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On this week's upcoming Wrestling Daft podcast, comedian Rob Florence and former ICW World Heavyweight Champion Grado are joined by the founder of Insane Championship Wrestling - Mark Dallas!
Ahead of the podcast dropping, I was privileged enough to receive an advanced copy of their interview with the mastermind behind one of the hottest wrestling promotions in the world - and definitely the most insane.
Dallas has welcomed the likes of Mick Foley, Finn Balor, and even Triple H through the ICW ropes in the past, but the host of BBC's Rogue To Wrestler opened up about how he couldn't get stars like New Jack, Sandman, Robert Gibson or Ricky Morton into the UK, stating that he tried to get the Rock 'n' Roll Express to face Kinky Party in Scotland with Morton replying:
"I was a bad kid! I ain't got a passport!"
For different reasons, Dallas also spoke about how he just missed out on working with Samoa Joe, and also came close to booking Hulk Hogan and Conor McGregor.
"One time, I tried to book Conor McGregor years ago. I tried, I contacted his agent, he wasn't anywhere near as expensive as he'd be now. It was still a five-figure fee.
"Oh! I'll give you a belter, right?
"I nearly booked, I was in talks with him, this nearly happened, and it nearly got revealed that the person who bankrolled The Black Label when they took over ICW was Hollywood Hulk Hogan. He was meant to be a certain price, but then he won the Gawker case, and then the next day, his price was five times that. Even if I'd sold the Hydro out, I couldn't afford that.
"You've no idea how close I was to Hulk Hogan showing up in ICW."
If you use any of these quotes, please credit the Wrestling Daft podcast and h/t Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
You can follow Wrestling Daft on Twitter and Facebook and also subscribe to their podcast on Spotify. The full episode with Mark Dallas drops at 3:16pm GMT.
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