By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
GCW “Rude Awakening”
August 1, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at First Avenue
Streamed live on TrillerTV+
This show had a 1 p.m. start time, wrapping up at 4 p.m., allowing fans (like me!) time to make the trek to the U.S. Bank Stadium for WWE SummerSlam. This was my first time seeing GCW live.
* For concerts, a sellout here is 1,400. The ring fills up a lot of the floor. The crowd tonight is maybe 500-600. Two local talents — Darin Corbin and Devon Monroe — are on the show.
* The advertised lineup called for Bear Bronson vs. Shotzi Blackheart and Nick Gage vs. Darin Corbin. Bear Bronson has been suffering from lower back pain and canceled his match Thursday in Wrestling Open, and canceled this one, too. It is unclear why Gage didn’t make it. Anyhow, it meant that Shotzi faced Corbin instead.
1. Ryan O’Neill vs. Jay Lucas vs. Jimmy Lloyd vs. Terry Yaki vs. Anakin Murphy vs. Alexander Lev. Lev competes in Georgia for Action Wrestling and a few others — he’s a bit of a surprise, but the rest have been GCW regulars this year. Yaki and Lucas are regular partners in Georgia dubbed “Top Team,” so not surprisingly, they never struck each other. Everyone took turns hitting crazy dives to the floor. This was a typical (excellent!) scramble that, when it was over, I couldn’t believe it was only six minutes. Yaki hit an enzuigiri on Lev for the pin,
Terry Yaki defeated Ryan O’Neill, Jay Lucas, Jimmy Lloyd, Anakin Murphy, and Alexander Lev at 6:19.
2. KJ Orso vs. Leedz Lewis. Leedz is the short French star who has a look and general style of Mike Bailey; he is having an amazing excursion. (He told me afterwards he has about 20 days left in the U.S.) KJ came out first and cut a heel promo. He was reportedly among those who got a WWE tryout this weekend. He teased that he had signed a contract … to fight Lewis. Good action, and Orso seemed to have Leedz put away. KJ hit a devastating “Character Assassination” double stomp to the back of the head that sounded awesome live. He went for the cover but pulled Leedz up on the two-count. Out of the back came “Bustah & The Brain” Jordan Oliver and Alec Price, and they jawed at Orso. Lewis got a schoolboy rollup for the flash pin. Orso was irate!
Leedz Lewis defeated KJ Orso at 6:38.
Ring announcer Emil Jay pointed out that Brodie Lee Jr. was in the crowd. The 14-year-old Brodie waved at the crowd, but he never got in the ring. I guess he’s just hanging around to haunt Joey Janela!
3. Gary Jay vs. Vipress. They introduced tables and chairs and used them frequently. Gary hit a bodyslam across two chairs on their sides! OUCH! They fought on the apron, and Vipress hit a Death Valley Driver on a board placed between the ring and the guardrail, with Gary crashing through it to the floor. In the ring, Vipress hit another DVD and a piledriver for the pin! Good brawl.
Vipress defeated Gary Jay at 9:45.
* Otis Cogar ran into the ring and beat up Vipress! That brought out Manders for the save, and our next match got underway.
4. Otis Cogar vs. 1 Called Manders. Like the prior match, they used chairs and doors, and this was a hard-hitting brawl. Otis essentially hit a Pounce that sent Manders through a door. Manders hit his Oklahoma Stampede (bulldog powerslam) for a nearfall. Manders hit a clothesline on a chair in Cogar’s hands, and he got a nearfall. Otis hit a moonsault for the pin. I’ve not been a big fan of either Cogar brother, but this was really good action.
Otis Cogar defeated 1 Called Manders at 10:27.
* Vipress ran back to the ring and hit Otis, and it allowed Manders to hit one decapitating clothesline to get some measure of revenge.
5. Marcus Mathers vs. Avery Styles. Avery came out, just like his father, wearing a black jacket and his head bowed. I can’t stress enough how impressed I was with Avery. He’s not a scrawny kid like some other second-generation stars who started at a young age (Colby Corino instantly comes to mind). Early on, he hit a dropkick and popped to his feet, looking exactly like AJ. He hit a flying forearm from the concert stage on Mathers. Marcus hit his mule kick to the face. Styles hit a Frankensteiner. Marcus hit a Styles Clash for a nearfall! A minute later, Avery hit his own Styles Clash for a nearfall. Marcus nailed his Ospreay-style heel hook kick to the jaw, a twisting Flatliner, and his top-rope 450 Splash for the pin. This was awesome.
Marcus Mathers defeated Avery Styles at 18:32.
* Marcus got on the mic and said he never got to fight AJ Styles, but it was an honor to fight his son. He put Avery over with heaping praise, and concluded with a “welcome to GCW” line that got a nice pop.
* Darin Corbin came to the ring and made fun of Nick Gage, saying Nick was too scared to get on a plane to come and fight him. Darin said there isn’t a man in the back who can beat him. (The GCW Twitter/X feed had already told us what this match had been changed to.) Shotzi Blackheart came out, and she was holding a framed picture of Lio Rush (Lio’s new character is called “the Blackheart). Shotzi and Lio had an entertaining fight in GCW in Los Angeles recently, and it appears they are going to keep this going. She also was wearing a new Lio Rush T-shirt with the goo dripping from his mouth.
6. Darin Corbin vs. Shotzi Blackheart. Corbin was in charge early on, and he’s a quick-witted redhead, returning insults to the crowd as fast as they are shouted at him. Shotzi tied him in a Camel clutch. Corbin missed a moonsault. Darin hit a Jarrett-style stroke. He shouted he was honoring his “Brother” (Baron Corbin) and hit the Deep Six swinging side slam. Shotzi got knocked down; when she stood up, she had black goo coming out of her mouth, and it slowly was all over her cheeks as they continued to fight. They fought on the ropes; she knocked him to the mat and hit her top-rope senton splash for the pin. Fun match.
Shotzi Blackheart defeated Darin Corbin at 13:19.
7. “Bustah & The Brain” Alec Price and Jordan Oliver vs. “Janelasus” Joey Janela and Megan Bayne for the GCW Tag Team Titles. This was incredible. In a fun spot early on, Megan picked up Joey and slammed him on the champs. She had one guy in her arms and another on her shoulders, and hit the Samoan Drop-and-fallaway slam combo. Such power! Oliver tied her in a Boston Crab. Price and Janela had an awesome exchange of forearm strikes. Bayne hit a double German Suplex on the champs. Joey set up for a Doomsday Device; Megan leapt off the top rope, but Price ducked her clothesline, got the Victory Roll, and pinned Janela! Joey’s losing streak continues! This match will be rewatched later this week — a top-tier tag match, and one of my favorite tags of the whole year.
“Bustah & The Brain” Alec Price and Jordan Oliver defeated “Janelasus” Joey Janela and Megan Bayne to retain the GCW Tag Team Titles at 19:17.
8. Atticus Cogar vs. Devon Monroe for the GCW World Title. This match had a great audience reaction, as the Minnesota crowd loves the flamboyant Devon Monroe (again, comparable to Sonny Kiss.) Cogar did one of my least favorite spots early on, as he tied Devon in a pendulum and swung him into cooking skewers that had been jabbed into the bottom turnbuckle. (Yes, I’m fearful of one of those entering an eye.) Monroe nailed a Sunset Flip Bomb onto a door! Ouch! We had some strange music and interruptions at 15:00, but the match continued. Monroe tied Cogar in a Camel Clutch. Cogar jabbed skewers into the top of Monroe’s head, earning the ‘You sick f—!” chant. Cogar hit the Brain Hemorrhage (snapmare driver) for the pin. That topped all my expectations.
Atticus Cogar defeated Devon Monroe to retain the GCW World Title at 19:49.
* Cogar got on the mic, and he KNOWS who has been disrupting his matches lately with hidden messages, music, QR code, etc. — he blamed it on Joseph Sawyer (f/k/a Joe Gacy). He called out Sawyer. From the back came Frank the Clown, who traded words with Cogar. Finally, the lights went out! When they came back on, Sawyer was in the ring, where he brawled with Atticus. Sawyer hit the Sister Abigail swinging faceplant!
Final Thoughts: I am not using hyperbole when I say this was a tremendous show. Absolutely awesome. If I have a complaint, it’s that Bear Bronson didn’t make it, and that opening scramble could have been twice as long. That’s it — a top-notch show, top to bottom. GCW brought all the top stars they’ve been using in 2026, and everything delivered. The tag title match was incredible. Four talents who know each other well, and everything they did just clicked.
Styles-Mathers was awesome and would have been No. 1 on any other night. Anyone who has read my reviews knows I’ve written that Mathers reminds me of a WCW-era AJ Styles — yes, I think that highly of his work and skill. Avery is so good… it makes you wonder if he’s been wrestling under a mask. No, he probably hasn’t, but I can’t stress enough the quality and poise he brought to this match. Yes, Mathers is a top-notch guy and can carry anyone to a good match, but Avery easily held up his end.
The main event takes third. No one in the building thought Monroe was winning the title. But the crowd was still into it, and they had a nice match that entertained. I was also able to chat with several of the wrestlers after the show before heading down the street to SummerSlam.
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