By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
GCW “Life of Crime”
June 28, 2026, in Mesa, Arizona, at Nile Theater
Streamed live on TrillerTV+
GCW has run shows in this brick warehouse before. The lighting is good, and it has a high ceiling. The crowd was maybe 400, possibly as high as 500 — it’s packed! Jordan Castle and John Mosely provided commentary. Emil Jay joined for a few matches, too.
1. Starboy Charlie vs. Mr. Danger. Again, GCW isn’t calling Starboy by his WWE name of Chazz Hall. Standing switches as they worked each other’s left arm to open. Danger hit a dropkick and got a nearfall. The commentators talked about Mr. Danger excelling in deathmatches. Charlie hit a dropkick at 2:00. No guardrails so Danger’s Asai Moonsault meant they landed in rows of chairs. In the ring, Danger hit a springboard guillotine leg drop. Charlie tied him in a Surfboard and into a Dragon Sleeper at 4:00.
Danger hit a springboard clothesline for a nearfall. Charlie hit a Sasuke Special dive to the floor. In the ring, Charlie hit the standing Cosmic Swirl corkscrew splash for a nearfall at 6:30. He set up a door bridge. Danger fired back with a springboard Canadian Destroyer. He nailed a top-rope 450 Splash onto Charlie as they crashed through the board bridge for the pin! I’ll consider that a big upset!
Mr. Danger defeated Starboy Charlie at 8:01.
* Footage aired of Joey Janela vs. Haley J from a day ago. She got quite bloody.
2. “Hollyhood” Haley J (w/Stormy the dog) vs. Brooke Havok. Haley appears to have 2-3 inches on Brooke. They jawed at each other from across the ring. Havok invited Haley to hit a Power Slap, but then she ducked it and tied up Haley. Haley went to the floor and picked up her dog as a shield! In the ring, Haley stomped on Brooke. The commentators talked about Haley’s blood loss a day ago, then having to drive six hours to this show. The women traded forearm strikes on the floor at 3:30. Haley hit a boot to the chest as Brooke was seated in a chair.
They traded chops as they continued to loop ringside. In the ring, Haley hit a uranage for a nearfall at 5:30. Brooke nailed a Superman Punch and a clothesline, then a facebreaker over her knee and a running neckbreaker. Havok hit a running knee for a nearfall. Haley hit a stomp to the back of the head for the pin! The crowd booed that outcome. That wrapped up suddenly.
Hollyhood Haley J defeated Brooke Havok at 7:15.
3. “Cowboy Way” 1 Called Manders and Thomas Shire vs. The Butcher & The Blade. Blade and Manders opened, with Blade immediately hitting some chops, so Manders hit some back! No ‘feeling-out process’ here! Shire and Butcher locked up at 1:30, and Butcher bit Thomas’ fingers! Butcher and Blade hit a stereo shoulder block on Manders. All four got chairs; they sat down across from each other to trade punches. “I’m getting nervous just watching it,” Castle said. They all traded blows, and all stood up to continue punching each other.
Butcher and Shire fought on the floor. Blade and Manders also fought to the floor. Blade slammed a chair over Manders’ back at 6:30, then whipped Manders into rows of chairs. In the ring, Shire dropped Blade with a Pump Kick. He did an Airplane Spin and dropped Blade to the mat for a nearfall at 8:00. Butcher hit a running crossbody block on Shire for a nearfall. All four got up and brawled. Manders shoved Blade to the floor and immediately hit a decapitating clothesline on Butcher for the pin. I really liked that.
“Cowboy Way” 1 Called Manders and Thomas Shire defeated The Butcher & The Blade at 10:01.
4. Bobby Flaco vs. Vengador vs. Resplandor vs. Bodhi Young Prodigy vs. Iron Kid vs. Gringo Loco. I wrote their names in order of introduction. The arm-pumping dork Flaco is back. Ugh. BYP might finally be 18; he’s scrawny, but he’s been competing on the West Coast shows (and in Las Vegas-based FSW!) for a few years now. So, all four guys in that excellent lucha tag a day ago are in this one. Emil Jay replaced Jordan in the booth. Loco and Iron Kid traded quick reversals while everyone else was on the floor. Iron Kid hit a top-rope huracanrana.
Resplandor jumped in and superkicked Iron Kid at 2:00. He hit a satellite armdrag on Vengador, and we got a “Lucha!” chant. Resplandor dove to the floor and hit a huracanrana on Loco. Iron Kid hit a flip dive to the floor at 4:00. In the ring, Iron Kid hit a top-rope corkscrew press onto BYP. Flaco hit a splash, then an X-Factor on Iron Kid. BYP ran across the backs of two guys as they were bent over and hit a huracanrana. (It looked cool, but also overly choreographed, too.) Iron Kid and Resplandor tried dives to the floor, but they were caught, and each was powerbombed onto the edge of the ring frame!
Loco and Resplandor fought up onto a stage where the hard camera was placed. BYP dove off the stage onto Flaco. Iron Kid dove off the stage and hit a huracanrana on Vengador. In the ring, Resplandor hit a Poison rana on Iron Kid, so Iron Kid hit one back! They hit stereo clotheslines at 8:00 and were both down. Iron Kid hit a powerbomb move on Resplandor. Loco hit his split-legged moonsault on Resplandor, then a flip dive to the floor on everyone else. Vengador hit a top-rope moonsault onto everyone on the floor at 9:30. Insane height on that one!
In the ring, Vendador hit a Lethal Injection on Loco for a nearfall at 11:00. Loco hit a bodyslam. Vengador hit a top-rope Poison Rana! Resplandor hit a top-rope corkscrew 450 splash on Loco, but BYP made the save. BYP but a Bulldog Powerslam. Loco nailed the Base Bomb (swinging powerbomb) on Flaco for the pin. Pure craziness. GCW lucha matches are so much fun.
Gringo Loco defeated Bobby Flaco, Vengador, Resplandor, Bodhi Young Prodigy and Iron Kid at 13:20.
5. Anakin Murphy vs. Joey Janela. They are roughly the same height, but Janela is much thicker than emo kid Murphy and his limp spaghetti noodle arms. Joey immediately tied him up on the mat and applied a front headlock on the mat. He rammed Anakin’s head into the middle turnbuckle at 1:30 and hit some chops in the corner. Murphy hit a shotgun dropkick. Joey hit a DVD onto the ring apron at 3:00, and Murphy collapsed to the floor. They brawled at ringside.
In the ring, Joey hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. He hit a European Uppercut and was dominating. Anakin flipped Joey into the corner, then hit an enzuigiri. Anakin hit a tornado DDT for a nearfall at 6:00. They fought on the floor, and Murphy hit a Trustfall (Coffin Drop) off the apron. They got back into the ring, and he hit a top-rope Trustfall. Joey nailed a brainbuster for a nearfall at 8:00. He hit a second brainbuster for a nearfall, then a spin kick to the head.
Murphy hit a swinging neckbreaker, and they were both down. They traded punches, and Murphy hit a stunner for a nearfall at 10:00. Joey hit a running European Uppercut in the corner, then a brainbuster onto the top turnbuckle! He powerbombed Murphy and hit a top-rope double stomp to the chest for a believable nearfall; that should have been it. Joey was frustrated that he didn’t win there. Murphy hit a DDT onto the ring apron.
Murphy went for another Trustfall, but Joey caught him and hit a series of German Suplexes, then a Dragon Suplex for a believable nearfall at 13:00. Joey hit a superkick to the head for a nearfall; Murphy rolled him over for a nearfall. Murphy hit a Poison Rana and a fisherman’s buster for the pin! The crowd popped for the finish! Joey’s losing streak continues! (They are really turning this into a good story about how he has been losing ever since his defeat against Brodie Lee Jr. in Las Vegas.)
Anakin Murphy defeated Joey Janela at 14:10.
* Atticus and Otis Cogar jumped in the ring and attacked Murphy. The tag champs ran down, and our next match is underway!
6. “Bustah & The Brain” Jordan Oliver and Alec Price vs. “VNDL 48” Otis Cogar and Atticus Cogar for the GCW Tag Team Titles. All four brawled, and the ref immediately called for the bell to begin. They brawled on the floor, and Atticus jabbed a chair into the guts of the champs. Otis threw Oliver head-first into the brick wall at 2:00. Price threw a chair at Atticus, and Oliver threw one at Otis. I really dislike this; they are on the floor, and there are no guardrails; these chairs could easily strike a fan and cause a pricey lawsuit.
In the ring, the Cogars were in charge. Atticus hit a moonsault on Price at 5:30. Otis hit a moonsault on Oliver for a nearfall. Price got a rollup on Otis for a nearfall. Price dove through the ropes onto Atticus. He hit a springboard frog splash on Otis for a nearfall at 7:30. Oliver got crotched around the ring post. The Cogars hit a team stunner move on Price for a nearfall. Oliver hit an Acid Kick. Price hit a jumping knee on Otis. Price hit a Rebound Lariat on Atticus at 10:00.
Sam Stackhouse ran into the ring and attacked Oliver and Price! The Cogars looked at Sam and left! Sam hit a sit-out piledriver on Oliver. He hit a splash in the corner on Price. (The commentators noted that KJ Orso was in New Jersey for a show and isn’t here.) Sam hit another splash in the corner on Price. The promotion that doesn’t have DQs… once again has a no-finish ending. Sam stacked the champs and hit a running splash onto both of them.
“Bustah & The Brain” Jordan Oliver and Alec Price vs. “VNDL 48” Otis Cogar and Atticus Cogar ended in a draw/no contest at 10:30; Bustah & The Brain retain the GCW Tag Team Titles.
* They took a 20-minute break before the main event. Why?
7. Vipress and Shotzi Blackheart vs. Nick Gage and Slade in a deathmatch. When we returned, there were barbed-wire boards in the ring. The women kissed each other before the bell to get a cheap pop from the crowd. I saw enough man-on-woman bloody violence a day ago in the Janela-Haley J match, so I’m skipping this one. I skipped to the 10-minute mark and saw Shotzi hit a top-rope superplex on Gage. Blade was bleeding from his forehead, and he put Vipress in a sleeper. Gage powerbombed Shotzi onto a door bridge, then hit a backbreaker over his knee, then a piledriver, to pin Shotzi.
Nick Gage and Slade defeated Vipress and Shotzi Blackheart at 12:48.
Final Thoughts: For the second straight day, the lucha match was the blowaway best bout of the show. Cowboy Way’s tag match against Butcher & Blade was really good and earned second. Janela-Murphy was entertaining enough for third place, but the lack of selling for major moves just drives me nuts. If you take a brainbuster onto the top turnbuckle, maybe you should sell that move, Anakin? Ugh. The lack of a finish to the tag title match was a huge turnoff — a rare night where a Bustah & Brain match isn’t in the top three of the show.
A surprisingly short six-match show; it clocks in at 2:30, but again, they took a full 20-minute break before the main event.
Be the first to comment