By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “GCW vs. TJPW”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
April 6, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at The Auditorium at Penns Landing Caterers
This is one of the nearly dozen shows held as part of “The Collective” during WrestleMania weekend. It’s my tenth (and final) review of Collective shows. As with other events here, attendance is perhaps 700-800. Dave Prazak and Veda Scott provided commentary. I admittedly know very little about the Tokyo Joshi-Pro Wrestling roster or any storylines they have.
1. Suzume defeated Pom Harajuku and Saki in a three-way at 7:53. Pom wore the checkered outfit of a Swiss yodeler, and the crowd was behind her. Prazak noted that both Sawyer Wreck and Max the Impaler were slated to be in this, but both had to withdraw due to injuries. Suzume wore yellow with dark hair and she’s shorter. Saki wore green with longer blonde hair; she is by no means heavy, but she is much thicker than the tiny Suzume, and she spun her around by one arm and one leg in a Giant Swing variation at 2:30. Suzume hit a top-rope crossbody block on Pom for a nearfall. Saki hit a running boot. Suzume hit a springboard face plant on Saki at 6:30. Saki hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall, but Pom made the save. Suzume nailed a stunner to pin Pom. Solid opener.
2. Session Moth Martina defeated Raku at 5:44. Martina is the blonde party girl who always has a drink in her hand and she dances to an energetic pop song on her way to the ring. Raku wore a yellow traditional outfit; she put a pillow down and took a nap after the bell. So, Martina got her beer and poured it down her throat. Raku stood up and beat up Martina with this soft pillow, which of course Martina sold as if they were stiff chairshots. Martina hit a Bronco Buster in the corner at 3:00. This is all comedy, as Raku is back asleep. Raku hit some knife-edge chops to the top of the head and a basement dropkick for a nearfall. Martina hit a spear and a twisting suplex for a nearfall. She hit a headbutt and a Lungblower move to the chin for the pin. Fun stuff.
3. Arisu Endo defeated Shazza McKenzie at 7:29. Shazza is in her pink-and-black Hart Foundation-style gear. Endo is half of the tag champions and she has a short haircut. Shazza has the height and overall size advantage. Good reversals early and a standoff at 1:30. Shazza knocked her down with a shoulder tackle and posed, and she grounded Endo. She hit a stiff kick to the spine at 3:30, then a basement dropkick for a nearfall. Endo locked in a Camel Clutch at 5:00, but Shazza got a foot on the ropes. Shazza hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall, then another. Shazza tied Endo in the ropes and hit some Yes Kicks to the chest, then one to the jaw! Endo blocked the Splits Stunner, and she hit a second-rope Curbstomp. She put Shazza on her shoulders and hit an RKO stunner for the pin. Good action.
4. Steph De Lander defeated Hyper Misao at 8:09. Again, Misao is the superhero in the same vein as Nikki Ash, wearing a mask around her eyes. SDL has the significant height and overall size advantage. Misao got on the mic to greet the fans, but Steph attacked from behind to start the match and was booed as she repeatedly stomped on Misao in the corner. Misao sprayed an aerosol can in Steph’s eyes. Misao got some cooking skewers and jabbed them in the top of Steph’s head! Yuck. SDL did the same to Misao!
They traded forearm strikes, and as noted, Steph is much bigger. They went to the floor at 3:00, where SDL hit some loud chops. Misao hit a chairshot to the back. In the ring, Misao hit more chairshots to the back, and she tossed it at SDL’s head; I hate that. Misao hit a crossbody block, with SDL landing on a pile of folded chairs. SDL hit a spinebuster onto the pile of chairs for a nearfall at 6:00. SDL dumped a crate of lipstick boxes onto the mat. However, Misao hit a top-rope crossbody block onto SDL, with them landing on the tiny boxes. SDL hit a swinging faceplant onto the lipstick boxes and Steph’s internet title belt for the tainted pin. Okay action.
5. Dark Sheik defeated Yuki Kamifuku at 7:38. Transgender star Dark Sheik has the height and overall size advantage. Yuki wore a modern, metallic black outfit, and she tossed Sheik to the floor and posed at 1:30. Sheik hit a backbreaker over the knee, then a senton. Sheik tied Yuki in a Surfboard at 5:30 and stood up into a pendulum. Sheik hit a German Suplex for a nearfall, then the top-rope legdrop for the pin. That was almost a squash with Yuki getting in nearly zero offense.
6. Mizuki defeated Allie Katch at 7:35. Mizuki is in shiny white/silver. Allie has the size advantage. Good mat reversals early. Mikzuki went for a fisherman’s suplex but couldn’t lift Allie. Katch responded by hitting a big boot. Allie bit her on the arm at 3:00! Mizuki again couldn’t hit the fisherman’s suplex. Katch hit a snap suplex, then her buttbump and rolling cannonball for a nearfall. Mizuki hit a huracanrana, then a top-rope dive onto Katch on the floor at 5:00. Katch hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Mizuki bit Katch’s thigh, then her stomach! Mizuki hit a doublestomp to the stomach for a nearfall at 7:00. Mizuki finally hit the fisherman’s suplex for the pin. Good action.
7. Miu Watanabe and Rika Tatsumi defeated Billie Starkz and Janai Kai at 13:27. Miu wore pink, while Rika wore predominantly white. Team GCW are taller. Billie opened against Miu and they traded mat holds early and they had a standoff at 2:30, and Billie was hobbled. Janai and Rika tagged in, and Kai dropped her with a roundhouse kick, then a stiff kick to Rika’s spine. Miu and Rika hit team elbow drops on Kai at 4:00. Kai hit a stiff boot to Miu’s chest, then a snap suplex. Billie tagged in and stomped on Miu. Miu hit a bodyslam on Billie at 7:00 but sold pain in her lower back.
Starkz and Rika traded forearm strikes. Rika hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip in the ropes, then another one in the center of the ring, and she focused on Billie’s right knee. Billie hit a Gory Bomb on Rika. Miu hit a shoulder tackle, then a backbreaker over her knee on Janai at 11:00, and she put Kai in a Giant Swing! Impressive, as she’s much smaller than Kai, and she got a nearfall. Kai nailed a half-nelson-into-a-uranage on Miu, then she applied a Dragon Sleeper. Miu hit a powerslam on Kai. Rika dropped Miu onto Kai for a nearfall. They hit a modified Magic Killer team slam, with Miu pinning Kai. That was really good and easily best of the show so far.
8. Rina Yamashita, Masha Slamovich, and Maki Itoh defeated Yuki Aino, Miyu Yamashita, and Shoko Nakajima at 20:59. Miyu and Maki opened, with Miyu immediately twisting the left wrist; she is all-business and wants no part of Itoh’s silliness. Rina tagged in at 1:30 to face Shoko, and Rina mocked Shoko’s height, so Shoko stomped on Rina’s foot. Yuki entered; they each made pyramids to pretend their team is taller. Silliness. They all brawled to the floor at 4:00. Team GCW faked sterero dives to the floor. In the ring, Rina hit some hard chops on Yuki, and Team GCW began working Yuki over. Itoh hit her punches in the corner, then a face wash at 6:00.
Masha hit a clothesline for a nearfall, then a snap suplex for a nearfall. Yuki hit a gut-wrench suplex on Rina, and she make the hot tag to Shoko at 8:00. Yoko hit a 619 on Rina. Yoko brought a huge sack of weapons into the ring, and she dumped out all the toys. However, Rina hit a bodyslam onto the toys, then another. Rina and Shoko traded punches while holding the toys. Rina hit an enzuigiri at 10:30. Shoko hit a Frankensteiner, tossing Rina onto the pile of toys for a nearfall.
Miyu entered and hit some stiff kicks on Rina. Masha hit some punches on Miyu, and they traded forearm strikes at 13:00, with Masha getting a nearfall. Masha tied Miyu in a pretzel on the mat. Miyu hit a springboard spin kick on Masha at 14:30. They traded kicks to the head, then they both connected at the same time and both went down. Itoh and Yuki tagged back in, and Yuki hit a shoulder tackle and a senton, then a springboard twisting senton for a nearfall. Rina and Masha hit a team suplex, and Maki hit a Kokeshi for a believable nearfall on Yuki. Team GCW set up a door bridge at 17:00, but it cracked as they put Yuki on it.
Team GCW made another door bridge, and this one didn’t crack, and the crowd mockingly cheered. Masha and Rina slammed Itoh onto Yuki, as they crashed through the door bridge, for a believable nearfall. Masha hit Miyu with a chair and suddenly everyone was down at 19:00. They got up and all six traded punches as the ref has lost control. Shoko hit a flip dive to the floor. In the ring, Yuki hit a bulldog on Maki, but she couldn’t hit a Jay Driller. Maki hit a tornado DDT on Yuki. She applied a Texas Cloverleaf, and Yuki tapped out. That was really good.
Final Thoughts: A mediocre first half of the show but two stellar matches to close out. Main event takes first place, with Masha and Yamashita looking great. The Janai/Billie Starkz match takes second, and Shazza’s match was a distant third. I admittedly don’t care for all the comedy spots, and too many short matches, as only the final two matches topped nine minutes. The crowd was really happy getting to see this Joshi-Pro stars in person.
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