By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
GCW and F1rst Wrestling “GCW vs. F1rst”
August 2, 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 Summer Slam, night 2.
* Ring announcer Emil Jay (weakly!) tried to get the crowd of 400 to chant “GCW!” However, the fans loudly chanted, “F1rst! F1rst!” Today was a best-of-seven series! ONLY ONE match was announced in advance (the main event), but clearly, the crowd decided that all F1rst wrestlers were going to be babyfaces today. Marcus Mathers — who never gets booed (unless he’s facing a woman!) — came to the ring for the first match. LOUD boos! The fans didn’t know who he was facing yet. Well, he was facing the most beloved babyface, the flamboyant Devon Monroe!
1. Marcus Mathers vs. Devon Monroe. Some basic offense early, and Mathers tried being a babyface, but the crowd wasn’t having it. So, at 4:00, he put on a GCW T-shirt! Mathers hit his corner fadeaway stunner and a Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 7:00. Devon hit a swinging neckbreaker and a tornado DDT. He hit a springboard X-Factor faceplant for the pin! A fun match and a hot crowd. GCW 0, F1rst 1.
Devon Monroe defeated Marcus Mathers at 11:11.
2. 1 Called Manders vs. Brandon Gore. Gore is the conspiracy theorist with the tinfoil hat. They traded hats, with Gore putting on Manders’ cowboy hat. Gore attacked, and we’re underway! Manders crotched him in the corner and hit a series of chops. Gore hit a Spinebuster and a German Suplex. Manders ripped off Gore’s shirt so he could hit more chops, then a hard clothesline. Gore hit a top-rope flying headbutt. Manders nailed a spear for a nearfall. Gore hit a Chaos Theory rolling German Suplex. Manders nailed another spear for the pin! GCW 1, F1rst 1.
1 Called Manders defeated Brandon Gore at 9:58.
3. Allie Katch vs. Shotzi Blackheart for the F1rst Title. I hate that the belt was on the line, because of course it’s not changing hands. Now, Allie lost a “Loser leaves GCW” match over WrestleMania weekend, but she is here representing F1rst. Shotzi continues to be obsessed with “Blackheart” Lio Rush. She brought a picture of him to the ring and taped it to a top turnbuckle. Shotzi hit a 619. Katch hit a rolling cannonball for a nearfall. Shotzi hit a suplex into the corner, and she hit her own rolling cannonball. Katch hit a Tower of London-style stunner out of the corner.
Katch tore up the photo of Lio Rush! She shouted something like, “he’s not real!” But, out of the back came Lio Rush! He snuck up behind Katch and tapped her on the shoulder. Katch was terrified. Shotzi and Lio hugged, and they made the “heart” sign with their hands. Lio helped Shotzi, including helping her on a mid-ring Spanish Fly, with Shotzi getting a nearfall. Katch grabbed Lio’s belt and threw it from the ring, so he left to chase it down! This allowed Katch enough time to hit her piledriver and pin Shotzi. I was highly sport-entertained. F1rst 2, GCW 1.
Allie Katch defeated Shotzi Blackheart at 10:12.
4. “Bustah & The Brain” Alec Price and Jordan Oliver vs. “None More Violent” Jinn and Cho for the GCW Tag Team Titles. Again, I hate that the belts were on the line, as it removes any mystery over who will be the winner. Oliver and Cho opened, and the F1rst team took control. They are always heels, but the crowd loudly chanted their team name! Jinn looked out at the crowd with a perplexed look and said, “You like us now?” They worked Oliver over extensively. Price finally got a hot tag to enter for the first time at 6:00. After some back-and-forth action, the champs hit their team Styles Clash to pin Jinn. Solid match — Jinn and Cho had a longer and better match a night earlier against Joey Janela and Megan Bayne. F1rst 2, GCW 2.
“Bustah & The Brain” Alec Price and Jordan Oliver defeated “None More Violent” Jinn and Cho to retain the GCW Tag Team Titles at 9:19.
5. Joey Janela vs. Ryan Cruz. Again, 22-year ring vet Cruz is now bald and comes out to Creed’s “Higher.” Even though he’s also a heel here, the crowd chanted, “Take me higher!” early in the match. Good back-and-forth action, and they traded chops. Cruz hit a backbreaker over his knee at 4:30. Janela hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall at 8:30, then a superplex. Cruz missed a moonsault. A few minutes later, he hit the moonsault. Janela hit a pair of Dragon Suplexes for a nearfall at 15:00, but he missed a moonsault. Cruz hit a frog splash for a nearfall. He hit a spin kick to Janela’s head and scored the pin! Janela’s losing streak continues! F1rst Wrestling 3, GCW 2.
Ryan Cruz defeated Joey Janela at 17:42.
6. “Team F1rst” Jordan. Mr. Williams, Shane Black, and Badger Briggs vs. “Team GCW” Terry Yaki, Anakin Murphy, CPA, and Jimmy Loyd in an eight-person tag. This was blowaway good and had no business being this entertaining, as everyone flowed in and out of the ring and hit some big moves. Jordan and Yaki opened. CPA (button down shirt and tie) and Mr. Williams (button down shirt and tie) entered and yelled at each other, and ripped off each other’s clip-on ties. Some good humor. Anakin (scrawny emo kid) entered to face Black (scrawny lifeguard), and it’s funny because they are both so sickly skinny as they traded blows. (They did an excellent job in pairing people in this match!)
Black hit Murphy with his floatie for a nearfall! Briggs entered to face Lloyd, and she hit a suplex for a nearfall at 7:00. Black accidentally sprayed her in the eyes with his suntan spray! Team GCW began working Badger over in their corner and kept her grounded. Jordan got a hot tag and beat up Yaki. Black hit a top-rope Doomsday Double Blockbuster! Cool spot. Briggs hit a German Suplex, then a dive through the ropes. Williams (who again is probably mid to late 40s) hit a plancha. Black hit a top-rope cannonball. Yaki hit a moonsault to the floor. In the ring, Badger hit a Falcon Arrow. CPA peeled off a shirt and hit his 1099 (comedy 619). Yaki hit a superplex and pinned Jordan. That topped all expectations. F1rst 3, GCW 3.
“Team GCW” Terry Yaki, Anakin Murphy, CPA, and Jimmy Loyd defeated “Team F1rst” Jordan, Mr. Williams, Shane Black, and Badger Briggs at 19:26.
7. Atticus Cogar vs. Arik Cannon for the GCW World Title. Oof, they’ve booked themselves into a corner here, as Cogar isn’t losing the belt, but Cannon isn’t losing this match in First Avenue. Standing switches and a standoff. Otis Cogar hit the ring at 3:00 and attacked Cannon. Vipress ran in and dropkicked Otis. Cannon scooped her up and bodyslammed her onto the Cogars; she didn’t look happy about that! It was announced this match was now restarting as a tag match!
Atticus Cogar vs. Arik Cannon went to a draw at 5:14; Cogar retains the GCW World Title.
8. Arik Cannon and Vipress vs. “VNDL 48” Atticus Cogar and Otis Cogar. Atticus hit a half nelson suplex on Vipress. Cannon slammed Otis on the concert stage! Vipress hit a top-rope crossbody block at 4:00. They got a door. Cannon hit a Magic Screw twisting neckbreaker off the ropes. Otis charged but wound up crashing through the door in the corner. Vipress jabbed cooking skewers into Atticus’ head. She hit a frog splash and pinned Otis. That was … a highly underwhelming way to end a great weekend.
Arik Cannon and Vipress defeated “VNDL 48” Atticus Cogar and Otis Cogar at 7:20.
* Cannon got on the mic and said he isn’t sure which promotion won the battle, but the real winners were the people in the room. The crowd responded by chanting, “We love wrestling!”
Final Thoughts: First and foremost, I had a blast this weekend, attending six wrestling shows over three days. The wrestling was really good, and a lot of marquee names were in town. The Lio Rush appearance was a fun surprise. The eight-person tag absolutely stole the show. Between the dives, the comedy between CPA and Mr. Williams, and Badger showing off her power by throwing around the hefty Lloyd, the match just topped what I would have expected at the bell. I’ll go with Mathers-Monroe for second, and Janela-Cruz for third. The Shotzi-Katch stuff was fun, but it was more of a fun angle than a match — they accomplished everything they wanted to do there.
But of course, the ending was booked poorly. I would have done a double 10-count, where neither man gets to their feet before the ref reaches the 10 count, because they are so exhausted. They could have done a double pin, where different refs from different promotions argue over who got the pin. Either of those finishes works so much better than what happened. At one of the “Nitro” shows at Mall of America maybe three years ago, they booked RVD vs. Darius Martin. Heels interfered, so RVD and Darius teamed up, and we didn’t get the match promised. Two years ago, Mustafa Ali faced Ultimo Dragon in the Twin Cities. Same thing — heels attacked, so Ali and Dragon teamed up against them. Point being — a match was promised. It was the only match that was promised! And they didn’t deliver a satisfying finish to the match they promised. Yeah, it left a sour taste in my mouth. Okay, enough venting, because this was a great weekend for wrestling.
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