By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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West Coast Pro Wrestling “West Coast Best Coast”
Replay available via IndependentWrestling.TV
March 3, 2023 in San Francisco, California at United Irish Cultural Center
James Kincaid and Veda Scott provided commentary, and they said this venue is completely sold out. However, we are likely only at 300 or so fans in this small room.
* Note that because this show is taking place, Mike Bailey, Masha Slamovich and Nick Wayne weren’t at a GCW show on this evening in New Jersey. (The schedule of today’s indy wrestlers is insane.) While this show took place March 3 and aired live, the replay wasn’t posted on IWTV for a week.
1. Bret the Threat defeated Jiah Jewell at 5:58. Jewell is a modern version of WWF’s Skinner, but he’s scrawny and looks homeless. Bret is tall and looks like an MMA guy. Bret dominated with some kicks early on. Jiah snapped Bret’s throat over the top rope and took control. Bret hit some hard chops and a clothesline at 5:00. Bret applied a sleeper, and Jiah tapped out. Basic but the right guy, even if he’s green, won.
2. Juicy Finau, AJ Gray, and Alpha Zo defeated Adrian Quest, Danny Rose, and Ricky Gomez at 12:02. Quest has appeared on New Japan Strong several times and he’s alright. Rose and Gomez are scrawny and wore baseball jerseys, and they are heels from the Southern California area. Juicy, who might be 400+ pounds, was a mystery partner for Alpha Zo, and the crowd popped when the big man came out. They all brawled at the bell, and Quest’s team worked over Zo early on. Zo finally hit a uranage at 7:00 and he tagged in Gray.
Finau entered to a huge pop and he hit a Bulldog Powerslam on Quest. Juicy hit a flying crossbody block on Rose and Gomez at 9:00, and he dove through the ropes onto all three opponents. In the ring, Gray and Quest traded blows. Gray hit a chokeslam, then a back suplex on two guys. Juicy hit a top-rope frogsplash for the pin.
3. Masha Slamovich defeated Sandra Moone to become the first-ever WCPW Women’s Champion at 10:27. Moone just appeared on AEW Elevation. They brawled immediately at the bell. Masha hit a back suplex for a nearfall, then a shotgun dropkick and a dive to the floor at 2:30. In the ring, Masha hit some hard kicks and remained in control, and she applied a Camel Clutch. Moone dropped Masha face-first on the middle turnbuckle at 4:30. Moone hit a Blue Thunder bomb for a nearfall. Masha fired back with a hard clothesline, then a missile dropkick.
Moone applied a Boston Crab, with Masha reaching the ropes at 7:00. Masha applied a crossface, but Moone reached the ropes. Masha nailed a piledriver for a believable nearfall at 9:00. Moone hit a gutwrench suplex for a believable nearfall. Masha hit a Shining Wizard, then a Snow Plow driver for the pin. Good match.
* Lita hopped in the ring and presented the title belt to Masha and raised her hand. Cool moment.
4. Viento, Aramis, and Rey Horus defeated Black Taurus and “Los Vipers” Toxin and Latigo at 15:13. I’ve seen Los Vipers a few times in GCW; they are a bit heavyset — a bit thinner than Taurus but certainly not traditional high-flyers, and they are dressed identically today. Viento is much taller and he wore maroon and a more elaborate mask (think Laredo Kid), and he started the match against one of the Vipers. Aramis, wearing blue and white, entered at 2:00. Taurus entered and he dropped Aramis gut-first on the top turnbuckle.
Horus entered at 4:00 and he traded quick reversals with Taurus, including a nice satellite head-scissors takedown. The babyfaces hit dives to the floor on Vipers. In the ring, Los Vipers slammed opponents’ backs into each other, and they hit a nice Lungblower on Viento at 7:00, then a low blow kick on Horus, and the heels were in control. Horus hit a nice tornado DDT on Taurus, then an impressive dive to the floor. Rey hit a frogsplash for a nearfall at 11:00.
Taurus hit a backbreaker over his knee on Aramis, then a pop-up Samoan Drop for a believable nearfall at 12:30. Viento hit a top-rope flying elbow on a Viper. Taurus accidentally speared a Viper! Aramis hit an incredible Poison Rana, where he leapt off Taurus’ shoulders before hitting it. Cool spot, and suddenly everyone was down. Viento and Aramis hit top-rope moonsaults to the floor, while Horus got a rollup move on a Viper for the pin. That was breath-taking stuff. Fans pelted them with dollar bills.
5. “West Coast Wrecking Crew” Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs defeated “Miracle Generation” Kylon King and Dustin Waller at 16:57. I just saw MG for the first time on a Beyond Wrestling show from Massachusetts, so this is a big cross-country opportunity for them. All four shook hands; the MG are much smaller than their more seasoned opponents. King, who is Black, opened against Royce Isaacs, with Royce hitting a shoulder tackle, and King tagged out immediately. Dustin is white and wore a bandana around his forehead; he reminds me of a young Trent Baretta. Waller and Nelson traded quick reversals.
The WCWC hit a team German Suplex move on Waller, and they were in control. In an impressive showing of strength, Isaacs held Waller upside down and walked around ringside, then up the ramp, before slamming him to the ground at 4:00. In the ring, Isaacs hit a backbreaker over his knee on King, and the WCWC worked over Kylon in their corner. Waller made the hot tag and MG hit a team suplex on Jorel for a nearfall at 8:30. Jorel hit a Full Nelson slam on Kylon, and they were both down.
Isaacs made the hot tag at 11:00 and he hit some hard clotheslines. Isaacs hit a German Suplex, then a powerslam for a believable nearfall on Waller. Waller hit a handspring-back-stunner on Jorel at 13:30. The MG hit simultaneous superkicks on Isaacs; Kylon hit a frogsplash and Waller immediately hit a 450 Splash for a believable nearfall. Jorel hit a hard dive to the floor on the MG at 16:30. In the ring, Isacs hit a German Suplex, and Jorel hit a top-rope Clout Cutter on Waller for the pin. Really good match; Miracle Generation definitely made an impact in their West Coast debut.
6. Vinnie Massaro defeated Rickey Shane Page in a No DQ match at 16:18. These are a couple of big guys; Massaro appeared on AEW Elevation on Monday, while Page wrestled on MLW on Tuesday. RSP attacked Vinnie as he entered the ring. They brawled away from the ring; it was really dark and hard to see. Both were bleeding quickly. In the ring, Page shoved Vinnie into a garbage can shoved in between the ropes, and Vinnie left a bloody print on the trash can. Yuck. Vinnie went under the ring and got a pizza cutter, and he used it on Page’s forehead at 8:00.
Page got a barbed-wire baseball bat and he hit Vinnie in the stomach, then the back, then he used it on Vinnie’s forhead. Both men were bleeding significantly; this isn’t for me. Page hit a frogsplash with barbed wire around his arm for a nearfall at 14:00. Vinnie shoved a box of tacks into Page’s mouth. Vinnie hit a stunner and a roaring elbow, with barbed wire wrapped around the elbow, to score the pin. Ugly, ugly, violent match. Many in the crowd liked this.
* Intermission was edited out. So, we quickly return and Chris Hero has the mic! He has put on some weight again and might be over 300 pounds now. He spoke on the mic but it was fairly inaudible on my TV so I really turned up the volume. I had heard this already; he’s becoming WCPW “official match-maker.” The crowd chanted, “Thank you, Chris!” He concluded by simply saying, “I’ll see you next month.”
7. Mike Bailey defeated Timothy Thatcher at 15:22. Veda said these two have faced before in a singles match, but it has been years; she noted that Thatcher has primarily been in Japan for the past year. Thatcher has a significant height advantage. Standing switches to open. Bailey hit some kicks to the thigh; Thatcher hit some European Uppercuts. Bailey hit a flip dive to the floor at 3:00, and they brawled on the floor. In the ring, Bailey hit some Yes Kicks. Thatcher applied a Camel Clutch, and he began twisting on Bailey’s fingers.
Bailey hit a second-rope missile dropkick at 9:00, and a series of kicks, then a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. Thatcher went back to tying up the legs. Bailey hit his Triangle Moonsault to the floor at 10:30. Bailey hit a moonsault kneedrop on the ring apron. Bailey went for the tornado kick, but Thatcher blocked it and hit a European Uppercut. Bailey hit the moonsault kneedrop in the center of the ring and a spin kick to the head for a nearfall at 13:00.
Thatcher applied an armbar and hit a suplex with the hold still in place; Bailey reached the ropes to break it. Thatcher hit a back suplex for a nearfall and went back to the armbar. Bailey nailed the Tornado Kick in the corner, then the second-rope Ultima Weapon moonsault kneedrop for the pin. Great, hard-hitting match.
* Veda left the booth; based on their Twitter feeds, I think she and Bailey had to leave to catch a flight to New Jersey for the GCW show the next afternoon.
8. Bryan Keith and Starboy Charlie defeated Alan Angels and Kevin Blackwood at 11:36. Teenager Charlie had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it match on AEW TV last week. He and Angels opened against each other, and Charlie hit a nice corkscrew splash. Angels hit a half-nelson suplex on Keith. Blackwood hit some stiff forearm shots on Keith. The heels began working over Charlie. Blackwood hit a snap suplex at 4:30. Charlie hit a DDT on Angels and a snap suplex on Angels. Keith made the hot tag at 6:00 and he hit a running stunner.
Keith hit a release suplex on Angels, then a double back suplex. Charlie hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor on the heels. In the ring, Blackwood applied a Texas Cloverleaf on Charlie, but Starboy fought free. Charlie and Keith each applied a submission hold. Charlie pulled down the straps of his bib overalls — he means business! — and he traded forearm shots with Blackwood at 9:30. Blackwood suplexed him into the corner. Angels hit a frogsplash on Keith, and the heels hit a team slam on Charlie for a believable nearfall.
Charlie hit a shotgun dropkick on both, then a springboard corkscrew press. Charlie rolled up Blackwood out of nowhere for the pin; the camera was woefully out of position and prettymuch missed the finish. Good match that feels unfinished because it ended so abruptly.
9. Titus Alexander defeated Nick Wayne in a TLC match to retain the WCPW Championship at 22:39. Alexander and Wayne just had a 30-minute time-limit draw at the last WCPW show, allowing Titus to retain the WCPW title. Titus also just had an AEW taping match. The title belt was suspended from the ceiling. They charged at each other at the bell and immediately traded forearm shots. Titus hit a backbreaker over his knee. Wayne hit a flip dive to the floor at 2:30, and they traded chops in front of the fans. In the ring, Wayne whipped a chair at Titus’ head, and he hit him over the back with it.
Titus hit a backbody drop, sending Wayne onto a ladder set up in the corner at 6:30. Titus used a chair to slam another chair into Wayne’s groin. Titus was bleeding from the forehead. They fought to the floor, where Wayne hit a tornado DDT at 10:00. In the ring, Wayne hit a Canadian Destroyer. Wayne got a ladder and brought it in the ring; they fought over climbing it and pulled each other off of it. Titus bodyslammed Wayne onto the flat, folded ladder at 12:00. Titus went to the floor and brought a table into the ring.
They fought on the ropes in the corner. In the ring, they fought on the ladder, and Wayne hit a stunner off the ladder and through the table at 16:00! The crowd chanted, “Holy shit!” Wayne clotheslined them both to the floor. Titus placed Wayne along his back and hit a piledriver onto the ring apron! Wayne tumbled to the floor. In an insane spot, Wayne dove through the ropes and turned it into a Canadian Destroyer onto four open chairs set up on the floor at 20:00, and they were both down.
Wayne got in the ring and climbed the ladder; Titus threw a chair into the ring and striking Wayne on the leg, knocking him off the ladder. In the ring, Titus hit a suplex onto an open chair. Titus held Wayne’s wrists and stomped on his chest, then he hit a piledriver move onto an open chair. Titus scrambled up the ladder and pulled down the title belt to retain. Hard hitting match.
Final Thoughts: A very good main event, and it narrowly earned best match. Wayne is just so good, regardless of the fact he’s still just 17. There is a reason this high school kid has literally traveled all over the country in the past year. Titus is such a good heel, and he held up his end of the match, too.
I loved the lucha match. Yes, I tend to favor high-flying crazy matches, but this was a standout match of this variety. Black Taurus just makes the high-flyers look good; he is under-used in Impact Wrestling. A strong Bailey-Thatcher match earns third. Miracle Generation need to put on some size, but they looked good and will likely be welcomed back here in the future.
The first two matches didn’t do much for me, and I hated the hardcore match. Masha is so good in the ring and far better than Moone, and Masha made that match turn out well.
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