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In the past four or five years, there’s been this exciting crop of talent bubbling up in the Pacific northwest scene just waiting to break out in a big way. Among the most exciting names leading that charge is Judas Icarus. I first took notice of him thanks to a real great Daniel Makabe singles match in 2019, but he’s remained a consistently entertaining prospect since then. Whenever he’s given a big spotlight in a singles situation, he almost certainly delivers something really strong, and often great. That being said, those really big singles pairings seem to be a bit of a rarity for Icarus and his ilk, often spending most of their time wrestling their contemporaries in the scene, or in Icky’s case, working in tag settings.
Mike Bailey’s exactly the kind of singles showcase that I’m excited for when it comes to a name like Judas Icarus. A big name on the indies sure to draw eyes and give Icarus a lot of opportunities to showcase what he can do under a brighter spotlight. Bailey’s a fascinating exercise for a young worker like Icarus too. Since Bailey’s return to the states, he’s become prolific and ubiquitous enough in North American wrestling to have gotten rather set in his signature collection of spots. While Bailey’s almost always capable of greatness (just see something like his match against Masha Slamovich or the highly regarded Will Ospreay match), see enough of his work and it all tends to bleed together. In that sense, the test for someone like Icarus is how to get something a little more unique out of what Bailey brings instead of simply slotting into the “standard Mike Bailey match.”
I think that for the most part, Icky succeeds at that.
It’s not a perfect thing, but Icarus’ performance in this has a lot of incredibly positive qualities that help it stand out. The best and most admirable aspect of it might be the wonderful commitment he has to heel work. Icarus threads the needle here wonderfully between doing just enough to be a convincing threat to Bailey in a clean fight, while always ensuring that his greatest successes come from underhanded means. Having Evan Rivers as his second here means that there’s a lot of clever use of outside interference, well structured stuff compared to the worst examples of this kind of heel work. I like the amount of thought that goes into how Icarus positions himself and the referee to allow Rivers to get involved, but there’s a more delicate skill on display here where the timing of the interference doesn’t feel like an interruption of the match’s flow but a natural extension of it.
Icky’s also scummy in a lot of smaller ways too. I especially enjoy his dedication to attacking Bailey’s feet in real nasty ways. Punching, twisting, wrenching at them. I can’t help but think there’s a more interesting match bubbling under the surface here where Icky’s attacks have a little more potency. A little meaner control from Icky, a little more extended selling from Bailey.
What they instead go for seems to be Icarus being able to steal his way into moments of control, but once Bailey starts really cooking with his comebacks, there’s no stopping his momentum. It’s not a perfect execution of that idea especially when this takes the time to go into back and forth strike exchanges, which to their credit at least mostly come across real crispy in the moment. But Speedall’s offense looks especially clean on this night–the timing on that big top rope moonsault to the floor is always stunning, and I love how he lingers on Icky’s chest after nailing the double knees on the outside.
This match seems to be torn between two worlds, the more classic babyface/heel match that might have suited Icky’s act and strengths a little better and a more traditional sort of super indie showcase. Going one way or the other might have suited them better, but on balance, what we get in the end is still well worth the watch.
Rating: ***3/4
