By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, Impact Wrestling, MLW, GCW, and other notable live events. If you attend a show, you are encouraged to send a report or even basic results to dotnetjason@gmail.com
GCW “Fight Club – Night Two”
Streamed on FITE TV
October 9, 2022 in Atlantic City, N.J. at The Showboat
After being outside the night before, this show was back indoors, under the carnival-colored roof (there was a two-hour JCW show in the afternoon here, prior to this event). Dave Prazak handled commentary, and he was joined by Emil Jay and Veda Scott during the show. The attendance is perhaps 300-400, much smaller than the outdoor show a night earlier.
* Nick Gage came out to begin the show and got a hero’s welcome. He wore the GCW Title he won from Jon Moxley a day earlier. He thanked the fans and said he would be a fighing champion. That brought out… Sawyer Wreck??? I noted this the other day, but she is a legit 6’1″ and much taller than him. Alec Price hit the ring. He also wants a GCW title show! More music played, and out came Lio Rush! Then Shane Mercer and Axton Ray and Dustin Waller. So, we are having an impromptu scramble match. Gage joined Prazak on commentary. Does the winner get a title shot?
1. Lio Rush defeated Axton Ray, Alec Price, Sawyer Wreck, Shane Mercer, and Dustin Waller in a six-way scramble match at 8:16. Seconds into the match, it was just the muscular Mercer and Lio Rush. Lio hit a dive on him on the floor. Axton hit a dive. Alec dove onto Mercer, but Mercer caught him. Alec hit a spin kick on Sawyer. Alec and Waller tried to team up on Mercer, but he overpowered them. Lion nailed an Asai moonsault on the floor at 5:00.
Sawyer hit a double chokeslam on both Lio and Price. (She is the tallest person in this match.) Mercer nailed a second-rope fallaway slam on Sawyer. Axton hit a sit-out powerbomb on Waller for a two-count. (Looked like three; Waller didn’t kick out.) Lio nailed a top-rope frogsplash on Price to win the scramble, his second scramble win in consecutive nights.
2. Blake Christian defeated Shun Skywalker at 11:34. Shun has impressed me in the two matches I’ve seen leading up to this one. Again, he wears a tight black mask that makes me think of NJPW’s Bushi. Blake got the boos he only gets in this building, and Prazak talked about how weird it is the fans have rejected him here but not in other GCW venues. Basic mat reversals early, but the fans are taunting Blake and taking away from this match. Shun hit a monkey flip with Blake striking the ropes and bouncing back off them at 2:00. Blake took control of the offense, but this crowd began to boo him loudly. Shun hit a running Mafia Kick, and they were both down at 7:00.
Shun hit a Helluva Kick in the corner and a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Blake fired back with his handspring-back-spin kick, then an Arabian Press to the floor. In the ring, he hit a 619 and a top-rope frogsplash for a nearfall. They traded more mid-ring forearm shots. Shun hit a butterfly underhook powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 10:00. Blake went for a move from the ropes but Shun caught him and nailed a German Suplex, then a Blue Thunder Bomb for a believable nearfall. Blake hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly, then a springboard 450 Splash for the pin. Shun may have kicked out at the three-count, and Blake sold being surprised he won. Despite the fans trying to distract Blake, that match was tremendous.
3. Masha Slamovich defeated Gringo Loco in an intergender match at 8:03. Masha got a huge pop. I don’t read spoilers, but I presume she was at the Impact taping on Saturday. They are roughly the same height, but Gringo has a clear weight and overall mass advantage. They did a knuckle lock tie up to start, but Masha laid in some stiff kicks. She hit a tornado DDT, jumping from the apron to the floor. However, Gringo Loco nailed a snap suplex on the hardwood floor at 3:00.
In the ring, Loco hit a Styles Clash for a nearfall, and he took control of the offense. While he’s normally a babyface, the crowd began booing him. Masha hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall at 5:30. Loco hit a spin kick to the side of her head. Loco hit a second-rope Falcon Arrow for a believable nearfall. Loco missed a double jump moonsault, and she immediately hit a running kneestrike. Masha hit a Canadian Destroyer and a jumping piledriver for the pin. I am surprised she gets the win here, as Gringo Loco rarely loses here.
4. Joey Janela defeated Cole Radrick to win the GCW Extreme Title at 15:46. These two were teammates a day earlier and lost, and immediately began fighting. Radrick is the James Ellsworth-meets-Gomer Pyle dork that this crowd inexplicably loves. They immediately traded chops and forearm shots. Radrick hit an Asai Moonsault at 3:00, and they brawled on the floor. They got back in the ring, where Janela hit a Death Valley Driver onto a ladder leaning against the ropes at 6:00.
Radrick hit a Cloud Cutter, then a Lionsault as Janela was lying on a door between two open chairs. Janela hit a tombstone piledriver and they were both down at 9:00. They stood on open chairs, and Radrick hit a Made In Japan powerbomb onto the open chairs for a believable nearfall. Absurd that wasn’t the finish. They fought on the ropes in the corner, and Janela hit a superplex through a door. Absurd THAT wasn’t the finish. Janela hit a top-rope double stomp onto shards of wood lying on Radrick’s chest for a nearfall.
Janela slammed shards of the door over Radrick’s unprotected head. He hit a superkick for a nearfall. Radrick hit an Air Raid Crash onto a folded chair for a nearfall. Janela sat up with a trickle of blood on his head. Radrick hit a top-rope superplex, but on hitting the mat, Janela hooked Radrick’s legs and got the pin. I’ll write it again: it is absurd some of the moves they kicked out of here. The lack of selling huge moves just baffles me. That pretty much sums up Janela’s indy matches, though.
5. “Bussy” Effy and Allie Katch vs. Nick Wayne and Jordan Oliver ended in a draw at 10:44. Oliver and Wayne have identical red pants. Effy and Oliver started, with Effy dropping him with a shoulder tackle. Wayne entered to face Katch. Wayne hit a hurancanrana. They traded forearm shots, which is just absurd she is matching him blow for blow. Effy hit a Helluva Kick on Oliver at 4:00 and a TKO stunner on Wayne. Effy nailed a Doomsday Legdrop on Wayne for a nearfall. Bussy began working over Wayne in their corner.
Oliver made the hot tag at 6:00 and hit a stunner on Effy and a uranage on Katch, and he was fired up. Katch hit her running buttbump on Wayne. Oliver hit a Mafia Kick on Effy. Oliver and Wayne hit a team superkick on Katch, but Effy hit a double Blockbuster, and everyone was down. They all got up and traded forearm shots at 9:00. Katch and Oliver each applied a Boston Crab; they let go of the hold to trade blows. Oliver hit a German Suplex on Katch.
Wayne nailed a Swanton Bomb on Katch for a believable nearfall. Katch hit her piledriver in the ropes on Oliver. Suddenly, Charles Mason ran in the ring and attacked Katch, then Wayne. Mason wrapped a wire around Katch’s throat and choked her out. Fans pelted Mason with crumbled-up sheets of paper. Effy jumped in the ring and covered the prone Katch. A really good, fast-paced match until the interference.
6. Yamato defeated Mike Bailey at 15:08. Like Slamovich, I presume Bailey was at the Impact taping a day earlier. I made this comparison previously, but Yamato looks similar to Shinsuke Nakamura. They opened with intense standing reversals. They brawled to the floor at 2:00 and traded chops in front of the fans. In the ring, Bailey hit a top-rope missile dropkick at 4:00 and a springboard kneedrop to the chest for a nearfall. Bailey applied a Trailer Hitch leglock on the mat, but Yamato reached the ropes at 6:00.
Bailey hit a series of spin kicks. Yamato nailed a clothesline, and they were both down. Yamato hit a nice Exploder Suplex for a nearfall. Bailey nailed a running kick and a running corkscrew press for a nearfall. He hit a series of Yes Kicks at 9:00. Yamato responded with a roaring forearm, and they were both down. They got up and traded more stiff blows, and this has been really good. Bailey nailed his speedball kicks to the thighs and ribs. Yamato hit a pair of dropkicks into the corner and a brainbuster for a nearfall.
Bailey hit his springboard moonsault to the floor at 12:30. In the ring, Bailey hit his moonsault kneedrop to the chest. Yamato hit an enziguri. Bailey nailed his spin kick in the corner, then the Ultimo Weapon second-rope summersault kneedrop for a believable nearfall. Yamato blocked the Flamingo Driver and nailed a head-capture suplex. Yamato applied a sleeper, then hit a sit-out slam for the clean pin. That was fantastic.
* A garbage can filled with light tubes were brought to ringside, and planes of glass were placed in the corners of the ring. Yuck, yuck, yuck…
7. Drew Parker defeated Extremo Miedo in a hardcore match at 11:36. Miedo suffered an injury a day earlier in a tag match, so I am pleased to see the injury was minor enough that he felt okay with competing here, although his left shoulder was heavily wrapped. Parker hit a V-Trigger knee strike to the collarbone, with light tubes pressed against Miedo’s chest, to score the pin. They both bled.
8. “The Second Gear Crew” Mance Warner, Matthew Justice, and 1 Called Manders defeated Jimmy Lloyd, Marcus Mathers, and Dylan McKay in a hardcore match at 13:20. The ring was swept off all the debris before they started. All six brawled at the bell. McKay hit a top-rope corkscrew press onto everyone on the floor. They paired off into three separate brawls on the floor. Manders repeatedly chopped Mathers in front of the fans. Warner dangerously and recklessly threw a chair at McKay’s head, with the chair striking the leg of a fan in the front row.
McKay slammed Manders threw a door set up between two tables. In the ring, Mance Warner and Jimmy Lloyd traded blows, and Mance ws heavily bleeding. Mathers was tossed off the ring apron onto a barbed wire-covered board at 9:30. The SGC tied Lloyd’s arms up in the ropes and they hit REPEATED UNPROTECTED chairshot blows to the top of his head. I can’t put into words how reckless and dangerous that is. A tall, tall ladder was brought into the ring. It appears to be 12-15 feet tall. Justice and McKay fought on the top of the ladder, and Justice hit a Death Valley Driver onto Mathers, who was lying on a board between two chairs, to score the pin. However, Mathers immediately grabbed his leg upon the two bodies crashing on him, and he did not immediately get up. So, hopefully he isn’t too injured. I have nothing good to say about this match.
9. Rina Yamashita beat Ciclope in a hardcore intergender match at 20:16. The light tubes are once again set up in the corners of the ring. The ref not only is wearing gloves, he also has goggles on. Both bled a lot. Ciclope had his shirt off, revealing more of a gut than I realized. They fought on top of a ladder (shorter than the one from the prior match), and Ciclope hit a superplex. Ciclope missed a moonsault and crashed stomach-first on the pile of glass. Rina hit a Razor’s Edge onto a pile of light tubes, then she wrapped barbed wire round Ciclope’s face and cranked back until he tapped out.
Final Thoughts: I really don’t know if GCW could have done a worse job in booking Nick Gage this weekend. First, he only won the title after outside interference, in a match where he rarely looked strong or on offense. Then, on Sunday, he proclaimed he would be a fighting champion. Six people came out to essentially accept the offer. He ran from the ring and did commentary, and wound up not facing any of them. How is making him look like a coward considered to be good booking?
The show peaked with the excellent Yamato-Bailey match, as Bailey is consistently having among the best matches on every show he’s on. Blake Christian-Shun Skywaler was really good and needed a couple more minutes to make it great, and that easily earns second-best.
GCW seems to consistently have really entertaining scrambles that are well-mapped out to give everyone a chance to shine, and they are smart to open the show with them, as they get the crowd fired up immediately. So, I’ll give that third-best of the show. I have to wonder if Waller got knocked loopy on that powerbomb from Axton, because he didn’t kick out. The match ended, so we didn’t get to see if he would have gotten back into it.
My enjoyment of the show ended when Bailey’s match was over, though.
I hate watching Mance Warner give and take chair shots to the head. While there is a renewed national discussion about the dangers of concussions in the NFL, indy wrestling has never seemed more oblivious to the long-term problems of head trauma from unprotected blows to the head. Maybe these indy wrestlers are too young to truly understand the tragedy of Chris Benoit to fully understand why I hate seeing this so much. While I hate seeing the glass and light tubes, the unprotected head shots will have a much more long-lasting impact.
The show clocked in at just more than three hours.
Be the first to comment