By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “You Wouldn’t Understand”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
December 1, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois at Thalia Hall
This was the evening show of a doubleheader with Defy/Progress Wrestling, which did the matinee. A good-sized crowd of maybe 500, including what appears to be full seating in the upper tier. Dave Prazak, Emil Jay and Brett Lauderdale provided commentary over the course of the show.
* The show opened with highlights from the “Dream On’ show in the mall in New Jersey, with Allie Katch attacking both Effy and Mance Warner.
1. Davey Bang and August Matthews vs. “Real F’n Pros” Kerry Morton and Griffin McCoy. The crowd immediately chanted “F— these guys!” at Morton and McCoy. August and McCoy opened; Bang and Kerry entered at 1:00, and Bang hit a huracanrana. The heels worked over August in their corner. Bang got a hot tag at 5:30 and hit a top-rope double crossbody block. Bang and Matthews each applied an Octopus Stretch. The heels slammed August onto Bang and got a nearfall at 8:00. Bang hit a moonsault to the floor, while Matthews hit a flip dive to the floor on the other side. Bang hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press for a nearfall on McCoy, but Kerry pulled Griffin to the floor. Bang and Matthews climbed the ropes, but Griffin shook the ropes so they fell. Griffin got a rollup, leaned forward to grab the ropes AND Kerry’s hand for leverage, and scored the tainted pin. Good opener.
Kerry Morton and Griffin McCoy defeated Davey Bang and August Matthews at 10:19.
* Highlights aired of the Friday GCW show in New York, with Mance Warner beating Homicide.
2. Brooke Havok vs. Man Like DeReiss in an intergender match. DeReiss just wrestled about two hours ago in a loss to Luke Jacobs. She hit a missile dropkick for a nearfall. DeReiss hit a bodyslam for a nearfall at 2:30. Prazak and Emil talked about how no wrestler on the roster is “really fresh” with the number of matches and travel they do. She hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall. He hit a stunner for a nearfall at 5:30. She hit the Cross Rhodes swinging faceplant for a nearfall. DeReiss hit a second-rope superplex and they were both down. She hit some forearm strikes and a jumping knee for a nearfall at 8:00. DeReiss nailed his swinging Flatliner for a believable nearfall, then a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall. He dropped her with a forearm, then a jumping piledriver for the pin.
Man Like DeReiss defeated Brooke Havok at 9:19.
* More footage from the “Dream On” show, with Sidney Akeem (WWE’s Reggie) winning his match, and finding out he will face El Hijo Del Vikingo on Jan. 19.
3. Sidney Akeem vs. Zachary Wentz. Prazak said it has been more than four years since Wentz has been in a GCW ring. Standing switches to open and good mat reversals. Sidney hit a flipping axe kick at 3:00. Wentz hit a corkscrew splash off the ropes. Akeem hit a twisting crossbody block at 7:30 and a step-up mule kick, then a top-rope moonsault press on a standing Wentz for a nearfall. Wentz hit a Death Valley Driver and a running Shooting Star Press. Akeem hit a plancha to the floor. He set up for a dive but Wentz cut him off. They traded superkicks in the ring, and Sidney hit a jumping knee. Wentz hit a handspring-back-knee strike, and they were both down at 10:30. They got up and traded more forearm strikes. Wentz hit a series of front-and-back kicks, then a doublestomp to the back. Sidney hit the Final Act (double backflip into a stunner) and scored the pin! Every bit as good as you’d expect from these two.
Sidney Akeem defeated Zachary Wentz at 12:35.
4. Shane Mercer vs. Megan Bayne in an intergender match. Mercer attacked her from behind, as Prazak noted that Bayne won a prior match in July. She hit a shoulder tackle and a splash to the mat. She went for a dive through the ropes but he caught her and suplexed her onto the metal entrance ramp at 1:30, earning a “holy shit!” chant. In the ring, he grounded Megan and hit an Exploder Suplex. They hit stereo clotheslines, and she hit a leaping clothesline that dropped him at 5:00, and she hit an Exploder Suplex, then a German Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall. Mercer immediately hit a fallaway slam for a nearfall. She got underneath him in a corner and hit a sit-out powerbomb and a brainbuster for a nearfall. She set up for a tombstone piledriver but he got free and Shane hit a Jackhammer slam for a nearfall at 8:00. He went for a discus clothesline, but Megan caught him and hit a chokeslam, then the Tombstone Piledriver for the pin. Entertaining match; Megan remains the top indy female worker out there.
Megan Bayne defeated Shane Mercer at 9:02.
5. “Violence is Forever” Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku vs. “Soul Touchaz” Marshe Rockett and Acid Jaz for the GCW Tag Team Titles. Rockett is a big, thick man and he has competed in NWA in recent years, and I’ve seen him wrestle for years on local shows. (He had a good match against Carlito in western WI before Carlito returned to WWE). Garrini and Jaz opened, and Jaz couldn’t lift Dominic. Ku entered and hit some chops on the massive Rockett at 2:30; Rockett hit a chop back that dropped Ku. Rockett dropped Jaz onto Garrini. Garrini hit a senton on Jaz, and ViF began working over Jaz. Rockett got a hot tag at 7:00 and he hit a superkick and some Stinger Splashes, then a powerslam on Garrini for a nearfall. Emil said Rockett is 6’4″ and I believe that is a legit height. ViF hit the Chasing the Dragon spin kick-and-brainbuster combo on Marshe and pinned him. Solid, average tag match; there was no suspense over who was winning here.
Dominic Garrini and Kevin Ku defeated Marshe Rockett and Acid Jaz to retain the GCW Tag Team Titles at 8:29.
* Garrini got on the mic and put over the Soul Touchaz. They asked to shake hands. They shook hands, but of course, ViF kicked them in their guts and stomped on them, until Alec Price and Cole Radrick hit the ring to make the save. Price got on the mic and doesn’t want to wait until New York on Jan. 19, they want a tag title shot right now! Ku rejected them.
6. “Gahbage Daddies” Alec Price and Cole Radrick vs. “Hot Commodity” Hayden Backlund and Trevor Outlaw. Backlund and Outlaw also are Chicago-area regulars. Outlaw is clean-shaven again but he has a mustache. Backlund hit a spinning neckbreaker on Cole out of the ropes. HC worked over Cole, and ref Scarlett Donovan missed Price’s hot tag and ordered him back to the corner. Radrick hit a stunner and a dive through the ropes to the floor at 6:30. Price dove to the floor onto Outlaw. Violence is Forever returned to the ring. Radrick got a rollup for the pin, but ViF immediately hopped in the ring and stomped on him.
Alec Price and Cole Radrick defeated Hayden Backlund and Trevor Outlaw at 7:31.
7. Matthew Justice vs. Lou Nixon. The only question here is if Justice will do a dive from the balcony. They immediately traded forearm strikes, and they fought to the floor. Justice through several doors into the ring. Nixon hit a spinning heel kick that sent a chair into Justice at 3:30. Nixon hit some German Suplexes. A third one sent Justice through a door in the corner at 5:30. Nixon had a cut on his forehead, and he applied a sleeper. Justice threw a trash can and lid into the ring; he put the can over Nixon and hit him twice with a chair on the trash can. Nixon hit a stunner for a nearfall at 8:00. Justice hit a Death Valley Driver onto the trash can for the pin. No dives after all! Hard-hitting and fans of this style will like this one.
Matthew Justice defeated Lou Nixon at 8:48.
Justice got on the mic and put Nixon over. Lou left, and Justice switched to talking about the Jan. 19 show at the Hammerstein Ballroom, and he said it’s his destiny to win the vacant Ultraviolent Title in a ladder match.
8. Gringo Loco vs. Micro Man. Gringo Loco and Arez won the Defy Tag Team Titles here just a few hours earlier. Loco was on his knees to tie up at the bell. MM hit a head-scissors takedown, then he went for a dive to the floor, but Gringo caught him and slammed him on the ring apron, earning a “you sick f—!” chant. A one-footed cover drew boos. Micro Man hit some punches, but Loco dropped him with a clothesline. Micro Man moved to avoid a split-legged moonsault, and MM hit an armdrag at 3:00, earning a “lucha!” chant. MM hit a huracanrana to the floor, and he slammed Loco’s head on the metal ramp. Micro Man went to the balcony! “He’s thinking better of this. That is crazy high,” Prazak said.
Micro Man instead went to the stage. He dove off the (likely four-foot high) stage onto Loco on the floor at 8:00. In the ring, Loco hit a bulldog onto a step ladder for a nearfall. He climbed the step ladder and hit a moonsault onto Loco for a nearfall, and that got a pop. He went for a Vader Bomb out of the corner, but Loco got his legs up to block it. Loco climbed the two-foot step ladder but missed a somersault. MM hit a 619, then a huracanrana. Loco kicked him to the mat and got loudly booed at 12:00. MM threw a chair at Loco’s back and he again climbed the step-stool ladder. Loco stood up and grabbed him by the throat! Loco then speared Micro Man through a board in the corner and was loudly booed! This was about as entertaining as you’ll get for a Micro Man match.
Gringo Loco defeated Micro Man at 13:39.
9. Effy vs. John Wayne Murdoch. Murdoch attacked at the bell. They went to the floor, where Murdoch hit some chairshots to the back, then another one in the ring for a nearfall at 2:30. Effy hit a Stomp for a nearfall. Effy hit the Under The Rainbow, using his leg to drag Murdoch to the mat. Murdoch hit a low blow mule kick at 6:00 and some jab punches, but Effy hit a spear. Effy hit a TKO stunner across two open chairs for the pin. That wrapped up quickly.
Effy defeated John Wayne Murdoch at 6:16.
* Effy got on the mic and said he was quite close to being GCW champion last week, but Allie Katch cost him the match. This brought out Mance Warner, and he carried his title belt; his match is next! Mance told Effy that he is now “at the back of the line.” Mance ordered the refs to kick Effy out of the ring.
10. Mance Warner vs. Kylie Rae for the GCW World Title. Chicago native Kylie just received her well-earned WWE ID contract. Rae wore her red and black gear and red bow in her hair. She got on the mic and declared she was going to win the title “for all of Chicago!” and that got cheers; Mance responded by hitting her before the bell. She hit a series of punches. He knocked her down with a shoulder block at 1:00. He backed her into a corner, hit some loud chops, and was booed. He kept her grounded and was in charge. He got several chairs and doors from under the ring. He jabbed the chair into her ribs at 5:30 and he set up a door bridge. She hit an enzuigiri at 7:30; she climbed the ropes but Jimmy Lloyd cut her off.
However, Kylie dropped down and powerbombed Lloyd through the door bridge. Mance hit another clothesline for a nearfall. He got a mic and said “f— you, Chicago! Kylie, you gonna let’m all down.” Then he asked her “where her baby boy is at?” He walked over to the baby, who is seated in the front row. Her son is maybe 18 months old. He told the child that he was putting her mom in the dirt! Back in the ring, he pulled out a screwdriver! However, Isaias Velasquez jumped in the ring and the crowd chanted “Baby daddy!” at him. Isaias hit a Death Valley Driver into the corner on Mance, and he pulled Kylie on top of Mance, getting a nearfall at 14:00. She hit a superkick on Mance for a nearfall. Kylie grabbed the screwdriver! “Is she vicious enough?” Emil Jay asked. She struck him with it and got a nearfall.
Prazak said that Kylie knows Mance would have used it on her. Mance sat up and he was bleeding heavily from the forehead. He hit a hard kneestrike to her forehead for a believable nearfall at 16:00. She locked in a crossface; his blood was dripping on her wrists, which Emil pointed out as I wrote it. He reached the ropes, but she got him back into the center of the ring with the crossface still locked in. However, he rolled her over and got a flash pin out of nowhere. She sat up in disbelief, stunned it was suddenly over. Highly watchable match.
Mance Warner defeated Kylie Rae to retain the GCW World Title at 18:08.
* Effy returned to the ring and speared Lloyd, then he brawled with Mance. Mance got on the mic and pitched an idea: Effy vs. Allie Katch, one-on-one, on Jan. 19, and the winner will face him later in the show!
Final Thoughts: A decent show. There wasn’t a single ‘must-see’ match here, but I feel the sum of its parts held up. Wentz-Akeem was easily the best match here. I’ll go with Bayne-Mercer for second, as I find them both so compelling. The main event takes third, and the highly entertaining Loco-Micro Man takes honorable mention, and I’m usually not one to get into MM’s style of humor.
I see no point in the DeReiss-Havok match; she’s a top 10 female indy talent in my book and how did this benefit either of them? There are so many top female talents in the Chicago area she could have battled instead. If I had this roster and was asked to book the show, I would have put DeReiss against Loco and let them tear it up. And likewise, they’ve probably fought a few times, but I would have booked Brooke Havok vs. Kylie Rae and let them show off.
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