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Insane Championship Wrestling

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Insane Championship Wrestling
AcronymICW
Founded2006
Style
HeadquartersGlasgow, Scotland
Founder(s)Mark Dallas
Owner(s)
  • Mark Dallas
  • Duncan Gray
WebsiteInsaneWrestling.co.uk

Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) is a professional wrestling promotion based in Glasgow, Scotland, founded by Mark Dallas in 2006.[1] It mixes elements of traditional sports entertainment with hardcore wrestling; thus admittance is restricted to those over 18[1] years old.

The company began expanding across the UK,[2] and was featured in a Vice Magazine documentary in 2012 and BBC documentary in 2014.[3][4] It was named UK Promotion of the Year by Fighting Spirit Magazine in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2018.[5][6]

ICW formerly aired on cable television station MyChannel across Europe. ICW records and releases the majority of their shows on limited edition DVD as well as producing series of their own YouTube show, ICW Worldwide.[7] In 2015, ICW launched their On Demand service (ICW On Demand), which has become the company's primary source of distribution of content.

On August 13, 2020, it was announced that ICW content would be available on WWE's video on-demand service, WWE Network.[8]

History

[edit]

2006–2012

[edit]
ICW's inaugural champion was Drew Galloway, who remained an important figure over the course of ICW's history
The Barrowland Ballroom, venue of ICW Fear & Loathing VII[9]

Mark Dallas founded the promotion while living with his girlfriend in Glasgow's Red Road Flats in 2006.[10] After attending wrestling training to learn the business from the inside, he ran his first shows at Maryhill Community Centre. Drew Galloway was crowned the company's inaugural Heavyweight Champion on 15 October 2006 after defeating Darkside and Allan Grogan in a three-way match at ICW: Fear & Loathing.[11] Galloway held the title until 22 July 2007 when he was defeated by Darkside.[12] After an almost 2-year hiatus, ICW returned on 9 May 2009 with ICW: Fear & Loathing,[13] however, after another brief hiatus, the company began running shows every other month beginning with ICW: Payback on 28 February 2010.[14]

On 5 June 2010, ICW: Menace 2 Society, a new ICW Heavyweight Champion was crowned for the first time in over three years as BT Gunn won the vacant title in a 4-way match against Wolfgang, Liam Thomson and Johnny Moss. The event also kicked off a tournament for a secondary title, the ICW Zero-G Championship.[15] Another title change occurred on 4 September 2010 at ICW: Dazed and Confused when moments after defeating Red Lightning, BT Gunn was challenged by James Scott who won the match and joined the villainous Gold Label faction.[16]

ICW: Fear & Loathing 3 signaled ICW's first venture into Glasgow City Center with the event taking place at Apollo 23 nightclub on 21 November 2010. The finals of the Zero-G Championship Tournament took place with Noam Dar defeating Andy Wild, Falcon and Rob Cage in a four-way elimination match. The Zero-G Championship was briefly dropped by Dar to Lionheart at ICW: Summerbam on 14 August 2011 before winning the title back at ICW: Fear & Loathing 4 on 23 November.[17][18]

2012–2023

[edit]

2012 saw the introduction of a new event on 22 January, Square Go!. This event was headlined by an over-the-top-rope battle royal granting the winner a shot at the ICW Heavyweight Championship at a time of their choosing.[19] ICW's next event, ICW: Smells like Teen Spirit, took place in The Garage venue, in Glasgow; the venue would later host many ICW shows.[20] The beginning of the year saw ICW gain TV exposure through MyChannel, although their tenure on the station was short-lived as they were removed from programming after one of their shows was shown at an inappropriate time.

During the summer, the ICW Tag Team Championship was introduced and, after a series of elimination matches, STI (Dickie Divers & William Grange) defeated The Bucky Boys (Davie Boy & Stevie Boy) for the titles at ICW: Hadouken!.[21]

After the airing of an in-house mockumentary and his prominent role in the Vice documentary, Grado became prominent in the promotion of ICW. At the 2nd Annual Square Go!, Mikey Whiplash secured his opportunity at the Heavyweight Championship while ICW ventured out of Glasgow for the first time with a show at Studio 24 in Edinburgh.[22] In Edinburgh at ICW: Tramspotting, qualifying matches would begin for the new ICW Fierce Females Championship.[23] The Tag Team Championship changed hands for the first time with STI losing their titles to The Bucky Boys in a ladder match at ICW: Get To Da Choppa.[24] At ICW: Reservoir Dogs, ICW announced that they were being filmed as the subject of a BBC documentary.[25]

On 7 February 2015, the ICW Heavyweight Championship was renamed the ICW World Heavyweight Championship following title defenses in England, Denmark and the United States by Drew Galloway.[26] On 27 February 2016, ICW had their first show in Ireland named The Big Elbowski, where Big Damo defeated Chris Renfrew for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship.

On 20 November 2016, ICW ran the Fear & Loathing IX PPV at the SSE Hydro, which was their biggest event to date and featured Kurt Angle, Team 3D, Ricochet, Finn Balor and others.[27][28]

On 5 November 2017, on a Road to Fear and Loathing X tour show in Cardiff, Triple H and NXT United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne made a special guest appearance.[29]

Three days later, Lionheart died by suicide,[30] causing the ICW title to be vacated. Stevie Boy defeated Wolfgang for the vacant title at Shug's Hoose Party 6 on 28 July 2019.[31]

2023–present

[edit]

Leyton Buzzard, who had won the ICW World Heavyweight Championship Fear & Loathing XIV on 20 November 2022, became ICW's first champion to defend the World Championship outside of the UK since 2018. Inspired by Drew Galloway's internationally recognised reign, which spanned multiple countries, Buzzard eventually broke some of Galloway's records for international defences with matches in Italy, Spain, Ireland, Sweden, Germany and Canada.[32]

In January 2023, ICW announced that its deal with WWE had ended and their library would no longer be available through the WWE Network and Peacock.[33] ICW began airing its weekly TV and events through FITE, this began with The 11th Annual Square Go airing as a PPV on 26 February 2023,[34] during which it was announced that ICW would be airing its events via FITE+ going forward.[35] The first major event of this partnership was Get The F Out! on 14 May 2023.[36]

Events

[edit]

The promotion currently books most of its events in Glasgow with occasional events in Edinburgh. As the company grows, it has expanded to the rest of the UK, having held events in London and Newcastle with shows in Liverpool, Leeds and Birmingham booked in the future as part of a working relationship with O2 Academy venues. ICW runs shows in Glasgow's The Garage and Studio 24 in Edinburgh as well as ABC Glasgow until its closure due to a fire.

As Fear & Loathing got bigger, ICW went on to host events at SEC Centre, and in 2016 held the biggest event in European wrestling since the Dale Martin Wembley Arena shows of the early '80s in Glasgow's OVO Hydro with a claimed over 6000 attendees. Fear & Loathing would be held at the OVO Hydro in the two years following, featuring the likes of Rey Mysterio, Rob Van Dam, Noam Dar & James Storm.

In July 2018 after a recent fire that caused damage to O2 ABC Glasgow, ICW had to reschedule their 2-day summer event Shugs Hoose Party 5 to Glasgow's O2 Academy for the first time ever.[37]

In February 2019, ICW announced the first ever 'King Of Hawners' tournament, taking place on the 26 & 27 May, with 8 trios teams competing in the inaugural tournament.

ICW On Demand

[edit]

ICW On Demand is a video-on-demand service owned by Insane Championship Wrestling. All major ICW events are uploaded on the service shortly after taking place.

ICW Fight Club is the company's weekly episodic show, with episodes premiering on ICW On Demand on Friday nights.

The service also features matches from the promotion's archives, dating back to 2012.[38] Retrospectives of pre-2012 events, shoot interviews and documentaries are also available.

Championships and accomplishments

[edit]

Current championships

[edit]
Championship Current champion(s) Reign Date won Days
held 		Location Notes Ref.
ICW World Heavyweight Championship Kenny Williams 1 September 1, 2024 82+ Glasgow, Scotland This was Williams's Square Go! cash-in match against Jack Jester. [39]
ICW Zero-G Championship Landon reiley 1 November 17, 2024 5+ Glasgow, Scotland Defeated Theo doros for the title in a three way dance with stevie james and doros after doros eliminated james. [40]
ICW Tag Team Championship Arcade Violence
(Brody Turnbull and Jake Lawless) 		1 September 1, 2024 82+ Glasgow, Scotland Defeated POD (Ashton Smith and Rampage Brown) for the vacant titles in a Steel Cage match at ICW Barred III. [41]
ICW Women's Championship Lana Austin 1 September 1, 2024 82+ Glasgow, Scotland Defeated Rhio in a Steel Cage match at ICW Barred III. [42]

Other Championships Recognised by ICW

[edit]
Championship Current champion(s) Reign Date won Days
held 		Location Notes Ref.
1PW Openweight Championship Robbie X 1 22 April, 2023 550+ Doncaster, UK Title defended in ICW by James Wallace vs. BT Gunn at ReZerection" on 22 July 2007. [43][44]
BCW Cruiserweight Championship Inactive N/A N/A N/A Kilmarnock, Scotland Title defended in ICW by Red Lightning vs. Liam Thomson at Stop! He's Already Dead! on 17 December 2006. [45][46]
UEWA European Heavyweight Championship Andy Roberts 1 20 July, 2019 1952+ Ayr, Scotland Title defended in ICW by Alexander Dean vs. Lionheart at I Ain't Yer Pal, Dickface! on 16 July 2019 and by Andy Wild vs. Liam Thomson at Live in Bathgate on 28 August 2019. [47][48]

Square Go! Briefcase Holders

[edit]

In a combination of WWE's Royal Rumble and Money in the Bank matches, the competitors compete in a 30-man over-the-top-rope battle royal, the Square Go!, with the winner earning the Square Go Briefcase. This gives the holder an opportunity to cash-in the briefcase for an ICW World Heavyweight Championship match at any time of their choosing for up to one year.[49] More recently, the contract holder has also had the option of cashing in the contract for a shot at the ICW Zero-G Championship.

Holder Date Won Event Match Type Location Championship Cash-In Date Notes
Red Lightning 22 January 2012 1st Annual Square Go! 30 Man Square Go! Match Glasgow, Scotland ICW Heavyweight Championship 3 June 2012 Cashed in and defeated then champion BT Gunn, who had just successfully defended the ICW Heavyweight Championship against Lionheart, to win the championship at In Your Gaff
Mikey Whiplash 27 January 2013 2nd Annual Square Go! 30 Man Square Go! Match Glasgow, Scotland ICW Heavyweight Championship 5 May 2013 After having announced his intention to cash-in at the next show, Whiplash would go on to defeat Red Lightning at Reservoir Dogs to win the ICW Heavyweight Championship
Chris Renfrew 26 January 2014 3rd Annual Square Go! 30 Man Square Go! Match Glasgow, Scotland ICW Heavyweight Championship 25 January 2015 Successfully defended the briefcase against Grado at 1.21 Gigawatts, Great Scott! on 31 August 2014. Unsuccessfully cashed-in against champion, Drew Galloway, at the 4th Annual Square Go! on 25 January 2015
Dickie Divers 25 January 2015 4th Annual Square Go! 30 Man Square Go! Match Glasgow, Scotland N/A
Chris Renfrew (2) 26 July 2015 Shug's Hoose Party II Ladder Glasgow, Scotland ICW World Heavyweight Championship 24 January 2016 Won the briefcase from Dickie Divers in a ladder match at Shug's Hoose Party II on 26 July 2015.
On 20 December 2015, Renfrew announced that he would be cashing in against World Heavyweight Champion, Grado, on 24 January 2016 at The Fifth Annual Square Go. At the event, Renfrew successfully cashed-in and defeated Grado via pinfall to win the ICW World Heavyweight Championship
Wolfgang 24 January 2016 Fifth Annual Square Go! 30 Man Square Go! Match Glasgow, Scotland ICW World Heavyweight Championship 31 July 2016 Successfully cashed in on Joe Coffey (who had just prior, won the championship from Big Damo) defeating him via pinfall to win the ICW World Heavyweight Championship at Shug's Hoose Party 3
Joe Coffey 5 February 2017 Sixth Annual Square Go! 30 Man Square Go! Match Newcastle, England ICW World Heavyweight Championship 16 April 2017 Announced his intention to cash in at Barramania III on the 14 April episode of Fight Club (recorded 19 March), and successfully defeated Trent Seven by submission to win the ICW World Heavyweight Championship
Stevie Boy 11 February 2018 Seventh Annual Square Go! 30 Man Square Go! Match Glasgow, Scotland ICW World Heavyweight Championship 29 April 2018 At Barramania 4, Stevie retained his Square Go contract in a ladder match against Kenny Williams. He then successfully cashed it in the main event between Mikey Whiplash and BT Gunn, defeating Whiplash via pinfall to win the ICW World Heavyweight Championship
RUDO Lightning (2) 24 February 2019 Eighth Annual Square Go! 30 Man Square Go! Match Glasgow, Scotland ICW World Heavyweight Championship 27 October 2019 First 2-time winner of the Square Go match, and the second to hold the Square Go contract twice. Unsuccessfully cashed-in against champion, Stevie Boy, at ICW: France 2000 on 27 October 2019
Kez Evans 2 February 2020 Ninth Annual Square Go! 30 Man Square Go Match Glasgow, Scotland ICW Zero-G Championship 10 April 2021 Evans successfully cashed in his contract on Craig Anthony on an episode of ICW Fight Club (aired on 10 April 2021) to win the ICW Zero-G Championship. Anthony had, just prior, defeated Daz Black to win the vacant Zero-G Championship.
This cash-in marks the first occasion the contract has been cashed in for the ICW Zero-G Championship.
Leyton Buzzard 20 February 2022 Tenth Annual Square Go! 30 Man Square Go Match Glasgow, Scotland ICW World Heavyweight Championship 15 November 2022 Buzzard successfully cashed in his contract at Fear & Loathing XIV to defeat Evans for the ICW World Heavyweight Championship in a four-way match also involving Stevie James and Craig Anthony.
Aaron Echo 26 February 2023 Eleventh Annual Square Go! 30 Man Square Go Match Glasgow, Scotland ICW World Heavyweight Championship 14 May 2023 Echo successfully cashed in his contract at Get The F Out! immediately after Leyton Buzzard had retained his title against Big Damo and Andy Roberts.
Kenny Williams 10 February 2024 Twelfth Annual Square Go! 30 Man Square Go Match Glasgow Scotland ICW World Heavyweight Championship 1 September 2024 Willisms successfully cashed in his contract at ICW Barred III immediately after Jack Jester had retained his title against Alexander Darwin MacAllan in a Steel Cage match.

King of Insanity

[edit]
King of Insanity Date Won Event Location Notes
Stevie Boy 19 November 2017 Fear & Loathing X Glasgow, Scotland Defeated Mikey Whiplash, Chris Renfrew and Jimmy Havoc to become the inaugural King of Insanity.[50]
BT Gunn 21 November 2021 Fear & Loathing XIII (Night 2) Glasgow, Scotland Defeated Stevie Boy.[51] Defended against Leyton Buzzard.[52]
Jack Jester 20 November 2022 Fear & Loathing XIV Glasgow, Scotland Defeated BT Gunn.[53] Defended against Theo Doros.[54] Defended against Aaron Echo.[55]

Queen of Insanity

[edit]
Queen of Insanity Date Won Event Location Notes
Kay Lee Ray 2 December 2018 Fear & Loathing XI Glasgow, Scotland Defeated Viper to become the inaugural Queen of Insanity and win the ICW Women's Championship.[56]

Other personnel

[edit]
Name Notes
Mark Dallas Owner

Founder

Executive Producer

Billy Kirkwood Lead Commentator for ICW
Simon Cassidy M.C for ICW
Thomas Kearins Press / Referee
Sean McLaughlin Referee
Adam Carrel Director
Jennifer Louise

Veronica Lestrange

Backstage Interviewer
Andrew Wason Business Development (Wrestling Experience Scotland)

Backstage Producer

Hall of Fame

[edit]
Year Image Ring name
(Real name) 		ICW recognized accolades
2016 — Carmel
(Carmel Jacob) 		One-time ICW Women's Champion[57][58]
2018 Drew McIntyre
(Andrew Galloway) 		Inaugural and two-time ICW World Heavyweight Champion[59]
2023 Lionheart
(Adrian McCallum) 		One-time ICW World Heavyweight Champion and two-time ICW Zero-G Champion[60]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Biggs, Chris. "Insane Championship Wrestling: 'There's a million things that can be done as a wrestling company,' says founder Mark Dallas". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  2. ^ Docking, Neil (12 August 2014). "Insane Championship Wrestling comes to Liverpool". Liverpool Echo. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  3. ^ "The British Wrestler". www.vice.com. Vice Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  4. ^ Brocklehurst, Steven (11 March 2014). "Insane fight club: Reinventing wrestling for a new generation". BBC News. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  5. ^ Whiplash, Mickey. "UK Promotion of the Year". Fighting Spirit Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  6. ^ "ICW: ICW Wins FSM UK Promotion Of The Year For Third Year Running". Archived from the original on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  7. ^ "ICW: Worldwide". www.insanewrestling.co.uk. insanewrestling.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 October 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Available now: The best independent wrestling companies on WWE Network".
  9. ^ Kennedy, Jamie. "Fear & Loathing VII Location Announced!". www.insanewrestling.co.uk. Insane Championship Wrestling. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  10. ^ Fulton, Rachael. "Insane Championship Wrestling lays the smack down across the city". www.stv.tv. STV. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  11. ^ "ICW Fear & Loathing – Debut Show". www.cagematch.net. Cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  12. ^ ICW. "Galloway Goes for Gold". www.insanewrestling.co.uk. Insane Championship Wrestling. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  13. ^ "ICW Fear & Loathing 2". www.cagematch.ne. Cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  14. ^ "ICW Payback". www.cagematch.net. cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  15. ^ "ICW Menace 2 Society". www.cagematch.net. cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  16. ^ "ICW Dazed And Confused". www.cagematch.net. cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  17. ^ "ICW SummerBam". www.cagematch.net. cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  18. ^ "ICW Fear & Loathing 4". www.cagematch.net. cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  19. ^ "ICW 1st Annual Square Go!". www.cagematch.net. cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  20. ^ "ICW Smells Like Teen Spirit". www.cagematch.net. cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  21. ^ "ICW Hadouken!". www.cagematch.net. cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  22. ^ "ICW 2nd Annual Square Go!". www.cagematch.net. cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  23. ^ "ICW Tramspotting". www.cagematch.net. cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  24. ^ "ICW Get To Da Choppa". www.cagematch.net. cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  25. ^ "ICW Reservoir Dogs". www.cagematch.net. cagematch.net. Retrieved 11 August 2014.
  26. ^ "ICW: ICW world heavyweight championship to be defended in New York!". Archived from the original on 17 January 2016.
  27. ^ "The wrestling company that went from 30 people to the 'European Wrestlemania'". 8 November 2016.
  28. ^ "ICW Fear & Loathing IX Review: "We're just getting started"". 22 November 2016.
  29. ^ Docking, Neil (5 November 2017). "Watch moment WWE legend Triple H shocks fans at ICW show in Cardiff". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017.
  30. ^ Farrell, Paul (19 June 2019). "Adrian 'Lionheart' McCallum Dead: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com.
  31. ^ Sinclair, Andrew (5 August 2019). "ICW Shug's Hoose Party 6 Night 2 (July 28) Results & Review". Voices of Wrestling.
  32. ^ "Cage Match". cagematch.net.
  33. ^ "ICW Announces Its Contract with WWE Has Come to an End, Information for Upcoming Shows | Fightful News".
  34. ^ "The 11th Annual Square Go Announced for February 2023! - Insane Championship Wrestling". 9 November 2022.
  35. ^ "▷ Insane Championship Wrestling Exclusively on FITE+".
  36. ^ "411Mania".
  37. ^ "ICW Events". www.insanewrestling.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 October 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  38. ^ "On Demand". insanewrestling.co.uk.[dead link‍]
  39. ^ ScotWresNet (1 September 2024). "Full Results: Insane Championship Wrestling (@InsaneChampWres) 'Barred III' (1 Sep 2024)". swnScotland.com. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  40. ^ ScotWresNet (13 August 2023). "Full Results: Insane Championship Wrestling (@InsaneChampWres) 'Shug's Hoose Party 8' (13 Aug 2023)". Scottish Wrestling Network. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  41. ^ ScotWresNet (1 September 2024). "Full Results: Insane Championship Wrestling (@InsaneChampWres) 'Barred III' (1 Sep 2024)". swnScotland.com. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  42. ^ ScotWresNet (1 September 2024). "Full Results: Insane Championship Wrestling (@InsaneChampWres) 'Barred III' (1 Sep 2024)". swnScotland.com. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  43. ^ ICW ReZerection 22.07.2007. Events Database, Retrieve 25 January 2024
  44. ^ "1PW All Or Nothing Results (4/22): Will Ospreay, Lio Rush, Frankie Kazarian, And More | Fightful News". www.fightful.com.
  45. ^ https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=9637 [bare URL]
  46. ^ "BCW Cruiserweight Championship | British Championship Wrestling Title History". www.bcw-wrestling.com.
  47. ^ Morrison, Adam (17 June 2019). "#AndNEW: Lionheart Becomes Double Champion At ICW Fight Club".
  48. ^ "Full Results: Wrestling Experience Scotland 'Live In Bathgate' September 2019". 29 September 2019.
  49. ^ "ICW Square Go Winner". Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
  50. ^ "31 Days of Deathmatches Day 5: King of Insanity ICW "Fear and Loathing X"". 5 October 2019.
  51. ^ "ICW: Fear and Loathing XIII Recap and Results". 6 January 2022.
  52. ^ "Full Results: Insane Championship Wrestling 'Shug's Hoose Party 7' Night One". 30 July 2022.
  53. ^ "ICW Results: Fear & Loathing XIV – Glasgow, Scotland (11/20)". www.wrestling-news.net. 21 November 2022.
  54. ^ "Full Results: Insane Championship Wrestling (@InsaneChampWres) 'Get The F Out' (14 May 2023)". 14 May 2023.
  55. ^ "ICW Results: Fear & Loathing XV – Glasgow, Scotland (12/10)". 11 December 2023.
  56. ^ "FULL MATCH - Piper Niven vs. Alba Fyre - Queen of Insanity". 21 December 2018 – via www.youtube.com.
  57. ^ "Insane Wrestling Videos". insanewrestling.co.uk.[permanent dead link‍]
  58. ^ "Carmel Jacob is the First Inductee of the ICW Hall of Fame!". YouTube. 16 January 2017.
  59. ^ "Drew McIntyre to be inducted into ICW Hall of Fame". WWE. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  60. ^ "Insane Champion Wrestling Status". Twitter.
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