By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW in Japan
Streamed on TrillerTV+
July 28, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan at Shinjuku Face
This venue is a small room; even with riser seating, attendance was perhaps 300. It is well-lit over the ring. I’m fairly certain this is the same venue GCW has used in past trips to Japan. We opened with a Japanese man in the ring speaking to the crowd, and I presume going through the lineup. Promoter Brett Lauderdale provided commentary.
* I have not really looked at the lineups beyond seeing which Americans went on the trip. So, I’m immediately disappointed in the first match before it begins — this is a match between four Americans, and they could do this match in Atlantic City or Los Angeles, or anywhere in the United States. I personally feel the whole point of doing these international shows is to create a match that is a “you could only see it here, this one time.” Point being, I feel the tag champions should be facing a Japanese team, not other GCW regulars.
1. “YDNB” Alec Price and Jordan Oliver vs. Effy and Dark Sheik for the GCW Tag Team Titles. Sheik and Oliver opened. Effy then locked up with Price. Oliver hit a basement dropkick on Sheik for a nearfall at 3:30, and the champs began working over Sheik. Effy and Sheik began working over Price. This has been quite basic, first-gear stuff. Oliver got a hot tag at 7:00 and he hit a tornado DDT on Sheik and a bulldog on Effy, then a Buzzsaw kick on him for a nearfall. Effy fired back with a spear for a nearfall.
Sheik hit a top-rope flying huracanrana on Oliver for a nearfall. Effy hit a Razor’s Edge on Oliver, and Sheik hit a top-rope flying guillotine leg drop for a nearfall at 10:00. Sheik hit stereo low blow punches. Price nailed a Rebound Lariat on Sheik, then his springboard Blockbuster on Effy. The champs hit a team faceplant move on Sheik for the pin. A fine match, but as I stated above, I’m disappointed this is happening in Japan, when Price and Oliver could be against new Japanese opponents instead.
“YDNB” Alec Price and Jordan Oliver defeated Effy and Dark Sheik to retain the GCW Tag Team Titles at 11:46.
* Footage aired from the Coney Island show on July 19, featuring Matt Cardona and Mike Santana.
2. Shotzi Blackheart vs. Drew Parker in an intergender match. Parker is a European deathmatch guy who has scaled back on the deathmatches. Parker hit a dropkick before the bell, and we’re underway! He hit a basement dropkick to her back. Shotzi fired back with some kicks. Effy joined commentary here. She suplexed him into the ropes at 3:00. Lauderdale noted that this is Shotzi’s first-ever match in Japan. Drew hit a suplex for a nearfall. Shotzi hit a kick to the head, and they fought on the ropes in the corner. Drew hit a Meteora for a nearfall at 6:00, and we got a “this is awesome!” chant. Drew hit a stunner and a Swanton Bomb for the pin. Certainly shorter than I anticipated, but good while it lasted.
Drew Parker defeated Shotzi Blackheart at 6:47.
3. Jeffrey John vs. Kikutaro. I’m not quite sure how John wound up on this tour; he certainly isn’t a regular in GCW, and it’s not like he has a lot of “online buzz” behind him. He was a replacement for Microman, who along with Masha Slamovich, had to pull out of the tour due to travel complications. I’ve seen Kikutaro multiple times before, often in ROH 10+ years ago. He’s heavy in a full shirt and pants, and a goofy mask. (I presume it’s the same man under the mask, but it seems to be a gimmick that could be passed down, too.) Basic tie-ups early on, and Kikutaro did a Fargo Strut. John stomped on him. Ref Dan Perch joined commentary here. John hit some suplexes, kipped up, and celebrated at 4:00. As expected, this is all very light-hearted. (It’s a Toru Yano match, essentially.)
They wound up having Kikutaro do the ‘Hogan sequence,’ with the fired up punches, the big boot, hand gesture to his ear, and a guillotine legdrop for a nearfall at 7:00, and he was baffled he didn’t win there, shouting in English to ref Scarlette Donovan that the move should get him a pin. Kikutaro hit a Cradle Shock for a nearfall and was upset some more. He hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip at 9:00 and was setting up for a finisher when some music played. John hit a low blow uppercut and a Pedigree for the pin. The commentators said it was Yoshihiko’s music. A pretty flat finish.
Jeffrey John defeated Kikutaro at 10:00.
4. Mao vs. Atticus Cogar. Basic brawling early on, and Mao hit a dropkick, sending Cogar to the floor. So, Mao hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor at 1:30. Back in the ring, Mao tied him in an Octopus Stretch. Cogar pulled out some cooking skewers, but referee Perch confiscated them. Cogar hit a moonsault as Mao was in the ropes for a nearfall. They fought to the floor, and Cogar pushed him into the first row. They got back into the ring and traded forearm strikes at 5:30. Cogar hit some buzzsaw kicks. He hit an Air Raid Crash for a nearfall at 9:00. Mao accidentally hit a Mafia Kick on the ref. Cogar planted several cooking skewers in the top of Mao’s head. Cogar got a barroom dart, but Drew Parker ran in and confiscated it. Drew kicked an upside-down Cogar in the face, and Mao hit a piledriver for the pin.
Mao defeated Atticus Cogar at 12:24.
5. Kazusada Higuchi vs. 1 Called Manders. I am unfamiliar with Higuchi; he’s got a big frame and reminds me of a younger Hirooki Goto, and he wore Young Lion-style plain black trunks. No commentary for this one. An intense lockup to open. They switched to hard chops at 1:30. Manders dropped him gut-first on the top rope at 3:30, and stomped on Higuchi, and he hit some rapid-fire chops in the corner. They went to the floor, where Higuchi hit a snap suplex at 7:30 onto the thin pad. He rolled Manders into the ring and got a nearfall.
Higuchi hit a Russian Leg Sweep for a nearfall. Manders fired back with an Oklahoma Stampede (Bulldog Powerslam) for a nearfall at 9:30. Higuchi hit a Doctor Bomb, so Manders hit one, and they were both down. They got on their knees and traded chops, then more while on their feet. Higuchi applied a claw to the forehead and eyes; Manders broke free and bit the hand, then he hit a stiff clothesline for a nearfall, and we got a “fight forever!” chant in English. Higuchi hit a clothesline, then a twisting belly-to-belly suplex for the pin. Good match — this is what I had in mind of a unique match of a GCW talent vs. a Japanese talent!
Kazusada Higuchi defeated 1 Called Manders at 14:11.
6. Matt Tremont vs. Super Crazy for the GCW Ultraviolent Title. They went to the floor in the first minute and brawled at ringside. They brawled away from the ring, and it was nearly impossible to see. In the ring, Tremont hit a splash in the corner at 6:30. Super Crazy hit an elbow drop and a chairshot over Tremont’s unprotected head. (There is just no call for that, especially after we saw what Adam Cole has been dealing with. None.) Tremont hit a blow to the back with the chair. Tremont went for a top-rope frogsplash, but Crazy moved, and Tremont crashed through a table at 9:30; Crazy covered him for a nearfall.
Tremont now hit some unprotected blows to the head with table shards, then a clothesline for a nearfall at 11:00. Tremont set up a second table, and he carefully, gently put Super Crazy on the table; it seemed like it was going to buckle. Tremont then hit a frogsplash onto Crazy on the table for a nearfall, then a Death Valley Driver for the pin. Too bad about those unnecessary, tone-deaf blows to the head — it really ruins what was otherwise a fairly solid brawl. They shook hands and hugged afterwards.
Matt Tremont defeated Super Crazy to retain the GCW Ultraviolent Title at 12:07.
Final Thoughts: Manders-Higuchi is the reason to tune in — it’s what these shows should be about. This should be about unique matches you couldn’t see anywhere else. The show-opening tag takes second. That said, I’d rather see Mao have a singles match with Alec Price one day and then against Jordan Oliver the next. And I don’t mean to speak ill of Jeffrey John… but seriously, how was he selected to be part of this tour?
I don’t think that main event will truly satisfy anyone. I hated the unprotected blows to the head. Fans of death matches will find that match far too tame, as neither man bled, and no gross weapons were used. A surprisingly short show, coming in at just 1 hour, 50 minutes. The three-event tour continued with a show on Tuesday and another on Wednesday.
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