By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “Devil in a New Dress”
Streamed on FITE TV
April 10, 2022 in San Francisco, California at The Midway
This was GCW’s debut in the Bay Area. The big news is that Bandido never got on his plane and didn’t respond to calls or texts. It is unclear what happened. I give GCW a LOT of credit here. They sent out Tweets early in the day, alerting fans of the situation. They didn’t cover this up. Bandido was slated to face Nick Wayne, which certainly would have been in the top two matches of the show. Also missing were Gringo Loco, who was to face Jimmy Lloyd, plus Jacob Fatu, who was to be in a six-man tag, and Biff Busick, who was slated to face Masha Slamovich. GCW had announced earlier in the day that he had travel issues and wouldn’t make the show. No offense to them, but the Bandido absence is so much bigger.
The show started and the fans were hot. This seems like a really small club. It was dark except over the ring, so it was hard to tell how many fans are there. It was disappointing that it was so hard to see the wrestlers from the hard camera. Kevin Gill and another unidentified man provided commentary. Veda Scott also joined the booth for a few matches. The sound was significantly better than a day earlier in Los Angeles.
1. Effy defeated Nick Wayne at 8:49. Effy wore his GCW Tag Title belt to the ring after he and Allie Katch won the titles a day earlier from Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe. Effy got on the mic and said he was there to make a challenge to Jeff Jarrett, but Jarrett isn’t there. Wayne hit a huracanrana,, a dropkick and a dive to the floor at 2:00. In the ring, Effy tied him up on the mat. Wayne hit a nice Fisherman’s suplex at 4:00. Effy mocked the Jeff Jarrett strut, and he applied a Figure Four Leg Lock.
Effy hit Wayne with chair shots, and he set up a door in the ring. Wayne hit a top-rope Spanish Fly through the door at 8:30 for a nearfall. However, Effy reversed him, got a rollup, and the pin. Decent opener, and the crowd is hot.
Effy got on the mic and again challenged Jarrett to a future match. (Jarrett had pinned him in New York in January).
2. Jordan Oliver defeated Jack Cartwheel at 14:33. I noted this recently, but Oliver has filled out a lot since he first appeared in MLW a couple years ago. He is also taller than an average indy wrestler, and he towered over Cartwheel. Good mat wrestling to open. Cartwheel did cartwheels away from Oliver, annoying Oliver, so he slapped Cartwheel at 4:00.
Cartwheel went for his handspring-back-flip to the floor, but Oliver cut him off with a kick to the back. Cartwheel hit a running shooting star press for a nearfall at 6:00. Cartwheel applied a Divorce Court armbar on the mat. Oliver hit a release German Suplex at 8:00, then a brainbuster for a nearfall. Cartwheel hit a second-rope crossbody block and a Fisherman’s Suplex at 10:00. Oliver hit a running Helluva Kick in the corner. Oliver flipped Cartwheel out of the corner to the mat, and they were both down. This has been really good.
Cartwheel nailed a Poison Rana. Oliver hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly. Oliver tossed Cartwheel onto the top rope; Cartwheel bounced back, and Oliver caught him and hit a sit-out powerbomb for the pin. I have never, ever seen that finish before, and it was awesome.
3. Allie Katch defeated Kid Bandit at 10:54. Kid Bandit uses “they/them” pronouns. They are dressed in a short skirt and a painted face and colorful hair. I have heard of Nightmare Factory student Kid Bandit, but never seen them before. Katch and Bandit hugged. They traded reversals and the crowd is behind Bandit. Bandit hit a 619. Katch applied a Boston Crab. Katch hit a rolling cannonball in the corner for a nearfall at 6:00.
Bandit hit a stunner; they are shorter than Katch. Katch hit an Eat-Defeat Kick, and she applied the Boston Crab again. Katch hit a piledriver as Bandit was in the ropes to score the pin. Fun match.
4. Masha Slamovich defeated Jimmy Lloyd in an intergender match at 11:41. Lloyd hit Slamovich with a powerbomb almost immediately. which fired her up. He got weapons from under the ring. They brawled to the floor, and she hit a tornado DDT, using the ring apron, at 4:30. They tossed chairs at each other. Lloyd nailed a Death Valley Driver off the ring apron through a door set up on the floor at 7:30. Ouch.
In the ring, Masha hit a missile dropkick, sending Lloyd flying backward, through a door set up in the corner. She hit a Helluva Kick in the corner and got a nearfall. She hit a suplex across an open chair for a nearfall. Lloyd hit a second-rope powerbomb across a tin garbage can; the can didn’t bend much, so I’m sure that hurt her lower back. Just moments later, she hit a pilledriver onto open chairs, then a mid-ring piledriver to score the surprising pin.
Intermission. I acknowledge that because the “popcorn match” coming out of break is commonly the unknown area wrestlers, and that’s the case here.
5. Titus Alexander defeated Midas Kreed at 8:21. I just saw Titus Alexander in the Dallas weekend shows. Alexander jumped him at the bell, and the crowd loudly booed him. My first time seeing Kreed, a Black man who has big hair and reminded me of a young Shiima Xion (Joaquin Wilde), or a bit like No Way Jose. The announcers agreed that it is great for these young talent to get a chance on a big stage. Kreed hit a 450 Splash. Titus hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 3:30, and he jawed at the female ref.
Alexander nailed a spinebuster. These guys are going at a break-neck pace to get their stuff in. Alexander hit a jumping knee to the face. Kreed came back with a Code Red and a spin kick to the face for a nearfall at 6:30. Kreed hit a standing Sliced Bread No. 2, and they were both down. Kreed hit a Chaos Theory rolling German Suplex, then a Michinoku Driver, and scored the pin. Really good action.
6. Matthew Justice, AJ Gray, and Mance Warner defeated Juicy Finau, Journey Fatu, and D-Rogue in a six-man tag at 17:11. This was just a big brawl on the floor, with them using chairs and crutches. D-Rogue, who was replacing Jacob Fatu, hit an impressive dive over the top rope on Matthew Justice at 7:00. The massive Juicy Finau teased a dive to the floor but stopped. Warner grabbed a mic and said no way was he going to catch Juicy. Funny.
Juicy wound up hitting a second-rope splash on Justice for a nearfall at 10:00. Journey Fatu slammed Gray through a door set up in the corner. Juicy applied two Tongan Death Grips on Justice and Warner, and he climbed the ropes. All three Second Gear Crew guys worked together to flip Juicy, with him crashing through the table.
The ring was just covered in debris, and everyone was down. The crowd was hot. Mance hit an unprotected headshot on Journey Fatu at 16:00, but Fatu just shrugged it off. Gray and Justice hit top-rope splashes (from opposite ring corners) on D-Rogue to score the pin. Messy hardcore match that the crowd really enjoyed.
Finau and Fatu attacked D-Rogue after the match. The announcers put D-Rogue over for impressing on a big stage as a last-minute replacement for Jacob Fatu.
7. Dark Sheik (w/Pollo Del Mar) defeated Joey Janela at 19:13. Janela attacked the manager/drag queen before the bell, which drew massive boos. Sheik nailed a dive through the ropes. In the ring, Janela tied up Sheik’s head in a leg lock. She went for a dive off the ropes, but he caught her and hit a modified Blue Thunder Bomb at 5:00. She hit a Sliced Bread No. 2 on the ring apron, and the crowd rallied for her.
Sheik hit a top-rope legdrop for a nearfall at 6:30. She hit a mid-ring huracanrana. He hit a brainbuster at 8:30 and they were both down. Janela set up a door in the ring. However, Pollo Del Mar hopped in the ring, kissed Janela, then powerbombed Janela through the table, and the crowd went nuts. Dark Sheik hit a coast-to-coast Van Terminator missile dropkick for a believable nearfall at 11:30.
A table was set up between two chairs on the floor. Janela ran down a ramp, dove perhaps 8 to 10 feet, and nailed an elbowdrop to her chest, as she was lying on the table. Great spot. In the ring, Janela hit a piledriver for a believable nearfall. Janela hit a top-rope doublestomp to her chest for another nearfall at 15:00, and the crowd rallied for Sheik. She hit a low blow and a German Suplex for a nearfall. They traded mid-ring blows. They fought in the corner, with Janela hitting a suplex onto open chairs set up below. However, Sheik rolled over on top of Janela and got the pin. That was an enjoyable match and well laid-out.
8. Minoru Suzuki defeated Mike Bailey at 16:35. It is worth pointing out that New Japan Pro Wrestling had a TV taping at the same time, so it was really surprising that Suzuki worked here rather than the taping (five of the wrestlers on Saturday’s GCW show were used at Sunday’s NJPW show). Veda Scott, who is engaged to Bailey, returned to the commentary booth. She pointed out that Bailey wrestled in NINE matches over three days in Dallas, and he had competed in Pittsburgh on Saturday. Suzuki had four or five matches last weekend as well, and faced Blake Christian on Saturday.
Suzuki went for a Divorce Court armbreaker early, but Bailey escaped. Bailey unloaded his speedball kicks to the ribs at 3:00. They brawled to the floor. Suzuki applied a crossface submission hold on the floor; the ref jawed at Suzuki to get it back int he ring. They traded overhand chops, with Suzuki dropping him to the ground.
In the ring, Suzuki worked over the wrist and fingers, and he tied Bailey in a pretzel. Bailey nailed a spin kick to the chest at 9:30 and the crowd rallied for him. Bailey hit a corkscrew splash for a nearfall. Suzuki hit a running kick to the chest for a nearfall. They traded mid-ring forearm shots. Bailey hit a spin kick to the head at 12:00. Bailey hit a moonsault from the second rope to the floor on Suzuki. More stiff shots in the ring as the crowd chanted “Fight forever!” Bailley nailed a spin kick to the chest.
Suzuki went for the Gotch-style piledriver, but Bailey escaped and hit the flipping double knees to the chest at 15:30. Bailey hit a spin kick to the head for a believable nearfall. Bailey missed his top-rope 450 kneedrop. Suzuki grabbed him, hit the Gotch-style piledriver, and scored the clean pin. This was epic. I’ve seen a lot of the Suzuki matches in the U.S. on this recent tour, and this has to be at or near the best. Just a great fight. Suzuki helped Bailey to his feet and raised his arm, a bit of an endorsement of Bailey. Bailey bowed in appreciation.
Final Thoughts: I loved Bailey-Suzuki, and Oliver-Cartwheel was my second-favorite match. A great crowd here that ate up everything before them. They loved the hardcore six-man tag much more than I did, and they were totally engaged in every aspect of Janela-Sheik and Bandit-Katch.
I said this a day ago, but I just don’t get GCW’s fascination with intergender matches. Lloyd is much, much bigger than her, and I just don’t see what positive benefits it does to have him beat her up, even though it turned out to be a losing effort.
Despite having four wrestlers miss the show, this was a good, three-hour event (including 15-minute intermission) that never dragged. I can’t say enough about how this crowd made many matches better than they were.
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