[2020-07-04-ICW-No Holds Barred Vol.3: Deathmatch Drive In] Eddie Kingston vs Brett Ison

[SmartMark15]

It’s nuance that separates kings from men.

Eddie Kingston is having a fantastic year because that’s what Eddie Kingston does. Give the man the opportunity and he steals the show. He has such personality and charisma that seeps into everything that he does on a wrestling card. Even getting into the ring with a finicky set of chains instead of ring ropes becomes a spectacle. Rather than fumble into the ring to hide the awkwardness as others on the show did, Kingston makes a show of it.

In the ring, the match itself plays out with a wonderfully simple structure. I’m not familiar with Brett Ison’s work from SUP so I can’t speak much to what he does here compared to his usual work. There’s not much he really has to do for this match anyway other than hit Eddie Kingston very hard and it works.

Ison and Kingston start with a strong lock up, incredibly tight and filled with struggle. When that leads into the first strike exchange of the match, Kingston crumbles almost immediately. And so the stakes are set. Kingston is the battle tested veteran but he’s up against someone younger and stronger who (supposedly) hits harder too.

The match plays out as Kingston looking for openings to knock Ison down. He works most of the match working from underneath as Ison maintains control with his chops, elbows, and punches. Kingston remains defiant through it all, even making sure to flip off Ison as he drops to the mat. Ison responds by grabbing the finger only for Eddie to bite at the ear. Simple stuff like that comes off so gritty and realistic to add a real sense of violence to a card that’s built around much grander displays of bodily harm than this.

Kingston’s love for All Japan shines through towards the finishing stretch as we get two lovely drop out of the ring spots. Kingston himself drops after a tense strike exchange where each man gets progressively worse for wear with each blow. Then Ison himself gets knocked out of the ring after Kingston finally nails his Backfist. Little touches like that can add so much suspense to a match without having to needlessly burn nearfalls on finishes.

Kingston strings together a pair of backdrops, Ison even kicking out of the second pinning hold, before finally nailing the decisive Backfist to win the match. What a great match, don’t let the somewhat subdued crowd fool you. This is substantial stuff from one of the best wrestlers in the world.

We’re graced with a fantastic Eddie Kingston promo afterwards where he calls out Zack Sabre Jr, Cody, and Nick Aldis in that order. Any of those matches would be great and if they somehow get to happen in the hellscape of 2020, it’ll just be more material to back one of the greatest independent wrestlers of all time.

****

LINK: https://josephmontecillo.wordpress.com/2020/07/06/eddie-kingston-vs-brett-ison-icw-no-holds-barred-vol-3-deathmatch-drive-in-2-7-4-20/