GCW “Maniac” results: Joey Janela vs. Drew Parker in a hardcore match, Allie Katch and Effy vs. Juicy Finau and Toa Leone for the GCW Tag Titles, Bandido vs. Nick Wayne, Dark Sheik vs. LuFisto, Biff Busick vs. Jordan Oliver, Mike Bailey vs. Masha Slamovich

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By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

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GCW “Maniac” on FITE TV
May 21, 2022 in Los Angeles, California at Ukrainian Cultural Center
Report by Dot Net contributor Chris Vetter

Kevin Gill, Veda Scott, Emil Jay and Pollo Del Mar provided commentary over the course of the evening. One of the two ringside cameras seemed out of focus frequently. We seemed to have the hard camera used more often than usual.

Blake Christian walked to the ring carrying a sign that read “Chelsea Green loves Blake Christian” and Veda talked about the ongoing war of words between Blake and Matt Cardona. Obviously leading toward a match down the road.

1. Blake Christian defeated Kevin Blackwood at 8:30. The announcers agreed that Blackwood has shown great improvement since he relocated to the west coast. The signal was lost a minute into the match and was dark for about two minutes even. Gill apologized for the livestream interruption. Blake hit a handspring-back-enziguri. Blackwood hit a roaring elbow. Blake hit a shoulderbreaker over his knee at 6:00. Blackwood hit a Tombstone Piledriver for a believable nearfall, then a top-rope double stomp for another nearfall. Blake fired back with a snap German suplex and a Stomp on the top of his head for the pin. Good match, and luckily the blackout came early in the match.

2. Tony Deppen defeated Titus Alexander at 13:28. Titus wrestled in this building hours earlier for “L.A. Fights.” Deppen attacked him before the bell. Titus nailed three consecutive dives through the ropes onto Deppen, and the crowd was hot. Deppen grounded him on the mat. Deppen hit several suplexes, and he blew his nose on Titus. Deppen hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread at 7:00. Deppen hit a flip dive to the floor, barely grazing Titus, and he may have been legit injured, or at least stunned.

Titus dragged Deppen in the ring and hit the Chaos Theory/rolling German Suplex for a nearfall. They blocked each other’s moves, and Deppen nailed a brainbuster for a nearfall at 9:30. Titus nailed a second-rope Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. They traded forearms on their knees, then from their feet. They traded rollup attempts and Deppen applied a Crippler Crossface. Deppen unloaded some knee shots to the head, applied the Cattle Mutilation, and Alexander tapped out. Really good match. The announcers put over Titus for doing so well here.

3. Mike Bailey defeated Masha Slamovich in an intergender match at 13:54. Veda talked about this as a dream match. These two are actually fairly similar in size and weight.  Bailey kicked her in the face at the bell and hit a suplex for a nearfall just seconds into the match. They traded stiff forearms and the crowd was hot. Slamovich hit a high back suplex, then a running boot to the face in the corner. She hit a snap suplex and remained in control. They brawled to the floor, and she hit chops. However, Bailey shoved her into the ring post, then slammed her on the ring apron at 3:00.

Back in the ring, Bailey hit a shoulder breaker. However, he missed his double-knees moonsault. She hit a spin kick to the face for a nearfall at 5:30. Mike hit a Mafia Kick, then a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. They traded more forearm shots. Bailey hit his quick kicks to her sides and an enzuigiri, but she popped up and hit a German Suplex at 8:00. Bailey hit his moonsault to the floor. She hit a flip dive off the top rope to the floor, and they were both down. They brawled on the ring apron, and she moved to avoid his moonsault double knees.

Masha hit a cannonball to the floor. In the ring, Bailey started unloading kicks. However, she hit another three German Suplexes. Bailey quickly applied a key lock on the mat. She hit a Dragon Suplex, dumping him on his head. He nailed a superkick, then a spin kick to her head for a believable nearfall at 12:30. He missed his Shooting Star double kneedrop. She hit a Shining Wizard running knee shot. She hit a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall. She hit a pumphandle back suplex for a nearfall at 13:30. Bailey then hit his Flamingo Driver/modified One Winged Angel for the pin. “What a match!” Veda exclaimed. They shook hands after the match, but then she slapped him in the face and left.

4. AJ Gray beat Cole Radrick, Jack Cartwheel, Jimmy Lloyd, Ninja Mack and Starboy Charlie in a six-way scramble match to retain the GCW Extreme Championship at 13:29. Ninja Mack just returned to the U.S. after an extensive tour of NOAH in Japan. The crowd popped for the return of Starboy Charlie, who has been out of action with an injury. He replaced the injured John Wayne Murdoch. Seconds into the match, Charlie and Ninja Mack traded quick offense while everyone was on the floor. Charlie hit a German Suplex. Gray nailed Charlie with a chair shot.

Cartwheel did several cartwheels to avoid Gray’s offense, then he hit a huracanrana, but Gray landed on his feet. Cartwheel hit a standing corkscrew moonsault. Radrick and Mack traded good offense. Lloyd hit a faceplant on Mack. Charlie hit a nice tornado DDT on Lloyd at 5:00. Radrick hit an Asai Moonsault onto everyone. Cartwheel hit a handspring-flip press over the top rope onto everyone, and the crowd went nuts. Cartwheel dove onto Mack, who was lying on a door, at 7:30.

In the ring, Gray and Radrick traded hard shots. A massively tall ladder was brought to ringside. Charlie hit a basement dropkick on Gray in the corner as Gray was tied upside down. Radrick hit a Lionsault on Charlie as Charlie was lying on a smaller ladder in the ring at 11:30. Lloyd hit a tombstone piledriver on Radrick onto an open chair for a believable nearfall. In a crazy spot, Mack jumped off the ladder, into the ring, and hit a Destroyer on Lloyd. Cartwheel hit a top-rope corkscrew press on Mack. Gray put Charlie on his shoulders and slammed him into a door set up in the corner, then he hit a running Bulldog Powerslam on Charlie for the pin. Fun, messy six-way scramble.

5. Jordan Oliver defeated Biff Busick (f/k/a Oney Lorcan) at 8:32. The crowd was hot as they locked up. Oliver tried to take out the left knee. Oliver went for a dive through the ropes, but I think Bif caught him with an elbow as he fell to the floor at 3:00. Bif hit a back body drop onto open tables. In the ring, Bif tied up the legs and hit a devastating Stomp. Jordan hit a springboard stunner, then a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 5:30. However, Busick hit another Stomp, then a piledriver move for a nearfall. Oliver fired back and hit a superkick and a German Suplex, then a top-rope stunner for the pin out of nowhere. That was really good, and I don’t think anyone expected it to end so suddenly. A signature win for the vastly improving Oliver.

6. Dark Sheik defeated LuFisto at 12:10. They brawled to the floor early. LuFisto is so much shorter than her opponent.  Sheik hit a running boot in the corner then a slingshot senton for a nearfall. Sheik hit a top-rope leg drop for a nearfall at 8:30. LuFisto hit a running knee, then a Perfect Plex/fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Sheik tossed a chair at her head, then slammed LuFisto onto a pile of chairs for the pin. This just didn’t hold my attention. The announcers tried to sell this as a big upset, but Sheik is so much taller and stronger, I expected this outcome.

7. Bandido defeated Nick Wayne at 12:27. This match was supposed to happen at the San Francisco show in early April but Bandido skipped the event. They traded quick reversals and ended in a standoff. The first two minutes was fast at an insane pace with neither man really landing a blow. Wayne went for a dive, but Bandido cut him off with a kick to the head. Bandido held Wayne upside down for nearly a minute, before hitting the delayed vertical suplex at 5:00. Wayne hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall.

Bandido fired back with a Falcon Arrow and a running knee to the head for a nearfall, then a pop-up stunner. Wayne hit a top-rope moonsault to the floor at 10:00, then a Swanton Bomb in the ring for a nearfall. Wayne hit a second-rope Poison Rana for a believable nearfall, and the announcers were going nuts. Bandido hit a modified Go To Sleep knee strike, then the 21-Plex suplex out of the ropes for the clean pin. That was tremendous. Fans threw money into the ring at them… so much that Bandido and Wayne put it into a metal ice bucket.

8. Allie Katch and Effy defeated Juicy Finau and Toa Leone to retain the GCW Tag Titles at 14:30. The announcers said the Bussy team weigh less combined than Juicy. They brawled at ringside immediately, with Katch diving onto the South Pacific Savages. In the ring, Leone hit a chokeslam on both. Finau picked up his partner and slammed Leonne onto Katch at 5:00. The Samoans slammed her in the corner and were in total control. Allie hit a tornado DDT and made the hot tag at 7:30.

In a nice spot, Effy hit a stunner, dropping one Samoan onto the other. The tag champs slammed the cheap doors over the Samoans, but the Samoans no-sold the shots. This has morphed into a tornado tag; the ref isn’t even trying to keep one person out. Effy nailed an unprotected chairshot to Juicy’s head at 12:00. The champs hit sentons on Finau. Finau charged at Effy but went through a table in the corner. Katch hit an Eat Defeat kick on Finau. Finau hit a Samoan Drop on Katch. Effy slammed Katch onto Finau for the pin. The biggest drawback of Bussy matches is all the raunchy jokes the announcers feel they must say with double-meanings of the word “bussy.”

9. Drew Parker defeated Joey Janela in a hardcore match at 22:27. I don’t generally watch death matches, so I had never heard of Parker before; he apparently is a big name on the Japanese death match scene. He is about the same height, but lighter than Janela. The announcers acknowledged it is unusual to see Parker in a regular match, with no weapons (which is how we started.) Janela slammed him onto the ring apron. Parker hit a flip dive to the floor at 5:30.

Parker got a weapon from under the ring. Janela slammed it onto Parker’s skull and Parker was immediately bleeding. Parker did the same to Janela. Parker left ringside and returned with barbwire-covered doors; so much for the announcers’ proclamation that this was going to be a regular match. They brawled at ringside.

Janela used a staple gun on Parker, then himself. Janela slammed Parker onto the stage at 12:00. Janela hit a jumping piledriver, leaping off the stage and through a door set up on the floor.  Parker hit a top-rope Spanish Fly onto a pile of thumbtacks. Parker hit a Swanton and a piledriver for a nearfall at 16:30. In one of the dumbest decisions in pro wrestling history, Janela poured lighter fluid on his shoe, set it on fire and superkicked Parker. However, the fire didn’t immediately go out, and Janela ripped the burning shoe from his foot, while several people helped with a towel or water to put it out. Unnecessarily dangerous.

Janela hit a sit-out piledriver for a nearfall at 20:00. The barbed-wire covered table was pushed into the ring. Parker hit a Cameron Grimes-style Cave-in to the chest, then a piledriver. Parker put the table onto Janela on the mat, so the barbed wire was pushing into Janela’s back. Parker then climbed the massive ladder used in the scramble and did a Swanton Bomb from the top of the ladder, through the door, to score the pin.

Final Thoughts: Best match goes to Bandido-Wayne. The Bailey-Masha match had great drama and fan support, and even with my reservations going in, I’ll give that second-best, with the scramble third-best. I am sure some people liked the main event, but I I don’t see Parker as a main-event wrestler. If he wasn’t willing to mutilate his body, he would have been another high-flyer in that scramble match.

I hate light tubes and glass because you can’t control what happens. Well, the same goes for fire. The idea of lighting your own foot on fire for a flaming superkick somehow seemed like a good idea to Janela, but it sure played out dangerously.

I received criticism on Twitter this week for not liking intergender matches. But I stand by my point — I don’t want to see a 250 pound man beat up and toss around a 160 pound woman, nor do I want to pretend that she can match him blow-for-blow. I am just not comfortable watching men beating up women, even in a pseudo-sport, and I’m surprised my opinion received such negative reaction. With all that said, Bailey and Masha had a good, competitive match, largely because they are so similar in size. Masha is much better in the ring than we’ve seen so far in her short squash matches on Impact.

GCW has a show in Las Vegas this weekend between the AEW events.

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