Joey Janela’s Spring Break 8
Date: April 5, 2024
Location: Penns Landing Caterers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Veda Scott

This is one of the bigger independent shows of Wrestlemania Weekend and the biggest GCW show as well. The main event if Joey Janela himself challenging the rather unpopular Black Christian for the GCW World Title. As usual this show could be all over the place and that makes it more fun. Let’s get to it.

I only follow GCW to a certain extent so I apologize in advance for missing details about characters or storylines. I’m basically going based off what commentary or the wrestlers tell me.

Note that I was in the arena for this show, sitting in the sixth row with the entrance on my right.

In Memory of Virgil.

Opening video.

Rina Yamashita/Masha Slamovich vs. Minoru Suzuki/Masato Tanaka

Rina and Tanaka start things off with the former’s running shoulders not getting her very far. Suzuki and Slamovich come in but I can’t stop looking at a rather stupid looking fan. Looks like some overrated wrestling reviewer. Slamovich can’t get very far so it’s back to Tanaka to take her down by the arm. The fight heads out to the floor and we go split screen, which is more than most major promotions can remember to do.

Back in and Suzuki stomps away at Slamovich in the corner before Tanaka just slaps her in the face. It’s back to Suzuki who alternates between cranking on various limbs to keep Slamovich down. Slamovich manages a quick suplex and it’s back to Rina to pick things up. We get the “let’s stand here and exchange forearms”, with Suzuki getting the better of things.

Tanaka comes in for a top rope superplex, which he rolls into another suplex. Rina gets away for the tag back to Slamovich, who strikes both guys down. A double powerbomb gets two on Tanaka and let’s get a door. Splash Mountain through the door is broken up by Suzuki, who is sent outside. Tanaka puts Slamovich (mostly) through the table for two but Slamovich is right back with a crucifix for the pin at 13:48.

Rating: C+. This was a nice start as the fans are always going to react to Suzuki and Tanaka was a big enough deal in ECW for the local fans. Other than that, it didn’t get too violent and that left us with a mostly clean tag match. It’s nice to see something like that on a show that has a tendency to get nuts, though I’m sure that’s coming later.

Rock N Roll Express/Kerry Morton vs. East West Express/Mike Bailey

The Rock N Roll (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) are legends (as opposed to the East/West of Jordan Oliver and Nick Wayne) and of course good guys but Kerry (Ricky’s son) is a loudmouthed heel. Before the match, Kerry tells the fans to shut the f*** up and asks who all of these people think they are to get in the ring with the. And then the fans BOO HIM??? Kerry jumps the three of them from behind to no avail and it’s a neckbreaker into Bailey’s shooting star press for two.

Wayne and Oliver start working on the arm before it’s off to Ricky, who gets elbowed in the face. Ricky tells Wayne to run the ropes but Kerry gets in a cheap shot, which doesn’t work for Kerry. The fans sing their disdain for Kerry, who doesn’t take kindly to it but does take Wayne down with a slingshot suplex. Wayne manages a running uppercut for a breather and it’s Bailey coming back in to pick up the pace.

Oliver snaps off a double chop and…bounces up and down a lot. The East/West comes in for their double cutter out of the corner but Kerry shoves the referee into the ropes for the break, earning him a big yelling from Ricky. He even slaps Kerry and I guess that’s enough for Ricky to be Legal. A Canadian Destroyer hits Wayne and he dives onto a bunch of people, including Kerry. The Mortons hit stereo dropkicks for two on Wayne as Bailey makes the save. Oliver and Wayne are back in though and it’s the double cutter for the pin on Ricky at 9:21.

Rating: C+. This was more about Ricky vs. Kerry than anything else while also having the Rock N Roll in there. It made for a good enough story, but the action was only so good. You can only get so much out of the Rock N Roll these days and while that’s fair enough, it was smart to keep this relatively short. And of course with Bailey in there, because he comes complete with every Wrestlemania Weekend show.

Dragon Gate Classic vs. Reiwa New Generation

That would be Dragon Kid/Kzy/Yamato vs. Ben-K/Kota Minoura/Shun Skywalker. Yamato and Ben start things off and they go to the mat for the grappling exchange. With that not working, Kzy and Minoura come in and the latter doesn’t think much of what appears to be dancing. That doesn’t work either, so it’s off to the masked Skywalker and the, uh, also masked Kid.

A Stundog Millionaire drops Skywalker so Ben and Minoura come in for an assisted kick to Kid’s face. Ben does his rotating gutwrench suplex to drop Kid again, followed by Skywalker’s suplex to keep Kid in trouble. Minoura comes back in with a Boston crab, sending Kid straight to the ropes.

Kid finally manages to get in a shot of his own and it’s back to Yamato to pick up the pace. Kzy hits a big dive to the floor, leaving Yamato to suplex Ben for two. Minoura gets super hurricanranaed down and Kzy’s frog splash gets two more. Back up and Skywalker monkey flips Kzy into Kid and Yamato but Kzy forearms the heck out of Skywalker. Minoura is back in and gets caught in a crucifix to give Kid the pin at 13:53.

Rating: B. They were doing the showcase route here and that went rather well. It’s a case where you take a bunch of talented people and let them go out there for a bunch of fun spots for a good while. It worked well here with everyone going nuts until someone got the pin. Rather entertaining stuff here and it went exactly as it should have.

Cole Radrick vs. Aigle Blanc vs. Alec Price vs. Arez vs. Leon Slater vs. Marcus Mathers vs. Mr. Danger vs. Myron Reed

Grab The Brass Ring ladder match, with a Sonic looking ring above the ring, meaning the winner gets a shot at any title on demand. It’s a big brawl to start and everyone heads outside and thankfully we go split screen again. Radrick and Blanc grab chairs and go back inside for a duel, with Radrick knocking him right back to the floor. Mathers comes back in to kick the chair into Radrick’s head before it’s Danger coming in for a springboard legdrop to knock a ladder onto Reed’s face.

Now it’s Arez and Mathers picking up a ladder to clear a few people out, only to have Blanc break it up. We get the required ladder around the head (Price’s in this case) so he can spin around rather quickly to knock a bunch of people down. Price is down as well so it’s Microman, who stands 3’3, in with a tiny ladder of his own. He does his own ladder spin, resulting in a bunch of low blows for even more knockdowns. Microman sends Mathers into a ladder in the corner and there’s a headscissors to Price.

Back up and Price nails a clothesline before going up. Arez breaks that up with a springboard cutter so Radrick grabs the ladder, only to have that broken up as well. Mathers shoves a ladder over to send Danger into another ladder. Blanc misses a Swanton onto the ladder, allowing Slater to hit a Swanton 450 (that looks cool) to crush Blanc again. Mathers powerbombs Blanc onto a bunch of people on the floor but Reed pulls him off the ladder.

A F5 onto the top into a Downward Spiral plants Mathers but Price sends Reed face first into the ladder. There’s the big dive to the pile on the floor, leaving Slater to hit the huge dive over the post. A bunch of people check on Slater until Reed dives over the top for a cutter onto the pile. Danger goes up for the huge moonsault onto a bunch of people, leaving the fans pleased and everyone else down. Back in and Danger goes up but Radrick slows him down. Mathers and Price go up as well before going crashing down, leaving Radrick to knock Danger off and win at 17:06.

Rating: B-. This was the big cluster (ok maybe not the best word on a Joey Janela show) ladder match and it worked rather well. It’s the best way to have this many people on the roster at once as the fans get to see a bunch of stars in one match. It helps that there were stakes with this being similar to the Money In The Bank ladder match. There were a lot of people out there, but at least they kept things moving well enough.

Matt Cardona vs. Blue Pain

Cardona, with Steph de Lander and Jimmy Lloyd, is dressed as Macho King (with Queen Steph) and lets us know how lucky we are to have him. He was on TNA AND AEW recently and this weekend, his best friend Cody Rhodes will finish his story. Pain on the other hand is better known as Blue Kane and he’s kind of the Xanta Claus version of Kane: he wears blue, he controls cold instead of fire, he comes out to Eiffel 65’s Blue song, and he weighs two Cease And Desist Orders.

Cardona strikes away to start and gets scared out to the floor, as the flashbacks to the old US Title days are still real (that’s a weirdly clever idea). Back in and Pain uppercuts Cardona right back to the floor, meaning it’s time to stalk Cardona into the crowd. They fight into the balcony (not that high) and Pain loads up a table, only to get hit in the eyes with…something. Lloyd has to make the save but gets put in a chair and sent through the table (call back to Kane vs. Cardona back in WWE).

They get back in, where a de Lander distraction lets Cardona knock Pain off the top, setting up stereo Broski Boots. An Urn is brought in but Cardona hits de Lander by mistake (she urned that one), allowing Pain to hit the top rope clothesline. A chokeslam gets two, with de Lander pulling the referee out.

Radio Silence connects and another referee, dressed like Zack Ryder and coming out to the Zack Ryder theme, comes in to count two but flips Cardona off and kicks him low. Pain fights up with a chokeslam attempt, only to have Ryder hit him low, as Cardona reveals (and drops to the floor) a cup. That doesn’t work either so chokeslams abound until Lloyd is back. A fireball to the face (oddly appropriate) blinds Pain and Radio Silence lets all four villains pile on for the pin at 9:04.

Rating: B-. We can call this the definition of “stupid, goofy fun” and that is not a bad thing. Cardona is a big deal around here and it’s nice to see him getting to do something as silly as beating up a blue version of a monster who messed with him about ten years ago. Sometimes you need to do something ridiculous to give the fans a good time and that is exactly what happened here.

Gringo Loco vs. Amazing Red

This should be fun. Feeling out process to start with neither being able to get anywhere, including Red offering a clean break. They run the ropes and exchange some near falls until Red pauses on a big kick to the head. Loco isn’t having a handshake and knocks him outside, only to have Red snap off a hurricanrana.

The dive drops Loco again and Red sends him into the chairs before going back inside for the chops. Loco fights up and knocks him to the floor this time, only to let Red get back in due to that pesky respect stuff. Back in and a tornado DDT gives Red two more as they’re going back and forth here. Loco’s sitout powerbomb gives him two of his own but a top rope superplex is broken up.

Instead Red sends him down for a top rope faceplant but Loco hits a standing version for two more. Another powerbomb is countered into a hurricanrana to give Red two so they both go up. This time it’s a super Spanish Fly to give Loco another near fall and they’re both a bit winded. Loco loads up…something but gets kicked in the back, allowing Red to take him up top for a super poisonrana. A top rope double stomp into a frog splash into Code Red is enough to give Red the pin at 15:55.

Rating: B. This was a way more straightforward match and it went rather well. After having all of the goofiness before and the violence that is still scheduled, it is nice to have something like this. Red is way past his prime but can still do some rather nice things. Loco is still more than good enough as well and they had a rather solid match here, at least given the circumstances.

Respect is shown post match.

We recap Mance Warner vs. Effy in an I Quit match. The commentary before the video said they’re former stablemates and now hate each other, but we’re not told why or what happened. Warner is rather violent though and apparently stabbed Effy with a drill to the head. As you do.

Effy vs. Mance Warner

I Quit and the fans do not like Warner whatsoever. We even get the Big Match Intros to really make this feel special. Warner hammers away to start and strikes away, only to charge into a German suplex. Effy hits a running boot in the corner and flips into something like a dragon sleeper. That’s broken up so Effy hits a spear to take Warner down again.

It’s time to bring in some chairs, one of which is thrown over the top and onto Warner’s head. Effy chairs him down and loads up a door, but does stop to chair Warner down again in a smart move. Warner is fine enough to spinebuster him through an open chair and a spinning DDT through the table connects. It’s way too early for Effy to quit so Warner chairs him down again.

Back up and Effy sends him through another door for another no, setting up a piledriver onto the chairs. Effy tries a Rough Ryder but is quickly powerbombed down onto the chairs as well. That’s nowhere near enough so let’s steal the referee’s belt to whip Effy over the back. Effy shrugs that off and grabs the belt, which he wraps around his fist to punch Warner in the face.

Some whipping in the corner makes Warner say no again and it’s time to bridge a door between some chairs. Choking takes too long though and Effy gets sent through the door, which is good for another no. They slug it out on the apron, with Effy snapping off a standing Blockbuster. Another door is loaded up at ringside but Warner grabs a chokeslam to send him through it as the violence continues.

Back in and they trade pieces of door shots to the head. Effy gets the better of things again and they trade low blows to put them both down again. Warner whips out a screwdriver to hit Effy in the head and it’s time to bring out some zip ties. The bloody Effy is tied to the top rope and Warner throws a chair at his head. That’s still a no so here is Allie Katch (Effy’s partner) with the drill…but Warner chairs her down and loads up the drill. Effy quits to save Katch at 21:47.

Rating: B-. This was the match that caught my eye more than anything else on the card and it told a story (unlike the story that we weren’t given about how we got here) but it never really got to that next level. Instead it was just a bunch of hitting people with stuff until they did the ending. It wasn’t bad, but I was expecting more in what felt like it could have been one of the best things on the show.

We recap Nick Gage/Maki Itoh vs. Danhausen/Ram Kaicho. Gage was unhappy with Danhausen for costing him a win so it’s time to bring in a partner each.

Nick Gage/Maki Itoh vs. Danhausen/Ram Kaicho

Kaicho appears to be a bit dead and Gage and Itoh have Discount Dewey Donovan with them (he still has a website, where he brags about how little effort he has put into it and has not updated it in about 18 years). The fans REALLY do not like Danhausen during the Big Match Intros and even he seems a bit surprised.

Danhausen and Gage start things off but Danhausen wants Itoh instead. The curse is blocked with a middle finger so Danhausen grabs a headlock. Itoh gets knocked down and Danhausen drops a falling headbutt, a signature Itoh spot. Back up and Itoh knocks him down so it’s off to Kaicho, who uses her….death dust to blind Itoh? With that shrugged off, Itoh hammers away in the corner and hits a running boot for two. Gage comes in and knocks a crossbodying Itoh down and an elbow makes it worse.

Itoh DDTs her way to freedom and hands it off to Danhausen to slug away at Gage, followed by the flying shoulder. Everything breaks down and Gage pulls Danhausen outside, where it’s time to grab a door. All four get inside and it’s a four way knockdown, with Gage grabbing the pizza cutter.

Kaicho blasts him with the dust though and hits a dropkick to put Gage through the door in the corner. Danhausen pizza cutters Itoh and pours the teeth in her mouth, setting up the running booth. Back up and Gage sends Danhausen through another door as Itoh drops Kaicho. Stereo falling headbutts give Gage and Itoh the stereo pins at 13:01.

Rating: C+. What were you expecting here? It was basically a way to have Gage vs. Danhausen and it wasn’t exactly good. Gage is as big of a star as he can be around here and more or less it gave him a way to get on the card. Danhausen has fallen really hard in recent months and while he’s not done yet, it would be nice to see him getting to do something else to freshen things up a bit.

Post match Gage thanks the fans so the winners can leave.

We recap Blake Christian defending the GCW World Title against Joey Janela. No one likes Christian so it’s time for Janela to save the title from a horrible champion. He’s also standing up to Christian for going after Missy Hyatt, because that is a thing that is happening in 2024.

GCW World Title: Blake Christian vs. Joey Janela

Christian, with Shane Mercer, is defending and Missy Hyatt (with Gucci purse) is here with Janela. We get the Big Match Intros and Janela is in the Lex Luger Summerslam 1993 gear, which can’t go badly whatsoever. The mic goes out during Christian’s entrance because even the electronics don’t like Christian.

They fight over a lockup to start and that goes a grand total of nowhere. Janela shoulders him out to the floor but Christian is back in to slug away. A backdrop does a bit better for Janela and it’s time for a door. That takes too long so it’s Christian hitting a dive to send the door into Janela for a change. We hit the hair pull, followed by a chinlock, which isn’t a good sign less than ten minutes into the match.

Janela fights up but gets sent outside, where Mercer puts him into the post. Christian sends him face first through a chair and even busts out a cartwheel inside. Back up and Janela manages a quick cutter into a brainbuster for two, meaning frustration is starting to set in. That takes too long so Christian is back up with a springboard elbow for two of his own.

Stereo clotheslines give us a double knockdown, followed by a DDT to plant Christian onto the apron. The door is set up at ringside but Christian slips out of a Death Valley Driver. Back in and Janela snaps off a German suplex, followed by the Death Valley Driver for two. Janela takes too much time going up and gets knocked down, allowing Christian to hit a springboard 450 for two of his own.

Christian sends him outside for the big flip dive into a Nightmare On Helm Street on the floor. A moonsault press is countered back inside and Janela hits a quick jackknife. Janela grabs a chair to knock Christian down and then wraps the chair around his head. Mercer offers a quick distraction though and it’s Christian coming back with a spinebuster through the chair.

A Stomp gives Christian two and the shock sets in quickly. Mercer throws in a mostly broken door and some chairs but Hyatt comes in, meaning Janela has to make the save. Janela knocks Mercer off the top and through another table at ringside, setting up a superplex through that rather lame looking door.

A top rope stomp onto the door onto Christian gets two but he’s back up with a quick DDT. They slug it out from their knees until Hyatt grabs Christian’s leg (only took her two tries). Christian pulls her in so Janela makes the save…and Hyatt hits Janela with the Gucci bag. A stomp onto the bag retains the title at 29:44.

Rating: D+. Janela has a tendency to go long in his matches and that was certainly the case here. This is a match that could have easily had fifteen minutes chopped off as they just didn’t have much going on here. Christian can do the moves well but he isn’t exactly a thrilling star otherwise. Janela did what he could but they couldn’t have telegraphed the ending any harder. Not a good main event, mainly as it went on WAY too long.

The fans throw in trash (the referee is NOT happy) to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This show started off well enough but it went on about four hours in total and the fans were just done by the main event. It’s a show where they needed to cut some time off from more than a few matches. I liked the show well enough and a good chunk of it had some of that strong GCW crowd energy, but the main event was rough. It doesn’t help that there is nothing worth going out of your way to see. Spring Break is supposed to be one of the really fun events and this was more forgettable than anything else.

Results
Rina Yamashita/Masha Slamovich b. Minoru Suzuki/Masato Tanaka – Crucifix to Tanaka
East West Express/Mike Bailey b. Rock N Roll Express/Kerry Morton – Double middle rope cutter to Ricky
Dragon Gate Classic b. Reiwa New Generation – Crucifix to Minoura
Cole Radrick won the Grab The Brass Ring Ladder Match
Matt Cardona b. Blue Pain – Radio Silence
Amazing Red b. Gringo Loco – Code Red
Mance Warner b. Effy when Effy quit
Nick Gage/Maki Itoh b. Danhausen/Ram Kaicho – Stereo falling headbutts
Blake Christian b. Joey Janela – Stomp onto a Gucci bag

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Joey Janela’s Spring Break 2
Date: April 6, 2018
Location: Pontchartrain Convention & Civic Center, Kenner, Louisiana
Attendance: 1,500
Commentators: Denver Colorado, Emil J

I’ve done parts of this series before so I figured I might as well knock off the rest of them. This show features a match that I’ve always wanted to see as it started one of the strangest comeback stories in wrestling history. Other than that, we’re in for a total mess and that is absolutely by design. Let’s get to it.

The opening video is designed after what looks to be a 16 bit video game, with Joey Janela and Glacier going after Marty Jannetty on the streets….where Jannetty lights Dink on fire to clear the stage. The second stage features Janela and Jannetty shooting at a Barber Shop (which can shoot back). With the shop destroyed, Shawn Michaels pops out of a DeLorean and superkicks Jannetty. That was different.

James Ellsworth is in a toy store and talks about working in WWE before coming here in his return to the independent scene. Tonight he’s ready to fight Matt Riddle, who doesn’t think much of Ellsworth.

Nick Gage music video. Is this just a really long pre-show?

David Starr talks about what wrestling has done for him and tonight, he’s ready for Mike Quackenbush. This is a really long pre-show isn’t it?

Quackenbush is in, and says so to Starr’s face.

Video on the Great Sasuke vs. Joey Janela, the show’s main event.

There’s going to be a Clusterf*** Battle Royal.

We start the series of videos from the beginning again as I guess we’ve got some time to kill before the show starts.

After 24 minutes of the videos looping, we’re ready to go, meaning we get to hear the commentators getting ready for the show and going over the match order.

The opening video is modeled after the WWF Attitude Era intro.

We open with a video on Joey Janela, which is basically a recreation of The Wrestler.

Teddy Hart vs. KTB vs. Tony Deppen vs. Eli Everfly vs. Gringo Loco vs. DJZ

One fall to a finish and DJZ would go on to become Joqauin Wilde in WWE. It’s a brawl to start (duh) with Everfly being sent outside. Deppen clears the ring but gets anklescissored down by Loco. Everfly is back in to snap off a headscissors before he and Loco come to a standoff. Hold on though as DJZ is back with his air horn but gets cleared out again. Hart walks on KTB’s back before pulling him into a sunset flip for two.

A torture rack backbreaker sends Deppen outside and a Project Ciampa hits Everfly. With a helping hand from the referee, Hart moonsaults onto a bunch of people on the floor. KTB dives onto everyone (Hart doesn’t go down) and Everfly hits a dive of his own. Back in and a springboard tornado DDT plants KTB and a super hurricanrana gives Everfly two on Loco. KTB comes off the top to dive onto everyone but Hart, who DDTs KTB down.

A Lionsault misses for KTB and Loco hits a springboard cutter to bring him down again. DJZ is back up and sunset bombs Loco into a moonsault onto KTB before hitting them both with a rolling DDT. Everfly hurricanranas Hart to the floor and takes Deppen up top for a…..super flipping Jay Driller (commentary: “He can’t do that!”) and the pin at 11:06.

Rating: B-. I’m not big on scrambles like this one, but there is something to be said about doing this kind of acrobatics and flips all over the place. It was certainly a fun match and the right way to fire up the crowd to start the show. Everfly’s finisher was completely nutty, making it perfect for a show like this one. Very fun stuff here and believe it or not, the fans loved it.

James Ellsworth vs. Matt Riddle

Ellsworth’s intergender title isn’t on the line (and I’m assuming Riddle’s unidentified title isn’t either). Ellsworth chop blocks him from behind before the bell but Riddle snaps off a gutwrench suplex to drop him as well. Fans: “WHERE’S YOUR CHIN?” Riddle hits a running forearm in the corner and the backsplash makes it worse. Riddle’s running knee just misses….because Ellsworth doesn’t have a chin. A superkick gives Ellsworth one but another is countered into the Bromission to give Riddle the win at 3:38.

Rating: C. Well yeah, what were you expecting? This was always going to be total destruction and it shouldn’t have been anything else. Ellsworth was always a joke and that’s how he was treated here, with Riddle, the indy prodigy, running through him. The missed knee was funny and then Riddle finished him off, as he should have done. That’s oddly logical from a show like this but I’ll take it.

Ellsworth flips off the crowd on the way out in a nice touch.

The ring announcer is ready to introduce the next match and….Virgil interrupts? He calls someone out (the audio isn’t exactly clear), gets no one, and leaves.

PCO vs. Walter

PCO isn’t the monster just yet. Before the match, Walter offers a chance to walk out but PCO gives him a crotch chop and we’re ready to go. They circle each other to start and PCO takes him into the corner for some taps to the chest. Walter works on the arm and gets kicked away without much trouble. PCO knocks him outside and loads up the dive, only to get run over with a shoulder.

The chop off ensues until Walter grabs a slam and sits on his chest. Some choking on the ropes keeps PCO down but he chops his way out of trouble. A kick to the head and short DDT put Walter down and it’s time to head outside. PCO loads up the first table but takes too long and gets dropped down onto the apron. Walter blocks a powerbomb off the apron and sends PCO hard into the steps, but the big chop only hits post.

As he’s a bit off, PCO goes up top and moonsaults down onto Walter and the referee for the big triple knockdown. Granted there was almost no length to the dive so it’s a wonder that he hit the two of them as well as he did. Walter is up first and powerbombs PCO through the table before doing it again (sans table) inside.

The second referee comes in for the two count so PCO gets booted in the face. The chops just wake PCO up though and he opens his own shirt so Walter can chop him again. PCO wins a chop off and the fans are actually on their feet as Walter looks scared. A discus forearm puts Walter on the floor for a suicide dive and a running flip dive takes him down again.

Back in and a super hurricanrana gives PCO two but Walter flips him over with a release German suplex. PCO is right back with a Regal Roll into a split legged moonsault for two (and another standing ovation). Back up and PCO hits a top rope Swanton to finally put Walter away at 18:29.

Rating: B+. Oh yeah this was rather awesome as it was all about two big guys beating each other up and hitting each other really hard. Walter was already a big deal but this would be a nice boost to his career. At the same time, it kicked off one of the most improbably career resurgences as PCO would turn this into an incredible second act to his career. It’s easy to see why too, as this was just hard hitting pain for the sake of beating on each other, with those chops making my skin crawl.

Post match they trade another chop each and shake hands before Walter leaves.

GCW World Title: Penta El Zero M vs. Nick Gage

Gage is defending and swears a lot before the bell. We get a CERO MIEDO vs. MDK chant off until Gage knocks him outside. The dive is cut off with a chair to the head and Penta chairs him again for a bonus. Penta’s chop hits the post though (with commentary pointing out that it’s two matches in a row) but is fine enough to grab some doors. Gage hiptosses him through a door in the corner and grabs a Falcon Arrow for two.

The boot scrape is cut off though and Penta Death Valley Drivers him through another door. A piece of the door over the head rocks Gage again and Penta puts some pieces onto Gage onto a table. The backsplash off the barricade doesn’t put Gage through said table in a nasty crash. Back in and Penta bridges a door over some chairs and Pentagon Drivers him through the door for two. Penta sets up another similar structure but gets powerbombed off the ropes through it instead. The chokebreaker retains Gage’s title at 9:27.

Rating: D+. This felt like a match where the idea was “Gage vs. this guy” and they didn’t have any more thought put into it. Gage didn’t do much of anything here and then retained in the end after Penta had done so much. That didn’t make for an interesting or even fun match from the usual freak show standards, so this was kind of a wreck.

Respect is shown post match. Penta leaves and Gage yells at the fans, who don’t seem to like him. Then he high fives a bunch of fans on the way out so he’s quite an odd duck.

Mike Quackenbush vs. David Starr

Starr does his long introduction and commentary (featuring Walter for this match) will not shut up, saying no one cares what Starr has to say. They fight over arm control to start until Starr gets two off a Thesz press. Back up and they shake hands before Mike climbs the rope and armdrags him into a leglock which he rolls over for what appeared to be a Crossface attempt, sending Starr to the rope.

Mike stomps on the foot and sweeps the leg, setting up some double knees to the ribs. The abdominal stretch goes on and even Walter is impressed by the series of twists it took for Mike to get it on. With that broken up, Starr Death Valley Drivers him into the corner twice in a row, followed by a springboard clothesline to the floor. Starr doesn’t want the countout so he throws Mike back in and gets tossed off the top for his efforts.

A Swanton gives Mike two but his hurricanrana is countered into a powerbomb for two. Starr kicks him in the head for two, which has Walter wanting Mike to win because Starr is “acting like a d***.” A nice tornado DDT sends Starr outside but the big dive is cut off, with Starr driving him into the apron. Back in and Mike grabs a double arm crank but Starr slips out and blasts him with a clothesline for the pin at 11:37.

Rating: B-. This was the technical match of the night so far, with Starr being just enough of a villain to make it a little uneven. What mattered here was getting in something different on the show and they made it work. These two worked well together and you could hear Walter being impressed on commentary so there had to be something to this one.

Commentary: “Walter is it fair to say that the better man won?” Walter: “No.” Starr grabs the mic and puts Mike over before saying how glad he was for being on this show.

Clusterf*** Battle Royal

This is a Royal Rumble with pinfalls, submissions and over the top eliminations, though the entrance intervals are going to be shaky at best. We see some people in the back trying to check into the match, including MJF in a blonde wig disguise. Jimmy Lloyd is in at #1 and Session Moth Martina (she likes beer) is in at #2. Martina dances a lot and gets kissed for her efforts as Orange Cassidy (still just an indy guy and not a phenomenon yet) is in at #3.

Cassidy takes so long to come in that Wheeler Yuta (looking about 17 years old) comes in at #4 and Curt Stallion comes in at #5 for the grapple off. Yuta rolls him up for two and it’s Facade in at #6 to strike away at Stallion. Facade sends him outside and adds a rope walk moonsault onto everyone outside (as no one has been eliminated yet). Back in and a running kick to the head pins Stallion for our first elimination. Swoggle is in at #7 and snaps off some German suplexes.

With Swoggle cleaning house, Grado is in at #8 and he seems immune to German suplexes. Apparently Grado is quite intoxicated and Kikutaro is in at #9 and crotches himself while trying Old School. As some other wrestlers come back in….the Invisible Man is in at #10. House is cleaned and Kikutaro is tossed before Swoggle taps to a Fujiwara armbar. Joe Gacy is in at #11 and slugs it out with Yuta, including the handspring cutter. Bryan Idol is in at #12 and gets to clean some house before Chris Dickinson, in a mask, smoking a cigarette, and coming out to Real American, knocks out Facade.

Gacy is tossed and Yuta is Razor’s Edged out onto the pile (some are still in, some aren’t) at ringside. Dickinson hits Hulk Hogan’s finishing sequence to get rid of Grado and is left alone (I think). Dan Severn is in at #13 and they go with the grappling (after issues at yesterday’s Bloodsport). Alabama Doink (sure) is in at #14 and gets tossed by Severn, who is eliminated by Dickinson. Rickey Shane Page is in at #15 and beats up Dickinson….as well as the still in Lloyd.

With that not working, Marcus Crane comes in at #16 and gets beaten up by Dickinson. Aeroboy (a masked luchador with another masked man apparently named Crazy Boy….who looks like Excalibur) is in at #17 and starts cleaning house, with a Swanton into a double pin getting rid of Dickinson. Rory Gulak (or Drew, according to the rather drunk commentary team) is in at #18 and doesn’t like the idea of the match (with the sign to prove it). Nate Webb is in at #19 and walks through the crowd as Rory beats people up inside.

Everyone gets out of the ring as the fans sing Webb’s song. After taking over the camera, Webb gets inside and plants Gulak with something like a spinning Big Ending for the elimination. Ethan Page is in at #20 so Gulak kicks him in the head. That earns Webb a trip into the corner and it’s MJF (no wig) in at #21.

The masked men go after Page and MJF, with the villains tossing out the luchadors. With them gone, MJF Codebreakers Page into a rollup for the elimination. Martina (hey she’s still in this) comes back in and puts a condom on her face for a Mandible Claw on Page. She also wraps her legs around MJF’s hand for the female version of Joey Ryan’s penis suplex. Then Page rolls her up for the elimination. Cassidy finally gets in for the lazy strikes (the fans approve) and a double chokeslam pus the villains down.

That lets Cassidy go up….and fall off the top so MJF and Page can pin him at the same time. The Invisible Man beats both of them up until Lloyd gives him a piledriver…..which is illegal in Louisiana so Lloyd is eliminated. Page and MJF double team Webb for a double two count so they beat up referee Bryce Remsburg. That results in a beating from Remsburg, who gets sent outside.

Mikey Whipwreck is in at #22 (oh yeah this is a battle royal) and beats the villains up until MJF elbows him in the face. The Whippersnapper (Stunner) sends Page into a spinning faceplant from Webb for the pin and we’re down to….however many are still in this thing. MJF shoves Mikey off the ropes and hits a splash for the pin. A poke to the eye stuns Webb and MJF throws him out….but the Invisible Man rolls MJF up for the win at 39:38.

Rating: D. This right here? It was dumb. I get the idea of having a bunch of people involved and all that jazz but my goodness did this not hold my interest. I’m sure the live crowd (plus a lot of alcohol) really enjoyed it but it was a bunch of indy stars coming in, doing a little something and then moving on. It’s also one of those battle royals where it is virtually impossible to keep track of who is in there and who isn’t as people will stand outside for such long stretches. These things can be fun, but this didn’t have any big surprises or cool moments, leaving it as something that just kept going.

Joey Janela vs. Great Sasuke

Penelope Ford, in a Mardi Gras mask, is here with Janela. Sasuke comes to the ring with what looks like holy water to bless fans. A quick takedown doesn’t get either of them very far so they go to a grappling sequence with Janela twisting the fingers around. Sasuke nips up though and sits in the middle of the ring, which has Janela worried. Back up and Sasuke…apparently hypnotizes Janela and then spins his hand around, causing Janela to flip himself over.

Sasuke puts him in a chair at ringside and loads up a ladder, only to be whipped into it instead. Back up and Sasuke sends him flying off the top and onto the table for a nasty crash. Sasuke brings it back inside and puts Janela on the ladder for a missed Swanton, leaving Sasuke’s heck caught in said ladder. Janela grabs an inflatable alligator to crush Sasuke before loading up six chairs back to back.

With Janela going up top, Sasuke powerbombs him down onto the chairs in one of those STOP DOING THAT bumps. Sasuke hits him in the head with a door and then whips him through another in the corner. They slug it out on the apron and there’s a Death Valley Driver to plant Sasuke (Janela: “F*** YOU JIM CORNETTE!”). With Sasuke in a chair at ringside, Janela misses a top rope flip dive, only hitting the chair instead.

Janela is laid on a table and a big running flip dive drives him through it, which draws in Ford. A dance distracts Sasuke and Janela grabs a figure four. Sasuke gets to the rope, which rightly has commentary asking “IN THIS MATCH?” Janela misses a moonsault and gets laid over another table at ringside, allowing Sasuke to try and put a trashcan over himself and climb up.

This proves rather difficult (as you might have guessed) so he just throws it at Janela instead, setting up a Swanton onto Janela onto the table for the huge crash. Back in and Janela gets two (as Sasuke is mostly dead) but can’t believe the kickout. A Michinoku Driver onto the side of the ladder gives Janela two more, followed by a top rope double stomp onto a chair onto Sasuke for the pin at 25:16.

Rating: D+. To say this just kept going would be an understatement. It turned into little more than a hardcore brawl and that isn’t the most thrilling thing to see. Sasuke did a bunch of flips, but it didn’t exactly feel like a special match. Chop this in half and have some more wrestling and it’s much better, but it didn’t work for the most part, mainly due to the length and feeling like an indy street fight.

Post match Janela puts Sasuke over huge and thanks the fans, talking about how he can’t believe all this happened. Sasuke gets in a quick thank you of his own and they do a quick karaoke version of It’s My Life by Bon Jovi (sure) to end the show.

Overall Rating: C-. This is a show where it depends on your viewing location. Watching this live in person would have been a blast, though watching it back at home just doesn’t work so well. The Quackenbush vs. Starr and PCO vs. Walter matches are both good (the latter being very good) but the rest of the show is mostly skippable. These shows would get better, but it took some time to get the formula of “fun indy show” down. For now, it isn’t quite working yet, but it could have been a lot worse. Just kind of a not great show that went on too long.

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Gringo Loco’s The Wrld On Lucha
Date: April 1, 2023
Location: Ukranian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Emil J, Nick Knowledge

This is a themed show as we have nothing but lucha libre on the show. That alone should make this something interesting and hopefully it can live up to the concept. I’ve seen the previous version of this show and it went well so they do at least have an idea of what to do. Let’s get to it.

Mago vs. Willie Mack vs. Shane Mercer vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Bobby Flaco vs. Jack Cartwheel

We get the six way test of strength to start….and now let’s have the dance off. The fans seem to favor Mack but Flaco snaps off a hurricanrana to get things going. Mago gets to clean house, including a suicide dive to take out Cartwheel, followed by a springboard tornado DDT to Cartwheel back inside. Flair gets to clean house, including a top rope cutter to Mago.

Mercer, the strongest guy here, suplexes tosses Flaco over the top and down to Mack, who powerbombs him onto the apron. Back in and we get the Mack vs. Mercer showdown, with Mack changing his mind to dive onto the pile. Mercer’s springboard moonsault is broken up but we get a few more dives to make up for it.

Mercer cuts off Cartwheel’s dive and knocks him down, allowing Mercer to Asai moonsault onto a bunch of people. That leaves Cartwheel to hit the big Sasuke Special before some people get back inside. A bunch of people get to knock someone else down, with Mercer planting Flaco but walking into Mack’s sitout powerbomb. Mago drops Mack but Cartwheel hits a Red Arrow to finish Mago at 9:50.

Rating: C+. It’s the scramble match so you can only get so much out of the thing. This was about having a bunch of people in there so they could get in as much as they could in about ten minutes. The winner here is pretty much a footnote, but Cartwheel was getting to show off enough that a win is fine. Nothing that hasn’t been done a bunch before, but they did it well enough.

Sexy Star vs. Dulce Tormenta

They take their time to start before fighting over wrist control and then exchange rollups for two each. Back up and they go toe to toe until Tormenta sends her outside for the dive. Back in and Star hits a dive of her own as this is even so far. Dulce is whipped into some chairs and Star takes her, plus a door, back inside. They trade spanks until Star sends her….into but not through the door in the corner.

The Death Valley Driver through the door rocks Tormenta and it’s time for some thumbtacks. Naturally Torments fights out and slams Star into the tacks instead. The running knees in the corner rock Star but she’s right there for a slug out. They trade release German suplexes and both of them are down. Tormenta rolls Two Amigos until Star rolls her up for two. There’s a flapjack for two on Star and Tormenta adds Three Amigos. A package piledriver finishes Star at 12:35.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t a classic but it was a hard enough hitting match between two women who are capable of doing well. What mattered here was beating each other up as well as they could and thankfully they got some time to do their thing. I’ve seen both of them before and they were at their bests here. I’m not sure where, but I could go with seeing them on a higher level.

Aramis/Komander/Rey Horus vs. Arez/Black Taurus/Latigo

It’s a brawl to start with Taurus getting superkicked out to the floor. That leaves Komander and company to do the big stereo flip dives and the fans approve. Back in and Latigo knees Aramis in the face and kicks him in the back of the head to send him outside. Komander takes Latigo down with a headscissors. The double springboard hurricanrana sends Latigo flying but Arez dropkicks Komander into the corner.

Rey comes back in and runs the ropes before hitting a discus clothesline to Arez in the corner. Taurus is back to reverse Sling Blade Horus, leaving commentary in awe of what he is doing. Aramis tries to fight back but gets caught with a cheap shot from behind. Komander gets chopped hard in the corner and Aramis gets the same. Latigo hurricanranas Aramis into the corner and Taurus hits a hard running shoulder to the ribs.

The villains even tease going after Aramis’ mask before a powerbomb/neckbreaker combination plants Horus. Komander gets stomped down in the corner so Taurus goes for the mask. Aramis is back up, allowing Komander to stand on the villains’ shoulder and moonsault down onto Taurus on the floor. Latigo strikes away at Aramis into Roderick Strong’s End of Heartache.

Taurus’ double crucifix bomb hits Komander and Hours, setting up Arez’s step up Lionsault. One heck of a backbreaker drops Horus but Komander Canadian Destroyers Taurus. Latigo kicks Aramis in the face and all six of them go down. Back up and they slug it out until Arez is left alone. Horus and Aramis dive onto the other two as Komander hits a rope walk shooting star press for the pin at 14:07.

Rating: B-. They went with the insanity style here again but this one didn’t quite get to the next level. What mattered was having a bunch of people, including some who don’t get a ton of coverage, in the match at once and they pulled it off. The finish looked good and there was enough action throughout so this did what it was supposed to do.

Post match money is collected and respect is shown.

Los Macizos vs. La Familia de Tijuana

That would be Ciclope (not the WCW one)/Miedo Extreme vs. Bestia/Damian. Ciclope and Damian run the ropes to start without getting anywhere so it’s off to Bestia vs. Miedo. That’s enough wrestling so let’s go outside and grab some chairs. The fight goes around the arena (thank goodness for split screen) with Damian throwing a trashcan at Ciclope.

Back in and Los Macizos fight back with superkicks but Damian whips out a kendo stick to clean house. Bestia runs the ropes for a wristlock/headscissors combination and it’s time to set up a door over the chairs. That takes too long though and Bestia is sent through said door for two.

A German suplex drops Ciclope though and everyone is down. Damian (apparently 61 years old) kendo sticks Miedo and walks the rope before taking Ciclope down. Bestia loads up a chopped door but Miedo grabs him for something like a Blue Thunder Bomb. Damian makes a save but it’s something like a Doomsday Device through the door to give Ciclope the pin at 12:22.

Rating: C+. I wasn’t feeling this one quite as well as some others, but it was cool to see someone Damian’s age doing all of this stuff. It was a bunch of violence and brawling without much in the way of wrestling, but sometimes you can throw that stuff in there to make it interesting. Pretty good stuff, but it was only going to be so strong all things considered.

Respect is shown post match.

Negro Casas vs. Tony Deppen

Casas, 63 years old, takes him down to start and works on the arm but has to slip out of a leglock. Deppen bites his way out of a chinlock and flips Casas off before grabbing a modified abdominal stretch. That’s fine with Casas, who sweeps the leg and cranks away, sending Deppen over to the rope. Deppen bails to the floor and holds his neck before coming back in with a clothesline.

Back in and Deppen takes him down to start cranking on the arm. The arm is fine enough to hit a running boot in the corner before cranking on Deppen’s arm as well. Deppen fights back and mocks Casas, who pulls him into an STF. With that broken up, Deppen hits a jumping knee, only to get caught with a lariat. Casas’ signature rolling cradle finishes Deppen at 11:35.

Rating: C. Given that Casas is 63 and not exactly full time anymore, he looked just fine here and even got to showcase himself a bit. Deppen is the kind of heel who can lose over and over but get right back by being such a jerk. Sometimes that’s all you need and this was a nice treat with such a legend in the ring.

Post match, Casas addresses the crowd and thanks God for letting him work this match. In English, Casas says Deppen can be a great wrestler. After finding some of the money Deppen picked up from the mat, Casas seems to sing a bit before leaving.

Gringo Loco vs. Psycho Clown

Falls count anywhere and Psycho has Mini Clown (possibly his son but he’s No Dink) with him. Loco shoves Psycho off the apron to start but Psycho is back with a chair shot. They trade chair shots until Loco hits a suicide dive. Psycho crotches him against the post though and hits his own dive to take over (for probably ten seconds). Loco sends him into the chairs, earning himself a bunch of drinks to the face.

They brawl around ringside with Psycho getting the better of things and smashing a chair around Loco’s ankle. Psycho goes up but gets chaired in the head, allowing Loco to go after the mask. Another chair to the head has Psycho busted open as the fans are apparently calling Loco a male hooker. Dang that’s worse than a shooter. The alleged hooker grabs some scissors to stab Psycho in the head and now it’s time for a ladder. Psycho gets suplexed into said ladder so Loco grabs a door.

More scissoring to the head ensues so Psycho, tired of being stabbed by scissors, sends him through the table. A moonsault onto the pieces of the table onto Loco connects and there’s an Alabama slam onto a chair. Loco is sent outside for the big running flip dive and now Psycho has the scissors (life tip: always run when a psycho clown comes after you with scissors).

This time it’s Loco getting carved up and they head to the top, where Loco’s super Spanish Fly drops Psycho. Let’s bring in the big ladder, with Loco’s dive only hitting the mat. Psycho sets up a door over some chairs on the floor but the big splash only hits Loco’s knees. It’s Psycho up first (as he logically should be) and he whips out some cinder blocks (commentary is confused about why they’re under the ring).

Loco has managed to bandage his head as Psycho makes another door bridge in the ring. Psycho gets knocked onto the door and Loco puts the blocks on his head/neck before going up. Believe it or not, that takes too long too and Psycho belts him on top. Now let’s put thumbtacks on the blocks so a Spanish Fly can drive Loco through everything….but Loco rolls him up for the pin anyway at 23:23.

Rating: C-. Yeah I know what they were going for here but egads this was long. It wasn’t exactly good in the first place and then it went into the weapons and hardcore stuff, which wasn’t exactly interesting. I get that this is a big feud (at least it seemed to be) but they needed to cut out about eight minutes stop with the spots that take forever to set up.

Laredo Kid vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

The AAA Mega Title isn’t on the line. They start fast with the exchange of armdrags and Vikingo bails to the floor, where Kid hits a big dive to take him down. Back in and Kid cuts off a roll with a dropkick before sending him outside again. The chase is on and this time Vikingo hits a spinning kick to the face.

The running knees send Kid outside and the running shooting star press off the apron crushes Kid again. Back in and the springboard 450 gives Vikingo two but Kid grabs a poisonrana. Some moonsaults hit Vikingo and Kid kicks away at him even more. Vikingo is back up and goes to the post for a Canadian Destroyer onto the apron.

The suicide dive sends Kid into the chairs but Kid is back with a powerbomb for two. Kid catches him on top for something like a reverse (as in they both face the same way) super Spanish Fly. The fans want to see it again but have to settle for Vikingo grabbing a super swinging Rock Bottom. That’s enough to set up the 630 to give Vikingo the pin at 12:35.

Rating: B. After this weekend and the Dynamite appearance, you know what you’re going to get from Vikingo but he seems to be wearing down a bit after such a schedule. At the same time, Kid is someone who has always shown a ton of potential and absolutely has the talent to back it up. This was another way to showcase the flip and high flying, with Vikingo eventually lasting longer and surviving.

Overall Rating: B-. Pretty good show for the most part here, though having the same style over and over again can be a bit exhausting. There was more than enough in the way of high spots here to keep things interesting and some of the matches were quite good. It also had some names you don’t see elsewhere so the show is worth a look if you’re a big fan of this style.

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Joey Janela’s Spring Break 7
Date: March 31, 2023
Location: Ukranian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Lenny Leonard, Veda Scott

This is the show where you just get to have fun and that is one of the best possible options. With this show, you’re going to see some insanity, some surprises and probably a lot of carnage, which should make for an entertaining night. It’s almost always a fun show and now we get the Los Angles version. Let’s get to it.

Gringo Loco vs. Shane Mercer vs. Tony Deppen vs. Cole Radrick vs. Komander vs. Billie Starkz vs. Blake Christian vs. Alec Price vs. Jack Cartwheel

It’s a Grab The Brass Ring DLC (Doors Ladders and Chairs, winner gets a future title shot of their choice) ladder match, which is at least a step above a scramble (I think). Christian comes out after the introductions and seems to be adding himself to the lineup. Then they call it a ladder match but also a scramble, as apparently the ceiling is too high to put up an actual brass ring so it will be pin or submission. That’s…..a way to go.

Deppen gets in the rather large Mercer’s face to start and the big brawl is on with most of them heading outside. Loco hits a springboard double armdrag on Deppen and Christian. Komander comes in and we get a showdown with Loco, who is hurricanranaed out to the floor. It’s Mercer taking Loco’s place with a backbreaker before Cartwheel is back in to pick up the pace. Cartwheel hits the big flip dive to the floor but Price comes in to clean a few rooms.

Mercer isn’t having that and throws Price over the top to send him outside. Loco is in with some chairs to Mercer’s head, followed by a top rope Canadian Destroyer. The first ladder is brought in as Christian gets to take Deppen down so he can ride the ladder down onto him. Loco is back in with a piledriver to Christian before bringing in a giant ladder. Starkz is back in to kick Loco in the head before going up top with Price.

That goes badly for Starkz, who gets put on and driven through a table for two. Deppen climbs the big ladder but another big ladder is bridged into it. Everyone comes crashing down and Cartwheel dives over the top to put Radrick through another door. Mercer takes Cartwheel up a ladder and hits a moonsault World’s Strongest Slam for two, with Loco using a chair to make the save.

Another door breaks rather quickly and the fans are NOT pleased. Mercer is laid on a door and it’s Loco going up the ladder, with Price on the bridged ladder to meet him (while Komander chills on the top turnbuckle). Price opts to dive on some people, followed by Komander walking the ropes to take out more people. Loco’s flip dive takes out Mercer and Starkz clears out a bunch of the weapons. Radrick comes back in and gets caught with a running forearm in the corner. Starkz plants Radrick but Christian comes in with a Stomp to pin Starkz at 14:07.

Rating: B-. The rules and setup were a little weird but at least they had the more interesting person win. Christian was announced as one of the more controversial/hated stars in the company so giving him the title match is a good idea. It was a pretty wild match, though cutting out two or three people (at least) would have helped.

Video on the Motor City Machine Guns vs. the East West Connection for the Tag Team Titles.

Tag Team Titles: Motor City Machine Guns vs. East West Express

The Express (Jordan Oliver/Nick Wayne) is challenging and the Guns jump them to start with the fight heading outside. Sabin goes after Wayne’s face, which was cut open badly in a match earlier today. The Express gets back in and hits stereo dives though, even as Wayne’s face is bleeding again.

Back in and Sabin gets caught with running boots in the corner but Shelley comes in for the save. Shelly sends the Express into the corner for a hesitation dropkick. The Guns get violent by tying the Express together and pulling on both of them at once. Oliver fights up and hits a running clothesline to Sabin, allowing Wayne to come in off the tag. Sabin is back up with a running boot to cut Wayne off in the corner but he sticks the landing out of a sunset bomb.

Everything breaks down again and Shelly Shell Shocks Wayne for two. The Border City Stretch has Wayne in more trouble and Sabin grabs a Texas Cloverleaf on Oliver. Both of them are broken up so the Guns hit Oliver with the Dream Sequence. Sabin kicks Shelly by mistake to send him to the floor, leaving Sabin to get Stunned into a German suplex. The corner cutter gets two on Sabin and a double cutter out of the corner gets a double two. Another double cutter hits Sabin for the pin and the titles at 12:28.

Rating: B-. It was an energetic match and the title change felt like a big deal, but the ending was a little flat. They just kept hitting the same move until it got a pin, which isn’t exactly a hot ending to a match. The Express winning the titles is a big deal and it’s cool to see the Guns as heels, but this didn’t quite get to the next level.

Here is DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Champion (comedy 24/7 title from DDT in Japan) Yoshihiko (a female sex doll) for an interview. She is rather silent about being a champion and her title defense earlier today, but will be back in GCW. Cue Charles Mason, with Parrow, to interrupt. Mason jumps Yoshihiko and says she isn’t real before calling this whole thing dump. He whips out a knife and threatens to cut the throat, but Yoshihiko’s handler makes a save. It’s Jimmy Lloyd, who is going to be forced to watch the destruction….until Yoshihiko fights back and chases off the intelligen….er, heels.

Video on Mike Bailey vs. El Hijo del Vikingo.

Mike Bailey vs. El Hijo del Vikingo

Vikingo’s AAA Mega Title isn’t on the line. Believe it or not, they do trade flips around to start and shake hands once neither can get anywhere. An exchange of kicks doesn’t get anyone very far so Vikingo goes up top, loses his balance, jumps back up and mostly hits a super hurricanrana. Vikingo hits a dive to the floor but Bailey kicks him down and nails a middle rope moonsault to the floor.

Back in and a kick to the back gets two on Vikingo as this is already more grounded than anything I’ve seen Vikingo do. A dragon screw legwhip takes Vikingo down and Bailey does it again out of the corner (oh the irony). The leglock goes on so Vikingo crawls over to the rope for the break. Back up and they trade chops (Bailey’s aren’t as loud due to Vikingo’s chest being covered).

They take turns offering their backs to the other for chops….until Bailey kicks him instead. Vikingo is back with some running knees to send Bailey outside, where the shooting star from the apron connects. Back in and the middle rope Phoenix splash gives Vikingo two and Bailey is outside again. The slide takes too long though and Bailey is back up for a top rope moonsault.

Back in and Bailey kicks him down for two but the tornado kick misses. Vikingo’s imploding dragon rana only mostly works and they head to the apron for the exchange of kicks to the chest. Vikingo gets the better of things and climbs to the post, setting up a crazy Canadian Destroyer onto the apron to leave them both on the floor. Back up and Bailey blocks a shooting star with raised knees, setting up a floatover fisherman’s superplex for two (that was cool). Bailey’s Flamingo Driver is blocked though and Vikingo takes him up top for a super swinging Rock Bottom. That sets up the 630 to finish Bailey at 16:57.

Rating: B. This was what you would expect from these two as they were doing all of the crazy flips and dives, though in this case they did slow down a bit between some of the spots. Bailey going after the leg made sense, but ironically enough, Bailey’s opponent didn’t bother to sell the knee for once. It was entertaining, as Vikingo’s monster weekend continues.

Post match money is thrown into the ring and they put it into Vikingo’s helmet to split up later.

Bussy vs. Maki Death Kill

That would be Effy/Allie Katch vs. Nick Gage/Maki Itoh and….egads I have no idea what this is going to be like. As you might expect, the fans go nuts for Gage. The women start things off with a lot of posing and yell at each other a bit but then we have to stop for some Itoh posing. Allie isn’t having that and poses as well, though hers is a bit more suggestive compared to Itoh’s cute stuff.

That’s enough for Allie, who kicks her in the ribs but gets taken down. A falling headbutt is enough for Allie to bring Gage in to face Effy. They have some problems with a leapfrog so Effy drops to his knees. That means he has to slip out of a piledriver attempt so Gage slams him instead. A splash puts Gage down and it’s Allie coming back in to send Gage into the corner. Gage neckbreakers his way out of trouble and hits a suplex, allowing a somewhat reluctant tag to Itoh.

Some horrible right hands in the corner stagger Effy but a tornado DDT works a bit better. Gage whips out the pizza cutter so Allie, who has stolen his bandanna, wraps a chair around his head and sends it into the post. Effy uses the pizza cutter to carve up Itoh’s head and Allie gets in some carving of her own as the violence begins. Gage is back in with a DDT to Allie and a spinebuster to Effy. With Itoh safe…..Gage pulls out a SPECIAL pizza cutter, complete with a bow tie that matches Itoh’s gear.

Bussy both get cut at the same time (via split screen) and Effy is rather busted open. Back up and Allie and Gage hit stereo piledrivers to give us a bit showdown. The chokebreaker gives Gage two but Effy is back in. That earns him a chair shot from Itoh but Effy chairs both of them down. Itoh is so upset that she is about to cry, but flips Allie off for trying to kiss her better. That has Allie crying much harder until Gage is back up. Gage hits something like a One Winged Angel on Allie and Itoh’s diving DDT are good or double pins at 16:11.

Rating: C. It’s Nick Gage so this is only going to be so good in the first place. Save for the pizza cutter, they didn’t get too nuts with the violence, but it was still hard to sit through some of this stuff. Itoh’s gimmick is all around cuteness and that worked well enough, though it was nowhere near as over the top as she was in AEW. Bussy has been around all weekend and while Effy is hard to take at times, he was far less annoying here. Katch is always worth a look so this was a very weird mixture that could have been a lot worse.

Post match Gage and Itoh hit the catchphrase but Matt Cardona (in a Cody Rhodes jacket) and Steph De Lander run in with chairs to beat them down. Cardona calls it BS that they aren’t booked on this show or Wrestlemania. They both mock Gage and Itoh but here is World Champion Masha Slamovich to interrupt. Gage is up to take out Cardona and they fight to the back, so let’s do the impromptu World Title thing.

GCW World Title: Steph De Lander vs. Masha Slamovich

De Lander is in street clothes and challenging. Slamovich starts fast and hammers away but gets knocked hard into the corner. A suplex gives De Lander two but Slamovich gets in a kick to the head. It’s time for a really big door and some chairs, with Slamovich being dropped down onto the latter. Slamovich is fine enough to Air Raid Crash her through the door but here is Cardona to jump Slamovich. Gage and Itoh run in to break up a chair shot to Slamovich and Itoh hits some Reboots on Cardona in the corner. Slamovich chokes De Lander out to retain at 6:23.

Rating: C. This was rather quick and to the point, which is what something set up this way had to be. There is only do much that De Lander can do in street clothes and it more of a “hey we’re here too” deal than anything else. Slamovich hasn’t been champion long so getting her some title defenses piled up isn’t a bad idea. The match was a bit of a mess but it got out before it went too far.

Joey Janela vs. Kota Ibushi

This is Ibushi’s second match since 2021 due to an injury. Feeling out process to start and they go to the mat with Ibushi taking over. Janela grabs a headscissors but has to duck a big kick. Back up and Ibushi dropkicks him to the floor but won’t dive out there too. Janela chops away back inside, with Ibushi telling him to chop harder.

With that not working, Janela slaps on a figure four neck lock until the rope is reached. A hurricanrana sends Janela to the floor and now the springboard moonsault takes him down. Back in and a rolling suplex gives Ibushi two but Janela superplexes him down for a crash. They slug it out on the apron with Janela getting dropped hard to bust him open.

The slugout goes to Janela, who manages a DDT on the apron. Janela takes a good while bridging some doors over some chairs at ringside and Ibushi is back up. What looks to be a German superplex through the table is more a fall through them and Janela is mostly done. Back in and Janela snaps off a Death Valley Driver and then does it again for one.

Another slugout goes to Janela and the rather bloody Janela snaps off a German suplex. Then Ibushi gets his own German suplex, followed by the double clothesline for the double knockdown. Back up and they slap it out until Janela plants him with the package piledriver for two. A bunch of superkicks rock Ibushi but he’s back with a pair of running knees for the pin at 24:19.

Rating: B. This was a weird one as it went from just an ok match to a hard hitting bloodbath. Ibushi isn’t about to lose in his first regular match back (after his first was in Bloodsport) so this was more of a big homecoming. Janela still isn’t exactly great in the ring, but he knows how to put in a match like this and make it work well. Solid main event.

Respect is shown post match. Janela gets the mic and talks about the things that have been going on in recent years. He finally got his first contract with AEW but everything fell apart. He wasn’t sure what he was doing and he had to watch his ex-girlfriend be with someone else. After saying he’s cool with Penelope Ford and Kip Sabian, Janela talks about Kota Ibushi deciding to stay away from WWE and AEW. Janela calls him the embodiment of Japanese wrestling and hugs him to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. I’m not sure what to think of this one as it was much more a regular show and a good one, but I was expecting something more in the way of over the top. There was a ladder match, a Nick Gage match (take that for what you will) and the rest is straight wrestling. It’s more or less a GCW show and while it’s good (very good actually), it’s not exactly what I was expecting. Heck of a show, though not in the show’s traditional sense.

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GCW vs. DDT
Date: March 31, 2023
Location: Ukranian Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Veda Scott

I think the title for this one says it all and that could go in a few different directions. I wasn’t thrilled with the DDT show from earlier in the week and GCW is hit or miss a lot of the time. Shows pitting two promotions against each other can be quite a mess but that’s part of the fun of seeing what they have. Let’s get to it.

Jack Cartwheel/Wasted Youth/Gringo Loco (GCW) vs. Daisuke Sasaki/Kanon/Sanshiro Takagi/Takeshi Masada (DDT)

Wasted Youth is Marcus Mathers/Dyln McKay and this is one fall to a finish. Takagi and Cartwheel start things off and Scott volunteers to be the official cartwheel counter. Cartwheel does a cartwheel and Takagi manages one of his own as I don’t think this is going to be overly serious. It’s already off to Sasaki vs. Mathers with Mathers sending him into the corner and snapmaring him back out.

With that going nowhere, McKay comes in to headlock Masada, who is right back out with a dropkick. McKay is fine enough to come back with a spinning brainbuster for two and everything breaks down. We settle back to Kanon fist dropping onto McKay and it’s back to Takagi to stay on McKay. Some rapid fire chops are enough to get over to Loco for the tag and everything breaks down fast.

Cartwheel hits a big flipping elbow over the top, setting up a big dive to the floor (with a Loco assist). Back in and Kanon chops away at Loco before Sasaki faceplants him down. Takagi is back in for a bunch of Stunners but McKay is there with an enziguri to Masada. Loco adds a moonsault, McKay hits a shooting star press, Mathers puts in a 450 and Cartwheel finishes with a Red Arrow for the pin at 10:39.

Rating: C+ This was a good way to start as you got a nice mixture of the two sides, with GCW getting to showcase themselves a bit. DDT didn’t stand out quite as much, but there is only so much you can do when most of you are in black and getting beaten up in the end. Fun match and they’re on the right path so far.

GCW – 1
DDT – 0

Saki Akai (DDT) vs. Dark Sheik (GCW)

Feeling out process to start as they circle each other until Sheik drops her with a shoulder. Back up and Akai hits a big boot but Sheik kicks her down even harder. A slingshot legdrop into a slingshot hilo keeps Akai down, followed by a splits splash for two. Akai manages to come back with a kick of her own and a high crossbody for two.

Sheik gets her leg swept out so a running knee can give Akai two. They slug it out, including boots to the head, with Akai getting the better of it and knocking her down. Akai grabs the abdominal stretch but Sheik reverses into a small package for the surprise pin to extend the lead at 7:19.

Rating: C. Nice match here as they felt even enough (maybe a slight advantage to Akai) as the good start to the show continues. I’ve seen Akai twice so far and she has done well in both matches, as there is a little something about her that makes you want to keep watching. On the other hand you have Sheik, who seems like she has something going for her and I could go for a few more matches.

GCW – 2
DDT – 0

East West Express (GCW) vs. Moonlight Express (DDT)

That would be Nick Wayne/Jordan Oliver vs. Mao/Mike Bailey. Wayne and Bailey start things off with a standoff so it’s off to Mao to shoulder Oliver (I had been waiting to see him this weekend). A dropkick puts Oliver down so Wayne comes in to help Oliver clear the ring. Naturally that means stereo dives but they try again and get punched out of the air by Bailey and Mao. Back in and Mao hits a springboard knee to keep Oliver in trouble, meaning it’s time to start in on the arm.

Mao rolls him into an abdominal stretch so Wayne makes the save, only to be knocked outside. Bailey moonsaults onto Wayne and Mao moonsaults onto Oliver for two, only to have Oliver blasts Bailey with a clothesline for two. The hot tag brings in Wayne to clean house until Mao drops him hard. Mao literally wiggles his way out of a waistlock but Wayne is back with a handspring Stunner.

It’s back to Oliver to take over on Bailey, including a running boot in the corner and sitout powerbomb for two. Wayne comes back in and gets caught with Bailey’s bouncing kicks. Oliver and Wayne are sent outside and stereo moonsaults from Mao and Bailey (from the same corner, with their arms around each other) drop them again. Wayne is busted open (it’s a bad one too) and it’s a double clothesline into a double hiptoss for two on Bailey.

Mao and Bailey are back with stereo backflip slams (Cameron Grimes does it in NXT) for two each. The Ultimate Weapon hits Oliver but Mao’s 450 hits knees. A tiger suplex gets two with Bailey shoving Wayne into the cover for the save. Wayne is kicked to the floor and the Tornado Driver (something like Aussie Open’s Coriolis) gets a rather close two. Oliver and Bailey trade rollups until a double team middle rope cutter plants Bailey for the pin at 16:20.

Rating: B+. This took its time to get going but I was way into it by the end and they had it rocking. I hadn’t seen these teams together before but you can tell they have the experience and skill to work well together. Heck of a match here and one of the better things I’ve seen so far this weekend.

GCW – 3
DDT – 0

Veda Scott swaps out with someone named Nick Knowledge.

Starboy Charlie (GCW) vs. Kazusada Higuchi (DDT)

The much bigger Higuchi takes him into the corner and gives Charlie a rub of the head before letting him go. Charlie tries to pick up the pace and goes for the leg, setting up a basement dropkick. Higuchi’s chop takes Charlie down and a running splash gets two. The neck crank goes on but doesn’t keep Charlie down long, leaving Higuchi to knock him down again.

A middle rope elbow hits Charlie for two, so he begs Higuchi not to chop him. That makes Higuchi chop him hard enough to put Charlie down but he’s back up with a Thesz press of all things. Charlie gets sat on top, where he manages to slip through Higuchi’s legs and hit a heck of a powerbomb. For some reason Charlie tries to chop it out, even nipping up when Higuchi knocks him down.

Charlie’s chest is blood red and Higuchi blasts him with a clothesline for two. A missed charge sends Higuchi into the post and out to the floor, allowing Charlie to get in a dropkick through the ropes. Back in and a middle rope corkscrew moonsault gets two, allowing Charlie to pull his straps up….and then right back down.

Higuchi has had it with this and grabs a doctor bomb for two, with the kickout just getting on Higuchi’s nerves. The claw slam is countered into a crossface and Charlie even rolls back into the middle. With the rope not working, Higuchi muscles him up for an Oklahoma Stampede. For some reason Charlie flips him off and gets flattened with a running shoulder. Now the claw slam can finish Charlie at 11:40.

Rating: B-. This wasn’t exactly a great match but it told a story and that made it work. You could see Higuchi go from toying with Charlie to having to put in the work to beat him, making this get more interesting as it went on. Charlie didn’t get in a ton of offense but what he did looked effective, which isn’t easy given the size difference. They pulled me in with this one and that isn’t easy to do so nice job.

GCW – 3
DDT – 1

Veda Scott comes back.

Joey Janela (GCW) vs. Yuki Ueno (DDT)

Ueno shoulders away to start but gets taken into the corner. Janela stomps on the fingers and starts in on the arm, including a hammerlock. Ueno fights out and sends him into the corner before tying him in the ropes. A running faceplant on the apron rock Janela, who is fine enough to come back with a Death Valley Driver for two. Janela sends him outside for the suicide dive, followed by the Fujiwara armbar on the bad arm back inside.

That’s broken up as well but Ueno misses a knee. A superkick just makes Ueno snap off a dropkick for two, only to have Janela hit the brainbuster. Janela goes up top but gets caught with a super hurricanrana. That and a flipping Fameasser (as in a Fameasser with the arm trapped and they flip forward until Janela lands on his face) for the pin at 10:24.

Rating: C. Janela still isn’t the best in the ring but there is a weird charisma to him that makes him watchable. At the same time Ueno is someone who feels like he could be a star with some more experience and seasoning. It didn’t make for the best match, but Ueno’s offense was enough to keep it interesting.

GCW – 3
DDT – 2

Tony Deppen/Homicide (GCW) vs. Tetsuya Endo/Jun Akiyama (DDT)

Akiyama and Homicide look at each other a lot to start before it’s time to exchange wristlocks. It’s too early for Akiyama’s exploder so it’s off to Deppen vs. Endo. Deppen gets caught in a headlock and then gets shouldered to the mat. Deppen is back up for a nice looking dropkick and it’s back to Homicide for a running clothesline. Akiyama comes in and goes to the floor with Homicide instead.

The other two go to the floor as well and we have to go split screen for the double brawls. Homicide bends Akiyama’s fingers before heading back inside where Deppen can wrap the arm around the rope. Biting in the corner has Akiyama in more trouble but he comes back with a jumping knee. Endo comes back in to pick up the pace, including a springboard double clothesline.

Homicide manages a shot to take Endo down though and Deppen comes in off the top with a double stomp for two. Endo Boston crabs Deppen with Homicide grabbing a cutter for the save. That leaves Akiyama to come back in for the throws. With Deppen down, Endo adds the Burning (shooting) Star press for the pin at 12:20.

Rating: C+. Nice enough stuff here as you had a unique styles match here. Homicide can wrestle with just about anyone and Deppen has such a punchable face that it is easy to want to see him get beaten up. Akiyama and Endo both did well too, which shouldn’t be a surprise. I’m not with on a lot of Homicide’s stuff but it meshed well here.

GCW – 3
DDT – 3

Second Gear Crew (GCW) vs. Chris Brookes/Shunma Katsumata/Mizuki Watase (DDT)

The Crew is 1 Called Manders/Matthew Justice/Mance Warner and they get jumped from behind during their entrances. The fight starts on the floor and I’m not sure how much tagging you should expect here. Warner chairs Brookes but Brookes throws it at Warner’s already bleeding head. Back in and Manders takes off his boots to hammer away at some heads, only to run into some Legos (while wearing only socks).

Brookes breaks some kind of bin over Justice’s head and it’s Warner coming back in for a bunch of jabs to Brookes’ face. Warner grabs a ladder and does the helicopter spin until a low blow cuts him off. Katsumata puts the ladder around his own neck but gets picked up and speared down in a big crash. The DDT guys get back up and stack the bins together, setting up a top rope backsplash to drive Justice through the bins (they broke well) and into the Legos for two.

Everyone is back up for the strike offs with DDT taking over. Brookes grabs the staple gun and staples the Crew’s heads, only to have them all fight back. Katsumata gets stapled in a variety of places and now it’s time for the door. The PowerPlex through the door gets two so Manders manages to pick up both of his partners at once (geez). The charge misses though and Manders drives both of them through another door in the corner.

DDT all goes up for a triple Van Terminator and a triple near fall. The doors are set up again on the floor and Katsumata dives off a ladder to drive Justice through them. Back in and the Crew starts swinging doors to take over, followed by a chair to Watase’s head. Watase just screams a lot and sends Warner outside. Manders lariats Katsumata and Warner adds a DDT for the pin at 15:19.

Rating: C. This is the kind of hardcore match that you kind of expect from GCW but they didn’t get into the stupid/over the top stuff that gives the place its reputation. The Crew is a team that feels like they could be a constant in GCW as they work well together and have a good look. The DDT guys were fine, but I absolutely didn’t need to see one of them get chaired in the head like that. Cut that stuff out.

GCW – 4
DDT – 3

We run down some upcoming shows while the ring is cleaned up.

Pheromones (DDT) vs. Bussy (DDT)

That would be Danshoku Dino/Yuhi Ino vs. Effy/Allie Katch and I still have nightmares about that one Pheromones match. After a somewhat personal weapons check, we’re ready to go. Allie and Ino start things off but hang on as Ino needs to pose on the middle rope (Effy seems VERY interested). Allie finally kicks Ino in the gut after nearly two minutes of posing but he takes her down and exposes his nipples.

Effy comes in to face Dino and they lock it up, with Allie having to prevent a kiss. With that not working, Effy goes for a waistlock and Dino bends over. Everything breaks down and Effy is rather pleased with the idea of Ino unzipping his singlet. Dino slaps at Effy’s trunks, with Effy sitting on the buckle for easier access. That finally breaks up and a double atomic drop gets two on Ino.

Effy and Ino have a gyrate off until Ino starts to strip. That means only the jockstrap is left and Effy needs a minute. Dino takes his trunks off too and Effy is officially on their team. The Pheromones do their Merry Go Round deal (it involves rubbing various parts of their bodies over someone’s face) to Allie but Effy throws her aside to take her place. Then Effy takes his own trunks down and makes it a three person Merry Go Round.

Effy breaks up the cover so Allie gets caught in a Boston crab/headscissors, meaning her face goes between Ino’s legs. Effy finally throws some forearms and Allie kicks Ino low as this just keeps going. Allie takes down her own trunks and hits some cannonballs in the corner. A Stunner and Pedigree get stereo near falls because THIS JUST KEEPS GOING. Effy takes Ino into the corner for some hip thrusts to the face before putting him in another corner. A Human Centipede ensues, including various referees, which is finally a no contest at 13:38.

Rating: F. Nope.

GCW – 4
DDT – 3

A triple kiss ensues post match.

Ironman Heavymetalweight Title: Yoshihiko (DDT) vs. Cole Radrick (GCW)

Yoshihiko (still a blow up sex doll) is defending. Radrick shakes her hand to start and gets taken down with a headlock takeover. Another headlock takeover cuts Radrick down and an armdrag sends him to the floor. A big flip dive over the top is pulled out of the air though and Yoshihiko is launched into the wall. They go back to ringside where Yoshihiko hits a tornado DDT on the floor and gets two back inside.

Radrick’s powerbomb attempt is countered into a very spinning headscissors for two. A splash in the corner is broken up and Yoshihiko grabs a super hurricanrana to send Radrick outside. The big flip dive drops Radrick again but he’s fine enough to hit an Air Raid Crash into the corner. It’s time for a door because of course it is, plus a bunch of chairs (some of which land on Yoshihiko).

The door is sat on some tables but Radrick takes too much time to go up, allowing Yoshihiko to sit up. There’s the superplex through the table for two but Radrick is back with a running Death Valley Driver through a door in the corner. Yoshihiko’s piledriver gets two and she throws some chairs at his head. Back up and Radrick Death Valley Drivers her onto a chair for the pin at 14:36.

Rating: C. As was the case in the previous Yoshihiko match, this is a different kind of entertainment and the wrestling really isn’t there. This is all about the fans having a good time and I can give the human points for some creativity with some of this stuff. At the very least, it is something different that the fans like. I won’t argue with anyone who thinks it’s idiotic or a waste of time, but given the other stuff on this show, it was brilliant.

GCW – 5
DDT – 4

Post match they shake hands and Yoshihiko kicks him low. A small package gives her the title back.

Overall Rating: C. This is a tricky one because there is some good stuff on here, but the bad is just so awful that it’s hard to get my head around it. There is a special skill needed to do something that awful and stupid and they managed to pull both of them off here. Other than that and the main event (the ultimate your mileage may vary deal), the rest of the show was up and down, with the tag match being very good but some of the other stuff just being kind of there. I probably won’t be back to DDT anytime soon, but the GCW talent has some potential. Not a great show, but that’s mainly due to a few things rather than the whole.

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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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GCW For The Culture 2022
Date: April 1, 2022
Location: Fair Park, Dallas, Texas
Commentators: AC Mack, Suge D, Faye Jackson, Robert Martyr

This is part of GCW’s annual collection of shows and hopefully this year’s is a bit better than last time. Granted not having the show deep into the night in front of a few dozen fans when everyone was already burned out should help. I’m not sure what to expect from the show and I kind of like it that way. Let’s get to it.

No intro for the show, which is normal for something like this.

The unnamed ring announcer introduces us to commentary and it’s time for the opener.

Impact Wrestling Knockouts Title: Big Swole vs. Tasha Steelz

Steelz is defending and commentary really likes her hair. Swole knocks her down to start and it’s a cutter for an early two. They’re already on the floor with Steelz getting in her first shot and taking it back inside. Steelz hits a running kick to the face for two and hits some suplexes for the same.

Swole (eventually) fights out of a chinlock and gets two off an uppercut. That’s fine with Steelz, who slides between her legs but can’t grab a cutter. Swole hits something like Happy Corbin’s Deep Six for two more and they strike it out until Steelz hits a Stunner. Back up and Dirty Dancing drops Steelz to the floor so Swole throws her back in, only to get caught with a cutter to retain Steelz’s title at 8:02.

Rating: C. Commentary is going to be an annoying factor throughout the show as it seems that they are trying to pop each other rather than focus on the match. That being said, this isn’t a show that needs to be treated as the most serious thing so it’s hardly a match killer. Steelz and Swole are talented but they aren’t exactly ready for a match on their own, meaning this was just ok.

Keita vs. Ju Dizz vs. PB Smooth vs. Michael Oku vs. Carlie Bravo vs. Andino vs. Trey Shaw

Well what would a show like this be without a scramble? Everyone goes after the big Smooth to start but he throws everyone but Andino out to the floor. A reverse World’s Strongest Slam into a legdrop gives Smooth two as I try to keep track of who everyone is. Smooth misses a charge and falls out to the apron, setting up Oku vs. Shaw. With Shaw down, Andino takes out Oku, leaving Andino to stare it down with Bravo.

Oku is back in but his half crab is kicked to the floor and it’s Andino cleaning house again. There’s the big dive to the floor, followed by an even bigger flip version from Oku. Smooth breaks up another dive and hits something like a Blue Thunder Bomb for two on Shaw. Everyone goes after Smooth again until Oku missile dropkicks him down. We hit the parade of secondary finishers until Oku misses a Lionsault. Back up and Oku hits some running knees on Shaw, setting up the half crab for the tap at 9:57.

Rating: C. As is almost always the case with these scrambles, I have no idea what I’m supposed to get out of them. The match is all over the place with a bunch of people doing their thing and hopefully someone stands out. Oku and Smooth did to an extent, but I was regularly forgetting who was who here because it’s seven guys trying to stand out in about ten minutes. How could that possibly work?

Shane Taylor Promotions vs. HitMakerZ

That would be O’Shay Edwards/Shane Taylor with Ron Hunt vs. AJ Francis/Tehuti Miles (better known as Top Dolla/Ashante Thee Adonis) with Briana Brandy (B-Fab) of Hit Row fame. Taylor and Francis shove each other to start before fighting over a power lockup. Edwards comes in and gets shouldered hard into the corner, leaving him rather surprised. Commentary bills this as Performance Center vs. the indies for a rather insightful concept.

Miles comes in and gets suplexed by Edwards, who hands it off to Taylor for the actual suplex (that’s always cool). One heck of a beal sends Miles flying and Taylor runs him over for two more. Miles manages to get over for the tag to Francis to clean house but it’s time for the managers to get in a fight. Francis gets caught in the corner and a double superplex is loaded up, only to have Miles turn it into a double powerbomb.

With Edwards thankfully not out cold with Taylor almost landing on his head, Francis hits a standing moonsault to Taylor for the showoff move. That’s not enough though so it’s a World’s Strongest Slam to Taylor and something like a forward Samoan drop/Wasteland to Edwards at the same time, but Taylor isn’t legal so there’s no count (point for a competent referee). The seconds get into it on the floor, which allows Edwards to hit a spinebuster on Francis. Taylor’s running knee into the Marcus Garvey Driver finishes Miles at 11:29.

Rating: C+. This was a pretty decent tag match and I could go for more of both teams. The HitMakerZ are still pretty good minus Swerve Strickland, but neither of them have wrestled so far since this match. I’m still not sure why Taylor hasn’t gotten regular work somewhere, as he is far too talented to go from one independent show to another. Edwards is the same, though he seems to be more of a regular on the indy circuit. Anyway, nice match here and I was getting into it by the end.

Respect is shown post match.

Pan-Afrikan World Dispora Wrestling World Title: Trish Adora vs. MJ Jenkins

Jenkins is challenging and yes that is what the title is called. They fight over a lockup to start and neither can get anywhere. Adora takes her to the mat and works on the armbar, complete with pushups. Jenkins isn’t having that and forearms her down, setting up some running shots to the face in the corner. The Tree of Woe stomping is on, followed by the chinlock to keep things on Adora.

A Backpack Stunner gets her out of trouble though and there’s a Hennig necksnap for two. Jenkins forearms her back and hits a swinging slam for two, meaning frustration is setting in. Lariat Tubman misses for Adora so Jenkins kicks her in the head and loads up her own Lariat Tubman (I like that name more every time I hear it). That takes too long though and Adora hits a Bubba Bomb into a rollup for the pin to retain at 11:31.

Rating: C+. Adora is someone who seems to be one of the potential breakout stars that you see in various women’s divisions so it makes sense to put her on here. Jenkins seemed like a bit of a hoss and having her beat on Adora before getting rolled up at the end made sense. Good match, and Adora continues to grow on me.

Darius Lockhart vs. AJ Gray

Feeling out process to start as commentary talks about this being a dream match. Lockhart gets an armbar on the mat but Gray rolls him into the ropes without much trouble. Lockhart goes right back to the arm so Gray goes right back to the rope before kicking him down. A running backsplash gives Gray two and it’s time to strike it out.

Gray’s powerslam is countered into a crossbody for two (kind of an odd one) and a running knee in the corner gives Lockhart two. Back up and Lockhart grabs a suplex for two, followed by a running shot to the face for two more. A jumping knee to the face connects and Lockhart grabs what looks to be a headlock takeover, which is reversed into a cradle to give Gray the pin at 10:27.

Rating: C. It was nice while it lasted but this didn’t really build anywhere until Gray rolled him up for the pin. Lockhart got in some good shots and those knees were pretty good, but I was expecting at least another five minutes and it was a sudden ending. I’ve seen Gray multiple times before and he’s very good, though this wasn’t the best way to use his talents.

JTG vs. Mysterious Q vs. Zenshi vs. Bryan Keith

One fall to a finish. They stare each other down to start until Q rolls Keith up for two. JTG comes in for the staredown with Q but gets pulled outside. That leaves Kelly to come back in and miss a springboard…something, meaning Q slams Keith. Q calls JTG in for the slugout until JTG hits the reverse Sling Blade for two. Everyone gets back in and it’s a double suplex into a powerbomb to drop JTG.

Zenshi and JTG are sent outside, leaving Q to hit a slingshot corkscrew splash. Q is back up with a spinning torture rack bomb for two on Zenshi with JTG having to make the save. JTG plants Q with a very spinning Rock Bottom but gets low bridged to the floor by Keith. Back in and Zenshi gets buckle bombed by JTG, who takes Zenshi up top. Keith shoves JTG outside and gets Zenzhi in an electric chair, only to have Q run the ropes and hit a springboard….bulldog I think to finish Zenshi at 8:09.

Rating: C. I’ve seen Q be good enough before so he was no surprise, with Zenshi being about the same. Keith didn’t get much of a chance to shine here but was decent enough. Then, as usual, you have JTG, whose physical transformation continues to blow my mind, even a year after I saw it in the first place. The match was your usual “here’s a spot while some people are on the floor, repeat until finish”, which was all you probably should have expected it to be.

The ring is filled with weapons for the death match main event, with the announcer giving the fans directions on what happens if the wrestlers come near them: “Grab your s*** and move!”

Hoodfoot vs. Billy Dixon

Death match and Dixon is a rather large man in overalls. There is talk about these two having a big feud but an explanation of what that feud may be about isn’t important enough to explain. They circle each other to start before going for the light tubes. Dixon ducks the first shot but gets blasted in the head to put him in trouble. They head outside with Hoodfoot hitting him in the head a few times, only to have Dixon get in a shot of his own.

Hold on though as Dixon has to stop to yell at someone in the crowd (who seems to be part of their feud), allowing Hoodfoot to get in a barbed wire 2×4 shot. A powerbomb off the apron and three a table is blocked as Dixon kicks him in the head, meaning it’s time to slug it out on the apron. They both fall through the table to leave them both down, with commentary thinking it might be a countout.

We’re not that lucky as Hoodfoot takes him back inside for a bunch of light tubes to the back. More tubs are put over Dixon’s throat and stomped on for two so it’s time to go up. Since it’s a death match, Dixon is right back up to catch him on top. A chair to the head sets up a slam through a door for two on Hoodfoot and Dixon is warming up. Something like an Unprettier onto the light tube gets two and a spinebuster onto the glass is good for the same.

More light tubs to the back have Hoodfoot down but Dixon stops to pose on the ropes, meaning more light tubes to his back bring him down. Commentary apologizes for the slower pace but hypes up all of the violence. We get some more violence as Dixon is kind of pumphandle powerbombed through a door for one, with Dixon getting all fired up. That’s fine with Hoodfoot, who hits him with a bunch of light tube shots and grabs a Border City Stretch for the tap at 17:01.

Rating: D. This was a lot of the problems with a death match thrown into one match. The guys were both rather large and not exactly moving well and their offense mainly consisted of hitting each other with light tubes. That’s about all of the death match stuff that we had here, as instead of hitting someone with one light tube, they kept using one tube after another. It was slow, it wasn’t interesting violence and the story was barely touched on. Rather awful main event, which shouldn’t be a surprise.

Post match they look at each other but leave without a handshake or the far more important nod of respect. And then the show just ends without much of in the way of fanfare.

Overall Rating: D+. This show was really not very good and I’m not surprised it took me so long to get through it. There were a few ok enough matches but nothing on here stood out and the main event was dreadful. Last year’s For The Culture was a heck of a lot better than this as the show can go well, but this was a big miss and one of the worse shows from Wrestlemania weekend so far.

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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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Acid Cup 2021 Part 1
Date: April 8, 2021
Location: Cuban Club, Ybor City, Florida
Commentators: Kevin Gill, Various

This is another show from GCW’s the Collective and as you might have guessed, it is part of a tournament called the Acid Cup. While I’m not entirely sure, I would assume that it is held in honor of the late Trent Acid, which I’m sure will be confirmed during the show. Tournaments are about as easy of a concept as you can get in wrestling so hopefully this works out. Let’s get to it.

We’re outside today and it looks like this is in a parking lot for a unique visual. And yes, this is for Trent Acid.

First Round: Calvin Tankman vs. Colby Corino

Corino takes the much bigger Tankman down by the leg to start and works on a wristlock. A lot of bouncing gets Corino out of Tankman’s wristlock so Tankman chops him to little avail. Another one puts Corino down and he seems to be regretting the idea of sticking his chest out for Tankman. Back up and Corino hits an enziguri but his legs give out on an ill advised fireman’s carry attempt. Tankman pounds him down and chops away in the corner as this is staying rather slow to start.

Commentary tells a story about running into Corino in an airport in 2014 as Corino counters a powerbomb and hits a double stomp. A kick to the top of the head gets two on Tankman but he is right back with a clot and something like a Rock Bottom for two. Corino is back up with a spinning kick to the face and somehow manages a Samoan drop for an impressive visual. The middle rope 450 misses though and Tankman’s spinning backfist to the back of the head….only gets two. The Tankman Driver finishes Corino at 8:08.

Rating: C-. Tankman has been all over the weekend here and that is not a bad thing. He is a good sized guy who can do some impressively athletic things in the ring, which is always going to get some attention. Corino was doing what he could here but there is only so much that you can do when you are that small. To be fair though, that was a crazy impressive Samoan drop and I wouldn’t have believe Corino could pull it off.

We now pause for a cleaning of the ropes and a board sticking up in the ring. A bunch of people have to get in to stomp on the ring to try and fix things, complete with a camera shot of the people underneath the ring making repairs. To fill time, commentary makes up fake results of the Showcase of the Independents Family Reunion show. Now they have to lift up the mat and replace a board, which is even sadder given that there is not even a full front row around ringside. A quick Trent Acid discussion is cut off because everything is fine. This took about seven minutes so it could have been much worse.

First Round: Braden Lee vs. Laredo Kid

They start slowly until Kid flips out of an early wristlock. Lee takes him down with a headlock takeover and but Kid bounces back up and hits a running shoulder. Kid gets kicked out to the floor, followed by Lee hitting a heck of a gutbuster for two back inside. A springboard crossbody drops Lee though and it’s time to head outside, where Lee can’t hit a tornado DDT onto the concrete.

Instead, Lee takes it back inside for a good looking 450 for two. Kid is right back with a Michinoku Driver into back to back moonsaults for two of his own. Lee snaps off a running Spanish Fly but misses a shooting star, which would have missed by six feet anyway. Back up and Lee goes up top, only to get caught in….kind of a reverse super Spanish Fly, where Kid had him in a belly to back superplex then flipped backwards to land on Lee’s back as Lee landed on his face. That’s enough to finish Lee at 8:06.

Rating: C+. Total spot fest match here but Kid is someone who has been getting higher and higher profile matches as of late. It makes the tournament feel a little bit bigger because the star power helps it a lot. Pretty nice match here too, with Lee getting to showcase himself a bit before coming up short in the end.

First Round: Dragon Bane vs. KTB

I’m not sure who Bane is but he comes out to Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz so he can’t be too bad. KTB takes him down with ease to starts so the smaller Dragon goes with a handspring moonsault. Granted KTB just stands there and watches him so it doesn’t mean much. Dragon’s hurricanrana is easily countered into a sitout powerbomb and a running shoulder in the corner gives KTB two.

KTB plants him again for two but Dragon slips out of a powerbomb and strikes away. This goes very badly for Dragon and his chops are rather pitiful looking. A spinning kick to the head and a handspring elbow work a bit better though and KTB is knocked to the floor. Dragon hits a double springboard spinning moonsault to drop KTB again as commentary tries to figure out what he just did.

Back in and they trade Spanish Flies to give KTB two (Commentary: “Isn’t adrenaline crazy?”) but Dragon is back with a poisonrana for a rather delayed two. They chop it out from their knees, with commentary explaining which part of the hand offers the most pain. They trade pump kicks but KTB is back with something like a Dominator into a knee to the face for two more. Back up and Bane suplexes him into the corner, setting up another poisonrana. A shooting star press finishes KTB at 8:15.

Rating: C. I wouldn’t have bet on that so it is rather nice to have a surprise like this. This was a bit of a styles clash as it felt like Dragon was trying to get in all of his spots instead of having more of a flowing match, but that is kind of understandable given how a show like this is supposed to go. Not too bad and the surprise ending helped a good bit.

In a nice gesture, Dragon high fives all of the fans, though to be fair it doesn’t exactly take that long.

First Round: Jordan Oliver vs. Edith Surreal

Surreal is the unmasked version of Still Life With Apricots And Pears (who you might not know). Oliver is wearing Trent Acid inspired pants and it’s a feeling out process to start with Oliver taking him down by the leg and cranking away. That’s reversed into a full nelson with Surreal using her legs to work on the neck, followed by a missile dropkick for two. Surreal starts in on the arm and shrugs off the threat of a Boston crab.

Instead, Surreal gets him down and cranks on the face and leg at the same time, followed by an exchange of rollups for two. A headscissors on the mat keeps Surreal down as commentary talks about how this isn’t the kind of match you would expect from these two. Back up and Surreal gets dropkicked out to the floor so Oliver posts her hard. They head back inside with Surreal taking him down by the leg and cranking on the ankle as the very slow pace continues.

Surreal gets creative with a Figure Four stump puller, but since that is kind of hard to maintain, it’s off to a seated abdominal stretch instead. That’s reversed into a leglock from Oliver, which is reversed into a cradle for two. Back up and Surreal grabs a bulldog for two and it’s time for more rollups for two each. Oliver grabs a Stunner and kicks her in the face (Acid signature) for the pin at 9:52.

Rating: C-. This was a rather slow paced match and it didn’t exactly work. It felt like they were just going from one move/sequence to another with nothing bridging them together, which made for a fairly weak match. Both of them are capable of more so this was fairly disappointing and the lack of drama (Oliver was wearing Acid’s PANTS) didn’t help it either. Not awful, but not much to see here.

Ten minute intermission.

First Round: JJ Garrett vs. Lee Moriarty

Garrett is a substitution for Treehouse Lee and looks like he doing a Scott Steiner cosplay. He is introduced as what sounds like Dot Steiner so I have my early 90s WCW eyes working. They go with the grappling to start with Garrett taking him down but Moriarty sits out and it’s already a standoff. Moriarty picks the ankle and cranks away, sending Garrett to the ropes in a hurry.

Back up and Moriarty sweeps the leg and kicks the arm, followed by a dropkick to send Garrett outside. Garrett comes back in with a bit of a slower pace but this time manages to whip Moriarty into the corner to take over. After a quick discussion of Scott Steiner on Saved By The Bell, Garrett grabs a belly to back suplex for two. Moriarty is back with a running enziguri in the corner and a jumping double stomp to the back of a seated Garrett’s head. And then Garrett starts vomiting and the referee stops it at 5:42.

Rating: C. I’ve seen a lot from Moriarty this weekend and he really does come off as one of the better stars out of the series of shows. He has the technical and in-ring abilities to make it work with just enough charisma to make him more interesting. Throw in the fact that he looks pretty young and already seems fairly polished and he could be on to something. Garrett was just there for a short burst and you are only going to be able to get so much out of him in so little time, though he was fine enough.

We now pause to clean the ring and get some ads, including from a man named Toy Vomit, which might not be the best timing.

First Round: Aramis vs. Arez

Arez appears to be part goat. They fight over a top wristlock to start as one of the commentators can barely be heard. Aramis takes him down and starts tying up the leg but Arez ties him into a ball and puts on kind of a reverse full nelson with the legs, because these guys know some crazy complicated holds. That’s reversed but Arez reverses the reversal into something like Paige’s Scorpion Crosslock.

With that broken up as well, it’s off to a pinfall reversal sequence and the rather rapid fire tumbling into some near falls. They’re still not don so more grappling gives them two each until it’s another standoff for a pretty well deserved standing ovation. A springboard armdrag puts Aramis down but he wristdrags Arez over without much trouble. An exchange of anklescissors sets up a pair of superkicks from Aramis to send Arez outside. One heck of a suicide dive rocks Arez as commentary LOVES the fact that Aramis led with his head instead of just shoving him.

Back in and Aramis kicks him in the face, setting up a running shoulder in the corner as commentary is very pleased with the international flare here. Aramis grabs the arm and climbs the ropes to jump into a victory roll, followed by a heck of a springboard hurricanrana. Rolling Chaos Theory out of the corner gives Aramis two and they’re both down for a needed breather.

They slug it out until Arez grabs the arm and spins over to the apron to tie it around the ropes. Then he does it again with another arm and pulls on it for one of the most unique spots I can remember seeing in a long time. They fight out to the floor with Arez throwing water on him and then drinking some of it himself. Back in and Aramis is sent to the apron where they trade more kicks to the head. Arez kicks him in the chest but hurts his own leg in the process to put them both down again.

We pause for the injury and the referee gives Arez a ten count to get up. Back up and they strike it out rather hard until a double kick to the head (Commentary: “That looked like a d*** game of Karate Fighters!”) puts them both down again. Aramis pumphandles him onto the shoulder for a Dominator into a knee to the face and a torture rack spun into a powerbomb (with a lot of spinning) gets two. Arez has had it with this and comes back with a bridging northern lights suplex for the pin at 13:36.

Rating: B. This is going to be one of those matches where your individual tastes are really going to vary. Yes, this match felt like the most telegraphed match I’ve seen in a very long time but it was a blast as they beat each other up with one spot after another. They weren’t going for realistic here and the flips and holds and counters were crazy fun. Just great luchaing here and if you’re in for a performance instead of trying to make it feel like a competition, have fun with this one.

Money is thrown in and the wrestlers and referee split it.

First Round: Cole Radrick vs. Tony Deppen

Hold on actually as Radrick says Deppen is stuck between Tampa and Orlando so the match isn’t happening. Therefore, let’s do that open challenge thing.

First Round: Cole Radrick vs. Jimmy Lloyd

Lloyd is a hardcore guy and I really hope that isn’t what we’re getting here. Actually hang on again.

First Round: Cole Radrick vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Ellis Taylor

It wouldn’t be an indy show without a three way. Radrick is sent outside to start and there’s a dropkick to do it again. A superkick drops Taylor though and Lloyd is left alone in the ring. Radrick comes back in for a clothesline to the back of Lloyd’s head and then heads outside for a Gory Bomb onto the steps. Lloyd throws Radrick into a bunch of chairs at ringside but gets dropped as well.

That leaves Radrick and Taylor to slap it out at ringside before all three head back inside to miss some strikes to the face. Radrick dropkicks both of them down at the same time and it’s some running clotheslines in the corner. An Air Raid Crash gets two on Taylor with commentary comparing it to how Hulk Hogan covered Iron Sheik. Taylor is back up with a poisonrana on Lloyd, followed by a kick to Radrick’s head. Radrick is fine enough to hit a springboard Stunner on Lloyd, followed by something like an abdominal stretch lifted into a powerbomb to finish Taylor at 5:48.

Rating: C. This could have been a lot worse as Lloyd didn’t get to do his nonsense. Radrick is a smaller guy and looked fairly impressive here while he had the chance. They didn’t have time to do much here but the show is running out of time and they have one match left, which is the kind of thing that is going to happen. What we got was fine enough but the time hurt things a lot.

First Round: Nate Webb vs. AJ Gray

Webb is wearing a mask honoring the injured B-Boy. Webb grabs a wristlock to start but gets reversed into a rather hard headlock. A running shoulder drops Webb and it’s time for a breather on the floor. Back in and we hit the headlock again, with Gray taking him down into a front facelock this time. Make that an armbar as we continue the barrage of first gear holds.

Webb gets back up and they talk trash, setting up the exchange of right hands to the face. Gray knocks him down again, with Webb being knocked to the floor this time. They chop it out again and Gray gets suplexed onto the concrete for a rather scary landing. Webb pelts a chair at him and then hits Gray in the back with it for a bonus. Gray gets in his own chair shot and then crushes Webb’s throat with it for a bonus (Commentary: “I don’t think these guys are friends anymore.”).

Some chairs are thrown in, with Gray setting them up and bridging a large door between them for a bonus. What looks like a superplex is broken up and Webb hits a middle rope double stomp to the back, because Gray is a little nuts. The door is moved into the corner and Webb spears Gray through it for the big crash. The running dropkick in the corner (another B-Boy tribute) gets two on Gray but he’s right back up with an enziguri to catch him on top. A top rope superplex plants Webb again for two and one heck of a clothesline gets the same. Emerald Flosion finishes Webb at 9:28.

Rating: C. Not too bad here again and I was rather relieved to see the chair and door stuff kept mostly to a minimum. Webb feels like someone who belongs more in a place like CZW but he was perfectly acceptable here in a mostly normal match so I’ll take being surprised. Gray is one of the more featured people over the course of the weekend and you can see the talent. I’m not sure if he is as good as he is hyped up to be, but he is perfectly acceptable with everything that he does, which is a lot more than you usually get on a show like this.

No brackets for the second round but you don’t really need them for something like this.

Overall Rating: C+. We’ll call this one a breath of air after some of the pretty bad stuff I’ve seen over the weekend. This had watchable to good action throughout and Arez vs. Aramis was a blast. Other than that, there is nothing worth going out of your way to see but if you want a nice sample platter of indy wrestling with no big messy scramble match or a bunch of hardcore/deathmatch nonsense, this is about as good as you are going to get from what I’ve seen over the weekend.

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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For The Culture 2021
Date: April 8, 2021
Location: Cuban Club, Tampa, Florida
Commentator: Big Perc

We continue the Wrestlemania weekend run with our first offering from the Collective. This is from Game Changer Wrestling which has some rather unique options at times. They have a rather solid collection of talent from what I’ve seen so far, which could make for a pretty awesome show. Let’s get to it.

No intro video (as expected with an indy show) and we’re already on the ring.

AC Mack vs. Mysterious Q vs. D-Rogue vs. Rob Martyr vs. Alpha Zo vs. Troy Hollywood

Scramble match, meaning one fall to a finish. Mack isn’t happy with not getting to do his own entrance so he handles it himself and we starts in a hurry with only Mack being named. Mack gets knocked down to start and Q takes nails a running hurricanrana. We settle down to Mack not being able to hit his weird Pedigree on Martyr. Instead he elbows Martyr to the floor but Q is back in with a German suplex.

Zo comes in to suplex Q for a change as I keep trying to figure out who all is in this. Rogue starts to clean house with a bunch of slaps and the big dive takes everyone out on the floor. Commentary gets in the eternal debate over whether the apron or the post is the harder part of the ring (it’s the post) as Zo and Martyr get inside on their own. Martyr German suplexes Zo down but Rogue is in with a heck of a clothesline to take Martyr’s head off.

Rogue loads Martyr up in an electric chair but here is Q with a springboard cutter, which mostly makes contact. Hollywood is back in for the running knees in the corner, followed by a frog splash for two on Q with Mack and Zo making the save. Zo blasts Mack with a rolling forearm but Q is back up with a torture rack airplane spin before changing directions to powerbomb Zo for another near fall. Hollywood gives Q a fireman’s carry gutbuster for the pin at 8:22. Commentary is STUNNED at the result.

Rating: C. What are you supposed to say here? They had six people flying around all over the place and it isn’t like anyone really got to showcase themselves. To be fair though, it was not supposed to be anything more than a bunch of spots with one person after another getting to do their thing. It might not be the highest quality, but it was an entertaining match and that’s all it was supposed to be.

Thick N Juicy 2.0 vs. Fire N Flava

Fire N Flava’s Impact Knockouts Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line and this would be Willow Nightingale/Brooke Valentine vs. Kiera Hogan/Tasha Steelz. Before the match, Fire N Flava insult the other two, including Faye Jackson, who is injured and planning to retire. Actually they’ll even do us a favor and make this a title match.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Fire N Flava vs. Thick N Juicy 2.0

Fire N Flava is defending and jump Thick N Juicy before the bell. Some big boots put the champs down and Hogan is slammed onto Steelz for two. Nightingale grabs a front facelock on Steelz as we hear about how strong Nightingale is. Commentary: “The hood version of that: she will f*** anybody up.” A very delayed suplex gets two on Steelz but she is back up with some chops in the corner.

Nightingale kicks her in the face for two more and some running hip attacks in the corner crush Steelz again. Hogan comes in and rakes the eyes to take over and a neckbreaker gets two on Valentine. A running basement dropkick in the corner hits Valentine for two more and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up so Steelz tags herself back in, allowing Valentine to fall away slam Hogan into her. Steelz catches her and since Valentine is laying down on the mat, Hogan gets dropped onto her for a splash.

Valentine powers out of a camel clutch into an electric chair and the hot tag brings in Nightingale to clean house. A Pounce sends Steelz outside and gives us a record for Monty Brown references in a five second span. Valentine spears Steelz in half but Hogan is back with a kick to the head. A Death Valley Driver plants Hogan but Steelz is back with a cutter for two on Nightingale. Hogan superkicks Nightingale and the fisherman’s neckbreaker is enough to retain the titles at 10:00.

Rating: D+. This was pretty messy and that should not be such a problem with a team from Impact. It doesn’t help that Fire N Flava are only so good in the first place and were in there against two women who have never teamed before. The match wasn’t terrible but they really needed to cut out about two minutes to make it work a good bit better.

Fire N Flava dance A LOT to celebrate.

PB Smooth vs. Jon Davis

Smooth is about 6’9 and a playboy while Davis is a monster and formerly part of the Dark City Fight Club a LONG time ago. They shove each other around to start as commentary puts over a battle of the generations, which is a lot more than you would expect to get out of a one off indy show. Davis gets the better of things and stomps him down, setting up the big clubbing shots to the back.

Smooth manages to get in a heck of a big boot to drop Davis and some kind of slam gets two on Davis. Some big shots to the head rock Smooth and Davis grabs a heck of a spinebuster (with commentary quoting Batista’s theme song for a nice touch). Smooth can’t hit a chokeslam but he can hit a claw STO for two, followed by a sitout chokebomb for two. Back up and Davis slugs away, including a stomp to the head to break up a sunset flip. A piledriver finishes Smooth at 8:17.

Rating: C. It wasn’t meant to be anything more than a power brawl and that’s what we got. They even told a story with Smooth being too cocky to deal with the much more seasoned and serious Davis. The piledriver at the end was a bit scary as Davis didn’t have him incredibly secured, but it was a nice change of pace after everything else they have been doing for the rest of the show.

Calvin Tankman vs. Andy Brown vs. Myron Reed vs. Jah-C

Tankman and Reed are both from MLW. The rather large Tankman shoves people around to start but some triple teaming puts him down. Reed dropkicks Brown to the floor and Jah is back in with a dropkick to Brown. That gives us the staredown between Reed and Jah with Reed missing a double stomp but hitting something like a reverse Sling Blade. Tankman is back in to clear the ring in a hurry but Jah manages to superkick him down.

Two more superkicks have Tankman in trouble so he rolls to the floor for a breather. Brown is back in with a Superman forearm to Jah but Reed knocks him to the floor. Reed’s suicide dive drops Brown again and he brings Brown back in for an F5, with Brown’s feet (intentionally) getting caught on top to make it a hanging drop.

Brown is right back up with an AA into a backbreaker for two on Reed but Jah spears Brown to the floor. They head to the apron with Brown hitting a piledriver but Reed is back with a slingshot cutter. Back in and Reed misses the 450, leaving Tankman to spinebuster Brown, setting up the spinning backfist to the back of the head. The Tankman Driver (something like a Steiner Screwdriver) finishes Brown at 8:43.

Rating: C. I can see why Tankman would get this much of a push as the guy is a monster who can move and you will always see someone like that get pushed. Reed is going to get a job somewhere a lot bigger than MLW one day with the potential he has and that was on display here. Fun match, but again you’re only getting so much out of a four way like this.

Bryan Keith vs. Darius Lockhart

Keith misses a big right hand to start and Lockhart waves his finger no. Lockhart takes him down into an armbar and they go to an exchange of submission attempts on the mat. Back up and Keith blasts him with a kick to the chest to take over. A Rock Bottom backbreaker gives Keith two as we hear about the wrestlers these people have faced before.

More kicks have Lockhart in crumbling in the corner but he comes back with a chop. A heck of a clothesline drops Keith again and the comeback is on in a hurry. Back to back t-bone suplexes send Keith flying and a high crossbody gets two more. An enziguri sends Keith into the corner but he comes out with a DDT. Lockhart hits a running knee in the corner into a belly to back flipped into a faceplant for the pin at 11:28.

Rating: C+. Nice stuff here and probably the best match of the night so far. Lockhart is rather smooth in the ring and Keith looked rather good as well. It was nice to see a run of the mill and much more traditional match after all of the fast paced stuff so far and that is what we got here. I could go for a bit more of both of these guys and that is after seeing Keith twice today.

Post match, Keith won’t shake hands but he will give the black power salute, a Lockhart signature.

Tre LaMar vs. Eli Knight

LaMar starts in on the arm but gets knocked down, allowing Knight to load up a superkick. Said superkick doesn’t actually launch though as Knight pats him on the head instead. LaMar is ready for a dropkick so Knight enziguris him to the floor again. Back in and LaMar kicks him down, setting up a quick splash for two. A seated abdominal stretch has Knight in more trouble but he counters a crossbody into a gutbuster.

An exploder suplex puts LaMar down again but Knight is favoring his back. They strike it out until Knight hits a springboard moonsault press. LaMar sends him outside for a suicide dive but Knight is back in with a springboard dropkick from the bottom rope. That sends LaMar outside again and there’s the running flip dive. Back in and Knight hits a moonsault for two and he doesn’t seem sure what to do next.

LaMar nails a Pele kick for another double knockdown and they both seem a bit banged up. They go up top with Knight being backdropped down but sticking the landing, allowing him to hit a running enziguri. A super poisonrana doesn’t work as LaMar lands on his feet (mostly) and hits a running Mushroom Stomp. LaMar puts him in a torture rack into a backbreaker, setting up a Liontamer for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: C+. These guys were working hard and putting in the effort, which worked out rather well for both of them. They are both rather young but they did their things well enough and the ending with a submission was kind of a surprise. It was nice to see them mix it up a bit, even if most of the match was your usual indy fair.

JTG vs. AJ Gray

You probably would not recognize JTG here as he is in regular gear and has put on all kinds of muscle. This is Gray’s show and he starts fast with a heck of a clothesline for two. JTG needs a breather on the floor because he does not seem to know what he got himself into. Back in and JTG takes him down to hammer away with right hands to the face. A hard whip into the corner drops Gray again and JTG drives in some shoulders to the ribs in the corner.

There’s the reverse Sling Blade for two and JTG starts hammering away. The chinlock doesn’t last long so JTG tries it again, only to have Gray jawbreak his way to freedom. Gray is back with a few right hands to set up a nice moonsault for two more. Back up and JTG hits a ripcord lariat for two of his own but Gray slips out of a Razor’s Edge. An enziguri sets up a leg lariat and Gray nails a superplex for two more. Another lariat blasts JTG for one so Gray hits another. That’s not enough for a cover as Gray grabs an Emerald Flosion for the pin at 13:55.

Rating: B-. I’m sorry what now? JTG could do this and looks like that? I’m not sure I can get my head around something like this and I’m rather confused by the idea that the only thing they could do with him is the Cryme Tyme stuff. His employment was a running joke for years and then he can pull off a match like this while looking like that? I really don’t get it and that’s a nice feeling to have.

Post match, one of the commentators named Billy gets in and chairs Gray down. They’re facing each other at another show this weekend so Billy yells about Gray disrespecting him by not being in some match. Billy rants about Gray not paying attention to the right talent and wants to prove that the Truth (Gray) is a lie. This was a fine way to set up a match, but it’s 2am and we have two matches left so can we pick up the pace a bit?

Lio Rush vs. Lee Moriarty

Moriarty is a heck of a technician. Feeling out process to start and they take their time to get going here. Moriarty grabs the hammerlock and Rush can’t spin his way to freedom. Rush makes the rope instead and heads outside for a breather. That makes Moriarty give chase and they change places, with Rush hitting a dive. Back in and Moriarty starts going after the arm but Rush starts doing his rather cool dodges.

Moriarty manages to get hold of the arm and ties his legs around it for some cranking. The cranking continues with Moriarty using his own arms for a change and then bending backwards to pull on the arm even more. Rush comes back with some shots to the face and a belly to back suplex puts Moriarty down again. An ax kick has Rush in trouble but Moriarty hits a sliding kick to the face to break up a handspring.

Rush uses a Tajiri style kick to send him to the floor though and a VERY fast suicide dive connects (which scaring the heck out of a fan on their phone). Back in and Rush’s springboard Stunner is countered into a rear naked choke, which is broken up again so Rush can hit a cutter. Back up and they slug it out, with Rush looking very frustrated that he can’t put Moriarty down.

Moriarty grabs the arm and pulls him into a mousetrap for…..well about seven or eight but the referee says no. You can hear the fans booing as Rush goes up top and kicks Moriarty down, setting up the Rush Hour frog splash for two. Moriarty is right back with a rather aggressive rollup for the pin at 16:50.

Rating: C+. This was a match where you could see both guys being at a higher level than most wrestlers on the show. Moriarty winning is a good idea as it isn’t like Rush is going to be hurt by losing a competitive match on a show like this. Rush is someone who has been a star on the big stage and will be fine in the future. On the other hand, Moriarty needs some attention and given how talented he is, odds are he will be getting it sooner than later.

2 Cold Scorpio vs. Rich Swann

The entrances involve a lot of dancing, as you might expect. Scorpio drives him up against the ropes and dances away a bit. They settle down again and Scorpio spins around into a cravate as commentary tries to figure out why Scorpio doesn’t have a coaching job somewhere (fair question).

Swann is sent outside and the hip swiveling begins from Scorpio, which has commentary rather excited. Back in and Scorpio works on a headlock to grind Swann down a bit. Swann sends him outside for a change and it’s time for some Alex Wright style dancing. Back in again and Swann grabs a DDT to take over, followed by the required armbarring.

Scorpio fights that off and nails some German suplexes to send Swann flying, followed by the two count. One heck of a clothesline drops Swann again and there’s a spinwheel kick to put Swann down again. The flipping legdrop sets up a middle rope Tumbleweed for two. Swann is back up and manages to knock Scorpio outside, setting up something like the Phoenix splash to the apron.

Back in and a frog splash gives Swann two more but Scorpio knocks him down again. The Tumbleweed, with Scorpio landing on Swann’s face, only gets two. Swann has had it and kicks him down, setting up a middle rope 450 for two. The Phoenix splash to the back finishes Scorpio at 17:45.

Rating: C. This was a good main event in a battle of the generations but there is something to be said about matches that start before 2:30AM. You could tell that the crowd was completely done, even though they were seeing something special. I have been a fan of Scorpio for the better part of thirty years and it is always cool to see him, especially when he can still go pretty well in the ring. The match was longer than it needed to be though and that hurt things a good bit.

Overall Rating: C+. I had a better time than I was expecting with this show and there was some good stuff throughout. You had cool stuff like Scorpio to the downright bizarre like JTG looking like/having a good match and that’s a nice mixture for any show. Again though, starting it at midnight was a bit too much, as things didn’t wrap up until nearly 3AM and that’s a bit late to be having a match. Good show though, and I had some fun with the whole thing.

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