On Sunday March 29, ICW (Insane Championship Wrestling) is returning to the Barrowland Ballroom for their much anticipated event Barrowmania. Jessie Lawson caught up with Mark Dallas, ICW’s creator, and Neil Bratchpiece AKA The Wee Man to get some inside info on what we can expect from the event.
Mark Dallsdavidjwilson-photography.co.uk
What is ICW?
Mark: It’s kind of like theatre in a wrestling ring. It’s a professional wrestling company but it’s aimed at an older crowd – over 18s. We’re there to entertain you, give you value for money, and show you some crazy stuff. There’ll be comedy, some gruesome looking action, a bit of everything.
How did it start?
Mark: I’ve always been into doing different things to make money. I just don’t want to get stuck doing something that I don’t want to do. So I done a bunch of different stuff, at one point I had a hat shop at the Savoy Centre. When that shut down, I had a wee bit of extra money and I thought, well, I like wrestling. I saw this market that could potentially make a lot of money, but it would be a big big gamble. I ran three shows and they failed spectacularly, like, bombed so badly. Somebody got hit with a glass tube that went all over the crowd - it was horrific. About a year or two later, my girlfriend was pregnant and I was like ‘right, cool, I’ve got to provide for my wean, got to have a job’, but I knew I wanted to be creatively fulfilled, so I thought ‘you know what, I’ll start that wrestling company again’. We started in a place in Maryhill that could only hold like a hundred people, so there was a minuscule risk, and then it kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. It was total virgin territory; it was untouched man, if you put wrestling on a poster people would show up.
Neil: It moved into a small nightclub at first, then it just built and built. The audience expanded over time so much that it was forced to move to bigger venues. After Classic Grand it was the Garage, then ABC, and then up to the Barras in Glasgow terms. At every stage as well, whatever Dallas has said to me I’ve been like ‘och, aye right!’, and then it happened, so I’ve learned to stop doubting him!
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What are your roles in ICW?
Mark: My actual job title was managing director, but it got changed the other day to Chairman cause there’s more people in the company now, so apparently I’m the Chairman. But I was told I can give myself any job title, so Renfrew my mate who works with us, he’s going to be the Junior Executive Vice President, cause that’s a thing out 'The Simpsons', so it says that on his wage slip now. And I’ve not decided mine yet but I’m going to think of something funny too.
Neil: I made a guest appearance at first, to perform a couple of my songs. I forgot all the words to one of them and got jumped... But then I got brought in on a kind of regular capacity. Mark Dallas gave me a tag team to manage – the Bucky Boys.
The Wee Man (aka Neil Bratchpiece) with The Bucky Boysdavidjwilson-photography.co.uk
Who are the Bucky Boys?
Neil: The Bucky Boys are my cousins. Davey Boy is Schwarzenegger’s other love child - tyrannosaurus sex - and Stevie Boy hails directly from Jeremy Kyle’s worst fucking nightmares, he’s the one-man crime wave. They’re the good guys, but they have that kind of villainous side, they cheat to win sometimes but the fans still love them. And I love my boys, even beyond story line, I feel quite patriarchal about them. Even though it’s predetermined and that, still when they lose I’m gutted, like, genuinely furious. So yeah, I totally understand why people get so emotionally invested in wrestling cause even though I know what’s happening I’m still quite taken in by it...
ICW has become something of a household name in Glasgow, but it has also toured around the UK. What do you expect from a Glasgow crowd that’s different to crowds in other places?
Neil: Well Glasgow crowds are notorious for being very kind of raucous, like, rambunctious, but in a positive way that really helps the show. It’s always been a saying for touring bands and stuff that if a Glasgow crowd loves you they’ll let you know but if they don’t like you they’ll let you know that as well. They will boo you out of the building basically. Glasgow’s ICW’s home, we definitely get the most rabid response here. Like, saying that Stevie hails directly from Jeremy Kyle’s worst nightmares, I said that once, then the next month I came out and started to say it and the audience just chanted it back at me, I was quite taken aback cause that doesn’t happen in stand-up obviously [Bratchpiece's Wee Man character is also a regular at The Stand, where he's been known to preside over another passion project, Comedian Rap Battles]. But yeah that’s become the catchphrase now, every month I just start that line and then a few hundred people chant it back at me.
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What fight are you most excited about on Sunday at Barrowmania?
Mark: Jackie Polo vs Lionheart. It’s Lionheart’s first match back since he broke his neck down South. The two of them clearly, in real life, genuinely don’t like each other. So I’m equal parts intrigued and worried about what’s going to happen! It’s not going to be a pretty scene. I can guarantee you. Sometimes that makes for the best matches, when people have a wee bit of genuine animosity. Cause it resonates with fans more. A wee added element of intrigue, definitely.
Neil: Well I’m contractually obligated to say Stevie Boy vs Mark Coffee... That will be an awesome match though - all bias aside. Stevie’s not the biggest guy, I’m sure he’d admit that himself, but I think that’s part of his appeal. That’s why the fans love him so much; he’s more identifiable that way. But he’s genuinely one of the best wrestlers I’ve seen. He can pull off some insane stuff. So that’s what I expect from that match, and I expect him to win, as always!
Barrowmania falls on the same night as Wrestlemania... What does ICW have that WWE doesn’t?
Mark: We will not insult your intelligence; we will not tell you what you’re supposed to like. I’ve got respect and all that for Vince McMahon as a promoter, however I very much feel like in WWE that they don’t care about who you want. Everyone wants this guy in the main event of your show, so you don’t put him as the main event of your show, just to prove some kind of point that you’re the boss? Like, you don’t need to prove you’re the boss - you’re a billionaire, how insecure can you be as a human being? ICW grows and continues to grow in the fact that if the fans want to see something, they’ll get it. We strive to give you what you want to see, WWE will go out their way to tell you what you should want to see.
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If people didn’t manage to get tickets, how can they watch Barrowmania?
Mark: They can watch it On Demand at the ICW website, this show will be up 24 hours later, so if you check our On Demand page at 9pm Monday night, it’ll be on there, and it’s £3.75 per month to subscribe to that. There’s new stuff added all the time.
ICW: Barrowmania takes place at the Barrowlands on Sunday March 29.
Jessie Lawson is a Glasgow-based freelancer and works for Wastepaper Magazine.