By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “Ride or Die”
Streamed on FITE.TV
June 23, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois at Thalia Hall
This is a two-level building and the crowd is perhaps 600. Dave Prazak and Emil Jay provided commentary. This is an attractive room and a great location for an indy show.
1. “The Bang Bros” Davey Bang and August Matthews defeated Alec Price and Cole Radrick at 6:51. The Bang Bros appeared at the ROH taping in Chicago last week. Price hit a doublestomp on Matthews’ head. Radrick hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Bang made the hot tag at 3:30. Bang hit a spear and a moonsault to the floor, while Matthews hit a dive through the ropes. Radrick hit a 619, and Price hit a Fame-Asser legdrop. Price and Radrick, who aren’t regular teammates, weren’t on the same page, allowing the Bang Bros to regain control. Bang hit the Ride The Bus team spear on Price. Bang hit a 450 Splash to pin Radrick! That is a mild upset.
2. Jack Cartwheel defeated Arez at 11:29. I’m a big fan of both of these guys. Early on, Arez hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor, launching off one foot. Cartwheel hit a superkick on the floor. In the ring, Arez applied a modified Texas Cloverleaf at 3:30. Cartwheel hit a second-rope huracanrana, then a Sasake Special to the floor. He hit his slingshot senton for a nearfall, but Arez reached the ropes at 6:30. Jack hit a top-rope cartwheel elbow drop for a nearfall.
Cartwheel hit a fisherman’s suplex with a bridge for a nearfall. They traded forearms; Cartwheel got angry and removed the tassels on his arms. Arez nailed a pumphandle sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 9:30. Arez nailed a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a believable nearfall. Cartwheel hit a rolling Death Valley Driver, dropping Arez chest-first to the mat. Cartwheel then nailed a top-rope Phoenix Splash for the pin. That was really, really good.
3. Lufisto defeated Robert Anthony in an intergender match at 11:38. This is a bonus, unadvertised match. Anthony, who wrestles in NWA as the masked Cyon, berated the ring announcer and the crowd. He made an open challenge, saying he wants GCW’s best. Lufisto came out; she was scheduled to face Steph De Lander tonight, but Prazak said SDL had travel issues and didn’t make it. Anthony called her a “god-damn oompa loompa.” She hit a boot that sent him to the floor, then a rolling summersault from the apron to the floor. She chopped him amongst the fans, encouraging fans to hold back Anthony’s arms.
Anthony hit some chops. They got back in the ring and he was in charge, hitting a delayed vertical suplex at 3:30. He worked over her left arm and was dominating. He hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 6:00. The size difference here is vast. She hit a back suplex and they were both down. She hit repeated elbow shots to the side of the head, then a diving forearm to the back of the neck for a nearfall at 9:00. He fired back with a decapitating clothesline for a believable nearfall.
Anthony put Lufisto on his shoulders, rammed her head into a couple of corners, then he hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall, and he was annoyed that didn’t get the win. She hit a Flatliner into the second turnbuckle. She hit a standing powerbomb, then a running knee, then a spinning backfist for the pin. Solid match; you really have to suspend your disbelief that she could beat him.
* Parrow hopped in the ring and attacked Lufisto! He wrapped a chain around her neck and yanked backward, as the commentators stressed that Parrow doesn’t have a booked match and wondered why he was here. Joey Janela ran to the ring and threw a chair at Parrow’s face, sending Parrow scurrying to the back.
* Jordan Oliver is half of the GCW Tag Team champions. His partner, 17-year-old Nick Wayne, is touring Japan, just ahead of turning 18 and his presumed AEW debut. Unbelievable how talented he is and the opportunities that have come his way. Oliver also won four matches in one night back in February to become the Jersey Championship Wrestling champion.
4. Jordan Oliver defeated Komander to retain the JCW Title at 12:16. Quick lucha reversals to open; Oliver is 6’2″ and towers over the speedy Komander. Komander hit a top-rope crossbody block to the floor at 2:00. Komandeer slammed Oliver’s head into the ring post. However, Oliver hit a brainbuster on the floor. In the ring, Oliver took control, hitting a sit-out powerbomb. Oliver went for another powerbomb, but Komander turned it into a huracanrana. Komander hit a top-rope twisting 450 Splash for a nearfall at 7:30.
They traded chops. Komander hit a superkick and they were both down at 9:30, and this crowd was hot. Komander went for a Lionsault, but Oliver caught him with a kick. Oliver nailed the mid-ring Acid Kick for a nearfall. Komander hit the Lionsault for a nearfall. Komander went for a springboard shooting star press, but Oliver caught him coming down with a stunner. Oliver hit a top-rope Clout Cutter, then an Orange Crush modified Tiger Bomb for the pin. Very good match.
5. Rina Yamashita and “Los Macizos” Ciclope and Miedo Extremo defeated 1 Called Manders, Reed Bentley, and John Wayne Murdoch in a hardcore match at 8:20. To me, it is insane how GCW goes from a lucha-style match to a hardcore brawl. Manders and Ciclope opened, with Manders easily shoving him to the mat. All six brawled, and the action spilled to the floor. In the ring, Manders hit a side slam on Rina at 3:00 as the other four were brawling elsewhere. Los Macizos got some doors from under the ring.
Rina grabbed Reed and Murdoch in their groin, and suddenly all five men were being grabbed by someone on their groin, before Murdoch was slammed through a door bridge. Reed and Murdoch slammed Rina through a door. Wrestlers started throwing chairs at heads; I hate that. Miedo hit a dive through the ropes at 7:30. Bentley went to the top rope, but Rina caught him and hit a Razor’s Edge onto a door bridge for the pin. Acceptable street fight action; Actually, no one bled!
* Murdoch and Bentley beat up teammate (for one night only) 1 Called Manders! I presume this will lead to a feud with Manders and his Second Gear Crew squad. We headed to an intermission.
6) Starboy Charlie defeated Hunter Drake, Jimmy Lloyd, Terry Yaki, Bobby Flaco, and Kenzie Paige in a six-way scramble at 7:07. This is an unadvertised match; most of these six have matches announced for the other GCW shows this weekend so I’m not surprised to see them. Kenzie was yelling at all of them, so she was rewarded with a superkick. Yaki hit a moonsault to the floor on everyone, and Prazak noted it was a great opportunity for southern talent to get booked here ahead of the Alabama shows later this weekend.
Charlie hit a dropkick in the ring; he went for a running Shooting Star Press, but Yaki got his knees up. Lloyd hit a faceplant slam on Charlie. Flaco hit an X-Factor, then a tornado DDT. Paige hit a twisting faceplant on Flaco and she kept barking at him. Flaco hit a top-rope stunner on Paige. Lloyd hit his package piledriver. Drake and Charlie climbed to opposite corners and hit stereo 450 Splashes at 4:30, then stereo flip dives to the floor.
Hunter hit a moonsault off an opera box (not much higher than the top rope, really) onto everyone on the floor. Yaki went to the second deck (much higher up!) and hit a summersault splash onto everyone, earning a huge pop. However, Lloyd draged Yaki into the ring and hit another Package Piledriver. Charlie hit a Poison Rana. Charlie hit a second-rope corkscrew splash on Flaco for the pin. Really good scramble; I think this crowd really only knew Charlie and Lloyd, but the four southern Talent all impressed here.
7. Joey Janela and Sawyer Wreck defeated “Bussy” Effy and Allie Katch in an intergender match at 17:29. Janela and Allie started and traded shoulder tackles. Sawyer entered; Allie looked smitten and tagged out. I always point out Sawyer is a legit 6’1″, because once again she is taller than her male opponent, and she hit some hard chops. Bussy began working over Sawyer, but Sawyer hit a double chokeslam at 5:00. Janela entered and hit a Samoan Drop on Allie.
Effy made the hot tag and hit a double Blockbuster, then a Mafia Kick on Janela at 8:30. He hit a stunner on Sawyer, dropping her on Janela. Janela hit a Michinoku Driver on Effy, but he missed a top-rope moonsault. In a nice spot, Sawyer launched Effy at Janela, and Janela hit an X-Factor faceplant at 10:30. Allie hit her rolling cannonball in the corner onto both opponents. Effy hit a Pedigree while Katch hit a stunner. (Emil made a sly “Power Trip” reference.) The girls acted like they were about to kiss, so the men had to separate them.
Sawyer hit a chokeslam powerbomb on Effy at 13:30. Effy threw a chair at Sawyer’s face. Allie hit a German Suplex on Janela. Effy speared Sawyer. Effy hit a second-rope legdrop on Sawyer for a believable nearfall, but Janela made the save. Effy hit a Fame-Asser legdrop on Janela. Katch speared Janela onto a door in the corner; it didn’t break. Meanwhile, Sawyer slammed Effy through a door bridge for the pin. Acceptable; perhaps a bit too long. After the match, Sawyer whipped partner Janela into the unbroken door just so they could break it. Funny.
8. El Hijo Del Vikingo vs. Metallik ended in a draw at 20:54. I have yet to see Vikingo pinned, and it probably isn’t happening here. A nice pop for the well-known Metallik, who has a height advantage on the 5’5″ Vikingo. This crowd is hot as we actually open with a bit of a feeling-out process. They locked legs and both did headstands, slapping each other in the face at 3:00. Metallik tied him in a surfboard. They finally sped it up with quick lucha reversals with one-count covers and a standoff at 6:00, earning a nice pop.
Metallik hit a second-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall. Vikingo hit a cool springboard headscissors takedown; it actually pulled Metallik’s mask off but he quickly got it back on. They went to the floor, where Metallik nailed a Superkick at 7:30, and he whipped Vikingo into rows of chairs. In the ring, Metallik hit a basement dropkick and was in charge. Vikingo tried a springboard dropkick but he slipped; the crowd was forgiving. However, he immediately hit a springboard inverted 630 Splash to the floor on Metallik at 13:00.
Prazak noted that Vikingo was limping after that botched move. However, Vikingo nailed a top-rope frogsplash for a believable nearfall. He missed a second one. Metallik nailed a springboard Swanton Bomb for a nearfall at 15:00. Vikingo hit a swinging uranage, then he stood on the outside of the second rope and hit a corkscrew splash into the ring for a believable nearfall. Seen it several times now, but this is cool. They stood on opposite corners and leapt at each other, essentially colliding with missile dropkicks. The crowd loved that, and we got a “This is awesome!” chant.
They traded forearm shots while on their knees, then from the standing position. Vikingo hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Metallik hit a dive through the ropes, and they were both down on the floor at 20:00. In the ring, Vikingo hit a shotgun dropkick and a Meteora running double knees. He set up for the top-rope 630, when Blake Christian suddenly appeared at ringside! He shoved Vkingo off the ropes to the floor, and he hit his Rollins-style headstomp on Metallik, and the ref called for the bell.
* Blake got booed; he got on the mic and said he know “no one came to see this lucha bullshit.” This brought out Loco and we’re ready for the main event. We did get full ring intros for both. Huge pop for saying Loco was from Chicago. Because Blake missed a show last weekend (he went to an ROH taping instead), this is his first title defense.
9. Blake Christian defeated Gringo Loco to retain the GCW Heavyweight Title at 24:45. Emil said this is a “home game” for Loco. Some nice reversals early on and a standoff. Blake landed a dropkick and made hand motions that mocked Loco. Loco hit a military press-into-a-faceplant for a nearfall at 3:30. Blake hit a spear on the ring apron. He set up for a high-flying move, but then he paused and gave the middle finger to the crowd. In the ring, Loco hit an enzuigiri. Blake countered with a handspring-back-spin kick. Blake nailed the Fosbury Flop to the floor at 6:30.
Back in the ring, Blake was in charge, and he jawed at the crowd. Loco hit a flip dive to the floor on Blake at 8:30. Blake hit a baseball slide dropkick through the ropes. He leapt off the ring apron and hit a huracanrana to the floor. Back in the ring, Blake applied a Figure Four at 10:30. Blake set up for the Stomp, but Loco avoided it. Loco hit a faceplant slam and was fired up. Loco caught Blake coming off the ropes and hit a Rikishi Driver for a believable nearfall at 12:30.
Blake hit a German Suplex. They fought on the ring apron, and Loco hit a swinging powerbomb onto the apron, and they both crashed to the floor at 14:30. Loco hit a top-rope Spanish Fly to the mat. They hit simultaneous crossbody blocks and were both down at 17:00. Blake hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly, but he missed a springboard 450 splash. Loco immediately got a rollup for a pin at 18:45 but Blake clearly grabbed the ropes before the pin. Loco started to celebrate with the title. However, a second referee ran into the ring, and the match was ordered to continue; I never stopped my stopwatch. Blake grabbed the belt but he accidentally hit the ref. Loco hit his Angle Slam, dropping Blake stomach-first to the mat for a nearfall at 21:30.
Loco went for a moonsault; Blake pulled the ref over, and Loco crashed onto the ref. Blake immediately hit a 450 Splash for a believable nearfall. Blake missed a kneestrike. Loco immediately hit a couple of chop blocks to the back of the leg. Gringo went for a top rope flip dive but Blake moved and Loco crashed onto two open chairs. Blake hit the Rollins-style Stomp to the head at 24:00, but he clutched at his leg and didn’t go for a cover. Blake put a folded chair under Loco’s head, and he hit a second Stomp to the head for the pin.
Final Thoughts: A very good main event. Sure, the ‘Dusty Finish’ is played out, but I didn’t mind it here. Blake and Loco are really good dance partners and I wouldn’t mind seeing a rematch down the road. I’ll give that best match.
I also didn’t mind the non-finish in the Vikingo match; at more than 20 minutes, it was longer than a typical Vikingo match and fans got to see his awesome offense. Too bad about that one slip-up off the ropes, because it was otherwise pretty flawless. That earns second place. Oliver-Komander earns third place, ahead of a strong Arez-Cartwheel that gets honorable mention. Last week, GCW held a show in Los Angeles that had very few of their main stars, but most were back for this show. (As noted earlier, Nick Wayne is in Japan, and presumably Mike Bailey and Masha Slamovich were at the Impact taping.)
A good show, and I like this venue. Again, as someone who doesn’t care for hardcore matches, I was pleased that six-man tag actually had no light tubes, pizza cutters, glass panes, staple guns, or even any blood. This show can be viewd at Fite+.
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