By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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JCW “The Quick and the Dead”
Replay available via YouTube.com
November 12, 2023 in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey at the Knights of Columbus Hall
This show aired for free on the Game Changer Wrestling YouTube page (GCW and JCW are like the WWE-NXT relationship, all under the same umbrella and use many of the same top-tier wrestlers). I’ve seen several shows from this Knights of Columbus Hall; the lights are on and attendance is 250-300. Veda Scott and Nick Knowledge provided commentary.
1. “Wasted Youth” Marcus Mathers and Dyln McKay defeated Davey Bang and August Matthews at 11:08. Bang and Matthews (formerly known as the Bang Bros.) are from Chicago so this is another opportunity for them outside the Midwest. Bang and McKay opened, with Dyln hitting a dropkick. Bang hit a Doomsday Legdrop for a nearfall at 2:00. Bang and Mathers began working over Dyln in their corner. Mathers entered and hit a German Suplex on Bang for a nearfall at 5:00. Mathers accidentally hit a Lionsault on his partner, McKay. Matthews hit a release German Suplex on Mathers. Bang and Matthews hit their stereo dives to the floor.
Bang went for Spears Tower but McKay blocked it at 7:30. Mathers hit a Canadian Destroyer on Bang and suddenly everyone was down. Mathers and Matthews traded forearm strikes with Marcus shouting something about how “this our territory.” Bang hit a Poison Rana. Bang nailed the Spears Tower and got a nearfall on Mathers at 9:30. Bang and Mathers traded rollup attempts, and Marcus hit a stunner. Marcus hit a flip dive to the floor on Bang. McKay hit his top-rope Shooting Star Press, then he dove to the floor. Mathers immediately hit his impressive 450 Splash to pin Bang. Non-stop action and that was fun.
2. Matt Makowski defeated Clark Connors at 10:29. Connors carried his IWGP Junior Tag Title belt. Makowski is the shoot fighter who recently returned from an ACL injury; he wears a giant brace on his left knee, and Nick Knowledge pointed this out immediately. Shoulder tackles to open, with Matt eventually dropping to the mat. Matt stomped on him in the corner and kept Clark grounded. Clark hit a Pounce at 4:30. They traded forearm strikes. Connors hit a powerslam for a nearfall. Matt hit some spin kicks. Matt applied a Boston Crab; Clark did a great job fighting it before Matt got it locked in. Matt got a crossarm breaker, but Clark reached the ropes at 8:00.
Connors hit a German Suplex and a devastating spear but Matt kicked out at one, popping the crowd. Connors hit another spear and they were both down. Markowski went back to the cross-armbreaker and they traded rollups. This has been good and intense. Clark picked him up and slammed him hard to the mat at 10:00. Makowski re-applied the crossarm breaker and Clark quickly tapped out. “Is this man on the comeback trail or what?” Nick Knowledge shouted. That was good, and totally different than the prior match. The crowd gave Connors a nice “please come back!” chant.
3. Lee Moriarty defeated Man Like Dereiss at 17:45. I am really looking forward to this one. Again, Dereiss is a British, Black man, and I’ve written this before, but he looks like a young Shelton Benjamin, and he raps his way to the ring. Lee has a slight height and likely weight advantage. They played to the crowd at the bell, and Dereiss turned it into a dance-off before they locked up. Standing switches and mat reversals after the silliness ended. Lee stomped on the left elbow at 6:00. Dereiss hit a shotgun dropkick. They focused on tying up each other’s arms. Lee hit an enzuigiri.
Lee hit a snap suplex with a bridge for a nearfall at 9:30. Dereiss hit a superkick. Lee hit a Mafia Kick. Dereiss hit a stunner and they were both down. Dereiss hit a release German Suplex and a spinning slam, but he was selling pain in his left arm. Lee nailed a top-rope superplex and they were both down. Lee applied a Border City Stretch, but Dereiss reached the ropes at 14:30. Dereiss went for a powerbomb move but his arm gave out. He tried again and hit a sit-out powerbomb at 17:00. However, Moriarty applied a Triangle Choke, and he went back to the Border City Stretch, and Dereiss tapped out. That was really good, too.
* Seven matches were announced in advance. This upcoming scramble is a bonus match! Meanwhile, Veda and Nick Knowledge announced that Andrade is coming to GCW for several upcoming shows!
4. Ellis Taylor defeated Jimmy Lloyd, Yoya, Brayden Toon, Charlie Tiger, and Griffin McCoy in a six-way scramble at 8:49. Yoya is the short Cambodian man and it’s actually been months since I’ve seen him wrestle. Taylpr, Tiger and McCoy are all members of “Young Dumb N Broke” but Griffin has been on the outs in recent months. McCoy (who has just debuted on MLW) immediately bailed to the floor. Ellis and Charlie worked together. Yoya hit a springboard flipping stunner on Lloyd at 2:00. Griffin dropped Yoya throat-first on the top rope and got a nearfall. Ellis hit a sit-out powerbomb on Yoya; Griffin was angry at Ellis for going for the pin. McCoy backed several guys in the corner and hit some roundhouse kicks.
Tiger speared Griffin at 5:30! Yoya hit a tornado DDT. Toon hit a modified Air Raid Crash on Yoya. Griffin came off the ropes but Lloyd caught him with a stunner, and suddenly everyone was down. Lloyd hit a Twist of Fate. Ellis hit a Canadian Destroyer. Toon hit a flip dive to the floor onto several guys. Toon missed a Swanton and Yoya immediately hit a doublestomp on Toon. Charlie hit a leaping headbutt, then a brainbuster on Yoya. Ellis jumped on Yoya and pinned him. Griffin could have broken up the pin but he stopped. He then raised Ellis’ hand and celebrated with him. A good scramble and I like how Griffin keeps causing more and more friction in Young Dumb N Broke.
5. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Alex Coughlin and Gabe Kidd defeated “The Rejects” John Wayne Murdoch and Reed Bentley at 10:48. The Rejects came out first, but the BCWD attacked them from behind before they even got into the ring. They circled the ring and traded chops in front of the fans. Reed threw a garbage can at Coughlin. Murdoch is already bleeding heavily from his forehead as he brawled with Kidd. Reed hit a stunner on the floor at 4:00. In a fun spot, The Rejects picked up a kid (roughly age 9) and used his feet as a battering ram. They picked up a full-sized adult man and used his feet as a battering ram, too!
They got into the ring for the first time at 6:30. Reed hit a spike piledriver for a nearfall, but Coughlin made the save. The Rejects dropped Coughlin ribs-first on an open chair at 9:00. Gabe tossed Bentley onto Murdoch. Gabe hit a spike piledriver for a nearfall. The crowd was really into this brawl. The BCWD hit a team chokeslam move on Reed onto a folded chair at 10:30. Gabe hit a piledriver, and Coughlin immediately hit a Jackhammer to pin Bentley. Not my favorite style but the crowd enjoyed this. “The War Dogs have made their mark in the Mecca!” Nick Knowledge said.
6. Mike Bailey defeated Billie Starkz in an intergender match at 14:21. Veda said this is a first-time-ever match as they played to the crowd; with Mike not wearing shoes, Billie appears to be slightly taller. They shook hands, but then Bailey immediately hit a Helluva Kick and a brainbuster for a nearfall at 1:30. She dove through the ropes and barreled onto Bailey, and they brawled at ringside. Bailey nailed the Triangle Moonsault to the floor. He applied a Boston Crab on the floor and was booed. They got back in the ring but Bailey again applied the Boston Crab, and he snapped her throat across the bottom rope at 5:00. This crowd is overwhelmingly behind Starkz.
She hit some chops. He set up for chops but instead hit a series of kicks, then his running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall. “You are seeing quite a mean streak here from Speedball Mike Bailey,” Nick said. Billie trapped his head in the corner, hit a kneedrop to the head, then a (dangerous looking) release German Suplex for a nearfall. Billie nailed the Gory Bomb. Bailey set up for the Flamingo Driver at 8:30 but she escaped. Billie hit a release Dragon Suplex and they were both down, and we had a “This is awesome!” chant. They got up and traded forearm strikes, and she hit a superkick. He fired back with his own superkick for a nearfall at 10:30.
Billie hit a superkick. They fought onto the ring apron and she shoved him head-first into the post. Billie put Bailey on her shoulders and slammed him to the ring apron. (Sagoy Driver? I don’t know the spelling.) They fought in the corner; she went for the Swanton Bomb but he got his knees up. He nailed a Mafia Kick and set up for the Flamingo Driver, but she escaped. Billie hit a Buzzsaw Kick and they traded rollups. He hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip, another Superkick, then the Flamingo Driver/modified One-Winged Angel for the pin. Good match.
7. Charles Mason defeated Janai Kai in an intergender at 11:18. No MLW belt for Kai. Mason wore a black shirt and tie and looks like a mortician today. He does have a deep, dark black right eye. Mason is a heat magnet and the crowd is fully behind Janai. She hit a series of kicks to his spine for a nearfall at 2:30. He bit her toes and was booed. He hit a high back suplex for a nearfall. He backed her into a corner and hit some loud chops. He choked her in the corner, then he ‘fish-hooked’ her mouth at 5:30, earning a “you sick f—!” chant.
Mason hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall and had been dominating the action. Mason applied a sleeper but she reached the ropes at 8:30. She fired up and hit a series of Yes Kicks to the chest for a nearfall. Kai applied a Dragon Sleeper (same version Ivy Nile uses) but Mason escaped. Charles immediately hit a piledriver for a nearfall. He slapped her hard in the face and hit a spinning Gotch-style piledriver for the pin.
* A video package aired of Jordan Oliver winning the J-Cup tournament in early February to become the JCW champion. Oliver has successfully defended it 18 times this year. However, I feel like he’s in grave danger of losing it tonight, particularly since he announced he will be spending much of the winter wrestling in Europe. Emil Jay got in the ring and said the JCW J-Cup will return Feb. 9 and 10, spread over two days, at the White Eagle.
8. Jordan Oliver defeated 1 Called Manders to retain the JCW Heavyweight Title at 23:45. Oliver is taller but pretty sure Manders has the weight advantage, and he immediately backed Oliver into the corner. Nick Knowledge immediately told us there is a 20-count on the floor for JCW title matches, which immediately makes me think that is likely to happen later. They avoided each other’s big moves early on. Oliver hit a dropkick at 2:30. They went to the floor and traded chops. In the ring, Manders hit a flying football tackle for a nearfall at 4:30, then a headbutt. Oliver hit a Cleopatra stunner for a nearfall. Oliver hit a plancha to the floor.
In the ring, Oliver hit a Frankensteier and a top-rope moonsault for a nearfall at 8:30. Oliver set up for the Acid Bomb but Manders fought free, and Manders hit a Shotgun Dropkick, then a hard clothesline into the corner. Manders nailed the Doctor Bomb/gutwrench powerbomb for a nearfall at 10:00. Oliver set up for the Clout Cutter but Manders blocked it. Oliver hit an Acid Kick into the corner, but he again couldn’t hit the Acid Bomb. Manders came off the ropes but Oliver caught him with a stunner. Oliver immediately hit the Clout Cutter for a nearfall at 11:30. They got up and traded chops and this wentt on for several minutes, no exaggeration!
Jordan hit a running kick to the side of the head. Manders nailed a hard clothesline for a nearfall at 16:00. Manders dove between the ropes onto Oliver on the floor! Manders accidentally clotheslined the ring post. They got back into the ring but Oliver immediately hit a dropkick on the damaged right arm. Oliver snapped the right arm backward at 18:30. Manders countered with a backbreaker over his knee and they were both down. Oliver applied a Fujiwara Armbar, but Manders reached the ropes at 20:00 sharp. (Nick Knowledge noted the time to viewers and he’s right on with my stopwatch.)
Manders nailed a left-arm clothesline for a nearfall. They got up and traded more chops! Their chests are both bright pink. Manders nailed a second-rope Bulldog Powerslam for a believable nearfall at 23:00 and the crowd chanted “This is awesome!” Oliver nailed his sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall, then a running kick to the head in the corner. He hit the Acid Bomb and applied the Fujiwara Armbar upon Manders hitting the mat, and Manders quickly tapped out. Impressive match.
* Griffin McCoy immediately jumped in the ring and attacked Oliver from behind! Charlie Tiger ran in and fought McCoy. Ellis Taylor got in the ring and pulled Tiger off him; Tiger and Taylor argued but then Ellis eventually hit him. Taylor and Griffin left together. “The battle lines are drawn,” Nick Knowledge said.
Final Thoughts: Half-way through the show, Nick Knowledge was proclaiming this was one of the best shows he’s ever called and he’s not wrong. This was an excellent, excellent FREE indy show and definitely one to check out. Main event does earn best match as that was one heckuva chop exchange. Even though I thought Manders could win as the match began… there was never quite ‘that’ believable nearfall, the one where my finger is on the button of the stopwatch, thinking we had a title change. They didn’t quite get to that point for me. That said, it was very good and they kept the crowd for a long match that didn’t feel ‘long for the sake of being long’ (like Shingo Takagi vs. Trent Beretta on Friday.)
I’ll go with Makowski-Connors for second and Moriarty-Dereiss for third. As good as Bailey-Billie was, I can’t go higher than honorable mention on this night. Bailey had a better match with Masha Slamovich on Wednesday, but they also have had four matches now and they really click. In comparison, there were times Billie came off as being a bit hesitant (at least in comparison to Masha’s confidence on Wednesday.) Obviously, both women have specialized in intergender matches this year.
The War Dogs-Rejects was loved by this live crowd but it just isn’t my style, and I don’t think we needed that bloody forehead. The scramble was fine and the opener was energetic. Lots to like here, and I strongly endorse this show.
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