By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “Lights Out”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
June 14, 2024 in Denver, Colorado at Jeffco Fairgrounds
The crowd is maybe 300-400, with fans seated in bleachers opposite the hard camera, and this room looks well-lit. This seems to be a really nice venue for an indy show. Dave Prazak and Emil Jay provided commentary.
1. Hunter Drake defeated Gino Rivera at 8:14. I saw Gino when GCW debuted in Albuquerque a couple months ago; he is the “Puerto Rican Pitbull” and he reminds me of former ROH wrestler Ricky Reyes. Gino attacked from behind. Hunter hit a rolling Koppo Kick, then a dive through the ropes onto Gino at 1:30. In the ring, Gino took control of the offense and kept Hunter grounded. Hunter hit a running Shooting Star Press for a nearfall at 6:00. Hunter stood on Gino’s back as Gino was bent over, and in one fluid motion, Hunter twisted and landed his butt on Gino’s back, hit a Code Red, and scored the pin. Decent opener with a well-done finish; I can see how that move could look terrible if not executed properly.
* A video package aired showing Effy vs. Mance Warner in the “Cage of Survival.”
2. Effy and Dark Sheik defeated Fuego Del Sol and Sam Stackhouse at 13:00. Stackhouse is around 400 pounds but he’s still pretty young and he moves fairly well. Sheik and Stackhouse opened. Sheik tried a chop which Sam no-sold; Sam hit a chop that dropped Sheik. Effy and Fuego tagged in at 4:30 and traded faster reversals. Effy has really changed his look with a haircut; he hit a Whoopee Cushion buttdrop. Sheik hit a slingshot guillotine legdrop at 6:30, then did the splits over Fuego’s chest.
Sam tagged back in and hit some clotheslines, then a spin kick on Effy! He hit bodyslams on everyone, even slamming teammate Sol onto their opponents. Sheik hit Sol as Sol was on Sam’s shoulders, causing Sol to hit a Poison Rana on his teammate (not believable but a cool visual.) Sheik hit a Lungblower to Fuego’s back at 10:00. Sheik hit a punch to Sam’s groin. Effy hit a Blockbuster for a believable nearfall. Sam hit a double chokeslam. Sam hit a Rikishi Driver piledriver on Sheik for a believable nearfall, but Effy made the save. Effy hit his Helluva Kick on Fuego, then dragged him to the mat. Effy hit his top-rope leg lariat on Sam. Sheik then hit a top-rope guillotine leg drop on Sam for the clean pin.
* Another video package of hardcore matches two weeks ago at Cage of Survival.
3. Danhausen defeated “Broski” Jimmy Lloyd at 8:10. Jimmy came out first and cut his Cardona-style heel promo, saying “All hail the death match prince. Show me some respect!” A nice pop for Danhausen. He cursed Lloyd and hit a shoulder tackle, a Stinger Splash, and punches in the corner. They brawled to the floor at 2:00. Back in the ring, Lloyd was in charge and he choked Danhausen in the ropes. He hit a clothesline at 5:00 and celebrated. Danhausen hit a Northern Lights suplex and a running back elbow in the corner. He crawled to his corner and grabbed his jar of teeth. The ref confiscated it, allowing Lloyd to hit a low blow uppercut.
Llody hit a Broski Boot in the corner and a Fameasser for a believable nearfall at 7:30. Lloyd grabbed his fake title belt but Danhausen avoided being hit by it. Danhausen hit a German Suplex, poured the teeth into Jimmy’s mouth, kicked him in the face so the teeth went flying, and scored the pin. Satisfying match. (If there are no DQs in GCW, why did the referee initially confiscate the jar of teeth? I know, I know, I’m trying to apply logic to pro wrestling…)
4. Joey Janela defeated JKM at 9:33. JKM is a thin Black man with a Spiderman-style mask; he also competed at the New Mexico show a couple months ago. Joey hit some chops and a basement diving back elbow and was in charge early over his smaller opponent. JKM hit a slingshot splash at 2:30. Joey hit a Death Valley Driver on the ring apron for a nearfall. He hit a snap suplex for a nearfall. JKM hit a flip dive to the floor at 5:30. In the ring, he nailed a top-rope frogsplash for a nearfall. Joey hit a Dragon Suplex and a running knee strike to the jaw, then a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall.
They traded superkicks. Joey hit a German Suplex and a clothesline. JKM hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall at 8:00. JKM went for a top-rope 450 Splash but Joey got his knees up to block it. Janela hit a Package Piledriver for a believable nearfall, and Joey was shocked he didn’t win there. Joey hit a Buzzsaw Kick and a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for the pin. Good action but the winner was never in doubt.
* Joey got on the mic and said it’s been “two weeks since the biggest heist in pro wrestling history.” He said he was GCW champion for two-and-a-half minutes before he lost it. He said Mance Warner robbed him of the belt. “It was never about becoming the AEW champion for me, it was always about becoming the G C f’n W champion to me.” He vowed he will get it back in Los Angeles. (But what if Mance loses it later tonight?)
* Emil Jay introduced “The voice of Rocky Mountain Pro” who did ring intros for our next match, which is an eight-man tag.
5. Jeffrey John, Brayden Toon, Bruce Wayans, and “Filter” Dorian Maddox defeated Ocean Avery, Jonny Casanova, Manny Lemons, and Dave Cole at 6:35. I don’t know a lot of these guys so this will be challenging. Toon opened against Casanova, who wore black with green trim. I always describe Toon as a young Kevin Owens, more agile than you would expect with his size, and right on cue, he hit a running Shooting Star Press. Wayans is a Black man comparable to a young D-Von Dudley. Ocean Avery was on the New Mexico show as well.
The muscular, heavily-tattooed Avery kicked Jeffrey John in the face and his team worked John over. Lemons hit a modified Death Valley Driver on Jeffrey. Toon slammed Lemons. Maddox entered and slammed an opponent. Avery dropped Wayans with a headbutt. John hit a top-rope diving stunner for the pin. Merely okay. I expected Jeffrey John’s team to win, but I figured this was going to be an opportunity to get Brayden Toon more over. Just too short for anyone to really do anything memorable, but it got a lot of locals on the show.
6. Zilla Fatu defeated Cole Radrick at 9:05. The dork Cole still has the large brass ring around his neck; Prazak reminded us he attempted to cash it in two weeks ago but was stopped before he could; that ring allows him to select “any match of his choosing.” (Presumably you would only use that to get a title shot, right?) Fatu is such a star, just the way he carries himself. Prazak said he still only has about 20 matches under his belt. Cole hit Zilla as he entered the ring, then he dove through the ropes onto him. Fatu hit some loud chops at ringside. Zilla got doors from under the ring; Emil was shocked to point out that was the first door used today. He tossed several in the ring.
It seemingly took forever for Zilla to set up doors in opposite corners. He hit some headbutts on Cole. Zilla dove; Radrick moved; Zilla barreled through a door in the corner at 5:00. Cole grabbed door shards and slammed them over Zilla’s unprotected head. Zilla no-sold them, screamed (howled?) and hit a uranage through the other door, to get a nearfall. Zilla hit a Samoan Drop for a nearfall at 7:00, then a swinging faceplant for a nearfall, and the crowd tried to rally Cole. Radrick hit a DDT through the door; they were both hurt by the move. Radrick leapt off the ropes, but Zilla caught him with a flying Samoan Spike to the throat for the pin. This felt like a fairly dominant win, as it should be.
* Promoter Brett Lauderdale joined Prazak on commentary.
7. Man Like Dereiss defeated Allie Katch in an intergender match at 8:41. Dereiss rapped on his way to the ring; he’s another talented young Brit with great charisma, comparable to a young Shelton Benjamin or Elijah Burke. Allie wore black pants and a black GCW shirt; certainly not her usual wrestling gear. They shook hands. Lauderdale joined a few seconds in, and he immediately noted that Allie’s ring gear is still in Dallas. Dereiss got a rollup for a nearfall at 1:30. She hit an elbow drop on his lower back. Dereiss hit a snap suplex for a nearfall. Katch hit a pair of (weak looking) clotheslines, then an enzuigiri. Allie set up for a flying butt bump and Dereiss couldn’t make up his mind if he wanted that or not, so he rolled to the floor at 5:30.
She dove through the ropes onto him. In the ring, they traded rollups. She hit a running butt bump to his back, then the rolling cannonball for a nearfall. Dereiss hit a kip-up stunner for a nearfall. She hit some chops and forearm strikes. They traded rollups. She hit a mid-ring flying butt bump at 8:00. Dereiss wants more! She pulled down her pants and she was wearing shiny trunks, and she hit another butt bump. However, he rolled her up with a folding press for the pin. She was shocked he did that to her. Prazak talked about Dereiss’ match on Saturday with Viva Van, which was set up over WrestleMania weekend in Philadelphia.
8. Mance Warner defeated Jordan Oliver to retain the GCW Heavyweight Title at 17:12. Why isn’t this the main event? Janela joined Prazak on commentary and I think I immediately have my answer — will Joey interfere? Jordan glared at Warner’s title belt during the ring introductions. Warne took the mic and said Oliver’s heroes, like Jimmy Rave and Trent Acid, are dead. WOW that was extra heelish! Oliver immediately hit some punches in the corner. Janela said if Oliver wins the title tonight, he still wants Mance in Los Angeles on Saturday. Mance rolled to the floor, grabbed a chair, and struck Jordan’s leg with it at 1:00. In the ring, he jabbed the chair into the knee. The commentators said Oliver has been dealing with a knee injury.
Mance hit a clothesline and made a lazy cover; Oliver hooked the arms and got a rollup for a nearfall at 4:00. Mance set up for a spear but Oliver’s knee buckled and he fell to the mat. Oliver ‘Hulked up’ and no-sold some blows. Oliver hit some chops at 8:00. Mance set up a door bridge. They went to fight on the ropes in the corner, but Oliver crotched him on the ropes at 11:00. Oliver hit a standing powerbomb, tossing Mance through the door bridge. He was slow to make a cover and only got a nearfall.
Mance got a chair and again jabbed it into Oliver’s knee, then a hard chairshot across the back at 12:30. He repeatedly punched Oliver in the forehead until Jordan was bleeding. They traded chops, and Oliver hit a fisherman’s suplex onto a folded chair for a nearfall. Oliver nailed a Shellshock swinging faceplant for a nearfall at 16:00! Mance shoved ref Scarlet Donovan into Oliver, then he hit a running knee on Oliver’s face. Mance hit a second running knee and a leaping DDT for the pin. Intense action; I didn’t expect a title change here as the Mance era has just begun.
* Mance continued to hit Oliver with the chair after the bell, until Janela ran to the ring to chase Warner off.
9. Nick Gage defeated Orin Veidt at 14:59. I have no idea who Veidt is, but as we return, there is a plastic sheet down in the ring and glass panes set up, so I’m already uninterested. Orin is a white man of average height and short, trimmed hair; he wore a shoulder harness that made me think of Tracy Williams. Orin hit a belly-to-belly suplex that sent Gage through a glass pane at 1:30. He slammed Orin onto the glass shards for a nearfall. Gage hit a DDT for a nearfall at 5:00; the ring is covered in tiny glass particles. Gage used a staple gun on Orin’s hands. They brawled on the floor and Orin’s back was covered in red from multiple tiny cuts.
They brawled up the hard camera side of the venue, which was nearly empty. Gage tossed Orin onto a door bridge. Gage dumped tacks on the mat. He got a weed whacker and hit Orin in the stomach with it. Orin hit a Cradle Shock onto the glass pile. (Gage still has a shirt on so that protects him a bit!) Orin put Gage’s feet on the ropes and hit a swinging suplex for a nearfall at 14:00. Gage hit a piledriver for the pin. I enjoyed nothing in that match but the death match fans probably will enjoy it.
Final Thoughts: This is the first show of three consecutive nights of action, as GCW will be in Los Angeles on Saturday and Phoenix on Sunday. I really liked this venue; give me bleachers that have the fans right next to the action any day! That said, there are two giant purple pillars that do cause a LOT of ‘obstructed view’ seating.
Mance-Oliver was best match on a night without a stellar match. Janela-JKM takes second. This show felt like we were missing guys who consistently deliver the best matches; TNA was in Chicago so we didn’t have Masha Slamovich or Mike Bailey (even though Bailey never appeared on the PPV.) We also didn’t have Marcus Mathers, Alec Price, Jack Cartwheel, Tony Deppen, Kevin Blackwood, Gringo Loco, or any of the other top-notch luchadors. And more notably, Blake Christian — who is back in the U.S. after his NJPW BoSJ run — wasn’t here and isn’t advertised for any of the upcoming shows. Blake had such a good GCW title run and it was jarring the way he was just stripped of the title to begin the Mance Warner title run. Is he coming back? If not, that’s a huge loss for GCW. So, without all those top-tier wrestlers… we got a lot of decent matches but very little I would rate as “very good” or “great.”
I don’t know Zilla’s age, but his Cagematch.net stats say he has only had 13 total matches: two in 2023 and 11 so far in 2024, and all but one of those 2024 matches have been in GCW, with the other being in a Royal Rumble at Reality of Wrestling.
Zilla is either 23 or 24