By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW/IWS “Scarred 4 Life”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
July 7, 2024 in Montreal, Quebec at L’Olympia
This is a theater with the ring pushed up next to a stage, with no fans seated across from the hard camera. We saw a view from the stage and the seating area was packed with several hundred fans.
* In some major news, Jordan Oliver has been nursing a knee injury for weeks. He announced he has torn his ACL and will need surgery and could be out a year. Nick Gage also is injured and not here, so there has been some lineup reshuffling.
1. Leah Sparks, Melanie Havok, and Nathan Yarymowich defeated Dani Leo, Bray Dello Russo, and Tyler Nox at 6:01. I don’t know any of these six. Sparks’ team all wore pink and were extra-energetic. Dani hit a spinebuster on Nathan at 3:30, then a tornado DDT for a nearfall. Leah hit a bulldog on the long-haired Bray. Havok hit a uranage. Nathan hit a top-rope frogsplash to pin Nox. Okay action; I’m presuming they are all fairly new.
2. Masha Slamovich defeated Katrina Creed and Kristara to win the IWS Women’s Title at 9:22. I’ve seen a lot of Kristara in recent shows in Canada; both Katrina and Kristara just made their Wrestling Open debuts two weeks ago. They pushed Masha to the floor early on and traded some fast-paced reversals, and Creed hit a crossbody block for a nearfall at 1:30. Kristara hit a spin kick to Masha’s back and got a nearfall, and they traded forearm strikes. Masha put Kristara in a cross-armbreaker but Katrina made the save. Creed hit a Lungblower to Masha’s back, and they were all down at 5:00.
Creed hit a double guillotine legdrop for a nearfall. Masha hit a clothesline on Kristara for a nearfall. Kristara got some rollups on Masha, then a tornado DDT at 7:30. Creed hit a short-arm clothesline on Masha for a nearfall. Kristara and Katrina traded forearm strikes, and Creed hit a crossbody block. Creed hit a swinging neckbreaker for a nearfall on Kristara. Masha hit a Shining Wizard on Kristara. She covered Creed for the pin! New champion! I didn’t expect that! The commentators were also shocked.
3. Dante Dubois defeated Sexxxy Eddy, Bob Anger, Ben Ortmanns, Alex Maze, and Tara Zep in a six-person scramble match at 7:24. Ortmanns is bald and makes me think of a young Justin Credible. Maze also is bald and he’s flamboyant. Zep wears a leather jacket and studded clothing and her face is painted white (think WCW-era Vampiro.) I don’t think I’ve seen Dubois before but he looks like he’s a rocker stuck in 1988; he has long, black hair. Anger and Eddy are frequent teammates so we’ll see if they work together here. They did some, ummm… penis humor with Eddy; I won’t elaborate. Zep hit a top-rope crossbody block on Anger and Eddy.
Ortmanns and Dubois were suddenly alone in the ring at 2:00 and they traded loud chops. Eddy pulled down the back of Ortmanns’ pants so his bare butt was hanging out. Tara hit a neckbreaker on Maze. Anger hit a Death Valley Driver on Zep at 5:00 and she crashed hard on her shoulder. Maze hit a top-rope moonsault. Dubois slammed Ortmanns for the pin! Solid match.
4. “Casanova Productions” JT Producer and Steven Mainz defeated Jimmy Lloyd and Charlie Tiger at 10:46. Lloyd and Tiger were introduced as “representing GCW.” Lloyd got on the mic and demanded the fans show him respect; the fans chanted profanities back. Tiger and Lloyd were in charge early on. Producer wore black pants, and he’s taller, while Mainz wore trunks. Mainz hit a double stomp to Tiger’s stomach at 2:30. This feels like a heel-vs-heel matchup; a commentator was surprised to hear the fans behind Casanova Productions.
Lloyd hit a running neckbreaker on Producer, then the Radio Silence flying leg lariat for a nearfall at 7:00. Mainz hit a double-arm DDT on Lloyd onto an open chair! Tiger hit a spear on Producer at 9:00, then a Death Valley Driver into the corner, tossing Producer onto Mainz. A heel manager pulled the referee from the ring, so Tiger dove to the floor on the heel manager. Mainz hit a flip dive to the floor on Tiger. In the ring, Producer and Tiger traded blows. Mainz snuck in and hit a low blow on Tiger. CP then hit a team side slam move for the tainted pin on Tiger. Decent action.
5. Karl Jepson defeated Gringo Loco to retain the IWS Heavyweight Title at 11:29. Jepson is tall, bald and Black and he wore a singlet and he’s a babyface here. Loco got on the mic and he started to sing the “Star-Spangled Banner” and he’s really off-key; the crowd booed him but they would have done that even if he had the voice of an angel. To top it off, he called them “dumb Canadians” for booig his singing. They immediately brawled to the floor. Gringo hit a chairshot to the back, and he took control in the ring. Jepson hit a clothesline and they were both down at 5:00. He hit a backbody drop and was fired up.
Jepson hit a second-rope missile dropkick, then a dive through the ropes onto Loco at 6:30, earning a “holy shit!” chant. A couple guys came out on the stage and watched the match, as Jepson and Loco traded punches and chops in the ring. Loco nailed a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall at 10:00. An awkward exchange where Loco leapt off the top rope … and just lands on his feet in the ring. Jepson hit a Death Valley Driver, then a top-rope frog splash for the pin. Just a weird final two minutes as the guys on the stage didn’t get involved at all, and Loco clearly expected Jepson to hit him as he came off the top rope in that final minute.
* Loco left. The two guys on the stage suddenly attacked Jepson and beat him up. They ripped off their hoodies and they were wearing GCW T-shirts! Jeremy Prophet ran out of the back and saved Jepson from a further beatdown.
6. Gabe Kidd defeated Benjamin Tull, James Stone and Junior Benito in a four-way at 11:10. Kidd wore his New Japan Strong title belt. Stone and Tull immediately brawled on the floor, while Kidd hit a loud chop on the smaller Benito. I always compare Tull to the Coffey brothers in NXT, and he hit chops and forearms on Benito. Kidd and Tulltraded loud chops at 4:30. Stone dove through the ropes onto two guys. Benito immediately hit a flip dive to the floor on everyone and landed on his feet. Benito hit a 450 Splash for a nearfall.
Tull hit a swinging uranage at 8:00 on Stone; he climbed the ropes and slipped and the crowd berated him. Tull tried a moonsault move but Stone did a Samoa Joe Sidestep. Kidd hit a brainbuster on Tull. Benito hit a forward Finlay Roll and a running Shooting Star Press on Tull for a believable nearfall at 10:00. (Ref Scarlett Donovan is so great here, as always, showing it was not a three despite the crowd chanting it was.) Stone hit a piledriver on Benito. Kidd hit a piledriver to pin Benito as the other two were brawling on the floor. This was a good stand-up brawl.
7. “TDT” Matthieu St. Jacques and Thomas Dubois defeated “Bussy” Allie Katch and Effy at 14:16. The TDT are big lumberjack brawlers; I just can’t buy into Allie being believable on any offense on them. Effy and Dubois opened; the commentators pointed out Dubois wears a knee brace now after an extended time off recovering from a knee injury. The TDT guys hit Stinger Splashes and were in charge early on. They went for dives to the floor, but Bussy cut them off with forearm strikes at 4:30. In the ring, Bussy hit their buttbumps and Effy hit his Whoopee Cushion buttdrop for a nearfall. Allie hit her buttbump in the corner on St. Jacques at 7:00 and she choked him on the mat.
Dubois got the hot tag and he hit some belly-to-belly suplexes, including one where he tossed both opponents. They all brawled to the floor. Allie hit her piledriver out of the ropes. Effy hit a flying leg lariat for a nearfall at 10:30, then a top-rope Doomsday leg lariat for a nearfall. Allie speared St. Jacques through an angled table on the floor. In the ring, Effy hit a spear on Dubois for a nearfall. St. Jaques hit a double DDT. Dubois hit a top-rope flying clothesline on Allie at 13:30. TDT slammed Katch through a table in the corner, and the crowd popped as it shattered. They then hit a team powerbomb move on Effy, with Dubois scoring the pin.
8. Mance Warner vs. Green Phantom went to a 10-minute time-limit draw at 8:47; Warner retained the GCW Title. Mance got on the mic and told everyone how much he hates Canada. He told Phantom this match would have a 10-minute time limit! Mance hit a low blow punt kick at the bell! He immediately stomped on Phantom. He tossed Warner off the ring apron and through a table on the floor at 3:30, and he jawed at fans. In the ring, Phantom hit a suplex across some open chairs for a nearfall at 6:00.
They brawled onto the adjacent stage, and Phantom got a weed whacker. However, Mance grabbed it and used it on Phantom’s chest. Phantom slammed Mance through a table; the bell sounded AS Phantom scored the pin. Referees conferred and said the 10-minute time limit expired (it most definitely had NOT) before the pinfall. Fans rightfully chanted “this is bullshit!” Yes, I started my stopwatch at the bell; this match had not even reached NINE minutes. This was not like I had it at 9:55 or 10:05 when the bell rang… it was more than 70 seconds short of 10 minutes. That’s just inexcusable.
9. PCP Manny defeated Joey Janela at 15:50. Janela came out first and he superkicked the referee before his opponent had even come to the ring! Manny is the IWS founder and he’s clearly in his late 40s or early 50s with graying hair. They immediately traded punches and went to the floor. Janela used a corkscrew in Manny’s forehead and this isn’t my preferred style. In the ring, Manny tossed Janela through a table at 3:00. Lots of standard brawling. Janela hit a piledriver onto an open chair at 8:00.
Manny hit a bodyslam onto a pile of tacks in the ring. Suddenly, Bussy and Masha Slamovich jumped in the ring and they helped Joey to powerbomb Manny onto the pile of tacks at 11:00. Joey tossed light tubes onto Manny’s back; he gave the crowd the middle finger. They went outside, where Joey put Manny on two tables in the parking lot. Janela then leapt off a tall moving truck and slammed onto Manny as they crashed through just one table at 13:30. That’s an unnecessary bump. They stood up and returned to the building. (I see they have a screen on the stage, so fans did see that bump.).
They both got in the ring, where Joey got a nearfall. Sexxy Eddie, Green Phantom and others FINALLY came out and fought Effy and Allie to the back, so it is just Janela and Manny again. Manny hit a Michinoku Driver onto a table for the pin. Not my style of match but that was one BIG bump off the truck.
Final Thoughts: I love SEEING a crowd, especially when it’s a big crowd. My best advice is next time they are here, put the hard camera on the stage, so we can see the huge crowd, and see them react to the action. It’s just difficult to see that empty stage opposite the hard camera. I liked Gabe Kidd’s four-way for best, as it was a good brawl with the high-flyer Benito getting in a few good spots, too. Jepson-Loco takes second. I’ll take Masha’s three-way for third.
No, this wasn’t among my favorite GCW shows. Mance Warner is continuing a streak of unsatisfying non-finishes to his matches, with them being so far off from the 10-minute mark that it was laughable. The main event worked for the crowd in attendance but it didn’t for me; at least no one took any unnecessary blows to the head. I didn’t know when I started watching this show that Jordan Oliver wasn’t going to have a match, but I knew that some of the better wrestlers (Mike Bailey, Alec Price) who were on Friday’s show in Toronto were down in North Carolina for Deadlock Pro. I will add that the GCW crew as a whole did what they could to make sure they were all booed and treated like heels.
>> Jepson is tall, bald and Black <<
Umm…we appreciate the fact society is too worried about dumb crap, but we don't need the "b" in "black" capitalized…. proper nouns, ect… but not the word "black"