Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) only uses top talent on its cards. It was no surprise then that we witnessed 'The Villain' Marty Scurll battle for the ICW title when the company was in London. Scurll is a long-term friend and favourite of ours and it is therefore fitting that we finish our run of ICW specials with the man himself. You can watch Scurll's battle for ICW gold On-Demand and may yet see him on the next ICW tour, taking place from February to July 2016 (tickets here). Keep on reading Royal Ramblings for more on ICW as it continues to dominate the wrestling world.
You're not an ICW regular, do you still feel part of the crew?
I think so. I'm not a regular with ICW yet but I feel like that's part of the charm. Wrestling for these guys, I come in and I bring something different. Especially with towns like Southampton and London that I've done, most people know about me anyway - it's not like I'm invading. ICW as a promotion is really professional and trying to take things to the next level. I respect the ambition of the company and I hope it grows leaps and bounds. I'm sure it will do and hopefully I'll be more of a part of it. Maybe if I win the title they'll have to make me a part of it!
ICW has a game, its toured the UK twice in 6 months, Kay Lee Ray was on NXT - is this the go-to promotion, surely it's a great platform for talent?
Absolutely! Wrestling in this country at the moment is just so hot. ICW are reaping the benefits but ultimately they're part of the reason that it's so hot. It's finally putting on shows that people are a part of. The wrestlers are passionate, want to work hard and put on a great show. Now the world is a smaller place - so with On Demand, social media, YouTube and everything else, people can see us. It's not wrestling a hall in some small Scottish town, it's worldwide and it's all about getting your content out there. ICW are doing a great job of that. It's all very well having the best promotion in the world but if no one sees or hears of it then it's no good but ICW do a great job. Whereas before some fans might have looked at wrestling promotions over here as on a lesser level to a Ring of Honor or PWG or whatever it is, I think now it's all on the same level.
William Regal supposedly scouted Pac (Neville) from the US promotion Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). You were at the PWG Battle of Los Angeles (BOLA) show. How did it go?
It was great! William Regal wasn't there unfortunately! Rey Mysterio was though - so that was sweet. But it was awesome, the best. It was like I was saying with ICW - so nice and refreshing, just a whole roster of guys that want to kick ass and put on an awesome show and have that passion about wrestling. It the "let's go out there and kill it" attitude and if you're not in the wrestling business to do that, I don't know why you'd be involved. It's important to have a legacy of work that people can watch and think "oh yeah, he was good". It was a great platform to do it all and PWG is just awesome.
We interviewed you a year or so ago. What have been your achievements this year and what's next?
It feels like with wrestling every year, you've progressed and got better. This year's been fantastic for me. I've had some great matches. Going out to LA was a highlight, headlining a sold-out York Hall for the RevPro/New Japan shows with Will Ospreay and AJ Styles. That's great to see as well, with promotions that use a lot of imports, having UK guys being seen on the same level as the Japanese or American talent and with their own fan base. It's been so great for me because promotions are kicking ass and so every show for me is a good show. It used to be you'd get one good show a month but now every show is awesome. Of course, I'm not in the wrestling business just for giggles. I'm here to take over the world so read that as you will. I'm determined and I'm going to get there 100%. I want to be seen on the biggest platform in the world. It may take me a while but I'm convinced I'm going to get there.
Determination, talent and ambition. Scurll has it all. Follow his future endeavours on Twitter @martyscurll and continue to support the wonderful ICW by getting tickets to their shows! Our thanks to the company, Louise Marshall, Mark Dallas and all those we interviewed for giving of their time!
ICW calls at:
Glasgow Garage (3,10, 31 January)
Glasgow Barrowland (24 January, 3 April)
Glasgow O2 ABC (31 July)
Liverpool O2 Academy (26 February)
Belfast Mandela Hall (27 February)
Dublin The Academy (28 February)
London Brooklyn Ball (25 March)
Cardiff Tramshed (26 March)
Bournemouth O2 Academy (27 March)
Newcastle O2 Academy (2 April)
Manchester O2 Ritz (29 July)
Birmingham O2 Institute (30 July)
Glasgow SSE Hydro (20 November) - Fear & Loathing, not to be missed!