By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “Lucha De Explosivos”
Streamed on FITE.TV
August 13, 2023 in Tijuana, Mexico at Salon Casa Blanca
The show debuted on Fite+ on Monday. The venue is a small arena with an upper deck. The crowd was perhaps 300 but it feels empty because this space is so big. The lighting is good and this looks like a great venue if it were packed with 1,500. Jordan Castle and Dave Prazak provided commentary.
1. Jimmy Lloyd defeated Bobby Flaco, Brayden Toon, Rob Shit and Maldito in a five-way scramble at 5:12. I don’t know Maldito; he wore white pants and a white mask. Lloyd hit a running neckbreaker. Flaco hit a top-rope Clout Cutter. Rob hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall on Maldito. Lloyd hit a stunner. Flaco hit a stunner. Toon hit a stunner. The ref hit a stunner and that got a pop. Toon hit an Asai Moonsault onto everyone at 3:30. I made this comparison the other day, but Toon has the agility and size of a Kevin Owens. Flaco hit a top-rope flip dive to the floor onto everyone. In the ring, Maldito hit a Spanish Fly on Flaco. Toon hit a running Shooting Star Press. Lloyd hit a piledriver on Flaco for the pin. A fun sprint; hard to believe it was that short.
2. Blake Christian defeated Calibus to retain the GCW Title at 9:57. I saw Calibus for the first time on Friday’s GCW show in Los Angeles, and he wore a black mask. Quick reversals to open and they seem to be about the same height and weight. Calibus hit a flip dive to the floor at 2:00. Blake hit his own flip dive to the floor on Calibus, but he gave the crowd the middle finger. In the ring, Blake hit a basement dropkick to the head at 5:00 and he was in charge, choking Calibus in the ropes.
Blake hit a Mafia Kick at 7:30, and he snapped Calibus’ neck across the top rope, then Blake hit a handspring-back-stunner for a nearfall. Blake started to untie Calibus’ mask but the ref stopped him. Calibus hit a Canadian Destroyer, then a top-rope 450 Splash for a nearfall. Blake twisted Calibus’ mask to blind him, then Blake hit an inverted DDT and the Rollins-style Stomp to the head for the pin. Good match but the winner was never in doubt.
(Side Note: I checked www.cagematch.com to verify spelling. They have Blake-Calibus listed at 15:13. If that is accurate, this match was heavily edited down, which would be a surprise to me with the quality of these competitors. For what it’s worth, they had the first, third, fifth and sixth match at the exact same length I did, down to the second… which feeds the possibility that Blake-Calibus was edited for some reason.)
3. Xtreme Tiger defeated Leon Slater at 9:54. Slater is the talented, high-flyer British Black kid, and I always call him a taller Lio Rush. XT wore a yellow tiger mask. Quick reversals and a standoff at 1:00. Slater hit a slingshot splash for a nearfall. TX hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall at 3:30. Slater hit a series of kicks. XT tied him up on the mat but Slater reached the ropes at 6:00. Slater caught him with a stunner and a dropkick in the corner, then a handspring-back-elbow. Slater dove over a corner post and hit a flip dive on Tiger on the floor. Tiger hit a flip dive to the floor on Slater at 9:00. Slater missed a 450 Splash. XT placed Slater on his back, as if going for a Cop Killa backslide driver, but instead he leapt backward, dropping Slater stomatch-first to the mat for the pin. That seemed dangerous at first glance. Really good for the time given.
4. Arez defeated Baby Xtreme at 10:57. My first time seeing BX, who wore face paint much like his opponent with white Spider-Man style pants. I’m a huge fan of Arez. They brawled to the floor, where Arez slammed BX onto the ring apron at 2:00. Arez was in charge in the ring. BX hit a stunner and a 619, then a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall. He hit a running knee to the jaw for a nearfall at 4:30. Arez fired back with a series of kicks and he tied up BX in a modified Sharpshooter. BX hit a springboard huracanrana, then an incredible springboard moonsault to the floor at 7:00.
In the ring, Baby Xtreme hit a springboard summersault for a nearfall. Arez nailed a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. BX hit a superkick. Arez hit an Ospreay-style hook kick to the jaw. Arez nailed a tilt-a-whirl lungblower. BX hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly, and they were both down at 9:30. Arez saet up for a Jay Driller, but BX escaped, and BX hit a running Shooting Star Press and a jumping lungblower move for a believable nearfall. However, Arez hit a stomp on the head, a shotgun dropkick, and a pump-handle swinging powerbomb for the pin. That was really good, and fans pelted them with crumpled-up bills.
5. Arkangel Divino (w/Psicosis) defeated Joey Janela at 13:31. This was scheduled to be Janela vs. Psicosis, but Psicosis was hobbled and struggled walking to the ring. Divino jumped in the ring from behind Janela and attacked him, and the ref called for the bell; the commentary team was surprised at this lineup change but the new match is underway.
Divino has short black hair and he wore white pants and a black shirt. They fought on the floor, and Janela donned a Psicosis match and was booed. In the ring, Janela was in charge, hitting a clothesline in the corner (and he still has the mask on.) Divino hit a huracanrana at 4:00, and he tied up Joey’s legs. Divino hit a Meteora running double knees to the face and a mid-ring Spanish Fly at 6:00, but Janela rolled to the floor. Divino hit an impressive top-rope moonsault to the floor and they were both down.
They fought on the ring apron, where Janela hit a Death Valley Driver; he rolled Divino into the ring and got a nearfall. They got up and traded stiff forearm shots. Janela hit a DDT and they were both down at 9:00. Divino hit a springboard huracanrana for a nearfall. Janela hit a top-rope superplex for a nearfall at 11:00. Divino hit a pump-handle swinging powerbomb for a believable nearfall. He went for a top-rope 450 Splash but Janela got his knees up, and Joey got a nearfall. Janela nailed a package piledriver for a believable nearfall at 13:00 and he was livid he didn’t get the pin there. Divino got an inside cradle for the pin! Good match.
6. Damian 666 and “Los Macizos” Ciclope and Miedo Extremo defeated Joe Lider and “The Rejects” John Wayne Murdoch and Reed Bentley in an exploding death match at 12:24. Because this wasn’t streamed live, we didn’t have to sit through the ring ropes being removed and being replaced by barbed wire. (There are no ropes or barbed wire on the side of the ring closest to the hard camera.) They brawled at the bell. Each of the three sides where there is barbed wire exploded when someone was shoved into the wire; it made noise and a quick light, but clearly wasn’t hurting anyone. They all brawled on the floor and over by a double-decker table that has barbed wire on it.
In the ring, Damian hit opponents with a barbed-wire bat at 5:00. Miedo used a staple gun to attach a dollar bill to Lider’s head at 7:00. This is just gross. The Rejects hit a Magic Killer team slam on Damian, onto an open chair, for a nearfal. Meanwhile, Ciclope and Lider had brawled into the upper deck, above the double-decker table, which might be 25-30 feet below them. Ciclope got shoved off the balcony and landed on the top barbed-wire table, actually bouncing off it. All of a sudden, we had sirens and the corners of the ring had a little explosion at 11:40. Miedo hit a Kamigoye kneestrike on Murdoch for the pin. Acceptable hardcore match. The big bump off the balcony is a bit unnecessary but he took it well.
Final Thoughts: I nearly skipped the show because I knew I wouldn’t care for the main event, but the undercard was entertaining. I’ll go with Arez-Baby Xtremo for best match, ahead of Blake-Calibus, with Tiger-Slater for third place.
The show clocked in at only 1 hour, 40 minutes, so this was a quick show to watch. It is available at Fite+.
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