We’re back with a new weekly foray into the ring as I pick my fave moments and matches of the week from a variety of places..
Even though this was a few weeks later than anticipated due to Adam Cole getting injured – Kyle Fletcher once again showed the killer instinct side that I’ve loved ever since he joined the Don Calis Family in a bloody Chicago Street Fight against Dustin Rhodes for the TNT title (it was 1st August UK time when it aired so it counts!)
The Deathmatch Darling side of me loved two particular moments – the thumbtacks down the trunks into Shattered Dreams by Dustin and Kyle making sure the knee was taken out of commission through the use of a screwdriver (which Calis explained how that was fair game since Kyle just had thumbtacks put down his trunks after all!)
All hail the Protostar.
When it comes to breakout stars we have to pivot towards the deathmatch world as two former AEW alumni have embraced the violence close to their hearts since making GCW along with ICW:NHB their home in KJ Orso (formerly Fuego del Sol) and Bear Bronson – KJ for his excellent work in an I Quit match against Sam Stackhouse (which you can read about here: https://theharvestpodcastnetwork.substack.com/p/deathmatch-darling-digest-first-edition) and Bear for his match at ICW:NHB 80 in a Home Run Derby match against owner Danny Demanto (we also got the most emotional moment of the week post match with the speech by Jeff Cannonball who for those that don’t know has recently been diagnosed with ALS, please donate to the GFM if you can (or share it around if you can’t) Fundraiser for Jeffrey Guerriero by Nicholas Guerriero : Support Jeff, Sam, and Milo against ALS: F-ck ALS and support the events on September 14th at New Providence High School, New Jersey and October 18th (Cannonbrawl via ISW) in Kahnawake, Quebec.
It’s also been fun to see the rise of the heel manager again – Stokely Hathaway finally getting a proper run in AEW being ‘Big Stoke’ with FTR and the rise of the AD Dylan Hales as the second for Tim Bosby in Action, TWE, this year’s SCI and Jameson Shook’s recent show titled My Kink Is Karma (Four particular moments that stand out are the ref fight at SCI night 1, night 2 having Dylan do his best Ron Wright in Smoky Mountain impression and the tag match at MKIK shouting out the best personal trainer in Arizona plus him cutting a promo on how Bosby was kicking BDSM’s ass while the exact opposite was happening behind him!)
Now in regards for things to get hyped about that are not Summerslam related… ICW:NHB 81 on the 2nd August having Bear Bronson versus Krule and the first announcement for DEAN~!!! 3 on September 6th was revealed as August began – at the home where ECW made their name, the rematch: Mad Dog Connelly vs DEMUS… HAIR VS HAIR.
Given that their first match was a beautiful display of violence and started the rise of Mad Dog as ‘Master of the dog collar’ I can’t wait to see what they’ll do with their hair on the line in the home of hardcore… no doubt it’ll set the standard for deathmatch/hardcore wrestling over the next year AT LEAST.
See you next week for thoughts on ICW:NHB 81 and more...