By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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GCW “War Ready”
Streamed on TrillerTV+
October 18, 2024 in Golden, Colorado at The Quarry at Jeffco Fairgrounds
The lighting is really good here. This is a building at a fairgrounds with risers. I can’t see everyone but it appears they have drawn 400 or so fans. Dave Prazak and Emil Jay and Brett Lauderdale provided commentary.
* The show opened with highlights of the “Art of War Games” match. Yes, it was very violent, and Joey Janela did suffer burns on his arms from going through a flaming table. And it concluded with Allie Katch turning on Effy.
1. Mr. Danger vs. JKM. JKM wears a Spider-Man-style mask; he’s competed on several GCW shows when they have gone out West. These two are roughly the same height and size. Quick reversals at the bell and a standoff. JKM hit a flip dive to the floor. In the ring, Danger hit a flip senton for a nearfall at 2:00. Danger hit a guillotine leg drop and they were both down. They got up and traded forearm strikes. JKM hit a basement dropkick for a nearfall at 5:30. We got dueling chants for both men. JKM went for a frogsplash but Danger got his knees up. Danger hit a Fisherman’s Suplex for the pin! Good way to open the show with lots of energy. A big, much-needed win for Mr. Danger, too.
Mr. Danger defeated JKM at 7:16.
2. Dulce Tormenta vs. Brooke Havok. I’ve seen Tormenta perhaps five times; she wears pink and light purple and wears a mask. Havok again wore her full-body green-and-black gear that looks like something she could wear in a bout in Saudi Arabia. Standing switches, and Tormenta hit a headscissors takedown. Havok hit her own head-scissors takedown. Tormenta hit a sit-out Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 2:30. She hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over her knee for a nearfall. They traded chops, and Tormenta locked in a half-crab. Havok hit a pumphandle side slam for a believable nearfall at 6:00. Tormenta hit a Meteora running double knees in the corner for a nearfall. Havok hit the Cross Rhodes swinging faceplant for the pin. (Havok trained at the Nightmare Factory, which Prazak pointed out.) Good action; this felt longer than this because they got so much in.
Brooke Havok defeated Dulce Tormenta at 7:25.
3. Alec Price vs. Jack Cartwheel. These two are both top 10 indy talents in my eyes so I’m looking forward to this one; both have been on AEW/ROH TV in the past month. Price has the height advantage. They opened in a knuckelock and test of strength. They traded armdrags and fast-paced reversals. Jack hit his rolling Death Valley Driver and a standing moonsault for a nearfall, then a handspring-back-elbow into the corner for a nearfall at 2:30. Price hit a head-scissors takedown then a springboard crossbody block. He hit his series of leaping knee strikes in the corner. Price hit his second-rope flying leg drop. Cartwheel hit a powerslam and they were both down at 5:00 and we got a “This is awesome!” chant. Cartwheel nailed his Crucifix Driver for a nearfall.
Jack went for a dive but Price hit a stunner across the top rope. Jack hit a Lungblower to the back at 7:00. Jack hit a top-rope flipping doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall. Price hit his second-rope flying Blockbuster at 9:00 that sent Jack to the floor. Jack nailed his Sasuke Special dive to the floor that earned a “holy shit!” chant. Jack missed a top-rope Phoenix Splash. Alec immediately hit a flipping overhead neckbreaker (Ace Austin’s “The Fold!”) and scored the pin. I wrote the same thing about a Price match a week ago; this is about as sharp of a sub-10 minute match as you’ll see.
Alec Price defeated Jack Cartwheel at 9:45.
4. Megan Bayne vs. Griffin McCoy in an intergender match. A big opportunity here for McCoy to travel out West; this match was set up last week, as they fought in a tag match on Sunday. She is about 5’11” but I believe he is about 6’1″, and of course he has a muscle mass/thickness advantage. The crowd chanted “Kick his ass!” at the bell, and they traded standing switches as she twisted his left arm. He dragged her to the mat by her hair and was booed. They stood up and he slapped her in the face! She knocked him down with a shoulder tackle at 1:30. She then slapped him in the face, and she hit her leaping clothesline. She hit a butterfly suplex and a splash to the mat for a nearfall.
Megan slammed his head on the top turnbuckle at 3:30. Griffin snapped her throat across the top rope, then kicked her in the spine. He hit a plancha to the floor and was loudly booed. In the ring, he was now in charge, and he hit more stiff kicks to her spine and tied her arms up. Megan hit a fisherman’s suplex at 7:00, then she caught him and hit a fallaway slam. She nailed a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. She hit some forearms; he hit some roundhouse kicks. She hit a Stinger Splash; he hit a stiff Helluva Kick at 8:30 then a dropkick into the corner. He hit another Helluva Kick, then a top-rope superplex for a nearfall. She hit a Mafia Kick at 11:00 and was fired up. He hit a Dragon Suplex but she popped up and hit a leaping clothesline!
Megan charged but Griffin put ref Scarlett Donovan between them. Megan moved Scarlett out of the way, but it allowed Griffin to hit a superkick. Megan hit an F5 faceplant for a believable nearfall. Megan then hit a spear at 12:30, then the Tombstone Piledriver for the clean pin. That was a really good match; McCoy sure is an unlikable heel.
Megan Bayne defeated Griffin McCoy at 12:48.
5. Jack Evans vs. Gringo Loco. Hard to believe Evans has been wrestling at least 20 years because he still is so agile. Jack did a handstand but Loco kicked him in the chest and took control. Evans hit a dropkick; they both missed kicks and we had a standoff at 1:00. Jack hit a handspring-back-elbow, but he missed a 450 Splash. Evans hit a springboard blockbuster at 5:00, then he hit a Sasuke Special to the floor. Gringo sold pain in his right shoulder. Jack hit a moonsault off the risers onto Loco on the floor, earning a “holy shit!” chant. He got a nearfall in the ring. Loco hit a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall. Evans hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 8:00.
They fought on the top rope and both crashed to the mat with Loco getting a nearfall. Loco hit a mid-ring Spanish Fly for a nearfall at 9:30. They hit stereo clotheslines and were both down. Evans hit a top-rope 450 Splash and a German Suplex for a nearfall. Loco nailed a second-rope Base Bomb (twisting powerbomb) for the pin. That was really good action. They both danced a bit after the match.
Gringo Loco defeated Jack Evans at 11:38.
6. Jeffrey John vs. Dark Sheik. John wears his babuska scarf whenever he wrestles. Sheik leapt off the top rope and crashed onto John, then Sheik leapt through the ropes. John slammed Sheik onto the ring apron. In the ring, John was in control, hitting a second-rope flying elbow for a nearfall. Sheik hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 4:30. Sheik went for a punch to the groin, but John avoided it. John hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. Sheik hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread, then a top-rope guillotine legdrop for the pin. Passable.
Dark Sheik defeated Jeffrey John at 6:28.
7. Rina Yamashita vs. Effy. I always write that Effy is deceptively tall and thick, so he really towers over Rina. She immediately went for the testicular claw but he blocked it. She knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. They brawled to the floor at 5:00. She went under the ring and got a door and slid it into the ring. She hit an Air Raid Crash onto an open chair for a nearfall at 7:30. Effy hit a Stomp to the head for a nearfall. She speared him through a door in the corner for a nearfall at 9:30. He hit a standing powerbomb for a nearfall. Effy set up a door bridge. However, she flipped him out of the corner and he crashed through the door bridge for a nearfall at 12:00.
She grabbed him in the groin with both hands! She hit a piledriver along her back for a believable nearfall. He hit a second-rope flying leg lariat, sending her crashing through a door bridge, and scored the pin. Decent match; when she went for the Testicular Claw early on, I thought we were going to have a comedy match. Instead, it turned into a fairly intense brawl without veering into hardcore territory, either.
Effy defeated Rina Yamashita at 14:20.
A commercial aired for the “People vs. GCW.” This was a really well done video with several of the babyfaces “on trial” for their crimes.
8. Gino Rivera vs. Dave Cole vs. Bryce Five vs. Bruce Wayans vs. Atiba vs. Ariel Van Go in a scramble. No on-screen graphics and Emil Jay was completely hard to understand on two names; I rewound and still had no idea what he said. Gino always reminds me of former ROH wrestler Ricky Reyes and he’s the most polished of these guys. Atiba reminds me of Will Hobbs; he is strong and thick. Bryce hit an Arabian press. Cole wore a black singlet and looks a bit like Mance Warner. Gino hit a flip dive to the floor at 3:00. In the ring, Gino hit a frogsplash on Cole for a nearfall. Van Go climbed a lighting scaffolding, maybe 15-20 feet up and splashed onto everyone below, earning a “holy shit!” chant. In the ring, Van Go hit a second-rope 630 senton splash and pinned Bryce. Considering I only knew Rivera and Van Go, that was decent.
Ariel Van Go defeated Gino Rivera, Dave Cole, Bryce Five, Bruce Wayans, and Atiba at 5:59 in a scramble.
* Emil Jay warned fans to back up because the next match will have some glass. (I like this warning. I don’t know if he always provides this warning, but he should.)
9. Orin Veidt vs. Dr. Redacted in a death match. Veidt has short hair and a trimmed beard. Redacted is bald and looks crazy. There was an obscene number of light tubes in the ring as we returned to the venue. They took turns whacking each other over the head with light tubes and this was gross. Veidt hit a Cradle Shock through a double-decker door bridge; he rolled Redacted into the ring and got a nearfall. Redacted hit a frogsplash for the pin.
Dr. Redacted defeated Orin Veidt at 16:51.
Final Thoughts: A really strong first five matches to this show, and as is often the case with GCW, it faded as it went. I can’t endorse a gross main event with that level of violence, either. Price-Cartwheel was stellar and I want to see more; that takes best match. Loco-Evans was really good, too and takes second. Megan Bayne continues to look great with whoever she faces, man or woman, and her match with McCoy earns third.
Last Saturday’s GCW show was good, but they followed it up with a flat show Sunday with few good matches (I generally avoid posting star ratings, but I had nothing from Sunday’s event at about **1/4). So, it was really good to see this show rebound with a lot of really good, entertaining matches, as I would contend that all of the first five matches here were better than any of the matches from last Sunday. I get it that there is a market and a niche for these hardcore matches, but they just aren’t for me.
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