2020, while an unprecedented year for the world at large, has still managed to produce some incredible content in the world of Professional Wrestling. One of the driving forces that comes to mind in our current global predicament is ICW: No Holds Barred. The former ICW New York has been “rolling with the punches” since the first event of this rebrand in January of this year; which featured matches such as Shlak vs Necro Butcher, Homicide vs Casanova Valentine and Low Ki vs Masashi Takeda.
What exactly sets No Holds Barred aside from the rest of the wrestling world? Traditional ring ropes are taken down in favor of metal chains. Turnbuckles in the corners are non-existent, and are replaced with what I refer to as “launch pads”; or wooden platforms on top of the posts. The rule set (as is their slogan) is “No Submissions. No Rules.” which means matches end via pinfall or referee stoppage. To me the most endearing part of NHB’s identity is the diverse locations of their shows. With COVID-19 throwing a monkey wrench in wrestling shows being able to proceed indoors, NHB has hosted outdoor shows; both down by the casinos of Atlantic City, to rural farmland in Millville, NJ, to their very own “Blood Shed”, which is the horse-barn on property at their Millville venue.
While it looks like the warm summer weather is looking to retire for the season, ICW No Holds Barred plans to continue “rolling with the punches” all the way into December. They’ll be stopping into Florida in November and Indiana in December, keeping this strong freight train of momentum going. However, closer on the horizon for the company is Volume 7: Deathmatch Horror Story. The even, going down in Millville, NJ features a bout where we will see American Deathmatch staple, Alex Colon take on one of the rising stars in both ICW and the Deathmatch genre, AKIRA.
While AKIRA only holds a record of 3-4 in ICW, two of those wins carry quite a lot of weight as he’s beaten established Deathmatch star Jimmy Lloyd and the soon to be retiring Matt Tremont (whom he has beaten once before during this year). He also holds a victory against 44.OH’s Eddy Only in The Pit (NHB’s hold over show the night Volume 4 was supposed to happen). Outside of NHB, AKIRA also holds victories this year over the likes of Tony Deppen, Jeff King, and one of his trainers and fellow Reject, John Wayne Murdoch. Most recently, AKIRA made his debut at both Paradigm Pro and GCW’s indie extravaganza The Collective in a 6 man tag alongside his fellow members of The Rejects, defeating Nolan Edwards, Juicy Jimmy and Hardway Heeter; a match that finished with a mind boggling top rope Canadian Destroyer through a flaming door.
Alex Colon on the other hand, stands at an even 2-2 this year in No Holds Barred competition; having also beaten Jimmy Lloyd, as well as the 2020 King of the Deathmatch Eric Ryan. Outside of this promotion, however, Alex has had a tremendous 2020. He holds victories in both the United States (against the likes of Matthew Justice, AJ Gray, Jake Something and Zachary Wentz) as well as in Japan where GCW went on tour back in February (defeating Violento Jack, Isami Kodaka, and Toshiyuki Sakuda). Most notably, Alex Colon defeated Shlak, Atticus Cogar and current Game Changer Wrestling Champion Rickey Shane Page in one afternoon to win the 2020 Tournament of Survival; being the first person to win the tournament back to back years.
While AKIRA’s profile is still rising in the Deathmatch world, he has managed to warrant some coverage on the GCW Patreon exclusive podcast The World of Deathmatch; hosted by Alex and co-host Steven Ayy. Alex can be sited for giving credit to AKIRA’s rapid ascent; saying on the August 20th edition of World of Deathmatch:
“…I talk to him regularly and I know his ass. He does have a lot of work still in my eyes at least to get to a certain level the top guys are right now but he’s on his way there pretty fucking fast and he’s being given the right opportunities to do that…”
At the same time, the veteran Alex is also able to realize AKIRA’s status in the wrestling world and that he does have some work to go to get where he wants to be. Alex has used terms such as hype-train and people’s choice to describe AKIRA’s rapid climb up the ladder during the special Deathmatch Top 30 podcast. But in particular on the September 1st edition, he spoke on AKIRA’s Insane 8 bout against Jeff King falling short in his opinion, saying:
He needs experience man. I’ve had this conversation with him personally. And I’ve told him I’m like you have potential…but like you need experience. You need to understand when your uptimes [and] your downtimes [are]. You need to measure your strikes. The flurry thing only works at certain times in the match…I harp on AKIRA [because] I wanna see him do well…
I reached out to AKIRA to ask his thoughts on this match and what it means to him. He came back to me with the following:
One year. 6 months. Atlantic City, New Jersey. Showboat arena. I saw beauty in glass and blood. I saw the power it had over fans, and the aura it held. I saw the best in pro wrestling and cleaned one of their wounds on the way home. They Said It Couldn’t Be Done.
Now, a year and a half later. The world has changed and I’m going to stand across the ring from that man I jokingly call Uncle. I face that man to not only try and survive him, but prove myself to him, and if I have the ability to, pin him in the hottest company in the United States.
The world is watching. Many have viewed matches as big for me…but this one…this one is the statement I must make to the world. That I am one of the best pro wrestlers, best deathmatch wrestlers. That I’m not going away. And maybe, just maybe, I can receive someone I look up to’s approval and take deathmatch wrestling and elevate it and those around me.
Alex Colon vs AKIRA is a battle of the old Samurai and the young charge he forbade to pick up the blade. But I don’t bare that blade haphazardly, I bare it knowing the cost and looking to do more good than others before me. This is one of few matches that the world should stop and watch, even if only for a moment.
There are still questions yet that will surely be answered come Deathmatch Horror Story. Has AKIRA been listening to Alex’s words? Will this be a walk in the park for the established Alex Colon? If AKIRA wins, will this escalate him to that next big level? This will truly be a battle of the old and tested versus the young and hungry and it is going down this Saturday at ICW No Holds Barred.
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