it was flow of the match and which way it went. The finish was super creative and played into Makabe losing his leverage due to the back being hurt. Great match. ****1/2
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