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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