By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Jersey Championship Wrestling “The Strong Silent Type”
Replay available via YouTube.com
April 27, 2024 in Clifton, New Jersey at Italian American Family Association
JCW is essentially a sister promotion to GCW; they use primarily the same roster. Unfortunately, the crowd is maybe 75, and I always wonder how a promotion breaks even with a gate this small. Brett Lauderdale and Nick Knowledge provided commentary. Lighting is good; the audio is really quiet and I had to crank up the TV. There is a chandelier but it doesn’t seem to be in the way.
1. Effy defeated Brandon Kirk at 11:33. I always say both guys are bigger than you’d expect, and they opened with an intense lockup. Kirk hit a low blow headbutt at 3:30. They teased several spots where it looked like they were going to kiss. Kirk hit a piledriver at 9:00 for a nearfall. They did some more gay humor. Effy hit a flying leg drop for a nearfall. They finally kissed which distracted Kirk, and Effy got a rollup for the pin. Not my style of match.
2. “Broski” Jimmy Lloyd defeated Charlie Tiger at 5:31. Lloyd got on the mic and said Clifton is the worst part of New Jersey; he’s really channeling Matt Cardona well in his promos. Tiger hit a back suplex, a snap suplex, and a splash for a nearfall at 3:00. Lloyd pushed the ref into Tiger, then hit a stunner. Tiger hit a butterfly piledriver at 4:30 but we don’t have a ref. Tiger hit a spear. Lloyd hit him in the head with his fake title belt. He hit his flying leg lariat for the cheap pin. Basic and shockingly short.
3. Matt Makowski defeated Isaiah Broner at 9:47. Broner has a height and overall size advantage but Matt has his shoot-style and I’m definitely intrigued by this one. Broner leaned him against the ropes and hit some loud chops. They brawled to the floor, where Matt hit a series of spin kicks. In the ring, Matt applied a rear-naked choke at 4:30, and he turned it into a Cattle Mutilation! Nice. Matt hit a snap Dragon Suplex at 7:00. Broner hit some more chops and forearm strikes. Matt applied a crossarm breaker, but Broner was able to get to his feet and slam Matt to the mat for a believable nearfall. Matt again applied a crossarm breaker, and this time, Broner tapped out. Good match.
4. Alec Price defeated Marcus Mathers at 13:36. Yeah this is my style of match. They avoided each other’s offense early on. Mathers hit a Lionsault. Mathers is back in his 1980s-style Phillies-themed gear. Price hit his springboard crossbody block at 2:00 and a knee drop to the back. Price hit his pop-up dropkick. Mathers fired back with a Black Hole Slam and they were both down at 4:30. Mathers hit a German Suplex and a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. Price hit his half-nelson suplex and a springboard tornado DDT for a nearfall at 6:30. This crowd was hot and split, as this is a babyface matchup.
Mathers hit a heel hook kick and a kip-up stunner, then a clothesline for a nearfall. Price hit his running knee strikes in the corner at 9:00. Mathers hit a second-rope Spanish Fly and they were both down. They traded forearm strikes while on their knees, then while standing, until they both collapsed at 12:00. Price nailed a Rebound Lariat. Marcus hit a Canadian Destroyer, then a dive through the ropes to the floor. He went for a top-rope 450 Splash, but Price got his knees up! Price then hit his Surprise Kick/step-up mule kick to the head for the pin. That was really good. The commentators said Marcus Mathers is leaving this week for his first tour of Japan.
5. Joey Janela defeated Kasey Catal in an intergender match at 13:51. Kasey is of average size for a woman, and she does a lot of hardcore stuff, but I don’t think her offense is believable against bigger, stronger men. He pie-faced her to shove her away, then they traded forearm strikes, which of course he got the better of. He nailed a diving European Uppercut at 1:30. She hit a huracanrana. She went for a running summersault off the apron but he caught her and slammed her back-first on the apron. They brawled into the crowd.
In the ring, Janela was in charge and hit a running knee as she was lying against the ropes at 6:00. He nailed a German Suplex. He set up for a package piledriver but she escaped. They traded more forearm strikes. He put her in a Boston Crab at 8:00 but she powered out. Joey began tossing chairs and doors into the ring. She hit some back suplexes. He nailed a second-rope Cradleshock through the door bridge, but she kicked out at 11:30! Kasey nailed a tornado DDT onto a pile of folded chairs for a nearfall. He hit a Michinoku Driver-style move onto an open chair, then a top-rope doublestomp onto a folded chair on her chest for the pin.
6. Allie Katch defeated GPA in an intergender match at 10:46. These two are closer to the same height and weight than the prior match. The usual comedy from GPA as he removed one button-down shirt and has an identical one on underneath. She started to ‘lap dance’ against him (or whatever term you want to call it.) This is all comedy early on. He hit a second-rope dropkick at 4:00 that was truly the first wrestling move of the match. She hit her butt bump that sent him through the ropes to the floor. In the ring CPA hit a pop-up powerbomb at 6:30. GPA went for his comedy 619 but she blocked it. CPA hit a stunner move in the ropes, then he hit his 619 and got a folding press for a nearfall at 8:00. She climbed the ropes but he hit a dropkick. She hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall. CPA hit a Death Valley Driver at 10:00. Allie hit a piledriver for the pin. Acceptable.
7. Griffin McCoy defeated Jordan Oliver in a street fight at 24:36. I just saw this match from WrestleMania weekend; I noted it was good but they left more on the table for a re-match. Griffin attacked him to start the match and they brawled to the floor, where McCoy slammed him onto the ring apron. Oliver hit a plancha to the floor, and he immediately got some weapons from under the ring and banged them on Griffin’s head, then he tossed Griffin into rows of empty chairs at 2:00. They got into the ring, where Jordan hit a top-rope missile dropkick onto a chair over Griffin’s face. McCoy hit a backbreaker over an open chair, and he whipped Oliver into the corners.
McCoy put a metal watch on his fist and struck Oliver with it at 5:00. Jordan stood up and he was bleeding from the forehead. McCoy began whipping Oliver with a belt. McCoy hit a basement dropkick onto a chair over Jordan’s face at 8:30 and the fans chanted “you still suck!” at him. They went back to the floor, where McCoy hit a cookie sheet across the head. They suplexed each other to the floor, with one of their feet hitting the chandelier at 10:30. They got back into the ring, and Oliver whipped him with the belt, then tossed McCoy through a door in the corner. Oliver hit an ax kick to the back of the head at 12:00.
Griffin hit a half-nelson suplex through a board for a nearfall. Oliver nailed a Clout Cutter/fadeaway stunner for a nearfall at 15:00. McCoy was bleeding too. They fought on the ropes; McCoy put Oliver in a Torture Rack and spun him into a second-rope powerbomb through a door bridge for a believable nearfall at 17:30. They got up and traded chops. McCoy caught him with a spin kick to the jaw and a clothesline to the floor. Oliver hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor! They traded punches on the ring apron. McCoy hit a half-nelson suplex on the apron, and they both fell to the floor at 20:00.
McCoy got a wrench and began undoing the lower turnbuckle. He got the hook, but Oliver avoided being hit by it. Oliver hit a Clout Cutter from the apron to the floor. They got back into the ring, where Oliver hit his Helluva Kick, and he set up a chair bridge. Oliver nailed an Acid Bomb through the door bridge for a nearfall! Oliver went for a Clout Cutter, but Griffin caught him with a punch. McCoy wrapped the loose, bottom rope around Oliver’s neck and pulled back. The ref checked on Oliver, and he called for the bell. So, Oliver passed out and did not tap out. A very good brawl.
Final Thoughts: Two stellar matches here. The Oliver-McCoy feud has been boiling for months and it ended here with a nice pay-off. I always say I don’t mind a hardcore match if there is a storyline to it — a reason for why they are so willing to bloody each other. Price-Mathers was equally good and that takes second place. Oliver has previously been in MLW and I consider him the top unsigned wrestler of 2023, while Price, Mathers and McCoy have all appeared in MLW in recent months. With this show being free on youtube, I strongly encourage checking out this show, or at the very least, these top two matches. Makowski-Broner takes third; so many people saw Makowski face Charlie Dempsey at the GCW “Bloodsport” show over Mania weekend, and he’s a really good talent, too.
I just don’t understand the indy love for intergender matches. Why not just do Katch vs. Catal and Janela vs. GPA? Both women are fine wrestlers and that would be a good match. I preferred GPA-Katch, as the comedy built into an entertaining match and it was certainly watchable. I don’t doubt that Janela well-protected Kasey and she wasn’t hurt at all in that match, but I really hate the visual of a man beating a woman with weapons. The biggest drawback of this show is the crowd size. It didn’t seem to hurt the wrestlers, as they all went out and performed as if there were 300 fans there. But my 75 number is either accurate or too high… it is a small crowd in attendance for this one.
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