By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
GCW “Homecoming Weekend Part 2”
August 16, 2026, in Atlantic City, New Jersey, at The Showboat
Streamed live on TrillerTV+
The crowd was maybe 300 — a good number but much smaller than Saturday’s event. John Mosley and Emil Jay provided commentary. Veda Scott joined for the second match.
** On Saturday’s show, Joseph Sawyer (f/k/a Joe Gacy) defeated Atticus Cogar to win the GCW World Title. However, a shocking appearance by former WWE referee and deathmatch specialist Drake Younger, who returned to help Sawyer win, overshadowed the match. Younger has made several controversial statements in the past and is not beloved by fans. We’ll see how promoter Brett Lauderdale handles the fallout. Here is my favorite comment I found online since the show Saturday night:
“Torching your reputation to bring back Drake Younger is already funny enough, but doing it and getting zero pop or recognition from your paying crowd except for like 2-3 dipshits who post on deathmatch Facebook groups is even funnier.” That pretty much summarizes my thoughts, too. OKAY, on to the show!
* A video package of Saturday’s show aired. We head to the venue, where light tubes were set up around the ring. Gross.
1. Otis Cogar vs. Drake Younger for the GCW Ultraviolent Title. Drake ran in with a chair and clocked Otis with it. Drake hit a backslide driver (Homicide’s “Cop Killah”) for a nearfall. Otis hit a moonsault for the pin. Both men were absolutely covered in blood.
Otis Cogar defeated Drake Younger to retain the GCW Ultraviolent Title.
* Drake grabbed a mic. He hugged Emil Jay and whispered in his ear. He then addressed the crowd. He acknowledged that “There may be some people who are upset about me being here in GCW.” He said, “At some point, I lost my way.” He admitted he “associated with groups” he had no business being with, and acknowledged fans might not forgive him. He apologized and asked for forgiveness. “All I’m asking for is an opportunity,” he said. Drake said he’s not here for a “legend’s contract.” He thanked Brett Lauderdale and Joey Janela.
* Referee Max Recon showed up and asked what matches he’ll be working tonight. The other referees shunned him.
2. Juni Underwood vs. Ryan Mooney vs. Grayson Pierce vs. Tyler “The Wall” Stevens vs. Jimmy Daryn and Hunter Drake vs. Jermaine Marbury (w/Benny the Basketball) vs. Sal Mistretta vs. Bobby Flaco in a scramble. More guys from Action Wrestling in Georgia are here! Juni and Hunter brawled. Daryn wears blue-and-red that looks like a cheesy homemade superhero costume; I think I’ve seen him once. Pierce battled Marbury. The Wall hit a double Sidewalk Slam at 3:00. Juni and Hunter hit stereo dives to the floor. Pierce hit a moonsault to the floor.
Sal grabbed his football and dove through the ropes onto several guys. Marbury hit a top-rope crossbody block to the floor onto several guys. In the ring, Juni hit a flying kick on Marbury. Wall hit a powerbomb on Mooney at 5:30. Marbury hit a stunner on The Wall for a nearfall, but Daryn hit a 450 Splash to break it up. Several guys fought in a corner, and Hunter hit a Sunset Flip Bomb. Flaco hit a top-rope double stomp. However, Sturdy Sal immediately cut Flaco in half with a spear for the pin!
Sal Mistretta defeated Juni Underwood, Ryan Mooney, Grayson Pierce, Tyler “The Wall” Stevens, Jimmy Daryn, Hunter Drake, Jermaine Marbury, and Bobby Flaco in a scramble at 7:00.
* A video package aired of Joey Janela beating Marko Stunt with the help of Ryan O’Neill. In a new video from “later last night,” Alec Price and Jordan Oliver approached O’Neill and criticized him for helping Janela cheat to win. Ryan got defensive and stormed off.
3. “Top Team” Terry Yaki and Jay Lucas vs. Joey Janela and Ryan O’Neill vs. Marcus Mathers and Leedz Lewis vs. “Controlled Kaos” Kid Chaos and Papa Juice. Controlled Kaos debuted on the July JCW show; they don’t have a cagematch.net bio yet. Papa Juice is the taller man of this father-son duo; he is thicker, with several tattoos. Kid Chaos is slender, pale white, and bald. In a video package, Kid Chaos explains that he has the genetic disorder called “ectodermal dysplasia” and has a lung disease. Presuming Kid Chaos is 22, I can’t imagine that Papa Juice is much older than 42. This might be Leedz’s final match before heading home to France.
Joey and Ryan were booed as they emerged. Joey hugged him like a proud papa. The crowd chanted, “You sold out!” at O’Neill. Joey and Marcus opened, and Mathers hit a dropkick. Leedz jumped in and hit a bulldog on Janela. Leedz hit a spinning heel kick on O’Neill. Joey tied up Leedz on the mat, and O’Neill hit a dropkick on Lewis. Top Team got in and battled Controlled Kaos. Joey came off the top rope at 3:00, but Controlled Kaos hit punches to Joey’s gut. Papa Juice hit a German Suplex on Mathers. O’Neill came off the top rope, but Controlled Kaos hit stereo superkicks on Ryan.
Joey dragged Papa Juice out of the ring and hit a DVD onto rows of open chairs. In the ring, Joey hit a Dragon Suplex on Kid Chaos for a nearfall at 5:00. Kid Chaos and Janela traded chops. Mathers got a hot tag and hit a corner fadeaway stunner on Joey, then a Blue Thunder Bomb at 6:30. Ryan jumped in to save Janela. Leedz hit a moonsault on O’Neill for a nearfall. Suddenly it was just Top Team vs. Mathers and Leedz, and those four traded forearm strikes. Yaki hit a Canadian Destroyer. Top Team hit a team powerslam on Leedz for a nearfall at 8:30.
Kid Chaos dove through the ropes onto several guys. In the ring, he hit a stunner. Papa Juice hit a frog splash for a nearfall, but Top Team made the save. Mathers and Lucas traded forearm strikes. They hit stereo spin kicks to the head. Yaki and Leedz hit a springboard Spanish Fly to the floor at 10:30, earning a “GCW!” chant. Mathers hit a Canadian Destroyer on Jay. Yaki jumped in and hit a powerbomb on Mathers. Leedz hit a Canadian Destroyer. Yaki hit an enzuigiri on Janela. Kid Chaos hit a tornado DDT. Ryan hit a springboard Swanton Bomb. Jay hit a regular Swanton Bomb. Mathers hit a moonsault.
Janela hit a top-rope superplex on Mathers, then a DVD into the corner. Papa Juice hit a coast-to-coast dropkick. Leedz and Lucas collided in mid-air, and everyone was down at 13:00! Emil wondered who the legal men were. Joey hit a DVD on the ring apron. Leedz hit a corner moonsault to the floor. Leedz hit a split-legged moonsault in the ring for a nearfall. Top Team hit a spike Jay Driller on Leedz for a nearfall at 14:30. Papa Juice was going for a win, but Joey struck him with a chair! Loud boos for that! Ryan made a cocky one-footed cover to pin a prone Lucas! That was just awesome stuff.
Joey Janela and Ryan O’Neill defeated “Top Team” Terry Yaki and Jay Lucas and Marcus Mathers and Leedz Lewis and “Controlled Kaos” Kid Chaos and Papa Juice at 15:22.
* Alec Price and Jordan Oliver stormed into the ring to confront Janela and O’Neill. Janela hit double low blows on them! Marko Stunt ran into the ring and brawled some more with Janela. Ryan left with Janela and headed to the back! However, Ryan looked torn about what the right move was for him.
4) Corinne Joy vs. Jimmy Lloyd. Corinne is among the Action Wrestling contingent here, and this is her GCW debut! Again, she just signed her MLW contract. I cringed when Lloyd came out. She’s 5’2″ and maybe 125 pounds; he’s got a huge size advantage on her. They locked up, and he easily shoved her to the mat. (I did recently see her fight Krule, though!) She hit a headscissors takedown that sent him to the floor. She dove through the ropes onto him.
In the ring, she went for a second-rope crossbody block, but he caught her and slammed her for a nearfall at 1:00. Jimmy went under the ring and got some chairs. He brought one into the ring and jabbed it into her ribs, then he wedged it into a corner. However, she whipped him into the chair. She hit a spear in the corner. She put a chair over his face and hit a basement dropkick onto the chair. Corinne hit the top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall at 3:00. However, he hit a piledriver for a nearfall.
Jimmy set up four chairs and hit a package piledriver through the four chairs for a believable nearfall! Jimmy clocked her over the head with a chair. Gross and completely unnecessary. She hit a Canadian Destroyer, then the Joy Ride (snapmare driver). She hit a second-rope frog splash for the pin. Extremely watchable, but we just don’t need those blows to the head. She rightfully earned a “Please come back!” chant, and Veda agreed that she wants to see more of Joy in GCW.
Corinne Joy defeated Jimmy Lloyd at 5:15.
* Footage aired of KJ Orso and Sam Stackhouse beating Jordan Oliver and Alec Price to win the GCW Tag Team Titles.
* Joseph Sawyer came to the ring with his newly won GCW World Title. Sawyer said he bets that fans didn’t expect him to come here and win the GCW Title. Fans chanted, “You deserve it!” Sawyer said he was lost (after his WWE release), but he wanted to make an impact. He knew there was one place he wanted to be, and that’s GCW. He said his new mission is to usher in the next generation of GCW stars.
Out of the back came KJ Orso and Sam Stackhouse. They had their tag title belts on their shoulders. Out of the back came “VNDL 48″ Atticus Cogar, Christian Napier and Ref Max Recon. Atticus mockingly congratulated KJ and Sam for winning the belts. Vipress now joined everyone in the ring! She belittled Napier and Atticus for losing their respective matches on Saturday.
The scrawny Anakin Murphy came to the ring. Anakin, Vipress, and Sawyer attacked VNDL 48. KJ and Sam joined in the fight, too. That brought out Jordan Oliver and Alec Price! The former champs hit Stackhouse with a chair. The heels scampered to the back. A long segment, but they set the table for matches in upcoming shows.
5. Dr. Redacted vs. Beastman. More weapons were set up in the ring. Yeah, I’m passing on this one, too. I zipped to the end of the match. Redacted hit him with bundles of light tubes, then hit a clothesline to the back of the head for the pin.
Dr. Redacted defeated Beastman.
6. Sicko the Clown vs. Nino Extremo in a Circus Deathmatch. I passed on this one. The finish had them fighting on top of a scaffold. Sicko hit a Michinoku Driver from the scaffold down onto a barbed-wire spider web and pinned him.
Sicko the Clown defeated Nino Extremo in a Circus Deathmatch.
Final Thoughts: The four-way tag was great action and well worth going out of your way to see. The Controlled Kaos team kept up with some pretty talented, well-known guys and didn’t look out of place in that match at all. Leedz Lewis has been in the U.S. about six weeks and delivered one stellar match after another on this excursion; he will be missed.
Corinne Joy is a star. I’ve said it many times now… the teenager just has an ‘it factor’ that can’t be measured. There’s a reason MLW has already signed her and shot vignettes of her impending arrival. There are taller women, stronger women, better workers… but she has that unmeasurable it factor. She’ll be back here when she isn’t taking dates all over the country. All that said… Corinne… you are nineteen… don’t agree to take chairshots over the head, even ones that you partially blocked. It’s not worth it.
The scramble was fine. I’m amused that about half of the guys I watched on the Action Wrestling show from Georgia on Friday were here today. I applaud their dedication — because Google Maps shows it is about a 13-hour drive from the Action Wrestling show in Tyrone, Georgia, to Atlantic City.
I applaud Drake Younger for making a public apology. I’m not sure if that will satisfy everyone. Chances are, I’m not watching his matches either way. I’ll leave the discussion regarding the quality of the deathmatches to fans of that style… since I only caught the match finishes.
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