By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
GCW and JCW “Jersey J-Cup Night One”
Streamed live on TrillerTV+
February 6, 2026, in Jersey City, New Jersey, at White Eagle Hall
This is a small room, but it was packed with a crowd of 300-400. Veda Scott and Nick Knowledge provided commentary. Google Maps shows that Jersey City is right on the Hudson River, across from New York City.
* This is a 20-person tournament. Like in past years, the first round is comprised of seven singles matches (14 competitors) and a six-way scramble. Thus, eight competitors reach the second round on Saturday. Brackets were revealed maybe a week ago, and I really like that. With Pro Wrestling Guerrilla on an indefinite hiatus and no “Battle of Los Angeles” tournaments planned, I consider the Jersey J-Cup to now be the most prestigious annual, indy tournament in the United States. Billie Starkz is the champion, and the belt will be on the line throughout the tournament.
* Ring announcer Emil Jay gave match lengths when stating the winner — that little touch makes this feel more ‘sports authentic’ to me. Tournament matches have 20-minute time limits. While I don’t think we’ve ever had a draw, I would NOT be surprised if Jordan Oliver and Alec Price go to one (I’m not predicting that, but it would allow a heel to have a second-round bye).
* We do have one mystery person in the scramble, as Tiger Mask was unable to participate.
1. KJ Orso vs. Terry Yaki in a first-round tournament match. KJ came out first. Yaki charged to the ring and hit a missile dropkick, and we’re underway. Terry hit a flip dive to the floor. They got into the ring, and we had a bell and are officially underway at 00:30. Yaki banged his arm against the ring post; Orso saw it and began targeting the injured limb. Orso went for a Cobra Clutch on the mat. Terry hit a DDT out of the ropes and a twisting Falcon Arrow for a nearfall at 4:30. Veda noted the winner of this one will face the winner of the scramble.
Yaki hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor. Back in the ring, he hit an enzuigiri in the corner at 7:00. Orso hit a pumphandle powerbomb for a nearfall, and KJ was shocked he didn’t win there. KJ missed his stomp to the head, and Yaki got some rollups. KJ hit a low-blow mule Kick and a Jarrett-style Stroke faceplant, and he applied a Cobra Clutch on the mat! Terry got to the ropes. KJ again missed the stomp to the head, and Yaki hit an Assault Driver back suplex move for a nearfall; Orso got his hands on the ropes at 9:00. They got up and traded chops. Terry hit a low blow and was cheered! He hit his DDT out of the ropes for a believable nearfall. This has been a really sharp opener. KJ snapped the damaged arm over the top rope and immediately hit the “Character Assassination” (Stomp to the head), locked in the Cobra Clutch, and Yaki tapped out.
KJ Orso defeated Terry Yaki at 10:57 (official time of 10:27) to advance.
* A video aired of “Second Chances” — wrestlers who have competed in past years’ tournaments and didn’t win but are back this year. Well done.
2. Man Like DeReiss vs. Oro (Mensah) Annan in a first-round tournament match. Oro hit a huracanrana early on. He snapped DeReiss’ neck on the top rope and hit a top-rope flying kick at 1:00. DeReiss hit a big back-body drop. They traded chops. Oro fired up and hit some back elbows and a rolling koppo kick, then a back suplex for a nearfall at 4:30. DeReiss hit a stunner over the top rope. Oro hit another Koppok Kick and a Detonation Kick for a nearfall.
DeReiss went for a Sharpshooter, but Oro blocked it and got a nearfall. DeReiss switched to an ankle lock at 7:00, but Oro escaped. DeReiss hit a Blue Thunder Bomb, and this time he locked in the Sharpshooter! They got up and traded more forearms, and Oro hit another Koppo Kick. DeReiss hit a German Suplex, but Oro popped up, hit a clothesline, and they were both down at 9:00. They got up and traded chops. They traded rollups. Oro hit a Superman Punch. DeReiss hit a superkick. Oro hit a dive through the ropes onto DeReiss at 11:00. In the ring, DeReiss hit a kip-up stunner, then a Helluva Kick, then the top-rope 450 Splash for the pin. Good action.
Man Like DeReiss defeated Oro (Mensah) Annan at 11:49.
3. Darian Bengston vs. Judas Icarus in a first-round tournament match. Standing switches to open; both of these guys are great mat technicians. They got into a knuckle lock at 1:00 and a test of strength. Darian tied up the legs on the mat. Judas hit a running knee that sent Darian from the apron to the floor at 3:00. They got back into the ring with Judas in charge, and he kept Bengston grounded.
Bengston hit a spin kick in the corner, then the top-rope Whisper In The Wind for a nearfall at 5:30. Darian leaned him backwards as if setting up for a Sister Abigail, but it was a submission hold. Icarus hit a stunner for a nearfall. He got a Crucifix Driver for a nearfall, then an enzuigiri. Bengston hit a swinging DDT off the ropes for a nearfall at 7:30. Darian rolled him up and got a flash, clean pin!
Darian Bengston defeated Judas Icarus at 8:01 to advance.
* North Carolina-based indy wrestler (and the final-ever Deadlock Pro champion!) LaBron Kozone joined commentary for the next match.
4. Jonathan Gresham vs. Adam Priest in a first-round tournament match. They shook hands; Priest actually looks a bit taller, but Gresham is thicker and probably heavier. The crowd cheered for Gresham, so Priest rolled to the floor to stall before they locked up. Priest hit a back elbow as they separated from the lock-up and was booed; Priest gave a phony apology. Gresham tied up Priest’s arms behind his back. They traded more handshakes that weren’t really heartfelt, and now Priest tied up Gresham’s arms on the mat.
Gresham repeatedly slammed Priest’s knee into the mat at 5:30. Priest hit a low blow that the ref missed, and he stomped on Gresham. They stayed tied up, and the 10:00 call was spot-on. Gresham hit some forearm strikes while holding onto Priest’s left wrist. Lots of standing switches and hammerlocks. Priest hit a brainbuster for a nearfall at 14:30. We had a 15-minute call, too. Gresham applied a submission hold on a leg, and Priest tapped out. (It sure looked like he could have reached the ropes there.)
Jonathan Gresham defeated Adam Priest at 16:03 to advance.
* The footage of Marko Stunt’s GCW debut aired again. Marko Stunt is having his “Farewell to wrestling” in March. (Marko took to social media to clarify that he is indeed retired and will not be wrestling at that event.)
5. Tommy Billington vs. Black Tiger IV. This was a NON-tournament match. They did not acknowledge that this is Rocky Romero under that mask, but I think everyone knows that. An Intense lockup to open. Tommy twisted the left arm. He switched to a leg lock around the neck. They both flew over the top rope to the floor at 4:00; Nick Knowledge pointed out that there aren’t any mats on the floor here. Tommy threw him head-first into the ring post. Black Tiger slammed him onto the ring apron at 6:00.
They got in the ring with Black Tiger in charge. He hit some roundhouse kicks in the corner. Tommy tossed him off the turnbuckles to the mat, and he hit a top-rope missile dropkick at 7:30. He hit a snap suplex for a nearfall. Black Tiger hit a Tornado DDT for a nearfall at 9:00. He dove through the ropes onto Billington. In the ring, he hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread for a nearfall. They suplexed each other over the top rope to the floor at 11:00.
They both got back in before count-outs, got up, and traded forearm strikes at 13:00. Romero removed the mask! The crowd pretended to be shocked! He hit some quick kicks. Billington fired up and hit some chops and a piledriver for a nearfall. The crowd now chanted “Rocky!” Rocky set up for a Tombstone Piledriver, but Tommy reversed it and hit his own Tombstone Piledriver, then he nailed the top-rope flying headbutt for the pin. That was really good.
Tommy Billington defeated Rocky “Black Tiger IV” Romero at 15:29.
6. Vengador vs. Griffin McCoy vs. Joe Lando vs. Manny Lo vs. Travis Williams vs. Joey Janela in a first-round tournament match. UK star Lando is doing a quick North America tour; I just saw him compete last week on the C*4 show in Canada. Manny Lo, who had a great 2025 in Deadlock Pro in North Carolina, is a rising star. McCoy is notably taller than everyone else. Travis hit a huracanrana. Manny hit a huracanrana on Williams, then a dropkick on him. Manny hit a dive to the floor on two guys at 1:00.
In the ring, Vengador and Manny traded some quick reversals, and Vengador hit a dropkick. Joey and Travis traded quick reversals. We had a multi-man submission spot; they all eventually participated in it. “If someone taps here, who wins?” Nick rightfully asked. Lando hit a spin kick on Griffin, then a corkscrew flip dive to the floor, then a Helluva Kick in the ring on Manny at 4:00. He hit a running Shooting Star Press on Manny for a nearfall. McCoy suplexed two guys. He hit some chops and roundhouse kicks on Janela in a corner.
McCoy hit a half-nelson suplex on Janela; he came off the ropes, but Joey caught him with a stunner at 6:00. Janela hit a double suplex! Lando hit a second-rope Shooting Star Press on Janela for a nearfall. Manny hit a Lumbar Check on Lando, then a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall, but McCoy made the save at 8:00. Manny and Griffin traded blows. Vengador hit a superkick on McCoy. Lando hit a double huracanrana. Travis hit his handspring-back-clothesline on Lando.
Vengador and Joey started hitting superkicks on everyone, and Janela hit a snap Dragon Suplex on Vengador, and suddenly everyone was down at 9:30! Janela tossed McCoy over the top rope onto everyone on the floor, then Joey hit a top-rope moonsault onto everyone! Lando hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press to the floor onto everyone. Vengador hit a double-jump top-rope moonsault to the floor onto everyone at 11:30, earning a “Holy shit!” chant. In the ring, Vengador hit a stunner on Manny. McCoy hit a springboard kick on both of them.
Travis hit a dropkick into the corner on McCoy. Manny clotheslined both himself and McCoy to the floor. In the ring, Joey hit a top-rope superplex on Lando, then a buckle bomb and a faceplant, then a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall, but Travis made the save at 14:00. Janela hit a Dragon Suplex on Travis, but Travis hit a brainbuster on Joey, and he applied a cross-armbreaker, but Lando broke it up. Lando hit a stunner on Travis. Vengador scooped up Lando and hit a swinging piledriver for the pin! That’s an upset in my eyes. (I had predicted McCoy to advance).
Vengador defeated Joey Janela, Joe Lando, Travis Williams, Griffin McCoy, and Manny Lo at 14:53 to advance.
7. Charles Mason vs. Erick Stevens in a first-round tournament match. ROH vet Stevens returned to the ring in 2025 after being retired for four or so years, and he’s in great shape. No three-piece suit for Mason tonight; he wore a robe that he removed before the bell. An intense lockup to open; Mason has a good physique but Stevens is thicker. They began trading chops at 1;30 and Stevens threw him to the floor, where they continued to trade loud chops. Stevens whipped him into rows of chairs at 3:00.
Stevens slammed Mason back-first on the apron and was in charge. In the ring, Mason sprayed fluid in the eyes and hit a doublestomp to the back of the head at 5:00. He mounted Erick and repeatedly punched him, then hit a back suplex for a nearfall. He hit his discus clothesline for a nearfall. Mason applied a standing sleeper, but Erick hit a back suplex to escape, and they were both down at 7:30. He clotheslined Mason to the floor, then dove onto him!
In the ring, Stevens hit a powerslam into the corner at 9:00, then some running back elbows into the corner and a clothesline and an Air Raid Crash for a nearfall. Mason nailed a shotgun dropkick and his rolling Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 10:30, and he applied the chokehold sleeper on the mat. They got up and traded forearm strikes, and Stevens hit a discus forearm strike and a stomp to the back of the head. Mason pushed the ref into the middle for a brief distraction, then hit a Gotch-style Tombstone Piledriver for the pin. Good action, but there was never a moment when I thought Stevens was winning this one.
Charles Mason defeated Erick Stevens at 12:27 to advance.
8. Bille Starkz vs. Ryan Clancy for the JCW World Title in a first-round tournament match. Clancy has a wonderful glittery gray-and-black robe; that’s new! Of course, Ryan has a size and strength advantage. They shook hands before locking up; the crowd was fully behind her. They played to the crowd; he snuck up from behind and got a rollup for a nearfall at 2:00. She grabbed the left leg, but he quickly tied her up on the mat. He hit a hip-toss at 3:30 and went back to tying her up on the mat. Billie hit a jumping knee to the jaw and a spin kick to the side of the head.
Billie dove onto him on the floor at 5:00. In the ring, she overshot on a Swanton Bomb, and he immediately did a Sabre-style neck-snap. The ref backed Clancy up and checked on Billie. He charged in and did a second neck-snap at 6:30, and she sold the pain in her neck. Clancy applied a Boston Crab and sat on her lower back and cranked backwards. Ouch! She eventually got to the ropes. Billie hit a neckbreaker over her knee at 9:00, and the crowd rallied for her. Ryan hit a jumping knee and some forearm strikes.
Billie avoided the Picture Perfect Dropkick, and she hit a spin kick for a nearfall. She hit a superkick. She went to the top rope, but he yanked her to the mat, and he hit a German Suplex for a nearfall at 11:00. He nailed the Picture Perfect Dropkick! He got a nearfall, but she got a foot on the ropes. He set up for a move, but she rolled him up for the flash pin! Good action. Clancy was shocked that just happened.
Billie Starkz defeated Ryan Clancy to retain the JCW World Title at 12:33 AND to advance in the tournament.
9. Jordan Oliver vs. Alec Price in a first-round tournament match. The tag partners were actually on opposite sides of a multi-man match just a couple of months ago, but they never came to blows in that one. Oliver competed on Thursday in Dayton, Ohio (roughly 600 miles away and just over a 9-hour drive!) Again, I’m not predicting we’ll have a time-limit draw, but it certainly is a possible outcome. We got a “holy shit!” chant at the bell. They shook hands and hugged before locking up. They wore their tag team purple-and-orange gear. Some quick rollups and a standoff.
Some standing switches, and Jordan got a nearfall after a shoulder tackle at 2:00. Price dropped Jordan with a shoulder tackle. Jordan hit a Russian Leg Sweep and tied up Price’s arms on the mat. They sped it up with some quick reversals, and Alec applied a half-crab at 5:00. Jordan escaped, and they got back to their feet, and Oliver targeted the left arm. Veda talked about Jordan being out for nine months with his ACL injury. They traded reversals while in a knuckle lock. Prie hit a huracanrana, and they traded nearfalls. Oliver applied a cross-armbreaker at 9:00.
Oliver stayed focused on the left arm as Emil Jay gave the 10-minute warning. Price hit a crossbody block. Jordan hit some shoulder tackles and his twisting crossbody block for a nearfall at 11:00. Price went back to the half-crab. He hit a dive over the ropes onto Jordan on the floor. Back in the ring, Jordan hit a suplex, but they both went for covers, and we had a near double-pin. They charged at each other, hit stereo clotheslines, and collapsed at 13:00, and we got a “both these guys!” chant. They got up and barked at each other, and Oliver threw the first chop; Alex sold it like it was death!
Price fired back with his own chop, and they went back and forth. Price hit some European Uppercuts, and Oliver hit some forearm strikes as we hit the 15:00 mark. Price hit a clothesline, and they were both down. They traded rollups, and we got a 17:00 call. Oliver again applied a cross-armbreaker. Price escaped and went back to the half-crab. Oliver applied a crossface and switched to a Regal Stretch, trapping both of Alec’s arms behind his back. Alec escaped and applied a Jamie Noble-style Trailer Hitch leg lock at 19:00, and Emil again gave that update. Oliver reached the ropes. Oliver got a rollup for a nearfall. They traded rollups, and we got to the draw! (I had it at 20:04 but that’s close enough.)
Alec Price vs. Jordan Oliver went to a time-limit draw at 20:00; both men are eliminated, and Charles Mason will get a second-round bye.
* Oliver wanted five more minutes! It looked like we were going to continue, but then Judas Icarus and Travis Williams jumped in the ring and attacked them both! Oliver got on the mic and challenged Sinner & Saint to a tag title match on Saturday!
* A short break to erect the cage. They showed footage of the feud leading to the main event.
10. 1 Called Manders vs. Mad Dog Connelly in a cage match. This feud has been brewing throughout 2025. Connelly brought his dog collar into the ring. They immediately traded forearm strikes. This is a chain-link, mesh fence, and Manders threw him into the cage wall. They threw more punches. They left the cage at 2:00 and fought on the floor — no lame WWE-style escape-the-cage-to-win rules here!!! They got back into the ring, and Manders was bleeding from that fight on the floor. Connelly whipped Manders into the cage wall at 4:30. He wiped blood over his face and licked it.
They got up and traded forearm strikes. Manders hit a back suplex at 8:30. Manders hit some chops in the corner and a clothesline for a nearfall. Manders put the dog collar around Connelly’s neck, and he whipped Connelly by the chain into the cage wall. Connelly hit a second-rope gutwrench suplex for a nearfall at 12:00. They began trading headbutts “like two battering rams,” Nick Knowledge said. They switched to forearm strikes. Connelly hit a piledriver for a nearfall at 14:00. Manders hit a clothesline for a nearfall. They got up and hit stereo clotheslines. Manders hit another hard clothesline, but Connelly kicked out at one! Manders hit one more stiff clothesline for the pin! Veda called it “a brutal war.”
1 Called Manders defeated Mad Dog Connelly in a cage match at 16:07.
Final Thoughts: The Price-Oliver match lived up to the hype. I figured both Charles Mason and KJ Orso were going to advance and be serious threats to win this. When the brackets came out, and I saw Mason was facing the winner of Price-Oliver, it sent up a red flag that he might be getting a bye due to a draw, and that’s exactly what happened. While it was non-tournament, that Romero-Billington match was second-best here. We don’t get to see Rocky have many full-length singles matches, and this was a nice reminder of how good he is in the ring. I’ll go with Oro vs. DeReiss for third.
The cage match was really good too, and lived up to the expectations after this lengthy feud. A lot to like here — all the tournament matches were given plenty of time to develop. Priest-Gresham was a good mat-based match. Billie-Clancy was decent for an intergender match. I am leaning toward a Starkz-Mason finale, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Mason wins the belt. (And as I noted, if KJ Orso had been in the opposite bracket as Billie, he would have been my pick to win it. But there is no way we wind up with a Mason-Orso finals.) The tournament concludes on Saturday.
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