By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “Jimmy Lloyd’s D-Generation F”
Streamed on FITE TV
March 31, 2023 in Los Angeles, California at Ukrainian Cultural Center
“The Collective” is a series of 10 wrestling shows, led by Game Changer Wrestling, held over WrestleMania weekend, with all the events at the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Most of the shows have a specific theme (there is a lucha show, a show highlighting Black wrestlers, and another featuring the LGBTQ community.) This venue can probably hold 600.
This is a review of GCW’s “JImmy Lloyd’s D-Generation F” from Friday late morning, March 31, 2023. Based on the lineup, I am assuming this show features wrestlers under the ago of 30. The crowd is light, perhaps 150-200; it is startlingly different from the ultra-packed house a day earlier for “Bloodsport.” Emil Jay is on commentary.
1. Terry Yaki defeated Lucas Riley, Brogan Finlay, MBM, Man Like Dereiss, Midas Kreed and Bobby Flacco in a seven-way scramble at 7:08. Riley really impressed me a day earlier. MBM is from Belgium; he has greasy looking hair like Sami Callihan and he’s starting to bald; he looks more like Baron Corbin before he shaved his head. Dereiss also had a great showing a day earlier at the FTC show. Flacco came out on a bike and he likes to party. Flacco hit a nice huracanrana on Brogan seconds into the match. Kreed hit a sliding dropkick on Finlay in the corner at 3:00.
MBM hit a dive through the ropes on everyone. Riley hit a flip dive through the ropes on everyone. Yaki hit a top-rope 450 Splash onto everyone. In the ring, Flacco hit a Poison Rana. Dereiss hit a stunner on Flacco, then a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. MBM hit a Lionsault Press. Brogan hit a top-rope frogsplash; Midas hit a top-rope 450 Splash at 7:00. Yaki hit a top-rope DDT on MBM for the pin. What you’d expect here; lots of great high-flying and not much selling. Dereiss is a standout.
* “That Punk Isaac” joined Emil Jay on commentary.
2. Cole Radrick defeated Titus Alexander at 9:15. Titus is the kid who I think looks a lot like Ethan Page, in haircut and overall heel demeanor, and he had a good showing in this year’s PWG “Battle of Los Angeles.” Radrick is the James Ellsworth-meets-Gomer Pyle dork. Titus is always the heel but I’ll cheer for him to beat up this nerd. Titus got some quick early rollups, and he kicked in the direction of the ref, earning some boos. Titus dominated him early on with basic stomps.
Cole hit a huracanrana, then he dove through the ropes at 5:00. Back in the ring, Titus hit a brainbuster for a nearfall. They traded forearm shots. Titus went for a handspring-back-move, but Radrick caught him with a spin kick. Cole dropped Titus face-first on the middle turnbuckle, then he hit a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall. Titus nailed a handspring-back-stunner for a believable nearfall at 8:30. Radrick hit his Little Sebastian’s Curse pump-handle powerbomb for the pin. Ugh; wrong guy won.
3. Jack Cartwheel defeated Hunter Drake at 9:46. I was really impressed with Hunter Drake the one or two times I saw him; he’s like a young Jungle Boy or young Jordan Oliver. He’s scrawny but talented. Again, Cartwheel just had a really good AEW Elevation match against Brian Cage. Jack hit several cartwheels into the corner. Hunter hit a standing moonsault off of Jack’s back for a nearfall at 2:00. Jack hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall. They brawled to the floor, where Jack slammed him on the ring apron.
Jack went for his catapult senton, but Hunter got his foot up to block it. Hunter hit a diving forearm and a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 5:30. Hunter hit a nice Code Red for a nearfall. Jack hit a German Suplex and a rolling Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Jack went for a 450 splash, but Hunter caught him and hit a powerbomb for a nearfall at 8:00.
Hunter missed a 450 Splash. Jack suplexed him into the corner. Jack nailed his cartwheel-into-a-dive to the floor. Jack immediately hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press, with some really good height on it, for the pin. Really good match from two top up-and-comers.
4. Sandra Moone defeated Kenzie Paige at 6:13. Paige has looked good in NWA and I saw her have a good match recently in GCW. An intense lockup to begin. Moone isn’t heavy, but she looks thick compared to the tiny Kenzie. Kenzie hit a dive through the ropes at 1:30. In the ring, Kenzie applied a crossface. Moone hit a Samoan Drop. Kenzie knocked Moone down with a chop and was in control. Moone hit a back suplex, then a clothesline to the back of the head at 5:00. Kenzie hit a superkick and an ugly-looking chokeslam for a nearfall. Moone hit a backbreaker over her knee, then a gut-wrench suplex, almost dropping Paige on her head, to score the pin. Ok match.
5. Jimmy Lloyd defeated Bodhi Young Prodigy at 4:51. Bodhi looks like he’s 14 or 15. He is scrawny with a really young face. Lloyd is quite popular in GCW, but I think it’s fair to say he’s been pinned more in the past year than anyone in the promotion. Bodhi immediately hit a neat-looking armdrag and a huracarana, and he bounced on the top rope like Komander. Lloyd hit a back elbow for a nearfall, then a bodyslam, and he was in control. Bodhi hit a top-rope huracanrana and an enzuiguri at 3:00.
Lloyd fired back with an Iconoclasm slam for a nearfall. Bodhi hit a backpack stunner, then a Canadian Destroyer, then a diving stunner for a nearfall. Lloyd set up for a package piledriver, but Bodhi escaped. Lloyd then hit the package piledriver for the pin. Bodhi was stellar here. He might be a high school gymnast. Give him time to grow, but he’s off to a great start.
6. Starboy Charlie defeated Alec Price at 11:18. Charlie is the babyface from California; Price is the Boston heel. Charlie is still a teenager, too, and he’s wearing the awful bib overalls. (Hillbilly Jim and the Godwins can get away with that; it looks terrible on this kid.) Charlie immediately focused on the left wrist. They traded reversals and had a standoff at 2:30. Charlie hit a running shooting star press. On the floor, Price hit a superkick. Back in the ring, Price was in control, and he hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 5:30.
Price hit a Saito Suplex for a nearfall, then two running Helluva Kicks in the corner. They traded mid-ring forearm shots and Charlie hit a Thesz Press and punches to the face, then a Northern Lights suplex for a nearfall at 8:00. Charlie hit a shotgun dropkick and a basement dropkick in the corner. Price slammed Charlie face-first on the top turnbuckle. Price nailed an Air Raid Crash over his knee for a believable nearfall.
Charlie hit an Asai moonsault to the floor at 10:30. In the ring, he hit a second-rope Phoenix Splash for a nearfall, and he ripped down the suspenders on the bib overalls. He hit an enzuigiri and applied a crossface, and Price tapped out. Good match.
7. Sawyer Wreck defeated Bobby Orlando in an intergender match at 9:18. Again, Wreck is a legit 6’1″ and taller than most of her male opponents. Orlando is the nerdy dork who comes to the ring with a stuffed goat on his back; he’s the sort of babyface I root against (like Radrick earlier.) They tied up and she easily tossed him to the mat. She wanted to do a knucklelock and put her hands high above her head, where he couldn’t reach. He got his stuffy. She hit a back suplex at 2:30. Orlando hit a dive through the ropes onto her.
On the floor, he tossed the stuffy into her arms; she whipped it deep into the crowd and he looked wounded. He accidentally chopped the ring post; she hit hard chops on the floor in front of the fans. He again dove through the ropes onto her. In the ring, he hit a missile dropkick for a nearfall at 4:30. She scooped him in his arms and hit a Mark Henry slam for a nearfall. Sawyer rolled to the floor and got some boards from under the ring, and she brought chairs in, too, and she set up a door bridge.
They fought on the ropes in the corner, and he hit a flying stunner onto the door bridge — it didn’t break — for a nearfall at 8:00. Orlando went under the ring and got some doors, too. She hit a Mafia Kick onto a chair in his arms, then she hit a two-handed chokeslam through the door bridge for the pin. So-so match.
8. “Wasted Youth” Marcus Mathers & Dyln McKay defeated “CPF” Joe Lando & Danny Black and “The Bang Bros” Davey Bang & August Matthews and “The Best Bros” Baliyan Akki & Mei Suruga in a four-way tag match at 19:17. This is one fall to a finish. Baliyan and Mei were at ringside for Emi Sakura’s ROH match that aired Thursday; they’ve accompanied her to ringside in the past, and they have some great moves. CPF are British; Danny Black is the only person new to me here. August hit a nice dropkick on Lando early on. Mathers hit a running swinging neckbreaker. Black entered; he has multiple tattoos on his scrawny body. Baliyan hit a backbreaker over his knee at 2:30.
McKay hit a tornado DDT on Baliyan. Mei entered and she fired up the crowd. She did an Old School top-rope walk with the aid of WY. Bang and Matthews hit dives to the floor. In the ring, Bang hit a rolling Death Valley Driver. Baliyan hit a crossbody block on CPF at 6:00.. Mathers hit a Lungblower out of the ropes. WY worked over Lando. Mei screamed at Mathers, and he fell to the mat and covered his head. Mei hit some chops on Lando at 9:00, then Baliyan hit a DEAFENING chop that popped the crowd.
Black hit a stunner on Baliyan. Lando hit a flipping dive into the corner on Akki. Bang hit a superkick on Black, and TBB hit a team slam on Black at 12:00. Davey Bang hit a Swanton Bomb. TBB hit stereo 450 Splashes. Mei hit a double clothesline on CPF, and suddenly everyone was down. They all got up and traded punches. Akki hit a double huracanrana at 14:00. Mei climbed on Akki’s back, and he dove off the top turnbuckle onto everyone on the floor. Mathers hit a flip dive to the floor. Lando hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press to the floor. McKay hit a top-rope corkscrew press onto everyone on the floor at 16:00. Some pretty insane dives here.
Davey Bang hit a Posion Rana. Dave hit his rolling spear on WY. WY hit simultaneous 450 Splashes for nearfalls. Akki hit a springboard Swanton for a nearfall. In a silly spot, Mei hit a double chokeslam while seated on Akki’s shoulders at 18:00. Akki slammed Mei onto August for a nearfall. Lando hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press on Akki for a nearfall. Dyln hit a Canadian Destroyer, then his Shooting Star Press. Mathers hit a 450 Splash to pin Black. That was a blast.
Final Thoughts: Yes, these are all hungry, young kids, and there was a lot of good stuff here. The main event was a blast; even the Mei Suruga humor spots worked for me. I’ll go with Starboy-Price for second-best, and Cartwheel-Drake for third place. I’ve actually most of the wrestlers on this show before. Of those who I didn’t note in my top three matches, Dereiss, Titus, Riley, and Kreed look really good.
If this was a West Coast Pro show, Titus definitely wins that match against Radrick. Titus has been booked in PWG and appeared on AEW Dark. Radrick is a slob with no physique. But, he is a GCW regular and got the win. I just don’t ‘get’ why GCW fans like Radrick, other than he’s brutalized his body in some hardcore matches.
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