Richie Freebird

Think I've been fully whooshed here. I took the bait and googled it.... Neo Nazi murder capital of the internet? Have I missed some controversy?

I don't really follow anything other than watching the shows as they pop up on Youtube. I know they moved to an app in USA, but I believe its not available in England. I know there are sites like 123 Wrestling that bootleg WWE, AEW, TNA etc. Just not sure if there are any equivalents showing Corgan's NWA.

Does anyone still watch NWA? If so, how do you access it now? 

Thanks all ❤️

Bogey Man, Abdullah the Butcher and Mad Man Pondo. 

IWA Deep South Carnage Cup Weekend 2023 - Day 2 Main Event Matches

Warning: This review contains NSWF imagery. Please click away now, unless you are in  a comfortable and appropriate setting to proceed...

Co-main event of the weekend time now as we find ourselves at the Spidar Boodrow Memorial 8-man Gauntlet. Rules are: Numbers drawn before the bout, single elimination by pinfall, submission or stoppage (no over the top eliminations), two men in the fight at any one time. Weaponry of all manner is not just legal, but encouraged... Lets quickly run down the combatants in order of appearance > Mack Ten, Redneck Rebel, Billy Moore, Obey, Hardcore Hillbilly, Jimmy Controversy (what a name), and Brian White.

With the stipulation and gimmicks on hand, I quite fancied a decent match here. Redneck Rebel (looking like he'd just returned from a particularly rough night at the House of 1000 Corpses) was in viciously assertive form in the early going. The balding Redneck smashed his way through the first 2 rounds rather one-sidedley, ensuring that he put sufficient glass and wire around the craniums of Mack Ten and Billy Moore. The latter tasted a rocket launcher off the top through a multi stacked glass and chair setup on the outside. Moore would honour the ding, whether he liked it or not.  

The methodical pace was switched up slightly as certified mentalist Obey joined the match with a haymaker trade-off. After some boisterous battery, Redneck was given his marching orders by way of tube assisted dropkick. Its worth mentioning again here that Obey came out sans shoes & socks to a ring already sparkling with smithereens.... and then chose a dropkick through glass tubes as the logical finishing manoeuvre. Questionable tactics. 

Next out, shades of Haystacks Callhoun as the rotundly dungareed Hardcore Hillbilly joined the ruckus. Hardcore put his own stamp on affairs by bashing Obey's painted head in with a rubbish bin and lid. There seemed a little more weight in this bin than the ones we saw on television back in the day, which added additional grimace to the already wince inducing shots. Following some sound southern scuffling, the bin was flattened out like a McVittie's wafer after Hillbilly mangled it (along with his man Obey) with a ramshackle Vader bomb.

Obey's exit was Jimmy Controversy's entrance, as the gusset plates came into effect. Jimmy was on a mad one here, drawing light bulb bats and other spiky shenanigans with bad intentions. All of his early enthusiasm counted for little though, as big Hillbilly scattered the drawing pins and pancaked his man with a Bossman style sidewalk slam. A high energy round here, all things considered. 

Final man out was Brian White. Whitey strode out to the old ICP penned Oddities theme, and was introduced by Larry Legend as the Deathmatch Juggalo (makes sense). Back in the ring, Hardcore took White's entrance as a chance to spark up a quick ciggy. The Hillbilly had chonged more than half, before extinguishing the remainder across Brian's scarred forehead. Unpleasant, yes. Unnecessary? Of course not, its the Spidar Boodrow Memorial 8-man Gauntlet deathmatch, after all! 

I thought this might have been a short night for Bry when big Hardcore got another bin out and flattened it over him by way of back senton. White was treated to more though, when he was hoisted off the ring apron through a light tube, wood frame contraption on the outside. Scary bump this, as White elected to take the impact armpit first. And, we all know how light tubes to the armpit has ended in the past (see Nick Gage, Tournament of Death VIII). 

This was only enough for a 2 count however, and White regained his marbles and headed back to the ring. Once inside, the Deathmatch Juggalo jumped on Hillbilly's back for a tightly gripped rear naked choke. The plucky little guy hung on commendably, despite taking a back bump under the considerable torso girth of his opponent. Eventually, the the arm dropped thrice, and White was declared winner. The two finalists shared a handshake as Brian was decorated with a plaque, commemorating the victory. I really enjoyed this one. Thousands wouldn't, but I found it good quality fun throughout, with gears switching as entrants came and went. Happy days. 

Main Event Time. No rope barbed wire deathmatch. Chuey Martinez vs Blaine Evans. 

So, the final match of the weekend of Carnage is upon us. Lets see if these boys can send the small crowd back to reputable society happy. The two shared a beer and some marijuana in the ring before the opening bell. Perhaps toasting another tasteless tournament's addition to the history books. The sun was dipping at this point, though not yet fully depleted. Visually, the rays of brilliance of the earlier matches had faded. It kind of felt like time to get this show wrapped up, so that we weren't relying on the fan's vehicles for lighting, again. The boys got right to it, beating glass over each other until the first big spot of the match arose.

Martinez (looking like a long lost Dudley, owing to his army shorts, dorky glasses and portly frame) chucked Blaine off the ring with a modified hip-toss, sending his man careering through a glass covered table, in what was a satisfying smash. This led to some wild fisticuffs and tube'icuffs on the outside, where the brawling remained for the next several minutes.

A distinctive spot occurred when Chuey set a board of forks across Evans's prone torso and went for a back senton. Only, Evan's flipped the board, mid flight, giving Martinez a royal cutlery jabbing of his own. Further glass fracturing transpired, with Chuey not wishing to spare a single tube. The curtain finally dropped on the weekend's transgressions, when Martinez delivered a flying death valley driver from the ring to the floor (through a barbed wire frame contraption, set up over chairs, embellished with plentiful florescent tubes). 

Evans was a blood ridden shambles at the conclusion of the contest. Crimson streaming down the back of his neck and shoulders. Chuey diced him up good in this ungraceful, yet somehow mutually respectable showdown. A decent match to conclude the weekend, by my account at least. Not the finest bout on the card by any means (that honour stays firmly with Little Sicko vs Jay Blade), but a conclusive sentiment to send the fans home satisfied. 

In totality, I very much enjoyed the two shows of this year's Carnage Cup. Really fun matches across both days (save for the Shit-Vivor Series craptacular). Just a good feeling to be back into the old scene, and to be enjoying fat hillbillies cutting each other up again. Fans of the style or not, I hope you've enjoyed this analysis as much as I've enjoyed putting it together. Thanks for your time, friends. Have a wonderful day. 

Warrior of the weekend - Little Sicko. The boy performed his heart out. 

On 11/10/2023 at 5:25 PM, LEGIT said:

Hate death match wrestling but always nice to see Richie about here posting. Welcome back big man

Thank you for the kind words my friend. 

IWA Deep South Carnage Cup Weekend 2023 - Day 2 matches

Warning: This review contains NSWF imagery. Please click away now, unless you are in  a comfortable and appropriate setting to proceed...

Day 2 in McKenzie Tennessee and we have a bottom rope. Almost an actual, finished wrestling ring here. Who would have thought it. Unfortunately, the bottom rope was probably the most entertaining thing about the first match of the afternoon. A toilet themed elimination tag opened the day's action, dubbed the "Shit-Vivor Series Deathmatch". And shit it really, really was. Two bowel movement themed teams came out under the vulgar names Nation of Defecation and Turdy World Order, as the ring was adorned with thumbtack plungers, toilet seats, toilet roll wrapped ropes, and other, more conventional deathmatch weaponry. 

The shit-fest scene was set when Larry Legend announced the wrong names as the first team came out. We had such delightful characters in this one as Turdy, Demon Turdy, Bullshit, Nikolai Cash, Mikey Myers, Redneck Rebel (looking like a malnourished Rob Zombie) and Boriss Dukee. I'm not going to even try to take you through which team was which, or which wrestler was supposed to represent what. All you need to know is that they were all forgettable, trashy garbage. The ref also had an evil clown mask on. Not sure if this was a character, guest ref or they were just embarrassed to be involved. Do you remember those old Backyard Wrestling DVDs that came out around the turn of the century, when popular culture was deep into its Jackass / car crash TV phase? Well my friends, this match made those things look like second coming of Flair vs Steamboat.

I was going to talk you through the eliminations, but there would be little value in doing so. Lets save ourselves some sanity and jump straight to the finish. Team leaders Nikolai Cash and Boris Dukee were the last two idiots left out there. Both were overweight, immobile and terrible. Dukee was sent off the apron into a contraption of tubes and wire on the floor, in a very hesitant and clumsy looking fall. It took Cash about 2 minutes to get out of the ring due to apparent mobility issues, with the delay giving Dukee enough time to scrounge a half hearted kick out. Back in the ring, the refs were setting up a pane of glass over chairs and ladder. I became legitimately worried here, as neither men looked like they could survive a decent spot using these gimmicks... 

My concern for the welfare of these clowns escalated when a second ref started chucking lighter fluid on the glass. There was a delay in setting up the spot though, and it the accelerant apparently evaporated before ignition. In the end, the ref settled for lighting what looked to be a screwed up bit of bogroll, as Cash tried to do a double stomp through the pane from about the second rung of the ladder. Now, usually in these spots the victim would be below the gimmick, to eat the double stomp... right? Well, in this bizarre case, Cash just seemed to jump though the glass, not really hit his man at all, miss the part where the flaming bogroll was ablaze, collapse to the floor, and then lost the match. That's right, the man doing the "move" actually took the pinfall here, when Dukee rolled over and slapped an arm across. Absolute dogshit. 

The action here was sloppier than the faeces it was personifying. If you do pay for this show, extend yourself a favour and skip over this one. Nothing at all to see here. I've no idea what they were trying to achieve, but it was neither funny, nor entertaining. Not one to demonstrate to your non-wrestling fan friends if they ever ask what you are into. Now lets all move on and pretend this pile of puke never happened.

Throughout the two day show, intermissions were filled with music video hype packages for forthcoming XPW shows. At first I found these to be marginally interesting little clip reels of action, promoting wrestlers and hyping up shows, set to such musical acts as Pantera, Slipknot and Marilynn Manson. Early 2000s goth much? Again, the clips were well edited and had some bigger names than we were seeing in this show, so they seemed fairly cool. On Day 2 though, it was becoming tiresome. 20 minutes of the same shit rolling between each match had lost its novelty. I wonder what the flow of the weekend felt like for the few that made the pilgrimage out to the woods. It was probably worse for the TV viewer, to be honest. Everyone is okay with setup times between bands at festivals aren't they? I guess this was just a blood and guts, grassroots festival of trashy violence, after all 

Anyway, back to action. Mercifully, business was about to pick up in McKenzie Tennessee. I surely needed the filthy taste from the previous match washing out of my mouth here, and Sick Boy & Tarzan Duran were the men to do it. Ropes were hooked up with light tubes, in what was billed as the "Stairway to Hell" match. Sick Boy came out looking fairly fresh despite his contribution to the tournament on Day 1, while Tarzan arrived smoking a cannabis cigarette, much to the amusement of the commentators. It would turn out to be the first of many. Tarzan sparked up at least 3 more fresh blunts during the contest, and kind of kept them going between moves, in sequences which reminded me of the Orange Cassidy hands in pockets spot. Persistent, cheeky disobedience. Maybe that's a stretch but the comparison crossed my mind here. 

Much better match, this one. The wrestlers seemed to have more freedom and less time constraints today. With the entire tournament crammed into Day 1, it seemed we were in for some more free-flowing Sunday action. Notable spots included a suplex through a light tube frame contraption on the outside which looked really good (again, if you like that sort of thing) and the finish which came with a death valley driver through a board on the inside, with Sick Boy picking up the victory. I'm not sure if the board was gimmicked, as the neck-reddening sun caused some glare off the board which obscured the specifics. Either way, this was a fun and entertaining affair and benefited from being awarded space to generate the story of battle. 

Next match, 2/3 falls match. Many of the unused light tube ropes were left up for this one and combined with ladders, chairs, pains of glass and spiked bats. Contestants here were Jay Blade, and Little Sicko (fresh off his comprehensive beating at the hands of Brant Woods in last night's final, and sporting a juicy fresh bruise on the left shoulder blade to boot). Again, time constraints seemed looser, and the combatants began the match with submission holds, spinning head scissor takedowns and brainbusters, which were scattered between light tube headbutts and other such debauchery. Jolly good action in the early going. 

Blade took the first loss as Sicko planted him with a move whose name I don't know. Cradle back / neck breaker over knee, of sorts. A nice looking move, however celebration time was cut short when sicko ate a gruesome looking gusset plate to the head spot (which was as gory as it was spectacular). The outlandish thuggery was building nicely. At one point, a female fan burst a tube bundle over Jay Blade's back, which seemed bang out of order. It may have been a plant or pre-agreed, but it made little sense, if it was. The carnage continued though and the score was evened out at 1-1 after a inner to outer superplex through chairs and glass was followed up with a grapevine rear naked for the tap. 

We got some crazy action in the 3rd fall, as both men climbed up to the top of the increasingly blood splattered U-Haul rental truck. The 20+ fans came alive as these two traded setups atop the vehicle, before Sicko got planted on the roof with a really cool powerbomb. I'm not sure how well built these things are but that must have come close to fucking up the lid of the van. I guess these guys wouldn't be the ones paying for it... Jay Blade then climbed down and picked up a big bundle of loose tubes to head back toward the truck with. His plans would be foiled in breath taking fashion however, when Little Sicko came flying off the top with a cross body press. Glass everywhere, lacerations instantly opened in Blade's chest. 3 count, good night. 

Easily match of the weekend so far. These guys took their time, told the story and built to the big spots. The use of vocalisations and hype up gestures added a level of emotion into the contest too, which can sometimes be overlooked in shorter matches. Really good one this, the day was building nicely. 

I hope you've enjoyed this analysis of the first half of Day 2, please stay tuned for the conclusion of the Carnage Cup Weekend

IWA Deep South Carnage Cup XIII, 2023 - Tournament Finals

Warning: This review contains NSWF imagery and tournament spoilers. Please click away now, unless you are in  a comfortable and appropriate setting to proceed...

Well, here we are. Under the cloak of darkness the tournament final arrived. A four way elimination, House of Glass light tube Deathmatch for the spoils of the Carnage Cup. Whilst working as fast as they could, the ring attendants took some time to assemble the stipulations around the ring. However, once the devilish construction was complete, the ring area looked quite the trashy, low rent spectacle...

Finalists Bryant Woods, Chuey Martinez, Little Sicko and the legendary Necro Butcher all stumbled back out to the arena one last time, struggling their way through the light tube ropes to enter the theatre of combat. With the announcements out of the way, the action commenced. The bout felt a little crowded at first, with insufficient space and freedom in which to work. Bunches of punches transgressed into repeated and frequent light tube slashes as the chaos unravelled. Seriously, these boys were bursting fluros like they were going out of fashion. Tens of tubes lacerated craniums as the claustrophobic contest spiralled into a frenzied mess. 

Sicko and Necro escaped the confines of the ring and played razor boards on the outside. I don't think the fans could really see much at this point as they were on the blind side of the ring, and lighting was haphazard at best. Either way, the boys put in a shift and continued to crown each other with blades and shards in an outrageous display of consensual vulgarity. Fair play to the spirit on display here. The guys went wild for this final match up. 

The first elimination occurred when big Bryant Woods hit a flying rock bottom on Chuey Martinez, off the apron through a light tube contraption on the outside. A good spot, a good spectacle and a worthy elimination, this. The carnivorous carnival continued as numbers dwindled to three. Still high from eliminating Chuey, a hyped up, gesticulating Woods stepped back through the ropes and planted the Butcher with a big boot and lariat. Out of nowhere though, the ref counted 3 and Necro was out of there. In contrast to the previous, this elimination did not feel special. There was no build and the fans did not react. The 3 count seemed rather untimely and unexpected. Regardless, this cover paved the way for the final encounter. Like Van Damme vs Bolo... we were down to the final two. 

Upon recommencement of the action, Sicko got slapped with a series of heavy duty lariats. After the blindsiding of Necro's elimination, I feared this would be it. However, there was more to come yet. Little Sicko got half way up, screaming at Woods, begging him to bring it on. Almost reminiscent of Flair putting up the dukes before Michael's kicked his head off at Mania, several years ago. Not quite on the same scale here, but it was nice to see a wrestler trying to put some real emotion into this final. Building that David vs Goliath aesthetic. Woods was more than happy to oblige the challenge, smashing tons of glass into Sicko's torn up face, before slamming him through a log cabin in the centre of the blood red hexagon. Some fuckery ensued and it appeared the ref had counted a 3. A real stench of anti climax arose, and within a few seconds the announcer declared that the final would continue. It was all a miscommunication after all. Phew. 

The final two crawled and brawled over to a rented U-Haul truck, presumably used to drag the ring out to this urine soaked hell hole. Once the camera spotted a double stacked light tube and chair contraption set up in front of the truck, you knew what was coming. Not quite Zandig and Mondo, but not too far off. The big man literally punched Little Sicko up a ladder and onto the roof of the truck. 

At this point, I stepped back and imagined the guys in the Tennessee U-Haul rentals office stumbling across this degrading insanity online. Blacklisting the fuck out of whoever forked out for the trailer. Someone was going to be explaining fresh dents and bloodstains, come Monday. The daydream quickly evaporated though, as the blood splattered warriors regained a vertical base atop the wagon, with what little life force they had left. 

Then it happened. Woods gripped hold of Sicko's blood drenched frame. Hoisted the smaller guy up.... Excuse me. Off the top, through the glass, and into the abhorrent, gory wreckage below. Crimson everywhere. Sicko rolled out of the sharp mess and shot a superb sell job, looking legitimately broken by the impact of the fall. Shock and awe. We were getting the fitting finish we deserved after all. Bryant crawled free of the splattered shards and draped himself over for the cover. One. Two. Its over. Ring the damned bell. What a finish, what a match. What started off as a crowded and confined mess, concluded in a superb deathmatch climax.

Oh, and apparently this was all for the Deep South belt. I don't think this was mentioned beforehand. Regardless, the belt added some garnish to the visuals as the victorious Woods picked himself up to celebrate. Great finish. Love it. 

I don't really like to criticise in my reviews, but I feel that having two singles-semis to set up a one on one final would have been a more fitting conclusion (though that would have meant four matches each if they were determined to wrap the the whole thing up on day 1). I see the logic in the building drama of an elimination match, but I feel Little Sicko would have had a lot more to give in a singles story from the start. The boy impressed me throughout. Of all wrestlers on display here, he is the one that left me wanting more. Criticisms aside, this was a worthy entry into the chronicles of the most filthy tournament of them all. When all was said and done, it felt great to be back. 

My friends, I hope you've enjoyed this round up of the tournament final. Please stay tuned for day 2 action from the Deep South Carnage Cup weekend. 
 

IWA Deep South Carnage Cup XIII, 2023 - Second Round Matches

Warning: This review contains NSWF imagery. Please click away now, unless you are in  a comfortable and appropriate setting to proceed...

We began the second round with about 10 panes of glass (mostly shower door looking things) open scissor boards, acupuncture needle boards and other despicable instruments, set out around the hexagonal circle. Out came Little Sicko (sans face paint), but wearing a nail through his septum in a display of Juggalo Jewellery. Second combatant Obey chose the barefoot look for this panes of glass match. It just gives you a brief insight into the mindset, doesn't it? Bare feet for a broken glass match. Good shout, young man... Unfortunately, Obey's wide and baggy faux-pleather trousers somewhat obscured his uncovered hooves, so it may not have been obvious to the fans. I think I'd tape up the cuffs to really give visuals on it, if I was ever inclined to go to such extremes for the sake of shock entertainment. To be quite honest, I think I'd probably rather just not have glass shards embedded into the soles of my feet at all, but I digress...

As per expectations, the mass of glass was brutally burst by battered bodies, with any semblance of sanity long in the rear view, by this point. A true "holy shit" moment occurred when Obey attempted to land a suplex onto a razor wire covered pane of glass on the outside, which was set up over two chairs. It wasn't so much the move itself (which is pretty much standard deathmatch fayre at this point), rather, the glass slipped off the chairs and Obey's back landed right across the upturned edge, with the additional weight of his opponent, mid suplex, adding force and torque to the impact (see below). A grimace inducing turn of events, to say the least. I was quite surprised that Obey was fit to carry on at all, following this near-guillotine execution spot. The boy was a trifle fortunate not to have been sawn in half, Debbie McGee style, after that unfortunate encounter. 

The war rolled on though, and was wrapped up nicely, when Little Sicko landed a clean Spanish fly on Obey. The move soared from the apron, through some glass set up over two chairs, to the floor. One, two, three. Thanks for coming. A good little match, was this. Butcherous at times, acrobatic at others (at least relative to the rest of the action in the tournament). Little Sicko actually showed me something here. He hit some sweet moves including a beautiful moonsault and the aforementioned Spanish fly. I'd like to see this kid in some more traditional technical / cruiserweight style matches. Although he's of slight build, he looks in okay shape for his size, and can throw himself around fairly well. 

Next up. Former Gypsy Joe invitational winner and 5 time Carnage Cup entrant Bryant Woods faced off with Blaine Evans in what was billed as the "Exorcist Deathmatch". In practice, this amounted to light tube crucifixes and tea light candles being the stipulated weaponry. Not all that much to say about this one really. The boys broke tubes over each others' bodies and brawled like best friends after too much poison whiskey. One spot saw Blaine take a bump into a large light tube crucifix which was covered in illuminated tea lights, only for one of the candles to somehow suction cup itself to the back of his hairless head. This was a unique and cool looking spot, if only an accidental one. 

Victory once again landed with big Bryant Woods, after a battered and bloody Evans was disposed off through some glass. Reasonable contest here, nothing to write home about but an entertaining little scrap as far as Southern deathmatches go. Bryant Woods rolls on to the finals. 

Next match. Last year's Carnage Cup winner Chuey Martinez took on Brian White, in what I gather was a fans bring the weapons contest. And bring the weapons they surely did. There was (what looked like) an Incredible Hulk style glove adorned with massive nails, carpet strip crosses, and every kind of wrapped and spiked bat imaginable. Chuey pulled the house mic and, between sips of  beer, asked of the fans "who made this fucking shit?" (referring to the nail spiked glove). One of the loyal fans sheepishly took responsibility for the wretched utensil, and was offered a free t-shirt as a token of appreciation. Lovely stuff. 

The unceremonious beating commenced with the glove, aluminium trays, drawing pin bats, sawn off can bats, and everything in between. The action was mostly one sided with Chuey's wide arse firmly in the driver's seat. Chuey started laughing and chanting with the crowd, drawing some positive yet light hearted interaction (which had been absent in some of the earlier, more serious contests). This gave a sense of party atmosphere as various implements of degradation were used to draw blood and guts from poor old Brian White. 

You just get the feel that Chuey was having the time of his life out there; the guy really loves doing these matches and seems to not take himself (or the scene) too seriously. I think it was last year when he had his Mrs come out for a match with him, in which she just burst about 20 tubes over his head then took one bump for the finish. I don't think she was even a wrestler, as she looked quite uncomfortable bursting glass over her partner's face for "fun". Afterwards, Chuey encouraged the fans to cheer her efforts, but I don't think she enjoyed herself, judging on body language alone. I can't find the footage now, so anyone can correct me if I've misrepresented this. For the record, I don't think encouraging your lover into inter-gender light tube matches is necessarily a positive thing, but I feel that Chuey genuinely thought she'd enjoy the experience as he does. Once again, I digress... 

Where were we? Oh yes. Brian White was being beaten up with skin torn asunder by an assortment of home made horrors. To put some semblance of seal on the blood-curdling deal, Martinez tipped a whole load of what the commentators described as rubbing alcohol, salt and iodine over Brian's head and body, causing him to flail around in a considerable degree of discomfort. White was then repeatedly leathered with some kind of bat and laid out for the 3. Good match, fun match. A bit of a break from the edgelord vibe and into carnival spirit territory. A welcome change of pace. 

Okay. Final match of the second round. Larry Legend billed this one as the "6 Corners of Death", which amounted to various trays containing sharp or corrosive materials designed to inflict pain (Christmas baubles, wooden toothpicks, salt, chopped lemons, tobasco sauce..... you get the idea). Our man Necro Butcher hobbled back out to the ring to some "I love the USA" country song, really keeping with the moonshine drenched spirit of this whacked out hick promotion. Necro was followed to the ring by Mexican Madman and 5 time IWA Mid South KOTDM entrant Sick Boy.

During the early going, Necro was slammed into the salty lemons after eating a light tube bundle across the back. Necro caught a gusher here, his spine streaming with vivid crimson. Once again, the action descended from the makeshift ring into the small crowd, colliding with parked up vehicles, camping chairs, and even emptying the contents of fans' beer coolers over each other's heads. An old school bar fight amassed, as the sun sank behind the trees of Hinkledale Road woods. 

There was a  recognisable "big match" feel to this one, (which I assumed would be the main event of day 1). Haymakers were traded as the daylight dipped, and lanterns, camera lighting and parked up vehicle high beams assumed responsibility for illuminating the action. The weary contestants eventually worked their way back to the 6 sided ring, where Necro snatched his ticket to the finals with a slam through a light tube board, followed up by a grapevined choke hold for the submission victory. Both men toasted and thanked the crowd after this one, and hobbled off into the sunset together, arms around shoulders. 

I sometimes wonder if Necro could have been a fringe mainstream success as some sort of redneck Cactus Jack or Chainsaw Charlie style character. He just moves differently. Winds up for punches more, draws more meaning into his work. I don't know, maybe not. At grassroots deathmatch level though, the guy is a legend. Great to see him still out there, generating gore and creating chaos in 2023. 

This felt like the natural conclusion of the action, as darkness fell over the grassy opening in the Tennessee trees. I felt like I'd had my 20 quid's worth for day 1 (I stumped up for the event like a respectable citizen). However, our man Larry Legend assumed the microphone and began hyping the crowd for the tournament finals, thanking those who switched on their vehicle headlights. More madness lay ahead. We would crown a winner in a 4 way elimination final before the night was through....

Once again old friends, I hope you've enjoyed this analysis. Please stay tuned for more murderous mayhem from the Deep South Carnage Cup weekend. 
 

Thank you my friend. Glad you enjoyed. 

IWA Deep South Carnage Cup XIII, 2023.

This review contains NSWF imagery. Please click away if you are not in a comfortable and appropriate setting to proceed...

After a long, long hiatus, I decided to jump back into the vulgar underbelly of the Deathmatch tournament scene with this year's IWA Deep South Carnage Cup. The 13th instalment of this unwholesome tournament came from an opening in the trees in the middle of nowhere, McKenzie Tennessee. About 30 fans packed their camping seats on a grassy embankment, as the commentators noted that not many fans actually managed to find the event. Whilst this was almost certainly a cover for the modest draw, the location looked so remote that I wouldn't be surprised if some fans became lost along the way.

On screen, the scene was set right away, as the hard cam showed the Southern sun shining on a partially constructed 6-sided ring. No ropes, no canvas, no fans in camera shot. Just the wild and colourful MC Larry Legend stood in the ring, hyping up the forthcoming festivities. My friends, it was apparent from the outset. Freakish debauchery was afoot in McKenzie Tennessee. 

The opening bout was preceded by a 10 bell salute for the late Spidar Boodrow (who died around 3 years ago, as far as I know). Spidar was involved in some seriously crude and notorious contests in the promotion under the "Saw Deathmatch" stipulation. You may remember him from such spots as Stanley knife in the arm and circular saw blade to the head... Anyway, this madness was billed as the "Saw Forever" Deathmatch, perhaps in tribute to Boodrow. I believe the promotion held a contest under this name at last year's Carnage Cup, also. 

The bout was contested between clown painted Little Sicko, ultra hick looking Brian White, and the notorious Angel of Death, John Rare (who was Boodrow's dance partner in the original Saw bout chronicles). And man, these boys didn't waste any time. Within minutes, there was fire blazing around the ring, flaming razor wire, flaming bats, and all manner of barbed wire instrumentation haphazardly scattered around the theatre of obscenity.

A notable spot included a package pile driver on a small trampoline. Only, the fabric was long gone, and in its place, a spider web of barbed wire. White's head was also introduced to a bouquet of humongous skewers of some sort. Just long, sharp wooden sticks. Insanity. At some point, Rare's arm became seriously diced up and began spewing juice. John was taped up by an attendant, Sabu style, and carried on with the madness like the bloodthirsty lunatic he is. 

In short, all men went wild in this one. Wire flew and claret set aflow. The smutty carnival was brought to an end when White somehow set Rare up amidst a massive pile of fire crackers and lit him up. After a prolonged series of explosions, Rare was pinned by Brian White and was out of there. Mercifully, the madness was over. Good grief. What an opener. These men went straight to 11. Carnage Cup indeed... 

The second opening round match up was billed as the Spiral Deathmatch, and was contested between Obey (who arrived carrying some sort of sickle) and the Hardcore Hillbilly (who arrived carrying a Donald Trump flag). Spirals of razor wire nailed to boards and carpet strip hashes embellished the partially constructed combat area, which still had no ropes or canvas. This could only spell bad news for someone. After beating each other halfway to hell, Hardcore Hillbilly got caught in the Andre rope tie up spot. Only, there were no ropes at all. It was a razor wire tie up spot. Whilst in this vulnerable position, Hillwilliam was subjected to a long strip of firecrackers wrapped around his person. Properly wince inducing scenes here, as Hillbilly was unable to cover his eyes during the explosions. These guys are bat shite mad men. 

After both warriors were weary and bloodied, a box-fresh Blaine Evans ran in and was somehow introduced as having "joined the carnage".... I guess we have a 3 way dance on our hands again here. God knows. This bout was chaos on wheels. Eventually, Blaine and Obey joined forces to double suplex the Hardcore Hillbilly into a paddling pool filled with syringes for the win. Wholesome stuff. At this point, you almost step back and wonder: what kind of man would subject themselves such degenerate lunacy voluntarily. What would they be doing if deathmatches weren't a thing? Either way, Evans and Obey were both announced as advancing. The rules weren't really clear. An air of a backyard clusterfuck hung over this one. Brilliant action though, totally lawless and wild. 

After this match was a long and boring intermission, in which canvas and ropes were finally introduced to the ring. Though, only the top 2 ropes (which were loosely fitted at best). I guess we can dismiss any more fire and firework spots for a while. 

The first round action rolled on as Chuey Martinez and Juggalo painted Sick Boy brawled with Jay Blade. This one was set before a backdrop of light tube log cabins, ladders, and carpet strip crosses (among other, degrading contraptions). Fists went flying as choke slams flew onto ladders, pumpkins were busted upon craniums, and a full on house door was being thrown around at ringside. 

At one point, Sick Boy hit Blade with a Death Valley driver from the ring apron to the floor through a log cabin light tube contraption. This actually looked pretty good (if you like that sort of thing). The end came when Sick Boy and Chuey Martinez teamed up to his a very wobbly Doomsday Device on poor Jay Blade through a ridiculous light tube contraption in the centre of the ring. The ropes were quite loose here, and this spot could have easily gone wrong. It didn't, though, and once again, two winners were announced as advancing to round two. So I guess only the man who takes the pinfall is eliminated in these crazy 3 way wars. Good match here, for a low rent deathmatch tournament. 

The final encounter of the first round was a Deep South Fun House contest. First out was the one and only Necro Butcher. Winner of the 2006 tournament and all round deathmatch legend Necro looked beaten up and old (even by his own, rugged standards), but still looked ready to bring his unique brand of reckless absurdity. Across the ring, deathmatch mainstay Bryant Woods. For this one, the scene was littered with wooden frames adorned with light tubes, barbed wire frames, and a paddling pool filled with light bulbs. Not tubes, bulbs. Ouch. 

During the early stages of the brawl, indyriffic looking Jimmy Controversy ran in and was announced as having joined the battle. Really shoddy booking here, as the surprise 3rd contestant spot had already been done. That's a once per show angle, tops. Anyway. As the fight progressed, it became clear that Woods and Necro wanted to destroy each other in peace, as they kept on roughhousing Jimmy and ejecting him from the action. The little man kept coming back though, and the war spilled right through the fans and various stands and merch tables.

Necro was in vintage form here, throwing barrels around and demolishing tables and stands like a pissed up bar fighter on a Saturday night.

Most of the fight was out on the grass. The action here was reckless and wild,... The skirmish eventually spilled back toward the ringside area, and Bryant hoisted Jimmy up onto the shoulders and headed towards a light tube frame contraption. The commentators speculated that a Burning Hammer could be on the cards; however, the move ended up as more of a straight up throw from the shoulders to the glass. Jimmy hit the target sweetly though, and the tubes burst to smithereens as Jimmy lay lifeless amist the brutal wreckage. Woods stepped on for a lazy pin cover and easily got the 3. Necro and Woods advance.

My friends, I hope you've enjoyed this analysis of the first round. Stay tuned for the next round and additional action from this year's Deep South Carnage Cup weekend. 

Hello old friends, how is everyone? I popped back over out of chance interest after being gradually drawn back into the glorious pro wrestling scene over the last year or so. I was pleasantly surprised to see Deathmatches being discussed on the front page of the main forum, so decided to have a little read. Consequently, I've had a pleasant hour or so reading through the last few pages in the thread. I must say, the bout between Sadika and Sadik Maiden posted by Mezbrow on Page 21 was completely outrageous. I was genuinely off my seat, observing the madness unfold within the bizarre confides of (what I assume to be) a Mexican scrapyard. The powerbomb through the rear window of the discarded car is something I won't forget in a hurry. The visuals of middle aged fans looking on from atop the scrapped vehicles adds an air of idiosyncrasy to the already unconventional feel of the event. With appetite whetted and interest piqued, I will be looking into more Zona 23 in the near future, so thank you Mezbrow and Roy Disco.
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Any how, have a great day everyone - Richie.

14 hours ago, LaGoosh said:

Really depressing how many wrestlers from that era of CZW seem to have died so young. 

Chris Cash, JC Bailey, Trent Acid, Brain Damage, Justice Pain, Nate Hatred, Danny Havoc - I might be missing some? 

I've just looked through over 700 discs in the old archives, trying to find the Danny Havoc shoot interviews and best of comps.... I couldn't find them anywhere. I did find this though. A piece of the ring canvas from Tournament of Death XI (2012), signed by the tournament entrants. Havoc did compete that year. I'm thinking that signature at the bottom right could well be that of Danny Havoc.

3 minutes ago, Snitsky's back acne said:

He was 33 wasn't he?

Just turned 34 a couple of weeks ago. Really tragic. 💔

Very sad news. I wrote a series of reviews specifically of Havoc's matches back in the original deathmatch thread about 8 years ago. He was always a true favourite of mine, and from watching his shoot interviews it was clear that he genuinely loved being involved in the deathmatch scene. He had such a sense of admiration and wonder when talking about the matches. Despite the physical carnage, he always seemed to be enjoying himself out there on those crazy shows. Casually strolling out to the ring to Duran Duran's Hungry like the Wolf, dishing out hugs and fist bumps along the way…. Amidst a sea of overweight, angry metalhead gimmicks, Havoc stood out with his laid back and cool positive attitude. It's really devastating to have lost him at such a young age. RIP.

Just watching a Nick Aldis interview on Youtube. He mentions that somebody in WWE decided that they wanted nothing to do with him due to a personal dispute, and that there is no way to approach / resolve the issue. He gives this as the reason that he looked for other avenues within the wrestling business. I'm totally out of the loop and have no idea what he's referring to here. Can anyone tell the story?

On 10/9/2018 at 11:30 AM, Gus Mears said:

@Richie Freebird is the man you need to talk to with regard to this sort of thing. Drop him a line and get up to Barrow if he doesn't respond promptly. 

Someone actually contacted me regarding this...

Sheiky and Nikolai Volkoff.

If anyone remembers any of the notorious matches between John Rare and Spidar Boodrow (most infamous for the Stanley knife in the arm incident), that feud was supposedly closed out for good at the Carnage Cup. The two men engaged in 3 separate matches, culminating in a no mat, no rope, flaming razor wire and light tubes match. Razor wire is a terrifying prospect at the best of times, without going to the extreme of setting it on fire...

Over the course of this feud, these men have used knives, saw blades, razors boards, electric saws and power grinders on each other, among other things. They finished it off for good with a bump from a ladder set up into a paddling pool full of exploding fire crackers.

4 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

Richie, do you subscribe to the Muttonandtheham youtube channel? its Japanese deathmatch central, great channel. Christ, id have saved some money if id have youtube back in the day.

I haven't seen the channel but I'll check it out, thanks. Any particular recommendations? I haven't seen anything from the last few years really, so I've likely missed some good material.

34 minutes ago, lightningxlock said:

 I know it's always had that grimy, low budget quality to it but this years version is basically just a bunch of hack n slash yarders with only 1 or 2 names.

I thought the lineup was pretty much what you'd expect from a Deep South deathmatch tournament, to be fair. One could argue that the likes of Freakshow, Tank, Boodrow, Rare and Tremont are all relatively established names, at least within the Deep South deathmatch scene. Granted, outside of that small niche, those names mean very little, but for this kind of show, I found the lineup to be fine. I always saw the Carnage Cup as placing more value on the ridiculous weaponry and stipulations than star power.

It was the right result, Horn won the fight. I had it by 3. Manny came close to stopping him in the 9^th but couldn't get it, aside from that, he looked pretty spent. The Box Nation commentary mentioned that the American broadcasters had it to Pacquiao by a wide margin, but I struggle to see how he could have been ahead on points come the final bell, even if the 9th was given 10-8.

19 hours ago, Egg Shen said:

where are you watching these shows Richie?

Hi Egg Shen. The Zandig show is really easy to find by Googling “Watch Tournament of Survival 2” if you are okay with using streams. I went through Smart Mark Video to get the Carnage Cup show described above, but to be honest, I've had nothing but trouble in getting it to work. I'm now using streams to see the rest of this tournament despite paying for the HD download.

 

Edit – The version of the Carnage Cup that's up for stream is shit. It's a raw hard cam footage version which misses a hell of a lot of the action from the semi finals matches where there are 4 way matches and brawls away from the ring. I think I'll keep trying on the official download before watching the finals.

Oh you'd have appreciated this one, then. He even referenced his own much loved “Jesus” rant.
 

Following the excitement of Tournament of Survival II, my appetite for this obscene entertainment felt refreshed. As such, I've decided to continue with the 2017 summer tournaments via the IWA Deep South Carnage Cup.

I've taken in the first round so far this afternoon, and the show to this point is a total riot. Every match except one has had the no rope barbed wire stipulation (on top of a range of further, hair brained, weapon themed stipulations). The only match that didn't sport the barbed wire ropes had fishing lines and hooks as ropes.... that's right, not a traditional ring rope in sight so far.

The first round action has been varied and suitably deranged for a tournament with reputation such as that of the Carnage Cup. Highlights so far include a syringe insertion to the soul of a bare foot, a forehead rammed into a running box fan, an ear piercing via fishing hook, an electric saw to the scrotum, a sunset flip into a paddling pool filled with leeches, the use of live tarantulas as offensive weapons, and a Masada-esque skewer spot, except, the skewers were applied to the back of the head, followed by the whole foul transaction being rounded out with a Russian leg sweep. Garbage bag wrestling at its sleazy finest.

I do quite like the “festival atmosphere” that the Carnage Cup bring when held outdoors, as this year's event was. Fans just casually strewn around a field, camping chairs out, enjoying the action in the sunshine. There's a live band on a stage set up atop a hill, playing certain wrestlers out to the ring, too. It all brings a nice, unique feel to the proceedings. A sterling display, thus far.

How they approached it was - Zandig and the man in question here (Shlack) began brawling during a promo at the opening of the show, with the brawl eventually disappearing off backstage, presumably continuing as the show progressed. Later on in the first round, the two reappeared from backstage, still brawling, but with the hooks already applied to Shlack's back. I guess the kayfabe would be that Zandig had applied the hooks during the backstage element of the brawl. They worked their way over towards the lifting gear, where Whacks operated the chains while Zandig cut a promo on Shlack, DJ Hyde and CZW as a whole. I'd say the process of lifting into final suspension position took a couple of minutes, which was eaten up by Zandig's ranting and raving.

1 hour ago, Kaz Hayashi said:

What's the bloke doing on the bottom right?

That's the guy I recognised as Mark “Whacks” Pantalone. He's been involved in the deathmatch scene for a number of years as a both a cameraman and occasional competitor. I believe he also works (or has worked) in the tattooing, piercing and body modification scene. This is purely speculative on my part, but I'd guess Whacks was involved in applying the hooks, given his experience in body modification techniques. In this photo, he is preparing to operate the block and tackle to elevate the participant into his final, suspended position.

I think I had that same issue of Bizarre, now that you mention it. Shame that the magazine is no more.