By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “The People vs. GCW”
Streamed on FITE TV
July 29, 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee at the Nashville Fairgrounds
The venue was a large fieldhouse, a really large room. The crowd was maybe 800-1,000. Dave Prazak and Kevin Gill were on commentary to start. Veda Scott rotated in during the show as well.
1. Cole Radrick defeated AJ Gray, Shane Mercer, Grim Reefer, Axton Ray, Marko Stunt in a scramble match to win the GCW Extreme Title from Gray at 8:35. Marko has dyed his hair a light blonde and he was wearing an Andre the Giant one-strap black singlet. Reefer lit a joint and did a top-rope flip dive onto everyone. Axton hit a dive on everyone. Radrick hit an Asai Moonsault onto everyone. Stunt tried a top-rope crossbody block on Mercer, but Mercer caught him and gorilla pressed him over the top rope to the floor, and the crowd chanted “holy shit!” at 3:00.
AJ Gray did a moonsault to the floor and somehow no one caught him; that wasn’t intentional. In the ring, Reefer hit a Russian Legsweep off the second rope. Axton hit a flying shoulder tackle. Marko couldn’t bodyslam Radrick, so instead he chokeslammed him. Axton nailed a nice Lungblower move on Reefer at 6:00. Mercer hit a top-rope moonsault with Stunt in his arms for a nearfall; that was impressive. Gray nailed a clothesline on Mercer. Gray tried a top-rope corkscrew press but missed. Radrick hit a Pedigree on Stunt for the pin.
2. Tony Deppen defeated Mike Bailey at 11:45. Veda Scott joined the commentary team to watch her husband Bailey wrestle. Deppen attacked from behind and hit a flip dive through the ropes to get the match started. They got in the ring and immediately traded forearm shots. Bailey hit his Speedball kicks to the ribs. Deppen was in charge early and the crowd loudly booed him. Bailey hit a corkscrew senton at 4:00. However, he missed his second-rope 450 kneedrop. Bailey hit his Triangle Moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Deppen shoved the ref into the ropes, causing Bailey to get crotched in the corner. Deppen hit a hard forearm shot to the back of the head for a nearfall at 7:00.
They traded rollup attempts, and Bailey hit his moonsault kneedrop to the chest. They traded forearm shots. Bailey hit a spin kick to the head for a believable nearfall at 10:00. Deppen applied an STF submission hold on the mat. Deppen hit the Moxley-style elbow strikes to the head. Bailey misssed the Ultimo Weapon second-rope kneedrop, and Deppen immediately hit a Shining Wizard knee strike to the back of the head for the pin. Good match that easily could have gone longer. Worth reiterating these two were teammates last weekend in ROH.
3. Nick Wayne defeated Alex Zayne at 10:33. Zayne isn’t an old man, but Wayne (17) is less than half his age. They immediately traded quick reversals and avoided each other’s big moves. Nick hit a flip dive over the top rope, then he hit a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall. Zayne caught him and hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall at 2:00. Zayne unloaded some chops. Wayne hit a flying forearm, then a stunner and a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 5:00.
Wayne hit a Dragon Suplex and a Code Red for a believable nearfall, and these guys are just sprinting. Zayne nailed his forward roll-into-a-huracanrana out of the corner for a nearfall at 7:00. Zayne hit his swinging faceplant move. They fought on the ring apron, and Zayne avoided another Dragon Suplex. Zayne hit his flipping legdrop to the back of the neck as Wayne was caught in the ropes at 8:30. In the ring, Nick hit a tornado DDT, and they were both down. They traded mid-ring chops and forearms. Wayne hit a spin kick, but he couldn’t hit the Cloud Cutter. However, he got an inside package rollup for the pin out of nowhere, and Zayne was shocked. Really good match.
4. Black Taurus, Gringo Loco, and Jack Cartwheel defeated Komander, ASF, and Laredo Kid at 17:31. OK this is going to be a sprint, too. Komander has the same sort of mask as Laredo Kid. Taurus and Laredo Kid opened, and they traded quick reversals; they clearly have worked often. ASF entered at 2:00 and traded offense with Gringo Loco, and I’ve seen these two battle many times this year too. ASF is wearing a mask; I haven’t seen that from him before. ASF hit a flip dive to the floor. Cartwheel hit is slingshot press.
Komander hit a huracarana on Cartwheel. Taurus hit a pop-up Samoan Drop on Komander that earned a big pop at 4:00. ASF re-entered the match, but now without the mask on. All six were fighting. Taurus and Loco each hit top-rope gorilla press slams to the mat. Taurus hit a twisting press through the ropes. Cartwheel did a handspring-back-flip to the floor on everyone. Loco hit a Fosbury Flop onto everyone at 6:00. Loco nailed a swinging faceplant — think inverted powerslam — on Komander. Loco’s team began beating up on ASF.
ASF went for a springboard move, but Taurus caught him with a spear that cut him in half. Laredo hit a top-rope huracarana to the floor on Taurus. Komander ran the ropes from one corner to the other, then hit a springboard flip onto everyone on the floor at 9:30, and the crowd went nuts. Komander walked the tight rope again and hit a springboard Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. Team Laredo began working over Cartwheel. Cartwheel hit a sit-out powerbomb on Komander for a believable nearfall. Komander hit a running powerbomb on Cartwheel, with Cartwheel landing (very very scary looking) on his upper shoulders or head. ASF hit his huracarana on Loco for a believable nearfall. Gill said that may be the last we see of Cartwheel in this match.
Taurus hit a Lungblower for a nearfall. Laredo hit a Canadian Destroyer on Taurus. Cartwheel was back in the ring, and Gill was relieved he seems ok. Komander hit a double-jump into a Poison Rana. That was insane. Taurus hit a backbreaker over his knee on ASF. Laredo hit a crucifix bomb on Taurus, and suddenly everyone was down at 15:30. Laredo hit a top-rope moonsault on Taurus. Cartwheel hit a top-rope corkscrew press to the floor. In the ring, Komander hit a powerbomb out of the corner on Loco. Loco hit his twisting sit-out powerbomb on Komander, and Cartwheel followed it up with a top-rope Phoenix Splash on Cartwheel for the pin. That was unbelievable. Just unbelievable. Wow. I will be watching this one again later.
5. Psycho Clown defeated Joey Janela at 21:08. Gill said these two have never shared a ring before. They shook hands. They fought to the floor and traded chops. PC dove through the ropes to the floor. Janela then hit his own dive to the floor at 5:30, and he ripped open PC’s mask. Janela nailed an (unnecessary) chairshot over PC’s head, then he threw a chair at his head, and they began brawling away from the ring. Janela whipped PC into rows of empty chairs, as the fans have scattered to let them brawl.
They re-entered the ring at 8:30 with Janela in charge, and he’s ripping at the mask again. Clown hit a twisting plancha to the floor at 10:00. PC hit him with a chairshot, and Janela was bleeding heavily from the forehead. In the ring, PC swung one chair into another at Janela’s groin at 12:00. They traded mid-ring forearm shots. Janela hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall at 14:30.
PC got a door from under the ring. However, Janela speared him through the table, set up in the corner. Janela hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. PC hit another chairshot to the head, then a piledriver, then a spinning clothesline for a nearfall at 17:30. Clown set up several chairs in the ring. However, Janela hit a superplex, with both of them crashing down on the six open chairs, with Janela getting a nearfall. Janela got another door and set it up between two chairs. However, Psycho Clown hit a top-rope Spanish Fly through the door to score the pin.
* Nick Gage came to the ring, with Emil Jay giving him the big intro. Gage talked about the “Ric Flair final match” show on Sunday. Gage said he looked at the lineup, and there are matches from AAA, Impact and MLW on the show, but no GCW matches. “We’re coming to that auditorium,” Gage said. “GCW is going to kick that door down and we’re going to take over that motherf—er.”
6. Jordan Oliver defeated Bandido at 12:28. Bandido is in all black tonight. They shook hands; Oliver is much taller. Good quick reversals and a standoff. They avoided each other’s moves, and Bandido blocked the Cloud Cutter. Bandido speared him in the corner at 3:00. Bandido hit the Three Amigos rolling suplexes, earning the “Eddie!” chant. Bandido hit a frogsplash for a nearfall at 4:30. He tied up Oliver on the mat, and Jordan showed off his core strength by powering out. Oliver hit a stunner out of the corner. Bandido hit his one-handed gorilla press slam at 7:00, showing off his strength. He hit a double-stomp to Oliver’s back, and they were both down.
They traded rollups, and Bandido hit a standing Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Bandido nailed a Go To Sleep. Oliver hit a Mafia Kick and a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 10:00. They began trading stiff forearms. Oliver caught him with a superkick. Bandido nailed a pop-up stunner for a nearfall at 11:30. Bandido went for the 21 Plex, but was pushed to the floor. Oliver dove through the ropes, caught Bandido’s head and hit a stunner. He pushed Bandido in the ring and nailed the Cloud Cutter for the clean pinfall! “He just beat one of the best men in the world,” Prazak shouted. That was fun.
7. Ciclope & Miedo Extremo defeated “Second Gear Crew” of Mance Warner & Matthew Justice and “Bussy” Effy & Allie Katch vs. to win the GCW Tag Titles from Effy & Allie at 15:55. Mance and Justice took swigs of beer before the match began. Ciclope hit a dive to the floor, and Miedo hit an Asai Moonsault. Katch hit a top-rope dive onto her four opponents. Effy hit the Whoopee Cushion buttdrop on Miedo in the ring. Everyone brawled to the floor, with Mance whipping Katch into the chairs at 2:30. Justice launched off a chair and did a flip dive to the floor on everyone.
We have three screens going, so fans can watch all six brawling on the floor. Mance is bleeding from the forehead. In the ring, Katch hit Ciclope with a thin cookie sheet. Effy just ran through a door, showing how cheap these props are. Katch had a knife and stabbed at the doors. This match would be so much better without these obviously cheap props. Miedo and Ciclope hit simultaneous crossbody blocks. Mance and Katch traded forearm shots at 10:00 (just absurd; he would kill her).
Miedo and Ciclope got a box of light tubes from under the ring. Ugh. They busted them over her head, and of course, she no-sold them. She hit a piledriver on Miedo. Justice slammed a chair over her back. The SGC set up a bridge of doors across chairs. However, Allie gave Mance a powerbomb through the light tubes piled onto the door for a nearfall at 14:00. Effy hit a TKO stunner on Justice for a nearfall.
Katch accidentally hit Effy in the corner. Ciclope hit a double stomp on Katch’s head. Miedo hit a standing powerbomb on Effy. Ciclope, while holding light tubes on his chest, hit a moonsault on Effy for a nearfall. Miiedo then hit an impressive 450 Spash on Effy for the pin. New champions! It goes without saying that the crowd loved this a lot more than I did.
* Veda Scott returned to commentary. While the glass was being swept out of the ring, Prazak noted it was now 1 a.m. central time, and they still have two matches left!
8. Masha Slamovich defeated Kevin Blackwood in an intergender match at 11:04. Blackwood rarely seems to win but he is always competitive, and he just had a good match against Alan Angels last weekend, and a lengthy match against Janela two weeks ago. He has a clear height and muscle mass advantage. They traded strikes, and Masha tried to tie him up on the mat, and she cranked on the neck. She nailed a running knee strike to the jaw in the corner at 5:00.
Blackwood went for a piledriver, but she reversed it and hit a backbody drop, but she barely got him over and Blackwood landed awkardly (and a bit dangerously.) He nailed a standing powerbomb and a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 7:00. He nailed several Yes Kicks to her chest. They traded forearm shots (again, quite preposterous that this is 50-50 offense.) He hit a half-nelson suplex; she popped up and hit a German Suplex. Blackwood hit Cameron Grimes’ running Cave-in double stomp to her chest, and they were both down at 9:30.
Blackwood nailed a running knee strike, then a jumping Tombstone Piledriver for a nearfall. She hit a side suplex, then an awkward package piledriver for a nearfall. She applied a double-arm submission hold, and Blackwood tapped out. You really have to suspend your disbelief on this one.
9. Jon Moxley defeated Blake Christian to retain the GCW Title at 15:44. GCW has done a great job building up to this match. Blake hit a shotgun dropkick at the bell, then a handspring-back-enzuigiri, then a Fosbury Flop to the floor at 0:30. However, he went for a springboard move back into the ring, and Moxley caught him with a forearm shot to the face. They traded chops. Blake hit a flip dive to the floor, and they brawled into the crowd. Moxley whipped Blake into rows of empty chairs at 2:30. Blake whipped Moxley into the chairs.
They brawled into a merchandise table area against a wall, before returning to the ring area. They fought on the ring apron, but Moxley shoved him headfirst into the ring post; when Blake stood up, he was bleeding from the forehead at 5:00. Finally back in the ring, Moxley dug his fingers into the cut on Blake’s head. Moxley got a red bucket filled with glass, and he punched Blake with it. (That made no sense; the glass is in his hands and would cut his own hand, not hurt Blake any more than a regular punch.) However, Moxley jabbed a glass shard into Blake’s head at 8:00. I have never seen Blake bleed this much before. This is getting gruesome.
Moxley put a folding chair around Blake’s ankle, but Blake got it off before any damage could be done. Blake hit a top-rope superplex. They hit simultaneous crossbody blocks, and were both down at 10:00. They got up and traded forearm shots, and Blake hit an enzuigiri; Moxley responded with a hard clothesline. Moxley nailed a piledriver at 11:30. Moxley went to the floor to get weapons. but Blake dove through the ropes and nailed a door and Moxley. Back in the ring, Moxley hit a cutter for a nearfall, and he immediately hit his elbow strikes to the side of Blake’s head, then a cover for a nearfall.
A fan handed Moxley a Singapore Cane, and Jon struck Blake on the back with it. Moxley dumped the red bucket of glass shards in the ring. Blake hit a Spanish Fly and a springboard 450 Splash at 14:00. Blake went for his Rollins-style stomp, but Jon avoided it, and he hit one. Moxley then hit his double-arm DDT onto the glass shards to score the pin. Good match, a bit more violent than I prefer, but incredibly watchable.
Final Thoughts: On paper, this was a really good lineup and it really delivered.GCW doesn’t need staple guns, glass panes and light tubes, and it’s too bad they appeared during the tag title match. Outside of that match, this is the type of GCW show I like to watch.
I can’t say enough about that Luca six-man tag. If you don’t like that style, fine. But if you like this sort of match, your eyeballs will be popping. I jumped and cringed when Cartwheel landed. I never saw footage of Droz breaking his neck, but I have to believe it looked a lot like that. Luckily, Cartwheel was okay and the match continued and was just stellar, and it earned my pick for best match.
I love Blake Christian. He needs to rebound to face Hiromu Takahashi next. That was a good brawl, and Moxley is just incapable of having a bad match right now. That earns second best. This was just such a good show, and I have to go with Bandido-Oliver for third-best. As a former world champion just last year, Bandido loses way too much, but this was a big victory that Oliver has earned. Wayne-Zayne and Deppen-Bailey were really, really good too. The scramble was alright, and Axton Ray and Shane Mercer continue to be “guys to watch.” In the same way I don’t enjoy smaller women getting the upper hand on larger men, I find Marko Stunt annoying and too small to be believable.
I love the roster on this show, and perhaps the only big-name regular missing here was Ninja Mack. GCW still has issues I don’t like, from intergender matches to careless chairshots to use of glass and light tubes, and their refusal to use guardrails to separate fans from ringside. Those criticisms aside, this was GCW at its best. The show clocked in at just more than three hours.
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