By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “For the Culture”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
April 5, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at The Auditorium at Penns Landing Caterers
This event was held at 11:59 p.m. last Friday, so it took place after WWE Smackdown and the ROH Supercard of Honor pay-per-view. The “For the Culture” shows celebrate Black wrestlers across the independent scene. I admittedly don’t know a lot of wrestlers on this show.
AC Mack and former AEW wrestler Big Swole provided commentary. The crowd is maybe 400; a great indy crowd but smaller than many of the other Collective shows.
1. “Team Myron” Myron Reed, Ruckus, Darian Bengston, Devon Monroe, and Calvin Tankman defeated “Team Dolla” AJ Francis, Isaiah Broner, Terry Yaki, Keita Murray, and Mr. Danger at 11:36. I’ve seen Keita before, but I’m certainly more familiar with the others on his team. Francis and Reed, the team captains, opened, but of course, AJ is much taller. (Why isn’t Tankman team captain?) AJ made fun of Reed’s height, so Myron slapped him and he hit an enzuigiri. Tankman tagged in at 1:30 tied up with AJ (this is the matchup I want to see!) They traded shoulder tackles with neither man going down. Tankman finally dropped him with a shoulder tackle.
Broner tagged in and traded chops with Calvin; I gotta believe they’ve fought before. Ruckus entered and hit a handspring-back-spin kick. Monroe and Yaki traded quick offense. Bengston tied up Keita on the mat. Mr. Danger entered and hit a dropkick and a Lionsault on Bengsten at 6:00. Suddenly several guys were trading blows on the floor, with Tankman and AJ Francis again trading blows. Bengston and Monroe hit stereo dives through the ropes to the floor on everyone. Mr. Danger and Yaki then hit flip dives over the top rope onto everyone at 7:30.
AJ set up for a dive, but he pulled up and gave the crowd the middle finger! Funny (if you know the Smackdown incident, anyway.) Danger hit an insane Asai corkscrew moonsault onto everyone. AJ hit a top-rope summersault onto everyone on the floor at 9:00! In the ring, Reed hit his kip-up stunner on Francis. Danger nailed a top-rope 450 Splash on Reed. Bengston hit a sit-out powerbomb. Keita hit a piledriver on Bengsten. Monroe hit a top-rope corkscrew press. Yaki hit a modified Canadian Destroyer. Reed hit a rope-assisted Flatliner on Yaki. Ruckus hit a faceplant on Yaki, and Reed made the cover to pin Yaki. Good action.
2. “Thick N Juicy” Brooke Valentine & Faye Jackson defeated “Kings of the District” Eel O’Neal & Jordan Blade and “Killionaires Club” J Bouji & PB Smooth and “The Mane Event” Duke Davis & Ganon Jones at 12:36. I don’t know Eel at all, and I’m not sure if I’ve seen Brooke either; she has reddish/orange hair. The TNJ women danced to the ring and got the crowd going. The KC wore blue varsity jackets; I’ve seen them in HOG. KotD came out last; I’ve seen Jordan Blade a few times; she comes across as a legit shoot fighter. Jordan and Brooke opened. Eel, who has short blondish-orange hair, entered at 2:30 to face Faye. (Faye and Brooke are NOT believable at all in facing men. This is comedy/absurd action.)
The TNJ women hit butt bumps. Eel and Jordan indicated they wanted them, so instead TNJ hit rolling cannonballs on them at 5:30. J Bouji and the massively tall PB Smooth worked over some opponents. Ganon hit a superkick on Brooke, then hit a flip dive to the floor on everyone else at 9:00. Back in the ring, Jordan hit a German Suplex on Gannon. J Bouji hit a Curbstomp on Blade. Duke and Eel traded blows, with Eel hitting a headbutt. Ganon hit a back suplex on Eel for a nearfall at 11:00. Everyone was fighting in the ring. Faye hit a top-rope splash onto everyone. Faye then hit a Yokozuna-style buttsplash from the corner on Eel for the pin. I would have enjoyed this a lot more if it had been a three-team match without Thick N Juicy; they just aren’t believable against these much taller, stronger men.
3. Sonny Kiss defeated Man Like Dereiss at 8:51. Standing switches and they worked each other’s arms, and Dereiss stalled on the floor. Back in the ring, Dereiss hit an elbow drop as Kiss was doing a bridge at 3:30, and he took control of the offense. Sonny hit a huracanrana and a flying double knees for a nearfall at 6:00. Dereiss hit a German Suplex into the corner! He hit another German Suplex and a clothesline for a nearfall. Dereiss hit a kip-up stunner and a shotgun dropkick, then a sit-out powerbomb. Kiss hit a Guerrilla Press and a spin kick to the head, then the Splits Stunner for the pin.
4. Joseline Navarro defeated Maya World, Jada Stone, Janai Kai, Mazzerati and Tiara James in a six-way at 10:26. Navarro wore a glittery outfit. I’ve seen Maya just once or twice; she comes from Texas, and she wore black-and-red. I often see Mazzerati on Las Vegas-area shows and she has blue hair, similar to Kiera Hogan. Jada hit a top-rope corkscrew splash onto all the women on the floor! In the ring, she hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall. She hit a sperkick on Maya. Maya hit a huracanrana on Mazzerati. Mazzerati hit a sliding clothesline to the back of Navarro’shead at 4:00. Navarro hit a DDT on Mazzerati.
Tiara hit a short-arm clothesline on Navarro, then a second-rope missile dropkick on Janai. Tiara hit a crossbody block on Janai. They did the spot where all were tied up and three suplexed the other three at 8:00 and they were all down. Mazzerati flipped an opponent onto the other four. Navarro hit a side slam. Kai hit a spin kick. Jada hit a stunner. Tiara hit a spinebuster. Navarro hit a shotgun dropkick. Navarro hit a crossbody block in the corner on Mazzerati and scored the pin. Good action; lots of talent in this one.
5. Jah-C defeated 2 Cold Scorpio at 10:43. If you haven’t seen Scorpio in a while, he is a bit heavier around the middle but still moves really well. I’ve seen MN-based Jah-C a few times, including AEW TV matches in Minnesota. An intense lockup to open and an extended feeling-out process. Scorpio hit some elbow drops at 6:30 and he stayed in charge of the offense. They traded forearm strikes. Jah-C hit a top-rope flying forearm for a nearfall. Jah-C hit an Arabian Press for a nearfall at 9:00. Scorpio hit a second-rope summersault legdrop for a believable nearfall. Lots of whispering between them and the ref so I hope Jah-C is okay. Jah-Ch hit a one-legged dropkick and a Lionsault for a nearfall. He hit a superkick for the pin; Scorpio kicked out a fraction-of-a-second too late. (The match continued for another minute or two after that leg drop, and it appears Jah-C is fine.) Alright match.
6. Suge D defeated Alex Kane to retain the Pan-Afrikan World Dispora Wrestling Championship at 11:59. Suge D appears to be a bit bigger. These two are both in Action Wrestling in Georgia so are familiar with each other. They traded shoulder tackles. They traded punches, and Kane whipped Suge D into a corner at 4:00. Kane hit a splash on the ring apron. In the ring, Kane hit some rolling German Suplexes at 6:30. Suge D fired up and they traded forearm strikes. Suge D hit a rolling forearm. Kane hit an Exploder Suplex at 9:30.
Suge D hit a second-rope flying clothesline, a snap suplex, and his own German Suplex. Kane hit two German Suplexes. Suge D hit a Saito Suplex for a nearfall. Kane hit a release suplex and a spear for a believable nearfall. Suge D hit his own spear and a jumping knee, then a piledriver for the clean pin. The commentators were shocked that the match ended there. Solid match. They hugged afterward.
7. Darius Carter defeated Billy Dixon, with special guest referee Darius Lockhart, at 19:10. Darius mounted him early and hit some punches and he was in charge. They brawled to the floor, and Big Swole said this match is “five years in the making.” Back in the ring, Dixon hit a second-rope flying back elbow for a nearfall at 2:00. Carter hit a dropkick. Carter applied a Bret Hart-style Figure Four around the ring post at 4:00 and Dixon was in pain. They slammed onto the apron and rolled to the floor at 7:00.
Back in the ring, Darius remained in control of the offense and he kept Dixon grounded. Darius hit a flying headbutt and they were both down at 13:30. Darius sat up like the Undertaker, and he hit a second-rope flying Thesz Press for a nearfall. Carter shoved referee Lockhart at 15:00 after a perceived slow count, so Lockhart punched him. Dixon hit a Pedigree for a believable nearfall. Carter tied Dixon in a Figure Four; this has remained at a slower pace. He grabbed Dixon’s fingers and snapped them while they were still tied in the Figure Four. Finally, Billy passed out and did not kick out while still tied in the FIgure Four, and the ref counted to three.
Final Thoughts: I have enjoyed these FtC shows the past few WrestleMania weekends. It really highlights the great variety of strong, Black wrestlers who are competing across the country. Again, Man Like Dereiss is from the UK, and I pointed out some wrestlers who came from the West Coast, some from Texas, some from Atlanta, along with some well-known Northeastern wrestlers. I actually liked the 10-man tag opener the best, and I’ll go with Dereiss-Sonny for second. The main event didn’t do much for me; not bad, but I wouldn’t call it good, either. I think the lateness of the show, ending at about 2:30 a.m. local time, really hurt, too.
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