ICW is one of the biggest promotions in the UK, and has featured some of the world’s top wrestlers.
You probably know that Drew McIntyre called ICW home. Grado is another name that came out of the promotion, while British stars like Mark Andrews and Pete Dunne have also wrestled for the Glasgow-based company.
However, there have been a number of WWE stars that you may be shocked appeared for ICW. This included high-ranking executives, Hall of Famers and former World Champions, to name but a few.
Mick Foley
It may shock you to learn that the “Hardcore Legend” Mick Foley has appeared for the Scottish indie promotion.
The WWE Hall of Famer was announced as the commisioner for the ICW Fear and Loathing VIII show in 2015. This was arguably the promotions biggest ever show, with over 4000 fans filling the SSE Hydro.
While this wasn’t meant to involve any in-ring work, he made himself known in the main event.
With the ref being down, Foley fought off Jack Jester and Red Lightning to help Grado pin Drew McIntyre to win the ICW World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career.
The crowd exploded when Mr Socko made an appearance, and Foley celebrated with Grado to end the show on a high.
Triple H
One of the most incredible moments in ICW history was when “The Game” himself made an appearance in Scotland.
At Fight Club #76, Pete Dunne appeared as the WWE United Kingdom Champion to promote the relationship between the WWE and ICW. However, boss Mark Dallas then introduced Triple H to the crowd, who went beserk when he stepped through the curtains in Glasgow.
While the head of WWE didn’t wrestle for the promotion, his appearance garnered a “holy shit” chant from the fans in attendance. It was a historic moment that ICW fans will never forget.
“The Game” appeared because the WWE were filming in the UK that week, making it a rather impromptu appearances.
Kurt Angle
During his indie tour in 2016, Kurt Angle made a stop in Scotland to wrestle for ICW. Following the incredible Fear and Loathing show in 2015, Angle wrestled at the ninth iteration of the event against Joe Coffey.
Angle was not at his best, having suffered an injury during his various matches. He had fantastic matches in this run against the likes of Cody Rhodes and Zack Sabre Jr, which were vastly better than this bout.
However, the Scottish crowd were so happy to see the legend that it didn’t really matter how he did. The Olympic Gold Medallist even put over the Scot at the SSE Hydro.
Finn Balor, who previously wrestled for ICW, also appeared at the event for the first time since he signed for WWE.
Rhyno
Former WWE and ECW legend Rhyno is not a name you’d expect to show up in Scotland. Luckily for ICW fans, they’ve had the opportunity to see him wrestle for the promotion on multiple occasions.
The former ECW Champion wrestled four times for the Scottish wrestling company. His latest adventure north of the border came in 2015, at the famous ICW Fear and Loathing VIII show.
While the main event of Grado vs Drew Galloway took the plaudits, Rhyno had a great match with Joe Coffey at the event. He even wrestled Galloway, unsuccessfully challenging for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship the year prior.
Mr Kennedy (Anderson)
Former Mr Money in the Bank Mr Kennedy was always seen as a future star in WWE, and was a favourite of young fans for his impressive mic skills.
Kennedy became a big star in TNA, winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championships on multiple occasions. He also brought his skills to Scotland, during a match against a current TNA star for ICW in 2016.
Mr Kennedy battled against Joe Hendry in Glasgow in March 2016. This match brought one of Hendry’s best parody songs, as he rewrote the Pokemon theme song to mock Kennedy.
It clearly got the Kennedy, who lost to Hendry in a decent match at The Garage.
