By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
GCW “Guilty Conscience”
May 15, 2026, in Detroit, Michigan, at Harpo’s Concert Theatre
Streamed live on TrillerTV+
I’ll be blunt — this is my least favorite venue that GCW routinely runs shows. The ring is far too dark — the center of the ring is lit, but wrestlers can vanish into the shadows in the corners of the ring. It was packed in there, and the crowd was hot and into the show. John Mosely and Emil Jay provided commentary. Also, Harpos allows them to run death matches, so every show here is loaded with death matches that just don’t interest me. So, I’m skipping those.
* Seven matches were announced in advance, and this lineup is also pretty weak. Marcus Mathers was at the WWE ID show in Massachusetts, while Billie Starkz, Jordan Oliver, and Alec Price were in Maryland for ROH. I think TNA had a taping, too, so Bear Bronson was there. But where are Effy, KJ Orso, and Gringo Loco? No new faces tonight; everyone is a regular in GCW (or appear on the GCW shows in the Midwest anyway).
1. Gavin Ash, Davey Bang, and August Matthews vs. Juni Underwood, Kristian Robinson, and Logan Cavazos. This is a bonus match. Ash has appeared on recent GCW shows in Texas and Kansas. He’s a teen and pretty slender. I’ve seen Cavazos a few times now in Chicago-area shows, and he’s a scrawny teen, too. Ash and Juni opened and traded reversals on the mat. Juni isn’t particularly big, but he’s bigger than the scrawny teen. Logan entered, and he cranked on Ash’s left elbow. He hit a back suplex on Bang at 2:30. Robinson got in and traded quicker offense with Bang. Bang hit a double axe kick to the back of two heads.
Robinson wrestles barefoot, and he hit some quick kicks on Ash and hit a senton for a nearfall at 4:00. Kristian’s team worked over Gavin. August hit a Trevor Lee-style Cave-In to Logan’s chest. Bang hit a moonsault to the floor, while August hit a flip dive to the floor at 6:30. Juni got a nearfall on Bang. Robinson hit a handspring-back-enzuigiri on Bang, then a Fosbury Flop to the floor and landed on his feet! That popped the crowd. Logan hit a top-rope moonsault to the floor onto everyone. Gavin hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press onto everyone at 8:30.
In the ring, Juni hit a half-nelson suplex on Gavin. Those two got up and traded forearm strikes. Gavin hit a Poison Rana. Logan hit a running kick in the corner on Ash, then a top-rope Spanish Fly and a piledriver. However, Bang hit a 450 Splash on Cavazos. Kristian hit a Styles Clash for a nearfall at 10:00. Bang and Matthews hit stereo superkicks. They hit the Spears Tower on Logan. Ash immediately hit a top-rope Shooting Star Press on Logan for the pin. Good way to start the show — a high-energy spotfest.
Gavin Ash, Davey Bang, and August Matthews defeated Juni Underwood, Kristian Robinson, and Logan Cavazos at 11:10.
2. Dr. Redacted defeated Jimmy Lloyd in a death match. I skipped this entirely.
3. CPA vs. Jeffrey John. This was also a bonus match. CPA, of course, peeled off a shirt before they got going, but he had another one on underneath. John tried to flip CPA by his tie, but it was a clip-on. John avoided the 1099 (comedy 619) at 2:30. John hit a backbreaker over his shoulder for a nearfall. Nice. John hit two rolling suplexes and a bulldog. CPA hit a back-body drop and a Polish Hammer, then a stunner at 5:30.
CPA hit the 1099 and a top-rope missile dropkick. He peeled off a second shirt, but he had a third one on. John hit a Rebound Lariat and a rolling Koppo Kick in the corner. John hit a top-rope flying headbutt for a nearfall at 7:00. CPA hit the Numbers Cruncher (DVD) for the pin. A decent comedy match that didn’t overstay its welcome.
CPA defeated Jeffrey John at 7:34.
4. 1 Called Manders vs. Gary Jay. This should be a good brawl. Manders has his GCW title shot coming on Sunday, so no way he’s losing here. They immediately traded chops and forearm strikes. They went to the floor at 2:30 and traded more chops. In the ring, Manders hit an Oklahoma Stampede (Bulldog Powerslam) for a nearfall. They fell to the floor and hit a fan, with the fan’s beer going everywhere. Back in the ring, they traded more chops. Manders hit a clothesline from his knees, but Gary hit a clothesline for a nearfall at 6:00.
Gary bit Manders’ fingers. Manders hit a spinebuster and a Doctor Bomb for a believable nearfall. They sat across from each other on the mat and traded slaps to the face. They got up and traded more slaps and chops. This crowd was hot and into this. Manders hit a hard clothesline but only got a one-count. He immediately hit a second clothesline for the pin. Really good action — not every match needs to be 15 minutes! Manders got on the mic and put Gary over, and he vowed he was winning the title on Sunday.
1 Called Manders defeated Gary Jay at 8:24.
5. Vipress vs. Allysin Kay. A nice pop for Detroit native Kay. Vipress hit a shotgun dropkick, and we’re underway! They both rolled to the floor and got chairs and garbage can lids from under the ring. They traded chops as they looped ringside. They got back into the ring at 3:30, and Kay hit a German Suplex. She set up a chair structure in the ring. Kay hit a Pounce that sent Vipress flying into the chair structure at 6:00, and Kay got a nearfall. Vipress grabbed a staple gun and used it in Kay’s groin; the commentators didn’t know how to call that one. Vipress stapled a picture to Kay’s rear, and that earned a “You sick f—!” chant. Vipress hit a spinning back fist and a DVD onto a door in the corner that didn’t break!
Vipress tried again at 8:30, but the door still didn’t break! She got a nearfall. Vipress set up the chair structure again. Kay had a long knife! She charged, but it got stuck in the turnbuckle. Vipress threw a chair at Kay’s head — I hate that — and got a nearfall. She hit a powerbomb move for a nearfall. Vipress left the ring, got a pane of glass, and set that in the corner. She threw another chair at Kay’s head. So unnecessary. Vipress set up a glass pane bridge between two chairs. However, Kay hit a second-rope superplex through the glass pane bridge at 12:30, with glass flying everywhere. However, Kay only got a nearfall. She left the ring, got a pane of glass, and made another bridge. However, Vipress powerbombed Kay through the glass pane bridge! She hit a piledriver for the pin. Hey, I saw a deathmatch after all.
Vipress defeated Allysin Kay at 15:23.
6. Joey Janela vs. Terry Yaki. A feeling-out process early on. Yaki hit a dropkick at 2:00. He hit a dive to the floor. In the ring, Joey hit a German Suplex and a back suplex. He hit some chops. Yaki hit some kicks and a Pump Kick to the chest at 6:00, then a Poison Rana for a nearfall. Yaki hit an Asai Moonsault to the floor, then a springboard spin kick into the ring for a nearfall. Joey hit a brainbuster, then another, for a nearfall at 7:30. Joey got a chair and hit a hard shot across the back! Ouch! Yaki hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall at 9:00. He flipped Joey onto an open chair.
Joey hit a snap Dragon Suplex. He hit a stunner, then another, and a Lumbar Check backbreaker for a nearfall at 11:00. Yaki hit a Canadian Destroyer out of the ropes for a nearfall. Yaki hit an enzuigiri, but Joey hit another Dragon Suplex, then another, for a nearfall at 13:00. Yaki hit a clothesline. They got up and traded chops. Yaki hit an enzuigiri in the corner. Yaki hit a DDT out of the corner for a nearfall at 15:00. Joey hit a Death Valley Driver across an open chair, then a top-rope double stomp to the chest for a nearfall. Joey hit a top-rope superplex, but Yaki immediately hit a sit-out powerbomb for the pin. The crowd went NUTS for that pin! The commentators immediately agreed that it was a big upset.
Terry Yaki defeated Joey Janela at 16:42.
* Joey hit a post-match German Suplex and was booed as he headed to the back.
7. “The Pillars” Malcolm Monroe III and Tommy Vendetta defeated Otis Cogar and Atticus Cogar. Otis was briefly hospitalized after his death match in Las Vegas, so it’s good he’s healthy enough to compete. The Pillars routinely appear on these Detroit shows. I’ve compared Vendetta to Mark Briscoe, and that fits. I passed on this one.
8. Matt Tremont defeated Anakin Murphy in a death match. Tremont might be twice the weight of the scrawny, spaghetti-limp-armed Murphy. I saw enough deathmatches for the night.
9. John Wayne Murdoch defeated Slade in a death match.
Final Thoughts: Despite all the top-tier names absent tonight, I was satisfied with the five matches I watched. Yaki has appeared on several GCW/JCW shows in the past year, but this is his first big breakthrough singles win here. That was the best of the ones I watched. Manders-Gary Jay was hard-hitting and didn’t need to go longer than that. The opening six-way got the crowd fired up. While I dislike the glass panes in that women’s match — you can’t control where glass flies when it shatters — I’m far more bothered by two completely unnecessary chair shots to the head that added absolutely nothing to the match. Have we learned nothing?
GCW heads to suburban St. Louis on Saturday before going to Iowa on Sunday for that big Atticus Cogar-1 Called Manders title match. I think a title change is likely, and it’s long overdue. The roster for Saturday’s show is largely the same core group as here.
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