By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “GCW vs. The World”
Streamed on FITE+
September 23, 2023 in Oberhausen, Germany at Turbinenhalle Oberhausen
As was the case with Friday’s show in the same venue, the crowd was packed at perhaps 600 or so fans. I will repeat what I wrote previously… the lighting is fantastic. The lights are low, and this appears to be a nightclub, with a stage opposite the hard camera. Dave Prazak and Nick Gage provided commentary as the show began. wXw announcer Mett Dimassi joined later in the show.
1. Jordan Oliver defeated Latigo to retain the JCW World Title at 2:53. Oliver charged and hit an Acid Kick at the bell. Latigo got some rollups, then a pop-up kneestrike for a nearfall at 1:30. Latigo came off the ropes but Oliver caught him with a stunner. Oliver immediately hit the Acid Bomb out of the corner for the pin. That was a sprint and I can’t believe it was that short.
2. “Bussy” Allie Katch and Effy defeated Maggot and Baby Allison at 12:33. I don’t know these two; Maggot looks like AEW’s Vincent, even in the arm motions he makes on the way to the ring. Likewise, Allison dresses like Shotzi Blackheart. The women started. (I will always write Katch when referring to her!) Effy and Maggot locked up at 1:30. Effy hit a Helluva Kick, and he applied a Tajiri-style Tarantula in the ropes. They did some raunchy humor with Effy pulling down the back of his trunks. Katch re-entered and hit her rolling cannonballs on each opponent for a nearfall at 8:00.
Maggot speared Katch. Effy hit his top-rope double Blockbuster. Maggot hit a stunner on Effy. Allison applied a Muta Lock and Maggot helped apply pressure. Effy kissed Maggot on the lips. Allison hit a Saito, so Katch hit a German Suplex. The women then began trading forearm shots at 11:00. Katch applied a Boston Crab, but Allison rolled out, showing some great flexibility. Effy hit his running leg lariat. Effy then hit his Doomsday Leg Lariat to pin Baby Allison. Solid.
* Three heels hit the ring and beat up Effy and Alliie Katch! This brought out the Second Gear Crew for the save, and our next match was immediately underway!
3. Icarus, Robert Dreissker, and Laurance Roman defeated Dark Sheik and “Second Gear Crew” Mance Warner and 1 Called Manders at 8:06. All six brawled as we got going. I don’t know the heels; two are bald. Dark Sheik hit a top-rope dive to the floor on the heels at 2:30. In the ring, Manders his some clotheslines. Dreissker and Roman hit a team stunner move at 6:00. Roman slapped Manders in the face; Manders immediately hit a Bulldog Powerslam on Roman. Sheik hit a top-rope legdrop for a nearfall at 7:30. Dreissker (think Hugh Morrus in size, but Gunther in facial features) hit a Vader Bomb to pin Dark Sheik. Solid, short brawl.
4. Rina Yamashita defeated Lou Nixon to retain the GCW Ultraviolent Title. There are barbed-wire boards placed in the corners of the ring. She hit a (Razor’s Edge) Splash Mountain powerbomb through a barbed wire board to retain her title.
5. Gringo Loco defeated Jimmy Lloyd, Arez, The Rotation, Aigle Blanc and Mizuki Watase in an “international six-way scramble” at 11:45. Prazak pointed out we have several countries represented in this match. I said this in my prior review, but The Rotation is quite similar to Matt Riddle in looks and hair style. Blanc, who is French, wears an Ultimo Dragon-style mask and has blond locks coming out; I’ve seen him before. His name means “White Eagle.” I doubt I’ve seen Watase; the Japanese wrestler has light blond hair, not unlike Kazuchika Okada. We suddenly only have Loco and Arez in the ring and they traded quick lucha reversals. Arez hit his satellite head-scissors takedown. Blanc entered and hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip.
Loco hit a huracanrana on Loco at 2:00 and a Dragon Suplex on Arez. Lloyd hit a running stunner on Blanc. Rotation battled Lloyd, then he traded quick reversals with Watase. Blanc hit a flip dive to the floor. Arez hit a flip dive onto everyone at 5:30. Watase hit a coast-to-coast missile dropkick. Arez hit a Canadian Destroyer on Lloyd at 8:30, earning a “holy shit!” chant. Loco hit his own top-rope twisting Canadian Destroyer on Arez, then he hit a flip dive to the floor! Rotation and Blanc brawled away from the ring. Rotation climbed a support beam in the building, up into the balcony! He hit an INSANE moonsault off the balcony, perhaps 15-20 feet down onto everyone, earning a “holy shit!” chant.
In the ring, Rotation went for a 450 Splash, but someone got their knees up to block it. Lloyd hit a piledriver. Watase hit a brainbuster. Loco hit his Base Bomb swinging powerbomb to the mat for the pin on Blanc. That was a blast, and Rotation’s dive was insane. Easily best match of the show so far. I’ve written it before, but nobody does scrambles like GCW.
* Axel Tischer (f/k/a Alexander Wolfe) cut a nice promo, shot in black and white. Nice footage of him, and also of Blake Christian. I loved this.
6. Blake Christian defeated Axel Tischer to retain the GCW World Title at 19:48. Prazak said Tischer had a brutal match just hours earlier. As GCW champion, Blake came out second, and he grabbed the mic, telling the crowd that his mother grew up in Germany. “She would tell me all these stories and it would put my ass to sleep,” Blake said. “This country is boring. The food is lame. The people suck. I can’t wait to jump on a plane to America and get the f–k out of here.” Axel got on the mic and said he will beat him, win the title, and Blake can get out. We finally got underway but Blake rolled to the floor before locking up. In the ring, Blake twisted Axel’s left wrist and arm. Axel started to do the same, so Blake bailed again.
Back in the ring, they traded good mat reversals and this has a big fight feel to it. Tischer hit a European Uppercut at 4:30 and Blake went back to the floor. Tischer hit a baseball slide dropkick to the floor. He took control in the ring, and he worked over Blake’s neck. Blake nailed a flip dive at 8:00, sending Tischer onto the laps of fans in the front row; no guardrails at ringside. Blake rammed Axel shoulder-first into the ring post. Blake immediately focused on the damaged arm. He shoved Axel into the ring and grounded him with armbars, then a cross-armbreaker, but Axel reached the ropes at 11:00. Axel fired back with a butterfly suplex, then a top-rope flying forearm (I don’t think he connected on anything), but he sold the pain in his arm.
Blake hit a running Divorce Court armbreaker at 13:30. He did Gunther’s pose (putting his arms behind his back), before snapping Axel’s arm backward. Blake hit a running knee to the chest for a nearfall. Axel hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 15:00 but again sold the pain in his arm. They traded forearm shots. Axel hit a German Suplex. Blake hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly, then his springboard 450 Splash for a believable nearfall at 17:30. He set up for the Stomp, but Axel hit a European Uppercut and a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. They brawled on the floor, but as they got back in the ring, Blake kicked at the ropes to crotch Axel, then he hit his Rollins-style Stomp to the head for the pin. Good, methodical match; it won’t appeal to everyone.
* A video package aired of the Joey Janela-Nick Gage hardcore match from a day ago.
* Norman Harras hit the ring. I described him as Ludvig Kaiser but with long blond hair. He got on the mic but was loudly booed. He said that GCW is a “cheap, crystal meth version of backyard wrestling.” He said GCW doesn’t have respect for the business, or the sport of professional wrestling. He said the fans are just as guilty “for finding joy in this perversion.” He said they should be “charged for their crimes against professional wrestling.” He began badmouthing Nick Gage. “He’s nothing more than the definition of American stupidity.” He made fun of Gage for robbing a bank without even wearing a mask. This is an awesome promo. He said a seven-year sentence was too kind.
Nick Gage’s music finally hit and he came to the ring and he stood nose-to-nose with Harras. Gage hit a spinebuster and a Facewash. Gage got a chair; when Harras saw it, he bailed to the floor and left. Gage told the crowd this is his first time here in 13 years. He vowed to be back soon. He was mobbed by fans on his way to the back, as Prazak shifted to talking about GCW heading to Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
7. Joey Janela defeated Shigehiro Irie at 16:45. Standing switches to open and this has a big match feel to it. Irie hit his slingshot press for a nearfall at 2:00. Janela worked over the neck. Irie hit a suplex and a Whoopee Cushion buttdrop at 5:30. They traded forearm shots. Irie hit his rolling cannonball as Janela was in the ropes. Janela fired back with a DDT. Janela dove through the ropes at 8:00. In the ring, Janela hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. They traded forearm shots while fighting on the ring apron. Irie hit his crossbody block in the ropes at 10:00, and they both crashed to the floor.
In the ring, Irie hit a Black Hole Slam. He went for a frogsplash but Janela got his knees up to block it. Janela nailed a brainbuster for a nearfall at 12:00. Irie nailed a second-rope Samoan Drop for a nearfall. Janela hit a release German Suplex. Irie hit a German Suplex. Janela hit one. Irie hit another one. They hit simultaneous clotheslines and collapsed at 14:30. They traded forearm shots. Irie nailed a diving forearm to the jaw, and they were both down. Janela nailed a standing powerbomb for a nearfall at 16:00, then a package piledriver for a believable nearfall. Janela hit a top-rope doublestomp for the pin. A very good match.
* Wrestlers from the show surrounded the ring. Janela got on the mic. He said his knee is a bit messed up, and he’ll “have to go through a process to see” how bad it is. He said he’s now headlined shows in 11 different countries in the past year. “This is why I left TV behind, this is why I left a contract behind, for a moment and weekends like this.” (I’m not convinced he would have gotten a new contract, but he can maintain that position if he wants.) “This wouldn’t have happened without wXw.” He vowed GCW will be back in Germany next year.
Final Thoughts: I really enjoyed that main event, and I’ll give that best match of the night. I’m a sucker for a good scramble and that had some fun interactions and a memorable dive, and that earns second place. Blake-Axel was a bit methodical but it built nicely, and I’ll give that third. This five-show tour of Europe has given fans in the UK and Germany a fun taste of the top wrestlers in GCW. Check out this show at Fite+
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