Insane Championship Wrestling: Welcome To The Insane Asylum
There are two major wrestling magazines in the UK, both of which have called us the closest experience you can get to the old live ECW events. ICW present a progressive, aggressive story filled with engaging characters in a adult environment, going head-to-head in smash mouth professional wrestling. It all could really be summed up as the 'Attitude Era' meets Memphis wrestling Mark Dallas, Owner, Insane Championship Wrestling.
It's true that in 2013, professional wrestling companies are ten a penny, a dime a dozen and in plentiful supply. In the United States, on any given night, there will be any number of small wrestling leagues putting on a show, often using stars from a bygone era as a focal point. Similarly, in Europe and the United Kingdom, there are literally hundreds of promotions holding events each week. With WWE dominating the industry and holding the vast majority of the market share, every other group fights it out, not only for fan attention, but also to be financially successful.
It's fair to say then that the market is saturated. With hundreds of choices for fans on where to spend their money, the spotlight can often be diluted intensely promotions, specifically in the UK and Europe, rarely make use of flowing, cohesive storylines which follow an episodic format. Instead, many have their chosen champions, with maybe one or two main angles/stories throughout the entire show, but focus mainly on the wrestling itself. Matches are very much one-off, with attraction coming from seeing Wrestler A square off with Wrestler B and the type of bout the combination will create.
What happens then, when a promotion comes out of nowhere and breaks the mould, creating something unique, truly special and breathlessly exciting all at once? Enter Insane Championship Wrestling.
Owned and operated by the unassuming Mark Dallas, ICW have been heralded as one of Scotland's great entertainment success stories. Note the word 'entertainment', but don't be fooled into thinking this is similar to how Vince McMahon's WWE like to be perceived. Yes, ICW transcend simply appealing to the 'hardcore' fan, but make no mistake about it, the company still present professional wrestling for professional wrestling enthusiasts, and are damn proud of it.
Indeed, the mix of fan types are part of what makes Insane Championship Wrestling stand out, engaging a variety of people, some of whom watch wrestling religiously, some of whom don't know a hammerlock from a hammerhead shark. The truth of the matter is that ICW present something which emanates sheer entertainment. Featuring a diverse cast of wacky, colourful and often outlandish characters, there's a true sense of the wondrous when hearing audience members talk about the product.
The brainchild of the bold Mr. Dallas, ICW have often been compared favourably with the original Extreme Championship Wrestling. The correlation doesn't stop at the similar brand name, nor the variety cast of characters somewhat akin to a freakshow, or even the cult-like crowds. Looking beyond the surface, Mark Dallas shares a lot of the same ideals held by ECW's head honcho and mad scientist, Paul Heyman.
In the mid-90's, Heyman felt wrestling needed a kick up the rear. Fans required something more than the saccharine sweetness being dished out by both the then-WWF and WCW. For a number of fans, ECW filled that quota of outside the box. Fast forward to today, and wrestling fans by the thousand are beginning to see ICW in the same light. WWE dominate this industry, of that there can be no doubt, but many fans are disillusioned by such safeness, feeling the need to rebel and show belief in a company offering something different.
As a slight example of the rabid following ICW have been garnering, we need only look at the ink which adorns the arm of the boss, ink which now spreads onto others. Having the promotion's logo tattoo'd on his body, Mark Dallas reveals there was more to that decision than simple spur of the moment, it was a statement of intent to support his life and his family through his creativity, his love and the promotion he built.
I have a kid to look after and had this shitty lifeguard job, Dallas told WhatCulture. I was dying to leave, but of course (being a father) I needed to earn a wage (to support my family). However as time went on, it dawned on me I could maybe make enough money from ICW to make the wrestling business my full time priority. It was risky to leave the security of the other job, but the tattoo was just a way of mentally saying to myself , 'f*** it, this is your job now'! I think there are around five or six people with ICW tattoos now. That is unbelievably flattering, scary as hell, but flattering!
Promoting shows which appeal both to the 'smart' and 'casual' portions of the wrestling audience, ICW have sold out shows at increasingly larger venues over the past several years. Having only been a full-time company, running between one and two shows per month, for less than three years, the room for growth and expansion is obvious. Initially holding events at a modest community hall, ICW have since become a staple of the nightclub scene, staging wild shows at some of the most popular live venues in Glasgow, Scotland, including The Garage and The Classic Grand. In October, the group will also converge upon the historic ABC Theatre in the city for the biggest event on the Scottish wrestling calendar, Fear & Loathing VI.
Despite former ECW stars Rhino and Sabu appearing on upcoming events, as well as former ROH and WWE star Colt Cabana slated to make an appearance against the similarly comic Grado in Edinburgh this August, Mark Dallas has been wise not to book himself into a corner with such imports. Homegrown talent are very much the stars of the show, with attractions such as Fergal Prince Devitt (a stunning Irish junior heavyweight grappler renowned in the Orient and chased by WWE for many years) mixing it up with ICW-created characters to incredible success. Rarely, when importing talent, is it true to say that promotions don't neglect their own stars. This is not the case in ICW; homegrown names are every bit as vital to ticket sales as the imports themselves.
The above has created a scenario upon where 'bigger' names being drafted in for one-off appearances are not relied on. ICW Worldwide, an episodic show appropriately available the world over on YouTube, focuses largely on the development of regulars, leading to a fostered environment in which audience members have connected with the characters, reacting to them accordingly at live events. ICW is distinctly Scottish, yes (specifically when dealing with the subject of humour), but the promotion's appeal is global. Perhaps it would be best to leave things with the description of Mark Dallas, the man who planted the seed which has grown organically into a wrestling company which simply cannot be ignored.
We give the wrestling fans a product that doesn't insult their intelligence, one filled with interesting - but vastly different - characters and some of the most talented performers in Europe today.
Amen.