GCW “Drop Dead” results: Vetter’s review of Mance Warner and Matthew Justice vs. Ciclope and Extremo Miedo vs. John Wayne Murdoch and Alex Colon in a three-way hardcore match, Jimmy Lloyd vs. Hoodfoot in a hardcore match, Shane Mercer vs. Tommy Vendetta in a hardcore match, Jonathan Gresham vs. Yamato

By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)

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GCW “Drop Dead”
Streamed on FITE TV
October 22, 2022 in Detroit, Michigan at Harpos Concert Theatre

The show was held in a popular music venue, and GCW has drawn strong crowds here in the past. Dave Prazak and Emil Jay provided commentary. The lights are low but the crowd is 500 or more, and they are packed in. I do like this building because there is an energy here.

1. Jordan Oliver vs. Shiho Hong at 12:51. Hong is announced from Seoul, South Korea. Oliver is a legit 6’2″ and has the height advantage. Quick reversals to open with a standoff, which pops the crowd. Hong hit a plancha to the floor at 2:30. Back in the ring, Hong laid in some stiff forearms and European uppercuts. Jordan hit a running knee to the back for a nearfall at 5:30.

Hong nailed a flying forearm and they were both down. They fought on the ropes in the corner, and Hong nailed a Frankensteiner for a nearfall at 7:30. Hong nailed a superkick that made Oliver stagger; Oliver hit a clothesline, and they were both down again. Oliver hit a T-Bone suplex and he was fired up. Oliver nailed his jumping powerbomb for a believable nearfall.

Oliver couldn’t hit the Cloud Cutter. Hong hit a slingshot stunner, then a German Suplex with a high bridge for a nearfall at 11:00. Hong hit the Athena/Ember Moon-style top-rope head-capture stunner for a nearfall.  Oliver hit a Tiger Suplex, a Mafia Kick, and a second powerbomb for a believable nearfall. Oliver immediately hit the Cloud Cutter for the pin. Really good match.

NOTE: These ropes are unusually loose. Both men slipped on them. Hopefully we don’t see an issue tonight. I hope someone can tighten them. Also, someone in the crowd started to chant “USA!” and everyone else booed him. I like that.

2. Blake Christian vs. Cole Radrick at 9:32. This had been billed as a match for the GCW Extreme title, but Radrick lost the belt to Joey Janela two weeks ago. Radrick is the Gomer Pyle-meets-James Ellsworth dork who is popular for reasons behind my understanding. This is a babyface matchup. Quick reversals, and Radrick hit a slingshot senton and a high back suplex. Blake applied a body-scissors lock on the mat. Christian hit a Lionsault Press for a nearfall at 2:30.

Blake hit a basement dropkick. The crowd was behind Radrick. Radrick hit his heart punch. Blakewent for a springboard move, but Radrick caught him with a stunner, then a lionsault for a nearfall at 5:00. Blake hit a 619, then a pumphandle swinging powerbomb for a nearfall. Radrick hit a spin kick to the head and a butterfly suplex and he scored a nearfall. Blake nailed a springboard 450 Splash for a nearfall at 8:30 and the crowd began chanting “This is awesome!” Blake nailed a top-rope Spanish Fly, and he immediately hit another springboard 450 Splash for the pin. That was fun.

* Originally billed as singles matches, the next match is a four-way.

3. Nick Wayne defeated ASF, Gringo Loco, and Kommander in a four-way at 13:22. Kommander just competed in AAA’s Triplemania last week in Mexico City, and he’s a tremendous high-flyer. ASF is talented but he’s ultra-thin and short. Quick reversals early and a standoff as the fans chanted “lucha libre!” ASF hit a satellite head-scissors takedown on Loco that popped the crowd. Loco put ASF on his shoulders and hit a stomach-first Samoan Drop at 3:30.

Kommander did an Old School tightrope walk and hit a huracanrana on Loco. Wayne hit a moonsault to the floor. ASF hit a corkscrew press to the floor on everyone. In the ring, Wayne hit a fisherman’s suplex on Loco for a nearfall at 6:00. Kommander hit a backbreaker over his knee on Wayne. Kommander hit a shooting star press, then a springboard 450 for a nearfall on Wayne. ASF and Kommander fought in the corner, with ASF flipping him to the mat. Wayne hit a flipping dive over the turnbuckle to the floor. Kommander walked the ropes from one corner to another and hit a flipping dive onto everyone, earning the “holy shit!” chant at 9:00. Emil Jay noted this top rope doesn’t have the tension other rings have.

Back in the ring, Loco caught Kommander and slammed him in a piledriver move. Wayne hit a Package Piledriver on ASF. Loco hit a flip dive to the floor on two guys. In the ring, Loco hit a Vader Bomb move on ASF for a nearfall at 12:00, then a top-rope Spanish Fly on Kommander. ASF hit a Canadian Destroyer on Loco. Wayne hit a Code Red for a nearfall. Wayne hit a Poison Rana on ASF, then a springboard Cloud Cutter on ASF for the pin. That was a blast.

4. Jonathan Gresham defeated Yamato at 15:45. I’ve made this comparison before, but Yamato’s face and haircut is similar to Shinsuke Nakamura. Prazak noted that Gresham is undefeated this year in GCW. An intense lockup to start; this match is going to look very different from the lucha match that preceded it. Gresham tied up Yamato’s legs on the mat. Gresham overpowered him in a test of strength at 4:30. They began trading chops, and Gresham hit a karate chop move on Yamato’s left elbow, and Yamato held his arm in pain.

Gresham immediately began targeting the injured left arm, and he managed to tie up the left ankle at the same time. Gresham began twisting the right wrist and fingers as he had the left arm trapped at 10:00. Yamato finally hit a suplex, and they were both down. Yamato hit a belly-to-belly suplex for a nearfall, and he applied an anklelock, but Gresham reached the ropes at 13:00. They traded chops. Yamato hit a basement dropkick on Gresham’s leg, and they traded rollups for nearfalls. They each hit an enzuigiri. Gresham got a rollup, leaned back for leverage, and scored the pin.

5. “Bussy” Allie Katch & Effy defeated Malcolm Monroe III & Chase Burnett at 10:13. Burnett is the guy in his 50s who acts like he’s in his 70s. using a cane to get to the ring. (I recall really disliking his match against Blake Christian at a prior GCW show earlier this year.) MM3 is a Black man looking similar to Xavier Woods. Effy and Burnett fought over the cane to start the match. Burnett hit a springboard move (he channels his inner Yoda, suddenly able to do quick moves, only to going back to needing his cane.) Katch and MM3 hit some quicker offense.

MM3 hit a flip dive to the floor at 3:00. Chase hit a top-rope dive onto everyone. Chase and Allie traded forearm shots, and he’s actually shorter than her. Effy hit a a Whoopee Cushion buttdrop on Chase at 5:30. This is not pretty. MM3 hit a top-rope missile dropkick on both opponents. He hit a short-arm clothesline on Katch for a nearfall. Effy hit a stunner for a nearfall. Burnett hit a Canadian Destroyer. They all fought in the ring. Effy kissed MM3 on the lips, so Chase kissed Effy on the lips. Effy hit Mafia Kicks on each opponent. Katch hit a piledriver on Chase. Effy hit a Doomsday Fameasser legdrop on MM3 for the pin. Blah.

6. Shane Mercer defeated Tommy Vendetta in a hardcore match at 11:48. The light tubes were set up in every corner of the ring. Yuck. Shane Mercer is more muscular than nearly everyone on the GCW roster and he’s getting used more frequently here. Vendetta wore a military vest and black pants. Vendetta attacked from behind and immediately hit a piledriver for a nearfall, just seconds into the match. They began cracking each other over the head with light tubes. Mercer was bleeding from several cuts on his back. They fought on the permanent stage, and Mercer did a military press and tossed Vendetta through a table set up on the floor.  In the ring, Mercer emptied a bucket of LEGOs on the mat. Mercer hit him over the head with a light tube, then nailed a second-rope fallaway slam onto broken shards of light tubes for the pin.

7. Hoodfoot defeated Jimmy Lloyd in a hardcore match at 7:53. More light tubes in the ring, plus some barbed wire and chairs and glass panes. Yuck. Hoodfoot hit a second-rope elbow drop onto a glass pane placed over Lloyd’s chest. Hoodfoot then hit a German Suplex into a pane of glass set up in the corner for the pin. The ring is just a mess with all the glass and debris, so they take a break to clean it up.

8. Ciclope & Extremo Miedo defeated John Wayne Murdoch & Alex Colon and Mance Warner & Matthew Justice in a three-way tag hardcore match at 21:02. Miedo still has his left shoulder heavily wrapped, stemming from an injury two weeks ago at the New Jersey shows. All six immediately brawled to the floor. It is really hard to see as they fight out of the ring, and they are airing a split screen, which is actually making it harder to follow. Several guys brawled up onto the stage, perhaps eight to 10 feet off the floor. Miedo hit a Death Valley Driver on Murdoch onto tables set up on the floor at 6:30.

Mance hit a top-rope superplex onto a double-decker door structure in the ring, and Justice followed it with a top-rope elbow drop for a nearfall at 9:00. They all brawled back to the floor. They took turns whacking each other over the head with shards of doors. Warner and Justice hit repeated punches on Murdoch as they all sat on chairs in the ring. More boxes of light tubes were brought into the ring, and they all hit each other with them. Justice hit a top-rope frogsplash. Ciclope hit a Shining Wizard on Justice, and Miedo immediately hit a German Suplex. I couldn’t possible write the number of light tubes that have been destroyed in this match. Miedo hit a sit-out piledriver on Justice for the pin.

* A video aired with Joey Janela, who announced The Collective 2023 will be held in Los Angeles, and the Japanese promotion DDT will be coming to battle GCW.

Final Thoughts: I’ll go with the four-way lucha match for top match, with the Hong-Oliver match second place, and Blake Christian-Cole Radrick earning third. Those first four matches were really, really good. The last four matches were really, really bad. Again, if you like watching wrestlers carve themselves up with light tubes and glass, maybe those matches are for you, but I don’t care for it.

I have noted this before, but GCW doesn’t use guardrails to separate fans from the action. That means they are way too close to the ring when glass panes and light tubes are shattering, with debris flying everywhere.

Including intermission, the show clocked in at three hours even.