By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
We are looking for reports on all WWE, AEW, NXT, TNA, MLW, GCW, and other notable live events. If you attend a show, you are encouraged to send a report or even basic results to dotnetjason@gmail.com
Jersey Championship Wrestling “Born (Almost) On The Fourth Of July”
Replay available via YouTube.com
July 6, 2025, in Asbury Park, New Jersey at House of Independents
Nick Knowledge and Veda Scott provided commentary. This is a small brick room; I’ve seen multiple shows from here. I don’t doubt it’s a sellout with about 200 in attendance. Lighting is okay. One big drawback: because I didn’t watch this live, a commercial would interrupt about every four minutes. GCW held a show in Connecticut 20ish hours earlier, and a lot of those wrestlers appeared on this show.
* The show opened with a video package of Mara Sade (f/k/a Jakara Jackson) talking about herself and her match tonight against Masha Slamovich.
1. Lee Moriarty vs. Darian Bengston. Lee carried his ROH Pure Title in his hand. I’m a big fan of Georgia-based Darian; Nick Knowledge noted that Bengton beat Marcus Mathers at the last JCW show. Standing switches at the bell and a feeling-out process. Bengston went to an STF, but Lee reached the ropes at 3:30. Bengston was being a bit cocky in how he was doing and got booed, and Lee did some of the same offense back on Darian. Lee tied up both arms behind his back, and Lee leaned back on them. He dropped Bengston with a chop at 6:00 and did a Sabre-style neck snap between his ankles.
Bengston hit an enzuigiri and a top-rope corkscrew splash on a standing Moriarty. Lee went to the Border City Stretch, but Bengston got a foot on the ropes at 7:30. Lee hit a modified Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. He hit a European Uppercut to the back. Darian got a jackknife cover for a nearfall. Lee got a version of an O’Connor Roll in the corner for a flash pin. Enjoyable, friendly match. We got a “both these guys!” chant.
Lee Moriarty defeated Darian Bengston at 9:22.
2. “YD&B” Jordan Oliver and Alec Price vs. Adam Priest and Jonathan Gresham for the GCW Tag Team Titles. Gresham and Oliver opened, and Oliver is a full head taller. They immediately went to the mat, and Gresham targeted the left arm. Priest and Price locked up at 3:00, and Adam kept the taller Alec grounded. Jordan got a hot tag at 6:00 and hit a double clothesline. The champs hit some quick team offense on Gresham. Gresham pulled Alec’s hair, and Priest immediately hit a chop block, and the challengers stomped on Alec and kept him in their corner. Gresham hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip at 8:00 and targeted the knee. Oliver got a hot tag at 10:00, and he hip-tossed Priest.
Oliver hit his twisting body block on Gresham for a nearfall. However, the challengers now targeted Oliver’s knee, and Priest hit a DDT for a nearfall at 12:00. Gresham repeatedly rammed Jordan’s knee into the mat and got booed. The challengers applied stereo Figure Fours at 13:30. Gresham and Oliver fell to the floor, still tied up! It appears the same for Price and Priest. Veda noted that Oliver had just returned from missing nine months due to his ACL injury. In the ring, Priest hit his pop-up dropkick and a springboard Blockbuster. Gresham went for a Lionsault, but Price kicked him in the face on the flip and he got a nearfall at 16:00. Oliver hit a splash onto Jonathan’s arms, and Price got a rollup to pin Gresham. Fun match.
Jordan Oliver and Alec Price defeated Adam Priest and Jonathan Gresham to retain the GCW Tag Team Titles at 16:51.
3. 1 Called Manders vs. Man Like DeReiss for the wXw World Title. Nick noted how frequently Manders has defended this belt. An intense lockup to open, and they began trading chops at 1:30. Nick said it was a bad idea for DeReiss to get into that exchange. They traded shoulder blocks with neither man going down. DeReiss tied up Manders in an abdominal stretch. Manders kicked him in the spine at 5:00, and he targeted the left knee. Manders hit some chops, and there was a “USA!” chant. Other fans booed that down.
DeReiss hit a tornado DDT at 8:00, and they were both down. DeReiss showed some power in an impressive fallaway slam, but he sold pain in his knee. He hit a stunner for a nearfall. Manders nailed the Oklahoma Stampede (bulldog powerslam) for a nearfall at 10:30. DeReiss hit a Gutbuster over his knees, and they were both down at 12:30. They got up, and Manders hit a headbutt that dropped MLD. Manders hit a chop; DeReiss fired up with a series of chops. DeReiss applied a Sharpshooter, but Manders reached the ropes at 14:30.
DeReiss nailed a top-rope 450 Splash for a believable nearfall. He went for a springboard move, but his knee buckled and he collapsed to the mat. Manders hit a clothesline for a nearfall, then a stiffer clothesline for a believable nearfall; I thought that was it. Not sure if Manders was bleeding from the mouth but that is what it appears. Manders hit a third stiff, clubbing clothesline for the pin. Fun, hard-hitting match. But as I noted the other day, with the title on the line, there was simply no way Manders was losing his Germany-based belt in this one.
1 Called Manders defeated Man Like DeReiss to retain the wXw World Title at 18:55.
* Manders got on the mic and put over DeReiss.
4. Beastman vs. Bam Sullivan in a hardcore match. Bam had ‘Hulk Smash!” oversized, green fists that were wrapped in barbed wire. Beastman was in a pretty violent match 20ish hours ago; frankly, I don’t know how he’s back at it here. He has a bone wrapped in barbed wire! They clanged their weapons together as a sign of respect at the bell. Beastman hit a splash in the corner. Bam set up for a dive at 2:00, but Beastman threw a chair at him. Beastman pushed barbed wire into Bam’s forehead, and Bam was bleeding.
They went into the crowd, and they turned some lights on to help us see. (Why don’t they leave those lights on? Seriously!) In the ring, Beastman hit a sit-out piledriver for a nearfall at 4:30. Beastman came off the ropes, but Bam hit a barbed-wire weapon to the groin, and he kept hitting Bam below the belt! Beastman hit a top-rope frogsplash for the pin. Decent brawl.
Beastman defeated Bam Sullivan at 7:00 even.
* The mysterious voice and a picture of the V for Vendetta mask appeared on the screen and taunted Mara, saying she squandered her prior opportunities. Who is “Foxcatcher?” This person has taunted wrestlers on several GCW shows.
5. Masha Slamovich vs. Mara Sade (f/k/a Jakara Jackson) for the JCW World Title. Masha has held this belt almost 18 months now and has more victories over men than women in her title reign. Masha carried her JCW and her TNA Knockouts title belts. They locked up and appeared to be roughly the same height and overall size, and the crowd was behind Masha. I gotta believe this is the first time these two have locked up, but with the TNA-NXT connection, they’ve probably met before today, right? Mara hit a springboard armdrag and a dropkick. Masha dropped her with a hard clothesline at 2:00. They brawled to ringside, and Masha laid in some loud chops.
They went up onto a stage, where Mara hit a snap suplex at 4:00! She stomped on Masha. They sat on chairs across from each other and traded chops. Nick said it wasn’t a good idea for Sade. They got up and kept trading forearm strikes. Mara hit a hard clothesline, and Masha rolled off the stage to the floor. They got in the ring, and Mara kept Masha tied up and grounded on the mat. Masha hit her rolling Koppo Kick for a nearfall at 9:30. They traded rollups. Masha applied a rear-naked choke on the mat, and Mara tapped out. Good match. Sade needs to be wrestling 1-2 times a week now, but she showed a lot of heart here.
Masha Slamovich defeated Mara Sade to retain the JCW World Title at 11:50.
6. Mance Warner vs. Timothy Thatcher. Unsurprisingly, Thatcher immediately targeted the left arm. Mance dropped him with a chop. Thatcher bit Mance’s forehead. He applied a Cobra Clutch sleeper on the mat. They rolled to the floor at 4:00, where Thatcher hit some European Uppercuts and Mance countered with chops. They sat on chairs and traded headbutts. They continued to fight on the floor. Back in the ring, Mance hit a Bionic Elbow at 9:00 and some clotheslines. They punched each other until they collapsed. Back on their feet, Mance hit another headbutt and Thatcher was dizzy. Mance hit a running knee and a leaping DDT for the pin. Solid match; the live crowd liked it more than I did.
Mance Warner defeated Timothy Thatcher at 11:30.
7. Lena Kross and Megan Bayne vs. Miyu Yamashita and Billie Starkz. Starkz, Miyu, and Bayne were in an epic six-person tag a day earlier against Oliver, Mathers, and Price, which is a must-watch match. Megan is about 6’0″, but I think Australian native Lena is 6’2″! Billie and Bayne opened, and Megan easily tossed her to the mat. Bilie got up and slapped her. Miyu tagged in and kicked Bayne in the chest. Billie dove through the ropes onto both opponents at 2:00. Bayne hit a back suplex on Starkz back into the ring.
Lena got in and hit a snap suplex on Starkz for a nearfall at 4:00, and the taller duo worked over Starkz in their corner. Miyu tagged in and hit a hard clothesline on Lena, then some roundhouse kicks to the chest in the corner. Lena accidentally kicked Bayne! Miyu hit some roundhouse kicks on Lena, and Billie hit a Gory Bomb. Bayne hit a running splash into the corner on both opponents, then she scooped them up and hit a double fallaway slam at 8:00!
Miyu hit a roundhouse kick on Bayne; Megan hit a flying clothesline on Yamashimta, and all four were down, and we got a “This is awesome!” chant. They all got up and traded chops and forearm strikes. Megan and Lena hit stereo powerbombs for nearfalls at 10:30. They hit stereo Falcon Arrows for nearfalls and they were frustrated. Billie hit a dive to the floor. In the ring, Billie hit a Swanton Bomb and pinned Lena! Good action.
Miyu Yamashita and Billie Starkz defeated Megan Bayne and Lena Kross at 12:38.
* We heard from several guy, like Marcus Mathers, Charles Mason, LaBron Kozone, Joey Janela, O’Shay Edwards, LSG, Effy, Janai Kai, Jordan Blade, Isaiah Broner, Ava Everett, Matt Mako, Tony Deppen and Griffin McCoy, who will be in the “Jersey Lotto.” The winner gets $25,000 and a title shot against Masha! How many people are in this? Jordan said she’ll give the money away to people who need gender-affirming care. By my count, that’s at least 14 we just heard from!
8. The Jersey Lotto. Veda said this match can end AT ANY TIME so this is like an AEW Casino Gauntlet, but with eliminations via over the top rope to the floor! Joey Janela drew No. 1 and he got a “happy birthday!” chant. Tony Deppen drew No. 2. (Will all 14 who shot videos actually be in this?) Basic mat holds to open. How long are the intervals in this one? They traded rollups at 2:30 and no one else has entered yet. Jackson Drake (No. 3) and Griffin McCoy (No. 4) entered together at 4:00. and this suddenly looked like a tag match. (McCoy recently turned on Deppen.) Zayda Steel entered just a minute later as No. 5. (Who is in charge of these intervals?)
Zayda joined TVP member Drake, and McCoy, in beating up Deppen and Janela. Ref Scarlette Donovan nearly got struck; because this match has pinfalls, she was in the ring. Janela and Deppen took turns striking Zayda in the corner with running back elbows. They tossed Zayda to the floor onto the other heels. Zayda has been eliminated! “The Cosmic Cuties” LSG (6) and Ava Everett (7) entered together at 8:00. They playfully kissed each other on the cheek. Deppen indicated he wanted a kiss from Ava. Ava pushed Joey and Deppen together so they kissed; the crowd loved the shenanigans. LSG covered Joey, but Deppen made the save. (Remember, a pin will end the match!)
Marcus Mathers was No. 8 at 11:00, and he hit a crossbody block on LSG. He hit a mule kick on fellow ID prospect Drake. He went to strike Ava, but she shrieked and begged off, so he stopped. LSG and Ava kissed again; Mathers superkicked him to stop that! Mathers hit a top-rope flip dive to the floor. (Um, didn’t Marcus just eliminate himself????) More silliness as LSG and Ava kept kissing in the ring until three guys superkicked them. O’Shay Edwards was No. 9 at 13:30. He hit a Bulldog Powerslam on Ava, but LSG made the save. He powerslammed LSG. I see Zayda fighting on the floor. (The commentators said she was eliminated, but I don’t think that’s the case!)
O’Shay squatted while holding Mathers upside down then he dropped Marcus. LaBron Kozone entered as No. 10 at 15:30; Veda noted it’s his “much anticipated JCW debut” and he traded forearm strikes with O’Shay! LaBron hit a spinebuster on LSG. He stacked two guys and hit a double spinebuster, and that popped the crowd. Kozone hit his Ballgame clothesline to level O’Shay! Matt Mako entered as No. 11 at 18:00. He traded offense with LeBron. Meanwhile, Deppen was chasing Zayda on the floor. (It’s clear that Veda and Nick are as confused by the rules of the mat as I am.) Mako and LeBron both went over the top rope to the floor.
Janai Kai was No. 12; she kicked Joey Janela in the head as she came through the curtain. She got in the ring and kicked Zayda. She hit some spin kicks on O’Shay, too! Jordan Blade was No. 13 at 20:30. She squared off with Janai, and they immediately traded forearm strikes. (They were the only ones in the ring. This match keeps moving and moving, often with just 2 or 3 in the ring at a time.) Mathers and Deppen traded blows. Jackson hit a falling headbutt to Janela’s groin. O’Shay hit a release German Suplex on Jackson, then took his head off with a stiff clothesline. Mako hit a DVD into the corner on O’Shay at 23:30.
Zayda hit a Canadian Destroyer on Mathers; Marcus immediately hit a basement dropkick on her, and suddenly, no one was standing in the ring. Charles Mason entered at No. 14. Effy (15) came out right behind him and attacked Mason! They brawled at ringside, and Effy whipped Mason into the ring post. By my count, everyone who did a video except Isaiah Broner had come out. Effy and Mason brawled into the balcony. The other 12 wrestlers gathered below on the floor! Those two traded punches and fell 15 feet onto the 12 wrestlers below, earning a “holy shit!” chant at 27:00. Those two fought to the back!
Suddenly, it was back to just Joey Janela vs. Deppen in the ring, as we’re back to where we started, and they traded punches. Joey hit a superkick; Deppen hit a jumping knee. (Is Broner coming out?) Janela hit a package piledriver for a believable nearfall at 29:00. Jackson jumped in and hit some roundhouse kicks on Janela. Joey hit a DVD that dumped Drake on his head.
Suddenly, we had music, and the screen said “insurance policy.” Veda and Nick were perplexed. Out came (Nick) Camaroto as No. 15 at 31:00, and Emil said he’s the final participant. (What happened to Broner?) Camaroto hit a hard clothesline on Janela. Those two went to the floor, and Camaroto threw him into the wall. Those two fought to the back. In the ring, Deppen got a nearfall on Drake. Griffin hit a springboard spin kick on Deppen and went for a cover. However, Mathers hit a top-rope 450 Splash onto McCoy and pinned him!
Marcus Mathers won the 15-person Jersey Lotto at 32:54.
* Mathers got on the mic and said this wasn’t about the money… it’s his goal to become the JCW World champion!
9. Mad Dog Connelly vs. Matt Tremont in a dog collar match for the GCW Ultraviolent Title. Didn’t these two just fight in Deadlock Pro? It took a while to put the dog collar on Tremont’s thick neck! As soon as it was on, Connelly attacked and punched him! They brawled around ringside, and Tremont slammed a chair over the back at 3:00. They brawled up onto the stage, but Connelly pulled the chain, causing Tremont to fall to the floor. (I just checked, and yes, they did this match in DPW on June 15).
Connelly tossed a barbed-wire chair onto Tremont’s head at 7:00. Needless to say, both men were bleeding from their foreheads. Connelly licked the blood and got a “you sick f—!” chant. Connelly put a chair over Tremont’s head, and he hit that with another chair at 9:00. In the ring, a door bridge was set up. Connelly dropped Tremont over the top rope and hanged him by the chain at 13:00. Tremont hit a Death Valley Driver through the door bridge for the pin. Solid hardcore match; I recalled liking the DPW match a bit more.
Matt Tremont defeated Mad Dog Connelly to retain the GCW Ultraviolent Title at 14:41.
* Beastman jumped in the ring and attacked Tremont from behind! Beastman and Connelly continued to beat up Tremont. Manders ran in for the save and he had to be separated from Connelly.
Final Thoughts: A really entertaining free show with some of the best of the Northwest. I really enjoyed that DeReiss-Manders match, and that takes first. The 15-person Jersey Lotto kept me entertained for a full 30 minutes, and that takes second place. The Miyu/Billie tag takes third, just ahead of the Oliver/Price tag. A lot to like here. The fans in attendance liked that main event more than I did, but it was a good brawl.
Be the first to comment