GCW/JCW vs. The World
Date: April 4, 2024
Location: Penns Landing Caterers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Nick Knowledge, Veda Scott

As tends to be the case over Wrestlemania Weekend, we have some promotions going to battle for one night. In this case it’s GCW and it’s secondary promotion JCW vs….well everyone else. That could make for quite the series of options, but odds are it’s just anyone who happens to be in town for the weekend. Let’s get to it.

Dig the WCW vs. the World Playstation theme.

Opening sequence.

Jordan Oliver (GCW/JCW) vs. Aigle Blanc (The World)

The fans are rather happy to see Oliver, even as Blanc grabs a hammerlock on him to start. Oliver’s monkey flip is blocked and we get an early standoff. Oliver knocks him out of the air but Blanc anklescissors his way out of an Acid Bomb attempt. Blanc tries a springboard but gets dropkicked out of the air, allowing Oliver to grab a bridging German suplex for two. A tornado DDT is broken up so Oliver goes with a superkick.

Blanc flips out of a German suplex and now the springboard crossbody connects. There’s a suplex for two on Oliver and we slow down a bit. Back up and Oliver strikes away, setting up a springboard tornado DDT for two of his own. Blanc manages to tie him in the ropes for a superkick into a hurricanrana driver. A Coast To Coast and a tombstone give Blanc two and he can’t believe the kickout.

Blanc gets caught on top but fights out of another Acid Bomb, with Oliver getting caught in a twisting superplex instead. Oliver is sent outside but manages to counter a dive into a brainbuster onto the floor. Since this is modern wrestling, Blanc is right back with a lariat to knock Oliver silly.

The Cloud Cutter (middle rope diving cutter) gives Oliver two and now the Acid Bomb (which is a Blackout into a faceplant rather than a flip) gets the same. Back up and Blanc sends Oliver face first into the buckles, setting up a springboard DDT onto the apron. A 450 gives Blanc two but he dives into a cutter, allowing Oliver to hit a super Acid Bomb for the pin at 11:34.

Rating: B. I’ve seen a bit from Oliver before and he’s not bad when he’s getting a chance to show what he can do. That was the case here as this was a rather fun match with both of them getting to do a bunch of stuff. Blanc (whose name means White Eagle) held up his end here too and these guys had a rather entertaining match (assuming you can ignore/accept the lack of selling in a lot of places).

GCW/JCW – 1
The World – 0

Blanc gets a nice ovation.

Griffin McCoy (GCW/JCW) vs. Session Moth Martina (The World)

Before the match, McCoy mocks the fans because he’s a big star but he’s not happy for facing a drunken woman. That’s enough to bring out Martina, complete with the rather energetic entrance to Every Time We Touch. This is more impressive when you consider that this show started around midnight after the first show in the building started at 11am.

Martina passes out during her entrance (it happens occasionally) and is brought back to life thanks to a beer. The bell rings and Martina seems to find McCoy attractive, but would rather do some WRESTLING. They trade waistlocks with Martina gyrating from both directions, earning a slap in the corner. Martina sends him into the buckle and hits a rather long Bronco Buster but accidentally bumps the referee.

McCoy uses the distraction to send Martina into the corner and hammer away, setting up a Helluva Kick. Martina’s come back attempt is cut off by a kick to the chest, followed by another for two. The STF goes on, with Martina crawling towards the corner for a rope…and a beer.

The spitting to the face has McCoy in trouble and a twisting suplex gives Martina two. Back up and McCoy blocks a diving Codebreaker but Martina reverses a belly to back superplex into a sunset bomb. With McCoy on the floor, Martina hits a suicide dive, followed by the Jager Bomb for two back inside. Another middle rope Codebreaker is blocked and McCoy rakes the eyes for the win at 7:48.

Rating: C. This was more about the comedy than anything else and it only kind of worked. I get the idea of putting Martina in a match that is more designed to be fun but this wasn’t exactly funny at times. It didn’t help that the ending was more than than a little weird, with McCoy actually winning with a rake of the eyes. Not a terrible match, but it didn’t click.

GCW/JCW – 2
The World – 0

JCW World Title: Syuri (The World) vs. Masha Slamovich (GCW/JCW)

Slamovich is defending and the referee drops the title as he displays it before the bell. They fight over a lockup to start and then go to the mat with Syuri getting the better of things. Slamovich gets in a takedown of her own and Syuri is a bit impressed. Arm cranking ensues until Syuri reverses into a headlock. They trade armdrags and legsweeps until Slamovich runs her over.

A kick to the back seems to wake Syuri up as she kicks Slamovich down, only to drop down and let Slamovich kick her. That’s fine with Slamovich but Syuri reverses one of the kicks into a dragon screw legwhip. Syuri grabs a sleeper for a good while until Slamovich is able to roll free. Slamovich slams her down out of the corner for two before grabbing a seated abdominal stretch.

The rope gets Syuri out of trouble but Slamovich kicks her down a few times. Syuri fights up and they slug it out, with both of them screaming a lot. The fight goes to Slamovich again and she grabs a half crab, with Syuri having to make the rope. That’s broken up as well and Syuri is back with a faceplant into a sitout bulldog for two. Syuri manages to get to a Disarm-Her but Slamovich makes the rope as well.

Back up and they slowly strike it out, with the forearm exchange going on for a good while. The kicks don’t drop either of them so they both hit running shots against the ropes. Syuri hits a Codebreaker but Slamovich scores with a Shining Wizard and they’re both down. Slamovich goes up so Syuri pulls her down by the arm and grabs a Disarm-Her. That’s broken up so Syuri kicks her in the arm and hits a DDT for two.

A kick to the head gives Syuri two more and the Disarm-Her goes on again. This time it’s Slamovich reversing into a cross armbreaker, which is reversed into a sleeper to put Slamovich back in trouble. With that escaped as well, Slamovich invites some kicks to the chest, one of which she reverses into a kneebar.

We get the ten minutes remaining call as they slug it out from their knees. Slamovich gets the better of things and Air Raid Crashes her into the corner for two. Something like Sister Abigail (complete with kiss) gives Slamovich two and frustration is rapidly setting in. Slamovich grabs a double armbar, with Syuri making it over to the ropes almost immediately.

Back up and Syuri kicks her in the head a few times for two before grabbing the stretch that Dan Severn used to injure D’Lo Brown’s chest. Slamovich makes the rope again and we have less than five minutes to go. Back up and they slowly slug it out, with Slamovich seemingly getting stronger. Slamovich gets the better of things and rolls her around the ring into a near fall.

We hit two minutes left as Syuri gets her own two off a rollup. Slamovich grabs a Fujiwara armbar and cranks on the other arm at the same time to make it even worse. That’s reversed into a cross armbreaker from Syuri as we have thirty seconds left. Syuri gets two off a bridging German suplex so Slamovich does the same. A kick to the head drops Slamovich but time expires at 30:00 (or 30:04 but close enough) for the draw.

Rating: B. They beat the heck out of each other and it was a rather physical fight, though it was pretty clear where they were going about fifteen minutes in. That being said, this made Slamovich feel like quite the star as Syuri’s reputation is more than enough to give Slamovich a rub. Pretty awesome match here, with Slamovich more than holding her own.

Respect is shown post match.

Los Desperados (GCW/JCW) vs. Team Dragon Gate (World)

That would be Arez/Gringo Loco/Latigo vs. Dragon Kid/Shun Skywalker/Yamato. Skywalker and Latigo start things off, with the evil Skywalker not being interested in a handshake. Instead Skywalker grabs a headlock but has a monkey flip attempt countered into a rollup for two. They trade rollups for two each and the fans approve. Latigo flips him off so we’ll try Arez vs. Yamato instead.

A shoulder puts Arez down but he slowly nips up and rolls into an armdrag to put Yamato down. Loco and the Kid come in, with the fans rather approving, including as Loco flips out of an armdrag attempt. Kid grabs a headscissors for some more success and it’s back to Yamato to work on the arm. We cut to Skywalker sitting in the crowd so Yamato hands it off to Kid and goes outside to yell. The distraction lets Loco fight up and Los Desperados get in some stomping.

Skywalker comes back in and gets kicked down, with Arez’s splash giving Latigo two. Kid gets draped over the top for a superkick from Loco, followed by a Liger Bomb for two more. Arez gets to chop Yamato rather hard, before Latigo tries something like Shattered Dreams. Kid manages to fight up and bring Yamato back in as everything breaks down.

Skywalker is willing to come in since everyone is down, with a powerbomb getting two on Arez. Latigo comes back in with a super headscissors to Skywalker and Loco adds a super Vader Bomb for two with Yamato making the save. We get a chop off between Yamato and Arez, with the latter needing a second to shrug off some stinging. Arez comes back with his own chops and Yamto needs a breather for a change.

The chops keep going (we’re a few minutes in now) until Arez hits a Pele Kick. Kid is back in with a tornado DDT for two on Arez and a hurricanrana gets the same on Loco. Latigo makes a fired up comeback and Loco no sells an enziguri from Yamato. A powerbomb/neckbreaker combination puts Yamato down and the spinning moonsault gives Logo the pin at 14:04.

Rating: C+. It picked up near the end but egads there were a lot of slow moments here and they dragged things down. They played up the idea of Los Desperados being a regular team while Team Dragon Gate just happen to work together, which is a fine way to go. Not a great match, but the last few minutes (once the eternal chop off ended) helped a lot.

GCW/JCW – 3
The World – 0

Astronauts/Rina Yamashita (The World) vs. 1 Called Manders/Gahbage Daddies (GCW/JCW)

The Astronauts are Fuminori Abe/Takuya Nomura and the Daddies are Alec Price/Cole Radrick. We get the traditional exchange of middle fingers before the bell and it’s Radrick taking Abe to the mat to start. Abe reverses into a headlock so Radrick reverses into a headlock, only to have Abe kick him in the back.

Rina comes in but the triple knees miss a screaming Radrick. It’s off to Price for a springboard high crossbody to take the Astronauts down. A step up Swanton hits Rina and it’s already off to Manders. A hard kick to the back wakes Rina up but Manders kicks her down again. Manders misses….well commentary calls it “an adorable attempt at a springboard elbow”, which is more than I could tell from whatever he did) before opting to just forearm Rina in the face.

Rina’s testicular claw is blocked so she settles for a slam to the much bigger Manders. Nomura comes in for the kicks in the corner but Manders reverses for some rather loud chops. Nomura’s dropkick gets two but the running kick to the chest is blocked for another hard chop. It’s back to Abe vs. Price, with the former kicking Price down for two. An exchange of shots to the head leave them both down so it’s off to Radrick vs. Rina for the slugout.

A Blue Thunder Bomb gives Radrick two but Rina rises up for a double middle finger and a kick to the head. We get a triple submission, which is broken up so Rina can claw Manders low. Some superkicks put Rina on the floor and Manders hits a dive, with the Dahdies hitting a (rather delayed) dive of their own. Some chairs and a board are brought in but Rina is back in to make a save. Rina’s over the back piledriver gets two on Radrick, who is then Splash Mountained through the board for the pin at 11:07.

Rating: B-. It was more energetic than the previous match and that made things that much better. What mattered here was giving the fans something to energize them a bit more, which is necessary when it’s nearly 2am local time. The Astronauts were a fun team and felt like two guys who knew each other rather well. The Daddies kind of did the same, though it felt more like a makeshift team than anything else.

GCW/JCW – 3
The World – 1

Team GCW/JCW vs. Team World

GCW/JCW – Calvin Tankman, Charlie Tiger, Marcus Mathers, Mike Bailey, Mr. Danger, Terry Yaki, Tony Deppen
The World – Ho Ho Lun, LJ Cleary, Lou Nixon, Mizuki Watase, Ricky Knight Jr., Shota, Yusaka Ito

I’m sure I’ll be able to keep track of this perfectly well. Veda Scott isn’t happy that Bailey, her husband, isn’t wearing his mouthpiece. It’s a brawl to start, with Knowledge accurately calling this a battle royal early on. Cleary and Yaki are left alone in the ring and we’ll go split screen for the sake of sanity. Yaki gets sent into the corner so the World can crush him with various shots.

Cleary’s splash misses though and now it’s his turn to get crushed in the corner, with the rather large Tankman making it worse. Mathers kicks Cleary in the face in the corner for two as this is breaking down into something close to a match. Cleary fights up but opts to fire up the crowd rather than tagging, allowing Danger to dropkick him down. The World comes in to clear things out a bit and it’s Knight tagging himself in for a wishbone on Danger.

A delayed suplex drops Danger again and it’s off to the rather large Nixon for a chop to the back. Lun kicks him in the back for two before Ito comes in to crank on the arm (and scream a lot). Watase drives a top rope knee to the back as the rapid tags continue. Danger strikes his way to his feet though and a double clothesline gives him a breather. Tankman and Knight come in for the slugout, with Knight managing a Samoan drop to put Tankman down.

Bailey dropkicks Knight silly though and it’s a slugout with Watase. We get the required group suplex (it doesn’t really work) with the World getting the better of things. Bailey gets the parade of shots in the corner until Nixon’s GTS sets up Watase’s top rope double stomp for two.

Team GCW/JCW comes back in to clear the ring though and naturally the big dives ensue. A bunch of people huddle on the floor so Tankman can throw Yaki onto them…and then Tankman hits a big flip dive (with rope but close enough) to take everyone down again. Back in and Bailey hits his tornado kick on Watase, leaving Danger to hit a crazy flip dive to the floor. The Ultimate Weapon gives bailey the pin on Watase at 10:54.

Rating: C+. What is there to say about something like this? There were fourteen people in the match at once and it only had ten minutes. There is only so much you can get out of any of this, especially when there was a heat segment on Danger. They did what they could to get that many people included, but it only worked out so well.

GCW/JCW – 4
World – 1

Video on Joey Janela challenging Blake Christian for the GCW World Title at Spring Break. This was some random filler.

Los Macizos (GCW/JCW) vs. Mao/Yoshihiko (World) vs. Boisterous Behavior (GCW/JCW) vs. Norman Harras/Robert Dreissker (World)

Los Macizos are Ciclope/Miedo Extreme and Boisterous Behavior are Leon Slater/Man Like DeReiss. The affiliations here are kind of educated guesses but I can’t imagine it makes that big of a difference. We pause for some dancing, with Yoshihiko patting Slater on the head to start the mind games. Mao carries Yoshihiko around ringside for a bit before chilling on the apron. Dreissker, a rather large man, is not thrilled with any of this and locks up with DeReiss for the first important contact over two minutes in.

They forearm it out until DeReiss manages a knockdown so it’s off to Harras to hit DeReiss in the face. Slater tags himself in for the neckbreaker half of a belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination. Los Macizos come in to take over on Slater in the corner, with Miedo’s top rope double stomp to the back of the head making it worse. Mao comes in and uses Yoshihiko to trip Ciclope but Harras breaks up the big dive.

Harras slaps Yoshihiko, who is launched hard out into the crowd. Back in and Harras takes over on Los Macizos as Mao brings Yoshihiko back to ringside. Ciclope gets beaten aup as Mao is now giving Yoshihiko CPR. Dreissker hits a splash for two on Ciclope as the fans are only kind of reacting because they’re waiting for the Yoshihiko stuff. Or they’re dead tired because it’s almost 2:30 in the morning.

Ciclope manages a spinebuster on Dreissker though and Miedo comes in with a high crossbody on Dreissker and Harras. Los Macizos hit back to back dives but Mao and Yoshihiko are back in. They’re taken down just as fast but Boisterous Behavior wants in on this too. Behavior is suplexed onto Yoshihiko onto Mao, only to have Behavior get into a fight with Los Macizos. Slater’s big flip dive to the floor takes out Harras and Dreissker and it’s a 3D to Yoshihiko.

A Doomsday Blockbuster gets two on Ciclope but Mao is back in to hit people with Yoshihiko. Ciclope gets taken down with a double hurricanrana and then Yoshihiko is spun around and tossed onto the pile at ringside. Back in and Dreissker powerbombs Yoshihiko and Harras adds a moonsault, only to have Mao come in with a 450 for the save. We get the required Tower Of Doom, with Slater getting the worst of everything.

That leaves Mao to stare DeReiss down and they trade kicks to the head. DeReiss gets Mao in an electric chair and a German suplex brings him down hard. Back in and Los Macizos hit a modified Doomsday Device for two on DeReiss but Harras and Dreissker come in to clean house. Mao and Yoshihiko put Dreissker down with a Rainmaker but Harras German suplexes both of them. Harras only gets one on Yoshihiko so it’s time for some spitting. Yoshihiko makes a comeback and is swung around, knocking down a bunch of people like Terry Funk with a ladder back in the day. Yoshihiko’s hurricanrana pins Harras at 16:34.

Rating: B-. The match was fun for the most part but I’m rather over the Yoshihiko stuff. I know the fans want to see it but after seeing it on multiple shows over multiple days, the joke wears thin rather quickly. That was certainly the case here, as the action would get good but then it had to stop for the sake of that stuff. The rest of the match worked, but egads enough with the same joke already.

GCW/JCW – 4
World – 2

Overall Rating: B. For a show that had a bunch of people crammed onto it and nothing in the way of grudges or storylines, I had a pretty nice time. This show did have a rather awesome mixture of styles and action, thankfully without a lot of the goofy stuff that GCW can be known for. It’s not something I would want to watch every week, but for a special event like this, it went much better than I had been expecting.

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

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

Suzume vs. Pom Harajaku vs. Saki

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GCW – 1
TJPW – 0

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

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

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

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

GCW – 1
TJPW – 1

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

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

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

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

GCW – 2
TJPW – 1

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

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

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

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

GCW – 3
TJPW – 1

Mizuki (TJPW) vs. Allie Katch (GCW)

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

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

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

GCW – 3
TJPW – 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

GCW – 3
TJPW – 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

GCW – 4
TJPW – 3

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

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Joey Janela’s Spring Break: Cluster**** Forever
Date: April 6, 2024
Location: Penns Landing Caterers, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Dave Prazak, Veda Scott

This is the second half of Spring Break, with a two match card. Naturally this includes a Punjabi Prison match, but the big draw is the Cluster**** Battle Royal, which is only a match with actual structure in the loosest of terms. There will probably be more than fifty entrants with loosely timed intervals, but the real fun is seeing who shows up. Let’s get to it.

We open with a video on the Punjabi Prison match.

Tag Team Titles: Violence Is Forever vs. Juicy Finau/Zilla Fatu vs. Los Macios vs. Bollywood Boyz

Violence Is Forever (Kevin Ku/Dominic Garrini) is defending and Los Macios are Ciclope/Miedo Extremo. The Boyz are carried on fans’ shoulders to the ring, which is surrounded by the bamboo style cage. This is one fall to a finish, meaning it’s not quite a Punjabi Prison match but I’ll take what I can get under the circumstances.

Fatu and Finau clean house to start, with Finau and Garrini fighting to the floor (as in outside of the cage) where Garrini gets beaten up. Los Macios hit Ku with a double flapjack but can’t manage to double suplex the rather large Ku. The Boyz are back up with a Bollywood Blast to Ku before double teaming Fatu down. Finau wrecks Finau as more people go to the floor to brawl.

Gurv is busted open and Ciclope grabs an electric tool, which can’t go well for anyone. Los Macios manage to knock Finau down inside, at least partially thanks to a chair, leaving Fatu to Samoan drop Harv off the cage through some doors at ringside. About ten chair shots and a Samoan drop put Finau down again as Ciclope climbs the cage.

Fatu Samoan Spikes him down and then dives back in with Garrini having to make a save. A spike piledriver hits Gurv…who pops right back up. The champs chair him down and then do the same to Finau. We pause for the sake of spending forever to set up a double stack door. The top rope double stomp to Finau gives Ku the retaining pin at 14:26.

Rating: C+. What is there to say about a match like this? It’s total insanity with all kinds of things going on at once. That’s kind of the point, and while the cage itself was only kind of used at times, I think I like the idea of having people coming and going. Having eight people in the ring at once is a mess, so I’ll take carnage going throughout the arena and ringside over everyone in the ring and not being able to move.

We look at upcoming shows as it’s going to take some time to get the cage down.

Commentary hypes up the Cluster as we stay on the graphic of upcoming events.

Before the Cluster starts, here is GCW World Champion Black Christian, with Shane Mercer, for a chat. Christian talks about how Joey Janela couldn’t finish the story last night at Spring Break and it wasn’t the first time he was bigger, stronger and could last longer than Janela. Cue Janela from behind to powerbomb Christian and hit him with a package piledriver. Mercer and Janela brawl outside…and here is Mance Warner, who has a guaranteed title shot at any time. Warner loads up the screwdriver but Effy comes in to brawl with Warner to the back.

We preview the Cluster, which is about having all kinds of people, with no idea of who or how many people will be entering.

Cluster****

There are unknown entrants and you can be eliminated by pin, submission, over the top, leaving the building and death. It’s Royal Rumble style (with the rules and intervals being loose at best) with Jimmy Lloyd, in a neck brace after last night, in at #1. Before the match he rips on Philadelphia before bringing out Matt Cardona and Steph de Lander. Well in theory that is but instead it’s Shane Douglas coming in at #2.

Shane hits a quick belly to belly for the pin and the elimination, allowing him to stop and talk about the history of wrestling here in Philadelphia. All of the promotions around here can kiss his a** but here is Shota in at #3. A dropkick staggers Douglas but he’s back with the belly to belly for the pin. Bam Sullivan is in at #4 and flips off Douglas, who hammers away. Sullivan knocks him down and gets two off a splash but Douglas bites him in the head. A running clothesline of all things gets rid of Sullivan and it’s Lindsay in at #5.

Douglas doesn’t think much of her so she hits him low for two. The camel clutch goes on but Jason Knight comes in, presumably at #6, to kiss Snow and toss her out. Rob S*** is in at #7 and beats on both of them until Knight dumps him. The Carnage Crew (Loc and DeVito) are in at #8 and #9 but they’re both out just as fast. Tommy Dreamer is in at #10 and yeah the fans approve as the ECW reunion continues. Justin Credible pops in, I guess at #11, and leaves with Jason without doing anything.

That leaves Dreamer vs. Douglas with a quick DDT getting rid of Douglas as the Impact Players (Knight/Credible) are officially eliminated due to leaving. Rina Yamashita is in at #12 and they slug it out, with Rina grabbing a testicular claw. An enziguri drops Dreamer and Tony Deppen is in at #13 (Rina rolls her eyes). Rina rolls outside (not eliminated) and 1 Called Manders is in at #14. Brawling ensues until Charlie Tiger is in at #15. That goes nowhere so Jeffrey John is in at #16 as the ring is starting to fill up.

Facade is in at #17 for some kicks to stagger various people. The intervals pick up as Masha Slamovich is in at #18. Slamovich avoids a dropkick and chokes John out for the elimination. Tiger gets choked out as well before Slamovich crotches Facade on top and gets rid of him. Deppen tries to get rid of Slamovich but Dreamer throws him out instead. Trevor Outlaw and Frank The Clown are in at #19 and #20 with Outlaw trying a cheap shot on Dreamer, who grabs a DDT.

Slamovich tosses Dreamer and pins Outlaw as Marcus Mathers is in at #21. Mathers kicks Rina back out to the floor (again not out) and Parrow is in at #22. Frank The Clown has left the building (he never got in the ring) for an elimination and it’s Mike Bailey in at #23 (you knew he was coming). Everyone goes after the large Parrow, who tosses Bailey. Parrow puts Slamovich down for the pin as well and it’s Pollo del Mar in at #24. Pollo is tossed rather quickly and it’s Dark Sheik, Edith Surreal and Jamie Senegal in at #25, #26 and #27.

They all strike away at Parrow, including a trio of Shattered Dreams. Parrow goes through the ropes (not out) and it’s Cheech and Colin Delaney in at #28 and #29. They go after the trio but can’t get rid of anyone as the Main Event (Jay Lion/Midas Black) are in at #30 and #31. Some rather snazzy double team moves have Cheech and Delaney in trouble, albeit not eliminated. Dives through the ropes take Cheech and Delaney down as the Ugly Sucklings (White Mike and Rob Killjoy) are in at #32 and #33.

The Sucklings beat up both tag teams but can’t get rid of anyone as Davey Bang and August Matthews are in at #34 and #35. That means they get to clean house with some dives as even more people get to lay around on the floor. Cheech and Delaney come back in but get dropped with clotheslines as Bobby Flaco, Terry Yaki, Aerial Van Go and Mr. Danger come in together at #36, #37, #38 and #39.

The four of them go after Delaney, with a hurricanrana into a phoenix splash getting rid of him, with Cheech being thrown out just after. Flaco plants Black for the elimination and a twisting Canadian Destroyer gets rid of Lion. Bang and Matthews are back up to get rid of Mike and Killjoy. Fuego del Sol and Sam Stackhouse are in at #40 and #41 with the much bigger Stackhouse going after Matthews.

Del Sol and Stackhouse knock Matthews and Bang down for stereo pins to clear the ring, not counting all of the people still either on the floor or gone. Stackhouse and del Sol beat up some of the foursome before a ladder is brought in. A moonsault onto said ladder gets rid of Flaco and Yaki but Van Go and Danger use the ladder to drop Stackhouse and del Sol. They both climb the ladder and Van Go headscissors Danger onto the pile on the floor, meaning they’re both eliminated.

Green Phantom is in at #42 and Sexxxy Eddy follows him, apparently at #43. Eddy comes to the ring in a towel and puts his tights on before getting inside to chair Stackhouse down. Mathers comes back in and gets hit low by Eddy but Manders gets back in as well. A double clothesline puts Manders down and it’s Tara Zep in at #44.

Eddy gyrates a lot and Phantom knocks Zep face first into Eddy’s trunks. Phantom slams Zep onto a chair for the elimination and Tank is in at #45. Tank beats up Eddy and Phantom but Manders is back in again for a slugout. They trade headbutts until Tank hammers him into the corner with both of them busted open. Tank headbutts Manders down and it’s Matters coming back in for another slugout. CPA (yes he’s an accountant) is in at #46 and takes off his shirt and tie to reveal….the same shirt and tie.

We’ll make that three layers as he hits a slow motion 619 on Tank. Everyone but CPA goes under the ropes to the floor and it’s Alex Zayne in at #47. Mathers takes Zayne’s place and is sent outside (not out again) as Philly Mike is in at #48. Mike knocks Mathers into the corner and it’s Spyder Nate Webb in at #49 for the full Teenage Dirt Bag entrance. Other wrestlers dance with him at ringside before Webb conducts the fans to sing the song with him.

With the song done, Webb takes a bow and gets inside, beer in hand. The fans want the song to be played again and that is in fact what happens as commentary points out that it is 2am local time. Philly Mike finally jumps Webb, who hands him a beer and then hammers him down. They fight to the floor and Mike walks out for an elimination. Webb follows and he’s out too, taking some of the energy from the crowd. Said energy picks up again as ring announcer Emil Jay enters at #50 but is tossed out almost immediately.

Eddy gets to gyrate a bit and it’s Cheeseburger in at #51. Cheeseburger ties Eddy in the Tree of Woe and sends Phantom face first into his tights, which is enough for an elimination. Eddy’s tights are pulled off and he has to fight with his hands covering himself. That lets Cheeseburger toss him out and Man Like DeReiss is in at #52. As usual, DeReiss raps himself to the ring and throws out CPA in the process. Monomoth (he has wings) is in at #53 and Zayne isn’t sure what to do with him.

A quick rollup gets rid of Zayne and Mercedes Martinez is in at #54 so Mathers comes back in (there are all kinds of people just sitting/strolling around at ringside) and is quickly fisherman’s bustered out. Surreal and Senegal (See what I mean?) come back in to go after Martinez, with Sheik joining them but getting eliminated. Surreal saves Senegal but Martinez DDTs both of them for the double elimination. DeReiss comes back in and low bridges Martinez out as Kaplan is in at #55.

Kaplan sets up doors and chairs on the floor as Manders and Stackhouse get back in. Del Sol is back in as well as Sawyer Wreck (with a bad arm) is in at #56. Kaplan misses a moonsault and gets thrown through the doors for the elimination. Wreck comes in as Brandon Kirk and Kasey Catal are in at #57 and #58.

Manders and Kirk are eliminated by their respective (romantic) partners….and then Wreck and Catal kiss. They leave together and they’re both out (Emil Jay: “Sawyer Wreck and Kasey Catal have left the building….together.”). Jordan Oliver is in at #59 to dropkick Tank out but Parrow is back in for a chokeslam. Monomoth is back in and is quickly tossed as Beastman is in at #60.

Beastman chokebombs Parrow but Stackhouse comes in and takes his shirt off, giving us a lot of jiggling. DeReiss chops at the huge Stackhouse and Beastman before tossing both of them out for the big eliminations. Viva Van is in at #61 and knocks DeReiss into the corner. The gear is hitched up for a Stinkface (DeReiss approves but feigns being knocked out when Van looks at him) but del Sol breaks it up. Van is out and Gringo Loco is in at #62.

The entrants pick up as Grim Reefer is in at #63 and tries to light a cigarette, with Parrow breaking it up. Parrow puts Reefer out and it’s Cole Radrick and Alec Price in at #64 and #65. They go after del Sol and Oliver with the former being knocked out thanks to some double teaming. Johnny Kashmere is in at #66 and we get a mini tag match with Kashmere/Oliver vs. Price/Radrick. That includes Radrick and Price both being tossed, leaving Kashmere and Oliver in the ring as Kurt Bale, Lance Scaper and Big Vin are in at #67, #68 and #69.

Vin and company get to wreck Kashmere and Oliver but can’t eliminate them as the American Giant (he’s 7’3) is in at #70. Giant gets rid of Vin and chokeslams Bale and Scaper for the double pin. There goes DeReiss as well so Parrow comes in for the staredown with Giant. Microman is in at #71 for the funny visual and Chiitan (a mascot with a big head) is in at #72.

Parrow gets rid of Giant and kicks Microman in the head but Chiitan knocks Parrow through the ropes. The Fighting Chicken (Prazak: “What in the world?”) is in at #73 and we get the big mascot staredown with Chiitan. Dr. Cube, the Hot Potato and Double Unicorn Dark (they’re kaiju from Japan) are in at #74, #75 and #76. The Chicken pecks away but the kaiju knock the mascots into the corner. Potato’s shooting star press gets two…and Aja Kong is in at #77 for the big surprise.

The Kaiju and the Chicken go after her but she knocks the three villains out and spinning backfists the Chicken for the pin. Chiitan, minus the hat, goes after Kong, who hits a spinning backfist for the pin. That gives us Parrow vs. Kong, with Parrow hitting a clothesline for the pin. Loco is back in and gets knocked out before going after Microman. Yoshihiko (a doll) is in at #78 and Stunners Kashmere out before brainbustering Oliver (just go with it) for the elimination.

Rina Yamashita (who hasn’t done anything or been seen in probably an hour and a half) comes in to piledrive Yoshihiko, who hurricanranas her out anyway. Parrow goes to throw out Yoshihiko, who throws him out instead. We get Yoshihiko vs. Microman but Nick Gage is in at #79 (announced as #87, but there’s no way I was THAT far off), the final entrant. Commentary says Gage, Yoshihiko and Microman are the final three so we’ll go with that as I lost who was still in an hour ago.

Gage hammers Yoshihiko into the corner and hits a gorilla press powerslam. The pizza cutter is whipped out but Microman makes the save. Yoshihiko crossbodies Gage but gets sent out, leaving Microman to suplex Gage. Microman pizza cutters Gage, who shoves him back down. The fans cheer for Microman, who is sat on top…but Gage misses a charge and falls out, allowing Microman to get the win at 1:57:51 (close enough as there was no opening bell).

Rating: B. Oddly enough, I had a good time with this. It’s a perfect example of “this is what we told you would be happening”, as there is nothing remotely serious about the whole thing, with stretches where there were dozens of people officially in but few were actually doing anything. This isn’t a match where it’s about the story or the action, but rather the whole atmosphere and wondering who was coming in next. This was pure, goofy fun and I had a good time with it, which is exactly what it should have been.

Overall Rating: B-. It says a lot when an eight man, four team cage match is completely forgotten but that’s the kind of show this is. This isn’t supposed to be anything more than one big party show where the fans get to see a bunch of people running out there and some semblance of a match taking place. You have to know exactly what you’re getting into, but if you can accept that, you’ll have a good time.

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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AND

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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

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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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.

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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AND

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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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