By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “Fight Club Night One – The Art of War Games”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
October 12, 2024 in Atlantic City, N.J. at The Showboat
Yes, we have two side-by-side rings. Because of the cage, they opted to hold this event outdoors! We have a tall parking garage structure opposite the hard camera; I can’t say I’ve seen this view before. Some fans have sweatshirts on as the show began, but many are in T-Shirts. It seems like a pretty ideal night for an outdoor show, though The crowd is maybe 300. Dave Prazak and Emil Jay provided commentary, and he immediately said it is 71 degrees out and echoed what I just wrote — pretty ideal for October.
* The show opened with a montage from prior “Art of War Games” matches.
1. “VIolence is Forever” Kevin Ku and Dominic Garrini vs. Grim Reefer and Ruckus for the GCW Tag Team Titles. ViF have held these tag titles a long time and have the most title defenses in GCW history. Unsurprisingly, Ruckus was smoking as he walked to the ring. All four fought on the floor, and Reefer was thrown into a nearby U-Haul truck. Reefer applied a crossface on Garrini and had a lit cigarette in his mouth; Ku grabbed it and threw it to the grass at 2:30 and was booed! ViF worked over Reefer. Reefer hit a springboard Russian Leg Sweep on Ku at 5:00. Ruckus tagged in and hit his spin kicks on each champ. Garrini hit a sliding clothesline on Ruckus. Garrini tossed Ruckus, and Ku caught him with a flying knee for a nearfall. Ruckus and Reefer got some offense in on Garrini. They all got up and traded forearm strikes. ViF hit the Chasing the Dragon (kick-and-brainbuster combo) on Ruckus and scored the pin. Basic but fine. ViF keeps rolling as champs, but really, they haven’t had much competition of late.
Kevin Ku and Dominic Garrini defeated Grim Reefer and Ruckus to retain the GCW Tag Team Titles at 7:32.
* Backstage, we had the “official coin toss” to see which team gets the advantage in tonight’s War Games. In a rarity Joey Janela’s babyface team won the coin toss! The heels always have the advantage. Jimmy Lloyd made the incorrect call on the coin flip, and Matt Cardona wasn’t happy with him.
2. Alec Price vs. Gringo Loco. I will point out again that Price wrestled in Massachusetts on Thursday and in San Francisco on Friday and is here in New Jersey on Saturday. Meanwhile, Loco just returned from a two-week European excursion. Quick reversals early on with neither able to land a blow. Price did a head-scissors takedown but Loco rotated and landed on his feet, and they had a standoff. Price hit a second-rope crossbody block at 2:00. Loco hit a flipping powerbomb for a nearfall. Loco hit a Gorilla Press and a flipping axe kick for a nearfall. He hit a Split-legged Moonsault for a nearfall at 4:00. Price hit a pop-up huracanrana, then a springboard dive to the ground. In the ring, Price hit a top-rope flying leg drop for a nearfall.
Price hit his series of knee strikes in the corner. Loco nailed the second-rope Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 7:00. Loco hit a top-rope Spanish Fly for a nearfall. This has been really good, as expected from these two. Price hit a superkick. Price flipped Loco to the mat, with Gringo landing stomach-first. Price hit his springboard Blockbuster at 9:30. Price got into the ring on the right, hit a double-jump from one ring to the other, caught Loco, and nailed the springboard twisting DDT for the pin. That was stellar for the time given. A rare GCW loss for Gringo Loco, too.
Alec Price defeated Gringo Loco at 9:46.
3. Masha Slamovich vs. Kerry Morton in an intergender match for the JCW World Title. Prazak was joined by Griffin McCoy on commentary. McCoy faces Masha on Sunday. I have only seen a few Morton matches this year (I don’t watch much NWA); he comes to the ring to a Poison song, which makes him a babyface in my eyes. Kerry got on the mic but was loudly booed. He said, “sorry Masha, but I’m gonna ‘slam you, bitch.'” Prazak said this is Masha’s 13th title defense. Griffin said she came to the ring to “a chorus of boos,” which Prazak said “I did not hear that!” Morton has a significant height and overall size/thickness advantage, and they tied up at the bell. Griffin said Masha has “online bots that she pays to put her over.” Prazak is spot-on in being incredulous and doubtful of everything Griffin was saying.
Masha knocked him down with a shoulder tackle at 2:00. Masha hit some deep armdrags and controlled the left arm. Morton yanked her to the mat by some hair and he paused to do some push-ups before getting a nearfall. He hit a back suplex at 5:00 and flexed. She went for the White Knight Driver (piledriver) but Kerry blocked it. They traded forearms and she hit a spinning back fist at 8:00. Masha nailed her rolling Koppo Kick for a nearfall. Kerry hit a knee to the side of the head for a nearfall. Kerry locked in a rear-naked choke.
McCoy left commentary and jumped on the apron, allowing Kerry to strike her. Kerry hit a Jackhammer for a believable nearfall at 10:30. They fought on the ropes; the fans have been all over Kerry. She monkey-flipped him to the mat and immediately locked in the rear-naked choke again. Griffin jumped in the ring and attacked her, causing the DQ. (Prazak had reminded us before the match that JCW matches have strict rules, more so than GCW matches.
Masha Slamovich defeated Kerry Morton via DQ at 12:22; Slamovich retained the GCW World Title.
4. Leon Slater vs. Sidney Akeem. Slater was on that WCPW show Friday in San Francisco with Alec Price, and I will reiterate he is about 20 years old. Again, Akeem was Reggie/Scrypts in WWE. Friendly reversals to open and a feeling-out process. They went from one ring to the other; Slater bailed to the grass to regroup at 2:30. Back in the ring, Slater knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. Akeem hit a spinning crossbody block. Slater hit a plancha to the floor at 4:00, and they fought on the grass in front of the first row. In the ring, Slater was in charge and worked the left arm. Akeem couldn’t do a handspring because of damage done.
Slater threw Akeem shoulder-first into the corner at 6:30 and he stomped on the sore left arm. Akeem hit a step-up mule kick, then a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall at 8:30. Slater hit a Harlem Side Kick (thanks Emil for that call!) They traded rollups for nearfalls. Slater kicked Akeem to the floor. Leon dove over the ring post and hit a twisting splash onto Akeem at 12:00. They got into the ring and Akeem immediately hit the Final Act (double backflip into a stunner) for the pin! Good finish. Sidney Akeem remains undefeated in GCW.
Sidney Akeem defeated Leon Slater at 12:09.
5. 2 Tuff Tony vs. Lou Nixon vs. Bam Sullivan vs. Mr. Danger vs. Ciclope vs. John Wayne Murdoch in a hardcore scramble No. 1 contender’s match. Weapons were set up in the ring and this match is just not for me. Tony shared his bottle of liquor with fans in the front row. Mr. Danger is a scrawny, Black, high-flyer and he is the odd man in this match filled with death match workers. Mr. Danger hit a top-rope 450 Splash late in the match. Murdoch slammed Danger through a door bridge at ringside. Tony set his fist on fire (SO stupid) and hit a flaming punch for a nearfall. Bam hit a Cradle Shock on Ciclope for a nearfall. Ciclope hit a frogsplash for a nearfall. Ciclope hit a spinning back fist on a roll of light tubes resting against Bam and pinned him.
Ciclope defeated 2 Tuff Tony, Lou Nixon, Bam Sullivan, Mr. Danger and John Wayne Murdoch at 12:11.
6. Cole Radrick vs. Blake Christian. Cole is back after several months off with a leg injury, and he was covered in streamers. After barely losing in 2023 and the first half of this year, Blake is on a losing streak since losing his GCW Title, and the crowd was all over him. Radrick is in a singlet and appears thinner than when he was last in action; he has his brass ring around his neck. Cole hit a clothesline and was fired up. He hit a head-scissors takedown, and he dove to the grass on Blake. Emil noted the weight loss for Radrick, so it wasn’t just me noticing it. Radrick fell to the floor at 2:00 and clutched his left ankle, and Emil speculated he came back too soon.
Blake hit a flip dive to the ground on Cole and dragged him on the grass. (Astroturf, Emil says!) Blake applied a Sharpshooter on the ground; Prazak reminded us the match needs to end in the ring. Blake wrapped Cole’s legs around the ring post at 4:30. In the ring, Cole hit a Blue Thunder Bomb and a springboard stunner for a nearfall. Blake faked a superkick to the head and instead kicked out the damaged leg. He nailed a frogsplash for a nearfall at 7:00. He tied up Cole’s legs on the mat. Blake went for a Lethal Injection but Cole blocked it. Blake hit a handspring-back-spin kick. Radrick hit an enzuigiri and they were both down at 9:00.
Cole hit a double underhook suplex and a Little Sebastian’s Curse (pump-handle powerbomb) for a believable nearfall. Blake applied a Figure Four Leglock, but Cole reached the ropes. Radrick again hit Little Sebastian’s Curse for a believable nearfall. Blake hit a low blow uppercut while the ref was out of position. Blake nailed the step-up Stomp for a nearfall, but Cole got a foot on the ropes at 12:00. Blake hit a top-rope springboard 450 Splash. However, Radrick somehow rolled through a pin attempt and got the flash pin! (This loss was expected to keep the storyline going of Blake’s losing streak.)
Cole Radrick defeated Blake Christian at 12:26.
7. Rina Yamashita vs. Brandon Kirk in a death match for the GCW Ultraviolent Title. Rina hasn’t been in the U.S. lately; she is so much smaller than him that I find it absurd she could stand a chance against him. Glass panes and light tube rolls were set up at ringside. She charged at the bell and immediately he pushed her through a pane of glass. Needless to say, the ring was quickly covered in debris from light tubes. Kirk had a bloody forehead. She hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. He hit his Psycho Driver (Chuck Taylor’s Awful Waffle) modified piledriver and scored the pin! New champion! They hugged afterwards.
Brandon Kirk defeated Rina Yamashita to win the GCW Ultraviolent Title at 12:58.
* A long break will be needed to set up the double cage. Yep… 33 minutes (2:20 mark to 2:53 mark.) Not only do we have the double cage, we have scaffolding for someone to take a dangerous dive off of. (I want to point out here how good the lighting is for an outdoor event). The cage isn’t particularly tall; maybe eight feet off the mat.
8. The Art of Wargames match. We don’t know the names of all the competitors in this one. Mance Warner is No. 1 for the heel faction, and Joey Janela is starting for the babyface team, and they immediately traded punches. Mance slammed gusset plates into Joey’s left arm at 3:00, and Joey of course was immediately bleeding. They whacked each other over the head with light tubes. Mance shoved Joey through a barbed-wire door at 5:30. 1 Called Manders finally entered the match for the babyfaces (remember, they actually WON the coin toss!) and he brawled with long-time friend Warner.
Mance hit a hard chairshot over Manders’ unprotected head and I really hate that. Joey hit a top-rope doublestomp onto a chair that was on Mance’s chest at 9:00. Broski Jimmy Lloyd got in the ring. The babyfaces handcuffed Lloyd to the cage wall and Joey hit an unprotected chairshot on his head, too. Gross. Effy joined the match at 12:30. Lloyd was no longer tied to the cage, so Effy hit a back suplex on Lloyd. Effy hit a spear on Mance Warner. Matt Cardona joined the heels to even each team at three members at 15:00. Cardona hit his flying Fame-asser legdrops on each of the babyfaces.
Mance shoved Effy from the cage and through a door bridge set up on the grass! Matthew Justice is our surprise member for the babyfaces at 18:30. Justice climbed the cage and hit a flying crossbody block on the heels below. Cardona had a bloody forehead; he got his hands up to block a chairshot to the head. Justice got on the scaffold, and Lloyd joined him up there. Lloyd struck Justice, who fell off that high perch and through a door bridge on the grass at 22:00. That was an insane bump. Manders was pushed into a barbed wire spider web. Lloyd dove off the scaffolding but he crashed through a door set up in the ring.
Bully Ray hit the ring at 24:00! He is the final member of the heel team! The heels set a table on fire and chokeslammed Joey through it. Joey’s shirt actually caught on fire, and he had to quickly peel it off and snuff it out. Effy got back into the ring. Allie Katch came out! She got in the ring at 27:00, but she hit Effy in the back with a barbed wire explosion bat!!!! Why???? Mance immediately hit a DDT and pinned Effy! A heel turn that absolutely no one would have predicted entering this match. I don’t think Bully Ray did a single thing in his short time in this match. Katch stood over the prone Effy as the show faded to black.
Bully Ray, Mance Warner, Matt Cardona, and Broski Jimmy Lloyd defeated Joey Janela, Effy, 1 Called Manders, and Matthew Justice at 27:48.
Final Thoughts: GCW has about six regulars who always bring it, and when they have a singles match against each other, it is well worth checking out. Here, top stars Alec Price and Gringo Loco had a flawless match that came in just under 10 minutes and that earns best match. Blake-Radrick was really good; Cole’s weight loss and improved physique is really going to benefit him, and that match takes second. Akeem-Slater was predictably good and takes third. Fans of hardcore action will like this event a lot. We had some dangerous bumps in that main event, as well as the title change to Brandon Kirk.
My complaints are few here. They got lucky with absolutely ideal weather for mid-October. I really would like to see a good challenger emerge for ViF. Ruckus and Reefer brought the match you knew they’d bring; it was fine but not really ambitious, either. Kerry Morton remains a great heat magnet, and that was a decent intergender match with Masha. (But of course, Masha is probably the best female intergender competitor.) This show gets a thumbs up.
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