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This weekend, Insane Championship Wrestling's Fear & Loathing XII emanates from Glasgow's SWG3 venue, and the main event on night one of the two-day extravaganza sees current ICW Zero-G Champion Bad Boy Liam Thomson defending his title against one half of the current WWE NXT UK Tag Team Champions in Wolfgang in a Good Housekeeping Match!
With two veterans of Scotland's hottest promotion set to go to war in the one match where you can expect to see everything INCLUDING the kitchen sink, we caught up with Liam Thomson, the man going into that match with the gold, to discuss how he feels heading into this third, rubber (glove) match to decide, once and for all, who goes home with both the ICW Zero-G Championship and the prized kitchen sink.
There's only one place I can start, Liam. You're main eventing night one of Fear & Loathing in a Good Housekeeping Match against Wolfgang.
I've been lucky enough to see the first two, but for anyone NOT familiar with the stipulation - can you tell us a little bit about what a Good Housekeeping Match is?
Just think of all of your household objects - these are all the different things that can come into play in a Good Housekeeping Match - so it could be an ironing board, an iron, dishes, or it could be food - eggs, flour.
Normally when you think of wrestling matches, you think of violence and steel chairs. It's a little bit of that but with a household item twist on it. Eggs, flour...
The first thing, we got carried away with Fairy liquid. I remember pouring it all over my head and regretting it really, really quickly because it started going in my eyes. Jesus, that was... That was right towards the end of the first match and I was throwing eggs at Wolfgang and The Purge, and they were slipping on the stage because of all the bloody oil and s**t.
One of the things I remember was The Purge, Stevie James and Krobar, slipping and doing these amazing flips!
I love it because it's one of the few wrestling matches where everybody goes, "Everything but the kitchen sink!", and it's like, "No, wait, you'll probably see a kitchen sink in there as well somewhere."
Aye, the whole thing is circled around a kitchen sink!
Your opponent is current NXT UK Tag Team Champion Wolfgang. You're both very familiar with each other and this match, but what's it like for you to be sharing the ring with him for this main event?
I mean, it's brilliant. It's a big responsibility and I love having that responsibility. I love the pressure that comes with it as well. It makes you work harder.
At the same time, for me, because I was out for a year with an injury, and for me to be able to come back and to now be in this position is brilliant. A year ago, at Fear & Loathing, I hadn't been back too long and I didn't have an actual match, it was just kind of like a spot, a segment.
A year later, to be in the main event is brilliant for me. To be doing it with Wolfgang, even better!
You know, we've done two of these already so we're going to have to think outside the box in terms of what we're going to do next. In terms of how I wanted things to go when I came back, I couldn't have written it any better.
I've worked so hard, tirelessly, for all the years I've wrestled, in particular the last couple of years, to get back where I need to be, and I'm just absolutely buzzing, I could not be more excited and it's great when you get to do these things with people you've been friends with for years. It's brilliant.
NEXT: Headlining the first ever ICW Gonzo!
COMING UP: Dream opponents
Now, you're no stranger to the main event scene, even just this month and a bit! You headlined the first-ever Gonzo in what, for me, was definitely the match of the night, defending your title against one of the hottest young talents in ICW - Leyton Buzzard. He even seemingly earned your respect at the end. What are your thoughts on Leyton?
I think these guys that are coming up just now, Leyton Buzzard, Kieran Kelly, Kez Evans, they are so good. I'm watching them and I'm thinking, "Jesus Christ," but it's exciting.
It's so exciting for me as well. Just thinking about how good the Scottish scene is going to be in another ten years. It's incredible.
Those matches couldn't possibly be any more different, because I don't think many people would argue if I said you've got a slightly different styles to Leyton...
100%.
How different is the pressure of going out there vs Leyton Buzzard or vs Wolfgang?
With some of the younger guys, they have a certain style and they do things that are really exciting, and I'm not going to try and do things that I've never done or never wanted to do. I will stick with what I do.
I don't even know how to describe my sort of style but I'm going to tell a story, break things down, so I would never get overly worried about being in with a younger guy.
There is an aspect of it where these guys are really, really quick but I'm always going to take it to what's going to make the match work, and what's going to make it make sense.
With any situation, I'm just going to be excited and look at different things that we can do.
You've got Leyton Buzzard and Wolfgang who are completely different opponents and I think that excites me because there's such a different contrast of styles and stipulations in the matches as well - that's what I want to be doing.
I want to be in situations where, like at ICW Gonzo, the first ever main event, that pressure with such a strong card underneath, I know we've got to deliver. At the same time, I don't think we've got to do a million things, I will stick to the thing I do which is maybe sometimes going at a slower pace but telling a story with it.
That match, like the Good Housekeeping Match, was for the Zero-G Championship. Now, talk about belts with incredible lineage!
People think of high-flyers when they think Zero-G, but you're such a great champion because you're not a high-flyer, but your style brings out the best in high-flyers!
Aside from yourself, that belt has been held by Finn Balor, Noam Dar, Lionheart, Kenny Williams, Zack Gibson, the current ICW World Heavyweight Champion Stevie Boy, and all three members of NXT UK's Gallus.
How much of an honour is it to hold that title - and what do you, depending on how you see it, bring to that title, or what does the title bring to you?
Obviously, given the names you've just mentioned, it is a bit of a prestigious title now. It's up there in ICW, a lot of people will go after that belt just as much as they go after the ICW Heavyweight Championship.
For me, I've been wrestling now since 2004, I've been with ICW since the very first show. It was kind of like, "I've done it. I did get there."
Obviously I've still got aspirations like going after the Heavyweight Championship and everything but it was, "God, I made it, I finally did it!" because there was a point I didn't think I was going to.
What I bring to the belt - work hard and, if you work hard, you can do it.
Honestly, I never thought I could be in a position that I'm in right now if you think of a year and a half ago, when I was on the sidelines.
I want that belt to represent wrestlers' wrestler. If you work hard, you can get there. Ignore all the bullsh**, just work hard.
I think that shows when you look at the poster for Fear & Loathing and you're at the top of it!
Exactly.
NEXT: Dream opponents
Now, we spoke earlier about the first time that I saw you, which was not at a wrestling show, but on stage at a tattoo convention! What's the weirdest place you've ever wrestled?
Let's have a wee think. To be honest, that Tattoo Convention one was a bit bizarre.
You came out and there was all these people, and it was essentially like a normal convention - people just going about their day - and then, all of a sudden, they introduce you onto a stage as a wrestler... But there's no ring or anything, and the people don't even necessarily know what wrestling is, so that was bizarre.
A lot of wrestlers wrestle at gala days and things like that, that again can be okay sometimes but, depending on what type of gala it is, it can be outdoors so it can be p***ing down with rain.
I remember one, I think it was in Forfar, where you had nowhere to get changed. I was getting introduced, it was p***ing rain, and I came out of this wee tent and I'm walking to the ring in my wrestling gear, with folk thinking, "Who is this guy?"
At a gala day, you're not there to see wrestling, and I'm just walking past crowds of people in my wee shorts and its p***ing down rain, getting in the ring.
There was another one where I was in this gala day in France, and that was another bizarre situation, and I remember it quite thoroughly.
Finally, Fear & Loathing attracts huge names from all over the world. Previously, the likes of Finn Balor, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle and the Dudley Boyz have all appeared; this year will see Sami Callihan debut.
I'm going to assume you'll hold onto that title until next year, I have all confidence...
Me, too.
You get told, "Liam, you can defend the title against anyone in the world", who are you choosing?
Oh, mate, that's some question. Anybody in the world, who would I want to face?
I'm trying to think of someone I've not actually had a singles match with that I really do want one against. A guy like Zack Sabre Jr. I have wrestled him but I've never had a singles match with him. That is a match I would want. Definitely.
If you asked me about people who were dead, I could tell you - Owen Hart was always my dream match.
I've never had a singles match with a guy like Finn Balor. That would be great.
And he's a former Zero-G Champion!
There we go!
Thank you to Liam Thomson for speaking with us. You can follow Liam here.
Tickets for ICW Fear & Loathing XII are available here, or you can catch it via ICW On Demand here.
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