By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “Take Kare 2024”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
December 28, 2024 in Seattle, Washington at Washington Hall
The venue lights were on — I’m used to them being off here — and the crowd was maybe 350. Emil Jay and promoter Brett Lauderdale provided commentary.
* Eight matches were announced in advance, but Matt Cardona posted on Twitter/X early Saturday that he has an ankle injury from his match last weekend against Chris Jericho, and will be skipping the show to rest it.
* The show opened with some footage of recent shows, including Chris Jericho’s attack on Matt Cardona and Effy.
1. Effy vs. Marcus Mathers. Standing switches to open. WWE ID prospect Mathers wore his Phillies-inspired pants. Effy tied him in a Tarantula at 3:30. Mathers hit a top-rope crossbody block and he tied up Effy on the mat. He hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 6:30. Effy hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall and a Whoopee Cushion buttdrop for a nearfall, then a vicious Stomp for a nearfall. Mathers hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall, then a flip dive to the floor. Effy hit a Helluva Kick and a spear for a nearfall at 9:30. Effy hit a TKO and his flying legdrop for the pin. A really good back-and-forth opener. With Effy in the main event of the huge Jan. 19 show, this was expected.
Effy defeated Marcus Mathers at 10:23.
* Effy got on the mic and vowed he was going to win the title. Allie Katch came out and belittled him, and she proclaimed she would be a good leader for GCW. “I would never get people pulled off shows,” Katch said, again referring to the Ricky Starks situation. He challenged her to a fight right now. “Sorry, but I’m not wasting this on Seattle” Katch responded, drawing boos. Effy walked away and joined commentary.
2. Allie Katch vs. Viva Van. A nice pop for Van, who has been a regular on GCW’s West Coast shows. Viva hit a rolling Koppo Kick for a nearfall at 1:00. Allie whipped her into a corner and took control. Katch hit a running buttbump in the corner for a nearfall at 4:30. Viva fired up and hit some clotheslines. Viva hit a top-rope crossbody block. Katch hit a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall at 8:30. Katch hit a piledriver but pulled Viva up at the two-count. Effy noted she’s done this a few times recently. She got a steel chair and set it in the ring. She kicked the ref and hit a piledriver on him on the folded chair! The crowd loudly booed that. Effy ran back to the ring and brawled with Katch! (Effy is so deceptively tall and thick, and it really stood out here.)
Allie Katch vs. Viva Van went to a no contest at 11:00.
3. “The Bollywood Boyz” Harv Sihra and Gurv Sihra vs. Joey Janela and Megan Bayne. Janela opened, but quickly tagged in Megan. No commentary as this one began, but Emil got into the booth again. Bayne is taller than Gurv and they traded shoulder tackles, and she caught him on a crossbody block attempt and slammed him. Harv got on the mic and called for a “timeout” and was booed. He said fans are here to see them dance! Joey danced with Gurv, but then Gurv tripped him at 3:30 and stomped on his left knee. He tied Joey in a Figure Four. Joey hit a double DDT at 8:30 and all three were down.
Megan finally got the hot tag and hit a running kick, a clothesline, and suplexes. She had both Sihras up and hit a fallaway slam-and-Samoan Drop combo for a huge pop. She hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall on Gurv. Joey hit a frogsplash for a nearfall. The Sihras each applied a Sharpshooter at 11:30 and were lightly booed. Everyone hit kicks. Megan hit a flying forearm, and suddenly all four were down. Megan dove through the ropes onto both Sihras at 14:00. In the ring, Joey hit a Death Valley Driver. Megan nailed a Doomsday Device clothesline, and Joey made the cover for the pin. Good action. Joey sold a leg injury, which Emil pointed out.
Joey Janela and Megan Bayne defeated Harv Sihra and Gurv Sihra at 14:49.
* Footage aired of Atticus Cogar’s return. If you don’t follow death matches, it is perfectly okay to not know who he is.
* Back to the arena, Emil Jay introduced Pacific Northwest regular Cody Chhun. I don’t believe he was listed with a match tonight. Is he taking on Super Crazy as Matt Cardona’s replacement? He made an open challenge! Out came… his long-time C4 teammate Guillermo Rosas!
4. Cody Chhun vs. Guillermo Rosas. I am expecting someone to jump them and turn this into a tag match. Emil said it is “C4 exploding.” They tied up and got a “both these guys!” chant. Rich Bocchini joined Emil in the booth. Cody backed him into a corner and hit some chops at 3:30. Rosas hit a senton and his own chops, then a snap suplex for his own nearfall. Cody hit a dropkick and did a Spinaroonie, then some jab punches to the jaw at 8:00. Cody got a backslide for a nearfall. Guillermo rolled him up for the clean pin! Okay match; I think the crowd (like myself!) expected that run-in that never came. They hugged afterwards. Rich noted they have a tag match on Sunday.
Guillermo Rosas defeated Cody Chhun at 10:37.
* A short break as the ring ropes were taken down for a Blood Sport match.
5. Josh Barnett vs. 1 Called Manders in a Blood Sport (no ropes) match. Again, there are no pinfalls in Blood Sport; you must win by submission or knockout or referee’s decision. They immediately went to the mat and tied up. Manders missed a clothesline and went shoulder-first into the ring post at 7:30, and he fell to the floor. In the ring, Josh hit a belly-to-belly suplex, locked in a chokehold, and Manders passed out. An okay match.
Josh Barnett defeated 1 Called Manders at 8:54.
6. Rich Swann vs. Gringo Loco. Swann came out in a full-body Grinch outfit and did the “All Night Long” Lionel Richie intro. Swann tricked Loco into dancing early on. They hit some fast-paced reversals that popped the crowd with a standoff at 2:00. Loco hit a Split-Legged moonsault; that top rope is a bit loose and Loco got no bounce and came down HARD on Swann at 5:00. Loco hit a swinging Flatliner for a nearfall. Swann leapt off the apron and hit a huracanrana to the floor at 7:30. In the ring, Swann hit a top-rope frogsplash for a nearfall.
Loco hit his second-rope Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 10:00. Swann hit a Frankensteiner. Loco hit a pop-up stunner. Swann went for a Poison Rana that they didn’t quite land; Loco popped up and hit a clothesline and they were both down at 12:00. Swann hit a Lethal Injection for a nearfall. They fought on the ropes, and Loco hit the Base Bomb (swinging powerbomb) for the clean pin. Good match; too bad that Poison Rana was a bit off but they recovered nicely. Swann has had a nice streak of indy matches in recent weeks.
Gringo Loco defeated Rich Swann at 14:20.
* A video aired of Atticus Cogar in prison. Yes, they are running two inmate storylines at the same time (Charles Mason is the other).
7. Dark Sheik vs. Tara Zep. Zep dresses like ‘Crow’ Sting, with black clothing and white face paint. Transgender athlete Sheik has the height and weight advantage. Sheik immediately tied her up on the mat. Zep dove through the ropes onto Sheik at 2:30. In the ring, Sheik tied her in a pendulum. Sheik hit a Lungblower to the back at 8:00, then Sheik sat down on a chair while choking Zep. Sheik hit a punch to the groin then a release powerbomb onto a board bridge, then a top-rope guillotine legdrop. Almost a squash.
Dark Sheik defeated Tara Zep at 10:22.
8. Super Crazy vs. “Broski” Jimmy Lloyd. So it’s Lloyd who is taking Cardona’s spot in the match. Lloyd talked about how Cardona was injured while working for a “real” promotion like ROH, trying to get heat. (The crowd didn’t bite; he should have gone after the Seattle Seahawks losing record in home games instead.) Crazy knocked him down with a shoulder tackle and hit a dropkick that sent Jimmy to the floor. Jimmy set up a board bridge on the floor and he shoved Crazy into the ring post at 3:00. They fought in the ring, but Super Crazy hip-tossed Jimmy over the top rope and through the board bridge at 5:30, earning a “holy shit!” chant.
In the ring, Crazy hit a drop-toe-hold to send Lloyd onto an open chair. Crazy hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall at 7:30. Jimmy hit a low blow and a Radio Silence flying leg lariat for a believable nearfall. Crazy hit a tornado DDT onto a board bridge. Lloyd walked toward Crazy as Crazy was on the mat, but Crazy reached up, rolled him up, and got the flash pin. Decent; what you’d expect from Super Crazy in 2024.
Super Crazy defeated Jimmy Lloyd at 9:24.
9. Mance Warner vs. Masha Slamovich for the GCW World Title. I always say Masha is highly believable against men, but she is giving up a lot of size here. She hit some blows at the bell. Warner immediately rolled to the floor and got boards and garbage cans and pushed them into the ring. She hit a twisting dive through the ropes and barreled into him on the floor at 3:00, and she threw chairs at his back. In the ring, Masha hit a snap suplex, then a flying dropkick into the corner onto a trash can lid over his face. He got a chair and rammed a chair leg into her forehead at 8:30 and he regained control; she rolled to the floor and was bleeding.
Mance rolled her back into the ring and hit some chops. Her face was now covered in blood, and she hit a running knee to the sternum and her rolling Koppo Kick for a nearfall at 10:30. She threw a chair at his head and I really hate that. She put his head in a chair and cranked back on it, choking him with it. She hit some Kawada Kicks. She leapt off the ropes but he caught her and hit a spinebuster through a board bridge for a nearfall at 13:00. Mance slammed board shards over her head. Mance either was bleeding himself or covered in her blood. He chokeslammed her through a board set up in the corner at 15:00.
Masha hit a superplex onto a garbage can for a nearfall at 17:00. They left the ring and up onto the stage. (Lights are on so this is easy to see.) She hit a somersault dive off the apron onto him on the floor. In the ring, she hit a running knee to the jaw for a nearfall at 21:00. She applied a rear-naked choke and he was passing out! Mance pulled out a spike and repeatedly jabbed her in the forehead with it. He then hit his double-arm DDT for the pin.
Mance Warner defeated Masha Slamovich to retain the GCW World Title at 22:59.
Final Thoughts: There will be a lot of love in certain circles for that main event. I dislike intergender matches, and I really dislike intergender hardcore matches; I have no problem saying I’m uncomfortable watching a clearly bigger, stronger man beat up a smaller woman, toss her around, and make her bleed from her skull. But the GCW crowd is gonna love it. If GCW hadn’t spent so much time and investment in the Mance-Effy-Allie three-way in January, I could have bought her possibly winning the belt back here. But with that match coming up, her chance of winning here… was about the same chances Orange Cassidy, Jay White and Hangman Page had of beating Jon Moxley three hours earlier. And we saw how that lack of suspense over who was winning that match hurt the crowd reaction.
So, I instead will go with Loco-Swann for best match, a really entertaining Effy-Mathers match for second, and Janela/Bayne vs. Bollywood Boyz for third. I like that they left the lights on. This show felt a bit light on stars — it needed an Alec Price or a Blake Christian or a Sidney Akeem to dazzle with some high-flying, or West Coast stars like Jack Cartwheel, Titus Alexander or Starboy Charlie. I’ve seen many Defy shows from this room that were just too dark, especially if wrestlers left the ring area.
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