By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “Homecoming, Night 1”
Streamed on FITE.TV
August 19, 2023 in Atlantic City, New Jersey at The Showboat
I must point out that New Japan Pro Wrestling has a show at the same time in Philadelphia, so multiple top indy names (Blake Christian, Jordan Oliver, Nick Wayne Jack Cartwheel and Starboy Charlie) who might normally be on a big GCW show are absent tonight. Also, Hijo Del Vikingo is off the show after a few hard bumps at AAA Triplemania last weekend. The crowd is 600-800. Dave Prazak and Emil Jay provided commentary.
1. “Maki Death Kill” Nick Gage and Maki Itoh defeated “Deathmatch Royalty” Matt Cardona and Steph De Lander at 11:37. Itoh and Gage came out first with light tube rolls over their shoulders. “The Ghostbusters” theme song hit, and Cardona and De Lander pulled up in the Ghostbusters car! They wore the tan Ghostbusters outfits, but on the back it read, “Deathmatch Busters.” This is an epic intro to start this show. SDL got on the mic and said that if Itoh doesn’t get the light tubes out of the ring, they are leaving! Gage and SDL started; she’s tall enough this headlock looks believable. Gage hit an (awful looking) swinging neckbreaker and Itoh entered at 2:00, and Maki hit a Kokeshi falling headbutt.
Maki hit a series of punches and a Facewash kick on Cardona. SDL hit a low blow on Gage, and Matt immediately slammed the light tubes over Gage’s head, and Nick was heavily bleeding at 4:00. Gross. Gage speared Cardona through a door in the corner. The women tagged back in at 6:00 and traded punches. Itoh hit a DDT on Cardona. Gage hit Cardona over the head with light tubes; Itoh hit tubes on SDL’s head. Gage and Itoh got pizza cutters, and they used them across their opponents’ foreheads at 9:00. Double gross, as both SDL and Cardona are heavily bleeding too. (Itoh isn’t! Yet!) Gage dumped a bag of thumbtacks on the mat. The faces hit backbody drops on SDL and Matt, who landed in the thumbtacks at 11:30. Gage and Itoh hit stereo Kokeshi falling headbutts for the pin. I can do without the blood, but the crowd loved this, and this was an entrance to remember.
* A video package of Blake Christian’s recent wins. Well, if the champion can’t be on the show, at least you keep his name on people’s minds.
2. Leon Slater defeated Alec Price at 10:04. Slater is the tall, British Black kid (think a taller Lio Rush), and he’s quite talented. Price just won the IWTV Heavyweight title last Sunday and he’s on a hot streak. Standing switches to open. Price clotheslined him to the floor; Price missed a dive to the floor at 1:30 and crashed onto a chair. The ref checked on Price, but an impatient Slater threw Price into the ring, and Leon began stomping on him. Leon hit a springboard frogsplash for a nearfall at 3:30. Price hit a series of kicks in the corner, then his top-rope flying stunner for a nearfall, then a basement dropkick to the back for a nearfall.
They fought on the ropes in the corner, where Slater hit a second-rope twisting suplex, and they were both down at 6:30. They got up and traded forearm shots. Price hit a half-nelson suplex and a springboard tornado DDT, then he hit his dive over the top rope, barreling onto Slater at 8:30. In the ring, Price snapped him throat-first across the top rope, then hit a missile dropkick for a nearfall. Slater dropped him stomach-first, then he hit a Blue Thunder Bomb for the pin! Not sure if that was the planned finish, as Slater was surprised he won. A very good match, and a minor upset, considering Price just won that indy title.
3. “Thrussy” Effy, Allie Katch, and Dark Sheik defeated Crazy King and “Los Macizos” Ciclope and Miedo Extremo at 8:50. The masked Crazy King started against Dark Sheik. CK hit a flip dive to the floor on everyone at 2:30. Los Macizos team dropped Sheik and Katch in lewd positions, drawing a pop. Effy hit a high back suplex on Ciclope, and the Thrussy team worked over Ciclope. Katch hit her buttbump and rolling cannonball on Miedo, but Miedo bit her butt! We have some gay humor and kissing and crotch thrusting, etc. Los Macizos tossed Sheik to the floor on Effy and Katch at 7:30. In the ring, Effy hit a double Blockbuster. Sheik hit a spinning top-rope legdrop, then Sheik dove to the floor on two opponents. Effy hit a Doomsday legdrop on Ciclope, and Sheik immediately hit a top-rope legdrop on Ciclope for the pin. Not my brand of humor or action, but the crowd liked it.
4. Tony Deppen defeated Alex Zayne at 11:01. I have missed Zayne being in regular competition in 2023, and I’m quite frankly surprised he isn’t on the NJPW show. Deppen also is returning here after he broke his arm against Zack Sabre Jr. a few months ago, and he got a nice “welcome back!” chant. Deppen got on the mic and said it’s been a tough three months being home and recuperating. Mat wrestling to open and nice standing switches, with Zayne showing off his athleticism, and he hit a senton that sent Deppen to the floor at 3:30 to regroup, as Prazak talked about Deppen’s cardio could be lacking after time off. In the ring,, Deppen hit some kneedrops and took control. Zayne set up for a springboard move but Deppen tripped him, causing Zayne to crash to the mat.
Zayne hit his summersault ax kick to the back of the neck at 6:30, and they were both down, with Alex selling a left knee injury. Zayne hit a clothesline, with Deppen again rolling to the floor. Zayne hit a flip dive to the floor, but again clutched at the knee. In the ring, Zayne hit his jump-up Frankensteiner, but Deppen turned it into a half crab, and he grabbed the ropes for leverage at 9:00, drawing some boos. They got up and traded forearm shots. Deppen hit a running kneestrike. Zayne hit a pop-up kneestrike. Deppen got a rollup with a handful of tights for the cheap win. Good match but shockingly quiet crowd for this one.
* A video package aired to preview the next match. GCW is doing a good job with these segments.
5) Sawyer Wreck and Joey Janela defeated Charles Mason and Parrow in a double dog collar match at 17:29. Mason wore a tan suit. Janela and Parrow were connected by one chain and Sawyer was connected to Mason, which makes more sense, as she’s taller than Charles. Mason placed the chain across Sawyer’s mouth. Joey and Parrow fought on the floor and Joey was already bleeding from his forehead. The crowd is again rather quiet early here. Sawyer also was bleeding from her forehead. Joey’s head was shoved against a white pillar at 3:30, leaving a red splotch on it. This is gross, but actually rather dull.
They fought through the crowd, waking the fans up finally. They brawled back to ringside. Emil noted that it is rare you see a double dog collar match and I see why. Both Janela and Sawyer got in the ring and choked their opponents with the chain at 6:30. They brawled in the ring, but Mason rolled to the floor, yanked on the chain, causing Sawyer to crash into a door placed in the corner at 8:30. Parrow hit a sit-out powerbomb on Sawyer for a nearfall. Mason clotheslined Sawyer to the floor and choked her. Janela hit a Samoan Drop, tossing Parrow onto an open chair at 11:30. Mason hit a Death Valley Driver on Janela for a nearfall. Janela hit a dive to the floor on everyone at 14:00.
Janela and Parrow brawled over to a scissor-lift against a wall; I hadn’t noticed it until now. Meanwhile, Sawyer chopped Mason by ringside. Janela and Parrow brawled onto the scissor-lift, while Sawyer put Mason on a table. She then powerbombed Parrow onto Mason. Janela and Sawyer got in the scissor-lift and went 20 or so feet up, with their opponents dangling below, and the ref called for the bell; I didn’t see either heel actually submit. They tried hard but after a hot first three matches, the crowd has been lukewarm to the past two.
6. Jimmy Lloyd defeated Gringo Loco, Shane Mercer, Ninja Mack, Cole Radrick, Arez, Dante Leon, and Komander in an eight-man scramble at 10:01. Separate intros for everyone so this took a while to get going. This is a star-studded scramble. The massive Mercer (think Brian Cage) immediately hit a powerslam on the dorky Radrick. Komander hit a Canadian Destroyer on Mercer. Loco hit a fallaway slam on Arez at 1:30. Loco hit a top-rope twisting splash on two guys. Komander hit a dive to the floor. Arez hit a dive. Arez nailed a top-rope doublestomp on Lloyd’s chest. Lloyd hit a double suplex. Leon hit a superkick on Lloyd.
Mack and Leon worked together to beat up Radrick, but then they fought each other. We had a huge tower spot at 4:30, with Mack on top, with everyone crashing to the mat. Arez hit a tornado DDT on Loco. Komander hit a swinging Lungblower move. Mack and Leon walked on the top rope, and Leon hit a Spanish Fly to the mat. Loco hit his top-rope Angle Slam on Arez for a nearfall at 7:30. Leon hit Sol Ruca’s flipping stunner from the corner on Radrick. Mack nailed the Sasake Special dive to the floor. Loco hit a top-rope moonsault onto everyone on the floor. Komander walked the top rope from one corner to the other then hit a flip dive onto everyone. Mercer nailed the Moonsault and Battery/second-rope fallaway slam on Komander. Lloyd nailed a piledriver out of nowhere to pin Arez. That was stellar stuff.
7. Rina Yamashita defeated Takashi Sasaki in a death match at 13:59. I don’t know Sasaki; he had a roll of light tubes over his shoulder. I see we have barbed-wire tables set up in the ring in the corners, and I know this one isn’t for me. I hate watching Rina, sheerly for her willingness to take and receive unprotected chairshots to the head. She shoved him into a barbed wire table at 1:30 and busted a light tube over his head, then jabbed it into his head. This is just gross. Can we go back to New York where this is barred, please? He bodyslammed her onto a barbed-wire board at 3:00.
She hit a back suplex onto a barbed-wire chair. They took turns whacking each other over the head with light tubes, and she was bleeding heavily from her forehead. She grabbed him by the groin. She slammed him on a barbed wire board but he hopped to his feet, and they traded forearm shots at 9:00. The crowd is loving this violence; I hate the man-on-woman violence, which is compounded in a hardcore match. He bodyslammed her into a pile of light tube debris at 11:00. She hit an Air Raid Crash into the debris for a believable nearfall, then a Trash Compactor piledriver for a nearfall. Rina hit a Razor’s Edge overhead powerbomb onto a barbed wire board covered in light tubes for the pin. Gross.
* A short break to clean up the ring for the next death match.
8. Toru Sugiura defeated John Wayne Murdoch in a death match at 9:19. We have glass panes set up in the corners. Toru hit a flip dive to the floor in the first minute. Murdoch pushed Sugiura into a pane of glass, with it shattering everywhere. (No guardrails; someday a fan is going to get injured by flying glass and GCW will have a heckuva lawsuit on its hands.) They brawled to the floor and there is glass everywhere. Toru is bleeding in multiple spots on his back. They stood in the ring and took turns hitting each other with light tubes; a double clothesline at 5:00 had them both land in a pile of glass. Gross. Toru hit a rolling cannonball onto a pane of glass in front of Murdoch in the corner.
Toru set up a glass pane bridge and he shook his head quickly so the glass would be covered in his blood. Murdoch slammed Sugiura through the glass. Murdoch hit a piledriver onto a glass pane for a believable nearfall at 8:00. Sugiura chokeslammed Murdoch onto two open chairs, then a Cradle Shock slam for the pin. Way too much blood, way too much glass. Oh, and the fans present apparently loved it.
9. Masha Slamovich defeated Nate Webb at 6:41. Webb is now completely bald and has put on a bit of weight, to the point I barely recognized him, but of course, he came to the ring to Wheatus’ “Teenage Dirtbag.” I first saw him wrestle live in 2004 so he is likely in his mid- to late-40s now. He climbed into the lift and served as conductor, leading the crowd in singing along. The bell rang and he did a ‘ballroom dancing’ spot with her, which just annoyed her; he doesn’t look like he’s taking this seriously. She hit a twisting diving through the ropes, barreling into him. He whipped her into rows of chairs at 2:00.
In the ring, he hit a swinging faceplant for a nearfall. She hit a spin kick to the jaw for a nearfall at 4:00. He missed a top-rope moonsault and crashed stomach-first. She hit Blake Christian’s stomp to the head, then she applied a sleeper, and he passed out. She moves on to her title rematch on Sunday against Blake Christian.
10. Violento Jack defeated Matt Tremont in a death match at 17:20. We came back from another break and we have more glass panes set up in the corners. I don’t know Violento Jack; he wore a mask, a shirt and a denim vest. I noted this in a different review last Sunday, but Tremont is looking more and more like Big Van Vader every time I see him. More light tube shots. They brawled to the floor and battled in front of the fans. Tremont flipped Jack onto a glass pane in the corner at 5:30. Tremont got a fork and jabbed it repeatedly in Jack’s forehead, and Jack was bleeding from under his mask. Gross gross gross. Jack got the fork and used it on him.
Tremont hit a Stinger Splash with a light tube between them, with the glass exploding. They fought on the ring apron, and they both fell off and crashed through a table covered in barbed wire and light tubes at 11:30. They got back in the ring and traded more blows with light tubes. Jack removed his shirt and hit a frogsplash for a believable nearfall at 15:30. Tremont hit a Death Valley Driver onto the light tubes. Jack applied a double-armbar, almost a Rings of Saturn, and Tremont tapped out.
* Sugiura hit the ring and attacked Tremont. Rina Yamashita ran to the ring to make the save.
Final Thoughts: For a wrestling fan who doesn’t care for death matches, this was a tough watch. If you like that style, you probably really liked this entire show. I’ll go with the eight-man scramble for best match, Price-Slater for second and Deppen-Zayne for third. I am a big fan of GCW… I wouldn’t have watched this if I wasn’t .. but this is a rare show where I disliked more matches than I liked.
Homecoming, Night 2 occurs Sunday afternoon.
Always odd to see you watch GCW, a known deathmatch company who runs alot of deathmatches, then completely shit on them and the wrestlers for doing deathmatches.
So tired of people who review shows that they know will include blood and real violence and then review it and fill the review with “I could have done without…’ and “gross” idiot comments.
I guess they will also go to the beach in August and complain that its sandy and hot.