Credit: GCW
Welcome back to the website friends, acquaintances, strangers. Whomever (whoever?) you may be.
The GCW crew just finished a weekend in Los Angeles and I had major FOMO not being in attendance- as if L.A is within driving distance and not across the country from me. Nonetheless, I had an awesome time watching from home even though the west coast start time nearly killed me. Let’s dig in shall we?
NIGHT ONE. GCW Welcome to Heartbreak.
The show opens with a promo package from legend, X-PAC, detailing his return to the ring and the forthcoming tag team match with Joey Janela vs the Major Players.
Jacobs Fatu and Juicy Finau take on the Briscoes to kick off the night of action. The Briscoes ultimate triumph after a match filled with slaps, punches, and trash talking a plenty. The Briscoes, Jay and Mark, then grab the microphone and declare they want a rematch for the GCW Tag Titles in Dallas during the collective.
Blake Cristain and Nick Wayne are up next and it’s a show of sportsmanship in the form of a handshake before the match gets underway. This incredible contest is marked by a victory for Cristian and chants of “fight forever” from the amped LA crowd. If you missed any of the action this week, this match is definitely worth going back and checking out. These two are some of the hottest indie wrestlers on the scene.
Following this is Tony Deppen vs Kevin Blackwood in a true back and forth meet for Blackwood’s GCW debut. I’m far from an expert but these two seemed evenly matched, and the sequence of move avoidances kept the crowd on their feet. Deppen wins via submission.
Mike Bailey and Ninja Mack face each other next in one of the most talked about matches of the weekend. There’s a brief show of respect from both competitors before they begin wrestling- quite literally-all over the Ukrainian Culture Center. They’re in the ring, in the crowd, back in the ring, and suddenly find themselves on a ledge. Bailey sends Mack flying down through a wooden door with a huge kick before ultimately getting the pinfall victory.
The GCW Extreme Championship is on the line as AJ Gray defends against ACH. While the match was exceptional, the biggest piece of news comes after Gray’s successful defense, as he gets on the mic and challenges GCW World Champion, Jon Moxley, to a match at Joey Janela’s Spring Break in Dallas.
Homicide emerges next to take on Dr Wagner Jr. Wagner Jr. riles the crowd by not throwing his mask, and the match gets underway. It’s a cluster of slaps, crutches, and steel chairs before Wagner Jr. defeats Homicide by means of pinfall.
Ensuing is Team Reefer-Jordan Oliver, Jimmy Lloyd, Jack Cartwheel, & Grim Reefer- vs Second Gear Crew and Friends- Gringo Loco, Allie Katch, Dark Sheik, & Matthew Justice. Despite all the bodies, each member of the teams got a chance to battle and Second Gear Crew and Friends reigned victorious in one of the busiest tag matches I have ever witnessed.
Injured Chris Dickinson heads to the ring and states that although the shelf-time for his injury could be up to a year, he plans on making his return in Dallas. He tells Josh Barnett to get Minor Suzuki on the phone, and he’ll see him at Bloodsport. Dickinson later challenges Matt Cardona to a match at Spring Break.
It’s main event time: Joey Janela and X-Pac vs The Major Players (Matt Cardona and Brian Myers). It was a perfect main event and X-Pac and Janela take the win. The talk of the wrestling world isn’t the match itself, but the aftermath. X-Pac cuts a promo and fires the crowd up before falling victim to a superkick from Joey Janela. The LA crowd goes insane. While GCW is notorious for having fan involvement, the fans in attendance erupted into a fire unlike no other. Various things are thrown at Joey Janela and it seems to be in agreement that things were taken a little too far.
NIGHT TWO: GCW The Coldest Winter.
The show begins with Joey Janela, a microphone, and a cigarette. Janela is met with immense boos and displeasure from the crowd as he launches onto a spiel centered around the last five years he’s spent in GCW, before questioning when he’ll get his flowers. It was a true heel promo and I personally think we should all be giving Joey his flowers. X-Pac eventually comes to the ring and challenges Janela to a match at Spring Break.
The action kicks off with Jack Cartwheel and Ninja Mack. How Ninja Mack is standing after his battle with Bailey the night prior? The world will never know. The match was packed wall to wall with athleticism, and Mack gets the pinfall victory.
Denise Salcedo is introduced next as a ring announcer. Side note- Salcedo is everything I aspire to be and I quite enjoyed her presence. And while on the subject of ring announcers and giving flowers, Emil Jay people. Emil Jay.
Dark Shiek and Jordan Oliver are up next. They start with a lockup and Shiek gets the first advantage, but in the end falls to Oliver via pinfall.
Up next is Tony Deppen and AEW’s Thunder Rosa. Inter-gender matches are cool as fuck, and GCW is certainly the place for it. Rosa is the clear fan favorite in this one, and the contest becomes a clear “who can out-wrestle who” combat. Thunder Rosa takes the pinfall victory.
Nick Gage comes out and summons the MDK Gang. It always feels like a big deal when Gage comes out. He introduces the next match-Jimmy Lloyd vs Alex Zayne- as a deathmatch.
It’s mentioned that this marks Zayne’s first deathmatch in GCW. It was a full on bloody war, and had Zayne walking away to seek medical attention with several injuries. Jimmy Lloyd gets the pinfall victory, and man oh man is deathmatch wrestling fun. Well, for the fans at least.
In a last minute addition to the card, Team LA Fights takes on the Second Gear Bussy. Effy is a national treasure, and The Second Gear Bussy walk away with the victory.
Matthew Justice gets on the mic and calls out Mance Warner. Warner reveals two broken bones prevented him from competing at Hammerstein, and doesn’t want to wait until Dallas to get back in the ring. It’s made official that Mance Warner and Matthew Justice will take on the H8 Club in two weeks.
Three matches of the weekend remain and up next is Kevin Blackwood vs Grim Reefer. They begin with a lock-up, move in and out of the ring, and features an uppercut succession in favor of Blackwood, who eventually wins with a pinfall.
Following this comes Mascara Dorada vs Gringo Loco. It’s spitball of fast paced action and it’s marvelous how two humans can even move like that. Loco gets the upper hand, and despite some offense from Dorado, Loco emerges victorious via pinfall.
It’s announced that GCW will make their way back to LA March 24 at the Roxy Theater.
Main event: Blake Cristian vs Mike Bailey. Both men had amazing showings the night prior and made for a great main event. They shook hands, locked up. Bailey targets Cristian’s legs for the duration of the match. The match is truly action packed, and the competitors wore each other out a great deal. It ends with Blake Cristian taking home the pinfall win.
Cristian takes the mic and gives huge props to Bailey, stating he should be in the best in the world category. You can tell the match meant a lot to Blake, and they both tested themselves. The two men hug to close out the show.
That’s all for GCW in LA. Another great weekend for wrestling.
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