Ring Of Honor
Date: July 31, 2026
Location: WJCT Studios, Jacksonville, Florida
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

It’s time for the regular show after Tuesday’s bonus show. In this case that means we have three weeks to go before Death Before Dishonor and it’s time to start getting the card ready. Hopefully that is covered this week, though we already have the Pure Title match as Lee Moriarty is defending against Angelico. Let’s get to it.

Here are Tuesday’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a look at Moriarty vs. Angelico, with the focus still being on their first match nearly two years ago. I’m really not sure how big of a deal that actually is.

Pure Rules Title: Lee Moriarty vs. Angelico

Moriarty is defending. They fight over wrist control to start and Angelico spins out of a wristlock. Angelico’s full nelson is countered into a cravate, which allows Moriarty to go after the arm again. Angelico slips out of that as well and does his dance before pulling him into a leglock, which has Moriarty burning his first rope break.

Back up and Moriarty spins around into the Border City Stretch, which has Angelico using his own first rope break. Moriarty works on the arm and fingers so Angelico goes to the ropes for the second time. With that not working, Moriarty loads up a Scorpion Deathlock but reaches down and grabs Angelico’s head before leaning back and stretching…well pretty much everything.

That’s the third rope break from Angelico, which thankfully means that I don’t have to try to describe that nutty hold again. Angelico grabs something like Konnan’s old Tequila Sunrise to send Moriarty to the rope again, leaving him with one. A triangle choke doesn’t get Moriarty very far and Angelico pulls him into…we’ll say it’s the Rings Of Saturn but with Angelico using his legs. Moriarty burns his last rope break and they trade some rollups for two each. Moriarty’s Border City Stretch goes on again and Angelico gives up at 12:31.

Rating: B. Yeah there were some cool spots in there (some of those submissions were absolutely insane) but it’s the same kind of thing that we’ve seen from Moriarty literally for years now. It would be a bit better if Angelico was built up for the title shot but it was basically just “they had a match about two years ago”. Do you know how many pure matches Angelico has had since then? One, which he lost. It’s really not that hard to set up a title match, but instead we get “Hey remember what we did almost two years ago? We’re doing it again.” Try harder than that.

Bandido is asked about his World Title defense at Death Before Dishonor against…Nick Wayne. This brings in Wayne, who promises to win the title, though Bandido says Wayne has no honor. Bandido promises to show why he’s the most wanted. I’m not sure what that means but it’s not like logic matters around this title anyway.

The World Title match for one of the few PPVs that ROH does every year was announced in a random backstage segment between two people who have no history together. Not one of the three or four people who have beaten Bandido on an AEW PPV lately, because everyone in the company wants to be “insert name here” Two Belts, unless it’s a Ring Of Honor title because who could possibly want one of those? Oh and Wayne was last seen losing on Dynamite, because that’s how you build up a World Title challenger. Good grief this place is ridiculous sometimes.

Viva Van vs. Emi Sakura

Sakura knocks her into the corner to start but Van is back up with a running hurricanrana. Sakura goes outside…and appears to be crying, but it’s just a ruse so Sakura can send her into the steps. Back in and Sakura hits a running crossbody in the corner but Van kicks her away. A missile dropkick gives Van two but she can’t get the Ocean Cyclone suplex. Van is back up with an ax kick and they both block and counter quite a few things. Finally Sakura grabs the Queen’s Gambit for the pin at 8:15.

Rating: B-. This is a good example of where you need a better explanation of things around here. Sakura hasn’t wrestled in AEW since 2025 and hasn’t wrestled in ROH since 2023 (this is her fifth ever match here). It came off like we’re just supposed to remember her like she’s a regular and that isn’t the case. She comes in, she works a few matches, and she leaves. It isn’t a case of her talent, but rather she’s gone for long stretches of time and that doesn’t really work in wrestling. Tell us, or better yet, show us, a bit more about her.

The Kingdom uses AI to pick their partners for tonight: the Grizzled Young Veterans! This gives them an 87% chance of winning the match, but the Veterans aren’t sure about this AI stuff. Neither am I, but it’s certainly topical at the moment so points for something new.

Diamante vs. Allie Katch

Diamante grabs a headlock to start but gets pulled down into a quickly broken headlock. Back up and Diamante pulls her out of the corner and fires off some crossface shots to the jaw. A hard whip into the corner lets Diamante pose a bit but Katch is back up with a seated senton. The cannonball gives Katch two but Diamante is right back with a Stunner. Katch’s enziguri gets two more but Diamante gives her a hot shot into One In The Chamber to give Diamante the pin at 4:52.

Rating: C+. I still like Katch and could go for having her around to do some more stuff around here. At the same time, Diamante is still good enough in the ring most of the time but she only gets so many chances to show what she can do as the third person in Athena’s group. The match was a pretty good back and forth showcase too so I’ll take this.

Post match Diamante stays on her but Queen Aminata runs in for the save.

Caprice Coleman sits down with Shane Taylor, who doesn’t like Coleman’s previous suggestions that Shane Taylor Promotions do gangster things. Coleman apologizes and asks Taylor about his matches with Jon Moxley. Taylor brags about laying out Moxley multiple times, which no one else has done. He likes finding the diamonds in the rough and he and his team trust each other. That’s how they’ll accomplish their goals but he wants to remain the person he was raised as being. As usual, Taylor is quite the talker when things are toned down a bit and I could see him having a future as a commentator.

AR Fox vs. Soleil

They go with the grappling to start and Soleil rolls backwards, all the way out to the floor. Back in and Fox uses a handstand to block a cutter (it was cool when I saw him do it live at the WrestleCon Supershow and it’s still cool here). They nip up into a standoff and Soleil flips away and hits a Meteora, landing on his feet before he hits the ground.

Back up and Fox rolls through into a neckbreaker before elbowing away in the corner. The elbows continue against the barricade and we’re off to the chinlock back inside. That’s broken up and they hit stereo crossbodies to leave both of them down. Soleil is up with a high crossbody for two but Fox is right back with a rolling cutter. A fisherman’s buster gives Fox two more but he misses the 450. They go up top until Soleil is shoved away, allowing Fox to give him a jumping Stunner. Lo Mein Pain into the 450 finishes Soleil at 11:00.

Rating: B. Fox has grown on me like few others around here as he wrestles a very different style but does it so well. That makes him stand out, along with being so smooth in the ring. This was good stuff as Soleil is as unique as it gets around here and the whole thing meshed together rather well. Good stuff here.

Athena is sick of people trying to come after her, including Hazuki. They can have their title match at Death Before Dishonor. In case you’re wondering, Hazuki hasn’t wrestled in ROH since before AEW existed and has wrestled four times in AEW. At least she had a brawl with Athena in her match this week on Collision. Athena defending against the woman who beat her in the Owen Hart Cup? You should know better than that.

Steph de Lander vs. Rachael Ellering

Pure Rules and de Lander uses her first rope break in less than twenty seconds. Ellering takes her down without much trouble and hits a basement dropkick to the head. The second rope break is quickly used, as is de Lander’s punch to the face for the warning. Back up and de Lander kicks her in the face but Ellering is right back with a spinning elbow. Something like the dragon sleeper makes de Lander use her last rope break. Ellering tries a charge so de Lander hides behind the referee, with Ellering throwing him down. That lets de Lander get in another right hand and it’s a sitout F5 for the pin on Ellering at 4:49.

Rating: C. I can absolutely go for someone who cheats in this division as that’s not something you often see. De Lander cheating every chance she could makes a lot of sense and I could go for seeing what she can do in the division. It’s not like there is anything else interesting going on in the division.

Juice Robinson has glistening nipples and is coming to ROH.

Trish Adora vs. Angelica Risk

Adora sends her into the corner for a running splash to start before pulling Risk out of the air. A bridging northern lights suplex gets two and it’s time to go after Risk’s arm. The sit on the back double arm crank, followed by the rapid fire hips to the face in the corner. Risk is back up with a hurricanrana faceplant into a 619 and they trade some rollups for two each. Back up and Adora kicks her in the face, setting up the Lariat Tubman to finish Risk at 5:55.

Rating: C+. Adora got to do her usual stuff here and as a result it was entertaining while it lasted. It’s also just the kind of stuff that we’ve seen from her for a long time now and that kind of puts a limit on what she can do. That’s not likely to change and unfortunately that’s going to keep her in the same spot for however long she’s around.

Steph de Lander is coming for the Women’s Pure Rules Title. She’s already gotten a better build than Angelico so why not.

Vertvixen vs. Julissa Mexa

Mexa grabs the leg and rolls around a lot, allowing her to dance. Vertvixen grabs the leg though and slaps on a half crab, followed by a running boot in the corner. Back up and they trade some forearms until Mexa gets up top for a missile dropkick. Mexa strikes away but charges into a Blue Thunder Bomb for two. They go up top at the same time and strike it out, where Mexa grabs a super Samoan Driver for the pin at 5:29.

Rating: C+. Mexa has been around here a few times before and she’s done well enough in those limited appearances. She has some good charisma and that finish was quite the crash landing. Vertvixen continues to be someone who feels like she could be something if given the chance but that has yet to happen.

Nigel McGuinness wants the Pure Rules Title and is willing to put his ROH career on the line.

Von Erichs/Bustah And The Brain vs. Kingdom/Grizzled Young Veterans

Hold on though as AI says that Drake should start against Price, who takes him down with an early wristlock. Gibson saves Drake from a suplex and it’s off to Taven for a clothesline and dropkick to Oliver. The Von Erichs come in for a bunch of slams so the villains bail out to the floor. Back in and Gibson takes over on Ross, with a cravate sending him face first into the mat. Bennett comes in for a front facelock but Ross gets out and dropkicks his way to freedom.

Everything breaks down and Gibson gives Oliver a Death Valley Driver. Price hits a pop up dropkick to Bennett and spins over into a crossbody to Taven (that was awesome). The Von Erichs hit stereo cannonballs on the Veterans and the Claws go on. That’s broken up though and the distracted referee misses the low blow to Marshall, with Drake getting a rollup for the pin at 10:05.

Rating: B-. As much as my eyes rolled at seeing the Von Erichs back, the match wound up being good and I could go with the AI Kingdom as a thing. It’s been thirty five years since the York Foundation (oh dear) so why not? Go with something to see if it works, as it’s not like the Kingdom has been lighting things up since they returned. At least the numbers backed them up this time.

Zayda Steel vs. Sara Leon

Steel takes her down by the arm to start and Leon is surprised. For some reason Leon is surprised again when she gets pulled into an armbar and Steel wrestles her down again without much trouble. Steel misses something off the top and gets snapmared down into a running kick to the head. Leon’s kick from the apron is blocked though and Steel starts in on the leg, followed by a scorpion kick. A hanging Codebreaker gets two but Leon rolls into a German suplex to drop Steel hard. Steel is able to block a second attempt though and a leglock finishes Leon at 5:55.

Rating: C+. Steel worked on the leg, countered a move and then put on a leg hold for the win. It’s not much of a steel but it’s certainly better than what you get a lot of the time. That’s all you need here and at least Steel got a win, even if it’s against someone who might not be so well known around here. It’s better than nothing and it might lead to…oh give me a break.

Deonna Purrazzo is down to face Steph de Lander at Death Before Dishonor.

Juice Robinson vs. Anthony Henry

Henry wrestles him down to start and works on the arm but Robinson grabs a waistlock to cut that off. It’s enough for Henry to need a breather on the floor before coming back in for a dragon screw legwhip. Robinson has to bail to the ropes to escape a leglock but a backsplash hits raised knees.

Henry goes right back to the knee so Robinson snaps off a spinebuster. Now the backsplash connects for two but Henry knocks him down again, setting up the Figure Four. They slap it out until the hold is broken and Robinson is up to snap off the jabs. The forward DDT pins Henry at 7:54.

Rating: C+. Yeah fine. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to think about this as it’s basically just a guest star from AEW showing up here for what is likely a one off match. As usual that’s hardly exciting but Robinson is so quirky and odd that he winds up keeping me interested. Not bad for a match, but as usual, a completely random choice for a main event.

Overall Rating: C+. As usual, the show was far too long and did little more than showcase how random this place is. McGuinness and de Lander technically earn title shots while Nick Wayne is just handed one while Hazuki at least interacted with the champion to get hers. It feels like every story has its own rules and that’s not exactly a great way to run a show. At least things should have something close to a focus for the next three weeks, but as usual there was a bunch of stuff that felt like it was here because Tony Khan has to film everything and air it as we approach three and a half hours of ROH this week. How lucky.

Results
Lee Moriarty b. Angelico – Border City Stretch
Emi Sakura b. Viva Van – Queen’s Gambit
Diamante b. Allie Katch – One In The Chamber
AR Fox b. Soleil – 450
Steph de Lander b. Rachael Ellering – Sitout F5
Trish Adora b. Angelica Risk – Lariat Tubman
Julissa Mexa b. Vertvixen – Super Samoan Driver
Kingdom/Grizzled Young Veterans b. Bustah And The Brain/Von Erichs – Rollup to Marshall
Zayda Steel b. Sara Leon – Leglock
Juice Robinson b. Anthony Henry – Forward DDT

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Joey Janela’s Spring Break X
Date: April 17, 2026
Location: Horseshoe Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Veda Scott, John Mosley, Jordan Castle

This has become the biggest independent show of the weekend (or at least close to it) and I kind of find myself looking forward to it. Unfortunately some of that is due to seeing how ridiculous the show can get. That might be what we’ll be seeing here, with the main event featuring Joey Janela vs. a fourteen year old. Let’s get to it.

We open with a look back at the show’s history (I still need to see the first one), which really has become a big deal over the years. And now it’s the tenth edition, which thankfully does use the Wrestlemania X logo.

Opening video, which seems to be a generic GCW video.

Grab The Brass Ring Ladder Match

Vipress, Masato Tanaka, Gringo Loco, Shotzi Blackheart, Bear Bronson, 1 Called Manders, Man Like DeReiss, Sidney Akeem, Charles Manson, Terry Yaki, Vengador

For a guaranteed title shot and I’m sure this will be nice and orderly. DeReiss gets jumped during his entrance and the fight starts on the floor, meaning Loco has to moonsault onto everyone else. Akeem is taken up top for a Spanish Fly onto the pile and everyone is down again. Mason takes Yaki inside for…two, as I don’t think I quite get the rules. Mason stands up and some music plays as Tanaka joins us as the final entrant. DeReiss and Tanaka have a standoff and shout DeReiss’ 01-21 catchphrase until DeReiss grabs a cutter.

Vengador comes in to go after Akeem…and breaks the top rope on a flip attempt. Blackheart comes in and gets slammed by Loco, who goes…well as high up as he can. Tanaka hurricanranas him down but Blackheart dropkicks a ladder into Tanaka’s face. Bronson goes after Mason, who dropkicks him through a door in the corner for two. Tanaka and Bronson take turns blasting the other in the head with chairs (oh dear) and forearm it out until Bronson’s Black Hole Slam gets one.

The two of them brawl into the crowd as Blackheart sets up a ladder. The ring crew comes in to repair the top rope (fans: “SAFETY FIRST!”) and Blackheart climbs the ladder. Vipress joins her so Blackheart…kisses Vipress and removes her shirt before they both dive off. DeReiss goes up to the middle rope (still no top rope) for a 450 but Yaki kind of Angle Slam bombs him for two.

A regular ladder is bridged into the standing one…and Loco base bombs Vengador off one ladder and through the door for the huge crash. Vipress piledrives Mason off the apron and through a door but Christian Napier runs in to take Vipress out. Cue Matt Tremont to go after Napier and brawl with him to the back. Manders (hey he’s in this too) gets cuttered by Vengador, who goes up for a splash off the ladder for two. Manders lariats the heck out of Vengador for the pin at 21:42.

Rating: B-. Well it wasn’t boring. I’m not sure if it was good, but it wasn’t boring. This is their version of Money In The Bank, though they could have done a better job of explaining the rules. In short, a match with a ladder tends to have something to grab above the ring but this was just a weapons scramble match. It’s good enough, but with fifteen people involved, it was a bit much.

Post match San Francisco 49ers star and wrestling superfan George Kittle celebrates with Manders.

We get a video of GCW wrestlers who have passed away over the years. Well that’s depressing.

Atticus Cogar talks about everything he has done to get here and hates that someone is impersonating Hayabusa. This isn’t a game to him and he is the World Champion. The new Hayabusa is just an invader and the mask means nothing. The reality is scars carry rank and the fake Hayabusa is about to learn it. That’s an intense promo and I’m not surprised Cogar is the top heel around here after last year.

Rascalz vs. Marcus Mathers/Bustah And The Brain

Mathers and Reed start things off and miss kicks/clotheslines to start. A pinfall reversal sequence gets two each until Mathers kicks him into the corner. Reed misses a legsweep but comes back with a quick dropkick. Mathers is sent into the wrong corner and the Rascalz get in the rapid fire kicks for two. Price comes in and gets a running start into a jump to escape an early wristlock.

Oliver comes in to double team Xavier into the corner for some triple boots. Xavier is able to get up for a tag off to Wentz though and the unaware Mathers gets taken down. Wentz grabs a chinlock and kicks him down for two before it’s back to Reed. Some shots to the back keep Mathers down before it’s back to Wentz for a slingshot hilo.

Mathers fights up and brings Oliver in to clean house. A German suplex gets two on Wentz and cradles Reed at the same time, followed by an assisted Blockbuster for two. Wentz fights up and brings Reed back in for a slingshot belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination. Everything breaks down and Oliver hits a springboard clothesline to take over.

Xavier gets double teamed down and Price and Mathers hit a running dive each. Back in and Mathers’ 450 gets two on Xavier with Reed and Wentz making the save. Reed is back up with the running diving cutter and the Cardiac Kick hits Price. A Swanton into a 450 into Spiral Tap finishes Price at 16:04.

Rating: B+. This has been the week of the six man tags and this was yet another rather awesome edition. It’s a good example of a match that takes people and lets them do their thing from start to end, which was quite the treat. The Rascalz are great when they aren’t doing their comedy stuff and I like the other three more than enough for them to carry their side. Very entertaining match.

We get a video on Atticus Cogar vs. Hayabusa. Cogar is the big bad around here and Hayabusa is basically a tribute to the original. Cogar doesn’t think Hayabusa has the heart and scars though so it’s time for Hayabusa to earn them.

Game Changer Wrestling World Title: Hayabusa vs. Atticus Cogar

Cogar is defending. The fans seem to like Cogar a lot, despite him seemingly being the big villain. Cogar tries an early skewers shot so Hayabusa hammers away before avoiding a charge. Hayabusa’s Asai moonsault hits Cogar on the floor but Cogar ties him in the ropes for a moonsault back inside. The chinlock goes on and Hayabusa actually has to go to the ropes, meaning it’s time for the weapons.

Back in and Cogar starts chairing the knee down before getting the skewers for some stabbing. A back elbow gives Cogar two but Hayabusa knocks him off the top for a missile dropkick. Hayabusa’s suplex into a moonsault gets two and he grabs the Figure Four. The rope is grabbed and the fans are split between them, though the opt for Sabu after Hayabusa does one of his dives. Cogar is back up and kicks a chair into Hayabusa’s leg for two so it’s time to open a bunch of chairs.

Hayabusa is laid on the chairs but Cogar’s moonsault stomp only hits said chairs to leave him down. Back up and Hayabusa bridges a door over some chairs and a 450 drives Cogar through it for a slightly delayed two. Cogar pulls him off the top though and the Brain Hemorrhage (bulldog driver) gets two more. With that not working, Cogar grabs the skewers but Hayabusa takes them away and stabs him in the head instead. Hayabusa misses a moonsault (Cogar moved, but he was three feet from where Hayabusa landed anyway) and another Brain Hemorrhage retains at 13:35.

Rating: C+. I hate the skewers thing, but thankfully they didn’t go too crazy with them here. Instead it was more about chairs and the doors, though I never got to the point where I thought the title was in trouble. This felt more like a challenger of the month more than anything else, as they never got into the idea of hurting Hayabusa to cause the scars that Cogar talked about. It’s not a bad match, but I was hoping for more.

We recap Marko Stunt/Jack Perry vs. Sam Stackhouse/KJ Orso. Stunt announced his retirement and Orso attacked him. Orso’s former friend Stackhouse came out to save Stunt and then turned on him, joining Orso on the side of evil. Stunt wanted revenge and Perry was back to team with him, setting up the match.

Sam Stackhouse/KJ Orso vs. Marko Stunt/Jack Perry

Yes Perry arrives in his bus and yes Luchasaurus is still driving despite having one good…I guess it would be an arm. Stackhouse (who weights around 400lbs) is dressed as One Man Gang and Orso is in Ric Flair gear. We get a bunch of posing to start until Perry shoulders Orso down. With that not working, it’s off to Stackhouse, with Stunt wanting to come in as well. Stackhouse even drops to his knees before handing it back to Orso. They run the ropes a bit until Stunt grabs a rollup and scores with a basement dropkick.

Perry comes back in for a slam and has Stunt stand on his shoulders for a big splash. It’s back to Stackhouse for the spinwheel kick in the corner and Perry I knocked off the apron as well. Perry gets dropkicked off the apron as well but Stackhouse misses a charge, allowing Perry to get the tag. A quick sitout powerbomb gives Perry two and it’s already back to Stunt, who gets planted by Orso.

Stackhouse’s basement crossbody hits Stunt for two with Perry having to make the save. Orso dropkicks Stackhouse by mistake so he rakes Stunt in the eyes. Perry is back up with a poisonrana to Orso and a moonsault to the floor to drop Stackhouse. Back in and Stunt gives Orso a heck of a tornado Codebreaker but Stackhouse drops Stunt with ease. Perry is back in with a tornado DDT to Stackhouse, allowing Stunt to hit a 450. Stackhouse is ticked and clotheslines both of them and Stunt gets planted with a fire thunder driver.

Somehow Stunt pops up at two and slaps away at the monster Stackhouse and gives him a Codebreaker. Orso is back up to send Perry into Stunt in the corner and then kicks Perry low for a bonus. The Character Assassination (something like the House Call) gets two on Perry and it’s time to grab Perry’s title. Ring announcer Emil J grabs the title and gets pulled inside, with Perry having to make the save. Stunt dives onto Stackhouse on the floor and J gives Orso a tornado DDT. Perry picks Orso onto his shoulder for a top rope flipping cutter from Stunt and the pin at 16:14.

Rating: B. They played this one mostly straight, with Emil J’s deal being the only thing that was a bit silly. The idea here was to have the fans see Stunt get his revenge with help from his old friend. It’s a great example of a story where they didn’t screw it up and went with what they should have done. I liked this more than I expected to and that’s a nice feeling to have.

Post match Stunt says he’s back.

We recap The Sandman in his retirement match against…the Invisible Man. This involved Sandman on a talk show, attempting to run Invisible Man over, and Man winning matches on the way here. This has…I have no idea what it has really.

Sandman vs. The Invisible Man

Sandman gets to do the full Enter Sandman entrance, complete with beer and cigarettes, which will never stop being awesome. This of course takes its sweet time but hang on because here is Bill Alfonso…to be in Man’s corner. Man knocks the beer out of Sandman’s hand to start and knocks him down, with Sandman begging off to start. Sandman fights out of the corner, gives Man a kiss, and throws the left hands to drop him.

The Singapore cane shots connect but Man is back with a low blow. Sandman fights back but Alfonso gets in for a distraction…and a bunch of zombies come out for revenge of the ECW On Sci Fi debut (WOW that’s amazing and no I’m not being sarcastic). Cue the Insane Clown Posse and Vampiro to take out the zombies (the Outbreak) but the Man rams them together. Richard Holiday comes out to load up a low blow on Sandman, which brings out…someone in overalls named Guy Steel.

Holiday gets beaten up but Steel gets dropped by Man. A Canadian Destroyer takes Steel down so Sandman asks a woman at ringside named Kendra Lust to hand in the cane. Naturally she turns on Sandman, which brings out Missy Hyatt to beat Lust down with her own cane. The women fight off so Man spears Sandman through a door in the corner, only to hit the referee by mistake.

Another referee comes in and Sandman beats him up, which brings out a third referee, who gets beaten up by Man. Five more referees (WHY DO THEY HAVE SO MANY REFEREES???) get taken out and let’s just keep it going, with Sandman and Man pingponging one of them back and forth. Even Fonzie beats up a referee, leaving Sandman and the Man to slug it out. Sandman falls on him for….the biggest group near fall you’ll ever see, as about ten referees count two.

Man kicks a ladder into Sandman’s face…but INVISIBLE STAN is back! Somehow Fonzie gets them to work together….so MICK FOLEY IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY! After taking out Stan with a double arm DDT, Foley throws Mr. Socko to Sandman and we get a big hug. Stan and Man are back up though and a low blow gives Man the pin on Sandman at 20:49.

Rating: A+. If you don’t get why this was one of the most amazing things I’ve seen in a long time, you need to pay better attention. Where else are you going to see two invis ok never mind on that one. But it had Foley and Sandman, plus a horde of zombies and Bill Alfonso, with Sandman going out on his back. I’m sold.

Post match Man and Stan leave together and Foley says he’s here for free because he and Sandman may not have liked each other, but they meant a lot to each other’s careers. With that, Foley leaves and Sandman toasts the crowd and leaves a beer in the ring for a nice moment.

Sandman might not have been a polished in-ring star, but he was the perfect choice for ECW at that time in front of that audience. He has turned that into a heck of a post in-ring career and this was just goofy fun to wrap it up. I got to be in the ECW Arena for a Sandman entrance once and it’s one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen. Sandman deserves this and it’s awesome to see him get this big sendoff.

We recap Effy vs. Allie Katch. They were friends and partners, but Effy lost the World Title and snapped under the pressure, even turning on Katch. She can’t see him like this and now it’s time for them to fight one on one, loser leaves GCW. This is another case where building up characters and relationships makes things feel important. Yes their team was often silly, but this feels important and emotional and that’s great to see.

Effy vs. Allie Katch

Loser leaves GCW. Effy shows off his g-string to start and starts a BUSSY chant, earning him a shot to the face. Katch can’t bring herself to dive after getting hurt doing it before so instead she hits a baseball slide. They go up to the stage with Effy being sent to the floor and taken down with a dive. Back in and a piledriver gives Katch two but Effy is back with something like a full nelson with his legs in the ropes. That doesn’t last long so Effy grabs the chair, followed by a running boot in the corner.

Effy takes too long going up though and gets a chair pelted at him for two. A top rope Fameasser sends Effy’s face into the chair for two so Effy asks her to hit him with the chair. Since she can’t do that, it’s a TKO flipped over into a dragon sleeper to put Katch in more trouble. Effy curb stomps her face first into the chair, leaving Katch busted open. Some hips to the head and a running seated senton gives Effy two.

The door is thrown in and stomped onto Katch but she’s back up with a powerbomb. A Muta Lock has Effy in more trouble but it doesn’t last long. Effy drops his trunks and hits another hip attack to the face, only to get pulled into a Pele Kick. Back up and Effy hits a spear for two before breaking the door over her head. A chokeslam onto a bunch of stuff gives Effy two and it’s time for a screwdriver (which was used on both of them over the years).

Cue the 1 Called Manders so Effy stabs him instead. Katch is back with a splash but the Cannonball misses. Effy grabs the bell so here is Parrow, who gets hit with the bell and stabbed with the screwdriver. Katch is busted open but keeps fighting back so Effy grabs a turnbuckle. Now it’s Dark Sheik coming out to take the wrench from Effy and hit him in the head. She hands Katch the wrench and leaves, so Effy starts begging off. Katch throws it down and hugs him…so Effy headbutts her. The screwdriver to the head has Katch screaming and the piledriver finishes her off at 25:50.

Rating: B. This was all about the emotions and that works because these two have been built up as people we should care about. Yes you had stuff that wasn’t as serious like Effy with his trunks and the screwdriver which is so over the top that it’s hard to care about, but the relationship is there. It’s a case of “personal issues draw money” and that’s why this worked, just like it would anywhere if it was treated as something that mattered.

We recap Steph de Lander/Mance Warner vs. Megan Bayne/??? Bayne had attacked the injured de Lander so Warner made the save and issued the challenge for Spring Break. Naturally, game on.

Mance Warner/Steph de Lander vs. Megan Bayne/???

Warner and de Lander have Las Vegas showgirls with her due to…well we’re in Vegas at a show. Warner jumps Bayne from behind and de Lander hammer away as there’s no partner yet. Bayne is down…and it’s Nick Gage. The brawl is on with Gage taking Mancer out and then giving de Lander a DDT. The introduction goes on as Gage and Bayne beat Warner up, with Gage switching off to de Lander.

Warner is back up to cut Gage off and we settle down to de Lander and Warner taking turns beating on Bayne. That’s reversed and Bayne chops away at de Lander, only to get choked by Warner. Bayne gets back up to fire off the forearms to de Lander and they knock each other down. Gage gets the tag and spears Warner through a piece of a door, followed by stereo falcon arrows to give Gage and Bayne two each.

It’s time for the weapons (you knew they were coming), with Warner chairing Gage down but getting speared by Bayne. Back up and Warner slugs away at Gage, who gets tornado DDT…well not through a door as the thing doesn’t break. The four of them sit in the chairs and slug it out until Bayne is up with a double clothesline. A piledriver onto the chair gets two on Warner, with de Lander pulling the referee. The required pizza cutter sliced Warner up and Bayne powerbombs him into Gage’s piledriver for the pin at 15:00.

Rating: C+. Your mileage may vary here and that’s just how it’s going to work with stuff involving Gage. I’m not big on the guy, though I do appreciate the idea of Bayne and Gage talking backstage to set the team up. The match was the usual violent brawling, though I do still like Warner, even if he does some out there stuff in the ring.

We recap Joey Janela vs. 14 year old Brodie Lee Jr. Lee wanted to wrestle Janela, who wasn’t interested, at least until Lee called him “Megan Bayne’s b****”. That was enough as Janela went hard on him and beat him up. The match was set, with Janela invoking Lee’s father dying to get his mother to sign a waiver for the match. And yes, this is the main event.

Joey Janela vs. Brodie Lee Jr.

Lee has a bunch of wrestlers to fire him up and we’re ready to go. Janela backs him into the corner and then hits a running shoulder, allowing Janela to get in some mockery. Lee rolls out of a wristlock and trips Janela down, earning himself a sucker punch. A headscissors takes Janela down so he grabs a crucifix, only to get caught with a PK. Janela knocks him down again but Lee is back up with a jumping back elbow. The chase is on with Janela decking him on the way back inside.

Janela’s backbreaker connects as Lee is bleeding from the nose. They go outside again where Janela chops the post by mistake and Lee gets two off a sunset flip back inside. Janela knocks him down again and hits another backbreaker, only to miss the moonsault. Lee is back up to stomp away in the corner, followed by the clotheslines. A nice hurricanrana out of the corner brings Janela down and Lee hits a good looking jumping knee.

Lee’s high crossbody gets two and Janela bails out to the floor. That just earns him a diving tornado DDT off the apron and Lee grabs the papers (ala his father) to throw at Janela. A Heatseeker (which Lee says is for MJF) gets two but Janela gets in a chair to the knee. Janela even Pillmanizes the leg, followed by an ankle lock. Lee rolls out and gets two off a rollup before getting his own ankle lock.

Janela makes the rope so the referee starts the five count, despite commentary saying there are no DQ’s in GCW. Janela is back up with a Figure Four but Lee manages to turn it over. They get back up and slug it out, with Janela doing as Lee asks and hitting him harder. Janela’s tombstone attempt is countered into a headscissor driver for two. A Death Valley Driver gets two on Lee…but Janela won’t piledrive him.

Cue Chris Bey, who isn’t allowed at ringside (like everyone else), allowing Lee to roll him up for two. The Death Valley Driver onto the apron is countered into a DDT and they get back inside. The slugout results in them both knocking the other down, but Lee nips up. A sliding kick to the head looks gives Lee two but Janela drops him again.

Janela loads up Lee’s discus lariat, which is countered into a Sister Abigail for two. A cutter hits Janela, who is right back with a piledriver for two. Janela takes Lee up top but a dragon superplex is broken up. Lee rolls into a Cross Rhodes for two on Janela and his father’s discus lariat sets up…another discus lariat. Lee pulls him up at two though and grabs the Sharpshooter (as he was trained in the Dungeon) for the tap at 28:49.

Rating: C. Where in the world do I begin? First of all, no, of course I’m not grading this on a normal scale because Lee is 14 and not a regular wrestler and no I’m not going to say this was some embarrassment to wrestling as I was having a blast with the Sandman and the Invisible Man on the same show. That’s all fine. The problem is the charm of this match wore out its welcome WAY before they wrapped it up, as suspension of disbelief only got me so far. It’s Lee getting to honor his father and the company trying to help him deal with things, which is great, but this needed to be WAY shorter than Janela’s regular far too long matches.

Post match Lee’s mother comes in to hug him and his little brother comes in. Lee’s trainer gets in and the brother says he’s coming for Janela next. Janela’s eyes bug out to end the show (ok they made up for some of it there).

Overall Rating: B. I’m never going to be a full time GCW fan, as they’re a bit too all over the place for me. I’m not big on the death match stuff and a lot of their content is fairly low rent. That being said, every so often, when they’ve had the chance to put something together and have the right people and I’m in the right mood, it can be incredibly entertaining stuff.

I do like the Spring Break shows and they’re the kind of insane fun that only wrestling can provide. This might not be the best wrestling, but it’s some of the most entertaining at times and that’s worth quite a bit. You might love this or hate it, but they know their audience and that’s a good thing to see, as you can get fun nights like this one.

Results
1 Called Manders won the Grab The Brass Ring Ladder Match
Rascalz b. Marcus Mathers/Bustah And The Brain – Spiral Tap to Price
Atticus Cogar b. Hayabusa – Brain Hemorrhage
Marko Stunt/Jack Perry b. Sam Stackhouse/KJ Orso – Elevated top rope twisting cutter
Invisible Man b. Sandman – Rollup
Effy b. Allie Katch – Piledriver
Nick Gage/Megan Bayne b. Mance Warner/Steph de Lander – Piledriver to Warner
Brodie Lee Jr. b. Joey Janela – Sharpshooter

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Podermania 2026
Date: April 15, 2026
Location: Horseshoe Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Veda Scott, Val Capone

I’ve seen this show on the Wrestlemania schedule year after year and it’s time to give it a shot. As usual I have no idea what to expect from the show but apparently it is a self-described “mostly” female wrestling company. That could mean quite the good results given the available talent so let’s get to it.

There’s an anime opening video and I have no idea if this sword fight has anything to do with the show.

Su Yung/Leva Bates vs. Joseline Navarro/Mazzerati

Yung and Bates are Team Demonslayer. Mazzerati poses at Bates to start so it’s off to Yung, who scares Mazzerati off to Navarro. Bates comes right back in and goes after Navarro’s leg so we’ll try Yung again. Some double teaming has Yung in trouble and Mazzerati gives her a spinning middle rope crossbody.

Bates comes in for the save and Yung (described as the Demon, despite being on Team DEMONSLAYER) has the big staredown with Navarro. Yung gets knocked down but Bated tagged herself in and gets kicked in the face for two. Yung’s Arachnarana (cool name) send Navarro into the corner and it’s the Panic Switch (Samoan driver) into a basement superkick to pin Mazzerati at 8:41.

Rating: C+. Good enough opener here with a nice, fast paced tag match. That’s often a smart way to start things off and while the pairings felt a bit random, it wound up working well enough. I didn’t know much about the women (I’ve seen them all before but that’s about it) but they got me into the match and I’ll call that a win.

Post match Tara Zep (another odd looking woman) runs in to beat on Mazzerati before leaving with Yung.

The ring announcer thanks various people for making the show possible.

Amira/Lil Marz vs. Jazzy Yang/Toga

Amira works on Toga’s arm to start with Toga reversing into a headlock. A running shoulder gives Toga one and Amira is back up with a dropkick. Marz comes in for a running basement elbow in the corner but it’s quickly off to Yang. Amira elbows her down and grabs a suplex, followed by a running clothesline in the corner.

Marz’s suplex gets two and a Cannonball in the corner gets two. Yang finally gets up for a crossbody though and it’s back to Toga for a heck of a forearm to Amira. Everything breaks down and Yang fires off some superkicks before going outside with Amira. That leaves Toga to hit a kind of Rock Bottom to pin Marz at 8:47.

Rating: B-. This match was similar to the opener but in this case I had no idea who anyone was and they pulled me into it again. It was a good enough showing between what felt like (again, not sure if they are) a match between two makeshift teams and that’s hard to do. I liked this well enough and Marz and Amira could be worth following going forward.

Some weapons are brought in, which can’t go well.

Nixi XS vs. Shazza McKenzie

This is a street fight. They sit down at a table…and start to play poker. Even the referee is playing (and dealing, while partially dressed like Elvis) and I’m more curious about the brand of card they have (my collection continues to grow). The fight breaks out and they go outside to find a fringe covered kendo stick. Nixi (who is apparently an evil bride) finds her own (non-fringed) kendo stick and hammers away but gets sent back inside. McKenzie finds a chair…and Blair Onyx (feuding with McKenzie) is attached to it.

The distraction lets Nixi fights back and cut McKenzie’s mouth with a card before pouring liquid into the cut. The bag of rhinestones are poured out and McKenzie is sent face first into them for a near fall. Nixi pulls out…what looks to be some powder, which McKenzie grabs and puts near her nose, triggering an energized comeback (I’m going to assume it was Hulk Hogan Python Powder and move on). Onyx gets on the apron though and the distraction lets Nixi hit McKenzie in the head with a bottle. A tornado DDT finishes McKenzie at 6:45.

Rating: B-. This was certainly a change of pace from the first two matches and, possible cocaine inspired comeback aside, I liked it well enough. I’ve seen McKenzie over the years and she always seems to put in a lot of effort. Nixi has popped up in AEW/ROH a few times but it wasn’t quite like this, which granted wouldn’t make sense when she’s out there as a jobber.

Gypsy Mac vs. Brittnie Brooks vs. Izzy Moreno

Mac grabs a rollup to start and Moreno sends her outside. Brooks takes Moreno down and drops Mac on the floor before throwing her back inside. Moreno is knocked to the floor again and it’s a running hip attack to give Brooks two. Brooks gives Mac a faceplant but gets tripped down by Moreno, who comes back inside. Mac hip checks Brooks in the corner but gets Falcon Arrowed by Moreno for two.

Moreno northern lights suplexes Mac but Brooks’ slingshot save doesn’t work, leaving Mac to kick out on her own. Mac is back up with a spear to Brooks, who manages a wheelbarrow bulldog. Moreno grabs a DDT but gets dropped by Mac. Brooks offers a distraction so Moreno can slam Mac off the top. Brooks comes back in to plant Mac for two but Moreno sends Brooks outside and steals the pin at 8:17.

Rating: C+. Brooks continues to feel like a star in the making (as she did last year) but Moreno continues to be the interesting aspect. She’s by no means ready for it yet, but can you imagine if she managed to get to WWE for a run with Bayley? It would be one of the coolest super long term stories in wrestling and dang it’s somehow a possibility.

Post match Moreno thanks the fans for helping her get better.

Kaia McKenna vs. Allie Katch

McKenna is rather tall. They fight over a test of strength to start with neither getting very far so McKenna knees her in the ribs. A suplex gives McKenna two but Katch is back with a Pele kick. Katch whips her hard into the corner for two and it’s a hip attack into the Cannonball for two. McKenna belly to back suplexes her for the same but Katch is right back with a quick piledriver for the pin out of nowhere at 8:01.

Rating: C+. Katch continues to feel like one of the more polished independent women in the industry and she was doing well here again. She seems to be more of a permanent star on the indy circuit rather than doing anything in a big company. At the same time, McKenna had an interesting look and I could go for seeing her again.

Journey Burke/Sirena Veil/Valentina Rossi vs. Dani Mo/Emily Jaye/Rachel Ley

Jaye and Rossi (who is now Gianna Capri in Evolve) start things off with Jaye slapping her in the face, setting up a running faceplant. It’s off to Ley for a handspring elbow in the corner to Burke. A neckbreaker cuts Ley off for two but she kicks Journey in the face, allowing the double tag to Mo and Veil.

Mo gets knocked down rather quickly and a Vader Bomb elbow gives Veil two as the other four are in a chase around ringside. Mo is right back up to strike away and a Code Red gets two on Burke. Everything breaks down and Burke gives Ley an Air Raid Crash. Mo’s Michinoku Driver drops Burke for two and Veil gets planted with a double chokeslam. Ley’s 450 is good for the pin at 8:24.

Rating: B-. They had a tough task with getting everyone a chance to shine with so many people involved. It wound up working out pretty well though, with the winners feeling like interesting prospects. Rossi is already more than a prospect and the other two were far from bad. Nice job here, even with a bunch of less than familiar (not a bad thing as it applies to everyone at some point) names.

Alex Gracia vs. Aleah James

They fight over a lockup to start with Gracia using the hair to pull her into the corner. James spins out of a wristlock and kicks Gracia into the corner. Gracia trips her down though and gets in some rams to the apron but the referee catches the feet on the ropes. Back in and Gracia’s belly to back suplex gets two but James breaks out of the double arm crank. James strikes away and grabs a fisherman’s suplex for two, only for Gracia to go for the eyes. A knee lift and headplant put James away at 5:05.

Rating: C. This didn’t have a ton of time to go anywhere but Gracia, who has been on some bigger shows before, was a solid hand out there. James was fine enough on her own, but there is only so much you can do in so little time. Maybe they’re running long or something, because this barely felt like it was getting started.

Poder Title: Brittany Blake vs. Shotzi Blackheart

Blackheart is challenging. They go to the mat to start with Blake getting two off a quick jackknife rollup. Back up and Blackheart gets the better of a test of strength before hitting a quick dropkick. Blake snaps off some armdrags before sending Blackheart out to the floor. They slug it out on the apron with Blake getting the better of things and hitting a suicide dive. Back in and Blackheart suplexes her into the corner for two, followed by a Boston crab.

Brooks makes the rope rather quickly and sends Blackheart into the corner for two. Blackheart tries a superplex but Blake blocks that and manages to reverse into a powerbomb. A hard knee sends Blackheart out to the floor…and now we both have kendo sticks. Blackheart gets the better of a strike off and puts her in a chair for a running knee. The top rope backsplash hits raised knees back inside though and a Texas Cloverleaf Gangsta’s Paradise finishes Blackheart at 10:55.

Rating: B-. Blackheart is a star and on a roll in the independent scene as of late and it’s good to see her getting a high profile spot on a show like this. She has a lot of matches scheduled this weekend and there is a good chance she’ll be in something pretty big over the next few days. Blake has been champion for going on two years though and certainly got to show off a bit here. Nice match and it did feel more important.

Post match Blake says…I’m not sure as the audio isn’t great.

Carolina Cruz vs. Miranda Alize

Alize’s headlock takeover starts things off but Cruz is back up with a running shoulder. After a quick dance, Cruz snaps off some armdrags but Alize pulls her down out of the corner. The double arm crank goes on for a few moments before Alize switches to hammering away in the corner. Cruz fights back with a Stunner to start the clothesline comeback, followed by a dropkick. A sliding clothesline gives Cruz two but Alize slaps on a crossface. With that broken up, Cruz grabs a jumping Downward Spiral for two but Alize is back with a Shining Wizard for the pin at 6:40.

Rating: C+. It was good while it lasted, but it just didn’t last long. That’s kind of a problem as you can only just so much into a match so short. I’ve seen both of them before and they’re both talented, but there was only so much to get out of a match that was going up against this kind of limitations.

Ladies Night Out Title: Alexandra Le Leona vs. Jazmin Allure

Allure is defending. Leona takes her down by the arm to start and they trade legsweeps for two each. That means we’re off to an early standoff until Leona rolls some suplexes. A 619 misses and Allure is right back with a neckbreaker. Leona’s reverse Sling Blade drops Allure again though and now the 619 connects. The springboard splash gives Leona two and an Angel’s Wings connects for the same. Allure hits the ropes and grabs Tatum Paxley’s Cemetery Drive to retain at 4:34.

Rating: C. Are they just really short on time or something? The previous match didn’t get much time and this match, a title match, was about a third shorter. I’m not sure what’s going on with that but they could only do much here. Allure is good at what she does and Leona is good at doing a lot of Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio stuff.

Charli Evans vs. Billie Starkz

Starkz doesn’t seem serious about a handshake to start so they clothesline each other down less than a minute in. An exchange of German suplexes are both shrugged off so Starkz brainbusters her onto the knee. Evans catches her on top and hits a Death Valley Driver for two, followed by a sliding kick to the head for the same. They slug it out with Evans raining down right hands in the corner, only for Starkz to ram her into the buckle. Evans tries a victory roll but Starkz reverses into a cradle of her own for the pin at 4:28.

Rating: C. Yeah they must be running long here as there is no reason for your main event to run about four and a half minutes with pretty much nothing going on. They started fast and just blitzed through everything, which isn’t the greatest way to go. This could have wound up being a good match, but I need a good bit more than what they had here.

Post match Evans chases Starkz to the back to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. I love the idea of a show like this where the incredibly talented women are given the chance to showcase themselves. At the same time though, everything after Blackheart vs. Blake felt like a dark match where the wrestlers were hoping to beat the traffic. There was good action here, but they would have been better off cutting a match or two and letting some of the latter stuff breathe.

Results
Su Yung/Leva Bates b. Joseline Navarro/Mazzerati – Basement superkick to Mazzerati
Togo/Jazzy Yang b. Amira/Lil Marz – Rock Bottom to Marz
Nixi XS b. Shazza McKenzie – Tornado DDT
Izzi Moreno b. Gypsy Mac and Brittnie Brooks – Nightmare On Helm Street to Mac
Allie Katch b. Kaia McKenna – Piledriver
Dani Mo/Emily Jaye/Rachel Ley b. Journey Burke/Sirena Veil/Valentina Rossi – 450 to Veil
Alex Gracia b. Aleah James – Headplant
Brittany Blake b. Shotzi Blackheart – Arm trap Texas Cloverleaf
Miranda Alize b. Carolina Cruz – Shining Wizard
Jazmin Allure b. Alexandra Le Leona – Cemetery Drive

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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GCW vs. TJPW
Date: April 6, 2024
Location: Penns Landing Caterers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Veda Scott

We have Game Changer Wrestling vs. Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling, meaning it’s a women’s show. It’s another promotional war show, though this one seems to be a bit less intense than the others. I’ve liked the stuff I’ve seen from TJPW over the years, including this weekend, so hopefully they can continue their streak. Let’s get to it.

Suzume vs. Pom Harajaku vs. Saki

Suzume and Pom are from TJPW while Saki is a freelancer, making this more of an exhibition rather than an interpromotional match. Saki gets taken down with a double wristlock to start but she rolls her way to freedom and it’s a standoff. With Pom sent outside, Suzume grabs a headlock on Saki before scoring with a dropkick. Saki swings Suzume down, allowing Pom to come back in and steal a two count.

The much bigger Saki sends Pom back to the floor, only for Pom to come back in and kick her in the shin. Suzume grabs a bulldog to put Saki down before sidestepping Pom’s missile dropkick. Saki kicks Pom in the face but gets rolled up for two. A rope walk spinning faceplant drops Saki again but she’s back up with a Michinoku Driver for two on Suzume. Saki is sent outside though and Suzume cutters Pom for the pin at 7:56.

Rating: C+. The action was fast paced but it was only so interesting, with Suzume dominating a good chunk of the match as the other two were just kind of there. It made sense for the speedy opener, though having a match that has nothing to do with the concept was a bit odd. Saki worked as a power star, but this didn’t break through to that next level.

Session Moth Martina (GCW) vs. Raku (TJPW)

Martina has Every Time We Touch as her entrance music and yes the fans do go rather nuts for it. Raku on the other hand comes to the ring with a pillow. We pause for Martina to get in a fight with the streamers before she can offer Raku a beer. Raku would rather have a nap, so Martina pours beer in her mouth, which I think has Raku drunk (low tolerance and all that). That leaves Raku to beat on Martina with the pillow, which Martina is laid down on for a breather.

Raku steps onto her stomach a few times and then sits on her for a near fall. Back up and Martina sends her into the corner for the Bronco Buster. She loads up another one, but Raku has stopped for a nap. That means Martina has to slowly pull her back to the middle but Raku wakes up at two. Raku strikes away and gets two off a running dropkick. Code Red gets two more, only to have Martina come back with a spear for two of her own. Raku fights up but charges into a Codebreaker to give Martina the pin at 5:49.

Rating: C. This is one of those situations where the whole thing is going to depend on your tastes in comedy. Martina is a ball of energy and a lot of fun, but Raku with the sleeping thing….yeah I don’t get it. I’m not big on that style with Wendy Choo in NXT and it’s the same thing here, as I don’t see the humor. The wrestling was a backdrop to the comedy and that mainly didn’t land for me, so this wasn’t much to see.

GCW – 1
TJPW – 0

Arisu Endo (TJPW) vs. Shazza McKenzie (GCW)

They fight over arm control to start with McKenzie getting the better of things. That’s reversed into a headlock, which McKenzie reverses into a headscissors and we get a standoff. Endo sends her into the corner but McKenzie is back with a running boot for two. McKenzie grabs a chinlock before hitting running legdrop to a seated Endo for two more. Endo is back up with a running hip attack into a splash for two of her own.

The camel clutch goes on but McKenzie crawls over to the ropes rather quickly. McKenzie ties her in the ropes for some kicks to the chest but a super Stunner is blocked. Endo hits a middle rope knee to drive her to the mat, setting up a torture rack neckbreaker for the pin on McKenzie at 7:32.

Rating: C+. McKenzie is someone I’ve seen a good many times over the years and I’m not sure why she has never gotten a chance on a bigger stage. She comes off as a polished enough star but it never comes together. Endo is rather good at what she does as well and it was a nice match between two women who know what they’re doing.

GCW – 1
TJPW – 1

Steph de Lander (GCW) vs. Hyper Misao (TJPW)

Misao, a superhero, promises to save us all. De Lander, in American flag gear, jumps her to start but Misao blinds her with some kind of spray. We get some early skewer use, with Misao stabbing her in the head. De Lander is back with some skewers of her own but Misao, with skewers still in her head, misses a quick 619 attempt. Some chair shots stagger de Lander, who manages to take the chair away. The big swing hits rope though, with the chair smashing de Lander in her own face.

Misao throws in a bunch of chairs and plants de Lander onto them for two. A spinebuster onto the chairs gives de Lander two and it’s time to bring out….a box full of tubes of (de Lander’s) lipstick. De Lander gets knocked off the top and high crossbodied into them for two. Back up and de Lander grabs a sitout F5 onto the lipstick and her Women’s Internet Title for the pin at 8:13.

Rating: C. So much like the Raku vs. Martina match, this was a short form version of a special kind of match, though in this case it was the hardcore variety instead of comedy. While it makes sense to mix things up a bit, it’s a bit hard to get into a violent match like this that only lasts eight minutes and is coming in cold. It wasn’t bad, but it was like they were trying to get in a bunch of stuff in a short amount of time and it didn’t exactly work.

GCW – 2
TJPW – 1

Yuki Kamifuku (TJPW) vs. Dark Sheik (GCW)

Sheik does the splits to start but Yuki isn’t willing to try her own. Instead she takes Sheik down with a headscissors before sending her outside. Yuki’s big dive is teased but she rolls into a pose instead. Back in and Sheik grabs a backbreaker into a splits splash for two, followed by a nice slingshot legdrop. Yuki slugs away but gets kicked in the head for her efforts.

Sheik has to break out of a quick Octopus hold and then pulls Yuki into the old rocking horse hold (the fans don’t approve). A legsweep into a spinning kick to the head gives Sheik two but Yuki catches her with a running dropkick on the top. Sheik counters the Fameasser and grabs a bridging German suplex. A guillotine legdrop finishes Yuki off at 7:44.

Rating: B-. Best match of the night so far as again they didn’t have much time but they packed in a bunch of stuff. Sheik dominated most of the match and then won in the end, as she should have. Good stuff here, with both of them doing well in the limited time that they had to put something together.

GCW – 3
TJPW – 1

Mizuki (TJPW) vs. Allie Katch (GCW)

The wrong graphic/music is put up and the fans are not impressed. The much smaller Mizuki is backed into the corner but she does the same thing to Katch. Mizuki blows a kiss, which Katch does not seem to care for, meaning it’s time to fight over wrist control. Mizuki’s suplex attempt gets little more than a shrug from Katch, who kicks her in the face for her efforts. Katch’s suplex works a bit better and a corner Cannonball gets two.

A chinlock into a slam gives Katch two but Mizuki is back up with a double stomp to the back. The running dropkick against the ropes sends Katch outside and Mizuki is right there with the dive off the top. Back in and a Michinoku Driver gives Katch two but Mizuki bites her thigh. She bites her stomach as well, setting up a top rope double stomp for two. Katch misses another Cannonball, allowing Mizuki to grab a northern lights suplex for the pin at 7:38.

Rating: C+. Another match where they didn’t have much time but they were playing into the small vs. big formula. Mizuki isn’t your usual smaller style wrestler though, with the biting being more than a little odd. It was also nice to see the ending come from something *other than a rollup, as Mizuki beat her clean with a suplex.

GCW – 3
TJPW – 2

Post match Mizuki goes for another bite but Katch bails out.

Hakuchumu (TJPW) vs. Billie Starkz/Janai Kai (GCW)

That would be Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi. Starkz and Watanabe have a tentative handshake to start before Watanabe takes her down by the leg for an early two. A wristlock lasts a bit longer but Starkz grabs a rollup for two. That goes nowhere so it’s off to Kai vs. Tatsumi, with Kai snapmaring her down for a kick to the back. Tatsumi chokes her into the corner and Watanabe comes in for a dancing double elbow.

Since it’s just a double elbow, Kai is able to power Watanabe into the corner for the tag back to Starkz. Alternating kicks in the corner have Watanabe in more trouble but she suplexes her way to freedom. It’s back to Tatsumi to clean house with some running hip attacks in the corner. A dragon screw legwhip over the rope has Starkz in more trouble but she’s fine enough to hit a spinning kick to Tatsumi’s head.

Tatsumi backbreakers Kai and it’s back to Watanabe to pick the pace back up. Watanabe hits a backbreaker of her own and there’s the very giant swing for two on Kai. Watanabe slips out of Kai’s dragon sleeper and hits a powerslam for two, with Starkz making the save. With Starkz down, Kai gets loaded up into something like a spinning Big Ending/cutter combination for the pin at 13:29.

Rating: B. This got some more time and you can see that Hakuchumu is a regular team who has some experience together. They worked well together out there, with Starkz and Kai not quite being able to keep up. It’s also nice to have something that feels different on here after a long string of singles matches.

GCW – 3
TJPW – 3

Maki Itoh/Masha Slamovich/Rina Yamashita (GCW) vs. Miyu Yamashita/Shoko Nakajima/Yuki Aino (TJPW)

The GCW team’s entrance goes through the crowd and the fans rather approve. Miyu and Itoh start things off, with Itoh flipping her off. A big kick misses and we have a standoff, meaning it’s off to Nakajima vs. Rina. Nakajima stomps on her foot but needs Miyu and Aino to lift her up to get the height advantage over the taller Rina. That’s fine with Rina, who has Itoh and Slamovich pick her up….or at least try to, as they can’t get her up.

Rina and Slamovich can get Itoh up though and we get an elevated slugout, with Itoh getting the better of things. Everything breaks down and the fight heads out to the floor, with the GCW team getting back in to dance. We settle down to Rina hitting Aino in the chest before Itoh gets to hammer away in the corner. Aino manages a suplex to Rina and Nakajima comes back in to pick up the pace.

Hold on though as Nakajima brings in her bag full of kaiju toys, allowing Rina to slam her onto them. They take turns hitting each other with said kaiju with Rina getting the better of things. She heads up top but takes too long, allowing Nakajima to hurricanrana her back down onto the kaiju. Everything breaks down and it’s Miyu slugging it out with Slamovich. Miyu gets pulled into a seated abdominal stretch and has to knee her way to freedom. Back up and they trade running shots to the face until Miyu runs up the corner for a spinning kick to the head.

An exchange of kicks to the head leave both of them down and it’s Aino coming back in to run Itoh over with a shoulder. Itoh’s running DDT connects and everything breaks down, with Itoh knocking Aino down for two. Chairs and a door are brought in…but the door breaks as soon as Aino is placed on it. Another door is brought in and Itoh is slammed through Aino for two. Slamovich chairs Miyu down but all six are up for the big slugout. Nakajima hits a big dive to the floor and Itoh rolls Aino up for two. A Walls of Jericho style Texas Cloverleaf makes Aino tap at 21:05.

Rating: B-. The time helped here and commentary was putting over the idea of these wrestlers knowing each other rather well. It made the match feel more personal, but at the same time it wasn’t exactly great. The kaiju stuff in the middle felt like it belonged in a different match and was only happening because it was a signature Nakajima deal. It’s a perfectly fine main event, though not as good as the previous match.

GCW – 4
TJPW – 3

Overall Rating: B-. Good show here with a rather nice mixture of match types. The problem is a lot of those matches went rather quickly and didn’t get the chance to stand out. There was probably a series of much better matches to be had with more time, but there is only so much you can do with an eight match show that doesn’t even combine to go two hours.

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Joey Janela’s Spring Break 6 Night One
Date: March 31, 2022
Location: Fair Park, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Kevin Gill, Lenny Leonard

This is probably the crown jewel of the indy shows over Wrestlemania Weekend, just because of how insane it can get. Janela’s shows have a tendency to be completely nuts with some incredibly fun stuff and surprises. I’m actually looking forward to this one just for the atmosphere so let’s get to it.

Tag Team Titles: Second Gear Crew vs. Briscoes vs. Nick Gage

Gage is defending on his own as his partner, Matt Tremont, couldn’t make the show. Like him or not, Gage continues to be over like free beer in a frat house. It’s a big brawl to start and the doors are already brought in. The Briscoes bring in some chairs as well but Warner chokeslams Jay through a door for two. Mark is back up and Swantons Warner, sitting in a chair, down for a big crash.

Gage grabs the broken door and drops a twisting Vader Bomb onto Warner before stopping for the MDK chants. A piece of the table is used to carve up Warner’s head….and here is Slade to throw Gage a pizza cutter. Apparently Slade is Gage’s partner and he’ll carve up Warner’s head as well. Then Slade cuts himself because these people are not normal. Jay is back up to clean house, including Redneck Boogie to Slade.

Justice comes in with some chair shots and let’s bridge a door over some open chairs. Gage is up with some chair shots and now it’s time for a staple gun. Warner’s tongue is stapled to the door (good grief) but a piledriver through the door rips it free. Back in and Jay hits a Jay Driller into a Froggy Bow to give Mark two, with Slade making the save. Slade tries to fight off the Briscoes but it’s a Doomsday Device to give Jay the pin and the titles at 11:15.

Rating: C+. The nutty violence aside (hopefully far aside), this was an energetic match with the Briscoes adding some credibility to the whole thing. As much as I can’t stand Gage, he is the biggest star in the world to this audience and starting the show with him is a smart thing to do. Let him go out there and pop the crowd like no one else in GCW and get the show off to a hot start, especially if he is going to lose the titles with an out.

Post match the Briscoes celebrate before leaving Gage to get a hero’s applause.

Allie Katch is sitting in a room with candles around. Tonight she is facing Mickie James, who isn’t her dream match, but rather her fantasy. We get the infamous Mickie finger lick from the Trish Stratus match as this took a sharp turn.

Jeff Jarrett gets in his car, thinks he sees someone behind him, gets out to check, finds nothing, and gets back in.

AR Fox vs. Blake Christian

This should be fun and Fox’s wife Ayla is here with him. The fans are behind Christian as he flips out of a headscissors to start. Fox kicks him away and we get a staredown into a handshake. A dropkick sends Christian into the corner for a running clothesline but Christian picks the pace right back up. Christian’s dropkick into a nipup but Fox sends him outside for a heck of a running dive.

Fox gets a running charge for a boot to the face in the chairs but Christian drops him with a hard shot of his own. Back in and Christian hits a low superkick but can’t get a Border City Stretch. Instead Fox bails to the floor, allowing Christian to take him down with a dive of his own. Fox is fine enough to hit a twisting suplex for two and it’s time to slug it out.

Both of them try a cutter at the same time and we get a double breather. It’s Fox up with a rolling cutter into a rolling cutter for two but Christian hits Three Amigos, because Eddie Guerrero. A frog splash, also because Eddie Guerrero, gives Christian two but Fox is back up with Lo Mein Pain (middle rope Spanish Fly, which I’m guessing is somehow connected to Eddie Guerrero is well). Fox hits a 450 for two but Christian grabs a Spanish Fly into a wind up double arm DDT (that’s different, and called the Golden Trident) for the pin at 12:37.

Rating: B-. Yeah this was a fun one as Fox is about as much of a guaranteed good match as you’ll find on the indies. He’s just smooth in the ring and works well with anyone so this couldn’t have gone much better. Christian has been popping up more and more lately and you can see the talent in him. He’ll need something to make him stand out more but so far so pretty good.

Mickie James vs. Allie Katch

Effy is here with Katch. They fight over a lockup to start as we talk about what James has done so far this year. Katch takes her down but James flips up and we have a standoff. Mickie grabs a snapmare to set up a running kick to the chest but Katch is right back for the chop exchange.

The hurricanrana out of the corner is countered with a (rather enthusiastic) Katch powerbomb for two so Mickie kicks her low. Katch is fine enough to kick her down in the corner for a Cannonball and let’s bring in a door. Instead of, you know, using it, Katch knees her in the face to knock Mickie silly.

That means it’s time to load up two chairs and a door over them but Mickie flapjacks her through it instead. The top rope Thesz press gives Mickie two but the MickieDT is broken up. With neither going anywhere, they trade crotch grabs until a headbutt drops Mickie for two more. Back up and Mickie kisses Katch, kicks her in the face, and grabs the MickieDT for the pin at 11:18.

Rating: C+. Katch is someone who shows her potential every time she’s in there and it’s good for her to work with a legend like James, who can make her that much better. The match was pretty good as well, with the two of them hitting each other rather hard, though the violence was out of place. They also went a bit too far with the callbacks to Mickie vs. Trish Stratus, but the good parts were good enough to carry this far enough.

Post match Katch gets on the fans for booing James, because there is no Katch without James. Oh and that was the first ever women’s match at Spring Break. How is that possible?

Ninja Mack vs. Alec Price vs. Gringo Loco vs. Jack Cartwheel vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Jordan Oliver vs. Nick Wayne

One fall to a finish because we need a scramble match. They stare each other down to start and lock knuckles before going into the big series of kicks to the head. Everyone misses some kind of running splash and it’s another seven way staredown a minute in. The dives to the floor take some people down, setting up Loco’s big dive onto everyone else. Back in and Price hits an Alberto double stomp on Loco, followed by Cartwheel sweeping Lloyd’s legs.

Wayne tries to flip back in but gets sent ribs first into the corner by Lloyd. We settle down to Wayne vs. Oliver in a slugout until Oliver blocks a moonsault with raised knees. Cartwheel comes in to clear the ring but gets taken down by Mack for a twisting moonsault. Loco dives onto a bunch of people, leaving Cartwheel to knock Price outside as well. Cartwheel hits his own dive and Wayne is back in with a springboard Ace Cutter for the pin on Lloyd at 8:11.

Rating: C+. This was every scramble match you’ve seen in a long time, as there is little that anyone can do to make themselves stand out in a match like this one. There are seven people in a match that got just over eight minutes. Wayne is someone I’ve heard a good deal about for the last few months and I haven’t seen much of him. After this, I still haven’t as he barely got any time to shine with everyone else in there at the same time.

Joey Janela vs. X-Pac

This should be….something. X-Pac looks great and Janela is in Razor Ramon style gear, as a rather horrible way to get into X-Pac’s head. Janela knocks him into the corner to start and chops away but has to duck a spinning kick to the head. The Bronco Buster misses as well so Janela heads outside, where X-Pac hits a running seated senton off the apron.

Janela is fine enough to post X-Pac seems rather pleased with the fans hating him (makes you wonder why they bought tickets to JOEY JANELA’S Spring Break but oh well). The boos turn into dueling chants as Janela grabs a chair and pulls X-Pac back inside. X-Pac fights out of the chinlock and grabs a tornado DDT for a much needed breather. Now the spinning kick to the head connects and they head to the apron, where Janela is fine enough to grab a Death Valley Driver.

It’s time to set up a door over a pair of chairs but Janela takes too long, allowing X-Pac to come back with a slingshot flip dive to put him through the door instead. The X-Factor gets two back inside but Janela pulls him into a Crossface. With that broken up, Janela pulls in a bunch of other plunder, meaning it’s another door bridged over two chairs, because that worked so well earlier.

Janela takes WAY too long setting that up and going to the top, meaning it’s a super X-Factor through the door….for two as Janela gets a foot on the rope. Back up and Janela hits a super brainbuster for two and a double stomp through the door gets two more. Janela goes up again and gets shoved off the top and through another door at ringside. Back in and X-Pac chairs Janela down but a low blow and superkick lets Janela get the pin at 19:23.

Rating: C. This match just got on my nerves as X-Pac was doing his thing and trying to have a match while Janela was doing every stupid stunt that he could, none of which he bothered to sell. I know Janela is a big deal around here but you could see the difference in quality here and it was annoying seeing this be all about Janela. X-Pac might not be some all time legend (though he was very good), but he deserved better than this.

Post match X-Pac thanks the fans and puts over GCW, which he says is his family today. If you’re not down with X-Pac and GCW, he has two words for you.

GCW World Title: Jon Moxley vs. AJ Gray

Moxley is defending and Gray’s Extreme Title isn’t on the line. They start a bit slowly with Moxley taking him into the corner but getting shoved away. Gray takes the leg out and nails a spinwheel kick to the face to drop the champ (at least the one defending). A slugout goes to Gray and they head outside where Moxley suckers him in and takes the fight into the crowd.

You can’t actually see what they’re doing for a bit until Moxley gets into an open space and poses a bit before being knocked back to ringside by a bloody Gray. Moxley is fine enough to suplex Gray at ringside and it’s time for a barbed wire door. A release suplex drops Gray onto said barbed wire onto said door before Moxley stabs him with some barbed wire sheers. The barbed wire is used for a low blow and then wrapped around Gray’s face to make it worse.

A neckbreaker, with barbed wire, gives Moxley two and it’s off to an STF, complete with more barbed wire. Since that isn’t violent enough, Moxley puts the barbed wire door up in the corner and is speared (or kind of shoved) through it, due to wrestling rule #37. Gray hits a moonsault, mainly on Moxley’s face, for two and it’s ladder time, because of course it is. That’s not enough so here’s a door to go with it, with the ladder set at ringside and the door on some chairs close enough to it.

An STO on the apron rocks Moxley again and Gray elbows him off the ladder through the door. Back in and they get up to slug it out, because that kind of a spot is just there in a match like this. Gray blasts him with a lariat for two and it’s time for some….light tubes wrapped in barbed wire. That’s so stupid it even has Moxley backing up, only to come back with a jumping cutter onto the tubes for two. That and a piledriver get two, followed by a Death Rider onto more light tubes to retain the title at 22:18.

Rating: C. The match felt big, but every time they started to get something going, the violence got to be too much. The bigger thing here though was Moxley’s star power, which was more than enough to carry the match. Gray is someone who has impressed me just about every time I’ve seen him and he was good here, but as usual, the light tubes and doors were too much for it to be that great.

Post match they shake hands and respect is show.

Ultraviolent Title: John Wayne Murdoch vs. Alex Colon

Murdoch is challenging and Colon has beaten him a few times before. Colon has a bunch of belts around his waist and shoulders, most of which aren’t identified. Murdoch isn’t about to wait and hits him in the head with some light tubes during the Big Match Intros so we’re starting fast. Some whips send Colon into a variety of things in the corner and against the ropes before tossing him off the top, through a table covered with more light tubes.

Colon is already busted so Murdoch drives more glass into the head. Back in and Colon whips him through a door in the corner, followed by a running knee to drive light tubes into Murdoch’s chest. Then Colon stabs himself with broken tubes, which he then drives into Murdoch’s head. They headbutt it out on the floor before coming back inside, where Colon hits him with another light tube.

More light tubes do the same thing as the previous light tubes but Murdoch pops up and hits a piledriver. Colon pops back up and sends Murdoch outside, setting up a suicide dive with a light tube. Murdoch avoids a charge into the post and we pause as Colon might be seriously injured. Colon’s bloody arm is covered in a towel so Murdoch suplexes him onto more light tubes for two. A board to the arm sets up a cross armbreaker to give Murdoch the title at 13:48.

Rating: D. I can’t stand this kind of match as it’s the same stuff over and over. How many times are you supposed to hit someone with a light tube before it stops meaning anything? In this case it would be about two out of the thirty or so tubes they probably used before a dumb ending. What is there to say here? You had two guys hit each other with light tubes over and over until someone won. Rather downer of a main event and that’s never a good thing.

Post match Murdoch talks a lot of trash and tells Colon to get out to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The show was actually pretty ok for the most part, save for a terrible main event. Swap in Moxley, who felt like a much bigger star, into that spot and the show is better, but still not great. Spring Break has always been one of the more fun shows over Wrestlemania weekend and that really wasn’t the case here. It’s not an awful show, but there is nothing memorable or overly fun here and that hurt things a lot. Mickie James and X-Pac are cool, but they aren’t enough to make the show feel all that important. Hopefully night two is better though, because this was the least memorable Spring Break show to date.

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Impact Wrestling
Date: September 29, 2022
Location: Skyway Studios, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We are done with Victory Road and that means we are only a little over a week away from Bound For Glory. I’m still not sure why Victory Road was such a necessary show before the biggest night of the year but at least it wasn’t an eventful night, meaning Bound For Glory got even more build. Hopefully that can continue tonight so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening recap.

Bullet Club vs. Trey Miguel/Laredo Kid

It’s Ace Austin/Chris Bey for the Club, with Juice Robinson in their corner. Austin and Kid start things off with an exchange of wristlocks but hold on as Austin needs to hold up Too Sweet. A quick high crossbody gives Kid an early two so it’s Bey offering a distraction so Austin can take over on the arm. Bey comes in with a backbreaker as we hear about his album coming out around Halloween.

Kid slips away and hands it off to Miguel to fire off kicks at Bey. A northern lights suplex gives Miguel two but Bey is back with a reverse DDT/Downward Spiral combination to drop both of them at once. Austin comes back in and catches Kid with a springboard spinning kick to the face. Miguel pops up for a springboard sunset bomb for two on Austin. Back up and Austin shoves Bey at Miguel for the Art of Finesse, setting up the Fold for the pin at 8:19.

Rating: B. More of the X-Division goodness to open the show and yes, it still works. I can go for more of Austin and Bey as the two of them are very good on their own or as a team. Miguel and Kid are both guys who can do anything with anyone so this was always going to be entertaining while it lasted.

We look back at Bhupinder Gujjar losing the ladder match to Brian Myers last week.

Gujjar says he can’t wrestle this week due to a broken nose, but he’ll be ready for the Call Your Shot gauntlet match at Bound For Glory.

Frankie Kazarian is ready to win the X-Division Title at Bound For Glory. He wants to prove that he still has it.

Someone in a yellow hoodie tries to jump the barricade behind commentary but isn’t named. He looked like he was making a V sign with his fingers so…..Violent By Design maybe?

Bound For Glory/tonight rundown.

Digital Media Title: Brian Myers vs. Crazzy Steve

Steve, with Black Taurus, is challenging. They fight over wrist control to start until Steve goes after Myers’ face. A bite to the face is blocked with a throat snap across the top though and we take a break. Back with Steve hitting a Cannonball in the corner for two but getting caught with the implant DDT for two. Steve comes back with the Upside Down in the corner, which lasts about as long as it can. Myers distracts the referee though, allowing him to poke Steve in the eye. The Roster Cut retains the title at 3:54.

Rating: C-. This was little more than a way for Myers to cheat and retain the title and that is all it needed to be. Myers already won the big ladder match last week so this was a step down for him. The title works well enough for a lower card championship, even if the digital media stuff has already been heavily toned down.

Post match Myers says he has turned the title into the most prestigious title around here. Now he wants better competition so it’s open challenge time at Bound For Glory. That could be a fun reveal.

Johnny Swinger’s ex-fiance shows up and yells at him, despite now being married to John E. Bravo (from Wrestle House 2 apparently). Arguing ensues, with Taya Valkyrie wandering in to wonder what is going on here. Fair question.

The family from the recent Joe Hendry videos are at the reading of their father’s will and want a name said. Cue Joe Hendry, who everyone still believes in.

Rosemary begrudgingly asks James Mitchell for help with the Jessicka issue because she wants the Tag Team Titles back. Taya Valkyrie and Jessicka come in to say they can do it, so Rosemary eventually gives in.

Delirious vs. Black Taurus

Delirious’ dropkicks have no effect so he rams Taurus mark first into the buckles. That doesn’t work either as Taurus steps on Delirious’ bare feet but Delirious starts running the ropes in an odd pattern. Delirious manages to take the leg out and hit a slam, setting up a series of ten legdrops to send Taurus outside. Back up and Taurus hits a pop up Samoan drop and a headbutt. The spinning piledriver gives Taurus the pin at 5:04.

Rating: C-. This was as much as you were going to get out of Delirious vs. Black Taurus in a five minute TV match, meaning it was working with a low ceiling. Taurus getting some momentum is a nice thing to see, even if it is weird to see delirious anywhere but Ring Of Honor. Fine enough match, but what were they expecting to get out of this?

Bobby Fish is here and wants Josh Alexander so he’ll win the Call Your Shot gauntlet in his hometown of Albany.

Mia Yim is ready for Mickie James at Bound For Glory. They fought in one of Yim’s first matches and yes, we have a clip of Mickie beating her probably fifteen or so years ago. Gisele Shaw comes up to mock the idea of Mia beating Mickie so a match is made for next week.

Here is Honor No More for a chat, with the fans being way behind PCO. Eddie Edwards is happy with Victory Road because he showed he can beat Josh Alexander. There were some setbacks on the night though and yes, he is looking at PCO again. PCO lost to the Motor City Machine Guns and he likes to step up too much, so who does he think he is? Vincent puts a bag over PCO’s head to calm him down as Matt Taven takes the mic.

Taven rants about how Impact has tried to hold the team down but now the are Tag Team Champions. At Bound For Glory, Honor No More will leave with the World and Tag Team Titles, with everyone talking about how great Eddie is for pinning Alexander at Victory Road. Maria gives us a video looking at Eddie pinning Alexander over and over, leaving Eddie to rant about how everyone turned on him.

Cue Alexander to say he sees this as any fight he has ever had. He views the title as something that proves he’s the best while Eddie sees it as job security. At Bound For Glory, the only one outnumbered is Edwards. Alexander comes to the ring for the fight, with Heath, Rich Swann and the Motor City Machine Guns coming in to help clear out Honor No More.

Heath/Rich Swann vs. PCO/Vincent

Joined in progress with PCO coming in to make Swann roll around a bit. PCO powers him down though and drops a leg to the back of the head, allowing the tag to Vincent. A basement Downward Spiral gets two but Swann is back up with an enziguri. The tag brings in Heath to clean house with a powerslam getting two on Vincent. Heath sends Vincent into PCO and Swann gets in a cheap shot from the apron so an implant DDT gets two on Vincent. With PCO knocked outside, Swann hits a 450 to finish Vincent at 4:34.

Rating: C. They kept this one quick and that is the right way to go. Vincent is about as low on the Honor No More totem pole as you can get so having a former World Champion pin him is hardly the end of his momentum. It wasn’t much of a match but they continue to make Heath look like a big deal, which is rather impressive given how much of a comedy guy he has been for years.

Moose isn’t happy with Steve Maclin, who comes in for the brawl.

Scott D’Amore tells Sami Callihan that he can’t get in the ring because of a broken orbital bone, so D’Amore lets Sami referee Moose vs. Maclin next week.

Here’s what’s coming on various shows.

Masha Slamovich vs. Allie Katch

Monster’s Ball and they’re still doing the “locked up for 24 hours deal”. They slug it out to start and an early double clothesline takes both of them down. A duel of the trashcan lids goes to Katch as she cracks Slamovich over the head. Slamovich is right back with a German suplex and it’s time to whip Katch with a chain.

We mix things up a bit with Slamovich putting the side of a street sign in Katch’s mouth before going with the more classic double arm crank. A cowbell is pulled out of the trashcan but since that takes some time, Katch cracks her with a trashcan lid to take over. Slamovich shrugs it off and hits an Air Raid Crash into the corner as we take a break. Back with Slamovich driving a chain into Katt’s (very busted open) mouth in the corner before grabbing a chair.

A reverse DDT drops Slamovich and now she is busted open as well. Slamovich is fine enough to kick her in the head and Death Valley Driver Katch into the chair for two. Katch is back up with a trashcan shot to the head to catch Slamovich on top and a Death Valley Driver sends her through the door (yeah a door) in the corner for two.

They fight to the apron and Slamovich Russian legsweeps her through a table to leave them both down. With Slamovich up first, it’s time for the thumbtacks (dang it) but Katch piledrives her onto them for two more. A trashcan full of broken cans is poured out and it’s a Snowplow to drive Katch into the junk on the mat for the pin at 18:44.

Rating: B. These two were having one heck of a fight and I was getting drawn into it, but then the thumbtacks killed off a lot of the interest. It’s still such a stupid spot and something that we’ve seen so many times before. Throw in a piledriver onto the tacks getting two and there was only so much I could get out of the second half of this. Great first half but it fell down pretty hard in the end.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a bit of a weird show with a good opener, a good main event, and almost nothing good in the middle. The idea of having Bound For Glory in eight days is more than a bit much and it’s a very rushed feeling, but at least the card is set. It should be a good major event, but the TV is a bit rough to put it mildly. At least we got two strong matches here though and that’s enough for two hours.

Results
Bullet Club b. Laredo Kid/Trey Miguel – Fold to Miguel
Brian Myers b. Crazzy Steve – Roster Cut
Black Taurus b. Delirious – Spinning piledriver
Rich Swann/Heath b. Vincent/PCO – 450 to Vincent
Masha Slamovich b. Allie Katch – Snowplow onto cans and thumbtacks

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

AND

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Bangerz Only
Date: April 2, 2022
Location: Fair Park, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: Denise Salcedo, Sam Leterna, Veda Scott

This is from Mission Pro Wrestling, an all women’s promotion owned by AEW Thunder Rosa, from over Wrestlemania weekend. That means we should be in for a fun show which likely includes a fair few guest stars. I have no idea what to expect from this show and that is a nice feeling, as it could be a little bit of anything. Let’s get to it.

Opening sequence.

Shazza McKenzie vs. Janai Kai

Kai has been on AEW before. They go with the mat grappling to start as Scott can’t remember if she turned on McKenzie when they were teaming together or not (she did). The grapple off goes to Kai, who takes her to the mat for some kicks to the mat. Back up and McKenzie strikes away as well before kicking her in the face. Kai is right back with some kicks of her own to strike McKenzie down as commentary rapid fires what these two have been doing lately.

Something like a seated dragon sleeper has McKenzie in trouble until she fights up for stereo kicks and a double knockdown. McKenzie hits some running knees to the back and ties her in the ropes for kicks to the chest. Back in and Kai sweeps the leg for two but gets caught in the Shamission (seated crossface chickenwing), only to grab the rope. Kai is right back up with a spinning kick to the face for the pin at 8:42.

Rating: C+. This was a fast paced opener and it seems that they are going to be focusing on a lot of striking and submission stuff, making this in fact a modern independent style show. McKenzie has been around for a good while and I’ve seen some of Kai, so this wasn’t exactly a surprise. Good enough here, though I don’t know if it was quite a BANGER(Z).

Allie Katch vs. JP Harlow

So Harlow, with Ayla Fox (evil manager/agent), is a man and therefore a major heel around here. Katch goes after the arm to start and headlock takeovers him down. Ayla grabs a trip from the floor though and it’s enough for Harlow to kick the rope low to takeover. Corner stomping keeps Katch down but Harlow misses a charge, only to backdrop his way out of trouble.

A Death Valley Driver gets two more and it’s time to stand on Katch’s hair. Ayla gets in some choking from the floor but Katch is fine enough to jawbreak her way to freedom. The running hip attack in the corner sets up a Cannonball for two on Harlow but he’s right back with a DDT out of the corner. Back up and Harlow almost runs into an interfering Ayla, allowing Katch to grab a piledriver for the pin at 8:21.

Rating: C. Katch is someone who has been around this circuit for a long time and she does have the abilities to stay interesting in most of the matches I’ve seen from her. Harlow being around was more than a little weird but it does make for a good heel. Giving the fans something to cheer about is a good way to go as they’re continuing with the nice start.

La Rosa Negra vs. Jody Threat

Rosa is rather bubbly and dances to the ring. They go to the mat to start with Rosa rolling her up for two as we hear about Threat eating Big Macs and working out. Rosa’s headscissors keeps Threat in trouble but she reverses into a cross armbreaker, sending Rosa to the ropes. Rosa is right back with her own cross armbreaker, sending Threat to the ropes for her own break.

Threat is sent to the apron and manages to kick Rosa in the face to take over again. Back up and Rosa has to fight out of the corner before elbowing Threat down. An airplane spin and big kick to the head gives Rosa two, followed by a high crossbody for the same. Rosa knocks her to the floor for a suicide dive, then does it again for a bonus.

Threat elbows her way out of a fireman’s carry and hits a running flip attack off the apron. They both beat the count back in and slug it out until Threat’s neckbreaker gets two. Some kicks to Rosa’s face into a German suplex gives Threat two more but Rosa kicks her down. The frog splash connects but Threat rolls her up for the pin at 16:33.

Rating: C. This got a lot more time than the other matches so far and while it turned into a slugfest, a lot of it felt like two people just doing moves to each other until one of them got a pin. There wasn’t anything resembling a story or a flow to it and commentary’s main contribution was to say “that’s why they call Rosa” something in Spanish without actually saying what that means. Good power brawl, but it needed a lot of work.

The ring announcer thanks the fans for helping the show.

Bougie Reality vs. Bionic Kingdom

That would be Madi Wrenkowski/Rache Chanel vs. Jennacide/KiLynn King, some of whom you might know from AEW. Bionic King get guitared to the ring for a nice touch. King and Madi start things off with an exchange of shoulders going nowhere. The bigger King runs Madi over and it’s off to Chanel for a change. Chanel gets taken into the corner so Jennacide can chop away as everything breaks down.

Reality is whipped into each other and stereo facebusters give King an early two. Back up and Reality manages to get them both into the ropes, meaning laughing/choking can ensue. We settle down to Madi working on King’s leg in the corner and we hit the leglock. King fights up and hits some knees but hurts herself in the process, meaning Reality keeps her down in the corner.

A World’s Strongest Slam gets King out of trouble and there’s the much needed tag to Jennacide. Everything breaks down and something like an F5 gets two on Madi. A backbreaker plants Madi but she rakes the eyes to get out of an electric chair. Back up and a Codebreaker into a scissors kick Stomp (the Reality Check) finishes Jennacide at 11:25.

Rating: B-. I liked this one as you could tell a bit more of a story out of the whole thing. Both teams felt like people who had worked together before and they had a nice match at the same time. King and Chanel have both worked on bigger stages and it is easy to see that they are above a lot of the talent on this show. Good match here and the best part of the show so far.

Lindsay Snow vs. Masha Slamovich

Snow is back after a long absence and Slamovich is a monster. They go right to the slugout to start with Snow screaming as she hits a clothesline. Slamovich is sent outside where she kicks Snow in the back a few times before ramming her ribs first into the apron (which may or may not have been due to not being able to pull off an apron bomb). Back in and Snow grabs a kneebar to take over, which is broken up by a rake of the eyes.

Some heavy forearms keep Snow down but she is back up with a DDT for a double knockdown. Snow hits a running knee for two, followed by Slamovich hitting a German suplex for the same. Slamovich kicks her hard in the head for two more and heads up top, where Snow gets in a kick to the head. A MuscleBuster finishes Slamovich at 6:35.

Rating: C+. This was the slugfest match but it just ended all of a sudden. I’m not sure why they went home out of nowhere like that but it did seem like they were wrapping it up. I can go for that with a more physical match like this one but it was still rather quick. Snow is someone I’ve heard of before but never actually seen and she was good enough that I would take another look.

Renegade Twins/Jazmin Allure vs. The Hex/Laynie Luck

The Hex is Allysin Kay/Marti Belle (NWA Women’s Tag Team Champions) while the Renegades (Charlotte/Robyn) are the Mission Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champions. They talk a lot of trash at each other to start until it’s Kay vs. Robyn to get things going. Kay takes her down into an early chinlock, which is turned into a slugout out the mat. That’s broken up so Kay grabs a rollup for two, with Allure making a save.

Everything breaks down and Luck dives onto the Renegades. Allure comes in and gets Three Amigoed by Belle, setting up some running shots in the corner by the Hex. It’s back to Robyn as everything breaks down again, with Belle getting taken down in the corner for a change. The villains (I think?) take turns stomping away, which sets up a Boston crab/camel clutch/running dropkick combination (didn’t quite get the timing right as the two holds weren’t on at once but it was a cool idea).

Belle gets stomped again but manages to counter a double suplex by sending Robyn’s leg into Charlotte. That’s enough to get over for the hot tag off to Kay to clean house with the expected shots to the face. Kay keeps slugging away despite having Allure on her back before handing it off to Luck. Everything breaks down again as Veda thinks this should just be a tornado tag match. Luck full nelson slams Allure for two and everyone is down. We get a crash off the corner, leaving Allure to faceplant Luck and put her feet on the ropes for the pin at 14:24.

Rating: B-. This was an entertaining match as you can see that the Twins and the Hex both work well together. Allure felt like someone who could be a star down the line so giving her the win was a nice way to go. Throw in some cheating for the finish and I liked what we got here, as everyone was putting in the effort and came off well.

Thunder Rosa vs. Trish Adora

Rosa’s AEW Women’s Title isn’t on the line. They fight over an armbar to start before heading to the mat with neither being able to get anywhere. Adora takes her down with a top wristlock so Rosa bridges off the mat over and over. With that not going anywhere, they’re up for a standoff until Rosa kicks her down for two.

Some elbows to the chest look to set up a Gory Bomb but Adora slips out and chops away. Adora takes her down and cranks on both arms, including some kicks to the back. Rosa is right back up with a Rocking Horse (something like a surfboard but with Rosa standing and swinging Adora back and forth) but since that can’t last long, Adora is back up with a running crossbody.

A Stunner rocks Adora and a sliding dropkick against the ropes gets two. Adora is back with a Samoan drop for two before grabbing Cattle Mutilation of all things. Rosa makes the ropes and grabs a Gory Bomb for two, followed by a DDT for the same. They trade rollups for two each until Rosa grabs….well it looks like the ending of a piledriver with Adora sitting on her head as Rosa cranks on the I think neck to make Adora tap at 16:20.

Rating: B. The ending was weird enough (with commentary saying it was a bit confusing) but they were beating on each other and trading big shots for a long time on the way there. It did feel like a big fight and it was billed as a first time ever showdown so it did live up to the hype, even with the kind of confusing finish.

Mission Pro Wrestling Title: Holidead vs. LuFisto

Holidead is defending and this is No DQ. Holidead starts fast by taking her down and dropping a leg for two. That’s enough for LuFisto to send her to the apron though, setting up a running kick to put the champ on the floor. Some hard kicks drop Holidead and it’s time for the first door to be brought in. Rather than use that though, LuFisto sets up a bunch of chairs on the floor instead.

A suplex onto the chairs doesn’t work as Holidead fights back up and forearms away but misses an apron legdrop. Back in and LuFisto elbows away before loading up the door in the corner. Holidead bites at LuFisto’s head and hits a dive onto…LuFisto and the members of the production crew that had been dragged in.

Back in and a swinging Downward Spiral gives Holidead two, only to be sent into the corner. LuFisto hits a Cannonball into a corner and a suplex through the door for two. Holidead’s Samoan drop onto the chairs for two but she can’t put LuFisto through another door. InHolidead kicks a chair into her head and hits a running spinebuster through the door to retain at 17:36.

Rating: C+. This had me worried about it turning into deathmatch and total garbage stuff but I can live with some chairs and doors. They beat on each other well enough and it turned into a good brawl. I’m not sure if that is enough to warrant it headlining over Rosa vs. Adora, but I get the idea of going with the title match/not the owner. Good enough main event, though I’m not sure why this needed to be No DQ.

Post match Holidead puts over LuFisto and thanks the fans. Mission Pro will continue to put on BANGERS ONLY.

Overall Rating: B. Another good but not blowaway show from the weekend, this time featuring a unique roster. It’s still kind of amazing that women’s wrestling has come far enough to be able to run a full on show like this without having anything that was bad, or really even close to it. There are some solid matches on here and the two hours and twenty plus minutes went by pretty fast. I liked this one and if you’re looking for a women’s promotion, you could certainly find worse.

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Cemetery Gates
Date: March 31, 2022
Location: Fair Park, Dallas Texas
Commentators: Sam Leterna, Veda Scott

This is from Glory Pro Wrestling out of St. Louis, Missouri and part of Game Changer Wrestling’s Collective as part of the Wrestlemania Weekend festivities. Every year you will see some promotions show up over the weekend for the big weekend and put on a bit of a showcase event. That is the case again, as we have another show with a pretty weird name. Let’s get to it.

As usual, I have no idea what is going on here with regards to storylines, characters etc., so if I miss anything major, I apologize in advance.

Also, this show is available for free on the company’s YouTube page if you want to see what they have.

Myron Reed vs. Shane Sabre vs. Danny Jones vs. Carlos Romo

Reed is a longstanding MLW star, Jones is now in NXT UK and this is one fall to a finish. Romo fires the crowd up to start and everyone is outside in a hurry. Reed takes down Romo and Sabre but gets suplexed by Jones. Back up and Romo leg lariats Jones and hits Sabre with a swinging suplex.

Neither Sabre nor Romo can superplex Jones so they both try at the same time. With that not working either, they launch Reed into a super hurricanrana because JONES MUST BE BROUGHT DOWN. Romo ties up Jones’ legs and dragon sleepers the other two at the same time because that’s something that would happen in a fight. With that broken up, Jones pulls all three of them into a submission each, though he’s nice enough to go one at a time.

Romo DDTs Sabre for two and Jones piledrivers Sabre onto the apron for what should be a knockout. I mean it won’t be, but it should be. Jones chokes Romo on the apron but Reed gets a running start for a super cutter to drop Romo again. Back in and Jones sleeper suplexes Reed but gets caught by Romo’s springboard cutter for a close two. Romo misses a moonsault and gets taken down by Sabre’s slingshot spear. Reed grabs Sabre with a springboard cutter into Captain Crunch (White Noise) for the pin at 8:23.

Rating: C+. The best thing here is that they kept if fast paced and didn’t have so many wrestlers in there that you lost track of what was going on. They kept things moving here and it’s a great way to start the show off. I liked what we got here and Romo stood out, while Reed had a bit of star power for a bonus. Nice opener here.

Midwest Territory Title: Tootie Lynn vs. Janai Kai

Kai is challenging and has been on AEW a few times. They fight over arm control to start until Lynn grabs a headlock takeover. Kai fights out and kicks her in the back before pounding away to take over. Arm cranking ensues but Lynn is back up with an enziguri and a middle rope crossbody connects for two. The strike off goes to Kai and she grabs something like Nightmare on Helm Street for two. Back up and they strike it out again until Lynn pulls her down by the arm and flips over with the armbar ala Tommaso Ciampa for the tap at 7:41.

Rating: C. Not bad here from two women I haven’t seen much of before. What matters is that they had something going with Kai’s striking against Lynn going for the grappling and submissions. That might not be a great or detailed story, but it’s better than nothing and more than you get on a good number of shows these days.

Jake Something vs. Max The Impaler

A big forearm drops Max to start but Something gets run over and slammed down without much trouble. Something hits something like a Thesz press (minus the press) out of the corner and a heck of a right hand gets two. Back to back suplexes set up back to back to back clotheslines, the latter of which just fire Max up (might not make sense but a lot of things in wrestling don’t).

An exchange of clotheslines doesn’t go to anyone until Max runs him over with a clothesline. There’s a spear for two more on Something but he’s back up with a hard forearm to the back of the head. A sitout powerbomb gets two on Max, who comes right back with a spinebuster for two more. Back up and a spear misses for Max, setting up a Boss Man Slam to give Something the pin at 9:34.

Rating: C+. They beat each other up rather well here and it was a nice hoss fight throughout. Something is someone who a good look and some nice power, but my goodness that is one of the most indy wrestling names you will ever see. Fix that and he might go somewhere, but it sounds like a joke that has gone on way too long. Max is a pretty good power brawler as well and could fit in somewhere one day.

Tag Team Titles: Alpha Omega vs. Fly Def vs. Technical Difficulties vs. The Hustle And The Muscle

That would be Camaro Jackson/Kenny Alfonso vs. Warren Johnson/Zack Mason vs. Moses The Deliverer/Rahim de la Suede vs. Karam/Xavier Walker (defending) and I’m going to be lost about ten seconds into this. Thankfully commentary says the same so I’m not alone. Fly Def are from Reality of Wrestling and trained by Booker T. The champs come out to Voodoo Chile and I have some Nitro flashbacks.

It’s a brawl to start as this does not seem to have tags, thereby negating the TAG part of TAG TEAM. Hustle and Muscle clear the ring to start but Technical Difficulties gets together to take Walker outside. Fly Def is back up with a big dive onto the pile but then it’s Alpha Omega getting to clean house.

That doesn’t last long either as everyone gets a quick burst in before Fly Def clears the ring again. Alpha Omega breaks that up and calls Technical Difficulties inside for the showdown. Fly Def breaks that up but Mason is sent outside, leaving Johnson to get pounded in the corner by de la Suede. Hustle and Muscle are back in though and a spinebuster to Mason retains the titles at 7:01.

Rating: C+. What do you say about something like this? It was eight wrestlers flying around and getting in whatever they could without much time to spare. This was the equivalent of a scramble match on this show and it did about as much: offer some entertaining spots and pop the crowd by never stopping. It was fun for what it was, but these matches are going to bleed together and then be forgotten pretty quickly.

We recap Allie Katch vs. Laynie Luck. Katch cheated to survive against Luck but got disqualified anyway. Luck is here for revenge plus a cleaner win.

Laynie Luck vs. Allie Katch

Submission match with No DQ, meaning no rope breaks. Luck goes for the legs to start and gets nowhere so it’s a dropkick to put Katch down instead. Back up and Katch grabs a quick backbreaker, only to get pulled into a Fujiwara armbar. That’s countered into a DDT but Luck is back with a sunset flip, which she rolls over into an STF. Katch is right out of that as well and hits a seated senton out of the corner.

They head outside with Katch not being able to hit a powerbomb but blocking another armbar. Back in and Luck grabs a sick German suplex into a guillotine choke. That’s broken up as well so Luck switches to a Regal Stretch (complete with the arm trap). Katch bites her way to freedom and takes it outside again, this time for a piledriver on the floor.

They get back inside where Luck (completely fine less than thirty seconds after a piledriver on the floor) hits an enziguri, setting up another STF. Another bite of the hand breaks that up so Luck tries a Boston crab. Katch has to get creative by grabbing the referee for the break, setting up her own Boston crab. With the rope break meaning nothing, Katch puts the Boston crab on again in the ropes to make Luck tap at 11:09.

Rating: C-. I wasn’t feeling this of this one as some of the holds were broken way too fast and a piledriver on the floor having no effect was a bit ridiculous. Katch having to cheat over and over again was a way to tie things into their backstory so at least there was a logic there. At the same time, Luck showed some promise here and there, but it just wasn’t that interesting most of the time.

Grindhouse vs. No Remorse Corps

Grindhouse is better known as the Besties In The World (Davey Vega/Matt Fitchett) and the Corps is Davey Richards/Rocky Romero, who were quite the Ring of Honor team way back when. Richards grabs a test of strength with Vega to start before twisting around into a wristlock. That’s reversed into one from Vega, which is broken up with a twist of the arm.

After the standoff, the fans demand and receive Romero, who trades wristlocks with Fitchett. Romero gets in a hurricanrana but Vega tags himself in for a cheap shot. That’s fine with Romero who starts the Forever Lariats, which are cut off by a well timed kick to the head. The double teaming is on in the corner with Fitchett grabbing an armbar and Vega stomping away.

A Grindhouse double team doesn’t work as Romero hits a standing Sliced Bread, allowing the hot tag off to Richards. Stereo rollups get two each on Grindhouse, followed by a leglock to Vega and an ankle lock to Fitchett, again because Davey Richards is apparently a genius. With that broken up, Romero is brought back in for some charges in the corner.

Richards adds a top rope knee to give Romero two but Fitchett is back up for the save. A running knee/kick combination in the corner gets two on Romero but Richards makes Vega DDT Fitchett, because that’s how wrestling works. Richards blasts Vega with a lariat and Moustache Mountain’s torture rack/top rope knee combination is enough for the pin at 12:29.

Rating: C+. Richards’ dominance aside, this was a hard hitting enough tag match with Grindhouse being overwhelmed by a better team. I’ve seen Grindhouse in their previous incarnation before and that was a lot more fun, leaving them as a not exactly unique team here. The Corps isn’t my favorite team, but they are pretty good at this style.

We recap Dan The Dad vs. Kody Lane (set to My Way by Limp Bizkit for a chuckle). Dad is a family man who likes being a good guy while Lane is messing things up. Therefore, it’s Loser Leaves The Neighborhood. That’s a unique one.

Dan The Dad vs. Kody Lane

No DQ. Dan charges in and slugs away as we hear about him not being happy with Lane leaving beer bottles on his lawn. They fight to the floor and the ladder is brought out, with Lane being sent into it for the crash. A trashcan shot gets Lane out of trouble though and they head back inside so Lane can stomp away. Dan dropkicks the knee out and goes for a Figure Four, which is kicked into the ladder in the corner. Back up and Lane kicks him in the face, setting up a backsplash for two.

Veda suggests that the two of them take a lesson from Sesame Street as Dan is sent outside, where he avoids a dropkick through the ropes. Back in and some chair shots to the back make Dan scream but he fights up and strikes away. A floatover DDT plants Lane and a hanging Downward Spiral onto an open chair gives Dan two. Land low blows his way out of a powerbomb though and a Jay Driller onto a ladder gets two more. A Lionsault hits ladder though and Dan crushes Lane’s leg in said ladder, setting up a Figure Four to make Lane tap at 10:19.

Rating: C+. I liked this more than I expected to and I could go for seeing some of the build to the match. Neither are exactly great in the ring but they had a story that made sense and built up well enough. The leg stuff was fine and Lane giving up because Dan wasn’t going to stop no matter what made sense. Nice stuff here with a unique story.

Josh Alexander vs. Warhorse

Feeling out process to start with Alexander breaking up an early headlock. It’s way too early for Alexander’s C4 Spike as he gets tossed outside for a double stomp to the back. They head back inside with Alexander hitting a rolling Death Valley Driver but Warhorse chops away in the corner. For some reason Warhorse turns his back on him though and Alexander gets in a leg dive to the mat so cranking can ensue.

Back up and they slug it out until Alexander rams him head first into the buckle. This has no effect on Warhorse for Warhorse reasons so it’s a flying forearm to drop Alexander. A flying forearm lets Warhorse go up top but Alexander rolls away before anything can launch. Warhorse takes him down by the legs though and the Sharpshooter goes on, sending Alexander straight to the ropes.

They head to the apron and slug it out with Alexander hitting a World’s Strongest Slam. Warhorse is right back up with a heck of a suicide dive, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise in his case. Back in and Alexander pulls him out of the air for an ankle lock, sending Warhorse over to the ropes. Alexander gets caught in the corner for an Alberto double stomp and a near fall. A top rope superplex drops Warhorse but he pops back up with a spinning kick to the face. Back up and Alexander hits him in the back of the head with a forearm, setting up the C4 Spike for the pin at 16:01.

Rating: B. Some of the no selling here was ridiculous but it was one of those matches where it was about giving us a cool pairing and letting Alexander continue to shine. He is one of the better stars outside of WWE and AEW at the moment and it is always cool to see him. Warhorse is a ball of energy so it is fun to see him as well, meaning this was a pretty nice pairing.

Crown Of Glory Title: Mike Outlaw vs. Brian Keith

Outlaw is defending the promotion’s top title. Feeling out process to start with Keith grabbing a headlock takeover, which is broken up for a bit of a frustrated standoff. Back up and Outlaw gets two off a rollup but gets kicked in the face to put him in trouble for the first time. Keith kicks him down again and starts stomping away in the corner as the control is on. Outlaw loses a chop off and Keith grabs a chinlock to keep him down.

Outlaw fights up and grabs a suplex for two, only to get caught in the chinlock again. That’s broken up again as well so Keith hits a fireman’s carry backbreaker for two. A tiger driver gets the same but Outlaw fights his way off the top. Outlaw, still on top, lifts Keith up (off the mat) for a swinging superplex into a release suplex for a heck of a sequence but only a near fall.

Keith gets dragon screw leg whipped and Outlaw slaps on a half crab, with Keith bailing over to the rope. They slug it out again until Outlaw grabs a Stunner, with Keith hitting a quick enziguri. Outlaw goes for the leg again but Keith powers up, only to get caught in a rollup to retain the title at 14:34.

Rating: B-. Not exactly a great match here but they did well enough and it felt like a title match. I’ve seen a bit of Keith before and he was good enough to make me think the title might be in jeopardy. I didn’t get much out of Outlaw, but he had a nice look and worked well, making him seem like someone who could be a top star in a smaller promotion like this one.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty good show here, though nothing that you need to rush out to see. I’ve only heard a bit about Glory Pro before and they did well enough. It might not be a great show, but it was a fine way to spend about two hours, especially when it was free on YouTube. I could go for seeing some one of their regular shows, especially some of those Dan The Dad promos. Not too bad at all and that’s always a nice surprise.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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The Wrld On GCW
Date: January 23, 2022
Location: Hammerstein Ballroom, New York City, New York
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Kendall Gill
Hosts: Lenny Leonard, Pollo del Mar

Every now and then a show catches my attention and I’ll add it to the schedule. That is the case here, as GCW has become the hottest indy around at the moment and I’m going to give it a shot. I am absolutely not a fan of the deathmatch stuff, but apparently that kind of wrestling is not allowed in New York so we get a bit of a reprieve here. Let’s get to it.

Note that I barely follow GCW so I am not going to know much in the way of storylines or characters so please bear with me if I miss something.

Kickoff Show: Blue Ribbon Battle Royal

Psycho Clown, Dark Sheik, Cole Radrick, Parrow, Hoodfoot, Ruckus, Charles Mason, KTB, Juicy Finau, Steve Scott, Nate Webb, Big Vin, Brandon Kirk, Janai Kai, Dustin Thomas, Marcus Mathers, Yoya, B-Boy, Lufisto, Thunder Rosa

Clown jumps Parrow before most of the entrances have taken place and we’re starting fast. The huge Parrow fights him off but Sheik hits a pretty awesome looking jump up to his shoulders into a double stomp to the chest (kind of like Cameron Grimes’ Cave In). Sheik isn’t done and hits a top rope spinwheel kick to drop Radrick. Back up and Radrick runs Sheik over as more people come in (Are these entrances timed? That hasn’t been mentioned.), giving us Parrow vs. Ruckus.

Entrants keep coming in one at a time but with maybe fifteen seconds in between, making me wonder why they started so fast. Scott (I think? Commentary is too busy to say who these people are.) is clotheslined out as Big Vin takes his place. Vin grabs Sheik from the apron and backflips in for a World’s Strongest Slam (that’s a new one) before having a big hug with Finau.

The ring (which isn’t very big in the first place) is WAY too full here as Kirk is tossed. Thomas (the wrestler with no legs) comes in and hits a tornado DDT on KTB. Mathers and Yoya are in as Radrick is out in a hurry (and actually gets named). Mason (in a suit) is in next as this is just a free for all of people hitting one move after another with nothing close to coherence.

Now it’s B-Boy coming in as Clown hits a superbomb on Mason. Mathers (I think) is out with Sheik and KTB following him. Lufisto makes a big surprise return and there go Clown and Thomas. Thunder Rosa is the big surprise and final entrant so we look at her beating up Parrow in the corner while everyone else brawls.

Lufisto gets rid of Webb and B-Boy and we’re down to Lufisto, Parrow, Rosa, Mason and Vin. Rosa hurricanranas Parrow out and the women beat up Mason in the corner. Vin gets beaten down in an opposite corner until Rosa and Lufisto slug it out. Mason sneaks up and tosses Rosa but Lufisto suplexes both of them. Vin puts Lufisto on the apron and Mason drives Vin into her for the elimination. A low bridge sends Vin to the apron but he chokeslams Mason out for the win at 16:04.

Rating: D+. This wasn’t a good start to the night as I’m still not sure who all was in the match. Commentary didn’t do a good job of explaining what was going on and the camera work made it even harder to keep track of the whole thing. I’m not quite thrilled with where things are going from here, but hopefully we get something a little easier to follow going forward.

Kickoff Show: Jack Cartwheel vs. Alex Zayne vs. Grim Reefer vs. Shane Mercer vs. Ninja Mack vs. Dante Leon

No tags and one fall to a finish. Zayne is billed as The Sauce and from the nearest Taco Bell. The fact that he is from Lexington makes it even better. Mercer starts fast with a pop up powerslam on Reefer (that looked good) and there’s a big flip dive to drop some people on the floor. Cartwheel and Mack hit their stereo running flip dives to the floor, followed by dives from Zayne and Leon.

Reefer goes up, lights one up, and hits a big springboard flip dive to drop the pile. Back in and Mack punches away at Reefer before hitting the People’s Moonsault. Leon comes in for a cutter on Mack but gets powerslammed by Mercer. A super fireman’s carry flapjack drops Leon but Zayne clears the ring. Cartwheel takes him down for a slingshot hilo but Mercer is back up with a gorilla press drop.

Reefer kicks Mercer down and spins him into a Crossface with Leon making the save. Leon’s big cutter hits Reefer but Mercer plants Mack with a super backflip World’s Strongest Slam. Zayne is held in the ropes for a shooting star press from Cartwheel, driving Zayne into the apron. A chair is brought in but Reefer counters Mercer’s….something into a DDT onto the chair for the pin at 7:58.

Rating: C+. This was slightly easier to follow than the opener but that isn’t saying much. The thing to remember about a match like this is that it is all about getting your stuff in with nothing resembling a story being told. The match may be fun, but this is all about setting things up for the real card. Not exactly good, but a lot of fun and rather exciting, as is kind of the point.

Owner Brett Lauderdale comes out to hype up the crowd and talks about how hard it has been to get here. They were ready to take over the world but then the pandemic hit. He was told that a million GCW’s have come and gone but now they are here with the roster to make it work.

We get the entrances for the opener, which will start when the show goes on the air. This company has some AEW influences.

The opening video, which is rather quiet, shows a bunch of wrestlers in the empty building with their voiceovers talking about how they have no business at this level. Now they’re here to prove that they belong. Right on point here.

AJ Gray vs. PCO vs. Alex Colon vs. G-Raver vs. Tony Deppen vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Jordan Oliver

Ladder match, with the winner getting any title match they want at any time. AJ Gray is a surprise entrant as his scheduled opponent, Eddie Kingston, is out with an injury. They start fast (I’m not sure I heard a bell) with Deppen hitting a springboard dropkick to drive the ladder into Lloyd and Oliver.

Gray buckle bombs Deppen into the ladder in the corner and blasts him with a lariat before going up. His ladder is WAY too short though, meaning G-Raver does him a favor by throwing a ladder at Gray’s ladder for the save. PCO comes in, allowing Colon to lift up G-Raver for a Doomsday Device, albeit with a ladder shot instead of a clothesline to make it even worse. Colon hits PCO in the face with the ladder but Oliver dropkicks the ladder down to break up the double climb.

Oliver kicks Lloyd in the face and hits a dive to the floor. PCO hits his own running flip dive through the ropes. Deppen adds a double springboard flip dive to take out everyone, sending them walking up the aisle. As luck would have it, Gray is ready with his own running flip dive off the stage at the exact same time. PCO chairs Gray down and moonsaults off the top onto the big pile again.

That means PCO can climb, but he’s actually smart enough to drop down and beat up anyone trying to make a save. Deppen brings in a bigger ladder and bites PCO on the face but Jordan Oliver is there to cut him off. Lloyd breaks that up too but gets kicked down by Oliver. PCO chokeslams Oliver off of the ladder though and there’s a package piledriver onto the ladder to make it worse.

G-Raver and Colon break that up, with Raven putting Colon onto two chairs with a ladder over his back. Raver goes up, shoves the ring out of the way, and drops down onto the ladder onto Colon. Well that was dumb. Lloyd gives Raver a running Razor’s Edge over the top and onto a big pile of stuff on the floor. Gray goes up on a ladder on the floor and tries to dive into the ring, only to crash hard onto another ladder (the fact that I’m not sure who he was aiming for is a bad sign). Cue John Wayne Murdoch to take out Colon on the floor, leaving Gray to take the ring down at 15:11.

Rating: C-. The spots were good, but this was a very indy style ladder match, which is not meant as a compliment. There was too much going on between all of the people and it didn’t work so well. At the same time, you had a person shoving the ring out of the way to hurt someone else. That’s about as bad of a level of ladder match logic as you’ll find, making this quite the mess.

Gringo Loco/Demonic Flamita/Arez vs. Bandido/ASF/Laredo Kid

Lucha rules (duh) and it’s Arez starting with Kid. The trade early misses until Kid’s hurricanrana is easily blocked. An armdrag sends Kid outside so it’s Bandido coming in for Three Amigos. That means the Eddie dance as it’s a headscissors to send Arez outside. Loco comes in to hammer on Bandido, who is sent outside so ASF can come in. A wristdrag sends ASF outside for a change and it’s Flamita coming in to take his place.

The 619 in the corner looks to set up something off the top but Flamita flips off the crowd and drops down to flip the fans off instead. ASF is left alone in the corner, with Flamita and Arez hitting stereo moonsaults to the floor (that was sweet). Bandido and Kid get caught in stereo surfboards on the floor for the big running flip dive from Loco. ASF is sent outside as well, only to get launched over the top for the crash back inside (cool).

Flamita follows him back in for two, with ASF climbing Flamita to armdrag Loco. Bandido’s team is back in with stereo superkicks into stereo headscissors to the floor. The not quite stereo dives take out Loco and company but ASF and Kid miss missile dropkicks back inside. Flamita and Bandido are left alone for a big staredown, with Flamita kicking him down and hitting a huge frog splash.

ASF hits a 450 but Arez makes a save of his own. A dropkick breaks up Arez’s cover and a Death Valley Driver gets two on Flamita. It’s Bandido vs. Loco for a strike off until Bandido hits a heck of a tornado DDT. Back up and Bandido and Loco grab double electric chairs (as in Arez is on Flamita’s shoulders on Loco’s shoulders while ASF is on Kid’s shoulders on Bandido’s shoulders), leaving ASF and Arez to slug it out rather high in the air.

ASF snaps off a Canadian Destroyer (egads man) while Loco and Bandido hit powerbombs on the other two. Loco catches a charging Bandido in a Spanish Fly and everyone is down. Back up and Bandido LAUNCHES ASF over the top and into a hurricanrana on Loco. Flamita hits a dive, then Bandido hits a dive, then Kid Spanish Flies Arez off the top onto the pile. ASF and Loco seem to load up a super Canadian Destroyer but can’t get the timing right, leaving Loco to hit a regular piledriver for the pin at 14:10.

Rating: A-. The double electric chair was good enough to make this about as fun as it could have been and the rest was a bunch of insanity that you can only get in a match like this one. This kind of a match is designed to have a bunch of people flying around with one crazy spot after another and they made it work like only they can here. Bandido’s awesomeness has long since been established and it was on full display again with this one. Check this out, which you should always do with something involving these people.

Ian Riccaboni joins commentary.

Ring of Honor World Title: Blake Christian vs. Jonathan Gresham

Christian is challenging…or at least he would be if Gresham was here but we need to make a last second change. Worry not though, because we have a replacement.

Blake Christian vs. Lio Rush

Rush offers a handshake but Christian looks at him instead. They do shake left hands though and it’s an armdrag to take Rush down. Back up and Christian offers a handshake, which allows him to sunset flip Rush for two. Rush bails to the floor for a breather before heading back inside to avoid some charges.

Christian heads outside, only to pull Rush outside for a whip into the barricade. Back in and a tilt-a-whirl gutbuster gives Christian two, setting up a roll into a crucifix hold. That’s broken up and Christian misses a charge into the corner, allowing Rush to hit a spear for two. Christian is fine enough to catch him with a kick to the face on top but Rush kicks him down.

A ripcord Spanish fly drops Rush again though and a springboard 450 gives Christian two. Rush is right back with a twisting DDT and the Final Hour gets two more. They go to the apron where Rush can’t hit a German suplex to the floor. Instead they drop down, with Christian hitting a Tombstone. Back in and a 450 double stomp finishes Rush at 12:39.

Rating: B-. Take two guys and let them do their thing for about twelve minutes, which is all you needed to do here. Christian gets the win to keep him strong until he can get his title shot. Gresham being gone is rough to see but having someone like Rush as the backup worked as well as anything else. Good match, but they weren’t about to follow that six man.

We recap Matt Cardona vs. Joey Janela. Cardona married Chelsea Green but Janela faked some pictures of the two of them by a pool together, sending Cardona over the edge. The interesting thing is that Cardona is the huge heel who is mocking all things indy and trying to turn it into WWE. This has been one of the better things going on the independent scene and Cardona has had one awesome stunt after another.

The IF CARDONA WINS WE RIOT sign is a great touch.

Joey Janela vs. Matt Cardona

Chelsea Green is here with Cardona….who comes out to Enter Sandman entrance (or at least a cover), turning the crowd completely upside down in about three seconds. The “IF CARDONA WINS WE RIOT” shirt is an even greater touch. He also has a red flannel shirt with f*** Mick Foley on the back, while Green (with the Internet Title) is in the Zack Ryder half trunks/half tights. Cardona asks what’s up GCW Universe and takes credit for the sellout. Joey Janela didn’t do it, so tonight he’s ending Janela’s career before Tony Khan can fire him.

Cardona jumps him at the bell for two and flips off the fans. The fans get in a “F*** CARDONA/WOO WOO WOO!” chant so Janela hits a Death Valley Driver through the door. The suicide dive takes out Cardona on the floor and it is time for Janela to chair him down. A top rope flip dive sends Janela crashing through the chair though and Cardona gets to chair him down. Green pulls the chair away though and kicks Cardona low for a big surprise.

Janela goes up, only to get crotched by Green because it was a ruse. Cardona shows off the cup he was wearing but Janela is fine enough to hit a superplex to put them both down. Janela grabs the title, but here is Smart Mark Sterling (of AEW fame) to say that if Janela uses the title, he’s disqualified. Commentary: “But it’s GCW!” He brings out someone who is very influential in Cardona’s career, so here is someone in a Vince McMahon mask. It’s Vincent/Virgil though, and the distraction lets Sterling grab Janela.

The belt shot takes Sterling down by mistake though and a Death Valley Driver sends Cardona into the ring frame. Cue Swoggle to post Janela but here is a huge guy named Sam Stackhouse to take Swoggle out. Now it’s Marko Stunt to throw a chair at Swoggle’s head but Cardona takes him down as well. Janela brings in a pair of doors, with Swoggle and Cardona being put through one each.

Green hits Stunt with the belt and gives him a Canadian Destroyer, leaving Cardona to AA Janela through an open chair for a near fall. Cardona loads up two doors, which really does take too long so Janela takes him out. Green’s latest interference earns herself a piledriver so here is a guy in a motorcycle helmet. That would be Brian Myers, who decks Janela and helps Cardona hit a middle rope Radio Silence through the door for the pin at 19:39.

Rating: B-. It was a bit long, but this was a lot of fun with Cardona playing a perfect troll. Cardona knows how to make these people nuts by doing everything they don’t like and now he gets to take out another one of their heroes. The big flaw here is that the match went too long and you could have cut out a good portion in the middle which was more about several other people other than Janela vs. Cardona. This was all about Cardona putting together something else to get people to care about him though, as he continues to be one of the more creative people in wrestling.

Post match Sean Waltman of all people comes in and takes out Cardona before posing with Janela. I’m sold on getting to hear The Kings again.

Here is the injured Mance Warner for a chat. He talks about how awesome GCW’s locker room and entire crew is and thanks the fans for getting them here. Cue Atticus Cougar (pronounced Co-Gar) to say 44OH are the real outlaws around here. Cougar doesn’t like Warner’s Second Gear Crew so Warner is ready to fight.

44OH comes in for the beatdown, with Matthew Justice (Warner’s partner) coming in for the failed save attempt. The lights go off (BECAUSE WRESTLING!) and it’s Bill Alfonso and Sabu making the save. Chairs to the head put 44OH down and we actually get a pin, with Fonzie counting. Pantera’s Walk plays because ECW.

Video on Allie Katch vs. Ruby Soho. Katch talks about divine destiny, meaning that if something is meant to happen, it will happen no matter what. That seems to be the case with this match, as she runs into SOHO painted on a wall. Katch was billed as a big deal during Brett Lauderdale’s pre-show speech so she means something. I don’t remember her being much more than someone who did cat-esque things as Allie Kat but maybe things have changed.

Allie Katch vs. Ruby Soho

They shake hands to start and Soho armdrags her down early on. The threat of the Riott Kick is blocked early on but so is Katch’s piledriver. That’s fine with Allie, who hits a basement dropkick for an early two. Soho is sent into the corner and it’s a running hip attack into a Cannonball for two more.

They trade kicks to the face with Soho getting rocked, only to be able to come back with a German suplex for the double knockdown. Katch takes too long going up top though and gets armdragged back down for a quick two. The Riott Kick connects for two on Katch but she’s right back with a knee into the piledriver for two of her own. With that not working, Katch loads up a super piledriver, which is countered into a Riott Kick from the middle rope to give Soho the pin at 9:31.

Rating: C. I’d hope that Katch can do more than this as it felt like any other match. This came off like a match where a star was making a guest appearance in the territory with the story of the popular star getting a shot. It wasn’t bad, but there was absolutely nothing special to this and it just came and went.

We recap Jeff Jarrett vs. Effy. Jarrett doesn’t like GCW calling themselves outlaws because he is the Last Outlaw. There has to be a huge stable out there of people who have been THE LAST OUTLAW. There have also been guitar shots to show you how serious this has been.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Effy

Effy pulls $20 out of his trunks, which the referee throws to the floor. They go with the basics to start, with Jarrett powering him into the corner. Effy’s spins to get out of a wristlock don’t work so Effy drops to his knee, which freaks Jeff out for a bit. Some shots to the ribs set up a modified Tarantula but Jarrett is back with a clothesline. They head outside with Jarrett whipping him with the belt (which seems to draw a DADDY LIKES IT chant).

Back in and it’s time for more whipping and choking, which seems to make Effy smile. Jarrett uses the belt to tie Effy in the corner, which doesn’t exactly last long. Effy is back with more rights and lefts, setting up a faceplant for two. Now it’s Effy getting to whip away but he misses a Blockbuster. The guitar takes too long for Jarrett though so Effy pulls off his fishnets for some choking. That’s too much for Jarrett, who hits him with the guitar and grabs the Stroke for the pin at 11:15.

Rating: D+. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Effy and I’m going to assume that a lot of it is due to his promos and character work, because he wasn’t doing much in the ring here. All he had was a bunch of punches and a missed Blockbuster, which isn’t exactly stealing the show. That being said, Jarrett winning is a good bit weird, as he is the second outsider in a row to beat a signature GCW name on their biggest night ever. Not a great match, but you can see how much bigger of a star Jarrett is than most of the roster. If nothing else, seeing someone who seems like he knows how to put a match together is almost a rarity around here.

GCW World Title: Homicide vs. Jon Moxley

Homicide is challenging after winning a Rumble last month. The fans chant F*** BULLY RAY to start, which has to make Moxley smile a bit. They forearm/slap it out to start before going face to face. Homicide sends him outside but the dive is cut off with a shot to the face. The fight heads outside with Homicide biting away, only to get sent shoulder first into the post.

Moxley cranks on the fingers and hits a piledriver for two For some reason Moxley goes up but it’s a super cutter to bring him back down. They trade clotheslines until Moxley grabs the Paradigm Shift for two. Moxley hammers away and Homicide seems to lose a tooth. A chair is wedged in the corner but Homicide cuts him off and strikes away. The chair is on the mat and it’s another Paradigm Shift onto said chair to give Moxley two more. Homicide flips him off and bites Moxley’s face, only to get blasted with a lariat. The lifting Paradigm Shift onto the open chair retains Moxley’s title at 11:32.

Rating: C. That’s it? This was so short that I thought I missed part of the match, as I would have bet on it going a good bit longer than Jarrett vs. Effy. Maybe that is the result of ring rust from Moxley, or just time constraints from the pay per view, but this wasn’t exactly great. It worked while it lasted, but it just didn’t last very long.

Video on the Briscoes, who are issuing an open challenge for the Tag Team Titles. Most signs would suggest that this is going to be FTR, but you never know around here.

Tag Team Titles: Briscoes vs. ???/???

The Briscoes are defending against….Nick Gage/Matt Tremont. Well you knew Gage would be on here somehow. Gage puts Nick through the door in the corner to start and it’s time for a duel of the chairs. Mark and Nick trade pieces of door shots to the head but Jay breaks up the pizza cutter. Tremont gets beaten down and the Froggy Bow onto a door gets two on Gage. Back up and Tremont hits a release Rock Bottom to plant Jay and Gage hits a middle rope piledriver on Mark. The chokebreaker gives Gage the pin and the titles at 5:35.

Rating: D. That was a Nick Gage match alright, but this time he had a huge partner to do some really basic stuff too. I know why Gage had to be on the show but it isn’t like his matches are much to see. It’s the feel good moment of the show, though having it come in a five minute match didn’t do the show many favors.

Post match Gage swears a lot and puts over his gang while bragging about how far GCW came. The locker room comes in to celebrate and we’re out.

Overall Rating: D+. One of the shows you are probably going to see this compared to is Barely Legal. While it is nowhere near that important (or good), there is one thing that does stand out. My biggest issue with Barely Legal was the lack of an explanation of why Sabu and Taz hated each other. It was the “Grudge Match of the Century” but we were never told why they were fighting. The ECW fans knew, but Barely Legal wasn’t just a show for the ECW fans.

Now do that for three hours and you have this show. There was barely anything explaining who these people were, what they were doing here, why they were fighting or ANYTHING about them. Cardona vs. Janela had a bit of backstory, but this felt like the game plan was “just keep doing what we’ve been doing (minus the deathmatch stuff, which isn’t their fault)”. It was a show that you either got or didn’t get, with GCW not offering much in the way of guidance.

On top of that, the wrestling was hit and miss at best. Everything felt rushed and very little really stood out. The lucha match was great, but you could get one of those a week on Ring of Honor. Cardona is excellent at riffing on independent wrestling, but then he won, just like Soho over what seems to be the big female star around here. This show didn’t do a thing to make me more interested in GCW and as the big debut on the national stage, it was a pretty hard miss.

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