GCW “Can I Trust You?” results (8/4): Vetter’s review of Raj Dhesi vs. Mike Bailey, Hallowicked and Frightmare vs. Ciclope and Miedo Extremo, Maki Itoh vs. Allie Katch for the GCW Extreme Title

By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)

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GCW “Can I Trust You?”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
August 4, 2024 in Asbury Park, New Jersey at House Of Independents

Dave Prazak and Veda Scott provided commentary. This was announced as a sellout and this room is small but PACKED with maybe 300 fans.

* The show opened with a video package of Friday night’s show in Cleveland, Ohio.

1. Alec Price and Marcus Mathers defeated “CPF” Joe Lando and Danny Black at 10:12. Again, CPF are from the UK and they have competed in the U.S. in the past; this started as a babyface match-up, but the crowd turned CPF into heels, and they embraced it. Marcus and brown-haired, tattoo-covered Black opened, and Marcus hit a dropkick. CPF hit some quick team offense on Alec. Price hit a double Blockbuster at 4:30 and he made the hot tag to Marcus. Mathers hit some supekicks. Price slammed Black snake-eyes on the top turnbuckle for a nearfall at 6:00. CPF hit a team powerbomb move for a nearfall, but Price made the save.

Black hit a Helluva Kick on Mathers, then a stunner. Lando hit a Shooting Star Press. Price and Black traded forearm strikes. Mathers hit his kip-up stunner, then a second-rope Canadian Destroyer at 9:30. Price hit a Blockbuster and a dive to the floor. It allowed Mathers to hit the 450 Splash on Black for the pin. Really good, high-energy opener. “That was an absolute war,” Veda said.

* The announced lineup had Tony Deppen vs. Gringo Loco and Griffin McCoy vs. Jack Cartwheel. It appears we have a lot of cancellations. I know Joey Janela is still dealing with internal issues and is unavailable. They announced earlier in the day that Zilla Fatu also had to cancel due to travel issues. 

2. Griffin McCoy defeated Tony Deppen at 11:23. McCoy has appeared a lot in JCW (GCW’s sister promotion) but I haven’t seen much of him lately. Deppen has infrequently appeared this year and he got a “welcome back!” chant. These two are typically heels, which Prazak pointed out seconds after I wrote that. They traded chops and they brawled to the floor at 3:30. Back in the ring, McCoy was in charge and raked Deppen’s face. Deppen nailed a diving European Uppercut to the back at 6:00.

Deppen hit a flip dive to the floor onto Griffin. They got in the ring and began trading open slaps to the face and this got applause. Deppen nailed a half-nelson suplex and a running double knees in the corner. He hit a doublestomp for a nearfall at 10:30. Griffin hit more slaps and a half-nelson suplex, then a springboard spin kick for the pin. I give these two guys a LOT of credit here; these were not their announced partners. They went out there and both stayed heels while delivering a very watchable match.

3. Fuego Del Sol and Sam Stackhouse defeated “Rich and Powerful” Charles Mason and Richard Holliday (w/Parrow) at 9:18. Mason got on the mic and the crowd tried to drown him out with boos. Mason boasted he is the one who tore Jordan Oliver’s ACL and ended his career. Mason demanded he now be introduced as “the new East Coast Ace,” stealing Jordan’s nickname. Parrow wasn’t with Mason and Holliday, but he jumped in the ring and attacked from behind to start the match. Fuego hit some forearm strikes on both Holliday and Mason. Mason sprayed water into Fuego’s eyes, allowing Holliday to hit a backbreaker over his knee, and the heels worked over Fuego.

Mason hit an Air Raid Crash at 2:00. He hit a high back suplex for a nearfall; he began untying the mask and got booed. Sam got a hot tag at 4:30 and he hit some clotheslines, and  his spinning heel kick. (For a 400-pounder, that spinning heel kick is fairly impressive. Reminds me of Viscera.) He hit a splash for a nearfall. Sam chokeslammed Holliday and he ripped off his shirt, which drew a pop. Stackhouse missed a second-rope moonsault, and Holliday immediately chokeslammed Sam! Mason hit an elbow drop for a believable nearfall at 7:00.

Parrow pulled Stackhouse to the floor and slammed him into the ring post. In the ring, Fuego hit an enzuigiri on Holliday. Mason accidentally sprayed water in Holliday’s eyes! Mason ripped off Fuego’s mask and was loudly booed! Ref Scarlett Donovan got a towel to throw over Fuego’s head. Fuego and Mason brawled to the back. Sam hit a Black Hole Slam to pin Holliday. Solid match.

* A video package of the Matthew Justice-Mance Warner match from Friday aired. I thought the crowd was fairly flat during their brawl, but the video package made it look good.

4. Gringo Loco, Arez, and Jack Cartwheel defeated Jay Lyon, Ariel Van Go, and Joel Maximo at 13:08. Maximo’s team are late additions to the card due to all the cancellations. I noted above that Gringo was supposed to face Deppen while Cartwheel was slated to face McCoy. Arez and Lyon opened, and Jay hit a shoulder tackle that dropped Arez. Van Go and Loco entered at 2:00. Van Go and Jack hit simultaneous cartwheels and they mirrored each other’s offense. “This is their version of the feeling-out process,” Prazak said. Funny. Jack set up for a dive but Joel cut him off with a kick. Maximo hit a backbreaker over his knee on Jack, and his team took turns working over Jack.

Jack hit a stunner on Ariel. Arez got the hot tag and he hit a Pele Kick on Lyon at 6:00. Loco hit a standing moonsault on Lyon, and Jack hit a springboard twisting senton on Lyon. Arez hit a basement dropkick on Ariel. Jack hit a Frankensteiner. Loco hit a flip dive to the floor. Arez hit a springboard flip dive to the floor at 9:00. Lyon hit a corkscrew Asai Moonsault and basically launched himself over everyone on the floor. Jack again set up for a dive but he was again cut off, as Ariel hit a dive to the floor.

Jack FINALLY hit the Sasake Special dive to the floor! Loco hit a faceplant on Ariel, and Arez hit a Lionsault on Ariel for a nearfall. Joel Maximo and Lyon got in and they hit a team X-Factor faceplant on Jack for a nearfall at 11:00. (That’s the Mane Event’s finisher.) Joel then had Lyon help him do the Spanish Fly (SAT’s finisher!) but Arez and Gringo broke it up. Gringo hit a second-rope reverse superplex, dropping Lyon stomach-first to the mat. Gringo hit a Base Bomb on Ariel, and Arez immediately hit a top-rope doublestomp on Ariel for the pin.

* A video package aired of Matt Hardy vs. Nick Gage ending in a draw in a promotion that prides itself on not having disqualifications. Go figure.

* The next match was supposed to be Zilla Fatu vs. Matt Tremont, but as I noted, Zilla had to cancel.

5. 1 Called Manders defeated Matt Tremont at 8:54. Weapons were set up in the ring, and Veda noted that Tremont has gusset plates in his hands, so this is going to get bloody. I’ve said this before, but Tremont is looking more and more like Big Van Vader. Manders threw a chair at Tremont and he shoved the gusset plates in Matt’s forehead. Gross. Manders jabbed a fork into the forehead and he licked at Tremont’s blood. Even more gross. It was now Tremont’s time to gouge Manders with a fork, so both men were bleeding from the forehead. They simultaneously jabbed each other with forks, then they took turns whipping each other through doors in corners at 5:00.

They then took turns (quite literally) whacking each other over the head with the door shards. (This doesn’t bother me as much as the chairshots as these doors are so flimsy that they comically fall apart while being swung.) They traded overhand chops while on their knees, and Tremont slammed Manders through another door at 7:30. Manders hit a Bulldog Powerslam through a board bridge, but Tremont popped up at one, and that popped the crowd! However, Manders immediately hit a devastating clothesline for the pin. I really liked that, and I’m not a fan of hardcore matches. This also didn’t need to be any longer than that.

* Blake Christian has a ‘pick your poison’ mystery opponent. He came out first and got on the mic but was drowned out by profanities. He showed off his GCW title and said “We’re in a little bit of a pickle here” because we have two guys who both claim to be GCW champion. Blake vowed he would beat both Joey Janela and Mance Warner, and he’ll throw the fake title in the trash. Blake said he is putting his ‘real championship’ on the line in this match!

6. Blake Christian defeated Masha Slamovich to retain the “original” GCW World Title at 11:20. I noted in my review of Friday’s GCW show that Masha was presumably at the TNA tapings, but she’s available here on a Sunday. Blake beat Masha to win this title, and they were familiar foes in 2023. She immediately unloaded forearm strikes at the bell, then she dove through the ropes and barreled onto him. In the ring, he hit a snake-eyes and a German Suplex at 1:30. She snapped his throat across the top rope, but he dove through the ropes onto her.

The crowd started chanting “micro-penis!” at Blake and I have no idea where this is coming from. Blake choked her in the ropes, then he hit a basement dropkick on her knee at 4:00. Blake nailed his springboard clothesline, celebrated, and was booed. She hit a doublestomp out of the corner and her own hard clothesline. She hit a Helluva Kick at 6:00, then her rolling Koppo Kick for a nearfall. Blake hit a powerslam and a Lionsault for a nearfall. They traded slaps to the face while on their knees, then headbutts.

He hit a superkick; she hit a buzzsaw kick and a Shining Wizard for a nearfall at 9:00. She locked in a sleeper, but he shrugged her off to the mat. Blake hit a springboard twisting back suplex for a nearfall. These two have great chemistry. She hit a  roundhouse kick and went back to a sleeper, but he fell backward to flatten her, but she re-applied the sleeper on the mat, and the crowd taunted him to tap out. He again fell backward, this time dropping her onto the belt! He immediately hit a step-up Stomp to the head for the pin. Really good action.

7. Maki Itoh defeated Allie Katch to retain the GCW Extreme Title at 8:33. I think GCW actually books more intergender matches than straight-up women’s matches. They flexed at the bell and Allie clearly has a size advantage. Allie hit a shoulder tackle and Itoh did her ‘fake crying.’ Itoh hit her punches in the corner. Allie took control of the action and kept Itoh grounded. She hit her running buttbump to the face for a nearfall at 3:30. She tried slamming Itoh’s head into the top turnbuckle, but Itoh no-sells those blows as she is impervious to headbutts.

Itoh hit a DDT onto the ring apron. Itoh hit a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. Itoh hit a snap suplex and a running Facewash kick at 6:00 for a nearfall. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Katch hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall. They traded rollups. Itoh avoided a piledriver. She grabbed Allie’s arms, did a forward roll and got a pinfall. Good match; this wasn’t much of an ‘ultraviolent match,,’ which is just fine with me.

* Emil Jay told the crowd that Joey Janela is still hospitalized, so our next match will be a handicap match.

8. Megan Bayne and Joey Janela defeated Mance Warner and Broski Jimmy Lloyd at 14:36. Megan came out first and she is still wearing an eyepatch to sell where Mance jabbed a screwdriver into her eye. So, we did start out as a handicap match. Mance teased starting but he tagged out before locking up. She knocked Lloyd down with a shoulder tackle. Mance got a chair and struck her across the back at 2:30. The heels whipped her into a corner; so much for this being one-in-one-out. Joey Janela ran in at 4:00, wearing his wrestling trunks but also a hospital gown!! He ripped it off and hit a flying elbow in the corner on Lloyd. However, Mance jabbed a chair into Joey’s gut, and keep in mind, he’s had internal illness there.

The heels worked over Janela in their corner. Joey hit a Canadian Destroyer on Lloyd and they were both down at 7:00. Megan got the hot tag and she suplexed Mance, then Lloyd. She hit a high German Suplex on Lloyd at 9:00. Joey hit a top-rope dive to the floor onto both heels. In the ring, Mance speared Janela through a door leaning in the corner. She hit a German Suplex on Mance. Lloyd cracked a door shard over her head at 11:00, then a Broski Boot in the corner. The heels hit stereo chairshots to her head and went for a cover, but Joey hit a top-rope splash onto them to break it up.

Joey and Mance traded blows, and Janela hit a Superkick. Mance nailed a decapitating clothesline on Megan at 13:00. Mance swung a chair but it ricocheted off the ropes and onto his head. Joey immediately hit a Death Valley Driver on Mance. Megan nailed a spear on Lloyd. Joey then hit a Swanton Bomb onto a board, with Lloyd underneath it, and he pinned Lloyd. Good energy and the crowd was thrilled to see Janela back in action. Mance jumped back in the ring and he jabbed both Janela and Bayne in the forehead with a screwdriver. Blake Christian ran into the ring and choked out Bayne and hit a stomp on her head, too.

9. “Legion of Rot” Hallowicked and Frightmare defeated “Los Macizos” Ciclope and Miedo Extremo at 10:46. Los Macizos have been on a losing streak, so the former tag champs really need a win here. Hallowicked and Miedo opened with good reversals. Ciclope and Frightmare entered at 1:00 and shook hands before trading quick moves, too. The LoR began working over Ciclope in their corner. Frightmare hit a hard boot to the chest at 5:00. Ciclope finally hit a double suplex. Hallowicked got in and brawled with Miedo.

Los Macizos hit a team flapjack faceplant on Hallowicked. Miedo slammed Ciclope onto HW for a nearfall. A door bridge was set up in the ring. Ciclope hit a short-arm clothesline on Frightmare for a nearfall at 9:30. Miedo accidentally superkicked Ciclope! Hallowicked hit a Sky High powerslam, slamming Miedo through the door bridge. Frightmare hit a doublestomp onto Ciclope’s chest and scored the pin! Los Macizos lose again! They lost pretty decisively against Shane Mercer and Blake Christian on Friday, but this loss was a shock.

* Miedo Extremo shoved Ciclope to the mat and stormed out of the ring! Ciclope looked shocked at this development.

10. “The Maharaja” Raj Dhesi (f/k/a Jinder Mahal) vs. Mike Bailey went to a draw/no finish at about 16:00. Raj came out last and he was smiling as he flipped off the crowd. Bailey offered a handshake that was rejected. Raj hit a knee strike to the back and a body slam and kept Bailey grounded early on. Bailey hit some spin kicks to the thighs, then a second-rope huracanrana and a dive through the ropes onto Raj. Dhesi hit a jumping knee to the chin at 3:00, and he slammed Bailey stomach-first across the top rope. Dhesi hit a Samoan Drop for a nearfall and some forearm strikes. Bailey hit a Crane Kick and a missile dropkick at 5:00. Bailey hit a variety of kicks and his running Shooting Star Press but only got a one-count.

Bailey went for the Tornado Kick in the corner but Dhesi caught the leg. He easily tossed Bailey over the top rope to the floor at 8:00. Bailey nailed his Triangle Moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Raj hit a second-rope fallaway slam for a nearfall at 9:30. Bailey nailed his moonsault knee drop and a superkick for a nearfall. They traded blows on the ropes in the corner. Bailey hit a powerbomb, then a top-rope Shooting Star Press at 12:00, but Dhesi grabbed the ropes. Bailey nailed the Tornado Kick, but he missed the Ultima Weapon. Raj immediately hit a sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall. Raj got a chair; the ref tried to confiscate it, so Raj kicked the ref! Raj hit some chair shots on Bailey.

Another ref got in but Raj kicked him, too! Veda said he’s clearly not interested in a victory at this point, as Raj set up a door bridge. Effy ran into the ring and attacked Raj, and he speared Dhesi, with Raj falling backwards through the door bridge. Raj ran to the back, so it looks like we yet again have a GCW main event ending without a ‘true’ finish.

* Effy got on the mic and talked about in three weeks, it is Effy, Allie Katch and Dark Sheik vs. Raj Dhesi and the Bollywood Boys.

Final Thoughts: I can’t say I’m thrilled with another GCW main event that ends without a finish; it happened Friday, too. I’ll even say Bailey-Dhesi was best match, even without a satisfying finish to the bout. This was a good overall GCW show, even without a true standout match. Lots of above-average stuff and a good sense of the variety of what you get in GCW. I really liked that crisp Masha-Blake match and that takes second. It feels like it’s been too long since Blake was booked in a good singles match here where he could show off why he’s so good. The Gringo Loco six-man tag was a bit of a mess; it was fun and had great action and I give it third place, but they seemed to be calling a lot in the ring and had some messy awkward moments, too. I enjoyed it, but you could tell that this was thrown together late in the afternoon. (As I noted, two of these guys were slated for other matches.)

I’ll again point out how good Deppen-McCoy match was. Seriously, it’s not uncommon for fans to sit on their hands and not get behind either heel. Or what happens more is one because babyface just for the match. No, these two went out and beat the crap out of each other while avoiding any spots where either had to muster sympathy from the crowd that certainly wasn’t going to give it. Also, I expected not to like Manders-Tremont, but they had a stiff brawl. This is a great venue and I wish I saw it used more. Seems like a great room for a crowd of 300 to be loud and raucous. Despite my criticism of the finish to the main event, this show gets a thumbs up.