10 Wrestlers You Didn't Know Competed In Scotland's ICW Promotion

Scotland-based wrestling promotion ICW, Insane Championship Wrestling, is home to many wrestlers that fans will know of even if unfamiliar with the company. The likes of Big Damo from WWE, Progress legend Mark Haskins, and PAC's most recent opponent for the AEW All-Atlantic Championship LJ Cleary all currently wrestle in ICW. The hardcore legend Mick Foley was even the commissioner of the promotion for a while.

RELATED: 10 Most Important Independent Wrestling Promotions EverHowever, what fans might not know is that ICW has consistently been one of the companies to elevate stars before they are becoming some of the biggest in the industry, and fans can now watch them on ICW Fight Club with Peacock premium or WWE Network subscriptions live every Saturday.

10 Angelico

Angelico can be seen now in AEW, but before he was all elite, the high flyer was battling for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship. The South African made his mark in Lucha Underground where he became known for his crazy, high-flying spots that were reminiscent of Jeff Hardy.

Although Angelico is more associated as a tag team or trios wrestler in his career, he has shown what a great singles wrestler he is, with matches against the likes of Lionheart and Rampage Brown for ICW. Angelico is only used sparingly for AEW for now, but hopefully, he will be used more frequently soon.

9 Finn Bálor

Just before Finn Balor arrived in NXT in May 2014, he was the Zero-G champion in ICW. Balor won the title in March of 2014 at ICW's Still Smoking event, defeating Mark Coffey to become the 8th champion ever and ending the 11th longest reigning reign in the title's history. Balor then dropped the title back to Coffey a month later at the Show Me Your Lizard event in a three-way match that included NXT UK and former 205 Live star Noam Dar.

Just over two weeks after dropping the title, Balor, known as Fergal Devitt at the time was announced to have signed with NXT, where he became one of WWE's biggest stars. The former leader of the Bullet Club would pop back up in the company for a special appearance in 2016, attacking Drew McIntyre.

8 Malakai Black

Malakai Black All Elite Wrestling on the entrance ramp

Before he was the leader of the House of Black in AEW, Malakai Black was known as Tommy End in the indies. End's first match for Insane Championship Wrestling was in 2015 against then champion Drew Galloway. Black was unable to take the championship off of Galloway and returned later that year for a six-man steel cage match at Fear and Loathing 8. Black's teamed with his stable known as Legion which included Michael Dante and Mikey Whiplash. However, Legion would lose to The New Age Kliq and Black would sign with NXT shortly after and would find major success.

7 KUSHIDA

KUSHIDA is one of the greatest super juniors in New Japan Pro Wrestling's history. One-half of the time splitters have seemingly been everywhere in his career, wrestling in Japan, England, the United States, and Scotland when he wrestled in Glasgow for ICW.

KUSHIDA appeared for the promotion back in 2019 when he replaced Jeff Jarrett to face Jakie Polo at ICW's Shug's Hoose Party 6. KUSHIDA defeated Polo and was then confronted by Kenny Williams wanted KUSHIDA to apologize for stealing his thunder before KUSHIDA laid out Williams with an uppercut and Polo raised KUSHIDA's hand.

6 Doudrop

WWE's Doudrop, formally known as Viper, was ICW's inaugural women's champion when she won the championship at Fear and Loathing 8 in 2015. Doudrop was not originally scheduled for the match but was put in by the ICW commissioner Mick Foley, who added her to the match against Nikki storm, now known as Nikki A.S.H., and Kay Lee Rae.

Doudrop would lose the championship at the beginning of 2016 and would not win it back until 2018. However, in her second reign Doudrop would hold the title for nearly 300 days, the second longest ICW women's championship reign to date.

5 Nikki ASH

Nikki A.S.H. Raw Women's Champion Cropped

Nikki ASH is one of the most talented wrestlers to ever come out of Scotland. Before Nikki ASH was teaming with Doudrop, she was feuding against her in ICW. Despite wrestling for ICW since 2010, Nikki ASH, then known as Nikki Storm, never won the ICW Women's Championship.

ASH had been in the championship matches multiple times but never won the big one. Fortunately for Ash, she would go on to win the big one in the WWE, as she became WWE Raw Women's Champion after years working in NXT and on the main roster primary as a tag team wrestler. ASH's husband Big Damo, formerly known as Killian Dain in WWE, currently works for the promotion.

4 Noam Dar

Noam Dar is a well-accomplished wrestler in Insane Championship Wrestling. Dar won the inaugural ICW Zero-G Championship back in 2010 in a four-way eliminator match. Dar is notorious with the championship, as he has the second longest combined reigns from his two championship reigns.

Dar is an incredibly important wrestler in the promotion and, unfortunately, he was not able to defend the title after he won ICW World Heavyweight Champion of February 2020, due to COVID-19. Technically, Dar was the world champion for nearly 600 days before having to vacate the title but he was never able to defend it.

3 James Storm

The cowboy himself has wrestled for the Scottish promotion. James Storm is one of the most famous wrestlers in TNA/IMPACT wrestling history. Together with Bobby Roode, Storm and Roode created one of the most memorable tag teams in recent memory in Beer Money Inc. Storm showed up in ICW in 2018, earning a world title shot after defeating Jack Jester.

Storm would go on to face B.T. Gunn in Glasgow for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort. Storm has wrestled seven times for the promotion, last wrestling for them in 2019, losing to Leyton Buzzard at ICW's Shug's Hoose Party 6.

2 Sami Callihan

IMPACT Wrestling's Sami Callihan has a long list of wrestling promotions he has worked for, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that he has made his way to Scotland to work for ICW previously. Callihan's first appearance for the company was in 2019, at Fear and Loathing 7 going up against BT Gunn in a winning effort.

Callihan would return to the company the next year for the "Square Go!" a 30-man battle royal that ICW puts on where the winner obtains a briefcase similar to the money in the bank. Kez Evans would end up winning the battle royal and Callihan has not wrestled for the promotion since. With Callihan's talent, the Scottish fans would surely be thrilled to see him in action again.

1 Drew McIntyre

Drew McIntyre is arguably the most important wrestler in Insane Championship Wrestling history. McIntyre, known as Drew Galloway in ICW, is already in ICW's hall of fame due to being the company's inaugural world heavyweight champion and helping put the company on the map. McIntyre was a staple of the promotion before going to WWE in 2007.

After his release from the WWE in 2014, McIntyre came back to ICW and quickly became world heavyweight champion again. McIntyre would stay with the company until going to NXT in 2017 and would be inducted into ICW's hall of fame in 2018.