GCW Aftermath- December 31, 2023
by Doc Allen
Live from the Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. There's roughly 200 fans in attendance. Our hosts are Dave Prazak, Veda Scott, and Jordan Castle.
GCW Tag Team Championship:
Violence is Forever © (Kevin Ku and Dominic Garrini) vs. Wasted Youth (Austin Luke and Dyln McKay)
Ku and Luke start with some friendly chain wrestling before trading chops. Wasted Youth briefly control the match before Violence is Forever swarms McKay and cuts the ring in half. McKay saves himself with a tornado DDT. Luke gets the hot tag and leaps over Garrini for a head kick on Ku. German suplex by Luke. Ku drives McKay into the ring post and hits Luke with a roundhouse kick. Match totally breaks down, McKay catches Garrini with a springboard moonsault. Garrini reverses McKay's SSP into a triangle choke. Ku and Luke knock each other down, drawing a friendly "GCW" chant from the fans. McKay clears the ring for a diving plancha onto Violence is Forever. Wasted Talent hit Ku with a tandem double stomp/powerbomb, Garrini breaks the cover. Ku fights out of a 2 vs 1 scenario and feeds Luke to Garrini's piledriver on the ring frame. McKay valiantly tries to go it alone but takes a tandem GTS and lungblower/sleeper combo for the submission at 11:15. This was everything a good opening match should be, ***¼.Winners and still GCW Tag Team Champions: Violence is Forever
Highlight reel of the recent Nate Gage Invitational Tournament. Looks like they cleared out the local Home Depot's light tube inventory.
Lio Rush vs. Cole Radrick
Rush is making his umpteenth comeback and the fans are glad to see him. Fans give them a dueling chant before the bell. The guys take time to enjoy the moment. Radrick blocks a boot and holds on for several seconds before a quick exchange forces Rush into a timeout. Cole pummels Rush into the first row. Rush comes back with quick attacks. Atomic drop/suplex combo by Rush gets 2. Cole puts together enough counters to hit a slingshot DDT for 2. A slugfest results in Cole hitting a Cody Cutter for a late 2 count. They trade stereo shots until Cole hits a butterfly suplex and Sebastian's Curse for 2. Rush responds with Final Hour to win at 10:31. Great energy and pacing in this one, ***.Winner: Lio Rush
GCW Extreme Championship:
Joey Janela © vs. Emersyn Jayne
The Extreme title is being defended for the first time in many months, presumably after Janela misplaced it after a night of partying. They start with some lively chain wrestling. Shoulder tackle by Janela, but his showboating results in Jayne hitting a rana. Springboard rana by Jayne, but Janela dodges a swinging back fist. Jayne flies into Janela's uppercut. Janela is more than happy to slug Jayne in the face during his assault. Joey crashes and burns on a moonsault attempt, giving Jayne the opening for a German suplex. Missile dropkick by Jayne gets 2. Jayne hangs Janela in the ropes for a sliding German. Janela comes back with a brainbuster. Jayne kicks out, so Janela grabs a door. Janela teases a coast to coast DVD through the door, but Jayne reverses into a super rana. Tope suicida by Jayne, but Janela manages to throw her through the door. Jayne reverses another throw and sends Janela through the remaining door. Dragon suplex onto the apron by Jayne! Janela recovers with a superkick and package piledriver for a somewhat silly nearfall. Janela sets up a bridged door, but Jayne reverses into a Spanish Fly! Janela kicks out! Jayne absorbs a German suplex and returns the favor. Dragon suplex by Jayne, then a running knee to the head. Janela flips her off and gets kicked to the floor for a flying moonsault! Janela answers with a nasty lariat and DVD. Stuffed powerbomb by Janela but JAYNE KICKS OUT! Janela hits a diving double stomp to finally pin Jayne at 17:22. Took a while to get going but they hit an extra gear and got really serious in the second half. Hopefully, Janela can keep track of his belt this time, ***½.Winner and still GCW Extreme Champion: Joey Janela
Mike Bailey vs. Violento Jack
Fans chant "Speedball" at the bell. I don't know who Jack is, but he's famous enough to have a Wikipedia page, so that's something. They exchange open hand slaps until Bailey kicks Jack down. Jack fakes a chop and stomps Bailey's bare toes instead. Bailey answers with the stupid speedball kicks that I complain about every time. Triangle moonsault by Bailey pops the fans. Jack accepts several kicks before knocking Bailey into the ring post. Jack viciously goes to work on the knee and hits a leaping DDT. Jack mixes up his attacks and snaps the rope into Mike's eyes. Bailey counters into a head scissors takedown and nails a missile dropkick. Bailey stops to sell his injuries before lighting Jack up with stiff kicks. Standing SSP by Bailey gets 2. Jack answers with a cross armbreaker and ankle lock. Bailey survives, but Jack nails a northern lariat. They exchange chops, Jack hits a cheap back chop, which leads to them allowing competing back chops on each other. Jack takes advantage with a German suplex! Bailey responds with a slick Asai moonsault! Superplex by Jack, but Bailey blocks a swanton bomb. Tornado kick by Bailey, but his SSP double knees misses. Sitout powerbomb by Jack gets 2, so he goes for a head scissor submission. They trade rapid counters until Jack gets a kneebar. Dramatic rope break by Bailey, and he delivers a double knees moonsault on the ring frame! Poison super rana by Bailey, and then the double knees SSP but JACK KICKS OUT! Bailey tries one more time with the Flamingo Driver and wins at 18:38! Just a physical, brutal match for the sheer hell of having a brutal, physical match. They developed an interesting mid-match rivalry and delivered some great false finishes, ****.Winner: Mike Bailey
Jack teases a bottle attack, but instead invites Bailey to toast Coronas instead. Jack sprays the beer into Bailey's face afterwards, but he didn't break any glass, so that's basically a sign of friendship from Jack. Bailey doesn't take it personally and finishes his Corona.
Death Match:
Charli Evans vs. Risa Sera
Fans chant "welcome back" for the long missing Evans, but also give Risa a big ovation. They start with some standard wrestling action. They both botch smashing light tubes over their own heads, but the fans forgive them. Sera takes a broken tube to Evans' forehead. Evans ducks a kendo stick and swings a chair, but Sera then unloads kendo shots to the head. Sera knees a chair into Evans' face for 2. Fisherman suplex by Evans gets 2, so she swings a light tube to the spine. Evans plays subtle heel with various weapon shots and a low crossbody for 2. Sera answers with a spinning power slam for 2, so she smashes light tubes into Evans' gut with flying double knees. Evans answers with a kendo stick assisted Gory bomb. Sera hits an Attitude Adjustment into a pile of glass. Falcon Arrow by Sera gets another nearfall, so she smashes a garden rake covered with light tubes over Charli's head. Sera hits double knees to the gut for a good nearfall. Sera summons a light tube log cabin, but Evans saves herself with nasty face kicks. Evans hits a swinging back fist through some tubes and then hits an electric chair slam through the log cabin to win at 12:36! Holy smokes, they recovered from the embarrassing opening botches and delivered an efficient, compact piece of ugly business, ***½.Winner: Charli Evans
Death Match:
Daiju Wakamatsu vs. John Wayne Murdoch
Murdoch wrestled 3 death matches yesterday in the Nick Gage Invitational, Daiju missed the tournament due to flight problems. They immediately swing light tubes and Daiju hits a quick somersault senton. They implant construction gussets into each other's foreheads and Murdoch hits a sick kick for 2. Murdoch kicks a light tube into Daiju's groin for good measure. Daiju spin kicks and head butts more light tubes into John's face. High flying missile dropkick to the face gets 2 for Wakamatsu. Murdoch tackles Daiju through a glass door and then hits a suplex through a standing chair for a fun nearfall. Wakamatsu blocks a bundle of tubes and headbutts them through Wayne's face. German suplex onto glass by Daiju gets 2! Body slam by Wakamatsu and a high elevation flying elbow for another 2 count. Murdoch answers with a superplex onto a pile of tubes but WAKAMATSU KICKS OUT! Murdoch wraps himself around Daiju's neck for the surprising submission finish at 9:12. Holy hell, this was an awesome war. They didn't waste any time and just went full throttle for not even ten minutes and managed to pull off some top notch false finishes, ****.Winner: John Wayne Murdoch
GCW World Championship:
Blake Christian © (with Shane Mercer) vs. Miedo Extremo (with Ciclope)
Miedo won last night's Nick Gage Invitational to earn this title shot. I'm not familiar with Extremo and he's NOT famous enough to have a Wikipedia page, but the live fans sure like him after his tournament win. Fans greet Blake with a "f*ck you" chant. Blake is fresh off of defeating Santa Claus, so he shouldn't have any trouble with Extremo. They immediately start brawling. Twisting senton by Extremo gets 2. Blake surprises with a spear on the apron. Extremo botches catching Blake in a dive, and the fans aren't so forgiving this time. Blake improvises by maintaining control of the situation. Extremo catapults Blake into the ring post, Mercer's assist lets Blake hit a phenomenal forearm. Blake grabs a tight chinlock, meanwhile Mercer attacks Ciclope. Extremo comes back with a belly to back suplex for 2. Blake puts together a mean sequence of moves, highlighted by a Tiger Fade Kick and springboard 450 splash, but Miedo reverses the pinfall attempt. Blake blocks a powerbomb and nails a Lethal Injection. Extremo reverses a double stomp into an Ace Crusher! Extremo sells his injuries before pummeling Blake in the buckles, but gets dropped onto the title belt. Blake kicks the head for a good nearfall. They fight over physical possession of the title and Miedo nails a DDT. The ref takes a bump, Blake tries to throw Mercer at Miedo, who slips out.Ciclope helps clear out Mercer. Miedo hits a Razor's Edge but there's no referee to count! The ref wakes up but Mercer returns and press slams him away. That referee just took a sicker bump than any wrestler so far. Blake delightfully hits a low blow and snaps Miedo's bad shoulder out of socket. Blake hits a step up double stomp to the skull and pins Extremo at 17:41. Fans are rightfully p!ssed. Hard hitting and wacky match, Blake gets a shining opportunity to highlight all of his heel tendencies against a wounded underdog, ***.Winner and still GCW World Champion: Blake Christian
Do or Die Rumble:
Yes, this is GCW's version of the Royal Rumble, so you know the rules. #1 Masha Slamovich starts against #2 Tara Zep, who greets Masha with a high crossbody. Masha answers with some slams but fails to throw Zep out by the hair. #3 Tony Deppen prances in wearing a New Year's tiara. He trades his tiara for a fan's glitter tuxedo hat. Zep greets Deppen with a head scissors takedown and tornado DDT. Deppen grabs Zep by the throat and throws her out. Masha and Deppen brawl until #4 Everett Connors calmly walks in wearing a Mountain Dew jumpsuit. Connors gets to run wild and gives Deppen a Burning Hammer. #5 Jordan Oliver rushes in to attack Deppen. #6 Rico Gonzalez enters with a springboard dropkick to Connors. Rico reverses Masha's suplex and hits a top rope senton. #7 Philly Mike is allowed to run wild until #8 Hunter Drake joins the party. The ring is getting crowded when #9 Bam Sullivan and #10 Brayden Toon arrives in suspiciously quick fashion. Nothing much happens before #11 Josh Bishop takes his time entering the ring. Bishop is a bruiser and removes Rico with a clothesline. Bishop throws out Sullivan and drops Mike onto him. Connors flies into Bishop's black hole slam and gets easily eliminated. Skinny Drake wants a piece of Bishop, but his chops have no effect. Bishop gives Drake a Razor's Edge onto everyone else he eliminated outside. #12 Mr. Danger springboards in for a quick hot streak. Sadly, he flies into Bishop's arms and takes a nasty fallaway slam. #13 Effy saunters in and attacks everyone. Bishop confronts Effy but eats a spear. #14 Kevin Ku casually enters and trades slaps with Effy. #15 Sleepy Ed wakes can barely stay awake during his entrance. He sets up a pillow and blanket and tries to take a cat nap while everyone else is knocked down. #16 Steph De Lander arrives with a mic and complains that she has to fight a bunch of f'n losers instead of competing in the actual Royal Rumble. She refuses to enter the ring until a real superstar gets here. #17 Broski Jimmy shows up and gets an adoring reception from Steph, so they both hit the ring. They work together to toss Toon out. #18 Allie Katch sneaks in to attack Jimmy and hit multiple hip attacks. Steph ambushes Allie, but Jimmy inadvertently knocks Steph out! Allie eliminates Jimmy with a heat seeker! #19 Dominic Garrini shows up and briefly dominates until Oliver boots him. #20 Griffin McCoy is next and Oliver is ready to kick his @ss, but Ku tries to take advantage. McCoy suplexes Mr. Danger and doesn't realize that Oliver is ready to chop him. Oliver boots McCoy out for a quick elimination. #21 Manders confidently marches in to dominate. #22 Sawyer Wreck happily enters, Allie tries to make nice with her. Wreck isn't buying it and hits a clothesline. Wreck clotheslines Manders and chokeslams Deppen out of the match. #23 is Joey Janela, but Manders and Wreck greet him with shoulder blocks. Janela interrupts their kiss and tricks them into hitting each other. #24 Gringo Loco parties his way in and fights Manders. #25 Jordan Cruz confidently storms in, but has to skin the cat when Manders tosses him. Violence is Forever double team Cruz. Ku dropkicks Allie out of the match. Effy eliminates Violence is Forever with double clotheslines! #26 Bobby Flaco dances in and dropkicks Cruz. Flaco counters Effy with a poison rana! #27 is Ciclope and he gives Janela a Destroyer! Ciclope eliminates Flaco with a dragon screw! #28 is Shane Mercer, absorbs a suplex from Cruz and throws him out. He then press slams Mr. Danger onto Cruz in the third row. Mercer clotheslines Oliver off of the apron. #29 is Cole Radrick, and he takes it to Mercer. Meanwhile, they remember that Sleepy Ed is still napping and throw him out. #30 Mike Bailey gives Mercer more unfortunate speedball kicks. Bailey is unaware that Wreck is ready to chokeslam him. Bishop and Wreck both try chokeslams but pause to eliminate Manders. Wreck tosses Bishop, but he pulls Wreck out with him. Mercer throws Ciclope out. Masha tries to choke Mercer out, but he boots her to the floor. Bailey misses a double knee moonsault and gets kicked out by Mercer. The Final Four are Effy, Janela, Mercer, and Gringo Loco. Everyone gangs up on Mercer and he takes Gringo's Destroyer. After a struggle, Effy boots Gringo outside. Mercer and Janela duke it out. Mercer hits a pop up slam on Janela and easily eliminates him. Effy and Mercer are the final competitors and slug it out. Blake Christian arrives to blatantly interfere and help Mercer. Effy blocks a superplex and hits Blake with a flying cutter! Effy uses the confusion to toss Mercer and win the Rumble at 47:03! Or so we thought, Mance Warner joins the match at #31 and tosses Effy to win for real. Laaaame. This was a pretty routine Rumble-esque match and didn't have too many compelling subplots. The finish stunk, ending this on a down note, **½.Winner: Mance Warner
Effy and Warner have a pull apart brawl amongst the fans.
H2>Death Match:
Jun Kasai vs. Nick Gage
Winner: Jun Kasai
Gage rejects Kasai's handshake with a middle finger, so Kasai returns the favor. There might be enough hard feelings here to justify a rematch. The locker room joins Gage in the ring for a NSFW New Year's Party.
Final Thoughts: This had a festive atmosphere and lots of very good matches, including some surprisingly entertaining death matches. I thought the Do or Die Rumble missed the mark, especially with the uber lame copout f*ck finish, but everything else either met my expectations or massively over delivered. Happy New Year and hopefully 2024 can reverse the trend of crappy years this decade.
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